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A Regimental Journal of

THE ROYAL DRAGOONS

January 1929

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY.

CAIRO-EGYPT


THE EAGLE

EDITORIAL NOTES

A great many changes have taken place in the Garrison since our last issue. To our great rcgrct the 15/19th Hussars left for India in October. In addition the Royal Scots ,the Norfolks and the Somerscts have gone out to China.

It was owing to his illness and the consequent delay in receiving the Old Comrades’ Notes for last quarter that we were prevented including them in our last issue, and we are very sorry that they had to be held over for the present number. ***

we welcome the newcomers—the 10th Hussars, who relieved the 15/19th Hussars, the Glos'ters who relieved the Norfolks, and the

South \Yalcs Bordercrs have who have come to the (‘itadeL also 211d Bn. the Green How—

ards, who have moved to Kasr—el—Nil Bar— racks until the \Vclsh Guards arrive out here in February. £13k It is with the greatest regret that we have

to record the death of six Old Royals within

Many congratulations to Lieut. P. G. Heywood-Lonsdale on being selected as an instructor at the Equitation School, Weedon. A little bird has told us' that you couldn't find a better man for the job. ***

During the last month we have all been out in Camp#first “A ” Squadron to Abu Zabal where they were later followed by “ B ” Squadron, and the ” Gunners " to the

bcrts, T. S. M. Pye, Mr. \V. Raven and Mr.

MG. Concentration Camp at Helouan, where they apparently covered themselves with glory. Satisfactory reports were received from all, although, we are told, “ B ” Squad-

G. 1“. Edwards. A notice about them ap— pears elsewhere in this issue.

bottles behind.

the last six months—-—L‘olonel Allan Maclean, Captain Egerton Leigh, Captain “ Bill ” RO—

5.

General H. de B. Del,.isle, K.C.B., KC.M.G.,

D.S.O. who came from the Durhams to com— mand the Regiment from 1906 to 1910, has recently been appointed Colonel 0f the Dur— hams. We offer him our best congratulations. ***

The only thing that will spoil our Christ.— Dinners

is

the

***

Since our Boxing article came in, the Army

* a:

mas

ron wished they hadZnot left their hot—water

thought

that

our

” Puggy " will have left us, as announced in our last issue, just before this “ Eagle” appears. We wish him and Mrs. Howes the very best of everything. ***

We were very sorry to hear of Mr. R. A.

Ratcliffe’s illness, and are equally hear that he is well again now.

glad to

Besides being a mOst efficient Hon. Sec. of the Old Comrades’ Association, he finds

time to give us a great deal of help over the “ Eagle.”

in Egypt Individual Championships have been decided. Our representatives did extremely well and we had three left in among the sixteen finalists. Of these Tpr. Marston and Tpr. Crook were beaten after very good fights by the Army Champions of their respective weights, but Tpr. Creask won the Heavies after knocking out the Army Champion in the semi—final. ***

We must apologise for the absence of any notes on Association Football, but these soccer enthusiasts take their training so seriously that they won’t sit up late to write articles for magazines. ***

We apologise for the late appearance of the October number, but as the post of Editor

changed hands twice in six weeks, through leave and one thing and another, the task of

the Acting Editor was none too simple. The Drum Horse.


THE EAGLE

As we go to press the Brigade Horse ShOW

has just been held, and our successes include : Championships ..................... 2 Firsts .............................. 9 Seconds 9 10 (Champion Man at Arms and Champion Polo

3*

POHY)~

has

now

left

Mr. R. G. Matthews,

Mr. D. W'. Robson,

Mr. R. Edwards, SSM. T. \Vest. As before gummed wrappers for sending

We are sorry to record that Captain ‘ Bill’ Harris has had to send in his papers, as the Doctors will not allow him to soldier abroad, and that Captain J. B. P. Fitzgerald. who has been away as Adjutant to the Shropshire Yeomanry,

The following new subscribers are added to the list which appeared in our April Number : Mrs. \Vilson Fitzgerald ; Mr. T. Hook, Mr. A. R. lnwood. Mr. G. K. Law, Sgt. R. Morton,

the

Regiment.

***

The Editor has received a letter from Mr. A. J. V‘Voodroffe who is now in Lausanne, Switzerland. He is very glad to see that the

the

Eagle ”

home are

Squadron Offices.

obtainable from

Postage, 1 Piastrc.

Subscriptions from Old Comrade subscribers are now due for 1929. Will they please send the money to Mr. R. Ratcliffe as soon as possible. New subscribers should fill in the form at the end of this issue. and send it to Mr. Ratcliffe, together with their subscription. Single Copies 8d. : Year‘s subscription, 2/6d.

Regiment is doing so well in the sports line, 3‘s

and wishes the Regiment a very prosperous New Year. The following were among the Draft which left for England, on December 16th :— L/Cpl. Edwards, Tprs. Godfrey, Marsh, Fair— bairn, Russell, Shackelton, Swift, Tomlin,

Smith, Beer, Cooper and Freeman. best of luck to them all.

The very

*

All matter for publication in our April Number should reach the Editor not later than March 10th. By the time this “ Eagle ” has been hatched out, we shall have spent our second Christmas abroad. We wish all our readers the best of luck in 1929.

®bttuariea COLONEL ALAN MACLEAN.

Early last August there passed away at his residence at Bracknell, Berks, a very fine old Royal in the person of Colonel Alan Maclean, who commanded the Regiment in the latter part of the eighteen—eighties. Affectionately known as “ Rocky,” he will be remembered by Royals of that genera— tion as a fine type of Cavalry Officer and as the possessor of a truly stentorian voice that made itself heard on many a parade at Alder— shot, Colchester and—if I mistake not—York. On the 9th August ,1928, our old CO. was

laid to rest in the peaceful Village church— yard of Easthampstead. Maj—Gen. Sir J. F. Burn—Murdoch, Bridgadier W. T. Hodgson, Colonel E. G. Hardy and Major K. Balfour

attended to pay their last respects to their old friend ; and six Old Comrades——Messrs. T. A. Francis, H. H. Melmoth, J. H. Booth, A. Eshmeade, J. J. Hewitt and W. R. Withers

*bore the coffin to the grave after a simple but impressive service in the church. It was the wish of the late Colonel that Royals should act as his bearers. A wreath was sent by the Comrades’ Club in the name of its members and of the Regimerit, and this wreath was given a position Of honour on the coffin. When the service was over, and after a little chat together over events of days long gone by, the little band of Royals broke up, sadly concious of the fact that the ranks of the veterans had been further reduced by the passing of this fine old soldier. May he rest in peace.

THE EAGLE

CAPTAIN EGERTON LEIGH.

CAPTAIN W. L. H. ROBERTS.

Another Old Royal died on October 18th, belonging to a former generation. Captain

We regret to record the death of Captain William L. H. Roberts, known more in— timately to his host of friends as ”Bill.” He died on October 18th at the home of his sister, Mrs. Ralph Cook, at Roydon Hall, Kent, after passing away quietly in his sleep. He will be long remembered in the Regiment as, although his service in it was not of long duration, yet he always identified himself with it after his retirement, being a member

Egerton Leigh, J.l).. D.L., of 20, Cadogan Gardens, and formerly of Jodrell Hall and West Hall, High Legh, Cheshire, joined the

Royal Dragoons as a Cornet on 18th July 1862, was gazetted Lieutenant on 17th November 1863, and Captain on 16th March

1870, being placed between Colonel C. F. Morton and the late Colonel Allan Maclean. He left the regiment in 1874, after a period of two years on the staff of Major General Robert Wardlaw, C.B., G.O.C., The Curragh Cavalry Brigade another old Royal who joined in 1835. He was twice marriedfifirst in 1874 to the Lady Elizabeth White, eldest daughter of the 3rd Earl of Bantry, who died in 1880, and secondly in 1889 to Miss Violet Tippinge, of Longparish House, Whitchurch, Hants, second daughter of Colonel Alfred Tippinge, V.C., Grenadier Guards, who survives him.

He belonged to one of the oldest families in Cheshire, long wore the green collar of the

Tarporley hunt, and was one of the keenest riders to hounds in the Cheshire Hunt. He was a JP. and UL. for the County and served as High Sheriff in 1882. He was a charming and courteous gentle— man of the old school, and almost up till the day of his death nothing pleased him more than recalling the days he spent in the Old regiment. His widow is kindly presenting to the regi— ment a fine water—colour picture of the Royal Dragoons on parade by O. Norie, in his memory.

of the Committee of The Royal Dragoons

Aid Society. Born on 15th January 1871, the eldest son of Colonel Henry Roberts, of Holborough Court, Rochester, he went from Eton to Sandhurst in 1889, and joined the Royal Dragoons at York on October 10th 1891. He left when the regiment was quartered at Island Bridge Barracks, Dublin, in 1893. His family business required his presence and attention,

and he applied himself so well to it that before his death he had floated the successful Holborough Cement Company on his property, of which he was the first Chairman. After leaving the regiment he joined the First Kent Yeomanry in May 1896, became Captain in 1901, and left in 1906. He joined up again with the regiment for the Great War, during which he was at one time A.D.C. to Brigadier General E. Makins, lst Cav. Brigade. He was a J.P. for Kent, and served as High Sheriff of that County in 1920. He was the most cheery of companions and will be much missed by all past and present Royals.


THE EAGLE THE EAGLE

Will Machinery oust the Horse? The recent developments of our present— day Army all show that numerous endeavours have been made to mechanise all branches

of the service. Manoeuvres have proved that the many mechanical devices have justi— fied their existence to a certain extent ; but it must be remembered that, although the

conditions under which all tests have been carried out have been made to approach actual War conditions, the true value of our

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new warsmachines cannot possibly be decided until they have been subjected to the effects of the anti~war—machine machines Of the enemy. It is all very well for an um— pire to say “ You could not possibly have come this far. because of the Opposing war—

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thing in the nature of a thick wood, and in crossing heavy and wet ground, or ditches

and trenches. It might be said that the light armouredcar is provided with adjust— able “ tracks ” which can be fitted easily and quickly, but unless these are always on and in position for the emergency when it arises, somebody must get out of his car to adjust the tracks, and when once you have succeeded in getting the “ man " into the open, the

machines over in that position,” but how

effect of the invulnerability of the armour is

many umpires realise that if armour-piercing

reduced to nil.

shells had been flying about, those same war— machines might never have arrived at their

to decide whether the horse’s burden could be

pOsition ? Now it is supposed by many, that Aircraft will take over the (‘avalryman's job of “ scouting.” True enough, the Airman can spot an enemy from a far greater distance than any (‘avalry scout could, if the weather is fine and during the day—time ; but the Airman himself is the first to admit that the Cavairyman has him beaten at night, when

In 1926 exhaustive tests were carried out lightened, and the Morris six—wheeler put in

there is a fog, or when weather conditions do

its appearance as the fatigue man of the horse. This lorry proved to be a most valu— able asset to the cavalryman in Surrey, but since the writer's arrival in Egypt, his views upon the subject have undergone a change. The nature of the going in England was ideal for the balloon tyres of the Morris, but the going in Egypt, and the climate of the country, have a disastrous effect upon

not permit an ascent to be made.

rubber.

Wk}

we. :3 .9 s

produce than it does to produce a horse and its equipment, and a financial disadvantage is not to be overlooked. Their next, and to the writer's mind a very great,disadvantage, is their obvious inability, or perhaps one should say difficulty, in penetrating any-

The Cavalryman, although he must come

into much eIOser contact with the enemy, can get his information at any time during

An article in a recent issue of one of the leading newspapers in England states that the W0. specialists have decided to mechanise

the day or night, and in any sort of weather. no more cavalry units for the present, and

Of course, the enemy might capture the lone cavalryman, but the very fact that he has

been scuppered is information to the party for whom he is acting. Nowadays no man goes out on a job of this kind unaccompanied, and if one man gets captured, the other has a reasonable chalice of getting back with his

that the cavalry in England have proved that they are just as important now as they were in the days of \Vellington. What cavalryman did not read with pride, that a cavalry DR. on the Old-fashioned mount, beat the Motor—cyclist D.R., the telephone

and even the greatest discovery of modern information. If both get shot, the reports of the Weapon are in themselves some sort of information. So much for the aeroplane. The light armoured—car and the one»man tank are both considered to be possible means of gaining information, but there are many disadvantages for them to overcome even

when conditions are of the very best. The first of these appears before the machines are made I Each of them costs much more to

times, \Vireless ? No, the days of the horse are not so few as many peeple would have us believe. In fact, dealers in these ancient animals will do

well to have a large supply of them always at hand, and the good old game of riding to hounds must be encouraged by every lover of horses. Jay-Dee.


TllE EAGLE

THE EAGLE

up to former years but in many ways it some-

Old Comrades Notes.

how seemed a more representative gathering. (1) June to September. There is little to record for the period under review, 216., June to September. Our functions cease with the advent Of summer, or strictly speaking, with the ceremony of lay— ing the wreath upon the Cenotaph in May. As previously noted our Annual Outing was held on June 16th when approximately 130 of our members, families and friends journeyed to Bognor. Generally speaking we had a most enjoyable day with genial sunshine. On the 25th August we availed ourselves of the very kind invitation from the Stanhope Institute to visit their recreation ground at Burnt Oak, Edgware, to play the return Cricket Match. Opportunity was taken to arrange sports for the Old Comrades, ladies and children, as we have done in previous years. On this Occasion members of the

Stanhope Institutewere allowed to participate in all events except of course the Old C om— rades Handicap Race, prizes being provided from Club funds. Sad to relate it was only in this event that ‘ Royals’ were credited with a lst. prize 1 We also lost the Cricket Match, so perhaps we had better gloss over this part of the day ! A goodly number of our members, families and friends were present in spite of some dif— ficulty in finding the ground, and a very pleasant afternoon was spent. Our season’s activities commence on Sept— ember 22nd with a Dance, and these will be continued throughout the winter months on thefourtlz Saturday in each month (except in November when the dance will be on the 17th and the Dinner on the 24th and again in May) and not on the 1an Saturday as erro— neously notified. We are looking forward to another successful and prosperous series of dances and seek the co—operation of all mem— bers and friends towards this.

We shall, of

course, be pleased to see any of our serving Comrades, who may happen to be in London on leave or otherwise, at these Dances. We still look upon them all as “ Honorary Members " but it is a regrettable fact that since the Regiment’s departure overseas, now over

twelve months ago, subscriptions from all other ranks ” have unaccmmtably ceased. Perhaps this paragraph will stir some of our senior \Varrant or Non—connnissimicd Officers to activity !

Apropos of our funds, it was from them that we were. able to furnish a wreath on the oc— casion of the funeral of Colonel Maclean. Without them this wreath, which occupied the place of honour upon the coffin, would

not have been provided, and the Old Com— rades and the Regiment would not have been thereby represented This will bring home to you the necessity of “ Funds," and this rrcans subscriptions. In conclusion we very much regret to record the death of the follow— ing ziColonel Allan Maclean, T. S. M. Pye,

Mr. G. 1“. Edwards and the wife of Mr. H. Huggins. We tender our condolences and sympathy to their relatives. Your friend and Comrade.

There were many old Royals present who served back in the ” eighties.” There were those who fought in South Africa 1899—1901 ;

those who served in India ; those whose over— seas service commenced in South Africa in 1911, and better still perhaps, many of the younger Royals, whose service possibly com— menced during the Great War. They all hob—nobbed and were all Royals. It is always pleasant to be able to give news, and pleasant news, of old Royals and it is thus pleasing to record and congratulate

Mr. James Booth on his promotion to Super— intendent in the City Police.

He now rides

a horse again, after being for many years al— most a stranger to a saddle. Also congratula—

tions to Mr. Stares on being promoted to Sergeant in the Sussex Constabulary. Old Comrades will hope he enjoys the salubrious air and famous waters of Tunbridge Wells—— to where he has been transferred from Lewes. We very much regret to have to record the passing of Capt. W. H. L. Roberts who

13

We suppose, ere long, some of our present serving comrades will be returning to England as “time—expired ” men. We should very much like them to know we want all of them to keep in touch with their other old comrades and hope one and all will notify the Secretary of their addresses in England. Your friend and Comrade, R. A. Ratcliffe, Hon. Sec.

Extract from the East Sussex News of Sept. 28th. Police Constable’s Promotion.——P.C. james Stares has been promoted to the rank of sergeant, and next Tuesday he will remove to Hartfield to succeed Sergt. H. Ward, who

is transferred to Mark Cross in place of Sergt. \V. Savage, who has retired. Sergt. Stares joined the East Sussex Constabulary in 1911, after serving eight years in the lst Royal Dragoons, five years of that period being spent in India. He was stationed at New-

R. A. Ratcliffe, Hon. Sec. Noter-Unfortunately these notes were re— ceived too late for insertion in our October issue, although we waited as long as we

could.

(Ed.) October to December.

Dances

have

been

held in

died very suddenly, it is understood, at Maids—

haven at the outbreak of war, and in 1915 he

stone. The Old Comrades were able to be represented at the Funeral Service which took place at Holborough Church, Kent. It is also sad to have to record the tragic and mysterious death of Mr. W. Raven (Bill). Another good old Royal. Wreaths from the Club were in both cases sent with expres— sions of deep sympathy.

re—joined the Colours and served in France in the Military Mounted Police till September 1919, being awarded the Meritorious Service

Medal. On demobilisation he returned to duty in the County Police at Newhaven, and he has been stationed there ever since. He is a keen, capable and experienced police officer, and his promotion is well deserved.

September,

October and November, since the last notes were written. These have been fairly well attended but not sufficiently so to satisfy the Committee of the Club and we should very much like to see more of our members selling tickets and coming themselves. The Combined Cavalry Old Comrades Associations will have held their semi-annual dance before these notes appear in print. The new Hall of the Royal Agricultural Society has been hired for this occasion, and it is hoped that even this large place will be filled, so that sufficient profit is made from the dance to enable us to carry out fittingly the annual ceremony of laying a Wreath upon the Cavalry War Memorial. Once again the Annual Dinner has been held. The numbers present have not perhaps come

The Dream of an Exile. PART II.

Nothing before us but field on field of grass with

“ Vain indeed I

For the bitches are 7..ng

before us, Not a nose to 15/16 661123;], not a stern in the i ir; And we km 20 by the notes 0/ that nzudrfiea’ chorus

How straight we must ride if we it {3/1 to be there

We have got a flying start from Holton Spinney, and are well away on the right flank

f hounds.

It looks like being the real thing,

and we sit down to ride.

the fences looming black between,

nothing in our ears but that ‘wild, high crying ’ of the flying pack ; a good man and true to right and to left of us, above us the grey skies of England, and a gallant horse between our knees. ” 0h glory of youth, consolation of age, Snblimest of ccsz‘asies under the sun!" As we gallop on we take stock of our neighbours. On our right is a tall stranger in a black coat fairly shoving along on a hireling from Jobbins, with a lady following him.


