December 1972

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67 / 68 JERM YN STREET, ST. JAMES'S, S.W.l. TEL. 01-930 1108-9

THE SHAPE
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Printed in Great Brita in SUPPLEMENT No . 1- PAGE THREE

THE ASSOCIATION OF SERVICE NEWSPAPERS ADVERTISEMENT PAGES ,
67/68 JERMYN STREET, ST. JAMES'S, S.W.I.
TEL:- o1.9l0 1108-9

~Jld·()/l Q
BLACK LABEL ~

CHAMPAGNE

through N.A.A.F./. CROWN ({).
OF 'lr

CROWNS ~
LIEBFR AUMILCH ~

You cantake "FINE OLD
aWhite Horse
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anywhere
BRANDY ~~~
SUPPLEMENT No . I-PAGE FOUR
Printe d in Greal Britai n

THE REGIMENTAL MUSEUM 47

D uri ng the summer months, the R egimental CONVALESCENT HOSPITAL FOR
Museum H owe Barracks has been visited regularl y by
part ies from loca l Schools, Cadet U nits and TA VR OFFICERS
personnel. There has also been a steady fl ow of visito rs
from all over the C ount y and overseas. These include Thi s hospital is maintained by the J o int Com-
a visit from Capt. G . C. K ill ingbeck of the H astings mittee of the Order of St. J ohn and The Brit ish R ed
and Prince Edward R egiment Cadet Corps from C ross Society for 24 ex-offi cers, men and women, with
Canada, and Capt. A . G. M cLea ry, formerly Queen's priorit y for those in receipt of a war disabilit y pension.
Own, from Timara, New Zea land. A limited n umber of heavy n ursing cases can be
accepted, and age is no barrier. There is a lift and
Access ions to the M useum have recentl y been there are women n urses and male orderl ies on the st aff .
augmented by several interesting items, includ ing a
collection of photographs dep icting the service of M aj.- W ith the except ion of two wards of th ree beds
Gen. Sir E . 0 . H amilton who commanded the 2nd each, the accommodation is in single rooms, but it
Bn. The Q ueen's R oya l R egiment ( W est Surreys) in shou ld be appreciated that it is not always poss ible to
1898 and was Colonel of that R egiment from 1902- guarantee a single room .
1920 ; also the Beret and Cap Badge belonging to Sgt.
Creighton demaged by a snipers bullet in N . Ireland The normal period of stay is limited to four
whilst he was serving with 3 QU EE NS in J an ua ry weeks, though extension may be allowed in exceptional
19 7 1.
ca ~ e s .
THE OFFICERS' CLUB
Though the current cost of main tenance is in the
An enj oyable reunion took place at the Un ited region of £3 8.00 a week, the J oint C omm ittee has a
Service and R oyal Aero C lu b ( " The Senior") , P all generall y recognised charge of £2 1.00 a week.
M all, London, on Friday, 15th September.
The D epa rtment of H ea lth and Social Security
The Colonel of the R eg iment, all four D eput y will meet expenses when a patient is adm itted fo r con-
Colonels and the Commanding Offi cers of all bat- valescent treatment fo r an accepted wa r disabili ty.
talions and the D epot ( other than 2 QUEENS ) were
among the I 80 members and their guests who attended. In other cases, T he Officers' Association, 2 8, Bel-
grave Squa re, London, S.W.l., ( T el. 0 1-23 5 8 112 )
It was very good to have so many serving mem- may be able to help where an app licant's means are not
bers of the Regiment with us-the 1st Battalion was suffici ent to enable him or her to pay the recognised
particularl y well represented-but with the 2nd Bn. ch a r ge.
busily engaged in Londonderry and the 3rd Bn. onl y
just returned from those same parts ( and therefore on Applicat ion and medical report fo rms are obtain-
some well-ea rned leave ) we hope these members will able from the Secretary at the H ospital, 4 P ercival
be able to join us on the next occasion. T errace, BRIG H TON BN2 ! F P .

The Military Attache from the Royal N ether- QUEEN'S QUIZ No. 4
lands Embassy and Mme van der Linden, Maj .-Gen.
J ack D ye ( D ivisional C olonel Commandant ), and Mrs. I. Solutions to the crossword puzzle in the S eptember
Whitfield attended as Regimental Guests; their Excel- issue were as follows:
lencies The N etherlands and D anish Ambassadors to-
gether with HH P r ince Georg of D enmark (Military Across : I , Lt.; 3, M esopotamia ; 11 , Shotg un ; 13,
Attache) were however on holid ay abroad and were P art ; 14, D emo; 15, Gem ; 17, S R ; 19, T A ;
unable to accept. 20, K epis; 2 1, F athers; 25, It ; 26, E d.; 27,
TA; 29, Tp ; 31, Never helps; 35, U F O ; 36,
THE NEW REGIMENTAL TIE Ida; 37, W erl ; 38, Yes; 40, EO; 41 , VAD ;
43 , Over ; 45, O sprey; 46, SD ; 4 8, SE ; 49,
At a R eg imental Committee M eeting held in M ay R ev.; 51, F emale emu ; 55, Rise; 56, ER ; 57,
this year, a sample tie was produced by the ( then ) Cyprus; 59, R efit ; 60, S amey.
Commanding Officer of the 1st Bn ., who also proposed
that it should be adopted as the R egimental tie. Down: I , LSD ; 2, The; 3, MTO ; 4, Eg ; 5, Sugar ;
6, O ne; 7, OP ; 8, Task; 9, Arrest ; 10, MT ;
The motion was carried and this tie is now the 12, Omit ; 16, MO ; 18, Ashford ; 19, T ed
official R egimental pattern, superceding the former R ay; 2 1, Final offer ; 22, Ate; 23 , H eed ; 24,
badge motif tie. Stews; 28, A le; 30, Pulver ise; 32, Vile; 33,
Press-ups; 34, S lope; 39, Ease ; 42, Ayres;
The new tie is a striped one-royal blue stripe 44, RHA ; 47, D eck; 50, Vet ; 52, ERE ; 53,
edged with gold alternating with silver stripes. L et; 54, M y; 55, Rum ; 58, RA .

There are two qu alities--one in silk ccreppe" and z. The first three Correct Solutions opened on 23 rd
the other in a matt fini sh, referred to as "silk un- October were submitted by:
creasible". M ajor P . H . Courten ay-ASD , MOD ;
M a jor M . J. Williams-Project W avell BFPO 39;
T hese ties are available in battalions from thei r Pte. S. H . Prior- 2 QUEE NS .
respecti ve P sR I.
All of whom received a cheque for £5.
All others, including members of the R egiment
serving on the sta ff or on El or E 2 appointments, AFFILIATED H.M. SHIPS
should apply for R egimental ties to RHQ, on the
Order Form which now appears regularly in the J ourn - HMS KENT
al under the headi ng " The R egimental Shop".
The present HMS Kent ( there we re eight before
her ) is a County C lass G uided Missile Ship. S he was
laid down in 1960 at the Abercorn Yard of H arland
and W olff 's ship-yard at Belfast. O n 27th September
196 1, she wa s lau nched by HRH Princess M ar ina,
Duchess of K ent, and was commissioned for active
service in the Fleet in 1963 .

( F or picture, see over )

HMS Kent.

"PRESENTATION OF COLOURS" PARADE THE REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATION

A research is at present being conducted with a THE WARMINSTER BRANCH
view to transmitting various aspects of the Colour
Presentation Parade ( at present scheduled for the A successful evening was held in the Imber Club,
"second half of June" 1973), through a network of School of Infantry on Thursday 2nd November.
amateur transmitters. Among those present were the Pres ident, Col. "Duggie"
Snowden; our Secretary; Mr. H awes (late Queen's
Lt.-Col. John Clarke (ex Buffs) is, himself, an Roya l R egt ) with wife and daughter; Maj . Steve Ell-
enthusiastic amateur in this field ( his call sign is wood; Capt. Tom McMillan; ORQMS Flynn; Mr.
GSKA ) and has kindly agreed to investiga te the C harman ( late 4th Bn ) with his good lady; Mr. Davey
po ss ibiliti es. ( late Queen's Royal Regt); and Mr. Perry ( late 2nd
and 4/ 5th Bns the Royal Sussex Regt 1939-45).
If any reader holds a current Transmitting L/ Cpl Wright (late 4th Bn ) did stirling work behind
Licence (or knows of someone else who does), would the bar. The C hairman could not, unfortunately, be
he please get in touch with Col. Clarke, giving details present, having been detailed to dine with the " Little
of his location and the type of equ ipment in use. The Owls".
Colonel's address is:
May we remind our readers that there will be a
Lt.-Col. J . E . Clarke, MBE, social evening on Thursday 4th J anuary 1973, and an
Tanya rd, AGM meeting followed by a social evening on Thurs-
Frittenden, day 1st February.
K ent".
The W arminster Branch takes this opportunity of
A SETTLED RESETILEMENT extending to readers-world wide- a very happy
Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous New Year.
H ousing is one of the most formidable problems
of resettlement, especially if yo u are a married man LANCING COLLEGE, SUSSEX
with a family . It requires careful consideration because
it can affect your life and h appiness for many years The CCF at L ancing is voluntary and consists of
to come. an Army and Naval Section, totalling 6 Officers and
140 boys, but the number is increa sing.
The Services R esettlement Bulletin ( in issue No.
5- "A Guide to Resettlement"), gives advice about They are looking for a retired officer who might
renting and buying a home: how to apply for a coun- be interested in part-time employment two or three
cil house, raising money for a mortgage, special house da ys a week and who would be prepared to administer
purcha se schemes, and professional charges. this unit in liaiso n with the six officers. The policy of
the unit is very much in line with the Apex Scheme
The 84-page issue also gives information abo ut which L ancing helped to pioneer. The CCF is very
trade union membership, concessions by profession al "Outward Bound" orientated, and they are anxious to
bodies, and organizations which help men and women develop more weekend exercises and encourage more
leavi ng the Services to find employment. boys to take part in holiday camps.

Th e Services R esettlement Bulletin is available Anyone interested should write to the H ead
free of charge from your lo cal R oyal Army Emcarional M aster, I. D. S. Beer, MA, JP.
Corps Officer.-Ed.

The London Gazette T & AVR

Extracts from Supplements The Queen has been graciously pleased to confer
the award of I st C laps to the Territorial Efficiency
REGULAR ARMY D ecoration upon M aj . M . A. G . R oberts, TD ( 5
QUEENS ( V)).
Commands and Staff
M aj.-Gen . D . L . Lloyd Owen, C B, DSO, OBE, Brig. H . E . C. W eldon, C BE, DL; Lt.-Col. ( Bt .
Col. ) A. J. Page, C B, TD, DL ; L t.-Col. ( Bt. Col. )
MC, relinquishes the appointment of President, R egu- T . A. Buchanan, DSO, OBE, M C, ERD, TD, DL,
lar Commissions Board, 13th September 1972 . ( Gener- and Lt.-Col. ( Hon. Col. ) A. S. J , de S. Clayton, DL,
al Uoyd Owen retired on retired pay on 11th October ) relinquish the appointments of D eputy Honorary
Colonels 6th ( Volunteer ) Bn., The Queen's R egiment
Awards TAVR, 1st April 1972, tenure expired.
For distinguished Services in Northern Ireland,
Capt. L. S. A. Gilham, 7 QUEENS ( V ), from
1st F ebruary 1972 to 30th April 1972: TAVR R CT , to be Capt. 1st Jul y 1972 with seniority
1st November 1969.
OBE
Lt.-Col. K. Dodson . W . H . W akely 5 QUEENS ( V ) , (formerl y Lt.
RRF ) to be Lt., 17 Jul y 1972 with seniority 16th
MBE F ebruary 1968.
M aj. M . W . N . Wren.
WOII L. D . Moodie. 2/Lt. (on probation ) J. H . M aharry, 5 QUEENS
( V ), is confirmed as 2/ Lt., 24th September 1971.
BEM
Sgt. (Actg ) L. Ingham. Army Cadet Force

Mention in Despatches Lt . C. F . Algate ( Retd-E Surrey R egt. ) has
Col. K. J . Ca rter. been awa rded the Efficiency M edal ( T erritorial ).

C apt. ( QM ) P. J . Collman, MBE, to be Combined Cadet Force
M aj. ( QM ) 14th October 1972 .
Lt. (A/ Lt.-Col.) R. A. Garden (St. L awren ce
College ) has been awarded the 1st C lasp to the Cadet
Forces M edal.

Births, Marriages and
Deaths

BIRTHS TAYLOR-On 26th Jul y 1972, to Pte. and Mrs. A.
T aylor, a daughter, R achel Catherine Therese.
SPA IN-On 9th June 1972, to L/ Cpl. and Mrs. C.
Spain, a daughter, Amanda J ane. HARDING-On 28th Jul y 1972, to Pte. and Mrs. J .
H arding, a daughter, Cheri J acklyne.
LAYTON-On 15th June 1972, to Pte. and Mrs. J .
La yton, a son, John George William. BRUTON-On 7th August 1972, to Cpl. and Mrs.

HANGOWAY-On 1st Jul y 1972, to Pte. and Mn. C. Bruton, a son, J onathan Lee.
R, H angoway, a daughter, Natalie Juliet. LOWTHER-On 8th August 1972, to Pte. and Mrs.

CRAWFORD-On 3rd July 1972, to L / Cp l. and V. Lowther, a daughter, Cynthia J ane.
Mrs. T . Cr awford, a daughter, H eleni a Mari a. MILLER----{)n 8th August 1972, to Pte. and Mrs. R .

DRAPER-On 6th Jul y 1972, to Pte. and Mrs. R . Miller, a son, Aaron Scott.
Draper, a daughter, Sharon Louise. C ORNELL-On 9th A ugust 1972, to Pte. and Mrs.

JAMES-On 8th Jul y 1972, to C / Sgt. and Mrs. M . A. Cornell, a son, Paul Eggar S haun.
J ames, a daughter, Theresa Alison. NUGENT-On 12th August 1972, to L / C pl. and

BATEMAN-On 16th July 1972, to Sue and Maj. Mrs. N . Nugent, a daughter, Angela Elizabeth.
Gi!es Bateman, a son, Alexander J ames, brother C ROUCHER-On 15th August 1972, to Pte. and
for NoeL
Mrs. M . G. C roucher, a daughter, Joanna
MILLS-On 16th Jul y 1972, to L /C pl. and Mrs. F.
Mills, a daughter, Karen Ellen. M i c h e ll e.
GRINHAM-On 16th August 1972, to L / C pl. and
PIPER-On 18th Jul y 1972, to C pl. and Mrs. R .
Piper, a son, Adam Ian . Mrs. J . Grinham, a son, Adrian Michael.
MARSHALL-On 16th August 1972, to WOII and
ROOKLEY-On 19th July 1972, to Pte. and Mrs.
M. Rookley, a daughter, Annabelle J anc. Mrs. W. M arshall, a daughter, M elanie Siobhan .
C OX-On 18th August 1972, to Cpl. and Mrs. D.
CHIDLEY-On 20th Jul y 1972, to Pte. and Mrs. R.
C hidley, a son, Aaron William Henry. Cox, a son, Keith G eorge.
ELIOT-On 19th August 1972, to L / Cpl. and Mrs.
SM ITH-On 22nd July 1972, to Pte. and Mrs. M.
Smith, a son, Michael D avid Oberon. P . Eliot, a son, Mark Justin .
STILL-On 22nd August 1972, to L / C pl. and Mrs.
THOMAS-On 26th Jul y 1972, to Cp l. and Mrs. W .
Thomas, a son, Colin William Ronald. S . Still, a son, Brian M ark.
HARRISON-On 22nd August 1972, to Pte. and

Mrs. G. Harri son, a son, Michael John .

