British Legion

As your Chairman reads these thoughts, I will have my Remembrance Sunday still ahead of me.  There is a lot to be said for the time gap that separates us.  Before the commemoration of Remembrance begins here in Washington, at St David's Episcopal Church in the District of Columbia, I will have time to reflect on what you are all doing and how your Remembrance Service and Parade are conducted.  It's almost like being there - but it goes without saying that I would prefer to share the day with all of you in person. 

There is much here in America that unites our commemoration of the fallen.  Americans in government service have a holiday in honour of veterans' day on the 11th of November.  Many military associations and Services conduct ceremonies at the abundance of memorials that dominate the Washington landscape.  Almost every formation and arm of service is represented.  This year, it will be especially poignant as the first veterans' day arrives at the massive memorial dedicated this year on the National Mall - in sight of the Capitol - to the 'greatest generation' - those who participated in, and especially those who did not return, from World War 2.

Flags will fly and military symbols will be much in evidence.  The side caps worn by our counterparts in the American Legion will be numerous.  On their sides are embroidered the branch number and location from which the wearer comes.  Most of the 50 States of the Union will be represented. 

What will not be seen is any unifying symbol of remembrance like our poppy.  True - Australian and Canadian colleagues - and there are quite a large number of each here in Washington - wear a poppy similar to ours.  But the Americans have no national token.  Some would say that perhaps the now famous yellow ribbon is a substitute.  But it is worn year round and has no especial significance at Remembrance tide. 

So accustomed are we Britons to our poppy that we almost take it for granted - and perhaps too - the work of the Legion that lies behind it.  All of you, I know do not take the Legion for granted - and that is a great testament to each and every one of you.  And also to the special band to which we all belong.  In the two weeks or so before America's Veterans' Day - and our Service of Remembrance - when British staff based here in Washington wear their poppies proudly - they are often asked what it is - and why do we wear it. 

This has presented me - in every instance - with an opportunity to relate the significance of the poppy - and its roots - literally - in the soil of Flanders Fields.  I try to keep a copy of the poem by John McRae that so eloquently charges us with preservation of the memory of our fallen.  Then I explain the extraordinary - and ever more challenging - work of the Royal British Legion.  Americans have tremendous respect for the British military tradition.  Many of them stand rather in awe of what we can achieve on slim resources - often by dint of personal determination and individual courage.  They respond immediately to the message of our poppy - and usually finish up wearing one.  They usually also make a donation to our Appeal.

I never fail to mention the special Branch to which I belong so proudly.  This year, although I have rarely gone into details, I have always had in mind the fact that the finest traditions established by many of you - and your peers - are being observed and built upon by the current generation of the wireless intercept services.  At least one of them was honoured for service during the campaign in Iraq. 

Before I leave your Chairman and his Committee to continue the business of the day - I want to remind everyone of one important fact - without your Chairman and his faithful Committee members the life of the Branch would be much less vigorous and its future much less certain.  Their positive and dynamic actions ensure that the situation is quite different.  An excellent newsletter continues to improve from edition to edition.  Our membership grows steadily and we are amongst the most efficient and cost-effective Branches in the Legion.  Our stock is high - the Legion's National Chairman is a Branch Member!

So wear your poppies with the usual pride - advertise our unique origins and boast unreservedly to anyone who will listen of our success - you have all earned the right to do so.

Remember those who cannot be with you today - the fallen and the absent - I will certainly remember all of you - and when the bugle sounds 'Last Post' in Washington - my body will be in Washington - but my soul will be with all of you in Woodhouse.

Michael Hill 

Another edition of our newsletter is upon us. Sitting and looking at blue skies at the moment, it is difficult to perceive that a large part of the country is having snowy and icy conditions – and this is from the far north of Scotland!

Since the last edition Dennis Weir has had another of his recruiting campaigns at RAF Digby, resulting in several new members. We owe him a debt of gratitude, and hope that these new members, to whom we say welcome to the Branch, will enjoy a long and happy association with us.