THE EAGLE

Next on our left is the Huntsman, well up with his houndser but then he always is, more power to him I On the left flank of hounds is the. little lady in the neat hhte habit whom we noticed at the meet. She is taking them as they come and the grey horse is jumping beautifully. Beyond her is one who is never far off when

hounds really run, for all his sixtyedd summers. Beyond him again are three or four more who struck lucky when hounds swung fearless heavy

left—handed, including the

up the slope.

did, by Jove, for as we sail over it, we catch

the corner we like the look of it less and less.

a glimpse of a frightful chasm of a ditch below

Stout new cattle rails, uncommon stiff and uncommon high, and with a dip in front

us. Three fields further on there looms up an

weight, who is going like a scalded cat as

impenetrable~looking

usual.

doesn’t seem to be any very feasible place, in it and there is no gate, but no doubt it will

‘bullfinch.’

’l‘here

By Jove ! this is an awkward~looking fence improve on acquaintance.

in front of usia particularly uncornpromis— ing~looking hank, very steep and narrOw and with a ditch towards us. It is far too high for us to dream of ‘ flying ’ it, and instead of having a growth on top that a horse could break by jumping on it, there are stout ash

As we approach

it we see that there is one place on the left which shows rather more daylight than else,— where, but we don’t quite fancy it. In a fence like this the growers are often strongest at what appears from a distance to be the thinnest spot.

growers, only recently cut and laid, affording 30, as we get nearer, we select a denser—

no sort of foothold. In fact it's a case of ‘ certain death on this side and eternal damna~ tion on the other l’ However we follow the excellent precept of thrOwing our heart over first and then proceeding to follow it. We make it quite plain to the old horse that we are going to get to the other side somehow, and send him at it at a pace that will probably prevent us getting hung up on top of the fence if he does lose his footing : but we leave the rest to him. As he lights on top,we give him plenty of rain and sit as still as a mouse. Well done, old man, but by Jove, I thought

we were gone that time.

Goodness knows

where he put his feet, but he’s as clever as a cat.

Out of the tail of our eye we see our friend on the hireling go at it full tilt ‘ for the honour of Hit’im—and—Hold’im—shire ’ and COme a real crumpler. It looks a very nasty fall, but ‘ the pace is too good to inquire.’ The Huntsman is over with a scramble. It is considerably lower away on the left,

where the little lady on the grey meets it, and we catch a fleeting glimpse of the good grey horse galloping at it, standing back and throwing a grand ‘ lepp,’ kicking back at the

THE EAGLE

An innocent—looking little thorn~fencc con—

fronts iis now with plenty of thin places in it. But we see there are. some cattle in the next field, and ‘ smell a rat ’ at once. That fence as we see it from this side. would never keep cattle in ; and we avoid the thin places and go for the blackest we can find, to make our horse ‘ spread himself.’ And just as well we

looking place where the outer twigs of two thorn—trees meet, and charge it with our right arm shielding our face. The Old horse dives at it with his ears back. He flounders for a moment while all the thorns in the world seem to clutch at us, then lands with a grunt

on the far side. We rescue our hat which is dangling down our back at the end of its

wood ; but even from here it looks a brute of

a place. However it's ‘ neck Or nothing ' when hounds run as they’re running now, and we wouldn’t lose our place just now for all the gold that ever came out of Ophir. We steady dOwn to an easier pace going As we approach the timber in

of them badly ‘ poached ’ by the cattle going down to rub against the rails. This is one of those moments that come in every really ‘good thing' over a big coun— try, no matter with what judgement one rides

home ; when one says with Mr. Jorrocks :—

minutes.

“ Dash my vig, here’s an unawoidable leap. Terrible place indeed ! Give a guinea ‘ at to be On the far side.”

Sure enough hounds swing to us almost at once. They run right up to the road fence, and we pull up in case they are going to cross. But instead they take the line very prettily up the centre of the lane for a couple of hundred yards led by our friend Brevity, and then turn off it left-handed through a gateway. Our fox appears to be making for the big woods of Silbury Park, which we can see about two miles ahead. As we turn out of the lane we see there are only four ‘ in it ’ besides ourself—the Huntsman, the lady On the grey, and two of the left—

We steady right down and go at it at a

slow canter. The old horse pricks his ears and we can feel him gather himself. We know he’d sooner die than refuse with us. Three strides away we sit down and let him go on. He takes off exactly right and launches himself into the air. He just touches it with his hind feet, but lands safely in the

gallop on.

By this time hounds, still racing on, have rather got the better of us, and below us, two

. that before new.” After jumping the next fence we find our— selves in a ploughed fieldiean unusual occur— rence in this sea Of grass, and, as it turns out,

the onlv One we strike all day. It is very stickv and holding after the recent rains and there is water lying in the drainage furrows. We turn off and ride dOwn one of them. lf water can lie there it means a sound bottOm and better goine, even if we do get Well splashed. , , There is rising ground in front of us now with a wood running up on our right. As we jump into the next field we see that the . fence at the top is wired. possible, only The Well, here’s a facer.

fence as he clears it, which launches him

wav out, unless we make a big (letour to the

well out into the next field.

left, is some timber in the corner up against the

veer right-handed accordingly, and strike a

when one has to harden one’s heart and ride at a really nasty place or else pack up and go

or how good an eye one has for a country——

next field.

sav “ \Ve’ve been through worse things than

we send him along at it. He goes at it with a rush, and we sail over with a yard to spare. Those two men on the hill in front of us are just standing there staring. If they had seen the fox they would be waving and shouting. But no doubt the fox has seen them and had to alter his course. We guess that he has swung right—handed round the shoulder of the hill to avoid being seen. A hunted fox is an artist in the use of ground. We lane running in the right direction which at this stage we are only too thankful to make use of. A sign~p05t shows us that the village on our right is Little Lessington, which we remember to be six or seven miles from Holton Spinney, and we see by our watch that they have been running for exactly thirty-five

guard, and give him a pat on the neck as we

He tosses his head as much as to

15

What a treasure the old man is I

fields ahead, we see the gleam of a brook and the leading hounds shaking themselves on the far side. But we do not make the mistake of putting on steam down the hill to catch them. The effort of coming up the hill and taking on the big timber at the top has rather told on our horse, and if we hustled him just n0w he would very soon go to pieces. Instead, we let him go dOwn the hill as fast as his stride will take him and no faster, and he has had a chance to regain his wind by the time we arrive at the brook. It is right up to its banks and looks very uninviting. We choose a sound—looking place be— side two willow—trees. No need for us to set him alight : he knows exactly what is wanted, and the sight of hounds topping a fence two fields ahead is quite enough for him. We steady him ; thena few strides away

hand contingent.

The next few fences present little difficulty, but the old horse is not jumping quite as free as he was, and we save him all we can. Hounds are running now with a kind of savage intensity, and their cry has taken on a more menacing note. The end cannot be far off,

for no fox that was ever born could stand this pace much longer. Soon a labourer standing on top of a haystack points and shouts to us as we pass “ E’s close afore ’em ”—and there, two fields ahead, we see him, struggling on rather stiffly with his brush trailing 0n the ground. ” Yonder he goes I”, we shout, for the edification of the Huntsman, but he has seen him before we did. In our excitement we meet the next fence all wrong and take it by the roots. Fortunately it is a weak thorn—fence, Or we

should have been down.


THE EAGLE

16

'l‘Hli EAGLE

And now hounds get a view of him. Up go their hackles and their cry drops to a whimper as they race at him. But he is through the next fence before they can reach him. They charge it in line, dwell for an instant 0n the other side, and then fling left-

handed. As we land into the same field we see a scrambling, worrying melee up under the fence in the corner. They’ve got him ! We jump off our horse and run up to help the Huntsman clear a space round the dead fox, and by degrees the remnants of the ‘field ’ come up. Forty-five minutes with—

Out a check, and an eight—mile point. . . . Well, that’s enough for one horse, although it is still quite early. \N'e have a word or two with the little lady on the grey, who is just changing on to her second horse, ” Is she going to be at the Hunt Ball on Monday ?” Yes, she is.

Good.—-” Will she look out for

The Old Comrades’ Annual Dinner. The seventeenth Annual Reunion Dinner of the Old Comrades, with Brigadier W. T. Hodgson, D.S.O., M.C., in the Chair, was held at Cannon Street Hotel on Saturday,

us there ?” Yes, of course she will. Splendid.

24th November, 1928, and, as was only to be expected when Old Royals meet, was a great

gThen, at peace with all the world, we turn

success.

our horses head for home. ‘ That's the sort of hunt one dreams about,‘ we hear ourself saying. Then with ashock we realise that it has only been a dream after

to see a much larger gathering. We had about 130, but what we. lacked in quantity was atoned for by the quality of the assembly.

We should, of course, have liked

Letters of regret were received from General De

Lisle,

General

'l‘royte—Bulloch,

A Story of “One of the Boys.” On a dark and stormy night I left Dover,

and, with Kelly, my Irish pal, travelled by the overland route to Abbassia. As soon as we arrived we were invited to attend a Band Concert at the Slade Club.

Of course, still

feeling very strong ,we accepted, and proceed— ed together to the appointed place, where our nostrils were tickled by the smell of bummg ham.

Paddy, with his well known lisp,

suggested that the smell could be eradicated -by the judicious use of Lythol. As we had had very little to eat on our ham journey, I ordered a double portion of very and eggs for each, and Paddy, being a be bad deer in the eating line, said ” Don’t Stop “ d replie I “ den.” 0g, ‘ such an only puzzm ’ my leg, you know that the plum that was y thing that I have eaten to—da the lying on the table at the restaurant on g.” Sittin was dean old the where hill After we had cleaned up our plates, Paddy ? ” said “ Did you see Brookwood racing at all t— sugges then He had. I that ed I acknowledg he ed that we should listen to the band and d asked for “ Father 0.Fly1m ” to be playe had man Irish an that know just to let people dld arrived. Unfortunately, the Bandmaster

not have the necessary music with him, so he obliged us with ”Darling, I am growing old ” instead. During the whole of the programme Paddy kept the wallalz running from bar to table and consumed large quantities of Pilsner. He was surprised that, although the weather was hot, the beer was cold, and he asked, “ DO

they freethe it P" About half way through the programme a Field Marshal walked in, and was recognised by a number of people, who rose to their feet. His aide—de camp was outside supervising the parking of the car, so I went out to see who he was. He turned Out to be a man who claimed to be CharlesDéckens’ son. I asked im to have a drink, and his reply was ” Ah glass of Adam’s ale, please.

What’s the

matter with your chin ‘Arry ?” This reminded me that I had had an accident at Kasr—el—Nil Bridge earlier in the day. Our visit to Abbassia terminated rather hurriedly, but I just caught a glimpse of another old friend, wearing a “ mack ”, leaning against a wall looking as if he had not a care in the world. Breve.

I, ______._—.—————

Burn-Murdoch,

Major Balfour,

Colonel

Messrs.

The fact that a very good dinner waS much appreciated is. perhaps, a bald statement of a very enjoyable evening. But there was something else. Having served in the Old Regiment 8. number of years, I was quite aware that al-

though there were other cavalry regiments in the British Army, or any other Army for that matter, the only regiment that really mattered was the Royals. I am now more than ever convinced that one’s pride in being a Royal is quite justified, as I think you will agree, from the following extracts from the speeches.

J.

Brigadier Hodgson in proposing the toast

Ayres, H. J. Allen, A. Geare, E. B. Glave, R. C. Judd, I’l. Lambert, J. Richmond, J. F.

of the Regiment, explained that the only reason that existed for him to command the lst Cavalry Brigade, was that he was a Royal. That, of course, may suit him as an explanation, but we who knew him in the Regiment may think there are other reasons as well ; but being a Royal may have helped. Serjeant Morton, the solitary representa— tive of the Regiment, responded, and proposed the toast of “ The Old Comrades.” Here we had the confession of one who has

Sharpe, and T. Steel, all of whom though un— able to be present, wished us an enjoyable evening. And we had it. The following telegram was despatched to the Equerry—in—Waiting, Buckingham Palace. ” Old Comrades of your Majesty’s Royal Dragoons assembled for their annual dinner send loyal greetings to their Colonel—inChief and wish him a speedy and c0mplete return to health.” and the following reply was received :—

seen the error of his ways ; having, as he told

us, originally served in the Royal Marines the desire came upon him to bestride achar-

“ The King commands me to thank the

ger—(I seem to have heard before of Marines old Comrades 0f the Royal Dragoons as— sembed for their annual dinner for their loyal greetings and good wishes for his speedy recovery.

Equerry." Telegrams were received during the even— ing as under :— From the Regiment :—~ “Serving Royals send heartiest greetings to Old Royals.” From Secretary, 9th Lancers Old Comrades Association :— ” Old Comrades, 9th Lancers, welc0me

the opportunity of again wishing you a happy reunion and assuring you that the great friendship created between the two regiments by past generations is as keen as ever.” These expressions of good wishes were greatly appreciated by all Old Comrades.

riding horses)—But note ;

did he request a

transfer to a cavalry regiment ? N0 ! he asked to come to the Royals. What insight ! what judgment l Serjeant Morton in his very able speech soon proved to his hearers that, whatever may have been his past, he was now a very thorough Royal.

Captain (Joe) Lawrence in proposing the toast of the Chairman, quickly disposed of Brigadier Hodgson’s assertion that his only qualification to command a Cavalry Brigade was being a Royal, but he agreed that being a. Royal was a great thing. And it is. General Makins in the course of a very witty speech, told us that the Royals had now only two representatives in Parliament, but he hoped to see one more in the next Parliament, to wit, Major Leighton. He still in— sists, however, that even if he has changed his


THE EAGLE

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List of Names of those attending Dinner. 24th November 1928.

Later Mr. “ Donny " Brooks gave us some

of his experiences in the Royals in 18871888. There were. not any pipe—clay pots

Abbott, Mr. J.

available to creep into ; from which one great

Allchin, Mr. T.

fact emerged that there was, men at that

Adams, Mr. P. R.

date, only one Regiment, The Royals, and he was one of them, and that’s that. Major leighton in a short speech confirmed his intention to stand as a prospectiye mem—

Allsebrook, Bdmr. F. J. MM.

ber for Parliament in the next election. He means to press forward with legislation for the benefit of all ()ld Royals, such as annual

holidays at the seaside, etc. 1 in fact anything affecting the welfare of all ()ld Royals that could be done. should he done, and done at once, when he entered the portals Of the

Hense. The speech of Major Parsons was an epic. He. simply stated that he could not make a speech, and that he was, at any rate, proud to be an Old Royal, and to be among them. To sum up, in racing

arlance, the position

is >~The Royals, 1, Z, 3,

Royals.

anclgthen

The

This will not need confirmation.

Among our company there were a few members of the Yeomen 0f the Guard, still

Allen, Capt. C. E.

Banks, Mr. P.

Blundell, Mr. H. A. Booth, Mr. J. H. Burnett, Mr. H. J. 8. Bull, Mr. E. P. Bennett, Mr. \V.

Bush, Mr. A. H. Brooks, Mr. J. H. Batten, Mr. H. Brown, Mr. G.

Bosley, Mr. C. Cooke, Capt. C. M. Cole, Mr. H. E. Cole, Mr. C. W. Connett, Mr. R. Crowhurst, Mr. T. Cue, Mr. A.

Cope, Mr. J.

Old Royals, and right well they looked the

Cuthbert, Mr. J. K.

part. Henry VIII could not have had finer specimens of “ Beefeaters ,” right hefty

Curry, Mr. S.

men, broad of girth, leaving little to be desired in their beards, except perhaps that they were

a little closely trimmed for swearing into. After dinner when the buzz of conyersation swelled, I tried very hard to gather something of the general trend of the conversation, and I think that the few extracts I

have space for really summarise the whole,— i.c.——DO you remember ? I should think I do. Why youiBy the way, whats an Acker P (someone been reading the Eagle here). Do you remember oldileft us in York in ‘92 9

Cobbin, Mr. H. Coleman, Mr. F. G. Darvill, Mr. H. T. Day, Mr. C. W.

Drury, Mr. A. G. Edwards Capt, W. MHBE. Earl, Mr. H. Eshmade, Mr. A. Eskriett, Mr. H. W.

Fitzgerald, Capt. J. B.

just as good as they were when we served,

Falshawe, Mr J. R. Fox, Mr. R. Francis, Mr. T. A. Fry, Mr. F. O. Freebury, Mr. G.

and in corirse of time would be. just as good ()ld Royals, and join the merry throng at the annual dinner. C. H. W.

Greenland, Mr. A. E. Gunn, Mr. D. H.

Rather, he was

B Q D N 111

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Royal, and proud of it.

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field of work, he is still first and foremost a

etc., etc, etc.

One other thing seems worth mentioning. One heard from a Variety of sources that they were quite sure that the present R yals were

19

[50

Gill, Mr. S.


20

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THE EAGLE

Goodbody, Mr. W. A. Grove, Mr. H. E.

Hodgson, Brigdr. W. T., D.S.O., M.C. Harman, Mr. H. J. Halford, Mr. W.

Harling, Mr. F. E. Hewitt, Mr. J. J. Hodges, Mr. A. Holt, Mr. E. R. Howlett, Mr. J. Hughes, Mr. A. T.

Hedges, Mr. A. S. Huggins, Mr. H.

Plumb, Mr. S. C. Pratt, Mr. G.

“Billy ” Finn was announced as an absentee, but to the delight of all he looked in later in the evening and explained that duty had prevented him joining his old comrades earlier. “ Billy ” must be somewhere about the oldest of old Royals. ” Micky” Watson, debonair as ever, was

Ratcliffe, Mr. R. A. Riches, Mr. C. A. Richardson, Mr. E. F.

Ridley, Mr. G. Rogers, Mr. E. S.

in good form, as was his former Store-keeper,

” Duke ” Slingsby. It is said their conversa— tion turned to stable brooms, centre cloakstraps and such—like articles dear to the heart of the S.S.M. ” Wally ” Weston, all the way from Brighton by the Sea, came along. His riding weight must be—well, considerable. The air of Brighton apparently agrees with him. “ Donny ” Brooks, worthy Chairman of

Seaton, Mr. W. J. D.C.M. Sentence, Mr. E. A. Slingsby, Mr. F. G. Spring, Mr. R. Stares, Mr. F.

Hepburn, Mr. C.

Stokes, Mr. J.

Hughes, Mr. F.

Shirley, Mr. N. A.

Home, Mr. A. E.

Skivington, Mr. S.

Hutchins, S.S.M., F. Inwood, Mr. A. R.

the Old Comrades’ Club, was in reminiscent Timson, Mr. E. T. Thomson, Mr. W.

vein and took his hearers back to the New— castle Coal Strike 0f the early nineties, when

Turp, Mr. B. the Regiment sent a detachment from York

Johnson, Mr. H. E.

Trott, Mr. A.

Kelly, Mr. T.

Watson, Mr. N. T. West, Mr. A. Westcott, Mr. W'. E. Wilson, Mr. C. W.

Leighton, Major, B. E. P. Lithgow, Capt. D. P. Lawrence, Capt. S. J. Large, Mr. D. Lockyer, Mr. J.

to help preserve the peace in the Northern city. Another veteran, in the person of " Digby ” Wright, joined us after an absence of many years, but as he is living in Birmingham allowance must be made for distance. Major ” Dusty ” Parsons, one of our most popular R.S.M’s., received a great ovation on rising to make a speech, which he professed himself unable to make ; such a plea one knew to be due to modesty and not to incapacity. Many more names might be mentioned, old worthies who are still staunch in their love of

the Regiment.

days, and when the inevitable “ Time, gentlemen, please l” was called all felt it an all too

early ending to what was one of the most interesting and successful of the Reunions we have enjoyed. J. H. B.

