June 1991

CADET UNITS AFFILIATED TO THE REGIMENT

HABERDASHERS' ASKE'S SCHOOL CCF held in Minden, Germany, and Episkopi, Cyprus, as
by Cdt RSM J Furnau guests of 2nd and 3rd Battalions The Queen 's
Regim ent. Our Annual General Inspection was con-
The Army Section this year began with the resur- ducted by Lt Col PH M Squier RMP.
rection of our Signals section and then revival of
the Engineers section, and these developments Our Ea ster Camp in 1991 was held under canvas
were followed by the formation of an Advanced on Exmoor and meanwhile a cadet NCO attended
Infantry Cadre. The enthusiasm for these initiatives the UKLF camp at Stanford Physical Training Area .
was a direct response to the excellent summer
camp on Cyprus as guests of 3 QUEENS . At the Our shooting team has enjoyed another excel-
SBA of Episcopi Garrison our hosts laid on a full lent season. We were winners of the Jeudwine
and imaginative programme, the work of Maj John Cup, 2nd of 80 schools in the first round of
Barr, illustrative of the role of the battalion, and Staniforth, 2nd in the Country Life, and 2nd in the
combining exposure to military skills and the British Schools Championship . In the South East
delights of the island coast. Highspots were the District Shoot our Class A team was 3rd and Class
demonstration of FIBUA techniques, some gru- B team were winners for the fourth year running.
elling rock-work, exposure to a particularly arid
and dusty orienteering course, and the delights of We should finally like to thank Maj E Christian
early morning PT sessions, all under the benign (QUEENS) and his Cadet Training Team for their
eye of Cpl Powell. On the social side we savoured support and wish him well in his retirement .
the delights of Abdul's 'choggy' shop.
SOUTH WEST LONDON SECTOR ACF
The summer camp was part of the celebrations
connected with the 75th Anniversary of the contin- During this period detachments have been
gent's foundation , that had begun with the very preparing for and undergoing their annual inspec-
successful CCF Day held in May 1990. This took tions. They all paraded for Remembrance Day and
three basic forms: a number of static displays from most have run open days and recruiting stands at
the armed forces ; a day-long series of CCF inter- local events.
arm competitions, with in addition, trips in heli -
copters for the cadets; the culmination being a Congratulations are offered to Cdt CSgt Parker of
sequence of events involving a display by men 155 (Ewell) Detachment on the award of the Lord
from 1 QUEENS, a fly past by the RAF, a parachute Lieutenant's Certificate (Greater London), and to
drop by the Royal Engineers, a demonstration Cdt Cpl Falkner, also of 155 Detachment and Cdt
from the RAF dog-handling team, and the finale Sgt Mitchell 151 (Kingston) Detachment on the
was a stirring musical display by the band of the award each of a Deputy Lord Lieutenant' s
Royal Marines. The contingent was proud to be the Certificate.
host of Admiral Sir Jeremy Black, C-in -C Naval
Home command. SMI Horan and seven cadets from 13 Group
were chosen to be present at the Cadet Tra i ning
Centre, Frimley on the occasion of the visit of HRH
The Duke of Edinburgh.

HURSTPIERPOINT COLLEGE CCF SURREY ACF
by Capt J A Gowans

The CCF continues to play an important part in Despite the effect of the demographic trough,
school life with every boy serving at least five cadet strength in Surrey has increased by 20% in
school terms as cadets and about 70% choosing to the last year, thanks to a determined recruiting
remain as volunteer cadet NCOs for up to eight campaign with the assistance of the QUEENS RIT.
more terms.
That increase has not been at the expense of
The contingent is one of the six oldest in the quality: Surrey cadet teams won the UKLF
country and for the first time in its history is to Orienteering Championship, the SEDIST 7-a-side
become a fully volunteer organisation in rugby, and two cadets achieved gold standard in
September 1991. the Duke of Edinburgh 's Award Scheme.

About 80% of this year's new boys have, howev- Despite the cancellation of ACF visits to BAOR
er, opted to serve a minimum of five terms and the this year, parties of cadets have taken full advan-
character of the contingent is therefore unlikely to tage of travel opportunities in the UK and over-
change significantly. seas. A party visited the 3rd Battalion in Cyprus,
where they were royally entertained, and Surrey
In May 1990 we entered the South East District will once again be represented in the Nijmegan
Patrol Competition and achieved 3rd place in the
Assault Course event. Our summer camps were

49

Marches by Capt Mike McCauliffe and a party of
cadets from the Camberley area. Surrey's appear-
ance at Nijmegan is becoming something of a tra-
dition after some years - althoug h the four day
march remains a minority interest, and the team's
enthusiasm and dedication remain a source of
wonderment to non-participants.

One party, travelled less t h an te n miles to
achieve a brief moment of glory, when t hey repre-
sented Surrey at Frimley Park Cadet Tr aining
Centre for the visit of HRH the Duke of Edinburgh.
Winning the ski ll s competition, they were pho-
tographed with the Duk e, a photograph w hi c h
appeared on the front page of many local papers,

and some nationals too!

1991 is a year of change for Surrey. Command of Kent ACF helicopter training at St Mary's Bay.
the 1st Cadet Batta li on has been assumed by Maj
lan Stewart, taking over from Maj M ev Eva ns; who winter months and our thanks go to Sgt C Gylby
assumes responsibility for paragliding. Command and his team for their endless energy in providing
of the 2nd Cadet Battalion has passed to Maj Dav id such worthwhile training.
Cox, on the retirement of Maj Bill M ay- after some
30 years service to Surrey ACF. This year, for the first time, Camp will be at
Sennybridge and we are mu ch looking forward to
Later this year, the command structure changes using the excellent facilities. The military package
will be comp lete when Brig G E Bartlett MBE, takes will be backed up with extensive Adventur e
up the appointment of County Commandant, suc- Training including exe rcise s on the Brecon
ceeding Col Peter Tween who retires after 7 years Beacons, caving, sub-aqua training and dry slope
of command. skiing.

KENT ACF

3 QUEENS (ACF)

SMI Michael Johns was awarded the Lord FRIMLEV AND CAMBERLEV CADET CORPS
Lieutenant of Kent's Meritorious Service Certificate by Col R G Butterfield
which was presented by the Rt Hon Robin Leigh -
Pemberton in Decem ber. This recognised his out-
standing service to Kent ACF, particularly in raising
a new platoon.

Highlights of the battalion 's training year have The annual Old Comrades ' dinner and dan ce
included a highly successful detachment visit to was held on 27 October at the Social Club ,
th e 3rd Battali o n in Cyprus. We would like to thank Sandhurst, for the first time. This was a great suc-
the Commanding Officer for allowing us to come cess being so well attended, so it will have t o be
and to everyone who entertained us . There have repeated again this year. Next day the annual
not been many weekends when someone from the Service of Remembran ce was held at St Paul 's
battalion has not been training . A number of pack- Church, Camberley, for those ex-members of the
ages have been put together in cluding a Skill at Corps who gave the i r lives in the 1914- 18 and
Arms weekend at Shoreham Ranges near 1939-45 wars. There was a march -past after by
Sevenoaks, up grades in Star Testing Award s and, members of the Corps, Old Comrades and fathers
last month, our annual long training weekend over of the cadets in the Corps.
the M ay Bank Holiday which we use as a run-up to
Annual Camp. Once again we are grateful to the On 3 December the Carol Service was held once
Army Air Corps for supplying helicopter flights. again at St Francis Church, Frimley, the singing
being led by Paul Holt Padre of the 2nd Cadet Bn
The cadets cont ributions to the co mmunity co n- The Queens Regiment. Afterwards a record num-
tinues after last year raising over £3500 for the ITV ber of mince pies was co nsumed by the cadets.
Telethon , pulling our 25 Pound Field Gun from
On 8 December the annual dinner for officers
Wo o lwich to the TVS Studios in Maid ston e. This and staff of the Corps and members of the man-
year we are organising an Ad vent ure Training agement co mmittee, together with their Ladies,
Weekend for under privileged children.
was held at Caird Hall. The food was of the highest
All our Platoons now have girls enro lled and this standard having had a Chef Instructor from the
is working well with increased strengths. Visits of Army Catering Corps prepare it.
Th e Qu ee n's RIT have continued throughout the

50

The Mothering Sunday Church Parade at St ot her Associations, to visit war graves on the
Paul 's Church, Camberley, was very well attended Somme, and in the area of Ypres, and lay wreaths.
with the highe st number of ca dets and parent s Th ey will also take part in a parade to the Menin
attending, inc lud ing the Mayor of Camberley, who Gate for the ceremony of Last Post, followed by a
took t he sa lute at the march past after the Service, reception by the Burgomaster at the Cloth Hall. All
led by the Corps of Drum s of the City of London. will attend an evening Service at St George ' s
Memo rial Church, Ypres, on the Saturday followed
The next parade wi ll be for the Corps to march by a banquet.
t hrough Camberley o n St George' s Day, and the
salute wi ll be taken once agai n by the Mayor and On the weekend 22-24 March the Corps were in
one or two Chelsea pensioners. Camp at Browndown Camp , Lee -o n-Solent. In
between training, a visit was made to the " D Day"
On 18 M ay a Consecration Service will take pla ce Museum at Po rt smouth. All the young Cadets
for the new Co rps Colour by th e Chaplain Gen eral thought it was great.
at the Gordon School , West End, near Woking . Th e
Lord Li eutenan t of Surrey, Richard E Th o rn ton, Annual Camp this year will be at the Battle
OBE, JP will present the Colour. Camp, Okehampton, thanks to Surrey ACF inviting
us to attend. Visits will be made to the Devonport
On 31 May until 2 Jun e Col R Butterfi eld as Do ckyard, the Citadel at Pl ymouth, and RAF
Pres id ent of the Broo kwood Last Post and thre e Chivenor.
officers from the Corps wi ll leave for Belgium
t oget her with over 80 members of the RBL and

REGIMENTAL HEADQUARTERS

VISITORS TO RHO

The fol lowing have signed the RHO Visito rs' Book
since the la st edition of the Journa l:

Lt Col Philip Pearce, Lt Col Chris Argent, Brig Bob Visit to Regimental Headquarters on 20 February 1991 of
Acwo rth , Lt Col John Salmon, Brig Stuart Ander- the lord Mayor and lady Mayoress of Canterbury. l toR:
son , Maj Alasdair Goulden, Maj Mike Hurman , Lt lt Col Chris Argent, the Regimental Secretary, Mrs
David Festing , Col Crispin Champion, Maj Nick Vivienne Argent, the lord Mayor and lady Mayoress.
Keyes, Maj Patri ck Browne, Rev Brian Elliott, Maj
Nichola s Beswi ck, Maj John Powell , Mr Rob ert
Goodwin, WOI (RS M ) M E Gauntlett, Lt Col Davi d
Wak e, W02 (RQ MS ) R G H Bi lner, Brig Ga v in
Bulloch, Maj Robin Wolfenden, WOI (RSM) D Parr,
Lt M ike Gauntl et! , Capt Mike Denning RM , Capt
Paddy Reynolds, The Lord Mayor and Lady Mayor-
ess of Canterbury (CIIr and Mrs Jim Nock). Mrs
Vivi enne Argent, Maj Mark Ouinn , Capt Charles
Bromfi eld, Capt Anthony Bo lto n, Col Da v id Di ckins,
Lt Col Anthony Beattie, Mrs Patrici a Sh ephard, Maj
Tim Oyl er, Capt Duncan Stutt, Mr George Good,
Capt Adrian Jones, WOI (RSM) B Camil le, W02
and Mrs T D Smith, Maj Ron Jarman , Lt Rupert
Elliott, Maj Charles Moss, 2Lt Eddy Scates, 2Lt
Simon Lloyd -Davis, 2Lt Tim Ri chardson, 2LT David
Ju xo n AAC, 2Lt Gerard Leahy, 2Lt Alexander Long.

THE QUEENS REGIMENT MUSEUM
"ALL THE QUEEN'S MEN"
DOVER CASTLE

FREE ADMISSION TO SERVING PERSONNEL AND REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATI ON
MEMBERS SHOWING ID CARDS/MEMBERSHIP CARDS .

51

OFFICERS' CLUB

REGIMENTAl DINNER FUTURE FUNCTIONS

A Regim enta l Dinn er to mark the 25th In December, Brig Hugh Tarver, wrote as
Anniversary year of the present Regiment was held Chairman of the Officers' Club to all M embers
in the Law So cie ty 's Hall , 113 Chancery Lane, inviting them to comp lete a proforma giving their
London on Friday 1 March . views on future functions. lt was his intention to
write in this Journal to thank the 162 members
Brig Bob A cwo rth , as senior Deputy Colonel, who had replied .
presided on behalf of the Colonel of the Regiment
who was unable to attend. The guests included the Many very useful proposals were made
Danish Ambassador and Defen ce Attache, regarding the frequ ency of events, the location, the
Netherlands Military Attach e, Master of the type of function and costs. As we go to pre ss, the
Haberdashers' Company, Commodore of HMS futur e programme is t o be discussed at the
Nelson, Captain of HMS Chatham, Captain desig- Regimental Committee Meeting , to be held on 8
nate of HMS Leeds Castle, Commanding Officer of May 1991 .
HMS Kent, Honorary Colonel of the 5th (Volunteer)
Battalion, the Honorary Regimental Chaplain and Perhaps the best comment was made by Maj
Solicitor and the Chairman of the Investments Sub Andrew Dawson "it's the company that matters,
Committee . Lt Col Simon Boucher, Maj John not the quality of mess tin contents or size of tent" .
Stirling and Maj Nick Grant were also dined out in
accordance with Regimental custom to invite, as We are most grateful to all Members who assist-
guests, those Field Officers and above who have ed with this survey by returning forms .
retired since the last dinner and have not been
given a farewell meal in one of our battalions or REGIMENTAL WEDDING PRESENTS
the Depot. Altogether 110 officers and their guests
were present. A letter of thanks to all Members of the Officers'
Club for the gift of a Regimental wedding present
All assembled stood in silence to remember Brig has been received from Capt and Mrs S J F
Hugh Tarver who had died the previous Sunday Plowman.
and whose funeral had taken place earlier that day.
After the meal and the Toasts to HM The Queen, FORTHCOMING MARRIAGE
HRH Princess Juliana and HM Queen Margrethe,
the Regimental Secretary read out messages of Mr A Martin and Miss K A Mackie
best wishes from our two Allied Colonels-in -Chief
and Brig Bob Acworth made a short speech wel- The engagement is announced between David,
coming the guests, reviewing the state of the second son of Maj A Martin MBE and Mrs Martin
Regiment and looking briefly into the future. of Herne Bay, Kent and Katherine, elder daughter
of Mr and Mrs B S Mackie of Balquhindachy,
Methlick, Aberdeenshire.

MARRIAGES

We congratulate the following on their marriages: Watkins, Pte M A to Mi ss Bettina Margareta 03.11 .90
17 .11 .90
Dawes , Pte A M to Miss Debra Louise Heschell 07 .04 .90 Roloff 17.11 .90
Jakeman , Pte GC to Mi ss Sandra Grote 24 .11 .90
Young, Cpl AS to Miss Sigrid Margarete Erika Wells-Peste , LCpl M L to Miss Karen Chapman 24.11.90
Foster, Sgt S D to Mi ss Miche lle Mary White 22.12 .90
Krueger 27 .07 .90 Nicholls, LCpl A to Miss Lynn Carol Simpson 29.12 .90
Anderson, Pte K P to Mi ss Faith Teresa Wood
Glastonbury, Pte J R to Miss Sally Ann Haizelden 04 .08 .90 Jones, LCpl LE to Miss Karen Michell e James 05 .01 .91
Singleton, Pte D A to Mi ss Racheal Louise 26 .01 .91
Hayes, Pte J T to Miss Amanda Elizabeth Tweed 04 .09.90 16.02 .91
Ledg er 23.03.9 1
Griffin , Pte S C J to Miss Susan Jane Sullivan 21.09 .90. Martin, Pte G P to Miss Debora h Collett Farrel l 23 .03 .91
Craycraft, Cpl AT to Miss Jayne Ell en Cherry
Howard, Cpl S C to Miss Sylvia An ne Tomlin so n 12.10.90 Malcolm, Cpl E R to Mi ss Sarah Anne Burgess
Saunders, LCpl D A to Miss Linda Beau not
Andrews, Pte CS to Miss And rea Florence

Heaney 13.10.90

Gouin , Pte S J to Miss Caroline Elizabeth

M cl lwaine 13. 10 .90

Turner, LCpl R M to Miss Anke lngeborg 19. 10 .90

52

DEATHS

DENT - On 3 Nov 90, Ri chard Dent, late QUEENS SNOWDON - On 26 J an 91 , Col DC Sn ow d o n
TD, late QUEENS and R SUSSE X.
and RAF.
DELVES - On 7 Nov 90 , Maj N H Delve s, late KEALY - On 1 Feb 91 , Eve Muri el Keal y, w id ow of
Maj P Kealy, late QUEENS.
Buffs and RAPC.
ELGOOD - On 14 Nov 90, lt Col P N Elgood, late RUMSEY - On 1 Feb 91 M aJ M S Rum sey, 5

RWK and QUEENS . QUEENS (V).
KEALV - On 24 Nov 90, Col J B H Kealy DSO DL, WILLOUGHBY - On 23 Feb 91 , Maj Gen Sir Joh n

late QUEENS RR. Willoughby KBE CB, late MX.
LING- On 13 Dec 90, Sheelah Phyllis Ling wife of TARVER - On 24 Feb 91 , Brig H N Tarver CBE ,

Maj Gen FA H Ling CB DSO DL. late BUFFS and QUEENS .
ROOKE - On 14 Dec 90, lt Col D Rooke MC and GUY - on 7 Mar 91 , Maj R C Guy MC, late E SUR -

Bar, late RWK. REYS .
HOARE - On 25 Dec 90, lt Col N E Hoare, late ROPER - On 29 Mar 91, Lt Col I H Raper MC late

BUFFS aged 92. RWK.
NEWTON - On 30 Dec 90 , Helen Marjorie

Newton, wife of Maj A H Newton, late E SURREYS.

