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Dear member, This year’s annual reunion dinner, the 49th will be on Saturday 14th,May in the Royal Sailors Home Club, Queens Street, Portsmouth. It will again be held in the Nuffield Lounge (on the right of the main foyer). Our Country membership number is 2170. As usual the time will be 1730 hours for 1800 hours. Accommodation may be available at the club. Prices for the Royal Sailors Club are at present £33.50 per person (Single) and £69.50 for a double room. This includes a full English breakfast and use of club facilities. At the present time we have been informed that accommodation is severely restricted due to the many events in Portsmouth this year. Alternative accommodation may be available at the following: Holiday Inn Express, Gunwharf Quay, Royal Beach Hotel, Southsea, Queens Hotel Southsea, Travel Inn Bedhampton, Marriot Hotel Cosham, Hilton Hotel, Farlington or the new Tulip Hotel Cosham. The menu chosen for the dinner is as follows: Home made Minestrone Soup Honey Baked Gammon served with a white wine and Dijon mustard sauce Roast and minted New Potatoes and two Seasonal vegetables Hot Dutch Apple Pie, layers of apple in a light crust with a hot custard sauce Coffee and Mints Cheese and biscuits may be available at additional cost Provision can be made for those who are vegetarian, or who require a special menu. A glass of wine will be served during the dinner and further wines may be purchased from the waitresses. The dinner will be preceded by a minutes silence in memory of those who cannot be with us, this will be followed by a toast to H.M.S. BARHAM for which a tot of rum will be provided for each male diner and a glass of sherry for each lady. Thanks to Peter Yuiles gift the dinner will again be free for survivors, previous crewmembers and one of their guests. For all other members and one guest the cost will be £7.50 and for others £25. If you wish to attend will you please complete the attached slip by the 24th April and send it to Sidney Petherbridge. Late applications may be refused. In order to satisfy the requirements of the Royal Sailors Home Club a Minimum of Fifty (50) must be catered for. As you can understand this is becoming with time increasingly difficult, so all are welcome. We intend as usual to have a raffle of donated prizes all offers welcome. The dinner will be followed by our Annual General Meeting when there will be an opportunity to raise items on the management of your Association or volunteer to join the committee. The present committee is made up of the following officers:
It is with great regret that due to family commitments Sara will be unable to continue as a member of the committee, but will still be the person who manages the Barham Website. On behalf of all the committee Sara I offer my thanks for all your effort over the past years. On Sunday 15th May it is hoped that as many as possible will be able to attend the Morning Service in St. Ann’s Church in the Dockyard at 1000 hours. Our Remembrance and Wreath laying service in Westminster Abbey was held on the 27th November to which some 71 replied that they would attend. This included 4 survivors. We were directed to sit in the nave until called forward directly into the choir stalls for choral evensong. We listened to some excellent singing by the choir and enjoyed joining in the final hymn “Eternal Father Strong to Save.” The Reverend Graham Napier conducted the Remembrance service and the Association standard was paraded by Mr Mick Tapsell for the first time and was performed extremely well. Thank you very much Mick. The treasurer Mr Sidney Petherbridge laid our wreath. The wreath had again been beautifully prepared and donated by “Flowers by Patricia“ of Morden Surrey, to whom our deepest thanks are given. Also to Peter Kempton who each year fights the London traffic to deliver the wreath to Westminster Abbey, many thanks. We had a slight hiccup this year, in that the wreath was delivered to the Abbey a week prior to the service, and Peter arrived on the morning of the service to collect the wreath. However due to he diligence of the Abbey staff collection was NOT permitted. This I am afraid was due to a breakdown in communications between the secretary, Peter and “Flowers by Patricia“, all has now been sorted out and and this year should be fine. It was with great sadness that we learned that the owner of “Flowers by Patricia” had decided to sell up, but has pledged to continue to make the wreath for the foreseeable future in her garage. For this we are extremely grateful. Thank you very much. It was especially nice to welcome at the Remembrance Service Mr and Mrs David Mason, Mr and Mrs P. Caruana, Miss F, Caruana, Mr and Mrs H. Saliba, Mr and Mrs G. Allen, Mr J, Allen and Miss C. Allen, who are the family of Petty Officer Anthony Caruana who was lost in the sinking. At the conclusion of the service we were informed of the death of Fletcher Evans in South Africa. Also it has been reported that Sandy Powell had died in Scotland, and of our last Australian survivor Mr Stan Read. Stan was also an active member of the “N Class“ association. Their friends will remember them at the dinner. Correspondence has been received from Mr.Gary Murdoch regarding a medal presented to Charles M. McGinty in 1940 commemorating a football match between H.M.S Barham and Liverpool Football Club. If any person can help in remembering this occasion the Secretary, Sara and Gary Murdoch would be very interested. Come on you survivors rack those brain cells around and let us see what we can uncover. I should like to record my thanks for all the letters of appreciation for the Newsletters and all those who write to keep me up to date with their affairs or sent me cards. I would like to end by thanking all those who have made donations including postage stamps particularly as small contributions although welcome may have not received personal letter in reply. Yours sincerely Michael Stratton-Brown |
last updated: 13 July 2013 |
andrew gillespie