War enthusiasts to invade Bermuda

America’s prestigious General Society of Colonial Wars is holding its 106th Annual meeting in Bermuda from May 3 to May 10. 

There are over 4,300 members of the Society and invitations will be sent to all of them for the Bermuda gathering. Charles A Poekel Jr., Esq., who Chairs the seven-Member Planning Committee, said members from chapters throughout the United States and abroad, will converge on Bermuda for the meeting — the majority of attendees arriving on the Norwegian Cruise Line Breakaway.

“We are thrilled that the event is becoming a reality. This will be the first time the General Society of Colonial Wars will be meeting outside the US. It’s a very special event that will bring over 300 Society members and their families to the island. Mayor Graeme Outerbridge and the Corporation (of Hamilton) have been helping to arrange a number of special events which will celebrate Bermuda’s historical ties with early America and we look forward, as well, to meeting with Governor George Fergusson and with Ed Harris, the Executive Director of the Maritime Museum, where we plan to attend receptions and seminars,” he said.

Mayor Outerbridge said, he was delighted that plans were moving forward to bringing the acclaimed Society to Bermuda. “It’s exciting and so very appropriate that the meeting should be held in Bermuda in the 200th anniversary year of the inauguration of the City of Hamilton,” he said.

Membership of the society includes people from all sectors of the Society in the US and in overseas countries including the British Isles. The first Society was established in 1892 and the General Society of Colonial Wars was founded in 1893.  

It fosters tributes to those who shaped America’s Colonial history which took place during the period beginning with the settlement of Jamestown, Va. on May 13, 1607, and preceding to the battle of Lexington in April 19, 1775.