The Magazine of the Royal British Legion in August/September 2014 Incorporating the Derbyshire LegionLetter Newsletter Registered Charity No. 219279 Shoulder to shoulder with all who serve Vol. 5 Issue 1

Aston on Trent Well Dressing Festival

The Aston village Well Dressing Festival took place on the 5th & 6th July. The Branch had the Derbyshire County Legion's gazebo at the event which was attended by County Chairman Bernard Page MBE.

The main well, created by the Well Dressing Group shows a typical scene of men going to war marching past the village pub in 1914.

The second well created by the Aston & Weston Womens Institute shows wounded soldiers being cared for in the Aston on Trent Mansion (which is still there today only they are private apartments now) which was used as a hospital during the first world war.

Pictures and text supplied by Jim Ballington Aston & Weston Branch Secretary

The Derbyshire Legion Page | 1

Chairman’s Commentary

Administration Following the end of the “Field Year” on the 30th June, all Branch Treasurers should now be preparing Branch Accounts for approval by their Branch Committee, prior to an examination by an RBL Independent Examiner/ Qualified Individual. These Accounts should all be submitted to the County Secretary by the 30th September latest. In my last year as your Chairman it would be good if all Branches could achieve this deadline.

th 100 Anniversary of the start of the War to end all Wars We are close now to the 100th Anniversary of the start of the War to end all Wars. Unfortunately and

importantly this was not the case, as we all well know, ending up with the considerable loss of our Servicemen in Afghanistan.

As an Organisation who is charged with being the “Custodian of the Nation’s Remembrance” this year and the coming four years are most important to all of us as members of the Legion. Some Branches

have already had their WW1 “commemorative events” with others, including the County, are still to come. I ask that whenever possible you all support these events. The County website has details of all

the locations/dates/times where known: http://www.britishlegion-derbyshire.org.uk/Events_Diary.htm

It is important that as we go forward we do not forget the other five major events that the Government, and the Legion, have identified as events that should be specifically commemorated. These are all

identified in the Booklet; The Royal British Legion and the Centenary, dated April 2014. I ask that you all, and your families and friends, visit the Every Man Remembered website:

www.everymanremembered.org - to help remember all the British and Commonwealth servicemen and women who lost their lives between 1914 and 1918. You can plant a virtual Poppy but you do not have to make a donation unless you wish to do so. Bernard Page MBE.

Editorial

Thank you to all who supplied items for this edition, it is good to see the Legion in Derbyshire doing so many things. I received more than I can fit into the main Derbyshire Legion so I have produced a Supplement to go with this edition just for Fundraisng News from Christine Selden County Community Fundraiser, please read it.

Wanted for Magazine: News of your events for the 100th Anniversary of the Great war or anniversaries connected to WWII as well as anything else of interest to other Legion Members in Derbyshire.

Please take photos and send them to me with some words to explain what you have been up to. I cannot produce a magazine without your support.

John P. Irwin, Editor

The next Derbyshire Legion will be published on the 25th September 2014 Please send your contributions to me by the 15th September for inclusion. If it is received after this date I might not be able to get it in. Editor John P. Irwin

The Derbyshire Legion Page | 2

Derbyshire LegionLetter

WE WILL REMEMBER THEM

Branches have announced with sadness the following Members have passed away since the last Derbyshire LegionLetter. From 13th May 2014 to 21st July 2014

Mr S Holt Allenton Mr LS Comfort Allenton Mr J Crabtree Allenton Mr Pjara Singh Allenton Mr WE Yates Brailsford Mr E Moseley Brailsford Mr Fred C Devereux Chesterfield Mr CK Collow Mr T Cooper Littleover Mr D Phillips Long Eaton Mr A Shackleton Melbourne

Wirksworth Standard Bearers School For Standard Bearers training sessions please contact Dilys Elliker on 01629 826617 or Email: [email protected] please do not give out Dily’s number to anyone outside the Legion.

