December 1986

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A COY GUILD FO RD" A COY FARNHAM"
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0 COY
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iv

Edito r : Contents
lt Col J J Wh1te,
Regimental Headquarters, Senior NCOs Location List pag e
Howe Barracks, Dates to Remember 1987 4
Canterbury , Kent Colon el of the Regiment 's Preface 8
Editorial 9
CTl lJU Mainly About People 10
Regi m en ta l Badge Twenty Years Ago 11
325th Anniversary of Tangier Regiment 12
Co llar Badge 400th Anniversary of Sir Phi lip Sidney's Death
1st Battalion 14
Bu tton 2nd Battalion 16
3rd Battalion 17
Printe rs : 5th (Volunteer) Battalion 23
Geenngs of Ashford Ud 6th /7th (Volunteer) Battalion 26
8th (Volunteer) Battalion The Queen's Fusiliers 32
Cobbs Wood House Depot the Queen 's Division 35
Chart Road Regimental Bands 38
Regimental Information Team 39
Ash ford , Kent Th Flying Dragons
Army Cadet Force News 40
Regimental Headquarters
Officers' Club 41
Regimental Golfing Society 42
Regimental Cricket 1986 43
Letters to the Editor 46
Marriages , Deaths and Obituaries 49
Regimental Asso ciations
New s from our Affiliated Ships 50
Arti cles
52
53

55

57
62
63

COVER PICTURES

Front : 325th anniversary of Raising of Tangier Regiment - the ceremony on
Putney Heath , 14 Oc tober 19B& Ipicture by Ben May)

Rear : 3 QUEENS Ex ercise High Condor at Machu-Picchu in Peru. Pte Cooper
of the Flying Dragons . Sir Harry Secombe interviews ex Sgt Leonard Baldwin
MM with the East Surrey Regiment football used in tha attack at Montauban
in 1916 (picture by Ben M ay). Members of the RIT at the 325th anniversary in
uniforms of circa 1661 and 1102 (picture by Ben May).

The Journal of
THE QUEEN'S REGIMENT

Volume 21 No 1 December 1986

Unconquered I Serve

Battle Honours borne on The Colours

The Regimental Colour :
" Tangi er, 1662-80," " Namur , 1695," " Gibraltar , 1704-5," " Bienheim," " Ramill es," " Malplaquet ," " Dettingen ," " Louisbu rg ,"
" Guadeloupe , 1759," " Quebec, 1759," " Martinique , 1762," " St Lucia, 1778," " Seringapatam ," " Maida ," " Vimiera ,"
" Corunna ," " Douro ," " Talavera," " Albuhera ," " Almaraz ," " Badajoz," " Salamanca," " Vittoria ," " Afghanistan , 1839,"
" Punniar ," " Moodkee," " Sobraon ," " lnkerman ," " Sevastopol ," " Lucknow," " Taku Forts ," " New Zealand ," " South Africa .
1879," " Nile , 1884-85," " Burma , 1885-87," " Chitral ," " Relief of Ladysmith ," " Relief of Kimberley ," " South Africa , 1899- 1902,"

" Korea , 1950-51 ".

The Queen's Colour :

" Mons ," " Marne , 1914-18," "Aisne , 1914," "Ypres, 1914-15-17-18," " Hill 60 ," " Festubert , 1915," " Somme , 1916, 1918,"
" Aibert , 1916, 1918," " Vimy, 1917," "Ca mbrai , 1917-18," " Hindenburg Line ," " Italy , 1917- 18," " Macedonia, 1915-18,"
" Gallipoli , 1915," " Gaza ," " Jerusalem ," " Palestine , 1917- 18," " Defence of Kut al Amara ," " Mesopotamia , 1915-18," " NW
Frontier India , 1915, 1916- 17," " Dunkirk , 1940," " Normandy Landing ," "North West Europe, 1940, 1944-45," " Abyssinia , 1941 ,"
" Omars , " Aiam el Halfa," " El Alamein ," " Longstop Hill , 1943," " North Africa , 1940-43," " Sicily , 1943," " Sangro ," " Salerno ,"
" Anzio ," " Cassino ," " Italy, 1943-45," " Malaya , 1941-42," " Malta , 1940-42," " Hong Kong ," " Defence of Kohima ," " Burma ,

1943-45".

Allied Colonels-in -Chief

HER ROYAL HIGHNESS PRINCESS JULIANA of the Netherlands
HER MAJESTY QUEEN MARG RETHE 11 of Denmark

Colonel of the Regiment
Brigadier H C MILLMAN , OBE

Deputy Colonels of the Regiment

Colonel R W ACWORTH , CBE Colonel J C HOLMAN , OBE Brigadier M RI CONSTANTINE, OBE

2

CIVIC HONOURS

The ' Privilege' of the City of London . The Freedom of Arundel , Barnet , Belfast . Brighton , Canterbury , Chichester , Eastbourne ,
Folkestone , Guildford , Hove , Kingston -upon-Thames, Lewes , Maidstone , Ramsgate, Reigate and Banstead. Tonbridge and
Mailing , and Worthing . 'Adoption ' by Ashford .

ALLIANCES

The Canadian Armed Forces The New Zealand Arm y

The Queen 's York Rangers IRCACI 2nd Battalion (Canterbury , Nelson, Marlborough and West
The South Alberta Light Horse IRCACI Coast)
The Queen 's Own Rifl es of Canada
The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment The Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment
1st Battalion The Royal New Brunswick Regiment 5th Battalion !Wellington , W est Coast and Taranaki)

ICarleton & York) The Royal New Zealand Infantry Reg iment
The Essex and Kent Scottish

The Australian Military Forces The Pakistan Army
12th , 14th , 15th and 17th Battalions , The Punjab Regiment
The Royal New South Wales Regim ent
The University of New South Wales Regiment Hong Kong
The Royal Western Australia Regiment The Royal Hong Kong Regiment (The Volunteers)

AFFILIATIONS

HMS Nelson, HMS Kent and The Royal Anglian Regiment

HMS Leeds Castle The King's Own Scottish Borderers

The Royal Marines IA 'Bond of Friendship 'I No . 3 I Fl Squadron Royal Air Force

The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers The Royal Danish Life Guards (an ' Unofficial Alliance ')

The Worshipful Company of Haberdashers

AFFILIATED UNITS OF THE CADET FORCES

CCF School Contingents

Alleyn's School , Dulwich; Ardingly College ; St . Aloysius College ; Brighton College ; Caterham School ; Chichester High School ;
Collyer's VI Form College IHorshaml ; Cranbrook School ; Cranleigh School ; Dulwich College ; Eastbourne College ; Epsom
College ; Haberdasher's Aske's School IEistreel ; Hampton Grammar School ; Highgate School ; Hurstpierpoint College ; Judd
School ITonbridge) ; King 's School (Canterbury); Kingston Grammar School ; Lancing College ; Mill Hill School ; Reeds School ;
Reigate Grammar School ; Royal Grammar School !Guildford) ; Sir Roger Manwood's School (Sandwich) ; St Edmund's School
!Canterbury); St John 's School (Leatherheadl ; St Lawrence College (Ramsgatel ; Skinners School (Tunbridge Wells) ; Sutton
Valence School ; Ton bridge School ; Whitgift School ; William Ellis School ; Wilsons Grammar School.

ACF Units / Sub-Units Cadet Coys Nos 25 and 26.

Greater London : Cadet Coys Nos . 194, 195, 205, 211 , 216, 217 .
NE London Sector Cadet Coys
Middlesex and Cadet Coys Nos . 25 26.
NW London Sector Cadet Dets
NE London Sector Cadet Bns No . 72 .
SE London Sector Cadet Bns
SW London Sector Nos 133to 136, 141 , 143, 147, 149, 151 to 153, 155 to 158.
Cadet Pis
Surrey : 1st (Redhilll and 2nd (Farnham l The Queen 's Regiment (Surrey ACFI .
Kent :
1st !Canterbury) , 2nd (Sandgatel , 3rd ITunbridge Wells) and 4th (Maidstone) The
Sussex: Queen 's Regiment (Kent ACFI .

Nos 2 ISeafordl , 3 (Hastings) , 4 I Lewesl , 6 ICrawleyl , 7 (Chichester! , 8 !Crow-
borough) , 10 (Eastbourne), 11 I Horshaml , 13 (Shoreham) , 14 (Bexhilll , 16 IHurst-
pierpointl. 17 (Bognorl , 18 (Littlehamptonl , 20 I Lewes OGS I, 22 (Southwaterl .

3

REGIMENTAL HEADQUARTERS
Howe Barra cks, Canterbury, Kent CT11JU (Telephone 0227 457411)

Regimental Secretary Col J W Francis lext 295)
lt Col J J White lex! 2501
Deputy Regimental Secretary
Maj A Martin , MBE lext 2511
Finance, Chattels, QUEENS and R SUSSEX
Assn Benevolence lt Col L M Wilson , MBE lext 2531

Museum, Archives and QUEEN' S SURREYS Maj H CL Tennent lext 2521
Assn Affairs
Maj R Waite (ext 2541
Chairman Welfare and Benevolence Committee, Maj I R Jones lext 255)
QUEENS OWN BUFFS Assn Affairs Capt A Hilll0622 671241 ext 2921

RHO Admin. Asst RCO, Regtl Assn and MX lt A V Brown 10763 42271 ext 3021
A ssn Liaison

Regimental Careers Officer

QC Regimental Information Team

QC Regimental Free Fall Team ' The Flying
Dragons '

REGULAR BATTALIONS TA BATTALIONS
1st Battalion
5th I VI Battalion
Lathbury Barracks , Gibraltar , BFPO 52 Leros TA Centre , Sturry Road , Canterbury , Kent CT1 1HR

CO : lt Col M J Ball Deputy Hon Col : Col J B Ogilvie , OBE TD DL
CO : lt Col C M Joint

2nd Battalion 6th/ 7th (VI Battalion
Oakington Barracks , Cambridge , CB4 5EJ Norfolk TA Centre , Denne Road , Horsham , Sussex
Hon Col : Col R R St J Barkshire , TD , AIB , JP DL
CO : lt Col PC Cook
CO : lt Col R E Lowans , TD
3rd Battalion
Belize , BFPO 12 8th (V) Battalion
The Queen's Fusiliers (City of London)
CO : lt Col R M McGhie TA Centre , St John 's Hill , Clapham Junction , London SW11 1TT

Trg Maj: Maj P A Gwilliam

REGIMENTAL REPRESENTATIVES

Depot The Queen 's Division Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst
Bassingbourn Barracks , Royston . Herts . SGB 5LX RMA Sandhurst , Camberley , Surrey , GU15 4PQ

Maj S M Dowse Capt J E Cameron

Denmark Junior Infantry Battalion
HQ BALTAP , Naval Party 1004, BFPO Ships Sir John Moore Barracks , Shorncliffe . Kent CT20 3H E

Maj R A M Christmas Capt J C F Gamlin

4

SENIOR NCOs LOCATION LIST

(as at 1 October 19861

REGULAR ARM Y

W arrant Of fic ers Class I Colour Sergeants

M G Bernier• RSM 6/7 QUEENS lVI AB Albrecht 3 QUEENS
D A Boden RSM 1 QUEENS A J Alien 1 QUEENS
B Cunningham BI M Quebec Band A Amber ACIO Guildford
T S Davis AACM FTCL psm" B/ M Albuhera Band G WAnglin
RMAS
JP Hamill Depot R I Anthony
P E Hills FLCM psm P J Archer RMAS
RMSM 1 QUEENS
DJ McCaig" MJ Aris
R D Milligan• ASM 5 QUEENS lVI P Beard 3 QUEENS
GB Moss Royal Brunei Armed Forces K Bo'Ndrey
T W Saunders 5 QUEENS lVI
J Thompson• RSM 3 QUEENS S Broom
0 J Buddle 3 QUEENS
ASM JIB 6/7 QUEENS lVI
RSM 2 QUEENS WButler 2 QUEENS
M J Carter 3 QUEENS
Warrant Officers Class 11 B F C Charman 3 QUEENS
A P Clark 5 Cdt Trg Team
0 Allaway Depot B Clarke 2 QUEENS
A J Akehurst 2 QUEENS 3 QUEENS
K E Arey 1 QUEENS S H Cochrane 3 QUEENS
A J Baker 3 QUEENS 1 QUEENS
C A D Barber OGM 2 QUEENS A P Cooper 3 QUEENS
0 Bennyworth 5 QUEENS lVI 3 QUEENS
M AN Britton 2 QUEENS B Cooper
J Brown 1 RAF 5 QUEENS lVI
A C Buckwell 1 QUEENS A Cross Sch of tnf
P Bull RAC Centre JP Cullinane
M F Butcher 3 QUEENS E J Date 1 QUEENS
B F Camille 3 Armd Div HO & Sig Sqn N De Warrene Wailer 3 QUEENS
1 QUEENS E G Drew 2 QUEENS
J A Carter 2 QUEENS
0 T Cooper Depot JEMFagg 1 QUEENS
A Cornick CPTA J Foster 3 QUEENS
PT Oaines 3 QUEENS A J A Goodman 1 QUEENS
D A Davidson 3 QUEENS J M Gorey 6/7 QUEENS lVI
G E Oavies 3 QUEENS 5 QUEENS lVI
T MOaw 2 QUEENS K Greengrass 2 QUEENS
A G Oenny 2 QUEENS 3 QUEENS
PG Oobson Royal Hong Kong Aegt A Hayes 5QUEENS lVI
l J DuHield 1 RAF c / o Depot
J A A Edwards 3 QUEENS J Hedges
TA Farrow 3 QUEENS DJ Hills 1 QUEENS
G T France 0 J Hinds 1 QUEENS
F 0 Francis Royal Hong Kong Aegt T C Hogben 3 QUEENS
M F Gauntlen App College , Harrogate 6/7 QUEENS lVI
2 QUEENS C G Hole ACtO Holtoday
BE Hayward Depot M J Holland c / o Depot
A WHewen F J Holloway
B 0 Hilton 1 QUEENS B J Hornet 1 QUEENS
S GB Hinton 3 QUEENS A P Howard 1 QUEENS
M J Holland 3 QUEENS B Hunt RAC Centre
S Howick 5 QUEENS lVI T W Hunting
D T lrvmg-James Depot A A Jacobs 5 QUEENS lVI
T G lsaacs
HO Chilwell Station I A Johnston SQF lVI
P JIves 5 QUEENS lVI 0 K Kirk
C AJarm 3 QUEENS J A Knowles 1 QUEENS
P A Juhel 2 QUEENS A G Layzell
P A Kearse 2 QUEENS K I Leach Sch ollnl
B Kelling Depot AN Malham 1 QUEENS
DJ lovell 1 QUEENS I J MacCormack HO Aheindahlen Garrison
1 QUEENS 6/7 QUEENS lVI
S Manj1 A C McAndrews 2 QUEENS
A Maxtow 3 A ANGUAN K McCreadie 5 QUEENS lVI
P A C Mears G 0 Morrow 3 QUEENS
C Norton JIB RE PP Munnery 3 QUEENS
D Paterson 3 RAF 5 QUEENS lVI
B W Pitchforth 3 QUEENS G W Page 1 QUEENS
A T Polli ngton Sch of tnt TAJPage 6/7 QUEENS lVI
cl o Depot PC Parker 3 QUEENS
A J A Pragnell Dep01 G S Perkins 5 QUEENS l VI
M J Reardon 2 QUEENS Depot
G D Aickerby 0 Phillips 6/7 QUEENS lVI
PP M Ayan RIT C J Piper Depot
S J 0 Scully A I Piper 1 QUEENS
P l Stone 5 QUEENS lVI M T Pons 617 QUEENS IV)
G A Thorne T Robinson
N A Tickner Depot 2 QUEENS
1 QUEENS C J Aodziewich
J E Tombling A A Scully 2 QUEENS
0 S Tanks 1 QUEENS A Songhurst
T Took C J Stamp 2 QUEENS
P A Turner AAA DE
5 QUEENS (VI CV Tanner 1 QUEENS
J H Waiters HA Thomas
BM Webb IMROISI P K Tidey LSP Oman
G GWhitall GM Walker
7110 UDR 2 QUEENS
K Wh•te 2 QUEENS RWWard
A J Wild A Weaver JIB
M N Wilson JIB PWhite
G A Yandeii-Wright B Winkworth 2 QUEENS
2 QUEENS CC Wilson 1 QUEENS
D Wilson
DAMA MANS 3 QUEENS
J Vann
5 QUEENS lVI C T Young 2 QUEENS
AMAS
1 QUEENS
3 QUEENS
Sch of lnf
*Selected for commiss•on•ng during Financ•al Year 19n/78
3 QUEENS
5 RAF