50 Harringay, Pte. R. Mitchell to Mi ss J can
Therese Bcrnadette Yates.
W!LSON-On 25 th August 1972, to Cpl. and Mrs. WELLS-WRIGHT. On 4th August 1972, at Sea-
K. Wilson, a daughter, Selena Ann . ford, Cpl. R. Wells to Mi ss J ennifer Wright.
TUFFNELL-BURGESS . On 5th August 1972, at
COOPER-On 31st August 1972, to L/ Cpl. and Mrs. Chatham, L/ Cpl. A. Tuffnell to Mrs. H azel
R. Cooper, a son, Robert D aniel. Eunice Burgess.
FAULKNER-NULTY. On 5th August 1972, at
M YLES-On 31 st August 1972, to L/ Cpl. and Mrs. Bolney, Sussex, Cpl. R. F aulkner to Miss Dianc
J . M yles, a son, Andrew M artin. Nulty.
ELEY-SMITH. On 5th August 1972, at Camber-
DUPLOC K-On 1st September 1972, to Pte. and well, Pte. D. Eley to Miss Shirley Ann Smith.
Mrs. R . Duplock, a son, J ason Peter. WALTON-McCURRY. On 5th August 1972, at
Woolwich, Pte. A. Walton to Miss Elizabeth
NEWMAN-On 1st September 1972, to L/ Cpl. and June McCurry.
Mrs. B. Newman, a daughter, Nicolc J ane. RAGHAVEN-GIBBONS . On 5th August 1972, at
Kidbrooke, Pte. N. Raghaven to Miss Lorraine
RICE-On 2nd September 1972, to Pte. and Mrs. A. Gibbons.
Rice, a son, Dan Justine. KNIGHT-CARTER. On 12th August 1972, at
Fern Ditton, Cambridge, Pte. K. Knight to Miss
BECKINGHAM-On 7th September 1972, to Sgt. Sandra Elaine Carter.
and Mrs. B. Beckingham, a daughter, Joann a PENDLE-WILSON. On 12th August 1972, at
Barrie Jade. Dover, L / Cpl. B. Pendle to Mi ss J acquelin
Marion Wilson .
COOPER-On 7th September 1972, to L/ Cpl. and DUMBLETON-McCOULLUG. On 12th August
Mrs. J . Cooper, a son, Mark John Donald . 1972, at Goring-by-Sea, Pte. D. Dumbleton to
Miss Jean McCoullug.
WHITE-On 7th September 1972, to Pte. and Mrs. OFFICER-PARKER. On 19th August I972, at
J. White, a daughter, Tara Joan. Southend, L/ Cp. M. Officer to Miss Rosie
Parker.
TACKLEY-On 7th September 1972, to Cpl. and HARTLEY-HOLLIS. On 26th August 1972, at
Mrs. E. Tackley, a son, Adam Roger. Enfield, Pte. D . Hartley to Miss Ann Helen
Hollis.
BRANDON-On 9th September 1972, to Pte. and LEMARE-GRAY. On 2nd September 1972, at
Mrs. ] . Brandon, a son, Christopher Jean Paul. Greenwich, Pte. K. Lemare to Mi ss Sandra
Florence Gray.
FELTON-On 23rd September 1972, to Cpl. and GALE-JEFFOP. On 2nd September 1972, at Hull,
Mrs. J . Felton, a daughter, Eve. Bdsm. J . Gale to Miss Anita Yvonne Jeffop.
STEWARD-HARRISON. On 2nd September 1972,
ANDERSON-On 26th September 1972, to Sgt. and at Spondon, Derby, Bdsm. I. Steward to Miss
Mrs. M. Anderson, a daughter, Juli e Kathryn . Elaine Winifred Harrison.
AUSHER-SPENCER. On 4th September 1972, at
COSTAN-On 1st October 1972, to L/ Cpl. and Andover, Pte. G. Ausher to Mrs. Margaret
Mrs. J. Costan, a daughter, Paula Suzanne. Spencer.
CLOSE-LEWIS. On 12th September 1972, at
O'CALLAGHAN-On 4th October 1972, to Cpl. Pontefract, Sgt. A. Close to Mrs. Florence Ruth
and Mrs. P . O'Callaghan, a son, Glen. Lewi s .
GOWER- EBENHOCH. On 13th September 1972,
CARTER-On 5th October 1972, to Cpl. and Mrs. at Eastbourne, L/ Cpl. A. Gower to Miss Eliza-
M. Carter, a son, Mark James. beth Maria Ebenhoch.
VENMORE-COTTER. On 22nd September 1972,
BROOKE-On 7th October 1972, to Pte. and Mrs. I. at Birmingham, L/ Cpl. M. Venmore to Miss
Brooke, a son, Ian. Mary Pauline Veronica Cotter.
TWINING- CRYMBLE. On 23rd September 1972,
HILLS-On 11th October 1972, to Pte. and Mrs. T . at Bridge, Kent, Pte. T. Twining to Mis s June
Hills, a daughter, Teresa Ann. Crymble.
FRANKLIN-PARKER. On 28th September 1972,
MARRIAGES at Kensington, Pte. S. Franklin to Mi ss Susan
Mary Rose Parker.
BRUM-CARROLL. On 9th June 1972, at Kensing-
ton, Pte. R. Brum to Miss Ann Marion Carroll. FORTHCOMING MARRIAGES

DRIVER-MELLENTHIN. On 17th June 1972, at Mr. J. M. Harcus and Miss S. J. Nixon
Maidstone, Pte. R. Driver to Mi ss Petra Mellen-
thin. The engagement is announced between Lt. John
Michael Harcus, Queen's Regt. , elder son of Captain
Mc!VOR-WITHERS. On 6th July 1972, in Berlin, R. A. Harcus, R .N., and Mrs. Harcus, of Sultan
L/ Cpl. A. Mclvor to Mi ss Evelyn Iona Withers. House, H .M .S. Sultan, Gosport, Hants., and Sarah
J ane, elder daughter of Rear Admiral and Mrs. H . D .
SMITH-WOLFLICK. On 17th July 1972, at Nixon, of Ashley Cottage, Ashley, Box, Wilts.
Helmstedt, Pte. M. Smith to Miss Rosemarie
Wolflick.

NOAL-MATTISA. On 21 st July 1972, at Houns-
Low, L / Cpl. C. Noal to Miss Franzica Martha
M a t t i sa.

BELL-BERGER. On 22nd July 1972, at Brighton,
L/ Cpl. M. Bell to Miss Sylvia Berger.

SHIPMAN-GILL. On 22nd July 1972, at Coulsden,
Pte. J . Shipman to Miss Susan M argaret Gill .

WHITE-BUNKE. On 26th July 1972, at Tidworth,
Cpl. R . White to Mi ss Evelyn Ursula Bunke.

CLARKE-MARTIN. On 29th July 1972, at
Arundel, Cpl. J. Clarke, to Mi ss Lindsay
Marvlyn Martin.

JEAN-PIERRE-SMITH. On 29th July 1972, at
Balham, Pte. M. Jean-Pierre to Miss Sonia
Yvonne Smith.

HAIL-PILLING. On 29th July 1972, at Glasgow,
L/ Cpl. G . Hail to Mi ss Margaret Elizabeth
Pilling.

MITCHELL-YATES. On 2nd August 1972, at

DEATHS 1968. H e was the son of the late CQMS F. D.

McCORMACK- On 4th May 1972, Cpl. P . Mc- Gibbins, MM .
Cormack, MM, aged 53. Served in the 2/6th Bn . MAY-In September 1972, Mr. G. A. Ma y, late The
The Queen's Regt. in the 1939-4 5 War, and was
the only soldie r to be awarded a bar to his Mili- Buffs and a member of the London Branch of the

tary M edal. Association, aged 58 years.
BETTERIDGE-On 17th M ay 1972, Pte. S tanley JONES-On 2 1st September 1972, Capt. Wilfred

H enr y Betteridge. Served in the 6th Bn. The East Ernest }ones, TD. Educated at Dulwich College,
Surrey R egt. from 1911 to 1917 and in the Army "S teamboat" was commissioned in the 24th Lon-
Servi ce Corps from 1917 to 191 9. H e was the don Regt. (The Queen's) in 1933 . H e held a
father of Pte. A. Betteridge who served in the I st number of Intelligen ce staff appointments during
Bn . The Queen's Ro yal Regt. from 1944 to 1947. the 1939-45 War, and was tr ansferred to TARO
ANNANDALE-In June 1972, M aj. Eric Annandale,
late The Queen's Own Royal W est K ent Regt. in 1946.
AD COCK-On 3rd June 1972, Pte. William Adcock, MANVILLE-On 24th September 1972, at Werl W .
aged 75. H e was the third of four brothers who
served in The East Surrey Regt. Enlisted as a Germany, David J ohn, son of Pte. and Mrs. D.
Regular soldier in 1913, he was posted to the 1st
Bn. At Richebourg St. Vaast, in October 19 14, Manville.
he sustai ned multiple bullet wounds. H e worked TAIT-On 25th September 1927, in Portugal, Capt.
for the Post Office until reaching retirement age,
and subsequently as a commission aire to a firm G eoffre y M . Tait, OBE, late The Buffs.
WARNER- On 25 th September 1972, Pte. F. G .
in the City.
BRILL-In July 1972, L/ C pl. H enry George Brill, Warner, brother of Capt. A. E. Warner, The
Queen's Roya l Regt. Served in 1st Queen's from
aged 82. Served in both regul ar Battalions of The
East Surrey Regt. from 1908 to 1915, when he 1920 to 1930.
was wounded at Ypres. Subsequently served in BURNS-On 27th September 1972, WOII Maurice
the Royal Engineers until 1919.
CLARKE-In July 1972, at Bridport, Mrs. Dori s Burns, BEM, aged 66. Served in the 22nd Lon-
Clarke, widow of the late V. S . Clarke, M C, The don Regt. (The Queen 's) and its successors from
Queen's Own Ro yal West K ent Regt. (See 1925 until 196 1. (See Obituaries).
BAYLISS- On 28th September 1972, Mrs. Margaret
O b i t u a ri es). P atrici a (Band a) Bayliss, wife of the late M aj. H .
COOPER-On 12th July 1972, ex-Sgt. G . Cooper, V. Bayliss, DSO, MC, The E ast Surrey Regt.
BACKHOUSE-On 30th September 1972, at Lowes-
The Buffs, aged 67 years. toft Hospital, Lt.-Col. Ellis Brockman Backhouse
WALLIS . On 30th July 1972, ex-Pte. Regin ald God- (late The Buffs), husband of Gwen and father of

frey W allis, aged 76. Enlisted in 21 st (Service) Guy and Sarah.
Bn . The Middlesex Regt. (D CO) in November SUMMERS-On 30th September 1972, L /Cpl.
1915 and served with that Battalion until it was
disbanded in 191 8, when he was posted to the 2nd Arthur George Summers, aged 59. Served in
Bn. In October 191 8 he was wounded and sent 2/ 5th Bn. The Queen's Royal Regt. from 1940
back to England ; he was discharged in Februar y
to 1945.
1919. GUY-On 2nd October 1972, Pte. Rowland (Bill)
WEBB-On lOth August 1972, ex-Pte. George Webb,
Guy, aged 66. A pre-War Regular soldier, he
MM, aged 73. Served with the 19th ( Public served in The East Surrey Regt. from the thirti es
Works) Bn . The Middlesex Regt. ( D CO ) from until the cessation of hostili ties in 1945.
1916 to 1919, then transferred to the 2nd Bn. BATTA-On 5th October 1972, at Tidworth, Pte. A.
on a special 4-year engagement until M arch 1923 .
WOODFORD-On 21st August 1972, Pte. C harles Batta of 3 QUEENS.
Woodford, aged 76. Served in the 2/4th Bn. The C HRISTMAS-On 6th October 1972, suddenly at
Queen's Royal Regt. from 1914 to 191 8.
MONRO-On 28th August 1972, the Hon. L ady home. Lt.-Col. A. C hristmas
M ary Caroline Monro, DBE, aged 92. She was ROGERS-On lOth October 1972, Cpl. George T .
the widow of Gen. Sir Charles Monro who was
commissioned in The Queen's (Second) Roya l Rogers, The East Surrey Regt. Ori ginally a
Regt. of Foot in 1879 and who, after a distin- bandsman, he served from the earl y rwenties un til
guished career in peace and war, was Colonel of
the Regiment from 1920 until his death in 1929. after the 39/ 45 W ar.
As the Hon . M ary Towneley O'Hagan, daughter BELLCHAMBERS-On 14th October 1972, ex-Cpl.
of the first Lord O ' Hagan, former Lord Chancel-
lor of Ireland, she married M aj.-Gen. Monro in William Edward Bellchambers, aged 80. En-
1912. She was created DBE in 1919. listed in the Middlesex Regt. ( D CO) in D ecember
A memorial service for Lady Monro was held on 1909, he served in the bands of all four regular
6 October '72 at St. J ames's, Piccadi lly. The battalions. H e was discharged as disabled
Duchess of K ent was represented by Aileen through gunshot wounds in November 1920.
RIC KETTS-On 15th October 1972, Maj . Charles
Viscountess Slim and Maj.-Gen . F . J. C. Piggott Richard Ri cketts, aged 71. Served in The E ast
Surrey Regt. from 1919 to 1952. (See Obitu-
represented The Queen's Surreys Regimental
aries).
Association . MUMFORD-On 15th October 1972, peacefull y,

GIBBINS-In September 1972, Sgt. Frederick Gib- after a short illness, Arundel Keith of Hill House,
bins, aged 59. Served in the 22nd London Regt. Uckfield, late The Royal S ussex Regt.
(The Queen's) and its successors from 1938 to SINCLAIR-On 3 1st October 1972, Pte. R. J . Sin-
clair of the 1st Bn., from gunshot wounds re-
ceived during operations in Northern Ireland.
EVANS-On 14th November 1972, Pte. S. ]. A.
E vans of the 1st Bn., from gunshot wounds re-
ceived during operations in Northern Ireland.

BOOTH-TUCKER-On November 25th, in hospital
in D erb y, Lt.-Col. J . M . D . Booth-Tucker, Royal
West K ent Regiment, aged 7 1, beloved husband

of Leonie.

52

Obituaries---------.
COL. AND MRS. V. S. CLARKE
in a commandee red farmhou se at Castletownroche
Lt.-Co l. 0. M . Fry, MC, who served in The under Capt. Nom y Venue, a bold and gallant Officer.
Quem's Own R oyal We st Kmt R egt ., with Co l. V. O ur CSM was G eorge Mould, now living at Canter-
S . Clarkc, MC from /914 011, writcs:- bury. The Sinn Fein trouble in those days h ad not, on
the whole, sunk to the low level of assassination and
"When Nobby Clarkc retired in 1945, he and his
wife, Doris, went to live in a charming little house in wanton destruction now obtaining in Ulster, and was
Beaminster, Dorset, with a pleasant garden in which conducted mostl y in the countryside. The main job of
they both took great pride. Unfortunately, soon after, our detachment of about two platoons was to patrol,
Nobby began to suffer from his eyes, and in the next often at night on bicycles, and hunt out local wanted
few years he became almost blind. Both had been very leaders from remote farm houses. Occasionally we had
keen bridge playe rs but they were obliged to give this a brush with the enemy. This was good training for
up. At this time, too, Doris suffered very badly from the rather raw young soldiers who joined up after the
arthritis and became confined to her chair, but they
war.

received much help, support and attention from their In Gibraltar D an Coates soon proved to be a good
numerous friends. polo playe r and played in the battalion team in local
tournaments at Campamento in Spain. If memory
Finally they were obliged to enter a nursing home serves, the others in the team were P ercy F ox, Roscow
in Bridport, though here they were not without fri ends, R eid and John C rookenden mounted on a spirited
particularly from their old Regiment. A frequent thoroughbred he brought out from England and took
visitor was Col. Basil Clay, who initially lived close by on to India when we went to Bareilly.
at West Bay and even after he had re-married and gone In the second world war we met again in D evon
to live in the USA, he returned periodically to visit when three, or temporarily four, new battalions of The
Nobby and his wife. Nobby's many fri ends were deep- Buff s were serving in Devon in the same brigade. D an
ly concerned when, during the last year or two, he Coates was second-in-command in Roscow Reid's 7th
suffered from a heart complaint to add to his troubles, Buffs which later was turned into an armoured bat-
though he continued to remain his old cheerful self. t a li on .
Meanwhile, Doris had been forced to move into the
North Allington Hospital in Bridport where Nobby After the war Dan retired and eventually took
insisted on visiting her daily, walking a good mile up up residence with his wife in a charming cottage at
the hill, just to sit with her; they were a very devoted H enstridge in Somerset. Every year without fail for
couple. Nobby died peacefully in his sleep and was seventeen years he attended The Buffs, later the
cremated at Weymouth on 1st April, where Doris was Queen's Own Buff s, W estcountry Luncheon at Taun-
also cremated when she died in Hospital some four ton each spring. At next year's meeting he will be sadl y
months later in July. They are both a great loss to missed by many of h is old friends, who now mourn
the old Regiment and will be greatl y missed by their the passing of a splendid Officer who possessed those
many Regimental friend s and, of course, not least by rare qualities of old world charm and dignity. To his
their adopted daughter, J eanette." sorrowing widow we can only offer our sincerest con-
dolences.
THE LATE LORD FISHER OF LAMBETH R .T .

