Home Page > Membership and Community > Branches

Successes 

---

Branch 50th Anniversary Celebration Dinner Dance & Cabaret

 

Royal Oak of Kent celebrated 50 years as a Court/Branch on 31^st January 2009 with a Dinner Dance & Cabaret at the Alexandra Suite, Swanley with 145 members and guests attending it was a very successful evening, good food, lively entertainment and most of all good company, we were pleased to have Phil Shorthouse a branch member as our toastmaster for the evening. Our guests were David Howell Regional President of London & Southern England with his wife Rita, Membership Director UK Steve Dilworth and Siobhan his wife, Membership Manager Lizzy Carrington-Porter and Charter Officer Cyril Levitt accompanied by his daughter Rosemary. It was also a great pleasure to have representatives of all the branches that have existed in Kent in attendance.

 

Royal Oak received its charter on 29^th January 1959 and was one of the first Courts in Southern England.  Forester membership grew so quickly in the late ‘50s early ‘60s that even more Courts as they were then known were born.

Royal Oak gave birth to Court Laxton Tudor in  1961, subsequently Royal Thane in the Thanet area became a Court. Ken Caplan the district manager and his team were working hard in the Medway area which was growing in population and many new Forester members were recruited it became evident that a new Court was needed in that area and Laxton Tudor was split to form the new Court Kentish Garden, yet again Laxton Tudor was divided in the early ‘70s to form another Court in the Dartford/Gravesend area, by this time membership growth had slowed down and this move was not so successful, although the Court survived for several years thanks to the hard work of its officers. With ever growing costs Laxton Tudor officers decided that the finances could no longer sustain the activities the membership deserved and asked for permission to rejoin their parent Court and was reunited with Royal Oak of Kent in the 1980s, although this upset some members this move proved to be a good one as there were many more volunteers to do the organising, sadly time is taking its toll and the officers are getting older so new blood is needed in the branch if it is to survive, otherwise there will only be one Branch in Kent based in the Canterbury/Thanet area and I am sure this would make it very difficult to serve the membership so please can we have some younger volunteers to carry on. We will of course be there to guide you if necessary. It is not all hard work and speaking for myself and I am sure most of the others who have served as officers and committee members it has been an enjoyable experience and we have made long and lasting friendships.

 

The Branch over the 50 years raised in excess of £100,000 from collecting foil, stamps, newspaper and participating in local fetes organizing raffles, tombola’s etc for local and national charities including:

 

Guide Dogs for the Blind, RNLI, British Heart Foundation, Marie Curie Cancer Care, Diabetes UK, Mr. Pastry, Spina Bifida, Leonard Cheshire Homes, Kent Air Ambulance, Antony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust, Jimmy Saville Stoke Mandeville Appeal, Lewisham Hospital Baby Unit, Queen Mary’s Hospital Baby & Hematology Unit, Bexley Club for Disabled, Scots, St John Ambulance Cadets, Greenwich and Bexley Cottage Hospice, Helen Allison School for Autistic Children  and  Demelza Child to name but a few, which I am confident has made a difference to many lives.

 

£308 was raised from the raffle at the anniversary dinner for Diabetes UK.

 

If you have a few hours a month to help run the branch,  please give us a call and I am certain you could make a difference too.    

 

 

 

  

                               1                                                          2                                                         3

 

1. President with the Royal Oak original charter and Charter officer Cyril Levitt ( who died in July)

2. Having fun at 50th Anniversary

3. Sheila Norris  - Having fun at 50th Anniversary

 

 

    

 

---

Cheese & Wine & Quiz

 

This event was held at St Saviour’s Church Hall in Eltham on 3 April 2008 and was well attended by 56 members and guests. 

 

Many thanks to Malcolm & Sheila Harris for their hard work in putting on this event. There were nearly 30 different cheeses to taste as well as sausage rolls, pate, tomatoes, celery etc and apples & melon. There was a variety of wines including alcohol free, red, rose & white to sample as well as soft drinks for those who had to be careful. The quiz was interesting and there were prizes for the winners as well as the team at the bottom of the table.  

 

                                    £105 was raised for the Demelza Child Project in Eltham.

 

Sheila & Peter Turner

---

Trip to Althorp House

 

On 12 August, 48 members came along to spend a day experiencing 500 years of history at Althorp, the home of the Spencer Family.

 

We explored the wonderful house - discovering beautiful interiors and one of Europe’s finest private collections of furniture, pictures and ceramics.

 

We also strolled through the peaceful gardens and visited the Diana Memorial before going onto to see the Diana Exhibition which was a reflection of her life and work – this included many of her beautiful dresses, a film about her early life and over 1,000 books of condolence on display, all signed at the time of her death.

 

Malcolm Harris said “We had a fabulous time, and were able to get an excellent discounted entry rate for our members for this trip. Why not join us for our next trip and enjoy a great day out with us!”