The Old Oak Tree (TOOT) by Paddy Baker and Keith Frape, both formerly The Life Guards he Old Oak Tree (TOOT) Web site was born from an idea to create a web-site of interest to ex-serving members of The Life Guards. The idea came from and is credited to ex-WO2 Pete Jordan, late of The Life Guards, (RIP).
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Speaking with Peter about TOOT I was surprised to hear that the ‘TOOT’ I know was an accident. Pete set up a web-site with photograph albums, articles on ‘Tins’ who now live abroad and other snippets of interest such as Regimental folklore. The bulletin board (only one part of TOOT) was added as an afterthought but soon had ex-Life Guards flocking to join. Pete was (pleasantly) surprised by the interest and quickly adapted to further develop his creation and move in this new direction. What is a bulletin board (BB)? A place where you can type some text on to a board viewed on a computer screen that others can read, add to or reply to – it’s that simple. What’s the attraction? Well, what’s the attraction at Brickhanging or Association Day – you can meet up with your friends and colleagues, pass the time of day, swap stories, exchange the latest jokes and discuss the latest football re-
sults – whatever takes your fancy! TOOT is the same, albeit by computer. The membership of TOOT spans several generations of The Life Guards. There are several members over 75 years old, still (mentally at least) as sharp as when they were serving. Listening to our ‘Elder Statesmen’ recounting their experiences of the Second World War has been truly fascinating and the link to the present day is clear. The places the Regiment is presently serving today would be familiar to those who served in WWII. The gentlemen of the Band have joined us on the board and contribute regularly. We have ex-National Servicemen, Regulars who served in Knightsbridge only and those who remained solely with the armoured side. We count among our number several serving members and we follow closely reports of where the guys are currently serving. There are no barriers to comradeship on TOOT. We have members quite literally from all over the globe, containing both those who have relocated to live abroad and those who travel abroad due to work. It was a natural progression I suppose that we would start to have get-togethers.
They started small with a charity skittles night in a pub in the New Forest and have become more regular over the years with meetings in pubs (especially at Christmas) and also barbeques, where people bring camping equipment and stay overnight. Last year we held a TOOT dinner at a hotel in Newcastle under Lyme and we are two weeks away from our second Annual TOOT dinner to be held in Oxford. Recently we have allowed wives and partners (WAPs) to join the board as, quite rightly, it was pointed out that the ladies have also ‘served’ with the Regiment. The WAPs have quickly integrated to the board and are enjoying the banter (and giving as good as they get). The Old Oak Tree (TOOT) stands as testament to an idea developed and nurtured by Pete Jordan and treasured by those of us lucky to have access to such a fine resource. At the time of writing, September 2007, we have 459 members. Myself, the other moderators and the members look forward very much to welcoming more of you in the future.
Bert Keeys, RVM BEM
Following the Investiture on 25 October 2007 DSM Bert Keeys received his RVM from HRH The Prince of Wales. The photograph, all former Life Guards, shows from L to R: Yeoman John Lloyd, YBG Bill Henderson, DSM John Henderson, DSM Bert Keeys, Yeomen Bob Daysmith and Paul Lewis MBE.
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