From Martin Green National Sales & Marketing Officer

Jim Smith and I visited Dedham 41 Club recently for their monthly lunchtime meeting.

The main purpose was to present a Service Award to their Secretary Don Skitmore, who has been their Secretary for 49 Years.

Yes, I said 49 years!

The club consists of 15 members, 12 of which are over 80. All have seen active service and in fact Don had been a POW.

All of their members attended their meeting with the exception of one whose ‘partner’ had had an accident.

There is no Dedham Round Table – and there never has been. The membership has come from ex-members of Clubs in the area. They arrived – delivered to the pub by partners and friends – with walking sticks, crutches etc.

The lunch is served in the pub by a lady who has been serving them for 25 years and calls them ‘her gentlemen’.

There is an agenda, they take minutes and they take turns at being Chairman each meeting. They have a poetry moment – yesterday as it was Remembrance Week, they read Flanders Field.

They even have a directory and their own grace.

May we who did adopt Thy creed
During Table days to serve Thy need
Continue a good life to lead
Lord thanks for gifts on which we feed.
Amen.

This was truly a most remarkable experience. The pride and fellowship that these guys have is amazing. They treated Jim and I as ‘royalty’ and in the end voted to send RAM £150 for H4H.

Somehow it made doing what we do, feel so worthwhile. I felt very humbled.

Yours in Continued Friendship

Martin Green

National Sales & Marketing Officer