If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. To join BAFC you will first have to register click here to register then pay the clubs subscription see the announcement in the welcome forum for details
.................................................................................................................................The next Fandance is Sat 18th May 2024......................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................TO PAY YOUR MEMBERSHIP FEES .....................................................................................................................................Please set up a STANDING ORDER to: ............................................................................................................................... Lloyds Bank Sort code: 30-90-09 a\c No: 30516068
Having taken into account the current COVID restrictions that currently apply in the different parts of the UK, we have made the difficult decision to cancel the 2021 reunion.
The Chairman Nick Butler will be heading up the Fan at 0930 hrs on Saturday the 15th May and he will lay a BAFC wreath on behalf of the Club at the summit.
He will also toast The Fallen.
If other members wish to make their own pilgrimage up the Fan at their own risk please follow the relevant COVID restrictions that will be in place.
As a Club we are not able to accept liability for members safety and well being over the weekend of 14/15 May. Our Clubs insurance that normally covers Fandance will not operate this year.
Update to follow reference Aldershot 10 Miler on the 20th November 2021.
.........................................................................................................................The 10 Miler will be held on w/e Saturday 23rd November 2024........................................................................................
RIP Brother sincere condolences to Carol and the family a fantastic bloke always had a joke and a laugh whenever i met him . he will be missed by all who knew him as i heard about the sad news today there was a report about Kirchener on sky news and then up pops Hank with that famous bottle of Bacardi pic and i smiled through tear filled eyes such a sad loss to all .
Saw the same clip on Sky. Terribly sad and gutted! Hard to know what to say at this time, but that Hank was an airborne warrior to the end. I hope Carol and family find some solace in the fact that what ever was troubling Hank has ended and I hope they receive the comfort and support they need at this time. Hank you will be missed brother, RIP.
Was on the piss with him on the Aldershot P coy 10 miler in November, we got hammered in the Traff on the Friday on vodka and coke and finally left about 2.00AM with him saying "you better turn up tomorrow morning you bastard". So dragged my ass out of bed at 09.30 and sprinited from Morrisons car park to make the 10 miler start, but of course there was no sign of him :-). What makes it so hard for me to accept is that he was full of plans for next year, he was going to try and get to Blackpool and Brecon and was planning to go to Arnhem, I think he exchanged his 2 para sweat top with a woman who owned a bar in Arnhem in exchange for free beers when he got there! we were talking about it via emails just a couple of weeks ago.
I first met Steve in JPC, we both joined 24 platoon in 1976 and went to 2 Para, he was such a great bloke, I'm struggling to type RIP, I still can't believe he is dead.
Hank we shared life's journey only too briefly but it was more than enough time for me to understand why you were well liked and people were honored to call you a friend. Your sense of humour was typical . The days and nights laughing and complaining with you will stay with me forever when we were ether in the field or in camp. As the days pass the shock will be replaced with memories of all of the funny things you said and did during that all too short period when we worked and served together.
You may have gone but you will never be forgotten. Rest in peace airborne brother your stag is finished.
Sad news, i shared the same room with Hank (Hoody as he was known then) through juniors and recruit company (439 platoon) he was a fantastic charachter. had many a laugh when we met up.
For those members that did not know Hank, you will probably know his face from the following filmclip (26 seconds) of him supping from a bottle of bacardi after the surrender at Goose Green.
Hank was a well known, liked & respected man in 2 PARA & to many from the Brigade who met him in the Depot during his posting as a medic on the P Coy staff, during the trip South on the Norland he was one of the MO's main instructors giving first aid lessons, refreshers & demo's to the whole of the 2 PARA Battle Group on board.
During the battles of Darwin & Goose Green & Wireless Ridge he was one of the mainstays of the RAP, Hank was a rough tough Scot from near Edinburgh, but the care, kindness & devotion he showed to those wounded during those battles has gone down in 2 PARA folklore.
Hank , always up for a laugh & a wind up could & often did take the piss out of himself.
Hank was 2 PARA through & through, on a few occasions I saw a few blokes fall foul of his fiery temper with a 1st class tongue lashing of the highest order for saying something about his Battalion.
We that knew Hank are all the better for that, he will be sadly missed by us all & I cant begin to imagine the pain his wife Carol & their son & daughter are feeling, even now 30 hours or so later it's still hard to take it all in.
One more cross to lay at the bottom of the FAN, for Stephen 'Hank' Hood, there will be a long line of men wanting the honour of doing so too.
You can always tell the measure of a man by the amount of people who mourn their loss. I only knew Hank from the 1st JPC reunion so have missed out on the honour of calling him a close friend. Reading the tributes from so many Airborne brothers tells me the brotherhood as a whole has lost a special man. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and many friends at this sad time.
Comment