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BasingstokeBranch (406)

Recent Branch activities

Visits and functionsVisit to RAF Odiham This visit wasorganised for us by our RAFALO PaulDavies and took place on Thursday23rd March. 25 members met at RAFOdiham at 10.0 am where an RAFcoach took us to 27 Sqn for a briefingand talk about what goes on at thestation. This was followed by a lookinside a Chinook in the hangar. Next wehad a demonstration of SurvivalEquipment and the picture below shows

Mick trying on an inflatable Life Jacketwatched by (from the left) Steve,Barbara and Margaret. Lunch wastaken in the Officer’s Mess and theafternoon started with a visit to the FireSection to watch demonstrations ofputting out different types of fire asshown in the picture overleaf. This wasfollowed by a visit to Air Traffic Controland finally a visit to the Kestrel GlidingClub where our host was Flt Lt SimonArnett of 27 Sqn, OIC the Gliding Cluband also a Branch Member. The glidingclub visit was to prepare the way for the

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announcement of the Branch GlidingScholarship (see later and see thepicture in the centre fold). The visit wasa great success and we are grateful toPaul, Simon and the StationCommander, Gp Capt Robinson, formaking the visit possible.

Hampshire Region Spring SocialThis annual event for the Branches inHampshire took place on Wednesday19th April starting at 1230 pm. Thevenue was, as usual, the WorthiesSports and Social Club at KingsWorthy nr Winchester. A hot meal offish & chips or sausages was providedand the 8 members from our Branchwere able to socialise with membersfrom other Branches in the Region.David Chandler (Region President)provided a quiz to test our memories.

Annual Dinner This year’s AnnualDinner took place on Friday 5th Mayat the Red Lion. The event wassupported by 46 Branch Members and

guests with 15 members from otherbranches. As usual the Red Lioncatering and service was excellent andthe electricity stayed on throughout.Our Chairman, Pip Iles, presided andour President, Bryan Jenkins,proposed the toast to our guests. BarryFurness (Fareham Branch and AreaCouncil) replied with a toast to theBasingstoke Branch. It was athoroughly enjoyable evening.

Hampshire Region Garden PartyThis annual event for the Branches inHampshire took place on Saturday 1stJuly. It was a bring your own picnicevent with everyone’s contributionsbeing amalgamated within theWorthies Club House (instead of in alarge marquee outside as in previousyears). 11 Branch members attended.

TAG Tour of Farnborough AirportThe TAG Aviation tour of FarnboroughAirport (formerly the RAE and DRA),that we had to book 9 months ago

Recent events continued

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because of its popularity, finally tookplace on Tuesday 18th July 2017.TAG is short for Techniques d'AvantGarde and TAG Aviation that ownsFarnborough Airport is a part of TAGGroup (Holdings) S. A, a privateholding company based inLuxembourg City, Luxembourg. So12 Branch members assembled at themeeting point inside the airport at0950 hrs to meet our guide for thetour, Tony Knight, who has beenemployed at the airfield for 50 yearsand has a wealth of knowledge. Thetour included a full drive of the airfield,in a comfortable minibus, a look insidethe futuristic hangers and a trip up thecontrol tower, with its spectacularpanoramic views of the airport (seephotos in centre fold) and surroundingareas. Throughout the tour Tonyexplained the history of the airfield aswell as its current operations andfuture plans. He even paused the busat the very point where Samuel Cody’sfirst powered flight in the UK landed.He described all the work needed toconvert the airfield for CAAcommercial operations and the hugesums of money required to do that,Apparently, TAG is dedicated to thehighest standards. Afterwards wetook lunch together in the nearbyMonkey Puzzle pub/restaurant.Everyone agreed that it had been aninteresting and enjoyable morning.

Branch BBQ Our annual BranchBBQ planned for Saturday 29th Julyin the garden of Vikki and John did nottake place because of the downturn inJohn’s condition. We all send our best

wishes to John. (Editor’s note: Johndied on 3rd August - see Obituaries).

