December 1982

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BRIGHTON BN1 1DE

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B.I.B.A.

The Journal of
THE QUEEN'S REGIMENT

Volume 16 No 2 December 1982

Unconquered I Serve

Battle Honours borne on The Colours

The Regiment Colour:
" Tangier, 1662~0, " " Namur, 1695," " Gibraltar, 1704-5," " Bienheim ," " Ramilles," " Malplaquet," " Deningen,"
" Louisburg," " Guadaloupe, 1759," "Quebec, 1759," " Martinique, 1762," " St Lucia, 1778," " Seringapatam,"
" Maida," " Vimiera," "Corunna," " Douro," " Talavera," " Aibuhera," " Aimaraz," " Badajoz," " Salamanca," " Vit-
toria, " " Affghanistan, 1839," " Punniar, " " Moodkee," " Sobraon," " lnkerman," " Sevastopol," " Lucknow," " Taku
Forts, " " New Zealand," "South Africa, 1879," "Nile, 1884-85," " Burma, 188~7 ," " Chitral ," " Relief of Ladysmith ,"

" Relief of Kimberley," " South Africa, 1899-1902," " Korea, 1950-51 " .

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

42," " Hong Kong, " " Defence of Kohima," " Burma, 1943-45".

Allied Colonels-in-Chief
HER ROYAL HIGHNESS PRINCESS JULIANA of the Netherlands

HER MAJESTY QUEEN MARGRETHE 11 of Denmark
Colonel of the Regiment: Maj Gen R S N MANS, CBE
Deputy Colonel of the Regiment: Brig H C MILLMAN, OBE

2

Alliances The Canadian Armed Forces -

The Queen' s York Rangers (RCAC)
The South Alberta Light Horse (RCAC)
The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada
The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment
1st Battalion The Royal New Brunswick Regiment (Carleton & York)
The Essex and Kent Scottish

The Australian Military Forces -

The Royal New South Wales Regiment
The University of New South Wales Regiment
The Royal Western Australia Regiment

The New Zealand Army-
2nd Battalion (Canterbury, Nelson, Marlborough and West Coast)

The Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment
5th Battalion (Wellington, West Coast and Taranaki)

The Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment

The Pakistan Army -
12th, 14th, 15th and 17th Battalions, The Punjab Regiment

Hong Kong-
The Royal Hong Kong Regiment (The Volunteers)

Affiliations HMS Excellent, HMS Kent, HMS Brighton and HMS Leeds Castle
The Royal Marines (A 'Bond of Friendship ' )
The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
The Royal Anglian Regiment
The King's Own Scottish Borderers
No. 3 Squadron (Harriers) Royal Air Force
The Royal Danish Life Guards (an 'Unofficial Alliance' )

Affiliated Units of the Cadet Force

CCF School Contingents

Alleyn's School, Oulwich; Ardingly College; St Aloysius College; Brighton College; Chichester High School ; Col-
lyer's VI Form College (Horsham); Cranbrook School ; Cranleigh School; Dulwich College ; Eastbourne College ;
Haberdashers' Aske's School (Eistree) ; Hampton Grammar School; Highgate School ; Hurstpierpoint College; The
Judd School (Tonbridge); The King's School (Canterbury) ; Kingston Grammar School ; Lancing College; Mill Hill
School; Reeds School ; Rei gate Grammar School; Royal Grammar School (Guildford); Sir Roger Manwood ' s School
(Sandwich); St Edmund's School (Canterbury) ; St John's School (Leatherhead) ; St Lawrence College (Ramsgate) ;
The Skinners School (Tunbridge Wells) ; Tonbridge School; Whitgift School; William Ellis School ; Wilsons Gram-
mar School.

ACF Units/Sub-Units Cadet Coys Nos 25 and 26.
Greater London : Cadet Coys
Cadet Coys Nos 194, 195,2 11,216,226.
NE London Sector Cadet Oats
NW London Sector Cadet Bns No 72.
SE London Sector Cadet Bns
SW London Sector Nos 133 to 136, 141 , 143, 147, 149, 151 to 153, 155 to 158.
Surrey: Cadet Pis
Kent: 1st (Redhill) and 2nd (Farnham) The Queen ' s Regiment (Surrey ACF) .

Sussex: 1st (Canterbury). 2nd (Sandgate). 3rd (Snodland) and 4th (Maidstone) The
Queen ' s Regiment (Kent ACF) .
Nos 2 (Seaford). 3 (Hastings), 4 (Lewes). 6 (Crawley), 7 (Chichester). 8
(Crowborough), 10 (Eastbourne), 11 (Horsham), 13 (Shoreham), 14 (Sex-
hill), 16 (Hurstpierpoint). 17 (Bognor). 18 (Littlehampton). 20 (Lewes OGS ).
22 (Tilgate), Mayfield College.

3

REGIMENTAL HEADQUARTERS

Howe Barracks, Canterbury, Kent (Telephone 57411)

Regimental Secretary Col J N Shipster, CBE, DSO (ext 295)
Assistant Regimental Secretary Maj G U Weymouth, MBE (ext 250)
Financial Secretary and Sussex Affairs Maj A Martin, MBE (ext 251)
Maj F J Reed (ext 253)
Archives and Surrey Affairs Maj H C L Tennent (ext 252)
Kent Affairs
Maj R Waite (ext 254)
Recruiting, Regimental Association Maj H A P Yorke (ext 255)
and Admin.

Regimental Careers Officer

OC Regimental Information Team Capt A Hill (Maidstone Military ext 292)

REGULAR BATTALIONS

1st Battalion
Lisanelly Barracks, Omagh, N. Ireland, BFPO 804

CO: Lt Col P V Panton

2nd Battalion
Hyderabad Barracks, Colchester, Essex C02 7NZ
(from 27 Jan ' 83 ) Eplington Barracks, Londonderry, N. Ireland, BFPO 807

CO: Lt Col P F Packham , MBE

3rd Battalion
St Barbara Barracks, Fallingbostel , BFPO 38

CO: Lt Col R H Graham, MBE

TA BATTALIONS

5th (V) Battalion
Leros T & AVR Centre, Sturry Road , Canterbury, Kent

CO: Lt Col R C B Dixon, TD
Hon. Col: Col H H Prince Georg of Denmark, KCVO

6th/7th (V) Battalion
Norfolk TA Centre, Denne Road, Horsham, Sussex

CO: Lt Col J R G Putnam, TD
Hon Col: Lt Col A Col in Cole, CVO, TD, FCA

QUEEN'S DIVISION DEPOT

Bassingbourn Barracks, Royston, Herts. SGB 5LX
Reg Rep: Lt Col I G Baillie

4 Contents

Edit or : Co lonel of the Regim ent' s M essag e Pag e
MaJor G U Weymouth , Editorial
Dates to Rem ember 5
MBE (Retd.) Mainly abou t Peop le 6
Regimental Headquarters, Brig H C Mill man , OBE - and appreciation 7
Senior NCOs Location List 8
Howe Barra cks, The 1st Battalion 9
Canterbury, Kent The 2nd Battalion 10-12
The 3rd Battalion 13
Cap Badge Book Reviews 19
Letters 25
Coll a r Badge " An Evaluation of Nicknames" by Gregory Blaxland 34
The 5th (Volunteer) Battalion 35
Bu tton The 6th/7th (Volunteer) Battalion 38
Depot, The Queen's Division 43
IJLB & JSB 48
Queen' s Cadets 54
Regimental Secretary's Notes 54/56
The Regimental Golfing Society 56
Officers' Club 59
The Canterbury Cricket Tent Club 59
The Regimental Association 60/62
RCO ' s Report 62
The Affiliated Associations 63
Alliances & Affiliations 67
Regimental Rep. in Denmark 67/73
Marriages and Deaths 74
74
Obituaries 75
Journal Order Form 76
79

Printen : COVER PICTURE

Eyre & Spottisw oode Ltd. Farewell to Canterbury. The Corps of Drums of the 1st Bn
Thanet Press, Margate
Beating Retreat at Howe Barracks on 1 October 1982.
Picture b y Sgt M 0 Higgins of 1 QUEENS

5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<t~ol~on~d~~of~m~::b~e~l\~eg~im~~en~t'~.s~jf~-N~es~sa~g~e~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ " . . . At the going down of the sun, and in the morn ing, ~

>lW we will remember them." >M
~ Lines from the Exhortation ~

~,~ I am writing this message on Remembrance Sunday ; an occasion when ~~
~ our thoughts are concentrated on the many friends and comrades killed o r '-':<
>~f~ badly wounded in war. Not only in the great World Wars of this century >~lW
but also in the many actions in which the British Army has been, and
~ indeed still is, involved. At this time we remember especially the widows ~
~
~ of those who fell.
~
~ The recent operations in the South Atlantic have brought home once
~ again to the Nation that in war, members of its armed forces are prepared ~

,.; to make the supreme sacrifice to protect our vital interests. That this is ,.;
generally realised and appreciated is evidenced by the impressive
>~lW response to the South Atlantic Appeal. In this context I am very grateful for >~lW
~ the way in which All Ranks of the Regiment - Regular, Territorial , Old
~
~ Comrades and Cadets- have responded to this Appeal ; I was able to send ~
~ a total of £3,600 to the Trust. (See " Regt Secretary' s Notes" for further ~
~
~ details.)
~
~,~ However, such an event as the Falklands war should remind us that
there are many others who need assistance. From my personal involve- ,.;

>~lW ment in the Army Benevolent Fund, I know that requests for help are on >~lW
the increase. With this in mind it is my wish that as early as possible in
~ 1983, the Regiment should strive to achieve a 100% record in contribu- ~

~ tions to the "One Day's Pay" Scheme; we are well below that filiJure as I ~
write these words. The Day's Pay Scheme is the one tangible way m which ~
~ the serving officer and soldier can say "Thank You " to his less fortunate
,~
,~
comrades and their dependents. There could be no better Christmas or >~lW
>~lW New Year present to them than starting your contributions as soon as
possible. ~
~
~
~ I wish you all and your families A Very Happy Christmas and All Good ~

~ Fortune in 1983.
~~

~ ~ROWLEY MANS
~ Major General, Colonel of The Regiment ~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

6

Editor a

" This is not the end . .. not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the
end of the beginning" - Winston Churchill.

Our illustrious War-time Prime Minister, with this statement, was referring to the
victorious advances in North Africa after El Alamein, now forty years on ; it was
undoubtedly the turning point in World War 11 when, at long last, we knew we
were going to win . Churchill 's historic words in a speech at the Mansion House in
November 1942 also reminds this writer that, in another context, he has reached
the "beginning of the end"; for, after 15 years, this will be his last Editorial in a
December number of our Journal (being put out to grass next November).

The Hierarchy
Although his original term of Office (five years) lapses on 31 December 82, the

Colonel of the Regiment will remain in the appointment until the matter of his
successor has been resolved. During his Colonelcy, much has been achieved in
the co-hesion of our Regimental "Family", a fitting reward for General Rowley's
untiring efforts in a period of natural though sometimes painful evolution.

Brigadier Charles Millman, now retired from Active Service following a most
successful spell as Divisional Brigadier, remains the Deputy Colonel whilst also
assuming an important post in the field of Army Benevolence.

Changes at RHO
Before the June 1983 number of this Journal is out, Col John Shipster, Regimental
Secretary, will have handed over to Col John Francis ; and Maj John Reed, after a
very long innings as an RO, first with the Queen 's Surreys and then at this RHO,
departs in June (Lt Col Les Wilson replaces him).

The Regimental Museum too will see a change of faces, when Mr George Ran -
dall "puts his feet up" in November.

The Regular Battalions

The 1st Bn is now established in its new station for the next two years- Omagh
- and we wish them all, including their families, a happy and successful tour.
Northern Ireland will see a lot more Queensmen when the 2nd Bn moves to
Londonderry next month- also for two years as a "Resident" Battalion- and we
wish them, too, all the best of good fortune.

The TA Battalions

Reading between the lines, it is quite evident, from their contributions in this
issue, that our " Terriers" remain in very good heart. Success, of course, breeds
good morale and the high standard of shooting in 6/7 QUEENS (V) must do much
to enhance that particular battalion's reputation .

Changes in Command .

The appointment of five new Commanding Officers has been announced: 1n

April 1983 Maj David Shephard (21C 3rd Bn) takes over 5 QUEENS (V). and Lt Col

Rod Arnold (SOl , Zimbabwe) Commands 5 UDR; in July, Lt Col Mike Constantine

(MA to C in C UKLF) takes over command of the 2nd Bn . In February 1984, Lt Col

David Beveridge, MBE (DS at Camberley) takes over the 3rd Bn ; and , if his medical

upgrading is confirmed, Lt Col Perter Hubert, OBE will assume command of 6/7

QUEENS (V). also in February.

Christmas Tidings

Finally, may I take this opportunity of thanking all of you who contribute to the
production of our Journal for your interest, dilligence and sympathetic co-
operation throughout the year. May you have a very happy Christmas, wherever
you are, and I hope that 1983 will bring you, and indeed all readers, many joyous
times.

7

Dates to Remember 1983 26-30 Royal Sussex Assn- Goodwood Main
31
Meeting .
GRAND REUNION, BASSINGBOURN.

January August Canterbury Cricket Week.
21 /28 2 Q UEEN S to Lo ndonde rry . 6-12 Regt Golf Match v Royal Marines,

February 23 Canterbury GC.
10 Sobraon Day (1st Bn) .
September
March Managing Trustees Meeting, London 8 Sevastopol Day (2nd Bn) .
3 Royal Sussex Assn Committee Meet- 8 Regt Golf Match v QO Buffs GS,
4 ing and Offi ce rs' Reunion Party, Lon -
don. Ep som.
19 Royal Sussex Assn Executive Commit- 9 Queen's Surreys Offi ce rs ' Club Ladies
tee Meeting, Chichester.
26 "Freedom" March, Worthing (6/7 Salerno Luncheon.
QUEENS (V), Corps of Drum s 5 10 Queen 's Surreys Assn , Salerno 40th
April QUEENS (V) and TA Band).
9 Anniversary Reunion.
Queen's Own Buffs Assn AGM and 11 Salerno Day (1st Bn).
16 Inter-Branch Darts Match, Maidston e. 13 Quebec Day (3rd Bn).
23 Birthday of HM Queen Margrethe. 16 Regt Golf - Annual Meeting, Canter-
Royal Sussex Assn St George's Day
30 Service and Reception, Chichester. bury GC.
30 Birthday of HRH Princess Juliana. 18 Queen 's Own Buffs Assn Reunion -
Royal Sussex Assn AGM and Reunion
May Dinner, Lewes. Canterbury.
5 24 WOs' & Sgts' Past and Present Dinner,
8 Queen's Surreys GS Spring Meeting,
Richmond. Bassingbourn .
16 Royal Sussex Assn Aubers Ridge/
16-20 Dunkirk Parade and Service, West Wit- October Royal Sussex Assn Officers' Dinner,
tering. 7
17- 19 ALBUHERA DAY. Arundel Castle.
Army Offrs GS Spring Meeting, 13 Queen 's Surreys GS Autumn Meeting,
19 Princes and Deal.
29 Royal Sussex Assn - Goodwood May 21 Ri chmond .
Meeting. Officers' Club Cocktail Party, Haber-
June RWK Officers Cocktail Party, London . 21 dashers' Hall. (Provisional)
1 Royal Sussex Assn Cricket Match v 21 Managing Trustee Meeting, London.
5 Lavinia Duchess of Norfolk's X I, Arun- Regt Assn Executive Committee
del Castle. 22 Meeting and AGM , London.
18 5 QUEENS (V) Annual Camp (to 5
" Glorious First of June" (1st Bn) . November). West Germany.
22 Queen's Surreys Assn Church Service,
July Guildford Cathedral. November
6/7 QUEENS (V) Annual Camp Stam- 12 Lord Mayor's Procession.
3 ford PTA (to 2 July) . 13 Queen's Surreys Assn Remembran ce
12 Regt Golf Match v RMAS, Aldershot.
Day Parades, Guildford, Kingston and
14/16 Queen's Own Buffs Assn Reunion -
15 Maidstone. Battersea.
Queen's Surreys GS Match v Royal
Marines, North Hants GC. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Kent County Show.
Regt Golf Match v Kent County Con- The Editor acknowledges, with thanks, receipt of
stabulary, Chestfield GC the following publications:

The Cadet Journal & Gazette (June, August
and October 1982).
Globe & Laurel (May/June, July/August and
September/October 1982).
Legion (Canada)- June to October (incl) 1982.
British Army Review (August 1982).
The DieHards Newsletter (June 1982).
Queen's Surreys Newsletter (November 1982).
The Fusilier (December 1982)