The Secretary, in his capacity as a D eputy Lieu- Th e local Press paid this tribute to him :-
tenant, had the signal honour of representing Lord
Astor of H ever, the recently-appointed Lord Lieuten- "The Union Jack, tribute to his Army career with
ant of K ent, at the M emorial Service for the late Lord The Buffs (Royal East Kent R egt.) draped the coffin
Fisher, the 99th Archbishop of Canterbury, which was at the funer al last week of Lt.-Col. Daniel C hristopher
held in the Cathedral on Wednesday, 20th September. Coates, whose sudden death while working in the gar-
den of his home, Vale Cottage, Whitechurch, came as
LT.-COL. D. C. COATES a great shock to the village and various local organisa-
His contemporaries and all who knew him will tions.
have learnt with deep regret of the death of Lt.-Col.
Dan Coates on 23rd August. H e was gazetted to The Col. Coates had closely identified himself with
Buffs from Sandhurst on 16th July 1919 so just missed local interests and activities during the past five years.
service in the Great War. He was a member of the Parochial Church Council
I have known him ever since he joined at Canter- and also represented the Council on the D eanery Synod
bury and served in the 1st Bn. The Buffs in Fermoy- of Marston. He was a manager of H enstridge V.C.
during the ' troubles' of those days which spoilt a seas- School and a governor of King Arthur's School, Win-
on's hunting with the Duhallow Hounds-then in Con- canton .
stantinople, Gibraltar, Egypt and India, in the course -
of about ten ye~ rs during which we became close Col. Coates had been a member of H enstridge
friend s. Branch of Toe H for several years, was at one ti me
Though when, years later, I taxed him with it, he chairman and from 1968 until his death was hon .
hotly denied it, ju ~t before he joined he caused us some secretary, a duty which he undertook with the utmost
amusement at Canterbury when he sent a telegram to efficiency. His leadership and wise counsel at branch
John C rookenden, then commanding the Depot, saying meetings were greatl y valued, and in Toe H district
that he 'would deem it a favour if he could be granted and regional assemblies his observations and advice
were alw ays widely respected. H e represented Toe H
on Henstridge Village Hall Committee."

a few days extra leave'. When the few days were up MAJ. C. M. LAMB
and he joined, he impressed everybody by his smart
appearance, for all his life he was always immaculately Charles L amb who joined The E ast Surrey Regt .
dressed in well-tailored clothes. in 193 8 had a lively and cheerful personality. H e was
the first officer of the Regiment to be wounded in the
In Ireland he soon proved himself to be a splen- 1939-45 War, when the 1st Battalion was on the Magi-
did young Officer, a good steady leader and a grand not Line. Soon after discharge from hospital he was
man on a horse over that glorious banking country. taken prisoner whilst trying to rejoin the I st Bn.
During the troubles we were on detachment together

OBITUARIES-continued. ---------------------------a53
On hi s return from G ermany in 1945 he joined h is pay was devoted to flying lessons. It was not long
the 2nd Surreys, and was Adjutant when it sailed for be fore he qu alified for h is Civilian 'A' licence, and
Palestine in D ecember. Apart from a period on the there were few weekends when he was not to be seeo
staff of HQ Palestine Comd., he served with the 2nd at the flying club at Lympne.
Surreys in Palestine and the Canal Zone until ea rly
1948. H e was then seconded to the Sudan D efence Although he left the 2nd Surreys in the Fal
Force, and began an association with Africa which was East in 1940 and never returned to regimental soldier-
to last over 23 yea rs. On retirement he became an ing, "Nifty" kept up with his friends in the Regiment
Assistant District Commissioner in the Equatorial and there will be many who will miss him.

Province of the S udan. MAJ. C. R. RICKETrS
When Britain withdrew from the Sudan, Charles Brig. G. R . P . R oupell, writes:

Lamb returned home to obtai n an appointment with " We served together in The Regiment on several
the Colonial Service in Nigeri a and early in 1955, he occasions and I should like to pay a tribute to my old
drove a Land Rover across France and the Sahara friend. H e was a fine character whose merits, very
Desert to take up his new duties. C harles soon found rightly, took him up to the appointment of Regimental
that these involved too much office work and too little Sergeant M ajor and later earned him a Regular Com-
time on trek and after a year, he resigned and became mission and eventually the rank of M ajor. As RSM
a District Commissioner in Uganda . he always insisted on strict discipline which be com-
bined with a sympathetic understanding of other men's
Again the with drawal of the British Administra- difficulties, with most beneficial results to the Battalion
tion caused him to move; reluctant to leave Africa, he as a whole.
obtai ned a similar appointment in Botswana and it
was in this country th at he died after his leg had been C harles took a great interest in sport and in his
yo unger days was one of the most prominent members
poiso n ed . of the Regimental hockey team, at a time when they
Charles Lamb's love of the wild parts of Africa, were one of the best sides in the Army. During his
retirement he was a leading member of the Jersey
his popularity and belief in tradition are summed up Branch of the Old Comrades Association, and h ad the
by a member of the Ministry of Local Government welfare of our old soldiers much at h eart; a fine ex-
and L ands, Botswana, who writes: ample of a loyal 'S urrey' and it is h ard to pay h im a
nicer compliment than that.
" M aj. Lamb was District Commissioner in T asha-
bong District which is in the extreme South Eastern We offer our sincere sympathy and our kind
corner of Botswana- a remote and arid area. H e was thoughts to his widow Gladys, who has done so much
highly respected and upheld hi s regimental tradition to add to C harles' happiness du ring their married life
in a terrai n notable for its lack of ordinary amenities. in Jersey. "
His funeral service at Gaborone was attended by many

of his fri ends of all races."

M. BURNS ELIZABETH CRAWFORD WILKIN
Mr . E. F. T ownsend, MBE, writes:
"Betty", the wife of Col. Hugh Wilkin, died
" Morrie joined the 22nd London Regt. Tht peacefull y on 31 st October 1972 at h er home, P ine
Queen's in 1924. I first met him in 1929 when I wa• P oint, M elvin Village, New H ampshire, USA after a
posted as a recruit to D (MG ) Coy. When the Bat- long illness. During the summer months we live only
talion was mobilized, Morrie, Eddie Morgan and J 10 miles from the Wilkin home and so I am able to
attended the 44th Division's first War Course at continue the warm fri endship started when we served
Groombridge, K ent, and were afterwards promoted to together in India with The Queen's Own Royal W est
WO Class III. It was whilst M orrie was with the Bat-
talion on the La Bassee Canal that he was captured Kent Regt.
by the G ermans and spent the rest of the war in vari- Bett y and "Wilkie" had been supremely happ ily
ous POW camps. After the war he waited impatiently
for the TA to re-form, and joined as soon as it did. married for 49 yea rs and it was wonderful to see the
H e became Colour Sergeant in Support Coy., and now care and devotion of her husband duri ng those last sad
shared his a ff ection for the Vickers 303, with firstly and difficult months.
the 6 pdr. and later the 17 pdr. A/ T ank guns. H e
served until the re-organisation of the TA in 1961. Betty had both charm and beauty; her interest
and concern for others was unbounded. She will always
F or many years Morrie was H on . Treasurer of be remembered as a gracious hostess and a splendid
the Bermondsey OCA, a dut y which he fulfilled both organizer of any form of entertainment. All her life
conscientiously and ably. H e was awarded the British Betty loved people and giving parties for her numer-
Empire M edal in the N ew Years Honours List of
1960. H e retired from Butlers Wharf in 1971 and was ous friends.
active right up to the time of his la st, and I believe She enj oyed life in India and was able to com-
first illness. H e was 66 and will be greatly missed by
all who had the good fortun e to know him." municate this to others in her book " D ecco" and many
articles in the India Press. H er last book published in
MAJ. A. K . STEEL 1949 wa s "Winnipesaukee Whoppers". She wrote
charmingly and with great wit.
Alfred K enilworth Steel was educated at D own-
side and commissioned in The E ast Surrey Regt. in On 2nd November 1972 after a very beautiful and
1929. During his service in the 2nd Bn ., he became a moving Service at the M elvin Village Church attend-
very keen rifle shot and developed an interest in ed by a large gathering of relations and friends, Betty
fencing, winning the Individual Foil and Bayonet was buried in a crypt on the lovely grounds of her
competitions in the Eastern Command Championship~
of 193 5. "Nifty" Steel was of a qu iet and studiou~ home.
disposition but he h ad one outside interest which wa ~ H er pride and interest in the R eg iment was both
uncommon among young infantry offi cers in the thirties
-fl ying; all his spare time and, one suspects, most of dee p and genuine. She took an active part in the
Regt'l Women 's Club and enj oyed attending R egimen-
tal Functions whenever possible. It seemed very appro-
priate that when the casket was carried from the house
to the crypt it was covered by our Regimental Flag.

B .L . C.

54

The 5th (Volunteer)
Battalion

Editorial car lurched forward and the journey towards Acrise
had begun.
THE period immediately after a June Camp
can be a great anti-climax, with holidays in Bond relaxed behind the wheel. The gentle pres-
sure of the 9mm Browning in the holster at hi s side
the offing, causing low attendances with little done tightened the nerves of his leg which in turn caused
-Not so this year; the momentum has been the adrena lin to flow . Bond was prepared for action.
maintained, and both at battalion and company Action in any form, at any moment.
levels weekends have been full.
The Rover sped southwards through the wooded
On 15th July, Capt. R . E. Lowans and a team lanes of Kent, past the orchards and oast houses to-
wards Acrise. Southwards towards the Battalion-
of fifteen left for Nijmegen to take part in the annual
southwards towards the sun-towards Exercise "Absit
marches. Long training marches from Guildford to Omen".

Canterbury behind them, the team succeeded m com- As Bond flicked on the Horrocks Supercharger
pleting the course, perhaps helped by the Corps ~f his mind went back to the day before when " M " ( the

Drums of the 2nd Bn. A full account of marches IS CO ) had called him to his office at a secret location
to be found elsewhere. near Canterbury. "M" had been brief and to the point
in his orders (his years in the Queens had taught him
The Battalion Test exercise, "Absit Omen," ably the importance of brevity).

set by HQ SE District, took place in mid September "Mike" he had said: "The Fantasians have landed
yet again at the usual place and the time, just to con-
in the Shomcliffe area. This first cla ss exercise, with fu se you, is an hour ea rlier than you think. Ou_r task
is to guard the usual VPs and look after some miSSiles.
good realistic (well, nearly always) enemy, gave Com- I want you to take charge of the operation and com-
panies a chance to s~ow their tr':'e worth; ea~h had mand the battalion ; if you have any problems let me
individual tasks rangmg from bridge demolitiOn to know. I have a dinner date on Saturday evening with
Sir Richard, but will keep in touch on the VHF link."
minefield gap protection. Who was it who said: "I've
got more bridges to guard ~han men ~n the grou!'d"? Now, twenty-four hours later, the sleek white car,
with the Press sticker, swung into Bn. HQ. MaJ. Bond
After a night of contmued fightmg, the clunax was greeted by his Regular and Major friend-Maj .
John Leiter, CIA, MC-Le1ter came towards h1";;
came when the Battalion less one company launched " Good afternoon Michael, a fine day for fightmg.
Bond smiled-the pressure was not on yet and he too
itself into the attack guided by cries of "Go Left- felt in good humour. John led Bond to the CP where
he was met by the lithe figure of L eiter's CIA A ssis-
steady-right a bit-as you are" from the Command- tant, Charles "Snappy" Joint.

ing Officer conducting OJ?erations from the . air. . . Within the CP activity was building up. Bond's
critica l eye took in much in little more than a moment.
Lord Comwallis agam honoured us With a VISit The map was fully marked up. The glow from the
C42 indicated its transmission and that it was switched
to present the last Meritorious Certificates awarded to full power. The first page of the message pad was
almost full-Bond felt satisfied with his HQ set-up!
whilst he was still Lord Lieutenant of Kent. The Now he must visit the Company locations.

occasion was also used to present The Territorial "What chance of a flight around the companies?"
he asked. But he had been predicted : Leiter in his
Decoration to Capt. A. J. Bingham, and Efficiency usual calm voice replied: "Colonel, this is Sgt. Scout
- yo ur pilot". Bond shook hands- again a feeling of
Medals to Sgt. P. R. Bartlett, REME (HQ Coy) and satisfaction came over him ; the machinery of command
was working well.
L/ Cpl. J. R. Skinner of the Band. ..
Seconds later Bond was adjusting himself in the
Of particular note was the Band InspectiOn m jet powered helicopter which had been almost invisible
September, when the team from Kneller Hall saw fit on the edge of the wood. Sgt. Scout carried out his
pre-flight routine checks with precision and speed.
to award an outstanding report-the first time ever Bond adjusted his h ead set and glanced down at the
VHF dials and noted, again with satisfaction, that they
that a TAVR Band has received such a high grade. had already been adjusted to the Battalion Command
net. A moment later the whine of the jet increased,
At a lower level but of no less importance was the RPM indicator hovered just short of the red sec-
tion. The pilot adjusted the engine controls and moved
the MT Rally, won by A Coy; a Support Weapons the rotor blocks to flight. Like a great bird the heli-
copter lifted with grace and power from its position.
weekend at Larkhill; a Specialist weekend combined
A height of 300 feet was soon reached; below
with an Officers' Mess Night to which, most regret- Bond saw the green fields and woods behind Folke-
stone. L eiter h ad given the pilot the location of the
tably The Duke of Norfolk was at the last moment

unabie to come; four teams entered at Bisley-we are

still awaiting the results; and finally a NCOs' Cadre

at which all coys. were represented except one. (W e

understood that the route from Hastings to Canterbury
proved too difficult!)

O.H.M.S. WITH 5 QUEENS

It was the last weekend of September 1972, a fine
sunny Saturday afternoon when Maj. Michael Bond,
TD left his home near Brighton. His green combat
kit was smart enough yet, if subjected to close examina-
tion, confirmed Bond's many activities in various parts
of the world.

He came down the steps from the door and climb-
ed into the Rover which stood in front of the house.
He flicked the ignition key two clicks to the right and
the mighty engine roared out its powerful tone. The

Comp any posi tion. With preci Sion, typi cal of hi s 55

thought processes, Bond decided to visit in "A lpha" The day was over, the battle won-Bond, more
than pleased, put his head to pillow: a few moments
order. later he was woken by his wife: "Come on Mike",
she said, "it's almost 7 o'clock and you have the Bat-
One and a half minutes later they were over A talion T est Exercise today".
Coy. and then effected a landing within a few feet of
The "Bond" was broken-"Absit Omen".
the command post.
NB-For the ignorant, uAbsit Omen" means
It was ni ce to think that he h ad outwitted Sm ersh " Let there be no evi i" .- Sub.-Ed.

once aga in and this time his old enemies were com- HQ COMPANY
manding his companies. Gold Finger emerged from
the scrub and offered him a cigar. Bond's eyes narrow- The RSO and h is team have promised that we
ed as he surveyed the defensive positions. He rapped shall have communications "where ere we be", and
sounds that can be heard and understood by all on the
out precise orders and fl ew on to " Big G" of B Coy., net. During one weekend the Signals PI. were seen on
whom he had last met drinking a very dr y Martini at foot disappearing over the skyline of Old Park train-
ing area. ( Well done Pronto, keep it up! ) Congratula-
Tidworth . Big G, surrounded by henchmen, showed tions to Capt. and Mrs. Bingh am on the birth of their
Bond his latest to ys- a pair of evil looking camou- son Kristian.
fl aged anti-tank guns. H e moved with surprising grace
The MT have H G V tra ining in their m inds but
for such a large man, his ice blue eyes never leaving someone has let the tyres down; in spite of this the
Bond's face. Bond was glad he had " Big G " on his Platoon has continued to keep the wheels turning. A
CPX was held to show the new Seagu/1 how things
side. He fl ew on to C Coy. who had the difficult job go wrong without trying. "What is that SQ Box on
of holding two bridges. H ere the squat figure of " Odd the skyline?"- "A Rover with a cam net over it sir! "
Job" scurried around the marshes on the ri ver bank, The Bn . Rally went off without too many incidents
his steel-rimmed cap comforter rea dily to hand. A few although a certain Ca ptain had thoughts of rapid pro-
motion when a signal arrived to say that one vehicle
brisk comments and Bond sped on to D Coy., perched had turned round on the Brigadier's front lawn, and
high on a windswept crag overlooking the channel. another had cut tyre marks on the 18th tee. Well done
"Baron Samedi ", face blackened, revolver slung low, A Coy. on your win . Hope yo u have the same success
on "Caledonian Express."
surrounded by hi s hard-faced staff, emerged from his
command post. Bond took in the defences at a glance What great news that the Band h ave attained an
- it would be a hard nut to crack. Then onward to outstanding report this year for their annual inspection.
E Coy. As the position was approched, Bond could The Commandant and Col. Bashford were wined and
see the massive missiles moving into position. The dined in the 0 ffi cers' Mess after the inspection . The
helicopter hovered for a moment and then sank to the Band and Drums Beat R ----- for the CO and guests,
ground. Bond waited for the reduction in engine noise but T ed, we are sure you prefer to forget that night?
and the signal from the pilot to move. S lipping off (Who took the Adjutant's champers?) The Corps of
the headset and harness, he opened the door and jump- Drums have been used as enemy to two of the Rifl e
Coys ., giving them a chance to exercise their infantry
ed down. Running hea d down and forward of the air- skill s, the best of which seems to be camouflage. ( Did
craft, Bond was soon clear of the rotor and greeted yo u find them Sir? )
by the local commander- Maj. Richard Dexter whom
F rom Mr. Callan, to Lonely: "A lthough you seem
he had last met as Capt. Dexter of the C IA. out of favour, don't take it to heart. We still think of
you and have something in line, so keep in touch" I
By 1800 hrs. (or was it 1700 hrs?) the visits
were completed and Bond's aircraft on its way back C (CINQUE PORTS) COMPANY

to Bn. HQ. As the helicopter approached the position, Autumn to us is a period of review and retrench-
Bond noted with pleasure that the track discipline had ment ; at the time of writing, we are all working h ard
been good. The helicopter carried out a sharp banking towards November's maximum effort on a recruiting
turn to the right (which gave Bond a sudden reminder campaign which includes amongst other activities, two
of the excellent breakfast h e had enjoyed before his Open D ays-- <me at E astbourne and one at St. Leon-
departure from home), then hovered and came to rest ards, and and a ((M ail Shot" to every man in the area
likely to have reached his eighteenth birthday this yea r.
adj acent to the CP. Our Clerical Officer (Mr. Moses) is beginning to think
that he is no longer employed by us but by the Local
The activity which followed throughout the night Government; never mind Mo., your efforts are much
did not concern Bond in detail. His orders had been app reciated.
clear and the enemy progress followed the pattern he
Week-end trai ning since camp has included sever-
had predicted. H e joined Leiter and Snappy for the al company and platoon week-ends culminating with
compo dinner which was now ready. The cooking was a spirited defence against the "boom-boom" tactics of
excellent and the ACC presented the three courses into L es Paras".

the mess tins to hi s entire satisfaction . In spite of the Capt. Mike Harding, assisted by Sgt. Eric Brown
three officers' considerable experience of first-class ( together with able assistance of NCOs from other
restaurants in many parts of the world, they were each Coys.), r an No. 14 Recruits Cadre at Bassingbourn
and Thetford .
impressed with the Grit Soup, All-in-Stew, dry bread
a gastronomic Our congratulations to M a j. P aul Anthony on h is
and processed cheese which afforded recent promotion-he tells us that he's saving his Cap-
delight. The mea l was washed down with some 4! tain's pips out of nostalgia though we think that he
believes in the inevitability of their re-use on further
gallons of water ( vintage 1972 ) and concluded with a

Cool Consulate cigarette.

