THE ROYAL GREEN JACKETS REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATION SWIFT AND BOLD
JOURNAL 2009
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THE ROYAL GREEN JACKETS REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATION
THE ROYAL GREEN JACKETS REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATION JOURNAL 2009 CONTENTS
IN THIS ISSUE
Back cover image: Aerial shot of the National Arboretum in Staffordshire. Published by kind permission of `News Team International`
Contributors Lt Gen Sir Christopher BQ Wallace KBE DL Col GF Smythe OBE Lt Col J-D von Merveldt Maj RD Cassidy MBE Maj P Casson-Crooke Maj P Proctor MBE Chris McDonald Terry Burrows Dave Timms Kevin Stevens Martin Coates Malcolm Donnison Ray Gerrard Gordon Pilcher Gary Byrne Pat Bibby Richard Frost MBE WO2 C Richardson AAC President RGJRA Maj Gen Jamie Balfour CBE DL Chairman Lt Col John Poole-Warren
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4 Foreword 5 Editor’s Notes 6 Key Contacts - Association and former regiments address list 7 External useful address List 7 Green Jacket and Association Calendar of Events 2010 – 11 9 RGJRA Reunion Event Timings 10 Appeal for your help by Major RD Cassidy MBE 12 Australasian branch report 14 Aylesbury branch report 15 Band and Bugles branch report 16 Internet branch report 16 London branch report 19 Midlands branch report 20 Milton Keynes branch report 21 North East branch report 22 North West branch report 24 Oxford branch report 25 Suffolk branch report 26 Wiltshire branch report 27 Winchester branch report 30 31 32 33 35 36 39 43 45 45 46 46 48 50
The RGJRA Website report The Database report The King`s Royal Rifle Corps The Rifles The Royal Green Jackets – A look back The Royal Green Jackets Operational Awards The Royal Green Jackets Roll of Honour 1966 – 2007 No Second Chance – The Pegasus Bridge Landing The Rifles Benevolent Trust Green Jacket Close The Ladies Guild Flying Jackets – From the Army Air Corps The Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum Obituary Notices to 8th January 2010
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FOREWORD BY
MAJOR GENERAL JAMIE BALFOUR CBE DL PRESIDENT RGJRA Dear Fellow Riflemen, Welcome to the 2009 “Swift and Bold”, our second RGJRA Journal, which builds on the great success of last year`s version. This year above all our priority has been to ensure that we have been able to produce an affordable version to the same standard, and by competitive tendering we have been able to reduce the overall cost by a third from last year. I am also extremely grateful to those Green Jackets who have taken out advertising space in the Journal; we are all benefiting from your generous support, thank you. The Journal is a key benefit of RGJRA membership and this year will only be sent to members, and available on line only via the RGJRA data base. The £10 annual RGJRA membership fee that all members pay now gives you the annual Journal, three Ezine newsletters, access to the data base, free access to the RGJ Museum at Winchester over the Reunion weekend and a 50% reduction at any other time. These are all real advantages of being a RGJRA member, and do please encourage those fellow Riflemen that you know who are not members to join the Association. They can do this on line on the website or by contacting the Membership Secretary using the address details at the foot of this page. Please remember the more Green Jackets that join, the greater and cheaper the benefits are for us all. You will see from the Journal that the Association branches grow from
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strength to strength, and in particular my thanks for 2009 goes to the Winchester Branch for yet again organising the annual Reunion so well, and to the London Branch for organising the increasingly strong RGJ contingent at the Cenotaph Remembrance Service and march past. The RGJ Museum at Winchester continues to evolve, and any financial support that you can give to preserve for the future our Regimental legacy would make a real difference. If you are in a position to do so, please do consider either becoming a Friend of the Museum, or making a legacy in your will in favour of the RGJ Museum. I must especially thank Ken Ambrose and his team, who not only run our superb RGJRA website, now with its excellent Ezine newsletter, but Ken is also Editor of the Journal, ably supported by Ron Cassidy, and has in particular been instrumental in achieving the major reduction in costs for the 2009 Journal. I finish by paying tribute to our Fellow Riflemen in The Rifles, our successor Rifle Regiment which contains so many ex Green Jackets. The performance of The Rifles in Afghanistan in 2009, both regular and TA, has been outstanding, but the cost in lives and casualties has been considerable. I am heartened and humbled by the truly strong support that so many of you as Green Jackets have shown to The Rifles and to those of them who have suffered. I thank you for showing your true Rifleman sense of spirit and compassion to those that have followed us, the future of our legacy and
President of the RGJ Regimental Association, Major General Jamie Balfour CBE DL
forward looking professional spirit is in their able hands. Best wishes for 2010, I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at our annual Reunion at Winchester on Saturday 10th July, and do hope that you enjoy this edition of “Swift and Bold”. Yours sincerely Jamie Balfour President RGJRA RGJRA Membership, Edward Brooks Barracks, Cholswell Rd, Shippon, ABINGDON, OX13 6HW Tel: 01869 874345. Email: oxfoff@royalgreenjackets.co.uk
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THE ROYAL GREEN JACKETS REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATION
EDITOR’S NOTES Welcome to the RGJRA Journal 2009. This has been an outstanding year for improving communications within the Association. Those of you with the Internet will not have failed to notice that in addition to this Journal we are now publishing an electronic magazine for June, September and December which will hopefully keep around 2900 Internet connected members up to speed on what is happening within the Association. These `Ezines’ (electronic magazines) can be counted as a free addition to the RGJRA annual Journal which has a planned publication date of 1st March and is distributed only to fee paying Association members. So we will hopefully be keeping most of our members informed as to what is happening throughout the year at branch and individual level. I would again like to thank those who go to so much trouble to provide me with the materiel that goes into the Journal and the electronic Ezines which keep everyone so well informed and I sincerely hope that those individuals will continue to supply me with a stream of news and event articles. When we published last year’s Journal there was some real doubt as to what form the magazine would take in
the future or indeed if it was to have a future but thanks again to the support for advertising we have received from former regimental members and careful vetting and selection of the company who are providing the production and distribution services we have managed to reduce the costs on last year’s production figures. It is hoped that we will further reduce next year’s costs by providing our own design services for the Journal which could reduce costs again by as much as 40% on the total cost. Of course this year we are only working on a maximum distribution of 3000 copies because as previously indicated the magazine will now only go out to full paying members of the Association. Regrettably we can no longer afford to provide it to those who do not contribute a membership fee. I would again remind you all that material for inclusion in this magazine now needs to be with me by the 15th day of December at the very latest but if possible please send it as soon as you can. Because we have a limited number of pages would you please try to keep articles down to a maximum of about 1000 words and two photographs? Any photographs submitted must be high resolution and if you feel your article warrants additional space please contact me first!
The Editor, Swift and Bold Journal, Ken Ambrose
Front Cover
goods or services advertised in this Journal
Members of the RGJR Association at Horse
can beaccepted by the publishers, printers or
Guards Parade before the Cenotaph parade
the Regiment and advertisments are included
on Sunday 8th November 2009. Photograph
in good faith.
There only remains for me to hope you enjoy the 2009 Journal as much as I have enjoyed putting it together and that you and those dearest to you will continue to enjoy good health and happiness throughout Christmas, the New Year and 2010. Best wishes to all Ken Ambrose Editor, Swift and Bold
by kind permission of Mark Adams, Teal Photography.
A big thank you
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JOURNAL 2009
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Key Association and Former Regiment Appointment/Contacts THE PRESIDENT Major General J Balfour CBE c/o Regimental Headquarters The Rifles (RGJ Office) Peninsula Barracks, Winchester Hants. SO23 8TS T. 01962 828524 E. admin@rgjassociation.info THE CHAIRMAN Lt Col (Retd) J Poole-Warren c/o Regimental Headquarters The Rifles, Peninsula Barracks Winchester Hants. SO23 8TS T. 01962 828598 E. regsec@the-rifles.co.uk SECRETARY AKA (Members Secretary RGJ Officers) POC Lt Col (Retd) JD von Merveldt The Rifles (London Office) 52-54Davies Street London. W1K 5HR T. Lon’ 0207 4914936 T. Win’ 01962 828529 (Mon and Fri) E. london@the-rifles.co.uk ASST REGT SECRETARY Treasurer Association Membership Secretary Sec Oxford Branch RGJRA POC Oxf&Bucks LI Assn Mr Mike Marr Edward Brooks Barracks Cholswell Rd, Shippon ABINGDON. OX13 6HW T. 01235 546018 E. oxford@the-rifles.co.uk WEBMASTER AKA Internet Branch Mr K Stevens 7 Wren Road, Cutteslowe. Oxford. OX2 7SX H. 01865 452813 M. 07815858792 E. Webmaster@rgjassociation.info
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DATABASE MANAGER AKA Editor Swift & Bold and Ezine Mr K C Ambrose The Last Post, 26 Old Mill Furlong, Winslow Bucks. MK18 3EX H. 01296 711967 M. 07706104339 E. ken.ambrose1@btinternet.com membersdatabase@royalgreenjackets. co.uk
North East Branch J Cheetham 7 Rotherfield Road Red House, Sunderland Tyne & Wear. SR5 5DL H: 01915480189 Rgj.north.east@btinternet.com
AUSTRALIAN BRANCH Mr Chris McDonald 106 Alfreda Avenue Noranda, Western Australia 6062 Australia rgjoz@yahoo.com.au
NORTH WEST BRANCH Mr Ray Gerrard 18 Rolling Mill Lane Elyn Mill, Sutton St Helens, Merseyside H: 01744 732501 M: 07763 189760 ray.gerrard@talktalk.net
AYLESBURY BRANCH Mr Terry Burrows 64 Fowler Road Aylesbury, Bucks. HP19 7QG H: 01296 582569 M: 077900035032 t.burrows7@ntlworld.com BAND & BUGLES Mr Dave Timms 5 Alison Close, Whitfield, Dover Kent. CT16 3LW H: 01304820910 M: 07850163548 secretary@rgjband.com LONDON BRANCH Mr Gary Driscoll 56 Eyhurst Avenue, Hornchurch Essex. RM12 4RA H: 01708442662 M: 7949040744 rgjldn@ntlworld.com Midlands Branch Mr Martin Coates 31 Leen Valley Drive Shirebrook, Mansfield Nottinghamshire. NG29 8BJ H: 01623 747817 martinswiftandbold@yahoo.co.uk Milton Keyes Branch Sally Barry 45 Staplehall Road Bletchley, Milton Keynes, Bucks, MK1 1BQ H: 01908 374544 r-barry@sky.com
NORTHERN IRELAND Mr Len Cook Contact details on application only. lenny.cook@btinternet.com
SHROPSHIRE Mr T Fairclough (Caretaker) Contact details on application only. tomfairclough@fsmail.net SUFFOLK BRANCH Mr Gordon Pilcher 9 Glemsford Close, Felixstowe Suffolk. IP11 2UG H: 01394 215925 gordon.pilcher@ntlworld.com TELFORD BRANCH Mr John Brown 55 Coachwell Close Malinslee, Telford Shropshire TF3 2JB H: 01952 502362 M: 07853309680 rgjtelford@talktalk.net WINCHESTER BRANCH Mr Pat Bibby 36 New Road, Fareoak Eastleigh. Hampshire H: 02380 602117 M: 07881940635 patrickbibby@hotmail.co.uk WILTSHIRE BRANCH Mr Gary Byrne 35 Hillbourne Close, Warminster Wiltshire. BA12 0BL H: 01985 211279 M: 07835701043 glm1114@btinternet.com
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Key Association and Former Regiment Appointment/Contacts YORKSHIRE BRANCH Mr S Anderson Little Wood, Selby Road Camblesforth Selby. YO8 8HX H: 01757 617056 Valerie.anderson@yorksj.ac.uk
SECRETARY KRRC ASSN Mr Richard C Frost MBE 52-56 Davies Street London WIK 5HR O: 020 7491 4935 krrcassn@hotmail.com
SECRETARY RB ASSN Mr Geoff Pain 75 St Catherine’s Road Winchester SO23 0PS H: 01962 866674 g.pain@ntlworld.com
RGJRA External Address List ARMY BENEVOLENT FUND Mountbarrow House, Army Benevolent Fund, 6-20 Elizabeth Street, London, SW1W 9RB T. 0845 241 4820 F. 0845 241 4821 enquiries@armybenfund.org
SERVICE RECORDS Army Personnel Centre Secretariat, Disclosures 2, Mail Point 515, Kentigern House, 65 Brown Street Glasgow, G2 8EX Complete the Form at www.veterans-uk. info/service_records/sar.pdf
ASSOCIATION BLAZERS Harvey Malcolm, 26 North John St, Liverpool, L2 9RU T. 0151 236 0043 harvey_malcolm@hotmail.com
SSAFA SSAFA Forces Help, 19 Queen Elizabeth Street. London, SE1 2LP T. 0845 1300 975 info@ssafa.org.uk
MEDALS Veterans Agency (SPVA), (Joint Personnel Administration Centre) MOD Medal Office, Building 250, Innsworth Station Gloucester, GL3 1HW T. 0141 224 3600
THE RBT The Secretary, RHQ The Rifles, Peninsula Barracks, Romsey Road, Winchester, Hants SO23 8TS. T. 01962 828526 secbenev@rifles.co.uk
THE UNION JACK CLUB 225 Union St, London, SE1 0LR. T. 020 76339206 E. admin@ujclub.co.uk VETERANS AGENCY Norcross, Thornton Cleveleys, Lancashire, FY5 3WP T. 0800 169 22 77 E. veterans.help@spva.gsi.gov.uk REPLACEMENT MEDALS Medals Plus, Paul Symes, T. 01235 201198 E. paul.symes1@ntlworld.com ROYAL BRITISH LEGION Contact Legionline T. 08457 725 725
Events 2010-2011 MARCH Saturday 6th RGJ End Ex 2nd Anniversary Party, Tommy Dooner’s, Railway Tavern, Stratford, London, E15 1DB Tel 020 8534 3123 APRIL Sunday 18th 3 Rifles Return from Op Herrick Thursday 29th RGJ Officers Dining Club Annual Dinner Davies Street London 6.45 for 8pm. London Office Lt Col J-D von Merveldt 0207 4914936
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MAY Friday 7th Rifles Northern Cocktail Party and Sounding Retreat Durham Office Maj. (Retd) C Lawton MBE 01913 865496 Saturday 8th Rifle Brigade Association Annual Lunch. Royal British Legion Romsey. Sunday 9th The Rifle Brigade Association Memorial Service, Winchester Cathedral Saturday 15th KRRC & RB Joint Reunion, Davies Street from 17.30hrs, Tickets on
door £10 London Office R. Frost MBE 0207 4914935 Saturday 15th Rifle Brigade Association Annual General Meeting at Davies Street Monday 17th 3 Rifles Homecoming Parade Hereford. Rifles Shrewsbury Office Maj. (Retd) N Jones 01742 262425 Thursday 20th Rifle Brigade Regimental Club Lunch. Cavalry and Guards Club, London. Major K Gray, 01962 828549
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THE ROYAL GREEN JACKETS REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATION
Events 2010-2011 Sunday 23rd Rifles and H4H Aero Acrobatics to Music Event, Sounding Retreat, Rendcomb Airfield, Gloucestershire. Glou’ Office 01452311116 Wednesday 26th Calais Memorial Service 70th Annual Calais Memorial Service. Details from QVR/KRRC Davies Street. R.Frost MBE 0207 4914935 Saturday 29th Rifles Freedom Parade, Telford and Wrekin. Shrewsbury Office Maj. (Retd) N Jones 01742 262425 Sat-Mon 29th -31st Liverpool Military Show Shrewsbury Office Maj. (Retd) N Jones 01742 262425 JUNE Thursday 3rd Officers Club Lunch and Sounding Retreat. Bath and West Showground, Shepton Mallett.Taunton Office 01823 333434 Sunday 6th Band Concert at 11.30am Edward Brooks Barracks, Cholswell Rd, Shippon, Abingdon. Oxford Office RGJRA 01868 874345 Wednesday 9th King’s Royal Rifle Corps Celer & Audax Club Ladies Lunch. Cavalry & Guards Club, London. RHQ 01962 828524 Mon-Tues 14th-15th Rifles & Former RGJ officers Sailing Regatta, Seaview, Isle of Wight. Salisbury Office, Lt Col (Retd) ATD Lerwill OBE, 01722 414536 Wednesday 16th TBC 4 Rifles Homecoming Parade, Dorchester Exeter Office Maj. (Retd) H Jellard MBE 01392 492435 Saturday 26th Armed Forces Day. JULY Fri-Sun 2nd – 4th Rifles & Former RGJ officers Cricket Festival, St Cross, Winchester. RHQ 01962 828534
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Saturday 10th Winchester Sounding Retreat & Reunion, Sir John Moore Barracks Oxford Office RGJRA Mike Marr 01868 874345 Friday 17th Sounding Retreat and Cocktail Party. Castle Green, Hereford. Shrewsbury Office Maj. (Retd) N Jones 01742 262425 Tuesday 20th Regents Park Memorial Service – London. Still attended on by families of those who died and on Remembrance Sunday. Wednesday 21st King’s Royal Rifle Corps AGM Davies Street. 18.00hrs for 18.30hrs all are welcome to attend. Sunday 25th Rifles Freedom Parade, Bournemouth. Exeter Office Maj. (Retd) H Jellard MBE 01392 492435 AUGUST Tuesday 25th Rifle Brigade Regimental Birthday. Venue TBC SEPTEMBER Wednesday 8th Rifles Freedom Parade, Darlington. Maj. (Retd) C Lawton MBE Sunderland Office 01913 865496 Thursday 9th Rifles Freedom Parade, Sunderland. Maj. (Retd) C Lawton MBE Sunderland Office 01913 865496 Friday 10th Rifles Freedom Parade, Stockton. Maj. (Retd) C Lawton MBE Sunderland Office 01913 865496 Fri-Sun 10th-12th Rifles & Former RGJ officers Golf Meeting (St Enodoc), Cornwall. Bodmin Office. Maj, (Retd) TW Stipling 01208 72810 Saturday 25th Rifles Freedom Parade, Plymouth. Exeter Office Maj. (Retd) H Jellard MBE 01392 492435
OCTOBER Wednesday 13th Rifle Brigade Officers Club Dinner, Cavalry and Guards Club, London. RHQ Major K Gray 01962 828549 Thursday 14th The Rifle Brigade Club and Association Annual General Meeting, Davies St Thursday 21st King’s Royal Rifle Corps Celer & Audax Club Regimental Dinner, Cavalry & Guards Club, London. RHQ Col IH McCausland (Retd) 01962 828532 NOVEMBER Thursday 11th Field of Remembrance – 10.30am Westminster Abbey, (The Rifles) London Office, Lt Col J-D von Merveldt (Retd) 0207 4914936 (The RGJ), Mr G Driscoll 0207 8347717. The (KRRC), R. Frost MBE 0207 4914935. (The Rifle Brigade), Major K Gray, 01962 828549. Saturday 13th Oxford Reunion, 7pm at Edward Brooks Barracks, Cholswell Rd Shippon, Abingdon, X13 6HW. See timings etc at Reunion Timings and Format. RGJRA, Oxford Office, Mike Marr 01868 874345 Sunday 14th Cenotaph Parade RGJ – London Branch. Passes Obtained through Branch Secretary. Gary Driscoll 0207 8347717 Sunday 14h Cenotaph Parade KRRC. Passes obtained through Hon Secretary KRRC, Davies Street. London Office, R. Frost MBE 0207 4914935 Sunday 14th Rifle Brigade Memorial Service at Grosvenor Gardens, London. Saturday 27th Rifles Freedom Parade, Salisbury Office, Lt Col (Retd) ATD Lerwill OBE, 01722 414536 Saturday 27th Rifle Brigade Association Dinner, Union Jack Club, London. Bar opens at 6pm
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THE ROYAL GREEN JACKETS REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATION
Events 2010-2011 DECEMBER Thursday 2nd Rifles/RGJ (Retd) Officers’ Club Winter Cocktail Party at Davies Street, 6:30pm. London Office Lt Col J-D von Merveldt 0207 4914936 Tuesday 7th F & G Coy 7 Rifles/RGJ Carol Service 19-00 for 19-30pm at St Georges Church, Hanover Square.
