Operation Fine Dining by Diana Wilson

 In1996 seismic changes took place in the Army Medical Services. No longer would there be care from ‘cradle to grave’ for British Military personnel worldwide. The majority of Army Hospitals and medical units would close, and civilian hospitals would undertake peacetime care.

I was working at the Training and Development Unit at Mytchett at the time, and with plenty of other ideas in mind, was happy to accept redundancy. As was Dee McElligott who at the time was I/C Military Training Wing. It was Dee’s suggestion that we should form a Dining Club to remind ourselves, in the best possible way, of days past. Rules were drawn up; no more than 8 persons, meet every two months, and that good, preferably gourmet, food was the main aim. Of course, the chat and comradeship went without saying. Founder members were Dee McElligott, Diana Wilson, Judy Evans, Margaret Easy, Pat Griffiths, Ethel McCombe and Anne Kerr.

And so it came to pass, and for the first few years we found many good local restaurants. As members started moving away to other areas in the South our footfall increased and Salisbury and Winchester, and all venues leading to them, were added to the list. Illness and dare I say it, age, sometimes took its toll and members had to fall out or move away, but vacancies were soon filled. And one ‘husband of’. Still, we continued to meet every two months. On our 10th Anniversary (who would believe it!) we had a very enjoyable day trip with Eurostar to Lille for a typical French Bistro meal.

Time moved on, and astonishingly we were approaching our 25th Anniversary. Then the pandemic and lockdown struck. We didn’t attempt Zoom meals or online social get togethers; we were true to our purpose. But in 18 months much can change. Distance, age, and different commitments were all having an effect. So, after an amazing 25 years it was agreed that wemight formally close the Dining Club, but go out in style. And so, we did, arranging a Champagne afternoon Tea at Tylney Hall Hotel.

It was only as we were leaving that we realised that we were too busy talking, laughing, and generally catching up to notice that we hadn’t had the champagne, and really were wondering why we were closing the dining club? And so we cancelled the closure, rewrote the rules to six monthly meetings and no night driving, and look forward to the next 25 years………………….

In addition to the first four founder members who are still flourishing, the following personnel make up the group of eight; Iona-Leith Macgregor, Marie Ellis, Keith Wilson and Tena McMachan.

Maj (Rtd) Diana Wilson