The Parachute Regimental Association
Liverpool Branch
April 2025 Minutes.
President: -
President Tom Barney Mobile 07708603938
Registered Charity Number 1125765
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Chairman: Bruce Cargill 0151 474 2479 cargills1947@hotmail.co.uk
Treasurer: Brian Blanchard Tel: 0151 520 1661 brianblanchard@btinternet.com​
Secretary: Brian Welsh Mobile 0787 1901 206 brianwelsh4@icloud.com
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Present:
24 members were present at the meeting.
The Branch Chair opened the meeting at 2000hrs
Apologies for absence:
Ken Barney, Brian Blanchard, Pete Smedley, Phil McCauley, Jim O’Connell, Joe Pettigrew, Kev Hughes, Danny Hart, Wally Thorburn, Billy Young, Stan fortune, Derek Hesketh, Ian Whiteside, Neil Platt, Elaine Overend, Frank Boyle, Flo McAlister.
Minutes of the Previous Meeting:
The minutes of the previous meeting were proposed by Waddy and seconded by Dave Woodray.
Matters Arising:
N/A
Visitors/new members:
N/A
Chairs Report:
AGM will be held at the next meeting on 6th May. Those wishing to put themselves forward for any committee positions must inform the Branch Secretary before the AGM.
The smoker held at Liverpool OTC on 22nd March, it was well attended by a range of Regimental Associations and 3 attended from our branch. There is a plan, which is yet to be confirmed, to hold another smoker at the same venue for VE day.
The Chair stated that proposals for visits or events should be brought up at the branch meetings with clear plans, costs and venues by the proposer. This can then be considered by the branch along with any financial support and agreed as appropriate.
Mick Coleman proposed that we hold a barbecue at Altcar for branch members, families and friends. This would have to be in June as the camp will be booked solid for two months of cadet annual camps. Brian Welsh to contact the commandant to seek availability.
Welfare report:
In Ken's absence, Bruce provided the branch with an update on the following members: Alan Coppell, Joe Pettigrew, Colin Campbell, Chris Baines and Alan Smedley.
It is important to remember that if members require additional support, it is available through the branch, where we can contact the Regimental Welfare Team, who are trained to deal with a variety of issues and cases that are more complex.
The welfare process for veterans has been revised, it was posted to all members via WhatsApp and also highlighted in the April PRAHQ newsletter.
Secretary's Report:
The BAFC 2026 function will be held in Liverpool. For those who wish to become members and to read more about what the club does, follow this link: https://www.bafc.org.uk / The British Airborne Forces Club (BAFC) is solely for the Airborne Brotherhood. If you’ve not passed P Coy and your Basic Parachute Course, you are not eligible to join this club. All applicants are verified, and their membership process makes us exclusive.
The funeral of Sgt George McAlpine, who served 22 years in The Parachute Regiment, will be held on 25th April at 14.00 at Landican Cemetery, Arrowe Park Road, Woodchurch, Wirral, Merseyside, CH49 5LW.
A request has been made to our branch asking if we can provide a standard bearer and coffin drape, which was agreed, and Steve Cook will look at his availability as standard bearer.
The 4 Para reunion will be held in Leeds on 26th April. Tommy Barney is going by car and has two seats available, at £10 each to assist with fuel. Those wishing to jump in Tommy's car should contact him directly.
The membership cost of the 4 PARA Club is a one-off payment of £10.00.
The meal will cost £25.00, and those wishing to attend should contact Les Ratcliffe at lesratcliffe1951@gmail.com or 07711853103 to arrange payment.
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Although it was discussed in the March branch meeting, members voted for the use of the branch credit card to pay for refreshments at events on the day. As a pre-payment for food, etc, is not a cost-effective use of branch funds. The branch unanimously voted in favour of this revised process of payment.
Brian Blanchard still has several A Coy, 4 PARA ties for £15.00, please contact Brian directly if you wish to purchase one.
TA/Reservists pensions update – The hearing dates for the MOD’s appeal against the judgment of August 2024 have been set for 4/5 December 2025, to be heard in Edinburgh.
Bob Hamblett requested a copy of his training days from the MOD. This has been difficult to obtain as it seems the civil service is dragging its heels and not being very cooperative. Bobby will provide an update of his progress and urged people who have submitted a request for a pension to request their man training days over the period they served, as soon as possible.
There are several events planned for the VE celebrations this year.
1. Liverpool City Council event for VE day: VE80
a. Massed Bands Beating Retreat – 4th May, Castle Street, from 14.30
b. Discounted bar at O’Brien’s & Hardy’s on Matthew Street from 14.30 for all Veterans and Associations.
2. Beacon Lighting: VE80
a. 8th May, Exchange Flags, at 21.30 – All Regimental Association Standards are required to attend, if possible, as this will be a national event shown on TV.
