INTRODUCTION, BY YOUR VIRTUAL CHAIRMAN
Dear Friends,
First of all we’d like to welcome you all to this new Bulletin.
Owing to a number of circumstances this publication appears a little delayed, for which we apologize. As we’re sure you’ll appreciate there is quite a lot of work to be done in the build-up to the Centennial. Your chairman has been traveling, visiting Chatham, and taking part in several meetings. And those things take a lot of time of course, before, during and afterwards, the more so now that it is still a hobby rather than an occupation.
However, the efforts have been rewarded, as you may have gathered from the “Special Bulletin” which was recently sent to all Members by e-mail and which can also still be consulted on our website https://www.livebaitsqn-soc.info
Again it’s with great pleasure that we salute several new members, also in this sixth regular Bulletin. this issue further includes a number of stories relating to new Members who were introduced in Bulletin Nº 5, as well as an account of the trip to Germany that Klaudie and her documentary team undertook in the company of your chairman, in order to interview the descendants and relatives of Cpt Otto Weddigen. Below you will find some pictures with comment.
What really struck me about the way the present generation Weddigen family is trying to deal with this British tragedy is their reticence. It took us some two years of trying to establish a relationship, before the family finally began to show some willingness to communicate about the calamity. The initial contact was via e-mail. After that various telephone conversations followed and ultimately Klaudie, her film crew and your chairman were allowed to pay the Weddigen family a visit. The Weddigen family explained their initial reserve by saying “this really is not something for our family to take pride in. That may have been different a century ago, but are far as we are concerned, in the present day we can only feel extremely sorry for all those descendants who clearly had to suffer so much”.
We will no doubt come up with more gripping stories about the sailors, both in this issue as in the next one, as follows from the fact that we are welcoming a number of new Members again.
So far this time, till the next Bulletin!
Henk
Once again Henk a great read. It took me a while to read this fully this time due to some family and health issues but it was once again wonderful to hear of other families and their loved ones who are once again on the map so’s to speak for their contribution to the war. Some would say rather a short one but nevertheless they were there to serve and did so until disaster sadly overcame them and I have no doubt that there were a great many positive lessons learned from this that saved lives as war continued. It was lovely to see Mr Cremer’s visitors books and I do hope that many others find their descendants on this list… would that I could find mine, however not to be. The various testimonials to those that died and the memorials found in so many places are very interesting too. How I wish my Mother was around to see this event remembered, as it should be, rather than slipped under the carpet. A mixture of sadness mixed with gratefulness for gaining a true picture of this event and those caught up in it. I so look forward to the documentary as well.
Hello Henk,
At age 86 years I am so pleased to discover this part of my family history, My Great Uncle gave his life in this great sea battle. I would now like to follow the Live Bait Squadron story with bulletin issues. and if possible see the film part of this story, ( if possible.)
As you see by my Email Address I now live in Australia but came from a Naval family in both great wars from both sides of the family.
Kind regards
Jack Allen.
Hello Henk,
At age 86 years I am so pleased to discover this part of my family history, My Great Uncle gave his life in this great sea battle. I would now like to follow the Live Bait Squadron story with bulletin issues. and if possible see the film part of this story, ( if possible.)
As you see by my Email Address I now live in Australia but came from a Naval family in both great wars from both sides of the family.
Kind regards
Jack Allen.