Billy Hughes on H4H Mike Leavy needs your help

Charity events are happening all over the UK in support of H4H. Ordinary folk doing sometimes ordinary things and some not so ordinary. It is impossible to put here all the events. Go to www.helpforheroes.org.uk In Dorset we have just held the Bournemouth Air Festival 1.5 million visitors and the money raised is all going to H4H. Events bring out other business to do things to raise money. For example one large Restaurant with space for 200 people has offered its events and food; 3 course meal which the owner will Sponsor. Watch this space. I will be planning an event soon Hopefully with entertainment for October/November (Gary Driscoll I’m getting in touch!) H4H has currently raised £26m in 22 months. Over £18m has been committed and spent. There is a resettlement and rehabilitation Centre in Edinburgh that has just been built and commissioned. It costs a great deal of money to build and operate but this will prevent many service men from taking the long journey to Headley Court with more separation from family and friends. It is planned to have other similar centres in the UK located where they are needed. Again we need to raise the money. They cost approx £6m - £7m per project so we need more activities, people please get your thinking caps on and raise as much as you can. However, H4H is struggling to identify a Volunteer Co-ordinator in the Dover area. I have mentioned this on the RGJA web site before. I know there is a large RGJ contingent down there. It doesn’t have to be a former RGJ. There are lots of other Regiments who served there, Paras, etc. It also doesn’t have to be ex-forces, just someone who can give their spare time freely. Billy Hughes

“However, H4H is struggling to identify a Volunteer Coordinator in the Dover area. I have mentioned this on the RGJA web site before. I know there is a large RGJ contingent down there. It doesn’t have to be a former RGJ. T here are lots of other Regiments who served there, Paras, etc. It al so doesn’t have to be ex-forces, just someone who can give their spare time freely”. The full article will appear in Swift & Bold 2009. Ed

Mike Leavy and the Chapel of St John in the Peninsula need your support

The Association of the Friends of the British Cemetery was founded to undertake the maintenance of the neglected British Cemetery in Elvas, Portugal. In 2000 the Portuguese Army, as part of the project to install memorials to all the regiments that fought in the battles of Albuera and Badajoz, funded a major restoration of the Cemetery, which is now an attractive and peaceful place. The Friends of the British Cemetery provide for a caretaker and the Cemetery is open to the public. The long-term aim is to produce a fund that will ensure the Cemetery’s maintenance and protection in the future. The Association is a UK registered charity, no.1109395.

The British Cemetery at Elvas is one of the oldest British Military Cemeteries in existence. It holds only five known graves but two of these are the only marked graves of the thousands of British soldiers who fell at the battle of Albuera and another is the sole marked grave of the many thousands who fell in the three sieges of Badajoz. Throughout the history of Portugal, Elvas has been a key to its land defence. In 1811 it was the southern gateway to Spain, faced by Badajoz. In the north, Almeida facing Ciudad Rodrigo fulfilled the same role. Wellington was anxious to secure them both before advancing into Spain and chose to conduct the operations in the north himself, leaving the Commander in Chief of the Portuguese army, in command of the southern operation. The British Cemetery occupies one of the bastions of the fortifications of Elvas and falls under the jurisdiction of the Portuguese Army. Until 1997 it was accessible only with difficulty. The Chapel of S. João da Corujeira, adjoining the British Cemetery, is the oldest chapel in Elvas and now in a state of disrepair. It was built in 1228 by the Knights Hospitallers on the taking of Elvas from the Moors. In 2005, after prolonged negotiations between the Friends of the British Cemetery and the Archdiocese of Évora, the Friends acquired the right of usage and the responsibility for the chapel’s restoration and maintenance.

“Mike Leavy, formerly RB and RGJ, is a Trustee of the Association of the Friends of the British Cemetery in Elvas. The Chapel of St John is undergoing restoration and will need a further £50,000 for completion in 2010. The Chapel and small cemetery are one of the few remaining monuments to our forebears who died in these battles. Please visit the web site at http://britishcemeteryelvas.org/cemetery.html and help if you can”.

Site of the only marked graves of the many British soldiers who died in the Peninsula War Battles of Albuera and Badajoz 1811-1912.

The Museum has been a busy place over the last three months (June to August) with a temporary exhibition about prisonersof-war and another (ongoing) marking the 250th Anniversary of the battle of Quebec on 13 September 1759 – the first occasion on which two antecedent RGJ regiments, the 43rd and 60th (Royal Americans) fought side by side.

There has also been an There has also been an evening talk about Wellington’s return to Portugal and the battle of Talavera in 1809, and the second of this year’s ‘Fun for All’ days. The highlight of the last three months was undoubtedly the opening of the Museum’s new El Alamein display which traces what happened in Illustration 1.

the Western Desert of North Africa (Egypt, Libya and Tunisia) between mid 1941 and 1943 and the part played by 1, 2, 9 and 11 KRRC and 1, 2, 7, 9 and 10 RB. The El Alamein display, in particular, features a model of 2 RB’s heroic action at ‘Snipe’ on 27 October 1942 during the battle of El Alamein, when at least 32 German and Italian tanks and three self-propelled guns were ‘knocked out’ by the gun crews of the Battalion’s six-pounder anti-tank guns. This action resulted in 21 members of the Battalion receiving gallantry awards. Seven of these awards are on display, including the VC awarded to Lt-Col Vic Turner, the DCMs awarded to Sgts Calistan and Swann, and the Bar to the MM awarded to Sgt Hine (which was purchased at auction last year after an appeal to which many Association members kindly contributed). Over 70 people attended the grand opening of the El Alamein display on 13 June, including five of the

Winchester Branch Update

Vic Osmand took part in the Project 65 mile run for the Winchester branch.

His much abridged account is below. “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 was able to play my small

part. On our arrival at the

port of Ouistreham in Normandy, late evening 5 th June, we were formed up in our six glider groups and set off for the final stage of the event 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 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. So far this year, the number of

Illustration 2 Maj Tom Bird (left), who commanded S (Anti-Tank)

Company, 2 RB at ‘Snipe’, examines the new ‘Snipe’ model with Gen Sir Thomas Pearson (right), who was Second-inCommand of 2 RB during the action.

visitors to the Museum has been almost identical to the number last year. We shall, however, soon be moving into the autumn and winter months when the tempo of activity dies down. We still, though, have three evening talks to come so why not come to one or more of them. Thursday 17 September “The Conquest of Canada and the Battle of Quebec, 1759”

Tuesday 13 October “In Love and War: the Lives of General Sir Harry and Lady Smith” Monday 16 November “Le Cateau, 1914” For further details see the Museum website www.rgjmuseum.co.uk And if you have not yet visited the Museum’s new El Alamein display, why not do so. Finally, Association members that, after a period of uncertainty following the creation of The Rifles on 1 February 2007, the Trustees decided on 26 June that the Museum would in future be titled “The Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum”. In the Trustees’ view, the inclusion of the word “(Rifles)” neatly links the Regiment’s past with the present. Furthermore, in an era of emphasis on brand recognition, it will assist the future marketing of the Museum to the general public who, as a result of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, are increasingly hearing of The Rifles but, over time, will become less familiar with The Royal Green Jackets.

Christopher Wallace

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" On 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.