5

A K Adams Sergeants PE Htggs 3 QUEENS
B J Alien T Holman 5 QUEENS lVI
A I Anthony 3 QUEENS 8 A Hubbard 3 QUEENS
G A Arnot 1 QUEENS A C hvine 1 QUEENS
M A Avery 1 QUEENS I Jackson 1 QUEENS
Depot A P Janes 1 QUEENS
A Saccus 3 QUEENS S Jarv1s
A P Ballard A L J Jeffery JIB
G E Barker 1 QUEENS N Jenn1ngs Depot
KW Barten 3 QUEENS G A Jones 5 QUEENS (VI
BD Bartlen 2 RAF DJ Kennedy
J Banon 1 QUEENS S P Kent 1 QUEENS
D G Bence ACIO Surbtton M S Kirkaldie 2 QUEENS
MP Bennett 3 R ANGLIAN E Lavery 1 QUEENS
A W Blackman 2 QUEENS J E Leefmans 5 QUEENS lVI
S M Boampong A AA Lewis HO LONDIST R & l Staff
5CTT FW Lewis
S C Boddle 1 QUEENS A G Martin 1 QUEENS
R May 2 QUEENS
G 0 Booker 3 QUEENS RA McCauly 1 QUEENS
J W Boxell 2 QUEENS K J McCieave 2 QUEENS
C J Brazter 3 QUEENS I McCullock 3 QUEENS
R D Brewer AS McEwan 2 QUEENS
EA Brown 1 QUEENS A J Mclvor IT DU
FE Brown 5QUEENS lVI J H M Mclaughlan Depot
K P Brown ACIO Acton G Meade Depot
2 QUEENS A AT Mitch 7/ 10 UDR
P Bushby Depot S C Mitchell 3 QUEENS
P J Carer 3 Regt ACC 0 Munday 1 QUEENS
S P Carter 1 QUEENS J G Murphy 2 QUEENS
N 8 T Cavagtiere 1 QUEENS JP A Newman 2 QUEENS
P J Churcher 1 QUEENS PH Nicklin Depot
P J Clarke 3 QUEENS G A Nicol 3 QUEENS
L F Clarke 3 QUEENS KM Nolan 2 QUEENS
0 L Clarkson HO land Dist A & L Staff A J Norman 3 QUEENS
G L Clarkson WA Norman AMAS
P J CoHev Sch of lnf JP O'Connor 3 QUEENS
M A Coltins 3 QUEENS J J O'Shea ACIO Canterbury
N A H Coltins 1 QUEENS A A Rice ACIO Chatham
GC Cook 1 QUEENS A J Aobson 5 QUEENS lVI
J J Cooper 3 QUEENS P W Russelt 3 QUEENS
MC Cope 3 QUEENS CA Scan 1 QUEENS
P Copeman 3 QU EENS CC Seeker 3 QUEENS
JP N Costan 3 QUEENS SA Sellen
C Crolton 1 QUEENS W J Sharp B CTT
T J Crosby 1 QUEENS 1 QUEENS
JP Crossan ACIO Brighton A W Smith 1 QUEENS
K E Croucher JIB 8 P Smtth 1 QUEENS
G Crowley 3 QUEENS PG Smith Depot
SA Dane SA ANGUAN A A Smtth
0 Dumbleton 2 QUEENS A J Smith 6/7 QUEENS lVI
J Duncan 5 QUEENS lVI S Snoad 3 QUEENS
A P Duplock 1 QUEENS AS Stevens 2 QUEENS
A J Easton 2 A ANGLIAN S Stilt Depot
M Faltows 2 QUEENS AN Stuart 3 QUEENS
A A Farquharson 2 QUEENS F C Sulhvan Pnncess Martna College
1 QUEENS T D Sultivan HO BFFI
A W Feakms 2 QUEENS PM Talbot 2 QUEENS
E C Fearon 1 QU EENS A P Taylor 3 QUEENS
D L Fisher 2 QUEENS L F Taylor 1 QUEENS
S Fisher 2 QUEENS G A Thomas 7 A ANGLIAN lVI
J 0 Flem•ng 1 QUEENS E C Thorne 3 QUEENS
J A Ford 3 QUEENS PM Toms 5 QUEENS lVI
S D Foster J N Trenowden Depot Prtnce of Wales Oiv
CC Freelove 8CTT PM Turrell 3 QUEENS
P F Frtday 2 QUEENS A F Upptngton 2 QUEENS
K Fridge 1 QUEENS M J Venmore 3 QUEENS
2 QUEENS M K Vessev 3 QUEENS
M Gage 2 QUEENS CS Vickers 1 QUEENS
A F Gardner 3 QUEENS NCGWatts 3 QUEENS
J N Gaylor 2 QUEENS A VWeare 2 QUEENS
P George 1 QUEENS M Weavers 2 QUEENS
P Griggs 3 QUEENS GAWest 3 QUEENS
DC Glynn ACID Matdstone JVWest 3 QUEENS
R Gelding 2 QUEENS C KWhite JIB
L Greenhalgh AS Wiles 2 QUEENS
MP Guitfoyle clo Depot A Wilson 1 QUEENS
I L Halt M NWoodward 3 QUEENS
S T Hanntngton 2 QUEENS MA Yea 1 QUEENS
D Harbinson 3 QUEENS 155 Tpt Aegt
P J Haves 1 QUEENS TERRITORIAL ARMY 12 lnt & Sy Coy
J W Head Depot ACIO Gutldford
M 0 Higgins 2 QUEENS KM Dye AIT
A & LS LONDIST G Fairfax
2 QUEENS A Frater
3 QUEENS BKELane
HO 155 Tpt Aegt A Lawson
A Lea
S Cook Warrant Officers Class I J Lower 5 QUEENS lVI
T Lucas 5 QUEENS lVI
G R Anderson 5 QUEENS IVIIB / MI G Peel 617 QUEENS lVI
SS Anderson P J Roast 5 QUEENS lVI
A L Arthur Warrant Officer Class 11 A Scales 6/7 QUEENS lVI
KM J Bell N Stevenson 5 QUEENS lVI
G A Bigwood 5QUEENS lVI A Smith
0 Bowen 5 QUEENS (VI 6/7 QUEENS IVIIHSFI
A Caulkeu 5 QUEENS (VI 6/7 QUEENS lVI
0 Cadywould BEM 5 QUEENS lVI 617 QUEENS lVI
5 QUEENS (VI 5 QUEENS lVI
617 QUEENS lVI 617 QUEENS lVI RAPC lVI
5 QUEENS (VI 6/7 QUEENS lVI
617 QUEENS (VI 6/7 QUEENS lVI

6 617 QU EEN S (V ) 0 A Hams 5 QU EEN S l V I
5 QUEENS lVI IHS FI
C Sm1th 6/7 QU EEN S lVI A Hole 6/7 5 QUEEN S lVI
J P Strathdee 6/7 QU EEN S lVI M Holloway 6/7 QU EENS l V I
A Thornton 6/7 QU EENS IV ) 5 QUEEN S l V I
RWebb RAG Howa rd 5QUEENS lVI
W W h it e Colour Sergeant s P J How land 6/7 QUEENS lVI
E Hunte
R G Bamtord 5 QUEEN S lVI V lambert 6/7 QU EENS l VI
A Bicker 6 /7 QUEEN S l VI 0 lefebure BEM 6 /7 QUEEN S lVI
A Birch 5 QUEENS lVI 5 QUE EN S l V I
E Cavinder 6/7 QUEEN S lVI OW Lobb 5 QUEEN S l V I
I E J Chatfield 5 QUEEN S lVI B J lucas 6/7 QUEENS l VI
E Croxford 5 QUEEN S lVI Y Mariner
R Oavey 5 QUEEN S (V) 5 QUE EN S lVI
C E Oavis 5 QUEEN S (V) R S M arsh 5 QU EEN S lVI
A J Gawler 5 QUEEN S IVII HSFI F A M ason 6/7 QUE EN S lVI
N Hicks 6/7 QUEEN S lVI M Mc Donagh 5 QU EEN S lVI
N lrwin 6/7 QUEEN S lVI M G Nash 5 QU EENS lVI
J Lashmore 6/7 QUEEN S lVI A P Nable 5 QUEEN S lV I
G Morrison 6/7 QUEEN S lVI P E Norman 6/7 QU EEN S l V I
A Norton 6/7 QUEEN S IV) P Nuttycombe
C Osobrn 6/7 QUEEN S lVI 5 QU EEN S l V I
0 A Peters 5 QUEEN S lVI M K Owst 5 QU EENS lVI
A Skogland BEM 6/7 QUEEN S lVI M O' Rourke 5 QU EEN S lVI
8 Sm1th 617 QUEEN S I V ) 5 QUEEN S lV I
R Staves 5 QUEEN S lVI M T Page 5 QUEENS l V I
R J Stockford 5 QUEEN S lVI D P Papa 6/7 QUE ENS lVI
G Trwan 6/7 QUEEN S lVI R A Puckett 5QUEEN S l VI
P J Twort 5 QUEEN S (VI T Raper
D F Tyler 5QUEEN S lVI AD Autter 6 /7 QU EEN S IVI IHSFI
FA W akeman 5QUEEN S lVI B Singleton 5 QU EEN S l V I
0 M Whitethread 5 QUEEN S lVI C Stroud 6/7 QU EEN S l V I
J Willia ms 6/7 QUEEN S lVI P Sweatrnan
A Taylor 6/7 QUEEN S lVI
A E Ansell Sergeants L Trott 6/7 QU EEN S lVI
W B aker 5 QU EEN S IVI IHS FI
P J Barker 5 QUEENS (V) A C Vernall 6/7 QUEEN S l VI
A BaXler 6/7 QUEEN S lVI l Vial 6/7 QUEEN S l VI
MD Beach 5 QUEEN S lVI T Ward
P Beales 6/7 QUEEN S lVI M J Wathen 5 QUEEN S lVI
J F Bennett 5 QUEEN S lVI M Watts 6/7 QUE EN S lVI
A C Bobrow 6/7 QUEEN S l VI D I Wickham 5 QUEEN S lVI
P Booker 5 QUEEN S lVI S PWilliams 5 QUEEN S lVI
A D Cheeseman 5 QUEENS IVII HSFI C P D Wil son 5 QUEEN S lVI
8 Cox 6/7 QUEEN S (V) 5 QUEEN S lVI
I H Czapiewski 5 QUEEN S lVI W R Wilson 6/7 QUEEN S lVI
A L Dawson 6/7 QUEEN S l VI A Wishart
P Devnay 5 QUEEN S l VI
J Dooling 5 QUEEN S lVI Non-Regular Permanent Staff
A Dunn 6/7 QU EEN S lVI
D J Eagle 6/7 QUEEN S lVI Warrant Officers Class I
B F Easter 6/7 QUEEN S lVI
A Eu nson 5 QUEEN S (VI D Dragonetti 6/7 QUEEN S l VI
PI Falconer 5 QUEEN S lVI M J G Elsey BEM 6/7 QUEEN S lVI
J Farrell 5 QUEEN S lV I J Willis 5 QUEEN S lVI
C H Feaver 5 QUEEN S lVI
G Ai nt 6/7 QUEEN S lVI P Bartlett Colour Sergeants
T F<y 5 QUEEN S lVI J Coote
M A Ga rton 5 QU EEN S lVI C Friend 5 QUEEN S lV I
P J Graham 5 QUEENS lVI G Harmer 6/7 QUEEN S lVI
D Green 5 QUEEN S lVI D Knott 6/7 QUEEN S lVI
0 Harper 5 QUEEN S lVI K Mon k 6 /7 QUEEN S lVI
S Harri ngton 5 QUEENS lVI D Aoberts 5 QUEEN S lVI
617 QUEENS lVI J Rolfe 6/7 QUEEN S lVI
5 QUEENS lVI 6/7 QUEEN S lVI
J Howa rd 6/7 QUEEN S lVI
D HP Key
Sergeants

5 QUEEN S lVI
5 QUEEN S lVI

ARMY CADET FORCE - ADULT INSTRUCTORS

Regimental Sergeant Major Instructor J Nightingale Ke n t
WOpie London (NW & Mxl
A J Miles Surrey A Porritt Kent
G H W Regester Surrey
J A Bailey Sergeant Major Instructors R R Aoulet Surrey
V Baker P Shilli ng Ke n t
0 Batrick Surrey L Silvester London (NW & M xl
London ISEJ A Sloan Ken t
R C Bowden London INW & Mxl AT Smit h Sussex
0 B Jrberry Su rr ey AWSturt Surrey
J Butlin Su ssex D Tur ner Kent
London (NW & M xl R C W right London ISWI
J C Coles Sussex
K F Erridge Sussex W Benn ison Staff Sergeant Instructors
0 Farmer Ke nt LT Bourne
K M Fra ncis Sussex LE N Boxa ll Kent
P Gilson Ke nt C W Brown Sussex
R Givens Sussex A Bumstead Surrey
London (NW & M xl P Camp Surrey
K Glen Kent WA Cu mber Ken t
0 Harris Su rrey S Dean Sussex
G Holmes Kent J Enright London I SWI
A Hump hreys Ken t S Foster Ke n t
Su rr ey M H Horan Kent
J Humphreys London !SW) Ke n t
J A J ackson Ken t London (SWJ
Surrey
S J Jenkins
M Johns
0 M iddleton

7

J Hubble Kent P Kenny London INW & M•l
G J Maher Surrey J R Kerner
P Marchant Kent N K Lush Surrey
A J Marsden Surrey C P Mandel Surrey
P Muuay London INW & Mxl C J Manley
K R1chards NE B Manton Susse•
J Sherer !London ISWI A McGowan Surrey
0 Stevens Kent CMcGwre Surrey
S J Street London ISEI MM1IIs Kent
A Tate Surrey A New1ck Kent
0 Tate Kent 0 Oakley Kent
M Terry Sussex RE Osbourne Kent
M T1cehurst Kent PI Payne London (NW & Mx l
A FWard Sussex H Perry
CJWhlte Surrey C J 0 Pme Susse•
TWollard Surrey R F Poole Sussex
Kent S C Ray London (NW & M• I
A H GReed
Woman Staff Sergeant Instructors S Relf Surrey
A Rockall Surrey
L G Blackwell London (SWI
YAM Momsh London (SW) C Rose Susse•
A Rowhnson Surrey
Sergeant Instructors R K Salter Kent
J A Sandon Sussex
J E Abraham Surrey C P Saunders Kent
PR Alien Surrey I Scott Kent
Surrey R Seafle
G DAsh Kent I Skeldon Susse•
0 Austen London INW & Mxl P Smith Surrey
A Axten Sussex K Smith
P Bateup Kent C Spencer Susse•
A Bav1n Kent S Spilsbury Kent
R Bil sby Kent D Sutcliffe Kent
Kent A Taylor Kent
A B1rd Kent K Taylor Kent
P Blackledge Sussex R WThomas
R Boon Surrey A Tinker Susse•
MS Bond Kent A Treasure London INW & M•l
M G Boyd Surrey J Trench
F Bradshaw Kent K Tubby Kent
J C Brown Surrey KC P Wet1on Sussex
P Brown Kent S Wheeler London INW & Mxl
S P J Browne Kent T A M Wh1tes1de
J Buckley Surrey M INildman Kent
0 Butcher Kent A INilhams Surrey
P L Ca1rns Sussex S Willis Kent
P Chantry London INW & Mx) S INilson London I NW & M•l
RWCiark F R J Windebank London (NW & M x)
R Clarke Kent J E Woodgate
S Comben Surrey A Wooley Kent
J R Cooper Surrey Surrey
GP Cross Kent Kent
M Culham Kent
G Ounkley Surrey Susse~t
C R Eaton
WEIIam Kent Kent
M E Ether~ngton Surrey Surrey
SI Everen Sussex Kent
S Fanthorpe London INW & Mxl Kent
C Foster Kent Surrey
P Gales Kent
T Gill Kent Susse•
Sussex London INW & Mxl
M A Harman Sussex
P G Harrington Surrey Woman Sergeant Instructors
S 0 J Harris Surrey
Sussex S Belson Kent
G Hamson Kent T Burford Kent
P 0 Herbert Surrey A Chantry Kent
Surrey C R Devey Surrey
S Hogg Surrey V 01ckson Kent
A P Holland Surrey EA Hancock Surrey
M J Hooker Surrey P Hare Kent
M Howard L Lane Kent
PM Jeffenes ME Manton Surrey
PR Jones A Perquin Kent
J Rodgers Kent
l Stevenson Kent
J Sutch Kent
L S Willcox
SI Wilson Susse•
S Woodall. Sussex
Kent

REGULAR FORCES EMPLOYMENT ASSOCIATION

The Association, together with the Ministry of Defence and the Manpower Services
Commission , is part of the Forces Resettlement Service. Its task is to assist all non -commissioned men
and women who served with good character for a minimum of three years, or less if discharged on
medical grounds, to find civil employment at the end of their engagements .

Its services are free, and as it takes a long term interest in ex-Regulars they are available to them
throughout their working lives.

Employment Officers are situated in branches throughout the United Kingdom and they maintain
close contact with local employers and Jobcentres. Their addresses and telephone numbers can be
obtained from Resettlement Officers, Regimental Associations , Post Offices, Jobcentres and local
telephone directories.

During the period 1st April 1985 to 31st March 1986 the Association assisted 11,370 men and
women with their resettlement and placed 4,648 in employment. Ofthose placed 2, 164were men and
women from the Army and 28 were from The Queen's Regiment.

