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THE

EAGLE

TlIe Regimental Journal of

THE

ROYAL

DRAGOONS

GERMANY

JUNE, 1956

LIST OF CONTENTS Page

Lieutenant D. S. A. Boyd at the Cavalcade of Cavalry, B.A.().R.. 1955.

N\I\JO\UI

EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE STOP PRESS APPEAL BY THE EDITOR. GENERAL SIR BEAVOIR DE LISLE,K..CB., KWCMG DSO BOOK REVIEW VISIT OF THE COLONEL OF THE REGIMENT SOME REGIMENTAL MEMORIES (I) THE ROYAL DRAGOONS AID SOCIETY SITUATION VACANT .. EXCHANGE “ AU PAIR” VISIT To NORWAY MAJOR A. B HOUSTOUN, M. C... A HISTORICAL AND SARTORIAL NOTE SQUADRON NOTES: “A” SQUADRON “ B ” SQUADRON “ C ” SQUADRON “H. Q. ” SQUADRON . THE REGIMENTAL ORDERLY ROOM. R. H. Q AND ROYAL SIGNALS TROOP NOTES LAD (R.E.M.E.) Q.M GROUP 0. CA NOTES FIFE AND FORFAR YEOMANRY. BAND NOTES .. PRIZE ESSAY COMPETITIONS

SERGEANTS’ MESS NOTES ROYALS IN ST. MORITZ PADRE’S NOTES MARRIAGE SPORTING NOTES: RACING BOXING EQUITATION DIVISIONAL SKI CHAMPIONSHIP CRICKET CROSS-COUNTRY HOCKEY FOOTBALL BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN THE MAKINS SHIELD SWIMMING FOOTBALL REGIMENTAL RIFLE MEETING CONVERSATION PIECE THE FORCES MOTORING CLUB CORPS 0F COMMISSIONAIRES. ROYAL ARMOURED CORPS WAR MEMORIAL BENEVOLENT FUND A GLEAM OF SNOW VISIT TO THE ROYAL CANADIAN DRAGOONS BIRTHS, MARRIAGES AND DEATHS REGIMENTAL GAZETTE OBITUARY

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

there was (and is) always an undercurrent of audit boards, trade tests, quarterly Arms inspections, R.E. inspections, Clothing exchanges, Battle Efficiency Tests, Range courses, cadre and education courses which would be sufﬁcient to upset the balance of an ace executive like Sir Miles Thomas, but apparently merely serve to mould our Commanding Ofﬁcer and squadron leaders into potential chairmen of B.O.A.C.! “ All work and no play ” is, however, not our criterion, and during the past year we have “ had a go ” at most sports. Elsewhere in this edition there are reports on polo, football, swimming,

cricket, athletics and ski—ing, so there must have been some spare time though it is hard to recall when!

Correspondence OFFICERS’ PENSIONS SOCIETY, LTD. The Editor. Dear Editor, It is some considerable time since this Society was in correspondence with you and, in the interests of all officers of your Regi— ment—serving and retired—I feel that it is time we got together again. All retire, petent think, doing.

retired ofﬁcers, and ofﬁcers about to who have no other organisation comto go into battle on their behalf, will, I be interested to hear of what we are

Times change, and it was not altogether sur— prising to hear that one of our number, Capt. O. J. Lewis, had gone to England to learn to fly. This “ ace,” has now received his wings, and seconded temporarily to the Glider Pilot Regiment, has been unleashed upon the unsus— pecting airways of the world. He will return to us eventually to fly helicopters, or “choppers” as our allies call them.

Our membership is rapidly approaching 10,000, which represents roughly 25 per cent. of all retired officers and officers’ widows, but it is essential if we are to present a united front to the Government, that this figure is at least doubled in the near future.

Throughout last summer several reserve ofﬁcers were attached to the Regiment, and

Yours sincerely,

I therefore ask for your co-operation in spreading the news of our activities amongst those to whom it will be of most help.

J. B. GIRLING, Lt.—C01., for General Secretary.

amongst them were two of our own reservists, State Trumpeters and Quarter Guard salute the Army Commander.

Lts. Green and Glossop, whom everyone was pleased to see again.

The officers gave a dance last summer, which

Editorial After Major Houstoun’s departure for Scotland, the new Editor steps rather hesitantly into his shoes. With due apologies to Gilbert and

the agonies of the editor’s typist who is now a hieroglyphics expert and no doubt qualiﬁes for inclusion on the permanent establishment of

Sullivan, his “was a very model of a modern Editorial,” and his wide acquaintance with

entrance paper correctors.

Royals past and present, combined with an un— limited capacity for “quick wit and repartee,” made him a paragon among editors. However, it is not the Editor’s intention to preface this maiden voyage down Fleet Street with a Shakespearean apology, for if every soldier has a Field Marshal’s baton in his knap— sack, then assuredly the editor of a Regimental Journal can look forward to a villa in the South of France alongside Somerset Maugham’s. At any rate, most Editors could use the mortgage! This edition has been put together in between well intended but ludicrous efforts to enter the staff college. Although it may possibly be said of the Editorial that “ haphazard ink slinging of this kind is far below the standard required for Camberley,” at least the reader has been spared

Since The Eagle went to press on Waterloo Day 1955, the Regiment has received over 20 drafts of recruits. All these men have to undergo a Regimental drill course and complete at least one basic crew trade training course before they are of any use to the squadrons. The training of drafts, however, is only one part of the many activities which form the backdrop curtain t0 the annual cavalcade of exercises and visits. The Regiment has taken part in six exercises at formation level, and has been hon-

oured by visits from at least six important personalities ranging from the A.D.M.S. up to the Army Commander, who came to see the Regiment early this year. Not the least of our series of visits was that of Brigadier Block, the B.R.A., who came to attend to our administrative inspection. These were the big events. But

appeared to be attended by most of “Rhine Army” and was a great success. A further dance and combined Horse Show with the 12th Lancers is being given on the 3rd and 4th of August, and it is hoped that possibly some old Royals may be able to get over here for it. During the winter we have been amusing ourselves with Squadron concerts and variety

shows. The standard of entertainment has, on the whole, been very high, and it would take a good C.S.E.U. show to compete with A Squadron’s “Alpha Variety Show,” or HQ. Squadron’s concert party. The Regiment was honoured by the visit of our Colonel, Brigadier A. H. Pepys, D.s.0., in April. His arrival was a tonic and a pleasure to everyone and is fully reported elsewhere in The Eagle. Finally, the Editor Wishes to express his thanks for all the contributions that have been sent in from inside and outside the Regiment. Particularly valuable is the beginning of a series by Col. F. Wilson Fitzgerald, D.s.0., M.C., called “ Some Regimental Memories.”

171, Victoria Street, Westminster, London, S.W.I. Telephone: VICtoria 0853.

The Editor. Dear Sir, I presume that following the death of General Sir H. B. de Lisle you will be publishing an obituary in next year’s Eagle. It might therefore be of interest to you to know that the General was one of the ﬁrst recipients of the D.s.0., founded 70 years ago. The following extract from “The Times ” of 1937 in my

possession reads

as follows:

“The senior

member is General Sir Henry de Beauvoir de Lisle, who is in his 73rd year and won the use. at Giniss in 1886. He was then in the Durham Light Infantry, having formed the 106th Foot in 1883. He afterwards joined the Cavalry and commanded the Ist The Royal Dragoons. Both ofﬁcers wear original ﬁrst casts of the badge of the order, and their appointments to the order appeared in the London Gazette of November 26th, 1886."

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

The other ofﬁcer referred to was a Colonel J. E. Preston, who joined the slst Foot in 1874, afterwards transferring to the Indian Army. The 106th Foot was the 2nd Battalion The

Durham Light Infantry. Yours truly, S. C. DUMBRECK. Cheﬁcombe Farm, Copplestone. Devon. Brigadier Dumbreck was adjuumt of the Regiment at the time of the presentation of the old Guidon (laid up at Sandhurst in 1954) by H.M. King George V at Beaumont Barracks, Alder— shot, on the 10th yune, 1925.—Ed.

being a half time score of H.Q. 31, B 30, A 29,

C 28! The two hundred metres relay was won by B Squadron with A second and C third; the time was 2‘ minutes 51 seconds.

HQ. won the high jump with Bdsm. Phillips jumping 5 feet 4 inches; A was second and B third. The eight hundred metres relay was won by B Squadron in a time of 9 minutes 50.2 seconds, with C second and A third. C Squadron won the javelin with Cpl. Hayes and Tpr. Cooper’s winning throw of 129 feet 3 inches; second was HQ. and third A.

H.Q. won the 100 metres relay, followed up by C Squadron with A third; C Squadron won the discus with a throw of 88 feet 4 inches by

I was wondering whether the enclosed photo would be of any use for The Eagle. It was taken on the 11th of May, 1918, during the Vimy Ridge Battle. Von Richtoﬁen’s aircraft had just been over and they were painted and splashed with red to cause a sensation. The men in shell—hole nearest the camera belonged to the 3rd and 4th Troops of B Squadron; the photograph was taken by Baach Thomas, the War Correspondent. The man nearest the camera was Archie MacVicar, to the left Sgt, White (“ Chalky ”), Cpl. Sturges, and above, on the left, Cpl. Maynard, and low in the hole S. C. Plumb (myself). The boy on

the right of MacVicar I do not remember, but next are Cpl. Holden, Sgt. Keanes and Pte. Stockes. I think in later years Cpl. Maynard became R.Q.M.S. and Cpl. Sturges was later killed in action. I do not know where the rest are now. I am pleased to say that at present I myself am enjoying the best of health. Yours faithfully, S. C. PLUMB, 4469. 94 Murrayﬁeld Gardens. Edinburgh, 12.

STOP PRESS Saddlery Gift: A gift of saddlery from Capt. Bradish—Ellames and his father was greatly appreciated. Scissors Cup: This year’s competition was a most exciting and close run series of events. The Cup was won by HQ. Squadron with a score of sixty—eight points, runners up were A and B

Squadrons equal with ﬁfty points, and ﬁnally C Squadron with 38 points. At times the Squadrons were very close, a sample of this

The old soldiers’ race was luckily not run under “Queensbury Rules,” and was won by S.S.M. Finch, closely pressed by the R.S.M. and W.O.II Hackett of the Royal Canadian Dragoons. Jackie Ireland won the children’s race with Janet Dawson second and Pamela Jones third. The ladies’ race was won easily by Mrs. . Rochford, Mrs. Sheedy (the RT. Sergeant’s wife) second (he is putting her into training now for next year), and Mrs. Thorpe was third. The long jump was won by A Squadron, with H.Q. second and B third. Cpl. Mackay of H.Q. jumped the best distance of 19 feet 8% inches. HQ. however picked up again by winning the 400 metres relay, where Lt. Boucher came in first a good fifty yards ahead of L/Cpl. Corcoran of A Squadron. The shot, contest of giants, was won by HQ. The R.S.M. threw it 33 feet 6% inches. This, however, did not beat his best throw at the Divisional Sports in Hanover in 1947, when he threw it 38 feet 6 inches. Sgt. Macmillan was second with a throw of 31 feet 10% inches. In the 1,500 metres L/Cpl, Tucker of H.Q. ran a plucky race to win in 4 minutes 52 seconds from L/Cpl. Gregory of A Squadron and Bdsm. King of H.Q. B Squadron won the Medley Relay in 4 minutes 3 seconds, but there were excellent performances from Bdsm. Phillips and Pte. Wright of H.Q. L/Cpl. Watts, of B, started to pull ahead 400 yards from the tape and, passed Pte. Wright five yards from the finish to win. The tug—of-war was one of the outstanding events. The final was between A and H.Q. Squadron. A were much lighter than H.Q., who were possibly not quite as fit as the sabre squad-

3rd and 4th Troops B Squadron, Vimy Ridge. 1917.

Cpl. Fisher.

The Editor. Dear Sir,

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

Athletics

ron’s team. On the ﬁrst pull HQ. started off well, A recovered a little, but were unable to hold them, being pulled over in about two min—

1955

utes.

A Squadron refused to accept this, and

pulled H.Q. over very quickly in the second pull, repeating their success again in the third pull. Sgt. Titmarsh coached A Squadron, while R.Q.M.S. Jones coached H.Q. Mrs. Massey presented the prizes, and the Scissors Cup was presented to Lt. Boucher, Captain of H.Q. Squadron’s team.

Special Note for Contributors

Appeal by the Editor All contributions to The Eagle are most welcome, indeed without your support for your journal there could be no Eagle published. How-

ever, all contributors are asked to co-operate with the Editor by paying careful attention to the following points :—

* Please correct proofs carefully before submitting them. * Please submit copy promptly, the latest date is usually mid—April for the June annual edition. _ * Please send in more contributions! * If copy is typed, please use double spacing.

GENERAL SIR BEAUVOIR DE LISLE, K.C.B., K.C.M.G., D.S.O. BORN JULY, 1864.

DIED JULY, 1955

Entering the Army from Sandhurst in 1855!, he retired in 1926, but of his 45 years’ service only about six years were spent in The Royal Dragoons. His early years were spent with the Durham Light Infantry, of which famous Regiment he later became Colonel, and it was at polo in that Regiment that he achieved fame as a player and an organiser of victory, not only in the Infantry Tournament but in the Inter—Regimental in India against all Cavalry competitors. In [the South African War his enthusiasm for mounted troops gained for him ﬁrst the command of a mounted infantry column and later of a Cavalry Brigade, where he showed himself

a brilliant leader in the ﬁeld. As a result he achieved his immediate ambition of a transfer to Cavalry, for a short time to the 5 D.G.s and later in 1903 to The Royals, being appointed Second—in—Command

to Lord Basing, whom he succeeded in com— mand in 1906, and accompanying the Regiment to Lucknow, where his previous experience of

Indian conditions proved of great value.

Ie Race, Tpr. Gaule. Back to camera. Z/Lt. Macdermot. (L. to R.): Z/Lt. Plndlzly, Mrs. Houstoun, Mrs. Massey. Major Houstoun. I A section of the crowd at the Tug-of-Wnr. Line-up for the 3-Mile Race.

C Squadron Tug-of-War team.

H.Q. Squadron. End of a long pull ~ Sgt. MacMillan, Captain Fitzgerald.

Judges’ Conference. Major Timbrell, Lloyd, S.S.M Bradley. R.S.M. Edwards.

Sgt.

A fine instructor and an exceptionally strong horseman, he applied himself enthusiastically to the training of Cavalry men and Cavalry horses, and no detail was beneath his notice. He |held definite views on the training of remounts, which, in his opinion, had often been ruined by excessive work and he introduced a system of dismounted flexion to teach the horse to yield his jaw, though possibly some

horses got overbent as a result.

Recruits and young ofﬁcers received a gruelling training in the riding school to enable them at a later date to live up to de Lisle’s belief that the Cavalry soldier and his horse should be capable of going anywhere and doing anything, and of using the sword and riﬂe with decisive results.

de Lisle, with an Infantry background and strong ideas of his own, was not altogether acceptable to the senior officers of the Regiment and there were clashes of personality which he did nothing to allay. Abrupt and reserved, he never courted popularity either within or without the Regiment. Essentially a fighting leader, he was not destined to take the Regiment to war, but the grounding which he provided proved invaluable when war finally came, and he commanded the highest respect of the Regiment as a whole. The welfare of the Regiment was very much his concern; he put a high value on physical fitness and sanitation, organised religious meetings for the men and was mainly instrumental in inaugurating our Regimental Journal, The Eagle. A fine polo player, whose book “P010 in India ” is still a classic, he was anxious to apply to The Royals the system of training which had achieved such success with the Durhams but, though the Regiment did well under his auspices, the team failed to achieve the success which was hoped for. Not long after the Regiment had moved to

Muttra he handed over command to General Makins in 1910 and went home to command

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

the 2nd Cavalry Brigade, which he led through— out the retreat from Mons and at the Battle of the Aisne, demonstrating in particular the superiority of the British Cavalry in mounted action at Braisnes, where a dashing gallop of his Brigade rounded up 500 prisoners. Later in

command of the Ist Cavalry Division, he played a leading part in the defensive action of the firSt Battle of Ypres, but in the Spring of 1915 was sent to command the 29th Division in Gallipoli, in command of which he established his reputa— tion as one of nhe finest “fighting Com~ manders ” of the War. This Division, both in Gallipoli and later in Europe, was regarded as Corps d‘Elite, which always seemed to bear the brunt of battle, and it was the morale stimulated by its Commander, which enabled it to maintain its fight— ing spirit in spite of crushing casualties. Finishing the War as a Corps Commander, he retired from the Army in 1926, after becom—

ﬁeld of four other Guards Brigades, three of which took part in much ﬁghting over a much longer period than the Guards Armoured Division. This book will be of interest to all who landed in Normandy or were present during the

campaign in North—West Europe.

Of neces—

sity the scope is narrow for Staff College, but it would make useful additional reading. THE STORY OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS I938 - 1945 By J, A. PITT-(RIVERS, M.A., (OXON), D.PHIL. The history of the Regiment during the period of the second World war has now been pub— lished. The Author, who served with the Regiment during the war, has not only had the war

diaries at his disposal, but also the added

This admirable book is designed to record the history of the complete Division over and above the various Regimental Histories, which are of necessity concerned with their own particular doings and make but passing reference

advantage of having taken part in many of the episodes the book describes. There are forty excellent full and half-page photographs, taken by Major K. G. Balfour, M.C. (serving oflicers will be familiar with some of them from the albums which he presented to the Mess), and nine very good maps. The Author explains that in selecting his material he has attempted to record not only the exploits of those who risked or lost their lives in the service of the Regiment, but also to give an account of how they lived and fought, for this he says he believes to be of more lasting and historical interest than the day-to-day movements of troops. Carefully compiled appendices show lists of Honours and Awards, the Roll of Honour, a list of Commanding Officers, notes of War Service away from the Regiment of officers serving with it at the outbreak of war, the Organisation and Equipment of the Regiment at various stages of the war, and a chronology of main events of the

to extraneous events.

war.

The author has acknowledged that the Regi— mental Histories of the Household Brigade in the late war are outstanding and are among some of the best that have been written, and has therefore only attempted to give a general picture of events within the Division and to portray the part which it played in the operations of the British Second Army. The maps are good and easily followed from the text. The author, in his preface, draws the reader’s attention .to the fact that the light of publicity has inevitably been thrown on the Guards Armoured Division because it was the largest formation of Guardsmen, but in actual fact the greater part of the war effort of the Foot Guards was devoted to the maintenance in the

Those Royals now serving with the Regiment in Germany, will be interested to see the photographs of “ A Patrol on the way to Celle ” and “A troop leaguering at Sprakensehl.” For all those who served in the Royals during the Second World War, this book will become a treasured addition to their libraries, and for those who have since joined the Regiment it will be a source of lasting interest and inspira-

ing G.O.C., Western Command. In retirement his energy never failed. For a time he was successful as a farmer and in the end, in spite of failing eyesight, he was a pillar of his church in Mayfair. The Regiment may well be proud of this Fighting Leader.

Book Review THE GUARDS ARMOURED DIVISION A short history by MAJOR-GENERAL G. L. VERNEY, D.s.o., M.V.O. Published by Hutchinson.

non. CHRISTMAS CARDS Regimental Christmas Cards may be obtained from the P.R.I., The Royal Dragoons, B.A.O.R. II.

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

Visit of the Colonel of the Regiment

VISIT OF THE COLONEL OF THE REGIMENT Brigadier A. H. Pepys, D.s.o., visited the Regiment for three days in April. He ﬂew to Dusseldorf airport, where he was met by Capt. Matterson, and then drove to the camp, arriving in time for dinner on 5th April. On the 6th April the Regiment was inspected by the Colonel at a mounted parade and drive past. Each Sabre Squadron was represented by

three armoured car troops, a command Saracen and a representative echelon. HQ. Squadron was also represented, and the Regiment drove past the Colonel, led by the Commanding Ofﬁcer in the R.H.Q. Command Saracen. The Guidon was carried on an armoured car from R.H.Q. Troop, Commanded by R.S.M. Edwards, and was escorted by two Scouts Cars, Commanded by S.S.M. Vowles and S.S.M. Finch. Despite heavy snow the previous night, the parade took place during a gap between snow showers, thanks to hard work done by the Police Sergeant and his men in clearing the snow off the runway. Brigadier Pepys visited the Sergeants’ Mess and inspected the polo stables after the parade. That afternoon, and still under appalling

The Colonel, the Commanding Ofﬁcer and R.S.M. leave the Sergeants‘ Mess.

weather conditions, he watched A Squadron win the final leg of the Assault Troop Competition, and in the evening dined in the Officers’ Mess (Friday, 6th April, being a Band-Night). On the 7th April, the Colonel was able to watch B Squadron’s latest draft of recruits pass off the square, after which he inspected A Squadron’s Barrack Block, and had an opportunity to talk to most of the N.C.O.s and men. In the afternoon the Regimental football team played the 4/7 Dragoon Guards in the Divisional League, and the Colonel was able to see the Regiment win 8—0. The Colonel attended morning service in the Regimental Church on Sunday, 8th April, where he read the Lesson, and that afternoon watched the first practice games of polo this season, which again owing to bad weather, were played in the riding school. The Colonel left the Regiment to return to London on the 9th April, accompanied by Lt. Jacobs as far as the airport at Dusseldorf. All the officers were present at the guest house, to see him off.

The Drive lest.

SOME REGIMENTAL MEMORIES (l)

4% 4*

The Gutdon Party.

'//

The Colonel of the Regiment on the saluting base.

N 1908, when aeroplanes did not exist and motor cars were still rare on the roads of England, a voyage to India was a major event. The two last joined subalterns of the Royals, Darcy Edwards and myself, embarked on the troopship Rewa on a three weeks’ voyage from Southampton to Karachi. Life on a troopship was still a rough one in those days, when the men were stowed in hammocks between decks and dinners were served where the hammocks had been slung. It was a subaltern’s duty to act as Ofﬁcer of the Watch, which meant frequent tours of the decks, struggling at night between the closely slung hammocks. Everyone, however, seemed to enjoy the voyage, in spite of intense heat in the Red Sea, and Karachi was reached without adventure. Here we entrained in our troop train for the long three-day journey to Lucknow, crossing the Sind Desert, which covered everything with sand and dust, and detraining at wayside stations for our meals.

