Southend Royal Naval Association
The
Southend
Branch
of
the
Royal
Naval
Association
(R.N.A.)
(originally
called
The
Royal
Naval
Old
Comrades
Association,
R.N.O.C.A.)
was
founded
in
1938
by
a
group
of
old
sailors
who
met
up
in
the
Railway
Arms
public
house,
East
Street,
Prittlewell.
The
inauguration
to
become
a
branch
consisted
of
a
parade
followed
by
a
church
service,
this
would
be
representative
of
other
branches,
my
late
father
William
J.
Christmas
who
was
a
founder
of
the
Edmonton
branch
travelled
to
Southend
and
took
part
in
the
parade.
In
1939,
World
War
II
started
and
not
much
information
is
available
for
this period.
After
the
war
the
branch
resumed
but
moved
from
the
Railway
Arms
to
the
Southend
United
Supporters
Club
in
Seaview
Road
off
Southchurch
Road.
They
stayed
there
until
c1980
when
it
was
decided
to
move
to
bigger
premises.
At
this
time
the
Civil
Defence
Headquarters
and
Civic
Aid
Association
building
became
for
sale
in
East
Street
only
a
few
hundred
yards
from
the
original
meeting
place
at
the
Railway
Arms.
Some
of
the
members
put
up
the
money
as
a
loan
to
purchase
the
property.
The
following
members
were;
Norman
Summerhayes,
Vic
Summerhayes,
Stan
Summerhayes,
Alan
Lewis,
John
Bradbury,
Fred
Woolard,
to
name
a
few.
The
loan
was
to
be
paid
back over a period time.
My
personal
association
with
the
R.N.A.
began
in
1986:
My
father,
who
was
85
at
the
time,
was
in
very
low
spirits
and
as
he
was
an
ex
sailor
of
27
years
I
decided
that
he
and
I
would
join
the
R.N.A.
My
father
became
a
Blue
Badge
member
and
I
became
an
Associate
member
as
I
had
served
in
the
R.A.F.
230
Squadron
Flying
Boats.
Sadly
shortly
afterwards
my
father
passed
away.
Being
ex
-
R.A.F.
I
didn’t
know
whether
to
stay
on,
but
the
friendly
atmosphere was brilliant so I stayed, not expecting to still be a member 35 years later!
I
quickly
became
an
active
member
and,
when
Shipmate
Norman
Summerhayes
discovered
I
was
a
carpenter,
I
was
soon
involved
in
many
woodworking
jobs.
The
first
was
to
design
a
lofty
10'
advertising
noticeboard
stand
which
stands
outside
to
this
day.
My
next
commission
was
to
construct
four
large
cabinets
in
which
to
house
model
Navy
warships.
These
are
around
on
the
Bulkhead
and
it
was
a
massive
project
which
was
all
constructed
in
my
garage…..four
6'
x
3'
cabinets!
Shipmates
started
referring
to
me
as
the
Ship’s
Carpenter
(very
nautical!)
and
Shipmates
were
bringing
in
objects
of
interest
for
me
to
make
glass
cabinets
in
which
to
display
them.
In
2005,
Nelson’s
200th
Anniversary,
I
sculpted
a
bust
of
Nelson,
in
wood
over
a
six
week
period,
which
is
displayed
in
the
Nelson’s
Bar.
I
also
made
a
clock
depicting
the
Battle
of
Trafalgar
and
it
is
still
in
good
working
order…..it’s
a
good
timepiece.
At
one
committee
meeting
it
was
discussed
that
a
new
noticeboard
was
needed
and
I
was
approached
to
see
if
I
could
help.
Naturally
I
duly
obliged
and
designed
and
supplied
all
materials
to
make
a
12'
noticeboard
free
of
charge,
saving
the
R.N.A.
£400.
I
also
created
the
Pigeon
Hole
Letters
rack plus a polished medal case…..All this work I carried out until I retired.
Once
a
month
a
‘Yarn
Club’
was
held
and
I
was
asked
if
could
spin
a
yarn
for
them.