By dawn the enemy penetration was becoming
serious. Within moments Bond had made his apprecia-

tion and plan and given his own orders to his Com-
manders by radio. Due to the possibility of Bn. HQ

being attacked, Bond took to the air again and con-
trolled the battle from the helicopter. In an hour the
enemy was routed and the battle over. "M " made one
of his rare visits to Bond's Headquarters. " Well done

Mike, I will re-assume command", and moved off

without allowing Bond time to reply.

56 have their colour changed from dark blue to sky-blue
p ink.
promotion. It h as to be so, otherwise we will never get
another drink! Although you might think that we are not saying

W e welcome Lt . C hris Parkinson who has already anyth ing about Camp, there has been a conspicuous
made h is mark with 9 PI. Although, at the moment, he lack of Sgt. Easter fo llowing his " D ance of the Seven
is not being paid fo r his eff orts, we trust that all his ( Face) Veils" at the Battalion smoker. Congrat ulations
credits will be put into the Coy. Pool !
to Sgt. H oad on his promotion ; we would only ask
W e take this opportunity to wish all our fri ends, h im if the sales of remedial cowpats have increased?
seasonal greetings and a happy N ew Yea r. ( H e obtained a liberal supply on the Bn. exercise).

MAN OF SUSSEX. Wi th all the Exercises held recently, it is only

D COMPANY natural that Coy. SOP s have had to be amended. The
two ma jor changes are that L / C pl. R ankin will not
The slander, attempted by Ca pt. H olmes (may be digging any more trenches (following his wielding
his upper lip growth wither and die) in the last issue
of the Journal, must not go unchecked. The portraya l of a p ick, which accounted fo r a quarter of Coy. HQs'
of D Coy as hawkers of ex-military equipment is casualties ). Also the M orta rs will now be issued with
totally false and without foundation ; but in view of a menu so that they know wh at they will be eating
the free advertising, we will allow the M ortars a special
discount when their next inspection is due. when the food is cooked by Cpl. " Bad News" Hurst.
Lt . Butlin h as joined the SAS on a six month
The aftermath of Annual Camp combined with
the peak holiday months generally results in reduced trial period; there have been reports that earl y snow
activity, but this summer the word was more like " low
profile". This is the effect obtained when the Company had fallen at the French M ountain School. Lt. H aigh
digs in, currently the "in'' sport with the powers that has been recruiting and it would appear that he has
be-except for Coy. HQ, which touchingly maintains now replaced Sgt. Sharp ( h is 2I C ) with an Australian
that it can be mistaken for a gorse bush on a dark
night. As a result of this preparation, E x " Absit nurse. Pte. Bright h as been learning the arts both of
Omen " went fairly well . Attacks and counter-attacks swimming and of operating the Al3 ( at the same
ebbed and flowed across the position ending inevitably time? ) as well as watching the Company 2IC doing
with the triumph of the righteous, marred only by the the washing-up at M aidstone.
tendency of Pte. Clement Lee to get himself captured.
H aving been rebuffed in a previous attempt to put on Lt . F owler is organising a fantastic weekend-a
a battle scene in a local carnival, it was with an a ir "23 mile hike and never mind the incon venience to
of injured pride that we weighed in for the Round
T able event-only to find ourselves an unqualified partisans and policemen"; you name it-he'll have it-
success. N ot onl y that, we gained some recruits, despite including, perhaps, some enemy to counter-attack.
an embarrassed pause in the battle to allow for a few
unscheduled gun drills, during which time the Platoon SELF DRIVE CARS
Commander (on the microphone) all but went into h is IN U.K.
song and dance routine to keep the crowd entertained.
Pte. Reilly was the star of the show however; as the If you are home-based, or coming home on
" casualty", he was so effective that the St. John Am- leave-let us hear from you.
bulance Brigade rushed onto the field with a stretcher.
Wide selection of new models at your disposal,
W e are now preoccupied with the C SM's favour- including E state Cars and Automatics.
ite pastime-drill. Our part in the Lord M ayor's Show Choose from Minis, Austin 1300s, E scorts &
and as representatives of the TAVR at the Ceremony Cortinas, Triumphs, Hillman Avengers, Volks-
of R emembrance at the Cenotaph, will be described wagen, Austin 1800s
in the next issue.
Pick the car up at the Airport on arrival in
Our Social Committee have been working hard U.K. and leave it at A irport on departure.
and the social evenings h ave ben described as memor- No worries, no cares - all details arranged
able. L / C pl. K elly and Pte. Powis volunteered their before your leave commences to ensure a care-
wives for extra duty, and we are very pleased to have free vacation .
them serving behind the bar on Tuesday evenings.
LOW RATES
E COMPANY
NO MILEAGE CHARGE
Lance Corporals' "Chronical of Scandal" Special Forces Concession Rates
Our Address:
" Amazing-Unheard of I I I !"-The C SM
actually h ad real "Cam Cream " on his face for the EDWARDS OF EPSOM
Bn. Ex. .. . . And the magic Mortar men can really
dig slit trenches. H. F. EDWARDS (SELF DRIVE) LTD.

T alking of the Battalion exercise, it has been said 28 - 38 Upper High Street, Epsom, Surrey
that Compo has never tasted so good since the arrival
of our new PSI, Sgt. Blyth (welcop1e to the Com- T el. Epsom 25611 T elex . 92990 8
pany) . W ere the potatoes real or just pom? Our other
PSI, Sgt. Oliver, was again one of those who proved and at
h e could dig a trench and look warlike at the same
time. Arrival Lounge, RAF Brize Norton,

There is no news in the recent " Parsons H erald" Oxfordshire T el : Carterton 325
except that our sub-editor informs us that (a) this
writer is to be promoted to Admiral of the Fleet in
the N ew Years Honours List, and (b ) berets are to

NIJMEGEN 1972- THE VOLUNTEERS' MINIS~TRY

VIEW OF DEFENCE
POLICE
41 Nijmegen" is a series of impress ions--or tales
that, once ex perienced, one li ves to tell again and Vacancies for co nstab les exist in var ious parts of
again; it is also excitement, emotion and achievement ; the United Kingdom . Starting sa lary for a
it 's a provincial town in Holland . co nstab le is £1.070 ri si ng to £1,524 per annum .
Free pen sion scheme, paid ove rtim e and three
The impressions are stimulating, particularl y when weeks holiday a year. Op portunities for housing
one thinks of that first earl y morning as you set off at some stations . Prom otio n pro spects are
from H eumenscord and march in yo ur team among excelle nt . Preference is given to ex-Servicemen
other teams towards the town. Shouts are hea rd in and those about to leave the Services .
F rench, songs echo in German (sung well ) and in Interested?
English (sung badly) . There are the flutte ring of the
banners-those colours that, in the morning li ght, de- Then if you are aged 19 to 49 , at lea st Sft. 7in .
note that teams from man y nations arc represented. tal l and ph ysical ly fit , fill in the cou po n and
You feel so proud to be tak ing part, yo u feel you be- se nd it off today .

long. To: Chief Constable,
Ministry of Defence Pol ice,
Through the town, across that famou s bridge on Empress State Building,
to the dyke, an hour and a half has passed-time for London SW6 lTR
the first break. " What's up, Brits, tired already?"
queries a voice from T exas. "A in't you heard of the Name:
hare and the tortoise?" retorts a cry from Turnpike
Lane (or thereabouts). You gaze in wonderment at the Address :
variety of teams passing. Swiss bent double by packs
and machine guns; G ermans intense and erect; casua l County: Age
Americans echoing nationalistic rather than religious,
chants; smiling Danes, serious Norwegians and "jolly P lease se nd me full details

civilia ns". the form of fruit . The bridge is reached- a break is

On you go again; the sun rises high ; it gets hot ·•ztaken in its shadow at a corner cafe. A message arrives:
- very hot-the hottest it h as been (so the news tells QUEENS Corps of Drums is waiting up the road
you, that evening ) for fift y yea rs. Feet begin to swell, to march us over the bridge". A feeling of elation
foreheads need mopping, the marching becomes a very
real eff art for the first time- and then the re is a spreads through ou r ranks-the regular soldier in our
village. Sgt. Williams fini shes singing " H ow I Love
Her", and eight or nine gazoos appear; notes are midst ( Sgt. M ajor ) reminds us how we will be expect-
blown and yo u recognise- " Soldiers of the Queen".
L /Cpl. Oakley marches proudly, acknowledging the ed to march, and his order is obeyed to a man. Pride
applause of the crowd wi th friendly ex uberance. Pte.
Parker feels warm, it's hotter tha n his bus cab usually seethes through the body. W e are giddy with emotion
is, so he accepts a mug of water from a blonde 8-yea r-
old. What fri endl y villagers, suppl ying water, cheering, as we march behind the d rummers of our Regiment .
familie s sitting in their gardens eating breakfast, lunch,
We bid them farewell just beyond the town centre
or whatever.
and march the last long haul back to camp. Our feet
On through the flat Dutch countryside; ahead, all
yo u can see are the bodies of tens of thousands of swell bigger than ever on the near moving tarmac and,
marching feet and the heat rising in waves from the
dull earth. C/ Sgt. " Twice before" Bird peers at his as we pass through the tall block of flats, it seems that
map and tells everyone that he is sure we are over
half-way. F aces beam, there is a cry of "Easy" and we all the heat of hell is refl ected upon us. At camp, the
look forward to the next village and lunch break.
precious ca rd is stamped, cool beer is drunk and beds
Spirits are high as the team enters the village and
those unique musical instruments are in use again and are reached to be collapsed on. H eaven! No more
drawing warm applause from the crowds. A wa rning
passes along the file and the "E yes Left " is given to marching . . until tomorrow. P te. Cottingham
the Reception Committee on the saluting base . A hun-
dred ya rds on, lunch is taken at a cafe with a garden looks down from his lofty height to examine his feet
full of tables and chai rs. Thirst is quenched first,
rounds purchased with a generosity that has never and realises, for the first time, that the y are his most
been witnessed at Priory R oad. N ext a snack is sought
to replace the issued salty cheese and meat and ca rton important possession.
of milk. The team captain disappears into the cafe,
looking for the " Ladies", mumbling that he must find M ore impressions: the comradeship of the Ameri-
something more comfortable than those " thunder-
boxes, . can Engineers who adopted US--<lr us them! The
Danes, from ou r Allied R eg iment, who shared our earl y
We are back on the road, walking along the dyke evening beers. The 3-star American General who
that runs parallel with the river and the sight of Nij-
megen Bridge in the distance makes us march more answered our respectful greeting with " H ow's it going,
briskl y. L /Cpl. Banner urges on Pte. Nolan, who men? " and his aide who trudged two steps behind,
wishes the bridge would come closer. L / Cpl. Wood,
our cycle orderl y, is offereing everyone refreshment in looking like the biblical donkey of old. The bar in the
market place which Pte. Parker left ea rl y every evening
in pursuit of his famo us Dutch gi rl friend. (She re-

mains unseen by the rest of us !) The final march past
and the wild celebrations that followed. Oh yes, and
L / Cpl. Gregory, as all around him claimed that they
would come and do the marches agai n, stating : " If

you 've done it once, that's enough ; there is no need

to keep proving you can do it."

58

The 6th (Volunteer) Battalion

ALTHOUGH the past three months have been Wandsworth. Also in and out, during the week of the
quiet, recruiting has been good and our num - Displa y, has been Sgt. Rumbold and his section to
whom we apologise for the antics of the loca l b~ttle
bers are now over 50% of establishment. The thrower. W e we re also ver y pleased to welcome on
best part is that we are enlisting one fifth of all one drillni ght, Col. T . A. Buchan an, DSO, OBE MC
the T AVR recruits in Greater London. ERD, TD, DL, the last Honorary Co lonel of 6th
Queens (T ).
As reported in our last notes we enjoyed our
Annual Camp at S tanford in Jul y and we returned to Our congrat ul ations to M aj. A. C. Co!e and Capt.
our Drill H alls dete rmined to be physically fitter by P . H . G rove on their awa rds of the Territorial Effi-
next year's Camp, which is to be spent up and down ciency D ecoration (TD) and to Bdr. H . P . Teum a on
the Dales at W arcop in Westmorland, from 2- 16 his award of the T erritoria l Efficiency Medal.
J une.
Tail piece
A battalion exercise was held in September on
Salisbury Plai n whe n the battalion was divided into A short word to clear a certain gentleman 's name
two companies who did battle to and fro , from in connection wi th the report in the las t issue, of our
Weather Hill to Ablington Furze. The improvement visit to Boston in Ju! y.-The 2I C demonstrated the
in individual fieldcraft and section battlecraft was intricacies of the E11glish Kissin g Gale and 1101 the
marked and va lu ab le lessons were learned concerning simple intricacies of En glish kissing, as was printed!
administration and the handling of our wireless equip-
ment. Maj . Beaumont, who ran the exercise, managed A COMPANY (Middlesex)
to lose everyt hing except his boots. We were very
pleased to have with us on the exercise some rwenty Drill H all-Deansbrook Road, Edgware.
AFC Queens Cadets, and we must congratul ate them
all on their high stand ard of fieldcr aft and energeti c Jul y and August were the usual holiday months
display. As a result four of them have now enli sted after cam p. Recruiting was carried out, but it was not
into the Battalion. as successful as last yea r; recruiting generally, seems
to have slackened throughout the country. W e are just
Also in September, was a weekend firing of the keeping ahead of natural was tage. 54 attended ca mp
Annual Range Course on Purf!eet R anges, with the this yea r.
night spent (and enjo yed) at Vange Trai ning Camp,
near Basildon, Essex. The shooting resu lts were exce l- September's trai ning weekends we re spent at
lent-in particular with the LMG--despite the dismal Purfleet R anges on cl assification and for a Bn . Exer-
weather. cise " Queen's Knuckle" on Salisbury Plain. Our OC
was responsible for organising the exercise, and he and
In mid-October, an Officers, W arrant Officers Capt. M argand managed to keep a few surpri ses up
and Senior NCOs' Study weekend was held at C row- their sleeves when an unexpected enemy from a P ara
borough Trai ning Camp and the proceedings were Company kept turning up . The distin ction of naming
enlivened by an earl y Sunday morning drill parade for the exercise went to L / C pl. Grumbridge who, when
all ranks. Some officers only just made it after the asked what would happen if we put rwo combined
Saturday night revelries when they entertained mem- C oy/ Btys again each other sa id: " W ell, we should
bers of the Warrant Officers' and Sergeants' Mess. end up having a knuckle" .

