Their Legacy, Our History

8 and 9 September 2018
Newbury, Berkshire

Royal British Legion Riders
The Branch is a national branch of the Royal British Legion, covering the whole of the UK and in fact the world. We support and promote the work of the Royal British Legion as it supports the serving and ex-serving members of the British Armed Forces.
The Riders Branch is keen to attract motorcyclists and supporters of the Legion from across the globe. We already have Branch members from Cornwall to Scotland as well as Europe, Northern America and Australasia.
We are brought together by our enthusiasm for motorcycling, and our willingness to support the aims and charitable efforts of The Royal British Legion. Branch members have the option to belong to more than one branch if they wish, allowing them to remain members of their local Legion Branch/Club as well as the Riders, which is a National Branch.
We have members from The Royal Navy, The Army, The Royal Air Force, The Royal Marines, and all the Public Services as well as those who have not served but wish to support the aims of the Royal British Legion through the Riders Branch.
The Riders Branch is very diverse in its membership. Members are young and old, male and female. We take part in all types of biking and biking events, from track days to rallies, on customs to sports bikes, and everything in between! And not forgetting formal Legion organised events and fund raising.
All members are encouraged to play an active role within the Branch at Local and National level, with the emphasis on being pro-active in getting together with other Branch members in their geographical area.
We try to attend as many events as possible during the year across the whole spectrum of the motorcycling calendar. We use all these events to raise awareness and funds for the Poppy Appeal. We are pleased to support the event in Newbury acting as escorts for the military vehicle convoy and by having a presence in the town.
Not forgetting, we are Bikers and try to enjoy ourselves at social events as well.

Beating the Bullies
Aspiring 15-year-old singer Holly Pullen from Kingsclere is beating the bullies by performing at the event
Singing is her way of overcoming the difficulties she faced at school and her talent has already been recognised by musicians and event organisers alike. Although she has now changed school, the memory of her recent treatment by some students whilst still raw is gradually fading as she is receiving encouragement from family and friends to grasp opportunities to pursue her passion for singing.
Holly will include in her repertoire the Veterans version of Hallelujah and she will be at St Nicholas Church, Newbury at lunchtime on Saturday 8 September. She is singing during the interval of the piano recital given by local pianist Oliver Williams in tribute to Dame Myra Hess who during WW2 gave over 1000 recitals for war workers and Armed Services personnel at the National Gallery in London.

‘An aspiring musician, dancer and actress. An enthusiastic girl with professional qualities and overwhelming attainment of performing arts; Kent Dance Competition Winner. Student of vocalist and musician Jo Meacher since 2017. When singing, Holly is in her element; she thrives, excels and blossoms. In the future Holly would adore a profession in performing arts. It’s her: life, passion and a way of expressing herself. For this Holly is seeking new challenges to broaden her experience within the music industry. She is delighted to be performing during the weekend in Newbury’

GI War Babes
Also see http://www.gitrace.org/index.html
Pauline Natividad and Angela Parsons (English daughters of American fathers)
Babies born of English mothers and American fathers are collective referred to as GI War Babes. GI being the abbreviation for General Issue a slang terminology given to US Servicemen during WW2
American service personnel in their hundreds of thousands began arriving in Britain from early 1943 for the ultimate purpose of taking part in what became known as the D-Day Campaign from 6 June 1944
During their long periods of leave in the UK and despite ample advice given to them about how to treat and respect the long-suffering indigenous population, hundreds of GI’s formed relationships, with local girls
By wars end in 1945 there was a marked contrast between the number of marriages between GI’s and their English girlfriends and the number of illegitimate children born to local girls
Pauline and Angie have fascinating stories to tell of the search for their American fathers and step families. They are both very active in helping other GI War Babes in the UK and in Germany to search for their dads although as time marches on many discover that their fathers have passed away
Their stories are told in an informative, relaxed way and will appeal to audiences of all ages. Angie and Pauline will be telling their stories during narrowboat trips from The Wharf, Newbury during the event weekend.

Let’s Dance

‘Now That’s Jive’ is a family run vintage dance club with Chrissie Jordan and daughter Gwen Jordan both teaching the Jitterbug and East Coast Swing styles of dance, as well as some Charleston, Heel Shag and stroll dances. Both women have both been involved in the vintage dance scene for more than 25 years and together with husband and father Cliff, they are passionate about these styles of dance and the music that goes with it. The eras of dance are from the 1930 up to the late 1950’s. They teach classes at The Congaroo Club in Godstone in Surrey on a Tuesday and at The Cotton Club in Horndean in Hampshire on a Thursday.

Both Cliff and Gwen are Vintage DJs going under the names of Major 5×5 and Lil Miss Wiggles and they have everything from Charleston to Rock and Roll in their large collections of music.

Together they also run a dance troupe called Company B, which consists of 12 members that are also passionate about these styles of dance, dress and the music. Together Chrissie and Gwen choreograph routines for the troupe and they deliver these to the public with oodles of fun and enthusiasm. ‘We have performed at many vintage events over the years and love to bring the history alive for the audience. We strive to create a fun and vibrant atmosphere to add excitement and authenticity to any vintage event and we look forward to sharing this with visitors to Newbury during the 8 and 9 September’ said Chrissie.