John Brailsford

I received a call yesterday from Allen Howard to say that due to the slow progress in recovery of Joan they have decided they can no longer consider caravanning, and as a result they have now sold their caravan.

This is very sad to receive such news from such loyal long serving members as they are now celebrating membership for 40 years.

A more enthusiastic, caring and hard working couple is such a sad loss to the Club, Joan a Committee member for 9 years and currently a Club trustee and many will remember the very many enjoyable Rallies Allen and Joan have marshalled among them some very special ones that will bring back many memories for those lucky enough to have attended them.

We give our best wishes to Joan for a good recovery and Allen has promised to keep us informed.

They will become Honorary Life Members of the Club.

Ron Ward Chairman

The 2026 Swift Owners Club Annual General Meeting Agenda and List of Candidates for Executive and Committee positions is now available to view and/or download. Please see the AGM Documentation Section on the General Info page.

Full AGM paperwork will be available to download and print off shortly.

I have just received the sad news that Geogina Saunter passed away recently having been ill for some time. Georgina and her husband John have been members for over 30 years and over the years have run several very popular rallies in Cornwall. Although the last rally they ran was back in 2019, they continued to be members and their popular Gulval Cricket club rally is still a regular event with new marshals at the helm.

In 30 years of membership Georgina and John will have made many SOC friends and I know Georgina will be sadly missed by all those who knew her and had the pleasure of her company.

Our thoughts are with John and family at this sad time.

John Brailsford, President

Sadly not many of you will have had the privilege of meeting David Ross who passed away on March 9th.
David & Liz became members of the SOC in 2022 when they changed their caravan to an Elegance and attended the Drax New Year rally that year.

They are very close friends with Colin & Betty Patterson and David and Colin’s friendship goes back to when they were boys.

They live in Scotland so they were a little far away to attend many rallies but they continued to be members. They have always been regular CAMC ralliers in Scotland and Liz is the Scottish Division Treasurer. They had planned to attend more SOC rallies but David’s health started to restrict their travels which became confined to just a few very local CAMC rallies. However some of you will have met them when several SOC members and others with Elegances had a get together on the CAMC Yellowcraig site in Scotland.
Val and I also had the pleasure of their company on other occasions when there has been a Patterson’s family event.

It is so sad that they never managed to get to more SOC rallies which they really wanted to do.

Our thoughts are with Liz and all their family at this sad time.
R.I.P David

John Brailsford, President

 

 

Lowdhams Caravans is a Swift Super Centre, based to the East of Nottingham. This year is Lowdhams 60th anniversary year. You may have seen an article in the Spring edition of Going Places about this. To celebrate this momentous year, Lowdhams are having a festival weekend in June to which Swift Owners Club members are invited to attend. If you would like to attend please see the link below. It’s a free event, but to secure your place you will need to pay a deposit of £40 which will be returned to you when you attend the weekend. Spaces are limited so if you are interested then please book as per the link below.

60th Anniversary Weekend Event | Visit Us 5th-7th June 2026

Gareth Roberts, Marketing Officer

Gareth assures me that although the event is stated to be exclusive to My Lowdhams members, you do not have to be a My Lowdhams member. When booking you should state that you are an SOC member and quote your SOC Membership Number.

Webmaster

 

The Spring 2026 edition of our magazine Going Places is now online to view and/or download. Access is by clicking on the magazine image on the General Info page.

If you download this PDF file to a mobile device you will find it very handy to have at hand wherever you are. Many years of back issues are also available on the General Info page.

Webmaster

 

📍 Maidenhead 📅 New Year 2026 💷 £200 per van 🚐 Minimum 25 vans required

We are planning a proposed New Year Rally for 2026 in Maidenhead.

⚠️ Please note: This event is currently proposed, as we are unable to fully commit until summer due to school confirmation.

What’s Planned:

✔️ Hardstanding pitches
✔️ Evening meal provided all 4 nights
✔️ Professional Entertainment one evening.
✔️ Friendly rally atmosphere
✔️ New Year celebrations

To make this happen, we need at least 25 vans.

👉 If you’re interested, please add your name to the list to avoid disappointment.
This will help us confirm numbers and secure the booking once we receive confirmation.

Let’s start planning a fantastic New Year celebration together! 🥂✨

To register your interest please contact Val and Phil Metcalf
Email: valeriemetcalf@btinternet.com
Text/phone 07766 654037