RGJ E-Zine Jun 2013

The Royal Green Jackets Regimental Association

E-zine NEWSLETTER Volume 5 Issue 1

15 June 2013

To ensure that you get your copy always make sure you keep your email address up to date and empty your mailbox frequently. Current distribution for this issue is to 1897 of 3223 database users.

Welcome to the 11th edition of the E-Zine This is my first E-Zine as editor and I must first pay tribute to my predecessor Ken Ambrose who sadly died suddenly in January.

Ken’s sudden death was not only a shock to the website team but to the entire RGJ association and the high regard in which he was held, and which he was probably not even aware of, was borne out not only in the entries o the “In Memoriam” board but also in the 150+ members of all ranks who travelled from far and wide to attend his funeral. We will all miss him. Ken may be gone but his legacy lives on. The eulogy which Ron Cassidy produced and was read out at his funeral is reproduced in this E-Zine.

It has been a busy five months for the team, we have had to restructure the way things are done and team members have had to take on extra responsibilities and although it hasn’t been easy everything that has had to be done has been done and I am content that we remain in a good position to carry on the work. My thanks go to my team members of Seamus Lyons, Arne Bergsand,

Roy Baillie and Mark Adams for the hard work they have put in and support they have given me.

My thanks also to Ron Cassidy who works tirelessly behind the scenes proof reading both Swift and Bold and the E-Zine and is always available to answer any regimental queries and resolve political problems for us.

Can I remind you that this year’s Veterans’ Day is Saturday July 13th. A programme for the day is published within these pages.

Full members of the association pay £5.00 on the gate while those who aren’t pay £10.00 and thereby become full members of the central branch for the year. Your membership entitles you to free admission to the regimental museum on production of your membership card for that weekend and of course a copy of the next Swift and Bold journal which is published each March.

I would ask you to encourage all your regimental friends to join the association as full members.

Kevin Stevens Editor

E-Zine Newsle er is published by the Royal Green Jackets Regimental Associa on on 15 June, 15 September and 15 December each year.

Please send ar cles for inclusion to the editor (ezine@rgjassocia (ezine@rgjassocia on.info) on.info) prior to the 1st of the publica on month.

Copyright 2013 © The Royal Green Jackets Regimental Associa on.

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Contents Page Title 2. Foreword Forecast of Events 3. RGJRA Contact List 4. Eulogy on C/Sgt Ken Ambrose 6. The Story behind the founda on of the RGJRA Website 8. Database Report 9. Australasian Branch 11. Central England Branch 11. The RGJ Photographic Site 13. Applica ons and Renewal of RGJ Regimental Associa on Annual Subscrip ons 13. London Branch 14. Timings for the Winchester Veterans’ Day Reunion 15. North East Branch 16. South East Branch 17. Wiltshire Branch 18. Winchester Branch 19. Former Rifleman InPensioner turns pages in Winchester 20. The Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum 22. Rifleman J Bradshaw VC 23. Armed Forces Day 24. An Encounter with Pirates in The Indian Ocean 26. Regents Park Memorial Service 27. A Le er from the Commanding Officer to the Ba alion and Families following the incident in Regents Park 28. The OBLI 1st Ba alion’s Machine Gun Platoon in Cyprus, 1956/7 31. 1 Rifles Update 33. Soldier braved bullets for shot comrade 34. Old meets New 37. A Quiet Moment In Memory of Our Fallen Heroes 38. In Memoriam

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The Royal Green Jackets Regimental Associa on

FOREWORD by Brigadier Hugh Willing CBE Chairman of the RGJ Regimental Association

Brigadier Hugh Willing CBE

Our aim in this E-Zine is to record the activities and events that your Association and its Branches have completed over the past four months and have planned for the next. And you will see that there is a lot going on both in the Branches and in the activities of our successors, The Rifles, which we are all warmly encouraged to support.

This is just as it should be because these many

events and gatherings provide an opportunity for us all to take part and enjoy the camaraderie and company of our friends and fellows.

I am aware that the strength of the Association lies in its former Green Jacket Riflemen and numbers matter. Membership remains level at 1,787, of which 535 are former RGJ Officers; so there are a lot of former Riflemen out there that we would like to see join our Branches. Please encourage your old mates to sign up or to join us all at the RGJ Association Veterans’ Day at Sir John Moore Barracks, Winchester on Saturday 13th July. It is our one big central event of the year and I look forward to seeing you there.

Thanks, as always, to the Editorial Team of Kevin Stevens, Arne Bergsand and Ron Cassidy for all their hard work in putting the E-zine together.

My best wishes to all fellow Riflemen.

Hugh Willing

Forecast Of Events 15 June 2013 - 15 Sept 2013 Date June 18 19 20 21 22 29 29

July

TBC 6 6-7 11 13 13 13 13 14 16 18 20 22 27 28

Aug

20

Sept

TBC 6 6-7 7 7 7 8 8 TBC

Event

Contact

Turning of the Pages Ceremony (1055 hrs) Celer et Audax Club Regimental Lunch 43rd & 52nd Regimental Lunch RIFLES Northern Cocktail Party and Sounding Retreat RIFLES Freedom Parade Armed Forces Day RIFLES Freedom Ceremony (Ceremony only – no parade)

Winchester Cathedral Cavalry & Guards Club Edward Brooks Bks, Abingdon Durham Leeds

RHQ RHQ Oxford Office Durham Office Pontefract Office

Lyme Regis

Dorset Office

LI Club Lunch Turning of the Pages Ceremony (1045 hrs) Bodmin Heritage Day RIFLES Officers’ Club Dinner RIFLES Freedom Parade RGJA Veteran’s Day RGBW Officers’ Club Lunch The Rifles and RGBW Salisbury Reunion The Rifles & RGBW Drumhead Service & Lunch Turning of the Pages Ceremony (1055 hrs) RIFLES Officers’ Oxford Club Lunch 31st Anniversary of Regents Park bombing The Rifles, Salamanca Day The Rifles & RGBW Reading Reunion The Rifles & RGBW Cenotaph Service & Lunch

The Wardrobe, Salisbury Christ Church, St Aldates, Oxford Bodmin Royal Hospital Chelsea Ross-on-Wye Winchester Salisbury South Wiltshire Golf Club The Wardrobe, Salisbury Winchester Cathedral Edward Brooks Bks, Abingdon Regents Park

Salisbury Office Oxford Office Bodmin Office RHQ Shrewsbury Office

Brock Barracks Reading

Salisbury Office Salisbury Office

Turning of the Pages Ceremony (1055 hrs)

Winchester Cathedral

RHQ

Sounding Retreat Taunton 1st & 2nd Bn DLI Sjts Mess Dinner RIFLES Golf weekend Turning of the Pages Ceremony (1045 hrs) Harry Lowe Dinner RIFLES Northern Dinner DLI Associa on Annual Reunion Rally Day at The Keep RIFLES Freedom Parade

Taunton Durham

Taunton Office Durham Office Bodmin Office Oxford Office Durham Office Durham Office Durham Office Bodmin Office Oxford Office

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Christ Church, St Aldates, Oxford Dunelm Club, Durham College of St Hild & St Bede, Durham Durham Cathedral The Keep, Bodmin High Wycombe

Salisbury Office Salisbury Office Salisbury Office RHQ Oxford Office London Officve

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Royal Green Jackets Regimental Association Contact list as at 1 June 2013 President Chairman Secretary Members Secretary Webmaster Dep Webmaster Database Manager Webmaster RGJ Photographic Site

Maj Gen Jamie Balfour CBE Brig HGC Willing CBE Lt Col J-D von Merveldt Mr Mike Marr Mr Kevin Stevens Mr Mark Adams Mr Roy Baillie Mr Seamus P Lyons

01962 828524 01962 828524 0207 491 4936 01235 548018 01865 452813 01442 380713 01488 658681 01992 550605

admin@rgjassocia on.info admin@rgjassocia on.info london@the-rifles.co.uk oxford@the-rifles.co.uk webmaster@rgjassocia on.info greenjackets_2001@yahoo.co.uk membersdatabase@rgjassocia on.co.uk Seamus.lyons@rgjassocia on.info

Branches Australian

Maj Gen Andrew Pringle CB CBE

Mr Chris McDonald

Aylesbury

•

Mr Alan Grant

Band and Bugles

David Timms

Mr David Timms

East Midlands

•

Mr Mar n Coates

London

Col GF Smythe OBE

Mr Gary Driscoll

Midlands Central

•

Mr Peter Page

Milton Keynes

Brig MR Koe OBE

Mr Gary Brewer

North East

Brig NM Prideaux

Mr John Cheetham

N. Ireland

•

Mr Len Cook

North West

•

Mr Ray Gerrard

Oxfordshire

Brig Nigel Mogg DL

Mr Mike Marr

Shropshire

•

Mr Tom Fairclough

Suffolk

Maj RD Cassidy MBE

Mr Gordon Pilcher

South East Kent

Brig James Plastow MBE

Mr Glenn Ternent

Telford

•

Mr John Brown

Wiltshire

Brig G dv W Hayes CBE

Mr Gary Byrne

Winchester

Capt John Fritz-Domeney

Mr John Harper

Yorkshire

Brig PJ Lyddon MBE

Mr Stuart Anderson

+61 (0)408 937 165 cvmcdonald@bigpond.com 01296 426765 alanrgrant@aol.com 01304 820910 secretary@rgjband.com 01623 747817 mar nswi andbold@yahoo.co.uk 01708 442662 rgjldn@ntlworld.com 01922 694733 petepage71@hotmail.com 01908 218715 g_brewer@b nternet.com 01915 480189 rgj.north.east@b nternet.com lenny.cook@b nternet.com 01744 732501 ray.gerrard@talktalk.net 01235 548018 oxford@the-rifles.co.uk 01691 777172 tomfairclough@fsmail.net 01394 215925 gordon.pilcher@ntlworld.com 01843 297069 geordie_t@b nternet.com 01952 502362 rgjtelford@talktalk.net 01985 211279 gchabyrne@aol.com 01962 882481 johnharper1rgj@hotmail.co.uk 01757 617056 li lewood3741@hotmail.co.uk

Notes: Any amendments to the above contact informa on should be sent to Roy Baillie.

• Indicates that a Branch President has not been appointed.

RGJ Associa on Minutes and Accounts The Minutes and Accounts from the Committee meeting held on April 12th 2013 are not yet available and will be forwarded to Full members only in due course.

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C/Sgt Ken Ambrose MID 19 October 1945 - 9 January 2013

Eulogy on C/Sgt Ken Ambrose Kenneth Clifford Ambrose MID Born on the 19th of October 1945 in Birmingham Ken couldn’t possibly have had any idea what the future had in store for him or the very high esteem that he would be held in, by so many people, many of whom were to accept his wisdom and advice in later years.

He enlisted at Bushfield Camp into 3 Green Jackets, The Rifle Brigade on the 15th of May 1963, the Rifle Depot in Winchester soon to be renamed Peninsula Barracks was closed for renovation.

3 Green Jackets moved from Cyprus to Felixstowe forming there post block leave in the summer of 1964, in the January of 1965 proceeding on an unaccompanied Far East tour of one year of Hong Kong, Malay Peninsula and Borneo.

Lord Ramsbotham; wrote about the boxing final in Hong Kong prior to Borneo, “Ken was up against a young officer named Alexander Hood in the Heavyweight bout and it was clear who was going to win, but Ken appeared to be being politely kind, early in the second round however Alexander was unwise enough to hit Ken in the face, who looked up at the ceiling, delivered the telling blow and then stood to attention. I often see that resigned upwards look, as if to say ‘Enough is enough; good night!’ What a nice gentle giant and what a lot he did for the Regiment.”

