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The Journal of
THE QUEEN'S REGIMENT
Volume 18 No 1 June 1984
)
Unconquered I Serve
Battle Honours borne on The Colours
The Regimental Colour :
" Tangier, 1662-80," " Namur , 1695," " Gibraltar, 1704-5," " Bienheim ," " Ramilles," " Malplaquet ," " Dettingen ," " Louisburg ,"
" Guadeloupe, 1759," " Quebec, 1769," " Martinique, 1762, " " St Lucia , 1778," " Seringapatam ," " Maida ," " Vimiera ,"
" Corunna ," " Douro ," " Talavera ," " Aibuhera ," " Aimaraz, " " Badajoz ," " Salamanca," " Vittoria ," " Afghanistan , 1839,"
" Punniar ," " Moodkee," " Sobraon ," " lnkerman ," " Sevastopol ," " Lu cknow ," " 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, 1914-15-16- 17- 18," " Hill60 ," " Festubert , 1915," " Somme , 1916, 1918,"
" Aibert, 1916, 1918," " Vimy , 1917," " Cambrai , 1917- 18," " Hindenburg Line ," " Italy, 1917- 18, " " Macedonia , 1915-18,"
" Gallipoli , 1915," " Gaza ," " Jeru sa lem ," " Palestine , 1917-18," " Defen ce 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 ,"
"Sa lern o," " An zio," " Cassin o," " Italy , 1943-45 ," " Malta , 1940-42," " Hong Kong ," " Defence of Kohima ," " Burma ,
1943-45" .
Allied Colonels-in-Chief
HER RO YAL HIGHNESS PRINCESS JULIANA of th e Neth erlands
HER MAJESTY QUEEN MARGRETHE 11 of Denmark
Colonel of the Regiment : Brig . H C MILLMAN , OBE
Deputy Colonel of the Regiment : Col J C HOLMAN , OBE
2
Alliances The Canadian Armed Forces
The Queen's York Rangers (RCACl
The South Alberta Light Horse (RCAC)
The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada
The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment
1st Battalion The Royal New Brunswick Regiment (Carleton & York)
The Essex and Kent Scottish
The Australian Military Forces
The Royal New South Wales Regiment
The University of New South Wales Regiment
The Royal Western Australia Regiment
The New Zealand Army
2nd Battalion (Canterbury, Nelson, Marlborough and West Coast)
The Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment
5th Battalion (Wellington , West Coast and Taranaki)
The Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment
The Pakistan Army
12th, 14th, 15th and 17th Battalions, The Punjab Regiment
Hong Kong
The Royal Hong Kong Regiment (The Volunteers)
Affiliations HMS Excellent, HMS Brighton and HMS Leeds Castle
The Royal Marines (A 'Bond of Friendship ')
The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
The Royal Anglian Regiment
The King 's Own Scottish Borderers
No . 3 (F) Squadron Royal Air Force
The Royal Danish Life Guards (an 'Unofficial Alliance ')
212 Panzer Grenadier Battalion
The Worshipful Company of Haberdashers
Affiliated Units of the Cadet Force
CCF School Contingents
Alleyn ' s School , Dulwich ; Ardingly College ; St . Aloysius College ; Brighton College ; Chichester High School ; Collyer's VI
Form College (Horshaml ; Cranbrook School ; Cranleigh School ; Dulwich College ; Eastbourne College ; Haberdasher's Aske's
School (Eistreel ; Hampton Grammar School ; Highgate School ; Hurstpierpoint College ; The Judd School (Tonbridgel ; The
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 (Leatherhead) ; St Lawrence College (Ramsgatel ; The Skinners School (Tunbridge Wells) ; Tonbridge
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
Cadet Dets No . 72 .
Middlesex and Cadet Bns Nos 133 to 136, 141, 143, 147, 149, 151 to 153, 155 to 158.
NW London Sector Cadet Bns
NE London Sector 1st (Redhill) and 2nd (Farnhaml The Queen 's Regiment (Surrey ACF) .
SW London Sector Cadet Pis
1st (Canterbury) , 2nd (Sandgatel , 3rd (Tunbridge Wells) and 4th (Maidstone) The
Surrey : Queen 's Regiment (Kent ACFl .
Kent : Nos 2 (Seaford) , 3 (Hastings) , 4 (Lewes), 6 (Crawley) , 7 (Chichester) , 8 (Crow-
borough) , 10 (Eastbourne) , 11 (Horsham) , 13 (Shoreham) , 14 (Bexhilll , 16 (Hurst -
Su ssex: pierpoint) , 17 (Bognor) , 18 (Littlehamptonl , 20 (Lewes OGS ).
3
REGIMENTAL HEADQUARTERS
Howe Barracks , Canterbury, Kent (Telephone 574111
Regimental Secretary Col J W Francis lex! 2951
Deputy Regimental Secretary Maj G U Weymouth , MBE lext 2501
I Lt Col J J White on 1 August 19841
Financial Secretary and Sussex Affairs Maj A Martin , MBE lext 2511
Archives and Surrey Affairs Lt Col L M B Wilson, MBE lext 2531
Kent Affairs Maj H C L Tennent lext 2521
Recruiting, Regimental Association Maj R Waite lext 2541
and Admin. Maj I R Jones lext 2551
Capt A Hill !Maidstone Military ext 2921
Regimental Careers Officer
OC Regimental information Team
REGULAR BATTALIONS
1st Battalion
Lisanelly Barracks, Omagh, N Ireland , BFPO 804
CO : Lt Col P V Panton
2nd Battalion
Ebrington Barracks, N Ireland, BFPO 807
CO: Lt Col M R I Constantine
3rd Battalion
St Barbara Barracks , Fallingbostel , BFPO 38
CO : Lt Col D A Beveridge, MBE
11 TA BATTALIONS
e 5th lVI Battalion
" Leros T & AVR Centre, Sturry Road, Canterbury, Kent
e CO : Lt Col D HA Shephard
Hon Col: H H Prince Georg of Denmark, KCVO
Deputy Hon Col: Col J B Ogilvie, OBE TD
6th / 7th lVI Battalion
Norfolk TA Centre, Denne Road, Horsham , Sussex
CO : Lt Col P J Hubert , OBE
Hon Col: Lt Col Sir A Colin Cole, KCVO, TD , FSA
e
QUEEN'S DIVISION DEPOT
,.
t· Bassingbourn Barracks, Royston , Herts. SGB 5LX
Reg Rep : Maj N F Ru ssell
4 Contents
Editor : page
MaJOr G U Weymouth ,
Colonel of the Regiment's Preface 5
MBE IRetdl
Regimental Headquarters, Editorial 7
Howe Barracks . Dates to Remember 8
Canterbury, Kent
HM Queen Margrethe's Visit 10-12
Cap Badge
Officers Location List 14- 15
Collar Badge
The 1st Battalion 17
Button
The 2nd Battalion 25
The 3rd Battalion 33
Band Merger Parade - An Address by the Colonel of the Regt 42
The 5th (Volunteer) Battalion 45
The 6th/7th (Volunteer) Battalion 51
Depot The Queen 's Division 55
IJLB 57
Queen's Cadets 58
Regimental Secretary's Notes 60
RCO's Report 61
Officers' Club 62
The Cricket Tent Club 63
Book Reviews 64
The Regimental Christmas Card 65
The Regimental Association 66
The Affiliated Regimental Associations 70/75
Marriages, Deaths and Obituaries 76-80
Alliances and Affiliations 81 -84
Journal Order Form inside back cover
Pr inte rs · COVER PICTURE
HM Queen Margrethe is presented with a posy by Joanna Thorpe ,
Geenngs of Ashford ltd daughter of the Training Major on arrival at HQ The 5th lVI Bn on 2
Cobbs Wood House
Chart Road Dece mber 1983.
Ashford , Kent
5
COLONEL OF THE REGIMENT'S PREFACE
'God grant us the serenity to accept
the things we cannot change; the courage
to change the things we ought to change;
and the wisdom to know the difference '.
Some wag left this advice in a note on my never be left behind again to pick up the empties
desk the day I took over as DAP(A) in the MOD at Bisley! The Regimental slogan for 1984 is
in 1977 . I heeded the message then and have accordingly - 'The QUEENS - The Great Big
promised my much-respected predecessor that I Regiment' (whichever way you play the inflec-
will honour the sentiments again during my tions, you get a right answer!)
tenure as Colonel. There will thus be no violent
U-turns in major Regimental policy though there With that slogan now hopefully reverberating
may be some variations in style, theme, empha- through all our messes, may I simply say that my
sis and approach: for example a priority aim will recent visit to all three Regular Battalions on
remain the recruitment of an improved quality of operational duty in Ulster convinced me that we
officer, though the ways and means may bear a were there and only needed to sell ourselves just
a trifle harder to get our point really across. I,
slightly different slant. however, left the Province very proud to be a
OUEENSMAN and even prouder to be your
Having said all that, it is appropriate here to Colonel - an honour I shall deeply cherish and
publicly record just how much we owe, as a seek to properly fulfil over the next five years.
large Regiment, to General Rowley Mans. He
set out to bring the several former Regimental Charles Millman,
Associations truly into the body of the new Brigadier
Regiment . I have no doubt, as recent Grand
Reunions have borne witness, that he achieved Maj Gen Mans thanks Brig Millman and all who had
this aim and that the Regimental 'Past and contributed towards the gift with which he was
Present' have never been closer. He deserves presented on 25 November 1983 at the Duke of York's
our heartfelt thanks and praise in this respect .
As he does also for putting our finances on the Headquarters, Chelsea ,
soundest footing we have known since the Regi- Picture by Col J ohn Francis
ment was formed in 1966. These will remain the
outstanding contributions of his tenure as (see picture overleaf)
Colonel and major achievements of which we
Oueensmen are truly grateful. We wish him and
his wife Veeo - a great Regimental supporter-
a very happy retirement . At the same time we
welcome Colonel John Holman and his equa lly
supportive good lady, Penny, to the Deputy
Colonelcy. I am sure that both will prove a real
asset to the new Regimental management team .
At the outset of my tenure, I believe the
greatest need at this point, and based on my
observations from the wings as both your
former Divisional Brigadier and Deputy Colonel ,
is for those serving (whether they be Regular,
TA or Cadet) to really believe in themselves and
the new Regiment - just as 'dad did in himself
and his former outfit' ! We are top class; we
must be seen to both believe and be proud of it
and , finally , must ensure that everybody else
shares our confidence in our proven ability. In
short, we must publicly be accepted as one of
the so-called 'elite' , created by the media at the
time of the Falklands campaign - and as such,
6
The silver goblets and e n graved salve r prese nted t o Maj Gen Rowley Mans on 25 November 1983.
. ..".'' .liiiil_'-B--r-a-d-l-ey-& V-au-gh-a1- 1 --'
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7
Ed t o r a
The cover picture reminds us of the visit of HM Queen Margrethe to Canterbury on 2nd December
last , a memorable day which is featured pictorially elsewhere in this issue.
Another highlight was the ' Freedom' Parade held in Belfast on 30 March when all three of our regular
battalions were represented - an unique occasion. On the following day another Parade - The Band
Reforming Parade - was held in Londonderry and on both occasions Brigadier Charles Millman and
Colonel John Holman were present for their first important engagements as, respectively, Colonel and
Deputy Colonel of the Regiment. Nearly a month later - on 23 April - Pte Neil Cl ark of the 2nd Bn was
murdered by an IRA sniper's bullet whilst on patrol in Londonderry.
Two new Regimental Affiliations have been forged this year : On 7 February, at a ceremony held at
Haberdashers' Hall in the City (followed by a luncheon) , an Affiliation with the Worshipful Company of
Haberdashers was formally established (a separate article appears elsewhere); and as the result of
friendships struck up between 212 Panzergrenadiers of the German Reserve Forces and our two TA
battalions whilst on training in BAOR , the Colonel of The Regiment and the Commandant of this
Panzer unit have agreed to form an unofficial alliance.
Looking ahead a bit, the Regiment is participating in another Horse Guards Parade in June 1985,
when the massed Bands of The Queen's Division will be performing . This spectacular event will be held
on three successive evenings and Tuesday 11 June is scheduled as our 'Regimental Night'.
The Arms Plot reveals the following changes of station for our regular battalions (in chronological
order):
November 1984- 2nd Bn to Oakington (with a Falkland Islands tour from March to July 1986).
January 1985 - 1st Bn to Gibraltar.
January 1986 - 3rd Bn to Howe Barracks, Canterbury (with a Belize tour from April to October
1986) .
A new London-based TA Bn is to be formed in April 1986, as part of the TA Enhancement
programme, from elements of The Regiment and The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. Further particulars,
together with details about our two newly-formed regular Regimental Bands appear in the Regimental
Secretary's Notes on page 60 .
Valedictory
This is my last Editorial. Since I published the first number of our Journal in January 1967, there have
been 53 issues spanning 17 Y, years: by and large you have borne up pretty well under the strain and for
this I thank you! I am also very conscious of the tremendous support I have had from sub-editors,
other contributors and advertisers over a very long time and am truly grateful for this too .
Good lu ck to my successor - Lt-Col John White - and I trust you will give him the same splendid
co-operation you have always given to me .
8 11 Queen 's Surreys Assn Remembrance Day
Parades , Guildford , Kingston and
Dates to Remember Battersea .
July 11 Middlesex Regt. Assn . Remembrance Day
Service, lnglis Bks, Mill Hill and Reunion at
1 Queen's Own Buffs Assn Remembrance TA Centre, Edgware.
Service & Reunion , Maidstone .
FOREST GRANGE
3 Queen's Surreys GS Match v Royal SCHOOL
Marines, Fleet.
*HORSHAM , WEST SUSSEX. Telephone: Faygate 219
13 Regtl Golf Match v KCC, Littlestone GC . An I.A.P.S. Preparatory Schoo l for 150 boys and girls
15 Regimental Assn Grand Reunion, Bas-
* aged 8 to 13 .
singbourn . Small classes prepared for Conunon Entrance and
21 5 QUEENS (V) exercise the Freedom of
* Public School Scholarships.
