The Household Cavalry Journal 2018

THE HOUSEHOLD CAVALRY JOURNAL 2018

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The Household Cavalry Journal

Incorporating The Acorn and The Blue and Royal No. 27 2018 Editor: Lieutenant Colonel (Retd) H S J Scott, The Life Guards

Colonel in Chief Her Majesty The Queen

Colonel of The Life Guards and Gold Stick: Field Marshal the Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank GCB LVO OBE DL Colonel of The Blues and Royals and Gold Stick: HRH The Princess Royal KG KT GCVO QSO Lieutenant Colonel Commanding and Silver Stick: Major General Sir Edward Smyth-Osbourne KCVO, CBE, The Life Guards Commanding Officer Household Cavalry Regiment: Lieutenant Colonel M S P Berry, The Life Guards Commanding Officer Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment: Lieutenant Colonel P J Williams MC, The Blues and Royals

The Life Guards Battle Honours Dettingen Peninsula Waterloo Tel el Kebir Egypt (1882) Relief of Kimberley Paardeberg South Africa (1899-1900) Mons Le Cateau Retreat from Mons Marne (1914) Aisne (1914)

Armentières (1914) Messines (1914) Ypres (1914) Langemarck (1914) Gheluvelt Nonne Bosschen St Julien Frezenberg Ypres (1915) Somme (1916) Albert (1916) Scarpe (1917) (1918) Broodseinde Poelcappelle

Passchendaele Bapaume (1918) Arras (1917) Ypres (1917) Arras (1918) Hindenburg Line Epehy St Quentin Canal Beaurevoir Cambrai (1918) Selle Somme (1918) France and Flanders (1914-18)

Mont Pincon Souleuvre Noireau Crossing Amiens (1944) Brussels Neerpelt Nederrijn Nijmegen Lingen Bentheim North West Europe (1944-1945) Baghdad (1941) Iraq (1941)

Palmyra Syria (1941) El Alamein North Africa (1942-1943) Arezzo Advance to Florence Gothic Line Italy (1944)

Mont Pincon Souleuvre Noireau Crossing Amiens (1944) Brussels Neerpelt Nederrijn Lingen Veghel Nijmegen Rhine Bentheim North West Europe (1944-1945) Baghdad (1941) Iraq (1941) Palmyra

Syria (1941) Msus Gazala Knightsbridge Defence of Alamein Line El Alamein El Agheila Advance on Tripoli North Africa (1941-1943) Sicily (1943) Arezzo Advance to Florence Gothic Line Italy (1943-1944) Falkland Islands (1982) Iraq (2003)

Gulf (1991) Wadi al Batin Iraq (2003)

The Blues and Royals Battle Honours Tangier (1662-1680) Dettingen Warburg Beaumont Willems Fuentes d’Onor Peninsula Waterloo Balaklava Sevastopol Tel el Kebir Egypt (1882) Relief of Kimberley Paardeberg Relief of Ladysmith South Africa (1899-1902)

Mons Le Cateau Retreat from Mons Marne (1914) Aisne (1914) Messines (1914) Armentières (1914) Ypres (1914) Langemarck (1914) Gheluvelt Nonne Bosschen St Julien Ypres (1915) Frezenberg Loos Arras (1917)

Scarpe (1917) Ypres (1917) Broodseinde Poelcappelle Passchendaele Somme (1918) St Quentin Avre Amiens Hindenburg Line Beaurevoir Cambrai (1918) Sambre Pursuit to Mons France and Flanders (1914-1918)

Crown Copyright: This publication contains official information. It should be treated with discretion by the recipient. The opinions 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 Household Cavalry or the Ministry of Defence. No responsibility for the goods or services advertised in this journal can be accepted by the Household Cavalry, publishers or printers and advertisements are including in good faith. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the permission of the Editor and Publisher.

The Journal was designed and published by Brian Smith Associates, 145 St Pancras, Chichester, West Sussex PO19 7SH. Tel: 01243 576279 Email: brian@briansmithassociates.co.uk

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Contents Preface by Lieutenant Colonel Commanding .......................... 3

Editorial ..................................................................................................... 4

Household Cavalry Regiment Foreword by the Commanding Officer ................................................ 5 A Squadron ............................................................................................... 7 Military Shooting in Australia ............................................................... 8 B Squadron .............................................................................................. 11 C Squadron .............................................................................................. 12 Exercise ALPINE EAGLE ...................................................................... 14 Exercise KHANJAR GUARDIAN ........................................................ 16 D Squadron ............................................................................................. 18 Activation Task Force - Exercise SAIF SAREEA 3 ............................ 19 D Squadron on Exercise SAIF SAREEA 3 - Oman ............................. 20 Headquarters Squadron ........................................................................ 21 Chaplaincy .............................................................................................. 23 HCR’s Open Day and Adventure Night 2018 .................................... 24 She did What with a Rectal Thermometer? ........................................ 25

Light Aid Detachment ........................................................................... 26 Quartermaster’s Department ................................................................ 27 Regimental Administration Office ....................................................... 28 Warrant Officers’ and Non Commissioned Officers’ Mess .............. 29 Regimental Engagement Team ............................................................. 31 A Trooper’s Perspective on the Guards Parachute Platoon, 16 Brigade .............................................................................................. 32 Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) ....................................................... 32 Visiting our Brothers in Arms - The Spahis of Valence .................... 33 HCR Visit to Spahis Urban Trail 2018 .................................................. 35 Operation CABRIT - A Subaltern’s Maiden Operational Tour ........ 36 Operation ORBITAL 2018 - Ukraine .................................................... 36 Zambia Short Term Training Team ..................................................... 37

Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment Foreword by the Commanding Officer .............................................. 39 Diary of Events ....................................................................................... 40 The Life Guards Squadron .................................................................. 41 The Blues and Royals Squadron .......................................................... 43 Headquarters Squadron ........................................................................ 45 Equitation ................................................................................................ 47 Ministry of Defence Duties .................................................................... 48 The Musical Ride .................................................................................... 48 Spruce Meadows 2018 ........................................................................... 50

Pages 63 - 75

Telemark Titans ............................................................................... 70 Polo .................................................................................................... 71 Sailing ............................................................................................... 72 Exercise PACIFIC LONGBOW - Leg 10, New York to Halifax 73 Taekwondo ...................................................................................... 73 Army Relay Triathlon Championships 2018 ............................... 74 Monster Triathlon July 2018: My Toughest Challenge Yet ....... 74

News from the Associations Foreword, Colonel Commandant Royal Armoured Corp ............... 80 The Life Guards Association Annual Report 2018 ............................ 81 Minutes of the 84th AGM of The Life Guards Association .............. 81 The Life Guards Association Accounts .............................................. 83 The Life Guards Association Charitable Trusts Accounts .............. 83 The Life Guards Association Notices .................................................. 84 The Life Guards Association Regional Representatives ................... 84 The Blues and Royals Association Annual Report 2018 ................... 87 The Blues and Royals Accounts ........................................................... 87 The Blues and Royals Oliver Montagu Fund ..................................... 88 Minutes of the AGM of The Blues and Royals Association ............. 88 The Blues and Royals Association Regional Representatives .......... 89 Household Cavalry Foundation ........................................................... 91 Household Cavalry Foundation Report 2017-2018 ............................ 93

Pages 39 - 62

The Forge ................................................................................................. 52 Household Cavalry Training Wing ..................................................... 53 Medical Centre HCMR .......................................................................... 54 Cambrian Patrol Competition 2018 - HCMR ...................................... 55 Coach Troop ............................................................................................ 56 Exercise COCKNEY COWBOY - The Good, the Bad and the Cavalry ................................................ 57 Hungarian National Gallop .................................................................. 60 The Band of the Household Cavalry .................................................... 61

Household Cavalry Sports Round-up British Army Warrior Fitness ......................................................... 63 Cresta Run 2019 ............................................................................... 63 Association Football - The 2018 Tour to America ........................ 65 Lacrosse ............................................................................................ 66 Marathon des Sables 2018 ............................................................ 67 Exercise WHITE EAGLE: Household Cavalry Regiment Nordic Skiing Season 2017-18 ..................................................... 68 Alpine Skiing 2017/18: Exercise WHITE KNIGHT 34 and Exercise SPARTAN HIKE .................................................... 69

Pages 5 - 38

Pages 80 - 144

Castle Trek 2019 - Request for support assistance along the route . 94 The Household Cavalry Museum ........................................................ 94 Obituaries The Life Guards .................................................................. 98 Obituaries The Blues and Royals ......................................................... 99 Nominal Rolls ....................................................................................... 113 Notices .................................................................................................. 119 Household Cavalry Associations Dorset ................................................................ 123 North East ......................................................... 124 North Staffs ...................................................... 125 North West & West Yorkshire ....................... 126 Scottish Dinner ................................................. 127 Forces Pension Society.......................................................................... 127 Features .......................................................................................... 130

Cover Photographs: Front: A winter Long Guard of The Blues and Royals leaves Horse Guards led by the Trumpeter Back: D Squadron’s 41 B (Scimitar Mk 2) using the terrain as OPFOR, manoeuvring on Exercise SAIF SAREEA in Oman

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Preface

By Major General Sir Edward Smyth-Osbourne KCVO CBE, The Life Guards Lieutenant Colonel Commanding Household Cavalry

E

very generation faces its challenges and it has become customary to talk of uncertainty and change. Certainly those of us schooled during the twilight years of our service on the Westphalian Plain occasionally mourn the loss of the comfort blanket of the Cold War’s uneasy but nonetheless stable balance of power. Today we face an era of inherent strategic and political instability.

The threats to our Nation are diversifying, proliferating and intensifying. The signs have been there for some time, for those who chose to see them, but complacency, economic wellbeing and myopia delayed diagnosis. Rather like the fable of boiling the frog - the premise being that if a frog is put suddenly into boiling water, it will jump out; but if the frog is put in tepid water which is then brought to a boil slowly, it will not perceive the danger and will be cooked to death - we have been lulled into a false sense of security. Russia and China are challenging our security, stability and prosperity. Daesh and their ilk continue to use terror to undermine our way of life. Mass migration brings an arguably existential threat to Europe, thereby catalysing nationalist sentiment. This puts soldiering back in the spotlight, placing a premium on our relevance throughout the spectrum of confrontation and conflict. It has direct relevance to investment in equipment and capability and the increase in engagement with allies; and these are things that the Household Cavalry is well placed to capitalize on as you shall see in the Journal.

The Service Regiment has enjoyed a year of great variety. Despite the prospect of the move to Bulford, the focus has been

on activity, specifically tactical experimentation and training in Western Canada and Oman. This is healthy. Conversion to and experimentation with Warrior was a tribute to the flexibility and open mindedness of our people. Indeed LSgt Hunt was awarded a National Component Commander’s Commendation for his ingenuity with CVR(T).

Retraining the Regiment following the Afghanistan campaign was completed without undue faff or delay. Furthermore this work primed the Strike Experimentation Group, metamorphosing armoured reconnaissance tactics and pathfinding for the nascent Strike brigade. Cleverly integrated with ‘hands on’ visits to General Dynamics in Merthyr Tydfil it also informed AJAX development and kept our people abreast of what the hitherto elusive vehicle would be like. Meanwhile operating as ‘enemy’ on the Suffield Block and in the Empty Quarter brought its own dividend. BATUS offered the opportunity to be a free-thinking and aggressive enemy for 1RRF, quite aside from an unusually helpful program that gave the opportunity for many to visit the Calgary Stampede. Oman was similarly fun and testing in equal measure, with equity spread amongst the Staff and Observers & Mentors as well as the OPFOR. In many ways I sense that the focus on experimentation and being enemy has released the conventional shackles so restrictive of development and allowed the Regiment to prosper tactically on the eve of conversion. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, Project MAYFLOWER, is well underway; informing, enlightening and reassuring the Regiment and our families about the move. Of interest LCoH Hollman found time to march from Windsor to Bulford and back in under 48hrs. Of note the first family have already moved to the Bulford area; single living accommodation and married quarters are of a high standard; and the technical infrastructure is vastly superior. The Regiment will be complete in Picton Barracks by the end of August.

Such variety is rare for the Mounted Regiment, State Ceremonial being

somewhat predictable. However, the visit of Her Majesty The Queen and The Prince of Wales, the Royal Wedding and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting have all added a splash of spice to the programme, quite aside from the global exposure satellite coverage brings. They were all important in their own way. First it was a privilege for the Regiment to host Her Majesty at ‘home’ and unique to do so with the Prince of Wales. Secondly the chance to provide an Escort for The Duke and Duchess of Sussex was equally precious given Prince Harry’s service with the Service Regiment in peace and at war.

Thirdly direct support to the Commonwealth speaks to our heritage and supports an alliance that covers a third of the Globe, continues to survive the test of time and could provide the sort of economic opportunity that political change has opened up. Such highlights aside, several other areas are worthy of mention. The renaissance of Defence Engagement continues to prosper with mounted equestrians travelling far and wide, from Major Church’s and WO2 Bett’s advisory visit in Nepal to the Command Team’s engagement with military counterparts in Brazil and beyond; training, advising and opening doors. Mounted Ceremonial is in demand worldwide and its use is popular at home and abroad. Engagement closer to Knightsbridge is also booming, with the Borough, schools, urban riding clubs, the Cadets and the Tottenham Hotspur Ladies 1st XI! And if that were not enough the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment took a Silver medal at the Cambrian Patrol this Autumn, ably led by Captain Ned Comyn, sustaining a quite excellent level of commitment to and performance at a robust and testing competition optimized for infantry battalions.

Turning to our Foundation we have continued to receive invaluable support not only from generous donors but also from the serving soldier and veterans.

The Band started its new ‘Through Music We Care’ initiative with two successful concerts in the Guards’ Chapel and Ely Cathedral. Moreover, by popular demand, our Britain’s Got Talent winner, Corporal Jones, opened the Motcomb Street Party for a second time; and the Director of Music’s elegy, specially composed for our new War Horse Memorial partners at Ascot, starred in Classic FM’s charts last June.

On a more athletic note, Corie Mapp, so brilliantly supported by Rupert Fryer,

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is the World para-Bobsleigh Champion and plans are afoot for the WindsorEdinburgh Castle Trek next summer.

Such activities, and the financial support they provide, are key to the long-term sustainability of the Foundation and key to ensuring its integration with the Regiment. More recently Lieutenant Colonel Stibbe’s initiative to support skills training and further education is starting to prove its worth with recent examples including retired Household Cavalrymen qualifying as a pilot, teacher, lawyer and scaffolder.

In tandem the Museum has adopted our Trusted Guardians theme for its schools’ project that helped to launch its

second decade. Congratulations are due to its creator, Nicola Ayrton, who has now moved on promotion to be Public Programmes Producer at the National Army Museum. Now we must focus on reclaiming footfall and adapting our approach without loss of standing.

So there you have it. As I hand over to Colonel Crispin Lockhart this spring, we enjoy a veritable pot pourri of soldiering from the sophistication of mounted duty in Whitehall to developing our tactics in the Omani desert. But the immediate challenge is change; and that is uncomfortable.

Moves are unsettling, particularly for families.

But, as soldiers, we shall be judged by the criteria of operational relevance, our dual role bringing that added value or icing unmatched elsewhere. It is that unity we must preserve, rather than the comfort of a well-known lair. We must think through how to sustain Mounted Duty with perennial family moves and a more technically demanding and likely perishable armoured skills base. As ever it was Churchill who quipped ‘To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often’ and it is perhaps to that ideal that we should aspire to maintain the edge.

Editorial A

s an act of sheer hubris, below is an attempt to capture a mission statement for Household Cavalrymen in as few words as Lincoln’s Gettysburg address, guided by inspirational squadron leaders and commanding officers, followed by some bon mots with gratitude to Major General Seymour Monro.

A Windsor Address Performance is a demonstration of competence, and forms reputation.

Memories reach back to test reputations that are formed slowly but may be lost instantly, even by an individual. Judgement of performance will include assessment of how a task is completed as well as the result, and involves examination of the conduct of all.

Reputation is precious, hard won and worth preserving; it will serve to ensure that tasks received are worthy and challenging; it will draw recruits; it will be a source of pride for young and old.

We need to maintain 2 reputations – armoured and mounted. The whole is composed of small functioning elements from crew to squadron, from night guard to storeman. People come with talent that can be developed; but all need to be trained and learn to maintain discipline that ensures morale, which is the measure of being ready to deliver successful result.

Honesty, fairness, respect and concern are necessary to care for subordinates. Energy, analysis, and timely orders with concurrent activity will make for preparedness. Fitness is needed to carry the burdens of command.

Work first with your crew so that they will care for you allowing you to care for your troop; don’t make mistakes with arms, documentation, ammunition or money which attract courts martial; don’t swear at soldiers, and don’t hide things under the carpet. Just as a wound needs to be cleaned and dressed, so do problems; these matters are much better managed by being seen to be

4 ■

tackled. Manners and conduct express your values; loyalty up and down binds us together. This is not a short romance but a lifetime’s commitment.

Running parallel to everything is the need to behave honourably in all things, as lost honour is irretrievable and will cruelly haunt those with conscience as well as damaging the whole’s reputation.

Lightness of touch, humour, and a generous nature will be rewarded. And have fun.

God Save The Queen.

Given that we always forget lessons, below is a set of timeless principles for all commanders.

ADAM. Arms, Documentation, Arms, Money. This mnemonic reminds all never to make mistakes with these items, as Court Martials are the consequence (the term Documents should be understood to include e data too).

Gen von Senger und Ettelin’s The Editor after the 2015 Queen’s Birthday Parade with his eldest granddaughter officer training principles 2. The job is seven days a week.

Soldiering.

3. Motivate Troop Leaders.

4. State the aim, and follow with 1. Be constantly aware two up and two supervision. Have and promulgate down. priorities.

2. Be personally prepared to take over 5. Generate and add realism. one level up.

6. It’s about your soldiers.

3. Give directions one level down only.

7. Enjoyment. There is room for: the spiritual; happy families; variety; Orders. foster a healthy attitude.

1. One aim, one sentence, per operation or phase of war.

2. Orders should not contain training – tell them what to do not how to do it.

3. Give no coordinating instructions that are not vital.

Passions and Pursuits.

If there is something that you are good at or want to do, it is your duty to foster this in others and arrange it. Lead that expedition, train that team.

Seymour Monro’s guidance for sub unit command

I have enjoyed the labour of love that has been the editing of the last nine Journals. Vale.

1. Don’t hide things under the carpet.

Household Cavalry Regiment Foreword

By Lieutenant Colonel M S P Berry, The Life Guards Commanding Officer, The Household Cavalry Regiment

2

018 has been a ground-breaking year for the Household Cavalry. As so often, the Household Cavalry Regiment (HCR) has conducted exercises in many different places. Unusually, this year we have also exercised in many different armoured vehicles. In BATUS we trained in our trusted, but now very tired CVR(T). On Salisbury Plain we have experimented with WARRIOR; and in Oman we used the Mark 2 CVR(T) fleet. For the first time our soldiers have used drones alongside our armoured vehicles and within dismounted patrols to enhance our reconnaissance ability.

In addition, HCR was responsible for the break out of the Land Fleet for Ex SAIF SAREEA 3 from deep storage in Ashchurch – a breakout which replicates how the Army would prepare its armour for major war. Meanwhile, HCR proudly provides the largest single contingent from the Household Division into 6 (Guards) Pl, 3 Para. Throughout the year, Household Cavalry soldiers, and our attached arms have served on operations in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Cyprus, Estonia, the Falkland Islands, Iraq, Poland, Nigeria and Ukraine.

Despite the high tempo of operational training, this edition of the Journal shows that the Regiment is increasing its focus on our newest recruits: attending every Pass-Off parade to celebrate with our youngest soldiers and their families. We are also able to conduct sports and Adventure Training activities. In 2018, as always, HCR fielded teams composed of troopers, NCOs and officers for both Nordic and Alpine ski competitions. Another combined team tested its courage in the Army tobogganing championships on the Cresta Run. Yet another NCO-officer team is growing in success on the polo field, thanks in large part to the support of a former Household Cavalryman. Back in the Alps, Household Cavalry soldiers held their own against mountain troops in an alpine ski patrol competition, and on the other side of the world, our soldiers learned to sail dinghies, swam with dolphins, hiked through the wadis and jebels of Oman, and in the case of a few adventurous HCR runners, ran a marathon up the same mountains.

HCR continues to develop the foundations for STRIKE – a new way of operat-

ing – by designing and testing new Armoured Cavalry tactics, planning procedures and structures. Across Oman’s desert, Canada’s tundra and in Salisbury Plain, this year we have developed valuable tactical lessons which will shape STRIKE. We have built upon the tactics and drills developed by our NCOs and tested in BATUS in 2017 by conducting live rehearsals of those tactics and drills on Castlemartin ranges.

But more fundamental changes during the year set the scene for 2019, and for the future of the Household Cavalry.

Most Lt Col Mark Berry enjoying the shade of a cam net in Oman importantly, our in a year’s time I look forward to reportpeople are changing: the first female ing our families’ success in establishing Household Cavalry troopers passed out themselves in our new home. 2019 will of basic training this year and our first be busy. As we deliver operations in female officer was commissioned from Ukraine, we are preparing to move the Sandhurst. Our home is changing: we regiment to Bulford. Conversion trainwill move in 2019 to a purpose-built baring for the new AJAX vehicle will be racks with a ‘back door’ onto Salisbury well underway by the time we exercise Plain Training Area. Our most visible our right to the Freedom of Windsor in change in 2019 is the arrival of a new a final parade from Combermere Bararmoured vehicle, the AJAX. The first racks. Once in Bulford, as we occupy in the British Army to receive the AJAX, our new accommodation blocks and HCR will experiment with new strucmesses, we will be preparing to demontures in the future as it identifies the strate the STRIKE capability in a major best way to operate with this new and Army exercise on Salisbury Plain. In hugely capable fighting vehicle. Within a reassuring end to the year to come, these structural changes we will include slowing down to cement ourselves in snipers, drones, anti-tank weapons and our new home with traditions familiar information capabilities to deliver a 21st to Household Cavalrymen of many gencentury reconnaissance ‘armoury’ for erations: Brickhanging, the regimental STRIKE operations. carol service and well earned Christmas leave.

2019 is the start of a new chapter in the Regiment’s history, and a new chapter for so many of our families, whose support is essential to our success as a regiment. The first families’ visits to Bulford have been very encouraging, and

Household Cavalry Regiment ■ 5

We were established in 1944 to ensure that soldiers returning from World War Two were cared for.

75 years on, our purpose has not changed: we exist to ensure that all soldiers, veterans and their families are afforded the independence and dignity they deserve.

To find out more, visit www.soldierscharity.org Help us be here for their tomorrow.

Contact us for information on how you can apply for help, find out more, or get involved in one of our fundraising challenges: Tel: 020 7901 8900 Email: info@soldierscharity.org ABF The Soldiers’ Charity is a registered charity in England and Wales (1146420) and Scotland (039189) Registered Office: Mountbarrow House, 12 Elizabeth Street, London SW1W 9RB

Left to right: Brenda Hale, John Tyson, Mark Smith

A Squadron

F

ollowing a Christmas period on duty for Op TEMPERER, A Sqn dived straight into a year filled with a variety of key training events highlighted by two major overseas exercises alongside several individual deployments. Rising to the challenges of numerous commitments A Sqn has achieved much this year.

The Sqn started the new year with a focus on low-level tactical training, which was tested in a Battle Craft Syllabus (BCS) exercise on Salisbury Plain Trg Area (SPTA) in early February. Encompassing both mounted and dismounted training, the Troops were given the freedom to develop their skills in individual areas of responsibility, a valuable opportunity for new crews to work with each other and develop firm SOPs (a slight remedy to the constant challenges of crew turbulence). The training was rounded out by a dismounted phase, with many new troopers experiencing Close Target Recces (CTRs) and being subsurface for the first time, the driving rain characteristic of a February on SPTA testing the integrity of the observation posts (OPs) as much as any opposing force (OPFOR).

From this grounding the Sqn moved on to focus on mastering mounted gunnery, prior to the approaching range package at Castlemartin in May. This opportunity to conduct valuable live fire training was a welcome one, with many crews new to their respective crew positions. Despite the relative inexperience of the gunners and commanders, a comprehensive prior training package in Windsor set the conditions for success, with crews developing their skills on the range under the watchful eye of CoH Tamang and LCoH Simkins, driving forward to achieve an 100% ACT pass rate. The three-week package also

included a variety of dismounted live firing tactical training (LFTT) serials at Warcop ranges, delivered by CoH Sedgewick and CoH Fear. The diverse LFTT package encompassed everything from individual transition drills to 6-man reaction to contact and was undertaken with enthusiasm and confidence by the participating members of the Sqn. Following the return to Windsor, A Sqn bounced swiftly into preparations for deployment to BATUS, key to these preparations being a week-long Combined Arms Tactical Trainer (CATT) period to allow troops to develop cohesion and confidence in their roles. This period also saw the handover of A Sqn to a new Sqn Leader, with Maj Spiller moving on after two years at the helm, to make way for Maj Lukas’ escape from Army Headquarters. A brief period of leave came and went, with the Sqn deploying en masse to British Army Training Unit Suffield (BATUS) in June, to provide enemy to the Fusiliers (1RRF) and RTR over a 6-week period.

BATUS gave A Sqn the opportunity to operate with independence as OPFOR, with the agency to be tactically creative, consistently upsetting the plans of the exercising troops with a healthy satisfaction. The Canadian summer also provided ample opportunity for some fantastic adventure training (AT), with troops conducting canoeing, kayaking, hiking and riding expeditions through the magnificent Alberta Rockies, with down-time allowing for the ever-popular pilgrimage to the Calgary Stampede.

Summer leave followed, allowing the Sqn to reset, with many looking forward to the approaching Ex SAIF SAREEA 3.

The autumn period was largely dominated by the Sqn’s involvement in Ex SAIF SAREEA 3. Much of this effort was

A lone Scimitar basking in the BATUS sun

focused on supporting D Sqn in their provision of a free-thinking OPFOR for the MERCIAN Battlegroup, as well providing observer-mentors to both the Omani Headquarters and supporting C Sqn in its mentoring of the exercising troops. Whilst the exercise posed its challenges, and its share of frustrations, experience of a large-scale multinational exercise was a rare opportunity to be exploited. Deployment to Oman

LCpl B Cuthbertson enjoying his first deployment outside of the drivers cab

SCM Allen’s last picture with A Squadron, marking the end of its 6 week deployment to BATUS

Household Cavalry Regiment ■ 7

2Lt JIB Edwards working towards the 2*s main effort of Defence Engagement whilst deployed on SS3.

Pictured with the Omani Royal Guard

also afforded many in the Sqn the opportunity to experience some unique AT, from hill-walking to Scuba-diving in some striking locations.

Throughout the year A Sqn has also benefitted from a variety of individual deployment opportunities, with Lt Philip Lye starting the year with 3 months deployed on Op CABRIT as Battlegroup Liaison Officer with the Enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) Bat-

One of many glorious sunsets during the Squadron’s deployment to Oman

tlegroup in Poland, a job picked up by Lt Mike Thornton in the autumn. The latter half of the year has also seen CoH Sedgewick and the SCM, Cpl Maj Eade, deploy to Ukraine as part of Op ORBITAL, in preparation for the Squadron to begin rotating through Short Term Training Teams (STTT) taskings in the new year.

The Sqn has remained active in the run up to Christmas leave, with a Potential

NCO Cadre run by LCoH Ford, LCpl French and Lt Charles Onslow assessing potential JNCOs’ soldiering skills and leadership ability under testing conditions, while LCpls Baker and Darlow head off to Norway to begin putting in the mileage for the Nordic Ski team. Focus has now swung firmly on to the impending deployments on Op ORBITAL in the new year, which present yet another challenge to which A Sqn will rise.

Lt PEB Lye and 2Lt JIB Edwards working within a tri-service team whilst deployed on SS3

Military Shooting in Australia

by Lieutenant F G E H Howard-Keyes, The Life Guards

I

n April 2017, my new and fresh out of training face appeared in A Sqn, Household Cavalry Regiment’s lines formally to introduce myself to my new Sqn Ldr. Having just completed my Phase 2 Training and only just met my Troop CoH that morning, I was given as

8 ■ Household Cavalry Regiment

my first task to find and assemble a team of marksmen, or as close to as possible, to compete in the Brigade Operational Shooting Competition 2017. Unknowingly, this was the first step towards a journey which would lead me to competing in Australia one year later.

On average, a shooting team is given a couple of months to prepare. However, our commitments in 2017 meant that we had to prioritise our resources elsewhere. We were given two weeks. A fine body of men was assembled, and we began the competition in early May

Lt F Howard-Keyes getting warmed up

2017. Providing initial entertainment to other teams who could not believe we had bothered to show up, we laughed with them and as we progressed, watched their smiles fade away as we got through competition after competition, finishing in the top 5 teams repeatedly until we made it to the Army Championship. We performed admirably and went home after 7 weeks of competing and feeling proud that in typical Household Cavalry fashion an inexperienced team such as ours had become one to be rivalled with. Of course, we took home a few prizes.

A month later, I received an email stating that I had performed well ‘for an officer’ (it is important to stress the officer part) and was offered a place as Alternative Team Captain for the Army Team. I was initially concerned with the amount of time and organisation this would require… That is until I spotted ‘Australia’ at the bottom of the email. This email was shortly followed by another from the Commanding Officer who was this time instructing me to go and represent the regiment. In March 2018 I attended the trials.

fore meeting up with the team again at Heathrow Airport in April and took the brand-new direct flight to Australia.

Seventeen hours straight to Perth, followed by four hours to Melbourne, takes any excitement out of the exotic appeal Australia has to offer. As we arrived, we were met by our Australian counterparts and driven to camp Puckapunyal, in the bush, in the middle of a desert.

On the first morning, I was woken up by a kangaroo staring at me through the window and an ostrich pecking at the door. Welcome to the ‘Land Down Under’. The senior members of the team then proceeded to attend a remembrance ceremony for Anzac Day, the National Day of Remembrance which commemorates all Australians and New

Commemoration

Zealanders who served and died in all wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations.

The competition was intense, and the heat was exhausting. We were competing against the entirety of the Pacific Rim. Teams included, Fiji, Tonga, USA, Malaysia, New Zealand, Australia and Japan to say a few. At times we would be waiting for hours before our turn would come to start shooting. At other times we would have 15 mins to run from one shoot before starting an-

Initially, I was told I was there to replace the team captain should he no longer be able to attend and help with any administration. However, I was informed that I could attempt to make the team if I so wished. If I was successful, my ticket to Australia would be confirmed.

I looked around and saw a small sea of ‘Army100’ badges surrounding me… terrifying. Nevertheless, I competed and before I knew it, I had made the team, albeit by the skin of my teeth.

I took two weeks leave for Easter be-

The British Army Combat Shooting Team after the ‘March and Shoot’

Household Cavalry Regiment ■ 9

Members of the Fiji Combat Shooting Team alongside members of the British Army Combat Shooting Team

other one on the other side of the training area. It is never easy firing whilst out of breath, but you quickly get used to it when you have experienced members such as a QMSI from the SASC and a Duke of Lancaster Colour Sergeant ‘itching’ to motivate the men.

The makeup of the team was one of the strangest and most unlikely you will find in the British Army, and yet not only did we mix well socially, we worked well together too. The team comprised soldiers from the Royal Gurkha Regiment, The Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistics, The Queen’s Gurkha Signals Regiment, the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and myself from the Household Cavalry Regiment.

On a daily basis, we would wake up in the dark, slalom our way through the kangaroos and ostriches to the cookhouse, have breakfast and head to the transport which would take us to the ranges. We would often fire until midafternoon before returning to camp to sunbathe, go to the gym (where each nation would try to outman the other), or drive to the nearest town which looked like something straight out of a Western film. The shoots themselves varied from speed shoots with pistol and/or

Lt F Howard-Keyes and Capt C Stephenson at a game of ‘Aussie Rules’

10 ■ Household Cavalry Regiment

BACST 2018 receiving prizes presented by the Australian Army

rifle, or speed marches with shoots at the end. Our greatest achievement lay in the March and Shoot which required us to run over 10km carrying 16kg of kit, our rifles weighing approximately 4.5kg and two General Purpose Machine Guns weighing in and around 12.5kg each between eight of us. The hardest part was running in a temperature varying between 25-30°. However, myself and a member of the RGR pushed on through with the GPMGs and managed to finish first and second respectively. Credit should be given to our favourite infantry CSgt who was simply there to help with team admin but took it upon himself to put some kit on and run it with us whilst giving some ‘cries of encouragement’. I will leave it to the reader’s imagination as to what words he employed to get us to shift into high gear. On the latter days we were given the opportunity to try out other nations’ weapons. The Australians also treated

us to a barbecue where we tried kangaroo, ostrich and crocodile, before taking us to a game of ‘Aussie Rules’ in Melbourne.

After the competition, we were treated to 1 weeks’ worth of Rest and Relaxation where the team split up. Some went to Sydney, others to the Blue Mountains.

The Team Captain and myself decided to treat ourselves to staying in Melbourne.

Unfortunately, Australia was on its way to becoming winter, and although it was still 15°, most were wearing big coats and scarves and the beaches were rather deserted. In typical British fashion, we were still in shorts and T-Shirts. Luckily though, the Melbourne nightlife was still in full swing. On 18 May, we met up at Melbourne Airport one last time and took our return flight to the United Kingdom, landing just in time to catch a glimpse of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s wedding.

Lt F Howard-Keyes with the Canadian representatives of affiliated regiments

B Squadron

L

ast year I wrote about the creation of an Information Surveillance and Reconnaissance Squadron organic to the Household Cavalry Battle Group; this conceptual development has continued this year. We now find ourselves in a position where this concept could be tested if we had sufficient resources, time and money. Alas, we are significantly undermanned with very limited opportunity to conduct developmental opportunity with the other key players required from outside of the Brigade and Division. Furthermore, it is not so much testing whether a section from Military Intelligence or 77th Brigade Tactical Warfare Team can physically do their job; I have no doubt that each element within the Information Surveillance and Reconnaissance Squadron would be able to conduct their duties admirably. However, we lack the opportunity of testing what effect we have, for the benefit of the Brigade or Division whilst deploying at long range as a covering force. It is more than just ‘shaking-out’ on Salisbury Plain and moving from point A to B tactically, but establishing the processes and procedures to have an effect in favour of our activity on the local population through key leadership engagement, or non-kinetic targetting of enemy activity using the electromagnetic spectrum. We are developing this with a view to speeding up the ‘kill chain’ and decision-making process for the Brigade or Divisional Commander.

is currently writing a paper detailing how this will happen, notwithstanding the manning shortfall, and we hope that investment in the specialist capability will generate real interest in this exciting project. It is important to stress the need to look at these capabilities with fresh eyes and not simply going on what was the perceived wisdom from yesteryear; but what is the best way of generating this looking at our adversary, how we intend to fight in the future, and what vehicles would best complement the effect we want to achieve. This will be looked at through an ‘innovation lens’, make the best use for the limited resources we have and be inventive with the training opportunities ahead.

In addition to the ISR development over the past 18 months, the Commanding Officer has given direction of regenerating B Sqn with the development of organic specialists such as Javelin (AntiTank) troop, sniper troop, a Drone (Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems - RPAS) troop, and a manoeuvre troop. The Sqn

The Comd Offr also seeks to create a Social Media Exploitation Cell, with an aim to promote the Household Cavalry brand through conventional and social media outlets. The initial focus will be on the social media interest generated by the LION TV documentary, set to air in Spring 2019, and capitalise to boost

The development of a Drone (RPAS) troop continues at pace largely thanks to the hard work of Maj Henry Jordan within the Strike Experimentation Group (SEG). He has driven this at a much higher level than we could have expected, with some excellent results for both the Brigade and the Regiment.

LCoH Hookham is now on the black economy at RNAS Culdrose learning to become an RPAS instructor, and by all accounts he is doing very well. This shows the Household Cavalry and B Sqn continues to be at the leading edge for drone development within the Army. CoH Fear is leading the safety and compliance as Senior Operator for drone flights, an ever increasing burden in this fledgling military capability.

LCoH Hookham flying Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) drones with 700X RNAS to become an instructor

LCoH Hookham navigating round combat vehicles in combines arms trials

recruiting opportunities. The cell will endure beyond this documentary and become a fully deployable Information Operations asset to the Regiment and Brigade.

Over the past 12 months there has been significant movement of personnel in and out of B Sqn as follows: we have lost Capt Mansfield to RCMO HCMR, Capt Hunt-Grubbe to Tp Ldr HCMR, WO2 Nicol to D Sqn SCM, SCpl Snoxall to SCM LG Sqn, CoH Sedgwick to A Sqn; and gained Capt McWhirter to OC Trg Wng, Capt Ned Comyn as 2ic, Lt Ruaraidh Stewart as Tp Ldr, WO2 Martin to Trg WO, SCpl Minter to Trg Wng, CoH Fear as RPAS SME and Trg Wng.

Flying the UAV with the Tracked Hybrid Modular Infantry System (THeMIS) Unmanned Ground Vehicle mounted with the GPMG

Household Cavalry Regiment ■ 11

C Squadron

2

018 has been another busy year, which has seen C Squadron continue to perfect its planning and concurrent execution ability. The Sqn started the year with a demanding fortnight of mounted training on Salisbury Plain, joined by the Irish Guards Anti-Tank Pl and a Sqn of Wildcat Helicopters. Once complete, it was all hands to the pumps to focus on the re-role to Warrior, which, with its similar size and speed across country, was to be used as a surrogate platform to approximate AJAX. To date, the Squadron has converted a total of 40 personnel as Drivers, Commanders and Gunners and will continue to convert to Warrior throughout next year.

Experimentation on behalf of the Strike Experimentation Group (SEG) has taken a fair amount of C Sqn’s commitment this year, with a range of field and simulator exercises. The crux has been to prove doctrine for the first Strike doctrine handbook that will be used with the new vehicles – this has been exciting and engaging for the troops at all levels. A memorable part of one such exercise was LCoH Hookham using his virtual reality headset whilst flying a UAV out of the mortar hatch on the Warrior – who would have thought that you could fly and drive at the same

Warrior and Drone experimentation, Salisbury Plain

time?! Indeed, the doctrine the Sqn has been developing has proved incredibly successful. During one exercise a Tp from C Sqn in Warrior managed to outmanoeuvre and defeat an entire Sqn of RDG in CVR(T)! In the first quarter of the year, several C Sqn members managed to get to the Alps in a variety of guises. Lt Ed Keith had a very successful time with the Nordic Ski Team, whilst Maj Matt Woodward led a team on the prestigious French Mountain Challenge. This involved two weeks of high altitude ski mountaineering training, followed by two days of racing against French and international teams. As the running team joke was ‘the invitation was for mountain, not mounted, troops!’, nobody expected much. So they were somewhat surprised to find the HCR team storming ahead of them on the mountain to finish an incredible 2nd overall, beating amongst others a USMC team from their arctic warfare school and the Italian Alpini! A number of others were able to gain their Ski Foundation level 1 qualifications and both the 2019 Alpine and Nordic Ski Teams are captained by and filled with, members of the Squadron.

AT didn’t just extend to the Alps though, with 10 members of the Sqn completing ‘elementary freefall’ at Netheravon, and Cpl Petit passing the Mountain Leader Training course.

Annual live firing saw the Sqn take the clean sweep of prizes: LCpl Heathfield won top gunner and LCoH Banda the top Section on the mounted ranges, and GW Tp under the irrepressible team of Lt Stewart and CoH Thomson took best Tp on dismounted ranges. The Sqn also managed to run a live STRIKE drill, with an ambush initiated by a Hawk Jet controlled by Capt Pagden-Radcliffe in the TACP, GW Tp firing simulated Jave-

Sqn eating competition during a Sqn smoker.

Tpr Bunker and LCpl Harris, Salisbury Plain

12 ■ Household Cavalry Regiment

Coasteering during a weekend off at Castemartin Ranges, May 2018

lin having inserted in the night, and two Troops on different ranges firing onto the same target set. All of the spectacular demolitions to support this were set up by Sgt Wilson, our attached and super enthusiastic Engineer.

This year, C Sqn has continued to push individuals onto extra-curricular military courses where possible, with LCoH Kruger, LCoH Petit and LCpl Foster all completing the Section Commanders Battle Course (SCBC) at Brecon, and LCpl Knight passing Javelin Det commander’s course, adding to our depth of skills and knowledge within the Squadron. Following P Coy, LCpl Huxtable and Tpr Bunker were attached to 3 Para and are now deployed with them on Op TORAL in Afghanistan. We have also qualified 6 Crew-Commanders.

Supporting and deploying with other units has become a common task for HCR and C Sqn. Sgt Wilson deployed to Carolina in the USA with the Royal Dragoon Guards as their combat engineer; and CoH Jackson had a successful deployment on Op CABRIT to Ukraine with the 1RRF. SCpl Fetigan was also deployed to Op TORAL in Afghanistan to support the Afghan National Officer Academy.

Mounted and dismounted ranges, Annual live firing at Warcop and Castlemartin ranges

Sqn volleyball at endex.

Ex SAIF SAREEA 3, Oman

Sqn officers (and Mrs Woodward) and SCM evening out at Bucks Club

The summer and autumn saw C Sqn re-role into the Observer, Coach, Safety Squadron for Ex SAIF SAREEA 3 in Oman. This tasking was similar to that fulfilled by the ‘red tops’ in BATUS, but was quite different to anything that the Sqn had undertaken before. Preparation involved training with the Field Training Unit on Salisbury Plain and learning how to observe and mentor a Bde level exercise whilst maintaining a safe training environment. With SMEs from BATUS and a variety of other Regiments, C Squadron (+) was formed and deployed in Land Rovers to the Omani desert. Oman was an eye-opening joint exercise where junior soldiers and officers were exposed to an Armoured Battlegroup working dispersed in a difficult and incredibly hot environment.

The Sqn trained extensively in medevac with the Puma fleet, and in the challenging conditions the exercise had a ‘can do’ attitude at the centre of its ethos.

The main exercise phase complete, the Squadron were able to complete a short

snorkelling trip where LCoH Matakibau made friends with a local turtle and a few others (much to the amusement of the remainder) were pushed into the novice swimmer group due to a ‘misunderstanding’. The Sqn experienced a biblical monsoon on the battlefield study, which flooded the bivvy area and forced us to complete two days hiking in one. With the Sqn scrambling out of the final gorge as the sun set, there were many relieved faces that we all survived unscathed! Eleven members of the Sqn were lucky enough to undertake a 6 day sailing trip around the Omani coast. It was an incredible experience, catching tuna off the back of the catamaran and making fresh sashimi; hiking through a water filled canyon; cliff jumping where the ‘Red Bull’ diving series is held; and exploring a variety of different local and expat attractions. The prospect of ‘new blood’ proved almost too much for some of the expat ladies…but that’s another story.

This year has seen a huge amount of

flux within the Squadron, necessitating many teary farewells in the Sqn Café.

We have sent 3 instructors off to phase 1 and 2 establishments - Lt Tom Stewart, Lt Ed Keith and LCoH Davey who will all go on to develop the next generation in their own distinctive ways.

Lt Martin learned to ride a horse and left for the glamour of HCMR. A stalwart of the Sqn, CoH Thomas did an outstanding job as stand-in SQMC, before handing over to SCpl Doran, who is doing a sterling job keeping the Sqn 2IC on his toes. Finally, we welcome a new Sqn 2IC from Pirbright, Capt Oliver Crosthwaite-Eyre who with his distinctive smile and wealth of charm feels more like the Padre than the 2IC. He takes over as Capt Huda dusts off his skis in preparation for an arduous winter tour on Op ELGIN in Bosnia.

In sum, a busy and rewarding year, where the Sqn has professionally developed and continued to display turreted mounted excellence whilst demonstrating our versatility in employment. And we had fun, a lot of fun. With early exercises in 2019, the prospect of being the first Sqn in the army to convert to AJAX and two expeditions to Morocco and the Alps in the offing, there is much for the future.

C Sqn in Oman, Ex SAIF SAREEA 3

Household Cavalry Regiment ■ 13

Exercise ALPINE EAGLE: Ski Mountaineering race in France with 127th Mountain Infantry Brigade

by Major M H J Woodward, The Royal Lancers

E

ach year the 127th Mountain Infantry Brigade of the French Army runs a winter mountain skills competition in Chamrousse, near Grenoble. It involves long-distance ski touring in full military kit and responding to various scenarios, rather like a Cambrian Patrol on skis.

This year was special as it marked the Brigade’s 130th anniversary. To celebrate, it was opened as an international competition and they invited the United States, Italy, Lebanon, Georgia, Germany and Great Britain.

All international teams other than ourselves were represented by troops with specialist mountain warfare training; in Windsor, we wondered whether ADOC had confused ‘mountain troops’ with ‘mounted troops’! However, ever willing to show that there is nothing a Household Cavalryman cannot do, we gathered together anyone who had experience of ski touring…or in some cases, had just been on skis before, and started planning on how we might train for such an event. We also recognised that it was a great opportunity to challenge and push ourselves in a new environment as a team, to work with and compete against our close allies, and to integrate with our French colleagues.

To give us the best possible chance, we knew that we would have to train hard and acclimatise to the altitude, and we would have to learn new skills like handling and firing the FAMAS assault rifle. Fortunately, we could call on the

Team C Sqn learning to use the FAMAS with 1er Regt du Spahis, Valence, France

services of our affiliated regiment in Valence, the 1er Regiment de Spahis, who kindly provided an instructor and rifles.

Once we could strip and assemble the FAMAS blindfolded and were familiar with all the firing drills, we were ready to hit the mountains and our first stop was Chamonix to get our ski legs and assess individual ability. This proved to be rather a baptism of fire for LCpl Marchant, who had only been on skis for two weeks in his life and found himself off-piste, skiing on the back side of the Hellbroner on day one! Fortunately, he proved to be an outstanding skier considering how little time he’d spent on planks, so much so that our guide could not reconcile his lack of experience with his ability.

We then moved to Gressoney in the Aosta Valley, where we spent 10 days in a mountain hut above 3000m. We toured up hard and fast, before enjoy-

The team at the end of the Valley Blanche.

Day 2 training for the French mountaineering race, Chamonix, France

14 ■ Household Cavalry Regiment

LCpl Heathfield descends onto the glacier before the long slog up Mt Vincent.

Approx 3600m, Monte Rosa, Italy

ing incredible runs back down in glorious powder. We improved our ropework, teamwork and technical skiing, learned how to assess the snowpack and qualified everyone to SF3, an Army recognised qualification. We spent a day heli-skiing and a sleepless night at 3600m in Gnifetti hutte, before attempting a 4200m mountain. Frustratingly we were narrowly defeated by horrific weather just shy of the summit, but it was the right decision as one of the guides got frost-nip on his face.

Prior to the competition starting, the international teams met at the Brigade HQ in Grenoble for a talk about the event.

This was a great chance to interact with the other teams and other militaries and size up the opposition, who were incredulous that we were not trained mountain troops! With the initial brief complete, we all made our way in convoy, up the windy mountain roads to Chamrousse, and for one last day of

Above Capanna Gnifetti, Ski touring up to Mt Vincent in a howling wind, 4100m, Monte Rosa, Italy

training in how to use the rescue sledge, which we knew would be on one of the stands.

With all of the teams huddled at the start line, the Brigade commander said a few motivating words to us all, before firing the starting gun, and releasing the teams onto the mountain. The first evening consisted of a steep uphill climb over 2km, which gained over 650m in altitude. This was our first time carrying the rescue sledge and FAMAS, which made life very uncomfortable indeed.

By the time we reached the top, some 58 minutes later, the wind was up and the athletes gathered inside the ski sta-

tion for some much-needed soup. Each athlete was given a torch and formed a procession back down the mountain to a rather impressive crowd at the bottom.

The second day began at 0530hrs with a quick breakfast before setting off on another tough day of steep, uphill climbs, fast descents, and technical tests such as getting down the mountain with a casualty on a rescue sledge. Sadly, due to the weather, the technical rope climb and shooting stands were abandoned.

As we crossed the finish line as a team, an incredible sense of achievement and pride washed over us as we were told that we had come 19th of 41 overall, and

The team at the end of the French mountaineering race, Chamrousse

2nd out of the international teams - a result that far surpassed any of our (and our competitors’) expectations.

Overall, it was an incredible experience and exactly the type of hard training in a challenging environment that we all strive for. Everyone was pushed well beyond their comfort zone, everyone was awarded a ski touring qualification, and to have achieved such a result against professional mountain troops was a true demonstration of what can be achieved with the right mental attitude and thorough preparation. And, of course, that there is nothing a Household Cavalryman cannot do!

Prize giving at the French ski mountaineering race.

HCR finished 2nd international team, beating the Italian Alpini but losing to the German Gebirgsjager

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Exercise KHANJAR GUARDIAN 30th October - 5th November 2018

W

ith Ex SAIF SAREEA 3 finally complete, 11 members of C Sqn chose to make the most of their advantageous positioning and the natural beauty of the Sultanate of Oman by embarking on an 8-day sailing trip. The Regiment’s ingenuity saw it organising the only two Adventure Training expeditions external to the Brigade’s centrally run trips: the long delays brought about by the RAF during the close-down phase of the exercise meant that many Household Cavalrymen found themselves enjoying the delights of AT, whilst the remainder of the 1 MERCIAN Battlegroup baked on the dustbowl in Camp Shafa eagerly awaiting their eternally delayed flights.

The team departed on Ex KHANJAR GUARDIAN, a waterborne exercise.

Photographs of Laguna, the 39ft catamaran that the group chartered, had been circling amongst the Sqn providing an additional source of morale for those soon to be setting off on the ocean waves.

Nothing quite prepared the group for seeing it in person at Al-Mouj Marina on the first day of the trip. A stark change from the open desert of Bakarat to Laguna’s air-conditioned cabins and large sunbathing trapeze. The first day saw us dropped off at Al-Mouj Marina on the north eastern coast of Muscat. With its vast array of glass fronted buildings and familiar western high street brands, AlMouj Marina could be easily mistaken for ‘Ocean Village’ in Southampton. To our surprise the Marina itself was nigh on empty, with only 20 percent in use.

The benefit to this was that it made the identification of Laguna very easy - the only Catamaran in the bay. The issue of CILOR also saw morale sky rocket and was a welcome move away from 24hr rations. With the yacht victualled we set sail at 1200hrs bound for our first destination the Ad Dimaniyat Islands: a famous turtle marine reserve 35km out to sea.

The yacht was jointly skippered by Lt

Team C Sqn, on Ex KHANJAR GUARDIAN, Oman on the catamaran Laguna

Hunter and Wani, our local guide and self-proclaimed fishing expert.

The group was lucky to have a plethora of experience varying from Yacht-master to Competent Crew that helped facilitate the training and teaching of our 7 sailing novices.

The hope had been to hold an average speed of 7 knots arriving in the late afternoon, but light winds meant we didn’t arrive until dark. We anchored up in the bay and had a BBQ on the boat.

The lack of wind did at least provide our novices with a calm sea state for their first day out not diminishing anyone’s appetite. Conscious that we had to depart on the next 50 km leg early in the light winds and, concerned that we might have missed our opportunity to swim with the sea turtles, we awoke at dawn the next morning to snorkel: the Ad Dimaniyat Islands did not disappoint, the group spotted 14 sea turtles.

Snorkelling complete we reembarked and set off on the second leg to Al

Fahl Island, another secluded island 20 km off the mainland and infamous for sharks. Throughout the day our novices were getting to grips with basic knot tying and the man overboard drill.

We arrived in the late morning, which gave us ample time to explore the local wildlife. Sadly no sharks were seen, but the group became well acquainted with a 7ft Giant Moray Eel. The afternoon saw us turn back towards civilisation as we began to head South East down the coast. Having passed the Al Alam Palace, we now bid goodbye to Muscat and the coastal terrain grew ever more hostile and arid. At the end of this leg we took refuge in the Shangri-la Marina. We took this opportunity to make our first landfall of the trip and walked up to the viewpoint on the top of the Al-Jissah cliffs. Upon descent, to the groups’ delight, the hotel bar agreed to serve us a well-earned beer - the coronas had an ecstatic taste after 2 months being dry. A few members of the group even managed to profit from the string quartet put on for the hotel guests free of charge.

The next day was the second 50 km leg but thankfully the winds picked up; sailing was sufficiently faster. Secondly to this Wani’s fishing expertise came into its own as the group began to haul in tuna after tuna on the run down to Quriyat. Bluefin tuna were immediately turned into sashimi by our resident chef LCpl Gaze LG. The rest provided us with exceptional tuna steaks for dinner.

Lt Jamie Bruce-Crampton and LCoH Petit struggling with the arduous workload

16 ■ Household Cavalry Regiment

LCpls Davies, Gaze and Chappel, Tprs Eckley and Jones, on the catamaran

Arriving in Quriyat was a stark difference to the rest of urban Oman we had

previously encountered. Wani had explained that this was a traditional fishing village and showed us around the fish markets where tuna, the size of a large prep-school child (or Lt Hunter), were being sold. Lt Hunter had hyped

up the fact that Quriyat Castle had been used as a film set for Game of Thrones: needless to say, the group was vastly underwhelmed by what can be best described as a small fort no bigger than the cookhouse in Windsor.

Maj Woodward and LCoH Petit catching tuna off the catamaran

The following day the group took a break from sailing and chose to spend it climbing the Wadi Shab down by Sur. We employed a guide who picked us up from Quriyat and took us down to the mouth of the wadi. After a short boat ride, we disembarked and began to hike hand railing the water. Soon the canyon narrowed, and the only way up was to swim. The final part was a steep climb up a waterfall to reach the leap of faith; a coasteering-style cliff jump into a plunge pool below. With this complete we swam down to where the Red Bull cliff jumping was held in 2012. Here Yousef, our guide, gave us a quick lesson and the group tested their mettle on the tier 1 (15m) jump. A brave few, led

by Maj Woodward RL, conquered the tier 2 (20m) leap. All in, a great experience heralded as the highlight of the

trip by many in the group. With our day ashore complete, we settled in for another BBQ dinner onboard.

On the fifth day we restocked the yacht in the Quriyat market and set off on a comparatively short 25km leg finishing at Jebel Sifah Marina. By now the wind had significantly picked up aiding us in a swift journey but giving many their first taste of sea sickness. We stopped in a secluded bay for lunch where several members of the group finally spotted several reef sharks whilst snorkeling.

Jebel Sifah was the opposite to Quriyat: a newly built marina surrounded by seafront holiday homes and several cafes. Wani managed to secure us free entry to the beach club in the afternoon where the group took full advantage of the pool. LCpl Chapple RHG/D, Tpr Jones LG and Tpr Eckley RHG/D took advantage of the inclement seas by adapting Laguna’s paddle boards for surfing; much to the alarm of the locals.

Day six was dead calm with near to no wind. As a result, we took the op-

LCoH Petit demonstrating how to make fresh sashimi C Sqn tackling the Wadi Shab

LCoH Petit with the finished product

Household Cavalry Regiment ■ 17

portunity to give all crew members the chance to practice coming along side on the pontoon and honed our man overboard drill. The lack of wind forced us to motor to our next destination. However, the removal of the sails meant we suddenly had four extra fishermen, the resulting catch filled up our ice box and provided our sustenance for the remainder of the trip. We arrived just before dark in Banda Al Rowhda, a marina we knew well as it hosted most of the Brigade AT package. As a result, given it was our last night, we had scouted a nearby restaurant for our team meal.

On the final day we had a 35km leg back to Al-Mouj Marina. Having set off early we arrived at 1400; two hours before Oman Sail were ready to take back Laguna. Wani very kindly got out his

personal rib and we spent the afternoon learning to wakeboard just outside the marina: Another trip highlight and a fantastic way to draw the package to a close.

The whole experience provided the perfect balance of a challenging learning environment and a relaxing atmosphere. Each member of the crew came away having significantly developed their sailing proficiency as well as learning new skills from helmsman ship, to catching, gutting and preparing sushi.

A huge debt of gratitude is owed to the HCF for their essential funding and the Regimental Second in Command for his tireless work in the UK to help get the Exped off the ground at such short notice. The expedition group comprised: Wani, Maj Woodward, LCpl Davies,

Team C Sqn make port

LCpl Gaze, LCpl Fox, Lt Hunter, Lt Bruce Crampton, Tpr Jones, LCpl Jarman, LCoH Petit, LCpl Chapple, Tpr Eckley.

D Squadron

D

Squadron have had an immensely productive year and probably one of its busiest in its history outside of the deployment cycle. On top of the normal battlefield craft syllabus exercises, Regimental gun camp and Combined Arms Tactical Trainer (CATT), the Sqn successfully prepared an entire Brigade operational vehicle fleet for the deserts of Oman as well as deploying themselves for what was the largest overseas exercise the Army has undertaken since before the invasion of Iraq. No mean feat and one for which the Sqn should be very proud.

