The Slashers golf society on tour 2023.
We decided on Sueno golf hotel Belek Antalya Turkey twelve months in advance as we had been to this destination on four previous occasions, it is considered to be one of the best golfing destinations available, the society has been touring for over twenty years to many different countries such as Tunisia , Morocco, Spain & Portugal but none compare with Turkey for value,

This years tour was organised by Steve Bennion & Steve Knight both ex Glosters thier organising skills are extremely good when it comes to golf tours , twenty four guys went on tour competing for a team prize ( the Salamanca trophy ) & the main prize The coveted Primrose Jacket ,

The first night is always a late night and some didn’t get to bed as it’s an all inclusive holiday so there were a few sore heads to start the weeks golf ,

Day one was a warmer in the bank team Texas scramble competition played in 36 degrees luckily we were in buggies with plenty of water, it’s a great friendly format where everyone can ease into the week ,

The facilities at the hotel are excellent the staff are very good and there is so much choice of food there is something for everyone ,

We played 5 straight rounds of golf with a rest day at the end of the week , however some guys played even on there rest day ,

The Twenty four players are divided into two equal ability teams 28th & LXI and play over two rounds for the trophy , this year the winners were team 28th captained by Tim Perrins ex Glosters,

The primrose jacket is the main competition, The jacket belonged to the England cricketer Tom Graveney who donated it to the slashers society , each year we play for the jacket on tour , the winners name is embroidered on the jacket and presented to that individual at the annual slashers August meeting,

This year we played two great courses , the Dunes & The National for the jacket with the winner scoring a magnificent gross four over par on the National 43 Stableford points ,and a par round on the Dunes course 36 points , 

The top Three were 1st place Roy Evans , 2nd place Matt Evans 3rd place Ron Cooke ,

The tour is finally is the end of tour dinner ,where we dress in planters order society ties and toast the king & Regiment , this year the dinner was organised by Graham ( Butch ) Sargent who did a fantastic job in booking a complete restaurant solely for our group with waiter service and a 5 course meal , needless to say it was a fantastic end to a perfect week ,

Roy Evans
Chairman

Some photos from the tour

It is my sad duty to inform the passing of the Rev John Morley-Bunker, who died at the age of 95 on 9th September 2023.

He is survived by his wife, Edna Morley-Bunker and by sons Michael and Nigel (notifier). Anyone wishing to contact Edna should contact the County Chairman who has her address. John’s funeral will take place at Clifton (RC) Cathedral on Wednesday 27 September at 1100hrs.
John joined the 1stBattalion The Gloucestershire Regiment after the retreat from Rangoon in WW2. He was stationed in India (now Pakistan) until the country's partition and independence in 1947. Later in life, he became a priest in Bristol, first of all, Anglican and later Roman Catholic. A letter of condolence has been sent to the family and the County Chairman will be in attendance, other association members are welcome.

D

Dear Fellow Back Badge Wearer,

In November 1953 around 400 Prisoners of War from the Gloucestershire Regiment returned to Gloucestershire after two and a half years in captivity in North Korea after being captured at the end of the Battle of The Imjin River in Korea in April 1951.

On their return, they all attended a Service of Thanksgiving in Gloucester Cathedral during which The Carne Cross was presented to the Cathedral.

The cross was fashioned from a rock with a nail by Lt Col Carne during an extended period of solitary confinement, and used by the soldiers in church services within the prison camp and smuggled out when the prisoners were exchanged.

On the 70th Anniversary of the arrival of the prisoners back in Gloucestershire we will be holding a Service of Commemoration to honour them and their fallen comrades from both the battle and the period in the camps. This service will be held on 25th November 2023 and will be based on the original service held in the cathedral 70 years ago to the week. The service will include the ceremonial re-presentation of The Carne Cross to the Cathedral.

We would like to invite you to this service which will take place at 1630hrs on Saturday 25 November 2023 in Gloucester Cathedral. All veterans and families are welcome to attend, dress suited & booted or smart civvies (former would be a preference). All those planning to attend should RSVP to Len Keeling at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with all names, to ensure we have the appropriate seating available. No march this time, expecting a large gathering of veterans and families so get your seat reservations in early.

“By our deeds we are known”

Gloster Day Parade Weekend 2023 the 15th Parade since 2009. (A Few Have Gone But Never Forgotten).
Well folks we are nearly there, only a couple of weeks away, here are a few brief notes to let you know what happens for those who are new and joining us this year.

Please have a great time as I know you will, but remember that the great people of Gloucester love their County Regiments and will be looking at us as always with great pride, please be aware of this and don't bring the Glorious name of our Regiments into disrepute.

