SWIFT BOLD AND The Journal of The Royal Green Jackets Association 2020
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The Royal Green Jackets Association 1 Contents / Production Team Swift and Bold 2020 Contents Editorial By Kevin Stevens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Foreword by Colonel Carron Snagge OBE DL Chairman . . . . . 3 Royal Green Jackets Association Contacts List 4 NIVA Service of Remembrance 5 Location of GJ and RGJ Battalions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7 Characteristics of The Rifles Regiment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 General Sir Patrick Sanders KCB CBE DSO ADC Gen . . . . . . . 9 Major General RTH Jones CBE 10-11 RGJ Management Plan 12-13 Rules for the RGJ Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-16 RGJ Membership Cessation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Queens New Year Honours List 2021 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 RGJ Honours and Awards 18-19 The Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum 20-21 Central England Branch Report 22-23 London Branch Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-29 North West Branch Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30-31 Oxford Branch Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-33 South East Kent Branch Report 34-35 Wiltshire Branch Report 36 RGJ Veterans Reunion – Cancelled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Winchester & District Branch Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38-39 The Rifles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40-41 The Rearguard 42-47 The ‘In Memoriam’ Board 47 A Swan with 2 RGJ in the Bogside in 1972 . . . . . . . . . . 48-49 I shouldn’t have been in the Green Jackets . . . . . . . . . . 50-52 Colonel in Chief and an earlier Rifles connection . . . . . . . . . 53 From RGJ to Police 54-55 Where are you now? 55 Service of Remembrance at the RGJ Memorial 56-57 The Chauffeur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58-59 Production Team Mr Kevin Stevens Major Michael Leeming Major Mike Gleeson MBE Mrs Janet Gleeson Mr Trevor Anderson Mr Mark Adams Mr Roy Baillie Mr David Muir Mr Seamus P Lyons This publication contains official and personal contact information. It should be treated therefore with discretion by the recipient. The views expressed in the articles in this journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the policy and views, official or otherwise, of the Royal Green Jackets Association or the Ministry of Defence. No responsibility for the goods or services advertised in this journal can be accepted by the publishers, printers or the Royal Green Association.JacketsPrintedby The Print Guru
The Royal Green Jackets Association 2 Editorial
Mike and Janet Gleeson and Trevor Anderson who have done a sterling job once more and given the size of S&B I also invited David Muir to join the team. I first met Dave when he joined the RGJ PDT as team Sgt. All that remains now is for me to wish you all a happier 2021 than that which we have all experienced so far and look forward to the next reunion either at the NIVA meeting, Greenstock or possibly the Oxford reunion in Abingdon in November.
One final thank you goes to the person who will remain anonymous for all the jokes etc. on WhatsApp that have kept me amused in the last 12 months. No names no pack drill but George Berry you know who you are...
Kevin Stevens Editor
Contents / Editorial Swift and Bold 2020 Contents ‘Back to the Future’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Old Friends Reunited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 The Bogside Tattoo 61 Green Jacket Close 62-63 The Longest two year posting ever 1980 – 1986 . . . . . . . 64-67 SOFO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68-69 The real hero of the Cold War – Wolfgang . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 1A Iverna Gardns, Kensington 71 A Scrubbing Brush and a Poppy! 72-73 French Leave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Remembrance Sunday 8th November 2020 . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Lord Lieutenant’s Award for Major (Retd) Roy Stanger . . . 76-77 Who remembers Op Casement? 77 The Bloody gun battle for the bakery 78 The curious case of the 9mm automatic carrier bag 79 Newry Road Bomb 77/78 Tour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 What Makes a Hero? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80-82 One’s Final Parade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Simon Tonybee 84-85 Veterans Retreat Northern Spain 86-87 Major Ron Cassidy MBE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Drummuckavall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89-91 Riflemen in the far north . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92-93 Veterans’ Reunion 94-95 Italian in the Black Mafia 96-97 Lawrence of Arabia RGJ Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Loan Service Oman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98-101 The Royal British Legion marks Centenary year . . . . . . 102-104 Battle Honours 105 Dhofar Voices 106-107 Book Reviews 108-112 In Memoriam 2020 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113-114
Nick’s energy, enthusiasm and ideas can be clearly seen Thankthroughout.youto my proof readers
At the meeting in November when this edition was discussed I said that if I couldn’t make 48 pages I would do only a PDF version this time around, I also thought I might have to write most of it myself but, as I finalise S&B for this year, it is a few more pages than that! I would therefore like to thank all of you who have either contributed articles or have donated towards the costs of production itself either through corporate sponsorship or personal donations. I would also like to thank Nick Parker of the Print Guru, without whom I would never have got this completed by the end of March deadline.
Usually this magazine includes articles from most Branches, reporting on their activities over the past year . Our editor has had to put his thinking cap on to find ways to make an interesting magazine in a year when there has been virtually no activity! This magazine is therefore a collection of articles written by or about Riflemen and we have been almost overwhelmed by the number of contributors There is even a story from me! Swift and Bold this year has turned out to be a bumper edition, with something in it for everyone . As usual I also wrote to Association Members asking for financial contributions to help cover the magazine’s production costs . The response to my appeal has been better than ever, which all goes to show what a marvellous regiment we are
There is not much I can say about the last year and our current situation that has not already been said It has been an extraordinary year but there is now light at the end of the tunnel . Sadly it has been decided to cancel The Royal Green Jacket Association Reunion planned for July in Sir John Moore Barracks . But we are confident that the Northern Ireland Veterans’ Association Commemoration and Parade on 11 September 2021 at the National Memorial Arboretum will go ahead It is great event with an afternoon reception nearby, hosted by the RGJA Central England Branch. The event usually attracts a good turnout of Riflemen, so please make the effort to attend . In the meantime, plans are afoot for an extra-special Reunion in July 2022 in Sir John Moore Barracks, so stand by for more detail in due course
Foreword by Colonel Carron Snagge OBE DL Chairman
The Royal Green Jackets Association Forward
Swift and Bold
On behalf of all members of the Royal Green Jacket Association I would like to acknowledge and thank all those who support, contribute, edit and produce this magazine . To all those in the Association’s Branch Committees, the RGJ Officers Club and the RGJ Council, who give up so much time and energy to make our Association as successful as it is – THANK YOU
The Royal Green Jackets Association
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The Royal Green Jackets Association 4 Contacts List The Royal Green Jackets Association Contacts List 2021 President Maj Gen James Gordan CB CBE 01962 828524 admin@rgjassociation.info Chairman Col Carron Snagge OBE DL 01962 828524 admin@rgjassociation.info Vice Chairman Lt Simon Booth-Mason 01962 828524 admin@rgjassociation.info Secretary Lt Col Jan-Dirk von Mer veldt 020 7492 4936 london@the-rifles.co.uk Treasurer Maj Michael Leeming 07803 341929 michaelleeming@hotmail.com Membership Secretary Mr Hugh Goudge 01924 849020 oldsweat@yahoo.co.uk Webmaster Capt William Shipton 01256 895719 bill.shipton@btinternet.com Swift and Bold Editor Mr Kevin Stevens 07954 594451 admin@rgjassociation.info Photo History and Branch Sites Mr Seamus Lyons 01279 723908 seamus.lyons@rgjassociation.info Database Manager Mr Roy Baillie 01928 717919 rgjadatabase@btinternet.com Deputy Database Manager Mr Tony Williamson 07891 367429 rgjadepdatabasemanaer@gmail.com In Memoriam Board Manager Mr Mark Adams 01442 380713 mark.adams@rgjassociation.info Branch President/Chairman Secretary/Treasurer Contact Details Aylesbury C - Mr Graham Liggins T - Mr Keith Bateman 01296 426765 Buglers Association P - Col Rex Stephenson CBE 07885 477867 | col.rex@buglers.org.uk Lt Div & Rifles C - Stan Wilkinson 07740 380459 | stan.wilkinson@buglers.org.uk Central England P - Maj Michael Leeming 07971 511628 C - Mr Mark Picken S -CaptGuy Mynett T -Mr Gary Collins guymynett@icloud.com East Midlands C - Mr Leonard Dooley S - Mr Martin Coates 01623 martin-coates53@y239299ahoo.co.uk London P - Col George Smythe OBE S - Mr Gary Driscoll 01708 rgjldn@ntlworld.com442662 North East 07888024842 jakecheetham@btinternet.com P-Tobenotified S -MrJakeCheetham C-MrJakeCheetham T-MrJohnKelly North West S - Mr Mark LydiatP C -Mr David Judge T - Mr Ray Gerrard secretarybranchrgj@gmail.com07415092193 Oxfordshire P - Brig Robin Draper CVO OBE S - Maj Andrew Bowes TD 07773 200085 C - Maj Terry Roper MBE TD rgja.oxford@gmail.com South East Kent P - Mr Fred Barrett S - Mr Robert Newman 01843 297069 C - Mr Glenn Ternent T - Mr Tony Killelay geordie_t@btinternet.com Wiltshire P - Brig Vere Hayes CBE S - Mr Gary Byrne 07545 966826 C - Mr Michael Walsh T - Mr Bill Tyson gasa102@gmail.com Winchester P - Brig Nicholas Prideaux S - Capt John Fritz-Domeney 07801 386461 or 02380 465829 & District C - Maj Roy Stanger T - Mr Peter Andrews johnfd2@sky.com Yorkshire P - Capt Kit Dollard S - Mr Stuart Anderson 01757 618081 C - Mr Fred Williams T - Mr John Woods valerieandeson41@outlook.com The Riflemen’s P - Capt James Ramsbotham CBE DL 0191 438 5432 Association North East C - Mr David Nichol S - Darren Roberts davenichol@nicholassociates.co.uk
The Royal Green Jackets Association NIVA Service of RemembranceThe Royal Green Jackets Association 7 The Royal Green Jackets Association
The Royal Green Jackets Association 6 Location of GJ and RGJ Battalions Location of GJ and RGJ Battalions 1958-2007 1GJ 43rd & 52nd 2GJ KRRC 3GJ RB 1958 Cyprus Tripoli, Libya Tidwor th 1959 Cyprus N.Ireland Ballykinler Wuppertal Germany* 1960 Cyprus N.Ireland Ballykinler Wuppertal Germany* 1961 Warminster Berlin Cyprus 1962 Warminster Berlin Cyprus 1963 Penang Colchester Cyprus 1964 Penang (Borneo) Colchester Felixstowe 1965 Berlin Penang (Borneo) Hong Kong, 1966 Berlin Penang (Borneo) Felixstowe 1966 Renamed 1 RGJ Renamed 2 RGJ Renamed 3 RGJ 1 RGJ 2 RGJ 3 RGJ 1966 Berlin Penang Felixstowe 1967 Berlin, (Cyprus), Tidworth Munster* Germany Iserlohn* Germany 1968 (Cyprus), Tidworth Munster* Germany Iserlohn* Germany 1969 Tidwor th (N.Ireland) Munster* Germany Iserlohn*, Celle 1970 Celle*, (N.Ireland) Munster* (Ballykelly) N I Celle*, Tidworth (Cyprus) 1971 Celle*, (N.Ireland) Ballykelly, N.Ireland (Cyprus) Tidworth, R Coy N.Ireland 1972 Celle*, (N.Ireland) Ballykelly, N.Ireland Shoeburyness, (N.Ireland) 1973 Celle*, (N.Ireland) Ballykelly, Catterick Shoeburyness, (N.Ireland) 1974 Celle*, Dover (N.Ireland) Catterick, (N.Ireland) Shoeburyness, (N.Ireland) 1975 Dover Catterick, Gibraltar Shoeburyness, Berlin 1976 Dover, (Cyprus) Gibraltar, Tidworth Berlin 1977 Dover, (N.Ireland) Tidwor th, (N.Ireland) Caterham, (N.Ireland) 1978 Hong Kong Tidwor th, (N.Ireland) Caterham, Londonderry 1979 Hong Kong Tidwor th, (N.Ireland) Londonderry, Oakington 1980 Hong Kong, Hounslow Minden* Oakington, (Cyprus) 1981 1981 Hounslow, (Aldergrove NI) Minden* (N.Ireland) Oakington Malaya, Borneo
The Royal Green Jackets Association 7 Location of GJ and RGJ Battalions 1 RGJ 2 RGJ 3 RGJ 1982 Aldergrove N.I Minden* (N.Ireland) Oakington, Celle* 1983 Aldergrove N.I Minden* Celle* 1984 Tidworth, (Falklands) Minden* Celle*, (N.Ireland) 1985 Tidworth, Minden* (N.Ireland) Celle*, (N.Ireland) 1986 Tidworth, (N.Ireland) Minden*, Warminster Celle* 1987 Osnabruck*, (N.Ireland Warminster Celle*, Colchester, (Falklands) 1988 Osnabruck*, (N.Ireland Warminster, Dover Colchester, (Falklands) 1989 Osnabruck*, Dover, (N.Ireland Colchester, Gibraltar 1990 Osnabruck*, Dover Gibraltar 1991 Osnabruck* Dover, (N.Ireland) Gibraltar, Dover, (N.Ireland) 1992 Osnabruck Omagh N.Ireland Dover 1992 Disbanded Renumbered 1 RGJ Renumbered 2 RGJ 2 RGJ 3 RGJ 1993 Omagh, Cyprus Dover 1994 Cyprus, (Falklands) Dover 1995 Cyprus Dover, Belfast 1996 Cyprus, Bulford, (Bosnia) Belfast 1997 Bulford* Belfast, Paderborn 1999 Bulford* Paderborn*, (Bosnia) 2000 Bulford*, Belfast Paderborn*, (Kosovo) 2001 Belfast Paderborn* 2002 Belfast, Preston Paderborn*, (Bosnia) 2003 Preston Paderborn*, Warminster 2004 Preston, (Iraq) Warminster 2005 Preston, (South Armagh) Warminster, Ballykinler 2006 Preston, (Kosovo ) Ballykinler, Bulford 2007 Preston Bulford 2007 Merged with the LI, DDLI and the RGBW to form The Rifles Locations within brackets indicate emergency tours. An * indicates mechanized role in either AFV432, Saxon or Warrior personnel carrier.
Characteristics of The Rifles Regiment
Riflemen have always been encouraged to think quickly, acting on their own initiative through service and in battle to seize those fleeting opportunities on which success or failure so often depend. This means we trust and respect each other completely, building confidence and humility. Everyone who serves in The Rifles is a Rifleman, regardless of rank, background or gender. It a point of pride to say: ‘I am a Rifleman.’
WE ARE CONNECTED The Rifles is a national Regiment, drawn from every corner of the United Kingdom and beyond. But we never forget the towns, cities and counties that built us. These communities support and nurture us and we represent them in return.
‘To all those who step forward with The Rifles’
Our Regiment is built on 5 Pillars: Regulars, Reserves, Cadets, Associations and the Communities where we live and serve. This is our Regimental family. Each pillar needs the others, and they support Riflemen through the whole of their lives.
The Rifles is a forward-looking Regiment that thinks and acts differently. Our ethos and training lead us to welcome new ideas, wherever they may come from. We are not afraid of change: We thrive on it. This means we are always ready and willing to meet the challenges of an unpredictable world.
WE ARE SWIFT AND BOLD
WE ARE ONE FAMILY
WE ARE INNOVATORS
The Rifles has a long, proud and honourable history. We were built to reflect the British Army’s core values of courage, discipline, respect for others, integrity, loyalty and selfless commitment. But our characteristics are unique to our Regiment and define our fighting spirit. They are inspired by the example of General Sir John Moore, who formed the Corps of Light Infantry two centuries ago. We still live by these characteristics today.
WE ARE SWIFT AND BOLD WE ARE THE RIFLES
Joining The Rifles means serving with some of the finest soldiers in the world. Our battle-worthiness, marksmanship and field-craft are second to none. We strive for excellence in everything we do.
WE UNLEASH POTENTIAL Leadership in The Rifles is about creating opportunities and unleashing potential. Our commanders lead by serving: they must know their Riflemen, put them first and help them to become the best they can be. By joining The Rifles, we become part of one of the greatest stories in the British Army and add to its chapters.
WE ARE ALL RIFLEMEN
WE ARE SKILLED
The Royal Green Jackets Association 8 Characteristics of The Rifles Regiment
Our motto dates back to the 1750s, when the alertness and courage of the soldiers so impressed British general James Wolfe that he captured their conduct in the motto, Celer et Audax: in English, Swift and Bold. It is a perfect description of The Rifles then and now: quick in our thinking and actions, brave and confident in every challenge.
My visits to the Battalions were highlights of 2020 and I look forward to visiting as many of you as I can in the coming months. Swift and Bold.
The Royal Green Jackets Association 9 From: General Sir Patrick Sanders KCB CBE DSO ADC Gen, Colonel Commandant Regimental Headquarters The PeninsulaRifles Barracks Romsey Road WINCHESTER Hampshire SO23 26thadmin@the-rifles.co.uk019628TS828527March2021
There will of course be change within the Regiment, not least as The 4th Battalion leads the way in the creation of the Ranger Regiment, but we must be true to our regimental ethos as innovators; embrace the change and seek advantage in it.
Riflemen, Many of you will have followed the announcement of the Government’s Integrated Review and the Defence Command Plan, that details the MOD’s part in it, and will now be wondering what this means for The Rifles. In my messages to you at Christmas and in The Bugle, I asked you to ensure that you were ready to embrace the changes that lay ahead; I am pleased to say the outcome for the Rifles is a positive one.
Your hard work and dedication since the formation of the Regiment in 2007 has proved the worth of large regiments. New threats and adversaries mean that we must now adapt to face these threats and the Future Soldier programme sets the path for the Army to do so. The detail of which unit will be in which role is yet to come; but new roles, platforms, career paths and opportunities will be open to our regiment. We will be in an almost unique position, where one capbadge can offer opportunity in the full suite of new roles.
General Sir Patrick Sanders KCB CBE DSO ADC Gen
The Royal Green Jackets Association 10 Major General RTH Jones CBE From: Major General RTH Jones CBE Assistant Colonel Commandant (Home Command) c/o Standing Joint Force Commander Standing Joint Force Headquarters, Northwood Headquarters, Sandy Lane, Middlesex, HA6 3HP Telephone: 01923 958600 Military: 9360 58600 Mobile: 07879 665640 Email: rupert.jones114@mod.gov.uk 19 January 2021 Dear Fellow Riflemen,
As we approach the 14th anniversary of our formation on 1 February 2007, I write to you in your important capacity within The Rifles Association, Cadet or Community pillars. As you know, we in The Rifles cherish our strong bond to the local communities that sustain the Regiment and are proud to support the regions from which we come. We never take this privileged relationship for granted and we know that we must continually nourish and invest in it. In this vein, we have prepared a series of County and City Brochures that capture a snapshot of the historical and contemporary connections between ‘our’ communities and ‘their’ local Infantry regiment. I hope you will find this helpful and that it inspires you about the fantastic things the Riflemen achieve in our name. This letter is for you, but please share the brochure widely with others who may be interested; the series of brochures can be found on our Association website.1
1
www.theriflesnetwork.co.uk/page/local-ties
As you will know, in 2019 the Government initiated an Integrated Review of the UK’s security and defence approach, recognising that the security environment is significantly different to that envisaged by the 2015 SDSR. The outcome of the review is expected to be announced in the next couple of months setting the path to a major modernisation of Defence. This is an exciting once in a generation opportunity to ensure that the Armed Forces adapt for the challenges of the future. It is probable that the impact on the Army, as with the other Services, will be significant, including for the Infantry which will adapt to meet changing imperatives. We expect to see an increased role for the Army Reserve, greater specialisation, and an increase in the forward deployment of units overseas. We should also not rule out changes that lead to debates around the size and structure of regiments.
Innovation is central to The Rifles ethos and we will embrace the opportunities stemming from these changes. We must speak with a clear voice about the positive contribution and advantages we offer. As you will see from the brochures, our achievements since formation are hard to match, both on operations around the world and back at home. As a national regiment with deep roots into our local communities, we bring precisely the efficiencies of scale, strong recruiting, adaptability and excellence that will be vital in the future. It is particularly important that our deep historic connections to our counties and cities is felt.
• Strong, deep rooted and cherished links through our famous antecedent and forming regiments to 20 counties and cities stretching from Durham to Cornwall. We are incredibly proud and humbled by the achievements of The Rifles. Its success is borne on its original design to be a modern regiment, structured to adapt to changing requirements, and thriving on the strength between its five pillars: Regulars, Reserves, Cadets, Associations and Communities.
The Royal Green Jackets Association 11 Major General RTH Jones CBE
I know that you share this pride in your local Regiment and hope that these brochures will help you tell our story. It is a compelling story, devoid of sentimental anecdote, and wedded in achievement and potential. We need your support now and always to help explain locally why The Rifles model is so strong and perfectly suited to adapt to the challenges of the future, and to remind local communities of the deep roots, current and historic through the forming and antecedent regiments that we share – we are ‘their’ Regiment and we fight for them. I thank you and your community for your continued support.
• Best practice support to our affiliated cadets with about 20% of all Army cadets affiliated to The Rifles; a powerful reflection of our connection to the regions.
• Regular battalions at full strength without reliance on reinforcement from other cap badges or an over-reliance on Foreign and Commonwealth soldiers that some others depend upon.
• Best practice integration between our Regular and Reserve battalions, recently demonstrated by being the first Regiment to deliver fully Reserve units on operations.
• Top quality ‘Riflemen’ – a historic title that we cherish and whose number now proudly include a comparatively strong number of women.
I hope these brochures will help explain what we offer and allow you to participate in local debate. We have a compelling brand that is the envy of many. We consistently deliver:
• To help support the running costs of the RGJ (Rifles) Museum until the future of the Museum is clearly determined.
• To maintain the Regimental Memorial at the NMA and the Garden of Remembrance at Winchester.
•
• To oversee the income and capital of the RGJ Management Fund, review the policy and priorities for spending, and annually allocate resources as required.
Communications – Website/IT/Journal. Officers’ Club Annual Reunion as required RGJA Council
• To encourage and sustain membership of the RGJA.
• To support other RGJA and Regimental activities as the RGJA Council deems appropriate.
RGJ Management Plan
• To support the annual Veterans’ Reunion and Officers’ Club dinner and the annual NI Veterans event at the Nation al Memorial Arboretum (NMA).
•
•
The Royal Green Jackets Association Management Plan 2020
Structure RGJA Council: The RGJA Council is the Association’s governing board to determine Regimental and Association policy issues, agree the drawdown of the RGJ Management Fund, and allocate grants annually as required to the RGJA Committee and the RGJ (Rifles) Museum. It is chaired by the President of the RGJA and its membership is set out in the Rules for the RGJA.
•
The Royal Green Jackets Association 12
At the formation of The Rifles in 2007, the Royal Green Jacket (RGJ) Colonel Commandants decided that a significant sum of money from the RGJ funds, which were transferred to The Rifles, should be ‘ringfenced’ to look after the interests of the Regiment and its Association in the long term. In due course, any remaining funds would be transferred to The Rifles on the demise of the Association.
RGJA Council Objectives
• To provide communication for and between veterans through the Regimental website and annual journal/Ezine.
While the RGJ Management Fund is managed by the Trustees of The Rifles Regimental Trust for investment purposes, the income and capital are under the control of the RGJA Council to support the activities of veterans of the RGJ, through the RGJA, and the RGJ (Rifles) Museum. This control is to be based on an annual total return from a 50-year plan from 2015, which will be reviewed annually by the RGJA Council, based on the average valuation
Funding Policy
• To safeguard our regimental heritage, traditions and values, and as required, to provide input to Colonel Commandant The Rifles and RHQ The Rifles.
Its purpose is to direct and support the activities of the RGJA, through its Association Committee, and support the Museum and other legacy and memorial elements of the Regiment, in order to safeguard the traditions, heritage and values of the RGJ, and foster comradeship between veteran fellow Riflemen.
•
RGJA Association Committee: The RGJA Association Committee coordinates and controls, as required, the Association and Branch activities, and makes recommendations to the RGJA Council on both activities and funding. It is chaired by the Chairman of the RGJA and its membership is set out in the Rules of the RGJA; it is supported by the following sub committees: Executive Committee
In 2015, Royal Green Jacket Regimental Association (RGJRA) with its management committees was consolidated into the Royal Green Jacket Association (RGJA), with a Council and Association Committee as the means to run and administer the organisation, and to provide the necessary governance. The RGJ Museum remains an independent Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), but on Regimental Association matters reports to and is a member of the RGJA Council. The RGJ Ladies Guild was absorbed into The Rifles benevolence structure. A more detailed account is at Annex A.
• Others
The Management Plan over the previous three years. The intent is that a residual sum – £100k – will remain in the RGJ Management Fund to be transferred to The Rifles at an undetermined date in the future. This will be a decision taken by the RGJA Council, to merge the RGJA into The Rifles Association, in order to continue to support veteran RGJ Riflemen and their successors. Additional capital drawdown can only take place with the approval of the RGJA Council.
A three-year funding allocation forecast is to be updated and approved annually by the RGJA Council.
Funding will be allocated annually by the RGJA Council based on the priorities below, but understanding that Association social events should have a self-funded element, and that financial benevolence is now the remit of The Rifles Benevolent Trust. Support to living veteran Riflemen in meeting the objectives above is the overriding priority:
•
Funding Priorities
• Support to other activities as appropriate
Annual Budget
• To bring to the notice of all persons who are serving or who have served with the Regiment, the existence of the RGJA and to encourage and sustain membership of the RGJA.
To implement a Communications Plan for and between veterans through the RGJA website and by the publication of an annual journal/ Ezine(s).
Royal Green Jackets Association 13 RGJ
Support as required to other RGJA and Regimental events as appropriate, including:
• Officers’ Widows lunch
20 November 2020
•
• Branch annual grants (tbc)
RGJA Association Committee Objectives
• To support other RGJA and Regimental activities as the RGJA Council deems appropriate.
•
• Support the publication of an annual RGJA journal/Ezine(s).
RGJA Association Committee Its purpose is to provide the means whereby Riflemen of all ranks who are serving, or have at anytime served in the Regiment can continue to be part of the “Green Jacket Family” through maintaining contact with the Regiment and friends.
• Remembrance Day
• Contribute to RGJ Museum running costs until its future is clearly determined.
To implement the objectives and policies set out by the RGJA Council.
• Senior Riflemen’s lunch
• Maintain a regimental website and database.
• Subsidise the annual Veterans’ Reunion and Officers’ Dining Club dinner.
• Maintain the Regimental memorial at the NMA and Winchester Garden of Remembrance.
To provide an environment through which past members of the Regiment can get together and maintain contact with each other and the wider Regimental family. This is achieved through the establishment of Association Branches in all parts of the United Kingdom and abroad, where this is feasible, to foster a bond of comradeship between all who have served as Riflemen in the RGJ in any capacity whatsoever.
• To encourage attendance at and organise social and commemorative events either centrally or through the Regional Branches.
• To organise the Veterans’ Reunion, which will be held annually, normally on the second weekend in July, at a venue to be decided by the Association Committee; and the Officers’ Club dinner; and the NI Veterans event at the NMA.
• To maintain the Regimental Memorial at the NMA and the Garden of Remembrance at Winchester.
• Measures to increase membership of the RGJA.
• Based on the priorities for spending, to bid to the RGJA Council annually for an allocation of resources to support the activities of the Association and its Branches.
•
•
The Council and Association Committee
• Associate
To act as the Association’s managing board to manage its activities. Its purpose and objectives are set out in the RGJA annual management plan to: supervise and coordinate the work of the RGJA, with power to spend money within the limits authorised annually by the Council.
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The Royal Green Jackets Association 14 Rules for the RGJ Association
It shall consist of:
•
•
•
•
•
•
The Association Committee
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The appointments of Chairman, Deputy Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Secretary, Association Website/Database Manager and members of the Committee are made in accordance with this rule:
The Treasurer and Membership Secretary are not required to have served in the RGJ. He or she shall be paid an honorarium, agreed by the Council, for services rendered. This post could be merged, if circumstances require in the future, with the Secretary of the Association Committee. The Webmaster is a member of the Association.
Appointments
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Composition
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Composition
The Committee, formed of members of the Association approved by the Council, six members of which are required to form a Quorum, shall consist of:
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The Council The Association Committee The Regional Branches throughout the United Kingdom The Overseas Branches made up of ex-serving members of the RGJ and Affiliated Regments.
The Chairman The Vice Chairman
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The Secretary The Treasurer The Membership Secretary The Webmaster
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The webmaster
The Secretary and not more than two other members of the RGJA Association Committee
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The Council, four members of which are required to form a Quorum, shall consist of:
The Council
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The Chairman and Vice Chairman are retired RGJ officers and are appointed by the Council. Their terms of office shall be for a period normally not less than three years. The Secretary should be a retired RGJ officer, preferably on the Regimental Headquarters staff.
The incoming President is a retired RGJ officer selected by the outgoing President and endorsed by the Council.
Rules for The Royal Green Jackets Association (As at November 2020)
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The President of the Association as chairman The Chairman of the Association Committee An elected representative of the Association’s Branches
The Officers’ Dining Club The RGJ (Rifles) Museum Members Honorary Members
To act as the Association’s governing board to determine Regimental and Association policy issues. Its purpose and objectives are set out in the RGJA annual management plan, to: agree the drawdown of the RGJ Management Fund, and allocate grants annually as required to the RGJA Committee and the RGJ (Rifles) Museum to meet the objectives of the Council.
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A representative of the former Regiments
The Editor of Swift & Bold
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At least one representative from each of the Branches making up the Association. A representative from the RGJ (Rifles) Museum “in attendance”. Representatives from sub committees as required.
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The Chairman of the RGJ (Rifles) Museum The Chairman of the RGJ Officers’ Club
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• A President, Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and Council should manage the affairs of the Branch, additional offices being added where Annuallyrequired.each branch should hold its Annual General Meeting prior to the Association Committee Meeting in April at which accounts should be passed, at least one social evening or similar event, and one church parade, or a parade to place a wreath on a war memorial.
Annually each branch should hold its Annual General Meeting prior to the Association Committee Meeting in April at which accounts should be passed, at least one social evening or similar event, and one church parade, or a parade to place a wreath on a war memorial.
Branch subscriptions are left to the discretion of the Branch. A balance sheet should be prepared annually and a copy of the account sent to the Association Treasurer. Overseas Branches Overseas Branches may frame their own rules, provided that they are consistent with the good conduct of the undertaking.
General Rules for Branches
Decisions
The Rules for the
• The Association Committee will elect annually a branch representative to be a member of the Council.
• Others as required
A branch is responsible for framing its own rules, on which the following items should be included:
Except as is provided in Rule 18 any matter requiring the decision of the Council or Association Committee shall be decided by a simple majority of members of those committees attending a meeting of which due notice shall have been given to all members of the Council or Association Committee and at which a quorum is present. The Chairmen shall on all questions on which a vote is taken, whether under this sub-rule or under Rule 18, have a second or casting vote.
• The Association Committee shall appoint new members of the Committee as required.
The Council and Association Committee may appoint sub-committees for special purposes when required. Membership of any such sub-committee shall be restricted to members of the Association, and will include:
Postal Voting
In relation to a matter requiring the decision of the Association Committee pursuant to Rule 18 a member of the Association Committee who is unable to attend the meeting of the Association Committee called to consider such matter may cast his vote in writing to the Secretary sent by recorded first class post not less than seven days before such meeting. Any vote so cast shall be deemed to have been cast at such meeting.
The Council and Association Committee shall meet at least twice in each calendar year. The Council shall hold an Annual General Meeting, not later than 30 April in each year, to consider the audited accounts of the Association and at such other times, as it shall deem appropriate. Accounts shall be approved by the Council. Meetings may be held virtually, using the Association’s Zoom account.
Royal Green Jackets Association 15
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• Branch Members must be paid-up Members of the RGJA (currently under review).
Meetings
• Branch Representatives are elected by the individual Branch membership.
• Annual Reunion
• Officers’ Club
Sub-Committees
RGJ Association
Executive Committee
• Communications – Website/IT/Journal
Branches Branches may be formed in any part of the United Kingdom, or abroad, where there exists sufficient numbers of persons who have served in the Regiment or in any Affiliated Regiment to warrant formation. As a general rule, a Branch should not be formed with an initial membership of less than 15 members. Branches will not be recognised until the Association Committee has approved their formation. Membership of Branches must be open to all persons who have served in the Regiment or in any Affiliated Regiment. Branches may also elect to invite non-Service members to join if it is in their interest to do so and they will be made either Honorary or Associate members (Rule 13).