OBITUARIES

MAJ GEN SIR JOHN WILLOUGHBY KBE CB Regiment in 1933. He joined the 2nd Battalion in
Colchester and later moved on with the unit to
Colonel of The Middlesex Regiment (DCO) 1959 - Portsmouth and to Gosport. Those were carefree
1965 days for young officers and John was one of them.
His abilities were quickly recognised and he was
The Middlesex Regiment (DCO) has been proud appointed an instructor to the Machine Gun School
to include many outstanding and distinguished at Netheravon. But then came the outbreak of war
officers of higher rank amongst its members and in 1939 and early the next year John was posted to
Maj Gen Sir John Willoughby, who died on 23 the 2nd Battalion in France where it was part of the
February, aged 77 , most certainly has to be placed BEF. He became Adjutant just prior to the outbreak
high in that eminent list. of actual conflict before returning with the unit
through Dunkirk to the UK. Those drastic events in
The summit of Sir John's distinguished career the early part of the war made a lasting impression
was surely the accolade of a knighthood in 1967 on him which was to remain throughout his career.
whilst in the rank of Major General - an honour Following a period with the battalion re-training
rarely bestowed to any officer of that rank and and building defences in Southern England, he
highly merited in particular by Sir John. was promoted to command the 2nd Battalion in
1943. Later he was appointed GS01 to a spe cial
John Willoughby came from a military family mission travelling to the USA, throughout the
which has long association with Wiltshire . The Pacific and including a period spent with the
family also have a special association with the Australian Forces in New Guinea, and eventually
Middlesex Regiment since his father Maj Noel on to Burma and India. On return he was given his
Willoughby, who is buried at Heytesbury, was second command , that of 1 DORSETS in 1944
commissioned into the Middlesex Regiment in which he led into Europe after D Day until being
1890 and served with the 4th Battalion in South evacuated sick back to UK. After the war from
Africa and then with the 2nd Battalion in France 1947 -49 John was a member of the Directing Staff
during the Great War, and his elder brother Capt at the Army Staff College, Camberley where his
Richard Willoughby joined the Supplementary extensive experience and knowledge was soon evi-
Reserve to the Regiment in the early thirties and dent. On completion of that posting he took the
served from 1940 with the 1st Battalion in Hong unexpected step of returning to regimental duty as
Kong before becoming a POW in December 1941 a company commander with the 1st Battalion in
for the remainder of World War 11. Hong Kong. On the outbreak of the Korean War in
1950 the battalion , as part of the emaciated 27
John was educated at Pangbourne Nautical Brigade, was despatched at five days notice north
College and then having attended the Royal from Hong Kong to form part of the United Nations
Military College at Sandhurst, where he became an
Under Officer, he was commissioned into the

53

Force and to take part in that campaig n. The battal- the Inter-Service Champio nships and was a mem-
ion was committed within three days of arriva l and ber of the Milocarians Athletic Clu b. He was also
remained in the forefront of the actio n throughout an expert fencer having won the inter-se rv ice cadet
its stay until being withdrawn back to Hong Kong fencing Championships for the Navy w hilst at
in 1951 . lt ea rn ed seven Battle Honours and it is Pangbourne and then repeating it the following
fair to say that John Willoughby was in hi s element year for the Army when at Sandhurst. He went on
as a company commander leading from the front to represent t he Army in the foils and sab re events
however dangerous o r uncomfortable the si tu a- and became a member of the En g land Fencin g
tion , invariably ca lm and cheerful, and somehow Team.
managing to interject some hila rious and morale
raising quip at precise ly the right moment. His next John was appoi nted an OBE in 1953, CBE in
appointment was as GS01, 3rd Infantry Divi sion in 1963, CB in 1966, and fin ally KBE in 1967 whilst in
UK and MELF until 1953 when he return ed to his Aden - the latter a very rare distinction indeed, as
third regim ental command as CO 1 M X in Austria . has already been mentioned, for a Major Genera l.
This was a very pleasant and happy period for the
battalion . Th e unit stayed there until 1955 when it John was marrred to Rosam und in 1938 and they
was moved under John 's co mmand to Cyprus to had three charming daughters, Ang ela, Clare and
deal with the highly unpleasant EOKA emergency. Robin.
Once again he relished the action and needless to
say John again adjusted himself and his battalion Although Sir John spent mu ch of his service in
to meet the new problems then fa cing them . He staff and higher command postings, he remained
handed over command in 1957 and, on promotion, very mu c h a regim ental sold ie r at hea rt. Hi s
took up the appointment of Colonel AG2(0) at the appointment as Colonel of Th e Middl esex
War Offi ce. In 1959 he was again promoted to Reg iment was probably his proudest moment and
beco me Brigadier, Chief of Staff, Land Forces in during his tenure from 1959 t o 1965 he filled the
Hong Kong . Two years later he was given com- post with eminence and w ith the highest regard
mand of 168 Infantry Brigade (TA) based in from everyone He wa s a long -standing memb er of
Chelsea, London and in 1963 he received further the Exec utive Committee of the Regimental Old
promotion to Major General to become GOC, 48 Comrades Association . He wa s also a Trustee of
Infantry Division (TA) and West Midland District the Regimental Museum where his deep knowl-
where he remained until 1965, when he went over- edge of reg imental history and his advic e wa s
seas again in the appointment of GOC, Land much sought after and keenly appreciated . Sir
Forces, Middle East in Aden. At the same time he John never lost his interest in the Regiment and its
held the appointment of Inspector General Federal affairs, nor his concern for the welfare of the men
Regular Army Southern Arabia and Security under his command. Until his last illness he sel-
Commander Aden State. This was possibly his dom missed a regimental occasion, often travelling
toughest assignment as he had the job of main - considerable distances to do so. To the very end,
taining security under continuous terrorist threat he was expressing concern and some apprehen-
until the British withdrawal became imminent. In sion for the men in the Forces in the recent Gulf
1966 the UK Government nominated Willoughby campaign.
to lead a mission to Zambia to study the logistical
problems resulting from the unilateral declaration 'John Willo ', as he was often known, was a man
of Independence by Rhodesia . Despite suggestions of humanity and humour, a wonderful companion
that his tour should be extended, John came home who inspired loyalty and affection in all with whom
in 1967 only to return to the Middle East again the he associated. His professionalism, vast experi-
next year as Defence Adviser to the Federation of ence and achievements gave his counsel great
Arab Emirates, travelling throughout the Gulf in an authority. He will be remembered as much for the
attempt to set up a common defence force for the manner of his contribution as for its extent, for his
Emirates and to organise a security framework for role as a commander, and also for his t ime as the
the area . He retired finally from the Army in 1972 leader of the Middlese x Regiment (DCO) as its
after a career of great variety and distinction - few Colonel.
had commanded as many as three battalions, had
experienced so much action , and yet had had to The funeral took place on Friday 1 March at St
undertake such a wide diversity of assignments Peters Church in his village of Codford St Peter in
whilst holding higher command. Wiltshire. A collection was made on behalf of the
Army Benevolent Fund, a charity which Sir John
On a personal level , the General was a tall , held dear. The large and distinguished congrega-
impressive officer of handsome and distinguished tion reflected the esteem and friendship which so
appearance. He was widely read in military mat- many felt for him . Over forty members of the
ters, and had many other interests including arche- Regiment and their wives attended, headed by
ology and painting. he was a devout Christian and Lieutenant Colonel T W Chattey, President of the
regular supporter of his village church. He took a Middlesex Regiment Old Comrades Association
keen interest and part in the village activities. In his Exec utive Committee . Among the many tributes
younger days he had been an outstanding athlete, was a letter from the Korean Embassy expressing
winning the Army quarter mile championship in everlasting gratitude for Sir John's vital and fear-
three successive years. He represented th e Army in less part in the protection of freedom during the
Korean War.

Sir John Willoughby was a truly remarkable man

54

who will be so sadly missed but also so well
remembered with affection and respect by so
many. Our thoughts and sympathy go to
Rosamund, his widow, and to her daughters.

TWC

BRIG H N TARVER CBE
Deputy Colonel of the Regiment 1987-1991

The whole Regiment was deeply shocked to hear
of the sudden death on 24 February of Brig Hugh
Tarver, at the early age of 52, who since 1 October
1987 had served as one of its Deputy Colonels.

Brig Hugh's father, Maj Gen C H Tarver CB CBE
DSO DL, had been Deputy Colonel (Kent) from
1966 to 1971 and his elder brother, Col C L Tarver
MBE , and twin brother, Col M R Tarver OBE, also
both served in the Regiment.

Brig Hugh was educated at Sherborne School ,
joined the Army in 1956 and in 1958 left RMA
Sandhurst as the last officer to be commissioned
into The Buffs. 33 years later, he was the on ly offi-
cer of that regiment, of which he was immensely
proud, to be sti ll serving.

He joined 1st Battalion The Buffs in Dortmund Brig . H. N. Tarver CBE
for two years and in 1960 went to the Royal Deputy Colonel of the Regiment 1987-1991
Military College of Science, Shrivenham, graduat-
ing three years later as the first Infantry officer ever
to leave with a Fi rst Class Honours Degree. During
this time he spent a summer leave in Kenya with
the 1st Battalion by then ama lgamated as the
Queen's Own Buffs, and three days after his final
examinations at Shrivenham in 1963 was married
to Mary Ann Jupp.

He returned to the 1st Battalion in Colchester as to Shrivenham as Directing Staff (IS and Counter-
RSO, and subsequently tested his expertise at sig- Insurgency) . In 1983 he was promoted to Colonel,
nailing in Denm ark, British Guiana, Hong Kong and as Project Manager for Warrior, to cover 4'f, years
Borneo . From 1967 to 1969 he became Trials of its final development and early production, for
Officer for Swingfire at Kirkcudbright, including cli - which he was awarded a CBE . In July 1987 he was
matic trials in Australia, but was then urgently appointed Brig (W) Director Light Weapons
recalled to 2nd Battalion Th e Queen ' s Regiment, as Projects, responsible for the three Services' small
the Queen ' s Own Buffs had become, as RSO for arms, mortars, mines , explosive and c hemi ca l
the Northern Irel and emergency. He subsequently defence equipment. In January 1989 he became
se rved briefly as OC C Company before returning Brig (W) Director General Fighting Veh icle
to Shrivenham in 1970 for Division I of the Army Establishments. In this post he had a major respon -
Staff Course.
sibility for the Main Battle Tank programme and
After Camberley he became DAMS MS6 in the the preparation of tanks for the Gulf War.
Ministry of Defence and rejoined the 2nd Battalion
as OC Support Company for service in Northern Very many tributes have been paid to him and a
Ireland and BAOR from 1974 to 1976, before a small selection of these follow. His kindness, loyal-
posting to MOD (Procurement Executive) as GS02 ty, dedication and sense of humour, cou pled with
(W) for the MCV 80, which was later to be named his sheer professionalism and intelligence all con-
Warrior. In 1978 he joined the 1st Battalion briefly tributed to make him an outstanding officer who
as 21C in BAOR and Northern Ireland before attend- we remember with great affection.
ing the National Defence College. He commanded
5th (County Londonderry) Battal1on The Ulster Our deepest sympathies go to Mary Ann, their
Defence Reg 1ment from 1979-81 and then returned daughter Leigh and sons, William and Giles at this

sad time.

55

Tributes m ade by hi s predecessors and successo rs, W arrio r
fo r many in th e Army will always ca rry th e di stin c-
by the Colonel of the Regiment: tive mark of Hugh Tarve r wh o guid ed its f ortun es

Brig Hugh Tarver be came a Deputy Colon el of up to th e point of co min g into se rvi ce . Alm ost th e
the Regiment on 1st October 1987 , with spe cial last thing w e di scusse d w as hi s abiding sati sf ac-
responsibility for our affiliated cadet affairs. In 1989 ti on in launching W arr ior, and hi s hopes t o ac hi eve
his duties were widened to include responsibility th e uniqu e di stin ct io n of see ing a seco nd m ajo r
for Regimental matters in the County of Kent - a equ ipm ent into se rvi ce .

duty he relished being an old Buff. Although w e He wa s, of course, referring to th e Main Battl e
had met before, it was only wh en I was appointed Tank pro gramme whi ch after a di stingui shed but
Colonel that I really came to know Hugh Tarver. I abbreviated peri o d in charge of light we apon sys-
realised at once that he was not only a very talent- tems becam e hi s responsibility in 1989. That he, an
ed Deputy but also an amusing and warm compan - infantryman , should have as sum ed thi s mantl e
ion. I valued his advice greatly. Nothing was ever with su ch fa cility is yet another indication of his
too much trouble for him and there was clear evi - complete mastery· of military, t ec hni cal and pr o-
den ce of this about a year ago when the curement matters.
Regimental Committee was working on a compre-
hensive recruiting and retention plan. Our problem His last, and perhaps equally enduring contribu -
was that we had nobody to oversee its detailed tion was to mastermind the compl ex processes by
implementation . Brig Tarver, despite his heavy which our tanks were prepared for battle in the
workload at the MOD, at once volunteered. This Gulf. That so much was achieved in so little tim e
was typical of an officer prepared to give up his was because Hugh had surrounded himself with
limited free time for the Regiment. Personally I highly competent subordinates whom he moulded
shall miss him very much indeed and I know that into a brilliant team . As their leader he was at hi s
every Oueensman, young and old , serving and best: guiding , cajoling , injecting ideas, and all th e
retired, shares in our combined grief at his early time fending off those who did not need to know
passing. the detail . lt was the ultimate irony that he should
have died as the 1st Armoured Division went to
Brig Tarver enjoyed working with and for our war confident of victory in no small part because
cadets . He brought great enthusiasm to this aspect Hugh's efforts had made our armour safer to fight
of his responsibilities and as a tribute to his untir- and operationally more effective.
ing work with the youngest members of the

Regiment, it is planned to introduce a new award

in his memory, to be known as " The Hugh Tarver
Trophy ". lt will be awarded each year to the win-

ners of the Assault Course Competition at

Crowborough, where our Queen ' s badged ACF

units compete for the Cumberland Sword and by Maj J Anderson 5 UDR:
Kirke 's Cane trophies. Hugh Tarver thoroughly
enjoyed this event. In 1979 Brig Tarver was appointed Commanding
Officer of The 5th (Co Londonderry) Battalion of

The Ulster Defence Regiment, a fully manned and

widely dispersed Battalion whose territory includ-
ed the then very dangerous " bandit country " of
by Maj Gen R J Hayman-Joyce CBE, Director
South Derry.
General Land Fighting Systems :
UDR Battalions, while they contain some Regul ar
Hugh Tarver showed his true colours early by Army specialists and an element of full time mem -
gaining a First Class Honours degree 1n bers, largely consist of part-time officers and sol -
Mathematics and Physics from London University diers, both men and women , who live and work in
graduating in 1963. His first weapons appointment their civi lian communities by day, becoming sol -
was with 20 Trials Unit as a Captain in the late 60 's diers by night and at weekends . The terrorist threat
and he went from there straight to RMCS on the to them and their families is unremitting and, too
first leg of the Army Staff Course.
often, fatal .

The 1970 ASC course achieved notoriety at In such circumstances, and combined with heavy
Shrivenham by its boisterous behaviour and operational commitments, a very special class of
healthy questioning attitude but Hugh wisely left it leadership is required of the Commanding Officer,
to his cavalry colleagues to make the running . whose personal qualities are so severely examined
as his professional ability.
His first serious brush with the weapons world
was as a Major in the infant MICV project for 2 Hugh Tarver's response to this challenge reflect-
years up to 1978 before a further stretch of educa - ed his naturally thoughtful, stylish and efficient
tion at NDC . He was thus well qualified, after a approach to all problems. He quickly succeeded in
period instructing at his alma mater, RMCS, to take earning the confidence of his Battalion while con-
on responsibility as Project Manager of the adoles- stantly improving its operational performance. Of
cent Warrior programme. lt was towards nurturing equal importan ce was his su ccess in gaining th e
this project that all his preparations now seem to respect and trust of The Royal Ulster Constabulary
have been directed. Whatever the contribution in whose Divisions his Companies were deployed.

56

At all times Hugh could rely on the solid support Following staff appointm ent in Egypt and
of Mary Ann whose cheerful confidence never fal - Washington, and regimental soldiering with the
tered, and who played her role with style and QUEENS in BAOR and as battalion second -in -com -
enthusiasm. mand with the Ghana Army, Do ugla s wa s appoint-
ed Commanding Offi cer of 1 R SUSSEX in
A productive and successful tour in command Shorncliffe on 17th Septemb er 1962. Thi s period of
was recogni sed by his Mention in Despatches in command was both highly successful and busy. lt
1981 . included publi c duties in London (when Douggie
lunched with HM The Queen) and a tour in Malta
by Mr Eddie Gray: with training in Libya . His battalion 's performance
was acclaimed by all , and this was a great source
May I say how upset I was to hear of Brig Hugh of pride to him .
Tarver's death . He was my company commander
when C Company 2 QUEENS moved into Belfast in In March 1967 he was appointed Regimental
1969. I played shadow to him on patrol quite a few Colonel of the then recently formed Queen ' s
times, a very brave man, who always made you Regiment at Canterbury. He was ideal for the post,
feel safe when he was around . I remember him having served in three of the six former regiments,
asking me once if I was scared. When I said yes , he and having commanded one of them. All his quali-
said "Good, I'm not the only one." ties and his personality helped ensure that the new
Regiment got off to an excellent start.
1 saw him in September 90 at Maidstone, I was
shocked he still remembered me after 20 years . We After retiring from the Army on 2 May 1974
spent a couple of hours having a drink and talking Douggie served as an RO in MS AQ South West
over old times . He will be a great loss to the District for ten years; finally leaving the Queen's
Regiment. God bless him.
Service in 1984.
COL D C SNOWDON TO
He continued to be fully active , helping the
Douglas Challoner Snowdon, who died unex- Sa lisbury Cathedral Spire Appeal with outstanding
pected ly at the end of January 1991 , was a distin- effect, as Chairman of the Fovant Branch of the
guished and popular officer. Conservative Association, and as a Member of the
Fovant Badges Society Committee.
Douggie was born on 20 November 1919, and
educated at Dulwich College. He soon entered the He was also Treasurer of the Brimclose Fishing
military life, joining the Territorial Army at the age
of 17. He was commissioned as a Territorial Officer Cl ub.
into the Queen ' s Royal Regiment on the 15
January 1938; in 1940 he fought in France with the Douglas was awarded the Territorial Decoration
1{7 QUEENS, returning with the same battalion via in 1950, became an Officer of the Order of St John
Dunkirk. of Jerusalem in May of the same year, and was
made an Officer of the House of Orange in 1963.

Our sincere sympathy goes to Judy his wife and
to Christopher and Catherine his son and daughter.

JBR

lt appears that his potential as an outstanding LT COL P N ELGOOD
staff officer was recognised early in his career;
after an appointment as ADC to Maj Gen James Pat Elgood ' s sudden, and quite unexpected,
Steel, GOC 59th (Staffordshire) Division. He moved death on 14 November last came as a great shock,
on in October 1941 to become GSO 3 in the same not only to his wife and family, but also to his
Division and in November 1942 he was appointed many friends and particularly to those in the
GSO 2. He was a key figure in the training of the Queen ' s Own Royal West Kent Regiment. He was
division for the Normandy invasion and its subse- aged 70 and had been engaged in his favourite
quent success was a reflection of his excellent pastime of shooting, or rather carrying out a recon-
naissance of the Greywell Shoot which he man-
work. aged, when he was struck down by a sudden heart
attack - he was found there guarded by his faithful
Douggie attended Staff College, Camberley in dog " Cassie " (a worthy successor to his much
1944 and from there, after a few months with the loved "Mags").
Royal West Kents in the Shetland Islands, joined
Admiral Mountbatten's Staff in Ceylon, helping to The funeral service was held, most appropriate-
plan the liberation of Malaya. After the collapse of ly, in the Sandhurst Royal Memorial Chapel ,
Japan in August 1945 he was sent to Siam where , Camberley on 22 November, followed by a family
as a Major, he accepted the surrender of a burial at Hartley Wintney cemetery. The Chapel
Japanese Division . This, he said, included hun- was filled to capacity, including many Queen's
dreds of horses and 21 elephants! Own, for the simple and very moving service dur-

A fortunate posting followed ; he became ADC to
the Governor of Singapore, Sir Franklyn Gimpson.
Judy was Sir Franklyn's younger daughter and
Douglas and she were married when he returned
home in 1950 to be Adjutant of 1 QUEENS .

