THE ROYAL BRITISH LEGION ANTWERP BRANCH

Tweemaandelijkse newsletter mei/juni 2012 Verantwoordelijk uitgever:

Suzanne Mastbroek, Lodewijk Van Berckenlaan 192/6, 2140 Antwerpen Afgiftekantoor 2000 Antwerpen 1

P701114

Belgie-Belgique P.P-P.B

2000 Antwerpen 1 BC 26323 P701114

RBL dates for your diary

● Sunday 9th September 2012 RBL Tank Lunch ● Sunday 28th October 2012 RBL Poppy Appeal Lunch ● Saturday 10th November 2012 RBL Poppy Appeal at the Meir ● CHANGE OF DATE! Thursday 22nd November 2012 RBL All Ranks Lunch ● Sunday 9th December 2012 RBL Christmas Lunch

Other dates for your diary • Sunday 20th May ABCA Visit to exhibition Life & Death, MAS ● Saturday 16th June 2012 RBL YPRES Celebration of the Diamond Jubilee MORE INFO SEE PAGE 11 • Saturday 2nd June St. Boniface Flower festival and garden party to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee RBL Royal British Legion Antwerp Branch For entertainment, call Martin Southam on 03/295 00 76 (evenings) or Raf Kloeck on 0473/297 623 For payments, call Frank Van Nunen on 03/321 28 84 (evenings) For membership matters, call Phil Shaw on 0486/189 734 (evenings) ABCA Antwerp British Community Association: contact Mary Ann Marinus on 0486/646 941

(evenings only) St. Boniface St. Boniface Anglican Church: contact Father Andrew Wagstaff SSC on 03/239 33 39 BATS British American Theatrical Society: contact Jill Franks on 03/236 23 19 ABIW Antwerp British & International Women: contact Valerie Carroll on 03/254 03 73 MtS Missions to Seafarers: contact John Attenborough on 03/605 41 88 KMLPA Koninklijke Muziekkapel Lokale Politie Antwerpen: contact 0478/997 091 of info@muziekkapel.be

Welcome! Dear members, dear readers of this newsletter, This is a bit of a handicapped newsletter. A few weeks ago my pc refused to start up. I consulted a pc-doctor and he gave me the bad news: the hard disc was well and truly… Well, it was ready for the bin. The pc-doctor replaced the hard disk and tried to save what was left on the computer. Tell you what, it wasn’t much. So basically, I had to start from scratch and that took some time. Therefore, this newsletter is late, but still on time for you to note the important dates of upcoming events, RBL or other ones. Thank you all for your letters on 90 years RBL Antwerp Branch. I decided to spread them over the next newsletters in a new column, called ‘The way we were’. Also a big thank you to everyone who was there for the reception in Town Hall. It was a really festive way to celebrate this important landmark in the history of our branch. And last, but certainly not least: the Poppy Appeal 2011 raised a € 3.586,75! Whoopee! We couldn’t have done it without you! See you hopefully next time without computer problems! Bye for now, Suzanne Newsletter Editor

**********

RBL Antwerp Branch HELP LINE 03/685 34 20

(The Reverend Ann Babb) If someone is ill, or needs a visit,

please DO call.

PLEASE PAY ATTENTION THAT NEXT YEAR’S MEMBERSHIP WILL BE € 26 PER ANNUM OPGEPAST: HET LIDMAATSCHAP ZAL VOLGEND JAAR 26 EURO BEDRAGEN

Speech!

At the reception in the town hall, our chairman Bob Chambers gave this speech to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Royal British Legion Antwerp Branch. Ambassador, Deputy Mayor, Trustee, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, Mijnheer Brenton, Mijnheer Heylen, Mijnheer Hefferman, dames en heren, beste vrienden, Het is een privilege om u te mogen aanspreken op deze markante gelegenheid. It is a privilege and an honour for me to address these words to you today. As we celebrate our 90th anniversary this month it’s important to remember that we are the local custodians of Remembrance, at the Service of Remembrance for the Liberation of Antwerp held every year in September and we strive to preserve this for future generations. As well as helping Service personnel past and present and their families, the Legion’s job is to ensure that those who made that ultimate sacrifice are never forgotten. But, even at 90 years old, we must look forward not back. We all want to see the Branch continue to thrive over the next 90 years. To make this happen we have to welcome on board a new generation and raise our profile. This is a chance to celebrate our great organization and spread the word. To our members I say: tell your friends about us when you’re having a drink in the pub, or for the more computer literate: post a message on your Facebook or Twitter. We want as many people involved in our fundraising efforts and the Poppy Appeal as possible. To our Patrons: our sincere thanks and appreciation for their generosity and efforts. We are indeed privileged to have the support and recognition from our Ambassador, here with us today, and the Town Authorities and Mr Patrick Janssens, the burgemeester, in particular. And so ladies and gentlemen please raise your glass in a salute to this great institution: a toast to the Legion, and to the City of Antwerp our sincere thanks for hosting this 90thanniversary celebration. To the Legion. Bob Chambers Chairman

