Bermuda Militia Artillery (BMA) in hopes of defending the cause. One such man was Ashton Norman O'Donnell Rayner. Although not called upon to battle, he served honourably in other ways, becoming so well-respected for his skills that with the transition from the artillery to the infantry system, he was sent to England during the 1950's to master the method and bring it back to Bermuda. "I joined the Bermuda Militia Artillery at the outbreak of war on December 3, 1939,'' said the 76-year-old. "Along with many other people, I didn't have the opportunity to fight in the war although I wanted to, so one of my jobs here was training the recruits in drills and gunnery. "One of the officers at the time was Maj. Phillip Lightbourne. And it was he who was responsible for me, and all the other members, becoming involved in the Royal Artillery Association (RAA).'' Maj. Lightbourne, a gunner for the BMA during the 1920's, wrote off to the RAA headquarters in the United Kingdom, asking that all local gunners be accepted as members, said Maj. Rayner. Under the Artillery scheme, a gunner is of comparable rank to a private in the infantry.

As such, the main purpose of the RAA is to assist all gunners in case of sickness, financial difficulty, or any other problems. "He sent in their names and sort of sponsored them to become members. There came to be quite a few. And at one time, just after World War II, the numbers were verging on 500.'' A life member of the RAA, Maj. Rayner has served as the Association's chairman on a number of occasions, attending many of the UK branch meetings in that capacity and also as a delegate. He is therefore familiar with all the demands and conventions of the organisation. "You become a member as you do in any other institution, but you have to commemorate Royal Artillery Sunday,'' he said. "The Queen is Captain General of the Royal Artillery and head of all that falls under it, and so Royal Artillery Sunday is also observed by the Royal Family. In fact, the same ceremony is held in all (represented) towns in the United Kingdom at the same time as it is conducted here, except for the time difference. "We also have to attend assemblies and meetings for Association branches, which are held in United Kingdom usually in Blackpool or somewhere down to the south nearly every May. It is a meeting of all the Association's full-fledged members and what we do is sit down and draw up all changes, make any new rules, and outline what each association has done during that year. At such times we also acknowledge deceased members. All the officials of each branch attend along with the chairman and any casual observers, if they wish. It usually lasts for a full weekend.'' PHOTO Maj.

Ashton Rayner, MBE