AFVBC Crawley & Horsham

08/03/2026

08/03/2026

24 today at the Crawley breakfast, thanks again to Aaron and his team for putting on a great spread at the Ifield Golf Course. We took £43 from the capbadge draw and Tony Herbert won, but he had gone to do his Gatwick Museum stag so we’ll present him with the winning tomorrow at the Crawley Veterans Drop in at The Bridge Cafe. The free breakfast draw was won by Jane G and Malcolm C. All in all a great social gathering and quick reminder of the AGM to take place on Tuesday.

11/12/2025

So today I was very fortunate to have been invited to the Royal Hospital Chelsea Carol Service. Great to see a number of the club there too and even those who have joined the CHAFVBC battlefield tour earlier this year. George Durrant was one of two WW2 veterans present and we have Geraldine and Rick there too.

It was a lovely event where a wealth of history was unveiled by the RHC Vicar. The benches we were sat on were from English Oak from the 1400s and the Wren Chapel dated back to the 1681 plus the history of the Carol
service which is a recent development since the end of WW1.

We were fortunate to have won some some of the raffle prizes with Lynn winning a RHC baseball cap and I won a bottle of Gin.

As it was so quiet I managed to take a few photos of the site without the crowds.

We have as a club been invited to another grand tour by the Veteran Outreach team.

04/12/2025

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Sixteen veterans attended today’s Horsham drop-in, held at Westlake Care Home. We gathered to say a fond farewell to Christine Sullivan, the manager, who is moving on to pastures new.

Sadly, Christine was unable to be with us due to personal reasons. However, there are no words that can truly express our gratitude to this wonderful lady. During her time as manager, Christine has wholeheartedly embraced the C&HAFVBC. Beyond the warm welcome and hospitality she has always shown during our visits, she has also joined us in arranging and hosting some of our most memorable events — including the visit of the government representative for the Falkland Islands, the Royal Hospital Chelsea Pensioners outreach team, and the Lord Lieutenant of Sussex, Lady Emma Barnard, who kindly unveiled memorial plaques at Horsham and Crawley railway stations, to name just a few.

Christine will be deeply missed by our members, and we wish her every success and happiness for the future. We have left flowers and a thank-you card at Westlake for her.

Today’s session was, as ever, positive and uplifting, filled with conversation and plenty of military banter. The staff were, as always, welcoming, engaging, and supportive.
I would like say a massive thank you to Peter Hay who popped over from Crawley and read a very poignant poem he had written re veterans and our links with Westlake Care Home, a very emotional tribute, thank you.

Our next event is the Christmas party tomorrow evening at Horsham Rugby Club. We look forward to seeing everyone there for a beer or two!

20/11/2025

Today’s Horsham drop-in was held at the Star Inn in Roffey. In my opinion a great success, our thanks go to Dan a fellow veteran and landlord of the premise’s for a warm welcome from him and his staff.
We had an impressive 18 members in attendance and there was a lot of banter around the room. We are going to return very soon with the offer of bacon butties on our next visit.
It was nice to see our chairman and his mother join us, what a lovely lady and we offer our condolences at this difficult time.
Thanks to Rick for bringing some of the Crawley contingent over, always great to see our fellow club members. The next two drop-Ins are at Westlake Care Home and let’s not forget breakfast at Rookwood Golf Club This Sunday.
Forgot to mention, lm not biased towards this venue but it’s only a 3 minute walk from my house “BONUS”

11/11/2025

09/11/2025

Lovely Remembrance Parade held at Crawley today. Thanks to Val at The Swan for laying on breakfast.

Special thanks to Alex for stepping into the breech and representing the club not only yesterday at the Three Bridges FC wreath laying but at the Service today too laying the wreath on behalf of the Crawley members of The Crawley and Horsham Armed Forces and Veterans Breakfast Club.

The club was formed at Remembramce Sunday 2019 so it’s been in existence now for 6 years and it’s a testament to the value of the club that we have made our mark in the town and in the local veteran community. We are 25+ weekly at the Crawley Veterans Dropin each Monday and 12+ at the weekly Horsham Veterans Dropin on a Thursday. At Sunday breakfast we see over 25 veterans and their families both at the Crawley and Horsham venues.

It was also great to see Carole carrying the new club standard on parade.

