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The Regimental Newsletter
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Hi all,
Well-done to everyone for your efforts in making the final West Acre a great event Thanks go to: · the Guard tent volunteers for their sterling work · Jack Conway for running the tent rota · Alex and the lifting and shifting crew · International tent, party tent and kit loaded/ unloaded · the toilet cleaning crew (I think it was mainly Billy!) · Norman (and Victoria) for a lovely stew, also making the wheeled bit for the robinette (under Budget as well) · Ian and Olga for Powder store · All those with roles on the field · Anyone else I have forgotten! We gave the whole of the KA a Lunsford welcome, and the only chance many would have of attending an event this year. It was a real joy to see some old members turn up and catch up with them, also several new people who joined. A massive thank you to Mike and Billy for their hard work in making this a event open to all the KA. Dealing with all the stuff from important to nonsense takes a special skill and they are masters of it! We would have been happy with our own small event but was it not wonderful to see all our friends from other regiments as well? Archie
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From the Officer Commanding Hi all, Attached is the Warning order for West Acre, ABH weekend (It's nearly here!) Wressle was a great event; it was lovely to get together at last and meeting up with friendly people from Loudoun’s and Blackwell’s made it all worth the efforts by many to get the thing arranged. Welcome to the new and not so new members who joined up at Wressle and thanks to everyone for helping with the various loading & unloading, putting up and taking down, making and mending, also the toilet cleaning team for keeping the toilets cleaner than I have ever seen! It is only by the willingness of these people to take on thankless tasks that we have a regiment to be proud of. On to West Acre, where we are hosting the whole KA; we need to remind the KA how good we are at running a large event. We want it to be as well-run as the last Lunsford Major at Sunderland. The better we do it, the harder other regiments will have to work to reach our benchmark standard. We will be manning the Guard tent throughout the long weekend hope that all adult Lunsfords will volunteer. A rota (2hour slots of 2 people) organised by Jack Conway is being designed even as we speak (The earlier you get your name on the list the more likely you are to get a good time slot). Toilet cleaning will also be required (we are getting the toilets free of charge so it is up to us to look after them) again a list will be available to add your name to. The International marquee will be the KA beer tent for the weekend. It will be arriving on Thursday: any early arrivals will be expected to help put it up, late arrivals will be expected to help tidy it up each morning as required! With the willingness of everyone we can make this another great Lunsford event while having fun and meeting friends from other regiments at last. I am looking forward to seeing you all there Archie The King’s Army being part of the English Civil War Society Warning Order King’s Army Training Muster West Acre 28 , 29 and 30 August 2021 COVID-19 REGULATIONS PERMITTING Organised by Sir Thomas Lunsford’s Regiment of Foote The Event The event will take place in the picturesque village of West Acre. The idyllic surroundings include priory ruins, forded streams and a CAMRA award winning pub! This event is self - funded by the King’s Army. All paid up members of the King’s Army are welcome (introductory membership will be available). The event is not open to the public. There will be a full programme of activities, the details will be on your welcome sheet on arrival. There will be skirmishes on the Sunday and Monday afternoons. The King’s Army AGM will be Monday am (tbc) The Saturday will be, in the most, free time. Campsite The guarded camp will be open from 12.00 noon Friday 27th August 2021 until 10.00 Tuesday 31st August 2021. All the usual Event facilities will be present – beer tent, caterers, etc. Campfires will be allowed on prepared sites. The town of Swaffham has a full range of banks, supermarkets, takeaways, garages, etc Directions Nearest railway station: Kings Lynn. Buses run to Swaffham. West Acre lies just north of Swaffham off the A47. It is best approached from the South or East by entering Swaffham and then following signs to Castle Acre on the A1065. After about 3 miles West Acre is signposted to the left (before the turn to Castle Acre). Follow signs to the village (about three country miles) where you will see ECWS signs. From the West or North follow the A47 from Kings Lynn signposted to Norwich. Pass Narborough Trout Farms on your right. After about 1 mile the West Acre road is signposted to the left. Follow local signs to West Acre. Address for Sat Nav: West Acre PE32 1TP Muster Organisers: Mike and Billy Smith Tel: 07917275457 e-mail: lunsford@btinternet.com Explosives Officer: Ian Coleman Tel:07952 126 930 e-mail: iocoleman@talktalk.net Hi All,