3. Armed Forces Day:
a. Raising the Armed Forces Flag, Town Hall, 23rd June
4. Main VE80 event in Southport - Southport Associations will be hoping for support from other Regimental Associations to parade. Date and timings to be confirmed.
Treasurers Report:
The branch would like to remind those members who are yet to pay their club subscription for 2025 that the payment details are below.
Bank details are: Sort Code: 23-05-80
Account Number: 44716631
Reference: Your name Subs 2025,
So far, only 36 have paid subs, and we have 56 members on the books.
Events sub-committee:
N/A
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AOB:
Ozzy provided a further update on his health regarding prostate cancer. Ozzy had no symptoms but had a check anyway. He found that his levels were high and made it clear to all members that their families and friends need to get a prostate test, as it's better to be safe than sorry.
Close Meeting:
The Branch Chair closed the meeting at 2100hrs.
The next meeting is Tuesday, 6th May 2025 at 20.00hrs.
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AVCC Sports and Social Club,
Lancing Drive.
Aintree
Liverpool
Merseyside L10 8LN
Brian Welsh, Branch Secretary Liverpool PRA
Please check out the events list on the website for details of Regimental and Local events near you: www.theparachuteregimentalassociation.com
1. PRAHQ monthly newsletter April 2025 including.
2. How dogs help – PRA
3. Regimental Commemoration Dinner, Tickets
4. Sea King Down
5. St Michael Flyer
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The Parachute Regimental Association
Liverpool Branch
March 2025 Minutes.
President: -
President Tom Barney Mobile 07708603938
Registered Charity Number 1125765
​
Chairman: Bruce Cargill 0151 474 2479 cargills1947@hotmail.co.uk
Treasurer: Brian Blanchard Tel: 0151 520 1661 brianblanchard@btinternet.com​
Secretary: Brian Welsh Mobile 0787 1901 206 brianwelsh4@icloud.com
​
Present:
24 members were present at the meeting.
The Branch Chair opened the meeting at 2000hrs
Apologies for absence:
Ken Barney, Tom Barney, Pete Smedley, Phil McCauley, Jim O’Connell, Joe Pettigrew, Kev Hughes, Tony Woods, Tom McCormick, Danny Hart, Wally Thorburn, Billy Young, Stan fortune, Derek Hesketh, Ian Whiteside, Neil Platt, Billy Melia, Paul Hennessey Elaine Overend.
Minutes of the Previous Meeting:
Waddy proposed the minutes of the previous meeting and seconded them to Dave Woodray.
Matters Arising:
N/A
Visitors/new members:
N/A
Chairs Report:
AGM will be held at the next meeting on 1st April. Those wishing to put themselves forward for any of the committee positions must inform the Branch Secretary before the AGM.
There was a sad farewell from the branch for Joe Harkon, with an excellent turnout for Joe's funeral, with over 50 members attending either at the church or drinking afterwards. A special thanks to our standard bearer and those standard bearers from other regiments who attended. Lt Col Dave Macauley also provided an excellent presentation of Joe's military career.
Welfare report:
In Ken's absence, Bruce provided the branch with an update of the following members: Alan Coppell, Joe Pettigrew, Tom McCormick, and Alan Smedley.
It is important to remember that if members require additional support, it is available through the branch, where we can contact the Regimental Welfare Team, who are trained to deal with a variety of issues and cases that are more complex. There is a revised welfare process for veterans, which was posted to all members via WhatsApp.
Secretary's Report:
Joe Harkon’s daughter Freya, has sent a card to the branch, and the branch secretary will also draft a letter and send it to WO2 Billy Jones for all the help and support he has provided to support Joe's family and Liverpool PRA.
WO2 Billy Jones has confirmed the smoker will be held at Liverpool OTC on 22nd March at 1400hrs. Curry will be £ 3.00 per person and the bar only accepts cash.
The date for the walk is planned for Friday, 7th March at Altcar Training Camp, and those attending should arrive at the Guardroom no later than 12.15. The walk is planned to start at 12.30 from the visitor’s car park.
Those wishing to attend should provide Roy Bevan with the following details: E-mail, Mobile Number, Car make and registration, and Personal Identification. This will allow the guardroom to verify those attending with the information Roy provides them with.
Roy’s contact details are:
roybevan@hotmail.co.uk
Mobile: 07566240366
There are several events planned for the VE celebrations this year.
1. Liverpool City Council event for VE day: VE80
a. Beating the Retreat – 4th May timings. To be confirmed
2. Beacon Lighting: VE80
a. 8th May timings to be confirmed
3. Armed Forces Day:
a. Raising the Armed Forces Flag, Town Hall, 23rd June
4. Main VE80 event in Southport - Southport Associations will be looking for support from other Regimental Associations to parade. Date and timings to be confirmed.
The Council of Ex-Servicemen & Regimental Associations (CESRA) are relaunching the association. The inaugural meeting was at 18.00 on 4th March, where the Liverpool PRA branch secretary attended. The meeting will be bi-monthly, where Liverpool PRA will attend (request from Branch Secretary to confirm who would like to have this reference and report back to the branch).
