Garden of Remembrance

Our Standard was on display with seven of our members attending the opening of the Garden of Remembrance in George Square on Tuesday 3rd. The service was led by Reverend Dr Karen K Campbell. After the service and wreath laying we were invited into the city chambers for a buffet lunch. Thanks to S/m Brian Mackenzie our standard bearer

Seafarers Service

On Sunday 25th seven of our members attended the Seafarers Service at the Glasgow Cathedral. There was a good turn out of cadets from Ardrossan, East Kilbride, Helensburgh and Glasgow. Our standard was on parade and carried by S/m Chris Lord. The cadets were inspected by Commander Lesley Stephen RNR, Commanding Officer HMS Dalriada. The service was conducted by The Revd Dr Laurence Whitley, Minister, Glasgow Cathedral and the sermon by Revd Mark F Dalton RN, HM Naval Base Clyde.

Trafalgar Dinner

We were once again at Arrochar to celebrate Nelsons Victory at Trafalgar. Although our ranks were somewhat depleted we still had a very good time. The Dinner was excellent and S/m Brian Mackenzie gave the toast to Nelson. We held a raffle which raised a nice sum for our funds. After dinner we held a SODS Opera. This most appreciated by the members and their guests. S/m Alec Thomas was the director/producer with the appearance of Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton (Kenny and Brian) not to forget the Brothers St John and other supporting acts with the cameo appearance of Sir Alfred Hitchcock (Eddie Pollar).

Cadet Inspection

The committee were invited to TS Queen Elizabeth cadet unit in Clydebank for their inspection and prize giving. The inspecting officer was Captain Peter Adams accompanied by Commander Hugh Barris from HMS Scotia. The evolution was based on Nelsons victory at Trafalgar and the cadets did a splendid display with the death of Nelson particularly good. The evening ended with the prize giving and the RNA trophy went to the cadet of the year. S/m Brian Mackenzie presented a cheque on behalf of our branch to Lt Cdr George Troupe for the cadet funds.

Scottish Area Meeting

On 26th our branch hosted the area meeting which was attended by 6 delegates and 8 observers. The Branches represented were Glasgow, Edinburgh Inverness, Forth Valley, Lossiemouth, Perth and District and West Lothian. There was the usual agenda plus a discussion about the forth coming RNA National Conference to be held in Perth in 2017. We would like to thank S/ms Joan Lowe, Anne McKinnon and Anne Cox for doing the catering. The next area meeting is on Saturday 21st November 2015 at the RBLS Club Grangemouth all are welcome.

Recruiting Day

On Saturday 22nd S/ms Kenn McKinnon and Brian Mackenzie had a recruiting day at the Forge Shopping Centre at Parkhead. They had a stall set up in the main concourse and had gizzits (Hats, pens fridge magnets etc) for the general public for a small donation. They were there from 10:00 to 15:00 all in all a successful day.

VJ Day

On Saturday 15th six of our members attended the VJ Celebration hosted by the Parachute Association at Knightswood Memorial. There was a service in the church before we assembled at the memorial to lay wreaths. This was followed by a parade down The Great Western Road to the Lincoln Inn where a finger buffet and entertainment was provided.

AFD Dumbarton

On Sunday 5th July S/ms Frank Halliday (HLVP), Brian Mackenzie (Sec), George Troupe and Bill Bannerman attended the AFD Parade in Dumbarton. The parade took them through the town to the riverside church where a service was carried out then on to refreshments in the church hall. Thank you to all who took part.

SVR Visit

I received an invitation for 4 of our members to visit the Scottish Veterans Residencies new complex in Bellrock Close, Cranhill, Glasgow. S/ms Kenn McKinnon, Brian Mackenzie, David Carlin and Anne McKinnon attended this event. We were met by the manager Edward Gorman and introduced to the staff and veterans. We were given a tour of the complex which has 30 individual flats, a library, games room, IT room, conference rooms, meeting rooms and a cafe. This is all designed to help x service men/women and families to integrate back into civilian life by assisting them to obtain housing and jobs.

AFD

27th June was Glasgow's AFD. We had a stall in George Square which was manned by S/m Joan Lowe, Anne McKinnon, Brian Mackenzie and Kenn McKinnon. We held a tombola as well as having other gizzits for the public. The parade stepped of from Holland Street at 12:00 and was in the square for 12:30 where the lord provost gave as short talk. At 14:00 the city chambers were opened for a civic reception for the veterans and serving personnel. 13 of our members marched in the parade and thank you to S/m Brian Mackenzie for taking the standard.