200 Club Draw June 200 Club Draw July 1st No. 37 Whittington Branch £15 2nd No. 65 Mr Chris Black £10 No Draw took place for July, two Draws in August 3rd No. 31 Mr Eddie Dobson £5

Derbyshire WW1 Graves Many Branches are arranging events associated with, and /or carrying out research into War Graves that they have in their locality. Chris Drury, the County Webmaster, has produced a web page which details the location of all War Graves in our County. Should you need this information please see the following link; http://www.britishlegion-derbyshire.org.uk/Remembrance_Derbyshire_WWI_War_Graves.htm If you wish further details please contact Chris by email at: [email protected]

HMS Kenya Honours Board On Friday 5th September at 16:15hrs an Honours Board dedicated to all who served on HMS Kenya 1940 to 1962 and listing all who lost their lives while serving, will be unveiled in the Council House (City Hall) Derby. HMS Kenya was adopted by the then town of Derby during Warship Week in 1942 after raising over 2 million pounds towards the cost of equipment and the fitting out of the ship.The ceremony will be carried out by the Mayor on behalf of the city and citizens of Derby who, over the years we have had a very cordial relationship. All welcome to attend and any publicity you could offer would be most gratefully appreciated.

Dennis Patterson Chairman HMS Kenya Association

The Derbyshire Legion Page | 3

Events For Your Diary

Derbyshire RBL Women’s Section

For Your Diary

Annual Purse Presentation. 29th August This is a change of date from the 5th September previously advised as the Rt. Hon. Patrick McLoughlin cannot now attend on this date. Assembly Rooms, Bakewell. 7.30 pm. Purse Receiver Rt. Hon Patrick McLoughlin, Secretary for Transport.

County Conference. 22nd November. Coffee served from 11.30 am. Conference commences at 1 pm. Lunch 12 noon.

Angela Swift Derbyshire WS County Secretary. Email: [email protected]

Hayfield The village of Hayfield will be commemorating the centenary of the beginning of World War I by hosting a week-long series of events. An exhibition will reflect local lives and the impact the war had on both the men who went off to war and those left at home, linking the War Front with the Home Front. The exhibition takes place in the Village Memorial Hall and will open daily from 11.00 am Sunday 3rd August to 4.00pm Saturday 9th August, (with two late openings till 7.30 pm on Monday and Thursday evenings). The Opening Ceremony will take place at 12.45 pm on Sunday. The exhibition will display general military artefacts, uniforms and memorabilia alongside personal items, artefacts and stories from Hayfield residents and information about WW1 servicemen from the Hayfield area. A new book by George Cogswell, entitled ‘Hayfield at War, Part 1, 1914-1916, will be on sale and its author will be on-site during most sessions, sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm for a topic he has spent many years researching. There will be opportunities for visitors to reflect and comment on the exhibition and to add any personal stories about their own families. Refreshments will be available during the opening hours. On Monday 4th August, commemorating the day war was declared, there will be a Parade through the village, led by the Greater Manchester, Fire & Rescue Pipes and Drum Band, starting at 7.00 pm from Primrose Court, Market Street, stopping at the War Memorial to lay a single white flower and rosemary wreath on behalf of the whole village, before a commemorative Church Service at 7.30 pm at St Matthew’s Church, followed by refreshments. On Tuesday 5th August, at 7.30 in St Matthew’s Church Hall, Terry Jackson, a historian, and Chairman of the Cheshire Western Front Association, will give a talk about the origins of WW1, entitled ‘The July Crisis, 1914’, covering the lead-up to the outbreak of war up to December 1914. On the same evening, the Church Hall will be displaying a collection of artwork by Vaughan Parker, a Glossop artist, whose work focuses on the trenches and the soldiers who fought in them. Free entrance but donations welcome. On Thursday 7th August, Bard, Rob Stevens, and members of ‘Write from the Heart’ community writing group will present new works commemorating the war entitled ‘Remember Willy Beard.’ Entrance Fee: £2.00 Hayfield welcomes visitors from other towns and villages in the High Peak area and beyond, to join with them in these commemorations. There will be limited on-street parking but there are plenty of parking spaces at the Car Park, Station Road, SK22 2ES