At Lucknow, where the Regiment had been stationed for the previous three years, a strenuous time awaited us. The Regiment Was commanded by Col. H. de B. de Lisle, who had been brought in from the Durham Light Infantry: during the South African War he had commanded a column of Mounted Infantry and for his success had been selected for Cavalry employment. New blood, though he was not too popular with the senior Officers of the Regiment, provided a good spur which stimulated those under his command to renewed efforts. In those days, the horse was the principal weapon of the Cavalry soldier, without which he could nor fight, mobility being as now, the key to successful Cavalry action in which decision would be reached with the sword. The lesson of the South African War had been the superiority of the highly skilled rifleman coupled with mobility, and with de Lisle as our leader the rifle was not neglected. Such being the background, the first need for the newly joined subaltern was to become a

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

good horseman and horsemaster. In those days recruit Oﬂicers would often spend a year in Riding School and there were cases where this period was exceeded before the Officer was “dismissed.” Riding School began at dawn in menages marked out on the “maidan,” where recruits were put through their paces by the Riding School staff, who believed in the hardening process. Much work was done without

stirrups and riding bareback, and recruits were sent round the “ratpit” (a circular jumping ring), with arms folded, on saddles, from which girths had been removed to ensure that the riders had achieved good balance. Stables were perhaps the most important routine of the day and the condition of the horses of his troop was the criterion by which the efﬁciency of the Troop Leader was judged. To have a troop of “thin horses” was a “ crime,” but they had also to be ﬁt and capable of carrying a man in heavy marching order weighing up to twenty stone, all day and perhaps night, for distances up to 30 miles, Horsemanship in the troop was, therefore, of primary importance. Stables took place in the early morning, mid—day and evening; mid—day stables being the principal parade, when Troop

Leaders had to inspect and pass each horse before the man was allowed to “get on ’ : with his saddlery. Although in India there was an establishment of syces to help with stable duties, men often had to groom two and even three horses in the course of the morning and the man who could do this efficiently was fit to fight for his life. Afternoons for the recruit were devoted to sword

drill

and

musketry

instruction,

after

which games were played. Squadron leaders at Lucknow were McNeale, Evelyn Wood, Charles FitzMaurice, George Steele. “Mouse” Tomkinson was Adjutant and Strutt Irwin was senior subaltern. After a strenuous day’s work, which usually started at dawn, junior Officers were generally ready for a rest, but the Officers’ Mess did not believe in early bed and after a long Mess dinner sub< alterns were expected to entertain their brother Officers with song and dance, leaders of the revels being “Bosun” Chapman and Strutt Irwin, with an interlude perhaps of billiard fives and cock fighting. P010 in those days was the principal game for Officers, and every Officer was expected to become proficient; in fact, like hunting at home, it was almost considered a part of military training and schooling of ponies and stick practice was almost a parade. de Lisle, who

had previously trained the Durham Light Infantry to victory in many tournaments and established a reputation which that Regiment still maintains, was an excellent instructor and the Regiment’s prowess in that game owes much to his inspiration. It was the Indian custom to send married families and recruits to the Hills in the hot weather and the Hill station for Lucknow was at Naini Tal. This was a welcome change from the torrid heat of the Plains, but in the monsoon rain was almost incessant and life in a Hill station was inclined to pall, especially as movement was circumscribed and largely conﬁned to one small piece of ﬂat ground. After a year at Lucknow, the Regiment moved by route march to Muttra, a distance of about 300 miles, which took us some three weeks of leisurely marching. Although the march led us through the plains, it was a delightful form of progress. The march usually ended about midday, horse lines were put down, camp was pitched and by the evening we were at liberty to explore the surrounding country with a gun, often collecting a good bag of duck, snipe and partridges. There was only one incident of note, when, after a quiet march and everyone was taking a rest, all the horses took it into their heads to stampede, pulling up their lines and galloping wildly off into the country. The reason for this will never be knowu, but some stable guards ascribed it to a “ Dust Devil” and others to a local evil spirit. After Lucknow, which was the capital of the United Provinces, and contained a large garrison, Muttra was, to say the least, provincial and can best be described to those who knew India as “jungli.” Apart from the Regiment there were no troops and the nearest stations were at Agra, forty miles, and Delhi, eighty miles, The cantonments were well away from the city, which lay on the Jumna, all along which were a large number of temples, especially at Brindiban, famous for its bridge of boats. There were only two or three Europeans in the station apart from ourselves. so it can readily be appreciated that social activities were meagre and we were thrown entirely on our own resources. At the time no doubt there were the usual grouses but I am sure that most Royals who can remember their stay at Muttra

will look back upon Regimental life there with happy memories. At Lucknow we had handed over to VIII Hussars and at Muttra we took over from our old friends XV Hussars, who then possessed a very ﬁne polo team, which included “Rattle”

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

Barrett, afterwards an international, and Dennis Bingham. As a very junior subaltern I well remember trying to play No. I (offside rule) against “Rattle.” As he was up to every trick of the trade, he seemed to hook your polo stick at any angle and you invariably found yourself

“ offside.” I remember him telling the umpire that when his services were required he would tell him to blow his whistle. There were no flies on this brilliant horseman. It was at Muttra that most of the Regiment was introduced to the grand sport of pig— sticking, though a few had already been initiated to the pursuit of the boar in the Kheri

28in. at the shoulder,

Often, after an exciting

ride, one of the heat would be seen to hold up his spear horizontally, which signiﬁed that the quarry was a sow or too small to hunt. Pig hunting was a thrilling experience, the heat would extend and line out, riding slowly in thick covert in order to keep the pig going forward and going all out in the open with a view to busting the pig. Although to get a ﬁrst spear was an achievement, the real sport was to hunt the pig as a team and so achieve the desired

end.

In the ﬁnal stage, the leading horseman

would often only turn the pig, whilst the next would have a better opportunity of bringing him

In India pigsticking took the place

to book. It was unusual to kill a pig with one

of fox hunting and the two sports have often been compared. Being indulged under such totally different conditions of ground and weather, such comparison is not easy to assess, but whereas it will be agreed that both sports bring out the best qualities required for Cavalry leadership—an eye for country, initiative and dash, the boar must be acclaimed a fighting animal against whom the rider must pit his horsemanship and weapon skill, when failure may result in severe injury to horse or rider. Although initially the boar will endeavour to escape by his speed, use of covert and cunning “ jinks,” the final stage is a charge which, if not adequately dealt with, may bring the horse and the rider to serious grief. “Leger” Atkinson and “Ginger” Houstoun were responsible for hunting the pig in the Muttra district, and fine hunters they were; the organisation of the Tent Club could not have been in better hands. Arrangements for a meet of the Tent Club involved no small amount of preparation. Reconnaissance by shikarees had to be carried out well in advance and this often involved negotiations with village headmen and local kanjars (poachers), organisation of bearers (forty or fifty) and their food, forage and water for horses and often a camp for the Field; in some cases patches of dry grass would have to be burnt to drive pig from unrideable covert.

spear and often the coup de grace would have to be inﬂicted on foot. At Muttra the majority of the Ofﬁcers and a

district.

The ﬁeld according to numbers were organised in average heats of three; beaters were lined out to beat the covert, where pig were

expected to be. One heat usually accompanied the line to deal with pig which might break back, whilst the remainder were forward on the ﬂanks. The quarry were usually congregated in “ sounders,” perhaps twenty of all ages, squeakers, sows and boars. The latter had to be singled out by the heats and it often took time to select a “ride—

able ” boar, which must measure not less than

number of N.C.O.s took part in the sport and amongst the former were some outstanding hunters, particularly Billy Miles, “ Ginger” Houstoun and “ Mouse ” Tompkinson. In their last season the Tent Club killed 400 boar—a record at the time, which was only once surpassed after the First War by the Fourth Hussars. This thrilling sport is no longer available for Royals, but those few who were at Muttra cannot fail to recall with affection Kosi and Panigaon, Koila and Sakraya, where we enjoyed such glorious days with our chief Shikaree Gurmundi. Julian Grenfell’s Hymn to the Fighting Boar is a ﬁtting tribute. “God gave the horse for man to ride,

And steel wherewith to fight, And wine to swell his soul with pride, And women for delight: But a better gift than all these four Was when he made the fighting boar.” Whilst at Muttra, I was lucky enough to enjoy three months’ leave in Kashmir. The object of the exercise was to shoot wild goat, sheep and bear, but, in fact, the main attraction was the glorious scenery and fascination of marching through unknown country. Shooting in Kashmir is a lonely business, as stalking is necessarily restricted to a single rifle. Starting early in April, I detrained at Rawal Pindi and from here moved by Tonga in three stages to Srinagar. The Tonga is a two-wheeled cart drawn by two ponies (usually changed every eight miles) and as the road is constantly ascend— ing and descending in a series of spirals, with visibility nil, at a speed as fast as the ponies could be driven, the journey was quite exciting. Ascending the Jhelum Valley, the road often

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

followed the bed of the stream, and shortly afterwards rose several thousand feet above it, with a precipitous cliff above and below. Srinigar, in the lovely Valley of Kashmir, was the base of my expedition, where stores were collected and staff engaged. The latter included Sultana, the shikari, tifﬁn coolie and cook. Before leaving it was necessary to obtain a Government

“ parwana” which entitled the recipient to demand coolies and food from the local village headman, “Tessildar,” at the local rates. Normally I had a proportion of permanent coolies and engaged others for each march (nine Annas per stage). The Kashmir coolie is extremely strong and will carry a load of sixty to eighty pounds. The method is to pack the load in a form of crate, which projects well above the man’s head, the weight being carried by grass straps over the shoulder and head. Footwear for the sportsman is an important item, as much of the marching was on snow and ice, whilst a lot of stiff rock climbing was involved when stalking. The local shoe was known as a “chapli,” a sort of sandal worn over a leather sock, and better still was the grass shoe which was made of woven grass and strapped to one’s foot over a felt sock. This gear lasted one march only and was constructed daily by a coolie, being extremely light and giving an excellent foothold. I found this much the best form of gear for the

purpose. Starting from Srinagar the ﬁrst stage was by houseboat over the Wulla‘h Lake, thence over the Burzil Pass (12,oooft.) into Astor. The early stages, when I was accompanied by Sassoon, of the In-niskilling, and J. Reid, K.D.G.s, was hard going, mostly over snow. I usually had about twenty coolies and the object was to start before dawn to avoid soft snow, when the sun got up; nevertheless, it was often.5 or 6 p.m. before the coolies got into camp. The actual crossing of the Burzil Pass had to be carried out at night, owing to danger of avalanches. Once over the Pass, going became easier along the Gilgit road and it was often possible to make use of pack ponies, which, however, were difﬁcult to get. The road usually followed a roaring stream and every march was full of incident, with opportunities to spy the hillside for game.

Our march ﬁnally took us to Boonjie, on the Indus, where stalking for Markhor and Iben

commenced

the

Bourmie

Nullah,

near

Haramosch. There was quite a lot of game about but difﬁcult to ﬁnd, and I spent about a

fortnight stalking up and down precipitous hills before I secured tw0 nice Markhor and three Ibex. This form of sport is, of course, very similar to deer stalking in Scotland, but these wild goats are more difficult to approach than deer, the terrain is much more difficult and the distances to be covered much greater. My return journey took me over the Kamri Pass (15,oooft.) and afforded a magnificent view north to Nanga Parbat and south to the Pit Panjal. Nanga Parbat (23,000ft. at that time unclimbcd) is a peerless sight stretching up to heaven, with no rival peaks to detract from its glory. Of recent years it has been climbed at last, after many tragic casualties. Nowadays subalterns of the Royals cover vast distances by air and road, and inaccessible parts of the world are few and far between, but in my view the unhurried progress through the glorious mountain summits of Astor was an experience hard to beat. After the stimulating climate of Kashmir, Muttra, with the rains approaching, was pretty hot with a temperature over 110° in the shade. Indian bungalows with thatched roofs. wide verandahs and Punkahs pulled by hand were comparatively cool, but outside it was like the blast from a furnace. To reach stables was a

distance of about a mile, which was carried out on a bicycle or else in a two—wheeled cart known as a tum—tum or more often one rode a pony; a syce running on before to hold him on arrival. Social life was conspicuous by its absence, but in the cold weather the Regimental Circus, which had been organised by Major Steele always proved a great attraction, the principal contributors being S.S.'M. Corke and Sgt. Sutch, the latter a very dashing performer. Muttra proved an excellent training ground for squadrons and troops, as ground was unrestricted and provided troop leaders with every opportunity of losing their bearings, but training culminated in the vast Cavalry concentration at Gurgaon, Where 12 Cavalry Regiments, as well as Horse Artillery, were concentrated under General Grover. The approach to the concentration involved a long approach march, two squadrons covered fifty-seven miles in the first nine hours and the remainder of the Regiment completed one hundred and fifty miles in three days. No doubt to armoured cars this seems a paltry affair but for a horsed regiment it was a con— siderable feat. After concentration had been effected the Divisional staff had great fun in trying to manoeuvre Brigades, and drill of a Division in

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

clouds of dust must have been highly impressive for spectators, though the participants had little opportunity of realising what was happening. Kaiser Wilhelm II being Colonel of the Regi— ment, January, 1911, saw the arrival in India of H.I.H. The Crown Prince (afterwards Army Group Commander in the First War), accompanied by a glittering staff which included Graf ZuDohna, Count von Zolbeltitz and Count Solms. A week was spent with the Regiment, which included a Full Dress Parade as well as several meets of the Tent Club, when H.I.H. managed to secure several pig. He was initiated to polo and was most anxious to buy ponies, but unfortunately his staff failed to_produce sufficient cash. Our tour of duty in India finished in 1911, when we proceeded to South Africa. Our leisurely progress across the Indian Ocean by troopship in perfect weather accompanied by porpoises and flying fishes was a pleasant dreamlike progress.

farmers and the industrialists of the prosperous Rand. The Regiment was mounted on African bred troop horses, much smaller than, the Waler, with which we were supplied in India, but in fact the former proved very suitable. Horse sickness is the scourge of Africa and careful steps had to be taken to immunise the animals. The most interesting episode which came my way was a trek across the Veld which I undertook with “ Bunty ” Hewett and our Regimental Scouts, who were then organised as a Troop under Sgt. Miller. Being allowed to make all our own arrange— ments and march as we pleased across the High Veld gave us every opportunity to enjoy the wide open spaces Which are the real charm of the Transvaal. Our transport consisted of wagons pulled by teams of mules. which were excellent for the job. A Regimental Staff Ride, led by Col. Makins, was extremely interesting, as we were able to see the Battleﬁelds of Natal under the guidance

of Ofﬁcers who had taken part in those battles. A stop at Mauritius enabled us to see this pleasant Island which had been French before the Napoleonic War and where most of the inhabitants still spoke that language, but to the British Empire it was still an important coaling station. Durban, our port of arrival, was very hot and we saw little of this now fashionable resort. After a long train journey over the Drakensberg Mountains of Natal we ﬁnally reached our destination at Roberts’ Heights, Pretoria, coming under command of the C.—in—C., Lord Methuen, a very charming personality and gallant soldier. The move from India involved some changes, Tommy Godwin and Parker Leighton, who had both served in

the South African War, returned as Squadron Leaders, and “Ginger” Houstoun became Adjutant to Col. Makins. After India, conditions were rather disappointing, we missed the excellent Indian servants, which were partly replaced by Kafﬁr grooms, who though physically powerful, were poor horsemen and inclined to be lazy. Being in the Southern Hemisphere Christmas became the hottest time of year and the summer was cold and bleak. Vegetation was almost completely absent and the only trees in the Transvaal were the blue gums which had been planted around the tin sheds of farm buildings. Rainfall on the average was scanty and the vast acreage of the Veld supported only a small amount of livestock, whilst cultivation was conﬁned to small irrigated areas. The wounds of the Boer War had not healed and there was little love lost between the Boer

In 1913, I Was lucky enough to be selected to attend the Cavalry School at Netheravon, an institution which had been established with the idea of replacing the old Regimental Riding Master by combatant Officers who had been trained on more modern lines. One or two Officers attended from each Cavalry Regiment, under John Vaughan, of Tenth Hussars. Others on the staff were Geoffrey Brook, Alan Pollock, “ Bunny ” Lannow and “ Mouse ” Tompkinson, all being exceptionally fine horsemen, with special knowledge of their subject. Each student was given three horses to ride, one a trained charger and two remounts. one half trained and one unbroken. For a Cavalry Officer there could be few more pleasant tasks than to learn to train and ride a horse in every stage of training. Netheravon is a charming house on the River Avon (still a military station for weapon train— ing) and the surrounding Downs were wonderfully suitable for training horses. YOUR HELP IS NEEDED It is becoming increasingly difficult to equip men in Full Dress for special occasions, through lack of equipment. Old Comrades who have items of Full Dress in their possesion would be doing the Regiment a great service if they would present, or loan them. In particularly short supply are officers’ and other ranks’ helmets, with or without plumes. If you can help, please write to the P.R.I., The Royal Dragoons, B.A.O.R. II.

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

THE ROYAL DRAGOONS AID SOCIETY The Committee of The Royal Dragoons Aid Society have pleasure in presenting their report for the year ended 30th September, 1955. In December, 1954, Colonel F. W, Wilson Fitzgerald, D.s.0., M.C., on the expiration of his Colonelcy of the Regiment, handed over the Chairmanship of the Society to Brigadier A. H. Pepys, D.s.0. The Committee thanked Colonel Wilson Fitzgerald for his untiring work on behalf of the Society during the past eight years and extended a warm welcome to his successor. Briga-

dier A. H. Pepys. Finance. The ﬁnancial position of the Society is sound, the accounts for the year showing an excess of income over expenditure of {149/ 19/ 1. Income from subscriptions increased by some £4, giving a total of £137/1/- received. A sum of ,(:69/11/11 was recovered from the Inland Revenue Authorities on the Covenanted subscriptions. Income from the TruSt and General Fund investments totalled 7€342/6/4. Cases. 32 applications for assistance were received during the year of which 8 were refused, 3 withdrawn and 2 otherwise assisted, giving a total of 19 monetary grants made. Grants were given for clothing, arrears of

rent and hire purchase, extra nourishment and towards the maintenance of a widow in a home. Applications were refused on the following grounds: (a) 2 cases of refusal to make applica— tion for National Assistance; (b) request by British Legion for burial fees after funeral had

taken place; (c) request for purchase out of the Army, man had rejoined the Regiment after a quarrel with his wife and in a fit of temper; (d) unsatisfactory evidence of service, Discharge Book altered by applicant; (e) request for bedding for son who is still serving; (g) false de— tails of income given. Cases withdrawn refers to those who have been able to make other arrangements regard~ ing their application, or where the investigator did not recommend, whilst otherwise assisted refers to advice given on various subjects. The amount expended on the 19 grants was £166/ 12/3. Employment. This year the National Association for the Employment »of Ex—Regulars placed 19 ex—Royals. At the present time there is no difficulty in finding employment outside the sources of this Association, but ex-members would do well to keep in mind the fact that should the labour market become overcrowded, the National Association has the monopoly of most of the Government Departments and Public Services. To Brigadier R. Peake, the Office Visitor, the Committee express their very grateful thanks for his work on behalf of the Society during the

year. The thanks of the Committee are also due to the representatives of the S.S.A.F.A. and the Forces Help Society, for the excellent manner in which the applications have been investigated and for disbursing the grants in accordance with the Committee’s wishes.

SITUATION VACANT (The Minister of War has stated in the House that the Army of today compares favourably with industry). VACANCIES HAVE OCCURRED in the following trades: Spud-bashers, square-bashers and white-washers’ mates. Pay is 9d. per hour, rising (on the usual lavish scale) to the maximum of rod. per hour. This outstanding remuneration is paid weekly (after deduction of P.A.Y.E., barrack damages and other forms of daylight robbery). Full bed and board are provided; in the event of either bed or board being unavailable, employees may sleep on the floor at their own risk and for no extra charge.

EXCHANGE ‘AU PAIR’ VISIT TO NORWAY 2/L'r. TRIBLEY, FROM OUR L.A.D.. R.E.M.E,. SENT IN THIS REPORT It was early October, but snow was already falling in Oslo. I had been lucky enough to visit Norway on an “Exchange Au Pair,” but perhaps not so fortunate with the time of the year. Norway is a little depressing in early winter, with wet snow and dark skies, but the hospitality of the people well makes up for this. After three nights in Oslo, our party of seven joined a unit about 100 miles north of the capital. The country here is ﬂat and most unlike the rest of Norway. Across the river stands the small town of Elverum, almost entirely rebuilt since the war. It was bright and clean; most unlike the typical garrison town. We were attached to an Independent Brigade and I joined the Ordnance Company which is the equivalent of our Infantry Workshops, but also handles ammunition supply.

available. Training in the use of this new equipment, with the accent on atomic warfare, occupied the first three weeks. During this time the weather was extremely cold and snow lay on the ground, but the tents, a modified bell tent of Swedish design, fitted with a wood— burning stove, proved to be very comfortable. The food seemed to consist mainly of sardines

and “Primula” cheese, with the Odd bit of fish thrown in occasionally, but one gathers that this is the normal diet in Norway. We moved out on exercise for the last week to Konsvingar and the weather turned warmer. This made the going diflicult, and the tracks became soft and muddy. The selection of a suitable workshop site proved rather difficult on the steep wooded hillsides, and finally a bulldozer cleared part of the forest to make room for us. This site soon became a mudbath which was not improved by heavy rain. However, the sardines were handed round and everyone felt

The Brigade was a TA. Unit, mobilised for one month’s training, and all the ofﬁcers, with the exception of the Company Commanders and Commanding Ofﬁcer, had arrived at Elverum one week before us. By the time we joined them, they were comfortably settled down under canvas. Most of the men had completed their National Service in 1948 with the Norwegian Independent Brigade in Germany. Subsequently, they had been mobilised for one month in 1952, and this was their second repetition of training. One was immediately struck by the enthusiasm which everyone showed. This was possibly aided by the fact that they were using new N.A.T.O. (American) equipment, The opinion was often expressed that they were glad to have a standardised range of equipment of limited types, for which spares were readily

fit again! The Company moved after three days and were lucky to ﬁnd a suitable position for the remainder of the exercise. At this stage we were honoured by a visit from The Crown Prince who was observing the training. Finally the Brigade moved to the Depot, where all the equipment was cleaned and put into preserva— tion. This opportunity of seeing one of our N.A.T.O. neighbours in training was most useful, and many points of interest were exchanged and dis— cussed. There was never any language problem, since nearly everyone spoke English, and a number of the ofﬁcers had served in the British Army during the war. We made many

friends, learnt a great deal, and I now have the urge to visit Norway in the proper season, as a tourist!

For the sportsman there are the usual recrea-

tions of football, snakes and ladders and dodge the squadron leader. Other entertainments include: blancoing, lead-swinging, “ char-brew— ing” and light side-splitting comedies in the form of formation, regimental and squadron exercises, only surpassed for the real comedian by those hilarious examples of quick wit and repartee, known as TEWTS. Hours of work are strictly limited to no more than 48 in any two consecutive days. A closed

shop is in operation (run by the P.R.I.). All applications should be address-ed to: O. i/c Army Recruiting, The War Ofﬁce, Dept. XK 120, London.

MAJOR A. B. HOUSTOUN, M.C. Andrew Houstoun left the Regiment in February, 1956, to farm on his uncle’s farm in Perthshire. He ﬁrst joined the Royals at Horns, in North Africa, 1943, and was posted to C Squadron. He saw service in Italy, and by Christmas, 1943, though he had not fought in North Africa, he

was able to bluff one or two members who had, and in their cups were unable to remember exactly which way and which year they had passed Msus! For six weeks, in 1944, he went to France with others of the Regiment, to assist 12 Corps in their landing on the beaches. He then joined

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

C Squadron and served with them continuously until the end of 1945, apart from being wounded twice, once in Holland, and once near Wesendorf. Throughout this time he displayed great conﬁdence and enthusiasm within his Troop (5th Troop) and the Regiment. He was a big man in an armoured car, made, if anything, bigger by a huge teddy bear coat! His sense of humour and great ability endeared him to all ranks. From the end of 1945 until May, 1946, he was Second—in-Command of C Squadron. Then he became Adjutant for a year; during the course of this appointment he discovered that the easiest way to ﬁnd anything on his desk was to put all the paper covering it into the waste paper basket, or else, as in Pelmanism, to pro— duce the right piece of paper unerringly from

the conglomeration that lay before him! He then returned to C Squadron as Second-in— Command, later becoming Technical Adjutant, before going as Adjutant to the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry in the autumn of 1949. In 1952, having got married in Fife (a custom with Yeomanry adjutants), he returned to the Regiment in Egypt where he commanded

“ D ” Squadron. On its disbandment, and after a short tour with H.Q., he took over command of his old Squadron—“C” Squadron. He had an unsurpassable sense of humour and an unbeatable reputation as a storyteller. Throughout the whole of his service he has

the strength of a dragoon regiment of 1672. There were six troops, each consisting of a quartermaster, two sergeants, three corporals, two hautboys (or oboes), two drummers, and ﬁfty private men apart from the officers. In 1687 snaphance muskets with three feet eight inch barrels were issued, and in 1697 pistols were withdrawn. Dragoons were dressed in red coats, cloth waistcoats and breeches, but in 1697 the Royals wore crimson coats like the Horse. The ofﬁcers wore gorgets of different coloured metals according to their rank, the same as the infantry. Besides his normal laced hat, the dragoon of

given the Regiment of his best, and to those who know him well, it is the greatest sadness that he has left us. The Regiment Wish him and his family the very best of luck.

\ W“

The

4»-

Musketry Oﬂ‘iceriLt. Phillippi—“ Thirsty work these Riﬂe Meetings!”