The celebration has now developed into a weekend of getting together and on Friday, Glosters RGBW, Rifles, and Wessex Veterans and families will arrive from all over the country (the world even) I wish you all safe travels.

On the Friday 1st September as people arrive and get settled we tend to meet up at the New Inn in the early afternoon for a few drinks and a catch up with old friends.

And in keeping with our normal Friday evening tradition we have organized a talk in the museum.
This year by Nicola Nash from the War Detectives TV show.

Nicola works at the Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre at ARRC.
She will specifically be talking about trying to locate the fallen members of the Gloucestershire Regiment still in the Korean War. This will be well worth attending and tickets are £10 from the Museum.

Museum Bar:- Friday Evening, Gloster Day Night Bar from 18:00 until late.
There are also plenty of bars and restaurants in and around the city centre to enjoy as I know we all like to hang out with those you served with.

Saturday 2nd September Gloucester Day.
If the hotel you are staying in does not do breakfast, some of us like to head over to the New Inn they do a very good Buffet breakfast for non guests and its also good for finding out what's happening during the day.

The GDP Family starts to gather together at around 10 -11am in Witherspoon / New Inn or the Con-club (FUP)

The GDP Parade assembles at 13.30 hrs. along Constitution walk behind Brunswick Rd Museum and along side the Con-club(FUP as before).

This year the route is a little shorter the parade makes its way to Eastgate St following the Via Sacra paving through Queens Walk then turning left into Eastgate St, making its way over Gloucester Cross down Westgate St turning right into St Johns Lane, crossing Northgate St into St Aldate St, into Kings Sq. The Mayor and Civic Party take the Salute on the main stage. The Parade makes its way along the Oxbode turning left into Northgate St making its way over Gloucester Cross along Southgate St falling out at Brunswick Baptist Church. The Veteran Contingent will form up in file outside St Mary De Crypt and form a guard of Honour for Civic Party (as we do every year) and fall out to the museum for a well-earned bevvie and a chill.

Saturday, the after the parade Gloster Museum Bar is open as usual with hot food and entertainment until late (as agreed last year, there is no official evening do this year)
I would just like to say a big thank you to Matthew and his team for their hard work and continued support of the GDP weekend, I know the feeling is mutual and support that we would have liked when we started back in 2009.

Many thanks for coming I hope you all had a great time and safe journey home, lets do it all again next year 6-7 Sept 24, god willing. Best Wishes as always, Mark.

Other Events during the day.
11.00 am The Mock Mayor of Barton’s Parade
11.10 Mayor of Gloucester and Civic party need to be on stage in Kings Sq
11.20 Mock Mayor meets the Mayor of Gloucester
11.40Parade departs to St Mary De Crypt.
12.00 Gloucester Day Thanksgiving Service St Mary De Crypt
12.45 Refreshments Brunswick Baptist Church

The Gloucester Day Committee invites you to join us on Gloucester Day for the Gloucester Day celebrations and parade. Please read carefully and respond A.S.A.P.

The event will take place in the Historic City of Gloucester, on Saturday 2nd September 2023. The first Parade, the Mock Mayor of Barton’s Parade, commences at 11 am followed by a Thanksgiving Day service at St Mary De Crypt. At 2 pm the Gloucester Day Parade will make its way through the four main gated streets and is led by the Mayor and Sheriff of Gloucester, in full Civic Regalia.

This event is designed to install and promote pride in our historic city by creating interest in its rich heritage and colourful past. The major catalyst is to reinstate the original Gloucester Day celebration, which was the lifting of the siege of Gloucester in 1643. This occasion was celebrated annually for centuries, hence Gloucester becoming known as The City saved by God.

Yesterday saw the funeral of Les Allen take place at Romsey Abbey, Hampshire and later a celebration of his life at Totten. The regiment was well represented with the last commanding officer giving a regimental tribute, both County Chairman's with four standard bearers in attendance and a total of eight standards on parade. The Korean military attaché, Lt Col Yang was also present with his family. It was also nice to see many other non-Gloster veterans on parade. There is a video link attached for the service and a photo taken at the wake after a well-earned beer.
Feedback from the family was outstanding and made all the hard work very worthwhile, the association really does live up to "by our deeds we are known"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kv-pgO2s780

We receive quite a lot of enquiries about Veterans’ Cards and are aware that our members are keen to hear about advancements in this area.
The latest news is that work is underway to develop the digital verification system required to begin the second phase of the card rollout (to those who left the Armed Forces before December 2018).
The Office for Veterans Affairs (OVA) has led this work through the prototype stage, and it has now passed to the MOD for development and roll-out.
The Government will begin issuing cards by the end of this year and will be engaging with veterans over the coming months to participate in the Beta testing phase.
For future updates please visit GOV.UK where the latest news on progress will be shared.

