East Anglia

Round-up of 2009

Bedfordshire

This year the Bedfordshire’s Main Event was held on 12 June at Turvey House by kind invitation of Mr and Mrs Daniel Hanbury, where we were blessed with a most beautiful evening. Ticket sales reached 337, an all-time record.

The Minden Band of The Queen’s Division played light music during the reception, creating a most pleasant ambience, and was in fine form to round off the evening with a beating retreat in the beautiful surroundings. With the combination of a good turnout and generous support for the raffle, we saw a contribution of £8,300 which was well up to expectations.

Our thanks go to our hosts, the Minden Band, the Defence Intelligence & Security Centre (DISC) and our team of volunteer caterers who prepared a tremendous spread of food.

Our thanks also go to the Warrant Officers’ and Sergeants’ Mess at DISC who hosted our Big Curry in October for the ninth year in succession. This was very well supported with 204 attending – our best ever. We were fortunate to have a most interesting talk given by Lieutenant Colonel Joe Cavanagh, Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion The Rifles, who gave us an insight into operational mentoring and development of the Afghan National Army.

This year we shall be holding our Main Event on 5 June in the beautiful grounds of Southill House by kind invitation of Mr and Mrs Charles Whitbread, with musical support given again by the Minden Band.

The annual Big Curry will be taking place at DISC on 10 October.

Cambridgeshire

As always our Big Curry is our flagship event and this year we raised £2, 211, including profits from ticket sales and donations. This was largely due to the fact that we were able to keep costs to a minimum, thanks to the magnificent support of a catering team from Waterbeach Barracks.

We were most fortunate that Cheffins Auctioneers, based in Cambridge offered to run an evening preview of fine art in support of ABF The Soldiers’ Charity. Many of our supporters enjoyed an evening of wine and canapés whilst browsing through a wonderful collection of art, furniture, jewellery, ceramics and much more.
A total amount of £569 was raised.

Miscellaneous donations from supporters have totalled £300 so far this year, while support from our local Army units has been outstanding. The TA Centre in Peterborough presented a cheque for £1, 639.00 collected at various regimental events throughout the year, while Major Greg Marsden of 25 Engineer Regiment RE raised £2, 147.00 for ABF The Soldiers’ Charity through sponsorship for his power boat races. Subsequently, a further donation of £2,305.84 was received from 25 Engineer Regiment after closing its accounts for the year.

Other Army donations have included £500 from ATR Bassingbourn’s fishing club, raised as part of the Club’s subscription, and £1,500 from 28 (Trg) Squadron raised as part of sponsorship for the hill walking phase of Leadership and Initiative Training.

We were also very grateful to the recruits of 28 (Trg) Squadron for their wonderful contribution in support of our collection days at Tesco Extra, Royston. The immaculately turned out young soldiers did a fantastic job and charmed a very generous public into parting with £3,745.77 for ABF The Soldiers’ Charity. Finally, ATR Bassingbourn recently organised a most successful boxing evening with the proceeds to be divided between The Soldiers’ Charity and Help for Heroes. As yet we do not know the total amount raised.

During the national fundraising event organised by Tesco on 9 October, almost all our local Cambridge stores were visited by Cambridgeshire ABF The Soldiers’ Charity committee members at some point during the day.

We have also been most grateful for the support received from three of our local ‘hostelries’ which have nominated The Soldiers’ Charity as one of their charities. In total they have raised £211.17 from bar collection boxes.

Finally, as we approach the end of this calendar year, we are still hard at work selling ABF The Soldiers’ Charity Christmas cards and we have an informal supper evening planned for early 2010.

Essex

It is clear that the increased publicity being given to the Army’s commitment to Iraq and now Afghanistan in particular, has rightly raised the level of public attention to those killed, those wounded and to the needs of soldiers both during their tours and on their return home.

During the last year there have been a number of spontaneous offers to raise money for ABF The Soldiers’ Charity which are in addition to the increasing level of support for the fund raising events organised by the local committees in Essex. As a result funds raised in Essex already amount to £42,000 in the current year against a target of £32,500.