Wright, Mr. R. C.

Langton, Mr. E. Lemon, Mr. F.

A Few Impressions Gained at the 17th

Makins, Bg.-Gen. E., C.B., D.S.O., MP.

The number attending was rather less than of recent years, but the ” quality ” was well maintained. One notices the same old faces at these reunions year after year. Where is the remainder of the legion who have passed through the ranks of the old Regiment ? Our Secretary—Reg. Ratcliffe—said he had sent Out 500 circulars ; only about a fifth of that number elicited a response. Knowing the affection old Royals cherish towards their Corps, one asks : ‘ Why such a poor res— ponse ?’ And echo answers “ Why ?” Torn Spring was there—he never misses. The same old Torn as of old, slightly greyer, Has he disperhaps, but sturdy as ever. covered the secret of perpetual youth?

Miles, Mr. H. Milton, Mr. G. W. Monforte, Mr. A. E. Morton, Mr. H. R. Murdoch, Mr. W.

Oxford, Mr. s. J., D.C.M. Parsons, Major ,C. W. Plumb, Capt. L. R. Pitt, Bg.—Gen. T. M. S. Payne, Mr. S.

Pittkin, Mr. J. W. Pitts, Mr. G. Protts, Mr. S.

Annual

Dinner of Old Royals. November 1928.

Suffice it to say that all

were happy at meeting comrades of other

Warner, Mr. C. R. Weston, Mr. W.

Lyoett, Mr. J. C. Luck, Mr. W. Lewis, Mr. C.

21

24th

“ Jock.” Some years ago at Christmas time, In Erin’s Isle this goose was spared : Since then he’s been the Regiment’s pet, And on the best of food has fared. He likes his home in Egypt’s clime, But lives alone—not in a flock : He doesn’t seem to want a wife : (Please ” listen in" ye Subaltems l.) A good example is our Jock. S. G. H.


22

THE EAGLE THE EAGLE

Notes on the Training of Young Ponies for P010. 1. In order to bring a pony’s hocks well under him, strike a match and set fire to his

tail. 2. Make free use of the voiceibut not if there are any ladies about. It will be found a great relief to the rider’s feelings. and it is really surprising how much a pony will understand. I once had a bay pony that used to turn almost liver—chestnut every time I really let myself go about her, 3. If the pony will not answer the leg properly, a pair of climbing—irons will be found far more effective than spurs.

4. It will be found that a pony will go better on a loose rein if the rider dismounts and leads him. 5. The Maltese Cross manege, designed on the same lines as the Maze at Hampton Court, will be found a great help in the schooling of young ponies ; but a thorough knowledge of map—reading is essential if the best results are to be obtained. 6. The best way to get a pony to do the right or left pass is to take it up beside the Regimental band and wait until they start another tune.

"Expert”.

“Spirits and Sermons.” (An Extract from the Reminiscences 0f ‘ iMz'ck ’ Allen. (1897-1908).

boys in the Garrison attended ReligiouS Instruction weekly, superintended by a minis-

seriously ill in hospital and he’s sinking fast, I’ll go now and try and keep his spirits up a bit ;” and off he would stump, not to the hospital, but to the Sergeants’ Mess which was on the road leading to the hospital. We used to watch him pop in, and as they had

ter with a cork leg, who had the run of the

some choice spirits there, mostly of the liq—

hospitals as well. He was what you might call a free lance and he used to give his ser-

uid variety, I suppose the spirits there went down instead of up. Then he would come back and tell us the poor fellow couldn’t last much longer, as he was awfully low—spirited. I suppose the Mess spirits got rather low too. But one day he ovcrfidid it and wobbled back, and after kneeling down and muttering “ Father into thy hands I commend these spirits ” (his usual finale) he collapsed and soon lay snoring blissfully. This was a chance too good to miss, so we unstrapped his

Whilst stationed at S—Barracks, all the

vices free also.

He was a nice old boy ;

he

used to start off with a blessing, (we wanted them badly) and then he’d start the ball rolling after this fashiOn. He picked out a promising subject, a sleepy—looking Irish lad, and the following dialogue took place. Ministers” What ’5 your name sonny ?”

0y— “ Lightning sorr.” Minister— " Who gave you that name? ”

cork leg and hid it, and then retired.

What

Boyfi“ Bandmaster sorr," but as an after-

his feelings on the subject were when he woke

thought, “ Its not me Regimental name sorr me name’s Murphy of Athlone and me ould man grows the finest praties,” etc. But of course he’d given enough of his pedigree to

up, we don’t know, but he was there the follow_

tack on, so for the future we named him

“ Spud Lightning.” After twenty minutes of this, the Ministe ' would have a look at his watch—“ Dear me,

I quite forgot, Boys, there’s a poor fellow

ing week, and after his usual sermon abouaC spirits departed and otherwise, he wound it up with the following warning :—“ Boys, be sure your sins will find you out and you will be cast into the utteimost parts of hell.” But as we were all booked up for twelve years without the option, our version was ” 0 Hell where is thy sting ?”

Serjeants’ Mess Notes. In opening up our notes we are pleased and yet at the same time sorry to say that we are losing Major S. G. Howes, D.S.()., MC.

in the near future. He is leaving for England to take over command of the King’s Dragoon Guards stationed at Aldershot. We take this opportunity of congratulating him on his promotion and, needless to remark, all mem— bers wish him the best of luck on joining his new Regiment and we are certain that we shall see him again some time or other at the Old Comrades Reunion, knowing that he has been a Royal Dragoon. We hear with deep regret that Captain D’A.F. Harris, MC. is retiring, and will therefore not be returning to Egypt. His absence will be felt most in “ B ” Squadron as he has been in command or 2nd in command of this Squadron for the last 3 or 4 years of his service with the Regiment. We wish him “ all he wishes himself “ in the future and “ Au Revoir ” till the last Saturday in November of the first year of the Regiment’s return to England.

We have played the Corporals’ Mess on two occasions both at Billiards and Foot— ball, and adding the results of both meetings we are pleased, or shall we say proud, to record that we were easily the “ top dogs ”; but it is only fair to state that we were helped a great deal by the new members who have only lately left the Corporals’ Mess ; none the less it does not alter the fact that it leaves the Corporals to retrieve their laurels. Our Regimental Horse Show was held on November 15th and we must congratulate the following members on their success :—~

Open Jumping :_S.S.M. (R.I.) C. Taylor, lst. He also got second place on the R.S.M’s horse, R. S. M. Mander unfortunately being unable to compete on his horse owing to an accident he had in the “ HQ.” Wing sports held a week previously. Best Man at Arms—Von Bruning Cup : L/Sjt. Pamplin. There is no doubt that sport both indoor and outdoor is greatly improving as far as the

Mess is concerned.

L/Sjt. Foster has been

selected to teach the Egyptian Army in this Command the art of playing Hockey, and four members have entered the Command Individual Billiard Championship. Shall we say they have had the pluck or the audacity ?

They are B.M. Smith, S.Q.M.S. Dougherty, Sjt. King and Sjt. Bathgate. The Billiards team of the Mess are meeting with more success this season than they did last. We were at the bottom of the league last season but we are not boasting when we state that we are certain of being placed somewhere in the middle of the league this season and should we be here next year we hope to do better still as the enthusiasm is becoming greater, the chief leader being B.M. Smith who made a record break in the Mess of 67 lately. A team of five are usually chosen from the following :— R.S.M.

Mander,

B.M.

Smith,

S.S.M.

Stephens, S/Sjt. Murray, Sjts. Macklin, King, Bathgate, and L/Sjt. Foster, according to their form. Our capabilities at Tennis are about on a par with our billiards, and here again the interest is becoming greater and there is no doubt that our position in the league next season will be better reading. Armourer Q.M.S. Thompson is our guide and leading light. As we have mentioned before, we have

several

members well versed in playing

cricket, S.S.M. Bowles and L/Sjt.

Foster

having played for the Army and the Gezira Sporting Club on several occasions. Finally as regards sports, our Regimental Hockey team is well represented by the members, namely R.Q.M.S. Mynard, S.Q.M.S. Davidson,

Sjts.

Yardley

and

Riley

and

L/Sjts. Foster and Marriott, not forgetting T. M. Plumbley who docs all the organization as regards Hockey. Our old friends of South Africa (6th Cav. Bde.) and Aldershot (lst Cav. Bde.) namely the 10th Royal Hussars have lately arrived out here and we take this opportunity of giving them a hearty welcome, and we look


THE EAGLE TH 1C BAG L15

“A” Squadron Notes. THE NAN

WHO

COHPLAINED

0F TOO MUCH

FOOD.

We wish you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year. Looking back over 1928, we find that it has been a year of continual changes and im— provements. We hope that we have settled now and can continue steadily on towards the ideal of proficiency. We extend a hearty welcome to Major R. F. Heyworth as our new Squadron Leader, to Mr. P. G. Heywood— Lonsdale and Mr. R. Hermon, also to Sqdn.

forward to spending many pleasant times with them while we are stationed together. The 15/19th Hussars left here for India in October and we wish them the very best of luck in their new station.

We are pleased to see our O.R.S.M. out of hospital again. He has had a long and bad spell there, and after his 14 days’ excused riding we hope he will be quite fit again !

Corporals’ Mess Notes.

S.M. Weir, all having been posted to the Squadron during the last quarter. We were very sorry to lose Mr. Hardy and Mr. Barrie and hope that they find their new Squadrons as interesting as ” A " Squadron. S.S.M. Stewart D.C.M. left us early in October to attend a vocational training es— tablishment in England ; he was given a rousing send—off by members of the Squadron who were not on duty. We all wish him " Jolly good Luck.” Our chief interest during the last quarter has been Boxing. We commenced in the Squadron by holding a competition for two men per Section ; we found this a very keen competition and decided to arrange another. The next competition, teams of eight per Troop to compete for the Troop boxing Shield, was even a greater success. The First Troop won the shield, which was presented by Major C. Swire.

We wish to tender our thanks to the donor of the photo of the late Corporal Turner. We are having this enlarged for the Mess. \‘Vith the exception of three ” clashes ” with the Serjeants’ Mess—two billiards and one football—awe have had a very quiet quar— ter. In each of the billiards matches we were fortunate enough to beat our next—door neighbours but had the tables turned on us in the football match. We lost the latter by 5 goals to 3 after a really good game. It is really rather surprising how these ” grand old men ” manage to turn out so sprightly a side ! We were all very pleased to see L/Cpl. Rogers do so well in the Regimental Mounted Sports and feel sure that, barring his un— fortunate accident, L ’Cpl. Gloyn would have

added to our ” wins and places.” We offer hearty congratulations to both on their suc— cesses ; particularly to Gloyn on winning the R.H.A. open jumping. During the last week of November we held a Smoking Concert in order to bid farewell to our old friend ” Nibby ” who leaves us on the 17th December. We take this oppor— tunity of bidding him farewell and the best of luck in ” civvy—street,” and hope that he will keep in touch with us all. We extend a hearty welcome to the new faces in the Mess—fortunately there are no casualties in the stripe line this quarter l We will close this letter by wishing the best of luck and a happy Christmas and New Year to all our old friends. G. C. L.

Then came the Regimental Novices

Competition which resulted in ” A ” Squadron gaining the highest number of points to— wards the Sqdn. Shield. Lastly the Regimental Open Competition which proved that we had been rewarded for making an early start. ” A ” Squadron won the Boxing Shield by a good margin of points.

L/Cp]. GlOyH.

The Command Rifle Meeting was held during October. We entered four teams who

practiced very seriously and shot very well in the various competitions but failed to win a prize. We must not however forget to congratulate SQMS. Dougherty who shot

so well as to be left in the final competition for the “ Championship of Egypt." We hope for better luck and better light next year. At the Regimental Horse Show the Squad— ron was well represented. We congratulate L/Sjt. Pamplin on his very fine display and can imagine how pleased he was to win the Champion-at-Arms Cup. No. 10 Section were the winners of the Squadron Leader’s Shield and prize for the half-year ending 15th October. We congratulate L/Cpl. Bartlett and his Section. The Squadron commenced Troop training early in October and has continued through— out the quarter to make appreciable progress. The Commanding Officer has inspected each Troop in each stage of its training and has returned a very satisfactory report.

The Squadron camped at Abu-Zabal for five days, returning to Barracks on the 30th November. We took every available man and horse with us and had a very pleasant and instructive time in the open spaces. We had to fight our way back to Barracks, our enemy being represented by the 10th Hussars. During the manoeuvre it was necessary to swim the horses over the Ismailia Canal, which was accomplished in very quick time with no casualties. Well done “A” Squadron.

‘A’ Squadron Leaving A Em Zabal.


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“B ” Squadron Notes, The past three months have seen our spare moments chiefly occupied in performing, or trying to perform, those fantastic evolutions which trade under the pseudonyms 0f ” Troop ” and ” Squadron " training. These evolutions consisted chiefly of a series of gyratiOns in that place of torture called a “Manege,” supplemented by sundry advance and rear-guard actions, etc., and in view of the shortage of rain it is surprising how often parts of the desert On our flanks were inundated and rendered impassable, particul— arly from Coombe Hill to the West.

During September we had our Regimental Rifle Meeting, which was satisfactory from the Squadron point of view. Tpr. Mason in particular did very well in winning first place in Matches 1 (Class A) and 7. We also had several other firsts and places etc., which will be found recorded elsewhere in this issue. The Command Meeting followed shortly after. but apart from S.S.M. Boag, 5th in the individual revolver, and L/Cpl. Cree 9th

One wonders too, why “ B ” Squadron was

November brought about the Regimental Novices boxing, where the Squadron did very

offered up for sacrifice to often, as day after day we seemed to be detailed as advance or rear guard to the Main Body, or at other times holding the outpost line in some des— perate position. It was good to see that ” Save-the—women—and-children-first, never-

mind—me ” look on the faces of the troops on being told that the line must be held at all costs. Many an heroic fight have we put up on the Maidan, but happily they were bloodless battles, and none of our bones are left to bleach on the desert. This phase of our training is rapidly drawing to a close, and our chief regret is that we were never able to join that select band known as the “ Main Body.” Think how it would have simplified the training, and the swing and zest it would have added to it ! I think I shall put this forward to the powers that be, for consideration on future occasions. One amusing little episode during this period was when our friend Cyril (Leuty of that ilk) on giving an estimate of four hund— red yards as the distance to Signal Hill was requested to pace it as the crow flies. His antics to do this on the concave slope reminded one of a chamoix in the throes of D.T’s. Luckily there was no eidelweiss to gather, or he might have tarried awhile; the acoustics

must also have been faulty, for we couldn’t hear him yodelling, and instead of the feather ” a las des alpins ” he arrived with a “ bee in his bonnet,” through discovering he had underestimated by a mere thousand yards.

is still quite young, and we hope to see them much higher in the league table before the season is over. The hockey team have quite a different tale. to tell, and up to the present have had few adverse decisions given against them. I forgot to mention that during our touring the crop of raspberries, which seem to thrive. so well on the honest sweat of a Dragoon, were as plentiful as over, though a small

banana might be come by occasionally. Well, “ the old order changeth ” and we have lost our Pick ; l’ick who had become

27

such an institution in the Squadron.

He has

journeyed to “ H.Q." Wing, there to estab-

lish a comer in finance, and we wish him the best of luck in his new venture. He was for a time I believe “ in statu pupillari ” but I understand that he can now be seen daily, telling his tablets of stone. Now the Editor is clamouring at the door for copy, like an income—tax collector, so I must close this epistle. To—morrow, the Squadron leaves .for a sojourn in the Annual Squadron Camp,‘_’so

call me early mother dear.

Aitch Tee.

in the individual rifle, we did not do very well, so we will draw the veil.

Machine Gun Squadron Notes.

well, winning the Light Heavies, Middles,

and Welters besides the runners-up. Des— pite this however we were beaten for the Rob— son Shield by “ A ” Squadron who produced more entries. In the Command Novices which followed shortly afterwards Tpr. Crook won the Welter weight after some good fights. The Regimental Open boxing which followed close on the heels of the Novices produced some good fighting, ” B ” Squadron winning the \Velters, (Tpr. Thomas) and Lights (Tpr. Marston). The Regimental Horse Show during the same month enabled us to gather many more points toward the Inter-Squadron shield, gathered chiefly through the agencies of L/Cpl. Rogers and Tpr. Godfrey. L/Cpl. Rogers got lst in the Junior Jumping, Ist for Best Trained TI‘OOp horse and 2nd in Junior Dummy-Thrusting. Tpr. Godfrey was the winner of Junior Dummy—Thrusting, In— dividual Tent-pegging and 2nd in the Junior All Arms, while L/Cpl. Reynolds was 2nd in the Junior Jumping class. Amongst the Officers, 2/Lt. C. E. D. Cooper was awarded first for the best trained Officer’s Horse, and Major C. Swire was second in the Officers' All Arms. Much sympathy was felt for Z/Lt. Cooper on his bad luck in the same competition, but methinks some reference to dropped arms was made in a previous issue, so “ nuff said.”

Our football team has not had a very successful season up to date, but the season

Since our last is— sue, when:we:didn’t seem to have too

the 10th. October. Some events caused great merriment -

much to say, train-

particularly when,. in the apple and.

ing has, oncejmore, got into full swing and we are starting on our second year in the country. We arrived in Egypt with 2 MG. Officers and four guns and have now grown to five Offi—

bucket race,

bucket in his mouth! The novices and

open boxing took M. G. San. TmflPegging Sec/ion.

cers and eight guns.

Major Heyworth has left us to take over from

Major

Howes

Far-

rier—got his head stuck in the bucket: and Corporal—got the apple A ND the

place during, Octo— ber and November.

Although “A” Squadron

and we wish

him

all success. Our other loss has been the departure of Mr. Moseley to “ B ” Squadron. It was a great wrench seeing him uprooted from his proud position of the oldest in— habitant, but it had to be ! May his shadow never grow less l We welcome back to the Squadron Mr. Lloyd and also extend a hearty welcome to Mr. Kidd and Mr. Hardy with the hOpes that they will find life pleasant with us. We entered the Command Rifle Meeting with high hopes, but owing to an off day and a. high wind, did not carry off the chief honours as we should have liked. We held our Squadron Mounted Sports on

about

the same number

of

we had

entries

this .

year, we were swamped by the other Squadrons. However, we congratulate L/Cpl. Bramley on the excellent fight he put up and on winning his weight.

This

was the

first time he had ever entered a ring and, with some practice, he should go a long way. In the football line we are expecting great things from the second troop who, so far, are

unbeaten. We must not forget to appreciate Tpr. Birch's skill with the billiard one in winning the Regimental Billiards Cup. He was always a good shot ! The Regimental Mounted Sports went off very well—the Squadron team winning the Section tent-


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this year was Troop Training par excellence, everybody being ”called in,” and many were the very strange faces that came to light on the first day. We were all very friendly again just when the a cease fire ” drew near, and the time to bid each other

adieu came all too soon. (my identity cannot be obtained from the Editor). However, we had to part, and so the Commanding Officer ventured forth one morning, and ”hey presto” we returned to the Stables dismissed once again. Of course there were others in the Wing who had to be brought up to our standard so we handed back the riding school stores, jumps etc., all very little the worse for wear ; handed over our well trained Comm

807 N07”.

FORGeTIE/Y

Ber/r To

7H5

7OLZJ

mounts to their respective owners, and re-

(0 tired to our usual duties pending the ” call

pegging intl'great style, defeating the Old Comrades who, we understand, are putting

their shirts on it next time !