57

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

Lt. Col. P. N. Elgood Officer and M ess Sec reta ry at th e Staff Coll eg e,
wh ere he is fondly rem emb e red by tho se o f th e
ing which the Address was given by Lt Col P E civilian staff who remain - on e of whom , o n hea r-
Taylor, a close family friend since Staff College ing of Pat's untim ely end, exc laim ed 'our world is
days in 1951. He described Pat, and his happy mar- going to be a sa dder pla ce now ' - and sh e is right.
ried life so well that I cannot do better than to lt is going to be a sadd er place for all of us, but w e
quote extracts from it:- will still ret ain happy m em o ri es of good tim es
shared and laughter in th e next roo m . He and
"ln 1951 when we first met he was at the Minley Barbara w ere th e happi est coupl e that I ha ve ever
Division of the Staff College and it was during this known and he was a loving, generous and under-
time that he met Barbara: they married in Hong standing fath er. W e shall all miss him terribly ."
Kong in 1952. Wherever they went he and Barbara
made countless lifelong friends and whatever I feel sure that all who knew Pat will agre e with
house they lived in was always a real home. They the sentiments ex pressed by Pet er Taylor.
both enjoyed entertaining and their generosity was
unstinting" (particularly so, perhaps, during Henley Pat was born in Dundee on 6 September 1920,
Regatta week). the only son of Colonel & Mrs Elgood. Educated at
Monkton Coombe School and the RMC Sandhurst
"He was always kind and charitable, a loyal and he was then commissioned into The Queen 's Own
reliable friend who never did anyone an injury nor Royal West Kent Regiment (in which an uncle had
said an unkind word- though his murmured asides served during the Boer War), on 22 October 1939.
cou ld be extremely funny and devastatingly per- His first posting was to my Company at the Depot,
ceptive. Maidstone, and I remember him well as a keen and
enthusiastic 2nd Lieutenant. After a few short
His interests were many and varied . As well as months he found himself serving with the 1st
shooting, he was a member of the Ski Club of Battalion in the Queen 's Own Brigade of the BEF .
Great Brita in, the British Fi eld Sports Society, and On 22 May 1940, his platoon of A Company was
the Deer Society and Game Conservancy. He was holding an advanced position near Oudenarde.
an intrepid golfer with an individualistic style! He Orders to withdraw did not reach him and he was
was a great cook, who also kept the house sup- soon cut off and over-run by the rapidly advancing
plied with venison and pheasant as a result of his Germans. Sadly he spent the next five years as a
shooting . POW. After release in 1945 and leave he was post-
ed as a Captain, first to the 2nd Battalion, which I
After various postings, including HO BAOR , he was commanding in Broome Park, Barham &
spent his last years of service as Administrative BAOR, and then as Adjutant to the 1st Battalion at
Shorncliffe in 1949, after a spell on the Staff. After
the Staff College a series of Staff appointments,
interspersed with Regimental ones, followed -
Company Commander in 1 RWK during the
Malayan Emergency (in my Brigade) and in BAOR,
21C of 1RWK in Cyprus, and finally as Lt Col com -
manding 4/ 5 RWK (TA) with HQ at Tonbridge
1963/66 . On the Staff he held administrative
appointments in every grade from Staff Captain to
AA & OMG, in Hong Kong , Hamburg , York ,
Preston, the MOD, and Aldershot. Although he
retired on reaching the age limit in 1975, his work
as Mess Secretary at the Staff College for the next
ten years or so kept him well in touch with Army
life, and he was ab le to devote more time to
Regimental affairs . Although basically, and at
heart, a "Queen's Own" he loyally supported the
amalgamated regiment, The Queen's Own Buffs,
and later the large Queen's Regiment - he was a
member of the latter's Officers' Club, and, with his
wife, regularly attended the Regimental Cricket
Week Tent at Canterbury, as we ll as the Queen 's
Own Officers' Club annual get-together in London
and the Maidstone Reunion . He was a very active
member of the RWK Regimental Committee and a
Trustee of the Regimental Museum at Maidstone -
indeed , as General Sir Geoffrey Howlett (President
of that Committee) wrote to Barbara "He was a
Queen's Own through and through with a
Regimental loyalty totally unsurpassed."

Although we had served together briefly on
three previous occasions, I got to know Pat well

58

when I found him already established as MA to the repeated attempts th e force wa s un a bl e to mak e
Deputy Commander/ Chief of Staff BAOR at further progre ss and, call ing for smoke cover, th e
Rheindalen in 1961 , and we had two years togeth - CO ordered Maj Guy to withdraw h is co mpany.
er. Pat was an excellent MA, who had the happy Almost immediately afterward s Col Bruno wa s

knack of getting on well with his many contacts, killed .
seniors and juniors alike, and thus kept me well Severely wounded , Guy successfully w ithdrew C
informed and up to the mark. He was utterly loyal , Company to join A and B Companies at the foot of
straight-forward and efficient, with a great sense of the hill. The ne xt morning , wh en B Company
humour. He was also a great help Regimentally advan ced up th e slope, they found th e h i ll -top
over many problems and difficulties connected deserted , apart from a wounded German soldier
with the amalgamation of the Queens Own with who told them that, when the smoke-screen had
The Buffs in 1961 - his common sense and down- come down, they thought another attack was com-
to-earth views and suggestions were of great assis- ing, and as they had taken so many casualties, they
tance to a somewhat harassed Colonel of the withdrew down the back of the hill as A Co m pany
Regiment. Barbara (my wife) and I developed a
great affection for Pat and his Barbara and we have retired down the other side.
enjoyed many happy occasions with them, both Col Bruno was buried on the crest of the hill
before and after my retirement in 1964 - our fami -
lies are close and will certainly remain so, though together with Lt Howard Marlow and five soldiers.
Maj Guy was immediately awarded the MC.

sadly without Pat. Reggie Guy was born in 1915 and was educated
at Rutlish School where he became School
Our sincere sympathies go out to Barbara and Captain . He then read Physics at London University
their two sons, Giles and Jasper. and went on the Supplementary Reserve of

DEBT Officers, having been an officer in the school cadet
force . He joined the 1/6 E SURREYS, C Company in
1939 as a subaltern, became 21C and was promot-
ed Captain in 1940. He took command as Major in
1941 , having served with the BEF in France and
Belgium in 1940. He acted as Brigade Major, 10
Brigade, for varying periods in 1940, 41 , 42 and 43
and was Chief Instructor to US Army Corps in the

UK August-October 1942.

On being wounded in April 1943, he was case -
vaced to the UK and spent the next year in hospi-
tal, being discharged in April 1944, but was medi-

MAJ RC GUY MC cally downgraded.

Reginald Charles Guy, who died on Thursday He then joined the 2/6 E SURREYS as a company
7th March 1991, will perhaps be best remembered commander and afterwards was a company com-
by those who served with him in 1/6 E SURREYS mander, 21C and CO of 12 ITC and in 1946, of 31
for the notable part he played in operation 'Lilac PTC. From January 1947 to March 1948 he was 21C
Blossom' in Tunisia 20/ 21 April 1943. of HCBTC and then , until February 1949, 21C of 1
RWK. He then went on to become DAAG Welfare,
In their last great assault in North Africa the BT Egypt until December 1952; QOps, War Office
Germans, using infantry riding on tanks, attacked until August 1955; 21C 1 E SURREYS until
4th Division positions and captured Djebel Djaffa, September 1957; Chief Instructor Army Methods of
an important steep-sided hill which overlooked Instruction, School of Infantry, Warminster until
two vital roads running south from Medjez el Bab. 1959; Staff of Joint School of Nuclear and
After some initial successes, the enemy were grad- Chemical Ground Defence, Winterbourne Gunner
ually driven back, but they continued to hold their until 1962; returned to AMIC until 1969; became
positions on Djaffa with fanatical tenacity. The fea - GSO 2 and later RO 3 Training , RMA Sandhurst
ture dominated the Djebel Djaffa Pass and the 1/6 E until 1981 and finally Honorary Archivist, RMA
SURREYS were ordered to clear it. Sandhurst.

Only three companies were available for the In December 1944 Reggie married Joan Mary
operation, D Company being already in action with Craig Sherrard. Their two children, Rosemary
the DCLI . At 1330 hours of the 21st, A Company (Tufty) and Roland are both doctors, both qualified
made a frontal attack up the steep, scrub-covered at Cambridge and at St Thomas' Hospital, London .
slopes and, by 1500 hours, were well up the hill- Their grandchildren are Rosalie, Katie, Philippa and
side but were then brought to a halt by intense Nicholas.
enemy fire and they were running out of ammuni-

tion . Reggie Guy had a deep Spiritual faith which pre-
The CO , Col H A B Bruno MBE , ordered C sented itself to the world as an utter calmness and
resolution in the face of most horrendous circum-
Company under Maj Guy to attack and led the stances coupled to a twinkling sense of humour.
assault himself which took place through devastat- Those of us who served with him will never forget
Ing fire but they struggled to within 20 yards of the him.
top and well into the enemy positions . Despite

59

----------------------------
His funeral service took place at St Peter's UK that hi s left hand bowling wa s fini shed as he
Church, Yately in Hampshire. The family were sup- could not grip th e ball . On ce, after being hit all
ported by the many from the Regiment who had over the pla ce by a young batsman, he asked who
known and loved him. it was, and was told "Sutcliffe" !

CWD -G In 1938 he commanded th e Depot and later th e
Infantry Training Centre until taking over com-
mand of the 5th Battalion in 1941 defending the
beaches of Kent . He went with them to the
Western Desert and was very proud of them . lt wa s
a great sadness to him that after being wounded in
Alam Halfa, he had to hand over command .

LT COL E S KERR In 1945 after forming a unit of ex-gunners for the
Control Commission in Germany, he took them to
Tim Kerr died in September in his 96th year, Lubbeck. In the same year he commanded the 5th
when the oldest surviving officer of The Queen 's Battalion again until they were disbanded in
Own, after 33 years service of which nearly all was Gibraltar in 1947. In Marc h he retired from the
as a regimental officer. He was wounded on the Army.
battlefield in both World Wars .
In his old age his memory remained crystal
He was a shy man frustrated by a stammer since clear. He wrote a long and very interesting mem-
childhood but he understood soldiers and was oirs of his Army life, which showed the depth of
held in high regard and affection by them. He was thought and expression and the real character of
always kind and just; there was a mutual trust. He this rather shy and charming man.
said that the only time he conquered the stammer
was when he had to talk to the King who had a He is survived by his daughter Jane Mieville .
similar problem and he did not want to embarrass
him. PCMB

He was born in Edinburgh, the son of an Indian CAPT M E BALDWIN TD
Army Colonel and was educated at Dover College
and Sandhurst. At Dover as a junior, he was a fag Maurice Edward Baldwin, who died in the 11th
to Nobby Clarke who later commanded the 2nd December 1990, was born on the 10th June 1927
Battalion in Malta in World War 11. In 1914 he was the only son of Florence and Sidney Joseph
posted straight from Sandhurst to the 1st Battalion Baldwin.
in France, joining them in the front line trenches at
the Aisne. Maurice was educated at King Alfred's Grammar
School, Wantage and enlisted initially in the Royal
In October, on more mobile operations to the Marines. After completing his training at Deal, he
North, Tim was leading a small patrol near the vil- transferred to the Infantry and went to the Officer
lage of lilies in mist which suddenly cleared, Training School at Bangalore in India. He was com-
exposing them in open ground to the Germans. He missioned in the Royal Berkshire Regiment and
was lucky to survive. A bullet hit his field glasses served in India until returning to the United
and shattered his left hand. He was evacuated to Kingdom at the time of the partition of India in
the UK where his hand was saved but minus sever- August 1947.
al fingers.
On demobilisation , Maurice joined 7th
In 1916 he rejoined the battalion in time for the Middlesex at their Battalion Headquarters in
Somme where he was knocked out twice by near Hornsey. After a short period with C Company he
misses of shells in the trenches. After a night attack took command of the Machine Gun Platoon.
had reduced his company from 160 to 30, he Subsequently he was transferred to A Company at
relieved the remnants of a unit three days later and Highgate. When D Company was reformed at
suffered very heavy shelling, was buried and dug Tottenham, he took command of the Company and
out and marched out with eight men . He later col- continued to serve with them until he transferred
lapsed with severe concussion . After a period in to the Reserve in 1957.
the UK he returned to the battalion at his own
request in 1918 and commanded a company. In retirement, Maurice became an active mem -
ber of the Samaritans.
From 1919 to 1937 he served in India with the 1st
Battalion, except for a spell at the Depot from 1922 Maurice is survived by his wife Jill and their son
to 1925 when he married Marian, the daughter of Jerrold.
Canon Sopwith, the Vicar of All Saints. He enjoyed
life in India, especially the games available. Despite The funeral was attended by Lt Col Gunnell, Maj
his crippled hand, he was a useful cricketer and Leighton and Maj Carter.

golfer, and was in the battalion's hockey team, JOG
which was no mean achievement as it was the best
in India. However he had already discovered in the

60

MAJ M S RUMSEY competent in the new technology and tactics that
Milan Introduced and was known for his polite but
Michael Sidney Rumsey who died on 1 February ftrm gutdance of a succession of COs who were
1991 was an outstanding example of a Territorial not so familiar with the weapon 's tacti cal deploy-
Officer, soldiering being the first love of his life. ment.

Disappointed at not being able to join the In October 1986 Mike was appointed OC , C
Regular Army, Mike Rumsey started his military (Ctnque Ports) Company, an appointment which he
career with London University OTC where he was held until his death . He was an imaginative and
an Under Officer and with the HAC where he colourfu l Company Commander, to whom the
served with many future QUEENS Territorial offi- members of the company were fiercely loyal. In
cers. He subsequently joined 5 QUEENS (V) in 1977 the true spirit of the Territorial Army, Mike was
and commanded a platoon of C (Cinque Ports) always there and he demanded of his officers and
Company in Eastbourne. From taking command he NCOs the same loyalty and professionalism.
quickly estab lished a persona l style which was to
result in a we ll recruited and fiercely competitive Off duty he was a keen runner and both man -
platoon which he led from the front. In 1979 he a~ed the battalion team for and took part in, the
moved to command a re -o pened Drill Hall at Njemegan Marches for a number of years. M ike
Seaford where despite very poor surroundings and
a geriatric local population, he managed to recruit was a Gentleman of another generation, he had a
a strong and viable platoon.
particular charm and wit that endeared him to
On promotion to Captain in 1982, Mike was everyone who knew or served with him. Sadly his
given the task of forming the Milan Platoon of 5 l1fe was cut short by cancer in 1990, and in spite of
QUEENS (V) in Hastings. This he did with his usual a resp1te 1n the Autumn of that year he died in
energy and dedication, since it required the virtual January 1991 after a long and very bravely born ill-
disbandment of the existi ng Anti-Tank Pl atoon and ness.
the recruitment of a new breed of young and fit
so ldi ers. Over a number of years be became very To Pauline , who nursed him through those diffi-
cult ttmes and to Mike's brothers and their families
we extend our since re sympathy.

CLA

REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATIONS

THE QUEEN'S REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATION

by Maj W D Marshal!

In this our Silver Jubil ee Year (yes, alm ost a Edgware TA Centre in March . An excellent evening
quarter of a ce ntury and batting stron g as ever) we m the company of the members and their ladies of
se nd greetings to all Pa st and Present Queensmen . a very lively and active branch.

We would strongly urge many more of those FORTHCOMING EVENTS
members who have left the Regime nt and have
sett led into civi lian life to join a branch of the Regimental Grand Reunion, Bassingbourn, 30
Regimental Association o r one of the founding June 1991 .
Regtm ental Asso ciatio ns branches. If you live in
Surrey, Kent, Su ssex, M idd le sex, Lo nd o n or the This annual event will begin with a Drumhead
Midlands th ere is a branch within re asonable trav- Service at 12 noon. Serving and retired
elling distance for you to join . All bran ches would Queensmen, past members of our Founding
be delighted to w elcome serving and ex se rving Reg1ments and their families are al l very welcome .
members of our Regi m ent. Furth er detatls can be obtained by phoning
Canterbury (0227) 763434 Extension 4254.
Young or old, past and present support your
Regimental Association. WOs' and Sergeants' Past and Present
Dinner, Bassingbourn, 12 October 1991 .
Tal king of Regimenta l branches, my wife and I
were honoured to be invited to attend the 5th The dinner is open to all serving and retired WOs
Annual Dinner of the Hornsey Branch held at the

61

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

and Serg eant s of Th e Qu een's Regiment and the I would like to take this opportunity to ask our
Founding Regi m ents. Tickets cost £1 1.00 and can local readers to come and join us and help make
be obtained on application from: this a strong branch for the future. Details from
Ron Harper (Tel: 0227 765709).
W02 AA Song hurt
HORNSEY(ALBUHERA)BRANCH
Depot Th e Qu ee n' s Divi sion, by Ned Kelly
Bassingbourn Barracks
Royston

Hertfordshire SG8 5LX

Field of Remembrance - St Margarets Th e Hornsey (Aibuhera) Branch continues to
Westminster, 7 November 1991 flouris h. We are now in our sixth year since we first
11.30 Planting of Poppy Crosses by The Queen's thought of starting up the branch.
Regimental Association Secretary.
12.00 Opening of the Field of Remembrance by HM Last year at the Bassingbourn reunion we repre-
Queen Eli zabeth Th e Que en Mother. sented the Association and won the Shooting Cup
for the seco nd t im e in three years and we look for-
Cenotaph Muster - Whitehall Remembrance ward to defending it against the other associations
Sunday 10th November 1991 at t hi s year's Grand Reuni o n.

Admission to the forming up ground (Horse In December we o rg anised a Christmas
Guards Parade) is strictly by ti cket and those m em- Lun cheon which was a great success due in no
bers wishing to attend should apply to Secretary, small measure to Jo hn and Sue Tilbury who laid
The Queen's Regimental Association (Maj W D out a supe rb buffet. They were ably helped by
Marshal!) at Regimental Headquarters, Canterbury. Ri chard McSweeney and hi s girl friend Karen .

SHEPWAY BRANCH Our new Chairman is M aj Derri ck Harwo od TO
who h as many good id eas on how the branch
Our fir st meeting of 1991 was opened by our should progress and works hard to ensure that it
new Chairman , Kevin Atkins . Hi s first job as does progress.
Chairman was to give the meeting the sad news
that Brenda, wife of Tom Bro derick, pa ssed away Recently we held our 5th Annual Dinn er when
the day before. The membership asked Kevin to we were lucky enough to have Maj W D Marshal!
pass on our sympathy to Tom who is a founder (Association Secretary) and his wife Hann alore as
member of the branch. our guests. I know they both enj oyed themselves
as did the members who attended, over 50 in all.
A motion was put forward that we meet every Our Preside nt, Lt Col J D Gunnell TO se nt a t ele-
two months in future and that we have a social gram of loyal greetings to the Queen and read the
evening for family and friends every other date. reply from Her Majesty after the Dinner. Th e dinner
The motion was ca rried unanimously and the was followed by a party disco. Our Treasurer, Bill
meeting to be held on 28 March 1991 was to be the Murphy, an d his wife Ma vis worked hard to make
first family affair. the evening the success it was. Another branch
member, Bill Opie, th e lo ca l SM In structor of
The meeting duly took place and although our cadets did sterling work before, during and after
numbers were not great, a pleasant evening was the event with his cadets.
had by all and new friendships formed . Everyone
left for home at the end of the evening feeling that The future of the branch now seems assured.
this was a good idea and that the word should be Although the number of m eeti ngs has been
spread so that our numbers might grow for the reduced th e quality of each meeting has been
next meeting on 25 July 1991 . enhanced . A newsl etter keep s the members
informed.

We will be holding our Annual General M eeting
in April and the co mmittee are working to make
this another 'u p market' event.

THE QUEEN'S REGIMENT FREE FALL PARACHUTE TEAM
..THE FLYING DRAGONS..

AVAILABLE FOR DISPLAYS, ONE DAY PARACHUTE COURSES
AND TANDEM FREE FALL JUMPS ETC .

CONTACT THE MEDAL WINNING SKY DIVERS
TELEPHONE : 0763 249300

62

The Queen's Royal
Surrey Regimental
Association The
Queen's Regiment

QUEEN'S SURREYS

Since the last issue of the Journal several old The Sevastopol cannon at Huntingdon before the unveil-
friends have died, including Mrs Sheelah Ling wife ing ceremony by the Prime Minister. On the right of the
of Maj Gen Fergus Ling, and John Kealy DSO Prime Minister is Dmr Shade of the 2nd Battalion wearing
father of Maj Mike Kealy DSO who died tragically the 1855 uniform of the Huntingdonshire Regiment, later
in February 1979. John Kealy was a staunch regi - the East Surrey Regiment, and carrying a Russian drum
mental supporter who was always to be seen at captured at Sevastopol by the 50th Queen's Own
reunions talking to his old soldiers, particularly Regiment.
those members of 2/ 6th QUEENS which he com -
manded so ably during the war and for which he
was awarded the DSO. Col Douggie Snowdon 's
death was not only a blow to our Association
members but to all Queensmen and, in particular,
all those who served with him when he command-
ed 3 QUEENS from 1962 to 1964. Later his appoint-
ment as Regimental Colonel brought him into
close contact with many more members of the
Regiment . His wise counsel will be sadly missed.
Another distinguished officer who died recently
was Maj Reggie Guy MC. After distinguished ser-
vice in the E SURREYS, Reggie worked as a retired
officer at Sandhurst where he was so well known
to many officers in the Army. To their families and
to all other families of our comrades who have
died recently, we send our deepest sympathy.

The Regimental Secretary (right), presents a picture to Mr We as an Association continue to carry on our
Colin Beaumont-Edwards MC, President of St Dunstans, programme of cleaning and refurbishment of our
at the lunch given for ex·members of our forbear Colours, laid-up in various cathedrals and church -
regiments who are St Dunstaners, 7 March 1991 . es. The latest Colours to be rehung are those of the
3rd and 4th Battalions The Queen 's Royal Surrey
Regiment (TA), which are laid-up in Southwark
Cathedral. We are indebted to the Royal College of
Needlework for their painstaking work on our
behalf.