The Derbyshire Legion Page | 4

Trip to Poland by Chris Drury My wife, Maureen, and I paid a flying visit to Krakow The U.S. Army Air Force bombed the factory in August in Poland, thanks to a gift from our Son and Daughter. 1944 and one bomb fell on the British POW camp and We flew out from East Midlands Airport on 22nd May 39 British POW’s lost their lives. and after an early start and a two hour ten minute flight we arrived in Krakow. Our stay lasted to the 25th May. As it was early in the day when we arrived, we had most of the day to tour the city. It was an eye opener to see Krakow, once a city within a communist state; it had been untouched by either of the World Wars. Krakow previously the capital city of Poland still therefore retains centuries of its history. Poland is mainly a Catholic country and the number of churches there reflects this, with over 120 in the city alone. Some of those churches are outstanding in their architecture and internal decoration. Many have gold figures and other iconic items, with their walls and altars decorated in gold. On day two we travelled 75km west to a place called Oświęcim, more infamously known by its German name “Auschwitz”. We visited The Holocaust Memorial two of the three main concentration camps, starting At the Memorial I laid two wooden crosses on behalf of with Auschwitz I, the original camp. This camp Derbyshire RBL and from Maureen and myself. We remains much as it did at the end of the war. It started walked back through the women’s side of the Birkenau out as a Polish Army barracks, but the Nazis converted camp seeing some of the most deplorable conditions it to a concentration camp. that the inmates lived in. For our tour we entered the camp through the infamous arch “Arbeit macht frei" or "work makes (you) free” and walked around the camp. We visited many of the brick built barrack buildings with indications of how and where the prisoners lived and died. Many of the buildings contained the prisoners artifacts such as shoes, glasses, false limbs, clothing, marked suitcases and most harrowing of all, human hair. Our tour continued on to Auschwitz II – Birkenau, the notorious concentration / extermination camp. We entered the camp through the main gate or "Gate of Death". Through this gate the railway cattle trucks entered the camp, delivering 20,000 Jews to their deaths daily. We The Memorial Plaque to the British POW’s walked down the railway in the heat of the midday sun On our third day we travelled a short distance to the (32°C), which reminded us of the conditions those who south of the city to the Wieliczka Salt Mine. Here we went to their deaths must have experienced, from climbed down mine shaft to a depth of 64 metres below swealtering heat to freezing cold they had no options ground level and during the tour we went down a but to obey. further 71 metres. The tour took us through 23 At the end of the railway tracks is the Holocaust chambers that are connected by 2.5 Kilometres of Memorial flanked on either side by the remains of the corridors. The underground excavations are filled with two crematoria (female left and male right). The amazing sights including saline lakes and majestic crematoria were blown up a few days before the camp chambers. One of them is an underground cathedral was liberated by the Russians. with the altars and figures carved from the salt. There It was at the Memorial I learned of the remembrance of are collections of tools and machinery in some British POW’s. The Memorial has plaques in a number chambers showing the historic development of mining of languages in remembrance of those who had died in techniques. the Auschwitz complex. There were up to 1,400 Our final day was spent relaxing around the city. This POW’s held in Auschwtz III – Morowitz, which was a was a very interesting visit and well worth it, we saw labour camp to staff an I. G. Farben chemical factory what we set out to see. manufacturing synthetic rubber.

The Derbyshire Legion Page | 5

D-Day (6th June 1944) Commemorations Derby Market Place 2014

Veterans line up

Deputy Mayor leads the Standards

Pictured top right is Branch Chairman Eddie Dobson and President Harry Mycroft.

Pictures supplied by Pam Ford Oakwood Branch.