The year began with an exercise on Salisbury plain conducting the lowest level training as part of the battle craft syllabus (BCS). This saw each Troop develop its low-level skills, from vehicle movement to camouflage and concealment. This provided perfect preparation for the next phase of training as the Sqn exchanged blank magazines for live and filled their Scimitar’s wine racks with HE and PRAC rounds at Castlemartin for the annual gun camp. Under the fine instruction of newly qualified gunnery

LCoH Holman, LCpl Bridger and LCpl Sosnowski in their Spartan with RWS

18 ■ Household Cavalry Regiment

instructor, LCoH McVey, the Squadron achieved first time passes for almost all on their Annual Crew Tests. A fantastic achievement and all thanks to the Sqn’s hard work prior to deploying to Wales.

From Castlemartin, the Sqn moved to Warcop to hone its dismounted skills, developing marksmanship from individual close SCM, LCpl Brown, our local host and quarter battle skills all the the Sqn Ldr enjoying tea with the locals way to section and platoon SEREEA 3 (SS3), the largest overseas exattacks. A thoroughly enjoyable range ercise the British Army has undertaken package that reminded all that they in 15 years. It was a fantastic opportuniform part of a Regiment that prides itty to train in austere conditions and test self on its capacity to fight on its feet as men and vehicles in an uncompromiswell as in a turret. This provided the ing environment. perfect spring board to transition to the CATT, where the Squadron was able to The exercise gave an insight into the practice many of the tactical actions they Omani culture and some were lucky would use a few months later in Oman. enough to sample some Omani hospitality. A following article covers the exerIn September the Sqn deployed 110 men cise in more detail. in 35 vehicles over 5000 miles to the Sultanate of Oman as part of Ex SAIF It was not all hard work however. Half way through the exercise, during an operational pause, many of the Sqn were able to get away to conduct some wellearned adventure training.

LCpl Halstead and Tpr Homewood pause for thought

2018 has also seen several of our men deployed across the globe away from the Regiment, from Ukraine to Zambia.

We have had several noticeable successes on the sporting field, representing the Army at Rugby Union and the RAC at football. A huge congratulations must also go to LCoH Hollman who successfully walked 131 miles from Windsor to Bulford and back. In the process, he

raised £1800 for the HCF and CALM, a charity that raises money for male mental health issues.

Congratulations this year must go out LCoH Hollman, LCpl Parker, LCpl Shaw and Tpr Holden on their marriages. As well as LCoHs Abbott and Atkin, Tprs Wright and Curtis for the birth of their children in the past year.

After recovering from Oman, and some well-earned leave, the Sqn is preparing for the challenges of next year. As part of the UK’s Stand-By Battalion for Op TEMPERER over the Christmas break and into the New Year as well as potential deployments to Ukraine, the forecast for 2019 looks busy as well.

The arrival of Thor’s Hammer

Capt Penrose firing an SVD Dragunov Sniper Rifle in Zambia

Activation Task Force (ATF) - Exercise SAIF SAREEA 3

by Captain N J Wright

T

he Regiment was tasked with forming an Activation Task Force (ATF) to activate the fleet of equipment deploying from the Stored Equipment Fleet on Ex SAIF SAREEA 3 (Ex SS3).

The exercise was the UK Defence’s largest overseas exercise in over a decade, with over 4000 people and 1400 vehicles deploying to Oman. The fleet of specialised desert vehicles was provided from the stored fleet located in Ashchurch, Bovington and Donnington. The ATF task was to act as the liaison cell and provide the coordination between Army HQ, 3 (UK) Div, Babcock DSG (BDSG) and the various units involved.

In early June the ATF, led by Capt NJ Wright LG and WO1 (ASM) Fitch REME, deployed to Ashchurch with the key enablers from Comd Tp, HQ Sqn and the Light Aid Detachment. The team were based at Ashchurch for the next 3 months overseeing the activation of vehicles from the various sites. The process required the vehicles to be inspected, serviced and all subsequent repairs completed prior to being subjected to an assurance check. In addition to the vehicle checks the Complete Equipment Schedule (CES) and Bowman Equipment Schedule (BES) were accounted for. The task saw the activation of circa

A D Sqn CVR(T) Scimitar 2 being loaded prior to making the long journey to Oman

The largest (CRARRV) and the smallest (CVR(T) 2) A Vehs the ATF were responsible for activating

500 platforms ranging from Penman Trailers to Challenger Two Main Battle Tanks and everything in between.

The short activation period meant the delivery profile was extremely tight and it was a daily challenge to ensure each vehicle was delivered to the Sea Mounting Centre (SMC) and ready for loading onto their allocated Roll on Roll off (RORO) vessel. BDSG would regularly be finishing off repairs the very morning the vehicle was due to be loaded on the Heavy Equipment Transporters (HET).

The routine battle rhythm saw 10–15 vehicles being activated each week.

However, the most activity in one week saw A Vehicles being activated in three separate locations, in addition to over 50

B Vehicles being activated in Ashchurch and the first out-load of vehicles to the SMC all being conducted concurrently.

The loading of the final last six Warriors onto HETs bound for Marchwood on 30 Aug 18 signalled the end of our activation task.

The activation of the Ex SS3 fleet was hugely successful with 100% of required vehicles being activated within the necessary timeline and making their designated RORO vessel. As the Armed Forces move towards a more contractorbased Equipment Support model, this task highlighted what can be achieved with good working relationships and a strong collaborative working ethos between all organisations involved.

The Sqn’s vehicles loaded and ready to sail

Household Cavalry Regiment ■ 19

D Squadron on Exercise SAIF SAREEA 3 - Oman

by Lieutenant F C Wellesley

T

he Regiment deployed both as OPFOR and the observer controller safety (OCS) for what was the largest overseas exercise the Army has undertaken since before the invasion of Iraq.

In September C and D Squadrons deployed over 200 men in 70 vehicles over 5000 miles to the Sultanate of Oman as part of the Ex SAIF SAREEA 3 (SS3), the largest overseas exercise the British Army has undertaken in 15 years. It was a fantastic opportunity to train in austere conditions and test men and vehicles in an uncompromising environment.

For D Sqn, the mission statement was simple; to act as a realistic and dynamic enemy to mimic that of a near peer to peer plus enemy thereby allowing the 1 MERCIAN Battlegroup to practice warfighting alongside their Omani counterparts. The exercise was conducted in 3 training areas across Oman with each tactical action covering large distances.

During the final 10-day exercise, D Sqn were directed to attack British defensive positions and then transition into delaying actions and finally defend against the coordinated Anglo-Omani assaults.

The exercise gave a good insight into the complications of operating in a desert environment without the pressure of acting as exercising Troops. The heat was the main barrier and one that took the longest to get used to. With temperatures soaring to between 4050°C most days, both men and vehicles were pushed to their limits. This saw a large number of heat casualties from across the battlegroup, thankfully D Sqn remained relatively unscathed. Operating in Scimitar Mk 2 platforms, the airconditioning unit (the loosest of terms!) allowed the drivers to put a cooled air pipe down the front of their body armour. A welcome respite from the in-

3 Tp pose for an endex photo

ferno coming from the engine.

The exercise gave an insight into some of the Omani culture and some were lucky enough to sample some Omani hospitality. Lt Onslow was fortunate enough to be invited to eat with some local Bedouin and Omani Soldiers.

For C Sqn, the task was somewhat different. Re-roling into the Observer, Control and Safety (OCS) Squadron for the entire Bde. With SMEs from BATUS and a variety of other Regiments

A Scimitar operating and showing the flag

20 ■ Household Cavalry Regiment

they formed up and deployed in Land Rovers to the Omani desert. The tasking was quite unlike anything that the Sqn had undertaken before and focused mainly on ensuring swift casualty evacuation of Troops in the event of an accident. With the nearest hospital at times over an hours helicopter flight, rapid triage and casevac coordination was essential for the safety of exercising personnel and hence the success of the exercise. With each member of the Sqn trained as a team medic and well versed in coordinating with the MERT

D Sqn conduct acclimatization PT in the first week of the Ex

Lt Charlie Onslow making friends with locals

helicopters, the Sqn was able to provide an effective safety blanket for the entire training area.

It was not all hard work however. Half way through the exercise, during an operational pause, many of the Regiment were able to get away to conduct some well-earned adventure training. This saw soldiers of all ranks snorkelling along some of Oman’s famous coastline

D Sqn compete in a Sqn volley ball competition during some downtime

as well as rock climbing up on the plateau or ‘Jebel’ that rises out of the desert.

The Jebel Akhdar, second only in size to The Grand Canyon (USA), was also the destination for a Sqn 25km run. Organised by Lt Leishman, a small contingent ran from the base of the Jebel up one of its many Wadis to the top of the plateau.

The route forms part of the UMTB Ultra Marathon and is considered one of the most arduous sections along the route.

All thoroughly enjoyable and some much needed time away from the exercise, which allowed the Regiment to recock for the final two weeks.

This kind of exercise is just the sort of experience that all our soldiers want, both to satisfy their ambitions on joining seeking variety and excitement, and also to acquire the experience and skills essential to their profession.

The troops look in for good news

Headquarters Squadron

H

Q Squadron started 2018 poised ready to deploy with or in support of the Regiment throughout a myriad of activities, completing exercises on Salisbury Plain: at Castlemartin; in Canada and Oman. In barracks the squadron has led the Rear Operations Group (ROG), Real Life Support (RLS) and provided soldiers to the Sabre Squadrons’ or Brigade trawls to carry out the full spectrum of support functions.

The Squadron has seen key roles change this year most notable the handover of Commanding Officers and a change of RCM. Key departmental changes saw the departure of Capt S Fry MC to HCMR, being replaced by Capt B Gibson as QM(T); Capt J Dove as the Unit Welfare Officer, taking over from Capt S McWhirter now the Training Officer.

The Squadron started the year by conducting Ex SPECULAR a divisional simulation exercise; RHQ and Command Troop took the lead on the G6 aspect with simulator operators conduct-

ing the role of a US Army division. This was to aid 1 Armoured Infantry Brigade in the divisional interoperability environment. Soon after HQ Sqn deployed on a Battle Craft Syllabus (BCS) where we would be honing on our skills adhering to the Brigade’s directive to operate at troop and squadron level in silence by day and night in a dismounted and mounted role. This exercise was headed by the newly appointed Sqn Leader Maj DJ Hitchings who took command in Dec 17 from Maj AC Gardner who was posted to ATR Pirbright.

After Easter leave the Squadron was then to take part in Ex SOUTHERN GUARDIAN in partnership with the sabre squadrons.

Ex SOUTHERN GUARDIAN was a long range High Frequency (HF) radio exercise to test the capabilities of HF communication in different locations and environments around the south of the UK. This was in conjunction with RHQ executing Battle Group HQ (BGHQ) training linking the

Weathering the cold on the Ranges

two together.

The next task was to prepare the regiment to go to Castlemartin ranges to conduct annual mounted and dismount-

Household Cavalry Regiment ■ 21

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Sqn night firing at Warcop

ed ranges. This was a busy period as the Squadron, juggling assistance to all, and ensuring smooth running while deployed. The ammunition, accommodation and catering were covered by the QM’s department. The technical support provided by QM(Tech) was essential to keep the vehicles running, delivering spares in a timely fashion. The Squadron was not only responsible for

CoH Morris trying to be noticed

Working on camouflage and concealment at BATUS, with probably the only tree for miles

the real-life support, but also conducted all range serials to a high standard throughout.

The Squadron’s next big task was to support A Sqn’s deployment to British Army Training Unit Suffield (BATUS) in Canada, there as the opposing force (OPFOR) for the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (1RRF). The Sqn committed personnel in various roles from working in the Echelon, to joining the troops.

The biggest task of year was the deployment to Oman on Ex SAIF SAREEA 3 (SS3), the last in the series having been in 2001; this was a major exercise for the British Army not just for the Regiment. Once again, the Squadron had a big input to the deployment. The first thing that needed to be

LCpl Miah in Oman

done was the breakout of the Scimitar 2 fleet form DSG Ashchurch where this equipment was being stored. Capt N Wright was the in command of the task force, with WO1 (ASM) Fitch and his team ensuring the fleet was good to roll and WO2 (RSWO) Warren with his team checking all communications for fitting and serviceability before everything was shipped out to Oman. This was conducted over a 5-month period and was done effectively, ahead of schedule.

HQ Sqn’s commitment to SS3 was not to end there; the Sqn also sent out personnel to work within D Sqn who were the OPFOR and other key logistical roles within brigade HQ. The exercise was a great success all round.

Upon arrival back in England the Sqn proudly conducted our last Windsor Remembrance Parade through the town.

A well-deserved Christmas leave before a very busy 2019 was factored in, ahead of being the United Kingdom Standby Battalion (UKSB) as part of the Op TEMPERER commitment. Work continues to enable and facilitate a Regimental move to Bulford Garrison in the Summer 2019 to settle in ready for our new role in the new Strike Brigade.

Chaplaincy

by The Reverend A L Walters CF

C

haplaincy to the Household Cavalry in 2018 has centred around two themes: Remembrance and Resilience.

Though at first glance they may seem disparate entities there is, in fact, significant overlap in the two areas. I have been privileged to lead memorial services in many contexts this year including the Lorraine American Cemetery and at Zandvoorde with the Associations’ trip.

Padre Capt Amy Walters

The 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War also marked the last occasion on which the Household Cavalry will make their act of remembrance in Windsor. It was a poignant and fitting moment as we considered what had passed and looked to the future with hope.

These acts of remembrance not only honour the dead but give us pause for thought to contemplate the purpose of our own actions as serving members of the Armed Forces. This attention to purpose – as well as identity and leadership – is one of the main factors contributing to resilience in soldiers. Resilience may seem to be a very modern ‘buzzword’ but in reality it is something in which researchers have been interested for decades, not least looking at the experiences of soldiers both world wars.

Having a clear sense of purpose, a clear

The Padre (on the left) demonstrating enormous resilience climbing Jacob’s Ladder at RAF St Mawgan during RHQ resilience training

Household Cavalry Regiment ■ 23

The Baptism of Nancy Arabella-Rae Gorman in the The Royal Military Chapel (Guards Chapel)

personal ethical intent and having good (rather than simply mediocre) leaders all contribute to enhanced operational resilience.

Nonetheless, those who have served know that it is not only in times of conflict that our fortitude can be undermined. Our social, psychological,

physical and spiritual circumstances whilst in barracks can all have an impact our operational effectiveness. To that end I have been leading Project GIDEON, a joint endeavour between HCR and HCMR which looks at the ways in which we can support our soldiers in these areas in order to improve performance. The Gym staff have delivered training in Mental Resilience Training for physical endurance. Some of these lessons can also be carried over to dealing with cognitively stressful tasks (e.g. night navigation exercise; speed-distance-time calculations). I will be running a marriage course in the new year for couples who wish to build on the good foundations they have already established. Much of this is not new, yet it is an important undertaking in a situation of constrained budgets and time to understand why we do the things we do. Activities that look like ‘a bit of fun’ (e.g. Troop days out; Adventure Training) are vital factors in ensuring that soldiers have the support they need and the opportunity to test their boundaries.

I have enjoyed being a part this and feel that it is very much an integral part of chaplaincy provision both to HCav and

in the wider army. My own resilience and grit is being tested by the riding staff and some of the more belligerent horses in HCTW! Perhaps the most pleasurable occasion was my first Watering Order in Windsor when 10 horses and men visited the Padre’s house for Coffee and Bacon Baps at 0730.

Trainees and staff from HCTW enjoying a Bacon Bap at the Padre’s House

HCR’s Open Day and Adventure Night - 2018

by Corporal of Horse D T Broxholme, The Blues and Royals

O

pen Day. Once again and for the final time within Combermere Barracks the Commanding Officer provided the opportunity for the Regiment to show off skills and equipment to the families, friends and other regimental members both past and present.

Even though this year’s Open Day was deferred until September and the threat of rain was clear to see on the horizon it didn’t deter the masses from banging on the main gate to gain entry much like a 1980’s Friday night; and as Kevin Costner once said, ‘if you build it, they will come.’

Amongst our guests this year were four Chelsea Pensioners two of which were ex Household Cavalry (John West, formally The Life Guards and John Kidman formally The Blues and Royals).

Thankfully our pensioner friends, while benefitting from a free bar, didn’t play by their usual rules and seek to get the greenest Troop Leaders pie eyed and dancing naked in the garden.

Although this was the last Open Day to

24 ■ Household Cavalry Regiment

be pit on at Combermere, the only bit of grey present on the day was the everfilling rain clouds beginning to encompass the camp. The faces of all those in attendance were full of smiles and joy as many a story was shared which is a clear indication that a great day was had by all.

The Windsor Great Park Adventure Night. Once again the Welfare Officer removed his cap of fluffiness and donned the cap of combat Captain to take Household Cavalry children through their paces in the field.

Exploiting the invitation given by Her Majesty last year, Windsor Great Park was once again the harbour area for the ‘mini me’ Household Cavalry boys and girls. The engineers were our path finders and infiltrated the area in advance to set up the children’s home away from home complete with a kitchen sink.

Once the combat Captain was content, he issued his orders from the safety of Combermere Barracks then embarked in convoy along the A332 to the inser-

tion point into the Park and with a right turn at the royal beehives the destination was reached. Cam cream was issued and the children pitched their tents. Throughout the night the children carried out their ITD’s or MATTS (individual military skills) as they are now known in camouflage and concealment, fire making and the obligatory campfire marshmallow roasting.

Upon the dawn of a new day after some personal admin and a hearty full english breakfast, the children along with their escorting volunteer (dad told by mum), deployed on a geocaching competition around the Great Park which included locations that even the most horrible of PTI’s hadn’t taken the regiment before.

After an arduous two nights of camping the children who were crashing from their Haribo sugar rush, along with their shattered dads, were dismissed and returned home still with a belly full of Menu A rations which we were all in agreement would allow all those in attendance a pleasant memory of the last couple of days, in a couple of days.

She Did What with a Rectal Thermometer?

by Surgeon Lieutenant Colonel Jedge Lewin

P

erhaps it was something in the water in the Medical Centre, but this past year has seen an unusual amount of movement, with no-one seemingly prepared to stay in one place. First to bail out was LSgt Afranie, deploying on Op TURUS to North East Nigeria, aiding the Nigerian Army’s attempts to defeat Boko Haram. He chose to bring along Surg Lt Col Lewin as his bag carrier and driver. Teaching literally hundreds of Nigerian troops on Team Medic courses that he ran virtually single handedly, he was deservedly awarded a Joint Commander’s Commendation. Having said that though, he singularly failed to convince the Nigerians that Ghanaian jollof rice was better than their own national version. They were also appalled that a Lt Col acted as his driver, reflecting on a rather different rank structure in

Capt Rogers trousers always kept morale high

The caring professions at work - foot care in Oman

the Nigerian military. The tour had its grim moments with a further two hundred-odd schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram and given the choice of becoming sex slaves or suicide bombers. The Nigerian Army was fighting a bush war but one plagued by IEDs: casualties, both military and civilian, regularly streamed into the local hospitals.

in securing a place at Nursing School, transferring to the QARANC, presumably to receive training in thermometer insertion.

In the absence of the Regimental Surgeon, Capt Rogers held the fort very ably, but eventually he succumbed to the wanderlust, moving on to a career putting people to sleep, albeit not in a veterinary way. Some have commented that he is well suited to this, usually tucked up in bed by nine. Capt Webster has filled his shoes, although her head is considerably larger: her weighty brain has produced a raft of trauma research so well received that she has been awarded The Queen Mother’s Medal, The Colt Foundation Prize and Tri-Service Emergency Medicine Presentation for outstanding research.

A very sober Brickhanging on Op TURUS for LSgt Afranie and Surg Lt Col Lewin

Doctor off on a home visit - Op TURUS

The medics were heavily committed on overseas exercises over this year, from Brunei, Canada to Oman. ‘Heavy handed’ could also be a term used to describe LCpl Kerman’s manner in inserting rectal thermometers on heat casualties in Oman, as she somehow managing to snap one inside a poor individual’s rear end. Such was the shame, she has now overcome significant competition

She did WHAT with a rectal thermometer?

LSgt Samuel and LCpl Boromand did extremely well in being selected for Paramedic training which they left HCR to begin: this following year, our dear readers are advised to avoid calling an ambulance in either London or Gosport.

After a deployment on Op ORBITAL, LCpl Stowe clearly couldn’t manage to sit in one place and left to be a medic with the RIFLES, and LCpls Fitzgerald and Mascall have both just deployed on Op SHADER. Sgt Woods, our new RAP nurse, fresh from maternity leave, only seemed to have been in place a few minutes before being trawled and disappeared off to BATUS. One exception to all of this flux is noticeable: Mrs Jo McNamara remained at the helm running Reception in the Medical Centre. Perhaps acting as a sleeper cell for her compatriots in the Welsh Guards, she might have slipped something in the water…

LCpl Boromand’s preparation for paramedic selection was intensive

Household Cavalry Regiment ■ 25

Light Aid Detachment

T

he Household Cavalry Regiment Light Aid Detachment (LAD) has had yet another busy year, supporting deployments ranging from low level exercises on Salisbury Plain Training Area (SPTA) to a Battle Group deployment to Oman. The three Sabre Squadrons each have a Fitter Section which provides intimate engineering support to maintain their kit and equipment, and with each Squadron deploying on exercises around the world this year has been full of challenge and reward for the Regiment’s contingent of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) tradesmen.

The Regiment kicked off the year with a Battle Craft Syllabus (BCS) exercise that took place during the freezing cold period of 8th January – 16th February 2018.

The Fitter Sections readied the Squadron’s vehicles plus the LAD’s CVR(T)s (two SPARTANS and one SAMSON), before deploying onto SPTA. During the cold but enjoyable exercise the Fitter Section were able to maintain the fleet, allowing the Squadron to complete their mounted training successfully.

Next came the deployment to Canada on Ex WARRIOR’S CRAFT 1 and 2. This saw A Squadron Fitter Section deploy in support of the OPFOR Squadron, which consisted of CVR(T) and a Platoon of WARRIOR from 5 RIFLES. Despite the arduous conditions, including temperatures routinely in excess of 30ºC and a tired vehicle fleet, the Fitter Section performed admirably. Across six weeks of exercise they maintained an average availability of 93%, allowing the Sqn to achieve their objectives in providing a credible and challenging enemy for exercising Battle Groups.

During this time the Regiment was also set the mammoth task of breaking out the equipment for 1 Brigade to deploy to Oman on Ex SAIF SAREEA 3 (SS3).

The task would entail the activation of over 330 platforms, ranging from PENMAN Trailers to WARRIOR Infantry

D Sqn Ftr Sect in Oman

26 ■ Household Cavalry Regiment

A Sqn Ftr Sect in Canada

Fighting Vehicles. This saw key personalities from the LAD, including WO1 (ASM) Fitch and SSgt Devlin, deploy to Defence storage sites in Ashchurch and Donnington from mid-June right through until the end of August. Despite constant friction, in the end the break out of equipment was a success and all platforms made it to the port ready to be shipped to Oman.

D Squadron Fitter Section played a vital role in delivery Equipment Support for the OPFOR and Observer Controller Safety (OCS) Squadrons between September and November. Living off the vehicles (CVR(T) Mk 2, most recently seen in Afghanistan) from day 2, it was evident the fleet was far superior to that of CVR(T) Mk 1. This made for an enjoyable exercise, with a constant but manageable workload leading to an impressive overall availability of 94%.

This afforded the Fitter Section the opportunity to conduct some well thought out expedient repairs, ranging from using motorcycle clutch cable to repair seats to conducting innovative metalsmith work to replace hydraulic rams.

Throughout 2018 C Sqn were involved in STRIKE Experimentation Group (SEG) exercises. This gave C Squadron Fitter Section a new challenge to overcome as the vehicles being used were

WARRIOR. The biggest SEG exercise took place for three weeks in the summer on SPTA. The Fitter Section were on the back foot from the start, with limited manning due to commitments to both Ex WARRIOR’S CRAFT and the breakout of kit from Ashchurch. There were also problems with the WARRIOR vehicles, thus there was little respite with the Fitter Section working around the clock to keep the Squadron on the road. Ultimately the hard work paid off, with C Sqn being able to meet their training objectives, and the competency developed by the Fitter Section leaves them well-placed to support the Squadron on SEG exercises in 2019.

As 2018 comes to a close the LAD remains well-poised to support the Regiment with whatever lies ahead. This year has seen a significant turnover of REME personnel, with WO2 (AQMS) Kenyon leaving us on promotion to WO1 (ASM), and SSgt Slater (D and latterly A Sqn Artificer) and SSgt Squibb (C Sqn Artificer) moving on to second Artificer tours. We thank them for their excellent service supporting the Regiment and wish them the best for the future. They have been replaced by WO2 (AQMS) Brooks, SSgt Beddow and SSgt Savage, who are warmly welcomed to both the LAD and Regiment.

HCR LAD signing the Royal British Legion thank you 100 flag to remember 100 years since the signing of the Armistice

Quartermaster’s Department

by Corporals of Horse Chaplin and Elder, The Blues and Royals

T

he Quartermaster’s (QM’s) department has once again enjoyed an extremely busy year with logistical challenges both in Windsor and in the field.

There have been deployments to BATUS on Ex WARRIOR’S CRAFT, Oman on Ex SAIF SAREEA 3 and to various other locations throughout the United Kingdom including Salisbury Plain and Castlemartin Ranges.

Both Quartermaster’s Departments have seen a plethora of changes in personnel.

Capt Robson took over QM from Maj Hitchings, now Headquarter Squadron Leader. Capt Fry moved on to Knightsbridge as the QM and handed over to Capt Gibson who is now QM Technical.

WO2 Allwood has also taken the reins as RQ(T) from WO1 Horton who is now RCM. There have been several promotions within the department, LCoH to CoH Chaplin, LCpl to LCoH Hodges and Tpr to LCpl McCann. Both Departments said farewell to CoH Henderson, who has taken up post as the Provost CoH, and to LCoH Marsh, as Full Dress Storeman 2IC, at Hyde Park Barracks.

Both departments had a relatively quiet start to the year, however by mid- February they found themselves conducting and supporting the Sqn’s on Basic Combat Skills (BCS) on a very cold Salisbury Plain. After a well-earned Easter leave both dept’s were preparing for the Logistics Support Inspection which we took in our stride with a

A departmental visit to a well run organisation

confident result of green. We then had to prepare to deploy and support the annual Gunnery Camp at Castlemartin Ranges for Regimental annual firing, whilst also supporting elements of the Regt in Warcop conducting dismounted ranges. This presented some challenges as we were supporting two locations at opposite ends of the country. Individuals from both dept’s then deployed to BATUS on Ex-WARRIOR’S CRAFT supporting A Sqn who were conducting OPFOR for the Royal Tank Regiment Battlegroup. LCoH Thoman is be commended for his efforts in the running of the accounts single handedly whilst the Sqn were deployed on the training area.

Following those deployments, we re-

The QM being coy behind a helmet and some trees

And the real job took time too

turned to a sunny Windsor for summer leave. After the break, we arrived straight back to work with the colossal task of issuing VIRTUS to the Regiment prior to their deployment to Oman on Ex SAIF SAREEA 3. WO2 (RQMC) Slowey deployed to assist 1 Bde’s G4 team whilst on Exercise in Oman. As we move towards the end of 2018, the Regiment will be taking over OP TEMPERER duties and all the stores required for the task. QM’s drinks will take place during the Christmas week and we will celebrate our essential relationships with Amey, Defence Infrastructure Organisation and the supporting civilian staff. Looking forward to 2019, the programme will be fast paced as we look to prepare for the arrival of our new armoured fighting vehicle, the AJAX. Concurrently, both departments will be orchestrating the Regimental move to our new home in Bulford.

RQ Slowey finds a friend in the desert

Household Cavalry Regiment ■ 27

Regimental Administration Office

A

s the year comes to and end the RAO’s Dept find themselves looking back at what has been an extremely busy, varied, challenging and rewarding 2018. The Staff and Personnel Support Branch (SPS) Det prides itself on the support it delivers to HCR and has an ethos which is underpinned by three tenets - Soldier First, Pursuit of Excellence and SPS Comradeship.

Throughout the year the Detachment has found itself supporting the Regiment both in Windsor and on the many deployments across the UK and overseas that the Regt has undertaken.

The year started with SPS staff conducting exercises on the Plain with their respective Squadrons honing their military skills and drills and proving their relevance amongst their Cavalry peers.

This tough training was ideal to set them up for the deployment heavy year ahead.

In March, in true testament to his organisational skills, the RAWO, WO2 (SQMS) Slater organised and lead a Regimental Football tour to America; LSgt Bojang and LCpl Asamoah also attended and played games against the USMC and Tyneside Utd. Following the games there was also an opportunity to explore LA and Las Vegas.

May saw the detachment enter the Triple Crown, which is the AGC(SPS) Military Skills Competition held annually at Worthy Down. A team of four embarked on the four-mile weighted run with various military skills stands ranging from navigation to weapon handling and finished off with an assault course.

Whilst no silverware was won the foundations for a strong performance in 2019 have been firmly laid.

As the year progressed, LSgt Obino deployed on Ex JOINT VENTURE where he directly supported Chief of Staff, Special Joint Forces HQ; LSgt Obino and Pte Okindo deployed to BATUS providing pers admin support for the OPFOR Sqn; the remainder of the SPS staff got stuck into live firing during The HCR Detachment team at the AGC Cross Country event the gunnery camp LSgt Morris represented the AGC in the in Castlemartin Ranges; and WO2 Slater inter Corps Swimming championships and Pte Harvey attended and took the and the Det submitted a strong team lead with G1, G4 and G8 during a batinto the AGC Cross Country Championtlefield tour of France studying the exships. LSgt Obino has also been trawled ploits of the American Cavalry during in support of Op SHADER in Kuwait.

World War Two. Sporting success was also achieved with the Det winning the But it’s not all work, work, work, 1Bde SPS Festival of Sports. throughout the year the SPS Det has also maintained team cohesion by organisWO2 Slater and Sgt Chipondene also ing a foot golf day, a Summer BBQ, varigot the opportunity put their instrucous social events and gatherings and tional experience to the test deploying fully supported individuals attending as directing staff for Ex IRON SKIRAT and personal development courses.

MISH, a 3 Div led SPS BCS exercise in Sennelager, Germany. Taking potenAs we now shift focus to 2019 and the tial SPS JNCOs through the skills they festive season the Det had to say a fond will need to succeed at CLM. This was farewell to Capt Dan Murphy (RAO) a great success and saw the final attack and Capt Jules Anderson (Det Comd), being supported with WARRIOR AFVs their departure sees the Det now under provided by 1 PWRR. new management and looking forward to even more challenges as the unit preAs the year began to come to an end pares to move to Bulford, exciting times the deployments did not and LSgt Asaare ahead but one thing is certain this madu, LCpl Asamoah, LCpl Boyce and Det has and will continue to support, Pte Harvey all found themselves in enable and display the SPS Ethos. SolOman supporting the largest Army exdier First, Pursuit of Excellence and SPS ercise to take place for 11 years. WO2 Comradeship.

Slater continued his work with the Army BAME network organising a conference to which over 450 delegates attended,

The Detachment team at the 1 Brigade AGC sports day

28 ■ Household Cavalry Regiment

AGC Staff ready to march to church on Remembrance Day

Warrant Officers’ and Non Commissioned Officers’ Mess

by Warrant Officer Class 1 (RCM) T A Horton, The Blues and Royals

M

ess members and families who attended the New Year’s function celebrated 2018 in style. The event had a line-up of entertainment and a firework display that went off with a bang. It appears the Regiment blinked, and it was February before we knew it. There was still time to host a charity ball organised

by Mrs Grice and WO2 (AQMS) Andy Kenyon for SCpl Al Grice who requires further treatment to aid his road to recovery. For the second time the Troopers, Privates and Craftsmen were invited into the Mess at the end of the Junior Guardian leadership day. This was attended by a plethora of senior NCOs from across the regiment, but the guest of honour was Lt Jenni Stephenson who gave an inspiring speech detailing her experiences of crossing Antarctica as part of the British Army’s Ice Maiden expedition.

the Nation Dinner. This gave the new Commanding Officer the ideal opportunity to give his thoughts on the future of the Regiment, the challenges we may face and how best for us to overcome them. Much discussion and debate was had on the length of the Commanding Officer’s speech and many of the Senior Mess member’s bladders welcomed that it concluded in a respectable 38 minutes.

The top table resembled the Last Supper when the Commanding Officer was dined out in March. Speeches, heckles and clapping of hands filled every minute of the event when not being drowned out by the trumpet player.

This event was the last hurrah for WO1 (RCM) S Parker in a plethora of functions that he hosted in his tenure; he has now moved to pastures new as the Home Command Corporal Major.

LCoH Scheepers at the State of the Nation Dinner

LSgt Davies, the forgotten Mess Member, working as hard as always

For most of May, the Regiment was dispersed between Castlemartin and Warcop Ranges; however, a small element of the mess hosted The Life Guards Gold Stick for the evening, when he visited us in Wales. Those left behind had the chance to watch The Duke and Duchess of Sussex marry from the comfort of the Mess, avoiding the reported 100,000 extra well-wishers that descended on Windsor. Picnics and Pimms were the order of the day and our brethren from the Mounted Regiment formed up to be inspected outside the Mess before their moment in the spotlight, making it even more special for the attendees.

In the last week of May, WO2 C S Nicol and his D Sqn team occupied a small piece of grass on Epsom Down and swiftly transformed it into the Household Division enclosure for the Derby.

The Warrant Officers attended Oaks Day on Friday to ensure that everything would pass muster for the main event

His successor WO1 (RCM) T A Horton has now taken up the mantle of Mess president. At the end of the month all past and present Warrant Officers of The Blues and Royals came together for a delightful meal and stories of the Regiment’s past, present and future (but mostly the past), amusingly addressed

by Col P S W F Falkner, Commanding Officer at the Union.

After a well-earned Easter leave the Warrant Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers Mess assembled for a State of

An Englishman, Irishman and Scotsman stand in a field at Derby Day

on the Saturday. Many tips were shared on the morning by the self-appointed experts, resulting in many being disappointed by what occurred on the course, but the good weather, company and atmosphere meant a fantastic day was had by all. The bar was provided by the Windsor and Eton Brewery with their Guardsman and Knight of the Garter ales on tap making it even more special.

This is also a collaboration we would like to continue in the future.

In June, some of the mess members visited Bulford and donned an impressive array of PPE to walk around the new WOs and NCOs Mess. Unfortunately it is still an empty shell so it was difficult for the less imaginative to visualise the potential. Everyone agreed it will be a fantastic facility and we are looking forward to the opportunities that a shared facility will bring; we are already in discussion with 1 MERCIANS on future joint events.

The Young Officers, especially well hosted, on the way back from Derby Day

After England beat Tunisia 2–0, the Mess soon realised that after 62 years of hurt, football was indeed coming home.

The forecasted entertainments rather pessimistically only covered the group stages, but this was quickly amended to include the quarter and semi-finals.

As England faced Columbia, LCoH J Munoz Hermosa was welcomed as our resident Colombian but he was expected to be gracious in victory or defeat: thankfully it was the latter. Sweden was quickly dispatched and the Mess prepared to see its first semi in 28 years.

Unfortunately, victory was not meant to be and the PEC breathed a sigh of relief as a France vs Croatia final would be a lesser affair.

In July, the Regiment hosted six senior officers from the Peshmerga. Keen to understand the ethos and junior soldier development within the Household Cavalry, it was decided that the best place to deliver this presentation was in the Mess. It proved to be an insight-

Household Cavalry Regiment ■ 29

WO2(SCM) G Allen exploiting an opportunity

their ‘Christmas 1996 Extravaganza’ and some tired looking decorations which were the only significant finds; we sadly bade farewell to all.

The Warrant Officers in various states of bewilderment as WO2 (HQ SCM) Douglass receives his LSGC

ful visit for both parties and much was learned. As July closed all looked forward to summer leave; on return most of the Regiment would be deployed on Ex SAIF SAREEA 3 returning in midNovember. With A Sqn also in BATUS we were conscious that the next chance for the Mess to come together complete, would be on Remembrance Sunday.

Prior to summer leave, LCoH C Hollman, enthused by the unit move to Bulford, conducted his own recce on foot from Combermere Barracks in the name of charity whilst carrying 36lbs.

Once there, he gave the place a quick once over and decided he might as well walk back. The WOs’ and NCOs’ Mess all gathered to welcome him on his return from his Herculean achievement, a grand total of 131 miles in 46 hours.

The RCM waivered the dress code that evening and allowed LCoH Hollman to wear shorts and flip flops in the bar area.

LCoH Hollman heads to Bulford

In mid-September, much of the Regiment deployed to Oman on Ex SAIF SAREEA 3, leaving camp deathly quiet.

It was decided that we should exploit this opportunity and conduct some housekeeping prior to handing the Mess over to the Welsh Guards in the summer of next year. The WOs’ and NCOs’ have occupied the building since 1956; the task filled all with curiosity and a little dread. However thankfully no skeletons were found in the many closets, barring a sign welcoming the wives to

30 ■ Household Cavalry Regiment

The RCM and RQMC(T) stood in the Vintners Hall suitably impressed by their surroundings as they were kindly invited to the Mappin and Webb Household Division Dinner, celebrating the close association the silversmiths have with all the Regiments. A fantastic evening was had and both felt incredibly privileged to be in attendance. The task of finding a late drink post the event proved harder than expected; better knowledge of the City of London was added to the post exercise report.

The Ex SAIF SAREEA 3 veterans returned just in time to prepare suitably for Remembrance Sunday. The day was poignant as always, but especially so as it was the last time the Household Cavalry Regiment will conduct this parade in the Windsor Garrison Church, a place with which many members of the Regiment past and present hold many emotional connections. A reception was held after the parade and was well attended by both Mess and Association members.

LCpl M Palmer leads the Regiment home from Holy Trinity Church after Remembrance

In early December WO2 (SCM) S Martin delivered a fantastic and memorable Winter Function in the Gymnasium.

Christmas week saw the Office’s challenge the Mess to a football match; what the Officers lacked in talent they made up for with enthusiasm, but this was not enough and they were soon dispatched with a 12–1 score. The end of the year culminated in the hanging of the Brick.

Being the last in Windsor it was decided to take the Brick for a stroll around camp to say goodbye to the place. This was done with the support of the Band and included a slight detour through the Officers’ Mess, followed by the RCM taking a brick from the Mess wall to take with us to Bulford for future use. The Brick was hung and all Mess members reflected on the year just gone, alongside many Associations and honoured guests. 2019 sees the Mess being packed away ready to move to our new home in Bulford, All the Mess look forward to the opportunities it will bring in the future.

Mess members in fine voice prior to hanging the brick

The RCM removes The ‘Windsor Brick’ from the wall of the bar, to be hung in Bulford next year

The senior Mess members are: WO1 (RCM) T A Horton, WO1 (ASM) J Fitch, WO2 (RQMC) A Slowey, WO2 (RQMC(T) S Allwood, WO2 (SCM) C Douglass, WO2 (SCM) G Allen, WO2 (TWWO) S Martin, WO2 (SCM) A Cawley, WO2 (SCM) C Eade, WO2 (SCM) C Nicol, WO2 (AQMS) C Brooks, WO2 (RAWO) R Slater, WO2 (MTWO) D Stafford, WO2 (QMSI) Burt, WO2 (RSWO) G Warren.

Regimental Engagement Team

U

pon becoming the Regimental Recruiting and Engagement Officer in July 2018, Capt Nick Wright LG was tasked by the Commanding Officer Household Cavalry Regiment to carry out a review into how the Regiment conducted recruiting activity. Capt P G Ireland RHG/D, SCpl Preston and the team had been doing an amazing job ensuring the ‘Household Cavalry Brand’ received an enormous amount of positive publicity, both at national events and on-line. Social Media followers had increased by 45,000 over the previous year and was continuing to grow with the number of Expressions of Interest to join also on the up. While CAPITA and the Recruiting Group have struggled to man the Army over the last four years, the Household Cavalry has seen a steady increase in recruit numbers over the same period. The ‘promote, inform, attract’ model was clearly working and the opening of all Combat roles to women had provided the Regiment with a previously un-tapped manning stream.

However, whilst many candidates were applying to join the Regiment, HCR were losing a large proportion of those candidates along the way. The time it took to be ‘Loaded To Training’, alongside misunderstandings regarding the Regiment’s role and the various horror stories about Knightsbridge, all having a real effect on a prospective candidate’s resolve. A solution to ensure these candidates saw the recruiting process all the way through to the finish was required ahead of arriving in Windsor ready to become a Mounted Dutyman.

The new strategy seeks not only to reinforce the success HCR experience in the Engage, Attract and Recruit space, but also to put far more focus on nurturing the candidate through the entire recruit journey from civilian to Mounted Dutyman. Recruits now receive a letter from the Commanding Officer Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment when they start Phase One, which welcomes them to the Regiment and creates a sense of belonging. This is further reinforced by

SCpl Preston teaching some Oxford cadets Section level tactics

Tprs Grosvenor and Holden represent the Regiment at a Remembrance event in Durham

regular briefs from the team and serving troopers to all our recruits in training, with the aim of dispelling the myths of HCMR. These have been very well received and have no doubt kept some recruits from transferring to other regiments. The attendance of Commanding Officers at Phase One ‘Pass Out’ parades has been a huge success by reaffirming the Corps’ reputation as a close-knit family which really cares about its soldiers. These marginal gains, coupled with the ITV 6-episode documentary due to air Q2 2019, and the receipt of the new Armoured Fighting Vehicle, AJAX, sets the Regiment up for future success.

All the signs are positive and with these incentives HCR are making significant process towards a fully manned regiment by 2023.

Whilst our youngest soldiers remain

our greatest recruiting asset, you can still help. Please follow us on social media, and continue to spread the word, that Her Majesty’s Trusted Guardians remain: ‘Strong in will. To Strive, to seek, to Find: and not to Yield.’

SCpl Preston and Tpr Holden at Longleat Military Specular

Lt Col P J Williams MC RHG/D and WO2(RQMC) Sampson attend a ‘Passing Out’ parade at Pirbright to welcome the newest members of the Regiment into the family

Household Cavalry Regiment ■ 31

A Trooper’s Perspective on the Guards Parachute Platoon, 16 Brigade

by Trooper A S Grinstead, The Blues and Royals

M

y first exercise with Guards Parachute Platoon was public order training, not something I thought I would be doing when I volunteered to the posting. This week-long exercise not only helped us learn how to deal with public protests and riots, but also how to extinguish flames from petrol bombs and how use vehicles for cover whilst deploying. This was just one of the training objectives needed for deployment to Afghanistan, Op TORAL in October 2018. At the time of writing this is to be a 6 month tour with 3 Para, working closely with other nations as well as the Afghans as Force Protection.

This happens to be the first-time Guards Para has deployed since 2008, and for me will be a great experience to work in a foreign country and hone in on other nations skills.

The road to the Guards Parachute Platoon has been long but highly rewarding. After doing duty at Knightsbridge for 18 months, I completed Pegasus Company (P Coy) All-Arms pre-parachute selection. The All-Arms preparachute selection was very demand-

ing, it enabled me to press the physical and mental limits to my body and mind, and this has certainly benefitted me. P Coy has a two-week beat-up (conditioning) phase which builds you up for Test Week, which is the culmination of so much effort, and exhausting; even more so for the officers, but we are put through the ringer of famous events such as a 1.9-mile log race, 10-miler at pace over some cheeky ground, the infamous Trainasium and the all-out-nodefending milling. I was then drafted to Windsor to become a CVR(T) driver and reconnaissance soldier.

I waited 12 months to start my basic parachute course completing my first descent from 1000ft. Over the next three jumps the equipment would increase and altitude would decrease; my final jump was at night from 800ft. This was more difficult as you are unable to see your landing spot, but incredibly exhilarating. Only after this did I progress to jumping out of C130 Hercules aircraft, a real work-horse able to deploy large numbers of troops onto specified drop zones. Having been released from the

Household Cavalry Regiment I am serving a two year posting in the Guards Para. Household Cavalry soldiers currently make up over one third of the numbers, also having one of our own as Ops offr.

GOC London District recently thanked us all for our commitment and pointed out the importance of this opportunity, citing the Household Cavalry as leading the way in keeping this arrangement open. After Op TORAL we will be looking forward to some adventure training in Nepal for some well-deserved downtime followed by preparing for Ex ASKARI STORM in Kenya. The Guards Parachute Platoon develops soldiers regardless of rank or experience. It’s a great place to further your soldering skills and be part of a small, dedicated platoon where you can make a real difference. You will have opportunities not available anywhere else within the Household Division and will return to HCR highly trained, motivated and under much demand.

Tactical Air Control Party (TACP)

by Captain F A X Pagden-Ratcliffe, The Life Guards

J

anuary and February saw the first run-out of a new team, with SCpl Legge (2IC) and LCoH Lampard (JTAC) having arrived in November 2017. The TACP deployed to SPTA to support D and C Sqns’ BCS packages, working with Wildcat helicopters from 661 Sqn AAC to conduct a mixture of ISTAR and kinetic strike tasks. In March we deployed to Colorado to train with 13th ASOS (Air Support Operations Squadron) – our American equivalents.

A mixture of immersive live and dry ranges with Apache and F-16, overseen

TACP training with USAF

32 ■ Household Cavalry Regiment

by both UK and US Instructors, saw the Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTACs) well prepared for their annual Qualification Check in Lincolnshire in April – a week long test that qualifies us to control aircraft without supervision.

Now armed with four qualified (“Q”) JTACs, we were able to support the Regiment during Gun Camp in Castlemartin. Unfortunately, this turned out to be partly theoretical, as the Wildcats (661 Sqn, clearly desperate to get in on Strike Experimentation again) were hit with a panoply of technical faults, and the 100 Sqn RAF Hawks were only able to support for a few sorties of their original 10 due to, you guessed it, technical issues.

Despite this, the high proportion of Air & Aviation originally allocated is testament to the Regiment’s reputation– the ability to train with armoured vehicles, coupled with the enthusiastic engagement of the ground Sqns, has marked HCR as a highly beneficial training partner both for the AAC and RAF. Over the summer the TACP moved to Albermarle Barracks in Northumberland to align with 3RHA as part of the

Capt Pagden-Ratcliffe talking to an Apache

rebasing scheme under A2020R. Although this brings some exciting new training opportunities (regular ASKARI STORMs, renewed commitments to training in the USA, as well as a host of other overseas exercises), it places us far from the Regiment’s new home in Bulford.

With the move completed, it was

TACP undergoing training validation

straight back out again – with SCpl Legge deploying to Norway on Ex TRIDENT JUNCTURE, a major NATO exercise, Capt Pagden-Ratcliffe to Oman on Ex SAIF SAREA (as an interpreter – of questionable utility), and LCoH Lampard to RAF Waddington on Ex STEEL DRAGON, an annual Joint Fires simulator exercise for Artillery Batteries.

Capping off the year, LCoH Lampard and Capt Pagden-Ratcliffe deployed

to the Falklands to support 105 Regt RA’s annual live firing training. Working with 1435 Flight, the RAF Typhoon team permanently posted to the Falklands, we were able to conduct some useful combined training with our Artillery colleagues, as well with 1st Bn Coldstream Guards, who were on Op FIRIC at the time. After the Exercise we conducted some strategic Defence Engagement with a local penguin colony, and were fortunate enough to take a

Capt Pagden-Ratcliffe putting a queasy thumbs up to prove his manliness

tour of the battlefields from 1982 – a sobering experience.

All round an excellent year, and one in which we have bid farewell to, and welcomed, some members: LCoH Bool (JTAC) and LCpl Hale (Signaller) joined whilst LCoH Gasan returned to Windsor to rejoin A Sqn. LCoH Glen sold his soul and joined the RA; we wish him the best success in his new Corps, even if he is now dead to us.

Visiting our Brothers in Arms - The Spahis of Valence

by Trooper U Tego-Tagne, The Life Guards

F

or four days in February 2018, two officers and a trooper from the Household Cavalry Regiment deployed to France to visit our partnered regiment in the French army, the 1er Régiment de Spahis, based in Valence. The visit focussed on the relationship held between both regiments in order to generate greater mutual understanding of the two nations’ armies.

The British delegation landed in Lyon on Monday 19th February, and began our trip with a little exploration of the city itself, including a taste of its legendary cuisine at ‘Le Bistrot des 4 Chapeaux’; where one of the dishes turned out to be the best some had ever had. We also

visited Lyon’s more historical sites: the basilica ‘Notre-Dame de Fouviere’ and the ‘Theatre Gallo Romain’. Fully immersed back into French Culture, we headed to Valence, the home town of the 1er Régiment de Spahis (1RS), where we were warmly welcomed by their command team with a toast in their Officers’ Mess followed by dinner in town.

On Tuesday, we joined 1RS’s Regimental Headquarters for a morning steady state run of 8km (about 5miles). Despite our excellent dinner the previous evening, we held our own well, both our regiments priding themselves on a high standard of fitness. A visit of the barracks followed – where we had a chance to get a close up view of their vehicles, equipment and training systems.

We were then invited into their Hall of Honour, where their key command meetings take place, as well as being the room where 1RS’s historical artefacts are kept on display. We had the privilege of receiving two presentations: one on the Battle of Montélimar presented

by Capitaine C Rosenmann, ahead of our battlefield study later in the week, and the other about the regiment itself presented by their Regimental Second

in Command, Lieutenant Colonel J Demau, whom we knew well, he having been with us for three weeks on Ex IRON STRIKE in BATUS last Summer.

Later that afternoon, we began the two hour drive down to Montpelier to visit one of their Sqns currently deployed on Op SENTINELLE. This was the purpose of the visit and was of particular interest due to our ongoing preparations for potentially similar tasking in the UK. It was an honour to be accompanied on the trip by Lt Col Demau, who was also acting Commanding Officer while their Regimental Headquarters and two sqns were deployed in Mali. Once at their ‘Forward Operating Base’ (FOB) in the

Household Cavalry Regiment ■ 33

town, we were again warmly received

by Capitaine J-B Patois, the Sqn Ldr of the 3eme Escadron and his team. We then received an in-depth and very candid presentation of their taskings, plans and challenges. You will notice a pattern emerging: this was followed by a jovial and delicious dinner, despite the hardships of containerised feeding!

On the third day, we paraded with the 3eme Escadron, where their Regimental Second in Command gave an address to his troops with words of encouragement and a reminder of the importance of their role as well as an update from their comrades in Mali. We were then transported into central Montpelier to follow one of the daily patrols on the streets. The professionalism and dedication that was obvious from every soldier reinforced our perception of the similarity between Household Cavalrymen and Spahis. However while we were with a patrol in the main rail station, Lt Col Demau received an update from Mali which required him to return to Valence immediately.

We returned to their Forward Operating Base, where we presented Capitaine

34 ■ Household Cavalry Regiment

J-B Patois and his Sqn with a Household Cavalry print to thank them for hosting us during those very interesting 36 hours. Following our itinerary, we returned via Montélimar where we stopped to study the ground and visualise the actions of the battle in 1944.

Here a single sqn of German armoured reconnaissance cars managed to cause the lead US Division to falter just long enough for an entire German Division to escape the closing net of the allied advance from Op DRAGOON – a true Divisional Covering Force action.

Upon our return to Valence, the 2IC informed us of an IED attack on one of their vehicles in Mali and he regretted not being able to look after us as planned. Determined not to be a hindrance to their work at such a time, we took to the sights of Valence and visited Crussol Castle. The castle had been built in the 12th century by Lord Gerald Basset, with the purpose of controlling the major transportation routes along the Rhone River at the time. Our day finished with yet another excellent dinner – whole sweetbreads this time.

On Thursday, we were offered the opportunity to try the EMSET, a gunnery simulator of the AMX 10RC, the medium wheeled wheeled vehicle that the 1er Régiment de Spahis use very effectively in the reconnaissance role. The EMSET is a basic but extremely useful training system which enables crews

to exercise together without having to deploy on the ground. The system was intuitive and easy to use, so we quickly managed to learn the drills and get proficient enough to complete a three hour mission in a mere 1 hr 30 minutes. Following this achievement, we visited the regimental museum and found a fascinating collection of historical artefacts. During the course of the day, we were informed that the incident in Mali had cost the lives of two Spahis, their first operational casualties in a number of years. We immediately passed our most sincere condolences and highlighted that our recent history had also been marred by similarly tragedies and this shared experience of grief was another binding tie to reinforce the bond of friendship between our two regiments.

On our last morning with the Spahis, we were invited to take part in a very impressive parade which takes place every Friday in the barracks, known as the Presentation of the Colours and in the presence of the entirety of the 1er Régiment de Spahis currently in Valence.

At the end of the parade, Lt F HowardKeyes was able to say a few words and present to LtCol J Demau, a picture capturing all the innovative output of our time in BATUS, to which he had also contributed; and to thank the Spahis for a remarkable visit.

Since our return, we have followed the national events to mark the deaths

of the ‘adjudant’ Emilien Mougin and ‘maréchal des logis’ Timothé Dernoncourt, including their funeral in Valence. Despite the sad events, the Spahis

endeavoured to ensure that we had an excellent experience and the visit was a complete success. It was a fascinating experience for the Household Cavalry

delegation, as well as a good opportunity to reinforce the Bond of Friendship between us, and the British and French Armies as a whole.

HCR Visit to Spahis Urban Trail 2018

by Lance Corporal Orme

I

n the Balkans, the Battel of Uksub in 1918 was a seminal moment in the Vardar Offensive where a combined force of Serbian, French and Greek troops attacked and penetrated enemy lines in the Battle of Dobro Pole. Reinforcing this success, the first Marching Moroccan Spahi Regiment (Régiment de Marche de Spahis Marocains, RMSM), now known as the 1st Spahi Regiment, advanced to Uksub where they defeated the resident Bulgarian troops. Following this defeat Bulgaria capitulated and withdrew from the war. With actions that could have been taken from the ‘Strike Handbook’, operating in depth with limited resources and support, quick to act and reinforce success, and deliver decisive action to defeat the enemy, you can see why they are keen to commemorate 100 years since winning this battle honour.

a full 10 years on us since the CVR(T) entered service in 1971. Squeezed into our service dress, we attended the Spahis’ parade marking the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Uskub. This was an honour and a privilege for all whom attended. Despite much of the parade being spoken in French, what we learned about the battle was fascinating; how they infiltrated deep through enemy lines to capture the town of Uskub and bringing about the early defeat of the Ottoman Empire at the Balkans Front; how very ‘STRIKE’! After the parade we toured the streets of Valence, admiring the scenery and visiting key monuments such as a house in which Napoleon lived in his younger years, before the team was invited to a dinner out in the warm Valence sun with local food, cold beer and amazing wine along with all the other visiting regiments.

work as traversing out of the river was an arduous task due to the slippery mud which coated the banks and required us all to work together so that the three individuals and the team all made it to the other side as quickly as possible.

We received an invitation to join their celebration that we were glad to accept.

So, in September 2018 8 HCR personnel set out on a 17-hour road trip to the picturesque French military barracks set upon a hill overlooking the beautiful town centre of Valence in south-east France. The Spahis seemingly generous hosting was put into question when the team felt there was gamesmanship being played over breakfast as the food they provided was a small bowl of cereal with bread and coffee. One of the team cried, ‘This is sabotage. Where’s the full English?’ to which the Adjutant reminded him, ‘this is the French way; simple but effective’.

Race day arrived and it was time to step up and test ourselves in something totally new. This legendary race is a 12-kilometre run including 40 obstacles ranging from climbing onto cars and ISO containers, climbing ropes, walls of varying heights and even a 100-metre tunnel in the local river. Unfortunately, the Adjutant had to return to the UK for another parade so we entered three individual runners and a team of four.

The race was set off at intervals below a typical marathon style starting banner, with French instructions bellowed out hoping that none of the information was vital as only one of the team could speak French. The first part of the race was a 3km dash from the town centre, past shops and businesses, through underground car parks and eventually coming to a park on the outskirts of town.

This led on to a river where, without question, we jumped into the neck deep water and waded through a 100-metre, pitch black tunnel with only a small speck of light at the end to guide you.

We continued to a forested area with multiple climbs in to and out of a river.

This stage was a real test of our team-

The final part of the race was a run through the centre of Valence, navigating our way up numerous flights of stairs and entering an abandoned building with an empty swimming pool through which had to climb in and out.

Finally, after the vast number of stairs, rope climbs and running we reached the finish line. The teams and individuals both came in around a time of 1 hour and 24 minutes, which was a very good result.

We were shown around their tank park and vehicles which they use for a similar role to ours. Most of the French soldiers complained that their vehicle was too old and that they need an update of their AMX-10 RC, a six-wheeled light recce vehicle with a 105 mm main armament, which was put into service in 1981.

We traded compliments and complaints about our CVR(T) and their vehicles but by the way we could see it, they have

After 40 minutes of blood pumping work we returned to the town centre where the course had started; this was a bit of a tease as we still had around half of the course to go. The next obstacles we faced were; a jump from the top of two stacked ISO containers onto an air bag; climbing walls as well as carrying sandbags; and tackling monkey bars (wearing headphones playing soothing sounds of the ocean designed to disorient us). Unaware that we needed gloves, we had no way of gripping the cold metal bars with our river water soaked hands so progress was slow.

