MEMBERS braved inclement weather to turn up and we started our meeting with a minute’s silence for the three British soldiers who died as a result of the Afghan conflict during November.

As usual, the anniversaries of military events in December were brought to the fore. The main ones were Pearl Harbor and the Battle of the Bulge but specifically on December 1, 1420, Henry V entered Paris; the state of Yugoslavia was created in 1918; and in 1941, the German commerce raider Kormorant was sunk by the Australian cruiser Sydney in an attack off the Australian coast.

We started the evening with a short presentation on the 1914 Christmas truces on the Western Front. The main presentation was then given by member Ted Holloway, who told us about the end of French colonial Algeria and his part in it as a soldier in the French Foreign Legion.

Ted covered the whole spectrum from the first colonisation in 1830 to the bitter fighting at the end which resulted in the French withdrawal and its aftermath.

Meetings are held on the first Wednesday of the month. The next meeting is on Wednesday, February 2. Contact Ron Gallivan on 01527 545450 or e-mail ronnieg@ blueyonder.co.uk for full details.