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Reunion Weekend

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THE ARTILLERY CLERKS′ ASSOCIATION REUNION WEEKEND

The Artillery Clerks′ Reunion and Association Dinner is held at present in the Central Sergeants' Mess, Larkhill and is open to all members of the Artillery Clerks′ Association and strong attendance is always expected. Our future reunions now see members wives and partners are also invited to attend.

Members can download a copy of the Calling Notice on this webpage by clicking on the letter image shown. The Calling Notice will provide members with the attendance proforma to be submitted to the Reunion Secretary.

Timings for the reunion weekend are shown below and are a rough guide. They will be updated as changes are passed to the Reunion Secretary.

Friday

Those members arriving on Friday are advised that an evening meal is available in the Mess. Timings shown below:

  • 1645 hrs-1730 hrs  -  Evening Meal (Sgts′ Mess Pay-As-You-Dine)
  • 1900 hrs-2300 hrs  -  Sgts′ Mess Bar Open

Saturday

  • 0900 hrs-1300 hrs  -  Breakfast Brunch (Sgts′ Mess Pay-As-You-Dine)
  • 1200 hrs-1400 hrs  -  Brunch available and Bar open in Sgts Mess
  • 1900 hrs-1930 hrs  -  Reunion Photograph & Pre-Dinner Drinks
  • 1930 hrs  -  Reunion Dinner
  • 2359 hrs  -  Bar Closes

Sunday morning

  • 0900 hrs-1300 hrs  -  Breakfast Brunch (Sgts′ Mess Pay-As-You-Dine)

Dress

Friday evening: Suit or Jacket/Casual, sporting the Association Tie. Partners are requested to wear equivalent casual attire, avoiding jeans.

The Reunion Dinner: Mess Dress for serving members and Black Tie (with miniatures) for retired members. Partners are requested to wear formal cocktail attire (including separates) appropriate for this special formal occasion, but a full length dress or trouser suits are not necessary.

Accommodation

Officers′ Mess: Members wishing to use the Officers’ Mess are asked to contact the Officers’ Mess Secretary direct on 01980 845814 to book their own accommodation. These members will pay for the Reunion Dinner cost only to the Reunion Secretary but must settle their own Mess Bill direct with the Officers’ Mess before they leave.

Sergeants′ Mess: The Sgts Mess accommodation is single en-suite rooms in transit blocks only suitable for those not accompanied. These are chargeable and the total cost of the Reunion will depend on the length of your stay. The Reunion Secretary will centrally book all Sgts’ Mess accommodation. Top Tip: Don′t forget to pack a towel or two, as these are not provided by the mess.

Hotel/B&B Accommodation: Those members bringing partners are encouraged to book suitable local accommodation at their own expense and notify the Reunion Secretary accordingly so that transport to and from on the dinner night can be considered by the Committee. Some examples of local hotels are given below:

  • Travelodge, Countess Services, A303 Eastbound, Amesbury, SP4 7AS - 0871 984 6218
  • Holiday Inn, Solstice Park, Nr Amesbury, SP4 7SQ - 0345 241 3535
  • Stonehenge Inn, 2 Stonehenge Rd, Durrington, SP4 8BN - 01722 433186

The advice is to book early as these hotels tend to fill quickly during the summer months.

Costs

The cost of the Reunion Dinner is £50 per person. Where members are staying in the Sgts’ Mess accommodation there will be a small charge depending on the length of stay. Therefore, for those bringing partners and staying in a hotel or Officers Mess the cost of the dinner will be £100.

The present prices are shown below:

  • Dinner Only (no accommodation/Officers′ Mess): £50.00
  • Sgts Mess Accommodation: £17.00 per night
  • Dinner & accommodation Saturday (Sgts′ Mess): £67.00
  • Dinner & accommodation Friday & Saturday (Sgts′ Mess): £84.00

Pay-As-You-Dine

The Central Sergeants′ Mess is now a Pay as You Dine facility so individuals will be asked to pay for each meal they take (less the Reunion Dinner).

Attendance Form and Reunion Payment Options

In all instances, an attendance form must be completed and sent, either by post or email, to the Reunion Secretary to book your place and accommodation for the weekend and Reunion Dinner. An attendance form will be sent out with the “Calling Notice“ via the Annual Edition of Crossed Quills.

Online Attendance Form

An online attendance form is now available by clicking button at the top of the screen. This form is sent direct to Reunion Secretary on submission.

Online Attendance Form

There are two options available for paying to attend the Reunion weekend and Association Dinner:

Post:  By cheque, made payable to the ‘Artillery Clerks’ Association’, or;

Electronic transfer:  Make an electronic bank transfer, using your surname as the reference, to the account details provided in the Calling Notice (members will receive one in the next edition of Crossed Quills).

Artillery Centre Access, Parking and other Administrative Points

Camp Access: The post code for the Artillery Centre, Larkhill is SP4 8QT. All access to the camp should be as follows:

  • VCP 1 (Ross Rd) – this is new 24/7 gate.
  • VCP 2 (Glover Rd) – this is the gate that you are most familiar with, however it is only open to visitors booking in from 0700-1500 Mon to Fri. It is closed at weekends.

All lists of attendees for the weekend will be held by the Guardroom who will issue a valid Gate Pass. You will need to show this pass in your car window screen throughout your stay in the Artillery Centre. The Guardroom can advise on the location of designated car parks. Please bring with you ID with your photograph on it.

Parking: Please ensure you have parked in a designated parking space as directed by the Guardroom.

Messing: All messing will be in the Sgt's Mess. Cash will be required for every meal (obviously the main Reunion Dinner is already paid for!) as Larkhill is now a Pay-As-You-Dine facility. Do not forget to fetch your change to meal times. Meals are on average around £5.

Mess Bills: The Reunion Secretary will pay a central Mess Bill for all those staying the accommodation. If you are presenbted with a bill, please pass it on to the Reunion Sectretary to sort out.

Smoking: In line with Government and MoD policy there is NO SMOKING inside any building - this includes accommodation rooms.

The Annual General Meeting (AGM): An AGM will NOT be held at the Reunion Dinner 2023. There will be a Virtual AGM instead which will be held online in March 2023 as per previous years. Details and invites to this Virtual AGM will be published at a later date. All Association Members will be urged to attend.

Photograph: All Association Members are urged to attend the Reunion photograth which will be taken prior to the pre-dinner drinks. Arrangements for this special photogragh will be published when details are finalised.

Photography: Please be advised that a professional photographer will be taking pictures throughout this unique Reunion for publication in Crossed Quills and on the Association website. If anyone does not wish to be included in photographs, please advise the Reunion Secretary accordingly on the evening.

The Reunion Dinner: We shall sit down for the Reunion Dinner at 1930 hours. There will be a comfort break following the Loyal Toast. The kitchen is aware of any special dietary needs previously notified to the Reunion Secretary.

Bar Timings: Please be aware that the Executive Committee of the Army Board has enforced stringent bar opening times to try and counter the perceived "drinking culture" within the Army. This means the bar will close at 2300 hours on Friday night (bar cleared by 2330 hours) and at 2345 hours on Saturday night (bar to be cleared by 2359 hours). I would appreciate Member cooperation in ensuring we adhere to these rules. This an Army wide policy and not just specific to Larkhill/the Gunners.