December2013

The lamps started to swing and the sandbags were re-fi lled and Keith ‘Dog’ Hudson started to sell The North East Branch calendar for 2014 and a very good job he has made of them as well as other RGJ regalia.

Friday evening passed all too quickly but that just meant that Saturday had arrived and our long awaited function could commence and what better way to start the night off than with the Bugle section from The Durham Army Cadet Force (Rifl es really) playing a selection of Bugle calls which brought back so many memories and making the hairs stand up on the back of our necks.

Once the Buglers, under the skilful and amusing direction of WO2 Derek Corbett, had concluded their spot Jake thanked them on our behalf and released them to return to their other duties at the nearby Seaburn Centre. Jake then invited our Branch President Brigadier Nicholas Prideaux to speak. He welcomed everyone, refl ected on the Branch’s activities and achievements during the past year and thanked everyone who had organised the evening which was always greatly appreciated tune of our era. The auction raised a total of £740 which was donated to our own Rifl es “Care4Casualties” charity. George Barrs and John Toolin are seen below onducting the auction. Also shown below are two tables full of Raffl e prizes, these were kindly donated by our members throughout the year and thereby ensuring that an enormous number of tickets were sold.

The evening was a huge success and all our guests enjoyed themselves and spoke highly of the food and entertainment. As the night drew to a close, we went our various ways to prepare for the most important part of the weekend, the Sunday morning Parade in Sunderland to honour our fallen comrades.

On a beautiful sunny but cold Sunday morning, we started to meet up in our usual place, William Jameson’s bar and after having had a hearty breakfast, we made our way up to the Civic Centre, where the parade forms up.

We fell in in three ranks to the command of our resident CSM from the Coldstream Guards; he received the usual light-hearted banter of bleating

by so many people especially our Branch members, their guests and those from other Branches. After the formal introductions and presentations had been concluded, we were entertained by a very good local group called Triple Vision and they started the evening’s merriment with many a good sheep and other jokes which he took all in the spirit of fun. The hardest part of the march was trying to keep step to the heavy brigade drum beat but we arrived without incident directly opposite the War

Memorial where we awaited the chimes of Big Ben and the start of the Two Minutes Silence. This is a very emotional moment across the nation when we all remember our fallen commrades

throughout the years of numerous confl icts in the last century and into the present:the Two World Wars, the Korean War, operations in Borneo, Malaya, Cyprus, Northern Ireland, the Falklands and Gulf wars and currently Afgahnistan.

The crowds surrounding the Parade observed the silence impecably across the city’s boundaries showing their total respect and support for our Armed Forces, past and present.

We marched past and to the sound of the Bugle, gave our salute to the Lord Lieutenant and His Worship The Mayor. As we went by and received the eyes front, we changed our step to our Regimental pace which was a great relief to the 100 Rifl emen on parade. It was a fantastic march past and the cheers and support from the crowds were superb.

We returned to the Roker Hotel for our Lunch; we were joined and the honoured guests, the Mayor and Lady Mayoress and a very special guest, in the guise of our own Regimental “Mary Poppins“ Miss Claire Neal.Brigadier Nicholas explained to everyone who Claire was and how she had become involved with the Regiment. For those of you that do not know, Claire was a Nanny looking after children in London in 1982. On 20th July she was approaching the Bandstand in Regent’s Park with two of her children just as the IRA bomb exploded with such devastating result. Without any thought for her own safety, she left her children with a Policemen and went to the aid of those Bandsmen who were dying and badly wounded. Claire immediately gave fi rst aid and help by tearing off her petticoat and even some of her dress to make bandages. When she had done as much as she could, Claire retraced her steps to fi nd her children and melted into the crowd. It took the Metropolitan Police three days to discover who she was and the extent of her actions. She subsequently was given two bravery awards for her courageous and selfl ess action.

As a further tribute to Claire, the President formally confi rmed that he had made Claire an Honorary Member of the North East Branch. A bouquet of fl owers was t presented to her on behalf of the Branch and she received a standing ovation from a room of grateful Rifl emen who were moved to tears by her actions and presence of mind on that fateful day. On 2nd December, Claire’s Birthday, Liz Cheetham and Kathy Bradford took her out to Lunch and presented her with a mounted RGJ blazer badge as proof of her Honorary Membership of the Branch.

Our new Branch room in the Royal British Legion Club in Sunderland was opened on 14th December progress thus providing us with a place to call home for the North East Branch complete with a full array of RGJ memorabilia.

True friendship: A Sentiment from George Barrs

Many years ago I met a group of special people, at the time, they were young boys, who with training grew to be “chosen men”.

