COTSWOLD BRANCH OF THE ORDERS AND MEDALS RESEARCH SOCIETY

Meetings are held at Swindon Village Hall, Cheltenham, and commence at 7.00pm for 7.30pm every second Thursday in the month except August.

NEWS: "It has been recommended that all UK personnel who have completed the necessary qualifying service in support of Op ELLAMY (Libya) are to receive the NATO Operation UNIFIED PROTECTOR (OUP) Non-Article 5 Medal." - DISAPPOINTING!

Cotswold Branch Mini-Convention 2012
At Swindon Village Hall, Saturday 16th June 2012. Cost (including buffet lunch) £6.00. Free car parking. To be opened by Air Vice Marshal Rick Charles. For booking details contact Q&C Militaria or Andrew Derrick or click on form, print and complete form and post to Q&C Militaria, 22 Sufolk Road, Cheltenham, GL50 2AQ with cheque for £6 payable to OMRS Cotswold Branch.

OMRS Convention 2012
15th and 16th September at the Holiday Inn Bloomsbury, Coram Street, London.
This year the convention will be run along the lines of the successful Northern Branch Conventions. More details to follow.

Update on Mrs N. Errock 4th Feb 2012
I contacted Tim today who informed me that ther is no change in her condition, she is still in a care home and is being well looked after.
Mike Kippin is going to stand in for her at our meeting on the 9th Feb 2012  

Branch visit next year to Ypres in Belgium, including surrounding cemeteries and battlefield visits. The trip will include laying a branch wreath at the Menin Gate.  Details from Andrew. All places now filled.

Programme for 2011-12

2011
8 September        Chris Hill                 Jubaland: The lost land of Somaliland and Kenya: Its medals
13 October           Steve Lewis            “Ex-Officers Wanted. Seven Pounds a week”
10 November        Members Own
8 December         Annual Quiz and Christmas Fare

2012
12 January            John Wright            From Spitfire to Vampire (and beyond!) (R.A.F.)
9 February            Four small talks      N. Errock, G. Pitchfork, D. Martin and D. Gibbons
8 March                Mike Atkinson        Lieutenant Montgomery - Mau Mau Killer
12 April                AGM and Members Own
10 May                Mick Kippin             Three Gloucestershire Cousins
14 June                Rick Carver             Veterinary Hero
16 June                Cotswold Branch Mini Convention
12 July                 “Peter Ashford Memorial Lecture” - "For Valour"
                           Mark Smith MA Curator & Regimental Historical Secretary, Royal Artillery Museum    

Guests are welcome, please contact the secretary, John Wright, for further details - qcmilitaria@btconnect.com

To join the Orders and Medals Research Society please visit - http://www.omrs.org.uk

Meeting of the Cotswold Branch of the Orders & Medals Research Society held at Swindon Village Hall on Thursday 12th January 2012
Apologies received from J. Carver, T & N Errock, N. Smith, R. Hackett and A. Derrick
The meeting commenced at 7.30 pm with Cotswold Branch business. The Secretary read the minutes of the December meeting which were proposed by Mike Kippin seconded by John Barker.
The secretary reported on Mrs N Errock who sadly is still in hospital and he was asked to phone Tim (her husband) to see how she is. John Barker then mentioned a Newspaper article which stated that Worcestershire Medals had won the contract for manufacturing the Diamond Jubilee medal. It is good to see we still have companies which make things not just assemble them.
Our president then introduced our speaker, the secretary John Wright whose talk was on a group of medals awarded to Sqn Ldr Roland Wharrier Richardson AFC, Air Efficiency Award. It was a first in two respects for John, one using power point and two talking about the R.A.F. (of which he is the first to admit) he knows very little.
John started by explaining how the medals came into his possession. Using Richardson’s four log-books as the basis for his talk, he covered his pilot training, service with 610 squadron flying Spitfires, and the rest of the war flying various types of Hurricane and Spitfire in North Africa and Italy. Among several incidents covered was the mission to drop a new leg for Douglas Bader, who had been shot down and captured. From his cockpit Richardson watched several landings in Sicily and Italy and the bombing of Monte Cassino. His post-war service saw him flying many more types, including Meteors, Canberras and Valiants. During the Suez Crisis he flew two bombing raids over Egypt. During a remarkable career, he flew around 47 different aircraft, from the DH82 bi-plane to the Lightning.
Despite John’s misgivings, he gave an interesting overview of Richardson’s career and varied service. Several noted-RAF collectors in the audience were able to add helpful information during and after the talk. John Barker then thanked John, both for his talk and for taking on the subject in the first place. The audience showed its appreciation in the usual manner.
John Barker then talked about a Spitfire pilot (Flt Wicks KIA) whose group is in his collection and the women who flew with the ATA in WW2.Graham Pitchfork talked on a Canadian Pilot (Sqn Ldr Peaters) RCAF who was KIA and the group was complete with the Canadian Memorial Cross etc. John Scott talked on two groups one to Sqn Ldr Letchford who was killed in an accident in 1967 in an aircraft of the type flown by Sqn Ldr Richardson and Sqn Ldr Swinton-Bland who also flew aircraft flown by Sqn Ldr Richardson. Paul Roberts then gave a talk on a group of medals to the 8th Worcestershire Regt which he had just taken delivery of. Bill Bratty from Hardwick RBL talked to the branch about the proposed visit to Ypres in September 2012. He has organised with the RBLYpres branch for the Cotswold Branch to lay a wreath and to take part in the evening ceremony at the Menin Gate.
There were 31 members and guests in attendance and the meeting closed at 10.30pm. The raffle was conducted by Richard Emsley which raised £27-00 for club funds

Two members raising money for charity :


Meeting of the Cotswold Branch of the Orders & Medals Research Society held at Swindon Village Hall on Thursday 8th December 2011
Apologies received from A. Derrick, R. Hughes, C. Hill, H. Meadows, C. Hammond, R. Emsley, M. Pittaway and P. Roberts.
The meeting commenced at 7.30 pm with Cotswold Branch business. The minutes of the November meeting were proposed by Ian Miller and seconded by Jim Mourton.
It was proposed by Zak Coombs that the branches congratulations to Graham Pitchfork, on being elected President of the OMRS, be minuted.   
Annual Branch Quiz
Ian Miller then presented the annual quiz, setting a new trend by using powerpoint. Twenty teasing questions, which stretched memories and bamboozled brains. The winner was John Scott. Ian handed the plate to John, along with the duty of preparing next year's quiz.  John Barker thanked Ian on behalf of the shell-shocked members.

Mike Kippin did the raffle, which raised £15 for branch funds. Christmas food and drink was then enjoyed by all. There were 15 members present. The meeting closed at 10pm. A merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all our members (and anyone else who is reading!)

