RHQ News Lichfield
The news from Lichfield is that, after a gap of some ten months since Colonel Stephen Ashworth retired, Lieutenant Colonel Richard Spiby has been appointed to the post of Regimental Secretary. He handed over command of the 3rd Battalion at the end of July and has since retired from the Army. He is due to assume his new appointment at the end of November. We bid him welcome and wish him well. The learning curve is steep!
Major Oliver Hackett
It is with deep regret that we hear as we go to press that Maj Oliver Hackett died on Saturday 30 October. Olly Hackett was Assistant Regimental Secretary in the Nottingham office of The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment from July 1997 until the formation of The Mercian Regiment in 2007; he then continued in Foresters House with The Mercian Regiment until his retirement in April 2010. A fiercely loyal and correct regimental officer, he ran the Nottingham office like a military operation ably supported by an equally loyal staff; he picked up the Regimental Memorial at Crich and put it back on a firm financial and structural footing and he supported an emerging Museum but he was rarely to be seen in the limelight. He will be sorely missed and we extend our sympathies to his wife and children and to his brothers, Jonny and Richard, and to his sister. An obituary appears in the In Memoriam pages.
Foresters House
At 6 am on a mild Friday morning in late October, a party of Association Members and their families boarded two buses and headed south for the ferry to Calais on their way to attend the unveiling of the new Memorial at Tyne Cot. On the Friday evening, the party, with individuals who had made their own way across the Channel, attended the Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate where several wreaths were laid in memory of those who are mentioned on the Memorial. On the Saturday morning, the main ceremony at Tyne Cot took place and, although it was wet and windy, all enjoyed the experience. Those attending commented that the weekend was a fitting tribute to those being commemorated. The event was recorded by BBC TV East Midlands and shown
8 October 2010
on their Monday 6.30 pm news bulletin. Congratulations to Major John Cotterill, Ian Edwards and Cliff Housley on arranging such a moving tribute to the fallen.
On 20 July, the Committee and the Memorial became finalists in the Nottinghamshire Heritage Inspiration Awards presented by the Museum Libraries and Archives Renaissance at Thoresby Hall in North Nottinghamshire. Sadly, they did not come back to the office with the top award but were highly recommended by the judges on their achievements. On 6th March, the 2nd Battalion exercised the Regiment’s Freedom of Erewash and marched through the local towns of Long Eaton and Ilkeston; a very impressive turnout of well wishers lined the streets cheering and waving their Union flags. Later the same month, the Battalion marched through Retford, Glossop, Ripley, Newark, Mansfield and Chesterfield: the public did not disappoint us at any of the Freedom Parades offering their support to the Battalion in any way they could.
On 12th April, Lieutenant Colonel Keith Seddon MBE BEM took up the post as Assistant Regimental Secretary/Museum Curator. He arrived the same week as the painters came to decorate the offices and, for four days, we were in total chaos: it was the first time in 20 years that the offices had received a coat of paint but it looks good and the place looks very smart. We hope that Keith settles into his new appointment as he learns all the aspects of the job. On 18th April, members of the Association attended the moving ceremony of the unveiling of the memorial to LCpl Keiron Hill. Branch Standards were in attendance. An unusual ribbon cutting event was arranged by Commander Chetwynd Barracks Station, Brig Andrew Williams OBE, for the opening of Private Derby’s new stable. After a service to commemorate Badajoz Day and the raising of the red jacket outside Brigade Headquarters, a party of guests moved to the mascot’s compound where the ribbon was cut. In May, we again hosted a museum training day attended by 25 individuals from various museums throughout the East Midlands. The subjects discussed were photographs and how to preserve them and a number of volunteers who assist the archivist at Foresters House attended.
This was the first year that the Nottingham Office had been tasked with running the Regimental Reunion and we were blessed with excellent warm weather compared to
last year’s downpours and we believe that all went extremely well. We had a good turnout of past and present members and a good reunion was had by all. As well as the Standards from WFRA, members of the Staffordshire Regimental Association also attended with their Standards. It is hoped that those members who attended enjoyed the day; let us know if you would like us to change anything – we are always happy to discuss matters. The staff at RHQ Nottingham would like to thank all the members of the Worcestershire area WFRA for their support in making this event so successful. No sooner had we closed the book on the Worcester Reunion than RHQ staff set about organising the Crich weekend. Invitations were sent out to the civic dignitaries and poppy wreaths were ordered. The evening before the Pilgrimage, 75 members sat down for an informal supper to catch up with old friends. A raffle was held and our thanks go to Mr and Mrs David White who donated the prizes for the raffle and also sold the tickets: £125 was raised, the proceeds going to the Tower Fund.
The next morning, the Foresters House staff was up early to set up the stalls at Crich. If only we could arrange the weather - what a blustery day. The tents were well pegged down although it was touch and go as to which tent would take off first. The Service and proceedings before and after went exceedingly well and we had an excellent attendance of over 1000 people. The cadets of the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Cadet Forces assisted at the event with step lining and rattling the cans and they raised over £900 towards the upkeep of the Memorial and the Grounds. Many thanks, also, to the members of C Company 4 MERCIAN for their assistance in the assembling of the tents, manning the car parking and also the refreshment area. Thanks also go to Mr Steven Dobb and his wife Daniella for ensuring that the grounds looked immaculate for the event and also to the Branches for supporting such an important event in the Regimental Calendar. [Afternote. After many thousands of miles and seven very busy months in post, Keith Seddon has left us for a civilian job nearer home. We wish him well.]
The Mercian Eagle
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