Following the race, we all returned to the barracks for some much-deserved rest, reflecting on what an incredible experience we had and what we had achieved.

That evening we enjoyed a spectacular supper at a local French restaurant in Valence in the shadow of a Romanesque church, taking our host Christophe and his wife, and we showed him the hospitality which his regiment had shown to us. However, next year the rivalry continues, and channelling positive energy from the Ajax fleet about to be delivered, we expect a podium finish.

Household Cavalry Regiment ■ 35

Operation CABRIT A Subaltern’s Maiden Operational Tour

by Lieutenant Philip Lye, The Blues and Royals

A

t a camp that had been plucked out of a communist propaganda video, with little in the way of creature comforts I found myself lucky enough to have deployed on Op CABRIT based out of Bemowo Piskie, Poland. This was a training camp formerly used for Polish Army conscripts in the midst of a vast mounted/dismounted range complex in the Polish wilderness, (four hours north of Warsaw). I was deployed alongside B Sqn, The Light Dragoons, as part of a NATO Enhance Force Presence; a ‘speed bump beneath the might of the Russian Military juggernaut’. I was Liaison Officer between the UK and US military but also working alongside units from Romania, Croatia and Poland, a fantastic treat during the Polish winter, offering the opportunity to relish the endless woodblocks, fresh powder and -20*C. Based out of camp for the most part, we were committed to securing the Russian corridor to Kaliningrad, with our Royal Welsh counterparts securing Estonia to the North. At 4 hours’ notice to move we were frequently bounced out at the

Polish 1 Mech Brigade Commander’s whim into various screens and defensive positions in order to deter and secure. The remainder of the time we were on exercise practicing combined arms multinational exercises as a Battle Group in the surrounding training areas, offering a fascinating insight into the complexities of managing such a diverse battle space.

Working out in Poland was an alien experience from my past experiences in BATUS or the fast pace of life in Windsor. The American’s laissez-faire approach and upmost trust in my ability, owing purely to my nationality, was refreshing and very enjoyable and living with the Light Dragoons a real pleasure. But managing our NATO partners presented some difficulties, however, did give me an opportunity to employ my best diplomatic skills, as 5 nations fought for their best interests amidst a crowded operational period.

Op CABRIT is here to stay and I am certain the subalterns of my generation will

get to know its windy wood blocks and brutalist architecture well; and lucky for me, the Russians never came - the NATO speed bump remains intact.

The Author surveying a likely Russian military avenue of approach for suitable defensive positions

Operation ORBITAL 2018 - Ukraine

by Captain Bryce Titman, The Blues and Royals

F

rom July to September I was fortunate to be deployed to Ukraine during the warm summer months as part of the UK Armed Forces mission to build partner capacity with the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF). I deployed as part of the Joint Multinational Training Group – Ukraine (JMTG-U) to the Combat Training Centre at Yavoriv in Western Ukraine, as part of a US coordinated multinational training team consisting of 20 Officers and NCOs from the US National Guard, 3 Officers from the Lithuanian Armed Forced and myself. The team was tasked with supporting the delivery of training, notably Staff Planning Courses, to try to establish the capability within the UAF whereby instructors from the UAF could instruct

The Simulation Centre at the combat training centre

36 ■ Household Cavalry Regiment

rotational training units from the UAF. The Combat Training Centre (CTC) is the pre-eminent staff training centre in Ukraine and is an enduring partnership between many NATO countries and the UAF. The UAF are at a real turning point in their history, since the collapse of the Soviet Union they have been reforming their armed forces to enable more interoperability with NATO forces. They now have a generation of officers who are keen to relinquish the old ‘soviet-style’ system and adopt a more ‘NATO-standard’ approach to the conduct of operations. However, this is a real challenge as the bulk of their forces are currently involved in a bloody conflict in the Eastern part of Ukraine. My time in Ukraine consisted of training a Battalion HQ and a Brigade HQ, with the training culminating in the annual multinational training exercise that took place on the adjacent training area. The exercise proved a great success involving partners from over 15 different nations, nearly all of whom were NATO members. The British Army’s commitment to the CTC was 2 officers including myself so the tour involved lots of relationship building with other nations; of particular importance was the relationship with the men and women

The team working with UAF Battalion HQ on their Courses of action

of the US Army New York National Guard and then with their replacements from the US Army Tennessee National Guard, with whom I worked very closely. It proved just as much of a learning experience for me working with them as it did with the members of the UAF. Learning about how they ‘do things in the south’ and having many discussions/debates/arguments about current affairs or politics etc. They were particularly intrigued to know why ‘you Brits’ are so obsessed with talking about the weather. The Tennessee National Guard also introduced me to one of their favourite past times, Cornhole, where two teams of two players set up wooden boards at an angle with holes in the middle about 10m apart. Within

The team observing the UAF conduct a Brigade Combined Arms Rehearsal

your pair you get three bean bags each to throw into the hole on the other side, the winner is the first side to score 21 points. Cornhole was the number one activity for the weekends and it was played long into the night. The camp on which we were billeted was described to me as pretty ‘Spartan’; it did prove to be that. However, thanks to the US and Canadian forces, the gym facilities improved dramatically and when the

camp had power the Wi-Fi was strong enough to allow all the inhabitants of the camp to watch Netflix before bed.

With the final exercise proving a success my time in Ukraine came to end. It was a good experience and I learned a lot. I hope that the UAF instructors that the team were mentoring will continue to learn and develop. The deployment did prove very frustrating at times; trying to change a culture is a long process, yet

A UAF member of Battalion HQ conducting a planning exercise in the adjacent training area

we learned from UAF officers that it has changed dramatically since the early 1990s and change has come at an accelerated pace since 2014. With each new generation of officer and with the development of a strong core of non-commissioned officers the UAF will integrate a more ‘NATO-standard’ approach into how they conduct operations which should bring them closer towards their goal of NATO membership.

Zambia Short Term Training Team

by Captain S T Penrose, The Life Guards

T

he job. The UK has a standing commitment to support the Zambian Defence Force on their UN Peace Keeping Mission (MINUSCA) in the Central African Republic (CAR). Every year, for the last 4 years Zambia has committed a battalion of infantry to the Eastern Section of CAR. The UK, alongside the Americans and the French, provide a Short Term Training Team (STTT) to advise and mentor the Pre-Deployment Training (PDT) of the deploying battalion.

The Team. The team was comprised of almost entirely Household Division Officers and Soldiers. The team was led by the author. The Chief Instructor was Lt Ed Mills Scots Guards (SG) assisted

by CoH Perryman RHG/D. 1Bn SG provided the bulk of the training team with Sgt Smith, Sgt Clark and Sgt Ryder CG as well as our medical support from LSgt Jacobs. The engineering expertise was supplied by SSgt McGregor from 22 Armd Engineers.

The Theatre. Zambia is a peaceful and stable country resting on the Northern Banks of the Zambezi. A Commonwealth country formerly Northern Rhodesia, it has a strong and long relationship with the UK. This is evident in the

structure, customs and traditions of her Army which mirrors the British Army.

Zambia has a proud history of being one of the largest troop contributors to UN peacekeeping missions in the world.

Zambia consistently contributes over 1000 soldiers annually to UN missions.

Owing to the scale of this commitment they take their training of their troops very seriously.

The team deployed early in January.

We were accommodated in Lusaka and drove out of the city every day to the Peace Mission Training Centre (PMTC).

The PMTC was a tented camp nestled in the hills of the Zambian Bush. This is where the deploying battalion ate, slept and trained for 3 months. It proved to be a very practical and resourceful training area, not unrecognisable in layout to many UK training areas containing those elements one would expect to find in a British Barracks; there were messes for Officers, WOs and NCOS, Company cookhouses, a parade square, classrooms, and ranges.

Our mission in Zambia was to train the Zambian instructors (known as ‘Train

Capt Penrose and CoH Perryman with D Coy

Household Cavalry Regiment ■ 37

resource and deliver the PDT package.

CoH Perryman Instructing A Coy on convoy drills

the Trainer’). The intent was for the Zambians be the primary instructors delivering the pre-deployment training with the British and Americans in the background with a light touch on the tiller. It soon became apparent that the PMTC was not yet ready to deliver the level of training necessary for the deployment. The British instructors instinctively stepped to the fore and became the primary instructors. The doctrine and lessons plans that existed were not fit for purpose. Therefore, it fell to the British team to re-write the bulk of the training schedule and lessons; this was not an easy task considering the scarcity of resources and teaching aids available in the PMTC. This provided a great opportunity for our team to coach and mentor the PMTC on how to plan,

The training serials were varied and encompassed all aspects of peacekeeping.

They ranged from low level infantry patrol skills, battlefield casualty drills, key leadership engagement, headquarters staff training, female engagement teams and everything in between. The team delivered an exceptional training package. We worked closely with the Centre for Civil and Military Relations, a US State Department contractor. This was an excellent opportunity for our team to learn how multinational UN Peace Keeping Missions are run and the complex issues involved. We were hosted on several occasion by the British High Commissioner His Excellency Sir Fergus Cochrane- Dyet at his residence.

During our down time we struck up a good relationship with Sport Beattie and Game Rangers International. This provided us with great chance to go out and get involved with anti-poaching activity in our spare time.

The PDT culminated in a large final exercise with 4 companies operating independently on the ground concurrently.

It was a huge success and marked the end of a challenging training package.

Our Zambian partners were rightly so very proud of all that they

had achieved. The British Team had exceeded all achievement expectations in such a limited environment. Our Zambian hosts and American partners commented that they had never worked with such a hardworking and dedicated team. All credit goes to the instructors who worked tirelessly and professionally to deliver world class training in an austere environment.

Capt Penrose reviewing the mortar line

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Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment Foreword

By Lieutenant Colonel P J Williams MC Commanding Officer, Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment Cavalry Mounted Regiment can stand tall and claim with genuine authority to be ‘the best of both worlds’.

Regimental Training in Bodney was as enjoyable as ever. Highlights included Maj Sudlow (RHG/D) finally relinquishing his claim of never falling off a Cavalry Black in over four years of mounted duty, including a season as Winter Training Troop Officer and numerous days with them since. Llamrei had him off on the cross-country course in front of a delighted outgoing commanding officer. The annual cricket match went the way of the WOs and SNCOs Mess in a closely fought contest, with CoH Sabatini (RHG/D) starring.

The football team narrowly lost while the rugby team narrowly beat their local opposition from Watton both with great support from the wider Regiment.

Lt Col Williams, sitting left, with the Riding Master and Hightide jumping, with Col Gaselee shrugging

I

am privileged to be writing my first Commanding Officer’s foreword for the Regimental Journal, having taken over from Lt Col James Gaselee (LG) on the final day of Regimental Training this summer. He leaves a Regiment in fine health and we wish him all the best for his new role as Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations and Engagement at Regional Command.

After an unusually quiet State Ceremonial calendar in 2017, the Mounted Regiment was back to full speed this year, with only the State Opening of Parliament as the missing routine fixture. The Fixed Term Parliament Act may well mean that the absence of this ceremony now becomes the norm. In its place, we were on parade in front of 2.8 billion people worldwide for the marriage of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. We congratulate His Royal Highness for his excellent choice of uniform for the day.

Defence Engagement continues to be the main operational output of the Mounted Regiment. Our well-established relationships with the French Republican

Guard and Swedish Life Guards was evident at the Major General’s Inspection, when soldiers and officers from both took to the parade ground. This is turn led to reciprocal visits to Paris and Stockholm, hugely enjoyed by those who were lucky enough to travel. In 2019 we are looking to offer new opportunities to those working at Hyde Park Barracks with the forge and veterinary departments sending a Short Term Training Team to Nepal, and the Squadrons sending some soldiers on Op TOSCA (peace support in Cyprus) to assist 1st Bn Scots Guards.

For the third year in a row the Mounted Regiment secured a medal in the Cambrian Patrol. Capt Ned Comyn (RHG/D) led his team to Silver in this international dismounted military skills competition. The team also played host to an entry from Australia, kindling a potentially beneficial new relationship.

A large proportion of teams fail to finish this test each year, and few secure medals. Achieving three medals in 3 years is something any combat unit would rightly be proud of, and the Household

As I’m sure you all know, the Mounted Regiment struggles during the ceremonial season if there are major manpower shortfalls. The recruiting team and both RCMOs have done an excellent job over the last few years by increasing our inflow and balancing the pain of gapped positions across both Regiments, while not allowing our output to be affected.

The future is looking ever brighter in this aspect, not only in the Household Cavalry but across the Army.

In conclusion, it is worth paying credit to my soldiers. The work they do is hard, unrelenting and often repetitive.

The options for weekends, time-off and adventurous training are limited but the results of their hard work are spectacular. Take any occasion of State or more routinely Queen’s Life Guard and you will find attention to detail, teamwork, precision and discipline. All these qualities make them exceptional soldiers and prepare them for operational service with the Armoured Regiment. I thank them all for what they have done and their unrelenting dedication. As soldiers in the Mounted Regiment they are part of a proud history and a golden thread in the fabric of this great Nation.

Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment ■ 39

Diary of Events

by Captain J R G Faire, The Blues and Royals, Adjutant

2

018 has once again seen the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment conduct a busy and varied ceremonial year. Despite some of the old regulars such as the State Opening of Parliament now more absent than not, the Regiment successfully completed a full parade season including another Royal Wedding. The marriage of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex was a wonderful day for all involved and reminded us why we do this fantastic job. By the end of January, the horses returned from their winter grass in Leicestershire. Over 100 returned as muddy, woolly beasts clearly having enjoyed themselves whilst out in the fields. The Squadrons set about returning them to parade standard in time for the Commanding Officer’s inspections of the Regiment at the end of February. The month also involved HCR running a very well received Support Troopers Transition course, aimed at ensuring the field soldiering skills of the HCMR soldiers remain up to scratch, giving them something to build on on arrival at Windsor.

Early in the year, two of the Riding Staff, SCpl Puddifoot and LCpl Goodey, were offered to assist the Jordanian Army in establishing a cavalry group fit for parade. They were given this difficult task to complete in just five weeks and managed it extremely effectively. This year the Major General’s Inspection took place in mid-March on the Football Pitches within Hyde Park. The Regiment was honoured to have visitors from the Swedish Life Guard and French Garde Republicaine ride out alongside us on the parade; strengthening our international links with neighbouring nations.

The judging of The Princess Elizabeth Cup was conducted on 21st March and as always the competition was particularly fierce. Tpr Clark, 3 Tp RHG/D, was presented with the trophy by HM The Queen during the Royal Windsor Horse Show in front of a huge crowd, who had also gathered to watch the Musical Ride perform. By the end of March the Regiment went on some well-earned leave. Upon returning from leave the Regiment flung itself into the ‘silly season’. The first commitment was to as-

sist with the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. This involved parading in unusually warm weather for April, which immediately put the soldiers and horses to the test and acted as a reminder for the upcoming Queen’s Birthday Parade. Whilst the tempo remained extremely high the Regiment found the time and resources to conduct a full MATTs package, two weeks on the ranges and a Swedish exchange trip, with most of the soldiers enjoying the chance to briefly exchange their swords and cuirasses for rifles and respirators.

By May the season was in full flow: the Musical Ride and the Band of the Household Cavalry took part in a spectacular Royal Windsor Horse Show; soldiers and officers gathered for Cavalry Memorial Sunday; and the well-known rehearsals (String Band early morning rehearsal, Brigade Major’s – an addition for 2018 onwards, Major General’s and Colonel’s Review) all took place. If all this wasn’t enough, the Regiment also took part in HRH The Duke of Sussex’s wedding to Ms Meghan Markle. Millions around the world watched this momentous day in Windsor, and all who took part in the Captain’s Escort and the Staircase Party thoroughly enjoyed the occasion. The culmination of the ceremonial season was, as ever, the Queen’s Birthday Parade. This year the RHG/D Standard was carried, with Maj J G Sudlow as the Field Officer. After the Garter Service, we started preparations for Regimental Training (colloquially known as Summer Camp). Some of the horses were sent to grass for a summer break, however, most remained so that we could conduct vitally important drills and improve the soldiers riding ability in the slightly more relaxed surroundings of Bodney Camp. With a programme organised by the Riding Master, Maj RI Chambers LG, and his riding staff, there was a busy schedule to achieve and many competitions to bring out the best of inter-squadron rivalries in between crucial games in the football World Cup. All three squadrons managed to find the time to enjoy taking the horses to Holkham beach, clearly boosting the soldier’s confidence around the horses as they get to play in the waves.

The key event was the handover of com-

40 ■ Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment

mand from Lt Col J D A Gaselee to Lt Col P J Williams MC. By the end of August, after a lengthy and well-deserved summer leave, the horses returned from grass and the Regiment conducted a relatively calm autumn State Visit of he Dutch Royal family. As usual we sent members of the Regiment out to Spruce Meadows, details of which can be found in the article by Lt CMA Marlow-Thomas, LG. Once again our entry to the Cambrian Patrol team, led this year by Capt E J F Comyn RHG/D, excelled and brought home a silver medal for their efforts.

The Musical Ride ended a busy season with performances at the Horse of the Year Show. This was an excellent chance for the ride to demonstrate to the wider equestrian community the horsemanship of our soldiers. They performed twice daily during the entire show and attracted crowds of over ten thousand in the main arena at the NEC, far larger than anything they would have previously performed in front of during the year. The final few ceremonial duties involved the Lord Mayor’s Show (LMS) and our usual commitment to the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday. As has become tradition the weather made sure that all participating in the LMS were thoroughly soaked through. Fingers crossed we break from this regularity next year.

As December rolled in the Regiment once again sent the horses off to winter grass and the soldiers and officers made sure that none of the more festive traditions were forgotten. The Adjutant’s handover was complete in time for the Troopers Christmas lunch, Carol service and Brickhanging, and thanks are due to Capt T D E Mountain RHG/D for his successful tenure; we wish him well in his new role as Staff Captain within HQ HDiv. It has been yet another challenging but successful year for the Regiment.

I would like to offer a special thanks to all who have helped contribute to the memorable times of this year and we are looking forward to continuing everyone’s hard work into 2019.

The Life Guards Squadron

T

he year started with a complete change of Squadron Headquarters. Maj J H S C Harbord departed the Squadron to rapturous applause as he ascended The Life Guards ramp for the last time and headed off into the sunset for his long overdue gap year: an adventure to Africa driving from Cape Town to Dakar. The last we heard from him was he was stuck somewhere outside of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

This left Capt H Vaughan and the new SCM, WO2 Snoxell, to steady the helm until the new Sqn Ldr arrived in March.

WO2 Sentance departed for his next job at Bovington and SCpl Stafford made a shorter move to Windsor as the MT Warrant Officer. SCpl Lewis stepped into his shoes and took over as the SQMC. On the 27th March Maj T L Seccombe literally stepped off the aeroplane from a year in Kenya and went straight into squadron leading followed shortly by Capt K McAllister after he completed Kit Ride and became the new 2IC. Fortunately, the Squadron was in a strong state and following the winter leave period the horses were brought back in from grass to begin their build up and preparation for the Major General’s Inspection. Maj B Rogers stepped in as The Life Guards Sqn Ldr for the parade as the designate was still some-

On parade for Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting outside Lancaster House

where in Samburu herding 3rd Bn PARA around the African bush. The Regiment and Squadron surpassed the required standard and was given the green light for the following busy ceremonial season. The first task being the 25th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting held in Buckingham Palace and Lancaster House. The Squadron provided 12 horses and men and received a lovely thank you note from

the Foreign and Commonwealth Office saying how well everyone looked and what a success the event was.

The Royal Wedding on the 19th May then became the Squadron’s focus with the Regiment providing a Captain’s Escort and Staircase Party for the Chapel.

Unfortunately, the Commanding Officer ‘jocked off’ the Squadron Leader demoting him to the staircase; Colonel James

The Captain’s Escort coming up The Long Walk

Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment ■ 41

On the beach at Holkham

relished the opportunity and rode Oracle on his last mounted parade through the narrow streets. By all accounts it was a challenging ride, and didn’t they do well, so the author is not too upset that he remained on the bottom step.

International media attention was unprecedented and SCM Snoxell and CoH O’Leary both provided interviews on their time spent serving alongside the Groom in Afghanistan. One Times journalist described the wedding as a ‘Household Cavalry triumph’. Afterwards Watering Orders were conducted around the streets of Windsor with the public clapping the horses around and once back in London we sat a little bit taller and traffic seemed to part more easily.

The Richmond Cup was a great success with the Life Guards coming 2nd, 3rd and 4th out of six; making The Life Guards the cleaner Squadron on average. A fantastic achievement as The Blues and Royals came out top last year.

Special mentions to Tprs Wraight, Burnett and van Vuuren who finished respectively as above and thoroughly enjoyed the presentation by Her Majesty The Queen at the Royal Windsor Horse Show. Soon it was back to Queens Birthday Parade preparations which proceeded without incident. It being a Blue and Royal standard meant that the both the SCM and Sqn Ldr were left to admire the parade from the stands. The weather held for the Garter Service and on a hot and clear morning the Sqn was back in Windsor at the now familiar St George’s Chapel. With swords now returned, the horses were shipped off to the Defence Animal Centre, Melton Mowbray or the lucky few moved to their temporary home at Bodney Camp.

Regimental showjumping on Open day at Bodney

When not at the beach the Sqn competed in Troop Tests and enjoyed touch rugby, 5-a-side football and tug-of-war.

The Sqn day out was one to remember.

It started at the National Stud which was very informative for all, especially the Troopers, who then enjoyed an afternoon of racing at Newmarket. This was capped off - much to the personal delight of Lt C Marlow-Thomas - by a musical performance by James Blunt (formerly Capt (Retd) J Blount) in the evening. When not riding, the soldiers enjoyed watching the progress of an England football team that was surpassing all expectations; a Regimental Cavalry charge across the stubble fields got the Squadron believing it ‘was coming home’. Alas it didn’t, but it was time for us to.

Back in Hyde Park Barracks the horses returned and it was now time to get them ready for the Autumn State visit of The King and Queen of The Netherlands. It was as a Life Guards Standard but an opportunity for the new Commanding Officer, Lt Col P J Williams, now on Oracle, as the second Field Officer. The parade was conducted in

Summer Camp this year was by all accounts the best yet. Four long weeks of clear skies and rainless days meant that both man and horse thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The Holkham beach ride complete with national press and scores of onlookers has become the norm.

42 ■ Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment

Mounted Review Order and the pictures included in this article show the autumnal leaves of Hyde Park bordering the Regiments return to camp.

The newly arrived Lt F Howard-Keyes commanded the Lord Mayor’s Show detachment before the horses were sent back to Leicestershire for winter grass.

It was during this time that Tpr Clarke and Tpr (now LCpl) George participated in the Cambrian Patrol team. With only three weeks of preparation the team returned with a Silver medal. Congratulations to them both.

Finally, before Christmas leave we said a sad but fond farewell to CsoH Perry and Qio, the former now leaving the army after 22 years of loyal service whist the affectionately known Q-Ten moved back to the Service Regiment.

Before departing on Christmas leave Tpr Croker passed out of Kit Ride and became the first female Trooper in the senior Regiment in the British Army.

Her progress through Riding School is recorded on a forthcoming ITV series of six programmes.

The Escort returning from the Netherlands State Visit

The Blues and Royals Squadron

A

s Christmas looms, the time of year has come once more for the horses of the Sqn to enjoy some well-earned winter grass after what has been another busy yet extremely rewarding year.

With the RHG/D standard leading The Queens’ Birthday Parade; another RHG/D victory in the Richmond Cup; continued success across all Regimental competitions and, of course, just a small wedding of one of our own (former) officers, RHG/D Sqn has shone over the past twelve months.

As usual, there have been several changes within the Sqn’s chain of command.

CsoH Cowen (2 Tp), Wilcox (1 Tp) and Simkins (2 Tp) have all joined us whilst we have said goodbye to CsoH Sabatini and Cole. CoH Morgan was promoted to SCpl and took over as the SQMC from SCpl Eade who has moved to HCR on promotion to WO2. There have also been changes in the officer core; Capt James Cochrane-Dyet (2 Tp) and Capt Ned Comyn (3 Tp) have both hung up their spurs for now being replaced by Capt Rupert Hunt-Grubbe (2 Tp) and Lt Phil Lye (3 Tp). Our formidable secondin-command, Capt James ‘tuffers’ Faire decided that being Adjutant would be a quieter role and so departed for that office being replaced by Capt Rob Perera, who despite being the first officer in living memory to be backridden on Khaki Ride, remains full of gusto !

The year began with the customary inspections; first, from the Riding Master, Adjutant and Commanding Officer followed closely by the Major General Household Division. With no Spring State Visit on the cards, focus immediately switched to Cavalry Memorial

Capt Rob Perera being awarded his Service Dress hat by the CO having eventually passed out of Khaki Ride

The RHG/D Sqn forming part of the staircase party at the Royal Wedding

Sunday, where our marching party led the parade to the bandstand, and the Royal Windsor Horse Show (RWHS) where various members of the Sqn including the SCM, WO2 Preston and Sqn Senior Equitation Instructor, CoH Bishop, were competing. Tpr Clarke (3 Tp) also had the honour of being presented to Her Majesty The Queen having won first prize in the Richmond or Princess Elizabeth Cup for the Best Turned Out Trooper. (The horse transport company Richmond used to give a cash prize for this contest, so in barracks it was The Richmond Cup; but at RWHS the prize cup is The Princess Elizabeth Cup. HCMR need another company to sponsor the event in barracks.)

The wedding of Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Sussex was an event of unprecedented magnitude and the Sqn had the privilege of providing

both part of the Captains Escort, escorting the royal couple on their carriage procession through Windsor, and part of the Staircase Party lining the route down the steps of the West Door of St George’s Chapel. Places for both were fought over tooth and nail but finally assigned as a reward for hard work and good behaviour throughout the previous year (bar perhaps the Officers). The day itself was one to behold; the sun shone, a little too warmly at times, and the crowds cheered as the procession wound its way through the streets of Windsor. The horses, which had come straight from the Musical Ride at the Royal Windsor Horse Show, and equipped with ear mufflers for the first time, were understandably on their toes! LCpl Gerrish (2 Tp) did extremely well to stay on board as the escort departed the Royal Mews and his mount decided he didn’t like the look of an

The RHG/D marching party leading the procession at Cavalry Memorial Sunday

Tpr Clarke being presented first prize for the Princess Elizabeth Cup

by Her Majesty The Queen

Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment ■ 43

Tpr’s Clarke, Woodhouse, Reynolds and Bradbury providing the Brigade Majors Retinue section

80,000 strong crowd.

With the wedding frivolities behind us, attention turned immediately to The Queen’s Birthday Parade and the proceeding reviews. As mentioned, this year it was the Sqn’s turn to have our Standard on parade and all the Reviews and the Parade itself were executed with the usual precision and diligence that is to be expected. The Brigade Major’s retinue section comprised Tprs Clarke, Woodhouse, Reynolds and Bradbury, their moment in the limelight, the usual reward for their participation in the Best Turned Out Trooper competition.

Summer Camp is always a highlight of the year and 2018 was no different; if not more so for coinciding with the Football World Cup!. The Sqn deployed immediately after Royal Ascot (having got the Garter Service out of the way) and got stuck straight into Ex TRYOUT (practicing our immediate action drills for an incident on parade). With this successfully behind us, the Sqn started a routine of cross country, show jumping, beach rides and hacking around the training area. A 3-week heatwave coupled with the ‘oh so nearly’ World Cup made for

The then Sqn 2IC, Capt James Faire and ‘Brmm’

an extremely well enjoyed and somewhat boisterous time in Bodney Camp, but the Sqn continued to perform to the usual exceptional standard fully embracing the work hard, play hard mentality. Despite some long nights, when it came to troop tests, the RHG/D Sqn pulled it out of the bag once again with the three troops finishing in 1st (2 Tp), 2nd (1 Tp) and 3rd (3 Tp) place leaving the LG Sqn redder than ever!

With all horses and men successfully returned from three weeks at Bodney Camp and a new Commanding Officer at the helm, the Sqn’s summer leave commenced forthwith. Following last years unprecedented Cambrian Patrol gold medal win by Capt James Cochrane-Dyet (2 Tp), the pressure was on Capt Ned Comyn (3 Tp) to at least come close to his flatmate’s (and fierce rival’s) achievement. Training commenced immediately after leave with afternoons spent circumnavigating Peninsular Tower’s 32 stories to prepare them for the hills and the Serpentine Lake for river crossings. The team, made up of both LG and RHG/D, performed fantastically well winning a silver medal and in doing so, outperforming well-seasoned

The RHG/D Sqn on Holkham Beach, Norfolk

44 ■ Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment

Regiments from across the teeth arms.

By mid-September the Sqn was back to work, preparing to receive the horses home from grass. Once all back in Knightsbridge, a build-up programme was started to get them into shape for the arrival of The King and Queen of The Netherlands at the end of October.

Over the next few weeks the horses were washed, groomed, manes pulled, tails cut and hair clipped as their grass bellies receded and their fitness improved.

Sqn drills took place over the preceding weeks so by the time of the first full Regimental Drills only the finishing touches were required. The new Commanding Officer was participating on his first parade, flanked by the outgoing Adjutant, Capt Tom Mountain on his last.

As ever, the parade was executed to the rigorously high standard that is customary. Following this, the Sqn provided the marching party for Remembrance Sunday parade at the Cenotaph.

It has been another remarkable year for the Sqn who now commence Christmas leave and look forward to the challenges that 2019 will undoubtedly bring.

A snowy 4 o’clock inspection for the RHG/D Guard

Headquarters Squadron

by Major S B Taylor, The Life Guards

A

nother year passes with HQ Sqn providing G4 logistic support as well as all things equine, and additionally managing a balancing act providing HQ personnel for State Ceremonial occasions; as well as maintaining their everyday jobs providing the support network for the Regiment. The winter silly season came and went with the well-established regimental functions of Brickhanging, QM’s drinks and of course the Junior Ranks Christmas lunch. After the split leave it was back to normal work routine with the first parade of the season to prepare for that of the Major Generals Parade. However, prior to that in what we would call the quiet time there was an opportunity for HQ personnel to practice the HCMR Emergency Evacuation Plan. The London Fire Brigade were keen to practice their major incident drills, bringing 12 appliances from all around London to respond to a fire at

The Staircase Party in Victoria Barracks before deployment

HPB. The drill started with a fire in the boiler room under the Tower Block then headed towards the QM’s dept and the stables. We evacuated some of the lines as part of the drill.

The drills also included saving heritage equipment which required LFB crews being tested in a simulated smoke filled environment by them wearing blacked out visors. With the evacuation plan layout that CoH Brophy provided the LFB entered the Full Dress Store to recover the Silver Drums and other items of heritage that were a priority for salvage.

London Fire Brigade fighters entering the Full Dress Store

The Major General’s Inspection proved how much the Sqn supports the Regiment on parade, HQ Sqn providing the markers as well as the normal farrier cover and Staff Officers on parade. HQ also filled the blank spaces within the Sabre Sqns, even with HQ Sqn Ldr riding on parade as The Life Guards Sqn Ldr and Maj B E Rogers filling in as HQ Ldr on the parade. Shortly afterwards

Evacuating The Blues and Royals stables

the Regiment received some good news that we were to provide a mounted escort as well as a staircase party at the West steps of St George’s Chapel for the Royal Wedding. This was a tremendous opportunity for members of HQ Sqn who had previously volunteered for State Ceremonial parades to be rewarded with staring roles; additionally the Comd Offr and the RCM were able to ride on the escort.

The entire parade was a success on behalf of the Sqn and HCMR and all those involved were very privileged to be part of it.

Back to normal jogging after the wedding with the regular build up to the remaining busy month of June with preparation for the Queen’s Birthday Parade with the normal format of rehearsals and preparation for the Garter Service directly after the QBP. Both parades went without incident and the G4 and support elements worked like bees in the background to ensure all was well.

The Staircase Party

Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment ■ 45

The Sqn Ldr and Hightide jumping to victory during the Open Day Show Jumping Competition

Not long after the QBP the focus switched to Regimental Training. With the reduced programme of last year and this being the final Regimental Training for the Comd Offr, HQ Sqn Ldr and OC Training Wing and all involved in the training programme were going to ensure it would be a camp to rival any of the last 30 years at Bodney, and indeed it did. With not a drop of rain throughout the entirety of camp there was no delaying or cancelling any of the competitions

CoH Solis and his Central Records Branch

SCpl Adams – ‘The King of Bodney’

including the sporting events with the local population. On the equine side HQ Sqn had some good results and competed in the majority of competitions. Directly after Open Day was the flag change of commanding officer with Col J D A Gaselee handing over (with regret) to Lt Col P J Williams MC.

successful administrative inspection (LSAI) led by RQ Sampson ensured the department is known for the use of best practice throughout London District.

The heart of it all is the Central Records Branch which CoH Solis took pride in creating and is the heart of the accountant’s audit trail.

After some well earned summer leave we moved into Autumn business. Some of the welfare team attended the Westminster Abbey Family Remembrance Day alongside members of the Army Welfare Team. WO2 Bassett the Welfare Warrant Officer was in attendance with FLCpl Crimmins. Cpl Crimmins presented a horse’s head that he designed and made from horseshoes to commemorate the end of the Great War, which he passed to the Purple Poppy Appeal which represents and remembers all the animals that lost their lives in the war.

This year the department and the Regiment lost one of its icons to Civilian Street; that being the forage Master SCpl Adams, colloquially known as ‘the King of Bodney’ who has finally hung up his fork-lift jacket and we all wish him and his family well for the future. I am delighted to announce that he was awarded an MBE in the New Year’s Honours, thoroughly deserved for his long service.

The QM’s department had a shake up with Capt D Owens handing over to Capt S Fry MC. Capt D Owens lending his G4 expertise to the RY as QM in June leaving the new QM to WO2 Bassett and FLCoH Crimmins with his work of art presenting it close down Summer Camp. A very to the representative of the Purple Poppy Appeal

46 ■ Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment

The saddlers, tailors and MT still push on with all their many roles; the Master Saddler, SCpl Belasco, still represents the Regiment at the top level in all National Saddlery competitions.

CoH Bradbury still manages to get the horseboxes out the gate which are always in high demand. With the Adjt Capt T D E Mountain handing over to Capt J R G Faire, it was time for the new Adjt to sort the upcoming leave plot. HQ Sqn will look forward to the winter leave periods with again 3 weeks of split leave for all. Next year will see a change at the top with the HQ Sqn Ldr Maj SB Taylor leaving, not long after OC Training Wing Maj B Rogers also departs.

The RCM WO1 (RCM) Quickfall will also step off (to be succeeded by WO2 (RQMC) Sampson) as well as the HQ SCM WO2 (Boss) Hogg being on his way. But as night follows day, a new team will be in place and another State Ceremonial Season will begin.

Equitation

by Major R I Chambers, The Life Guards

W

hat an exciting and assiduous year it has been for all members on the riding staff. It started as early as February, with SCpl Puddifoot and LCpl Goodey travelling to Jordan to carry out a six-week Short Term Training Team (STTT). The purpose of their visit was to strengthen the Jordanians capabilities by carrying out a Ceremonial Parade for King AbdullahThe King of Jordan, using eighty soldiers and horses.

They demonstrated their equine skills by improving the riding ability of each soldier, to then enhance the security and overall parade performance. SCpl Puddifoot also carried out a gruelling 160mile relay race from the Dead Sea to the Red Sea in Aqaba. This took 17 hours of overnight running in 34 degrees’ heat, which saw the team finish in 2nd place and receiving a silver medal.

Last year, the Chief of the General Staff of the Nepalese Army visited the Regiment at Hyde Park Barracks. Following this visit he made a request to the British Defence Attaché in Kathmandu for equine SME advice for the Nepalese Cavalry. As this was such a rare opportunity, with no hesitation when asked by the Riding Master, WO2 Betts was happy to take up this role. He spent two weeks there, assisting with their training of young horses, providing knowledge and expertise for stable management and horse care. As a result of the visit, 2 riding instructors will travel to Nepal early next year for a period of 6 weeks.

The Riding Staff needed someone who was light in the saddle and who had no fear: Hungary was the destination and LCoH Watkins was the man chosen for the job. He raced in the Hungarian International, with a distance of 1100 metres, against other competitors that came from as far as, China and Mongolia. This is held every September in Hero’s Square in Budapest a world Her-

WO2 Betts and the Regimental Veterinary Officer in Nepal

itage Site.

More trips followed to America; SCpl Puddifoot seems to be the face of the Riding Staff, he spent two weeks at the Equi Centre in New York to assist the charity for veterans with mental health and vulnerable adults. This was a part of a new programme called ‘Mission Mustang’. This is where the wild mustangs are introduced to the Equi Centre and the aim is to build trust between horse and the veteran. Culver Academy was next on the horizon for the Riding Staff, this time it was LCpl Strange’s turn. He worked very closely with the Black Horse Troop who benefitted from the knowledge, expertise and the practical experience of a Household Cavalry Instructor. They understood the diligence and range of skills members of the Cavalry use daily, not only improving our riding skills, but to enhance our horses’ abilities.

Whilst all the soft Defence Engagement was taking place, training continued as normal. Extremely hard work has been invested into passing out 26 re-

SCpl Puddifoot and LCpl Goodey with the Jordanian Royal Guard

mounts on the Major General’s Inspection, Queens Birthday Parade and the Autumn State Visit. Not to mention, the back to back Khaki Rides that have passed out this year to supply soldiers and officers to the sabre squadrons.

Other areas that have been visited by the Riding Staff this year include France, Sweden, Canada and the USA. As with previous years, the riding staff have competed all year round at the military shows. Included sere: Addington Manor; Royal Windsor Horse Show; The Royal Tournament; RN equine Championships; RAF championship; and the Olympia Semi-Final held at Melton Mowbray. With some promising results, Maj Chambers and CoH Mancey will be representing the Household Cavalry at this year’s Show Jumping competition at Olympia. Maj Chambers will be hoping for a good result as this is his last Olympia as the Riding Master; he is due to hand over the reins early next year.

LCpl Strange in Culver, USA

Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment ■ 47

Ministry of Defence Duties The role of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment is State Ceremonial.

While much of their mounted work is seen, little of their other work is. Occasionally their Staircase Party duties at the House of Lords for most State Visits get some coverage, but very rarely do their duties at the Main Building, Ministry of Defence.

Official visitors for the Secretary of State,

Chief of Defence Staff and Chief of the General Staff are often met with some form of ceremonial. Often this takes the form of a small Guard of Honour by the Foot Guards on Horse Guards, or on occasion the RAF Colour Squadron.

On other occasions a Staircase party is deployed to the steps outside the Main Building. There is a tariff for the Private Offices on the number of times annually that they may call for this support, but

their first choice is for the Household Cavalry to help them out in impressing their visitors, with the Garrison Sergeant Major on hand as Master of Ceremonies.

The Protocol office was particularly glad to be supported on this occasion on 14th November, as CDS, Gen Sir Nicholas Carter, met the Iraqi Chief of Defence.

Below is a set of photographs recording the occasion.

The Musical Ride

by Captain K R E McAllister, The Life Guards

T

he Musical Ride has once again been on the road touring the length and breadth of the UK. The Ride performed at 8 shows this year, in addition to the soldiers’ and horses’ annual output of state ceremonial and public duties. The

Ride Officer for the first half of the season was Capt James Faire, who was ably accompanied by CoH Qio (Q10) as the ride three-bar and sound technician.

For the second half of 2018 Capt McAl-

48 ■ Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment

lister and CoH Galuvakadua (GV) took over the leadership and management of the Musical Ride. Then the Ride was able to build on the previous hard work and rehearsals that took place in the first half of the year, and continue

Deer Park views at the Chatsworth Show, or ‘What reaction am I going to get as all these balloons fly over?’

a series of immaculate performances through to the end of the year. The new leadership began with the Chatsworth Country Fair where the Ride provided a thoroughly enjoyable show in the spectacular grounds of Chatsworth House.

The weather was amazing, and the members of the Ride had the chance to meet various celebrities including Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood. Whilst at the show members of the team had the opportunity to ride out in the deer park with the Duchess’s niece.

The final event of the season was the Horse of The Year Show. This exciting venue was in front of the largest crowd to which the Ride had performed. Conveniently, it was also their best set of performances yet, despite the initial disturbances to the horses caused by a live drummer playing next to the arena. CoH GV was quick to volunteer as the final flag carrier to mark the end of his successful turn as sound technician. The whole week went off without a hitch, not to mention how much fun was had at the various grooms’ parties.

The Musical Ride with Paul Hollywood, ‘the Great British Baker’, at the Chatsworth Show

The calendar for next year is already beginning to fill up. As it currently stands the Ride will be performing at RWHS 8th-12th May, Royal Norfolk Show 26th27th June, Royal Isle of Wight Show 30th June, Regimental Training Open Day in Norfolk on 20th July, Holkham Show 21st July, New Forest Show 30th July-1st August, the Longines Chelsea event in early August, followed by the possibility of Olympia in December.

Despite deserved promotions, drafts to Windsor and various postings during 2019, the Ride will continue to exist in much the same way as it has since it first appeared at the Royal Tournament

in 1892. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have been part of it in 2018 and indeed all those who have come to watch and support over the course of the year. Special mention goes to the very welcome presence and experience of CoH (Retd) Jock Bissett throughout the year; the whole ride benefitted from his account of the good old days (Hear, hear. Ed).

He provided much entertainment while imparting his wisdom to all who would listen to him. We must also thank him for his primary, and indispensable, role of transporting the horses up and down the country so efficiently.

At the Horse of the Year Show

Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment ■ 49

Spruce Meadows 2018

by Captain C M A Marlow-Thomas, The Life Guards

F

or over 35 years HCMR has had a long-standing relationship with the Spruce Meadows Masters based in Calgary. The event is a show-jumping competition as part of the Rolex Grand Slam where the best of the world’s ShowJumpers congregate to compete for $1 Million prize money.

This year HCMR sent five soldiers and one Officer to support the tournament.

The team was composed of the top three performers in the Richmond Cup, a Riding Instructor, a Saddler and an Officer.

The role consisted of turning out 6-7 times a day to ride in the International Arena and flank the winners of the tournaments on their lap of honour at the canter.

In preparation for the competition Week 1 of the great challenges was preparing the horses for HCMR’s kit and equipment. The horses are provided by Spruce Meadows and are all ex-show jumpers with a differing temperaments and no experience of being ridden on two reins in full MRO. As such the horses took some assimilating to HCMR State-Bits and the riders needed some

practice to ride with a softer hand and not startle the horses. Scabbards were quietly discarded on account of the impact they had on the horses. The team had to withstand a few days of bucking and general misdemeanours before we had gained the experience to manage the horses we had. Perhaps the best example of the horses presenting a challenge was during the final rehearsal when LCpl Connoll demonstrated the perfect example of an involuntary dismount in full MRO. In true Cavalry style he got straight back on top and continued professionally despite being a little red with embarrassment.

Whilst at Spruce Meadows the stables were open to the public; so the soldiers had many an encounter with curious members of the public. Perhaps the highlight was meeting two Cowboys and their steeds. They were so impressed by the Household Cavalry that they offered the opportunity to meet the following day and take us through some basic Cowboy skills. This included cantering around on their horses and attempting to ‘lasso’ (or rope) oneanother. Tpr Burnett was particularly

LCoH Veness before a reprimand for Mixing Orders of Dress with a Cowboy

talented in this department and he declared that at the end of his time in the Army, the Cowboy life was calling.

On conclusion of the week’s work at Spruce Meadows there was the opportunity to spend 4 days in Banff taking

HCMR as part of the Honour Guard during a winner’s Presentation

50 ■ Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment

part in Challenge Pursuits. This was an excellent opportunity to explore Banff National Park under our own steam as a team. En route to Banff we stopped at the Calgary Olympic park and took part in a unique sport, ‘Summer-Luge.’ For this each participant has their own bobsleigh-esque cart complete with wheels, steering and a brake. Participants are released from the top of the mountain and must roll down the slalom course.

Needless to say, when released at the same time all participants were keen to compete for whom would be the fastest.

I can vouch for the fact that the Officer was by a long way the slowest, but only to ensure that he was able to observe and coordinate his team from a position of oversight.

On arrival in Banff there was a high quality itinerary of opportunity available. The team ended up undertaking a four hour whitewater rafting sloush in the Rocky Mountains. LCoH Veness had failed to mention that he was not particularly at home in water/swimming until he was inside the boat. There were some rather embarrassing 4 hours of unsoldierly screams that followed as we bobbed over rapids, rocks and fallen trees. The team also had the opportunity to take part in an ATV tour of Banff

The White Water Rafting experience looking well prepared

National Park. This provided a chance to get up high into the Rockies and take in some of the amazing views that they offered. Sadly, on our final day the weather closed in causing concern for our scheduled rock climbing. In place the team visited Banff and explored the town including the hot springs and Lake Louise. The week was finished by an extraordinary dinner in Banff where all participants had the opportunity to eat a spread of unique meats including shark, kangaroo, rattlesnake and elk.

The Spruce Meadows trip remains an excellent opportunity to show off what HCMR does to the International Arena in front of thousands of spectators. It also remains a visit that rewards our Richmond Cup participants with an amazing experience as part of a compact and high profile team. It is an excellent experience and we thank the Spruce Meadows team for the opportunity to maintain such a long standing relationship.

Open Days 15th June & 5th October We are able to offer standard discounts to families from HM Forces or UK Diplomatic Services. This leaves parents to pay 10% of published fees after taking into account full CEA entitlement.

Boarding and day school for girls and boys aged 11 - 18 Kingham, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, OX7 6TH T: +44 (0) 1608 658999 or E: admissions@kinghamhill.org to request a prospectus and arrange a visit. www.kinghamhill.org.uk

Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment ■ 51

The Forge

by Major H Church, The Blues and Royals

T

he bitter cold of the Beast from the East was only partially dispelled by the heat from the forge’s fires as the horses returned from their winter grass break. Work tempo stepped up once again after a relaxing leave period and the department set the Major General’s Inspection (MGI) in it’s sights.

With the guidance of CoH Lee Pettit, the Regiment prepared for a large scale fire evacuation drill including moving Military Working Horses (MWHs) from the warmth of their stables out into Hyde Park. Some of the brave fire fighters seemed a little less confident when faced with their larger than usual charges! The hotly contested annual forge assessment was as popular as ever with some exceptionally credible and wellqualified applicants. With three spaces opening up in the forge, LCpl Forster (RHG/D), Tpr Jackson (RHG/D) and Tpr Versoni (RHG/D) were successful and spent increasing time at the anvil in preparation for their Basic Military Farriery Course.

At the beginning of March came the long awaited arrival of Capt Imogen Walker; the third veterinary officer for London District. It was a baptism of fire as the initial MGI rehearsals started within days of her appearance. Thankfully, she found her feet quickly as within 2 weeks she was holding the reins for the Regimental Veterinary Officer (RVO) who had disappeared to Nepal to visit the Nepalese Cavalry.

In May the international fervor for the Royal Wedding also hit the forge; CoH Ben Hansen was a rapid volunteer to ride as farrier cover. Further members of the forge and veterinary department also relocated to Windsor to prepare the horses for arguably the most widely televised parade that the Regiment had conducted in a number of years.

The Veterinary Aid Post (VAP) was readied and moved slowly behind the parade through the packed streets of Windsor to the Castle. Thankfully, sensing the scale of the occasion, the horses (with ear mufflers) behaved impeccably and the VAP’s services were not required. May continued at pace as following the successful conclusion of the wedding, the Regiment switched focus to the Queen’s Birthday Parade.

The forge personnel returned to Hyde Park Barracks and the mammoth task of maintaining the MWHs. As it was his final year, WO2 Thomas boldly volunteered to ride as farrier cover - his first time on a MWH in very long time!

WO2 Chris Thomas and LCoH Chris Muden-Wade riding on the Queen’s Birthday Parade 2019

He was accompanied by LCoH MurdenWade, a second year apprentice.

Norfolk was particularly hot this year so the Farrier Major was probably quite grateful for his visit to the trough in recognition of his years of service. The World Cup kept the afternoons busy and the mornings were spent shoeing horses in the al fresco forge. LCoH Cooney once again failed to achieve at the department go-karting, beaten by CoH Jones, and LCpl Crimmins. The clinical team comprising Maj Will Wall (Regimental Medical Officer), Capt Imogen Walker, LCoH Cooney and LCpl Crimmins secured a win in the team chase demonstrating the wide range of talents in the department.

Jackson rode well. In December we said our final farewells to the Farrier Major, WO2 Chris ‘Taff’ Thomas, and we wish him well with his return to Wales.

In September, CoH Jones and LCoH Murden-Wade visited the Dutch cavalry in Amsterdam for an honour guard parade; akin to the State Opening of Parliament. LCoH Murden-Wade demonstrated why he had joined the forge and not the riding staff with a dramatic unintentional dismount during rehearsals. As part of the visit, the HCMR farriers also delivered demonstrations on hand making traditional British roadster shoes with which the Dutch were extremely impressed.

The Dutch State Visit in October saw another peak in activity and gave the new apprentices an insight into the forge at full tilt. LCoH Healey-Potter and LCpl

52 ■ Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment

WO2 Chris Thomas being generously saved from the summer heat by fellow farriers

Household Cavalry Training Wing

by Major B Rogers, The Life Guards

T

he Household Cavalry Training Wing (HCTW) carried on normal jogging this year with 74 Soldiers successfully completing kit ride between April 2017 to April 2018, and at the time of writing we are well on the way for a similar number for the 2018/19 period.

This year started off as normal with the Major General’s Parade which involved the horses and the HCTW permanent staff shuttling backwards and forwards along the M4, rather than the soldiers under training. This was followed a week later by a HCTW Battlefield Tour to Ypres, Zandvoorde and Waterloo, with the intention of giving the Ride NCOs a background and understanding into the history of our great regiments, which they may subsequently pass on this ‘esprit de corps’ to the soldiers in training. The mission was achieved, with an added in-depth study of different Belgian beers and hostelries.

The training programme remains unchanged and would be completely recognisable to the old sweats of 40 years ago, albeit 10 weeks less. We now have a full time PTI in LCpl Hansford who is the Coach Troop 2i/c. Therefore, we can follow the recommendations of the usual post course validation in provid-

ing more log runs and PT for the soldiers under training. Joking aside, the PT and organised sport provides a good way to break up the week and ensure the soldiers keep up a good standard of all round fitness. To counteract the added PT, we have re-introduced the pub ride into Week 11 of the course as reward for reaching the final week of the Khaki element of the course. (One pint rule, obviously).

With another busy year for HCMR most of the HCTW staff have being involved in the state ceremonial season in one way or another, even the SCM donned his MRO to provide the Staircase Party for the wedding of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex. That said, during the busy season it has a direct impact on training; HCTW horses are pulled back to London to be used for escorts and, in consequence, trainees miss out on valuable riding lessons and kit cleaning time. The trainees have been patient with this, despite having to ride in the afternoon on tired horses. They have still managed to pass out to a high standard, proving the Household Cavalry soldier is adaptable and capable through adversity, even at the very start of their career.

Summer Camp was a great success with

The Trg Wing staff at Waterloo

two rides going to Bodney where the 24 soldiers continued their training, whilst enjoying the fresh air and delights of Norfolk. They put on a good display on Open Day where many of them found some time to spend with their families in between carrying out latrine and car parking duties.

On the recent state visit from The King and Queen of The Netherlands nearly all the HCTW staff and soldiers under

HCTW staff

Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment ■ 53

We have now had our first female troopers arrive; Tprs Croker and O’Hara who have settled in well and are proving excellent ambassadors for the modern Household Cavalry. By the time you read this article, they both should be carrying out duties in Whitehall on Queen’s Life Guard.

This year we have sadly had to bid farewell to LCoHs Sinclair and Webb as well as Tprs Peck and Lakin to civilian street.

We also sadly lost CoH Greenwood on transfer to The Light Dragoons where I am sure he will excel. We welcome CoH Saurara as the HCTW CoH and LCsoH Baker and Portman as Ride NCOs along with Tprs Moore and Broughton as Permanent Stable Guards.

The HCTW SCM, WO2 Holliday, dusts off his state kit for the wedding of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex

training were on parade. Many of the soldiers under training were on the Staircase at the House of Lords, giving the soldiers a real insight into the ceremonial side of the Regiment. All of those taking part excelled themselves and were immensely proud to take part in their first taste of ceremonial soldiering.

The plan is for nothing to change when HCR move to Bulford, with Windsor remaining the home of the Training Wing for the foreseeable future. SCpl Liburd is doing sterling work along with HCR’s QM to improve facilities for both personnel and horses. They are trying their best to make hay whilst the sun shines and ensure we get this valu-

able estate work completed before we lose that cavalry love.

No reasonable alternative to HCTW remaining at Windsor is currently imaginable, providing somewhere that is within easy striking distance of London and being able to provide the Great Park as a proving ground and provide a base for future Windsor escorts. We will remain a constant presence in Windsor and as advertised last year, please feel free to come and visit and meet the young soldiers in training, carrying forward the good name of the Household Cavalry.

LCoH Mansfield and his merry team of soldiers on latrine duty for the HCMR Open Day

Medical Centre HCMR

by Sergeant N X Forbin RAMC

T

he year 2018 was a busy an eventful year for staff at Hyde Park Barracks (HPB) Medical Treatment Facility (MTF). It was characterised with inspections, state events, field exercises, parting with staff and welcoming new staff. On 8th April the MTF welcomed a Healthcare Governance inspection team from DPHC HQ LS led by the Regional clinical director Col Yates. Although areas for improvement were identified, the MTF did well owing to the excellent team effort and hard work of all members of staff.

field medical cover to RMAS officer cadets on a three weeks long exercise.

Sadly, the MTF said good bye to Captain Webster, Captain Malone and LCpl Morgan whilst welcoming Capt Fryer, LSgt Afranie and LCpl Kilbey. Congratulations to Ms Baynham-Jones for securing the position as permanent nurse for

the practice and to LCpl Kilbey for successful promotion to substantive LCpl. Among other things, the practice is looking forward to a Healthcare Governance inspection in May 2019 in preparation for a Care Quality Commission (CQC) visit / inspection later in the year.

During the Royal wedding in May, the MTF was tasked to provide medical support to military personnel and members of the public within the precincts of Windsor Castle. This was in addition to an already existing busy schedule of providing medical support to rehearsals and state events namely; Queen’s Birthday Parades (when the Medical Officer dashed to the aid of Colonel Charles), Garter ceremony, Beating Retreat and a State visit.

It was a busy first year for LCpl Kilbey who in March and November provided

54 ■ Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment

The Medical staff on their Christmas outing

Cambrian Patrol Competition 2018 - HCMR

by Captain Edward Comyn, The Blues and Royals

E

x CAMBRIAN PATROL is the British Army’s principle All Arms patrols exercise conducted annually amongst the beautiful landscapes of the Elan Valley and the Brecon Beacons in South Wales. The competition has been running for over 50 years and incorporates teams from all 3 services, and overseas units, attempting to secure the illusive prize of a medal. The event involves sections of 8 persons conducting a Reconnaissance Patrol over a distance of circa 60km carrying approximately 35kg and reacting to different scenarios at successive checkpoints along the way.

The tasks set are based around the Mandatory Annual Training Tests (MATTs) that every soldier must complete covering: Navigation, Battlefield Casualty drills; Chemical/Biological/Radiological/Nuclear drills; Captured Person handling; Obstacle Crossing; Counter Improvised Explosive Device; Close Target Reconnaissance; Artillery Target identification; and Hasty Attacks. The challenges of heavy loads, long distances, lack of sleep and perplexing assessments demand vigour and resilience from every man in the team and, though many teams commence the patrol, not all complete it.

HCMR always aims to populate its team with an even split of personnel between the two Sqns. Thus this years’ patrol consisted of four from each: Capt Comyn and Tprs Bishton, Fairburn and Foster RHG/D and LCpl Hansford and Tprs Clarke, George and Grosvenor LG. Tpr Vigar RHG/D acted as reserve.

Owing to its status as a Ceremonial Unit, troopers principally arrive at HCMR straight from Phase 2 training without much experience of reconnaissance or light role exercises. Despite this, HCMR has always striven to send a team to the Cambrian Patrol competition, primarily to challenge those soldiers in contention for a posting to the Operational Unit in Windsor but also to give them an authentic insight into the rigours of the field army. The ordinary day-to-day activities of HCMR soldiers sees them regularly exercising horses around central London and conducting duties of Queen’s Life Guard at Horse Guards Parade, a world away from the demands of the Cambrian Patrol and therefore the impetus for the team is to snatch any opportunity to train prior to the event.

However, due to the constraints of the ceremonial calendar and other equestrian commitments, manpower must

be retained in Knightsbridge and thus spare working time is extremely limited. Consequently, the team found itself confined predominantly to loaded marches around London’s Royal Parks and ascents of the Hyde Park Barracks’ Peninsular Tower staircases to replicate the distances and climbs of the Welsh mountains. The patrol even went as far as to create a mock minefield in the outdoor riding ménage in order to test the soldiers’ Counter IED skills. Yet, despite making the best of our surroundings, we lacked the space to expand our ability. Fortunately, a much needed 4-day trip to Dartmoor training area in mid-September proved an invaluable escape to rehearse some of the more dynamic elements of the training programme. Whilst more exercise time would have been helpful, preparations for the The Netherlands State Visit coupled with Musical Ride performances at the Horse of the Year show meant that no further time away from London was feasible.