Meeting of the Cotswold Branch of the Orders & Medals Research Society held at Swindon Village Hall on Thursday 10th November 2011
Apologies received from Z. Coombs, G. Pitchfork, J. Wright, J. Mourton.
The meeting commenced at 7.30 pm with Cotswold Branch business. The President read the minutes of the October meeting which were proposed by Dave Seeney seconded by Richard Hughes.
John Barker then gave a brief account of the recent Weekend of Medals. Andrew Derrick gave an update on the proposed trip to Ypres next year and on the mini-convention next year.  
Member's Own
Eight members then spoke on medals from their collections. These included a DSC group to a naval aviator who was lost overboard from a carrier, a BEM to a British citizen that never Gazetted, a group to a Signals officer who served in Kenya and retired to Cheltenham, an RAF group with a very rare award of the Greek Distinguished Service Medal, an MM to 2/8th Worcesters with a citation, a Royal Signals soldier lost at sea when his troopship was sunk, a First War casualty to group to the Essex Regiment, an unusual combination of QSA, Defence Medal and Imperial Yeomanry LSGC Medal, an MBE group to a Coldstream officer, a modern Grenadiers group and an MM and pair to the Worcesters who was POW 1918.
The Raffle raised £19 for club funds and there were 23 members present. The meeting closed at 10pm.

Branch Trip to R.A.F. Cosford Museum, 23rd October 2011

Nine members visited RAF Cosford museum and had a very enjoyable escorted look around the aircraft collection. Among the many very interesting aircraft on desplay was a unique surviving Japanese reconnaissance plane, a German nightfighter, the Komet rocket-plane and an R.A.F. Lincoln bomber. Seeing the three V bombers in one hall was also a treat and who could resist the chance to walk under a Vulcan. A personal treat was to walk around TSR2. 

Meeting of the Cotswold Branch of the Orders & Medals Research Society held at Swindon Village Hall on Thursday 13th October 2011
Apologies received from J. Carver, J. Scott,  T & N Errock, N. Smith, Z. Coombs, P. Roberts, I. Miller, D&T Lyall, F. Angus and B. Ward.
The meeting commenced at 7.30 pm with Cotswold Branch business. The Secretary read the minutes of the September meeting which were proposed by Peter McKenna seconded by Mike Kippin.
Bill Bratty from Hardwick RBL talked to the branch about a proposed visit to Ypres in September 2012. He was able to set out an itinerary with an estimated cost. The total number of places would be 13. Andrew Derrick our Functions Officer will liaise with Bill and come back to the branch by January.
Andrew Derrick let it be known that there are still places on the RAF Cosford visit which is now on Sunday 23rd of October 2011 .
Graham Pitchfork gave a brief report on the OMRS Convention which was a great success. He also mentioned that the Cotswold branch members had three medals awarded for their displays including best in show.
David Seeney brought a large box of books which were for sale at 50 pence each proceeds to go to branch funds. 
Ex-Officers Wanted - £7 a week
Our President John Barker introduced our speaker Stephen Lewis whose talk corrected a lot of the misconception of the Auxiliary Division of the Royal Irish Constabulary 1920 to1922. He covered the reasons for its formation, the uniform and the badges. He then gave an overview of the main incidents, during the two years, including each Auxiliary killed on service. The Auxiliaries were the first elite anti-terrorist unit formed and a forerunner of modern special forces. By the end of their service the IRA had been brought close to defeat. The hatred still felt towards these men by Republicans is a testament to their effectiveness, and although the IRA committed far worse atrocities, the reputation of the Auxiliaries has not been defended. The problems with identifying these men was also covered in the talk.
A QSA/KSA pair of medals was then shown, purchased un-researched by a member. Research then showed that the officer won a DSO in WWI and after the war became an undercover intelligence officer in Dublin. He was killed during a raid on a house to arrest two IRA gunmen.
A telegram and letter were also shown, sent by an Irish pub in Birmingham to the Queen, offering their sympathies after the murder of Lord Mountbatten. A question and answer session then took place. John Barker thanked Steve on behalf of the branch which showed their appreciation in the usual way.
There were 25 members and guests in attendance and the meeting closed at 10.00pm. The raffle was conducted by Rick Carver which raised £14-00 plus £3.50 for the sale of the books a total of £17.50p for club funds.

Branch Trip to Bovington Tank Museum, 18th September 2011

Nine members went to Bovington and were given a tour of the history of the tank from the first designs upto Challenger II. We then went around the exhibition halls full of tanks and armoured vehicles from the around the world. These included a superb collection of British, German, Russian, American and even a Finnish tank. There is a very good medal collection that is so poorly desplayed that I doubt any visiting member of the public appreciates what they are looking at. We were also told that Challenger II (considered to be one of the best tanks in service) may be the last British-designed and built tank. Plans for Challenger III have been put on hold and we may buy German tanks when the time comes to replace Challenger II. Let us hope that this short-sighted thinking is reversed.

Meeting of the Cotswold Branch of the Orders & Medals Research Society held at Swindon Village Hall on Thursday 8th September 2011
Apologies received from J. Carver, M. Atkinson, J. Scott, D. Seeney, T & N Errock, N. Smith, Z. Coombs, D. Martin, P. Roberts and I. Miller
The meeting commenced at 7.30 pm with Cotswold Branch business. The Secretary read the minutes of the July meeting which were proposed by Frank Angus seconded by Rick Carver. John Barker Handed around the membership a list of books being sold by the Birmingham Medal Society any interest contact the Birmingham secretary direct. Andrew Derrick informed the branch of the following proposed visits 18th of September Tank Corps Museum Bovington still places on the transport. RAF Cosford 16th of October 2011 still vacancies. Graham Pitchfork then let the members know the gist of the Committee meeting of OMRS London he said that if any member would like to exhibit there are vacancies.
Jubaland: The lost land of Somaliland and Kenya: Its medals (Chris Hill)
Our President John Barker introduced our speaker, who is also a branch member Christopher Hill. Chris talked on the Jubaland how it was wiped off the map being absorbed by Somaliland and Kenya. He covered all the actions that had taken place between 1893 and 1917. How it came in to existence as being part of the Imperial British East Africa Company finally being taken over by the British Government. He used power point for his presentation along with some fantastic medals in groups and singles AGS, East and West Africa, East and Central Africa. Gallantry medal groups including the only IOM for the campaign.
Also shown were the medals to Vice-Consul Jenner, whose murder by Ogaden Somalis resulted in a very expensive punitive campaign.
There were 23 members and guests in attendance and the meeting closed at 10.30pm. The raffle was conducted by Richard Emsley which raised £26-00 for club funds.

Branch trip to the Royal Signals Museum, Blandford  10th July 2011

10 members left Swindon Village at 8.15am and arrived at Blandford Camp 11.15. After a brief inspection the Guard decided there was only one person they wanted to see, our driver Mick Kippin. Eventually he passed muster and we proceeded through the gate to the museum. After the journey our first thoughts turned to coffee. We went to the recently refurbished, in the 1940's style, cafe. After refreshments our guide took us on a tour of the museum. We were shown various exhibits, including: "Women at War", highlighting the role of women in the 2nd World War including the story of Odette and her mission in France. The story of dispatch riders, including a collection of motorcycles. General Montgomery's armoured command vehicle. An enigma code breaking machine. The story of the L.R.D.F. which was initially formed as an intelligence gathering unit. Finally details of the animals used by the Royal Signals including dogs, pigeons, donkeys, camels and horses.
We then retreated for lunch, after which we were set loose on their medal collection. It was as varied and impressive as you would expect from The Signals, covering many theatres of war. What we had not expected was the fully catalogued and easily accessible index system. It was a mouth watering experience to go through the list which gave full details of the recipients and their medals. After some 90 minutes in the medal room it was time to leave this small but friendly museum and depart home, arriving back at 6pm. Once again thanks to Mick Kippin, our driver (no scenic route this time).
Andrew Derrick

