Byfield and District RBL Branch NEWS and EVENTS
AFTER SEVENTY-SIX YEARS, we very much regret the Byfield and District Branch of the Royal British Legion has now CLOSED
We warned you all this would happen if no-one was willing to commit to becoming an Officer of our Branch.
After an initial REPRIEVE we still needed your HELP but none was forthcoming. As previously discussed... To be viable, the Branch needed individuals to act as Chair, Secretary and Treasurer. In addition we needed to fill three other committee roles, and we also required a BCS rep. You could have contacted any of our Officers for more info.
Make sure you also look a our NOTICES page for information on things that are about to happen.
This page covers regular occurrences and news about what has happened. For really interesting past happenings, see our Events past pages, and its many sub-pages.
REMEMBRANCE ceremonies in 2023 will take place at War Memorials around our District. Byfield and Boddington Schools will parade at their respective War Memorials on the morning of Friday 10th November. On Saturday 11th November everyone can attend ceremonies at 1100 (please gather by 1050). Services will be held in respective churches on Sunday 12th November 2023.
For specific reports on Remembrance, please see our Remembrance pages herein.
THIS YEAR'S QUIZ IS CANCELLED DUE TO A COMPLETE LACK OF INTEREST there's no more to be said.
This year of 2023, our SUMMER Barbeque WAS ALSO CANCELLED due to lack of support.
OUR MEETING in September attracted ONLY FOUR PARTICIPANTS even though we had a very interesting Speaker, David Morse, who told us about St. Paul's Watch.
OUR BRANCH MEETING on Monday 5th June 2023 was in the Woodford Halse Social Club NN11 3TR (W3W///masks.humble.hopes) where there is an active model railway. There was a chance to see the Model Railway in the top room of the social club and have a brief talk / Q&A session with John Rose and other model railway members before our committee meeting started. All were welcome (including non-Member visitors); as usual, everyone donated £1 to our Branch funds.
6th May 2023, as part of the celebration of King Charles III's Coronation, we had a "guess the number of poppies in a jar" competition: There turned-out to be 536 poppies in that jar. Thank you to all that helped, and of course, those that guessed how many poppies it contained. The three winners were: 1. Pom Boddington, who guessed there might be 533, 2.Terry Hoyle who thought 542 poppies were packed-in and 3. April Skelsey whose calculations equalled 549. There were 123 entries, and our Branch matched the donations, which provided another £247 to this year's Poppy Appeal. For the record, the old sweet jar was 12” tall x 5” wide x 4” deep.
In those years BC (Before Covid), we had four recurring annual events, Remembrance week (of course – see Remembrance page and our Photo Gallery for details), our Quiz, Christmas dinner and our summer barbeque. In addition, we had an RBL "stand" at the annual Byfield village Fête (or similar event), and when we could get the manpower, at other villages' fêtes etc. too.
SEE ALSO our sub pages "Events Past" and its sub pages "QUIZZes that were", "B-B-Q's consumed", "Christmas Do's gone by" and "Other Social Gatherings" for details of those.
And then, there are our… SPEAKERS: Punctuating all the above we try to invite guest speakers to as many of our monthly meetings as practical. Sometimes we are visited from afar but there are many amusing and sometimes exciting things to draw on that have been experienced by personnel closer to home; occasionally therefore we are able to persuade our members to perform.
Please go to our Speakers' page herein for more information AND to our "Who has Spoken" folder for what they spoke about.
AND TRIPS?: Once or twice a year we hope to “go out”, hiring a minibus, or by individual autos, depending on the level of interest. In the past we have visited such diverse locations as the National Memorial Arboretum, the Imperial War Museum Duxford, RAF Museum Cosford and locally Hook Norton’s brewery. Then there was the Cold War jets fast taxiing experience at Bruntingthorpe aerodrome nearby. We had a very intferesting day at RAF Halton; if you haven't been, it's well worth the effort. Sometimes we cater for the more genteel taste, like our outing to Compton Verney, a big old house in a Capability Brown landscape. There are also lots of photos of all this within our "Events Past" and Gallery pages herein; take a peek...
SOUNDS INTERESTING? COME AND JOIN US see: Recruitment
BELOW are some THINGS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED...
Byfield's War Memorial was ONE HUNDRED YEARS OLD on September 10th 2020. At 1000 hrs. on that day, our President, John Russell BEM commemorated its installation and unveilling. John gave a short presentation by the Memorial, which is at the corner of Byfield's Banbury Lane and High Street, NN11 6XQ.
First pub lunch since the first 2020 "lockdown" was on Wednesday 26th August 2020 in The Griffin Inn, Chipping Warden.
