Salonika Reunion Association: Huntingdon and District Branch
The Salonika Reunion Association (SRA) began life in the early 1920s when a small group of former officers started to organise an annual dinner and wreath laying at the Cenotaph. It became clear to them that this was of interest to others, so it was advertised more widely and soon a more formal group was formed. By 1925, 1,500 British Salonika Force (BSF) veterans, including former nurses and Voluntary Aid Detachments (VADs) attended the wreath laying and 600 of those went to the dinner. Membership was open to all those who had served in the Salonika Campaign, whatever their rank. The objectives of the SRA were to foster their wartime spirit of comradeship through social activities and hold an annual parade and ceremony of commemoration in London. Later a benevolent fund was established to aid veterans in need. The London commemoration, which became known as ‘Salonika Sunday’ was held on or close to 30 September, to mark the Armistice when Bulgaria had surrendered.

Dr Arthur Atkins Greenwood in 1961, The Mosquito, No. 137, March 1962 p. 14 (© Salonika Campaign Society)
Interest spread beyond London and branches of the SRA were eventually formed in several parts of the country. One of these branches was set up in Huntingdonshire. Dr Arthur Greenwood who had served in Salonika with the Royal Army Medical Corps was instrumental in its establishment. On 15 February 1930, a dinner and inaugural meeting of the Huntingdon and District Branch of the Salonika Reunion Association was held at the Walden Café in Huntingdon. Dr Cross from St Neots was proposed as its first President and Dr Arthur Greenwood was elected as Honorary Secretary and Treasurer. Mr Graves was elected as Assistant Honorary Secretary and other committee members were Mr P Sullivan (Fenstanton), Mr Luff (St Neots), Mr F Creamer (Godmanchester), Mr (J) C Howard (Huntingdon – see image), Mr F Johnson and Mr F Edwards (Ramsey), Mr A Creamer (Yaxley), Mr G Wadsworth (St Ives) and Capt Linton (Buckden).
Dr Greenwood gave special mention to Mr (J) C Howard, who had identified many local men who had served in Salonika and had helped greatly with the organisation of the dinner. Mr Howard had made a model of the White Tower and minarets that decorated the tables. The men would have all been familiar with the White Tower in Salonika (now Thessaloniki) harbour. The evening concluded with a concert and songs around a piano, played by Major Green.
It was reported in The Peterborough & Hunts Standard, 21 February 1930, p.8, that initial membership stood at around 40 members. The annual subscription fee in 1930 was 1s 2d (one shilling and two pence), with a small charge for an Association badge and an optional fee for a subscription to the Association’s journal, The Mosquito. The Branch aims mirrored those of the national association and included fund-raising for local activities and the provision of a benevolent fund. An important function was to enable and encourage members to join the act of commemoration in London each year.

Clifton, Cpl Cyril George Brown (MT/205254), Royal Army Service Corps (779 Coy) in Salonika (Photo courtesy of David N Yeandle)
Later that year, the group organised ‘a supper and smoking concert’, which proved to be very popular. In addition to the elected officers, other local attendees at the Branch meetings during 1930 included Messrs Graves, Joyce, J Rowe, Kilty, Marriott, Campbell and (C) G Clifton (Huntingdon – see image), W H Allen, Dear, Paine and Bedford (Godmanchester), Senescall (Needingworth), Howard, W Dawson, J Dawson, W L Payne, G B Houghton (Ramsey), Young (St Neots), Cuckow (Brampton), Howell, J R Papworth (Fenstanton), W G Allen, Barber (Alconbury), Grainger (Bury) and Kiddle (St Ives).

Salonika Reunion Association Badge owned by 2/Lt Guido Wadsworth (918) Beds Yeomanry (Courtesy of the Wadsworth family)
Thirty-nine members from the Branch attended the annual event in London on 30 September, where they joined other members from across the country in commemorating the Armistice of 30 September 1918. The Huntingdon detachment paraded down Horse Guards Parade, Whitehall, led by their president Lieutenant Colonel E W Cross and behind their Cambridge Branch comrades. Thousands of men and several detachments of women were inspected by Field Marshal Sir George Milne, who had been the Commanding Officer of the British Salonika Force during the war.