Gliding ScholarshipThe Gliding Club has produced a

short list of 3 and will recommend awinner to us in the very near future.

Age ConcernAge Concern’s Hampshire web site forBasingstoke services is:

http://www.ageconcernhampshire.org.uk/our-services/basingstoke-wellbeing.html and is well worth alook. Age Concern Hampshire hasseven activity centres for olderpeople in various parts of theBasingstoke & Deane area which aregreat places to meet new people, takepart in weekly activities such asquizzes, bingo, chair exercises, NewAge Kurling and other activities orsimply just to share a cup of tea withfriends and chat. There is a wealth ofhelp. Advice and information available.

Footcare - In the Basingstoke area,Age Concern engages the services ofprofessional and qualifiedchiropodists/ podiatrists to offer low-cost toenail cutting and to provide abasic foot health check. There are 20clinics in various locations which runsix weekly. Appointments are chargedat £15.

Footcare clinics are held in: BrightonHill (3), Chineham (2), Oakley (2), OldBasing (2), Oakridge (2), Popley (1),South Ham (2), Basingstoke Town

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Centre (4) and Winklebury (2). Formore information call 01256 423874.

Age Concern Hampshire’s CommunityCafé is open every Wednesday from10.30am to 1pm at Church Cottagebehind St Michael’s Church inBasingstoke. Last food order is12.30pm. (The church is opposite theslope beside Marks & Spencer).Please note that there is no parking onthe site but plenty available nearby.For more information on all the abovecall 01256 423874, or email toinfo@ageconcernhampshire.org.uk

New MembersRAFA HQ has updated our BranchMembership records again with theaddition of 14 Ordinary Members and3 Associate Members. Most of thoseare unknown to us, but are,nevertheless, full Branch membersand will, of course, be welcome at ourmeetings and functions.

Interesting Snippets fromrecent meetings

April meeting - 1. The meeting tookplace on 3rd April, the day of JohnDrew’s 90th birthday. In his absencedue to illness, Pip proposed a toast inJohn’s honour. 2. On Sunday 2nd AprilBill and Pip & Ilene attended theservice in St Clement Danes Church,London to commemorate the 99thAnniversary of the Formation of theRoyal Air Force. Our Standard wasparaded, but sadly there were only 20Standards present. 3. RAFALO’s

Report - Simon outlined an initiativewhich will allow the branch to fund aGliding Scholarship for an airman orairwoman up to the rank of SAC orSAC Tech serving at RAF Odiham toachieve ‘Solo’. A set of guidelineswere drawn up between Simon (OCGliding Club) and branch Officers. 4.The venues and dates agreed so farfor this year’s collection for WingsAppeal are:Chineham Shopping Centre 21st to26th August; Sainsbury’s HatchWarren 9th September; FestivalPlace 16th September. 5. With effectfrom 1st April 2017 Officers workingwith the ATC and CCF (RAF) will nolonger carry the suffix RAF VR(T).They will now be known as RAFAC.All adult WOs and SNCOs will changefrom ATC to RAFAC.

May meeting -1. Bob reported that theArea Ceremony to CommemorateRAF100 will be held at Runnymede on17th June 2018. 2. Eve said that it isplanned to have some Air Scouts tohelp with Wings Appeal at Chineham.

June meeting -1 The Armed ForcesDay Flag-raising Ceremony will be onMonday 19th June. Lynn Duffy hasbeen nominated to raise the flag. 2. ANational event to commemorateRAF100 will take place in London on10th July next year. It will consist of amarch down the Mall and a service atWestminster Abbey.

July meeting -1. Pip thanked Anne &Graeme, their daughter Debby andAnne’s friend Mandy who helped at

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the Sherfield on Loddon Fete on Sat10th. It was very successful and theTombola raised £348:80 to be sharedequally between 443 Squadron ATCand the branch Social Fund. 2. Bryan,Lynn and Pip had a meeting with theMayor to discuss next year’s Ceremonyto celebrate the 100th Anniversary ofthe RAF. We were given completeassurance that it can go ahead and theBorough are willing to support itfinancially. The date set for theCeremony is Thurs 5th April 2018. 3.ATC Report - The report was given byFS Cadet George Graham. The CO, FltLt Rob Phillips, has left the Squadron.It is hoped to appoint a new CO shortly.4. AOB - a. Frank Connolly asked if hecould spread the word to the RBLconcerning our Social Functions. Pipsaid they would be very welcome. b.Steve made the members aware of theDefence Discount Service which offersgenerous discounts to Veterans. Thecost to join is £4:99.