VJ+75-Day. Saturday 15th August 2020. Wreaths were laid at Byfield's War Memorial NN11 6XQ. At the same time wreaths were laid at Chipping Warden's village sign deputising as a WM - OX17 1JX, and at Culworth War Memorial, OX17 2BA.
VE Day +75 HAPPENED although very differently see our Events Past pages.
2020 - Two-thirds of our Meetings and, apart from VE+75-Day (see separate page via this link) all other events were cancelled due to Covid-19.
CONCERT - BUCK BRASS ENSEMBLE Sunday 5th January 2020 - 2.30 in Byfield's Holy Cross Church. Retiring collection for the RBL.
THIS IS A GOOD NEWS STORY (click-on the link), and a public THANK YOU, to the Royal British Legion.
SANTA's BIKERS deliver to GALANOS HOUSE Sunday 15th December 2019. We gathered at the Long Itch Diner CV47 9QZ by 1.30pm and went-on to Galanos House CV47 2BL at two. Lots of RBLR bikers turned-up and the staff and residents at Galanos House made us all very welcome.
CHRISTMAS DINNER: Friday 13th December 2019 was in The Plough at Upper Boddington NN11 6DH.
Boddington Vintage Association Working Weekend 14th/15th September 2019
MERCHANT NAVY DAY 3rd September, in Middle England, about as far from the sea as you can get..
Eydon Fête on their Community Sports Field off Hollow Way NN11 3PW on SUNDAY 1st September 2019.
21st June 2019 we were to be found in Joy's back garden in Woodford Halse, for our annual BBQ.
20th June 2019 was the 50th anniversary of men landing on the Moon. That was celebrated in Byfield at their PTA's School Fête - we were there.
On Saturday afternoon 22nd June we were at Aston-le-Walls Fête in the grounds of the old vicarage near the Anglican church NN11 6UN, where the sun shone and the crowds were convivial.
Saturday 8th June '19 we were represented at the Woodford Halse Music Festival where our new gazebo made its debut.
Tuesday 4th June 2019, in remembrance of "D-Day" 6th June 1944 our member Jeremy Wheeler made a PowerPoint presentation about that event 75-years ago. All that took place in Byfield Village Hall's Meeting Room.
Alem Hamza RA plaques' dedication at, and our visit to The National Memorial Arboretum: On Saturday 27th April, Chris attended the dedication in memory of two of his old unit’s personnel recently deceased, four more of our number supported him.
On Tuesday April 2nd 2019 we were back in Aston-Le-Walls' Village Hall NN11 6UF where Roger Cragg, spoke about the development of transport in the West Midlands over the years, including canals, railways and roads.
On the evening of 4th March 2019, in Byfield Village Hall's Meeting Room, David Morse told us about the Warwickshire Home Guard. after our usual pre-meet lubrication in Byfield's "Cross Tree"
On Tuesday 5th February, in Aston-Le-Walls Village Hall, Main Street, NN11 6UF at our Branch Meeting Richard Woodcock discussed "The Cuban Revolution", & Fidel Castro's statement 'History will absolve me'. We started at 8pm prompt and as there was no pub nearby everyone brought their own refreshments.
Monday the 7th of January in Byfield Village Hall (the BIG hall - NOT the Meeting Room (Lower Annexe)), Byfield Scouts told us all about their recent expedition to visit their counterparts in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya and their mini safari afterwards.
THE BUCK BRASS ensemble played for us in Byfield's Holy Cross Church on Sunday 6th January 2019, at 3pm. Entry was free but there was a retiring collection for the Royal British Legion. See our Events Past page.
CHRISTMAS DINNER? Ours was on the evening of Thursday 20th December 2018
TWO year's of pub lunches... (click-on the red font)
OUR ANNUAL QUIZ, was Friday evening, 23rd November 2018, in Byfield Village Hall.
See below for the programme for our 11th November "Thank You" day
On Tuesday, 2nd October 2018, Bob Cubitt gave a fully illustrated report about his and Chris's participation in GP90.The venue was Aston-le-Walls Village Hall; unfortunately, there's no pub nearby.
On Monday, September 3rd 2018, Tim Boddington spoke about China! It was a fascinating evening revealing a China unlike what you think you know about that teeming country.
On Tuesday 7th August 2018 Graham Pattenden concluded his account (begun at one of our meetings some time back) of the outrageous life of Colonel Fred Barnaby - was he "the hardest man in England?" AND if so, why has he been forgotten? Due to other halls in the area being pre-booked by others, this was in Byfield Village Hall's Lower Annexe (now called the Meeting Room by the way).
GP90 (The Great Pilgrimage, 90 years on) HAS HAPPENED and WE WERE THERE - 5-9th August.