Also good to see some different faces around from the local veterans community.

Special thanks to Capt Paul Furber QGM for pulling the event together and making sure that everything is Carrie spot correctly.

08/11/2025

Unfortunately due to Denise falling ill after Friday mornings event this is a slightly delayed post.

So on Friday 7 November at 1000 hrs CHAFVBC had the the pleasure of the company of Lady Emma Barnard the Lord Lieutenant of West Sussex, along with the Mayor of Crawley, Chairman of Horsham District Council, other councillors from Crawley Borough Council, the Crawley MP Peter Lamb, Crawley RBL, The Queens Association and it was the fist outing of the new CHAFVBC Standard. We also had members of Burgeas Hill AFVBC and Crawley AFVBC present.

The event was led by Denise who read out a moving reason as to why we were placing the memorial at Crawley Station.

From September 1914 the local Territorials who formed C Company of the 4th Battalion The Royal Sussex Regiment were transported to the front from the station.

The Battalion was subsequently at Suava Bay in May 1915 at the start of the Gallipoli campaign, they also served in Palenstine and Egypt ending up France in 1918. Many Crawley Boys left from the station and some never returned.

But the memorial is not just for the First World War it represents that since 1914 Crawley has provided servicemen and servicewomen who answered the call of Crown and Country.

Lady Emma pulled the curtain to unveil the memorial and there was a gasp from the assembled crowd as it is pretty unique memorial that not only depicts tommies but it displays the new CHAFVBC crest. The art work was completed pro bono by John Reynolds and Mark Thurgood they were manufactured by Bel Signs, who have also worked with CHAFVBV to produce our new Club Standards.

We also had the pleasure of 101 year old CHAFVBC club member George Durrant who is one of the few remaining Burma Star veterans left in the country.

The event then moved to Horsham Station where another memorial was unveiled and ended with a absolutely scrumptious reception laid on by Christine of Barchester Health, West Lake House who kindly sponsor our Horsham Drop In on alternate Thursdays.

Lady Emma said she was very impressed at the design and quality of the new very modern memorials plus the words read by Denise were very poignant.

Overall a great day with new memorials at both Crawley and Horsham Station both sponsored by the CHAFVBC the local official Veterans Breakfast club that is about to commence its 7th year.

26/10/2025

We had another well-attended veterans’ breakfast today, with 28 members enjoying a hearty full English—or their preferred variation. The room was alive with banter and trademark veteran humour, making for a great atmosphere.

It was especially encouraging to see our members proudly wearing the new shirts featuring our fresh club badge/logo. Attendance at recent events has been excellent and is a great sign of how well our group is flourishing.

I was lucky enough to win one of the cap badge draws, which I donated to the Burgess Hill Veterans Club.
Other members were fortunate to win a free breakfast.

A big thank you to Paul, who brought along a box of fresh fruit kindly donated by The Sussex Military Partnership Board, after their meeting on Friday. The fruit was shared amongst the members and much appreciated.
Next breakfast is scheduled for 23rd November at Rookwood.
In the meantime it’s back to selling poppies unveiling plagues and Remembrance. 💂🏻‍♂️

23/10/2025

A Memorable Visit from the Royal Hospital Chelsea Veterans Outreach Team

Today, we were honoured to host the Royal Hospital Chelsea Veterans Outreach Team at our weekly drop-in session at Westlake Care Home in Horsham. With 28 veterans in attendance, the atmosphere was full of camaraderie, laughter, and meaningful conversation.

A heartfelt thank you goes to:
• Christine Sullivan, General Manager
• Dani, our ever-welcoming receptionist and the face of Westlake
• The chef and Caroline, for their excellent hospitality and support throughout the event the refreshments were top notch.

We were privileged to receive an inspiring presentation from Lieutenant Colonel (Retired)Johnathan Lowe MBE, Head of Veterans Outreach, who spoke about the incredible impact their program is having nationwide—connecting with veterans through a range of modern media platforms.

The session was filled with friendly banter, thoughtful discussions, and a true sense of community. The warm welcome extended to the Royal Hospital Chelsea team was evident, as captured in the photographs from the day.

This truly was a brilliant and uplifting event, setting a meaningful tone as we move into the Remembrance season and look forward to our upcoming activities.