Friday 25th King’s Royal Rifle Corps Regimental Birthday. JANUARY 2011 Friday 1st RGJ Regimental Birthday
FEBRUARY Sunday 1st 4th Anniversary of Rifles Formation Thursday 17th King’s Royal Rifle Corps /F-Coy 7 Rifles Annual Concert by “The Band and Bugles of the Rifles” Commencing at 19-00hrs sharp, tickets £12-50 each from Hon Secretary, 52/56 Davies Street, London W1K 5HR, e-mail krrcassn@ hotmail.com London Office, 0207 4914935
Reunion Events and Timings
THE WINCHESTER REUNION 10th JULY 2010 Sir John Moore Barracks, Winchester, Hants Please note that entry for those who have a membership card is free, otherwise there will be a £10 entry fee for non members, which will be convertible to Association membership on filling in a membership application form. Timings are: Saturday 10th 1300 hrs 1300-1800 hrs 1800 hrs 1830 1900-0100 hrs 0100 hrs
July 2010 Gates open at Sir John Moore Barracks Bar open; static displays Fall in on Main Square Service, March Past and President’s Address, followed by Sounding Retreat Bar open Bar closes
THE OXFORD REUNION 13th NOVEMBER 2010 Edward Brooks Barracks, Cholswell Rd, Shippon, ABINGDON, OX13 6HW 1900hrs 2000hrs 2045hrs 2100hrs 0030hrs 0100hrs
Bars Open Rifles Band plays Public Address Curry available on repayment Bars close TAVR Centre closes
An entry fee of £10.00 per head will be charged to any old comrade who is not currently a paid up member of either, the Central Branch or the Oxford branch of the RGJ Association, or the RGJ Officers Club. Existing members enter free of charge.
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THE ROYAL GREEN JACKETS REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATION
AN APPEAL
FOR YOUR HELP From: Major R.D. Cassidy M.B.E. Retd
I write to ask your help in assisting The Rifles Benevolent Trust, in doing so you help all our past, present and future Riflemen and their families who may for what ever reason need assistance. Background The Riflemen’s Aid Society (RAS) was founded by The King’s Royal Rifle Corps and The Rifle Brigade in 1883, joined by the Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry in 1958, its aim to look after the serving, the retired, widows, and families who were in straitened circumstances. During the years that followed 1883 with three wars, the Boer War, WW1 and WW2 plus later other areas of conflict, the RAS with its dedicated Trustees produced a charity that was second to none and widely acclaimed. During the lifetime of the RAS and attached to it; groups all regimental formed in those war years and sent parcels to POWs, visited the wounded and widows, organised wives to knit for the men folk and many other aspects, Green Jacket Close was built and opened in 1901 to commemorate those who had fallen in the Boer War, assisted those who were deemed in need and this still continues, children of our Riflemen had their school fees helped with, the Ladies Guild was formed in those earlier days and works tirelessly to this day to help the widows where there is a need. The Future I appeal to all who served in the 43rd & 52nd, the 60th, the RBs and the RGJ
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to turn your previous generosity when giving help to the RAS and you did, for as Assistant Adjutant of 1RGJ in the early seventies nearly 90% of that Bn gave annually a days pay as no doubt those in the other Bns did. So now turn your generosity to our living Regiment The Rifles and its charitable fund. The Rifles Formed in February 2007 they very quickly and positively set up their Benevolence from in part the funds of the RAS. They inherited Green Jacket Close, the case files of all the 5 antecedent regiments and continue on our behalf all the previous good
work that had been achieved. They also encouraged their serving Riflemen and Officers to contribute to the One Days Pay Scheme, which they do annually. Bluntly there is a continuing need for funds to help not only those families who have lost their loved ones and as I write that is 38 since February 2007 but also of the 168 wounded some who have had life changing wounds. Not all require financial help but where there is need the process of granting assistance is very quick. Benevolence is being spent at some £30,000 a month, examples are; bringing families to England from South Africa, Saudi Arabia and other countries, basic clothing for the wounded who when casevaced back have only the clothes they wore when injured, there is a regimental welfare package for arrivals at Selly Oak, the list is endless and already the total of individual benevolence this year amounts to £350,000. Too well I am aware about the appeals that keep invading your letter box but this one is different, it is about those of our Regiment and I include all antecedent regiments who may need our assistance now and in the many years ahead, please see below how we can do this. Remember if you are a tax payer by signing the Gift Aid form the trust fund can at this time claim 28 pence on every pound you donate. With my best wishes and success to you in 2010, Ron Cassidy
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STANDING ORDER FORM THE RIFLES REGIMENTAL TRUST FUND Please complete the form below and return to:
GIFT AID DECLARATION
RHQ The Rifles, Peninsula Barracks, Romsey Road WINCHESTER. Hampshire. SO23 8TS
Name of Charity: THE RIFLES REGIMENTAL TRUST (Charity No: 1119061)
RHQ The Rifles will insert the Reference and forward the proforma to your bank. If you have any queries please call RHQ on 01962 828526/30
Details of donor Title ............................................................................................ Forenames(s) .............................................................................
To: (Name and full address of Bank or Building Society) ………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………...................................................... Postcode ………………………………. Dear Sir, please pay *now the sum of £………....... to The Rifles Benevolent Trust Fund, at The Royal Bank of Scotland (A/C Number 10111247), 67-68 High /Street, Winchester, SO23 9DA, (Sort Code 16-34-25), * and the sum of £ ……..……. thereafter monthly/annually* *Delete as necessary commencing the 1st ……………………… 20 …………. until further notice, from my A/C
Surname .................................................................................... Address ...................................................................................... .................................................................................................... .................................................................................................... .................................................................................................... I want the charity to reclaim tax on my donations. Signature ................................................................................... Date .......... /.......... /.......... Notes If your declaration covers donations you may make in the future:
Name/Number …………………………...................................... Please cancel any previous instructions
Reference to be quoted is ………………………………................ (To be completed by RHQ The Rifles) Yours faithfully
a. Please notify the charity if you change your name or address while the declaration is still in force b. You can cancel the declaration at any time by notifying the charity - it will then not apply to donations you make on or after the date of cancellation or such later date as you specify.
…………………………………………………………………......... Signature
You must pay an amount of income tax and/or capital gains tax at least equal to the tax that the charity reclaims on your donations in the tax year (currently 28p for each £1 you give).
……………………………………………………………………..... Rank, Initials and Name (BLOCK CAPITALS PLEASE)
If in the future your circumstances change and you no longer pay tax on your income and capital gains equal to the tax that the charity reclaims, you can cancel your declaration (see note 1).
Home Address ..........................................................................
If you pay tax at the higher rate you can claim further tax relief in your Self Assessment tax return.
..............................................……………………………………… ……….........................................................................................
If you are unsure whether your donations qualify for Gift Aid tax relief, ask the charity. Or you can ask you local tax office for leaflet IR113 Gift Aid.
Postcode …………………………………………………….......... Date ……………………….........................................................
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THE ROYAL GREEN JACKETS REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATION
AUSTRALASIAN BRANCH Chris McDonald
Despite my better judgement and regret, I left 3 RGJ in late 1989, however 20 years later in 2009 I was extremely fortunate in witnessing firsthand the Riflemen of 4 Rifles (the descendants of 3 RGJ) 3 Rifles and 2 Rifles on operations in Forward Operating Base (FOB) Jackson in the Sangin Valley of Helmand Province, Afghanistan and FOB Shawqat in Southern Helmand Province. Chris McDonald and Alasdair Ross meet up in
For those of us that served in Northern Ireland, some on repeated tours of the province with the Royal Green Jackets be assured that the current day Riflemen within the new Rifles Regiment are well and truly having it worse than we ever had it. In the 8 years the conflict in Afghanistan has been in place 237 British Soldiers have died, in 2009 at the time of writing this there has been 100 British soldiers killed. The Rifles, which is now the largest Regiment in the British Army has suffered a horrendous amount of Killed in Action and added to that figure has been a mind boggling amount of extremely serious injuries, with loss of limbs being an almost daily event. Earlier this year I met up with Captain Rob Cutler, the QM Tech of 4 Rifles at Camp Bastion in Helmand province. Rob and I served together in 3 RGJ and did our JNCO cadre together. Rob went on to become RSM and was later Commissioned. Surprisingly I found a number of former ex 3 RGJ people still serving, amongst which was Skinny Robbo, Leo Healy, Col Martin and Alasdair Ross who I met at Sangin and had signed up with 2 Rifles just for the tour in Afghanistan. I served with all these guys either in Milan Platoon, or A Company 3 RGJ, so it was great to see some of them again and to see really, how much the spirit of the RGJ has transcended the amalgamation into the Rifles. I travelled to Sangin on a Chinook helicopter with Lt Col Nick Kitson CO 3 Rifles and his advance party to take the hand over from Lt Col Rob Thompson 2 Rifles. This was one of the rare occasions where one of the Rifles Battalions was to hand over to one of the other Rifles Battalions in much
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Afghanistan
the same way that The Royal Green Jacket Battalions used to hand over to each other in Ireland. I spoke with a large number of Riflemen at FOB Jackson in Sangin, and the Company Commander Major Richardson, all great people. Sangin is the scene of many contacts with the Insurgents and consequently an enormous amount of fatalities. The Riflemen are no different in spirit than were the Riflemen of the Royal Green Jackets. Still with the same “relaxed alert” rather than “nervous alert” that typified Riflemen in Northern Ireland along with the humour and good spirits and a lot of “ticking” (some things will never change). The exception being they have better personal kit and weapons systems. Still with a relentless roster of patrols, sangar duty and QRF as was the case in Northern Ireland. That is pretty much where the similarity to Ireland finishes as the heat in summer and the freezing conditions in winter add a dimension to soldiering that has to be seen to be believed. The fighting is fierce at the FOBs in Helmand province which is evidenced by the amazing amount of bravery awards given to soldiers that have served here in Afghanistan. While I was at FOB Shawqat in southern Helmand where a company from 4 Rifles were based, I learned that the 4 Rifles sniper team at FOB Sinbad had 57 confirmed enemy kills in 3 months. That represents quite a few contacts! There was also one Rifles Battalion Company that had lost killed in action, every officer from the Company Commander, 2ic, and three Platoon Commanders, a horrific loss to any Regiment. It goes without saying that the Rifles is
now a Regiment in its own right, certainly there are glimpses of the Royal Green Jackets (probably glimpses of the other regiments that formed the Rifles as well, however I didn’t see much of that to be honest) However the RGJ is an antecedent regiment now and the Rifles go forward at 140 paces a minute! When you see the Riflemen wearing berets, the badges are still almost over the ear, the rifleman swagger is there and the attitude screams of the RGJ, however they are now very much The Rifles and this is enforced by the senior NCO’s and commissioned ranks. I had the opportunity to speak with Lt Col Rob Thompson 2 Rifles and Lt Col Nick Kitson 3 Rifles (now there is an RGJ Name if ever there was one!) both are good men and lead their Battalions proudly, Rob Thomson’s 2 Rifles had experienced a very hectic tour with many casualties, but they were still positive and focused. For my own mind, if it sounds like a Green Jacket, soldiers like a Green Jacket, looks like a Green Jacket and marches like a Green Jacket, it is probably a Green jacket! There is certainly enough of a sprinkling of ex RGJ amongst the senior NCO’s throughout the whole Rifles regiment to ensure that the ethos, drill, skills and ability including shooting and sniper’s are very much following the traditions of the chosen men. As well as the positives, there are the negatives, the conditions that the Riflemen work and live in at the FOBs is positively prehistoric although they are improving greatly. Ration packs will always be ration packs however compared to some of the Dining facilities in Afghanistan a tin of cold baked beans from a ration pack is a much preferred option than cueing up in a line of hundreds of squaddies waiting for a meal that has no taste and questionable nutritional value and certainly no supreme effort by the cooks! Above I mentioned the personal kit, which is far superior to what we had, however there is a distinct lack of helicopters, which has been reported widely. What is not reported is the hours if not days that soldiers have to wait around in the middle of nowhere for a helicopter only to be told it has been delayed for 2 days! However this has now
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THE ROYAL GREEN JACKETS REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATION
Australian Branch Members at the Anzac Day Parade
Chris Stewart & Paul Gledhill
been addressed, as Gordon Brown’s party have promised 22 new Chinooks will be sent into Afghanistan, in 4 years!! Just in time for a Heli extraction once President Obama calls end ex I’d imagine! And the Branch? The Branch is going well as usual, despite some of my frustrations at people that don’t turn up to functions or don’t answer emails EVER! Amazing seeing as I have to find the time in Afghanistan to write a newsletter! (Subtle enough!) The Branch is moving into its tenth year on a very positive footing. We have 53 fully paid up members presently plus those loyal affiliated members in the UK. A group of the Perth members are travelling to Sydney between the 3rd and 5th of February to see the “Edinburgh Tattoo” in Sydney and meet some of the Eastern States members. We have had a constant diary of events with a function every month as has been the case now for 10 years! Again this year, in 2009 we stole the show at the
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Anzac Day Parade and the Remembrance Day service with the size and impact of the RGJ Regimental Association, the Australasian Branch just making its presence known. Kelvin Crumplin is still knocking them dead with his latest film. Chris Stewart, Paul Gledhill, John Longworth and Jeff Robinson are still doing well with the building game in Perth. Paul Pricket (Major Aus Army) has just about finished his tour in Vanuatu and is heading back to a posting in New South Wales at Nowra Parachute training school. Darrell Morrison is still working in Iraq and will soon have a bank account that would make Richard Branson quiver, and now that Tiger Woods has quit golf to pursue other activities at his wife’s request, Geoff Tarbin has now got a chance at major sponsorship with Nike. Peter Carter’s holiday resort down south in Western Australia is still going well. John Potter and Pam returned from yet another
cruise! And Pam’s health has improved which is great news. Mike Taylor’s girlfriend Karla has volunteered to give the Branch secretary’s job a go, and inferred that she had her sights on bigger things within the Branch, but God knows what that means! Suspiciously though I have not heard from her since she volunteered, I wouldn’t mind guessing she has jumped ship to the Para’s (spit) Association. So if you get a letter from the Branch Secretary requesting you to pay your Branch subs, which are due in January!!!!! You now have no excuse to ignore the letter! There is a method to my madness! Jeff Robinson and I will also be identifying other activities for the Branch to do other than BBQ’s, obviously 10 years of monthly BBQ’s is wearing a bit thin, so if you have ideas and suggestions, contact Jeff or I. Eddie Chavner (ex 3 RGJ) is currently visiting Australia and is hoping to meet up with Jeff Robinson and Jim Shivers in Sydney in early February. Look out the Sydney pubs is all I can say! Also planned for 2010 is obviously Anzac Day in April. The Branch President Major General Andrew Pringle has told me he is planning to be in Perth for Anzac Day 2010. So I will request here and now, that we have maximum turn out for Anzac day 2010 in Perth please. If you do not have a blazer yet, get one! The Branch members in Perth have only just had the Christmas function at John & Pam Potters, thank you John & Pam for what I hear was a great spread. Which brings me nicely towards wishing all Branch members and Green Jackets everywhere a great Christmas and lots of good luck and good health in 2010. SWIFT & BOLD!
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Aylesbury Branch President Brigadier G Smith QVRM TD DL (Deputy Colonel Commandant (TA & Cadets) The Rifles) Chairman Secretary Treasurer
A. Grant T. Burrows R. Palmer
The branch has not reported recently because it was felt that to repeat a Calendar of events was not a report. The monthly meetings are still held at The Ex Services Club in Walton Street, Aylesbury. Our meetings take place on the second Sunday of each month at 1200 hrs. This year saw a constitutional change within the Branch, as the Secretary was also holding down a post as the Secretary and Treasurer of the Buckinghamshire Battalion Old Comrades Association central executive in addition to treasurer of the Aylesbury Branch B.B.O.C.A. He reported to the Branch on a monthly meeting in February that members of the Bucks Battalion had decided that it could no longer exist as an old comrades association because of the advanced years of the members. He also announced that the Bucks Old Comrades had formerly requested that the Aylesbury Branch, RGJRA, took over the administration of the Old Comrades and allowed them to integrate. This was agreed because as a part of the former Ox & Bucks LI they were in fact already members. This being agreed all remaining funds from the Bucks Old Comrades were transferred to the Aylesbury Branch account to be used as for whatever functions or occasions former members of the Bucks OCA wished to attend. Our first of two annual major events were the Copenhagen Dinner held in April which was once again a success although in rather bizarre circumstances, as the caterers were not allowed to use the gas facilities within the venue (The Ex Services Club). Fortunately the use of the electric ovens was permitted and the caterers provided LPG cookers outside for the vegetables etc, this raised some eyebrows but brought back memories for all members. The occasion was the first that the ex members of the Bucks Old Comrades attended as Branch members and their attendance was
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In Remembrance
funded from the branch account. This year the trip to the Army Vs Navy Babcock trophy Rugby match in May took place as usual with Mr Chris Hill making the arrangements. Chris worked hard and the day was very enjoyable for those attending. Whilst the Bucks Old Comrades had continually held reunions since the last war this year was the first time that the administration for their main annual event was carried out by the RGJRA Branch. This was held on the appropriate date of 6th June and will remain an integral part of the Branch Calendar. Later in June members of the Branch were invited to the birthday party of Mr Brown (ex Bucks Battalion) this was on the occasion of his 95th birthday making him the oldest member of the Branch. On Sunday 28th June the branch secretary was invited to attend the reInauguration of The Tylers Green Memorial Trees. This, as well as a great honour, was a surprise, as we knew nothing of the history. History of the Penn & Tylers Green Memorial Trees Penn & Tylers Green are two villages close to Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire. Like the rest of Britain men from the villages volunteered for service in the First World War. Thirty of those men failed to return home. As
the combined population of the villages at that time was less than 1,000 this was obviously a great loss. Five families suffered the loss of more than one son. In 1937 the Parish council decided to plant a tree in honour of each of the fallen with an appropriate plaque. Unfortunately over the years and of course with the advent of World War 2 the trees were not cared for and the fact that they had ever existed was lost in time. Three years ago documents were found and it was decided to re-instate the trees and replace those which had disappeared or were diseased. Unfortunately the first attempt was thwarted by vandals, so the process had to be restarted. The reason the Aylesbury branch Secretary was invited was because sixteen of the fallen served with the Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry but on attending I also discovered that a further five fallen served with either the Rifle Brigade or the King’s Royal Rifle Corps, meaning that twenty one out of thirty of the fallen commemorated by these trees served with former regiments of the Royal Green Jackets. At the end of the ceremony the branch Secretary was asked to lay a wreath on behalf of the Oxfordshire &
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The Aylesbury Branch Secretary about to lay
Branch Members with the President at John
a wreath on behalf of the Oxf and Bucks
Browns 95th Birthday party (We are 95)
Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. Should any of you reading this wish to visit Tylers Green you will find the trees on Back Common. As always we are looking for ex Green Jackets to fill our ranks and should anyone reading this know of people
who could join us please inform them of our meetings or forward to me (address details on the contacts page) their details and I will contact them. This obviously includes former members of the Bucks Old Comrades & any members of our former
Branch Members with the President at John Browns 95th
Regiments. We as a branch are looking forward to the future with confidence and hope that the future bodes well for all members of the Association
THE BANDS & BUGLES Reunion 2009 Held in Winchester on 17 October The reunion kicked of with the Secretary turning up late 1130hrs – to find more than ever already in and raring to go for the 1200hrs start. He started to sign the 90 + members & Guests in and try and sell them 2010 diaries. Members of the Waterloo B&B of the Rifles arrived at approximately 1220hrs with their kit and set up ready for this years blow, This finished at around 1430hrs ready for the next interruption to the bar takings, Secretary’s words at 1500hrs which went;Good afternoon Ladies, Gentlemen, Honorary Members, New Members, Guests and those uninvited. Thank you for attending this year’s reunion my 6th at the helm The raffle this year will be drawn during lunch If you have any suggestions, complaints or questions please write, email or phone me after the weekend as I have a tendency to forget them by Sunday morning (not sure why?) Since our last meeting it has been
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Band and Bugles Reunion Annual `Blow`
Band and Bugles Members Reunion 2009
bought to the committee’s attention that some things of importance to many of you have drifted away from the reunion. I will try and get it right in the future I ask you all to show your thanks and appreciation to the following; • Tom, his helpers and the bar staff for all their hard work now and in the next 12 hours.