I believe we would all echo that statement.

Colonel Mike Dewar Ken’s platoon commander in Borneo wrote “I am so sorry to hear of Ken’s death.

He was a great guy. He and I got into a few scrapes 4 | Volume 5 Issue 1

together in Borneo, in particular a very close recce - him and me basically - of an Indonesian base camp. It was very reassuring having his bulk next door to me.”

The Rev’d Colin Fox, wrote, “Ken was part of B Company 3 RGJ when I joined in Felixstowe in October 1966, he stood out from the rest because he was a larger than life character I got to know him particularly well as my platoon Sgt in Iserlohn and then when we moved to Celle. One year we took a team to Holland from the company for the Nijmegen marches Ken was great inspiration and we managed to keep Rifle pace throughout the 4 days; carrying our kit 25 miles a day, his admin was excellent.

We had a private battle against the Canadians and the Americans each day, and on the final day we overtook them, they had failed to take advice never to run. They were spread out for miles you can imagine the comments as we sped passed them. We shall miss you Ken, a real stalwart of the regiment every blessing. Foxy.”

Ken left the army on 2 December 1977; having seen service in Cyprus, Felixstowe, Hong Kong, the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Germany, the UK and Northern Ireland.

It was in Northern Ireland that he was to be awarded the Mention in Despatches, published in the London Gazette of 15 February 1972.

General Sir Garry Johnson in whose company Ken was a Pl Sgt wrote, “Really sorry to hear about Ken. Please give my sincere sympathy to his family.

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He was outstanding in every way on that tour, physically tough, fearless, cool-headed, competent in his job, someone whom his riflemen respected and his officers trusted, and the other way round, too. I personally witnessed him in action on a number of occasions and admired what I saw.

There’s an old bit of internalised peer evaluation which asks ‘Would I go to war with so-and-so?’

In Ken’s case, absolutely and without hesitation, yes. There is another angle, too. For some time he commanded a platoon, perhaps the only SNCO in the battalion at that time to do so. In this role he provided an experienced input to our planning and much common sense as well. I thought at the time, and still do, that his inclusion in the company command team had a beneficial influence on lessexperienced subalterns, and made for a good mix.

Definitely ‘above and beyond......’ He well deserved his MID. And it goes without saying that a similarly strong role back in barracks and in the training sphere. Great soldier, great Greenjacket. Very sad, Garry.”

Brig Mike Smith wrote: Ken was Pl Sjt of 6 Platoon B Company on the ‘71 tour of West Belfast. It was a busy tour including the internment operation in August and the subsequent widespread disorder throughout W Belfast, including the incident in the Markets area which was briefly known as the ‘Battle of the Bakery’.

His Pl Comd was Lt-Col James Jackson who wrote, “Ken was an outstanding field soldier. On a Brecon course escape and evasion exercise the enemy force trapped him against a reservoir. Most would have called it a day but not Ken; to the amazement of one and all he stripped off in the middle of winter and swam to freedom and safety.

‘Battle for the Bakery’: A number of well known IRA gunmen had taken over the Bakery in the Market Area. Gen Garry’s plan to clear the area was for 7PL to provide the cordon; 6 Pl to force entry into the Bakery and then 5 Pl to pass through 6 Pl to clear the building (very large task). It was decided that the best way to force entry was to blow a hole in

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the wall at the back of the building as the IRA may well have booby trapped the doors. To that end Col George Styles - the ATO who was awarded the GC for defusing an IRA bomb in the Europa Hotel and defusing many other IRA bombs - was attached to 6 Pl as he was going to lay the charges for the entry.

Ken acted as his guide for the night. I will not cover the details here; suffice to say that by the time we reached the Bakery it was starting to get light so Mike Smith stormed the building and we did not blow a hole in the wall.”

Brigadier Mike Smith writes, I served with Ken on the 72 (Motorman, Andersonstown) tour, by which time he was commanding 6 Pl and on the ’73 (Lower Falls) tour when he was my Pl C/Sjt in the Recce Platoon. I thought that Ken was just about everything that a young Rfn, JNCO or Young Officer could want close by, especially on operations. I found him to be absolutely loyal and reliable, calm under pressure and not the least influenced by bull.

Although he was built like a brick outhouse there was very definitely a thinking rifleman inside, as he has so clearly demonstrated in recent years with his recent work for the RGJ Association.”

What more can one say that those above haven’t touched on. Ken was a first class Rifleman in the true meaning of the word. But in my view he went on to become much more than that; voluntarily creating a web-site with a team of loyal and dedicated helpers, which enabled everyone in the Regiment to be in touch with each other, find out what was happening, report news, good, bad, sad, amusing and some times irritating, nothing was too difficult for him and the countless telephone calls and e-mails he received at home, usually cries for help or to give him more work, was something that only he could have achieved, no doubt and obviously Penny, with your support and perhaps even more so, your patience, you were a fine team.

Ken has surely done more for the Regiment he loved than anyone else I can think of, Penny you must be proud, I can assure you we in the Regiment are.

Ron Cassidy 25th January 2013

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The Story behind the foundation of the RGJRA Website When I first prepared this page in 2008 I turned to Ken Ambrose, the original Webmaster, and asked him if he could provide me with a comprehensive history of how the first association website came into being.

In Ken's briefing he did not shy away from the truth of what had been at times a troubled past for us.

Read on to understand how we evolved from an association website into the Internet Branch and back again and how we are now being used once again exactly how Ken envisaged it 16 years ago.

A Brief History of the RGJRA Website 1997-2007 The idea of creating a central web site for the RGJ Association first came to me in the summer of 1996.

At the time I was involved with the Association at branch level in Aylesbury and the initial thought was to create a site for the Aylesbury branch. However, as I had started to represent that branch at interim and annual meetings I first broached the subject of a possible Association web site at the 1996 June interim meeting held in Oxford. The suggestion was met with a certain amount of caution by both the Chairman, Brigadier Vere-Hayes, and those attending but I was asked to give a short presentation on the concept at the Annual meeting to be held at Winchester the following November.

The presentation went well and sufficient interest was created to allow the site to launch in May 1997. The initial launch contained 12 pages but within the year that had grown to over 200 and by the time another 12 months had passed to 600 pages. This made it necessary to form the Web Site Team.

In 1999, following much needed but failed attempts to assist in recruiting, and the introduction of the original Regimental Database it was decided that the site under the title of The Royal Green Jackets Association was getting to the point where its original purpose, that of providing a point of contact for all serving and ex-serving riflemen, was being lost by policies demanded at Regimental level and it was therefore decided that that we should step back from the politics of the Regiment and reassert our direction to that of supporting our members.

With much needed financial support from John Gard a new site was built and launched in 2000 under the title of `The Internet Branch`. This site continued to support The Regiment but had ceased to be dependent upon it financially. In recent times this lack of dependence has been relaxed slightly as far as the cost of maintenance and replacement of computer equipment for those working in the web site team. This cost has now been taken on by the Regimental Association and Trustees.

Throughout its history the purpose of the site and the motives of those who run it have been repeatedly misunderstood on a wide front! This can only be due to a large extent to a complete misconception by those who are not aware of the Internets enormous capabilities and how these attributes can be used to maximum advantage. The site has, in the past, been starved of information and ignored or forgotten about when it was necessary to promote Regimental events and publications. In the past we have also been used as a scapegoat or excuse for poor judgements in regard to the handling of the passing of emotive information or even worse for people making themselves look good at our expense.

In the course of events we have been told that an online vote made by Internet Branch members is not acceptable because they are not fully fledged paid up members of the Association when at any one time 80% of Internet branch membership are also Association paid up members of normal branches including the individuals own branch, everyone one of which, we are told is a paid up member! We have also been told that it is possible to have too many recruiting pages! These remarks were made by highly respected (To be con nued on next page) 6 | Volume 5 Issue 1

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and supposedly intelligent people from within the Regiment and Association.

I like to think that at last it is realised how much we can help in regard to the passage of information and that we have no other motive than to show the RGJ Regimental Association in its best possible light. I also hope that the days of mistrust and misunderstanding are now gone forever and that we can go forward as a vital part of the Regimental Association without the prejudice of the past.

Ken Ambrose April 2008

It had been my intention to ask Ken to update this article to include the additional work that we, as a website team, now do for the Association, however his sudden death in January means I can now never ask him but will instead fill in the details myself.

Ken's final paragraph is quite telling and I would like to think that everything he strived for has been achieved, there is now a far greater understanding at the very top of what the internet can achieve for the association and we are fully supported at both Managment Board and Association level. The mistrust Ken and I felt back a decade ago is long gone.

2007 - 2012 In the years 2007 to 2012 we expanded our interests from runnng one main website to building and running branch websites, organising a very successful RGJ photographic website partly from contributions from other members but also in large part from the extensive collection held by the late Bert Henshaw, taking on the new RGJ database built by Bill Shipton, the production of Swift & Bold and a quarterly E-Zine. Each of the team, now numbering 7, had their own role to play either heading up a particular section or as an assistant to Ken himself. Organisation was vital and Ken was an organiser, he and I had regular weekly telephone conversations where new ideas were talked about.

Ken spoke to the other team members the same way. One of the first advances in administration was to centralise all incoming emails so that each section head only received those that were relevant to him. I received website related emails, Mark Adams guest book/bulletin board emails and so on, Ken received and distributed these accordingly. The system worked and continues to work well although we now also have dedicated email addresses for both S&B and the E-Zine.

2013 - onwards Ken's death shocked us all but he has left us in a good position, it is now up to us to carry his good work on, undoubtedly we will make mistakes along the way but from those we will learn as Ken and I did in the early days.

Kevin Stevens Website Manager E-Zine 2013

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Database Report 1 DATABASE In taking over the database from Ken in the most unfortunate circumstances has proved challenging. I was taken on by Ken to assist him as his workload was quite heavy. Fortunately I was in possession of the basic tools to operate the database, of which Ken had provided only a few weeks earlier.

I can now solve all the problems that members encounter without referring to notes and it is becoming second nature, the system is in good health.

It is pleasing to report that the percentage of e-mails being returned by full members of all classes has dropped, out of the 786 O.R. members only 50 are returned as undeliverable and out of the 587 officer members only 20 are returned as undeliverable.

Members are reminded that if you change your E-mail and/or address please let me know or you will not receive any publications. The percentage of Non-members returns is quite high at 300 approx. Well, they do not receive publications and are unaware they have to update.