Definitions Definitions used to describe the components that make up the Association are:
The Membership Secretary’ mean the person responsible for managing the collation of the of the membership database and the collection of subscriptions pursuant to Rule 4d.
The Association Database
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The Association consists of a President and various categories of members as detailed below:
• ‘The Rules’ mean these rules as amended from time to time.
• ‘The Effective Date’ means the date of the adoption of these Rules.
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Membership of the RGJA
• ‘The Regiment’ means the regiment formally known as The Royal Green Jackets. ‘Affiliated Regiment’ means a regiment or military organisation designated as an Affiliated Regiment of the former Royal Green Jackets. ‘The Association’ means the Royal Green Jackets Association (RGJA). ‘The Council’ means the Association governing committee establishe d by Rule 2. ‘The Association Committee’ means the Association managing committee established by Rule 3. ‘The President’ means the person who is appointed President of the Association and chair man of the Council pursuant to Rule 4a. ‘The Chairman’ means the person who is appointed chairman of the Association Committee pursuant to Rule 4b. ‘The Secretary’ means the person appointed as Secretary of the Association Committee pursuant to Rule 4c. ‘The Treasurer’ means the person appointed as the accounting officer for the Association pursuant to Rule 4d. ‘The Webmaster’ means the person appointed to manage the Association’s on line presence and its database pursuant to Rule 4e.
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The Royal Green Jackets Association 16 Rules for the RGJ Association
The Association’s Database is an integral part of its management. It is overseen by the Webmaster and the Membership Secretary who report directly to the Chairman.
20 November 2020 Individual Donations: Anonymous • Nick Addyman • Robert Altham • Paul Ambrose • Crispian Beaty • Ray Bennett Mark Borrigdon • Thomas Bowring • Paul Bristow • Roy Brown • Peter Casson-Crook • Michael Chataway John Cohen • Marius Coulon • John Coleman • Patrick Dalby • Don Donaldson • Roger Downton • Ted Evelegh Alun Felix • Chris Gates • Charles Goodheart • Nick Haynes • Christopher Hill • Larry Hocking • Stephen Horsley Ian Jackson • Sidney H Jacobs • Toby Joll • Antony Karslake • Christopher Kemball • Michael Koe Rod le Couilliard • London Branch RGJA • Mac McDonald • Sean McEvoy • Gary Miller • John Penteath David C Pitman • Chris Pond • Alex Robert • Simons Price • Nicholas Prideaux • David Roberts MC • Bill Russell Mark Scrase Dickins • John Short • Harry Steel • Glen Sturman • Leslie Thacker • Robin Thorne Peter Trustrum-Eve • Hugh Vernon • Barney Vivian • Niall Warry • Bob Wright Corporate Advertising: Andy Hayes – Solid Sheds Nick Haynes – Chosen Man Media Dee-Day White – Skinners Sheds
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• Associate Member. Any member of another cap badge who served on the posted strength of a RGJ unit, Headquarters or Establishment, persons with ‘Riflemen’s interests at heart’, wives, widows, relatives or other Service personnel, may apply for Associate Membership. Associate Membership is approved by Branch Committees and confirmed by the Association Committee. Associate members pay the annual membership subscription.
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• Full Member (Life or Annual). All former (Regular and Territorial) members of the RGJ, regardless of rank, have absolute right of membership to the RGJA and its Branches provided they pay an annual membership subscription.
• Honorary Member. Honorary Members are those persons who by virtue of their position, title or rank can or do good for the Association. Examples are Mayors, High Sheriffs, local businessmen, local dignitaries. Honorary membership is proposed by Branches and authorised by the Association Committee. Honorary members do not pay an annual subscription.
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• Resignation
Association Funds
Queens Year
Subscriptions
A lapsed member may at any time apply for re-admission to membership.
The Royal Green Jackets Association 17 RGJ Membership Cessation / Queens New Year Honours List 2021
Amendment of the Rules of the Association
• The Annual Subscription for membership of the Association shall be such sum as shall from time to time be determined by the Association Committee and endorsed by the Council.
Termination of the Association or Individual Branches. If at any time the Council shall decide that the Association, or any individual Branch of the Association, is no longer capable of operating effectively in upholding the ethos or legacy of the RGJ, it may determine that the Association, or an individual Branch, be dissolved. Any funds remaining after providing for the cost of dissolution and any expenses incurred or likely to be incurred in connection therewith be paid or transferred to the successor Regiment (The Rifles) in the case of the Association, and to the RGJA in the case of a Branch. Any matter requiring the decision of the Council pursuant to this rule shall be decided by a two-thirds majority vote taken at a meeting at which a quorum is present.
TomMBEWood ex work with the charity: help4homelessveterans
2RGJ has been awarded an MBE in the Queens New Year Honours list for his
HughBEMMaclean Vernon for services to the Eardisland (Herefordshire) community.
The Association will be financed by annual subscriptions, donations received from outside sources and by an Annual Grant made by the RGJA Council.
Expulsion
• Expulsion
New
If at any time the Council shall decide that a member of the Association is no longer upholding the ethos and standards expected of the Regiment, it may determine that the member be expelled from the Association. Such action shall be decided by a two-thirds majority vote taken at a Council meeting at which a quorum is present.
Annual subscriptions will be paid to the Association Membership Secretary either individually or through group payment by Branches on joining and subsequently on the anniversary date of their joining the Association. Subscriptions will be decided by the Association Committee and paid as follows:
Rules for The Royal Green Jackets Association Membership Cessation
• There will be no Membership Joining Fee.
Once a year the Council shall decide on the allocation of funds for the following year, based on the funding priorities in the RGJA Management Plan, and the total return income figure it agrees annually. The Association Committee shall then have the power to make payment in respect of expenses incurred with-in these limits, subject to any direction, which may from time to time be given by the Council, but any proposed additional or unforeseen expenditure shall first be submitted to and approved by the Council.
The accounts of the Association shall be audited annually. Members of the Council and Association Committee will be entitled to receive copies of the full accounts but a copy of the annual audited accounts will be posted on the Association website together with the accounting officer’s report.
The Rules may be altered or added to by a twothirds majority vote of the Council taken at a meeting at which a quorum is present.
Cessation
Honours List 2021
Membership will cease by:
• Subscription falling in arrears
Represents those awards presented in the Queen’s Birthday and the New Year ’s Honours those awards presented as a result of operations undertaken by the Royal Green Jackets during the years 1966 2007
we
As a regiment time in the order of battle was short but certainly left our mark on history. the years 1966 – 2007 there were only six years when no operational awards were presented. longest commitment was of course to Northern Ireland and this is reflected in the large number of operational awards for the earlier part of Op Banner 1969 through to 1980 which can be seen in the graph below.
our
During
123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 79 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07
3132
1966
The Royal Green Jackets Association 18 RGJ Honours and Awards
Our
there
1966
As a regiment time in the order of battle was short but we certainly left our mark on history. During the years 2007 were only 6 years when no operational awards were presented. longest commitment was of course to Northern Ireland and this is reflected in the large number of operational awards for the earlier part of Op Banner 1969 through to 1980 which can be seen in the graph below.
Represents
our
Our
Royal Green Jackets Honours and Awards - 2007 those awards presented in the Queen’s Birthday and the New Year’s Honours those awards presented as a result of operations undertaken by the Royal Green Jackets during the years 1966 - 2007
The Royal Green Jackets Association
Lists282930 Represents
RepresentsLists
The Royal Green Jackets
18
Honours and Awards 1966 – 2007
The Royal Green Jackets Association 19 RGJ Honours and Awards The Royal Green Jackets Honours and Awards 1966 – 2007 The Royal Green Jackets were awarded the following during the years 1966 – 2007. They are listed in order of seniority as detailed in the London Gazette published 11th January 2019. Numbers in brackets denote operational awards in Borneo, Op Banner, Oman, Brunei, South Atlantic, Op Granby, Former Republic of Yugoslavia, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, Democratic Re-public of Congo and Iraq. 19 The Royal Green Jackets Association Royal Green Jackets Honours and Awards 1966 - 2007 PeerageLife 2 DCM 3 (3) GCB 6 MC 10 (10) KCB 17 MM 8 (8) CB 16 QGM 3 (3) KCVO 2 BEM 27 (3) CVO 1 QVRM 1 GBE 2 MSM 3 KBE 3 TD 2 CBE 28 (11) TA MedalEfficiency 4 DSO 4 (4) MID 121 (121) (1 posthumously) OBE 34 (14) QCB Est 1994 worn in the same manner as MID 4 (4) (1 posthumously) MVO 1 QCVS Est 1994 worn in the same manner as MID 16 (16) MBE 69 (26) Sultan of Oman ’s Distinguished Medal for Gallantry 1 Sultan of Muscat Commendation 1 Sultan of Muscat’s Distinguished Service Medal 1 Royal Humane Society Bronze Medal 1 The Order of Mahkota Brunei (3rd Class) 1 The Royal Green Jackets were awarded the following during the years 1966 2007, they are listed in order of seniority as detailed in the London Gazette published 11th January 2019. Numbers in brackets denote operational awards in Borneo, Op Banner, Oman, Brunei, South Atlantic, Op Granby, Former Republic of Yugoslavia, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo and Iraq.
The Royal Green Jackets Association 20 The Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum
The Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum
When thethewasThechallengingbethathavefewtimeAssociationupdatedMuseumthelastthethislastyear,ofuswouldbelieved2020wouldsuchayear.Museumclosedtopublicduetopandemicfor a number of months and is unlikely to open again until May 2021. Whilst the loss of income has been concerning we have managed to cut back on administrative costs, on line shop sales have held up and our Zoom talks have proved increasingly popular generating valuable Atincome.thebeginning of last year we welcomed two groups of children to the Museum as part of the Arts Award Scheme. In January St Bedes School discovered different artforms on display during their visit, found out about the work of the artist Terrence Cuneo and then created paintings inspired by music and designed medals. Their work was displayed at the Museum in The Kincaid Gallery for all visitors to see. In February White Bee Learning Home Educators joined us to repeat the experience. We hope that later in 2021 we will be hosting more groups of budding young artists, pandemic permitting.
Lieutenant-Colonel D L Gilmour, 95th by Pierre Charles Cior
Currently on display in The Kincaid Gallery is a collection of miniature portraits from the Museum’s reserve collection. The artworks date from the early 1800’s and feature Riflemen and Light Infantrymen from each of the antecedent regiments. One of the items on display is a miniature of LieutenantColonel D L Gilmour of the 95th which was painted between 1815 and 1842 by the French artist Pierre Charles Cior. Dugald theGilmourLittlejoinedRegimentas a major in 1805; he saw service in the Peninsula for which he was awarded the Gold Cross. He bothcommandedthe2ndand 3rd Battalions during his lifetime. The reverse of the portrait has been decorated with locks of his hair formed into his initials. The miniature was purchased by the Museum Trustees with the aid of Grants from the Victoria and Albert Museum and the National Art-Collections Fund in 1981 for which we are most Thoughoutgrateful.the lockdown Eslpeth, our Assistant Curator, has been busy working from home keeping our online followers interested on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with fascinating facts about the Regiment, Museum artefacts and new items available from the online shop. The number of online followers has increased steadily during this period and the online shop sales have held up throughout the year. One new addition to our collection is Riflebear Ned, a special first edition collectible bear. He is exclusive to The Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum and is seen dressed in the uniform of the 95th Rifles. He has a swing tag telling the story of Sgt Edward (Ned) Costello – a well known Riflemen from the Peninsula War. Please visit the online shop to order.
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Royal Green Jackets Association 21 The
include: • 18
During closure this year the staff have continued with the refurbishment of the displays on the first floor. Three more cases have now been refreshed, labelling updated and a new graphics board installed. Further refurbishment of the ground floor is planned in 2021 where we hope to improve the museum entrance with a display that champions the Rifleman and also to celebrate Field Marshal Lord Bramall’s immense contribution to the Finally,Regiment.we were very sorry to hear that Dick Tennant had died. Dick was a Trustee of the Museum for many years retiring at the end of 2019. During that time he made a significant contribution to the financial aspects of the museum and we are all very grateful for his service and support. This is your museum celebrating the extraordinary contribution that Royal Green Jackets and Former Regiments have made to the Nation and preserving it for future generations. We want it to remain one of the best regimental museums in the country and welcome contributions and help particularly from former Green Jackets. So do get in touch if you are interested in helping with research, our displays or front of house and have some time to spare. You can also help in other ways:
• Join one of the Talks.
Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum
Curator: Mrs Christine Pullen curator@rgjmuseum.co.uk | 01962 828549 For sale from the RGJ Museum £80.00 The Royal Green Jackets cap badge statue made in bronze effect resin. Size: approx 9 inches including base
Please note: This item is sent directly from our supplier, so please allow up to 28 days for delivery.
January. Future
The
In September last year we restarted our programme of talks at the museum using Zoom. This had the benefit of reaching out to Friends, Riflemen and members of the public that might not normally have made the trip to the museum. Our first online talk was given by Rupert Wielock who served with 2 RGJ in the early 80s. Peter Johnson from the National Army Museum presented on BAOR in November, and our own Brigadier Hugh Willing gave a fascinating and well attended talk on War in the Green Mountains of Oman – Jebel Akdar 1958-59 in talks in the programme March: WW1 in Africa (Christopher Mellor-Hill) 20 May: In the Footsteps of Lawrence of Arabia (Charles Blackmore) 22 July: Iraq and Afghanistan – Lessons Learnt (Brig Ben Barry) talks are free to join, but we are most grateful for any donations received for arranging the presentation. Full details are on the Museum website and if you wish to join a talk then please email the curator for the link: curator@rgjmuseum.co.uk
The Royal
Finally, once we are through the lockdown, do call in at the Museum if you are in Winchester. You will always get a warm welcome. We look forward to seeing you.
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• Buy from the online shop.
• Consider leaving a small sum to the Museum Trust Fund in your will.
• Sign up on line as a Friend by using the Museum website – on the Home Page scroll down to ‘Information’ and ‘Supporting the Museum’; then scroll down to ‘Becoming a Friend’.
Brigadier (Retd) James Plastow CBE Chair RGJ (Rifles) Museum Trustees
A great day and although we were missing our 1 RGJ/KRRC/Rifles Veterans and the remainder of the branch it was a very successful event in the circumstances. No Beer was drunk due to the obvious and we went away for a well-earned ‘old mans’ afternoon nap’!
The Royal Green Jackets Association 22 Central England Branch Report
Look Forward to 2021 (fingers crossed. We look ahead as a branch in 2021 to a few events pencilled in – Go Kart Racing, a summer social, Greenstock, The Reunion and our famous Christmas knees up. As well as Greenstock the Branch are also the Association’s annual ‘lead’ on the Northern Ireland Veterans Parade held at the National Arboretum in Alrewas, Staffordshire on Saturday 11 September 2021. All Branch Secretaries should have a copy of the flier and an invite to all with refreshments afterwards all being well. We all look forward to not only getting back to normal but to meeting up with old friends and spinning the tales. Until then stay safe and we all see you on the flip side!
Central England Branch Report
The last time we were together collectively was for our Annual Christmas function in 2019 so The Central England Branch timing was impeccable in that we gathered in a small number to enjoy an ‘outside event day’ before the second lockdown was upon us. Nine members descended onto an outdoor pursuit centre in the Midlands to conduct Quad Biking, Axe Throwing and a 0.22 ‘Peaky Blinder’ style weapon range. A strange occasion and whilst social distancing we spent the next three hours getting wet and muddy but it was great to break up the monotonous but essential sitting at home on a Saturday scenario we are all encountering. The normal cleaning of hands, wearing of masks and being briefed on the event ensued. Split into groups for social distancing we went about our events. Group 1 attempted the Axe Throwing –although a slow start by 2 RGJ Veterans and much to the dismay of our 3 RGJ veterans overall it was acknowledged that the 2 RGJ veterans were of better aim with an axe, throwing knifes and large Sioux axes than the other Battalions. This was not well received by our ‘Cowboy friends’ but you can’t change the past can you – until next time! Group 2 went about their Quad biking and on their return, you could tell it was a tad muddy to say the least! However, in Green Jacket style there was laughter and banter, embarrassing photos and in one individuals’ case couldn’t see the track in front of him as his glasses were steamed up so it was like driving ‘Miss Daisy’! I can’t say that 2 RGJ shone on this event due to the glasses scenario but there was always the shoot to go. We all came together to conduct a ‘Peaky Blinders’ shoot. The civvie instructor was briefing us on the weapon systems and at the same time was shaking his head knowing there was some competitiveness that he had to try and quash! With four firers at a time hand guns and tommy guns were issued and as we progressed it was obvious that we were not going to hit a ‘barn door with a shotgun’ so decided to get a bit adventurous on the shooting! With kneeling positions, Leaning on beer barrels for support, a bit of fire and manoeuvre and the screams of ‘GUN EMPTY’ ensued and eventually emerged that although the 3 RGJ Veterans individually were of good eyesight and score the 2 RGJ Veterans were the overall winners of this event (certain members will obviously dispute that fact!).
In Memorandum to Branch Member: Rifleman Francis ‘Frank’ Hone 3 RGJ
The Royal Green Jackets Association 23 Central England Branch Report THE RE-LAUNCH CENTRAL ENGLAND BRANCH ROYAL GREEN JACKET ASSOCIATION AN EXTENDED HAND TO ALL 'LIKE MINDED RIFLEMAN' TO REJOIN/JOIN THE BRANCH TO KEEP THE TORCH OF THIS FINE REGIMENT SHINING! PAYING SUBS OF £10 PER YEAR ALLOWS US TO ADMINISTRATE THE BRANCH IN THE FORM OF STATIONERY, POSTAGE AND INSURANCE FOR EVENTS. WE INTEND TO RUN 4 6 EVENTS PER YEAR SUBSIDISED WHERE THE BRANCH CAN. THIS MINIMISES THE IMPACT IN YOUR POCKET! WE ARE OPEN TO IDEAS FROM BRANCH MEMBERS ON WHAT YOU WANT TO DO BUT IT MUST BE FOR THE GOOD AND BENEFIT OF ALL. OUR BRANCH IS FAMILY FRIENDLY AND WELCOMES WIVES AND PARTNERS TO ALL EVENTS AS WELL AS CHILDREN AT FAMILY EVENTS. CONTACT DETAILS FOR ANY INFO IS VIA MYSELF ON/AT Guy Mynett (Secretary CEB RGJA) Email CentralEnglandBranch@hotmail.compaymentMobileguymynett@icloud.comor07971511628of£10viapaypal or PM myself of Gaz Collins for bank details I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU ALL ON OUR NEXT GATHERING. VISIT OUR FACEBOOK PAGE FOR FUTURE EVENTS Veteran Not quite as SWIFT But just as BOLD
The London branch also organises many other social events throughout the year such as our Veterans Lunch, Battlefield tours, mini reunions (Black Button Club), our annual Ladies Dinner Night, and at least one charitable fundraising event. From our fundraising events held in 2014 - 2015, the sum of £10,000 was raised This was donated to the RGJ Museum’s Waterloo Appeal Fund, which covered the total costs for the commissioning of a new painting to mark the Bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo. This painting is on view at the Regimental Museum in Winchester. In 2016 the sum of £3,000 was raised for the cost of a regimental paving stone containing the regimental cap badge. The paving stone represents our regiment on the Heroes Square memorial at the National Arboretum. Over the years regular donations have been given to the RGJ Association to help towards the distribution of the annual Swift & Bold Magazine, and various other charities such as the KRRC Cadets, Help for Heroes, Care for Casualties and Combat Stress. This brings the overall figure of £61,000 donated from the London Branch to military charities over the last 12 years.
25th Anniversary
Honorary President Colonel George Smythe OBE Secretary Gary Driscoll Treasurer Maria NormanDriscollMorrison
London Branch Report Year
Calais Memorial Service Waterloo Painting by Jason Ash
The London Branch of the Royal Green Jackets Association was founded in 1995. Its aim is to reunite ex-serving soldiers of the regiment who generally live or work within the Greater London area. The members are made up of ex Regular and Territorial/Reserve soldiers of all ranks.
The
The branch normally has a very busy annual forecast of events, which includes representing the Royal Green Jackets Association at many regimental services and parades. These include: the Memorial Service for Sir John Moore held at St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Queen Victoria’s Rifles/ Kings Royal Rifle Corps/Rifle Brigade Memorial Service in Calais, the Royal Green Jackets Band Memorial Service in Regents Park; the Field of Remembrance Parade at the gardens of Westminster Abbey, and the Remembrance Sunday Parade at the Cenotaph in Whitehall.
Royal Green Jackets Association 24 London Branch Report
The Committee
The Royal Green Jackets Association 25 London Branch Report
2020, marked the 25th Anniversary of the founding of the London Branch. Back in 1995 a very small committee was first established and the two years that followed was taken up by building a large enough membership to start to organise a meeting and a social gathering. In the early years the membership was made up of a majority of 4 RGJ veterans, as at that time the ex reserves were much easier to contact and recruit by spreading the word around the four Drill Halls in London as most of the serving members at that time were still in touch with friends that had left or retired. Eventually with the help of technology such as mobile phones, the Internet and the Association newsletter and website the secretary was able to promote the newly formed branch on a larger scale, reaching out to ex regulars in the Greater London area and encourage more veterans to join.
In the early days the London Branch relied mainly on the use of the facilities at both Davies Street, and Mile End Drill Halls to hold their meetings and social gatherings. The smaller bar rooms were more than adequate to accommodate the number of members and guests at that time. However, as the membership grew, then the larger halls were used. These days the Victory Services Club, the Union Jack Club and the restaurant at 86 St James’s, are used.
The London Branch now has 210 members made up of ex regulars and ex Reserves from all the battalions of the regiment. The annual subscription for membership is £15, this fee helps towards the cost of postage and helps towards the deposits for venue hiring and booking battlefield tours etc. Veterans of the Rifles are also welcomed as members.
One of the first big events that the London Branch was involved with, was in 1999, when for the very first time in our history, the Royal Green Jackets Association took part in the Veterans march past at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday. The association have continued to play a big part in this event for the past 22 years, and to date is by far the largest Infantry contingent on parade. As the years went on the number of annual events increased. We held two annual Golf competitions and a Clay pigeon shoot. These were great days out, but as we were unable to book golf courses and Clay pigeon ranges on weekends but due to the fact that most of our members were still working full time we couldn’t get enough members to attend
Remembrance Day 2009
Ladies Night 2020 Veterans Day Lunch 2012 Lisbon, Portugal 2007 Arnhem 2016
The
In May each year, our members regularly attend the QVR, KRRC and RB 2nd World War Memorial service in Calais. In June we hold our Veterans Day lunch, held at 86 St James’s, a very high-quality carvery restaurant which is situated in St James’s Street and very close to the St James’s Palace. In July everyone is encouraged to attend the regimental Association reunion at Winchester and on the nearest Sunday to the 20th July, the members are also encouraged to attend a wreath laying ceremony at the RGJ band memorial at Regents Park. Every September a Battlefield Tour is organised, and over the past 20 years the following battlefields have been visited: The Somme, Ypres, Arras, Calais, Dunkirk, Normandy, Pegasus Bridge, Arnhem, Berlin, Colditz, Monte Cassino, The Battle of Waterloo, and Lisbon in Portugal.
during the week. It wasn’t feasible to continue for just a few members so we have decided to put these competitions on hold until we are all retired from work and have more time on our hands. Every January members attend the memorial service for Sir John Moore which is held in St. Paul’s Cathedral, In March we hold The Ladies Dinner Night held at the Victory Services Club at Marble Arch. Although it’s called ‘Ladies Dinner Night,’ it’s not just for the ladies and is always very well attended. It is also a black-tie event, and very similar to a Officers/Sergeants mess ball.
Royal Green Jackets Association 26 London Branch Report
In January, 25 members attended Sir John Moore’s Memorial Service in St Paul’s Cathedral. A regimental poppy wreath was laid by our secretary, on behalf of the RGJ Association. Members of the KRRC and Rifles were also present to lay Inwreaths.March just before the COVID restrictions, we managed to hold our annual Ladies Dinner Night at the Victory Services Club. As always it was a fantastic evening. The Carisbrooke hall is the perfect place for this event, the food and service is always top class. The KRRC Cadets assist us at the reception and are there to usher people to the cloak room and the reception room. We were also very privileged and grateful to have in attendance five buglers from the Buglers Association who not only provided us with the dinner calls, but they also entertained us with regimental marches and everyone’s favourite High on a Hill. After the formal dinner the ladies raffle draw took place where the only one prize, is a ladies silver regimental brooch. Then the party begins and everyone is up on the dance floor until the early hours of the morning.
The Royal Green Jackets Association 27 London Branch Report
In November, as mentioned earlier, the secretary organises the security passes for 200 members of the RGJ Association, to attend the Cenotaph Parade at Whitehall on Remembrance Day. This is followed by a mini reunion at the Theodore Bullfrog pub near Charing Cross Station.
For everyone 2020 was a very strange year, because due to COVID we only managed to get to organise three events.
In December a Christmas lunch is arranged for members and wives/partners. And this takes place at 86 St James’s restaurant. It’s always a great atmosphere and a perfect way to begin the festive season with close friends. Occasionally we hold what’s known as a Black Button Club, this is usually an informal social night, to catch up with others over a pint or two. These are usually held in the bar at the Royal Hospital Chelsea. 2020 Newsletter (COVID Year)
Unfortunately from April through to December the COVID restrictions did not allow us to attend the memorial service at Calais, the veteran’s lunch, the battlefield tour and the Christmas lunch. However we did manage to hold a very short wreath laying ceremony at the RGJ Bandstand at Regents Park in July. For Remembrance Sunday, a few of our members managed to attend their local memorials and laid regimental poppy wreaths on behalf of the Association.
Remembrance Sunday Reunion Ex RGJ Buglers Ladies Dinner 2020 Regents Park Band Memorial 2020
The Royal Green Jackets Association 28 London Branch Report John Coen OBE at the RBL VC GROVE Remembrance Sunday 2020 Michael Kenevane Remembrance Day in South London 2020 Remembrance Day in Essex 2020 Remembrance Day in New Romney 2020
The Royal Green Jackets Association 29 London Branch Report By the time this article appears in this magazine, the nation will still be on some form of COVID restriction and already we have had to cancel the first three events on the 2021 forecast of events. Let’s hope that by June/July we can all get together again. One good thing to happen in 2020 was the completion of our secretary’s bar in his garden. It is called Bramalls named after Field Marshal Lord Bramall. A future venue to hold Committee meetings. Remaining Forecast of Events 2021 (subject to Covid restrictions) • Friday 25 June Veterans Day Lunch, 86 St. James’s • Saturday 10 July RGJ Association Reunion, Winchester • Sunday 18 July RGJ Band Memorial Service, Regents Park • Thursday 23 - Sunday 26 September Battlefield Tour, Normandy • Sunday 14 November Remembrance Sunday, Cenotaph • Friday 17 December Christmas Lunch, 86 St. James’s Thank you to all of our members for their continued support throughout the last 25 year. Gary Driscoll In Memoriam Sadly over the last 12 months, we have lost the following members of the London Branch: • Fred Boomer-Hawkins • Judith Shea (Partner of Micheal Kenevane) • Bill-Jumbo-Hogan • Martin Pike • Johnny Boynes • Steve Smith Our thoughts are with their families and friends. Brammall’s
The usual thereforepandemictowasremembranceLiverpoolservicecancelledduetheongoingCovid2020.Itwasdecidedto hold a virtual Service of October.recordedwhichRemembrancewaspre-on8thofOurpresident Sean McEvoy and our Chairman Dave Judge attended this event in October The online service was conducted with all measurescovid-safeinplace, and was officiated by The Rector of Liverpool, The Reverend Canon Dr Crispin Pailing. In attendance were civic AndersonofincludingdignitariestheMayorLiverpoolJoeandtheLord Mayor of Liverpool, Councillor Anna Rothery. They were joined by a small number of key representatives from the military, ex-service organisations and faith leaders. It included a virtual parade made up of footage
Virtual Service
supplied by regiments and bywasacrossassociationsLiverpoolandaccompaniedmusicfromThe Band of The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment. The Service also reflected the city’s diverse communities and their contribution to Britain’s war effort, with a whensubsequentWarservedserviceemphasisparticularonblackpersonnelwhoduringWorldOneandtheirtreatmenttheyreturnedto the UK and Liverpool. A spokencommissionedspeciallywordpiece by Liverpool poet, andsinger-songwriterrapper,producerDaniel
The Royal Green Jackets Association 30 North West Branch Report
North West Branch Report
Sebuyange, known professionally as Blue Saint, was also performed and released in the run up to the service to express the deep significance of Remembrance Sunday, especially during the current health pandemic.
Our president Sean McEvoy and our Rifles Link (communications member) Dave Crossley, attended our memorial at the rear of St George’s hall here in Liverpool. As we were unable to parade as a branch, which is our norm for Remembrance Sunday. Sean laid our RGJ wreath and Dave laid a Rifles wreath. Our RGJ monument is a relatively small one in the shape of a book of remembrance. A big thanks to Dave Crossley who attended and cleaned up the area a day or two prior to the short wreath laying ceremony.
On Remembrance Sunday 2020 following all Covid restrictions in place at the time.
St. John’s Gardens
The Royal Green Jackets Association 31 North West Branch Report
At 11am on Sunday, residents were asked to observe the two-minute silence at home or on their doorstep, in line with the wishes of the Royal British Legion. Other activities that took place to support the remembrance commemorations saw key city buildings light up red from 8-11 November –including Cunard Building, Liverpool Town Hall and St George’s Hall. Our president laid a wreath for the Rifles, whilst our chairman laid a wreath for the RGJ.
Oxford Branch Report
The Royal Green Jackets Association 32 Oxford Branch Report
As I am sure as with all other branches since the last issue of ‘Swift & Bold’ it has been to say the least a difficult year. In late March 2020 all the forward planning for the year ahead was suddenly put-on hold. Our spring lunch in April was the first casualty, followed by the Band Concert in July. Despite being optimistic the Reunion at Winchester was off, along with the Reunion that is held at Edward Brooks Barracks Abingdon by the Branch. All was not doom and gloom though. We still managed our Annual pilgrimage on June 6th to the grave of Major John Howard observing the Covid rules, to remember the action at Pegasus Bridge in 1944. There was a service of sorts, conducted by the ‘Vicar of the Day’ our Chairman Terry Roper, thankfully no thunderbolts appeared. By chance Penny Bates the daughter of John Howard, and her family arrived to tend the grave as they were not able to make their annual pilgrimage to Normandy. It was an honour that Penny agreed to lay our wreath along with her own. Afterward she chatted to members of the branch and expressed her gratitude for our Annual Pilgrimage and service.
On VJ Day in August despite there being no formal events in Oxford about fifteen Branch members gathered at the War Memorial in St Giles, Oxford and held our own ceremony and were joined by the Lord Mayor of Oxford Cllr Craig Simmonds who assisted our Chairman to lay a wreath in memory of those from the Oxford & Bucks who fought in the Far East. Many members of the public who were passing by stopped to pay their respects and observed the Silence with us. It was also noticeable that cars and buses killed their engines as they passed us.
backwasbrokenCemetery.WarCommonwealthGravesTheoriginalbroughtbyRobert Drummond –Hay and Ingram Murray in the boots of their cars and sat for a while on a pallet in Edward Brooks Barracks, Abingdon. It is hoped to have a dedication service as soon as we can.
I will end by thanking our brilliant Branch Committee for keeping things going, Andy Bowes, Andrea Isham, John Hudson, Geoff Day, and our President Brigadier Robin Draper. Robin’s support for us and for maintaining the Turning of The Pages service as a Viral Service and is legendary.
I must also thank 7 Rifles for allowing us to use the facilities at Edward Brooks Barracks.
No trip Westminsterto Field of
OnPlot.Remembrance
As Captain Tom said: “Tomorrow will be a better day” Let us hope so – Terry
As we hopefully look forward to getting back to normal and enjoying each other’s company again we should also remember those of the branch who have passed away in particular our WW2 Veterans. They are getting less by the year and we should cherish their memory and enjoy listening to the stories that those still with us tell. We are also interacting with The Rifles but have no plans to join their Association soon, as with the Oxford & Bucks joining us it will be a natural progression over time. We have however had Phil Evans as our liaison member with The Rifles at Edward Brooks Barracks.
The Royal Green Jackets Association 33 Oxford Branch Report
As I have mentioned last year, we managed to have a memorial to the old Cowley Barracks and an initiative by Phil a simple Act of Remembrance was held there at 3pm on the Sunday. This has received support and we now will include it in our calendar for subsequent years.