The way we were

Speech by the Deputy Mayor

At the reception in town hall, Philip Heylen (Schepen voor Cultuur, Toerisme, Bibliotheken, Monumentenzorg en Erediensten) gave a moving speech. When I asked for the text, he gave me his ‘cheat sheet’. Dear members of the British Legion Antwerp Branch, Winston Churchill once said that if a war is not being remembered anymore, you kill the casualties twice. And the German Nobel Price winner Günter Grass turned this into a duty for his people: not remembering all that happened is committing for the second time is a crime against humanity.

The basic task of the Legion is to remember those who have died, and to help those who survive. It still maintains contact with as many widows as they can and many welcome their support. It is however essential that we never forget the symbolical value of organisations that keep carrying the flame of remembrance. It is the duty of a city like Antwerp not to forget where our prosperity and our welfare come from and how it overcame times that we were all threatened in our existence by a common enemy. Moreover, it is extremely important that new generations understand that we owe our freedom to those who once gave their lives.

Therefore I warmly welcome you here.

Picture time

Just a small impression of a very enjoyable reception for the 90th anniversary of our RBL Branch.

Phil’s wondering

I've been telling myself to send this for some time now, but wasn't sure if it would be of interest. The pictures (in tif and jpeg) are self-explanatory and the plaque reads as in the text below: If u think it's ok, then please add the following text (you may be able to get a better image if u Google Belgian Merchant Navy and Liverpool, this brings up better photos than the attached ones). I've put a strap line, but u can change it if you like: A LITTLE PIECE OF HISTORY Being a born-and-bred Scouser, I sometimes go back to my home town of Liverpool. On my last visit, my brother-in-law Barry took me down to the Pier Head, now a World Heritage site. which fronts on to the River Mersey. There we came across the plaque which you see in the photograph. If you can't read it, it says IN MEMORY OF THE 831 SEAMEN OF THE BELGIAN MERCHANT NAVY WHO DIED AT SEA DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR Erected by the Federation of Belgian Merchant Seamen of the Wars 1914-1918 and 1939-1945 ANTWERP I have tried to find out more about the plaque and when it was erected, but without success. Has anybody got any ideas? All I know is that throughout the years of World War 2, Liverpool was Britain's main convoy port, the vital lifeline with the United States and Canada and it was crucial both for Britain's survival and the ultimate Allied victory. Over 1,000 convoys arrived in the River Mersey, on average 3 or 4 per week (each convoy consisted of between 30 and 70 merchant ships). A great number of warships and Merchant ships were repaired and built on Merseyside. What I have discovered is that many Belgian merchant seamen attended the 6 week course at the Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships Training Centre (DEMS) in Liverpool which trained seamen as gunners to man merchant vessels. Maybe some of these brave men were among the 831 who gave their lives to protect the shipping lanes from North America to Liverpool. Liverpool was the second most-bombed city in Britain during the war. Over 4,000 residents lost their lives during the blitz, dwarfing the number of casualties sustained in other bombed industrial areas of the country.This death toll was second only to London. In May 1941, the Luftwaffe made a concentrated effort on Merseyside and the devastation that followed in eight nights of terror will never be forgotten. 1,746 people lost their lives with 1,154 seriously injured. In the eight day period, the city suffered the most intensive and destructive raiding it had experienced during the war. Each night around the hours of midnight, wave after wave of planes

bombarded the city and surrounding areas with bombs, parachute mines and incendiary devices. I remember my Mum telling me about a dogfight she saw over our street between a Spitfire and a Messerchmitt. But that's a story for another day....................... WE WILL REMEMBER THEM Phil Shaw

Even more dates for your diary!

There’s a lot going on in the coming months, so no need to get bored! There’s something for everyone: theatre, music and even a dance. *** 25th -28th MAY: FEATS 2012 (Festival of European Anglophone Theatrical Societies) Come see us in the Arenbergschouwburg on 25 – 28 May 2012 because BATS will be organising FEATS, a four day festival for English speaking European theatre groups. 3 one-act plays a night, all evaluated by an adjudidacor. For more information and all the latest news: www.feats2012.be – www.feats.eu – www.batsantwerp.be *** 26th MAY: 33ste LENTECONCERT door de KONINKLIJKE MUZIEKKAPEL LOKALE POLITIE ANTWERPEN On Saturday 26th of May our friends from the KMLPA will give their all in their infamous

Lenteconcert. Special guest this year is the Belgian singer Udo. Tickets (vvk 10 euro – 12,50 euro. Kassa: 15 euro) are available on 03-338 48 14 (8h – 16h). Betaling via overschrijving op rek. nr. 409-8557541-51 (naam + aantal) IBAN: BE 75 409855754151. Tickets will then be ready at the venue.