Meeting of the Cotswold Branch of the Orders & Medals Research Society held at Swindon Village Hall on Thursday 14th July 2011
Apologies received from J. Carver, S. Lewis, R. Hughes. M. Pittaway and M. Atkinson
The meeting commenced at 7.30 pm with Cotswold Branch business. The Secretary read the minutes of the June meeting which were proposed by Mike Kippin seconded by John Barker.
Andrew Derrick gave details of Sunday's trip to the Royal Signals Museum on the 17th July. He then informed the branch of the following proposed visits 18th of September Tank Corps Museum Bovington and RAF Cosford 10th of October 2011. Richard Emsley our Treasurer said a few words “if any of you would like to pay your subscriptions he will willingly accept them” some members took him up on his offer!!! Graham Pitchfork broached the subject of the OMRS Convention in London this September suggesting members who put on displays for our last Mini Convention should think about exhibiting at OMRS. David Seeney mentioned that Hereford Museum were having a heritage open day which was open to the public.
The Labour Corps (Lt-Col. John Starling)
Nathan Smith introduced our speaker for the Peter Ashford Memorial Lecture Lt-Col John Starling. John talked on the Labour Corps made up of  Commonwealth as well as British Battalions, including Pioneers. His research was second to none he showed that 20% of Troops who served in WW1 at some time or another served in the Labour Corps. These were chaps who were wounded, sick or too old to serve in Line Regiments. The Commonwealth sent men from India, Malta, South Africa, Cyprus, Fiji various Caribbean countries etc, these came in vast numbers to keep the docks, railways and front line working. When a chap was transferred in to the labour Corps he was given a new number but invariably kept his own Cap Badge. The only medals named to the LC were Gallantry medals and MSM’s.  At the end of the conflict the Labour Corps were the ones who started the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. In 1939 the LC became the Royal Pioneer Corps. John had some of the books which he had written on the Labour Corps in WW1 on sale. He talked of his data base of all units and men who served in the Corps and was able to help two guests whose relations had served in it in WW1. He brought a collection of Bronze BWM to LC members also Gallantry Medals in groups as well as photographs, papers etc. He then held a question and answer session and was thanked by our President John Barker.
There were 34 members and guests in attendance and the meeting closed at 10.30pm. The raffle was conducted by Rick Carver and raised £20-00 for club funds.

Meeting of the Cotswold Branch of the Orders & Medals Research Society held at Swindon Village Hall on Thursday 9th June 2011
Apologies received from G. Pitchfork, T. & D. Lyall, F. Angus, P. Roberts, I. Miller, T. & N. Errock, J. Wright, D. Seeney, J. Scott.
The meeting commenced at 7.30 pm with Cotswold Branch business. The President read the minutes of the May meeting which were proposed by Richard Hughes and seconded by Henry Meadows. A letter to the branch from Graham Pitchfork was handed around urging members to consider exhibiting at the OMRS Convention.
Andrew Derrick gave details of the visit to the Royal Signals Museum 17th July. The evening was then handed over to four branch members for four short talks.
An Officer and a Gentleman? (Andrew Derrick)
Andrew told the story of a Royal Victorian Medal named to a Coldstream Guard. Frederick Baker was obviously in an intelligent man and enjoyed rapid promotion. He went to France in 1914 and was wounded. For his services he was commissioned in the Northamptons and saw  further service in West Africa. However, after being taken ill, he returned to the UK and began passing dud cheques in various locations. The authorities finally caught up with him and he was court martialled on 13 counts. Twelve for passing cheques and the 13th was for wearing rank badges of a Staff Major and the ribbons of the DSO, RVM and Coronation medal. None of which he wa entitled to!
After being dismissed from the army, he enlisted as a private and went back to France where he was wounded again. In the late 1920s he again came to the notice of the war office, claimnig to have been a Major in the Coldstreams and again defrauding people of money. Although not entitled to the medal, the RVM reveals the story of an officer and a rogue.
A Grenadier Guard or "Greny" (Dave Martin)
David told the story of a long-serving Grenadier Guardsman who saw service in North Africa and Italy in World War Two. After the war he served with the training battalion and on attachment to the Honourable Artillery Company, where his services were much appreciated. The group was accompanied by many excellent photographs, covering his whole service, and a complete set of service papers. 
Two George Medals (Jon Cann)
After a breif history of the George Medal, Jon told the story of how two men of the Gloucestershire Constabulary won the George Medal in 1961. After some trouble with a Polish ex-serviceman who had settled in the area after the war, two PCs (David Smeeton and Ron Spencer ) were sent on a routine visit to his home. They were greeted at the door by a revolver, and one of the PCs was shot in the chest. Pushing the gunman into the house the three men stumbled into the front room where two bodies already lay. After a struggle in which the gunman was disarmed, he ran from the house. The badly wounded police constable crawled outside for assistance from local people, while the other one gave chase. The assailant was known as a very violent and powerful man. After another struggle, he again started to run, but was tripped up by a local woman as he passed and with the help of standersby, he was finally arrested. The wounded constable eventually recovered enough to return to work, but suffered from the effects of his wounds for the rest of his life. Both were awarded the George Medal for the bravery in the face of an armed and very dangerous murderer. Jon's guest for the evening was David Smeaton, G.M.
Two Naval Incidents Early in the War (Richard Emsley)
Richard began by outlining the history of the mine and the torpedo in naval warfare and then led us into the outbreak of World War One. He then told the stories of the loss of HMS Amphion to German mines and of HMS Pathfinder to a German torpedo. After explaining the sequence of events he then looked at the human tragedies behind the facts. He showed medals to casualties from both ships and told their stories. The effectiveness of German mine and submarine warfare in the initial weeks of the war persuaded a reluctant British Admiralty that they must adopt similar tactics; even though they were considered underhand and sneaky!
The President then thanked the speakers for their interesting and very different talks.
Mick Atkinson conducted the raffle and the meeting closed at 10pm.

Branch trip to the Fleet Air Arm Museum, Yeovilton  15th May 2011

The eleven members of the club who visited the museum were treated to a fascinating day. The aircraft displays were superb and included several unique survivals. The medals on show were few in number but high in quality. More on these to follow. We were greeted by David Hill who then introuduced our two guides, Peter Buckroyd and Peter Gibson. We were escorted around the halls while they pointed out interesting pieces giving background information and answering questions. We were surprised to later hear that this was the first time they had taken groups around the museum. The mock-up of an aircraft carrier flight-deck and operations rooms was very effectively done. In the afternoon we heard a lecture by John Gilbert on the development, performance and premature retirement of the Harrier jump-jet. A unique, world-beating aircraft now no longer available to our armed forces. We can now also say, "when I was on Concorde...." as the museum has the second Concorde ever built, purely for research and testing purposes, and we all took the chance to walk through the aircraft. Sat next to this are two unique experimental aircraft built to test the wing design concepts for Concorde. Among the exhibits is the recently acquired bell from HMS Ark Royal. The bell has hung on several Ark Royals and will be handed over when/if a new Ark Royal is ever commissioned. It is possible that one of the new carriers being built will be named Ark Royal and this is one exhibit that the museum will be happy to hand over to a new custodian. It was also a joy to be in a museum that was happy to allow photography in the halls. While British naval aviation is currently at its lowest ebb, probably since its early years, it is good to know that the fine history of the Royal Naval Air Service/Fleet Air Arm is in safe hands and being well served.
Our thanks as always to Andrew Derrick for arranging the trip, our driver Mike Kippin ("no Mike, the Harrier isn't available as an automatic") and to the staff of the Fleet Air Arm Museum for a great visit.

