The Trumpeter
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The Trumpeter No 16 Jun 2014 Price £1.50 P a g e | 2 Editors notes Ted McKenzie Tele: 07900 806 235 E-Mail: [email protected] The Front Cover is a copy of the First Trumpeter Magazine Published at Rhyl in 1948. Committee The Back Cover is a copy of the “new look” Trumpeter Magazine first published President at Hereford in 1958. Col Bob Shedden TD Compilation: I anticipate that the next edition will be published in Jan 2015 Chairman Secretary Items for inclusion should reach the Editor at least a month Dave Dufall Ted McKenzie prior to the next publication. 01262 424 467 07900 806 235 There are some items submitted by members in this issue. If articles are submitted by E-Mail please ensure they are in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx),(.rtf) or (.pdf) format. Pictures should be in .jpg Treasurer or .tiff. If you have a story to tell please send it in. James Taylor Photographs can be accepted but not photocopies. All 07446 092 106 photographs will be returned on request. Shop Some damaged photographs can be digitally repaired, a copy of the repaired photograph will be returned with the original. Andrew Prewer 01789 778 076 Articles submitted for publication may be edited at the editor’s discretion. Webmaster If you have anything you would like to contribute either send good copies of the Roy Arnold original or alternatively send the original. They will then be scanned and reproduced for display. [email protected] Trumpeter Editor Ted McKenzie [email protected] JLRRA Trumpeters at the Cenotaph Remembrance day 1960 P a g e | 3 Chairman’s Page. On the 26th April this year one hundred and eighteen members and their wives/partners sat down to a splendid Gala Dinner at the Holiday Inn Coventry. The dinner which was opened by our Trumpet Majors proved to be a very successful evening with very good food, good wine, and possibly the highest quality of company that anyone could ask for. The evening culminated with dancing and for the first time ever the dance floor was still full at 0030hrs which was an hour after it should have shut down. Earlier in the day twenty six members visited the National Memorial Arboretum where they were looked after by John Sturgess (ex Ironside Troop). They all enjoyed the trip and I would like to thank John for his help. The Association is moving ahead at a great pace, not only are we getting more new members but also we are getting more members to pay the annual subscription by Direct Debit through LLoyds Bank. This all helps to allow the Committee to both run and administer the Association more efficiently. As you all know the year 2015 sees the Association celebrating its Twenty Fifth Birthday. The Committee feel that this is indeed a milestone and should be celebrated in as spectacular way as possible. We are therefore now involved in arrangements to achieve this. The Reunion will take place over the weekend 24-26th April 2015 at The Holiday Inn Coventry. If things go to plan The Saturday evening will start with The Band of The Lancashire Artillery Volunteers “Beating Retreat” in front or the hotel and then playing for us during dinner. There are many more plans on the table, but to experience them you will have to attend the function. As it's our birthday next year, it has been suggested that the Association might like to take part in the British Legion's Remembrance Parade in London. We need about thirty people before I can approach the authorities, so if you would like to take part please let me know by any means you wish. I do hope you all enjoy the rest of this year and I look forward to seeing you all next year. P a g e | 4 FROM THE PRESIDENT The first thing to report is that at the AGM I was re-elected to serve another three-year term as your president, I regard this as a very great honour and I carry the appointment with great pride. Speaking at the dinner held at Coventry during our reunion weekend I first welcomed 118 diners. This was a marvellous turnout and showed much support and gratitude to our committee for past events and much confidence in them for the future. I made a point of welcoming the ladies (without whom, in many cases, our members present may not have been able to attend!). I also welcomed our founder member, Ted Parkinson, who called the first meeting, in Preston, in 1990. I particularly welcomed, by name, all those who had joined since our last meeting and they are Wayne Stolworthy, Richard Gale, David Taplin, Steven Dridge, William Young, Kevin Gale, Arthur Bramley, Keith Tucker, Charles Brown, Alec Cussell, Phil Shortland, Ian Stathers, Tony Bryant, Adam Palmer, Jed Lewis, Michael Humphry, Steve Collins, Joseph Barnes, Colin Hilliard, Nick Codling, and Jason Evans. Those named in heavy type were present. To all I would say a strong welcome and my message is that they should get involved. I hope to see them all next year. We also had two official guests: the chairman of the India and Wartime Boys Association, Douglas Clewlow, and their secretary, Jenny Lynch. Douglas joined the Boys Battery at Woolwich in 1948 and mustered in 1950. His first posting was to 57th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment in Essex and there he met and married Margaret, who accompanied him to the dinner. When Anti-Aircraft Command was disbanded (having been made redundant by the introduction of jet aircraft) Douglas moved to 10th Field Regiment, then at Detmold and equipped with Sexton (a self-propelled 25pr, mounted on a Sherman tank chassis). His later career took him via 19th and 18th Field Regiments (in that order) and two tours at the Army MT School at Bordon as an instructor. He finally left the Army from the post of RQMS of 5th Regiment. Jenny is the daughter of Tom Holden, whom I knew as a BSM in 18th Regiment (1962!) and who founded the 1151 and 1157 Boys Association (for boys whose Army number began with those figures) and he ran it for many years until his death. In his memory Jenny took on the role of secretary. It is a poignant appointment because she first knew Douglas in 18th Regiment in Larkhill when she was a child. Over a period of time the 1151/1157 Association morphed into the India and Wartime Boys Association. I have long thought that their Association and ours should draw closer together not only because their numbers are dwindling but also because we have a common interest in the memorabilia which was removed from the Sergeants’ Mess at Larkhill (when it was pulled down for re-development) and now sits in storage containers at Larkhill, unloved and un-displayed. Douglas and I agreed to work together on this issue. This time last year I undertook to see whether there was scope for display at our Regimental museum, Firepower, in the old Royal Arsenal at Woolwich. To that end I made several visits to interview the curator who did offer some accommodation but it was unsatisfactory. A flow of correspondence followed but gradually it became clear that the museum was in financial trouble. Cutting a long story short, the present position is that the museum has run out of money and is to close almost immediately. In other words, I have achieved nothing. Yet! We now have a three-pronged approach to the display problem. First, members of our Association are exploring the possibility of persuading the present occupiers of Gamecock Barracks to help. Secondly, other members local to and involved in Coventry and Bramcote civic affairs have undertaken to explore possibilities there. Finally, I am in conversation with the Commandant of the Royal School of Artillery (an old friend of mine) about finding a room or rooms there. He says that is a distinct possibility, albeit they being outside the Sergeant’ Mess. In my view some display is better than no display and, worse, the items will be deteriorating through neglect. The longer term is better news, he says, because the plan to rescue Firepower is to move it to Larkhill to form part of a Wiltshire show ground, in conjunction with Wiltshire County Council. In my view, that is where it should have been from the beginning. My finger remains on the pulse, however slowly it beats. Watch this space. In my speech at dinner I moved on to mention Len Webb and the tragic predicament in which he now finds himself. Few cannot know that he stands charged with the murder of his wife of 48 years but many might not know he is a member of our Association. To those at dinner I commended my thoughts on the matter which are that, whatever actually happened he will now be going through a very miserable time. Secondly, that as we know none of the facts we pass no judgement and, in any event, as a lawyer myself, I can think of a P a g e | 5 “FROM THE PRESIDENT”………. Continued number of ways that the charge might not stand up. Thirdly, as a member of this Association, and also on the basis of “Once a Gunner, always a Gunner” (and now is the moment to prove it !) he should get our support. I have written both to Len and to the editor of The Gunner in similar terms. It always gives me sorrow when I am informed that one of our members has died.