L/Cpl.

Mc.Leod’s section won the L10yd Lindsay and V.C. race whilst “ Mahmoud " Gawth— orpe shone (in more senses than one) in the Mule race. Sjt. Bathgate collected third place in the Individual pegging but we didn't see him take this “ edge—on ” peg he talked so much about before the event ! Tpr. Wood~ ward put up a good show in riding No. 46 into third place in the Junior Jumping. To those who did not get a prize we must say “Better luck next year and well done for

having a try this time ”~—If you don’t speculate you can't accumulate ! Tprs. Creask and Jones deserve an honourable mention for their performances in the Command Novices boxing ; the former got into the final and, from all accounts, was a.

trifle unlucky not to get the verdict. However, he has been seclected to box for the Army novices against the RAP. we are just off to Helwan again for our annual M.G. Concentration of which we shall have something to say in Our next isusue.

Flutters from the Wing.

to arms ” next year, still bearing in mind

the Commanding Officer’s kind remarks at his inspection. Let me hasten to say that all n ” entries completed the course and occasionally one can still see members of that Regimentally famed ride still admiring their waist line, so carefully brought to light by our instructor. The Bunting Tossers next had the pleasure of taking the ” course ” and were also very successful, although —7 well I have already told you how we handed over the horses. Next came the Regimental Small Arms Meeting, at which we were fairly successful with Sjt. (1M) Baker winning the Revolver Cup, the “ Wing ” Team winning the " Heath Cup ” for Revolver shooting, our Sergeants winning the Sergeants’ Mess Falling Plate Competition, Sqn. QMS. Davidson being 2nd in the Warrant Officers and Sergeants’

Match, and LC. Turnbull and Tpr. Robert— son being 2nd and 3rd respectively in the

By the time these notes appear in print we shall have successfully disposed of the Festive Season and all the delicacies attached thereto in the good old army style. I would have liked to have been able to tell you all that happened this time but Mr. Editor is very pressing in his demands so I must therefore delay my news until the next issue. We all hope however that all our old friends and comrades had the very best of

good times, and we take this Opportunity of

wishing them all the best of luck and prosperity in 1929. And now to tell you of the happenings of the past quarter. Intermingled with the arduous period of Troop Training we have held several ” side— shows” which considerably helped to alleviate the sufferings of thOSe who could not, or would not, get the same horse each day,

the explanation to which was generally to the detriment of the horse or the poor suffering Troop Sergeant. However, Troop-Training

Troopers' Match.

This meeting was a mOSt

enjoyable one and the Committee are to be congratulated on their fine show. Great interest was taken in it and competition was very keen among all ranks.

29

FolIOWing the Rifle Meeting came the Regi-

mental Horse Show, equal in its popularity to the Rifle Meeting, at which ” The Wng " was well to the fore and very successful. S.S.M. (Rf) Taylor is to be congratulated on his fine performances at the Show, during which he won the “ All Arms ” Competition, was 2nd in the Dummy Thrusting, and rode the lst and 2nd horses in the Regimental Jumping. On top of this he also got lst and places in the " Open to the World ” Jumping Competition which was held on the final day of the Show, 40 competitors having entered, representing most of the Units in Egypt. The horse which jumped into 2nd place each time had won a similar Open Jumping Compeition at the Royal Horse Artillery Horse Show a few weeks previously from 50 other competitors. S.S.M. Taylor was also 2nd in the Best Trained Troop Horse competition. The Transport won the Mounted Wrestling on their ” donkeys ” and won it very con— vincingly. You ask the teams they beat. Mules and riders were both stubborn that day. As regards football and hockey we are not doing at all well, and great improvement must be shown in both departments if we are to win any competitions. But we cannot complain unduly as the youngsters in the ” Wing ” will come on later on, and then we shall repay all that is being inflicted upon us now. We have had several postings to us this quarter from other Squadrons, including ' 2/Lieut. A. M. Barne who has come to join the ranks of the ” bunting tossers ;" we extend a hearty welcome to them all. Bandsmen Old, Kelly, Freeth, and Dickenson re— joined us from their course at ” K.H.” and promise to be an acquisition in the sports department from accounts which preceded them. We congratulate them on the reports they obtained on their course. Winger.


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lSignal Troop Notes. ‘We have a changing population in the Signal Troop, and since these notes last appeared old faces have left and new ones have taken their place. However by dint of continuous toil through— out the grilling heat of an Egyptian summer, while others all around us gasped and slept, and with only one brief respite of 14 days at Alexandria when signalling and iddy—umpty were never forgotten even in the sea, we have

reached a point where there is little to Choose between a signalling veteran of nearly two years standing and those who joined us in

April last.

\Vhat little time we get for recreation has been well spent, and the troop did very well in the Regimental Swimming Sports besides having three members of the Regimental Water Polo team. On our Annual Musketry Course we were best shooting tr00p by a very long way, averaging well over marksmen, although in the Regimental Rifle Meeting we did not do ourselves justice. In the Regiimental Mounted Sports one of our sections was only just beaten into seCOnd place in the Lloyd Lindsay Race and Trooper Walsh did well to be third in the Junior Dummy Thrusting. In all a most successful six months.

“ Barracking.” Now that the football season is in full swing, the lamentable practice of " barrack— ing ” by spectators, so seldom heard at other games, is also at its height. The offenders in this respect would do themselves a lot of good if they were to read the description of a ” Sportsman ” as it is written in all British Army Sports Manuals. Nobody likes his team to lose, but at the same time, no true.

sportsman minds being beaten at his own game, whether at home or away. The players

themselves are not above reproach in many instances, but it is to the spectators that these remarks are addressed. By barracking the players of the opposing side no good can arise. The usual result of such barracking, if not checked at once, is the commencement of ” dirty ” play. No

Band Notes. _ Now that winter has once more crept upon us the heart is softened in the afternoon by thel'dulcet strains of individual practice. This has not met with the unqualified approval of those Philistines inhabiting Troop rooms or bunks in the near vicinity and many are the hard things said—and thought—about it. This has, however, not had the ‘ soft pedal ’ effect expected on our medley of sound, and we still continue to

endeavour to soothe the savage breast at hitherto forbidden hours. Judging by some of the profane expressions used in the hear— ing of't'he author of these notes, it would seem that the only satisfactory way of ‘ sooth— ing’ some of these savage breasts would be by the accurate and judicious application of a mallet or other ’blunt instrument’ upon some vulnerable spot with a certain amount of force. ‘ It has been rumoured that a neighbouring Sqn. Q.M.S. intends to embark upon a course

of instrumentation and has been seeking

information regarding the relative vibrative qualities of the various instruments when heard from below. I will probably hear more of this after publication. We have recently been augmented by the arrival of four of our Bandsmen who have completed their twelve months course at the School of Music. We were gratified at their splendid reports and congratulate them on coming through so well. Our old friends of the 10th Hussars Band have taken up their residence beside us once more and we were agreeably surprised to see a large number of faces in their ranks that we knew in Aldershot. The march ” Old Com— rades ” with which we welcomed them in was therefore most appropriate and we hope, to have the pleasure of meeting them once more on the Cricket field during the season as we did in Aldershot days.

player breathing is fond of being told what he should do by somebody looking on, who pro~ bably knows less of what should be done, and none Of the laws of the game ; and no player likes being abused because he has failed to take the advice of the howling spectator. It is quite possible for a player to trip one Of his opponents without having the least in— tention of doing so. If the referee spots the Offence, the offender is penalised, but if he does not, there is no reasori why the support—

ers of the victim should blow off steam at the offender for “ dirty play.” Probably the man who is most sorry for the occurrence is

the one who has been at fault. The referee gets more than his share of abuse from these “ hooligans of the touch—

line,” and it is up to every sport—loving individual to do his best to put down this rotten practice of abusing the man who is elected to see that the game is played fairly. The man with the whistle has passed his test for whatever certificate he holds ; he knows

the laws of the game, and it is very seldom

that one sees a referee who makes many glaring mistakes.

The man with the whistle

has only one pair of eyes, and th y are not of the X—ray variety.

He cannot see all that

happens during the course of the game. l’)cliberate fouls are not committed by play—

crs unless they think that the offence has a fair chance of escaping the notice of the referee.

A lot of good might be done if the ignorant spectators were made to study the laws of the game before they went to witness a match. They would then see that it is quite permis— sable in some cases, for a player to handle the ball, or to be in an ” off—side ” position. They would also find out that what appears to them to be ” off-side " is nothing of the kind, and vice-versa. When will specta— tors get it into their heads that unintentional

handling is not a foul .3 or that a player, al— though standing in an ”off—side” position, provided that he makes no attempt to play the ball, or is not obstructing in any way, cannot be ruled “ off—side.” It sometimes happens that a deliberate foul is committed and the referee refrains from blowing the whistle, because, if he did, he

would be robbing the victim of a chance of scoring instead of giving him an advantage. This is another little point that seems to have escaped the notice of many who go to see

their team win. A referee is allowed to let a foul go unpenalised when, by stopping play, he would be robbing the injured party of a chance of scoring. One little word to lookers—on at a match._ Do not go to the match if your only desire is to see your own team win.

There are always

two teams playing, and both are out to win, so why not go to see the better team win and see some really

good, sporting football ?

A Blower 0f Whistles.


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Sport and Play.

Teams at Alexandria :—« Royals “ A ”—Back :~«Capt. A. S. Casey ; 3: Capt. P. L. Wilson ; 2 : Lieut. R. Peake ; 1 : Lieut. R. B. Moseley.

The Regimental Novices Tournament was held on October 23rd, 24th and 25th.

64 entries were received and SOme very hard fighting was seen. This Tournament was most encouraging for the future of boxing in the Regiment. Most of the competitors were fit, several showed promise of being good boxers, and every fight was fought out with a View to scoring points for Commander Robson’s Shield. Results of Semi-finals and Finals :— Light Weights: L/C. Francis ” A ”, Tpr. Clarke ” B."

Royals ‘A’ Team, Winners of the King’s Cup, Alexandria.

Tpr. Hibburt “A,” Tpr. Manning r‘A.”

Final: final, but in the final the 12th Lancers turned

Polo. Since our last article on polo six months have passed, and during that time considerable progress has been made, especially with regard to the training of our batch of Argen— tine ponies. SO far they have turned out very well and although only a few have yet been played in chukkers, we have every rea son to hope that they will all in the end make good. Certainly no failures have as yet been recorded. We started the season by sending two teams down to Alexandria for their Septem— ber tournament. In this we did very well for we won the King’s Cup with one team, the other failing by only half a goal in the subsidiary. Our victory in this tournament was all the more pleasing as we were opposed by the same 12th. Lancers team that had done so well here last year in the Inter-Regimental and other open tournaments. In the first tournament of the season at lot Gezira we put in four teams, which says a the 1n polo of state for the general healthy Regiment. Two of the teams met in the serm-

Francis 21. Hibburt.

the tables on us and had their revenge f0 their defeat at Alexandria already mentionedIn this second match their ponies shewed up as being generally faster and better schooled so that we must get busy with our young ponies if we are to compete with them in the Inter—Regimental. The task of choosing a team to represent the Regiment this year will be harder than ever, for there are now at least eight players of very much the same standard, any of whom

might be well worth his place on his day. The same thing will apply to the Subalterns team for which there are six or seven likely players. The next issue will deal with the results of the season’s tournaments and it is still too early to make a forecast, but we certainly have every hope of being able to acquit our— selves creditably. We welcome out here our old rivals from Aldershot, the 10th Hus—

sars, and we hope that they will soon get over the inevitable pony troubles that beset all Regiments on first arrival in the country.

Winner: Francis. Light Heavy-Weights:

Tpr. Russell “B,” Tpr. Bunston “B." Tpr. Swain “B,” Tpr. Colvin ”B.” Final :~Swain. v. Bunston. Winner z—Bunston.

Middle Weights: Tpr. Goodman “ M.G.", Tpr. Bradley “ A." Tpr. Burchell “ A,” Tpr. Clissold ”B.” Final zaBradley. Winner :—Brad1ey. Feather-Weight: Tpr. OBrien “A,” Tpr. Poulton “B." Tpr. Rowe “ H.Q.”, Boy Parkin " H.Q." Finalzho Brien. v. Rowe. Winner z—Rowe. Welter-Weight : L/C. Francis ”B”, Tpr. Mallinson ”B."

L/C. Johnson, “B.”, Tpr. Hill. Final :—Francis. v. Hill. Winner :mFrancis. Bantam-Weight: Tpr. Allen “B”, L/C. Bramley “M.G.”

Winner :—Bramley. Best Lose/s Prize 2—Tpr. Manning, “ A.”

33

Royals ”B "*Back :ALieut. H. B. Scott ; 3: Lieut. R. A. Hermon ; 2: Major W. B. Hayley R. H. A., and Lieut. A. H. Pepys; 1: Lieut. A. M. Bame.

COMMAND NOVICES OPEN TOURNAMENT. The entries in this Tournament are limited to two each weight. The competitors from the Regiment were most successful, a great

deal of the credit being due to Cpl. Shaw of the Tank Corps who has assisted in training our competitors. The following were the results :a Light Heavy :—~Tpr. Creask, “ M.G.” Squadron. Beaten in the final by a very narrow margin after a good fight. He has improved out of all recognition since last year and we expect great things of him when he has had more experience. Middle Weights :—Tpr. Hunter ” A ” Squadron, Tpr. Brown, “ A ” Squadron. The former was beaten in the first round after a good hard fight, his opponent being unable to take any further part in the competition. Tpr. Brown reached the finals where he was beaten by a good novice boxer. Welter Weights :mL/Cpl. Wilson "A" Squadron, Tpr. Crook “ B ” Squadron. These two rechead the final after beating some good men in their previous fights. The final was a most excellent show. Many Officers present expressed the opinion that this was the best fight they had ever seen between two men of the same Regiment. It \\ as most satisfactory to those responsible for boxing in the Regiment. These two are both keen and promising boxers. Light Weight :— L/Cpl. Francis “ A ” Squadron, Tpr. Jones, ” MG.” Squadron.

The former had banted to get down to this weight but unfortunately he had made


34

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himself so weak that he. was unable to even begin to box. He shows much promise. Tpr. Jones just failed to reach the Semi—

finals. He is a hard hitter, and a real fighter. Feather Weight z—Tpr. O’Brien, “ A " Squadron, Tpr. Rowe, “ H..”Q Wing. The former is a hard fighter but lacks ex— perience. He got through the first round

and then met the eventual winner. Tpr. Rowe reached the semifinals. He is a very promising boxer. He has only just reached man’s age and in addition he has been down twice since he has been in the country with pneumonia. When he gets stronger he should go a long way. Bantam Weight:~ Tpr. .Allen, ” B " Squadron. Reached the semi—final. A hard fighter who never admits defeat, but lacks experience. Boys Feather Weight :-~Boy Dover, Boy Parkin. The former reached the semi-final. He has been sick recently and was very unfit. Bov Parkin reached the final and lost to a goodiboy in the Lancashire Fusiliers. He is most promising. Boys Bantam Weight z~Boy O’ Flynn. Boy 0' Flvnn lost after an excellent fight in the first round, but had the satisfaction of

winning in a special bout against a boy in the Lancasliire Fusiliers on the last night. It will be seen from the above that out of 13 entries from the Regiment 5 reached the Finals and 3 the Semi—finals.

REGIMENTAL OPEN BOXING COMPETITION. November 19th, 20th and 2lst.

Judges: Captain C. K. Davey, 10th Royal Hussars, Lieut. J. R. I. Flatt, lst Bn.

Somerset L.L Referee :—Captain H. Alsop, 12th Royal . Lancers. Time/eeejaers :——The Rev. E. M. M. Bright, CF. M.C. :#R.S.M., F. J. Mander. Recorder :—~Sjt. \V. H. Hinton. , Semi—Finals. Middle Weight: ::.:A’ y Bradle Tpr. Tpr. Hunter ”A.", A. L/Cpl. Francis ” B.”, Tpr. Rodwell Final :—Bradley. ‘L’. Franc1s.

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Winner :reBradley. Welter Weight: Tpr. Synionds. “ 31.6.", L/C. \Vilson ” A.” Tptr. Thomas “13.”, L/C. Francis “A." Final :—Wilson. 7'. Thomas. Winner ifirl‘hOIll’dS. Light Weight:

Rugby. We have had an even better season than the last one and have. made very considerable progress. The players have now been sorted out into their proper places, with the result that we

Tpr. Dunford “1%.”, Tpr. Marston ”B.”

Tpr. Lodge “ A”, Tpr. Harvey “ MC.” Final :~vi\larston_ 'U. Lodge. Winner :eiMarston. Special Boy’s Heavyweight Contest: Boy Slade ”u. Boy Burningham. Winner :7Burningham. Feather—Weight:

Tpr. Jones. “.\l.G.", Tpr. Ward ” A Tpr.

Miles,

“ 3‘1.Cr.", Tpr.

Curtis,

are at last starting to play as a team.

We

have actually played more matches than last year and have been able to take on better teams, with the result that we have improved a lot. Our record in these matches has been decidedly good, for we have won more than we have lost. We reported confidently last year that we expected to improve considerably during this year as every player was

try of the match not two minutes from time. Our Opponents were the R.A.S.C., who fielded avery strong side, and a thrilling game ensued. We never looked like scoring as we are unable

as yet to finish off our movements properly. Special mention should be made of L/Cpl. Harding whose play in this match reached a very high standard. Our g eat weakness

now lies in our tackling ; if we could get every man to go ” low ", then we should take a lot of beating.

The team we fielded in the Cup match with the R.A.S.(‘. was as under :fiFull Back,

Lyr’Cpl. Harding ;

Three quarters, LUCpl.

‘A.” anxious and willing to learn,and it is satis—

Final 17101105.

Football.

1. Curtis.

Winner zejones. Bantam-Weight:

Boy Parkin “ HQ, Tpr. Allen “ B." Winner :#Parkin. Light Heavyweight:

Tpr. Long, ”A", Tpr. Creask, “M G." Final :71-ong. r. Tpr. Bunston “ B.” Winner :ALong.

factory to record that the same spirit still prevails. If we can maintain the same pro— gress next year we should be able to field a really good fifteen for the Inter—Unit Championship. We have just played off our first tie for this year and unfortunately lost by the only

Tomlinson, Tpr.

Smales, 1.,”Cpl. \Vilkinson,

Tpr. Rushton ;

Halves. Tprs. Harris and

Chant. Forwards.~Tprs. Bradley

(Capt)

Prior,

Creask, Rougliton, _ anes, Thorburn, Den— ton and Farr. Simpson. ReservespiThrec—quarter, Tpr. Burchell. Forw,.rd VieTpr. Dalton.

