Remembering Portsmouth's heroes, a hidden gem of a charity

There were nearly 100 attendees, veterans, those still in service and other guests supporting those past and present, voluntary groups, health support etc

PPC chairman, Gareth Lewis, got proceedings underway with local bagpiper Rich Smith piping in those on the top table, including Lord Mayor Cllr Gerald Vernon-Jackson and the Archdeacon of Portsdown, Canon Bob White

Each guest had a card with a name of a person being remembered, mine being Boy 1st Class Stanley Albert Wells (from Portsmouth) who died in the sinking of HMS Hood on 24 May 1941, aged 17…brings it right home straight away

The evening was both solemn and uplifting as promised. A brief history behind PPC was that in 1914 Portsmouth answered the call, friend, neighbour, shopkeeper, teacher, whoever forming the `14th, 15th and (in reserve) 16th Battalions. They were “baptised” in the Battle of the Somme, the 14th suffering heavy casualties, including 440 casualties in an attack near Beaumont-Hamel in September 1916, the 15th sustaining heavy losses in the battles around the River Ancre, losing eight officers and 90 other ranks killed or missing in a single action. Both battalions experienced high casualties throughout the war. The 14th Battalion alone recorded over 600 deaths on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The Pompey Pals lost an estimated 1,400 local men by the end of the war

Simon Cattermole (vocals and guitar) and Peter Searle (accordion) sang the Pompey Pals song, penned by Simon, an evocative moment

The guests were served with a delicious four-course meal, vegetable soup, Beef Bourguignon, Chocolate Tarte, tea/coffee, cheese and biscuits. The service provided by the Centre staff was excellent, very efficient and friendly, huge thanks to Sandy from Square Dining and her staff.

An auction (raising £570) was successfully conducted by Brian and Emma Irving Pompey Pals Auctioneers whilst the raffle raised £400.

Gareth spoke about Henry Edward Gallagher (The Quiet Sergeant) who survived Rorke’s Drift in the 1879 Anglo-Zulu war (remember the film) leading to a quartet from Fine Voice Chorus (Simon Long, Rob Jaques, Andrew Flitcroft and myself) singing Men of Harlech, from one of the most famous scenes in the film Zulu, followed by the RNLI “song” Home From the Sea, both songs sung by the guests as well, “a room full of English people singing a Welsh song” said a delighted Welshman, Gareth

The main speaker was former Portsmouth footballer Ray Crawford, still very sprightly at nearly 90, with a potted run through of his career full of amusing anecdotes very well told

PPC’s Co-founder Chris Pennycook introduced a short film on HMS Hood, which was sunk with loss of 1,415 crew (only three survived), 256 from Hampshire, mainly Portsmouth, including the discovery of its wreck in 2001 and the raising of its bell 2015 (now in Portsmouth Dockyard).

Chris explained that 2026 is a really important year, 85th anniversary of its sinking but also 100th anniversary of Portsmouth city status, 110th anniversary of the Somme/Jutland, 85th anniversaries on the Blitz in Portsmouth and that PPC is forging a partnership with English Heritage at the Royal Garrison Church, Southsea, and Fort Brockenhurst, Gosport.

Gareth then told four stories of local heroes, George Jakes (15), Robert Edward Johns (16), Albert Willingham (29) and Stephen Cummings (24) so young, so heroic, from various conflicts

SimonC and Peter then beautifully performed the very thought provoking Tell My Father, leading into the Order of Service led by Canon White

As the evening drew to a close, a lot of solemn detail but uplifting with tales of heroism, music and talks, all supporting a most worthwhile local charity, keeping alive the memories of the city’s fallen and those who returned but maybe not as they left

For more information www.facebook.com/PompeyPalsProject/?locale=en_GB

Website: www.pompeypals.com

Ken Ebbens

Flash Radio presenter