Sunday we replicated our Ceremony of VJ Day, and we were joined by Col Mike Montagu –The Rifles County Colonel of Oxfordshire. On both occasions Bugle Major Phil King and his proteges Sounded Regimental calls, Last Post and Rouse.
“WE WILLTHEM”REMEMBER
fewbranch,severalthisRemembranceyearforofthewitha ‘bevvies’ afterwards, but Terry Roper made the pilgrimage and planted crosses in memory of those who died in the Far East in the OBLI
We continue to make sure that the strong links of the Branch with the Oxford & Bucks are maintained and sanction physical reminders within the City. The small memorial plaque on the wall of the old Cowley Barracks, now a Student Campus, was enhanced to be more prominent thanks to the efforts of Clint Ross, who many of you will know. Clint also repaired, restored, and mounted the Cassel Memorial in the old Garrison Church in Beauchamp Lane, Cowley. This memorial was to the 4th Battalion Oxford & Bucks who took part in the defence of Dunkirk in 1940 to enable the evacuation of the BEF to take place. The memorial originally was by the North Gate below the Cassel WW1 memorial, but replaced because of weathering. The replacement is now in the Cassel
CommemorativeBranchServiceStMary’sintheCastle
On Sunday 8 November Glenn Ternent BEM and Bob Newman stepped down for Chairman and Secretary respectfully. Dave Ivatt took over as Chairman and Peter Thompson the Secretary role. The Branch and I would like to say a big thank you to Glenn and Bob for all their hard work over the last eight years to the Branch ensuring we are in a strong position now, setting a good platform for the incoming Chairman and Secretary. Day September 2020 Despite the terrible weather four members braved it and decided to play at Etchinghill Golf Club. Well we did play and after a couple of holes, where it rained, the rest of the day was fine. We had a good laugh and took the mickey out of each other. Thanks to Steve Rose, Aran McGee, Reg Longhurst and Fred Barrett for coming. Many thanks to Fred for providing the prizes. Reg won with 35 points. Aran came second with 33 and Steve did really well with 27.
The Branch’s Annual BBQ 13 June normally held at the Cricketers in River, Dover was cancelled this year. It was very sad having to make the decision to cancel this as it is very well attended, not only by Branch members and their families but also many fellow riflemen from throughout the country. for one August and 9 October A committee meeting was held on Saturday 29 August held in George Nash’s garden and Friday 9 October at the Phoenix Club. These meetings were to understand the current situation and the restrictions, thus allowing the Committee to vote and make numerous decisions regarding the Branch activities for the remainder of the year and to look at next year’s programme of events. Next year’s BBQ planning is already underway. The Phoenix Club in River, Dover has been booked.
Change in Committee
The Royal Green Jackets Association 34 South East Kent Branch Report
Events Cancelled Throughout the Year
The Branch has continued to try and make the best of the unfortunate situation not only this Country but the World is in with COVID. The Committee and Branch meeting for January was held in our Dover HQ (Dover Sea Angling Club) but the remainder of the scheduled meetings were cancelled for the year.
Committee Meeting 29
South
29
South East Kent Branch Report Association East Kent
Golf Society
Branch Church Service
• BBQ – June • Wimbledon Tennis – July • River Thames Cruise – September • Christmas Party • All Branch Meetings except for one • All Committee Meetings except
Dover Castle Twenty members of the Branch with their families joined the local congregation, attending the Church Service held in Dover Castle Church. Despite the current situation our own Padre, Sean Sheffield conducted the service. This has now become an annual event.
Royal Green Jackets Regimental
There was an excellent turnout of fellow Riflemen (in excess of 30) to say farewell finishing off with a toast with port to Alan and The Regiment.
It is with great sadness that Cpl Alan Stow passed away on 11 November 2020, he was a much loved Husband, Father, Grandfather, Rifleman and a Branch Member. He will be sadly missed by all. The funeral was held at Barham Crematorium on Monday 14 December 2020. Member of the branch acted as pallbearers.
The Royal Green Jackets Association 35 South East Kent Branch Report Remembrance Day Parades Dover District Council cancelled the formal parade in the Town Centre which the Branch normally attends. The Branch then took the decision to cancel the formal parade at 60th Rifles. Despite the Branch cancelling the parade, many chose to head out on their own, some with their families. Not surprisingly a few had the same idea and a small cohort choose the KRRC Memorial as the place to remember. Adhering to social distancing guidance, the Chosen Men held an impromptu two minutes silence. Forthcoming Events 2021 • 12 June BBQ at the Phoenix Club River, Dover • 10 July Winchester Reunion • TBC July Wimbledon Tennis • TBC July/August Greenstock • TBC September Thames River Cruise with Lunch • TBC September Branch Church Service in Dover Castle • 7 November Remembrance Service, Dover Town and 60th Rifle Monument • 27 November Christmas Party, at the Phoenix Club River, Dover Farewell to Alan Stow
The Royal Green Jackets Association 36
Let’s hope we can return to some semblance of normality in November.
Two days were made available, either the Sunday closest to the 11th or the actual 11th which fell on a Wednesday. We the Wiltshire branch decided to lay our wreath on the 11th and on the day a number of members paraded and paid our respects to the fallen.
Remembrance Day in Warminster 2020 A much muted affair this year due to the pandemic. The Warminster Council that oversees the War Memorial allocated organisations a time slot in which to lay their wreaths and pay their respects. They also restricted numbers able to attend and obviously we had to observe social distancing.
Wiltshire Branch Report Wiltshire Branch Report
The Royal Green Jackets Association 37 RGJ Veterans Reunion – Cancelled ROYAL GREEN JACKETS Veterans Reunion Saturday 10th July ATR Winchester Sir John Moore Barracks ROYAL GREEN JACKETS Veterans Reunion Saturday 10th July from 1400hrs ATR Winchester Sir John Moore Barracks SO22 6NQ ( Continuous Buses from City Ctr to ATR All Veterans, Families and Friends BuggyLimitedExternalParking:TheTheTheBuglersTheFeaturing:WelcomeRiflesBand&BuglesAssociationMilitaryWivesChoirBournemouthCarnivalBandMelodicBellesAsdirectedbyReunionStaffRangeCarParkBlueBadgeParkingFerryavailableCamping:AssaultCourseTrgAreaAccesstositefrom1400hrson9/7PermittingCOVID CANCELLED
On a wet and chilly evening in February 2020, 33 members of the Winchester & District branch happily met for its 33rd annual AGM, completely unaware of course that in a matter of weeks everything it had planned to do as a branch for the ensuing year would have to be either suspended or cancelled as the Covid-19 pandemic spread, and a whole new way of living (and sadly dying) was thrust upon the world. As the pandemic began to take hold and social restrictions were applied and social inactivity and isolation became the norm, our most worrying concern was the very real possibility that the branch would begin to experience ‘drift away’ of our membership. Unfortunately, this is a fairly common and well-known occurrence in organisations such as ours when regular contact is broken or extended for whatever reason. To prevent or at least counter this, it was decided right from the outset that whatever the future held we would make every effort to try and carry on as normal within whatever rules were in place at the time, and crucially to maintain the links with our membership through the issue of regular emailed updates and general notices of interest. At the time of writing this seems to be working fairly well as membership of our branch continues to remain steady with everyone positively looking forward to the future – whatever it Despiteholds. the limitations and restrictions placed on our lives the good old British bulldog spirit remained as strong as ever with branch members participating in or supporting whatever limited activity they could. For example, Lyndon one of our Associate members, and son of John Harper had planned to do a 3-day 100km Frontline Walk Challenge (Somme to the Menin Gate) in October in support of ABF fundraising, but unfortunately and inevitably as the pandemic took hold this had to be postponed until 2021. But being the person he is and instead of twiddling his thumbs and doing nothing, and to keep himself fit he volunteered to do the alternative Virtual ChallengeFrontlineinstead. This was an ABF sponsored initiative which consisted of a 100km walk visiting whatever memorials the wishedparticipantwithinthe UK. In Lyndon’s case it included the RB Memorial in London via the Unknown Warrior Plaque at Victoria Station and finishing at the KRRC memorial in Winchester. For his efforts Lyndon managed to raise an additional £400 to add to the £1,500 he had already raised for the 2020 Frontline Challenge which he will do again in 2021. Although the rest of us didn’t manage to do anything on that scale the branch still continued to attend, support and be involved in the Turning of the Pages Ceremonies in Winchester Cathedral whenever it was opened to the public. And finally, it would be remiss of me if I didn’t mention John Scott, John Harper and Derek Randell who as both branch and Honorary members of the ATR WO’s & Sgts Mess, have continued to maintain and enhance our regimental connection with Sir John Moore Barracks. Where this year and despite a total access ban by the Garrison Comd on all civilians entering military establishments on Remembrance Day, they still managed to get themselves invited in and to lay a wreath in the LD Memorial Garden on behalf of the Regiment. A garden I remind everyone, which despite all weathers, restrictions and usage still gets incredibly well looked after by Pat and May Low who are now both in their 80s! The Regiment has much to thank them for. On a less happier note we sadly lost Robert ‘Nobby’ Clarke (ex KRRC) this year. Nobby had been one of our founding members in 1985 and had been the branch secretary for a number of its early years. Missed but never forgotten!
Winchester & District Branch Report TOTP’s
Christmas
The Royal Green Jackets Association 38 Winchester & District Branch Report
2020
John F-D
The Royal Green Jackets Association 39 Winchester & District Branch Report
And finally, it has become very obvious to me that this pandemic and its lockdowns can cause considerable and serious mental issues. Well it has for me anyway as I struggle with writing this article and the variation of grammatical tenses it has presented me with. For example, I know this article will not be published until sometime in 2021, so do I write this now in the ‘past tense’? (which I think I sort of have). Or as we are still living through it right now, do I write it in the present tense? Or knowing it will carry on into 2021, do I write it in the future tense? For someone with only the academic level of ACE 1 this level of referencing time is really doing my head in, and as a consequence I think I have slightly lost touch with reality (no change there then). Mind you on the upside, this whole pandemic thing has also ensured it will stay in my memory for ever. Not least because of all the lovely new or refreshed words that have come back into our language such as Covid-19, hand gel, face masks, social distancing, furlough, and lockdown to name but a few. But the one thing I am sure we will remember most, will be the relatively new phenomenon of little square images pinging onto our computer screens, and within each tiny landscape a bemused, unshaven, and yet oddly familiar face staring back at us! Welcome to 2020 and the Zoom meeting!
Remembrance Day Memorial Garden ATR (W)John(s) Harper & Scott Wreath Laying 4 November 2020
SWIFT should in no way detract from the RGJ website, but rather supplement and support it with information and events that I hope many of you can relate to and want to be involved in.
Bugle Magazine and Fix Swords
In the media section of the website you can find assets that include a new monthly newsletter called Fix Swords! This gives a snapshot of what is going on across the battalions and regions with an RHQ update that fills in any wider initiatives. Also featured is the Bugle magazine, which now comes out twice-yearly and in a different format from previous editions at only 80 pages long. You can subscribe direct to Bugle (as one can for The Rifles Chronicle) through the Admin page on SWIFT for a hard copy, or alternatively read the online version through the site or via the app, which can be downloaded direct to your mobile phone.
Since the last edition of Swift & Bold, The Rifles has been undergoing a communications transformation. This has come about thanks to the vision of the Regimental Secretary, Lt Col (Retd) Peter Balls and supported by RHQ’s new Head of Engagement, Pete Corbin – both familiar with Swift and Bold. In addition, one of the Army Communications digital experts, Susannah Coombs has joined the team making an immediate impact on the regimental social media footprint. The following update should bring you up to speed on the other changes taking place.
The website has been transformed in a short period of time and will continue to evolve throughout the year. The navigation, layout and functionality have been improved with a focus on relevancy and content that we hope many veteran Green Jackets will be interested in. Particular areas of interest include the Regions, Media, Events, People, Welfare and Memoriam pages and I encourage you to sign up at: www.theriflesnetwork.co.uk and be active on the site if you aren’t already.
The Rifles
Royal Green Jackets Association 40 The Rifles
Swift – Regimental Association Website
RHQ is working on a new welfare section that will provide a host of new assets, videos and information to help our veterans and that includes those from forming and antecedent regiments.
The
The
Pete Corbin Rifles Head of Engagement
Regimental Update
Everyone recognises that the success of The Rifles is built on the foundations of the antecedent and forming regiments and are rightly proud of its historical connections. To capitalise on that we decided 18 months ago to raise the awareness of our UK-wide footprint, and national regiment tag by creating County and City brochures that clearly stated where we had a vested interest and historical connection. These were sent out to key influencers across business, politics and wider community who are connected to the regiment and I can report they have been extremely well received. If you are a member of SWIFT you can see them under the Regions pages or, if not signed up yet, through the front end of the site under Local Ties. The historical importance we give to our heritage of such outstanding infantry regiments like The Royal Green Jackets is obvious.
Naturally, over time any organisation will evolve, and The Rifles is no different. To recognise these changes our media team released an update called The Foundations and Characteristics of The Rifles that recognises what it means to be a 21st Century Rifleman. This update was born out of research by an all-ranks group of individuals from across the Regiment, who were asked what it meant to be a Rifleman in the modern day. Their findings constitute the groundwork of this important document which not only spells out what Riflemen stand for, but what it means to be in The Rifles, and identifies the key characteristics that make up their DNA and why they are so unique from other parts of the army. Many of these traits I know you will identify with as former Green Jackets.
Rifles Foundations and Characteristics
The Characteristics of The Rifles were sent out with an accompanying letter from the Colonel Commandant, General Sir Patrick Sanders to Riflemen serving away from the Regiment on duty as well as to key individuals within the Cadet, Association and Communities pillars. Over the
On the 1 February The Rifles recognised their 14th birthday by sending out a video message from the 8 battalions that was shared across our social media channels and the Regimental Association website, SWIFT. The cap badge might be different but the sense of identity and camaraderie amongst the Riflemen has not changed down the years and that shines through in the video.
coming year the battalions have been tasked with producing a short video around each of the seven Characteristics and you will see these being dripped through into RIFLES social media channels, and on SWIFT throughout 2021. Please keep a beady eye out for them. In addition, you will see a new page on SWIFT called #ProudRfn. Within it you can access further information about the initiative, including the hashtags mentioned.
Rifles County Brochures
Royal Green Jackets Association 41 The Rifles
The Regiment, now The Rifles, is fortunate to possess one of the great images which goes to the heart of its culture – JP Beadle’s ‘The Rearguard’. The mounted officer in the forefront is, of course, Brigadier General Robert ‘Black Bob’ Craufurd. With him are a group of 2/95th with the 2/52nd behind them. The 1/43rd are not depicted. An image so fundamental to the Regiment’s ethos, requires explanation. The title of this article arises as a result of the explanatory note beside the copy of the painting which hangs outside the Peninsular Room in the Cavalry & Guards Club (C&GC).
The Royal Green Jackets Association 42 The Rearguard
‘Myths and Misconceptions’ about ‘The Rearguard’
The C&GC’s narrative contains details which are inaccurate and misleading and so are being updated. ‘A’ (Hew Dalrymple Ross’s) Troop, RHA, now ‘A’ Battery (the Chestnuts) 1 RHA, has a wonderful bond and association with The Rifles via Craufurd’s Light Division, the 95th, the Rifle Brigade and the Royal Green Jackets. But that dates from the formation of the Light Division in 1810. ‘A’ Troop did not take part in the Corunna Campaign. They arrived in the Peninsula in June 1809 with the re-constituted Light Brigade under Craufurd. The only two RHA troops in Nick Haynes and Ted Evelegh
J P Beadle’s ‘The Rearguard’ C&GC description of ‘The Rearguard’
General Henry Evelegh Henry’s Military General Service Medal 1848 with clasp for the cavalry action at Benevente on 29 December 1808
Nick: While musing about the updating of the C&GC description, I ran into Ted Evelegh, who served in the Regiment, as had his father, Colonel Robin, my first CO, before him. Ted had a particularly strong reason to be intrigued by the painting because Henry Evelegh was his great great great grandfather.
The Royal Green Jackets Association 43 The Rearguard the Corunna Campaign were Captain Thomas Downman’s ‘B’ Troop and Captain Henry Evelegh’s ‘C’ Troop. So, the four guns depicted by Beadle in his painting are from one of these two troops. We know they’re horse artillery as all horse gunners were mounted so they could keep up with the cavalry they were designed to support. Some of the gunners in the painting are on foot but this is no surprise as, like the marching men, the number and condition of the cavalry and artillery draught horses diminished rapidly as the Campaign went on. No guns accompanied the two Light Brigades which went to Vigo. More on that later and on misconceptionanother that The Rifle Brigade commissioned the painting.
RHA Inset from ‘The Rearguard’
Ted: I had been told several times that the guns in the top left corner of the painting were ‘of your relative in the Chestnut Troop’. When I was in Celle in the 80s, the Chestnut Troop was based in Hohne. I asked our RHA FOO if he knew of my ancestor Henry but he replied it meant nothing. Nearly 40 years later, in 2019, I met Nick Haynes forming up to march at the Winchester Reunion. He set me right; Henry Evelegh was there and commanded ‘C’ Troop
Nick: I was able to tell Ted that I thought the guns were more likely to be Henry’s, but more research was required. But let’s first deal with another potential misconception arising from the C&GC narrative. Craufurd’s Light Brigade withdrew to Vigo with the King’s German Legion Light Brigade and with both brigades under the command of the Hanoverian, Charles von Alten. No artillery accompanied the two brigades to Vigo – all artillery went with the main body to Corunna. It’s therefore a reasonable assumption that the painting depicts the last instance when Craufurd’s Light Brigade and Inset of the 95th from ‘The Rearguard’
RHA. So it was an even chance whether the guns depicted were my ancestor’s or from ‘B’ Troop. He explained that Henry’s diary had been quoted in Nick Lipscombe’s ‘Wellington’s Guns’, published in 2013. So, I bought the book and finally, aged 57, read my great great great grandfather’s Corunna Campaign diary. It did not take long to read but had a profound effect. Two things struck me: the utterly abject and miserable conditions they had to endure which, of course, is well known, and that the Royal Horse Artillery was a relatively new arm (dating from 1793). Many of those who embarked at Corunna died on the way back to England. Henry was himself in terrible health. When he got to his home on the Isle of Wight, he was in such a dishevelled state that his own house staff turned him away saying “Mrs Evelegh doesn’t receive beggars”. Meanwhile ‘Mrs E’ herself heard her husband remonstrating loudly. She charged out of the front door into Henry’s arms. Henry rose to become Master General of the Ordnance. In later life he was said to like snuff, and his wife to chat: they were known as ‘snuffbox and chatterbox’!
The Royal Green Jackets Association 44 The Rearguard
The Royal Green Jackets Association 45 The Rearguard
the remainder of Moore’s rearguard, Edward Paget’s Reserve Division, were together.
Why would a Guards officer give such a valuable painting to the officers of the Rifle Brigade? Sir Charles’s son, Sir John, cannot explain how his father acquired it, for his family has no connection with the Rifle Brigade. He told me that his father married in 1934 so may not have had space in his quarter for it. However, I remember being told that the Rifle Brigade officers provided financial support to what was then the Cavalry Club in the Great Depression, so becoming eligible to be members of the Club. I put this to the Secretary of the C&GC that the RB officers had bought it from the Cavalry Club and that Captain Charles had fronted for them. This didn’t ring any bells. Back to the painting itself. The terrain is, according to Charles Blackmore, who walked the Retreat to Corunna route taken by 1/95th from Sahagun with a party of Riflemen in December 1983 and January 1984, more likely to be in the mountains well beyond Astorga. Von Alten and Craufurd’s brigades first separated from the rest of Moore’s rearguard (Edward Paget’s Reserve Division and Henry Paget’s cavalry) at Astorga and took the road through the mountains to Ponferrada via Foncebadon while the rest of the rearguard took the main highway via Bembibre. This suggests the scene depicted is at or around Astorga. The terrain may not be accurate, particularly if Beadle hadn’t visited Spain.
Description from the frame of the original of ‘The Rearguard’ in 2 Rifles Officers’ Mess in Lisburn
William Surtees, QM 2/95th, wrote as follows: “We continued our march from Astorga the same day [31 December] and reached at night the village of Fonceadon [Foncebadon], about 20 miles distant..... Till now our brigade had formed the rear of the Hanoverian, Brigadier-General Charles von Alten
Beadle was generally meticulous and produced a number of well-annotated sketches from his visit to Spain in 1912 to produce further Peninsular War images. There may exist somewhere the sketches he made for ‘The Rearguard’ which he painted probably in 1909 for exhibition at the Royal Academy in 1910. Unfortunately, we don’t even know if he went to Spain to sketch for it. Another misconception in the C&GC narrative is that it was commissioned by the Rifle Brigade. If it had been, someone like Willoughby Verner, who wrote the history of the 95th in the Peninsula, published in 1912, would have spotted one of Beadle’s few mistakes – the brass cover to the cleaning kit compartment in the stocks of the 95th’s rifles is on the wrong side – (thank you George Caldwell). At the time, Beadle was sufficiently established as an artist to choose to paint such a major canvas, confident that it would sell. But who bought it? How the painting came into the possession of the Rifle Brigade is something of a mystery. It was given to the Regiment in 1935 by a Grenadier Guards officer, Captain Charles Michael Dillwyn-Venables-Llewelyn, later to become the 3rd Baronet Venables-Llewelyn.
infantry, there being some cavalry in rear of us; but it was now determined that ours and the Light German Brigade under Brigadier-General Charles Alten, should strike off from the Great Road, and take the route for Orense and Vigo...
The Royal Green Jackets Association 46 The Rearguard
I beg to notice here, that both Mr Gifford and Mr Moore (Sir John’s brother), have fallen into a trifling error respecting the period of our separation from the main body, they both making us be detached before our arrival at Astorga, whereas it was not till we had passed a day’s march beyond it that we were sent off...The next day, the 1st of January 1809, we marched by a most difficult road through the mountains to Ponferrada...”
The routes from Astorga taken by the Light Brigades and Reserve Division converged at Cacabelos. The 2/95th’s Lieutenant John Cox is very clear in his journal entry for 1st January 1809 that “here [at Ponferrada, short of Cacabelos] it was decided that the main body of the army should retire by Lugo on Corunna and that our Bde. with the two Light Bns. K.G.L. [King’s German Legion] should fall back by the Vigo road to secure that Port and form a flanking column.” This was the last point that the two Light Brigades could have deviated from the route to Corunna. Consequently, the scene Beadle depicted could only have taken place near Astorga. However, Ted has another theory about the scene being at Bonillos, just beyond Astorga, but the detail only came to light recently, so more about that another time!
Beadle depicts the separation of the Light Brigades from the Reserve Division and the guns. He depicts a Highlander at the rear of the retreating body who could be from the 91st (later the Argylls) which, with the 1/28th (later the North Gloucestershires), were in Disney’s brigade of the Reserve Division. In the other brigade, Anstruther’s, were the 20th (later East Devonshires), 1/52nd and 1/95th. So, apart from the Corunna Campaign Map (reproduced by kind permission of Christa Hook)
Blackmore: One memory, if I may. We marched through the falling snow into the dark snow-lined streets of Astorga on New Year’s Eve 175 years to the hour nearly. A passing car stopped and we were asked if we were ‘los chaquetas verdes reales’? (the RGJ). It was the 10th Marquis de la Romana and the direct descendant of the 3rd Marquis who led resistance against the French. We were invited inside his castle in the centre of town. It was with pride that our young Riflemen stood by a roaring log fire at midnight with large balloons of fine brandy recalling their exploits marching the route since Sahagun seven days ago. Answering the Marquis’s questions as to how it was being done, one Rifleman said: “We are recreating the Retreat exactly as it took place to the day and the events; except for fighting the French, of course”. To which the Marquis responded: “Well, please do not rape my staff and burn down my castle as the retreating British troops did on this night 175 years ago!” Much shared laughter and more brandy It would be super to hear from anyone who might know more about ‘The Rearguard’ and the scene depicted. Please contact us via: nickhaynes51@gmail.com
The last word in this tale must go to Charles
With the growth of social media, it has become noticeable that the board is not always used, instead notifications are being left on Facebook etc. Not everyone uses Facebook, however, therefore can I ask that if you are reporting the death of a comrade, you also post it to The ‘In Memoriam’ Board
Thank you, Kevin Stevens (Editor) Swift and Bold
The Royal Green Jackets Association 47 The Rearguard / The ‘In Memoriam’ Board
All that is required is name and date. Details such as number, rank, Bn(s) served are not necessary though helpful. Any problems please contact me on: admin@rgjassociation.info
The RGJA website runs three message boards the most important being The ‘In Memoriam’ board. This lists the names of those who have gone on to the FRV, it also gives those who wish an opportunity to share a memory of the person with others.
Highlander The ‘In Memoriam’ Board
Jocks, the Reserve Division was all Rifles’ antecedents, making the painting even more relevant to The Rifles. (For an excellent account of our forebears in the Corunna Campaign and especially their role in the bridge demolition guard at Castrogonzalo before the action at Benevente, do buy Volume 1 of The Light Division in The Peninsular War 18081811 by Tim Saunders and Rob Yuill). From his journal, we know that Henry Evelegh asked Downman, who’d been sent forward to Villafranca, presumably with his guns, if he could spare any horses. He couldn’t. Furthermore, it was Evelegh’s guns who supported the actions at Cacabelos and later at Constantino. So there’s a strong presumption that the guns depicted in the painting are Henry Evelegh’s. We also know that part of the Reserve Division, including the 1/95th, were destroying stores in Astorga for much of the day (31 December 1808) when the Light Brigades were marching to Foncebadon. So maybe the Reserve Division troops shown in the painting are from Disney’s brigade. This may be the most plausible interpretation of the retiring troops in the painting. There’s much we don’t know nor may ever learn. But, what a fabulous painting!
Major (later Colonel) Henry Hugh-Smith LVO Blues and Royals
The initial burst of fire hit one Rifleman in the thigh, a second Rifleman lost most of his nose from a ricochet off his rifle and a third Rifleman had a lucky escape when the stock of his rifle was shot away. Fire was returned immediately, not only by the patrol but also by a sniper team, prepositioned in overwatch on the city walls. As the shooting
The patrol arrived at 22 Stanleys Walk to find the area around the address well-lit but the house itself derelict, bricked up and impossible to enter from the front.
The patrol to which Henry was assigned was tasked to investigate 22 Stanleys Walk, a house on the edge of the Bogside, which had been reported to be a store for arms, ammunition and explosives and a lying up house for IRA gun-men.
The Royal Green Jackets Association 48 A Swan with 2 RGJ in the Bogside in 1972 A Swan with 2 RGJ in the Bogside in 1972
Following Bloody Sunday in January 1972, Major Henry Hugh Smith (Blues and Royals) was accommodated in the 2 RGJ Officers’ Mess in Ballykelly. He was the Military Liaison Officer to Lord Widgery, who was leading the first investigation into Bloody Sunday. Henry had served in Northern Ireland in 1971 commanding his armoured reconnaissance squadron but he had no experience of patrolling on foot in Londonderry. So, as the tribunal concluded, he asked the Commanding Officer Lt Col Welch MC if he could accompany a foot patrol into the Bogside: “to get a feel for what it was like”. Unfortunately he picked a really bad night and in today’s peaceful existence it is extraordinary to look back at this time of extreme violence in this part of the United Kingdom. In March 1972, bombing and incidents in Londonderry had increased significantly. On one day alone there were six separate bombings; two were defused and four exploded, including two very large car bombs, one of which destroyed the Post Office. Soon after this the IRA called a 72 hour truce, during which there were no major incidents but it did of course give the terrorists the opportunity to regroup and to resupply their petrol bombs, weapons, ammunition and explosives.
2nd Lieutenant John Young, the patrol commander, sensing a ‘come on’ decided to withdraw. He sent half the patrol back to the junction of Lecky Road and Stanleys Walk, while the other half remained in position to cover their withdrawal. At this moment four gunmen opened fire with machine guns and rifles from the Cable Street end of Stanley’s Walk, which was in darkness.
The Bogside had been declared by its residents as a ‘no go’ area for soldiers and police. Nevertheless, Army patrols into the Bogside continued to challenge the ‘no go’ idea, often on foot and at night.
The 72 hour truce ended at midnight on 13 March and was marked, at one minute past midnight, with five explosions in the City Centre. An hour later, at 1am on the 14th, the patrol set off as planned.
Stanleys Walk was a narrow street with two-storey terraced houses on one side and the 15ft perimeter wall of the City’s Gas Works on the other, some of the street lights were still working but many were not. As soon as the patrol entered the area, the alarm was raised by a team of vigilantes who dashed about on foot and in cars, monitoring the patrol’s progress.
Presented toThe Officers 2nd Bn The Royal Green Jackets by Major HO Hugh Smith The Blues & Royals
Who was wounded whilst accompanying a patrol into The Bogside Londonderry on 14 March 1972
At this moment the gunmen, having moved their positions, opened fire again. Henry was hit in his lower right arm and moved into the shelter of a doorway, while the gunmen were re-engaged. Soon afterwards, having crashed through the barricades in their one ton armoured vehicles, the reserve platoon arrived, the gunmen were suppressed and the firing stopped. The casualties were extracted and taken to Altnagelvin Hospital and the rest of the patrol withdrew back to base. The casualty list included three soldiers seriously wounded, including Henry, whose right hand could not be saved. Two terrorists were confirmed killed and probably another three were wounded. The exchange of fire had lasted eight minutes, with more than 600 rounds exchanged. IRA propaganda described their two casualties, as “unarmed, out for a stroll, smoking cigarettes.”
2nd Lieutenant SJ Young, who commanded the patrol, was subsequently awarded the Military Cross, Corporal Grant the Military Medal and two other riflemen; Cpl Jeffrey Seeney and Rfn John Ferrier were Mentioned in Dispatches. Rfn Geoff Bye and Rfn Mark Lydiat were the other two members of the patrol.
Following the incident to commemorate his time with 2 RGJ, Henry presented the Officers’ Mess with a beautiful silver swan with a broken wing, mounted on an inscribed plinth.
Colonel H O Hugh-Smith LVO died on 1 December 2016, at the age of 79, his memorial service was held in the Guards Chapel on 14 March 2017, exactly 45 years after the incident . The Swan was on display .
To this day the presentation remains the property of the Officers’ Mess 2 Rifles and the inscription reads as follows:
The random thoughts of a Rifleman
The Royal Green Jackets Association 49 A Swan with 2 RGJ in the Bogside in 1972 became more sporadic, the task of removing the casualties became the priority. Two Riflemen, using the very sparse cover available in the street, attempted to keep the gunmen’s heads down, while another team of four riflemen, including Henry, exposed themselves to extract the casualties.
Much has been written about Op Motorman so I will skip over it except for a couple of things, if Roy Baillie, our database manager, had not been reading a copy of the Witney Gazette in the dinner queue in St. Teresa’s Parochial Hall, I would not have made a friend who I still insult to this today. He misplaced one of his legs a few years back and has still not gone diffy to the QMs for a new one! I recently asked him for his memories of that tour, I thought I might gain a useful insight into his thoughts and feelings for this article given he was older than me and already had two tours under his belt, some shift in the political situation he as a long serving Rifleman might have noticed, certainly something profound. His reply? “The toilets in St Teresa’s were too bloody small to sit on”
I was told, I forgot this sound advice just the once and I can still remember his displeasure to this day! Everyone in 2Pl respected JP for his no-nonsense firm but fair approach. He was also acting Pl Comd as Lt Neil Bunce was away doing something. In July I remember being woken up sometime around dark O Clock and asked where Cpl Bob Chapman slept. This was the start of the very quick and busy build-up for a trip to Belfast. Getting on the aircraft to NI, I asked one of the the loadies if they would be kind enough to post a letter for me letting my mother know where I had gone. He looked at the address and went one better and hand delivered it the same evening as I came from Carterton the home of RAF Brize Norton and the base for the aircraft on which we were flying.