On 16 February, the Prime Minister unveiled a
replica Sevastopol cannon in Huntingdon to
replace a gun that had been placed there in memo-
ry of men of the 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment
(later the East Surreys) killed at the battle. The orig -
inal cannon had been melted down for munitions
in World War 11. lt was fitting that an old E SUR -
REY, Col John Francis, now Regimental Secretary
of The Queen ' s Regiment , represented the
Regiment at this ceremony and three drummers of
the 2nd Battalion were on parade. One wore an
1855 uniform of the 31st and carried a Russian
drum captured at the battle of the 50th Foot, later
the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment. A
photograph of the three drummers with the Prime
Minister appeared on the front page of the Sunday
Telegraph and in other papers the following day.

63

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

The Asso c iation of our Regiment with M ay 1855 and left t he Cri mea in A pril 1856.
Huntingdon dates ba c k to 17 8 2 wh e n it w as
decreed that Infantry regim ents should bear th e Th e Royal Artill ery Histori ca l Tru st say th at after
name of a county in addition t o its number. Thu s, th e c aptur e by th e Briti s h o f th e Ar se n a l o f
the 31st Regiment, later th e East Surrey Regim ent, Seva stop o l m any gun s w ere bro ug ht ba ck t o t he
became the 31st Huntingdonshire Regiment. Th e Royal Ars enal, W oo lwi ch, f o r di stribut ion i n thi s
Regiment took part in th e ie ge of Sevastopol in country.

The Queen's Regimental
Association

(The Queen's Own Buffs)

ROYAL HOSPITAL CHELSEA OLD 'CROCS' VISIT CANTERBURY

Last December Col Waring and Maj O' Gorman On 10 April sev enteen form er members of th e
visited former members of The Buffs and Queen 's 141 Regt RAC (7 BUFFS) with their ladie s and
Own Royal West Kent Regiment at the Royal members of their families, a party of 36 in all , pai d
Hospital Chelsea and were able to meet IP s their annual visit to Canterbury Cathedral, when
Eggleton, Tolhurst and Sutton of The Buffs and one of their number, Mr Eri c Tunbridg e, Turned
Rafferty and Stedman of the Queen's Royal West the Page in the Book of Rem embrance and th e
Kents. They were very content with life, happy to short Service was conducted by the Regim ent's
reminisce over old times and pleased to know they former padre, the Rev Leon ard Preston of Chilham.
are not forgotten . They eventually adjourned to a nearby hotel there
to quaff a pint or two and reminisce over a very
Sadly we received notification that Herbert enjoyable prearranged lunch.
Sutton died on 24 March at the age of 96. Herbert
served with The Buffs from 1914-1917 and was 7 BUFFS were converted to armour in November
admitted to the RH Chelsea in 1984. He was cre- 1941 after initial training , and in 1944 three months
mated at Streatham on 28 March and members of before ' D' Day were equipped with Churchill flame-
the London Buffs attended the Service and repre- throwing tanks - 'crocodiles ' - the first unit to be so
sented the Regimental Association . equipped. Some part of the Regiment was
engaged in every major action of the campaign in
ST DUNSTAN'S N W Europe and they claim to be the only unit in
continuous action from 'D' Day to 'VE' Day, having
On 7 March a reunion of St Dunstaners took fought with the Americans , Belgians, Canadian s,
place in the Duke of York's HO in London . Among Free French and the Poles, and every division of
those present were five former members of the the British Second Army.
Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment who had
come from as far afield as Ireland, Devon, Sussex
and Kent for this special occasion . To host this
event we had representatives from RHO of The
Queen's Regiment and Presidents and Secretaries
of the Regimental Associations.

lt was a most enjoyable occasion and many new
friendships were formed. The general feeling was
that there should be a repeat performance in the
not too distant future. To ensure our five members
are properly dressed next time, they have all now
been issued with a regimental tie!

WILLIAM CHARITY

William Charity died on 1 April aged 97 years of Members of The Queen's Regiment Association
age. William served in The Buffs from 1914-1918,
was severely wounded in the head and lost his left (QUEENS OWN BUFFS( among others watching the
eye in 1916. He lost his sight completely in 1973 Freedom Parade in the City of Canterbury, 1 February
and was admitted to St Dunstan's. A wreath was
sent on behalf of the President and members of 1991 . (Picture by Ben May.(
the Regimental Association.

64

Presentation of a copy of 'A Man of Kent', painted by Lady Butler, to Sir John Grugeon, Chairman of Kent County
Council and a former officer of The Buffs (on left of picture). by Maj Derek Poulsen (on right of picture! the
Chairman and other members of The Buffs Museum Committee, on 6 November 1990 in County Hall,

Maidstone. FUTURE EVENTS 1991

30 June: Grand Reunion at Bassingbourn - Old to march are asked to be seated in the Cathedral by
Comrades to be at the Parade Ground at 1130 1245 hours. After the Service, the Reunion will take
hours for the Drumhead Service. Last year we had place in Howe Barracks. At 1700 hours the Kohima
an excellent turnout. Our President is most keen (V) Band and the Corps of Drums of 2 QUEENS will
that this year's should be even better. beat Retreat.

2- 8 August: Canterbury Cricket Week The 1 September: Remembrance Service in the Tower
Regimental Tent will be established at the Kent of London organised by the London Buffs.
Ground from 2 - 8 August. The following matches
will be played: Kent v Surrey 2-5 Aug, Kent v 8 September: Maidstone Remembrance Service
Surrey 4 Aug, Kent v Hampshire 6-8 Aug 91 . The and Reunion. Parade at Brenchley Garden at 1000
Kohima (V) Band will be playing during the tea hours where refreshments are available prior to
interval on 3 August and the Albuhera Band will be the 'fall in ' at 1015 hours. A short service at the
playing on 7 August, Ladies Day. Regimental Cenotaph, including laying of wreaths,
will be followed by the march to All Saints Church .
4 August: Canterbury Remembrance Service and The Mayor will take the salute as the parade pass-
Reunion. The parade will form up at the Sessions es the Town Hall. The Service at All Saints will be
House car park at 1210 hours. The President of the followed by the Reunion in the Kent Hall in Earl
Regimental Association will inspect the parade Street.
prior to the march to the Cathedral. Those unable

The Royal Sussex Regiment

Association >

(Representing The Queen's Regiment in Sussex) '•

FIELD OF REMEMBRANCE OFFICERS' COCKTAIL PARTY
On 28 February , Officer members of the
The President and branch representatives plant-
ed crosses at the Field of Remembrance , Association and their ladies gathered at Lords, by
Westminster Abbey on 8 November 1990. There arrangement with Lt Col J R Stephenson , OBE for
was an even larger attendance than usual.
the annual cocktail party.

65

a

ALLIANCES AND AFFILIATIONS

HMS LEEDS CASTLE

For the uninitiated, HMS Leeds Castle is one of Oueensmen take on the ship's heavy weapons.
two Castle class sh ips, the other being her sister
HMS Dumbarton Castle. Capable of operating con- personal touch to their camouflage. A day or so at
tinually at sea in all weathers, the ships are idea ll y sea though , and we had a group of o ld sea dogs
suited to providing a naval presence in situations on our hands with phrases such as "give a fair
that do not require a more sophisticated warship. wind to the sea dust " (pass the salt) and " light
With modern radars, commercia l SATCOM and jackstay the slide" (pass the butter) and so forth
many ant i-miss il e se lf defence systems, these ringing out at supper.
sh ip s h ave the characte ri stics of smal l frigates;
they also have a particularly large fli ght deck capa- Once sea legs were realised , the Army team got
ble of operating Sea Kings , which all ows for easy involved in a whole host of activities ranging from
resupply of eq uipment, stores and, of cou rse, mail! sea boat drills to firing GPMGs. Pte Engl and took a
Since HMS Leeds Castle is now in her third year in rather nippy d ip in the South Atlantic when he
the Falkl ands, opportunities to meet up with our acted as Swimmer of the Watch for a man over-
QUEENS affi li ation have been somewhat few and board exe rcise, and coped very well despite
far between . However, a welcome opportunity was appearing a little hesitant at t he 20ft drop into th e
afforded with the deployment of part of the 2nd icy water. Similarly, a hair raising time was had by
Battalion to the Falklands as the Resident Infantry all charg i ng round the ocean at 35 knots in the
Company, and the chance to give a few soldie rs a ship's sea rider . A surface shoot at a home made
taste of a sa ilor's life (notably LCp l Yex ley and Ptes target allowed the Army to feel more at home fir-
Balman, Pulling er, Munday and Engl and). ing GPMGs, and possibly a touch more accurately
than ship's company members!
The taste was so m ew hat bitter sweet! What
appeared to be a rare balmy day, concluding a fine
Falklands' summer, actua lly produced a long swel l
and our friends in green were seen to add a very

Two weeks later, and the loss of a chef to hospi -
tal, meant the opportunity for another liai so n in the
shape of Pte. Littl ewood to help out feeding the
sh ip's company. Once more t he ship was on a
patrol of the area to the west of the Falkl and s
where possibly the most beautiful scenery is to be
found, and advantage of this was taken when we
anchored at Weddell Island. Thi s is the third la rgest
Falk land Island, and it gave Pte . Littl ewood the
opportun ity to stretch his legs in hi s natural habi-
tat. The previous day he had been introduced to
" deck hockey". Thi s is a rather crude form of hock-
ey played on the flight deck with quoits of rope and
stocks; ski ll is not an essent ia l e lem ent of the
game, whereas strength and scrummag ing tactics
tend to play a g reater role in victory. Pte Littl ewood
emerged b looded but sti ll with his sh in s in tact.

To the future now, we look forwa rd to our return

Pte England, 2 QUEENS, as Swimmer of the Watch on to UK later in the year and hopefully a closer liai-
son. Before returning we hope to fit in at least one
HMS Leeds Castle.

66

more trip to South Georgia, and then hit the sunny (to whom it is something of a shock as well as a
delights of Brazil, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, novelty) in having to sleep in naval messdecks
Azores and then home. For the Leeds Castle it will 'three deep' and having to get used to walking on a
make a pleasant change to be in warmer deck (floor), bouncing off bulkheads (walls) and for
climes .... and doubtless th ere will be more tales to top bunk sleepers having their noses six inches
tell when we meet again . under the deckhead (ceiling).

HMS KENT Some four hundred cadets, three hundred male
by Lt Cdr B Harper RN and one hundred female, can be accommodated
Commanding Officer onboard at any one time together with their Senior
Rating s (NCOs) and officers. Onboard facilities are
HMS KENT is the last of a class of 'Cou nty' class limited (some cadets expect QE2 standards!) but
Destroyers which served the Fleet during the peri- external facilities include some fifty small boats,
od 1960 to 1985. The ships were given the NATO ranging from canoes through small and medium
designation ' DLG ' (Destroyer, Light, Guided), size sail craft to high performance power boats.
which referred to her role as a Destroyer (D), her Additionally, Whale Island, which is a Naval estab-
tonnage - light (L) and her principal armament the lishment, offers standard sporting facilities.
Seaslu g guided missile (G).
To provide these facilities the Ship's Company
The ship was built by Harland and Wolff in (crew) is of about platoon size (or was, pre...Gulf
Belfast, being laid down in March 1960, launched war!), whose principal roles are to ensure that
on 27 September 1961 by HRH Princess Marina, facilities for cadets, ship maintenance and emer-
Duchess of Kent, and first commissioned on 15 gency action (fire, flood, etc) are fully provided. As
August 1963. Her badge is the White Horse of Kent in all Services, shortage of manpower and finances
and her motto " IN VICTA". create stresses but the end result is quantifiable in
the great satisfaction the cadets gain from their
The present ship is the eleventh of her name to experiences on board and is reward enough.
serve the Royal Navy and has sixteen battle hon-
ours from ' Portland ' in 1653 to 'Norway' in 1944. For those whose sons and daughters are con-
Throughout this illustrious history a 'KENT' has templating a Naval career but would wish to gain
never been lost to enemy action. into the peaks and troughs first , it
some insight isable for them to join the or
The ship is 520 feet long, 54 feet breadth, dis- would be adv sec
places 6000 tons and is currently emp loyed as the
Naval Cadet Force (encompassing the SCC, CCF CCF when experience in KENT would be of great
and Sea Scouts) Accommodation and Training benefit in deciding their future.
Ship moored close alongside at Whale Island in
Portsmouth. Her sea-going days are over but she Despite our small size in Ship's Company terms
continues to provide valuable service in giving and our non-seagoing role the ship nevertheless
ship-board experience to the Naval Cadet Forces treasures its affiliation with The Queen's Regiment
and tenuous link though it is has the pleasure of
hosting many of those CCF school contingents
affiliated to the Regiment. Perhaps, when condi-
tions allow post the present crisis in the Gulf, we
could in some small way renew our links.

HMS Kent
67

THE HABERDASHERS' COMPANY
by Capt M E Barrow DSO RN

Dur i ng the past year , the Haberdashers'
Company has been privileged to have as its Master
once more, a former Queen's Honorary Colonel.
Col David Sime had a busy year of office particu -
larly in view of the Tercentenary of the Robert Aske
Foundation (1690-1990) during which the benefi -
cence of one of our most illustrious benefactors
was celebrated in many different ways. These
included the Concert at the Royal Festival Hall per-
formed by pupils of the four Aske 's Schools, a
Services'Day at Elstree including a detachment of-
The Queen ' s Regiment, an Art Ex hibition , a Sports
Day and the largest enterprise of all - a month 's
expedition to Newfoundland by some 36 pupil s
drawn from the four schools. The highlight of year,
however, was probably the Service of
Thanksgiving at St . Paul ' s Cathedral on 7
November attended , like the concert at the begin-
ning of the year, by Her Royal Highness The
Princess Margaret, Citizen and Haberdasher. Our
other four schools have also had a busy year!

COMMANDING OFFICER OF HMS KENT

Lt Cdr B Harper was born in 1943 and spent his
childhood in Warsop , Nottinghamshire. He was
educated in local State schools before entering the
Royal Navy in 1958 as a Junior Seaman in HMS
GANGES .

After New Entry training he served in HM Ships
LION , DARING , CORUNNA and NAIAD before qual -
ifying as a Petty Officer Gunnery Instructor in 1968.

After further sea service in HMS AURORA he
entered the Special Duties Officers ' Training
School , HMS ST GEORGE at Eastney and was
commissioned in 1972.

Before being promoted Lieutenant Commander Visit of Haberdashers to 3 QUEENS in Cyprus L to R: Capt
in 1985, he served in HM Ships BULWARK, LEOP- M E Barrow DSO RN, Clerk to the Company, Sir John
ARD, NEWCASTLE and LONDON . Recently , he has Welch Bt, First Warden, Col David Sime OBE MC TD,
undertaken Staff duties with COMMW and latterly Master, and Lt Col An drew Barratt, CO 3 QUEENS .
as Ex ecutive Officer HMS ROOKE at Gibraltar.

His hobby is numismatology; he also enjoys
country walks and gardening.

68

The highlight for the Master, First Warden, (then now familiar and most enjoyable regular annual
Sir John Welch, Bt,) and Clerk (Capt M E Barrow, encounters at other Company and Regimental
DSO, RN) was undoubtedly their visit to 3 QUEENS functions.
in Cyprus when they were warmly welcomed and
most hospitably entertained by Lt Col and Mrs As this report goes to press, we look forward to
Barratt, officers and senior NCOs of the battalion . welcoming five representatives of Regimental HO
During their visit, the Haberdashers' trio witnessed and each of the six battalions of the Regiment, to a
something of the battalion at work and play, visited Services' Dinner at Haberdashers' Hall. Other visits
the Haberdashers' Aske's CCF under training , saw to 2 QUEENS and 5 QUEENS (V) later in the year
some of the island and visited Col Crispin are also in the diary of the Master and Clerk and
Champion at Famagusta for lunch and a swim will, as usual, include other members of the
before departure for the UK. Company.
Other Haberdasher visits to battalions during the
year included a day with 1 QUEENS at Tidworth , lt will be clear from the above that our affiliation
the highlight of wh1ch was dr1v1ng "s hotgun " with the Regiment goes from strength to strength
across country in the battalion 's vehicles, and the and All Haberdashers send greetings to All Ranks!

LETTERS

HONORARY REGIMENTAL CHAPLAIN 1967-69 . At the time I was the Canadian exchange
officer from the Queen 's Own Rifles.
From: The Venerable Peter Mallet! CB to the Colonel
of the Regiment I am currently the Commander of the eleven
nation United Nations Peacekeeping Force in
Yalding Central America. My Headquarters is in
Kent ME18 6HG Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and our personnel are
3 December 1990 spread throughout the five Central American coun-
tries.
Dear Mike,
Having been blessed with Honorary Membership
Thank you very much for your letter with its kind back in 1969 I regularly receive a copy of The
invitation from you and your Regimental Queen's Regiment Journal and over the years I
Committee for me to become Honorary Chaplain have enjoyed tracing the ca reers of colleagues
to The Queen's Regiment for three years from the from those Lemgo/20 Armd Bde days.
1st January 1991 , which I am delighted to accept.
On reading the December 1990 edition I was
I welcome greatly this opportunity of furthering struck with how well the old 3rd Battalion gang is
my association with the Regiment and its activities represented. Looking at the Deputy Colonels I rec-
and will perform with pleasure whatever is ognize Brigs Bob Acworth , Hugh Tarver (his broth-
required of me to the best of my ability. Since the er Charles was my company commander) and
Regiment played such an important part in my Mike Constantine (our adjutant). Scanning the
ministry from the first day of my Army service, it is remainder of the publication I noted Col Paddy
a special privilege to be able to maintain this closer Panton, Maj Peter Broadbent (that intrepid sailor
link with its life and make whatever contribution I who led me to last place - twice - in the 4 Div
may. Regatta) and that grand old stalward Dickie Waite
(my favourite passenger in theE-type).
With good wishes, Yours sincerely,
Peter No matter who attempts to evaluate the values
of a military career, ultimately they all come to the
LETTER FROM CENTRAL AMERICA same conclusion and that is the everlasting and
paramount value of personal relationships . lt hard-
From: Brig Gen Lew MacKenzie to the Regimental ly seems like twenty two years ago that I trod the
Secretary desert sands of Libya with CSM Chippy Wood,
Roger Sheridan , Colin Mowat, Charles Tarver,
Chief Military Observer David Mumford et al but fortunately the memories
Group in Central America are strong and the quality of The Queen 's
ONUCA Regiment's people continues to be an inspiration.
7 J anuary 1991
Dear Colonel Fran cis, Hopefully, I' ll be able to make it to one of your
Greetings to all my old (unfortunate ly the adjec- annual gatherings in the near future . In the mean-
tive is accurate) friends in the 3rd Battalion circa time best regards to all of the Lemgo clique.

By the way does the 3rd Battalion still compete
for the inter-company basketball challenge trophy I
presented in '69? I somehow doubt it as I note that
basketball does not rate terribly high in the pecking

69

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

order of Regim ental sports. Too bad, as it is one of
the few sports invented by a Can adi an!

Best personal regards.

Lew

THE FALL OF HONG KONG

From: Brig M R I Constantine CBE to the Editor

Deputy Commander Col Anthony Hewitt MBE MC, late Mx, tells the story of
British Forces the battle for Hong Kong to Brig Mike Constantine CBE
Hong Kong and Col (now Brig I Raymond low OBE, during his recent
British Forces visit to the colony.

Post Offi ce 1 River. On reaching Kukang , the party split up. Tony
5 November 1990 Hewitt stil l had a two month trek covering a thou-
sand miles to reach Chungking and relative safety.
Dear John

I know that some of the Journal's readers will be
interested to learn that we have recently run a
Battlefield Tour here in which we studied the " Fall
of Hong Kong in December 1941 ".

