Have you got a story to tell about your time at Beachley?
Inspired by the fantastic books 'The Beachley Boys', written by Brian Elks, about his recollections of life during his period of 'residency' at Beachley, and 'The Long Long War' by Ken Wharton, about the troubles in Northern Ireland, I have been giving thought to compiling another book to cover the whole span of the school/college, from it's earliest days, (as far as possible), to the moment the last Apprentice passed out of Beachley.
This book will be different, in as much as it will contain material submitted by you. Your recollections of how you saw, and lived your 2/3 years at Beachley.
It needs your stories, in your words, about your Good and Bad experiences, your Funny and Sad times, your Love and Hate periods.
Needless to say, this projest can only get off the ground, with input from you. It needs you to write and tell me your story. It doesn't have to be a masterpiece, or a manuscript of thousands of words, tell it as it is with no holds barred, regardless of how short or long you wish to make it.
Here's what you need to do:
Write your story and email it to me on the link below. (Please only use the link below for your submissions, and not any other of my email addresses). If you do not have internet access, then please longhand your submission, and post it, to:
(Remember to put your: Full Name, Nickname, (if applicable), Your Group and Company, and Home Address, (for reply), on all correspondence you send me).
All stories will be acknowledged personally by me, to say that I have received it, read it, and filed it, until I have enough material to set the project in motion.
Before putting pen to paper, I would ask that you consider other peoples right to anonimity if you intend to mention specific names within your submission. Wherever possible, please obtain their permission to use their name(s) before hand. (You could always use: A/T XX, or A/TCpl Y or RSM Z)
Please pass on this request to all ex Beachley boys that you are in contact with so that as many stories as possible can be submitted.
Thank you all in anticipation.
Regards Always
Rocky
The book, if and when published, will take the format of one chapter per group. Each chapter will then be broken down into company submissions. (eg: Chapter 8 - 61 Group, then 61A stories, 61B stories etc).
This isn't going to happen overnight, but depending on the response to this appeal, I am looking towards a period of 6 to 10 months, to be ready for submission to a publisher.
