Live ChatSSAFA Durham organise weekend outing for local veterans.
14 October 2022
On the weekend 16-19 September 2022, forty-one County Durham veterans, widows, SSAFA volunteers, and supporters boarded the bus at Bishop Auckland FC, on a trip organised by SSAFA Durham.
On Saturday 17 September, the party visited the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. The weather held and they paid tribute to our late Queen and SSAFA Patron. Three of the veterans laid a wreath at the main memorial - Ron Howard, 85, Peter Franklin, 88, and Bill Dodds, 86 - followed by a group photograph at the SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity Memorial.
On Sunday, the party visited Bletchley Park and all ended up with information overload! Definitely, a place to return to!
Evenings were spent doing quizzes and listening to their very own saxophonist, Harry Mears - a professional musician and former Duke of Wellington Regiment bandsman.
On the way home, they stopped at Wetherby services in time for the national two-minute silence for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The group paraded in front of their coach and Ruth Wright (South West Durham, Divisional Treasurer) played 'Flowers of the Forest' on her bagpipes. The performance was much appreciated by the many members of the public who were present. A super weekend enjoyed by all!