Owing to the international diversity of the competition, UK Teams are often tasked with hosting foreign units in the week preceding the exercise to ini-

HCMR’s Cambrian Patrol silver medal winning team less the Captain/Photographer Capt Ned Comyn.

(From left to right, back row to front row) LCpl Hansford, Tprs Fairburn, George, Grosvenor, Foster, Bishton, Vigar and Clarke

Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment ■ 55

tiate them into some of the particulars of British Army Concepts and facilitate their deployment. We were fortunate enough this year to host a team from the Royal Australian Regiment from Brisbane. They were an infantry team who had won the chance to contest The Cambrian Patrol by coming 1st on a similar Army wide patrols exercise back in Australia. Thus they were a highly capable unit who shared some of their techniques and procedures with us and taught us some valuable lessons, standing us in good stead for the upcoming challenge. Happily also, not only were the Aussies an impressive military outfit, they more than held their own in the wild and unpredictable London nightlife that they were confronted with on several occasions during their stay. Firm friendships were soon established and we look forward to the possibility of enabling greater links with our cousins from down under in the near future. Once deployed on the Cambrian Patrol itself, the weight of the equipment was all that would sap our high spirits. After orders, kit checks and rehearsals were completed, we set off. The weather was mercifully moderate and the tasks at the checkpoints we found relatively straightforward. Each man had his individual role from medic to signaller to IED searcher in order that we could apply individual expertise rather than broad understanding to each challenge. Also, we had learned

from the previous years’ team that collection of extensive intelligence is invaluable. Therefore, as we walked we noted everything from pattern of local life and shape of the terrain to vehicles that we observed and explosions we could hear. This informed our patrol report and post patrol debrief significantly. At the halfway point the team was able to drop the Bergans we had been carrying since the outset and scale down to Combat Equipment Fighting Order (CEFO).

This enabled us to increase our speed and, in understanding that we were on the downward slope, raise our morale.

We would ‘administrate’ rigidly at each checkpoint, checking feet, taking on water, eating some food and catching periods of sleep where possible. I was particularly surprised at the positive effect a mere 20-minute sleep had on our cognitive function and morale. The full moon state enabled us to see sufficiently at night without the requirement for image intensifiers and the abundant coniferous woodland meant that enemy obstacles could be easily circumvented.

Above all the patrol was enjoyable for the most part and, of vital importance, we all wanted to be there. We were driven by the Gold medal success of the previous years’ team and through ultimate desire to surpass expectation.

When the last checkpoint finally arrived, we came together as a team and laughed at the amusing moments of the exercise such as Tpr Clarke getting

drenched falling over in a stream and Tpr Grosvenor hobbling the last 5 miles at a snails pace due to sore knees. We also came to realise perhaps the inadvertent lessons that teams learn on the Cambrian Patrol; the value of resilience and the importance of team endeavour over individual strength through moments of hardship.

HCMR came away from Cambrian Patrol 2018 with a Silver Medal, something we were all very proud to have achieved. With our Australian comrades winning Gold it was mission success for the Household Cavalry and a much-deserved rest before heading back to London. On reflection we understand that one can have all the training and equipment available to aid you on an exercise of this nature but it is ultimately fierce spiritedness and unrelenting commitment that drive success. The team comprised: Capt Comyn RHG/D Patrol Commander CoH Barber RHG/D Patrol Manager LCpl Hansford LG Patrol 2IC Tpr Bishton RHG/D Tpr Fairburn RHG/D Tpr Foster RHG/D Tpr Clarke LG Tpr George LG Tpr Grosvenor LG Tpr Vigar RHG/D

Coach Troop

by Corporal of Horse T J Baker, The Life Guards

C

oach Tp have had an extremely productive and enjoyable year; we attended numerous events and parades.

The biggest event in our calendar was the Royal Windsor Horse Show where the competition was extremely high.

With new horses we managed to do very well and exceeded expectations with this younger team of horses.

Coach Tp had the honour of assisting the Household Cavalry Band in their yearly parade of Beating Retreat, where LCpl Hansford took up the reins. We have had many senior people visit the Training Wing in Windsor who have enjoyed joining for an exercise carriage ride around Windsor Great Park, always a great hit with visitors.

Coach Tp had a successful week at Royal Ascot before deploying on regimental training in Norfolk and took part in all the usual antics. We were beset with enthusiastic visitors: both CoH Baker and LCpl Hansford had their work cut out handing over the reins to the Major Gen-

eral. We are hoping to collect the Old Guard Van carriage that has been renovated to the highest of standards; this will enable Coach Tp to follow the Queen’s Life Guard to Horse Guards in the New Year. The regimental (exercise) carriage has had many outings, taking part in most of the Regiment’s parade rehearsals throughout the season and taking part in the Colonel Gaselee’s farewell.

Royal Horse Guards Park Drag at the Royal Windsor Horse Show 2018

Coach Troop bid farewell to Tpr Greenaway to HCR where I am sure he will do very well. We are happy to welcome Tpr Nice from the LG Sqn who will be brought up to speed and taught all as-

56 ■ Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment

pects of coaching and he will be taking part in all the upcoming events and parades. The daily exercise and training of the Coach Tp horses is always enjoyable, especially driving around Windsor

Great Park. In the next 12 months, we are looking to purchase two new horses that will hopefully have a long and fulfilling career in Coach Tp, allowing us to retire Neils and Norman and continue afresh.

Lt Col James Gaselee, the departing Commanding Officer, exits from Summer Camp

Exercise COCKNEY COWBOY - The Good, the Bad and the Cavalry

by Captain Piers Flay, The Blues and Royals

T

he open plains of the Wood River Valley and Fort Klamath stretched out before the 16 horses and riders. The head cowboy Craig Boyd pointed into the distance. We knew what we had to do, and without any need to command the situation further the group set off.

It was four degrees centigrade and the sun was still below the horizon. We all knew it was going to be a long day’s work ahead of us.

Ken LaGrande is a civilian rider for The Blues and Royals Squadron at HCMR, but his day job is rice - California short grain rice to be exact - and a lot of it.

However, his family’s passion is cattle and horses, and Ken had invited the group to the family ranch in order to experience life as cowboys during the busy weaning period in September.

The LaGrande family owns a cattle operation in both Oregon and California.

It is not the biggest in the United States, but produces some of the best results.

The One Bar Cattle Company is split over two areas for the Oregon operation, and it is in Sprague River, on over 3,200 acres of grazing, that the newly-weaned calves are put out to grass before being sent on. Fort Klamath, the main grazing grounds for the cattle during the summer months, is 40 minutes away. The grass is so rich with nutrients, that the calves put on two and a quarter pounds of weight a day. Organically reared, the cattle fetch a premium on the US market. Across the two ranches, the One Bar Cattle Company produces approximately 1,250 calves a year, selling them once up to full weight. Indeed, Ken’s father, Mike LaGrande, was proud to

Mike LaGrande talking us through the process of cutting out cattle

tell us about how rich and nourishing the grass is, which he puts down to the Oregon climate of very cold nights and warm sunny days in the summer.

Alongside improving our horsemanship, this once-in-a-lifetime trip was designed to gain a cultural understanding of the cowboys, and what it is like to work on the open plains. Like us, the team on the ranch work hard alongside their horses. Without them, they’d either be on quad bikes, or doing a lot of walking. Horses continue to prove themselves to be the ultimate 4x4 vehicle; able to ascend or descend most terrain. They are still the only practi-

cal means of getting around the diverse land covered across the two ranches.

We spent the first night of the trip at Ken’s family home in Sacramento, making the long journey to Oregon the next morning, stopping along the way for some cowboy essentials. Boot Barn proved to be a one-stop shop for all our cowboy fashion needs: new pairs of boots and cowboy hats, jeans and spurs, a true nod to the phrase ‘all the gear…’

The journey continued along Interstate 5 (I-5) until we crossed into Oregon, travelling another hour and a half through Klamath Falls, the closest major

Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment ■ 57

Tpr Brown moments before electrocuting himself

town, down a winding road through to some breathtaking countryside, as the sun began to set over the rocky hills in the distance. We arrived at the ranch to find Charles ‘Chuck’ Vincent and Mike LaGrande on his porch with some beers, a welcome sight after a long journey.

What became immediately apparent was the noise of the cows as we arrived; humans are clearly the minority in this part of the state.

Cowboy life is a family affair at the One Bar Cattle Company at Sprague River.

Dericx Smith runs the show, with his two sons, Brecx, 18, and Taylor, 21.

Their aunt, Shawna, runs the irrigation on the farm, a significant job that requires managing, moving and maintaining several kilometres of piping to keep the farm at its optimum grazing capacity. Mike’s faithful companion, a Border Collie called Tito, is never more than a few feet away from him: extremely obedient and loyal, he is a born and bred herder, and has no hesitation nipping at the heels of cattle far larger than himself.

watching Taylor and Brecx sort through the weaned calves. They spotted one with an eye infection, and so wanted to ‘cut’ it from the herd – which involves separating it and then roping it so that it can be treated. We were completely unprepared for the speed and aggression that is required to get the job done so efficiently. Eighteen calves were inside a small wooden pen, with two cowboys mounted inside. With viper-like speed, Brecx removed the rope from the saddle and started swinging it above his head, bringing his horse to a canter. The rope was unleashed, and slipped around the calf’s head. Next, Taylor sprang into action, swinging his rope under the calf’s back legs. With this, the calf fell on its side; Brecx dismounted, and his horse stood perfectly still, maintaining the tension. He took a short piece of rope from his pocket, and then applied a gloopy antibiotic cream to the calf’s left eye, putting a circle of adhesive around the outside, sticking a square patch made from an old pair of jeans over the top. This is typical of the make-do-andmend attitude characteristic of cowboys.

Why get the vet to come and confirm what they already know, when they’ve the tools to deal with it themselves?

We were constantly reminded of the history surrounding this part of the United States. The long feuds between Native American Indians and the white settlers persist to the present day, and the ranches are steeped in this history. At Sprague River, the presence of two cemeteries brought this home. The ‘white man’ cemetery, in the middle of the main grazing, is surrounded by a low, white fence, while the Indian cemetery lay further up the hill, on a rocky out-

crop, a short ride from the bunkhouse.

Both were small and humbling, but the dates on the graves were a reminder of how relatively recent this history is; that this part of the United States was settled and developed only in the mid to late 1800s.

For our own part, the cowboys were fascinated to see how long it took us to groom our horses in the morning, and how relatively diligent we were. Checking our horses’ shoes and feet every day was standard for us, much to Dericx’s amusement. A trained farrier, he explained proudly that he is able to fix any problem his horse might have, so why did we feel the need to check on them every five minutes?

But the riding was where we saw some significant differences. Riding Western style, you must not maintain contact with the bit, for any contact immediately halts the horse, and combined with leg contact will make him spin.

This is what allows the horses to have the agility to outsmart a calf – you must always give a quarter horse their head and space to work. In the relationship between man, horse and cow, it is the human that is the last to know what is going on. If the rider tries to pre-empt this, they will only be getting in the way of the horse’s natural ability.

We had a go at ‘cutting’, a Western-style equestrian competition in which both horse and rider demonstrate how they handle cattle during a two and a halfminute performance called a ‘run’. LCpl Martin, riding Moose, was a natural, and his efforts greatly applauded by the panel. Moose knew exactly what he was

Roping is a staple of cowboy life - although you may know it as lassoing - a term that will get you laughed at, as we found out. The ropes are made of nylon now, instead of traditional cotton-based material, and come in different lengths, weights, grades and colors. They are also personal to each user, and a key part of the job, which is extremely dangerous. For when roping it is quite possible to accidentally wind one of your fingers up when tying the rope to the cattle horn, resulting in the finger being lost. Indeed, we were told that it is not uncommon to see nine-fingered cowboys. The ropes are tied to the saddle, normally with thin leather straps, and are carried all day.

Our first experience of roping was

58 ■ Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment

Mike LaGrande and his team

HCMR’s budding cowboys

doing, and LCpl Martin’s equine ability gave him an excellent starting point to allow his horse to work effectively under him. He took the challenge with ease, allowing Moose to dart across the arena, maintaining a steady distance parallel to the animal, not allowing the calf to get ahead or outmaneuver him.

My own attempt, however, was likened to “a monkey riding a border collie”.

Sorting the cattle is the practical side of cutting, involving a series of large, interconnected pens, with a small gateway between them. This is guarded by a lone cowboy, whose job it is to make sure that only heifers get through, and that their calves are directed down another shoot on the right-hand side. Groups of cows with their young are moved in to the larger penning, and driven towards the gateways, when it is up to the cowboys to sort through the bovine mass. It is here that the quarter horses come into their own, their powerful back ends allowing them to pirouette and turn 180 degrees in a split-second. The horses appeared to enjoy the job of sorting, they know exactly what is required of them, while the rider must maintain his balance.

Once this process is complete, the calves are put on trucks and taken to Sprague River. The heifers are guided into a corral by mounted cowboys and those on foot, in order to encourage the cattle into the ‘crush’ – a large hydraulic cage which allows cows in one by one to be vaccinated. It is from this position that Mike LaGrande, perched on the back of his pickup truck, surveys the operation.

Any delay or a hold-up in the process is met with a barrage of abuse from Mike

that would make the Regimental Corporal Major blush.

Working the shoot that leads to the ‘crush’ is one of the muckiest jobs. The cows are inclined to stack up in there, and can sometimes refuse to move. If this is the case, they might just require a bit of encouragement from an electric cattle prod. Trooper Brown found this out the hard way, accidentally turning the prod on himself, a mistake he did not repeat.

Once the calves reach the Sprague River ranch, they are unloaded and require sorting. Much like the weaning process, this involves a lone cowboy having calves driven towards him, where they will then manoeuvre the horse to push the calf through two different gateways.

LCpl Pacey was mounted for this job, where he discovered first-hand how easy the cowboys make it look. LCoH Leslie and Tpr Brown pushed the small batches of calves down towards LCpl Pacey to sort, under the watchful eye of Taylor and Brecx. When sorted into sex, they are then health-checked, the last opportunity for Mike to select any of the calves he would like to remove, or send back to the main population for breeding. ‘Dink’ is a term that cowboys use to describe a small, skinny, or ugly calf that would make no money at market.

This was a nugget of information that found much amusement amongst the Life Guards in the group as a ‘dink’ is also a pejorative term that a Life Guard might use to describe a Blues and Royal.

The final morning was the main event, a culmination of all we had learnt over the week. Our task was to herd and sort 800

head of cattle. Up at 3am to saddle up the horses and move them 45 miles to Fort Klamath, we were mounted in the twilight. Once our 16-strong mounted compliment had encircled the cattle, we began to steadily move inwards, allowing the cows to move at their own pace.

As we moved through the fields, any stragglers were collected, and the sun began to come up on the horizon, bathing the ground with an orange light.

This is a crucial point in the morning, when it is important not to apply too much pressure, as the cattle might have become distressed, causing them to turn, and bolt in the opposite direction.

Of course, this is rarely a lone act; the risk of stampede is high. It is 10.30am by the time the first batch is complete.

It was unclear at the start as to why the cowboys insist on being mounted for sunrise. It felt unnecessary, but there is a strange sense of pride in being up and working that early, as we know. It became clearer still in the midday sun: had we started the process any later, the heat would have been extremely uncomfortable.

The spirit of the cowboy lives on in the west: they are not only extremely necessary, but prove to be the only practical way of doing the job effectively. A parallel can be drawn between the Household Cavalry and the cowboys: both of our job roles have not changed significantly since the mid-1800s. These timeless characters are bound to their horses, just as we are. And we wouldn’t have it any other way. For the five returning Household Cavalrymen, we had truly earned the title ‘Piccadilly cowboy’.

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Hungarian National Gallop

by Captain M J Adcock, The Life Guards

T

he Hungarian National Gallop is an annual event held on Heroes’ Square in the centre of Budapest. This UNESCO World Heritage site, created to commemorate those who died fighting for Hungary’s independence, is a truly majestic setting for the 440 metre track that dominates the square for just one weekend each September.

The focus of the event sees horses and riders drawn from across Hungary and its neighbouring countries competing to win 21.5 million forints (around £60,000). In addition to these national races countries from further afield are also invited to compete in the International Race. This was the first time that the United Kingdom had received such an invitation and so it was a real privilege for LCoH Watkins and me to attend.

The horses used during the International Race were allocated to the competitors after being drawn at random. All 12 of the international riders competed on Arabian horses from the Bábolna National Stud resulting in an extremely consistent and thus competitive field.

Luckily the horse drawn by LCoH Watkins, Rosie, was forward going and welltempered and so boded well for our success on the track.

The international competitors were split into two groups of six for the qualifying rounds, the top 3 from each of these races would then go on to compete in the final. Unfortunately for us our group featured some extremely experienced riders drawn from Suriname, Austria, Slovakia, China, and the natural favourite Hungary. It soon became apparent that all of these riders were at home on the track. The Chinese rider Bate Bayier for example had won the China Flat Racing Grand Prix multiple times, the Hohhot Grand Prix in 2016 and the Hong Kong Jockey Club Cup in 2016.

After a brief warm up the race was

soon upon us. The start could only be described as chaotic.

It involved each rider being led into a ‘start zone’ of around 20 metres, once all six competitors were within this area a bell was rung to indicate to the riders that the race had begun and that they should kick on.

The grooms leading the horses at the front of the group then had LCoH Watkins soon after the rolling start the unenviable task of dodging all the horses that had been released behind them. This lottery didn’t go in our favour and LCoH Watkins was released at the back of the group.

This left just 1100 metres to make up at least two places to qualify for the final. The field was split early with the Hungarian and Chinese riders well clear at the front. Luckily some careful line selection brought LCoH Watkins level with the Austrian rider by the end of the first 400m lap and clear at 600m.

He was then soon upon the Slovakian rider. Rosie had clearly found her pace and was spurred on at the prospect of overtaking another horse; she accelerated through the eighth corner to overtake the Slovakian rider at the 800m point. The Surinamese rider was now all that lay between LCoH Watkins and a place in the final of the International Race. As horses and riders from both countries pushed down the final stretch the crowd exploded in excitement. Rosie began to edge up to the Slovakian entry but the finishing line came too soon.

LCoH Watkins closing on the Surinamese rider

available he would have undoubtedly have made third place with ease. Luckily the nearest drinkery was no further than this from the finish line and so we elected to conduct our post race analysis there.

Overall the Hungarian National Gallop was a magnificent event to be a part of and whilst we weren’t able to finish as highly as we would have liked, we came home safe in the knowledge that the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment would continue to represent the United Kingdom at the event in the future.

LCoH Watkins’ ability to make up so much ground over such a short race was exceptional and if even another 200m were

The track at Heroes’ Square

60 ■ Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment

LCoH Watkins and Rosie demonstrating their composure after the race

The Band of the Household Cavalry

by Corporal of Horse L J Wootten

I

t would be fair to say that the band finished 2017 on something of a musical high following our performance of Saint-Saens’ Third Symphony at a spectacular Christmas concert in aid of the Household Cavalry Foundation at Ely Cathedral. As the year came to a close the question was - could we top that in 2018?

January and February allowed the Band some valuable rehearsal time to prepare our programme of music for the year ahead. This was, of course, fitted-in around the usual schedule of musical support for the Guard changes at Windsor Castle, St James’s Palace and Buckingham Palace as well as playing for the Sunday Matins Services at The Guards’ Chapel, which form by far the largest proportion of the Band’s diary across the year. A rather snowy Queen’s Life Guard at the very end of February finished the Band’s winter season in appropriately chilly fashion.

The next mounted engagement of the year came in March, with the Major General’s Inspection in Hyde Park, which was quickly followed by our second accompaniment of the Queen’s Life Guard of the year. A performance at the England v Ireland Rugby Union International at Twickenham, a concert in aid of SSAFA (formerly the Soldiers,

LCoH Ballantine and Mercury prepare for the Household Division Beating Retreat

Sailors, Airmen and Families Association) and a visit from the International Military Music Society provided some additional highlights to the month.

The Band was back in the ceremonial saddle in April, providing musical support for our third Queen’s Life Guard of the year, as well as forming the main contingent of the Household Cavalry parade on The Mall for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

at Buckingham Palace.

In May, our second trip to Twickenham for the Army v Navy Inter-Service Rugby Championship was quickly followed by a series of performances as a mounted band at the Royal Windsor Horse Show. Later in May, the Band’s State Trumpeters, led by SCpl Screen, provided their usual flawless performance in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, for the wedding of

Maj C Hallatt conducts the Band at Ely Cathedral

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The State Trumpeters on the steps of Blenheim Palace (from left to right LCoH Sandford, LCpl Sandford, SCpl (Trumpet Major) Screen, LCoH Wrighton

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

LCpl Sandford, as the first female state trumpeter to play at a royal wedding, received a great deal of media attention during this period, including an appearance on Good Morning America, which she dealt with calmly and in exemplary style. Whilst the main focal point of the Royal Wedding may have been in Windsor, our Brass Quintet was hosted by the British Ambassador to the USA, and provided music for various events at the British Embassy in Washington DC. Our usual busy period leading up to the Queen’s Birthday Parade and Household Division Beating Retreat in June was extended somewhat by our tasking to provide music on the bandstand at Royal Ascot as well as providing music at St Paul’s Cathedral for the 200th anniversary of the Order of St Michael and St George.

In the heat of July, the Band was honoured to play on the starting grid at the beginning of the British Grand Prix, whilst later that month, the newlyformed Household Cavalry Big Band made a very well received debut performance at an open air film screening at Windsor Castle. In the same month, our State Trumpeters welcomed the President and First Lady of the United States of America to Blenheim Palace with a fanfare titled Hands Across the Sea specifically composed for the occasion by the Director of Music, Maj C Hallatt.

Maj J Marshall (left) and Maj C Hallatt (right) celebrate their final mounted engagement together before the Household Division Beating Retreat

topped the musical highlights of 2017, where the Band had the honour of playing alongside the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain and the Invictus Games Choir for the premiere of The Great War Symphony in aid of SSAFA. The concert was later broadcast ‘as live’ on Classic FM as part of the commemorations to mark the centenary of Armistice Day. Later in the month, the State Trumpeters were again performing at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle for the marriage of HRH Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank. At the end of the month, the Band was back in the ceremonial saddle on Horse Guards Parade to welcome Their Majesties The King and Queen of the Netherlands to London as part of their State Visit.

In November, the Band returned to St Paul’s Cathedral to perform as part of the Flanders Remembers event, before returning to the saddle a few days later for the Lord Mayor’s Show in the City of London, whilst our State Trumpeters performed the opening fanfare and Reveille at the Albert Hall for the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance.

The starting grid at Goodwood Festival of Speed was the venue for marching performances by the Band in early September, whilst late September provided an opportunity for Adventurous Training, with climbing and hill walking in the Harz Mountains in Germany, mountain biking in the Scottish Highlands and gliding in Wiltshire.

In last year’s article we mentioned the successes of the Band’s resident Physical Training Instructor, LCpl Sherriff and Army Team cyclist CoH Danckert, both of whom continued to build on 2017’s achievements in 2018. This year LCpl Taylor proved her equine ability in competition as she took her own horse, Chivers, to the Armed Forces Equestrian Championships to compete in the showjumping classes - her first time representing the Band in sport. With the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment’s Commanding Officer and Riding Master both in attendance, the pressure was on for Chivers and LCpl Taylor, but true to form they remained calm, winning both the 80cm and 90cm classes.

It was our performance at the Albert Hall in October that may have finally

As always, the year has been marked by departures and arrivals, but there are

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several of particular note that warrant a mention in the limited space available here. SCpl Bishop retired from the Army in December after an exemplary career – a true Household Cavalry stalwart who will be sorely missed. Former Director of Music Maj C Hallatt left the Band to take up the role of Chief Instructor at the Royal Military School of Music, Kneller Hall. Former Assistant Director of Music, Maj J Marshall, exchanged his riding breeches for a kilt to become Director of Music of the Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. We wish them and their families all the very best for the future.

The Band welcomes back its new Director of Music, Maj J Matthews, who returns to the Band some 19 years since his last duty with The Band of The Life Guards. Maj Matthews has recently returned from a three-year post in Amman, Jordan where he was ceremonial advisor to the Royal Hashemite Court.

Director of Music, Maj J Matthews and the State Trumpeters at Windsor Castle

Household Cavalry Sports Round-up British Army Warrior Fitness

by Captain J G H Onstenk, REME

I

n recent years, physical training within the Army has begun to catch up with scientific research and widely acknowledged best practice from the civilian fitness sector, with a move away from ‘junk mileage’ (in particular steady state runs, which have little physical benefit but have a higher rate of injury over lower impact activities such as circuits) towards more functional CrossFitstyle training. This move has led to a rewriting of the Physical Employment Standards (PES) with the PFA and AFT being scrapped in favour of more functional, role-specific fitness tests.

British Army Warrior Fitness was created a couple of years ago by the RAPTC

Capt Onstenk (EME HCR) (right) as part of the Army HQ team competing at the British Army Warrior Fitness 2017/18 final at RMAS

as a means of testing physical fitness through a number of functional movements that are common in CrossFit type training and the new PES. Competitions last a day, during which time a team of four HCR’s team competing at the first event of the 2018/19 season will complete four workouts; typically Minley. The competition was excepthese workouts will be a mixture of pure tionally tough (no doubt made more strength (being able to move as heavy a challenging by half of the team having weight as possible in a certain lift e.g. spent the preceding two months on back squat), anaerobic capacity (movexercise in Oman) but every member ing something heavy for a short period of the team performed admirably, and of time e.g. a sled push), and aerobic caa number of lessons were learnt which pacity (more endurance based exercises will be taken forward to the next event such as running and rowing). in January 2019.

HCR has been quick to embrace fully Looking ahead the Regiment will conBritish Army Warrior Fitness. The EME tinue to compete in the remainder of competed as part of the Army HQ team the 18/19 season events, with the aim of in the 17/18 season final at RMAS in qualifying for the final in summer 2019.

June, with the team achieving a very It is exciting to see British Army Warrior credible 4th place of the 15 finalists who Fitness grow, both within the Regiment had qualified from their respective geoand wider Army, and the Household graphical regions. The Regiment has Cavalry Regiment’s early adoption of started the 18/19 season strongly, with this type of functional training will no Capt Onstenk, LCoH Boachie-Ansah, doubt pay dividends after the Army’s LCoH Matakibau and Cfn Helm commove to PES in 2019. peting in the first event at 3 RSME in

Cresta Run 2019

by Major P J R Chishick, The Life Guards

T

he Regiment sent a team out to St Moritz for the Inter-Regimental Cresta competition again this year. We took the existing members of the Army Squad as well as focussing on developing riders. Owing to funding constraints we were only able to bring one novice rider this year, who performed extremely well, making it to Top in his first season. Cresta requires a unique combination of characteristics, with riders needing to balance their skill and fear as they tackle the run. This is further heightened when the pressure of a team race is imposed on riders, as is the case with the Inter-Regimental race and the Inter-Services’ Championship.

The team spent three weeks training on the run, introducing beginners to riding the Cresta and how to negotiate the infamous Shuttlecock Corner as well as developing returning riders. Tpr Fair-

Household Cavalry Team L-R: LCoH Tonkin RHG/D, Capt Barnes RHG/D, Maj Chishick LG, Lt Howard-Keyes LG, Tpr Fairbairn RHG/D

Household Cavalry Sports Round-up ■ 63

Maj Chishick rounds Shuttlecock Corner

bairn RHG/D was the only novice this year, with Lt Howard-Keyes having ridden last year. The Inter-Regimental race took place on Friday, 25th January, on a fairly cold and fast morning.

The regimental pairs comprised Maj Chishick and Lt Howard-Keyes for The Life Guards, and Capt Barnes and Tpr Fairbairn for The Blues and Royals, with LCoH Tonkin riding in the individual race only, as Tpr McNally, the other RHG/D rider, unfortunately broke his ankle in a fall a few days earlier. The Blues and Royals’ pair should have been comfortably ahead of their nearest competition, the Grenadier Guards, however, they managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory with a fall by Tpr Fairbairn at Shuttlecock in his third course. Nevertheless, the Royal Lancers and Grenadier Guards pairs managed to achieve the same feat, meaning that The Life Guards pair managed to come 2nd, even with Lt Howard-Keyes’ unique (and rather unpredictable) technique for getting round Shuttlecock Corner…

In the Army Top Championships, the Scots Guards Cup, the Household Cavalry achieved a 2nd and 4th place with LCoH Tonkin narrowly missing out on selection in 7th place. Next year we

Tpr Fairbairn rounds Shuttlecock Corner

should have 5 Household Cavalrymen competing in this race for a place on the Army team.

Tpr Fairbairn made outstanding progress during the exercise, qualifying for Top on a Flat Top toboggan, meaning that in addition to LCoH Tonkin and Tpr McNally, we should have three Household Cavalry soldiers riding in the Army Squad next year. Household Cavalry soldiers have been outstanding ambassadors for the regiments and I hope to see all of these out again next year.

Maj Chishick and Capt Barnes both represented the regiments in the Army Team this year, with Maj Chishick coming second in the Lord Trenchard Trophy, the individual open competition from Top. The Army Team won comfortably this year and we will continue to work hard to retain the trophy next year. There is a

promising crop of up and coming riders sustaining the Army Team as the more senior riders move on. The Regimental Team continues to improve and form the backbone of the Army Team and we continue to look for new blood to bring through. We are grateful to HCF for their support this year – which is entirely focussed at the beginners and other ranks. Subject to funding next year, I am keen to bring out further novices and interested parties should contact the author.

The Inter-Services teams – with Capt Barnes and Maj Chishick representing the Household Cavalry

Association Football – The 2018 Tour to America

W

e all joined the Army for different reasons. Some of us may have joined because of family tradition, operational experience, sports, travel or simply to be employed; regardless of the reason, we all have one thing in common, to protect Her Majesty the Queen and this blessed nation, and the Commonwealth. This mutual sense of brotherhood is the main reason why football has been one of the most active sports in the Household Cavalry Regiment for another year running.

The Regimental Football team did not compete in three of five regular competitions in 2017 due to Ex IRON

STRIKE in BATUS and other key military activities. By end of 2017, we had to withdraw from the Cavalry Cup, Southern League and Major Unit Cup. The Regimental football manager was determined to raise the morale of his players after a lack of sporting activities in 2017. This resulted in the approval of an overseas sports visit to Los Angeles and Las Vegas, with the view of nurturing interest and enthusiasm for Football.

The aim of the tour was to maintain unit cohesion/integration and enhance morale and retention through sports.

The tour was heavily subsidised by the Army Sports Lottery (43%), HCF (10%) and HCR (4%). In terms of weather, we

couldn’t have picked a better time to depart the UK but quickly found out that the American weather would be even worse.

The team landed in LA on 1st March 2018 where the weather was absolutely gleaming in contrast to the snowstorms experienced in the UK at that time. Disappointingly, our first game that was scheduled for 2nd March 2018 was cancelled due to a steady downpour of rain; a normal day in UK one might say but for the citizens of LA, quite the opposite.

24 hours later we were back to normal weather and the team travelled some 70 miles to camp Pendleton to take on

Household Cavalry Sports Round-up ■ 65

The Football Tour 2018 at the Observatory Building, Los Angeles

the USMC. It was a close result, ending HCR 2, USMC 1. Goals were scored

by LCpl Asamoah and LSgt Bojang. A further cancellation against Montebello was replaced by beach football, indoor training and cultural tours around LA. Phase 3 of our tour took us to Las Vegas against a formidable opponent, Tyneside United. Tyneside United was no stranger to British Army teams and

The USMC and HCR teams

relished the opportunity to play against any English team. They proudly boasted about overturning other Regiments who were highly rated. We went into the match as underdogs trailing 2:1 in the second half of the game after a cracking goal by Trooper Daniel Gardner. It was a test of our resolve but in true Household Cavalry spirit; we were Strong in Will. To Strive, to Seek, to Find; and not to Yield. In the dying minutes of the game Trooper Gardner

An alternative venue by the Pacific – at the beach

supplied Lance Sergeant Bojang with the ball outside the 18 yard box and like a scene out of a movie he buried it. Final score Tyneside Utd 2, HCR 2.

The team is now looking forward towards the Cavalry Cup draw against the Kings Royal Hussars and the 5 x Southern League Cup fixtures early next year. We are also planning an end of season development week to Cyprus in March/May 2019.

The team enjoying being in Las Vegas

Lacrosse

I

f your only exposure to lacrosse is watching from the school sidelines as your child (normally daughter) beats a zigzagging line to avoid contact with the opposition, then you would be in for a big surprise with Army men’s lacrosse. Known as the ‘quickest game on two feet’ and full of big hits and hard tackles, it is not for the faint-hearted.

Rising in popularity at university and (social) club level it is fast becoming a popular sport within the services.

Like all team sports, the need to understand the structure and ethos is crucial, but all too often in the Army, time is not on our side. We managed to assemble for a few days of training camp where players got to know each other and the formation they were going to play.

After some much needed practice, the team were excited by what lay ahead in the inter-services lacrosse match against

The victorious Army Team

the Royal Air Force at RAF Halton. Capt Dan Murphy, Capt Nick Wright and Lt Will Long (HCR) and WO2 Jim Hogg (HCMR) were selected for the Army squad to do battle in what was expected to be an explosive match, which had been narrowly won by the Army a year previously. The Army started off well with 3 quick goals but with the House-

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hold Cavalry providing a goalkeeper and two defenders to the starting lineup we kept the RAF at bay for the first half, breaking for half time with the Army leading by 10 goals to 2. Moreover, the prior practice and team cohesion continued to show as a mixture of quick passing and individual brilliance led to a final score of Army 20 - 3 Royal Air Force.

A strong Army attack building up to another score

This was an excellent opportunity to grow the game within the Armed Forces; with a hardworking committee and a realistic five-year plan, lacrosse looks to become ever more popular within the Army. I hope the Household Cavalry will continue to be a hotbed

of talent for the game. And if I’m being totally honest, not a bad way to start my career in the Household Cavalry too. It was an excellent week for all of us that took part and I hope there is much more opportunity in the future to continue in this vein.

HCR Participants: Capt Dan Murphy, Capt Nick Wright, 2Lt William Long, WO2 Jim Hogg.

Marathon des Sables 2018

by Captain Ollie Crosthwaite-Eyre

T

he Marathon des Sables (MdS) is the premier and most iconic multistage desert race in the world, widely regarded as the toughest footrace on earth.

The competition traces its origins to a French concert promoter, Patrick Bauer, who traversed the Sahara in 1984 on foot and alone, 350km in 12 days, without encountering a single oasis or desert community along the way. Two years later, the first Marathon Des Sables was run. In April 2018, six officers from the British army and an accountant from London set off to the Sahara Desert in Morocco to take part in the 33rd iteration of this famous event.

MdS covers roughly 240km in distance, all personal kit is carried by the individual and with temperatures reaching the low 40°sC the week promised to be immensely challenging. Nine Hundred and eighty-seven runners from around the world lined up for the start of the first stage and around 15 per day did not finish due to injury or heat illness.

People travel from all over the world to take part in this globally famous footrace and training starts many months or even years in advance. There are five main days of running to churn through the 6 marathons. Each day is between

The author (left) and Lt Charlie Marlow-Thomas

36-42km with an aptly named ‘Long Stage’ of 87km to really shake the legs out near the end of the week. The final day of running is a full 42km marathon and requires the emotional experience of putting on your trainers for the 6th marathon in five days – something for which my feet did not thank me.

The days go by in an exhausting blur of sand, wind and rock, mostly spent looking at the patch of baked earth to your front or talking to the runners with you at the time. It is necessary to remind yourself to look up and take a moment to appreciate the breathtaking landscape that the race winds through during the 6 days – steep rocky jebels and rolling

Pre-race administration focusing on the feet

Deterioration, treated

sand dunes are the staple of the course, but with long stretches of the race also taking place on flat rocky ground, it is a truly testing yet inspiring environment.

At the end of each stage, runners retreat to the shade and relative comfort of an open-sided woollen berber tent that is mercifully erected prior to your arrival – it is the only piece of kit that the runners are not required to carry. Stretching, rehydration, foot care and some more rehydration takes place before passing out in the early evening for a night of cramp filled sleep. This year tent number 120 comprised 6 Army officers – HCR and HCMR both represented by the author and Lt Marlow-Thomas respectively, a Scots Guardsman, two Paratroopers and a Fusilier. Also present was an accountant who started the week a lovely and gentle soul and ended the week far too immersed in military terminology and acronyms to possibly warrant still be employed in the City.

Very respectably all members of our tent finished MdS this year with the top British runner also hailing from our humble woollen palace – a Para who simply ‘stayed on the log’ from Stage 1 to the

Household Cavalry Sports Round-up ■ 67

end – 17th overall and the Top British runner is a significant achievement that should be recognised, even in another Regiment’s journal. Congratulations to Lt Dominic Drew, 2 PARA.

The Household Division runners of Tent 120 raised over £14,000 towards their respective charities and our warmest thanks go out to those people who supported us and were forced to nod

The author during a race stage

along and smile as we discussed foot taping and socks in the build up to the race. This incredible challenge is only possible with the support of friends, family and colleagues.

The occupants of Tent 120 before the final stage

Exercise WHITE EAGLE: Household Cavalry Regiment Nordic Skiing Season 2017-18

by Lieutenant Fred Wellesley, The Blues and Royals

N

ordic skiing is widely considered the most physically arduous sport in existence. The combination of altitude with high intensity cardiovascular exercise and extreme cold pushes the competitors to their limits, improving fitness and developing marksmanship; ideal military training. The Nordic team, consisting of two officers and eight soldiers from both HCR and HCMR, departed for Norway to begin the intensive six week induction into Nordic skiing and Biathlon. Not far from the former winter Olympic town of Lillehammer lies the sleepy town of Sjusjeon. It boasts some of the greatest cross-country skiing tracks in the world as well as, crucially, a world-class Biathlon circuit.

The initial phase of the training focused

on the very basics of the sport, developing technique and muscle memory, increasing lung capacity and VO2 Max as well as learning to control breathing and heart rate when shooting. With 2 sessions a day, six days a week and burning in the region of 6000 Kcal a day (almost three times the normal), fitness improved dramatically. On top of this we undertook three range sessions a week which saw each team member tighten his grouping and consequently watch the white circle in his sights turn black; the indication that rounds were hitting the target. Marksmanship and rifle drills became a team focus throughout our time in Norway and it proved to be our greatest asset in the competition phase after the Christmas break. Despite immense progress, nothing can be more frustrating than reaching the top of a hill, with lungs on the brink of bursting and legs like jelly, and seeing a young Norwegian of 10 or 12 fly past effortlessly, almost a daily occurrence in Sjusjeon, and one to which the team never got used.

The picture of concentration

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After a week back in the UK over Christmas, the team redeployed to Austria to compete in the RAC, AAC and RA Championships at Hochfilsen.

This consisted of 2 individual 10km races and a 2.5km relay

race. It was a particularly demanding course with steep hills to climb and one that tested fitness above technique. This suited the team well! At the end of the week of racing the team had come 3rd in the Royal Armoured Corps and 8th overall. An excellent result with Lt Ed Keith coming 3rd in the RAC classic 10Km and Ct Fred Wellesley winning overall best Novice in the Championships.

After Austria, the team moved to Serre Chevalier, France, for the Ex SPARTAN HIKE and the first round of the Army competition. The top 10 of the 30 teams would qualify for the Army Championships by default with one wild card place going to the best unqualified team in the Military Patrol Race. After the success in Austria, Serre Chevalier was slightly disappointing as the course was much flatter and required better technique instead of raw fitness. After the four main races the team was in 13th and not likely to qualify. However, with just the military patrol race left, the four patrol race members exchanged their biathlon rifles for SA80s and colourful race suits for arctic patrol suits. The race covers 20km carrying 10kg conducted as a patrol, with navigation, command tasks and shoots thrown in. It is the most arduous part of the competition. Thankfully, the patrol shot best in the competition and succeeded in taking the final wild

The HCR Nordic team

A proud team on Ex SPARTAN HIKE

card place thus qualifying for the Army Championships in Germany. Ct Fred Wellesley also managed to secure overall best Novice in the Championships.

Ex RUCKSACK, the Army and British Nordic Championships, was held in Rhupholding, Germany. It is the culmination of the Nordic season and sees Tri-Service and civilian personnel competing. After the wild card qualification, the team did not have high hopes of success. However, the team finished 12 out 27 teams demonstrating how much they deserved their wild card. Individual success came from Ct Fred Wellesley who made the podium

for every Novice event and finished as the British and Army Nordic Novice Champion for both classic and Biathlon as well as winning the Novice Best Shot.

A hugely successful season all round, showing great dedication and determination to succeed despite a very inexperienced team. One of only two teams to reach the Army Championships with an 80% novice team, an impressive achievement.

Alpine Skiing 2017/18: Exercise WHITE KNIGHT 34 and Exercise SPARTAN HIKE

by Lieutenant W A J Charlesworth, The Blues and Royals

T

he 2017-18 Alpine skiing season was one that brought great success for the combined team of 7 HCR and 6 HCMR personnel. The team experienced the best Verbier snow conditions in a decade.

The Household Cavalry team was made up of the largest number of novices throughout the RAC regiments of Ex WHITE KNIGHT 34 all of whom showed exceptional progress and competed with distinction for the Regiment in the final race week.

With the conditions across the Alps being already perfect the team set off for Verbier on 3rd December. The tradition-

CoH Tamang a novice skier completing his individual slalom run

al Verbier ‘Household Cavalry HQ’ that is Chalet Larzey was settled into and the obligatory splashes of ‘Blue Red Blue’ put in place for the season. The members of the team achieved a good spread across the full spectrum of skill groups and under the exceptional instruction from the Swiss ski school the training commenced on 5th December.

tions. The week of off-piste and powder training tested all groups to their full capabilities. The off-piste training with its need for advanced skiing brought all skiers on leaps and bounds allowing for a drastic improvement in both confidence and technique once training moved back onto the pistes and pole

Mornings of technique lessons and general piste skiing soon transitioned into off-piste powder days in order for everyone (instructors included) to maximise their experience of the snow condi-

LCpl McLaughlin, Capt Comyn and Lt. Charlesworth competed in the Verbier Night Race; a 4.24km uphill touring race with an overall climb of 963m

Endless powder – Tpr Abbott has no sympathy for those that couldn’t quite hack it

Household Cavalry Sports Round-up ■ 69

longer Slalom and GS runs and new discipline of Super G brought a new challenge. However the team experienced a large amount of success with a team of 4 (Capt Comyn, Lt Charlesworth, CoH Ridge and LCoH McVey) qualifying for the Army Championships.

The Author – Lt Charlesworth competing at the RAC/AAC Championships

Tpr George focussing at the start gate

training began.

Christmas and the New Year were celebrated in Household Cavalry style and gave all members of the team a new festive season experience.

Once back on the slopes the weeks of training came to an end as the racing began. The RAC and AAC championships provided all 13 members of the team the opportunity to put into practice all that

they had learned. Race week consisted of competitions in Slalom and Giant Slalom (GS) with both disciplines being competed at individual and team levels. Both Capt Comyn and Lt Charlesworth finished in the top 20 whilst Tpr George was the team’s highest placed novice at 68th of 107.

The Verbier season came to an end and the top 5 HCR/ HCMR racers progressed on to the Divisional Championships (Ex SPARTAN HIKE) in Serre Chevalier where they competed for places for the Army Championships. The

Overall Ex WHITE KNIGHT 34 and Ex SPARTAN HIKE were extremely successful for the HCR/HCMR Alpine team. All who attended were exceptional ambassadors for the Regiment and optimised their winter season.

Household Cavalry Alpine Ski team competing at Divisional Championships Serre Chevalier.

Left to Right: LCoH McVey, CoH Ridge, Capt Comyn, Lt Charlesworth and Tpr Colthorpe

Telemark Titans

by Captain M J Adcock

I

n early January a team of three from the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment arrived in Pralognan-la-Vanoise for Ex TELEMARK TITAN. Although just 11 days long this exercise sought to train participants in the art of telemark skiing and then pit them against each other in four distinct styles of race.

For the uninitiated telemark skiing may

A somewhat tentative turn whilst still under instruction

seem unnecessarily testing; why ‘free’ a perfectly secure heel? Telemark’s relevance, at least militarily, is best exemplified by the Norwegian ‘Heroes of Telemark’ raid that took place during the Second World War. Essentially the discipline seeks to combine both Alpine and Nordic skiing to offer the freedom to operate in all aspects of the mountainous environment. The exercise began with 5 days of training. This was delivered by local civilian instructors who fought relentlessly to raise our heavy heels. This training phase was centred round a range of drills that saw the participants lunge, jump and side-slip their way to something that at least resembled a telemark skier. Luckily everyone in the team had skied before and was soon, albeit cautiously, finding their way down the mountain.

To conclude the training phase all participants competed in the qualification race. This divided the field into either development or championship categories which would in turn determine the difficulty of the course that each participant would subsequently face when racing. The team had some unexpected success and, unusually for a novice, saw one of the team qualify for the more demanding championship races.

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Exhibit A: The telemark race position

Then the races began; the three more traditional styles of race that the competitors faced were the classic, sprint and giant slalom. The cornerstone of telemark racing is the classic; this event sees participants ski up to 40 gates, navigate a rap (a gently sloping bowl), clear a jump and complete a skating section.

Even the fastest competitors took over 2 minutes to complete this and so most competitors, and their quadriceps, were thankful to cross the line. The sprint followed a similar format to the classic but was slightly shorter with the over-

teams, their competitive placements helped to lessen their inevitable disappointment.

A relieved LCpl George crossing the finish line after the mountain race

all time averaged from two runs. The slalom, just like the more commonly known alpine format, didn’t include the more technical features of the previous two races and so the team were able to ‘Bode Miller’ their way to the bottom.

Although the team skied valiantly in all their races they unfortunately failed to make the podium. However, given the standard of racer that was taking part, including some from the GB and Army

The final event to mark the end of the exercise was the mountain race. This sought to test all of the skills that had been developed throughout the previous 10 days and saw competitors race both up and down hill around a 2.5 kilometre course.

As competitors ascended through dense woodland before skiing and skating their way down the mountain, the military utility of the telemark skillset was clear to see. Although demanding, the efficiency with which even challenging off-piste terrain was traversed made for a satisfying conclusion to the exercise.

Overall the competitive spirit, physical challenge and military relevance of telemark skiing made for an extremely fulfilling exercise and having the opportunity to train in this unique pursuit was a hugely rewarding experience. Doing so with teams from across defence set

against the backdrop of the pristine French Alps made for a thoroughly memorable experience that each member of the team would wholeheartedly recommend.

Maj Gen Sir Edward Smyth-Osbourne (2nd left) with the team

Polo

T

his season was dubiously projected to be ‘more of a training season, really’ to build the team better to compete next season, which is sort of like expecting to win ‘the most improved prize’ or ‘wooden spoon’ before you start a match. A recent exodus of talented 0 and 1 goal players had left our club bereft of a core of tournament-winning players, which left a pool of players for whom enthusiasm made up for inexperience. Expectations were low as we puzzled how we would muddle through the season.

Despite these grim forecasts, in only a matter of weeks the team had appeared in front of over four thousand spectators across five tournaments, acquitting

Maj Woodward RL looking to clear the ball wide from the boards during The Life Guards v RHG/D Match

themselves admirably against teams significantly better on paper. The season was a mixture of serious competitive tournaments, such as the Captains and Subalterns Tournament, and more commercial exhibition matches like Royal Horse Guards versus Hong Kong which culminated in the traditional grudge matches of the Household Division Tournament. We were thrilled to host a charity match for Help for Heroes and the Household Cavalry Foundation in a Life Guards versus Blues and Royals match, which was a continuation of our commitment to host annually a match for Help for Heroes. The teams consisted of serving members and

LCpl Sidwells LG galloping to score v the Scots Guards

former injured personnel which was a fantastic opportunity to support them in their rehabilitation and Help for Heroes.

With further training and sports afternoons (evenings!) at White Waltham, vast improvements were made within the team. The opportunity to play on a regular basis with a mix of experienced and less experienced players proved invaluable, resulting in a strong team performance in the Household Division Tournament.

The Household Cavalry Polo Team maintains a strong other rank presence, which it has done since the formation of

LCpl Reuter LG, Lt Hunter LG, LCpl Sidwells LG. After winning the Spink Horse Guards v Hong Kong Match

Household Cavalry Sports Round-up ■ 71

an other ranks only team in early 2015, unique within British Army Polo. With soldiers looking to complete the ‘introduction to polo’ courses at Tidworth Polo Club in the near future, continued participation will see the this effort maintained.

Having built a strong foundation and establishing a regular training routine, we will now look forward to the future season, with the hopes of a polo tour and continuing our strong relationship and ties with clubs and tournaments and fielding a strong, well trained and adaptable team capable of success.

LCpl Sidwells LG running it down the boards at Ham polo club

Sailing

Household Division Tournament - RHG/D v LG - Maj Mackie RHG/D Capt Penrose LG Capt Barnes RHG/D LCpl Jarman LG Lt Hunter LG LCpl Sidwells LG Maj Woodward RL LCpl Reuter LG

by Major P J R Chishick, The Life Guards

T

he Regiment has conducted a number of sailing activities this year. The highlight of which was C Squadron’s sailing expedition in Oman as part of exercise SAIF SAREEA 3, and with members of the regiment taking part in the Joint Services expedition along the coast of America. A number of trips took place within the UK including the usual regattas at Seaview and Cowes and Officers from the Regiment conducted racing at Cowes Week on board Gladeye.

A number of soldiers from HCR attended the Seaview regatta in June - a relatively informal regatta that provides a good introduction to sailing for soldiers. The regatta takes place in Seaview Mermaids, a fairly forgiving onedesign keelboat and the cost of charter for the boats is met by the Major General making it an extremely affordable couple of days. The 2019 regatta takes place on 25-26 June and sailing officers at HCR and HCMR should try to plan to send soldiers and skippers down for the regatta.

This year saw an excellent turnout from the Regiment for the Household Division Yacht Club (HDYC) regatta at the

Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes. We had three crews from the Regimental officers including Comd Offr HCMR and 2IC HCR. The format was as per previous years, with a BBQ on the Friday night and a black tie dinner in the Castle on the Saturday night.

It was set to be a fantastic day’s racing in the J70s. Unfortunately, however, after having sailed Gladeye and the bigger yachts across to Cowes on a beautiful Friday afternoon, on Saturday morning extremely strong winds came in and prevented us from taking the small keelboats out for the inter-regimental keelboat race.

It was too windy even to anchor up in Osbourne Bay in the larger yachts, so instead the Household Cavalry attendees took Gladeye down the river Medina for a picnic by the Folly Inn and rafted up with the other yachts alongside a pontoon. We had a very enjoyable lunch on the boats and were joined by Field Marshal the Lord Guthrie and the Major General. On returning to land the crews changed and then headed to a cocktail party in the pavilion with prize-giving, before moving to the platform overlooking the Solent, for an excellent dinner.

Gladeye with her new asymmetric sail in close competition

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Pre-dinner drinks at the Royal Yacht Squadron - Capt (Retd) John Viney (RHG/D), Lt Col and Mrs Paddy Williams MC RHG/D

The regatta in 2019 takes place on Saturday 3rd August and we hope to see a good turnout from the serving officers, regardless of their levels of experience.

For further details regarding joining the Household Division Yacht Club (open to all serving and retired officers) and queries regarding participation, please contact the regimental sailing officers.

Household Cavalry at the HDYC regatta: Maj James De St John-Pryce (RHG/D), Capt (Retd) John Viney (RHG/D), Miss Letitia Leigh-Pemberton, Mrs Killy Williams, Mrs Kat De St John-Pryce, Lt Col Tom Giffard (LG), Capt Will Boyd-Thomas (RHG/D), Maj Paul Chishick (LG), Lt Col Paddy Williams MC RHG/D, Capt Hamza Huda (RHG/D).

Exercise PACIFIC LONGBOW Leg 10, New York to Halifax

by Trooper O T Caton-Hewings, The Life Guards

M

y sailing journey to Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada, began with a week’s course based in Gosport ‘the competent crew member’ sailing course.

It was during this week my sailing skills had to be learned, as I was a complete novice; I had never sailed before. This also gave me an opportunity to meet other crew members, all lads from the Household Division where we all learned essential skills for the up and coming trip. This was a excellent week; the highlight was realising these sailing boats speed through the water on their side, and I learnted all the skills required to become a ‘competent sailing crew member’. Every day was spent at

sea acquiring new skills and learning about sailing. This was a hard week but without it we would not have had the abilities or knowledge to complete ‘Leg 10 New York to Halifax’ of Ex PACIFIC LONGBOW. On Saturday, 23rd June 2018, we flew from London Heathrow to New York, where we would meet our ‘skipper’ and our yacht The Discoverer. In this 72ft yacht we would sail 600 miles from New York to Halifax Canada. After a few days experiencing New York, and a visit to ‘Ground Zero’ on Tuesday 26 June we left the harbour and sailed by the Statue of Liberty, starting our 600mile leg of this sailing expedition.

This was an amazing trip. The lads from the Household Division had an opportunity to see things we will likely never experience again: whales’ swimming under our boat; dolphins racing by; and seeing the USA from the sea that us a completely different view.

At sea on The Discoverer

This trip was not without other memories. During one of our final briefings the crews’ thanks were being given to the ‘skipper’ when this was interrupted

by Matt’s ‘Ray-Ban’ sunglasses falling from his head, bouncing a few times before Matt could only watch them drop into the water. Without hesitation, removing his phone from his pocket, fully clothed he threw himself into the

LCpl Rastrick, the Author, Lt Charlesworth - The Household Cavalry contingent of the Household Division crew for Leg 10 of Ex PACIFIC LONGBOW

sea with the intention of retrieving his glasses. Unfortunately, Matt could only flounder around in the sea failing to catch the glasses, which sank slowly to the bottom of the Halifax Harbour.

This trip was a once in a life-time opportunity. Working with an excellent group of lads I acquired skills that weren’t just sailing, but others that will benefit me in my everyday career; having the experience of working with complete strangers, forming a team and now having friends that will be with me for the rest of my life. This trip allowed us to visit New York, Rhode Island, Boston, Portland and finally Nova Scotia in Canada.

Taekwondo

by Lance Sergeant Isaac O Afranie, RAMC

T

aekwondo is a Korean martial art style which is characterized by its emphasis on head-height kicks, jumping and spinning kicks, and fast kicking techniques. The word Taekwondo expands into Tae (foot), Kwon (hand) and Do (art/way); giving it its basic definition as the art or way of the hand and foot. There are two main governing bodies of the art; the World Taekwondo (WT) and the International Taekwondo Federation (ITF). The WTF style is the most common style of Taekwondo, used in most sporting events such as the Olympics. Compared to the WTF, the ITF style is more traditional. Kukkiwon, also known as the World Taekwondo Headquarters is the official Taekwondo governing organisation established by the South Korean government.

The practise of Taekwondo includes

sparring (kyorugi), forms (poomsae), breaking kyuk-pa) and self-defence (hoshinsul). There are many benefits of training in the art. These include cardiovascular fitness, flexibility, essential self-defence, mental focus, and discipline, among many others. It is mostly practised for fitness and fun. The core tenets of the art teach courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control and indomitable spirit. I was first introduced to the art in the summer of 2017 by an invitation from a trainee to attend a session during one sports afternoon in the regiment. I was fortunate to have the Regimental Instructor and one of the founding members of the British Military Taekwondo Mr Aftab Hussain (a 6th Degree Black Belt) take the class that day. He was able from that moment to make me fall in love with the art. Having already trained in Shotokan Karate

years back, the styles and techniques came as no surprise but with more flexibility as opposed to the rigid moves of traditional Karate (which has similar meaning to the word Taekwondo). This keen desire in the art right from day 1 has enabled me to progress reasonably swiftly through the ranks. This has involved me training in my own time at home, during lunch breaks at work and even attending Sunday class which is privately run by Mr Hussain.

Taekwondo has been a key factor in my improved fitness, particularly during physical training runs and Physical Fitness Tests. I have gone from completing the 1.5 mile run in 10.30mins when I first arrived at the Regiment in 2016 to under 9.30mins before leaving the Regiment in November 2018. This is purely due to the intense cardiovascular nature of

Household Cavalry Sports Round-up ■ 73

the kicking exercises which form a bulk of the training. The flexibly, patterns (poomsae) and meditation help me stay calm, focussed and relaxed. This has proven to help in stress relief and has been the key reason for my sacrifice of my lunch time. The sparring (kyuorugi) aspect of the art has helped maintain my fighting spirit, controlled aggression and self-defence.