Colchester, being an army town and the home of 16 Air Assault Brigade is the most important centre where funds have been raised from a number of events. One of the rotary clubs in the town raised £12,500 from a fun run in Castle Park in addition to collections in a local department store while another raised £2,000 when 16 Air Assault Brigade received the Freedom of Colchester and marched through the town.

After a break last year because of deployments to Afghanistan, the Colchester Military Festival took place again producing £6,000 for The Soldiers’ Charity. The Mayor of Colchester followed his predecessors making the charity one of his chosen charities with a most generous donation.

The North East Essex & Colchester Garrison ABF The Soldiers’ Charity Committee always organises a most successful Big Curry. This year it was again in the WOs and Sergeants Mess of the MCTC and it was sold to capacity, many having to be disappointed for lack of space. The guest speaker was Major General Patrick Cordingley, the commander of 7th Armoured Brigade in the first Gulf War and now a frequent commentator on BBC. Again the increased level of interest resulted in a significantly higher level of proceeds: in excess of £3,700.

The Mid-Essex ABF The Soldiers’ Charity Committee has traditionally organised an evening performance of a Beating Retreat in the gardens of Crix at Hatfield Peverel. This year the Beating Retreat was the finale in a half day pageant which inspired a greater attendance over a longer period of time and a welcome increase in the amount of funds raised.

Both the North East Essex & Colchester Garrison and Mid-Essex Committees will be providing help for the Maldon Mud Race across the mudflats of the River Blackwater in the New Year when the organisers will be donating part of the proceeds to the charity.

In Maldon, meanwhile, a former National Service officer on his own initiative organised a very successful Big Curry lunch in a local Indian restaurant.

Fundraising lunches continued to play a major role in the annual programme. These again took place very successfully in the Officers’ Mess of 33 (EOD) Regiment at Carver Barracks, Saffron Walden and in the Old Loughtonians Hockey Club in Chigwell.

Hertfordshire

The Hertfordshire Committee held two major events during the year.

On 21 June the annual Tattoo was held in the magnificent setting of the main quadrangle at Haileybury. Some changes to the arrangements, coupled with glorious summer weather, ensured a large crowd. They were treated to a feast of music from the Band of The Blues & Royals, The Royal British Legion Youth Band Brentwood and the Harpenden Pipe Band. Not only was the music superb but the turnout and marching immaculate – somehow the youngest members of the Youth Band (aged just 8) were able to keep perfect time with the 6 foot plus regular soldiers. It was quite a sight. The evening was completed with a parade of standards by the Royal British Legion and other ex-service organisations from Hertfordshire and neighbouring counties.
The 2010 Tattoo will be held on 20 June with the Minden Band of The Queen’s Division perfroming once again at Haileybury.

We are very grateful to the bands and the standard bearers for giving us such a memorable evening. We are also grateful to the Army cadets who worked so hard marshalling car parks, selling programmes and helping out in many other ways. However, without Haileybury allowing us to use their grounds and doing so much preparatory work, the event would not happen at all. This year’s tattoo was the last before Stuart Westley, the Master, retired. He has not only allowed us on site but also has always been an enthusiastic supporter. It was therefore fitting that it was he who took the salute as the bands marched off.
We wish him well in his retirement.

In October we held a Big Curry at the Sergeants Mess at ATR Bassingbourn by kind permission of the Commanding Officer and Regimental Sergeant Major. A capacity turnout enjoyed an excellent meal followed by an entertaining talk from Colonel (Retd) John Crosland who gave an account of some highlights from a very varied military career in most parts of the world. The audience appreciated not only his talk but also the very frank way in which he answered questions.
We are grateful to Tesco who generously donated furniture for the auction to boost the amount raised further. The lunch was Colonel Kevin Fitzgerald’s last event as our Chairman after five years in post. He has worked tirelessly for ABF The Soldiers’ Charity over that time and we are delighted that, despite his many other commitments, he has agreed to continue as a member of the committee.

Norfolk

This has been a most productive year, with many more events than usual, as well as vastly increased sums raised. The Norfolk ABF The Soldiers’ Charity Committee has been very active and we have been pleased to welcome as our new President General Sir Richard Dannatt, who replaces Field Marshal Sir John Chapple. Our official farewell to Sir John took place at a fund-raising supper in September, when we thanked him for his many years of loyal support and invaluable guidance.