It looks like we will be able to meet at Wressle 7/8th August, with restrictions being lifted by the government it is becoming a little easer to arrange, please see the Warning order attached to this newsletter. We will still need to know who will be attending so we are covered should any new restrictions be in place, be aware if you are not on the list you may be turned away ! It will be necessary to comply with track and trace and arranging the food for the catering, so as said in the last newsletter let your ensign or sergeants know in advance ( if no one registers we may call the whole thing off so be warned) Having had new tyres put on my caravan I plan to be there ! I cannot tell you how relieved I am that we will be able to meet up at last ! It will be great to see everyone again in real life (face to face in the meet zone) rather than zoom, my feelings about zoom are well known. We will be holding Lunsfords AGM at Wressle, this will save us having to fit it in at West Acre where we will be busie doing everything as the organising regiment. Get your kit out it is happening at last …. Archie Warning Order: Wressle 7/8th August 2021 Sir Thomas Lunsford’s Regiment, in conjunction with Sir Thomas Blackwell’s Regiment and the Earl of Loudoun’s Regiment will be holding a drill, training and social weekend in and around Wressle Village Hall. This will not be a public event although it is likely that some local villagers will be watching. We are planning various events to give some structure to the weekend. We have a very large field which will enable us to undertake some (sorely needed) drill and (hopefully, Covid regulations permitting) some fairly active training. It is also envisaged that the Friday will be something of a workday – checking equipment, tentage etc etc. There will also be scope and time to work on finishing off our new marquee pole. We can use the village hall as a base whatever the weather. At the time of writing, we have a caterer to serve us breakfast and evening meals on Friday evening, Saturday morning, Sunday morning and Sunday evening. There will be a barbecue on the Saturday night (contributions to Emma Moll’s charity please) together with a licensed bar. IF there are sufficient numbers, this will actually be a hog roast – SO if you know you are coming, it is essential that you let you CO know as some notice will be needed for this. There is no pub in the village but a1and 1/2 mile walk/march through the countryside is another possibility. Some camping for early arrivals from the Thursday – otherwise Friday through to Monday. Directions and camping You are aiming for the Village Hall, Wressle, YO8 6ES. This is about 10 minutes from Junction 37 of the M62 – whichever direction you are coming from; i.e. from the West: pick up the M62 from Liverpool, Manchester, Halifax, Leeds etc. From the North: A1 to the junction with the M62 at Ferrybridge. From the South/South East: M11, A1, M1 to the relevant junction with the M18, then M62 as above. From the Southwest/West: A34, A38, M42 – again to the M1. Once at the M62 junction 37, turn left on to the A614 (direction Goole), at the roundabout before the bridge turn right (direction Selby/York) A63. Then travel along for about 3 miles and take a very shallow right turn (signposted Bubwith and Breighton but I’ll add an ECWS sign). It is then just over a mile to the Village Hall and the campsite is across the road from there. Hard-standing for some caravans will be opposite the village hall and a little further along in front of the big barn. There will be toilets at the campsite (open from Thursday until Monday) together with access to those in the Village Hall (also for water). Please do not empty Elsans etc. into the Village Hall toilets. Please note: there are no shops in Wressle – nearest are at Howden (4 miles). First Aid will be provided by regimental First Aiders/First Responders Contact Details: Thomas Zugic: (thomaszugic@gmail. 07795831494/01757630050) The Birches, Main St., Wressle YO8 6ET (and, yes, please remember that I have to live here!) Hi All,
Due to the Government extending Covid restrictions the Wressle RIE on 17th & 18th July has been cancelled. Due to the hard work of Thomas, Wressle has been resurrected for the 7th & 8th August 2021. He has even cancelled his holiday abroad so we can have these dates (what a star !) this means the event will be during the school holidays so more of us can attend (Covid allowing). We will be asking those who are able, that want to turn up on the Thursday 6th to help with some equipment mending /checking on the Friday, please bring sturdy gloves with you. I also intend the Lunsford AGM to be on the Saturday early evening. I would like our Ensigns and NCOs to start thinking what they want to achieve from this weekend. We will need to know within the next 2 weeks so that we can timetable things (email to me with a copy to Thomas please) Details are still being worked on: we have to factor in that there may still be some c19 restrictions in place by then. I need everyone who plans to attend to register with their Sergeants/ Ensigns so we are able to plan proper camping spacing (they will then pass that information to Me/Thomas). This is also just a reminder that you will need to be a paid-up member for 2020/2021 season or be prepared to pay on arrival. We are still working on the details of the KA training weekend at West Acre. We will have more information by Wressle if not before. I'm starting to get excited as we may at last be able to meet up again, fingers crossed ! Archie. Hi all,