A HISTORICAL AND SARTORIAL NOTE A well known soldier once said, “ Every trifle, every tag or ribbon that tradition may have associated with the former glories of a regiment, should be retained, so long as its retention does not interfere with efficiency.” It occurred to the writer on recalling this, that it would be of interest to those who read this journal to retrace the earliest history of our Regiments’ uniform. This brief dip into the past is not intended as a comprehensive study, but merely as a vignette of some of the early distinctions of our uniform, sufficient perhaps to whet the reader’s taste for more, and possibly even to swell the volume of correspondence to the Editor. At the time of the Restoration, the Horse (as the Cavalry were then known) were wearing a dress similar to that worn during Oliver Cromwell’s Commonwealth. They wore buff coloured coats, cuirasses, and back plates; the latter were returned to stores in 1697, the ofl'icers, however, retained theirs. Cuirasses were either blackened or left bright, but painting was recommended during the Civil War to prevent rust in the field (armour had been painted since the Middle Ages). The triple barred and lobster tailed helmet was worn. A contemporary painting shows a review of the garrison of Tangier in 1677, with a mounted regiment, wearing black cuirasses, helmets and red coats; this of course is the Tangier Horse, first of a long line of Royal Dragoons. The arms of Horse were a pair of fourteen

inch—barrelled pistols, and a sword carried in a shoulder belt by the men and a waist belt by the officers. Cavalry boots were at first of a buff supple leather, soon to be stiffened into the jack boot with a wide rigid top, to prevent the knees being crushed in action, and blacked with blacking. By about 1700, coats were single breasted with wide skirts and several pleats on each side to enable the wearer to spread it over his knees and protect them from the weather. The cuffs were the regiment’s facing colour and were occasionally edged with lace. The coats were collarless but in Stanhope’s campaign in Spain the Royals fitted a blue collar to their coats with a white neck cloth. About this time it became the fashion for oflicers to ornament their dress with gold or silver fringes, sashes, gloves and Waistcoats. Dragoons about this time were really mounted infantry, or “ mounted musketeers ” as they were then called. Their horses were smaller than those of the Horse, and were used only as a means of rapid movement, being linked together when the Dragoons dismounted for action. They rode in ranks of eleven, and the outside man of each rank remained mounted as a horse holder. Their equipment in a troop of 1672 was twelve men besides N.C.O.s armed with halberds and a pair of pistols, the remainder being armed with matchlock muskets, bayonets and swords. The Royals provide an excellent example of

C Squadron Leader takes on H.Q. (Trick photograph 1).

this time also wore a cap with a fur band and cloth bag rather like the seamen of Nelson’s day. They were very special troops, the handymen of the army and very highly trained. Besides being mounted infantry, capable of ﬁring from the saddle, they were also used for rapid forced marches, river crossings, and as infantry to keep up with the horse until the foot came up. They formed escorts for convoys, and storming parties in sieges. They were also trained as pioneers, and are known to have carried fascines forward across their saddle bows and ﬂung them into fosses and trench earth works to enable the foot to cross over.

A description of a review of the Royals on Putney Heath in 1684 describes the Regiment (under command of The Lord John Churchill) as “ Coated and cloaked red lined blue, their housings embroidered blue and yellow upon red, with the Royal cypher. What of the band or “ The Musick ” as it was then known? At this time there was no band as such, but there were hautboys, trumpeters and drummers; in Tangier the trumpeters were dressed in red coats with sleeveless white over— jackets, wide brimmed hats, buff shoulder belts and sashes. The kettle—drummer is dressed the same, and his drum banners are red embroidered with a device. In Spain in I708 the hautboys were dressed in blue coats. Standards and Guidons were carried on a pole similar in every way to the mediaeval tilting lance. It had a long metal bar ﬁxed to one side, which was attached to the swivel clasp on the colour belt. The pole had vertical grooves, exactly as it has today. Guidons were made of embroidered double silk damask with fringes of gold or silver and cords or tassels. Cavalry standards were called Cornets, as were the oﬂicers who carried them.

Dragoons, how-

ever, originally used the title of Ensign for the ofﬁcer carrying the Guidon. This was later changed to Cornet, like the rest of the Horse. At the review on Putney Heath, already men— tioned, each troop of the Royal Dragoons had its own “colours” as they were called, and facsimiles of them can be seen in the Officers’ Mess today. In I748 the Regiment wore a tricorne hat,

The Band welcomed by the Mayor of Odense -— Here shaking hands with Lt. Baron Haxthauseu,

they were allowed to preﬁx the title “ Guards.”

Danish Life Guards.

A note in the Clothing Warrant of 1753, shows The Royals as follows: “Officers uni— forms embroidered with gold. Black horses. Sergeants blue sashes and their horses to have hunters tails. Buff accoutrements coloured yellow. Horses lighter than most other Dragoons and drummers and farriers on greys.“ The Royal regiments wore Royal Livery, red lined blue with blue waistcoats and breeches. Forage or watering caps were red with turnups of the facing colour (in our case blue). Sergeants of Dragoons had their coats laced with gold or silver with shoulder knots of the same colour; Corporals of Dragoons also had gold or silver lace, but their shoulder knots were of yellow or white silk. In closing this short note on the first hundred years of the Regiment’s sartorial history, here is a link with our present day uniform: the origin of our lanyards goes back to 1715 when shoulder knots are first mentioned for mounted regiments. It has been suggested that these were originally the cords used when foraging to attach hay to the saddle. When troopers set out on a foraging expedition they looped the cords over their shoulders, then the custom of colouring these cords started according to regimental fancy, until they finally became an orna-

musket slung over the back and was armed with a pistol and sword (not yet a sabre); they were distinguished for being the only regiment to

wear their shoulder knots on the left side. The Regimental facing was blue, with a blue waist— coat and red breeches, red cloak with a blue lining, and the embroidery on the housings was white and yellow. The following order for a review in I742 shows the attention that was paid to turnout: “Horse and Dragoons to take all their small accoutrements to pieces, and to see that they be very well cleaned and blacked and then put together again. The bosses bits and curbs to be as bright as hands can make them. The boots to be as black as possible, and their knee pieces not to be above three inches above the top of the boot top. All their arms are to be as bright as silver. The whole buff accoutrements to be of one light buff colour, the swords to be all brightened. The hats new cocked, three straps to each cloak, care to be taken that the men do not ride too long. Ofﬁcers to wear their sashes over their shoulders.” The size of their horses at this time was for a trooper of Horse 15 hands one inch to 15.2, and for a dragoon I5 hands.

mental part of regimental dress.

ROYAL DRAGOONS, r751

There was at this time practically no difference between Horse and Dragoons, and they were at a later date to become heavy and medium cavalry. Dragoons had become quite unsuited to their original duties as light Horse, and the lack of light cavalry was notable in the continental campaigns against enemy hussars and “troupes legeres.” Some regiments of Horse were converted to light Dragoons to remedy this, and in 1756 when the approach of the Seven Years War found our army with practically no light cavalry at all, a troop of Light Dragoons was added to the establishment of every regiment of Dragoon Guards and Dragoons. They were to be light active men, with horses of 14 hands three inches and not less. At this time our facings and horse furniture in the Royal Dragoons were blue, coats were red with blue linings, and breeches were blue. It may be of interest here to digress a little, to explain the broad origins of Dragoon Guards. In December, 1746, in order to economise, the ﬁrst three senior regiments of Horse, after the Royal Horse Guards, were transformed into Dragoons (a Dragoon was paid less at this time than a trooper of Horse) and as a compensation

From the Painting by David Morier in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle.

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

r." 3

____ _ ‘3‘"; :‘;E ;%i .A“—

Squadron

Regimental Headquarters, Combermere Barracks

Notes

“A” SQUADRON Looking back on the paSt year in A Squadron we are forced to pause and scratch our heads; is “A Squadron” its name or “Major Tim— brell’s Finishing School for Young Soldiers ? ” For our Squadron Leader is almost the only. member of last year’s Squadron still left! To extend farewells or welcomes to all those who have left or joined us would be impossible, but, in mentioning a few names, Capt. Ferrand, after barely a year as Second—in—Command, has left us to be Adjutant of the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry; we welcome Capt. Bucknall in his place. S.Q.M.S. Brown has gone to sort out the stables, Sgts, Paul and Blackaller to the Permanent Staff at Fife, Sgts. Howley and Stanley to Carlisle, and a host of others have left who are now our employers as civilian tax— payers! In their place S.Q.M.S. Kimble is back with us, and a continuous stream of “ nigs,” officer-sand men—indced we shall have soon more officers than troops—are already considering themselves old soldiers. Lt. Scott has gone to Carlisle, where we understand sleep during the day is easier than in “Cushy A.” However, in spite of all losses, our head is still above water. By a process which all newcomers undergo, known as “putting the skids under them,” the same high standard of efficiency in the field and in camp is maintained, and we remain A Squadron in character as well as in

name.

We had a most successful training

season, which, until the last scheme of all, was remarkable for the ﬁneness of the weather. Starting with an interesting battle against B and C Squadrons, in which we acquitted ourselves most creditably and had two very enjoyable days in the Harz Mountains in midsummer, we progressed in July to schemes at Regimental level and war was declared on the K.D.G.s; 5th Troop have cause to remember the march up to Neumunster and the importance of not allowing Daimlers their heads when driving on banked up roads—they have a tendancy to roll! Throughout the spring and early summer a series of night exercises were held, which undoubtedly contributed to success on bigger schemes later on; it was on one of these

that Tpr. Braithwaite, in the ten minutes that Ist Troop was halted on a report line, met, captivated, embraced and took a tender farewell of a passing Fraulein: no-one can resist a Royal Dragoon! The climax of the training season was Exercise “Commonwealth IV,” in which for two days and two nights in continuous rain we fought with scarcely a break, attached ﬁrst to the Armoured Brigade, then to the Canadian Infantry Brigade. In sports and competitions we have not lagged behind. On Waterloo Day, after the Divisional Commander had inspected the Regiment on

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS «rt-u»

behind us and only two cracked cylinder blocks on our conduct sheet, we look forward to the summer months and hope devoutly that they prove as ﬁne as those of 1955.

“ B ” SQUADRON

s'h,

«.5

egg

Assault Section Competition: L. to R. : L/ Cpl. Maclean, L / Cpl. Battaglia, L/ Cpl. Perry, Tpr. Ashmore, Tpr. Clarke, Tpr. Barker, 1955.

parade, we went on to win the driving competition, and this in spite of the fact some of our best drivers, Cpl. Beard, L/Cpl. Brown and Tpr. Blackburn, had been almost permanently detached and off duty training for the Regimental football team; although these have now left us. we still have Tpr. Hughes as our repre— sentative in the team. In other Inter-Squadron

competitions we have a ﬁne record of seconds— second in drill, second in Inter-Troop hockey, second in tennis, second in the novices’ and open boxing, second in the revolver shooting, and at present we are lying second in the competition for the Makins Shield. At the same time we have continued to supply our footballers Docherty, Clarke and Brown for the boxing team, and Tune, the “cab happy” veteran of the Echelon. now demobbed, for the cricket team. Working on its own initiative, the Squadron football team has twice played against a local village team and twice beaten them. Recently the Assault Troop, led by Lt, Farmer and Sgt. Hook, who has come to us from the K.D.G.s. won the third leg of the Assault Troop competition, doing the fastest time over the course and largely thanks to L/Cpl. Burr, knocking dowu all of the falling plates. It is only a few of the oldest soldiers who can recall the Middle East, and all members of the Squadron have already become experienced European travellers, in particular a party went

to Berlin at Whitsu‘n, under the auspices of the W.V.S., an interesting experience for all, but

especially for those two who, having detached themselves from the rest and missed the train back, were thought to have got caught on the wrong side of the Curtain; they returned, but not before all the M.P.s in Berlin had been called out and sent to look for them. Echelon Troop, one of the oldest and ﬁrmest institutions of the Squadron, is about the only Troop under the same management—though 4th Troop leader seems to be anxious for us to know that he has been a year in office and has not long to push now! Drivers come and

drivers go, but Cpl. Allison carries on with matchless efﬁciency; perhaps one of the greatest losses is Docherty 269, whose cooking was only equalled by that of Wainwright, who is another

sad loss, and his old comrades of Heavy Troop will always remember the “ Wainwright Stew.” Though in most ways a great relief, the laying up of Heavy Troop will cause many a certain regret. In particular, 2/Lt. Nash has happy memories of the day when he poured cold water into the radiator and drew off hot shaving water from the exhauSt pipe!

We were most pleased and proud to welcome Brigadier

Pepys, D.S.O.,

the Colonel of the

Regiment, when he came to visit us this April. We were specially honoured by his visit to this Squadron on the Saturday, as he commanded us in the early years of the war. Already we have spent a week—the ﬁrst deceptive week of spring—on Soltau Training Area. Now, with our second German winter

There has been an unusually large turnover of officers since our last notes. Lt. Hart Dyke is the sole “ continuity” link. In April, Major Fielden took over from Major Macdonald, who has gone to Cupar. More recently, Capt. Bucknall transferred his allegiance to A Squad— ron: his replacement, Capt Reid, is expected as soon as he has handed over his duties as Adjutant to the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry, a task which officers are usually advised to take their time over—and do! Capt. Matterson, subalterns Boyd and Thellusson have retired from the rigours of life in a Sabre Squadron into the seclusion of HQ. z/Lt. Clowes has left on completion of his vehicle documentation and National Service. Young entry are the following N.S. ofl'icers: 2/Lts. Fry, Lardner, Pride, Tully and Martin. We were sorry to lose S.S.M. Finch as senior

S.S.M. to H.Q. Squadron, who sent us S.S.M. Vowles, in return. Of the Sergeants, we have said goodbye to Able, Evans and Taylor, while Sgt. Ireland has become Ofﬁcers’ Mess Sergeant. Of the 82 Troopers with us at this time last year, 28 only remain. It is to the credit of many newcomers that the Squadron performed so well in the major exercises of last year: the Divisional Exercise “Commonwealth IV,” and “Eagles Nest,” a Regimental exercise against the K,D.G. Back bone of the Squadron football side have been Cpl, Syme, L/Cpls. Bamford and Wood. These three have played regularly for the Regi— mental team, which is shortly to play the “ Skins ” in the Semi—Final of the Cavalry Cup. In the Inter—Squadron Competition under the management of S.Q.M.S. Lynd, we were worthy runners-up to a strong H.Q. Squadron side, and the combined efforts of Squadron HQ. and Admin. Troop won us the Inter-Troop Cup at the expense of a formidable team from Q.M. Group. S.S.M. Finch is to be congratulated on pro— ducing the winners of the ﬁrst half of the Inter— Squadron Drill Competition; it was B Squadron “ all the way.” Our Assault team did well to win the second leg of the Assault Troop Competition. It was ably coached and led by 2/Lt. Lardner, who

will, it is hoped, repeat the success in the ﬁnal

B Squadron Leader amuses himself on an Oﬂicers' Day. (Phillip Harben?)

leg, due to be held next month, when the Colonel of the Regiment will be a spectator. An account of this competition would not be complete without reference to the invaluable contribution of Tpr. McGill. McGill encountered considerable difﬁculty at

the initial obstacle, and his arrival at the ﬁring point was in consequence delayed so much that he was not able to ﬁre a single round. However,

the remaining marksmen had succeeded in knocking down all the plates, so McGill’s unexpended rounds were able to count for bonus marks! From the above it might be suspected that B Squadron were on the way to lifting the Makins Shield: this might well be so, but for an unfortunate misunderstanding of the term “ voluntary,” as applied to entries for the Novices’ Boxing! We congratulate Cpls. McCormick and Elliott and Tpr. McShane on their marriages, and wish them every happiness.

A ﬁnal word to old comrades, who may have been thrown out of employment by the slump in the car trade, or otherwise ill-treated by the vicissitudes of “ Civvy Street ”: A Corporal (B1 Tradesman) in 1955 got {5/8/6 a week

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

POSTINGS Among many who have been posted around the globe there have been: S.Q.M.S. Watorski, who will shortly join the Malayan Armoured Car Regiment. Sgt. Warren, who is now at Bovington. L/Cpl. Booth and Tpr. Kennedy, to Fife and

Forfar Yeomanry. Tprs. Starr, Shergold and Packham, to Mons Ofﬁcer Cadet School. To all of them we wish the best of luck and

hope they will come back soon.

Cpl. Sarl — Chain of Command race.

(without rank increment), he now gets, on a nine—year engagement £8/1/—. It’s true!

“C” SQUADRON Since our last notes we have continued in the Wilderness at Wesendorf. The summer was ﬁne and warm compared to the previous one but rain still dogged our steps on exercises. We are just recovering from

a very severe winter, when vehicles had often to be started up in the middle of the night despite the use 0 “anti-freeze.” Naturally, much time has been spent on exercises and 4th Troop (z/Lt. Gubbins) are experts in “digging” themselves out. 3rd Troop, commanded by Lt. Phillipi, pro-

DEPARTURES TO CIVILIAN LIFE We were all very sorry to say goodbye to Major Houstoun after 16 months as Squadron Leader and a total of I4 years in the Regiment. We shall greatly miss both him and Mrs. Houstoun. As for Sam, that fine dog is now in Scotland and we reckon some Scots will get a shock when he comes out of quarantine. Among the many others who have left and to whom we wish the best of luck are Lts. Birkbeck, Phillipi and Findlay, and Sgts. Dick, Howes and White. However, we are glad to welcome Sgt. Jubb back once more and also Tpr. Wiffin. VISITORS We were pleased to see Mr. Squires in September, and during the summer among the various A.E.R. Officers who came was Lt. Green, now a prosperous looking wine merchant. MARRIAGES Cpl. Hayes, L/Cpl. Auty and Tpr. Wiflin.

C Squadron, winning team, in the Cavalry Depot Bowl — Left to Right (Standing) : Tprs. Bean, Milligan, Partington, L /Cpl. King, L /Cpl. Hughes, Captain Ashton, Major Houstoun, 2 / Lt. Douglas Mann. Left to Right (kneeling) : Cpl. Hayes, Tprs. Rees, Joyce, Rid geway and Sweeney.

RE~ENGAGEMENTS

Cpl. Woodcock, L /Cpl, Rowlands, Tprs. Carr and Sweeney 491. Lately in the Spring the hierarchy virtually changed; Capt. Hodgson has returned to C Squadron after 10 years’ absence, to become Squadron Leader. Capt. Wilkinson has replaced Capt. Sivewright, whom we are very sorry to see leave for

duced a ﬁne demonstration for the Imperial

the “ sinecure ” of 2 i/c of H.Q. Squadron.

Defence College students in June. In the various competitions for the Makins Shield we have tried hard against the collossus

Sgt. Shone (3rd Troop) also Went to H.Q. to put the M.T. Troop on its feet, and S.Q.M.S. Clark had hardly returned from Cupar when he stepped into S.Q.M.S. Watorski’s shoes. So Lt. Jacobs and S.S.M. Wood, together with Sgt. Stirling, are the oldest members of the Squadron.

of H.Q. Squadron. Coached and captained by S.S.M. Wood, we won the Sten team competition. We also managed to retain the Cavalry Depot Bowl for swimming, thanks to the efforts of 2/Lt. Douglas-Mann and Cpl. Hayes.

In other directions the Squadron has done good work. The Regimental Farm has prospered under the able direction of Farmer Sive— wright and the tireless work of Tpr. Hunt; and at harvest and potato picking members of Echelon TrOOp have been a great help. Sgt. Stirling coped admirably; one day his vehicles were on haymaking, the next on inspection! With no time for practice the Squadron put on a small concert, in which the stars were Cpl.

Dawson, Cpl. Walker and Tpr. Hunt.

H.Q. SQUADRON

S.Q.M.S. Dick “Wins” the Sergeants’ Mess Wooden Spoon for the Worst Pistol Shot!

This year as we go to press We thankfully say farewell to a severe and very cold winter. At the same time, we hold out our hands grate— fully for the new pay increases. Sgt. Manwaring, R.A.P.C., is busy working out the new rates of Pay, whilst Tprs. Taylor and Brannan are estimating the number of extra pints per week. However, it is now our duty to record some of

the events that have taken place in H.Q. Squadron during the past Year. There have been many changes in personnel. Major I. C. Parkhouse has handed over to Major G. T. A. Armitage, M.B.E., as Second—inCommand of the Regiment, and we wish them both well in their new appointments. Major R. H, D. Fabling has taken command of the Squadron, and we congratulate the Second-inCommand, Capt. B. J. Hodgson, on his appointment to the command of C Squadron. Capt. R. C. T. Sivewright, M.c., has come from C Squadron as the new Squadron Second—in— Command. and S.S.M. Finch from B Squadron to replace S.S.M. Vowles. We were very sorry to lose S.S.M. Vowles to B Squadron and take this opportunity of thanking him for his good work in this Squadron. We wish his successor well in dealing with the complexities of this most complicated organisation. Lest no other Squadron congratulates H.Q. in their notes, we must congratulate ourselves on winning the Makins Shield. Amongst the events which we won arez—Athletics, Inter—Squadron cross—country, football, hockey, cricket, tennis, basketball, riﬂe team and the Bren pairs. Let there be no more jibes about H.Q. being chairborne! Some details of individual efforts are as follows:

'I‘XIE IOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS THE

JOURNAL

THE

ROYAL

DRAGOONS

of the Orderly Room is adequately portrayed by the following anonymous signal found on the Adjutant’s desk, on that fateful day last February when the pay increases were announced. Precedence: Op Immediate DTO; 2111002 Classiﬁed : Unclas Originator’s Number: NS/FREE/PRONTO From: War Oﬂice To: Royals As result of new pay increase 258,603 pet's enlisted on 20 Feb 56 (.) Services of NS Men with your Unit no longer required (.) Despatch all NS pers to RAC Depot Bovington before 25 Feb 56 under Authy WO/SCRUB/NS/56 (.) Regular replacements to follow soonest together with 2000 large heavy duty wallets for issue to all Regs (2 each Sgts and above) (.) All Info (.)

R.H.Q. and Royal Signals Troop Notes Regimental Riﬂe Meeting lQSS—Captain Fen-and, Major Parkhouse, Major Fielden, The Commanding Ofﬁcer, Sgt. Bartholomew.

INI‘ER-SQUADRON SMALL ARMS MEETING This was a notable success. W’e won the Steele Cup and the Bren pairs, and other members of the team ran close seconds in most of the other competitions. Sgt. Webster is to be congratulated on his successful training of

the

team, which was made up from

the

following:' Capts, Bradish-Ellames, Hamner, Wood— bridge, R.S,M, Edwards, S.Q.M.S. Fletcher, Sgts. Cole—Evans, D.C.M., Lloyd, R..EM..,E Cpls. McKay, Gibson, Marlow, L/Cpls. Waghorn and Clay, Tpr. Lakin and Cfn. Everitt, R.E.M.E. Capt, Wilson—Fitzgerald will probably remember in future that an SD. cap is not a good container for gun Oil. Most of the above were selected to represent the Regiment in the B.A.O.R. Small Arms Meeting. Competition was too great for most of the team, who had to be satisﬁed with the winnings from the Pool Bull. However, we con— gratulate L/Cpl. Clay, who succeeded in shooting in the Rhine Army Hundred. INTER—SQUADRON CRICKET The team was led by Capt. Hodgson and the following played: Capts, Bradish-Ellames, Woodbridge, 2/Lts. Baring and Wright, S.Q.M.S. Fletcher, Sgt. Manwaring, R.A.P.C., Cpls. Mould and Bur-

man, Tprs. Instone and Venables. and Bdsm. Smith. Other members of the Squadron played and although their names are not mentioned they helped to win this competition. Injuries were kept to a minimum, no thanks to the demon bowling of Lt. Baring and Bdsm, Smith. To face the bowling from this pair either as bats— man or wicketkeeper was like facing a com-

bination of Tyson and Trueman, as is borne out by Tpr. Connett’s scars and S.Q.M.S. Fletcher’s broken bones. BOXING — BUCKLEY TROPHY The Buckley Trophy was won by the Squadron team after a series of good boxing bouts. The Squadron entered about 50 men for this competition and a good display was put up by all of our entries, notable amongst these being Tpr. Breslin, who soon put fear into his opponents by his method of putting them to sleep in the shortest possible time. ROBSON SHIELD This shield was won by the Squadron team after a series of hard fights. Cpl_ Coleman and Tpr. Breslin were two of the best boxers in H.Q., and Cpl. Coleman fought most of his fights with a sore thumb; this no doubt forced him to end the fights as soon as possible. The

“The Quack” (Captain Woodbridge).

other members of the team all put up a very good show and are to be congratulated on their ﬁne performance.