8 OBE : Maj (now Lt Col) P J Hubert, MBE
(when S02 at HQLF) .
Mainly About People
Mention in lJespatches : Pte (AJSgt) (now
The Hierarchy W0 2) B W Pitchforth (formerly 3 QUEENS) .
Note : Readers will be interested to know
Until the question of his successor has been
resolved, The Colonel of the Regt has been that the late Sgt tan M cKay, VC of 3 PARA
granted an extension to his tenure of appoint- was Lt Andrew Bickerdike's platoon
ment. Sergeant. (During the assault on Mount
Longdon, Lt Bickerdike was wounded in the
Brig H C Millman, OBE retired from active ser- leg and it was Sgt McKay who assumed
vice on 31 October and remains as Deputy Col- Command.)
onel of the Regt. Queen's Commendation : Maj JAB Salmon
(GS02 OS 6a at the MOD) has been
Command Appointments awarded a Queen's Commendation for
services to the Falklands Campaign.
The following selections for Command have Ulster Award Maj J B Stirling was awarded
been announced : a Mention in Despatches for services in N
Ireland between 1 February and 30 April '82.
Lt Col M R I Constantine, CO 2nd Bn, July '83 . Danish Award W01 Bandmaster T S Davis
Lt Col 0 A Beveridge, MBE, CO 3rd Bn , Febru - (3rd Bn) was presented with the Medaille
ary '84. de Recompense, 2nd Class, by HM Queen
Maj 0 H A Shephard, CO 5th (V) Bn, April '83. Margrethe at Amalienborg, Copenhc>gen , in
Lt Col P J Hubert, OBE, CO 6/7th (V) Bn , Febru - June '82.
ary '84. (Subject to confirmation of medical Staff Training The following officers are
upgrading .) attending Staff College in 1983 : Capts A J
Lt Col R M Arnold , CO 5 UDR , April '83. Roberts, A W Russell, J D K Russell, 0 J
Wake (Div Ill) ; Capt R F Whithouse (Div 11) .
Appointments Staff Qualification Maj H A P Yorke has
qualified for entry into the 1st Grade Staff
Maj Gen M F Reynolds is to be Director Pool and is entitled to the symbol sq after
Plans and Policy, International Mil Staff HO his name in Mil records.
NATO in July '83. Shooting Cpl A G Martin (2nd Bn) came
Brig M E Thorne, OBE (lateR Anglian) succeed third in the Sniper Rifle Comp at Bisley in
Brig H C Millman , OBE as Divisional Brigadier July '82.
on 1 November '82. Course Grading We congratulate CSgt G G
ColS T W Anderson , OBE, MC, was appointed Whitall (2nd Bn) on achieving a "Distin-
DA Zimbabwe on 30 September '82 . guished" grading on his MILAN Course in
Col NB Knocker, OBE, retired on 11 December Aug '82.
'82 and is to be COS AJQ at the Oman MOD in
January '83. Maj George Faulkner (late Buffs and formerly
Col J B Ogilvie, OBE, TO, ADC, Hon Col3rd Cdt an RO at RHO) and his wife have set up
Bn Kent ACF, was appointed Dep Chairman SE home in Limassol, Cyprus ; it is a newly-
TAVRA in November '82 with special respon- built house and has a large garden in
sibility for Kent. which, he says, he has " been busy planting
Col R Lea, DSO, MBE, was appointed DAJMA flowering shrubs and various citrus trees" .
Muscat in May '82.
Col 0 R Bishop, MBE, retires on 20 January '83 HM QUEEN MARGRETHE'S TENTH
and becomes the " RO QUEENS " at HQ ANNIVERSARY, 27 JUNE 1982
Queen's Div.
Col K Dodson, OBE, retires on 17 January '83 The following letter, dated 30 June 1982, was
and takes up an appointment with the ASVU , received by The Colonel of The Regiment from
Woolwich . Col Sir Svend-Aage lversen, Chief of Her
Lt Col M R M Newell, OBE. relieves Lt Col B 0 Majesty's Adjutants Staff:
0 Smith MVO at BRIXMIS on 3 January '83 .
Lt Col J C Holman OBE is to be OC BMAT " Her Majesty the Queen of Denmark desires
Uganda in Mar '83 (for six months) . me to express her sincere thanks to all members
Maj E Parker (1s Bn) is to succeed Maj R G of The Queen's Regiment for the kind greetings
Lucas, MBE as NRPS OM 6/7 QUEENS (V) on the Tenth Anniversary of her Appointment as
when the latter retires in June '83. Allied Colonel-in-Chief.
Lt Col 0 J C Dickins MBE was appointed SOl at
the MOD on 30 Oct '82 . Her Majesty has asked me to include her spe-
Lt Col Mark Tarver, OBE, is to be Dep Comd 8 cial thanks to the Regiment for the excellent per-
lnf Bde in June 1983. formance (Beating Retreat and dance music)
executed by the Band and Drums of the 3rd Bn.
Honours and Awards (Falkland Islands) on 17 June at Fredensborg Palace."
We congratulate the following on their

awards (announced on 11 October '82):

9

BRIGADIER H C MILLMAN, OBE

Charles Millman retired from the Army in October 1982 ; for the last four
years of his service he has been the Divisional Brigadier of the Queen's
Division .

The very sincere tributes that have been paid to Charles by all three
Regiments of the Division are an indication of how much his work, as the
day-to-day head of our affairs, has been appreciated . He has endowed the
appointment with much-needed prestige and a recognition of its impor-
tance in the organisation of our Regimental affairs. The attention that
Charles gave to the Territorials and Cadets has materially enhanced the
process of integration into their Regiments and the Division.

I know that I voice the gratitude of all three Colonels of Regiments in the
Division to Charles for his outstanding work as our Brigadier.

On a more personal and Regimental note, I am delighted that he is to
continue as our Deputy Colonel. Moreover, we shall no doubt continue to
see much of him in his new role as Organiser for the Army Benevolent
Fund in the Eastern Region which includes our own Regimental Area.

RSNM

Brig H C Millman, OBE.
Picture by Robert H Clark & Son
Royston

10

SENIOR NCOs LOCATION LIST

(as at 1 November 1982)

REGULARS

WARRANT OFACERS CLASS I J Sullivan 5 QUEENS
J Taylor 1 QUEENS
P J Anthony, QGM RSM 10 UDR R Temple 3 QUEENS
J Thompson
J Budgen RSM 1 QUEENS N R Tickner 3 QUEENS
J H Catt Depot (HS) J E Tombling, BEM 1 QUEENS
B Cunningham D Tonks
Bandmaster 3 QUEENS BP Tunstill 5 UDR
C W Garton, BEM RSM 3 QUEENS 12 lnt & Sy Coy
R J Francis Bandmaster 2 QUEENS B Webb 2 QUEENS
JP Hamill RSM 617 QUEENS J White 3 QUEENS
P E Hills, FLCM Bandmaster 1 QUEENS R F Wild 3 QUEENS
B F Lively, BEM ACIO Cambridge DWillmott Sch of lnf
M N Wilson 3 QUEENS
M J Patterson Brunei 1 QUEENS
D N Whalley RSM 5 QUEENS
M W Wishhusen 35 CTT
RP Wood RSM 2 QUEENS

WARRANT OFFICERS CLASS 11 COLOUR SERGEANTS

D Allaway 3 QUEENS M Anderson 10 UDR
B F Archer IDB J J B Ashe 617 QUEENS
K Arey R Baker 3 QUEENS
H Beeson 3 QUEENS D S Bailes 1 QUEENS
HQ SOLF B D Beckingham 1 QUEENS
M G Bernier 2 QUEENS M A N Britton, QGM TAC Wing Brecon
B D Hilton BEM 3 QUEENS J M Burnett Depot
M Blackburn RAC Centre B Charman 3 QUEENS
J D Blanchette 5 QUEENS A P Clark 617 QUEENS
D A Boden 2 QUEENS 3 QUEENS
AD Booth Depot P Daines 3 QUEENS
3 QUEENS V P Daly Sch of lnf
8 Brazier 1 QUEENS T Daw 1 QUEENS
S R Bream, QGM 1 QUEENS R Denny 2 QUEENS
K H Brown 1 QUEENS L J Outfield 3 QUEENS
J Brown 3 R Anglian J Edwards 1 QUEENS
C Bruton 5 QUEENS A W Freeman Depot
P Bull Depot R D M Furlotte R & LS SEDIST
3 QUEENS M Gill 1 QUEENS
J Burke Depot 5 QUEENS
M Butcher Sch of lnf A Greengrass 1 QUEENS
R Carter 2 QUEENS D M Harding 617 QUEENS
N F R Cocking 2 QUEENS BE Hayward 3 QUEENS
D T Cooper 5 QUEENS AW Hewett 5 QUEENS
1 QUEENS 1 QUEENS
A Cornick 7 Regt AAC S Hinton 1 QUEENS
2 QUEENS ACIO LONDIST
G Davies 2 QUEENS B L Horner 2 QUEENS
PG Dobson RAC Centre A P Howard 1 QUEENS
C Elkington 2 QUEENS S Howick RAC Centre
J Fensom 5 UDR B Hunt IDB
M Forester Depot M M Jones 1 QUEENS
B Fox 3 QUEENS P A Juhel 1 QUEENS
G T France 3 QUEENS D H Kirk 2 QUEENS
J A Frost, BEM 2 QUEENS K Last IJLB
WGill 1 QUEENS K I Leach JSB
A M Gosling 1 RAF DJ Lovell Depot
H Green, BEM HQ SEDIST R C McAndrews 3 QUEENS
D T lrving-James IDB RN Malam 3 QUEENS
T G lsaacs 617 QUEENS J Manual 2 QUEENS
M James 1 QUEENS PM aye 3 QUEENS
R Jenkinson, BEM London UOTC R Maxlow
R J Jones 10 UDR Depot
SW Jones 1 QUEENS P Mears 2 QUEENS
P A Kearse B Miller 2 QUEENS
A Knight 2 QUEENS T Page 1 QUEENS
3 QUEENS 2 QUEENS
l Lawrance 3 QUEENS G Paine 5 QUEENS
K Lea 1 QUEENS J Palmar 1 QUEENS
DJ McCaig 2 QUEENS P Parker 617 QUEENS
R Milham 2 QUEENS 3 QUEENS
B Moss D Paterson 2 QUEENS
W R Munday Depot RI Piper 5 QUEENS
BC Older Depot R Pollington 3 QUEENS
M J Reardon Depot M T Potts 1 QUEENS
B J Rawlings 3 QUEENS A J H Pragnell RAC Centre
M Rowney 1 RAF 617 QUEENS
PP M Ryan J W Reid 3 QUEENS
T Saunders 1 QUEENS G D Rickerby
Depot BA Rylands
K Scaddan HQ 1 (BR) Corps M Sinden
H J Siviter MD Smith
T Slater J Stent
A Smith P L Stone
G A Thorne

T Took 2 QUEENS D Harbinson 11
3 QUEENS A R Hayes
N A Turner D J Heaphy R& LS SEDIST
6f7 QUEENS MD Higgins 1 QU EENS
P A Turner 3 QUEENS D J Hill s 1 QUE ENS
F R Wakeman D Hinds 1 QUE ENS
J Waiters Depot M J Holland 2 QUE ENS
G G Whitall 2 QUEENS B R Hubbard 5 QUE EN S
K White 1 QUEENS 1 QU EE NS
P White 2 QUEENS T Hunting 3 QU EE NS
8 W Winter 2 QUEENS P J Ives 3 QU EENS
R Wisden Depot R Jacobs 3 QUEENS
G Yandaii -Wright Sch of lnf 0 Johnson 3 QUEENS
I R Johnston 3 QUEEN S
SERGEANTS
G A Jones Depot
R Abrahams 3 QUEENS LT Jordan 1 QUEENS
1 QUEENS B Kelling 2 QU EEN S
A Amber 3 QUEENS A Kennedy 1 QU EEN S
AB Albrecht 1 QUEENS R King R&LS LONDI ST
P J Archer 3 QUEENS J Knowl es 2 QU EENS
1 QUEENS V Laker 2 QUEENS
M Avis 1 QUEENS A P Lawson 5 QUEEN S
BD Bartlett 1 QUEENS 1 QU EENS
J Barton 3 QUEENS A Leathers Depot
PE Beard 1 QUEEN S
JSB F N Lewi s 5 QUEENS
MP Bennett 3 QUEENS 3 QUEENS
B Berry 2 QUEENS A Mclvor 3 QUEENS
3 QUEENS K McCieave IJLB
S Boampong 3 RAF K M cC readi e 1 QUEENS
A Booker 1 QUEENS RN Malam
K Bowdrey 3 QUEENS I J MacCorma ck HQ Queen 's Oi v
Depot S Manji IJLB
A Brickman R&LS HQ LONDIST B Marshall
S Broome Sch of lnf P Marshal I Depot
FE Brown 2 QUEENS 4 Armd Di v HQ & Si g Regt
A Bryant Depot A Mason 1 R Anglian
T Buckle 3 QUEENS R D Milligan 2 QUEENS
RC Buckwell 3 QUEENS 8 R Morrison 2 QUEENS
1 QUEENS 2 QUEENS
J Burr 3 QUEENS G D Morrow RAC Centre
W Butler RMSM Kneller Hall D Munday 2 QUEENS
1 QUEENS 1 QUEENS
8 Cairns P Munnery IJLB
W Caldwell R&LS LONDIST JP A Newman 2 QUEENS
J A Carter 1 QUEENS G A Nicol 3 QUEENS
M Carter 3 QUEENS CH Noel 5 QUEENS
A J Norman 3 QUEENS
D Catt ~~3[Ee~~e C Norton 3 QUEENS
N N Chapman J Norton 3 QUEENS
B Clarke 1 QUEENS J J D'Shea 2 Armd Div HQ & Sig Regt
L F Clarke R&LS HQ SEDIST G Page 3 QUEENS
S H Cochrane 3 QUEENS 3 QUEENS
N Collins 3 QUEENS R Patterson BMAn Zimbabwe
B Cooper 2 QUEENS D Petty 5 CTI
P Copeman 1 QUEENS D Philips IJLB
N Costan 3 QUEENS C Piper 5 QUEENS
R Cross 1 QUEENS
G Crowley Depot A Prangnell 3 QUEENS
J P Cullinane 3 QUEENS 3 QUEENS
E J Dale 5 QUEENS R Preston 1 QUEENS
J Dapprich 5 UDR J J Pyman Depot
S T Davies 1 QUEENS W Reid 2 QUEENS
D Davidson A R Rice
Oman C J Aodziewi cz Princess Marina College
R Oavis 3 QUEENS P Russell 3 QUEENS
Depot A R Scully 3 QUEENS
J Dent 2 QUEENS S Scully Depot
S D Dillon I R Sheret 2 QUEENS
2 QUEENS RA Smith RIT
E Dixon RMAS S H Smith 2 QUEENS
E Drew 2 QUEENS A Songhurst 2 QUEENS
D Dumbleton J Spicer 2 QUEENS
M Fagg 5CTI C J Stamp 5 QUEENS
1 QUEENS J E Stephens 2 QUEENS
M Fallows 2 QUEENS S Still 1 QUEENS
T Farrow 2 QUEENS Depot
R W Feakins R Sturgeon AA College Bla ckdown
K Fidge 2 QUEENS V M Sullivan 2 QUEENS
F Francis 3 QUEENS A Talman 1 QUEENS
J Foster 1 QUEENS LV Tanner 3 QUEENS
P George 3 QUEENS A J Taylor 2 QUEENS
MD Giles Depot PE M Thayre 2 QUEENS
3 QUEENS PR T Thomas 3 QUEENS
A Gittons E C Thorne 1 QUEENS
DC Glynn Depot P K Tidey 2 QUEENS
R&LS SEDIST 1 QUEENS
D Goodacre HQ D lnf M Turner 2 QUEENS
R J A Goodman 1 QUEENS
J Gorey 2 QUEENS J Van
M K Vessey
TA Grieve C S Vi ckers
J Grinham GM Walker
C P Gurr R W Ward
A W Hamilton
N De Warrenn e-Walk er
S T Hannington CV Wheeler

12

SERGEANTS (Continued) 2 QUEENS CWitten 3 QUEENS
M WWoodward 1 QUEE NS
P White 3 QUEENS M A Yoa
cC Wi lson 2 QUEENS 1 QUEENS
B F Winder, BEM
B Winkworth 1 QUEENS