Ramsgate . Happy family atmosphere allied to the necessary
31 -4 Aug R Sussex Regtl Assn , Goodwood Races
* discipline.
(main meeting) . Set in beautiful 300 acre estate with excellent recrea-
tional facilities.
August Canterbury Cricket Week.
4-10 Queen's Own Buffs Officers Drinks Party * Entrance by interview and test.
4
in Cricket Club tent. * Special Tenns for Service Families.
8 Annual Golf Meeting, Canterbury GC.
24 Regtl Golf Match v Royal Marines, Free prospectus from the Schoo l Secretary.
Canterbury GC. Acknowledgment
The Editor acknowledges, with thanks, receipt of the
September following publications :
The Silver Bugle, Autumn 83.
1 6/7 QUEENS (V) exercise the Freedom Queen's Own Buffs Quarterly News Summary, Dec83
British Army Review, Dec 83
of Arundel. The Fusilier, Dec 83
7 Regtl Golf Match v Queen's Own Buffs ' lnvicta' (2nd Battalion Newsletter) , Oct 83
Globe & Laurel, Christmas 83 , Jan / Feb 84
GS, Epsom. Legion (Canada) , Nov, Dec 83, Jan , Feb, Mar 84
8 Sevastopol Day (2nd Bn) . SSAFA News, Winter 83/ 84
8 2/ 6 Queen 's Royal Regt Salerno Reunion , 'Volunteer' (Journal of the RHKR(V))
The Die -Hards Newsletter, Dec 83
Union Jack Club, London . The Cadet Journal & Gazette, Feb 84
8/ 9 1/ 6 (Bermondsey) Assn (Queen 's Surreys ' Dragon Vly' (1 DERR) , Aug / Sep83
' Braganza ' (1st Bn Newsletter - ' First Issu e' )
Assn) Reunion , St Nicklaas, Belgium. Qu een 's Surreys Assn . Newsletter, May 84
9 Salerno Day (1st Bn) .
13 Quebec Day (3rd Bn).
15 5 Queens (V) Annual Camp, BAOR to
29th).
16 Queen's Own Buffs Assn Remembrance
Service & Reunion, Canterbury.
18 Middlesex Regt GS Meeting, North Hants
GC, Fleet .
October Queen's Surreys Officers' Club Dinner .
5 WOs' & Sgts' Past & Present Annual
6
Dinner, Bassingbourn.
11 Queen's Surreys GS Autumn Meeting,
12 Richmond .
Officers' Club Reunion, Haberdashers'
20
Hall, London.
21 East Surrey OCA Reunion , Clapham
27 / 28 Junction .
Middlesex Regt Assn . Church Parade,
Royal Hospital , Chelsea .
ACF Officers Week-end.
November
2 Qu een's Surreys Assn Annual Reunion ,
Lo nd o n .
10 Lord Mayor's Procession.
10 Middlesex Regt . A ssn . Ceremony at Field
of Remembrance, W estminster .
9
BRIGADIER H C MILLMAN, OBE,
COLONEL OF THE REGIMENT
Born in London in 1928, Brigadier Charles was
educated at The City of London School. He joined the
Army as an Indian Army Cadet in December 1945 and
was commissioned into The Queen's Royal Regt
(West Surrey) on 15 July 1948, joining their 1st Bn in
Germany ; later he was Adjutant at the Regimental
Depot, Guildford.
In 1953 he was a GS03 in GHQ East Africa Com-
mand where he was Mentioned in Despatches for his
part in operations against the Mau Mau.
In 1955 he returned to UK as Adjutant of 6 QUEENS Brigadier H C Millman OBE. Colonel of The Regiment.
ITA) and in 1958-59 attended the Royal Military Picture by Arthur 8 Rust of H ythe
College of Science and The Staff College. In 1960 he
became a DAAG in the War Office and two years later
joined the 1st Bn Queen's Own Buffs, The Royal Kent
Regt in Colchester.
In April1964- as Brigade Major of 99 Gurkha Bde
in Malaysia - Brigadier Charles was again Mentioned
in Despatches and was also awarded the Malaysian
'Ali Mangu Negara' for his services in Borneo . In June
1965 he became DAA & QMG at HQ 39 lnf Bde in
Northern Ireland .
y Following a course at the JSSC (1966-67) , he was
appointed Second-in-Command of 1 QUEENS and a
1- year later he took over command of the battalion. In
June 1970 he was appointed OBE for distinguished
services whilst his battalion was operating in
Londonderry.
Brigadier Charles' next appointment was as GS01
on the DS at the Staff College and in October 1972, he
became Chief Instructor (Colonel) at the Sudan Staff
College in Khartoum ; for his success in setting up that
College, he was awarded the 'Gadara '.
From January 1974 until1976 he was Col AQ at HQ Now let YS help~
4 Armd Div in BAOR and then went to Aberdeen
University for a year on a Defence Fellowship .
Promotion to Brigadier and appointment as Director
of Administrative Planning at the MOD followed
(during which he was responsible for setting up the
necessary equipment when the Army became firemen
during the latter's National Strike) .
On 4 August 1978 he was appointed Divisional ~~D--1
Brigadier at Bassingbourn and on 1 January 1979,
Deputy Colonel of The Regiment . In October 1980 he British"'{;gion
was appointed ADC to The Queen .
48 PALL MALL LONDON SW lY 5JY
On retirement in October 1982, Brigadier Charles
became Regional Organizer (Southern Region) for
The Army Benevolent Fund , an appointment he
continues to hold . He is a Freeman of the City of
London , lives in Hythe, Kent , and is unmarried .
10
HM QUEEN MARGRETHE'S VISIT TO CANTERBURY, 2 DECEMBER 1983
1 The Queen arrives at Howe Barracks and is greeted by Maj Gen Mans and the Regimental Secretary.
2 HM and the Colonel of The Regiment outside RHQ.
3 On arrival at HQ 5 QUEENS (V). the Queen is met by Lt Col David Shephard, the Commanding Officer.
4 The luncheon which followed the unveiling of the Portrait. Pic tures by Ben May of Can terbury
(more p1crures facing page 13)
11
Visit to Canterbury by ==Naafi==
Her Majesty Queen Margrethe,
INSURANCE
Allied Colonel-in-Chief, on SERVICES
Friday 2 December 1983
Readers will have seen in the last issue a brief note
about this memorable occasion, though the printer's
dead-line precluded a fuller account.
The reason for Her Majesty's visit was to attend the SIMPLY THE BEST DEAL AVAILABLE
presentation of a portrait of Herself to the Regiment,
commissioned by The Carlsberg Foundation in We act on behalf of leading U.K. and
Denmark . (A reproduction of the Portrait appeared German Insurers and can provide
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Germany and when you return
The Royal Party arrived at Howe Barracks at noon to the UK
(Her Majesty had flown from Copenhagen to Man-
ston) and were greeted by the Colonel of the Regi- Holiday Customs Breakdown &
ment (Maj Gen Rowley Mans) , the Commanding Travel Duty Emergency
Officer of 1 DERR (Lt Col Bill Mackereth) , The Insurance
Regimental Secretary and Maj Andrew Dawson (' Our Services
Man' in Denmark). Motor Caravan Household
Insurance Insurance Insurance
After a brief visit to RHO, where Brig Charles
Millman was presented together with other members For competitive quotations and
of RHQ staff, the motorcade with police escort moved professional advice drop in and see
to HQ 5 QUEENS (V) in Sturry Road: here HM was
received by Lt Col David Shephard , commanding the our representative at the
5th (V) Bn, and a posy was presented to Her by
Joanna Thorpe, daughter of the Training Major. INSURANCE CENTRE
Members of a standard bearer party from the NAAFI SHOPPING COMPLEX
Canterbury branch of The Queen 's Own Buffs FALLINGBOSTEL
Association (of which HM is Patron) were then
presented to the Queen by the Association ' s EVERY WEDNESDAY & FRIDAY
President, Capt Michael Smith. Green cards. Cover notes. Policies can be
issued on the spot and premiums can be
Before assembling for lunch, the Royal party paid a repaid by up to ten monthly instalments.
visit to the WOs' and Sgts' Mess: the Commanding
Officers (or their representatives) and their wives were INSURANCE
then presented to the Queen - as were the Mayor SERVICES
and Mayoress of Canterbury - in the Officers' Mess .
Just after one o' clock HM , accompanied by
Professor Glaman n (President of the Carlsberg
Foundation) , the Artist (Mr. Preben Hornung) and the
Colonel of the Regiment took their places in the dining
room by the portrait for the unveiling, which was
undertaken by the Queen . Lunch - which was a
splendid meal provided by the Thanet Technical
College , Broadstairs - followed , at the end of which
the Colonel of the Regiment proposed the Loyal
Toast . After a Toast to our Allied Colonel-in-Chief, the
Queen delivered a gracious and witty speech and this
was followed by a statement from Professor Glamann
on th e significance of the presentation . (How
competent these Danes are in speaking our
language!)
Queen M argrethe then left the Barracks in a Danish
Embassy Car for a private visit to Northbourne.
Among the gu ests at this most enjoyable Regi -
mental function were Sir Andrew Stark KCMG CVO
(a former Ambassador in Denmark) , Mr Mi chael luul
and Mr M M c Donald - three gentlemen who are con-
nected w ith th e Carlsberg Brew ery .
The unveiling of the Portrait !M Preben Hornung,
the Artist is on the right).
Picture by Ben May
2 Capt Michael Smith, President of The Queen 's Own
Buffs Assn (The Queen's Regt) presents members of
the Canterbury Branch to Her Majesty. (Mr Fred
Turmaine (far right) is wearing his Dannebrog
!Medaille de Recompense).
3 HM meets The Mayor of Canterbury (CIIr BA Coliins
JP) and the Lady Mayoress.
Pictures by Kentish Gazette
Mainly About People 13
New Years Honours List 1984 WOs1 C W Garton and J . A. Frost were
KBE commissioned in June 1984 and are to be posted to
the 2nd Bn .
Lt Gen Sir Geoffrey Howlett OBE MC !late Para,
formerly RWKI. Note: The General was appointed W01 W R Mundayis to be commissioned in March
Colonel Commandant The Parachute Regt on 31 1985 and will be posted to the 1st Bn .
December 1983. !He is already Colonel Commandant
of the Army Catering Corps.) RMAS Representative
OBE Capt J P Riley 13rd Bnl is to be our Regimental
A / Col R M Cain IComdt NW London ACF) . representative at RMAS !vice Capt H W R Egan) in
August 1984.
MBE
W02 D Cadywou ld 16/7 QUEENS lVII Sporting Success
Pte G Taylor IB Coy 5 QUEENS lVII won the TA
BEM
W02 A R Jones 15 QUEENS lVII South East District Cross-Country Championship
held at Aldershot on 29 January 1984 from a field of 84
Northern Ireland Gallantry Award runners.
Col R W Acworth !now ACOS HO Northern
Miscellaneous
Ireland ) was awarded a Mention in Despatches for Sir Paul Bryan DSO MC MP IMP for Boothferry) ,
service in N Ire land between 1 May and 30 September
19831whilst in command of 10 UDR) . who commanded 6th Bn The Queen's Own Royal
West Kent Regt during World War 11 , has been
TA Awards appointed Deputy Chairman of Furness Withy .
Maj M F H Ad/er has been awarded the TA
Col (Retd) John Backeridge became President of
Efficiency Decoration. The Royal Sussex Association I representing the
Queen's Regt in Sussex) on 1 May 1984, succeeding
Staff Training Col George Langridge TO who retires after eight years
Capt MJ Cooper is to attend the RMCS in October in the appointment.
1984 and the Staff College, Camberley, in January Col Marino Heestermans CVO, Military Attache
1985. at the Royal Netherlands Embassy in London for the
past five years was succeeded by Col Jaap Smit on 2
Course Gradings May. Col and Mrs John Francis and Maj Guy Wey-
Lt PT Crowley !1st Bnl achieved a ' Distinguished' mouth attended a farewell party at the Embassy on
that evening to wish ' God Speed ' to Col Marino and
grading on 81 mm Mortar Platoon Commanders his wife lnike !they were off to Jakarta the following
Course, September-November 1983. week) and to meet their successors. Col and Mrs Mike
Dudding were also there.
Appointments
Maj Gen M F Reynolds CB has been appointed RHO Visitors
Colonel Commandant, The Queen's Division wef 1 A new Visitors Book was opened on 2 December
July 1984 vice Maj Gen R E J Gerrard-Wright CBE. 1983 to record the visit of HM Queen Margrethe.
Lt Col I G Ba1llie was appointed S01 Sch of lnf. Other signatures which appear in the book since
BMATT Nigeria in February 1984. then are :
W01 S R Bream QGM was appointed RSM of 5 Col H H Prin ce Georg, Col Sir Sven-Aage lversen
UDR in June 1984. and Col B J P Faaberg !who accompanied Her
WO 1M R Rowney was posted to The Bermuda Regt Majesty) , Maj 'Kiwi' Carter, Lt Gen Sir Geoffrey How-
in March 1984 as the Regimental Sergeant Major. lett IGOC SE Dist) , Capt John Handford I his ADC) ,
2Lts Alistair Holmes, lan David and James Bulpitt Ion
Director of Infantry's Prize joining) , Col Toby Sewell, Lt Col Peter Hubert, Maj
Congratulations to Lt S PR Kdpatrick 13rd Bn) on his Roddy Mellotte , Lt John Burke, Lt Col Neville Hunter,
award of the D of lnf' s Prize for outstanding perform- Edward Clowes, Maj Nigel Russell , Lt Cols Tony Ross
ance on a Platoon Commander's Course. and David Dunn IHO SE Dist), Dick Smart, Lt Col Jim
Shephard, W01 M R Rowney Ion posting to the
Commissioning Bermuda Regt) , W02 D T lrwing-James I Depot) , Col
W01 J F Burke !now Li eu t ), afte r serving in Brunei, John Holman , Brig Mike Thorne , Col Mike Dudding,
Capt Vie Ebbens, Maj and Mrs ' Rocky' Hitchcock Ion
was commissioned on 1 February 1984 and posted to leave from Nigeria), Captain Michael Barrow RN Retd
the 3rd Bn . !Clerk t o the Haberdashers' Company), 2Lt John
Farrelllon joining).