8

DATES TO REMEMBER 1987

January 7 Regtl Cricket Match v Haberdashers' Livery
Company , Elstree
27-3 Feb 1st Bn moves to Tidworth
31 3rd Bn move to N Ireland 9 3rd Bn Exercise the Freedom of Barnet
10 Regtl Golf Match v RMA Sandhurst, RAC
February
10 Sobraon Day (1st Bn) Country Clu b, Epsom

March Royal Sussex RCM and Officers' Reunion 11 3rd Bn Exercise the Freedom of Chichester
6 Party, London 12 3rd Bn Exercise the Freedom of Kingston-
13 Regimental Dinner, Law Society's Hall ,
London upon-Thames
21 13 Official Birthday HM The Queen
Royal Sussex OCA Executive Meeting, 13 Regiment granted Freedom of Ashford . 3rd
Chichester
Bn on parade

18 Regtl Golf Match v RAF and R ANGLIAN ,
Gog Magog

20 5th (V) Bn Officers' Cocktail Party

April Cumberland Sword and Kirke's Cane July Queen 's Surreys Golf Match v Royal
4-5 Competitions 8 Marines
Queen 's Own Buffs AGM and Inter Branch Regtl Grand Reunion, Bassingbourn
11 Darts Match 12
Birthday of HM Queen Margrethe 18 2nd Bn Open Day and Beating Retreat,
16 Ypres Day (1st Bn) M i n d en
23 Royal Sussex St George 's Day Service, 24
23 Chichester Regt l Golf M atch v Kent County
Regtl Golf Match v Canterbury GC 25-25 Aug Constabulary , Canterbury GC
24 Royal Sussex OCA AGM and Reunion
Dinner, Lewes 2nd Bn (Bn HQ + two compan ies) to
25 Birthday of HRH Princess Juliana
Regtl Cricket v Wellington College BATUS
30
30 1st Bn at Cinque Ports Training Area August
Middlesex Regt Officers ' Club Dinner,
May Cavalry and Guards Club 1-7 Regtl Tent at Canterbury Cricket Week
4- 15 Middlesex Regt Albuhera Service of
Remembrance , St Pauls; Annual Reunion in 2 Queen 's Own Buffs Remembrance Service
8 Victory Services Club and Reunion, Canterbury
Albuhera Day
9 Official Opening of Regimental Museum in 21 Regtl Golf Match v RM , Canterbury GC
Dover Castle (provisional) 27 C Company 2nd Bn to BATUS
16 Roya l Sussex Goodwood May Meeting 27 Sep
16 Regtl Golfing Society : Argyll and
Sutherland Bowl Competition September
20-21 Regtl Golfing Society Annual Meeting,
20-22 Canterbury GC 4 Regtl Golf Match v Queen 's Own Buffs ,
' Glorious First of June' celebrations and RAC Country Club, Epsom
28 Cricket , Depot Queen's Division
Queen 's Surreys Regtl Assn Service , 5 6th/7th (V) Bn Exercise the Freedom,
29-30 Guildford Cathedral Brighton
Royal Sussex Officers' Dinner, Arundel
30 Castle 8 Sevastopol Day (2nd Bn)
Roya l Sussex Cricket v Lavinia Du chess of 9 Salerno Day (1st Bn l
30 Norfolk's XI, Arundel 13 Quebec Day (3rd Bn)
13 Queen 's Own Buffs Remembrance Service
31 ' Glorious First of June' (1st Bn)
3rd Bn returns from N Ireland and Reunion, M aidstone
June 1st Bn starts N Ireland tour 21-2 Oct 2nd Bn KAPE Tour
1 Regtl Cricket Match v Tonbridge School 26 Queen ' s Surreys Mu seum Open Day,
1
2 Clandon Park
4
October

8 Queen 's Surreys Golfing Society Annual
Meeting , Richmond

14 Regtl Golf v Haberdashers' Live ry Company,
Worplesdon

15 1st Bn returns from N Ireland
16 Regtl Cocktail Party , Banqueting House
17 WO 's & Sgts ' Past and Present Dinner ,

Bassingbourn
22 Regtl Golf v Liphook GC
23 Queen 's Surreys Officers' Club Dinner,

Simpsons
24-25 Cadet Forces Weekend , Shorncliffe

9

'd44444444444444444444444444444444444A44444444444'

~ COLONEL OF THE REGIMENT'S PREFACE "~

~·. ~

~ ~

~ ' Today is not yesterday; we ourselves change ' '!I
~~
~ '!I
~ Twenty years on since the formation of the Large Regi- '!I
~ ment I believe we can genuinely endorse th e Carlyle '!I
~ quotation above . For not only are Past and Present more '!I
~ closely linked together than ever before but we have now '!I
~ bred a generation (and a highly professional and enter- '!I
~ prising one at that) who have known none other than The '!I
~ Queen 's Regiment during their service. That is not to say
~ that they don 't deeply respect and cherish those gems of ~
~ heritage passed down to them by the Forbear Regiments .
'!I
~ They do indeed and generations of new Queensmen to '!I
~ come will no doubt do likewise . The tru ly close ties that '!I
~ now exist between Past and Present have never better
~
~ been exemp lified than by the record attendances at those ~
~ two annua l barometers of genuine Association support
'!I
~ - t he Grand Reu nion and the WOs' and Sergeants' Past
~ and Present Dinner. I frankly doubt (and sa id so publicly) "
\ on the day) if any other Large Infantry Regiment cou ld \

~

\

\

' have bettered the muster we had at Bassin gbourn that The Colonel of the Regiment talking to LCpl Corbett and,'
" Sunday in mid -July . Sad ly however there remarn some Pte Smith both 1 QUEENS , in Gibralta r. "
~ who sti ll cannot accept the fa cts of life (and now history!) ' \

' and two decades on are according ly denying themselves \

~·. ac nhederthtehire families the breadth of comradeship and good ·
Large Regiment has o n open offer to them. 1
ableoccasionblessedwithbalmyweather . Sadlythevery '!I
~ very much hope that before it is too late they too will see
~ the light and come and enjoy the even bigger and better short notice requirement for 3 QUEENS to conduct a ~
~ reunions and dinners planned for the decade ahead. We
~ wou ld gen uinely love to see them in our midst_ and we further emergency tour in Northern Ireland has '!I
necessarily led to the postponement of the visit of HM '!I

Queen Margrethe to Howe Barracks this December. We ~

~ mean that! In the same context 1hope that we will be able are however now hopeful that Her Majesty wi ll be able to "
~ shortly to estab lish regional QUEENS Association
come instead next autumn - or in the year in which the '
~ branches in the East and West Midlands and in the NE
Large Regiment comes of age . '

~ and NW. For under the divisional system t hese past 20 The upheaval so hastily thrust upon 3 QUEENS after ~
~ years our manning needs have on ly too often been met by their return from Belize simp ly high lights the morale~
~ uncommitted recruits from these parts - and notably sapping overstretch sti ll being experienced within the ~
~ centres like Manchester . I feel there is thus a g rowing Infantry. Wh ilst such tu rbul ence continues to exist, and ~
~ need to offer those who have served us so well from the ' Redcoats' are in ever increasing demand here, there ~
~ these parts the same Association cove r and and seemingly everywhere, therecansurelybenofurther ~
whisper of reductions in the size of the Corps. Let us just ~
~ comradeship .
~ The very favourable response to the Dover Museum hope (and pray) that all this cu rrent upheaval doesn 't ~
~ Appeal , and especially from Past and Present members produce cuts by 'hari-kari' means - or aggravated ~
wastage!
~ of the Regiment , has enabled work to begin in earnest ~
~ and t he opening is now planned for next Albuhera Day. Finally, may I wish all ranks, Past and Present, and their ~
families a Happy Christmas and New Yea r . In this context ~
~ This is very good news indeed as was the evident success let us just spare a special thought for the soldiers and ~
~ of 'The Flying Dragons ' in thei r first full freefall season . families of 3 QU EE NS so soon again to be separated from ~
~T he Putney Heath 325th Anniversary Muster, in the ~
~ presence of CDS , was an especia lly happy and memor- their loved ones and friends .
•~ a•4•••••••••••••••••••••••••••4••••••••••••••••••~

DATES TO REMEMBER 1987 (continued from page 8)

November December

6 6th/7th (V) Bn Annua l Cocktail Party 20 British Battal ion Day
7 Lord Mayor's Processio n, London 31 21st Anniversary of The Queen 's
8 Remembrance Day
Regiment

10

EDITORIAL

In this Journal we again have news from all elements of the Regiment whether Regular , TA , ACF or
Associations . However this could appropriately be called an Anniversary Issue in view of the dates that have
been commemorated .

The most important for present Queensmen is the 20th 'birthday' of the Regiment on 31 December 1986.
This has already been celebrated in advance at the Regimental Cocktail Party on 10 October and is marked in
this publication by reprinting two pages from Volume 1 No 1 of the Journal . These give the special Order of
the Day on the formation of the Regiment by the then Colonel of the Regiment , Lt Gen Sir Richard Craddock
KBE CB DSO , and a short account of the parade on Vesting Day at the Regimental Depot , then at
Canterbury. Corresponding parades were of course held in all battalions . In this connection it is worth noting
that this is the 60th edition of this Journal , all except for the last four so expertly edited by my predecessor ,
Maj Guy Weymouth MBE, who established the format which still proved extremely popular with the vast
majority of readers in the survey I carried out last year .

The next date commemorated was the 325th anniversary of the raising of the Tangier Regiment of Foot ,
also celebrated at the Regimental Cocktail Party and subsequently marked by a ceremony at the Regimental
Memorial on Putney Heath on 14 October . This event features on the front cover and is the subject of an
article by Col Toby Sewell , President of the Queen 's Royal Surrey Regimental Association.

Finally, there was a small but dignified ceremony in St Paul 's Cathedral on 17 October , the subject of
another short article . This was on the 400th anniversary of the death of Sir Philip Sidney from whom a direct
line of descent can be traced to The Queen 's Regiment . The date was commemorated by prayers and the
laying of wreaths on behalf of the Regiment and the Queen 's Own Buffs Regimental Association .

We are pleased to include for the first time in this issue a list of ACF adult instructors who are badged
QUEENS . This follows the ACF Officer list in the last edition and compliments the notes now regularly
published from our affiliated ACF units.

We are also delighted to have a contribution from that very special organisation , the Frimley and
Camberley Cadet Corps , and several other interesting articles .

Our special congratulations go to Col Bob Acworth CBE , now Commander of Victory College RMA
Sandhurst, who is to be promoted to Brigadier in September 1987 as ACOS lnt at AFCENT . Our very best
wishes also go to Brig Mike Constantine OBE, another of our Deputy Colonels, who assumed the
appointment of Commander of 81nfantry Brigade at the end of November . We were also delighted to learn
that Col John Holman, the senior Deputy Colonel , is to be appointed Divisional Colonel The Queen 's
Division in March .

My sincere thanks , as Editor , must be given to all those who faithfully contribute the material for this
Journal in such a meticulous way and all concerned with its publication . These include the staff at
Regimental Headquarters, our printers at Geerings of Ashford , and Combined Services Publications who
arrange our advertisements, without all of whom the Journal would not get off the ground . A very special
note of gratitude also to Maj John Fowler, formerly of our 5th (Volunteer) Battalion , who has most
generously donated the paper for this and future editions .

Finally, my very best wishes to all of you , our readers , for a very happy Christmas and a prosperous New
Year .

THE QUEEN'S REGIMENT

MUSEUM APPEAL

The Queen 's Regiment , England's oldest and most senior Infantry Regiment, is asking for
your help in financing a new permanent home for the Regimental Museum in Dover Castle.

Donations may be sent to The Appeal Office, RHO The Queen's Regiment, Howe Barracks ,
Canterbury, Kent, CT1 1JU , payable to 'The Queen's Regiment Museum Appeal ' .

11

MAINLY ABOUT PEOPLE

Maj Gen M F Reynolds CB retired from the Army on Sgt M S Kirkaldie, a Regu lar PSI serving with 5
9 October. QUEENS IV) , was a member of the Queen 's Division
team which won the Inter Corps Target Rifle Match .
Col R R St J Barkshire TD AIB JP, Hon Col 6/7
QUEENS IV), has been appointd a Deputy Lieutenant of Sgt lrvine, 1 QUEENS, achieved an A grading on his
East Sussex . NBC Instructors ' Course and was described as an
'outstanding instructor' .
Brig M RI Constantine OBE assumed comma nd of 8
lnf Bde on 28 November. Sgt Sellen , 1 QUEENS, achieved a ' Distin ction' in
EPCIA) , CS.
Col R Lea DSO OBE was appointed a Vice President
at RCB on 4 August. LCpl Fitzandrews and Pte Salako both of 1 QUEENS
have been selected for the Army football squad for the
Col J C Holman OBE, Dep Col B, is to be Div Col 1986 winter season .
Queen 's Division in March 1987.
LCpl Manners, 1 QUEENS has represented the Army
Col R W Acworth CBE has been selected as ACOS at golf during the 1986 season .
lnt at AFCENT in the rank of Brigadier, starting
Pte Heaven , 1 QUEENS , was selected fo r Ex Monti
September 1987. Bianco in June 1986 and reached the summit of Mont
Bl anc.
Col D A Beveridge MBE became DCOS !Arms) at
HQ UKLF on 8 October . Pte White, 2 QUEENS , has once again been selected
to play Army U21 rugby.
Lt Col P V Panton OBE is to be COS and D Comd HQ
North West District in Feb ruary 1987 in the rank of Col. Commander British Forces Belize has awarded Com-
mendations to the following members of 3 QUEENS :
Lt Col G Bulloch MBE is to be a Strategic Planner on
the International Military Staff, Bru ssels, in the rank of otSgt Nolan - for consistentl y high standards

Col, in March 1987. professionalism .

Col R H Graham MBE was appointed COS 1 Armd Pte Wadforth for running singlehand ed the
Div in November 1986.

The following Majors have been selected for Force resupply system which is normally a Cpl's task .
promotion to Lt Col :

Maj A W Barratt Maj p p Critchley
Maj C G F Charter Maj P L Pearce

Th e following have been selected for command
appointments:

Maj C G F Charter - 1 QUEENS !October 1987)
Lt Col MC Willis - 2 QUEENS ! March 1988)
Maj P L Pearce - 5 QUEENS IV) IMarch 1988)

Maj C J D Haswell has accepted the Colonel of the
Regiment's invitation to become Reg imental Historian .

Maj D E Price , formerly Bandmaster 1 R SUSSEX,
then Director of Mu sic The Queen 's Division and later of

the RE Chat ham Band has been made an MBE in HM The
Queen 's Birthday Honours.

Maj A J Wilkin has been awarded the 1st Clasp to the
Efficiency Decoration ITAVR).

Capt P W Rowles , Sussex ACF , has been awarded
the Cadet Forces Meda l.

Capt P J Newman has emba rked on a one year M Ph il Pte Wadforth , 3 QUEENS , receovong his commenda -
course at Cambridge University prior to Staff College . tion from Brig D B W Webb-Carter OBE MC, CBF Belize .

Capt D G Strutt, 2 QUEENS , took part in Ex Peruvian Cpl Platt - for outstanding initiative when three
Venture to clim b t he SW face of Nevado Alpamayo as members of his patrol were injured.
preparation fo r the British Services Eve rest Expedition in Pte D Cooper , 1 QUEENS !attached to the Flying
1988. Dragons ), has been invited to take part in selection tests
for the Army 8-way freefall parachute team.
Capt J F Burke has been selected for a Regular Bdsm R D Miller now of the Albuhera Band was
Quartermaster Commission. awarded The Queen 's Division Prize and nominated as
the best all round Junior Bandsman while at the Junior
W01 PE Hills has been selected for Director of Music School of Music, Bovington .
in January 1987 and is to be appointed Director of M usic

North .

W02 G Croxford , 5 QUEENS IV) was awarded the
BEM in HM The Queen 's Birthday Honours .

12

TWENTY YEARS AGO - REPRINTEi F

IYOYI

Lt.-Gen. Sir Richard Craddock,
K.B.E., C.B., D.S.O.,

Colone l of the Regiment

REGIMENTAL HEADQUARTERS,
THE QUEEN'S REGIMENT,
HOWE BARRACKS,
CANTERBURY, KENT.
31st December, 1966.

ORDER OF THE DAY

Today we become members of The Queen's Regiment and we have every
reason to be grateful for and proud of such a splendid name . We have been honoured
with messages from Her Majesty The Queen and from Her Roya l Highness, Princess
Marina, Duchess of Kent, our Colonel-in-C hief. Both these messages remind us of the
traditions of the Regiments from which we have sprung and of which we should rightly
be proud . It is now our dut y to ensure that the traditions which The Queen's
Regiment will make for itself are at least as fine as those we have been fortunate
enough to inherit.

The profe ssion of arms is the most honourable profession, no matter in what
capacity each one of us may be serving , and honour is a word , both powerful and
splendid, to which all of us should thrill and which should se rve as our guiding light.
It is our honour to .:onti nue the tradition of service to Sovereign and Country set us
by our distinguished predecessors, and in this we must not fail.

T o all of you, wherever you may be serving, go my very best wishes and
my confidence that The Queen's Regi ment will be equal to all the demands which
may be made upon it .

R. W . CRADDOC K ,
Colonel, The Queen's Reg iment .

13

rEI FROM VOLUME 1 NUMBER 1

~ '3fiJ.6'1DJ..QJ6l6i6ffiW6'i6i61616'i6'iffi1W6Y6l6Y6i6i6Y6i6lhYM6W6Y6W6l6'i6l6i6i6Y6l6i6T6l6j6f6Y6Y/W6'W6Y616Y6i6Ybt6i6l6W6i6W61fiW6l1i'iQYQ)?

VESTING DAY
at the Regimental Depot

Lt.-Gen. S lr Richard C ra.ddock addressing the tmops on pa rade at t h e D e pot. Standing in a
row behind the Colone l of the R egiment are Major-Gen . Tarve r, Major-Ge n . Plggott, Brigadier
A:-;hworth and Major-Gen. l\la.n. Standing be hind th e m i:-. Col. J. H . Huttye-. The De pot C'om-

mandf>r, LtA 'ol. .J. Rll <' k e rld gt>, i:-. un th e- l t' ft f oregrotmd .

Acknowledgement : " K e ntis h Gazelle."

AT the Depot on 31st December, '66, the for- Prayers were 1h en said, inc luding th e new
mation of The Queen's Regiment was Co ll ec t of Th e Qu ee n 's R eg im e n t by the D epot
O ffi ciati ng C hapl a in, th e R ev. C. W . Donaldson,
marked by a simple ceremony at mid-day . B .D., and a fter messages from Her Majes ty Th e
Quee n and the Colone l-in-Chief , H er Royal Hig h -
The parade consisting of permanent staff n ess Pt·in cess Marin a, Duc h ess o f Kent, had been
read by th e Br1ga de Colonel, Col. I . H . Battye,
and recruits from the Depot, with a detachment M.B.E ., the Colon e l of th e R egime nt mad e a
short add ress.
and the Band of rhe future 5 QUEENS , was
Finally. th e t1·oops on parad e march ed off to
commanded by Lt. -Col. J. Buckcridgc, Depot th t• tun e o f "So ldit'rs of Th e Qu e~m . "

Co mmand er. As the weather w as bad th e parade w as
h e ld in the gymnasium, whic h initiall y appeared
The inspecting officer was th e Colonel of The a g r eat disappointm ..- nt . H owever, as th e cere-
Queen's R egiment, Lt.-Gen. Sir Richard Craddock, who w e re
K .B .E .. C.B., D .S .O., and the salutes were tak e n mony progressed so the mspefcetlattotrhs~t they were
by him a nd Deputy Colonels, Major-Gen. F . J . C. c t·owded into th e gymnasiu
Piggott. C.B., C. B .E ., D .S .O ., Major-Gen. C. H .
Tarve r , C.B . C.B.E., D.S .O ., Brig. J . B . A shworth, ac tually taking part 1n an his torical act Instead
C.B .E., D .S .O ., and Major-General C. M . M . Man . of being just spectators as might have been the
O.B.E ., M .C. case if th e parade h ad been held on the square.