I
took
up
the
challenge
and
composed
four
yarns
over
the
years;
I
would
find
a
subject,
study
it
thoroughly,
and
perform
for
the
Yarn
Club.
The
four
subjects
I
covered
were
the
life
and
times
of
Winston
Churchill,
the
Zulu
wars,
the
history
of
Dartmoor
Prison,
and
finally
my
trip
across
the
Nullagh
Bar
Desert in Australia. All the yarns went down very well with the Yarn Club.
The
roof
started
leaking
so
a
fundraising
project
was
launched
as
the
cost
of
repairs
was
estimated
at
£35,000.
I
raised
£500
by
asking
the
local
bookmaker
for
a
donation.
I
also
approached
a
local
bank
to
see
if
they
could
help,
and
they
sent
me
a
cheque
for
£1,000 as a contribution to the cost of repairs.
I
was
approached
by
Chairman
Stan
Horner,
and
President
Norman
Summerhayes,
to
take
on
the
role
of
Welfare
Officer,
which
I
accepted
and
performed
for
16
years.
At
the
same
time
Shipmate
Chic
Fowler,
Charity
Organiser
who
was
retiring,
asked
me
if
I
was
interested
in
taking
on
the
role
of
Charity
Organiser.
I
declined
and
the
position
went
to
Shipmate
Ray
Cotton,
although
I
did
say
I
would help if needed…..more on this subject later!
The
role
of
Welfare
Officer
was
very
demanding
but
enjoyable.
As
Welfare
Officer
I
travelled
many
hundreds
of
miles
visiting
sick
Shipmates
enquiring
as
to
how
they
were
progressing
back
towards
good
health.
To
each
visit
I
would
always
take
with
me
a
bottle
of
rum,
chocolates,
and
a
card
signed
by
all
Shipmates.
This
gesture
was
highly
appreciated
by
all
who
received
them.
At
each
R.N.A.
weekly
meeting
I
would
give
a
written
report
on
how
the
‘sick
parade’
was
going,
which
was
always
greeted
well.
During
those
16
years
I
received
nearly
a
thousand
telephone
calls,
and
organised
over
one
hundred
‘Passing
over
the
Bar’
ceremonies
(the
Naval
term
for
funerals),
which
meant
ensuring
that
each
coffin
was
draped
with
the
White
ensign,
and
offering
any
help
to
the
families
for
which
I
received
numerous
cards
of
thanks
from
grateful
relatives.
I
would
like
to
relay
one
of
my
most
outstanding
pieces
of
welfare
work.
It
relates
to
when
I
was
invited
to
the
Russian
Embassy,
in
London,
to
collect
the
Arctic
Medal
on
behalf
of
my
late
father.
At
the
same
time
I
was
asked
to
visit
sick
Shipmate
Alf
Steadman.
Alf
was
sadly
dying
of
cancer
and
only
had
a
few
weeks
left
to
live.
He
was
also
entitled
to
the
Arctic
Medal
and
said
he
would
love
to
have
it
before
he
died.
When
I
told
him
I
was
going
to
collect
my
father’s
he
asked
if
I
would
collect
his
too.
Alf
gave
me
written
permission
to
collect
it
on
his
behalf.
A
few
days
later
I
duly
travelled
to
the
Embassy
where
I
received
my
father’s
medal
from
the
Ambassador
who
was
such
a
lovely
man.
I
handed
over
Alf’s
written
consent,
to
collect
his
medal,
and
explained
that
he
was
dying
and
would
love
to
have
his
medal
before
he
passed.
The
Ambassador
regretfully
stated
that
it
would
not
be
possible
for
me
to
collect
it
as
Alf
would
need
to
sign
for
his
medal.
Seeing
the
look
of
disappointment
on
my
face
the
Ambassador
said,
“Mr
Christmas,
leave
this
problem
with
me.”
I
duly
returned
home
with
the
sad
news,
and
later
phoned
Alf
to
tell
him
I
didn’t
have
his
medal.
He
told
me
not
to
worry
as
the
Russian
Ambassador
had
been
in
touch
and
arranged
to
travel
to
Hadleigh
(where
Alf
lived)
to
present
the
medal
in
person.