Meeting of the Cotswold Branch of the Orders & Medals Research Society held at Swindon Village Hall on Thursday 12th May 2011
Apologies received from G. Pitchfork, J. Carver, F. Angus, P. Roberts.
The meeting commenced at 7.30 pm with Cotswold Branch business. The Secretary read the minutes of the April meeting which were proposed by Mike Kippin seconded by Rick Carver.
Andrew Derrick gave details of Sunday's trip and advised that a visit to the Royal Signals Museum has been arranged for 17th July. Details to follow. Richard Emsley presented the Treasurer's report and a statement of finances, which were in good order.
Operation Barras (Mike Atkinson)
Our President then introduced our speaker Mike Atkinson, talking on Operation Barras - the rescue of British Army hostages held in Sierra Leone. His description of the planning and execution of the operation was unique in its detail and accuracy, due to the sources that Mike is able to call upon. We were allowed an insight into the incredible stories of the men who made the operation such a success. So effective was the operation that recent events have demonstrated its lasting influence on the Special Forces of other nations. A superb talk illustrated with unique and historic photographs and presented in the manner that we have come to expect from Mike.
Mike then took some questions. We were lucky to have as a guest LtCol John Starling, who had served in Sierra Leone and was able to add some background stories that revealed some of the problems of serving in the country. Nathan Smith then talked about a group of medals to another British soldier who was held hostage in Sierre Leone, but quickly released after news of the above rescue struck fear into his captors.
Several members then showed medals and also talked about attending a memorial service for Russian war casualties in London. The raffle raised £32 for club funds. It was proposed that a donation of £25 be made to Paul Pitchfork, MC who is raising money for wounded Gurkha soldiers. This was unanimously accepted.
There were 33 members and guests in attendance and the meeting closed at 10.30pm.

Branch trip to the Imperial War Museum, London  18th April 2011

The branch was greeted at the museum by Michael Naxton, who talked about the formation of the gallery and the reasons behind some of the decisions made about the display. We were then free to explore the gallery of VC and GC displays. Whilst the medal collector in each of grumbled about the way the groups have been presented, it would be mean-spirited to complain. The medals and stories are, of course, outstanding and everyone had their own favourites. We must applaud Lord Ashcroft for his generosity in making his collection available to the general public.

Meeting of the Cotswold Branch of the Orders & Medals Research Society held at Swindon Village Hall on Thursday 14th April 2011
Apologies received from Z. Coombs, J. Carver, I. Miller, N. Smith, F. Angus, D&T Llyle, J. Mourton, G. Pitchfork, D. Seeney, R. Emsley and M. Atkinson
The meeting commenced at 7.30 pm with Cotswold Branch business. The Secretary read the minutes of the March meeting which were proposed by Tim Errock seconded Mike Kippin. Branch members had expressed an interest in having another Mini Convention in June 2012. Clive Harmson contacted a member of the club committee and they have a date of 16th June 2012  is the date we will be going for. We then commenced with the Annual General Meeting,  The secretary brought to the attention of the membership that if any member would like to be put forward for any of the four committee posts to put their names forward. There were no takers and the four posts will continue to be filled by those who are doing them now as expressed by the membership.
The Secretary, President and Functions Officer read their reports (Copies in the file). Richard Emsley our Treasurer due to work commitments was unable to attend. He will be bringing to the next meeting statement of the club accounts and the rest of his report after being read out it will then be held on file.
Odd Men of the Cameron Highlanders (John Scott)
Our President then introduced our speaker John Scott who gave a fantastic talk on “Odd men of the Cameron Highlanders” These were officers and men who served in many campaigns doing various jobs whilst away from the regiment. He covered from the formation of the regiment to the amalgamation in 1961 when the QOH came in to existence. He stopped when the QOH became one of the battalions of the new Regiment of Scotland. John’s presentation was with Power Point backed up with single medals and groups, in most cased unique to the regiment. He then had a question and answer session at the end of the presentation which went down well. John Barker thanked John and the branch showed their appreciation in the usual way. 3 members Tim Errock, Rick Carver and Paul Roberts talked on medals which they had brought along to the meeting. After which John Barker did the raffle which raised £18-00 towards club funds. Andrew Derrick collected subs off members for the coming year with Richard being away. There were 23 members and 1 guest (John Scots son) present the meeting closed at 10.15 pm

 
Branch trip to the Royal Artillery Museum, Woolwich 27th March 2011
12 members set off for Woolwich on Sunday morning and were greeted at the museum by Mark Smith, curator and medal collector. After a very welcome coffee, we set off for the medal room. Mark then locked the door and gave us access to cabinets full of medals, including many unsual groups, combinations an awards. The desplays in the room included Peninsula Gold Cross groups, VC groups, a group with an MC with 3 bars and even an MC, Air Crew Europe Star group to an RA officer. After lunch in the medal room, Mark opened his box of goodies and handed around a Peninsula Gold Cross with 4 bars, a Peninsual Gold Medal with 2 bars and various other gems. After this we were taken to a gun set up for firing and Gunner P. McKenna was called upon to FIRE!
We were then taken into the museum archives, not usually open to the public. The archivist then explained what the archive held and what had been destroyed before they had to chance to rescue it. A fascinating insight into what has been preserved, but it was in many cases a "last-minute" rescue of important files that were due to be destroyed. It was reassuring that the collection and archives are obviously in good hands. Our thanks once more to Andrew for arranging another successful trip and to Driver (1st class) M. Kippin, who can even do hill-starts ..... eventually.
                                                       

Meeting of the Cotswold Branch of the Orders & Medals Research Society held at Swindon Village Hall on Thursday 10th March 2011
Apologies received from Z. Coombs, R. Carver, I. Miller, N. Smith, J. Scott, J. Wright and H. Meadows.
The meeting commenced at 7.30 pm with Cotswold Branch business. The minutes of the February meeting were read and Andrew Derrick gave some details of planned trips. Members were also asked to think about talks for the next programme.
Wreck of the Birkenhead (David Seeney)
John Barker then introduced our speaker Dave Seeney who gave his talk on the wreck of the troopship Birkenhead in 1852. David outlined the history of the ship itself, introduced the main characters and then spoke about the events that led up to the sinking. He detailed the struggle of the survivors, the controversy and the court martials that followed. He then gave a break down of deaths and survivors among the naval crew, army personnel and their families. The conduct of the military personnel that night was acknowledged around the world as an example of British military discipline. Under terrible conditions every woman and child was saved while the soldiers formed-up on deck to await their fate. David displayed a South Africa medal to a survivor and several artefacts that had been recovered from the wreck sight during salvaging.
Questions and answers followed and then Richard Hughes thanked David on behalf of the branch which showed appreciation in the usual way.
Richard Hughes, Mike Kippin and John Barker then spoke briefly on medals related to losses at sea.
Richard Emsley conducted the raffle and £22 was raised for club funds. 
There were 29 members and guests present and the meeting closed at 10.30pm.

