Newsletter No 145 Summer 2018
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NEWSLETTER - No: 145 SUMMER http://www.lancastriansinlondon.org.uk/newsletter/ FUTURE EVENTS 2018 Tuesday July 3rd Liquid History Tour – Janet Robinson Thursday September 6 Early Autumn in the Gardens – Elizabeth Stanton Jones Tuesday November 6th Visit to Magic Circle – Simon Moyle 7.30pm Monday Nov 26th Lancastrian Quiz, The Duke, WC1 back by popular demand Monday December 10th Carol Service, Savoy Chapel & Christmas dinner, National Liberal Club CITY DINNER - RAF Club, 128 Piccadilly, Mayfair – Tuesday April 24th Dr David Brown, Treasurer, manning the Welcome Guests Mary Brock, Jonathan Healey, Megan Taylor Davis. desk Guest Speaker Eric Knowles Esq FRSA Michael Reed, Zoe Ball, Dianne and Johnny Ball City Dinner, 24th April - RAF Club David Brown, manned the welcome desk members young and old. Zoe was also greeting guests in his cheery way. Glasses of congratulated on her recent magnificent Prosecco Col Saliz were consumed in the achievement, cycling from Blackpool to perfect background of the Churchill Bar with Brighton helping to raise £1.2 million for Sports dear Winston, a renowned lover of Relief. champagne, looking on approvingly. 84 in Reverend Tom Steel from Lancashire was an total, members dined in the magnificent honoured guest, a friend of Johnny’s since Ballroom on a menu of - Tian of smoked salmon they met on the Manchester Club circuit way & haddock, Herb & Garlic roasted Cushion of back when. Lamb with red wine sauce and vegetables, Eric Knowles Esq. FRSA with his wife Anita, was Bailey’s Crème Brulee, Coffee & Petits Fours, our after dinner speaker, familiar to most from with accompanying red and white wines and the BBC’s Antiques Road Show and Bargain Ruby Port. Hunt. He spoke of his life in the Antiques Our President, Dr Johnny Ball, proposed a business, amusing and interesting anecdotes of Toast to Her Majesty THE QUEEN, Duke of famous names, Lalique, Tiffany, Charles Lancaster and our guests. Johnny, Rennie Mackintosh. He recalled the wonderful accompanied by his wife Dianne and delightful Lancashire countryside and spectacular views daughter Zoe, the tv & radio presenter, spoke from Pendle Hill, the panoramic silver line of amusingly about his upbringing in Lancashire, Morecambe Bay and Blackpool Tower. For recalling fond memories of childhood days all those of us familiar, you will know just how with a familiar ring. His rendition of “Albert stunning this view can be, especially in the and the ‘Eadsman”(Tower of London)brought evening light. Those big and beautiful skies, smiles and he amused us all when he reminded missed so much in the London suburbs. He us that Zoe recently turned the Blackpool mentioned Towneley Hall in Burnley and the Lights ”ON”. - Quite an achievement. - He Howarth Art Gallery in Accrington, both having followed on, and most parents will identify treasures and textile history not to be missed. with this, by saying that when she left home at 18, she didn’t know how to turn lights “OFF”. The favourite topic of Lancashire v Yorkshire A lot of empathic laughter ensued, from rivalry brought the usual satisfying laughter. It was a most enjoyable evening filled with Lancastrian conviviality and friendship. Here is a note of appreciation sent to our Chairman, Simon Moyle, – “As ever it was good to see you and Silvana and on behalf of Chrissie and myself I email to thank you for, and congratulate you on, organising a super A of L In L City Dinner at The RAF Club last night. We both thoroughly enjoyed the event, the company, the excellent fare provided, of course our President and Eric Knowles. May I ask you to please pass our thanks and appreciation on to The Committee and all involved in the event’s planning and organization?” – Philip and Chrissie Newfield CELEBRATING THE ROYAL AIR FORCE CENTENARY Continuing with the RAF - 2018 is the 100th year since the birth of the RAF on the 1st April 1918. Both the Royal Navy and Army had air commands during WW1. The Royal Navy had the RNAS (Royal Naval Air Service) the Army the RFC (Royal Flying Corps). In late 1916 Lord Curzon reported to Parliament that the RNAS was “a gung ho brigade under the guidance of Winston Churchill”. The Prime Minister Lloyd George accepted the report and the decision to merge the RNAS & RFC into a single command to be known as the RAF (Royal Air Force) resulted. At the time of the merger the RNAS was much larger than the RFC comprising 2949 aircraft, 103 airships, 126 air stations and 67,000 officers and men. On its formation the RAF comprised 114,000 personnel and 4,000 aircraft. The formation of the RAF was far from smooth and was highly political. Lord Rothermere (proprietor of the Daily Mail), who was the Air Minister appointed Major General Trenchard as Chief of the Air Staff in the new rank of Air Vice Marshall. Lord Rothermere chose Trenchard in the hope that he would support a smear campaign against General Haig, this he refused to do, remaining loyal to General Haig. Inevitably Rothermere and Trenchard fell out and on the 10th April 1918 Trenchard resigned just 10 days after his appointment. Lord Rothermere resigned two weeks later. It was not until February 1919 that Trenchard was reappointed as Chief of the Air Staff by Winston Churchill who was the Secretary of State for War. Trenchard remained in post until 1930 becoming known as the father of the Royal Air Force. 