it's getting exciting and things are changing as we get closer to the easing of restrictions. We will not be able to play at the castle in Wressle, although we will have a field to play in, with all the other bits promised. For those of you who are tied to school holidays, Mike & Billy have managed to change West Acre to the August Bank Holiday weekend. This event will be a training event for the KA only, hosted by ourselves - details to follow. As you can see Lunsford’s members are making things happen, not just for ourselves but the whole of the KA. We should all be thanking them and buying them a drink for their work in finding things for us to do in these difficult times: that's Thomas for Wressle, Mike & Billy for West Acre and Andy for doing the risk assessments (quite a challenge as we do not know what rules will be in place by then, hopefully none)! Thinking ahead to Whitehall in January 22 - it will be the 50th anniversary so we will want to put on as big a turnout as possible. Lunsford’s and Hopton's will be sharing the honour GUard at this parade so I would like you all to talk to any former members who may like to join us for that event. An introductory membership would cover any former member who has not re-joined in the last 3 or more years, we would supply loan kit where required. Things are now looking positive for next season with 3 probable majors. Due to the queen’s celebration events there will be no Late May Bank Holiday (it will be replaced with a weekend in June that marks her 70th year as CO - quite an achievement! Charles might even get a forlorn hope :)) Happy days Stay safe Archie Hi all, dust off your kit, waterproof your tents we are off to Wressel castle, thanks to Thomas for his hard work arranging it, it's the 17th and 18th July, he has even arranged a bar in a barn for us ! (subject to Covid unlocking and ECWS approval)
I am sure Thomas is bussie as you read this putting together a warning order. We are still trying to get other events organised but it's early days. on other matters Eddie has been beavering away in darkest Cornwall updating the web site with new photos, a section for the newsletters to go on and new pages for gunners and fife and drums. please have a look, and email Eddie any good quality photos not just of us on the field but also STL at leisure in the party tent, by the camp fire or in the pub. Eddie will then be able to create a page showing Lunsford's having fun: a regiment that anyone would be proud to join. You can find Eddie's email address at the bottom of the newsletter. I would like to thank Eddie for his continued commitment to this largely thankless task. Regards Archie Brew eddie.cullen@outlook.com From the Officer Commanding
Hi all, another year, another lockdown, all be it with light at the end of the tunnel! (could be just another train coming) As I have run out of excuses for not running the regiment it seems I will have to start doing my job for a change. My thanks go to Thomas and Billy for stepping up to the mark and doing all the dull in-between muster stuff, it's due to their and others hard work that we still have a great regiment- Ruth, Debbie, Tracy, our NCO's also the zoom team and those who are looking after equipment. I would like to thank Andrew and Debbie for the warmest Whitehall I have ever attended! I connected my lap top to my TV and watched it in full technicolour. If you have not watched it yet please do, it's worth it. Congratulations to Tracy Hallworth on getting a well deserved Gold Griffin and also David Howgate for his Forlorn Hope, I look forward to seeing them presented in the near future along with last years awards. The Zoom Team are still at it (we now have a regimental Zoom account, my thanks to Rick Sowdon for allowing the regiment to use his account up till now) and to Olga who will be the administrator. With the ECWS looking for ABH muster, I believe we should be able to get something for September even if it is just a training weekend and get together, although an RIE of our own would be preferred if one can be arranged in time ? Archie Dear Lunsfords,