Our next committee meeting is being held at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire on 9 April, when your committee members plan to tidy up our plot there. Never say that we sit back and do nothing.

One major development since the last edition - the start of the new District of National Branches. See later in the magazine for more details. Suffice it to say that our Branch is well represented on it.

I hope you all enjoy this edition and it only goes to press due to the hard work of our editor and our contributors. If you would like to see it larger, or see your name in print, please let John Skipper have an article, joke, criticism etc.

Remember those of you who have access to the Internet to check our website from time to time. It is updated regularly with up to date information and messages from Veterans who have lost touch. It is only as good as it is if you send in information.

Have a pleasant summer and enjoy your holidays.

John Clark.

Another Newsletter, another year, and thanks to Dennis Weir at RAF Digby, an increase in Membership of 30. When the Chairman mentioned that perhaps we should all try a recruit one new member per year, then Dennis has achieved his aim well into retirement!! The result was a second successful recruitment drive at Digby – how about Chicksands???

The new National District Committee is up and running, which is a marvellous achievement, and required a great deal of hard work. It does mean that our Branch will now have formal representation at national level. The Branch was able to succeed in getting 5 members onto the National Committee with our own Chairman acting as the Vice Chairman, and Roger Manser as the Secretary. It will be interesting to see how the structure will work and I look forward to the outcome.

My usual Newsletter plea for the following addresses, who continue to pay by Direct Debit. Can you help?

Richard Allport, Dave Hoyland, Tam Malley (now in Australia), Frank McCann, Stuart Redpath and Martin Thirsk.

Whilst mentioning Direct Debit. It is the intention of the Legion to have all members paying by this method. May I suggest to the few Cash Paying members we have, why not change now – it is easier for you, and particularly easier for me.

To conclude, and to keep this brief, may I remind you all that 2006 is our 10^th anniversary. I believe we should celebrate this is some way, and would appreciate any suggestions from the membership, including a location. My thoughts would be to have a social function without a formal meeting.

On behalf of the Branch I warmly welcome the following new members:-

The first event on the programme for Remembrance weekend was the Branch Committee meeting.  This was the first occasion on which all 13 members of the committee were present!

The AGM followed with a total of 26 persons present, including the 13 committee members!  Unfortunately some of our more veteran members were unable to attend due to health problems. 

The annual dinner saw the attendance of 39 members and their partners and guests, and was again held in the Ramada Jarvis Hotel in Loughborough where a fine meal was enjoyed by all.

Following the Remembrance Service in St Mary-in-the-Elms, Woodhouse, conducted by Canon Derek Buxton, during which the magnificent sum of £215.75 was collected in aid of the Poppy Appeal, a wreath was laid at the War Memorial by the Chairman on behalf of the Branch.  He was accompanied by Lady Martin who laid a wreath on behalf of the Parish Council.  Dave Foley again carried the Branch Standard and JSSU Digby and DSSS Chicksands provided the tri-service escort of both men and women.  There was a large number of ex members of the organisation and villagers attending service and wreath laying on a bright and sunny morning.  As usual, a special mention was made of the three villagers who laid down their lives during the two World Wars.

A large number of members attended a lunch after the service at the Quality Hotel in Loughborough. All in all, a very successful weekend.

They are not forgotten, for 2005 will be the 90^th anniversary of the Battle of Freizenberg, in which Major Martin was killed on May 13^th 1915. Memory is a sacred thing. It is said we live on in the hearts of those we love, but there is a collective memory within a nation, and as the years go on, in many places, bafflingly, Remembrance Services are better attended, now, than they were 20 years ago.

I am told that it is military strategy never to reinforce failure, so it must be equally good strategy to hold ground once gained. The poem at the start of our Service book says

"To you from failing hands we throw,

This poem, written in 1915, enshrines an enigmatical torch. What is the torch? What does it represent? What was in the mind of the man who wrote it? I suppose we can all define "the torch" according to our life experiences and knowledge, so I may be forgiven for putting my own interpretation on it, but I am receptive to other insights and ideas.