South East & Eastern Area - JuneNewsletter (Extracts) signed byAilsa Gough our new South East andEastern Area Director1. A large part of the Area news Letteris devoted to a detailed report of theAnnual Conference (but a summary byBob Shepherd is included separatelyin this News letter).2. As at 31 May, the Area had 736Ordinary members and 686 Associatemembers who had not yet renewed forthis year. It is incumbent upon all of usto try and recover these lapsedmembers. Once again we ask allbranches to make every effort to

personally contact those of theirmembers who have not yet renewed. Itshould not be forgotten that a personalvisit or phone call to someone who hasnot yet renewed their membership mayhighlight an underlying welfare problem.3. Once again the South East andEastern Area Headquarters isorganising a collection in the City ofLondon in aid of the Wings Appeal. Thecollection this year will be on Friday 8September using the Guildhall as abase. To assist this venture the SouthEast and Eastern Headquarters canoffer travel expenses and all equipmentfor your collecting needs. Collectingmay start from 0600hrs until 1300hrs.Should collectors wish to use their owncollecting boxes please let us know inadvance in order that we may allocatea box number. All money collected byindividuals will be credited to your ownbranch. Collectors should register withthe South East and Eastern AreaHeadquarters in advance (but throughPip) by contacting Cat Knott oncatherine.knott@rafa.org.uk or 0116268 8784 or Christina Narayan onchristina.narayan@rafa.org.uk or 0116 464 5052. 4. The RAF100programme of events will start inOctober 2017 and end in September2018 and a number of flagship eventswill take place across the UK betweenMarch and September 2018 includinga service in Westminster Abbey and aparade along The Mall, followed by aRoyal Salute and flypast.

ObituariesIt is with great sadness that we haveto report the deaths of Ted Johns on

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Pictures of recent visits and events

The TAG Tour Team

The TAG Tour Team in the ATC Tower withTony our guide

The TAG Tour view from ATC

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Pictures of recent visits and events

The TAG Tour driving down the runway

Our annual dinner

Members at the Kestrel Gliding Club

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Annual Conference Standard Bearers

Annual Conference RAF Band

Annual Conference Sunday Service

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22nd June, David Swan on 10thJuly and John Drew on 3rd August.

Branch Standard ParadedSince the last Newsletter the BranchStandard has been paraded by Pip at3 funerals including Ted Johns. Otherevents where our Standard waspresented were: Area Conference; StClement Danes Church; Armed ForcesDay (by ATC FS George Grinham).

Birthdays & AnniversariesOur congratulations go to the followingon their birthdays since the last NewsLetter: Margaret Waissen in April,Marilyn Lewis in May, Ted Thompsonwho was 93 on 16 Jul, Sid Daly whowas 95 on July 10th and Bill Lloyd willcelebrate his 101st Birthday onAugust 13 2017!!!Bryan & Patricia celebrated their 52ndwedding anniversary in June and Mick& Chris celebrated their 32nd weddinganniversary in July.We do not keep formal records of members’ dates of birthand so we apologise if we have missed anyone.

Future EventsRunnymede Memorial and RBLPoppy Factory On 10th August 16Branch members will visit the RAFMemorial at Runnymede and then goon to the Royal British Legion PoppyFactory at Richmond where we willtake lunch. We thank Steve Oakley forsorting out a minibus to hire and fordriving us all to each location.Summer Ball Our Annual SummerBall will take place on Friday 18th

August at the Red Lion, Dress will beDinner Suit, Lounge Suit or Blazers formales and appropriate dress for ladies.Miniature medals may be worn ifdesired. The time is 7.00 pm for 7.30pm and the total cost is £25:00 perhead including disco and wine.Cheques should be made payable toThe Red Lion Hotel. For those wishingto stay overnight, rooms are availableat the Red Lion Hotel at a cost of £55double or twin and £45 single for bedand breakfast. Please book throughPip to ensure this favourable rate.

