1 Grimsby & Cleethorpes Branch Registered Charity No 501145 5 Alexandra Road Cleethorpes North East Lincs DN35 8LQ December 2011 Newsletter ‘The Flying Paperclip’ CLUB OPENING TIMES Monday 1900-2300 (subject to the Quiz League playing) Tuesday 1900-2300 (subject to the Quiz League playing) Wednesday 1930-2200 (Only on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month) Thursday 1900-2300 Friday 1900 – 2300 Saturday 1200-1500 and 1900 – 0000 Sunday 1200 – 1400 Remembrance Day – Friday 11th November 2011 On a very overcast and misty morning, hundreds of military veterans, serving personnel, families, schoolchildren and dignitaries came together at the Strike Wing Memorial to pay their respects to fallen heroes. Everyone bowed their heads and fell silent at 1100hrs and a few tears were shed at the playing of ‘The Last Post’. The Rev Paul Hunter, from St Peter’s Church, led everyone in prayers of Remembrance on Armistice Day and the music was provided by the North East Lincs Pipe Band, who did a superb job of enhancing the sombre atmosphere. Our Branch Chairman, Bill McCann, read the Dedication and Neil Trotter was Parade Marshal for the day. There was a huge turnout of support including Air Marshal Sir Dusty Miller, KBE, President of the RAF Association; Jane Easton, Secretary General of RAFA and Paul Davies, our Area Welfare Officer. We felt very honoured and privileged to have both national and area representatives who were able to come along and support this Branch. It was also great to see so many Grimsby and Cleethorpes Branch members and friends coming along and using the Club afterwards. Air Marshal Sir Dusty Miller, KBE, lays a wreath on behalf of the RAF Association Photo by Kevin Turner 2 The Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire, Tony Worth, laid a wreath on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen; our Branch President, Air Commodore Neil Gammon laid a wreath on behalf of the Branch and The Mayor, Councillor Susan Pickett, laid a wreath on behalf of North East Lincolnshire Council. Many wreaths were laid for other organisations and individuals and these can all be seen at the Strike Wing Memorial, across the road from the Branch. There was a Civic reception given afterwards at the Town Hall for all the dignitaries and also a reception in the Branch. Trish Fisher, our Membership Secretary, had made a ‘Poppy’ cake and this was cut by the Mayor at the Civic reception. Local schoolchildren who had attended the Service of Remembrance stayed on at the Memorial to talk to veterans about the wars and ask questions, which they all thoroughly enjoyed. Many people remarked on how respectful the children were and what a pleasure it was to see them there. The children have written letters of thanks to the Branch and they are on display for everyone to see at the Club. A few are here to show some of the sentiment they felt. 3 The Branch would like to thank everyone who made this a great day for everyone in Cleethorpes, local people and visitors alike. Everyone at the Branch has worked really hard to ensure that Armistice Day in Cleethorpes is always remembered with dignity and pride. Thank you all. ARMED FORCES COVENANT SIGNING After the service of Remembrance, the Armed Forces Community Covenant was signed at Cleethorpes Town Hall by members of the Armed Forces and by senior members of NELC and its partners. This was an historic day for North East Lincolnshire, as the county is only one of six counties who have signed up to pledge support for our Armed Forces. The Armed Forces Community Covenant being signed by (L to R) Bill McCann, Armed Forces Executive Committee and Chairman of Grimsby & Cleethorpes Branch RAFA: Councillor Alex Baxter, Armed Forces Executive Committee and Veterans’ Champion; Tony Worth, Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire (on behalf of HM the Queen); Martin Vickers, MP for Great Grimsby; Austin Mitchell, MP for Cleethorpes; Councillor Susan Pickett, Mayor of NELC; Sir Dusty Miller, KBE, President of the Royal Air Forces Association; Major General David Jolliffe CB, on behalf of the Reserve Forces and Cadets Association for Yorkshire and the Humber; Commander David Mealing on behalf of the Royal Navy. The Covenant has also been signed by other organisations. The Armed Forces Community Covenant is a voluntary statement of mutual support between our civilian community and our local Armed Forces Community. It is intended to complement the Armed Forces Covenant, which outlines the moral obligation between the Nation, the Government and the Armed Forces, at local level. The Covenant ‘…..aims to encourage all parties within our community to