14 P DJ Clarke DCTs ICS21 MOD
Pc Cook HQ 1 IBA ) Corps
OFFICERS LOCATION LIST P P Critchley HO AFNORTH (5 UDR June 84)
WG A Crumley HO UKLF
(as at 1 M ay 1984) A C Dawson HO BALTAP
S M Dowse DPS IAI MOD
REGULAR OFFICERS J Ewan 2 QUEENS
M J Featherstone BMATI Zimbabwe
M F Reynolds CB Major-General M J Flynn 2 RAF !Depot IHSJ 28 May 84)
R Gancz 1 QUEENS
lnternat Mil StaH HO NATO ME Girting MCTC
F K Gladden HO AFNORTH (OAMA MOD June 84)
M J Ooyle , MBE Brigadiers DC F Gouda 3 QUEENS
P D Johnson ADC P A Gray Depot (HS)
Comdt SC Bangladesh CM M Grove HQ AFCENT
Ex ' Sharp Sword' (to July 84) PAGwilliam HQ ULKF
P J Gybbon· Monypenny HO Queen' s Div
R WAcworth Colonels J M Harcus HO SF Antwerp
S T W Anderson OBE MC N P Harris ACT
M V Hayward OBE HO N Ireland P R Hitchcock BATI Nigeria
J C Holman OBE D Adv Zimbabwe PRPHowe 2 Para
A Lea DSO MBE MD (A) MOD IIMRO ISJ in July 84) J F Huskisson 3 QUEENS
Cl Tarver MBE JFHO R M Jackson 2 QUEENS
H N Tarver DA / MA Muscat (to July 84) AMFJelf c/ o BDLS tAl Ottawa
T L Trotman 0 Sy IAI MOD CM Joint 2 QUEENS
DGFVE I R Jones RHO(RCOI
SHAPE J D Jonklass Ital Army (to July 84)
J Laghorne 505 Gl Sec
Lieutenant Colonels C L Lawrence MC Depot IHSl
MP lawson 6 17 QUEENS
R M Arnold CO 5UDR IMElloyd I of E, MOD
BMATI Nigeria A M M Low HQ AFNORTH
I G Baillie R M McGhie NITAT
P deS Barrow CMRO PM H McGill 1 QUEENS
G B Bateman OBE Sch of Serv lnt P D McLelland MIIAI MOD
0 A Beveridge MBE CO 3 QUEENS J G McWilliam BMATI Zimbabwe Ito July 84)
S M Boucher Sch of Serv lnt P Mallatieu 464 GL Sec
G Bullock MBE 0 Cts !NATO 31 MOD R T W Mellotte ASD 1 MOD
C G Champion HO Tradoc, US Army, Fort Monroe A C Milwille ACGS (ORI MOD
JP S Mills RSME
A H Chappell OBE lto Sep 84) M B Montgomerv SHAPE
M R I Constantine Sch of lnf R P Murphy RCB
PH Courtenay CO2 QUEENS J N C Myles 3 QUEENS
0 J C Oickins MBE D Cts StaH MOD A W Neve MC DTA&CMOD
M P St F Oracopooli OBE D Cts StaH IROWO MOD A P O' Gorman HQ 1 Armd Div
R 0 Fisher MBE HOEDist T J Oyler 2 QUEENS ISSVCI
A H Graham MBE P L Pearce HO Queen' s Div
J M Hewson MC AAA DE D A Pollard 3 QUEENS
P Hiscock MS Quinn 2 QUEENS
P J Hubert OBE BGTI IUKI J DWReid 500 Gl Sec
N S Hunter HO SW Dist J C Rogerson OM IAI MOD
M 0 Legg LSP Saudi Arabia N F Russell Depot tPSl
A F SLing MBE CO 617 QUEENS JAB Salmon 3 QUEENS
M A M Newall OBE HQ 1 IBA) Corps J B Stirling DGAT MOD
P F Packham MBE DA Vienna P R P Stirling 1 QUEENS
P V Panton S C Thorpe 5 QUEENS
0 H A Shephard c / o RHO AT P Wtlliams 2 QUEENS
A C Ward OBE BRIXMIS MC Willis 1 QUEENS
MW Ward HA P Yorke 2 QUEENS
J J White ARMEX. MOD
M J Williams CO 1 QUEENS A N Armitage·Smith Captains
CO 5 QUEENS J V Ashton
HO UKLF M J Ayling Princes Marina College
M J Aylward MBE 1 QUEENS
CDE . MOD I Barnacle OM 2 QUEENS
Ecole Sup . de Guerre ! RHO 1 Aug 84) J Barr 3 QUEENS
C T Bromfield OM ITl 2 QUEENS
DADPTC JP Castle 3 QUEENS
M J Cooper 3 QUEENS
J C Acworth Majors M Donnelly OGM 3 QUEENS
M WAIIington H W R Eagan 3 QUEENS
HOE Dist l R Edwards Depot I PSl
M J Ball OAR 2. MOD T S Fisher RMAS I Regt Rep)
A W Barran RMAS IDiv Rep) J C F Gamlin 1 QUEENS I BMATI in July 84 )
HO 1 IBR J Corps A M Goulden OM 30UEENS
RA Bartlett Army Sch of Recruiting J S Graham 6GR
HOE Dist N J Grant 1 QUEENS
A A A Beattte Sch of lnf K SHames 1 QUEENS
R J Benson OM 50UEENS W A Harber HQ BAOR 13 QUEENS July 84)
DPR IA I MOD A Hill 1 QUEENS
SWB•IIet Depot IHS JIC MAT Ghana 28 May l J J B Hiscock 2 QUEENS
CMTI Uganda T J Hurley AIT
P B•shop 5 R A nglian M J Hurman 2 QUEENS
IJLB N P L Keyes 2 QUEENS
GC Brown 3 QUEEN S R J Knight 3 QUEENS
N CGCann B CTI W Knlght ·Hughes HO 1 lnf Bde
B A Ca rlston MBE 2 QUEEN S C G Lambert 3 QUEENS
M D Maloney BEM BRIXMI S
0 S Carter J C Maltman 3 QUEENS
C G F Charter l S P Ma ns Depot !PS)
E l Chnsuan W D Marshal! 40 Cdo AM
A A M Chrtstmas JP B Martin 1 QUEEN S
W R M orn s OM 1 QUEEN S
CA Newell 3 QUEEN S
P J Newma n 2 QUEEN S
2 QUEEN S
2 QUEEN S
15
S J Parker 3 QUEENS A J Bingham TO 2 Div HQ
J A Partrtdge Depot (PSI P M P Broadbent CVHO
N M Peckham 1 QUEENS A C Chissel 5 QUEENS
J N Pratten BATI Nigeria G Dineley TO CV HQ RA
OW Prescott 1 QUEENS J l A Fowler TO 5 QUEENS
MP Aayner 5 QUEENS A P Haigh TO CVHO
JP Ailey 3 QUEENS (Aegt Rep RMAS Aug 84) A A Hall HQ SEDIST
A J Roberts SC Camberley C K Hurd 6/7 QUEENS
A W Russell SC Camberley P G Harrington TO 220 Fd Amb
J D K Russell SC Camberley A J Leonard 6/7 QUEENS
R Scott OM 3 RAF A E lowans 6/7 QUEENS
DJ Wake SC Camberley A A Marchant 5 QUEENS
A Walker 1 QUEENS A J Meldrum 6/7 QUEENS
D VWatson 3 QUEENS MC Mercer 6/7 QUEENS
R F Whit house SC Camberley 0 A Mirams TO 5 QUEENS
R WWilby Depot I PSI C F G Parkinson 5 QUEENS
N A M Wright 6/7 QUEENS AWPrior
PI Robens 617 QUEENS
Lt P J Anthony Subalterns A J 0 Salter TO 6/ 7 QUEENS
Lt H M Beeson P A 0 Storie-Pugh CV HO RA
Lt G F Bourne 1 QUEENS A G C Thornton TO
2/ Lt A V Brown 3 QUEENS SE Wooles HO 2 lnf Bde
2Lt M J Brown 1 QUEENS G H Wright TO 2 Div HO
2/ lt J A Bulpitt 2 QUEENS 5 QUEENS
Lt J F Burke 1 QUEENS T Benson CVHO
2 / Lt J A Burrows 1 QUEENS U McBrown
Lt ME Cameron 3 QUEENS P J Chapman Captains
Lt S J Cooper RMAS W S Conroy
Lt P A Corden 1 QUEENS A H B Oalby 5 QUEENS
lt R P Crosbie-Wood 3 QUEENS G E Gibson 6/7 QUEENS
Lt G WCross Manchester UOTC {1 QUEENS July 84 ) P Gibson 6/7 QUEENS
Ll PT Crowley 2 QUEENS 0 . Harwood 5 QUEENS
2 / Lt I P Oavis 2 QUEENS C N Leonard 6/7 QUEENS
Lt SF Deakin 1 QUEENS C N Leonard 5 QUEENS
Lt J Dixon 1 QUEENS P J Lynch 6/7 QUEENS
Lt S T 0 Duggan Depot {PSI P S F McCardle 6/7 QUEENS
Lt J Eastwood BEM 2 QUEENS MW McGhie 5 QUEENS
Lt VD Ebbens London Univ (2 QUEENS July 84) W D Milne 5 QUEENS
2 / Lt J J Farrell 1 R Anglian P Newman 5 QUEENS
Lt J R W Fisher 1 QUEENS P J Oyler 5 QUEENS
Lt S C Garrett 3 QUEENS 14 May 841 T O'G Roche 5 QUEENS
Lt JP Gibbs 2 QUEENS JHORoss 5 QUEENS
Ll D J Greenfield RMAS IRCC 341 MS Rumsey 5 QUEENS
Lt M Haywood·Smith 2 QUEENS V M L Scripps SSVC 2 QUEENS
2/ Lt A St J Holmes 3 QUEENS RE Stone 6/7 QUEENS
Lt S P B Kilpatrick Exeter Univ S J C Thompson 6/7 QUEENS
2/ Lt 0 A Martin 20UEENS 5 QUEENS
Lt C G A McLeod 3 QUEENS A M Clement 5 QUEENS
Lt 0 MW Nelson 1 QUEENS J Day 50UEENS
Lt M A 0 Newman 3 QUEENS T J Downey 5 QUEENS
Lt JP Noble Depot tPSJ P Doyle
2/ Lt J R O'Connor 2 QUEENS T P Foster Lieutena nts
2 / Lt J C Perry Sch of lnf B G Gregory
Lt DJ Phipps 3 QUEENS A P Guthrie 6/7 QUEENS
2 / Lt J R J Powell 1 QUEENS T J Haynes 6/7 QUEENS
Lt A R Ramsey Depot IPSI N C Horwell 6/7 QUEENS
Ltl D Raynes 1 QUEENS M J King 6/7 QUEENS
Lt J A Redfern 1 QUEENS SA Lacey 6/7 QUEENS
L1 M H Robertson 3 QUEENS SA McMahon 5 QUEENS
Lt N Sharples 3 QUEENS ISSVCI PC Metiuk 6/7 QUEENS
2 / Lt M G Scott 1 QUEENS G I Muir 6/7 QUEENS
LtTOScon 3 QUEENS S R Dstaccini 6/7 QUEENS
Lt W G Silcock RMAS S J F Plowman 6/7 QUEENS
2 / Lt N M Smallwood 2 QUEENS P B Rattigan 50UEENS
Lt 0 G Strutt 3 QUEENS J A Redfern 50UEENS
2/Lt J I Tozer 3 QUEENS G J Sparks 50UEENS
Lt J J Turk tA / Captl 2 QUEENS MP Taylor 6/7 QUEENS
Lt N J Versloot 2 QUEENS R M Wilson 6/7 QUEENS
Lt ADS Weston 2 QUEENS S M Windmill 6/7 QUEENS
Lt D N Whalley 3 QUEENS D K Wray 6/7 QUEENS
lt GJWood 3 QUEENS SSVC 3 QUEENS
2 / Lt MD Wood 2 QUEENS 6/7 QUEENS
LtA S M Wnght IJLB 5 QUEENS
2 / Lt JP S Wright AMAS 6/7 QUEENS
1 QUEENS 617 QUEENS
Newcastle Univ 6/7 QUEENS
M J Duddmg TA OFFI CER S S M Barlow 2nd Lieutenants
J R G Putnam TO Colonels K I A Carter
P A Chattle 5 QUEENS
CL Argent HO London D1stnct G 1Fotheringham 6/7 QUEENS
J R Bass HO SE D1stnct R M Hemingway 6/7 QUEENS
6/7 QUEENS
M ajors AS H oad 5 QUEENS
E J G Macca riello 50UEENS
5 QUEENS J A McNamara 6/7 QUEENS
5 QUEENS N A Strachan 6/7 QUEENS
6/7 QUEENS
C Waddell 6/7 QUEENS
WE Vukm1rovic 617 QUEENS
The Regimental Colours of the three regular battalions and their escort on the Belfast ' Freedom ' Parade , 30 March
1984 .
Picture by Evening Argus
The 1st Battalion 17
Editorial Personalities
lt seemed that the winter months were going Majs McGill and McCielland have relieved Majs
to pass with busy, but quiet routine and easy McGhie and Carter of Tangier and Holland Coys
going relaxation for those who could get it. For respectively and Capt Hames returned from his
much of December both Quebec and Sobraon sojourn with 40 Commando . We welcome 2Lts Bulpitt
Coys were operationally deployed. Little of and Davis on joining and Padre Sweatman who
operational significance occurred for us during swopped with Padre Mitchell ; the latter has escaped
this period, but it did keep the Battalion at full to Hong Kong. Capt Keyes has left for a staff job and
stretch during the weks leading up to Christmas. 2Lt Oaken (lnt Corps) has returned to Ashford.
Sobraon Coys January operations tour in Fer-
managh passed quietly and it was left to Tangier W02 (RQMS) Boden has been imported from 2
Coy, under their new commander, to stir up the QUEENS to take over from W02 Gowan who has left
'patch' in February: an abridged account us on promotion ; CSgt Hewett has returned having
appears e lsewhere in these notes. swopped places in 6/7 QUEENS with CSgt Lovell.