"The torch", to me, represents many things, but I feel the first thing they were ready to defend was personal freedom, within the context of the law. This meant the right to speak freely, and express one’s own ideas without injury to others; a right to joke without harm to others; a right to follow one’s own pursuits and pleasures without restraining parliamentary litigation. I ask the question whether these rights, our lawful rights, which used to be enshrined in what we call sovereignty, are being threatened today? Have we the same freedoms Britain enjoyed at the time of the First and Second World Wars? Is there an erosion of freedom of Speech, practice, and leisure activities going on?

We do well to consider whether the reasons why so many young men and women volunteered so freely are being preserved today in our politically correct society. I feel such an interpretation may be given to "the torch" thrown to each one of us.

There are also spiritual and moral values, which men and women thought worth dying for, which in our computer age are in grave danger of being eroded.

In such a congregation as this, it is superfluous to talk of vigilance. Vigilance is the watch-word of the Y Services. On this Sunday in the year we are vigilant to remember those who died in their tasks of vigilance, and those who experienced what the ultimate sacrifice meant. There is no peace without vigilance, and the Duke of Wellington said, "If we do not fight battles far away, then we must be prepared to fight battles at home". So let us today link to our necessary remembrance, of those who fought in the two World Wars and conflicts fought since then, those who stand in the place of danger, that others may live in safety, in Iraq at the present time. They are there facing danger, no matter how they were sent. In an imperfect world, imperfect men and women make imperfect decisions, on imperfect information, and this will always be so. In no way should it affect our thoughts and prayers for all those who have died and are prepared to die in the cause of freedoms and prosperity.

Pete has been employed by the Legion since 1995 as a full-time representative at War Disability Pensions Appeal Tribunals and has considerable personal experience in assisting a wide range of entitled personnel. It deserves to be read by not only those who believe they may have entitlement but also, and perhaps more importantly, by those who are in a position to help and advise others who belong to that category.

Pete writes: "Since coming to work for The Royal British Legion, I have become acutely aware that there are many ex-service people who do not know that they may be eligible to receive a War Disablement Pension (WDP). I thought, therefore, that I could help by writing a short article on the subject".

WDPs are paid by the Veterans Agency (VA), an executive agency of the MoD. Any ex-serviceman or woman can claim a pension, and in certain circumstances civilians, for any injury or condition caused, and/or made worse, by service in the Armed Forces. In normal circumstances one has to have been on, or going to/coming from duty. (In other words, an injury sustained whilst out on a peechi party in Famagusta or returning from "clubbing" in Lincoln does not count - if you do not know what a peechi party is, please call me!). You do not have to have been involved in a conflict. You may also claim for injuries sustained as a result of participation in representative sport at any level since you are considered to be on duty for these activities. To have a claim successfully allowed and receive payment one has to be suffering from a disability at the time of the claim. WDPs are paid in addition to any other pension, including service pensions. They are tax free, index-linked and in most circumstances unaffected by any other salary that you may be receiving: it is not necessary to declare a WDP to the Inland Revenue since it is one of the exempt incomes.

Pensions are paid according to the assessed percentage of the accepted disability. The scales are 1 - 5%, 6 - 14%, 15 - 19% and then 20%, 30% etc up to 100%. For anything up to 19%, a lump sum (gratuity) is paid according to a further scale governed by the initial Assessment. Present, one-off payments vary from £326 at the bottom end to a maximum of £7,660 at the top.

If the accepted condition(s) is rated at 20% or more, a weekly pension is paid. For example, 20% is £24.78, 50% is £61.95 and 100% is £123.90. These payments are the same for all ranks.

There are other payments for specified minor injuries: eg. loss of fingers, toes etc.

Once you have a WDP, you may be eligible for other additional allowances dependent upon the accepted percentage. Space here does not permit description of all the allowances but one example is the Allowance for a Lowered Standard of Occupation (ALSO).