Our year’s activities began in March, with the traditional Big Curry at the Officers’ Mess of the Light Dragoons in Swanton Morley. This is nearly always a sell-out and this was the case this year, raising £1,606 for the fund.

Our major event this year, held in September, was again the traditional and increasingly popular Beating Retreat & Band Concert at the Thursford Collection. The Band of The Grenadier Guards marched and played magnificently in front of our largest crowd for many years, approaching 1,000, and a new record sum of £16,280 was raised. We are indebted to Mr John Cushing for his generosity in putting the theatre facilities and staff of the Thursford Collection at our disposal for the evening, as well as to the many Norfolk and Eastern Region sponsors who helped finance this most successful event.

We also participated in a new joint venture with other local charities in July this year. This was the Stradsett Garden Show at which we helped organise a beating retreat and mini-concert, brilliantly performed by the Band of The Parachute Regiment. We also had an ABF The Soldiers’ Charity stand, housed in the new mini-marquee, which attracted many people seeking information about and well-wishers. Our share of the sum raised was £3,771.

Also in July, and as in previous years, we participated in the Holkham Country Fair, at which we organised a most successful beating retreat, performed by the Minden Band of The Queen’s Division, followed by a supper party for our supporters on the eve of the fair. On the following two days we ran an ABF The Soldiers’ Charity stand, again being impressed by the vast numbers of well-wishers and supporters. Our combined sum raised here, including a generous share of the overall proceeds promised from the Fair organisers, comprised £3,503.

Elsewhere we have held, and will continue to hold over the next few weeks, street collections and collections in stores (one to be accompanied by a choir singing carols in aid of the charity), all of which have shown clear evidence of the increased generosity of the public towards ABF The Soldiers’ Charity in these troubled times. We are ending the year with a new venture for us by participating, together with many other local charities, in the Fakenham Parish Church Christmas Tree Festival.

Also deserving mention this year are the activities of individual supporters, in particular those with family members serving or having served in Afghanistan, who have organised functions amongst their own circle of friends, raising literally thousands of pounds for the fund. In a similar vein and matching the pattern emerging last year, we have the promise of a most generous unsolicited donation from a local Masons’ lodge.

With regard to next year, at the moment we have a provisional date for our Big Curry to be held on Sunday 7 March 2010 and a firm date for the Thursford Beating Retreat & Band Concert that will be held on Tuesday 7 September, for which we are delighted to have been allocated again the Band of The Grenadier Guards. We will be planning our programme of other events for 2010 at our annual meeting in February 2010.

Suffolk

This has been an exceptional year for ABF The Soldiers’ Charity in Suffolk, but sadly driven by events and casualties in Afghanistan.

The resulting public support for the Services was shown in the immensely successful collections this year, especially by 1 R ANGLIAN, whose B Company raised £18,500 in just three days, with collections of 202 Sqn RLC (V) and 132 Avn Sp Sqn RLC both raising over £2,000. Suffolk’s total for collections is so far over £23,000, this figure excluding the amount collected during the Tesco fundraising event of 9-11 Oct, and sets the bar very high for 2010.

The annual Big Curry was held on Sunday 22 November at the Officers Mess at Wattisham Airfield. The Station Commander, Colonel David Turner, and his wife were present as guests who numbered 92 in total, the event raising £1,800 for the charity.

We are already making plans for our fundraising next year. Among the first events will be the Hadleigh Show at which we will have a stand and marquee. This will be followed on Fri 21 May 2010 by a beating retreat and concert, featuring the Band of The Parachute Regiment, that will take place at St Joseph’s College, Ipswich. We also hope to stage a clay shoot some time in May or June.
We shall also be holding our Big Curry again, on Sunday 21 November 2010.

In addition, we will be holding our annual programme of collections, some supported by soldiers and cadets, in Ipswich (202 Sqn RLC (V) and Suffolk ACF), Stowmarket, Felixstowe (Suffolk ACF), Sudbury, Southwold, Woodbridge (23 Engr Regt RE), Newmarket (1 RTR), Lowestoft (3 R ANGLIAN (V)), Bury St Edmunds and Wattisham