Royal Naval Association - Rayleigh

31/08/2026

On 3 September, join us in marking Merchant Navy Day by flying the Red Ensign.

This simple act recognises the vital contribution of Merchant Navy personnel, past and present, and celebrates the strong and enduring bond between the Royal Navy and the Merchant Navy, including the many RNA members who have proudly served in the Merchant Navy.

31/08/2026

On Wednesday 2nd September 26, RNA Rayleigh branch are in Rayleigh Town Centre meeting local residents. Come and have a chat with us. Find out who we are and what we do. Who do you know with links to the Royal Navy? Bring them along to meet us.

31/08/2026

Guests always welcome at our Royal Naval Association Rayleigh branch Meetings. If you know anyone with Naval links that live in Rayleigh or surrounding areas let them know about us. It would be great to meet them.

18/08/2026

The Royal Naval Association Rayleigh branch meet at the Royal British Legion every other Wednesday evening. Visitors and Guests are always welcome. Come and say hello!

Find our meeting dates and events on our Website; rnarayleigh.org.uk

17/08/2026

On Sunday 16th Aug 26, members of RNA Rayleigh branch attended the Gurkha Festival in Purfleet on Thames, Essex.

We put up our RNA Stand ready for the 1000 start along with many other organisations including the Sea Cadets from TS Dragon.

The days events were organised by the Purfleet Military & Heritage Centre & Gurkha community who did a fantastic job ensuring everyone had a great time.

It was great to see the youngsters competing in the Field Gun competition. The gun was a little lighter than the real thing but everyone enjoyed the event and well done to all those who took part.

Our RNA Rayleigh branch Chairman SM Mike Sandbrook was very pleased to meet Kishor Limbo President of the Thurrock Nepalese Gurkha Community.

Some of our members managed to wear 2 hats on the day as they also brought their classic cars along.

11/08/2026

On Tuesday 11th Aug 26 our RNA Rayleigh Branch Chairman visited Fred Bradshaw a Royal Navy World War 2 Veteran with his nephew Steve Brown.

They had a great catch up and then recorded Fred's memories of his wartime service.

Fred joined the Royal Navy at 17 years old in 1943 as a Seaman. After his initial training in Portsmouth he was shipped off to Australia where he built runways for the Aircraft Carrier planes to land.

Having been in Australia for a year he moved on to Hong Kong and eventually made his way back home onboard HMS Ranee.

Fred & Steve are interested in becoming RNA Rayleigh branch members and will be made very welcome.

10/08/2026

06/08/2026

At our RNA Rayleigh branch meeting on Wednesday 5th Aug 26 we had a Quiz Night.

The evening started with our Chairman SM Mike Sandbrook giving the opening prayer and welcoming everyone to the meeting.

He then went through the meeting agenda passing over to other members of the branch committee to make their reports.

It was great to hear that our membership is continuing to grow with 81 members plus 5 joint members with RNA Southend branch.

After Stand Easy, SM Mike Sandbrook hosted the Quiz that was enjoyed by all 6 teams.

The winning team with 44 points was the Shifters who won a tub of Roses chocolates.

Our Social Secretary (Events) SM Dawn Roberts then called the raffle with help from her daughter SM Donna Howard.

Our Vice Chairman SM Brian Dobinson then ended the meeting with our closing prayer.

Our next branch meeting is a Social Night on Wednesday 19th Aug 26.

25/07/2026

On the 15th of July 2026, members of the Royal Naval Association Rayleigh branch proudly attended the Westcliff High School for Boys (WHSB) cadet parade.

WHSB has an excellent programme for Naval, Army and RAF cadets which is a credit to the school. The hard work put in by the instructors and cadets was plain to see.

The cadets were all smartly turned out and they had obviously spend a lot of time square bashing on the parade ground as their marching was very good.

Our Chairman, Shipmate Mike Sandbrook, presented the Royal Naval Association Rayleigh Branch Naval Cadet of the Year 2026 trophy to Leading Hand Harry Hassler and wished him well for the future.

It was great to see so many of the cadets receive awards and promotions for their efforts throughout the past academic year.

RNA Rayleigh branch have been working closely with WHSB over the last 2 years and are looking forward to continuing to work together in the future.

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23/07/2026

At our RNA Rayleigh branch meeting on Wednesday 22nd July 26 we had a great attendance of 47 members and 4 guests which made a great audience for our Speaker.

After our Chairman SM Mike Sandbrook gave the opening prayer he handed over to Mr Declan O'Flanagan who gave an excellent talk on his time as a Metropolitan Police Sniper.

The talk was very well received by everyone. We then had a Stand Easy before moving on to the official part of the meeting.

Our Chairman thanked all those who helped with the preparations for our 40th Anniversary Mess Dinner at Saxon Hall in Southend on Sea on Saturday 18th July 26. The feedback we received was very positive as everyone had a great time.

After each of the committee members gave their reports we moved on to the raffle called by SM Dawn Roberts before our Vice Chairman SM Brian Dobinson ended the meeting with the closing prayer.

Our next branch meeting is a fun Quiz Night on Wednesday 5th August 26. Guests are welcome.