Many will be aware that in 1941 1st Battalion , He was awarded the Military Cross for his gal-
The Middlesex Regiment, commanded by Lt Col H lantry, later rejoined the Regiment and finished the
W M Stewart OBE MC, was one of only two British war fighting in Europe. He served on after the war
battalions (the other being The Royal Scots) in the and completed his military career as British
Hong Kong Garrison to face the Japanese inva- Military Adviser in Australia , where he now lives.
sion . Th eir main task lay in manning the many
fixed machine-gun emplacements around Hong You might be interested to know that Tony
Kong Island . Th e Adjutant of the batta li on at that Hewitt's exploits are well covered in his book
time was Captain Anthony Hewitt and now as " Bridge with Three Men " (published by Jonathan
Colonel (Retd) Anthony Hewitt MBE MC he has Cope).
once again played a key role in Hong Kong . This
time as one of the last surviving regular officers Tony Hewitt was accompanied by his wife Liz
who fought in the battle and as the senior speaker and his step-son Mark Weedon , whose father also
at our study. He gave us a fascinating account of fought with Th e Middlesex in Ho ng Kong and was
the various battles and the eventual fall of Hong also awarded a Military Cross. I am delighted to be
Kong. able to report that they were all on very good form
and I enclose a photograph of Tony with Raymond
Tony Hewitt was taken prisoner and was subse- Low and myself, taken during the Battlefield Tour
quently one of a handful of so ldi ers who escaped on the site of the battle for the Wong Nai Chung
from a Japanese prisoner of war camp - in his case gap. Where else could you see three such good
Shamshuipo on February 1, 1942. He described for looking young Oueensmen?
us how he escaped accompanied by a Captain
Douglas Scriven and Pilot Officer Eddy Crossley Yours ever
from New Zealand. He had previously bought a Mike.
prismatic compass for 20 cigarettes and was carry-
ing a message for the British Ambassador in China LT COL N R REEVES AND LT COL N E HOARE
from Major General Maltby, the Garrison
Commander. Although Japanese sentries were From : Lt Col E B Scoff MBE President, The Queen 's
very active on the moonlit night of February 1, the Own Buffs Golfing Society to the Editor
party got away by sampan with bullets whizzing
Wareham
over their heads. By 3 am they were lost in a maze Dorset
of hills and slept in an old grave . They were subse- 14 January 1991
quently attacked by Chinese ruffians who stole Dear Sir
their kit and beat them up. They crossed into China I note , with regret , the death of Lt Col N R
on the fifth night and were fortunate enough to be Reeves. I had known Noel for many years. He was
a good player of many games but he excelled at
befriended by a group of bandits who led them go lf. He won the Army Championship in 1931 and
through the Japanese lines to the Communist 1932, and at about this time the Prince of Wales
guerrillas. After many adventures they reached the
Chinese Army headquarters at Waichow. A further
two weeks were spent on a boat going up the East

70

Cup at Prin ces, Sandwi ch, wh en he beat a numb er
of top amateur golfe ~s of that time . In 1934, he was
Captain of Th e Buffs Regimental Team, when 1t
won th e Army Golf Ch all enge Cup (now th e Argyll
& Sutherland Bowl).

Anoth e r sad los s is that of Lt Col N E Hoare.
'Rabbit' Hoare was a great supporter of our golfing
society and played regularly in our meetings. He
also organised for many years the match against
Liphook Golf Club. His many friends there and in
the Regiment will m1ss h1m .

Yours sincerely,
Eric Scott

GOC's COMMENDATION

Drummer 0 A Wilson to the Colonel of the Regiment

1 QUEENS
BFPO 29
27th November 1990
Dear Major General Reynolds,

Thank you very much for your letter congratulat-
ing me on my award of a General Officers
Commanding's Commendation.

I consider it a great honour to be so commend-
ed. I was privileged to serve in an excellent multi -
ple found from the Corps of Drums, and it is with
them I share my award. The tour of West Belfast
was good experience and we left Northern Ireland
with a feeling of a job well done.

Thank you again for your kind letter.

I am Sir, Your obedient servant
D A Wilson
Top: Victoria Peak in the Cockscomb Basin in 'darkest
Belize'.

BELIZE 1976

From : Major 0 R Marks RAOC to the Regimental
Secretary

Headquarters Belize
Logistic Battalion

BFPO 12
22 April 1991

Dear Secretary,

I recently completed the ascent of Victoria Peak
in the Cockscomb Basin in darkest Belize and was
pleased to see evidence of a much earlier effort by
2 QUEENS in 1976.

Enclosed are a couple of pictures which may be
of interest to you.

The ascent itself is not too difficult although the
approach to the peak is most arduous; I trust 9
Platoon marched in and out and did not catch a
helicopter like some recent 'adventurers' from the
Commando Brigade.

Bottom: The stone laid on the peak by 9 Platoon of B Yours faithfully
Company 2 QUEENS in 1976. David Marks

71

ARTICLES

A OUEENSMAN'S VIEW OF THE GULF WAR

(Extracts from a letter to the Regimental Secretary)
by Maj J N C Myles

In early October 1990, 7 Armd Bde Gp deployed vacated by 7 Armd Bde as they moved westward
to the Gulf and set up the operation to receive in a to join 7 US Corps. At Divisional HQ Maj John
brigade's worth of manpower and weaponry plus a Harcus remained in the Ea stern Province until late
slice of logistics from both divisional and corps January. Nearby Maj Bill Knight-Hughes continued
assets. In that group and perhaps the key to the to run the huge range complex for 4 Armd Bd e
smooth arrival was Maj Wayne Harber who , as the until late in January and then he too moved west-
S02 GI/G4 Ops of 1 Armd Div, was deployed to wards 200 miles to rejoin 7 Armd Bde.
coordinate the Forward Maintenance Area (FMA).
(Wayne has already redeployed from BAOR to 10 lt is also worth noting how, having had a very
UDR to take up the ITSO's post) . happy working relationship with 1 MAR Di v, we
were sad to leave them although we soon struck
In support of 7 Armd Bde were Maj Bill Knight- up a good line with 7 US Corps . Neverth eless ,
Hughes - employed for his training skills, Capt belonging to a small special force such as the
Duncan Strutt - a key man in the move from BAOR Marines was a happy time for us all.
to the Gulf (but modestly Duncan would list him-
self as merely a watchkeeper). Maj Myles as S02 From late January onwards our days and nights
G3 P lnfo something of a hot seat, Cpl Ernie Fuller were punctuated by the sounds of US and Allied
in the NBC cell and LCpl Tom Lyndus who was a bombing raids onto Iraqi positions just north of the
prime asset in establishing the Field Records Saudi border. We were grouped with Syrian and
Office, something we don't often set up. The last I Egyptian positions around us so movement out-
heard of LCpl Lyndus he was wearing Sergeant's side of our boundaries was never lightly undertak-
stripes but I cannot confirm that. en particularly by night. Grouped in this manner
our lines of communications from AI Jubial to
By 17 November, 7 Armd Bde Commander, Brig Wayne Harber's FFMA (Forward Force Mainten-
Patrick Cordingley, reported his brigade ready for ance Area) eventually became known and it was
action having completed some of the most ambi- very evident that the British had moved west. The
tious work up training that I have ever seen - not British were seen by the Iraqis as a signature to the
so much the spread hand for the safety margin, main effort.
more the spread index finger. We were based in
the desert and grouped under the 1st US Marine
Division as part of the Marine Ex peditionary Force,
'One Mar Div' and 'One Mef' in Marine speak. We
doubled the 1 Mar Div tank fire power!

By early December we had redeployed to a new
stretch of desert further north for further extensive
training as the operational dates had slipped and
the British had shown how to run excellent multi-
facetted training with live firing ranges running
concurrently. Bill Knight-Hughes excelled here with
his indefatigable approach, unconventional man-

ner and original thinking . He was a real star and a
credit to his regiment.

Throughout December and January, Wayne
Harber was the principle staff officer establishing a
huge forward logistics area under a cloak of secre-
cy. He and his fellows did well and , although it was
a prime indicator to the Iraqis, the positioning was
only picked up late into the countdown and I
believe the size was never really known to them .

As the air war began the newly arrived 1 Armd Maj James Myles and two friends in the Saudi Arabian
Div complete with 4 Armd Bde moved into the area desert, Operation Granby 1991.

72

The accredited press - seven with each brigade - we surged on from one position to another. At the
had joined us 24 hours before the war beg an and end when we drove hell for leather to th e Basra
were ingeniously fi11ng ref)orts day after day With - highway we were passing endl ess abandon ed
out giving away our pos1t1on : Nevertheless our position s littered with the remain s of Iraqi brigad es
position in early February was 1n fact a d1sgu1se to wasted from the air and wasted through lack of
a real plann ed jumping off point. good leadership. One was clear, if ever in any

By mid February we moved by night westwards doubt, that war is a terrible thing.
beyond the Wadi AI Batin to our real Concentration
Areas adjacent to the Assembly Areas. Bill Knight- Clinical phrases such as 'attrition' and 'taking out
Hughes became our link to 3 US Bde part of 2 US positions' were phrases we were used to . The
Cav Div, our ne1ghbours 1n the move northwards. phrase 'getting inside his decision cycle ' is one
Duncan Strutt had been identified as a key player phrase that will remain with me for a long time.
and moved to 7 Bde Step-Up HQ. Wayne Harber The superb strategic level of command succeeded
remained at the FFMA. I do not know where Cp ls in doing this and on the ground it was clear the
Lyndus and Fuller were at this stage.
enemy reeled when struck hard and fast.
1 will not give you a long rambling war story of
the four days of action for I am sure you know Finally, I am aware that you all have been sub-
exactly what happened. Suffice it to say Duncan jected to pundits punditting away and armchair
Strutt, Bill Knight-Hughes and myself ended up tacticians informed and not so informed speaking
astride the Kuwait-Basra highway just north of the at every possible opportunity. You probably know
horrible scene of carnage in the hill pass north of much more about the Gulf war than we do about
Kuwait City. Both KH and Strutt came away with the whole affair as we were saved from all of this.
shining reputations from the days of conflict. We listened to the World Service from the BBC and
sometimes a newspaper would come through ,
1 know not of what happened to Wayne Harber always out of date, therefore predictions were
throughout the four days but his reputation was a hardly worth reading. I am quite clear about one
glowing one before and he was spoken of in the point and it is this; when equating armies, equip-
highest manner after the conflict so I believe you ment, men and the ability to launch quantities of
can be proud of your Regimental contribution .
exp losive directly and indirectly at each other,
Like al l those who took part in this lightning cam- western armies properly led and properly
paign of blitzkrieg tactics combined with 'Airland equipped will be viewed with additional weighting
200' tactics I have a maelstrom of impressions for some time. The Iraqis were not a junk army on
from the war. They are these; the weight of arti ll ery paper, their equipment was not viewed by the pun-
fire was so huge, so enormous with concentrations dits as junk and it was there on the ground in large
of 155mm and MLRS, all so deadly and effective numbers. However, when compared to a properly
that morale in the enemy camp could not with- led army, well equipped and well practised in all
stand this after the attrition of the air battle. We hit phases of war it did not match up. When faced
position after position with this and one brigade with Challenger the crews of many T55s aban -
after another collapsed. doned their tanks . Th ose firing RPGs at Warrior
had no luck. Perhaps we do winge about our state
I have a clear memory of the impending doom of equipment and our undermanning but despite
after the first two days of war when it was clear the fact no Queen 's Order for mobilisation was
that the Iraqis had their backs to the wall , the signed we took a 'Third Party Fire and Theft Policy'
Republican Guard Divisions in our sector could not force, packed it out ready for a 'Comprehensive
be located and we knew the Iraqis had said they Policy' force by robbing Peter, Paul and everyone
would use chemical weapons. As we swung east- else and fielded a superb Division that operated
wards from southern Iraq the sandstorms gave with distinction.
way to driving smog, wet and clinging , stinking of
burning oil and there was a middle earth feeling of We can be very proud of our fine institution The
unreality and impending doom. Others had de- British Army. lt saddens me greatly that because
scribed it differently but we shared this anticipation we cannot find the real estate to train and station
of doom and a feeling that maybe God or Allah our Army in Britain or abroad- the lion 's share has
was not best pleased with what was going on. been abroad for 400 years - we seem intent on dis-
banding a large part of it and it appears for Britains
The last and inevitable impression is one of the the age of the tank may well be over. I hope I am
carnage and the waste of men and material left as
wrong.

73

--------------------------

JAPANESE ENCOUNTERS

by Col J N Shipster CBE, DSO

In November last year I was fortunate to be Col John Shipster and a Japanese war veteran standing
included in a small group of Burma veterans who near the epicentre of the Hiroshima atomic bomb. The
visited Japan at the invitation of our Japanese domed construction is the only surviving building.
counterparts. lt was only the second su ch visit
since the end of World War 11. The purpose was to thing that we all had in common was that we had
create better understanding between ourselves spent our youth in combat in a " Forgotten War" .
and our formidable opponents who fought against
us nearly a half century ago in the longest cam - The Japanese are estimated to have had 400,000
paign of the War and one which was surely the casualties in Burma, the greater part of whom died.
hardest and cruelest. My own experience of some I never saw one POW. They chose death often by
two years of fighting seem sometimes as close as suicide using a hand grenade rather than face th e
yesterday so it came somewhat of a shock that ignominy of capture. As I write the high tech 'Gulf
now approaching nearly 70 years of age, I found War' has just ended contrasting the stark differ-
myself the youngest member of our party. Not ences between the past and the present. Our
unnaturally our opponents had changed and aged mobility was our feet. Combat was generally a per-
too . In my mind I have had over the years an sonal affair and guided weapons belonged only to
unvarying picture of dead Japanese soldiers wear- science fiction; even helicopters were unknown.
ing their very distinctive helmets on shaven heads We had no penicillin and malaria was a scourge.
and dressed in blood stained khaki uniforms; many
carrying in some form or other the vivid crimson I have for some years lived in East Anglia where
national emblem of the 'Rising Sun ' . In their there is still a very strong anti-Japanese feeling .
trenches there was often a distinctive smell of stale This understandably springs from the fact that the
spiced food . 18th East Anglian Division landed in Singapore just
prior to its capture in December 1941 and were
Our visit had been made possible by the gen- immediately " put in the bag" without having the
erosity of our hosts who financed every aspect of opportunity to acquit themselves in battle. The
our travels . Our party of 12 encompassed a 'broad majority eventually found themselves working on
church' coming from both the British and Indian the Siam/Burma railway where they suffered terri -
Armies and included two who had worked as ble hardships and many died, but I am sure that
POWs on the infamous Siam/Burma railway, asso- their hatred is in part accentuated by the ignominy
ciated in so many people's mind with the film of their capture, sadly it will only go when they die.
' Bridge over the River Kwai ' starring Alec In contrast, my former Regiment (The Diehards)
Guinness. Others included a Canadian Spitfire who lost their 1st Battalion in Hongkong gave the
pilot, Louis Alien the well-known Burma War histo- Japanese a good 'wallopping ' before surrender on
rian, an ex regular RSM from the RWF and a bag- Christmas Day 1941 . They suffered great privations
pipe-playing Brigadier from the A and SH, who in captivity both in Hongkong and later in Japan
piped us around Japan with great hilarity and where many died, but I have never met a 'Diehard'
much amusement to our Japanese hosts. The one who has the same intensity of feeling as my East
Anglian friends . Our electrician who is a good
A Japanese war photo of one of the first trains on the friend refuses to mend our Japanese TV set; he
infamous Siam/Burma Railway. spent the war in the UK and in Germany.

74

Japanese cruelty is well documented not only as
regard s the last War but also in their subjugation
of the Koreans and Chinese culminating in the
extreme atrocity of the 'Rape of Nanking ' in 1937 . lt
is a strange parado x that ther e is also in the
Japane se military chara cter a strong sense of
chivalry which was displayed by their troops in
China during 'The Boxer Rebellion ' (1899-1901)
and in parti cular to their treatment of Russian
POWs during the Russ ian/Japanese War at the turn
of the century. lt is interesting that the Japanese
Navy with its strong Royal Navy connections has
always had a strong code of honour.

Before I conc lude with a short description of our
recent Japanese visit I think it appropriate to say a
few words about myself. Almost throughout the
Burma Campaign I was a 'schoolboy' company
commander in a magnificent battalion of the 2nd
Punjab Regiment I certainly do not owe the A Japanese war hero, Maj Nishida and Col John Shipster
Japanese any debt of gratitude for they put me in wearing kimonos after bathing in hot water springs.
hospital three times but I must acknowledge my
thanks to them for leaving inside me the unexplod-
ed detonator of a mortar bomb which has provided
me with a tax-free disability pension. In April 1944,
having been discharged from hospital I found including being invited into their homes to meet
myself taking part in the final weeks of the battle of their families and have a meal. One part ic ular
Kohima (on the border of India and invested by the event stands out for all of us and that was when
Japanese 31st Div); surely one of the most concen- we were invited to lunch in a large hall near the
trated ' killing areas' anywhere in WW 11. We were Imperial Palace. After lunch we were unsuspecting -
not far from the ridge where LCpl John Harman of ly ushered onto the stage of a large theatre and
the RWK had earned a well-merited posthumous confronted by approximate ly 1200 veterans. The
VC and brought fame to his regiment. On my right Japanese Veterans stood up and to our amaze -
flank was a company of 1 QUEENS commanded by ment and embarrassment clapped for nearly three
the redoubtable Col Duncombe. I have sad ly for- minutes . Later after speeches we exited down a
gotten the company commader's name; he was central aisle while a Japanese version of 'Old Lang
killed a few hours after I met him. Syne' was played. God knows who provided the
music. We were all very much taken aback by the
emotions shown by these hardened old soldiers
for many had tears streaming down their faces and
we were not too steady either. The anti-clima x
came when our Brigadier bagpiper cranked up his
pipes and tears soon changed to laughter. lt was a
JAPAN littl e later in the foyer of the theatre that we were
introduced to a charming old lady who was the
After a 14 hour flight we landed at Narita Airport widow of General Kimura, the Japanese Corn-
some 50 kms from Tokyo . In the early morn i ng mander-in-Chief in Burma who had been executed
sunshine we had a wonderful view of the sacred by us for war crimes. She said that she wished to
snow-capped Mount Fuji. A group of Japanese vet- meet in friendship the former enemies of her hus-
erans met us carrying Union Jacks which in some band. What courage on her part.
cases were larger than themselves. lt is interesting
that present day Japanese are 3 to 4 inches taller Much impressed and surprised us in Japan. One
of the things that I will long remember were the
than their forebears; this I am told is due to their eager, happy, laughing faces of the school children
eating more protein . Another interesting thing is and young people which we fortunately met every-
that it is difficult to tell how old a Japanese might where. Tidy and well-behaved but lively and open
be for both men and women dye their hair jet with no inhibitions. They are the 'seed corn' of
black . Japan's future and with them Japan's future would

Our ten day trip was confined to Honshu Island,
the largest. We were based on Tokyo but visited
Hiroshima, Okayama, Kyoto and Yokohama. We seem assured.
When we flew back from Narita Airport one of
also visited the beautiful Commonwealth War Japan's most famous Burmese Veterans (Maj
Graves Cemetery near Yokohama where there are Nishida), who had been an acting battalion com-
approximately 75 graves of soldiers from the 1st mander at Kohima and was within 300 yards of my
Bn The Middlesex Regt who died as POWs. Th ere company position, came to see me off. He gave me
were also the graves of some soldiers who had a lavi sh present for my wife . What kindness.
se rved with me during the Korean War (1951/52).
Previously, when nude bath ing in hot sulphur
Dur1ng our v1s 1t we travelled many miles, met springs, he had shown me where six stengun bul -
many veterans and attended var1ous funct1ons
75

lets had entered his body after a patrol action with They have the ir own reason s and they are entitl ed
Indian troops. to their views. Those of us who went to Japan in a
spirit of 'burying the hatchet ' do not share those
lt is true to say that my visit to Japan closed a views nor can we see any future in maintaining a
circle in my life. I do not harp on yesterdays al-
though I appreciate that a good many people do non -forgiving attitude.
look backwards and are unable to forgive or forget.