FOOTBALL We cannot let the departure of R.S.M. Edwards from the captaincy of the Regimental team pass without mention in our Notes, nor the assistance that he has given to the Squadron football team. It seems strange not to see his

name appear on orders after so many years. We take this Opportunity of thanking him for all he has done for Squadron and Regimental football over so many years.

This year, more than ever, we have seen faces come and go in the Troop. R.H.Q. Troop, in particular is starting the training season with nine new members. We have had two changes of Signal Ofﬁcer, and at present Capt. Matter— son is (most ably) in the chair. Sgt. Cummings is still here, as are Tprs. Boyden, Hembling, Southernwood and Anderson. Of all those who have left us, L/Cpls. Yard and Hartley will be missed the most, for they had served with the Troop for a long time. The Royal Signals Troop is still in the capable hands Of Sgt. MacMillan, Cpl, Marlowe has left us for the Gold Coast Signals Regiment;

CHRISTMAS PANTOMIME We were again well represented in the Christmas pantomime, which many think was the best ever. The most outstanding talent was: B.M. Trythall, Sgt. Manwaring, R.A.P.C. (Widow Twankey), Bdsm. Jenkins, Sgt. Cole—Evans, D.C.M. (Sheriff), Capt. Bradish—Ellames, Tpr. Instone and Padre Comyns. We end by welcoming all new members to the Squadron. We hope that 1956/57 will be even more successful. To those who have left and will shortly be leaving for civilian life we send good wishes.

The Regimental Orderly Room Too many friends to mention have come and gone this last year. We only hope that the spirit

R.H.Q. Forward Link: “I shall be otf the air for ﬁgures 5 while I change my aerialsl”

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

he had “looked after” A Squadron for some years and will be a great loss. Cpl. Hancock and Signalman Myers have also left us. Three members of the Troop played in the Regimental rugger team last season—Sgt. MacMillan, Signalman Barker and Driver Potter. The latter is a new arrival; he made his mark early as a driver and this can still be seen on the East Gate barrier! Driver Turner. another new arrival, is also notable for his civilian job of bellringer! He now works hard on Sunday mornings. Our hearts were warmed by the generosity of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps when they presented us with a glossy new one—ton truck

to replace poor “Genevieve.” who had been “put out to grass.” Sgt. MacMillan did not appear to share our enthusiasm, as only a few days after its arrival he deposited it on the railway line three feet below the loading ramp! As we go to press we are preparing for the coming training season, ensuring that batteries and wireless sets are in good working order, not forgetting “Genevieve II,” who, like her predecessor, prefers to be towed for the whole of an Exercise, and not just back to camp.

LAD (Reme)

far as the LAB. were concerned, being Exercise “Eagles Nest,” near the Danish Border. This started off in grand style, with a long approach march. Early on the L.A.D. found a Daimler on its turret dowu a twentyfoot bank, and a Saracen, poised on its centre of gravity, just above it, playing see-saws in the wind. After completing our good turn for the day with much sweat and labour, we settled down to a nice steady drive for the remainder of the day. But not for long! A few miles further on a three—tonner decided to push over a 60-foot tree. This was just a little too much.

The spirit was willing but the flesh of the three— tonner was too weak. While we admired the spirit we deplored the result. Our day of tribulation was not yet over, however, A further 50 miles on We came upon two A.E.C.s who had been engaged in a joyous game of “ bumps—a—daisy,” It was not so joyous for the L.A.D., who eventually went on their weary way and arrived at the night leaguer just as dawn was breaking. We were just in time to move out with the rest of the Echelon. The next day the E.M.E. and two Scammells were quietly wending their weary way at least five kilometers behind two solid Squadrons when the enemy came round a corner behind us. Two—pounders banged, Scammells and E.M.E. indulged in a little high flying and we

were away. The time has come, the Editor says, To talk of many things; Of Scammels straining at the leash And Daimlers sunk up to their springs! The rhyme is corny and does not scan. we know, but there is much heartfelt feeling behind it, and the thought causes many a nightmare in the L.A.D., not least with the E.M.E. The highlight of the L.A.D. year was an impromptu recovery exercise kindly provided for us by the Training Wing just before the annual Administration Inspection. It lasted ten days, “ wroteoﬁ ” three Scammells for quite a while and cast the EWME three pounds (money and weight). Although we dug down ten feet in getting one Scammell out, we found no oil. coal or uranium as a compensation! The departure and arrival of personnel during the year has been too great to mention all

the names, but the most noted departures have been 2/Lt. Threlfall, A.S.M. Morgan and S/Sgt. Hill. z/Lt. Tribley joined us to take the place of Mr. Threlfall and we are still awaiting replacements for the A.S.M. and S/Sgt. Hill. Schemes during the year were almost too

numerous to mention, the outstanding one, as

The Army Commander watches Sgt. Collerton’s Gunnery class.

Q.M. Group

A frantic plea to R.H.Q. for help

resulted in the cynical instructions to decoy the enemy into an ambush and not to go too fast and lose them. Fortunately for the E.‘M.E., the enemy decided not to play and let us gracefully retire in a cloud of dust without following.

Many are the changes that have taken place in the Group since last we went to press, but we are more than pleased to say that those who have joined the group have most certainly done their best to keep up the good work which we

expect. SPORT In the ﬁeld of sport we had an average year. We reached the semi-ﬁnals in both the B.A.O.R. Craftsman’s Cup at football, being knocked out by 4 Armoured Workshops, and in the B.A.O.R. R.E.M.E, Basketball Competition, being knocked out by 7 Armoured Workshops. We hope to do even better this year and have received a few new members, who should prove useful football players. In conclusion we welcome all the new members to the L.A.D. and hope we will have as successful a coming year both at work and play as we had over the past year. A special plea to all drivers in the Regiment: “ Do avoid those nasty great trees and those horrible stinking swamps.” However, we sadly feel we are wasting our breath. Drivers are drivers and Recovery Mechanics have to have some work we suppose. Ah, well! I

It was with great regret that in August we bade farewell to T.Q.M.S. Crockett, who had been with the group for three years. We should like to congratulate him most heartily on his promotion to Lieut. (Q.M.), which he thoroughly deserved, and we are pleased to see that he has now rejoined us in this theatre by being appointed as Quartermaster to H.Q., 6

Armoured Division. When he left us, we were fortunate in being able to recall T.Q.M.S. Ayrton, who was carrying out the duties of T.Q.M.S., also at H.Q., 6 Armoured Division, and we are very pleased to welcome him back to the group. Another stalwart who has at long last gone to civilian life is Sgt. Sheppard, and we wish him the very best of luck; we have heard that he is now a postman somewhere in the Midlands. Although we have been fully occupied in our jobs, we have also found time to take part in

the various sports in the Regiment. Naturally our main interest was the Inter—Troop football, and again we were in the ﬁnal of this competition; we were very narrowly beaten by B Squadron H.Q. Troop in the ﬁnal game. No doubt this was due to youth on the side of B Squadron, as the Q.M., in his 50th year, had to turn out to complete the team, but even that did not prevent him from scoring a very good goal. We are hoping to regain the cup this summer, and the group players can be seen carrying out training in the evenings after com— pletion of their work. We are pleased to say that we are well repre— sented in the Regimental football side by Cpl. Coleman, L/Cpl. Lea, Tprs. Watson and Melville. Tpr. Watson also played for 7th Armoured Division against the Russian Division. whilst L/Cpl. Lea was a reserve for that game. Well done, keep it up. In the Regimental Novices’ and Open Boxing. we had our fair share of entrants who all gave a good account of themselves. and helped to collect valuable points for the Squadron in the various competitions, Our successes in these events were as follows: Winner of the Light Welter weight: (Novice and Open) Cpl. Coleman

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

Best Novices’ Boxer: Cpl. Coleman Best Loser. Novices’ Competition: L/Cpl. Tucker

Runner-up Light Weight, Novices: Tpr. Lister We must also congratulate L/Cpl. Tucker on being the winner of the Regimental Cross Country Running Championship. In particular, we are proud of our high per— centage of personnel who are re—engaging. We have had the following sign on recently, and are glad to hear that they are only too pleased to remain with us: S.Q.M.S. Weller, Sgt. Webster, Cpls. Hildred and Bosher, L/Cpl. Tucker and Tpr. Ellsmore. It is rumoured that they are out to beat the record, at present held by the Q.M., for length of service. ~We must not forget our German staff who have been so loyal and hard-working during the year. They have been most helpful and we should like to take this opportunity of thanking them for their most valuable assistance. During the Christmas festivities, a party was given by the Q.,M. for the German staff and we are de-

lighted to know that they enjoyed themselves, although we have heard that some of the staff were not in the mood for their work the following morning. To those members of the group who have either left us for the rigours of civilian life, or for other Squadrons and Departments, we wish the very best of luck, and thank them for their great help whilst they were with us. To those that have joined our ranks we extend a hearty welcome and hope that their stay will be a long and happy one. Our notes would not be complete without offering our thanks to the drivers, particularly in the MT. Troop, who appear to take such a delight and satisfaction in knocking walls and garage doors down with their vehicles. It would appear that in the eagerness to be punctual on QM. detail they do not bother to open the doors but simply drive through them. We will not attempt to publish the remarks of a worried M.T.O. when he was told that the Royal Engineers did not believe that the garage doors could possibly have been blown down by a storm.

O.C.A. NOTES It has been the custom over the past years to give in our notes a description of the Annual Reunion but due to the dispute within the print— ing trade the journal must go to press before this event takes place. A full description will appear in the next edition. At the present time we can say that the Reunion will be a great success for applications to attend are coming in from all parts of the country. The committee have discussed the idea of a further function, during the winter months, such as a Dance or Social Evening to be held in London and would appreciate the views of members on this subject and whether it would be worth while attempting. By kind permission of the Commanding Officer a party of Old Comrades, their wives and relatives will visit the Regiment in Germany for the Waterloo day celebrations. It was hoped that the party would be able to ﬂy to Germany and enquiries were made but they did not prove successful. However, arrangements have been made to travel by train and boat, and we are now looking forward to a very happy time with the Regiment, and a full description will appear in our next “ News Letter.” The membership of the O.C.A. is steadily increasing each year. The Chairman and mem—

bers of the Committee wish to extend a hearty vote of thanks to all members for their loyal support and to extend a warm welcome to our new members who have joined on leaving the Regiment; we Wish them every success in “Civvy Street.” We ask all members to encourage Old Royals to join the Association and to get them to send 5/- subscription to the Hon. Secretary, Mr. W. Thomas, 60, Carey Street, London, W.C.2. The Editor would be pleased to receive any items of news concerning Old Comrades or a good story of experiences whilst serving with the Regiment. It is with deep regret that we learn of the death of Capt .J. H. Booth. Capt. Booth after serving with the Regiment for a number of years joined the City of London Police and rose to the rank of Superintendent, and for his services was awarded the M.B.E. He was one of the founder members of the Association and served as Chairman and Treasurer for many years; he always took a very keen interest in the Association. He retired from the committee in 1948 On moving to Leicester. We offer our deepest sympathy to his relatives. We also learn with regret of the death of Signaller “ Stump ” Wood, of 2 Troop, C Squadron.

Fred Finch, of C Squadron, now 81 years of age.

He is the Standard Bearer of the King‘s Worthy,

Winchester Branch of the British Legion.

Guidon carried by S.Q.M.S. Brown, F. F. Yeo;

THE IOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

FIFE AND FORFAR YEOMANRY The main event of our year, apart from the Annual Camp, has been the presentation of the New Guidon by Lieut.-General H. Murray, C.B., 13.3.0. (as he then was) on the 2nd of October, 1955. The C.I.G,S.. FieldeMarshal Sir John Harding, had agreed to present the Guidon but was called away at the last moment to take over in Cyprus. Although the main credit for a very successful day must go to the members of the Territorial Army on parade, who carried out all the rehearsals and preparations in their spare time, a great deal of credit

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also goes to the Royal Dragoons who assisted. Mr. Tryt‘hall and the five members of the Band in particular rendered invaluable service. The opportunity to draw on the experiences of the Regiment at Tidworth on 27th April, 1954, was a great help to the organisers of this parade. A very welcome feature of the day, to the Permanent Staff and to the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry, was the large number of Royal Dragoons who were present. Brigadier A. H. Pepys, D.S.O., paying his first visit since he became Colonel of the Royals, was especially welcome and was able to visit R.H.Q. the day before the Parade and meet some of the Per— manent Staff. The Commanding Officer was unfortunately unable to come at the last moment but the Adjutant gave up a day’s leave and arrived just before the Parade. Major and Mrs. Graham came over from Glasgow, Major and Mrs. Greaves from Carlisle, and Capt. Wilson Fitzgerald came up from Sandhurst. He was to have flown up with the C.I.G.S.. and we were pleased, and surprised, that he still came such a long way to see the Parade when the aircraft was cancelled. Former members of the Royals on Parade included Lt. M. G. N. Walker, who was Officer in charge of the Escort, Capt. W. H. O. Hutchinson, Capt. G. McKelvie, Sgt. Link, Sgt. Robertson, Cpl. Cowie, L/Cpl. Mathers and others. Our Annual Camp was held at Kirkcudbright in perfect weather throughout and a lot of hard work as well as the traditional form of exercise was put in. Full use was made of the ranges, Troop and Squadron exercises were carried out, and constant streams of Daimlers and Dingos tore round the narrow lanes of Scotland. The high standard achieved in Troops who meet, often for the first time on the first day of the Camp, take over a complete set of vehicles and

equipment, and then operate together for two weeks before again splitting up completely, is a source of amazement to anyone from a Regular Unit seeing it for the first time. It is, of course, amongst other things, the result of the high standard of training produced by so many Regular Units, in their National Service men, as well as their Regulars. We were pleased that the Commanding Officer found the opportunity to visit us at the end of November, to see something of the Per— manent Staff and of the general “set up.” Everyone here, both Fife and Forfar Yeomanry and Royal Dragoons, would welcome a visit from the Commanding Officer as an annual event. The children of the Permanent Staff and of the Civilian Staff enjoyed their annual Christmas party in the Drill Hall at ‘Cupar again this year, and a noisy and well fed time was had by all. On the 28th June, 1955, Her Majesty the Queen, with the Duke of Edinbi‘irgh, visited Dundee, and a contingent formed of Royal Dragoons and Fife and Forfar Yeomanry helped to line the route. Major Graham and Capt. Reid have both left during the year, and are missed by many friends. It is felt in some quarters that Capt. Reid has floured tradition by remaining single after a tour of duty in Fife. Sgt. Clark has also left us, after a tour of two years, during which he has gained a high reputation with the Yeomanry and the Home Guard, and in fact with everyone with whom he has come into contact. We wish Sgt. and Mrs.

Clarke every success in Wesendorf, and welcome Sgt. Blackaller who has taken over as P.S.I., A Squadron. The future of the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry is at present rather undecided as a result of the reorganisation of the Territorial Army. It appears likely, however, that part of the Regi— ment at least will continue to exist and will carry on with a role similar to its present one.

THE EAGLE The Eagle can be sent to you at any address after you leave the Regiment. Apply to the Editor for details and subscription forms, Back numbers of The Eagle are available at I/— each.

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

THE BAND 0N PARADE IN DENMARK

Trumpeters sounding the “Last Post” at the Odense War Memorial.

BAND NOTES

One or two broadcast programmes have been given on the British Forces’ Network and very good reports have been received on the standard of performance so much so that Mr. Mortimer, the BBC. Band Supervisor, offered us an engagement on the B.B.C., and consequently we recorded a programme, in the B.B.C. series “ Bands Overseas.” We were very pleased when we were informed by the Commanding Ofﬁcer that we were to go to Denmark once again to take part

Our last contribution to The Eagle endeavoured to cover most of our activities from the time of our temporary detachment from the Regiment from April, 1954, to December, 1954. Much “water has flowed beneath the bridge” since then and many interesting engagements and parades have taken place since the last publication. Our move out to B.A.O.R. was not without its usual unforseen circumstances and the heavy kit, always a source of some concern to the various R.T.O.s and ship’s Baggage Officers, took a full week to catch up with us in Wesen— dorf, despite the fact that it all left with us on the Band move. We have yet to see the day when we can arrive complete with bodies and instru— ments in one straight move, despite the good intentions and careful arrangements made beforehand. However, thanks to the rear party and Sgt. Stone, who has a good friend who knows a friend of the chief porter at the “ Hook,” we did get it all at long last and were able to get under way by the Christmas. We had hoped to get a panto fixed up for the festive season, but due to this setback we had to abandon the idea. A concert was arranged and

was a very successful tour and was thoroughly enjoyed by us all. We left Celle on 2nd May by train and travelled to Copenhagen, where we were welcomed by the Liberation Committee and the usual Press photographers, who made a special feature of Sgt. “ Tammy ” Williamson, he being the only remaining member of the Band who was in Denmark in 1945, when the Regiment was stationed in that very hOSpitable land. The hospitality was once again turned on, as only the Danes can lay it on, and we were well and truly welcomed back on behalf of the Regiment. Our conducting Ofﬁcer was Lt. Baron, Haxthausen of the Royal Danish Life Guards, and he was most helpful in making us at home

with the help of the Wesendorf Singers, a local

in the Life Guards’ Barracks.

male voice choir, we gave a show in the Regimental Gymnasium.

of programmes and events was undertaken, and our ﬁrst programme was a live broadcast from

in the tenth anniversary of the Liberation. This

A full itinerary

the Danish State radio building in Copenhagen before a live audience. Very lively too, we might add. The rhythmic hand clapping, typical of the Danes, left us in no doubt as to the popularity of military music and of the welcome back to the “Regiment.” Later the same day we gave a programme in the Tivoli Gardens. The actual Liberation ceremony was staged in the Town Hall Square and our part of the proceedings constituted a march from the outskirts of the city, finally converging on to the Town Hall for a formal ceremony by the city dignatories. The Band seemed to be followed by the whole of Copenhagen on this march and the going was made quite difficult by the crowds surrounding us. Some very pretty girls, in national colours, complete with baskets full of United Nations’ paper flags, littered the streets and Band alike with these emblems, and the flags and papers from the surrounding buildings as we passed along made one think of similar scenes in New York. It was a really jolly affair and ended up in the usual style, with a sumptuous meal and Schnapps. An extra and most welcome addition to our already full programme was a trip to the well— famed “Carlsberg ” Institution. We were invited by the manager to pay a visit to the Brewery, and had no second thoughts on accept— ing the offer. The Band gave a short programme to the workers, and then we had a fleet— ing visit through the departments, Where we were able to see the main bottling section. Our

stay was far too short to see the other sections of the plant and we finally paid a visit to the “ Carlsberg Museum,” which is quite unique in itself. After a brief explanation of the growth of the firm and an outline of the processing functions of the famous “ brew,” we were taken to the banqueting hall, where we sat down to a most welcome and sumptuous meal such as only the Danes can produce. We all filled ourselves with the best of the land in the way of food, helped down with plenty of “Carlsberg.” Our hosts soon taught us to “Skoll” and “ Skoll ” again. We might add that though a most enjoyable time was had by us all, we did not overlook the fact that we had to move on and do another spot of formal work later in the day! A luxurious coach was at our disposal, and one or two members were very pleased indeed to get a quick “ shut eye ” before the next programme. On the Wednesday we travelled by train and ferry to Odense, where we were accommodated in one of the local hotels. After a “ recce ” by

the Bandmaster of the line of route> we did a march through the town, stopping at the local War Memorial, where the leader of the Resistance Movement made a speech and placed a wreath, thence on to the English War Memorial at another church. The graves of 22 R.A.F. airmen are located here and the local Danish Regiment provided 21 Guard of Honour at the graveside and the trumpeters sounded the “Last Post” and “Reveille.” After this cere—

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

mony we retraced our steps back to the town. We were taken by coach to a spot called the “ Danish Village,” a collection of preserved old houses and barns, and were entertained to a tea meal by the Lord Mayor of Odense. Most of us were still able to sing a few songs for the host and his friends, as they requested us to sing “ Tipperary ” and similar tunes, which they all love to hear, and join in as well. The weather was so had during the evening that the outside ceremony on the hill, where a torch— light aflair was to be staged, had to be cancelled, but we removed ourselves, together with the other artistes, to a concert hall, where we were able to play. We returned to Copenhagen on the next day and fulfilled one or two more engagements in the Tivoli Gardens, where the Band was received with great enthusiasm. Finally we returned to Wesendorf in due course and must say that we thoroughly enjoyed our trip and were sorry to say “cheerio” to our friends who so ably looked after us. During the summer months we again were selected along with other Cavalry Bands to par— take in the Massed Bands Display at the \White City Tattoo. We were accommodated at the Royal Artillery Barracks in W’ooiwich this time. At the conclusion of the Tattoo we remained at Woolwich, from where the single men took their three weeks’ leave, and then we undertook several engagements at Southport Flower Show and at Bournemouth, We were indeed pleased to see one of our late members whilst in Bournemouth. Frank Old, looking as well as ever, came down from his home in Berkshire to listen to the Band and to discuss old times once again. We returned to Germany early in September and settled down to the dark and long winter evenings, less one or two of our old members who have left us. We were sorry to see the following stalwarts go to “Civvy Street,” but ear that they are all doing very well for them— selves, L/Cpl. “Wonk” Smith, who is with Cpl. “ Ginger” Smith playing in the “ Mecca” circuit in Bristol. Jackie Gray is in Edinburgh, as is Cpl. “Kegs” chgie, and we hear they are working in local Bands too. Alan Smith is in Manchester so we hear, and Ron Whiteman is heading for Leicester, where he hopes to do some teaching with his father. We missed all these good fellows and it has taken us a good time to fill their places, but we are pleased to say that some very good men have come along in the past six months. We are pleased to welcome Bandsmen Fry, Briggs, Fisher (Fife and Forfar Band), King and

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS-

The Silver Trumpet Competition was held in October last year and we congratulate Bandsman Alan Smith on being a worthy winner.

General conditions for this essay competition will be the same as for 1956 and are contained in

AC1 435/1955. GOLD

Prize Essay Competitions GEORGE KNIGHT CLOWES Memorial Prize Essay Competition, 1957. Prizes; First prize, £35; second prize, £15. Closing date: 8th January, 1957. Subject: “In spite of their modern equip— ment, training and discipline, regular troops in— variably experience dfliiculties when fighting a gucrilla, or terrorist, enemy. Operations such as those in Palestine after the war, in Malaya and Kenya, and those carried out by the French in their overseas territories, often go on for years without a decision.” Discuss this, giving examples from your own experience, or which are within your know— ledge. Make suggestions for improving the equipment, organisation and methods of regular troops in fighting of this kind.

King (84), McKay, Fairbrother, Buckley and Uncle Tom Cobley and all. \‘Ue now have one or two new boys in lVleikle, Whitworth and Panton. Boy de la Haye has now risen to the dizzy height of Bandsman, and he, together with Bandsman \Watts, is attending 21 pupils’ course at the Royal Military School of Music, Kncller Hall. We wish them every success and hope they may be the ﬁrSt to pull off a silver medal during the musical competitions. The Bindmaster, together with four State 'l‘rumpetcrs and L/Cpl. W'hellans, went off to Cupar in October to help on the musical side on the occasion of the presentation of a New Guidon to the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry. They had a very enjoyable time and were made most welcome by all members of the Regiment.

Our Christmas pantomime turned out to be quite a success and both the members of the Band

and other departments who helped to

make the show possible worked very hard to achieve tle high standard which “Alladin” attained We would like to congratulate the following “Dads” on their recent additions to their Trumpet-Major Tait, Staff/Sgt. families: Darling, Cpl. Woodward and Cpl. Whellans.