W02 Hearse has also departed for 3 Armd Div and Sig
Without doubt the most successful operational Regt .
event was achieved by a patrol of Holland Coy in
March with the discovery of a 1OOOib cu lvert bomb POTENTIAL NCOs CADRE
under a road regularly used by us and the RUC . The
luckiest escape of the period was achieved by LCpl by Capt J S Graham
Smythe and Pte Hartley who, whilst on patrol with 6
UDR near the border, escaped unhurt when a B Company was tasked as the sponsor with myself
remotely detonated bomb, dug into the ground , as cadre officer and W02 Camille, Sgts Lazelle ,
exploded only feet away from them. These two events Robinson and Hall as instructors.
in particular, serve as continuing reminders of the
need for good operating procedures, vigilance and On a Christmas card like day in the middle of
luck. January a number of guest candidates from 2
QUEENS , 6 UDR and 655 Sqn AAC hiked from the
Now that 8 Bde have produced a new reserve bat- Guard Room to the Training Wing to receive a wel-
talion roster for 1984, we have been able to plan our coming speech and guided tour of the camp. The food
lives in a slightly more orderly fashion. Training that day was good (it was served for the last time at
particularly, has benefited from this and each coy regular times) and the accommodation, if not the
should achieve skill at arms and field firing camps this weather, was warm and comfortable. lt was a credit
year as well as getting parties away on adventurous to all the camp staff and student ' Green Coats' that by
training. (At the time of writing one platoon is in the end of week one, 25 out of the original 27 had
Cyprus with a Coy from 2 QUEENS .) A potential NCO decided to extend their stay.
cadre was successfu lly run early in the year and
support weapons training has started again, the first By the end of week two it was proved that all the
for a vary long time . Significantly, the ATK PI has remaining students had legs of equal length and could
conve rted to Milan and the Drums have taken on the march in a straight line, turning at the wheel when
role of the MG PI. requested. They could also turn their attention to a
number of other military subjects such as weapon
Sport has not been neglected during the winter and instruction, map reading , field craft and voice
notable successes have been : the CO winning the procedure. Eyes were now turning to the end of week
Battalion officers' pistol competition; winners of the three and the all inclusive trip to Catterick.
Northern Ireland hockey championship ; semi final ists
in the Army hockey championship (when Majs Alan The usual ' need to know' rules applied as to the
Martin , Richard Murphy and Amedee Mieville were on exercise duration but the early range package was
the tou ch line to support us) ; winners of the Queen's common knowledge. These proved a va lu ab le three
Division small bore winter league; and runners up in days, revising our budding section seconds in
the Northern Ireland orienteering championship . Our command of the fire power and tactical use of platoon
boxing ac hievements are recorded elsewhere in these weapons . The evening activities, consisting of tactical
notes . moves through the countryside, were usually sprung
on the students some time during the day, with the
And of course, in amongst all this activity we took orders fitting into the programme where time allowed.
our place with the 2nd and 3rd Battalions in the Free- By the end of the first week of the Catterick phase
dom of Belfast parade and the 2 QUEENS Band dis- everyone had given their all and were undoubtedly
bandment parade . tired. Sobraon day, therefore, fell at about the right
time and everyone was allowed a beer or two, and an
evening off .
Next day the healthier members of the course took
part in the numerous '30 Minute Theatre' productions
laid on by the students: these were the Battle Lessons
and Battle tests for which the students were to earn
course marks . Despite LCpl Wingfield 's desire to
18 then illegally re-opened ; a suspect lED ; a 4001b culvert
bomb ; and, of course , the routine between PVCP's,
redesign most of his own military equipment with the patrolling and QRF continued unchanged. We also
aid of blue signal smoke , the day was a huge success celebrated an unexpected visit to 1 PI by Eric Bristow,
and paved the way for a high spirited beginning to the the UK darts champion (ask LCpl Parker and Pte
final exercise - Ex ' Sabre Tooth '. Newman who won!) and a return match has been
requested. With a little help from the Sappers, the
By the time the Catterick Garrison doctor had Coy quickly became experts on closing illegal border
finished with the sick students, fewer than 18 were fit crossings and then watching the RUC watching the
for the start of the final exercise. The clear, cool night locals re-open them . This episode got us into the
remained ideal for navigation until the last few miles . national and local news, caused the CO apoplexy and
As each section completed varying stages of their produced a wealth of information on slurry pits .
'walk in' tasks, the fog closed in . The teams gathered However, we still feel that one local farmer in
at an RV close to the final destination, but unfor- particular should sign a P1954 for illegally damaging
tunately more injuries were taking their toll of the Army roadblocks. Cpl Chamberlain, our Coy cook,
students . performed wonders in feeding 170 men for two days
with extremely limited equipment.
The sections began digging in on the platoon
defensive position. Eventually, with the numbers of In between all this excitement, Pte Spencer
students declining due to injuries and varying degrees ingeniously created a boat from a discarded bath tub
of frost bite, the enemy- members of the RAF Regt, to allow his patrol to visit an island in a local lough!
Royal Engineers and the Catterick Driver Training And Ptes Drakely and Meakin got in the way of a fist
Centre, together with Scorpion and Spartan CVR(T)s and brick respectively at one of our PVCP punch ups :
- evicted our gallant covering force from their they claim that the opposition came out of these
defensive position and the exercise ended fracas much worse off.
prematurely .
Our last major incident started with a mysterious
In spite of this the Catterick phase proved a bang in the middle of the night, which was later found
successful conclusion to a demanding cadre . to be a 4001b culvert bomb that exploded by mistake.
Luckily no casualties, but a large hole was left in the
A (TANGIER) COMPANY'S FEBRUARY road which is regularly used by us and the RUC . The
OPERATIONS TOUR Coy, with a little assistance from some of our friends
by Maj P M H McGill in 2 QUEENS , then spentfourdays cordoning the area
and becoming experts on Irish bogs .
Never let it be said that our Fermanagh tours are
quiet cosy affairs where the Coy goes to escape Bn The time passed very quickly but the unsung
HO and the hectic life of Omagh. this time we heroes, as always, are the bulk of the Coy who do stag
collected : two punch ups at the PVCP's ; a number of on , stag off and still come back for more .
illegal border crossings being officially closed and
A Coy on Boat Patrols, Lough Erne.
19
AUSTRIAN SKI TRIP When it came to skiing, the soldiers quite simply
comprised of three basic types: 1, those that cou ld ski
by Lt A R Ramsey - the exhibitionists and posers ; 2, those that couldn't
- the neurotics and potential posers; and 3, those
The sleek skier cut a fierce course as he bobbed and that thought they could - the advisers and human
weaved through the brilliant snow. Spraying banks of avalanche specialists.
powder high into the crisp morning air with each
elegant turn he swooshed downhill. Vast mountains Those that could ski soon dispersed to the higher
shimmering white against clear blue skies gave the slopes in search of powder, exhi laration and. the
resort of Mayrhoffen immense beauty. Situated in the chance to expose themselves. The novices (including
Zillet valley of Austria it was a clean, efficient ski the author) went to ski school to discover a new
village catering for the needs of serious skiers. That is meaning to the phrase 'cruisin for a bruisin'! The
until Tangier company arrived. human avalanche specialists went anywhere that was
dangerous to perfect their 'heaping' technique .
Our journey out involved flying from Lydd to
Ostend followed by an overnight coach journey to the Ski school was very amusing but first we had to
resort. Needless to say, the bar on board the coach learn the language . 'Turn left and try to keep your
was drunk dry as the troops competed with the same balance' became ' Get an even weighting on your
piped music we had heard at the airport. lt was at this edges, then snowplough into maximum angulation to
stage that we met our courier , Hans (from bring you round and flick your heels as you turn'.
Birmingham), who wasted no time in selling Volter, our instructor, demonstrated and we tried to
vouchers. The civilians who had booked with the imitate. However Pte 'Erol' Broomfield was always on
same travel firm discovered after introductions that hand to give the alternative approach ; fortunately his
they were about to share their skiing with a crowd of personal interpretation of ski technique never caught
soldiers . This stark realisation soon gave way to on. (On the second day of the course he got back-
mutual respect and friendship as both groups went on squadded! I Cpl ' Mickey' Finn and Ptes Cooper,
to enjoy the spills and thrills of the slopes together. Spencer and Bevan became ski consultants eager to
give the definite version of why one cocked it up .
At Mayrhoffen we were accommodated in pleasant Sadly the ground was never quite right for their
guest houses situated close to the main ski lift and demonstrations but we all knew what they meant.
nursery slopes . Our landladies were friendly and The class consisted of ordinary holidaymakers as well
hospitabl e and good conta cts were made for future which made the whole learning process fun and a
referen ce . fresh change from the military approach .
20 amongst the troops who all benefited from the exper-
ience. To the public, the soldiers sold themselves in a
On the fourth day we all teamed up with the posers way that only soldiers can; they were organised and
and those that professed to be self taught. A group ski always eager to muck in with those 'group activities'.
run was organised down one of the most exacting Many thanks to the holidaymakers who shared their
pistes. The moguls took their toll and a trail of havoc time with us and who made our trip a welcome break
ensued as the swarm hard-targetted its way downhill. from duty. Also a big thanks to Sgt Scully for the
On the main slopes one found all the attractions of the original idea and his administration which got us there
rat race - queueing, inflationary prices, the opposite in the first place.
sex and the chance to gain attention . lt didn 't take
long to realise that Sgt ' Mick' M alia m was in the habit BOXING
of practising this last point : he would glide down the
slope to a graceful snow-spraying deadstop in front of by Capt (QM) W D Marshal!
the restaurant terrace , casually flick his glasses on top
of his head , causing lesser mortals to feel that it all The Battalion has begun its long hard struggle to
should not have been done in quite such a distaste- get back amongst the front runners of Army boxing.
fully showy fashion . However, lack of ability amongst We entered two competitions this season - the Army
the novices was no obstacle. We were helped in this Novice Grade 3, and Grade 2 (Intermediate). We lost
by that fundamental principle which applies to most by 6 bouts to 3 against 1 Cheshire in the Northern
sports, i .e. that more enjoyment is derived from Ireland finals Grade 3 competition. In the Grade 2, we
talking about it than actually doing it! One soldier had lost 5 bouts to 4 against 1 RGJ at Tidworth. We were
this to say : ' I find it amazing how the skiing fraternity unlucky (even their CO said so) as the bouts we lost
bimble around wearing a fortune in trendy disco- included two stoppages for injuries. In one of these
orientated clothing, exposing themselves to broken bouts our heavyweight, LCpl Geoff Chapman was
bones, frostbite and snow blindness whilst being clearly ahead and with seconds to go in the final round
advised by the son of a local crofter how best to he sustained an injury which gave his very bruised
control oneself downhill on a set of six foot banana opponent the victory . Our winners that night were
skins' (edited version). Ptes Terry Covington, Ray Challis, Tim Vennell and
Andy Kent who boxed superbly to beat their strong
Shopping for gear proved to be popular. The object opponents.
here seemed to be to improve on items one already
has on the pretext that the new purchase has some In addition to Battalion supporters at Tidworth, the
crucial new refinement. Thus people like Cpl ' Pete' following were at the ring-side to cheer our team on :
Durnicliffe, Pte ' Rick' Green and Pte Backaar would Col John Holman (Deputy Colonel), Maj Mike Ball
turn up in an even louder jacket than the one they (RMAS), Maj Peter Bishop (HQ SEDISTl, Maj ' Kiwi'
wore on the journey out, with hi-tech super-reflec- Carter (IJLB), Capt Tony Hill (RIT) and Lt Col Tony
tant, anti-shatter demisted goggles fitted with wind- Ward (MOD). Col John Francis, Lt Col Les Wilson,
screen wipers and optimum angulation low-profile and Maj Alan Martin (from RHQ) and CSgt Bailey,
racing boots with thermal intensification lining, not to W02 Cocking and Sgt Parker (from the Sch of lnf)
mention a triple track boogie box in order to ski to were also present.
music!
Our new coach, LCpl Norman Phillips, ACC,
Sgt ' I am Toni' Scully, however, adopted the deserves a pat on the back for his hard work and effort
veteran approach and dressed down rather than up . in this his first season in the coaching business.
Wearing a rucksack , as worn by guides and instruc-
tors , he was able to command respect and his vaguely Boxers who represented the battalion this season
military manner proved perfect for muttering about were : Cpl Dave Brown (B) , LCpls Dave Else (B) , Geoff
high mountain training in the Himalayas after the war . Chapman (HQ) and 'Scouse' Thompson (A), Ptes
Ricky Bushell (Sp) Lee Brightmore (Sp), Ande Kent
The author was labelled as a 'zen skier' as he was (HQ), Dwight Grant (A) , Tim Vennell (C); Sean
found doing ' funny yoga type exercises' around the Banner (A) , Lo Cracknell (A), Gerry Hammond (HQ) ,
grounds of the guest house. Being a neurotic and Steve Baily (HQ), Terry Covington (Sp) and Ray
caught admiring the 'majestic' scenery didn 't help Challis (HQ) .
much either.
We start next season 's boxing with the Kirkes Inter
We all socialised in the evenings with our civilian Company Novices in September; with our established
friends - some more together than others. Pte ' Erol' boxers and new talent emerging, we shall be looking
Broomfield kept referring back to some mythical time forward to entering the fray once again.
when his skiing was sheer poetry and the instructor
had thought he had real potential. Ptes Barwell , Rob- Stop Press I
son , Newman and Cooper displayed that they were
masters of certain off-slope activities. They naturally The Battalion has won the Northern Ireland
found the weight on the lower foot as they pushed the Hockey League and were runners-up in the
knees forward making a point of leaning into the bar . Northern Ireland Football League.
Pte 'Rick' Green took the disco floor with his body-
pop routine and Pte Gaff learnt that gluhwein isn' t a
form of hot ribena .
The trip was a great success. The excellent skiing
conditions provided adventure and mu ch amusement
21
The Battalion Novices Boxing Team.