• Members of the Waterloo Band & Bugles of the Rifles for bringing their kit along to allow some of us to have a blow. • Tony Dowd and his mate for arranging the Raffle. Nearly there but not quiet I would like you all to thank the secretary for trying to get it right. FINALLY Would you all please be upstanding and raise your glass with me in a toast to remember those who have left us since last year. ALAN ATCHINSON DAVE JENKINS TERRY BROOKS MARTYN SUMNER RAY FOSTER JIM McQUAID PETER CAIN JOHN POWELL AND ALL THOSE WHO HAVE GONE BEFORE TO ABSENT FRIENDS The reunion ended sometime Sunday Morning – SEE YOU ALL NEXT YEAR D Timms B&B reunion secretary
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Internet (IB) BRANCH By Kevin Stevens Webmaster RGJ Regimental Association The Internet branch continues to be the focal point for many in the Association who for geographical or other reasons are unable to join one of our local branches up and down the country or overseas in Cyprus, Australasia or other parts of the world . It is run by the Association website team. The branch itself although only a virtual one existing on the internet has had a long and varied life. It started out over 10 years ago as the first RGJ Association web site before evolving into the Internet branch and becoming independent of the politics of the Association of that time but remained willing to assist in the promotion of both RGJ and RGJA matters. When we were asked to become the focal point for the Association by our new president, General Balfour, a third generation of the Internet branch was born with part of the then website formed into the basis of the RGJRA new website and the rest going behind a password gate to form the current Internet branch. At the moment it shares the same design as the main RGJRA website but it is planned to change the design in 2010 to promote its own identity within the Association and work will have started on this by the time Swift and Bold is delivered
to your door. The membership has risen steadily over the year and now stands at around 2250. For information and to reassure a small minority, who still think that Internet members should not be allowed voting rights or a say within the Association, about 85% of Internet branch members are also full paying members of the Association! A large proportion of these are also members of local branches. Every member joining the IB is encouraged to join the central branch and contribute to the funds of the Association and of course in return receive a copy of Swift and Bold plus free entry to both the Winchester and Oxford reunions as well as other benefits. I have mentioned in my report on the main website the success of the member’s guest book. It is by far the most popular
part of the website but a link cannot be found anywhere on the website itself. The reason for this is that the Green Jacket banter can sometimes be quite explicit and it was felt that we needed to protect the feelings of those who might stumble across it by mistake. The guest book location is available therefore only by request via our admin centre. It was recently pointed out to me that the hit to entry rate was running at 17/1 in other words for every 17 visits there was just one comment made. This is in fact shows an increase as this time last year it was only 22/1. Apart from the guest book there are various downloads available for registered members. As we move into 2010 the Internet branch website will continue to support the aims and principles of the Association and will encourage members to join not only the central branch but also their local physical branch if one is nearby but failing that there will always be a welcome within the pages of the Internet branch itself for anyone who served with its former regiments or indeed The Rifles be they Oxf & Bucks, KRRC, RB, RGJ, Rifles or attached arms. Kevin Stevens Webmaster, RGJRA
LONDON BRANCH Newsletter 2009
The London Branch has had a successful year with an increase in members and a full events calendar. This past year the branch concentrated on Fundraising for The Rifles Regimental Trust and a number of other minor charities connected with the military. A huge word of thanks must be passed on to not only to the committee, but also our very own generous members and sponsors, especially those who donated a
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marvellous variety of prizes and auction items and to those that provided the facilities for all of which contributed to the success of events. Black Button Club (1) The year began with the spring meeting of the Black Button Club held at the Royal Hospital Chelsea where once again we were made most welcome. This is an extremely popular venue, which allows members who
work or live in Greater London to enjoy an evening in a location with a considerable amount of history and some very senior pensioners, who swell the numbers for the meeting. The evening was very well attended with over forty members on parade. It should also be stated that the bar prices are below those of outside establishments. The Branch still has a number of pensioners as members and in particular we would like to thank In Patient John Selby who although not in
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the best of health ensures all Green Jacket inmates are aware of the meeting. Ladies Dinner The Ladies Dinner night was held in the Victory Services Club in central London. Each year we state that this was the best attended dinner night ever held. This year without doubt our members truly came up trumps, a total of one hundred and fifty members and guests sat down to dinner. A cocktail party in the Memorial Lounge allowed members and guests to have a few warmers in the bank and to mix and meet fellow diners. Due to the fact that on this occasion we had no VIP Guest present, we decided to arrange the tables differently with Committee tables, which worked exceedingly well. After dinner speeches were restricted to just the Secretary and the President. The Waterloo Regimental Band and Bugles excelled with a full programme of regimental music and an outstanding party piece by WO2 Roger Betts to close the bands involvement in the programme for the night. It is appreciated that there is a great demand on the bands time but the London Branch truly enjoyed the performance and are hopeful that it will continue in the future. The evening activities were completed with live entertainment and dancing and of course a few drinks in which many stories were repeated over again. The evening was a great success but behind the scenes a tremendous amount of organisation and hard work went on. A huge thank you must be given to the branch committee especially the Secretary who was the ringmaster for the evening. Calais Memorial Parade The Branch supported the QVR/KRRC/RB Memorial Service in Calais on the 20th May. The Branch is always able to fill the balance of empty seats available on this event and feel very proud and privileged to be able to do so. Clay Pigeon Shoot The Clay Pigeon shoot for the ‘Boggy Marsh Trophy’ was held at the Essex Shooting Centre. The numbers were disappointing on this occasion but even so a very enjoyable day was had on the ranges. The competition turned out to be very fierce and was only resolved by a three-way shoot off for the highest score of the day and best shot of the day. The day was completed with lunch and
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London Branch Members Calais Memorial 2009
Pearly Kings and Queens help fund raising
a few drinks in the local Pub before members departed for home. Veterans Day Lunch The Veterans Day Lunch is becoming a major event in the calendar. We are made most welcome at the Mark Masons Hall next door to St James Palace. The facilities are excellent and we assemble for pre-lunch drinks, before sitting down for lunch, which is taken at a leisurely pace and normally finishes midafternoon where many members go on to round two, at other establishments. Numbers were considerably up this year and it was delightful to see Ron Cassidy who came as a guest. Regents Park Memorial Service The branch has continued to assemble at Regents Park at the Bandstand, to remember the tragedy of those members of the 1st Battalion Band, who were killed by a terrorists bomb in 1982. For the second year running since the official ceremony ceased the branch performs a small service and lays a wreath of remembrance. Lunch is then taken in a local restaurant before members make their way home. It has been decided that this ceremony will take place every year on the nearest Sunday to the 20th July. Golf Competition There was a major change in this year’s golf competitions; previously two separate matches took place as two stand-alone
matches. It was decided this year to play both matches on the same day. The President’s Cup was played over nine holes in the morning followed by the Rifleman’s Shield over eighteen holes in the afternoon. Due to the early start and late finish many members decided to make it a two-night event, which is another story. The event was extremely well supported with over thirty-three members and guests on parade. An early breakfast saw the first group away and a rolling buffet lunch ensured that members were kept on the course all day. On completion and after a few drinks in the bar the whole group sat down to a well-deserved evening dinner. Prizes were presented by the President to the familiar cries of fix and what’s your handicap. The whole day was an outstanding success and although they’re clear-cut winners the battle for the runners up prizes were keenly contested by Peter Layton and Baz Lilley. Battlefield Tour It was decided that we would go to Italy for this year’s Battlefield Tour. The branch was to concentrate on a visit to the Cassino and Anzio battlefields and to our former regiment’s involvement. In May 1944 it was decided that 2nd, 7th and the10th Rifle Brigade would be combined into a newly formed Infantry Brigade to be called M Force, this after a very short period of time was renamed 61st Infantry Brigade. At the time 10 RB was heavily involved in the offensive in the Liri Valley. On formation a major change took place in that the Battalions lost the status of being Motor Battalions and reverted to normal infantry battalions with RASC transport. The maximum number of branch members that could be catered for was forty, which was really due to administrative reasons .The President stated that he could not handle more than forty Riflemen in Italy at one time. The tour was quickly fully booked and duly assembled at Gatwick at mid-day on Thursday the 17th September and emplaned for Rome to the Hotel Roma Citta, a short transfer ride from the airport to hotel and once settled into rooms we assembled for pre- dinner drinks and then a branch dinner in ‘Planters Rig’. Due to an early start the next morning most people decided to remain in the hotel. Branch members promptly set about emptying the bar of beer, which duly ran out shortly
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his talk were lost in our understanding of his tour. The final act of the morning was an exchange of gifts, which was in it self an act of amusements as the President’s Italian is minimal and as mentioned the Curator’s English, was non-existent. We returned to Rome for a quick wash and brush up, and after collecting our Rome City guide we spent the afternoon and early evening in the city centre. We spent the first part of the tour on and off the bus followed by an extended walking tour. Members where equipped with an individual personal radio which allowed our guide to move us around in some resemblance of order. On completion of the tour the branch dispersed to spend the evening in Rome to do what all good riflemen do when let loose. A very tired but happy group of riflemen departed for home on the Sunday morning, having once again drunk the hotel bar out of beer.
Anzio Battlefield Tour
The Cenotaph Parade
after midnight. The early start the next morning departed on time, the drive time from Rome to Cassino was approximately two hours. Our guide met us at the hotel and set the scene for the next two days with a talk and a number of excellent DVD’s during the trip. Our guide managed to keep the branch members enthralled all day during a driving tour around the battlefields and then on to the Monastery. We parked at the Polish Cemetery car park. The brave then walked to the top of Polish Hill to view the memorial Obelisk and the surrounding battle area. The view from the top really put the whole battle and terrain into perspective, one could not but admire the courage and hardship of the soldiers who fought there and the conditions they had to contend with. A truly outstanding feat of arms won against a very determine enemy, extremely difficult terrain in foul weather conditions. We moved onto the Monastery where we were very fortunate to be introduced to a monk who as a boy of thirteen, had been in the monastery during the battle. He was evacuated from the monastery just before the bombing took place having heeded the warning of the impending bombing raid. He escorted the branch members on a
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personnel tour, which allowed us into areas not normally seen or visited by the public. Our final port of call for the day was to the Cassino War Cemetery to pay our respects to those who had fallen, especially to those members of the Rifle Brigade. A short service of Remembrance was performed and conducted by the Secretary and President, with the laying of two wreaths by branch members, one on behalf of the Rifle Brigade Association and the other from the London Branch. We felt very privileged and grateful that we could honour those who had given so much in the name of the Regiment. After a long and tiring day the return trip to Rome was a welcomed rest before once again the members set about the bar, which duly ran out of beer in the evening. An early start was planned for the next day to visit Anzio Beach and local Museum. We departed on time and spent a very informative morning at the beachheadlanding site before moving on to the local Allied Landing Museum. Once again our guide came up trumps and had arranged for the Curator to meet us. He undertook to show us around which, was amusing in some respects as he spoke no English and was so enthusiastic that some of the finer points of
Black Button Club (2) The Autumn Black Button Club was again held at the Royal Hospital Chelsea and was well attended. The evening was the opening event for our fundraising drive for the year. It was decided that the Rifles Regimental Trust would be our selected charity. A number of activities took place and a total of over £500 was collected from a raffle, auction and over activities. This was carried forward and added to the grand total of other events, which were in hand for the remainder of the year. Remembrance Sunday Parade The London Branch was the focal point for this year’s Remembrance Day Parade in Whitehall. There was an increased interest in the parade and many former riflemen applied to participate. Our allocation of tickets soon run out and with over two hundred on parade the Royal Green Jackets was the largest Infantry contingent on the Parade. The format is now well established, the marchers and families assemble at the Theodore Bullfrog pub, where coffee and drinks are available from 8am. After a briefing the members move off to Horse Guard Parade while the remainder either depart to the spectator’s area in Whitehall or remain in the Bullfrog to watch the parade on the television. Once assembled on Whitehall and after a considerable amount
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of left hand, right hand by the Royal British Legion Marshals, the service and March past takes place. Once completed and the parade is stood down, the contingent make their way back to Bullfrog for drinks and lunch. This year the Secretary was approached by Sky Real Lives TV who were making a programme called Forces Reunited. They were interested in filming the Contingent on Remembrance Day. They were also interested in featuring a former rifleman from the Rifle Brigade who had approached the branch stating that it was his ninetieth birthday on Remembrance Day. His name is Lawrence Curtis and he was a Lance Corporal who served throughout World War Two, also landing in Normandy on Gold Beach. He was involved throughout the campaign through France, Belgium and Germany finishing his war at Hamburg. He still enjoys good health and managed to complete the March with no difficulty. The branch completed his day by presenting him with a birthday cake and a rendition of happy birthday, rifleman style before he departed happy and contented. The TV programme is planned to be shown in April of 2010.
Fundraising for the Rifles Regimental Trust The branches final event of the year was a fundraising event in support of the ‘Rifles Regimental Trust and London Branch funds. Andy McNab agreed to attend and sign his latest two books and also give a presentation with a Q & A session. Local East end comedian Micky Pugh donated his time and energy to act as compare and also perform a comedy slot on the programme. He was well supported by DJ Dave Mason who assisted in the background with music. Cockney Pearly Kings and Queens acted as sales people and assisted in collecting money. A raffle was held with outstanding prizes, which included a private flight in a light aircraft over London for four, as well as bicycles, canvas prints, hampers and many other outstanding items. Due to the high quality of some of the donations it was decided to hold a separate auction which was very successful. This proved be the most successful fundraising event the Branch has undertaken. A total of over £7,325.00 was raised for the ‘Rifles’. A word of
thanks must be given to all those who donated prizes, gave their time and assisted with the organisation on the night. A special thanks to the Secretary, Gary Driscoll and the other members of the branch and committee who without their efforts the night could not have taken place. The London Branch has had a full and successful year and is looking forward to the year 2010. Our thoughts are with our fellow Riflemen who are in danger on operations and those who have recently returned home.
Cheque Presentation of £7325 in aid of The Rifles Charities
Midlands Branch We are pleased to announce the revival of the Midlands Branch which, as will have been noticed, has not been active for some time. Commencing on 25 April we went on a coach trip to Eden Camp in Yorkshire. For anyone who has not been there before we highly recommend it. The exhibitions are excellent and at the time of our visit it was `escapees` weekend. On May 25th as a branch we attended Adrian Sheldon’s funeral. He was a local Rifleman who like many others lost his life this year in Afghanistan. It was a very sad day with a lot of the local people lining the streets to pay their respects. The serving Riflemen who attended the funeral also laid a wreath on the grave of Rifleman J Meredith, who was killed in Northern Ireland in 1972 whilst serving with 2RGJ.
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The Warriors Seat On September 4th a bench was erected and dedicated to the memory of Rifleman Sheldon in a local park. The inscription on the attached plaque reads; Warriors Seat IN LOVING MEMORY OF RFN ADRIAN SHELDON, 2nd BATTALION THE RIFLES KILLED IN ACTION IN AFGANISTAN D.O.B 19th SEPT 1983 D.O.D 7th MAY 2009 At some stage in the future it is hoped to have Rifleman J Meredith’s name added to the bench. Some branch members attended the National Arboretum to commemorate Northern Ireland Veterans Day and we
Midlands Branch Members
also went there for the memorial service on Remembrance Sunday. We have a new venue for our meetings now at The Maltings, Skegby Road, Sutton in Ashfield and we meet on the last Sunday of every month at 12 noon so if anyone is interested in joining us we will be very pleased to see them.
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MILTON KEYNES BRANCH Over the last couple of months we have continued to strengthen our ties with the Nepalese community in Milton Keynes and we have enjoyed meeting with the many ex-Gurkha Riflemen in their midst. Members have been invited to their festivals and social events where there always seems to be a good curry on the go. We spent a very enjoyable evening with E Company, 7 Rifles when the Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire presented certificates of merit to members of the Company and the Cadets. This was followed by a curry supper. Remembrance Sunday was a busy day for us but went off well. Lofty and Sam Brewers became the meeting point again where bacon `sarnies` and tea
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Geordie Bell –Gargett, ex 1RGJ, struts his stuff as Gurkha ladies make for the Exit
with medicinal brandy, it keeps out the cold you know, is the order of the day before moving off to take part in the Royal British Legion parade at Newport Pagnell. Other members met up at Tesco at Goldington Green where we enjoyed a fry up at the cafe before falling in at the Memorial to remember amongst others L/Cpl Winstone, 1RGJ whose
name is engraved on the memorial. After both services we headed back to John Howard Barracks to share a few beers with the lads of E Company and guess what, another curry! It is with great sadness that I have to report that on Friday 20th November branch members joined with members of E Company, 7 Rifles to parade at Wootton Bassett to pay our respects as the body of Rifleman Andrew Fentiman, a member of E Company, was returned to the United Kingdom. Rifleman Fentiman was killed in Afghanistan while on attachment to 3 Rifles. Our thoughts and prayers are with Rifleman Fentiman`s family at this sad time. Finally may we wish all Riflemen wherever they are, the Swift and bold and the Old and Bold a very Merry Christmas to you and yours.
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North East Branch Fellow Riflemen. The North East branch of the association was reformed on April 7th 2009 and an inaugural meeting was held and attended by 26 members living in or around the N/East of England. At this meeting a Chairman and committee were selected and names were put forward to be approached to become our branch President. I am pleased to inform you that Brigadier Nicholas Prideaux was approached by Jake Cheetham on behalf of the branch and has agreed to take on this role. We hope to continue to grow in numbers and a recruiting drive is currently underway. I have been informed by Jake that our numbers currently stand at 56 members and there are several who live afar but wish to be affiliated to our branch. If you would like to join our branch or know of anyone living in the Northeast area, please contact either Jake or I at the following e-addresses malcolm.donnison@ btinternet.com or RGJ.north.east@ btinternet.com. After a number of branch meetings with some members travelling up and down the motorways to Winchester and back to the N/East, we received our set up fund, opened up the bank account and then set off to arrange the highlight of the year our remembrance weekend, which is the second biggest parade outside of London. We held a function in The Puffing Billy restaurant/hotel and this was attended by 96 fellow riflemen and families on the 7th November 2009. After a very successful function, on the Sunday morning, we paraded at 0930hrs and mustered a group of 30 former riflemen led by Brigadier N. Prideaux to complete the march past and laying of the wreaths. When the
JOURNAL 2009
North East Branch Members on parade Remembrance Sunday 2009
First meeting of the reformed North East Branch
parade was over the vast majority of us met up at the Royal Victoria where we had a few drinks to honour our absent comrades and to catch up with old friends. I would like to close by saying how pleased I am that we in the N/East are back in the RGJ family fold and we are here to stay this time and that we look forward to contributing to this Regimental magazine for many years to come.