As the years passed by we all went our own way, but never forgetting their faces or the memories we shared together in times of fun, laughter and extreme hardship. You spend some time away from them and then meet up again and the years roll back, even though physically they have changed the special bond still remains.

True special friendship is always present wherever life may send you and I know I have met “some special people” and they become part of your extended family and that family is “THE ROYAL GREEN JACKETS”.

These people travel the length and width of the country to meet up with old comrades which shows the spirit of true friends. I would like a special mention to Jake, Liz, John and Malcolm and the remainder of the North East Branch Committee for all their hard work, dedication and hospitality when organising functions on our behalf. We all enjoy these times and they will only get better as the years pass by but one thing is for certain the RGJ will never die.

Once again I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for sending me the pictures and articles to be included in our e-zine and wish all RGJ and serving Rifl es personnel regardless of rank a very Happy Christmas and a healthy, prosperous New Year.

SWIFT and BOLD

It has again been a quiet year this year. Our membership has reduced slightly but this has happened before and we have recovered. Our membership for 2013 stands at 31 paid up members, 12 Country Members and 8 people remain on our mailing list. We expect that next year our membership will improve as we have one or two things in the pipeline.

The annual dinner this year attracted 26 members and guests. It was held on Saturday 9th November 2013 at the Royal Hotel, Marine Terrace, Waterloo, Liverpool. It was held in the Waterloo Suite and as the name suggests the room is themed around the Battle of Waterloo. A good omen for the 200th anniversary in 2015. Again the reputation of our annual dinner must be spreading afar as this year we had people from the Isle of Mann, Dorset and London attending. We even had Vince Wellington attend the dinner who we passed off as the great great great grandson of the Duke of Wellington but I don’t think many were fooled. A very good night was enjoyed by all especially as a free bar was laid on.

This year we changed the date from the last weekend in November to the weekend of the remembrance parade. This was at the request of some members and people from afar who would like to attend the remembrance parade the following day. This seemed to work well and we are considering the same date next year. Is was also, by coincidence, Gareths birthday which he thought we had all forgotten about until we presented him with a cake near the end of the night. As we may hold the dinner on this night each year don’t expect it to be renamed Gareth Dixons Birthday Bash.

The annual remembrance parade was held at the cenotaph at the front of St Georges Hall in

Liverpool and a detachment of 40 ex Royal Green Jackets marched onto the cenotaph where a poppy wreath was placed by Bill Evans. We even noticed that this year we had ex-soldiers of the Rifl es with us who joined our ranks when we marched on. We then attended a short memorial service at the Northern Ireland memorial which is in St John Gardens at the rear of St Georges Hall.

It is with sadness that we have to say our farewell to Geoff Morrish who passed away in September this year. Geoff was a member of the branch for many years. At his funeral there was a good turnout of many ex Royal Green Jackets.

I am sure you are all well aware that the North West Branch is making a coordinated effort to raise funds to provide a headstone for Peter Uden. You may ask why the North West Branch is making this effort when he is buried in Winchester but Peter had many friends here in the North West and visited friends here on occasions.

For those of you who knew Peter I am sure you will agree that he was a man with a large character and heart. He was well known throughout the RGJ family and extended his welcome every Veterans day in Winchester by opening up his home to anybody who wanted to attend his popular barbeques.

If every member of every branch donated just £1 to this appeal we would have enough money to provide a headstone for Peter that his wife could be proud of. To date we have raised £165 and that is in just a couple of months. The North West Branch Dinner raised £125 and another £10 was handed to me on the remembrance parade. We have no timescale to this appeal but we would like to raise the money as soon as possible for his wife Joyce. At out dinner it was announced by C/Sgt Dave Crossley that the Sergeants mess of the 4th Battalion the Rifl es are now considering making a donation thanks to his efforts.

The North West Branch are coordinating this effort so any cheques can be made out to the RGJ Association NW Branch and sent to 18 Rolling Mill Lane, Sutton, St Helens WA9 3GB.

Here is hoping we all have a better 2014.

Although the attendance at both Turning the Pages in Oxford and the Oxford branch Reunion at Abingdon on Saturday 10th November was not quite as impressive as last year, it was still good. Extra chairs were needed at the ceremony in the Regimental Chapel at Christ Church Cathedral, and the names were read by Major Paul Allington of The Rifl es ACF for the Oxford & Bucks Light Infantry, and for the Queen’s Own Oxfordshire Hussars by Jo Rider, widow of the late Major Bob Sheldon, who had been scheduled to do the reading.