I deployed to Nigeria on Op TURUS in November 2017 for a period of four months. It was an exciting experience yet challenging as well since I left behind my two-year-old son and eight months pregnant wife, meaning I missed my daughter’s birth in January 2018. Taekwondo training and meditation was extremely beneficial in helping me stay calm and focussed to complete the tour successfully without the natural worries of missing such a great opportunity. I have achieved my 2nd Kup red belt after a year and half diligently training in the art. I hope to achieve my first

The Household Cavalry Regiment Taekwondo disciples, with Mr Aftab Hussain in the centre, and the author 2nd from right

dan black belt within the next 12 months to enable me take up instructional roles in the art and also be involved in active

events with hopes of competing at the World stage in Korea in future.

Army Team Relay Triathlon Championships - 2018

T

he Army Team Relay Triathlon Championships were held on Wednesday the 13th September and marked the end of the Army’s triathlon season; a welcome prospect as we braced ourselves on the gusty banks of Eton Dorney lake for a dip in its less than welcoming waters. The race re-

quired three person teams to conduct a 300m swim, 10km bike and 3km run in a relay format, with each stage completed by all members before moving onto the next.

With the race’s standing not quite matching up to Monster or Iron Man status, it was considered one of the more approachable events to grace the Army Triathlon’s calendar, and encouraged those with less experience to take part and increase their exposure to the sport.

As such, HCR entered two mixed teams of varying experience and age, with the ratio – and unmissable opportunity for added competition and bragThe Competitors HCR B - Officers (Posn: 6th of 19) Capt ging points – naturalNick Wright, Maj James de St John-Pryce, Ct Charlotte LordSallenave and HCR A - NCOs (Posn: 9th of 19) LCpl Amy ly encouraging a batKerman LSgt Kirk Davies, LCpl Edward Spence tle of the ranks, with

the officers and ORs going head to head.

Save the AAC speedsters who made their poll position evident when leading out of the transition areas, the relay-style made comparing progress against other teams except our own tricky. Exiting the water with over a minute’s lead on the Officers, the NCOs spluttered onto the bikes with confidence, impressively increasing the gap by a further three minutes during the cycle. Acknowledging the high stakes at hand, the Officers entered the final stage undeterred and keen to make amends. Chasing with determined steps, the Officers steadily closed the gap, and it soon became clear that the result would rest in a contest between each team’s final runner, Maj de St John-Pryce and LCpl Spence. Much to the dismay of the NCOs, the 2IC crossed the line 47 seconds ahead taking 6th place to the NCOs 9th; a small margin in a race of 1hr 55m duration, though significant enough to leave the Officers safe in victory with the freedom to boast until next season.

Monster Triathlon July 2018: My Toughest Challenge Yet

by Lance Sergeant Kirk Davis, RLC

A

s a competitive triathlete and after completing Ironman Wales in 2015, along with an Ironman distance charity event for the Regiment, I decided I wanted to try something a little bit different. I found out about the Monster Triathlon through a friend and decided

to sign up. Despite efforts to convince others to join me, I found that, due to the gruelling training plan, the idea was perhaps not everyone’s cup of tea!

I based my training around work commitments and tried to squeeze in as

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many long bike rides and runs as possible, with a few early morning chilly swims thrown in. As I did not know anyone else participating it was difficult to know whether I had done enough to prepare, but as this was a new event; I also knew I would never have felt pre-

miles Day 3: Glasgow to Carlisle – 103 miles Day 4: Carlisle to Haydock – 124 miles Day 5: Haydock to Kidderminster – 121 miles Day 6: Kidderminster to Windsor – 122 miles Day 7: Ultra Marathon (50km) From Windsor to Richmond

My route to London

pared enough.

I set off for my trip up to Scotland for the start of the race; the first day consisting of a 3-mile swim in Loch Ness, a stay overnight in Fort William, followed by a scenic drive to the swim event in Fort Augustus. Here I got to meet the other competitors and the distance of what lay ahead of me started to sink in… but with not much hanging around we were soon in our wetsuits and braving the water of Loch Ness, which, mercifully, was 15°C (reportedly the warmest it had been in 15 years). The buoys were set out to mark a 500m loop, which we were to complete 10 times. There was some discrepancy throughout as my watch was showing a longer distance than the marked buoys; nevertheless I swam on. The visibility was proving difficult on the return leg to shore with intense sunshine reflecting off the water. Furthermore, the occasional set of waves created by the passing tour boats threw in some irritating resistance. I spoke to a few other swimmers, as they came around to the buoy, all of whom confirmed that the course felt much longer than it should. When I finished after 3.5 hours, my watch was showing 7.6km.

The actual distance was a topic of much discussion throughout the week, however, I was just happy to have complete my longest swim yet.

Day 1: 5km (or 7km?) Swim Days 2-6: cycling from Fort William to Windsor (577 miles) Day 2: Fort William to Glasgow – 107.5

The starting point. Thankfully a glorious day and mild water temperature!

I felt apprehensive about the first day of cycling, as again this would be the furthest I had ever cycled…but for 5 days in a row! I had been told that days 1, 3 and 5 of cycling were the toughest and hilliest days. I didn’t know whether I felt prepared or not having never done this type of event. Hilly would be an understatement, but I got through the days with a little help knowing there would be an ice cream stop at some point. It was also the first time I had cycled long distances in that heat (31°C on some days) and so that was also a learning curve for me. Being able to eat whatever I wanted and knowing it was being put to good use was a nice feeling.

Scotland had some of the most amazing scenery which was a welcome distraction at times, and helped take my mind of aching muscles, lack of shade, potholes and terrible car drivers. I was relieved to see the sign for Cumbria as this was the first marker showing we had covered some distance and were heading in the right direction! By day 3 I learnt how helpful acupuncture and a hot bath can be, aiding my recovery of the worst cramps I have ever felt. Days 4 and 5 of cycling were anticipated to be the hardest, but I seemed to be in the zone by this point and mentally felt the worst was out of the way. It helped me to know I was getting nearer to home and could sleep in my own bed for one night. However, this was also mixed with a feeling of nerves as I did not know how my legs would take to running after covering such a distance in the saddle.

Windsor to join the river route all the way into London. I had previously set a time in my mind; however, it became apparent from the first couple of miles that I probably would be a bit slower than I would have liked to be!

Nevertheless, I tried not to be too hard on myself safe in the knowledge that I would at least be finishing this race. I endeavoured to put my Achilles pain at the back of my mind whilst taking in the serene views of the river. By 0800am the sun was already baking hot (23°C) and at mile 6 I had my first refreshment stop, a welcoming sight. I picked up the pace a little after this as I wanted to be over the finish line before the heat became unbearable; however, I accepted the fact that this was not going to be a speedy run.

I had to run slightly further to the next station (there may have been a pub stop in between to fill up my water and ice!) and by this point I felt good that I was over halfway, although could feel myself about to reach the dreaded wall. It did not help that my watch then broke so I had no idea of how long I had left to go. But still I knew by the next couple of stations I was on the home straight and just had to look out for ‘the bridge’ (Twickenham). Here I knew I could turn right and only have 1 mile to go.

I managed to pick up the pace again once the finish was in sight and it felt as though I didn’t have any injuries as I crossed the line, I just felt a massive sense of achievement knowing I had completed the whole course, my toughest challenge to date.

Owing to the heat we set off earlier than originally planned (06.30am) from

I couldn’t resist a photo of this

Exhausted but content, I near the finish line

Household Cavalry Sports Round-up ■ 75

Photo Gallery

Publicity for the Royal Wedding, reminding the world that HCav is the best of both worlds’

The Band lead the Lord Mayor’s Show

Like father like daughter. The RMO and LCpl Lewin from 18 Tp ACF, a wreathlayer, on Remembrance Day

An Omani fish market

An early morning rehearsal before the Netherlands State Visit

76 ■

Khanjar Jump - Maj Woodward RL mid flight

The daily grind in the Forge

Officers of The Blues and Royals march past on Cavalry Sunday

The ‘Best turned out Troopers’ awaiting The Queen at RWHS

C Sqn at a Castlemartin firing point

D Sqn on Ex SAIF SAREEA 3

The Staircase Party getting back in position at the Garter service

C Sqn on the firing point

DSqn - early morning in the desert

The Duke of Sussex on duty at The Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey

D Sqn - and it’s dusty

QLG in the winter - Groundhog Day - snow at Horse Guards

■ 77

Prep, Pre-Prep & Nursery | 3-13 years Hampshire | highfieldandbrookham.co.uk | 01428 728000

Book a today!

PERSONALISED VISIT

“

Schools should be places of wonder, enchantment and delight, where learning is ambitious, exciting and stimulating, where children feel secure and cherished, we are all of these things.

Mr Evitt, Headmaster

“

There was a special bond between all the military children, we all got each other. Also, the community we lived in was the best thing about my time at Highfield. Eleanor age 14 happy, outgoing and independent children who loved their school and wanted to share this love with us. This enthusiasm has not changed in the time we have had children at the school.

Why boarding?

Simply, because we didn’t know where or when our next move would be. The children needed to have continuity and by boarding at Highfield they would have that.

What does Highfield boarding have to offer that other boarding schools didn’t?

Stuart and I have been married for 17 years this year, and are currently based in Bulford, Wiltshire Our children both started boarding at Highfield in Year 4. When Eleanor (our eldest, now aged 14) started, we had just moved from Wattisham in Suffolk down to Gosport. Ptolemy joined his sister 2 years later, by which point we were living in Yeovil in Somerset. Eleanor’s lasting comment she made once she’d done her trial board was “can I keep my friends for 5 years?” It made us focus on how moving around was affecting her. Our youngest, Ptolemy, is in his final year at Highfield and it is fair to say that we are all dreading our last day at school, as it has become such a huge part of our lives over the last 7 years.

Why did you choose Highfield over other schools?

We chose Highfield because of the family feeling we got when we came to visit. We loved the warm, nurturing atmosphere, especially in the junior boarding house. It is not easy leaving your 8-yearold for weeks on end, and I certainly couldn’t have left either of them if I was not completely sure that they would be well cared for pastorally. This is where Highfield stood out for us; the children that showed us around all those years ago were clearly

“

The grounds are spectacular! The woods where forest school, camping, outdoor cinema and capture the flag are played are wonderful, as is the trim trail and extensive playing fields. It was important for us that Highfield was a ‘full’ boarding school, not a day school that offered boarding. Highfield definitely fits into the ‘full’ boarding school category, with daily after school clubs and many boarders who stay in at weekends (quite a few military). The Sunday activities that are organised for them are fantastic.

What advice would you offer to other forces families looking for the right school?

I would say look for a school that is a ‘full’ boarding school where there is a strong boarding ethos and leadership team and I would make sure that a good number of boarders stay in at weekends. Location is also important – is the school easily accessible from motorways and airports? Is it close to family if you are overseas and need a guardian? Take advantage of trial boarding and make sure you ask your children what they think – so important as it will be their ‘home from home’ for several years.

You can find out more about Highfield School and their fantastic boarding facilities at highfieldschool.org.uk. To arrange a visit call 01428 728 000 or email headspa@highfieldschool.org.uk

I think the grounds are one of the best things. I get to enjoy playing with my friends all the time. Ptolemy age 13

”

Foreword

by Colonel Commandant Royal Armoured Corps, General Sir Chris Deverell KCB MBE they wouldn’t have made a difference, or that AJAX wouldn’t have made a difference had it been available to us at the time.) But we must remain a key part of the nation’s insurance premium for warfighting, expert in combined arms manoeuvre, and at the heart of the Division.

2

019 marks the 80th Anniversary of the Royal Armoured Corps. In the period since our inception, we have repeatedly committed ourselves to the Nation’s defence, in two World Wars, the Korean War, the Cold War, the Northern Ireland conflict, and on many occasions between and since. We are, and always will be, a Combat Arm of the British Army that fights to protect the Nation’s interests. Our twin capabilities of Armour and Reconnaissance have utility across the spectrum of conflict, not just in warfighting. I can personally attest to this as a Brigade Commander in Basra in 2005, when the deployment of a tank on a street corner was the fastest way to quell trouble. (Challenge anyone who asserts that British Main Battle Tanks were not deployed to Helmand because

Proudly supporting the Household Cavalry Foundation 80 ■ News from the Associations

D17019_household cavalry_proud to support_v3.indd 1

We are leaders in mounted manoeuvre, but that is not all we can do. Versatility has always been one of our key characteristics, founded on strong leadership, willingness to take risk at all levels, small team dynamics, the ability to understand and decide quickly, and on professionalism. We exemplify Abraham Lincoln’s philosophy: whatever you are, be a good one. We are Robust, Agile, and Capable. However, it will be vital in our endeavours to ensure that we amount to more than the sum of our parts. Our individual regimental traditions are a central part of our heritage and to be celebrated. They must not be allowed to divide us. The Corps has gone from a peak of 135 or so regiments in 1944 to 14 regiments today. We must cleave to a single RAC View if we are to help shape the future.

Throughout our history, the RAC has also been at the forefront of innovation, both in tactics and technology, and must continue to be so. Whilst the chain of command can facilitate innovation, through committed and focussed leadership, it is best delivered by empowering our people to think and to experiment. Innovation is the only way I know to break out of the zero-sum game in which we often feel trapped –

between needing additional resource or to reduce our ambition. And the opportunity for us to innovate is not confined to the introduction of AJAX into service, great though that opportunity is, for the Corps, the Army, and for Defence. We need an innovation mindset everywhere, including on how we can make ourselves more efficient or deliver a better service to our people. As Commander Joint Forces Command, I have been amazed at how much can be achieved by seizing opportunity, often for what are tiny amounts of money in the scheme of Defence.

As I write, our country is in the midst of a political crisis over Brexit, long-standing alliances are under the microscope, and we face challenges from both state and non-state actors, including from new threat vectors such as cyber, information operations, and space. At times like this in the past, the Armed Forces have always stood up to the plate. We must stand ready to do so again.

I shall be handing over as Colonel Commandant RAC later this year, to Major General Sir Edward Smyth-Osbourne, currently Deputy Commander NATO Rapid Deployable Corps - Italy, but appointed to command the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, on promotion to Lieutenant General, in July 2019. In similar vein, the Deputy Colonel Commandant RAC, Brigadier Angus Watson, who has been a superb servant of the Corps, has recently handed over to Brigadier Alex Potts. You will be in very good hands.

I wish they, and you, well, and will follow your progress with interest.

All the legal advice you need to look after you and your family.

Call 0800 111 4336 www.stoneking.co.uk Household cavalry advert PDF 1 21/04/2017 16:43

08/01/2019

News From The Associations The Life Guards Association Annual Report 2018 Patron: Her Majesty The Queen President

Field Marshal the Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank GCB LVO OBE DL Chairman: Lieutenant Colonel M S P Berry Honorary Secretary: Mr K W Robertson Honorary Treasurer: Ms B Eves

Trustees of The Life Guards Charitable Trust Lieutenant Colonel M S P Berry Lieutenant Colonel (Retd) W R Lindsay OBE Lieutenant Colonel (Retd) H S J Scott Major (Retd) J S Holbrook Captain B K Gibson Captain (Retd) J S Trietline WO2 RQMC A Slowey Mr I M Fearnley Mr D A C Heath Mr P C Lanahan Mr P P Lewis MBE Mr P J Richards BEM

Minutes of the 84th Annual General Meeting held at Combermere Barracks, Windsor on Saturday 26th May 2018 The Chairman, Lieutenant Colonel J D A Gaselee, opened the meeting at 1800hrs by welcoming everyone present and thanked them for their attendance.

There were no concerns raised during the annual audit carried out in May 2018, which was conducted by independent accountants.

Apologies were received from Lieutenant Colonel (Retd) W R Lindsay OBE and Mr David Heath.

The Life Guards Association Charitable Trust Account

The Chairman then thanked the new Commanding Officer of the Household Cavalry Regiment, Lt Col M S P Berry, for the use of Combermere Barracks and WO1 (RCM) T A Horton for the use of the WO’s and NCO’s Mess. The Chairman then introduced Lt Col M S P Berry who after tonight’s dinner was to be the new Chairman for the Association.

The Minutes of the 83rd Annual General Meeting were published in the current edition of the Household Cavalry Journal and the Chairman asked for them to be proposed and seconded as being a true record of the proceedings of that meeting.

Proposed by: Mr S M Goater Seconded by: Mr P J Richards MBE Honorary Treasurer’s Report 2017/2018 The accounts for the year ending 2017 were as published within the Journal.

• Donations totalling £14,462.06 were received to the year ending date 31st March 2018.

• The sum of £785.54 was received from HM Revenue and Customs.

• The Days Pay Scheme contributions received for this financial year totalled £19,565.64. It should be noted that both the LG and RHG/D payments continued to be received by the LG Assn on a monthly basis from the Household Cavalry Foundation.

The LG Assn then paid RHG/D their share monthly.

• The majority of requests for financial assistance in 2017/18 were met to a total of £19,627.77. A total of 33 grants were paid in the financial year.

• The dividend from investments during the financial year was £32,310.46.

A further £25,000 had been transferred to the investment portfolio in May 2018. During the financial year Waverton continued to take their investment management fee.

• The cash at bank balance at 31st

March 2018 was £67,095.73.

The Life Guards Association Charitable Trust Account No 2 • £10,729.92 was received in donations during the financial year ending 31st March 2018.

• A profit from the sale of Christmas cards of £1,865.80 was generated in the financial year. The committee have now agreed to charge for postage in order to boost profit.

• There were no journal costs in the period.

• There were no un-restricted grants for the period of 2017-2018.

• The Annual Dinner was funded in the sum of £7,455.65, with income from tickets of £4,465.00, resulting in a deficit of £2,990.65.

• The net cost of postage in the financial year is £3,108.91.

• Funds for the Battlefield Tour for 2018 were received and administered through this account as they were last year.

• The cash at bank balance at 31st March 2018 was £41,122.22.

The Life Guards Association Account • The account continues to be a conduit for standing order donations – the to-

News from the Associations ■ 81

tal received during the financial year being £6,926.00.

• There was no sum awarded from the Norman Hearson Fund during the financial year, nor any request to date leaving this Fund at £2,912.00.

• The sum of £8,000 was transferred to the No 2 in September 2017.

• The cash at bank balance at 31st March 2018 was £5,680.81.

INVESTMENTS • The investment portfolio stood at a Total Value of £1,351,217.00 The Chairman and members of the Committee would like to thank all members of the Association for their generous donations throughout the financial period.

Proposed by: Mr T J Land Seconded by: Mr G S Knowles BEM Chairman’s Report The following report was given by Lt Col J D A Gaselee.

The Chairman thanked the Treasurer Ms Beverly J Eves for producing this years’ summary of accounts.

The Chairman stated that during 2017/18 reporting period there had been 33 cases for assistance and the total spend was £19,627.77; the age ranges of those requiring benevolence had been between 28 and 84. It was noted that spend on benevolence was slightly down on the previous year. The Chairman stated that the committee were seeing more debt alleviation but the majority of cases were still for white and brown goods. We had also contributed to wet rooms and mobility scooters over this reporting period. The Chairman stated that although alleviating debt was not in the Association’s Charter we did try to help out in other ways, and with the help of other military Charities.

The Chairman then stated that membership of The Life Guards Association was 2225 and we now had 1788 members who were on email which was the preferred method of communication.

The Chairman then reminded Association members that if they knew of any Old Comrades who did not receive the annual Journal that was usually a good indicator that they were not on the Association database; to that end members were asked to tell those not in receipt of a Journal to contact Home HQ so that they could be registered with the Association. The Chairman also highlighted that it was now easier to register with the Association using the online form on the Association website which would also ensure that the Association

82 ■ News from the Associations

remained within the new GDPR rules.

The Chairman announced that since January 2018 unfortunately there had been 24 Old Comrades who had sadly passed away. Their names were all on the Association website.

The Chairman wished to thank the Regional Representatives for their hard work throughout the year and emphasised how much it was appreciated that they were there for the membership.

Anyone would like to become an Area Representative was asked to contact the Honorary Secretary.

The Chairman thanked all Association members that had sent in donations throughout the year. He stressed how important these donations were to the Association. He assured all members that all monies donated were put to good use.

Election of the Non-Serving Committee: In accordance with normal custom the non-serving members of the Committee all resigned and had all offered themselves for re-election for the coming year. They were: Lieutenant Colonel W R (Retd) Lindsay OBE, Lieutenant Colonel (Retd) H S J Scott, Major (Retd) J S Holbrook, Mr J E Lloyd RVM, Mr P P Lewis MBE, Mr G S Knowles BEM, Mr T J Land, Mr P J Richards MBE and Mr P C Lanahan, Mr I M Fearnley, Mr D Heath, Mr D M Darley.

Anyone who would like to be considered to be a member of The Life Guards Association Committee was asked to contact the Honorary Secretary.

Proposed by: Mr S M Goater Seconded by: Captain B K Gibson National Memorial Arboretum (NMA): The Chairman announced that on Saturday 29th September there would be the first Household Cavalry Memorial service to be held at the NMA. The Chairman explained that this was hoped to become an annual event and if anyone wished to attend they should contact HomeHQ. The Chairman stated that he was very impressed with his visit to the NMA and if you had never been he highly recommended that you do.

Zandvoorde Visit /Service: The Chairman announced that the Association would organise an annual visit to Zandvoorde . The Association would organise and pay for the travel but Association members were to pay for their own accommodation. The Chairman announced that the visit would entail a battlefield tour at Zandvoorde, a visit to the Household Cavalry Memorial, a service in St George’s Church and a

wreath would be laid at the Menin Gate.

The Chairman stated that should anyone like to attend the event then they should contact HomeHQ. This year’s event would take place from Monday 29th October and would return Wednesday 31st October.

Household Cavalry Open Days: The Chairman announced the dates for both the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment (HCMR) and the Household Cavalry Regiment open days. The HCMR open day would be held on the Sunday 15th July at Bodney Camp. The Chairman also announced that WO1 (RCM) Quickfall had opened up the WO’s and NCO’s Mess and had invited all Association members to attend. If you would like to take advantage of this generous offer then contact HomeHQ. The Chairman announced the HCR open day would take place on the 8th September at Combermere Barracks and more details would be provided when they were known.

Any Other Business The Chairman announced that next year’s Journal would all go out in nonclear packaging and no rank would be used in the address.

Mr Tony Prynne asked if it was possible for family members of the deceased to become Association members or Honorary members. After some discussion it was decided that this should be discussed at the next Committee meeting.

Once it had been discussed the Honorary Secretary would contact Tony with the outcome.

Mr Geoff Knowles BEM asked if there was a proposed leaving parade/function. The Chairman responded that this was all being looked into at the moment.

The Chairman stated that the Regiment was looking at a Freedom of Windsor parade which in all likelihood would take place around May which was when the Royal Windsor Horse Show took place. The Chairman emphasised that the Museum, Household Cavalry Training Wing and Home Headquarters would still remain in Combermere Barracks.

The Chairman stated that the next Annual General Meeting would take place either on the Saturday 25th May or Saturday 1st June 2019. AFTERNOTE: This would likely be on Saturday 11th May 2019 at Combermere Barracks, before the Annual Association Dinner.

There being no further business the Chairman closed the meeting at 1821hrs.

The Life Guards Association

Income and Expenditure Account - 31st March 2018 Year 2017

Income

Year 2018

Year 2017

£2,383.50 £0.00 £0.00

Donations Life Membership Excess Exp/Inc

£6,926.00

£0.00 £0.00 £50.00 £0.00 £0.00

£2,383.50

Total

£6,926.00

Liabilities Norman Hearson Fund Creditors Excess Assets/Liabilities

£50.00

Assets and Liabilities £2,912.40

Year 2018

Expenditure Stationary/Office Equip Misc Expenses St Georges Chapel Norman Hearson Prize Donations Transferred to No 1 Account Total

£8,000.00 £8,050.00

Assets Cash at Bank

£5,680.81

£50.00

£2,768.41

The Life Guards Association Charitable Trust Accounts - Restricted & Unrestricted Income and Expenditure Account - 31st March 2018

Year 2017 £23,511.00 £35,543.00 £485.00 £12,303.00 £1,654.00 £4,302.00 £507.00 £6,389.00 £4,125.00 £0.00 £0.00 £1,000.00 £6,094.00 £3,410.00 0.00 £48.00

Income Days Pay Scheme* Investments / Dividends Grants ABF etc* Donations* Postage Donations HMRC Christmas Cards Dinner Annual Draw Poppies and Wreaths* Diaries Battlefield Tour GPF Transfer of Funds Prints

Year 2018 £76,727.02 £17,846.98 £588.15 £14,462.00 £3,876.44 £10,729.92 £785.54 £4,040.00 £4,465.00 £0.00 £200.00 £689.00 £8,693.50 £0.00 £0.00 £136.45

£99,371.00

Total

£143,240.00

Year 2017 £17,106.00 £1,368.00 £23,490.00 £1,600.00 £0.00 £1,421.00 £4,112.00 £2,303.00 £6,453.00 £0.00 £0.00 £0.00 £13,635.00 £3,384.00 £0.00 £249.00 £100,000.00 £3,500.00 £11,000.00 £2,000.00

Expenditure Days Pay Scheme* Wreaths & Poppies* Grants* Grants Postage* Misc Exp GPF Misc Exp* Christmas Cards Dinner Annual Draw Journal Memorials Battlefield Tour Postage Donations Prints Transfer of Funds* AMF Honorarium* HCR Childrens Fund

Year 2018 £58,806.82 £1,842.84 £17,577.77 £0.00 £0.00 £3,132.88 £2,663.51 £2,242.19 £7,455.65 £0.00 £0.00 £800.00 £13,079.71 £6,985.35 £0.00 £472.50 £0.00 £420.00 £13,000.00 £1,000.00

£191,621.00

Total Excess Income / Exp

£129,479.22 £62,141.78

Assets and Liabilities Liabilities Sundry Creditors Excess Assets/Liabilities Fund The Life Guards Charitable Trust Investment Portfolio

Assets Cash at Bank No 1 Account Cash at Bank No 2 Account

£67,095.73 £41,122.22

Investments at Current Value Total Value as at 31/03/18

£1,351,217.00

Notes on the Accounts 2018 1.

2.

For ease of presentation the Life Guards Association Charitable Trust Account and The Life Guards Charitable Trust Account No 2 have been combined in accordance with Charity Commission guidelines governing the presentation of accounts. Payments and receipts from and to the Restricted account are marked with an asterisk.

3.

Donations continue to be received into the Life Guards Association account. The Total of £6,926.00 for 2018 has been received to date.

4.

The sum of 30k was transferred from the No 1 Account to the Investment Portfolio to increase dividends.

A total of 33 grants have been paid out of the life Guards Association Charitable Trust No 1 Account to date.

Beverley Eves Honorary Treasurer

News from the Associations ■ 83

The Life Guards Association Notices Communication Correspondences for the Association should be addressed to:

eligible for membership under Rule 6. If you have any queries please contact the Honorary Secretary directly.

The Honorary Secretary The Life Guards Association Home Headquarters Household Cavalry Regiment Combermere Barracks Windsor Berkshire SL4 3DN

The 85th Annual General Meeting All Association members will be informed of the date, time and location for the 85th Annual General Meeting of The Life Guards Association Charitable Trust as soon as this information becomes available.

Telephone Home Headquarters: 01753 755297 Honorary Secretary: 01753 755229 Email homehq@householdcavalry.co.uk lg.regsec@householdcavalry.co.uk Rules of The Life Guards Association All members of the Association should hold a copy of the Rules of The Life Guards Association. If you do not hold a copy please contact the Honorary Secretary Mr Ken Robertson on 01753 755229 or 07713 157849 or email him on lg.regsec@householdcavalry.co.uk.

Membership All members are requested to introduce the Association to all those that are

Ordinary Business • To receive the Annual Report by the Honorary Treasurer • To receive the Annual Chairman’s Report • Any other business and closing remarks The Annual Dinner All Association members will be informed of the date, time and location for the 85th Annual Dinner as soon as this information becomes available.

Annual Zandvoorde Visit The annual Zandvoorde visit will take place from the 29th October -31st October 2019. If you would like to attend this annual event then please contact the Honorary Secretary Mr Ken Robertson on 01753 755229 or 07713

157849 or email him on lg.regsec@ householdcavalry.co.uk.

Change of Address All members are requested to inform Home Headquarters of any changes to their address. Every year the Association looses contact with a number of members who have failed to notify Home Headquarters of their new address. Any correspondences returned by the Post office will result in members being placed in the non effective part of the database.

DATA Protection It is now mandatory for the Association to have your permission to hold your personal information on The Life Guards Association database, failure on our part not to have this permission will result in no longer receiving the annual Journal. The Data protection form is in this Journal. If you have not already filled one out and returned it to Home Headquarters please do so.

Christmas Cards The Christmas card order form is inserted in this Journal but can be emailed to you upon request.

The Life Guards Association Regional Representatives Regional Representatives of The Life Guards Association are volunteers that have agreed to have their details published in the Household Cavalry Journal and on the website in order that they may be contacted by other Association members in their area. Initially, the Regional Representative will provide contact with Home Headquarters for those who have served but have lost touch with the Regiment. Additionally, they may be asked to represent the Association at funerals of departed comrades, visit former members of the regiment and circulate Regimental information to those in their area. If you would like to be considered as a Regional Representative for the Association, please contact Home Headquarters.

ENGLAND Berkshire Mr M Stay BRACKNELL mjstay@hotmail.co.uk 07772 438 630 Mr S O Farrar Bracknell Spike6511@talktalk.net 07967 412148 Bristol Mr N S Hoon BRISTOL nickhoon712@hotmail.com 01454 416522 / 07941 254340 Buckinghamshire Mr S R Carter MILTON KEYNES stephen.carter5@virginmedia.com 07722 135854

84 ■ News from the Associations

Cheshire Mr S J Rochford ELLESMERE PORT steven.rochford@ntlworld.com 07977 834092

Derbyshire Mr S Wass BELPER simonwass49@hotmail.com 07446 839054

Mr K J Thompson WARRINGTON kjt5144@gmail.com 07940 243906

County Durham Mr D Flynn Darlington p.flynn205@btinternet.com 07718 195212

Cornwall Mr R Barry WADEBRIDGE robertbarry5@btinternet.com 07915 812127 Mr R E Jewell FALMOUTH rejewell@hotmail.com 01326 312546

Maj (Retd) A Tate artate@btopenworld.com 07783 586 900 Devon Mr D Murgatroyd CULLOMPTON davemurgs@hotmail.com 07512 729141

Dorset Mr B T Erskine Swanage bterskine01@btinternet.com 07912 681349 Major (Retd) J T Lodge BROADSTONE jlodge76@hotmail.com East Yorkshire Mr GB Miller Hornsea guygbm@aol.com 07715 522443

Mr D I Savage SLEAFORD david.i.Savage@icloud.com 01529 488575 Norfolk Mr A J Gook NORWICH jimgook@btinternet.com 01603 484336 Mr A D Nichols WATTON cala4uk@gmail.com 07391 225665

Essex Mr J K Stanworth OLD HARWICH john.stanworth@rnib.org.uk 07830 173227

North Yorkshire Mr H Stangroom SKIPTON harrystangroom@aol.co.uk 01756 709121

East Sussex Mr Eric Reed HAILSHAM ericreed84@hotmail.com 07938 858896

Mr J A Denton HARROGATE johny.denton@googlemail.com 01423 772999

Gloucestershire Mr J McCauley FAIRFORD jaskel1993@talktalk.net 01285 713004 Greater Manchester Mr A Lister RADCLIFFE alan-lister47@alanlister1.plus.com 0161 725 9851 Hampshire Mr L Cordwell GRAYSHOTT lee.cordwell@hotmail.co.uk 07769 694830 Kent Mr D H Underwood FARNINGHAM dubigd@aol.com 01322 866334 Mr J Dean AYLESFORD 07747 691699 jezdean101@msn.com Lancashire Mr R L Mather LANCASTER admin@fatchimp.co.uk Leicestershire Mr B J Dutton COUNTESTHORPE bdutton164@btinternet.com 07887 701 007 Lincolnshire Mr I Wild MABLETHORPE ian_wild@hotmail.co.uk 01507 441293

Mr G M McInerny FYLINGTHORPE gm.mcinerny@btinternet.com 01947 880298 Nottinghamshire Mr I Sanderson MBE RETFORD janeandsandy@googlemail.com 07831 899918 Mr B W J Reece CLIPSTONE VILLAGE brianreece2@gmail.com 07795 842 592 Oxfordshire Mr S English DIDCOT steve_english@btopenworld.com 07500 948176 Shropshire Mr Jack Shortman OSWESTRY jackshortman@outlook.com 01691 680537 South Yorkshire Mr W A Loftus DINNINGTON loftusalive@aol.com 01909 518405/07956 478238 Somerset Mr J J Judge Yeovil johnjjudge@hotmail.com Mr B R Kelland WELLINGTON brnkll@hotmail.co.uk 07882 969 032

Suffolk Mr S Smith HAVERHILL stevesmith0588@hotmail.com 07947 210658 Surrey Mr T G W Carrington 01276 36384 Mr T Morgan-Jelpke WEYBRIDGE t.morgan897@ntlworld.com 01932 854935 Sussex Mr KJ Dry Eastbourne 07534 188889 West Yorkshire Mr M P Goodyear HUDDERSFIELD mikegoodyear@live.co.uk 01484 605888 Wiltshire Mr J Postance Salisbury johnnyp38@hotmail.com 07769 906391 Mr J M Steel ROYAL WOOTTON BASSETT jon.steel@sema4tech.co.uk 07931 818513 Worcestershire Mr M P G Southerton STOURPORT-ON-SEVERN 01299 823882 Yorkshire Mr W H Graham YORK harvey.graham1@googlemail.com 01904 766870 SCOTLAND Angus Mr S Smith DUNDEE stu.smith@btinternet.com 01382 562554 Fife Mr D Cumming KENNOWAY thebear89@gmx.com 07921 515150 WALES Powys Mr A T Prynne BUILTH WELLS at.mprynne@btinternet.com 01982 552296

News from the Associations ■ 85

Mr D Moxom YASS coleman839@gmail.com

ISLE OF MAN Mr T Bougourd bougourd@manx.net 07624 453168

USA Mr A D Richards CANTON New York andyrichards62@gmail.com 001-540-808-5752

CANADA

Northern Ireland & Eire Mr G S Armstrong g_arm_99@yahoo.co.uk 07801 939511

Mr C Grant MEDICINE HAT crgrant@telus.net 403 527 2982

Mr K J Frape COLUMBIA SOUTH CAROLINA frpkth@aol.com 001 (803) 787 1244

GERMANY

REST OF THE WORLD

Mr A Cobb +49 5521 987 592 HERZBERG acobb30963@aol.com

AUSTRALIA Mr G Coleman REYNELLA coleman839@gmail.com (0061) 8381 2074

Mr R J G Kay PLATE CITY MISSOURI rjgkayusa@yahoo.com 001 816 872 6161

NEW ZEALAND Mr J Bell 0064 021 619 514 TORBAY jigjag@vodafone.co.nz

Mr R Barnes TASMANIA rbarnes@tassie.net.au 00 6103 6429 1227

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86 ■ News from the Associations

www.buzzacott.co.uk

The Blues and Royals Association Annual Report 2017/18 HRH The Princess Royal KG KT GCVO QSO Colonel (Retd) J P Eyre Captain C J Elliott Lieutenant Colonel (Retd) M A Harding

President Chairman Honorary Secretary Honorary Treasurer Mr E L Lane Mr D A Chamberlain Mr P Storer Major (Retd) A M Harris Mr N Hemming Mr D Claridge

Committee Members

Mr S Gillingham Mr P B Lawson Maj (Retd) L Kibble Mr I Thompson Captain (Retd) C J Trinick Mr W Foster

and all serving Warrant Officers of The Blues and Royals at Regimental Duty Aims and Object During the past year the Association has continued to maintain its aims and objectives as laid down in the Constitution and Rules. Specifically, the sum of £16,112.91 has been distributed from funds for a total of 24 cases from applications for assistance dealt with by the committee. The Annual Dinner was held at Combermere Barracks on 13th May 2017 with 268 members attending.

The Annual General Meeting was held prior to the Dinner, and the Minutes of this meeting are set out in the following pages together with the financial statement for the year ending 31st March 2018.

Summary of Financial assistance given during the year: Applications received Grants/Donations made (incl 4 grants to In-Pens) Applications referred to

38 28

other funds

17

Reasons for assistance The following is a summary of the main purposes for which grants I donations were made during the past year.

Accommodation Clothing/Food Vouchers Brown/White Goods Invalidity Financial Assistance Training Courses In-Pensioner Grants Passport Renewal Storage Costs

2 3 6 5 4 2 4 1 1

Income Income was £68,652.59 of which £22,933.74 was either contributed by serving officers and soldiers under the ‘Days Pay Scheme’ or received from membership subscriptions and donations. Dividend Income from our investments portfolio for the period was

£22,685.76. Interest on bank deposits was £3.29. The decision was made this year for all dividends to be re-invested back into the investment portfolio thus negating the need to transfer monies between the accounts and reducing workload.

Expenditure Expenditure for the period totalled £53,544.99.

Miscellaneous costs were £17,111.62; however, £22,226.01 was recovered.

The surplus is only due to receipt of charges for the Annual Dinner and Battlefield Tour and does not reflect the cost of these events which are yet to come through. The Miscellaneous column includes the cost of Honoraria, transport and hotel costs for the Battlefield Tour and other various smaller events as well as such admin costs as IT Support, insurances, memorabilia and NMA Maintenance.

Financial Statement INCOME Days Pay Scheme Dividends Bank Interest Subs and Donations Annual Dinner Christmas Cards Grant Refunds Adjustments/Refunds Diaries Postage received for Cards Miscellaneous TOTAL

2016-17 £3,203.99 £21,828.82 £3.40 £5,767.64 £3,230.00 £5,320.00 £886.75 £0.00 £660.00 £0.00 £8,143.30 £49,043.90

2017-18 £22,933.74 £22,685.76 £3.29 £7,048.01 £5,715.00 £5,512.40 £852.05 £0.00 £401.00 £0.00 £22,226.01 £87,377.26

CASH and BANK Cash in Hand Current and Deposit Accts Total Cash and Bank Debtors Creditors Total Funds

2016-17 £0.00 £54,086.67 £54,086.67 £0.00 £0.00 £54,086.67

2017-18 £0.00 £68,652.59 £68,652.59 £0.00 £0.00 £68,652.59

EXPENDITURE Grants in Aid Wreaths/memorials Postage incl Cards Annual Dinner Christmas Cards Regt Journal Misc (Admin, Honorariums, BFT, Tpt) Transfer to Investments TOTAL

2016-17 £22,512.80 £2,446.38 £1,654.77 £7,203.46 £1,953.60 £0.00 £18,740.53 £46,000.00 £100,511.54

2017-18 £16,112.91 £2,767.57 £3,180.51 £10,254.83 £2,169.07 £0.00 £17,111.62 £0.00 £51,596.51

Investment Portfolio The total Household Cavalry investment portfolio currently stands at £6,353,731.00. The RHG/D Association proportion is 20.35% of this total thus making the Assn share of the portfolio £1,270,746.00.

Report of the Independent Examiner I have examined the Balance Sheet and the Income and Expenditure accounts and report that, in my opinion, these accounts give a true and fair view of the Association’s affairs as at 31st March 2018 and the excess of income over expenditure for the year ended on that date.

Mr F Hovell, Director Perfect Accountancy Services Limited Westwind Management Solutions Limited 3rd Floor, 6 Braham Street, London E1 8EE

News from the Associations ■ 87

The Blues and Royals Oliver Montagu Fund Annual Report 2017-2018 Aims and Objects During the past year the Association has continued to maintain its aims and objectives as laid down in the Constitution and Rules. There have been three requests for assistance which have amounted to £3,474.99 granted.

Income Income was £59,607.94 which came

mainly from Investments. Interest on bank deposits was £4.97.

Expenditure Expenditure for the period totalled £6,736.47.

£3,000.00.

However, this expense will no longer be due owing to the resignation of the Legal Advisor on personal grounds.

Administration costs over the last 12 months were £3,261.48.

The main expense was the Legal Advisor,

Financial Statement Income Dividends Interest Grant Refunds Adjustments Totals

2016-2017 £19,977.12 £4.29 £0.00 £0.00 £19,981.41

2017-2018 £20,275.94 £4.97 £0.00 £0.00 £20,280.91

Expenditure Grants Legal Fees Staff Honorarium Adjustments Arboretum Totals

2016-2017 £3,291.85 £3,000.00 £4,600.00 £0.00 £0.00 £10,891.85

2017-2018 £3,474.99 £3,000.00 £0.00 £0.00 £500.00 £6,974.99

Investment Portfolio The Household Cavalry Investments total portfolio currently stands at £6,353,731.00. The RHG/D Oliver Montagu Fund Investments make up 18.18% of the total, thus being valued at £1,143,671.00.

Report of the Independent Examiner I have examined the Balance Sheet and the Income and Expenditure accounts and report that, in my opinion, these

Cash in Hand Current Account Deposit Account Debtors Creditors Totals

2016-2017 £0.00 £39,238.50 £14,933.54 £0.00 £0.00 £54,172.04

2017-2018 £0.00 £59,607.94 £100.25 £0.00 £0.00 £59,708.19

accounts give a true and fair view of the Fund’s affairs as at 31st March 2018 and the excess of income over expenditure for the year ended on that date.

Mr F Hovell Director Perfect Accountancy Services Limited Westwind Management Solutions Limited

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of The Blues and Royals Association Committee held at Combermere Barracks, Windsor on Saturday 12th May 2018 The Designate Chairman, Colonel C A Lockhart, opened the meeting at 1815 hrs with 27 members present, by welcoming all those attending and introducing himself to members with whom he had not served. He explained that Lt Col (Retd) J P Eyre was out of the country due to work commitments.

The Chairman conveyed his thanks to Lt Col Mark Berry Comd Offr HCR, for the use by the Association of Combermere Barracks and WO1 (RCM) T A Horton for the use of the WOs’ and NCOs’ Mess.

The Chairman mention that the Assn sold 350 tickets this year; the take up of the Members had been outstanding to mark the 50th Dinner, especially as prices for local accommodation had increased owing to the forthcoming Royal Wedding.

Minutes of the Last Meeting Copies of the previous AGM minutes

88 ■ News from the Associations

had been in the latest edition of the Household Cavalry Journal.

After no points were raised the chairman asked for a proposer and for a second for the Minutes. Proposer: Mr Shillabeer. Seconder: WO1 Horton.

Accounts The Hon Treasurer read out a statement of the Accounts. No points were raised The Combined Cavalry Parade The Chairman reminded all in attendance that if they wished to gain entrance to Hyde Park Barracks after the service they should have given their names to Home HQ. There would be a 53 seater coach on the Square the following day, leaving Combermere at 0900hrs departing from Hyde Park at 1300hrs. The Chairman (des) asked everyone to make a special effort to

attend this year’s parade as Colonel The Blues and Royals would be taking the Salute.

Amalgamation Dinner 2019 The Chairman (des) explained that rather than hold an Association Dinner in May next year there would be an Amalgamation Dinner on the 29th March, which was the anniversary of official amalgamation 50 years ago; it also happened to be Brexit day, a double celebration for some whatever the result. The Dinner would be held in Combermere Barracks; the Hon Sec would send more information by email in due course. Sadly, next year’s dinner would likely be the last to be held at Combermere Barracks.

The Chairman took this opportunity to throw open the discussion to the floor with regards to future dinners once the Regiment moved to Bulford. Members

were asked to submit ideas to the Hon Sec for a decision to be made at the 2019 AGM. National Memorial Arboretum Service On Saturday 29th September there would be a small service held at the NMA; this would be the first joint service held at the Arboretum since The Life Guards joined us on the site. If anyone would like to attend please let Home HQ know. The Chairman also recommended that those who had not yet visited the site might do so. Special thanks were due to the North Staffs Assn Branch, in particular Mr Ian Taylor and Mr Ken Healey, for all their hard work.

H Cav Open Day 2018 The Chairman (des) invited both RCsM to give a quick brief on the up and coming Regimental Open Days.

RCM (WO1) MD Quickfall explained that at the moment the Bodney Open

Day would take place on the 15th July; all Association Members were welcome to attend. Tickets could be purchased from the entrance at £5 per person and £2.50 for OAPs. He also invited members to use his Mess tent as long as they were in the correct order of dress.

The Chairman asked that members kept an eye on the date as the US President Mr Trump might be visiting the UK on that date; time would tell.

RCM (WO1) T A Horton announced that Saturday 8th Sept would be the Armoured Regiments Open Day at Combermere Barracks; all Members and their families were invited to attend.

The format would be the same as the successful Open Day which took place last year. If anyone had any suggestions then they were to feed them in via Home HQ.

Regimental Journals would be posted to all members in a non-clear bag and no rank would be part of the address block, for security reasons.

Mr Paul Young announced that on the 15th August 2019 there was a possibility that a parade would take place in Lisburn NI; all regiments who had served on Op BANNER would be asked to send representatives. Home HQ would announce any future plans.

The meeting was closed at 1835 hrs Next AGM The next AGM would be held in Combermere Barracks at 1830 hrs on the 29th March 2019.

Any Other Business The Chairman explained that next year’s

The Blues and Royals Association Regional Representatives 2018 Regional Representatives of The Blues and Royals Association are volunteers that have agreed to have their details published in the Household Cavalry Journal in order that they may be contacted by other Association members in their area. Initially, the Regional Representatives will provide contact with Home Headquarters for those who have served but have lost touch with the Regiment. Additionally, they may be asked to represent the Association at funerals of departed comrades, visit former members of the Regiment and circulate Regimental information to those in their area. If you would like to be considered as a Regional Representative for the Association, please contact the Honorary Secretary at the address shown within the Association information.

ENGLAND South East Berkshire Mr P Henney 07738 150 113 fatblokefromstoke@gmail.com Essex Mr T J Young 01702 351 228 timkim.young@btinternet.com Hampshire Mr L Elliott 01264 553 833 lesfaccombe@aol.com Mr G Demmellweek-Pooley 07920 131 093 Tomdp3546@icloud.com Kent Mr A Gaddes 07842 624 724 Alexgaddes@aol.com Mr N G Sargeant 01732 355 259 nevsargeant@gmail.com Mr E Lane 07827 328 760 ericllane_@hotmail.com

Middlesex Mr M Perry 07753 603 080 244mp@gmail.co.uk

Dorset Mr C Jones 01202 512 416 Carl.deb@hotmail.co.uk

South London/Surrey /Hamps Mr J Dickens 07715 539 141 jpd3614@aol.com

Wiltshire Mr N Hancock 07816 935 501 n.hancock369@btinternet.com

Surrey Mr N C Lewis-Baker 01372 456 025 ma2da@hotmail.co.uk

Wiltshire/Gloucestershire Mr H F Jodrell 07909 887 711 henry@jodrell.or.uk

West Sussex Mr M Bray 07738 565 830 mathewbray@yahoo.com

East Anglia

South West Cornwall Mr B H Coode 01726 882 488 bhcoode@btinternet.com Mr A Baldwin 07792 581 344 alangbaldwin@yahoo.co.uk Devon Mr D F Harris 07837 101 402 davidharris526@hotmail.co.uk

Norfolk Mr S McCormack 07738 939 051 spencermccormack@hotmail.co.uk Mr Paul Gray 07825 726 587 Paulgrayfarrier@hotmail.co.uk Mr A Featherstone 07876 401 021 andrdeath@aol.com Suffolk Mr A Davies 07741 310459 andy635@me.com

News from the Associations ■ 89

Mr G Kingham 07766 001 919 big_gray@hotmail.com Midlands East Midlands Mr S Davies 07791 585 144 studava42@mail.com Hertfordshire Mr C Seddon 07846 662 352 cjseds1@yahoo.co.uk Leicestershire Mr C Payne 07782 341 089 chasepayne@googlemail.com Peterborough Mr T Uglow 07775 639 876 tomuglow78@gmail.com West Midlands/Staffs Mr I M Smith 07525 128 475 ismith@firmin.co.uk West Midlands/Walsall Mr B J Pyke 01922 639 562 bjpyk@aol.com Worcestershire Mr J Ward 07753 295 152 Julian.ward@hotmail.co.uk North West Liverpool Mr K Hancock 07809 573 956 kevinhancock2010@gmail.com North East Durham Mr J Beard 07534 680 849 jimbeard98@yahoo.co.uk Newcastle Mr D Horsefield 01912 665 440 Davidhorsefield52@gmail.com Northumberland Mr Tuckwood 01912 323 944 anthonytuckwood@gmail.com Scunthorpe Mr P Smith 07897 656 825 p.smith@rockinghamcaslte.com Sheffield Mr P Harding 07875 620 685 paul_harding@btinternet.com

90 ■ News from the Associations

Yorkshire Mr A Mardon 07824 468 843 limerick123@aol.com

scottphilip@att.net

SCOTLAND

Eastern USA Mr Rixon 001 781 237 6970 crixon@verizon.net

Renfrewshire Mr S Newman 07983 533 436 stephennewman@hotmail.com

South West USA Mr W Brady 001 818 757 7050 coleman642@btinternet.com

Dumfries & Galloway Mr I Munro 07724 207 321 ianmunro443@hotmail.com

EUROPE

WALES Merthyr Tydfil Mr N Hardwidge 01685 841 335 rafafan@aol.com

Bulgaria Mr B Wall spectemuragendo.195@gmail.com Canaries Mr S MacKay 34 92894 9004 simon@abyssfurteventura.com

Mid Wales Mr Seager clive.seager@btinternet.com

Cyprus Mr Duffy 00357 963 92341 dufftech@live.co.uk

North Wales Mr Bishop 07821 710 077 Mjbishop31445430@aol.com

Germany Mr M Binks 01726 041 459 mike.binks@web.de

South Wales/Newport Mr N Allen 07767 036 575 nudallen@googlemail.com

Jersey Mr D Blake 01534 608 838 su9145@gmail.com

SE Wales Mr W Ward-Davies 07917 644 160 taffdavies18@hotmail.com

Portugal Mr P Hulland 00351 235 772 143 peter.hulland@talktalk.net

NORTHERN IRELAND

Spain Mr M Holt 0034 9525 20260 kandmholt@yahoo.co.uk

Mr P Young 07710 616 766 dpaulyoung@hotmail.com IRELAND Mr Timmis 0035 (0) 861 767 387 ronaldtchrist@hotmail.co.uk

Sweden Mr P Young young.paul.c@gmail.com REST OF THE WORLD

AMERICAS

Hong Kong Mr J Dewe +85298 660 936 johndewe@outlook.com

Canada /Alberta Mr P Slater 780 472 7380 londonredpaul@yahoo.ca

Thailand Mr D Rushforth +66 932 432 473 davidrushforth@sky.com

Canada /Nova Scotia Mr Bruce Snell 1-902-467 0123 brucesnell@live.com

Tanzania/Kenya Mr J Corse +255 753 353 760 jamcorse@gmail.com

Central USA Mr P Scott 262 852 5205

Mauritius Mr H Sutherland harry.sutherland@me.com

OVERSEAS

Household Cavalry Foundation

by Lieutenant Colonel (Retd) Giles Stibbe OBE

“The HCF supports all members of the Household Cavalry ‘family’; our operational casualties, serving soldiers, veterans and their dependants. The HCF also supports our heritage and the welfare of our retired horses.”

2018 consolidated and developed our Trustees’ direction and guidance from 2017: to help our beneficiaries by securing more Donors to support our Family of c.10,000.

This year we welcome new support from two more donors who have joined the current donors in giving vital assistance, as well as most generous help from HCav’s affiliated Livery Companies, (Cutlers, Saddlers, Farriers, Loriners,) a revived Motcomb Street Party, Sand Banks Polo (Lt Col (Retd) J Wheeler) and the annual Montpelier Square Carol Service. Significant new sponsorship is the endowment of an annual scholarship for HCF by a charity linked to Ascot’s War Horse Memorial that was unveiled on 8th June 2018. Readers are asked to remember how user friendly and easy the process is to raise funds for HCF and both our Regimental Associations: entry fees and kit are subsidised, and ex-HCav Matt Pellett’s Troop Logos is now MoD approved and gives a discount to HCav and donates to HCav charities. Serving soldiers are asked to apply to HCF via their Chain of Command, and Veterans via Home HQ and their Regimental Associations.

Donors and investment income enables support to be given to our two leading recipient groups: - Operational Casualties ) and and Veterans ) their - Serving Soldiers ) Dependants and our Welfare Committee’s two key priorities that remain: A. To prepare for the emergence

Charity Polo Match LG v RHGD at Fifield, 4th August 2018, led by LG wounded veteran now pilot Clifford O’Farrell (LG won...)

Col Taylor with Comd Offr HCR and SO2 ISTAR Oman Autumn 2018; a ‘Tin Trinity’!

of latent Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). - Research by King’s College, London University claims 88 /1,000 (9%) of deployed troops suffer PTSD. For HCav that means about 100 of our Old Comrades may gradually show PTSD symptoms.

B. To ensure the continual quality of prosthetics for our Wounded, Injured and Sick (WIS). This year, thanks to Maj Alex Owen ex-RHG/D, the HCF established a new link with The Royal British Legion (TRBL)’s specialist department at Imperial College close to Knightsbridge Barracks; and continued access to the new Veterans’ Centre at King Edward VII Hospital.

A new short two-page Welfare AideMemoire, which also has a one-page flow chart, was issued last Christmas with the current two-page HCF Report via HQ HCav, Home HQ HCav and both regiments. Both Welfare AideMemoire and this HCF Report are deliberately unclassified to ensure the widest possible distribution. This reporting chain has proved invaluable for both Serving soldiers and Veterans as it uses trusted and ‘tried and tested’ Chains of Command. A genuine bonus of this is integrating extant best practice including media links acknowledged as exemplary. Special thanks to: A. Our volunteer postcode based Veterans who often provide the first

Corie Mapp in his new sled, December 2018

CoH Thomson briefing HCF guests, 28th June 2018

front line contact that’s key at the proverbial sharp end, and send vital SITREPs to Home HQ. B. Windsor’s local SSAFA supremo, Lt Col Mike Harding ex-RHG/D, based in The Castle as a Military Knight, who has ridden to the rescue on several occasions.

C. Captain Fryer’s son Daniel for running 2018’s London Marathon.

D. Another supporter using her Sandhurst degree to work for Blind Veterans UK. Serving soldiers are supported annually based on a per capita rate agreed by Commanding Officers with the HCF’s Trustees. Their aim is to enhance quality of life and so improve retention and recruiting. The HCF also continues to help to fund HCav recruiting initiatives especially new recruiting advertisements and films. We also partfunded ‘Best of both Worlds: operational and ceremonial’ photographs by globally iconic Ripley; these photos will be sold to support the HCF. As well as proven annual achievements including Spruce Meadows, All Ranks’ Polo and Rugby teams, London, Ultra, des Sables and cycling Marathons, Capts Chauveau and Whitbread’s cricket and HRH The Duke of Sussex’s polo match, notable personal results are: o

A Household Cavalryman serving in The Red Devils parachuting team.

o

A Warrant Officer won a Distinction

Coworth Park Polo, 1st July 2018

News from the Associations ■ 91

to Horse Welfare; and it is reassuring to record all our retired horses went to good homes. Indeed there is now a waiting list to adopt one. There were two Governance changes in 2018. Col Gaselee replaced Lt Col Griffin as the Welfare Trustee; Col Griffin in replaced Lt Col Scott as Regimental Adjutant and the Foundation’s secretary.

HRH The Duke of Sussex plays polo for HCF

in his Northumbria Honours Degree. o

University

Serving and Veteran NCOs aim on a Castle Trek with bagpipes from Windsor to Edinburgh arriving on the Castle Esplanade for the opening of the Military Tattoo.

o

They will be followed next Autumn by veteran John Hadfield who is travelling from Land’s End to John O’Groats.

o

Capt Wright’s Iron Man programme promises to be as challenging as Capt Maples’ Marathon des Sables.

Capt Wright leads HCav’s Recruiting and Community Engagement Team who have established regular successful support each summer starting at the Royal Windsor Horse Show and culminating at HCMR’s Summer Camp Open Day. This year our Operational Casualties and their Dependants have achieved: o

Retraining in trades to avoid PTSD.

o

Helicopter pilot qualifications.

o

A second top grade year at the Open University.

instructor

Danny Fryer, London Marathon 2018 for HCF

o

Vocational post-graduate study at Brunel University.

o

Another podium place for our Paralympian bob-sleigher.

and received palliative care for cancer, and blind, dyslexic and diabetic children.

Our aim is to help our Operational Casualty beneficiaries to ‘Do The Same Things Differently’ whenever possible, to quote the MoD’s Battle Back project motto. The HCF has funded our Band’s first CD as a joint band; and aims to relaunch their triumphant ‘Through Music We Care’ initiative in 2020. By popular request Britain’s Got Talent winner LCoH Jones very kindly opened the Motcomb Street Party again. The HCF Trustees wish to exploit the potential latent in the HCav’s own events for entertaining Donors has worked. Six monthly visits to HCR and fortnightly visits to our Museum and HCMR are proving very popular. Disruption to HCavmen’s busy lives is minimal as extant visit templates are used.