Another highlight of the weekend was a short Ptes. G reen, Lacey and Griffiths visited us durinl!
rwenty minutes of PT when we were introduced to leave after passing out from B assingbourn and we
circuit training suitable for the drill hall. wish them well in their battalions. (Pte. Green has
gone to the 1st Bn. and the remainder to the 2nd Bn .);
One yo ung officer who was un ab le to make the we congratulate them all for doing so well in thei r
weekend telephoned to apologise for hi s absence, giving training and Pte. Griffiths for being the best recruit
as his excuse: " there was a yo ung lady in my fl at with in his Platoon.
malaria who could not be left ". This officer should do
well. A party visited the depot in October and had a
very interesting and enjo yable day. Ideas were gained
We held a R ebadging P arade at the Duke of both in the gymnasium and in the training theatre,
York's H eadquarters, C helsea on Sunday, 26th but some we must save up for. The last trai ning week-
November; the Salute was taken by the Co lonel of the end in October was spent at Mill Hill and Edgware
R egi ment. As readers will know the Battalion was on the Saturday and "somewhere near Aldershot" on
formed in April 1971 from the Cadres of rwo Queen's the Sunday. The training films on the Saturday ni ght
Regiment battalions and three Gunner R egiments. At certainl y seemed to use all the senses for good in-
the request of the Commanding Officer, the Ministr y struction. One hopes that as much interest will be
of D efence has recentl y given authority for all mem- taken in future if we show any map reading film s after
bers of the Battalion, less attached, to wear the cap the Sunday. We must thank Charlie Banks agai n for
badge of the Queen 's Regiment and on this particul ar his excellent catering arrangements.
parade, Queens Cap Badges were handed out to re-
place the RA Badges . Other regimental insigni a and Congratul ations to C / Sgt. Orage on his promo-
subunit titles are to remain. After the P arade, a buffet tion and to L / C pl. Wiltshire on the birth of hi s son.
lunch with bar was avai lable to all R anks and families
at Bn. HQ at Brander House, Wandsworth . C (London and Kent RA) Bty.

We were pleased to see Maj. Geoffrey Mason on Drill H aii-Flodden R oad, Camberwell,
his las t day as OC The R egi mental Information T eam London, SE5
during a visi t to his R ecruiting Display here in
Back at home after annual camp and reinfor ced
by our new depot-hardened recruits, we took stock of
ourseIves and came to the following conclusions : Re-

cruiting was still going steadi ly (as man y as four , in a 59
Tuesday evening); signals traini ng and drill needed
something of a boost and it was possible for the bat- buffets. On 15 September we had the first of what
tery to function without subalterns ! (Lt. Willi amson we plan to be a regu lar seri es of Friday night film
on a business course and Lt. Bloomfield in Scotland). shows organised by L/ Bdr. King. A large party en-
As a third member of the subalterns trio, we hope to joyed " Where Eagles D are", and the beer which went
welcome 2/Lt. Tony Prior into the fold on recom- with it.

mi ss ioning . The first of our regul ar seri es of Thursday band
concerts in the autumn drew a poor audience on 28
Exerci se "Queen,s Knuckle" did not pass off September ; a pity, beca use a vari ed and sometimes
demanding programme was well played. We have man-
without some excitement of a more or less physical aged to preserve our band unsupported by publi c
nature; L / Bdr. Salussolia is still trying to di scover funds through both TA VR 3 and the Cadre days and
who sent him white feathers for his performance on it continues to flouri sh.
the Saturday night! On a weekend training more re-
cently, some members of the Bty. completed (with With recrui ting in mind, we organised an effec-
honour) their PT tests and forced march ; the large tive and well-presented Open Day on Saturd ay 30
number of blisters points to bad boots, bad fee t or September. Our resources were strained putting up
both. H owever the bulk of recent training has been the displays and manning them and we were gratefu l
with the rebagi ng parade in mind ; new recruits had for a small party from C Bty. who helped us. BSM
to be taught from scratch and trained soldiers needed Fraser built a short assault course on the grass verge
refreshing. The reward for persistent attendance must between the Drill H all fence and the road. A competi-
surely go to Gnrs. Fulcher and Hassett who have tion between the Subalterns and Gunners was the high-
eight consecutive Sundays of a Guards PT! course to light and earned us a front page spread in the local
survive. Congratulations to Pte. Woodham (B3 Cook) paper. We had a good attendance, mostly of small
and Craftsman Collins (now B2). One small note of boys. Our loca l cadets got half a dozen recruits and
sadness felt by the Battery-na y the whole Battalion- we got one, a small return for a lot of hard work.
Pie. Woodham's valuable collection of " Trai ning
Films" have been shamelessly stolen. We may be short in numbers at the moment, but
the BC believes we more than make up for thi s in
Finally, the High Wood dance was held with the our calibre.
usual astonishing success) a success which we carried
on parade with us when we provide the Colour party Officers' Mess
and escort (with a contingent of marching troops) at
the Queen's Own Regimental Assn. R emembrance At the study weekend at C rowborough in mid
Sunday Service at Hollyhedge House, Blackheath. October, we entertained the RSM and members of
the WOs' and Sgts' . Mess to Dinner. During the even-
D (Surrey Yeomanry QMR) Bty. ing the officers were extremely surprised and honoured
when the RSM presented two port decanters on be-
Drill H all-Farringdon House, Sutton, Surrey, half of hi s own M ess. Needless to say they were well
and duly wetted at a later stage in the evening which
Immedi ately we came back from our June Camp probably acco unts for the tardiness of some officers in
we set to and devised new training programmes to rising from their beds for dri 11 the next morning. W e
cover separately both recruits and trained soldiers. We are indeed grateful to the WOs' and Sgrs'. Mess for
ran these through the holiday period with a varied diet thei r present and to the RSM for his helpful advice
of topics and kept our attendances well up. Our on which stopper was for the PM C and which for
fri ends at Camp from 221 Field Ambulance, Kingston, "Mr. Vice).
have helped by giving some excellent First Aid train-
ing. We welcome to the Mess Lt. Ri chard H opper on
transfer from the HA C (Infantry). Although he has
Drill nights have been complemented by interest- been with us for all thi s yea r, he has now seen the
ing weekend training. On 23 and 24 September we light and joined the R egiment which all old Whit-
formed a joint company with C Bty. in a Company giftians should have joined in the first pl ace! Also we
Attack and Defence exercise on Salisbury Plain, extend a warm welcome to 2/Lts. J ames West (B Bty.)
master-minded by Maj . Malcolm Beaumont of A Coy. on transfer from the Northumbrian Volunteers and
We learnt a lot from our hard work and from the Alan Rogers (D Bty.) from the University of London
formid able enemy provided by elements of 10 Para- OTC.
chute Regt., Cro ydo n. We took with us four senior
cadets from our local ACF detachment with whom At the end of October we held a Cocktail P arty
we are cementing a useful fri endship . On 21 and 22 at Brander House when the chief guests were Gen .
October, we ran our own Battery weekend at Pir- Sir Richard Cr addock and the Deputy Lieutenants-
bright; again the training went through the night for Croydon, Col. D . ] . McLelland ; for H ackney,
though this time a rather smaller and controlled Lt.-Col. P . L. Cooper; and for Wandsworth-Col. Sir
enemy was provided by our First Aid instructors from Thomas Roberts.
Kingston . Both weekends were blessed by good
WOs' and Sgts' Mess
wea ther.
All work, however, makes the TA soldier a dull Our strength this year at camp had risen to 27
and mess life was ex tremely pleasant as everyone took
dog and over the last few months we have organised part in the various functi ons. Our entertainments
a varied programme of amusement. On Saturday, committee are to be congratu lated on their good work
August 19 we ran a repeat Di scotheque evening, a in organi sing the three main function s, namely - the
great success with our younger members and their evening when our officers were welcomed into the
long-haired fri ends. For the older and staider, the mess, the C pls'. night, and our first Mess Dinner. It
Regimental Association held a Ladies' evening in the gave our Co lonel and the RSM great amusement to
Officers' Mess on 7 October where a good number of watch the subalterns consume several feet of string
the old and bold, including some well into their seven- with a cream cake at the end, believing the y cou ld
ties, were fortified by one of Mr. Lacey's excellent then enjoy it, only to have it firmly squashed into their

By Appointment to Her M ajesly the Queen faces by some eager senior NCO s. L ater, the subal-
terns appeared to get their revenge when during the
~
bottle-walking, they produced Lt. J. S anner of D Coy.
FOR ---'!"· ·---·-··--....
(some 6ft . 4in. ) Their hopes were dashed however,
INSPECTION when we produced our shortest C SM (5 ft . 6! m) and
exceeded their record ! (It's all in the mind gentle-
You are probably now wearing an H. J . Service men! ).
cap, the best quality cap made today- but how are
yo u 'halted ' off-parade? Our new fully illustrated Since camp, onl y one main function has been
brochure for ordering by post shows our compre- held - our M ess Dinner in September at Brander
hensive range of hats and caps to suit every House, when we were pleased to host Lt.-Col. D . G .
Wilson and Mrs. Wilson , Maj . M. E. Gir!ing and
occasion. Send for your free copy by fi ll ing in t he Mrs. Girling and the wives of the men . The evening
co upon be low. was very successful and after the RSM had welcomed
the guests we retired to the Drill Hall, whi ch had
been transformed by our entertainments committee
with parachutes, fl ags and drapes, and spent the rest
of the night and part of the next morning dancing to
a Disco Group.

On Thursda y evenings at Brander House, the
RSM has been coaching wives of the mess in .22
shooting and this has proved very successful ; the wives
certainly welcome a chance to show their skills. It is
hoped that ver y soon a team will be produ ced and
challenges issued to all corners.

Our next function was a Curry Lunch at Brander
House on Sund ay, 29 October when the wives and
children were invited to come along and leave the
cooking at home.

Towards the end of the year we shall be running
a Christmas Draw and a Children's Party.

Finally we extend a warm welcome to the Burma
St ar Association who now use the WOs' and Sgts'
Mess on the first and third Fridays of the month .

In Civilian Life

REGIMENTAL CAPMAKERS THE BURGHLEY Enjoy
One of our dual
TO purpose felt hats. Service and
In ro ugh finish
YOUR REGIMENT Bro wn or Green .Comradeship
Price £7 ·00
including p ostage m

.Herbert JC?o~11~9?1 THE ROYAL

38 NEW BOND STREET, LONDON , W .1 BRITISH LEGION
To i : Ol- 6297177.
Your service to Queen and Country
C1vJ/ and Military Hatters. needn't stop when you leave the For ces.
The British Legion has as much interest in
~ 135 Londo n Road, Camberley, (Wednesday, and responsibi lity for young ex-servicemen
and women of today as it has for those of
r - - - - - - - - .,<~fce11noons only.) two world wars and looks to them fo r its
Pk•se s~nd m~ 'The Comph!le Guide lo Headweaf leaders of the future.

I NAME_ _ _ _ _ __ __ _ __ _ __ _ Th e Roya l Britis h Legion 49 Pall Mall SWl
I IADDRESS

L------- I~

61

The 7th (Volunteer) Battalion

THE planned changeover of RSMs took place Goldsmid, CB, OBE, MC, MP, Vice-Chairman of the
Association and Lt.-Col. I. N. Ryle, OBE, MC, the
just before the Battalion moved to Camp and Secreta ry. Lt. -G en. Sir Richard Craddock, KBE, CB,
DSO, Colonel of the Regiment, spent a day with us
we welcome WOI Ayling from the 2nd Bn. on and delighted everyone with his great interest in all
his first appointment and wish him every success our doings. We were also delighted to have Col. Derek
during his tour with us. The well-laid plans of W illows, DL, with us for the second week and the
Rev. John H ug hes for the middle weekend. The Sun-
higher authority, however, received a slight set- day service, conducted by the latter was voted first
back in the enforced absence of WOI C. A. class and ma ny of us were surp r ised at the sound of
Patchett who had been admitted to the Royal our own voices unaccompan ied- achieved by dint of a
Herbert H ospital. Mr. Patchett is making good little practice session before the Service proper began!
- and how many, one wonders, had ever thought of
progress towards recovery and we wish him well our Lord as a "Revolutionary?" Another welcome
in his new posting and house-hunting. visitor was Mr. Wilson who has exchanged the r igours
of the Infantry M ann ing and Record Office for the
Annual Camp this year was at O kehampton and more rarefied atmosphere of the D evon Constabulary
proved to be most successful from every point of view where he now is an Administrative Officer.
- even living up to all the threats from the Train ing
M ajor and h is new-found Battalion Training T eam. Social events were slotted into the programme and
Being probably one of the last units to go to Camp both M esses held successful Guest Nights. Catering
we inherited a number of attachments from other sta ndards were h igh, even though the QM suffered
units and A Coy. found its ranks swollen by Yeomanry occasional bouts of blood pressure as the resul t of
from Wessex, Royal S ignals personnel from Brighton sudden changes in requi rements.
and beyond, G unners from the Yorksh ire Volunteers
and Lt. Simon D afforn and R AP C staff from 5 Thoughts are already turning to Camp 1973, due
QUEENS (V). It seems that all had a good Camp in June: Indents fo r stores are already in and bids fo r
and we are grateful to them fo r their help in so many movement follow shortly. There's never a dull moment
in the TAVR .
ways.
Back in the Company locations we are returning
T he Advance P arty under M a j. F oster H erd did to no rmal with Recru it Cadres and Trade T ests upper-
trojan work, so much so that when the trai n part y
unde r M aj. Christopher John arrived late on Saturday, most in our minds.
30th Septe mber, they were able to move straight into Congratulations to Ptes. Cooper J . H awthorn and
their accommodation, settle down and start training on
the S unday. Our thanks are due to the QM and to Col Weller on passing their Bill Cook tests, and to all
K . Langdon ( Retd ) and the Camp Staff for the ease those recently promoted. M aj . Tony Salter h as been
with which we both occupied and h anded-over the transferred to RAR O and we welcome Capt. C hristo-
Camp. N ot even the suspicious activities of line- pher G ood, RAMC (V) as RMO- a useful addition
carrying poles in A Coy's area, nor brewing-up in full to the Bn. H Q team.
view of the Camp HQ building, marred a usefu l
Camp! Trai ning was at section and platoon level and An account of the Regimental Ball, h eld on 18
included Cadres in the first week. Slog it was, but with November, will appea r in our next bulletin; in the
a purpose, and the Training T eam as well as the O ps meantime all best wishes to members of the Regiment,
Room worked at high pitch throughout and with suc- past and present, for C hristmas and the New Year.
cessful results.
B COMPANY
The going was pretty rough and the Camp First 57 members went to camp on 30 September and
Aid Centre was kept busy with a series of mishaps. by the end of the first week, onl y 45 were still walking!
Business was brisk for Sister and C pl. G ardener, Injuries on the training area caused by the rugged
RA M C (V), and the Adjutant was hard put to keep ground were responsible.
pace with the stream of B 11 7s. Some casualties linger- By the end of the second week, nearly all the
ed on after Camp but we are glad to report that Sgt. casualties were back to normal. Unfortunately Sgt.
Goodwin has returned from the Royal Naval H ospital, Reg Goodwin aggr avated a hairline fract ure of the
P lymouth ; we hope he will soon be fit . Others on the tibis (sustained in the fi rst week ) and we had to leave
mend are M aj. C hristopher John ( the lengths to which him in the capable hands of the Navy at P lymouth
some people go to avoid being O C Train! ) and P te Naval Hospital.
The accommodation was grand- warm barracks
Plummer. with all mod cons; a fi rst-rate Naa fi , plus a cook-
This Camp was the last for W O II RPF M cGin - house staff ed by civil ian contractors who supplied food
of top class quality.
ley, MBE who retires after fifteen years TA service Trai ning was rugged and tough . Some of the
in F olkestone, spanning 4th Bn. The Buffs ( TA ), 7 tors were over 1500 feet high and P latoon and Section
Queens ( T ) and the present Battalion ; quite a record attacks were ca rried out to their summits!
and one with which we are all proud to have been Patrolling and Section and Platoon attacks were
associated. WO II M cG inley was presented with his carried out every day and (seemingly) every n ight.
Certificate of M eritorious Service by the Colonel of Transported by L orry and by H elicopters supplied by
the Regiment at a pleasant little ceremony in the WOs' the Navy, we seemed to be on the move the whole of
and Sgts' M ess. the first week.
The Platoon and Section test attacks were carried
V isitors at Camp were numerous and included out with our normal efficiency and on ce again
Gen. S ir Basil Eugster, K C B, K C VO, C BE, D SO, uthe cream, lived up to their name.
M C, MA, Commander-in-Chief UKLF, M aj.-Gen. J . Although the weather during the fi rst week was
B. D ye, C BE, M C, Director of Volunteers, Col. Si r good, by the beginning of the second, rain, mist, fog
William Mullens, D SO, TD, DL, C hairman of SE
TA &VR Association, M aj.-Gen. J . A. d'Avigdor-

