FROM IAN FREEGARD – CHAIRMAN

Ladies and Gentlemen I hope this finds you all in rude health, or as near as dammit, anyway! Without further ado, I was thrilled to learn that 2 of our members, Anne Carr and Adam Lappin, have been recognised for their outstanding work and made MBE in the King’s Birthday Honours. On behalf of all RNWA members, our huge congratulations to you both.

Picking up the primary thread from the Feb 26 Newsletter, I am delighted to report keen early interest in the 139th Annual Reunion Dinner. In departing from the norm, the committee recognised the importance of keeping the event as affordable as possible for all concerned, in the face of the obvious and seemingly ever-increasing cost pressures placed on sourcing hospitality services. I believe that we have achieved it, and I look forward to greeting many of you at the Village Hotel in October. For ease of reference, Lyn has again included the relevant booking details below.

Many of you reacted to the request in the March 2026 Committee Meeting Minutes asking for your views on a different venue for our milestone 140th Reunion Dinner next year. The initial options presented were: a. go to HMS PRESIDENT for a dinner; b. go to HMS PRESIDENT for a hot buffet; c. go to the UJC for a dinner; or d. stay in Portsmouth. e. consider another area. The Committee will need to make plans soon but there is still time should you wish to express a view – do not hesitate to let Lyn know your thoughts.

In the minutes, the Secretary also asked for the names of those interested in participating in Cenotaph Marchpast in November. We have now received our ticket allocation; again, Lyn provides further detail in her section.

Thanks go to all of you who supported the annual fundraiser in the form of the Grand National draw (winners listed below). You will recall that we used a digital eTicket system for the first time, and although sales were slightly down on last year, this was offset by concomitant savings in postage and printing. My thanks and BZ to Lyn, as ever, for driving this successful change.

In late March, Colin introduced me to the DSLA Writer Training Team. Generously hosted by WOWTR Nik Sweet and CPOWTR Dave Sowden, we toured a modern training area that provides the trainees with a realistic insight into a Writer’s lot at sea, including everything and everybody likely to ruin your day in the Ship’s Office! We also spoke to members of the LWTRQC course; their obvious duress brought back my memories of being in the line of fire at Chatham, under the fine tutelage of Charlie Wunderle, no less. Some things don’t change!

 Colin and I have also visited the new site for the 2 RNWA Memorial ‘benches’ in Southsea on a day when we could barely stand up, such was the Force 8 South Westerly. This follows the completion and recent opening of the upscaled sea defences. The seats, which are now in keeping with the new design prevalent along the entire seafront, are situated adjacent to the Sebastopol Naval memorial, close to the D-Day Museum.

While not being a regular on Facebook…… when I do dip in, I am always entertained by some of the posts, not least the thread started by Taff Magill inviting our recall on the first pay packet received in the mob. I can’t blackcat the many contributions from the old-and-bold but, suffice to say, my cash payment in 1975 was still pretty paltry (and, yes, I did get picked up for a haircut by the Joss), but it was enough to acquire sufficient libation at the PEMBROKE bop – a pint was a mere 20p, of course!

FROM LYN GANNON – SECRETARY

Just a quick recap:

Annual Reunion Dinner 2026 – The 139^th dinner will be held on Friday 9^th October in 2026, at the Village Hotel, North Harbour Portsmouth PO6 3FR.  The AGM will be held at 1830, with the dinner being 1900 for 1930. It is hoped that the slightly later timing of the AGM will provide a better opportunity for more members to attend.

Details of the Guest of Honour will be confirmed in due course.

The dinner will be subsidised for members at £50 per ticket, with guests paying £60 – a better deal than last year.

Accommodation can be booked at special rates (again, a better deal than last year) – see the application form on the RNWA website for all the details on the dinner, accommodation and online payment. When making payment, please use the reference Dinner 26.

As usual, there will be a raffle – prizes gratefully received – and a couple of games of Heads and Tails.

Events are made successful by your support, we have a very good deal with the hotel, for both the dinner and the accommodation, so get your application done, deadline is 18^th September.  I look forward to seeing you there.

Annual Reunion Dinner 2027 – I had quite a good response on views for 2027. The front runner is a dinner at HMS President, with the runner up being a hot buffet at HMS President.

What I now need is to find out who would probably attend, so can I get some feedback please – I know its too early for definite commitment from you but I need a rough guide for numbers. Email me on gannons1@virginmedia.com if you are interested in attending- if you are not planning on attending, I don’t need a response, thank you.

Grand National Draw – over £900 worth of tickets were sold, with no expenses to the RNWA.

The winners were : Barbara Mason, Bill Whaley, Alf Parr and Road Lewis.  You had to be in to win!

Cenotaph Tickets – I have had confirmation from TRBL that the RNWA has been awarded 20 tickets, which will be allocated on a first come first served basis, to allow successful applicants to get their travel and/or accommodation booked early. Please email me (address above) if you wish to be included in our platoon. It’s a lovely day, meeting up with friends old and new, and more importantly, paying our respects to the fallen.  All that’s needed is smart clothing, comfortable shoes and a good singing voice 🙂 (only one hymn!)

FROM BRENDA RYAN – MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY

Total Membership (After allowance for those that have lapsed/resigned or CtB since October 2023):

FROM PAT PRIOR – TREASURER

Memorabilia – There is still a stock of these 2 items available,

Sweatshirts (blue with printed RNWA logo)  £22.99 inc P&P

Polo shirts  (black with embroidered logo)  £25.00 inc P&P

Orders to Pat –  rnwa.treasurer@gmail.com