TA PERSONNEL

50UEENS (V) B J Lucas C Coy
R S Marsh HQ Coy
WARRANT OFFICER CLASS I
A P Noble Sp Gp
ET F Clark, MBE Bandma ste r D P Papa HQ Coy
D R Peters C Coy
WARRANT OFFICERS CLASS 11 A J Pilch ORC
R Porter Band
AD Rutter Sp Gp
R J Skinner Sp Gp
R J Stockford E Coy
R S Waters C Coy
B T Watson HQ Coy
M H Weeks A Coy

G R Anderson HQ Coy Note: No 'Local' ranks are included above.
R L Arthur RQMS
ORQMS 617 QUEENS (V)
KM J Bell Sp Gp
G A Bigwood A Coy D H Bowen WARRANT OFFICERS CLASS 11
E Coy D Cadywould
A Cau lkett A Coy A E Dal e HQ Coy
B Coy D Dragonetti B Coy
~~ai~~ RS O G D V Laine HQ Coy
C Coy J A Langley HQ Coy
DE Gardner Ops Trg WO G D Peel D Coy
WE Gawler WG White C Coy
A J Kitf C Coy
A Coy
C P Sharp

G Croxford COLOUR SERGEANTS J E Baker COLOUR SERGEANTS
R Davey R J Bicke r
A A Franklin Band J D Cook C Coy
AS Hoad HQ Coy J T Coote A Coy
G W Kemp B Coy DE Debnam A Coy
E J Lunn C Coy A R Frater HQ Coy
P J Roast E Coy C J Friend D Coy
P J Solley HQ Coy C E Long HQ Coy
P J Twort A Coy T R M cLu cas A Coy
D F Tyler Drum Major DJ Roberts HQ Coy
E Coy J A Rolfe D Coy
C Coy B G Williams C Coy
B Coy
E Allinson SERGEANTS B Coy
SS Anderson
RH Bamford HQ Coy D A Barrett SERGEANTS
I A Bates C Coy
MD Beach Provo Sgt E Cavinder HQ Coy
J F Bennett E Coy KG Dunning B Coy
W D Ben nett A Coy S M Dunkley A Coy
A Birch HQ Coy W J Fisher D Coy
JP Bright R W Givens A Coy
E Coy C Coy
I E J Chatfield B Coy J Lashm ore
P J Crossland HQ Coy T Raper B Coy
C G Da vies D R Rendell D Coy
DJ Eagle Sp Gp J Sajdler HQ Coy
B F Easter B Coy D A Saunders B Coy
G Flint A Coy A Skoglund B. Coy
TFry Asslt Pnr Sgt R Thornton A Coy
D R Harris HQ Coy HQ Coy
F J L Hill G D Truran c Coy
BA Hoad Band S P Va liance D Coy
RAG Howard HQ Coy
A R Jones HQ Coy
B K E Lane
A J Longley Sp Gp
Sp Gp
Sp Gp
B Coy
C Coy
B Coy

13

The 1st Battalion

Editorial his own style of colonial leadership having
The last six months have been extremely
replaced Maj Peter Hitchcock who .boof!ied
busy. Most of June and all of July were around as training officer whilst awa1t1ng fl1ght
taken up with running Bisley; the better
part of August was devoted to three weeks to Nigeria.
leave and the whole of September and
October passed quickly as we learned our Sobraon (Kirke' s) Coy have a new Coy Comd,
skills for Northern Ireland. In November we 21C, CSM and CSgt in Maj Peter Swanson , Capt
moved to the Province and are now Andy Roberts, W02 Brown and CSgt Hayward.
ensconced in Lisanelly Barracks, Omagh .
Having suffered and learnt the arts of hard
Lt Col P V Panton (left) bids farewell to his predeces- targetting at Bisley, the Coy took to running
sor, Lt Col David Dickins, MBE . around the local training areas at such a pace
that one newly-wed, Pte Starr, saw his new br!de
Without a doubt the most unusual experience for only 24 of the first 2,000 hours of h1s marned
has been the administration of Bisley - a
difficult, often tedious and sometimes soul- life! However, all the work, we are assured, will
destroying job which was carried out by our sol- be worthwhile when "Kirkes" take to the streets
diers with their usual good humour. On the
shooting front our team showed an improve- and hedgerows in its operational capacity.
ment at Bisley and came 25th in the major unit
championships. However, perhaps more impor- On to Quebec (or Support) Coy who have seen
tant than that, the results of the Army-wide
" Tickle" Shooting competition (Infantry Coy rifle the greatest change; it is now a. rifle Coy whilst
match) showed our five Coys coming 2nd, 6th,
1Oth, 15th and 29th out of 76 teams . fsutinll~tiitoinsst. oNbeew hoped , mamta1n1ng 1ts spec1al1st
blood has arrived in the form of
Tangier Coy received its first 21C for 16
months in the form of Capt Neil Peckham; it is of the Drums PI under the command of W02
interest that less than 50% of that Coy have
lsaacs, and W02 Wilson has taken over as CSM
remained in situ for more than a year and of
with CSgt Lovell as the new CQMS (both
these, only two section commanders continueto
command the same rifle sections. CSgt Sm1th newly-promoted). So far the change has gone
now with the OM stores was replaced by CSgt
Leach. (Seven weddings in as many weeks is not extremely smoothly- only to be expected from
so much a reflection of the new CSgt's cooking
but rather a new approach to exile in Omagh!) the old and bold of our supporting troops. Hap-

Holland Coy spent a month in Gibraltar and pily not everything changes, Pte Smithurst still
thoroughly enjoyed the Mediterranean sunshine has the capacity to bog-in any vehicle ~ a~y ­
before returning to reality with a bump 1n the
butts! Maj "Kiwi" Carter now commands w1th where, particularly under the eyes of a VISiting

dignitary!

Last but n'Jt least we turn to the stalwarts of
Albuhera Coy, now under Maj Martin Feather-

stone, their third Coy Comd in as many months.
They have actually increased in size with the
addition of the Recce PI and a much-enlarged lnt
Sect. Northern Ireland training affected
everyone as, with much sucking of teeth and
tentative holding of strange weapons, they pur-
sue the military sidelines of their chosen
careers . No tale of HQ Coy would be complete
without mention of the Band who, together with
the Drums, have produced excellent Beatings of
Retreat before the WOs and Sgts Past and Pres-
ent Dinner- and also for our "Farewell to Can-
terbury" celebrations. In addition the Band has
acted as CIVPOP during the Rype Village training
- and have excelled themselves by raising over

£1 ,100 for the Falklands appeal.

You will have no•ed from the above that there
has been a considerable change in personalities.
Apart from three Coy Commanders, we now
have a new CO, 21C and RSM . To Lt Col David
Dickins, Maj (now Lt-Col) Rod Arnold and W01
(now Capt) Hill, we wish God speed and the very
best of luck in the future. Our best wishes also
go to Maj Paul Truman and Lt Philip Lenanton

who have left for civilian pastures.

14

BISLEY 1982 the maelstrom of mud and bullets.
" Bisley 1982" will never be spoken of with
by Maj R M McGhie (OC "Milforce")
great reveren ce in our Regimental History (the
Rifle club blazers, gun oil aromas and the only medals won were those pinned on the butt
creaking target frames of Century Range rekin- parties) but to all who worked there, Bisley will
dled the annual competitive glint in the eyes of never again be just a small place somewhere in
the 4,000 marksmen stretched out on the mani - Surrey.
cured grasses for Bisley 1982. The same sights,
smells and sounds of this sporting Mecca were THE GALLANT SIX HUNDRED
also introduced for the first time to the 1st Bn by Lt P T Crowley
and our Royal Hampshire neighbours.
The gallant six hundred, whose heroic deeds
For those whose magnet was the personal are immortalised in this poem , were led by Maj
glory of an array of medals and cups, the back- McGhie on the fields of Bisley, Surrey . This
stage operations just seemed to happen with a brave action lasted approximately forty days
will and pace of their own . For the chosen 600 and forty nights. Amazingly, every man came
huddled in the rain and mud, their sights back.
became the 26 July- the last day ofthe Meeting .
1. Forty days, forty days,
We fed, watered, housed, administered, Forty days onward,
financed, disciplined, and operated targets and All on the fields of Bisley
firing points for the 4,000 hopefuls over a Moved the Six Hundred.
remorseless period of 46 days and nights. " Forward the Second Brigade!
Together with our Naval and Air Force helpers Raise all targets! " They said
we unbrocked toilets, cut grass, pitched and Onto the fields of Bisley
struck 525 tents and marquees, Moved the Six Hundred.
traps, repaired and prepared cleared grease
hundreds of 2. "Forward the Second Brigade!"
targets, wined and dined the CGS and lesser Was there a man dismay'd?
stars, kept the peace between a thousand Queensman and Hampshire knew
schoolboy shotists, issued and received 54,000 Each had a job to do.
weapons and 800,000 rounds of ammunition , Theirs not to make reply,
repaired roads and telephones, repainted signs, Theirs not to reason why,
provided medical care for torn trigger fingers Theirs but to paste and cry,
(and alcoholic forgetfulness for torn egos) and Onto the fields of Bisley
still the bullets flew from firing points to targets Moved the Six Hundred.
under the crisp direction of our firing-point
staffs. 3. Shotist to right of them,
Shotist to left of them,
Did the Queen's Medal Winner notice this Shotist in front of them
seething activity as he was hoisted aloft in his Volley' d and thunder' d.
new chair, courtesy of the domestic pioneers? Stormed at with message four
That he probably didn't, speaks volumes for the Boldly they worked and more,
efforts of "Tommy" - soaked and tired yet
always good humoured and efficient amongst

- -·~_, . Left : Butts again! Pte Foley of C Coy.
• ~· ,· ~ Centre: OC Milforce dreaming of Bisleyl
.~:;' ....~ :..~~··•-..I.'.". .,.
-.'.· : ,·· ..._._ :\.::~· ~) .- • Right: Farewell to Lt Col Dickins.
'-
:.'·

Into the rain and mud, 15
Into th e Mouth of Hell
Moved th e Si x Hundred . other up. One day' s ce leb ration lasted nineteen
and too k the fo rm of foot ball , it' s-a-knockout,
4. Stuck all th ei r patches square, vo ll eyball and a barbecue. Holl and Coy w as vic-
Larg e targets rose in air. t orious in all spo rts but the barbecue was a
Marking each shot on th ere, draw; Ho lland and HMS " Baca rdi" (as she was
Working with all t hei r might affectionately kn own) parted f i rm f riends.
Whilst each shotist moaned!
Plung ed in the firer' s smoke, (Continued overleaf)
Through th e boredom broke;
Oueensman and Hampshire
Experts with the brush stroke
Shatter'd and sunder' d.
Then they set ba ck, yes all
All the Six Hundred.

5. Shotist to right of them ,
Shotist to left of them,
Shotist behind them,
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Stormed at with message four,
Boldly they worked and more
They that had marked so w ell
Came through the rain and mud,
Back from the Mouth of Hell ,
All that was left of them,
Left of Six Hundred.

6. When would their pati ence fad e?
0 the good job they made!
Wh ilst each shotist moaned .
Honour the way they stayed!
Honour the Second Brigade,
Noble Six Hundred.

(With apologies to Alfred Lord Tennyson)

HOLLAND COMPANY IN GIBRALTAR Top : Cpl W Dawson visiting relatives during Holland
(21 MAY- 29 JUNE '82) Coy' s deployment on the Rock - June ' 82 .

by 2Lt J Cameron Lower (I to r) : Ptes Childs, Sands, Parnell and LCpl
O'Toole pictured outside " Four Corners" Guard
Early this summer, thanks to the activities of
the Junta Down South, the powers-that-be Room.
decided to reinforce the Empire against the
forces of evil and Brylcreem. "Send a Gunboat
to Gibraltar" they cried, but thanks to the Navy-
bashing duo (Knott and the Exocet) they were
forced to send the next best thing- Holland Coy
1 QUEENS .

We expected our arrival by Hercules to be
greeted like the Israelis hitting Entebbe but, alas,
all we found were a couple of soldiers in flip-
flops and a bored Customs Offi cer.

" Where are the trenches? Where do we get
our ammo? " We cried , " Fat chan ce" was the
reply.

Having established the level of threat t o- Gib-
raltar, we looked around for a kindred spirit, ie
someone who, like us, had not been invited to
the war but was determined to gatecrash .
Thankfully HMS Bacchante, a Leander class fri-
gate, was in port and, as the " Glorious First Of
June" was looming, we decided to cheer ea ch

16 " Survival " area where they learned how to trap
animals, make traps, skin rabbits, gut fish, plu ck
To keep ourselves occupied (and the Spanish chicKens and cooK them m home-made ovens ;
guessing) we embarked on a strenuous Company
training programme much of which was this part of the course lasted for 1V. days. The
devoted to keeping fit. In addition, each platoon
did a stint on ceremonial border guard where rest consisted firstly of climbing , done around
our veterans of Edinburgh public duties- such the foot of " Ben Nevis". During this phase all
as Ptes Richford , Kemp and Stanger - showed safety aspects, knots, mountain rescue and th e
the locals what good drill was all about. treating of fallen climbers were taught. Secondly
canoeing; this was conducted by qualified
Halfway through our border duties it was instructors and included capsize drills, rescue
decided that a Union Jack should fly over the drills and the basic strokes. Thirdly a cycling
border instead of the Regimental Flag of the phase, which was a 4(}--50 mile ride thoroughly
Resident Unit. Since we were on guard, our flag enjoyed by both volunteers and instructors
was taken down for the raising of the Union Jack alike.
and was therefore the last regimental flag to fly
on the border. The last part of the course was the walk to the
summit of Ben Nevis, a height of 4,375 feet. Most
The culmination of the fitness training was an of the volunteers, by now relatively fit, made it
inter-platoon log race to the top of the Rock. to the top. In my time, there was only one occa-
Veteran medics shook their heads in disbelief, sion when the teams were re-called because of
but the OC, Maj Hitchcock, found a 30% mortal- bad weather, but once it had cleared they
ity rate acceptable so we did it. Sgt Weaver and resumed the climb.
5 PI were first to the top and, to our surprise, the
casualty rate was far higher during the "Glori- On return to Fort George the volunteers had
ous First" celebrations! an inter-team competition, followed (the night
before departure) with a " Disco" - always an
A good time was had by all and the energy we excellent way to finish the course.
displayed both at work and at play caused the
resident battalion to dub us " Hurricane Com- In conclusion I would say that the course was
pany". a very good one and well set out. There was
never a dull moment and I personally believe
FORT GEORGE VOLUNTEERS another should be set up. All instructors were
extremely helpful to each other and I found it to
by LCpl Marshal! be a most enjoyable experience in which I
learned a lot.
I was an adventure training instructor for six
months with the "Fort George Volunteers", a EXERCISE MONTE BIANCO 1982
scheme put into practice by the government to
train out-of-work youths aged between 16 and by LCpl Dormer
18. The course, lasting two weeks, included
canoeing, rock-climbing, abseiling, cycling, The aim of the exercise was to climb Monte
horse-riding, hill-walking and finally, a climb up Bianco, (4,810 m, Europe's highest mountain)
Ben Nevis. and whilst climbing it to develop the mental and
physical powers of endurance of those taking
At the start of each course all volunteers part.
would arrive by train at Inverness and be taken
to Fort George; there they would be shown their The exercise was split into two phases: Phase
sleeping accommodation and be kitted out. The 1 consisted of selection and training and Phase 2
rest of the day would be taken up being intro- consisted of the actual climb.
duced to the Instructors and the instructors in
turn would get to know their first names and The first phase was carried out at Capel Curig
backgrounds. in North Wales and the typically Welsh weather
made the training particularly arduous. lt was
The shock began at the start of Day 1, when great fun however, and we carried out many
students were taken for a short run and exercises classic walks and climbs including Snowdon,
lasting about half an hour. Breakfast followed- Tryfan and assorted climbs in the Ogwen Valley.
worth watching considering that there would be From here 36 climbers were selected to go to
28(}--300 volunteers on average in each course! Italy.
Then came a swimming test in the cold waters
of the Moray Firth and once that was over they On arrival there we started climbing with the
would go off with their respective teams, to start Alpini based at the Scoula Militaire Alpina at
various tasks. The first four days in the Fort were Aoste. The climbing was gradual at first with
spent learning all aspects of rock-climbing or much time spent on revision on the Alpine
canoeing, after which students would be taken method of climbing which we had learned in
out for the next seven to carry out the practical Phase 1. We then started altitude work, and
aspects of all they had been taught. straight away felt the difference; this unpleasant
feeling was soon overcome and many peaks were
The first day started with a 4 mile walk to the conquered, including Gran Paradiso- 4,061 m ,
Tour Ronde - 3,792 m , Pyramide Du Tacul -

3.468 m (rock climb) plus 12 other rock climbs or 17
walks.
The combat swimming test with rifle and sand-
Our base camp at Val Veri was hardly used ; weighted webbing ; the endurance course with
we spent most of the time at Torino Hut and in its water tunnel stated by an SAS major to be
the open getting used to the altitude. After all one of the most demanding physical tests he
this, 29 climbers were prepared for the attempt had ever done ; the rope walk, 30 feet above the
on Monte Bianco. We set off in two groups and, ground with full kit and rifle, and finally that
despite poor weather conditions, 27 climbers wonderful moment at the end of the 30 m ile
reached the summit at approximately 1100 hrs forced march across Dartmoor when you see the
on 23 July, two climbers having dropped out instructors waiting with your Green Beret.
with altitude sickness.
In all I found it to be an all-round test of
In all, I enjoyed and benefited from the experi- character and personal determination . Each day
ence and gained some much-needed climbing was another hurdle to be jumped (many fell) -
practice. I recommend this expedition to anyone but with each day grew the determination to
who enjoys mountaineering and would like to finish the course.
learn different aspects of this great sport.
If you ever get the chance - do the course -
you will learn a lot more about yourself.

