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260 Signal Squadron (SAM)
REUNION
25 YEARS AFTER THEY CLOSED THE GATE
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THE MAIN GATE NAPIER BARRACKS
2000
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WIRE Report by Steve Freeman -
Pannett August 2002
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25 Years ago men and machines rolled out of this
gate for the last time. The married quarters began to empty as the families
moved off to pastures new with their husbands on posting to new units, or on to
Civ Div, settling in Germany or returning the U.K. Packing up seven years of
memories of the hard and good times into the trusty kit bag and setting off to
make new friends and acquaintances leaving behind thoughts of what will become
of the old place. The photo shows little more than a rundown establishment
protected by security personell and a dog. We almost came face to nose but not
for long - I stepped back a few paces in double quick time.
A small band of men and women put out the word
that we merry men and women who lived and worked in the shadow of Napier
Barracks would like to have knees up to celebrate the fact that some 25 Years
ago most of us got together to say good bye.
260 Signals Squadron (SAM)
Association was formed some 5 years ago to try to bring those merry souls back
together again to relive some of those hard and good time had by dusting off
that kit bag full of memories and sharing them again with others at our Annual
Reunions.
At last years reunion Roy Andrews, our
Secretary, was asked to go for a big shindig. With this aim in mind Roy and his
wife Pat were let loose to find a hostelry suitable for the occasion - well
actually an A.A. road map of the Midlands and the usual blindfold and pin. With
their skill , they selected one of the ex-homes of the Royal Signals,
Loughborough. They proceeded to book a dozen or so rooms and send out the word
to come and join us for this celebratory knees up.
By the autumn of 2001
things were looking quite good. Archie Cairns our Webmaster, (may the forces be
with you) was going full gusto which was really painful for those living north
of the border. The electronic pages of our new Web Site were getting bigger by
the month and winging around the world in seconds for all to see. By the time
of the reunion some 43 rooms had been taken.
Last year (2001) Roy, our two ladies and myself
were invited to attend the last reunion of 36 Heavy Air Defence Regiment R.A.
organised by Jan Greenland their outgoing
Secretary.
During our initial visit she showed us the new
flag she had made for their Regimental Association we got to thinking that it
would be a good idea to have a Standard made for our Association. After some
thought, Roy suggested we ask Jan to make up a Standard for us and so we
borrowed the Standard from the Norfolk Branch to use as a pattern. Jan had a
major task before her and began selecting the colours. Making up the "Jimmy"
and the letters was no mean feat but things came together quite smoothly. Our
biggest stumbling block was the fringe. The supplier told us that it had to
come from Taiwan and the possibility of the fringe arriving before the reunion
weekend was looking very remote indeed. Then things started to come together a
fortnight before the reunion and Jan made a great effort to get the Standard
finished in time.
Steve Freeman - Pannett and Jan
Greenland
Display the newly completed Squadron
Standard.
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Having waited for the Seymours to join us from
Germany, we now travelled north west to Loughborough and the start of the
reunion proper. When we arrived we ran onto a sea of faces well there was about
4 or 5 couples already sitting in the lobby. The sea began to grow as more
faces turned round the corner from the reception desk clutching handfuls of
cases and suit carriers and trying to make the stairs or lift at the other end
of the lobby. I tried not to be spotted, to no avail as yet another voice rang
out, 'Nice to see you after such along time' or words to that effect. Many more
people turned up and all who had booked for the Friday arrived in time for the
evening meal. We then retired to the bar for drinks. As we had yet another
invitation to visit the RBL club a majority of the now assembled crowd headed
off to make their presence known. We enjoyed the hospitality of the local
members and many thanks go to them for the invite. Afterwards we had a nice
stroll back to the hotel, watching with envy the younger element of
Loughborough disappear into one or two night clubs.
After a hearty breakfast we wandered around the
town and market, meeting several of our clansmen clutching feather dusters and
a pair of plastic boobs. Then before lunch it was into the Legion club for a
swift pint to set the pace for the day. In the meantime our ranks had began to
swell as the remaining members continued to join us throughout the afternoon.
When the time came to start with evenings entertainment, we assembled in the
hotel quadrangle for the Squadron photograph.
The Association assembled in the
hotel quadrangle with the NEW Squadron Standard
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This was followed by the AGM and a very nice
three course meal accompanied by drink or two. After the meal Jill Daniels
entertained us singing songs of pre 1960 before the intermission and post 1960
after the intermission. During the intermission some thirty gifts donated by
the members attending were raffled off and boosted our coffers by over one
hundred and fifty pounds. So on behalf of the Committee many, many thanks.
After the entertainment it was a slow drift back to the bar. and by
Cinderella’s bed time, people drifted up the stairs and away to there
beds.
On Sunday most people took a leisurely breakfast
and then gathered in the lobby to say their farewells and expressed their hope
to see ourselves and maybe even more members of the Squadron next year. We left
with heavy heart, leaving behind Archie our Webmaster, Peter 'Captain Birdseye'
Lori, Roy 'I don't flap a lot I'm always 6ft above the ground' and Pat 'Miss
Moneypenny' Andrews. Thank you ALL for turning up we hope you had a great
time.
Thank you Steve Freeman -
Pannett
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There are many more pages of photographs of
our Reunion at Loughborough in April 2002 on our
web site. |
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WEB SITE |
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If you have any photographs you would like to
share with us please contact the Webmaster.
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