The Royal Green Jackets Association 50 I shouldn’t have been in the Green Jackets
The painting shown here was originally hung in the Officers Mess of the Devon and Dorset regiment and was presented to the officers by Lieutenant Colonel Lucius Hamilton who had served with the regiment a number of years before. It was apparently sold for £85 during the merger of the DDLI, RGBW, LI and RGJ in 2007. I shouldn’t have even joined the Green Jackets, I had left grammar school in December 1970 with both ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels and was set for a career in the RAF as a technician having passed all their tests and was waiting to report to RAF Swinderby although they had told me it could be 12 months or perhaps even longer as the RAF was a much more popular choice of career than the army at that time. No surprise there given the problems in Northern Ireland. I was therefore working as a trainee manager for a well known electrical outlet, Currys. I was bored to tears, so bored that one Monday morning I paid the extra bus fare and carried on into Oxford deciding to do something else and forget the RAF. My choice was simple. I already wore the Green Jacket cap badge as a cadet CSgt in the ACF (I was also a cadet F/Sgt in the ATC as well but that’s another story). I wanted to be a LUMBERJACK! Actually I wanted to join the 17th/21st Lancers. Who else has the skull and crossbones for a cap badge? I was going to drive a tank! The Recruiting Sgt happened to be a Green Jacket who during my interview asked if I had any relatives in the army, I mentioned my older brother a Sgt, also in the Green Jackets. I was asked to go away for an hour while he got my paperwork in order. In that time he located my brother who just happened to be on a KAPE tour locally in the Thames Valley with the RIT and to cut a long story short I ended up after training in 1 RGJ in Celle. I was posted to 2 Pl, A Coy, our Pl Sjt at the time was John (JP) Perkis. If you wanted to maintain a head on your shoulders never call him Sarge. This oil painting is of Fort Monagh as we who lived there might remember it
I shouldn’t have been in the Green Jackets
a heart attack during the follow up search. To be honest I was by now losing a little bit of interest in proceedings although the pictures on the RGJ Photo website do show me calmly smoking a cigarette while the Coy Medic busied himself around me. Once Doc Brown arrived in his Saracen I got carted off to Musgrave Park Hospital. There was a picture taken just before I received my second injury of the day when, after apparently refusing to lay down on the stretcher, I smacked the back of my head on the door frame of the Saracen! Thus ended my first tour of NI. In April of 1973 I finally returned to the Bn to continue my recovery and was put on light duties and told to report to CSjt ‘Bob’ Roberts in the Officers Mess. He explained I would be sleeping in the attic in accommodation set aside for the staff, we would not be used at any time for regimental guard etc. (music to my ears!) but would be expected to work a shift system in the mess including weekends. He then asked me if I preferred to be a waiter or barman I immediately said that I had no experience as a waiter but had previously worked behind a bar, sorry Bob I lied about the bar work but there was no way I was going to be a Iwaiter!soon settled into the way of life of a barman. I was surprised to find that officers actually had a sense of humour! To be fair with the continual commitment to NI where life was a very serious business there wasn’t really much time for a sense of humour. I should however mention that in 1976 when I was by then in the Antitanks we had a young Oxford OUTC officer attached to us in Cyprus for a month or so who allegedly got himself a few extra duties for doing a ‘zulu warrier’ in the Rainbow bar just outside ESBA in Dhekelia egged on by Bob Munroe and a few others in Sp Coy. No names no pack drill etc. but M.R. you know who I am talking about. Incidentally in the Antitanks back-blast bags, foofoo valves and giggling pins don’t really exist Martin. They can however be found on the same shelf as multi-coloured paint and long weights. Back in 2 Pln and in July we were again off to Belfast this time to the Lower Falls scene of the ‘Leeson Street Patrol’ painting by Terrence Cuneo depicting members of R Coy 3 RGJ in Sept 71. Three events stand out. The first when we as a patrol were returning to Mulhouse via the Grosvenor Road. We were running a few minutes early so set up a snap VCP. Almost immediately an Austin 1100 came towards us from the Falls Road junction. I learnt how to carry, tune and use an A41 also a C42 and ‘radio speak’ all without the benefit of a signallers course such was the speed with which we deployed to Ulster. The reason I think I got lumbered with the A41 was because I probably stupidly volunteered and possibly because I was also the nig in C/S 12B. Patrolling was intense either on foot or in the back of a Pig but looking back on it I found the whole experience an err… experience. Who can forget the night we went down to support the Blues & Royals in East Belfast and a factory was emptied of all its bottles when the rioters needed more ammunition. When I was in one of the Sangars in the newly built Fort Monagh when they took a pop at us from the area of Turf Lodge, or maybe the time Jimmy Pat’ bollocked me for not getting rounds off quick enough when we walked into a contact again from Turf Lodge. I wasn’t going to argue with Jimmy or mention my first priority was a contact report, he would probably have decked me! I actually greatly respected Jimmy. Anyway have you actually tried to fire an SLR when in the prone position with an A41 on your back? No? It’s an interesting experience. On 7th November my first tour came to a somewhat abrupt end just 100yds from Fort Monagh. I remember thinking to myself, “I’m not going over the bank there into cover, there’s nettles and I don’t want to be stung.” So I ran a couple of yards further on. I discovered I had developed a rather neat hole in the front of my upper arm and a much larger hole in the back. I also lost about 2 inches of bone and other bits and pieces inside which allowed my arm to swing quite freely on its own, the bone was replaced later by a lump of plastic apparently. All quite interesting really in a somewhat painful way. I had actually called in to the Ops Room that a contact in the area was likely only 10 minutes earlier when I realised how quiet Turf Lodge had gone with even the dogs disappearing. As the contact progressed Lcpl Lionel Hitchcock led a section attack across the wasteland between Fort Monagh, the Granshas and Turf Lodge to take on the gunmen who had taken exception to our presence and were being quite beastly towards us. I decided to stay behind and bleed a little while keeping everyone up to date on my trusty A41 which I later found out had lost half its ariel to another round from those Agunmen.littlewhile later the Ops room got around to asking for any injuries so I gave them my butt number and ask for an Elastoplast. Sadly there was a death that day, that of an elderly lady who died of
The Royal Green Jackets Association 51
I shouldn’t have been in the Green Jackets
So ended 1973. In early 1974 I joined the Antitanks. This was in the days before fireworks on strings of course. Once again the platoon was filled with characters. Sadly both Brian Hesketh and Ken Hudson NCOs of that era died in January of this year. My older brother was one of the Pl Sjts The other Sjts were Dave Fairhurst and Tom Smith, Tom went on to become RSM 1RGJ and finally Major Tom MBE There is the makings of a song title there somewhere I think . They were happy days and I can still recite the definition of Lead as well!
The Royal Green Jackets Association 52 little higher – about four feet higher – we said he had an awfully long neck! I quickly replaced my tin pot but Joe was not so quick. JP now the CQMS came storming into the Sangar, he had heard the original shots and our reply and wanted to check we were okay. On seeing we were he congratulated us on our prompt return of fire and then nicked Joe for not being properly dressed. You had to love JP!
50 years later and life has gone full circle, after leaving the army I first drove buses then was manager of a bus garage before doing time in HMP Bullingdon – as a prison officer. On retiring from that early at 60yrs old following an accident outside of work I set out to relax and enjoy retirement. After three years and now recovered I was bored, so I returned to retail. I now work in retirement a few days a week for Argos in Abingdon and strangely enough quite enjoy it but do find that the young people I work with talk in a strange language where sick means good, sick to me always meant the end product of a good night out in Celle/Cyprus/Hong Kong etc. Apparently, something can also be bear or bare, I have no idea what that means!
Kevin Stevens
We stopped it to find a very nervous driver. Opening his door for him it was found the window would not wind down and the door appeared very heavy. There was also a whiffy sort of smell. On further inspection by ATO it was found to be stuffed full of explosives. 1 RGJ 1 PIRA Nil… The second was when we were doing the Telex Guard and OP at the bottom of the Grosvenor Road. This OP gave us a really good view over to Divis flats and up into the lower falls.It was about 06:00hrs and I was watching up towards the bottom of the Falls and the Mayflower Bar, this was of course a staunchly republican bar. I watched as the dray pulled up and unloaded a few kegs off the back, and took a few photos using the long range lens. The lorry pulled off disappearing up towards the Falls road. A few second later I was surprised to see a large cloud of smoke and a few flames, this was followed by a rather large bang and the Mayflower bar had ceased to exist! The photos were passed up the chain of command but I never heard anything else regarding their usefulness or not. Finally one night I was doing front Sangar duty which looked up a short street called err... something on through a 10ft high metal fence made of wriggly tin and on to the Grosvenor Road itself with my Sangar partner Joe. We had removed our tin hats and were chatting away quietly while watching up the street. One minute it was quiet and the next some person had popped around the fence and fired a few rounds at us from a hand gun. We might have been chatting but our rifles were still in the shoulder, loaded, cocked and safety catch on. We returned fire with two rounds each. Your man had already disappeared and I doubt we hit him but he may have had to change his underwear quite soon afterwards though as three of the four shots were found to have punctured the fence at chest height roughly where he had been stood, the 4th was a I shouldn’t have been in the Green Jackets
Colonel in Chief and an earlier Rifles connection while the Duchess told him their unexpected connection showed it was a ‘small world’.
Edward Rose’s story is as follows: Rose and Shand met while escaping from Spangenberg as part of a 25-strong group, who had taken their chances while being marched out of the castle while the guard’s attention lapsed.
The group, led by the Germanspeaking Terence Prittie, a fellow Rifle Brigade Officer journalist and author, spent a week in a barn, fending off locals to live on foraged food and eventually being rescued after spotting American tanks advancing in the distance.
Rose, who had been captured in France said he and Maj Shand had not been close while in the camp but escaped with mutual friends and were bound by the extraordinary experience of escape.
Edward Rose died on 13 Sept 2019 in Canada where he was living near his daughter. In her first ‘virtual’ address to The Rifles, as their new Colonel-inChief, The Duchess of Cornwall made mention of her father, Maj Bruce Shand 12th Lancers, who had escaped from Spangenberg Castle, a German POW camp, together with Lt Edward Rose of The Rifle Brigade, an antecedent regiment of The Rifles.
The Duchess of Cornwall meet war veteran Edward Rose on a visit to the Norman Hardie Winery in Southern Ontario, during a tour of Canada with the Prince of Wales in July 2017. When Edward Rose was introduced to the Duchess of Cornwall he revealed an extraordinary connection, telling her he had escaped from a WWII POW camp with the help of her father.
Lt Rose, then just 20, had embarked on a daring escape from Spangenberg POW camp along with Maj Bruce Shand, whom he described as ‘very handy’ in a tight spot. Rose was introduced to the Duchess who said she was only sorry her late father was not there to be reunited, or to learn about their meeting. The Prince of Wales, noticing his distinctive dress, said it was “nice to see the green blazer” of the Rifles, Duchess of Cornwall met war veteran Edward Rose, 1 July 2017 Lt Edward Rose, The Rifle Brigade Colonel in Chief and an earlier Rifles connection
The Royal Green Jackets Association 53
“He was just a very nice guy,” Rose said of him. “Very “Whenhandy.”Iread that the Prince of Wales was engaged to someone named Shand, I wondered if there was a connection.” Shand, for his part, had been captured near Marsa Matruh, North Africa, in 1942, treated for wounds in hospital before being taken to an officers’ POW camp in Germany. He had served with the 12th Lancers, awarded the Military Cross in 1940 and again in 1942, and died in 2006.
“We were treated perfectly well,” said Rose of the prison camp. “The food was pretty awful, but we got parcels from Canada which saved our lives.”
Rose, a retired stockbroker who emigrated to Canada after marrying a Canadian girl, said: “I went in after D-Day in 1944 and was a prisoner for about six months.”
One night we were called to Portsmouth City where a man was running amock with a large knife he was chasing police officers who in those days only had a wooden truncheon – no CS Spray or metal ASP. On our arrival the man suddenly appeared about 250m in front of us waving this large knife he was wearing a large greatcoat and appeared to have on his feet a pair of high leg boots he was also a big bloke. On seeing us he stopped and I could see he was having second thoughts, he had had his fun but it wasn’t funny any more and the police officer in me knew he was going to give up. However the Greenjacket in me decided he wasn’t getting off lightly after terrorising my colleagues so before he had the chance I shouted the normal challenge and sent Kimba who went off like an Exocet missile.
From RGJ to Police by Mike Copp
After leaving the Regt in September 1977 I was lucky enough to join Hampshire Constabulary. After training in Kent I returned to Portsmouth where I was a beat cop for 10yrs, also becoming a firearms officer. The instructor then was Gerry Robb who many will remember, sadly no longer with us ex-RB was also on the team and we looked after many high powered people. In 1987 I applied for the dog section and was very lucky to be selected there were probably 70, 80 applicants for the one job. The German shepherd I received was extremely sharp and 12 months old, however he was very mature and would probably had he not become a police dog been put down. We had many adventures and suffice to say the more heavily armed a criminal was the more pain was going to be inflicted by ‘Kimba’
The Royal Green Jackets Association 54 From RGJ to Police
I almost felt sorry for the bloke he could see the dog coming but couldn’t do anything about it in the seconds before the dog arrived he threw the knife away and sat down just as Kimba piled in and began biting chunks out of his greatcoat. His bravado disappeared and he was then arrested, blubbering like a baby. For those of you who think I was reckless in sending the dog I can assure you he was more than capable of looking after himself, however, my second dog a few years later was much softer and I would never
use him in that manner. Kimba would have made a good Greenjacket. A lot of dog training is about what you are likely to come across and sometimes one wonders if what you are doing will be of use. One of these is property search where the dog searches for Articles and then indicates them.
Mick Copp. Ex 2RGJ and police officer 1316.
Shortly after the last job in Portsmouth we were called to a burglary in the village of Denmead. We were just up the road and as we neared the scene I saw three youths running across a field. I jumped out of the van with the dog and shouted for them to standstill. They were about 150 meters away. Two stood still and one ran into the next field, he also came back when I threatened to send the dog but before he did I saw him bend down. All three were arrested and taken away. I then told Kimba to ‘search’ where the lad had bent down. I sent him off and he tracked the route the lad had taken. Suddenly I saw him ‘knock’ a cowpat (the field was full of them). I kept my eye on that particular one and on joining Kimba I looked down but could see nothing. I kicked the cowpat and lo and behold out popped a Rolex watch. I was so chuffed and it showed me that the training worked. The rest of the jewellery was recovered as I had seen the other two drop it into a nearby stream – all in all a cracking result.
The Royal Green Jackets Association 55 From RGJ to Police / Where are you now?
Where are you now? March/April 1972 training section
The Nation’s VJ 75 Act of Remembrance was held at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. Her Majesty, The Queen was Represented by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, who attended Services of Remembrance at the XIV Army Memorial where a section of the infamous Burma Railway stands as a testament to those 16,000 British, Australian, American and Dutch POWs who died in the appalling conditions endured from September 1942 to October 1943 building ‘The Railway of Death’.
The Royal Green Jackets Association 56 Service of Remembrance at the RGJ Memorial
75th Anniversary of Victory Over Japan Saturday 15 August 2020 Service of Remembrance at the RGJ Memorial
RIFLES Colonel in Chief and Colonel Commandant at the NMA
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Royal Green Jackets
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The Association 57 Service of Remembrance at the RGJ Memorial
founding
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6th Battalion the Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was raised in July 1940 and assigned to the 14th Infantry Group. In mid 1942 they were sent to India as part of the 74th Indian Infantry Brigade, attached to the 25th Indian Army Division. 6 Ox and Bucks served on the Arakan Front during the advance down the west coast of Burma to Rangoon in 1944/45. 6th Battalion the Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was disbanded in December 1945. With the first Covid lockdown fresh in everybody’s mind, the proceedings were attended by just a few, socially distancing, guests – with appropriate connections to the Forgotten Army.
RIFLES Colonel in Chief and RGJ Association President HRH lays her wreath
2nd and 7th Battalions the Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry 2nd Battalion the Durham Light Infantry 2nd Battalion the Dorsetshire Regiment
In a private Service following on from the National Act of Remembrance, HRH The Royal Colonel in Chief of the RIFLES laid a wreath at the Royal Green Jackets’ Memorial in remembrance of the 6th Battalion the Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, as well as the following 10 battalions of Regiments of the RIFLES which served in the Burma Campaign in the 2nd World War.
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1st & 2nd Battalions the Royal Berkshire Regiment 1st Battalion the Somerset Light Infantry 1s Battalion the Wiltshire Regiment 1s Battalion the Devonshire Regiment 10th Battalion the Gloucestershire Regiment
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After 2½ hours it’s coffee break time so I pull into the services for a Starbucks. I know its rubbish coffee but needs must. I park the car well out of the way so other drivers don’t scratch it. With a coffee down my neck I stroll out to the car park to find there’s a naffin Micra and a Mini parked either side and I’m in need of a chuffing tin opener to get back inside again. I manage to heave and shimmy my not so slim body back into the driver’s seat, and as the engine roars and gurgles back into life a few heads turn to see where the sudden sound of a thunder storm is coming from but quickly turn to looks of envy as they realise its only me and my flash motor! 5 miles away from my delivery grid reference I fill the Bentley up and begin to wonder if the car had developed a leak as I watched the chuffin petrol pump clock up just shy of £100 – and that wasn’t even a complete fill from empty!
The Chauffeur
The Royal Green Jackets Association 58 The Chauffeur
Oh no, not another room inspection! Please oh please not the locker out the window again! As it disappeared out of the window from 3 floors up, it is immediately followed by the crashing sound of metal as it hits the ground – and I instantly wake up!
The roads are empty, so the drive is a dream, and keeping to the speed limits not! If the car had wings it would take off. I’m on the M40 with nothing on the road so briefly take it up to 155mph – and there’s still room for more, but then bottle went so it’s back down to 80, cruise control and sensible head on and we are away.
Phew thank goodness for that as I quickly realise it’s only a dream and not 1972, and the horrendous racket which woke me up was only my alarm clock hitting the wall at 3:45 in the morning! Today I’m up early to drive to a place called Llandderfel in North Wales, but not in one of my cars. Today it’s in a clients’ Bentley Continental GTE Limited Edition and made to celebrate the 100 years of Bentley. Lots of wonga as you can imagine (see photo). To keep my client’s identity a secret in the photo the realplateregistrationisnotitsone.Although looking at it you might be led to believe it was previously owned by an ex member of the regiment who was a Geordie! Whey eye!
It’s now 04:30 and dark and as I press the start button the car lights up like bloody Crystal Palace with headlights that are as bright as the ones on the Starship Enterprise! I’m off on my 250 mile and 4½ hour journey to a grid reference in the rear end of nowhere in North Wales. Lucky I was never an officer otherwise I would never find it!
Sitting at the undisclosed destination and now waiting for my client, he sends me a text asking if I’m there. Within 2 minutes of confirming that I was I hear the distinctive sound of a helicopter getting closer. It lands and my client steps out to collect his car keys with a big smile on his face, “You made it on time then?” to which I reply: “Rifleman boss –always on time”.
Is that my training Sergeant making all that noise?
Although the aircraft I am in doesn’t quite have the same pedigree as any of those mentioned, the good news is it works!
And for a top of the range big blue thing with rotor blades more commonly known as an A Star Airbus H125 it bl***y well should!
Five days later I’m back at Lasham airfield to fly back up the sheep bothering country to collect the car. The pilot informed me that it’s now at a new grid reference close to a small town called Sennybridge and asked if I ever been there. Do bears S**t in the woods I replied and told him all about the wonders of that lovely (not) place.
The Royal Green Jackets Association 59 The Chauffeur
So the question is now – how am I to get back home? Well I ain’t gonna tab it that’s for sure. So it’s into the ofstrapstillvacatedclientsbacksidesettleandchopperquicklymyinmyrecentlyandwarmseat,onapairheadphones
and in seconds we’re airborne on route to Lasham airfield near Alton. As I found out from the pilot Lasham was built in 1942 and was an RAF station in WW2 from which flew Hurricanes, Spitfires and the wooden wonder known as the Mosquito.
Although quite a different ride from the canvas seated things I flew around the sky’s in years gone by, it still brought back happy memories of hanging out of a Puma and Wessex with a GPMG. Anyway, that’s another story. Just like my earlier fill-up in the car, this thing is just as thirsty, so we have to stop at Welshpool on route for fuel. I’m informed by the pilot it’s only 21p per litre for aviation fuel at the moment which made me suddenly think of transplanting aero engines into my cars! With both tanks full we are off again. Flight time to Alton 45 minutes or so. On our route back we fly close to RAF Fairford, and their air traffic control informs us that a B52 bomber will be taking off and use a flight path close to us. Didn’t see it which was a bit of a shame. But even so as we fly close to Fairford where we can see 5 other UK based B52s lined up on the runway. FFS their wing-span is wider than a football pitch! They must have known a Rifleman was flying over and were scrambling to get ready just in case of a dust up! Anyway, good to know their on our side. Half hour later my phone rings and it shows it’s the wife calling so I ask the pilot to TURN THE BLOODY FAN OFF as it’s the wife calling, and I can’t hear a thing. Honestly have you ever tried talking on the phone in a helicopter. I tell you it doesn’t work so I text her with the ETA of three minutes. Sure enough as we start our decent there she is with the car parked right where we need to land bless her – don’t we just love them to bits? After short car journey home my millionaires adventure for the day was brought back to earth with a lunch of tasty egg banjo’s – mmmm lovely!
Anyway, because our flight path is so close to the training area we have to obtain clearance to fly anywhere near it. No problem as my pilot tells air traffic control, he has an old soldier on board, and because there is no training happening that day we are given permission to overfly. Now I am not a religious man, but I pray that we don’t have a problem and have to land, and tab it out. Been there and done that too many times in a previous life and don’t fancy it anymore. We eventually land bang on time and my client is there with the car, and still a big smile on his face. I return his smile and think to myself that smile on his face won’t last long when he gets the bill for this job!
I jump into the Bentley and he clambers into the helicopter. Me for the long but very comfortable drive back to his mansion in the New Forest and he in the helicopter to wherever millionaires go in their helicopters. All in a day’s work for a chauffeur who briefly lived the life of Jason Statham’s ‘The Mechanic’.
Tiny Adams Aka The Chauffeur
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The Royal Green Jackets Association 60 ‘Back to the Future’
A trio of former Rifleman made a road-trip up the A12 with a view to seeing what if anything was left of Normandy Barracks. The ‘Retro Riflemen’ on the trip were – Joe Constable ex B Coy, Mick Mizon ex C Coy and John Sabini ex B/ HQ Coys. After a wander around Felixstowe to re-visit various ‘scene of crime’ locations (pubs – some sadly now closed down). Then onwards to Normandy Barracks. We managed to find what would have been the main gate/guard room. This area now consist of a perimeter fence with a small pedestrian gate. We found this gate unlocked, although there was a fiercely worded notice threatening dire consequences for unauthorised entry. Being ‘Chosen Men’ we chose to ignore the notice and went in. We spent about an hour plus and were able to locate a couple of company blocks (nothing else left) and take several photos. Having satisfied our nostalgia need and avoiding being arrested for trespass we made a tactical withdrawal via the same gate. Back to Felixstowe for a cup of char (no beer – shows we are getting old), then the drive back to London.
2019
‘Back To The Future’ Road Trip to Normandy Barracks Felixstowe
Belfast 1974. Tiny Adams and Jack Colbert on patrol in the Ballymurphy jiggers (back alleys). The black and white photograph was taken by the then Lt Phillip Schofield. 41 years after that photograph was taken and with a few less hairs, a bit of weight and a few more wrinkles, not only does colour enters the world of photography but an old friendship is reaffirmed when Tiny drops off a client at Liverpool Docks and his car number plate is recognised by no other than Jack who he had last seen in 1980. Fate is a funny old thing isn’t it?
Friends
Old Reunited
The Royal Green Jackets Association 61 Old Friends Reunited / The Bogside Tattoo
In 1971 I was in the Recce Pln 2 RGJ, and at this particular time we were based in Strand Road police station Derry. A Young officer came up to me one evening and said that the OC had had an idea and to go with him. Myself and a driver, I think it may have been ‘Gypo Hussey’ but I’ m not sure were taken to the rear of the police station. There in front of us sat a short wheelbase Landrover with the biggest searchlight I had ever seen, it was like something from a Second World War film. It had a huge mesh grill over the front of it. The plan, he said was to wait for the Bogsiders to turn up for the nightly riot near William Street, pull up next to whatever plan was there and await instructions. I looked at the driver and he looked at me and we both knew it wasn’t going to end well! Our only protection were flak jackets and a Makrolon shield each. Comms was the good old Storno radio. As usual as it got dark the locals turned up for the party. The plans as usual were taking a hammering and sending back rubber bullets and the occasional gas canister. Everything was being thrown including the kitchen sink. I then received the message I was dreading, ie proceed to William Street and await instructions. l told the driver on pain of death not to stall the vehicle and to make sure he kept the engine running. We arrived and parked up in line with the plan facing the crowd, there must have been several hundred of them, the lads were crouched behind their shields taking it all. Then the order came to turn the light on which I did. I don’t know who was more surprised us or the locals.This huge beam of light surged down the Bogside as far as the Brandywell. For about five seconds everything stopped and went quiet and then the world erupted, everything was now directed at us and the light, bricks bottles and the kitchen sink, it was horrendous. The driver was under the dashboard I was under my shield, but worse, the vehicle was slowly being demolished with us in it. All I could taste was brick dust. After no more than 1 or 2 minutes, which seemed a lifetime, a message over the Storno told us to return to Strand Road.We returned with what was left of the Landrover and drove into the yard. The young officers face was a picture, I said something along the lines of: “What are you going to tell the QM about the vehicle.” There wasn’t one straight panel and every light was smashed. Needless to say the light disappeared never to be seen again. Mick Copp recce Pln 2 RGJ The Bogside Tattoo by Mick Copp
TheClose
On 15 July 1904, the Cottage Homes for disabled Riflemen, as they were then known, were opened by Field Marshal HRH the Duke of Connaught, Colonel in Chief of the Rifle Brigade, and HRH the Princess Christian of Schleswig Holstein, whose son, Prince Christian Victor, had died in 1900 in South Africa, while serving with the King’s Royal Rifle Corps.
The homes, which consisted of four pairs of semi detached cottages, were build as a memorial to the members of the King’s Royal Rifle Corps and the
For those of you that are not aware, the Rifles own 21 properties in Winchester, which are available to ex-personnel of the Royal Green Jackets and Antecedent Regiments, as well as those who continue to serve with the Rifles.
Royal Green Jackets Association 62 Green Jacket
Green Jacket Close
Some History on Green Jacket Close, who I proudly serve as the Estate Manager for all the Chosen men and Ladies that live there.
Upon formation of the The Rifles in 2007, Green Jacket close was absorbed into the Rifles Benevolent Trust and the occupation of the homes was opened up to all members of the Forming and Antecedent Regiments, as well as those who continue to serve with the Rifles.
The Royal Green Jackets Association Jacket Close
Applications are considered based on eligibility and need. If you would like to apply to live in Green Jacket Close or would like to put your name on the current waiting list, please contact: Andy Spalding Email: gjc@the-rifles.co.uk
63 Green
The money for the homes was raised by the Rifleman Aid Society, much of it by subscription from serving and former Officers, NCOs and men of the Regt but also included a number of large donations from individuals. The total cost was nearly £6,000.
Rifle Brigade who had been killed in action or died of wounds or disease during the Boer War, a total of 44 Officers and 550 men. One of the Pairs of the 60th cottages was dedicated in memory of Prince Christian Victor and another pair of 95th cottages was given by the Duke of Connaught.
The original cottages have been modernised and five of them have been converted into two one bedroom flats. In addition in 1966 four two bedroom houses, two two bedroom flats and two one bedroom flats were build on site with funds provided by the Rifleman’s Aid Society, increasing the total number of housing units available to 21, currently there are 26 residents including widows and widowers.
1980 and 1 RGJ had returned from just over two years in Hong Kong and relocated to Cavalry Barracks in Hounslow, London. I had been stationed there before when we were fire-fighting in 1977 and it hadn’t improved since then. It was originally one of 40 barracks established around the country in the wake of the French Revolution to guard against the dual threats of foreign invasion and domestic sedition and the best way to describe it would be to call it a slum. I cannot think of one thing that it had going for it except the main gate out of the place. I was at least fortunate to have married quarters inside the barracks – a tiny little two bedroom flat the size of a postage stamp but at least I could walk to work and go home for lunch. Those quartered in Windsor had to pay to travel in and out each day. By now I was one of the clerks working in Battalion HQ under chief clerk WO2 Barrie Gilmore. He called me into his office one morning and asked me if I would like a posting for a couple of years as the Depot photographer. I was therefore promoted to Lcpl as I had passed my JNCOs cadre in Hong Kong. I attended the Darkroom Technicians course at RAF Cosford before being posted to the Depot to join the Regimental Information Team (RIT) under Capt Mac Arnold. I remained a clerk and as such I worked as the assistant RIT clerk to Cpl Dougie Day doing the photography as and when required. Basic stuff like passing out parades, ID cards, six weeks skiing in Aviemore – that was awful honest Guv! And a couple of weeks in Brecon photographing one of the training platoons. However the bulk of my work was for the RIT, the Light Division Information Team and the Parachute Display Team (PDT). Life was pretty varied in a clerical sort of way. Dougie Day, when not pushing a typewriter (do you remember them?), was also the driver/commentator for the PDT, and I became ground crew. Dougie’s claim to fame was that he had never had an RTC in his life but had seen plenty in his rear-view mirror – read into that what you will… Strangely, although we had both a car and a minibus as team vehicles supplied by our sponsors Radio Rentals, nobody ever wanted to travel in the car with Dougie more than once!
The Royal Green Jackets Association 64 The Longest two year posting ever 1980 – 1986 The Longest two year posting ever 1980 – 1986
My first ever job with the PDT was to climb one of the football lighting stanchions at Birmingham City’s ground, to light the ground flare giving the jumpers an indication which way the wind was blowing. Those things look pretty stable but in reality they sway quite a bit and I was quite glad to finally arrive back down on the ground again. I did meet Jaspar Carrott the comedian though. He was a director of BCFC. Of the celebrities I met over the years, my favourite was Grot Bags my least favourite being Jim WhenBowen.Dougie was promoted to Sgt and posted off to a recruiting office somewhere, Major John Read who had now taken over as RIO suggested I might like to move to x-platoon and take over from Dougie as the RIT Clerk. It would extend my posting indefinitely but would mean that I would drop from the nominal roll of 1 RGJ which might later have a detrimental affect on any career I thought I might have. I took the plunge and took over as the RIT clerk. 1983 and I was single again and now had a small room in the old RIT offices down the slope by Short Block. I was still the depot photographer though. The parachute team had changed quite a bit. Sgt Bob Dowling left in 1981 and for a period the team was led by Cpl Lionel Hitchcock who was my section commander in November 72. 1982 saw in Sgt Gary Douglas and also various team members who had been through Netheravon where they completed their freefall course and had joined the team, while others had returned there to train as instructors or returned to their respective Battalions. We were completing maybe 50-60 parachute displays a season and I was now the commentator. It was a real off the cuff commentary and apart from the basics of who they were etc. it was based on what I could see the jumpers were doing in the sky. It worked well and several letters of commendation arrived in the RIO’s post bag including one from a Lord. I know it sounds like I am blowing my own trumpet and yes I am – I had found my vocation! I would like to point out however I was never a display parachutist although for a short period after I left the
John Read was the most supportive boss any of us could have hoped to have. He had come up through the ranks which was no mean achievement and was nobodies fool. Sadly I attended his funeral last year together with two other former team members who had travelled a fair distance to pay their last respects. The messages on The ‘In Memoriam’
army I did try parachuting in civvy street but found it really wasn’t for me. I did do a few jumps training under Cpl Dave Chadwick while with the team but purely so that I could have some sense of what it felt like to fall out an aircraft which I could put into my commentary. In reality I was no more than the driver/commentator/fixer of accommodation/talker to ATC/CAA and show organisers and maker of tea and coffee. Raymond Brookes-Ward probably the best known of the commentators on the horsey circuit alongside Tom Hudson and Mike Tucker all of whom I got to know really well would refer to me as the team Road Manager. Dogs-body I think would be a better expression. After each display, if it was a Radio Rentals (RR) sponsored jump and we did about 20-25 of these each year, we would gather at the RR stand on the showground and give out badges and leaflets to the children while the RR staff tried to flog mum and dad a TV. We were asked some strange questions: “The parachutists we saw in the sky a few minutes ago, are they the same ones who landed in the arena?” “Nope, those you saw landed elsewhere, these were in the back of the van”. There were several versions of this reply depending on who asked, with at least one involving a gruesome death and the grabbing of the grass to prevent bouncing. There was one display I didn’t do in the Plymouth area however, I think I might have been doing a course elsewhere but about a fortnight later I was called to the RSMs office to be told that two members of the RMP wished to speak with me regarding a stolen leather jacket. I hadn’t a clue what they were on about but the RSM had authorised a search of my room so off we went. Searching was going well, no leather jacket of course, not even that messy a search until they discovered some film and a slide projector, an army side projector. The older of the two stood back and let his apprentice, a very young Lcpl (he looked about 12yrs old) interrogate me. “Whose is this then son” he said. SON? I was at least six years older than him. This very young military Piglet now stepped up the pressure. Did I know it was an offence to have this in my room, theft of army property was a very serious offence etc. he was going to nick me for stealing it. What about the rolls of film? He was off on one big time. Courts Martial and a firing squad here I come. Up until this point I had tolerated the nonsense because they had at least told me that this jacket was stolen from Plymouth and I knew that I had not been on that gig – not that they gave me any time to tell them that! I refused to answer any more of their questions and requested the presence of an officer, Major Read. They actually wanted to double me back over to the RSMs office minus my beret! Well good luck with that it was never going to happen. Major Read arrived and verified that I had not been on the Plymouth job, something the RMP should have checked. They then moved on to the projector. He asked them if they knew I was the depot photographer and as such was entitled to use this equipment and film where and when needed? That hadn’t been checked either. I will not go into the full details but leaving some disco, the team had collected up all their jackets as a bundle, chucked them in the back of the team mini-bus, and in doing so, had inadvertently also picked up this tatty old leather jacket as well. On arriving back in Winchester they had realized the mistake and set about putting it right by returning the jacket and the wallet therein to its owner with an apology written in green ink on green paper. The owner of the jacket obviously saw an opportunity to get a new jacket out of it so complained that the jacket had not been returned, only his wallet. It was soon all sorted out, the RMP went off in their mobile sty and a cheque for the “missing” jacket was sent to the complainant.
