Officers and their guests staged their first ever Saint Barbara’s dinner in Bolton.
The Royal Artillery Officers’ Association and 103rd (Lancashire Artillery Volunteers) Regiment RA stage this traditional event every year in honour of their patron saint, a third century martyr. Lieutenant General Professor Sir Edmund Burton presided.
Principal guests included Lieutenant General Sir Andrew Gregory who proposed the traditional toast ‘Saint Barbara and the Royal Regiment’ and Dame Lorna Muirhead, HM Lord-Lieutenant of Merseyside who responded to the toast ‘Our Guests’. Also there were Mr. David Briggs, HM Lord-Lieutenant of Cheshire, Lt Col Rod Alston, Commanding Officer 4th Regiment RA and Lt Col John Lighten, Assistant Regimental Secretary, The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment.
Lt Col Mike Edwards, Commanding Officer of 103 Regt RA read the Loyal Message to The Queen, Captain-General, Royal Artillery and the response from Buckingham Palace. The programme of music was provided by The Band of the Lancashire Artillery Volunteers, directed by WO 2 Matt Speight and by The Pipes and Drums of the Regiment, led by Pipe Major Garry Burgess. w