Three members of the North East branch Remembrance Sunday 2009
Malcolm Don Donnison Celer et Audax
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North WEst Branch The Liverpool Military Show was held on 23rd, 24th and 25th May in Walton Hall Park. This year the Band of the Rifles performed a sounding of retreat. A reception was held by General Nick Parker before the event where a number of local dignitaries introduced themselves to the riflemen who attended. We were very grateful when Tom and Sue Fairclough invited us all to their home, conveniently at the back of Walton Hall Park, for a buffet and drinks. Be careful Tom, this could be a regular venue. Thanks again Tom and Sue for your hospitality. The show itself was a great success with a number of side shows and a number of performances by various military organisations in the central arena. On the same day a new Rifles detachment of Merseyside ACF was officially opened by General Nick Parker. The 6th September saw a number of our members attend a service of thanksgiving and dedication in memory of Lance
Corporal JA Christie VC in Bramhall Park, Manchester. Lance Corporal Christie served in 1st/11th (County of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (Finsbury Rifles), a territorial battalion of the Kings Royal Rifle Corps. His act of gallantry in December 1917 was recognised and he was presented with the Victoria Cross at Buckingham Palace by King George V on 18 November 1918. His son Kenneth, Richard Frost, buglers Brookshaw and Perry from The Rifles as well as our members attended the service to dedicate a bench in the grounds of Bramhall Park where Lance Corporal Christie settled after the war. 31st October 2009 was a bright sunny autumn morning. Crowds gathered outside St Georges Hall, Liverpool and as Gareth and I approached the hall we could not help but notice a crowd of Riflemen to the right of it. This was the post operational tour of 2 Rifles in Liverpool. As the crowds got bigger it was becoming obvious that no one, not even the police and stewards expected such a crowd. They
were spilling out on to the road so that eventually Lime Street was closed to traffic. Just after 1030hrs the sound of bugles was heard in the near distance and shortly afterwards 180 Riflemen of 2 Rifles appeared from the side of the hall to be greeted with cheers of praise and appreciation. Coming to a halt became a bit of a problem as the noise was so great from the crowd that the soldiers at the rear did not hear the order to halt, but quickly organised themselves in 3 ranks, open order, ready to be inspected by the Lord Mayor of Liverpool, the Council Leader Warren Bradley, the Lord Lieutenant of Liverpool and Lt Gen Tim Evans MBE. Waiting for the dignitaries to arrive the crowd became a little bored. Suddenly somebody started to sing ‘You’ll never walk alone’. Very quickly this then became a mass of people singing so well that the Kop would be proud of them. This was not a football song; this was the Liverpool people showing their appreciation and support to our troops. Everybody, even Evertonians, started to sing as this was the
The Rifles march through Liverpool City centre
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Thanksgiving Service and Dedication Manchester
people of Liverpool’s tribute to our boys. The service began and the troops were inspected. 24 names rang out. The names of the fallen. At the end of the service the band struck up, they came to attention, moved to the right and started their march through the city to more clapping and cheers of support. The route through the
city was as packed as the area in front of St Georges Hall. They arrived at the Town Hall where a civic reception was held in their honour. I was proud to be able to shake the hands of as many of our men as possible. The afternoon was over but not for the Rifles. Many spent the time walking around the city in uniform. Many
Gareth Dixon, General Nick Parker and Mark Pashby at the Liverpool Military Show
Rifle Cadet Detachment
of my friends’ relatives and colleagues have commented to me about how impressed they were by the soldiers on this day. Well done 2 Rifles, your families are proud of you, your regiment is proud of you and the country is proud of you but our hearts go out to the families of those 24 soldiers who did not return. They will never be forgotten. One week after we were given the opportunity to remember those we lost in the annual remembrance parade in exactly the same place. This parade now seems to be getting bigger every year. Our annual Christmas dinner was held on the 28th of November 2009 at the Devonshire Hotel, Liverpool. For the cost of £30 a 4 course meal was provided with wine and port. The entertainment was a vocal harmony group by the name of ‘Commotions’ who sang the best hits of Swing, Soul and Motown. This year we had 25 people attend which is a reduction on the numbers. Maybe the recession has hit us all a little hard this year. Here is looking forward to the New Year. I wish you all a merry Christmas and a prosperous new year from the North West Branch. Gareth Dixon Chairman
Rifles Parade Civic Reception
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Branch Members at St Georges Hall Liverpool for The Rifles parade
Ray Gerrard Secretary
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THE OXFORD BRANCH The Oxford Branch remains in good health with 145 members on the books and is now properly installed into the new Edward Brooks Barracks as a meeting place for all members of the Branch and the wider RGJ Family. It is a sad fact that being evicted from Slade Park as the TA Centre closed in November2008, and with the subsequent delay in the completion of the new centre until April 2009, our activities and meetings were curtailed somewhat. However, the new TA Centre – Edward Brooks Barracks is now fully functional and the aim is to restore our regular Thursday evening gatherings and additional socials. The Official Seal of Approval has at last been given to this fine new Barracks. Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Gloucester GCVO performed the ceremony on Saturday 18 July 2009. It was a great day with all resident units being represented. The weather gods smiled down upon us too. It has been a long time coming and there have been plenty of problems along the way. But now we have a superb new TA centre as the headquarters and meeting place for the Oxford Branch. The first Band Concert here on 14 Jun was also a great success. We had more visitors than for many years and it was good to see so many officers taking an interest too. Long may it continue and we look forward to next year’s concert on 6 June 2010. The Post Code for the Barracks is: OX13 6HW. (100 metres past the Spar shop)
HRH Duchess of Gloucester GCVO 18 Jul 09 at Edward Brooks Barracks.
The Summer Newsletter & Update From Edward Brooks Barracks (I shall refer to Edward Brooks Barracks from here on as: EBB) Some parts of this Newsletter remain unchanged from my last issue in April. That is intentional as those bits are still relevant. Tuesdays – Drill Nights. All members are invited to attend to attend on any Tuesday from 2000 Hrs onwards. The first Tuesday is of course optional but you are all welcome on any other Tuesday as well. WE ARE ALSO OPEN ON THURSDAY EVENINGS AS WELL – COME ON DOWN! Membership Fees. For those that have already paid for this year – well done and thank you. For those that have yet to renew for this year please understand that we cannot survive as a viable branch without a strong membership base. I will do all that I can to feed, water and socialise you, but you have to do your bit with the pound notes to support my efforts on your behalf.
HRH meets the Bugle Major 7 Rifles
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Other Bits. If you cannot make any of the dates above, but would like to visit and see this
splendid new training centre, then just give me a ring and I will fix it for you. Likewise, if you have good ideas for the Branch then please discuss with me. Directions to EBB. I will try and attach a map. If that fails and you cannot find your own map by using one of the many websites available – ‘multi-map – AA Routefinder etc, then follow these instructions: a. A34 North or South towards Abingdon. b. Take the main exit slip for Abingdon – NOT Abingdon North. c. Follow the MoD signs to ‘Dalton Barracks’. d. Do not turn into Dalton Bks. Instead keep straight on to the T junction and turn left. e. Stay on this road until the sharp bend to the right – keep straight on towards the Spar shop. That is Cholswell Road. f. We are approx 150 metres past the shop on the left. Press the button for messes/clubs. Button No 10. ME! After almost 44 years in military harness, I have to retire this year. (did I hear a cheer??) I will be thinning out from
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THE ROYAL GREEN JACKETS REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATION
late summer and will be handed over completely by end August. Clearly I will need to be replaced as chairman. Whether my successor would wish to take this on, I do not know. If he does not, who will? I will attend the AGM in Dec and you can decide what to do!!
Guard of Honour for Royal Opening Edward Brooks Barracks 18 Jul 09.
Summary. In summary I would like to encourage you to attend whatever you can in support of your Branch. It has been a long and tiring journey to get from Slade Park to here and not without some emotional penalties being scored. I must take this opportunity
to personally & publicly thank Phil and Julie Evans – our Caretaker, Cleaner and Stewards. They have worked tirelessly in the creation of the outstanding messes and clubs you will see here. Also Mike Marr who has kept the Regimental issues going whilst I have been distracted by all manner of architectural, issues, building detritus and contractual mayhem. See you all soon – hopefully Yours Peter Casson-Crook
SUFFOLK BRANCH As I write this report I ponder on how long the Suffolk Branch has been in existence for we’re just coming up to our 23rd Ladies Dinner Dance, 23 years much older in age than the majority of our serving soldiers, who were not born when we formed the branch, makes you wonder where the time has gone. The year started off as normal with our Ladies Dinner Dance. Jim Hitches and Tom Evans did a great job getting it all sorted and on the night we were again well supported by the Waterloo Band and Bugles who outdid themselves this year with a cracking performance. We really appreciate the continued support of the Band and put their regular appearances as a major contributing factor to the success of the branch. For a small town Felixstowe has much to offer there’s Larry & Julies annual BBQ, which was again blessed with fine weather. A good turn out and every one thoroughly enjoyed themselves. We were especially pleased to see Mick & Christine Burtenshaw who paid us a visit from Australia where they moved to three years ago, glad to know they’re getting on all right. August found us with a change of venue for the Rifle Brigade Birthday, we tried the Fludgers Arms Hotel on the seafront, we had a great turn out and every one had a good meal. Fred Boomer-
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Suffolk Branch Secretary, Gordon Pilcher and wife Jan, Rifle Brigade Birthday,
Hawkins, and Tommy Evans supplied the entertainment , not sure why Fred kept brushing his nose with his right thumb, maybe something to do with the years he spent in the boxing ring as I’m sure I’ve never seen Frank Sinatra doing it!!! It was planned that at 2100hrs we would raise our glasses to the Regiment a toast that was echoed at the same time in Belfast, various places within the UK and in the US of A. Mick Leavy our Man in Belfast being the sponsor of our toast had every one doing the same thing at the same time, now how often does that happen!!!! Remembrance weekend had highs and lows the low being that Jim Hitches our Standard Bearer could not carry the standard during the parade through ill
health, unfortunately we did not have a replacement so for the first time for many years ours was not on parade. The march past was a high as having formed up with our friends from the RAF Regiment, the whole congregation started to clap and cheer as we started off, brought a lump to the old throat, mind you trying to keep in step with some, one shouting out left as he placed his right foot on the ground as only a Rock Ape could do nearly had the crowd in stitches. After the parade 42 of us sat down to lunch at the Elizabeth Orwell Hotel, the largest gathering ever for our Sunday lunch, having our families with us makes this a very special occasion. It was good to see Pete & Marion Warne in the crowd. Pete correctly turned out in his regimentals and it was also good to have Alfie Adams form up with us for the march past, hopefully as Jim’s predecessor we might get him to take up the standard again. Our membership remains stable and it’s great to have Joe & Fe Mills move back into Felixstowe after their eight years in Spain. Our meetings are held on the first Friday of each Month at the Royal British Legion, Mill Lane Felixstowe, any RGJ are welcome to drop in. The meeting kicks off at 2000hrs. Date for your calendar: Ladies Dinner Dance 2010 is the 13th of March so if you would like more details contact me at gordon.pilcher@ntlworld.com
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WILTSHIRE BRANCH The Wiltshire branch is as usual a hive of activity with Phil Ashby arranging any spare time into an activity of some sort. This normally involves beer food & fireworks. No surprise there then! On the serious side though people still do their duty. Our Chairman Brian Darvill has often attended the sad repatriations at Wootton Basset and he also goes to Pegasus Bridge for the wreath laying. On the entertainment side things started with a skittles night at the Organ Inn which is a very old Real Ale pub. It all started sedately with a review of the prizes. After shave etc and bottles of wine (unused Christmas presents mainly) then accurate gentle bowling. All taking turns in an orderly fashion with some flare shown by Maggie Slater & Elaine Holcombe. However, that real ale is quite powerful stuff and sort of sneaks up on you. All of a sudden Richard Cierezko ‘CZ’ launched his big black rubber ball in what he described as the ‘dam buster’ with success this unfortunately inspired others to improve their style of over arm bowling and other bizarre variations started. Balls began peppering the far end. It was like being a Hussar at the charge of the Light Brigade. Dave Smith asked for Maj Tom Smith’s stick to use as a wicket. Anyway we were saved by Dave Richards announcing the fish & chip supper had arrived and no damage was done. It was suggested we do an outing up to Town (as us newborn Carrot Crunchers call it) and see a show and soon enough we were sat at the bar of the Novertel next to Lambeth Palace to see Phantom of the Opera or Scarface as Alan McCoy insisted on calling it. This all went well the only one who suffered was the waiter at the meal afterwards as he had to go upstairs to fetch from the bar. He came from one of those countries that lack a sense of urgency but don’t worry we soon had him resembling a fiddlers elbow. The show
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Wiltshire Branch Members 2009
though was not the highlight of the trip, some of the old & bold may know that a DUKW (duck) is, an amphibian. Well they do trips on the Thames in them so guess who piled on? It was a great trip around London’s highlights then into the River & Return. Again it started sedately then went noisy. The tour guide (a good bloke) began by encouraging us with some rapport building. The response was more than he could have hoped for, so much so that he for the first time ever checked the life jackets and asked the pilot about the capsize routine. We all got back dry and retired to a pub on the Strand for wets and a thaw out. We managed to scoff all the complimentary bar snacks only to find they were not complimentary. The annual Barbeque was hosted by Chris & Gary Byrne with a Hollywood theme again plenty of drink food & smoke. Captain Jack Sparrow (Gary Peacock) accompanied by Thelma Flintstone (Rosemary) who broke her club on King Kong’s (Gary Byrne) head but the ever helpful Dick Lettington repaired it so she could have another whack (thanks Dick). Moses (Lee Massey) carried his 10 commandments but they all varied somewhat from the originals in that they all seemed to mention, you guessed it, drink, food & fireworks. Audrey Hepburn arrived thinking it was breakfast at Tiffany’s all the girls did a ‘Fame’dance routine that spilt onto the street and up the road attracting horn blasts & other encouragement from passing motorists.
There were even representatives from Bollywood. A couple of weeks later Phil decided to celebrate Val’s birthday with another barbeque, this time the theme was Caribbean, Windes cricketers, painted black faces & Rasta’s were all the rage and a very good steel drum player set it off nicely again. More drink food & fireworks! Fortunately all Phil’s neighbours are all tolerant or deaf. Mind you Tommy Byrne, Danny Hunt, Neil Jeeves, Lee Massey, Al McCoy & Dave Maloney all live within 100m of Phil so this helps. We also had a Remembrance Sunday lunch at the Masons Arms followed by the 3pm service at the war memorial near the fire station. The parade after the band & regular army guard is followed by a group of motorcycle enthusiasts from the Royal British Legion with their old regimental badges stuck on their leathers or helmets except for two Green Jacket riders who bent the rules and wore their berets complete with RGJ badges well done Michael Wakelin and Kev` Chambers even the policeman was smiling as he tut-tutted. I bet the others copy this trend next year. Bill Tyson lays our wreath & Owen Davies prints smart RGJ covers for our service sheets to the envy of all else this is followed by an invitation by Jimmy Beggs ( Rifles Cadets Office in HQ Land Forces) to stew and dumplings in the Conservative Club with a warning to get to the buffet before Chris Barnes Cadet Company. They are well behaved but eat like locusts. We also survived the blood and gore of the Halloween Dinner at The Hunters Moon Warminster it was noticed that there is still a whistling balloon stuck on the ceiling left over from our last dinner. Well, a look forward to Christmas Eve in the Rose and crown is a good bet. Baz, Melia and Micky Walsh normally hog a corner for us until we eventually overrun the place. Just a reminder for Dave Caws there is to be no silly string this year or party poppers. Silly hats maybe?
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THE ROYAL GREEN JACKETS REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATION
WINCHESTER BRANCH The last event of the year was the annual Christmas party held at Sir John Moore barracks and was attended by 60 guests. The evening, a black tie event, started with a free champagne reception at the County arms for those who wished to have a “few warmers into the bank “if they wished to do so and then onto Sir John Moore Barracks, with guests arriving for 1930hrs. On arrival there was an option to have their photographs taken either with the Regimental silver which was on display or with a Bugler from 4 Rifles, who kindly gave up an hour of his evening to both sound bugle calls and pose for photographs with various guests.
as official guests Lt Col (Retd) JD Von Merveldt (Official guest after dinner speaker), Maj (Retd) Kenny Gray and Capt (Retd) Steve Kinrade. The after dinner speech was concerned with what The Rifles were doing and the current arms plot. Following the coffee & speeches the main event of the evening took place in the form of the annual Xmas Draw, with various prizes being won. The evening finished off with members, guests and their partners dancing (well some were!!) to a disco and making use of the bar facilities., all in all a very good night organised by Peter Andrews and appreciated by many for the effort & work put in.
Following pre dinner drinks, the meal commenced which consisted of a starter and tradition Christmas turkey for the main course and then the pudding (apple pie & custard/cream), followed by a cheese platter and coffee. The Branch had invited the following
1st January 2009: Regimental birthday: The New year kicked off with the Branch members celebrating the Regimental birthday, which was once again very kindly hosted By Iain & Steff Reay at the County Arms, who put on a superb spread.
Unfortunately this year for various reasons the turnout- although good – was much below anticipated figures. The annual “Knobblies” tankard was won by Billy Gledhill, with a SUPERB one throw win!! Last year’s holder was truly gutted to be knocked out at the semi final stage despite being confident of retaining the trophy!! February 2009: This was the time for all members to attend the AGM and put forward their views on how the preceding year had gone and to plan for the forthcoming years’ activities and events. It was also the time for the election of the Branch Officers, with all members having the chance to stand for office and serve the Association. The AGM was well attended, with over 50% of the membership attending – given the members attend from such a large geographical are spreading from as far as Wokingham to South Wales. This year saw Andy Grey taking over
Vic Osmand, General Sir Robert Pascoe and James Moberly at Pegasus Bridge 6th June 2009
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Winchester Branch v Sgts Mess Clay Shoot
from John Harper as the Entertainments Officer in order that John could concentrate on organising a Battlefield Tour for later in the year, the remainder of the Branch Officers remained in situ for the forthcoming year. It has to be said that the Chairman, Roy Stanger had already done some sterling groundwork in meeting with the staff of the ATR in order to secure the dates for the Branch using Sir John Moore Barracks – thus maintaining a Green Jacket presence within the barracks and in starting the groundwork for this years reunion on 11th July 2009. Our annual forthcoming events have just about been confirmed and our first official function was a quiz night involving the branch members and ATR Staff – this was a good social events challenging even the brainier members of the Association and the Permanent Staff of the ATR, luckily the winners claiming the prize of a small pot of money for the winning team, belonged to the Association. May 2009: This is the “start” of the branch socialising and activities outside of Sir John Moore Barracks, with our first event being the KRRC & RB Reunion, held on cup final day in London. The event was attended by a dozen or so members from the branch, with some staying for the whole weekend at “The Railway Tavern” under the watchful eye of Tom & Jan Dooner, who very kindly provided accommodation and food and looked after those staying there superbly. Their hospitality knows no bounds and we were well entertained. The turnout was smaller than expected but it’s the quality that counts. Those staying at
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Tommy & Jan’s were presented with a RGJ engraved tumbler as a memento of the occasion. Project 65: This took place to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the “D” Day Landings and Vic Osmand , a branch member, took part in this sponsored run and has provided us with his account of the event: Project 65 (and my small part in it) It all began for me one day late in May 2008 when I received a letter from someone whose name I hadn’t heard mentioned in many years. In this letter, signed by Michael Massy-Beresford, was a letter telling me all about Project 65 and asking for people who thought they could help the cause in any way to contact him. Well, as I hadn’t heard his name mentioned since about 1961 I thought” How nice of him to ask for help from a 74 year old ex member of the Regiment” This was when VANITY not SANITY took over. As a regular walker, average distance 50 miles per week, I thought “yes, I can do this, 65 miles, piece of cake!” On reflection, I should have answered, “Sure, I’ll come along as Char Wallah if you like!” Then I received a second letter saying I had been accepted as a Runner, the wife’s reaction was “Now you have done it, better start training”. By May 09 I had managed 45 miles in approx 11 hours, not bad I thought, until I tried to get up the stairs into the flat, “Wished I had bought that chair lift now”, and having finally made it into the bath, I wasn’t sure I was ever going to be able to get out again.