The Royal Green Jackets Association 65 The Longest two year posting ever 1980 – 1986
The Royal Green Jackets Association 66 The Longest two year posting ever 1980 – 1986 board tell their own story. I never once heard him raise his voice yet he got everything done. If you had a problem you knew you could speak with him and he would listen, discuss and assist you in sorting it out. He wouldn’t do a commentary no matter how hard I tried to get him to. He said it was not the job of an officer… I pointed out that other display teams had an officer doing it but he replied: “Yes but they aren’t Green Jackets though.” I couldn’t think of an answer to that. He did do panels and flares for me a couple of times though. He was of course ably supported by Sue his wife who just about became an honorary team member. We even had a couple of little ‘do’s’ at his quarter down St Cross. This business of an officer doing the commentary was however brought home to me at a display we did in Brentwood. I was at the pre-show briefing on the showground together with the commentator of some military horse and motorcycle team, possibly RMP I cannot now remember. As we walked away he asked me when I had been at Sandhurst, I replied in 1983 when we did a display there. Had I not trained there then, perhaps Mons? “No” I said “I am not an officer.” He was taken aback he couldn’t understand how we as a regiment allowed anyone who wasn’t an officer to do the commentary. Telling him we were Green Jackets was probably not the most diplomatic way of replying maybe… I have to say that the majority of the teams we met on the display circuit were excellent, especially the White Helmets Motorcycle Display Team who did have an officer in charge who was pretty laid back. One team we never worked with stated in their contract that they were so good they didn’t need a supporting act. Those in the team will know who I am talking about. We were asked to do a display in Brighton or rather over Brighton beach where as part of some new TV show the contestants would have to guess if our jumper, in this case Keith Skelley, would land on this small raft tethered off the beach or land in the water. The whole display was a comedy of errors. The message to Keith should have been land on the raft but somewhere along the line it changed and he got a dunking when I know he would have made the raft with ease. The rest of the team, for some reason, jumped out downwind of the landing zone instead of upwind which meant they struggled to get anywhere near the area and to top it off completely, Dave Chadwick’s main parachute failed and he had to jettison it and use his reserve. He landed on the top of a block of flats. None of it was my fault, well maybe just one tiny little part but I blame the TV personality I was working with for that. In 1985 we were rebranded the Trail Blazers Parachute Display Team based in Winchester when we completed the merger with the tumbling trumpets from Shrewsbury. They were actually the LI PDT but to us the tumbling trumpets, and we were apparently the dustbin lids. In 1984 we had operated as two teams the Lt Div PDT (N) Shrewsbury (LI) and us as the LT Div (S) in Winchester (RGJ). With the merger complete Sgt Ray Ellis LI became team commander and Sgt Dave Muir RGJ already with us as 2ic. This also meant that we were often entertained by Dave singing the only song he knew ‘Flower of Scotland’. Now you don’t get many in the Green Jackets from Scotland but Dave had come to us via the AAC oddly enough where he had been my younger brother’s boss. Ray had come to us vis the Commandos and RE if memory serves me correctly. There are a few ‘memories’ worth mentioning,
The Royal Green Jackets Association 67 The Longest two year posting ever 1980 – 1986
Steve Wilson breaking his pelvis at the Royal Show when he came in too hot and too high, buried a toggle and span into the ground. I don’t know what it means either! He walked around for 24hrs before finally deciding there might be something amiss and was taken off to the local hospital. Scouse Lewis did something similar into water at Nottingham but didn’t break anything. Bernie Parker scoring four faults for taking out a jump at the Shrewsbury Flower show, a RR show that one. Geordie Best cutting away over the Lincoln Show and spending what seemed like hours hunting for his main. Scouse Lewis again opening really, and I mean really late at a show in Wales. We watched him disappearing behind a local hill. We basically just wrote him off and Dougie got on with the commentary, Melons (Melonie), an officer who jumped with the LI team landing on the roof of a stand at the Royal Bath and West show. Spectators couldn’t wait to speak with her, she was an instant heroine and finally my personal favourite. Having the minibus kicked by a horse at the Royal Welsh Show at Builth Wells making a rather nice dent in the side of the vehicle. It was fortunate that at the time there were also a couple of RR people in the minibus on break as otherwise it might have been a little difficult to Afterexplain.John Read retired, we had a succession of officers, Capt (later Maj) Dave Nicholson who went on to lead 16CTT in Bicester and who I bumped into again in 1988 when I was an adult Csgt instructor with the ACF. Capt Tom Wright who went off to get married honeymooning in India and getting Delhi Belly, and finally (in my time) Maj Nigel Jackson who I previously served under in NI in 1977 and HK 1978 when I was his Coy Clk. In early Sept 1986 I was moved to the Families Office and in the October I PVRd. Strangely the first and last officer to command me in the army were both called Jackson but not related, how weird is that? I will finish with one final memory. We take computers for granted nowadays but in the 80s they were still very new and expensive. I owned a Sinclair ZX Spectrum games console with an amazing 48k of memory. In the quiet months, November and March I would bring it in with my little black and white telly and play games on it at lunch time in the office. This sometimes extended into the afternoon if I had completed all my work for the day. The two months were always the quietest. Major Read came in one day to find me still playing. Rather than giving me a speaking to he asked if I could use it to do letters etc. in place of the typewriter, yes I could with the right printer so he then arranged for a proper dot matrix printer and the necessary software to be bought and the office became computerized –well ahead of the PAMPAS system the army were trialling. Fast forward to early 1986. By now we had purchased an Apricot PC which worked exclusively from floppy disks, no hard drives in those days. This particular morning I had been in the office since about 6am busy typing up the annual report for the RIT/Lt Div Team and the PDT which had been finalized the previous evening and was ready for typing. It was a report on the previous year and a summary of the expectations for the current year. This report could run to 20 or 30 pages. I had been hammering away for about 3hrs when the cleaner came in. She promptly pulled out the plug in the wall and pushed in the one for her vacuum cleaner. My screen went very dark and it was at that point I wondered if I had enabled auto-save. I soon realized I hadn’t. With 3hrs wasted there was only one thing to do. I picked up my beret, looked at Ray Ellis who said not a word and I walked out of the office. I returned an hour or so later, nothing was said again as I sat down behind my desk, fired up the pc and started over – this time enabling autosave every two minutes.
In no particular order
SOFO Hugh Babington Smith
The Royal Green Jackets Association 68 SOFO
Remembrance Day 1989 at the TA Centre, Headington. I said to Bob Pascoe that I would be happy to help with any regimental matter in the county if the task could be woven into my life. Six months later after I thought perhaps my escape was complete, he said that a new museum committee needed a secretary – little work, two meetings a year. My part lasted eleven years, at the end of which it was 3½ days a week employed service as ‘Project Manager.’ At the end of 2012 I was able to retire leaving a part-built museum with a professional museum director, Ursula Corcoran. She’s still there eight years on, so, have you heard of ‘SOFO’ or in full, the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum? Do you know where it is? If you are a Green Jacket, then a part of your regimental history is in that museum. Situated in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, it is in a new, purpose-built building, using modern technology to allow proper preservation of the collections, to enable interesting and exciting exhibitions to be mounted and to enable volunteers and professional staff to provide the service. It is much more than ‘just the regiment.’ To explain, the militaria and the archives of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry used to be in the barracks in Cowley. When the regiment became part of the Royal Green Jackets and the Royal Green Jackets were busily expanding their museum in Winchester which houses the Kings Royal Rifle Corps and Rifle Brigade collections, it was felt that the new regiment should also take on the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry material. However, the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was different from the others in being a county regiment and so at least part of the collection remained in Oxfordshire housed in a re-roled arms kote in the TA barracks (later Slade Park Barracks, the home of 5 RGJ) in Headington. In the late 1980s it began to be realised that first of all the barracks would at some point revert to Oxford city council; secondly, that the army was increasingly reluctant to devote any assets at all to museums (i.e. ‘get lost, no accommodation, no money’); thirdly, that also in the barracks were the Oxfordshire Hussars and their fabulous uniforms and bits and pieces. In fact, it was when the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry sold a Hussars item at auction that the slightly ridiculous situation pertaining of two ‘related’ organisations ignoring each other became obvious. Colonel Tim May, an enormous and imposing Hussar with a stentorian (that’s deep and loud) voice, found himself thinking aloud during the opening of an exhibition about his regiment with the words: “There is only one solution, we must find a museum.”
Well, it is easy to have the aspiration and a committee was formed with representation from the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light
Jump forward 8 years to now, The museum is of course closed to visitors during the current crisis, but if you visit the website: www.sofo.org.uk you will get a flavour of what is there and you will see who is still involved – for instance, the twinkling eyes of the first Commanding Officer of 5 RGJ will beam out of the website at you. And when possible, do visit; all the details are on the website.
The Royal Green Jackets Association 69 SOFO Infantry Trustees and the Oxfordshire Hussars under a neutral chairman. They commissioned a consultant to report on what they thought of as being great potential for a public museum only to hear that military museums are in general not selfsupporting. On this bad news the process of taking stock and making long-term plans started; this was the point at which I was drawn in. To cut an 11-year story short the committee first of all obtained a National Lottery grant to create databases of the archives and objects in the collections. Second, they obtained an agreement with Oxfordshire County Council to lease a building plot within the bounds of the Oxfordshire County Museum in Woodstock. Third and perhaps most important they raised £4 million to build. Lastly, they recruited staff to run the museum and obtained long-term reserves to take it forward. During this time Slade Park Barracks was indeed returned to Oxford, the collections and a growing team of volunteers migrated first to a deserted RAF station then, when that was sold, to an empty office block in Woodstock before the new building became available in 2013. These teams cared for items, researched regimental history, put on exhibitions and developed the flavour of the museum as it is today. The theme of the museum is ‘County and Conflict.’ Yes, the main collections are those of the county regiments but whilst most people have some concept of a county, most have no idea what a regiment is. Whilst the simply curious do visit museums, the trick of a successful museum is to provide ‘hooks’ to grab interest. The wider the scope, the more hooks, the greater the interest and number of visits. With the number of surviving members of both regiments dwindling every year it was obvious that there was no merit in relying on people to know what the (extinct) Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry were or what the 142 (Queen’s Own Oxfordshire Hussars) Vehicle Squadron, 165 Port & Maritime Regiment RLC might mean. It was clearly sensible to allow or encourage other stories to be told, about the Royal Air Force, the Royal Navy, the arms and services and civilians.
Rumour had it that he had fitted in his blue van a Clansman 353 radio, a set of BATCO and sets of Myorders!three favourite Wolfgang stories that I actually witnessed are:
The real hero of the Cold War – Wolfgang by Alasdair Ross I saw a tweet the other day, with a picture of the mobile Schnellie wagon of Wolfgang.
The Royal Green Jackets Association 70 The real hero of the Cold War – Wolfgang
Modern soldiers might wonder what we are all on about, however, I am sure certain Range Complexes in the UK still see an enterprising burger van turn up and you then see the resulting large black bin bag of quickly disposed of, half frozen pack lunches! However, never mind how good those burger vans are, they will never compare with the legendary Wolfgang! His Blue Schnellie Van (Schnellie, British Army slang from the German word for quick food shop – Schnell Imbiss) would roam the large Soltau Training area, in North east (West) Germany and It did not matter how good your camouflage was, he would find you and then any semblance of tactics would go out the window as soldiers rushed to him for Chips mit mayo, Bratwurst mit senf and a yellow handbag of beer.
2. I was in the 3 RGJ Milan Platoon and we were dug in with A Company along a valley in Soltau, practicing setting up ‘Tank Killing Areas’ in case the Russians had ever attacked with their T72s and BMPs. As any soldier will tell you, stood around in a trench was never a soldiers favourite pastime but as the sun dimmed and we got ready for night routine. Wolfgang appeared in front of the trenches. No one moved, we all waited then the first Rifleman jumped up from his trench and made for Wolfgang, soon followed by others all hoping to be served before the hierarchy noticed. We were not helped by Wolfgang blasting out what seemed his only record on his speakers, “Are you lonesome tonight” by Elvis.
For those still guessing who the Officers mentioned were – the OC (later a General) was last seen working at St Pauls Cathedral and the young Officer reached the dizzy heights of Adjutant (in a warm place, close to Spain).
3. I was again attached to A Company 3 RGJ and was travelling back from a brief in the back of the Company Commanders Landrover. In the back with me were two young Platoon Commanders who suddenly got very excited and before anyone else spotted him, one of the young officers had spotted Wolfgang. The OC then turned round and as quick as a flash, commented that it was a pity that the young officer was better at spotting Wolfgang from a distance than he was at spotting and recognising enemy armoured fighting vehicles. (This story would be of no surprise to those who know who the young officer was).
1. We were in Soltau with the whole 3 RGJ Battle Group on our final warm up exercise before departing for BATUS in Canada, and to show all of us how large the Battle Group was, we all leaguered up and then walked up a small hill where the CO addressed us. We all turned round and saw the A and R Company 432s, two Squadrons of Chieftain tanks and assorted other vehicles, a formidable sight but as the CO spoke, to the back of the mass of vehicles a late addition arrived – Wolfgang –blasting out music. The brief finished and then 600 soldiers poured back down the hill, past their vehicles as they raced to get to the front of the queue for Wolfgang.
1a Iverna Gardens W8 Entrance Adam and Eve Mews W8 entrance
A Potted History
The front entrance of the ARC, in the tree lined Iverna Gardens, lies between two upmarket and expensive Victorian red brick Mansion blocks whilst the back entrance is at the southern end of the rather exclusive Adam and Eve Mews.
The nearest Tube Station is High Street Kensington on the Circle and District Line. It is then a 5-minute walk to 1A Iverna Gardens.
Thetoday.Royal Navy took over the building in 1945 and used the premises as their recruiting centre for London as well as a base for the Navy Provost Staff. Up until the most recent £2.5million refurbishment the basement contained cells for detaining AWOL sailors apprehended in London. On completion of the refurbishment in 2004 the building was taken over by B Det 256 (City of London) Field Hospital. At the time of writing, we and Bn HQ 7 RIFLES are currently co-located (rather tightly) with B Det 256 Fd Hospital, a detachment of RAF Air Trg Cadets, a detachment of Metropolitan Police Cadets and an Army Cadet Force detachment.
It is now three years ago when on 23 January 2018 BN HQ 7 RIFLES and the London Office of The Rifles moved from 56 Davies Street in Mayfair, which had been the spiritual home in London of the Green Jackets, to 1a Iverna Gardens the original ancestral home of ‘The Kensington Rifles’ in ‘TheKensington.Kensington’s’, although ‘Rifles’ had no historical connections with the Green Jackets or our antecedent regiments, were raised in 1860 by Lord Truro. They became established in Kensington in 1885 at Adam and Eve Mews and Iverna Gardens, off High Street, Kensington. The original subtitle, ‘West London Rifles’, was altered in 1905 to, ‘The Kensington Rifles’, when the Regiment was adopted by the Royal Borough of Kensington and granted permission for the cap badge to be made up of the Coat of Arms of the Royal Borough, mounted centrally upon an eight-pointed star. 13th London Regiment was the short title after the formation of the Territorials in 1908 and from October 1914, the title was 13th Princess Louise’s Kensington (PLK) Battalion, the London Regiment and is carried on today through 41 (PLK) Signal Sqn (V), located elsewhere in London. The Kensington’s war memorial bearing the names of the 1,324 officers and men who were killed in the First and Second World Wars is located in the library of the Kensington Town Hall. The funding for the Drill Hall came by subscriptions from the Kensington’s Officers in 1885. The building was designed by Fred J Hopkins and the commemorative stone was laid by Colonel Somers-Lewis and his wife and can be seen at the Adam and Eve Mews the back entrance to the ARC. The building has a unique roof which is one of two examples left in the country of ‘Victorian Plank Work’. Mapping of the area circa 1850 shows a militia training area surrounded by green fields, a complete contrast to what is here
Sadly, 1A Iverna Gardens does not have the room or social facilities we so enjoyed in Davies Street.
The Royal Green Jackets Association 71 1A Iverna Gardns, Kensington 1A Iverna Gardens, Kensington BN HQ 7 Rifles and the London Office of the Rifles
The Royal Green Jackets Association 72 A Scrubbing Brush and a Poppy! A Scrubbing Brush and a Poppy!
Being a bit of a travelling man and someone who can never sit still, it’s fair to say that lockdown for me has been a bit of a trial to say the least. And for those who really know me also know that when I’m on my travels, be it work or vacation, I also tend to visit military cemeteries or indeed any cemetery that has military war graves in it. There I generally lay a poppy and pay my respects either on an individual grave or on the main cemetery memorial. So far, I have managed to carry out my little personal act of remembrance on a number of occasions with my wife Janette in a variety of military cemeteries in France, Belgium, Poland, and the CloserUSA.
Having made my mind up to try and sort them out and being mindful of how sensitive my intentions were, I couldn’t just start scrubbing away so I decided I would start off with The Boss and take it from there. Not an easy task when due to time and other factors contact with surviving family members is so difficult to make. Nevertheless, with the help of the Winchester Branch, the Regimental Association and Philip Schofield who had been a Captain in the helicopter and survived the crash I was soon put in touch with Ian’s wife Janie to whom I put my cleaning proposal. Not only did she readily agree but the next time I visited his grave some weeks later I found it had now been cleaned by a company arranged by Janie. She couldn’t believe that one of his Riflemen had still cared so many years after his passing and felt very touched by the Feelinggesture.slightly outdone on the cleaning front and still wanting to do ‘something’ to remember The Boss by, and with the 40th anniversary of his untimely death fast approaching on the 17th February 2018, I decided to try and get a few of his Riflemen together for a small service by the graveside with the Padre from ATR(W) together with a bugler. Just a small gathering I had hoped. Strangely a few people told me it couldn’t be done and others said it shouldn’t be done. But Hey! I’m a Rifleman so it was going to happen one way or the
Sadly, most appeared forgotten and neglected and needed a bit of elbow grease to make them stand as proud as they would have done when they had served.
Even closer to our ancestral regimental home of Winchester, Magdalen Hill cemetery (also known as Morn Hill cemetery) on the Alresford road east of the city also has a large CWGC site in addition to numerous military graves spread throughout the whole cemetery. Including of course many from our own regiment. As you would expect the CWGC site is looked after very well. Just a short distance from the official site, are a number of headstones which look the same as those in the CWGC section but with different engraving. These are from a completely different conflict which was just as deadly – Northern Ireland.
to home in the UK we have military cemeteries and individual war graves in civilian cemeteries dotted all over Britain, most of which I have visited too. The largest being Brookwood which is maintained by the Commonwealth War Grave Commission (CWGC). In fact, if you look around almost any city, town or small village, more often than not a cemetery containing a war grave of some description can be found hidden away in some peaceful corner. Most are from WW1 and will be marked with the usual cross of Sacrifice or the standard military memorial tablet.
Lt Col Ian Douglas Cordon Lloyd OBE, MC Commanding Officer 2 RGJ
I stumbled across these headstones back in 2017 when I was looking for the grave of Lt Col Ian Douglas Cordon Lloyd OBE, MC Commanding Officer 2 RGJ who had died in NI in 1978 when his helicopter in which he was a passenger crashed whilst evading fire from the ground.
A man highly respected and known to a lot of us in 2 RGJ as The Boss and being a lowly Rifleman at the time and the battalion still being operational I along with many others who were not privy to his funeral and having now found his final resting place was like winning the lottery. I had never forgotten him. Also around his grave were similar headstones of other fallen Riflemen from our regiment.
Another headstone is that of Major Tom Fowley, who with the help of a few old sweats who knew him I managed to get hold of his daughter’s email address so that I could obtain her permission to clean his headstone (this work is ongoing). Of course, there are many more of our ex-Riflemen laid to rest in this cemetery but I am determined to get to as many as I can in the future. One that caught my eye was on the war grave side of the cemetery and looking a bit uncared for was Rfn Venables late of the KRRC who died 22 February 1919 age 43. Although I think there is little chance of tracking his family down, he will still get the Tiny treatment I’mregardless.oftenasked why do I do, what I do and the answer is a simple one – it’s because I want to and I can. Some thank me for what I’m doing and others say that if I do it for a few I should do it for them all. Well despite still working and running a company I will endeavour to do what I can, and anyway what else am I going to do whilst in lockdown? Give it a go too – you might enjoy it. If you are ever wandering around some old cemetery somewhere near you and you see some old geezer dressed in a Green Jacket Hoodie and bent over a grave with a scrubbing brush in hand there is every possibility it will be me. Come and say hello but make sure you are armed with an egg banjo and a mug of steaming tea!
The Royal Green Jackets Association 73 A Scrubbing Brush and a Poppy!
So, what did I do? Easy, I gave the Mayor a call and reminded him that at the Freedom of Winchester Parade in 2017 he had publicly endorsed in front of the Civic Centre the close ties the regiment had with the city. “Mr Adams” he said: “you can have your bugler play wherever you like”. Whey hey! Job done!
Thanks for your time. Swift and Bold Going on Old! Tiny
On the day of the memorial service itself and despite only wanting it to be a small intimate affair for the family and Philip Schofield the word had obviously got out because a whole platoon of Riflemen turned up to pay their respects (even including one over from the USA).
Since that day I have been visiting the cemetery most weeks to keep an eye on our regimental headstones and to keep the old Boss as clean as I can along with a few others including Chris Watson (aged 20) who was killed in NI on the 19 July 1980. I have the blessing of his brother Tony who lives in Cyprus so I keep him as clean as I can.
other. Mind you it didn’t get off to a good start when I was told by the paper shufflers in Winchester Council that a bugler couldn’t play in the cemetery!
The Chronicle record for 1972 does not need repeating here, but my time with 3 RGJ ended in early 1973 and I was then posted as a student to the Ecole Supérieure de Guerre in Paris for two years.
3 RGJ returned to the same patch of Belfast that year. Some time in the following year the Ecole de Guerre carried out an exercise from which foreign students were excluded, so to keep us busy we were attached as individuals to different regiments in the Paris area. My lot was to visit an armoured regiment at Rheims. I was given a national service subaltern as a guide round the barracks and I was taken to a junior officers’ common room for a cup of coffee. On a notice board was pinned a photograph, instantly recognisable as North Howard Street Mill with a group of Riflemen round a Landrover and my French guide in combat dress, beret and RGJ cap-badge. Pasted below was a strip cut from a brown envelope with the printed words “ON HER MAJESTY’S SERVICE”. A ‘double-take’ is a mild description of my reaction. When I had recovered enough to ask for the story he told me that he had gone to Belfast privately on leave in 1973 because he was interested in how we were handling urban internal security. He had checked in with the French Consul and no restrictions were placed on his activities. Wandering the streets he had met some soldiers and been invited to visit their base and from there the dressing-up and photo were the obvious next step. Before leaving Belfast he had to check out with the Consul and accepted the kind offer of a lift in a Landrover to his office. The Consul happened to see his arrival from the window and had a serious sense-of-humour failure at the thought of the possible consequences of a French military casualty from an IRA round. Because the French Foreign Office was involved and accused the Army of gross irresponsibility the row escalated up the military ranks until it reached the Army Chief of Staff. Presumably a national service officer cannot be cashiered, so the interview consisted of a lecture with no minced words about utterly stupid risk-taking, but ended with congratulations from the general for his initiative. There were no smart phones or effective photocopiers at that time and I had no camera with me, so there was no way to copy the photograph. I have never made much of this story beyond my own family until now and nearly 50 years later I almost wonder if I imagined it. The series of coincidences is almost unbelievable, so before writing this article in January 2021 I contacted Roger Ker who was commanding B Company at the time all this happened and I was relieved to hear that he clearly remembered his French visitor, but I have not been able to trace any other witnesses.
French Leave French Leave
The Royal Green Jackets Association 74
In January 1972 3 RGJ was reconstituted after just a few months’ suspended animation and by August was ready to deploy to the Upper Falls area of Belfast. I was appointed 2i/c to Robin Evelegh with battalion HQ in Springfield Road police station, A and R companies in an annex of the Royal Victoria Hospital and B company in North Howard Street Mill in the Clonard, which I described in my Chronicle account as ‘in the dark satanic style’.
Due to the Covid lockdown restrictions, it was very strange travelling from Maidstone to London Victoria on a virtually empty train. On arrival at Victoria the thing that struck me most was the absence of people. Normally on Remembrance Sunday this station is packed with uniformed service personnel and veterans wearing Regimental blazers, various berets and proudly wearing their medals, all making their way to whatever Remembrance Service they were attending within the City. I walked to The Rifle Brigade Monument at Grosvenor Gardens and there again found the area completely devoid of the normal trappings associated with our annual service. No Police controlling the traffic, no guard of honour, chairs or bugler, plus, no congregation. However, it was a beautiful sunny day. As the Eleventh Hour drew nigh, personnel dressed in various Green Jackets apparel started to appear. Strange how they just happened to be passing at that time. There were about 30 all told, including two Officers in uniform from ‘The Rifles’ We spread ourselves out around the immediate area of the monument and waited for the 11 o’clock strike from Big Ben. On hearing the eleventh chime we commenced the 2-minute silence.
Remembrance Sunday November 2020 The Rifle Brigade Memorial Grosvenor Garden, London
The Royal Green Jackets Association 75 Remembrance Sunday 8th November 2020
Because there were no police, controlling the traffic, the noise from all the vehicles trundling past was deafening. We did just manage to hear the gun being fired by Kings Troop RHA, in Hyde Park, which was the signal that the 2-minute silence was completed. After a pause Brigadier John Taylor led the wreath laying ceremony by placing a wreath on behalf of the Officers Club at the base of the monument. I followed and laid a wreath on behalf of the Rifle Brigade Association. Then the Company Commander and Platoon Commander from ‘The Rifles’ laid their wreaths respectively. On completion of the wreath laying everyone remained at attention for approximately one minute and paid their own personal homage, then everyone had a chance to have a quick word with each other before departing. Although this was very much an impromptu gathering. We did ensure that we had done our duty in paying homage to the fallen of the Rifle Brigade and Green Jackets on behalf of the Association members and all other personnel who would have normally attended this service in normal times. Hopefully next year we will be able to conduct our Service of Remembrance as we have always done in the past.
8th
Lord Lieutenant’s Award for Major (Retd) Roy Stanger
In Autumn, a Lord Lieutenant’s Award was presented to Roy Stanger. The award was presented (virtually) on 7 October 2020 by Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant for Hampshire, Nigel Atkinson Esq, who himself served six years as a Royal Green Jacket Officer. The citation covers Roy’s achievements in his capacity as Winchester Garrison Welfare Officer, the organizer of the Royal Green Jackets Association Annual Reunion and Supporter of The South Winchester Golf Club.
Thefor Major Roy Stanger
Under his guidance the welfare department has established a multi-faceted and deliverable local engagement plan with neighbouring units from a cold start. This drive and engagement with the military community and local authorities in Winchester, has seen a marked increase in access to welfare facilities and support, particularly to those leaving the Armed Forces. He has also inspired those living within the military community to commit their time to local initiatives, such a mental health courses, seasonal events for military children and the formation of a Community Welfare Committee. Roy Stanger’s legacy will endure well beyond his tenure to the undeniable benefit of the Garrison, the support it delivers to the community and the people who serve in it.
Since The Royal Green Jackets Association’s inception at the end of the Regiment’s time in the United Kingdom’s Order of Battle in 2007. Roy Stanger has been the organiser of the Association’s Annual Reunion in Winchester. This is a major national event with a turnover of in excess of £40K each year. He has lead a small team of volunteers who help mainly on the day but the responsibility and detailed planning for the whole event has been his alone. Without exception he has always ensured a well organised and popular event attended by between 500 and a 1,000 veterans and their families every year most of whom stay in hotels and accommodation in Winchester for the weekend thus adding significantly to the economy.
Major (Retd) Roy Stanger Lord Lieutenant for Hampshire, Nigel Atkinson Esq
(Retd)
Citation After 45 years of successful military service, Roy Stanger retired from the Army in 2004. Within three weeks of retiring he returned to public service by joining the Civil Service in the role of Garrison Welfare Officer of Winchester Garrison, delivering welfare and community support to 500+ military families across the Garrison. During his 15 years in this role, the improvement in the department’s output in terms of volume of support, quality of service and efficiency of resources has been striking; he has redefined the approach to complex problem sets, specifically in the management of housing allocation issues, delivery of community support and refurbishment of the Community Centre at Worthy Down. Roy has laid the foundations for significant improvements to the living experience for Serving personnel and their families in Winchester Garrison applying his tried and tested ability to deliver change and make things happen.
Royal Green Jackets Association 76 Lord Lieutenants Award
Roy Stanger’s impact on the South Winchester Golf Club for the last 15 years has been felt in two particular areas. The first and that for which he is best known is his management of the Junior Section of the Club. He has been responsible for organizing fixtures, selecting teams and planning each year’s diary. He has explained the spirit of the game and he has excelled at this. His ability to engage with the Juniors has been outstanding and has given them skills which they are unlikely to have learnt elsewhere and which has added significantly to their education. The second area has been the source of information and assistance that he has given to the organisers of the Club’s activities. All Past Captains would acknowledge that if they had a problem, they would turn to Roy Stanger. It is his combination of golfing knowledge and his military background that has made him an invaluable supporter of the Club and those people of all ages who use it. It is this quality which has earned him the annual “Clubman of the Year” award given to the person who has made the greatest contribution to the Club.
In summary, it is considered that Roy Stanger is worthy of recognition by the Lord Lieutenant for his work for three very different organisations in Hampshire.
The Lord Lieutenants Award for Major (Retd) Roy Stanger
The work involved is painstaking in its attention to detail and year on year, based on feedback, he has improved the facilities available and the cost effectiveness of the event. All of this has been tempered with Roy’s wonderful sense of humour and his unfailing, infectious enthusiasm. He has now retired from his Civil Service post at Worthy Down but has insisted that he will continue to run the Reunion. His dedication and inspired commitment to his comrades and his Regiment, over an extended period of time, has been quite inspirational and certainly worthy of formal recognition.
Who remembers Op Casement?
Royal Green Jackets Association 77
At 06:15hrs The last shots were fired and Riflemen began the hazardous operation of searching the three floors. Six people in the Bakery were handed to the police for questioning, five who were employees were later released. By 08:00hrs the building had been combed and the Riflemen moved to the nearby houses. They had seen men running through back doors and out through the front and down the alleys between the streets during the battle. The search produced a 303 rifle from a drain and ammunition found on an outhouse roof. At 09:00hrs The army began to bulldoze the barricades. Five men were in police custody. All that remained were streets littered with debris, a two foot pile of bread and a pool of blood in Eliza Street.