' FIRE MISSION - Z MORTARS ... !' 'Shower Complete!' uttered by Ptes Jackson and
Burtenshaw can be heard reverberating t hrough the
by Lt P T Crowley countryside of Fermanagh - instilling the locals with
fear and of course providing excellent dry drill training
This is a cry not often hea rd in Northern Ireland at the same time.
when battalions are on residential tours and there is
not a lot of time available for support weapons training Sand-filled practice rounds have not yet been seen
or live firing. However, there are numerous ways that shooting out of the PVCPs into the surrounding fields ,
th1s can be ac hieved and one method was perfected but perhaps it is only a matter of time ; it would
by Cpl Bailey whilst his patrol was awaiting a certai nly thwart any terrorist action by enemy cows!
helicopter pickup . ' Hello R23B this is T53A - left 100 (A not infrequent cause of false alarms at night! -
add 200 over.' The helicopter therefore becomes a sub Ed .)
great aid for training, as well as transport, though it is
hoped that the order does not produce bombs on the Mortar platoons throughout the army have just
ground! launched into the next century with the introduction
of the Mortar Fire Data Computer (MFDC) . This is
The ideal locations for training are , of cou rse, the tailor-made for practice within the PVCP command
Permanent Vehicle Check Points (PVCPsl. These out- sangar and is reputed to be able to tell the time , solve
posts of empire cou ld be turned into Vietnam-style crosswords, make tea and carry out fire missions
fire-bases once mortars are deployed and Pte Burgess accurately and quickly all at the same time .
ha s applied the necessa ry graffiti to the walls! From
within these walls the order 'Toast Two!' and However it does have some problems. When Pte
Butcher tries to do car checks, tapping in ' BIL 2361'
22 Although the club has now begun its summer
recess , the final accolade must be awarded to Cpls
never produces a fire mission, only a nickname, ' Data Dawson and Salt for winning their Divisional colours ;
Error.' LCpl Carder, on the other hand , finds that the they will now fire for the Queens Division team in the
MFDC easily works out his monetary situation, when Inter-Corps Match for 1984. We wish them luck .
invariably he finds that the answer is 'Out of Range'.
The ultimate aim is to combine all these methods of
training and to fire live . The obvious answer is to
systematically wipe out all suspects' houses using
mortar fire controllers inOps on high ground working
back to the command sangars and mortar lines in the
PVCPs .
Surely this must be good training!! (and a possible
solution to the Irish problem - sub Ed.)
SHOOTING SUCCESS FOR 1 QUEENS Top : The CGS visits Sp Coy at Derryard PVCP.
by Capt T J Maroney, RAPC (Coach) Centre : Rewards of a typical A Coy Fermanagh patrol!
)Left to right) : Ptes Meekin , O'Toole, Godden, Grant,
New target rifles, glamour, enthusiasm and skill
have spelt success for the revitalised Battalion Small Bright and Cleveland and Lt Rogers.
Bore Shooting Club during the last six months . The
season ended with the team winning the Queens Divi- Bottom : The 'Tight Liners' fishing club ILCpl Parker,
sion competition and Division 4 of the Army Rifle centre with rod ca se . had just recoverd from his car
Association' s (ARA) winter league . In addition the
Ladies A team won Division C of the Northern Ireland bomb injuries).
Western Counties Association winter league
competition.
The club began to take shooting seriously last
September when three Anschutz target rifles were
purchased . Then the formation of a ladies team, from
wives of serving members, added additional enthusi-
asm and skill , as well as glamour to an already talented
club. Cpl ' Chris' Salt became the first Queensman to
regularly break the mythical95 barrier. He was closely
followed by Cpi'Mal' Dawson and LCpl Dave Walker.
Mrs Frances Wood gained the accolade for the ladies
team with the highest score ever of 95.
The club 's first notable success came when the
Battalion team won the Queen's Division competi-
tion : their final total score of 775 out of 800 placed
them two points clear of their nearest rivals , 3 R
Anglian .
This was followed by the A team , consisting of the
team coach , Cpls 'Radar' Cope and Salt and LCpl
Walker, winning Division 4 of the ARA's winter league
match. Substitutes Sgt Pete Martin , Cpls Dawson
and Pete Dunnicliffe played a vital role in pushing the
team's score to 7419 out of 8000, 162 points clear of
their nearest rival , 17 Trg Regt RA .
The ladies A team , consisting of Mrs Marian
Thompson , Mrs Michell e Meade and Mrs Margaret
Molloy, also met with su ccess in the handicap
competition run by the Northern Ireland Western
Counties Association . In a close, nail biting finish they
managed to beat off t he strong challenge from the
local shooting clubs, which included th e RUC's D
team .
Club m em be rs also entered indi v idual
competitions. Notable results were obtained by the
team coach wh o ca me te nth in the Tyro class of th e
Army Cham pio nship and third in th e RAP C's Bednail
Cu p competiti on with a sco re of 388 out of 400.
23
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25
The 2nd Battalion
We send our deepest sympathies to the fiancee
and family of Pte Neil Clark of A Coy, who was
murdered by the IRA whilst on patrol in the
Brandywell area of Londonderry on Monday 23
April1984.
General OBE, Commander Blnf Bde was the inspecting officer
for our ARU on 26 March ; he walked Ebrington
lt comes as some surprise to note that two Barracks visiting Companies and departments and ,
thirds of our tour in Northern Ireland is behind us after drinks in the Sergeants' Mess and lunch in the
and we only have six months left before the Officers' Mess, he flew by helicopter to B Coy in the
move to Oakington: in fact the Companies now city . The inspection proved a success.
find themselves embarking on their penultimate
tour in the City . A Coy
Operationally, Londonderry continues to provide The last six months have been marred by the tragic
fresh problems and threats. lt is a very demanding death of Pte Neil Clark from 2 PI, killed by terrorists
area of the Province, particularly with the steady during a patrol. The Company mourns the loss of such
increase in the tempo of terrorist activity in the last six a cheerful and enthusiastic member and our condo-
months . Notable successes have included the finding lences go particularly to his fiancee and family in Kent.
of a 12001b land mine, shotguns, ammunition, a pistol
and various bomb making equipment. One wanted Our spring tour in the city has regrettably resulted in
man was arrested and has subsequently been charged a number of other casualties through terrorist inci-
by the RUC . With the traditional summer marching dents . On 21 April a mobile patrol was nearby when a
season approaching there is no sign of the operational car bomb exploded. Ptes Kemsley, Lowe and LCpl
pace relenting in the immediate future . Hart all suffered burns . The latter is now back on the
'beat' and Ptes Kemsley and Lowe are on the road to
Events recovery and enjoying leave . Two days later, in the
same attack in which Pte Clark died, Ptes Parker,
The Battalion ended 1983 with the customary Deans, Grant, Walsh and Cpl Jordan all suffered
Soldiers' Christmas Lunch and the hope of a relatively burns and gunshot wounds. Pte Bovelle suffered
quiet festive season. However, by the New Year, C minor burns but managed to return fire at the
Coy found themselves deployed to South Armagh terrorists . We wish them a speedy recovery and look
and A Coy busy in the City. In the earlier part of this forward to seeing them back in the Company.
year elements of B Coy were deployed to Fermanagh
on four separate occasions. Our ARU was success- Prior to our recent city tour, the Company ran the
fully completed in March and C Coy spent the month Battalion JNCO Cadre and participated in both the
of April in Cyprus on Ex ' Lion Sun I'. Freedom of Belfast March and the Band disbandment
parade .
Personalities
Our cong ratulations to Pte Phillip on his marriage
In the last six months we have said farewell to Maj and we welcome Ptes Hughes, Butler and Kerr to the
Harcus , Capt Noble and Lts Jeffries , Goddard and Company .
Garrett, and have welcomed Maj Yorke and Lts
Whalley, Holmes and Currie. B (lnvicta) Coy
Visits lt seems that the only occasions we are together
these days are when we are operational in the city.
On 27 January, the GOC, Lt Gen Sir Robert Platoons have been sent, on no fewer than four
Richardson KCB, CVO, CBE, visited us and on 14 separate occasions, to Co Fermanagh where we have
February, the Military Secretary, Lt Gen Sir David worked for the 1st Bn and 4 UDR . Although it was
M ostyn, KCB , CBE. The Divisional Brigadier paid his refreshing to operate in a truly rural area, the Northern
second visit to the Battalion on 6 March. After lunch in Ireland weather was not altogether condu cive to
the Officers' Mess he managed to ca ll at all locations sightseeing: the rain lashed down, the temperature
manned by D (HW) Coy in the city and was the guest dropped and thermal underwea r plus waterproofs
of the WOs' & Sgts' Mess for tea . Brig Mattingley, were essentia l items of dress .
26 to the GM ' s department as TOMS and W02Walters is
now CSM , fighting the daily battle to control 300
Our rugby players proved invincible in the lnvicta soldiers and 20 departments. W02 Fensom is leaving
inter-company competition and almost unbeatable at the army and we wish him every success. W02 Jarvis
soccer; the inter-company squash match results were has arrived from the UDR and is now the UFWO.
also satisfactory .
We have yet to realise our full potential in the lnvicta
However, sportsmen do get injured (especially competition but have high hopes for both the football
when they collide with the heavyweights of HQ Coy) and squash teams. On the military side, our March
so that as well as sporting smart new B Coy sweat- and Shoot Team led by Capt Hiscock has set a high
shirts on our last city tour in March / April, we had a standard for the other Companies to beat.
few plaster casts as well . But you can' t keep good
men down and two more terrorist weapons were Finally, we say farewell to Sgt Still, Cpls Parris, Ptes
added to the Company's haul. We are glad to report Cawley, Chittock, Parker and Brown and welcome
that the plaster casts are now off and those who Cpls Buchanan and Bowen, LCpl Baker and Ptes Ray
received injuries from rocks , bottles and bricks are and Grimwood.
now well on the way to recovery .
THE BAND REFORMING PARADE
We bid farewell to CSgt Outfield and wish him well
with London University OTC. We welcome Sgt 31 March 1984
O' Connor, Cpls Duncan and Findlay, LCpl Arthey
(who now joins his brother in the Company) and Ptes On an unusually bright, sunny but cold Saturday,
Blythe, Chahal, Haywood, Mayhew, Pollard and the three Regular Bands and Corps of Drums of the
Spencer. Regiment gathered for the last time against the
backdrop of Londonderry City to mark the occasion of
C Coy the disbandment of the 2nd Bn Band and the forma -
The period under review seems to have been dom- tion of the Albuhera and Quebec Bands, The Queen's
Regiment .
inated by changes in personalities and our trip to
Cyprus on Ex ' Lion Sun ' . Capt John Noble has been Following the arrival of the Colonel of the Regiment
replaced as Coy 21C by Lt Dan Whalley . and his inspection of the Band and Corps of Drums of
the 2nd Bn, a specially written Fanfare was sounded.
CSM ' Prof' Boden has moved to the 1st Bn as The Fanfare Trumpets which were presented to The
RQMS and CSM Gauntlett has joined us on promo- Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment in 1956 by
tion. Lt Mike Newman and Sgt Newman have moved the people of Kent were then formally handed over to
to COP, and CSgt Britton to the Mortar PI. We four representatives of the 5th (V) Bn for safe keeping .
welcome Sgt Ven more, hot foot from loan service in
Oman. The excell ent Massed Bands display was watched
by not only members of all three battalions but also by
We had a very quiet April in the city with little other Queensmen serving away from Battalions and a
trouble to speak of and we now find ourselves back number of guests . The display was followed by the
there on our penultimate tour. forma l disbandment of our Band and, once the two
new Bands had been blessed by the Padre, they
D Coy marched off parade for the first time .
Although life in Londonderry is still dominated by
Despite the sadness of the occasion, the sub-
tours in the city, each of our platoons has achieved sequent entertainment for all ranks provided an excel-
some form of specialist training in the last six months : lent opportunity for the many Queens men to meet old
the Milan PI has embarked on a demanding one- friends.
month Cadre ; the Mortars ended 1983 with live firing
on both SPTA and Otterburn and one section man- Albuhera Day
aged to fire with C Coy in Cyprus; . the drums PI suc- This year the Albuhera Families Day was held on
cessfully participated in the Northern Ireland GPMG
SF Competition, gaining a creditable second place Saturday, 5 May . Sideshows and displays of equip-
overall. They also performed in magnificent style in ment fringed the arena where football , volleyball and
the Band disbandment parade . tug -of-war competitions were staged. A warm and
sunny day ensured a good turnout and whilst the
We bid farewell to Maj John Harcus and welcome response to the Dog Show was strong , the numbers
Maj Mark Ouinn . After a brief spell with the Company entering the ' prettiest baby born in Londonderry'
Capt James Turk has moved to RSO . We welcome competition were quite overwhelming! The Albuhera
CSgts Akehurst and Britton to the Milan and Mortar Band provided a musical background and after the
platoons respectively , and say farewell to W02 c hain of command race had resulted in a hotly
Cornick who, after many years' service with the disputed draw, Mrs Gay Constantine presented the
Battalion, moves to NITAT UK . prizes.
HQ Coy
There have been many changes within the Coy
during the last six months: Maj Harry Yorke has taken
over from Maj Tom Williams (who has now moved
ba ck to the Families Offi ce ); W02 Reardon has moved
receives the winners '
Constantine.
2 The WOs and Sgts' Mess tug -o -war team in action.
3 'Teddy Bears Picnic', CSgt Took, W02 Forester and
W0201der.
4 Mrs William-Smith and Sian . winner of the ' Beautiful
Baby' contest.
28 ambushing and village clearance. Conventional
modes of transport were out but the Mortar PI were
EX 'LION SUN ONE' assisted by a small team of pack mules along with their
local handlers ; this detachment was led by LCpl Solly
by Lt D Whalley who, on one notable occasion, having set out on a
recce, his mule returned some hours later alone . (He
After a tricky start involving passengers being was presumed ambushed by Apaches!)
separated from railway tickets and confusing tele-
phone calls from Cyprus about weather conditions At the end of the Company exercise three days were
(and whether, on arrival, C Coy were to have tea or do devoted to relaxing and enjoying the island . Most
their BFT) , Ex 'Lion Sun ' eventually got under way people managed to get away but in no time at all our R
with C Coy group moving from Northern Ireland & R was at an end and we were preparing for the move
through RAC Aldergrove to Radio Sonde Camp in back to Northern Ireland.