Afte r the ins pection, a ll those present saluted After the parade the Colonel and Deputy
as t h e fl ags of the Hom e Counties Brigade a n d Colonels of the R egiment a nd th e ir wives were
the four old R egime nts were lowered to f an fart> invited into the Sergeants' Mess be fore joining
music a nd th e n e w fl ag of Th e Qu ee n 's R egim t> nt thf' other v i ~i tors In rh e Officer s ' M ess for lunc h .
was r a ised by J unior Bandsman J . T e rry.

]!QE] IXQX9WJ;Q&VXQJWQXQXQl9lQAQXQWJ;QAQlQlVXQXVXVXVXVXVXWMQAVl21QlQAQXQWJ;Q1Wl9WAQMQ!QJ\QAVl9lUXQ12lVlVlQ19l\Jl\1MSJA91AQ!Ql2l9!RWlQ0

14

325th ANNIVERSARY OF THE TANGIER REGIMENT OF FOOT

The restored Monument on Putney Heath. The Colonel of the Regiment arrives with the Chief
of the Defence Staff.

The Queen's Royal Surrey Association paraded more Finally after 'Three Cheers for HM The Queen ', the
than 200 strong on Putney Heath on 14 October 1986, the National Anthem and ' Soldiers of The Queen' the parade
325th anniversary of the first parade of the Regiment, to was dismissed, after which Admiral and Lady Field house
have the new inscriptions on the Tercentenary Monu- and the other guests stayed talking with people in a
ment unveiled. The unveiling was carried out by the Chief friendly crowd for a quarter of an hour .
of the Defence Staff, Admiral of the Fleet Sir John
Fieldhouse GCB GBE who was met on arrival by the After the ceremony a luncheon was held at The
Colonel of The Queen's Regiment, Brig Charles Mill man Telegraph Hotel, Putney Hill , for the COS, the chief
OBE . The COS was received by the parade, under com- guests, and those officers and their ladles of the Regi-
mand of the President, with a General Salute. Following ment who could be fitted into the restricted sur-
this the COS inspected the Association talking to many roundings . The lunch was jointly hosted by The Queen 's
of those who were drawn up in two ranks. After the Regiment and the Association. At the conclusion the
Inspection Col Sewell spoke to recall the reasons for the Colonel of the Regiment proposed The Loyal Toast , and
new inscriptions, to welcome the COS and the other made a presentation to Admiral Field house as a memento
chief guests and to invite the Admiral of the Fleet to carry for him of the occasion .
out the unveiling. After this Admiral Field house replied to
us touching on problems of defence, commending The The day had been blessed throughout by warm sunny
Queen's Regiment's involvement with its three Regular weather , and the Monument, cleaned and white , looked
Battalions overseas , and praising our history over 325 splendid in the sunshine, guarded by four soldiers of the
years, mentioning our special connections with the Royal Regimental information Team , two dressed in 1661 style
Marines from 1702 and with the Royal Navy from 1 June uniform and two in 1702 (shown on the back cover).
The Quebec Band of The Queen 's Regiment played for
1794 .

15

the parade and played background music before and LOYAL GREETINGS
after, adding much colour to the occasion.
Letters of Loyal Greetings on the occasion of the 325th
Besides Admiral of the Fleet and Lady Fieldhouse, the anniversary of the raising of the Tangier Regiment were
chief guests included Col A B Harfield ADC RM repre - sent from RHO to HM The Queen and our two Allied
senting the Commandant General Royal Marines who Colonels in Chief. The following replies were received:
unfortunately was prevented from attending, Mrs Wilt,
the Chairman of the Wimbledon Common Association , Addressed to Lt Col J J White, Deputy Regimental
Sir Robert Andrew representing the Ministry of Defen ce, Secretary :
Commodore C J Howard, Captain of HMS Nelson , and
the Presidents of our sister Associations of the Queen 's Buckingham Palace
Own Buffs, the Royal Sussex and the Middlesex 15 October 1986
Regiments.
Dea r Colonel White ,
Members of the Association who paraded included I am commanded by The Queen to ask you to convey
Maj Gens FAH Ling , M Forrester and M F Reynolds . Brig
PH Richardson was Right Marker, and the lines included her sincere thanks to all the ranks of The Queen 's
ten of our In-Pensioners of the Royal Hospital, and oldest Regiment and former members of The Queen 's Royal
of all Mr H E Hannam of the 9th Surreys !The Gallants) Surrey Regiment for their kind message of loyal
wearing his 1914- 15 Star and his other 1914-1918 medals . greetings, sent on the occasion of the 325th anniversary
of the raising of the Tangier Regiment.
The success of the day owed an enormous amount to
our Secretary, and to the support of the Regimental Her Majesty much appreciated this message and
Information Team commanded by Capt A Hill, who hopes that the occasion was a great success.
started his career in the 1st Battalion of the Queen 's
Surreys. Yours sincerely,
!Signed) Kenneth Scott
The details of the new inscription on the reverse of the
Monument are: Addressed to Co J W Francis, Regimental Secretary :
Christiansborg Slot
The Queen 's Royal Surrey Regiment
who set up this monument in 1961 was Copenhagen, Denmark
formed by the amalgamation in 1959 of 16 October 1986
The Queen 's Royal Regiment (2nd Foot)
Dear John,
and The Queen has asked me to convey Her Majesty's
The East Surrey Regiment (31st and 70th Foot) .
thanks for the loyal greetings of the Colonel and all ranks
The Regiment became part of The Queen 's Regiment of the Queen 's Regiment and the former members of The
on 31st December 1966 Queen's Surrey Regiment sent to Her Majesty on the
325th anniversary of the raising of The Tangier Regiment.
The motto Pristinae Virtutis Memor has been added
to the front below the existing inscription. Yours ever,
!Signed) Helge

(continued on page 161

COS meets members of
The Queen 's Royal
Surrey Regimental
Association .

(pictures on pages 14 and
15 by Ben May!

16 14 October 1661 - painted by Charles C Stadden .

Loyal Greetings (continued)

Addressed to the Colonel of the Regiment

The Royal Palace Noordeinde
The Hague
Holland

27 October 1986

Her Royal Highness Princess Juliana of the Nether-
lands has requested me to thank you, all ranks of the
Queen 's Regiment and former members of the Queen 's
Surrey Regiment, for your greetings on the occasion of
the 325th anniversary of the raising of the Tangier Regi -
ment on 14 October 1661 .

Chief of the Military House of
Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands

T J de Geus
Lieutenant-General

400th ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEATH OF SIR PHILIP SIDNEY

(1554-1586)

traced from Sir Philip Sidney through Th e Buffs and the
Queen 's Own Buffs to the present Queen's Regiment .
(This line was summarised in the article by Gregory
Blaxland in the December 1984 edition of this Journal.)

The short ceremony at the Sidney memorial was atten-
ded by Brig R F Parry MC who laid the Queen 's Own
Buffs w reath, Lt Co l J J White who laid the wreath on
behalf of The Queen 's Regiment , Maj H C L Tennent,
Secretary of the Queen 's Own Buffs Regimental Associ-
ation , the Receiver General of St Paul 's Cathedral and a
number of other spectators . Prayers were led by a Canon
of St Pauls .

Sir Philip Sidney died of wounds on 17 October 1586
and ' his body was buried in St Paul's Cathedral to the roar
of a salute fired by musketeers of London's Trained
Bands '.

Exactly 400 years after his death , wreaths were laid at
his memorial in St Paul 's Cathedral by The Queen 's Regi -
ment and the Queen 's Own Buffs Regimental Associa-
tion to commemorate the direct line of decent that can be

17

1st BATTALION

EDITORIAL hosted seemingly endless Ex MARBLE TOR TA
exercises , completed all but two of our Kirke 's
As the pace of life for the Battalion was busy Competition events and carried our adventure training
throughout 1985 adjusting to the requirements of our
ceremonial duties, so the spring and summer of 1986 exercises in Morocco .
have been equally busy continuing such duties, whilst
relearning our tactical skills for return to the rest of the When looking back over the last six months, one of its
Army . Amongst the main events of the summer have main features has quite literally been the changing face of
been the completion of each company's second year 'Off the Battalion. New blood from both the Depot and IJLB
the Rock' exercise , our second Queen 's Birthday Parade has given the rifle companies a youthful look with ' old
performance and a Battalion UK exercise, Ex HIGH TIDE , sweats ' boasting little more than a year's service being
at Sennybridge . During idle moments, we have per- very much in the minority . Few will have the benefit and
formed the Ceremony of the Keys on five occasions , experience of the Battalion 's last tour in Omagh when we
go to Armagh next June.

The Colonel of the Regiment's visit to the 1st Battalion in Gibraltar, 1-3 July 1986.

1. With the CO , lt Col Mike Ball - describing the fish 3. Pre-lunch drinks in the Sergeants ' Mess with RSM
that got away 7 Boden (left) and others.

2. Tackling Mrs lynne Thorpe . wife of OC Albuhera 4. In conversation with Pte Andrews on Convent Guard
Company , about her non-Regimental attire . Duty .

18 Kirke 's Drill Competition in 1986 but to replace it with a I
military skills competition with more relevan ce to our
This year's Queen 's Birthday Parade was, once again, future role . During August, to ring the changes in the
held in the Victoria Stadium and , with the benefit of the Convent Guard Mount routine , the Corps of Drums
experience of last year , as well as the steady improve- combined with the Gibraltar Regiment Corps of Drums
ment in Battalion drill , resulted in a magnificent cere- for a Convent Guard Mount. The following week Kirkes
monial event. lt was viewed by, amongst others , the CO (Headquarters) Company mustered sufficient drill
and recce party of our relieving battalion, 2 R ANGLIAN , enthusiasts to perform their first Convent Guard Mount
who were able to see the shape of things to come . The and received a complimentary verdict from the RSM . '
Battalion fielded five guards, one more than last year
when A (Tangier) Company had been away on training. The early summer was a period marked by franti c
Headquarters (Aibuhera / Kirke's) Company again sports and social activities . Albuhera Day commenced
provided a guard commanded by Maj Stephen Thorpe . traditionally with enforced ea rl y morning rum for the
This was his fourth performance on a Gibraltar Queen 's 'livers in' and live music by the Albuhera Band and Corps
Birthday Parade which could well be a record , and comes of Drums for the living in and marrieds alike . lt was
in a tour which will enab le him to tota l nearly 50 months in followed by Inter Company 57-a-side pushball, an extra-
ordinary game, the object of which was to guarantee that
Gibra ltar during his career . we wou ld have too many injuries to meet the Queen 's
Birthday Parade manpower requirements. The ball was
The parade itself received particular praise from the loaned from the US Naval Base at Rota. The US forces
Deputy Fortress Commander (Brig R T P Hume) who had were so intrigued to know how we were going to use the
taken the salute during the full dress rehearsal the ba ll they sent a Marine Corps officer to watch . This he
previous day, on this his final Queen 's Birthday Parade in did , only to see their ball reduced to one foot in diameter
Gibraltar . He said, of the parade , that the Battalion had after the second game. The game was won by Sobraon
surpassed the standards of many of the Horse Guards Company.
'Trooping the Colour' which he had witnessed during his
career. The Commanding Officer commanded the Holland Company was noticeably absent from the pro-
parade, and with the Gibraltar Regiment not providing a ceedings in Gibraltar celebrating their Albuhera Day by a
guard this year, the parade 21C was on this occasion the picturesque lake in the middle of the Santa Margarida
Bn 21C, Maj Pearce. The Escort to the Colour was Training Area. A live HF radio link up to the Nuffield
provided by A (Tangier) Company and commanded by Swimming Pool in Gibraltar, where the rest of the Bat-
Maj Harcus with Subaltern of the Escort carried out by talion was having a BBQ, was set up, allowi ng the wives
Capt Hames. Having experienced swelte ring tempera- and girl friends to whisper sweet nothings across a
tures during the parade rehearsals, a stong breeze on the distance of 300 miles at no cost.
day kept those on parade relatively cool. With unified
praise from all who watched, the verdict from us al l was This was against considerabl e concern from the Regi-
that the sixteen full dress rehearsals and severa l mental Signals Office that the signals traffic monitors
uncomfortably early mornings had been well worthwhile . wouldn't object to such loving voice procedure. To mark
the occasion the RSM, W01 Boden had set off with a
The six month period began with the departure of B team of twelve in two civi lianised Land Rovers on the
(Holland) Company as the second company to go to the previous day to visit Albuhera with the intention of
Santa Margarida Training Area in Portugal for a month 's returning for the day's activities. The latter he achieved
field training exercise. Whilst in Portugal the Company but the attempted visit was soon labelled 'NOT the visit to
was tasked to rehearse and demonstrate the SA 80 as Albuhera' as both Land Rovers developed mechanical
part of a defence sales project and in doing so were able failure and the team returned with their tails between
to get an early taste of the new weapon, with an abun - their legs to be met by a gentle ribbing by all.
dance of ammunition provided. The verdict from the
soldiers was very much thumbs up. As a dismounted After sca rcely recovering from Albuhera Day, and as a
Infantry company training area Santa Margarida would distraction from the Queen's Birthday Parade rehearsals ,
be difficult to equal. The area, consisting of 400 square both messes held their 'Glorious First of June' Ball on the
miles of extremely varied and attractive terrain , is based last weekend in May. Once again these were sp lendid
around the garrison home of the 1st Portu guese
Independent Mixed Brigade. Members of the Brigade 1. The last Border Guard in Gibraltar - LCpl Davison,
provided administration and liaison to British exercising Pte Cadywould and Pte Birdsail, all of Quebec Company.
troops and were extremely co-operative . The cry from 2. In Portugal. the 21C, Maj John Harcus, with officers
their liaison officers was always 'lt-sa no problem ' which of the 1st Mixed Bde Recce Sqn .
it wasn't if they had understood what we had asked for , 3. Ptes Cregg and Harris of Tangier Company prepare
though we soon learnt that they frequently had not .
for battle.
In mid May Tangier Company provided the Outpost 4. The RSM , W01 Boden, about to take the plunge in the
Platoon for the last of the Battalion's Ceremony of the Chain of Command race at the Battalion Swimming Gala .
Keys performances at Casemates Square . Tangier Com- 5. Members of Holland Company who gave sales
pany had , by coincidence, also provided the Battalion's demonstrations in Portugal.
first Outpost Platoon and both had been commanded by 6. Royal Wedding Day children's street party at Europa.
2Lt Anthony Bolton . With the Queen 's Birthday Parade 7. Aidan Donovan , BFBS DJ , at the same event.
and Ceremony of the Keys performances out of the way
the only remaining commitment to ceremonial duties has
been the weekly Convent Guard Mount, which has
continued to attract large crowds throughout the
summer . With this in mind it was decided not to hold a



