MWA Southern Area Christmas Dit Session

9 Dec 2023 - Last night, joint MCDOA/MWA members Martyn Holloway, Bill Kerr, Martin Mackey, David Sandiford and Yours Truly (Rob Hoole) enjoyed a small but convivial MWA (Mine Warfare Association) Southern Area Christmas dinner at the Old Customs House pub in Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth, formerly HMS VERNON where we were all trained and served. Other attendees comprised MWA Chairman Jim Hawkins, his predecessor Peter ‘Taff’ Reader, Peter ‘Bomber’ Mills and his brother Allan.

Unfortunately, John ‘George’ Turnbull, Stephen ‘Bunny’ Warren, Colin Welborn and Peter Whitehead were forced to cancel their attendance for various reasons but Colin generously donated a substantial sum that paid for the evening’s wine and a tot of Nelson’s Blood with which we toasted ‘Absent Friends’.

After the meal, we mustered for the obligatory photo with the Vernon Mine Warfare & Diving Monument which enters its fifth year in March.

A very Merry Christmas and a Happier New Year to all members of our community and your families.