Many members will have seen details of the recent Regional Conference on social media. Some members were even present. We were determined to get back to a live event as soon as it was safe to do so. A BIG thank you to our 40 attendees.

We were well served by the staff of the Chelmsford City Museum, which houses the collection of the Essex Regiment and the staff at the adjacent café. The venue was ideal and the museum community really rose to the occasion. One of the curatorial staff, Georgina and volunteers including Karen and Steve Dennis (both GA members) and Peter Williamson, put together a remarkable display. These included rare photographs, documents and artefacts. Peter led a very enjoyable tour around the Essex Collection at the end of the day.

The speakers were superb.

Clive Harris started us off with a summary of the participation of the Essex Regiment in the campaign. As always Clive gave a very lively and interesting presentation backed up with superb resources.

The same can be said of our very own Stephen Chambers, who talked on the many battles of Krithia. As always, Stephen showed an encyclopaedic knowledge of the campaign but was able to distil it into a very engaging presentation.

After lunch Martin Purdy gave a very thought provoking presentation on memorialisation, focussing on the north west. He reminded us of the very moving story of the Duckworth family.

The conference was rounded off by the inimitable Peter Hart, who gave a very amusing but also thought provoking presentation on Rupert Brooke and his many friends in the Royal Naval Division. Along with numerous amusing anecdotes, Peter was at pains to stress how brave these young men were. 

It was a very successful day. A bargain at £25. We do not record these regional conferences, so watch out for details of next one, in March 2023.

Our thanks go to the GA events Co-ordinator, Hester, for the work she did beforehand and on the day.