Item 1.  Chairman’s Opening Remarks.  Graham Pattenden explained that the Chairman, Danny Fewins, was unable to attend as he had had to self-isolate having been altered by NHS Test & Trace that he had been in recent contact with a Covid- infected person.  He had asked Graham to act as Chairman for this meeting.

Item 2.  Minutes of the Last Meeting.  The minutes of the meeting held on 7 June 2021 had been circulated to the membership and, with one exception, were accepted as a true and accurate record of the proceedings.  Chris Kiely proposed their adoption, seconded by the President. 

Item 3.  Matters Arising. 

1. The exception mentioned in Item 2 referred to comments recorded in paragraph 6 of the previous meeting’s minutes concerning the “purchase” of RBL wreaths by non-members; it had appeared that the procedure for providing wreaths requested by outside agencies was that the wreaths were bought, and paid for by the Branch, from the Poppy Appeal (PA) HQ, sold on to the purchaser and that money was also sent to the PA HQ, thereby implying that the Branch paid twice for the same wreath. Further enquiry after the meeting showed that not to be the case: requested wreaths were collected – but not bought – by a Branch member from the local PA Organiser (Tom Smith), and then passed on to the “purchaser” who would be asked to make a donation in return for the wreath.  The donation was then sent to the PA.  The Branch was not, in fact, paying for the wreath at all, but merely acting as a liaison between the “purchaser” and the PA.  This correction would be entered in the previous minutes.
2. The Chairman’s proposal to merge the duties of Secretary and Membership Secretary until a replacement for Alan Bailey could be found was approved. Proposed by David Bradshaw and seconded by Chris Kiely.
3. Disappointingly, no volunteers had come forward to fill the post of Secretary, join the committee or organise any of the forthcoming events. Caroline Crewe commented that, in her experience, people were reluctant to put themselves forward as volunteers but were much more likely to respond to a direct, personal request to help out. 

Item 4.  Branch Barbeque.  Following some discussion, David Bradshaw generously volunteered to organise the Branch Barbeque which would be held on Sunday 15 August at Byfield Primary School.  Caroline would advertise the event in the hope that it would involve members of the community, not just Branch members.

Item 5.  Monthly Lunches.  While looking forward to resuming the popular monthly lunches, the members were concerned about the safety of socialising after the lifting of Covid-related restrictions on 19 July.  It was decided to defer discussion until the effects of lifting restrictions could be assessed.

Item 6.  Quiz Evening.  The annual Quiz Evening would take place on 26 November 2021 in the Byfield Village Hall.  The Acting Chairman had been in touch with Terry Hoyle who advised that last year’s Quiz would have been organised by Bob Cubitt had it not been cancelled and Terry suggested that Bob be approached to invite him to run this year’s event instead.  The Acting Chairman agreed to contact Bob, who also runs the Branch website.

Item 7.  Memorial Bench.  Having read the minutes of the last meeting, Terry Hoyle was disappointed to note that no mention had been made of progress in providing a Memorial Bench to mark the BL’s (not the RBL!) centenary.  This had apparently been discussed and approved at a Branch meeting some time ago and Terry had carried out research into cost, location of the proposed Bench and had produced a suggested design. 

1. Design and Cost. Terry’s research revealed that a metal bench, manufactured by a company in King’s Sutton, would cost in the region of £1,000 - £2,000 but a more affordable wooden bench, suitably inscribed, would cost approximately £500 from a company called Memorial Benches UK.  However, Chris Kiely reported that his Regimental Association had recently provided a metal bench for £500, pictures of which he showed to the members who favoured the more long-lasting metal option.  Chris undertook to investigate the provision of a similar bench of an appropriate design and report back. 
2. Location.  Terry had discussed the location of the bench with Angela Weller, Clerk to Byfield Parish council, and it was agreed to site the bench near the Byfield War Memorial.  The existing bench at the War Memorial would be moved to the footpath leading to Holy Cross Church, immediately outside the Church boundary wall.  However, bearing in mind the Chairman’s concern that the Branch was too Byfield-focussed, the meeting felt that other village locations should also be considered.

Item 8.  Community Involvement.  Again, the members felt that the effects of relaxing Covid restrictions and the response of the public to the Branch Barbeque should be assessed before further community involvement.

Item 9.  Speakers for Future Meetings.  Members were asked to suggest possible speakers for forthcoming meetings.

Item 10.  Any Other Business.  There was a suggestion that an event should be organised so that the Branch could say a formal farewell and thank you to long-serving committee members Terry Hoyle and Joy Rees.  This was enthusiastically supported by those present.

There being no further business, the Acting Chairman closed the meeting at 2050hrs.