Gents, a fascinating thread to which I humbly offer a couple of points: (i) I attend a Royal Corps of Signals (i.e. Air Formation Signals, Army Emergency Reserve and Princess Louise's Kensington) reunion dinner at the end of February each year. The RAF Club are kind enough to allow the Army to descend en masse and both the food and ambience are excellent (it is also very good value for money), and (ii) Beagle, I strongly suspect that your remark re. holding the Queen's Commission was fully intended to be humorous but clearly others did not take it that way and to my mind at least, it was a bit chippy.