Best Losers Z—NOV. 20th Tpr. Early, “ B." ;

Nov. 2lst Tpr. Dunford “ B.’ “ Robson Shield 2” . ” A." Squadron. . . . Points 145 Winners ”B.” Squadron.... ,, 111 “ MC." Squadron. . ,, 56 “ HQ.” Wing ..... ,, 18

Hockey Notes. Once again Hockey Notes make an item of news for our readers, and 1 am sure will make a braver shOw than last season’s returns. Promises shall not be. broken.

We started

our season in a moderate

Tpr. Creask and Tpr. Crook represented the

fashion and, having lost a few matches, we

Army Novices against the Air Force Nov1ces

decided on a reshuffle of the team, which

, on November 30th. ght, Heavywei a against The former fought and giving away two stone, beat him. The latter fought very hard indeed and was most unfortunate in the decision which went against him. In addition Tpr. Marston defeated a man of the Somersets in a Special 4 round Contest. To sum up. The outlook for Boxing in the Regiment at present is most promising, and if our stars continue to improve there Will be some in the Regiment to take the place of the good ’uns of thepre—\Var days, e.g. Titmas, Double, Mc’Cann, Bartlett, Hoinville, Strath

and Stitch. We intend to make a bold bid for the Inter-Unit Championship next month.

gave us the desired result.

Although our

returns to date show a minority of wins, our goal average will show that the wins we did have were convincing. I have much pleasure in stating that we have beaten some of the best teams in Egypt e—Gezira Sporting Club 7—0 ;

The Shell Co.

of Egypt (Cairo Branch) 3—1 ; Heliopolis Sporting Club 4—2, and we were very much fancied for the Command Knock~0ut Com— petition bzvtt~~unfortunately, owing to a mistake, we were not entered.

We did enter

for the Shell Cup, and after drawing a bye in the first round, we were drawn against the.

Headquarters team of the Royal Air Force, Heliopolis, which match takes place on Thursday, December 27th at Gezira. The result will be published in our next issue. We are rather unfortunate. in that our Centre Forward, Sjt. Riley. will not be with us for that match, as he sails for England on a Course (not Hockey) on the 17th December. He has proved very useful in gathering goals unto himself ; so now for his successor, who

we hope will be as successful. We are making progress in the Regimental Inter—Squadron League and have played 5 matches to date. Hockey Table to Date (Regimental Team) Played 18 ; Won 7 ; Lost, 11 ; Goals for,

59 ; Goals against, ~13. Sticks.


THE EAGLE THE EAGLE

Equitation Notes.

Well Over I

5.5.411. Tayl 4’. HORSE SHOW. — RESULTS. Officers Chargers:

lst Mr. Cooper ; 3rd Mr. Blackett.

2nd Major Heyworth ;

Best Trained Troop Horse:

lst L/Cp. Rogers ”B ;” 2nd S.S.M./R.I. Taylor ” HQ.” ; 3rd Sgt. Pamplin ”A.” Best Trained Remount:

5 5.111. Taylor (S Sgt. Pamplm at the Regimental Horse Show.

There are now only 28 Recruits left at RidingiSrhool, and 15 Remounts. In addi— tion to this a draught of 15 men from the K.I).G's has just arrived out here. These men have not yet started Riding School. At the 2nd Bde. R.H.A. Horse Show, in October, the Regiment supplied ten entries

out of about 38 for the Open Jumping event. After the eliminating round three were left in for the Final, out of ten. S.S.M/R.I. Taylor, L/Cpl. Gloyn and L/Cpl. Reynolds. Gloyn eventually won the competition on R.S.I\‘I. Mander’s horse, being the only one to make a clear round. The Regimental Horse Show was held on Thursday 15th November on the ground be s, tween the Officers’ Mess and the Barrack

This proved a very good site for the show and resulted in a very large attendance Of the Regiment and Married Families. The Show was generally successful and the

standard in the Skill at Arms events was very high indeed. From the spectators’ point of view all the arrangements were admirable, and everybody felt that the Committee were very much to be congratulated. General and Lady Strickland and the Brigadier and Mrs. Howard—Vyse were present in the afternoon. In our Open Jumping event we had a large number of entries totalling 41. For this, it was necessary to have an eliminating round on the previous day to leave in ten for the Final Round. Four of our horses were left in, consisting of S.S.M/R.I. Taylor on his own horse, and on RSM. Mander’s horse,

also I./Cpl. Rogers and L/Cpl. Reynolds. S.S.M/R.I. Taylor was first with his own horse and second with R.S.M. Mander’s horse. A list of the prize—winners is published below, most of whom will represent the Regi_ ment at the Cavalry Brigade Show on the 19th

and 20th of December.

lst Tpr. Trunks “ B ”; 2nd Tpr. Precious

“ B ;” 3rd Tpr. Hammond ” B.” All Arms (Senior): lst S.S.M./R.I. Taylor ”HQ. ;" 2nd Sgt. Pamplin “ A ;” 3rd S.S.M. Weir “ A." All Arms (Junior): lst Tpr. Willmore “ A ;" 2nd Tpr. Godfrey “ B ;” 3rd Tpr. Walsh ” HQ.” Dummy Thrusting (Senior): lst Sgt. Pamplin “ A ;” 2nd S.S.M./R.l. Taylor ”HQ. ;” 3rd S.S.M. Weir “A."

All Arms (Officers): lst Mr. Heywood-Lonsdale ; Swire ; 3rd Mr. Hermon. Dummy Thrusting (Officers): lst Mr. Heywood—Lonsdale ;

2nd Major

2nd

Mr.

Lloyd ; 3rd Mr. Peake. Open Jumping:

lst S.S.M./R.I. Taylor (The Royals) ; 2nd S.S.M./R.I. Taylor (The Royals) ; 3rd Sgt. Taylor (2nd Bde. R.H.A.) Best Man at Arms (Championship): lst Sgt. Pamplin “ A ;” 2nd S.S.M./R.I. Taylor ” HQ.” ; 3rd L,”C. Rogers ” B.” Section Tent Pegging:

lst “ MG.” Squadron; 2nd “HQ." Wing. Individual Tent Pegging:

lst Tpr. Godfrey ” B ;” 2nd Sgt. Forsyth “ HQ." ; 3rd Sgt. Bathgate “ MG.” Best Pair Heavy Mules:

L/C. Ryan “ HQ.” Best Pair Light Mules.:

Tpr. Mott “ HQ.” Dummy Thrusting (Junior):

Mounted Wrestling:

lst Tpr. Godfrey “ B ;” 2nd L/C. Rogers ” B ;” 3rd Tpr. Willmore “ A.”

Winners :_Transport Troop ; Runners Up l —“ B2.” Mule Race in Costume: 1st Tpr. Gawthorpe “ MG.” ; 2nd Tpr. Chant “ HQ.” ; 3rd Farr/Cpl. Freeman u A.”

Jumping (Senior): lst S.S,M./R.I. Taylor “ HQ ;" 2nd S.S.M./R.I. Taylor “ HQ. ;" 3rd Sgt. Con— duit “ A.” Jumping (Junior): lst L/C. Rogers “ B ;” 2nd L/C. Reynolds ” B ;”

3rd Tpr. Woodward ” MG.”

Lloyd Lindsay and V.C. Competition: lst “ MG.” Squadron ; 2nd “ HHQ'

Wing.


THE EAGLE

THE EA G LE

Duck and Snipe Shooting.

Musket ry Notes° Our first Regimental Rifle Meeting abroad, run under the auspices of a very able committee, Major R. F. Heyworth, Capt. Hon. G. R. Browne 0.B.E., and Sjt. (I.M.) E. Baker, was held at Abbassia Ranges on the 20—21—22nd of September. It was marked by excellent weather and splendid attendances which were much larger than previous years, owing no doubt to in— creased individual matches and transport arrangements. The Brigadier attended on the 22nd. Shooting was good on the whole and competition keen. The Pool bull did good trade and many were successful on the 1st day. On the 2nd and 3rd days the size of the bull had to be decreased but even then the ” dead eyes ” found it. See the “ pool ” holders anxiously watching every signal and gulping down their emotion when the white disc appeared and stayed long enough for the whole world to know that “ someone’s found it.” The value of a Course at the SA. School, Hvthe, was very much in evidence at the

meeting, as most of the individual winners have been there. The full results are appended below. Match 1 Class A.:

52;entries. ' Lj'Sjt. Marriott “ A ” lst, L/Sjt. Constable “E” 2nd, S.Q.M.S. Dougherty "A” 3rd, Tpr. Andrews “ H..’Q’ 4th. . 65 entries—Class B. Tpr. Mason “B” lst, Tpr. Gibbons “MG.” 2nd, Tpr. Gould ”A' 3rd, 2/Lt. Hermon ”B ” 4th. Match 2. (Regimental Championship): 24

entries Limited:

L/Sjt. Marriott ” A " lst, S.Q.M.S. Dough—

Match 5.—Corporals Match. 18 entries:

L/Cpl. Cree ” B ” 1st, L/Cpl. Turner “ B ” 2nd, L/Cpl. Chadwick “ B ” 3rd. Match 6.~Troopers Match (over 2 years service). 54 entries limited: Tpr. Precious ”B ” 1st, L/Cpl. Turnbull ” HQ.” 2nd, Tpr. Robertson ”HQ.” 3rd.

Match. Match 4. W.O’s and Serjeants

. 13 entries: dDaVi S. SQM lst, L/Sjt. Marriott ” A ”

son ~ HQ 2nd, sons. Dougherty “ A " 3rd.

book would perhaps tell us. However we enjoy seeing the sun rise, and we enjoy a day’s outing and letting off our guns, and the natives who attend us to pick

This latter shoot is perhaps the plum of the lot.

Major Swire has also a gun in a four-gun shoot near Beni Yusef. Kom Wahal, where we are very kindly permitted to shoot without charge by the Mana— gement of the Behara Land Reclamation

up chick can’t count cartridges over 20, so

Company, is run by the local manager Mr. Cree. A rest house is at our disposal with

what matter ?

room for 9 guns, also without charge, and the

Cairo is congested with sportsmeni-British,

son’s team 2nd.

at the Tel—el—Kebir shoot, one gun, shooting also on Fridays, divided between four Officers,

whose names were the first out Of the hat—

total asked per head for a Sunday shoot there, leaving Cairo 12.30 pm. Sunday (fares by train and car and food) comes out at about £1.15. Our first shoot there with 6 guns yielded 87 duck. Mr. Cree, the manager, makes all arrange~ ments for us and we hope to have a lot of fun out of this shoot during our stay in Cairo. El Ayat is rented from the natives and consists of two pools about 3/4 mile long and 100 yards across at the widest point. Four guns can shoot on Sundays when the 12th Lancers syndicate also shoot within a mile and Fuad Bey Sultan to the South. This is the only shoot on which we have spent money and there appears to be a large num— ber of duck on it. The first shoot there yielded just over 100 duck to five guns, so the prospects are dis— tinctly good. Mansuria on the Mohit Drain will take 3 guns who will shoot when Prince Kemal El

Match 11.—Inter-Sqdn. Sjts.’ Mess F.P.

Swire, who leased his 1/4 gun to Wilson;

Din shoots, as his shoot is one of the best here—

Hermon, Hardy and MOSeley.

abouts and holds plenty of duck.

Match 7 .—(Young Soldiers Match, under 2 years service). 59 entries limited: Tpr. Mason “ B ” 1st, L/Cpl. Ovens " A ” 2nd, Tpr. Dalton ” A ” 3rd. . Match 10.~Revolver Match. 21 entries: Sjt. Baker ” HQ.” lst, S.Q.M.S. Dough— erty ” A ” 2nd, Major Heyworth “ M.G.” 3rd.

Greek, Italian, Arab, etc., and shootings which

can be preserved are more difficult to obtain than before the War. It was decided therefore early in the year to appoint a Shooting Committee to discover and rent a sufficiency of shooting. Major Howes, Major Swire and Captain Wilson were given this pleasant job and took for the Mess the following shoots :#Kom Wa/ml in the Delta, 1 § hours by train to Tanta and thence 2 hours by car ; El Ayazf due south of Mena, about 2 hours by car from Barracks. El llla1'zsm'7‘a, about 8 miles north of Mena,

Match 8.—-Machine Gun~Col. Miles Cup.

5 teams: L/Cpl. Hayley’s team, Winners.

1 hour by car from Barracks and thence on donkeys for i hour up to Xmas, afterwards by car direct.

Match 9.!Machine Gun Match. 5 teams:

In addition we have four guns (Swire 1, Casey 1, Hermon 1,, Moseley .1, Barrie %, and Scott %) shooting on Fridays at Katta ; and

L/Cpl. Newall’s team lst, L/Cpl. VVilkin-

Competition (Challenge Cup). 4 teams limited:

“ A ” Squadron, 1st, ” HQ.” Wing 2nd.

Racing Notes.

Match 12.~Inter-Troop F.P. Competition. 14 teams: “ B ” 3, lst, “ A ” 4, 2nd, “ B ” 2, 3rd.

Tpr. erty “ A” 2nd, Tpr. Mason ” B ” 3rd,

Precious “B” 4th. Match 3 .#Officers Match.

We are most of us in the Mess very keen on shooting though whether we are good shots remains to be seen. A comparison of the N.A.A.l7.l. bill for cartridges with the game

Match 13.wRevolver (The Heath Cup). 4 teams: ” HQ.” Wing lst, “ A” Suqadron 2nd.

The beginning of April and the advent of the leave season also coincides with the end of Cairo’s racing. Jockeys, horses, trainers and owners all transplant themselves to Alexandria for five

months and our Amateur races are tempora— rily in abeyance. The only exception was

Match 14.—The Steele Cup.

the race for the Ladies’ Bracelet, run on Aug—

4 teams of 16 each: “ A ” Squadron Winners.

ust 25th in which our only

runner, Mr.

Peake's Nigmahfilr.Lethbridge of the 14/20th Hussars up, did not distinguish himself. Cairo racing began again on November lst, and on November 10th at Heliopolis our

first ” Bumpers ” race took place, over one mile.

\Ve had three runners out of the nine

entries, Mr. Moseley being responsible for two, Sabali»el—Niii‘. Mr. Kidd up, and his new pur— chase Alasson, which he rode himself, the


THE EAGLE THE EAGLE

41

CERTAIN FE£LING that “ honest little bitch,” and who, we ven—

\ \\ \\\\\ \W

ture to suggest, knows more about the times and speeds of any dog than any other man in

Egypt ; Major Swire, a strong supporter of this sport who has not had all the luck he deserves ; and Mr. Peake, who does not figure prominently among winning owners. The Regimental Race, which was run before a record crowd, resulted in a dead heat be-

Correspondence.

«4

.~ .Hml

' kill—[’7 f

3, Beaufort Gardens, London, SW. 3.

$434? «w T

" DHE‘TMES {M MAO-“Y "M" “" third being Mr. Peake’s Nigmah. In the race itself it was evident that Mr. MOSeley’s string were not yet quite wound up, and we failed to get a place. Prospects for the future are good. We have three races confined to Amateurs for deci— sion during the next month, and after the middle of January, Gezira have promised us a race at each meeting, included in which

will be three hurdle races for thoroughbred horses. The object of this is to give some of the many rogues in this country a chance of earning their winter’s keep and to get Ama— teurs leg up on something which gives a better feel than an Arab.

S-of‘t’iTmES

m

..

ease-museu-

Jockeys who can do a reasonable weight are also more numerous, as the 10th Hussars have brought out several recruits including well-known G.R.’s like Captain Davey and . Mr. Harvey. against ride to license his got has Kidd ’ Mr. the professionals and made his debut in their company at Gezira On November 17th, when riding Mr. Moseley’s Sabah-el-Nur in a race over a mile. As regards horses, Mr. Kidd has not had good luck with Red Lac, his imported English horse, who is proving rather difficult to train ; but Mr. Cooper purchased from Felix Leach Junior while on leave, a two—year—old filly, and she has recently arrived and is in training with Fergusson.

Dear 5131', The October issue of the “ Eagle” con— tained no notice of Colonel Maclean’s death— so I send this line to tell you that he died at Brook House Bracknell, in August last, after the third stroke of paralysis, though he had recovered from two previous strokes and was apparently enjoying life, as he was able to attend a garden party some three weeks before his death. I have also to record the

death of Captain Egerton Leigh last week in his house 20, Cadogan Place, London. Col— onel Morton, Captain Leigh, Colonels Mac— lean and Benyon, Captains Townshend and

Trench, joined the old Regiment within a year and your correspondent is now the sole

survivor. Trusting you will consider this not without interest to those now serving in the old Regiment in which we passed many happy years. I am, Yours faithfully,

C. F. Morton.

Greyhound Racmg. 5, Hugh Street,

The Editor is determined to keep up with the times, so has asked me to wield my accus— tomed skilful pen on this new canine sport. A good many Officers bought and hired dogs at the time this sport was started out here, and our Officers seem to have had the greatest number of dogs if not the greatest number of wins. Periodically there have been matches such as the Army versus the Navy when the

Army, represented by our Brigadier’s “ Sporting Sparrow,” was victorious.

dog Fouquet ;

Wallsend—on—Tyne,

In another,

Mr. Pepys carried off a cup, amid a storm of cheers (or was it jeers) on which the local press made comment, winning against Major _ Brace’s dog. turf canine the of figures Our other notable seen be to often is who t, Adjutan the include in the paddock admiring his beautiful little Mr. Hardy, owner of Index,

tween Mr. Moseley's Icarus and Capt. The Hon. G. R. Browne’s Fouquet, with the (‘olonel’s dog Flash Times 3rd. In the run— off Mr. Moseley’s dog won. In February there will be a cup (value ,g 100) to be run for by Salukis. H.E. Prince Kernel Din is responsible for this sporting effort to encourage these long dogs of the

10-1 1—28. To the Editor,

” The Eagle.” Sir, My sincere thanks for the copy of the

“ Eagle " No. 4 which I received last night. I often recall in my enforced idleness the days

that have gone by and the deeds done, and am especially minded of a song sung in the Cava— lry Brigade Canteen at Aldershot in 1877 by a bandsman named Parsons.

It was a pathe-

tic parody on the old rollicking song ” Drinking,” only the title was altered to ” Thinkmg.” ” A soldier old and worn am I ; my cam-

paigns are all finished : I live at home in peace, and yet, my ardour's undiminished. For, while I feel I’m growing Old, and fast my strength is sinking, I live the old days o’er again, while Thinking, Thinking, Thinking.” I expect that by the time you receive this our Old Comrades will be meeting and celebrating their Seventeenth Annual Dinner. I had the pleasure of being at the Dinner in 1923 through the kindness of Capt. Carr— Ellison, and it really seemed to be like renewing one’s youth to meet old faces. General Burn—Murdoch was a lieutenant in Castlebar in 1880 while Headquarters were at Longford. Then 011 to Dublin 1881—2—3 with the troublous times of the Phoenix Park murders, trials and hangings. Besides him many others were there whom

I knew of old and it was a most delightful ex— perience. Now of course it is out of my power to attempt such a thing as to go to London. However I trust that good diges— tion may wait upon good appetite and that all will enjoy their reunion. It is delightful to read as I did this morning of the 7,000 mile trip in the Sudan at a cost of £200 for


42

THE EAGLE

THE EAGLE

the three months. It shows that the old fire has not yet died out and the old corps is still as sporting as ever. There recently died in

chair. The black splodge on the sword— hilt is the young of the aforesaid doves. The Assistant Adjutant was doing duty

York an old cabman (last of the old horse—

during the nesting season of 1928, and there—

cabs) who trained Belzoni,” Lieut. Alban Gwynne’s horse, for the Regimental Cup which was run on the Knavesmire at York in 1875, the year that he won. l remember in the early part of this year 1 was at York and saw the old man. He would be over 87 years old. \Nell Sir, I will conclude this by wishing all my comrades and their successors in the Regi— ment the best that they can wish for them— selves. Plenty of good things at Christmas and may the New Year bring with it increased prosperity to all.

fore this olive-branch is no proof of the gentleness of real Adjutants. But perhaps it bodes well for the future. I apologise for the poor photo, but my hands shake so when I am in the Orderly Room.