Heritage has had two priorities: a focus on the move to Bulford; assessing repair to our collections; and support to our Museum resulted in Windsor charities funding a garage shelter for our Dingo. We gave our usual donation

Capt Peter Ireland and SCpl Dimbylow Windsor Half-Marathon 2018 in under two hours!

92 ■ News from the Associations

Clifford O’Farrell, a Qualified Pilot

Regarding Finance, the HCF has now established a routine annual turnover of c.£320K excluding exceptional unforeseen in-year payments. The ‘split’ is 3/7 to Operational Casualties and Veterans and their dependants; 2/7 to Serving Soldiers and their dependants; 1/7 on Heritage, Horses and support costs such as audit, legal, insurance and this annual Journal; and the remaining 1/7 on salaries for HCF’s two staff, and honoraria for the four Home HQ Staff. The HCF’s staff remains a fulltime Director, and Mary Edwards our weekly book-keeper. The majority of The Day’s Pay Scheme is paid to both Regimental Associations. Gift Aid is applied whenever possible. It must also be understood that Restricted Funds (for example Operational Casualties, RHG/D and the Oliver Montagu Fund) can only be used for purposes that their Trustees sanction. The HCF is the only Unrestricted Fund of a total of eight funds in our Investment Portfolio. All ‘stakeholder’ funds receive a quarterly dividend proportionate to their relative size in The HCF’s overall investment portfolio. Two former officers have very generously endowed Quick Reaction Welfare Funds. All retail activities are now coordinated by our Household Cavalry Museum’s shop. Ex-HCavman Matt Pellet who runs Troop Logos is thanked for his wonderful support, and congratulated on gaining hard-won and very rare MoD approval for his kit. Due diligence means next year will see a Periodic Review of Fund Managers and Accountants. All stakeholders in the HCav investment portfolio currently managed by Cazenove Capital will be invited to attend this Periodic Review. www.hcavfoundation.org

The War Horse Memorial Service, Garrison Church, Windsor, 17th April 2018

Household Cavalry Foundation Report 2017-18 Charity Registration Number 1013978 Company Registration Number 08236363 (England and Wales)

Statement of financial activities Year to 31st March 2018 Income and Expenditure Income from: Donations Income from Events The Day’s Pay Scheme Income from HCav Museum 2017 Sums Total 2018

Unrestricted Funds 140,839 78,501 37,642

Restricted Funds 5,678 -

264,266 256,982

16,067 5,678

Restricted Funds controlled by HCF:

Children

At 1st April 2017 Income Expenditure Net Investment gains Transfer from Unrestricted Funds At 31st March 2018

Operational Casualties 1,437,760 40,046 19,918 4,676 1,462,564

Expenditure on assisting Personnel and their Dependants Grants and Donations Staff Costs Honoraria Accountancy HCav Journal publishing costs Website development Professional fees Office and Administration Costs Insurance Governance / Audit 2017 Total Funds 2018 Total Funds

Unrestricted Funds 131,859 41,163 28,709 19,148 12,416 1,684 4,102 2,209 2,050 5,310 244,484 248,650

Restricted Funds 26,060 6,567 30 64,785 32,657

94,268 2,840 10,367 161 4,000 91,262

Staff Costs Wages and Salaries Social Security Costs Employer’s Pension contribution Totals Listed Investments Market value as at 1st April 2017 Additions at cost Disposals at opening market value (proceeds: 265,736; gains: 18,904) Net unrealised investment gains (losses)

Total Funds 2018 146,517 78,501 37,642 262,660 Serving Officers 321,260 9,671 15,241 797 316,577 Total Funds 2018 157,919 41,163 28,709 19,148 12,416 1,684 4,102 2,209 8,617 5,340 281,307

Total Funds 2017 109,332 80,366 38,308 25,000 253,006

Total 1,853,648 52,647 5,526 5,634 4,000 1,870,403 Total Funds 2017 179,338 42,228 16,100 18,898 11,998 2,358 20,792 1,234 7,803 3,276 309,269

2018 46,361 4,831 1,286 55,478

2017 59,846 5,150

Totals 2018 5,740,369 585,267 (246,832)

Totals 2017 4,981,307 514,779 (351,041)

837

685,324

1,907,706 1,794,681 450,453 601,612 1,325,099 6,079,641

2,094,904 1,535,729 420,440 618,684 1,070,612 5,740,369

Total Funds 2018 97,187 30 97,217

Total Funds 2017 121,157 539 121,696

64,996

HCF Investment Portfolio holdings: UK Equities Overseas Equities Fixed Interest Unitised Funds Alternatives Market value at 31st March 2018 Income from Investments and Interest Investments Interest 2017 Totals 2018 Totals

Unrestricted Funds 50,218 30 55,774 50,248

Restricted Funds 46,969 65,992 46,969

News from the Associations ■ 93

Notes: 1. There was no Motcomb Street Party in Financial Year 20172018.

2. No income was received from the HCav Museum in Financial Year 2017-2018.

O

3. Home HQ now administers The Day’s Pay Scheme.

4. Restricted Funds can only be used for purposes that their Trustees sanction.

5. HCF Investment portfolio includes holdings for HCav Op Cas, HCSOT, RHG/D Assn, Oliver Montagu Fund, Children’s fund, HCR, HCMR.

Castle Trek 2019 - Request for support assistance along the route

n Monday 29th July former LCoH Martin Semple is leading a team on Castle Trek, a 10 day project of a forced march from Windsor Castle to Edinburgh Castle, raising funds for the Household Cavalry Foundation and the Royal British Legion; in turn the Foundation will be passing proceeds to the two Regimental Associations.

He is requesting assistance from Association members who live locally to each overnight stop. It is hoped that the team may be assisted with: - Assisting the welcome party - Liaison with the support team on general knowledge of the area - Assisting the team with gaining support from local groups (scouts, cadets, marching bands) - Be an additional contact for local press, media and national press - Help find venue for a potential comedy show performed by a team member - Promoting the comedy show to the local area and assistance in gathering an audience for that night - Support the local Royal British Legion representative with hosting the team for dinner.

The Walking team is made up of six members. three serving, two ex serving one civilian, with a support team is made up of one physiotherapist, one media handler, and three drivers. The Team target is £25,000. On completion of the project the team will play a part in the opening ceremony of The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo on

Wednesday 7th August. The team is grateful for support from Jaguar Land Rover who are supporting the project by providing the team with two Land Rover Discoverys with CastleTrek branding. Old Comrade and Association member Matt Pellet of Troop Logos has supported the team with uniform.

You can buy CastleTrek clothing and support the cause on the website www. trooplogos.co.uk and search CastleTrek.

You can find out more on the team’s website www.castletrek.org.uk and on social media @CastleTrek.

2nd August 3rd August 4th August 5th August 6th August

The stops are as follows,

If you think you can provide us support with the project then please email troops@castletrek.org.uk or call Martin Semple (Semps), Team Leader on 07805065904.

29th July 30th July 31st July 1stAugust

Windsor to Bletchley Bletchley to Coleshill Coleshill to Derby Derby to Doncaster

7th August

Doncaster to York York to Catterick Catterick to Sunderland Sunderland to Otterburn Otterburn to Kelso to Peebles Peebles to Edinburgh

Martin plans to add to the challenge by performing his solo show each evening ‘Stand Up Soldier’. He would welcome introduction to contacts to venues or help locating a venue at each overnight stop. Tickets will be sold at £5.

The Household Cavalry Museum

by Alice Pearson, Director

A

s well as caring for our wonderful and unique collection, the Household Cavalry Museum’s principal objectives include reaching the broadest possible audience and informing this audience of our collection, be it formal or informal. Our small team has done a stellar job on reaching as many people as possible this year (including a single print publication which reached

94 ■ News from the Associations

3.8million readers, and two on-line blog posts that reached 1.85million people), but it is our face to face work reaching out to all ages and audiences In which we take most pride.

In January 2018, we saw great success with a foray into home school groups visiting the Museum, continued to offer regular class workshops, and

also furthered our partnership with Westminster City Archive reaching out to schools in the local borough. Taking on a bigger role in this partnership this year we jointly delivered the ‘Soldiers and Suffragettes’ project which saw 271 school children visit the Museum during the week of Remembrance. Joining together with Parliament, Royal Parks’ Brompton Cemetery, and Westminster

Abbey the project celebrated important moments of British history, whilst also acknowledging the complicated nature of history and giving pupils a more well-rounded view of the past. Meeting a real Household Cavalry soldier paralleled with an actor’s portrayal of a WWI Household Cavalry Trooper was hugely popular, inspiring the children to perform their own play at the end of the project. Our funding bid for a 2019 follow up entitled ‘the War to End all Wars’ has already been approved.

government host official military guests to the Museum from as far afield as Japan, Jordan, Norway, Belize, Jamaica, and the US; as well as London based embassy teams from the USA, Brazil, Pakistan; and representatives from Scottish and Welsh governing bodies.

We were especially pleased to welcome a group of international delegates currently training under the Afghan mentoring programme.

There’s so much going on, and we’d love

you to be a part of it. Please remember that serving Household Cavalry personnel and their accompanied family members can enter the Museum free of charge as can veteran Household Cavalry personnel. All other military personnel are offered a 50% discount.

Website: www.householdcavalrymuseum.co.uk Facebook and Twitter: @hcavmuseum Instagram: householdcavalrymuseum

Reaching out to non-traditional Museum visitors with a series of Museum ‘lates’ has also proven a success with a hugely popular International Women’s Day talk on the work and life of Christina Broom, photographer of the Regiment a little over 100 years ago; a well-timed pre-wedding event in May titled ‘Royal Lives, Royal Wives’ focusing on Royal consorts (both official and unofficial) since 1661 (accompanied by a Horse Guards Gin Nell Gwynn inspired cocktail); and in October, ‘Horse Guards from Around the World’, a fascinating presentation from the liaison officer between the Indian Presidential Body Guard and the HAC Light Cavalry.

This

is

as

well

as

helping

the

Boarding at Benenden: Support for Service Families

Applying for the CEA? Benenden welcomes applications from service families for extra means‑tested bursary support in addition to the CEA.

To check eligibility please contact Admissions on registry@benenden.school or 01580 240592 benenden.school

News from the Associations ■ 95

Bridging the gap In many respects, intergenerational wealth challenges follow a tried and tested path. After all, each of us is at the mercy of the same economic environment, the same vagaries and challenges of the tax system and a shared overriding desire to safeguard our own financial future.

From planning ahead to a secure retirement, to navigating the wealth of investment options available and to thinking through possible succession planning choices, these are issues facing us all regardless of our age.

Although surveys suggest a sense of confidence about what the future holds financially, a large percentage of us are worried what will happen when we retire. The shared

But this isn’t just about whether you have been around to take advantage of economic cycles or even how you vote.

Investment habits stem from our different experiences, and the fact that financial goals change as individuals move through the various stages of their lives.

At the same time, we’re seeing a strong increase in “generational” wealth management, fuelled in part by rising property values and expectations of a changing tax regime and a desire to ensure that wealth is transferred and managed effectively. Most wealthy individuals want to make their money last not just for their own lives, but for generations to come. Data from Merrill Lynch’s The road to sustainable wealth report shows that approximately two times out of three, family wealth fails to outlive the generation following the one that created it.

view, regardless of age, seems to be that there will be a diminished standard of living in retirement. And with so many political and economic uncertainties currently affecting all of us, the importance of planning ahead financially has never been more important.

External factors aside, the challenges of passing on wealth to subsequent generations are not to be sniffed at. Research conducted in 2018 by Barclays found that 40% of the high-net-worth individuals they surveyed had experienced conflict as a result of inherited wealth. A third

40% of high net worth individuals experienced conflict as a result of inherited wealth.

of the respondents said they were concerned about the future of their legacy in the hands of their children, and perhaps more surprisingly, a quarter of them did not even have a will.

While shared pain-points prevail, what is also true is that each generation is distinctly different and clearly characterised by the events of the world in which they were raised, so much so that it’s not surprising that we struggle to communicate across the gaps that lie between us.

From the Silent Generation and Baby Boomers, to Generations X, Y and Z, the enormous diversity in attitudes towards life and money in the face of very different life and financial challenges have far-reaching implications

The simplest way to pass on assets is to gift them to children during your lifetime, using exemptions under inheritance tax rules. But how do you safeguard against the relatively high incidence of divorce and the potential for gifted assets to form part of a divorce settlement, not to mention spendthrift children?

Ultimately good planning forms the bedrock of a successful wealth management strategy, taking into consideration the plethora of issues affecting people at different stages in their life.

for investment decisions and wealth planning. How you manage your hard-earned cash, how optimistic you feel about your investments and your attitude to low interest rates, even how often you check your accounts are all heavily influenced by your age and experience.

Authour Anna Murdock Head of Wealth Planning, JM Finn

Wealth across the generations

Our generation shapes our attitude to wealth.

That’s why we treat each client as an individual.

Request your copy of our Wealth Across the Generations report to learn why different generations look at wealth differently. www.jmfinn.com/wealth-across-generations

The value of investments and the income from them can go down as well as up and investors may not get back the amount originally invested.

Follow us on:

020 7600 1660 info@jmfinn.com www.jmfinn.com

2018

JM Finn and JM Finn & Co are trading names of J.M. Finn & Co. Ltd which is registered in England with number 05772581.

Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

The Life Guards

Obituaries

It is with much regret that the Honorary Secretary announces the death of the following Old Comrades announced in the last 12 months. The Life Guards Association offers their sincere condolences to all members of their families. May they Rest in Peace.

O Ever-living God, King of Kings, in whose service we put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation, grant we beseech thee that The Life Guards may be faithful unto death, and at last receive the crown of life from Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

21056675 Tpr William Cook LG Served from 20th November 1949 to 1st November 1951 Date of death unknown Mr David Harvey-Evers LG Served from 1st January 1947 to 31st December 1949 Died 15th December 2016, aged 88 years 24262173 Tpr J Dunning LG Served from 1971 to 1977 Died 31st July 2017, aged 63 years 296635 Lt David Yorke LG Served from 1st January 1946 to 1st December 1948 Died 31st July 2017, aged 89 years Maj (DoM) James Gerard McColl ARCM LG Served from April 1984 to December 1989 Died December 2017, aged 80 years.

22556103 Mr Raymond Ovens LG Served from 29th August 1952 to 28th August 1955 Died 15th December 2017, aged 85 years 417987 Lt Alastair Thomson LG Served from 21st January 1951 to 31st December 1953 Died March 2016, aged 84 years 22441976 Tpr Charles Clark LG Served from 3rd May 1951 to 11th January 1953 Died 8th January 2017, aged 85 years 23012077 Mr J H T Eastgate LG Served from 18th March 1954 to 18th March 1956 Died 11th December 2017, aged 82 years 22574817 Tpr Malcolm Gallimore LG Served from 9th August 1951 to 9th August 1953 Died September 2017, aged 84 years 24096691 Mr Roy Whitehouse LG Service dates unknown Died 22nd October 2017, aged 65 years 22205039 Tpr Neil Swann LG Served from 16th March 1948 to 8th May 1953 Died 2nd January 2018, aged 88 years

98 ■ Obituaries

452308 Lt The Hon Michael John Hare (2nd Viscount Blakenham) LG Served from 13th April 1957 until 4th October 1958 Died 8th January 2018 aged 77 years 296471 LCpl Colin Philip LG Served from 1st September 1944 to 23rd February 1948 Died 23rd January 2018, aged 91 years 24220365 CoH Steve Windebank LG Served from 16th August 1971 to 1st September 1992 Died 7th February 2018, aged 61 years 22827991 CoH Harold Jenkins LG Served from 17th October 1952 to 31st March 1972 Died 7th February 2018, aged 82 years 24239369 LCoH Paul Ellis LG Served from 7th September 1972 to 30th September 1984 Died 14th February 2018, aged 60 years 23865971 CoH Ian Thornton LG Served from 17th April 1961 to 5th July 1986 Died 18th February 2018, aged 75 years 24336650 LCpl Trevor Davies LG Served from 1st January 1973 to 1st January 1979 Died 1st March 2018, aged 63 years 495619 Maj Iain Forbes-Cockell LG Served from 1st March 1973 to 1st March 1993 Died 3rd March 2018, aged 65 years 439784 Lt The Hon Sir William McAlpine Bt Served from 5th February 1955 to 21 August 1959 Died 4th March 2018, aged 82 years 23789953 Tpr Anthony Butcher LG Served from 21st April 1960 to 20th November 1962 Died 7th March 2018, aged 79 years 24125856 Tpr Ivan Sanderson LG Served from 1969 to 1974 Died 8th March 2018, aged 68 years 23679020 LCpl Keith Sprigg LG Served from 18th October 1959 to 28th October 1971 Died 9th March 2018, aged 76 years

23286385 Tpr Michael Croft LG Served from 1st January 1956 to 31st March 1959 Died 9th March 2018, aged 80 years 24263272 Tpr Michael Ormiston LG Served from 1973 to 1977 Died 20th March 2018, aged 61 years 23307744 Tpr Michael Thatcher LG Served from 10th May 1956 to 8th May 1958 Died April 2018, aged 80 years 24048340 Tpr Christopher Dickson LG Served from 3rd May 1965 to 3rd May 1974 Died 12th April 2018, ages 68 years 21037547 Tpr Raymond Rogers LG Served from 1st September 1947 to 30th September 1949 Died 17th April 2018, aged 88 years 23215063 LCpl Peter Baynes LG Served from December 1955 to December 1958 Died 15th April 2018, aged 80 years 24263262 Tpr Reginald Trevethan LG Served from 8th November 1974 to 1986 Died 19th April 2018, aged 60 years 24253562 Mr W J Dangerfield LG Served from 8th August 1971 to 31st July 1975 Died 15th April 2018, aged 69 years 23215298 Tpr James Southern LG Served from 6th June 1956 to 1st June 1959 Died 2th May 2018, aged 86 years 23879543 Tpr David Morewood LG Served from 18th June 1962 to 20th May 1965 Died 5th June 1942, aged 75 years 463821 Lt Col Sir Seymour GilbartDenham KCVO LG Served from January 1959 to January 1987 Died 19th June 2018, aged 79 years 23215111 CoH Alan Wilkinson LG Served from 13th July 1970 to 19th August 1982 Died 19th June 2018, aged 76 years

4863740 Cpl John Guy LG Served from June 1940 to September 1946 Died 5th July 2018, aged 97 years

516997 Capt Bill Henderson Served from 12th June 1961 to 30 August 1989 Died 4th September 2018,

22556062 SCpl Keith Bowden LG Served from 19th August 1952 to 18th August 1972 Died 13th July 2018, aged 84 years

24735127 LCpl Rowan LG Served from 13th December 1995 to 10th December 1999 Died 10th September 2018, aged 50 years

441255 Maj HAM Pyman LG Served from April 1955 to February 1975 Died 13th July 2018, aged 82 years

296048 LCpl Keith Lucas LG Served from 15th April 1943 to 7th November 1948 Died 11th September 2018, 93 years

23215408 Capt Alan Varley LG Served from 1956 to 1985 Died 13th July 2018, aged 80 years 24499989 LCoH Steven Lugg LG Served from August 1980 to July 1993 Died 20th July 2018 aged 54 years 295804 CoH Leo Smith RVM LG Served from 13th November 1941 to 6th November 1966 Died 24th July 2018, aged 91 years 23865881 Tpr John Weller LG Served from 1st January 1965 to 1st May 1971 Died 25th July 2018, aged 74 years 528722 Capt Richard Hennessy-Walsh LG Served from 1st November 1965 to April 1997 Died 4th August 2018, aged 69 years

25001718 Tpr David Clancy LG Served from 1st January 1989 to 31st December 1997 Died 30th September 2018, aged 49 years 24540972 LCpl Graeme Hood LG Served from 30th June 1982 to 30th April 1994 Died 30th September 2018, aged 52 years 21060449 Tpr Kenneth Jackson LG Served from 5th August 1947 to 6th July 1949 Died 15th October 2018, aged 89 years

14877009 Tpr Len Roberts LG Served from 1st November 1944 to 1st March 1948 Died 27th November 2018, aged 82 years 22023477 Tpr Peter Toomer LG Served from 15th April 1948 to 10th June 1952 Died 14th November 2018, aged 88 years 23322549 Tpr Alan Green LG Served from 1st January 1956 to December 1958 Died 18th November 2018, aged 80 years 498609 Maj Don York LG Served form 1st December 1951 to 1st May 1982 Died 20th November 2018, aged 84 years 23346436 Tpr Geoffrey Orton LG Served from 18th October 1956 to 16th October 1958 Died 19th December 2018, aged 80 years

24878912 Tpr Paul McBeth LG Served from 6th July 1989 to 13th June 1997 Died 24th October 2018, aged 49 years 23215700 WO2 George Dugdale LG Served from 31st March 1953 to 30th November 1982 Died 9th November 2018, aged 78 years

The Blues and Royals It is with much regret that the Honorary Secretary announces the death of the following Old Comrades. The Blues and Royals Association offer their sincere condolences to all members of their families. May they Rest in Peace.

O Lord Jesus Christ who by the Holy Apostle has called us to put on the armour of God and to take the sword of the spirit, give thy grace we pray thee, to The Blues and Royals that we may fight manfully under thy banner against all evil, and waiting on thee to renew our strength, may mount up with wings as eagles, in thy name, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

22319810 Tpr Leslie Darricott 1RD Served from 5th January 1950 to 3rd April 1952 Unknown date of death and age

24021456 Tpr John Sowerby RHG/D Served from 18th May 1965 to 27th April 1972 Died 19th January 2018, aged 70 years

4617415 Tpr Dennis Bailey 1RD Served from 30th June 1943 to 20th April 1946 Died 27th January 2018, aged 99 years

Maj Andrew McQueen RHG/D Service dates unknown Died 16th April 2016, aged 89 years

21000096 Mr Reginald Baldry RHG Served from 1st October 1947 to 1st April 1953 Died 21st January 2018, aged 89 years

23212847 WO2 John Matthew RHG/D Served from 22nd January 1954 to 1st May 1976 Died 28th January 2018, aged 81 years

22556079 Tpr Anthony Barker RHG Served from 25th August 1952 to 17th August 1955 Died 23rd January 2018, aged 80 years

Tpr Geoffrey Kennett RHG/D Served from 1974 to 1979 Died 30th January 2018

WO2 John Ladds RHG Served from 1947 to 1970 Died 4th January 2018, aged 87 years 305389 Tpr George McClelland RHG Served from 17th May 1939 to 10th August 1947 Died 5th January 2018, aged 96 years

23929001 Tpr William Kelsall RHG Served from 20th February 1963 to 14th June 1966 Died 24th January 2018, aged 72 years

23875890 SCpl Brian Kearns RHG/D Served from 22nd April 1964 to 13th February 1987 Died 7th February 2018, aged 71 years

Obituaries ■ 99

14862874 Tpr Ronald Stevens RHG Served from 1st March 1945 to 14th August 1948 Died 12th February 2018, aged 91 years

14188357 Sgt Ralph Sarll 1RD Served from 14th March 1946 to 12th September 1968 Died 6th May 2018, aged 89 years

23437021 LCpl Ronald Woodman RHG Served from 21st November 1957 to 12th December 1959 Died September 2018, aged 79 years

24540968 Tpr Des Murphy RHG/D Served from 1983 to 1988 Died 13th February 2018, aged 51years

23696221 WO2 Douglas Claridge RHG/D Served from 16th July 1964 to 26th June 1988 Died 26th June 2018, aged 71 years

23194988 Tpr Tony Colby RHG Served from 1955 to 1958 Died 10th October 2018, 81 years

Lt Robin Don 1RD Served from 1st January 1950 to 31st December 1952 Died 15th February 2018, aged 85 years 22603086 Cpl Desmond Fortey RHG Served from 18th October 1951 to 14th October 1953 Died 25th February 2018, aged 84 years 305488 Tpr Alfred Lawes RHG Served from 1st November 1939 to 4th February 1946 Died 10th March 2018, aged 100 years 22205897 LCpl Kevin Pollock RHG/D Served from 17th March 1952 to 1st March 1970 Died 18th March 2018, aged 84 years 23047929 Tpr John Mullen RHG Served from 14th July 1954 to 14th July 1956 Died 28th March 2018, aged 84 years 22205407 CoH Leslie Elcock RHG Served from 18th August 1949 to 21st September 1956 Died 30th March 2018, aged 86 years 22635778 Tpr Bernard Glover 1RD Served from 7th February 1952 to 2nd February 1954 Died 21st March 2018, aged 87 years 24076593 Tpr D Simpson RHG Served from 2nd August 1967 to 1st August 1969 Died 25th April 2018, aged 69 years

22205658 Cpl Terence Hegarty RHG Served from 5th February 1951 to 1st January 1958 Died June 2018 24096790 CoH David Mellor RHG/D Served from 1969 to 1985 Died 6th July 2018 aged 67 years 484981 Capt Christopher Boone RHG/D Served from 1st January 1967 to 4th April 1969 Died 6th July 2018, aged 70 years 453433 Lt Col John Aylen RHG/D Served from 1st September 1955 to 1st April 1988 Died 17th July 2018, aged 81 years 23215185 Tpr Roger Brooker RHG Served from 23rd January 1956 to 22nd January 1958 Died 29th August 2018, aged 80 23598649 Tpr Anthony Edwards RHG Served from 20th November 1958 to 17th November 1960 Died 16th August 2018, aged 79 years 22205587 Cpl Peter Branagan RHG Served from 15th September 1950 to 14th September 1956 Died 26th September 2018, 85 years

Viscount Blakenham Late The Life Guards (with acknowledgment to The Daily Telegraph)

V

iscount Blakenham, who as Lt The Hon Michael John Hare served in 1957/58 died on 8th January 2018 aged 79.

He was chairman of Pearson, the industrial and publishing conglomerate created by his mother’s forebears, and of its subsidiary the Financial Times – which he kept from the clutches of Rupert Murdoch and other predators. Originally a Yorkshire brickmaker, S Pearson & Son was developed by Michael Blakenham’s maternal great-grandfather Weetman Pearson (1st Viscount Cowdray) into the great Victorian engineering venture that built the Blackwall Tunnel and Dover Harbour. Across the Atlantic, Pearson’s company led the construction of New York’s East River Tunnels and the railways of Mexico, where it also exploited rich oil discoveries.

Profits were invested in the Westminster Press newspaper group and Lazard Brothers, the merchant bank. In the postwar

100 ■ Obituaries

23215209 Tpr Graham EmbertonBrooks RHG/D Served from 1st January 1956 to 31st January 1959 Died 11th October 2018, aged 81 year 24375742 Tpr Gary Parker RHG/D Served from 6th May 1975 to 20th December 1979 Died 26th October 2018, aged 60 years 25145114 LCpl Craig Quinn RHG/D Served from 11th December 2001 to 17th December 2013 Died 28th October 2018, aged 33 years LCpl Ian Challinor RHG/D Served from 1977 to 1986 Died 20th November 2018, aged 57 years 24323920 LCpl Phillip Elliott RHG/D Served from 8th April 1975 to 13th November 1981 Died 23rd November 2018, aged 59 years 523267 Major Laurence Villers RHG/D Served from 1 June 1962 to 16th May 1996 Died 24th November 2018, aged 73 years 24565323 LCoH Tony Hemming RHG/D Served from 4th September 1987 to 4th November 1998 Died 7th December 2018, aged 50 years

era, under the leadership of the 3rd Viscount Cowdray (Blakenham’s uncle), the portfolio grew to include the Financial Times and a half-interest in The Economist; book publishing through Pearson Longman and Penguin; Royal Doulton tableware; Madame Tussauds’ waxworks; Chateau Latour wine; Texas ranchland, and much besides.

Michael Hare was just 40 when he became chief executive of Pearson in 1978, and was chairman from 1983.

To those who did not know him Blakenham might have seemed

lightweight; diffident in manner, boyish in appearance, he was entirely without pomp. But he had judgment and integrity, and one former FT editor described him as ‘made of steel when necessary’. That need arose first when he saw off an approach from the Hong Kong real-estate titan Li Ka-Shing, and again in September 1987 when Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp launched a dawn raid to acquire 15 per cent of Pearson’s shares. Murdoch insisted he was seeking cooperation rather than takeover, which would in any case have been subject to fierce scrutiny. But the market saw the raid – on a morning when Blakenham was in Scotland – as a hostile act. One paper illustrated a piece headlined ‘Pearson in play’ with a cartoon of Murdoch bursting into Blakenham’s office. When the two met a week later, the latter made plain that Pearson did not welcome new large shareholdings, but an anonymous Murdoch aide said afterwards: ‘They should have called the RSPCA. Murdoch ate him for lunch.’ Nevertheless Blakenham held his nerve (‘Unlikely tycoon remains relaxed’, said one report) and went on to execute a series of share deals, with the Dutch publisher Elsevier and others, designed to dilute Murdoch’s stake. In April 1988, they met again: Murdoch was now confident of securing a partnership to boost FT sales in the US, telling an interviewer ‘you can’t ignore your largest shareholder.’ But Blakenham coolly and effectively did just that, and as Murdoch’s own finances came under increasing strain, News Corp’s Pearson stake was gradually sold off.

Later on Peter Mayer, chief executive of Pearson’s Penguin subsidiary, bumped into Murdoch on an aeroplane. He had underestimated Blakenham, the media mogul admitted.

Michael John Hare was born on January 25 1938. His mother Nancy, née Pearson, was one of five daughters of the 2nd Viscount Cowdray. His father John Hare was MP for Woodbridge in 1945; having been minister of labour he was created Viscount Blakenham, taking the title from the family’s village in Suffolk, in 1963.

Michael was educated at Eton and did National Service in the Life Guards before going on to study at Harvard. In 1961 he became a trainee at Lazard Brothers, and two years later he moved to the Standard Industrial Group. From 1972 he spent five years with Royal Doulton before joining Pearson’s top management. Another incident that tested Blakenham’s mettle was the 1987 publication, by Pearson’s Penguin subsidiary, of Spycatcher, the autobiography of the former MI5 officer Peter Wright, which government lawyers sought to suppress. Again, courteously but resolutely, Blakenham said ‘No’. In the later phase of his Pearson tenure – he stood aside as chief executive in 1990 but remained chairman until 1997.

Latterly, the group has focused more narrowly on publishing and education.

Michael Blakenham was a countryman at heart, and a deeply committed conservationist. At various times he was chairman of the RSPB and the trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, president of the British Trust for Ornithology and Suffolk Wildlife Trust and a member of the Nature Conservancy Council. In 2003 he took on the task of leading a review of the constitution of the National Trust.

At home at Blakenham he maintained the woodland garden created by his father – and when the village was threatened in 2004 with the development of ‘SnOasis’, a £300 million artificial ski resort in a disused quarry which aimed to attract 600,000 annual visitors, he led the campaign of opposition which forced a public inquiry. Planning permission was eventually granted but the scheme has yet to be built. The SnOasis battle drew him into local politics: he sat for eight years as a Mid Suffolk district councillor under the banner of ‘Suffolk Together’, a group which embraced Greens and other smaller

parties. He married, in 1965, his first cousin Marcia Hare, an artist and potter; she survives him with a son, Caspar who succeeds him, and two daughters.

Sir William McAlpine Bt Late The Life Guards (with acknowledgment to The Daily Telegraph)

S

ir William McAlpine, was born at The Dorchester, then owned by the family, on 12th January 1936; succeeding as 6th Baronet in 1990, he died on 4th March 2018 aged 82. He was a director of the family construction firm who indulged his passion for steam railways, constructing a full-scale line in the grounds of his Buckinghamshire home and, most memorably, rescuing the locomotive Flying Scotsman after a financially disastrous American tour. Humorous, self-deprecating and diplomatic with a shrewd business brain, he took his job running McAlpine’s Scottish and northern business from Glasgow extremely seriously. But his ability to get people round a table and sort out a problem proved invaluable in the world of heritage railways. Bill McAlpine’s passion for trains was born when, as a child in Surrey, his nanny would take him down to the lineside. Touring the country in his own personal carriage, he always made a point of waving back to toddlers by the line.

The end of steam and the Beeching cuts gave him his opportunity. He began by purchasing for £100 the last remaining steam engine from McAlpine’s own depot at Hayes, Middlesex. He went on to buy a Great Eastern directors’ saloon with an American-style balcony and a sleeping car from the Royal Train for his own use on the main line, and the Great Western locomotive Pendennis Castle. At the request of British Rail board member Simon Jenkins, McAlpine took the chair of the Railway Heritage Trust, an independent body backed by the industry. Chairing the trust for three decades, he toured the country identifying items worthy of preservation and prising money from local councils towards their upkeep.

McAlpine helped to save the former LMS steam depot at Carnforth as a going concern (Steamtown), using it as a base for running steam specials. Later he teamed up with Pete Waterman to take on BR’s Special Trains Unit. They divided the company into L & NWR, based in Crewe, and Rail Charter Services, retained by McAlpine. McAlpine was also involved in rescuing the miniature Romney Hythe & Dymchurch Railway when it got into trouble, becoming its chairman, and BR’s staff newspaper Rail News when it was faced with closure.

His crowning achievement was the rescue in 1973 of Flying Scotsman; he bought Flying Scotsman for £25,000, paid off what was owed to the US and Canadian railways and had it shipped home via the Panama Canal. After restoration work, the engine returned to the main line that summer. Despite further vicissitudes, Flying Scotsman remains proudly in service today.

McAlpine made the 200-acre park at Fawley home to 24 species of animal, including emus, wallabies, alpacas, capybaras, meerkats, lemurs and half a dozen varieties of deer, many sent by zoos or rescue centres. On one occasion some of the lemurs staged a breakout during a local school’s open-air perform-

Obituaries ■ 101

ance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

His father was Sir Robert McAlpine, 5th Bt and later a life peer, and his mother Ella, née Garnett. His great-grandfather was ‘Concrete Bob’ McAlpine, the first of the McAlpine baronets and the founder of the construction company. Childhood visits to building sites with narrow-gauge steam railways fired young Bill’s imagination. He left Charterhouse at 16 to join the business, starting at its 30-acre Hayes depot which housed much of the McAlpine railway operation. He served 2 years National Service with The Life Guards. McAlpine was High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire in 1999-2000. Bill McAlpine married, first, Jill Benton in 1959; she died in 2003. In 2004 he married, secondly, Judy Nicholls (née Sanderson). She survives him with a son, Andrew, and daughter from his first marriage.

Lieutenant Colonel Sir Seymour Gilbart-Denham KCVO Late The Life Guards

by Henry Boyt, formerly The Life Guards

S

eymour died peacefully at home in Bungay, on the 19th of June, with his wife at his side, after a long debilitating illness courageously borne. He was 78. He had been a soldier, courtier, husband, father and grandfather. He was very much loved by his family, and held in deep affection, and loved, by his many friends.

Seymour Vivian GilbartDenham was born on the 10th of October, 1939. He was the youngest of three brothers. His father was Major Vivian Vandeleur Gilbart-Denham, Irish Guards. Sadly, when Seymour was seven months old, his father was killed in the abortive Narvik expedition. His mother, born Diana Beaumont, never remarried, although being very beautiful, she had many proposals. Young Seymour had a happy childhood with much sailing and fishing on the Isle of Wight. He was educated at Ludgrove, and then at Tabley House in Cheshire, which he enjoyed and became Head Boy. After leaving school he decided to join the Army, and despite a father and elder brother in the Micks, his cousin, Willie Loyd, was in The Life Guards, and he liked riding, so he decided on the Household Cavalry. After basic training, he found himself as a Trooper in the Royal Horse Guards driving a Ferret scout car, or occasionally riding a donkey, in Cyprus during the EOKA emergency in 1958. After six months, his Squadron Leader, Johnny Watson, and Squadron 2/ic Lord Patrick Beresford, both decided he should go for officer training, so off he went to Mons, impressing the others as he already had a campaign medal. The RSM was the legendary Desmond Lynch, Irish Guards, who had been with his father at Narvik.

During the course RSM Lynch took time to draw Seymour to his office and gently and proudly told him the story of his father’s service in Norway.

He was gazetted Second Lieutenant, The Life Guards in December 1959. Two happy years were spent with the regiment, then based at Herford in Germany, with serious soldiering interspersed with ski-ing and fun.

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In 1962, Seymour was posted to the Mounted Regiment at Knighstbridge as a Troop Leader. He famously got ‘carted’ by a bonkers horse, Kestrel, and ended up crashing at Hyde Park Corner with a broken shoulder and a cracked tooth, covered in blood. The horse was shot, but, happily, Seymour wasn’t.

He made a generous contribution to the Queen’s Life Guard roster after being accompanied on guard by his beloved Labrador, Jespah, who had trotted beside his master all the way from Knightsbridge to the Horse Guards.

In 1964 Seymour was sent to join Ronnie Ferguson’s independent A Squadron in Zyggi in Cyprus, in support of the United Nations efforts to keep the Greeks and Turks from each others’ throats. He commanded a troop of four Ferret scout cars, driven by young Troopers. His other three car commanders were green young officers – Simon Meredith Hardy, Nigel Percy Davies and me. We had a wonderful few months, water ski-ing, swimming etc., with some patrolling under Ronnie’s eccentric but benign leadership.

After Cyprus, Seymour returned to the Regiment at Windsor, where he was promptly required to take half an Armoured Car Squadron (Saladins and Ferrets) to the Mediterranean on board HMS Fearless. On return, he was sent on a Gunnery course to Lulworth, with a view to an appointment as regimental Gunnery Officer. However, having completed the course, he was appointed Adjutant! - his Commanding Officer was Jim Scott, a most delightful and charming former Grenadier.

In 1966, the regiment was sent to the Far East, with Seymour still as Adjutant, and with Jim Scott soon handing over command to Ian Baillie. The regiment was based at Paroi Camp near Seramban in Malaysia, with Squadrons in Singapore, Borneo and Hong Kong. After trips to Singapore and Australia, Seymour handed over as Adjutant to Robin (Stuffy) Petherick and went as second in command to Arthur Gooch in Hong Kong. This was at the height of the Cultural Revolution, and there were several incidents with demonstrating Chinese on the border fence. One or two lost fingers when the Gurkhas drew their kukris.

The regiment returned to Windsor in 1968, and Seymour became second in command to John (Bubbles) Fuller. Life was fairly relaxed, with opportunities for sailing on Gladeye and Bubbles’ yacht (Jorna) and other social occasions. An exercise with the Norwegian Army failed to include a night exercise owing to the absence of night in summer inside the Arctic circle!

Things became much more serious when the ‘Troubles’ in Northern Ireland started in 1969. Seymour set off with the Squadron at the very start of the deployment to the Province.

He was to undertake two more emergency tours.

In 1971 Seymour was promoted to Major and appointed to command the Household Cavalry Training Squadron at the Guards Depot. This was a happy time, with John Ghika (Irish Guards) and later Ian Ferguson (Scots Guards) as his Commanding Officers. During this time he and his brother Brian bought a piece of land and built a house on the Greek island of Paxos, to which they returned for many years for holidays.

1973 saw Seymour back at Windsor as a Squadron Leader. The Commanding Officer, Simon Cooper, who later served with Seymour in The Queen’s Household, took the regiment off on what would be Seymour’s third emergency tour in Northern Ireland, where he commanded his Squadron effectively in what was known as the ‘Bandit Country’ of South Armagh.

After a few months back at Windsor, the regiment moved to Detmold in Germany to take over from the Blues and Royals in the Chieftain equipped Armoured Regiment role. This tour included a six week deployment to the vast BATUS training area in Alberta, which did enable Seymour and friends to enjoy some R & R leave in the US. Back to Detmold, then some leave in London, where he was introduced to the ravishing Miss Tricia Brooking. A year later, they were engaged.

They were married on 1st April 1976, at which time Seymour was commanding The Life Guards Squadron at Knightsbridge – a fairly eventful time which included The Queen’s Silver Jubilee and culminated in the arrival of Miss Sophie, who reported on 27th June 1977 at 9lbs 5oz. She was joined by her sister Georgie on 8th January 1980 – 9lbs 5oz!

Back in Detmold, now as Second in Command to Arthur Gooch, Seymour and his family had a happy time, much winter sports and the Field Mastership of the Weser Vale bloodhounds – a Household Cavalry foundation which enjoyed hunting to the ‘clean boot’ and was usually joined by many local German country sports lovers, which did much for AngloGerman relations.

In 1981 Seymour eventually became a Staff Officer. To that point he had served in all forms of regimental and Household Division roles, but now needed to become qualified for promotion. He was engaged co-ordinating training at Headquarters 33 Armoured Brigade at Paderborn, much of which involved equine events. His two Brigadiers while he was there, were David Pank, a Shropshire Light Infantryman, who later became a close neighbour and friend in Bungay, and Patrick Brooking formerly the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards, and a distant cousin of Tricia’s.

Seymour’s next move was a mere twenty miles from Paderborn, to Herford, where he became SO2 Training, Headquarters 4th Armoured Division. This job brought Staff Qualification and the necessary recommendation for promotion to Lieutenant Colonel. A move back to England as a Staff Officer at United Kingdom Land Forces, Wilton, was short lived, but he and Tricia bought their first house near Tisbury in Wiltshire. After a nasty case of jaundice, Seymour’s spirits revived extraordinarily as he was appointed Commanding Officer of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment at Knightsbridge – his third tour at Mounted Duty. Knightsbridge work is hard, although almost entirely ceremonial, interspersed with such events as the Summer Camp, when the entire regiment in those days rode back to London from Stoney Castle Camp near Pirbright. This was supposed to be a two and a half years’ appointment but in the event, only lasted eighteen months.

In late autumn 1986 Seymour had a telephone call from MajorGeneral Lord Michael Fitzalan-Howard, then Colonel of The Life Guards, to ask whether he would be interested in taking over from Sir John Miller as Crown Equerry. Following an interview with The Queen and Prince Philip, just before Christmas, he received a letter from Lord Airlie, the Lord Chamberlain, saying he was commanded by The Queen to invite him to take over on 1st August 1987. Thus started what probably was the high point of Seymour’s service life.

The job of Crown Equerry is an extremely demanding one.

Not only is he responsible for all the carriages, horses, cars and the staff of the Royal Mews, but is also charged with the co-ordination of many events such as State visits, the Garter Ceremony, State Opening of Parliament, Queen’s Birthday Parade, Royal Windsor Horse Show and Royal Ascot. Seymour did this job for fifteen years.

Major-General Sir Simon Cooper writes: ‘Seymour succeeded Colonel Sir John Miller in 1987 as the Crown Equerry. Thus he became responsible for the horses, cars and staff of the Royal Mews. This was a challenging job as the Royal Household was undergoing a major financial reshuffling of all Departmental costs. John had left before the Mews’ costs were reviewed by the Privy Purse and Seymour was faced with putting together a plan to meet the new structure for the Mews. This he did without disrupting the smooth running of the staff he had just inherited.

He was a very popular Crown Equerry who had quickly understood the differing tasks that faced his team of grooms and chauffeurs to meet all the requirements of the Royal Family.

After the annual Carols in the Royal Mews, he and Tricia would give a Christmas party to which The Queen came each year. The Crown Equerry’s house was a splendid place in which to entertain and the Gilbart-Denhams will long be remembered for their generous hospitality.

The Mews ran with great success under his stewardship and he will be much missed by all those with whom he worked.’

During his time at the Palace, he and Tricia, plus Sophie and Georgie who had a flat of their own, lived in the beautiful house designed by John Nash for the Crown Equerry, situated inside the grounds of Buckingham Palace at the entrance to the Royal Mews. This was certainly one of the major advantages of the job, and there were many other joyful occasions – with the occasional contretemps such as the two very grand ladies who pitched up for lunch at Windsor Castle prior to the Carriage Procession, both wearing the same dress and scheduled to sit in the same carriage! There were sadnesses too; the fire at Windsor Castle, several Royal divorces and the tragic death of the Princess of Wales.

Seymour still found time and energy to undertake a number of other positions – Liveryman of the Coach and Coach Harness Makers and Loriners, Freedom of the City of London (he could drive his sheep over London Bridge) Vice President of the Royal Parks Equitation Trust, and Vice President of the Greater London Region of Riding for the Disabled.

The summit of his time as Crown Equerry was probably the production of ‘All the Queen’s Horses’ a spectacular hatched up by Seymour, Sir Piers Bengough, Michael Parker and Simon Brooks-Ward to celebrate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee.

Held in the arena of the Royal Windsor Horse Show, with the back drop of the Castle, it was an outstanding success, with 1000 horses and 3500 participants, and culminating with a Sovereign’s Escort of the Household Cavalry, with the Gold State Coach.

A final note; shortly before his retirement, Seymour received a bidding to the Drawing Room at the palace. On arrival, he was required to kneel, received a tap on his shoulder from his Sovereign, and retired in a seemly manner to tell his astonished wife that she was now Lady Gilbart-Denham, as her husband was now a Knight Commander of the Victorian Order.

On his retirement from the Royal Mews, Seymour and Tricia were technically homeless, having sold their Wiltshire house shortly after moving in to the Crown Equerry’s house. To our great good fortune, they decided to move to the Waveney valley, on the Suffolk/Norfolk border .They had many friends locally, and relations including Seymour’s cousin, Belinda Somerleyton, whose husband had been Master of the Horse.

Initially they rented Kirby Cane Hall from the Crisp family.

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Simon Crisp, late RHG, had been an old friend, and their stewardship on behalf of his son, Ed, was immaculate.

Then they bought The Old Rectory in Earsham, a village just outside Bungay. They also acquired some adjacent land and made many other improvements. After a few years, they sold ‘The Old Rec’ and bought a beautiful town house in the middle of Bungay. There they stayed.

Seymour and Tricia were active participants in the not over restrained social life of the Waveney Valley. Although due to a little hearing loss, he reduced his shooting (he was an excellent shot) he took up golf, at which he became adept, playing locally and at Swinley with many old friends.

As a neighbour, I can only say how much pleasure his and Tricia’s presence caused us and our mutual friends.

Let Chaucer sum it all up: A knight there was, and he a worthy man, Who, from the moment that he first began To ride about the world, loved chivalry, Truth, honour, freedom and all courtesy.

Though so illustrious, he was very wise And bore himself as meekly as a maid.

He never yet had any vileness said, In all his life, to whatsoever wight.

He was a truly perfect, gentle knight.

Major Tony Pyman Late The Life Guards

H

arold Anthony McArthur Pyman was born on 19th September 1935. He grew up following the drum spending much of his early life abroad. His father, General H E Pyman, served in Africa, in India, and later became a post war Commander in Chief NATO forces in Northern Europe. Tony would travel back to school, to Connaught House in Somerset or Fettes College in Edinburgh, and make the best of his long absences from his parents. The best of it included the flowering of many early loves: the main Capt Pyman, 2IC LG Sqn sport at Fettes was Rugger; several future Scottish internationals were contemporaries. Modestly he said that he had occasionally played in the first XV, but only when someone was away. It was cricket where he shone, and two years in an unbeaten side were the harbingers of so much fun to come. As he left Fettes, he was offered a place to read History at Clare College, Cambridge, to follow in the footsteps of his father. However, it was the time of the Suez Crisis; he said ‘There was a real flap on and we would have felt like rats if we hadn’t joined up.’ He gave up his History, and his place at Cambridge, and joined The Life Guards. After Brigade Squad at Caterham in late 1954 he went to Mons as an Officer Cadet from December 1954 to March 1955. He was commissioned as a 2Lt in The Life Guards on 2nd April 1955. He was almost immediately an Armoured Car Troop Leader in Egypt, Canal

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Zone, Aden and Cyprus (attached to The Blues): a report from this period states he was an ‘exceptionally able Troop Leader’.

He was granted a regular commission, and continued to serve in the Middle East being back in Aden in 1958/59. In May 1959 he was posted to the Mounted Regiment to be 2IC The Life Guards Squadron. His time included - the visit of President de Maj Pyman in the Far East Gaulle on 7th April 1960 and The King of Nepal in October 1960. The Regiment was commanded at the time by Lt Col Tony Meredith – Hardy, the Squadron by Maj CR Philipson, with Simon Cooper and Andrew Wills as Troop Leaders. He was also involved with the Musical Ride. There was so much about the Army life that he loved: the friendship, what would today be called ‘banter’, the mutual respect, the physical fitness that went with it, the sport, the Mess, the riding and the sense that one really was fulfilling a very important role.

His career continued with a staff tour with 4th Guards Brigade at Hubbelrath where more fun was to be had: a photograph records him jumping a fence upsides Sam Gaussen. In 1964 he was back in Cyprus as Intelligence Officer. Among his friends were Nick Gaselee and Richard Head, both of whom were lifelong friends. In early 1967 he was thanked for the excellent job he had done setting up and running the Household Cavalry Training Squadron at Pirbright. His next post was in the Far East as A Squadron Leader at Selarang Barracks, under Ian Baillie as Commanding Officer. This was followed by a return to mounted duty in 1969 back at Knightsbridge under Jim Scott as Commanding Officer. His tour included taking part in the Sovereign’s Escort for the Prince of Wales’s Investiture at Caernarfon Castle. The routine of postings then returned him to the staff working in the Military Attaches Department with Lt Col Blair Stewart-Wilson, Scots Guards, who was later to be a long serving Deputy Master of the Household in Buckingham Palace.

An accomplished and senior Major, he returned to the Regiment in Germany, now to Detmold as Second in Command, his first tour on Chieftain main battle tank. He played a formidable part in training and preparing the Regiment for its infantry tour in Belfast in 1971/72, serving under Simon Bradish-Ellames and Simon Cooper. Entirely qualified and widely experienced, he was unlucky to miss out on command of the Mounted Regiment. Consequently, he decided that his job at the Joint Warfare Establishment near Salisbury would be his last, retiring in 1975.

He went on to work for many years for the Exmoor National Park Authority where his knowledge of the countryside and kind and patient manner won him great respect and many friends.

To sum up his military career, and use a metaphor he would have used himself, he had tours in Cyprus, Aden and Oman with the Regiment where the bowling was distinctly unfriendly including periods under heavy fire, fighting the Saudi-Arabian terrorists up the Jebel and elsewhere. Tours in Northern Ireland in the early 70’s were perhaps at the very peak of the troubles; but that was the job, and he saw nothing exceptional

in getting on with it.

On the matter of cricket, he always said he wouldn’t have got a blue at Cambridge, He may well have been right, but for Somerset Under 19, the British Army of the Rhine, the Free Foresters, I Zingari, MCC and many other clubs he was very successful. His family believe that he gained the greatest enjoyment of all from his times at Burton Court playing for the Guards Cricket Club; he might be opening the batting with Robin Petherick, Simon Cooper or Ronnie Ferguson, the wicket was a good one, the band was playing, the Pimms was on ice, and all was well with the world. So well, indeed, was it with the world one day that he dismissed the famous Australian all- rounder, Keith Miller. When asked, he was typically modest: ‘he hit the first three balls for four and for some inexplicable reason was clean bowled by the fourth!’. But Keith Miller saw it differently, and said ‘well bowled’ as he walked off…quite a scalp.

Perhaps his second favourite was horses. He loved all horses; for him, jumping was 90% of it. In his day he had had success point to pointing and hunter chasing, with horses such as The Tick, Merry Night, Dollar Pacific and a wonderful horse of Richard Head’s, Beau Caprice. He rode this marvellously fast horse, which later won at the Cheltenham Festival over hurdles, in four races over fences, and ranked it as one of the most exciting and hair-raising experiences of his life. In his time in the army he hunted in Leicestershire, both with friends and brother Charlie too, and loved it: ‘The black Household Cavalry horses always went well, and even if you were not the fastest you could keep well up by jumping.’ But the Taunton Vale was his favourite, with everything else second best, where he had hunted since his childhood with his mother, brother and sister.

For him, the first and biggest blessing of all was when he met his wife to be, Jane, whom he married in October 1965 in Hodnet Church, Shropshire. Their fifty-three years of marriage were characterised by happiness, variety as they moved around the world, the making and sharing of so many unbreakable friendships, and generosity and endless kindness.

Captain Christopher Boone Late The Blues and Royals

by Colonel Hamon Massey, formerly The Blues and Royals

C

hristopher Henry Boone was born on 20th November 1947, the eldest of four children at West Acre, near King’s Lynn, Norfolk. It was an idyllic if somewhat wild childhood while his father lived the life of a hobby farmer having retired from the City.

He grew up to be a very fine shot no doubt thanks to early archery practice which included shooting Sir William Fellowes in the backside with an arrow.

Educated at Eton, his major claim to fame was his place in the Eight and he rowed at Henley in 1965. He was immensely strong physically and his contemporaries named him the engine room of the Eight, something of which he was rather proud.

Chris was commissioned into The Royal Dragoons in 1967 and joined them in Germany in early 1968 where he became an armoured troop leader on Chieftain tanks. A year later The Royals amalgamated with the Blues. There was nothing small about him or anything he did and it was at about this time he became known as Enoob when his troop painted Enoob’s Bucket on his oversize coffee mug. He loved fiddling about with things and making them work and was soon sent off to become an instructor in the driving and maintenance of Chieftains. He was very good at mechanical things which didn’t necessarily always work! Later he became an instructor in Guided Weapons which no doubt fuelled his fascination with drones and other gadgets perhaps. I recall his chagrin at losing one after sending it off down the line of the River Nar at tree top level on a search for anyone who was up to no good.

‘I’m sure I programmed it right….!’

He had a good brain which he applied to anything that interested him and he was soon made the Reconnaissance Troop Leader, a job normally given to the young officer with the most enquiring mind who was able to think fast and out of the box. It was thanks to these qualities that Chris was able to lead C Squadron to attack the opposition from behind their defensive position on the divisional exercise. Those who were there said it was a marvellous sight to see the back ends of the opposition’s tanks with their guns facing the wrong way!

Tony and Jane with their Guard of Honour, under WO2 Jackson, 3rd from the left, and also featuring, it is believed, Messrs Batey (4th left), Sheffield, Skinner and Miller

A few years ago he was diagnosed as having progressive Parkinson’s Disease, and for the first time he could offer no shot.

Jane fulfilled the promise of ‘in sickness and in health’ dealing unflinchingly with the challenge. He died on Friday, 12th July, aged 82 years old. He is survived by Jane and by children Victoria and Richard.

In 1971 he was sent with A Squadron to Northern Ireland. At the time, A Squadron was the Allied Command Europe (ACE) Mobile Force Reconnaissance Squadron, and the force was principally responsible for the defence of NATO’s northern and southern flanks. A Squadron spent six weeks each winter on arctic warfare training in Norway with them, four months in the spring and summer in ferret scout cars in Northern Ireland and the autumn on exercise in the south of the NATO area such as Greece.

In 1973 he was posted to the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment as a troop leader, later becoming the Adjutant in 1976 when the Commanding Officer was Lt Col Trevor Morris RHG/D. It was in April 1976 that he married Poppet Duckworth. He was Adjutant for 18 months encompassing The

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Queen’s Silver Jubilee Year in which among other things he administered the sending of horses and men to furnish escorts in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Cardiff. He was a strong horseman and rode successfully in Regimental cross country events and other mounted competitions. He loved his winter training in Leicestershire and the Regiment always ensured that there were some very large black horses at Melton. In April 1978 he retired, despite having been recommended to go to the Staff College which happened in those days to the top 25% of officers in the Army; but he wanted to farm and his son, Toby, was about to be born, so he retired. Later a daughter, Emma, was born. He was immensely proud of his family, passionately interested in the triumphs of his children and latterly of his two granddaughters, Daisy and Flora.

After retirement he took over the farm from his father and built up a successful marquee hire company. He also developed a highly successful mole-catching business and despatched his traps with accompanying DVD instructions all over the world.

On one occasion he was asked by The Duke of Edinburgh to go and deal with the moles at Sandringham.

He was a central part of West Norfolk society, and was the brains behind the ‘Tennis Net’, a website for organising tennis games for the more mature men of West Norfolk, as well as being the IT adviser to most of Norfolk’s female society. He had many other attributes and lived life to the full. He was an expert downhill skier, an extreme windsurfer, falconer, great reader, fascinated by history, a countryman with great interest in and knowledge of wildlife, birds in particular. He was a fine and accurate fisherman, and inventor of many extraordinary contraptions around the house and farm. He was constantly making things up in wood and bolts and string - things of which Heath Robinson would have been proud!

In the end it was his humanity, his selflessness, his sense of humour and his sense of honour for which we will all remember him. He had been ill for over ten years, something he bore bravely, pragmatically and indomitably. He was delighted to have reached the age of 70, which he had not expected and he was thrilled to be taken to New Zealand by Toby at the start of this year in celebration. Everybody loved him. He was in every sense that I understand a gentleman, and the best and truest friend that I suspect many of his friends ever had. So with apologies to Sir John Betjeman, Spirits of well-shot woodcock, partridge, snipe and pheasant Flutter - and bear him up the Norfolk sky.

Ronnie Frost Late Royal Horse Guards (with acknowledgment to The Daily Telegraph)

R

onnie Frost died aged 81 on 22nd February 2018. He was a former Smithfield poultry trader who became chief executive and chairman of Hays, a business services group that rose into the FTSE 100 under his leadership.