offer support to the local Armed Forces community and make it easier for Service personnel, families and veterans to access the help and support available from the 4 Ministry of Defence, from statutory providers and from the Charitable and Voluntary Sector’. A full copy of the signed Armed Forces Community Covenant is proudly on display in the Branch for everyone to see. Thursday nights Numbers drawn out this month on Thursday nights in the Membership Draw were: Thurs 3 November - J Rudd would have won £175 Thurs 10 November - J Stylianou would have won £180 Thurs 17 November - T Hartley would have won £185 Thurs 24 November - C Wilkinson would have won £190 And so we go into December with £195 to be won on Thursday 1st December! The prize money will increase by £5 every week up to a maximum of £200. Don’t forget the rules for the draw; you have to be IN the Club at 9.30pm and have your membership card with you! Armed Forces Day news Just for your information, the Branch has BOOKED the Vulcan to do a flying display that weekend! Watch this space.... 5 Welfare Services Do you need help? The RAFA is there to help serving and ex-serving RAF personnel and their dependants, providing friendship, advice and support, respite care, general welfare and signposting. Contact details for our Branch welfare reps are at the end of the newsletter. Wings The end of year Wings report has been done and sent into HQ. Thanks to everyone who has supported the Branch this year, we’ve collected a massive £7766.14 during the year, which is absolutely fantastic! This money will be used to provide welfare and support to serving and ex-serving RAF personnel and their dependants and is badly needed, especially at this time. Just a few figures for those of you interested: Home collection boxes totalled £267.62 (thank you everyone who collects at home); aluminium can recycling made us £48.40 (thank you everyone who recycles their aluminium cans) and outside events saw us collect £3415.52. I’d like to particularly thank everyone who has given up their time to come and collect in supermarkets, at outside events and helping out in any way at all. Great teamwork, so thank you all very much! We had a collection in Asda on 22nd and 23rd November and collected a massive £799.13 towards next year’s total! All the staff there were very supportive and friendly and lots of people took turns to collect for Wings. We met some lovely people and hopefully have a few new members joining the Branch at Cleethorpes. Well done everyone and THANK YOU! Lisa and Geoff collecting in Asda We are having a Street Collection in Grimsby on Saturday 17th December. If you can help out for even just a short time collecting, please let me know. We shall be in Victoria Street, around Wilkinsons, the market and the bus station end and we need everyone we can to come and help out! Please let me know what time you can do and where you would like to stand to collect. Many thanks for this. Happy Birthday! A very Happy 50th Birthday for last month to Richard Brock, active (well....??!) member of the Branch! Also, a Happy Birthday this month to Bill McCann, Graham Malster, Pam Hardy, Noel East and many others. There will be a big Party Night on Saturday 10th December at the Club, with Ian Carroll providing the entertainment, so come along and celebrate birthdays, Christmas or just the fact it’s Saturday! Presentation of the Dickie Collins Trophy This prestigious award for the most efficient Club with over 200 members is seen here being presented at the club by Jane Easton, Secretary General RAF 6 Association and Air Marshal Sir Dusty Miller KBE, President RAF Association to Branch Chairman Mr Bill McCann. Unable to collect the award at National Conference, Bill is seen receiving the award after the Remembrance Day Parade and Service in Cleethorpes. It was a great honour to receive the trophy from them and Bill McCann accepted it on behalf of all the members. RAF North Cotes and RAF Binbrook In the upstairs bar at the Club, there is an area being dedicated to RAF North Cotes and RAF Binbrook. We have a small collection of pictures, but if anyone has any memorabilia from those stations and would like it to be displayed at the Club, we would love to have it for everyone to see. Thank you. Bottle Draw Yes, it’s that time of year again! Numbers for the annual Bottle Draw are on sale behind the bar at 3 numbers for £1. Lots of bottles to be won and if anyone would like to donate a bottle for the draw, it will be gratefully accepted. The draw will take place on Saturday 17th December in the Club. Thank you. Christmas Hamper raffle There is a fabulous Christmas Hamper to be won at the Club.