When the actual day came I think my Mindset was about right, the organisation was great, and I couldn’t wait to get on with the job. At 1400hrs on the 4th of June the crowd gave us a good send off from Tarrant Rushton and I soon got into my stride and settled down to what I thought I remembered was Regimental Pace “140 to the minute, Three and a half miles an hour”. The weather was just right for a “stroll” and things went fine. After dark, around about Lymington, things got a bit difficult, 2200hrs, dark, no street lighting, and the “old eyes” not as good as they used to be, I stumbled my way along until I saw up ahead a florescent H on the back of someone going just slow enough for me to close up and follow, another runner, Great, I stayed behind this guy until we reached the Pub, where we were to have our compulsory one hour stop and a meal, PASTA, just what I needed after being fed PASTA for the last fourteen days by the wife, “UGH!” Back on the road again at Midnight, bit difficult getting the old pace going again but eventually settled into it, next stop Titchfield, at about 0600hrs where the Lovely Ladies of Titchfield were laying on tea and bacon banjos for breakfast. Got in for breakfast on time, breakfast and the ladies were great, next stop Portsmouth Ferry Port, almost “cracked it” It’s light now and each area we passed through the locals came out and cheered us on, you couldn’t know how much this helped me though the final stages of the run. Nineteen Hours and Eight minutes after the start I crossed the finish line to be met by a large group of family and friends, very emotional and very Glad I had been able to play my small Part.
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THE ROYAL GREEN JACKETS REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATION
Clay Shoot final Results
On arrival at the port of Ouistreham in Normandy late evening 5th June we were formed up in our six glider groups and set off for the final stage of the event, up the path along the canal towards Pegasus Bridge, we arrived at the bridge at exactly the right time, 0016hrs 6th of June just as the force had done 65 years before. The reception we got from the huge crowd waiting at the bridge was Fantastic, as was the firework display I have been to Pegasus Bridge Museum many times and have always asked “Why haven’t these men who did such a great job got a permanent memorial naming each and every one of them?” Well they have now and I am proud to be able to say “in a small way I helped it to happen” Vic Osmand ex 1st Bn The Green Jackets (43rd & 52nd) and 1st Bn The Royal Green Jackets 11th July 2009: Royal Green Jackets Regimental Association Reunion 2009 As in previous years the event took place at the home of the Regiment, Sir John Moore Barracks Winchester on the second Saturday of July. Over 1300 members and their families attended the venue, where once again the re-enactments groups of the Peninsular War, World War 1&2 and the 101st Airborne Division displayed their talents both on and off the Main Square. The drumhead service followed by an outstanding march past by the Battalions Veterans of the Regiment was as usual a sight to be remembered. The Band and Bugles of the Rifles displayed an excellent sounding retreat, just before the rain started to fall in an untimely fashion, like all good Riflemen they retreated to the bar
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Clay Shoot Winners (Sgts Mess ATR) Receive
Vic Osmand 1st toast with water at 00.20hrs,
Cup Presentation
6th June 2009. Project 65 Run completed
Date for your diary 10 July 2010, RGJRA Reunion. 22nd July 2009: Representing the Winchester Branch of the RGJRA, the branch secretary, Pat Bibby attended the 1st Salamanca Dinner, a black tie event, hosted by The Rifles, in the company of the Royal Colonels Commandants. The event was to present prizes and awards for Co’s Bugler, Best Shot, Best Battle Pair etc, and to also recognise the efforts of the serving officers, soldiers, wives and non serving personnel who have supported The Rifles battalions during their immensely busy and trying times, which all the Rifles battalions have had to endure in the last year or so. In his after dinner speech, General Parker spoke of the task ahead for The Rifles and his pride of how well the regiment had stuck to its tasks and attained the goals set before it. HRH the Duke of Edinbrough presented the prizes.
in the main marquee to be served by Ron Frampton and his team of ladies. It was a great night to relive old times with fellow Riflemen. Our thanks go out to the RHQ team, the Winchester and District branch members for running the reception area at the front gate, the Band and Bugles for the sounding retreat, the catering staff of ATR (W) and the burger van of Mitch Ahmet for keeping us refuelled, and last but not least the Officers of the Regiment for their presence this year, numbers well up on previous years. The weekend was finished off with a BBQ held at the County
Arms, curtsey of Iain Wray, the landlord and branch member. 7 August 2009: The LI & RGJ Assn (Oswestry) Branch visited Winchester and joined members of the Winchester Branch in a social night at the ATR. This event occurred after the Oswestry Branch of the LI made contact and expressed a wish to visit the museums at Peninsula Barracks and also meet up with our branch members and although many were away on holiday, plus work commitments, those members available made the effort to meet and socialise with our visitors. Mr B Fry made a presentation of a small plaque to the branch, which was greatly appreciated and accepted and in the near future, some of the LI accoutrements held by the ATR, will be loaned out to the Oswestry Branch. September 2009: Branch Members attended a Battlefield Tour organised by J Harper and this has grown immensely popular with those who attend. 31st October 2009: Ladies Dinner Night: This was a well attended function held at the Romsey British Legion and the meal was enjoyed by those attending. 8th November 2009: Remembrance Sunday: Following the parade and service a 3 course meal was attended at the County Arms, Romsey Rd, Winchester. Following the meal a collection was made for The Rifles Benevolent Trust and a substantial amount was donated.
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The RGJRA Website The website team consisted of myself Kevin Stevens (webmaster) Mark Adams (Deputy webmaster) Ken Ambrose (technical consultant, Editor Swift and Bold and database manager) John Gard (web space sponsor/support) and we are pleased to welcome to the team Daniel Healy. Daniel’s particular area of expertise is with Adobe Photoshop, a programme used extensively by the team and he will be working on the graphic design of Swift and Bold. What we haven’t told him yet is that there is also a little bit of work to be done on branch websites which need a new logo/background picture etc etc etc. I really must get around to asking him at some stage.... 2009 has seen a steady rise in visitors to the main association website and we have had requests from far and wide covering a multitude of subjects. Depending on the particular query it has been handled either by one of the team or passed to RHQ Rifles, the regimental museum or the appropriate person concerned who has been able to answer the question. It is one of the aims of our president that the website should be used more effectively to pass on information to those of the association who are connected to the internet and we have worked steadily towards this goal with some success. The Ezine produced by Ken and emailed out via the database has been received most favourably and is without doubt one of our greatest success stories in 2009. It is produced quarterly and carries news of branch activities and any other items we can squeeze into it. We have been asked to advertise a wide variety of subjects via the website, the list is far too long to cover completely here but has included the Matrix Shackleton Foundation Trust, freedom parades by the various Rifles battalions, books by various authors, sponsorship of swords for the buglers of the regimental bands and many other varied subjects. This together with the ability to mass email people via the database has seen many successful appeals. A recent example of one such success of
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Webmaster RGJ Regimental Association, Kevin Stevens
the bulk emailing system and website has been an appeal to support 3 Rifles battle group who, as I write this, are still serving in Afghanistan. An initial email from Edward Watson, brother of Lt Col Nick Kitson (nephews of Gen Sir Frank Kitson) who is CO 3 Rifles asking us to circulate a request to buy wristbands has resulted in over £15000 being raised to date. It was decided we needed to open a new bulletin board entitled “The Rifles Repatriation Board” to cover return details of those members of the Rifles killed in action in Afghanistan. Sadly, entries are having to be placed on the board far too often. In conjunction with this we are also maintaining an up to date roll of honour of those who have died on active service. Links to both these can be found on the main website. The main website is of course not all we do. We continue to maintain websites for those branches who have asked for a web presence. The busiest continue to be London and Winchester although there always seems to be work needed to be done on the other ones. Currently being prepared for launch are websites for the North East and Yorkshire branches. With the launch of these two websites in addition to the main website we will have built and will be maintaining 16 branch or specialised websites, 4 bulletin boards and a database. We also have links to independent websites such as the Bands and Bugles and 6 Ghurkha Rifles to name but two. All branch websites have their own guest books, most of them are in the public domain and can be accessed by the general public, some also have private guest books which can be accessed via a password
protected gateway and then there is the Internet branch guest book. More on the Internet branch elsewhere but I think their members guest book deserves a special mention here. All the guest books are monitored by my deputy Mark Adams. This guest book is the home of the loonies in our midst. I can assure you that despite the fact that many of the members have been retired from the army for many years their sense of humour has not in any way diminished. Mind you not one of them will admit to who they are and it has been the quest of both Mark and I to identity those who post under such names as Mrs Outolunch, Swivel, Mental, Bod, Long John Silver, little Bill Daggett and Officer Barraclough of HMP Nice and Easy but we have done it and we know who they are. People would be amazed if they only knew that that pillar of the community, that senior soldier or even perhaps officer they always looked up to was acting in this disgraceful manner. Long may it continue!! All the guest books are operated by the same provider who has thousands of guest books worldwide. At the beginning of November I was informed our Internet Branch guest book was the 2nd most popular guest book they operate having had almost 700,000 hits with over 40,000 entries. I hope next year to be able to report that we are Number 1 and have hit the million mark. There is still much we can do on the website to improve it, new ideas are always being tried, new ways of doing things, we are all self taught so it is always a learning process where we master a bit of code or JavaScript and perhaps after months of work finally put it to use. A lot of the time the improvement cannot be seen as it lies deep within the programming itself. However the website continues fit for purpose and 2010 will see further changes as I integrate it more closely with the database. I wish you all the very best for 2010 and if you do have a problem or query regarding any of the websites please do not hesitate to contact us. Best wishes Kevin Stevens Webmaster, RGJRA
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THE ROYAL GREEN JACKETS REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATION
Database
Database Report 2009 By Ken Ambrose – RGJ Regimental Association Database Manager
The database continues to flourish with no major problems and although there has not been the hoped for great influx of paying members in the last year it will be seen from the stats chart below that there is a steady increase in the number of those registering. The OR full members figure of 1502 given within the Stats is now up to date because those who have allowed their membership to lapse this year have been removed as full members. The biggest increase has been in those users who now have registered email addresses on the system. For the first time that figure is now over 50% of the total users and continues to slowly increase. As of this morning we have direct email contact with 2887 out of a possible 5568 database users. Of the remainder, 1954 have postal addresses only and a further 727 have no contact details registered at all. There is a substantial wastage figure in those applicants who sign up for the database and then for whatever reason do not register. Although these people cannot be counted as users since they have not been security cleared a file record of their details is kept independent of the database system by the Database Manager and each one is written to at the postal address supplied on their record requesting them to complete the application form/s and send them to the Membership Secretary if they are still interested in becoming Association members. There are still a large number of people who are unaware that they have the ability to amend their own
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database record once they are granted access. This is a pity because this demonstrates that despite sending them full instructions these individuals are still unaware of how versatile the database is and how much control they have over their own record security. I am always glad to provide guidance on how to amend your own record so just ask. Under the current system not many wives use their entitlement to become paying members and that is perhaps because they would not sufficiently gain from their membership but by promoting wife and widow membership with the added bonus of using the database so that they can directly contact old friends could create interest. A recent Association meeting agreed that this facility will now be available to widows who should now find it easier to
stay within the `family`. One of the biggest and best advantages gained from the introduction of the database has been the ability to instantly mass mail all users who have registered an email address. This means that our ability to communicate events, appeals and basic information has increased tremendously. To send a message to every address on the database takes less than ten minutes and at present an email sent out from the database system will reach 2887 of our 5568 users. If you have an email address register it with the database and please keep me informed if you change your address. For your interest below please find the latest database user statistics as at 05.30, 06.01.10.
Total No of Users:
5,568
Total No of Officer Members: Total No of Serving Officers: Total No of Full/Life Officer Members: Total No of Overseas Officer Members: Total No of Officer Unpaid Members: Total No of Officers: Total No of OR Full Members: Total No of OR Life Members: Total No of OR Associate Members: Total No of OR Overseas Members: Total No of OR Unpaid Members: Total No of ORs: Total No of Others (Widows etc): Total No of Users with Email: Total No of Users who signed in today: Total No of Users who signed in yesterday: Total No of Users who signed during the last week:
37.2% 4.9% 3.6% 2.5% 51.7%
511 67 50 35 710 1,373 1,502 108 6 113 1,968 3,697 119 2,887 1 11 53
40.6% 2.9% 0.2% 3.1% 53.2%
51.8%
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KRRC report The King’s Royal Rifle Corps Association continues to thrive and membership numbers are holding at just over 1,500 even though this past year has seen many old and well known friends pass on. We held our 25th Annual Band and Bugles Concert at Davies Street in February 2009 and are looking forward to a very special one in February 2010. Our Annual joint reunion with the Rifle Brigade continues to grow in popularity and we look forward to meeting many of you again on Cup Final day, May 15, 2010.
Having our home at Davies Street is made even more enjoyable as we are most fortunate to keep our old Royal Green Jackets links alive, but most importantly we have since February 2007 embraced the ethos of The Rifles through F-Coy 7 Rifles at Davies Street and G-Coy at West Ham. On May 26, 2010 we will join surviving veterans and their families in Calais for the 70th Anniversary of the heroic rearguard action that took place there. For many years a superb lunch followed by a ceremony at the Green Jacket Memorial on the sea front has been planned and
organised by Norman Hummerstone of Queen Victoria’s Rifles. This year marks 70 years to the day when the guns finally fell silent and the majority of those who survived became Prisoners of War for the next five years. Later in the year we will gather for the Remembrance Day Parade at the Cenotaph when we meet up with many other Green Jacket and Royal Green Jacket old and new friends. Later in the day we are treated to a sumptuous curry lunch provided by F-Coy and then off to the traditional Remembrance Sunday Service at St George’s Church, Hanover Square.
The Officers Committee members of the King’s Royal Rifle Corps Association are as follows:
President Lt General Sir Christopher Wallace KBE DL Vice President Colonel M J C Robertson MC Honorary Life Vice Presidents Field Marshal Lord Bramall of Bushfield KG GCB OBE MC Colonel I H McCausland Headquarters Committee Hon Secretary Chairman Richard Frost MBE Fred Ramsden Hon Treasurer Vice Chairman Major Steve Wake Alan Carter Committee Members Bert Bowes Bert Darby Major Danny Hunt Chris Jones Clifford Meek
Dave Taylor Freddy Taylor Captain Denis Tranham F Coy PSAO Dave Watts
We wish all our fellow Riflemen Good Health and Happiness in the years to come.
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THE ROYAL GREEN JACKETS REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATION
The Rifles: Established on 1 Feb 2007 7 Rifles, Brock Bks, Oxford Road, Reading Berks RG30 1HW, based on the Home Counties and London and largely incorporating former 4RGJ and 5RGJ TA. Two Rifle Companies based in London, Davies Str and West Ham. Independent TA Companies locations: D (Rifles) Coy Bishop Auckland, Durham E (Rifles) Coy Shrewsbury, Shropshire
Forming Regiments: The Devonshire and Dorset Light Infantry (DDLI) merged with The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Light Infantry (RGBWLI -1 Bn), The Light Infantry (LI-2Bns) and The Royal Green Jackets (RGJ – 2 Bns) to form The Rifles. Size: 5 Regular Bns 2 TA Bns 2 Independent TA Coys Over 100 affiliated Cadet Detachments Numbers: 460 Regular Officers 220 TA Officers 4,500 Regular Riflemen 1,500 TA Riflemen 12,000 affiliated Cadets (ACF & CCF) Locations: Regular Battalion’s locations: 1 Rifles, Beachley Bks, Chepstow NP16 7YG – 3 Cdo Bde 2 Rifles, Abercorn Bks, Ballykinler, NI, BFPO 805 – 19 Inf Bde 3 Rifles, Redford Inf Bks, Colinton Road, Edinburgh EH13 0PP – 52 Inf Bde 4 Rifles, Kiwi Bks, Bulford Camp, Salisbury, Wilts SP4 9HZ – 12 Mech Bde 5 Rifles, Alanbrooke Bks, Paderborn, Germany, BFPO 22 – 20 Armd Bde TA Battalion’s locations: 6 Rifles, Wyvern Bks, Exeter, Devon EX2 6AR, based on the West Country and largely incorporation former D&D and LI TA.
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Operational Brigades: All battalions are in proper main line operational brigades and their roles range from a. Commando Support (1 Rifles) b. Light Role Infantry (2 & 3 Rifles). c. Light Role Infantry (4 Rifles) d. Armoured Infantry (5 Rifles) These different roles offer a unique pallet of career and specialist opportunities to every member of the regiment. Operations: Regular Battalions: High operational tempo since just before and after formation of the regiment. 1 Rifles came back from Iraq in Sept 06. 2 Rifles came back from Iraq in March / Apr 07. 3 Rifles came back from individual company postings in Iraq & Afghanistan early in 07. 4 Rifles returned from Basra/Iraq in Dec 07. 1 Rifles are returned from Afghanistan in Apr 09. 2 Rifles returned from a peace support operations in Kosovo in Jul 08. 3 Rifles rotated their Rifle Companies through the Falkland Islands in Aug 08. 5 Rifles returned from Iraq in early May 09. 2 Rifles returned from a 6 months operational tour to Afghanistan in Oct 09. 4 RIFLES (Elements) deployed in Afghanistan to cover the elections in summer 09. 3 Rifles commenced a 6 month operational tour in Afghanistan in Oct 09.
A Coy 4 Rifles commenced a 6 month operational tour with 3 RIFLES in Afghanistan in Oct 09. TA elements have and will continue to deploy with the regular Bn’s throughout. TA Battalions: TA contribution has been significant in the form of composite companies and lots of individual reinforcements for both Iraq and Afghanistan. A composite company of 6 Rifles returned from Afghanistan in May 07. A composite company of 7 Rifles returned from Afghanistan in January 08. 6 Rifles had a TA company (Corunna Coy) of 110 in Afghanistan till Mar 09. 7 Rifles sent a contingent with 2 Rifles to Afghanistan in Apr 09. Elements of both 6 & 7 RIFLES deployed with 3 RIFLES to Afghanistan in Oct 09. Reservists: A high proportion of former members of the forming regiments of The Rifles are to be found in all theatres of operations fulfilling their reserve liabilities or having volunteered for vital tasks in support of their regular colleges. High Operational Tempo: The current high operational tempo has given the new regiment a true baptism of fire and has helped to bind it early on in its existence through common operational experience. Hardly a patrol or convoy, in their current and previous operational theatres, returned to base without having had some sort of contact or fire fight often at uncomfortably close quarters employing every weapon in the armoury including hand-grenades. Having returned to base they have been then additionally exposed to intense mortaring. Testimony to their steadiness under fire is the excellent basic and pre-operational training they get before deployment.
