MARGATE RNA
MARGATE BRANCH: ROYAL NAVAL ASSOCIATION
The strength of the branch as at the end of 2007 was 52 life and full members and 16 associates members, a fall of 6 full members and an increase of 3 associates. This is in line with national trends where the total membership has fallen to just above 26,000.
Those members who have crossed the bar since the last AGM were S/M’s Bob Fyles, Sid Waller, Eric Stone, and Harry Peto.
Attendance at meetings ranged from 20 to 40 with the average being 28.5 up from 26-5 on last year.
Highlights were the first AGM buffet/Dance at the Swan Westgate arranged by our relatively new social secretary Berni Taft. Lets hope we can have a repeat next Friday. This was followed by Veterans Day in the historic dockyard Chatham and finishing at the Gillingham Veterans club, also to be repeated with longer in the club. Our Trafalgar day events were a big success with the Friday night dinner again at the Swan and the Sunday parade was topped by having 2 Dutch Standards on parade with us and who later came back to the lunchtime celebrations from which we received welcomed comments. The combined raffle monies from these two events raised £185-00.
Our support of T/S Jamaica Sea Cadet Unit continued and our donations were £234-00 plus £300 from HMS Jamaica association brought back by our chairman S/M Harry Allen.
S/M’s Richard Hiller, and Berni Taft paraded the standard at events ranging from the Dover Patrol, Chatham Veterans Day, Trafalgar Day, Remembrance Sunday, and a very cold St Barbara’s day in Ramsgate, not forgetting the many funeral services, not always for our own members, but members of other organisations. In this respect I would like to thank S/M Taft who often steps in at the last minute to carry out this important duty. It is our standard that is the best publicity for the RNA and our branch wherever it is paraded we always receive favourable remarks.
Finally it leaves me just to thank the committee and all members for their support in every thing we do, and to thank all who support our meetings, events, and parades.