Calling Notice for the Reunion Weekend

Greetings All.
As Chair of the Mine Warfare Association (MWA) I would like to wish you and your families a Happy and Prosperous New Year.
It gives me immense pleasure, on behalf of the MWA Committee, to invite you to The Celebration of the 50th Year of the Royal Naval Minewarfare Branch at the 2025 MWA Reunion and Annual General Meeting.
The event will be held at The Falmouth Hotel which as you can probably guess is in Falmouth, Cornwall, during the Weekend, 14th – 16th March 2025. With the MWA Annual General Meeting being held during the morning of Saturday 15th March 2025 and the Celebratory Dinner during the evening on Saturday 15th March 2025.
The Falmouth Hotel has recently changed ownership and here is the new reservation information, phone 01326 312671. (option reservations) and speak to Lisa stating that you are a member of the MWA. Or you can get a price from Booking.com, Hotel.com or similar and book via them, with the best deal currently being trivago.com!
The hotel, under previous owners, did hold back twenty-six standard double rooms at £108 per night and eight single rooms for £89 per night (bed and breakfast) for six months, which is now up and have been taken advantage of by some MWA members!
We have been told that the new owners cannot continue to hold rooms which may or may not be taken up by us, as they may miss bookings from elsewhere.
Any future bookings would be at the current price at the time which varies depending on how busy they are and the time of year. (current price is £143 per night bed and breakfast). Alternatively, there are many Guest Houses and/or Bed and Breakfasts’ close by.
The evening event will be a Celebration of the GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY of our branch, and it is hoped that it will include an evening meal, with a glass or two of wine. At table entertainment, along with a *principal guest speech, and a lighthearted skit from a guest *comedian! There will be no raffle this year as the Storesy will hold an auction instead. More info is shown later. There will be background music, to enable all guests to chat to Oppo’s, Friends, Etcetera. However, there will be an area in which those that
wish can throw a hoof or two!
This is shaping up to be an excellent evening and we already have indication that a lot of fresh faces will be joining us. The rig will be Semi-Formal, with miniatures (if desired). **Semi-formal style is a dress code that sits between casual and formal attire. For men, it typically means a dark suit, dress shirt, and tie, while for women, it often involves a cocktail dress or a stylish blouse and skirt combo. It is the go-to choice for events that are not overly formal but still require a polished look such as weddings, cocktail
parties, business dinners, and evening receptions.
The committee hopes that you will all appreciate that the associated costs of this type of event have increased somewhat, in the last couple of years or so, and this means that even with a subsidy from the MWA, the whole evening will cost £60.00 per MWA member and £70.00 for their partner/personal guest (total £130.00) and £75.00 per Non-MWA Member. Please note – MWA Membership is currently, only £12.00 per year, so why not become a MWA member and pay only £60.00 + £12.00 = £72.00! Save
money at – Membership – Minewarfare Association
This may appear a lot of money, but I have frequented several hostelries, on business recently, and a meal with wine has cost me circa £75.00 and that is without entertainment and conviviality. In a sea view restaurant in Falmouth that takes inspiration from the nostalgic flavours of days spent at the seaside. With modern twists on traditional Cornish cuisine. The food philosophy at The Falmouth Hotel is “informed by the seasons, inspired by the senses, supplied by the best.”
The AGM will be for MWA members only and will be held mid-morning, on Saturday 15th March 2025, at The Falmouth Hotel. Casual/Relaxed Rig – MWA Polo Shirts, for example. The minutes of the 2024 AGM will be promulgated via the MWA website at https://mwassociation.co.uk/agm-minutes-archive/ (members log in). Items for the 2025 agenda, should be with me chairman@mwassociation.co.uk by 1st March 2025.
As mentioned earlier we will be holding an auction this year in aid of the MW Branch Memorial at the National Arboretum. We need to raise more than £10,000.00 to achieve this and ALL monies raised from the auction will go towards this goal.
The Sweepstoreman has numerous items donated to the MWA and it will be those that will be auctioned. It will be extremely difficult for the Storesy to transport all items from Essex to Cornwall, so what we suggest is that attendees peruse the attached spreadsheet, which can also be found on the MWA website, and then enter an opening bid for any item members/guests are interested in.
So only those items with ‘opening bids’ will be on show on the night. Please note opening bids are binding and the treasurer will be collecting payment on the night, at present we can only accept cash or BACS transfer on the night!
Please send opening bids, closing date 1st March 2025. to Mark ‘Taff’ Bow, via email m.bow@sky.com List of Auction Items for Opening Bids as attached.
Tickets for the Dinner and Entertainment will be available via the MWA website – Sweep store. and these MUST be purchased on or before the 14th February 2025. The sooner the better, to give organisers an idea of numbers, please!
The committee are fully aware the this is a Rugby Six Nations weekend, including Wales v England, so timings will hopefully take this into consideration, however the France v Scotland may have to be recorded or watched on catch-up.
A lot of work has been done to organise this event, the first reunion away from Portsmouth for some time and the very first in Cornwall, at a run ashore that holds many memories for Minewarfare Ranks & Rates.
The MWA Committee and I look forward to greeting you all, in and around Falmouth, during the weekend.
chairman@mwassociation.co.uk or jim_boy_hawkins@hotmail.co.uk