Rider and Paul Allington reading the names in Christ Church Cathedral.

We were pleased to see centenarian Lawrence Belcher in attendance, and those who gathered in the Priory Room for sherry were treated a song rather than a recitation from him. Col Tim May, Vice-Chairman of the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Trust, announced that the new Museum at Woodstock is fi nished and that from the end of November the Research Centre will re-open for business by appointment. First contact should be by phone at 01993 813832 or via the website at http://www.sofo.org.uk/. It will be opened to the public next spring with a formal opening in the autumn by an eminent person. Presumably that will not be Peter Jay!

There were about 45 old comrades at the Reunion at Edward Brooks barracks that evening, and they enjoyed the usual impeccable performance by the Waterloo Band and Bugles of The Rifl es. Perhaps the high spot of the performance was a display of Irish dancing by the well-built Bugler Gary Boardman – an obvious candidate for Strictly Come Dancing! Brigadier Robin Draper thanked the Band and Bugles, and was happy to announce that in the past year the Rifl es had suffered no fatal casualties in Afghanistan. He also mentioned that Major Charlie Helmn, the PSAO of ‘A’ Company 7 RIFLES and chairman of the RGJA Oxford branch , would be retiring next year. Brigadier David Innes, who is a Trustee of SOFO, briefl y repeated his request for volunteers to join SOFO’s Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry research group at the Museum.

As well as the ‘Old and Bold’, there were a number of members of ‘A’ Company present, and an interesting innovation was a presentation by L/Cpl Alex Oates. Alex, who is a student at Oxford University, spent 9 months from April to September attached to ‘B’ Company, 4 RIFLES, operating out of a patrol base in Afghanistan, and the old comrades present were interested in the details of his experiences in this particular combat zone.

Following the presentation, Alex spent some time in conversation with 91-year-old veteran Sam Langford, who was telling the young reservist about his exploits in WWII. Sam served in the 52nd in France, having landed with the Royal Berkshire Regiment on Juno Beach on D-Day and volunteering for the Airborne a little later. He took part in Operation Varsity – the Rhine Crossing – and was wounded. Our photographs show Sam (Northern Europe 1944) talking to Alex Oates (Afghanistan 2013) and with Geoff Day (Cyprus 1956/7) listening.

L/Cpl Alex Oates, Sam Langford and Geoff Day.

We were pleased to see Brian Hill, who had come all the way from Exeter for the Reunion, and to welcome Les Smith as a new member of the Oxford branch. Les had served in the Regiment in Germany in 1954/5 and had been a member of the Nijmegen Marches team under the command (ConƟ nued from previous page)

As usual the conversation never fl agged and there was plenty of reminiscencing of times past. The evening was rounded as usual off by the traditional curry.

SOUTH EAST KENT BRANCH

Memorial Parade in Dover

For the fi rst time in many a year chosen men again marched at the head of the remembrance parade in Dover. On Sunday the 13th November 2013 just one year on from the South East Kent Branch’s formation members where at the head of the parade.

We set out our plan to march with the parade Marshall in September with our request to march in the Dover parade, we explained to him our unique drill order (as he was Royal navy) and produced a cunning plan, the area the parade covers outside the cenotaph is very small 30m x 15m and we were only allocated a frontage of three men, our drill plan was to take up the extreme right fl ank of the parade. On the morning of the parade (true to RGJ traditionleave it to the last moment) we met up in our HQ (Dover Sea Angling Club) at 0930 hrs for meet and greet drinksthen at 1000 hrs all those who wished to march were asked upstairs for a briefi ng on the parade, once we had formed our marching men we then set off “nontac” to the Start point by Marks and Sparks, Mr George Nash was despatched as our Left Marker ready for our men to march onto. At the start point we stood around basking in the attention of the Press and camera’s concentrated on our fi ne body of men resplendent in their blazers, medals and berets, at the given time we lined up behind our front rank consisting of Mr Andy Redman, our wreath layer Mr Tommy Love and Mr Tony Killelay, the plan was to step off at a moderate pace then at a point on the march (McDonalds) we would increase our pace for the last 50 metres.