The face of the Mess has shown considerable change during the past year or so. A.S.M. Morgan, S/Sgt. Helm, R.A.E.C., S.Q.M.S. Watorski, Sgt, Sutherland, Sgts. Paul, Warren, Taylor, Blackallar, Weston, Malkin, Howley have all been posted elsewhere, and Sergeants Thompson, Parkin, Benson, Gunn, Shepherd, Dick, Able, Evans, Kerry and White all found this station too much for them and have taken refuge in civilised “Blighty.” Sgt, Jubb had the best of both worlds. He left us in mid-summer determined to remain a civilian, but returned soon after Christmas having found it impossible in England to keep up the same standard of living as the one to which he had been accustomed. (All due thanks to Mr. Butler for the return of a valuable member of the Mess). In place of all these people we welcomed back Sgt. Clarke from Carlisle, Sgt. Clark from Fife and Forfar Yeomanry, and Sgt. Kimble from the Boys’ Squadron. T.Q.M.S. Ayrton returned from 6th Armoured Division to take the place of T.Q.M.S. Crockett, whom we congratulate on being appointed Lt. Quartermaster. We also welcomed several new members. Sgts. Davies and Myers, R.A.E.C., Sgt. Faulkner, A.C.C., Sgt. Hook from the K.D.G.s and 8.8.1. Sheedy, who took the place of 8.8.1. Moore on the

MEDAL

and

TRENCH

GAS-

COIGNE Prize Essay Competition, 1956. Prize :‘ Thirty guineas and Gold Medal. Closing date: 15th November, 1956. Subject: Correct man-management is vital to economy and efﬁciency in industry. Make a comparison between the methods of manmanagement in the Services and in industry and suggest any improvements applicable to the Services. OR It has recently been suggested that, to meet the problems of this era of nuclear weapons, the three Services should be either partially or wholly integrated. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of such a move and give vour recommendations. General conditions for this essay competition

are contained in ACI 158/1956.

SERGEANTS’ MESS S Sgt. Tait 2nd Trumpet-Major Darling at Odense.

NOTES

latter being posted to Hong Kong in October some four months after joining us. Our congratulations are offered to Sgts. Kimble and Clark on being promoted S.Q.M.S., and to the following who were promoted Sergeant during the year. Sgts. Leese, Vickers, Plumbly, Routley, Remfry, Stone, Williamson and Webster. S/Sgt, Hill entered the wilds of matrimony, and by the time these notes appear, S.Q.M.S. Weller will be married. Our condolences to them both! The birth rate in the Sergeants’ Mess seems to have risen considerably during the past year. S.S.M. Vowles, S/Sgts, Tait, Hill and Dawes, Trumpet—Major Darling, Sgts. Manwaring and Remfry all became proud fathers, and as a re— sult the demand for Saturday night baby sitters has gone up! Sgts. Sonier and Watt of the Royal Canadian Dragoons visited us in May and October re— spectively, and were attached to B and C Squadron. During their 28 days’ stay, they were able to exchange ideas on many facets of Artny life. In January we had the pleasure of welcom— ing a party of some 12 Canadian Dragoons for a week-end visit. This was a great success, and in March, the R.S.M, headed a party of half-adozen Sergeants on a return visit to the

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

Canadians’ Mess. From all accounts this was also a great success and tentative arrangements have been made for further exchange visits.

The C.—in-C., General Sir Richard Gale, visited us in February and made history by hav— ing his photograph taken with the R.S.M. Major-General Cooper paid several visits during the year, the last being on February 15th, when he came to say goodbye before leaving the Division. We wish him well in his new appointment. Major—General Foote, V.C., Director R.A.C., visited us in March and was entertained to tea. Earlier in the year Colonel Fitzpatrick visited the Mess and presented the R.S.M. with a replica of the Eagle captured at Waterloo. This now takes pride of place among the Mess silver. In the world of sport, the Mess in still very active. The R.S.M. and Sgt. MacMillan won the shot event at both the Brigade and Divi— sional sports held last July. In these sports the Mess provided the backbone of the Regi—

mental Tug—of—War team, which won the event in the Brigade Sports and were runners-up in the Divisional Sports. The R.S.M. has ﬁnally hung up his football boots, but Ken Lloyd still keeps alive our interest in the Regimental Football Team. In the football match against the

Ofﬁcers at Christmas, the Mess was triumphant. This avenged the defeat which we suffered in a

cricket match with the Oflicers last September. Efforts were made to arrange an indoor games tournament with the Officers but these were not successful. The result of a similar contest with the Corporals’ Mess was a resounding win for us. Many members took part in the Squadron and Troop football, and S.Q.M.S. Lynd, who assured us that tactics were all-important in football, captained the B Squadron troop which beat the Q.M, Group in the inter-Troop final. Sgt. Manwaring, Sgt. Cummings, Sgt. Shone, Sgt. Thornton and S/Sgt. Smith all played hockey for the Regiment, and Sgt. Garlinge captained the L.A.D. soccer team which did well in the Craftsman’s Cup Competition. The 8th Hussars visited us in November, and the 3rd Hussars came from the Ranges to pay us a visit last August. Sgt. Dick carried off the wooden spoon last May, much to the relief of those of our attached members who still think the pen or spanner is mightier than the sword. In conclusion let me assure you that it is a fact that the 7th Armoured Division football team got to Berlin and back safely, although Sgt. Plumbly was driving the ’bus in which they travelled. We look forward to the visit of the Old Com— rades on Waterloo Day.

.wa—vnlnﬁ

Moritz

ROYALS IN ST. MORITZ Bright sunshine and warmth greeted us as We left the train for our hotel (The National), which

down a slope, like a ship in full sail.

is just outside St. Moritz.

a middle class, and We started our ﬁrst lessons on the nursery slopes. We usually ﬁnished in an embarrassing heap at the bottom, having arrived there before anyone else; however, by the end of the fortnight we were doing parallel christi’s and really coming down fast, the right way up. After our morning ski-ing lessons we met for lunch at a café on the slopes, where we ate our sandwiches and sunbathed. The

Once settled in there, we had a look around the town, which is quite large, with narrow streets just wide enough for the numerous Cadillacs. In the evening we found two excel— lent little haunts, where ‘we could be found nearly every other night later on. Victor, John and I arrived on a Saturday, and the remainder of the new members of the Army Ski Association arrived the following Monday night; this gave us two days to ﬁnd our way around and get one jump ahead of the others. We were able to acclimatise ourselves quickly, but as only Victor could ski at all, we were slower to ﬁnd our “ ski-legs.”

On Tuesday we all went up to the slopes and were graded by the Swiss Ski-School into classes. From then on we had a two—hour lesson daily. Victor was in a higher class than us and his vast form was occasionally seen streaking

John and

I_ however, were surprised to ﬁnd ourselves in

afternoons were spent in practising on one of the many runs, such as the “Celerina,” which is about three miles long. Finally, We used to catch the ’bus back to St. Moritz for tea. Tea was a special affair. A table was reserved every day in the “Chesa Veglia,” where we could dance and have a good laugh over the day’s incidents. The evenings usually found us dancing until the small hours at one of the many “ night—spots.” We went over to Davos on one of our last

. I and 2. Views from Corviglia Station 3. Z/l.t. Nash ready for the '(‘I‘Estth 4. Rut-ing above the ('orwglln.

5. Ace Cresta Rider Nash—in action! 6.

Cresta (‘onnoerhe World Champion on the "Ill.

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

days and went down one of the famous Parsenn runs to Klosters. Unfortunately, the snow was not very good. Apart from ski-ing, we saw many other winter sports: curling, skating skijumping, “ bobbing” and the Cresta. It had long been an ambition of mine to go down the Cresta and Bob runs. I hesitatingly started enquiries in one of the hotels and received “ A1 Reed” replies, such as “You’ll be lucky ” and “ I wouldn’t if I was you ” l However, not completely deterred, we went to see the courses, which were awe—inspiring; on the Cresta one uses a toboggan (called a “ skeleton ”) with a sliding saddle, upon which you lie, face down. The whole affair weighs between 20 and 70 pounds and is about four inches high; the Bob run makes the Cresta look like child’s play, two of its corners, “ Sunny ” and “Horseshoe,” being banked right up over the vertical! On this course, either the fourman “Bob,” or the two—man “Bobette,” can be used. Unfortunately, we only saw the

“Bobs” in action for one day, as the track became too dangerous and they were stopped. We were staggered at the speed of the “Bobs” on this hazardous course, but I was determined to go down. I managed to engage one of the experts in conversation and he told me exactly what to do. As I emerged from the clubhouse, enclosed in knee pads, arm pads, crash helmet, aluminium hand guards and spiked boots, I heard my name over the loudspeakers and my new-found friend was there to give the instructions.

The last words I heard were “Lie down on the skeleton, saddle right back, elbows in, and rake all the way ”3 a bell rang and I was launched down this fantastic course! I gathered

speed and watched for the ﬁrst banking, round which I swept, and was into the next before I could gather what was happening. I completed the course though, and thoroughly enjoyed my ﬁrst run. I now did several more runs and latterly brought the saddle forward, which exaggerates (if necessary) the impression of speed by bringing one’s chin forward only three inches from the ground. The following day I repeated my earlier runs but this time my expert was there to give tuition on hand changing on the two dangerous corners, “ Battledore ” and “ Shuttlecock.” It is essential to get this right before taking these corners at speed. I came to grief on the notorious “ Shuttlecock,” having misjudged the corner by a fraction of a second. I slung the “ skeleton ” away from me as we sailed over the top and came to rest in several feet of snow.

As I emerged, men were already digging for the “skeleton,” which was well buried. The next time I paid a healthy respect to “ Shuttlecock”! Once round “Shuttlecock,” the rest of the course is moderately safe (famous last words) and can be taken fully forward on the

“ skeleton.” On reaching the end, one “ rakes ” hard and stops, listening (rather out of breath) for the time, which is very accurately calculated. then back in a lorry to the start, for the next

run. Having thoroughly enjoyed the Cresta, I gathered my strength and asked if I could ride on the “boblets.” I was told that if anyone wanted a “ brakeman” I could, so I wandered round the pits looking at the pilots and brake— men preparing for the day’s racing. The Boblets are about four feet long and have four runners (placed as the wheels on a car), the front two being steered by a steering wheel. The two men sit in tandem, the pilot steers and the brakeman brakes! The brakes are a set of spikes operated by two levers. The whole contraption weighs two or three hundredweight and can be made heavier by strapping weights under the cushions. At the rear end are two vertical steel hoops, used by the brakeman to shove off at the start. Experts say the race is won or lost at the start. “Give a good shove at the start,” said the pilot, “ keep pushing, jump on, put my safety strap round my back, lean forward, brake when I shout, keep your head in line with mine—and hang on like hell! ” With these instructions ringing in my ears, I pushed the bob over the start, and We were

off. Down and around, the speed ever increas— ing, round “ Sunny” (almost a hairpin), glued to the sled by centrifugal force and seeming almost to stand on our heads. Out of “ Sunny ” and into “ Horseshoe ”—parallel with the road, spectators’ heads zip past, then we climb the steep part trees either side of the road, the course levels off and it is a clear run to the finish. “ Brakes! ” my hands gripped the brake levers and we finished in a cloud of flying ice. Regretfully, three very sun-tanned Royals said goodbye to their many friends and returned to Germany.

Personal THE POLICE SERGEANT would like to thank all n the anonymous “janker wallahs who made a request for him on “ Families’ Favourites” entitled “I can’t love you any more.”

PADRE’S NOTES From the Church’s point of view the past year has been a rewarding one, for without a shadow of doubt we have reduced the number of Sunday morning “bed worsh ippers” con— siderably. Sunday mornings now see more fathers and wives with children “ at foot,” heading for the church. But I must nOt be over optimistic, as there has been, as yet, no

found him a great help whenever the need arose, and in a lighter vein he excelled. I was always scared of cracking a joke with him because he had the happy knack of being able to return it in full measure “pressed down and overﬂowing.” Finally, may I wish Royals every where success in the future and God’s blessi ng. THE PADRE

' \ ”mu/WWWk'sVV/z 7w“

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

need to indent for more chairs, or to ask for a Regimental Policeman outside the church to control the crowd! Since I starte d the evening services, attendance has varied consi derably, but the services are becoming increasingly popular among the Troopers. Up to 17 of them appear quite regularly on Sunday eveni ngs and make it into their own service, takin g it in turns to read the Lesson. Tpr. Duncan is very much to the fore, exerting great influence by his spiritual (and physical!) strength. Since reach ing great heights in the boxing last year, Duncan has caused me a little misgiving, for altho ugh he interests his friends in coming to churc h, judg— ing by the speed at which they arrive I feel dubious as [0 the nature of his persuasion! However, in this Regiment we are decidely the Church Militant, and “muscular Chris— tianity ” is the order of the day. On Tuesday nights the Wolf Cubs meet in my office beside the church. Ther e are seven of them so far and their enthu siasm is as unbounded as is the volume of noise they produce! This small meeting has been knowu to drown the voice of the Orderly Office r taking Guard Parade, and attract the wrath ful atten— tions of Regimental Orderly Sergeants! How— ever, the appearance of these fiery beings in the full panoply of Blue Patrols and Guar d Order does nothing to dim their enthusiasm . Signal— man Barker organises the Cub Troop , assisted by Tprs. Duncan and Lincoln. Mrs. Ireland runs a flourishing Sunday School, also ably assisted by Mrs. Finch and Mrs. Brown. The children had two successful outings last summer, one to the Hanov er Zoo and the other to the Swimming Baths at Wolfenbuttel. At the last Confirmation service We presen ted almost 90 candidates, which is quite a record, and far more than any other Unit in the Division. Before ending this letter, I would like to say how much We are going to miss Major Houstoun. He was a staunch church goer and a reliable “reader of lessons.” I person ally

Marr iages L / Cpl, D. W. Bayne—Miss Beryl Agnes Day At St. Thomas’s, Bedhampton, Hamps hire, on the ZISt December, 1955, L/Cpl, D, W. Bayne was married to Miss Beryl Agnes Day. The best man was Mr. Aldred, L/Cpl . Bayne’s

cousin, and the bridesmaids were the bride’ s niece and the bridegroom’s sister. L/Cpl. Bayne is the Band Master’s nephe w, and has recently been transferred from A Squadron to R.H.Q_ Troop. Instructions to Jockeys in Regimental Team Race, Hanover — Boyd. Hunter-Bl: camera), Fielden.

Some of the east of “ Alladin.”

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

SPORTING

NOTES

Ikacing qutes HEIDESAND (sold) bl. g. a.—Brit.: Ran 4, pl 1. SALINO b1. g. 5.—Ger,: Ran 8, won 1, pl 3.; Brit.: Ran 5, pl 1. SELSKAR ABBEY b. g. 4.—Ger.: Ran II. won 1, pl 4; Brit: Ran 3, pl 1. SKI JUMP gr. g. 4.—Ger.: Ran 6; Brit.: Ran 2, won 1, pl 1. L: G) i»

TOSCA br. m. 4.—Ger.: Ran Io, pl 3; Brit.: Ran 1, won 1.

o =N

WHISPER II ch. m.a.~—Brit.: Ran 2, won I.

:l:

MIGHTY CHALLENGE b. g. 5.—Ger.: Ran 3; Brit: Ran 1.

... N a .N .—a In

OCEAN SPLENDOUR ch. 111. 3.—Gcr.: Ran 2; Brit.: Ran I.

HESABUTY (sold) ch. g. 3.—Ger.: Ran 1, pl 1; Brit.: Ran 2.

.1: C .—9 =S U

A =U E .2 Lu o -—. I:

E a. E H= E :1:

Such are the details of 1955. The stable did not become ‘operational’ until the end of April and included a number of recent imports, who will only be ‘acclimatised’ by this coming season. Early days were made easier by Anthony RuggePrice (13/18 Hussars) who sent Tosca to be trained by us, and Rollo Pain (4/7 Dragoon Guards) who sent Whisper II. We have now taken over Tosca, as the I3th/I8th have moved taken over Tosca, as the I3th/I8th have moved. Our most recent acquisition is Urban, an eight—year-old German horse by Cornet. Urban should be a useful asset, being a winner of six German races in the last two seasons and a proved performer under both sets of races. So we start 1956 with a string of eight horses, four of which are expected to run on Easter Monday. Comparison of racing under B.A.O.R. rules and German racing is interesting. British racing is still strongly supported by a few Regiments, principally 4th Hussars, 9th and 12th Lancers. Horses are divided into three classes: Class I tends to be dominated by a few horses, which are by no means overlooked in the German Free Handicap. So any horse capable of winning a Class I British race should be capable of winning German races. The average German race in which we take part is worth upwards from DM 1,000 (£85) to

“Mighty Challenge“ with evidence of a regrettable

visit to Dr. Isensee.

the winner. Entrance fees are about half what they would be in England and the German race courses pay transport costs on a generous basis for every runner. The German Jockey Club have encouraged and been most sympathetic towards the services in B.A.O.R. They have few amateur riders themselves and are delighted to welcome soldier riders in the surprisingly large number of amateur races framed. Old Royals may be interested to hear that Hans Blume was the leading trainer in Germany last year, and that Heini Schutz, who has always been a great ally, trained the most number of winners. Those in the Regiment who rode for us last season were Major Fielden, Major Fabling, Lt. Boyd, 2/Lt. Hunter-Blair and L/Cpl. Haskyns, who was loaned from the 4th/7th. Cpl. Bee— forth returned to the Regiment as “head lad” last April and is proving as indispensable as ever. The ‘boys’ include Terrell (Epsom), Gardner (Epsom), Stocker (Newmarket), Bleak— ley (Polo Stables, Fayid), and “Toni” (ex—11th Hussars). All horses are, of course, now privately owned. Owners last year were Major Fieldcn, Major Fabling7 Capt. Bradish—Ellames, Lts. Philippi and Birkbeck. Capt. Hodgson has replaced Philippi and Birkbeck, whose success on the track has enabled them to retire. Highlights (or lowlights) of last season were: Grand Military Meeting at Hannover, when we saddled five fancied runners and none was placed; Selskar Abbey (also “fancied ”) ﬁrst past

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

the post at Hannover earlier in the year at 6—1, being disqualiﬁed for ‘bumping’; Duncan Boyd “in the lead” two out at Cologne and then Salino inexplicably deciding that the shortest way home was through the wing. We are hoping for better luck (P management—Ed.) this season.

Boxing Notes During the past year two Regimental Competitions have taken place, commencing with the Novices’ Competition and followed up by the Open Competition, both taking place in early October. After the preliminary rounds, quarter and semi-ﬁnals, the ﬁnals of the Novices’ Competi-

tion took place in the Garrison Gymnasium at Wesendorf on Wednesday, 6th October, and the following was the ﬁnal result by Squadrons for the Novices’ Competition: A Squadron ..................... 192 B Squadron C Squadron ......... HQ. Squadron

HQ, Squadron obtained a commanding lead on points and were presented with the Buckley Trophy by the Commanding Ofﬁcer at the end of the competition. The winners, shown by weights, for the Novices’ Competition were: Bantam Weight: Winner; Tpr. Hanratty, A Squadron; runnerup: Tpr. Charles, A Squadron.

Heavy Weight: Winner: Tpr. Shepherdson, HQ. Squadron; runner-up: L/Cpl. Tasker, HQ. Squadron. Best Boxer:' Cpl. Coleman. Best Loser: L/Cpl, Tucker. Points awarded for the Makins Shield Competition were as follows: HQ. Squadron 8 points A Squadron ............... 6 points C Squadron ............... 4 points B Squadron ............... 2 points The ﬁnals of the Open Boxing Competition were held on ZISt October and the Squadron points for this competition were as follows:

HQ. Squadron .........

77 points

A Squadron ............ 40 points C Squadron 28 points B Squadron ............ Nil The winners of this competition, shown by weights, were: Bantam Weight: Winner: Tpr. Gentile, HQ. Squadron; run— ner—up: L/Cpl. Waghorn. HQ. Squadron. Feather Weight: Winner: Tpr. Hanratty, A Squadron; runnerup: Tpr. Sweeney, C Squadron Light Weight: Winner: Tpr. Breslin, HQ. Squadron; run— ner—up: Tpr. Docherty, A Squadron.

Welter Weight: Winner: Tpr. Murray, C Squadron; runner-

Feather Weight: Winner: Tpr. Ridgeway, C Squadron; runner-up :‘ Tpr. Excell, A Squadron.

up: L/Cpl. Emery, HQ. Squadron. Light Middle Weight:

Light Weight: Winner: Tpr. Docherty, A Squadron; runner up; Tpr. Lister, HQ. Squadron.

Middle Weight:

Light Welter Weight: Winner: Cpl. Coleman, HQ. Squadron; runner-up: Cpl. Elliot, HQ. Squadron. Welter Weight: Winner: Tpr. Brown, A Squadron; runnerup: Tpr. Johnson, A Squadron. Light Middle Weight: Winner: Tpr. Pemblington, A Squadron; runner—up: Tpr. Scully, B Squadron.

Middle Weight: Winner: Tpr. Clark, A Squadron; runner— up: Tpr. McHarg, B Squadron. Light Heavy Weight:

Winner: Tpr. Duncan, HQ. Squadron; runner—up: Tpr. Angus. HQ, Squadron.

The Commander Robson Shield was presented to HQ. Squadron, for the best aggregate, by the Commanding Ofﬁcer at the end of the

mental. 9th Lancers, after extra time, won, and went on to win the ﬁnal. Major Fielden, Major Houston Capt. Ferrand,

competition.

Lt. Birkbeck, Lt. Philippi, Lt. Boyd and Lt.

Medals were also presented to all finalists in the Novices and Open Boxing Competitions by the Commanding Officer. The final results for the Novices’ and Open Boxing were:

Boucher all played during the season. This year we are going to play here on our own ground which has been made really good, thanks to the efforts of Major Fabling and Capt. WilsonFitzgerald. We were delighted to hear that 12th Lancers have now moved fairly close to us and that they are going to play Polo with us here. Most of our old players remain, and we are glad to welcome back Major Armitage, who played frequently in M.E.L.F. We are also pleased to hear that Col. Sanger has been given an appointment not far away, and that he plans to play Polo here. Major Timbrell represented the Regiment at Cowdray Park during the summer, when he was a member of the B.A.O.R. team. Training of young ponies and riders has continued during the Winter, and we are now running four Rides. These are the Colonel’s Polo Ride, the Young Ofﬁcers’ Ride, Other Ranks and Grooms’ Ride, and the Pentathlon Ride. We were sorry to say goodbye to Sgt. Benson who has now left the Army after 22 years’ ser— vice. He has given good service to the Regiment as N.C.O. i/c Stables for over ﬁve years. Cpl. Jackson, and Tprs. Amos and Spackman have also left for civilian life. S.Q.M.S. Brown has now taken over the stables. Lt. Boyd (Paddy IX) represented the Regiment in the Rhine Army Horse Show’s “ Cavalcade of Cavalry ” in full dress. Both Lt. Boyd and Major Fabling attended Equitation Courses at Melton Mowbray during the winter. Lt. Boyd also attended a course organised by Brigadier Hobson, Chief Instructor of which was Major Lynch, early this year, and has been allotted “Nelson” (a B.A.O.R. Show Jumping Committee Horse). Capt. Sivewright (Star), Mrs. Sivewright (Jock), and Lt. Boyd (Penny) comprised the Regimental team in the B.A.O.R. Army Hunter Trials at Dorfmark in October. The team was going well until the water jump which one horse refused; this, alas, meant elimination. We now

A Novices’ Boxing 192 Open Boxing 40

HQ.

31 —

106 28

220 77

Total 232 3r I34 297 The Regimental Boxing Team fought and beat 4th Queen’s Own Hussars in the semi— ﬁnals of 7 Armoured Brigade Inter Unit Boxing Competition on 10th November at Wesendorf by I7 points to 16 points, after a very closely fought contest in which both teams put up an extremely good show. The Regimental Boxing Team then fought the 8th King’s Royal Irish Hussars in the finals at Wesendorf on ztst November, and despite the fact that they were beaten gave a good account of themselves. The Brigadier presented medals to all ﬁnalists.