Meeting of the Cotswold Branch of the Orders & Medals Research Society held at Swindon Village Hall on Thursday 10th February 2011
Apologies received from Z. Coombs and R. Carver
The meeting commenced at 7.30 pm with Cotswold Branch business. The minutes of the January meeting were read by the secretary confirmed by J. Barker seconded by G. Pitchfork.
The secretary then welcomed all our guests which included one of our Life Members Clive Hammond. He also informed the branch of an impending parachute jump being taken by a lady from the Hardwick branch of the Royal British legion and sent a sponsor form round the room.  Our treasurer Richard Emsley then took the floor and told the branch that we had been successful in our bid for a lap top etc from OMRS and he was expecting the cheque at any time. He also asked for outstanding subscription to be paid as he now had a list of members on a sheet he was sending round and if your name was not on the list then you were in debt!. It was brought to our attention that some members of the branch had let their membership of the OMRS slip will they please contact the Secretary for new application forms. Andrew Derrick our Functions officer then let the branch know of the visits we are going on and how Michael Naxton has offered to do (for the branch visit) a guided tour of the Lord Ashcroft‘s VC collection.
R.A.F. Evaders (Graham Pitchfork)
John Barker then introduced our speaker Graham Pitchfork who gave his talk on RAF Evaders. It covered the main four escape routes in France backed up with photographs (these he had taken whilst walking parts of these routes) Also photographs of the people involved, MI9’s commitment and the things they were responsible for. He also covered work carried out by the Dutch, Belgians, Norwegians, Swedes, Javanese, Burmese, Shans and Karens who all helped to get the aircrews back safely. The talk made clear the debt owed to many nameless men and women who risked their lives to help British airmen get home. Many paid for their actions with their lives. He had some terrific groups and unseen photographs and it was a talk that was enjoyed by all. Graham then did a question and answer session at the end of which our President thanked him on behalf of the branch which showed it’s appreciation in the usual way. Eight members/guests J. Barker, M. Kippin, M. Atkinson, D. Seeney, J. Scott, M. Pittaway, I. Miller and J. Carver talked on medals which they had brought which were relevant to Grahams talk.
Richard Emsley conducted the raffle and £32 was raised for club funds. 
There were 36 members and guests present and the meeting closed at 10.30pm.

Meeting of the Cotswold Branch of the Orders & Medals Research Society held at Swindon Village Hall on Thursday 13th January 2011
Apologies received from F. Angus, H. Meadows, J. Cann, P. Roberts, N. Smith and D. Martin
The meeting commenced at 7.30 pm with Cotswold Branch business. The minutes of the December meeting were confirmed by M. Kippin seconded by R. Emsley. The secretary then told the membership about an e-mail from Patrick Street OMRS. He was advising all secretaries to contact OMRS in the next couple of weeks if we would like a grant to buy anything we need. It was discussed and the consensus of opinion was it would be good to get a Lap Top computer to complement the projector which we had last year. Richard Emsley our Treasurer would action this on the branches behalf. Richard then brought up the payment of Subs and informed us that he had a new list of all active members.
Andrew Derrick our functions officer then talked of two visits later in the year. The first for the 15th May to Yeovilton Fleet Air Arm Museum and July to the Royal Signals Museum at Blandford. He also mention a visit to the Royal Marines Museum Portsmouth, more later. It was good to see our speaker Peter Singlehurst here in Swindon Village again as he was a member of the Cotswold Branch in his Student days which he spent here in Cheltenham.
The Imperial Yeomanry in the Boer War (Peter Singlehurst)
Our President John Barker then officially introduced Peter and he gave a very informative talk on the Imperial Yeomanry. The was done by a desk top presentation which was backed up with research and some cracking medals. Peter then did a question and answer session at the end, John Barker thanked him and the membership showed their appreciation in the usual way. 6 members Ian Miller, John Scott, David Gibbons, Mike Kippin, Steve Lewis and John Barker then talked on items which they had brought. Richard Emsley conducted the raffle and £23 was raised for club funds. 
There were 23 members and 2 guests present the meeting closed at 10.30pm.

Meeting of the Cotswold Branch of the Orders & Medals Research Society held at Swindon Village Hall on Thursday 9th December 2010.
Apologies received from F. Angus, R. Hughes, H. Meadows, B. Ward, J. Cann, A. Derrick, P. Roberts, D. Seeney and M. Atkinson
The meeting commenced at 7.30 pm with Cotswold Branch business. The minutes of the September meeting were confirmed by S. Lewis who acted as secretary at the November meeting. The secretary who has just returned from Hong Kong passed on a plaque from the HK branch to be hung up in Swindon Village hall as a memento of the visit. It was suggested whilst John attended a dinner hosted by 3 members of the HK branch that it would be going to do something to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the formation of the branch. They will let all OMRS members know what and where it will take place months in advance in case any OMRS members would like to attend.
Graham Pitchfork suggested that the branch notes be included on the OMRS website and will find out how this is to be achieved.
The annual quiz was then presented by Steve Lewis and won by Ian Miller. Steve presented Ian with the prize plate and the good news that he had to get it engraved and set next year’s quiz!
Zak then proposed a vote of thanks to Steve for a fantastic quiz which was seconded by all members.
Several members then showed interesting medals. A unique MC group to a man who served with the 11th Hussars, Essex Yeomanry and RAF (Ian Miller), a Grenadier Guards trio, killed in action 1914 (David Martin), a WWI pair to a Gloucestershire Yeomanry officer who was killed flying with the RFC (Matt Pittaway), a WWI trio to a Royal Engineer who researched showed actually served with the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (Richard Emsley) and a complete group of medals, badges, documents, photo album, letters, cards and diary of a German soldier who served in Finland throughout World War Two (guess who?)
Richard Emsley conducted the raffle and £19 was raised for club funds. The evening ended with a festive drink and food brought in by the members.
There were 16 members present and the meeting closed at 10pm.
A merry Christmas and happy, peaceful and prosperous new year to all members.

Branch trip to the Army Medical Service Museum 21st November 2010
Another excellent branch visit, this time as the guest of Captain Peter Starling, the Director of the museum. After an introduction to the museum (over coffee and biscuits), Peter explained the purpose and scope of the museum's collection and it's training and research commitments. We then explored the museum, with Peter available for questions as needed. The excellent medal cabinets caught everyone's attention; especially the VC cabinets which contained not only the VC and bar group to Martin-Leake, but the VC to Surgeon Reynolds for the Defence of Rorke's Drift and the 'Netley' VC (believed to be the original proto-type VC given to Queen Victoria for approval). Another interesting story was told by the medals awarded to British Army nurses (QARANC) presented with a Decoration by Adolf Hitler in 1937 for assistance given to wounded German sailors when their ship (the Deutschland) was shelled by Spanish Republicans. The museum also contains an excellent array of uniforms and equipment, dating from the English civil war upto Afghanistan today. Among these was a sash worn at Scutari Hospital by the nurses and one of the badges presented on their return to the UK. An excellent museum matched by the host who gave up his Sunday to host our visit. Thanks as ever to our duty driver (Mike Kippin).