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Operational Casualties: Sadly as a new and young regiment we have already had over thirty operational fatalities and an uncomfortably high injury
Srl 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34
Day 27 2 29 21 7 29 22 6 17 1 17 30 16 25 25 25 7 3 12 9 10 10 10 10 10 16 13 13 20 16 5 7 8 15
Month Feb Apr Apr May Jun Jun Jun Jul Dec Jan Jan Jan Feb Feb Feb Feb May Jun Jun Jul Jul Jul Jul Jul Jul Jul Aug Aug Aug Sep Nov Nov Nov Nov
Year 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2008 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009
Name Rifleman Daniel Lee Coffey Rifleman Aaron Lincoln Rifleman Paul Donnachie Corporal Jeremy Brookes Corporal Rodney Wilson Major Paul Harding Corporal John Rigby Rifleman Edward Vakabua Rifleman Stuart Nash Serjeant Chris Reed A/ Corporal Richard Robinson Corporal Daniel Nield Lance Corporal Stephen Kingscott Rifleman Jamie Gunn Lance Corporal Paul Upton Corporal Tom Gaden Rifleman Adrian Sheldon Rifleman Cyrus Thatcher Lt Paul Mervis Rifleman Daniel Hume Corporal Jonathan Horne Rifleman William Aldridge Rifleman James Backhouse Rifleman Joseph Murphy Rifleman Daniel Simpson Rifleman Aminiasi Toge Rifleman Daniel Wild Captain Mark Hale Serjeant Paul MacAleese Serjeant Stuart McGrath Serjeant Phillip Scott Rifleman Phillip Allen Rifleman Samuel Bassett Rifleman Andrew Fentiman
The Rifles Benevolent Trust: The aim of the Trust, which is a charity, is to help financially, in kind, or in any other appropriate manner serving or ex serving members of The Rifles, their wives, widows or other dependants who find themselves in need of such assistance. The Rifles have their own Rifles Charities (The Rifles Regimental Trust & The Rifles Benevolent Trust) contact RHQ 01962 828 530 or www.the-rifles.co.uk ). Large/Large Regimental Structure and careers: The large/large regiment offers all ranks
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rate with severe and life changing injuries such as loss of limbs, sight and other lasting damage all of which will require
Unit 2 RIFLES 2 RIFLES 2 RIFLES 4 RIFLES 4 RIFLES 4 RIFLES 4 RIFLES 4 RIFLES 1 RIFLES 6 RIFLES 1 RIFLES 1 RIFLES 1 RIFLES 1 RIFLES 1 RIFLES 1 RIFLES 2 RIFLES 2 RIFLES 2 RIFLES 4 RIFLES 2 RIFLES 2 RIFLES 2 RIFLES 2 RIFLES 2 RIFLES 2 RIFLES 2 RIFLES 2 RIFLES 2 RIFLES 2 RIFLES 3 RIFLES 2 RIFLES 4 RIFLES 7 RIFLES
greater career opportunities. There are now 7 Commanding Officers slots, 7 RSM slots, 70 odd WO2 slots, 110 CSjts slots plus a high proportion of ring-fenced extra regimental appointments in training establishments and locations of influence– far more than any of the individual forming regiments could offer previously. Recruiting: Officers: Officer recruitment is going well. The Rifles are allocated an average of 25 Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS) trained officers a year and they
life long support and aftercare from regimental and other benevolence funds.
Location Iraq Iraq Iraq Iraq Iraq Iraq Iraq Iraq Afghanistan Afghanistan Afghanistan Afghanistan Afghanistan Afghanistan Afghanistan Afghanistan Afghanistan Afghanistan Afghanistan Afghanistan Afghanistan Afghanistan Afghanistan Afghanistan Afghanistan Afghanistan Afghanistan Afghanistan Afghanistan Afghanistan Afghanistan Afghanistan Afghanistan Afghanistan
are queuing up at Sandhurst. There is a realisation that the large/large regiment with 5 Regular battalions and 2 TA battalions offers very many more and varied career opportunities than single battalion regiments. Riflemen: Holding up well but could always be better. Important that old regimental and cap badge, county, regional and most importantly family loyalties and connections are carried forward into the new regiment.
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THE ROYAL GREEN JACKETS REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATION
Arms plotting: The frequent 3-6 yearly battalion moves (Arms plotting) to different theatres in different roles are now a thing of the past and the battalions of The Rifles are now in their permanent home base locations in Chepstow, Ballykinler NI, Edinburgh, Bulford and Paderborn in Germany. Individuals will continue to move between battalions as career moves, on promotion or request or as the exigencies of the Army requires. Property and Funds: The aspirations are to have a sprinkling of the forming regiments’ property and iconic pictures with all the battalions in the foreseeable future. Benevolence funds have been merged and from 1 Aug 07 benefit all needy members of not only The Rifles but also those of the forming and antecedent regiments. Other funds from the forming regiments are progressively being transferred to The Rifles depending on their status, covenants and purpose.
Royal Colonels: Colonel-in-Chief of The RIFLES: Field Marshal HRH The Duke of Edinburgh 1 RIFLES: Field Marshal HRH The Duke of Kent 2 RIFLES: HRH The Earl of Wessex 3 RIFLES: HRH Princess Alexandra 4 RIFLES: HRH The Duchess of Cornwall 5 RIFLES: HRH The Countess of Wessex 6 RIFLES: HRH The Duke of Gloucester 7 RIFLES: HRH The Duchess of Gloucester
Badge: Silver Bugle surmounted by the Sovereigns Crown. Tunic: No1 Ceremonial - Rifle Green with a thin Russia braid line at the base of the collar. Buttons: Black. Footwear: Black. Cross Belts: Worn by officers and SNCOs in No1 and No2 Dress Order.
Affiliations/ Alliances: Carried forward from the forming regiments to The Rifles.
The Merger: The merger and amalgamation of the four proud regiments forming The Rifles, with a history and traditions stretching back to 1685, has not been without some pain and sadness. However all the serving elements of the forming regiments have come together very willingly and are very keen and proud to be able to adopt the ethos and traditions of the “Riflemen”.
Publications: The Bugle (Yearly by subscription through RHQ The Rifles) The Rifles Chronicle (Once a year by subscription through RHQ The Rifles)
The Rifles look to the future with confidence and anticipation and with the support of the “Old and Bold” of their forming and antecedent regiments we will succeed.
Uniform: Headdress: No1 Hat & Beret are Rifle Green.
The motto of The Rifles is “Swift and Bold”
Freedoms: 56 Freedoms of cities, towns and boroughs have been carried forward from the forming regiments to The Rifles.
The Royal Green Jackets - A Look Back Life as a Regiment did not start for us in January 1966 or November 1958 when the Green Jacket Brigade was formed. The coming together of the antecedent Regiments as a fighting force, occurred over 200 years ago during the Peninsular War, 1808-1814, at a small town named Vimiera or Vimieiro depending on which history is read. The 43rd formed in 1741 as the 54th, renumbered the 43rd in1751. The 52nd formed in 1755 as the 54th renumbered the 52nd in 1756. The 60th formed in1755 as the 62nd or Royal American Regiment of Foot, renumbered the 60th in 1756. The 95th formed in 1800 as the Experimental Corps of Riflemen, retitled the 95th (Rifle) Regt in 1802. The four Regiments had been in conflicts prior to 1808 in and around Europe, America, North America and other lands but had never fought together as an entity until Vimiera, some such as the 43th, 52nd JOURNAL 2009
and 95th formed the Light Brigade under Sir John Moore in 1803 to become the Light Division in 1810.The 60th at the outset of the Peninsular War were brigaded with the 95th to form a brigade of riflemen and General Sir Arthur Wellesley’s orders were that these two units should always form the vanguard. It was after Vimiera that he ordered the 60th to provide a company to cover each of his brigades. The Battle of Vimiera, Portugal, 21 August 1808. This town of Vimiera was Wellington’s communication centre and its strategic importance was apparent to all those on the ground The French wearing on account of the heat of the weather, white linen frocks and cap covers, the French infantry were unusually conspicuous and General Sir Arthur Wellesley was able to quickly grasp his adversary’s purpose. The aim of the enemy was clear, to capture the
communication centre but the tenacity of the 43rd, and the 52nd who were being assaulted head on and with the 60th and 95th up on each side of the valley, dressed in ‘jackets of green, so they couldn’t be seen’, helped to win the day. In his General Order of the same day General Sir Arthur wrote: ‘congratulates the troops on the signal victory they have this day obtained over the enemy ... and has in particular to notice the distinguished behaviour of the Royal Artillery, 20th Light Dragoons, 36th, 6th, 43rd, 50th, 52nd, 5th Bn. 60th, 71st, 82nd, 95th, and 97th Regiments’. By their skill in marksmanship and light infantry tactics the Riflemen had indeed vindicated their raison d’etre. A French officer, taken prisoner, quoted by G. Simmons in ` A Rifle Man,’ says : ` I was sent out to skirmish against some SWIFT AND BOLD | 35
THE ROYAL GREEN JACKETS REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATION
of them in green,—grasshoppers I call them, you call them Riflemen. They were behind every bush and stone and soon made sad havoc among my men; killing all the officers of my company, and wounding myself without being able to do them any injury.’ ‘ In this battle,’ says Colonel Charles Leslie, who was present, the ‘60th Riflemen, who were all German, showed great tact in taking advantage of the ground and dexterity in the use of their arms. General Fane, observing one of these men successfully hit one or two French officers who were gallantly exposing themselves in front of their men, exclaimed in the
excitement of the moment, “ Well done, my fine fellow ! I will give you half a doubloon for every other one you bring down.” The man eagerly loaded again, fired and hit another, then looking at the General he said gravely, “ By G— I vill make my vortune.” A sequel no doubt to this story is told by Landmann. Seeing himself covered by a French marksman that officer called to a Rifleman of the 60th to shoot the man. The Rifleman took not the slightest notice, but brought down a French officer instead. Landmann, who was happily missed by his enemy, angrily asked why the Rifleman had shot the French officer instead of the man. The cool reply was “ It vas more plunder “ ! ‘
So you see riflemen throughout time have proven themselves in conflicts again and again from the time of our antecedent regiments and our service as Royal Green Jackets to the Crown and Nation. From Swift and Bold, A Portrait of, The Royal Green Jackets 1966-2007 is quoted from the foreword by Field Marshal The Lord Bramall of Bushfield: Never can a single regiment have acquired and maintained such a distinguished reputation in such a short time.’ Footnote: Next time you visit our museum and see Case 35 and see the splendid display of The Battle of Vimiera.
Royal Green Jackets Operational Awards January 1966 – January 2007. The honours and awards shown are those that have been published in the London Gazette in that year and not when the actual award or decoration was won. This list does not include GOCs and C in Cs commendations. 1966 Borneo MC MID 1971
Maj PM Welsh Lt MJC Robertson Brig HMG Bond Lt Col ENW Bramall Maj RA Pascoe Capt RH Kerr Lt PJW Harrison Sgt T Lloyd Rfn MF Ryves Cpl D Hunt
Sultan of Muscat Commendation Maj TF Taylor Sultan of Oman’s Distinguished Capt SDG McKinley Medal for Gallantry.
1972 CBE N.Ireland DSO MBE MC Maj Capt DCM MM MID
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Brig FE Kitson Lt Col RK Guy Capt RM Kemball Capt GF Smythe Maj ID Corden-Lloyd CC Dunphie FR Sainsbury 2Lt M Smith 2Lt SJ Young Cpl TW Thomson CSgt E Bright LCpl D Grant Sgt KC Ambrose Cpl DJ Barker 2Lt JA Daniell Lt ABC Dollard Rfn J McAFarrier Rfn JH Hanna
Cpl TH Hansford Maj CLGG Henshaw Cpl APF Liggins Rfn MJ O’Shea Lt AMD Palmer Cpl I Parfitt 2Lt CJL Puxley Sgt CP Slocombe Cpl JW Sweeney
1973 OBE N.Ireland MBE MC DCM MM MID Sultan of Muscat’s Distinguished Service Medal
Lt Col PM Welsh Capt CHA Hawker Maj P Treener-Michell Capt FA Williams Capt RH Ker Cpl M Rattigan Cpl RJ Bennett Cpl GA Coney Cpl DR Grimes Capt GdeVW Hayes Lt Col CEW Jones Cpl BE Lawrence Capt NC Legh WO2 P Maher Maj SCH Marriott Sgt J Mulvaney Rfn L Murray Capt BW Rimmer LCpl A Robe Cpl DJ Shepherd Capt the Hon PR Smith Cpl EC Tuvey Capt CRM Kemball
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1974 CBE N.Ireland MBE BEM MM MID
Brig JDF Mostyn WO2 PJ Layton Cpl PK Sumner Cpl RJ Tyson Lt Col JRG Evelegh Sgt W Foxton CSgt CF Heyman Cpl SL Holman Lt Col RA Pascoe LCpl DJ Rimmer Capt RJ Rimmer
1975 MID N.Ireland
Cpl MJ Harris Cpl D Judge 2Lt AC Kinnear Maj PJ Lyddon Capt RCH Luscombe Sgt JF O’Shea Rfn GD Reid Lt PJF Schofield Cpl K Spence Capt RGK Williamson Cpl CS Younger
1976 Oman MC Maj AR Turle The Sultan of Oman’s Maj RP Montgomery Distinguished Service Medal Brunei The Order of Mahkota WO1 M Brown 3rd Class) 1978 OBE N.Ireland MBE MID
Lt Col GD Johnson WO2 LR Trower Rfn DC Bosworth Lt Col ID Corden-Lloyd Maj RH Ker Sgt JE Kerr Maj NM Prideaux Rfn PK Scannell Sjt KAP Stevens Lt Col P Treneer-Michell Cpl DC Walsh
1979 OBE N.Ireland MBE MM MID
Lt Col JP Foley Lt Col P Treneer-Michell Maj PJ Lyddon LCpl SB Mitchell WO2 DF Carey Rfn DV Lawrenson Capt NR Parker Maj GF Smythe Sgt SC Williams
1980 CBE N.Ireland OBE MBE MID
Brig ME Carleton-Smith Brig DJ Ramsbotham Lt Col CJMc Harrisson Maj ARD Pringle Maj JMP Durcan
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1981 N.Ireland
MBE QGM MM BEM
Maj JPO Beddard CSgt JE Kerr Rfn JW Moore Cpl DA Brittain
1982 QGM N.Ireland MM MID South Atlantic OBE MID (Posthumous)
CSgt J Brum Cpl WJ Lindfield Lt MJ Austin LCpl WJ Gordon Maj GdeV W Hayes Capt PJM Hearn CSgt RJ Meeson Lt Col MJC Robertson Lt Col JM Taylor Cpl RJ Wright Lt Col AE Berry Cpl RE Armstrong
1983 MBE N.Ireland MID
Capt RAM Constant Capt AM Coles Sgt RJ Jones Cpl M Haley Cpl MA Sheddon Cpl CE McBride LCpl AJM Crook
1984 MBE N.Ireland BEM MID
Maj PD Browne WO1 (BM) DG Little Capt MBD Smith WO2 BE Darvill Sgt P Bohan Sgt AD Jones Maj RP Matters CSgt PMJ O’Brian Lt Col CCLO Owen
1985 MID N.Ireland
Maj PD Browne Rfn PA Ross Col CBQ Wallace
1986 MID N.Ireland
Lt Col GdeVW Hayes Maj SR Stanford-Tuck
1987
MBE
Maj RA Churcher
1988 N.Ireland
MBE MID
Maj NJ Mangnall Lt Col RJ Rimmer
1989 QGM N.Ireland MID
Sgt AR Hoare Lt Col JS Carter Lt Col SC Hearn
1990 OBE N.Ireland MID
Lt Col NJ Cottam CSgt EV Baker CSgt MJ Keating Lt Col AMD Palmer
1991
Brig CGC Vyvyan
CBE
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THE ROYAL GREEN JACKETS REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATION
Royal Green Jackets Operational Awards
N.Ireland Op Granby
MID CB DCM MID
Capt EA Butler Maj Gen JP Foley Sgt SB Mitchell Cpl WB Tyson
1992 OBE N.Ireland MBE MID
Lt Col JMJ Balfour Lt Col NJ Mangnall Lt Col M Smith Maj NRG Chavasse Rfn SG Fairs Maj NR Haddock Capt NJ Hyslop Capt JL Mann Lt Col CEM Snagge Maj DM Tobey Cpl G Wilkinson
1993 OBE N.Ireland MBE MM MID
Lt Col AJR Jackson Maj AEH Worsley LCpl MJ Fryer Capt JRD Bryson Col NJ Cottam LCpl DRW Ware
1994 MBE N.Ireland MID Fmr Rep of Yugoslavia CBE MC
Maj JIS Plastow WO2 ET Wilson Cpl ME Downard Lt MA Hughes Brig GdeVW Hayes Capt AMF Carleton-Smith
1995 Fmr Rep of Yugoslavia QCVS
Maj Gen ARD Pringle
1997 N.Ireland
Cpl BK Brown Cpl A Moodie
MBE QCVS
1998 N.Ireland CBE Fmr Rep of Yugoslavia QCVS
Maj EA Butler Maj Gen ARD Pringle
1999 Fmr Rep of Yugoslavia MBE QCVS
Maj TH Emck WO2 KT Oxby Lt Col NP Carter
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2000 Fmr Rep of Yugoslavia OBE MID QCB QCVS
Col NP Carter Cpl M Harris Sgt G Miller Maj S Plummer LCpl J Rooney Capt IR Moodie Maj MR Winsloe
2001 CBE MBE N.Ireland QCVS
Brig JMJ Balfour WO2 RE Keys Cpl JPB Becker Lt Col JIS Plastow
2002 CBE Afghanistan MID Fmr Rep of Yugoslavia QCVS
Brig NR Parker Sgt SM McNiff Brig JMJ Balfour Capt RG Streatfield Lt Col AEH Worsley
2003 N.Ireland Iraq
WO2 CL Nufer Col JIS Plastow Lt Col EA Butler Maj JCW Maciejewski
QCB QCVS DSO QCVS
2004 Afghanistan QCVS Iraq OBE MID Fmr Rep of Yugoslavia MBE QCVS 2005 Sierra Leone Afghanistan
Brig NP Carter Lt Col PNYM Sanders CSgt SM McNiff Maj RHS Shaw Rfn SP Staley
QCVS
Lt Col EA Butler
DSO
Lt Col EA Butler
Col M Smith 2006 Afghanistan CBE MBE N.Ireland CBE Dem Republic of Congo OBE 2007 Iraq
MID
Brig EA Butler Capt MJ Dicks Brig JH Gordon Col RP Winser
Maj ME Foster-Brown
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THE ROYAL GREEN JACKETS REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATION
The Royal Green Jackets Roll of Honour The following Officers and Soldiers died whilst serving with the Royal Green Jackets
Rank
Initials
1966 Cpl R Rfn AC Rfn RMT Cpl R Rfn JA 1967 Sgt MAA Brig AHS Cpl PM Col PR Rfn AE 1968 Lcpl DJ WO2 BJ Sjt RA 1969 Capt RF Lcpl MW WO1 TJ Lcpl MJ Lcpl MD Rfn JPB 1970 Rfn Csgt Capt (QM) Rfn Rfn 1971 Rfn Rfn Cpl Rfn Rfn Major 1972 Major Cpl Sjt Rfn J /Rfn Rfn
Name
Poole Kelway Webster Cross Cullen
Battalion
3 RGJ 2 RGJ 2 RGJ 1 RGJ 1 RGJ
Location
Date
Month
England Borneo 31st Borneo 31st Germany 17th Germany 6th
1966 March March August November
Cameron Mellor OBE Patrick Hayter Brown
3 RGJ RGJ 2 RGJ RGJ 2 RGJ
Germany England Germany Australia 2 England
4th 26th 7th 5th 28th
April August September October October
Dixon Dunwell Smith
2 RGJ 2 RGJ 1 RGJ
England Germany England
8th 29th 13th
January October November
Rodgers Mosley Byrne Pearce Boswell Keeney
Rifle Depot 1 RGJ 2 RGJ 1 RGJ 1 RGJ 1 RGJ
England England England N.Ireland N.Ireland N.Ireland
2nd 22nd 14th 26th 25th 25th
March April July September October October
A RF WH S MA
Cottriall Fry Horbury Fisher Hamblin
1 RGJ 4 (V) RGJ Rifle Depot Rifle Depot 3 RGJ
Germany England England England England
21st 5th 5th 3rd 21st
May July July October November
RP K R D JCE TEF
Hill Chavner Bankier Walker Hill Taylor
3 RGJ 3 RGJ 1 RGJ 1 RGJ 2 RGJ RGJ
Cyprus Cyprus N.Ireland N.Ireland N.Ireland Dhofar
2nd 4th 22nd 12th 16th 7th
January January May July October November
RNH CC PJ JW RD J
Alers-Hankey Cook Martin Taylor Woodhouse Meredith
2 RGJ 1 RGJ 1 RGJ 2 RGJ JR Coy 2 RGJ
N.Ireland Germany Germany N.Ireland England N.Ireland
30th 11th 13th 20th 11th 26th
January March March March June June
