The Knot Unites

Registered Charity No: 219279

Special Edition 2014

Ladies & Gentlemen, CONTACT DETAILS:

The County Office located at Haig House, Alan Preece Stafford, will close on 15 August 2014. Staffordshire County Secretary However, it is not yet known when the new West Midlands Area & Regional Office County Office in Britannia House, Stafford, Victoria Square House will open pending the installation of new 81 New Street telephones and IT. Until then I shall work, Birmingham albeit only temporarily, from the Area B2 4BA Office in Birmingham. My e-mail contact will remain the same but I expect to have Mobile: 07900 058 650 either a new telephone number or for my [email protected] current one to be redirected.

The upheaval of moving a County Office Branch Accounts will inevitably lead to some delay and Financial Year confusion, but I would ask you all to patient In order to streamline the year end audit during the transitional period. And I would and reduce pressure on Branches over emphasise that I shall be working from Remembrance-tide, the Branch year end Birmingham only for a temporary period, has been changed from 30 September to 30 June.

Yours sincerely This year, and in the future, Branches will be required to prepare annual returns for Alan Preece the period 1 July to 30 June. County Secretary

1 The Bargate Pals New

Membership Application Forms MS4/13 Claud Lofters, Deputy Governor at HMP Stafford, invited the county to attend a Copies of the new membership application forms can be obtained from Aylesford by performance of the play ‘The Bargate Pals’, E-mailing: which took place on Monday 28 July in the [email protected] Chapel HMP Stafford. The event was the work of several prisoners currently located at When ordering MS4/13s ensure that you give the following details: Stafford with contemporary songs, interwoven between the World War One story.  Branch Name  Branch Number Legion Members from two branches, Tean and  Address to which membership applications are Stone, were able to join me and a number of to be despatched other guests in the prison chapel for the

Please note that the current Membership performance, which we all found very thought- Application MS4/12 will not be valid beyond 31 provoking while still most enjoyable. December 2014.

DIARY OF EVENTS

16 September Autumn Branch Network Meeting 23 September 2014 County Games Competition 28 September 2014 Branch Chairman’s Seminar 1 November 2014 – Staffordshire RBL Festival of Remembrance, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre 9 November 2014 – Remembrance Sunday

The ‘Pals’ Battalions

The pals battalions of World War I were specially constituted battalions of the British Army comprising men who had enlisted together in local recruiting drives, with the promise that they would be able to serve alongside their friends, neighbours and work colleagues ("pals"), rather than being arbitrarily allocated to battalions.

2 Kinver Rededication and Lights

Out Penkridge Parade and Rededication The Rededication Service held at the On Sunday 3 August a parade formed at the Memorial on Sunday 3 August was led by Haling Dene Centre and marched to St Revd Karen Stanton, Rector of Kinver and Michaels’ Church, Penkridge. Enville in the presence of Standard Bearers from the Royal British Legion, Councillors and The parade included Major Charles Boote TD representatives from organisations in the DL, Mr Jeremy Lefroy MP and Councillor village, as well as other residents and visitors. Sandra Chambers, Chair of Penkridge Parish Council.

The parade was led by the band of the Air Training Corps (ATC) Kingswinford, and the Crucifer and choir from St Peter’s Church. The service was held as a Drum Head Service as used in the field during WW1.

Leslie Dobinson and Major Boote with ATC Escorts

Once re-assembled around the war memorial the congregation was joined by Leslie George Dobinson, recently made Chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur, for a Service of Rededication.

The congregation then moved in to St This was a civic lead function organized by Michael’s Church for a Service of the Kinver and Enville Branch where the Commemoration where they were welcomed County Standard was paraded in front of a by the Revd Greg Yarbury. crowd of over two hundred people. The congregation then gathered outside to parade back to Haling Dene Centre. As the parade departed the salute was taken by Major Charles Boote TD DL.

At the Haling Dene Centre the Penkridge Parish Council hosted a Band Concert by the Trentham Brass Band, with Refreshments provided by the Women’s Institute.

'Poppy explosion' in Dorset commemorates WW1 deaths

On Monday 4 August, more than one million poppies were blown into the air in Dorset to mark every Commonwealth death during World War One. The release of 1.1 million poppies from a tank—described as a ‘poppy explosion’— took place at the Tank Museum in Bovington, Dorset.

Crowds visiting the museum on Monday saw a re-enactment of the power tanks brought to the battlefield with a re- enactment of an engagement using a replica of an Mk 4 tank, copied from the museum's original.

The arena display featured a German trench where machine gunners waited to mow down the British forces as they ran forward through barbed wire.

It was clear how little chance many had against the rapid fire of the machine gun, but the tank made the difference in over- powering what could have been overwhelming odds.

And then, after The Last Post and a minute's silence, a real Challenger Mk 2 tank from another era blasted the poppy petals into the sky.

Gordon Highlanders, and 'soldiers' from the Great War Society representing the 4th Battalion the Middlesex Regiment who had been fighting minutes before marched away, over the red 'carpet' of petals, each petal marking a British life lost.