Meeting of the Cotswold Branch of the Orders & Medals Research Society held at Swindon Village Hall on Thursday 11th November 2010.
Apologies received from J. Wright, R. Emsley, M. Selby, P. Roberts, R. Carver, N. Smith and Zak Coombs.
The meeting commenced at 7.30 pm with Cotswold Branch business. The minutes of the October meeting were taken as read and the President then introduced our speaker, Christopher Hill, who talked on "Benin - City of Blood". He covered the early history of the Benin Empire in West Africa and explained the interaction between local tribal chiefs and the three British trading interests operating in the area, primarily concerned with the palm oil trade. A naval bombardment in 1894 resulted in the Benin River 1894 clasp being issued on the East and West Africa Medal. He then explained the problems caused by the attitudes and practices of the Benin Empire, which included fetishist human sacrifice. When an unarmed delegation of 9 Europeans, led by the Commissioner Ralph Moore, entered Benin territory, they were ambushed and only two men escaped back to British territory. Despite the reluctance of the Foreign Office to get involved in Benin affairs, the murders could not go unpunished and Rear-Admiral Rawson led a naval expedition to Benin City. With a force of sailors, marines and local Niger Coast Protectorate Force troops, he advanced through the thick jungle. They were accompanied by 2000 porters, as everything, including drinking water, had to be carried. They soon encountered evidence of human sacrifice, including bodies hung from "sacrifice trees". Benin was also a slave-society and many of these were being beheaded or thrown alive into trenches filled with sacrificed bodies. After capturing Benin City, the force then entered the Royal Palace. There they found large amounts of carved ivory tusks, bronze statues and various other artworks. These were removed and most of it was later sold to help finance the expedition. A fire then burnt the palace down, which although started accidentally, was welcomed by many of the officers as a purification of this place of gruesome murder. It was also discovered that three of the ambushed Europeans had to been taken, wounded, to Benin City, where they were ritually beheaded and their heads displayed on poles. The King of Benin, who had been against a war but was overruled by his generals, was sent into exile. Finally, in 1899, one final expedition was undertaken to capture the last Benin general, who had escaped capture. He was arrested, tried and executed for being the leading supporter of war in 1897. Chris showed medals to five of the leading figures in this story. 
Although the artwork of the Benin Empire is today recognized as masterpieces of African art, there is a modern tendency to overlook the background and even to accuse the British Empire of criminal activity. As chris showed, with photographs, drawings, diaries and reports, the truth was very different.
Two members then briefly showed medals, a unique pair of the Imperial Yeomanry Long Service Medal and Territorial Force Efficiency Medal to the Essex Yeomanry, and a unique pair of medals for service in Africa to an officer of the Worcestershire Regiment.
The raffle raised £20 for club funds. 24 members were in attendance.  

Branch visit to the Arms collection at the Defence Academy, Shrivenam, Sunday 24 October

A most successful visit to the Defence Academy by 16 members of the Cotswold Branch: John Wright, Steve Lewis, Dick Hackett, Clive Harmson, Richard Hughes, Richard Emsley, Tom Lyall, David Lyall, John Barker, Mark Selby, David Gibson, Martin Keyte, Stuart Keyte, Andrew Derrick and our long-suffering driver Mick Kippin. The minibus arrived at 9.45 and after an uneventful journey we arrived at the Defence Academy. After having our photos taken and being presented with passes, we met Lieutenant-Colonel John Starling, the curator of the armoury, who took us to the small arms wing. We were amazed at the collection of arms on display, ranging from the "Brown Bess" musket to modern assault rifles, sub-machine guns, heavy machine guns and handguns; which are all kept in working-order. To our surprise and delight we were allowed to take guns down and handle them. John Starling talked knowledgably about the various weapons, discussing their strengths and weaknesses and the various weapons had developed.
Leaving the small arms wing we went to see somewhat larger guns and gun carriages, tanks and armoured cars from various countries. Then on to missiles, landmines, IEDs, etc. all expertly explained to us by John. These included the German V3 weapon that was, thankfully, never used. The whole tour took an amazing three hours, which really flew by. Unfortunately, the visit had to come to an end, but it left us with many amazing memories, truly a great day. We look forward with anticipation to meeting John Starling again as he has agreed to visit us at Swindon Village in July to talk on the Pioneer Corps.
Andrew Derrick.

Meeting of the Cotswold Branch of the Orders & Medals Research Society held at Swindon Village Hall on Thursday 14th October 2010.
Apologies received from Zak Coombs, R. Carver, D&T Lyall, I. Miller, K. Burrell, F. Angus and G. Pitchfork
The meeting commenced at 7.30 pm with Cotswold Branch business. The minutes of the September meeting were read and proposed by David Seeney seconded by Clive Harmson. The secretary read out a letter from OMRS regarding grants and it was suggested that we apply for one to cover the cost of a lap top computer which will be here for use by members of the branch and guest speakers who want to use it for power point presentations. Richard Emsley our Treasurer is on the case.
Andrew Derrick our functions officer talked on our visit on the 24th October to the Defence Academy Shrivenham. He gave the times of the coach etc and what the program would be. He also mentioned a visit to the RAMC Museum to take place on the 21st of November. He has two possibilities for next year, R.A Fire Power Museum and the Lord Ashcroft collection, more later. Mike Kippin then talked on the Blue Plaque ceremony held on the 24th of September and the treasurer was presented with the bill for £235-00 which was our share of the cost of the plaque and the buffet. Richard (the treasurer) pointed out that it was more than we were first quoted. A member of the branch (who wishes to remain anonymous) gave a donation of £100 to cover the shortfall. Due to circumstances beyond his control he was unable to attend the ceremony. On behalf of the branch I should like to say THANK YOU for this generous gift. Mike Atkinson talked on the OMRS London convention and suggested more members of the branch should put on displays. The branch Congratulated him on his award of a medal and cup which he received for his display at the OMRS Convention.
Mike Kippin then gave a full well documented presentation on the The Volunteer Movement in Gloucestershire during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He used slides and on free standing display boards, Photographs, documents, Prints etc. He also had on display a very scarce medallion to the Bristol Volunteers which was produced and issued on their disbandment in 1814. He then followed up with a question and answer session. Our President John Barker then thanked Mike and the branch showed their appreciation in the usual way.
Henry Meadows then talked on the forth coming sale being held by the Cotswold Auction Company on the 26th of October, he gave out invitations to the preview to all members present. 
Richard Emsley conducted the raffle which raised £26 for club funds. 25 members were present, the meeting closed at 10.15 pm

The Cotswold Branch-sponsored blue plaque to Surgeon-General Manley, V.C. was unveiled at 3 Lansdown Terrace, Cheltenham on 24 September. Members in attendance were Richard Hughes, John Wright, Mike Kippin, Andrew Derrick, Steve Lewis, Richard Hackett, Keith Burrell and Frank Angus. Both the Mayor and the MP for Cheltenham attended, along with two representatives of the Royal Army Medical Corps, members of Cheltenham Civic Society and other interested locals. After the plaque was unveiled, a receiption was held in the nearby church hall, paid for by the branch. A report and photograph of the ceremony was published in the Gloucestershire Echo.
 