2 DATABASE STATISTICS Total No of Records: Total No of Officer Members: Total No of Serving Officers: Total No of Officer Members of Associa on (Full or Life): Total No of Overseas Officer Members (Non Paying): Total No of Officer Hon Members: Total No of Officer Hon Lady Members: Total No of Other Officers (GJ Club/KRRC etc): Total No of Officer Lapsed Members: Total No of Officer Non-Members: Total No of Deceased Officers: Total No of Officers: Total No of OR Full Members: Total No of OR Life Members: Total No of Serving ORs: Total No of OR Associate Members: Total No of OR Overseas Members: Total No of OR Lapsed Members: Total No of OR Non-Members: Total No of Deceased ORs: Total No of ORs: Total No of Others (Widows etc): Total No of Records with an E-mail Address:

6,111 532 61 32 32 7 39 3 16 630 102 1,454 898 142 14 4 133 945 2,146 266 4,548 105 3,223

36.6% 4.2% 2.2% 2.2% 0.5% 2.7% 0.2% 1.1% 43.3% 7.0% 19.7% 3.1% 1.0% 0.1% 2.9% 20.8% 47.2% 5.8%

52.7%

Roy Baillie Database Manager membersdatabase@royalgreenjackets.co.uk 8 | Volume 5 Issue 1

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AUSTRALASIAN BRANCH My Greatest fear in February 2007 when the RGJ became part of the Rifles was what I believed to be an anticipated gradual decline in interest with all things Green Jackets. This is said without any negativity or animosity towards the new Rifles Regiment. Unfortunately in Australia the facts are that Anzac Day on 25th April each year is a National public Holiday and set aside for remembering the fallen troops primarily from Anzac Cove, and later conflicts such as WW2 & Vietnam. The British Ex Services community in Australia has been included for many years now. As most of you will be aware, this Branch has taken part in these Anzac Day marches for the previous 13 years. However, sadly the Ex British Services associations in Australia are dwindling to very low numbers. In particular the Guard’s Association, Royal Marines, Para’s and Services Corps Associations are now very low in membership. Ever since this Branch started it has displayed a significantly higher and more enthusiastic membership than those mentioned.

This has been helped by having a good number of Royal Green Jacket members; however we have a fair number of antecedent Regiments amongst our membership, Rifle Brigade, KRRC, GJ Brigade & Ox & Bucks. The later antecedent regiment members did not wear “The Royal Green Jackets” hat badge, which was behind my fear in 2007, they have no real connection to the Rifles Regiment and only a tenuous one to “The Royal Green Jackets” Regiment. As may be fairly obvious, we are now approaching a period where some of the antecedent regiment guys are getting to an age where marching on Anzac Day is not within their capability due to ill health and or age.

11th November has been largely an Ex British Services day, as the Australians obviously lean towards Anzac day. These remembrance services have also suffered increasingly low numbers over the years, again fortunately in Perth Western Australia bolstered by the Green Jackets membership. However the Ex British Services, including the Royal Green Jackets are now seeing noticeably declining presence at these events.

Secretaries and Chairmen of other Branches of our Association in the UK have often contacted me in bewilderment as to how I was able to entice our members in the Eastern States of Australia, to travel 5000 kilometres in order to put on a green blazer and beret and march on Anzac Day in Perth. Apparently some of the UK Branches were having trouble getting member’s to travel 3 miles down the road to a branch meeting! Well, it certainly wasn’t my powers of persuasion, simply a love for the Regiment that has made people want to travel incredible distances to march in green and have a beer with another Green Jackets that they may not even have known before or served with.

I had the honour of being quoted in 2009 I think it was, at the Winchester Reunion in a speech

by Jamie Balfour, after I had been working in close proximity to the Rifles Regiment at Sangin Forward Operating base in Afghanistan. I had said in one of our Branch newsletters that “If it sounds like a Green Jacket, marches like a Green Jacket and looks like a Green Jacket, then it’s probably a Green Jacket. I had made that observation after witnessing three separate Battalions of the Rifles in Afghanistan and how I was struck by the similarities. So, for me at least, I see the relevance of the Royal Green Jackets and how the link to the Rifles is as seamless as it could possibly be.

Traditionally in Australia, Remembrance Day on

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Why, you may ask, it is certainly not the distance from the UK or specifically Winchester, the sound of a silver Bugle still makes the hair stand up on the back of peoples necks, they are still incredibly proud of their Regiment, so why the decline in interest? With the other Association’s suffering the same ailment. I was for some time concerned that losing “The Royal Green Jackets” to the Rifles Regiment was a probably cause, but this does not explain why other Regimental Associations also suffer the same problem.

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Phil and Chris.

Over the last few years, we, and I say that as the “Royal We” have lost an incredible amount of “our mates”. Choggie Colman, Dave Peppiat, to name two from 3RGJ amongst the many that we have lost, and most recently Ken Ambrose, a man that helped me enormously in many ways and a man that this Association owes a great debt.

So if collectively, we are still very proud of our Regiments (including the antecedent and Light Infantry guys within this Branch) and those in the UK branches. If we still cringe when we see a name of one of our old mates (not so old, some of them) that appear in the “Memoriam Board”, why are Branches seeing less people turn up at events including the Reunion in Winchester? Is it perhaps the same old war stories being told?

I doubt that, as to my reckoning, apart from Mr Tyson and Mr Lindfield, there are very few “Royal Green Jackets” that have many real war stories to tell, apart from NAAFI fights, VW Golf’s being run over by a 432, stolen bicycles from the Cambridge University set being thrown into the water tanks. The bond we share as a regiment is bigger than those stories. How many Green Jackets became successful authors? Including RFN Bowlby, How many real stories from our Regimental past fuelled the books by Mark Urban, or ‘With the Green Jackets” by Percy Groves, or “A Dorset Rifleman”, or “25 years in the Rifle Brigade” by William Surtees, or the timeless Classic “Jackets of Green” by Arthur Bryant, and recently JJ Jones from 3RGJ. How many Green Jackets successfully served in 22 SAS, and are still are on the active reserve list (those who wrote books under pseudonyms or not, or explored the Antarctic (Henry Worsley), how many have gone on to become renowned leaders in private enterprise (McNiff, Pringle), how many are putting out Fires in London 10 | Volume 5 Issue 1

(Wilksy), driving Black Cabs (Ginge), giving it large on Oil Rigs spending hard earned dosh on EBAY fashion web sites (Chappy) or making a success on Stage with his singing and acting (Kev Curtin).

Some of our old mates, and new ones met through the Association Branches are getting old, ill and infirm, some of the younger ones are making new lives in “civvie” street, trying to make the big bucks in various conflict areas such as Iraq a few years ago, Afghanistan and now anti piracy operations providing security to international vessels (Sam Mc, 3RGJ amongst others). Where ever they are, whatever they are doing, whatever their state of health one thing remains un-changed, they are Green Jackets.

One old saying that was often floated in 3RGJ, was “everything that is necessary and nothing that isn’t”, it may have originated in The Rifle Brigade but I am sure somebody may correct me such as Ron Cassidy, whom if you were not aware, probably knows more about our Regiment than anyone ever will. However it is “necessary” that we keep the Association Branches going strong.

Don’t wait to hear another old mate’s name that has passed away before his time, to reflect on what the Regiment means to you. Logging on to FaceBook will not keep the Regiment alive or make sure that our history is not lost or our mates cared for when they are in declining health. It “is” necessary that you as a former Rifleman, from the greatest living Regiment in any Army in the world, support your Association and each other, don’t let any of our mates die alone like Choggie. Look after the Association, while we still have it.

Chris McDonald Australasian Branch Chairman

www.riflespropertyservices.co.uk

e-mail: rickmillward@btinternet.com

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CENTRAL ENGLAND BRANCH Following our article in Swift & Bold, there have been a number of events worthy of mention. Not least of all the Branch fundraiser in February held at The Port n Ale, Tipton. Superbly organised by Ray Gaffney, Frank Hone and PEC ‘Scotty Brown’. A great day was had by all with around 25 members throughout the day/evening in attendance. We also managed to recruit 4 new members in Michael Leeming, Mark Downey, John ‘Brummy’ Ball and John Brown. Overall, we also raised £700 for the Branch by way of a raffle, cash draw cards and a barrel of fine ale donated by the pub landlord.The event was a resounding success with a disco, live band and ‘Range Stew’ superbly cooked and served in mess tins by new member Daz Arnold!! This was followed by a committee meeting in midFebruary whereby a number of initiatives were discussed along with a forecast of events for the remainder of this year.

provided us with a bouncy castle gratis and face painter were utilised to good effect by the kids.

Plenty of ale, merriment and food was had on another enjoyable evening, though a number of slightly raised eyebrows were noted following Ray’s double win on the raffle!!

Other events of note were the RHQ RGJRA Spring meeting held at Peninsula Barracks on Friday 12th April whereby Chairman Mark Picken and myself were in attendance. It being our first, we were able to get a feel for what other branches were all about and hopefully glean some useful info, which of course we did.

However, the most notable point was our offer to maintain the NMA at Alrewas, which of course was received well by all. This is something we feel passionately about and we aim to ensure that it is cared for and presentable to those visiting the excellent site. In the next few weeks we will be having our first works party to conduct some basic house-keeping in readiness for the busy summer period. Treasurer Guy Mynett as some great ideas and plans for improving our memorial which once we receive approval, will enhance the place no end.

Then last week, we had 3 RIFLES exercise their right to the Freedom of the City which was very well received by the locals and a number of branch members were in attendance - footage is available on various RGJ Facebook pages to peruse.

A deep discussion.

In April we held our Branch ‘Families Day’ which despite some rather harsh inclement weather was another great day out for the Branch, spouses and children. Our host was Mrs Emma Collins w/o branch member Gary at The Cock Inn, Bartley Green. Jeff Chittleburgh came along with his vast array of bespoke regimental merchandise which was well received (www. squaddyonline.com) and a number of banners were supplied for branch advertising at events.

Also Colin ‘Tiny’ Fleming and his wife Anne

Finally, it is our branch anniversary on 22nd May 2013. One year ago we officially existed and long may it continue, we are always looking for new members to bolster our already great band of brothers. Therefore, if you live in or near to the central region of England, please get in touch.

Facebook ‘Central England Branch RGJRA’. In the meantime, regards to all our fellow Riflemen across the globe.

Celer et Audax Pete Page Secretary

The RGJ Photographic Site Our Regimental Photographic Archive (www.rgjphotos.org.uk) is showing all aspects of Regimental Life. Séamus P Lyons has redesigned the site comprising 35,740 photos. If you would like to contribute with more photos of the RGJ and Antecedent Regiments kingly contact Séamus (Seamus.lyons@rgjassocia on.info) who will be pleased to hear from you.

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A Product of Hard Work

Seriously swift and seriously bold

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For details call JCB on +44 (0)1889 594454

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www.jcb.com/defence

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Applications and Renewal of RGJ Regimental Association Annual Subscriptions by Card Payments With immediate effect anyone wishing to apply for or renew their annual Association membership subscription will be able to pay over the telephone by debit or credit card transaction. To pay your subscription in this way please call the Membership Secretary, Mike Marr, on 01235 548 018 between the hours of 10am and 4pm Monday to Friday. He is available to receive payments on most days.

LONDON BRANCH The Committee President Secretary Treasurer

Colonel George Smythe OBE Gary Driscoll Maria Driscoll Neal Smythe Norman Morrison

The London Branch of the Royal Green Jackets Association was formed in 1995, and it’s aim is to reunite ex-serving soldiers of the regiment who generally live or work within the Greater London.area. The branch is made up of exRegular and Territorial soldiers of all ranks.

The London Branch has a very busy annual Forecast of Events representing the Association at many regimental services and parades. These include: the Queen Victoria’s Rifles/King’s Royal Rifle Corps/Rifle Brigade Memorial Service in Calais, France; the Royal Green Jackets Band Memorial Service in Regents Park; and the Remembrance Sunday Parade at the Cenotaph in Whitehall.

The branch also organises many other events throughout the year including an annual Veterans Lunch, Battlefield tour, mini reunions (Black Button Club) our annual Ladies Dinner Night, and at least one fundraising event.

