Royal British Legion: Henley & Peppard

THE February meeting of the Henley & Peppard branch of the Royal British Legion took place as usual at the Menza Café at Dry Leas.

Members and guests met for coffee before a fascinating illustrated talk entitled “Dentistry in the Bush” given by Stuart Cripps, who qualified in dentistry at Guy’s Hospital in 1969.

In retirement from 2009 to 2019 he undertook annual trips to Tanzania with the charity Bridge2Aid, teaching emergency dentistry in the bush. The group which went on each trip included six UK dentists and four dental nurses.

In very remote areas the six local people they trained, one to one, were African nurses with very limited experience of working in the mouth.

Stuart and his colleagues taught them how to diagnose facial pain and how to extract teeth safely. Each African nurse could be looking after as many as 10,000 people, which showed the importance of training locals in addition to appropriate material aid in underdeveloped countries.

A priority for Bridge2Aid was also to cut down the use of antibiotics. Stuart conveyed the huge rewards of the work he did, but also the exhaustion he would feel on his return home.

Following a question and answer session with members, he was rewarded with warm applause before sharing a delicious hot lunch provided by the friendly café staff.

Our next meeting will take place at the café on Tuesday, March 19 at 11.15am. The speaker is John Bodman, who will entertain us with stories of his extensive “Travels in India” since his retirement in 1997 when he visited a lifelong friend and fellow engineering student from the Fifties.

The India “bug” got into John’s blood and led to 12 visits all over the country.

His sister, Rosemary Jones, secretary of the Shiplake branch of Legion, will add information from a woman’s perspective.

They will speak about the Golden Temple at Amritsar, the Shimla Railway, Temple cities and their pilgrims, tribal people in the Thar Desert in northern India and much more besides.

All are welcome and it is not necessary to be a member of the Royal British Legion or to have any military background, so do come along. The cost is £18 which includes a two-course lunch and tea or coffee and the chance to meet and chat with like-minded Henley residents. It is essential to book beforehand by calling Karen Grieve on 07990 833241 or send an email to
henleyonthames.secretary@
rbl.community by Thursday, March 14.

Mollie Jeffrey