"BURY BRIEFINGS"

The Regimental Association Updates

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4th July 08

Gentlemen
Having just returned from the Annual General Meeting of the Regimental Association at the Tower of London, I felt it would be a good idea to up date you on what is happening this year and 2009.
You are all aware that the Fusiliers Gathering this year is being held in London and at present we in Lancashire are sending a group of approximately fifty members which includes the Ladies, may I also at this stage congratulate all of our members who took the time to attend the Veterans' Weekend in Blackpool apart from the bad weather, it is reported that all went very well and the Fusiliers were well represented on parade.
Gallipoli weekend in April of 2009 will be our next big venture, where I do expect to see a large number of you marching behind me and not stood in Public House doorways, not one of us has forgotten how to march, and it gives great pleasure to the people of Bury to see all of our Association members on parade, so PLEASE get the weekend 25th-26th April 2009 in your diaries NOW.
The other news that I have for you is that Lancashire has been chosen to host the Fusiliers Gathering in September 2009, the reason for this is to enable the Association members, from all of our Regimental Areas who have contributed to the Museum Fund and will not be able to get to the opening in April 09, to get to see it at the gathering weekend, a date has yet to be confirmed for this event.
General outline will be a dinner dance on the Saturday evening followed by a church service on the Sunday morning, March through Bury and lunch at the Town Hall, followed by a guided tour of the new museum by the museum staff.
I hope you have all had time to read the new term dates at you local collages in terms of learning a little about the I.T.world,
Dennis Laverick has done a lot of work on your behalf in this area and as I have said before it is the best and quickest way of communication for all of our members, so give it ago and do not be frightened of asking a question to any of our web site managers, it could save you a lot of money on phone calls.
http://www.fusiliers-association-lancs.co.uk
In closing, I look forward to seeing you all at the Regimental Club on Sunday 3rd August 08 to celebrate Minden Day.
Fondest regards to you all and your Families.


John O'Grady
Chairman

Opening letter to the members

Dear Members of the Association (Lancashire)

I write to you all as your new Chairman and would like to say what a privilege it was to have been appointed to the post by our present Deputy County Colonel, Colonel Brian Gorski M.B.E. I would like to record my sincere thanks to Eric Davidson for all of his hard work whilst in the chair over the past three years or so.

My intentions are not to mend a wheel that is not broken but to take a careful look at our present situation and with the help of my committee set out a strategy programme that will take the Association through our present time and lay the foundation for the next fifteen years or so. My Committee will be tasked to raise the membership by 25%, to continue to track down and enlist the 1960's generation and increase the number of present R.R.F. members leaving the army, increase the I.T. awareness to all members' young or old by October this year, which in turn will help to play a very large part in the recruiting programme in Lancashire.

My committee will also be asked to look at and improve the payment of subscriptions with an aim of achieving an 85% payment by direct debit to allow forward planning in the further, such as The Fusilier Gatherings, Gallipoli weekends, Battle Field Tours, days out ect.

I am very impressed with what is going on in our outlying branches and the hard work that is being put in by the sectaries' and I look forward to meeting up with then all shortly to discuss my ideas and theirs, ensuring that we must never loose sight as to why the Regimental Association was implemented in the first place, it is where Past and Present members of our anti cadent Regiments and present Regiment can meet and discuss old times and be updated by our younger members as to how times have changed over the years in a warm and friendly atmosphere. This will, I am sure be borne out in the forth coming year in Lancashire with the opening of the new Regimental Museum in April 2009 (The biggest shot in the arm the XX The Lancashire Fusiliers will have had in the past fifty years or so,) plus the past forty years of our present Regiment, this museum will be a sight for sore eyes and will be a magnificent credit to all of those people who have contributed to its creation.

In all a very busy year ahead with many challenges for the Association in Lancashire which I am confident will be met with the true spirit of its members.

John O'Grady
Fusiliers Association Lancashire Chairman

 

Message from Colonel Eric Davidson :-

Now that my tenure of appointment as Chairman of the Association in Lancashire has almost terminated. I wish to take this opportunity to express my personal thanks to my team at Headquarters namely Major Jennifer Hindshaw, Stehpen Fitt, John Scotson and Linsay Walsh for their support. Also the members of the Secretariat not
listed above namely Don Kilgallon and Alan Noble. Ronnie Owen for his unstinting work on the recording of Association Members. Dennis Laverick for his professionalism in setting up the Association Web Site.
http://www.fusiliers-association-lancs.co.uk
I have thoroughly enjoyed my time as Chairman and derived much pleasure from the office and occasionaly the sadness it has brought. However time marches on as we all do and I wish my successor
Captain John ( Ginger ) O Grady every happiness in the post.

I thank all the Members of our local branches together with those in Central Branch for their support during my time as Chairman and offer them good wishes for the future.

I am looking forward to the new challenge as Director of Operations and a Trustee. Good Luck and God Bless You All.


Colonel Eric

 


Col Eric Davidson is Assoc Chairman and with John Scotson and Steven Fitt (joint Secs}

Regimental Ties
Since I put the photos on site of the Fusilier Gathering in Celle we have had a lot of enquires about all these people wearing the LF striped tie.
I have taken this up with Eric Davidson and he has given me this answer.
It is the new Regimental tie (the other being the blue tie with the cap badge on it).
It is the same colours as the LF striped tie, but the bands are a little wider and it is made from a different material.

For simplicity I will number them 1 to 4 from the left.
Number 1 is the Royal Regiment Of Fusiliers Association tie which you can still buy and still wear providing you are in the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers Association.

Number 2 is The XXth The Lancashire Fusiliers Tie which is in the Regimental Colours of The XXth The Lancashire Fusiliers ( only worn by the ex serving members of the XXth).

Number 3 is the old Regimental Tie of The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.

Number 4 is the new Regimental tie of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (worn by current serving members of RRF).

Since The Regimental Colours of The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers are adopted from the Regimental Colours of the XXth The Lancashire Fusiliers it will be very difficult to distinguish between numbers 2 and 4.

That is why many of the young men on the Celle pics appear to be wearing LF ties, they are not,they are wearing the new Regimental Tie of RRF.