The Royal Green Jackets Association 78 The Bloody gun battle for the bakery
The Bloody gun battle for the bakery McAuley Street
The Bloody gun battle for the bakery began in Belfast at 03:50 9 August 1971. That was when B Coy 1RGJ moved in to ‘The Markets’ to flush out a gang of gunmen who had expelled the night shift at gun point. Dawn was in the sky, but for the previous five hours Riflemen had already engaged snipers from the fringes of the catholic area near the City Centre. around the Inglis Bakery, the largest in Northern Ireland, terrorists were believed to be waiting and the Army Command were convinced that an ambush was being set up. The four platoons waited until dawn then they executed a ‘back door’ pincer movement, it was just as well, as Eliza Street, the main approach to the Bakery, was sprayed with automatic fire from both ends as the Riflemen began their approach. They encircled the narrow streets among the meanest of the City’s ghettos. From Lagan Street, Cromac Street and Stewart Street they gave covering fire while their main attack was spearheaded along McAuley Street. The terrorist raked the streets with a Thompson sub-machine gun, 303 rifles and .22 small-arms fire, the fighting was savage with the Republican side being organised by Official IRA commander John McCann who had also it was believed organised the ambush that killed Cpl Bob Bankier 1RGJ the previous May. McCann was later shot dead in central Belfast in 1972. As the soldiers moved from doorway to doorway, one gunman was killed near the barricades of Market Street and Eliza Court. By 05:15hrs the Riflemen had reached Bond Street. Two of the gang, one still armed, had been captured. But six terrorists were thought to be on the roof. At 05:45hrs The Riflemen were outside the Bakery, but the doors were locked. As they smashed through them they were met with a spray of bullets. Inside the building they were engaged in savage fighting with two terrorists believed to be fighting a rear guard action while the rest escaped. One is believed to have been hit. An Officer said: “The place was like a rabbit warren with hiding places everywhere.”
There were other incidents but the funniest and probably the scariest came after I had come back from two days compassionate leave to sort my marriage out, it was coming up to my birthday and we were based at RUC Woodbourne a police station to the south of our area in the lenadoon. Kev my mate asked our boss Lt Stileman if we could somehow go out for a bit in the safe protestant Lisbon area. Generally on four month tours apart from your four days R&R you weren’t allowed out because it was too dangerous, however the boss said we could go on certain conditions, one we were to be armed, carry a 9mm pistol, complete with shoulder holster and secondly don’t drink and don’t go to any dodgy areas (as if). The plan was for us to get changed into civies and when the RUC finished their shift, they were driven home to their safe area by police land rover, all we had to do was hitch a lift, which we did without incident and found ourselves in Lisburn High Street, trying not to look like squaddies and trying to conceal the guns under our arm. We went to Woolworths where I brought some music tapes then guess what? We ended up in a bar, bad move; I was fed up with my pistol digging in my side so I went to the toilet and took it out of the holster and placed it in the woolies bag!! and returned to my seat. To cut along story short we got more and more inebriated, we got a cab going to Belfast city centre where we ended up in a night club well leathered, I with a pistol in a carrier bag! (Kev had his still in his holster). It was obvious we were Brits and probably more obvious we were squaddies because of our hair cuts (longish hair was fashionable then) how we didn’t end up dead I will never know. Eventually we got back to camp and an almighty bollocking.
77/78 Tour
The curious case of the 9mm automatic carrier bag
Newry Road Bomb
We had been dropped by a Wessex helicopter and consolidated in the field awaiting the second drop to make up the multiple. After the Wessex departed, we got up and moved to the other side of the Newry road, one of five leading out of Crossmaglen (XMG). As I approached the road, I saw a bit of red coated fine wire all scrunched up lying on the hedgerow. I picked it up and put it in my pocket and continued patrolling. On return to base many hours later we were being debriefed and I remembered the wire so I took it out and another member of the multiple (Rfn Templeton?) said he too had picked up some wire on the other side of the road and he showed it to me, It was the same type but green coated. I submitted my patrol report with the two bits of wire and after my egg banjo went to bed. At about 02:00hrs I was rudely awakened and told to report to the ops room where I was asked where I had found the wire. I wanted to say: “Read my effin report it’s all in there.” But instead, I showed them on the map where it was found. BIS had examined the wire and declared it to be DuPont detonator wire. This meant that there was possibly a device somewhere along the Newry Road so it was immediately placed out of bounds. We as foot soldiers never used the road other than for short bursts or for crossing but covert vehicles and the COP operating out of other locations frequently drove up and down there. It had been OOB for about 10-14 days when the local RUC Sgt decided he wanted to go to Newry in his civilian car. He had done this on numerous occasions during the time he had been stationed in XMG but with no set pattern and his theory was that the speed he drove out of XMG was such that it was too fast for the PIRA to be able to react in time. On this fateful day he drove out of the station gate and entered the square and at speed drove down the Newry road. He was passing the area where we had found the wires and was travelling fast when PIRA detonated the device. It exploded slightly after he had driven over it hurling his car further along the road towards Newry. Dazed and in shock he pulled himself from the wreckage and went up to a house and forced the occupants at gunpoint to let him in. Needless to say, they were unwilling to do this without the pistol as persuasion. He tried to call XMG but the explosion had brought down the telephone wires but luckily for him the lines to Newry were still working and he was able to call for assistance. I don’t remember ever seeing him at XMG after this so I can only assume he was offered a posting to another station. A lucky boy. Mike
Daren Branch
The Royal Green Jackets Association 79 The curious case of the 9mm... / Newry Road Bomb 77/78 Tour
So, in 1972 a training unit called the School of Infantry was established to do just that by running a series of ten week rolling courses throughout the year for all Infantry Platoon Sgts and held at the Infantry Battle School in Brecon Powys. A separate but similar course was run for officers but in a different location. In later years an additional course was established for Corporal Section Commanders.
The Royal Green Jackets Association 80 What Makes a Hero?
To try and give you an explanation of the content of this course would bore you to death if it’s something you have never experienced, and probably be a little too confusing for those readers who might be unfamiliar with the military world; Keeping it simple therefore it was to consist of all written and practical aspects of conventional warfare at all company command levels. However, what made it even tougher and more daunting was the physical side of it too. The only other similar course that springs to mind and requires the same physical and mental effort is SAS selection – but that’s another story for someone else to tell.
As for the Battle School itself – Hogwarts it wasn’t. In fact, it was more like a demented Special Forces base on steroids! Deering Lines was its official name although I have to say there was nothing endearing about it at all.
Unfortunately, as we now all know to our cost, it has taken a viral epidemic of epic and unprecedented proportions across the globe to at last recognise the true heroes of our society. I am of course referring to everyone who works either in the NHS or the essential supply and maintenance chains which keep us all going. Heroes all! Right! Now I have climbed off my soap box, and if you are still interested and getting a little bored with staying indoors, I will tell you a story about someone in my life, to whom at the time I too probably mis-used and applied the word hero to –for all the right reasons at the time I quickly add, but I will let you decide. Sit back – relax and I will begin. I have to start my little trip down memory lane by recalling events, and possibly a new revolution in military thinking which sat astride the two decades of the 60s and 70s. The first of which was the ending of National Service in late 1960 through to the last national servicemen handing in their uniforms in 1963, and the creation and implementation of an ‘all volunteer’ military force across all three services. This I am led to believe was something which had never been seen or attempted before in either British and world military history, and was a very radical concept to achieve. Not least because of the practicalities of the task ahead and having no wish to belittle or dishonour anything that had gone before. However the thinking I understand was that a volunteer would probably be better motivated to provide the commitment and professionalism to take all three services into the modern world and its future. One of the many ways in which this change came about in my particular arm of the services was the standardisation of training throughout the whole of the British Army. In other words, the thinking was that all Infantry Officers and NCO’s would be trained in, and to the exact same standardised level of warfare regardless of cap badge and role. For my regiment the Royal Green Jackets this was music to its ears, as it and its former regiments had always been renowned for its forward thinking, innovation and trail blazing of infantry tactics.
Too often in recent times it seems the word ‘hero’ has been more than overly mis-used to describe various celebrities and stars of showbusiness and sport. You know the sort of thing ‘The Heroes of Coronation Street to Climb Kilimanjaro for Charadee’ or ‘The Heroes of England’s World Cup Squad Do It Again’ (but didn’t). And on and on it goes in a complete mish-mash of over usage and misnomer.
Located on a hillside just off the main road leading into the town of Brecon the barracks themselves were typical of their time; in other word’s nothing more than a scattering of wooden ‘spider’ buildings used for accommodation and classrooms. They were given this rather odd name because each building consisted of a central oblong ablution block What Makes a Hero?
Now I don’t know if any of you readers have ever been to the Brecon Beacons and its adjacent training area at Sennybridge, but let me tell you that underneath that scenic and calm exterior of mountains, moors, marshes and lush valleys lies a rip-roaring monster of micro climates that will freeze and boil you to death – and all in the same day too!
Anyway, back to my story where on a cold and frosty January morning in the very early 70s, I together with another SNCO from the battalion promptly presented ourselves at the main gate of Deering Lines. There to greet us at the gate was a uniformed and unusually fit looking pen pusher who immediately dispatched us to our accommodation blocks to unload our equipment. He also informed us in no uncertain terms we were to parade outside the HQ building by the main gate at 9am on the dot where we would be briefed by the course Warrant Officer. Having unloaded our kit and still wearing our standard civilian outfit of sweatshirt, jeans and desert boots, we leisurely made our way back to the appointed meeting place where together with 38 similarly clad others shuffled into something resembling three ranks on the road outside the HQ building. The only foreboding and later to prove prophetical cloud on the horizon leading up to that point was the sight of heavily armed individuals and groups dressed in full combat gear running around like loons. Even those coming and going to the dining room would have given Usain Bolt a decent run for his money! Mind boggling and a little bit disconcerting to say the least. Anyway, still shuffling around and trying to get into some sort of order on the road our chatter was suddenly broken by a roaring scream which roughly translated as “Shut the f**k up!”. The owner of this said voice and standing on the veranda facing us was clearly the course Warrant Officer. There he stood – all 5'6" of him but built horizontally across the shoulders like a brick outhouse. It’s no exaggeration to say his screwed up face was like a butcher’s chopping block with little piggy eyes and a flattened nose spread across both cheeks. On top of his head and obviously worn with great pride sat a very bleached maroon Para beret. S**t! we all thought this doesn’t look too good – and then he began to prove us right!
Royal Green Jackets Association 81 What
• 2.15pm the sound of running rubber soled boots is heard getting nearer. Suddenly in front of us and wearing a well-worn tam-o-shanter and other accoutrements of Scottish origin appears a seemingly young, obviously fit and wiry looking Lt Col – our CO at last.
He began by explaining in detail that he thought all non-maroon bereted soldiers were lady boys and posing w**kers. He finally finished off by asking if anyone didn’t want to do the course? Bloody hell we thought ‘was the Pope a Catholic?’ Well of course at that point and after such a lovely welcome all 40 of us bl***y well didn’t! But there was only one who had the bravado to say so because from somewhere in our midst a strong voice with a heavy Scouse accent suddenly said: “I don’t la!” Looking around for the ‘dead man walking’ we could see the stocky figure of this ‘blasphemer’ who surprisingly had a calm if somewhat insane grin on his face given to what he had just admitted to. That was it – old chopping block face went completely puce and clearly struggling to maintain a bit of self-control he finally managed to ask in a threatening and dragged out tone “Whhyyyy?” “Oh, quite simple” says our Scouse lad “I have no intention of being f**ked about by tw*ts like yoose and yer mates”.
• 2.10pm still no sign of the CO – everyone now getting a bit fidgety.
• 2pm comes around and we are now in uniform in three smart multi badged ranks on the road in front of the HQ building. Standing on the veranda facing us and still in his civilian clothes and with his suitcase at his side was our Scouser, whilst old chopping block face stomped up and down in front of us while muttering to himself as only the insane can.
Hero?
• 2.05pm comes around – no sign of the CO.
“Gentlemen” says the CO “Please accept my apologies for my lateness, but as you probably know today we received notification of the Queens Honours and Awards for the military, and as a
For the sake of the faint hearted and having to use too many asterisks I won’t go into any more detail at this point other than to say the Scouse lad was roundly and loudly berated for having no guts, and that furthermore he would be RTU’d (Returned to Unit) later that day but only after we had all been given a short address from the Commanding Officer at 2pm. Phew!
Editor’s note: The following account of the briefing has been heavily censored by Mary Whitehouse –here is the revised and condensed version:
The Makes a with three barrack rooms jutting out from either side, like the body and legs of a spider when viewed from the air. I know spiders have eight legs but you get the general idea. Just inside the typical barriered main gate was a verandaed wooden Headquarters office – a place everyone would quickly get to know quite well within the first 12 hours of arrival!
My hero!
number of you have received an award, and because you will be here for the next couple of months I thought I would ring your CO’s and ask if I could make a short statement to those here who have been honoured on their behalf”. Hmmm! We all thought this is going to be entertaining.
The Royal Green Jackets Association 82 What Makes a Hero?
• Sgt Kitbag eventually gained the top noncommissioned rank of WO1 RSM in his regiment The Kings Regiment.
John F-D
Two things happened at that moment that have stuck in my memory ever since. The first was the wide-open mouth and incredulous look on the mug of old chopping block face. What a smack in the teeth that was after calling the Scouse lad gutless earlier that morning. The second and in many ways the most impressive was the Colonel who on turning around to confront the voice from behind him, and quickly sussing out the situation said without the slightest hint of surprise in his tone “Oh I see you are not staying with us then!” As you can imagine this immediately prompted gales of raucous laughter and cheering from us louts. After coming forward and shaking the Colonels hand the Scouse lad went back to the veranda, picked up his suitcase, and made his way to the gate to a typical accompaniment of whistles and good-humoured banter from us condemned idiots. Stopping at the gate he turned around, paused, gave us all a long hard stare, and then executed the most meaningful one fingered salute to us all you have ever seen!
Post notes:
• The Military Medal (MM) was awarded to other ranks for extreme bravery in battle on land. It was discontinued in 1993 and replaced with the Military Cross (MC) for all ranks.
Really getting into his stride he began by starting at what is generally accepted as the lower end of the awards scale by naming various individuals. All very good and worthy of course, and polite applause rippled through our ranks after each one was Workingnamed. his way upwards through the awards and accompanied by more enthusiastic applause he finally said: “Gentlemen, the best I have saved till last which is the award of the Military Medal* to someone here, but before I name the recipient let me first read out the citation which accompanies the award”. Well I won’t go into the charmless and characterless way such citations are usually written so again I will condense the essential bits as follows: Night time. South Armagh Northern Ireland 1972. two armed gunmen holed up in a derelict farmhouse. Unnamed soldier goes in on his own and takes both out with maximum violence. Job done! Excellent here’s a medal! As you can imagine this was received with rapturous applause and dare I say it? What seemed like a look of dark jealousy on the face of old chopping block. “Therefore” continued the Colonel “I would like to congratulate Sgt Kitbag on his award of the MM”. There followed a long tumbleweed moment during which everyone glanced around to see who Sgt Kitbag was. When finally, and from the direction of the veranda came a clear Scouse voice “Yes Sah!”
Photograph courtesy of the family of the Late Sgt Ian Peek RGJ
The only caveat is Andy needs to be given enough notice, to book a Bugler through the army system without any cost to the family.
There are, inevitably, an increasing number of occasions when our members and their family and friends wish to honour the Regimental service of one of our departed veterans, by draping a Regimental flag or RGJ covering over their coffin. As the RGJ National Association, we wish to support these requests and so have a number of Regimental flags and Regimental coffin covers available specifically for this.
Should you wish to borrow either a Regimental coffin cover or a Regimental flag for the funeral for one of our departed veterans, then Please contact either: Hugh Goudge on 01924 849020 or email: oldsweat@yahoo.co.uk for requests from north of Birmingham Andy Spalding at the Rifles RHQ on mobile 07543 221733 for southern area requests.
The only requirement will be to return these items, within two weeks of the funeral, to Hugh or Andy in order that they are available for others to use. This is, of course, in addition to having a Bugler to sound the Last Post and Reveille, which for many of us is a long-held wish. Hence, a reminder that if you are looking for a Bugler to attend a funeral service then please contact: Andy Spalding on 07543 221733 or by email: gjc@the-rifles.co.uk
The Royal Green Jackets Association 83 One’s Final Parade
One’s Final Parade Honouring Our Departed Rifleman
WhenRiflemen.we eventually came down, we flew to Aden, rather than Bahrain. Problem...how to get back to Cyprus. Solution visit the Group Captain at RAF Kormaskar. He had a DSO and a DFC and was very helpful. he diverted a Comet 4, which turned out to be a medical cas-evac plane. Once on board and away we were struck by lightning! Arrived at El Adem in Libya in the early morning. Problem how to get back to Cyprus Mk 2. On the runway was an Eagle Airlines Viscount, which then did some of the medium range trooping for the army. Met the pilot who said he was flying empty to Akrotiri that afternoon. I signalled Dhekelia requesting to be met. We were; we arrived at Alexander barracks to be met by Major (Later General Sir) Frank Kitson the battalion 2 i/c. Hoping to be congratulated for showing superb initiative for a junior officer not yet 20 in getting my little force back safely, all I received were three words: “What kept you?” The following day we all joined the battalion in Nicosia.
An Orders Group in the Pissouri training area, which was (I think) between Paphos and Episkopi. Due to the troubles, the training was somewhat farcical, as we were not allowed to fire blanks. Two of those in the group are sadly no longer with us. Jimmy Glover and Jeremy Clowes. Anthony Walker, twin son of the famous jungle General Sir Walter Walker, became an estate agent. Brian Nicholson went into the church and I was an investment manager. Jeremy worked for Holland & Holland & Michael Richards, a tobacco company. Date 1964. L/R. Major (later General) Glover. 2/Lieuts Tony Walker, Brian Nicholson, Simon Toynbee, Capt. Jeremy Clowes (Recce Pl). Sgt. Crawford (also Recce Pl). Captain Michael Richards (2 i/c B Co). Simon Tonybee
The Royal Green Jackets Association 84 Simon Tonybee
Below are a few memories I have from my time in the regiment Blackburn Beverley December 1963 Company O Group Oman December 1963
A small group (10) of Riflemen went to Bahrain as guests of the Parachute Battalion and were attached to ‘B’ Company, which was commanded by a delightful 60th officer called Major Beak. They had a mascot, called Bravo, who was a huge Great Dane, who went everywhere with them, though I don’t think he jumped out of an aeroplane. We moved on to Oman where we climbed the Jebel Akhdar, 8½ thousand feet and patrolled amongst the various villages. It was very tough going with spectacular scenery, possibly lost on most of the
November 1963 – January 1964
The RB chronicle for that year said: “Something must have gone wrong”. Nothing went wrong!
3GJ returned from Cyprus in 1964 to Felixstowe before moving again in 1965 on another unaccompanied tour this time to Borneo and Malaya via Hong Kong. During this time we carried out extensive patrolling in the jungle. We did have a CSA show brought to us to given us some light relief. The main star being Frankie Howerd. One moment stands out for me when the the battalion doctor, the very charming Gordon Harris delivered this baby in a remote kampong (village). This earned the patrolling platoon the undying admiration and thanks from the village, which contributed in a big way to cementing the hearts and minds campaign.
The Royal Green Jackets Association 85 Simon Tonybee
Borneo
There were many memories and some of them are captured in photos, some of you may remember the people in the photos.
The patrol commander (me) knew nothing about delivering babies, but the headman of the village told us the mother was in a bad way. We summoned the doctor by helicopter and it all ended happily. I believe the baby, who looks as if it was a girl, was called Gordon.
Sheed Raab – Cyprus 1964 CSE Show 1965 Dr Harris
I have always wanted to walk in the footsteps of our forefathers and retrace their journey through the mountains of Northern Spain. In particular the region of Galicia which is still pretty much underdeveloped, and you can still get a good idea of what Spain looked like in the winter of 1808-1809. In 2016 I walked from St Jean Pied du Port in France along the Camino de Santiago de Compostela for approximately 500 miles. About 80 miles of it followed the route taken by Sir John Moore. Even today the landscape is incredibly beautiful but unforgiving.
I, and other Royal Green Jacket and RIFLES veterans, are planning an adventure doing just that. A group of mates with a common interest walking and camping across Spain. Minimal fuss and a keen sense of comradeship enjoying the experience and each other’s company. It will nice once again to sit down around a campfire with old mates and share a few beers away from the complexities of modern life. Who Can Go? Anyone can go, invite your friends, wives, partners, and children. This adventure is inclusive to all so there will be a plan to get those not so mobile involved within reason. The only exception to this is if your mate’s a para! When Proposed Date two weeks in September 2022 ‘warm but not too hot’. How Far is it? Distance approximately 200 miles the plan will be to walk about 18 miles a day. Other Stuff The adventure will have two support vehicles so we will be able to move personal belonging to Spain. There will be a quad to support the walkers and Dickie will leapfrog ahead to set up the next nights camping arrangements. The plan it also to consider hiring a pick-up truck in Spain to add additional flexibility.
Friendship, blisters, wine, and song
We will be camping collectively so we are considering buying two-man tents in Spain and battle partners can share the cost on arrival or send your tent in the van. We need to be travelling light.
The Royal Green Jackets Association 86 Veterans Retreat Northern Spain
Getting There Dickie Bird will be driving a large van to Spain so you can send camping equipment and baggage to him. Dickie lives in Upper Heyford Oxfordshire. Your baggage items will be there when you arrive and accompany us along the journey. Baggage will be then repacked and returned to the UK.
In the bitter winter of 1808, a small British force found itself outnumbered and out manoeuvred by a French army led by Emperor Napoleon. Faced with a crushing defeat, the British, commanded by Sir John Moore, turned, and marched through the mountains of Northern Spain.
Initially we considered a 17-seater minibus to transport people to Spain and back. Unfortunately, the distance, time of travel, admin and cost could be problematic. The recommendation is to fly. Outward bound fly to Madrid then get a train to Astorga or share a hire car. On your return to the UK there are regular flights daily from Coruna and Santiago de Compostela.
Feeding Catering will be centralised and basic mainly biscuit, salted pork and rum. Some evening we will mess together others we will be in close proximity to restaurants’. At breakfast there will be tea/coffee making facilities, basic breakfast foods and the ability to make up a packed lunch. More details to follow. Dickie will run a canteen type set up from the van and will levy a small cost for breakfast and packed lunches. All participants are to supply their own mug and KFS. This can be sent by the admin vehicle or purchased locally.
So why not plan an adventure?
Medical Plan Ensure you have an in-date European Health Insurance Card and sufficient funds to get yourself home. There will be a first aider with a comprehensive medical pack on the route. More serious medical emergencies will be dealt with by the nearest Spanish medical facility. If you are on prescription medication, ensure you have sufficient supplies.
Preparation You should need to be able to walk up to 20 miles a day over undulating ground carrying up to 10kg. My personnel recommendation for a walking boot is the Altberg Sneaker its lightweight construction Veterans Retreat Northern Spain
My recommendation for long walks in a warm climate is the daily moistening of the feet with a petroleum jelly and quality socks rather than relying on hard feet.
Messing and camping costs will be paid when appropriate. Budget for about 30 euros a day.
offering support and flexibility. After walking across Spain in 2016 I strongly suggest that a boot with a waterproof lining is suicidal. In addition to boots I recommend something like a croc or walking sandal and a pair of trainers to wear of an evening.
Packing List Wearing: walking boots, quality socks, lightweight walking trousers or shorts, t-shirt, hat, and sunglasses. Personal items such as mobile phone, cash, passport, wallet.
Backpack: 2 litres of drinking water, fleece, waterproof jacket, sun block, one pair spare socks, lunch. Baggage held by Dicky Bird on vehicle: spare socks, spare evening clothing, sleeping bag, sleeping mat, washing, and shaving kit, towel, spare underwear, trainers.
The
Message for Direct Entry Officers (DE)
There are no requirements for Dinner Jacket’s or Golf Clubs, horses are optional, but riders will be responsible for their own fodder.
Royal Green Jackets Association 87 Veterans Retreat Northern Spain
Training Dutch Holland is hoping to scope a weekend in sunny Wales next year to help us prepare. Start tabbing now and get a decent pair of boots.
Finance All must be self-sufficient for those on a tight budget please speak to us directly there may be some funds available to help. There is no plan to collect money as this would be overly onerous.
Summary This initial information is by no means comprehensive and more information will follow. If you have anything to offer, please volunteer your connections and ideas. Between us we have a lot of contacts and access to finance and resources so let us share. Some are already coming in. Black and green the finest colours ever seen. Unless you were in the 43rd or 52nd then there was a hint of red. Unfortunately, the 60th did not take part in the retreat as they had previously upset Sir John Moore and had been sent back to Lisbon to guard the NAAFI.
The Royal Green Jackets Association 88 Csgt Ron Cassidy later Maj Ron Cassidy MBE Hasn’t changed a bit has he? Major Ron Cassidy MBE T: 01689 606116 M: 07522 757244 E: t-shirts,newslettersFromrequirements.toPleasenick@theprintguru.co.ukcalloremailNickdiscussallyourprintingbusinesscardstoleaflets,tojournals,posters,anythingthatinvolvesprint.ThePRINT Guru Major Ron Cassidy MBE
The Royal Green Jackets Association 89 Drummuckavall
The Bn was about three months into the South Armagh tour. B Coy was stationed in Crossmaglen (XMG), C Coy at Forkhill, A Coy at Newry, Sp Coy at Newtownhamilton, with the HQ and COP Pl at Bessbrook. So far it had been pretty non eventful, we had had a few incidents but nothing serious and no casualties. We were all kept busy in XMG with a pretty hard work schedule that consisted of a weekly rotation of rural or town patrols followed by guard/QRF duties.
Drummuckavall border crossing
On the morning of January 25th 5PL were on rural patrols and C/S21M (Sgt Ray Bennett MM) multiple was due out first. We departed by Wessex at 09:00hrs and the task for the day was to patrol around the outer area of XMG to provide cover for the town patrols and to carry out some int based tasks along the border from the area of the Moybane crossroads to the border crossing H27 at ThereDrummuckavall.hadbeenreports that PIRA had been carrying out IVCP’s in the general area along the road leading to the crossing and showing off their new “fast firing machine guns” which was believed to be the American M60. These weapons had not been used in any incidents so far but int reports indicated that they were in our area, so the task was to try and flush them out. We were dropped in the area of the Moybane crossroads and on departure of the helicopter we moved off in two 6-man bricks one commanded by Sgt Ray Bennet MM (Patrol Comd) and the other by myself, Cpl Mike Walsh. Rays brick comprised of Cpl Brad Bradbury, Rfn Beggers Begley Rfn Jock Scannel (Radio Op) Rfn Tommo Thompson (GPMG) and Rfn Taff Dwyer. My brick comprised myself Rfn O’Grady (Radio OP) Rfn Clark Rfn Zaple Rfn Jock Hammond (RIP) on the Bren gun and Rfn “Wallbanger” Harvey. We patrolled around the area for most of the morning criss-crossing the roads to avoid setting a pattern and carrying out snap VCP’s. About 12:00hrs we patrolled into a wooded area where we stopped and had lunch. After lunch we carried on with the patrol and approached the area of H27 which was the border crossing into the Republic. We had used the roads and the fields to patrol and my brick would cover Ray as he moved forward and then he would provide cover as we moved. When we arrived at the high ground overlooking the crossing my team was giving cover from the left side of the road along a hedgerow and we were spread out in a line with Rfn Clarke on the far left with Rfn Zaple myself and O’G and Hammy and Wallbanger nearest to the road. Rays patrol was by now on the road and started to move down the forward slope towards the border. They were well spread out with Brad front right Begs front left followed by Ray on their right and Jock on the left. Bringing up the rear was Tommo and Taff. As they started to move forward into the dead ground, they passed a yellow Datsun parked on the road by a house and the boot was open with a man doing something in the boot. They checked it out and it was all clear. As they moved off Jock carried out a Vengeful plate check back to Sax in the ops room at XMG. Being a good signaller, he knew that if he continued forward, he might not hear the reply as he was going into dead ground, so he held back. This caused the patrol to become more spaced out and Brad and Begs moved on with Ray on the right whilst Jock held back. This caused Tommo and Taff to hold back to avoid bunching up. Further down on the left side of the road was a gate and as Ray drew level with it he paused to check his map and check his bearings. Jock had yet to reach the gate. At 13:56hrs the boot lid of the yellow Datsun was slammed shut, this was the signal for the bombers to initiate the device that was dug in the field using the gatepost as a marker. Ray took the main force
Drummuckavall January 25th 1978
There was a red Mazda car which had stopped in the area of the blast and in the back, there was a milk churn, so I asked Brad what it was doing there. He told me that immediately after the blast this car had appeared over the rise from across the border and it appeared to be driven remotely as there was no driver at the wheel and there was a milk churn sticking up on the back seat. Brad and Beggers opened up on the car and eventually it came to a halt and a man got out. He had heard the shooting and bomb explosion as he drove down the road, got down behind the steering wheel and aimed the car down the road, he was very lucky he wasn’t killed. The man was a vet and the milk churn turned out to contain a large sample of bull semen.
The Royal Green Jackets Association 90 Drummuckavall of the explosion and he suffered serious head injuries and one of his legs was broken in three places, Jock had a lucky escape as he should have been standing next to the gatepost. I was looking at the area at the time when the earth suddenly erupted and black smoke and rocks were hurled into the air followed immediately by a bloody loud bang and heavy fire from rifles and machine guns from concealed firing positions along the border. We all immediately returned fire at these firing positions and within seconds Jock had sent “Contact – wait out” on the net. The explosion and gunfire was heard in XMG so everyone was aware that something had happened. After Jock had sent his contact report I got on the radio and asked if Sunray was ok to which Jock replied: “no he’s in a bad way over”. So I asked if Sunray minor (Brad) was able to continue, Jock replied: “no over”. Not knowing the full extent of the casualty list I asked 2 for a “big call sign” as I believed there were multiple casualties and then informed Jock that I was on my way over. Brad and Begs had been blown over by the blast but weren’t badly hurt and they initially opened fire but then went to the assistance of Ray who had been blown through the hedge. As I ran across the field to join the lads in the blast area, I passed to the rear of Hammy who was giving it rapid fire on the bren at the enemy fire positions. I remembered thinking that at this rate he would need someone to help him reload the mags very soon. I was just coming off the field onto the road and a gazelle that had landed in the field near the road was now departing low and fast and I thought “good, Ray will soon be in good hands” on arrival at the scene it was a bit chaotic. Ray was still on the ground being attended to by the lads and I could see that he was in a bad way. His injuries meant we were unable to give him morphine, however as he was carrying it in his webbing it was damaged and unusable anyway (he also had the M79 ammo around his waist and shrapnel from the bomb had damaged some of the rounds which were later taken away and destroyed by ATO).
The helicopter was drawing fire each time it approached so we made the decision to move Ray in the car back over the hill to some dead ground and transfer him there. Beggers immediately attacked the rear window with his rifle butt so as to give covering fire from the back seat but it was too small to get Ray in. The pilot came in to try again and this time landed on top of the crater, as he landed, he jettisoned the left hand door abandoning it in the crater and this allowed us to get Ray in to the chopper and lay him flat on his back on the floor. I remember looking at the pilot who was staring at Taff who was about a metre from him giving him covering fire with the GPMG. When we got him in to the chopper Ray’s head was still overhanging on the outside so the co-pilot (who I believe was only an Air trooper) stood on the skids and leaning in held Rays head in his hands and the pilot lifted off. Ray was flown to XMG where the doctor had already arrived from Bessbrook and ordered the cookhouse to be cleared, tables washed down and be ready to operate on Ray to stabilise him if needed before moving him on. On landing Sandy Bissett (RIP) the CSM and Pat Veasey the CQMS got Ray off the chopper and after a quick assessment by the doctor he was cleared to travel and immediately transferred to a waiting Puma and flown to Musgrave Park Hospital in Belfast. Meanwhile back at the contact I waited for the gazelle to depart and then ran back up the road where Brad had set up the ICP. I saw two warrant officers with white badges of rank on their combats so I assumed they were ATO and RESA (how did they get here so quickly?) and next to them was a civilian. It transpired that the Bn Master Chef Harry Barlow based in Bessbrook was going to Castledillon with his opposite number from there on an admin run not expecting anything out of the ordinary. When XMG requested a chopper, Buzzard diverted the nearest aircraft which happened to be the gazelle. They were in the back totally unaware of what was going on when the pilot informed them that he was diverting to pick up a casualty on the border. When they arrived overhead the pilot pointed to an area about 100m behind the contact area and said he was dropping them off and they were to
The Royal Green Jackets Association 91 Drummuckavall January 25th 1978 make their way to the soldiers. The civilian was the driver of the car we had bashed up in an attempt to get Ray back to dead ground.