From the command “by the centre – Quick March” we were in full pace and looked and sounded fantastic with the heels of our highly polished shoes digging in to the pavement as one, as we moved to the parade area we right wheeled and halted facing front onto our marker Mr Nash, it was quite remarkable as the halt seemed perfect and once we had our breath back we “close ordered dress”, Mr Redman moved off to join the line for those laying wreaths, after a couple of minutes the remainder of the parade turned up and we came under the command

of the parade marshall who had us coming to attention and standing at ease at the appropriate times, The Padre and dignitaries gave their speeches but alas to our dismay the padre mentioned every confl ict apart from Northern Ireland, Then the wreath laying began but with no real organisation it was very long and at times arduous for some the elderly veterans, ( we have since spoken with the parade marshal to address this issue for the next remembrance parade), When the Royal Green Jackets name was called to lay our wreath we as a unit came to attention and watched with pride as Mr Redman laid the wreath, saluted and rejoined the ranks. At the end of the parade we fell out to our HQ for warm up drinks, ( Once we had fi nished the contents of the many and varied selection of hip fl asks that had miraculously appeared during and after the parade) we then meandered along to the India Memorial, this is the memorial erected in Camden Square after the Indian Mutiny,” IN MEMORY OF COMRADES WHO FELL DURING THE INDIAN CAMPAIGNS OF 1857, 1858 and 1859. ERECTED BY THE 1st BATTALION 60th ROYAL RIFLES AUGUST 1861” , Whilst this should have

been a short walk through the underpass it wasn’t, the underpass was fl ooded and not passable, this meant t hat men women and children having to cross 4 lanes of trafi c and over railings and road barriers, once at the memorial we formed up in a semi circleand carried out a wreath laying ceramony with Mr Don Whitehead laying the wreath, once he had fi nished his salute Mr Tresadern, our bugler sounded last post, after falling out we gathered for a group photograph then back via the obstacles to the HQ for Hot food and a raffl e (still using Mr Gordon Vachers racing team donations). To end I would just like to say how proud I was at the Remembrance Parade, my heart was fi lled with so much pride I was close to popping the black buttons on my blazer, The chosen men of the South East Kent Branch did themselves and the RGJ Association a great service that day, we all immersed ourselves in the comradeship and emotional remembrance that such parades evoke and afterwards thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Glenn Tenent

Remembrance weekend saw many of the Branch Poppy collecting in Warminster Waitrose on both Friday 8th, and Saturday 9th, we set up on both days at 09:00 and went through till 16:00, as we go to print

Poppy collecƟ on photo, leŌ to right:

Ted Peckham, Lee Massey, Brian Darvill, Phil Ashby, Gary Byrne. Collectors not in the photo: Bill Tyson, Bob Holcombe, Blanche Darvill.

we still wait to fi nd out our total but early indications lead us to belive it will be well over £600, all of course going to a good cause. Our Branch Chairman is also Vice Chairman of The Royal British Legion, Warminster Branch, so we had a warm venue with plenty of tea and coffee laid on.

On Remembrance Sunday 11 of us went for Sunday lunch at Ruby’s in Warminster High Street, just a short walk from the war memorial, where many members of the Branch and families met up at what is now known as Green Jacket corner, for the 15:00 hours service, Branch Chaiman Brian Darvill marched with the Royal British Legion, and Bill Tyson laid a Regimental wreath as part of the service, then later we made our way to the Conservative Club for a warm drink and beef curry, as in other years this went on into early evening.

As the year draws to an end we have the following event coming up:

Thursday 9th January 2014 Branch AGM, Warminster, Conservative Club at 20:00 hours.

REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY IN WINCHESTER 10 NOVEMBER 2013

The bronze statue of a First World War Rifl eman of The King’s Royal Rifl e Corps that stands on top of the War Memorial opposite the west door of Winchester Cathedral

Each year members of the Winchester Branches of The Royal Green Jackets and The King’s Royal Rifl e Corps Associations gather in front of the KRRC War Memorial opposite the west door of the Cathedral to remember the fallen of both regiments and of The Rifl es. Lest it be forgotten, within the Cathedral, too, are housed the First and Second World War Rolls of Honour of The King’s Royal Rifl e Corps and The Rifl e Brigade.

The Act of Remembrance took place at 9.30 a.m. in advance of the Cathedral’s main Remembrance Day Service and parade. Major Roy Stanger, Chairman of the RGJ Association Winchester Branch, organised the participation of the padre from Worthy Down and the presence of two buglers from The Rifl es to sound last Post and Reveille. He also acted as usual and in his own inimitable way as Parade Marshal.

As always, Association members were smartly turned out in berets and blazers and, although early in the morning, their presence in front of the War Memorial soon attracted the attention of a large number of bystanders.

While the main purpose of the Act of Remembrance is to remember our own fallen, this annual service also helps to remind the citizens of Winchester of the Regiment’s close links with the City and the Cathedral reaching back to the creation of The Rifl e Depot in 1858.

At the NI Memorial on Remembrance Sunday 2013

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