Potteries and District REMEAssociation BranchNewsletter – September

Potteries and District REME Association Branch Newsletter – September

Scribe: Maurice Hope. Photos by John Hubbert

Amonth that produced a total mixed bag of activities from reunions and lunches, thanksgiving services for the late Queen, to funerals and the Corps 80th birthday service at congregation moving outside to the city’s cenotaph to observe the national minute’s silent vigil at 8pm. We heeded the word, and request from RHQ to pay our our National Memorial Arboretum (NMA) Memorial. respects at the funeral of Col Dennis Hugh Wheatcroft TD, C.Eng,

The month’s events started on Sunday the 4th September with MIMechE, FIMarE, at St Giles Church in the village of Haughton our Branch’s ex-Arborfield Apprentices Major Gordon Bonner and near Stafford on Monday 26th September. The Corps was Maurice Hope gathering with around a hundred others at the represented by Branch Standard Bearer Gil Mould and Maurice NMA for their annual service at the Apprentice’s Memorial, with a Hope in attendance along with the Corps welfare Officer WO2 march past of Old Boys led by Kelvin Redshaw. The family were our own branch standard over the moon to see us there. bearer, Gil Mould. The following evening saw

On Wednesday 14th we held our monthly branch meeting our monthly lunch event at a take place at which it was pub, “Charlie Bassetts” in the proposed that Lt Col John Staffordshire countryside village Edwards be appointed as our of Dilhorne. This was the first new branch Vice-President, time that our newest Branch which thankfully he was members Lt Col John Edwards delighted to accept. and his wife Rosemary were The varied month of activities able to join us, he is now “Back was rounded off with another Home” in his Mother branch, visit to the National Memorial and we are all very pleased to Arboretum on Thursday the have him on board ... (as long as 29th September for our Corps he doesn’t keep winning the 80th Birthday service at the Maltesers) REME memorial. Once again, our

We had a branch presence at branch standard was paraded The City of Stoke-on-Trent’s by Gil Mould, with several of the service of commemoration for branch members in attendance. our late sovereign Queen Sadly, several of the young Elizabeth II at Stoke Minster on soldiers and a Standard Bearer Sunday the 18th which lasted fainted, hopefully with no an hour from 7pm prior to the lasting problems.

Remembering Colonel (Retd) Dennis Wheatcroft

Lt Col John Edwards with his raffle prize Lt Col John Edwards and his wife Rosemary