East Lancashire Branch May 2011

Written by East Lancashire Branch | Posted on 2nd July 2011

Secretary's Report

No minutes this time, only a newsletter to bring you up to date with recent events, the reason will become obvious as you read on. At the date of the above meeting (15th May) there were only 3 of us. Myself, Frank Haworth and Eric Smith, picked up by Frank. With the recent death of Ken Leigh and the illness of Syd Morton this was now the situation. As a result we decided to get together in my house and have a discussion. The outcome was, as you may have guessed, that we decided that it was no longer possible to carry on like this and therefore, regretfully, the only option was to close the Branch. We had said originally that we would carry on until the last minute, and we felt that we had achieved this. Coincidentally, we had just been advised of the closure of the North Midlands Branch and this, too, affected our thinking.

Torpedo Memorial

Another depressing item was that Frank reported that, following a survey, the damage to our Torpedo Memorial was worse than expected due to the fact that there was corrosion underneath it. The original repair estimate by the surveyor was £400, subject to confirmation. This was more than we would be able to meet out of existing funds, so it was decided that Frank and I would look at alternatives.

memorial featuring a torpedo — Coastal Forces Veterans memorial in Bury, Lancashire, featuring a tribute to Robert Whitehead inventor of the torpedo © Paul Anderson. Licensed for reuse under Creative Commons Licence

Frank would liaise with the repairers, contact Bury Council and any other likely sources. l would look into the situation with the War Memorials Trust and the possibility of a grant. No news on these at present, but obviously we would hate to see our memorial deteriorate further and will continue to do our best. Obviously, there will be other matters that will require sorting out. The handing over of the laying of the Remembrance Wreaths to the Sea Cadets, the cancellation of our present wreath order, other interested parties to be advised, and, of course, the disposal of any funds that may be left after paying any outstanding accounts. As originally agreed, any amount left will be donated to the Sea Cadets in appreciation of what they have done and will be doing for us. Other matters will be attended to by us as appropriate. That is about all l can say at this rather sad, if inevitable, time. l will try, if possible, to produce another, final, newsletter to advise you of the matters outstanding. Finally. Thank you for all your past support and all our very best wishes for the future to all of you. Never forget, we were once a part of the finest branch of the Royal Navy. Be proud!