The author (right) of C Coy on Ex "Monte Bianco" July GLORIOUS ARST OF JUNE CELEBRATIONS, 1982
1982
(Top) Capt R Walker, Captain of The Regimental Cric-
Picture by PR HQ UKLF ket Team, receives the Rose Bowl from Mrs
Streatfeild-James, wife of the Captain of HMS Excel-
THE ALL ARMS COMMANDO COURSE
lent.
by LCpl Carter, CTC, RM
(lower) Capt J J Streatfeild-James. RN and the Col-
I was lucky enough to get a vacancy on this onel of the Regiment after the presentation of a ship's
course which is primarily run for arms and ser-
vices so that they may obtain the Commando bell (HMS Belleisle) to the 1st Bn.
spirit and Green Beret, then serve with the Royal Pictures by HMS Excellent
Marines.

The course is extremely demanding both
physically and mentally and no one who does
not give 100% is likely to pass. I was fortunate in
that as an Infantry NCO I already knew many of
the basic skills that are required, .however I still
learned a lot. Although priding myself on being
reasonably f1t, one or two moments stick out in
my mind, such as :

18

CPT A ... ntics
(or 1 QUEENS prepare for Northern

Ireland}

1. Cpl Carter (Recce PI) at the CPTA.
2. Enthusiasm shown by the Recce PI - Cpl Wodhams, Ptes McCoy and Bishop.
3. Cpls Smith and Wodhams, LCpl Thomas and Pte Furness embarked for Ops in N Ireland.
4. Cpl McKeown and Pte Stone prepare to board a " helicopter" at Lydd.

19

The 2nd Battalion

Editorial th e Coy' s 3-day "Spearhead p ackage" at Lydd
and Hythe, after wh ich w e all began to take what
We really should have known it couldn't leave we could.
happen!
Sin ce th en w e ha ve been heavi ly into our
At the beginning of the period under dedicated No rth ern Ire land t ra ining cu lminating
review, in early May, we were in Cyprus in th e urban and rural exercises. A t least (as this
excited at the prospect of our imminent is written) w e feel a little m o re conf ident of our
return home, two and a half weeks leave Christmas leave, at th e end of wh ich w e will
and a settled summer progressively work- already have started t o depart fo r Lo ndonderry.
ing up to our pre Northern Ireland training
in September. We were twenty-four hours Alth o ugh many of us coul d thin k of more p re-
into that much treasured leave when the ferable statio ns, London dery does offer certain
news broke. We were to assume Spearhead benefits, not least of whi ch will be the co m para-
for a record period of eleven weeks in place tively settl ed and pred ictabl e exi stence , with
of another battalion which had " gone more leave and (w ith a bit of lu ck) more m o ney.
South" . We also look forward t o being fa i rly close to our
brothers-in-arms in the 1st Bn w ith who m we
And so began a summer of " Falkland Islands hope to combin e on certa in tra ining , recrea-
knock-on effects" (FIKOE) : as it turned out, tional and social act ivities.
things were not as bleak as at first threatened
although the summer block leave (and with it GRAND REUNION 1982
our cherished holiday plans) was the main casu - Top : A section of the spectators watching the " Chain
alty. Nevertheless we attempted to carry on as
before; by and large we succeeded in doing so of Command" Race.
although we did get lots of extra little surprises Lower : '' Evil Gamlivil" l (Capt Gaml inJ.
as the months progressed. One of the better
surprises was that the Spearhead period was
reduced to " only" eight weeks.

We sharpened our teeth at" the Battle Group
Trainer; took in the Queen's Division Open Day,
and sent the Mortars to Berlin vice 40 Com -
mando (FIKOE) . A & C Coys caught exercise
"Phantom Bugle" on Salisbury Plain (FIKOE)
although they did so in the novel guise of
mechanised troops, mounted as they were in
APCs. The Band and Drums and others " did" the
Colchester Tattoo and the Milan PI live-fired .

Then came the Grand Regimental Reunion
reported on elsewhere. We were certainly
greatly moved by the sight of our Old Comrades
marching so proudly behind the massed bands
and drums of both ours and the 1st Bn . We also
had a lot of fun as is so often the case when you
work hard for something.

The dust had hardly settled from that when
the Coys started leaving for Salisbury Plain for
short periods of conventional training as a
climax to their own individual training periods.
Perhaps these will be best remembered for the A
Coy slaughter of chickens in their survival train-
ing, and C Coy's exploits with a light mobile dig-
ger and the reshaping of various pieces of milit-
ary equipment!

B Coy' s part in the Falklands War was to spend
a few nights at Harwich guarding a shipload of

war booty, including Puccaras . And then it was

20 BLUE PEDAL POWER
(The 2nd Bn's Cycling Team)
REGIMENTAL GRAND REUNION,1 AUGUST 82
by Maj P C Cook by Capt J P Noble

Being "project officer" for a Grand Regimental Cycling is the newest sport to gain popularity in
Reun1on requ1res the negotiating skills of ACAS
as one attempts to resolve the sometimes the Bn , albeit based mainly on a few enthusiasts
conflicting requirements of CO and Regimental
Secretary! 1-!owever, as Coy Comds are expend- who have been quietly getting on with it.
able (and th1s one has no hair to either turn grey
or.lose). 1! .was merely a matter of perfecting the Nineteen-e ighty-o ne was a reasonably success-
sk1lls of a t1ght-rope walker and delegating to the
full. We were blessed with excellent weather ful year for them: Cpl Britten (R Sigs, from our
and so~e 3,000 came to Colchester to join in the
fest1v1t1es. The entertainment included a funfair Rear Link Det) gained a 2nd and 3rd in the Army
to cater for young and old and, with three of the
four bands available, there was something to 50-mile and 25-mlle Team Trial Csheacomnpdiopnlsahceipsi~·
please everyone : even the beer failed to run out and Cpl Rogers (A Coy) gained
despite the efforts of quite a few who did their
very best to create a drought. In 1983 we hope to the Army 10 and 25-mile Championships.
see you at Bassmgbourn for the next reunion ;
we gather that Maj Jones can do the tight-rope . During last winter, our tour in Cyprus pro-
blindfold! VIded an opportunity for more training and
competitions. The team was made up to strength

With the addition of LCpl Clarke (D Coy) and
even made Cypriot television by providing an
exciting crash in front of the cameras!

FOOTBALL The season really began in earnest when our
cyclists returned early to compete in the Inter-
The Bn Team was re-formed in Cyprus where Services Championships. In the second event
we had some notable successes, including one the 25-mile Team time-trial, they produced thei;
agamst the Cyprus National Guard (a number of f1rst good result of the year by being the fastest
wh~se players are in the 1st Division there) Army team ; and in June, Cpl Britten and LCpl
wh1ch resulted in a 3---3 draw; Lt Duncan Strutt Clarke entered in the inter-Services TT Champ-
(2) and LCpl Wally Wallington were the scorers. Ionships, the latter coming fourth in the Army.
We were lucky to get a fixture against WSK Kup-
ran of the Austrian 2nd Division who were in The big event of the year was in July with the
Cyprus for a pre-season tour, and we beat them Army Cycling Festival at Chepstow. Cpl Rogers
2-1, LCpl Andy Twiner scoring both goals (he proved to be "the rider of the week" producing
also had three disallowed!) . The Bn went on to the fastest Army rides in all five time trials. At the
annual prize giving on 20 November, Cpls
be unbeaten in Cyprus. Rogers and Britten collected half the Army Cycl-
ing Union's Silver: the former won a number of
Since returning to the UK, the Bn won the trophies including the championship at 25 and
50 miles, and Cpl Britten collected the Raleigh
EDIST six-a-side competition thereby qualifying Trophy for the "Best Army All-Rounder" . lt was
sad that LCpl Clarke could not attend Chepstow
for, without doubt, the Bn would then have won

the majority of the team prizes.

for the finals at Aldershot on 6 pOecrtfoobremran8c2~· Army cycling has been traditionally a Corps-
although we. put up a creditable dominated sport; however the Bn, through the

there, and gamed valuable experience, we came dedication of a few individuals, has really made
a name. for itself in its first year of competition, a
away w1th no prizes. reputation wh1ch we hope to be able to maintain
next season.
In the Inter-PI Competition, which is run each
year with ~~ teams forming four divisions, the

defendmg League Champions" are: Div 1 MT
PI, Div 2 MILAN PI, Div 3 HO Coy HQ, Div 4 2 PI.

CRICKET TRAINING IN DENMARK- EXERCISE "ODIN
RIFLE" 14-21 JUNE 1982
Despite a severely curtailed cricket season -
due to Cyprus and Spearhead- the Bn side has by Maj J C Rogerson
achieved considerable success; it won the Dis-
trict and Area competitions before falling to a This was a 3 QUEENS exercise with the Dan-
strong RAPC team at Worthy Down, having ish Dronnigens Livregiment (Queens Life Regi-
reached the last 4 in the Army Cup. Maj Nick ment) stationed in Aalborg, Jutland; a compo-
Cann and Sgt Smith were the most consistent site Company consisting of D Coy HO, the Band
run makers with LCpl Thompson and Maj Peter and Drums, a Milan Sec and an Assault Pioneer
Cook taking the majority of wickets. Sec took part. Our "man in Denmark," Maj
Andrew Dawson, helped with the co-ordination
from his seat in HQ BALTAP and with good
co-operation from the host unit, The British
Embassy, Copenhagen and our affiliated Danish

(Continued on page 22)

21

WINNERS OF THE EASTERN DIST. SIX -A-SIDE FOOTBALL
Back row (I to r) : Capt Kett, SSgt Finch, LCpl Madder, CSgt Whitall and Cpl Cook.

Front row : LCpl Wallington, Pte Richards, Sgt Smith and LCpl Twiner.

THE Bn CRICKET TEAM
(The side which beat 13/18H in the Eastern Dist. final)
Back row (I tor) : Cpls Scully, Smitheraian and Gage, Ptes Joseph, Yankee and Adams.
Front row (I tor) : Sgt Smith (RAPC), Capt Wake, Moys Cook and Cann, Capt Newman and LCpl Thompson.

22 our JNCOs w ere! Th e final overnight exercise
wa s held at Rohhus, a coa stal training area, used
(Continued from page 20) by th e Danish Army and Air Force for live field-
fi ring. This turn ed out t o be a guided tour an d a
Unit, The Royal Danish Life Guards, the exercise giganti c ba rbecu e te rminat ing with a parade
was a great success and provided a welcome after breakfast, th eir troops having to get back to
break from the routine of mechanised soldier- camp by 1000 hrs before th ey exceeded th eir
ing . Myself (as OC Exercise). CSgt J Reid (exer- Statutory 40 hour w eek! Ba ck at camp, still suf-
cise CQMS) and an advance party of six travel - fering from th e " overnight exercise", all our
led up by road three days before the start of the officers and SNCOs were invited to lunch in th eir
exercise to co-ordinate the programme and Officers' Mess which housed a Regimental
administration. CSM R Milham, with the road Museum, TA Committee and Club Room, a gam-
party of four vehicles, weapons and equipment, ing and fruit-machine room (from which the
moved up on 14 June via the Ellumd Fr0slev profits paid all mess bills apart from wines!).
crossing point, whilst Lt D Dunn (Company 21C), and a Subalterns' play and duelling room in
brought the main party up by train. which, needless to say, we had our lunch. This
was interspersed with vi king type toasts washed
lt was apparent from the start that the host down with schnaps followed by a knife throwing
unit had put a lot of effort into planning and display from one of their officers which promp-
organisation of the exercise starting with a talk ted CSgt Reid to check his insurance policy! We
by their Colonel Commandant followed by the managed to evacuate the Mess unscathed
local Tourist Board's guided tour of the city of before W02 Green insisted on toasting (or was it
Aalborg. lt was soon discovered that the main roasting) the Danes in Whisky!
local produce was Aquavi t- the dreaded potato
snaps - and some of the Company were already The exercise ended with a Beating Retreat in
suffering from its after effects from a very hos- the grounds of the city's Arts Museum, which
pitable evening in their WOs' and Sgts' Mess. was terminated by a series of " Henry Green "
Each of their Companies had been tasked with assault pioneer explosions to renderings of
organising two days of our military programme " Sussex by the Sea" . Unfortunately " Henry"
with seven pre-advertised engagements for the was attacked by a local whose dog, a Great
Band and Drums which included playing for the Dane, had bolted after the first explosion ; how-
Danish Royal Household at Fredensborg Castle ever all ended well with everyone agreeing that
where HM Queen Margrethe presented Band- it had been a most enjoyable exercise.
master W01 Davis with the Den Konge/ise
Be/r;mngings Medalie. This seemed to be a spon- BAND NOTES
taneous presentation (as the British Embassy
were not aware of it) but, according to Drum By W01 (Bandmaster) Davis
Major Baker, the Queen noticed that he had
three medals and the Bandmaster had none so As each May day became warmer, so the
the Queen thought she would give the Band- Band calendar became more full with as wide a
master one of her medals to even things up a variety of engagements as we have ever experi -
bit! enced, culminating in our busiest BAOR season
yet.
On our first afternoon in Denmark our Band
and Drums, a composite Platoon from D Coy The Band left Fallingbostel on 19 May to
and 1 PI A Coy of the Queens Life Regt marched undertake a 2-week KAPE in the Regimental
through Norresund to mark the 175th Anniver- Area. All LSL sailings were cancelled (they were
sary of their Regiment. As the Danish Army drill diverted to troubled waters) and we sailed, cour-
bore no resemblance to ours, the parade was tesy of Townsend Thoresen, to Dover. We were
quite a challenge; surprisingly enough it was based at the RE Depot, Chatham and undertook
executed quite smoothly. The parade attracted a some 13 separate engagements in 14 days, play-
lot of publicity as it just happened to coincide ing at a mixture of schools, shopping centres,
with the announcement of the end of the Falk- carnivals and spectaculars, all under the helpful
lands War, with an article and pictures appear- guidance of the RIT. A worthwhile cause whi ch
ing in the Aalborg City Newspaper's headlines. we hope will reap benefit in future years.

The Band and Drums then spent four days in On return to Fallingbostel we were immedi-
and around Copenhagen playing at the Summer ately involved in rehearsals and performance of
Palace, the British Embassy and the Tivoli Gar- the 1st Armd Div Queen's Birthday Parade, and
dens, where they were hosted by our affiliated in the second week of June, we joined the Corps
regiment, the Royal Danish Life Guards. In the of Drums and D Coy for Exercise " Odin Rifle" .
meantime the rest of the Company were enjoy- This was based in Aalborg, North Jutland and
ing a programme of an International Assault gave us another opportunity to play for the
Course Competition , Range work, Football and Danes. The trip culminated in the Band and
an orienteering competition , a signal exercise Drums Beating Retreat for the British Ambas-
and, before we set off on the final exercise, we sador in Copenhagen (special guest - Prince
gave a Milan and a Minefield Breach demonstra-
tion to the whole of their Battalion and Regimen-
tal Headquarters with their Senior Officers not-
ing how much more professional and confident

Georg) at 1700 hrs. then leaping aboard the 23
coach and heading up to Fredensborg Slyt to
Beat Retreat for Queen Margrethe and the Royal The last trip of the summer was to Canada. We
Family at 8 pm . This was to have been a private were based at BATUS, Suffield, and for two
affair, but a crowd of about 1,000 people assem- weeks played at local stampedes, " whoop-up"
bled and made the occasion a most memorable days, pancake breakfasts, barn dances - not
one, especially for the Bandmaster, who was forgetting the obligatory Beating Retreat, cock-
received by the Queen after the display and pre- tail party and Officers' Mess dance, the last three
sented with The Queen's Medaille de Recom- all on the same evening . The Canada trip was
pense. great fun ; the weather was very kind despite
some exceptionally hot days for wh ich parading
From Denmark we travelled south to Kiel to in full scarlets was tiring but we all returned well
participate in the 100th anniversary of Keiler tanned and with some good memories.
Woche ; we had been requested to return after
last year's most successful performances. This On return to Fallingbostel we had only a few
year was far more spectacular, with some very hours to unpack and perform for the Officers'
prestigious bands taking part. Needless to say Mess at a Guest Night; snoozing between pieces
the general comments since have led us to (jet-lag being what it is) we nevertheless battled
believe that the British representatives (our- on successfully (we hope) .
selves) stole the show.
Finally - on. a purely personal note - I bid
Returning once again to Fallingbostel, we had farewell to the Battalion ; by the time this is in
a round of local engagements to complete, with print I will have departed Fallingbostel for the
our last and most interesting tour yet to come. Depot. My four years (plus) as Bandmaster have
These local engagements included concerts, been most memorable; the Band has gone from
dances, church services, and Open Days and we strength to strength and are a tremendous credit
even managed to fit in a Barbecue, for which the to the Battalion. Moreover, they have given me
weather remained fine. personally a service for which I am very proud
indeed.

