Poor is the nation who has no heroes; Shameful is the nation that, having heroes, forgets them.

Such is our honoured and respected saying, and it is certainly embraced by one of our recent new members, who despite her own troubles during the war, is determined not to forget others who served.

Alma was born in Balleymena, in the Republic of Ireland. As a young girl, she moved to Edgware in Nth London, where she still lives. She is one of 18 children, and has 9 children herself.

During WWII in 1939 she was a sergeant serving in The Queen Alexandra Royal Army Nursing Corps and later served in the 14^th Army Nursing Corps in Burma. She was a Lieutenant when Singapore was overrun by the Japanese in the invasion of 1942. She was just 25 yrs old.

In her charge were 12 young trainee nurses, all of whom were imprisoned in the infamous Changi Prison, a prison that became an international by-word for death, torture and brutality.

She boldly told the Japanese commandant that as well as the prison inmates, her nurses would treat him and his troops with medical attention anytime they needed it if they were unmolested. As medical aid was non-existent (due to a massacre by the Japanese), the Japanese commandant agreed.

She managed to save many lives, but also witnessed many horrors, including the 6ft 3inch tall soldier who had his legs severed by sword 

from the knees down because he was too tall for them, the officially documented Singapore massacre when a group of Australian soldiers nurses and patients were forced to swim back to their sinking ship after making it ashore and were machine-gunned for target practice, and horrifically, one of her young nurses who was beheaded for refusing to bow to the Japanese Commandant.

For her service and gallantry she was awarded the War Defence Medal, The 1939-1945 Star, The Burma Star and the highest award for bravery, The George Cross. She was also awarded the title of OBE (Order of the British Empire) by Her Majesty the Queen.

When she was released from Changi Prison she weighed just 4 stone and was close to death from starvation and injuries from beatings. Bamboo canings and rifle butts had taken their toll on her, but thanks to the American surgeons, her life was saved. Her jaw and head had been smashed. They rebuilt her jaw, partially in plastic, but she has no lower teeth. She also has a metal plate in her head and in one leg, a steel rod in her spine, metal plates in her ankles, her broken feet were repaired and she also has two new knee caps.

Down the decades since the war, the same spirit and compassion for others has remained unwavering within her. Before the war she made soft toys for the famous toy shop Hamley's in Regent Street. In her spare time she now makes them for raffle prizes, raising funds for her chosen charities. In particular, she makes them for terminally ill children whenever she hears about them and delivers them herself. She says it’s all so worthwhile, just to see the smile on their faces.

Apparently her toys are so realistic, a complaint was made once after one animal was pictured being held up by one leg and the complaint came in not to treat animals in such a cruel way.

She took up running as she can only sleep around 2 hours a night due to the nightmares of the suffering and what she witnessed during those appalling wartime years. 2 hours was also the average amount of time she was able to sleep in the hell hole of Changi Prison.

Her training runs consist of running 10 miles from Edgware to Pall Mall in London at 4am. She carries with her sandwiches and sometimes money for the street destitutes who sleep rough, that she knows enroute. She also carries a little flask of rum which she adds to their cups of tea. She reasons that everyone deserves something to look forward to. She has been seen on Christmas Day around London at centres, washing, shaving and feeding those less fortunate than others. She also knits jumpers, scarves and gloves for them.

She has now run well over 208 marathons all over the world, including, Chicago, New York, France and more, raising thousands of pounds for charities including the Burma Star Association. That’s over 5,500 sponsored miles. In 1992 at age 75, she did the marathon in 3.50 hours and was awarded the gold medal. She is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest female in the 2005 London Marathon and this year (2008) completed the London marathon in 4 ½ hours! For the past few years she has run the marathon for the King George V Fund for Sailors, which is the seafarer’s charity that she supports in memory of her late husband who served in the Royal Navy.

For the past quarter of a century she has worked as a volunteer from 2pm to 7pm as a 

cleaner, cook and much more for the nuns at the St Mary’s of the Cross Convent near her home, she is also a member of the Order of St Benedictine at the convent. She assists in the children’s ward at her local hospital, helps in her local charity shops, and has been a major fund raiser for the Royal Naval Association in which she is also an associate member; she finds time to deliver free newspapers and to see her extended family.

Her actions have led to many further awards and recognitions. In 2000 she was invited to Buckingham Palace on the 75^th anniversary of the King George Fund for the sailor’s charity and she got to cut the cake in the Royal Family’s presence using the late Kings sword. In 2002 to mark her selfless care to others she was granted a rare honour – Freeman of the City of London. In 2005 she was a special guest of the Royal Family for the VE celebrations of 60 years at Buckingham Palace. A chauffer driven car took her there courtesy of the BBC. In that year she was also awarded the George Cross for gallantry. Welcome, Lady Alma Kent, OBE GC. We are honoured to have you join us.