20 our APTC instru ctor challenged the other Services on the
Rock to a Superstars Competition . The competition
occasions establishing a standard hard to beat at the start organised jointly by the three Services , took place in May
of the season of Service Balls on the Rock. The organ- and involved watersports , strength tests , and athletic
ising of the Officers' Mess Ball however was not without events. Even before the competition commenced one
its interesting moments . Rainfall on the afternoon of the could have hardly blamed the other Services if the
Ball resulted in a last minute decision to move the event gauntlet had been thrown in; just the mere sight of
into the caves behind the Mess, adding greatly to the blonde haired beefcake and muscle, provided by the
atmosphere of the occasion. gymnasium and Army W atermanship Training Staff, was
enough to turn the opposition into jelly . The team led by
With the benefit of our 1985 experience behind us it Capt Ken Hames included the Drum Major, Cpl Chap-
was wisely decided to rename the annual cricket match man, LCpls Stubbs, Pannell , Hammond and Kent .
against the Royal Navy the 'Glorious Seventh of June' Needless to say they won the event . Turning to the
match thus enab lin g a week for Summer Ball hangovers winter season of sports, the preparations are well under
to cure. This tactical decision clearly worked for we way for the Kirke's Inter Company Boxing Competition
achieved a resounding victory after losing by two runs which is held in early November . With the recent influx of
the previous year . Men of the match were the Command- young soldiers to the Battalion there is great hope of
ing Officer and Maj Rocky Hitchcock whose early emerging talent. The boxing sq uad starts full time
partnership put up the maximum permitted score of 25 training under the direction of Capt Ebbens, the Battalion
runs each before retiring . Boxing Officer, on return from our UK exercise in mid
October and there are high hopes for our team in the
To complete the season of company exercises (it Army Novices Grade 3 Inter Unit Championships. We
seems as though we have spent more time out of Gibral - have recently received particularly good news on the
tar than within it) Quebec Company, with Potential soccer front: Two of our Battalion players, LCpl
NCOs' Cadre in tow , moved to Otterburn for a two week Fitzandrews and Pte Salako have been selected for the
period of support weapon training and live firing in early Army football squad and wi ll hopefully represent the
July. Milan and Mortar platoons carried out their annual Army during the 1986-87 season .
firing whilst the Reconnaissance platoon carried out
preliminary COP NCO se lection at Galloway, a spectac- We have once again had a steady f low of visitors to the
ularly beautiful training area, in South West Scotland. Battalion including two particularly enjoyable visits from
the Colonel of the Regiment who visited the Battalion in
Whilst Quebec Company had undoubtedly drawn the early July and the Deputy Colonel A , who came to us
short straw in returning to Otterburn and not sharing the during sweltering mid August weather. Other visitors
delights of Portugal, there was a unanimous view that the have been the Quartermaster General , Gen Sir Richard
Newcastle Brown tasted better than the San Miguel Trant and the Director of Personal Services (Army), Maj
stubbies consumed in Gibraltar. Undoubtedly the most Gen Pank , both of whom had brief visits to the Battalion
well publicised event to effect the Battalion during the in June.
summer was the closure of the Four Corners Border
Guard, which marked the end of 250 years of British On reviewing this editorial it is quite apparent that there
military presence on the border. The last dismount, is insufficient space to cover all the activities deserving
carried out by LCpl Davison and Pte Birdsall of Quebec mention during this busy summer. The Albuhera Band
Company took place on 31 July without special cere- have been at the forefront of many of these activities and
mony. Whilst there was a twinge of regret from those in continue to be, without doubt, ou r main ambassadors
the Batta lion who mourn the loss of this historic role on the civic front. A special mention must be given to
there was considerab le delight from the companies, par- their most recent St Michael 's Cave Concert held on 22
ticularly t he CSMs , at the reduction of one of their several July to commemorate the Royal Wedding . For the con-
commitments. cert the Bandmaster , W01 Davis, adopted as the theme
'The Last Night of the Proms ' and to achieve his aim
On the sports front we have again had a very full and gathered together and trained a choir of over 50 . lt was a
well contested season with athletics and cricket being spectacular and merry occasion enjoyed by Gibraltarians,
dominant amongst a va ried programme. The 1986 Kirke's tourists and Service fam ilies al ike and which netted over
Competition opened in June with Tangier Company win- £2000 for local charities. Needless to say the concert was
ning for the second year running the Batta lion Athletics a complete sellout.
Meeting enabling them to return the Kirke 's Shield back
to familiar surroundings. The Battalion then provided the At the time of completion of this editoria l the Battalion
full Army team for the Inter Services Ath letics Meeting has just completed its one month training exe rcise at
winning a decisive victory over the Royal Navy and Royal
Air Force. In all, Battalion competitors won six first Sennybridge, Ex HIGH TIDE . So much has been
placings in track and field events including wins by Lt achieved during the period that a deep breath , ideally six
Scott (1500m), LCpl Fitzandrews (200m), Pte Soothe months, is needed before putting pen to paper.
(400m) and Pte Christopher (high jump) . The remaining
wins were in relay events. The Kirke's 1986 cricket The exercise has been a great success and although we
competition and the Gibraltar League Competition were are aware that we sti ll have much to re learn we have been
once again combined to avoid duplication of inter able to make great progress in improving individua l and
company matches. At the close of the season Kirkes collective Infantry ski lls. Full news of the exercise, which
Company (almost half the Battalion) had retained the included the completion of five of the inter company
Kirke's cricket trophy though at the time of writing the Kirke 's Competition events will be covered in the June
results of the Gibraltar League had not been published . 1987 edition .
As a departure from the establ ished sports SSgt Gildert

21

1. The Battalion orienteering competition 4. Tangier Company team, winners of the Battalion Skill
apprehension before the start - and at Arms Meeting.
2. The CO , Lt Col Mike Ball making good progress .
3. The winning orienteerers - Sobraon Company. 5. Some of the better-looking members of the Battalion
rugby team .

6. Sgt White and Pte Turner during the Kirkes Football
League .

22

QUEBEC PLC- THE COMPANY HALF-YEARLY rena ming their trade name to ' COP ' and this wi ll bode
them well for the next year . Milan are to (as is on ly right
REPORT for this emerg ing group) trial the anti shipping role of t heir
weapon system cu lminating with a live firing in
Dear Shareholder, Novembe r. Tickets for this event can be obtained from
the group headquarters enclosing a SAE . (Black Tie
Around Albuhera Day 1986, the commander of Sup- only.) Mortars are to consolidate on their exce llent results
port Company (which trades under the brand name of of this period and contin ue in the stream lining of the ski lls
'Quebec') realised that he was hardly in charge of a although in the first half of FY 86-87 they may be required
co hesive sub unit. lt was decided, therefore, during an to change their emphasis from 'plumbing' to 'gru nting'.
informal board meeting on a Friday morning that the
most logical thing was to 'go public' maintaining a cor- Your company's group headquarters will remain rela-
porate image to the rest of the Battalion but with each tively unchanged with W02 Scully as the M anag ing
platoon concentrating on its relative strengths. Because Director, CSgt Perkins as Sales Directo r and LCpl lza rd
Support Weapons are more of a cottage industry in Gib- as Company Secretary . lt only remains for the outgoing
raltar than elsewhere in the world, flotation of shares did Group Chairman (not subject to re-election!) to wish his
not attract the same amount of interest from the public as successor Maj Knight the best of good fortune - he'll
TSB or British Gas with the inevitable result that the issue need it!
was undersubscribed and the Chairman had to go to the
local equivalent of a Clearing Bank (the Adjutant) and ON A TUESDAY MORNING IN GIBRALTAR
beg for more shareholders. W02 Dobson was sent off to
Hong Kong as the Far East representative in the RHKR On Tuesday 26 August the Combined Corps of Drums
and W02 Scully was promoted from blanket stacking in of the 1st Battalion The Queen's Regiment and the
Sobraon Company to become the Managing Director of Gibraltar Regiment marched down the High Street
Quebec PLC . Because nepotism works, he brought with towards Convent Place for the ceremonial changing of
him (more or less) his brother CSgt Scullyto become MD the Governor's Guard. This was a unique parade being
of Reconnaissance Platoon. This has proved to be a good the first time that both Corps of Drums had performed
move as the chairman of Recce , being extremely short- together on the ceremonial changing of the guard. In
sighted needed a modern equivalent of a Seeing Eye keeping with tradition both Corps of Drums mustered at
Dog. lnce's Hall with 12 Drummers and a Drum Major per
Regiment . As 'The Advance ' was sounded both corps
Fortunately Recce are changing their role to Close stepped off escorting the Ceremonial Guard playing a
Observation which will enable them all to become adept rousing tune . After marching and counter marching in
at Braille and drills with white sticks. both slow and quick time playing in front of the Convent
both Corps performed Victory Beatings . After many a
Milan Platoon has continued to show a growth in good' Aire' the Drums faced away from the parade ready
expertise by sending successful students to the School at to march off the old guard.
Netheravon whilst retrenching on its overall manpower
due to the natural wastage and promotions outside the During the ceremony we all felt very proud to hear the
company. As a group however, we are not too dismayed traditional sound of Fife and Drum without the familiar
about this as Milan are in the forefront of the white hot sounds of Cornet and Trombone normally heard on a
heat of technology and we are confident that in the Tuesday morning in Gibraltar .
financial year 86-87 there will be a dramatic growth in
terms of manpower and direct sales hitting ability. This is The music played and the Victory Beatings witnessed
in no small manner due to the dynamic instructional abil- had taken many months to perfect. This was due to the
ity shown by the sales team. They have, despite limita- great efforts of Cpls Drylands and Hansen , and LCpls
tions of space, created a broad base across the Battalion Armstrong and Vandenbosch who had spent many hours
of people interested and trained in the complexities of the teaching the Gibraltar Corps of Drums . This was
wire guided Schermuly . Our plumbing division, which definitely a first for Gibraltar and it gave the spectators an
specialises in dropping things down drainpipes (The opportunity to witness a unique display of a Regular
Mortar Platoon) has by guile and deception managed to Battalion 's Drums combi ned with those of a TA
maintain its broad based workforce and by using the Regiment .
argument of recruiting further manpower achieved the
possibly unique status of the only Mortar Platoon in the
Army to consistently shoot against moving targets and
much to the amazement of visitors to the shop floor ,
manage to hit them. The targets used were floating Royal
Naval targets and details of this exciting development
from a dynamic company can be obtained in the relevant
trade journals. The managing director of the Mortars
overcame his natural reticence when the target was hit to
exclaim That's bleedin' great in nit?' What better
advertising could a company want?

Looking to the future, the group is hoping to expand
considerably from its present small (but perfect ?) size
and make a takeover bid for many of the staff from the
Rifle Companies and the sleeping giant of Albuhera /
Kirke's Company. As beforementioned , Recce are

23

2nd BATTALION

Maj Gen Ramsey, GOC Eastern District, meets Pte Sgt Mitchell talking to the CO and Brig Wheeler , Comd 11
Shade and the Drum Major in Oakington. Armd Bde, in Minden.

EDITORIAL Our efforts to get to BAOR began in earnest on 1 April
and we wondered for a long time when someone would
A year ago we foresaw a period of considerable variety call 'April Fool' ! lt was just that sort of frantic time as
and pressure for the Battalion, culminating in our arrival some 350 members of the Battalion rushed hither and
in Minden . Well , our Falklands Tour is behind us, our thither on vehicle orientated courses all around the
mechanised conversion in Oakington complete and we country and to Minden as we tried to cram the normal4-6
can now report that we have arrived in Minden , fired up months conversion training into less than three months .
and full of enthusiasm for the future . lt is eleven years lt was barely possible and allowed for little flexibility.
since the 2nd Battalion left Werl in October 1975 with Lt Indeed , we have arrived with a considerable amount of
Col Mike Newall as CO , Capt Peter Cook as Adjutant and training still to be done, particularly with the Recce
Tex Parnell as the RSM . Well , that Adjutant is now the Platoon on their Scimitar vehicles and Rarden guns . We
Commanding Officer, Cpl Daw has risen to be RQMS and were particularly grateful to the Infantry Wing at Bordon
Cpls Winter, Akehurst and Gauntlett are now Company for carrying out the bulk of our conversion , training
Sergeant Majors . W02 ICSM) Barnacle is now QM(A) approximately 150 APC drivers, commanders , instruc-
and Cpl Ward is now in his fourth year as Drum Major . tors and managers . Furthermore, many took part in Ex
There are quite a few others left throughout the Battalion PHANTOM BUGLE on Salisbury Plain or experienced the
and it is paying dividends to have a little knowledge still Porton Battle Run at the DNBC centre . We even man -
around . We are once again part of 4th Armoured Divi- aged Bisley 86 with a very young team and were the only
sion, but this time we are in 11 Armoured Brigade, com- Queen 's Division battalion to take part!
manded by Brig Roger Wheeler CBE (lateR IRISH).
The unit move of freight and personnel was in some-
We are fairly proud of the way the handover to 1 WFR what marked contrast and is now the subject of much
went in Oakington Barracks, particularly the quarters discussion and representation . The air moves were very
which were described as immaculate - well done the satisfactory, positively acclaimed by some, but the move
families! We are now firmly established in Clifton of freight, particularly for families , was almost
Barracks, across the Weser River from our Queen 's intolerable, despite the efforts of the UEO and his team .
Division cousins , 3 R ANGLIAN , who have already been Suffice to say that we have made some strong recom-
an enormous help. The last vestiges of 2 RGJ are fast mendations for improvements, we suspect without any
disappearing as blue and buff replaces the green and a financial penalty . The movers in the MOD seem to be still
new broom sweeps through the camp . The barracks is of rather far divorced from reality .
the pre-war style but extensively refurbished . Single
accommodation, in the form of flats , is a great enhance- There is little likelihood of a quiet in -baulk settling in
ment to the quality of life, although we will be a little period these days, and the pace of life in BAOR is very
cramped until the final block is completed next year . exacting and has come as quite a shock to any unpre-
Battalion Headquarters is a new build and quite a lively pared . Already we have provided umpires and vehicles
place with the Families Office, Medical Section and PRI for the 1st (Belgium) Corps FTX, deploying only a week
also in the building . Our new Adjutant , Capt Clive or so after arriving in Minden . By late October virtually
Newell , is having trouble coming to terms with wailing every officer, supported by drivers, signallers and
children and scampering feet !

24 Sergeants' M ess. The aim was to announce our arrival in
Minden and it was a resounding success thanks to a great
vehicles will have deployed as umpires on Ex Eternal deal of hard work by soldiers in the Battalion, a fine day
TRIANGLE, the 1st Armoured Division FTX, followed a and the musical excellence of the Quebec Band and our
fortnight later by our first trip to Soltau . We expect to be own Corps of Drums.
old hands and true BAOR warriors by Christmas! We
have come a long way since the Falklands this time last W01 !Bandmaster) Terry Davies has recently been on
year, which reminds us, to all those that have written or his recce for the Albuhera Band 's move to Minden in
passed favourable comments on our Falklands account February 1987. After nearly three years without a perma-
in the June edition, may we take this opportunity to nent Band to share our lives, their arrival is most eagerly
thank you. lt was a memorable tour and it would have awaited. We wish them 'bon voyage' for their move .
been very remiss of us to have kept it to ourselves .
Sporting activities have taken a quantum leap forward
The Quebec Band, with W01 (Bandmaster) Brian already , despite our congested programme , and that has
Cunningham at the helm, came for a fortnight in early been welcomed by one and all . There is every opportunity
September. What an excellent visit it turned out to be . to take part in a wide variety of sports and there have
We were delighted to see the Band, particularly contain - been notable successes in cycling, canoeing and rugby .
ing so many familiar faces from the old 2nd Battalion Ex SNOW QUEEN is on the horizon and we have an excel-
Band , whilst the musicians themselves enjoyed a break lent hut in Bavaria . Training is now underway for the
from the drudgery of guards and duties in Howe biathlon team , some of whom are in Norway in Novem-
Barracks . Fittingly, on Quebec Day (13 September). we ber and December.
held a Families Open Day, Beating Retreat and receptions
in the Officers' Mess and Warrant Officers ' and

1. Drums Platoon on the lnvicta March and Shoot 3. Officers on the 'Terrain Study'.
Competition in Oakington. 4. LCpl Rogers and Ptes Head , Parris , lbrahim , Nesbit .
2. Members of the Recce Platoon discuss tactics .

A scene from 2 QUEENS Families Day . Beating Retreat in Clifton Barracks .

Next year is in the true traditions of BAOR soldiering - tain , Leopard 2 and Marcler were particular attractions
full and varied! The highlights will be BATUS in August and we are grateful to all the units that provided vehicles
and September on MEDICINE MAN 4and 5and , all being and crews for us . The Companies ran a variety of stalls to
well , one company wi ll also go to Denmark in the supplement their funds , whilst LCpl Hollick and Cpl
Autumn . W e are also hopeful that new initiative and Shutler cycled for over three hours to raise a substantial
direction from Corps and Divisional Headquarters on sum for Ex TATO PIADAL in 1987 and they never
Adventure Training will be undervvay in 1987. Funds and moved a yard !
equipment for expeditions shou ld be more readily
available, some of which we hope will be available to Maj In the evening the Quebec Band and our own Corps of
John Gamlin's ambitious cycling expedition to the Drums performed an impeccable Beating Retreat in front
Himalayas Ex TATO PIADAL (March to May 19871 . Six of of 200 British and West German guests and 700 members
the eight-man expeditiop will be from the battalion. of the Battalion and their families . Amongst the guests
were Lt Gen Sir Brian Kenny , the Corps Commander , and
So you can see we have plenty to be getting on with in Lady Kenny , Maj Gen M F Hobbs , GOC 4 Armd Div and
1987 and already much of 1988 is now answered for . Vari - Brig and Mrs R N Wheeler. The West German guests
ety is quite definitely the spice of life! included representatives from the Stadt.

FAMILIES DAY AND BEATING RETREAT lt was particularly pleasing to welcome so many
Regimental friends who had made the effort to come
In the Battalion's final months in Oakington it was from many parts of BAOR , from UK and from Berlin
decided that we should hold a Families Open Day, and a including Lt Col and Mrs Peter Hubert, Lt Col and Mrs
'Welcome to Minden ' Beating Retreat and Cocktail Party Mike Newall , Lt Col and Mrs Peter Cheesman , Majs
to put the Battalion firmly on the BAOR map. Events Robin Christmas and Bill Knight-Hughes, Maj and Mrs
conspired to make Saturday 13 September 'the chosen James Myles, Maj and Mrs Chris Grove, Maj and Mrs
date' and Maj Yorke, the nominated organiser, wondered Peter Swanson , Maj and Mrs George Brown , Maj and
whether the 13th was to be his lu cky or unlu cky day . lt Mrs Graham Brown , Maj lan Lloyd and Capt Robert
was a happy coincidence that it was also Quebec Day, Knight. W02 King (previously 2nd Bn) and now serving
which made the Quebec Band very happy. wtth 659 Sqn AAC even came in his Lynx helicopter .

Stands and equipment were ordered , programmes lt was also a delight to welcome three old friends from
printed and military vehicles borrowed . The only thing Stadt Werl , including the Burgermeister . lt was towards
that could not be controlled was the weather . September the end of our previous BAOR tour that Stadt Werl
had started badly - then it got worse! lt seemed the 13th honoured the Battalion by granting us the Freedom of
might be unlucky after all. In fact , we need not have Werl. We look forward to exercising this honour before
worried . Saturday dawned bright and the day remained too long .
clear and sunny . In the event the Families Day proved to
be an enormous success and one great picni c. The Chief- And so ended a very happy day for the Battalion and ,
from all reports , both verbal and in the local press , it was
clear that our aims were achieved .

