About Us
Bty Past and Present Association
The Association is free to join and open to all former and serving members of J (Sidi Rezegh) Bty. The Association was formed in 1999 following a meeting of friends of the late Trev Banton. Trev died in 1997 after a long illness. Trev's wishes were that his son (Martin) contact as many of his old J Bty mates as possible to get together at the reception after his funeral. These were men who had served between the mid 1960's and mid 1980's. All agreed that it was wrong to only meet up at such sad events and that it was time to meet and enjoy social occasions together again. More than thirty former J Bty members congregated at a hotel in Preston in December 1999 and over a beer in the bar agreed that a Committee should be formed and an annual get together over a week-end in late October/early November take place. So the J (Sidi Rezegh) Bty Past and Present Association was born.
A Committee has been formed and meets two or three times a year (at their own expense). Dave Banton (Trev's brother) is Secretary of the Association and Andy Napoleon is the Treasurer. The other members of the Committee are Pete Baker,Martin Combes, Joe Cuthbert, Jimmy McCulloch, Gary (Smiler) Mountain, Brian (Paddy) O'Neil and Rod (Ginge) Walker. Until his sudden death in January 2003, Dave Sanderson was also an active member of the Committee.
Since 1999, the Association has grown and linked up many old pals who had lost contact with each other over the years. In 2000, even more former J Bty members enjoyed a week-end together, at the same hotel in Barton, just outside Preston. Many of their wives were also there to rekindle their past friendships. In 2001 and 2002, the "J Bty Week-end" was held in Alsagar, just outside Stoke. In 2003, the reunion was held in a large hotel justoutside Birmingham and the last week-end in October saw one hundred and eleven members sit down todinner on Saturday night in a large hotel in Hinkley. Last year, the reunion was held at the Copthorne Hotel in Merry Hill in Dudley. Over a hundred members sat down to dinner on Saturday night a vast increase in numbers from the initial gathering of twenty seven members in 1999
Members are offered a variety of options to enable as many as possible to attend the reunions. Those who are able, arrive at the venue on Friday and enjoy an informal get-together. Saturdays are spent in whatever style suits the individual from early Christmas shopping in the nearest Shopping Centre to sitting in the Reception area of the hotel, waiting to spot and greet old friends who are unable to arrive until Saturday. The climax of the week-end is the dinner on Saturday evening.
Website by: John Kelly
