Lunch, Talks and Events 2020
Lunch Meetings are held on the 3rd Monday of the month
unless otherwise advised.
Venue – The Christ Church Centre 46 Reading Road, Henley RG9 1AG
Talk 11.30 (please be seated by 11.20) - Lunch 12 for 12.30
Please book for lunch by the Thursday before by email toHelen Walsh on or phone 01491 638885
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20 January - John Green - ‘A Hill too Far’ John, the Chairman of the Branch, has raised funds for the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal for more than 25years through various treks including Wainwright's Coast to Coast Walk, UK 3Peaks, Tibet, Nepal, and Bhutan. He will be giving an account of his latest fundraising adventure at the age of 84, trekking through the highlands of Ethiopia led by Rebecca Stephens MBE the first English woman to climb Everest. This includes reaching the top of Ras Dashen, the highest peak in Ethiopia at 15000ft. Was it a hill too far?
If you would like to support John, please go to the JustGiving website: or send a cheque made payable to 'Royal British Legion' to Mrs A Arscott, Poppy Appeal Organiser, 4 The Court House, Northfield End, Henley-on -Thames RG9 2JN
17 February - Lyndon Yorke - ‘Survey of UK, Then and Now’ An international aerial survey specialist since ‘Pontius’ was a Pilot! – Lyndon has carried out aerial survey in 120+ countries varying from conventional mapping – oil mineral surveys, environmental monitoring, agricultural/forestry surveys and setting up the Google flying in Europe. In some countries his actions have been construed as spying and he has been jailed three times and shot at five times.
16 March - Toby Greenwood - ‘In and Out of Law’ Toby was born in Mombasa and had a humble beginning where his family lived in an old army hut with an outside loo. But at the age of nine he was sent to boarding school in the UK. He started his career in law as an articled clerk to his uncle at £5 a week. Toby qualified as a solicitor in 1979 and rose to senior partner position 1994. Toby was involved in setting up Henley Citizens Advice Bureau, Eyot Centre and the Face of Henley charities. He was a scout leader in Stoke Row for several years and set up a spring camp to bring cubs and scouts closer together
20 April - Bruce Duncan MBE - ‘The Lone Soldier’ Due to his early childhood, Bruce was accustomed to living and working with people from different races, cultures and religions. This made him suitable for employment on loan to the armed forces of third world countries friendly to UK. He was assigned to six such deployments during his 37 years in the Army; an unusually high number. These were in sequence: Brunei, Sudan, Nigeria, Oman, Kuwait and Jordan. Bruce will explain the reason why UK adopted a policy for Loan Service and then gives a snapshot of the benefits and challenges he and his family experienced in the six countries in which he served on loan.
18 May - John Hudson - ‘Honorable Artillery Company’s Light Horse Cavalry’ John is a member of the Honorable Artillery Company’s Light Cavalry that was reformed as a ceremonial unit of the HAC in 1979, and takes on Guard of Honour Duties at Buckingham Palace. Light Cavalry’s duties include escorting the Lady Mayoress on the Lord Mayor's parade along with providing a carpet guard at the Law Courts. In April 2004, the Captain General of the HAC, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, presented to the Light Cavalry a Royal Warrant that enacts the rights and responsibilities of this sub-unit of her famous Regiment. "We welcome suggestions for speakers for future events. Please email henley@saraabey.com".