RAF Odiham Families Day This isplanned for Thursday 24th August.Book through Pip with names and cardetails.

Solent Aviation Museum We are stillplanning a visit to this interestingaviation-themed museum inSouthampton; details later.

Annual Battle of Britain Service Ourannual commemoration service at StGabriel’s Church with the cadets of 443Sqn is planned for Sunday 17thSeptember. The Mayor and RAFOdiham Stn Cdr have been invited.

Region Autumn Social will take placeon Wednesday 11th October at theWorthies Sports and Social Clubstarting at 12 noon. More details later.

RAF Central Band Concert Thisannual event will take place onWednesday 18th October at The Anvil

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starting at 19.30 hrs. The price is£25.40. Please book through Pip.

Christmas events - The dates of ourChristmas events are:

Christmas Ball - Friday 1st DecChristmas Drinks - Wed 13th DecCarol Service - Thurs 14th DecChristmas Lunch - Mon 18th Dec

RAFA ANNUALCONFERENCE 2017 HELD AT YARNFIELD PARK,STAFFORDSHIRE ON 12 – 14 MAY 2017

(Editor’s Note: This reduced version of Bob’s 4 A4 page report focuses on theoverview and social aspects. The details of the resolutions are contained in his full

report which can be downloaded from our website.)

The RAFA Annual Conference this year was held at Yarnfield Park, aconference and training centre about 10 miles north of Stafford. This year fourmembers of our branch travelled there; I went as your delegate with Gina, andLynn and Brendan also attended; our RAFALOs Simon and Paul were theretoo. There were only 6 members from the whole Hampshire Region present.The complex, which resembled a campus, had accommodation in blocks setoff from the main building which held the conference in a large room on the firstfloor which was not really adequate for the seating of the delegates and visitors.The ground floor had the dining room, bars and a large reception area whichwas also used to accommodate the “RAFA Market Place” with all the variousRAFA stalls such as RAFATRAD, RAFA Marketing, RAFBF, Volunteering,RAFA youth, Wings Appeal and Wings Breaks and several others. The diningroom was a canteen type facility where we had to queue for our main courses,cross the room to pick up cutlery etc and then had to find a table and collectthe other items such as soup, sweets tea and coffee etc and once one hadfinished, take the used plates etc to a clearing area.

The Saturday morning began with registration for delegates; then everyonehad to be seated in the conference room by 08.45. The Ladies were given theopportunity to go on coach trips to either Stafford town or Shugborough HouseCountry Estate or an afternoon trip to Trentham Gardens. Because of the lowceiling in the conference room the Area Standards were located just inside thedoor and the National Standard was marched in at the slope. Following theopening prayers delivered by the Deputy Chaplin in Chief, the RAFA President,Air Marshal Sir Dusty Miller, gave his welcoming address and announced thereceipt of the telegrams received from the Royal family. The President theninvited the Secretary General, Nick Bunting, to give his Report.

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It was an impressive presentation on RAFA activities during 2016 and heoutlined the plan for the future of the Association. He said that as a“Membership lead Association” it was essential to concentrate on increasingthe membership at the present rate where it has grown by nearly 30% inunder 3 years. He said that it was important that concentration is given toincreasing those aged between 40 and 60 years old. He reminded theconference that the target was to increase the membership to 100,000 by2020 and he stressed that it was the responsibility of every member to recruita new member. Emphasis was made to the continued need to check lapsedmembers by personal contact as this could identify possible welfare cases.The RAF family at 2014 was nearly 2 million and this was creating a hugeincrease in welfare requirements, with a growing number experiencingloneliness, stressing the ever-increasing requirement for befriending.