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SWIFT AND BOLD | 39
THE ROYAL GREEN JACKETS REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATION
Rank Lcpl Cpl Rfn Lcpl Rfn 1973 Pte Rfn 1974 Rfn Rfn Bdsm Rfn Rfn 1975 Rfn Major Csgt Rfn Rfn 1976 Lt Col Rfn Sjt Lcpl Rfn 1977 Rfn Rfn Rfn Cpl 1978 Lt Col Rfn Major J.Rfn 1979 Brig Rfn 1980 WO2 Rfn Rfn Col 1981 Rfn Rfn Rfn
Initials
Name
Battalion
Location
Date
Month
D IR D IR JR
Card Morrill Griffiths George Joesbury
1 RGJ 3 RGJ 3 RGJ 3 RGJ 3 RGJ
N.Ireland N.Ireland N.Ireland N.Ireland N.Ireland
4th 28th 30th 10th 8th
August August August September December
RB NAB
Roberts Allen
LI/ 3 RGJ 1 RGJ
N.Ireland N.Ireland
2nd 26th
July November
A HM MS KG ME
Mulgrew Hutton Bayliss Porter Gibson
3 RGJ 2 RGJ Rifle Depot 3 RGJ 1 RGJ
Singapore England England England N.Ireland
20th 6th 27th 15th 29th
April June September November December
DP JRC DV CJ MR
McGarry Radclyffe Dawes Radmore Sinclair
3 RGJ Rifle Depot 3 RGJ 1 RGJ 3 RGJ
Germany England England England Germany
13th 15th 4th 4th 13th
January September November December December
MWM RM EE RP KJ
Tarleton Walsh Bedford McMahon Rowland
3 RGJ 3 RGJ 1 RGJ 1 RGJ 3 RGJ
England Germany England England England
15th 4th 11th 11th 31st
February October December December December
SD R MR WJ
Lambourne Watson Thompson Smith
Rifle Depot 2 RGJ 3 RGJ 1 RGJ
England Gibraltar England N.Ireland
13th 15th 17th 31st
July July July August
ID NW TB PT
Cordon-Lloyd 2 RGJ Smith 2 RGJ Fowley RGJ Flaherty Rifle Depot
N.Ireland N.Ireland N.Ireland England 1
17th 4th 24th 8th
February March April November
TGH PC
Jackson Fairway
HQ Lt Div Rifle Depot
England England
3rd 24th
April July
PJ PJ CJ JSC
Bayliss Simons Watson Simmons
3 RGJ 3 RGJ 3 RGJ RGJ
Nigeria England N.Ireland England
21st 4th 19th 8th
March May July August
ME A JW
Bagshaw 1 Gavin King
RGJ 1 RGJ 1 RGJ
N.Ireland N.Ireland N.Ireland
19th 19th 19th
May May May
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THE ROYAL GREEN JACKETS REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATION
Rank LCpl Rfn LCpl LCpl 1982 Capt Rfn Rfn Rfn Rfn Cpl Cpl Rfn WO2 Cpl Cpl Bdsm Bdsm Bdsm Bdsm WO2 CSgt 1983 Rfn Officer Cadet
Initials
Name
Battalion
Location
Date
Month
G WH GT SJ
Winstone Williams Dean Chappell
1 RGJ Rifle Depot 1 RGJ 1 RGJ
N.Ireland Wales N.Ireland England
18th 4th 16th 11th
May June July August
TP DR NP AM TP RE ET MJ G RA JR GJ KJ LK J JP SJ
Fetherstonhaugh Holland Malakos Rapley Flint Armstrong Walpole Wood Barker Livingstone McKnight Mesure Powell Smith Heritage Devine Walton
RGJ 2 RGJ 2 RGJ 2 RGJ 2 RGJ 1 RGJ 3 RGJ Rifle Depot 1 RGJ 1 RGJ 1 RGJ 1 RGJ 1 RGJ 1 RGJ 1 RGJ 3 RGJ 2 RGJ
Germany N.Ireland N.Ireland N.Ireland England Falkland Isles Falkland Isles England England England England England England England England Germany Germany
11th 15th 25th 25th 10th 19th 19th 22nd 20th 20th 20th 20th 20th 20th 20th 13th 8th
February March March March May May May June July July July July July July July August December
DA DMH
Grainger Litton
1 RGJ Sandhurst
N.Ireland England
10th 12th
April August
3 RGJ 3 RGJ 1 RHA/3RGJ
Germany England N.Ireland
5th 31st 19th
February August October
1 RGJ 3 RGJ Lt Div Depot 3 RGJ
N.Ireland Germany England Germany
18th 22nd 31st 16th
March April August December
RGJ 3 RGJ 1 RGJ 2 RGJ 1 RGJ 1 RGJ
England England N.Ireland England N.Ireland England
27th 1st 19th 21st 31st 29th
May July July July July September
1 RGJ 1 RGJ 1 RGJ 2 RGJ 1 RGJ
Germany Germany Germany England USA
6th 6th 8th 1st 18th
April April May July July
1984 Rfn AD Jackson Major HL Ruck-Keene Gnr TP Utteridge 1985 NIL ENTRIES 1986 Rfn DA Mulley Rfn ACR Chapman CSgt PJ Bryant LCpl RI McGowan 1987 Colonel P Treneer-Michell Rfn J Milward LCpl TW Hewitt Rfn RA Sharp Cpl ERP Jedruch Cpl R Elliott 1988/1989 NIL ENTRIES 1990 Rfn Rfn Rfn Rfn Rfn
R DW CJ PW J
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THE ROYAL GREEN JACKETS REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATION
Rank
Initials
WO1 Cpl Sgt 1991 Sjt LCpl Rfn Cpl Sgt Cpl 1992 Rfn Rfn 1993 Rfn Rfn 1994 Rfn Sjt Rfn
CJ D LS
Manning Lepp Ubhi
2 RGJ 2 RGJ 3 RGJ
England England Kenya
27th 28th 20th
August August December
TJ WJ C MC SR LD
Ross Harris Williams Maddocks Eyles Wall
1 RGJ 2 RGJ 2 RGJ 2 RGJ 3 RGJ 2 RGJ
N.Ireland N.Ireland N.Ireland N.Ireland Germany N.Ireland
18th 8th 8th 14th 1st 12th
October November November November December December
JS RA
Smith Davey
1 RGJ 1 RGJ
N.Ireland N.Ireland
10th 29th
August October
DT PK
Fenley Ennals
1 RGJ 2 RGJ
N.Ireland England
17th 13th
February March
A RJ JA
Dunne Naylor Lagan
2 RGJ 1 RGJ 2 RGJ
England Cyprus England
4th 13th 18th
February October October
KP
Theobold
2 RGJ
N.Ireland
2nd
October
L
Collins
3RGJ
England
6th
December
RS
Blackledge
1 RGJ
Kenya
5th
November
A WN
Smith Beckley-Lines
1 RGJ ITC Catterick
England England
24th 18th
May September
CBA P
Bird Morris
2 RGJ 2 RGJ
Germany England
25th 3rd
March April
DJ OM
Cronin Alford
2 RGJ ITC Catterick
Kosovo S.Africa
14th 27th
March April
JI DR
MacKenzie McLaughlin
ITC Catterick 2 RGJ
England England
9th 20th
February May
M IJ
Phillips Coman
1 RGJ 1 RGJ
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone
27th 27th
January January
JA
Dupee
1 RGJ
England
19th
August
1995 WO2 1996 WO1 1997 Rfn
1998 LCpl Rfn 1999 Rfn Rfn 2000 LCpl Rfn 2001 Rfn Rfn 2002 Cpl Rfn 2003 Rfn
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Name
Battalion
Location
Date
Month
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Rank Rfn 2004 Rfn 2005 Rfn Rfn
Initials
Name
Battalion
Location
Date
Month
AR
Elliott
1 RGJ
England
19th
August
VC
Windsor
2 RGJ/1 LI
Iraq
21st
January
D LC
Hudaverdi Jamieson
1 RGJ 1 RGJ
England England
4th 4th
April April
No second chance Introduction Every man who took part in D-Day, 6 June 1944 has a story to tell. Many have already been told, but strangely, not that of Staff-Sergeant Roy Howard bored with life as a conscript in the Royal Signals in 1942, volunteered for the Glider Pilot Regiment, and in the earliest minutes of D Day found himself one of the very first Allied troops to land in occupied France, 6 hours ahead of the first main wave of the invasion. His part in the mission won him the Distinguished Flying Medal. Much has been written of the daring glider operation to capture Pegasus Bridge over the Caen Canal, but the historians have chosen to ignore Roy Howard’s parallel mission to take the River Orne Bridge nearby, although the Orne operation required an even greater degree of flying skill, with a considerably higher risk of failure. Once cast off from the towing aircraft the die was cast and there could be ‘No Second Chance’. Capture of the two bridges intact was essential, as the road they carried would form the only supply line to the 6th Airborne Division, which was to land north east of Caen to protect the eastern flank of the Normandy invasion force. It was a risky and brilliant coup de main, whose element of total surprise ensured success. The British service chiefs had little experience of using gliders in action, but they were encouraged by the partial success of glider landings in the invasion of Sicily, even though many landed in the sea, drowning some 600 troops. The subsequent JOURNAL 2009
One of the Crucial bridges after the glider landings
mass glider landings at Arnhem and the Rhine, were successful as troop landing operations, but of course “there were heavy casualties on the ground after the landing. Roy Howard writes:The sinking summer sun was casting long shadows across the Dorset countryside. It was shortly before 9pm double summer time on the evening of June 5 when I walked across the airfield at Tarrant Rushton and looked aloft to watch the light wind sending storm clouds across the sky. I was relieved that there was no sign of rain: I knew that rain might well prove fatal to our mission, wiping out 21 months of training, and possibly ourselves. I was, after all the youngest of six Horsa glider pilots chosen to perform a task of unprecedented difficulty. I walked across the airfield to encounter, for only the second time the load that I
was to carry through the darkness in order that I might deposit it in a precise spot in occupied France; 28 men of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and Royal Engineers, displaying that evening no obvious fear of the hours to come, but rather a scarcely suppressed excitement and desire to be off. Secrecy and safety had, until only a day or two before, kept us apart, demanding that we pilots rehearse in gliders loaded with Bailey bridge sections to simulate their weight. Our basic training as glider pilots had leant towards the kind of mass landings subsequently employed at Arnhem and the crossings of the Rhine. But this was different; for the past six weeks we learned how to find a spot in a field in darkness, with no help or guidance from the ground, and it was a technique that took a great deal of mastering. SWIFT AND BOLD | 43
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We were exceedingly fortunate that the only casualties of our training programme were three broken gliders and two broken legs. Yet we could only guess at what it was all for. Our objective was revealed to us three days before the mission, when we were shown a sand table, a precise model of the terrain around our destination, detailed to the last tree. We vaguely imagined that we might be part of some grand invasion plan; we still knew little of any grand design, but what we did learn from the sand table was that we were to land near Caen. My glider was to be the last of three to land in a specific comer of a particular tiny field of rough pasture. If I undershot I would destroy my seven tons of powerless aircraft and its human cargo on a belt of 50 feet high trees at one end of the field: if I overshot I would crush us all against a 14 foot high embankment which carried the road at the other end. A not easy task in broad daylight, but daunting in the pitch black of midnight, with no more than a few yards either way available for error. As I walked to my glider that night I had no particular awareness of embarking on a feat of navigation which had not been attempted before, and which to my knowledge ‘has not been tried since. Such an intensity of training makes you think of only the job in hand. The Horsa was a beautifully made machine from the same design office as the Mosquito, 88 feet between the wingtips, as big as a Dakota and built in the furniture factories entirely of laminated plywood section. This meant that a new section of our industry could now come into the manufacturing of military aircraft and there was no interruption in the production of all the metal aircraft so urgently needed by the RAF. Inside the overpowering but not unpleasant smell was of new wood and casein glue. The first three to take off, rumbling on their wheels at the end of 275 foot towrope behind their Halifax bomber tugs, were destined for Pegasus Bridge, which they were to reach by a longer route to land simultaneously with us a few hundred yards away. We took off at two minute intervals; I was the last of the six, airborne at one minute past eleven. Out tug gradually turned us away from the sunset, and we crossed the coast near Worthing to head to a more southerly horizon that was pitch-dark, allowing our 44 | SWIFT AND BOLD
The Horsa Glider
eyes to adjust to night vision. We saw no other aircraft but our own Halifax tug at the front end of our umbilical line; we even lost sight of that on several brief occasions as we passed through cloud, causing a momentary flutter of worry. To steer a proper course, the glider pilot needs to keep his tug in constant view. As midnight approached about three miles from the French coast Paddy O’Shea, the tug navigator, gave us a compass reading over the intercom and confirmed that we were on course. “OK, you’re there, go when you like”, Paddy announced over the intercom. We had, in fact to go that very instant; split second timing was essential, for from this moment we would be on our own, guided through the dark only by our own powerless wings and by compass heading and stopwatch. I released the towline and the roar of air past our wooden aircraft gradually died to a hiss as our speed began to fall. The Halifax had released us at 6000 feet and had then continued directly ahead to attack its target to delude any watching enemy into thinking that we were part of a normal bombing raid on Caen rather than participants in a daring coupe de main which relied entirely on surprise. The noisy metal Halifax would take all the enemy’s radar and sound location devices with it whilst we dropped silently to earth. And therein lay the difficulty of the navigational task that now faced us. From that height a Horsa would normally have glided to earth in 12 miles: my destination lay only five miles away, and to get there I had to descend at a perilously steep 45 degrees, slowing the craft sufficiently to prevent wild overshooting or a disastrous crash landing, and needing to make three changes of course by dead reckoning on the way. To do all that, I had six minutes. Out tug has cast us off at 120 mph, and to reduce us to our planned gliding speed of
80 mph I immediately applied full flaps. But I realised at once that she was nose heavy, and even with the control column pulled right back against my chest I could not get her to slow below 90 mph. We were dropping like a streamline brick, and I knew at once that we were not only incorrectly loaded, but over-loaded. The men had clearly armed themselves with a great deal of extra ammunition and grenades, but I suspect to this day that an extra body smuggled himself aboard at the last minute; men were terribly keen to go on the mission. “Mr Fox!” I yelled to the lieutenant in charge of the men. “Two men from the front to the back - and quickly!” It worked. Balance was restored and once again I had full control over the aircraft. From the moment of casting off, we were committed to landing in that one tiny field, with no room for error and no opportunity to change our minds. Ours was an almost straight decent by the shortest route, whereas the three gliders assigned to Pegasus Bridge’ had a gentler and longer decent, with the added luxury of circling their landing site before they went down. We were now back on our planned decent rate of 1000 feet per minute. We held our first course of 212 degrees for the allotted 90 seconds, my second pilot Freddie Baacke, guiding us by stopwatch lit by the tiniest of hand held lights. Then we made a turn on to 269 degrees which we held for 2 minutes 30 seconds, .and finally turned on 212 degrees for the run in. At our acute angle of descent the standard compass would have been useless, and we relied instead on a gyro direction indicator. As we made our third change of course and were down to 1200 feet, I could suddenly see the parallel water ways of the Caen Canal and the River Orne glistening silver in the diffused moonlight glowing from behind the clouds. A rain squall at that moment would have blotted out all our vision and might well have proved fatal. We had no windscreen wiper, and no chance to abort the mission. But the whole landscape was discernible, if only just, and it looked so like the sand table model that I felt that I had been there before. I was afraid that we were still going down too fast, so I took off the flaps for a moment to flatten the glide path. I just managed to miss the tops of the 50 foot trees at the beginning of our field, and JOURNAL 2009
THE ROYAL GREEN JACKETS REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATION
immediately employed the parachute brake, wheel brakes, and full flaps to prevent us careering into the embankment at the far end. There was one final, unexpected hazard; no one had mentioned that there would be a herd of cows in the field. I am sure we hit a cow, which knocked off our nose wheel. It was nine minutes past midnight when, with a rumble and a final clatter, I came to rest six yards from our allotted spot, less than 100 yards from our objective of the bridge. There was the briefest moment of silence. ‘’You are in the right place sir,” I announced to a pleasantly surprised Mr Fox, and before I could even leave my seat he and his men had flung open the door and alighted in a stampede of boots. I was aghast to observe that, of the two other gliders which should have landed before me, there was no sign. The force that set out to capture the
Orne Bridge was therefore a mere third of the size it should have been. But, within 15 minutes, they had captured it. I subsequently learned that the second glider had landed short but safely in another field 400 yards behind us and the first, because of an error by its tug navigator, had landed by the wrong bridge on the wrong river, ten miles away. But they captured that bridge and with great courage fought their way back to where they should have been. The night was full of noise and alarms, culminating in the ear-shattering barrage that preceded the first dawn seaborne landings. Sitting in our slit trenches we listened as the barrage from the armada of ships swept slowly up from the beaches and we hoped that someone would remember that we were there and stop the torrent of shells and rockets before they reached both us and the two bridges. Fortunately it all stopped in time.
At 0130 hours our perimeter was reinforced by paratroopers who had dropped in the Ranville area, and at 13.30 hours Lord Lovat and his commandos reached us from the beaches. We were among the first to set foot in occupied France, and among the very few Allied spectators at the first wave of the invasion. But our task was finished, and our orders were to return to Tarrant Rushton with all speed by any means, in order to be available to fly in a second load if required. Glider pilots took a long time to train, and there were never enough of us but by 06.30 hours on 0+2 (June 8th) we were entering Newhaven harbour. A reception area was well prepared, and showers and hot meals were available before we returned by road to the Glider Pilot Base. We were home, ready to fly in another assault but such was the success of earlier operations that no second lift was needed.