26

3rd BATTALION

EDITORIAL around this framework that the jungle patrols operated
providing excellent training for comma nd ers and so ldi er~
lt seems only yesterday that we waved goodbye to 40 alike. lt was very gratifying to see the improvement in the
Commando and took over in Belize, yet we are now back standa rd of basic Infantry skills, particularly amongst
in Canterbury and well into our preparation for another young NCOs, that occurred as a result of this patrolling .
four month tour in Northern Ireland! But as the training
gets under way we can reflect on the experiences of what W e had hardly got the basics out of the way before the
was a hard and challenging tour at all levels . exercise season started . First of all it was the Hurri ca ne
Exercise to prepa re us for disaster relief. Then it was onto
The Battalion was last in Belize in 1977 and many of the a series of Terrain Tours where we put over our opera-
sights, sounds and problems have not changed. The tional plans for the North and South to the Commander
potential of the country in terms of military training value, and his staff. We were due to take part in an exercise to
adventure training and tourism is as good as ever and we test the defence of APC but this was ca ncelled after
took every opportunity to make the most of them. Over almost four days of solid rain including one spell where
400 members of the Battalion were able to enjoy a course over 15 inches fell in 12 hours! C Company who were due
at the Force Adventure Training Centre on St Georges to act as enemy were particularly pleased as the
Cayeand almost450 people took their two weeks Rand R approaches to the Camp were under several feet of water
in Central America or the USA. However we never lost and what dry land that remained was occupied by a
sight of the fact that we were on an operational tour and variety of alligators and snakes! The sca le of the
over 200 foot, vehicle and boat patrols were carried out exe rcises then increased to Battle Group FTXs in the
north and south. (t was at this stage that we really began
during our stay. to appreciate the difficulties of movi ng large numbers of
troops round the country, particularly in the wet season.
Belize is a country of contrasts. lt is about the size of
Wales and consists of a swampy coastal plain leading Trying to squeeze two Battle Group HOs out of one Bat-
into a jungle interior which in the South is almost entirely talion and yet still man the bases is a tricky task at the best
primary or secondary jungle. In the North there are large of times but when the sea is so rough thatthe RPL cannot
areas of cultivation, mainly cleared and run by the sail and the rain so heavy that the road to the South has
Menonite community, but the remaining countryside is been cut yet again, the problem is made infinitely more
still covered in thick jungle . In the centre is a large range dtfftcult. Yet thanks to some hot planning and excellent
of hills which rise up to more than 3000 feet. The lower relations between ourselves and the RAF, we got by and
slopes are covered in dense jungle but the higher slopes the exercise was considered by all to be a great success .
are grass covered and in some areas similar to the Brecon
Beacons. The rivers are very deceptive, being languid Hardly had the last vehicle returned to camp when
and sluggish in the dry season and raging torrents in the HMS Ariadne sailed in and training of a different sort
wet . The final contrast is the barrier reef which is second began. Not only did we introduce her IS platoon to the
only in size to the Great Barrier Reef of Australia and delights of jungle training but we also instructed them in
includes a string of sandy coral islands, known as Cayes, the skills of riot control in an internal security situation.
stretching almost the full length of the country. This turned out to be fortuitous as not long after we were
warned off to prepare a Company Group for IS duties in
The Battalion occupied four main bases . In the South, the Turks and Caicos Islands and Fire Support Company
Battle Group HQ (South) and B Company were in Rid eau had to quickly brush up on their base line techniques .
Camp with A (Quebec) Company in Salamanca Camp. In Although at one stage the Hercules aircraft was loaded
the North, Battle Group HO (North) and Fire Support the co mpany was never required to deploy and was even-
Company were based in Airport Camp IAPC) and C
Company at Holdfast . HQ Company was split between tually stood down .
the various locations with the largest slices being in APC
and Rideau . Attached to the Battalion were 170 (lmjin) The main FTX of the tour took place in the North and
Field Battery RA from Colchester who had previously involved most of the Battalion as either enemy, umpires
supported the Battalion at various stages during the or players. Th is was a Force Exercise and included the
Fallingbostel Tour. The final integral part of the Battle Belize Defence Force, taking part as a Battle Group in
Group was a troop of Close Recce CVR IT)s manned by their own right for the first time. The exercise was a
the 14/ 20 KH who again had worked with us in BAOR . success and culminated in a dawn attack on a well known

The first few weeks of the tour were spent in acclim- 1. Members of A (Quebec) Company Group on
atisation and jungle training. No-one was exempt and so completion of their sponsored run in aid of the Pte Cox
by the end of April everyone including cooks, QM 's staff,
clerks and MT drivers had completed a basic jungle Appeal (see article on page 711.
2. C Company Team - winners of the British Force
course and the business of patrolling in earnest could get
under way . However patrolling was not the only opera-

tional task and the Battalion also manned a series of overt Belize SAAM ·
OPs, patrol bases and sta nding patrols . These spread 3. LCpl Tomlinson on patrol in the jungle.

along the border with Guatemala from the Cad en as OP in 4. B Company volley ball practice at Rideau Camp .
the South via the Jala cke Patrol Base to Cayo OP in the 5. LCpl Lorne . Corps of Drums. gives Fife instruction in

North . Probably the most exotic task was the standing Airport Camp .
Patrol on Hunting Caye some 30 miles off the coast for 6. Helicopter handling practice on New River Lagoon
which there was no shortage of vol unteers! lt was
L..R_a_n..:g~e_s._- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . J

27

2
4

28

3 QUEENS in Belize

1. Pte Stubbington at Cadenas OP. 4. Sgt Adams on jungle patrol supervising the
2. Volley ball match in Salamanca Camp - A Company v preparation of a marker balloon .
a local village team . 5. Debrief by Cpl Felsted at the Jungle CQB range.
3. Cpl Garcia with a Belize Defence Force soldier on 6. Pte Lambert at the CQB range .
patrol near the Guatemalan border.

29

hill following a night approach march through the jungle much wiser and better soldiers for the ex perience . With-
- something not often undertaken and needing careful out a doubt their numbers made the differen ce between
being able to enjoy the tour and just surviving , and we
recce . very much appreciate the effort that they put in . We were
also supported strongly by the Rear Party who coped
August was the main field firing month with each Com- with the inevitable problems extremely well , enabling the
pany spending a week on the ranges at Baldy Beacon. Battalion to concentrate on the operational requirements
This is an open area on Mountain Pine ridge , the high in Belize . lt has been an extremely successful tour and our
ground in the middle of the country . Being at well over congratulations go particularly to Sgt Nolan , Cpl Platt
2000 feet the air was much cooler and fresher and a and Pte Wadforth who received commendations from
welcome break from the oppressive humidity and torren - Brig D B W Webb-Carter, Commander British Forces
tial rain of the jungle lower down. The companies were Belize.
able to fire all their weapons and each week culminated in
a live firing all arms night defence exercise followed by a Despite the success of our tour , it is very nice to be
Company deliberate day attack supported by mortars, back in Canterbury again, albeit for a shorter time than
artillery and RAF Harriers. A support weapons we had hoped . The building programme has gone ahead
concentration for the mortars, Milan and Conbat at a pace, particularly the married quarters which will all
detachments was also held during this period enabling have been handed over by Christmas . Sadly the remain -
the specialist platoons to get in some worthwhile training der may only be completed shortly before the Battalion
in their normal roles . In addition we ran two all arms fire moves to Northern Ireland, but hopefully we will be able
power demonstrations for the Battalion, the second of to make good use of them on our return at the end of
which was attended by the Deputy High Commissioner May, by which time the Belize tour will seem to be just
and a large contingent from the other Army and RAF another memory!

units in Belize. JUNGLE PATROLLING

Sadly it was as the field firing was getting under way by LCpl A Martin
that Pte Cox of Quebec Company was badly injured by a
falling tree while clearing a helicopter landing site in the Jungle patrolling is hot, wet , painful , sometimes dan -
jungle . The response by everyone involved in his evacu- gerous, but never, even for a moment, dull! lt is as
ation to Miami and ultimately to hospital in England was different from patrolling in other operational areas as
superb. From the young LCpl who looked after him on black is from white, or night is from day. Nowhere else
the ground, to the RAF Puma pilot who hovered in are things such as water supply, navigational skills,
darkness in the trees so that he could be winched out, to personal administration, and knowledge of the area
the doctors in APC and Miami who stabilised him so that you're working in so important as in the jungle.
he could eventually be flown home, there can be no
better example of inter-Service co-operation . The From the start you could imagine yourself on a ramble
response since then has been equally impressive and a with David Bellamy. There are multivarious creatures on
large sum of money has been collected in donations and the jungle floor, in the air , in the trees. In fact, in any
as a result of sponsored events , and this will be put possible place where life would exist, it does in the
towards making Pte Cox's life as comfortable as possible humid, lush garden that is the Belizean jungle .
in the years to come. (See article on page 71.)
On entering this open zoo one is assaulted from all
Life in Belize was not all patrols and field firing. We sides by a cacophony of many vociferous insects, birds
hosted a series of visitors , the most senior of whom was and the wildlife . Allied to that, the total greenness of the
the Adjutant General, General Sir Roland Guy . We place , save for the odd splash of colour provided by
invited out Samantha Goodwin as Miss 3 QUEENS. We flowers, makes a patrol in the jungle a unique experience.
hosted several reporters under the Editors Abroad
scheme and as a result we achieved considerable cover- Of course, discovering the delights of the local wildlife
age in Soldier magazine and in the local papers. A team is not the reason for patrolling , though at times a 'patrol -
from TVS also came out and this led to a series of pro- ling Safari' would best describe forays into the bush .
grammes being shown on the programme Coast to Coast Usually the patrol commander will find himself mapping
on life in Belize. We managed to cram in upgrading tracks that have not been used since the beginning of the
cadres, PQS 1, TEWTS, EPC, Potential NCOs' cadres and century . Nearly always they are badly overgrown and
Adventure Training , not to mention Platoon projects, often it becomes necessary to leave the tracks and force
young officers' essays and the odd study day! We even one's way through virgin jungle . Doing this for any length
managed to fit in a visit by HMS Achilles who we soon of time , be it short or long , is very laborious and should
learned had had good relations with 2 QUEENS while in not be undertaken unless it is unavoidable .
the Falklands . Not to be outdone our Corps of Drums
ensured that we were able to enjoy Quebec Day in tradi- Lead scouts should always be on the lookout for any of
tional fashion and their Beating of Retreat was one of the the many varieties of dangerous snakes or dangerous
high spots of the tour. Nevertheless everyone had the game, though of course all that slithers is not always a
opportunity to relax occasionally on a sandy coral caye snake . The patrol commander also has many things to
and most people were able to escape for their two weeks worry about, especially locating the next water supply
and worrying about whether Private Bloggs has taken his
Rand R. Paludrine .

By the time this edition of the Journal is published we Undoubtedly jungle patrolling in Belize provides the
will be well into our Northern Ireland training . The section commander with an extremely challenging and
majority of the TA soldiers who joined us for the Belize
tour will have returned to their battalions and we hope are

30 To summarise, R & R in Belize was very important to
the soldier on the ground and the commander caring
rewarding time which will greatly help him to develop his about the w elfare of his troops. W e pride ourselves on
leadership and personal skills. the fa ct that of the 467 sent away, everyone got where
they wanted to go and we haven 't had one absentee ! For
THE R & R CELL IN BELIZE those that think there aren 't any challenges left in life, 1
can assure you that with only six months to do before
by W02 Davies demob and after 24 Y:z years service, running a R & R cell
is very hard work and very challenging .
Anyone who reads the Soldier magazine, and in
particular the two editions covering the Battalion's tour, JUNGLE CHALLENGE - A TA SOLDIER IN BELIZE
will know that the Force Adjt in APC runs the R & R in
Belize for Force Troops , 3 QUEENS included. So, having by Pte Awcock, 6/7 QUEENS (V)
been the R & R co-ordinator for the last six months, some
could say I've had a nice easy tour and have been able to The door opened like that of an oven and a wave of
get a nice sun tan working only when the mood took me. heat hit us as we stepped off the VC10 at APC , and within
Some in fact are saying that but they are the jealous ones . minutes I was bitten by a mosquito! I thought to myself
The truth is that with the help of my willing (sometimes) what had I let myself in for . After all , when I left England
assistant, Cpl Lamb, we have worked extremely hard in 15 hours earlier it was snowing!
getting the Battalion away where and when they wanted
(by and large!). Being a TA soldier in Belize was very different to
anything I've ever done before . I was very confused ,
On arrival at APC the team set about booking flights being new to the Battalion, not knowing where anything
etc to wherever soldiers wanted to go. We had 10 R & R was and seeing many new faces. As time went by, I
block periods, each of two weeks changing on Wednes- gradually settled down and began to fit into the routine
days . On nine of these blocks we were allowed 70 out at and system of Quebec Company . I was faced with a lot of
any one time. So on every other Tuesday we had 70 challenges , both in work and social life . I left my friend s,
coming in from outstations, half of whom would need parents and girlfriend behind , and replaced them with 3
collecting from the local airport. We also had a further 70 QUEENS . I also found that soldiers have a different sense
arriving back in APC from R & R. So, having got our 70 of humour and fun (as I later found out on a few occa-
outgoers (and remember they' re away in the morning so sions in the NAAFI)! But after six months now I accept
tickets, passports, visas must be right) we assemble at the larking around , singing and general mischief-making
1830 hrs . We call the roll, brief them and then go to the as normal routine for a weekend.
Pay Office to sort out their finances and collect money for
airline tickets booked plus any insurance cover arranged. The working side of life, I found to be a challenge . My
That's always a late finish, usually 2200-ish and then on fitness has improved 100% thanks to the painful runs
Wednesday morning you have that 70 to get away plus with Sgt West and Lt Rowland . I have yet to fail a BFT or
those that came back the previous day who need to get ICFT! The patrols have been long, hard and very wet, but
on flights back to their Coy locations. Still confused? I the sense of achievement was overwhelming. The ' Puma
can assure you that it is a full time job and the paperwork rides' have been quite an experience as I had only had two
involved is horrendous. One must be patient and under- rides in a Lynx during my time in TA. There have been
standing when Tommy Atkins changes his mind or moments, when being winched up or down, that I'll
arrives with no visa! For example: never forget . Especially when you ' re 80ft up and the
jungle is spinning below you and the Puma is a whirling
'Pte Brown, you are on TACA flight at 0900 hrs for blur above.
Miami.'
The food at Salamanca has been very good, consider-
'Eh? No sir, I've changed my mind; now I want to go to ing the distance the food has to travel, the heat and the
Mexico!' limitations of keeping to meal timings, and it was
certainly different to anything I've had in Civvy Street .
There is one obvious answer to that statement but one
must be patient. Another example is Pte Smith going to I've been very lucky to tour Belize . I've seen a part of
the UK: the world most of my friends have never heard of . Thanks
to 3 QUEENS for offering me the chance to tour the
'Pte Smith, have you got a US visa in your passport?' Caribbean and to my Battalion 6/7 QUEENS (V) for
allowing me to come, I've now seen Kekchi Indians (just
' No, my Company 21C said I didn't need one!' last week whilst on patrol I had dinner in a hut), Caribbs ,
Creols and Metzitoles, all the different peoples that make
There is again an obvious answer to that , and these are up Belize .
just two examples of what did happen on numerous
occasions . But somehow we managed to survive! it's funny what I missed most about England. Things
like yogurt, strawberries, vodka , tarmac , brick houses ,
Despite it all a very large number of people were safely oak trees , girls and music . All in all , it's been a challenge
got away. The score was 3 QUEENS R & R Cell 467 - and I've tried my best to keep up, and I have enjoyed my
Force PRI 5. We arranged flights, hotel bookings and tour in Belize.
insurance to the Cayes 106, Honduras 24, USA - Miami ,
New York, Houston 55, UK 137, BAOR 3, Mexico -
Acapulco 10, wives / girlfriends to Belize 6, Battalion
expedition to Peru 10, Majorca 1 (just) , Nassau 1, Costa
Rica 3, Trinidad 1, Antigua 1, other parts of Mexico 109.
In the same period Force PRI managed to entice only five
of our soldiers onto their six day package to Orlando.

31

Visit of Miss 3 QUEENS - Samantha Goodwin from Worthing joins the WOs' and Sgts ' tug of war team .

LIFE ON THE REAR PARTY married quarters provided a great source of entertain-
ment to the children and consternation to the guard. The
by Maj M P Rayner gua rd were also frequently ca lled out to turn away
trespassers and vanda ls from the barracks. Such is the
When I asked a soldier of the Rear Party what he felt joy of an open plan barracks with pub li c footpaths
should be included in the Journal notes he said' Just send running through it. Severa l so lutions have been put
them the guard rosta - that should cover it'. However it forward and the concensus of opinion is that Howe Bar-
has to be said that the summer has been eventful for the racks should be surrounded by a shark infested moat!
Rear Party and if you have to be left behind anywhere
then Canterbury is the place. Throughout what we call the summer (there seems to
be no appropriate word for the period between May and
The Wives ' Club took up where it left off in Falling- October) physical activity has abounded. Th e ICFT has
bostel; organising lunch and coffee mornings and been run every month by all and a BFT and CFT were also
various get togethers. lt al l started with a series of slipped in . There are many on the Rear Party who regard
presentations on Belize. The slid es showed the Cayes, themselves as gentlemen more than playe rs but some
countryside and general amenities making the tour look finely timed remedial PT solved this small problem!
something of a holiday . Hu sbands may be pushed to co n-
vince their wives otherwise! The poli ce also sent a sma ll Five teams competed in a series of internal competi-
team up to the Wives' Club to give a presentation on crime tions in football , cricket, hockey and volleyball and the
prevention and home security. They showed some Band entered runners in various charity sponsored runs .
exceedi ngly convincing videos to the chi ldren on the Sadly the Band achieved a trough in their sporting his-
theme of ' Don 't ta lk to strangers', etc. Alf Burford (late tory. A team of old lags came coughing and spluttering
Middlesex Regt as he tells everyone every day) ran a from their stores and offices and beat a Band side at
youth club on Wednesday evenings which was regularly hockey! Questions were asked later in the Band practice
attended by up to 40 children. Rain stopped play in mid room! Two exte rnal cricke t matches were organised , one
August. He also helped organise a highly successfu l home and one away. RAF Manston were easy meat but in
sports day on 27 July . Happily there were no boycotts. a gripping match we narrowly lost to Herne Bay by nine

Th e various building sites around the barracks and wickets!