1 op : Brig H C Millmen, OBE, ADC, presents Sgt Sum- "-- .-•· 1~., r "I
van BEM with his medal. '

lower: LCpl Mullins, watched by the CO, receives his. Top : A "Fun Run" with {I to rl Cpl Rogers, LCpl Scully,
Cpl Dixon, lt Spratt, CSgt Bradley and Capt Gomlin.
Lower: A Coy Survival exercise - en route for lmber.

THE PEWTER PLATE The pintTankard

The 101h" pewter and smoked glass measures 5" tall and
Drinks Tray displays the Regimental portrays the Regimental
badge deeply etched into a centre pewter badge in high relief, while
disc which is carefully set into the heavy
glass. It is a unique but practical collector's the Regiment's name and
piece that can be used or put on display.
Weight: 940 grams Price: £36 battle honours are heavily

etched into the body of the
tankard, to make a unique and
interesting collector's piece. This
handsome tankard is made in the best
quality pewter and finished to the highest
standard.
Weight: 530 grams Price: £36

r - - - - - - - - - - - - - -DPost to:The St.James's House Company
- - - - - - - - - - - - - ,II 21 Macaulay Road, London SW4 OQPTel:01-720 3189

Please accept my application for :

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I t £36each

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Lucky old someone, who receives it, exchanges the
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WE, THE .11
I
LIMBLESS,
LOOK
TO YOU
FOR HELP

We come from both world
wars. We come from
Korea, Kenya, Malaya,
Aden, Cyprus, Ulster and
from the Falklands.

Now, disabled, we must look to you for help. Please help by
helping our Association.

BLESMA looks after the limbless from all the Services. lt
helps to overcome the shock of losing arms, or legs or an eye.
And, for the severely handicapped, it provides Residential
Homes where they can live in peace and dignity.

Help the disabled by helping BLESMA. We promise you that
not one penny of your donation wi 11 be wasted.

Donations and information: Major The Earl of Ancaster, KCVO, TO,
Midland Bank Ltd., 60 West Smithfield, London EC1A 9DX

Give to those who gave- please.

BLESMA
BRITISH LIMBLESS
EX -SERVICE MEN'S ASSOCIATION

SUPP LEMENT No. 1-PAGE TWO Printed in Great Britain

25

The 3rd Battalion

Editorial one event, the drill competition, could not be
comp leted. No blood was spilt but there were
The high spot of recent months has moments when it was touch and go particularly
undoubtedly been our battle group training between company commanders! Perhaps next
at the British Army Training Unit at Suffield, year we will give points for the best objection
Canada, where we took part in Exercise raised since t here have been times when even
" Medicine man 6" during September and the Intern ational Olympic Committee would
October. have been stretched to come up with an accept-
able ruling.
For the first season since its formation ten
years ago, BATUS allows for a square battle Shooting has also had its place during the
group of two squadrons and two companies to summer months which, with an Infantry Batta-
take part in the training plus of course all the lion, should of course always be the case. The
other normal supporting arms. This made for a fa cilities in BAOR are far from ideal and it is only
battle group pf just over 1,000 strong . Addition - by major manipu lat ing that most members of
ally our third mechanised company (A Coy) the battalion have managed to take and gener-
formed part of the infantry element on Exercise ally achieve a pass in the APWT. Our Bisley
" Medicine man 7" with the 3 RTR battle group. team, after produ ci ng a real upset by beating 1
Naturally therefore pre-BATUS training domi- Royal Anglian and 14/20 H (ex Bisley winners) in
nated the summer months and by the results the 1st Armoured Div Skill at Arms Meeting in
produced, particularly in the lnfantrv field . the April , couldn't quite raise their standards
effort put in was not wasted. The skirmishing and sufficiently at Bisley and finished in the bottom
patrolling skills were reckoned by BATUS staff third of the field . However, we console ourselves
to be the best they had seen this year; but poss- with the fa ct that the average age of the team is
ibly the greatest compliment paid to the Battle- in the low twenties which bodes well for the
group by Commander BATUS was that we were future.
the most cohesive and friendly battle group
seen there this season. With representation CSgt Wakeman receives the Winners Cup from the
from ten units and six arms and servi ces this is GOC 1 Armd Div, Maj-Gen Kenny, CBE.
indeed a compliment and it says much for the
ability of commanders at all levels who achieved
the rare combination of efficiency and friendli -
ness. lt also made for a very happy battle group
and we look forward to working together again
next year with everyone less a squadron of 3
RTR and a half battery of 1 RHA,

We held a Battle Group Study Day in May and
followed this up with two periods of Battle
Group training at Soltau in June and August.
Both periods took place in very hot dry condi-
tions and none of us were sorry to see the last of
Soltau Training Area when the time came. The
fine black dust known to all Soltau summer war-
riors gets everywhere, even in battened down
AFVs, and anyone would have been forgiven if
they had thOUQht we were a celonial battalion
undergoing traming! Fortunately BATUS dust is
less severe and we were lucky(?) to have three
days of snow and rain in the middle of our train-
ing period to dampen down the prairie.

The other main talking point over the summer
months has been the Quebec Inter-Coy competi-
tion. This was introduced for the first time early
this year and the climax to the competition was
due to be reached in August prior to the presen-
tation of the guidon to the winning Company on
Quebec Day. Unfortunately, due to the very
heavy commitments over the summer months

26 and goings at all levels continue throughout the
year and, apart from the change of Command-
Sport and Adventure training have thrived in
the summer and we very nearly managed to ing Officers, hardly get a mention. However,
produce an unbeaten cricket side, losing only since the last issue of the Journal, we have lost
one match out of eleven . Adventure training in two senior NCOs who particularly warrant a
the Harz Mountains has proved very popular
and quite a few achieved upgrading in canoeing mention: in July we said farewell to W02 O'Sul-
and rockclimbing skills courses. Windsurfing livan, a man who was regarded as a battalion
also gained many fans during the summer and fixture and whose final job was to see the shoot-
we now possess six windsurfers and some very ing team to Bisley ; and more recently W01
competent sailors/surfers. (Bandmaster) Davis, who achieved phenomenal

Although the past six months have been par- success with the Band during his four years with
ticularly busy, virtually everyone had three us. We shall miss them both as we will all the
weeks leave during the summer holiday period
and many took the opportunity to explore other personalities who have departed the Batta-
Europe; in addition, all those who went to lion in the past six months.
BATUS, had a chance to take four days R & R.
The most popular venue seemed to be visiting A final mention must be made of a Regimental
local ranches and giving assistance to the far- affiliation which was renewed during our
mers in repayment for food and board . In many BATUS trip. Th'e Officers' Mess took the oppor-
cases the amount of work involved was very
much secondary to the task of providing and tunity to entertain the new Commanding Officer
receiving entertainment. of the South Alberta Light Horse, Lt Col Brian
McKinley and his wife at a cocktail party to mark
As with 'any Infantry battalion, the comings the end of the training period. Having been
entertained by the Regiment lavishly on a previ-
ous visit to BATUS, it was good to be able to
repay some of that hospitality.

BITTER

The pint that thinks it~ a quart

BISLEY REVISITED 27

by Lt M J S Dunham As a result of problems in rationing , our pro-
posed stay at the 6/7 QUEEN ' S drill hall in Farn -
No sooner was I back from the dusty wastes of ham was changed for the rather up-market food
Soltau training area than I was packing my cases and accommodation of the ACC Depot at St
to join the Battalion shooting team in GB as Omer Barracks, Aldershot; from there we made
organisationa l understudy; it had been many daily forays into Bisley camp. While the team
moons since I had been to Bisley - as a school- braved the throngs of competition, the admin
boy. staff became locked in mortal combat with such
ogres as the sqadding card, a subtle monster
Subsequent to an encouraging (if narrow) vic- that deceptively merges competitions within
tory at the 1 Div meeting, the team had accepted competitions, sinuously aggregating scores in
the hospitality of the 1st Bn and were settled in an often successful attempt to throw its con -
Canterbury. However, the travelling to and from fused opponent into a state of mental imbal-
the ranges at Lydd and Hythe proved to be ance. Should one survive these multiple rigours,
somewhat time-consuming, so the team emi- there lurked the team captains' meet-
grated to the outer reaches of Folkstone and the ing ... " Gentlemen, as you will see on the blue
luxuries (or otherwise!) of St Martin's Plain sheet inside the green cover, rule 6 (originally
camp. Happily, despite the inevitable fluctua- disclosed in sect 3, para 4, of volume IX) has
tions in individual performances, the team 's now been amended, in accordance with subsec-
scores improved with practice. I meanwhile tion 2 of the report on the pink sheet. The net
would drift off to sleep at night counting bulls, result is explained on the white sheet under the
inners and outers, to awake the following morn subheading . .." .
to distant strains of "targets ... UP, two three,
four and DOWN" echoing in my ears. Although not placed in the top twenty, our
youthful and inexperienced team gave a very
After two weeks of practice- and a brief inter- creditable performance, showing much promise
lude when our manpower was commandeered for the year to come. We congratulate Pte Spicer
at short notice, as in all good national crises, to for winning a bronze medal in the IWS individual
demonstrate small arms to assorted gentry- we match ; the team rewarded him by throwing him
moved Bisleywards. fully clothed into a canal! Is it worth going for a
gold next year??

THE BATTALION SHOOTING TEAM
WINNERS OF 1 ARMD DIV SKILL AT ARMS MEETING
Back row (I to r): Ptes Spicer, Hall, Harrison, Sgt Bowdrey, Pte Bird, LCpl Fisher, Pte Weekes and LCpl Wombell.
Front row (I tor): Pte Stenner, Cpl Collins, W02 O'Sullivan, CO, CSgt Wakeman, Sgt Hunting and Pte Shepherd.

28 craft, 81 mm mortars and 105 mm artillery. The I.
main anti-tank weapon, The Dragon, was also
VISIT TO THE SWISS ARMY fired and proved to be very accurate over dis- rq
tances of up to 1200 m.
by 2lt S Kilpatrick 1
Ever had an identity problem? Well try visiting There was no doubt that the Swiss soldiers
a fore1gn Army for ten days and getting along in worked very hard over the period, particularly as I
a language that's totally strange. In my case 1 this year the emphasis was on the night exer-
travelled to Swi~erland to visit a Swiss Infantry cise. lt was plain that their training lacked the
Reg1ment domg 1ts repet1t1on training and field finesse and tactical sense of our own ; in particu-
f~r~ng , whilst a Sw1ss Captain visited the Batta- lar I noted Companies marching in an Advan ce
lion during our own field firing at Sennelager. I to Contact in hobnail boots, in a long line with
had cadged my way on to the trip by claiming to rifles held by the barrel on their shoulders. How-
speak a little German and a bit of French . In fact ever, for men who normally work in civilian jobs,
in the Luzern area , where 43 Infantry Bn have the standard of training was extremely high . In
their base, they speak neither, but use a strange one Platoon that I was introduced to, there were
form of German dialect which is incomprehensible six farmers, three cheese makers, four Univer-
even to the Germans themselves! However, I sity students and a bricklayer - no problem if
made the best of it and we spoke in a composite you want to occupy a defensive position!
language of German, French and English.
I arrived at the start of the second week of the During my second week, the Regiment was
3-week " repetition training ", during which the preparing for a visit by an Austrian General and
troops are mobilised from their civilian jobs and a problem arose as to what should be done to
report, fully equipped, to the village which
becomes the base for their Company. They are aoccupy me ; this was soon solved, however
usually housed in private homes, in the base-
ments of shops, offices or hospitals. or in when it was realised that one of the tanks -
schools, and often there are very good facilities Panzer 61 -lacked a loader for a live firing exer-
set aside especially for them . From the start of Cise I Well of course, anything to oblige, and an
the repetition training- which follows an initial hour or so later I emerged, blackened and
17 week course for every man at the age of 20 - deafened, having fired eleven 100 mm shells. I
the soldiers are engaged in live firing attacks, in wasn't quite sure of the drills but interpreted the
all cases with strong fire support from other Commander's muffled orders as best I could
Arms. The Swiss Army has few problems with " Achtung, Tank Action! " I thought was the cry
safety angles or arcs as firing is conducted in the but it could so easily have been " Achtung, your
mountains where almost "anything goes". The fmgers" !
Sw1ss att1tude to safety restrictions whilst live
firing is far more liberal than our own, and fre- Overall, the attachment was very enjoyable
quently Platoon live attacks, complete with anti- and well worthwhile, both in terms of the
tank weapons and grenades used in the assault amount and variety of training that I saw and the
of buildings, were conducted by one or two number of friends I made. The Swiss were
safety officers. always quite prepared to make me feel welcome
and went out of their way to keep me occupied .
Perhaps the most impressive part of my stay Hopefully, in future, similar exchanges can be
was the chance to see a Battalion live firing arranged but a word of warning for any would-
attack, in the mountains high above the snow- be visitor- don't expect to be able to understand
line, supported by Hunter, Mirage and Tiger air- a word, and for goodness sake mind your
fingers!

1. Maj Rogerson puts across a few points to a local Aalborg journalist during D Coy's visit in June. ~
2. A group of D Coy soldiers celebrating the British Victory in the Falkland Islands.

. Pictures by Jens Morten
3. Br1g A R G Mullens, OBE. Comd 7 Armd Bde, talking to CSgts Pollington and Edwards during his farewell visit.

(The CO is on the left.)

4. Sgt Crowley, Mortar PI MFC during pre-BATUS training at Soltau .
5. Maj Jell debriefs a C Coy Section at Sennelagar. (I to r) Pte Nandi, LCpl Felstead, Ptes Sinclair, Pankhurst,

Sheffield and Vipond.

6. OC Coy - en route for Canada7

29

30 Maj Gen Mans presents the LS 8t GC medal to LCpl
Hawkins, watched by the CO and RSM .
US ARMY ATIACHMENT 8 MARCH TO 9 JULY

by Lt D Greenfield

I was appointed to work as a platoon com-
mander with 1st Platoon B Coy (Audie Murphy)
1st Bn 15th Infantry (Can Do). 3rd lnf Div at Kit-
zingen near Wurzberg, South Germany. I was
particularly apprehensive when I arrived at the
" Can Do " Battalion as I initially did not know
what to expect - indeed the daily routine and
atmosphere was very diferent.

I joined the Battalion a few days after their
final exercise at Graffenwohr which was the last
exercise in their external training programme
until1 August. The daily routine never really var-
ied but it began a lot earlier than I was used to!
First parade (for PT) was at 0600 hrs and lasted
90 minutes ; work began at 0900 hrs and con-
tinued until mid-day, then lunch for 60 minutes
with afternoon work from 1300 to 1700 hrs. The
training programme centred around training for
different phases of war over one or two weeks. A
local training area, 2 kms from barracks, mainly
sufficed for this training and was in continual
use from Monday to Friday. Demonstrations and
military-orientated competitions were under-
taken quite often, especially if a General visited
the Battalion- a fairly frequent occurrence.

On the last Friday of each month a long
weekend was granted by the CO - but not before
he had taken Battalion PT himself and con -
ducted a Battalion run by companies. Presenta-
tion of awards for being an excellent APC driver
or having run a good range during Battalion live
fire week, or for putting on a good demonstra-
tion for CINCUSEUR followed! Battalion pay
parade followed very ceremoniously with cash
paid soldiers signing for their money; the CO
then delivered his final speech and the Battalion
was released.

