DURING the homage we remembered lost friends who have passed away during the last year and particularly our late Vice Chairman Guy Phillips who will be badly missed by all of us.

Our meeting this month was the AGM and looking back on the year we are able to reflect on a very mixed year when at times our future as a branch looked bleak, but happily we have survived with new vigour and we are now optimistic for the future. We are sure there are some potential new members in the villages of Powick, Callow End and surrounding districts who will be looking to join us in the coming year and in this connection, we are delighted to welcome Major Sir Gerry Wiggin T.D. as a new member of the branch.

As our meeting was actually held on Armistice Day, our thoughts were focussed on the past week end when we had our Sunday Remembrance services at Powick in the morning and Callow End Memorial and church in the afternoon when children from Callow End school placed crosses on the memorial. Another short service was held in heavy rain on Armistice Day at Callow End memorial.

The branch would like to thank everyone who attended all these services for their support and help in making the occasions quite memorable. A special note of congratulation must go to the uniformed groups in our community who put on such a splendid show at Powick on Sunday morning and as in past years; you were a credit to yourselves and your organisers.

We would also like to thank Rev. Mary Nobles, Rev. Graham Oakes and Very Rev Ian Corbett for their invaluable input into our services.

Thanks also go to Mark Oldham and Harold Massam for their trumpeting assistance.

The afternoon service at Callow End was well supported and we are grateful to those who make this dedicated event a part of their year. Our afternoon was concluded when we were invited into the Callow End Club for a delicious cold buffet supper. Our warmest thanks go to the Club and Anne Conaboy and Gwen Mason for their hard work in providing the delicious refreshments.

Our house-to-house Poppy Appeal collections have now finished and we await the results with great anticipation that this year we will beat our previous target. The Poppy collections in our villages are the main reason we exist in the community: to raise funds for the care and treatment of our serving and ex-service personnel and their dependants who might otherwise fall through the net of our welfare system.

The most important people therefore are the enthusiastic collectors who go out every year in all weather and also the commercial organisations with static boxes who do their bit to help toward those in need. We at the Royal British Legion value their efforts above all others.

Ladies and Gentlemen we thank you!

The AGM is the part of the meeting when officers are appointed to the key positions in the branch for the coming year and with no contenders for any post, the existing committee was re-elected en bloc.

In concluding the meeting, the chairman wished everyone a Happy Christmas and peaceful and prosperous New Year.

There will be no meeting in December and our next meeting will be on Tuesday 13 January 2015 at 8.15pm at Madresfield Club, new members will be especially welcome.

JOHN MASON