2 What is all this to do with Lancashire? – You may well ask From its formation in 1918 until 1940 the RAF had not been called upon to display its real fighting spirit and efficiency, which was finally displayed in their superb defeat of the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain. However, one of the smallest, least known but bravest units of the RAF was based in Lancashire at Speke near Liverpool. This until was called “The MSFU (Merchant Ship Fighting Unit), staffed by RAF Pilots. In the early months of the Battle of the Atlantic to help protect the convoys some Merchant Navy ships were fitted with a rocket launcher platform and a single Hurricane fighter. The Hurricane was launched to attack U Boats, after the attack the pilot had to either ditch his aircraft and hoped to be picked up or if possible try to get back to a shore airfield. All these Pilots were volunteers and were only allowed two tours of duty flying these missions. Peter Murray – National Secretary, Fleet Air Arm Association “Chippy Tea” I’ve a bit of a Lancashire chip on my shoulder. How dare southern chefs like Heston, Jamie, Gordon et al claim to have discovered three times cooked chips? Cheeky beggers. I were brought up on them in Bolton and as a result even after almost 50 years in the London area, still find southern chips a disgrace. Some 200 yard from my home in Bolton, there was a huge draconian red brick Mill with a huge chimney stack and a lodge with its permanent water supply on one side. Right opposite the Mill gates was the chippy and food catering life blood of the community. Their delicious chips were and had been for years, three times cooked, as that was the only way they could run their highly successful business and hold their customers enslaved. No matter what time the chippy closed in the evening, “I've just ordered mi Chippy Tea” tomorrow’s spuds would be peeled, chipped and then blanched, last thing at night, so they did not lose their colour overnight. The next morning, the second cooking began quite early and when each batch was all but finished, they were stacked in their large deep frying baskets, in known order ready for the appointed midday hour, which began the instant t’Mill across t’road sounded t’ hooter. Into the fat, so hot it was smoking, went basket number one - and out again in a matter of seconds. The basket was tapped to lose most of the fat and tipped into the serving hatch, as the very first mill girls skipped across the road in their clattering clogs. In the next 15 minutes basket after basket was dipped, held for the precise number of seconds, lifted, tapped and upturned, just as room appeared in the serving hatch as three ladies accurately scooped up portions at breakneck speed, so the girls were fed in record time and now had time for a fag or a chat or even a game of rounders on’t green just round the corner. My dad, who never said anything unless there was a story behind it, claimed that riding a horse every day over many years, caused atoms from the horse to pass into 3 the rider and vice versa, so that man becomes part horse and horse, part man. This might have been verified by my memories of those rounder playing mill girls with their skirts tucked in their knickers, racing athletically around a small marked out diamond in gay abandon, while two old horses over the fence across the road, never took their eyes off them? Your President, Johnny Ball 13/2/18 ANNUAL SERVICE AND TEA 2018 – SUNDAY 6TH MAY 2018 – 3pm David & Elizabeth Stanton Jones welcoming us to Adrian Waddingham and Johnny Ball welcoming us the The Queen’s Chapel of the Savoy to The Strand Palace Hotel A perfect Sunday in May strolling through the beautiful Embankment Gardens bathed in sunshine and Springtime glory, to The Queen’s Chapel of the Savoy, for the Annual Service of Lancastrians in London. The service was conducted by Reverend Professor Peter Galloway and the Preacher was the Reverend Tom Steel from Lancashire, whom you may recall our President originally met during his time as an entertainer on the Manchester Club circuit, where Tom would visit local clubs to be near his congregation.