The match between us & The Farmers boys for the Burma cup took place on Friday 23rd June 2023 , the venue was Broome manor GC 6 The Fairway , Swindon , SN3 1RG.

Burma cup match results,

Farmers boys. 6. Slashers. 4.
Steve Riddell (13). V. David Llewellyn (13) Won 3/2
Ron Cooke. (19) Halved v Tony Dixon (14)
Dave Gardiner (18) won 2/1. V. Tim Perrins (24)
John Marsh (24) V. Steve Knight (17). Won 4/3
Peter North (16). Won 2/1. V. Graham Sargent (14)
Toby North. (22). Halved. V Roy Evans ( 9)
David O’Hara (9) Won 3/2. V. Gary Hopkins (24)
Darren Drury. (21). V. Steve Bennion (16). Won. 4/2
Kevin Flay. (11). Won 4/3. V Brian Wakfer. (16)
John Ledgister (13) won. 4/3. V Dean Mitchinson. (5).

Gents
This years Slashers Golf Society annual meeting is being held at Brickhampton golf club on Friday, the 4th of August 2023, and this year we are supporting the efforts of the Gloucestershire Regiment Memorial fund,
Therefore, I am asking you all to make every effort to attend this year’s meeting we are hoping to get the numbers up, so we are asking you to invite your friends and family to attend, there will be prizes for guests the more the merrier , If you are able to invite your friends and make up a fourball, even better, they can all go out and play in a four ball together.
Hoping for your support .

View details of The Gloucestershire Regiment Memorial fund, here  The Proposed Regimental Memorial (glosters.org) 

The match between us & Farmers boys for the Burma cup will take place on Friday 23rd June 2023 , the venue is Broome manor GC 6 The Fairway , Swindon , SN3 1RG.
Arrive 0845 hrs first tee 1000hrs ,
The teams must consist of ex soldiers from respective regiments with a maximum handicap of 24 ,
We are looking to field a team of eleven , we are one man short so if anyone fits the above criteria please contact me , (dress. primrose shirts with back badge )
Our team is ;
Dean James Mitchinson, Roy Evans, Tony Dixon, Steve Bennion,
Brian Wakfer, Graham Sargent, Dave Llewellyn,
Steve Knight,
Tim Perrins, Gary Hopkins ,

Guys it is my sad duty to inform you of the passing of Tony Day (53yrs old)
Tony died of a meningitis related illness and will be cremated on Tuesday 20th June at 11:00hrs in the Coney Hill crematorium Gloucester

Let’s give him a Regimental send off Guys Regt Ties please.
After at the Mulberry Tea Rooms (on the grounds)Condolences have been sent to his family from the Regt Association.

No More Parades. It is my sad duty to inform the passing of Ex Regimental Padre the Reverend Brian Sherrington on Sunday, 5 June 2023,

we were notified by The Reverend Dr David Hart, Secretary, Royal Army Chaplains Department Association. Brian was born on 6 June 1937 and joined the Chaplin's Department in September 1972. He served initially in BAOR with 4 Fd Regt RA at Munsterlarger. In March 1973, Brian was posted to 1 GLOSTERS whom he joined on an emergency tour in Northern Ireland, accompanying them to the UK and then on a six-month unaccompanied tour in Belize in August 75.
In June 1976, Brian was posted to the REME training centre at Aborfield. He was promoted to CF3 in September 1978, and in August 1979, was posted to 26 Fd Regt RA at Dortmund. This was followed by a posting to the Army Apprentices College at Chepstow in September 1981 before being appointed the Deputy Warden at Bagshot Park in January 1986. He was promoted to CF2 in April 1987 and retired from the Department in November 1988. Details of Brian's funeral will be circulated when they are available.

No more parades - Reported by Michael Heavens (Glosters) It is with real sadness and sorrow that I have to tell you of the death last night of Tony "Kid" Harding. He had been fighting COPD and lately Emphysema.

Kid was a big man with a huge personality and I will miss him loads. Our sympathy goes out to Nicki his lovely wife and his 3 Kids . Reported to me by his daughter, Debbie. RIP mucker your fight is over. Further details and funeral arrangements will be announced later.

Harry Mann informs us:

With sadness I pass on the information my brother Ronald Mann passed away just before Xmas.
He was 89 years old.Served in the Gloster's in ,Germany and at Andover.
Buried at Matson,Gloucester,12-01-2023.
I served in the regiment 1945-1950.Still fair health at 95 years old.I now live in Adelaide,South Australia.

Wishing Len a happy retirement from the golf , today was his last game with the society as he will hang up his clubs , we shall see him in his many other capacities in the future , Best wishes my friend By Roy Evans