December 2012 FINAL EDITION the ROYAL BRITISH LEGION FOUR COUNTIES News Letter
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December 2012 FINAL EDITION THE ROYAL BRITISH LEGION BEDFORDSHIRE, CAMBRIDGESHIRE HERTFORDSHIRE & HUNTINGDONSHIRE FOUR COUNTIES News Letter 1 George Taylor A dignified boy stands at an unkempt grave with its barely-legible headstone and slowly removes his baseball cap in respect. Tears well up as he lowers his head and bends down to brush away rotting foliage from the plot on the damp, foggy afternoon. He is trying to read the stone but decades of exposure to wind, rain and sun have severely weathered it, erasing all but the sketchiest of details. Yet the lad is determined to discover as much as he can about the grave's occupant, even though he is a complete stranger. But then this is no ordinary 12-year-old boy and the grave in Kent is the final resting place of no ordinary man. In this small, rural cemetery for fallen British servicemen from both world wars lies Victoria Cross hero Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Drummond Borton. Lt Col Borton, who also won the Distinguished Service Order and the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal, died at 49 in 1933 having fought bravely in the Second Boer War and the First World War, despite having broken his neck in three places in a plane crash. The boy in blue jeans, trainers, white T-shirt and windcheater, is George Taylor who is determined people such as Arthur are never forgotten. George is the youngest person, ever to be recruited by The Victoria Cross Trust charity to track down the derelict graves of VC holders. His task is to record grave details, photograph them on his mobile or tablet and report back to the trust on what needs to be done to the plot. The trust then tries to find the heroes' relatives to persuade them to restore the graves to their original condition. George is with lorry driver dad David, 40, teaching assistant mum Cheryl, 39, and ten-year-old sister Katie on his trip to the graveyard in quiet Hunton. He said: "It's just so wrong and I don't like it. After all he went through to win the Victoria Cross, surely he must deserve better than this? It's just not right." Gary Stapleton, Victoria Cross Trust chairman said: "We appointed George as he is more passionate than most adults about what he sees as right and wrong. He has a burning desire to see the memory of our military heroes upheld in a fitting fashion." In 2009 George met the Queen at the opening of The Royal British Legion's new London headquarters. She sent him a good luck card before he did a 40-mile sponsored walk for the Legion. That year he also joined 16 Air Assault Brigade's Corporal Jason Mcgoech throwing poppies into the Trafalgar Square fountains as part of the legion's Silence in the Square ceremony. Two years later George, who is now a Navy cadet, was one of 11 children chosen to place 11 wreaths at the fountains. 2 Barrington Branch Our New Year Perty is on Saturday 26th January 2013 – Doors open at 5.30pm with a hot buffet to be served at 6.00pm. To be held at Barrington Village Hall, please contact Jim Burton on 01223 870 192 for tickets which are priced at £13.00 each [email protected] Bring Me Sunshine Meanwhile, thanks to Tony Hopwood of Barrington Branch for this photo of himself dancing with a rather famous comedian, in Morecambe Do any other Legion Members have a photograph to share of themselves with someone famous? Send them in to the County Office by email or hardcopy for scanning Soham Branch As the Branch members prepare for another year of fund raising in aid of the Poppy Appeal, the Town’s War Memorial has been cleaned and brought back to its original condition. With the much appreciated support of the Town Council and two local people it has been made possible, the work was carried out by J K Memorials a local firm. The Town’s Remembrance Day Parade took place in front of the newly refurbished Memorial on Sunday 11th November at 2.30pm and was well attended. Chatteris Branch Chatteris branch held a well attended Remembrance Sunday parade, with bugler Jonathon Wylie from the Salvation Army sounding the Last Post. This year we were joined by a very special guest from the Royal Hospital, Chelsea 3 Swavesey Branch Dedication of new Branch Standard 21st October 2012 Thanks to all who attended and supported the Branch to make this such a successful and memorable occasion. See more photos at http://swaveseyrblphotoalbum.blogspot.co.uk/ Hertfordshire County Hertfordshire County Youth Officer, Mrs Lesley Starr and Rickmansworth Branch Secretary Paul Harding presented the Lord Leiutenant's Certificate of Appreciation to the Rickmansworth & Watford Army Cadet Force at their unit, the Royal Masonic