Rifl eman Denzil Haenow

Danny Heanow joined the Green Jackets Brigade in 1965, did his training at Peninsular Barracks with a platoon of 68 recruits, only 19 of whom ‘passed out’. The training was tough even way back then and no doubt a lot tougher now as the Rifl es seem to be in continual action.

Danny Haenow writes: I was posted to Berlin in 1966 with the, by then, 1st Bn Royal Green Jackets. A really great posting, in a fantastic City.

Below, 9 Platoon, in Berlin 1966, after the Drill Competition. Front rank left to right - Rfn Haenow, Rfn Rose, Cpl Heyman, 2nd Lt the Right Honourable P Smith, Sgt Jones, L/Cpl Greenhaugh. Back rank left to right, Rifl emen: Biddle, Tucker, Rowley, Clements, Oxford. Holmes, Tunmore, Underwood, Rfn ? and Rfn Larkin. Passing out parade shot of Danny Haenow 1965.

To the right, visiting the 1st Royal Green Jackets in West Berlin, the Commander-in Chief, BAOR, General Sir John Hackett, KCB, CBE, D SO, MC, gets some on-the-spot facts about sub-zero soldering from 19 year old Rifl eman Denzil ‘Danny’ Haenow.

May Day Parade 1966. C Coy 1 RGJ, Maj Colville at the head, Lt Rimmer nearest saluting base, then 2nd Lt Smith in

the middle and then Lt Chamberlain.( Rfn Haenow, me, 9th man in the main body of the company nearest to the saluting base approaching the TV camera).

We were still in the Cold War so patrols were mounted along the East / West border. We also stood guard at Spandau Prison where Hess was incarcerated. Lots of exercises in the Grunewald, however the French and American forces stationed in West Berlin were not

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May Day Parade in Berlin 1966.

willing to play with us in the RGJ – they felt we took things too seriously and were a bit too enthusiastic in our assaults. Could be that was why we were successful in Malaya and they weren’t in Vietnam.

From Berlin, all glitter and glamour to Tidworth in 1967 – one pub, one bowling alley and little else. The only highlight was the offi cial parade to mark the change from the Green Jackets Brigade to the Royal Green Jackets and inspected by the Queen at St Cross. The other signifi cant happening was that 9 platoon C company said goodbye to Lieutenant, the Honourable, Phillip Smith and a very nervous hello to 2nd Lieutenant Andrew Pringle. He was the sword of honour cadet at Sandhurst and full of vim and vigour to get us to be the best platoon in the battalion whether we were is doubtful, but he did provide us with a sense of being good at what we did. As we all now know he left the army as a Major General after a very successful career.

Our life at Tidworth was interrupted by a posting to Cyprus with UNFICYP (United Nations Force in Cyprus) and the award of a UN medal to yours truly – ironic, I joined the army to be a warrior and was awarded for being a peacekeeper, still it’s a very pretty little medal I have to say.

While on Cyprus I was hauled up to Company HQ and told that I had been selected for Offi cer training. After a few questions it was quickly established that I was too young to qualify and that I did not have any qualifi cations ie; GCE’s, which might have been discovered by a quick check of my records. However it did give me some insight into the character of the RSM. He was most generous and sympathetic at my disappointment of having been raised up and then let down with a bump. He advised me to leave the army, get qualifi ed and “come back and join us as an Offi cer”. I left the Royal Green Jackets in 1968 and took some of the RSM’s advice and got my GCE’s in 1971 However, by then I had developed into a different person and felt that the army, much as I loved it, was probably not the right place for me. I had had other advice from various people who thought I should become a lawyer or teacher.

I subsequently went to Furzedown College, University of London and trained as an Art teacher qualifying with a Distinction, one of 3 awarded to the art students.

I taught Art and later Design and Technology for 30 years in all sorts of schools, some very tough ones where the teachers and the pupils were really some of the worst specimens of humanity and some extremely good ones where the teachers and pupils were an absolute delight to be with. I fi nished up as a Head of Department, occasionally stepping into the role of assisting the Deputy Head of the various schools.

Denzil (Danny) Haenow in 2015.

After leaving teaching for retirement I found that I really needed to either continue to teach occasionally to top up my pension or go somewhere where the pension