Sporting activities included softball, baseball,
racquetball, rugby and volks-marching . All of
these sports were taken very seriously and were
well supported by the Battalion at any major
fixtures. Southern Germany had a lot to offer
and many visits were made to Bad Toelz (Spe-
cial Forces School) at Garmisch Partenkirchen
on the river Rhine and on the pleasure craft of
the river Main. I left the Battalion shortly before
the wine-making season where each company is
compulsorily entered by the CO to lend a hand
at various vineyards located near the barracks.
This is done on a competition basis; the com-
pany that picks the largest quantity of grapes
wins a very large consignment of bottles of wine
from the main winery in the area .

Looking ahead to next year, the Americans are
keen to organise an attachment for a Corporal
and Senior Private and their equivalent ranks. I
am sure that if this is successful, they will have a
most enjoyable and interesting time.

Odds and... 31

THE CLOSURE OF STOUGHTON VISITORS TO RHQ
BARRACKS
Those who called on RHO during the period
by Maj Gen R S N Mans, CBE under review, and signed the visitors book were,
in order of signing:
On .29 April, Brig Pat Ellwood, the Director of
Management Service (Army) very kindly invited Maj Malcolm Lawson , Lt Col Richard Earle
Brig Geoffrey Curtis and me to a luncheon at (COS , HO Queen 's Div). Michael Stevenson
Stoughton Barracks to mark the closure of the (Queen 's York Rangers, Toronto). John West-
old Queen ' s Royal Regiment's Depot as an Army ing (SAF). Col Mike Doyle, Maj Mike Jelf, Lt
barracks. Most of the buildings are now Col David Dickin's (on leaving 1st Bn). Lt Col
scheduled for demolition prior to the land being Paddy Panton (on assuming Command 1st
sold for development. Bn). Lt Vie Ebbens, Maj Christopher Charter,
Maj-Gen Fergus Ling, Maj Piers Storie-Pugh,
lt was a nostalgic occasion for both of us: I Lt Paul Corden, Maj & Mrs Peter Hill , Maj J A
had been the last Commanding Officer of the Marks, Capt Henry Eagen, Capt M1chael
Depot (from 1937 to 59) and Brig Geoffrey was Clinch, Capt Andrew Roberts, Capt Mark
Director of Management Services there from Rayner, Lt Col & Mrs Simon Bouche~. Capt
1974 to 77 . John Gerelli, Lt Robert Bradford (Hastmgs &
Prince Edward Regt), Lt Col & Mrs Bryan Ray,
As can be imagined, anecdotes about the Richard Lawrence (att 1st Bn), Martin O' Regan
Depot and the many unforgettable characters (ex-Die Hard). Maj John Langhorne, Lt Col Bill
who served there were in full flow throughout MacDonald, Col Nigel Knocker, Lt Jim Graham
lunch ; for within those mellow red brick walls and 2 Lt John Powell (who very kindly called
repose more than a century of Army history. to say farewell on behalf of the 1st Bn -the
last of the "bayonet troops" to leave Howe
In the midst of much understandable sadness, Barracks for N Ireland.
it was good to hear that the Keep and the Arch-
way incorporating the Paschal Lamb will be JOURNAL BACK NUMBERS
retained by the Ministry of Defence as preserved
buildings. So at least one small reminder of our Capt J P Riley of the 1st Bn is anxious to obtain
Regiment will live on in Stoughton. two back numbers of the Journal - ie Vol 1
Numbers 4 and 7- to complete his set and he is
prepared to pay for them.

If any reader can help, please send them to me
at RHO and I will forward them on- Ed .

DRUM MAJOR'S HELMET

The Drum Major of the 1st Bn is currently look-
ing for an Officers Blue Serge Patrol Pith Helmet.
If anyone is willing to sell or donate such a hel-
met (or knows of anyone who is) , please write
direct to:

Drum Major De Warrene Wailer
1 QUEENS
Lisanelly Barra cks
BFPO 804

Brig Geoffrey Curtis (left) and Maj-Gen Rowley Mans
reminisce outside the main gate at Stoughton

Barracks.
Picture by Col 0 R Bennett

... Ends

32 lt was whilst serving as an Instructor at the
School of Infantry that he was detailed off to
A BOND BETWEEN INFANTRYMEN help the School Pistol Shooting Club. Jim soon
found that he was able to shoot well with a pistol
The following is a message sent by the Colonel himself and in 1974 won his first competition in
of The Regiment to the CO of 1st Bn The Green Wiltshire ; that same year he qualified for the
Jackets after the IRA's bombing outrage in Lon- National Target Pistol Squad, the Army Squad,
don on 20 July: and, in 1965, the Great Britain National Squad .

"Maj Gen Mans Colonel of The Queen 's Regt During the next two years ·he shot 1n Interna-
sends on behalf of all ranks of his Regiment tional Matches in Norway, Sweden, Germany
his deepest sympathy to those bandsmen and France. In 1978 he was the highest GB shoo -
who suffered in yesterdays outrage. All our ter in the World Championship in Korea, coming
bandsmen wish to closely identify themselves 20th . The next year he won a Gold Medal and
with the above message." the Games record at the Hapoel Games 1n Israel ;
To which the CO replied as follows : in 1980 he won Gold Medals for Rapid and Air
"My Battalion and Band have been heartened Pistol at the Commonwealth Shooting Federa-
by your kind message of sympathy. This has tion Championships in N. Ireland . This year,
been a difficult time for us all and it is good to before going to the Commonwealth Games, J1m
know that we have so many friends. The Band went with a National Team to Commun1st Chma,
has been particularly encouraged to have the first time that China has ever competed in
heard from so many of their fellow musicians. this exacting sport. The visit was tremendously
You will be pleased to hear that the survivors interesting ; on their own ranges, the Chmese
are all in good heart. The performance will team were most impressive and the tnp was a
resume after a short interval." good run up for the Commonwealth Games, as
the most important tra1n1ng for any Target
EXTRACTS FROM THE QUEEN'S DIV Shooter is psychological. In Australia Jim was
NEWSLETTER, APR 1982 shooting for the Scottish team and won Silver
Medals in both the Games Team Match and the
(Lighter moments at the RCB) : Individual Centre Fire Match, missing the Bronze
Medal in the latter by one point.
Command Tasks
OS: "You are to clear the pit from this end to the

far end."

Candidate: "Do you mean we have to take out
all the sand, Sir?"

Interviews
OS: "How do you think you would cope with

heavy stoning and petrol-bombing in
Northern Ireland?"
Candidate: "Well, of course my prime consider-

ation would be for the welfare of my
soldiers, so I would shoot them first
and justify my actions later."

(quote from material regs for the army)
"Clothing that is considered unserviceable is

not to be cleaned before condemnation."

QMSI JIM CAIRNS, SMALL ARMS SCHOOL QMSI Jlm Cairns.
CORPS, BRINGS BACK THE SILVER FROM Picture from UPO Sch of lnf

BRISBANE
(Extract from a "News Release" from the UPO,

Sch . of lnf, 26 October 82)

Jim Cairns joined the Army as a boy soldier in
1 QUEENS in 1959; he enjoyed weapons
instructing and transferred to the Small Arms
School Corps in 1972 as a Corporal and has seen
service in Aden, Hong Kong, Berlin , Northern
Ireland and BAOR.

ARMY WINS AWARD AT KENT SHOW 33

(with acknowledgement to PRHQ S.E. District) divisional signs. However no tribute is evident
Against more than 100 major international there or elsewhere to the remarkable spirit of
com radeship, trust and respect established bet-
firms, the Army came out tops at this year's Kent ween both British and Indian Units and indi-
Show, winning the Geerings Trophy for Large vidual officers and soldiers of divers races,
Trade stands. creeds and tongues who fought side by side
w ithin these " Indian" Divisions which enabled
The Army's careers information display was them to achieve results in battle as great as any
co-ordinated by CSgt Barry Beckingham, in the history of war.
QUEENS, a member of the Army Careers staff
based at Chatham. A Memorial Committee of Divisional rep-
resentatives was formed and The Commandant
Making up the Army's stand were static dis- of the RMAS offered a suitable site in the Old
plays by the Recruiting Information Teams of 2 College, close to the Indian Army Room , astride
Royal Tank Regt, 94 Locating Regt, RA, The a main passage which ends in a large window.
Queen's Regt, and by 33 Engineer Regt (EOD).
44 Sig Sqn , R Sigs (V). E Coy, 5 QUEENS (V) and On Wednesday 9 June 1982 over 900 assem -
220 Fd Amb (V) . Each unit was presented with a bled in the Royal Memorial Chapel for the Ser-
certificate and the Army Careers Officer at Can- vice of Dedication. The address was given by the
terbury, Lt Col Jim Shephard, collected the Rt Rev Robin Woods KCVO, Chaplain of 5 lnd lnf
handsome trophy featuring a horse brass of the Bde (1944-45) and recently Bishop of Worces-
Kentish " lnvicta" on behalf of all. ter; six chaplains who served with Indian Divi-
sions were in the procession . At the end of the
ARMY/NAVY RUGBY MATCH TWICKENHAM - Service, the Memorial was dedicated by the Rt
12 MARCH 1983 Rev Robin Woods at the request of Aileen , Vis-
countess Slim (Patron) in the presence of the
The following is extracted from a letter dated 3 Military Advisors of India, Pakistan and Nepal
November 1982 from ColD F Mal/am, MBE: together with representatives of the Indian Divi-
sions concerned.
" I am the PR representative on the Army
Rugby Union Committee and one of my tasks is The Memorial consists of 18 panels, one for
to represent the Army in the planning meetings each Division, on which is carved the Divisional
of the annual Army/Navy Match with the spon- Sign in colour, a short account of each , and the
sors- Stewart Wrightson . Order of Battle.

The Royal Navy usually provide the bulk of Extracts, appropriate to the Queen 's Regt are
supporters at this fixture; they come in coach as follows :
loads, set up their bars and ship emblems in the 3rd Indian Oiv (The Chindits)
car park and make a thoroughly good outing of 16 lnf Bde: 2nd Bn The Queens Royal Regt
the occasion; obviously, too, they provide the
strongest support for their team. 4th Indian Div
5 lnd lnf Bde : 1st Bn The Buffs
I would be most grateful if you would very 7 lnd lnf Bde: 1st Bn The Royal Sussex Regt
kindly advertise the match in any way that you
can and also encourage people to come. 5th Indian Div
161 lnd lnf Bde: 4th Bn The Queen's Own Royal
I have written to District HQs in the UK asking West Kent Regt
them to publicise the event with their units and
to the ARU President, Gen Sir George Cooper, 7th Indian Div
who will undoubtedly add his encouragement 33 lnd lnf Bde : 1st Bn The Queen 's Royal Regt
later.
Note: For those in the Aldershot area, the 8th Indian Div
Army/Navy Under 21 match will be held at the 21 lnd lnf Bde : 5th Bn The Queen's Own Royal
Aldershot stadium at 1030 am on the same day." West Kent Regt

INDIAN DIVISIONS MEMORIAL 11th Indian Div
6 lnd lnf Bde : 2nd Bn The East Surrey Regt
In October 1980 a suggestion was made that
there should be a Memorial for the Indian Divi - The project is bigger than the memorial at
sions of World War 11 . lt was realised that the war Sandhurst ; charitable status has been obtained
had ended a long time ago and also that there is and the Fund is still open . The Committee are
already a memorial window in the Indian Army hoping to set up some form of Trust which
Room at Sandhurst commemorating all ranks of would finance appropriate visits to the UK for
the Indian Army who served and displaying their officers of middle rank and their families from
India and Pakistan and vice-versa. Contributions
are being sought from Commerce and Industry,
and if any member of the Regiment still wishes
to contribute, he should send his cheque (pay-
able to "The Indian Division Memorial Fund" )
to : Lt Col J A C Greenwood OBE , Hon Treasurer,
Hamilton House, Fyning Lane, Rogate, Pet-
ersfield, Hants GU31 SEE.

34 "THE BROKEN PLUME"
by Norman Craig
BOOK REVIEWS
This is the fifth volume in the Imperial War
"WAR IN THE DESERT- The Eighth Army at El Museum's series of personal reminiscen ces of
Alamein" the two World Wars.

by James lucas lt is a sensitive and perceptive account of the
author's experiences as a young officer whilst
To mark the fortieth anniversary of this epic serving, inter alia, with 2 Royal Sussex, in action
battle in World War 11, Arms and Armour Press at El Alamein (and later with " PAIFORCE" in Iraq
published this book in October (price £9.95 net). and Persi a) and with 1 East Surreys in Italy. (The
title of the book is, of course, a reference to the
lt does not set out to detail strategy but is Rousillon plume of the Royal Sussex, now fea -
more concerned to show the ordinary soldier's tured in our own col lar badges.)
experience of the fighting.
A & APs address is Lionel Leventhal Ltd, 2-6 At the book' s launching on 22 October, Maj
Hampstead High Street, London NW3 100. John Reed of RHO (the author' s company com -
Editors note : mander in Italy) also met Maj-Gen David
Elements of all out forbear Regiments, except E. Lloyd-Owen (of LRDG fame). Col "Pip" Newton
Surreys, fought at El Alamein . and Maj John Ainsworth; the ubiquitous Dame
Vera Lynn was also there.
GUW
Price £7.95 from The Imperial War Museum,
"DIEPPE 1942- ECHOES OF DISASTER" Lambeth Road, London SET 6HZ (Tel: 01-735-
(by William Whitehead- Edited by Terence 8922}.

Macartney-Filgate) GUW
Published in August 1982- the 40th Anniver-
sary of this fateful assau lt landing, " Dieppe ~ ~~!~Y~ KENT COLLEGE
1942" is a well-researched mainly pictorial ~ 16th February, 1983
record of sacrifice, tragedy and valour deeply
etched into the minds of all Canadians. A Chri stian Independent School, Co-educational,
In one day an entire Canadian Division was Boarding and Day, offering places at ages 11- 14
decimated and the Allies lost more 'planes than and in the sixth form .
in any other single day during World War 11.
it is said that Dieppe was a necessary prere- Formerly a Direct Grant Grammar School, Kent
quisite for the successful landings in Normandy, College ts one of the group of Methodist Residential
nearly two years later, but the premium for such Schools. The School has accepted the invitation of
insurance was high. the Department of Education and Science to par-
Published by Richard Drew, Publishing Ltd, 20 ticipate in the Assisted Places Scheme.
Park Circus, Glasgow- Price £9.95.
Entry to Senior School (560 pupils) at age 11 + .
GUW Occasiona l vacancies later.

"STALAG MEN" Entry to Junior School (90 pupils) at age 7 + or
la ter.
by Donald Edgar
The Author, now a well-known journalist, was Almost all pupils remain into the Sixth Form which
a Sergeant in a TA Infantry battalion of 51st contains 170 students. We have a good academi c
Highland Division taken POW in Normandy in record, excellent opportunities for other activities
1940. including Art, Music a nd Drama, together with high
He was on working parties in Poland, Silesia standards and fine facilities for Sport.
and Czechoslovakia and only went to an NCOs
Camp (where he was not required to work) in the The current fees in the Senior School are £3072 p.a.
last two years of the War. (boarding) and £1656 p.a. (day).
A moving, down to earth POW story by an
Other Rank about Other Ranks. Examinations for entrance in September 1983 ,
(Published by John Clare Books, 106 Cheyne including Scholarships, Bursaries and Assisted
Walk, London SW10- price £9.95 (hardback} - Places, will be held on 16th February, 1983. Com-
£5.95 limp cover). pleted ap plication forms should reach the School by
21st January . Visitors welcome. Prospectus avai l-
GUW able on request from the Headmaster, Kent Col-
lege, Ca nterbury , Kent, CT2 9DT.

Letters 35

From : Lt Col E S Scott, MBE perhaps agree that his story should be com-
Wareham memorated in our Journal. He also pa1n t s sea
Dorset birds and sea-scapes generally, and would be
pleased to show members of the Reg iment ov er
24 August 1982 his stud io in Tresco.

To : The Editor He is fascinated by the " Defence of Kohima "
and, not surprisingly, the " Glorious Fi rst of
Dear Sir, June" , and I think could be persuaded to paint a
On behalf of The Queen's Own Buffs Regi - scene from one of these battle honours of the
Regiment if required.
mental Golfing Society, may I pay a further tn-
bute to Col Raymond Grace. (See Obituary on Yours ever,
pages 63- 64 of June 1982 number-Ed .) JIM

In 1961 he became the first Honorary Secret- P.S. 1 gather John Ham ilton served with Maj
ary of the Society on its formation; he held this Gen Fergus Ling.
appointment until 1977 and became Captain of
the Society in 1978. From : W01 M J Paterson
Training Centre
Had it not been for Raymond's efforts in keep- Royal Brunei Malay Regt
ing the Society going, it might well have ceased Bolkiah Camp
to exist. BFPO 605

He always used a firm but light-hearted 13 October '82
approach in dealing with all aspects of the Soci -
ety, and his attention to every detail ensured The following is extracted from a letter addres-
that the members had many enjoyable matches sed to the Regt Secretary.
and meetings.
Dear Colonel Shipster,
Yours sincerely,
On a recent trip to the Antipodes I made the
ERIC SCOTT acquaintance of Wilt Lawrence, current secret-
President ary of the New Zealand Branch of the Royal Sus-
sex Assn devolved from the Dunkirk Veterans
The Queen 's Own Buffs Assn which has a very strong following , both in
Regimental Golfiing Society Australia and New Zealand.