This
was
wonderful
news;
the
family
were
so
pleased
with
the
outcome.
They
reported
the
story
to
the
local
Echo
newspaper
who
in
turn
invited
me
to
a
photo
shoot
with
Shipmate
Alf.
They
wrote
a
double
page
spread
including
a
picture
Alf,
with
myself
holding
him
upright.
It
was
brilliant!
Sadly
Shipmate
Alf
passed
away
a
few
days
later;
he
died
happily
holding
his
medal.
This
story
was
picked
up
by
the
Lord
Lieutenant
of
Essex
who
subsequently
invited
my
wife
and
I
to
attend
the
Queen’s
garden
party
at
Buckingham
Palace. This sums up my work as Welfare officer.
Meanwhile,
Charity
Organiser
Ray
cotton
was
doing
his
best
but
it
wasn’t
going
well.
As
a
result
Shipmate
Chic
Fowler
asked
if
I
could
help
Ray
out.
On
reviewing
the
Charity
set-up
I
came
up
with
some
changes
to
collection
points.
I
could
see
that
collections
in
the
High
Street
were
not
going
well.
Although
Shipmate
Ray
had
Tesco
as
a
collection
point
I
decided
to
forage
around
to
see
if
I
could
help
in
any
way.
I
managed
to
secure
collection
slots
at
ASDA,
Home
Bargains
and
the
Factory
Shop,
where
we
arranged
two
collectors
every
2
hours
from
9am
to
5pm.
As
we
were
only
collecting
£200
for
a
days’
collection
at
Tesco
I
teamed
up
with
another
Shipmate
at
ASDA.
We
were
on
duty
from
11am
to
1pm
during
which
time
we
broke
the
record
by
collecting
£250
in
the
two
hours.
We
achieved
this
by
engaging
with
shoppers
and
chatting
to
them
about
what
we
do,
and
it
paid
dividends.
My
next
stop
was
the
Factory
Shop,
I
secured
permission
for
two
days
collecting
on
a
Friday
and
Saturday.
The
result
was
a
very
successful
collection
of
over
£800
in
the
two
days.
Sadly
at
this
time
Shipmate
Ray
became
ill
and
passed
away,
so
I
continued
carrying
out
the
two
voluntary
positions
of
Welfare
Officer
and
Charity
Organiser
for
the
R.N.A.
Shipmate
President
Norman
Summerhayes
put
me
forward
for
the
highest
collection
award
for
Area
5,
which
covered
the
east
of
England,
and
I
was
presented
with
the
John
Newman
cup
for
being
the
highest
earner.
From
1938
to
2014
Southend
R.N.A.
had
never
won
a
single
cup;
I
was
quite
pleased
to
have
ended
the
drought.
My
motto
was
‘If
a
job’s
worth
doing
it’s
worth
doing
well’.
My
next
idea
for
raising
funds
was
to
put
on
a
‘show’
with
artistes,
turning
it
into
an
evening
of
glamour
for
the
ladies.
I
staged
‘A
Frank
Sinatra
Evening’
and
I
hired
a
guy
called
Ian
Gallagher
who
performed
some
Frank
Sinatra
classics.
With
the
entrance
fee
and
raffles
I
made
a
profit
of
£400
for
the branch. Over the years I put on more shows making a profit for the branch each time.
During
my
last
six
years
I
asked
members
if
they
had
brass-copper
ornaments,
aluminium
pots
and
pans
or
old
wiring
they
no
longer needed. Selling these items raised hundreds of pounds for the Association.
Over
my
35
years
with
the
R.N.A.
I
met
some
wonderful
people,
and
said
goodbye
to
many
more.
In
2019,
at
the
age
of
87,
I
decided
it was time to retire from the Royal Naval Association.
By Terry Christmas
Royal Naval Association, East Street, Southend
Royal Naval Association, Advertising Board
William J. Christmas
Drinks Mat May 1981
Terry Christmas
Battle of Trafalgar clock
Bust of Nelson
R.N.A. Welfare Card
Certificate of Appreciation to Terry Christmas
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