62 as our Company Commander failed to either break
his leg or suffer from a syphilictic heel; however, he
and wind (you name it, we had it) were the oraer or was certainly looking for his voice during the last two
the day.
or three days! The Field Firing Platoon Test Exer-
The Bn. exercise was postponed for twelve hrs., cises and the H elicopter Training were all extremely
then allowed to start, but was cancelled after five. By good value and will provide lasting memories. In the
this time the visibility h ad decreased from 50 to 25 latter, one rather long Platoon Commander, whose
yards; everybody was soaking wet and very cold due
to the bitter wind. As one wag remarked: "Thank knees are rather a long . way_from his head, was only
Gawd I ain't an escaped convict on the run ., able to gnp the rope w1th h1s crotch when descending
from a hovering W essex; the result was that he suffered
On the last night the Company Part y was held
in the Naafi. Company funds supplied everyone with some painful rope burns and a high p itched voice
a free drink and a buffet. Songs were sung and some for a few days!
near-the-knuckle stories, told by Pte. Lofty Reynolds,
brought the house down. The CO and The Trg M a jor Special congratulations to Cpl. Watts, L / C pl.
were also invited and "sang for their supper".
Peel and Pte. Givens for passing the NCOs Cadre
The following day brought the usual rush of with Grade 'A' passes, and also to L / Cpl. Dumbrell
handing over the Camp; our part in the proceedings for the excellent way in which he ran the Coy. Signals.
was carried out without a hitch and consequently we One of the messages he recorded on the Bn . net was
were able to board the coaches for St. D avid's Station,
Exeter, with a clear conscience. We arrived back in sent by a call sign who shall remain anonymous but
Folkestone and Dover at approx. 1630 hrs. whose prefix was 2: the conversation went something
like this- " H ello 2, this is 0, send Locstat over".-
H ard and rugged, with plenty of action, plenty uHello 0, this is 2, send what? over".- "0, what is
of variety, good food, good Naafi, and with everyone your location, over".- "2, I am at Romeo Oscar Um-
knowing what was going on-was the general verdict;
it now remains for us to build on the foundations we brella God H eaven Tommy O scar Romeo (Rough
achieved and to improve on all aspects of the difficult Tor) over" .- "0, Roger, verify this location as you
trade of being a T erritorial Soldier.
cannot possibly be there, over".- "2, Look, I have not
C COMPANY got a map but my Colour Sgt. tells me I am at Rough
Tor and therefore I must be at Rough Tor, over" . -
Prior to Camp a very successful Company week- "0 ", (something undecipherable), "roger out".
end was held in Pippingford Park on Exercise "Count
Down". A lso, Sgt. Dickens completed very successfully Overall, camp was a great success. Looking to the
The Senior Skill at Arms Course at Warminster; our future, a number of Coy. Volunteers will be attending
congratulations to him.
Courses at Warminster and Bassingbourn, and all
Some 76 Volunteers attended Annual Camp and weekend training until the end of February will be
the most pleasing result of the training was the fact concentrated on the R anges.
that so much was obviously learnt at all levels. No
one event stands out as being particularly memorable We have bidden fa rewell to Lt. Rodney Owen,
who is transferring to the W essex Yeomanry ( V ) and

we take this opportunity of wishing him well for the
fut ure.

Why does the

Army Benevolent

Fund still need help?

F or most of us nowadays the memories we have of the
two World Wars have become dimmed by time. But for
those who were left disabled-and for the many bereaved
families-the tragic aftermath of war is ever present.
Many are suffering great hardships. The Army has a lso
been in action in many parts of the world since the end
of World War II. Thus even in peace-time the problem continues.

The sole obj ect of the Army Ben evolent Fund Is to try to lessen this suffering. It does
this by making contributions to the Corps and Regimental Associations and National
Service charitable organisations which have been set up for th is purpose. All the money,
which is used in this really good cause is given voluntarily, by means of donations and
bequests. You can help by giving as much as you possibly can yourself- and by recom-
mending others to do the same.

Donations an d Legacies should be sent to:

THE ARMY BENEVOLENT FUND

Patron: Her Majesty The Queen

Du ke o f York's Headquarters, London , S.W.3 . Telephon e: 01 730 5388

(Registered under the War Charities Act, 1940)
(This space donated by: W . NASH L TD., ST . P AUL 'S CRAY, Kent)

63

The Queen's Surreys

Office

Regimental Association Reunion It is with deep regret that we record the deaths
of Fred Gater, an ex Queensman, and M aj . Charles
The Annual Reunion was held at the Drill H all, Ricketts who served for many years in the Surreys and
Kingston upon Thames, on Friday, 13 October and was well known both as RSM and later as a commis-
in spite of the inauspicious date, a record number of sioned Officer.
190 attended a very cheerful gathering. Not all our
guests from the Royal Hospital, Chelsea were able to A.R.S.
come, but we were delighted to see In Pensioner
"Jimmy" Allingham-a sprightly 93, wearing both The Queen's (Bermondsey) Regimental Association

South African War medals-and In Pensioner J. E . Our Association, now temporarily domiciled in
the adjoining Borough of D eptford, still continues to
Fitzgerald. A party of one NCO and four men from function and while awaiting the return to our former
2 PI A Coy 5 QUEENS ( V ) provided invaluable haunts, we manage to keep active. Once a month the
assistance in preparing the hall and in supervising car Social Section contrives to put on a Saturday social
parking. One, Pte Arnold, had given up his last night evening where the regulars can let their hair down and
as a bachelor for this duty and we wish both him and enjoy a good drink. For those who remember the old
Mrs. Arnold every happiness. Drill Hall at Bermondsey, alas, it is no more. The
well known landmark has now been demolished. The
Mr. 'Chic' Evans, our expert raffler, succeeded reassuring sight however is the speed at which the new
in coaxing £13.70 from our members; as the Reunion building is taking shape and the hope that it will not
Fund runs on a shoestring, this provided a very wel- be too long before we once again take up residence
come boost to our finances. there.

For Mr. H . White of the Queen's, it was a nostal- Both the Vice-Chairman and the Secretary visited
gic occasion for he is emigrating to New Zealand. Canada this summer although not at the same time;
Mr. Joe Dennis brought his usual party from 4 both itineraries included the Armoury of our former
Queen's OCA, and the Veterans Company of the 6th affiliated Regiment, The Queen's York Rangers in
Queen's was well represented. It was pleasant to see Toronto. In the case of the Vice Chairman, he was
how many members had brought their sons (or was rather unlucky because the Regiment was at camp;
it the other way round? ) There were four Regiments however he did meet the Commanding Officer. The
represented-The Queen's Regt., The Queen's Royal Hon. Sec. was luckier; he was met by the RSM (B ill
Surrey Regt., The Queen's Royal Regt. and The East Cochrane ) and escorted on a grand tour of the Arm-
Surrey Regt. and it was very pleasant to see how oury, Old Fort York and the stone frigate HMCS
happil y they all mixed in together on this friendly Y ork HQ of the RCNR. A launch trip around Lake
Reg imental occasion. Ontario was also included. This writer thanks our
Canadian friends for a truly enjoyable day. Also visited
Warrant Officers' and Sergeants' Association during the tour were some former members of the
I I 6th and 6th Bns. and once again the hospitality
It is now 22 years since we held our Inaugural was overwhelming.
Meeting at the Depot, Kingston Barracks under the
Chairmanship of Mr. A. Twohey. Since then the Com- It is with regret that the loss of two long-serving
mittee h as held 197 Meetings. This, I think is an members is recorded--ex-C/ Sgt Morrie Burns, BEM,
excellent record and I am sure our younger members and ex-Sgt Freddie Gibbins, both of whom were pre-
will be interested to know this. In sp ite of all the war members of the Bn. (See Obituaries).
changes we still continue to thrive and we are still
recruiting. If you should meet up with any ex Queens- The annual Reunion Dinner was held at the
men or ex Surreys who was a member of the Oxford Arms, D eptford on Saturday, November !Ith.
Sergeants' M ess while serving, do encourage him to
join us. The Secretary is Mr. A. R . Scriven, MBE, 2nd/ 6th Bn. The Queen's Royal Regt.
TAVR Centre, Portsmouth Road, Kingston-upon-
Th ames. The ann ual Salerno D ay Reunion was h eld on
9th September last, on the 29th anniversary of the day
We still continue to hold our monthly meetings of the landings in Italy in 1943.
and socials on the last Saturday of each month which
attract a large number of members and their wives. Now that the Drill Hall in Bermondsey is under
demolition, Frank P eart had to scout around for a
Our annual Ladies' Dinner Dance was held on suitable venue; he found it in the P etty Officers' Mess
7th October, at which 181 members and their friend s on board HMS Presidwt on the Victoria Embank-
attended. An excellent dinner was served and everyone ment. This enabled him to say in his welcoming speech
enjoyed themselves dancing until midnight. Our thanks that just as we had to thank the Navy for their mag-
to Chic Evans and his lady assistants for running a nificent support on the beaches of Salerno and on Hill
most successful raffle, and to those members who so 210 three days after the landings, so now we had to
kindly contributed prizes. thank them again for permitting us the use of their
ship for the Reunion.

64 Regiment 's activities ( then the 1st American Rangers) ,
but also an article on the earl y history of the Regi-
It was a most attractive setting and some 70 mem- ment, complete with prints and sketches of the old
bers were present and enjoyed themselves to the full. Fort York. Included in the activities of the I st Ameri-
A splendid buffet was provided by Col. and Mrs. can Rangers was a reference to Lt. D . M . Findlay.
P ee t . In 1944, Lt. ( later Maj. ED, QC, ) D . M. Findlay
joined ! / 6th Bn. The Queen's Royal R egt. and served
As usual, one or two new faces appeared with the with them with distinction in Normandy and N.W.
old and gallant and we were again pleased to see ' Doe' Europe. In 1954 he became the first President of the
Hogan who makes a special trip from Dublin to attend Canloan Army Officers' Association when its National
the party. We were saddened to learn of the death of Constitution and Council was established.
'Pat' McCormack, MM and bar, who died in May. A
collection was made for his widow which realised £30. This quite smoothly leads me to my second
This was later taken by Frank Peart to Mrs. McCor- contact- to the Ca loan Army Officers' Association
mack who was very grateful for the kindness shown itself and to some of its members who served in all
by her husband's old comrades. thre battalions of 131 ( Queen's) Bde. in 7th Armoured
Div. ( ! / 5th, ! / 6th and ! /7th ) , and wartime members
Col. John Kealy, DSO, replied to the speech of of those battalions will readily recall these Canadian
welcome and echoed the thanks of all present to Frank volunteers. Gordon Chatterton (! / 5th ) was my link
Peart for his unllagging zeal and enthusiasm in keep- and he took the greatest trouble to ensure that I met
ing the party going year after year. (He has organised an old 'mate' in Arthur Connor, and also one of the
the Reunion each year since 1961-a proud record ). Past Presidents and a Vice-President of this most lively
and sincere Association. I have addresses of nine who
S.W.P. served with ! / 5th Queen's, ten with ! / 6th and eight
w1th l/7th, some of them actually serving with two
The East Surrey ReJII· Chapel battalions when the Brigade was concentrated into
! / 5th and reformed (such as Joe Craib, Vince Lilley
The Regiment has provided two dozen chairs for and John Surtees).
the Regimental Chapel. The new chairs are made of
laminated wood and are interlocking, similar to those It is not generally known that all these Canadian
in use in Canterbury Cathedral. officers were volunteers, who came to serve with the
British Army Regiments at a time when junior officers
The Parochial Church Council of All Saints were greatly needed; under a scheme formulated in
Parish Church, Kingston-upon-Thames, expressed their 1943 and effective in the spring of 1944, a total of
thanks in the following terms: 673 Canadian Officers volunteered and some even re-
verted to junior rank to do so. Of these, 20% were
" The chairs have arrived and look very well in killed in action or died of wounds; 50% were wounded
The East Surrey Regt. War Memorial Chapel. Already
people ar~ saying how considerably more comfortable and 5% POW-a total of 75% casualties, which more
the new chairs are and how they enhance the overall
appearance of the Chapel. Please do convey our thanks than speaks for itself as a record of gallant service.
for this most generous gift, which is greatly apprecia- Links are still maintai ned where possible with the
ted." R.H.Qs of Regiments with whom they served and on
visits to this country, contact with old friends, with
Our Allied Regiments the consequent parties ( usually in liquid form ) is made
through Canloan sub-committees at such Headquarters.
The follo wing accou7!l has been received from
Col. C. H. Nice, TD, DL. : It was disappointing to learn, therefore, that many
ex-Queen's Canloan officers had re-visited the UK but
"On a recent visit to Canada, I was able to make had no point of contact whereby they could be put in
two contacts of Regimental interest. In the first place, touch. Now that we are in direct touch with the Can-
I called at the Fort York Armouries to pay my re- loan Army Officers' Association, it should not be diffi-
spects to the Queen's York Rangers who, before the cult for representatives from each of the Bns. with
many changes in the Services of both countries took whom Canloan Officers served to form such a sub-
place, had an alliance with The Queen's Royal Regt. committee in conjunction with RHQ The Queen's
I gathered from the Commanding Officer, Col. Steven- Regiment, Queen's Surreys Office, and I for one would
son, that he is applying through his own channels for be only too willing to help in any way."
alliance to The Queen's Regt. and that he was very
keen that this connection should be re-established, and BOOK REVIEW
in particular, that excange visits could be made. In-
cidentally Col. Stevenson was a serving officer under "The East Surrey Regiment" by Michael Langley
the D eputy Colonel ( Surrey) when he (Gen. Ling )
was GOC East Anglia, and I am S)Jre that nothing The new history of the Regiment in the "Famous
would please him more than to bring about a close Regiments" series has now been published. Michael
connection regimentally. Langley, a former National Service Officer of The
East Surrey Regt. and a professional writer, ha s pro-
NOTE: This Alliance has 110w been promulgated duced a concise and extremely readable account of the
in Army Orders.-Editor. history of The East Surrey Regt. from the time of its
formation ~s Villiers Marines in 1702 until its amalga-
The Fort York Armoury (Drill Hall to us!) is a mation with The Queen's Royal Regt. in 1959. Mr.
vast affair and the present buildings are adjacent to Langley has brought to his task a sound knowledge of
the site of the old Fort York itself which is still pre- the political issues directing the strategy of Britain's
served as a replica of the original. I had a very warm foreign affairs in the 18th and 19th Centuries, and
welcome from some of the members of the Sgts' Mess, also a real affection for and pride in the Regiment in
where I was very pleased to see a framed collection of which he himself served. H e has had access to docu-
Queen's cap badges and collar dogs from time long ments, photographs, and other materials not previously
past and up to that of the Queen's Surreys. The ab- available to regimental historians, and the advice of
sence of the badge of the Queen's Regiment was noted several former officers of The East Surrey Regt., in-
and one is now on its way to complete this collection .
It was my pleasure to present, through the Sgts' Mess,
a copy of the Journal of The Queen's Royal Regt.
dated 1933 in which was, not only a full report of the

65

eluding Brig. Roupell, the last Colonel of the R egi- quick-step and the Battle H onours of the R egiment. T o
ment. He has been able to highlight the various those who had the pri vilege of serving in Th e East
episodes in the R egiment's long and distinguished S urrey R egt. the book will be of particular interest
but it would also be an ideal present for an yo ne
service, in a factua l, but nevertheless entertaining interested in the history of the Army. General H or-
rock's foreword pays tribute to the Regiment whom
mann er . he had known in peace and in war.
The book is well illustrated and some of the
Priced at £ 2. 10 to th e general public, it is offered
pictures will be n ew to our r eade: s, including a rather to m embers of Th e Quem's R oyal Surrey R egim wlal
delightful pamtmg of a Pnvate m the 31st chuckmg A ssociatio11 at the red11ced price of £!.75 post fr ee.
a serving wench under the chin. The four appendi ces
record the R eg imental customs, important dates in
Regimental History, the music of the 1st Battalion 's

***

The Queen's Own Buffs
Office

A CHRISTMAS MESSAGE broken'. No w 75 yea rs later, I like to think this fri end-
ship continues. In April, as the Queen 's Own Buff s
From Colonel Det"ek Willows, Regimental Association, we celebrated together the
400th Anniversary of the first raising of The Buffs.
The President of the Association The Association is marching strongl y, and I send all
our members and their families C hristmas Greetings
"There have been many milestones in the hi story and my hopes that the future yea rs may lead to con-
of our Country and our R egiment. For the Country, tinued strength in our affairs."
55 B.C. saw the arrival of the Romans; 1066 A.D .
the arrival of the Normans, and 1914 and 1939 the . ..... and, finally, yet anothet" message:
two great World Wars.
Once again the Editor of these notes sends his
For The Buffs, and of course for the Queen's warmest thanks to all his readers, subscribers and con-
Own Buffs, 1572 saw the first raising of our forebears, tributors for their loyal support and, as the Associa-
and four hundred yea rs later the event was celebrated tion 's Secreta ry, he sends his sincere good wishes to all
at Canterbury on 29th April 1972. Many Buff s and Branch Chairmen, S ecretari es and members, for
Queen's Own assembled to mark this milestone in our Christmas and the coming year.
history. H ow proud our Pikemen and Ca liverers would
have been to have witnessed the precision and planning FROM FAR AND NEAR
of our Secretary, Col. Raymond Grace, and his Staff
in the County Office, and we ourselves must not for- ROYAL PATRONAGE
get the many voluntary helpers, among them Mrs.
Cecil West, Mrs. Grace, Mrs. Kennard and Mrs. Man- All members of the Association will ha ve ap pre-
thorpe, who played such an important part in the caited that on the death of HM King Frederik of
proceedings. Denmark in J anuary this yea r the A ssociation not only
lost its only remaining P atron-the late Princess
And now Christmas 1972 approaches. It is a Marina having been eo-Patron with the late King-
Christmas which we can celebrate with joy, with pride but the Association's long-established link with the
and with thanksg iving for the past, and in confidence Danish Royal House was also severed. M embers will
and with purpose for the future. be delighted to hear that Her Majesty Queen M ar-
grethe II of Denmark has graciously consented to be-
I send to you all my heartfelt greetings for come the Association's Patron, in success ion to her
Christmas and the New Year." late Father. The link is thus re- forged .