EXERCISE PIED PEIPER-6/7 QUEENS (V) IN THE ARDENNES

by Maj C K Hurd TO, 21C 6/7 QUEENS (V)

Colonel John Salmon's interest in military histo- PIED PEIPER was deliberately scheduled to coin -
ry is well known in 6{7 QUEENS (V) . lt is therefore cide with the timing of the campa ign which ran
not surprising that this, along with the Colonel of from Decembe r 1944 to January 1945. And so it
the Regiment's long and exhaustive study of was that 40 officers and SNCOs of 6{7 QUEENS (V),
aspects of the Ardennes Campaign, resulted in a Col John Franc1s and a few other guests gathered
very novel TEWT. at Horsham on Friday 30 November to receive an
initial briefing from the Colonel of the Regiment.
Exercise PIED PEIPER focused on the exploits of His enthusiasm and knowledge generated much
the 1st SS Panzer Division (Liebstandarte Adolf interest and this was to set the pattern for the next
Hitler) and , in particular , a Kampfgruppe three days. The curry supper that followed round -
(armoured battle group) commanded by 29 year ed-off the evening perfectly.
old Obersturmbannfuhrer (Lt Col) Jochen Peiper.
As the history books constantly remind us, war is a Our coach left early on Saturday morning fol -
young man's game. KG Peiper was based on his lowed by an uneventful trip to Dover and subse-
own 1st SS Panzer Regiment which initially con- quent Channel crossing. Elsenborn Barracks, our
sisted of some 5000 men, 115 tanks, 100 APCs, 24 base in Belgium and close to the German border,
artillery pieces and 40 anti-aircraft vehicles . was a long way from Calais and so it was after dark
with snow falling that we negotiated the wooded
Additionally and just as importantly, PIED hills so typical of the Ardennes. The good news on
PEIPER paid tribute to the individuals and small arrival was that the Belgium Army were expecting
groups of American soldiers, mostly combat engi-
neers, who, despite being badly briefed, frightened us. The bad news was that the duty cook was not !
and ignorant of their real situation, imposed vital A German speaker and caricature of his type, he
delays on a powerful enemy who finally failed in was finally persuaded by our resident Gen era l to
improvise a meal of steak and chips. Whilst he did
his mission.

The Colonel of the Regiment in centre, (with arms folded) Tiger tank at La Gleise in the Ardennes during their
with officers and SNCOs of 6/7 QUEENS (V) in front of the battlefield tour, Exercise Pied Peiper.

76

so full advantage was taken of the local canteen was underlined - a fa ct o r whi ch re cei ve d mu c h
and its plentiful supply of cheap Stella Artois . And well deserved attention in the rece nt Gulf cov er-
thence to bed in barrack accommodation which age . The fighting in the towns graphically illu strat-
was dated but much better than your author ed the bloody nature of FIBUA and its high cost in
men and equipment. Finally, and particularly from
expected. an American perspective , PIED PEIPER showed
Peiper's mission was to bypass opposition and how the determined action s of ind ividuals, and
dash for the Meuse and there to capture the especially non-infanteers (including cooks and bot-
bridges south of Liege for the Sixth Panzer Army. tlewashers), can turn the tide of battle at criti cal
Space does not all ow a detailed accou·nt of the moments.
subsequent campaign and it would be wrong of
me to give away the plot. Suffice it to say, that we Thetrip also had its non-military highlights with
spent the next two days following the route taken a p1cn1c lunch at a Belgium chateau , a splendid din-
in 1944/ 45 through towns such as Malm edy, ner at a restaurant at La Gleize , a short visit to
Stavelot, Tro1s Pants, Stoumont and La Gleize with Grand Coo and the benefits of the hospitality and
its splendid military museum. beauty of the Ardennes. Inevitably there were
many amusing moments but none more so than
The Colonel of the Regiment's knowledge and the trip back to barracks from La Gleize when ,
insight made the battles come to life as we stood lubricated with good wines, we were treated to Lt
on the very spots where others had lived and died Caroline Waiters in courier mode (something she
some 45 years before . lt is at once an eerie and once did for a living!) and to Sgt Mo Egan ' s
emotional experience to be where American so l- Impromptu cabaret which brought tears to our
diers were butchered; to be where women and eyes!
chi lden died in error and to feel that military mix-
ture of luck, leadership, com rad eship and courage . Our return trip was punctuated by a brief
Our experience was made all the more poignant by stopover at Ypres and commentary from Maj Piers
the snow and mist which mirrored the weather of Stone-Pugh as we passed the battlefields of the
First World War. A trip to the hypermarket at Calais
the time. preceded the boat trip to Dover where we

Many lessons were to be had from this unique debussed with our duty-frees (less beer) for the
experience, not least how command and control benefit of Customs and Excise statistics.
could be exercised over an armoured co lumn
which at times stretched over 25 kilometres . A rather tired, but well satisfied group, finally
Teamwork and co-ope ration between the arms and amved at Horsham mid-evening on Monday 3
services were clearly vita l and infantry and armour De cember h aving comp leted a very novel and
had to work as one. This was all the more surpris- instructive TEWT. We are grateful to the Colonel of
ing as evidence shows that the Kampfgruppe oper- the Regiment for his time and energy.
ated effectively over severa l weeks with the mini -
mum of direct orders. Th e importance of logi stics The final message must be that if you get the
chance to take part in exercise PIED PE IPER, do go.

CAMBRIAN PATROL 90

by LCpl Scobie, 5 QUEENS (V)

. When you join the TA you get a sense of belong- v.:eighing in excess of 70 lb s. The gently rolling
mg, comradeship, a uniform and two pairs of Long hills turn out to be the twin brothers of Mount
Johns; what you don't get is a warning about Everest- especially from the bottom. The gurgling
Wales. brooks are no w1der than the Severn Bore and to
cross them you need a 29" inside leg, a hefty insur-
Wales is where men are men and sheep are ance pol1cy and a strong belief in God.
frightened, and where for one month each year the
Army o rgani ses a competition for the more As for birds singing, then you can forget that -
masochistic TA so ldier. Th e competition is adver- the only singing you get is in your ears at IOmph
tised as a patrol through an area of outstanding halfway up a hill. Th e grassy moorland may look
natural beauty, gently rolling hills, steep va ll eys wide and green from a car or coach but when you
With gurgling brooks, and wide green grassy stand on top of it the view is somewhat different.
moorlands where birds si ng and sheep graze con- Th e grass is over two foot high , tussocked at just
tentedly. the wrong distances for walk1ng on , and cunningly
Interspersed w1th muddy pools just deep enough
Thi s is not exactly the view one receives from to fit nicely over the top of combat boots.
under a helmet and stand ing in front of a rucksack

77

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

The competition is always placed so that it m iss- comp lex. No sooner than blin k you find yourself in
es the two sunny days allocated to Wal es eac h the front room of a building being briefed . Then a
year. Th e weather at best is described as horizontal quick sprint comp lete with bergen across open
and at worst it defies description . Welsh weather is ground and into the house that is under attack.
tenacious and cunning ; no matter how well you
wrap up in the most expensive water-proof cloth - Once inside, ni ce men with short haircuts and
ing it will always find a way through and into your wearing Barbour jackets start shouting and it is not
grundies. long before o ne finds o neself stretched out on an
upstairs floor convert in g li ve rounds to empty
Thus it is, that an eig ht man team bound and cases. "Stooooop" penetrates ear defenders and at
trained as one after a two week camp and numer- last it's tim e to finish and go home. Not quite- one
ous weekends is placed in the way of Wal es. In its of the Barb our J ackets passes you a bright red
infinite wisdom the Army mistakenly believes that ammo box weighing little more than a sma ll ele-
Wal es ca nnot win on its own so helps by placing phant and informs .you that you have 7 minutes to
stands in the more inaccess ibl e areas of the cat ch the last helicopte r home which happens to
co urse . They cove r such divers topics as AFV be landing 2 kms away.
Re co gnition , First Aid , Abs eiling and Min efiel d
Clearance. To reach these stands you are obliged A distance of 2 kms is not far when viewed on
to use your map. Now a map is a cun ning device; it the map. However, when the littl e brown lin es are
tells you where you are not where you think you so close together they become a brown smudg e it
should be . If you are not at the required stand at turns out to be a little further than first esti mated .
the right time it ca n be one of three reasons . As you free fall down one side of the valley all you
Firstly, that the DS co uldn 't wait any longer and are co nce ntrating on is th e smal l black dot in the
went home. Seco ndly, that your map is out of date distance gradually getting bigger. The down-draft
and does not show all the new roads put in by the overhead and you are stil l nowhere near th e LZ.
logging co mpanies. Or thirdly, that you are, yet
again, geographica lly embarrassed. Pani c, panic, think straight, radio in, wrong chop-
per, that was another team, your helicopter is still
Having marched, stumbled and finally crawled two minutes out. Relief, you're up and running
your way to the pickup point you are then entitled again. Another dot, the pop of smoke, a loud roar,
to use the 40 lbs of radio equipment lovingly car- a strong wind , suddenly it's up and away with th e
ried by the patrol for the last 47 kms in a brief but helicopter and the contents of your stomach. And
pertinent message summoning a taxi to take you this time you really have and are finished .
to the last phase of the exercise- a live shoot from
defended buildings. For 36 hours you wonder why you are com pet-
ing but the f eeling of achievement, joy, elation and
Deposited at the bottom of yet another hill by a happiness at the end is worth all the aches and
considerate helicopter pilot, a fight immediately pain. Given the chance next year, this soldier might
ensues as to who is to car ry the Bergen with the just come back with something more than a bag
radio kit in it. Once th is has been sorted, eight pairs full of dirty washing, sore bli stered fe et and a
of boots make their way uphill towards the FIBUA sense of pride at not giving up.

CLERICAL FREE-FALL

by LCpllzard 1 QUEENS

At first I thought Free Fall Parachuting seemed After what seemed the longest wa lk in my life
like a good way to escape from the Orderly Room (only about 20 metres), we got to the aircraft. I was
for a few days. After committing myself I started fifth in the line I started thinking , " Can I do it"?
asking questions, like " Who would jump out of an Answer, " Yes I ca n, there is a woman jumping
aeroplane when it's going to land after I've first"! I looked across at her and tried to give a
jumped?" When I arrived at Sennelager, to my smile, but it turned out more like a grimace.
relief, the drop zo ne was thick with snow.
However, this did not stop th e ground training We took off and suddenly the co mmand ca me!
which lasted three days. Every question I thought "Door open, Feet Out, Go "! The woman was gone.
to ask was answered and slowly but surely my " I've got to do it now" . I thought to myself" A
doubts faded away. woman has just jumped out" Again the co mmand
" Door Open " my backside felt as though it was
Finally the dreaded day came . Everybody superglued to the floor. " Feet Out ", my feet w ere
thought he was the only one scared witless, but dangling out of the aircraft 2200 ft above th e
just looking around at the others told you that you ground, " Go " Count " 1000, 2000" . I didn't reach
were not. Some hid their fear by laughing and jo k- 3000 but I' m sure I screamed . The ca nopy opened
ing and some were very, very quiet. and I started floating down to earth.

78

However, thi s first jump w as to be th e easy part achieve a Freefal l of 20 seconds and jumped from
as 1 w as co nn ect ed t o th e aircraft with a st ati c lin e. a heig ht of 5000 ft, managed to reach Terminal
Next w ould com e th e hard part - Freefall! Velocity w hi ch is a speed of approximately 120
mph and fel l 287 5 feet wit hout opening my para -
Th e day so on cam e wh en I had to pull th e han- chute.
dl e myse lf to open the para chute. " Will I mi ss th e
handl e, will th e pin com e out, or will I pani c and I w oul d recomm end t his course to anyo ne who
d oes not have a f ai nt hea rt . I was surprised how
just forget"? mu ch y ou ca n co ntro l f ear and to me fo r whom
1 jumped " 1000, 2000 , look at the handl e pull jumping out of an aircraft is not a nat ural t hing to
do, thi s w as my greatest achievem ent .
hard 1000, 2000, 3000 " . Th e canopy open ed. A
shout of joy. I've don e it!

By the end of th e final we ek I had manag ed to

CYPRUS DETACHMENT 90

LCpl Anne Webster
Sevenoaks Platoon, Kent ACF

A chance in a lifetime for cadets of 3rd Cadet Feret armoured cars aro und th e MT park and w e
had the opportunity to look over th eir Saladi n
Battalion The Queen 's Regiment, Kent ACF ; after cars . Th e Salad i n date s bac k to th e
twelve months of planning and preparation the Armoured is only used in Cyprus f o r o perati o nal
day had finally come . All the cadets selected had to 1950s and
commitments. Up on the converted 30 m etre rang e
be over fourteen years of age, have at least one we had the chance to fire the .22 gun from inside
star APC and be out-going people and I was fortu- the Saladin's turret. The model tank targets flew

nate enough to be one of them . everywhere. We th en moved to RAF Akrotiri where

November 5th certainly started with a bang! I some of us went scuba diving in the sea as part of
made my way to Tunbridge Wells and met up with an introdu ctory dive. The rest of the group tri ed
the other lucky cadets and Instructors. We all made snorkelling - an outstanding experien ce. In the
our way to Heath row Airport and were soon seated afternoon 34 Squadron RAF regiment hosted us
on flight CY505 destined for Paphos Airport, and gave us a presentation on the Scorpian light
Cyprus. For most of us this was our first time visit- tank and Spartan APC. The presentation was then
ing Cyprus and knowing that it was the southern - a drive over the tank driver training
most of all the Mediterranean Islands with an followed by delights of the knife edge, where th e
almost perfect climate, this was very exciting. area and the
tank balances like a pair of scal es, a lot of fun ,

We arrived at Paphos at 2145 hours local time on The next day we returned to Akrotiri to visit 83
a warm Monday evening, where we were then Search and Rescue Squadron RAF who gave us a
by coach to the British Forces Base at presentation on the work of the squadron and a
escorted . Once we found our accommodation look over a Wessex helicopter. After returning t o
Episkopi Episkopi in the late morning we spent the rest of
blocks we all got a sound nights sleep. Tuesday the morning with the Anti Tank Platoon who
morning started with a briefing by the Adjutant of showed us the Milan simulator and 81 mm Mortar.
3rd Battalion The Queen 's Regiment who were our Then back to 34 Squadron who let us drive the
hosts for the two weeks. Capt Reynolds knew most Spartan over the tank driver training area . Most
of the cadets as he had visited our platoons earlier evenings were free and we met lots of people from
in the year . He gave us an outline on the battalion 's different companies and corps . They made us feel
role and a qui ck outline as to what their jobs very welcome.
involved. After the barracks tour we went shopping
in Limassol all afternoon. This gave us the chance On Saturday the 10th we set off up to th e
to soak up some rays of sunshine, taste the atmo- Troodos Mountains to visit the Signals establish-
sphere and say 'Hi' to the locals. After tea we went ment and to enjoy some of the fantasti c scenery of
down to the beach and swam in the Mediterranean the area. For us Remembran ce Sunday was very
different. For one thing we paraded in shirt-sleeve
until 2030 hours. order and the Servi ce was held in the Curium
Amphitheatre near Limassol , with a view over the
Wednesday wasn 't as warm as Tuesday but it deep blue Mediterranean .
was still warmer than England! After breakfast we
went down to Tunnel Beach for water skiing and The afternoon was spent o n Tunn el Beach,
sail boarding. lt was great fun and produced a lot of swimming and a barbecue. Monday th e 12th co n-
laughs. In the afternoon we went rock cl i mbing sisted of rock climbing and abseiling . Tu esd ay saw
and abseiling in Happy Valley. Thursday the 8th us visiting th e Signals Pl atoon . W e w ere t aught
saw us visiting the island's Recce Squadron from about the PRC 320 radio and how to erect masts
the 17th/21st Lancers who trusted us to drive their

79

.£. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .~

and looked over the Commanding Officer's Cadet LCpl An ne Webster
Command Vehicle. Then followed the 66mm and
84mm anti tank weapons. The afternoon was spent Company, Capt P B M Reynolds and LCpl N Burley
practising skill at arms on the SABO rifle in readi - who all made the visit so interesting and worth-
ness for the range. while.

The range morning on the Wednesday was very
exciting. We fired the SABO rifle in a competition
shoot and then after receiving instruction we fired
the 9mm pistol , the Heckl er and Koch Machine
Pistol 5K and the Heckler and Koch Machine Gun
53, This was one of the highlights of the visit. After
a lesson on Regimental History with Maj S Thorpe
OC Headquarters Company, we visited the dog
section where we saw a display of search and
guard dogs. The day finished with a run over the
assault course.

Thursday saw us dry s lope skiing and in the
afternoon we went sailing in Lasers and riding in
the battalion's speed boat. After aerobics in the
evening I was just ready for an ea rly night. Friday
morning we attempted the Army Physi ca l entrance
exams with the PTis, consisting of running, sit-ups,
pull-ups etc. We followed this with horse riding
then a visit to the Recce Platoon who gave us pre-
sentations on the sniper, observation posts and the
platoon's role. This was carried out by Sgt Fisher,
an old friend of our battalion. The morning finished
up driving over the training areas in the platoon's
stripped down Land Rovers. Friday afternoon had
us searching vehicles and an introd uction to NBC.

The 17th was spent last minute shopping and in
the afternoon we went motor karting, racing
around the barracks karting track. Sunday we visit-
ed the Green Line and United Nations
Peacekeeping Force, where we were hosted by 22
Air Defence Regiment RA. We travelled along the
line between the Greeks and Turks visiting United
Nations' positions. This was a really interesting
chance in a life-time. The whole of the buffer zone
was like a ghost town with deserted houses and
cars - it was a really strange feeling. The evening
was spent saying good-bye to everyone and espe-
cially LCpl Nick Burley who throughout the visit
had done so much to help. We would like to thank
Lt Col A W Barratt the Commanding Officer, A

A PERSONAL VIEW OF SKIING

Capt A Ferguson, 8 QF(V)

Only a few months ago I was saying "You will style of Franz Klammer. So much for the armchair
never catch me sliding down a mountain on two theory' For the first three days I managed to per-
planks of wood!" But with a week of holiday due to form cras hes of the utmost complexity - with
me and the opportunity to visit the Engelhof in almost no effort at all, sliding face-down on pistes
Bavaria , I decided to see for myself what skiing of various degrees of difficulty. As all skiers know,
was all about. the slopes are colour coded to assist the beginner
in finding his true potential for disaster. Th e main
Preparation was easy. After watching half an colours encountered are Blue (You will make a
hour of Ski Sunday it was obvious that almost any- comp lete fool of yourself). Red (You will crash into
one could descend most slopes with the grace and things at a very high speed) and Black (Your whole

80

life will pass befo re you - parti cul arl y the seve ral If th e days were spent working on our skiing,
occasions on wh1ch you refus ed a pe rso nal acci- eve nings at the Engelhof were spent relaxing and
dent insuran ce poli cy). all warnings about the strength of the local beer
were totally disregarded. The atmosphere was
Having rea lised my initial illusions were grossly re la xe d , the accommodation excellent and the
optimist ic, I co nce ntrated on learn1ng the very efforts of W02 Monger and hi s staff ensured that
basi c " Snow Plough " technique. Thi s involves ski- the week passed without a hitch.
ing with legs wide apart, instead of the more usual
method as seen on television . This serves the dual Considering the disasters of the first few days I
purpose of giving the novice a small degree of co n- was surprised just how quickly it is possib le to
trol , whilst also mak1ng 1t patent ly obv1ous to improve and the majority of us were able to pass
everyo ne e lse on the mounta1n that you are a the Bronze Standard by the end of the week. At a
potent ial pile-up waiting to happen! 2Lt Miles cost of on ly £120, the week represents very good
Griffin and myself were attached to a squad from va lu e and is thoroughly reco mmended .
the JIB at Shornc liffe under the watchful eye of Cpl
Taylor, whose pati ence was truly amazing! Sliding down mountains on two planks of wood
ce rtainly does take a lot of beating!

