It seems only right that the Airborne Signals Branch should employ cyberspace to stay in touch, reports Amy Rowe
From Legion Winter 2009
It wasn’t an auspicious beginning
– it started with a whip round in an Aldershot pub. It raised £25, which wasn’t much, even in 2000, but it was enough. This was the moment when an Old Comrades Association was formed for ex-216 Parachute Signals Squadron members.
As time went by, the association became a Legion branch, known as the Weston-on-the-Green (AB Signals) branch – the name being taken from the area where the Paras completed their initial training drops. The branch had members all across the country, they couldn’t meet down the local, or even ring each other very easily, with some members living as far away as Australia and the Virgin Islands.
And, as one of the Legion’s few ‘National branches’, without a fixed centre, its members increasingly viewed the internet as a vital tool. “It was difficult sending letters to people all over the world all the time,” explains Keith Weller, the Signals’ webmaster.
“We didn’t know too much about the internet and computers, so it was all very new to us, but we thought ‘let’s have a dabble’,” he adds. It is now the primary means of updating the 300-plus members on the latest happenings, such as upcoming trips and reunions. But
it didn’t come without its problems: “A lot was done on goodwill and free software,” Keith explains. “But then some software didn’t speak to other people’s software.”
Heart-warmingSo, approximately five years ago, there was another whip around, and the new, improved site became a virtual meeting point for the Airborne Signals. “We keep everyone informed via the website. It’s very important to us. Members who are 80 years of age are logging on,” says Branch Secretary Ray Duffy (above right photo, centre). “One of the lads was sick in hospital once, so we put a notice up on the site, and within two days he had nearly 200 get well cards.”
It’s a heart-warming story, and the more Legion speaks to the Airborne Signals Branch, the more apparent it is that this is a tight-knit group. A point that is echoed by Branch President and ex-SAS man, John Griffin. “I would be very surprised if you could find a more coherent, cohesive bunch. Most of us have served alongside each other for years, not only in 216 but throughout Royal Signals and the rest of the Army, including the SAS,” he says.
Despite the physical distance between many of the group, up to 200 members gather every two years for a reunion, and many of them holiday together (above left). They also have close links with Caythorpe in Lincolnshire, which was where 1st Airborne Signals were stationed prior to deploying to Arnhem in 1944. Caythorpe has awarded the unit with Freedom of the Town, and each year a parade and a service is held there.
Ray, who has attended the service, says it makes the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end: “It is something to behold. Especially when they’re reading the names out, and you know some of the lads.” Personnel from the current unit now known as 16 Air Assault Signal Squadron (216), join the veterans for these services too.
It is recognised that the branch’s online presence could help the group’s continued efforts to recruit members from the younger generation. “I’m in the middle of revamping the site now,” Keith says,
“I’d like it to be more interactive, such as streaming videos from YouTube. I think it could help attract younger members.”
It’s a tough task – to recruit from a present squadron that this branch admit may be ‘a little reluctant’ to think of a time when they might need the Legion’s assistance. But if any branch can do it, the Airborne Signals can, and John knows why. “We’ve got the Airborne spirit,” he explains. “And with the RBL behind us, that’s a double whammy.”
Visit the Airborne Signals site at
www.216parasigs.org.uk.