32

5th (VOLUNTEER) BATTALION

EDITORIAL Cpl Bushel! presents a Regimental plaque to the Deputy
Burgermeister of Ellwangen following the German
The success of camp this year dwarfs nearly all other Military Patrols Competition , when his team came 12th
news .
out of 36 .
Nearly 500 men , including attachments, flew from
RAF Brize Norton or moved with the road party of 81 crossing a lake in the fog and fighting through a village .
vehicles to an Ex Hitler Youth Camp at Vogelsang in (The latter exercise was enjoyed by all but one platoon
Germany . This camp is now run by the Belgian Army and who couldn 't see that it was much different from a
boasts the motto ' More sweat, less blood' , though those Saturday night at home.)
who claim they sweated blood need not be taken
seriously . Welcome visitors included Col John Holman (Deputy
Colonel of the Regiment) , Col Jim Ogilvie (Deputy Hon
The first week was on ranges, including Field Firing, Colonel of the 5th Battalion) and Brig Lee , our UK
and five companies got through it all confining 7.62 mm Brigade Commander who, tru e to form very sportingly
holes to targets and the surrounding countryside and allowed himself to be run over by a tank and is still
avoiding flesh! A night defence shoot, firing tracer roughly the same shape .
across a lake, will be remembered by many, as will the
carrying power of LCpl Bray's voice , when he attempted Return was by air Dusseldorf- Brize Norton or road via
to convey a little mild displeasure at his section 's Zeebrugge and we had no accidents and no breakdowns
performance! Friday was Battalion Day when companies - a great triumph for Capt Bill Gawler, the MT and the
competed in various sports, ending with a chain-of- REME.
command ra ce in which CO and Company Commanders
finished soaked in beer. A tug -of-wa r competition and Support by the Belgian Camp and Range Staff was
company barbecue were held on a grass area presided superb , as was that given by 47 Field Regiment RA from
over by a huge naked Aryan hero-figure in stone whose our BAOR Brigade, who among other things helped us to
nether regions had attracted the attention of the tommy- give our new Medical Officer, Maj Chris Dulake, his
guns of the American liberators in 1945, and were thus annual TOESH (Test of Elementary Sense of Humour) on
somewhat attenuated. As we moved into the silly phase, a practice emergency call-out between 2359 and 0330 hrs
Milan Platoon instituted and won the world dwarf- one merry morning.
throwing championships. Officers' and Sergeants ' Mess
functions that night were followed by a weekend of Rest I have not told the half of it, but it was a superb camp,
and Recuperation on the Mosel, in Phantasialand and in likely to be long remembered .
Koln . This was greatly enjoyed and was a rare example of
the Battalion having time off at camp. The Shooting Team was 3rd TA unit at SEDSAM , the
GPMG(SFI team took part in the South-East District
The next week brought battle-inoculation , how-to-be- Competition , and Sgt Kirkaldie (PSI D Company) was
run -over-by-a-tank-and -enjoy-it, and the final exe rcise in third best shot in the Inter-Corps Target Rifle Match ,
patrols featuring a mountain 'tab', crossing a ravine , where he won an Army Rifle Association Medium Bronze
Medal. The Battalion won the Regimental Golf meeting
with Capt Scripps (A Company) and Sgt Flint (Band)
leading the way , and 2Lt Nick Fields was third in the
South-East District Cross-Country Championships .

Both A and B Companies had successful Families Days
in which the 'grass widows' were put to grass (face
down) and enjoyed it! A and HO Companies and the

33

V3

1. The CO briefs members of A Company . 5. OC and CSM of D Company (bump-starting a tank 7! 1.
2. Battle inocu lation. 6. Members of the MT Platoon with a friendly Allied MP.
3. Free weekend in Cologne .
4. Camp Vogelsang . !Pictures 3, 4 and 5 by Kent & Sussex Courier)

34

Exercising the Regiment's Freedom of Folkestone , 14 June 1986. (upper pictures by Folkestone Herald/ People)

Band performed at the Regimental Reunion at and a visit to the Brecon Beacons in mid July to get
Bassingbourn, and the 21C, visiting Brigade Units in acclimatised, we set off early on a Friday afternoon for
BAOR met two ex-members of 8 Platoon at Eastbourne , the actual competition , arriving at 2100 hrs that night.
one now a Captain in the 2nd Battalion, and another a Base camp was set up, evening meal and briefings were
clerk in 3 R ANGLIAN . carried out. During the night heavy rain and gale force
winds continued, adding up to a tough and arduous
The Champion Platoon competition was won by 3 Saturday ahead for all teams .
Platoon (A Company) , followed by 1 Platoon (A Com-
pany) and 10 Platoon (D Company) . Needless to say their Breakfast was at 0515 hrs and we moved across for the
retiring Company Commander, Maj Stuart Wooles, is kit to be checked and weighed (minimum weight allowed
grinning from ear to there! 40 lbs). First teams left at 0630 hrs . At approximately 0800
hrs some 45 teams were recalled for safety reasons,
Finally, The Queen's Regiment TA Band is looking for which did not please anyone, especially a certa in person
new blood as it moves into its new regime of younger who had moved out ahead of the two A Company teams
retirement and more stretcher-bearer training . to meet them at the first checkpoint, which happened to
be the highest point of the route , and which had taken
EXERCISE MOUNTAIN EXPRESS him some 1 Y, hrs of sweat plus getting soaked to the skin
to achieve it, only to be told everyone was being recalled .
by Capt 8 M l Scripps
Some 114 teams entered but on ly 88 started owing to
This was the fifth year that the exercise has been run on the recall. The second course was reduced to 30 miles .
behalf of the ' ASBAH ' charity which caters for chi ldren Both A Company teams did extremely well ; LCpl Bray's
with Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus. team coming 12th overall in 9hrs 15 mins and Sgt
Cheeseman 's team coming 13th overall in 9hrs 17 mins .
With Tuesdays being used as fitness training sessions They came in well ahead of the Royal Marines, Wessex,
RAF and many other Army and civilian teams, WESSEX,
a credit to the company and the battalion .

35

6th/7th (VOLUNTEER) BATTALION

EDITORIAL As far as personalities go, we welcome Maj Tony Fuller
who has settled into the job of PSAO at our new Somme
Without doubt the major event of the past six months Company and Maj Judy Ball who is about to become the
has been Annual Camp and a Saturday in early June saw new Paymaster.
the Battalion making its way to a somewhat familiar
stamping ground at Sennybridge . lt was certainly to be SOMME COMPANY - THE BEGINNINGS
familiar as accommodation was extremely crowd ed. The
weather began true to form - with howling winds and The plans to increase the TA by 1990 have been known
horizontal rain but fortunately it soon tired of this for some time and the decision to raise a unit in Brighton
approach and the majority of the fortnight was relatively also . However the fact that the new unit should represent
kind , G1098 suntans being much in evidence among the the first Infantry presence for over 20 years, since the
platoons . Training was progressive with considerab le days of the Royal Sussex and be part of the County Regi-
benefit being obtained from the presence of ample
Support Helicopter assistance, OC HQ Company and the ment, is something special.
RSO being in their element among the light blues! In
addition the Gurkha Engineers provided sufficient battle- lt was decided that 6/7 QUEENS (V) would become a
field simu lation to add several notes of realism to field predominately Sussex-based Battalion releasing its Edg -
training . The remainder of the training package worked ware Company on t he Brighton unit becoming estab-
well with PSAOs dispersing to the first green soon after lished . The location for B (Brighton) Company , as it was
arrival and the Officers' Mess CSgt being sighted in the called, would be Preston Barracks in lewes Road. This
field for three consecutive days, su rel y a record . barracks already housed the Regimenta l Pa y Office and
other TA units . However, the problem was accommoda-
Among the visitors we welcomed the Master of the tion. When one thinks of Drill Halls one has the idea of a
Builders' Merchants Company, Mr John Faulkner, who large brick complex with numerous offices , a range ,
entered into the spirit of all that he was shown to the washrooms , a hall, a bar or two and a plethora of lec-
extent of trusting a KIP sheet from inside the trench when ture / training facilities . That lu xury is not to be for us, at
piled high with willing volunteers . He emerged from this least for the time being , because the findings of the
unscathed and presented the prizes for the Section Public Inquiry held on 24 July 1986 in the Town Hall are
Competition, won this year by Capt John Fisher's B stil l sub judice . We therefore have been given a
Company team who were clear winners. While dealing portacabin, rather like an oversized mobile lavatory.
with training matters Maj Piers Storie Pugh rewrote the Although it may sound strange it has, under the ci rcum -
pamphlet on routine in defence by staging an all -night stances, worked quite well, offering three side offices
' Stand To '. Confronted with this and most of the defence and one main Company office. W e additionally use the
stores, the enemy rightly gave up. Hall of the neighbouring unit, 583 (EOD) Sqn RE (V)
whose OC is an old friend . They parade on Tu esday and
Comments on Camp would not be complete without we on Wednesday . Also sharing the hal l on our drill night
reference to our retiring Honorary Colonel , Sir Colin is a small RMP detachment. Both of these units have
Cole. Sir Col in spent his customary few days at Camp , as been very obliging of our needs . On Tuesday night the
always taking a personal interest in all ranks and their fitness Training takes place in the gymnasium - with one
activities. He will certainly be missed and we hope he has exception - when we found a bevy of Pi ckfo rds drivers
enjoyed his five year tour with us as much as we have. camping there!

Slightly earlier in the year saw the comma nders and HQ Recru iting for the new Company really got under way
staff being exercised at the Battle Group Trainer. Despite with the appointment of the officers and senior ranks ,
a highly pressurised period for the TAOR HQ Staff, it was and low key advertising on local radio and in the Evening
a most useful weekend for all concerned. Just how Argus. This was subsequently followed up by a vigorous
flotation techniques as demonstrated by the Adjutant and successful campaign orchestrated by PlO South East
and a visiting Staff Officer fitted into the programme we District. To handle the flow of potential recruits we had
are not quite sure. the essential support by 16 April on our 'Open Night' , of a
PSAO , PSis, a clerk, store man , a filing cabinet, a kettle , a
Among the other changes in the past months has been desk and three chairs .
the adoption of titles by the Companies, approved by the
Colonel of the Regiment , which are now known as Th e display during our Open Day was prepared by our
Alamein (HQ), Salerno (A). Albuhera (B), Quebec (C), permanent staff and by a handful of trained soldiers ,
Tangier (D) , Somme (B Brighton) and Dunkirk (HSF) . lt formerly the Assault Pioneer Platoon who transferred
has not taken long for these to be assimilated into from Horsham . Their commander , Lt Neil Stra chan, was
Battalion life. a student on the 1982-83 South East District Potential
Officers' Course and guess who the OC was? TV South
Shooting has been successful, as the following report gave us excellent coverage, featuring the tradition of
will show, and Salerno Company for some reason man- giving a new recruit the Queen 's shilling . However as we
aged to collect most of the silver at the Battalion SAAM had no Company Funds at this point the 5p was recov-
in July . ered and returned to the generous lender who wishes to
remain anonymous . The Drill Hall was laid out with all the
On the ceremonial side, Albuhera Company represen - types of equipment that we shou ld be using and the
ted the Regiment at the Mayor of Enfield 's Parade in May so ldiers gave demonstrations and exp lanations to the
and Maj Col in Hurd commanded the Freedom of Arundel
March at the end of August.

36

press and media during the morning . Indeed, when the THE BATTALION SHOOTING TEAM
new recruits were taken on strength over the course of The Battalion Shooting Tea m has had a very success-
the following weeks , it was found that 85 % of them had ful year despite the diffi culties of changing from the LMG
heard about B (Brighton) Company from the local press. to GMPG.
Three teams of four w ere entered for SEDSAM from
A second Platoon Commander has now joined us, Lt the shooting team squad of 15 members and were pla ced
Mike Egginton, an ex-Regular with the King 's Regiment . first, third and fifth . A very good result indicating the
The Company 21C , Capt Frank Robertson was also with strength of the squad as a whole . A good individual per-
the King 's TA before transferring . However, to restore formance was recorded by CSgt Richard Bicker in win -
the balance the PSAO, Maj Tony Fuller came from the ning the TA Service Rifle Championship , also by our B
Gunners. He is a fairly ambitious man and when given the gun pair , 2Lt Stephen Hoffmann and Cpl John Bishop
choice of commanding the Sennybridge complex or who won the GPMG pairs match.
becoming our PSAO made the right choice for all con- Training continued prior to TASAM with competition
cerned! There is a wealth of experience within the within the team becoming very fierce to achieve a place in
SNCOs- the PSI from 3 QUEENS , the NAPS from the the final eight for Bisley. At Bisley the team started very
RCT and what he doesn't know about vehicles hasn 't well on the first day , winning The Wessex Regiment Cup
been invented, and the CSM and COMS from within the and being well placed in The Service rifle events and were
Battalion . We must not forget Bill our clerk and storeman lying joint second in the Unit Championship with only the
Roy who work hard on our behalf and who bring with GPMG and the Section Match remaining . There, unfor-
them considerable experience and outside interests - I tunately, was our main weakness owing to the change
believe Bill is the stand-by organist for St Pauls . from LMG to GMPG and we could not improve on our
position. However, scores were quite good and the team
On ' B' Day, 16 April, the Company had over 70 young was finally placed fifth overall .
men and women turn up for the first recruiting evening. Twelve of the shooting team members represented the
Unfortunately, due to the high percentage of ladies battalion in the National Rifle Association Service Rifle
already in the Battalion, we could only accept five and Competition which followed on from TASAM with the
had to put the rest on our waiting list. There were a few following successes: Bisley Bullet Competition - 1st,
over and under age who we had to turn down, much to Cpl John Bishop ; Wantage Competition - 1st, CSgt
their disappointment, but they still enjoyed the evening. Richard Bicker, Pte McMurray and Cpl Bishop . Also a
During the evening they saw videos of the TA and 6/7 total of 22 NRA medals were won by those 12 who
QUEENS (V) , had a talk on pay (a must for all presenta- participated.
tions) and a look at the kit and equipment with a chance The team members had a very successful year and are
to talk to some of our soldiers. At the end of the evening looking forward to TASAM 87 to improve their
they all met up in the bar for a drink and a chance to get to performance .
know each other. Over 50 turned up the following week
for initial documentation . Of these we lost four to CAMBRIAN PATROL COMPETITION
Battalion HO as potential officers and eight failed their 17-19 October 1986
medicals for various reasons.
This year's competition lived up to expectations and
We now have 40 keen young men kitted out ready to provided 48 hrs crammed full of military skills over a
do their two week selection course at Crowborough. course covering some 45 kms in variable weather .

The Colonel of the Regiment has kindly agreed to the (continued on page 38)
Company adopting the title 'Somme'. Henceforth we
shall be known as B (Somme) Company and a one day
tour to the Somme is planned for mid November.

On 9 July we hosted a Reception which a number of
local dignitaries attended, including the Mayors of
Brighton, Hove, Lewes and Worthing, the new Honorary
Colonel, the Deputy Colonel of the Regiment and anum-
ber of other guests . This was an extremely worthwhile
evening. lt gave us the chance to thank members of the
community for their help in the past few months and to
ask for their continuing support in the future . The CO
gave a brief talk on the aims of the TA and how we
provided a service to the community (considering the
spread of political views, this was no mean
achievement). After seeing the soldiers training, the
guests had a chance to talk to them before leaving at 2230
hrs.

There is a full training programme under way and we
had a 90% turnout on the first Company exercise in
August . We are going for 'double top' for the FIBUA
exercise at lmber in September.

All things considered we are well pleased with the first
six months and look forward to the future with
confidence .

37

1

1. Capt John Fisher collecting the Section Competition 4. Weary members of Alamein Company in the same
trophy from the Master of the Builders Merchants
Company. competition.
2. Salerno Company in triumphant mood at the 5. Potential recruits at Somme Company open night.
Battalion Skill at Arms Meeting. 6. Col Sir Colin Cole saying farewell to the Battalion at
3. Albuhera Company tackling the wall during the Sennybridge . June 1986.
Section Competition .

38 Saturday night saw half the patrol setting up on OP
whilst the other half lit a helicopter landing site, ca rried
The issue of orders for the competition took place deep out a night shoot and cooked fresh rat ions (two rabbits)
in the bowe ls of the earth in a disused rai lway tunnel for the whole patrol.
north of Rhayader. After an AFV recognition test, trans-
port took us to a drop off point at the Claerwen ReseNoir . A lthough not obligatory 30 mins of sleep was also
A full moon revea led the beauty of the Elan Valley and snatched.
assisted our navigation . Saturday morning the weather
changed , moonlit skies were replaced by low cloud, mist On Sunday morning we met our support party who
and rain . had driven a 100 kms night NAVEX. The competition
finished with an Bkm ma rch (without bergen s) to Senny-
The morning problems were first aid and casualty bridge Camp and our overall position of fifth was consi-
evacuation over 4 kms of difficult terrain , followed by a dered highly sat isfactory.
command task type river crossing, an assau lt boat cross-
ing of a reseNoir and the assembly of Soviet, Third World
and Chinese weapons .