Equitation Notes Light Welter Weight: Winner: Cpl. Coleman, HQ. Squadron; run— ner-up: Cfn. Marsh, HQ. Squadron.

Winnerz‘ Tpr. Cocksedge, A Squadron; run— ner—up: Tpr. Pemblington, A Squadron.

We had an enjoyable season’s P010 in 1955, and played both here and away. Since the nearest other ground (used for all local matches) is over forty miles from here, it was necessary for us to keep our ponies there during the greater part of the season. Our team consisting of the Colonel, Major Timbrell, Major Fabling and Capt. Wilson-Fitzgerald, played 9th Lancers in the semi—ﬁnal of the B.A.O.R. Inter—Regi-

Winner: Tpr. Clark, A Squadron; runner— up: Tpr. Lakin, HQ. Squadron. Light Heavy Weight: Winner: Tpr. Duncan, HQ. Squadron; runner-up: Tpr. Bean, C Squadron. Heavy Weight:

Winner: Cpl. Sevier, HQ. Squadron; runner—up: Tpr. Pullen, HQ. Squadron. Best Boxer: Tpr. Cocksedge. Best Loser: Tpr. Wilkinson. Points awarded towards the Makins Shield for this competition were: HQ. Squadron A Squadron ................. C Squadron ............ B Squadron .........

have a stable of over 20 Polo Ponies, Jumpers and Hacks, and are looking forward to this season, which we hope will be more successful than last. We are running a Horse Show with 12th Lancers here on 3rd/4th August.

Divisional Ski Championship Paddock Conference —Cpl. Beeforth, Fielden, Toni, Captain Hodgson.

The Regiment entered for the Divisional Ski

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

Divisional Ski Championships Championships, which were held in the Harz Mountains. Thanks to Major Houstoun’s enthusiastic coaching, and much to our surprise we were rewarded with most successful results. The Regiment won the inter-Regimental competition with a time of 4 minutes 8 seconds, beating the 8th Hussars who were second by 6.8 seconds, and the 4th Hussars who were third by 13.8 seconds. In the individual results, 2/Lt. Baring was the ﬁrst home with a time of 1 minute 34.2 seconds, Lt. Boucher was third (1 minute 36.8 seconds), and 2/Lt. Gubbins tied with another ofﬁcer for fourth place (1 minute 37 seconds).

Tune (A Squadron), the Regiment was beaten by 25 runs. After the cup match had been lost, the Royals had a season of ups and downs. We lost heavily to a strong R.A.F. side in spite of noble per— formances by Lt. I. B. Kingston (A.E.R.) who was top scorer with 21 and took two out of four wickets. Capt. B. J. Hodgson took the other two. We beat the 12th Lancers. who came from the Ranges to play us, easily. 2/Lt. P. Baring made 36 and Tpr. Tune (A Squadron) 56 not out. That was enough. The HQ. 7 Armoured Division, captained by Capt. J, B. Evans were too strong, and only Tpr. Ogden (C Squadron) made over 20 against good bowling. The 4 R.H.A. beat us well because their batsmen were not afraid to hit out. Only Tune (A Squadron)

Cricket Notes

and Capt. B. J. Hodgson showed any form for

It is always satisfactory to start off a season by winning the first match, and this the Regimental team duly did. It was played away, against the 12 L.A.A. Regiment. Royals won the toss and put the 12 L.A.A. in to bat on a very wet ground. Capt. Hodgson was on tremendous bowling form, taking six wickets for 20 runs, and the 12 L.A.A. were all out for 76. Royals than batted and Tune (A Squadron), who had not put a pair of pads on since the previous year, made a faultless 47. The Regiment won by seven wickets. The second match proved rather a large hurdle as three of our leading players were away. The match was played away against the R.A.F. The Royals batted first and after a spirited inn— ings of 35 by Major MacDonald, they were all out for 83. The R.A.F. passed the total with six wickets down. The next match provided great excitement. It was played away against 4/ 7 Dragoon Guards. Five of the Royals team arrived late to find that the game had already started; and that they had been put in to bat. When eight wickets were down, they declared at 128. The 4/7 Dragoon Guards then batted, When the last over of the day started, they still needed one run to win, which they did not manage to get until the fifth ball. The Regiment played their next match away against the East Lancashire Regiment; after our opponents had made a quick 147, the rain came to the help of the Regiment who were 34 for 7 when the fielders ran for the pavilion for the last time! The first cup match of the season was played against the 12 L.A.A. Regiment away, whom We

us. L/Cpl. Acford did well in his ﬁrst Regi— mental game, The next match was a great vic— tory for the Royals and only one batsman failed to make more than 10. The Adjutant was second higheSt scorer and hit a six. The last match was another victory, Tpr. Tune (A Squadron) made 58 not out, and Cfn, Fisher took six wickets with his leg-breaks. Results: 15 May v. 12 L.A.A. Won by 7 Wkts. (a) I8 May v. R.A.F. Celle Lost by 4 ,, (a) 4 June v. 4/7 D.G.s Lost by 2 ,, (a) 12 June v. E. Lancs R. Rain stopped play (a) 19 June v. 12 L.A.A Lost by 25 runs (a) (Cup match) 20 July v. R.A.F. Celle Lost by 6 wkts. (h) 31 July v. 12th Lancers Won by 9 ,. (h) 6 Aug. v. HQ. 7 Ard. Div. Lost by 5 ,, (h) 20 Aug. v. 4 R.H.A. Lost by 8 ,. (a)

. 2

i..-

"it:

'91.: A“

The Down Hill Race.

21 Aug. v. H.Q., Hann Dist.

27 Aug. v. Celle Mins.

Won by 9

(a)

Won by 7

(h)

Played 11; Won 4; Lost 6; Rain stopped play 1. Other Games: The Oﬁicers’ Mess beat the Sergeants’ Mess by 65 runs to 35. The Inter-Squadron League ended in a win for HQ. Squadron, with C Squadron second, A Squadron third, and B Squadron fourth.

Cross

Country Running

The Inter~Squadron competition was held this year on 17th December. Up until the last minute it was undecided whether or not the

had already beaten, but this time they proved

meeting would be held, since the conditions were so bad. However, a ﬁeld of 120, 30 from each Squadron, set 0E at the appointed time

too strong, and after a grand innings of 55 by

across the airﬁeld and all ﬁnished the course.

The Start of the Patrol Race.

..1

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

FOOTBALL MATCH with the RUSSIAN ARMOURED DIVISION The first places were filled by H.Q. Squadron, L/Cpl. Tucker coming in an easy first, having led all the way, followed by Tpr. Emery, who was second last year, and third Tpr. Duncan. This made H.Q. Squadron an easy winner, with B Squadron second, A third and C fourth. On 5th January a friendly meeting was arranged over our course with the Devons; a very well trained team, they beat us comfortably, although L/Cpl. Tucker was well up in the front. The Brigade meeting on January 18th was held in pouring rain over an extremely stiff course, consisting mainly of ploughed fields and tank tracks. Our team lasted the course, however, and L/Cpl. Tucker and Tpr. Postlethwaite finished well. We were extremely lucky that the season finished before the really severe weather started.

Hockey Notes We made a very promising start to this year’s hockey season and entered for both the Divi— sional and B.A.O.R. hockey cups. Unfortunately, Russian Troops watching 7th Armoured Division playing Football against Russian Armoured Division ' East Zone.

our enthusiasm was unable to make up for the

inexperience of the team as a whole. The Regimental Square provides an excellent tarmac ground. However, the greatest handicap to this year’s hockey season was the fact that the square was under snow from the middle of January until the middle of March. This meant that the Inter-Squadron and Inter-Troop competitions were not ﬁnished until very late in the season. In the Divisional Hockey Cup we lost by three goals to nil to the Divisional R.E.M.E. in the ﬁrst round, This match was played at home on the 30th November. Only a few days later we went to meet the 77 H.A.A. Regiment in

the first round of the B.A.O.R. Cup, but again lost, this time by six goals to nil. The team chosen to represent the Rovals in both these events was :‘ Goal Keeper: Sgt. Cummings. Backs: Sgt. Shone, Cpl, Mould. Half Backs: Sgt. Smith, L/Cpl. Burr, Cpl. Lowson. Forwards: Lt. W. S. H. Boucher, Sgt. Mainwaring, Cpl. Smith, Cfn. Higginson, Tpr. Burrel_ We were fortunate to be able to arrange some fixtures with neighbouring units during the earlier part of the season. The R.A.F., and 12 L.A.A. played us twice at home and away and we also played 4 R.H.A. at home. At the time of writing, only one home fixture remained on the cards. against the Devonshire Regiment, in April. The Inter—Squadron hockey competition was started on the nth January, but was soon interrupted by a heavy fall of snow. A number of men who had not played before had an opportunity of starting, and proved valuable to their Squadron sides. At the time of writing, only the first round of the competition was completed, and H.Q. Squadron had a clear lead, Winning all their matches. and thereby scoring six points towards the Makins Shield. They also provided the majority of players for the Regimental side. A. B and C Squadrons were all equal with two points each; so the second round. which will be completed by Easter, should prove extremely interesting. It is hoped to play the Inter—Troop Competition as soon as the Squadron event has been finished. Despite this year’s results, we are full of hope for the coming season. Our inexperience can soon be overcome and next year we look forward not only to an enjoyable, but to a more successful season.

Football behind the Iron Curtain During the month of January we heard that the 7th Armoured Divisional Football team would be required to play against a Russian Divisional team, but the actual date and venue were not published. However, early in February it was deﬁnitely decided that this game would be played and would take place at Zossen which is in the Russian Zone of Germany. Major Lewis with Russian Ofﬁcers after the match.

Major C. W. J. Lewis was given the task of forming the Divisional team, and about IO days prior to the game, a total of I7 players from the Division were concentrated in the Regiment for training for this game. Due to the adverse weather conditions prevailing at the time, it was most difﬁcult to get the team together for match practice as most grounds were unplay—

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

able due to the snow and ice. In fact the only games that the Divisional side had were against the Regimental side, but as four of our team

football almost as we play inter—Unit matches,

and the team we had played, the 10th Tank Guard Division, were, at the time, second in their league. All the Russian spectators at the game, less families, were all dressed in uniform and were all dressed alike. There were a number of families present and full use was being made of the cameras that all seemed to carry.

had also been selected to train with the Divi— sional side it was difﬁcult to get the teams really trained correctly. During the training the Divisional Commander, Major-General G. C.

Cooper visited the Regiment and spoke to all

During the interval, and after the game our

Part of the Refreshment Table laid after the match

spectators could purchase any food or drink they required from the hall, where the Russians had also arranged an exhibition of arts and crafts by their soldiers and families. Judging by the cheerful faces seen after the game it was obvious that Russian vodka warmed up several of the spectators! Arrangements had been made for the party to leave Wunsdorf at 3.30 p.m., but due to the most excellent arrangements and catering, the

party left almost two hours late, and returned by the same route; again being guided by a Russian officer. On return to the British Sector of Berlin, it was announced that release of the game had been made to the Press, and reporters and representatives of various radio networks were on hand to interview the players and ofﬁcials. There is no doubt that the Russians obviously take their sport very seriously now, and go to great lengths to ensure that they get good re— sults. Their players were very clean playing and were most correct and had obviously been well briefed prior to the game. However, it was a most enjoyable trip and it was the ﬁrst game that had taken place between the Russian and British Armies since the end of World War II. All our own players and spectators were unanimous that it was indeed a most interesting and amusing experience.

against the Russians.

THE MAKINS SHIELD The placings for the 1956 Makins Shield as The Eagle goes to press are: Squadron

Squadron

A Old Comrades Shield (Driving and Maintainence) Old Comrades Shield (Annual Maintainence) . Steel Cup (Small Arms) McEwan Younger Cup (Gunnery) Drill Competition Count Quadt Cup (Football) Commander Robson Shield (Open Boxing) . Buckley Shield (Novices Boxing) Katyal Cup (Cross Country) Scissors Cup (Athletics) Cavalrv Depot Bowl (Swimming) de Lisle Cup (Cricket) Challenge Shield (Hockey) Tennis Trophy Basket Ball Burmcister Cup (Stengun & Pistol) Inter Troop Football Inter Troop Hockey Best Riﬂe Shot Best Bren Team Best Revolver Shot Totals

“

9 is

18 -

HQ. 5

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the Chief of Staﬁc to the Russian Forces in East Germany visited the hall and spoke a few words. One noticeable fact was that the waitresses serving the luncheon were all Russians and were very expert at their job. During the conversation which took place during the luncheon, we heard that the Russian team had been together for two seasons, and that at the start of the football season they are concentrated and do not rejoin their Regiments until the season has ended. The lowest rank of any player was junior sergeant, and the highest rank was master sergeant which is equivalent to a Regimental Sergant—Maior. They also play inter-Divisional

The results of the Makins Shield for 1955 were as follows:

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eventually ran out winners by ﬁve goals to one. The goal for the Divisional side was scored by L/Cpl. Brown of the Regiment who was playing at left—half. Also included in the team were Tpr. Hughes at centre—half, and Tpr. Watson at outside right. L/Cpl. Lea had been selected as reserve. The trainer was Sgt. ColeEvans, D.C.M., also from the Regiment. A Russian Band played selections before the game and also during the interval. After the game both teams and officials had luncheon at the very large HQ. which had been placed at our disposal for dressing rooms. The greatest care had been taken to arrange this lunch with even the smallest details being care— fully arranged, and it was a great success. Interpreters, most of whom were Russian officers, were arranged with the teams, and toasts were drunk to the excellent game and to all players and ofﬁcials. During the luncheon

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the players. On 16th February, the team and officials proceeded by Regimental ’bus from W'esendorf to Berlin, where the match was due to take place on the 17th February. They were extremely well catered for by the HQ. Berlin Independent Brigade and everyone was made comfortable. On the morning of the 17th February, the team, plus approximately 100 spectators, who had travelled up overnight, embussed in four large Mercedes ’buses and proceeded to the Pots— dam Bridge. Here the party was met by a Russian officer who then acted as guide to the party and proceeded to Wunsdorf, Zossen, which is approximately 45 kilometers from Berlin. Arriving at our destination in a snowstorm, at about 11.30 hours, we were informed that the match was due to commence at mid— day. Permission had been given for photographs to be taken by spectators and it was obvious that every effort had been made by the Russians to ensure that everyone was well looked after. Punctually, at midday, the game commenced in a snowstorm, and the ground was covered in about four inches of frozen snow. It was obvious from the start that the Russian side was very good and had been extremely well trained. They were very quick on the ball and had the art of moving very quickly into the open spaces, and our fellows were simply bewildered by their fast moving play. It was also most notable that the ball seldom left the ground, and their ground passing was most accurate and quick. The spectators were quick to applaud good play on both sides, and on the few occa— sions that our own players did play well they were well cheered by the Russians. The officials controlling the game were a Russian officer, who was a referee, and both linesmen who were British, and had come from the British Sector in Berlin. One very noticeable thing was that the referee controlled the game from one side of the field, and had both lines— men on the opposite side of the field. The system seemed to work extremely well and the game was most certainly well controlled. The Russian side were far superior to our team and

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The Makins Shield was presented to HQ. Squadron by the Divisional Commander on Waterloo Day last year. The presentation followed immediately after the driving competi— tion, which was won by A Squadron. Lt. W. S. H. Boucher. the Captain of the A Squadron driving team, received the Old Comrades Shield, also from the Divisional Commander.

Assault Troop Competition Drill Competition . Commander Robson Shield Buckley Shield. . Katyal Cup Cavalry Depot Bowl Inter-Troop Football Challenge Shield Inter-Troop Hockey de Lisle Cup Total

is 7% 20 20 ' r

, _‘ ..

9 9 _.

1021;

1663

HQ. Squadron are well ahead at present, but A Squadron, lying second, may pull up a little, for at the time of writing, your reporter is fresh from the ﬁnals of the Assault Troop Competition. These consisted of an assault course, followed by a falling plates competition at 200 yards, each Squadron providing one assault section. A Squadron’s assault section easily won this event, with a time of 6min. 555cc. from the start of the assault course to the time they dropped their last falling plate. Other timings were: C Squadron. 10min. 523cc. HQ. Squadron, I4 min. 10sec. B. Squadron, 14min. 2.5 sec. The event, which took place on the 6th April, was watched by Brigadier A. H. Pepys, 0.3.0., Colonel of The Regiment, in a series of short blinding snowstorms which considerably hampered the shooting sections.

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

The winning section was led and consisted of: Sgt. Hook Tpr. L/Cpl. Burr Tpr. L/Cpl. Gregory Tpr. Tpr. O’Shaughnessy Tpr. Tpr. Moreland Tpr. Tpr. Hughes

by 2/Lt. Farmer, Peach Millband Russell Stone Harding

F s

occasions. Rumour has it that the Q.M. has been building a team, much to the disgust of some people, during the past few months and hopes to turn the tables on his opponents this season. Now for Regimental activities: During the summer months many enjoyable and really good games were played against local German sides and everyone appeared to enjoy both the games and the entertainment afterwards. We are look— ing forward to the return games this summer, and we are sure that we shall have some really good sport from them.

«W

Swimming Notes This year the weather was kind to us and the bath was open from May until the beginning of September. The inter‘Squadron meeting for the Cavalry Depot Bowl was held on 2nd July, on a ﬁne sunny day. Unfortunately, this had to be sand— wiched between two exercises and did not give the Squadrons as much time to train as they would have liked. C Squadron, ably led by 2/Lt Douglas—Mann, proved to be easy victors, winning all the relays and providing two individual winners. Results: Ist 2nd Freestyle Relay C B BackStroke C B Breast Stroke C B B Diving C C tMedley Relay HQ.

Individual Freestyle H.Q. L/Cpl. Lloyd Breast Stroke B L/Cpl. Taylor Back Stroke H.Q. Tpr. Lister Diving C Tpr. Rees The Cavalry Depot Bowl I C Squadron 44 points 2 B Squadron 24 ,, 3 HQ. Squadron 23 ,, 4 A Squadron 21 ,, Thanks are due to Mrs. Massey for very kindly presenting the prizes, and to 3.8.1. Moore for all his help in organising the meeting The standard had been very high, and pro— vided some very useful material for the Regi— mental team for the Divisional Championships to be held on July 19th and 20th. But with another exercise taking place, we were left with very little time for training. However, we managed to get two visits to the baths, and also to some local baths down the road, which helped considerably. We went to the meeting with as much chance as any other team, but knowing that some had had far more opportunities for practice than we had. The ﬁrst day consisted of heats for the individual events and proved to be very satisfactory,

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

Major Houstoun -——- Chain of Command Race.

the Regiment having five finalists. The next day L/Cpl. Lloyd and Tpr. Bean swam extremely well in the 100 metres freestyle, coming in first and second. L/Cpl. Taylor won a very exciting race by inches in the 100 metres breast stroke, and Cpl. Hayes swam very pluckily to come third in the 200 metres freestyle. These races obviously took a lot out of the members of the team competing, but we held our own well in the 6 X 50, and 4 x 100 metres freestyle races. \Ve held our own in the back stroke, and until this point were lying third, but in an exciting breast stroke relay, we were “pipped at the post” by the Divisional R.E.M.E. team. who beat us by half—a—point into third place in the final placings. However, it was a very good show by our team, and as some of the team are still with us, we hope that we shall do even better this year.

Football Notes Another Football season has ended and although we cannot say that we have had such a successful season as we normally do, we have given a very good account of ourselves in most of the competitions that we entered. The Inter-Troop Football competition was concluded at the end of August and the ﬁnal game was between S.H.Q. of B Squadron and the Q.M, Group. After a most excellent and thrilling game the B Squadron troop eventually ran out winners by 3 goals to 2. They thor— oughly deserved their win (with the inclusion of fOur Regimental players in their team) and the QM. Group are also to be congratulated on giving them such a Close game. This is the ﬁfth

year in succession that the Q.M. Group have been in the ﬁnal, having won the cup on two

DIVISIONAL CUP In the first round of the Divisional Cup we were drawn at home against 6th Field Regiment R.A., and as we had already beaten this team on their ground earlier in the season it was obvious that our players thought the game was won even before they had played. As a result they received a very severe setback and were eventually beaten by four goals to one. This was all the more disappointing because the following week we played the same team in the Divisional league and beat them by 10 goals to nil. ARMY CUP When the draw for the first round was announced it was found that we were to play against the East Surrey Regiment. We had memories of our excellent game against this team when We met them in the semi-final of the Army (Egypt) Cup and we knew that we should require our best play to beat this team. This we did by four goals to two after a most excellent, clean and sporting game. We were now draWn against the Royal Berk— shire Regiment and this indeed proved a first class game. It was broadcast over the British Forces Network and the issue was in doubt right up to the final kick of the game. At the end of full time both teams had scored two goals each, and during the extra time every effort was made by both teams to score the winning goal. This was eventually scored by our opponents with the very last kick of the match. We congratulate the winners on their victory, although if our for-

wards had taken advantage of their opportunities they should have clinched the game long before the extra time period.