If there is any truth in the rumour that [he (,‘hurch steps are being lowered in order to accomodate one of our WO's. *

*

>l<

Who was the \Varrant Officer who got " 14 days excused riding," and if he. remembers the last time he rode a horse. a: a

We wonder where our Ba—be is tonight 2'

Yours,

Instructor : “hat is a Wadi my lad I” lx’crrm'l :77 “One of those things you buy at the canteen for half an “ acker."

Note :——We are afraid the photograph was equally shaky and could not be reproduced! Ed.

Abbassz‘a).

A pleasant change from Dries for Supper may be made as follows 1*

To the Editor,

Puzzles. AV old woman On—~ bent Put on heri And out she went:

(1) It is and 1 said not or. (2) That that is is and that that is not is not is not that it it is

“ Olive, my dear,

11/11.) IS flux .3 NB: No prize is offered for a correct solu—

Come tell me, I pray, How are we going toe—to—day P"

iMealz'e Dumplings.

“ The Eagle."

Map Reading.

* **

Thomas Steel,

lute Royal Dragoons.

=l=**

Who is this Major Swine we see mentioned in the Egyptian Gazette?

” Puggy.”

81 Stable Ltd,

Yours Gratefully,

Who is the latest decoration to the Water ('art, and did he suggest it himself .7

:3:

:11; Extract from ” The Stable Cookery Book by 1325. (Publishers : Messrs. Troop

I have the honour to be, Sir,

43

tion I

Take 3 mealies, break and beat up with a

Dear Sir, The enclosed photo may be of interest to your readers, especially those who have been, or mav be, Adjutants of the Regiment. A pair of doves nested 0n the sword hang— ing on the wall above the Adjutant’s office

curry—comb into a fine paste. Then pour in half a barrow—full of bran and stew in hoof— oil for half an hour. Add a little grated rock— salt to flavour. Stir for five minutes and then pour into a hay~net and allow to cool. Serve with treacle.

The blank space in each line represents a word of four letters. The same four letters, arranged differently in each case, supply all the missing wordsi ag. MALE, LAME, MEAL. The Editor offers a prize of RT. 25 to the sender of the first correct solution received. _ Solutions to be sent to the Editor of the Eagle, Officers" Mess. >l=$*

Here are two perfectly ordinary English

Things we want to Know.

sentences, but they are not punctuated.

Can you make sense of them .7

If the band purchased their gramophone because listening to it is an easier method of * learning tunes ?

Who was the L/Cpl. who having lost him— self in the Cultivation—Area, showed his map to a native in the hope of finding his pOSition.

REGIMENTAL HORSE SHOW.

* *

And is it true that =ka certain individual,

having heard the band at practice for siit’ days and nights, thought a ” day’s pay well spent to miss the ordeal on the seventh day ? *

*

.

Who was the Troop Sergeant who said quite so much talking on parade." >1: *

*

What are Dinkas P ? ? 5’ P

H

*

Did the native really say “ No savvy Inglizi.” >1:

* *

And is it true that the L/C. replied ” \Vhat I can’t read your own language ?"

Not

***

Who was the Troop Officer who said “ SI, the back of your topee is dirty ; turn round and have a look at it,”

The Committee feel that the Mounted Wrestling Competition and V.C. Competition open to troops and sections respectively might be improved upon next year. Suggestions from readers will be welcomed and the P.R.l. offers a prize of 50 Piastrcs for that which is adjudged the best.

lt must be remembered that time is strictly limited and not more than 15 minutes can be allotted ‘to any one event.

All suggestions to be made in writing to the l’.l{.l. with the name of the sender clearlv indicated, before March lst. l


THE EAGLE THE EAGLE

Regimental Gazette—January 1929. Strength Increase:

56675401’te. (‘larke L. B." Transferred from 1st Bn. Somerset LI. ,and taken on strength of this Regt., wef. or 1310/28.

534140 Tpr. Arthurs. \V. “ A." Posted to this Regan, from 15/l9th Hussars w.e.f., 4/1028. The following were posted to this Regt., from the 1st K. 1). Guards wet, 13/11/28,

and posted to Squadrons as shewn. 401111 Tpr. Bridges A. ” A .”, 401567 Tpr. Leyshon D. “ A. 545218 Tpr. Butcher, J. ” A 4073728 Tpr. Davies, \V. ” A 401054 Tpr. McCarthy. J. ” A." 468608 Tpr. Jennings, S. ”B." 401106 Tpr. Salmon, H. “B." 401556 Tpr. DO\ey,L. “ B." 401033 Tpr. Linlay, H. ” A." 401563 Tpr. Black A. ” A.” 401555 Tpr. Bernstein M. “A.” 2311399 Tpr. Dobhs B. ” A." 4265287 Tpr. McLaughlin E. ” S.” 401112 Tpr. Brown S. “ B 401552 Tpr. Andrews, \V. ” B.”

Strength Decrease:

304316 Tpr. \Veaver, H. H.Q.W. Transferred to the Royal Horse Guards w.e.f., 13/9/28. 399532 Tpr. Roper, C. H.Q.\\'. Transferred to the Corps of Military Police w.e.f., 238/28. 3519273 Tpr. Temple, J. “ B.” Posted to the Queen’s Bays w.e.f., 26/1( /28. 401156 Tpr. Blundell, H. H.Q.W. 491352 Tpr. Colclough, A. “ B.” 765255 Tpr. Mason, \V. ” B.”

401379 Tpr. Sayers, J. ” A.” Posted to the Queen’s Bays \\'.e.f., 10/10/28.

Promotions and Appointments: 400489 Tpr. Balch, \V. ” B.“ Appointed Un— paid L/Cpl. w.c.f., 15/9/28. 399194 Tpr. Huggett, C. H.Q.V\'. Appointed Unpaid L/Cpl. w.e.f., 20/10/28. 1671357 Tpr. Southgate W. “ A.” Appointed Unpaid L/Cpl. w.e.f., 9/11/28.

313509 Farr/Cpl. Freeman, G. " A." 401013 Tpr. Percival, C. MC. The u/m. were awarded a 2nd Class Certi—

Long Service and Good Conduct Medals:

The u/m., were awarded Long Service and Good Conduct Medals, with gratuity, 31/10/28 389557 Sqn. SM. Bowles C. H.Q.W. 311967 Sqn. SM. (R1) Taylor C. H.QW. 299107 Cpl. (S.T.1\I.) Barnes, A. H.Q.W. 391406 R.Q.M.S. Mynard, R. H.Q.W. 529537 Sjt. Ducker, W. H.O.W.

400757 Tpr. Davison, 756882 Tpr. Freer,

G. M.G. B. M.G.

Disembarkations:

401335 Boy Hill, 401038 Tpr. Kilner,

C. H.Q.VV. W. M.G.

401129 Boy Marshall, 401124 Tpr. Stevenson,

D. H.Q.W P. H.Q.W.

400557 Tpr. Walker

\V.M.G.

‘H.Q.W.’ disembarked at Port Said on 8/11/28. 399618 L/Cpl. Gloyn, F. “ A.” Disembarked at Port Said on 29/9/28 and rejoined Regt. from the RS. Greys. 399939 Bdsm. Freeth, \V. ” H.934". 400006 Bdsm. Old, J. H.Q.\V. 400009 Bdsin. Kelly, W. H.Q.W. 400008 Bdsm. Dickenson, J HHQW. Dis— embarked at Port Said on 24/11/28 and joined Regt. Courses: 390316 Sjt. Tate, G. ” B.’

Attended Local

RT. Course at Alexandria from 5/6/28 to 14/7/38 and “ passed.” 399923 L/Cpl. Johnson, E. “ B.” 400766 L/Cpl. Scaife, A. ” A.” Attended Local RT. Course at Alexandria from 7/8/28 to 18/9/28 and “ passed." Certificates of Education: The u/m., were awarded a lst Class Certi— ficate of Education at an Exam., held at

Abbassia on 10/10/28 :— 392670 Sjt. Bathgate, J. ” M.G.” 398495 Cpl. Lewis, C. “ MG.” 387322 Sjt. Riley, W. “ MG.” 398711 Tpr. Rutledge, A. H.Q.W. At the same exam. 398510 L/Cpl. Bramley G. ” MG.” passed in English, and 398673 Tpr. Francis A. H.Q.W., passed in Geography. The u/1n., were awarded a 2nd Class Certi— ficate of Education at an exam., held at

Abbassia on l9/20th July 1928. 401382 Tpr. Andrews N. ” A.” 1055899 L/Cpl. Bartlett H. “ A.” 401078 Tpr. Craven A. “ A.” 5667964 Tpr. Holley H. “.“B 401306 Tpr. Mills. W. “ A."

A. ” A.” H. ” B.”

ficate of Education at an exam., held at

Embarkations: 389445 Sqn. S.M. Stewart, W. ” A.” Em— barked on 30/9/28. for U.K., to attend a (‘ourse at the A.V.T.C., Aldershot. TO be. attached to the Queen’s Bays.

Mrs. Hinton, w/o., 313817 Sjt. Hinton, VV.H.,

401438 Tpr. Moss. 370853 Tpr. Sheppard,

Abbassia on 30/31 August 1928. 401303 Tpr. Bradley C. ” B.” 401017 Tpr. Carter, A. MG.

391514 Tpr. Hurley,

w. H.§.w.

Married Quarters R011: 389991 Sjt. McLean, G. “ B."

Absorbed into

Class 19, M.Q.R., w.e.f., 18/11/27. 401389 Tpr. Burman,

N. ” B.”

399620 401505 400957 401087

E. H.Q.VV. A. ” B.” ‘ '. MG. C. “ B.”

Tpr. Tpr. Tpr. Tpr.

Christie, Ellis, Harvey, Kemp,

401119 Tpr. Long,

Service: 400009 Boy Kelly, W. H.Q.W. Kelly, M. H.Q.W.

400010 Boy

Each attained the age

of 18 years On 5/ 10/28. Designation altered to Bandsman.


THE EAGLE

OUR NOTICE BOARD.

1. Our Next Number:

3. To Intending Subscribers:

All matter for publication in our next number (Due on April lst 19493 should

below.

A printed subscription form will be found

reach the Editor not later than March 10th. This should be filled in and sent off {LS 2. T0 Contributors:

soon :is pOSSlble. Pictures and Sketches are extremely hard to reproduce unless done in special Indian {111' on plain white paper. The Editors will be pleusvl to supply ink and paper to any artist, if needed.

A Regimental Journal of

4. Our Address: Our

address

is ziThe

Editor

of “The

Eagle." The Royals. Abbassin, (lino, Egypt.

THE ROYAL DRAGOONS S UBSC RIPTION FOR

FOR OLD COMRADES.

OFFICERS.

To :——The Editor Of “ The Eagle,” The Royals,

FORDIS

To :HMr. R. A. Radcliffe, Hon. See,

The Royals Old Comrades Association, 94, Netherwood Road, London, W. 14.

Abbassin, Cairo.

scription below :

527, I desire to become an annual subscriber to the ” Eagle,” and enclose my subscription (2/6d.) for the year ending Dec. 315‘: 1929

Nmm:

Nante

Sir,

I desire to become ‘21 subscriber to ” The Eagle” and have filled in the form of sub—

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY .

A ddress ,

A ddress

(to which my copy of the ” Eagle " should On receipt of this Order, please pay to Messrs. L10 yds Bank Ltd. (Cox's Branch) Pall Mall, the sum of twelve shillings and six pence and the same Sum every succeeding January until further notice. Cross all cheques, etc,, “ Eagle a/c.”

be sent).

51' gnalme .............................................................. . ..............

NOTE :—Singlc copies may be obtained by Officers from the Editor, price 3/6d, by 011 Comrades, from Mr. Ratcliffe, price 8d. (post—tree in every case).

Date

CAIRO-EGYPT


THE EAGLE

EDITORIAL NOTES. About a fortnight before Manoeuvres the news came through that the Regiment was to leave Cairo this autumn, and move to'IIndia. Our destination is Secunderabad, where the

9th. Lancers have been stationed for the last three years. 3|:

*

*

No definite date for our departure has been given us yet, but presumably we shall leave in October. Last year the 15/19th. Hussars left on October 20th. :1:

2:

2}:

Meanwhile we are having a little practise

The following records of shade temperature at Abbassia might be of interest to some of our readers. The highest and 10west figure reached in each month are given. 1030:75o August ....... 97° : 70° September ........ . . . . . 88° 2 62° October ....... . ..... . . . 97° : 55° November ............ . . 77° : 480 December ......... . . . . . January ............... 69° : 40° 76° : 430 February .............. The hottest day of last year (114°lin the shade) was during the third week in April.

in moves, as our Barracks are in various

stages of being pulled d0wn. The Serjeants have already moved to a more rarefied atmosphere, and the Officers are being slowly but surely driven Out of their Mess. 1:

R"-

ARMS [ngIENBEBG

. 7

Q FMy

MHENS 18 RAH 119 1‘6

W

$6,

(CE & FLANDEfi'xg‘Q I3.

CREST

AND OF

BATTLE

THE

HONOURS

ROYALS.

*

:1:

Our last year in Egypt has been on the whole a most successful one. The Brigade Horse Show was a great day for us. The polo season has been a successful one, though our hOpes of carrying off the Inter-Regimental or the Subalterns' Cup were frustrated by the 12th. Lancers. However we cannot help feeling rather glad that ” our friends the enemy” won. Our boxers have done very well indeed this year, and as we go to press our team is in the Semi—finals of the Command InterUnit Team Championship. * * * Congratulations to Major Dumbreck and Captain Joy on their promotion. *

*

*

Congratulations to Tpt. Major Plumbley, S.Q.M.S. Clifford, Sjt. Ducker, Cpl. Haley and

L/Cpl. Goodwin strength."

on

their

“ increase

in

*

if:

Chairman

Association.

back 35 miles from there to Abbassia, on

January 16th. having a dust-up with the 12th. Lancers on the way. Manoeuvres took place this year between Helouan and E1 Shurafa, March 11th-‘lSth. t: at or 2nd. Lieut. E. F. Gosling arrived out here on March 20th. We extend him a hearty welcome to the Regiment.

of

the

Old

elsewhere in this issue.

Comrades

appears

*

*

Back numbers of the “ Eagle ” (first issue

Jan. 1928) can always be obtained on application to the Editor. *

A letter from him

*

bivouacking en route one night near Shebin e1 Quanater and one night at Bilbeis. We camped under canvas for four days at Tel— el-Kebir, refought the Cavalry phase of the battle against Arabi Pasha (the night march and dawn attack) and after bivouacking one night at Bilbeis on our return journey,marched

a:

Captain D. P. Lithgow has just been ap-

*

marched to Tel—el—Kebir on January 8th.,

*

at 2x x: We wish Major Parker Leighton success at the next Parliamentary election.

pointed

It

As we go to press " H.Q.” Wing has just defeated ” M.G." Squadron by 2-0 in the final of the Inter—Squadron Football Lea— gue. * a: 1: Brigade Training took place this year from February 1st. to February 23rd. During Regimental Training the Regiment

*

*

Solutions and results of the Puzzle competitions in our last issue will be found at the end of this issue. An Old Royal was " first

past the post."


THE‘fEAGLE THE EAGLE

Our "B” Squadron correspondent has

*

a:

*

been unable to send us his notes this time,

so we shall expect a double ration in our next issue. an 1: at We have received several enquiries from home as to the meaning of the words “ disas—

ter” and “acker.” They are both nick— names for that elusive coin the Egyptian

Gummed wrappers for sending the ” Eagle ” home are obtainable from Squadron Offices. Postage to England, 1 Piastre. * a: a: All matter for publication in our July number should reach the Editor not later than june 10th.

Mechanization and Cavalry. In our last number there appeared an interesting article by Jay—Dee On the subject of machinery and the horse. No apology to our readers is needed for again rasing this

question.

No cavalryman can afford to

ignore the growth of machinery, and its effect upon our arm gives increasing food for thought to all thinking soldiers. Jay—Dee has taken up the cudgels in defence of the horse and delivered several shrewd blows at the petrol fiends. \Ve value his partizan-

ship and agree with much that he says.

We

ourselves are enthusiastic votaries of the horse but we realise his limitations and are prepared to look to mechanization and machinery rather as an ally than as a rival.

We believe that machinery is doing and can do much to assist Cavalry in their task and

welcome the cooperation of aerOplanes and mechanical vehicles. What is the chief characteristic of cavalry ?

with excessive weight upon the horse’s back. The troop horse already carries abOut 18 stone, in the next war the equipment of the soldier may easily be increased (he may be asked to carry an anti-gas waterproof suiting). It is essential that if mobility is to be not only preserved but improved that the horse's burden be lightened. The most obvious solution is to make a machine carry your “ impedimenta.” Jay— Dee says the Morris six—wheeler is no use in Egypt. He is probably right, but this does not prove that cavalry are better off without Mechanical Transport : it merely indicates that improvements are required in the design of that transport. If the Morris is no good try a Jowett and if that fails let us see what Mr. Ford can do for us. (The writer has no

any country. In the middle ages Cavalry lost their mobility because horses were too

their backs.

were 100 years ago. The extent of the battlefield is very great, the range of weapons continues to increase, the clash of OppOsing forces comes quicker. Cavalry, are consequently called upon to move faster and further, this cannot be done

with the enemy.

The two services are, there-

fore, interdependent. Distant information received from the air enables the cavalry to move faster and with less uncertainty than he did before whilst cavalry is available as a substitute for air in bad weather and to confirm by contact the reports received from the pilot. We all know how misleading these may be unless confirmed from the ground especially as air reconnaissance can seldom distinquish between friend and foe. Finally we come to the question of Fire Power. In all our tasks whether reconnais— sance, protection, delay, pursuit, we have got to fight. Whether in attack or defence this means fire power. The trooper is armed with a sword and rifle but in addition he requires machine guns and artillery if he is to compete on favourable teams with modern opponents without loss of mobility. The merits of mechanized artillery and mechanized M.G's are still controversial. There are advantages and disadvantages. At present there is no machine gun carrier

No one will now deny that supplies can be more effectively brought up by lorry than by H.T., and the same surely will hold good for

lst. line Transport provided the machine is efficient and capable of cross country work. One of the chief cavalry tasks is reconnaissance. This is also the work of the Army Co-operation Squadron R.A.F. There need, . however, be no rivalry between the two forces

The aeroplane largely takes over the duties of long distance reconnaissance formerly

Since the last notes were written the Club has held three very successful Dances. It is gratifying to note that not only has the attendance materially improved but there is quite a number of new visitors now attending. With an introduction too, of many more novelty prizes and draws for boxes of chocolates during the interval the whole of the evening, I am told, passes all too quickly. It is also very pleasing to see several of those who have recently left the Regiment present at these functions, but, there are several who have not yet given us this pleasure, and

allotted to cavalry and in this respects saves

should

our patrols and Despatch Riders many weary

trust they will give their Comrades a look up at Elverton Street before long.

miles.