Meeting of the Cotswold Branch of the Orders & Medals Research Society held at Swindon Village Hall on Thursday 9th September 2010.
Apologies received from N. Smith, B. Ward, P. Roberts, M. Kippin, Zak Coombs and M. Keyte
The meeting commenced at 7.30 pm with Cotswold Branch business. The minutes of the July meeting were read and proposed by Frank Angus seconded by Tom Lyall.The secretary read out two items which had been sent to him the first being from the Editor of the OMRS Journal asking members to submit articles for publication as there was a shortage of new material. The second was from Mike Kippin regarding the Blue Plaque to Surgeon-General Manley VC which is to be unveiled on Friday the 24th of September at 1200 hours outside 3 Lansdown Terrace Cheltenham. It will be followed by a buffet reception which will be in the Church Hall, Christchurch. The branch is paying half the cost for the plaque and the full cost of the buffet. We would like to see as many branch members as possible Orders Decorations and medals will be worn.Andrew Derrick our functions officer let us know our next visit. It is on the 24th October to the Defence Academy Shrivenham. LtCol John Starling is going to open the “Armoury”  which is one of the best in the UK for branch members to be able to see  this truly wonderful collection.Graham Pitchfork who is a member of the OMRS Committee then told the branch that OMRS were needing two OMRS members to take over 2 editorial staff jobs to help keep the Journal going, names directly to the Editor OMRS. He then told of the work being done to make this OMRS Convention better than ever, easier access etc.Peter McKenna let us know of a talk by Richard Holmes which is being hosted at Chavenage House Nr Tetbury cost £10 proceeds to go the Museum of the Regiments of Gloucestershire.Matt Pittaway mentioned a Country Fair which is being held on Saturday the 11th of Sept at Frampton cost £8-00.
Chris Hill agreed to give a talk on the 11th of November the subject being “Benin 1897 The City of Blood“. If you have any medals awarded for the Benin campaign please bring them along.We than had a very enjoyable members own with 12 branch members talking on a great range of subjects covering all branches of the services as well as the police.Richard Emsley conducted the raffle which raised £20 for club funds. 24 members were present, the meeting closed at 10.15 pm

Branch Visit to The South Wales Borderers Museum and Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers Museum/HQ
Sunday 25th July 2010. The day included the Cotswold Branch epic re-enactment of the Battle of Isandlwana!

Another success for our Functions Officer Andrew Derrick, 15 members John Barker, Steve Lewis, Mick Kippin, David and Tom Lyall, John Wright, Clive Harmson, Richard Hackett, Mark Selby, Tim & Nichola Errock, Martin Keyte, Brian Ward, Mike Tanner and Andrew Derrick. 5 guests Julius Giles, Tim and Cecile Joyce who were visiting the UK on holiday from South Africa, Stuart Keyte and Dan Tanner.
The Mini Bus collected us at Swindon Village Hall car park and we were on the road by 9.30 am. Mike Kippin was again “duty driver” and off we went in to far off Wales. Andrew had arranged for us to have a private viewing of the SWB museum so we were able to park in the Barracks car park which is next door to the museum. We were met by Arfon Williams an ex-member of the Regiment who gave us a guided tour of the museum and told the story of the regiment. He brought out items which came from the Battle of Isandlwana (the photograph show Martin’s Son Stuart playing the part of one of the chaps who died and his Dad as a Zulu Warrior!!). We had free time to look at all the exhibits and a vote of thanks was given by our president John Barker to Arfon for the interesting very informative visit into this compact very personal museum. We had a lunch break and then set off to Monmouth where we had to be after 3.30 pm (there was a parade through the town). On arrival at the Barracks of the RMRE we were met by Patricia Lynesmith who give an interesting talk of the castle and the formation of the regiment. She then escorted us in to the grade 2 listed building where we had a private viewing of the entrance hall, the grand staircase and then the officers mess. It is a fantastic building built from the stone of the original castle which was destroyed by Oliver Cromwell’s Army. We came out of the main building and in to the Museum which covers the raising of the regiment in 1539 to the roll it plays today. There were a lot of unusual  items on display badges, uniforms, swords etc to the RMRE. This regiment is the only one in the British Army with two Royals in it’s title Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers. Our president John Barker gave a vote of thanks to Patricia and Andrew signed the visitors book as well as handed over a donation to both Museums. We arrived back at the village hall at 6.20 pm after a great day out. If anyone who has read this has not been to either of these Museums I would recommend they do as they are still hands-on and very people friendly.

Minutes of July 2010 Meeting
Meeting of the Cotswold Branch of the Orders & Medals Research Society held at Swindon Village Hall on Thursday 8th July 2010.
Apologies received from P. McKenna and J. Barker
The meeting commenced at 7.30 pm with Cotswold Branch business. The minutes of the June meeting were read and proposed by Mike Kippin seconded by Dave Seeney. The secretary congratulated all the members who helped to make the Mini Convention such a great success a vote of thanks was seconded from the floor. Richard Emsley then talked on the new system of judging which is being used at the next OMRS Convention. He also let it be know that he was prepared to collect any outstanding subscriptions at the end of the meeting. Andrew Derrick mentioned the next visits he was planning and took names for the visit on the 25th July to two museums in Wales. David Seeney introduced our speaker Capt Peter Starling who is the Director of the Army Medical Services Museum, from his introduction you could tell they had been friends and colleagues for a long time. Peter then gave an excellent lecture with power point. He covered all the service he has under his charge RAMC, QA’s, RADC and RAVC their history and fantastic medals. He had photographs of the VC’s won by the R.A.M.C. also with medals for every action the Corps has been involved with. In the case of the R.A.D.C. the three of their four WW2 MC’s won by them. In the nurses section there were medals from the Egypt campaign 1882 to the MC of this year. The RAVC again various medals to all campaigns. Peter finished with a question and answer session and David Seeney gave the vote of thanks, appreciation was shown in the usual way by the members and guests. Several members brought medals which they talked about for 10 minutes these included WW1 DCM,MM group, Modern Groups and several to the R.A.F. medical service as well as one to the Royal Navy. Richard Emsley ran the raffle which raised £27 for club funds. We had 23 members and 4 guests (3 who joined the branch later that evening) they are Tim Errock, Rick and Jim Carver a warm welcome to you all, the meeting closed at 10.40 pm

Saturday 12th of June 2010 Cotswold Branch of the OMRS Bi-annual Convention held at Swindon Village Hall.
click image for more photos
The Hall opened at 9 am for the members of Richard Hughes Volunteers to set up the tables, chairs and a hundred and one other things which needed to be done. They succeeded magnificently and a special mentions to David and Tom Lyall and Frank Angus who had the security table up and running well in advance of members and guests arriving. Also thanks to Richard Emsley our Treasurer who worked till the early hours of Saturday morning getting the name tags prepared. Exhibits were set up by 10.30 am all 11 members who were exhibiting had their exhibits set up they were as follows: -
 Roger Tucker USA and British & Colonial Police, Mike Atkinson medals to the SAS, Graham Pitchfork RAF Gallantry, Mark Selby Victorian Campaign Medals, John Cann Gloucestershire Special Constabulary medals and groups, David Martin Grenadier Guards, Mike Kippin Medals to Recipients from Cheltenham, John Wright Order of Burma and Burma Gallantry groups, Steve Lewis Finish Volunteers, Mike Tanner 36th Foot. Chris Hill Dr Livingstone, a bearer’s medal and Richard Hughes "A trip to France". The event was opened at 11 am by Mr Stephen Clarke Who is the chairman of the Cheltenham Civic Society introduced by our President John Barker after his address John then went on to introduce our guest speaker LtCol Paul Pitchfork MC RGR who gave an in depth lecture of his regiments time in Afghanistan. This was complimented by a video and a power point presentation; it was a full and frank coverage which was enlightening. Paul talked for about 55 minutes and then took questions from the floor.  An excellent buffet lunch was served at 1 pm thanks to the hard work of Clive Harmson’s good lady and her daughter. After Lunch our President introduced four speakers 2 from the branch and two visitors who gave a talk of between 10 and 20 minute duration these were David Seeney, John Scott, Chris Hill and Mrs Dahlia Harrison. It was good to see one of our Life Members Clive Hammond in attendance, unfortunately Graham Sacker was unavailable and Roland Hill MBE did not feel well enough to attend. Ray Noyce is living in Canada and it was a bit of a distance to come and see use for a few hours; however they were with us in spirit. We had three dealers in attendance Ian Laidlaw, David Seeney and Andrew Bostock we also had the OMRS Stand thanks to Peter Helmore there were 58 people all told and every one commented on the quality and diversity of the exhibits. The bar was open from 10.30 am and closed when the convention ended at 4.30 pm and it was according to all who attended a resounding success.
John Wright Cotswold Branch Secretary