Our annual Ladies Dinner was held on Saturday 23rd February 2013, at the Victory Services Club in Marble Arch. There were 105 people present, including family and friends. Our guests of honour this year were the Regimental Casualty Officer for Care for Casualties, Lt Col (retd) Mike Smith MBE and his wife Jessica. We were also very privileged to be entertained by a Brass quintet from the Waterloo Band of 7 Rifles, who played wonderfully during the dinner, and when the port was served, Bugle Major Terry McCann along with three buglers joined the band and played some regimental marches including everyone’s favourite “High on a Hill”. Our branch secretary, Gary Driscoll gave a short speech and informed everyone of some upcoming events, Our President Col (retd) George Smythe OBE, t E-Zine 2013

Ladies Dinner Norman Morrison, Bugle Major Terry McCann, Michael Alagoa snd Major Micky Blake.

hanked the London Branch Committee for their ever continuing hard work over the years, and to all branch members and their guests for all their support especially over the last few years helping to raise money for the various regimental charities. Lt Col Mike Smith was then invited to give an update on the Care for Casualties Charity.

He told us some inspirational stories about how (To be con nued on next page) Volume 5 Issue 1 | 13

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the funds that we have been raising are being spent. At the end of his speech, the London Branch Committee handed him a cheque for the sum of £5, 992.70 for Care for Casualties Fund.

This brings the total overall figure raised and donated to regimental charities by the London Branch over the last five years to £33,937.70.

Two genera ons of Green Jackets.

Barry Bowes, Ellie Cochrane, Maureen Bowes and Bert Bowes.

We look forward to our Annual Veterans’ Day Lunch in June, when we are delighted to have as our guests of honour, the Royal Green Jackets Association Chairman, Brig Hugh Willing CBE and Maj (retd) Roy Stanger of the Winchester Branch. We also look forward to seeing everyone at the Veterans Day Reunion at Winchester 13th July 2013.

Col George Smythe OBE, Lt Colonel Mike Smith MBE, Norman Morrison, Maria Driscoll, Gary Driscoll and Neal Smythe.

This year’s Calais Memorial Service was held on Wednesday 22nd May 2013. The day was organised by Norman Hummerstone MBE, Secretary of the Queen Victoria’s Rifles Association, and Maj (retd) Ron Cassidy MBE of the Rifle Brigade Association. This year 25 members of the London Branch attended and our secretary, Gary Driscoll, laid a poppy wreath on behalf of the Royal Green Jackets Association.

It was the 73rd Anniversary of this Parade and as the years have gone by so the Calais veterans have decreased in numbers due to old age and health reasons.

David Dee, Charlo e Dee, Sharon Stergiopoulos, Robert Cohen, Carolyn Cohen and John Cohen OBE.

TIMINGS FOR THE WINCHESTER VETERANS’ DAY REUNION SATURDAY 13th JULY 2013 1400hrs 1400hrs - 1745hrs 1800hrs 1815hrs 1850hrs 1930hrs 0100hrs

Gates open at Sir John Moore Barracks Bar open and Static Displays Form up for Parade Parade Service (Drum Head) 1830hrs Chairman`s Address followed by March Past Sounding Retreat Bar and Restaurant re-open Closes

Please note that at the Winchester reunion a £5 entrance fee will be charged for members and a £10 entrance fee will be charged for none members. The £10 fee will be recognised as one year’s annual subscription to the Association.

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NORTH EAST BRANCH Riflemen We started the year with our Annual General Meeting held on the 8th February 2013 at the British Legion Club in Sunderland, where the Committee was unanimously re-elected to continue with the work to be done for this year. There were new arrivals on parade and the meeting was attended by 33 members with a number of apologies. Thank you Riflemen on behalf of all the Committee for your continuing support.

Our first event this year will be the Band and Bugles Concert at the Sunderland Minster on the 21st June at 19.30 hrs. Our Branch Standard will be carried by Ken Richardson on the evening. Dress will be formal, i.e. Lounge suits, Regimental blazers, berets and medals.

If anyone hasn’t purchased their tickets then you can contact Jake Cheetham who can get a discount but hurry they are going fast.

The picture below is the new badge showing its position on top of the Standard, we were hoping to have a picture of Ken holding the Standard but we weren’t able to get this arranged in time.

Allied War Graves at El Alamein.

hope there will be lots of photographs and tales to tell in the next edition of the E-Zine.

The next event of importance we have in July is our annual pilgrimage to Winchester, where we will hopefully all get together and have a dry (weather!) and enjoyable weekend together. As well as the re-union on the Saturday, on Sunday we will look forward to joining Brigadier Nicholas and Amanda Prideaux for Brunch before we start on our long journey home.

In past years, we have had a massive success with our Remembrance Weekend, so much so that this year we are being restricted to a maximum number of 300 guests at the Roker Hotel in Sunderland, so I must stress to those of you wishing to travel to this spectacular event to book in early as the rooms will disappear very quickly.

In April Jake Cheetham visited the Allied War Graves at El Alamein and discovered a number of Riflemen from KRRC and the Rifle Brigade where they are laid to rest.

This year Armed Forces Day will be on 29thJune.

Various members of the Branch are involved in numerous activities including raising funds for Help For Heroes and our own Rifles charity Care4Casualites. We wish them every success.

In early July a small group of Riflemen and their wives will be representing the North East Branch and the Regiment at the Not Forgotten Association Annual Garden Party at Buckingham Palace. This event is a fantastic experience and I E-Zine 2013

There are a number of local B and Bs close to hand as well as the actual hotel itself, which can be accessed over the internet and booked accordingly. Full details will be published nearer to the date on Facebook and on our Association website. Accommodation details at http://www.greenjackets-net.org.uk/northeast/ Accommodation%20Reunion.html.

This year we are hoping to exceed the Parade numbers of the last two years. As we are the largest Veterans Association to take part in the Remembrance Day Parade in Sunderland.

Our website continues to grow and is proving very popular, we have now taken over full editorial

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responsibility for its running from the RGJRA website team although it was agreed that for the first few months Kevin Stevens would keep an eye on it in case of problems but so far so good !!

All of us in the North East Branch wish you and

yours the best of health and look forward to seeing a lot of you in July.

Swift and Bold Malcolm Donnison

SOUTH EAST BRANCH I was delighted to hear that Riflemen in the South East of Kent got together to form the RGJA South East Kent Branch of our great Regiment. With three past residence of Dover Castle (Godsal, Heyes and Plastow), battalions previously based in Dover the Green Jackets can rightly claim a stake in this part of the Country.

Very nice words and just to build up on that the Branch is steadily growing with new members coming on board each month and I hope with this article ore members will be added to our list.

At our Christmas party held in the Blue Bird Club, Dover we had 110 members with family and friends attending. We put round a pro-forma asking our members what they would like the Committee members to do for them over the coming year. We had 3 main events requested, a family BBQ, a Black Tie Dinner and another Christmas party, so we as a Committee got our heads together and it is all going to happen.

The BBQ will take place at the Cricketers in Dover on Saturday 29th June 1200 hrs to 1800 hrs, £6.50 per Adult and £4.00 per Child. The venue is very Children friendly with a large grassed area, two old fashioned skittle alleys, a bouncy castle and a covered area ready for the summer rain, the response so far has been encouraging. We are looking to a visit from Gordon Vasher, Gordon will be bringing some F1 merchandise which we can auction off to help our Branch funds. I did hope to have an open BBQ at Connaught Barracks with bring your own picnic and just to use the grassed area of the Barracks to eat and play potted sports with the children, grandchildren and in some cases great grandchildren, but after being in contact with the security firm manager nothing was forth coming, but now we have our President on board he may be able to use the old boy network and arrange a day for next year for the Barracks to be open, so we can reminisce with our children that I slept in that block and Drilled in that square!!!

Marina Hotel and Spa on Saturday 14th September. The evening will be named the Peninsula Dinner and will consist of a 3 course Dinner with wind along with a Disco, because of the size of the venue we are restricted to 80-100, so first come first seat. We did say Black Tie but members can come in Lounge suits, we Green Jackets can never dress the same in Uniform so it is no different now we are civvies, the cost of the Dinner will be £45 a head, the Hotel has offered reduced rates for the evening if you wish to stay, check out our Web page for costs.

The Christmas party will be held on Saturday 7th December in the Blue Bird Club in Dover with a Curry and rice buffet along with a DJ. The cost of the party will be £10 a head and if it is anything like last year it will be a great success.

We plan to march at this year’s Remembrance Day service in Dover, we are in talks with the Parade Marshall and I do not forsee any problems. We plan to meet at our Branch HQ, The Dover Sea Angling Club before the parade, March and pay our respects to absent friends then back to the Club for a family curry lunch.

As you can see our Committee have been outstanding in all the work they have done, I would take this opportunity to thank each and every one of them for their enthusiasm, drive and commitment.

Our Branch meetings will be held in The Dover Sea Angling Club, 14 Priory Road, Dover, Kent, CT17 9RJ, free parking after 1800 hrs and cheap beer. Dates are 27th June, 26th September, and 28th November. Please feel free to contact us on RGJA South East Kent.com. or geordie_t@ btinternet.com or ring Glenn on 01843 297069 or Bob Newman 07411517908, do come along to our Branch meetings and events. I can assure you that you will be warmly welcome back.

Regards

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WILTSHIRE BRANCH Since our article in the Swift and Bold, we have held our 15th annual dinner again this year at The Hunters Moon, Hensford Marsh, Warminster, with 30 plus sitting down to an excellent meal with wine and port which we were allowed to provide ourselves to help keep the cost down, but due to the Hunters being up for sale this may be our last dinner there, we will be looking for a change of venue for 2014, that said we enjoyed a very good event well planned and laid on by Phil and Val Ashby, with plenty of balloons for Gary Byrne to play with all in Black, Green and Red. As I put this article on the screen we have just returned home from a busy morning in Heytesbury village where along with the Warminster Royal British Legion we manned a water point for the Forces Charity run and or march along the route the 2nd Ox and Bucks marched in 1942 after training in Devon, from Ilfracombe to Bulford, with participants from both civilian and military back grounds, also a very smart contingent from the Rifles Cadet Force Somerset, who came through in full uniform at a good Rifles pace, as in other years many of the DS were retired members of the RGJ with one who had served in the Ox and Bucks, it was good to see his green beret and badge.

LeŌ to Right: Brian Darvill, Blanche Darvill, Gwyneth Massey and Phil Ashby. ●

BBQ on Saturday 10th August with a Glam Rock theme, this will be an afternoon/evening event, please contact for venue details.

●

Branch meeting on Thursday 26th September, details as for July.

●

As in the past we will be at the RGJ Veterans day, Saturday 13th July Sir John Moore Bks, Winchester.

At present our IT rep Lee Massey is once again recovering from surgery in Salisbury hospital, he has now lost all his toes and part of both feet, we now pray that he is on the mend, and will soon be back home looking after our website.

Brian Darvill Chairman RGJRA Wiltshire Branch

Cadet detachment marching past the parade of Royal Bri sh Legion Standards.

Branch events over the next few months are: ● Branch meeting on Thursday 11th July at 20:00 hours in the Warminster Conservative Club. Open to all Royal Green Jackets, just drop in to see us and smell the coffee or beer! ●

Evening horse racing on Saturday 27th July, at Salisbury racecourse, followed by a Coldplay tribute band, we have a coach from Warminster seats still available.

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Ox and Bucks Support Staff.

Note: In Lee's absence please contact the Branch via the Chairman Brian Darvill, brian.darvill@live.co.uk.