TWO WEEKS IN SWEDEN

by Lt PT Tyson, 2 QUEENS

The view from the room I was in was reassuring- I joined the recruits of the " PVRB " platoon as
ly peaceful. The paving below ran some two hun- they struggled over harsh terrain through heavy
dred yards to the river which stretched, steel-grey ra infall, practising their tank-killing skills using fire
under the autumn skies, to a small park on the far and manoeuvr e with a combination of 90mm
side, beyond which the old buildings of one of recoiless guns and the Swedish-made " Bofors Bill "
Stockholm's more expensive suburbs could ju st be top-attack Anti -tank Missile. The use of the word
seen. Brightly co loured sailing dinghies competed " recruit" here is perhaps only half accurate as the
with windsurfers for space on the water as co u- Swedish Army has a very different system to our
ples, young and old, strolled along the river's edge. own.
The room itself was spacious, light and comfort-
ably furnished. Outside, the Union Jack and the On consc ription each intake is assessed and the
Swedish national flag flew side by side in the stiff ability of each individual determines which branch
of the Army he enters. Those joining the infantry
November breeze. are streamed into platoon and half-platoon leaders,

" lt is even better here in the summer" , my host section leaders and 21Cs, and private so ld iers. A fif-
told me. " The girls all sunbathe topless just there", teen -month training cycle then begins with platoon
pointing to the riverbank . Despite appearances this leaders starting their training first, followed some
was no hotel , and I was not on holiday. I was visit- months later by the m en who will become their
ing the Krigsskolan , the Swedish military academy, NCOs, and finally by their so ldi ers. The training is
as part of a two week exchange visit to the King 's directed throughout by officers who are all regular
Warmlands regiment, an Infantry unit based in so ldiers. Th e men , thus t rain ed, comp lete a tough
Karlstad. My mind wandered back to my days at exercise at the fifteen-month point and are then
Sandhurst and I was struck, not for the first time by disbanded and the whole cycle begins again . They
a wave of jealousy; no armed guards or screami ng are obliged to undertake regular periods of reserve
traini ng throughout their working life but other-
Colour Sergeants here! wise have no further commitment once trained.
Th ey ca n, of course, elect to become regular offi-
Most British so ldi ers will be familiar with the old cers if they so wish and, if judg ed suitab le, in this
piece of advice to " work hard, play hard ". The case, having spent time with their regiments as
Swedes cou ld well have their own saying along Officer Cadets, they then go on to further training
the lin es of " work hard, play easy". Even the tran - at the Kirgskolan in Stockholm.
sit accommodation on Horshun training area,
where I spent a night ea rli er on my v isit, was lu xu- The tactics I saw demonstrated at Horshun were
rious by any standard , and all the more so when ve ry similar to our own in principle, although the
compa red to the British equivalent at Sennybridge, equipment was unfamiliar. In order to remedy this
for instance. The pine walled blocks were equipped last point I was given a " hands on" demonstration
of the cross-country ca pab ilities of the BV206, on
with kitchen, television room and living room, and which the 90mm guns are hydraulically mounted. I
the beds with duvets. lt was all too easy to be also had the opportunity to fire two live rounds
lulled into a false sense of security. Thi s was to last from the gun itself, after a crash course in anti-tank
only as long as the next morning, when I went to
see the Anti -Tank Platoon training and was abrupt- gunnery.
ly reminded of the first part of the saying .

81

~£. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .~

I was to see more of the "Bofors Bill " missil e Back in Karl st ad, and nearing th e end of my visit
system when my host Capt Jan Collander, the I was invited to a Mess dinner night with Col Kl ang,
Anti -Tank Platoon Commander, took me to visit the Command e r of th e W a rmland s Bngad e. Th e
Bofors factory and office comple x. Th ere I was Swedes, li ke us, have a ce nturies-old regim ental
given a presentation and guided tour whi ch was, I system and are equally pro ud of their custom s and
suspect, usually reserved for somewhat more traditions. lt was that night that I cam e across my
senior visitors . As well as having the " Bofors Bill " all -time favourite mes s tradition . Seated at th e
system explained to me I was shown various other table, just across from Col Klang was a m an ca ll ed
of the company's products and processes includ- Col Brunkuler, or rath er a painting of him ; the m an
ing the manufacture of 105mm and 155mm
artillery ammunition, from components to finished himself ha s been de a d for s ome y e ar s. His
products. I was shown the new Swedish Infantry memory, however, remains very much alive.
Fighting Vehicle which is similar in concept to
Warrior but has, as far as I could see, two main dif- In days of old wh en Col Brunkuler command ed
ferences - the armour was almost as thin as on my the Regiment it was traditional for the officers to
trusty old 432 back in Minden , and , perhaps to be served in order of seniority, a pro cess whi ch
compensate, it sported a 40mm gun, capable, it took some time, and for the table to be cleared th e
was claimed of taking on a Main Battle Tank. instant the Colonel had finished whichever course
he was on at the time. Thi s meant that th e
I was also given an excellent tour of the factori es Subalterns rarely got more than a taste of each
and offices of FFV Ordnance, makers of the 84mm course (a fa ct whi c h is unlikely to have b een
Carl Gustav. There I saw the manufacture and test- reflected on their mess bills). Col Brunkuler put a
ing of ammunition and a video of the successful stop to this, amongst other barbaric practices, and
first test firing of a "smart" mortar, competitor to so as the " protector of subalterns" he now ha s a
the British made Merlin . Once again it was the red place at every regimental dinner. He is even includ-
carpet treatment with a mouthwatering seafood ed in the toasts drunk by the Captains and below
lunch, and as we left we were each presented with while the Majors and Colonels hiss and boo. Tired
a beautiful FFV Ordnance clasp knife. of this symbol of rebellion the senior officers once
stole the painting on the eve of a dinner night - the
lt was not all work however. Early on in my stay I subalterns were not slow to react; they lay in wait
had dinner with the young officers of the King 's outside the house of the real Colonel and kid -
Warmlands Regiment - a traditional smorgasbord napped him in return . They kept him , bound and
that included two Swedish specialities; raw fish, blindfolded until an " exchange of prisoners " was
which I was not entirely keen on, and schnapps, arranged that night.
which I was. I was also taken on a tour of Karlstad
where I was introduced to a barber who has in his I returned to Germany by train with heavy heart
shop the most fascinating collection of militaria and heavier suitcase - among other souvenirs I had
(much of it British) I have ever seen outside a been presented with the shell case of one of the
museum. The programme also included a two-day 90mm rounds I had fired, suitably engraved. What
the German customs officers thought of it I will
to Stockholm where I was given a tour of the probably never know; neither of them spoke a
Military Academy, watched the changing of the word of English , or Swedish for that matter,but
guard, and had lunch with the holder of what must they allowed us to pass. Ahead of me lay a fort-
be one of the best jobs in the British Army; the night of showing Jan Collander the delights of
Military Attache to Sweden. There was even time mechanised soldiering in Minden ; behind me an
for a brief, but thoroughly enjoyable tour of interesting, informative and above all enjoyable
Stockholm's nightlife. visit.

ADVENTURE TRAINING IN SARDINIA

by 2lt l M Scott, 2 QUEENS

Exercise Deci-Empty began at four o'clock in the colourful tales of gangs of bandits roaming the
morning on 5 November, standing outside the hills in search of British squaddies eager for a
company lines in Clifton Barracks, Minden. A prob- punch-up?
lem immediately arose. A member of the expedi-
tion, who had been to Sardinia the previous year, After an uneventful drive to Wildenrath and an
had decided that he would prefer a few more even more uneventful four hour delay, we eventu -
hours in England on a long weekend, rather than ally flew to RAF Decimomanu and we were met by
return in time for the transport to RAF Wildenrath. the expedition base staff. Where the expedition
Did he know something I did not, about what base is so useful is in enlightening ex pedition lead -
awaited us on the island of Sardinia , with its ers on those troublesome grey areas that always

82

seem to hang in the back of one ' s mind at the With my thirty year old map, the five days was
beginning of any adventure trammg exerc1se . The full of surprises, including new roads, new settle-
information they give all expedition parties was ments and reservoirs. We were also woken early
exceptionally useful, even if it merely confirmed one morning in the hills by a gun wielding " shep-
my highest hopes or my worst fears. The adminis- herd" who woke us with (what appeared to be) his
trative support they provide also takes a great deal loud inquiries as to what the hell we were doing in
of weight off already bruised shoulders from expe- the hills, let alone what we were doing curled up in
dition planning. After a night's rest and the free our bivi-bags fast asleep.
kick-start my sma ll party and I were driven to our
first drop off point and the first leg of our expedi- After a night's admin stop at the exped ition base
we went out once more, this time to the south
tion. westerly tip of Sardinia. After driving past the
My team of willing adventure trainers consisted industrial areas south of the capital , Cagliari, we
entered the summer tourist areas. However, now
of myself and six private so ldi ers, Ptes Diamond, approaching mid November, beach campsites
Foster, Fuller, Hardcastle, Phillips and Sutton, not were deserted and hotels were closed down and
the normal set-up one would expect. Although it boarded up. Once again it was not long before we
was totally unintentional it was greatly advanta - found ourselves following windy tracks not marked
geous, particularly for the so ldi ers. I certainly had on the map, with thick scrub on either side far
my reservations and had attempted to get an NCO denser than anything in the north. Not wishing to
along to help me out with the running of the expe- be defeated, we pushed on and gained the heights
dition. My job of contro lling ration money and the of the southern hills. The only real contact we had
planning of our routes did at times become a little with the local population was a brief conversation
lonely. There was certainly no lack of input from of sign language with a forest warden , and all we
the expedition members although at times sugges- managed to glean from him was that the hills were
tions did become a little outrageou s and require steep and it got cold at night. Th e reason this was
taming . What the exercise did allow was great said was due to our attire of shorts and T-shirt in
opport unities for the private so ldiers to show what the comparative warmth of Sardina compared to
they were made of. Germany, whilst he was dressed in heavy trousers
and a woolly jumper. We tried to assure him that
Our first five days away from the base took us we were well equipped but he still seemed fairly
into the northern hills of Sardinia. Due to past trou- amazed when we stro ll ed off towards the hills.
bles between the local population and British
Forces, the highest and undoubtedly the best Our final days in Sardinia were spent at the
trekking areas of Sardinia were out of bounds and expedition base. We took trips into Cagliari for a
are probably likely to be for a few years to come . taste of Sardinian civilisation and also to experi-
This is undoubtedly a great shame. lt is only at a ence the continuous bumper car race that the
certa in height that one can climb out of the thick Sardinians play around the capita l' s streets.
and often painful Sardinian scrub and enjoy the Finally, it was time for us to leave Sardinia and the
views that the country can offer. Away from the expedition base, already preparing for the next two
centra l trekking area, this was very difficult to incoming groups.
achieve and it is important for future expeditions
not to expect the challenges that areas such as Without a junior NCO for the privates to look
Glencoe or Snowdonia can offer. Therefore more towards, I encouraged decisions to be made by
emphasis fell on to mental aims, such as self-confi- individuals or, if this was not suitable, by a demo-
dence and initiative when dealing with the lo ca ls. cratic decision. Great strengths and weaknesses
Tasks such as buying food for the group, asking appeared in all members and, although our own
farmers if we cou ld use their land to camp for the rank structure developed, all had an equal chance
night and mixing with the loca ls from day to day in to show what they could do best. Private Diamond
a country where very few people either could fell into the 21C slot as the senior soldier, and it
speak English or wanted to, suited these aims. We was a position he proved himself worthy of. As for
only ever bought food once from a true supermar- the two trained cooks, they produced a fine meal
ket, which was simple compared to the small gro- or two putting the rest of us to shame. Although
cers that we used more often. In the same way we some took longer than others, all group members
cooked as a group and the responsibility would fall made valuable contributions towards a most suc-
on two members to make something of what we cessful and enjoyable expedition.
had bought, hopefully to everyone's liking. Under
the watchful eye of our two civi lian trained chefs,
this was no mean task.

83

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QUEENSMEN GO TO WAR

by Cpl E Fuller, 2 QUEENS

I first found out that I was going to the Gulf when the job of building the defe nces around the POrt
Maj Beswi ck phoned up the Training Wing and was put into effect with filling thousands of sand
asked if I would mind going out to the Gulf to do bag s. One advantage was we had no shortage of
NBC Warning and Reporting and if so I would be sa nd to fill them with . Also more NBC training, but
going in the next couple of weeks. The first job that thi s time it was my job with the rest of the NBC
I had to do was report to the doctor for my first team to train and make sure that 7 Armoured
course of inj ections (to find out later they were th e Brigade was ready in the event of a Chemical War.
first of many) then off to upset the OM Tech when I
asked him for up to date NBC suits. On Friday 5 By 11 November we were all ready to go but with
October I received movement orders to report to no end to the cri sis in sight and the Ameri cans
JHQ Rheindahlen on Sunday 7th by 1600 hrs. On bringing in reinforcements there was no chance of
arrival at JHQ more paperwork, more kit to carry being home by Christmas.
and even more injections. These followed a week's
Infantry training on first aid, NBC, live firing on At one minute past midnight on 17 January we
66mm , 84mm and L2 grenade. Ba c k at JHQ I heard the rumble of aircraft. As we looked up in
bumped into one of my old bosses, Maj Wayne the sky all you could see through the broken
Harber and Cpl Lindus from 2 QUEENS , also clouds were masses of B52s and Tornado' s pa ss-
bound for the Gulf. ing overhead and we all knew we were now at war
with Iraq . By this time we had moved up to the
The flight out to the Gulf was uneventful. We desert to HQ FMA Forward, living in big holes in
landed at Cyprus to re-fuel , then on to Saudi the ground where we had to dig in Bedford box
Arabia , where we all hoped we could get some body vehicles. During the air battle the ground
sleep. But when we arrived at AI Jubail airport forces had very little to do during the day, although
another member of The Queen 's Regiment had we did have our share of NBC false alarms. But of
other ideas, I will give you only one guess, as that a night it was the Iraqis turn to try and bomb us
is all old members of the Regiment will need . Yes, with Scud missiles. In all they fired about 50 into
our very own press man Maj James Myles. Lucky Saudi Arabia with most going to the capital Riyadh
for me he didn't catch up with me until I arrived at but we had our fair share land near our location.
the reception for more documentation . So all we After the Scud attacks people were out next morn-
needed out here was the old and the bold from the ing collecting souvenirs to take back home as at
Regiment and it was not long before they came out this time we all didn't expect a land battle. But on
of the woodwork. A couple of weeks later who the 24 February the land battle started and by the
should arrive but the oldest and boldest, Maj early hours of the morning on 28th it was all over
Knight Hughes, a very old boss of mine. Last but but the shouting and the Americans are calling it
not least to arrive was the youngest of the lot Capt the 100 hour war. So we are looking forward to the
Duncan Strut! who was taking up a post at HO 7 time to come home and see our families and
Armoured Brigade. When we had all acclimatised, friends from the Regiment.

A TA VIEW OF THE PLATOON SERGEANTS BATTLE COURSE

by Cpl S Cobb

In the words of Capt Shaw RM - " Gentlemen, it's be ring idiot. The pace was frantic and the only time
a bloody nightmare". He was, of course, referring you did not double was when you were eating but
to Phases of War and not the NCOs'Tactics Wing , that first week saw off most of the course casual-
Brecon . During the course, however, I had my ties. I had my own problems, my socks hid from
doubts. me and my boots went on strike but I soon
restored order.
I thought I was fit in body and mind when I went
to Brecon . So did most of the other NCOs I spoke The Rest Day on Saturday was sorely needed ;
to on that first night in the Sergeants' Mess. That very sorely indeed . Sleep -finish a meal in peace
was Saturday night. By the end of Sunday I was (sleep), do your doby (sleep), have a well earned
not sure if my backside was punched, counter-sunk pint and sleep.
or bored.
The second week loomed , time to kick-start the
By the end of Monday, after a day of live-firing boots again. The kit was just as heavy, but it did
section attacks and a CFT I was reduced to a gib- not seem to hurt so much and cam cream was

84

aqoinnpuspitmcrlikueelcd,ytwoaarhssnidlssweteecsrfo1efintctotdniefgnnatatnltdyutihrf-feee.wrbeDeanrcittklhlosoopfwuinageisohretntn.pcsaolptrerdbdieau-ddwt onooweuudnrt cru shing; bless their little cotton socks. I, however,
have return ed from Brecon a better NCO than

when I went, also a wiser one .

Bedford that we were soldiering. Th e Ta cti cs Wing is staffed by some of the best
instru ctor s in the Army, and I am pleased and
1 would lik e to tel l you everything that happen ed proud to have attended, com pleted, survived and
it would take to o long; besides I do not wish to passed . A message to all you SNCOs that for one
but reaso n and another have not attended Senior
future ca ndidates. The course is very
spoil it for - physically and mentally - but, most Breco n - it's your loss.
demanding
of all, the pressure exerted by the instructors is

THE DUTY FLIGHT

by Capt J F Dyer, 3 QUEENS.

Mre3aItcshhWeadsedhbnoeemesndeabyh.raaTvvihneegdcjoaounursdsteeydhoauwsihtjhuasvLteofinneidsvohenendtb.uuaTshleleys you oversleep a bit the following morn ing , there is
and taxis for the last hour. sti ll plenty of time to reach Gatwick in time for the

Sitting down and relaxing with a decent mug of flight.
otnshoifxrnaonou-g' RcNhlAAoFaAc kFfqlIiugiincchokttffhtetoieemCemyyopoaurprunpcsiornenl egct eia.amvtYiinpooglnautB:emrpiztuehebensNtpaocrlrlolotysospnereuacinntt
London at eleven o'clock; just under one hour to The journey to Gatwick successfully negotiated
reach Paddington BR station in time for the last you arrive at a very uncrowded Air Europe to pre-
train to Swindon which leaves just before mid- As you wander over you think
night; train arrives in Swindon just after one sent your ticket. as if to answer your question the
soousnl''tecceoellsoowp.cckIkbo.,senhfGpotorhrroeueeval dtitthd,raebetched0ka3satt0;htw0etBarihlxerlioizgueitsoirvsNneBcooramritlztloeet hfnoeaarbjbuwmoosuruytott nb0tohe6gn0ifroe0ttyryehphmoeotuwui norrossf- "very quiet" and
flight. young check-in lady tells you your flight has been
cance ll ed and to check at the main ticket desk. On
Just to be on the safe side you decide to phone tpCorael dlseednot htninaiagtn y.yoBoururititsiachkr eeCt afnloeordwtohneifalsnyeicn-ognnod wwt i mitthhea,t yBsorhuiot iausrlhde
Byccr"oShooriwaunzoefrr,itrwretytmrohrynecAtonhoGiranfayltfiEtogiwyruuhmoirtcuospkyph"taoeooruetnhRleaeeiAnra.eFvmfOaiiAnnoncgkvtfrpaeboachmotttioore1lniken3iefantr1dsvog5imnoChGgnoohafrtuertpoworrosemaircnattkoolt,hMmmteyeOoorolelrrDus.-- be a decent flight.
row.
TsachbhebheoAeeeopctumeufknttlti.hdgihtnIeoethesrytycboEhhtiehusaaesersscrutkleaauew-rtlignheluagteisnhgatrhdeghweeattipthhqaloleiaunmtyeerdeagniautrste.reieoadsSmlneataofualeelrfmnhengadodobihwennienurigrsggigtheoabtmtofnemaadhcCnanihdarnyaeipdgld.tdrehurYyrsiesenoor.tkneuuoI.
Sitting back pleased with the fact that you now there is a man with a bergen, three large suitcases
have an extra night in London and no requirement and a holdall. Th e check-in girl is already getting
to leave at some terrible hour for Brize Norton, the out her luggage stand-by tickets.
priority becomes enjoying your last night in
London for a coup le of months. On the way to the departure lounge you buy a
coup le of newspapers to read on the plane.
The evening passes smoothly and even though Scanning through one of them as you wait to
cbgoihsooopomaieoanrrnprgdadeatitisnnnhoygtefoocafipatlsisllnqalaeunosdeiriudseLbasyyestuoiiiolcsudt.unhiar.nLielroolditteoIirncmkseteienneargnannyntadaiootraiunoohrsunatimnascthdlleunaoytotratowebAsuoroirasum"tttEoeLausptulhrolpocimtenphkegdeey
Blighters, at least you ' ll miss this one!

THE ROYAL STAR AND GARTER HOME

by lan A Lashbrooke, Director of Appeals and PR

In February 1971 , Colin Wooten - a private serv- Colin was just 18 years old, a keen sportsman
3rd Battalion, The Queen 's Regiment- who loved the outdoor army life. He suffered per-
the head during a ruthless machine-
ing with the on British troop s in the New Lodge manent brain damage and was unable to walk or
was shot in
gun attack talk.