The 2018 BBQ on Sunday 22nd July - see BBQ's Consumed in Events Past.
On Monday 2nd July 2018, in Byfield Village Hall's Lower Annexe, Bob Cubitt explained why we might be confused about commandos. When we think of the commandos, we think of the Royal Marines, but they weren't the first - not by a country mile.
We went to the ‘Created in Conflict: British Soldier Art from the Crimean War to Today’ exhibition being held at Compton Verney near Gaydon on Thursday 17th May. We waited in Byfield until ten-past-ten by which time we had six people. who went to Compton Verney in two cars for a good day out.
On Monday 14th May 2018 in Byfield Village Hall's Lower Annexe, Steve Dimmer told "Tales from the Trenches"
April's pub lunch was also in The Griffin @ noon+30 on Wednesday 25th.
Our Member Bernard reminds us... ITS FIFTY YEARS SINCE FLIGHT LIEUTENANT POLLOCKS'S FITTING TRIBUTE TO THE RAF 
thanks to Gary Eason for the image.
ANGIE's BINGO EVENING - see Events Past herein. There was a FULL HOUSE in Byfield's Village Hall on Friday 23rd March 2018, which raised just over £1,000 for our Branch. THANKs to ALL our supporters for that.
On a snowy Wednesday 28th February 2018 we were in The Fox & Hounds in Charwleton.
R I P "GROUP 4". On Friday 16th February 2016 we were represented at a presentation of £1,920 of "Group 4" cash to assist Galanos House in 
funding a new minibus. The donations to that fund were further swelled by £10,000 from RBL Northamptonshire County via a legacy they had received.
Unfortunately "Group 4" is no more, having finally succumbed late last year from lack of interest. "Group 4" was really a Branch comprised of other Branches around Northants' RBL. As its name implies, the County was split into four groups geographically, each group containing a number of Branches. The object was to share ideas between Branches and assist each other with problem solving. With Branch support, "Group 4" also organised events and raised money just like any other Branch and therefore had funds available to it. The donation to Galanos House was the final act to clear its accounts.
Karin Start talked to us on Monday 5th March 2018, in Byfield Village Hall's Lower Annexe, Karin gavve a fascinating insight into the NHS's Emergency Medical Team's activities in strange and wonderful places.
On Tuesday 6th February 2018 in The Royal Oak in Eydon, our Chaplin, the Rev Stevie Cross provided us with an insight into working with the aerospace industry. Her talk was entitled "Reflections of a Peripatetic Engineer"
The Buck Brass Trio entertained more than sixty people in Byfield's Holy Cross church on Sunday afternoon, January 14th 2018 and raised over £300 for the Legion. See our Events Past page for more more, and our Facebook timeline for video clips.
The Byfield & District RBL Quiz of 2017... was an excellent event, if you missed it, well, there's always next year to look forward to.
Byfield & District RBL visited RAF Halton, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire on 09/09/17, SEE our Events Past page for a report.
Byfield and District RBL helped the RBL's RIDERS' BRANCH tried to create the WORLD'S BIGGEST HUMAN POPPY, an attempt that was later rejected on a technicality by the GUINESS BOOK of WORLD RECORDS, on Thursday 13th July 2017 at Southam College.
Our Summer of Seventeen BBQ was held at Joy's Place on 23rd July - see BBQ's Consumed herein for report.
GOOD NEWS... WE ARE DELIGHTED TO ANNOUNCE that the 2016 Byfield & District RBL Poppy Appeal BROKE THE £10,000 Barrier, Thanks to everyone who made that happen. A little more has been banked since, following outstanding payment for this and that and Gift Aid supplements; currently (July '17) there's £10, 247.98 in the pot.
In 2017 we shifted our quiz night to Friday, which proved to be a good move. On the crisp and clear evening of the 24th November our numbers were up again and that means, so was the profit, which is what its all about and assists us in our sponsorship of Battle Back.
Byfield RBL's SUMMER of SEVENTEEN BAR-BE-QUE - was held at Joy's in Woodford Halse from 1230hrs on a sunny July Sunday - the 23rd. See our B-B-Q's consumed page for photos and comment.
The 2016 Festive Fund-Raising Quiz was held in Byfield Village Hall on Saturday evening, 26th November 2016.
Last year's (2016) Christmas Dinner was held at The Fox and Hounds, Charwelton, on the evening of Thursday the 15th of December; see "Christmas Do's gone by" for details.
MOST BIKERS AREN'T "BAD" Just before Christmas 2016, the Warwickshire section of the Riders Branch of the Royal British Legion (RBLR) organised a Christmas Present Run in support of the Galanos House Care Home in Southam. See our "Events Past"page.