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WINCHESTER BRANCH Last year ended on an excellent note with a branch Christmas Party at South Winchester Golf Club where many of our members made the effort to dress up in party mode. With a prize for the best turned out couple it just had to go to Chris Mitchell as the star of An Officer and a Gentleman. Although Chris really looked the part the 'Officer and a Gentleman' title was asking us to stretch our imagination just a little too far. Our special guests this year was the President of the RGJRA Maj Gen (Retd) Jamie Balfour and his wife Carolyn who thoroughly enjoyed themselves and made the occasion just that little bit special.

On the Regimental Birthday the branch assembled at the County Arms to drink the health of the Regiment. The event was organised

by Rick Tyson, with a good number of Green Jacket Close turning up as well. You could tell it was New Year’s day as Billy Gledhill and Sid Bunn looked like they had just left a News Years party only 5 minutes before. Our thanks to the staff at the County Arms for their warm and seasonal welcome and excellent food they had laid on as well.

bric-a-brac for sale with all monies going towards C4C our branch charity.

May saw a gathering of the branch with members of Green Jacket Close at a social within the Sgts Mess ATR(W) for a quiz night and a fish and chip supper run by Andy Gray, this also included the ladies (or is it partners now). Also held in May was a very successful "Turning of the Pages" within Winchester Cathedral where John Fritz-Domeney asked Pat Cody (one of our two In Pensioners at the RHC) to come down to Winchester and do the honours. With an audience of over 300 fascinated visitors to the Cathedral on the day Pat duly obliged with grace and decorum as befitting a member of our fine Regiment and as you can see the pictures speak for themselves in the following article. In June the branch will be preparing for the Veterans’ Day (13 July 2013) we hope to see you all there.

Celer et Audax Roy Stanger Chaiman

Our AGM in February saw old and new members either elected or re-elected to the committee for another term of office. Dave Birch an old face from the past and an ex 2 RGJ Bugle Major now living in Dorchester joined our ranks as a very welcome new member.

Peter French is currently preparing a new Battlefield Tour for the branch for the latter part of 2013 and will again be a South of England tour. The last one in 2012 was absolutely fantastic so we look forward to seeing what he can come up with this year.

During March and April with the weather improving Del Millam and his team took the opportunity to revive the regimental Garden of Remembrance within ATR(W).

By the time of the Veterans’ Day everyone will see not only a marked improvement to the garden but also some of the new build works and refurbishment we have incorporated into the site. Also during this period the Car Boot sale team under Pat Low were busy collecting jumble and general 18 | Volume 5 Issue 1

Members of the branch at the 60th Memorial.

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Former Rifleman In-Pensioner turns pages in Winchester His uniform was of great interest to the school children who surrounded him after the ceremony and Pat gave them an explanation of what it means to be a Chelsea Pensioner and to live at the Royal Hospital.

Sgt Pat Cody

Former Rifleman (KRRC) Pat Cody, now an In-Pensioner at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, travelled to Winchester on 21st May to turn the pages of the King’s Royal Rifle Corps (KRRC) and Rifle Brigade (RB) Rolls of Honour in Winchester Cathedral. He was supported by members of the Winchester branch of Royal Green Jackets Regimental Association, Winchester Branch, and the occasion was attended by over 150 School children and other visitors to the Cathedral.

Looking proud and splendid in his scarlet cloak, Pat, who served 22 years in the Army and afterwards as a member of the Corps of Commissionaires, said the bidding address at the ceremony before reading 5 names from each of the Rolls of Honour. The ceremony concluded with a bugler of The Rifles sounding Reveille.

Commenting on the experience Pat said: “I am so chuffed to be asked to perform this ceremony and it means so much to me to be back with my regiment. I found it a very moving occasion.”

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The Turning of the Pages ceremony for Rolls of Honour of the KRRC and RB dates back to the time when Peninsula Barracks, in the city, was the depot and home of the two regiments. Today responsibility for the ceremony lies with The Rifles regiment and its forming and antecedent regimental associations. It takes place at 1000hrs in Winchester Cathedral on the third Tuesday of every month except November when it is on the Thursday closest to the 11th November. The next ceremony will take place at 1000 on June 18th. All are welcome.

You can keep up to date with news from the Rifles by visiting: http://the-bugle.co.uk/

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THE ROYAL GREEN JACKETS (RIFLES) MUSEUM The first four months of the year have been particularly busy months for the Museum staff with a number of things all happening at once and with one member of staff on maternity leave.

Visitor numbers, however, have held up well with an increase of 5% in the first four months of the year compared to the same period in 2012.

The critical action upon which the Museum could not afford to default was submission of the Museum’s application for Accreditation by the end of April. The Museum has been fully accredited since November 2000, but each time re-accreditation is required, the expected standard of organisational health, collection care and user experience is higher. This is good practice but, in order to leave nothing to chance, it calls for much effort in preparation.

Apart from the usual events, the Museum held its first ever Art exhibition in April. The paintings of the war artist, Arabella Dorman, were on display, nearly all of them depicting scenes from Iraq, including paintings of 1st Battalion, The Royal Green Jackets, at the end of 2006, and Afghanistan. The exhibition was opened by the

Mr Bradshaw in front of the Museum’s VC display, 16 May 2013.

Mayor of Winchester and was partly responsible for a 10% increase in visitors during April. The exhibition closed on 6 May. It is always a pleasure to meet unexpected visitors in the Museum. One was Mr Bradshaw, a descendant of Private (Rifleman, later Corporal) (To be con nued on next page)

Pain ng by Arabella Dorman of 1 RGJ Ba le Group outside Basra Palace, Iraq, December 2006.

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act of gallantry, dying aged only 39.

Joseph Bradshaw of 2nd Battalion, The Rifle Brigade, who was awarded a Victoria Cross for his gallantry outside Sebastopol on 22 April 1855 during the Crimean War. Mr Bradshaw described how a previous member of the family fell on hard times and had been obliged to sell Bradshaw’s medals. Sadly, they became separated at some point as the Museum acquired the VC and his French medaille militaire, but not his Crimea Medal, Turkish Crimea Medal or Indian Mutiny Medal. Bradshaw was aged 21 at the time of his

In the last Ezine mention was made of the transfer of the Museum’s archives to Hampshire Record Office in order to take advantage of better environmental and storage conditions. HRO curators are currently working hard to prepare a full catalogue of the collection to place on-line.

We hope to report completion in the next Ezine.

With best wishes to all our readers and, if you have not visited the Museum recently, why not do so. You can be sure of a warm welcome.

To contact the Museum, telephone or e-mail the Curator, Christine Pullen.

Tel: 01962 828549 or e-mail: curator@rgjmuseum.co.uk To purchase items from the Museum Shop, for information about forthcoming events, and to read interesting articles about the Museum, visit www.rgjmuseum.co.uk

OPENING HOURS Monday to Saturday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Last entry 4.15 p.m.)

Sundays: The Museum is open on Sundays from 30 June to 15 September 2013.

It is closed on other Sundays and over Christmas and the New Year.

Visits to the Museum’s archives are by appointment only.

News from the RGJ Museum Trading Company.

• As has become usual there will be a Museum Shop stand at the RGJ Association Veterans Day on Saturday 13 July in Sir John Moore Barracks. Do have a look at what is on offer and in particular take a close look at the Thomas Gunn 95th Rifles miniatures that are now on sale. They are superb models that would be a handsome addition to your Green Jacket memorabilia or make a special gift to someone - why not from the wife to you at Christmas?!.

• Are you fed up with the cost of Christmas cards and postage? We are producing an RGJ E-Card this year featuring Billy the Bugler with animation and Bugle Calls that we expect to be able to demonstrate on 13 July. We hope it will prove E-Zine 2013

popular and be the first of a series of such cards, but if you prefer to be traditional the 2013 Christmas Cards will be on sale.

Finally, the running costs of your Museum are high and the income derived from paying visitors is a major source of funding. RGJA members benefit from free admission over the weekend of Veterans Day which is right and proper but, would you consider making a donation to the Museum in lieu of an admission charge?

How about dropping some of your change from the cost of a round of drinks into one of the Museum Upkeep tins that will be on the bar? No sum too small - or too large!

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RIFLEMAN J BRADSHAW VC

THE RIFLE BRIGADE - 1855 SEBASTOPOL Date of Act of Gallantry: 22 April 1855 Place: Sebastopol, Crimea

Citation: "A Russian rifle-pit, situated among the rocks overhanging the Woronzoff Road, between the third parallel, Right Attack, and the Quarries (at that time in the possession of the enemy), was occupied every night by the Russians, and their riflemen commanded a portion of the Left Attack, and impeded the work in a new battery then being erected on the extreme right front of the second parallel, Left Attack. It was carried in daylight on 22nd April, 1855, by two riflemen, one of whom was Private Bradshaw. He has since received the French War Medal. The rifle-pit was subsequently destroyed on further support being obtained."

(London Gazette, 24 February 1857)

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Armed Forces Day - Saturday 29 June Military operations take place across the world, they’re so high-profile, it’s helped promote Armed Forces Day tremendously, so when it comes to celebrating, people know there’s a good reason why – because these guys are deployed 365-days-ayear.

Preparations are in full swing ahead of Armed Forces Day on Saturday 29 June.

The fifth Armed Forces Day is gearing up to be the biggest and best yet. This year the city of Nottingham has been chosen to host the national event, when organisers hope to top the 60,000-strong crowds that turned out in Plymouth last year.

The aim of Armed Forces Day is to honour the contribution of military personnel past and present and gives the nation an opportunity to show support and thank the men and women who serve. And now, with Armed Forces Day just 50 days away, people are getting fully involved in the preparations across the UK. Major David Falconer is masterminding Armed Forces Day in the strategic marketing communications team of MOD’s Directorate of Media and Communication, and he’s confident that it’s become a firm fixture in the national calendar.

The celebrations also complement the ethos of the Armed Forces Community Covenant which encourages towns to show their support for troops who live locally.

Major Falconer said: E-Zine 2013

The curtain-raiser in Nottingham is on 28 June when a military parachute display team will drop in during the interval at the NottinghamshireLeicestershire cricket match at Trent Bridge.

There will also be a day of celebrations at the city’s Victoria Embankment, including a parade, a drumhead service, a Red Arrows and Typhoon flypast, and dynamic displays by Royal Marines commandos featuring helicopters and ‘lots of bangs’.

Throughout the UK, the day will be marked with familythemed events including parades, pageants, aerial displays and various other performances.

In London the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich will be hosting one of the UK’s largest events, with historical re-enactments, animal displays, fairground rides, stunt car shows and birds of prey demonstrations. While Manchester’s ‘big thank you’ will comprise an afternoon of live music, dancing and a veterans’ parade.

Sport will also play its part: on 18 May, the FA Legends

take on the Combined Services Legends at football; then at Wimbledon, the military stewards will take a bow before the sell-out crowd on Men’s Final Day. With momentum growing, Armed Forces Day has already garnered 1.2 million Facebook followers, while celebrity supporters Carol Vorderman, Andy Murray and David Beckham are expected to tweet their support. Among the VIPs lending their support will be royalty and politicians, though, at this stage, names are being kept under wraps.

National Express is also supporting Armed Forces Day. The UK’s largest coach operator currently offers a travel discount for all serving personnel, with 60% off journeys booked online, enabling people to take advantage of affordable travel to the national event in Nottingham. Clothing companies, fast food restaurants, sports firms and Thorpe Park will also run special offers for troops, veterans and their families.