Standards and Bugler The Derbyshire Legion Page | 6

Branch Mascot Mia makes her (International) debut by Glyn Jackson Swadlincote & District Royal British Legion have recently appointed 10 year old Mia George as the Branch’s first ever Mascot (Pictured top left). When the Branch Secretary read in the national press last November about Accrington Branch appointing the first ever RBL Branch Mascot, he immediately thought of Mia, the daughter of branch members Matt and Kate George and asked if she would be interested in taking on the role for our branch. Mia, who has taken part in several fundraising events over the past few years raising hundreds of pounds for the Poppy Appeal, loved the idea. She said “It was very exciting as I knew I would have some special moments and I could help the Royal British Legion out.“

Mia couldn’t wait for her first opportunity to represent the branch and she didn’t have to wait too long but she did have to travel a little further afield than Swadlincote. As part of our First World War Centenary commemorations, Mia joined members of our branch along with members of South Derbyshire District Council and the staff and cadets from 1211 (Swadlincote) Squadron of the Air Training Corps on a trip to the Western Front. Over the weekend, we visited a number of museums and memorial sites as well the battlefields and a cemetery where soldiers from our local regiments fell during the battle of the Somme. The highlight of our trip was to attend the famous ‘Last Post Ceremony’ at the Menin Gate, Ypres on the Sunday evening. Before the ceremony began the cadets marched through Ypres and were formed up in the centre of the memorial behind the Standards.

Our President, Stuart Allen (pictured bottom right), in his role as Membership Council Member for the East Midlands pronounced the Exhortation before laying the first wreath on behalf of the Board of Trustees, Membership Council and the Members of The Royal British Legion. Mia then laid our Branch wreath escorted by the Branch Secretary and Poppy Appeal Organiser. Cadets from 1211 Squadron and the Chairman of South Derbyshire District Council, Councillor Ann Hood then laid their wreaths. The evening was truly memorable for all who attended and was made extra special by the choir of the Osprey Rugby Club Supporter from Wales who sang during the ceremony as the wreaths were laid.

The evening finished off with us looking for the names of family members and local soldiers and grabbing some group photos with the buglers (top right) and the choir before 1211 Sqn reformed to march off through the Menin Gate – a memory that will no doubt live with the cadets for the rest of their lives. They were truly a credit to the squadron and to the whole of South Derbyshire. They and their parents should be very proud. When Mia was asked afterwards how she felt about the ceremony she said: “I was very nervous but happy to have such a big part to play and I wanted to remember all those that gave their lives so I could have mine.”

The Derbyshire Legion Page | 7

Derbyshire RBL Contact List

RBL Contact Centre Number Swadlincote Drumhead Service Swadlincote Royal British Legion in conjunction with 0808 802 8080 South Derbyshire District Council will be holding a drum head service on 6th September 2014 on the Delph All County Officers are Contactable through in Swadlincote Town Centre, to commemorate the 100th the Above Number. Anniversary of World War I, the 75th Anniversary of World War II and the 70th anniversary of D-Day. The County Office Address: service which will be conducted by the Bishop of Saxon House, Heritage Gate Repton will commence at 11.00 am, all are requested to Derby, DE1 1NL be seated by 10.45 am.

County Chairman The National Parade Marshal has requested that all Mr Bernard W Page MBE Standard Bearers report to him no later than 1015 on the Email: [email protected] morning of 6th September for briefing and rehearsal. The National Chairman, Deputy-Lieutenant of County Secretary Derbyshire, High Sheriff and National Standard are all Mr Chris Black expected to be present. Email: [email protected] Stuart Allen

County Community Fundraiser Based in Derby Mrs. Christine Selden Same Contact Number 0808 802 8080

Mobile: 07973 750816 Email: [email protected] East Midlands Area Manager Linda Flecknell County Training Officer Email: [email protected] Mrs. Yvonne Robinson Tel: 07870 853365 East Midlands Area Administrator Email: [email protected] Theresa Smith [email protected] County Website Webmaster Mr. Chris Drury Advice & Information Team Leader Tel: 01332 556385 Digby Bown [email protected] Email: [email protected] Advice & Information Officer County Website Darren Maltby www.britishlegion-derbyshire.org.uk [email protected]

The Derbyshire Legion is edited by Derbyshire Case Officer Mr John P. Irwin Responsible for Welfare work in Derbyshire Mobile: 07501115814 Jayne Hughes All contributions should be sent [email protected] via email to [email protected] or post to All Welfare Cases must go through the Contact 82 Bridge St. Long Eaton Centre: 0808 802 8080 Derbyshire, NG10 4QQ

Registered Charity no. 219279

The Derbyshire Legion Page | 8