..••.. another one from Lt.-Col. Ted Argles, The Secretary was g reatl y honoured to be granted
an Audience of H er Maj esty at 11 o'clock on Thurs-
the Chairman: day, 9th November at Amalienborg P alace. The
Colonel of the R egiment-who also had an Audience
" In The Buffs Regimental Journal, Th e Drago11, of Her Majesty at the same time on other matters-
for F ebruary 1897, the following extract appeared:- and the Secretary flew to Copenhagen on the after-
noon of 8th November, returning to London on lOth
'The Royal West Kents arrived here on the 28th November.
by two trains in the early morning and were welcomed
by many Officers of the Regiment and by their com- The Secretary conveyed to Her M a jesty, on this
rades of East Kent. On arrival in barracks each Com- very auspicious occasion in the A ssociation 's history,
pany of the West Kents found a meal prepared by the best wishes of the President and the Chairman of
their corresponding Company of The Buffs'. It was the Association, together with the grateful thanks of
further reported that the Drummers of our two former all its members for thus honouring them.
regiments played a football match after which 'a con-
vivial evening was spent at which eternal vows of
friend ship were exchanged which will not lightly be

66 A "FIRST EVER" TO BE PROUD OF

FOURTH CENTENARY YEAR When it comes to military musicianship the 5th
As 1972 draws to its close it may be of interest
to take a look back over one's shoulder for a moment ( Volunteer ) Queen's Regiment Band has something to
or two. blow its own trumpet about.

So far, no one day this year has been afflicted by After an intensive 3!-hour inspection by top brass
anything approaching the vi ley uncompromising from the Royal Military School of Mu sic, the 3 1 East
weather with which we were on Saturday, 29th April.
It was a rea lly cruel stroke of fortune that on that K ent Bandsmen have been voted top of the Army's
one particular da y in the yea r, sandwiched in between hit parade.
a calm Friday and fine Sunday, a Force 9 gale and
almost non-stop, blinding rain should have been allot- For the v isit of Col. F. J. J efferson, Inspector of
ted to us. It was the only matter about which nothing Army Bands, and Lt.-Col. R. B. Bashford, chief in-
effecti ve could really be done or plans m ade.
structor at Kneller H all, the part-time musicians staged
That it did not, however, detract from the en joy- a ngorous programme.
ment of the day as a whole was evidenced by the scores
of letters, telephone messages and other communica- It included marching, set test pieces, a male voice
tions, coming from " all sorts and conditions of men)),
which were subsequently received in the County Office. choir (a rarity for military bands) and a display by
For the originators of such messages the celebration
of the event was obviously what mattered, and damn the Corps of Drums. !he inspectors also closely ex-
the weather! ammed InStruments, umforms and the band library.

Two commemorative albums, each containing a Their verdict delivered this week-' Outstanding.'
copy of every piece of paper issued before the great
day, of every photograph taken during the day and of And 5 Queen's became the first T. and A .V.R. band
many of the articles written after it, are in the course
of preparation. When completed one will be placed in in the country to get the highest possible rating.
The Buffs Museum-for the benefit of those who, in
2072, will be responsible for p lanning the celebration Commenting on the band's various facets, the in-
of the Fifth Centenary?- and the other will be retai n-
ed at all event s for a time, in the County Office. spectors sa id that the slow m arch was much better per-

Throughout the yea r Branches of the A ssociation formed than most regular bands and the marching
have linked the Fourth Centenary with their Annual
Dinner and, to judge from the accounts of such func- display 'was the most im aginative seen yet, including
tions, all have been especially well attended. Some are
ye t to be held. all Staff and R egular bands.' And that includes the
Brigade of Guards.
The ap pea l on behalf of The Buffs Museum En-
dowmen t Fund h as to date m et with only limited suc- Summing-up, the report added: 'With the leader-
cess, the sum subscribed at the time at which this
a rticle is written amounti ng to £867.46. This, an in- ship of a first class bandmaster (WO I T ed Clark)
crease of just under £300 during the past three this band has achieved a very high standard equal t~
months, is the result of the generosity of 79 individu-
als; of the Trustees of the 3rd Militia Bn., The Buffs; that of the best R egular Army bands . All concerned
of the Queen's Own Royal W est Kent R egiment
Museum Committee; an d of 4 Branches of the are to be congratulated on the effort made and on
Association. It is not even now-it will, in fact, never
be-too late to make a donation, of no matter what being the first T.A. band ever to achieve an 'Out-
size, to this very worthy cause. If yo u have not already standing' report.
made your contribution, how about making one at
Christmas-time--or, a t all events, before Fourth Cen- was The man behind the success, Bandmaster C lathrik~
tenary Y ear has passed into history? over-joyed when I spoke to him about it

4 THCENTENAR'< week: 'We've done what no other T .A. band has been

able to do in the whole countr y,' he said. 'W e have

always thought such a report would be impossible to

obtain. W e have achieved something as part-time

musicians that R egular Army musicians who play and

drill all the time for a living cannot always do. And

we had already done a day's work as civilians when

the inspectors came. It says a lot for the dedication of

the members of the Band and the Corps of Drums.'

It says much, too, for Mr. Clark's inspired leadership.

Th e above m·ticle appeared in the 'Kentish Gaz-
ette' on 29th September, and is reproduced here by
kind permission of the Editor of that newspaper. All
readers, and all who at one time or another have listen-
ed to Mr . Clark and his musidans, will wish to be
associated with this message, however belated it may
be, of congratulatiom and good wishes to him and to
them.

With r espect to the Editor of the K entish G azerre,

(and just to keep the record straight) the correct title
of thi s most excellent Band is " The Queen's R egiment

Band, T & AVR". Moreover, although many of its
members do indeed come from East K ent, the Band is,
in fact, trul y representative of the Queen's R egiment,

with musicians from Surrey, Sussex, West K ent and
Greater London as welL-Editor.

This fine example of the flower gardiner's art required
20,000 plants for its construction and arrangement. It
is the result of many hours of hard work by two
Ramsgate Corporation gardeners (Messrs. Offen and
Philpott) , and it is most appropriate that the Council
Officers should have selected this design in this par-

ticular year.

Picture by E ast K ent Times.

FOUND 67

Under this imposing heading mention was made HMS KENT
in the September issue, of the discovery of the Volun-
teer D ecoration awarded to Lt.-Col. G . Morphew, On the eve of Trafalgar D ay the D eputy Colonel
and readers were invited to inform the Secretary of the attended a Dinner on board HMS K ent in P ortsmouth
name and address of any of Lt.-Col. Morphew's de- D o ckya r d.
scendants whom they might know, to whom the medal
might be returned. MAIDSTONE REUNION 1972

Mr. K enneth Collins, the Assistant Curator of As a result of the Collection taken during the
the Maidstone Museums and Art Gallery- who per- Service in All Saints, the sum of £29 was recently
haps is better known to many as the Custodian of th e credited to the Queen's Own Buffs Benevolent Fund ;
Queen's Own Museum in St. Faith's Street-has writ- and as a result of the Raffle, so ably organised by Jim
ten to say that there are several items connected with Wells and his helpers from the M aidstone Branch, the
Col. Morphew on display in the Mueseum, and he sum of £ I I .40 was credited to the same fund.
suggests that if no descendants' n ames are forthcoming
the medal might well be added to those items. CORRESPONDENCE

In the event of the appeal in the September issue Oast Court,
leading nowhere it would seem that Mr. Collins' s?g- Barham.
gestion is probably the best and most appropnate
answer. 18 September, 1972.

TilE GOLFING SOCIETY To:- Col. H. R. Grace, OBE, DL, JP

The match against the Kent Constabulary, which M y dear Ra ymond,
had been cancelled in July owing to the late Ned
Knocker' Funeral, took place at Littlestone on ALL SAINTS' CHURCH, MAIDSTONE,
Thursday, 19th October. Unfortunately Tom Page,
the Match Manager, had some eleventh-hour casualties APPEAL
amongst his original team and he was forced to intro-
duce some last-minute reinforcements, not members of May I, through your columns, express my sincere
the Society, in order to make up numbers. The alterna- thanks to all those connected with the old Queen's
tive would have been to have asked the Constabulary Own Royal West Kent Regiment, who have responded
to stand down two or three of their players, which so very generously to the Appeal launched ~a rlie~ 0is
would have been a bit hard, perhaps, on those con- year under the joint signatures of Lt.-Gen. Str Wtlha'."
cerned. Oliver and myself-the two last Colonels of the Regt-
ment.
The match, played on an afternoon of glorious
sunshine but with a testing on-shore wind, resulted Some 180 donations have been received and a first
in a draw, each side winning two matches. Those mem- cheque of £530 has already been sent to _Ca non Tuf-
bers of the Society, in addition to the Match Manager, ton Vicar of All Saints, in response to hts appeal for
who played were Rufus Parry, Pip Arnold, Guy Wey- fun'ds to help maintain the fabric of the building _and
mouth and the Hon. Secretary. Next year's match, so ensure the preservation of the Church. Donat10ns
will be played at L eeds Castle on 31st May, with the received include contributions from the Bromley, Lon-
Constabulary acting as hosts. don ( RWK ), Tonbridge/Tunbridge Wells/ Seveno_aks
and 11th Bn. Branches and there have been promtses
There has been a most encouraging response to from other Branches. Those who attended the 4th Bn.
the Hon. Secretary's enquiry as to which members annual reunion subscribed handsomely.
would be likely, other things being equal, to make the
trip to Muirfield for the A.G.S. Spring M eeting next Donations are still trickling in and it is planned
May. The following sixteen have indicated that they to send Canon Tufton a final cheque at the end .of
hope to be present:- Reggie Browne, P eter Collman, this year. There is, thus, still time for any who wtsh
David Court, Maurice Dewar, K en Dodson, John Hol- to do so to send their donations, however small, to the
man, Michael Jelf, David Montgor_nery, Rufus P arry, Assistant Reg imental Secretary at the Queen's Own
Richard Ravenhill, Harold and Enc Scott, the Prest- Buff s Offi ce, Canterbury ( Cheques should be ma~e
dent of the Society and Hugh Tarver, P eter Turner payable to "The Queen's Own Royal W est Kent Regt-
and the Hon. Secretary. This means that, with a'!y ment G eneral Fund"). The Queen 's Own Buffs have
luck the Society will be able to field three teams m set a splendid example by recently considerably in-
the Argyll & Sutherland Bowl competition. There will creasing their annual contribution.
also be some seven wives present, to give us moral
support and accommodation for practically the entire For the uninitiated, the old Regiment h as been
party has already been arranged in the Kilspindie closely connected with All Saints for many years and
House Hotel in the near-by village of Aberlady. It the Church houses many R egimental memorials. In-
should be quite a gathering. cluded amongst these are the three Books of Remem-
brance and over 20 of the R egiment's Colours. Most
THE LATE NED KNOCKER of these have now been collected into the North Aisle,
which is where, in the days of compulsory S:hurch
Readers will like to know that in response to the Parades, the R ecruits and the Staff of the Reglil_lental
suggestion that those who so wished should make a Depot used to sit on Sundays. The Annual Servtce of
donation to The Buffs Benevolent Fund in memory Remembrance is still held in the Church as part of the
of Ned, the sum of £172.40 has been donated to that Maidstone R eunion . So, though the Regiment itself
Fund, as at the time of going to press. may have gone, All Saints remains as our Regimental
Chapel, full of tradition.

Yours sincerely,
DENNIS TALBOT,

(M ajor-General ( retired) D . E . B. T albot ).

THE LATHAM MEDAL- See Over

68 Muse um on 29th D ecember by h is great-grand-daugh-
ter, who is travelling from France in order to make
THE LATHAM MEDAL the presentation in person . What more apt or oppor-
tune way cou ld there be of bringing Fourth Centenary
The gold medal which was presented to L ieut. Year to a close?
Latham by his brother Officers to commemorate his
devotion to dut y in saving the King 's Colour during
the Battle of Albuhera is to be presented to The Buff s

The Royal Sussex Office

ROYAL SUSSEX REGIMENT GOODWOOD ROYAL SUSSEX REGIMENT-BAND

LUNCH CLUB REUNION

Goodwood was, for a change, really glorious for The 22nd Reunion of former members of The
all the meetings and this naturally led to a record Royal Sussex Reg iment bands was held this year for
attendance at the Royal Sussex Lunch Club . the first time at " The Pill Box", Waterloo, S.W., by
kind permission of M a j. A. C. Bryant (late Royal
We were particularly pleased to welcome His E x- Sussex ). The change was due to the fact that M aj.
cellency the Dutch Ambassador, Baron Willem Gevers, J . B. Slowl y had recently retired from "The White
and his daughter, who came to lunch on the Thursday Hart,, Pirbright, where so many reunions had been
of the July meeting. The Ambassa dor is a keen follow- held in the past. Incidentally Jim Slowly and his
er of racing and provided us with a very nice-priced famil y have moved to Runcton, Nr. Chichester.
winner.
Thirty-one members were present for the excellent
We were pleased to welcome a number of mem- luncheon provided by the staff of " The Pill Box", and
bers of the Club from other Reg iments and it was in the absence of Mr. S. A. Guilmant, due to illness,
particularly nice to see a few of the younger officers
making use of the Club. It is a pity that more of them Maj . J. P . C. Bailey officiated on his behalf. Amongst
do not use it for entertaining their fri ends which, after
all, is the main object of their C lub. those present were Lt.-Col. F . W. Hann, OBE, Capts.
R. Evans, and ]. L ai ng and, present for the first time,
The Goodwood E state h as recentl y presented the an old favo urite of bygone days, C SM "Joe" Green-
Club with the original judges' box. This is a fine piece field . The oldest meber present was Githery Gow-
of "Victoriana " which, now that we have repainted it, land, now aged 76, who left the I st Bn. Band when
makes a delightful addition on the Club's lawn. The they were stationed in the Khyber Pass in 1919. The
only trouble is that we cannot put it to any u seful Bandmaster at that time was Mr. Hindmarsh.
purpose. Any suggestion ( feasible!) would be wel-
comed from members. Another interesting visitor was "Dick, Blair of
the 2nd Bn. Band, who left the R egiment in the late
The Royal Sussex Stakes was run on Tuesda y 1920's and has been resident in Canada for many
12th September when again there was a good attend- years; he was present last year and will be coming
ance at the Club. Lady Whistler, Gen. Sir Richard over again for next year's reunion, come what ma y!
C raddock, Colonel of the Queen 's Regiment, and Col.
and Mrs. M ag rath were guests. A special toast was given to "all bandsmen present
in 1922 in Northern Ireland when Mr. Guilmant join-
A good field turned out for the race, there being ed the 1st Bn. Band". Only two bandsmen were
nine runners and in an exciting finish Mr. E. Coulon 's present from those days, Mr. Joe Mills and Mr. " Bo"
" Patches" won at the nice price of 10-1 , beating Bedwell, and they were greeted with much applause
" Time Out", which was trained by Maj. P . M . Nelson from the remaining guests. It was pointed out that two
and ridden by his son who were the winning combina- members present had attended all 22 band reunions-
tion last year. "Patches" was trained by Mr. A . Basti- our worthy Mr. Joe Mills and Mr. " Bill" Neate.
man at Wetherby in Yorkshire and was ridden by his
son. It was surely a very sporting effort to bring a We were delighted to receive a telegram from
horse all the way from Wetherby, but the journey Lt.-Col. E . G. Hollist and all at Regimental H .Q .
proved well worthwhile. which raised a great cheer when Maj . Bailey read it
out.
Brig. R. E . Loder presented the Royal Sussex
Challenge Cup and replica to the winning owner in All were very sorry to hear that in April this
the unsaddling enclosure. Afterwards Mr. Coulon with year Mr. " Badgy" N ewcombe passed away. H e was
his trainer and rider celebrated their win in the Royal well liked and respected by all those who knew him
Sussex C lub where they were joined by the Earl and and served with him.
Countess of March.
The reunion will probably be held on Saturday,
2nd June next yea r but members will be notified as
soon as the place and date are firm . Would anyone
knowing the whereabouts of the following ex-bandsmen
please let me know : Sgt. F . Young, Bdsm . D . Frank-
lin, Sgt. Avery, Bdsm. ] . Pelling.