Well, it’s the start of the New Year, and supposedly all will be well. I must admit that I can’t really feel that at the moment – it all feels a bit too much like a re-run of last year – and, I suspect like many of you there are days when one wonders if it’s worth getting up. Ok, that’s the pessimism out of the way. Now for some good news: firstly, Archie seems very much to be on the mend judging by the tone and humour of some of his Whatsapp messages – not for nothing does he now sign off as Lazarus. I think that it goes without saying that we all wish him well and long may his recovery continue. Hopefully we’ll hear more from him next month. Another of our members for whom things are very much on the up is Ashleigh. She and Shane have just had baby Lucas - who made his first appearance on our Zoom meeting last night – so we have a new youngest member of the regiment. However, the word on the street is that he won’t hold the title for long. Heather, Doug and Holly are expecting a new addition later in the year. Congratulations to all concerned: we will grow our own musket block before much longer! In other news, as Rik Sowden had already announced, he has now moved house and is clearly happy with the move – he showed us on Zoom how he’s beginning to settle in. Meanwhile Eddie and Sue Cullen have moved abroad – or as far away as possible from the rest of us – to Cornwall. Was it something we said? It was good also to see some long-missed faces on Zoom – great to see Ingrid last night. On the subject of Zoom; after the quiz last night we had a considerable discussion as to what format these meetings should take. As Mick Buckley said, in one sense it doesn’t really matter what format they take – the important thing is that we manage to keep in touch with all the people that we would really rather see in person but can’t at the moment. So, if you haven’t yet taken the plunge, please come and join us - if only for part of the time – it would be great to see and hear you (if maybe not all at once). We also discussed whether there was a wish for a different time of day or of the week, that would be suitable for those of us with young children. I remember well that, as a parent, one can often feel a little peripheral to the group as a whole – even on a campsite, let alone in our present circumstances. So, if you feel that you would like to join us but can’t manage Sundays at 8, then please get in touch (by email/phone numbers at the bottom of this newsletter) or on our face book page and let us know what days/times would be better for you. While we currently intend to continue with fortnightly gatherings; there is nothing to stop various groups meeting at other times as well. Rik has kindly confirmed that he can leave his link open so that you can arrange to meet with your block or besties as the need arises. The link will remain on our face book page. Our next Zoom meeting will be on January 17th, when there will be a fiendishly difficult quiz devised by Thomas. However, a fortnight later, we will do something a little different: January 31st would have been Whitehall weekend (doesn’t time fly?), so the plan is that we will dress in appropriate C17th costume such as we might have been wearing on that day and raise a toast to our martyred King. (There were questions last night as to whether this involved top-half only, to which there were various, some unrepeatable replies, but let’s just say – avoid ‘Zoombarrassment’). Please let Thomas and Billy know what else you would like included on the 31st to provide a suitable commemoration. It would be fantastic if as many of us as possible could be there. Hopefully, we might also manage an appropriate song or two. At the moment, we are still working on the technical difficulties that the time-lapse on Zoom creates but we have some clever technical people, who are trying to find a way in which we can actually manage a communal singsong without sounding even worse than we sometimes do round the campfire at 3am. One idea is to build up a collection of ‘our’ songs in the ‘files’ section of our Facebook page – either recorded by yourselves or downloaded from YouTube. This means that members could listen at their leisure, join in the choruses and be ready to blast the roof off the tent next season – whenever that should happen. Whilst we have this lull in proceedings, it would be good if we could help Eddie to update the Lunsford website. It is there to encourage new members so it behoves us to keep everything as current as possible. If you are an Officer or NCO please can you visit the website and check that details are correct. It would also be useful if members visited the website with a fresh set of eyes to see where we can make it more informative and appealing. Finally, you may already be aware that for obvious reasons, membership fees for last year also cover this forthcoming year but if you haven’t yet paid last year’s membership, please do so asap – and certainly before March, to ensure your continuity of membership. Hoping to see as many of you as possible in both two, and four weeks’ time. Yours in the cause. Thomas and Billy Interesting Gossip, Breaking News and Fascinating Articles Most of the interesting gossip and news is included above We send best wishes to several new Lunsfords and two house moves Any other info to include in this section please let me know! |
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September 2021
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