Post by aghart on Apr 6, 2022 12:02:27 GMT
27 people in attendance plus another 16 linked in by Zoom. This is I believe our best ever attendance figure for a branch meeting in the last 15 years. Even without the Zoom participants, the physical attendance was impressive. The meeting started about 10-15 minutes late, this because the internet link was unstable and caused issues with the Zoom element. Dave Larcombe, our Chairman and Zoom technical guru master did manage to sort it in the end. I must add that one of the Zoom participants was taking part from Canada. The Bournemouth, Poole & International Branch?
We stood for a minutes silence for the D day Veteran Harry Billinge, who had died earlier in the day. Although not RTR, Harry was as famous as Sir Tom Moore. Members were informed of the new fee's set by our hosts for use of the function room. It equates to £200 per year. A reminder that there was still room on the mini bus for anyone changing their mind and wishing to attend Slapton Sands. The audience was told that it can be chilly at Slapton Sands at the end of April and to bring a coat. The branch was reminded that the day after Slapton Sands is ANZAC day and the branch would be represented at the ANZAC memorial in Weymouth.
We were informed of the opening of a new veterans drop in centre at Longfleet in Poole. It is open on the first Saturday of each month and there is a free bacon butty and free tea/coffee available. 3 members of the branch were at the grand opening, all wearing our distinctive polo shirts and managed to get their photo in the Bournemouth Echo. Members who wanted to go to the Tower of London for the evening visit on 2nd August were asked to submit their names. It was confirmed that the branch BBQ would be held on Saturday 13th August. A Cambrai 105 transport and accommodation update was given by Dave Larcombe. It was announced that the guest speaker for May 2022 would be from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The meeting was brought to an end and the guest speaker was introduced.
David Willey is the curator of the Tank Museum who gave us an update on the Museum, explained how the Museum assists the MOD, and then went on to link it to the situation in Ukraine. This is a condensed version of the presentation. Less than 5% of the Tank Museum's visitors are ex military people. Families, particularly in the Summer time are the main group of visitors. Over 200,000 people a year visit the museum. Summer is of course the time when the museum get's it's biggest stream of visitors, and when I asked him if wet weather boosted visitor numbers? he said "we pray for rain". The main assistance from the MOD for the museum is that heating and lighting is paid for from the MOD budget. They have received excellent funding from the National lottery, they are a "Gateway Museum" which ticks a lot of Lottery funding boxes. A Gateway Museum is one where many of the visitors are people who would not normally set foot in museums, but do so here because of its unique offering. Once in a museum they might now visit other museums as well. During the Pandemic the Museum has embraced Information Technology The website has a 45 million reach, It has the biggest Museum U Tube Channel in Europe with 16 million views in 2020. This has had a huge impact for the Museum shop, pre pandemic the shop had a turnover of £69,000, this is now £1.2 million. With restrictions now over David emphasised the new WW2 exhibition which many people present have probably not seen.
He explained that part of the Museums "Mission Statement" was to assist the MOD. This includes History training for MOD people, courses for Troop/Platoon leaders, WO & SNCO threat training, they do tours for foreign military personnel. Most US Army visitors to Bovington get their photo's taken by the oldest surviving Sherman Tank in the world. This tank was only the second Sherman to come off the production line in the USA and has a prominent position at the Museum. We all remember KAPE tours? Keep the Army in the Public Eye, well the Tank museum helps to do just that. In regards to history? David suggested that before we go to France in November for Cambrai 105, the Bournemouth & Poole branch visit the Tank Museum for a tour of the WWI section to immerse ourselves in the event? our response? yes please! The history training element was then linked into the situation in Ukraine. In the west we look forward to the new future kit we and the Russians will have, but many in the military today are woefully lacking in understanding the Russian/Soviet Cold War equipment that is still in widespread use today. The museum can supply a T72 for todays soldiers to get inside and see what it is all about. He said we veterans probably know more about this stuff than many of todays senior military people.
How has it gone so wrong for Russia? all the new kit, all the modernisation, all the sophisticated equipment, The most powerful army in Europe if not the world, why have they not walked all over Ukraine? As Mike Tyson the boxer once said, "Everyone has a plan until you get punched in the mouth" .David said history is repeating itself, in 1940 it was believed that France had the best, the most powerful and modern army in the world, even Churchill believed this, yet the French Army was brushed aside and defeated in short order in the spring of 1940. In 1940 we believed the hype and propaganda about the French Army and we are guilty of the same thing regarding the Russian Army today. We fell for all the hype and Propaganda, the T14 Armata Tank? he said you won't see any if Ukraine as they have only 30 of them and they dare not lose any. Russia has also failed in the information war as in the West, Ukraine is doing a superb media job, we see all the success but we don't see the Ukrainian losses in the same way. Is the Tank finished? David explained that this has been asked often in the last 40 years as new weapons and technology appeared. The tank however adapted to the new situation and has carried on. Russian losses in Ukraine have been heavy but poor operational use and tactics have been a major factor in this. So the obituary of the Tank is probably not going to be written any time soon. There was more but my fingers are hurting.