Capt Martin Walter Cuckow and Miss Margaret Gwendoline Griffiths wedding, Oct 1921 (Photo courtesy of Meg West)
Membership of the Huntingdon Branch continued to grow. Newspaper reports of their 1931 annual meeting at the Walden Café noted that over 60 members were in attendance. Dr Greenwood continued as Secretary and Treasurer and the committee was re-elected apart from Messrs Creamer and Luff who stood down; Mr Cyril Young joined the committee. Cyril had served with the Army Cyclist Corps in Salonika and had been mentioned in dispatches (2nd Supplt London Gazette, 25 May 1917, p. 5167). Capt Martin Walter Cuckow, who served with the Royal Berks Regiment and had been awarded the Military Cross in Salonika, was re-elected as Branch auditor. Capt Cuckow’s citation (Supplt to the London Gazette, 23 April 1918, p.4865) read: ‘For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He led an attack on the enemy’s position with great dash and courage, and during the ensuing bombardment set a splendid example to all, constantly moving about amongst his men, encouraging them all. His conduct under most trying conditions was notably cool and fearless’.
Various social and fundraising events continued and in June 1932 the Branch organised a large summer fête, which was held at Island Hall in Godmanchester. The Peterborough Standard, 17 June 1932, p.4, reported that ‘it was a resounding success’. It had a packed programme of events, which included a Boxing Display, a Bowls Competition, and a Punch and Judy Show. There was a wide range of stalls and sideshows for visitors and it is likely that these were organised by members of the Branch or their relatives. Those named in the newspaper report included Mrs Garrard, Mrs Sullivan, Mr and Mrs Papworth, Mrs Ding, Mrs Barker, Mrs Howard, Joan Haynes, Joan Howard, Audrey Turnbull, Mr F Edwards, Mr G Houghton (Ramsey), Mr S Johnson, Mr P Sullivan (Fenstanton), Mrs Lofts, Mrs Greenwood, Mrs Staples, Mrs Mulcaster, Mrs Graves, Mrs Creamer, Miss K Figg, Mr and Mr J B Kelly, Miss Stables, Miss Melling, Jack and Phil Howard, Miss Wells and Miss L Cooper. The fête continued into the evening and concluded with dancing on the lawn. A substantial amount was raised for the Branch funds.
By February 1933, when they held their annual dinner at the Walden Café their annual report confirmed a further increase in membership to 74 and a profit of £60 from the fête and draw. There were no new names amongst the re-elected committee and officials. Later that year a planned children’s Christmas party was cancelled ‘owing to epidemics’. It was reported in the Peterborough Standard, 1 June 1934, p.2, that this was finally held in Godmanchester in the summer of 1934, with tea taken at the Red House and sports and competitions in the grounds of Farm Hall.

1934 Annual Meeting, Dinner and Lantern Lecture, The Mosquito, No.29, March 1935, p.22 (© Salonika Campaign Society)
The annual meeting in 1934 was combined with a dinner and a lantern lecture, the slides of which were made from photographs of Salonika taken by members, Mr Latter and Mr B P Fletcher. In his report Mr Graves expressed concern at both the reduced membership and the reduced attendance at the annual Parade in London. Colonel George Oldroyd Borwick was elected as the new President; other officials remained unchanged (The Mosquito, No.29, March 1935, p.22). During the war George Borwick had served in Salonika as Lieutenant Colonel in the Surrey and Sussex Yeomanry. He had been appointed Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) in 1917 and awarded the Chevalier, Ordre national de la Légion d’honneur.