]. C. NEATE.

MR. HARRY BISHOP T he follo wing reply was received from M r.
Ravenshear:
We reprod uce below by kind permission of the
Radio T i111cs a picture of Mr. H arry Bishop sitti ng Brigadier R . E . Loder, CBE, DL, J une 27th, 1972.
outside " Th e Royal O ak" at H ooksway, C hilgrovc, Nr. Roussillon Barracks,
Chichester. H arry Bishop was a regular soldier in C hichester, Sussex.
The Roya l Sussex Regt. and aft er his retirement be-
came a game-keeper. H e is at present head game- D ear Brigadier Loder,
keeper on one of the beats of the West D ean Estate
and can usua ll y be located about midday at " The On returning to Eastbourne after a holiday in
Roya l O ak". H e recentl y appeared on T.V. and our Wales, I have received your very kind letter dated June
picture was taken during the interview. 13th concernin g the efforts I h ave been fortun ate
enough to have been able to make from time to time
through these newspapers on behalf of The Royal
Sussex Regi ment and more recently the Queen's Regi-

m en t.

These visits to the Regiments have been most en-
joyable and have given me a grea t deal of pleasure,
and one of my outstandi ng memori es is the very cordial
receptions and warm co-operation I have always re-
reived from ever yone concerned. One of my most
treasured possessions is the Royal S ussex recognition
tie presented to me in Lemgo by Brigadier Roy Cole-
man when he was commanding the 3rd Queen's (Royal
Sussex). This must have been in 1969 when, as you
reca ll in your letter, we met bri efl y at L emgo.

Although I have retired, I am assisting the Edi tor,
Mr. Eric Redfern, on a part-time basis in the office,
and shall continue to be interested in the activities of

the Queen's Regiment, although I shall not be maki ng

any visits to them in the future.

M ay I add that I have h ad a very pleasant asso-
ciation for many years with Mr. J ack Francis, PRO
at Shorncliffe, who h as inspired so many Editors to
take an interest in the units which he has represented,
including The Royal Sussex Regiment and the Queen's

Regiment.
Yours sincerely,

RALPH RAVENSHEAR.

PU BLIC RELATIONS THE ROYAL SUSSEX REGIMEN T IN CRETE

The foll owing letter was recently sent to M r. R . 1905 - 1907
Rave nshea r, whom many will remember as the Editor
of the Eastboum e Gazeu e, who took such a keen The 2nd Bn . The Ro yal Sussex Regiment moved
interest in the affairs of The Roya l Sussex Regiment from M alta to C rete in 1905 to ass ist in the suppres-
and who did so much to fu rther the good relations sion of the insurrection of the followers of Venizelos
between the Press and the Army as a whole: against the Cretan G overnment. Lt.-Col. J . G . Panton,
the commanding Offi cer, was in command of all the
13th J une, 1972 . Brit ish t roops in C rete during the two years of the
Battalion's stay and subsequently he received the CMG
Dea r Mr. R avenshear, in recognition of his work. The high regard in wh ich
Col. Panton and his Battallion were held is refl ected
I have just heard that you have recently retired in the foll owing letter wh ich was sent from the
from the E ditorship of the Eastboume G aze lle. F oreign Offi ce to the Army Council at the end of
their tour of dut y in the I sland.
M ay I on behalf of The Roya l Sussex R egt. and
latterl y the Queen's Regt. thank you for all the help F oreign Office.
and encourage ment we have had from your paper over F ebruary 27th, 1907.
the years' I think we briefl y met at Lemgo in 1969.
Sir,
We wish you well in your retirement.
I am directed by the S ecretary Sir Edward Grey
All good wishes for the future. to transmit to yo u herewith, to be laid before thi
Army Counci l, a copy of a despatch from His
Yours sincerely, M a jesty's Consul G eneral at Canea, reporting on the
(Signed) R . E. Loder, general regret felt at Candia at the departure of Colon-
D eputy Colonel (Sussex), el ]. G. P anton, C MG.
The Queen's Regiment.
Sir E dwa rd G rey understands that the S econd
Battallion of The Ro yal Sussex R egiment is about to
leave C rete, and he desires to place on record his
warm ap preciation of the exceptional services rendered
by Colonel P anton, and his Battalion, during the

7u OGILBY TRUST

period that they have been stationed in the Island. We send our best wishes to Brig. R. G. Thur-
Colonel Panton has held command in the British Sec- burn, CB, CBE, on his retirement from the Secretary-
tor at a time of considerable difficulty and unrest, ship of the Army Museum's Ogilby Trust. W e are
during which two insurrections have broken out, and grateful to him for all his help and for the interest
martial law had to be established. H e h as succeeded- that he has taken in our museum. In his place we
by his judgement, vigilence, and timely and effici ent welcome Col. P . S . Newton, MBE, formerly The Ro yal
measures he adopted-in maintaining throughout ad- Sussex Reg iment and lately, The Queen's Regiment
mirable order in the Candia district, in protecting and congratulate him on his appointment as Secretar;
lives and property, and in supressing incipient revolt. of the Trust.
Yet while shrinking from no measures of necessary
severity, he has maintained good relations with the SINGAPORE MEMORIAL
Cretan authorities and has won their confidence and The marble memorial to the five soldiers of the
respect, as well as that of the population with whom 2nd Bn. who died in Singapore during the period
he and his Regiment appeared to have enjoyed ex- 1923-26 and which has been brought back to the
ceptional popularity. United Kingdom (as previously reported in the Journ-
al ) has now been fixed to the wall of the staircase at
His Maj esty' Consular Officers in Crete have Association H eadquarters in Ch ichester.
testified to the loyal co-operation they have received
on all occasions from the Offi cers commanding the H.M.S. BRIGHTON
detachment stationed at Canea. Visit of Commander M. Poner, RN

The zeal and efficiency shewn by Capt. H . S. To : Lt.-Col. E . G. Hollist,
Ashworth, and the troops under h is command during RHQ The Queen's Regt. (Royal Sussex Office),
the troubles at Canea of S eptember last-also deserve Roussillon Barracks, Chichester.
special commendation.
My Dear Colonel,
I am, Sir, Thank you so much for a very enjoyable lunch
Your obedient humble servant.
yesterday, and also for telling me so much about the
(S igned ) E . GORST. Regiment . I am most grateful too to you for showing
me round the Regimental Chapel and Museum, both
The two silver statuettes of Cretan soldiers which of which I found to be fa scinating.
are now in the Officers' Mess of the 3rd Bn. The
Queen's Regiment commemorate this period of The We have nothing in the Navy to compare with
Royal Sussex Regiment's service in Crete. your regimental loyalties and traditiions, and I must
say I am very envious of them. It will be a very sad
Col. Panton's son, Lt.-Col. G . R . V. Panton, da y if the development of the Large Regiments, or even
whose death occurred earlier this year, also served the introduction ( God forbid ) of a Corps of Infantry
in the Regiment. Another member of the family, Capt. should bring them to an end.
P . V. Panton, was commissioned into The Royal Sus-
sex Regt. and is at present Adjutant of the 3rd Bn. I look forward to having you and the Brigadier
The Queen's Regiment. onboard before long and thank you again for looking
after me so well.
Capt. H . S. Ashworth, who is mentioned in the
letter and who was later killed at the Battle of Gaza Yours very sincerely,
while commanding the 4th Bn., was the father of Brig. MICHAEL PORTER.
]. B. Ashworth, CBE, DSO, DL.
REGIMENTAL HISTORY
ROYAL SUSSEX MUSEUM
Recent acquisitions A new booklet has recently been produced which
gives a short illustrated history of The Royal Sussex
Mr. C. Poulett on behalf of the North Mundham Regiment with a coloured cover. The booklet is on sale
Parish Council presented a silver cup which had been in the R egiment Museum or from Association HQ,
the property of B Coy. of the 8th Bn. Sussex Home at 18p.
Guard and had been on display at the I sland Cottage
Inn, North Mundham, until the Inn was demolished.
The cup was originally presented by Lt.-Col. G. Hart,
OBE, MC. With the permission of the Parish Council
the cup has been passed to the 7th (Chichester) PI.
Army Cadet Force who are affiliated to the Queen's
Regiment.

Maj. H . 0 . Cox has presented a coloured litho-
graph by R. Simkin of a mounted officer and Regi-
mental Colours with escort, and four wooden shields
with paintings of soldiers of the Regiment of 1750,
1790, 1879 and 1939.

A happy Christmas

The Middlesex Office

Benevolent Cases Middlesex/Kensington Association Social Evening
During the quarter ended 30th September, the
Although the number of Old Comrades attending
sum of £436 was expended from the C haritable Fund was disappointing, a very enjoyable "get together" was
in making grants to 24 ex-members of the Middlesex held at 190, H ammersmith Road, London, W.6 on
Regiment, or their dependants. Friday, 6th October.

Player's League Match, Lords We were particularly glad to see, amongst those
A total of 12 Old Comrades and their relatives who attended, our most senior Chelsea Pensioner,
C/ Sgt. CC'rnelius J<ing.
took adva ntage of the facilities arranged for members
of the Regimental Association to attend the Playe r's Church Service at Royal Hospital, Chelsea
League Match at Lords on 20th August, between
Middlesex and Warwickshire. Our annual church service at the Royal Hospital,
took place this year on Sunday, 8th October, when a
A most exciting match (which W arwickshire won party of 59 members, their relatives and friends,
by one run ) was much enjoyed by all present from headed by the D eputy Col. and Mrs. Clayton, attended.
the comfort of a specially reserved box in which an
excellent picnic lunch and tea were provided by the the Prior to the Service our Old Comrades, under
local caterers. command of Smith, and the
Maj . R . W. J.
We are especially indebted to Mr. C. F. Farley Association Standard, carried by Mr. H . W . Kent,
(formerly ! /7th Bn. ), who holds an important post were inspected by the Depury Governor, M aj.-Gen.
on the staff at Lords, for the excellent arrangements Sir Nigel Tapp, KBE, C B, DSO.
he made for the visit.
After the service a buffet lunch was provided in
Annual Visit to Mons
The party which visited Mons for the Ceremonies the Pensioners' Club.

in connection with the 58th Anniversary of the Battle REGIMENTAL GOLFING SOCIETY
totalled 32, of whom seven took part in the Battle Autumn Meeting 1972
fought on 23rd August 1914. In addition, a team from
the B.B.C. accompanied the party in order to take A very successful and enjoyable meeting was held
shots on the actual battlefield for a documentary film . on the course of the North Hants Golf Club, Fleet
on Friday, 13th October. A total of 26 took part, which
Grand Concert, Kneller Hall is a record for an Autumn Meeting.
A total of 20 members and their families attended
The chief feature of this meeting was the suc-
a Grand Concert at Kneller Hall on Wednesday, 30th cess of yo ung Richard Hardcastle, the son of Maj. and
August under arrangements made by the Regimental Mrs. K en Hardcastle, who not only put up an excel-
Association. lent score of 39 to win the Stableford Singles but was
also successful in the Stableford Foursomes.
Summer Outing
The outing organised this year was a visit to The results of the various competitions were:-

Whipsnade Zoo. It took place on Sunday, 24th Sep- Stablelord Singles
tember, and was attended by 53 members, their rela- Winner: Mr. R. H . K. Hardcastle, 39.
tives and friends. Runner-up: Lt.-Col. C. N. Clayden, 35.

There is no doubt that this outing was far less Stableford Foursomes
popular than that arranged last year to the Royal Winners: M essrs. R . H . K. Hardcastle and C. D .
Windsor Safari Park ; on that occasion there was a
record attendance of 85. M atthews, 33.
Runners-up: Mrs. H . K. Hardcastle and Mr. T .

F. ]ones, 32.

Hidden Holes Competition
Winner: Mr. T . F. Jones.
Runner-up: Mr. C. D . Matthews.

to all our Advertisers

72

Helicopter Operations
in Dhofar

by Lieut.-Colonel N. B. Knocker, QUEENS,
Commanding The Desert Regiment

In my last article ( September issue) I made 4 . After the planning conference formal orders
reference to Helicopter-borne operations carried out are issued to all concerned.
in Dhofar. With the introduction of helicopters, the
speed of response to intelligence, and rapid deploy- 5. Next, subordinate commanders shou ld make an
ment of sizea ble units and equipment over a wide air reconnaisance of the area- aga in using as
area in difficult terrain is much more fea sable than in much deception as possible.
the past. In a guerilla war such as is currently being
fought in Dhofar, the use of helicopters has had a This procedure all takes time. For quickly mount-
dramatic effect on operations. Complete battalion ed op~rations, r:'uch of the procedure can be telescoped;
operations mounted entirely by helicopter are well expen ence of JOmt operatiOns and close liaison tells
worth studying by all ranks, and experiences gained yo u what can be cut. H owever the less planning, the
in Dhofar may be of interest and use to others. more IS the n sk of something going wrong with subse-
quent danger to all concerned.
One of the main disadvantages of the helicopter, . The actual mounting of a helicopter-borne opera-
realised on training but often not fully appreciated tiOn IS an exc1tmg moment. Much depends on the
until it actually happens, is its vu lnerability to ground weather. Whilst cloudy weather limits visibility (and
fire. Like all modern aircraft the helicopter is full of makes map reading very difficult, particularly in close
complex machinery. One or two bullets striking the and m?untainous country as I have learned to my
wrong place can do considerable damage. To armour cost! ) ll does add secunty to the movement of aircraft.
plate a helicopter has the disadvantage of considerably Stage one of the operation is for the command heli-
reducing its payload and therefore efficiency. It is copter to check out the LZ for the presence of enemy,
necessary to reduce armour plate to a minimum, so and lay smoke to md1cate the area and wind direction
when planning the mounting of a helicopter operation to the troop-carrying aircraft. Stage two is for the
much thought must be given to the security of the troop-carrying aircraft to deliver their loads and get
aircraft and its load. clear of the LZ as quickly as possible. Earlier on I
mentioned "waves" and "streams". These terms mean:
The key to success in mounting helicopter-borne
operations is detailed and accurate planning. Joint Waves. All helicopters moving together to the LZ .
planning from the start-preferably between the com- This h as the advantage of getting a large number
mander of the ground troops and the helicopter force of troops on to the ground quickly but it also
commander-is essential. causes delays in the build up if there is more than
one wave.
A planning sequence for set piece operations which
we have found works well is as follows: Streams. H elicopters move individually to the LZ.
This is quick and easy to control and is more
I. Having decided on the mission, a joint air flexible but is dependent on a secure LZ as sur-
reconnaissance is made by the ground troops prise is soon lost.
commander and helicopter force commander to
select a suitable Landing Zone (LZ) and, if (Continued on page 74 )
necessary, a pick up point ( PUP ). In guerilla
war in close country it is important to make 1. A Frankincense tree, Wadi Akoot. (Western
deception recces in order to confuse the enemy Approaches).
as to exactly what our intentions are.
2. The Author-Lt.-Col. Nigel Knocker.
2. After the reconnaisance, the ground forces com- 3. Strikemasters.
mander makes his detailed plan, so that before 4. Officers' Mess, Jebel Regiment.
co-ordinating details with the helicopter force 5. Helicopters on Operation "Sandcloud".
commander he is absolutely clear in his mind 6. Typical jebel country.
how he wants to mount the operation. 7. Lt.-Col. Brian Ray, MBE.
8. A group of FAB (Firqat al Badija).
3. This is followed by a joint planning conference
with air representatives to co-ordinate the
essential details such as timings, individual
aircraft loads; refuelling requirements, corn.
munications, command arrangements, whether
to "wave" or "stream", casualty evacuation,
deception arrangements, fire support from
ground troops, top cover by strike aircraft, and
a multitude of other details essential to the
success of the operation.