The Jolly Division Dinner was held in BRNC on the evening of Saturday 7th May 2022. The Jolly Division constitutes the Medical Branch of the Royal Navy at BRNC. It is named after Surgeon Commander Rick Jolly who was the senior Medical Officer on the ground during the Falklands War in 1982. Cdr Jolly wrote a book entitled The Blue and the Green which is his account of the days of the war.
The Dinner was attended by the College's new Commanding Officer, Captain Sarah Oakley RN who is the first ever female Captain of Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. A small seven piece ensemble ably lead by the Band's Ops Director Phil Hayward was drawn from the Concert Band which I have nicknamed the 'Magnificent Seven', played a selection of light pieces to entertain the diners throughout the dinner. These included Roast Beef of Old England, The Dambusters, Ladies in Lavender featuring our flute soloist Rose Sage, Band of Brothers featuring our 'Mellophone' soloist Lt Cdr Darren Walton, Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines and of course, Mary Poppins with a spoonful of sugar to help the 'medicine' go down! The dinner was fulfilled of course with some rousing voices singing through Spanish Ladies, Drunken Sailor, Hearts of Oak and Rule Britannia.
It was quite an endurance blow for three of us who had already performed that afternoon with the Big Band at the Music Festival. Nonetheless, the Seven of us were truly Magnificent!