Cyprus by the afternoon of 1 April.
Ex ' Lion Sun '
C Coy group comprised a mixed bag, including a Top : Maj Ewart and CSgt Britton compare suntans .
platoon from the 1st Bn commanded by Lt James Bottom :· . . . and there I was .. .' ICSM Gauntlettl.
Cameron. Having recovered from the All Fools' Day
flight, we soon orientated ourselves and looked
forward to the chance to relax our guard a little and
get on with some good training: this started on
Akrotiri ranges with some basic live firing and
classification. Unlike Magilligan ranges, where one
stops firing for fishing boats, in Akrotiri firing stopped
for the RAF's Red Arrows Flying Display Team who
performed endless low passes over the range danger
area. However, time was not wasted during these
interruptions: much discussion on a wide range of
subjects took place covering the rate of LOA, the
topless beaches and who would do the next sentry
duty overlooking the nurses' home of the local
hospital. Week one and QMSI Finch's early morning
runs behind us, we headed west for the Akamas Field
firing area. Live firing was conducted as mini exerises
with everyone progressing through individual to
platoon battle shooting. The Mortar PI under Cpl
Wilson were able to live fire and support the platoons
during their attaks. This was a new experience for
most soldiers and an interesting one for platoon
commanders, calling for and adjusting their own
mortar fire support. lt was during our training at
Akamas that the rain arrived with a vengeance and
stayed with us for the remainder of the week.
Eventually we moved back to RadioSonde Camp for a
rest day . . . well , not quite, but a morning without
OMSI Finch .
Two weeks passed and a new phase started which
included adventurous training; this was based around
water sports with sub-aqua for a few, but canoeing ,
sailing and sailboarding for the majority. Unfortun-
ately, the rain made life on a sailboard (or, should I
say, off a sailboard) very difficult. In the canoes, even
the experts developed 'canoeist's back', an affliction
caused by being turned turtle and dragged along the
sea bed . By the end of the adventure training phase
even our resident banker had been seen in sports kit at
long last.
A beach assault sta rted the final Company exerc ise,
although even this was in doub t at one point because
of the foul weather . Two platoons set off in the early
hours to sta rt their 1 y, hours sai l to the landing site on
Pissouri beach . The exe rcise lasted for three days and
practised all the training cove red during the previous
three weeks: section and platoon attacks, patrolling ,
30 from his Company in Northern Ireland who had been
flown over on the day. Col M R Tarver OBE repre-
Sport sented the Commander, 8th Infantry Brigade . His
Worship the Mayor of Margate , Neil's headmaster,
The notable sporting achievement of the period and representatives of The Infantry Junior Leaders
was the winning of the Northern Ireland Badminton Battalion, The Ulster Defence Regiment and The
Championships 1984 by an Ebrington Garrison team , Royal Ulster Constabulary were also in attendance.
which included W02 Duffield , SSgt Greenhouse,
Cpls Eccles, Hassan and Brewer, Ptes Carty, Marks The Service at the Church was conducted by the
and Harding. Reverend Paul Cattermole, CF, Padre to The Infantry
Junior Leaders Battalion. In his address the Reverend
On 4 April the Battalion hosted a Spring golf Christopher Ward CF, Senior Chaplain 8 Infantry
Meeting at Castlerock GC. At one stage a strong Brigade and Padre to the 2nd Battalion, paid tribute to
contingent from the 1st Bn threatened to run off with Neil's fine record as a soldier and sportsman.
all the prizes but the honour of the Battalion was
upheld by Ptes Harding and Woodjetts who scored a Following the Service, the coffin, draped with the
creditable 34 points to take second place in the Regi- Union Flag and with Neil's bayonet, belt, cap and
mental Pairs . medal on top , was taken to the Military Cemetery and
placed in the care of the military Bearer Party; the
Sgt Crossan , Cpl Crossland-Page and Pte Graig mourners then moved slowly behind the Bearer Party
represented the Battalion in the recent Belfast to the graveside, along a route lined by soldiers of the
Marathon. With a time of 3 hours 15 minutes, Sgt Firing Party resting on their arms reversed.
Crossan ran home 365th from a total field of 3,200 .
The Rev Christopher Ward conducted the funeral
FUNERAL OF THE LATE rites, during which the Firing Party, under the
command of Sgt Hills, fired three volleys in final
PRIVATE NEIL CLARK salute; and from a distant slope Sgt Ben nett of the
2nd Battalion Corps of Drums sounded Last Post and
Pte Neil Clark of 2 Platoon, A Coy, 2nd Bn The Reveille.
Queen's Regiment was killed whilst on patrol in Lon-
donderry, Northern Ireland , on the night of Easter With the notes of Reveille echoing around the
Monday, 23 April 1984. ampitheatre of the Shorncliffe Military Cemetery, Pte
Neil Clark was laid to rest, not far from the sea and
His parents having asked that he be buried with full close to the Barracks where he had so recently started
military honours , his family, friends and Regimental his military career as an Infantry Junior Leader.
representatives gathered at St Mark's Garrison
Church, Shorncliffe just before 3 pm on Tuesday 1 As the mourners viewed the floral tributes before
May to pay their last respects and tributes to Neil. leaving, a lone piper of the Londonderry-based bat-
talion of The Ulster Defence Regiment played a
The principal mourners were Neil's Mother IMrs lament from the top of the hill overlooking the
Rena Davies) , his father IMr Harry Clark) , and his cemetery.
fiancee !Miss Tracy Edwards). Principal Regimental
representatives were Col J C Holman OBE, Deputy The Bearer and Firing Parties were formed from
Colonel of The Regiment, Lt Col M R I Constantine, NCOs and soldiers of Depot The Queen' s Division Iall
Commanding Officer of 2 QUEENS , Col J W Francis, Queensmen) and were under the overall direction of
Regimental Secretary and representatives and friends W02 D T lrving-James, formerly of the 2nd Bn .
1 Lt Gen Sir Robert Richardson meets members of the Milan PI.
2 Lt Gen Sir David Mostyn with Lt Strut! and LCpl Gough .
3 Brig Mattingley visits A Coy during the ARU .
4 The Divisional Brigadier , Brig ME Thorne, meets members of the Mortar PI at Fort George .
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33
The 3rd Battalion
Editorial understood has applied for a transfer to a different
coal delivery area! Since that incident Pte 'Worm '
Yes, we are in Northern Ireland as well! Bailey is reported to have tried to persuade the LAD to
fit armoured plates to the civilian bulk-rubbish skip
Training for Northern Ireland and the Op Banner lorry he heroi cally lso he says) drives from base to
tour has dominated our thoughts and time since base every day.
before Christmas .
.Locations of the three
regular Battalions.
Picture from 3 QUEENS
The Main Body flew into Aldergrove Airport on 2-3 Other significant incidents have included two
February and the commandin g Officer assumed command wire improvised explosive device ICWIEDI
responsibility for the West Belfast area from 1 RRW at attacks and a grenade attack against Andersonstown
1000 hrs on 3 February . The Battalion's last tour in the RUC Station but no casualties were sustained. How-
Provin ce was in South Armagh in 1979 and therefore ever, a single-s hot sniping attack resulted in a member
for many members it has been their first taste of of a foot patrol Iwho was in fact from 1 RHFI receiving
operations in Northern Ireland ; on return to Falling- a gunshot wound in the shoulder. Happily this was an
bostel 356 officers and soldiers will have earned their uncomplicated wound and he was ba ck on duty
GSM. The Battalion area of responsib ility covers most within a few weeks .
of the republican estates in West Belfast, such as t he A daily hazard, particularly for mobile patrols, has
Falls, Ballymurphy, Turf Lodge , Andersonstown and been the threat from youths throwing bricks and
Twinbrook - areas which are no doubt very fami liar stones; a number of soldiers have been on the
to many readers . Tac HQ is based at RUC Springfield receiving end of accurately thrown missiles . Several
Road ; it is also the HO of the RUC Division which arrests of wanted terrorists have been made, and in
covers West Belfast. The role of the Battalion is very one case Ptes Winfield and Chilwell found a terrorist
different to that experienced in South Armagh , not hiding naked behind a fa lse wall in a cupboa rd under
only in tactical employment, but mainly in the way the the stairs. We are still not sure which of the three had
RUC now takes the lead and sets the pace with the the biggest shock at the moment of discovery!
Battalion providing military support.
We have had many vis itors during our tour but we
We very quickly settled into our new task and the were particularly pleased to welcome the new Colonel
terrorists welcomed us into the area with an RPG 7 of the Regiment at the end of March. As usual he was
rocket attack aimed at a visiting Humber 1 ton vehicle in fine form as he went around chatting to all soldiers;
la 'pig'). The rocket missed its intended target but it he even tned to persuade some of our attached sol-
hit a nea rby school building where, fortunately , there diers that they shou ld transfer to the Regiment . Other
were no casua lties . Later on in the tour another RPG 7 notable visitors, not including the indigenous
was fired at a Royal Signals Land-Rover but again the Northern Ireland hierarchy, have been the Divisional
rocket mised, this time hitting a passing coa l lorry . Brigadier and our Brigade Commander from
The driver, quite naturally, was shocked and it is Germany.
34 three or four times during the same lecture; no mean
On the evening TV news of 30 March the news- achievement until one considers the subject - negli-
gent discharges! Chief Superintendent Robin Mac-
caster announced 'Traffic in Belfast City Centre was Laughlin from RUC B Division accompanied the pre-
brought to a standstill today when armed soldiers con- sentation team and gave evening lectures to the
verged on the City Hall'. No doubt this made some Officers, WOs and Sgts, and soldiers respectively and
listeners sit up ; however, it was only the introduction thereby allowed us to build up our liaison with the
to the report on the Freedom Parade in Belfast, organ- police at an early stage.
ised by the 1st Bn and including colour parties and
guards from all three battalions. Old Royal Sussex The commanders week at Sennelager followed,
hands will be pleased to hear that the plaque com- which updated all commanders from ' Brick' level
memorating the granting of the Freedom of Belfast to upwards on current operations and tactics in West
the Royal Sussex Regt in 1961 has not fallen victim to Belfast. This ensured a common standard of know-
a terrorist bomb and can still be seen in Donegal! Place ledge which proved a great asset for our in-barracks
close to the City Hall. The visit of our Band to take part training. This phase was aimed at the basics of
in the Amalgamation Parade at Londonderry provided 'multiple patrolling' work and concentrated on
an opportunity for them to give concerts at the shooting, first aid and terrorist recognition ; for this,
company bases and the military wing of Musgrave several specialist agencies from Belfast visited the
Park Hospital. The Band were also on hand to wel- Battalion. The intelligence continuity NCOs from 1
come students from the Royal College of Defence RHF , the Brigade MIO and the Weapons Intelligence
Studies, who paid a visit to Fort Whiterock (the home Section gave a useful insight into current personali-
of A Coy) to receive a briefing on our role in West ties, tactics and weapons of PI RA and INLA .
Belfast.
In the week before Christmas leave each company
Competitive sport has inevitably suffered as a result took part in a 24 hr exercise around the barracks and
of our tour; however, we have been able to compete married quarters. The company commanders con-
in two rugby seven-a-side tournaments and some trolled the exercise with assistance from the Intelli-
individuals were able to take part in an orienteering gence Section which provided the enemy (consisting
competition. Keeping fit can be a problem but each of a PIRAASU). Throughout, theexercisewaskeptat
company base now has a multi-gym and some have a deliberately low level allowing Brick and Multiple
squash courts. This form of exercise can be mono- commanders to work in slow time before arriving at
tonous and everyone (well, perhaps not everyone!) is the renowned 'Tin City' in Sennelager. Only minor
looking forward to being able to go out in the open for inconvenience was caused to the residents of Falling-
a long run when we return to Fallingbostel. bostel's married quarters except for the occasion
when the ASO left the NAAFI after a multi weapons
One of the highlights of the tour has been R & R. shoot and collided with the wives club as they arrived
We have all been able to get back to Germany or to for their coffee morning!
England during the tour for a short break. The
procedure for R & R has worked extremely well, The battalion took two weeks Christmas leave and
although the first group who were returning from paraded again on 2 January to move to Sennelager
England were somewhat surprised to find themselves Training Centre for the final stage of training . The
at Dublin Airport when their shuttle was diverted! companies rotated through a package of ranges and
'Tin City' during our four weeks training . We were
At the time of writing we are looking forward to the assisted by RUC Constables and RMP 'Pointer' NCOs
arrival of 1 KINGS who take over from us. Meanwhile who flew over from Belfast and provided local
we are enjoying the special challenge of Northern knowledge and advice for the exercises .
Ireland and savouring the new experience of being
able to concentrate exclusively on our operational In 'Tin City' the morning video debrief to the whole
task . company provided the focal point of the day and
NITAT managed to blend serious but constructive
TRAINING FOR NORTHERN IRELAND criticism with a fair measure of humour; certainly
by Capt J Barr many soldiers were not allowed to forget their particu-
lar TV appearances . The final day's riot in 'Tin City'
Our thoughts turned to NI trg on the receipt of proved a favourite for participants and spectators
' Endex' (on Ex ' Eternal Triangle', the 1 Armoured Div alike and , fortunately , all our companies and the
FTX which took place last October) and with a week- ' civpop' emerged relatively unscathed . A notable
end for breathing space , the CO and company com- exception was our Brigade Commander who
manders carried out their main recce in West Belfast; appeared in the Ops Room with a rather badly gashed
they returned to Fallingbostel in time for the NITAT nose which, the Brigadier explained (after ordering
presentation week . Maj Edward Woods and his team the Adjutant not to laugh) had been caused by a loose
gave a series of very professional presentations segment of scaffolding and not a 'NITAT brick.
covering current operations and intelligence matters
in NI and la ced their lectures with their own particular In sum , the battalion found pre- NI training testing
brand of humour. One of the NITAT QMSis changed and enjoyable . Many of our younger soldiers were
the audience' s moods from hilarity to subdued silence surprised by demands placed on their initiative but
they all rose to the challenge with great enthusiasm .