I was getting myself sorted out and re-organising the multiple and had just run back to the crater area when a gazelle landed and out jumped the CO, the late Lt Col Corden-Lloyd OBE MC. “Cpl Walsh you have nobody on the high ground off to the right” he shouted. “No sir” I said: “But the RAF are inbound and will land there soon.” “Who is that out in front? Are they gunmen?” “No sir that’s the Garda.” ”Who is that over there.” “That’s the Irish army sir.” “OK” He said: “Where can I help? Well Rfn Hammy needs help filling his mags sir.” I said jokingly. More helicopters arrived bringing specialists, the OC Major Mike W/O MC arrived from XMG, ATO and RESA (the real ones) who then went about their job working out how big the device was and how it was initiated. Two plain clothes RUC men had also arrived and were talking to the Garda on their bulky Pye Westminster radio. At about 17:00hrs we were going to be choppered out back to XMG and the other Pl multiple under comd of Capt “Brodders” was going to secure the area overnight, the LI had also arrived earlier as ARF. Dusk was falling as the Puma made his approach when suddenly the sky is filled with green tracer that is floating across the sky and heading straight for the Puma. My multiple and the two RUC took cover behind walls and ditches and the pilot was still unaware of the green tracers zipping past him from the south. When he eventually did, he turned right and was gone. We didn’t fire back as there were troops in front of us but that didn’t stop others from joining in and a few frustrations were expended in that short time (you know who you are) Normally the PIRA don’t hang around after a bomb attack but this time the Garda and an Irish army patrol were in the area and they (PIRA) had opened fire on them as they made their way back south. This delayed their escape so they were still working their way along the border when they decided to engage the helicopter. I thought that was it and I was going to be spending the night out here but the pilot found an area about 200m back in dead ground and told us to head for that where he landed and we got on for the short hop to XMG. On arrival we unloaded our weapons and went to the debriefing room where we carried out an ammo and kit check. There was a lot of form filling that night and subsequent days. Ray spent some time in hospital and recovered mainly due to his excellent level of fitness. The OC and myself flew up to see him in MPH a few days after and he was still in pain but looking better than when I had last seen him. He was medevaced back to the mainland soon after. We still meet up at reunions and chew the fat and we both realise how lucky he was but good teamwork on the day saved him. Some weeks later I was introduced to a visiting VIP who on hearing my name said: “Ah you’re the one that told the CO to shut up that he didn’t know what he was on about and until he did to go and fill some bren mags for the gunner.” “Er I don’t remember it being exactly those words sir.” I said rather sheepishly. Many years later I saw a cutting from a paper from over the border which Gaz C had saved and it gives a much shorter report of the action on the day. However, it did confirm the M60’s were in the area. I would just like to say that I have written this as best as I can remember. Others may have different versions and had seen things that occurred away from my position that day. There were other bits and pieces that I heard happened as a result of the contact but as I’m unable to confirm them I have not mentioned them here. Others may wish to add their versions of events that happened on the day and on days afterwards. Nobody claimed any hits that day and all we hit apparently was the roof of some farmhouse across the border so I don’t see any claims under the Historical Enquiry Team or early morning raids on my address, but you never know. We were very lucky that day in that Ray was the only serious casualty, Jock was lucky that he held back and the others behind didn’t bunch up. The bomb was designed to inflict the most damage to someone in the field and therefore it was lucky that the patrol had only recently switched from field to road otherwise casualties might have been worse. This was the same location that the Fusiliers had lost three dead and one wounded in November 1975 when their OP, commanded by a L/Cpl was compromised. They had no mutual support and it was because of this that the minimum strength of a patrol in the border area was to be a multiple commanded by at least a Sgt. You were also allowed to have “one up the spout” once you got to within I think 500m of the border. Soon after I left for my R&R and I was invited in to the Westgate in Winchester to brief friends of Ray on what had happened and how he was recovering. This was the first time I had ever been in there as it was only for training and permanent staff. Someone even bought me a pint.
The shore visits included a trip to the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery (CWGC) at Archangel which contains graves and memorials to British Service personnel who died in what was known as ‘The Intervention’ in the Russian Civil War of 1919 –1922 following The Russian Revolution that had taken the country out of The First World War. The Intervention was to support White Russian forces fighting the communist Red Army: the initial declared reason to send an expeditionary force was to guard stores and ammunition. Amongst the memorials are a number dedicated to members of The Ox & Bucks Light Infantry. On arrival, the troops were astonished at how cold the place was and the poverty of the peasants of the local population. They were also amazed by such sights as the Cossack horsemen and local sledges often pulled by bears! In common with all CWGCs, the site is immaculately kept, however the approach was through a pine forest and over wooden duckboards. Adjacent to the CWGC is another more modern military cemetery that commemorates Russian troops killed in Afghanistan. The land area is an archipelago, made famous by Alexander Solzhenitsyn whose books feature the prison camps or Gulags. Thick pine forests but infested with fearsome midges highly resistant to most insect repellents are a feature of the area. Deep in the forest a church had been used as a prison from which visitors could now look out across the area. Remarkable for its views, however, back in the Soviet era the inhabitants were taken there for their views! Transport here was in a Soviet era bus, lacking suspension and reminiscent of riding in the back of a 4 tonner.
Riflemen
Back in June 2016 (the day of the Brexit vote no less) I left England to join a cruise ship to deliver fitness lessons to passengers. The ship was to visit the White Sea area of Russia and then make its way back down the coast of Norway and dock back in Blighty at Portsmouth.
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the far north
Part 2: On board the ship was Rear Admiral John Riflemen in the far north in
The
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Lippiett (Retired), a fellow presenter to passengers, his subject matter being aspects of naval history including a lecture on The Arctic Convoys of World War Two. Suffice to say that in contrast to the wartime newsreel footage of the Arctic Convoys, mountainous seas and ice encrusted ships, the sea was as calm as a pond and there was almost 24 hours of bright sunshine! Indeed, I sent several messages home saying: “It’s midnight and I am wearing shades! Ridiculous!” As the ship left the White Sea a service to commemorate both those who had served on the convoys and those whose names appeared in the Archangel cemetery was planned. Thinking ahead I had packed my beret and regimental tie so could put in an appearance, pointing out to Admiral John that the RGJ cap badge incorporated a naval crown and that a number of the graves and memorials represented members of the RGJ antecedent regiments. For the service a wreath was created from flowers liberated from displays on board. Improvise, adapt, overcome! The main event took place inside the main bar area on the upper deck then everyone made their way outside where after a few more words of blessing the wreath was cast in the sea. Myself and the ship’s captain delivered a salute on behalf of our respective services much to the appreciation of all present, many of whom had relatives who had served in the region years ago. After the service Admiral John thanked me for my contribution with the words: “Glad to see the Army bringing some military precision to this event.”
Riflemen in
Dave Dee 4 RGJ/5 RGJ the far north
Veterans’ Reunion
We all know that sadly our annual July Reunion at Winchester this year had to be cancelled due to Covid-19. A great shame for everyone but also especially to the hard working members of the Reunion Sub Committee for which many thanks as usual. However, their work was not entirely wasted as the arrangements will be carried over into our 2021 Reunion, I hope? Despite this, and not to disappoint you, there was a RGJ Reunion, of sorts and far away, in Sydney, Australia which I fully organised and without Roy Stanger too. So I thought it might be worth recording this in light of the fact that my usual Reunion article would need amending somewhat. The occasion co-insided with my 70th birthday which I had decided to spend in Sydney visiting my sister and family for three weeks. Although my actual birthday was on Monday 27 January we decided to celebrate on the Sunday instead and to combine it with Australia Day which is a big occasion and public holiday in OZ. Past parties started at 12:00hrs and usually lasts for 10-12 hours and this was no exception. My sister invited her usual friends and I invited two Green Jackets who were in Australia at the time – Peter Hall, who I served with in 1 RGJ way back in the late 1960’s and early 1970s, and Kelvin Crumplin ex 3 RGJ, who was our film director for our 50th Anniversary Reunion in 2016 and also never stopped ribbing us 1 RGJ boys about 3 RGJ!! Peter with his wife Pauline had travelled up from Melbourne 1,000 miles away by car the previous day or so and Kelvin and his wife Sue were out on an extended stay to absorb some sunshine. It was really nice to have some andconnectionspastpresentinallthere were about 27 of us Thepresent.day was hot with temperatures in the mid 30˚ degrees and due to werepartythesisterpreparationexcellentbymyandfamilyallfood,drinkanddecorationsallreadybyH hour at 12:00hrs. The theme for the party was cricket as can be seen from some of the photos. To make the Australians feel at home a cricket ball decoration with a piece of sandpaper attached welcomed them at the front door as Oz cricketers are familiar with this kind of behaviour! Drinks and food was in plentiful supply and everyone, including a great cricketing friend from SCG who was also the Mayor of the local district, mixed in well and we all had a great time. Such fun. Thank you, sister, the food, the drink and decorations were outstanding. Amid all the drinking, eating and swimming we had decided to have some interaction with a game called beer pong in the afternoon. Beer pong was a game I learnt out there in 2013 and it is basically a drinking game played over a table tennis table. Ten plastic beakers are arranged in a triangular pattern at each end of the table and one has to throw a ping pong ball full toss into the beaker which then has to be drunk immediately by the opposition. The side with no beakers left on the table loses. The game can be played either in a singles or doubles format. Not as easy as some might think. Anyway much to the Oz’s chagrin I was the single champion from four year’s previous when I visited and Dr Greg McDonald who runs the best Veterans’ Reunion 26th January 2020 Green Jackets lose the ashes ‘beer pong’ urn in Sydney
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Simon Booth-Mason Chairman RGJA Reunion Sub Committee.
A&E Dept in Sydney suggested then that in future we should play for a trophy and in 2018 while on a UK trip he went to Lords Cricket ground and bought a replica Ashes urn. Being a highly fun and social occasion we decided to play in teams of three for the Ashes urn. So the RGJ team consisted of Peter, Kelvin and myself against Dr Greg, my nephew Robbi and Huseyin. I did realise then that already the Aussies were up to their old tricks as Peter and Kelvin had not played this before which I did not know. So an ‘O’ Group was called for as evidenced by the photos. To cut a long story short we went down fighting in this inaugural match, lost the urn, much to my disappointment but we had loads of fun inspite of the Rules for the day drawn up in my favour – see rule eight. I will have to return soon and attempt to win the Ashes urn back either on my own or with a different team? Maybe all of 1 RGJ, Kelvin? By 23:30hrs we were all fading after a wonderful day which was made all the better with Green Jacket presence. Thank you Peter and Kelvin and your lovely wives for joining the party.
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On a more serious note, our SJMB 2021 Reunion is now well advanced in planning but we will be looking at the Government Covid guidelines around April/May 2021 in order to decide whether our Reunion can proceed or not. I sincerely hope it can and look forward to seeing you all on July 10, God Takewilling.care and enjoy Christmas.
I was informed one day that 10 platoon would be going on a two day patrol to the border, my first in charge and rather daunting for me whose only military experience had been the CCF at school, but I was comforted by the fact that my Sgt Paddy Maher was very experienced. On the day I got to the platoon I was told that Sgt Maher was not well and would not be coming, I went rather pale but thankfully my tanned face hid my angst! We survived much to everyone’s relief.
Black Mafia
The war was beginning to subside, contact with the enemy was infrequent, mainly due to the British Army’s increasingly aggressive tactics of hitting Indonesian bases well over the border, these tactics were part of ‘Operation Claret’. Which had been officially sanctioned by the then Labour Government, not strictly legal by international law Italian in the Black Mafia
It was unexpected as I was hoping for a short service commission having finished at Dublin University and then spent an uninspiring year working as a clerk at Barclays Bank. I was never meant to be a banker and one evening trudging back. In the rain along Oxford Street I spotted a poster in a shop window ‘JOIN THE ARMY AND SEE THE WORLD’. That was it, a letter to RHQ in Winchester and an interview arranged with Col Butler (RB). His first words were: “I see you have a degree, the army is looking for graduates and you can get a direct commission on 6 months probation, just get through RCB.” I rather liked the idea, into the Army without digging trenches on Salisbury plain and nobody shouting at me.
I joined C company under Major Peter Welsh, completed the Jungle Warfare course at Joohor Bahru and joined the Regiment. By then the 2nd Battalion RGJ in Sabah (North Borneo), at the start of a tour of operation against Indonesian forces who for several years had been trying to invade the former British colonies of Sarawak and Sabah, they were supported by communist East Germany. C Company was based at a heavily fortified camp Serudong Laut on the banks of a fast flowing tidal river. I was with 10 platoon, Mick Yasa with 9 and Nick Chance with 11. And so began life in the jungle, frequent patrols to the Indonesian border, liaising with local Dyak militia, clearing new helipads and volleyball matches every evening of course.
massive building. As expected, I was ignored, it was mid afternoon, most people sitting around drinking Tiger beers. I spotted a very smartly turned out person, white jacket with red trim and cross belt, assumed he was a waiter and ordered a beer. It was in fact 2nd Lt Mick Yasa, duty officer of the day! We remain good friends to this day. As you can see, it is not easy to convert from a civvy to a soldier in record time, one negotiates daily minefields. The saving grace was Colonel Dwin, not intimidating and a master at putting people at ease, not surprising that he became a Field Marshal and head of all British Armed Forces, what a man.
“I assume you would like to join the Rifle Brigade, they are in Hong Kong at the moment.” I did not want to offend the colonel, a staunch RB, but I rather fancied the 60th, as my Mother was American and the regiment was originally the 60th Royal AndAmericans.soonthe 4 October I found myself striding to the Officers Mess Peninsula Barracks in my brand new uniform, I threw a very impressive salute to a smartly dressed soldier at the entrance of the mess thinking he must be at least a General, in fact he was the driver of a senior officer he had just dropped off for lunch, he was rather Astartled!couple of weeks of sword drill and how to strip a Bren gun and I found myself on a plane to Singapore. What a start to my military career the exotic Orient, searing heat, the aroma of spices in the air, colour, sarongs, doe-y eyed Malays, Barclays Bank never stood a chance. As a graduate, the authorities assumed my brain was different, so straight onto a Malay language course at Nee Soon and here is a book on radio procedure, you’ll soon pick up the rest. The regiment was in Penang, Minden Barracks. I got there for Christmas, the Colonel was Dwin Bramall, the RSM WO1 Rimmer, very few officers were married, so the mess was full of people, it was a
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I was commissioned into the 60th Rifles (KRRC) in October 1965. I must confess it was a rather unusual entry, no MONS, no Sandhurst, just straight in from one day to the next it was a case of ‘arise 2nd Lieutenant Pampanini’!
Thein the
Italian in the Black Mafia / Lawrence of Arabia RGJ Style but it certainly brought the conflict to an end by June 1966. On one such patrol which combined 9 and 10 platoons (9 by then led by Vere Hayes), we did indeed ‘bump’ the enemy. 10 platoon was at the rear moving along with minds in neutral to be suddenly startled by a wave of gunfire, sounded a bit like Chinese New Year, ‘crack and thump’ for real, everyone diving for cover. Luckily the RA Captain in charge of our gun battery had volunteered to come on patrol with us, he grabbed my radio and using my call sign directed gunfire from our howitzer at base to a spot just ahead of the lead platoon. It was pinpoint accuracy and the battle was soon over. For a while it looked as if it was me directing the shells, the glory did not last long! That was just about the last of the excitement and so back to Penang on HMS Sir Galahad.
John Pentreath was OC D Company at the time and a good horseman which was just as well as he had a lively horse that was spooked every time the Riflemen completed a drill movement behind him. When the camel appeared it really spooked the horse and John disappeared off parade at the gallop. He returned having got his steed under control – the Riflemen later presented him with a ‘Lone Ranger’ mask as he had done so well! Footnote I am told the Riflemen much appreciated the anarchy and also temporary promotion to CO didn’t do Mark Pashby any harm either as he was later awarded the MBE in 2002. His own story is perhaps one for next year though – Editor.
Lawrence of Arabia RGJ Style – a day in 1987 for 2 RGJ to remember
The Royal Green Jackets Association
Major Richard Matters who died in September 2020 is responsible for one of the great Regimental moments when, as a Coy Comd in 2 RGJ in Warminster, his CO, Lt Col (later Brig) Vere Hayes, decided that ‘Field Officers should be mounted’ on a Battalion muster parade. He failed to specify ‘on horses.’ The band struck up the theme tune from Lawrence of Arabia and Richard appeared on a camel (borrowed from Longleat) led by his Company 2ic, Capt Gillian Wright WRAC. I asked Vere to explain the background to this event and what happened that day. The Battalion was always scattered around supporting the School of Infantry therefore we seldom saw everyone together. As CO it was therefore, for me, important that we took any opportunity there was to do something together as a battalion, and something the Riflemen would enjoy and remember. (Battalion Muster Parade – enjoy? Umm editor.) We did aerobics once led by Mrs Chapman who had been a dancer with ‘Hot Gossip’. Platoons could wear what they liked – the Milan platoon came in grass skirts – and all thought it would be a doddle, but she had everyone exhausted within minutes! Among other things we also did an ‘Exercise Turnaround’ when the chain of command handed over their positions to Riflemen; As the CO I handed over to was Rfn (as he was then) Pashby. It was good fun and many Riflemen learned that exercising command was not as simple as they thought! Did you know Richard was going to do it? “No, I had no idea. My mount was spooked by the camel as well and despite my best efforts slowly,
97 and with great dignity, reversed up the grassy slope behind me. Thank heavens it too did not gallop off, I was no horseman!”
L-R Steve Hartley, Bill Logdon and Me
In May 1993 the adjutant, Harry Emck called me to his office and asked me whether I fancied a Loan Service tour in Oman at their Army equivalent of School of Infantry. It was not a difficult decision. I was accepted for the role and awaited joining instructions to learn colloquial Arabic at the Defence School of Language in Beaconsfield. In late August I set off to the camp of Aydim which was to be my home for the next 26 months. The camp of Aydim was based on the former British airbase of Manston which was used during the Dhofar campaign. Stepping out of the vehicle in Aydim the first things that hit me were the heat and intense light. The rocky landscape is very light in colour and the sunlight is intensified to such a degree that sunglasses are a must until your eyes adapt. It was here that I was to put my ten weeks of Arabic study into practice for the first time with one of the Omani soldiers. “Salaam alaykum, kayf halkum, aysh al akhbar” says I. The reaction I received was either he thought I was a complete muppet, or I had learnt the wrong language. The first day was familiarising myself with everything. We went to the Sgt’s Mess, and I met the others in the Loan Service team. My job was to oversee the Platoon Sergeants Battle Course to ensure instruction was up to the required standard, and to supervise all live firing as the Safety Officer.
There were four other loan service C/Sgts who were responsible for the Section Commanders Battle Course, (Steve Hartley 1 RGJ) the Heavy Machine Gun course, and two who supervised the Mortar Course. In addition, there was a contractor who was a uniformed range Warrant Officer, and a civilian contractor who maintained all the portable electric targets. My OC was a guy called Rex (Tex) Matthews who was part of G Sqn 22 SAS at the time of the Battle of Mirbat. The 2I/C of the school was Bill Logdon, ex RGJ who became a contractor and worked his way up to Lt Col in the Omani Army. I went to the stores and collected my uniform and webbing which was all based on Brit Army desert
Loan Service Oman
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The training team was made up of a Jebali WO2 who was IC of the course, two Jebali C/Sgts and two Omani C/Sgts. Also, there were two Baluchi J/ NCO’s who ran the admin. Only one of the J/NCO’s could understand English, so I was hoping my Arabic would improve. I received a warm welcome from them all apart from one of the Jebali’s called Badr. Jebalis are naturally suspicious and he went out of the way to let me know what he thought of me. He used to gaze at me constantly tutting and pretending he couldn’t understand what I was saying. After a while my natural charm shone through and he became a very loyal friend.
The SNCO’s Battle Course consisted of a mix of instruction, fitness, dry exercises and live firing exercises at section and platoon level. I was thrust into the first course after about a week or two. This gave me a chance to practice my Arabic. The Omani pamphlets are direct copied translations from the British. I had learned to read Arabic at Beaconsfield and so it was possible to learn key phrases such as ‘Section Battle Drills’ ‘Prepare for Battle’ etc. I was also helped by the resident translator who was Sudanese who taught me the correct pronunciation.
The Royal Green Jackets Association 99 Loan Service Oman DPM and 58 pattern webbing. All Omani regiments have distinctive berets usually of a quite bright colour. At the school we wore red berets. I changed into uniform and went to meet the Omani instructors. Oman is ethnically divided between northern Omanis who are generally fairly short squat people and southern Omanis who are generally taller and wiry having derived from different ethnic backgrounds. The southerners from Dhofar speak Arabic, but also have their own dialect known as Jebali (from the Arabic Jebel for mountains).
A large part of the role was range safety. One live firing exercise consisted of a single CQB lane with a live grenade throw at the end. Each student was supervised by one of the instructors with me following behind and operating the electric target by remote signal box. Of course, at some point there was going to be a grenade that fails to detonate, and who was the mug that has to go forward to detonate? Normally a relatively harmless task after waiting the 30-minute soak time. Considering that Jebalis are nomadic you would think that they would be very patient. Not Badr. He decided the easiest way to detonate the grenade was to put the rifle onto automatic and let rip a burst of fire. Fortunately, he missed, and I managed to persuade him that my way was better. My Arabic improved beyond my expectations and I was able to converse easily towards the end of the first course, and after a year there I was about as fluent as was possible. The Omanis did not like teaching certain lessons such as Trip Flare set up, SNCO Training Team
The Royal Green Jackets Association 100 me and asked if I could take the lesson with Ali the admin Corporal there to translate anything that I could not get across, or if I was asked a question that I did not fully understand. The reason they did not like teaching the grenade lesson was despite the fact that a drill grenade was used, if Allah wanted it to explode, it would explode.
Range days started with us leaving camp at 6am for the 30-minute drive to the range complexes which were a mix of all types including a grenade range through to CQB right the way up to Stage 5 Field Firing. Breakfast was taken at about 9am and consisted of dahl and japatti sat around in a circle eating with our hands from a ‘Taffadal Tray’ (Taffadal roughly translating to be generous). Within minutes we were usually joined by a number of camels that wandered up from nowhere.The course consisted of some excellent range days/nights. Live pairs CQB, live section attacks and a night ambush complete with Claymore mines. One of the courses ran through December, and the live ambush was on December 26. We left camp early afternoon to go through the orders and rehearsal procedures before going non-tac for a few hours while we waited for darkness. During this time, I went out and set up the trip flares and placed the claymores into position. The wind started blowing from the north (Shimall) and carried freezing icy wind from the empty quarter (Sahara). It was freezing but fortunately I was dressed for it. The Omanis were not, and when I got back to the main body, they were all huddled around each other trying to stay warm. After the evening meal we set off for the ambush position. Before the ambush was set, myself and the platoon commander went down to the trip flares and I removed the safety pins. Bearing in mind the troops are all loaded and made ready and it was pitch black, this was the part of the course I was always slightly nervous about.
I was surprised how good the Omani soldiers were. On a couple of courses, we had Kuwaiti and UAE troops on exchange, and the contrast was very noticeable. During the course we had a morning live firing RPG7, and so I had a go. A surprisingly simple but effective weapon.
On exercise. The green topped tree in the background is Frankinsense
The final exercise ended with a live firing platoon dawn attack supported by mortars, heavy machine gun, and Batsims consisting of PE representing artillery fire, and diesel detonated to represent an air-strike. It was mine and Steve’s responsibility to set up the Batsims on the afternoon before. I then represented the recce platoon rep at about 3am and lead them into the FUP where they waited until just before first light. I was about 50 yards behind the platoon, with my Shrike ready to detonate the Batsim on H Hour. About ten minutes before H hour I could hear a lot of movement and so moved forward to investigate. I found the entire platoon and instructors with webbing, boots and socks off, facing Mecca doing morning prayer. There is not a lot you can do about it apart from let them carry on.
Loan Service Oman
On H Hour the detonation was set off and the dawn attack commenced.
Me and Sayeed, one of the Jebali instructors
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There is a diverse wildlife population in southern Oman. While out on the jebel I saw Arabian wolves, Hyena, Gazelles and an enormous eagle sat by the side of a track. On a trip up the north of Oman I saw the legendary Oryx. Furthermore, Dhofar is one of the regions where Frankinsense trees grow. The locals burn the gum as a perfume, and some chew it like chewing gum. The gum flows from the tree when the bark is cut and dries in the air. My posting was initially for 20 months, but I asked for a six month extension which I was granted. It was a great experience and before I left Badr gave me a gift of two Jebali camel milk bowls called Yinaars. These are made of platted reeds covered with camel skin. Loan Service was a great opportunity to work in a foreign country and I am so glad I was given the opportunity to experience it.
It was not all work, and in Salalah there was a large ex-pat community and several ex-pat bars. The weekends in Oman are Thursday and Friday, and so the weekend usually started with a five-aside football match on Wednesday afternoon in Salalah followed by a few beers. Thursday was usually sight seeing followed by a few beers.
Terry Mason Rest break on the jebel
Loan Service Oman
Twice a year we would head off into the empty quarter in a convoy, set up camp and spend the night there.
The scenery is stunning, and that part of Oman is affected by the Khareef from June to September. The Khareef is where warm, moist air comes in off the Indian Ocean, hits the mountainous coast, rises quickly and forms thick fog and rain. The landscape is transformed from lifeless desert to lush green rolling hills. Other weekends would see us load a landrover up and head off to a beach taking with us the mess manager Ashok, and mess chef Gomez.
100 years into the charity it is today. The passion and dedication that serving personnel, ex-serving people and their families have shown in supporting the RBL is key to helping build legacies that provide better futures for the whole Armed Forces community.” Since 1921 the Royal British Legion has created positive lasting legacies for the Armed Forces community as well as the wider national, and even international, community. These legacies come in many forms and continue to benefit us today; from ground-breaking government policy changes, to building comradeship in the community, innovative welfare services and pioneering scientific research. Indeed, national Remembrance – the form, the act and the sentiment – has been developed over one hundred years and woven into our national fabric by the RBL.
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The Royal British Legion Celebrates Centenary Year
The RBL has shaped Remembrance from the adoption of Madame Guérin’s red poppy in 1921, through to the move in the 1970s to make Remembrance more inclusive of all those who have served. The shift from remembering ‘dead of
ArmyAlexanderwork.theatplayedcommunitythehasavitalroletheheartofcharityanditsOwen,veteranand the RBL’s Head of Armed Engagement,Forces said: “The RBLbuiltcommunitymilitaryhasandshapedtheoverthelast
In 2021 the Royal British Legion is celebrating its 100th Anniversary with a special programme of throughoutevents the year, leading up to a Centenary themed Poppy Appeal. The Nation’s largest military charity is calling on everyone in the Armed Forces community to get involved in the RBL 100 celebrations.
The RBL’s official birthday falls on 15 May. On this day in 1921, four men representing the national organisations of ex-Serviceman laid a wreath at the base of the Cenotaph in Whitehall. This symbolic act marked the moment the four organisations joined together to create the British Legion. The charity’s founding mission was to fight for the rights of those who had given so much and come back to so little after the First World War.
Between the two world wars, the RBL lobbied the government to provide for those who had been injured, disabled, widowed or orphaned as a result of active Service. As the nation's biggest Armed Forces charity, the RBL still has this role today, providing the same care and support to all members of the British Armed Forces past and present and their families. In its centenary year, the RBL is celebrating the people and communities who have contributed so much to its proud history. The RBL has stood alongside the Armed Forces community for a century and in turn
Without it, servicemen and women killed in Korea, Northern Ireland, the Falklands, Iraq and Afghanistan might not receive the same recognition in the national consciousness.
The Royal British Legion
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Some of the RBL’s earliest interventions, services and initiatives did much to set the tone for the charity’s work today. Tuberculosis, rheumatism and arthritis were widespread among veterans of the First World War so, in an age before the NHS, the Legion created or took over a number of specialist treatment facilities. Ninety years later, when young men and women were being brutally maimed by Improvised Explosive Devices in the poppy fields of Helmand Province, the Legion stepped in again and funded the RBL Centre for Blast Injury Studies at Imperial College, London. The former became building blocks of the new National Health Service in 1948. The latter created a legacy of scientific understanding, equipment development, and treatments that are helping wounded veterans today and will go on to help those yet to join up; from armoured vehicle seating positions to stump skincare and advances in treating hearing loss.
The
There are many legacies continuing to shape the lives of living members of our community. Forged, as the Royal British Legion was, to campaign for the fair treatment of those risking their all for their country, the successes of these campaigns are written into law and legislation from the Second World War onwards. In 1944, with the Great War fresh in minds and huge numbers of servicemen suffering life changing injuries in the Second World War, the RBL was influential in achieving the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act. This was the first time in our nation’s history that the Government moved to support disabled people into work. It set the foundations for improving the lives of millions of people, including the wider general public, and will continue to do so in the future.
Some of those injured in service recently have found purpose and confidence by competing in the Invictus Games. The Royal British Legion became an early partner in these Games, supporting the families of competitors and including them in the recovery journey. But this was not a new initiative for RBL. In 1948 the Legion heavily supported the development of the Stoke Mandeville Games for wheelchair users at the nation’s foremost Spinal Injuries Unit. By 1960 these games had evolved into the Paralympic Games. Today ex-serving Paralympians represent their country at both summer and winter Games.
two world wars’ to ‘all who have died in service to their country’ took the government six years to ratify but now defines a modern form of Remembrance.
The power of the Legion, its membership and its supporters, has always been to ensure the voices of the Armed Forces community are heard. From the Tudor period an ‘unspoken pact’ existed between the state and its veterans, that they should never be failed by the nation they served. But in 2011 the RBL campaign ‘Honour the Covenant’ made sure it became a spoken pact; written into legislation and holding the Government to account. Ten years on the Armed Forces Covenant continues to benefit the community at all levels and is being reviewed this year as the 2021 Armed Forces Bill makes elements of it into law. The Royal British Legion turned rhetoric into action.
Perhaps the most far-reaching RBL legacy, however, is the contribution of ten decades of grant giving. The success of the annual Poppy Appeal has allowed the RBL to support thousands of individuals and organisations working locally to
“Whether by shaking buckets at stations and on streets during the Poppy Appeal, taking on epic fundraising challenges or simply by wearing a Poppy, your valuable contribution makes us able to have an impact today. In this special year, we are enormously proud and grateful of the role our servicemen and women, past and present, continue to play. We hope, with your help, we can inspire a new generation of the community to step up and start building the legacies to support those who will need us tomorrow,” Alexander added.
There is also a growing collection of personal stories, memories and charitable work submitted by the public and bringing to life the past 100 years of the RBL. From silk poppies to the small acts of heroism, there are so many stories that celebrate the service and sacrifice of the Armed Forces Community.
About the Royal British Legion: The Royal British Legion (RBL) is the UKs largest charity dedicated to supporting the needs of the Armed Forces community, past and present and their families. The RBL is the champion of Remembrance and safeguards the Armed Forces Covenant. It is well known for the annual Poppy Appeal and its emblem the red poppy. For further information visit: rbl.org.uk
Registered Charity Number: 219279
The Royal Green
The Royal British Legion support their Armed Forces community. By 1950 the Legion had given some 4000 loans and grants to servicemen and women setting up businesses after the Second World War. In 2018 RBL provided a grant of £468,000 to X-Forces, a community interest company helping veterans start up their own business. X-Forces has gone on to help thousands of veteran entrepreneurs already. The following year, RBL awarded nearly £50,000 to Aberystwyth University’s legal faculty to provide free legal advice to the veteran community. Over the first 12-month funding period the grant was able to benefit, directly and indirectly, 376 members of the community. Today, RBL grant funding powers local charities, housing projects, employment initiatives, and community groups; enabling them to have an impact that lasts. This means that people have more access to support within their own community than ever before and will continue to for as long as they need it.
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The Armed Forces Community are being encouraged to visit the RBL online at www.rbl.org. uk and search ‘RBL100’ to find ways to get involved.