In favourable weather he can obtaln

which can bring its guns into action with the leading troops as efficiently and rapidly as the Pack Horse. On the other hand the work of the Pack horse is most exhausting and where long distances have to be traversed, who would not prefer to carry guns and ammuntion on a lorry and save the horse P Some compromise may be the solution : Lorries to carry reserve ammuntion and reserve guns whilst Pack horses are retained for work in the forward line. When we come to artillery we are faced with the fact that the volume and weight of shell of the R.H.A. is insufficient for our purpose if Opposed by organized, civilized resistance. It is all the horse gun can do at present to keep up ; if we increase the speed at which cavalry move the guns will be left behind, they certainly cannot be asked to

carry a heavier gun or a heavier shell. The solution appears to be a cross country fast moving tractor which can bring into action, in close support of cavalry a really hardhitting weapon. Will Machinery Oust the Horse ? We agree with Jay—Dee—No ! But machinery properly adapted to our needs will greatly help the

horse to fulfil his task more efficiently in the future.

Old Comrades’ Notes.

not propose to carry the cavalry soldier but to carry his kit and enable him and his horse

to move with the minimum of equipment on

could seldOm proceed at a pace faster than a walk. At the present day our cavalry can move at considerable speed and over considerable distances but the demands of mobility in modern war are much greater than they

information regarding large bodies of troops much more rapidly and more accurately than the cavalryman. On the other hand the air can do nothing in woods, at night, or in bad weather and can obtain no identifications nor keep contact

interest in any of these concerns). We do

Mobility—the p0wer to move rapidly over

slow and so overburdened with the weight of their armoured-clad riders that they

9.

Piastre, which is worth roughly 2%d.

these

lines

meet

their eyes, I

The General Meeting was held on 11th January, when Capt. Lithgow was elected Chairman in succession to Mr. J. H. Brooks,

(who automatically retires by rule).

The

old executive were also re-elected, with two

changes upon the Committee, these being Mr. E. Holt and Mr. J. Paley. During the meeting the new Chairman proposed that a message of sympathy be sent to Her Majesty the Queen ; naturally, with the widespread anxiety consequent upon the King’s illness, this was carried unanimously, and the following was thereupon sent 2—— “ To Her Majesty the Queen. The Members of the Royal Dragoons 01d

Comrades’ Club assembled at their Annual


10

THE EAGLE

THE EAGLE

General Meeting at

1,

Elverton

Street,

Westminster, desire to humbly express to Her Majesty their deep sympathy during the present anxious time and assure her that it is their earnest prayer that His Majesty—the

Colonel in Chief—be shortly restored to health and strength. (Signed). Chairman.” The following reply was received :—

“ The Chair-man,

ware on 15th June, when 0. Cricket match and Sports will be held. A return match will be held on September 7th. Now we want to make up a Cricket Team and it is hoped that a lot of Old Royals will give me their names for our Team. If we can get sufficient to to take up the game again, it is considered

that practise games can be arranged for Sunday at various grounds. Now then,

Sinai. This Christmas there was the usual racking of brains to find somewhere fresh to go for the Christmas leave.

One day 1 found l'd made a. note of ” Sinai Hibex and leopart ” during the summer so I went round all the sources of information, and found a shoot could be

kindness of the Stanhope Institute, our Annual Outing will be to the spacious grounds of the above Institute at Burnt Oak, Edge.

with the Regiment. He left Lucknow to go to the reserve in 1908. During the last war he was severely wounded in the arm and it is thought that numerous operations consequent of this, so weakened his heart that he fell

victim to Pneumonia (following ‘flu) after only two days illness. Although not a Member of the Club, a wreath and letter of sympathy were sent to the widow, on behalf of all Royals. Your sincere friend and Comrade, R.. A. Ratcliffe.

so full of stores, tents etc., that our head-

to sleep and finally each other, and slept a

lamps shone straight into the air, and our rear springs were obliterated. Our ” crown—

well earned sleep. Our last day’s march of twenty miles was relieved by the sight of 5 ibex on the side of the Wadi—Out came our rifles and after a short delay, in which S's servant was seen with a pair of field glasses, gazing, approxi-

ing glory” was S’s servant perched on a "chop" box on the top of the ” dickey ” seat. We reached Suez at about 10 a.m., filled

up with petrol and bought a spare tin in preparation for our 80 miles of desert journey on the Eastern shore of the Gulf of Suez. Crossing the Suez Canal at midday at El Kubri we progressed steadily for about 46 niles, sometimes traversing rocky ground, and sometimes sand so deep that our exhaust pipe was covered. Then with no warning at all there came a clanking from the bowels of the car, and we came to a standstill. Even-

tually after hours of patient search, with oil dripping into our faces when we lay under the car, we discovered the transmission rod

was disconnected and the bolts shom Off. This we eventually patched up and in the dark, over the worst bit of road of the trip,

mately, on the mountain where the ibex were last seen, and heard to exclaim “ Plenty

Tetel (ibex) —Fifty Tetclv-Too many, too many I" we went after them and had our first experience of the climbing we had ahead of us at Gel)el Serbal. We never got a shot, and if we could have, there was no good head,

and we were too blown to have held a rifle straight. We reached the oasis where our permanent camp was to be at 4 p.m., and it turned out to be the only day of the trip that we camped in daylight. This oasis in Wadi Feiran has a spring of fresh water, and an old hermit lives here, who

we carried on for 18 miles before our repairs gave out.

Here we spent the night and next morning got the car to work again. and reached Abu Zeneinia at midday. Here our caravan met us, and after a lot of talk and arguing, ar— ranged to hire the camels at 12 Pl. per day,

and that thc police should look after our car, and that the mines engineer would Very \

kindly Il'ttllit' Stlillt‘ fresh bolts for the cur. 'l‘hat night our cnrarnn, which consisted of two police with L'tl.lllt‘l\‘, four pack camels and two riding camels, camped by full moonlight

under the foothills of the main mountain mass Some Sunday Morning.

'

For a month 1 always carried a pencil and paper, putting down anything I thought we might need, and at 5 a.m. on December 23rd S. and I left Abbassia with a. car piled

managed if we could get 10 days leave.

I regret to record the death of Mr. A. Cue in January. Cue, if I remember rightly joined in 1900, and saw service in the S.A. War

ground we were well content.

The next day (Christmas Day) we marched from 8 a.m. to just after dark with various halts when shooting at chikkhor (mountain partridge). Our Christmas dinner consisted of 0x0, sardines, tinned chicken, plum pudding, pats de foie gras on biscuits, coffee and liqueurs. After dinner we sang our camels

cricketers, give me your names.

Royal Dragoons Old Comrades Clab. The Queen sincerely thanks the Members of the Royal Dragoons Old Comrades’ Club for their loyal and kind message which Her Majesty deeply appreciates. (Sd.) Private Secretary." Following the Meeting an interesting Concert was presented by some members of the ” Underground ” Railway from Acton. This was I think, very much enjoyed. I must not forget to mention that through the instrumentality of Capt. Lithgow and the

There had been a wonderful sunset, shew‘

ing up the sea and outlining the hills of Africa to the west, and having marched twelve of the sixty miles to our hunting

“out; unwind ————— . . , Q: 5 ER Suit. 1.. I‘Il'lnun-[I 50...“,9

‘°rr"')


12

THE EAGLE

keeps a garden for the convent of Saint Catherine, a further 10 hours journey.

This

is supposed to be the oldest convent in the world and is on the mountain where Moses

is said to have cut the Commandments in the living rock. The following morning the fifth day of our leave we rose at 4.30 (1.111. by moonlight cooked some breakfast, removed the last drop of oil from the rifles and set Off for Gebel Ser-

bal’s summits. There» is a pass in the centre, and this was was made the “ dividing line of troops ” and by the time the sun was up, we were well up the hill side. Climbing was very difficult and one could generally be certain of falling a couple of thousand or more feet if one made a false step. We each had two ” stalkers ”-—keen wiry little men, a total contrast to the native round Cairo. The mountain was covered with fresh leopard Spoor, and I was expecting to see one at any mement, all my time on the mountain. At 8.30 we picked up some fresh ibex spoor and followed as best we could toward the summit and at about noon saw the herd of about ten with one very good ram. They were very hard to see being the same colour as the rock, and \\'UI‘C about 1,500 yards away. ,I found later they were equally imperceptible at 150 yards. We watched them for an hour, to let them

settle down, and I sat watching that ram’s horns, swearing they would be mine, and longing to get moving. At about 1 p.rn. we started Our stalk hav— ing taken very careful note of the country, and after climbing up 1,000 feet and down another 1,500 feet, several times we got to within 150 yards. By now the sun was setting and as they were very wary I took a

hurried glance, and thinking I saw my beast,

fired. He dropped straight down, and when I got 11p to the place I found I’d taken a youngster, and the. big one had gone over the crest without my noticing him. My only excuses are that I was very excited, and that the sun was in a direct line with me and the herd. I got back to camp at dusk with boots and

THE EAGLE i} Mi {H37

R-

ii 4»

rd ۤllii\\Ԥii~'fi\ \. ,

1L-1»

_Etiam‘ffl Sui-1f;

self worn Out, and found S had not returned,

so started to prepare dinner and added an Ibex undercut to the repast. S returned very late and tired. without having had a shot. and thought

1 had been funny and

cookul the (I‘épe sole off a boot 1 so we ate baked beans and went to bed. The next day we repeated the performance but neither of us had any luck, although I did get a shot. We ate Ibex heart and liver that night and a very good dinner it was too. The following day, the seventh of our leave, we started for home and got back to the mine head—quarters at Abu Zeneinia in 18 hours marching. (9 hrs. each day). We saw some more ibex on the way home and shot a few, at very few, chikkhor.

On New Year’s Eve we started on the last lap with a very much lighter car, and with 168 miles to do in two days. The car seemed to know she was heading for home, and we did the 83 miles of really bad going in about 6 hOurs. Crossing the Canal at 4.15 pm. we reached barracks at 7 pm. in nice time to change and go into the town to see the New Year in. Our total expenses, for two, for ten days was

£ 22-155. This included food (a large quan— tity), drink, game licences (,Q 4 each), hiring of camels, petrol and tips.

The trip was made possible by the kindness of the Governor of Sinai, who arranged the caravan, put his gaffirs at our dispOSal,

and gave us an escort. A. M. B.

The last of the Old Brigade. The following is 16137051110801 from the Smethwick Paper. Smethwick has a cabman’s shelter but no

Serjeant-Major in the Royal Dragoons and Harry was born in Aldershot.

cabman.

needs more than a passing reference. May be, it will lead to something being done £01

The last man to follow the ancient calling has left the rank—~and the shelter remains a monument to his fidelity, his hardihood

and his great heart. In these brief sentences is portrayed the passing of an old institution—the cabman. Harry Powderhill remained at his post until the first Saturday of 1929. The four—wheeler was past praying for. Someone had bought the wheels. It has not transpired what has become of the top. But there’s no sentiment in such things, just as there’s no tear ever shed over a motor' There’s no ’art in ’em. But of man’s faithful friend there is always a sadness in saying farewell. Harry’s thoughts can better be imagined than ex— pressed as he latched the stable door. For he was a born horseman : his father was a

“ An old institution” such as he became

one who, through storm and shine, main-

tained a cheerful nature. ” He who serves well and speaks not, merits more Than they who clamour loudest at the door." Harry Powderhill is nearly 65 years of age. He lives at 10, Cross Street, where for many

years a board “ Cab Office ” has designated his home to those who desired to engage him. That board belonged to his father before him, so that it is an heir-loom. But it Was withdrawn from the wind0w on Saturday night, and so ends a strange eventful story. As already mentioned, his father—Jethro P0wderhill—served in the lst Dragoons: he was a long—service man. When his time expired he held an appointment as commis. sionaire at a large store and then came to


14

THE EAGLE

THE EAGLE

he became “mine host” of the Railwax‘ Tavern, the owner of which was Mr. jeseph

” Second Zingari "—wfor whom the famous Studd brothers were playing, and the wicket keeper was the Hon. .Lyttt-lton. Colonel

Whitehouse.

Frank Rhodes, brother to Cecil Rhodes, was

The house then became the property of Cheshires Brewery and was surrendered when the Station Hotel was built. Mr. Jethro became a cab proprietor, and was a

in the lst. Royals team, and played for Earl

\Vest Bromwich, and on to Smethwick where

well—known figure in the Borough thirty to forty years ago. In 1878 Harry Powderhill walked from London to Colchester to join the Regiment in which his father served—The Royal Draggoons—and frOm which he had retired a year before. It was a crack regiment, and one of the Lieutenants under whom the young soldier of 17 served was Prince Francis of Teck. Corporal Powderhill was an instructor and the Queen’s brother came under hiC tuition in the riding school. The Royal Dragoons were on the same footing as the Life Guards and were not depu‘ted for foreign service until the SOuth African war. However, they were in Dublin at the time of the Phoenix Park murders and Harry Powderhill has vivid memories of the stirring events. He retired with a fine parchment after 12 years service. Among Harry’s accomplishments was that of a cricketer. He was a fast left—hand bowler, and played regularly for the regi—

mental eleven. While in Dublin he was

Spencer’s—the Red Earl's—team, along with

Harry Powderhill. The match was played in Phoenix Park. In the latter half of the 33 years that Harry Powderhill has spent in Smethwick the fates have not been very kind to him nor to Mrs. P0wderhill. But there have been occasions when old associations have been revived. For instance, the Officers of the lst. Dra-

goons were very solicitous when he had to undergo a serious Operation a few years ago. On another Occasion he was encouraged to go to the depot where he was presented with a tankard, which bears the badge of the Regiment and the eagle they captured from the French. Harry Powderhill relinquished the reins of his office on Saturday with a record untarnished. He left the box without an enemy, but. with a host of wv'ell—wishers. Naturally, for one who drove a cab he had many ups—anddowns. His many friends will wish him henceforth more ups than downs, with time for reflection, and, may be, a whistle as the

tuneful accompaniment—for that whistle has been in the streets of Smethwick a sove-

But for once the foresight—bed gazed down the side lever-head And the safety—catch came out a bit too far. As the stud on the bottom lever tried his best to barrel socket,

With the muzzle attachment put there in its stead, The hearings on the trackers worked the No. 2 a packet, And the packing—gland worked loose on

barrel—thread. Should you want an explanation you can ask the combination, Why the wallet kept the balance—spring and pm, And why the pliers cutting upset the chockpin strutting, Where the thumbpiece wooed the little spare parts tin.

There are many styles on the path over the

marsh towards the weir near the barns on the riverside, where my old friend Pic/eersgill and I found a lot of old gentlemen playing

chosen to play for the Garrison against the the green grass lawn. As we looked on at the gentlemens’ game, part of a conversation reached our ears, and this is what we heard :—

“ It don’t do to foster a grievance.” “ No l it don’t. Look at that wench from Tara’s

The Mad Gunner.

sugar works carrying on with the baker in our

If you evergo to Vickers to the north of

Tripod leg, You will find the crosshead joint—pin upside down,

Where a broken-hearted gunner tends the grave of corks complete,

And the tumbler gazes dewn with a frown.

He was known as fuzzee-spring by the asbestos packing string, By the fixing-pin and fuzzee-chain as well, But for all the spare parts bag he was wrapped in oily rags,

And the clearing-plug looked down on him as well. We had nearly filled the gun and arrangements had begun To celebrate the funeral with a pawl,

When he wrote and asked the handguard what the barrel case would do. If the fixing—pin was just a bit too small.

The night before the wangle as we pulled the old crank-handle,

.

We chaffed him as we crossed the trigger-bar,

If he’d had the common sense, sir, he’d have used the tube condenser,

Instead of trying to keep the barrel clean, With the side opened wide he'd have seen the lock inside, With the belt—box where a bullet should have been.

Now if you wait awhile you will see the direction dial Explaining to the socket of the gun How an ugly bulge lies waiting, with the steaming breath abating, Vowingvengeance On the carelessmother's son. 80 if you become a gunner and they have you on parade, Do remember the occasion with a check, Just try and fix this muddle with a pickaxe or a spade, If this is unsuccessful, wring its neck.

PICK AND PAMP ON THE TRAMP.

bowls and pic/sin? their teeth, while their lady partners performed a (lance 51 la M orris on

reign balm, a cordial forIour fears.

15

village. She is engaged to a tailor in Batlzgatc in Scotland, ’1‘)” and ’cr both knows about the carryings on of each other, but neither of ’em bears any ill will." “ Do you know that she makes very nice coffee P” ” Yes I and they do say as how she uses nowt but Ellis—Brown’s prepared coffee.” “ Ay I she be a fine wench, an’ she do al— ways smell sweet, like Yardlcy's Old English Lavender scent.” Pick and I left the scene shortly after this, and resumed our walk in the direction of the

village blacksmith’s shop, where we found a» police constable writing an ode to the

King

while the brawny smith sang a few of David's , psalms. The policeman informed us that he once held a commission in the Navy and was . a " [ooty ” during the war. The blacksmyth was a very obliging and talkative individual who tried to give us many a hint on the tricks of his trade. He wanted to know if we could suggest a cure for flightiness in a daugher of

his, whereupon, the ode-writing policeman saidW”Bogey—bogey l Mine arduous effort is o’er. Duck ’er 1" Our walk was continued, and we found ourselves in the only place where one could get Stephen’s ink free of charge. This happened to be the headquarters of the Treal Tennis Club, where there were numerous pictures of Helen Il'z‘lls on the walls. Here we were invited to tea, and we accepted the invitation with enthusiasm. \Ve were waited upon by a (‘hinaman who said that “ Eggs and Crz'pses ” were on the menu. I fancied a cool drink, so I asked him to get me a glass of

beer.

His reply was. . . .“ No c'n do it."


A FEM

g1

xflojf

Etrruvq

THL.

HlAD‘.

1cm;

‘ Sum M L' I?

babies P Is it because the R.S.M., can’t sleep with noise P (we are next door to him). One feels the floor shake at each movement and this may be the cause of the necessity of sublime peace. We have, however, the pleasure of remin-

iscences of London when two or three are gathered together with cigar and pipe (not to mention the State Express) for then our cosy little den reminds us of the stuff you get in November in England which can be cut with a knife. However, now that Sjts. McLean, Tate and Marriott have duly received their wives at Port Said and are safely esconced in married quarters, the weight of sin on the floor has been partially removed, and it may not now be necessary to move so warily. One never knows ! Xmas was spent with the usual celebrations. The Single members very kindly invited the married ones and their wives to the “ single men’s concert " after their dinner of Xmas night and a most enjoyable time was spent. Mr. Smith is to be congratulated on the exceptional manner in which he carried out

After we had finished tea we decided to return to the river, so we started off. When we had gone abOut half a mile Pick asked me if I had a plumb line, but I only had a piece of

string.