Frost described himself as ‘a chicken salesman’, having started in that line in the 1950s when he created Farmhouse Securities, which grew to be the UK’s

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largest independent supplier of chilled and frozen foods. In 1981 he sold Farmhouse to Hays, then owned by the Kuwait Investment Office, remaining as chief executive. In October 1987, immediately after the Black Monday crash, he led a £257 million management buyout and two years later Hays was floated on the Stock Exchange. Those who bought early into Hays, including Frost himself and several thousand employee-shareholders, saw the value of their investment multiply as he led a continuous expansion by acquisition, at home and in Europe, over the following decade. At its peak in 1998 it was valued at more than £8 billion. Frost retired from the chair – reluctantly, having reached the mandatory retirement age of 65 he had himself laid down – in 2001.

Ronald Edwin Frost was born at Richmond in the North Riding of Yorkshire on 19 March 1936, the son of a soldier, and spent his early childhood at Windsor. After the war his father served in Germany and Ronnie was educated at King Alfred School, Plön, a boarding school for servicemen’s children.

There he developed his commercial instinct by breeding and selling white mice, charging double for any that accidentally turned out to be brown. On the sports field, he was a promising hurdler. Leaving school with no qualifications, he was apprenticed to a cabinetmaker before joining his father’s regiment, the Royal Horse Guards, and training in armoured cars.

Posted to Cyprus during the Emergency, he was assigned to guard the Governor-General, Field Marshal Sir John Harding (later Lord Harding of Petherton), and was on duty at Government House on 21March 1956 when EOKA terrorists succeeded in having a time-bomb placed under the Governor’s bed by a disaffected servant. Frost was called upon to remove the device with a shovel, carry it gingerly outside and throw it into a pit in the garden – with Harding close at his shoulder, whispering that if the device was going to go off, ‘it’s taking me with you’.

On another occasion, accompanying Harding to meet the Greek Cypriot leader Archbishop Makarios, Frost was shot in the leg. ‘Try not to bleed all over the car,’ the Governor told him. ‘Lady Harding will be furious.’

By the time he left the Army, Frost’s parents were managing a poultry farm at Petersfield on behalf of the Worthington brewery family. Ronnie started selling chickens from the farm to pubs and restaurants. He built his own freezer van and acquired a garage at Kew, which he converted into a cold store.

He broadened the business by buying turkeys and geese at Smithfield, in due course going into partnership with his supplier and working in the market himself. In 1965 he founded Farmhouse Securities, where his brothers Derrick and Chris joined him.

The business had its ups and downs – ‘Ronnie occasionally had to trade down from a Jensen or an E-Type to a Mini,’ one associate recalled – but a supply contract with Waitrose was one factor that steadied its fortunes. Frost was an ebullient and determined entrepreneur who lived to work and treated staff as family. A fortune estimated latterly at £150 million brought him the Thorncombe Park estate, near Guildford, where he farmed sheep and fallow deer. He owned a beautiful Laurent Giles ketch, Blue Leopard, which he rarely had time to enjoy, and a vintage Bentley.

Always looking for a deal, he persuaded the surgeon who performed his double hip replacement to throw a third titanium joint into the bargain – and had it mounted on the dashboard of his Range Rover, having been warned it would be a hazard on the front grille. He retired to Jersey in 2004. He declined a knighthood on the grounds that he preferred to remain ‘just Ronnie’ and that his business achievements were the work of

many people besides himself. Ronnie Frost married, in 1959, Beryl Ward, his sweetheart since he was 16; she survives him with their son and two daughters.

Anthony Barker Late Royal Horse Guards

them. His equestrian calling prevented him from turning professional. His stables in the town were redeveloped into retail units as ‘Barker’s Yard’, but the riding school and livery enterprise continues in Duncombe Park under the management of his son Christopher. Anthony Barker married, in 1965, Jane Robinson, who survives him with Christopher and their daughters Sarah and Emma.

(with acknowledgment to The Daily Telegraph)

A

nthony Christopher Barker, horseman and countryman, who died aged 83, was a well-known North Yorkshire horseman who taught generations of young ladies to ride at Queen Mary’s School, Duncombe Park. He was born at Helmsley on 27th March 1934 and died on 28th January 2018. The Barker family has kept livery stables in the town of Helmsley – surrounded by the Duncombe Park estate – since 1875, when Anthony Barker’s widowed great-grandmother Annie left her nearby farm to become landlady of the Royal Oak posting house in the town’s marketplace. Her son Tom was a successful horse dealer and breeder; one of Tom’s four sons, Stanley Barker, became a renowned huntsman of the Pytchley, captured in a painting by Sir Alfred Munnings. Duncombe Park was let by its owner, the Earl of Feversham (formerly a Lt Col 13/18 Hussar), to become Queen Mary’s boarding school for girls in 1925. Tom Barker was the school’s riding master with his son Kit, Anthony’s father, as his assistant. When Kit suffered a riding injury in 1955, Anthony returned from service in the Household Cavalry to take over. After the school moved to Baldersby near Thirsk in 1985, Anthony continued teaching many of its pupils as well as other novices of all ages who came to his riding school. For half a century, Barker and his string of horses and ponies, carrying riders of all shapes, sizes and abilities, were a daily sight walking through the town and cantering across the adjacent parkland. A man of large presence and sunny personality, with a fund of good stories, he was a pillar of town and country life.

Anthony was educated at St Peter’s School, York. He left school to work in the stables and at 18 – a strapping six-footer with a reference from Lord Feversham for his horsemanship and good character – he joined the Royal Horse Guards, to spend three enjoyable years as a trooper on ceremonial duties in London. Most memorably, he rode in the Coronation procession in June 1953, when two troops of Royal Horse Guards and two of Life Guards escorted the Queen’s carriage to and from the Abbey. His chief memories of the day were of constant rain tarnishing his kit, and the radiant smile of the Queen of Tonga, who refused to have the hood of her carriage raised against the downpours.

Barker was blooded with the Sinnington Hunt at the age of nine, and rode to hounds for a final time 60 years later, at what he called ‘the last proper meet’ in Duncombe Park before the passage of the 2004 Hunting Act. His other passion was for the amateur stage. In the celebrated Helmsley Festival Play of 1951, written by the art historian Herbert Read and performed by a large cast in the town’s ruined castle, he played the illfated Walter L’Espec, son of the Norman knight whose castle it was; Anthony and Kit Barker were also called upon to joust on horseback, with sharp lances and no dividing wall between

Major Iain Forbes-Cockell Late The Life Guards

I

ain Forbes-Cockell died of heart failure on 3rd March 2018 at the age of 65. His death attracted an obituary in The Times, and Polo Times News. Iain Seton Forbes-Cockell was born in Kensington in 1952, the eldest child of Seton and Ann Forbes-Cockell; he had two younger siblings, Caird and ‘Honeybun’, who married a brother officer of Iain’s, Hastings Read. His extrovert father was successful in the financial world, and became the Mayor of Hammersmith in 1969: his mother was also a member of the Greater London Council. Iain’s father became a non-playing high goal polo patron, and set up the Lavender Farm and Lavender Hill teams from the family home near Ascot using ponies shipped from Argentina. He always hoped that his eldest son Iain would take a shine to the sport. However, Seton died suddenly when Iain was 19 years old. Lavender Farm was sold and the polo grounds were subsequently turned into a golf range. However, by then Iain had embraced polo. After Eton, he took a gap year to play in Argentina, where he showed a flair.

He joined the Army and did Standard Military Course 1st in October 1972 at RMA Sandhurst and was commissioned into the Life Guards. His 20-year military career began in Germany where he also began to indulge his love for smart cars. There were 3 black Porsches in the Officers’ Mess Car Park then as well as a wealth of other smart cars; the perk of service in Germany then, but never again was such motoring magnificence seen at regimental duty. He served on tanks in Detmold, armoured cars at Windsor and at mounted duty at Hyde Park Barracks. He also served in Northern Ireland in the ‘70s. Peter Sinclair-Knipe tells the story of his arrival at Combermere Barracks coming out of the Officers’ Mess one day in the mid 70s, ‘when what could only be described as a black roller skate swept into sight and parked up. A tall good looking man with hair just long enough to attract the displeasure of the Adjutant jumped out of this brand new black 911 Porsche Turbo and bounded up to me “Hello I am Iain ForbesCockell good to meet you”. After a few minutes talking, I found myself in the passenger seat conducting a Mach 1 tour around Windsor and the surrounding area.’

However, outside and even inside his military life his passion was for polo. He played wherever he served, and wherever he was invited. The Life Guards teams of the late ‘70s and ‘80s were particularly strong, drawing on the skills of peter Hunter, Charlie Graham, James Hewitt, Rupert MackenzieHill, Michael Barlow, Mark Dwerryhouse, Christopher Mitford Slade, and Andrew Fox Pitt to name but some. There

Obituaries ■ 107

was regular success in the Regimental and Captains and Subaltern competitions to such an extent that there had to be a sports bulletin in the Officers club dinner each June. Iain was generous with his ponies and time, a great and determined competitor. He was especially proud when the team won the Inter-Regimental competition in 1979 when The Life Guards beat the Royal Navy. Lord Mountbatten, as Colonel The Life Guards known as Colonel Dicky, presented the prizes assisted

by Majors Ronnie Ferguson and Willie Loyd, both former Life Guards.

The obituary in The Times reported that he had many invitations to play abroad, including from the Sultan of Brunei and Maharaja of Jaipur, and trips to the east coast of America. The Colonel of The Life Guards, Lord Mountbatten, an avid polo player who wrote the essential subject book ‘Polo’ using a pen name of Marco, strongly encouraged the Regiment’s game.

Iain was serving at Knightsbridge at the time of the Colonel’s assassination and took part in his funeral parade. As polo cannot be played all year, out of season he took time to go skiing, teaching many young soldiers at Val d’Isère in preference to the usual Bavarian ski hut.

He particularly enjoyed his time as C Squadron Leader in 1985/86 at Windsor, so important too to his polo life. Soldiers enjoyed his company, his animated free spirit and easy nature, and his quick forgiving nature after any earlier eruptions. He subsequently served in Cyprus with HQ Land Forces where he met his wife to be, Vanessa, the daughter of his boss, Brigadier Keith Mullins. They were married at the Guards’ Chapel, London, in 1989, having 2 daughters, Annabel and Emma; sadly, the marriage did not last, he and Vanessa separating in 2000.

Iain’s time in the army came to an end in 1993 when he took redundancy. He turned his hand to a variety of activities consultancy and sale – but he always leaned back towards polo. By the millennium he had returned to polo - playing, coaching, commentating and umpiring at Guards Polo Club, which he had joined as a teenager. He made particular efforts to make polo at Smith’s Lawn affordable to serving officers and worked to re-establish military connections with the Guards Polo Club.

Iain was a light-hearted and cheerful man, who sought and made fun whenever he could, pursuing the bright lights in his younger years whenever and wherever that took him. Much loved, Holy Trinity Garrison Church, Windsor was packed for his funeral, and the Guards Polo Club gave him a fine send off.

Major James Gerard McColl Late The Band of The Life Guards

by Colin Dean

W

e were very sad to learn of the death of Major Gerry McColl ARCM, psm in December 2017, all the more so as fourteen months had elapsed before it became known in military music circles. Gerry was a great ‘character’ and, as a Glaswegian, never passed by the opportunity to remind concert audiences that he came from ‘the capital of the world’.

He was born on 6th April 1937 and joined the band of the 9th Queen’s Royal Lancers as a trombone player in 1959. The regiment amalgamated the following year to form the 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales’s) and Gerry served with them under the Bandmaster, Mr Brian Keeling, with not the slightest inkling of what the future held for them.

108 ■ Obituaries

He became a Student Bandmaster in March 1968 and was part of the bearer party at the funeral of Lieutenant Colonel ‘Jiggs’ Jaeger following his death in 1970.

He ended his time at Kneller Hall as Band Sergeant Major, taking the Worshipful Company of Musicians Medal as the Best AllRound Student of the 1970 class. His other awards were the Beeson Cup and Medal for the highest marks in the MoD examination, The Professor’s Prize for the most marks on all military band instruments, The Barsotti Award for the Best Student Bandmaster of the British Army, and runner-up in the Fred Mortimer Memorial Competition for the best brass band arrangement.

He was appointed Bandmaster of 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards on 22nd March 1971, followed in August 1975 with a posting as Bandmaster of the Junior Leaders Regiment, Royal Armoured Corps.

He was commissioned on 31st March 1977 into the Royal Green Jackets as Director of Music, The Light Division, based at Winchester and responsible for overseeing the Division’s six bands and two depots. During this appointment he was the Senior Director of Music for the Edinburgh Military Tattoo 1978 and the Plymouth Pageant 1980.

2nd December 1978 he was the first serving Director of Music to be invited to address the International Military Music Society at a meeting in the National Army Museum, and he enlightened his audience on his plans for Sounding Retreat by the Massed Bands and Bugles of the Light Division and the Brigade of Gurkhas on Horse Guards Parade in June the following year.

The society’s president, Lt Col Sir Vivian Dunn, had directed similar ceremonies with the Royal Marines and gave Gerry a thorough grilling to ensure he had taken account of the potential pitfalls (he had) and gave him a good deal of encouragement and advice. Sounding Retreat was a great success, and included Round the Counties, an arrangement by Gerry of songs associated with the regiments’ recruiting areas, ending with My Old Man Said Follow the Van. One of the performances took place in pouring rain and, marching back along The Mall afterwards soaked to the skin with inhibitions lost, when the band reached My Old Man the hundred buglers at their head burst into song – fortissimo – creating one of those great unplanned moments.

He continued life at 140 paces to the minute in his next appointment as Director of Music to the Band of the Brigade of Gurkhas (2nd King Edward VII’s Own Gurkha Rifles) from 9th March 1981. He joined the band at Church Crookham, near Aldershot, soon moving with them to Hong Kong and was immensely proud of his association with the Gurkhas.

He was appointed Director of Music, The Life Guards, in April 1984 and after completing the equitation course, took part in Beating Retreat in June 1984, riding alongside his former Bandmaster, by now Maj Brian Keeling, Director of Music of The Blues and Royals, no doubt to the great pride of them both.

He was promoted to Major on 31st March 1985 in time for his

first Queen’s Birthday Parade. Almost all of his time with The Life Guards was spent at Combermere Barracks, Windsor, and unusually, he did not take part in the Major General’s Inspection of the Mounted Regiment or the Lord Mayor’s Show which at that time was undertaken by the Band stationed at Knightsbridge.

Gerry was a fine composer with perhaps his most popular work being the trombone trio, Free ‘n Easy, which was regularly played and recorded by many bands. In more military mode, he wrote three excellent fanfares for cavalry trumpets and band, while his slow march for bugles and band, St Cross, became popular with the Light Division bands. A quick march, Quickest and Best, took its title from a cry familiar to anyone who has undertaken the Household Cavalry equitation course as the order to mount without stirrups.

For the mounted bands to play at Beating Retreat in 1987 Gerry wrote a piece he referred to as Son of Trumpet Tune and Ayre, written in a similar style of bygone days. Its official title became Bellona, the Roman goddess of war, and also the name of Gerry’s charger. He directed The Life Guards at the Shrewsbury Flower Show in August 1989 and also conducted the massed bands finale in the arena to conclude the show. His final concert with the Band was at the village hall at Old Windsor, and he retired on 4th December 1989, returning to live and teach in the Glasgow area, as he put it, having completed his missionary work in England.

Captain Richard Hennessy-Walsh Late The Life Guards

C

aptain Richard (Dick) Hennessy-Walsh died on Saturday 4th August 2018 aged 69. Born on 23rd October 1948, Dick served with The Life Guards for 32 years from 1965 - 1997.

He served at Windsor, in the Far East at Hong Kong, Borneo, Germany at Detmold and Sennelager, and also did a tour of mounted duty. From quite early in his service he trained as a clerk, and it was in this role that he served. Following a full term of soldier service Dick on being commissioned in 1988 he was granted a commission serving at regimental duty and then on the staff.

After retiring from the army Dick continued in the role as a civil servant in Home Headquarters and as The Life Guards Honorary Secretary for a further 17 years until he retired in 2013, with the same dedication as his predecessors, but bringing practices up to date.

He was extremely loyal to the Regiment: he took his role as Honorary Secretary very seriously and spent a huge amount of time helping former members of the Regiment who had run into difficulties. As a consequence he was held in very high regard by members of The Life Guards both serving and retired.

On a personal level, Richard was a clever, warm hearted, witty man with a tremendous dry sense of humour, and very private often restricting comment to an expressive sigh rather than words.

He was self effacing, with an extensive Having snack at Simangang Borneo 1966. Left to right. Tprs Hulbert, knowledge of history Walsh, Nisbet and Milne and classical music. In parallel, Dicks other love was good fast cars. If you ever had a ride with Dick in any of his cars you’d be forced to listen to Bach, Beethoven or whichever classical composer had taken his fancy at the time.

His choice in music reflected his personality; precise, laid back and controlled. Everything he did was always done to the highest standard, in keeping with his nature and his code of ethics.

He also loved golf.

Passionately.

He was Secretary of the Army club in Sennelager, Secretary of the Household Division Golf Society, a member at the Winter Hill Golf Club in Cookham for many years and was proud Dick getting out of a bunker to be Club Captain in his final year. A good golfer, for years he did not use woods, often outdriving his playing partners with his irons. He ran regimental golf teams, even going to the vehicle park to seek new talent. He also ran annual jaunts for regimental friends and contacts, to top courses in America and South Africa, the stories of which were often recorded in this Journal series. Deepest sympathy is expressed to his widow Diane and their wider family.

Major Laurence Villers Late The Blues and Royals

BAOR.

Major Laurence Villers died on 24th November aged 73.

Laurence Villers, invariably known as Lou, joined the Royal Horse Guards in 1962 and carried out his basic training in Windsor before joining the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR), in particular C Sqn RHG on armoured cars in Herford.

He was an all round Regimental sportsman playing football, basketball, cricket and was also a master swordsman, fencing for the Regiment and representing

Lou was first promoted to LCpl in 1965, eventually rising to WO2 (SCM) of A Sqn before leaving the Regiment on ERE as WO1 (RCM) of UNFICYP Support Regiment, Nicosia, Cyprus.

Obituaries ■ 109

1992.

Lou received confirmation of his short service commission towards the end of this tour, and soon returned to The Blues and Royals first as 2IC HQ Sqn and then as an Acting Captain and Regimental Training Officer in Detmold.

After his Late Entry Commission was confirmed in April 1988 Lou spent four years with The Blue and Royals in both BAOR and subsequently in the UK carrying out a variety of jobs including HQ Sqn Ldr between 1988 and Lou Villers and 1990. He was then posted Derek (Geordie) McKenna to Berlin as an Acting Major and was 2IC of the Berlin Garrison Admin Unit in March 1992.

Appointed Officer Commanding the unit in March 1993 Lou spent a further two years in Berlin before taking up his final posting as Army Careers Officer in Staffordshire.

Lou retired from the Army in May 1996 and settled in Stoke on Trent with his family. He was an avid follower of Stoke City FC, often taking his children and grandchildren to matches.

He was respected and admired by all who knew him and was always ready with advice for his junior soldiers. One of his later reports sums up the man and states ‘He has a marvellous sense of humour and is well liked and respected at every level....a man who inspires confidence and whose advice, either sought or unsolicited, is invariably sound and based on the Art of the possible.’

Major Don York Late The Life Guards

D

on York died on 20th November 2018, aged 84 years. He grew up on a farm in the north country, fully familiar with all aspects of country life, having learned to ride early in his life. He joined The Life Guards in December 1951 arriving at the Mounted Regiment. Wisely, he did not let on that he could ride.

On reaching the rank of CoH he was then posted to Windsor. He subsequently served with the As RCM having carried a regiment in Borneo, Mastandard on the 1973 Presentation of Standards laya, Northern Ireland, Germany and England; then returned to Hyde Park Barracks as Regimental Corporal Major RCM for 1973/74.

Don was commissioned in 1975, taking up the post of Quartermaster (Equipment) at Combermere Barracks, moving to Windsor with his wife Penny. He was subsequently QM at Detmold, before leaving the Regiment to be a staff officer for the MOD testing ranges in Kirkcudbright, Scotland. This gave him scope to develop the sporting potential of the ranges and pursue his love of the countryside and game shooting. Upon leaving the army Don continued to manage the Kirkcudbright range operations for a public company until his retirement in

110 ■ Obituaries

As QM(E) at Windsor he continued to ride, joining a young officer and a Sqn Ldr’s wife (Mrs Earl) in a country sports triathlon team – clay pigeon shooting, fly casting, and showjumping. He was livid with the team’s young officer who made the shooting grounds at the Bath and West showground by seconds, still suffering from his night in London, who promptly missed all his clays: equanimFollowing receiving his ity was only restored to the team when Don fell in the commission, his portrait in the Daresbury Album showjumping ring. The team await a share of the equal 4th place rosettes which were given to The Prince of Wales’s team at the event at Royal Windsor Horse Show 1979.

Following the death of his wife Penny, he met Viv; he met her as she was his son’s mother-in-law; they were subsequently married, settling in Norfolk on Don’s retirement. He continued his sporting endeavours acting as gamekeeper on the former airfield of Little Snoring. Decent and generous, a real countryman, Don was a good friend. His slightly gruff demeanour could swiftly transform into broad smiles.

Captain W A B Henderson Late The Life Guards

C

aptain W A B (Bill) Henderson RVM died on 4th September 2018 aged 75. Bill joined The Life Guards in 1961, and after a short while was selected to be a clerk. He rose to be Chief Clerk. A tall man and always smart, he was a model of discretion, punctiliousness, bright and a fine example to his team, keeping up to the mark those needing advice or chivvying. Following his 22 years, he was commissioned into The Life Guards, serving a short service term to bring his time served to a total of 28 years. He then took up the post of Administrative Officer with 21 SAS until he retired.

Together with his long military service Bill managed also to combine 23 years service as a member of the Queen’s Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard, being awarded the RVM in the New Years Honours list of 2013. Bill was also a most respected Freemason.

A multi-dimensional fellow, he had enjoyed the convivial mess life of 1970s, but became also a deter-

mined distance runner. A family man, for many years he was a member of The Life Guards Association, and he had also been a founder member of the Household Division Association – Solent Branch. His funeral was attended by many from the various spines of his life, being remembered by a set of speakers covering family, soldiering, and civilian life; there was standing room only.

Warrant Officer Class 2 (ORQMC) George Dugdale Late Royal Horse Guards and The Life Guards

W

O2 George Edward Dugdale died on Friday 9th November 2018 aged 78. George enlisted into the Royal Horse Guards in 1957 and then transferred to The Life Guards in 1982, completing 25 years service.

Georges final posting was to the RAC Armour School Bovington in Dorset,where he and his family finally settled.

On completion of his service George saw the number of Household Cavalrymen who had also had postings to Bovington and Lulworth now retiring into the local area. He determined to form a Household Cavalry Association – Dorset Squadron, getting agreement and blessing from the then Lieutenant Commanding, Col Andrew Hartigan. George was the founding Chairman and oversaw steady growth to the Association.

In civilian life George became a market trader business, travelling around the area selling household goods successfully.

Ill-health convinced him to hand over in 1995 and on retirement he became Vice President of the Association, continuing to provide valuable advice and assistance to many members.

He and Janet lived quietly in Wareham. To her and their children, Stephen and Julie and the grandchildren we offer our sincere condolences.

George’s big frame and stern appearance could be forbidding, belying his true nature of a quiet and gentle man unless roused; he was a good friend to many. Honest and straight talking he had the respect of both officer and men, a true Household Cavalryman.

Trooper Leonard Owen Roberts Late The Life Guards

L

en Roberts served in The Life Guards from 1st November 1944 to 1st March 1948. He died on 27th November 2018, aged 82 years. He lived in Windsor all of his life – with the exception of his time in the army at the end of the War. He was born at the far end of St Leonard’s Road in Spital in 1926; his parents met during the First War at the Merry Wives of Windsor in the same road, his father having been a Life Guard and one of the very few members of the original regular army who survived that war. He attended what became Trevelyan school on Clarence Road. On leaving school in 1942, he started an engineering apprenticeship at the Rheostatic Company on the Farnham Road in Slough. At 18, in 1944, he joined The Life Guards like his father before him. After training, he

served in Germany, before the deteriorating situation in the Middle East led to the regiment moving to Egypt then Palestine. Like many servicemen, he did not talk about his service to his family, recalling only lighter moments such as: how his lunch had been stolen by a vulture that swooped down as he had walked from the kitchen to where he was to eat; how he had been complemented on the manner in which while feeling unwell whilst on parade he saluted before breaking rank and finding a ditch; and how beautiful he thought the Lebanon.

After the army he returned to Rheostatic completing his apprenticeship and then served the company for all but a few months of his working life though it changed its name to Satchwells and was then taken over by GEC. His life was one of devoted service: to the Army; to his employers; and to his wife and family of 4 children. He had a passion for travelling, instilled in him during his army days.

Armed with a tent, there were adventures in Cornwall, Austria, Italy including a journey in an overloaded Mk II Cortina in the Stelvio pass, Top Gear’s choice for ‘the greatest driving road in the world’; over 9000ft above sea level, with 48 hairpin bends to the top, where a short interlude had children playing in the snow, and not a lot fewer on the way down.

In later years and unencumbered with children, He and his wife went on travels round the world and at 80, he returned to Egypt with his son Michael and enjoyed visiting many of the ancient sites. In later life he cared for his wife to whom he was married for 64 years. He remained remarkably fit, enjoying walks into town with the dog in his flat cap, being photographed by Far Eastern tourists who considered him as much a Windsor sight as the Castle.

He loved his garden, growing vegetables in all corners. With a great sense of fun, he had a friendly word for all that he met.

And he had voluminous pockets which contained, amongst other things, a lucky conker, a large white handkerchief and always a packet of mints that were frequently offered. He had a good and gentle nature, humour, fearlessness of the unknown, and gave dedicated and unselfish service to his family and the Lord.

Trooper Neil Swann Late The Life Guards

by Stewart Smith

N

eil Swann, born in 1930, served in The Life Guards from March 1948 to May 1953. Always proud to have served in the Mounted Regiment at Hyde Park Barracks where he learned his skills as a very competent horseman which stood him in good stead when he subsequently joined the Metropolitan Police after five years service. After the statutory probationer period he joined the Mounted Branch and because of his experience became a horse trainer at the training school at Imber Court.

It was a very proud moment when on 19th May 1983 he joined with 8 other officers, all ex Household Cavalry and formed the

Obituaries ■ 111

Metropolitan Police Grey Escort leading The Queen’s escort to the Presentation of Standards on Horse Guards Parade.

In the run up to the parade he gave some some private lessons on dressage to some of the police riders, proving to be and very firm leading to a few aches and pains but the time was well spent.

In the Summer of 2018 his son Kevin took him to the Museum at Horse Guards which he thoroughly enjoyed reminiscing about his time with the regiment. On the 3rd December 2017 Neil was driving with his wife Evelyn on the A308 in Ashford when he was involved in a four car collision and sadly his wife died as a result. With one other driver, he was found to be a completely innocent victim. However, he died due to his horrific injuries on 2nd January 2018. A case is still on going against the two drivers of the other vehicles who were allegedly racing. A lovely man, a great friend and sorely missed by all who knew him and worked with him; our condolences go to his son Kevin and family members.

Bernard Wood Late The Life Guards

B

ernard Wood was born in Hull in December 1925 and was the elder of two children. At the age of 11 he won a scholarship to the local Grammar school.

In the senior school he was part a group of boys who formed a small dance band, playing at Saturday night dances in local village halls, and the occasional wedding. This was the era of the big bands and Bernard took professional lessons making sure his drumming was up to standard. After obtaining his School Certificate Bernard left school and was employed in the nearby Government Veterinary Laboratory until being called up for war service on his 18th birthday. Bernard recalled standing in the garden of their home, with his father, and seeing the glow in the sky 20 miles away as London suffered under the Blitz in 1940.

Reporting to Combermere Barracks he was selected to train as a driver/operator for The Life Guards. Early on in his basic training his new friends renamed him Tim obtained by TIM(BER nard)=WOOD. The name stuck with friends old and new to the end of his life. He joined 1HCR on the regiments return from service in North Africa and Italy on its return to the UK in October 1944. 1HCR returned to the war in Europe in March 1945, landing in Ostend and pushing North, eventually crossing the Rhine into Germany. By the end of April the war was approaching its end and 1HCR had reached the estu-

112 ■ Obituaries

ary of the River Elbe near Cuxhaven. By September they had moved South to Goslar, on the edge of the Harz mountains.

Shortly after the two HCR regiments, both in Germany, were disbanded and The Life Guards and The Royal Horse Guards regained their individual identities.

The Life Guards then left for Egypt where they were the rearguard of the British troops moving into The Suez Canal Zone.

Here he that briefly had the role of Squadron Despatch Rider.

It came to a sudden end when on convoy duty with the squadron on attempting to regain his position at the head of the squadron he ran the bike into the rear of the Sqn Ldr’s vehicle, getting himself a few days in hospital. The regiment crossed Sinai into Palestine to assist in peace keeping at the formation of the State of Israel, brought up to strength by the transfer of a number of all ranks of The Queens Bays. Following return to England in late 1947 and was released in January 1948, back to work again at the government veterinary laboratories, smartly dressed in his demob suit and trilby hat.

Back dancing, he met Joyce, his wife for over 60 years, marrying in 1944 at the church where he had sung as a choir boy. In 1956 he took the offered opportunity to move to the Penrith area to open and manage a new government laboratory serving the North West of England, a post that he enjoyed and carried out for over 20 years.

Bernard and Joyce enjoyed local sports, tennis badminton, skiing in the winter and were active members of the local motor club participating in its rallies and other events. The arrival of their two children, girls, Andrea and Ailsa, didn’t curtail their holidays, touring in a caravan. When they were older this often included fruit picking for a well known jam company, bringing in a useful supplement to their pocket money. Before reaching retirement Bernard was offered the chance to take charge of two special projects overseas. The first, in which he was directly responsible to one of the Saudi Arabian royal family, was to help save the Arabian Onyx, which was being threatened by disease. This he successfully achieved by breeding calves in captivity and removing them from their mothers immediately after birth and bottle rearing them, usually by Joyce in the kitchen of their home, establishing a disease free herd for release in selected areas of the country.

This was followed by a two and a half year spell in Kenya where Bernard ran a project instructing the local farmers on brucellosis in their cattle, and setting up a testing programme.

Returning to UK and retirement Bernard and Joyce settled in their home in Eamont Bridge, a village on the southern outskirts in Penrith.

Some years later storm ‘Desmond’ dealt them a blow. A flood warning was issued for Eamont Bridge and with the help of Ailsa and friends some items, including Bernard’s car, were moved to safety before the flood defences were overcome and their home was flooded. Bernard was able to find temporary accommodation in a holiday let, while Joyce already in failing health was found permanent residential accommodation.

Eventually the house, which had lost plaster to 6ft, was restored, the process taking two years before he could be back in the kitchen.

On 8th February he visited Carlisle hospital on a routine visit, collapsed, and was admitted to hospital where died late in the evening with Ailsa at his bedside. His funeral was at Carlisle crematorium on 17th February. He leaves his wife Joyce, daughter Ailsa and many friends. His ashes have been laid to rest alongside those of his elder daughter Andrea.

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NOTICES

Information for members of both The Life Guards and The Blues and Royals Associations Communication Correspondence for both Associations should be addressed to: The Honorary Secretary (LG or RHG/D Assn) Home Headquarters Household Cavalry Combermere Barracks Windsor, Berkshire SL4 3DN General Office: 01753 755297 E-Mail for Home HQ is: homehq@householdcavalry.co.uk E-Mail for Secretary LG Assn is: lg.regsec@householdcavalry.co.uk E-Mail for Secretary RHG/D Assn is: rhg-d.regsec@householdcavalry.co.uk Recruiting and Admission procedures for In-Pensioners Royal Hospital Chelsea The Royal Hospital Chelsea are currently reviewing their recruiting and admission procedures as they now believe there may be some senior citizens with military experience who might be eligible to become InPensioners but who are not aware of the eligibility criteria or what being a Chelsea Pensioner means. To be eligible for admission as a Chelsea Pensioner, a candidate must be: •

Over 65 years of age

•

Either a former non-commissioned officer or soldier of the British Army; or a former officer of the British Army who served for at least 12 years in the ranks before obtaining a commission; or have been awarded a disablement pension while serving in the ranks.

•

•

Able to live independently in the sheltered accommodation (known as Long Wards). The Royal Hospital does not usually accept direct entries in to the Infirmary.

Free of any financial obligation to support a spouse or family.

If you are in receipt of an Army Service Pension or War Disability Pension you will be required to surrender it upon entry to the Royal Hospital.

Please note that if your Army Service or War Disability Pension does not meet a minimum threshold you will be required to ‘top-up’ to that amount, providing it does not place you in financial difficulty.

If you have access to the internet more information can be found here: http://www.chelsea-pensioners. co.uk/becoming-a-chelsea-pensionerbrochure Or you may ring for more information on 020 7881 5204 Data Protection Changes to Data Protection laws require individuals to grant permission to Home HQ to store personal data. If you have yet done so, please call Home Headquarters so that they may guide you through the process.

Change of Home Address Members are requested to inform us, through Home Headquarters Household Cavalry, of any change in your address. Every year both Associations lose touch with a number of members who have failed to notify us of those changes. Any correspondence returned will result in that member being placed in the non-effective part of the database.

Your E-Mail Addresses Notification of changes to your E-mail address is as important as changes to your postal address. Please keep us informed of these also.

Regimental Items for Sale PRI shops at Combermere Barracks, and at Hyde Park Barracks only hold stock for serving soldiers. Various items with Regimental Cyphers are available from the Museum at Horse Guards.

It is recommended that enquiries are directed to the Household Cavalry Museum Shop at Horse Guards which may be contacted on 020 7930 3070 or you can visit their web site at: www. householdcavalrymuseum.org.uk.

Should you be unable to find what you want, contact Home HQ for further information.

Websites The MoD official Household Cavalry Web Site can be found at: http:// www.army.mod.uk/armoured/ regiments/1627.aspx

members must first register with Home HQ on the numbers and addresses above. http://lg1660.proboards.com/ A web site for former members of The Life Guards. To register follow the link above. http://www.theseniorcavalryclub. proboards.com/ A Bulletin Board for former Household Cavalrymen. To register follow the link.

The Queen’s Birthday Parade and Reviews The Queen’s Birthday Parade will be held on Saturday 8th June 2019 with the Colonels’ Review on Saturday 1st June and the Major General’s Review on 25th May. Application should be made for tickets to the Household Division website for standing and seated places.

Those wishing to reserve tickets for the 2020 Parade should contact Home HQ and register with your respective Honorary Secretary. Applications to attend the Parade in the seated stands should be sent in January and early February.

Combined Cavalry Parade and Service The 95th Combined Cavalry Old Comrades Parade and Service will be held in Hyde Park on Sunday 12th May 2019. Members of each Association should assemble in Broad Walk at 1030 hrs on the grass behind their Regimental Marker Board. Dress will be lounge suits and medals (not miniatures). Owing to the security arrangements members should give themselves plenty of time to get to the Assembly area. Members are invited to Hyde Park Barracks after the parade but admission will only be by ticket available from your respective Honorary Secretary.

Helpful Contacts The following is a list of organisations which members may find useful for future reference.

Veterans-UK (0800 169 2277) www.veterans-uk.info veterans.help@spva.gsi.gov.uk

ArmyNet is the serving Army’s private Web site to which Association members have now been given access. To open an account with ArmyNet non serving

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Royal Windsor Visitors Information Bureau Enquiries: 01753 743900 Accommodation: 01753 743907 E-mail: windsor.accommodation@rbwm.gov.uk or www.windsor.gov.uk Those visiting Windsor, either for Regimental functions, or any other reason, may wish to know that a Travelodge is now open offering rooms at very competitive rates. They can be contacted on 0871 984 6331 or their web site at: http://www.travelodge. co.uk/find_a_hotel/hotel/hotel_ id/329/WindsorCentral. We are in the process of identifying ‘Friends’ of the Household Cavalry who might be willing to offer up a bed or two during Association Dinners.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission They have an excellent website which can be searched using basic details, for information about the final resting place of war dead at home and overseas. Their site can be found at www.cwgc.org ESHRA (Ex-Service Homes Referral Agency) The role of ESHRA is to supply information and advice on both private and ex-Service Care Homes.

This includes the location of the homes, general advice on funding and care assessments, and the services that the homes can provide i.e. respite and convalescent care. Contact Details: ESHRA, The Royal British Legion, 48 Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5ZR. 0207 839 4466. eshra@britishlegion.org.uk www.eshra.com Officers’ Association (OA) and OA, Scotland Helps ex-officers in financial distress, provides homes for disabled officers and families, and operates a residential home in Devon. It also assists exOfficers to find suitable employment after leaving the Service. They can be contacted in England on 020 7389 5219 and in Scotland on 0131 557 2782 or their website at: http://www.officersassociation.org.uk/ The Royal British Legion (TRBL) TRBL is the UK’s largest ex-service organisation with some 570,000 members. One of its objects is to promote the relief of need and to promote the education of all those who

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are eligible, their spouses, children and dependants. If you need help, you can contact the local TRBL branch near you (number in the local phone book), or the national Legion help line on 08457 725 725 or visit their website at: www.britishlegion.org.uk SSAFA Forces Help SSAFA-FH exists to help, according to need, all men and women serving, or who have served at any time, in the Armed Forces of the Crown, their families and dependants. Local branches of SSAFA Forces Help can be found in the local phone book or from the Citizens’ Advice Bureau or contact the Central Office at: 020 7403 8783 or visit their website at: www.ssafa.org.uk.

SSAFA Forces Help - Recruitment SSAFA Forces Help need more volunteers from each Association to be Casework Supporters who are visitors, treasurers, administrators and fundraisers. SSAFA Forces Help volunteers are there to provide practical help, advice and friendship to all serving and ex-serving men, women and their families. More than 85,000 call on the charity every year. Training is given (2 days), and out-of-pocket expenses are paid. Job satisfaction is guaranteed. If you can spare a little time for a ‘comrade’ please contact: Branch Recruitment Office 19 Queen Elizabeth Street London SE1 2LP Telephone: 020 7463 9223 Haig Homes Haig Homes have some 1100 homes throughout the country for letting exclusively to ex-regulars and their families on assured tenancies.

For details of where properties are located and application forms contact them at 020 8648 0335 or through www.haighomes.org.uk The Ex-Services Mental Welfare Society (Combat Stress) For nearly 80 years it has been the only organization specialising in the care of men and women of all ranks discharged from the Armed Services who suffer from injury of the mind. The Society has 3 short stay treatment centres that specialise in providing treatment for those who need help in coping with their psychological problems. For more information and full contact details for regional offices telephone the Head Office on 01372 841600 or visit their web site at: www.combatstress.com.

The British Limbless Ex-Servicemen’s Association (BLESMA) The objects of the Association is to promote the welfare of all those who have lost a limb or limbs, or use of limbs, or one or both eyes as a result of their service in the Forces and to assist needy dependants of such Service limbless. It will also help those Ex-Servicemen who lose a leg after Service. For more details contact them on 020 8590 1124 or visit their website at: www.blesma.org.

Blind Veterans UK Blind veterans UK, formerly St Dunstan’s, cares for Ex-Servicemen who have lost their sight for any reason (even after leaving the Service). For more information contact 020 7723 5021 or visit their website at www.blindveterans.org.uk.

Regular Forces Employment Association (RFEA) contact no is 020 7321 2011 or at www.rfea.org.uk Veterans Aid Previously known as the Ex-Service Fellowship Centres (EFC) whose aims are to relieve distress among ex-servicemen of all ranks and their widows or widowers who, at the time of application for assistance, are unemployed, homeless or for reasonable cause in need. They can be contacted at 020 7828 2468. Their web site is at: www.veterans-aid.net Ministry of Defence (MOD) Medal Office There is now one Medal Office, which covers all three Services and they be contacted as follows: The Ministry of Defence Medal Office Innsworth House, Imjin Barracks Innsworth, Gloucester Gloucester GL3 1HW Email : dbs-medals@mod.gov.uk Fax: 0141 224 3586 Free Phone: 0808 1914 218 Overseas Civ: +44 (0) 141 224 3600 For additional information about medals visit: www.veterans-uk.info Cyprus GSM Clasp – 1963-64 As a result of an Independent Medal review conducted by Lt Gen Sir John Holmes a General Service Medal is available for those qualifying between 21 Dec 63 and 26 Mar 64. This is relevant to some Household Cavalrymen.

Veterans Badges Men and Women who enlisted in HM Armed Forces between 3 September 1945 to date are entitled to a Veterans Badge. There is no qualifying length of Service. You can download a form from the Veterans Agency Website at http:// www.veterans-uk.info/vets_badge/ vets_badge.htm Army Personnel Records and Family Interest Enquiries - Historical Disclosures The Ministry of Defence (MOD) keeps the records of former members of our Armed Forces for administrative use after their discharge. A Subject Access Requests (SAR) form needs to be completed in order to access records for all ranks in the Army that served after 1920. The following address should be used for ex-soldiers wishing to access their personal records: Army Personnel Centre, Disclosure 2, Mail Point 515, Kentigern House, 65 Brown Street, Glasgow, G2 8EX Tel: 0845 600 9663 The following address should be used for family members wishing to access records of deceased soldiers: Army Personnel Centre, Historical Disclosures, Mail Point 400, Kentigern House, 65 Brown Street, Glasgow, G2 8EX The following personnel Service records have been transferred to the National Archive (formerly the Public Record Office) and are available for public access.

• Army Officers commissioned prior to 1920 • Army Other Ranks that enlisted prior to 1920 Service records which pre-date those held by the MOD have been transferred to the National Archive and are freely available for public access. However the National Archives is not resourced to carry out searches. Enquirers are instead welcome to visit, or hire an independent researcher - see the National Archive website for further details at http:// www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ militaryhistory/ The Veterans Oyster Photocard You can travel free at any time using your Veterans Oyster photocard on:

Bus - Travel free at any time on buses within London Tube, tram, DLR and London Overground showing the TFL symbol You can apply for a Veterans Oyster photocard if you are: •

•

Receiving ongoing payments under the War Pensions Scheme in your name (this includes widows, widowers and dependants) Or receiving Guaranteed Income Payment under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme in your name (this includes widows, widowers and dependants)

Transport for London will not issue a Veterans Oyster photocard if you live in London and are eligible for the Freedom Pass. Visit - http://www.tfl.gov.uk/ tickets/14424.aspx or Oyster photocard team on 0845 331 9872 for further details and application.

Household Cavalry Charities We are always extremely grateful if past and serving members of the Household Cavalry wish to make donations or leave legacies in their Wills to our principal charities.

To help you decide which of our charities you may wish to benefit, and how, please read the following summaries of the objects and payment details of the main Household Cavalry charities.

If you have any queries please ask the Secretary of your Regimental Association.

Household Cavalry Foundation (HCF) (Charity No 1151869) www.hcavfoundation.org HCF is now the umbrella organisation for all Household Cavalry charities and funds. The origin of the Foundation lies in the Household Cavalry Central Charitable Fund (Charity No 1013978), whose Declaration of Trust for this Fund was made on 10th February 1975.

Its primary function then was to build up funds to deal with major regimental casualty incidents, and major events such as the Standards Parade. With the Union of the two Regiments in 1992 the Declaration was re-issued on 6th August 1992.

Its primary source of income is from The Day’s Pay Scheme (formerly The One Day’s Pay Scheme) into which

Household Cavalrymen voluntarily contribute (less musicians). A minimum of 51% of this income is passed to each Assn (LG and RHG/D) and that must be spent on the ‘welfare’ of retired members and their dependants who are in need. The HCF is here to support all the Household Cavalry family in times of need or distress with five noted pastoral care objectives: 1. Support for serving soldiers. The HCF aims to help serving Household Cavalry soldiers by providing funding for additional training, sporting activities, life-skills or educational opportunities with the assistance of the Regimental Welfare Officers external to those already provided by the Armed Forces. This will help to ensure that our troops remain motivated and dedicated to their careers within the Regiment or assist them in the transition to civilian life.

2. Caring for our casualties. Building on the excellent work of the Operational Casualties Fund, Household Cavalry personnel who suffer either physical or mental injury during their service can rely upon the HCF to provide them with the best possible support. This help extends to families and dependants too, and can take many forms.

Our core aim is to ensure that our personnel and their families are aware of and have full access to all possible existing welfare provision.

Where these welfare systems are found to be insufficient, the HCF will provide funds and physical support to ensure that our casualties can confidently either return to their regimental duties or move into civilian life with the reassurance that they will be supported for as long as they may require it.

3. Welfare support for our Veterans.

The HCF works closely with both The Life Guards and The Blues and Royals Associations, which both continue to conduct business in the usual way. We are extremely fortunate to benefit from the excellent communication networks and goodwill provided by the two Associations and thanks to this the HCF is able to increase the levels of help for former members of the Regiment in time of financial need or hardship. We look forward to continuing to liaise with Home Headquarters staff in ensuring that all of our veterans remain an integral and well supported part of our Regimental family.

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4. Helping maintain our History and Heritage. The HCF is extremely proud of our Regimental history and ethos. The Household Cavalry Museum boasts locations at Horse Guards and Windsor, the latter acting as an educational source and additionally housing the unique archives, both of which will be of benefit to the HCF. The Charity will seek wherever possible to promote the Regiment’s unique heritage to a wider audience and help to maintain our physical artefacts and memorabilia for generations to come.

5. Horses remain at our heart. The Government does not provide funding for our horses in their retirement years. The HCF will help and work closely with external charities and individuals who ensure the welfare of our horses post service. In addition the Charity will provide, when necessary, funding to provide training for soldiers to ensure the highest levels of equitation and horse welfare are maintained.

Household Cavalry Museum Trust Limited (Charity Reg No 1108039) Objects: to educate members of the general public and Household Cavalrymen about the regimental history of all regiments that now constitute the Household Cavalry, to preserve regimental memorabilia, and to operate the Museum at Horse Guards and the Archive at Windsor. In addition there is a trading fund the Household Cavalry Museum Enterprises Limited (HCMEL) which handles the Horse Guards Museum trading as well as incorporating the stock for internet sales and in due course regimental PRIs. Items for military personnel would not be sold to non H Cav personnel.

HCMEL is trading at a profit: profits from the Museum will go towards helping past and serving Household Cavalrymen and their dependants who are in financial hardship.

The Life Guards Association Charitable Trust (Charity No 229144) from 25th October 2010 This charity, established by a Scheme dated 25th October 2010, was formed from the previous three LG Association charities, namely the Helping Hand Fund, The Life Guards Charitable Trust and the Sir Roger Palmer Fund.

The objects of The Life Guards Association Charitable Trust are:

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1. To relieve members or former members of The Life Guards (“the Regiment”) or their dependants who are in need by virtue of financial hardship, sickness, disability or the effects of old age by: a. making grants of money to them, or b. providing or paying for goods, services or facilities for them including education or training, or c. making grants of money to other persons or bodies who provide goods, services or facilities to those in need.

2.

To promote the efficiency of the Regiment in any charitable way as the trustees from time to time may decide including, but not limited to: a. maintaining and promoting contact between serving and former members of the Regiment and providing for social gatherings for them; b. fostering esprit de corps, comradeship and the welfare of the Regiment and perpetuating its deeds and preserving its traditions; c. providing and maintaining a memorial or memorials to those members of the Regiment who have died in the service of their country; d. advancing the education members of the Regiment;

of

e. promoting the advancement in life of members of the Regiment by the provision of assistance to enable such persons to prepare for or to assist their re-entry into civilian life.

The objects of the Association and the Charitable Trust are identical.

They have separate legal identities for the purposes of clearer lines of responsibility, especially important for management of the Trust’s funds. The new Trust’s objects were expanded to include all the reasons most regiments have a regimental association, including now also the overall object of promoting the ‘efficiency’ of the Regiment which simply means that the Association can support the serving Regiment more closely if it ever wishes to. Hitherto, the Association’s charitable trusts had no

legal power to support the Regiment.

The priority for any cash grants by the new Trust remains to help members and former members who are in need because of hardship.

Also, although the new Charity rules allowed the three old charities to be merged, the existing funds in the three charities were ‘ring-fenced’ so that they can only ever be used for hardship cases. This means, for example, they can never be used to pay for a memorial or a social function: only new money received after the establishment of the new Trust can be used towards any of the new ‘efficiency’ objects.

The Blues and Royals Association (Charity No: 229144) The Blues and Royals Association is itself a registered charity reformed in 1968 after the amalgamation. Its aims are very much similar to those of LG Assn.

The Blues and Royals have two charities, The Blues and Royals Association (Charity No. 259191) and the Oliver Montagu Fund (Charity No. 256297) which have similar, but not identical, objects to The Life Guards Association Charitable Trust. The Oliver Montagu Fund has less restriction on how its funds may be spent. Also subsumed in RHG/D funds is The Rose Fund.

Household Cavalry Association - Dorset www.dorsetsquaron.co.uk Email: Dorsetsquadron@aol.com Facebook: Household Cavalry Association - Dorset

President The Rt Hon The Earl of Normanton Vice President George Dugdale - formerly The Life Guards Chairman Lt Col (Retd) Stuart Sibley MBE - formerly The Blue and Royals Secretary and Treasurer John Triggs BEM - formerly The Blues and Royals Assistant Secretary Mrs Ruth Appleby Committee Martin Batchelor - formerly The Blues and Royals Fred Kemp - formerly Royal Horse Guards Brian Murray - formerly The Blues and Royals Bill Stephenson - formerly The Blues and Royals Barry Woodley - formerly The Life Guards

2

018 saw the formal introduction of an Assistant Secretary and Mrs Ruth Appleby fills that role, Ruth has been writing the main articles for our newsletters for some time now and her role will expand; she is both the late wife of Stuart Appleby RHG and an ex-Naval lady, so is a most useful asset to the Association.

Our first event was the Spring Dinner and Dance at the Hotel Celebrity and

Retiring President, The Earl of Normanton

37th Annual Dinner 2018 Rear row: Lt Col (Retd) Harry Scott, Maj Gen Sir Simon Cooper, The Rt.Hon. The Earl of Normanton, Col Toby Browne, Lt Col (Retd) Stuart Sibley Front row: Mrs Scott, Lady Cooper, Lady Normanton, Mrs Browne, Mrs Sibley.

Flank Guard: LCpl Bates LG and CoH Wright RHG/D

this incorporated the Winter Warmer Draw. We agreed again to host two draws this year - the profit made from each is used to subsidise the Annual Dinner, thus making the event as affordable as possible to members. The weekend centred on Saturday 10th March and saw members and friends assemble from the Thursday night onwards. Friday night was the usual ‘meet’n’greet’ night where the lamps were swung, and family news updated and exchanged with 46 souls gathered and enjoyed dinner and a later disco. Come the next day and 62 members and friends gathered for the enjoyed informal dinner with good food and the most excellent of company. The Winter Warmer Draw drew some anticipation as the three prizes of short hotel breaks and dinner tickets were most attractive and raised over £830.

wreath at the Memorial to the 1982 Fallen in Hyde Park after the Annual Cavalry Sunday Parade. The Blues and Royals were the lead regiment and many members assembled on the day to join the muster.

On Sunday 13th May Committee Member Barry Woodley again laid our

Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day saw members commemorate this year’s occasion at Windsor. Mr Gary Nolan laid an Association wreath at the

New President Lt Gen Sir Barney White Spunner KCB CBE

A blazing summer led us well into the annual dinner weekend in October, with all 120 seats were sold out by mid May. The AGM kicked off the formal events and Mr Graham Kingham was elected to the Committee. There were many compliments on the fine quality of the meal. The President proposed the Loyal Toast and the Chairman introduced Col Toby Browne LVO Crown Equerry, who gave us, as ever, a most amusing and illuminating slant on military life rounding off with a toast to the Household Cavalry. The Chairman responded with a toast to The Ladies.

Mr Gary Nolan laying the Association Remembrance Day Wreath, Comberemere Barracks

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The membership

Household Cavalry Memorial in Combermere Barracks after the service in the Garrison church.

Finally, Members and friends celebrated the Annual Christmas Lunch with over 40 members, family and friends enjoying the traditional seasonal meal in excellent company; we were nobly entertained at the Hotel Celebrity again.

After the raffle we held the 37th Annual Draw for three cash prizes totalling £600. Again, a huge vote of thanks to Tony Prynne who sold a staggering tickets to the value of £1300 - an outstanding effort. Very many thanks again Tony

and well done – and well done and thank you to all who took part.

We remember with respect, thanks and sadness the passing of our founding Chairman, Mr George Dugdale, Mr John Matthew, Capt Dick HennessyWalsh, Mr Doug Claridge and Mr Dick Malinoski.

And finally, after 18 years of Presidency, Lord Normanton announced his retirement. With his support, guidance and attention we have not only survived as an organisation but expanded; our sincere thanks to both Lord and Lady Nor-

manton. It is with special delight that we can announce that Lt Gen Sir Barney White-Spunner KCB, CBE has accepted the appointment. Living near Dorchester and known to many we most heartily welcome him.

As we move into 2019 as an Association, we are ever aware our numbers are declining due to age and the general shrinkage of the Household Cavalry over recent years; we are still looking into the mist that is the move from Windsor to Bulford, but we will continue with pride and welcome new members.

Household Cavalry Association North East President Lt Col (Retd) G G E Stibbe OBE - formerly The Life Guards Chairman/Secretary Maj (Retd) A R Tate - formerly The Life Guards

The Life Guards in Detmold, Germany in 1980. He was joined by Capt (Retd) Chris Bunyan who had been his Troop CoH. Chris flew in from his home in Turkey. Thanks go to both Regimental Hon Sec’s whose assistance in encouraging attendance from far afield

helped make a successful night.

Later in the year it came to our attention that ex Tpr Norman Thom was missing a Northern Ireland bar to his General Service Medal that he first received for service in Borneo. Members of

Secretary Mr J Alexander - formerly The Life Guards Membership Secretary Mr K Kidd - formerly The Life Guards Treasurer Mr L Cook - formerly The Blues and Royals

T

he North East Association had a quiet 2018. Our main event was the annual dinner which took place at The Angel View Inn in Gateshead. The guest speaker was Maj the Lord Manton, who as Milo Watson was a Troop Leader in

Robert B Jackson, Giles Stibbe, Steve English - Catching up

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Norman Thom receiving his Northern Ireland bar to his GSM. With Les Cook, Ian Mullen and Jim Alexander

the Association, with the help of Ken Robertson, rallied round and organised a presentation of the medal and new bar to Mr Thom on his birthday with his family present; a very moving occasion.

Mr Dave Ansell once again carried the banner at Sunderland’s Remembrance Parade. Sadly attendance is starting to dwindle, and we hope it will improve next year.

I wish to thank the members of the committee who help organising the

annual dinner, attend it, and for their commitment to support our colleagues who need assistance; they are an inspiration.

Our next main event is the annual dinner at the Angel View hotel in April 2020 date TBC. Anyone wishing to attend should contact the Chairman. Our meetings are held at 1800 hours on the last Tuesday of the month at Command and Support Squadron Sergeants Mess, Queens Own Yeomanry, Fenham Barracks. All are welcome.

Mr Les Cook - learning new skills!

(Do keep the Brasso off the non-brass bits. Ed.)

Household Cavalry Association North Staffs Branch President: Lt Col (Retd) H S J Scott - formerly The Life Guards Vice President: Capt P V R Thellusson - formerly 1st Royal Dragoons Chairman: Mr B A Lewis - formerly The Royal Horse Guards Secretary: Mr I J Taylor - formerly The Royal Horse Guards Treasurer: Mr R Adams - formerly Royal Horse Guards

I

t seems such a long time since members last gathered for last year’s annual Christmas dinner to the first meeting of this year, which was not until February, as we have now increased the interval of our meetings and now hold them every two or three months and mostly in the form of a midday luncheon as some members who have to travel a distance do not like travelling at night. The first meeting was for the AGM when a short update from our President was passed on to members, then presiding Branch Officers were re elected for another term, no escape yet then!

Members and guests at the annual Christmas dinner

The church altar decorated for Remembrance Sunday

A number of members attended the RHG/D Association dinner and Cavalry Sunday Parade in May, and our Colonel, HRH, took time to speak to some of us after the wreath laying at the Hyde Park Bombing Memorial. The Household Cavalry memorials at The National Memorial Arboretum are now established after all the work carried out over the last couple of years, and it

has been suggested that there may be a Commemoration Service held sometime in 2019.

Once again we held our Annual Christmas dinner in November, keeping the dining room full, greeting some guests we had not seen for some time; thanks for the backing and attendance of Chris Elliott and Ken Robertson.

It was with sadness that we heard the news that our Regiments are to leave Windsor in 2019, after so many years, but this is progress, with new vehicles, new tactics, new technology; some things are inevitable.