Minutes of June 2010 Meeting
Meeting of the Cotswold Branch of the Orders & Medals Research Society held at Swindon Village Hall on Thursday 10th June 2010.
Apologies received from T. Lyall, D. Lyall, F. Angus, I. Miller, P. McKenna, Zak Coombs, N. Smith, G. Pitchfork, H. Meadows and K. Burrell 
The meeting commenced at 7.30 pm with Cotswold Branch business. The minutes of the May meeting were read and proposed by Richard Hugh’s seconded by Richard Emsley.
Richard Hugh’s, Richard Emsley, John Barker and the Secretary give the final points on our Convention on Saturday the 12th The hall will open at 9 am for setting up tables chairs etc. 10.30 am exhibits to be in place and 11 o’clock the event will be officially opened. It is envisaged to go on till 4 pm and we have 58 people registered including two of our four life members Clive Hammond and Roland Hill.
The secretary introduced our speaker Cotswold Branch President John Barker who talked on The RAF in India between the Wars. It was as we have come to expect from John a well researched lecture enhanced by the use of our new digital projector and power point. He covered all the campaigns on the India General Service Medal 1908 pointing out that only 4 members of the RAF qualified for the Mahsud clasp who came to India with 6 Squadron from Singapore. He also informed us that there were only 14 clasps awarded to the RAF for Burma 1930-32. He covered the India General Service Medal 1936 to 1939 following up with photographs, books and of course some fantastic medals in groups and singles covering the period Afganistan NWF 1919 to North West Frontier 1936 to 1939. A question and answer session then took place and a vote of thanks was given by the Treasurer Richard Emslay. John Scott then showed some medals out of his collection covering this period to the RAF and the meeting closed at 10.15 pm with 20 members being present.


Minutes of May 2010 Meeting
Meeting of the Cotswold Branch of the Orders & Medals Research Society held at Swindon Village Hall on Thursday 13th May 2010.
Apologies received from T. Lyall, D. Lyall, F. Angus, I. Miller, P. Roberts, M. Selby, P. McKenna and B. Ward.
The meeting commenced at 7.30 pm with Cotswold Branch business. The minutes of the April meeting were read and were proposed by Mike Kippin and seconded by John Barker. The secretary gave a brief report on OMRS North Convention. Richard Hughes then reported on the branch convention in June and circulated a list of those who intended to display or attend.
John Barker then introduced our speaker on the Order of Australia, Dr. Ken Sullivan, who was visiting from Australia. After briefly outlining the early history of Australia and the use of the Imperial honours system, he explained how the institution of the Order of Australia came about in 1975. He spoke about how the system of recommendation, approval and presentation of the honour proceeds and about his own experience of being a recipient of the Order. Ken’s obvious affection for Britain and its’ people shown through his anecdotes as he recalled his experiences and compared the Imperial honours system with the Australian one that replaced it. Ken then answered questions after which John Barker thanked Ken on behalf of the branch.
Several members then showed medals to Australians, including a World War Two DFC group, a Vietnam pair to a member of the Australian SAS, a Vietnam pair to the Royal Australian Air Force, WWI medals to brothers from Gloucestershire, one of whom was killed with the Glosters while the other served in the Australian Infantry.
Richard Emsley did the Raffle which raised £12 for club funds. 21 members attended and the meeting closed at 10.15 pm 

Minutes of April 2010 Meeting
Meeting of the Cotswold Branch of the Orders & Medals Research Society held at Swindon Village Hall on Thursday 8th of April 2010.
Apologies received from T. Ewing, J. Scott, J. Cann, P. Roberts and F. Angus
The meeting commenced at 7.40 pm with Cotswold Branch business. We then talked at length about the coming Mini Convention being held on the 12th of June. Richard Hughes was good enough to step in at the last minute to take on organizing the tables, monies etc for the 12th . (Richard can be contacted on 01299 823622). John Barker brought up some very valid points which he and Richard Hughes will sort out. David and Tom Lyall with Frank Angus agreed to man the door on the day. Clive Harmson (who is doing the catering) asked for figures so they could plan the amount of food which will be needed. Richard and John will send out all information pertaining to the convention to members who have e-mail addresses as soon as he has them off the Treasurer. Graham Pitchfork then told the membership about the next OMRS Convention being held in London and it seems that a lot of the membership suggestions have been taken on board and it looks as though it is going to be a first class affair. Richard Emsley (Treasurer) informed us that he has the cheque off OMRS to buy the digital projector we had asked for. David Seeney let it be known that there will be an event (Military Vehicles etc) held in conjuction with Help for Heroes at Suvla Barracks, Hereford on the 8th April. A reminder that the branch was going to be well represented at the OMRS North event on the 22nd-23rd-24th of April being held in the Holiday Inn at Runcorn Cheshire. Mike Atkinson will be a speaker at this event subject Modern Medals. The Cotswold Branch ‘medal wants’ webpage is now up and running. Our President suggested that members who have any medals to Australians and New Zealand recipients should bring them along to the meeting  on the 13th of May when Dr Ken Sullivan talks on the “Order of Australia”. Mike Kippin talked about the two Blue Plaques which were being put up, one being paid for by the branch (Details at the top of the web site). 
The AGM then took place the Secretary asked if there were any members who would like to put up for the 4 committee posts, there were none. A motion came from the floor which was proposed and seconded that the four branch officers stay in post, this was unanimously endorsed by the membership. The Secretary, Treasurer and President presented their reports (copies in the branch folder) after which Graham Pitchfork asked that a vote of thanks should be minuted showing appreciation for the work carried out by the Branch Officials this was voted on and will be done. Andrew Derrick our Functions Officer is on holiday in Australia so his report was unavailable. The Treasurer then let it be know that he would be willing to take this years subs off the members present, this concluded the AGM
A members own then took place which covered original paperwork and medals from WW1, WW2 and Modern Medal groups and singles to all three services. 7 members talked on 11 lots and a most enjoyable evening was had by all. Richard Emsley did the Raffle which raised £20 for club funds. 26 members attended and the meeting closed at 10.30pm  






A few highlights from the Branch viewing of Cheltenham Museum's Medal Collection in August 2006. Prior to the visit the collection had never been on public show.

Admiral Thomas Whinyates (5 clasps) and Major-General Frederick Whinyates, Royal Engineers who was awarded a Naval General Service Medal	General Sir Edward Whinyates Royal Horse Artillery commanded the Rocket Troop at Waterloo	Major-General Francis Whinyates Madras Horse Artillery	Lieut-Colonel Percy Lloyd Jones Royal Army Medical Corps He was killed in France 1916	Captain Singer 60th Foot