CAVALRY CUP Our luck of the draw was certainly with us

in this competition, and in the ﬁrst round we were drawn at home against the 16/5th Lancers This we won rather easily by 5 goals to 2. Next we were drawn against the 12th Royal

Lancers. This team had beaten the 4th Queen’s Own Hussars in the previous round. However, it was obvious from the commencement of the game that they were no match for our team and we ran out easy winners by 7 goals to nil. We could still see that our weakness was in the for— ward line and if we could have found a centre forward with a little more speed and punch then we would have won by double figures. In the semi—final we had to play the 5th Inniskilling Dragoon Guards who had won their section in the United Kingdom. From reports it was obvious that as a Training Regiment they had formed a very good team, and it would require everything we had if we were to reach the final of the competition for the second year in succession. The 5th D.G. played their full complement of three professionals and it was obvious from the start of the game that they were a very even and well balanced side. For some unknown reason our fellows were well below their normal standard and were well and truly beaten by 7 goals to I. We congratulate the winners on their victory and also on winning the Cavalry Cup the following week, when they played the 3rd Carbiniers in the final game. DIVISIONAL LEAGUE Due to the great distances involved this league was divided into three sections, and the winners of each league were then to play each other once to decide the championship. The following were the results in our section of the league:— Royals 6 Div. O.F.P. Royals 4 4th R.H.A. Royals 5 110 Coy. R.A.S.C. Royals IO 6th Field Regt. R.A. Royals 3 4th Q.O. Hussars . Royals I3 28th Field Ambulance Royals 7 9th Locating Bty., R.A. Royals 6 12 L.A.A. Regt. R.A. Royals 4 1 Devons As a result of these games we won the A Section of the league by a clear four points. We heard that the 4/ 7th Royal Dragoon Guards had won the B Section and that 31 Armoured Workshops R.E.M.E_ had won the C Section of the League. Our first game in the final games was at home against the 4/ 7th Royal Dragoon Guards. This team had reached the semi-final of the B.A.O.R. Cup and had also beaten us in a friendly game on our own ground by 4 goals to I. It was obvious that our players were out to avenge this defeat, and as we had had several good forwards recently posted in we were very confident that we could turn the tables. Our confidence was such, that this game was arranged to be played NHNOUtOONN

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

here during the visit of The Colonel of the Regi— ment, Brigadier A. H. Pepys, D.S.0. On a very fine, dry, but cold day both teams took the field, and after a very good game which was not as one—sided as the score suggests, we won com— fortably by 8 goals to nil. The following Saturday we had to visit the 31 Armoured Workshops who had a few days previously won the B.A.O.R. Minor Units Cup Competition, and we realised that we had to go on to the field and give of our best. As a result of this game we beat the \Vorkshops by 4 goals to nil and, therefore, we are the Divisional League champions for the season 1955/56. During the season a number of players have left us and We wish them the very best of luck in civilian life. We are sure that most of them enjoyed their football with the Regiment, and we know only too well that a number were loathe to leave us, in the knowledge that they would not get the same opportunities in civilian life as they did here. To mention a few: we wish the best of luck to L/Cpl. Brown, who is now on the books of Dunfermline, and hope to see his name with the Scottish League side ere long; good luck to Tprs. Blackburn and Breslin who obviously were loathe to go; to Tpr. Sloan, who is with Everton, and was a very fine goalkeeper; and finally, to L/Cpl. Bamford who played at centre forward for us and could always be relied upon to give of his best in every game. Soon we shall be losing Cpl. Syme and Cpl. Coleman, and we shall miss both these players very much. The very best of luck to all of them and we hope they are as successful in civilian life as they were with us. To the following players who have been with us most of the season, we say “ thank you for all your good work and wonderful team spirit”: Sgt. Lloyd, our Armourer Sergeant, who is a tower of strength, and now that he has taken over captaincy of the side has done extremely well; L/Cpl. Lea, a very stalwart and reliable left back; Tpr. Hughes, a young professional from Raith Rovers, who has replaced R.S.M. Edwards at centre half; L/Cpl. Wood who has joined us from the Boys’ Squadron, and if he will quicken himself up on the field has the makings of an excellent half back; Tpr. Smith, who has played at outside right but has now taken over the centre forward berth very effec—

tively; and L/Cpl. Ogden, who is a very good inside forward but must move quicker, and when he does he will be of the highest standard. It would not be fair to close without mentioning our three new players who have recently joined us and who have assisted us to win the ﬁnal two games in the league. These are Tpr. Wallhead at out— side right, who is a very capable and fast player,

Tpr. Dale at inside right, and Tpr. Bonas at outside left. These lads have added much punch to our forward line and if they can maintain this form then we are assured of a very good side for next season. There is also Tpr. Melville, who joined us from the K.D.G. and is a good goalkeeper. It is with regret that we say fare— well to R.S.M. Edwards from the Regimental side. This W.O. has been a regular player for ten years and has been a tower of strength throughout. We must thank him for all that he has done for regimental football; when a younger and faster player joined the Regiment he was the ﬁrst to suggest that he should take his place. We hope that our players in the future will show the same spirit as R.S.M. Edwards; he was a player to be feared whenever he took the ﬁeld. Fearless in tackling he never faltered and always found time to marshal his side when necessary. Good luck to him, and we hope that we shall have his valuable assistance in running our side in the future. In addition to our Regimental activities the Divisional XI were concentrated here prior to their trip to the Russian Zone. Details of this

are published elsewhere, but we would like to congratulate the following on their part in this successful trip: Major Lewis on being appointed manager and coach, Sgt. Cole Evans as trainer, L/Cpl. Brown, Tprs, Hughes and Watson on being selected to play, and L/Cpl. Lea on being selected as reserve. Well done, and we hope we shall have even more representatives in the return game. Regimental football ended on the 16th April, and Squadron football commenced on the 18th April, so we are still maintaining our reputation of “ We Never Close,” much to the annoyance of the cricketers. Immediately the Squadron football is completed then the Troop Competition will start, and we hope to end this just before the beginning of the official football

season.

REGIMENTAL RIFLE MEETING The riﬂe meeting opened at seven o’clock on the morning of Friday, 27th April, with poor light and a slight ground mist.

The ﬁrst match was the Steele Cup (Inter— Squadron riﬂe), which was won by HQ. with an aggregate of 4.25 points, then C with 380

1955 Assault Section Competition — 2/ Lt. Macdermot’s Section.

and last A with 315. Sgt. Remfrey (B) had the best score of 105. At half-past-nine the Burmeister Cup (InterSquadron Sten gun) was competed for, and easily won by A Squadron with 599 points. A Squadrons’ ace Sten-gunner was Tpr. McGregor with a total of 122. Other scores were: C 561, HQ. 534, B 430. The Miles Cup (Squadron L.M.G. pairs) started at mid—day and by this time it was fine and sunny with a cross—wind from the East. H.Q. won this competition with 359, C and A Squadrons were equal second with 341, and B Squadron last with 272. Tpr. Galvin and Tpr. Peters, of B Squadron, were the best pair with a total of 162. The Moti Ram Cup (Squadron pistol) was won by HQ. with a total of 289. A were second with 257, followed by B (236) and C (199). The Individual pistol was won by Major Timbrell with 73 points; the R.S.M. was second with 68. On the second day, Saturday, 28th April, the weather was warm and sunny, there was a slight heat haze round the butts and a light wind blowing straight dOWn the range. The O’Shaughncssy Vase (Individual rifle) was the first event. This was won (not too easily) by Sgt, Reinfrey (B) with 94, closely followed by R.S.M. Edwards with 93. Third was Tpr. Taylor (B) with 88 and equal fourth S.Q.M.S. Brown (H.Q.) and 2/Lt. Gubbins

Unfortunately he had not been nominated by A Squadron as part of their team and so his win did not qualify A Squadron for the five points that it carried towards the Makins Shield. Cpl. Hayes (C) was second with 120 (gaining five points for C Squadron towards the Makins Shield), and Capt. Bucknall (A) was third with 117 points (gaining two points towards the Makins Shield). Cpl. Clay (H.Q.) was fourth with 110 points. The final placing of all Squadrons was: First H.Q. 70 Second A 52

Third

Fourth B 35 The meeting ended with the traditional Falling Plates Competition between the Officers’ and Sergeants’ Messes. Here there was a resounding reversal of the usual result! Each Mess produced an A and B team of six men, both teams having to knock down twelve plates; first with all the plates down was the winner. The Officers’ A team beat the Sergeants easily, the latter still having four plates standing when the officers had finished. Then just to rub it in, the Officers’ B team beat the Sergeants’ B team, who still had five plates standing when the oflicers had finished. Taking into consideration that the previous night was a Sergeants’ Mess night, and the teams had to run from the 300 yards firing point to the 200 yards point first, perhaps the result was not so surprising after all. A word of praise must be given to the Mus— ketry Officer, Lt. Jacobs, and the butt parties under Sgt. Thornton and Cpl. Simpson who worked so hard to make the meeting a success.

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

off, letting rain run in rivulets down his neck under his shirt, ending up in a watery belt at his waist line. He is upset; visibly so. The operator says that there is going to be an atomic explo— sion, everyone must Wear gas masks and close down all A.F.V.s. The 2 i/c says that it is nothing to the explosion there is going to be if this exercise goes on in this vein much longer. The driver and operator religiously put on their gas masks, looking pointedly at each other. The C.V. returns to “ the ideal wireless position.” The 2 i/c decides not to be caught again and stays in the car keeping the crew with him. He calls R.H.Q. He puts a handkerchief over

Conversation Piece (Scene:

3 Divisional signals exercise, for

Regimental and Squadron Headquarters only.

It is raining, as always). R.H.Q. Command Vehicle: “ Hallo 2, I want you to go down to the river immediately to your south and make contact with friends, who will probably be on the bridges.” Squadron Command Vehicle: “ 2, wilco out.” Half an hour pass-es, during which time the second—imcommand of the Squadron has dug

himself out of his folding chair in a barn, rolled up about ﬁfty yards of “jumper lead,” grabbed a “swarming” map (the command map board being too big, only for show, and looking more like a surealist picture than an “ ops ” map any— way) nosed his driver out of the local “Gas— thaus,” told the operator to put away his comics, and got the C.V. rolling towards the river. The rain pours down, the 2 i/c has left his jeep coat in the barn (“ used to be an old sheepskin from Palestine, had it cut down and put into this jeep coat, eSSential if one is to think at all in this weather ”) and is getting very wet. They motor across the bridge, along the bank and across another. There is no one about—even the farmers have the sense to stay indoors. They return to their “ideal wireless position.” The driver goes into the “gasthaus,” and the operator gets out his comics, and the 2 i /c sprawls in his folding chair in the barn, with ﬁfty yards of wire leading to the C.V. outside. He lights a cigarette, and picks up the microphone to call R.H.Q. again.

Squadron C.V.: “Hello 2,” (hesitant voice), “ when you said ‘the river immediately to your south ’ I suppose you meant the nearest one? ” R.H.Q. C.V.: “2 yes, over.” Sqn. C.V.: “2 Roger out.” The Squadron 2 i/c thinks life is quite b—y.

There are no troop leaders to pass these teasers on to, there is no squadron leader to whom one can say “ R.H.Q. are at it again. Really, what do they think we are! ” and sit back in one’s chair with a steaming mug of tea (laced with a little something) while ex “ Desert Rat” sorts it all out. Nothing for it but to go down to the inde— scribable river again. . . . The rain has turned to sleet, the 2 i/c digs himself out of his folding chair, rolls up his yards of wire, remembers his jeep coats, forgets his swarming map, jumps into the car, jumps out again to ﬁnd the operator (who had suddenly had to go away to do some— thing no one else can help him with) to tell him to get the driver out of the “Gasthaus.”

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

the microphone to simulate speech through a.

Major Fielden combines business with pleasure.

The C.V. trundles off down to the river (which now belies all description) once again. . . . There is no one on the bridges, and apart from the level of the water (which has risen slightly) there is no change at all. The 2 i/c thinks:'— 1. He has got the wrong river. 2. He has got the right river, and “friends ” have got the wrong river. 3. If he has the wrong river, this is going to take a bit of “playing off the cuff ! ” 4. Life is absolutely . . . indescribable! The issue is confused at this point by the arrival over the air, of an impossibly long slidex message from R.H.Q. The 2 i/c whose head and shoulders are out of the turret, cannot move to ask the operator what it is all about because his jeep coat is so big that he is jammed there. He pretends he is “on i/c” (intercom to the driver) and hasn’t heard it, hoping the operator will use that initiative for which all class II squadron command operators are renowned, and decode it. He does. He pulls the 2 i/c’s trouser leg to attract his attention. The 2 i/c bends down, his headsets catch on the bren gun mounting on the turret ring and pull his beret

gas mask Squadron C.V.: “Hello 2, reference your message about friends to the south. I have made a thorough recce and there is no one there. over ” R.H.Q. C.V.: “ 2 Roger, you were not actu— ally meant to go south, over.” Squadron C.V.: “ 2 ” pause, “ Roger,” pause, (nearly says “why not”), “I must have misunderstood you, over.” Squadron C.V.: “ No, friends to the south are imaginary, over.” Squadron C.V.: “ Roger, Roger, understood ” (penny has dropped, and the 2 i/c mentally kicks himself, and R.H.Q.). “I only made an imag— inary recce, of course, and have now left two imaginary sub units on the bridges to make contact with imaginary friends, over.” R.H.Q. C.V.: “Roger, good. Interesting to note how well one can hear you speaking with your respirator on, over.” Squadron C.V.: “2—yes—amazing! out.”

abroad. Further details may be obtained from The General Secretary, 2, Charterhouse Mews, London, E.C.1.

Corps of Commissionaires This long established and famous Corps, recruited from the ranks of the Regular Forces of the Crown, is organised in Divisions covering Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as follows: Corps Headquarters and London Division Headquarters : London: Exchange Court, 419, Strand, W.C.2. (Tenn 6453), Divisional Headquarters (“Outquarters”) at: Birmingham: 14, James Watt Street. (Central

0651). Manchester: 2, St. John Street, Dcansgate. (Blackfriars 0807). Liverpool: 21, Dale Street. (Central 7228). Glasgow: 230, West Regent Street. (Douglas

3003). Edinburgh: 99, Shandwick Place. (Fountainbridge 8250), Leeds: 35, Park Square. (242293). Newcastle: 8, Higham Place. (22904). Bristol: 90, Colston Street. (21414). Belfast: 124, Donegal Street. (25962). There is an Officer or Warrant Officer at each of the above headquarters, assisted by one or more Staff-Sergeants of the Corps. Correspondence and enquiries should be addressed in the first instance to the Officer Commanding the nearest Division.

Royal Armoured Corps War Memorial Benevolent Fund ASSISTANCE FOR EDUCATION

The Forces Motoring Club This club has established Branches in various parts of the United Kingdom and in some over— seas theatres. There are about twenty—six branches and two thousand members at present. Owing to the help of ex-service members now employed in industry and commerce, it has proved possible to secure for members a number of economic privileges including concessions in the cost Treasury Approved Vehicle Insurance, lubricants, anti-freeze, batteries, brake linings, tyres and other essential supplies. The club is recognised by and associated with the R.A.C.; consequently R.A.C. members of the Forces Motoring Club have their R.A.C. subscriptions reduced by ten shillings annually. Rallies and other events are run at home and

The Committee feel that information about the help that can be given towards the education of children of deceased or badly disabled members of the Corps, whether Ofﬁcers or other ranks, is not yet sufﬁciently widely known. The best, and in many cases the only way of spreading this knowledge, is by personal contact with widows, many of whom have lost contact with their husbands’ Regiments and are unaware of the existence of this Fund. The Committee appeals to any who know of such a case to inform the widow and advise her to apply to the Secretary, Royal Armoured Corps War Memorial Benevolent Fund, “ HQ.” R.A.C. Centre, Bovington Camp, Wareham, Dorset. (Telephone Bovington Camp 321, Ext.

47).

THE JOURNAL or THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

A GLEAM OF SNOW Of course neither of us are entitled to write

VISIT TO THE ROYAL CANADIAN DRAGOONS

this article, he broke his ankle and I twisted mine, that at least should be sufﬁcient to en— courage you to try for yourselves next year. Try to picture a glass-hard slope, gradient about six in seven, and yourself with skis on, standing at the top, then imagine the moment after starting the downhill plunge! You get used to it after

a time, but it helps when you can st0p at the bottom; this may seem simple to you, but try it sometime! Let’s start at the beginning. The Corps Winter Training Centre is in Goslar, at the foot of the Harz Mountains; that was our destination. When we arrived, we were greeted in true Army fashion by a S /Sgt. (whom the infantry chose to call “Colour ”). We were not impressed by

our billets, but were told they were warm and dry, and no more was guaranteed, this later proved to be true. Perhaps they thought that the cavalry would be at home on straw, however, straw paliasses were the issue of the day. The evening was spent in drawing skis, boots, sticks, suits and gloves; and “trying on” and Next morning was very cold and no one liked the idea of a journey to Sonnenburg, 18 miles away, and some thousand feet higher in a 3tonner. We don’t know how lucky we are in the R.A.C., the canvasses on infantry 3—tonners are riddled with holes and are undoubtedly de— signed for cool summer breezes! We arrived at the ski-hut, Sonnenburg, frozen stiff, no understatement; the only thing that thawed us, was N.A.A.F.I.-type tea, and only then were we capable of beginning our long— awaited ski-ing course. Now skis are flat, and when snow is flat and hard like glass, the skis with their wearers are violently affected by gravity. They must, for example, be fitted only when you are on a level

longest trek was 15 kilometres, No matter how far we went, dinner was always devoured with great gusto. Each afternoon we progressed to a bigger slope, and learnt to stop and turn. We were most impressed by the ski-ing abilities of our instructors, Fritz and Kurt; par— ticularly their slow and controlled movements on almost vertical slopes. If any of us had been let loose on those slopes in the ﬁrst days, we would deﬁnitely have landed in the British Mili— tary Hospital. We were lucky enough Q) to choose the coldest days of the winter. On Wednesday, the rst of February, at 10 am, the ski—hut’s thermo— meter registered 50 degrees of frost, and several people suffered from frost—bite! Even with four pairs of socks and special boots, our feet were cold all day. We wore all the clothes we had, from pyjamas to “Long— Johns ” and windproofs and gloves. The afternoons ended with tea and biscuits

surface, or the unattended ski will slip quietly

G.S., before the journey back to Goslar.

away. Having successfully recaptured that un— suspecting ski (by a downhill frontal attack) and having ﬁrmly secured both, the next problem is quite simply to stand up; this is not simple. After more falls than can be recounted. six worn-out Royals were ready to start. We set off in line across country, this was to get us acquainted with our 6ft. shoes. “ Crosscountry ” on skis is hard work and all the hills in this part of the Harz seem to be “up—hills,” though the few downhill stretches made up for all the ski-slogging. Each morning was spent ski— ing through the snow-covered woodlands. Our

In spite of the cold and the breaks and bruises, we all enjoyed our course. and will remember the fun we had at that little hut so aptly named: “ A gleam of snow.” Tram AND FIBULA

“ ﬁtting out ” ready for the morrow.

CONTRIBUTORS Contributions of photographs, cartoons, and articles of general interest are required for next year’s Eagle. Please send them to the Editor of The Eagle, The Royal Dragoons, B.A.O.R. 11, before 15th April, 1957.

The Queen’s Birthday Parade at Divisional H.Q.

Earlier this year a party of Officers and Sergeants of A Squadron, The Royal Canadian Dragoons paid a visit to the Regiment. In return three Officers and five senior N.C.O.s of the Regiment were asked to spend a week-end with them in the South—Western part of Ger— many. Those who went were Major Timbrell. M.C., Capt. Wilkinson_ Lt. Thellusson. the R.S.M., Sgt—Major Bradley, S.Q.M.S. Lynd, Sgt. Cole-Evans, D.C.M., and Sgt. Collerton. After a long car journey the party eventually arrived in the evening of Friday, 16th March. to stay for two days. After an early evening meal they were driven to a neighbouring Canadian Regiment to watch an ice hockey match. The game turned out to be anything but hockey on ice. The main idea appeared to be to completely “wipe out” the referee. and once he was unconscious do likewise to the opposition! When this had ended they returned to a party in the Sergeants’ Mess of the R.C.D.s. A wonderful table of cold food was laid out and drinks were plentiful. Saturday morning started a little late, as may well be imagined, but when the party was eventually on its feet, it was taken on a tour An ice hockey match was of the camp. organised for the afternoon_ with the Officers of both Regiments on one side and the

Sergeants of both Regiments on the other. This turned out to be the greatest fun. All the kit

was provided, which included pads for every conceivable part of the body! The game was scheduled to last for 60 minutes. but it was not until after two—and—a—half hours that they decided to blow the whistle. In the evening a dance was held in the Ofﬁcers’ Mess; all wives of Ofﬁcers and Sergeants were asked. Again the food was excellent and the drink unlimited. Some people even found time to dance. Sunday morning was taken up by a visit to the Mohne Darn. This was indeed a great surprise. The Dam, as many people will know, was the main objective of the Dam Busters in the last war. The party was even more fortunate in having a member of the Dam Busters to accompany them to the Dam. After lunch on Sunday the party reluctantly had to leave. They all agreed that it was a wonderful week—end and all look forward to their next meeting with our Canadian friends.

ENSURE YOUR COPY OF “THE EAGLE ” AFTER YOU LEAVE BY JOINING THE O.C.A. ASK YOUR S.Q.M.S.

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

Births Capt. C. E. W. Ferrand, a son, Michael Charles William, on Ist May, 1955, at Fernwood House, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 2 Cpl. Williams, a daughter, Diane Margaret, on 19th May, 1955, at B.M.H. T/Major Darling, a daughter, Susan Peggy, on 7th June, 1955, at B.M.H. Sgt. Remfrey, a son, Donald Stephen, on 7th July, 1955, at B.M.H. Sgt. Webb, a son, Graham Joseph, on 6th July, 1955, at B.M.H. Cpl. Thorpe, a daughter, Margaret. on 17th September, 1955, at B.M.H. Cpl. Woodward, a daughter, Judith Ann, on Ist October, 1955, at B.M.H. S/Sgt. Dawes (R.E.M.E.), a daughter, Sheila Elizabeth, on 8th October, 1955, at B.M.H. Cpl. Mackay, a son, James, on 6th November, 1955, at Westerholz, B.A.O.R. Cpl. Woodcock, a son, Paul, on 12th February, 1956, at Combermere Barracks, B.A.O.R. Sgt. Manwaring, a son, Trevor John, on 13th March, 1956, at B.M.H. L/Cpl. Whellans, a daughter, Lauren Frances, on 23rd March, 1956, at B.M.H. Sgt. Plumbly, a son, Stuart James. on 22nd January, 1955, at Leith, Edinburgh.

Deaths L/Cpl.‘ Wilson, on 17th August, 1955, at Combermere Barracks. B.A.O.R

Marriages Major P. B. Fielden, M.C., to Caroline Mary Burder, on 26th April, 1955, at St. Mark’s,

North Audley Street, London. Major R. H. D. Fabling to Fiona Faith Campbell-Gray, on 11th June, 1955, at The Parish Church of St. Margaret, Westminster. London. Tpr. Lister ’744 (HQ. Squadron), to Joan Campbell, on 5th February, 1955, at Shipley Parish Church, Shipley, Yorks. S/Sgt. Hill (R.E.M.E.) to Dorothy Irene Smith, on 14th February, 1955, at The Registry Ofﬁce, Stratford Street, Wolverhampton, Staﬂs. Cpl. Thorpe to Mary Bryden Gibson, on 19th March, 1955, at St. Alban’s Church, Bournemouth, Hants. Tpr. Lawler ’944 (HQ. Squadron), to Betty Neil, on 9th April, 1955, at St. Mary’s Church, Hayling Island, Southsea, Hants. Cpl. Wilson (R.E.M.E.) to Mary Fenwick Dingley, on 28th May, I955, at Corpus Christie

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

Church, Gateshead, Durham. Cpl. Hayes to Alice Fowles, on 11th June, 1955, at \Vhitchurch Registry Ofﬁce, Whitchurch, Shropshire. Cpl. Cooke to Emmi Else Anna Elly Cowley, on 9th July, 1955, at The Garrison Church. Cfn. Talbot ’227 (A Squadron) to Isobelle Coulter Faulds, on Ist August, 1955, at the Registry Ofﬁce, Paisley, Renfrewshire. Tpr. Brown ’307 (HQ. Squadron) to Shirley Anne Spicer, on 20th August, 1955, at St. Mary’s Church, Portsmouth, Hants. Bdsmn. Thomason to Margaret Francis, on 3rd September, 1955, at St. Peter’s Church, Blackley, Manchester. Cpl. Edge to Valerie Mary Brown, on 10th September, 1955, at All Saints’ Church, Husbands Bosworth, Leicestershire. Cfn, Cookson ’531 (R.E.M.E.) to Barbara Maines, on 10th September, 1955, at St. Mary’s Church, Great Sankey, Warrington, Lancs. Cpl. McCormick to Evelyn Alice Canning, on 8th October, 1955, at Andover Registry Office. Andover, Hants. Cpl. Mackay to Renate Ingeborg Karla Hitz, on 5th November, 1955, at Wahrenholz,

Tpr. Peacock ’252 (“B” Squadron) to Jean Lannagan, on 27th February, 1956 at Carluke Church, Carluke, Scotland.

Capt. N. S. Matterson Capt. J B. Evans

Signals Ofﬁcer Technical Adjutant

B.A.O.R.

Lt. D. S. A. Boyd Lt. P. R. V. Thellusson

M.T.O. Intelligence Oﬂicer

Lt. W S. H. Boucher R...SM J. Edwards Sgt A Cole-Evans, D.C.M .. Major (Q...M)C W J. Lewis,M.B.E.

Training Oﬂicer Regimental Sergeant-Major Police Sergeant Quartermaster

Capt P A. Woodbridge Rev. C. J. Comyns, RAHChD

Medical Ofﬁcer Padre

Cfn. Russell ’750 (HQ. Squadron) to Patricia Dyer, on 9th November, 1955, at East Kirk Church, Greenock, Renfrewshire. Cpl. Jenkins to Monica Ann Taylor, on 12th November, 1955, at the Methodist Church, Ross—on—Wye, Herefordshire. L/Cpl. Bayne to Beryl Agnes Day, on 21st December, 1955, at St. Thomas’s Church. Bedhampton, Hants. Tpr. Wifﬁn ’550 (“C” Squadron) to Vera Stella Rose Todd, on 24th December, 1955, at All Saints’ Church, West Harton, South Shields. Cfn. Buck ’428 (R.E.M.E.) to Joan Mary Chew, on 26th December, 1955, at St. Clement’s Church, Ordsail, Salford, Lanes. L/Cpl_ Auty to Jenny Martin, on 26th December, 1955, at Morley Parish Church, Morley, Yorks. Tpr. McShane ’663 to Jean Hood, on 26th December, 1955, at St. Andrew’s Church, Airdrie, Lanarkshire. Cpl. Coleman to Anne Mary O’Mahony, on 26th December, 1955, at St Mary’s Chapel, Lutterworth, Leicestcrshire. Cpl. Elliott to Elizabeth Devlin, on 31st December, 1955, at St. Kenneth’s Church,

Lochore, Fife. Tpr. Dale ’937 (“B” Squadron) to Rita Clark, on 25th February, 1956, at St. Mary’s Church, Wheatley, Lanes.

