Outwood Branch

COMMITTEE 2017
Paul Daniels	Chairman
Caroline Durance	Secretary
Bill Morle	Treasurer
Glenn Fisher	Poppy Appeal Organiser
Katie Bristow	Social Secretary
OutwoodRBL@hotmail.com

A HISTORY OF THE OUTWOOD BRANCH OF THE ROYAL BRITISH LEGION

The British Legion was founded on 1st July 1921. Its primary aim was:

‘To honour the fallen, to care for their dependants, to care for the wounded survivors and those ex-service men and women in need.’

REMEMBRANCE, ASSISTANCE, COMRADESHIP.

The Outwood Branch was formed on 9th May 1933, following a meeting which was held in the north-west corner of the Church Room, and has therefore been in existence for over seventy years. The Chair was first taken by Captain F.A. Clutterbuck, D.S.O., R.N. and, with the help of the President and Secretary of Bletchingley Branch and the County Organiser, the new branch was formed as a sub-branch of Bletchingley and the following officers were appointed:

Chairman:- Captain F.A. Clutterbuck, D.S.O., R.N.
Treasurer:- Mr. J. Shapland
Secretary:- Mr. A. E. Betchley

At the following meeting on Tuesday, 16th May 1933, the following members were elected:

Mr. F. Ord
Mr. G. Potter
Mr. V. Constable
Mr. G. Hollingsbee
Mr. W. Green

At the next committee meeting, it was decided to run a dance on 6th July 1933. The success of this event is recorded in the minute book. At the first Annual General Meeting, which was held on 5th October 1933, Mr. F. Ord proposed that an independent branch at Outwood be formed. The proposal was seconded by Mr. W. Green and carried unanimously. The Outwood Branch was thus established as a self-determining unit.

An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) was held in 1934 to elect a Standard Bearer, the Branch having purchased a Standard. Mr. F. Ord was elected and the Dedication of the Standard was carried out on Sunday, 24th June at the Outwood Cricket Club. A dinner was held in the Lloyd Hall on 8th May 1954 to commemorate 21 years of the Branch. Photographs of these events are displayed in the north west corner of the Church Room in Wasp Green Lane.

Various noteworthy events have been organised by the Branch over the years but it is generally accepted that the most significant of these was the second Donkey Derby, in 1971, following a decision by the Legion to donate a new lifeboat to the RNLI. Outwood Branch organised this Donkey Derby and the donkeys were named after existing lifeboats. Various visitors supported the event, including the Mayor and Mayoress of Reigate and Monty Modlin of the BBC. A target amount of £360 was set - £1 for each person then in the village - and in the event, a sum of £359.67 was raised and donated to the RNLI.

On the 50th Anniversary of its formation, on 1st July 1971, the British Legion was granted a Royal Charter and became the Royal British Legion.

In 1982 the Branch, led by the Reverend Norman Hood and Mr. Bob Harrisson, then Chairman and Vice-Chairman, carried out a restoration of the Church Room. In 1995, to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of V.E. Day, the Branch co-ordinated an enjoyable celebration in the form of a fête on Outwood Common. The ladies of Outwood WI, distinctively dressed as ‘Nippies’, set up a World War II- style ‘Corner House’ serving representative fare at the prices of that period. On the 50th Anniversary of V.J. Day there was a quieter commemoration acknowledging the savagery of the war in the Far East.

In keeping with the countrywide revival of the two-minute silence in 1996, the branch held a brief Commemoration Service on Outwood Common at the Eleventh Hour, of the Eleventh Day, of the Eleventh Month, a custom which has been maintained since then, the Service being held alternately in Outwood and Horne.

In 1999, the retiring Branch Chairman, Fred Needham, generously presented the Branch with a new Standard which was dedicated on Sunday, 27th June of that year. The old Standard was then laid up after 65 years in commission. The Service was held in St. John’s Church on 20th June 1999, at which the Guest of Honour was Mrs Sarah Goad J.P., the Lord Lieutenant of the County of Surrey.

Our founder, Captain F.A. Clutterbuck, served as Chairman for a total of 31 years. His son, David Clutterbuck, has been a member of the committee for over 60 years, and for more than 35 of these he held the post of Honorary Secretary, for which he was awarded the County Secretary’s Cup in 1994. In 1996 Fred Needham was awarded the Chairmen’s Gavel. These awards are no mean achievements for one of the smallest branches in the County, even the Country.

There have been several other very long-serving members, notably those from the Constable and Longley families. Arthur Constable was a member from 1933 until his death in 1980, having then held the post of President since 1970. Frank Longley was a member from 1947 until his death in 2004, having been a committee member for many of these years.

The Outwood Branch of the Royal British Legion has secured practical assistance for ex-service men and women of Outwood and Horne and for their widows and dependents. The Branch organises door-to-door collections each year in aid of the Poppy Appeal, with gratitude to the many helpers; the response has always been most generous. The Branch holds several other fund-raising events for this cause, including an annual quiz night, with the generous help of many loyal friends and supporters, in the form of both goods and services.

We welcome all ex-service personnel, and others who support our purposes, as members.

CHAIRMEN
Capt. F.A. Clutterbuck, D.S.O., R.N.	May 1933 – August 1964
W. Howick, Esq.	November 1964 – October 1968
Rev. N.A. Hood, M.A., R.N.	October 1968 – July 1979
R.J. Harrisson, Esq.	November 1979 – September 1989
F.H. Needham, Esq.	October 1989 – November 1998
Cdr. L.S. Barry, O.B.E., R.N.	November 1998 – November 2002
J.J. Brady, Esq.	November 2002 – 2008
C A Stembridge Esq
P J Daniels Esq	Current

Thus we lead the public display of Remembrance.

We arrange support for ex-service men and women and their dependents who are in need.

We enjoy comradeship at our meetings and events.

J.F.A., August 2005.