Organisers are also keen to encourage people to hold their own events. Major Falconer said: I expect Nottingham to lead the way for the UK in supporting Armed Forces Day. I hope that everyone joins in!

Visit http://www.armedforcesday. org.uk/ or Facebook to find out more.

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An Encounter with Pirates in The Indian Ocean In October 2006 when I handed over the job of Defence Attaché in Muscat, Oman, where amongst other things my Defence Section was working with the Omanis and the Royal Navy to secure the safe passage of British merchant ships (mostly LNG tankers going from Qatar to Milford Haven) through the Arabian Sea to the Bab el Mendeb and into the Red Sea. But my interest was dramatically rekindled earlier last year when I was giving a series of lectures on the cruise ship ‘DISCOVERY’ a 25,000 ton British passenger ship that can carry 450 passengers - during her Indian Ocean cruise.

Our first leg was due east towards the Seychelles from Mombasa in Kenya - our first stop on this 16-day section of the cruise to Aqaba at the top of the Red Sea. We were deliberately giving a wide berth to Somalia to avoid the known area of pirate operations which was to the north of our route. Earlier whilst alongside in Mombasa, I had taken a more than passing interest in the defences of the ship in case of an attack by Somali pirates. ‘DISCOVERY’ is a British registered ship with a British Captain, and so a team from the SBS had travelled down to Mombasa from Djibouti where the Royal Navy has a cell in the European Naval Task Force Headquarters. EU NAVFOR (The European Union Naval Force) is the main coordinating authority which operates the Maritime Security Centre (Horn of Africa) in Djibouti the capital of French Somaliland. Under the codename Operation ‘Atlanta’a major EU Naval Task Group of 15 warships has been operating in the region for several years to improve maritime security off the Somali coast.

The SBS officers had briefed our Captain John Brocklehurst on the current threat levels. All ship’s Captains are aware of the international legal framework on piracy drawn from the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS) as well as the International Maritime Organisation’s Recommended Procedures for dealing with an attack from pirates. So, in Kilindini Harbour, Mombasa, I took a good look at the defences rigged up on ‘DISCOVERY’ to counter the pirate threat.

These ’defences’ included five lookouts posted on the stern and both sides of the ship as well as on both bridge wings whilst on passage through the threatened waters. As well as wire mesh and razor wire welded over the stern – the most vulnerable point on the ship to boarding by pirates - there were about 20 six foot logs held in netting which could be released with a trip line. And to round off this rather medieval method of defence was a series of pipes every foot around the 60ft stern linked up to the ship’s hot water system to emit a scalding hot spray of water at any would-be attacker.

There were no armed men or weapons on board 24 | Volume 5 Issue 1

‘Discovery’ off the Seychelles.

‘DISCOVERY’ since the legal status of the ship would change from unarmed to armed merchant ship. This gives ports the right to turn a ship away. And anyway the basis in international law for the use of force covered under Article 110 (UNCLOS) and the European Convention on Human Rights means that a merchant vessel taking action in a pirate attack can only do so in self-defence using minimum force and even then it must confirm that a criminal act has been committed in international waters and receive political approval to act, which can take hours.

It was Good Friday - 2nd April 2010 - and ‘DISCOVERY’ was making good progress over the deep blue waters of the Indian Ocean. We were about 120NM out from Mombasa – it was sunrise at 06.40 and I was taking the air on the upper deck. I was almost alone except for two old ladies from Eastbourne admiring the ocean at dawn and a Philippino deck-chair attendant who had just finished putting out the chairs. I was looking forward to my bacon and eggs before giving my first lecture that morning on – guess what – ’The Pirates of the Indian Ocean of 1720 – 1740’.

Suddenly, I noticed that the ship had gone hard-astarboard and was clearly increasing speed. This could mean only one thing. I looked out to sea on the starboard side and could see nothing so I went over to the port side - and there in the bright sunshine of early morning was a speedboat or skiff with seven men fast approaching. Through my binos I could clearly see one of them in the bow holding an RPG anti-tank rocket launcher and the two behind him carrying Kalashnikov rifles. There was no doubt they were Somalis and meant business. They came roaring in and stationed themselves about 25 metres off the port side bridge wing. From my position on the highest point of the ship (To be con nued on next page) E-Zine 2013

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I was able to look down on them through my binos – rather as in this picture of a pirate attack on ‘Seabourne Spirit’ in 2005 - but I was so intrigued by their actions that I failed to take a photo with my camera. I could clearly see another RPG on the floor of the skiff together with a boarding ladder with a bent pole on the end for hooking over the deck stanchions. Suddenly the ship’s hooter let off a loud blast – clearly a signal to tell the pirates to ‘go away’ and by now the ship was zigzagging at full speed (24 knots).

The Captain told us later that he was on the loo at the time so it was a couple of minutes before he could give the "Code Purple, Code Purple" call over the public address system, but I certainly did not know what it meant because we were not due to do our Anti-Pirate Drill until 10.00 am that same morning. The Filipino deck chair attendant and other crewmembers rushed to their emergency stations. We few passengers who were already up and out on deck - it was before 7am remember - were told to go to our designated "safe areas” which we assumed meant our cabins.

So once the crew had disappeared off the deck I went back to the rail to watch what was going on. The speedboat was now parallel with the bridge, its seven Somali occupants sussing us out as a potential target.

There was a loud bang when John Brocklehurst our Captain (who had been sunk on the ‘ATLANTIC CONVEYOR’ in the Falklands campaign and is a wiry old seadog), fired two warning shots at them with a flare gun (Varey Pistol) which I thought might elicit an RPG shot in response. But instead the skiff and its crew dropped off towards the stern to take a good look at the defences.

It was at this point that I remembered I had my camera and took this picture (the only one) of our attackers.

They hung off the stern for about 10 minutes and were clearly talking to their mother ship by radio, which we were told later was a captured Taiwanese fishing boat a few miles away over the horizon. The whole incident had taken about 15 minutes and followed the textbook exactly - except they didn’t get on board the ship.

The impressive defences on ‘Discovery’, together with the ship’s speed, must have deterred them. I have subsequently learnt that no ship travelling over 18 knots - and we were doing 24 - has yet been boarded

by Somali pirates. It is the ‘slow and low’ which are most vulnerable. Aside from the few people on deck with me, not many of the 450 passengers saw the pirates.

When news quickly spread of the threat, their reactions were mixed: some wished to disembark immediately; others took a more stoic view and reasoned that as the pirates hadn't attacked us it was rather a jolly drama that E-Zine 2013

they could dine out on for some time to come (and I am clearly in that category!). Some of the Americans even thought it was a spoof laid on for my lecture on Pirates and it wasn’t until I had shown them my picture with the time it was taken on the electronic memory – did they believe me.

We were lucky - but not so other ships and vessels. For less prepared ships, the danger could have been very real. Unofficial figures show that 2010 was the most prolific year so far for Somali pirate attacks, with more than 200 attacks and more than £80 million received in ransoms. And this year looks to be even better for the pirates. There were six ships (other than us) attacked in the space of two weeks in April 2010 with one being taken back with its crew as hostage to Haradere in Somalia.

Somalia is a perfect environment for piracy to thrive.

The country has been without a government for the last 20 years and is ruled effectively by warlords and tribal chiefs who are making a good living out of their piracy activities. It has long, isolated sandy beaches and a population that is both desperate and used to war.

Faced with limited options and even less optimism for the country's future, the young pirates care little about the risks they run at sea. They don't wear eye-patches or have peg legs and you won't find any parrots perched on their shoulders, but they are no less pirates for that.

What needs to be done is for Somalia to be governed by a recognised elected government and helped technically and financially to build institutional and logistical infrastructures - coast guards, police, courts to enforce the anti-piracy law on land. But the chance of that happening anytime soon is a forlorn hope. You can’t make a place like Somalia instantly democratic and stable. In the meantime the cruise companies are giving Somalia and the East Coast of Africa a wide berth whilst the international community and private security companies work out new measures and tactics to deal with this very real threat to ships and crews.

International law can be changed to provide sufficient authority for merchant vessels to use force for the suppression of piracy in the high seas. If this were the case we could expect vessels like ‘DISCOVERY’ to move from medieval siege warfare techniques to using solid shot rather than flares. It’s either that or we just let the Somali pirates continue their business uninterrupted for years to come.

Whilst most Cruise Lines are now steering clear of the North East Indian Ocean and Somalia in particular, they are bound to transit through the Gulf of Aden in order to take passage eastward if using the Suez Canal route.

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They travel down the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor in the Gulf of Aden which is policed by the EUNAVFOR ships and warships of other nations sometimes using a convoy system. The British cruise ships also now embark a RN liaison officer for the journey through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in particular; the RNLO is on-board to maintain constant contact with the Allied Naval Command HQ in Djibouti using secure communications. He also provides advice

to the Captain on any measures to take in the event of an attack. Private Security Company personnel are also engaged on some ships for this same passage working with the ships' own security staff who often include former Gurkha soldiers. Voyages of Discovery, Swan Hellenic and Saga certainly use these new security measures so don't be put off taking a cruise no passenger vessels have yet been seized by Somali pirates.

Brigadier Hugh Willing CBE

Regents Park Memorial Service on Saturday 20 July 2013 The 31th Anniversary of the Regents Park bombing.

A Service and laying of wreaths ad flowers will commence at 1130 hours at Regents Park Bandstand to remember those who died on that fateful day on 20 July 1982.

For further details, please contact the London Office.

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EXTRACTS FROM A LETTER FROM THE COMMANDING OFFICER TO THE BATTALION AND FAMILIES FOLLOWING THE INCIDENT IN REGENTS PARK This has been a sorrowful two weeks for us all, culminating with the news that, at 0200 hrs last Sunday morning, Bandsman John Heritage died of the wounds he received on that shocking day in Regents Park. So much has happened since then that I thought it might be helpful if I was to tell you something of the events.

Thirty-one bandsmen were on the stand that afternoon. We now know that six of them were killed instantly. But at the time - and for many agonising hours afterwards - a terrible confusion reigned.

The survivors, all of whom suffered injuries some of an horrific nature - were dispersed to three different hospitals. None of our own people were there. Identification was necessarily a slow and agonising business. I would like to pay tribute here to Lieut-Col Miers - Commanding our 4th (Volunteer) Battalion, based in London - and to his staff who, on hearing the news, immediately rushed to the Park and set up a link with the Battalion which was to prove invaluable. Nevertheless it took nearly seven hours before I was given an authoritative list which I could publish of those who died and who had survived. I understand now the reasons for that delay, although it was hard at the time. Apart from the appalling confusion, several Bandsmen had apparently swapped their medals - which have names engraved on them and this added to the difficulties of identification!

Understandable though the delay was, however, imagine if you can the suffering which those wives and children, parents and other close relatives went through that long, hot afternoon. It was a bad time for all of us.

While all this was happening, messages of sympathy started to arrive. Almost the first was from our Colonel-in-Chief, the Queen. She expressed - as have so many hundreds of others since - her horror of this atrocity and her grief for our people. I wish you could read all those letters and telegrams. In this dark and difficult period it has been heartening to know that we have so many friends thinking of, and praying for us.

