Rhodesian Light
Infantry Regimental
Association
UK BRANCH
September 2008 News Letter
Dear All,It is now three weeks until the Rededication Service /Weekend on 27th/28th September, 2008. a few more tickets have been made available 24 exactly. Please follow directions on the website www.therli.com click on the statue right hand side and menu comes up on the left hand side, if you have not already booked your ticket accomodation is available at the Ramada Jarvis Hotel, St Albans Road West. Hatfield AL10 9RH Tel : 01707 252402, three, two and one night packages available at a discounted price for us, all information on website.
REGISTRATION: when tickets, identification badges / bracelets and welcome packages will be given out as you register with us ON ARRIVAL at the hotel, this has become necessary due to some bad press from a few of our Australian EXCO members. It will be essential that you wear your identification badges at all times as the hotel staff have been instructed only to serve meals to folks wearing the identification badges etc Registration in reception will be:
-
Friday, 26th
September,
6pm until
7pm,
Saturday, 27th September, 12 noon until 2pm and 5pm -6pm
Sunday, 28th September, 8am until 8.45 am
SUNDAY ONLY TICKETS: cost £25.95 plus £10.00 for Partners but £15.00 extra is added for Lunch i.e. Members £40.95 plus partners £25.00.If you are coming on the Sunday only, please be at the hotel no later than 0800 am to register with us and board your coach for Hatfield House, NO Entry to Hatfield House other than by coach and NO Entry to coaches unless identification badges and bracelets are worn.. There is plenty of car parking space to leave your car at the hotel. Coffee will be available in reception from 8 am. Pick up at Hatfield Railway station will be 9am please advise us beforehand if you require this.
PROGRAMME FOR THE WEEKEND:
This is going to be a spectacular and perhaps emotional weekend, where you are going to meet up with long lost friends, comrades and share memories and war stories and perhaps our last major parade.
Friday, 26th September, 2008 Registration 6pm -7pm and will be an opportunity to meet your UK Committee and members of the Exco Committee whilst enjoying an informal buffet supper.
Saturday, 27th September, 2008 Registration 12 noon until 2pm
WORLDWIDE AGM 2.30 pm until 5pm. Agenda will be published later
Please make sure you have given your Proxy votes to your respective Branch Chairman if you are not attending. We want your Questions and Views, this is your Association and we need to plan for the future. Agenda will be published for you before the event.
There will be Books on sale by courtesy 30degreessouth UK and also Memorabilia.
Ties £9.50 Blazer Badges £23.50 CIBs £9.00 RLI golf umbrellas £10.00 Ladies umbrellas £6.00 extra programmes £5.00 Beer Tankards £12.00 Bags £3.00.
Saturday Evening Dinner / Disco 8pm
Sunday 28th September,2008 Registration for Sunday tickets 8 am until 845 am in Reception Coffee will also be available there.
Coaches will leave outside hotel reception at 09.00 am PROMPT No admittance to coaches unless wearing your identification badges and bracelet, please take spare shoes on the coach for service down by the river Lee due to our British weather and RLIRA Umbrellas will be on sale at hotel. ONLY coaches will be allowed into Hatfield House for the Services and down at the river.
9.30 am Rededication Service in Chapel / Armoury, Hatfield House and Laying up of Queens Colours.Call to Service by the Bugles of the Rifles, the service will be led by the Rev Clive Larrett.
10.30 am Re – embarkation of your coaches and drive to Statue site by River Lee
11.00 am Unveiling Ceremony of the Trooper Statue, with Badges, Plaques and it is hoped the Rolls of Honour.The Band of the Rifles will participate with a marching display.
There will be plenty of photo opportunities by the Statue , a full colour programme of events is included in your ticket price and is included in your Welcome Packagee
Return to the Hotel is by your coaches at 12.30 pm
1.00pm. Lunch at the Ramada Jarvis Hotel, Hatfield
Speeches and Raffle will be drawn following Lunch.
With regard to the Raffle, please do not forget to bring your counterfoils with the money and especially any unsold tickets so that they can be sold over the weekend. We have just heard Craig Bone one of our members and the artist may be here to present the first prize.Unfortunately, the prize of the Television has been with drawn by the sponsor and instead they have given us a Camera, Olympus U840 digital, due to donor on difficult times. Lots more prizes have been donated over and above the prizes already listed.
Remember the 1st prize has been valued at $10.000.00 what a fantastic prize, keep selling those tickets..
NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
PATRON
During August our Patron Brigadier Retd. John “Digger” Essex- Clark resigned. We sadly have to accept his resignation but owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude for all his wisdom and input to help form this worldwide association and guide us thus far through these turbulent times.He will be with us in spirit.
However, we now proudly announce and welcome our new patron, Lt Col Ron Reid-Daly CLM, DMM, MBE, first RSM of RLI and later Training Officer, OC Support Group and latterly CO Selous Scouts, who will be present on the Re-dedication weekend and we look forward to meeting him there and thank him for doing us this honour.
Australia :
Tony Young has resigned from the post of Chairman of the Australasia Branch but will remain a member of the RLIRA, meantime Vince Zoricic, Australasia Secretary, is handling all communications.
MISINFORMATION FROM AUSTRALIA
Bruce McGregor from Australasia Branch has been sending missives questioning our transparency and running of the Rededication weekend as well as the manner in which we have collected funds for the Trooper.
It has now come to light that Tony Young the previous Australasian Chairman held a Raffle on Anzacs Day in April to collect money for the Trooper. They have now been asked by our Chairman, Ian Butteshaw to state where the money is, which has only come to light through the honesty of one of their members.
With this in mind, together with what Bruce McGregor published on Lekkerwear website I now urge you to boycott the Lekkerwear website and do not purchase their tacky clothing with our Badge on it. I am sure, like me, you are all fed up with this now.
PROXY VOTES
Many of you received abusive emails about the current RLIRA Exco and more specifically the Troopie Rededication project being organised by our UK Branch Committee These mails were initiated by a few members of the RLIRA Australian Branch and posted on a number of open websites.
The International Exco took the decision not to enter into a slanging match but instead decided to set the record straight by correcting blatant lies and inaccuracies. The Exco of Australia branch then decided to call for a UDI which has effectively split the branch
An email from one of the Australian members Quentin Fourie to Tony Young tells the full story of what’s going on within the Australian exco.Any one wishing a copy I will willingly send out.
As you will see from the programme our Worldwide AGM is on Saturday, 27th September at 2pm and in spite of knowing 90 of you will be attending this, it would be convenient to have your proxy votes before hand therefore would you please fill in the proxy voting forms with your desired option and return to me on line or just send an email. All postal voting forms have gone out to members on our postal list. We the International Exco will have to take decisions for which I will need your suggestions and Proxy votes.
I currently have 56 proxy votes out of a membership of 280 members if you have not yet given me your proxy to vote on your behalf at the International AGM I ask you to email me now martyn.hudson2@btinternet.com saying I give Martyn my proxy to vote at the International AGM on Saturday, 27th September2008.
Remember this surge by the Australia EXCO was designed to destabilise the Rededication Service and split our members and hopefully try to get my committee and I to resign under pressure , but they were wrong it has made us stronger and has united us more with the RSA Branch and members world wide, infact we have members coming from USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, RSA, Zimbabwe, Malawi, UAE, The Oman, Hong Kong and Europe, as well as the UK and Ireland this shows the massive support we have, if any of the Australian members are feeling disillusioned with their EXCO and do not want to be part of theie UDI scheme they are very welcome to align themselves to another branch, just ask and it will be done.
I would also like to point out that Tony Young refused to distribute the Patrons Appeal for donations and sell any of the RLIRA raffle tickets, however some of their members did find out about it and sent very generous donations.
FILM
Patrick King , Producer, Westminster King Productions Ltd. will be making a documentary film of the whole weekend and you may be asked for interviews during the course of the weekend. Some of you may become film stars, if you need an agent Messrs Hudson and Pilbeam will be available.
We have acquired some very old Ceremonial and Fireforce film footage which will be showing on plasma screens in the Bar area during the weekend. Copies will be available for purchasing.
THERE MAY BE ONE FINAL SURPRISE!!!!!! NO, Tony Young is not coming!!
With no further news I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible in Hatfield over this very special weekend and enjoying the friendship and camaraderie we always had and marching together in step together as we always did.
Finally, I would like to thank my UK Committee for all their hard work and dedicated support during all our planning stages for the Re-Dedication Weekend
Any further queries for the Re-dedication Weekend please just ask.
Best Regards
Martyn Hudson
Chairman UK Branch RLIRA and CEO Worldwide Exco.
Cornerview,
School Lane
Bolnhurst
Bedfordshiree
MK44 2 EN
Tel: 01234 376712 or Mobile 07788788095
Email : martyn.hudon2@btinternet.com