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ROYAL SUSSEX REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATION

Annual Re-union Dinner – Lewes - 10th September 2011

President’s Address

 

 

Mr Mayor, Councillor Mathews, other guests and gentlemen of the Royal Sussex Regiment.

It is a great delight to welcome all of you to this year’s annual reunion dinner and to see so many old friends and comrades here tonight, and enjoying ourselves in the traditional Royal Sussex fashion.

But first let us remember we’ve lost some old friends this year and their obituaries are well set out in the latest Roussillon Gazette. In particular, we’ve lost two well-known characters recently – Sam Weekes and Mick Gill. Sam was our oldest serving In-Pensioner, and served in both the 5th Battalion and then the 4th/5th Battalion. He was three weeks short of his ninety-third birthday when he died in January this year. He went to France with the 5th Battalion and, following the disasters, was evacuated from Dunkirk with the remnants of the Battalion in June 1940. Following re-training and reorganisation, the 5th Battalion, together with the 2nd and 4th Battalions went to North Africa in 1942, in the celebrated Royal Sussex Brigade. He fought at both Alam el Halfa and El Alamein, where he was badly wounded and lost an eye. A man with a great sense of humour and always guaranteed to raise a smile. Not long ago, in typical Sam Weekes’ fashion, he was summoned to a hospital to have his eye looked at – as Matt Quick said at the time: “Is that your bad eye they want to look at?” to which Sam replied, “If it was my bad eye, I could have saved their time by posting it to them in an envelope!” Sam was always a great attraction to everyone, particularly the ladies – he always took part in the Whitehall Parade on Remembrance Sunday and walking back to the London Branch Headquarters at the Rose & Crown in his scarlet coat, would often be stopped by people, particularly tourists, to have his photograph taken. One young French lady once asked him why his tunic had nine buttons – an interesting question - Sam’s immediate response was that it was because the tunic had nine button-holes!

Mick Gill – Herman the German – died of a heart attack, a week ago last Sunday. He was another of the Regiment’s great personalities – a fluent German speaker with a fascination for the German Army – the Wehrmacht. He took part in many re-enactments, as he was doing when he died – the local hospital was somewhat surprised though when he was delivered to them wearing the uniform of a German officer! His funeral is on Tuesday 13th September (Quebec Day!) at 1.30 pm at the Chichester Crematorium.

It is always a great delight to welcome the Mayor of Lewes and tonight, the Deputy Chairman of the Lewes District Council as well. It is great privilege for us to be able to hold our annual dinner in these magnificent surroundings and we are extremely grateful for it.

We were hoping that Fran Stovold would join us tonight but, sadly, she had to cancel at the very last minute - the curator of the museums at the Eastbourne Redoubt. Fran does so much to ensure that our museum and all its artefacts are well set out and displayed for the benefit of the public in general and we are extremely grateful to her for all her devoted work and commitments. I would also like to thank those members of the Regiment, particularly the Eastbourne Branch, who give up so much of their time to help make sure our Museum is in good regimental order.

Tonight we also welcome Major Tony Martin, who has spent the last ten years as Deputy Regimental Secretary of the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment at Canterbury, and who has done so much over the years to help our Association in so many ways. He was originally a South Wales Borderer, who many of you will remember took over from us at Lydd in 1966 – we thought six months was bad enough but they were there for two years!

If he goes to Worthing again for another Freedom March, he will now find somewhere to sit. We’ve spent ages trying to find out what happened to the seat that used to be outside the Town Hall, commemorating the Regiment’s Honorary Freedom of the town in 1959. Well, look no more – the Arundel and District Branch presented a new one in July this year – a marvellous effort all round.

As you all know, we are embarked on a whole series of commemorations to commemorate the 70th Anniversaries of the Second World War and the centenary of the battles in the Great War. As most of you aware, one of our main commemorations is to acknowledge the start of the Great War in France in 1914. We are going to erect a monument at Priez in France to commemorate the place where the Regiment suffered its first casualties, and also as a Memorial to the 7.302 officers and men who subsequently lost their lives in that war. Outside, as many you may have already seen, are some drawings and a description of the Monument we intend to erect. The concept has been developed by Greg Fielder of the Chichester Branch, whose grandfather and father both served in the Regiment, his grandfather being killed on the Somme in 1916. When you look at the pictures of the proposed monument, it would be appreciated if everyone could show whether they approve of the concept – a few seconds of your time please – and no Micky Mouse’s or Donald Ducks!

As part of our commemorations, next year will see the 70th anniversary of the battles in North Africa at Adam el Halfa and El Alamein. At El Alamein, we had four Battalions – the 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th, with the 2nd, 4th and 5th Battalions fighting together in the 133rd Royal Sussex Brigade, and where the 4th Battalion suffered considerable losses. As a key part of our Regimental history, I would also like to take the opportunity to thank Richard Buckham who has the last fifteen years producing two volumes on the Regiments Military Honours and Awards from 1864 to 1966. It’s not just a list of honours and awards but includes the details surrounding each particular action - an excellent piece of work and an essential aid to anyone who has an interest in our history. Richard has now produced the entire content on a CD, and it also now includes details on The Surrey and Sussex Yeomanry from 1939 to 1946.

The re-development of Roussillon Barracks is now going ahead, and very much in our favour – thanks very much to the efforts of Colonel Robin McNish. It has been agreed that the roads in the new development will be named after both our Victoria Cross holders and the Colonels of the Regiment. Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands has also graciously agreed that one of the principal roads, or the green, will be named after the late Queen Juliana, our former Colonel-in-Chief.

You will all be aware that one of our major commitments is benevolence - helping out those members of the Regiment and their families who have fallen on hard times or cannot cope with particular disabilities. We rely very much on the Army Benevolent Fund and the Royal British Legion to help us do so, and they’re very generous with their contributions. But they have to collect the money first in order to help, and we have an opportunity to help them do it. Next month, on Friday the 7th of October and Saturday the 8th, Tesco has kindly agreed that the ABF can collect at all their stores throughout the country. It would be a great help if as many of you as possible could help with this collection – of course wearing your regimental tie and blazer badge. Captain Keith Ross is co-ordinating this for East Sussex and will be delighted to answer any questions you might have. Colonel Mark Rayner, whom many of you might remember from 3 QUEENS, is doing the same for West Sussex.

Finally, on your behalf, I would like to thank Major Smith and the concert band of the Royal British Legion for their marvellous and inspiring music this evening, with a promise of much more to come. And, also, to the caterers and their excellent staff, not only for producing such a first-class dinner, but also for serving us so superbly.
Last but not least, I would particularly like to thank the cadets for all their excellent help and assistance.

 

b.joness@hotmail.com