All last week I attended the funerals of the dead. I shall remember many things about that week. First, the sadness, and anger, of lives lost, wives made widows, children suddenly fatherless through E-Zine 2013

the actions of despicable cowards. Secondly, the effortless administration: the way in which the Regiment closed ranks, and how everyone, from the Colonel Commandant, General Guy, to the Riflemen who acted as pallbearers, did their best to ensure that everything was done as it should be, in a quiet and dignified way, and with the least possible bother to the bereaved. I remember the majesty of the service in Winchester Cathedral, every seat taken with the County's dignitaries, with the townspeople and members of the Regiment.

I remember the marvelously comforting words from the Gospel from St John, read at every funeral, ending with those immortal words: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

I remember the quiet country churchyards of Hampshire and Oxfordshire, and the incongruity of uniformed soldiers in those rural surrounds. I remember Bugler Job telling me how difficult it was to blow the Last Post "when you have a lump in your throat".

But above all, my lasting memory will be of the bravery of the wives and mothers who endured those terrible moments. Their courage was inspiring. I wish that the enemy could have witnessed it, not because I believe that they would have been shamed, but because they would have known then - with absolute certainty - that, whatever disgusting and contemptible depths to which they descend, they can never win.

What of the future? There is no doubt that this has been a terrible blow to the Battalion. Any Band is a close-knit family. Ours has had its heart ripped out of it, and somehow we have to pick up the shattered pieces. But I am absolutely determined that, in the shortest time possible, our Band will be playing again. In the beginning it may not be as good - every single survivor has got perforated eardrums, never mind their broken limbs - or as strong in numbers. But it WILL play again, and soon. Not to do so would be an insult to the memory of Graham Barker, "Doc" Livingstone and the others who died. It would also give victory to the cowardly thugs who were responsible for this outrage. We cannot let that happen.

CO 1RGJ Kit Owen Volume 5 Issue 1 | 27

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The OBLI 1st Battalion's Machine Gun Platoon in Cyprus, 1956/7 I will open this article with a list of the main activities of the Rifle platoons, and the Support Company and HQ Company platoons, which were required to act as Rifle platoons. That will give some idea of the variety of tasks undertaken during the Emergency for durations of a couple of hours up to 14 days.

Ambush at any location from sea shore inland. Spot check and search people and vehicles. Cordon and search individual houses, villages, town sectors, business premises.

Account for explosives and detonators used in quarry and mine blasting. Security of temporary and permanent prisons and assist Prison Staff.

Occupy rural Police Stations and patrol area.

VIP and prisoner escort.

The Machine Gun platoon was selected for training in fast-drop operations from helicopters, thereby establishing a surprise presence at altitude by abseiling, or, if the terrain permitted, by jumping from the skids. At times a leap in the dark. On our first operational night drop I fell victim to the oldest leg-pull in the pilot's extensive repertoire.

Having had my map tom from me by the downdraught on boarding the lead helicopter, I waited until we had some altitude then asked the pilot if he knew the destination. Of course he said no. I knew that behind us was a formation of helicopters with my platoon on board, and I knew that one soldier had a map. So I asked the pilot to radio to establish from one of the pilots the landing zone. He said he could not radio; if he switched on his comms the engine would fail.

He suggested instead we waited to see in which direction the main lorry-born Platoons were heading then follow them.

After leaving me to sweat in silence for 20 minutes he then pointed out the convoy's dimmed lights below, and we flew over it to the target mountain which could just be seen in the false dawn, and dropped down to a jump height.

So all the time he was aware of the target and our relative position whilst leaving me to sweat over developing excuses about a major and very expensive cock-up.

Late one afternoon I was told to meet a detachment of Cavalry and to provide Infantry support for them on a night operation in the mountains. This went off without incident, ie the Cavalry did not get lost and the wireless in my Land Rover functioned on net for 24 hours when needed.

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What did impress me was the speed at which the Cavalry crews of two with their personal cookers could cook and eat a meal and relax with a brew. 20 minutes tops. My field cookers took over twice that time to heat the platoon's Compo rations.

Unaware that I had been given a warning of things to come I was surprised when, a few days later, I was told to report with seven of my Platoon, to a Squadron of The Blues for Ferret training. Four of us were to be Car Commanders and four to become Drivers. All eight of us had to learn to drive Ferrets.

An NCO took charge of us and we were given an introduction in a classroom to "The oily bits" then intensive driver training. We realised quickly how the Drivers and Commanders must collaborate in tight manoeuvering as the driver has limited all round vision. See photo. Because the gear and transmission train, including preselector, was enclosed by the body's armoured plate, the driver, who shared the same space, was subjected to a crescendo of howls and whines as he accelerated and decelerated. Indeed such was the racket when changing down it proved the one thing that caused our novice drivers difficulty.

From the outside however at slow speeds, the Ferret was inaudible. Perfect for quiet arrival at a target.

With no road experience in traffic we returned after ten days to Battalion where we were assigned two Land Rovers and summoned to a depot where four new and fully kitted-out Ferrets awaited my acceptance signature. Then for the first time the crews experienced our Ferrets and Land Rovers travelling in convoy in traffic. All went well. There was much goodnatured joshing when, for the first time, we drove through Company lines to our parking space. I noticed the Platoon had immediately become protective over the Ferrets. Initially we explored the side bins and other storage places.

What treasure trove we discovered along with the luxury of abundant spare space for our personal kit.

Our Ferrets had three Communications systems. One was a Driver/Commander intercom.

This the drivers quickly discarded, preferring the gears' howl and whine to the Commanders'.

So we developed a system of shoulder taps and hand signals whereby a Commander could inform/irritate his driver.

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There was, secondly, a Ferret to Ferret system.

We seldom needed that.

Finally there was the system tied to Battalion net. For that we were put through training and testing by the Battalion Signals Officer.

It was rumoured that junior officers under Signals training ran a book to see who could the most quickly provoke the Signals Officer into forgetting net protocol and lapse into forthright Anglo Saxon. I preferred instead when communications began to rise in temperature to switch off my set and claim tropospheric interference.

Never failed. Our four Browning .30 machine guns attracted some attention. We dismounted them on to their tripods for range test firing.

Everyone wanted a go, and I watched in dismay as my precious belts of ammo. were run down.

I suppose I just had to satisfy professional curiosity. I believe the Brownings impressed.

It was then time to present the Platoon, with vehicles, for inspection by our Commanding Officer.

Murphy's Law determined that one Ferret's beautifully tuned and silenced engine would not start.

After a detailed inspection the Commanding Officer decided he wished to see our VIP escort drill, he in his Land Rover acting as VIP. We set off up the usual dirt and stone road, I was, in the lead and the VIP behind, followed by the platoon's Land Rovers with Infantry Sections and the two Ferrets. I stayed well ahead, mindful that the VIP and his driver, neither of whom had goggles, would otherwise suffer a grit blasting from the debris thrown up by my Ferret's tyres.

The signal came for a halt whilst the VIP took

a natural break, the area protection drills went well, I went back to check and got a rocket.

My VIP did not like me too far ahead! Time to remain silent. So we set off again, the grit flew as it tended to, and the VIP rapidly called another halt. He was plastered in road dust. However, he sportingly pronounced himself satisfied, I managed to keep a straight face, and we were authorised to go operational.

Our task was to dominate the Battalion's area, to move unpredictably, day and night, and so keep the Opposition guessing with spot searches, road blocks and ambushes.

We were fuelled and rationed for five or six days and nights, then we returned to Battalion for re-provisioning and some very necessary showers and sleep. I was allowed to plan all our work, reporting in only items of interest. We discovered the Battalion net often collapsed from sunset to sunrise; a mixed blessing. We did not use tents, just a scrape and a bag. Our food was mostly Compo. Kidney soup was a favourite, and Soya links the least liked. Of course we added some fresh fruit and eggs to our supplies.

As a small isolated unit we were responsible for our own security, which meant two of us always on guard duty whenever we stopped.

The drivers of Ferrets and Land Rovers did a superb job. They had to cope with narrow dirt roads and tracks, often with a drop into a deep ravine on one side, and no crash barriers or markings. Night time driving in those circumstances demanded the closest attention.

The advantage the Ferret Commanders had was the ability to see far ahead and into the roadside shrubs to discern possible threats, thanks to the high turret.

A rare treat was a swim from a deserted beach when our tasks took us out of the mountains.

Even then we set two sentries.

The time came to hand over the platoon prior to my return to UK. I realised I had been immensely privileged to be given command of a superb platoon, to introduce and bed-in Ferrets to the Battalion,and to enjoy freedom to operate. After handing over the hardware to my successor there was just time to lead the platoon in a drill competition. We demonstrated to the Adjudicating Officer that, whilst the platoon was well up in drill quality, my Sword drill was, in his words, the worst he had ever seen. Unfortunately he failed to ask what I did for an encore.

An article by Mike Bullock who, when a National Serviceman, commanded the OBLI 1st Battalion's Machine Gun Platoon in Cyprus, 1956/7.

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1 RIFLES Update

The next operational challenge for the 1st Battalion will be an Infantry Short-Term Training Team commitment in the autumn. Training for this deployment will be conducted during the summer once A and B Companies return from Kenya, where A Company is training on Exercise ASKARI THUNDER and B Company is supporting with range teams and enemy forces.

Elements of the Battalion have also assisted the Royal Marines, including providing an enemy force for their young officer training. Course attendance and build-up exercises have commenced ahead of a variety of Battalion adventurous training expeditions to Alaska, South Africa, Brunei and Corsica over 2013-14 and a number of Riflemen are shortly to deploy to Switzerland for the Joint Services Alpine Meet as part of

this endeavour.

It was obvious when 1 RIFLES was informed in February that it was no longer required to deploy to Afghanistan this autumn that the Battalion diary would not stay clear for long. The range and breadth of tasks has been refreshing and the Mali deployment, albeit small, provides a welcome operational focus to the next period.

Meanwhile C Company will run Exercise PASHTUN TEMPEST, the Combined Arms Live Firing Exercise for the 7th Armoured Brigade’s mission specific training ahead of their deployment to Afghanistan, and S Company will train Royal Engineers in Jordan as well as assisting with a wide range of 7 Brigade’s other training events.

The Regimental Shop of The Rifles Can Provide RGJRA Members with RGJ Lapel Pins, Regimental Ties, Umbrellas, Rifle Green Berets and Blazers, RGJ Hat Ribbon, and RGJ Wall Plaques.

View & purchase online at: www.riflesdirect.com Payment by credit/debit card.

To order by telephone call 0845 6434584 Payment by Credit/Debit card.

The CD is available from the Regimental Shop of The Rifles - Riflesdirect.

Price: £10.99, includes P&P (UK & BFPO only) and VAT. E-Zine 2013

Or by writing together with personal cheque to: Riflesdirect RHQ The Rifles Peninsula Barracks Winchester SO23 8TS. Volume 5 Issue 1 | 31

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Welcome to Riflesdirect the Regimental Shop of The Rifles Riflesdirect is owned by the regiment - managed and run by the regiment - for the benefit of the regiment - with all proceeds returned to the regiment to support benevolence and welfare.

Inside our shop you will find a comprehensive catalogue of Rifles uniform accoutrements and a good selection of Rifles branded general merchandise including a small selection of regimentally branded products from its forming regiments.

All of our products have been extensively sourced, sampled and authorised by the regiment to comply with the Regimental Dress Code and Rifles brand with regard to quality, durability and design.

You may find similar products cheaper elsewhere - but not many. More importantly by purchasing from your own regimental shop you are assured that not only is your purchase everything it should be regimentally, but is also helping to support our Riflemen for which we sincerely thank you.

