Branch Meeting & AGM.
30 people sat down and 11 logged in via Zoom for the branch meeting. The minutes of the July 2025 branch meeting were discussed.
The recap of activity was headlined by the visit to the ATU at Bovington in July, it also included the wreath laying at Cerne Abbas (Cpl Yearsley 4 RTR 80th anniversary) The branch BBQ, VJ Day service on 15th August. Also, on 15th August (85th anniversary) we laid a wreath in Bournemouth for Pilot Officer Hight an RAF fighter pilot from New Zealand shot down and killed over the town during the Battle of Britain.
Forthcoming activity announced is the Not Forgotten event at Lulworth Castle on 15th September, and the OP Banner talk at the Union Jack Club on 25th September.
Information regarding the ATDU commemoration coin was given to members, and it was agreed that the branch should purchase new laptops to replace our obsolete models especially as support for Windows 10 is coming to an end.
It was agreed to offer overnight accommodation to two Falklands war veterans to facilitate their agreement to be guest speaks next year.
Those going to London in November for the RTR march to the Cenotaph were informed of a talk at the Union Jack Club on the evening of Thursday 13th November 2025. The presentation is titled “Cold War Tankies” all about the RAC in BAOR. Those wishing to attend the Cambrai Lunch in November were reminded to send in their returns.
OCTOBER 2025 BRANCH MEETING
The next branch meeting will be held on Friday 3rd October at 8pm. The date has been changed to accommodate our guest speaker, Neil Duncan-Jordan the MP for Poole. Neil is unavailable on a Tuesday. Members were reminded that he will be there to tell us about the life of an MP at Westminster, what they do, when they do it, how much a bottle of Champagne costs at the bar, the important stuff! It was emphasised that he was not coming as a figure 11 target for people to have a go at him about Government policy or local issues in Poole. That should take place during an MP’s surgery meeting.
Although elected as a Labour MP he is currently an independent as he has had the party whip removed for his opposition to party policies, I’m sure that element will be discussed so it should be an interesting evening!
Members were informed of the RAC Sponsored Church Service at the Royal Hospital Chelsea on Sunday 12th October 2025. Names must be submitted by HHQ RTR via RTRA branches.
There was a quick Ladies Lunch 2026 update, the update is that all the places have been filled already!
The meeting closed and was then followed by the AGM.
BRANCH AGM 2025
The minutes of the 2024 AGM were viewed.
The Chairman gave his annual report
The Chairman gave the Treasurers report
The Committee was re-elected unopposed for a further year.
The meeting then closed, and we introduced the guest speaker, LDavid Willey the former Curator of the Tank Museum honoured his promise of giving us an annual presentation (subject to changes of circumstances) and gave us a more balanced view of the action at Villers Bocage in Normandy during June 1944. This action has achieved almost mythical status over the years mainly due the actions of a certain Michael Wittman, a German Tank commander with a high celebrity status.
David gave a more balanced view of the battle, he did not try to show it as some kind of British victory, but he did point out facts that seem to have been forgotten over the years.
There was too much mentioned to go into detail but here are some of the salient points. The British stopped on top of the hill a short distance from the German Tanks because that is where they were supposed to stop, The German tanks which had been there since the previous evening did not suspect the British were close until they were almost on top of them.
Michael Wittman left his command behind and went off on his own down the road and into the village. Although his Tiger I destroyed several vehicles on the road and in the village, his tank was hit and knocked out only 20 minutes after he set off. He then had to get out and make his way by foot to a nearby German headquarters.
That was him out of the Villers Bocage story, he was in it for 20 minutes, he abandoned his command, went on a reckless foray into the village, got his tank shot out from under him, and had to “Get the hell out of dodge” on foot. Yet the myth continues.
Wittman’s command and others did enter the fight and the forced the units outside of the village on the hill to scatter and escape as best they could. They assaulted Villers Bocage village but could not capture it and lost several tanks in this operation. The British did make the decision to withdraw so it was a tactical defeat for us, but! The Germans had lost 50% of the armour that had been earmarked for a counter attack, a counter attack that could now not take place, they suffered heavy casualties in troops especially to heavy artillery fire that covered the British retreat.
So, Villers Bocage may not have been our greatest hour, but a balanced view shows it was not nearly as bad as the myth suggests. This was also the first time the Germans encountered the Sherman Firefly tank which clearly gave them a shock. We even found out that 2 x Tiger I tanks were knocked out by a PIAT Anti-Tank Launcher during the assault on the village.
Another great presentation by David Willey.
Fear Naught
