The Chairman thanked the President for his speech 
and recalled that he had also flown XV352, as had others in the room such as Dave Southwood and Ben Laite.
In respect of the numbers attending the Reunion, the Chairman noted that in 2019 at the Grimscote Manor Hotel in the West Midlands, there had been 38. In 2018 there had been 37 and 34 in 2017. The numbers therefore appeared to be relatively stable, all things considered. This had been the first lunchtime reunion, and there had been much discussion in the Committee as to whether the membership would wish to continue in this
format. A survey of the membership had been carried out some 3 or 4 years previously, which indicated that the Association should alternate the reunion venues between the RAF Club and a location near to the membership's 'centre of gravity' which, according to analysis, was near Coventry, hence the 2019 Reunion at the Grimscote Manor Hotel.
The question remained, however, as to whether this was still what the membership wanted. The Chairman therefore asked everyone to consider again if they wanted an evening dinner, probably necessitating an overnight stay, or whether they would like a lunchtime event, which meant that most people could travel back and forth in a day (unless, of course, you lived in
Belgium!). The Chairman therefore proposed to contact the membership again to put forward some suggestions of how the Association might go forward. The RAF Club had already been tentatively booked for Saturday lunchtime on 22 October 2022 because a booking needed to be made that far in advance to secure a room. However, this could easily be changed in accordance with the wishes of the membership. Clearly, everyone would have their own perspective and, clearly, it would be easier for some people to travel by the day. Others might like to come for the night because of their own personal circumstances. However, it was vital to gauge the membership and let them decide what would be best to do.
The 'elephant in the room' was, of course, the question of how long the Association might continue with reunions, to which the unanimous response was 'Last Man Standing!' The Chairman agreed that, whilst there might come a point when the Association no longer organised a reunion due to dwindling numbers, it had not yet reached that point and, very positively, there was obviously a clear momentum to continue in whatever format the membership agreed. He therefore looked forward to seeing everyone at the 2022 Reunion, and wished everyone a safe journey home.
2021 Reunion -