All our branch meetings are good, but occasionally we have a meeting where the bar is raised, and in April 2022 the bar was raised significantly. The large physical presence helped a lot, the more bums on seats you have the better the atmosphere. Throw in a top quality guest speaker giving a superb presentation and you have success coming out of your ears, and that is what happened in April 2022. The only downside? I spent £5 on the raffle and did not win a thing!
We stood for a minutes silence for the D day Veteran Harry Billinge, who had died earlier in the day. Although not RTR, Harry was as famous as Sir Tom Moore. Members were informed of the new fee's set by our hosts for use of the function room. It equates to £200 per year. A reminder that there was still room on the mini bus for anyone changing their mind and wishing to attend Slapton Sands. The audience was told that it can be chilly at Slapton Sands at the end of April and to bring a coat. The branch was reminded that the day after Slapton Sands is ANZAC day and the branch would be represented at the ANZAC memorial in Weymouth.
We were informed of the opening of a new veterans drop in centre at Longfleet in Poole. It is open on the first Saturday of each month and there is a free bacon butty and free tea/coffee available. 3 members of the branch were at the grand opening, all wearing our distinctive polo shirts and managed to get their photo in the Bournemouth Echo. Members who wanted to go to the Tower of London for the evening visit on 2nd August were asked to submit their names. It was confirmed that the branch BBQ would be held on Saturday 13th August. A Cambrai 105 transport and accommodation update was given by Dave Larcombe. It was announced that the guest speaker for May 2022 would be from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The meeting was brought to an end and the guest speaker was introduced.
David Willey is the curator of the Tank Museum who gave us an update on the Museum, explained how the Museum assists the MOD, and then went on to link it to the situation in Ukraine. This is a condensed version of the presentation. Less than 5% of the Tank Museum's visitors are ex military people. Families, particularly in the Summer time are the main group of visitors. Over 200,000 people a year visit the museum. Summer is of course the time when the museum get's it's biggest stream of visitors, and when I asked him if wet weather boosted visitor numbers? he said "we pray for rain". The main assistance from the MOD for the museum is that heating and lighting is paid for from the MOD budget. They have received excellent funding from the National lottery, they are a "Gateway Museum" which ticks a lot of Lottery funding boxes. A Gateway Museum is one where many of the visitors are people who would not normally set foot in museums, but do so here because of its unique offering. Once in a museum they might now visit other museums as well. During the Pandemic the Museum has embraced Information Technology The website has a 45 million reach, It has the biggest Museum U Tube Channel in Europe with 16 million views in 2020. This has had a huge impact for the Museum shop, pre pandemic the shop had a turnover of £69,000, this is now £1.2 million. With restrictions now over David emphasised the new WW2 exhibition which many people present have probably not seen.
He explained that part of the Museums "Mission Statement" was to assist the MOD. This includes History training for MOD people, courses for Troop/Platoon leaders, WO & SNCO threat training, they do tours for foreign military personnel. Most US Army visitors to Bovington get their photo's taken by the oldest surviving Sherman Tank in the world. This tank was only the second Sherman to come off the production line in the USA and has a prominent position at the Museum. We all remember KAPE tours? Keep the Army in the Public Eye, well the Tank museum helps to do just that. In regards to history? David suggested that before we go to France in November for Cambrai 105, the Bournemouth & Poole branch visit the Tank Museum for a tour of the WWI section to immerse ourselves in the event? our response? yes please! The history training element was then linked into the situation in Ukraine. In the west we look forward to the new future kit we and the Russians will have, but many in the military today are woefully lacking in understanding the Russian/Soviet Cold War equipment that is still in widespread use today. The museum can supply a T72 for todays soldiers to get inside and see what it is all about. He said we veterans probably know more about this stuff than many of todays senior military people.
How has it gone so wrong for Russia? all the new kit, all the modernisation, all the sophisticated equipment, The most powerful army in Europe if not the world, why have they not walked all over Ukraine? As Mike Tyson the boxer once said, "Everyone has a plan until you get punched in the mouth" .David said history is repeating itself, in 1940 it was believed that France had the best, the most powerful and modern army in the world, even Churchill believed this, yet the French Army was brushed aside and defeated in short order in the spring of 1940. In 1940 we believed the hype and propaganda about the French Army and we are guilty of the same thing regarding the Russian Army today. We fell for all the hype and Propaganda, the T14 Armata Tank? he said you won't see any if Ukraine as they have only 30 of them and they dare not lose any. Russia has also failed in the information war as in the West, Ukraine is doing a superb media job, we see all the success but we don't see the Ukrainian losses in the same way. Is the Tank finished? David explained that this has been asked often in the last 40 years as new weapons and technology appeared. The tank however adapted to the new situation and has carried on. Russian losses in Ukraine have been heavy but poor operational use and tactics have been a major factor in this. So the obituary of the Tank is probably not going to be written any time soon. There was more but my fingers are hurting.
All our branch meetings are good, but occasionally we have a meeting where the bar is raised, and in April 2022 the bar was raised significantly. The large physical presence helped a lot, the more bums on seats you have the better the atmosphere. Throw in a top quality guest speaker giving a superb presentation and you have success coming out of your ears, and that is what happened in April 2022. The only downside? I spent £5 on the raffle and did not win a thing!