To be entitled to ALSO:

your WDP must be assessed at 40% or higher,

your disability must make you permanently unable to do work that is, or was, similar to your service occupation, and

you must be under the age of 65 when you make the claim

The present rate of this allowance is up to a maximum of £46.72 per week.

All the above payment rates are in operation from April 2003 until March 2004.

If anyone wishes to seek further advice, please contact me on UK telephone number 020 7973 7323 during working hours or E-mail me at pderrick@britishlegion.org.uk. If in doubt, call - you have nothing to lose and quite possibly something to gain.

War Pensioners are entitled to priority treatment in NHS hospitals for any examination or treatment relating to the conditions for which they receive a War Pension.

Finally, there is a Right of Appeal if you disagree with decisions made by the VA. In these circumstances the Legion will be happy to advise and represent you, free of charge, at any resultant Appeal Tribunal.

RBL GOLF DAY Melton Mowbray 24^th June. Contact Chris Carr 0116 2374944

Legion Race Days – Newmarket Saturday 27^th August

Lingfield 6^th July – contact David Plattern 020 8405 2666

Sandown Park 21^st July – Teresa Greener on 020 7973 7276

Chepstow 22^nd October – 02920 372626

Langeleben Reunion Branch RSA Konigslutter, 27 – 29^th May – contact Ernie Callaghan on 020 8300 7577

Alsace Bike Ride 11^th – 18^th May. Details from Rebecca Pride on 020 7973 7255

Pedal to Paris 8^th – 12^th September. Details from Nick Hammer on 020 7973 7285

Birgelen Veterans Reunion & AGM, Trecarne Hotel, Babbacombe, 1^st-3^rd October Contact Fred Searle

On 9^th and 10th July 2005 the Quorn Branch

Of TRBL will hold their Annual

Music Event at Beaumanor Hall,

Woodhouse.

Saturday 9^th 6.30 pm Tickets £16.50

Heart of England Orchestra

President’s Band of the RAFA

TRBL County Pipe Band

Firework Finale

Sunday 10^th 4.30 pm Tickets £10.00

The Hampshire Ex-Servicemen’s Concert Band

Service of Thanksgiving

Contact for tickets is Geoffrey

Gibson MBE, 2 Wallis Close, Thurcaston

LE7 7JS Tel 0116 235 1946

We chatted at length about our Clophill days and continued in at least two phone calls in the next few weeks. He reminded me about our arrival at our Clophill billet. That dark night (late, during extreme blackout conditions) when he was deposited with our two old ladies. But before the billeting officials left they asked Miss Titmas whether she had any other bedrooms. She answered "No". What kind of bed was it? "Double" she replied. They said she could take another one then, and I was hauled off the dim waiting coach to join Norman.

Our sleeping arrangements varied, because we were often on different shifts of 8 hours round the clock at Chicksands. So occasionally we slept together, but usually separately – now and again getting into a warm, recently-vacated bed! Norman recalled the outside, detached toilet there and how we had to ensure we used it before the ladies locked up for the night! He also said that I used to empty it’s dirt box for them – I had forgotten that, but probably did do it a few times, I fancy.

Then I mentioned large, rather wild garden with it’s well from which I used to draw up the water supplies quite often. Norman responded by saying that they still had in their bedroom a photo of him and his wife, Audrey for them on their camera. It was of them standing by the well on the day she visited him there.

I saw less of Norman after the station moved later that year to Beaumanor Park – we were in different billets and normally on different shifts. In fact he married Audrey early the next year and had a cottage in Barrow-on-Soar, while I lived in Quorn and Loughborough.

It was great that we had renewed contact after all those years, and our telephone chats were most enjoyable. Norman and Audrey had two sons. He seemed proud of his car and spoke of the possibility of coming down my way and perhaps meeting up in the New Year. Time slipped by, and I sent them a card at Christmas 1998. Within a few days Audrey phoned to inform me that Norman had died suddenly the previous February. I was shocked and saddened by the news and wrote and telephoned my condolences. Audrey said she remembered me, and spoke about the photograph by the well in Clophill. She promised me a copy, and I was delighted to receive it and add it to my valued artefacts.