Branch President giving his speech, after two bottles of wine? (it was a first class do. Ed)

We can be sure that our serving colleagues will embrace the future, as many of us have done in the past, to continue the high standards and traditions of the Household Cavalry. Wishing our serving colleagues, Branch members and all other Association Branch members, good health and success in whatever you are involved in the coming year.

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Household Cavalry Association North West and West Yorkshire

President: Lt Col The Hon R C Assheton TD DL Chairman: Mr John McCarthy - formerly The Life Guards Vice Chairman: Mr Kev Lambert - formerly The Blues and Royals Treasurer: Mr Kev Thompson - formerly The Life Guards Secretary & Webmaster: Mr Rob Mather - formerly The Life Guards Other Committee members Mr Lenny Key Standard Bearer & Sub-Committee Mr Peter Ditcham Sub-Committee

T

he Household Cavalry Association North West & West Yorkshire held its 6th annual Summer BBQ event in Lancashire in July 2018, and we entertained around 40 guests throughout the weekend. It was a less extravagant affair than the previous years, and was well received by many and less dramatic. We will continue to hold such events which are self-funded, and the location will be subject to change. In 2019 we will send out invitations for our summer event, and everyone is welcome.

We can accommodate Tents, campers and so on and we have the use of our own facilities, plus adjacent farmland.

Thank you to all who attended Furthermore, we will be kicking on in 2019 with the committee meeting to discuss our strategy for the Branch’s fu-

Left to right: Bob Dodsworth, Mrs Dodsworth, Paul King, Mrs King

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training has begun in earnest. A full report will be included in next year’s entry. This will be an opportunity to rub shoulders with some exceptional people.

Many have a personal family interest in Arnhem; for example, my Grandfather served with 1st Airborne Division with the Royal Signals. Hailing from Scotland, he returned from Canada in 1940, Rob Mather, Ian Allan, Andy Mather, Tony Wilson (Ex CID), specifically to join the Greg Thomas (Ex FBI), Lenny Key war effort; he was ture. If you would like to get involved, working as a lumberjack and electrician then please contact us; details are listed in the west of the country; joining The below. There are many regimental and Signals, he notably served in Norway, military wide events to consider; howArnhem and Palestine campaigns, and ever, we are less formal than most. We was an expert motorcycle rider, electriaim to stay in touch and grow organicalcian/electronics/radio comms man and ly with our BBQ camping events lunchcabler, doing his bit to help the allies es and remembrance attendance. eventually overcome Nazi Germany.

He never spoke of the war, but he began For the 75th Anniversary of the Battle Of to attend Arnhem reunions in the mid Arnhem, five Household Cavalry veter‘70s, something he really enjoyed and ans (several committee members) will relished, until he died in the mid ‘80s. be taking part in the Bridge Too Far 2019 Good luck to everyone taking part in the charity walk in aid of The Veterans Lifeevent. line charity, and to show our respect.

The event is a 75km, 5 day walk to ArnFurthermore, we will be hoping to athem in Holland. We will join a team of tend the Manchester remembrance around 20 superb veterans from several service in 2019, having rotated round a other regiments. We will be retracing number of North West locations in rethe route taken by the allies, including cent years.

Guards Armoured during the battle for Arnhem. Veterans Lifeline is headed up Finally, If you would like to get in touch

by Nick Perry (ex Irish Guards WO2) with Household Cavalry lads from The and is a fantastic charity which supports Life Guards or The Blues and Royals and assists veterans who are struggling who are based in and around the North in all areas of life, be it financially, or for West of England for whatever reason, basic essentials. Look them up at www. please contact us below. veteranslifeline.com ‘Once a Household Cavalryman always Representing the Household Cavalry a Household Cavalryman.’ will be Julian Hoggarth (LG), Ian Allan (LG), Rob Mather (LG), Mark Bridgen Tel: 07818 828286 (RHG/D) and Charles Payne (RHG/D). email: orders@fatchimp.co.uk All are taking this very seriously, and web: www.householdcavalry.net

Ralph Assheton, Rob Mather

John McCarthy

Household Cavalry Scottish Dinner at the Scottish Parliament Building, Edinburgh

by Ken Robertson

T

he second Household Cavalry Scottish Dinner took place on Friday 5th October 2018. Thanks are due to Maj (Retd) Sir Edward Mountain MSP for organising the use of the Scottish Parliament once again. It truly is a wonderful venue and it was very much appreciated by all who attended. The meal, the company were both fantastic, leading to another very memorable evening. Attendance increased slightly this year with 39 former LG and RHG/D dining. The dinner was once again deemed a success by all who attended so another dinner for 2019 is being organised.

The next dinner will take place on Friday 29th November 2019 and will be

held in Edinburgh Castle. If you would like to attend this dinner please contact

me either on 01753 755229 or email lg.regsec@householdcavalry .co.uk

Forces Pension Society

by Mary Petley

I

n last year’s Issue of the Household Cavalry Journal Mary Petley of the Forces Pension Society reminded readers about claiming their possibly long-forgotten preserved pension (PP) entitlements. In this Issue she turns her attention to those of you who may be unable to work full-time due to permanent ill-health and what might be done to relieve the financial pressure a little.

All three Armed Forces Pension Schemes (AFPSs) contain a provision that would allow the member to claim their PP early in these circumstances. Furthermore, if approved the pension comes in to payment without any reduction to take account of it being paid earlier than the scheme would normally permit and with all the inflation increases (called Pension Increases or PIs) which have occurred since the member’s discharge from the Armed Forces.

Let’s have a look at what this could mean in practice: Joe leaves the Coldstream Guards in April 1997 after 10 years service.

He is 28 and his rank for pension is Corporal. His PP, payable at age 60, would have been just over £2,500 and his pension lump sum just over £7,500. He applies for the early payment of his PP on ill-health grounds and his application is granted in January 2019 by which time he is

nearly 50 years old. With PIs, the pension he is awarded is now worth nearly £4,260 and his lump sum is worth nearly £12,780. The pension will then increase by CPI each April thereafter.

I think you will agree that, whilst Joe’s annual pension is not huge, the amounts concerned would make a big difference were he suffering ill-health rendering him unable to ever hold down a fulltime job again. Further, in Joe’s case, the cumulative total of the annual pension paid in the 10 years up to his 60th birthday would be over £42,000 – a sum not to be sneezed at!

It is possible for AFPS 75 Immediate Pensioners to claim PIs early too. AFPS 75 pays an Immediate Pension (IP) to those who leave having given at least 22 years Regular paid service after the age of 18 as an Other Rank or at least 16 years Regular paid service after the age of 21 as an Officer. The IP does not normally increase until age 55 when all the PIs which have occurred since discharge are added. If someone with an IP is unable to work full-time due to permanent illhealth, they can claim the PIs early – and they can be worth having. For example, a Corporal who left at age 40 on 1 April 2008 (so now 50 years old) could see their pension increase by over £2,000 if their application is accepted.

This is an expensive provision so Veterans UK have to assess each application carefully.

Applications

The author Mary Petley

are made on an AFPS Form 8 (available from Veterans UK website) and the appropriate box to tick in Part B is the second one down. Veterans UK will then write to the applicant seeking information about the condition and authority to gather evidence from the applicant’s doctor, consultant or hospital.

These investigations can take a little time but, if the application is successful, the pension will be backdated to the date of the claim. If the application is refused, remember that you can appeal, but you will need to back your appeal up with evidence as to why Veterans UK’s assessment of your condition was wrong.

If you are a member of the Forces Pension Society and have questions about your pension contact pensionenquiries@ forpen.co.uk. If you are not a member but would like to know a bit more about us, visit www.forcespensionsociety.org

Household Cavalry Associations ■ 127

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J

ust a few years ago Nicholas Harrison was a Captain in The Blues and Royals. His responsibilities included being a Troop Leader, Adjutant at Windsor, and Staff Captain at Whitehall, and he did service in Bosnia.

That was then.

Harrison, pictured left, (who left the Army in 2005) has traded his military life to live in East Africa. Gone are the noises associated with daily military activities such as blaring trumpets, shouted orders and clinking stirrups.

Replacing all that is the quietude of the Maasai steppe.

Home to Harrison (now a safari leader and farmer) is now a 100-acre farm in Arusha, Tanzania - a postcode he shares with his wife Nathalie and two young boys, and their Maasai neighbours.

Harrison and his wife are kept busy running their East African Safari Experience (EASE) company, whilst also operating a small-scale dairy and beef herd. The butter, raw milk, yoghurt and ice cream they produce are sold locally.

Harrison’s life today has parallels to his early youth. He was raised on a family dairy farm in Sussex started by his grandfather, and still operated by his parents today.

“Farming is in my blood”, he admits. “I knew that some day I would return to the land, I just didn’t know that it would be in East Africa.”

Nicholas and Nathalie met as students at the Royal Agricultural College in Gloucestershire. After graduation Nathalie went east to work with elephants in Nepal, while Nicholas, who wanted a taste of the military, went to Sandhurst.

After re-connecting, the two set their sights on Africa, and once arriving, haven’t looked back. “As UK expats, we’ve ranged over East Africa in our curiosity for real, open-hearted experiences”, explains Harrison. “We’ve learned Africa isn’t fair, but it is beautiful, and it never leaves you the same way it found you.”

E X P E R I E N C E Africa has made on him, and making EASE into one of Africa’s premier bespoke Safari companies is now a driving ambition.

“We are not a run-ofthe-mill package safari company.

There are plenty of those if you want a sanitised, packaged deal that will give you a stereotypical view of Africa from an air conditioned Land Cruiser”.

“We provide unique, inspirational, remarkable adventures.

We plan each safari from scratch and provide clients with an unforgettable, individual experience - put together by us, on the ground, in Arusha.”

“It’s not all champagne and helicopters and we don’t ‘do’ Tanzania through glass, never leaving the aircon. Tour operators all too often offer a shrink-wrapped experience, as passive as watching a David Attenborough box set.”

The EASE concept of creating a safari is simple and at its core are three basic precepts: 1. That the client achieves an experience that will positively impact their life.

2. To impart skills (ranging from painting, shooting, riding, yoga, dancing, motorbikes, among others) during the safari experience.

3. To disconnect from the normal day-to-day pattern of life.

“We create safaris suited to our client’s professed desires and interests” says Harrison. “We listen, and suggest - we never dictate”.

EASE get clients up close with the land, whether on the plains of the Serengeti, the Elephant haven of Tarangire, Manyara, Ngorongoro crater, or down south in the less explored areas of Katavi, Selous and lake Tanganika. There hikes up the active Lengai volcano, and mountains to be climbed including Kilimanjaro itself.

“It is an eye opener to be immersed amongst these Masaai people and see how they actually live” extols Harrison. “But don’t take it from me - come and see for yourself.”

Harrison is working hard to ensure that he returns the impact

Tips to consider when planning your EASE Safari • • •

Families with children and multi-generational groups are particularly welcome Safaris can be 7, 10 or 14-days in duration Travel from the UK to EASE can be done in one day with KLM

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Features Battlefield Tour 2018 Normandy and the footprints of 2 HCR - April 2018

F

or the tour this year the Household Cavalry Regimental Associations moved away from the battlefields of the Great War and the Western Front, covered in 2015, 2016 and 2017, and moved 400km South West to Caen in Normandy to look at the events of Operation OVERLORD and the battle of Normandy. Once again we were ably guided by Pete Storer on the RHG/D bus and Jim Lees, assisted by Brian Rogers, on the LG bus. There is of course much more travelling involved in a trip to the Cotentin Peninsula than in a quick dash over to Ypres so an early start was called for and it was 85 more or less bleary eyed veterans, family members and serving soldiers who left Combermere Barracks at 0445hrs on the morning of 18th April to travel to Portsmouth in time for the 0815 Ferry sailing to Ouistreham, the port of Caen. The weather was fine for the crossing and the group soon spread themselves around the ferry to indulge in whatever they wished to pass the time including reading, drinking and catching up on sleep during a stress free journey. On arrival at Ouistreham at 1500hrs it was a relatively short trip into Caen to book in at our hotel and the evening was left free for an introduction to the bars and restaurants of the city and Norman hospitality.

H Cav Assy Member paying his respects to the fallen at Ranville

The following morning the tour started in earnest and after a substantial, if

continental, breakfast in the hotel we set off to explore the British sector of the OVERLORD battlefield. With two coach loads of people some of the sites visited necessitated a little juggling with numbers but as the landings on 6th June 1944 started with the dropping of three Airborne Divisions (6th British, 82nd and 101st US) we first visited Merville Battery and museum and the Commonwealth War Graves cemetery at Ranville where 2,560 soldiers (including 322 Germans), many of them early Airborne

Lord Patrick Beresford reflects at Merville

H Cav wreath laying party

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casualties, are interred. Also in this cemetery are two early 2HCR casualties, Cpl Reynolds and LCpl Barnes. A wreath and crosses were laid to commemorate these soldiers. A short distance from Merville is the famous ‘Pegasus Bridge’ and the Café Gondrée with its strong Airborne links (although as was pointed out by the guides the first British Troops to land, by glider, were members of the Ox and Bucks Light Infantry led by Maj John Howard). Prior to the seaborne landings it was essential to take and hold this and other bridges in the area to prevent German counter attacks into the flanks of the landing area. All were suitably impressed by the amazing skill shown by the glider pilots who managed to land the assaulting infantry within yards of the Bridge at night. After an al fresco lunch and some sampling of local vintages the tour moved on in the afternoon to look at the seaborne landings and commenced with a visit to the cliffs overlooking Arromanches from where there is an excellent view of the remains of the British prefabricated ‘Mulberry Harbour’ which was instrumental in enabling the Allies to land huge numbers of men, vehicles, and mountains of stores over the beaches. This was followed by a visit to the Arromanches 360° cinema which gives a technologically advanced if rather French and US orientated overview of Op OVERLORD. The day was finished off with visits to Sword Beach and the famous ‘Green Howards’ memorial (which is based on

Maj Ade Gardner and Maj Dean Owens on Pegasus Bridge

CSM Stanley Hollis of that regiment, the only VC winner on 6th June 1944) and finally a visit to Juno Beach and the 2HCR landing site near Courseulles sur mer. The Regiment landed here over the beach on 13th July 1944 by which time the fighting had moved inland away from the beaches and there was room in the bridgehead to start bringing ashore additional armoured and reconnaissance assets. Returning to the hotel the evening was free for another chance to sample the local cuisine, wine and nightlife and to make the acquaintance, closer in some cases than others, of the local people and other visitors.

Day two once again started with breakfast in the hotel and moved swiftly on to travel further afield with a visit to the American sector. No visit to Normandy would be complete without a look at the US cemetery at Omaha Beach. Immortalised in such films as ‘Saving Private Ryan’ this is a truly moving place comprising 72 acres and the graves of 9,387 US servicemen who died in the landings

Mr Colin Falvey and Ian Burley

and subsequently in the Battle of Normandy. There is also a modern and well laid out visitor centre which tells the stories of some of those individuals. A short drive away we moved the coaches into a laager and once again wheeled out the trestle tables, bread, cheese and wine for a satisfying lunch. Once again the weather was kind and there was time to relax and soak up a few rays. After lunch we headed back into the British sector and to the largest cemetery of Commonwealth soldiers in France at Bayeux. There are 4648 burials here and a monument to the missing which bears another 1800 names of those with no known grave. Among them are four further members of 2HCR, LCoH Evans, LCpl Hill and Tprs Jones and Sutton. Once again we laid a wreath to commemorate these soldiers. The day as a whole forcibly reminded us that while the invasion was undoubtedly a brilliant success that success was bought at a high price. A move inland took us via Villers Bocage, an undistinguished town now as it was virtually destroyed

during the heavy fighting there in June and July 1944 and several Allied air raids, and on to St Martin des Besaces where we visited the ‘Museum de Percee de Bocages and ‘Cavalry Bridge’.

The museum commemorates Op BLUECOAT and the breakout from the Normandy bridgehead, and Cavalry Bridge that was seized by a half troop of 2HCR led by Lt Dickie Powle on the morning of 31st July 1944 after a wild reconnaissance 6 miles behind German lines. The unexpected seizure of the bridge enabled the whole of 11th Armoured Division to move forward through a lightly defended area and was instrumental in the breakout.

After returning to the hotel a team meal had been arranged which was well attended and enjoyed by all, followed by another free evening in Caen for those who were still up for it. The following morning after a last chance to visit the Chateau, the Abbaye-aux-Hommes and the tomb of William the Conqueror, not to mention a few last WW2 sites and

The Tour party

Features ■ 131

museums in the town, we partook of a leisurely lunch before the short trip back to Ouistreham for the 1630 ferry to Portsmouth and the considerably longer trip home.

Mr Digby with young lads

Another successful tour was enjoyed by all, and the intention is to organise these trips annually with a view to allowing as many Association members as possible to take part. Next year, 2019, is of course the 75th Anniversary of the Normandy Landings but also of Op MARKET GARDEN, the doomed Airborne Landings at Arnhem where 2HCR also played an important part. Apart from being an excellent opportunity to meet up socially with a group of like-minded people these trips remind us of the sacrifices which our forefathers made to give us the freedoms which we now enjoy.

Burying a Royal Horse Guards Sovereign’s Standard

U

nfortunately, during preparations for a 2017 Christmas charity carol service, a volunteer on a step-ladder became unbalanced and seriously damaged the adjacent laid up Standard. This was the Sovereign’s Standard of the Royal Horse Guards laid up after 1963.

Sadly, the Standard was beyond repair, the silk disintegrating after disturbance.

The treatment to be followed was for the remains to be buried, unmarked, in consecrated ground.

Consequently, on 3rd October 2018, with appropriate ceremony, the Padre oversaw a short service that laid the Standard in a small freshly dug pit at The Guards Chapel. The RHG/D Sqn WO2 A S Preston bore the Standard to its resting place, with trumpet calls and regimental collect, and blessings in the presence of the Comd Offr and RCM.

The damaged Standard

The Trumpeter, Verger and Padre

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SCM Preston is escorted to the site

Placing the Standard in its final resting place

T

Nestled in place

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

he Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2018, also known as CHOGM 2018, was the 25th meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. The meeting had been planned to have been held

by Vanuatu at the end of 2017, but was moved to the United Kingdom after the impact of Cyclone Pam on the infrastructure of Vanuatu, and postponed to April 2018.

The position of Commonwealth Chairin-Office, held by the government leader

of the CHOGM host country, was transferred at the summit from the Prime Minister of Malta to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, who will hold the post until the 26th CHOGM, set for 2020. A key outcome was the issued of a statement from the leaders announcing their decision that Prince Charles will be the next Head of the Commonwealth.

From a ceremonial point of view it was unique; on 19th April a reduced Captains Escort under command of Capt TDE Mountain, with Mounted Band led

by Maj C Hallatt, deployed to a position at the junction of The Mall and Marlborough Gate, RCM Quickfall bearing the Commonwealth flag. No individual was escorted, but all the Heads of Government drove by en route to St James’s and the meeting.

It was a glorious day; the traffic in London came to a standstill; and when all had safely arrived the Escort returned to barracks following the Band.

The escort in position with the mounted Band looking down The Mall towards Buckingham Palace

Features ■ 133

A National Service – 1948 to 1955

by Harvey Graham, The Life Guards Association Rep, York YO postal area

M

y name is Harvey Graham and I am a native of God’s Own County of Cumbria, my home town being Penrith. I initially aspired to join the Royal Navy but due to circumstances prevailing at the time I was not successful. In the event I elected to join the Royal Armoured Corps resulting in a posting to Barford Camp, north east of Barnard Castle, County Durham on 17th June 1948. The camp at that time was occupied by a detachment of the 12th Royal Lancers and after being kitted-out etc., certain of us were asked if we would like to be drafted into the Household Cavalry.

of the armoured car troop drivers. Other members were 2Lt Taggart, CoH Jimmy Lea, Cpl Kenneth Jackson and Tprs Harry Blackman, Tom Flannery and Eric Stockwell. There were also two other NCO members of the troop whose names were Cpls Bowden and Biggerstaff who usually drove the Dingo Scout cars.

I, along with a number of others, thus opted to join what seemed to be a golden opportunity to spend our National Service looking after horses and dressing up in fancy uniforms and the like! However, in order to stop any of us changing our minds, we were soon despatched to Combermere Barracks, Windsor by train via Darlington and London. We were accompanied by a very authoritative soldier who sported four inverted stripes on his lower arm surmounted by a crown - this gentleman turned out to be Cpl Maj Wilcox, with whom we were all to become much more acquainted in the future.

In late 1948, D Sqn was charged with having to under- Harry Blackman, Wireless Operator, and Harvey Graham, Driver, at Combermere Barracks October 1948 take guard duties on Windsor Castle and after strict training at Combermere Barend of the duty. There was always great racks we were relocated to Victoria Barcompetition for being chosen as being racks thereby taking over guard duties either of the two “stick-men”. I had at the Castle from the 1 Bn Scots Guards. the pleasure of being chosen for the last This, so far as I am aware, was the first guard which was under the command time (or indeed the last time) The Life of Lt Mike Thomas – see photograph.

Guards regiment had been called upon On that occasion we were relieved by to undertake such duties at that iconic the 1st King’s Shropshire Light Infantry residence. Apparently there had been (1 KSLI) and we could hardly contain no Foot Guards regiments available. ourselves when they came through the This “term of office” lasted some five Henry VIII gateway at the fast infantry months from late 1948 to early 1949. marching pace of 120 to the minute. It The guard was honoured by a visit of was, however, nice to be accompanied the late Gold Stick in Waiting and Coloback to Combermere Barracks at a more nel of The Life Guards, Maj Gen the Earl leisurely pace with The Band of The Life of Athlone KG, GCB, GCMG, GCVO, Guards leading the way.

DSO, PC on Christmas Day 1948 who graciously agreed to sign all the ChristShortly afterwards, members of D Sqn mas Day dinner menus of those on duty were delegated to assist with the train– I still have mine! In addition to the ing of various Armoured TA Units duties at the Castle we also undertook round the UK and I had the privilege guard duty at Victoria Barracks. of doing so at the annual camp of the Derbyshire Yeomanry near to the East During the time The Life Guards did Riding of Yorkshire village of Rolston, guard duty at Windsor Castle King south of Hornsea. We in fact had to George VI was apparently never in drive their armoured vehicles from Derresidence otherwise a double or “long by to the camp and return. One Sunday guard” would have had to have been morning, after volunteering to drive provided. Also, the Royal Standard one of the Daimler armoured cars to would have been flown from the Round re-fuel further down the coastal road, I Tower but as far as I can recall this nevreturned and was just about to enter the er happened. The duties at the Castle, wall embraced gates to the camp, when Monday to Saturday, comprised a 24 the accelerator pedal stuck down. Upon hour stint of two hours on and four off, releasing the gear change pedal the car whereas at weekend it was a 48 hour lurched forward and demolished one affair Saturday to Monday, also of two of the side walls at the entrance to the on and four off. Before going on duty camp. I was immediately charged with the guard was always given an initial dangerous driving and detained under inspection at Victoria Barracks before close arrest in a tent, being released being taken by truck to Combermere for shortly after what I had said was the a second and final inspection where the cause of the accident had been verified, so called “stick-men” were chosen prior i.e., a faulty accelerator pedal. Other exto marching from there to the Castle; the cursions with TA units which I attended reverse of the march took place at the were to Barry in South Wales, Warmin-

Appropriately, we formed a squad designated as ‘June B’ (along with others who had been drafted in from elsewhere) supervised in no uncertain manner by CoH Mick Bone. Some 6 weeks later we passed out for drill attainment observed by none other than the then Shah of Persia who was apparently very favourably impressed. This was a great day for all of the squad and Mick Bone was full of praise for our performance, not least the RCM AH Hylands and the Comd Offr LtCol Ferris St George CVO. A short while afterwards, and after passing driving tests in both Ford pickup trucks and Daimler armoured cars at Combermere, I joined D Sqn as one

Harry Blackman, Wireless Operator, and Harvey Graham, Driver, at Combermere Barracks October 1948

134 ■ Features

ster, Wiltshire and Lulworth, Dorset – all without mishap.

On another occasion a number of D Sqn members were delegated to assist with the setting-up and daily re-arranging of the jumps at the then annual show jumping event at the White City Stadium, London. I was one of those who took part in this and we were duly accommodated at Knightsbridge Barracks.

Each day we were marched across Hyde Park to Marble Arch under the watchful eye of the NCO in charge, a Sergeant of the Scots Guards who was stationed at nearby Wellington Barracks, hence onto the Central Line to White City. This was quite an interesting interlude from the usual duties at Combermere and at the end we were all duly rewarded with the then significant sum of £20 together with a 48 hour leave pass from the officer in charge, Capt Llewellyn. However, granting the pass apparently caused a spot of chaos at Combermere as quite a number of us had been scheduled for barrack guard that weekend Thankfully, we were not charged with being AWOL. Eventually, myself and others were re-

located to the Driver and Maintenance (D&M) wing at what was the Imperial Training College in Alma Road – now the Windsor and Maidenhead Police HQ – where I trained as a driving and maintenance instructor on Daimler armoured cars. The training period for recruits was about 5 weeks but, having already passed out drivThe last guard provided by D Sqn at Windsor Castle being ing Bedford trucks, it was relieved by the 1 KSLI, March 1949. The officer in charge not so daunting as one was Lt Mike Thomas, with CoH Jimmy Lea might imagine. However, there were around five different trainCarlisle on 8th March 1951 into the Roying routes around the Windsor area, the al Engineers, 152 Railway Traffic Squadinitial one being relatively easy circuron and for the next four years attended lating from Alma Road, via Winkfield their annual camp at Liss, Hampshire, and Hawthorn Hill, chosen no doubt eventually being demobbed for the secfor the learners to get used to handling ond time on 8th March 1955. Interestthe cars. The final routes of the course ingly, as I had previously been a memranged much further afield including ber of The Life Guards, during my first Leatherhead, Kingston-upon-Thames camp I was promoted to LCpl and in and Guildford. I was demobbed on the 1954 to Cpl. - need I say more! Well yes, 11th March 1950, then being transferred I wish I had signed on at Windsor and to the Army Emergency Reserve. joined the Band as I used to play a bugle in the Army Cadet band and a cornet in However, along with three of my work Penrith’s Brass Band. colleagues, I was persuaded to enlist at

Afghanistan (with apologies to Kipling) by a British soldier in Afghanistan in 2009

When you’re lying alone in your Afghan bivvy, And your life it depends on some MOD civvie, When the body armour’s shared (one set between three), And the firefight’s not like it is on TV, Then you’ll look to your oppo, your gun and your God, As you follow that path all Tommies have trod.

When the Gimpy has jammed and you’re down to one round, And the faith that you’d lost is suddenly found, When the Taliban horde is close up to the fort, And you pray that the arty don’t drop a round short.

Stick to your Sergeant like a good squaddie should, And fight them like Satan or one of his brood.

Your pay - it won’t cover your needs or your wants, So just stand there and take all the Taliban’s taunts, Nor generals nor civvies can do aught to amend it, Except make sure you’re kept in a place you can’t spend it.

Three fifty an hour in your Afghani cage, Not nearly as much as the minimum wage.

Your missus at home in a foul married quarter, With damp on the walls and a roof leaking water Your kids miss their mate, their hero, their dad; They’re missing the childhood that they should have had.

One day it will be different, one day by and by, As you all stand there watching, to see the pigs fly.

Just like your forebears in mud, dust and ditch, You’ll march and you’ll fight, and you’ll drink and you’ll bitch, Whether Froggy or Zulu, or Jerry, or Boer, The Brits will fight on ‘til the battle is o’er.

You may treat him like dirt, but nowt will unnerve him, But I wonder sometimes, if the country deserves him.

Features ■ 135

Call Me Oscar

by Christopher Joll, formerly The Life Guards Regimental Historian of the Household Cavalry

W

hilst it is a well-known fact that, prior to the amalgamation of the Royal Horse Guards (The Blues) and the 1st Dragoons (The Royals) in 1969, the Household Cavalry could not lay claim to a Victoria Cross, it is a much less wellknown fact that we can, uniquely in the British Army, lay claim to the highest award bestowed of a film actor: an Oscar. In fact, we have two.

The first was awarded to Tpr (later Captain) Victor McLaglen who, in 1901 at the age of 14 and very tall for his age, enlisted in the 1st Life Guards in order to fight in the 2nd Boer War. Although he never left England, when his true age was discovered in 1904 he was discharged – but not before he had fought his way to being the Regiment’s Boxing Champion.

Victor McLagen

After a brief but successful career as a professional wrestler and boxer in a Canadian touring circus - including a six-round exhibition bout with the then World Heavyweight Boxing Champion whilst on a tour of the USA - and an even briefer spell as a Canadian policeman, McLaglen started travelling.

He went first to Australia, where he worked as a gold prospector, then on to Tahiti, Fiji, Ceylon and India, where he got a job as physical training instructor to the Rajah of Akola, finally ending up in South Africa in 1913. He returned to England the following year, on the outbreak of the First World War, and was commissioned into the 10th Battalion Middlesex Regiment where, despite his duties on the front line, he kept up his skills in the boxing ring. He ended the war as an Assistant Provost Marshal in Baghdad and the Heavyweight Champion of the British Army.

Following his demobilisation, in 1920 McLaglen was talent spotted in a London boxing club by a British film producer looking for someone to play the lead in a costume romp about an aristocratic pugilist, The Call of the Road. Three of McLaglen’s eight brothers (he also had a sister) were on the stage, which may have been why he agreed to audition. In any event, he got the part and his film career began. Nineteen British silent movies later, in 1925 McLaglen decided to try his luck in Hollywood.

He was immediately hired for the film

Unholy Three, in which he was typecast as a circus strongman; it wasn’t long after that before he was put under contract by Fox. A hundred films were to follow, in many of which he was cast as a drunken Irishman (he was neither) or as a Non-Commissioned Officer ‘with a heart of gold’.

Although now largely forgotten by all but Hollywood film buffs, the threetimes married McLaglen, who in 1933 took American citizenship, is the first - and to date only - Life Guard to have been awarded an Oscar (Best Actor: The Informer, 1935) and a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Possibly better remembered is the exBlue and Welshman, Tpr Ray Milland.

Born in 1907, Milland - whose birth name was Alfred Reginald Jones - joined the Royal Horse Guards (The Blues) in 1925, becoming an accomplished marksman. However, following a ‘walk-out’ with the American actress, Estelle Brody, who told him that with his good looks he should be in films not in the Household Cavalry, in 1928 he bought himself out of the Army. He may have been encouraged to do this by the fact that his name was mud in The Blues, following an incident during the Escort for the State Visit of the King of Afghanistan. Milland, still at this point called Jones, was drunk on parade and during the Escort lost control of his horse which bolted. In his own words: I went right through the Mounted

In Hollywood in The Black Watch, 1928

136 ■ Features

Victor McLagen with his Oscar for The Informer

Tpr Reginald Jones RHG

Ray Milland with Joan Collins

Veronica Lake

Band… The Drum Horse, who was at least nineteen years old, ended up in the [Queen Victoria] Memorial fountain, and I finished up in Buckingham Palace courtyard, alone and without a friend in the world.

played the eponymous, stiff-upperlipped hero. The screenplay was based on the books by ‘Sapper’, the nom de plume of H C McNeile, who had modelled his main character on his friend Gerard Fairlie of the Scots Guards.

Despite its success, in the films that followed Milland, who unlike McLaglen never came close to being commissioned, only twice more played an officer. The first was as an American pilot and the second as an Hungarian hussar in Hotel Imperial, a film set on the 1917 Russo-Austrian frontier. In this role, as Lieutenant Namassy, Milland had to lead a cavalry charge against the Russians: the scene required Milland at some point to jump from his horse. As a former Household Cavalrymen, albeit one with a chequered record as a jockey, Milland refused the offer of a stunt double. This decision very nearly ended in disaster when, during shooting, his saddle slipped whilst he was galloping towards the enemy and he was catapulted off his horse onto a pile of masonry rubble. Milland was unconscious for twenty-four hours and in hospital for weeks recovering from broken bones and skin lacerations.

This incident resulted in him being confined to barracks for three weeks.

The following year Jones got an uncredited part as an extra in the British silent film, Piccadilly. Like Victor McLaglen, whose career took off because of his boxing abilities, Jones’s first break came in 1929 when his skills with a rifle got him a part in The Informer. Whilst on the set, he was asked to test for a role in The Flying Scotsman, which was being shot on an adjacent stage. The test was successful, he changed his name to Milland and never looked back.

After completing four films in which he had an acting role, and believing that he was being hired because of his handsome face rather than his stagecraft, Milland joined a theatrical touring company, taking the second lead in The Woman in Room 13. During one performance of the play, he tripped on a piece of stage carpeting and ended up in the orchestra pit then, in the final act, accidentally spat his false teeth into a copper bowl; the resulting clang ‘brought the house down’. After just five weeks touring with The Woman in Room 13, Milland left the play, confident that he had mastered his craft sufficiently for Hollywood. Shortly afterwards, he accepted a nine-month contract offer from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and moved to the West Coast of America. Although his acting was strongly criticised in front of the whole crew by the director of his first Hollywood film, Son of India, within seven years - and with a period without work in 1932 during which he returned to England - he had become a ‘leading man’.

Milland’s first film in a starring role was Bulldog Drummond Escapes in which he

Unaffected by this accident, Milland’s Hollywood career continued to prosper and climaxed with a Best Actor Oscar for his performance in Billy Wilder’s The Lost Weekend. The leading role of the drunken Don Birnham called for far greater acting skills than he had previously had to deliver, so Milland decided that – in the manner of later ‘method actors’ – he needed first-hand experience of alcoholism. Accordingly, he arranged to spend a night on a psychiatric ward for alcoholics with delirium tremens: he left the hospital, severely shaken by the experience, at 0300hrs. In the event, so convincing was his Oscar-winning performance, that he was for a long time afterwards dogged by erroneous rumours that he was indeed an alcoholic.

One of Milland’s last films as an actor, before he turned to directing, was Al-

Ray Milland with his Oscar for The Lost weekend

fred Hitchcock’s 1954 Dial M for Murder, in which he starred alongside Grace Kelly, who two years later would become Her Serene Highness Princess Grace of Monaco. Hedda Hopper, the scurrilous Hollywood gossip columnist, alleged that the handsome Milland and the beautiful Kelly had had an affair during filming, something which they both denied. Whether or not the story is true, Milland did play opposite some of the most beautiful stars in Hollywood including Lana Turner, Marlene Dietrich, Ginger Rogers, Jane Wyman, Loretta Young and Veronica Lake (who he once took the NCO’s Mess at Combermere Barracks where, understandably, she caused a considerable stir). Given that some of these ladies lacked a spotless reputation when it came to amorous affairs with their co-stars, it is remarkable that Milland remained married for fifty-four years to his first and only wife.

This is surely a record in Hollywood, not to mention The Blues.

Like his fellow Household Cavalrymen, Victor McLaglen, Jack Charlton, Alfred Wintle and Lord Mountbatten, Milland was the subject of the BBC’s This is Your Life biographical programme. He died in 1986 and, again in company with McLaglen, was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

This article is drawn from The Drum Horse in the Fountain & other Tales of the Heroes and Rogues in the Guards by Christopher Joll & Anthony Weldon. Nine Elms Books £20.00.

Ray Milland’s Walk of Fame star

Features ■ 137

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Troop Drills?

Below is a photograph sent in by George Lawn. Can you identify the activity here, and give details of the date, place and personnel?

Household Cavalry Regimental Collection Trust Medal Collection

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he medal collection contains over 700 items ranging from orders, decorations, campaign medals and sports medals of all kinds. Most of the collection has been donated, although several medals have been purchased in recent years. The Museum was very fortunate in that three very distinguished former members of the Regiment collected many of the early medals and it was these collections that were donated in the 1960s and 1970s.

The extensive collection formed by Brig Sir Ernest Makins containing medals to the Royal Dragoons was donated to the Museum in 1969 and mainly consisted of medals up to and including the Great War. Many of the medals were purchased by Sir Ernest from established and well-known collections in the late Victorian and Edwardian period.

Most of the collection is displayed in our new museum display cabinets at Windsor and some of the more unique

by Jim Lees, formerly RD

items are on display at the Regimental Museum in Horse Guards, including the superb Napoleonic period group to Col Sir Robert Chambre Hill, Royal Horse Guards, who was wounded at Waterloo and the posthumous Victoria Cross group to Lt John Spencer Dunville, 1st (Royal) Dragoons.

The collection is well represented by the campaign medals awarded to members of the Household Cavalry from Waterloo to the General Service Medal 19161962 with clasp Palestine 1945-1948 received by The Life Guards. From that date, there are some notable gaps in the collection principally the General Service Medals with clasps awarded for the Arabian Peninsula, Borneo, Canal Zone (The Royal Dragoons and The Life Guards), Cyprus 1963-1964 and Northern Ireland. Interestingly, although The Life Guards and the Blues and Royals served extensively in Northern Ireland we do not yet have a single medal in the collection from either Regiment.

Medals awarded for the Falklands War (South Atlantic Medal) mainly to The Blues and Royals, Gulf Medal, Iraq Medal, UN and NATO Medals for various campaigns, Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan are all required to supplement the collection.

Very recently the Museum did acquire a Gulf Medal in a group worn by Maj David Waterhouse, The Life Guards, along with the World War Two medals awarded to his father, Major C.H. Waterhouse The Life Guards, and those of his mother, Lady Caroline Waterhouse (née Spencer Churchill) of the British Red Cross Society. It was a most generous and interesting gift indeed. In the future, it is hoped that we will be able to fill the gaps in our collection either by purchase or better still by donation; so if you wish your service in the Household Cavalry to be fully recognised consider donating your medals to the Museum.

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Unveiling a Plaque to The Life Guards at Guildhall

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n 4th March 2018, the Colonel The Life Guards, FM Lord Guthrie, unveiled a plaque to The Life Guards in Guildhall. The Regiment had been granted privileged status by the City of London in 2015, joining The Blues and Royals. The Royals initially received this privilege in 1963, and the City was happy for it to be continued after amalgamation by The Blues and Royals.

We are grateful to the Remembrancer, Mr Paul Double, for steering this matter through the City’s committees. Mr Double is to the right of the photograph as Colonel Charles unveils the plaque.

The plaque gives a short background to the Regiment and links to the City.

The event was witnessed by those Life Guards working in the City and our liverymen.

FM the Lord Guthrie, Colonel The Life Guards, unveils the plaque.

Mr Paul Double stands to the right of the picture

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service SIS and the Household Cavalry

by Christopher Joll

“

Good evening, Mr Bond”. With those four words, spoken by The Queen during the Opening Ceremony of the London Olympic Games, Her Majesty not only took centre stage with the 007-of-the-moment, actor Daniel Craig, but echoed the words of arch-villain, Karl Stromberg, in the 1977 Bond film, The Spy Who Loved Me. The addition of the Household Cavalry’s Colonel-in-Chief to the pantheon of characters in the spy film series was even more appropriate than the Opening Ceremony’s Director, Danny Boyle, could possibly have imagined given that two of the most celebrated members of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) in the twentieth-century were Household Cavalrymen: Maj Gen Sir Stewart Menzies KCB KCMG DSO MC (1890-1968) of the 2nd Life Guards and Col David Smiley LVO OBE MC & Bar (1916-2009) of the Royal Horse Guards (The Blues).

Although characters in fiction are rarely exact pen-portraits of real people, it is probable that Bond’s creator, Ian Fleming, who worked in Naval Intelligence during the Second World War, knew both Menzies and Smiley, either personally or by reputation. Whether or not Fleming drew on their exploits when he created ‘M’ and 007, the stories of both men’s careers in the Household Cavalry and in SIS reinforce the adage that ‘truth is stranger than fiction’.

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The older of the two, Stewart Menzies, was born into a family whose wealth was derived, on his father’s side, from whisky and, on his mother’s side, from shipping.

Despite the unfortunate Royal Baccarat Scandal of 1890 (the subject of former Scots Guards Maj Gen Mike Scott’s recent book, Royal Betrayal) which took place at Tranby Croft, Menzies’s mother’s home in Yorkshire, Menzies’ parents were friends of The Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII; there was even a rumour that the Prince was Stewart’s real father. True or not, Menzies was educated at Eton and commissioned in 1910 into the Grenadier Guards, although he transferred to the 2nd Life Guards after only a year where he joined his elder brother, Keith. Interestingly, Sir George Holford, who was the Menzies brothers’ step-father from 1912, was a former officer in the 1st Life Guards who presented his Regiment with the drum horse ‘Paddy’ and then commissioned the Munnings painting of the horse which still hangs in the Officers House at Hyde Park Barracks.

Menzies’ service in the First World War as a 2nd Life Guard included action in 1914 at Zandvoorde, where he was wounded, and the First Battle of Ypres, in the course of which - as only a subaltern - he earned a DSO. His time in the trenches came to an end in 1915 after being severely gassed during the Second Battle of Ypres, during which

Stewart Menzies, 2nd Life Guards c1915

he was awarded an MC. Menzies remained badged to the Regiment until 1929 although, for the remainder of the war, he worked on Field Marshal Haig’s Staff, where he started his career in Intelligence.

In 1919, as a Lieutenant Colonel, Menzies was posted to MI1(c), later re-designated the Secret Intelligence Service.

Once installed in the Foreign Office, Menzies’ first job in SIS was as Assistant Director for Special Intelligence. In this role he almost certainly played a part in the publication, just four days before the

1924 General Election, of ‘the Zinoviev Letter’. This was a letter which was purported to have been sent by the Head of the Executive Committee of the Soviet Union’s Communist International to the Head of the Britain’s Communist Party, urging closer ties between the USSR and the UK as a means of advancing the Communists’ revolutionary agenda in this country. The disclosure of the Letter in the Daily Mail was intended to discredit the first Labour Government, which was at the time of the General Election engaged - with the support of Liberal MPs – in trying to obtain Parliamentary ratification of a trade deal with the Soviets. Although the Letter did not impact on the Labour vote, the prospect of Red revolution on Britain’s streets caused the Liberals’ electoral support to collapse and thereby delivered a landslide victory to the Conservatives. It is now generally agreed that the Zinoviev Letter was a forgery, with fingers pointed at, amongst others, SIS and MI5.

Menzies was promoted to Deputy Director of SIS in 1929 and advanced to the rank of a Colonel on half-pay. He continued in this role until two months after the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 when the Head of SIS, Admiral Sir Hugh ‘Quex’ Sinclair, unexpectedly died and Menzies was appointed ‘C’ in his place, inheriting the leadership of a service that had been starved of funds since its inception. The war did not start well for Menzies with the capture by the Germans at Venlo, in then-neutral Holland, of two SIS officers who had gone there to meet contacts who were actually SS officers masquerading as members of an underground opposition in Germany. Undismayed, Menzies not only demanded adequate funding for SIS but also insisted that all code-breaking should be under his department’s supervision.

During the Second World War, virtually all German Army, Navy and Air Force signals were encrypted using the Enigma machine, an electro-mechanical enciphering and deciphering device that was so sophisticated that the Germans believed it safe even if captured. The story of how the German codes were routinely broken from the end of 1940 was to remain a closely guarded secret until the late 1960s, as was the codebreakers crucial role in the defeat of the German Navy’s 1943 submarine campaign to cut Britain’s supply chain with North America and their vital contribution to the success of D-Day in 1944.

More recently, thanks to numerous books and several Hollywood films, the role of the Bletchley Park code-breakers (and Alan Turing in particular) are now widely recognised, as is that of Menzies,

following The Imitation Game (2014) in which Mark Strong portrays the former Life Guard.

Because of the incredibly important information under his control, Menzies’ access to and influence with the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, was considerable: he met Churchill over 1,500 times between 1940 and 1945 and rarely left London during the war. In addition to the many high honours with which he was rewarded for his wartime work, Menzies was promoted to Major General in 1944, despite being ‘on the books’ of the Foreign Office.

After the war, Menzies remained in post as ‘C’ until mid-1952. This was a period during which the Soviet Union successfully penetrated SIS, a fact which some historians blame on Menzies for his habit of recruiting people with whom he felt at ease socially, such as Kim Philby, Donald Maclean, Guy Burgess and Anthony Blunt. That said, any post-war short-sightedness in Menzies’ recruitment policy at SIS must be more than offset by his pivotal role in the defeat of Germany and her allies in 1945.

In a neat piece of historical irony, Menzies – as mentioned the putative son of King Edward VII - died on 29th May 1968 in King Edward VII Hospital for Officers. In 1971, the Household Cavalry Museum was given by Menzies’ estate a silver statuette of a 2nd Life Guards officer, which had been presented to him by his fellow officers on the occasion of his first marriage on 29th November 1918. This handsome piece of silver is on display with the Household Cavalry Museum’s reserve collection at Combermere Barracks, Windsor.

At the end of the Second World War, as SIS turned its attention to the Soviet threat, the Special Operations Executive (SOE) – variously known as ‘Churchill’s Private Army’, the ‘Baker Street Irregulars’ and ‘The Ministry of Ungentleman-

ly Warfare’ – which had been formed in 1940 to carry out espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in Occupied Europe, was disbanded. Despite Menzies’ belief that most of SOE’s officers were ‘amateurs’, he absorbed many of them into SIS, including David de Crespigny Smiley of the Royal Horse Guards (The Blues).

Like Menzies twenty-six years earlier, David Smiley was born into a privileged family – both his grandfathers were Baronets – and, after school at Pangbourne Nautical College and officer training at the RMC Sandhurst, he was commissioned into The Blues in August 1936.

This was midway through the brief reign of King Edward VIII whose rare cypher is etched on the blade of Smiley’s service sword, which is now in the collection of the Household Cavalry Museum.

From his subsequent career it would seem that war could not come too quickly for Smiley who, in early 1940, found himself in Palestine with 1 HCR as part of the largely redundant British Cavalry Division. The lack of front line action with 1 HCR led him to volunteer first for the Somaliland Camel Corps and then for 52 (Middle East) Commando, with which unit he saw action against the Italians in Abyssinia. Unfortunately for Smiley, 52 Commando was disbanded in early 1941 and he returned to 1 HCR with whom he served in Syria, Iraq and at the Battle of el Alamein. Shortly after this Smiley volunteered for SOE and,

by April 1943, was operating behind enemy lines in Albania where, over the next eighteen months, he served two utterly hair-raising tours for each of which he was awarded an MC. Whilst on SOE operations in Albania, Smiley wore his Blues battledress to protect him, if captured, from being summarily executed as a spy. The Major’s ‘crowns’ on this uniform were made of 24-carat gold, not for vanity but as a ready form of currency should the need arise. These, too, are now on display in the Household Cavalry Museum along with other Smiley memorabilia, including an ivory handled Colt .45 automatic pistol and several spoils of war captured by him in the Middle and Far East.

With the war in Europe drawing to a close following D-Day, Smiley was transferred to SOE’s Far East operation, where his exploits are best described by the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB):

Stewart Menzies 2 LG wedding present

Smiley [was] parachuted into Japaneseoccupied Siam in May 1945. His mission was again to organize resistance.

However, this was cut short when his

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Cornet David Smiley RHG

briefcase, which was designed to explode when required, blew up prematurely in his hands, causing serious burns to his face, knees, and arms.

Evacuated to India to recover, he returned to Siam in August. The war was soon over but important jobs remained, and Smiley took the surrender of a Japanese Division and helped liberate 4,000 allied Prisoners-of-War at the Japanese camp at Ubon. On British orders, he also re-armed a company of Japanese soldiers and freed 120 women and children held hostage in Indo-China by Annamite Communists. For his work in the Far East he was appointed an OBE. After the Second World War, the ODNB and other sources are coy about Smiley’s employment until he assumed command of The Blues in 1951. His Army Record of Service covering the period 1946-1951 merely states that he was on the Staff of the ‘British Embassy,

Warsaw’ in November 1946 and then ‘specially employed by the War Office’ from March to May 1948, although where or doing what is not disclosed.

Smiley was, in fact, working for SIS during this period. In Poland, in the guise of the Assistant Military Attaché, he was involved in subverting the Communist regime, was uncovered, beaten-up and then expelled in 1947. His ‘special employment’ in 1948 involved him in Operation Valuable, the training and infiltration into Albania of anti-Communist Albanian exiles with the aim of overthrowing the Communist regime of Enver Hoxha. The Operation ended in disaster when most of the infiltrators were captured and executed, following their mission’s betrayal by the traitor Kim Philby. This failure affected Smiley for the rest of his life and was the last of his direct attachments to SIS. Once more on the public record, in 1953 Smiley, then Commanding Officer of The Blues, commanded the Sovereign’s Escort on The Queen’s Coronation Procession. This was followed by his successful leadership of the Sultan of Oman’s Armed Forces, then engaged in supressing an insurgency which threatened to topple an important UKfriendly regime in the Middle East. Smiley retired from the Army in 1961 but not from cloak-and-dagger operations, which he recommenced in 1963 as an adviser to the King of Saudi Arabia on the suppression of the Communist insurgency in Yemen. Over the next five

One of Major Smiley’s 24-ct ‘crowns’, part of his escape kit in Albania

years he made thirteen trips to Yemen, often disguised as an Arab, and was involved in the SIS-sanctioned deployment in support of the royalist forces of assorted mercenaries and former members of the SAS. Although he hung up his keffiyeh in 1968, Smiley continued to advise Albania’s anti-Communists in exile until the collapse of regime. He died aged ninety-two in 2009.

For the sake of regimental symmetry, it is a pity that Daniel Craig learned his craft at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama - unlike Oscar winners Victor McLaglen (1LG) and Ray Milland (RHG), who honed their star quality in the ranks of the Household Cavalry…

(I am grateful to Peter Storer, Curator of the Household Cavalry Museum, Windsor, for his invaluable help with this article.)

Royals Aden 1959-60 - Reminiscences of 5th Troop B Squadron attached to 2nd Battalion Aden Protectorate Levies at Dhala outpost

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by former Second Lieutenant J N Wilkinson (Excerpts from notes made on return to RHQ in January 1960)

he Royals advance party sailed from Southampton on 15th September 1959, by troop ship Empire Fowey, bound for Aden. After a sweltering voyage via Suez and the Red Sea the ship docked in Aden and the Royals moved to Little Aden to prepare to take over from The Life Guards.

After a hectic few days unpacking and acclimatising to the conditions, 5th Troop took over their Ferrets. The next day they were off to escort an Aden Protectorate Levies (APL) convoy the 80 miles via the precipitous ‘Kureba Pass’ to Dhala where the 2nd Bn of the APL were based in the tented camp, near to the Yemen border. After the barren and humid wasteland of Aden, the Dhala plateau was pleasant in early October.

The plateau is around 5000 ft and the

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surrounding mountains were around 7,500 ft. The climate was drier than the coast and cool at night. The accommodation of 2nd APL to whom we were attached consisted entirely of tents which proved to be comfortable.

The first job was to get up to operational effiThe Tp under canvas, the Tp ldr wearing a shirt ciency by training and gaining experience of the land. Our first wandered erratically through the scrubproblem was the lack of maps. There land. The best way of learning the routes were evidently only three maps in the was found to be by putting an APL Arab whole of the Garrison, and even these scout on the back of the leading Ferret were of little use. The only paths were and then producing a home made map camel tracks, which for the most part on returning to base.

5 Troop

Out and about

En route

We had arrived in Dhala just in time for the peak period of visiting VIPs. Our first group of APL top brass to be escorted consisted of a General, a Colonel and 2 Majors. They were to visit the front line by the border over looking Kataba in the Yemen. It was to be a test of our local knowledge; and it was a relief when they were returned safely to base.

to pay their dues. All went smoothly in the village when the collectors came reinforced by a troop of armoured cars.

Another occasion was to escort an agricultural official who came up to advise the local sheiks on crop irrigation. On visiting one Sheik who had not seen an official for 15 years the official was donated a couple of goats. Next a mapmaking expedition was going up into the mountains of Shaib for ten days and 5th Troop provided the escort to the half way stage at Khulla. Here the expedition’s kit was unloaded from their vehicles onto camels for the remainder of the journey, which was to be escorted by APL soldiers. The Troop was made welcome by the Sheik and camels’ owner, who invited the troop leader to attempt a ride on one of his Omani camels. Egged on by the troops and not wishing to appear impolite to the Sheik, he mounted the resting beast, which turned its head and rose to its full height. The Sheik gave it a good whack and off it galloped. Sitting up front of the camel’s hump with only a rope in one hand a stick in the other and having had only rudimentary instruction, the rider attempted to make a left turn.

Unfortunately, the camel turned right and the rider was thrown from a great

height and hit the hard gravel plain, breaking his left wrist. This was destined to be in plaster for the next three months. Moral: Cavalry officers should stick to horses!

After a few days we settled down and the pressure of duties increased, to the extent that we split into half troops with the Sgt Boaks taking two cars. Despite the hammerings that the cars took, our own LAD mechanics kept them on the road.

5th Troop had a self contained little unit.

It consisted of 4 x Ferret Scout Cars each with a 2 man crew, an LAD Attachment, a signals tent for the daily link communications with ‘B’ Sqn at RHQ Aden, and a cook. The Troop had its own place of relaxation: a tent named the ‘Kuriba Inn’. Here after a thirsty day on patrol a beer was very welcome.

Besides VIP escorts our duties included border patrols and escorting the fortnightly Dhala supply convoy of 3-tonners up the Kuriba pass, on its last leg from Fort Thumier at the foot of the pass on the Aden plain, escorted there from the APL base by the Royals B Sqn 4th Troop. There we could meet our fellow Royals, catch up with news and receive our mail before taking the convoy on to the pass.

For interest and physical exercise, visits were made, on foot, to the APL outpost, which overlooked and defended the main camp from high up in the Jebel Jehaf.

The Jebel is some 7,000 ft high and the climate up there is very pleasant.

The summit commands a magnificent view of the Dhala plateau and the high Yemen. This important ground was the scene of bitter fighting some two years ago, when the APL retook it from the Yemen.

After almost three months of heavy use, it was time for the cars to return to REME workshops for a complete overhaul. Most of 5th Troop had not seen the Royals RHQ for almost five months.

We returned to base in time for the preparations for the Annual Admin Inspection in January 1960. On its completion the Troop looked forward to their next move to Sharjah in the Oman and becoming operational once more.

The Royals were sometimes called upon to assist in non-military Administration matters. The first was to be Exercise ‘Shekel’, a three day tax collecting expedition to a certain tribe living close to the Yemen border, who had refused

The Ferret Scout Car

They always seemed to have their shirts off

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War Horse Memorial

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he War Horse Memorial was unveiled on Friday, 8th June 2018, in time for the forthcoming Royal Ascot meeting attenders to find. She stands proudly on the roundabout next to No 1 Car Park. Just by the pavement is an explanatory nook with seating where people may read of the background to the memorial and the endurance required by animals in the First World War. The memorial was the brainchild of Mr Alan Carr who doggedly pursued his dream to fulfilment, to see a memorial to the horses, mules and donkeys, their service, suffering and sacrifice. The Director Household Cavalry Foundation had been most supportive throughout, making contacts and arranging for trumpeters and Household Cavalry Associations presence at the unveiling, which also saw Tpr Palmer riding a chestnut, re-enacting the part of a Household Cavalryman at the start of the war. Some 200 people from connected groups, charities, fund raisers and Ascot residents attended the ceremony.

Public participation was a feature of the fundraising, as well as support from the Daily Express. Sculpted by Susan Leyland and cast by Farquhar Laing, the war horse stands in barbed wire atop a 10 foot pedestal. The Girl Guides came up with a very popular name for the warhorse – Poppy.

From the left: Two Chelsea pensioners, Capt C J Elliott, Maj B E Rogers, Maj Philip Shannon, formerly Director of Music Irish Guards, Mr Ken Robertson, Lt Col G G E Stibbe in front of the War Horse Statue, prior to the unveiling.

The explanatory pedestal

‘One Team’

Tpr Palmer in First World War dress and equipment

by Major Richard Waygood MBE (Below is a pithy first hand account by a former Riding Master, now the British Equestrian Federation’s World Class Eventing Performance Manager.)

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t already seems like a lifetime ago we were putting five event horses on trucks to head off to Leige to put on the horse flights to the World Equestrian

Games in Tryon, North Carolina. An environment that was ever changing, heat, humidity coupled with a venue that was not finished and the circus that surrounds the Games while Hurricane Florence was looming.

The brief was very clear: we stay in our own bubble and turn every negative

Richard Waygood and Team GBR celebrate team gold in 2018

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in to a positive and do not worry what other Teams are up to. Our first objective was to come in the top six to qualify for the Tokyo Olympiad; next objective to win as many medals as possible. We achieved on both accounts: we knew we would not be leading after the dressage and managed expectations. We would need to be in touch, though.

On cross country day the Team riders absolutely caned it, all clear within the time. The show jumping was pushed back a day due to Hurricane Florence.

Our trailblazer Gemma Tattersall had three fences down as her horse Arctic Sole was too fresh after the extra day off. The next two rounds from Tom McEwen and Piggy French resulted in a pole down apiece. We still held the lead by one pole (4 faults) when Ros Canter and All Star B entered the arena.

Ros jumped an excellent clear round to bring home the Team Gold and Individual honors, all this off the back of the European Champions last year. Tokyo 2020 here we come...

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