23rd October 2020
Like all of us, I long for the day when the opening lines of our correspondence no longer contains the hope that the receiver has not been adversely impacted by Covid! The reality is of course that we have all been impacted in one way or another……some by the terrifyingly stark impact of a family member or friends bereavement, through to the inconvenient impact on our social lives and ability to travel and generally go about our lives as we always have. We are constantly told that things will never be the same again and we will have to embrace the ‘new normal’. That is undoubtedly true but there’s an element in most of us that doesn’t like change, or ‘stepping out of our comfort zone’. For what it is worth I found throughout my business life that as long as it’s not ‘change for the sake of change’, then to resist it is largely futile. I learned early on that by embracing change I very quickly spotted all the positives available to me and generally enhanced my situation through pursuing them. So, with very little choice anyway during this pandemic I encourage everyone to find a way to make it work for you and your loved ones, and before long normal won’t be so new!
I wanted to write this missive as soon as possible having found myself unexpectedly elevated to the position of Association Chairman on the news that John was stepping down for health reasons. Naturally, I was aware of John’s circumstances but like all of us I hoped and prayed that his courage and strong sense of purpose would win the day. I am truly humbled by John’s strength of character and I would be proud to possess a small fraction of his resilience. He is a remarkable man and I wish to place on record a tribute to his wise counsel and visionary leadership of the Association through what has been a difficult couple of years for the Association and him personally. I am honoured to have your trust to follow in his footsteps in pursuit of the organisation’s aims and objectives, and pledge to do my best to continue the momentum he generated.
That quest is made all the more easy by the support I receive from your committee, all enthusiastic volunteers who give freely of their time with excellent results. Whilst I regularly sing all their praises as often as I can, so they do know how appreciated they are, and so they won’t mind if I single out one in particular, and that is Callie Neale our creative for the website. Callie took assumed the task of bringing our website into this next decade by utilising a combination of know-how and available technology to create an inter-active repository for all things Branch Association, and with enough simplicity in its navigation to allow all members irrespective of age or IT literacy level, to navigate the halls of information with ease. We are blessed to have that level of professional support from one so unassuming and the obvious financial savings that would be otherwise inevitable to achieve our aim. Phase one will go live in the very near future, and I warn you it’s like transitioning from an Austin 7 to a classic. Whilst we are eternally grateful to David Addis for his website management (and his Chairmanship) through some difficult years, we had technically reached a point where change was required and as I mentioned above we embraced it wholeheartedly as a committee and given the rapid pace of change in technology, the Association will be much the better for it in so many ways.
In conjunction with the issue of the minutes of the recent AGM, I also wanted to welcome formally Steve ‘Sherlock’ Holmes to the committee as our new Jack Dusty (and currently temporary secretary during Willie’s recuperation) and you’ll read in the minutes some of the things Steve has on his mind. I would like to welcome back to the committee Ray ‘Nick’ Nickels who has volunteered to be my replacement as Vice Chairman, having until last year held the post of Secretary.
We also, sadly, say farewell from the committee to Peter David, who, as you know, has for a number of years been the Editor of the Hearsay Herald. Based on feedback and a proposal from the floor at the AGM it has been decided to reduce the number of editions of the Hearsay Herald from three per year to one bumper edition just prior to Christmas and which will embrace the years events and forecast those for the coming year. This also recognises the impact that the website will have on providing instant news and articles for ‘dip in’ reading at any time. As a result of this change Peter has decided to call it a day and resign from the committee, and respecting that decision I would like to extend our collective sincere gratitude from the membership for his sterling efforts as our Editor and wish him every success in his myriad of other interests.
It is unusual to find volunteers quickly when someone steps down, but I’m delighted to report that former Lt (X)(REG) David Gill has kindly volunteered to take over from Peter as Hearsay Herald Editor forthwith, and so he has been co-opted onto the committee and this will be formally ratified at next years AGM in accordance with our constitution. David and I are working closely with Callie to plan how best to amalgamate where necessary the Herald and the website content to provide the best possible product for the membership. Watch this space!
It just remains for me to reiterate my support for the aims and objectives of the Association clearly alluded to on many occasions by my predecessor, for the benefit of the membership, and to thank my old friend and colleague David Lodrick, our esteemed President, for his ever available wise counsel and support to our Association.
We have two currently serving members on the committee in Steve Robertson (son of one of our founders Peter Robertson), and Sherlock Holmes our new Jack Dusty who both work hard on encouraging currently serving members to join, and the current Provost Marshal (Navy) Commander Dean Oakey RN is now on our committee and is dedicated to continuing to improve the serving member/veteran mix. Whilst John regularly sought to boost the relationship between serving Naval Policeman and the Veterans and made good progress, I plan to devote even more effort into selling the Association to serving members to ensure a continuous succession plan for a Branch Association as important as ours to continue to thrive as the legacy of us all. I have personally recruited six new members in the last 18 months.
As the designated Chairman-in-waiting of my local RNA Branch, and the Standard Bearer for my local British Legion Branch, I am keenly aware how difficult it is to attract new, and particularly, younger members to these organisations to keep the legacy alive. It is saddening to see that several branches of both organisations close down each year for that reason. It doesn’t seem that ‘cool’ anymore to be a veteran and show pride in that by keeping the legacy going. So, I intend to work hard in trying to attract new young blood into our fold. I am also conscious that there are still a large number of former Branch members out there who are not members of the Association, and there may be various historical reasons why they haven’t joined. So, I would ask that you rack your brains to remember former colleagues who may well change their mind and join us to engage and enjoy the camaraderie, news and information and welfare care we offer. If you are aware of anyone who fits that category, please let Lottie Brayshaw our Membership Secretary know their details and help him to entice them in.
Enough from me, save to say that I look forward to serving as your Chairman and pledge to allow my pride in your trust, help me to work hard on your behalf for the good of our legacy. Please feel free to get in touch on any issue if you wish, to let me know your thoughts.
Nigel J Carpenter FSyI RISC
Chairman,
Regulating Branch and Royal Navy Police Association.