I was so sorry we were not able to meet again as we hoped, but after five decades of suppressed thoughts of our work and the people of those war years, it had been wonderful that Norman and I had been able to make contact chatting in that small "window" of time at the end of 1997.

Len Moore

Due to the hard work done in the background of a few stalwart persons, mainly our own Terry Whittles, a new District of National Branches has been set up. It will come under the auspices of David Green, the Regional Organiser, Metropolitan and Overseas Regions. It will also give us the mechanism for putting forward in the not too distant future a candidate for National Council. Member Branches, giving a total of some 20,000 members, are as follows:

St James’

Garats HaY

BEWSA

Gulf War Veterans

Weston on the Green

Legion Riders

Volunteers were sought for the District Committee, and bar one position, only one volunteer came forward for each position on the committee. The exception was for the position of Vice Chairman, and two persons put their names into the ring – John Clark, our Chairman, and Richard Cast of St James’ Branch. John was duly elected to the office. The following are officers and members in the new committee, giving us a good representation:

John Clark	Vice Chairman
Roger Manser	Treasurer
Terry Whittles	Member
David Street	Member
David Whimpenny	Member

To date, the Committee has not yet had its first meeting, but you will all be kept informed as to the progress of this new and exciting District.

Garat's Hay - one of several country houses south of Loughborough in Leicestershire used to house and to administer military and civilian personnel engaged in World War 2 Wireless Intercept work - has a long history. The Victorian frontage visible in the picture on the left is only one aspect of a building that has sections dating back to the 13th Century. It has long been linked with St Mary in the Elms Church, the tower of which is also visible in the picture.

According to some sources, the name Hay is linked to the mediaeval process of assarting. This involved bringing former wasteland into a more formal regime of land management. It is probably associated with the old Norse word Haga or Haws, meaning a house or hall. Around the area of Leicestershire concerned, there remain several other examples of Hays and Haws. The Garat's of the name is almost certainly possessive. That is, it denotes the original master of the property or land. Researches reveal little of a Garat. However, early 13th Century records note that a William Gerard held property matching the description of the early site. A corruption of his name, a very common occurrence in those largely illiterate days, may give us a clue to the origins of the house's name.

 In the intervening years, Garat's Hay was closely linked to the fortunes of one of Leicestershire's most famous families, the Herricks of Beaumanor. With many other village properties, it was part of the Beaumanor estate when the War Department requisitioned it in 1939. Initially selected to house members of an anti-aircraft searchlight detachment, by 1941 it had become home to girls of the Auxiliary Territorial Service whose main employment was as Special Wireless Operators at Beaumanor.

After the War, faced with crippling death duties and the realisation that he could not afford to run the estate economically, the then owner, Lt Col Assheton Penn Curzon Howe Herrick, decided to dispose of its assets. In a sale conducted at the Town Hall in Loughborough on the 20th and 21st of December 1946, the War Department bought both Beaumanor Hall and Garat's Hay. Although Beaumanor was sold to the County Council many years ago, Garat's Hay remained in military hands until January 1998. At that time, after lying empty for many months when the nearby military training centre closed, it passed into private hands. Throughout 1999  private developers prepared new homes, with some advertised at as much as  £0.5M.  An advertisement to this effect appeared in the Loughborough Echo of the week ending 12 November, 1999. Since then, at least two large private residences have been built in the spinney beside the old Mess building, the former guardhouse has been turned into a home and let to tenants and a private owner has moved into one of the two homes into which the Mess main building has been divided. 

FROM THE EDITOR

Keep those articles and suggestions rolling in please.

The Newsletter is now available on the web site, which is accessible to many of our members. As decided at the AGM, in order to minimise production and postage costs, the printed version will in future be mailed only to those members with no Internet connection.

LAST POST   We regret to report the death of Fred Clifton, of Gorleston-on-Sea, on 6th October. Condolences   were sent to his widow, Lilian. Contributions at his funeral resulted in £257 being sent to RAFA in his memory. May he rest in peace.