Treasurers Report:
For those members yet to pay subs for 2025, the payment details are below.
Bank details are: Sort Code: 23-05-80
Account Number: 44716631
Reference: Your name Subs 2025
To date, 36 have paid subs, and we have 56 members on the books. It was agreed that rather than pre-book food or other refreshments at events we plan, we will pay for such refreshments via our branch debit card on the day. This will prevent any future outlay of funds paying for event refreshments where low attendance occurs. It was agreed that members who are unable to attend branch meetings or events but wish to be kept appraised of all of our activities should be offered a satellite membership where payment of subs will be £10.00. These members will be added to the branch WhatsApp group. The admin of the group is currently Frank Boyle. This income would also support the maintenance and update of our standard and coffin drapes.
Events sub-committee.
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AOB:
From Regional Secretary Mike Farrington:
Cpl Green, who was a Grenadier Guardsman, joined B Company 4 PARA in 1980, sadly passed last Saturday. The branch expresses its condolences to his family and friends.
Regional meeting will be held on 15th March at Leyland. Meeting starts at 10.00. Ian McKelvey brought the ties to the branch, and they are now available at £15.00 each.
Ozzy provided an update on his health regarding prostate cancer. Ozzy has no symptoms but had a check anyway, however, he found that his levels were high and urged all members and their family and friends to get a prostate test.
Close Meeting:
The Branch Chair closed the meeting at 2100hrs.​
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Date of next meeting Tuesday 1 1st April 2025 at 20.00hrs
AVCC Sports And Social Club, Lancing Drive.
Brian Welsh Branch Secretary Liverpool PRA Approved:
Please check out the events list on the website for details of Regimental and Local events near you: www.theparachuteregimentalassociation.com
Attached:
1. PRAHQ monthly newsletter March 2025
2. The National Army Museum – The story of the soldier magazine
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The Parachute Regimental Association
Liverpool Branch
February 2025 Minutes.
Minutes Not Supplied
President: -
President Tom Barney Mobile 07708603938
Registered Charity Number 1125765
​
Chairman: Bruce Cargill 0151 474 2479 cargills1947@hotmail.co.uk
Treasurer: Brian Blanchard Tel: 0151 520 1661 brianblanchard@btinternet.com​
Secretary: Brian Welsh Mobile 0787 1901 206 brianwelsh4@icloud.com
Date: Tuesday 4th February 2025
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MINUTES NOT SUPPLIED
The Parachute Regimental Association
Liverpool Branch
January 2025 Minutes.
President: -
President Tom Barney Mobile 07708603938
Registered Charity Number 1125765
​
Chairman: Bruce Cargill 0151 474 2479 cargills1947@hotmail.co.uk
Treasurer: Brian Blanchard Tel: 0151 520 1661 brianblanchard@btinternet.com​
Secretary: Brian Welsh Mobile 0787 1901 206 brianwelsh4@icloud.com
Date: Tuesday 7th January 2025
Present:
43 members were present at the meeting.
The Branch Chair opened the meeting at 2000hrs
Minutes of the Previous Meeting:
The minutes of the previous meeting were proposed by Waddy and seconded by Brian Jenkins.
Visitors/new members:
None.
The subject of Business cards was discussed, with the idea that members could hand them out to prospective members with branch details ie, the branch venue and contact details. The Branch Secretary said he would review this idea and provide costs to the branch.
Several members will attend, and Steve Cook will provide standard bearer duties for the funeral.
The walk is planned to start at 12.30 from the visitor’s car park.
Those wishing to attend should provide Roy Bevan with the following details:
Car make, registration and Personal Identification.
This will allow the guardroom to verify those attending with the information Roy provides them with.
Roy’s contact details are: roybevan@hotmail.co.uk Mob: 07566240366
Future events
Event Date: Location/time Comment
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A discussion was held regarding the need for the branch to consider how we continue to raise funds for the branch.
This will be discussed in more detail over the next few branch meetings with proposals welcomed from members.
1 PARA reunion Blackpool, March 20-24
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2 PARA reunion Blackpool, March 14-16
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3 PARA reunion Blackpool, March 28-30
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4 PARA reunion Leeds, April 26-28
AOB Tony Woods has been visiting Barry Bruce in the Hospital and speaks often to Barry’s daughter, Nicola, who appreciates that our branch visited and contacted Barry whilst in hospital.
Steve Cook, on behalf of the branch, thanked Elaine Overend for her tireless commitment to the case of fraud and Sean Pullen's guilty pleas for poppy fraud.
Closed Meeting:
The branch Chair closed the meeting at 2100hrs
Date of next meeting is Tuesday 4th February 2025 at 20.00hrs
AVCC Sports And Social Club,
Lancing Drive.
Brian Welsh Branch Secretary Liverpool PRA Approved:
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