Here's more on the Fletchers' Arms! And with huge thanks to Past Master David Goodall and Deputy Almoner Tim Eltringham who are the ex-Royal Navy liverymen who did it!
The idea started during a convivial (pre-Covid) dinner in Fletchers’ Hall when in conversation with the ship’s 2nd in Command. After enquiring if there was anything practical we could do for them, he mentioned that a small portable bar for use on the flight deck during official cocktail parties or recreation days at sea could be very useful. Two of us ex-RN liverymen immediately thought: “we can build that” – a rash idea based on 80 years’ of combined experience of flight deck ops, cocktail parties and a few dodgy woodworking skills! Remarkably, the next morning we were still able to remember most of the details discussed and started to hatch the plan.
The challenge was to come up with a design that was smart enough for official events, could fold flat for easy stowage but still be strong enough to be “matelot-proof” – the latter being a vital requirement, as sailors will always find the design weakness in any bit of kit! In consultation with the ship’s flight commander, in whose hangar it would inevitably be stowed, a design was agreed that utilised an old solid mahogany dining table for the bar top, half-timbered front panels in the finest “olde English pub style” and, of course, topped by a swinging pub sign. A cardboard mock-up was made, a timetable to deliver in February was set and then … lockdown struck … and everything went on hold.
In the end, after a long frustrating delay, the whole thing had to be made in less than 4 weeks. This included hand-painting a double-sided pub sign, featuring the newly approved Fletcher Coat of Arms, and hanging from a golden arrow buried in a vertical post.