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The main event organised by the DDNF is the Annual Reunion Weekend, held in Portsmouth on the Saturday and Sunday nearest to the anniversary of D-Day.
Annual Dinner The DDNF annual dinner for 2010 was held at the Royal Beach Hotel in Southsea on Saturday, 5 June. There were 25 members and guests present, including the usual excellent turnout from the Birmingham branch. The Royal Beach Hotel was a very appropriate venue for the dinner as it looks out on South Parade Pier, from which many men embarked for Normandy in the summer of 1944, and close by is the D-Day Memorial Stone unveiled by Field Marshal Montgomery in 1948. In a short speech the Chairman talked about the Reverend Ron Paterson, who died in December 2009 at the age of 93, and about the key part he played in the story of the DDNF. If you would like to read an account of Ron’s service in the Second World War by his friend Peter Watkins, which explains why the Fellowship was so important to him, please click here. As is now traditional, the evening closed with the younger members present drinking a toast to ‘The Veterans’. Service of Thanksgiving and Remembrance The Portsmouth Cathedral Service for 2010 took place on Sunday, 6 June, the 66th anniversary of D-Day. The Deputy Lord Mayor of Portsmouth, Councillor Robin Sparshatt, and other dignitaries were present. There was the usual excellent contribution from the Cathedral Choir, arranged by Dr David Price, the Cathedral Organist and Master of the Choristers, who is a member of the Fellowship’s Committee. After the entry of the choir and clergy, one of the Fellowship’s Books of Remembrance, which are kept at the Cathedral and contain the names of all past and present members, was placed on the table before the altar. The Address was given by the Reverend Canon Roger Devonshire RN (retd). If you would like to read his Address and the Addresses by Canon Nicholas Ash in 2007, Reverend Mike Williams in 2008 and the Venerable Stephen Robbins in 2009, please click here. Members and others attending gathered for refreshments in the Nave of the Cathedral after the Service. |
Annual Dinner 
Refreshments in the nave |