Finally we would like to thank NITAT and all the
visiting agencies for their hard work and assistan ce in
our preparation for the West Belfast tour .
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'THE GOOD. THE BAD AND THE UGLY'!
36 it's all too embarrassing so I decided to sit at the
KILLYMURPHY AND ALL THAT back for next morning 's debrief. I sh rink a bit more
by Lt S P B Kilpatrick when I find that our patrol is to be examined in detail
and close my eyes as the film shows me sending my
' Any questions?' Everyone sat there looking blank contact report. I had sited the ICP with a v iew to
so I added 'and for goodness sake whatever you do,
make sure you don't do anything stupid in front of the avoidin g all cameras but I cou ld see that amongst all
cameras!' At best a smile was raised. I could under-
stand the vacant looks as , for once the route was not the agencies that had been beamed down, there was
' .. . to head north west from gap in' Strip Wood to the someone threatening me with a cine camera . (I shall
Tank Bridge, then due north to the FRV on the edge of remember next time not to task him.) Th e debrief is
the woodline'. The mission, too, was not 'destroy the
T64 1n southern area of the wood ' , but 'to patrol in reasonably short and fai rl y painless, but 1 must
support of the RUC in Killymurphy' . Somehow, at this remember to drop an octave the next time I speak on
moment, the T64 seemed rather more inviting. the net.
' Any questions?'
Somehow I don't think I need to say any more as
everyone is itching to get out there. No cameras at the
Why they wanted to film us at the loading bay 1just loading bay; a quick check ; a nod and out we go .
don't know, but I added a couple of extra 'safety Hard-targettlng past the chicane, turning right onto
catches' for good measures. 'Everyone ready to go?'
the Infamous Falls. A feeling of unreality as the patrol
'Not really sir, no' . I can't say that I was either, but as
our neighbourhood policeman had finished his settles down, past the PS F Office and towards the
cigarette and nobody in the base seened prepared to
1nv1te us to stay, it was a last glance at the cameras, Springfield Ro ad. We've gitoitst.oLbeefthaint sdormigehttimtheesreooanr~-
heads down and go. Hard targetting out of the gates 1 can't believe how quiet
(do I really run like that?) to hold at the junction of Rice
Row and Wood Street, in ten seconds covering about more derelicts than occupied houses so 1wa lk in the
a quarter of the length of the area. First lesson
learned ; the RUC don't ' hard-target' , but it did give us gutter as we pass them. Nobody bats an eye lid as we
a chance to get our breath back . Glancing back at the
rest of the brick, I saw No 3 standing by the bricked-up pass them and yet I have this feeling that we' re being
door of a derelict, and No 4 crouching by some CGI. watched very closely. Five minutes of nothing so I try
Will they never learn? How many times have they
been told? But then as I look around us, it was rare to and encourage a bit of ' hearts and minds' . ' Nice
see a building intact! At least in Belfast, it's all shops
morning .' ' Brit B_ _ ' comes the reply . We've
and occup1ed houses!
arnved.
Note : KH!ymurphy is the estate used for NI training
at Sennelager.
'31 Lima, this is 31 Charlie, X-ray now, out' . We VISIT WHITEROCK HEALTH FARM!
were all out and I could press on. In fact I could see (The Residence of A Coy)
Charlie moving down Fazackerley Avenue and Alpha Yes, you too could spend a few days in West
Belfast's most sought-after location! So popular is
1n Brooke Crescent, all very tight, but reassuring to the resort that a further 100 or so guests are expected
to be accommodated in the next few weeks. Only a
know that we were all in the right areas . Although stone's throw away from Whiterock Road and set
against superb mountain scenery , are lu xurious
mov1ng slightly slower than normal wa lking pace, we cha lets wh1ch afford a super room for every four men .
The accommodation is so lu xurious that at present
covered the short streets fairly quickly. The thoughts there is one wash basin for every three men, and one
loo and shower for every five guests! Special sight-
fmlauslhtie-sdhtohorot?ugPhermhaypms iansdn: ip'We hoar ts'somitetomibne~ranaglEgrD~ a seeing towers (constructed at great expense to the
?' taxpayer) allow views over the town for the privileged
few to look at, at any one time . At no extra expense
(Look1ng at the locals , the latter seemed quite reception wi ll organise daily outings both on foot and
by vehic le to admire the local sights . By nights, you
possible .) Mainly our friendly Guardsmen , but also a wil l be ab le to take advantage of the excellent facilities
expected of any he_alth farm - mu lti gym , squash
face I recognised from the LAD . A chance for a chat court, runn1ng c1rcu1t and sauna . And all this is free!!
up? I could have thanked him for the new heat _Well ~ it's not all quite like that, but the company
th1nks Itself very fortunate to be in the palatial Fort
exchanger in the 432, but he got his word in first : 'You Whiterock , even if the wall and fen ces are forever
falling down and requiring Royal Engineer works. To
Brit B_ _ !' Right-ha! I didn't really have time for a date_we have been quite clever (or just plain lu cky) in
mak1ng the InCidents occur on the other side of our
chat anyway. boundaries - especially B Coy's. Apart from their
resident brick on the health farm the GOC New
31 Echo had found out who was working atthe PS~ Barnsley somehow manages to maintain a foot mui -
Office and so our lnt task was completed and we
began to patrol back . No contact as yet - could it be continued on page 38
due to brilliant patrolling? Obviously not, as suddenly
a burst of automatic fire echoed round the town. The
four of us looked at each other. lt could have come
from anywhere (and gone anywhere) but we all
cocked our w eapons and ran in the general direction .
A man walked out of the alleyway and got into a
battered Cortina. Our friendly Constable had 'done'
this in cident twice before and could therefore identify
the gunmen, so I fired one shot at the driver' s window
and ran in hot pursuit, stopping only to pick up my
Codex cards.
38 could not help feeling t hat the bar and security grills
on the windows were designed to keep the staff in
tiple in our choggy shop, their 21C a chopper on our rather than bank robbers and public out . The Terri-
helipad and their OC and Rover Group have become torial Army by now was almost my full time interest
daily exercise visitors to the farm , be it in vulgar, silky and when the opportunity for a year's excitement with
and lurid green shorts! They'll be wanting to use the the Regular Army arose, I thought that this was my
sauna next! chance for a 'break-out'.
The foot multiples, the 'engine rooms' of the I put in my appli cation but, due to the passage of
Company, get to see the local scenery the most, the paperwork through the system, it took twelve
especially when they have to operate from RU C months for my posting to come through ; eventua lly I
Andersonstown , which is not the nicest place to work was posted to the 3rd Bn at Fallingbostel - a place I
from . Although the locals don 't seem unduly had only read about in the Regimental Journal and
unfriendly most of the time, the high number of hits friends had reported as being rather isolated. The
during brickings of QRFs serves to remind us of the initial transition from bank official to fu ll time Army
playfulness of the kids (as both Pte Cooper and LCpl officer did not take long; only a question of putting on
Keenan can testify) . The search teams have been kept my weekend uniform on a daily basis and hanging up
busy when not on guard - one of them initially my pinstripes!!
mistaking a stark-naked player behind a dummy panel
for a rat! The Rover Group have become regular My arriva l at Fallingbostel after an interesting
visitors to the hospital when not trying to boost the all- journey was at two in the morning ; everything was so
corners plate check record . Somehow, the Company still and quiet and the rows of barracks reminded me
has managed to have at least somebody in there all the of photographs of Germany taken before the war. (I
time. But we know that they get well looked after ; subsequently learnt that the barracks had indeed been
after all, the CSM knows -what with the jacuzzi, the used by the German Army during the war .) The fol -
swimming pool, the . . - it almost competes with lowing day the battal ion started the NITAT Training
our health farm fa ci lities! Package and I was soon absorbed in this first-class
presentation.
Between outings to the loca l sights (and sleep of
course) some members of the Company have found My initial impression of the battalion was that it was
time to take up hobbies . The Rover Group (and not all that different to the one that I had just left;
parti cularly Pte Whittaker helped by the Dog Section) however, it was the usual battle to get names and
have taken to gardening, an increasingly popular faces correctly connected.
pastime. On a sunny (or more often grey drizzly)
afternoon, the Rover Group can frequently be seen in On leaving 5 QUEENS (V) I had been told that I
its typically cheerful manner, digging over (or perhaps might be lu cky and get a rifle platoon for the coming
digging in) the rose garden which is the pride and joy tour in Northern Ireland . Su ch a prospect was a chal-
of the OC . Cp l DeZille has taken to reading even more leng e; it had been my ambition all along, to com mand
books that he ever managed in the back of 1A in a regular rifle platoon on 'active service'. it was only a
Germany. Cpl Batten has taken up photography. Pte short time before I learnt that the platoon I was to
Cyrus has made his muscles even larger than large command wou ld be a new one formed especia lly for
(not to mention his vocal powers) and the OC collects Northern Ireland - an even bigger c hallenge as most
car number plates. In spite of the efforts of 12E and of the soldiers would come straight from the Depot.
12F, we've had a happy and quiet tour so far; long
may it continue! it was now 25 November 1983 ; I had by then a
platoon Sergeant, six brick commanders and only a
' BREAK OUT' (OR A BANKERS EYE VIEW handful of soldiers. The dead line was the Sennelager
OF THE ARMY) Training Pa ckage at the beginning of January 1984. In
less than a month I had a far more exciting and
by Lt J A Redfern demanding task than I had even had in my days at the
bank, assessing Mr and Mrs Smith 's share portfolio or
I have only recently joined he Battalion for a year's the local greengrocer's long outstanding
sabbatical with the Regu lar Army ; prior to this I had indebtedness to the bank.
served as a platoon commander with the 5th (V) Bn.
Christmas leave came and went and the re cruits
My civilian employment was that of a collar and tie, kept coming, the final group just the week before
pinstriped Bankman with the National Westminster Sennelager .
Bank where I had reached the position of Branch
Accountant. Since than the platoon has worked very hard both
at Sennelager and here in Northern Ireland, and has
I have always been the type of person who enjoys successfu lly comp leted two and a half months of the
an active outdoor life and had become very involved in tour .
the Territorial Army ; in fact, weekends were the
highlight of my week and I came back to work on I sometimes reflect back to my time in the bank,
Monday mornings for a rest . Time passed and I began which seems such a long time ago; I think my time to
to think of a change of employment from the bank . I ' break out' was chosen at the right moment and I have
now been able to achieve my ambition.
SO YOU HAVE LEFT US BEHIND IN 39
IN FALLINGBOSTEL Dance Band and the 'Sing-a-long-a-EIIiott' (LCpl
Elliott's Band) final has produced quite a number of
(OR. LIFE ON THE REAR PARTY) potentia l stars (nameless!). Sgt Clarke has been busy
with the video, filming the functions and has already
by Capt C T Bromfield sent films to each Company location in Belfast: the
reaction to these , I believe, has been good and all
The Op Banner Rear Party was in existence from 16 credit must go to Sgt Clarke who has spent many
December 1983 to all ow the main body to proceed on hours fi lming, editing and putting tapes together. On
two weeks Christmas leave. Those left behind mainly 6 April The British Forces Broadcasting Service
consisted of the Band, Company Vehicle Mainten- 'BFBS Roadshow' visited the Rear Party. Yes -
ance Teams, elements of the GM's Staff, LAD and a Richard 'Nankers' Nankerville came to visit our parts!
few under-18 soldiers. As soon as Christmas leave (as he wou ld say). This function, arranged by the
was over the Battalion started their Op Banner Wives Club Committee, forms part of the BFBS out-
Training at Sennelager and the real task of the Rear side broadcast which travels regularly throughout
Party commenced. BAOR . Many of our wives made dedications to their
husbands and although the programme is not
Contrary to what everyone wou ld believe, our life is received in Be lfast, the BFBS very kindly gave the unit
hectic, busy and, from the duty aspect, monotonous. a recorded tape of the programme which was sent to
Having said all that, the spirit of the Rear Party is high the Battalion .
and when the time comes to go on leave they will all
have earned lhe break. Priority of work was on vehicle More than 130 wives have taken advantage of the
maintenance and to this end Capt (M ike) Aylward NI Free Flight Scheme and it would be true to say that
centralised the maintenance teams to al low each Coy Cpl Westlake (Movement Clerk) has worked hard in
MT SNCO the manpower in preparing his Company ensuring that all flights were arranged in t ime -
vehicles for the mandatory inspections. A Rear Party although OC 'Rear Parts' has had a few kittens in the
paint shop was instigated and by the time the process! The Regimental Band also took advantage
Battalion returns in June, it is envisaged that all A of a free flight to NI but in their case it was on duty
Vehicles wi ll have been spray-painted and be in (from 21 March to 4 April).
working order (spare parts permitting). Fitness
training occurs twice weekly and it is not uncommon Problems on Rear Party have been minimal and I
to see rather red-faced soldiers returning from their would like to commend all the wives, who have man-
runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Another outlet is aged to cope with the compu lsory separation so
range work which is comp leted twice monthly and admirably . Thank you ladies.
hopefully all wi ll have fired the SMG APWT: to date
there are eight marksmen and there is no truth in the THE QUEBEC BAND
rumour that OC Rear Party and lt (John) Burke were
marking their own targets! by W01 B Cunningham
life for the under-age soldiers is fairly repetitive and 1984 has so far been reminiscent of 'The Two
to relieve the ir duties, arrangements were made to Ronnies' with their good and bad news jokes : the
send Ptes Restell, Kemp, Bourne and West on a bad news came first when the Commanding Officer
'Snow Queen ' Course with the newly-arrived 2 RTR. informed us that due to the Battalion being under
Two weeks in Bavaria is certainly a good way of strength for their Northern Ireland tour, 14 members
having a break and all four came back having learned of the Band wou ld need to go to Sennelager for NI
to ski but equa lly important, having enjoyed them- Training and a further five would be required to fill
selves. Ptes Augustine, Nelson and West have suc- other positions within the Battalion, thereby relieving
cessfully completed an Introductory German Course. more soldiers for the Op Banner Tour. This was. of
course, the worst news any band could receive but as
Brig M E Thorne, CBE, the Divisional Brigadier usual. they got on with the job in hand and in many
visited us on 23 March and presented the LS & GCM cases proved themselves as capable as the trained
to CSgt Page and Sgt Hubbard ; at the presentation soldiers. Gradually through the dark tunnel of the
ceremony their wives were presented with flowers month of January come the odd glimmer of light and
from the WOs' and Sgts' Mess. eventually the good news: on ly two Bandsmen would
have to go to Northern Ireland. Bdsm Pantel and
Naturally the other responsibility of the Rear Party is Thompson were the lucky ones and they also (in their
to look after the families . The Wives Club committee last few months before redundancy) have represented
and Families Office staff are working extremely hard the band admirably in a total alien role . Congratula-
to entertain the ladies and many functions have either tions must also go to those who have filled many
taken place or are being planned for the future, such temporary positions within the Rear Party, ranging
as weekly coffee mornings, shopping trips, skating , from Postman Pat to Doctor Killdare , all of whom
bowling, safari park, adventure park and Sunday have proved more than adequate stand-ins .
lunches. All functions are well attended and of course
this has encouraged the Wives Club Committee to
arrange further activities . An average of 130 adults
and children regularly attend the Sunday lunches ,
held in the Sgts Mess, and these have proved very
successful. Mu sic is provided by the Regimental
40 Your present situation
May make you scream and curse ,
Another piece of bad news was the disbandment of And as far as Sergeant Majors go
2 QUEENS Band , although we can take comfort in the Yours couldn ' t be much worse .
fact that the two new bands (Aibuhera and Quebec! But though we' re sorry for you
will have the quantity and quality to hold their own in it must really be said ,
any company as they represent The Queen's Regi- That up until a month ago
ment at home and abroad . it was nearly us instead!
