City of Westminster Branch
History
The City of Westminster Branch of The Royal Society of St. George was formed in 1988, by past Chairman, Robert Sewell and another nine people. The first President to be elected was Vice Admiral Sir James Weatherall KCVO, KBE. Sir James was the Queen’s Marshall of the Diplomatic Corps. The Immediate Past President is Vice Admiral Sir Neville Purvis KCB, who served in the submarine service and was Fourth Sea Lord. The current President is Councillor Ian Adams, a former Lord Mayor of the City of Westminster.
Bob died in office in June 2014 having developed the branch to nearly 300 members. He had a gift for negotiating favourable terms for the many functions he arranged. He was succeeded by Stan Sadler, who had been the stalwart Secretary for many years. Stan died in March 2018 having stood down as chairman in November 2016 in favour of Alan Broomhead, who was Vice Chairman. Stan had acted as both chairman and secretary and handed over the latter role to Annabelle Emney.
During the past 32 Years the growth of the Branch has progressed steadily until today the membership stands at just below 200, resulting in good turnouts for its events.
A distinctive feature of the Branch has been its regular contributions to charities having given away thousands of pounds to a variety of organisations. In recent years beneficiaries have included St Andrews Club in Westminster, the oldest youth club in Britain, the Orpheus Trust, and Dame Vera Lynn’s Children’s Charity. The branch makes annual donations to its related organisations as shown below.
Related Organisations
Sea Cadets
The Branch has a long association with the Sea Cadets with units providing carpet guards at our dinners, particularly on Trafalgar Day. More recently the Branch has formally affiliated with the Western District of the London Area Sea Cadets. Western District comprises 12 units with 707 personnel and has agreed to support the Branch with a standard bearer to carry the branch standard at the Cenotaph and National Standards services and provide a carpet guard at the Trafalgar Day Dinner. The standard bearer will be selected annually at the London Area Drill Competition by including a new category of Solo Standard Bearer. As Bob Sewell was a Sea Cadet, the Branch has made an annual donation, in his memory, to provide bursaries for Sea Cadets to sail on TS ROYALIST, the Sea Cadet flagship.
Royal Hospital Chelsea
The Branch has been associated with the Royal Hospital since its earliest days. As a consequence, members have been privileged to attend the Governor’s Review Parade in June. The Branch makes an annual donation to the Hospital thus making it a corporate sponsor entitling members to attend Friends lectures and events.
City of Westminster
The Branch maintains its links to the Mayoralty and makes an annual donation to the Lord Mayor’s chosen charitable fund. Whenever possible the Branch holds its AGM in the Lord Mayor’s Parlour and the Lord Mayor is the principal guest at
Events
Westminster Branch tries to run an event most months of the year and produces an annual calendar the preceding December so members can add them to their diaries well in advance. The current calendar shows how we try to combine regular events at desirable locations with other events to provide a mix of favourites and diversity.
The Branch regularly holds functions at various prestigious venues throughout London such as The Royal Hospital Chelsea, The R.A.F. Club, The Union Jack Club, The Victory Services Club, The Wax Chandlers Livery Hall, The Chesterfield Hotel in Mayfair, and The Lord Mayor of Westminster’s Parlour.
HOW TO CONTACT US
Branch Officers
| President | Hon. Treasurer |
| Cllr. Ian Adams | Adam Armsby |
| Chairman | Minutes Secretary |
| Alan Broomhead alansco@btinternet.com Tel 020 8670 1488 |
Denice Fennell Pond
|
| Vice Chairman | Charity Fund Coordinator |
| Marilyn Russel | Judy Tayler-Smith |
| Secretary | Council Members |
| Annabelle Emney Tel: 07828 013795 |
Louise Fairweather Joanna Cadman |