*** 23rd JUNE: DUCHESS OF RICHMOND’S BALL 2012 This year’s event will be held at the Chateau Ste Anne on 23rd of June 2012. The Ball is held as a major fund-raising event. This charity ball will help: The Royal British Legion Community Help Service Hôpital des Enfants Reine Fabiola British Charitable Fund Project Hougoumont It will be held on Saturday 23rd of June, the nearest convenient date to the 15th of June, when, in 1815, the original Duchessof Richmond’s Ball was held in Brussels on the evening preceding the Battle of Waterloo for the officers of the Duke of Wellington’s army and distinguished guests. All the info on http://www.dorb.be

On Saturday 16th June next there will be a Service of Thanksgiving and Celebration in St Georges Memorial Church, to mark Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee and Official Birthday. This will be followed by a Reception and Garden Party jointly hosted by the Royal British Legion Ypres Branch and St Georges Memorial Church. The day will begin at 14.30hrs with a cream tea, followed at 16.00hrs by the Service. After the Service there will be the Reception and the Loyal Toast. The Garden Party with buffet will continue until 19.30hrs when we will assemble outside the Cloth Hall for a parade to the Menin Gate where at 20.00hrs we will participate in the Last Post Ceremony. After which we will parade back to the Cloth Hall and dismiss. For those of you who were in Ieper on the 2nd July last year you will be familiar with the programme. Any legionnaires who are in the area at that time are most welcome as are any branches who wish to come over for this unique day of celebration in what is no doubt the birthplace of the legion. Further details can be obtained from either RBL Ypres Branch or St Georges Memorial Church websites. One word of warning, the church can hold a maximum of 200 people so if you wish to come please let me or the church know as soon as possible. Yours Sincerely, John Sutherland, Secretary, RBL Ypres Branch The Place: St Georges Church Hall, Elverdingestraat 1, 8900 Ieper. If you are able to come along to this important event, please let the branch secretary know. Contact the Branch Secretary:RBLYpres@gmx.com

Service and Garden Party to Commemorate HM

Who’s who? President: Lt. Col. E.B. Jeffrey barriejeffrey@netscape.net Committee for 2011/2012: Chairman Bob Chambers Oude Beurs 33 2000 Antwerpen Bchambers29@msn.com

Vice Chairman Sid Wilkins Lispersteenweg 219 2500 Lier sid-wilkins@hotmail.com

Membership Secretary Phil Shaw Ridder Dessainlaan 40 2800 Mechelen 0486/189 734 philshaw@telenet.be

Secretary George Bell Dr. E. Van Dammestraat 19 2660 Hoboken 03/830 54 23 (evenings/answerphone) g.bell@scarlet.be

Editor Newsletter/PR Suzanne Mastbroek Lodewijk Van Berckenlaan 192/6 2140 Borgerhout 03/295 89 03 (evenings) suzanne.mastbroek@telenet.be

Chairman Welfare Committee Ann Babb Leo Van Hullebuschstraat 37 2900 Schoten 03/685 34 20 (also help line) ann.babb@telenet.be

Hon. Treasurer Frank Van Nunen Floris Primslei 22 2150 Borsbeek 03/324 66 85 (office hours only) frank@vannunen.be

Poppy Organiser Mary Ann Marinus Oude Beurs 33 2000 Antwerpen 0486/64 69 41 (evenings) maryann.marinus@hotmail.com

Chairman Entertainment Committee Martin Southam Klein Heiken 11 2950 Kapellen martin.southam@telenet.be

Entertainment Committee Raf Kloeck Te Boelaarlei 103/bus 2 2140 Borgerhout 03/664 72 85

RLB Website: http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/branches/antwerp

● RBL Bank Account number is 220-0020212-72

(BIC: GEBABEBB, IBAN: BE38 2200 0202 1272) ● Annual subscription: € 26, Donations towards our benevolent work are welcome. ● Please feel free to submit items for inclusion in the newsletter, such as poems you particularly like, anecdotes, stories about RBL Antwerp, hints, suggestions. ● Advertising rates: 1/8 page: € 6.50 per issue ¼ page: € 11 per issue ½ page: € 16.50 per issue 1 page: € 30 per issue Contact the Newsletter Editor for more information or to place an ad.