The Chairman of Central Council, John Cliffe, gave his report which outlinedthe planning for the future of the Association based on planning, objectivesand budgeting. This was followed by The Honorary Treasurer, Philip Tagg,who gave the Financial and Auditor’s Report for 2016.

The Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Hillier, gave his firstpresentation to conference. He outlined his past involvement with theAssociation and then he stressed that despite the withdrawal of most of theBritish forces from Afghanistan, the RAF is busier than ever being very muchinvolved in activities in various parts of the world. The Typhoons are involvedin protecting the UK airspace and are also deployed in the Baltic, andTornados are involved in bombing mission in Syria and Iraq. In this respect,he thanked the RAFA for its support especially to the families. This wasfollowed by the presentation of flying scholarships awards to cadets by SirStephen.

Sunday morning began at 09.00 with the assembly for the Service. Thistook place on the grass outside the reception building because of this it wasdecided, due to health and safety considerations the usual parade and marchpast would not take place. Before the close of the conference the Presidentmade his moving farewell speech in which he said that he was very proud ofupward movement of the Association over the past 6 years in which he washonoured to have been the President. He handed over his badge of Officeto his successor Air Marshal Sir Baz North. and then Sir Dusty was presentedwith his award of Life Vice President of the Association and farewell gift forhim to open later. The conference was closed by the Vote of Thanks being given by theChairman of the Annual Conference Committee, Taff Rees.

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Have you heard these?

A lady rings her local hospital and this conversation follows:“Hello I’d like some information on a patient, Mrs Tiptree. She was admitted lastweek with chest pains and I just want to know if her condition hasdeteriorated, stabilised or improved?”“Do you know which ward she is in?”“Yes, ward P, room 2B’\“I'll just put you through to the nurse station.” “Hello, ward P, how can Ihelp?”“I would just like some information on a patient, Mrs Tiptree. I waswondering if her condition had deteriorated, stabilised or improved?”“I'll just check her notes. I’m pleased to say that Mrs Tiptree’s condition hasimproved. She has regained her appetite, her temperature has steadiedand, after some routine checks tonight, she should be well enough to gohome tomorrow.”“Oh that's wonderful news. I'm so happy, thank you ever so much!”“You seem very relieved, are you a close friend or relative?”“No, I am Mrs Tiptree in room 2B. Nobody tells me anything in here”____________________________________________________________A duck walks into a post office and asks the man behind the counter: 'Do youhave any corn?' The man answers politely: 'No, we don't have any corn here.'The next day, the duck enters again and asks: 'Do you have any corn?'Annoyed, the man answers: 'No! We don't have any corn.' This goes on fora couple of days until finally, when the duck asks 'Do you have any corn?',the man gets so upset he yells: 'NO! For the last time we don't have any corn,and if you ask again I'll nail your beak to the counter!' The next day, the duckreturns and asks: 'Do you have any nails?' The man answers: 'No.' Then theduck asks: 'Do you have any corn?'____________________________________________________________● An ice cream seller was today found on the floor of his van covered in

hundreds and thousands. Police said he topped himself.● How do you call a prison inmate? – Use a cell phone.● “Airline hostesses show you how to use a seat belt in case you haven’t

been in a car since 1956.” - Jerry Seinfeld● “My Dad is Irish and my Mum is Iranian, which basically means we spent

most of our family holidays in customs.” - Patrick Monahan● “We know the speed of light, but what about the speed of darkness?” –

Peter Cook● “I took the wife’s family out for tea and biscuits. They weren’t too happy

about having to give blood though.” - Les Dawson

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The next edition is planned for December 2017 Please let me have any contributionsby early mid November Thanks. Bryan Jenkins (Editor)

Phone 01256 881938 Email bryan@jenkins.eclipse.co.uk

We have a new Branch web site!www.rafa.org.uk/basingstoke

Our Annual Dinner - Table 2 with (l to r) Lt Krishna Tilley, Beth Town, RobTown, Clare Monkhouse, Keith Monkhouse, Patricia, Joanna Arnett,

Simon Arnett, Brendan and Lynn

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