SRA Hunts Branch Children’s Party July 1935, The Mosquito, No.31, September 1935, p.88 (© Salonika Campaign Society)
No more local newspaper articles after 1934 have yet been identified but reports of Branch activities and the names of committee members continued to appear in issues of The Mosquito. Another Children’s Party was held in the summer of 1935 (The Mosquito, No.31, September 1935, p.88). In 1939 the Huntingdonshire Branch appeared on the Parade plan for the annual ceremony in London, which was published in The Mosquito.
Mr Patrick Sullivan took over as Branch Secretary in September 1947 (The Mosquito, No.79, September 1947, p.79). Patrick had served as a Colour Sergeant with the Royal Munster Fusiliers in Salonika and had been appointed to the role of Company Quartermaster Sergeant. He was reported to have been injured in Salonika in 1916, treated in Malta, but then had served until the end of the war.

Order of service for the SRA 41st Annual Muster, Sunday, 3 October 1965 (Courtesy of the Wadsworth family)
Dr Greenwood emigrated to Kenya in 1951. The announcement of his departure in The Mosquito, No.95, September 1951, p.94, described the Branch membership at that time as ‘a remnant’, and that of late only a few veterans had made the annual journey to London with Dr Greenwood. However, from his family we know that Mr Guido Wadsworth always attended the Salonika Reunion Association’s commemoration or Annual Muster as it was known. Guido had served in Salonika with the Bedfordshire Yeomanry as a 2nd Lieutenant with a Remount Unit. His family have inherited his archive and fortunately he saved a copy of the Order of Service of the 41st Annual Muster, which he attended on Sunday, 3 October 1965.

Death of Dr A E Staffurth, June 1963, The Mosquito, No.143, September 1963, p.90 (© Salonika Campaign Society)
Other former servicemen had remained members of the Branch since its inception and had taken part in the annual commemoration in London for many years, as is clear from this report in The Mosquito of the death of Dr Alan Edward Staffurth. Like Dr Greenwood, Dr Staffurth had served in Salonika as a Captain with the Royal Army Medical Corps and was Medical Officer to the Durham Light Infantry. After the war he had been a General Practitioner in Ramsey.

Death of Dr J M Wallace, September 1966, The Mosquito, No.156, December 1966, p.122 (© Salonika Campaign Society)
Another former member of the Branch, Dr James Montague Wallace has been identified as his death was reported in The Mosquito, but many others still remain unnamed.

Death of Mr Edward (Ted) Graves,The Mosquito, No.156, December 1966, p.122 (© Salonika Campaign Society)
It is is poignant that one of the final entries about the Branch in The Mosquito, No.156, December 1966, p.122, was the report of the death of Mr Edward (Ted) Graves, who had been one of the founding members with Dr Greenwood. He had contributed greatly to the success of the Branch. He had volunteered to be Dr Greenwood’s assistant at the inaugural meeting and had organised many of their various social activities. He had remained a committee member throughout and at one point he had served as President.
The national SRA continued until 1968 when the difficult decision was taken to disband the Association. Fifty years after the end of the First World War it had become increasingly difficult to find volunteers for the national and branch committees and fewer veterans were able to attend the annual commemorations. However, a group of the most active veterans continued to commemorate the Salonika Campaign each year through a new organisation, The Salonika Society. That new body welcomed descendants of BSF veterans as members, but it too folded in the 1990s. The Society’s former secretary, Philip Barnes, himself the son of a Salonika veteran wanted to maintain the tradition and he was the founder of today’s Salonika Campaign Society.
About the Researcher
Dr Arthur Greenwood’s story and that of the Hunts Branch of the SRA has been researched by Lyn Edmonds, who was the Project Lead for ‘Away from the Western Front’ and has remained interested in telling the stories of those who served in the less well-known campaigns of the First World War. Lyn has undertaken family history research for many years and has researched many of the soldiers’ stories on this website.
Lyn was formerly the Project Lead for the ‘Gallipoli Centenary Education Project’, which was also funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund during the centenary of the First World War.