From: Col J B Ogilvie, OBE, TD, ADC Wilt emigrated to New Zealand about 1960
Sevenoaks having seen Regular and TA service before, dur-
Kent ing and after the Second World War w1th the
Royal Sussex Regt; he saw service in the pre-
4 October 1982 Dunkirk engagement and took part 1n the battles
of attrition leading up to the decisive victory at El
To: The Editor Alamein in 1942.

Dear Guy, Apparently the survivors of the Royal Sussex
reformed as the 4/5th Battalion after the El Ala-
I have just returned from a short holiday on mein battle and Wilt completed his war service
Tresco in the Scilly Isles and while there had the with this unit which operated mainly in Palestine
good fortune to meet the historian and artist and Iraq (PAIFORCE) until the end of hostilities ;
John Hamilton, MC. John served in the Queen's he was later a member of the Cinque Ports Batta-
Royal Surrey Regt in the Arakan where he won lion, which remustered around the late 50 's
his MC and was wounded twice.
I was shown a photograph taken at one of the
In 1972, after heart trouble, he took up paint- Folkestone Training Camps at the time of yet
ing as a career and rapidly became well known another TA reorganisation and was interested to
as a marine and war-at-sea art1st. H1s f1rst exhibi- note several familiar faces from my own period
tion was at the Guildhall in the City at the of service with the Royal Sussex- Col Chapple
request of the (then) Lord Mayor and he has a and Majors Waite and Webb, whom, I presume,
permanent display of s1xty war pamtmgs on formed the regular permanent staff of the unit at
HMS Belfast, depicting the Royal Navy, 1939 to that time.
1945.
The New Zealand Association has nine mem-
The interesting new project he is now bers and holds annual reunions. I also met
involved in is the painting of the war in the Sandy Goodwin who served in a pre-war TA Bat-
Pacific for the US Navy and marines; this will talion of the Royal Sussex and took part in the
eventually involve over 100 paintings. 1940 campaign in France; later he served with a
Battalion of the Queen's Royal Regt in NW
Being an artist yourself and Editor of the
Regimental Journal, I thought you would

36 Altogether my famil y and I spent fo ur w eeks
to uring in New Zealand and can recomm end it
Europe. Both Wilf and Sandy are now retired fo r its fri endl iness, clea nliness and its unhurri ed
and I' m sure they would w elcom e letters from way of life. Th e most specta cular sce nery is to
any of their former comrades. be f oun d in th e South Island with its perm a-
nently sn o w capp ed peaks and it s glaciers .
Whilst my family and I were touring New Zea - How ever, there are areas of the North Island
land's North Island, we arrived in the town of whi ch are every bi t as iso lated as communities
New Plymouth (on the West Coast) to discover in th e So uth .
that it boasted an " Aibuhera Cottage". Shades
of Gibraltar!! For the mil itary man the National Army
M useum at Waiouru , south of Lake Taupo on the
We discovered that the 57th Regt of Foot had " desert" road to Wellington , is a " must" . There
been stationed in this area during the Maori is also a very good Museum in Wellington near
Wars, hence the cottage, a typical wooden dwel- to the Carrillion Tower which forms the National
hl'!g favoured ~y the early poineers and whi ch, War Memorial. The Museum of Transport and
w1th mod1f1cat1on , remains a favourite style to Technology (MOTAT) in Auckland is well worth
this day. a vis it, preferably at the weekends when volun -
teers operate traditional crafts and transports.
In the churchyard of St Mary's we found a
small military cemetery containing the graves of The most scenic area of the N. Island, we felt,
officers and soldiers of the 57th, the deaths aris- was the area north of Auckland . This is rich in
ing from skirmishes with the local Maori war- early pioneering history and the Kauri Museum
riors . south of Dargaville gives an excellent picture of
the life and work of the early pioneers who
At that time New Zealand was open to Euro- began the timber industry. The massive Kauri
pean settlers and initially South Island, with its trees take 100 years to reach a height of 10 feet
potential for sheep farming, gold mining and and so the large scale of the industry has
timber felling , was colonized. However, the irrevocably changed North Island's landscape.
decisive British victories of Koheroa , Rangariri,
The Gate Pa and Te Ranga , in 1863-B4, opened Of course the most renowned tourist attrac-
up North Island for development. tions in New Zealand are found in Rotorua
where the area is alive with hot springs, boiling
The Maori Wars had lasted for more than four mud pools and geysers. We were lucky enough
years and it took a British Force (which reached to see the " Prince of Wales feathers" geyser, an
a strength of 25,000) to gain the upper hand in unforgettable sight.
these encounters. lt was not a popular campaign
and the soldiers admired the courage and brav- A good soak in one of the many hot sulphur
ery of the Maori warriors, who were excellent pools is an essential experien ce. However, even
fighting men and skilful military engineers. The more invigorating , in our opinion , was a dip in
Maori tactics involved the digging of defensive the open air natural hot water pools in August,
positions, (known as Pa ' s, and more or less (New Zealand winter). Having come from the
impervious to the British artillery fire) and then humid tropical climate of Brunei to a nice sharp
to fight a holding battle, inflicting casualties on frost each morning , it was most pleasant and
the advancing British columns, followed by a stimulating to swim in these pools which have a
quick withdrawal to further prepared positions. temperature of 32°C.
Their fate was sealed due to superiority of num-
bers as the Maori Chiefs were never able to My two visits to New Zealand were und·:>Ubt-
assemble a force of more than 600 warriors at ably the highlights of my tour with the Royal
any one time. Brunei Malay Regiment and I recommend any
readers who have the opportunity to visit there,
I spent most of my holidays with relatives 70 to seize it with both hands.
miles south of Auckland in the Waikato Valley;
this is an area of high dairy production but 100 Each year we have been here in Brunei the
years ago the low lying area was impenetrable Regimental Day has been celebrated in fine
marshland. When peace was established in style; alas this has never been reported in the
North Island many of the regular soldiers were Journal. * This year, in honour of Quebec Day,
discharged in New Zealand . In order to develop Graham Brown, Jim Wood, John Burke and
the Wai'(ato region , the area was divided into 50 myself together with our families met for a
acre plots, the discharged soldiers being pro- beach barbecue at Tutong. Fired up by
vided with a tent, tools, seed and some rations Graham ' s excellent Pims .and gallons of Anchor
and told to get on with a farming career! A plot ale, an excellent time was had by all .
was deemed adequate if it had 100 square yards
of dry land to accommodate a farm house. My family and I return to UK at the end of
Naturally the hierarchy got the best plots and November and we hope to call on you then .
the soldiers were lucky if they received sufficient
dry land on which to pitch their tents! lt is, there- Yours sincerely,
fore, hardly surprising that the Waikato was not
speedily developed and depended on the finan- John PATERSON
cial resources of big business to successfully * How about seei:1g that this is rectified-Ed .
drain the area.

ALBUHERA DAY 1982 IN OMAN 37

by Maj R Jennings CATERHAM SCHOOL

Members of Queen 's Regt serving in Oman HMC Boarding and Day
held an informal gathering in Muscat on 13 May
to commemorate Albuhera Day. Queensmen Prepa ratory School 240 boys aged 8-13
present were : Andrew Cowing, Mark Quinn,
Johnnie Westing, Bill Dixon, Alan Marston, Main School 450 boys and day g irls in
Harry Boseley, Johnathan Palmer, Hugh Beeson Sixth Form
and myself.
Scholarships and Assisted Places ava i labl e
Regrettably due to leave, social and of course including Boarding Scholarship for son of
operational reasons, the remainder of the clan a Serviceman .
could not attend - ie Carl Blackwell, Lt Cols
Bryan Ray, Keith Burnett and Peter Tawell , All major games played, many clubs and
Sammy Supple, Peter Mallis, Tom Creighton societies. CCF with Army section helped
and Mick Venmore. After a number of " coolers by Queen 's Regiment from Howe
into the bank", Andrew Cowing gave a resume Barracks, Canterbury.
of the Battle, its particular significance to the
Regiment, and the silent toast was then drunk by Apply to The Headmaster,
all present including members of the Argyll and Caterham School,
Sutherland Highlanders and the Royal Navy. A Harestone Valley, Caterham,
bugler from SOLF Band gave an impeccable Surrey CR3 6YA.
rendering of Last Post and Reveille.

Following the ceremony a superb barbeque
was demolished in the balmy breezes of the
Gulf. CSgt Bill Dixon, currently on his fifth
extension of loan service, took the accompany-
mg photograph .·

A similar Qat.hering is planned for next year by
wh1ch t1me 1t IS hoped our numbers will have
swelled by at least six- enough to form an inde-
pendent company!

Albuhera Day
in Oman .

38 MUTTON LAN CERS. An outstanding examp le
of a nickname being so funny that it became
AN EVALUATION OF famous. Its essential touch of derision must
NICKNAMES have kept it in lively motion rou nd the lin es of
neighbouring units, for it was among the best
by Gregory Blaxland
known o f all nicknames . Th e Mutton is of course
A list,of r~g_imental nicknames, extracted from the Paschal Lamb and hi s lance the holy stan -
Brewers Dtcttonary of Phrase and Fable (revised dard he carries. lt is not known when it was
Centenary Edition, 1974). has been kindly sent to coined or by whom, but it is unlikely to have
our Ed1tor by a member of our Regiment now been before the start of Queen Victoria's reign
when Lan cers were beginning to emerge as
hvmg 1n Canada, Mr David Nash. lt has tempted such within the British Army. lt has a good Kip-
me to place all known nicknames into four
categor_ies,. which inevitably overlap : famous lingesque ring .
(for the1r ong11~ and/or tenacity); funny (covering
the w1tty, dens1ve, and sarcastic); ephemeral SLEEPY QUEEN ' S or (in retrospect) SLEEPY
(rarely used afterthe event of origin) ; bogus (of
untraceable ongm) . My assessment is based SECOND. Acquired through failure to cut o ff the
largely on speculation, and it may well provoke
snorts of anger here and there. The Editor will be retreat of the French garrison from Almeida on
delighted to publish letters expressing dissent,
correction, or enlargement. I have drawn on Lt the Spanish frontier (May 1811). after explosions
Col Les Wilson's book on Regimental Music for a
comprehensive list of nicknames and give them had given warning that it had begun . Ephem-
under the six founding regiments of the Home
Counties Brigade. eral. ·

The Buffs (3rd of Foot) •J

The Queen's Royal Regiment (2nd of Foot) OLD BUFFS . The Buffs were proud to have
had the title as such at least since the first official
KIRKE ' S LAMBS . Deserves to be rated famous list of regiments and badges was published in
1751 , and I was appalled to see it listed as a
for the evidence it provides that the Paschal nickname in Brewer's. The nickname from whi ch
a unique advance was made to title was Old
Lamb had been adopted as a badge at least Buffs, and it is my belief that it must have been
born of pique on the emergence of four other
before the end of Piercy Kirke's Colonelcy, regiments sporting buff facings during the great
expansion of the Army between 1688 and 1702.
1682-91. The notion, advanced in Brewer's, that The advance was speeded by the coincidence
that two regiments named Howard's went to
Kirke took the badge to dispel the reputation for war in 1742, and for purposes of identification
they were referred to as Buff Howards and
cruelty acquired by his troops for their conduct Green Howards, the latter of whom did not
achieve title as such until 1920.
at the " Bloody Assize" following the Battle of
RESURRECTIONISTS . Of honourable and
Sedgemoor (1685) is emphatically rejected by authentic origin, this nickname was won for the
speed with which the ranks were refilled after
Maj Jock Haswell, historian of the old Queen 'ts~ annihilation at Albuhera in May 1811 . However,
who points out that the regiment marched 1t does not appear to have acquired wide cur-
rency (and is not included in Brewer's) and must
another part of England immediately after the be rated ephemeral, even though it has been of
value to historians in recal lin g the nickname
battle and was not on duty at the assizes. He whenever battalions of the Buffs have arisen
from the ashes of destruction inflicted by the
believes the nickname may well have been in Sovereign's enemies or staff officers.

use before Kirke and his men left Tangier in NUTCRACKERS . Th ere is a legend that the
Buffs gained this nickname by cracking the
1684. Nevertheless it is unlikely to have stuck heads of the French during some battle in the
Peninsula, but no mention is made of it in the
but for the incongruity between the crude, rogu- lengthy Historical Records, and no description of
any action fits the nickname. I must therefore
ISh man of blood and guts and the emblem of rate it bogus but shall be glad to be corrected.

sacrifice and docility under which his troops STEADY THE BUFFS . This saying is of such
fame that it is included in The Oxford Dictionary
marched. Indeed it owes its fame to its funny- of Quotations. as extracted from a play by Kip-
ling in which there is no other mention of the
sarcastic ring. Buffs. A search for its origin, through the books
and minds of all known Buffs, proved fruitless-
THE TANGERINES. lt is hard to decide until Mr Ted Phillips, of the Buffs Museum,

whether this funny nickname deserves to be
rated famous or ephemeral, and it would be a
help if old Oueensmen of the inter-war period
would tell us whether it was often to be heard
echoing around the barrack blocks. lt was given

to the troops who returned from Tangier on its
evacuation in 1684, and since the Queen's had

been specially raised to garrison this trouble-
some dowry colony, they would have taken spe-
cial pride in the nickname, but probably not for
very long. However, the award of the honour
Tangier in 1909 would have brought about a
revival of pride in the nickname, and although
omitted from previous editions of Brewer's, it
gained admission in their centenary one.

39

found correspondence about it in an ancient interpretation of the booty won at Quebe c, t he

issue ofthe regimental magazine. Prime witness plumes of the Royal Roussillon Reg imen t.

was a retired officer of the Royal Scots Fusiliers Deservedly famous.

who shared a barrack square with the Buffs in

Malta in 1858 and vividly remembered the The Queen 's Own Royal West Kent Regiment

adjutant's exhortation, " Steady The Buffs - the

Fusiliers are watching you! " The Fusiliers of (50th and 97th of Foot)

course laughed and laughed, and they gleefully THE BLIND HALF HUNDRED . Result of losse s
raised the cry when they met the Buffs again, in incurred from ophthalmia during the march on
Dublin's thickly populated garrison. There was Cairo in 1801 . Might be first instance o f a
the excuse for the adjutant' s anxiety in Malta number-nickname, acquired at a time when
that his was the 2nd Bn, newly-raised and full of regiments were still frequently addressed,
raw Irish recruits . The story has the purest ring irregularly, as their colonels ' property. Ephem -

of veracity, and I was thrilled to be able to reveal eral.
Mr Phillips's great discovery in the history pub-
lished by Leo Cooper. No Buff has yet thanked THE DIRTY HALF HUNDRED. The 50th took
me for it. great pride in this seemingly derisive nickname,
for they became dirty by wiping their sweatmg

The East Surrey Regiment (31st and 70th of brows with their fluidly dyed black cuffs whtle
Foot) heroically engaged in the defence of Vimeiro,
near Lisbon , in 1808. " Not a good-lookmg regt-
YOUNG BUFFS. Although missing from Bre-
ment, but devilish steady", the Duke of Welling-
wer's, this must be rated a famous nickname
•J ton subsequently recalled, thus ensunng the
because it was awarded personally by a King of
lasting fame of the nickname.
England on his last appearance on a battlefield
(from which he would have been removed if an CELESTIALS . Derived from the sky-blue fac-
officer of the Buffs had not grabbed the rein of ings of the 97th, whose independent lifespan,
his bolting horse when almost clear into open 1824-81 , inevitably makes this engaging nick-
country) . Having returned on foot, George 11 saw name an ephemeral one.

a regiment wearing buff subsidiaries march RUNDLE ' S GREYHOUNDS . Rundle was GOC

resolutely forward and called out, " Bravo The 8th Division, with whom the 2nd Bn, former

Buffs! " This is said to have drawn the indignant 97th, served in the Boer War. Chaplin's history

reply from an officer, "Sir, we are the 31st, not of The Queen's Own makes it clear that the nick-

the Old Buffs." Whereupon the King made name was won by the division as a whole for the

instant, guttural retort, " Then Bravo Young speed oftheir marches, and it therefore does not

Buffs!" The battle was Dettingen, 1743. Whether qualify as a regimental nickname.

the 31st (or " Handasyd's" as they were known at

the time) took pride in the nickname only they The Middlesex Regiment (57th and 77th of Foot)
would know. The Surreys ceased to wear buff

facings on becoming such in 1881 and presum- STEELBACKS. Acquired by the 57th soon after

ably regarded the nickname as ephemeral. reaching the Peninsula in 1809 for the frequency

GLASGOW GREYS. The 31st gave birth to a and stoicism with which its men endured
2nd Bn at Glasgow in 1756 and when still there floggings. A revealing prelude to yet sterner
tests. Ephemeral.
two years later - a long stay for the nomads,

soldiers were- it was weaned from its parent to DIEHARDS. By his call of "Die hard, 57th! " on
be the 70th of Foot. The nickname bespeaks its the ridge above Albuhera, the wounded Lt Col
attachment to Glasgow and the faded version of lnglis founded what might well be rated the
buff adopted as its facings colour. lt had no con - most famous nickname to be heard throughout
the British Army. lt gave inspiration at the time
nection with the Royal Scots Greys, who had yet (16 May 1811) and it gave inspiration to many
to take name as such. lt was consigned to the future generations faced with battle, not just of
ephemeral in 1768, when the grey was the 57th but of any unit incorporated in the Mid-
exchanged for black.

dlesex Regiment. Indeed, he gave the British

The Royal Sussex Regiment (35th and 107th of language a new word, for "diehard" has gained
Foot) such currency as a noun that the time has surely
come for its usage as a single unhyphenated
THE BELFAST REGIMENT. Listed in Brewer's word. (lt has a hyphen in my 1964 Oxford Dictio-

as a famous nickname, it commemorates the nary but hyphens are washed away with the
regiment's city of origin and an enduring link passing of the years.) Of impeccably authenti-
reinforced by the conferment of Freedom in
1961 . Is more in the nature of an alternative title cated and awesome origin, it deserves a special
place in the inheritance of nicknames.
than a nickname.
POTHOOKS. A funny-witty nickname depict-
ORANGE LILIES. A neat combination of the
ing the shape of the figures 77 , but once part of
pre-Royal facings colour, displaying loyalty to
the Middlesex Regiment, the 77th were proud to
the House of Orange, and an imaginative
regard themselves as Diehards . Ephemeral.





