Page 3 - October 2022
P. 3

  FROM THE EDITOR
From the Editor
Robert Farquhar
How quickly we went from a Jubilee celebration of 70 years of the reign of Elizabeth II as our sovereign and Queen to the sorrow and mourning at her passing at Balmoral and then into a time for reflection and respect as we honoured her memory with the lying at rest in Edinburgh and lying in state in London. Our prayers and thoughts were with her family and especially the new King in the weeks leading up to her funeral service at Westminster Cathedral. A special Requiem and Thanksgiving Eucharist for the Queen at St. Mary-le -Bow was also held, conducted by Revd George Bush, prior to the week of the funeral to allow those of the Company and other City friends to offer prayers for the Queen and to the new King.
Our own Master was also present at the proclamation in the City of London announcing Charles III as our new King - an amazing ceremony to witness - a new Carolean age begins.
Many of you will have their own memories of meeting the Queen at some point in her amazingly long reign over our country and I’m sure you will have been reflecting on
those over the past few weeks as we have watched newsreels and film footage covering the amazing life of service of the Queen. Like many, I can remember watching the coronation on a small black and white tv - we had to walk three miles to my aunt’s farm to see it - and, a few months later, I was there with my little flag as she and Prince Philip passed through Musselburgh on her first visit to Edinburgh as Queen. As children we all got a tin pencil case to celebrate - I wish I had kept it!! Although I never had the privilege to meet the Queen, many in our Company have had wonderful and exciting contacts with our Monarch and the wider Royal family over the years. To mark this special time in our history for this edition, we have brought some of these recollections to the fore. To mark this year for the Company, David Holt and David Rogers have been working on producing a photo album containing pictures and stories of significant royal encounters experienced by Company members since our formation - it is a very worthwhile project and adds to our history and our position as a City of London Livery Company. We hope that you will enjoy its contents and some of the stories contained in this issue. It is also a time of change for the Company, with, not only a change of Master at Common Hall but also a change of the Clerk to the Company. We have always enjoyed the contributions Steve Tamcken made to the Salamander and we wish him well in the future. His last report, re-issued in this edition, is worth reading. Our new Master, Stephen Sanders provides his first report and his vision for his year ahead, which will include a special celebration of 35 years
of the founding of the Company in March 2023. His underlying message is that we need to move forward but at the same time, retain our heritage.
The Master also welcomes our new clerk, Andy Bignold. We all wish him well in his tasks ahead. This issue contains a review of the past Master’s year, updates on events taking place as well as information on new members joining. There are reports and pictures of the Massey Shaw and Liveryman’s dinners, our attendance at the recent Firex show and a special article on an award for Past Master Peter Cowland.
In this edition, there are reports from Common Hall to read, a lovely report on Berkshire Firefighters remembered at a special service last May and a report on the work to date on updating Fire Standards by the Chair of the Fire Standards Board, work in which many of our Company are involved.
We also have a short review of the initial work that went on to support firefighters in Ukraine at the start of the war there and Alistair Milner recalls his involvement in the wonderful Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham
There are the other usual Members’ news items and not forgetting an opportunity for you to purchase some WCoFF clothing and memorabilia.
Whatever are your own memories of the Queen throughout her long life as Sovereign over 70 years and your reflections on her passing this year, we hope that we can all raise a glass at the upcoming St. Florian’s Banquet on 18th November both in love and witness to the memory to her Majesty the Queen and also as a toast and to honour our new King Charles III.
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