Road area of Belfast. For the first six years following his w ounding,

85

.£. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .~

Colin was cared for by his mother. When she Despite their disabilities, many residents achieve
became too ill to cope, he came to The Royal Star what might seem to be the impossible. John
and Garter Home. His brother Kenneth says, "We Hearn, a PE instructor in the RAF, broke his neck
knew that Colin needed specialist medical care - during a gymnastic display . Although John ha s
care that we cou ld not provide. But it went much only limited movement in one arm, he has studied
deeper than that. In his troubled state of mind, he for a Science Degree through the Open University
needed an atmosphere of love, peace and calm . and achieved outstanding results.
Thankfully he found what he needed at The Royal
Star and Garter Home." Charlie Hankins lost both legs, the sight of one
eye and suffered gunshot wounds to the chest in
Today, at the age of 37, Colin is confined to a North Africa in 1943. Charlie came to the Home
wheelchair and is only able to say a few words . twenty years ago and has since devoted his
However, he can move freely around the spacious boundless energy to some remarkable fund -raising
building listening to friends, visiting the canteen events. He has been awarded the highest medals
and enjoying his favourite Cliff Ri chard records . He for swimming and _life saving; he has peddled his
also regularly visits his family home in Sussex . invalid trike, mounted on plastic buckets, from
Neither has he lost his sense of humour and is Westminster Bridge to Richmond ; in 1986 he pro-
quite able to make a joke by means of facial pelled his trike from John O'Groats to Lands End
expressions or hand gestures. Above all, he has and in 1990, to celebrate his 70th birthday, he
the very best medical attention from staff who he made the return journey and, just for good mea -
knows and who care for him as a person. sure, made a parachute jump along the way and
rounded off the journey with a subaqua dive into
Colin is one of the younger residents in the Loch Ness. Since he came to the Home, Charlie
Home whose ages range from 34 to 96. All have has been awarded the BEM and been named Man
been in the armed services at some time during of the Year.
their lives, and many have seen active service in
the two world wars or most recent conflicts. Since the Home opened its doors to the first resi-
dents in 1916, many thousands of ex-servicemen
Jimmy Page, a most delightful gentleman of 95, have benefited from its special care. Over the next
returned to Gallipoli in April 1990 to attend a few years the Home will have to meet its greatest
Memorial Service to mark the 75th anniversary. He cha llenge as the men and women who fought in
had landed with the Royal Hampshire Regiment at the Second World War face old age and disability.
Suvla Bay on the night of August 6 1915. Jimmy
recalls, " The Peninsular was only a couple of miles Residents of the Home include the following
wide and we never held more than 500 yards of it. members of our forbear regiments:
The Turks were right above us. Life was unbear-
able. The heat. The thirst. The disease. Lice, dysen - The Buffs
tery and jaundice. Few people lasted more than a Lt Bjorn Montrose
fortnight. I saw too much. I'm leaving my medals MrR Goddard
to my great-grandson. I hope he never sees what I
lived through." Jimmy came to the Home after suf- The East Surrey Regiment
fering a stroke. Mr WG Rande/1
MrH E Hannan
Another veteran of the First World War, Norman Mr W J Jenkins
Herf, has also made The Royal Star and Garter his MrS Lee
permanent home. Norman spends a couple of Mr A Anderson
hours in the Appeals Department every day, fold-
ing tickets for the Home's annual lottery. The Royal Sussex Regiment
MrHO Tupper
As we ll as providing a permanent home for men Mr WBHead
like, Colin , Jimmy and Norman, the Home also Mr J W Marshal/
offers respite care and rehabilitation. The first-class
facilities include, Occupational Therapy , The Queen 's Own Royal West Went Regiment
Physiotherapy , Hydro-therapy and Speech Mr J E L Parry- Wingfield
Therapy . All residents are assessed individually Mr WGKnight
and encouraged to lead as active a life as their dis-
abilities will allow. The Middlesex Regiment
Mr F 8 Blowers
The Home also now caters for women. Currently, Mr WH Rolfe
there are six women residents including some who
served in the ATS and FANY during World War 11 The Queen 's Regiment
and, more recently, a young Wren. Despite being Mr C P. Wooten
in the minority at the Home, these ladies have
made their presence felt and participate in many of
the Home's activities.

86

"THE PROJECT TRUST" IN SOUTH AFRICA

by David Edwards

(Potential Officer sponsored by the Regiment)

ssatcprHhupolcayotvilvtioneagntwhddeaeyuPcnorioidfvjeeesdcrpsteitTntoyrduihIsntagl.ovTotehkheeiasdyyiesaearaarorsuamnnoddualtldfoeborcregitadawencediozentano-- dies gives one a great sense of satisfaction . After
six months I have built up a good relationship with
the children in my care and very much enjoy work-

ing for St Mary's.
My impressions of the South African people
tion which sends sc hool leavers overseas for a have on the whole been good. 1 was given a fan-
year to do voluntary work. Two hundred people a tastic welcome and they are always very hos-
year are sent all over the world to a variety of pro- pitable. Although all visible signs of apartheid have
jects includmg teachmg, child ca re work and men -
tally handicapped care. now disappeared, views and opinions are chang-
ing more slowly but in the right direction. South
After passing a rigorous selection course on the Africans find our views on their politics very inter-
Isle of Coli in Scotland (there are 8,000 applicants
each year) I was informed that my year was to be esting and inevitably the question " Where are you
from?" is followed by "What do you think of South
sHmppooieosmnrgeetirvaisicnnoagJusocnhhtarialisdensnSceaionsruebAtuhwfrriogcAr,akfrSeaicornauadtthtiSsoAtgnMforoiacttharaye.'mrsIeoChanahndgidlsditrnweitotnhira'eskl African politics?". A neutral answer such as " Very
interesting " is often the best one -to stay
out of

trouble!
tmimyJeobsn,eadsnrunoceohsmbausfrrgtohmehantshigebhest etarneesatho-littatwlelaitsttolefoirweeodxrcrtihytiirnnoggugtahot
with whites seemed almost paradox ical. Never-
theless I set about raising the £2,000 required by
the Project Trust before departure, by co mpleting a
sponsored parachute jump and writing to The say the least. In addition to this,the two girls I am
Queen ' s Regiment and other organisations and with have both been mugged in broad daylight -

companies. thankfully with no injuries being incurred. England
will seem tame in co mparison .
At last on 20 September 1990 I arrived in South We have had the opportunity to travel during
Africa accompanied by two girls who Project Trust
had also sent to St Mary's and was immediately school holidays; however we have to hitch-hike
assured of the worthiness of my project. everywhere. A salary of R175 (£35) a month makes
tvCDsAariiatasefdtripiecenitceeensYadmdToa.ibnoounCegtwtdhhrlnieawmbHruwecboPsahiswernreotsoeegrjellenacwtTsnwtetaiovteurbhvonZlisletcauiphmefneifMrtobnietnroyatedbuCroaCswnbthahtelirpaneeiesiarntBlnumvTodxoaoatulsttwsuhrwnsyneaaut.ntenncWeaadasreotebsahwtenehfarndadaocnrvthmianoed-l
St Mary' s cares for sixty children between the
ages of three and eighteen, all of whom have been
com mitted to the home by a court. My work here is
varied . Two days of the week 1 take over one of six
cottages for the day, looking after the ten children
from the time they wake up at 6.00 a.m . until the

last one goes to bed, thereby giving the regular with Archbishop Desmond Tutu presiding were the
house parents a much needed day off. Two days highlights of that trip. When we finished the three-
are spent doing ad m in and odd jobs such as filing ,
taking children to the hospital and supervising the week holiday at the beginning of January we had
hitched about 9,000 kms .
swimming pool in the afternoons. The remaining During the Easter holidays we are visiting
day is spent working in the centre of Johannes-
burg in a charity food shop called lnqualife. This Swaziland, ponytrekking in Lesotho and hiking
along the coast of the Transkei for a week. My year
sells low-cost , high-protein food mainly to black finishes in July when 1 hope to return to Zimbabwe
labourers who come from as far away as Botswana to white-water raft on the Zambezi for a week
and Zimbabwe to shop at lnqualife. The shop is
before flying home to face the RCB!
quite an eye-opener due to its location in one of The year in South Africa is one 1 shall never for-
the seedier parts of town. I found it very difficult at get. 1 feel that 1 am doing very worthwhile and
first coping with strange accents, strange currency rewarding work for St Mary's Children's Home but
and queues reaching the street outside.
with the children at the home is arshf"biutcteayrlhtnvalhtyoecvheoeeegflslseraRdaalItmosreho.qpgeauueIimvtndiibtedmeeeinlenhtithtehagevSadeaenowihsduntoeahtinhmrrmaelgdtye.A"tfhfrIohroaetdiacmhsodaoeumprtIbhapasettsonpiwsmrymotunhupapcsenlhenoytioythryaspdennlergeehciaewIvilsdexeweceanboxivdteupiminneetldogegn-
The work I do sometimes very frustrating. All of
challenging and
the children have been physically, sexually or men-
tally abused (or a combination of the three) and are
therefore disturbed to varying degrees. lt is hard
work getting through to some of them and there
have been instances when I have been shunned,
ignored and assaulted, but getting over those hur- time.

87

. !. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. _

CYPRUS 1990

by Capt A M Blowers, Surrey ACF

Through the auspices of our Commandant, Col Lindsay, upon which all scored cred itably . After
Peter Tween , who wears the civ ilian hat of Chair- lunch we reform ed for a visit to RAF Akrotiri for a
man, Hogg Robin son GFA, it was arranged that I guided tour of their W essex Squadron . Despite
would take a party of twenty ca dets, ten each f rom speaking to the Squadron Commander, helicopter
Surrey and Sussex, with one SSI, CSgt Bateup, to flights were not on the agenda, although promises
Cyprus. We would visit 3rd Battalion The Qu een's were made for later in the week. Th e evening was
Regiment, to which all of Surrey and most of spent on the 'strip' in Limassol which was still busy
Sussex are badged, at Episkopi for a one-week despite the impending end of the tourist season.
period from 20-27 October 1990.
Wednesday was a slightly more relaxed day with a
We arrived at Larnaca Airport late on Saturday visit to the 17/2 1 Lancers, who share the same bar-
evening to be met by Cpl Pierce from the battalion . racks, and trips around the vehicle park in, much to
He took us by coach to Salaman ca Barra c ks , our surprise, Ferrets and Saracens which are still in
Episkopi where the battalion is based. On arrival service on the Island. There followed the ever pop-
the Cadets were shown to their accommodation ular trip to the PRI shop and a daytime trip to
and were given a late meal. We were then intro- Limassol in the afternoon. A very early start for the
duced to Maj Johnnie Castle , OC Fire Support beach on Thursday to catch the calmer sea for
Company, to whom we were to be attached for the water-s kiing heralded a relaxing day of sunbathing
duration of our visit. The following morning was and watersports. Unfortunately the weather was
gloriously warm although several of the soldiers not kind for water-skiing, although several cadets
were complaining that the 'co ld season' had set in, put in a creditable effort.
and after a brief sports period all were off to the
beach for a relaxing day of windsurfing, water-ski- Friday was a day for last-minute shopping and a
ing and swimming. The heat and humidity were trip to the Troodos mountains, a few weeks early
such that all tired fairly quickly and the Cadets felt for the snows. A brief stop at the scene of the road
like doing little but sit in the NAAFI come the accident where six Coldstream Guardsm en had
evening. been killed the previous year provided a dire warn-
ing as to the treacherous nature of the hairpin
The following day had a slightly more military bends. Back at barracks there followed a few
flavour with morning PT, a trip to the Officers' farewells in preparation for our 4 am start on
Mess to see the Regimental silver and modern Saturday, and presentation of gifts bought by the
weapon-handling in the afternoon. All the events cadets, to Maj Castle and Cpl Pierce . Saturday
were well received , and an evening swim rounded morning saw an early start for the flight home, and
off the day. it was all over, far too soon for everyone. We had a
magnificent stay made even more pleasant by the
Tuesday saw an early start with the majority of fact that we were visiting 'our' Regiment. Our hosts
cadets going out on battle exercises with Cpl had been superb, laying on a highly-varied, bal-
Pierce, where they practised Section Battle Drills
with the SA80, followed by a horse-riding and anced and interesting programme, and all of the
shopping session , and a Milan and Mortars cadets behaved as excellent ambassadors of the
demonstration. A party of the six senior cadets Army Cadet Force. Next year we feel that the visit
went on to a COB range at the invitation of Lt Mark should only be offered to those with 'previo us
experience'.

SOUTH EAST DISTRICT ARMY YOUTH TEAM

by Sgt Dormer, 1 QUEENS

The Army Youth Team has been up and running at the Army Youth Team, CSgt Brown 3 QUEENS,
now for one year. The small five man team based the acting team commander, and myself as tempo-
in Maidstone works with schools and youth organi- rary 21C . The team 's other members are Sgt
sations. The aim of the Army Youth Team is to Malcomb 3 PARA and Bdr Willson from 94 Lac
supply adventurous training facilities for organisa- Regt RA. Our last boss, Capt Kingdom RHA was
tions which would normally miss out on any Army rushed off to the Gulf and we are awaiting his
links, and therefore to promote the Army with a return .
view to recruiting. Two Oueensmen currently work
One of our adventure training aspects is ro ck

88

climbing, with freguent trips to Wales, Scotland
nd the Lake D1stnct, 1n struct1ng groups rangmg
from twelve to one .hundred and sixty children .
Another of our act1v1t 1es 1s canoe 1ng•. and we use
rivers 1n Kent plus tnps aga1n to Wales .
~e11 ctehnet events have inc lud ed charity events with
schoo ls, lik e Com1c Rel1ef day where the Army
Youth Team set up a Tyrolean ho1st and three
abseils at Allington Castle, M a1dstone, ra1s1ng near-
t1me so far was two
~1 e£e2k0s00w.inOtuerr most mterest!ng w1th fifty teenagers
mountameenng
in Wales . Fortun ate ly we came back with the same
fifty, although it was touch and go at times!
Forthcoming events are trips to th e Dolom1tes, and
six campi ng expeditions around En gland.

The Army Youth Team now has a full diary of SEDIST Army Youth Team lead winter mountaineering in
events for th e remainder of the year , and has great Wales. Sgt Dormer is holding the snowball at the back.
potential to expand with the introductio n of a
London Arm y Youth Team and one based in the

north of Engl and.

MEETING THE GARRISON
COMMANDER

by 2Lt A E Browne, 3 QUEENS

1 had just 25 minutes left before I was meant to HONG KONG REUNION
be outside Col Fi shbourne's (Commander Epi skopi 28th November-12th December 1991
Garrison) Offi ce. I was still dressed in my combats
having just co me off duty and needed to get For Ex POW's, all military and ot her personnel
changed and smartened up. A minor drawback who have served in Hong Kong, their family
was that my kit wa s yet to arrive from Engl and and
1 would have to borrow from others. What I was and friends.
meant to wear exactly was left to Lt Mall o n as
senio r subaltern to guid e me and a check li st hand- CHRISTMAS DAY 1941: The Japanese take
ed to me earlier by th e A ssistant Adjut ant . Th e Hong Kong
tropical shirt was no real surprise, but it did look a
little odd with the tie. A jumper with a tropical shirt
see med to defeat the idea, who wa s I to argue, but
at least it hid the tie .

15 minutes to go . The pla sti c barrack-dress 50 years on and you are invited to a grand
trousers Ghurka Sah ib Mall o n lent m e, came up to reun ion in the co lony .
my knees but another pair were found . Th e
Combats high were clean, though I co uld not help Our 14 nights inclusive package offers you a
feeling they were out of place, but then this was chance of being part of th is exclusive
Cyprus and there was a war on .
gathering .
10 minutes left and was it beret or side hat? I
opted for the beret; it went well with the green belt.

5 minutes to go and I was dropped off outside Cost: £1,098 per person
Garrison Headquarters , or as close as Mr Mall o n
felt I ought to go. Th e doors were locked and th e Contact:
building was in the wrong place anyhow. THE ROYAL BRITISH LEGION
PILGRIMAGE DEPARTMENT
Smack on time, unflustered, I was outside the THE ROYAL BRITISH LEGION VILLAGE
Colonel's door. A knock, an answer, and I entered .
The Colonel , sitting behind his desk, looked me Aylesford, Kent ME20 7NX
over on e time, or was it two o r three times. Tel : 0622 716729 (716182)

Then I felt that sudden shudder, the one you get
when the realisation hits you just when its too late.
With a flu shed and embarrassed face I sat down
and began to think. W ere my boots Combat High
polished enough?

89

THE OFFICERS' ASSOCIATION REGULAR FORCES EMPLOYMENT

Patron: HM THE QUEEN ASSOCIATION

The Officers' Association provides servi ces Th e A ssoc iation , togeth er with th e Mini stry of
which are available to ex-officers of the Royal Navy Defen ce and th e Departm ent of Employment, is
(including Royal Marines), the Army and the Royal part of the Forces Resettlement Servi ce. Our task is
Air force, and their widows and dependants, to assist all non -commissioned men and wom en
including those who held commissions in the who served with good character for a minimum of
Women's Services. Although a separate organisa- three years , or less if discharged on m e di cal
tion , with its own Royal Charter, council and com - grounds, to find civil employment at the end of
mittees, the Association also bears the title of "The their engagements.
Officers' Benevolent Department of the Royal
British Legion" . This reflects the financial arrange- Our services are free , and we take a long term
ments that were established in 1921 , when the interest in ex-Regulars so they are available to
Legion was formed, under which the Association them throughout their working lives.
was allocated a proportion of the Poppy Appeal
and other donations as recognition of the fact that Our Employment Officers are situated in branch-
it discharges that part of the Legion's functions es throughout the United Kingdom and they main-
which has to do with officers. tain close contact with local employers and
Jobcentres. Their addresses and telephone num-
Services include: bers can be obtained from battalion Resettlement
Officers; Jobcentres and local telephone directo-
EMPLOYMENT - an efficient Employment ries.
Department to assist ex-officers of all ages and
ranks to find suitable employment. both those just During the period 1st April 1990- 31st March
leaving the Services and those who have lost their 1991 the Association assisted 11,322 men and
civilian jobs. Many hundreds of ex -officers are women with their resettlement and placed 4833 in
found jobs every year over a wide salary range. employment. Of those placed 2212 were men and
women from the Army and 23 were from The
Queen's Regiment.

FINANCIAL HELP- assistance is given in a num- BRITISH AND ALLIED EX-SERVICE MILITARY
ber of ways such as: cash grants to those in finan- PILGRIMAGE TO THE FAR EAST: 1992
cial distress, continuing allowances to those with
very small incomes, help towards Homes fees to Some readers may be interested to hear that I
those who through age or infirmity can no longer am organising the above Pilgrimage Tour to take
run their own homes and can find no suitable place during the period 12th to 29th February 1992.
home within their means. The tour group will visit Singapore, Malaysia and
Hong Kong.
HOMES ADVICE- advice on Homes for the
elderly. As with previous pilgrimages, the tour group will
consist of ex-members of all three Armed Services,
A COUNTRY HOME- running " Huntly" a delight- plus members of the Nursing Services and will
ful country home at Bishopsteignton, South have as the main object 'To commemorate and
Devon, which affords comfort and security for honour the memory of those who did not survive
lonely ex-officers at or over the age of 65, both the war in the Far East and those who suffered in
male and female, who do not need special nursing battle or as Prisoners of War of the Japanese and
care. Selection is made with due regard to need whose lives have since been made less pleasant as
and service record. Personal contributions are a result of their experiences and wounds ... both
assessed according to individual 's means. physical and mental'. The tour group will also hold
Acts of Remembrance at the various Memorials
BUNGALOWS- running a 12-bungalow estate a and War Cemeteries, on a privately organised
Leavesden, Herts. for disabled ex-officers and their basis, to which ex -servicemen and women living in
families. the Far East will be invited . We will also visit places
of military and historical interest, plus enjoying a
The Association has offices in London and leisurely holiday in the company of like-minded
Dublin and the Scottish Branch has offices in people.
Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Anyone interested in joining the tour group,
All enquiries should be made to the General including friends and relatives of ex-servicemen
Secretary, The Officers' Association , 48 Pall Mall , and women , are welcome to write to me at the
London SWI SJY. (Tel: 01 930 0125) . address below.

Patrick J A Pielou
(ex-The Middlesex Regiment DCO)
2 Emperor's Gate
London SW7 4HH
Tel : 071 -244 8056

90