We can provide RGJRA Members with OBLI/KRRC/RB/RGJ - Cap Badges, Cufflinks, Tie Slides, Lapel Pins, Ties, Umbrellas, Rifle Green Berets, RGJ Hat Ribbon, RGJ Plaques, Blazers, Book ‘Swift & Bold’.

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Soldier braved bullets for shot comrade A British soldier who dragged an injured comrade 20 metres across open ground while under enemy fire in Afghanistan has been honoured.

Serjeant Lee Slater, aged 31, from The Rifles, was leading a patrol in the dangerous Bowri desert in July 2012 and came under fire just as he and his men were speaking with a local farmer.

One soldier was struck in the leg and fell to the ground and the rest of the patrol immediately dived for cover.

The casualty, though alive, could not move and it was clear someone would need to retrieve him.

However, Serjeant Slater and his men knew the insurgent was in hiding and waiting for just such a rescue attempt so he could claim more victims.

Bri sh Riflemen come under heavy fire during an opera on in Afghanistan.

care to the casualty - it was a real team effort.

Herculean effort Despite the risks, Serjeant Slater organised his men and, as they returned fire, he ran from cover alone to assist. The first round cracked above him, the second and third landed at his feet, but he reached the injured man. He said: I could see the rounds landing within 50 centimetres of him in clouds of dust.

I knew he had been hit and there wasn’t any time to spare. It was adrenalin that took over. I wanted to get him to safety because I knew if he stayed where he was he might be hit again.

In what was described as a ‘Herculean effort’, Serjeant Slater dragged the casualty and his 30 kilograms of kit to cover 20 metres away. He said: After that I went straight into the evacuation drill; the guys were very well trained and did themselves proud in getting the best medical

Only doing my job Despite coming under heavy and accurate fire throughout the rescue, Serjeant Slater’s actions saved the man’s life, but he said: I feel I was only doing my job - what any other soldier would have done for one of their own.

Later in the tour Serjeant Slater’s patrol rescued two International Security Assistance Force soldiers working as part of a police advisor team which was ambushed.

His citation reads: In the most hostile circumstances he demonstrated immense personal courage borne of a remarkable devotion to his men.

Serjeant Lee Slater Serjeant Slater joined the Army in 2000 and was on his second tour of Afghanistan. He lives in Edinburgh with his wife, Nicola, but is originally from Bishop Auckland, County Durham.

Serjeant Slater is one of 24 soldiers on the Operational Honours and Awards List published 22 March 2013 to have been awarded a Mention in Despatches.

Serjeant Lee Slater. [Photo: Corporal Andy Reddy, Crown copyright.]

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Mention in Despatches The Mention in Despatches is one of the oldest forms of recognition for gallantry within the UK Armed Forces. Since 1993 the Mention in Despatches has been reserved for gallantry during active operations.

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OLD MEETS NEW (Ex 3 RGJ - 4 RIFLES) PASHTUN LINKS 5 JORDAN November - December 2012 Since the last association publication, along with Pete Stringer, Evo, late of 2nd Australian Commando, Mat from New Zealand and Marty we have been ever busy continuing to deliver a bespoke tracking and sign awareness training package to 29 EOD and Search Group pre deployment troops, the 2nd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment and the 2nd Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. The latter two being Cyprus based and moving through Jordan on RSOI and authorisation training. This now being the fifth such pre deployment exercise the team and I have instructed on.

euphemism had come from once he visited the training area and saw me. He did comment that I was a lot greyer and “looked” a bit fatter than when he last saw me, “pot, kettle and black” did spring to mind.

In most soldiers eyes the delivery of this unique training package has been a life saving skill which stands testament from the re attending search teams coming out of Afghanistan, and from the horse’s mouth, it has enhanced their visual search capability tenfold.

Chris, Wadi Rum basin is in the back ground.

On Pashtun links 4 I met the son of Alistair McFadyon, late of the original 1 RGJ. Young Jamie“Mac Fad” at the time was a Search team commander serving in the Royal Engineers awaiting deployment, and defiantly a chip off the old block, it was a pleasure to have met and spent some time with him as I had not seen him since he was a nipper.

Delivery of incident site awareness lesson.

We have been delivering this bespoke package on the Pashtun Links pre deployment authorisation training since November 2010 after our departure from Training Team Brunei (TTB), were we delivered all of the GSA serge training to the UK military instructors, and having guest instructed from 2003 on all tracking associated courses.

It was quite a surprise this time last year (Pashtun Links 3) when Sir general “Nick“ arrived for a visit, but I believe it was more of a surprise for him when he was greeted at the airport by one of the Royal Engineer training majors with “it’s w**k Durch! here general”. It did not take him long to realise were this little 3RGJ/4 Rifles 34 | Volume 5 Issue 1

Last seen running riot around my house with his younger brother, arses hanging out of their nappies, jam all over their faces and at some stage hanging off the curtains, he was about eleven then!!! Sad to say that his younger brother Arron has had a frontal lobotomy and joined the Paras!!! MacFad, were did you go wrong???

My son Ben is also serving as a Royal Engineer and returning to Afghan on the next Herrick; so it comes as no surprise as to just how many lads of ex RGJ parentage are currently in service, and that I have had the good fortune to meet on my travels.

As on Pashtun Links 5, when a young lad introduced himself to me as Cpl Dan Cootes 50 Field Sqn RE search team commander, son of Gary Cootes who served from 1974/86 in the (To be con nued on next page) E-Zine 2013

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(Con nued from previous page)

original 2 RGJ. I had a good day out with Dan and his team, beasting them through basic track pursuit and I never once mentioning handbags or swingers to Dan “durch”!!!

good spacing between the two. When we did go out pursuit tracking it became mandatory for all RMP to remove their head dress to avoid being targeted from the rear of the patrols with rocks!!, spades or anything else that was at hand, old habits die hard.

A month prior to travelling to Jordan this time, we had been invited to Cyprus by Colonel Roe, CO of 2nd York’s to observe and make recommendations on his battalions Sign and Tracking awareness course which had been running for two years, this was about to be handed over to the next unit. The hospitality that was shown to us was outstanding, we wanted for nothing. We had already trained members of the Anglian Regiment in Jordan and have also been approached by the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers to re attend in Cyprus regarding their tracker training.

Stacking A/T and A/P mines for a demo on one of the observa on stands.

As on Pashtun Links 5, when a young lad introduced himself to me as Cpl Dan Cootes 50 Field Sqn RE search team commander, son of Gary Cootes who served from 1974/86 in the original 2 RGJ. I had a good day out with Dan and his team, beasting them through basic track pursuit and I never once mentioning handbags or swingers to Dan “durch”!!!

Depending on the time of year, and how many brandy sours they will stand us will depend on us re- attending, “you know the score lads”! One good thing about training in the Middle East and Cyprus is it helps me maintain the bronzy all year round. We are back in Jordan in June and July, “SCORCHIO”!!!!

Marty, Pete and Chris loitering with intent a er admiring our handy work at an incident site.

< Chris and Cpl Dan Cootes RE Search team commander.

It was also great to see a contingent of professional soldiers from 4 Rifles showing the rest of them how it’s done, badges over the left ear, performing and looking like true black mafia cowboys.

There was also a large gaggle of RMP and Int Corp people bumbling around the training area as well. At all times the training team kept a E-Zine 2013

On a final and more sombre note, what must be remarked on, and is worthy of great praise, is the amount of shear hard work, focus regarding professionalism and the commitment to task orientation that is demonstrated by all the lad’s and lasses deploying to Afghanistan.

Every one of them are professional soldiers doing a much appreciated and worthwhile job, they are a credit to our country. The training team’s sheer admiration, gratitude and best wishes go with them all, and notwithstanding, the wish also of a safe return to all of them.

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A QUIET MOMENT The photo shows part of the section led by myself, Cpl Johnny Cox of A Coy, 2 Green Jackets (KRRC) in Borneo 1965 and taken by an army camera man for some training programme. The section had to simulate a patrol for about 30 minutes moving through the Jungle while he filmed with a movie camera.

He then took the photo and sent it to me.

The place was between Padawin and Sapit where A Coy were spilt.

From left to right. Darkie Lowe (tail end Charlie). Great guy really good at his job. Kenny Dorsett (Lead scout), one of the best in the company loved it up front. The late Peat Bryant (GPMG gunner).

Later to become a sergeant. Then myself corporal Johnny Cox. The rest of the section were laying about in the sun back at Padawin. Good times and Great guys. Still keep in touch with Kenny but don’t know where Darkie is now. Can anyone help find darkie Lowe?

Cpl Johnny Cox

In Memory of Our Fallen Heroes About three years ago my wife and I, June, decided to have a plaque made in a jewellers shop here in Spain in dedication to The Rifles. Any Regiment is always in our hearts when in combat, but The Rifles have a very obvious more poignant place being made up partly of RGJ. We placed the plaque in the Garden of Remembrance on Camposol, Murcia. Camposol composes of about 7000 residents most of them British and we have an Armistices Day Parade every year in the Remembrance Garden.

We placed the Plaque under an olive tree, 'the tree of peace', and the volunteer gardener keeps the growing branches away from the plaque to keep it in view. The plaque is weather-proof and is mounted on a nice piece of marble.

We also planted a 'bush' for The Rifles in the same area and it is kept in good condition by the gardener.

Pedler and June Palmer

LEST WE FORGET “They shall grow not old, As we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn; At the going down of the sun and in the morning; We will remember them.”

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Obituaries

In Memoriam C/Sgt Ken Ambrose MID Captain The Hon David Warwick Bamflylde Michael Douglas Symington Steve Kinrade Andrew Webster Charles Lewer Johnny Lloyd Brian Ginley Tommy Glasset General Sir Richard Worsley GCB OBE Chris Berry Cpl Keith Hill WO2 Sidney Skinner QMSI George (MAC) McCabe Sgt Mick Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Brien Christopher Ryan Lt Col FHG Higgins Don Connor Major David Taylor MC Sgt David Chadwick Dave Tubridy RS Miller Rfn John Smith Brigadier JR Cornell CBE

Rest in Peace 38 | Volume 5 Issue 1

3GJ 3RGJ 1RGJ KRRC RB 2RGJ 3RGJ KRRC 2 & 3RGJ 2 RGJ 1RGJ RB 2RGJ 4 (V) RGJ

KRRC APTC a 3RGJ 1RB 3GJ 3RGJ 3RGJ OBLI 2GJ 2RGJ OBLI 2 & 3RGJ 3RGJ RB KRRC RB RGJ

9 22 25 1 2 7 10 10 12 23 25 18 20 3 5 9 11 13 14 26 5

Jan Jan Jan Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb Mar Mar Mar Apr Apr Apr Apr Apr Apr Apr Apr May May

Please be aware that our publications, Swift and Bold and the E-Zine carry brief details of all those members of the regiment who have died regardless of circumstances.

Deceased members of the former regiments and The Rifles are included within the published Obituary lists.

The degree of detail shown in both Swift and Bold and the E-Zine is limited by the space available and only brief details are posted but with direct links, as is the case with the E-zine or, as in the case of The Swift and Bold Journal, the Internet address showing where the full details can be seen on the website Bulletin Board at http://63196.activeboard.com/ forum.spark?forumID=63196. All such occurrences, even those with the briefest of details, are recorded on the Association database.

The amount of information available on a deceased member of the regiment is also dependent on the information received about the individual concerned from those people who knew him taking the time to add their memories and condolences to his entry on the In Memoriam Board.

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