The Rifles Benevolent Trust
Requests for assistance a. Applications from those serving should be made through the chain of command. There is an application form (Rifles Benev 1) which is passed to the Commanding Officer for his recommendation and onward to Regimental Headquarters for action by the Assistant Regimental Secretary Finance. b. Ex-Officers, Riflemen and Soldiers or Civilian Dependants. Individuals should make applications in the first instance to the nearest office of SSAFA Forces Help or The Royal British Legion (Welfare Agencies) who will send a report to RHQ or the appropriate office;
two-bed roomed houses, 2 two-bed roomed flats and 2 one-bed roomed flats have been built on the site increasing the total number of housing units available to 21.
General Application of Income –Eligibility The income and capital of the Trust can be used to give assistance in any of the following cases: a. The relief in deserving cases of those eligible who are in distress as a result of wounds, sickness or other causes beyond their control. b. The relief of widows and dependent children of deceased officers, riflemen or soldiers in needy circumstances. c. The maintenance, education or advancement in life of children of deceased officers and soldiers for whom no parent or relative is able to make provision. d. The granting of allowances or financial help (by way of a grant) in the cases of distress to officers, riflemen or soldiers, widows or dependent children to assist them in temporary difficulties or enable them to gain suitable employment. e. The granting of relief in cases of hardship or distress to dependants of officers, riflemen or soldiers, whether relatives or not.
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Green Jacket Close As a result of an appeal in memory of Riflemen who lost their lives during the Boer War, sufficient money was raised in 1904 to build 8 two-bed roomed cottages on a site in Stanmore Lane, Winchester, which was leased from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners and was subsequently purchased. The cottages have all been modernised and 5 of them have each been converted into 2 one-bed roomed flats. In addition 4
Eligibility 10. Residents must be former Riflemen or their widows who are in need of assistance. A register of applicants is kept by the RHO in Winchester. Application to be registered must be made in writing to the Assistant Regimental Secretary Finance together with testimonials or other evidence of character and stating qualification for appointment. In selecting residents, consideration is given to age (usually over 60), length of service, character, financial situation and any special circumstances such as war wounds or other physical disability. A list of those interested is maintained and a points system is used to determine priority; these are given for: a. Rank: b. Service: c. Age: d. Disability: e. Special Consideration: i.e. hardship; service for/in Regiment after retirement; Regimental service in TA after retirement. Although some preference will be given SWIFT AND BOLD | 45
THE ROYAL GREEN JACKETS REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATION
to RGJ applicants, applications for all former and antecedent regiments are welcome. Conditions of Occupancy 11. a. Residents pay a Weekly Maintenance Charge of approximately 50% of the Fair Rent as assessed by the Local Authority and are responsible for utility bills and Council Tax. Residents are helped to secure appropriate advice from the Local Authority and other agencies by the Resident Warden, to claim housing and other benefits. Maintenance is carried out by The Riflemen’s Aid Society (and in due course this will be transferred to The Rifles Benevolent Trust) although residents are expected to make good any damage caused by any act of negligence on their part. b. Residents must obey the conditions of occupancy drawn up by the RHO. These are to ensure that no resident performs any act or behaves In such a way that other residents are inconvenienced or that the general amenities of the cottages are lessened.
“FLYING JACKETS” get together at the Army Aviation Centre Middle Wallop By WO2 C Richardson AAC
THE LADIES’ GUILD Organisation and Income The Guild is composed and run by an elected, voluntary Executive Committee of wives of serving and retired officers. These ladies stand for re-election every three years. Donations are no longer received from the Battalions but subscriptions are raised from officers and their wives. In addition it has a capital fund which produces an income. Alms The Guilds’ main role is the welfare of widows, children and other dependants of deceased Riflemen who are in need, hardship or distress. In addition to making grants for immediate relief in a financial crisis, the Guild specialises in the following forms of assistance: Personal visits and contact by telephone by members of the committee to any of the widows. All Ladies’ Guild widows receive a grant at Christmas, together with a personal letter from the Chairman and a Regimental Christmas card.
Over the last couple of decades it is remarkable how many Royal Green Jackets have joined the ranks of pilots who fly helicopters for the Army Air Corps. Regardless of the rumours about the complexities of such a course (which are of course justified!) and one’s ability to be able to pass, most just dived in with an open mind and a steadfast attitude that failure was not an option. How many ex Royal Green Jackets are currently flying on operations around the world and have never met? On the 3rd September 2009 all ex RGJ who are now serving pilots gathered for a “Flying Jacket” jamboree to catch up with old friends and meet a few new ones. We took to the shotgun range, to ensure our sharp shooting skills are still honed to perfection! What better way to spend the day blasting as many clays out of the sky as possible! Well to be honest, scaring them. That evening we all met for supper in the ‘Peat Spade Inn’ at Longparish. After the dinner an award was given for the best and worst shot in the form of a unique bottle of
Any widows over the age of 70 receive and additional fuel allowance. Requests for Financial Assistance Most cases were referred to The Ladies’ Guild by the Trustees of The Rifles Benevolent Fund. These cases usually came through an outside agency such as SSAFA Forces Help or The Royal British Legion, who would have visited the widow, assessed the problem and written a report. With the creation of The Rifles, the Ladies’ Guild no longer accept new cases as these are now referred to the County Offices. NB: The Ladies’ Guild originates from the Royal Green Jackets and its Antecedent Regiments. The committee are absolutely committed to looking after their widows as they have done for many years.
wine to mark the occasion. Of course it was a close call, so we all got a trophy bottle of wine! Just remember next time you call for fire support from an Apache, or jump on the back of a helicopter for a lift, you could be in the safe hands of a fellow ‘Jacket’ - perish the thought!
The trophy bottle of wine for shooting prowess
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THE ROYAL GREEN JACKETS (RIFLES) MUSEM 2009 REPORT Numbers There were 11,663 visitors to the Museum in 2009, a 2% drop on 2008. However, admission income increased by 15% and income from research carried out by the Museum staff by 29%. The Museum was also in receipt of some generous and very welcome donations, including from the Friends. Friends of the Museum The financial contribution made to the Museum through Friends’ life and annual membership subscriptions has been crucial in allowing the Trustees to implement a series of improvements to the Museum over the past six years. This year, with the help of some surplus funds from the 2008 Hine Medals Appeal, the Trustees put in place a new El Alamein display covering events in the Western Desert between 1941 and 1943. Over 70 people attended the grand opening of the display on 13 June 2009, including five veterans of the battle – Maj (later Gen Sir Thomas) Pearson, Maj Tom Bird and Rfn Vic Gregg all of whom fought with 2 RB at ‘Snipe’, and Maj (later Sir Hereward) Wake and Lt Jimmy Stow who fought with 1 and 2 KRRC. Some significant changes have also been made to the entrance to the Museum building to make it more appealing and welcoming to visitors.
Trustees would like to do, including to improve the displays covering the Great War prior to the Centenary of the start of the War in 1914, and to incorporate the Waterloo diorama into a more impressive Waterloo gallery prior to the Bi-Centenary of the battle in 1815. To do all this, however, the Museum continues to need the support of existing Friends as well as enrol new ones. Want to become a Friend The annual subscription to be a Friend of the Museum is £24, although it is always nice when Friends offer voluntarily to contribute more. Friends also receive benefits such as free admission to the Museum, a biannual Newsletter and a discount off shop purchases and ticket prices for talks. So, please become a Friend – now! For more information telephone Major Ken Gray, Honorary Secretary of the Friends, on 01962 877165 or e-mail him at: aregsecinfra@the-rifles.co.uk Name Change In June 2009 the Museum Trustees decided to include ‘(Rifles)’ in the Museum’s title, thus neatly linking the Regiment’s past with the present. This change will assist the future marketing of
Next on the list is an update of the RGJ section of the Museum to the point on 1 February 2007 when the Regiment became a part of The Rifles. And after that, there are many more things the
Acquisitions
Major Tom Bird (left) and General Sir Thomas Pearson, veterans of 2nd Battalion, The Rifle Brigade’s action at Snipe on 27 October 1942, view the new El Alamein display after its opening on 13
the Museum as the public becomes used to hearing more of The Rifles and less of The Royal Green Jackets. During the past year the Museum has received a number of very welcome objects, among them the DCM Medal Group of Sgt Joe Swann, who was awarded his DCM for gallantry during the ‘Snipe’ action at El Alamein in 1942. He also received The Queen’s Medal for best shot in the TA (1962) – see the medal on
the extreme right of his medal group (above). The Trustees are particularly keen to acquire material dating from the post1945 period especially 1966 to 2007. This is in anticipation of developing the RGJ section of the Museum. If you have any material – objects, letters, maps or whatever, that you think might be useful, please do not hesitate to inform the Curator – see the end of this article for contact details. Museum Shop On 1 April 2009 Rifles Direct, the e-commerce trading arm of The Rifles, assumed ownership and management of the shop. This arrangement, however, did not work out as well as hoped and was terminated by mutual agreement on 30 September. A complete facelift of the shop is now planned early in 2010 with new fittings and lighting and with the merchandise removed from inside locked display cases so that visitors may examine the goods at their leisure before purchase. A wider range of sale items of greater appeal to Museum visitors is being stocked and a new Front of House/ Shop Manager, Miss Laura Swanborough, has been appointed to replace Mrs Betty Dowling who retired in September. Presently goods may be bought over the counter; over the telephone using a credit/debit card; or by forwarding a cheque through the post. Friends are entitled to a 10% discount on all transactions of £5 or more. A website online purchasing facility is to be introduced in 2010 which will also permit the on-line purchase of tickets for Museum talks. Museum Website The website continues to be developed and is presently receiving an average of 2,400 visitors a month. Considerable effort is devoted to ensuring that the information on the website, especially the What’s On page, is current. An object of the month and a photograph from the archives are regular features. If you have not yet done so, you should visit www. rgjmuseum.co.uk Oral Recording Grant The Museum’s Trustees are pleased
June.
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THE ROYAL GREEN JACKETS REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATION
he Rifles Living History Society with the Curator, Mrs Christine Pullen, in the centre
to have received a grant of nearly £1,000 for the purchase of oral recording equipment and training in its use. Training will take place shortly after which a Museum volunteer – Dr Adam Davis PhD, son of Corporal Sam Davis, D Company, 2nd Green Jackets (KRRC), who served in Borneo in 1965 – will initiate a series of oral recording interviews with veterans of the Regiment who took part in the Brunei Revolt and Indonesian Confrontation in Borneo between 1962 and 1966. If you served with the Regiment in Brunei/Borneo and would like to be interviewed, please contact the Museum Curator – see the end of this article for contact details. The Rifles Information Display The Rifles continue to develop their plans to turn the space in the Museum
building previously occupied by the LI Museum into a Rifles Information Display. The display is due to open in 2010 with an initial focus on operations in Afghanistan. Film Archive In June 2009 the Museum passed its film archive, on deposit for a minimum period of 20 years, to the Wessex Film and Sound Archive based at Hampshire Record Office in Winchester. This arrangement will permit the film archive to be properly looked after in conditions far superior to those that the Museum is able to provide. Heritage Open Weekend 175 visitors enjoyed the attraction of displays by The Rifles Living History Society plus free admission to the Museum over the National Heritage
FORTHCOMING MUSEUM EVENTS - 2010 6.15 pm Evening Talk – Winchester Tue 30 Mar Subject: “Italy 1943-45: Masterstroke or Mission Creep?” Speaker: Nick Hewitt, senior historian, Imperial War Museum 10 am to 4 pm Wed 7 Apr
“Fun for All Day” – Winchester for young and old during the school holidays
Mon 26 Apr to Sat 5 Jun
Temporary Exhibition - Winchester Subject: “Against the Odds: Dunkirk and Calais, 1940”
JOURNAL 2009
6.15 pm Mon 24 May
Open Weekend on 12/13 September 2009. This was almost exactly the same number as visited during the Heritage Open weekend in 2008. Temporary Exhibitions The Museum successfully mounted a temporary exhibition covering “The Conquest of Canada, 1758-60, and the Battle of Quebec, 1759” in August/ September 2009. The exhibition resulted in many appreciative comments in the visitors’ book. The Museum also hosted a small touring exhibition about “Prisoners of War” in July/August. Museum Talks During the year a total of 453 people attended the Museum’s programme of evening talks.
Evening Talk – Winchester Subject: “Dunkirk and Calais, 1940” Speaker: Dr Peter Caddick-Adams, military historian, Cranfield University
For more information about these events, please visit the Museum website and/or contact Mrs Christine Pullen, the Museum Curator at: The RGJ Museum, Peninsula Barracks, Romsey Road, Winchester, Hants, SO23 8TS - Tel: 01962 828549 or e-mail: museum@royalgreenjackets.co.uk Further events will be added to the ‘What’s On’ page of the Museum website as they are arranged – see www.rgjmuseum.co.uk
SWIFT AND BOLD | 49
THE ROYAL GREEN JACKETS REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATION
Obituary Notices 17th January 2009 – 08 January 2010
Robinson, Richard – 1 Rifles- KIA Afghanistan - 17 Jan 2009 Sutherland, George – KRRC – Jan 2009 Hutchison, George – KRRC – Jan 2009 Sherman, Pete – 1RGJ – 26TH Jan 2009 Hessey, Kevin – RGJ – 26TH Jan 2009 Nield, Daniel – Cpl –1 Rifles–KIA Afghanistan –30 Jan 2009 Brooks, Terry – 1RGJ Band – 8th February 2009 Pottage, Michael – ex 3RGJ- 9TH February 2009 Foxton, William (Bill)- 1RGJ – 11th February 2009 Kingscott, Stephen–L/cpl–1 Rifles-KIA Afghan 16th Feb 2009 Gunn, JD (Jamie)–Rfn–1Rifles–KIA Afghanistan 25 Feb 2009 Gaden, TJ (Tom)–Cpl–1Rifles–KIA Afghanistan 25th Feb 2009 Upton, P (Paul)–LCpl-1Rifles–KIA Afghanistan 25th Feb 2009 Ingall, Mickey – ex RGJ – 28th February 2009 Wilson, Ken – ex 2RGJ 2nd March 2009 Morgan-Grenville, GW- RGJ- 2ND March 2009 Wood, Col, DJ (Retd) – 43rd&52nd – 12th March 2009 Gibbs, Maurice-RGJ – 12th March 2009 Baker, Colonel John - MC – RB – 21 March 2009 Barroll, Capt John – Oxf&Bucks LI- 29 March 2009 Spencer, Eric – KRRC – 5th April 2009 Abbott, Michael – KRRC-2GJ-2RGJ- 7th April 2009 Simpson, Joe (Cyril) – RB – 3RGJ-1RGJ – 8th April 2009 Maufe, Lt GH, MC, KRRC 1942-46 – 8th April 2009 Ingalls, SH – 13th April 2009 Seal, Alan – KRRC – 14th April 2009 Pratt, Brig OG, MBE- RB-Oxf&Bucks, RGJ- 21st April 2009 Warren, Ben, 5 Rifles 22nd April 2009 Lowery, James – 3RGJ – 23rd April 2009 Summers, Jim – 3GJ 25th April 2009 Lowther, Colin – May 2009 Johnson, Karl – 1&3 RGJ – 7 May 2009 Sheldon, Adrian–Rfn-2Rifles–KIA Afghanistan 7 May 2009 Rawlings. Bill, W.A.C–10 RB (Tower Hamlet Rifles May 2009 Trustram Eve, Major, JR Roy-OBE, DL- KRRC, 2GJ 20 May 09 Thatcher, Cyrus–Rfn–2 Rifles–KIA Afghanistan 2 June 2009 Terroni Frank–8KRRC/8RB- 1942-44- 4 June 2009 Smith Sidney James–KRRC- 1939- 46- June 2009 Hobbs Bob – 4RGJ – 12 June 2009 Mervis Lt Paul - 2Rifles – KIA Afghanistan – 14 June 2009 Martin Arthur – KRRC – 28 June 2009 Venn Ted – Former Regiment – 1 July 2009 Dobison Madge-MBE-KRRC Family- 1 July 2009 Hume Rfn Daniel - 4Rifles-KIA Afghanistan 9 July 2009 Horne Cpl Jonathan -2Rifles-KIA Afghanistan 10 July 2009 Aldridge Rfn William -2Rifles-KIA Afghanistan 10 July 2009 Backhouse Rfn James -2Rifles-KIA Afghanistan 10 July 2009 Murphy Rfn Joseph-2Rifles-KIA Afghanistan 10 July 2009 Simpson Rfn Daniel-2Rifles-KIA Afghanistan 10 July 2009 Bond Christopher, Former Capt RB 1939-45 10 July 2009 Fogg Billy-Ex RB-3RGJ, 14 July 2009 Toge Rfn Aminiasi, 2 Rifles- KIA Afghanistan 16 July 200
50 | SWIFT AND BOLD
Jones Keith – RGJ - 18 July 2009 Patch Harry – D&CLI – 25 July 2009 Percival-Maxwell Gavin Richard – 60th Rifles July 2009 Seymour Duncan – 2RGJ – 11 August 2009 Gilmore John R – RGJ – 6 August 2009 Wild Daniel Rfn – 2 Rifles – KIA Afghanistan - 13 Aug 2009 Hale Mark Capt – 2 Rifles - KIA Afghanistan - 13 Aug 2009 Davies-Scourfield Diana – Widow of Brig DS – August 2009 McAleese Paul - 2 Rifles - KIA Afghanistan - 20 August 2009 McArthur Clive – RGJ – 20 August 2009 McGrath Stuart–2Rifles–KIA Afghanistan–16 September 2009 Ray Michael- 1&3RGJ – 18 September 2009 Drury Robert (Garth) – 3RGJ – 23 September 2009 Steadman Harry, - KRRC – 25 October 2009 Hearn Shane, Lt Col – RGJ, UDR – 26 September 2009 Townsend Terry – 2KRRC Band – 26 September 2009 Lowman Pat – 2GJ, 2nd RGJ 26 September 2009 Weterings Gerald AW- KRRC Cadet Inst` - 10 October 2009 Keyes Steve – IJL,3RGJ 11 October 2009 Pateman Colin – 1GJ- 1RGJ 13 October 2009 Goody Derek – 3RGJ 18 October 2009 Smith Steve (Gidda) – 1RGJ 18th October 2009 Smith Dave – 2RGJ - 20th October 2009 Payne Kenneth Stanley – 3RGJ – 26TH October 2009 Furness Dave (Flossie) – 3 RGJ - October 2009 Scott, Sjt Phillip – 3Rifles – KIA Afghanistan 5 Nov 2009 Birdsall, Norman – KRRC 6 November 2009 Allen, Rfn Philip – 2 Rifles – KIA Afghanistan 7 Nov 2009 Bassett, Rfn Samuel J – 4 Rifles, KIA Afghanistan 8 Nov 09 Fentiman, Rfn Andrew I – 7 Rifles, KIA Afghan’ 15 Nov 09 Kenney-Herbert – Major KRRC 17 November 2009 Mather, Richard L – Capt KRRC 22 November 2009 Uden, Peter – 1GJ, 1RGJ, 2RGJ 28 November 2009 Carpenter, Robert – 1RGJ – 5 December 2009 Symington Maj Stuart – KRRC – 11 December 2009 Phillips, Stephen – 2RGJ 1988-94 – December 2009 Kirkness DL L/Cpl – 3 Rifles KIA Afghanistan 15 Dec 2009 Brown JS Rifleman – 3 Rifles KIA Afghanistan 15 Dec 2009 Roney, C. L/Cpl – 3 Rifles KIA Afghanistan 21 Dec 2009 Howell, A. Rfn – 3 Rifles KIA Afghanistan 28 Dec 2009 Forrest, John – 2RGJ – 30 December 2009 Beddon, Colin – 2RGJ – 2nd January 2010
JOURNAL 2009
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Coming 19th March- Barba del Puerco
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Aerial shot of the National Arboretum in Staffordshire