In view of the numbers attending this year's Reunion, our Secretary - Harry Williams - had negotiated the sole use of The Falstaff Hotel, located just on the west side of Leamington Spa, and within a comfortable 10 minutes walk away from the shops and other attractions of this pleasant Warwickshire town. When we arrived at about 3 p.m. there were already a goodly number of members and their partners in the bar and foyer/lounge renewing old friendships. About 30 of us sat down to dinner in the evening and then retired to the bar to natter or to look at the various items of memorabilia laid out by our Historian - Andrew Suddaby. Of particular interest was an Ordnance Survey map of the northern half of Hong Kong Island, dating from the 1930's.
Next morning, after a very good breakfast, members did their own things, many visiting nearby Warwick Castle and Museum, others indulging in a bit of retail therapy or exploring Leamington Spa itself. Did you know, for example, that the local circus owners used to wash their elephants in the River Leam, taking them down the cobbled slipway 'The Elephant Wash' which still exists? Or that Frank Whittle's father had a small workshop off Clinton Street before he became the owner of the Leamington Valve & Piston Company? During our self-guided tour of the town, we were invited into the oldest buildings in Leamington, a pair of cottages dating back to the late 16th/early 17th Century. The current occupier has lived there for 50 years and proudly showed us the citation received from H.M. the Queen on the occasion of her Diamond Wedding Anniversary!
Later in the afternoon, Members and many Associates assembled for the AGM, where they were welcomed to the 14th Reunion by President and Chairman - Tom Eaves. Sadly, he had to advise the meeting that a couple of members were 'Silent Keys' After the usual formalities for opening an AGM, our Treasurer presented his report and accounts. Current paid-up membership stands at 179, although 215 ex-Saiwanners have been members of the Association since it was founded. 11 new members have been recruited via the web-site this year alone. No increase in Annual Subscription was proposed. The Association's accounts are healthy and the Report and Accounts were adopted. Members were encouraged to consider 'Life Membership' at £60 (equivalent to 10 years at current subscription level) as this reduced the work of the Treasurer collecting subs!
There then followed brief reports from the other Honorary Officers. Our Secretary apologised for the problem experienced by some members with underpaid postage, despite having been told by postal staff that the envelopes he sent would go as 'standard letters'. It was suggested that as the majority of members were on broadband/e-mail, postage costs could be reduced by sending out the Newsletter and other appropriate documents by e-mail. Tests will be conducted over the next months to establish a compatible format for all members. It was also recommended that Members should send details of any change to e-mail address via the web-site.
Our Historian reported that Book 12 is now finished and will be posted out to members shortly. Book 13 is already underway! On the historical front, it had been established that 367 Wireless Unit was operating in Burma in 1943 with three D/F Units (probably mobile) supporting the main Y station in Colombo, Ceylon.
The current Honorary Officers were re-elected en bloc as no-one had volunteered to stand for election! In any other business, Harry Hunt reported that during his recent visit to Australia, he had met up with a couple of members of our Affiliate Member 3TelU and conveyed their good wishes. A straw poll of members indicated that a significant number were in favour of having an organised visit as part of the Reunion weekend. Following a lively discussion regarding the 2008 Reunion, the National Space Centre at Leicester was considered a suitable venue, and would be explored further. The date for the next AGM was set for Saturday, October 11th, 2008 - put this in your Diary NOW!
In the evening, 101 members and associates sat down to enjoy a very pleasant meal at The Falstaff. Five friends from the 1951/52 period were re-united - see the 'Pictures' page. Once again, Andrew had provided us with another excellent quiz which challenged everyone's knowledge of the RAF and Hong Kong. I don't know how he does it. There were 21 questions, some involving photos of 'familiar' scenes, others stretching our memories of facts and figures to the limit. This year, Maurice Cook was the winner with 17/20 correct; yours truly was runner-up with 16/20 - although I have to confess there was a lot educated-guessing on my part. Charles McGugan and Albert Hunt scored a creditable 15/20. We were presented with San Miguel glasses contributed by Terry Wilson. Thanks Terry, and well done, Andrew!
After dinner, members retired to the bar and lounge area to continue reminiscing about shared experiences in Hong Kong and other parts of the Far East.