8th (VOLUNTEER) BATTALION
THE QUEEN 'S FUSILIERS
(CITY OF LONDON)

Initial optimism about the completion date for the Drill Our equipment sits in a variety of stores round London,
Hall at St John 's Hill was misplaced , and at the ti me of including t he Tower, and w ill give us plenty to do when
writing it is still in the hands of the builders and about we get our hands on the Drill Hall , and the new bui ld in
95 % finished . lt is the small but essential items like alarm Camberwell at Fl odden Road has started. Despite set
locks on the armoury doors that are causing f rustrating backs in meeting target dates, we remain conf ident and
delays, but we expect to get all the fixtures , fittings and are looking forward to a busy new yea r.
furniture in during November and to be in business by
Christmas . BATTLEFIELD TOUR
lt is proposed to organise a tour of Tunis
Our staff increases and changes. Maj Harper has sad ly including Beja, Medez el Bab , Peter's Corner,
had to leave the TA as a result of an old knee injury, and and Longstop Hill , for former QUEENS ,
we are casting about for a new OC HQ Coy ; Capt Wa ll BUFFS, E SURREYS and RWK officers . Any
has joined as PSAO from runn ing t he RIT at t he Tower ; others and ladies are also very welcome .
and ex RSM Ham ill has joined as NRP S RQMS. He is the Price approximately £400 for seven days .
first member to be attested into the batta lion and the QM , Fine modern hotel on coast at Hammamet .
M aj Bateman , swore him in. On the Reg ular side, CSgt Major Stanley Glynn formerly 1 RWK has just
A lvares has come from 3 RRF to join the QM 's staff and completed a tour and considers there must be
Sgt De-Zille arrived from 3 QUEENS to so rt out the entire many who would be interested .
batta lion 's radio equipment. Our clerica l staff has The proposed tour would be in May or
increased too with a new Clerical Assista nt , Cherry October 1987 providing there is sufficient
Matthews, a former QUEE NS badged member of demand .
Wandsworth AC F Detachment, as was our typist J enny Those interested are asked to advise Capt
Turpin. Both were recruited for us by our Caretaker , Trevor Parnacott, 12 Scotts Lane, Shortlands,
Cornelius Souch who by chance happens to run the Bromley, BR2 OLH , stating preference for May or
detachment . A lthough badged RTR , and a former October by , if possible, 1 January 1987.
Regular PARA , he is very supportive , and an article will
be written on this local denizen of Clapham for the next
J ournal.

W02 Jordan has gone to 7/ 10 UDR and has been
replaced by W02 Tombling who promptly fell off a
mountain in the Lake District. Now fully recovered , dunng
his absence in hospital the mantle of greatness fell onto
our young Clerical Officer, Mark Donegan , who rose
admirab ly to the occasion , comparing it favourably with
his previous job at the sharp end of the DHSS -working in
the dole office. Pte Ayres , MTO / Driver /VM / Storeman
etc etc damaged his back getting out of the staff ca r and
spent some weeks in hospital , the butt of a number of
cruel jokes, while CSgt Layzell has become an expert on
NBC .

39

DEPOT THE QUEEN'S DIVISION

Summer at the Depot has again been varied and busy. In addition to the training of Regu lar recruits we have a
The annual Army Exhibition for Schools took place in the heavy commitmen t towards TA training . 13 TA recruit ,
first week in July. Approximately 12,000 children vis ited three potential NCO, SAA and tactics cad res keep D
over the three-day period . They took part in numerous Company well occupied!
sporting activities co-ordinated by the Depot gynmasium
staff under QMSI Gurnett APTC. Apart from the involve- One area of frustration arises over the arrival of SA-80 .
ment of the Depot staff, the Regiment was well repre- The dates for issue keep slipping further ba ck. We can
sented by the RIT , The Flying Dragons and C Company on ly hope that the weapons wi ll arrive before too long.

of 2 QUEENS. Th e work at the Depot is both chal lenging and
rewarding . The qua lity of the end product, the trained
The Schools Exhibition was fo llowed by the Regi- recruit , depends on the quality of the instructors. At
mental Grand Reunion on Sunday 13 July. The event was present the Regiment is well represented in that area.
again blessed with good weather and we believe a good Long may that situation conti nu e!
time was had by all. The Flying Dragons performed an
immacu late drop into the arena, and a section of 2 ONLY A 'SCRAP OF PAPER'
QUEENS Milan Platoon, comma nded by Cpl Brooks,
gave a slick display. The Old Comrades Associations' air Selected items from the Archives of the
rifle shoot generated a certain amoun t of heat as teams National Army Museum, London SW3
from practica lly every battalion of the former regiments
vied for the right to co mpete . W02 Paddy Ryan, whose During the 25 years of the Museum 's exis-
task it was to co-ordinate the event, emerged slightly tence it has been acquiring pieces of paper writ-
battered, but unbowed, from the experience! ten on or collected by soldiers, letters, diaries,
telegrams, scrapbooks, newspapers, maps,
The space and fa cilities at Bassingbourn offer a wide and much more. They now occupy over 800
variety of recreationa l activities. Board sailing is feet of shelving to form a fascinating record of
developing fast ; the Ski Club , although civi lian-run , almost 400 years of British military history.
offers preferential rates to soldiers and their families ; the
9-hole golf cou rse is well used and developing satisfac- From this considerable assemblage of paper
torily ; and there are t he usua l range of racquets courts, a small sample has been selected for this exhibi-
sports pitches, etc. We were able to use all of these tion . The main themes that it illustrates are life
facilities wel l for a two-week activities programme for in the Army, its recruiting, food, sport,
child ren in late August , including trampoline work, recreation , leisure activities, and return to
soccer skills, canoeing, board sa iling , skii ng and BM X civilian life ; eye-witness accounts of battles ;
and documents relating to famous soldiers.
b iki ng. Among the items on display are a medical pre-
scription for Lord Kitchener, a letter describing
Against the background of all these presentational / how General James Wolfe died in the writer's
socia l/ recreational activities the hard work of training has arms, a map of the battle of Minden; architects'
conti nu ed unbroken , although it is planned to take drawings of Victorian barracks, and a letter
summer block leave in 1987 . Ten rec ruit platoons have describing the unorthodox sexual appetite of an
passed out between July and October . Four of the best Edwardian general.
recruits have been Queensmen and we have been well
represented amongst the other prize winners. The Roya l The variety of items on display should
Pi oneer Corps recruits are now fully integrated convince the most confirmed sceptic that
throughout the training companies and train alongside pieces of paper can reveal much about the
their QUEENS , RRF and R ANGLIAN contemporaries . people who wrote them and the times in which
they lived .
The recruit training programme has changed some-
what over the last six months and an adult now spends 19 The exhibition will run until 18 January 1987.
weeks at the Depot . Phase 1 of his training is the eight-
week Common Military Syllabus (Recruits) (C MSR I. The Further information on the contents of the
balance of 11 weeks is the Phase 2 Infantry Special to exhibition and on the archive collection from
Arm Course culminating in Battle Camp at W arcop and the Museum Archivist , Peter Boyden , on
Catterick and the Passing Out Parade on the Thursday of 01-730 0717 extension 47.
Week 19. These parades are immensely popular with
rec rui ts' families and the audience for a 30-strong platoon

inevitably exceeds 200 people .

J un ior Soldiers, having completed 20 weeks at JIB
Shorncliffe (where they cover the CMSR I, join the Depot
for thei r Phase 2 training. Drummers are selected for
specialist music traini ng at this stage and spend 23 weeks

at the Depot.

.............................._

40

REGIMENTAL BANDS

ALBUHERA BAND

A full calendar of engagements is the order of the day

for the resident band in sunny Gibraltar. Some are regular

commitments , eg changing the Convent Guard , Cere-
mony of the Keys , and Officers' Mess Dinner Nights for all

three Services . The dance band has also been very busy
and enjoys much popularity around the many messes and

clubs on the Rock . One group within the band that has
also gained many fans is the traditional ' Dixie' group ,

each 'gig ' bringing in even more bookings .. The Dixie
band came into its own at the 1 QUEENS Officers' Mess
'Tangier Ball', when the power failed . The dance band

could not perform, nor the disco, but the Dixie band
struck up by candle light without delay, kept go1ng for

some time and proved extremely popular.

One major change to band personnel since the last Albuhera Bandsmen ' in the mood' in Tangier , 1986.
journal was the arrival of a new Band Sergeant Major. We
bade farewell to W02 Frank Francis, and welcomed W02 band was joined by the combined choirs of Gibraltar for a
John Bainbridge and family from the Army Apprentice traditional ' Last Night at the Proms'. All the favourites
College , Harrogate. He has exchanged his hackle and were played and sung including Jerusalem, Rule Britan-
beret for a much smarter Queen's Regiment helmet and nia and Land of Hope and Glory . The caves were suitably
has settled in very well. decorated in bunting , etc, and the whole thing was a
tremendous success . The end result was a lot of fun , a
We have managed to let most of the band get away for little nostalgia, and £1000 each to two local charities .
some adventurous training and a further lucky six had a
week skiing in Sierra Nevada. lt appears only the Band- QUEBEC BAND
master never gets the opportunity for any of these jollies!
Though the Bandmaster and two members of the band lt is six months since we played the Battalion out of
did go on a fateful journey to Albuhera. camp and waved goodbye as they began their journey to
the hot and humid climate of Belize, and we now prepare
The Queen 's Birthday Parade was another major event to welcome them home . Although we form a large and
with many hours of early and late rehearsals , in between integral part of the Rear Party we have also travelled
which the band and drums still had other engagements to thousands of miles performing many concerts and
fulfil, one of which was a very humorous rendition of marching displays in places as varied and as far apart as
Gilbert & Sullivan's 'Patience'. This featured several of Chichester and Coventry, Blackpool and Basi ldon , and
the Battalion Officers in rather unusual roles - some say Gillingham and Germany.
for the better while others remarked how natural they
looked. As the many letters of appreciation and acclaim will
show we have left a host of satisfied audiences in our
One other departure from band life was the Band wake . This is no mean achievement considering that all
President Maj Philip Pearce, a staunch supporter of the the spaces between engagements were filled with duties
band. We said farewell in style aboard the ship 'MV ... or was it the other way round! Either way has meant
Coronia' . Out into the Med at night, drinking and dancing that on many occasions the Band has come off duty,
the night away, it wasn 't long before the real fun started boarded a coach and travelled to an engagement often
and people started disappearing over the side at a rapid returning in the early hours of the morning only to go on
rate of knots (not many volunteers). Suffice to say the guard again a few hours later!
party was a great success and the Pearces had a good
send-off. As always our engagements have been a mixture of
Officers' Messes, Passing Out Parades, Pub lic Relations ,
The annual invitation to Morocco followed in July, to Regimental Promotion , Fund Raising for Army and civi-
take part in the King 's Birthday celebrations. These take lian charities and Military Tattoos wh 1ch th1s year
the form of a noisy carnival parade through Tangier, very included the Dover Tattoo. We have had the opportunity
late on two nights and for the audience , it's an exciting on a few occasions to support the Depot and 2 QUEENS
spectacle. For those taking part it's a different story. both at Oakington and in Minden. Commercial engage-
Endless delays, stops and starts and all around midnight! ments have also been plentiful coming from sponsors
There are a couple of compensations: Five Star hotel, on such as Coral Social Clubs, the Alliance International
the beach, with some very pleasant sights! The band Group, Tunbridge Wells Arts Council , Lord Aspinall and
soon learnt the bargaining power of 200 cigarettes and all the Ascot International Driving Championships to name
seemed to come away smiling - until back in Gibraltar 24 but a few. The highlight however must be the Band 's
hours later when we were hit quite fiercely by 'Tangier appearance on national TV with Sir Harry Secombe on
Tu m' . the Highway Programme on Remembrance Sunday .

The band's last major engagement prior to a well
earned break was a Royal Wedding Concert in St
Michael's Caves. A tremendous occasion , for which the

QUEBEC BAND

1. Beating Retreat at Goodwood in aid of the ABF.
2. Bandmaster Cunningham meets HRH The Duke of
Kent and Brig Tony Pielow after the Band played in
Grosvenor House .

After such a period of pressure you may be expecting
stories of suicide, murder, nervou s breakdowns, low
moral and a multitude of PVRs and transfer requests.
With lesser mortals possibly , but the Quebec Band is
made of sterner stuff and its moral pride and standards of
excellence all remain intact. In spite of all this there must

have been a few minutes spare sometime as Mrs Keeley
and Mrs Plum mer will prove in approximately fi ve months

time!

REGIMENTAL INFORMATION TEAM

Over the last six months the Regimental Information The team duly celebrated the Royal Wedding on 23
Team has been involved with the summer season of July holding a family barbecue , with a guest appearance
shows, fetes, ca rnivals , school visits and, cu lminating in of one of our old boys , Mr (ex Lcpl) Ratcliffe, formerly of
August, assistance to the annual Army Cadet Force sum- 2 QUEENS.
mer camps. These were held respectively at Longmoor,
Stanford, Nescliffe for Kent , Sussex and Surrey ACF and As these notes were being written the team was
at Leek and Proteus for the London sectors . heavily involved with duties at the Reg imental Cocktail
Party on 10 October and the 325th anniversary of the
As is usual for the months May to August , virtually rai si ng of the Tangier Reg iment. The latter was of cou rse
every weekend is taken up by these activities and marked by the unveiling ceremony on Putney Heath on
prolonged by the Bank Holidays. Of added attraction to 14 October. These two Regimenta l events gave the team
the static displays has been the inclusion of a mini assault members a chance of giving their parade dress a good
course, being used for the major shows in each county airing and some of that good old fashioed ' bull ' . All this
and to very good effect at the Army Exhibition for brought tea rs of joy Ior despair?) to the Sergeant Major,
Schools held at the Divisional Depot in July . W02 Reardon . Exceptiona lly four of our number, Sgt
M cEwan , LCpl Arthey, Pte Burgess and Pte Prime were
Assistance has been given to the Chelsea Flower Show attired in period dress circa 1661 and circa 1702, on both
in the form of LCpl Lockwood and Pte Prime attired as occasions . (See picture on back cover.)
Mess Waiters , the Royal Tournament by Sgt Yoa and Sgt
McEwan , a display of modern weapons in support of 5 3 QUEENS !conveniently away in Belize! I provided our
QUEENS (V), exercising the Freedom of Folkeston e and transport of 4 tonners and Land - Rovers for the summer
HGV driver training also with 5 QUEENS (V) at season and we have suffered no major headaches, where
Canterbury, our 'man of the match ' here being Cpl ou r 'wheels' are the biggest asset.
Taylor .

.................................._

42

THE QUEEN'S REGIMENT FREEFALL TEAM

THE FLYING DRAGONS

by lt A V Brown

In the June Journal our report was ended with the fa ct looking to the futur e, apart from Regimental func·
that the team was at Bassingbourn awaiting the first tions, we have so far received two firm bookings for 1987
show. The team is no longer at Bassingbourn and we - the Surrey County Show and the Havering Bank
have now completed our first season. Privates Deal and Holiday Show (London). We do, however, have a large
Norton have returned to 3 QUEENS , Hipkiss has left the number of provisional bookings in clud ing the Middlesex
Army , Morphy has moved to the Joint Services Para- Show .
chute Centre (JSPC) at lippspringe (to train as Team
Rigger) and Cooper is now at JSPC Netheravon (to com- Our thanks must go to the Prudential Assurance
plete selection for the Army Freefall Team . Only myself, Company Ltd for their tremendous support in this
Sgt Sharp and lygo are still at the Depot . venture. We are at present working closely with the Pru
on a comp lete change of identity for the team. This is
Our first year has been more successful than any of us partly due to the change in the Prudential 's corporate
identity and partly due to the necessity to have a Team
expected when the last entry to the Journal was made. We Dragon logo that is rath er more in keeping with the image
have had bookings for 27 shows. Of these we have com- of the senior English Infantry Regiment and Europe's
pleted 22 and have performed to approximately 40,000 largest finan cial services com pany!
spectators across the country. These shows have
included the Royal Navy Field Gun Race at Portsmouth at (A picture of Pte Cooper of The Flying Dragons, with
which the Colonel of the Regiment was Guest of Honour, his parachute and jump suit in Regimental Colours,
the Army Exhibition for Schools at Bassingbourn, the appears on the back cover.)
Regimental Grand Reunion, four shows in Sussex and
three in Kent. We also performed at the East of England 2
Show, and we were booked for the European Water-
skiing Championships at Lincoln. Unfortunately high Scenes from One of Many Demonstrations .
winds meant that this demonstration cou ld not take 1. Lt An drew Brown giving the commentary as Pte Lygo
place, a pity because ' Grandstand ' TV cameras were lands on the cross.
filming! We did, however, get onto Yorkshire TV (one for 2. The team lines up after the display .
all you Northerners in the Regiment) when we opened a
floodlit charity cricket match in the Leeds United Football
Stadium. The TV cameramen were delighted as the team
brought in the bales for the match and flew in the flags of
the two teams- Yorkshire and Barbados!

The last was a show for the highest achievers in The
Prudential and was at a country mansion at Castle
Ashby. My commentary was going well until the pilot
annou need over the radio that he was about to start the
jump run at 6,000 feet. As I was relaying this to the crowd
an aircraft appeared over the trees at exactly the right
spot and travelling in exactly the right direction. What I
didn 't realize at the time was that it was only flying at an
altitude of about 1500 feet , so I carried on with the
commentary by telling everyone that as the plane passed
over the drop zone cross they would see red smoke
coming from its side. Of course nothing happened and
off flew the plane (as I was muttering to myself 'that's the
wrong type of plane and it's far too low' with the

microphone still on). Fortunately our Cherokee Six
appeared just in time and the rest of the show went
without a hitch .

In addition to the shows the team has taken part in the
British National Parachute Competition at Bridlington in
Yorkshire (20-30 June) and the Army Parachute Cham-
pionships at Netheravon (16-29 August). The Flying
Dragons have also spent a week in training in Germany
(6-11 June) and have trained at various locations
throughout this country . During training the team has
used Cessnas , Cherokees, Turbine Islanders, Hercules,

and various types of Service helicopters .