continues to meet on the first Friday of the month at the Rolls Royce Club, Osmaston Road, Derby and welcomes past and serving members of the Regiment. Anyone requiring more information about the Branch should make contact with Alan Derbyshire via RHQ Foresters House or obtain his address via the Association pages on the Regimental website.
us. We are also looking for new venues for our Annual Lunches to celebrate Badajoz and Alma. During November we were most active as a Branch and the members attended the Ilkeston civic parade at the Ilkeston Cenotaph and, although depleted in numbers, we also had representation at the Crich Annual Pilgrimage.
The photograph shows George Pape (in the wheelchair) on his last parade at the Ilkeston Remembrance Day Parade, having been allowed out of hospital for half an hour.
experienced his “Houston we have lift off” moment. Add to this the minute overrun by the Minister and Mansfield paid its tribute slightly later than the rest of the country. Lifeboat matches have now been purchased to avoid a repeat performance! We have welcomed into the Branch Vince McGonigle, Howard Rose, Ken Shaw, Mick Reeves, Geoff Reeves and Roy “Brad” Bradbury, which has helped us to arrest what had been a steady decline. Sadly, two members have passed away – Alec Ward, who served with 2nd Battalion The Sherwood Foresters in Italy and Palestine and new member Roy Bradbury who served with the 1st Battalion in Malaya and Cyprus. Branch members attended their funerals and our condolences go to their families.
Derby Branch Committee Members
L to R: Alan Derbyshire (Chairman), Ronnie Smith (Secretary), Maj Paul Gilby (2 MERCIAN), Gordon Carran (Dinner Committee member), Tony Cooper (Dinner Committee Member), John Pottinger (Treasurer), Roy Crump (Vice-Chairman)
Mansfield Branch always welcomes new members: we meet at the Reindeer Inn, Southwell Road, Mansfield, on the second Tuesday of each month (except August) at 1930 hours.
A Visit to the Commonwealth War Graves’ Commission Cemetery at Assisi by Maj (Retd) M M Tulloch MBE
Ilkeston Branch Mansfield
Maj Paul Gilby makes the presentation to Ronnie Smith
Ilkeston
Can we first congratulate all those involved with the new magazine “The Mercian Eagle”. We were not sure what format it would take and, with the long delay in receiving a copy, in the Branch, it was a pleasure perusing the same. We at Ilkeston are still surviving although year on year we see the loss of more of our members. Our latest bereavement at Christmas 2008 was George Pape, our Chairman and founder member. This year we are holding our meetings at a new venue. After many years at the TA Centre, closed to non active serving members and more recently Ilkeston Co-op (sold to Derby Midlands Co-op), our meeting place now is the Flamstead Centre, Albert Street, Ilkeston – same day, same time and new members are very welcome to join
146 October 2009
The past year has seen mixed fortunes for the Branch - our venue was closed without notice for our June 2008 meeting (it’s a pub and was presumably a casualty of the “no fags inside” legislation). We had a short al fresco meeting in the pub car park and then went to sound out another watering hole/ meeting place. In July we found another pub and then “our” pub re-opened under new management and we returned there. Home is where you spill your beer - so they say in these parts! The Branch has attended the usual yearly happenings – the Crich Supper, the Pilgrimage and our own Branch annual dinner. We were very pleased to welcome Mick Giles and three stalwarts of the Chesterfield Branch at our “do”.
The Armistice Day ceremony at the Sherwood Foresters Memorial in Carr Bank Park had a lighter side to it in 2008. The maroon that signals the start of the Two Minutes Silence for Mansfield is fired using our Branch ceremony as a guide and, for the last two years, one of our members has ignited the rocket. In 2008, Mansfield Branch member Don Topliss stepped into the breach and, for the ceremony, he borrowed a cigarette lighter to do the honours. Unfortunately, a stiff breeze got up and the lighter proved not to be up to the job – there followed about 20 or so panic-stricken seconds before Don
On Monday 27th April 2009, in company with a party of 48 pilgrims following the St Francis trail in Assisi, I visited the Commonwealth War Graves’ Commission (CWGC) War cemetery. I gave a 20 minute talk on 2nd/5th FORESTERS and their part in the Italian campaign with particular regard to the breaking of the Gothic Line, using material gleaned from the official regimental history, the Story of 46 Division 1939 - 1945, Wally Binch’s “On Active Service” and the 5th Battalion’s War Diaries. After my talk, a Service of Remembrance was held during which the names of the twelve Foresters buried in the cemetery were read out and a two minute silence was observed. The Regimental Collect of The Sherwood Foresters was said followed by the Collect of The Mercian Regiment in memory of those successors of the Foresters now serving with 2 MERCIAN in Afghanistan. On completion of the Service, RBL Crosses of Remembrance were laid on each of the Forester graves: as might be imaged, this was a very emotional event. Later in the day, I was informed by Padre Mario, the Franciscan Friar who looks after the Franciscan Sanctuary at Rivotorto 100m from the cemetery, that each of the graves has been adopted by a local family who, in addition to the excellent CWGC staff, ensure that the graves are well cared for. I made an appropriate entry in the cemetery visitors’ book.
Nottingham City
Nottingham City - Pilgrimage to Private Albert Cheetham’s Grave Further to the article in the October 2008
The Mercian Eagle
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