School, Chorleywood Road, Rickmansworth in recognition of their efforts in the 2011 Poppy Appeal. Hitchin Branch Photos of Denis presenting a cheque to the Branch's Poppy Appeal last July Dave Gibbs Kimpton, HITCHIN 4 Jimmy the Donkey A donkey born in a First World War trench who saved countless soldiers' lives on the battlefield is being honoured for his bravery almost 100 years on. Jimmy 'The Sergeant' was born in France after a shell wounded his pregnant mother as she went into labour during the Battle of the Somme in 1916. Troops brought the donkey up amid falling shells and gunfire on the frontline and weaned him on tins of condensed milk At the end of the war he was de-mobbed and in 1920 brought to Peterborough, where the CameronianScottish Rifles were briefly based before returning to Scotland. But before the soldiers left, Jimmy was sold at a charity auction to a woman known only as Mrs Heath from Peterborough, Cambridgeshire. Throughout the next 23 years Jimmy was used in a series of charity events raising thousands of pounds for the RSPCA, including donkey rides for children along the city's beach. After his death, he was buried in Peterborough's Central Park in 1943 and a monument erected. The grave fell into disrepair but it was restored in 2003. 'Jimmy received the Dicken Medal and he was made an honorary sergeant with three stripes on his bridle. 'Jimmy was injured three times by shell debris but he recovered each time. He is a big part of the Cameronian history and we want to make sure that he is never forgotten.' Croxley Green Branch and Women’s Section Santa started his rounds early when he popped into Croxley Green Royal British Legion for the Women’s Section Christmas dance on 1st December. He distributed gold and silver coins – chocolate variety only - to the 65 dancers present and was ably assisted by his grown-up helper who held up mistletoe so that Santa could get his kiss from all the ladies! The gentleman of course chose to shake hands and the photo shows Andy Scotland, President of the Club committee, doing just that. The Women’s Section holds six fund raising dances throughout the year and the dates have been set for 2013, namely: 9th February; 13th April; 8th June; 10th August; 12th October; 7th December. 5 They also hold monthly coffee mornings on a Thursday morning from 10.30am to noon and the dates for 2013 are: 3rd January; 7th February; 7th March; 4th April; 9th May; 6th June; 4th July; 1st August; 5th September; 3rd October; 7th November; 5th December. Members of the public are welcome at both the dances and coffee mornings. Full details can be found on www.rblws.org.uk The MOD has launched a new Defence Discount Service, as part of the Armed Forces Covenant, in recognition of service in the Armed Forces. The Defence Discount Service is open to members of the Armed Forces community including: Serving and Reserve personnel, Armed Forces veterans, spouses/partners of Service personnel and bereaved spouses/partners. It is also open to MOD civil servants, members of the cadet forces and NATO personnel serving in UK-based posts. Many high profile companies are engaged with the Defence Discount Service such as; Vodafone, KFC, Vue Cinemas and a number of major supermarkets, clothing stores and technology companies. They are offering discounts on cars, lap-tops, supermarket shops, holidays and mobile phones. The list is growing and we anticipate many more companies will now come forward to add their support to those already committed to helping make life a little easier for our Armed Forces community and our MOD civilians too. www.defencediscountservice.co.uk I am delighted to have been invited to be part of an amazing and poignant year long project Unsung Heroes, to collect, record and preserve the stories of the brave men and women who served in the Merchant Navy between 1939 – 1945. Unsung Heroes will involve over 600 people across the Eastern region in collecting these stories, culminating in a dedicated web site, a sound archive of veteran interviews and a large scale commemorative event in 2013. The project will be run by the history and arts company Keystage in conjunction with the Merchant Navy Association and Anglia Ruskin University. Time is running out to preserve the precious memories of the MNA members who risked their lives on the dangerous convoys across the Atlantic in locations such as bomb alley. The ships provided London and the south east with the vital supplies for our war time survival. The organisers need your help and participation to find, collect and research these stories. If you or your organisation have (or have had ) a wartime merchant seaman/woman in your family or circle of friends and would like to help us collect their stories for posterity, please get in touch.