North West Branch

On the 21st February 2014 an AGM was held for the newly re-organised NW Branch. There have been some major changes. 20 people attended with 24 people giving their apologies. The Liverpool dinner and the North West Branch have come together as one unit which has led to an increase in the membership to over 60 people.

This has also led to an increase in future events. We will now be holding a Summer ball to be held around May/June, a Rifleman’s dinner to be held around October and the Remembrance Parade.

The committee now consists of 6 members who are.

Chairman/Treasurer. Gareth Dixon. dixon.rgj@blueyonder.co.uk 0151 287 3588, 0151 929 2069 extension 114.

Secretary/Assistant Treasurer. Ray Gerrard. ray.gerrard@hotmail.co.uk 01744 732501, 07763 189760.

Assistant Secretary. Mark Lydiat. melydiat@yahoo.co.uk 0151 283 0391.

Entertainments/Social Secretary/Assistant Chairman. Tom Fairclough. Tommyf7@hotmail.com 0151 524 2566, 07583 468042.

Rifles Liaison Officer. WO2 Dave Crossley.

PR/Photography. Dave Parry.

The Summer Ball was held at the Thistle Hotel, Atlantic Tower, Liverpool on 7th June 2014. 80 people attended the dinner which was an excellent evening with the room overlooking the River Mersey. A regimental bugler was present through the evening accompanying some favourite tunes and the call to dinner. The evening entertainment was in the form of an excellent 3 piece group which played to the end of the evening.

On Sunday 15th June Tom Fairclough will be laying a wreath on the Northern Ireland Memorial which sits at the back of St Georges Hall in St Johns Gardens. If you remember back to 1996, this was a memorial that was dedicated to soldiers of Liverpool who were killed during the Northern Ireland troubles and was unveiled by the Duke of Westminster.

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On Saturday 28th June the branch has been invited by the Lord Mayor of Liverpool to march on following the veterans day service that is to be held at the Anglican Cathedral. Following the service in the cathedral the march past of veterans will start at the Anglican cathedral and will finish at the metropolitan cathedral.

For this Veterans Day on Saturday 12th July 2014, WO2 Dave Crossley has invited NW Branch members to the Sergeants Mess at the 4th Battalion The Rifles in Bulford on the night before. Tom Fairclough has arranged a 17 seat coach for this weekend which all seats were filled within a few days. Accommodation has been arranged a short distance away in Bulford for the Friday night and then they will be travelling to Winchester early the next morning.

As this article is being written before these events have taken place, a more detailed account will be given in the next issue of ezine and Swift and Bold.

We plan to hold our Rifleman’s Dinner on Saturday 4th October 2014 at the Thistle Hotel, Atlantic Tower, Liverpool. More details of this dinner will be in our next newsletter which will be available on the North West Branch section of the RGJA website.

We plan, once again, to march on the remembrance parade in the centre of Liverpool on Sunday 9th November 2014. Again more details will be released in or next newsletter

Following our appeal for donations to provided Peter Uden a permanent memorial, I can now announce that due to generous donations from members of the North West Branch, some members of other branches and even from abroad, we have now almost reached our target and we will be hoping to have the memorial placed before the end of this year. On behalf of the North West Branch and Peters widow, Joyce, I would like to thank all those people who donated. Again the generosity of the Royal Green jackets has once again shone through.

Ray Gerrard Secretary North West Branch