AANM MSC Vote of thanks

Gentlemen, on behalf of the AANM steering committee, may I say to you all, thank you very kindly for showing your support for our project in the magnificent grant made by AOBA to our cause.Your generous donation is noted and much appreciated.

Not only did I have a lot of fun in extracting money from you during Friday evening at the reunion with the raffle which raised the princely sum of £615, but the committee wish to thank Tich Schofield and Antony Church( TeeCee) for the significant sums they raised with the calendar,mug and CD sales.

Finally, the 1960'ers, on their 50th anniversary, demonstrated that we really are a band of brothers by making a donation on behalf of members of their intake who are no longer with us.

I hope that when you see the finished memorial, it will be observed as a fitting tribute to all Army Apprentices that trained as soldier-tradesmen and served worldwide in peace and war.
My personal thanks to you all. Gordon.

PS. I am still looking for Pink Ticket 166!!!!!!!!!!!

Arborfield Old Boys' Association

Thanks to Tich for getting things under way. I suspect there are a number of AOBA members who have attended a repatriation. Wootton Bassett gets quite crowded and parking is not easy, especially if you do not arrive in good time. I wonder if anyone who is familiar with the A420 between Wootton Bassett and Oxford can suggest a meeting place which will give us the opportunity to pay respects as a group. I am hopeful of finding of somewhere other than Gable Cross or the Defence Acamemy, which are already busy. Access to refreshments and parking would be a big plus, as there is no way of knowing at this stage what level of support will be possible. I will post details of the next event as soon as I have them.

Wotton Bassett Repatriations

I spoke at great length to Graham Chilton about an AOBA representation at the Wotton Bassett Repatriations for our fallen heroes, and have to say I think it would be most fitting if we could organise a presence at these sad occasions. Hopefully there will not be too many, but then again I think I’m probably being naive in my thoughts.

However, to start the ball rolling Graham is going to post both here and on our forum www.arborfieldoldboys.co.uk/forum  the details of each repatriation as he is informed. I would like to think that if anyone is able to support this initiative they could organise themselves via this forum.

I would like to think that if there is sufficient interest in making our presence more formal I will approach the AOBA committee regarding the display of our Colours, providing – of course – I have the permission of the majority.

Please let us know your thoughts as to whether we should support this initiative.

To start the process Graham has emailed me the next repatriation as follows:

The Repatriation of
Marine Adam Brown (40 Commando, Royal Marines)
and
Lance Sergeant Dale Alanzo McCallum (1 Battalion, Scots Guards),
will take place on –

Thursday, 5th August, 2010.

Flypast over Wootton Bassett 11:00 hours - Timings provided by RAF Lyneham

RAF Lyneham (Family Service Starts) 12:00 hours - Timings provided by RAF Lyneham

Cortege expected to leave RAF Lyneham 13:45 hours +/- 30 minutes

Wootton Bassett 13:55 hours +/- 30 minutes
- (Approximately 13 miles to GX Police Station)
Gable Cross Police Stn 14:15 hours +/- 30 minutes - Thames Valley Police estimated time to take over responsibility of Cortege
- (Approximately 3..5 miles to bridge carrying B4000)
Bridge over A420 (Carrying B4000) 14:20 hours +/- 30 minutes
- (Approximately 1..5 miles to Defence Academy)
Defence Academy UK (A420) 14:25 hours +/- 30 minutes
- (Approximately 4..5 miles to Folly Hill Lay-by)
Folly Hill Lay-by (A420) 14:30 hours +/- 30 minutes
- (Approximately 45 minutes travelling time to JRH)
St Anthony of Padua Parish Church 15:10 hours +/- 30 minutes (Situated at entrance to JRH)

John Radcliffe Hospital (Oxford) 15:15 hours +/- 30 minutes - Thames Valley Police estimated time of arrival at JRH

Arborfield Old Boys' Association