REGIMENTAL HORSE SHOW

combined with

Obituary XII ROYAL LANCERS L/CtPL. J. L. WILSON It is with deep regret thattwe have to announce the death of 22933598 L/Cpl. J. L. Wilson, of A Squadron, who was drowned last summer on 16th August, 1955. He was an efﬁcient and popular N.C.O., who showed great promise. The Regiment extends its sympathy to his wife and family in their loss.

at COMBERMERE BARRACKS 3rd and 4th AUGUST, 1956

REGIMENTAL GAZETTE REGIMENTAL HEADQUARTERS Lt. —Col. P. Massey, MC. Major G. T. A. Armitage, M.B.E.

Commanding Ofﬁcer Second—in—Command

Capt. S. E. M Bradish—Ellames

Adjutant

HQ. SQUADRON Major R. H. D. Fabling Capt. R. C. T. Sivewright T...QM S. Ayrton, A. R.Q.M. S Jones, W.

L/Cpl. L/ Cpl. L/Cpl. L/Cpl.

Bayne Caines Clay, D. Cunnington

Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr.

Barwick, R. Bates, B. Beckett, E. Bird, J.

S. S. M. Finch, T.

L/Cpl. Darby, E.

Tpr. Blaney, S.

S. Q.M. S Fletcher, F. S. Q. M. S. Weller, E. H.

L/Cpl. Fletcher, B. L/Cpl. Forrester, J.

Tpr. Boole, T Tpr. Booth, J.

Sgt. Colyer, P.

L/Cpl. Gentile, A.

Tpr. Boyden, W.

Sgt. Cummings, S.

L/Cpl. Hamilton, J.

Tpr. Brannan, A.

Sgt. Ireland, F.

L/Cpl. Howard, D.

Tpr. Brannan, J.

Sgt. Shone, E.

L/Cpl. Lea, J.

Tpr. Briggs, J.

Sgt. Thornton, D. R.

L/Cpl. McLean, D.

Tpr. Brooks, K.

Sgt. Webster, D. Cpl. Bosher, J.

L/Cpl. Page, D. L/Cpl. Tasker, W.

Tpr. Brown, E. Tpr. Bryson, C.

Cpl. Coleman, S. . Hall, D.

L/Cpl. Thompson, B. O. L/Cpl. Tucker, C.

Tpr. Bull, R. C. Tpr. Chandler, J.

. Hildred, S.

Tpr. Ades, R.

Tpr. Chittenden, M.

. Jenkins, R. A.

Tpr. Alexander, M.

Tpr. Coates, P.

. Lock, H.

Tpr. Alexander, J.

Tpr. Connett, P.

. Lornie, C.

Tpr. Allsopp, G.

Tpr. Connelly, M.

. . . . . p.

Mackay, J. Mould, R. T. Price, P. H. Robson, S. Sivier, L. Thorpe, N. H.

L/Cpl. Battaglia, H. F.

Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr.

Anderson, A. Andrews, J. Arnott, F. Ashmore, K. Bacon, D. J. Baker, B.

Tpr. Barker, J.

Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr.

Cooke, T. Cooke, W. Cooper, J. Corston, C. Cunningham Curno, C.

Tpr. Daniel, L.

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

Tpr . Tpr . Tpr . Tpr .

Day, L. Dix, J. Doyle, D.

Tpr. Tpr . Tpr . Tpr . Tpr . Tpr . Tpr .

Duncan, A. Ellsmore, W. Ewing, W. Facey, H. Farrell, H.

Tpr . Tpr . Tpr . Tpr. Tpr.

Gaule, L. Golden, T. P.

Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr.

Greenwood, F.

Tpr. McPherson, T.

Greenwood, P. K. Grihault. B.

Tpr. Melville, J. Tpr. Nuttall, K.

Drummond. G. J. C.

Fox, D. Foy, J. R.

Tpr. Hamnett, W. Tpr. Harris, R.

Tpr. Harrison, A. Tpr. Hembling, B. Tpr. Hendry, J.

Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr.

Hillback, R. Hoiles, R.

Huckﬁeld, P. Imrie, A.

Laidlaw, J. Lawler, M. Laws, R. Lincoln, G. Lister, N. Longley, M. Lydon, A.

Mabley, T. McLaren, R.

Oborne, D. Piper, G. Poole. A. Pullen, R.

Tpr. Quinn, H.

Tpr. Reynolds, G. Tpr. Roberts, E.

Tpr. Hill, D. Tpr. Hill, B.

Tpr. Rowlinson, G. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr.

Scott, C. Seymour, C. Seymour, C. A. Shepherdson, J. Simpson, E. '

Smith, R. Smith, J. Sobey, F.

Southernwood, D Tavener, J. Taylor J. Thomas R. Thomas, J. Thorne, D.

BAND W.O.I. Trythall, A. F.

S/Sgt. Tait, M. S. T/M Darling, R. W.

Bdsm. Carmichael, J. Bdsm. Craighall, I. Bdsm. Davies, R.

Sgt. Stone, H. G. Sgt. Williamson, T.

Bdsm. Eaglesham, C. Bdsm. Fairbrother.

Cpl. Woodward, R. T. L/Cpl. Phillip, T.

Bdsm. Fisher, J. Bdsm. Fry, M. Bdsm. Jenkins, J. Bdsm. King, E. Bdsm. King, G. Boy Meikle, J. Bdsm. McKay, G.

L/Cpl. Scott, D. L/Cpl. Whellans, M. Bdsm. Baker, C. Bdsm. Briggs, C. Bdsm. Buckley, B. Boy Burgess, P.

Sgt. Garlinge, W. Sgt. Lloyd, K. Cpl. Davis, F.

Cpl. Marsh, R. Cpl. Watson, T.

. . . . . . .

Allen, S. Barry, J. Brett, B. Buchanan, D. Connelly, P. Cookson, P. Fisher, G.

Tolley, A. Venables, A.

L/Cpl. Austin,

Cpl. Drury, R.

Cpl. Pte. Pte. Pte.

Berridge, C. Anderson, M. Ball, B. Brown, E.

Pte. Clarke, R.

. Lane, J.

. Limbrick, D.

STABLES

Tpr. Cooke, B. Cpl. Cooke, E. D.

Tpr. Smithson, H.

. Wilkinson, G.

Major K. F. Timbrell, M.C. Capt. R 2/Lt. 2/Lt. . .

L/Cpl. Underwood, K. Tpr. Bailey, P. Tpr. Barker, R.

. Lee, H. . Leslie, K. . Lettingten, B.

Tpr. Barwick, K.

. Lidbetter, J.

. Russell, J.

Z/Lt.

. MacKinnen, D.

. . . . .

z/Lt. G. T. Hunter—Blair 2 /Lt. T. C. Farmer 2/Lt. G. Shaw 2/Lt. P. T. Keightley S.S.M. Bradley, J. D.

Tpr. Benford, B. Tpr. Bouquet, L.

A . . . .

Limbert, F. Ogley, J. Pye, D. Russell, J. Spacey, M. Sunderland, J. Stokes, \V. Vipan, D. Welch, D.

. Whitwam, J.

. . . . .

Martin, R. Percival, R. Scholey, M. Sebbage, D. Sebbage, C. Wright, W.

. Matthews, J.

ROYAL SIGNALS Sgt. MacMillan, I. Cpl. Cottilard, A.

Dvr. Potter, A. Sigmn. Massey, P.

R.A.E.C. Sgt. Davies, H.

Sigmn. McNeil, D. Dvr. Turner.

J. D. W. Crystal

S.Q.M.S. Kimble, F. Sgt. Sgt. Sgt. Sgt. Sgt.

Acres, J. Hook, A.N.D. Leese, D. Titmarsh, C. Vickers, C.

Sgt. Myers, D.

L/Cpl. Lane, C. J.

Tpr. Brown, G. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr.

Brown, J. Cairney, H. Cartmell, J. Cavanagh, P. Clark, E. Collender, T.

Tpr. Corcoran, E.

Morris, B. Nagle, R. O’Shaughnessy, L. Page, H. Peach, I.

Tpr. Edmondson

Cpl. . . . . . . .

Tpr. Edwards, C.

Tpr. Galliers, G.

. Simpson, D. . Smith, R. . Southall, D. . Stafford, T.

L/Cpl. Phillips, C.

Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr.

S/Sgt. Smith, A. Cpl. Lamont, A.

L/Cpl. Higginson, R. Cfn. Buck, D.

L/Cpl. Gray, R. L/Cpl. Palmer, L. L/Cpl. Perry, D.

Gaskin, J. Gregory, A. Hanratty, B. Harding, B. Harty, J. Hewson, M. Hughes, J. Ingram, G. Johnson, A. Kielty, J. Latham, J. Le Bas, J.

. Plumbridge, R. Rogers, J. Russell, G. S. Rutter, G. Seymour, D.

. Stillie, G. . Stone, T. . Stuchbery, C.

. Tapping, B. . Tayton, G

3 Whalley, v. . Yates, T.

R.E.M.E.

A.P.T.C.

ROYAL SIGNALS L/Cpl. Patrick, J.

Pte. Copley, R.

. . . . .

Cpl. Allison, L.

S.S.I. Sheedy, M. J

R.A.O.C.

. Mitchley, C.

. Moreland, J.

. . . .

Cooper, G. Edge, R. Ford, C. Gater, K. Kew, A. Lownie, D. Owen, W. Rochford, A.

Crowther, I. Docherty, J. Dryburgh, A. Dunnett, R.

. McGregor, A. . Millband, C. . Mitchell, H.

Cpl. Astbury, K.

R.A.P.C.

Sgt. Manwaring, J. T.

SQUADRON

Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr.

Sgt. Webb, J. H.

L/Cpl. Burr, G. L/Cpl. Freemantle, A.

L/ Cpl. Erikson, E.

Bdsm. Taylor, M. Bdsm. Thomason, A. Boy Thorn, P. Bdsm. Whitworth, R. Bdsm. Winders, S.

. Smith, R. . \Williams, E. G. . Woodhouse, A. M.

. Grifﬁn, H.

. Kelly, A.

Bdsm. Syms, D.

L/Cpl. Pemblington, E. R.

Tpr. Watson, P. Tpr. Westwood, A. Tpr. Wroughton, J.

A.C.C. Sgt. Faulkner, S.

Poole, A. Price, P. Pritchard, K. Rangeley, L.

Tpr. Excell, D. H. J. Tpr. Grey, F. K N

. Holmes, G. . Jones, R.

Coppin, R. . Hogg, G. . Kelly, M.

Bdsm. Bdsm. Bdsm. Bdsm.

S.Q.M.S. Brown, J. S. Tpr. Clarke, C. Tpr. Clark, R.

Tpr. Ward, P.

Cpl. Wilson, T. L/Cpl. Clarke, E. L/Cpl. Waddington, B.

Bdsm. Phillip, A.

Todd, K.

R.E.M.E. Capt. S. J. Cox 2/Lt. A. C. Tribley

Bdsm. Pearce, B.

R.A.P.C. L/Cpl. Ridsdale, J.

Hamilton, A. Rodman, B.

THE JOURNAL or THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

B SQUADRON

. Ilialkler, I; A.

Tpr. Harvey, R. S.

Tpr. Pinder, J. E.

Tpr. Hurdle, E.

. a1 e . . Barkzii, C.

' Tgi. H:;E:?%.AF.

‘ $1): IRZSIICIEW%ICJ P.

Tpr. Ilott, E.

. Benstead, R. w.

Tpr. Hill, w. J.

TS; Riggéway '1 E

Tpr. Brannan, J.

Tpr. Jones, P.

. Betts, K.

Tpr. Hill, J.

Tpr. Saunter R I

Tpr. Briggs, J.

Tpr. Kingsley, S.

. Blood, D. M.

Tpr. Higgins, J. D.

Tpr. Sidle

2/Lt. T. J. E. Lardner

Tpr. Brown, T.

Tpr. Kirkbride, R.

. Boden, E.

Tpr. Hounsome, R.

Tpr. Simsy’G E

2/Lt. B. J. Lockhart

Tpr. Brown, G.

Tpr. Lewis, R.

. Bonas, J. D.

Tpr. Hunt, E.

Tpr: Skellern' D

z/Lt. C. C. Martin 2/Lt. R. W. Pride

Tpr. Brown, A. Tpr. Buckingham, G.

Tpr. Lilly, P. Tpr. Livermore, K.

. Bowen, B. J. . Bracewell, D.

Tpr. Ingram, C. L. Tpr. Ireland, D. W.

Tpr. Smith E W Tpr. Smith, J. .

S.S.M. Vowles, E. G. G. S.Q.M.S. Lynd, I.

Tpr. Buckley, T. Tpr. Butler, L.

Tpr. Marden, C. Tpr. Mardsen, R.

. Carr, H. H. . Calder, G.

Tpr. Jackson, N. G. Tpr. Johnson, L.

Tpr. Smith7 D P Tpr. Sneddon 'Pi

Sgt. Sgt. Sgt. Sgt.

Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr.

. . . .

Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr.

_ . Maior P. B. Fielden, M.c.

Tpr. Betts, M.

Capt. P. D. Reid

Tpr. Blundell, M.

Lt. T. P. Hart Dyke L/Lt. R. Pride

Clarke, R. Remfrey, D. Routley, A. Whitbread, F.

Chaplin, B. Curran, C. Davies B. Davies, R.

McConville, G. McGill, W. McNalty, J. Meldrum, S.

Carlton, Collins, Cooper, Cooper,

R. E. M. R. G. C. D. N.

Jones, T. B. J. Jones, E. Kennedy, P. Layton, R.

‘

D 'W

Starr W: ' Stevens A Sweeney J. Sweeney, M. C

Cpl. Beeforth, D. Cpl. Connell, A.

Tpr. Davrs, E. Tpr. Dale, J.

Tpr. Murtagh, M. Tpr. Naylor, G.

. Coward, D. G. . Cox, K. G.

Tpr. Lawton, J. D. Tpr. Leaver, K. P.

Tpr. Taylor B. E. Tpr. Thwaifes R.

Cpl. Dickson, L. Cpl. Elliott, R. O.

Tpr. Depledge, W. Tpr. Dorman, K.

Tpr. Neil, G. Tpr. Norman, D.

. Crawford, R. . De La Haye, E. J.

Tpr. Matthews, J. A. Tpr. May, M. W.

Tpr. Timson P. G. Tpr. Turvey, T.

Cpl. Cpl. Cpl. Cpl. Cpl. Cpl.

Farrant, R. Jaques, P. Leadbetter, P. McCormrck, W. Sarll, R. Simpson, F.

Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr.

Drake, A. Elkin, W. Emery, C. Fisher, R. Flowers, R. Foster, C.

Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr.

North, P. Payne, J. Peacock, T. Peters, A. Petts, E. Pierce, B.

. . . . . .

Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr.

Uglow: D. E. Wallhead, R. Weston, C. White, D. H. Wifﬁn, R. Williams, R. G.

Cpl. Syme, W. . Welch, J. . Coates, D. R. . Dellaway, R. . Edwards, J. . Emslie, R. . MacLellan, J. . Palmer, M.

Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr.

Gale, J. Galvm, D. Gillespie, A. Glen, D. Gray, F. Grayson, B. Greenwood, B. Hackett, D.

Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr.

Ratty, A. Robins, P. Rolph, D. Rush, T. Sanders, J. Schoﬁeld, A. Small, L.

Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr.

Withers, D. A. Windsor, P. L. Wootton, B. Yates, R. G.

. Taylor, R. . Watt, A.

Tpr. Acton, G. Tpr. Baker, J.

Tpr. Barter, L. Tpr. Bell, E. Tpr. Best, A.

Haigh, B. Hatch, M. Haywood, R.

Hill, J. Tpr. Hill, G. Tpr. House, J. Tpr. Howell—Jones, J. D.

Smith, R. Springthorpe, P. Stonehouse, T. Taylor, C. Terrell, A. Villars, R. Wheeler, B.

Dixon, S. Eltham, K. J. Ewing, D. Field, B. G. Grifﬁth; J. Grimmer, K. W.

. Grundy, C. . Hall, F. C. Tpr. Hamilton, J. D.

S/Sgt. Dawes, F. E. Cpl. Walker, L. T. L/Cpl. Scott, R. J.

Mayer, D. S. Milligan, C. Mitchell, B. Newman, D. A. Ogden, J. Palmer, S. E.

Tpr. Parker, F. J. Tpr. Petrie, T. Tpr. Pickering, T.

R‘E‘M‘E‘ . Armstrong, D. . Collins, A. J. . Lowson, W. R.

Cfn. Morrison, R. Cfn. Thurgood, L. H.

ROYAL SIGNALS Sigmn. Barker, T. G.

\Vindridge, R. Worley, F.

Sigmn. Gourley, N.

R.A.P.C. L/Cpl. Maginn, P. J.

R.E.M.E. Sgt. Morton Cpl. Ross, W.

. Fathers . Beresford, C.

. Bridge, R. . Scott, R.

OFFICERS AND OTHER RANKS EXTRA—REGIMENTALLY EMPLOYED ROYAL SIGNALS HQ. 7 ARMD. DIV. Si gmn. Ellerton, N.

Sigmn. Marshall, M. Sgt. Brandon, S. L/Cpl. Liron, M. A. J. L/Cpl. Miehelagnoli, C.

R.A.P.C.

Tpr. Dunlop, D J Tpr. French, D. H.

. Bannister, R.

Tpr. Godfray, N. Tpr. Gordon, J. R.

Tpr. Griﬂiths, A. A. Tpr. Hicks, A. M. G.

Tpr . Martindale, T. W. Tpr . Manning, D. Tpr. Stirling, J. Tpr . Vining, A. E.

Tpr. Kelly, B.

C SQUADRON HQ. 7 ARMD. BDE.

2/Lt. J. E. J. Latham 2/Lt. P. B. Buxton

. . . . . .

2/Lt. D. R. Thompson

. Hayes, B. W. G.

Major B. J. Hodgson

Capt. D. J. S. Wilkinson Lt. D. M. Jacobs

2/Lt. W. V. Gubbins

2/Lt. P. W. K. Arkwright

2/Lt. W. H. Yates S.S.M. Wood, W. R. S.Q.M.S. Clark, J. S. Sgt. Brooks, F. J.

Collerton, J. J. u , . Plumbly, G. R. Stirling, J. Fox, D. V. Dawson, C.

. King, D. . Millett, J. P . Woodcock, G. F.

L/Cpl. Auty, C. L/Cpl. Baker, A.

L/Cpl. .jocksedge, F. L/Cpl. Cox, W. C.

L/Cpl. Yard, J. T.

L/Cpl. Coyle, E. J.

Tpr. Cuthbertson, G.

L/Cpl. Edwards, C. R. L/Cpl. Lockhart, S. H. L/Cpl. Maher, A. J.

L/Cpl. Monument, J. D.

Tpr. Hall, K. Tpr. Smith, R. C. H.Q. 6 ARMD. DIV. Lt. (Q.M.) B. W. Crockett

L/Cpl. Rowland, C. L.

L/Cpl. Smith, D. J. L/Cpl. Turner, E. F.

HQ. 61 LOR. INF. BDE.

Tpr. Alexander, K. T. Tpr. Arnott, F. J.

W.O.I Payne, E.

. Tripp, K. . White, K.

THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

MONS O.C.T.U. Capt. J. W. E. Hanmer

Tpr. Turner, R.

Tpr. Bell, E.

Tpr. Shergold, B. H.

Tpr. Nlankelow, F. K. W.

njoy really fresh 1912 LT. LIAISON FLIGHT Tpr. Fisher, E.

milk chocolate

THE GLIDER PILOT REGT. Capt. O. J. Lewis

R.A.C. DEPOT Capt. A. G. R. Ahston Sgt. Smith, L.

Sgt. Taylor, F. Sgt. Warren, R.

Cpl. Elliott, W. H. Tpr. Evans, J.

HQ. SOUTHERN COMMAND Tpr. Spackman, D. J.

FIFE AND FORFAR YEOMANRY, T.A. Major D. N. MacDonald, M.C. Capt. C. E. W. Ferrand

Cpl. Allsopp, W. E. L/ Cpl. Kent, G.

\W.O.I Rapkin, R.

L/Cpl. Beddow, J.

Tpr. Hunt, H. Tpr. Kennedy, D.

Tpr. Jones, F. T.

W.O.II Joyce, E. H.

L/Cpl. Baillie, T.

Tpr. Maxted, R.

W.O.II Phillips, A. Sgt. Tillott, S. D. Sgt. Blackallar, H.

Tpr. Bramley, T. Tpr. Gough, G. Tpr. Hanley, B.

Tpr. McHarg, D. Tpr. Warrior, W. S. B.

Lt. J. G. Trouton

Sgt. Paul, J. A.

BOYS SQN. R.A.C. L/Cpl. Cocksedge, F.

JESUS COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE Lt. A. B. T. Davey

Milk chocolate is at its best

5r LOR. INF. BDE. Cpl. Wickenden, P. R.

when it is really fresh. That is why Nestle’s Milk Chocolate

67 TRG. REGT. R.A.C.

always tastes so very, very good.

Major E. T. Greaves Capt. J. A. Dimond, M.C.

. Peacock . Stanley, Z. W.

Cpl. Wheatley, J. L/Cpl. Wayman, A. M.

Lt. J. J. F. Scott

. Weston, J.

Tpr. Duffy

2/Lt. K. J. S. Douglas—Mann

. Woods

S.Q.M.S. Brennan, D. S.Q.M.S. Malkin, W. D. Sgt. Baguley, E. Sgt. Bullas, J. Sgt. Howley, T.

. . . . .

Tpr. Campbell

Ball, D. Jackson, H. W. Mills, M. Sutton Wight, E. W.

Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr.

Duncan MacPherson Tait Watson

SOMALILAND SCOUTS Major C. E. Winstanley

For Sale ABSOLUTELY As NEW, 1940 Daimler, fold ﬂat screen, twin carbs, strap on bonnet; goes like the proverbial Clappers; or would exchange for . . . almost anything. —— Apply, “Cab Happy,” A Squadron.

You buy it at the peak of its perfection . . . smooth, creamy, full-

GENUINE Ex—WD. BATTLE DRESS, little worn, as owner has spent most of his time in fatigue dress in barracks—Apply to. “ Restricted Pay,” C Squadron.

ﬂavoured and factory fresh. No wonder Nestle’s Milk Chocolate is so popular. Its delicious freshness keeps it in constant demand, which, when you come to think of it, explains why it is always really ﬁes/7!

IT IS WORTH YOUR

RIDING BOOTS

WHILE TO READ THE ADVERTISEMENTS IN THIS MAGAZINE

Good stocks of riding boots in best quality

black waxed calf or brown leather.

M055 BROS or covsnr cane” THE COMPLETE MAN‘S STORE

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3rd and 4th AUGUST, 1956 Brochures and Catalogue on application

J. A. PITT-RIVERS, M.A. (OXON), DrHIL.

From:

William Clowes & Sons, Ltd., Little New Street,

Class ‘A,’ ‘ L,’ ‘ M ' .IUMPING, OPEN HUNTER TRIAL, B.l-I.S. NOVICES DRESSAGE AND POLO PONY CLASS.

London, E.C.4. (Price 3o/-, or £5 —— leather bound)

Stabling, Forage and Accommodation arranged.

Schedules from:#

Captain R. C. T. Sivewright, MC. The Royal Dragoons, B.A.O.R. ll

See under “Book Review ” for further details.

ERS ADVERTISEMENT PAGES. . TEL. WHITEHALL 2504

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