Volunteers Give to Veterans Hall

In March, we received a surprising phone call from the Royal Bank of Scotland, who had a group of ladies and gentlemen employees who go around giving their time to help those in need, the elderly, the young, day centres, nurseries and many more. We were delighted to welcome this group of 7 ladies and gentlemen who gave the floor in Veterans Hall a good scrubbing and also helped out with a much-needed lick of paint in the kitchen and the toilets. We are sincerely grateful to lovely people like this who care and respect those in need and volunteer their time without reservations and in this instance the beneficiaries 

being the veterans. Thank you to the Royal Bank of Scotland and thank you Martin Bowden (the Boss!), Jackie Leslie, Catherine Arris, Adam Warrick, Michael Hallinan, Vladimir Komanisky, and Yvette Waterfall.

Collection Successes

We were blessed earlier this year by being granted two separate collection opportunities with Tesco; one in Hatfield and one in Borehamwood. We are extremely grateful to the Tesco Company for giving us collection dates which are usually very competitively fought for, so we were truly blessed to have two opportunities.

We were rather concerned about our first one, as it was in January and we all feared snow, ice, or just plain freezing temperatures, but lo and behold, precipitation was held at bay (unfortunately the cold wind was not) and we had reasonably good weather. Thankfully, we avoided the washout that struck just after we left on the second day of the collection in March. Between the ups and downs of the past three months’ weather, we struck very lucky for our collection dates.

We must thank most sincerely our veterans and supporters who gave up their time and spent the day with us from 10am to 5pm, as well as the many wonderful Tesco customers who not only donated freely, but also stopped to chat and hear the stories of our veterans and thank them for their wartime sacrifices.

Our Next Charity Collections

Just to remind everyone of our next collection which takes place on Saturday and Sunday the 24^th & 25^th of May at ASDA Southgate. Please call the office and give us your times to help. We really do need your help at this collection to aid our much needed funds – please don’t leave it all to others.

The American School

Once again we were deeply honoured and delighted to be invited to the prestigious American School in Swiss Cottage for another of our wartime educational presentations. This time, surprisingly and for the first time anywhere, it was to be held on a Sunday afternoon. We were invited to give our presentation in their brand-new magnificent auditorium. It really is a spectacular new building and shows that no expense has been spared in its creation.

We were surprised that so many students showed up with their parents on a Sunday afternoon. They were delighted to hear the veterans’ stories as well as take the opportunity to meet them. Thank you to the American School and to Jane Elwing for organising it all. Until next time.

Normandy 2008

At the time of this newsletter, our plans for June in Normandy are set. We have 2 buses secured to go, as well as a complement of veterans and school children. We are booked to depart on Tuesday June 3^rd, returning on Sunday, June 8^th. The only thing we are waiting for now is confirmation of our grant funding to secure the number of persons we will be able to take to Normandy. As always, that is a last-minute confirmation we hope to get in April or early May. We have had one grant confirmed as we go to press.

Double Veterans Day Engagements

Once again this year we have been invited to attend the special Veterans Day event at the Royal Air Force Museum in Hendon. We will put on our usual extensive display and invite many of our friends and veterans to join us for the day and support us, as well as see the other displays and get the opportunity to see the magnificent aircraft displays throughout the RAF Museum.

RAF Veterans Day is Tuesday, May 20^th from 10am to 5pm.

We hope to see you there!

Third National Veterans Day

We are pleased to announce that we will again put on a very extensive military exhibition at Veterans Hall. This year we will take full advantage of the timing and hold a two-day event. On the Friday, we will have the opportunity to have area school children visit us as they have for the previous two years. Of course, the public at large will be welcome as well.

By taking it into the second day, on the Saturday we have the additional opportunity to invite various cadet associations to put up their recruitment stands as well as perform various displays if they so wish. Invited are Sea Cadets, Air Training Corps and Army Cadet Associations. Dates are Friday and Saturday, June 27-28^th. We will be open from 10am to 6pm on both days.

New Members Welcome

In addition to Lady Alma Kent, we would also like to welcome Reg Smith and Robert Swanborough. Reg served with the RAF in the Far East in 1941, and Robert was with the Kings Shropshire Light Infantry from 1954-56, serving in Germany and East Africa.

We are looking forward to these and all new members giving us updates on their service histories so that we can include their experiences in future newsletters.

Arlington National Cemetery at Christmas

Christmas is still months away at this point, but it’s an interesting story nonetheless.

These wreaths -- some 5,000 -- are donated by the Worcester Wreath Co. of Harrington, Maine. The owner, Merrill Worcester, not only provides the wreaths, but covers the trucking expense as well. He's done this since 1992. A wonderful guy. Most years, groups of Maine school kids combine an educational trip to DC with this event to help out. Making this even more remarkable is the fact that Harrington is in one the poorest parts of the state.

Laugh – it’s good for you!

Thoughts on love & Marriage

A woman inserted an ad in the classifieds: “Husband Wanted.” Next day she received a hundred letters. They all said the same thing: “You can have mine.”

If you want your spouse to pay strict attention to every word you say, talk in your sleep.

Carry on Laughing!

An English ship is cruising close to the coast of Germany when it gets into trouble.

The captain sends out an urgent SOS to the nearest coastguard: “We’re sinking, we’re sinking!” “So, “ replies the German coastguard. “Vot are you sinking about?”

The Senility Prayer:

God, grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway, the good fortune to run into the ones I do, and the eyesight to tell the difference.