Obituaries Former SSgt Brian Hobbs Scribe: SSgt Scott Hughes It is with a heavy heart that I must inform the Corps of the passing of Former SSgt Brian Hobbs, who passed away on 13 October 2020 at the age of 70 from a heart attack. Brian joined the Corps on 4 January 1966, completing basic training at the Army Apprentice College in Arborfield and qualified as a Vehicle Mechanic. His first posting was to Bunde in Germany in 1968 until 1970 serving with 2 Div Regt RCT. From 1970 to 1972, he served with 27 Comd Wksp REME in Warminster before taking up a post with 1 Kings Own Scottish Borderers from 1972 to 1975, serving with them in Edinburgh, Berlin and Northern Ireland. Brian then went to SEME Bordon to attend his Upgrader Course before posting to 1 Fd Wksp in Bielefeld in 1976, until 1979. Numerous postings continued between Germany and the UK until his retirement in March 1990 at Chetwynd Barracks in Chilwell in the rank of SSgt. Always with a dry wit and sense of humour he was loved and will be missed just as much by friends and family alike. Brian is survived by his wife Anne, sons Alan and Mark, daughters-in-law Hayley and Michelle and four grandchildren. Arte Et Marte.
Major (Retd) William John Dutton MBE Scribe: Maj Nicholas Gould It is with sadness that I inform the Corps of the passing of Bill Dutton aged 95 on 5 November 2020. Bill joined the Royal Army Ordnance Corps in May 1939 (B) aged 14 and he retired from REME in 1974. During the War, Bill worked on servicing Ack-Ack installations including Binley, Coventry (477 Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery Royal Artillery) where he met Corporal Kate Croucher who became the love of his life. Bill went on to land on Gold Beach on D Day and spent the rest of the war in NW Europe. He returned to England in February 1945 to marry Kate. When talking about his experiences on D-Day and the time after, he commented on how strange it was for a young man just 20 to be responsible for some a lot older than him because he was a Regular and they were conscripts. After the war he continued to serve at various Workshops in Germany, before going to Egypt with his family. I don’t know anything about his service there but there are many photographs showing his active interest in sport. Bill served at 9 Infantry Workshop REME, Famagusta, Cyprus 1956 to 1959. It was during this tour that he received the LSGC and was Mentioned in Despatches. On returning to the UK, Bill worked in Chepstow and Retford before going back to Germany and 4 Armoured Workshop in Detmold. In 1967 the family moved to Bovington and in the following year,
Captain Dutton received his MBE, which had been in the 1967 Birthday Honours. Bill left ATDU Bovington in 1972 and went to 93 Vehicle Depot Workshop REME, Ashchurch, his final posting before retirement on 5 November 1974. Following retirement, he worked in Iran, still working for the UK Government until he was forced to leave in 1979. Bill settled down in Shrewsbury where he continued to work as an independent engineer. In fact, he was an engineer all his life, being an early adopter of mobile phones and computers. In his later life, Bill was virtually blind and received much support from Blind Veterans UK, especially their Llandudno Centre, for which his family are truly grateful. Bill died after a short illness with a small funeral service taking place on 17 November, after which his wreath was laid on Shrewsbury War Memorial. He will be greatly missed by his friends and family of three daughters, eight grandchildren and eleven great grandchildren.
Former Sgt Walter Stanley Grimsey Scribe: Mark Sargeant, Secretary of Mid-Anglia Branch REME Association I am very sorry to inform the Corps that World War 2 Infantry Veteran and former REME Sergeant ‘Wally’ Grimsey died after a long illness on 10 January 2021 at the age of 96. Wally was from a large family - the eighth of 13 children - and they lived at Stoke by Nayland in Suffolk. The family moved to Boxted, near Colchester when he was eight. He left school at 15 and worked on a fruit farm for three years before he was conscripted into the Royal Scots at the age of 18 in 1943. Wally saw significant action in WW2. Following the Normandy landings he joined his unit in Holland to continue the advance into Germany. In one engagement his squad was hit by artillery fire and Wally was the sole survivor. He was taken to the battlefield Medical Station and bravely volunteered as a Stretcher Bearer, thinking he was fit enough to continue the fight. Sadly, he was not and collapsed due to his wounds soon afterwards and was evacuated to hospital to recover. Once fit, he rejoined a Battalion of Royal Scots in Egypt and finished his Regular Army service in Cyprus prior to being demobbed in 1946. On returning home to Boxted and the fruit farm, he soon joined the MOD as a civilian mechanic with 36 Comd Wksp REME in Colchester, attending night school to increase his qualifications in his trade. This plan was successful and he was promoted to Senior Examiner Vehicle Roadworthiness in the Workshop. Subsequently, he was promoted once again to take charge of 48 Squadron RCT, responsible for maintaining all Colchester Garrison staff cars. Alongside his civilian career, Wally joined REME TA in 1949 and served for 24 years in Colchester with 535 Sqn RCT LAD, reaching the rank of Sergeant. He married Daphne in 1950 and they had two daughters, Sheila and Angela. Sadly, Daphne died in 1991. Wally was a keen gardener, played bowls, was an active Freemason and a long-standing member of the Royal British Legion. He was a
Before submitting an article you are requested to read the guidelines on the inside front cover 43