Apart from the Amalgamation parade in London- Chorus
derry on 31 March, our two-week visit to Northern
Ireland included a few days in Belfast visiting the Bat- We hope it won 't be long now
talion and playing at the various company locations. Until you ' re back once fYlore
We had great fun doing these half-hour concerts and In sunny Fallingbostel
we even discovered a few budding conductors - Cpls And that night life you adore .
Sed don, Webb and Britton to mention only three . On But just in case you ' re thinking
all occasions we managed to get our audience it's your company we seek ,
singing , and as a reward (or was it a punishment?) we it's not, it's just we need you
sang them a specially written song, the sentiments of For the duties every week!
which I hope will not be taken too seriously by the
hierarchy . In fact the chorus should be interpreted Chorus
more as sarcasm than genuine desire ! Before I leave
you to ponder the words of the song, I would just like .
to express my hopes and expectations for the future )>
of The Quebec Band.
().
A new era and a new beginning with new faces and
new friendships: more musicians, more talent and 0
more possibilities for prosperity ; new ideas and new .. .3 :!!
styles, with security and job satisfaction; higher 3 0
hopes and bigger dreams, bringing higher standards ::l
and bigger achievements . In short, having made our
sacrifice and formed two bands overflowing with ::l ::l
potential for musical excellence we must now build on
that foundation and go forward unhindered to obtain Q. ()
our goal , and make the music in the Queen' s Regi-
ment the envy of every band throughout the British .~. ;0:
Services. ::l
Q.
I WANNA BE LIKE YOU
(")
Oh! We' re the king of the swingers , ~
The Band they call 3 Queens
We'd like to be real soldiers "()
And fulfil\ our wildest dreams
We' re told that you ' re all happy .~
Cos being here's a laugh ,
And thirsty works' made 3
With a ' Beverage' on the staff ::l
Chorus
Oh ! Scu-be-do we wanna be like you -u-u
We wanna walk like, talk like you -u do
You ' ll see it' s true-u-u that a band like we-e-e
Can learn to be So-o-olders too .
We went to Sennelager
Like soldiers through and through ,
We rea ched the top, but had to stop
For we were better than you!
Tin City was a riot
And we nearly got our cards
For in stead of beating on our drums
W e w ere thumping Coldsteam Guard s.
Chorus
42
BAND MERGER PARADE
LONDONDERRY. 31 MARCH 1984
An Address by
The Colonel of the Regiment
'This is a sad occasion and especially to one who Top: The Right Hon The Mayor of Belfast inspects a
can , over 39 years , always remember " The Band" as detachment from 1 QUEENS during the 'Freedom '
an integral part of the Battalion and its way of life .
However, we live in a time of cuts and ever since 1977, Parade , 30 March 1984.
band strengths have been under the ' microscopes'
and 'knives' of both the ' manners' and the 'financiers' . lower : The Colonel of the Regiment, accompanied by
The adoption of clear mobilisation roles in both the lt Col M R I Constantine (leftI and W01 Bandmaster R
RMA and HGV fields did something to stem the J Francis during the Band Reforming Parade at
economy tide but it was insufficient to prevent today's
futuristic events . Faced with the inevitable we had the Londonderry , 31 March 1984.
choice of :
(a) Retaining a Battalion Band of 'Village Band '
strength - a very doubtful proposition both
musically and presentationally ;
(b) Merging into two good Regimental Bands with
both sound musical and presentational balance
and good job satisfaction prospects ;
(cl Joining the ranks of the Staff Bands and so losing
that true identity feel ' twixt the Regiment and its
musicians .
We chose course B and rightly in my view: for in so
doing , we retain two excellent Regimental Bands
strong in manpower and musical quality . We can also
truthfully say that for the foreseeab le future we have
safeguarded the best interests of our musicians in the
job satisfaction , career prospects and engagements
fields . Of all that, I have no doubt.
For the rest of us we shall have to ' perm two out of
three' Bands in the years and postings ahead . How-
ever, it still means that on that really important cere-
monial occasion we will always be marching behind a
real Band of which we can be truly proud - a Band
that both looks and sounds like a proper Regimental
Band - and nothing less! This is terribly important to
both our individual and Regimental pride .
I believe there are today many in the Infantry who
secretly savour our approach to a problem that will not
go away - especially amongst the single Battalion
fraternity! Let us just be thankful that the flexibility
provided to us by the large Regiment concept enabled
us to meet the challenge and beat it with the right
solution first time round!
My best wishes and those of all Oueensmen , past
and present, go out to you who will now form the
'Albuhera ' and ' Quebec' Bands of The Regiment . May
God bless your musi cal endeavours in the years
ahead .'
43
Top: BELFAST FREEDOM PARADE
Lt-Col P V Panton, CO of 1 QUEENS.
reports the Parade present and correct
to the Lord Mayor on 30 March 1983.
Lower : BAND RE-FORMING PARADE
The newly-formed Albuhera and Quebec
Bands. parade for Inspection at
Londonderry. 31 March 1984.
Pictures by Col J W Francis
' -- .·.·. _ ',I . ~. ,. , • , ,;..._.~--1:1:1. .. •
, ,; t
" ,, " ·- • #• .. , •
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TO HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN BY APPOINTMENT
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Officially Appointed "·0'~~f~:~~~~l~~~~,~~..
Tailors, ana Outfitters to
The Queen's Regiment
In our additiona l role as Civilian Tailors and O utfitt ers
we offer an extensive range of ready to wear clothing,
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' BARBOUR' FIELD COAT RANGE
No.1 SA VILE ROW, LONDON W.1 Tel: 01434 2001
1, HIGH STREET, CAMBERLEY, SURREY Tel: 0276 63659
44
Our special low fares for You've got our routes
Forces are even lower just where you want them
it's chea per than eve r on Townse nd Th oresen. Our routes fro m Zee bru gge and Ca lais to Dover
Our special concess ionary passenger fares for and Zee bru gge to Feli xs towe are yo ur quick and
Forces are lower than las t yea r. And ca r prices easy ways home. And with sa ilin gs ni ght and day.
are held at 1983 leve ls - some eve n lowe r in th e th ey 're yo ur mos t co nve ni ent way. too.
Summ er. What's more. yo u can take your towed We've got th e brochure with all th e answers to
ca rava n or trailer at half fare on most sa ilin gs. ge tting yo u home cheaply-a nd in lux ury.
And take adva ntage of our bi g disco unts of up Get yo ur copy from yo ur loca l travel agent or
to SO"o on short trips - you'll find th ey 're even send in the co upon.
better bargains too in 1984.
Our good ships are even better
Our Blue Riband record breakers betwee n ~
Calais an d Dover are al ready famous for ~;c.d
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.I - - - - - ~ --------·I~~.;~;'~,;~~~,:~;~~~e~1~1~; Ferrie•.
IDPlOesasseeldseonrfdIme Ihe 1984 Travel
I Bargams for Forces Brochure
Name_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ :-::-:c_
0 284
Address._ _ _ _ _ _ __ "
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45
The 5th (Volunteer) Battalion
WARMINSTER RIFLES (VOLUNTEER) on the objective? After all, he's going to look bloody
silly debussing from a tank and lunging for a Siberian
by Maj A C Chissel Rifleman with a 9mm and a walking stick and wearing
a Barbour jacket. As I was saying, marvellous things
I might be wrong , but I think that I was the first TA tanks. My attack was last; I had listened fairly intently
officer ever to attend the Regular Combat Team Com- while the DS slaughtered the ' School of Knowledge'
manders Course at the School of Infantry, gang of four, and managed not to repeat the mistakes
Warminster in March last year . I had attended the TA (considerable) they had made (except of course Mike
Coy Commanders course the previous November and C-W who was brilliant which for a gunner got up
had done so badly, it seems , that it was considered everyone' s nose) . The attack was actually quite good
necessary for me to attend the Regular course . lt was even if I do say so myself . One of the 'gang of four'
with some trepidation that I looked around my
syndicate room and encountered for the first time my even asked me if I had been to Camberley!
fellow students : two from overseas (no real problem,
one could hardly speak English, later to use this to The final Exercise was ' Phantom Bugle' ; it is the
great advantage when he was given appointment largest mechanised exercise regularly held in the UK
titles, one from the Argylls who looked familiar and and very impressive it is too . My first appointment was
turned out to be no less than my adjutant's brother, as a PI Commander on a Res Dem Gd on the far bank .
Mike Roberts , a Pioneer Officer who I thought would My radio operator was a young subaltern from the
be no problem, but it transpired that he had been with OOH who was experiencing a sense of humour failure
the Brigade of Guards and the Household Cavalry; the at having to participate in yet another CTCC final
remaining four had all just finished at the ' School of Exercise, and it showed. He did however eat a 'duff
Knowledge' at Camberley . The most brilliant of these can of something during the night and was violently ill
w as the indomitable Mike Charlton-Weedy RA who all over my sleeping bag and Barbour jacket (which
w as a cross between Mastermind 83, Dr Who and has never been the same since, and will teach me
Bamber Gascoigne - a veritable genius and a rather never to wear it in the field again) . I must apologise to
likeable chap . The first syndicate discussion ended up him for my comments at the time which were, to say
with the ' School of Knowledge' chaps waxing forth the least, less than sympathetic . His 'jocks' were,
about the ballistics of current and future ammunitions however, first rate and entered into the spirit of the
which left the overseas students bemused , and me situation with unbounded enthusiasm which resulted
w ishing I' d never come . Coffee break came (none too in a mini riot involving the 'civilian ' refugees streaming
quickly as far as I was concerned) and I approached my through the position. The section of MP' s also
DS Gerry Relph expressing my concern over my discoveered that you don't leave kit lying about after
telling a young jock to get his hair cut . Ah , the youth
of today .
performance alongside the genius's from the ' School I then had a series of what I call quiet appointments,
of Knowledge' . His words were reassuring . ' Don 't such as Swingfire det cmdr (caught up on at least
worry , they have all been away from troops for years : eight hours sleep during Phase 21 , and recce tp com-
w atch them on the TEWTS (no mud on the front of mander ; lot of fun that, almost as good as tanks . My
the combat ja cket) and there is a difference between last appointment was a BG 21C involved in a night
knowing about siting SF, and actually doing it'. The move . Quite easy I thought . I had set up the BG
following weeks proved him right. release point and two combat teams had already
Th e course progressed through a series of TEWTS passed through; the next was not due for 20 minutes.
and displays, lectures and presentations until we I sat in my nice warm APC and proceeded to gaze
moved out for Ex ' Red Shark' . This was the dis- longingly at page 3 of a popular daily newspaper. A
,, mounted phase lasting three days and found the pair of distinctly un-British combat boots appeared
auth or as a tank troop commander. Marvellous things through the commanders cupola followed by the
tanks: hot w ater on tap ; one hole to dig per tank ; a remainder of Maj Wedall Kot (US Army exchange
quick wa lk up to th e firing positions with the driver officer) who suggested in a polite but firm tone of
and then ba ck for some more coffee whil e the Infantry voice that if I could possibly tear myself away, there
dig th eir 'Warm inster Cath edrals'. I felt a bit guilty and was a slight problem outside - the arrival of the third
suggested that perhaps we should go and offer some combat team, a bogged 4-tonner and two broken
assistan ce such as wiring and mining or maybe even
helping the remainder of the combat team to dig in . down tanks on transporters (one of which had also
My charming little Scots Sgt from the 4 RTR looked broken down on the crossing point, to make matters
worse).
apopleptic, and then aggrieved ! The course was the most useful and enjoyable 1
Th e next Exercise was ' Iron M aid en' - a chan ce to have ever been on and a ' must' for any TA officer who
actually command a Mec h CT doing qui ck attacks. My
tu rn ca me and I commanded the CT from a tank . First can take the necessary time off . lt is also nice to point
problem - How does an Armd CT Cmdr get stu ck in out to COs hovering at 18000 feet that it ' must be right
- I've done the course, and I'm qualified'.
46
Top : Maj G H Wri ght TO , after 21 years commissioned
service in the TA, clears his In Tray in preparation for
his hand over as 21C of 5 QUEENS (V) .
• Bottom : W01 A J Curtis, Regimental Sergeant Major
of 5 QUEENS IV) (trying to emulate ' A Man of Kent ' ?) .
"
Top : Members of the Mortar Platoon on live firing .
Picture by Paul Sherwood of Guildford
Bottom : Cleaning up after an exercise (B Coy) .
Picture by Evening Post
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