Mayfield, Five Ashes & Hadlow Down Branch History

Mayfield was first registered as a Branch on the 3rd March 1925.  The document below is the registration certificate.

The branch was inaugurated by Major General Watson in 1925, and the first Armistice Day dinner was held by members of the British Legion at the Railway Hotel in Mayfield.  A dance was held at the church hall in the evening.

The first minutes available regarding Branch business are from the AGM, held on the 3rd January 1927. At that time it seems that Col. Prismall held the office of President, with Major S. Bretherton Chairman, Mr. J. Barrow Vice Chairman, Mr. Spencer Hon. Treasurer and Mr. Weeks Hon. Secretary.   

Committee meetings were held on a monthly basis at the Railway Hotel, Mayfield.  At that time there was both a General Committee and a Relief Committee.

Hadlow Down formed as a Branch on the 26th November 1928.  The certificate below shows details of its formation.

The two branches operated independently of each other, yet with village support for each other, as the photograph below shows, with the Mayfield Silver Band taking part in a Remembrance Day parade in Hadlow Down in the 1950's.

 Mayfield branch was re-formed in 2011, largely as a result of the enthusiasm of Alan Parry.  Members at that time had been subsumed into the Heathfield Branch.  At the time of the branch reformation Alan Parry commissioned a cartoon (below) from a local artist, which he was keen to share with other RBL members.