Alexander Owen from the RBL said: “We believe the RBL really is a powerful force for bringing people and communities together. The Legion can provide a connection between the Armed Forces and the public, it can also increasingly connect with other Service charities to provide better outcomes for all.”
The Royal Green Jackets Association 105 Battle Honours Battle Honours The Royal Green Jackets as a regiment did not win any battle honours in their 41 years history however we inherited a large number of battle honours from our predecessor regiments beginning in 1759 with Louisburg, Quebec through to and ending with the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, the Kings Royal Rifle Corps and the Rifle Brigade. These are listed below by date order. For further information on any of the above please contact the regimental museum. Regimental Marches Quick March: Arrangements of ‘Huntsman’s Chorus’ and ‘Italian Song’ Double Past: The Road to The Isles Louisburg, Quebec 1759 Martinique 1762 Havannah, North America 1763–64 Mysore, Hindoostan, Martinique 1794 Copenhagen, Monte Video, Rolica, Vimiera, Corunna, Martinique 1809 Talavera, Busaco, Barrosa, Fuentes d’Onor, Albuhera, Ciudad Rodrigo, Badajoz, Salamanca, Vittoria, Pyrenees, Nivelle, Nive, Orthes, Toulouse, Peninsula, Waterloo, South Africa 1846–47 Mooltan, Goojerat, Punjab, South Africa 1851–53 Alma, Inkerman, Sevastopol, Delhi Lucknow,1857Taku Forts, Pekin 1860 New Zealand, Ashantee 1873–74 Ali Masjid, South Africa 1879 Ahmed Khel, Kandahar 1880 Afghanistan 1878–80 Tel-el-Kebir, Egypt 1882–84 Buma 1885–87 Chitral, Khartoum, Defence of Ladysmith, Relief of Kinberley, Paardeberg, Relief of Ladysmith, South Africa 1899–1902 The Great War Mons, Le Gateau, Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914 Aisne 1914, YpresArmentieres1819141914,15,17, 18 Langemarck 1914, 17 Gheluvelt, Nonne Boschen, Givenchy 1914 Neuve Chapelle, Gravenstafel, St. Julien, Frezenberg, Bellewaarde, Aubers, Festubert 1915 Hooge 1915 Loos, Mount Sorrel, Somme 1916, 18 Albert 1916, 18 Bazentin, Delville Wood, Pozieres, Guillemont, Flers-Courcelette, Mortal, Le Transloy, Ancre Heights, Ancre 1916, 18 Bapaume 1917, 18 Arras 1917, 18 Vimy Scarpe19171917, 18 Arleux, Messines 1917, 18 Pilckem, Menin Road, Polygon Wood, Broodseinde, Poelcappelle, Passchendaele, Cambrai 1917, 18 St. Quentin, Rosieres, Avre, Villers-Bretonneux, Lys, Hazebrouck, Bailleul, Kemmel, Bethune, Drocourt Queant, Hindenburg Line, Havrincourt, Epehy, Canal du Nord, St. Quentin Canal, Beaurevoir, Courtrai, Selle, Valenciennes, Sambre, France and Flanders 1914–18 Piave, Vittorio Veneto, Italy 1917–18 Doiran 1917, 18 Macedonia 1915–18 Kut al Amara 1915 Ctesiphon, Defence of Kut al Amara, Tigris 1916 Khan ArchangelMesopotamiaBaghdadi,1914–181919
The Second World War Defence of Escaut, Calais 1940 Cassel, Ypres-Comines Canal, Normandy Landing, Pegasus Bridge, Villers Bocage, Odon, Caen, Esquay, Bourguebus Ridge, Mont Pincon, Le Perier Ridge, Falaise, Antwerp, Hechtel, Nederrijn, Lower Maas, Roer, Ourthe, Rhineland, Reichswald, Cleve, Goch, Hockwald, Rhine, Ibbenburen, Dreirwalde, Leese, Aller, North-West Europe 1940, 44–45 Egyptian Frontier 1940 Sidi Barrani, Beda Fomm, Mersa el Brega, Agedabia, Derna Aerodrome, Tobruk 1941 Sidi Rezegh 1941 Chor es Sufan, Saunnu, Gazala, Bit Hacheim, Knightsbridge, Defence of Alamein Line, Ruweisat, Fuka Airfield, Alam el Halfa, El Alamein, Capture of Haifaya Pass, Nofilia, Tebaga Gap, Enfidaville, Medjez el Bab, Kasserine, Thala, Fondouk, Fondouk Pass, El Kourzia, Djebel Kournine, Argoub el Megas, Tunis, Hamman Lif, North Africa Sangro,1940–43Salerno, Santa Lucia, Salerno Hills, Cardito, Teano, Monte Camino, Garigliano Crossing, Damiano, Anzio, Cassino II, Liri Valley, Melfa Crossing, Monte Rotondo, Capture of Perugia, Monte Malbe, Arezzo, Advance to Florence, Gothic Line, Coriano, Gemmano Ridge, Lamone Crossing, Orsara, Tossignano, Argenta Gap, Fossa Cembalina, Italy 1943–45 Veve, Greece 1941, 44, 45 Crete, Middle East 1941 Arakan Beaches, Tamandu, Burma 1943–44
Service with the Sultan’s Armed forces attracted ‘characters’, including an Australian VC, adventurers from all three Services and others seeking greater challenges than those provided by endless repetitive tours in Northern Ireland or the routine of cold war BAOR. It was an opportunity for serious ‘proper soldiering’. It was not without risk, both to life and limb and to reputation. Service in Oman could certainly be career enhancing but it could also be career ending. This account is all the more relevant to today’s soldiery as it recounts the challenges, trials and tribulations of working embedded with a foreign army; in this case the army of Oman. The Sultan’s Armed Forces at the time were largely officered by British Loan Service officers, and Contract Officers drawn mainly from ex-British Army or Commonwealth armies, with over time a small but increasing number of Baluch officers commissioned ‘in the field’ in the Baluch regiments and Omani officers in the Arab regiments.
Stewart Wilson, himself a veteran of the fascinatinghascampaign,Dhofarwrittenaandinformativeaccountofthecampaigncoveringtheperiod
Review by Major General Andrew Pringle cb cbe
DHOFAR VOICES FRONTIER FORCE, OMAN ITS LIFE AND TIMES STEWART1970-1980WILSON
1970 to 1979 told mainly through the first-hand verbal accounts, notes, diaries and documents of many of the participants. As such it has an authenticity and realism about it which makes it all the more gripping. It is meticulously researched and well supported by maps and air photographs, and detailed and illuminating footnotes.
Stewart Wilson, having served with the regiment during the period covered by this account, has chosen to focus on the story of the Frontier Force, the first of three Baluch regiments of the Sultan’s Armed Forces, from its formation, through the official declaration of the end of the campaign, and on to the actual end of active operations in 1979.
Having first explained how Baluchistan and Oman had been intertwined for centuries, and how and why the Mekran province of Baluchistan became a fertile recruiting area for the Sultan’s Armed forces, he then moves on to describe the raising and formation of the Frontier Force. The incoming commanding officer’s directions were clear and simple: ‘Go to Baluchistan and recruit a regiment’s worth of soldiers’ with the implied task of setting up a system to provide incremental supplies of fresh recruits. And he did just that, returning to Oman initially with 350 Baluch recruits who he set about turning into an effective regiment of soldiers, initially expanding the small Baluch Guard but on expansion in 1973 becoming the Frontier Force, a regiment of over 1,000 men. The account of how this was done is fascinating in its own right. At first training was fairly rudimentary and the first hand accounts of early operations against the Adoo, a courageous, dogged, tenacious, well trained and resilient enemy operating in the Jebel from across the Yemen border, are reminders of what happens when insufficiently trained soldiers, for all their courage, are pitted against a stronger and better enemy.
Stewart Wilson quotes a fellow officer who sums it up nicely: ‘Amateurs who play in League Division One – away from home – tend to lose’. And lose they did on a number of occasions, suffering considerable casualties, with a rudimentary casevac system and a hard-pressed Field Surgical Team in support. One operation in early 1975 ended with 22 wounded and 13 killed from the Jebel Regiment (including Captain Nigel Loring of the Light Infantry), and in the Iranian force, in a parallel operation, 50 killed and 70 wounded. This was no picnic. The early days for the Frontier Force were not easy – constantly on operations, little time for training, and unlike the Omani Arab battalions no roulement to Muscat to rest, recover and retrain. But as time goes on and the training improves the Frontier Force develops into a formidable combat hardened and experienced regiment, well versed in combined arms operations, in coordinated mortar and artillery fire support, ground and air integration, air space management, mine clearance, helicopter operations and of course all the tactics, techniques and procedures necessary to take the fight to the enemy in the most inhospitable terrain of high Jebel and deep ravines. This included working with the Firqat, who were drawn from the enemy ranks and persuaded to fight for the Sultan against their old tribal colleagues. The Voices by Stewart Wilson
Dhofar
The Royal Green Jackets Association 106 Dhofar Voices
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Many Green Jackets served in the Sultan’s Armed Forces and in the SAS serving with the BATT during this period. Don Nairn (1 RGJ) and Tim Taylor (1 RGJ) were killed, Don leading a company of Frontier Force in 1979, and whose story is told in the gripping account of the operation high on the slopes of Jebel Aram in 1979. Don was posthumously awarded the Sultan’s Bravery Medal (Oman’s second highest gallantry award). This marked the final clash with the Adoo, and effectively the end of active operations.
B Coy picquet overlooking the Wadi Ashoq. Author’s
Front Himaar. commandSalusbury-Trelawny'sgroup,WadiAshoq. Himaar. photo courtesy David
1970. Shortly before his death he had personally commanded an ambush operation in which certainly eight, probably twelve, of the enemy were killed without loss to his men.
DHOFAR FORCE, OMAN ITS LIFE AND
TIMES 1970-1980VOICESDHOFAR STEWART WILSON OMANFORCE,FRONTIER1970-1980TIMESANDLIFEITSSTEWARTWILSON
VOICES FRONTIER
Stewart Wilson served as the Operations Officer of the Frontier Force, 1977 -1979. He is a recipient of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst War Studies Prize. Dhofar Voices is an oral account of the conflict in Dhofar, Oman, during that country’s struggle against communist forces in the years 1970-1980. It is told through the ‘voices’ of over fifty participants in the events of those crucial years. The conflict is examined by way of the activities of a Baluch regiment, the Frontier Force. The story tells this regiment’s tale and of its interactions with all the other major units and support forces of the Sultan of Oman’s Armed Forces. It is a tale of triumphs and tragedies, successes and failures. Above all it is a story of human endeavour against constantly challenging odds. £35.00
Dhofar Voices can be obtained from: dhofarvoices@gmail.com
Royal Green Jackets Association 107 Dhofar Voices
The
Jonathan
Tim Taylor was killed from a direct enemy ‘incomer’ whilst in command of a company of the Desert Regiment in the early days of the campaign in 1971. Tim before he was killed had already been awarded the Sultan’s Commendation, equivalent to a Mention in Despatches, for his actions in a series of major operations in Dhofar shortly after he joined SAF in
Firqat were led by the BATT, the British Army Training Team as the SAS was described and were used in support of operations being conducted by the Sultan’s Armed Forces. The relationship between the BATT and the Frontier Force makes for interesting reading in its own right. In time two further Baluch regiments were formed. For the British officers and contract officers who served at this time this was operations at the very sharp end, working with and leading soldiers of a different faith, a different outlook, a different culture, different sensitivities, and a different language. The ‘fog of war’ leaps out from every page. All of this is relevant in particular to today’s Specialised Infantry Battalions working with and training foreign forces in far away places, and for them in particular this book would serve as a reminder that we have done it before and there is much to learn from those that did.
Goodkin, 2020 ©
of
Riflemen continued to serve with the Sultan’s Armed Forces after the elimination of the last remnants of the Adoo in 1979, including Tom Wright, John Pentreath, Jolyon Jackson, Jeremy Russell, Johny Schute, Richard Thompson, Barry Melia, and Paul Luckhurst.
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Several Green Jackets served in the SAS with the BATT including John Foley, Arish Turle (MC for operations in Oman), Simon Adams-Dale, Johny Pearson, Mark Whitcombe, Hughie Vernon and many others.
Other Green Jacket veterans of the Dhofar campaign 1970 – 1979 with the Sultan’s Armed forces include Graham Mckinley (Sultan of Oman’s Distinguished Medal for Gallantry), Robin Montgomery (Sultan’s Commendation and Sultan of Oman’s Distinguished Service Medal), Charles Vyvyan, Mike Smith, Christopher Kemball (Sultan of Oman’s Distinguished Service Medal for Gallantry), Robin Hastie-Smith, John McTomney, Bill Logdon, Simon Blake, Andrew Kinnear, Greg Taylor, Jim Pevlin, Roger Luscombe, and Bill Foxton. Bill was awarded the Sultan of Oman’s Commendation for taking over piloting a troop carrying skyvan when the pilot passed out not once but twice. He was also awarded the MBE for his work with the SAF Welfare Department after he lost his hand in a mine explosion.
The Royal Green Jackets Association 108 Book Reviews
A worthy shelffellow to Mark Urban’s ‘Rifles’ and a hugely welcome addition as the early history and its overshadowedhascontributionbeenlargely by the 95th and the influence of Bernard Cornwell’scharacter, Richard Sharpe. 400 pages of pure quality, with Robert’s re-enactor’s insights and extensive research, beautifully illustrated with good maps, it’s as much about the blokes and what they got up to.
‘The Makings of a Rifles Officer’ The Life and Letters of Colonel George Miller, 95th and Rifle Brigade, 1768-1843, by Elizabeth Laidlaw. Elizabeth inherited a collection of over 150 letters from George to his brother but died before the book was ready for publication. Her husband, James, completed the work, producing this beautiful, immensely classy book in her memory. Some very interesting insights into, for example, the training of young officers. He may have suffered from a degenerative mental disease in his later life as his last memoir writings were in sharp contrast to what he wrote in contemporary letters, so providing the best example of the value of genuinely contemporary source material compared to later often time-corrupted
A worthy shelf-fellow to Mark Urban’s ‘Rifles’ and a hugely welcome addition as the early history and its Saunders and Yuill cover the history of the Light Division in two volumes; Burnham’s is the first volume covering just 1810. All three authors are former officers, Saunders and Yuill Lightinfantrymen, Burnham a former US Army intelligence officer. They all bring great qualities to their work with Rob Yuill’s knowledge from re-enacting as both a 68th Lightinfantryman and a 95th Rifleman giving great insights into how it was done. Their Volume I devotes nearly half of its space to the early history with a particularly valuable account of the Corunna Campaign. Their knowledge of the ground shines through and their maps, illustrations and vignettes are excellent. A pity their publisher wouldn’t use colour and pay better attention to proof reading. Robert Burnham is the the most meticulous and exacting author I’ve worked with and the result is a superbly researched and well-constructed account of the first year of the Light Division. He has also made excellent use of previously unpublished primary source material which is very revealing and throws new light onto some of Craufurd’s more controversial actions such as that at Villar de Puerco on 11 July. A fabulous 400 pages! Beautifully illustrated although light on maps. ‘The Great Waterloo Controversy’ and ‘52nd Light Infantry Eyewitness Accounts of the Waterloo
Thememoirs.Light Division in the Peninsular War, Volume I 1808-1811, Volume II 1811-1814, by Tim Saunders and Rob Yuill.
‘Riflemen’ The History of the 5th Battalion, 60th (Royal American) Regiment 1797-1818 by Robert Griffith
Wellington’s Light Division in the Peninsular War Volume 1 1810 by Robert Burnham
The final letters cover the period in the coalition army of occupation in northern France, his travels undertaking the Grand Tour in 1817 and, lastly, his posting to Ireland on peacekeeping duties.
A colourful canvas, even by the standards of his better-known comrades in arms from this extraordinary regiment (Ben Harris, Ed Costello, Will Surtees, Johnny Kincaid, George Simmons, Harry Smith, Will Green, Jonathan Leach, et.al.).
‘All Will Be Well In Time’ The Letters, Diaries and Photographs of Ernest Thomas, OBLI in the Great War. A very poignant collection of the experiences of this young volunteer from Oxford who started as a stretcher-bearer aged 19 in 1915 winning an MM and returning as an officer in 1917 to be KIA leading his platoon at the Battle of Cambrai. Beautifully illustrated and produced.
This book is only available from the publisher via email: burngrangepress@gmail.com
Edited by Elizabeth Laidlaw
The Making of a Rifles Officer, The Life and Letters of Colonel George Miller CB FRS (1786-1843)
Letters and eyewitness accounts of officers and soldiers from the celebrated Light Division during the Napoleonic Wars are both plentiful and rich. Another set of letters from an officer in the 95th Rifles might be thought unlikely to evoke much excitement. But George Miller’s collection of letters to his brother, from 1804 to 1828, are a hidden gem and undoubtedly one of the significant discoveries for Thedecades.bookisedited
George is honest and direct in his assessment of his senior and brother officers, the men, the battles in which he fought, the support and ability of other armies and of the support received by the hostnations in which he found himself and/or fought. Quite simply, these letters are an amazing discovery and an absolutely invaluable to anyone interested the 95th Rifles and in Britain’s crusade during this difficult and exciting time.
One could be forgiven for thinking that a new set of letters would add little, but George’s letters are clear, concise and full of rich, and in some cases, unique detail. They provide a sustained and intimate correspondence between these two brothers.
by Elizabeth Laidlaw who inherited the letters from her cousin in 1972. Tragically, Elizabeth died in 2016 leaving the topping and tailing of this work to her husband James. There are 162 letters covering Miller’s military career as a founding officer in the newly created 95th Rifles, covering his early service and experiences in the ill-fated operation to Buenos Aires in 1807, the unfortunate retreat to Corunna (Miller was with Edward Paget’s rearguard, and not with the Light brigades sent to Vigo), the disastrous 1809 expedition to Walcheren, a spell at the new Military Academy at High Wycombe (the forerunner to Sandhurst) before travelling to Gibraltar and Cadiz to provide military staff support to the Spanish Cortes, his arrival coinciding with the battle of Barrosa, then in 1813, after the Battle of Vitoria, to join Wellington’s magnificent army for the final stages of the war in Spain and southern France. Thence to Paris where Miller provides some unique insights into post-war France and the precariousness of the peace ruptured by the return of Napoleon following his escape from Elba in early 1815. At Waterloo he commanded the 2nd Battalion before being carried wounded from the field.
Royal Green Jackets Association 109 Book Reviews
The
Campaign’ by Gareth Glover. Many of you will have seen these books promoted last year and bought one or both of them. Gareth Glover has done a remarkable job, pulling together and evaluating a huge mass of source material, including much very valuable previously-unpublished contemporary material, to produce the definitive, authoritative, objective and balanced account of the 52nd in the Waterloo Campaign and particularly in their crucial role in the rout of that part of Napoleon’s Imperial Guard which assaulted the Mont St Jean Ridge.
There are also valuable insights into how much the 52nd contributed to the culture of the Regiment today.
To be published on 30th April, pre-publication discount from Pen & Sword Books.
Royal Green Jackets Association
The
This is Ian long-awaitedFletcher’s biography of ‘Black Bob’ Craufurd. It’s a magisterial 450 pages and likely to remain the definitive insight into this remarkable but deeply flawed and troubled leader who contributed so much to the ethos and standards of the Light Division he commanded until his death at Ciudad Rodrigo in January 1812. I’ve only had sight of the manuscript and maps as well as the list of illustrations, so I hope the quality of production matches that of the narrative.
unwantedanchild,who’sformativeyearspentinasmall‘private’children’shome,inRamsgateKent,fromwithindaysofhisbirthinChelseaon 1 March 1935. At the age of four years, evacuated ‘privately’ to a Smallholding, near Stevenage, owned by Mrs Moss, a mother and daughter. At the age of six, Stephen became too much of a handful! His mother was told to remove him. This resulted in Stephen being farmed out in and round London, with no fixed abode until April 1946, when placed in Dr Barnardo’s Homes, leaving at the age of 17 years. 1952 a place of work and lodging were found for him, by Barnardo’s. Stephen having been institutionalised, found life out in in the wide world difficult. ‘National Service’ was a lifeline for him, spending 22 years in The Rifle Brigade and Royal Green Jackets, retiring as a WO2.
Despite a difficult start, fatherless and with a mother who denied his very existence, he travelled the world, saw countries whose names are resigned to history books and experienced conflict and much love – not bad for a stray. The book is on sale in the Regimental Museum.
Book Reviews
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‘Robert Craufurd, The Man & The Myth, The Life & Times of Wellington’s Wayward Martinet’ by Ian Fletcher
Stephen Horsley borne out of wedlock,
1976 Shephen spent 18 years as General Manager Under the ‘Centre Director’, as the administration team, of the first ‘out of Town’ Brent Cross Shopping Centre – North London. Retiring and taking up reasonability for the Romsey Royal British Legion Club Ltd, until 2015, to look after his wife, who suffered from ‘Dementia, needing 24/7 care.
‘Life of a stray’ by Stephen Horsley
The Adventures of Bugler George Milton
This is the story of how this book series came to be. So, you may ask, how come the Regiment found itself publishing a children’s book? You can also ask what do you mean by the Regiment? Do we mean the Fifth Column of The Rifles, the Community of followers? Most certainly, with the author, Stephen Petty, illustrator, Christa Hook, and co-financier and former RGJ(Rifles) Museum trustee, Dick Tennant joining me when this project had run into the sand after the death of Lt Gen Sir Christopher
Stephen was born and brought up in Winchester and very soon came contactintowith the Band and ‘Over the Hills and Far Away’
The Royal Green Jackets Association 111 Book Reviews
The project fell into abeyance after Christopher’s death. I took on Christopher’s project and, like Stephen and Christopher, also saw its potential to encourage young people’s interest both in military history and the Napoleonic era’s part in shaping our and Europe’s history. Stephen and I believe in the power of history to help understand the present and that storytelling is a great medium interestinginthecommunicatingformessageafunandway.
TheWallace.story began with the RGJ (Rifles) Museum Waterloo Bicentenary Exhibition. General Christopher, terminally ill with an increasingly and massively debilitating condition, had moved mountains to ensure that the Exhibition would be outstanding. He wanted something for the young visitors to take away and further fire their enthusiasm for the period, its history and its relevance today for them. His meeting with Stephen Petty at a Wellington Conference was the catalyst for the book. Most important, was the Christopherpactand Stephen made –from Christopher to Stephen, a stories,tocommitmentpublishhisfrom Stephen, the commitment to write them. Fortunately, Dick Tennant was witness to this and has provided this vital continuity as well as his financial support. Stephen and I were both recruited by General Christopher to help with the Waterloo Exhibition and first met at a seminar in the Spring of 2015 which organisedChristophertodebate the controversial Waterloo question of the role of the 52nd in the rout of that part of the Imperial Guard which assaulted the Mont St Jean Ridge in Napoleon’s last throw of the dice to achieve victory.
CHOSEN MAN MEDIA
Chosen Man Media have a clear focus on publishing books that will engage young people with the colourful and rich history of The Rifles. Our first edition of the chronicles of George Milton; 'Over the Hills and Far Away', has received fantastic reviews and is already delivering contributions to the Regimental Family charities. Our thanks to senior figures in the Regiment who have endorsed the book, and to all those involved, for their dedication, attention to historical detail and support. Our thanks also go to those that have bought the book - please spread the word and encourage further sales to raise more money for our charities.
Chosen Man Media to publish the book, progress the series and use it as a fundraising vehicle for various future activities with the aim of building an annuity-like income stream to help the Regimental Charities meet their expected but undefinable demands, particularly relating to mental health problems, a subject close to my heart. Fortunately, I’d published and helped publish a couple of books so could put together a high-quality production team for this project. Our illustrator, Christa Hook, will be a familiar name to many of you. Printer Blackmore’s Neville Rolt may not be but, as a nephew of the Rifle Brigade’s Calais and Colditz veteran and Le Mans winner, Tony Rolt, he and his designer, Steve Hayes, easily understood what the project was all about and fitted us into their normal schedule of producing monumental coffee table art books. We are immensely fortunate to have their and Christa’s quality work in our first book. We’ve also had great support from Bernard Cornwell and The Rifles with both the Colonel-in-Chief and Colonel Commandant joining Bernard and Peter Snow, himself a Light Infantry veteran, in endorsing George’s Adventures. Stephen is well underway with Book Two, ‘Over the Hills to the Coa’, so please follow and share Bugler George’s adventures with your young readers throughout the rest of his experiences in the Peninsula and beyond.
Stephen Petty's next book, 'Over the Hills to the Coa' will be published in October. We hope you will join George on the next exciting stage of his epic journey.
Many of you will know that Dick Tennant died in February after a protracted battle with pancreatic cancer. His was a remarkable rearguard action against such a virulent form of cancer. He provided vital finance to launch the Adventures of George Milton project and, thankfully, had the joy of seeing the first book published. We shall miss him, but not forget his contribution. Bugles of the Depot and musicians such as George Caldwell. His interest in the 95th was nurtured by Colonel John Baker who mentored him in his academic research career. Stephen’s principal career was as a teacher and he finished up as Head of Humanities at Durlston Court Preparatory School in Hampshire as well as having taught brass playing. Having retired in 2009, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease which he vividly describes as: “A thieving disease that strips away pieces of you. I’ve gone from being active and independent to being dependent on others. Before a teaching colleague passed away with Parkinson’s, she gave me two pieces of advice, ‘You are a gifted storyteller, keep on telling your stories and, whatever you do, don’t stop writing or you will lose the skill.’ She was right. Parkinson’s does play havoc with short term memory. I often struggle to find the right word which is a huge frustration because I love the richness of the English language. My tremor prevents me from using any electronic device. I therefore write by hand and my dear wife types for me. It takes many days to write a chapter as I get so tired.” Stephen was adamant that he was going to honour his commitment to General Christopher and wanted to make it a fundraising project for the Regimental Charities. Immediately, he re-affirmed his commitment to waive any royalties. I’d done a couple of fundraising projects for both the RGJ and Rifles charities so it made sense to establish
The Royal Green Jackets Association 112 www.ChosenManMedia.com Contact Nick Haynes - 01295 710144
Book Reviews
The Royal Green Jackets Association 113 In Memoriam 2020 In Memoriam 2020 For the Fallen “They shall grow not old, As we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn; At the going down of the sun and in the morning; We will remember them ” Robert Laurence Binyon (1869-1943) Brian Kennedy 3GJ 5 January Major John Read 2 RGJ 15 January Sjt Maurice Lynch RB/3GJ Band 16 January The Rev Tom Hiney MC RAChD Att 1 RGJ 16 January Paddy Kelly 1 RGJ/3 RGJ 21 January Kenneth Wareham KRRC/2GJ 30 January Sgt Peter Jarvis 3GJ/3 RGJ 5 February Major Gordon Turner Ex Director of Music RGJ 2 February Sgt Terry Cook 1GJ/1 RGJ 11 February Norman Cridland RB 25 February Lt Col Charles Holroyd KRRC/GJ/RGJ 27 February Tommy Suggitt 1 RGJ 2 March Anthony Herries 1 RGJ 10 March Cpl Alan Burbridge 3 RGJ 12 March Frank Morley 2GJ/2 RGJ 16 March Brian ‘Ginge’ West 3 RGJ/4(V)RGJ 19 March WO2 David Blakeley 1 RGJ Normandy Band 25 March David Rogers RB 28 March Clifford Tozer KRRC 28 March Rt. Hon James Ramsden KRRC & 8RB 29 March Frederick Boomer Hawkins KRRC/GJ/RGJ/MSPC Royal Hospital Chelsea 1 April Eric Edwards RB 3 April Rfn Edward Prudames RB 3 April Cpl Anthony Herries 1 RGJ 10 April John Murphy 1KRRC 12 April Arthur ‘Archie’ Rayfield 1GJ/1 RGJ 18 April Phil Benson RGJ 24 April George Shergold RB 25 April Robert ‘Nobby’ Clarke KRRC 2 May Brian (Dapper) Doolan 1 RGJ 11 May Peter “Pop" Riddick 2 RGJ 20 May Geoffrey Owen Ox & Bucks LI 26 May Ted Whitticks KRRC 5 June Sjt Robert Williams 1 RGJ Band 6 June
The Royal Green Jackets Association 114 In Memoriam 2020 The information listed above is from that posted to The ‘In Memoriam’ page of the Royal Green Jackets Association website Where the actual date for the death of a person is not known the date that the information was posted to the forum has been used as a reference point Please note: it is not necessary to have a person’s number, rank or Bn(s) served to post a notification to The ‘In Memoriam’ forum although this information is useful It is also not necessary to be a registered member of the website to post or add a comment to the forum . KS David Painter Ox & Bucks LI 6 June William Hogan 4(V)RGJ 12 June Erik Knussen KRRC 25 June Paul Raymond Abbott 1 RGJ 26 June Alan Peacocke 1KRRC 7 July Alan Calveley 2 RGJ 23 July Robert (Dobbin) McNeil 1 RGJ/RLC 3 August Stephen Gambrill 2KRRC 4 August Cpl Gary (Jack) Hawkins 1 RGJ 6 August WO1 TJ (Joe) Hider RGJ 7 August Maj Michael Dunning KRRC & RGJ 13 August Kenny Dorset 2GJ/2 RGJ 16 August Peter McClaren-Smith 2KKRC/2GJ/2 RGJ 16 August GBC Neill RB 17 August Sgt Bernard (Bernie) Hodgson 2 RGJ 21 August WO2 Trevor Bristow KRRC/2GJ/2 RGJ 2 September Maj Richard Matters RGJ 2 September David Anderson 2 RGJ 11 September Joe Mills RB/3GJ/3 RGJ 13 September Maj Gerald Tisdall DCLI/SLI/4(V)RGJ 26 September Cpl Gary Fredrick Cooper 1GJ 2 October Sir Peregrine Gerard Worsthorne Ox & Bucks LI 3 October Albert Edward Beard 2KRRC 4 October Rfn Alan Swann RB 7 October Capt Peter Thistlethwayte RB/2KRRC/2GJ 8 October Sjt Robert Hembrow Ox & Bucks LI 10 October Norman Victor Farr Royal Warwickshire Regiment/Ox & Bucks LI 22 October Percy ‘Peter’ Ashwell Ox & Bucks LI 23 October Capt Michael Toynbee RB 26 October James Roland O’Callaghan Symington Ox & Bucks LI/King’s African Rifles 7 November Sir Philip Wroughton KCVO, DL KRRC/QVR 7 November Capt George Evans RB/3GJ/3 RGJ/LI 8 November Cpl Alan Stow 1RGJ 11 November Horace Hodgson 1RB 18 November WO2 Jeff Seeney KRRC/2GJ/2 RGJ 27 November Ray Aldridge 2 RGJ 29 November Capt Simon Dereham RB/3GJ 29 November Keith Stanley (Dog) Hudson 1 RGJ 1 December John Cheetham 3 RGJ 5 December Sgt Martin Pike 4(V)RGJ 23 December Arthur Edward Beaver RB 27 December
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The Regiment through the ages 1741 - 2007
Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (1741-1966) 1741 – Colonel Fowke’s Regiment of Foot 1741 – Colonel Graham’s Regiment of Foot 1746 – Colonel Kennedy’s Regiment of Foot 1747 – 54th Regiment of Foot 1751 – Renumbered 43rd Regiment of Foot 1782 – 43rd (Monmouthshire) Regiment of Foot 1803 – 43rd (Monmouthshire) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) 1755 – 54th Regiment of Foot 1756 – Renumbered 52nd Regiment of Foot 1782 – 52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot 1803 – 52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) 1881 – The Oxfordshire Light Infantry 1908 – Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry 1958 – 1st Green Jackets, 43rd and 52n The King’s Royal Rifle Corps (1755-1966) 1755 – 62nd (Royal American) Regiment of Foot 1756 – Renumbered 60th (Royal American) Regiment of Foot 1824 – 60th (The Duke of York’s Own Rifle Corps) 1830 – 60th (The King’s Royal Rifle Corps) 1881 – The King’s Royal Rifle Corps 1958 – 2nd Green Jackets, The King’s Royal Rifle Corps The Rifle Brigade (1800-1966)
1800 – Experimental Corps of Riflemen 1800 – The Corps of Riflemen 1802 – 95th Regiment (Rifles) 1816 – The Rifle Brigade 1862 – The Prince Consort’s Own Rifle Brigade 1881 – The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort’s Own)
1921 – The Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort’s Own) 1958 – 3rd Green Jackets, The Rifle Brigade The Royal Green Jackets (1966-2007)
