The Warrant Officers and
Corporals of Horse Mess Notes The notes for this year start on 13 January when the Mess said farewell to Sennelager by holding a cocktail party just prior to the Mess being packed and moved to Windsor. On the return of the Regiment to Windsor our first function was a ‘Meet and Greet night‘ held on 3 March to enable us to become acquainted with our new attached personnel. .... On 29 March the Mess celebrate the let anniversary of the Regiments‘ amalgamation. The Regimental Corporal Major managed to gather together 11 of the 13 Warrant Officers who have held the appointment of Regimental Corporal Major of The Blues and Royals. The evening. which commenced with a formal dinner. celebrated the Regiment‘s coming of age in a fitting manner. Due to the presence of a squadron of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment from the Royal Australian Armoured Corps on an exchange visit with A Squadron the Mess held an ANZAC Day dinner on 25 April in their honour which provided an opportunity for the Australian NCOs to
witness at first hand many of the traditions of a British Regiment‘s mess. many of which were unfamiliar to them but with which they certainly appeared to approve. With the Mess now being located once again at Windsor it was possible. for the first time in six years. to enjoy the traditional visit to Downs Sunday at Epsom on 3 June with our familics. also traditionally it rained. but this did little to dampen the spirit of the occasion. The Mess returned to Epsom on (7 June for the Derby and lost our collective shirt. The Summer Ball was held in Combermere Barracks on 28 July and being the first such event since our return was rather larger than normal and to this end a marquee was erected on the square to create a superb ballroom for over 400 members and guests. The evening. directed by SCM Harding was a great success and will provide a rOIemodel for future occasions. The Colonel of the Regiment. Gen Sir Desmond Fitzpatrick, joined the Mess for pre—lunch drinks on 30 July during his first visit to the Regiment at Windsor.
The Amalgamation Day Dinner — 29 March 1990. Regimental Corporals Major of the Blues and Royals. Standing: Capt Sayer, Mr Fortt, Mr Midwinter, Capt (Retd) Patterson, Capt O’Halloran and Lt Quinn. Sitting: Maj (Retd) Peck, Mr Godfrey-Cass, RCM Hunter, Maj (Retd) Lane, Mr Macdougall
Prior to joining the Mess the Colonel presented Long Service and Good Conduct Medals to the Regimental Corporal Major. SCPL Partis. SOMC Taylor. CoH Lawson and LCoH O‘Brien.
The Colonel of the Regiment presenting RCM Hunter and SCpl
Partis with their LSGC medals
Following a break to allow the Regiment to take a block of three weeks leave during August and early September the Regiment held an Open Day on 9 September which provided an opportunity for the major— ity of Mess members to renew acquaintances with friends from many years ago. many of whom had travelled considerable distances with their families to attend the day. The Mess was filled to capacity throughout the day and it is hoped that Open Days will become a regular feature of the Regiment's calendar. On 24 November the Mess held a formal dinner night to which 40 members of the Regimental Association were invited continuing the tradition of the annual pilgrimage
A Squadron mess members at the Major General‘s Inspection. Standing: WOII (SCM) Rogers, LCsoH Miles, Stanley, Elston, Snell, CsoH Gear, Harris, Mayer, 559! Brown, SCpl Taylor and LCoH Hodges. Kneeling: LSgt Steel, LCsoH Schotield, Polley and Findell
made by the Association to BAOR during our four years in Germany. During the dinner the Association presented the Mess with a magnificent silver bowl as a mark of gratitude for the hospitality shown by the Mess in BAOR. (The occasion was tragically marred by the death of Mr Jim Clark in his sleep. during the night following the dinner. Mr Clark‘s funeral was attended by members of the Regiment who bore his coffin). The Christmas Draw was held on 15 December and to break with past such events the ROMC conceived a bold plan to alter the concept of the evening away from the somewhat materialistic. traditional draw with its multitude of small prizes and provide more of a ‘Christmas Ball‘ than has been the fashion of late. The number of draw prizes was drastically cut and the emphasis shifted from consumer goods to trips on the Orient Express. an evening including tickets to The Phantom of the Opera and the like. In the event the evening was a resounding success and is likely to set the trend for future years. Following the Christmas break and New Year celebrations the Mess opened 1991 with a formal dinner held on 9 January to which the Commanding Officer was invited to give the traditional ‘State of the Union' address. During the course of the year the Mess has received the following visitors: Gen Sir Desmond Fitzpatrick Colonel of the Regiment Col A H Parker Bowles Lt Col Commanding Col J D Smith—Bingham Lt Col Commanding Maj Gen S C Cooper Maj Gen Commanding Household Division The following senior members have departed during the year and we wish them every success in their new posts: CoH Goodyear to H Cav MR. SCpl Maskell to ACIO Shrewsbury. CoH Day on Discharge. SCpl Towse to RY. CoH Allen to H Cav MR. CoH Ford to H Cav MR. CoH Mitchell to H Cav MR.