Page 14 - Phonebox Magazine December 2014

Remembrance 2014
Poppy Collection by Chris Roberts
As chairman of the Olney & district branch of the Royal British Legion I’d like to express my thanks to everyone
who participated in this years’ service of remembrance on Sunday November 9th in Olney. Once again the number attending seemed greater than in previous years. There is no doubt that Remembrance this year has been focused by the amazing art installation at the Tower of London. I was impressed by the number people I spoke to during the poppy season who had made the trip, and by the crowds I experienced when I visited the Tower myself. Remembrance is clearly important to the community in Olney judging by the number of veterans who now attend. It was also pleasing to see representatives of our current armed services on parade and to see the support of friends and family, but most of all strangers that was extended to them. It was a privilege to be part of this act of remembrance. There was a smaller informal ceremony at 11 o’clock on the 11th November which was also well attended.
It is not yet clear how well our Poppy collection has succeeded this year but I’d like to thank all those who collected, counted and hosted collections. We were fortunate to secure the help of both our local MP and the Mayor of Milton Keynes this year, how much they actually collected hasn’t yet been verified at the time of going to press.
100 years ago there was a growing realization
Derek Eastman, Mayor of MK, Tom Jones and Chris Dodds (volunteer collector from Olney) at the Olney RBL Poppy Appeal collection at Waitrose in Oakgrove.
Annual Charity Ball and Auction
across Europe that a quick victory was now impossible on either the Eastern or Western fronts. Armies had dug in but there would still have been no comprehension of the scale of the losses that would emerge over the next four years. Some families locally had already lost sons, brothers, husbands and fathers but the attritional characteristics of modern warfare were still not clear. Britain was emerging from a past where the horse was still the most common factor in personal and freight transport towards the internal combustion engine and eventually tanks on the battlefield. Soldiers were still trained to fight with rifle and bayonet and the awful impact on the battlefield of the machine gun in particular was only now becoming apparent.
It is difficult with hindsight to look back at Christmas 1914 and understand the optimism with which the world faced 1915. In 100 years which of our optimisms will our great grandchildren look back on and wonder?
It has been a privilege to work with schools locally and help them with their study of WW1. It is now four months since we started commemorating the 100th anniversary of the deaths of our Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen, there are still, regrettably, a lot of names to come. As I mentioned in my introduction to this campaign to remember our war dead we would like to see, where possible, articles on individuals published. If you have any family anecdotes or pictures please let the Phonebox have them.
£4,600 raised!
The annual Charity Ball and Auction celebrated its seventh anniversary at the Courtyard Brasserie in Olney on Saturday 15 November.
This year’s event raised money for Keech Hospice Care, based near Luton, who provide support to children (and adults) from Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes. The total raised on the evening was a record £4,600, bringing the total raised over the last seven years to nearly £26,000! Organisers Stephen and Shona Bateson and Ross and Sarah Bannerman would like to thank everyone who supported the event, including those who attended, those who donated auction prizes and all the staff at the Courtyard Brasserie.
The auction was a huge success, with
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auctioneer Richard Beardshaw persuading guests to bid for several lots, including a Wine Tasting evening, a week in a Log Cabin, membership at Olney Gym, Amici vouchers, breakfast at the Courtyard once a month for a year and flowers every month for a year from New Leaf Florists.
The highlight of the evening was the Diamond Draw, the prize being a diamond necklace worth £2,000, kindly donated by Nightingale’s jewellers in Olney.
After dinner and the auction, local band Error 404 played through until 12.30, supporting the event for the fourth successive year.