42

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43

The 5th (Volunteer) Battalion

General has meant that our recruiting needs have been

The highlight of the last six months was minimal. The emphasis continues to be on
our annual camp held in glorious sunshine recruiting specialists, following our successful
at Knook Camp, Salisbury Plain, in late enlistment of cooks.
May/early June. Over 450 all ranks attended
and the emphasis was on individual and The Bn Shooting Team under RSM Whalley is
platoon training, with great use being made now training hard with a view to success in the
of the excellent field-firing facilities avail- 1983 SEDSAM .

able. An Officers' Mess Guest Night was held at
Annual Camp when we dined out Majs Richard
We were very proud to be the first TA batta- Holmes, Richard Thornton, Tony Haigh and Capt

lion to use the Porton Battle Run with A and B Willie Harper. The very successful Officers' Mess

Coys together with the Milan PI and RAP. Curry Lunch over the mid weekend of camp was

attended by over 100. The WOs' and Sgts' Mess

Visitors to camp included Brig Millman (Divi- also held a very successful dinner night at camp.
In late August we held the Annual Officers ' Mess
sional Brigadier). Brig Hume (Commander 2
Bde) Brig Gordon Lennox (COS HQ SE Dist) and Cocktail Party and Beating Retreat where the
salute was taken by Maj-Gen T M Badcock,
Col Strong (TA Colonel SE Dist) .
Chairman of SE TAVRA.
Following annual camp, we mounted the TA

Stand on behalf of the Infantry at the Aldershot Personalities
Army Display 1982; this was organised by the

Trg Major and OM who put in a great deal of Maj Richard Holmes has handed over A Coy to

work to ensure its success. A similar display fol- Maj Tim Oyler (on promotion) after a highly suc-

lowed at Bassingbourn for the schoolboys visit cessful 4 '/z years in command ; he is moving on

and Queen ' s Division Open Day. to a TA S02 appointment at HQ SE Dist. Capt

The 14-month Potential Officers training Andy Roberts has handed over as Adjutant to
course run at Tonbridge under Maj Tony Haigh Capt Mark Rayner whom we welcome from 3
on behalf of HQ SE Dist has now ended and we QUEENS . We also welcome W01 Whalley as
hope to gain several new subalterns from it. RSM and congratulate Capt Chris Argent on tak-
ing over C Coy from Maj Mike Tindle.
On the training side, companies have been

busy throughout the summer although travel- EX "ARRAS AMBLE"
ling has been somewhat limited due to petrol (A Company's battlefield tour of Arras and the

restrictions. A Coy took part in the Army Air Day Somme)

at Middle Wallop where they mounted a security by Maj E R Holmes, TO

operation ; they also ventured to France on a The unwary French railway porter would have
Battlefield Tour.
seen a curious sight had he emerged from Arras
;. Bn HQ and all Coy HQs were put through their railway station at about 8.00 on the morning of
paces early in July at the Infantry Battle Group Saturday 28 August : a large and unmistakably

Trainer at Bovington . British coach disgorged a horde of passengers

We have received our Clansman radios, and whose bleary faces bore ample testimony to the

conversion courses for all members of the Bn delights of cross-channel travel. Most set off in

are under way. search of coffee or (despite the hour) something

The Milan PI scored another " first" in being stronger : Ex " Arras Amble," despite some sub-
the first Volunteer Bn to fire it; this took place on stantial hurdles during its planning and last-
Salisbury Plain in October watched by the GOC minute suspicions that a wildcat strike by French
SE Dist, Director of Infantry and Commander 2
dockers, was definitely " across the start-line".

Bde. Over the past five years, A Coy has carried out

We sent a small umpire party under the Trg three battlefield tours- the first to Normandy,
Major on Ex "Cross Keys" at Stanford PTA in the second to Ypres, and this one, to Arras and
June ; we also took part in Ex " Second Try", a 2 the Somme. The tours are self-financing ,
lnf Bde Exercise at Acrise early in October. although the kindness of the French and Belgian
military authorities usually means that accom-
The CO, Trg Maj and Coy commanders visited modation costs are negligible; so that the only
BAOR in late October for a recce and familiarisa- real expense is travel. Perhaps surprisingly, a
tion. 55-seater coach, ferry tickets etc, costs only in

On the Recruiting side there has been a the region of £20 per head for a 4-day weekend .

dramatic improvement in our " wastage" which On this occasion the French were unable to

44 the 88 mm anti -aircraft gun in the anti -tank role.
We returned to Arras by way of the Citadel , a
assist with accommodation , but the Common-
wealth War Graves Commission kindly permit- remarkably well-preserved piece of military
ted us to sleep in a disused administration build - architecture, in whose ditch the Germans had
ing in conditions that were, albeit somewhat executed numerous resistance workers now
spartan, perfectly acceptable. commemorated in an impressive memorial.

Having moved into our accommodation and WELL AS 'THE 1.0 SAID , THE ENEM Y AeE

bought the makings of a picnic lunch- baguet- NOT E XPECT E D TO B E. HE.eE BE!=OI< E
tes, cheese and vin (decidedly ordinaire) , we set
07COHC2.5 M O J>JDAY 50 W E HAVE:. PLENT Y
off for Vimy Ridge, the commanding feature
north of Arras taken by the Canadians in the 0~ T IME F=0 12 TH IS. ' o ' C. l2.0u P 111
Spring of 1915. The centre of the battlefield is
now a 240-acre park owned, in perpetuity, by
Canada and dominated by a huge Canadian
memorial. A small section of the 22-mile tunnel
system running beneath the ridge is open to vis-
itors, and most took the opportunity to accom-
pany a guided tour of the 800 yard long Grange
Tunnel. After an alfresco lunch amongst the
shell-holes on top of the ridge, we drove
through Neuville St Vaast to the French cemet-

ery and ossuaire at Notre Dame de Lorette: the

latter contains the remains of some 50,000 men,
and the effect of the cemetery and monuments
was profoundly striking, particularly to those of
us who had never visited a war cemetery before.

We moved off, perhaps somewhat more
thoughtful, to Mont St Eloi, where we discussed
the background to the Arras counter-attack of

May 1940- an attempt by an ad hoc British for-

mation (FRANKFORCE) to relieve the garrison of
Arras and disrupt the Germans who were in pro-
cess of breaking through south of the town. We
attempted to follow the route of the British
advance, but discovered that several country
roads, which might have been passable to
Matilda tanks in 1940, offered rather more effec-
tive obstacles to coaches 22 years later.
Nevertheless, we managed to reach Vailly,
where Maj Gen Erwin Rommel (then command-
ing 7th Panzer Division) nearly met his end at the
hands of 7 RTR ; and Mercatel , the village which
witnessed the first use, in Western Europe, of

F 1Q-H~.ISS AICE HUR.R. Y MA"-l , THE. C:.E.NE.I2AL15 DoN T 'IOU THINK A LITTL E MO<:E,
R_E A LISM IN YOU<;?, !'; I . B .U . A
c.AR 15 OuE. AN'( M II'J UTE. NOW !! TRA I N I N~ WOULD BE WJS E ?

45

On the following morning , fortified by coffee omfifleens~ioven the ba tt lef ie ld of Arras - the British
and croissants which contended , (in some cases of April 1917 wh ich was wid elyh a i led
not altogether successfully) with the fumes of
what might best be termed a good night the as a wasted opportunity. T im e wa s pressmg so,
previous evening, we drove south towards the
Somme. The Battle of the Somme was the first after spending an hour at M onchv- le-Preux . the
real test of the " New Armies", the volunteers
who had responded so enthusiastically to Lord high -water mark of Brit ish succe ss, w e set off fo r
Kitchener's " Your Country Needs You " appeal
of 1914. The main attack was entrusted to Gen Calais.
Sir Henry Rawlinson's 4th Army, assaulting on a
10-mile front between Montauban in the south A stop at th e St Omer hypermarket enabl ed us
and the Ancre in the north: Gen Allenby's 3rd
Army was to mount a diversionary attack at to stock up with various Gallic goodies, although
Gommecourt, on Rawlinson 's left. The pre-
paratory bombardment began on 24 June 1916 the author' s Vin de Pays could pro babl y have
and, in the following week, 1,508,652 shells were
fired into the German lines. But, as events were been used as paint stripper; and Lt M cGhi e's
to show, the chalky ridges and fortified villages
which formed the basis of the German position large apple tart sustained fatal damage wh en 1t
proved remarkably resistant to bombardment,
and when the assaulting infantry moved for- fell from the luggage ra ck onto its lu ckl ess
ward at 7.30 on the morning of 1 July, large sec-
tions of the German wire remained intact and owner! There are those who allege that t he Sgts'
machine-gunners scrambled out of the surviv-
ing dug-outs to take a heavy toll of the advanc- mess, following the clear and incisive leadersh ip
ing infantry. The first day's fighting cost the Brit-
ish army 57.470 men , and the battle dragged on of CSM Fairfax, did more damage to the produc-
till November, by which time British losses total-
led 419,654. Most of the contested area was by tion of Calvados than two successive German
then in British hands and, although the expected
breakthrough had failed to materialise, German Ainfvtearsiaonrs~mbaurtkaitbwlyo uld be churlish to comm ent.
losses were equally heavy. placid channel crossing w e

We drove south along the 1 July front line, returned to Guildford by early evening, home in
stopping at Gommecourt, Serre, Beaumont-
Hamel and Thiepval. Although villages have time to assure our families that we had had a
been rebuilt and trees and bushes veil the scars
of war, it was easy to see why the German posi - rugged weekend .
tion , with its mutually-supportin~ village
strongpoints, had proved so formidable. At There was, however, a great deal more to the
Thiepval we walked around the memonal weekend than merely the opportunity to enjoy a
inscribed with the names of 73,077 British and couple of excellent meals and stock up on some
Commonwealth soldiers who fell during the "duty-free". There was not one of us who was
Somme battles but whose bodies were never not moved by what he had seen . it is an almost
found . indescribable sensation to walk along a batta-
lion's start line, still strewn with the debris of
After lunch in Arras, we drove to Montauban, battle, and to be able to see not only the objec-
passing the spot where Capt W P Nevill's com- tive some 500 metres away but also th e
pany of 8 East Surreys crossed the start-l.ine kick- remnants of the German first line which, in the
ing four footballs, at least one of wh1ch was event, was further than any of that particular
inscribed : " The Great European Cup. The Fmal, battalion ever got. We were fortunate with the
East Surreys v Bavarians. Kick off at Zero ." weather, which was almost as hot and every bit
as sunny as 1 July 1916. We were hot enough in
We also visited Fricourt and Mametz, and our shirtsleeves and it was impossible not to feel
drove along the spur overlooking the notorious tremendous sympathy for our ancestors as they
Mash Valley, where 2 Middlesex, one of the few trudged, in their thick khaki serge and with their
regular battalions engaged on the first day of the
battle, lost 23 officers and 517 soldiers. After 60 lbs of equipment, up the shell -torn chalk
brief halts at Delville Wood- where one of our towards the waiting Spandaus.
more inspired treasure seekers unearthed a
Lee-Enfield rifle, rusty but recognisable - and at A DAV IN THE LIFE OF MILAN PLATOON
the Butte de Warlencourt, we returned to Arras
by way of Bapaume. by Capt MS Rumsey

On the following morning, we took the Cam- Three rather lonely figures stood on a wind-
brai road out of Arras and halted, after five swept Wiltshire hillside watching a Manned
Target Tank plough unwillingly across the land-
scape.

"Ow are ee off for cyan ide capsules suur?"
asked Sgt Harbinson . " Only enough for myself"
I murmured ; the gentle tones of Sgt Harbinson's
newly-acquired West Country drawl seemed to
have roused thoughts that dwelt a million miles
away. Sgt Noble, the third member of the trio
said nothing, but continued to munch his way
silently through a supply of Valium which his
wife had thoughtfully provided for the week-
end!

This somewhat fan ciful description of the
scene at the Firing Point on the Tinkers Firs
Milan Firing Range conveys, albeit whimsically,

46 plete without a trot through the Porton Battle
Run). we began to approach the date for our
some element of the true feelings of some of the
principal figures in Milan PI as they waited for Line Firing.
the first team to fire their missiles.
By this time the Platoon only had six former
" First" should be considered as the Key-word WOMBAT men ; the rest were imports like
of the whole event; not only was it the first firing myself and Cpl Akehurst, or recruits who made
by 5 QUEENS but it was also the first firing by up the bulk of the Platoon. However with Sgt
any TA Milan PI. Harbinson as PSI and NCOs like Sgt Noble, Cpls
Samson, Akehurst and Brown, to mention but a
Fortunately the event was arousing little inter- few, a successful result was always likely.
est and the GOC, SE Dist and the Director of
Infantry insisted on being treated just like any All worked themselves to exhaustion in prep-
other VIP! aration for the Line Firing and the BHE that pre-
ceded it. When the first round was about to be
The firing was the culmination of seven fired, all the " Management" could honestly say
months hard training since the platoon was was that everything in their power had been
raised earlier in the year. In order to produce the done- and it was now up to the firers.
level of professionalism and accuracy required
for handling such an important weapon, many The BHE went without a hitch, the first two
extra week-ends and drill nights were put in. rounds being fired by Pte Mick Smart- who then
Here it would be worthwhile to go back to Janu- had to be rushed back to Eastbourne to take his
ary : before then, the Platoon had been split family on holiday to Spain that evening!
60-40 in favour of those who said that Milan
would never arrive and that "Wombat rules The only other difficulty came when our dis-
OK" ; after that date we only had 40% of the tinguished guests arrived to see a direct hit
Platoon left! (which also took out the antenna of the Manned
Target Tank, causing some confusion'.)
The job of converting a WOMBAT soldier is
slightly more difficult than first meets the eye The result of the day was a 100% success for
and in some cases could only have been the firers and considerable credit to the Platoon;
achieved by considerable persuasion. However, it was also a fitting end to Sgt Harbinson's tour
some were converted and became followers of as PSI as the results of the shooting are a
the " Good Book" (Pamphlet 27-MILAN). reflection of his enthusiasm and ability.

After an amazingly good turnout for a one- The BHE Competition Shield was won by LCpl
week Spring Centre at Crowborough in March Robert's team and the competition for next year
followed by Camp in May (no camp being corn- is already arranged.

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