This I gave to him, and to make the

necessary intrument he stooped and picked up an object which I recognised as a whet; As we walked stone for scythe sharpening. along I suggested that On the next day we should pay a visit to an old racing pal of ours

whom we knew we could rile easily, so Pick

said. . . .“ Yes! and we might as well pay our respects to the bookie who imagines he is a kite. Hmst Park will find him at any time. I suppose we will see old lilac leaning over the rails near the starting gate. Dave is bound to be there too, and I expect the old lady at the tea-shop will do her tea at the usual price. Well, goodnight ! See you to-morrow." J ay-Dee,

Serjeants’ Mess Notes. “ What have we done to deserve such a fate To be turned out of home when it's now so late,

In our tour of duty in Egypt’s fair clime For another Unit to have a good time," This stanza, set to the tune of ” She was

only a soldier’s daughter" is freely sung by members at nights to express their indigna— tion at being robbed of the comfort of the

17

THE EAGLE

THli EAGLE

old Serjeants’ Mess by those. . . .who repair barracks. Their move in our case has been so sudden, the fact that repairs were about to

be undertaken having been announced only . 17 months ago. And what about it ? \Vc are now housed in

a Married quarter, and fates must be against us. Why is it that one hears “ Shhhhhhhhh ” continually ? Is it because we are near the

the

duties

of

chairman,

and

his

English, when becoming tonguetied, was most expressive. The ladies who responded to the calls for songs are to be congratulated on their very brave efforts in spite of those who wanted to sing at the tables sitting down. And then for the New Year I What a night i What a. mixer of punch we have in ” Chas I” What a lot people eat and drink on such occasions I We are to be thankful that New Year’s function only occurs once a year. But we can all keep going while the ” goings’s ” good, and we hope that the funds will always remain in such a flourishing condi‘ tion to always have an equal night. Sjt. Riley has left us temporarily for a course at the Machine Gun School, and we hope he’ll succeed in maintaining the re— putation of all those who attend courses from this Regiment, coming back with nothing

less than a distinguished certificate. Sjt. Sharp has also left us on discharge and we wish him the best of luck wherever he may eventually land, perch, stop, etc. At Billiards, in the Serjeants' Mess Com— petition, the form shewn by our No. 1 team

has not been at all consistent, and if they were not quite so temperamental we should, without doubt, clear the board in this country.

We are hepeful that shortly Sjt. Hinton will be able to take his place in our first string although the loss of the billiard table has naturally handicapped him in his practice. We sympathise with the Bandmaster in losing to S.S.M. Skeene, 12th. Lancers in the 2nd. round of the individual championship. After the amount of practice put in by him, we did hope that he would have reached the final. News has been received that the Regiment is to proceed to India next Trooping seaSOn, and this has caused much fluttering of the hearts of all those married members whose wives are in UK, and who will be absorbed into the M.Q., Roll as soon as the Regt., arrives in India. We are being relieved by our old friends, the

l3/18th. Hussars.

I

wonder if there will be any of the old Aldershot faces present with them when they arrive to take over ?

The amount of practice put in by the tennis players during the winter augers good for the coming competitions and we are anticipating a very successful season in the various tournaments during the summer to justify the large expense to successfully cope with these tennis tournaments. Although rather late in bringing the notice into this journal, the Mess have been the

recipients of a very fine photograph of the ” Queen Elizabeth “ and also another one of the ship's football team. We know they like us as instanccd onalater visit, certain of the sailors who werc detailed to go to another Mess for accommodation, etc, blankly re-

fused, and we did all that was necessary for them. We sincerely hepe that before we leave for lndia, we shall again have the great pleasure of entertaining the boys in blue. The Son. Q.M.Ss., have again added laurels to their already hard earned honours. No I not overdrawn rations this time, neither have they won a “ Tea pot," but they were

successful in taking lst. prize in a tent pegging competition held on New Year's Day, beating all comers. We are. of course. aware that during the New Year's festivities, the Sqn. t3.)i.Ss., owing to their onorous duties did


\7 -18

THE EAGLE :

”not go the ‘ whble hog " as the other ranks who competed may have done. Hence their Success. Long live temperance. It has been reported that through the i,1nstruction given by the Sjt. Foster to the - Egyptian Hockey team, the black and fans -»are now in such a state of perfection in that sport that no fixtures with any other team ~»except themselves can be arranged, no other

to organise. Three cheers for the R.S.M... . . . No mention was made in our notes of the last issue regarding the success of Sjt. Pamplin in the Cavalry Brigade Horse Show. He won the Lloyd Cup for the Champion Man-at— Arms in Egypt, and a good cup it is too ! VVe’ve all had many samples out of it. We are. most pleased to know we have the (ham—

teams considering the Black and Tans to be

cess in India will follow for him. Similarly we are further honoured by Sqn. SM. \Veir running Sjt. l’amplin to third place. The members of the Mess had a most pleasant afternoon at tiezira at the invitation of the Officers when we saw them defeat the X.R.H., at polo in the Regimental (up. The following day we again went to the Club to see the Officers play in the final against the 12th. Lancers, but on this occasion, we saw them suffer defeat. During the first two chukkas it appeared to be only 12th. Lancers, in which the winners obtained their

_ up to their standard. WEngland expects every man to do his duty " and we therefore offer our best wishes to 'Sq'n. 9.31.5. Clifford. on the birth of a son, . and Sjt. Ducker and Trumpet Major Plum’1' bley, 0n the birth of daughters. In this connection, Sqn. QMS. Clifford is to be congratulated on having had a child presented to him in each of three Regiments. Lucky ,man 1 How many more Regiments is he

i going to serve in ? VI feel sure that the members of the mess will appreciate the arrangements made by the R.S.M., for the Regimental Boxing com— petition, and it is to be hoped that thOSe who are now walking about with the “ R.S.M’s

1-.

baton ” up their sleeve, will take the neces—

i. ,

sary notes to ensure the success of any such similarfunction which they may be called upon

pion in our Mess, and hope that further suc—

THE EAGLE nothing in the cooking line. One of our members, after consuming three large help— ings of duff, came to the conclusion he was a frightfully good cook. At the smoker we were able to drink the health of the. three newly promoted corporals who by the way, exercised great care to ask their friends to have a drink while the going

was good. Nevertheless, we wish them the, best of luck. Nearly a month ago we lost one of our well known members Cpl. Loach who has taken

a position with the Sudan Defence Force. He left us on Sunday the lf)th. February followed by many good wishes from those

who assembled to see him off.

Since losing our Mess, which is under repair, we have been “ pigging " in with the troopers in their recreation room and quite a few of our members realise they should have taken a little more practise at snooker and billiards, needless to say our opposing billiard friends take a positive delight in giving us a “ tousing."

To close our notes we are patiently waiting the opportunity of retrieving the laurels which the " old ’uns ” are so zealously guardmg. G. A. B.

lead, but from then on, the Officers were

probably more in the picture than their opponents. From one who knOWS little of that exciting game, it would appear that if our Officers played two chukkas before a match, there would be no One to equal them. They seemed to shine when it was too late.

Corporal’s Mess Notes occasion they found him wanting. lt is also obvious that they have forgotten the

We all wish

him every success.

i.p

'Since the last issue of the “ Eagle ” lengthy discussions have taken place amongst our members regarding the coveted laurels which ‘have been inveigled into the Sjts’ Mess, and we are wondering if its possible to ” muck "fin ” with such a trophy as we all have doubts as to the winners. We are both struggling desperately hard for supremacy and both eager to climb to the top of the ladder and write our names on the board which bears the inscription ”Top Dog ”—hence the lengthy discussions. The fact that the Sjts., have accepted the benefit of the doubt goes to prove they have forgotten the first clash at soccer, in which our pressing young for— wards made nine successful attacks on the area occupied by Sjt. Yardley, and on each

l9

Strinznrzz‘ng

result of the billiard matches, still 1 none of

us like to admit defeat. We have also been wondering why the TO LET in January’s journal wasn't made more appropriate use of in advertising that their capable left win", Alf and ”Bunty " is for sale to any team who have the largest banking account, it is rumoured that the Mussleboro' Bruntonians are seeking transfers. Our annual dinner and smoker which took place on New Year’s Eve was again a huge successfithanks due to L/Cpl. Holt on the excellent dinner prepared by him, and served in the Blue Room. We are decided he lacks Swimming Horses in 1028


THE EAGLE

THE EAGLE

“A” Squadron Notes. Since the publication of the January edition the Squadron has been engaged in the final stages of training, which terminate with the grand manoeuvres on the 16th March. On January 8th we commenced our march to Tel-el-Kebir, which we all enjoyed tho— roughly. On Sunday morning, 13th. January, Major F. W. Wilson Fitzgerald D.S.O., M.C.,

kindly consented to lecture the Squadron on the incidents which led up to and the tactics resorted to by Sir Garnet Wolseley and Arahi Pasha. On the evening of the 13th. we marched away from camp to take up a posi— tion east of Tel-el-Kebir in readiness to attack the famous lines of Arabi Paella. The dawn attack of the Squadron was even more successful on this occasion than the cavalry charge of 1882. Many of us failed to appreciate the full beauty of the ligyptian dawn, though it will live forever in our memory as the coldest since 1812. With all our blood was not so chilled that it deterred us from attacking Arabi’s redoubts in the approved cavalry spirit. This was not sufficient ; having successfully emulated Wolse—

ley's attack on Tel-el—Kebir it was decided that we should follow his campaign through to Abbassia. The Squadron played an important part in the Brigade field—firing scheme on the 22nd. January. This was a most instructive exercise affording an opportunity for our many

young soldiers to witness the effects of actual

fire as employed by a mobile force of all anns. A pleasant respite in our training was the motor trip to Gezira to support the Regimental Polo Team in the final of the Regimental

Cup on 28th. January. Early in February we took part in two night schemes with the cavalry Brigade. The first, taking place on a particularly dark night in the open desert gave an excellent opportunity for our Squadron astronomers to prove their resourcefulness. For the second scheme we ‘treckcd' to Mena and succeeded in capturing Hill 70, thus being able to bivouac ’neath the moonlit Pyramids. The following day a sandstorm prevailed which consideral'ily intensified our grit and determination. Although our mid—day meal consisted chiefly of desert it was none the less enjoyed. The Squadron sent a composite troop, war strength, to take part in the Canal Brigade Training at Helwan on the 25th. February. They returned on the 3rd. March looking very tanned and very grateful to the recruiting Sergeant who wangled them into the Cavalry. At the moment we are all eagerly awaiting the order to mount for the grand manoeuvres. In closing we wish to thank Lieut-Colonel S. G. Howes, D.S.O., very much for the banquet he so generously provided prior to his departure.

M.G. Squadron Notes. Our last notes left us about to start for

the Machine Gun Concentration Camp at Helouan. The Squadron marched there across the desert by camel tracks and across the Tura

Hills, a route which had not previously been attempted, the march taking four hours.

We were all under canvas in camp and we spent quite an enjoyable, and we hope instruc— tive, fortnight there, though it was very cold

most of the time, especially at night, which had its effect on the horses. We returned in time to see the finals of the Command Boxing Tournament, and we must congratulate Tpr. Creask on his fine performance in knocking out the reigning heavy—weight champion, and taking the cup. Since then, the Squadron has supplied Tprs. Creask, jones, Kerr and Kilner, and a reserve in Cpl. Bramley, for the Regimental Boxing Team, which did

so well to defeat the strong team of the Durham Light Infantry, and carry the Regiment into the semi—final of the Inter-Unit Boxing ChampiOnship. We congratulate these men on the excellent fights they put up, and wish them every success in the next round, to be fought

at the end of March.

We sympathise with Tpr. Kerr on dislocat— ing his thumb when leading well on points, in his bout. Christmas passed very happily and the well filled plates and tankards were much ap— preciated, in the surroundings of a very well decorated Mess Room. Our Regimental Camp this year was at Tel—el—Kebir. \Ve did the journey there in three days and were unfortunate in getting very wet on both nights spent in bivouac. We spent nearly a week under canvas there,

with a battle each day. Several of the cartridges from the Battle Of Tel-‘eleKebir were found during our Operations, and the powder was found to be still in good condition. Nobody however found a skull. Our march back was similar to that done. in 1882 by Drury Lowe, and was done in two days, finishing with a long trek across the desert from Bilbeis, and a battle against the rest of the Brigade in the afternoon. Our Brigade Training this year was done from Barracks, and we had schemes on three

or four days a week for about 3 weeks, finish— ing with a Command Scheme of two days round Mena. On one. day we did some great shooting at tiebel—el-Uifur at a range of 2350,

The reserve gunners have been back with us for a spell, to refresh their memories, but they have shown that they lose little of their former skill during their absence. Our hockey team has shown great improvement and has done as well as could be expected and is equal second with “ B ” Squadron in the Hockey League. We sadly miss Sjt. Riley our centre forward who is at home at NetheraVOn on a Machine Gun Course. Our football has been more successful. The second troop have done very well to win the Troop Cup for the second year in succession.

The Squadron has one more match to

play in the Squadron League and if successful wins the Squadron Cup and if it loses this match, will be equal second with ” B ”

Squadron. We regret having to announce the loss, to the Squadron, of Cpl. Loach, who has taken a job in the Sudan, where his ability at clerk— ing will be given more scope. We wish him every success in his new surroundings. The second troop are well in the running for the Old Comrades Shield, being at the

moment 8 points behind the leaders. May they be successful in their effort to pull it off ! In looking forward to the summer, we hOpe that our cricket and swimming teams will

once again be able to show that their successes of last year were well deServed. At the beginning of April we shall have to

say good—bye to some of our Old friends who will be going back to the sabre squadrons. We wish them every success and take this


22

THEgEAGLE THE EAGLE

opportunity of welcoming those who will take their places.

In conclusion we congratulate

Major

Dumbreck, Captain Joy and Mr. Hardy on

their recent promotion, and hope that Major Dumbreck and Mr. Kidd have had better luck this time in their Staff College examination.

“Flutters from the Wing.”

Looking back over the happenings of this last quarter there seems little to relate to our readers of very great interest. We have not been idle, however. After spending a jolly Christmas and thoroughly fattening ourselves up with the good

“ A " and “ B ” Squadrons. They have still to meet the Machine Gunners but we are optimistic on the result. The Cooks and Mess—Orderlics have recently Organised a football team and are doing well. The \Ning

fare, we once more settled down to the

are doing wonders. The Mess—Room Staff are also to be congratulated on their success in the recent Command Competition for the best decorate mess—room. Through their efforts we were awarded a special prize. Unfortunately, just as we thought we were going to have our meals in more congenial surroundings, the “ dilapidators ” came and began pulling that portion of the buildings down, so that we had to move to other quarters. At the beginning of this quarter we said good—bye to several old friends who had com— pleted their service. we trust that they will have success in “ civvy ” life. Several new Lance—Corporals have been appointed in the Wing lately, two of whom are in the Band. They are all to be congratulated on their ” step—up.” On February 20th the Regiment met the

routine of training and manoeuvres. Early in January the Regiment spent a week at Tel—el-Kebir, on the banks of the. Nile, and those of. us who trekked ” there

have vivid memories of the soaking we got on the first night On the way. Those who travelled by the train seemed to have fared little better and did not appreciate their night’s rest in the cold carriages. However, once arrived at the camp we soon made ourselves at home and settled down to the schemes.

Those who found time, and were

not engaged in cleaning saddlery for the following day, discovered many items Of in— terest in the district around the camp. Per— haps the chief of these was the old cemetery where many of these who fought in the Battle of Tel—el—Kebir of 1882, and in the last Great \Nar, are laid to rest. We returned to

barracks feeling none the worse, and quite sunburnt and proud of our ” chin-strap marks” on our faces. We have noticed several strange faces recently amongst the mounted party on these schemes. We hope they are not feeling sore. As regards sport the Wing team have been doing well in the Inter—Squadron Cup, and are to be congratulated on beating both

have several representthives, who, I believe

Durham Light Infantry in the Inter-Unit Boxing Tournament. The Royals won and Boy Parkin of the Wing is to be congratulated on his excellent performance in winning the Bantam Weight Contest. It was a pleasure to watch him. We wish him success in the next round with the Light Brigade. Ajax.

A! ‘B' Squadron Mozmled Sports.

Band Notes. It was decided to enliven the festive season by holding a Smoking Concert in the Bangl

Room on Christmas Eve. Mr. Smith very kindly presided and kept the prOCe-edings going with decided eclat. The commencement of the evening was somewhat marred by the non~appearance of the pianist, but the

Band gramaphone filled the gap with selec— tions from its repertoire until a substitute was found. The vocal efforts were extremely good in some cases, although hardly up to Queen’s Hall standard, but in other cases we were inclined to marvel at the thickness of texture of the performers neck in imagining that he was qualified to get on the stage at

all. The song ‘ New York Town ' was very amusing but the artiste's dialect was even more so. Sergt. Pickersgill gave his spicy rendering of ‘Our Party' and succeeded in convulsing us with merriment when he related the sad fate of ‘Maria.’ Altogether a very entertaining evening and the Committee are congratulated on the successful results of

their efforts.

Vt'e have obtained several Band engagements since last writing, in particular at the Heliopolis and Gezira Racing Meetings. Several new methods of ‘ finding the winner ' have been introduced on these occasions yet the popular method of ’ finding-'em-witha—pin ’ has been favourably compared with the Bandmaster’s system. His method consists of backing the horse which appears most unlikely to win. Unfortunately for others, who follow these selections, they usually act up to their appearances. However, we have found by bitter experience, that the most

disastrous method of all is to follow the tips imparted by ‘ Chips ’ at the entrance gate in a hoarse and secretive undertone. Should one be optimistic enough to follow his tips for every race, he has invariably, on return to Barracks, to indite a pathetic letter in his

best handwriting for an advance of pay. On the 25th. of February General Lord Horne held an inspection of the Royal Artil— lery stationed in Abbassia and Helmieh and we were selected to attend as mounted


24

.

TH ii EAGI .li THE EAGLE

band. At the commencement of our rehearsals for the parade our dressing somewhat resembled a badly shaped Lance—Corporals stripe but after listening attentively to a few kind words and touching remarks from the Band President the line con— siderably straightened itself and on the final day we performed our part quite creditably. Mr. Smith has recently added to his arrangements for Military Band a particularly fine arrangement of Bach’s “Brandenburg Concerto ” No. 3 in ‘ G.’ The original score

was for 3 Violins,{3 Violas, 3 ‘ Cellos and one Bass. It was therefore, no simple task to transcribe this Concerto for a full modern band and Mr. Smith is to be congratulated on writing such very interesting parts. Even the Bass 'l‘rombone has, in this case, been

treated as a musical instrument. It is a worthy successor to his previous arrangements of the ”Brandenburg Concerto’s” Nos. 1 and 2 in ‘F.’

Now here we sure must add a word

About our famous john,

And after doing a Petrol Guard No doubt it went down pretty hard.

For in the second half he was

The job of linesman on. It made us laugh to hear him tick Standing there without a kick

We are now looking

Now let us sing “ Long live the King " The signallers long live they, The next time that they have a. game May I be down to play.

Sport and Play

forward to rehearsing Mr. Smith’s arrange— ment of Beethoven’s 7th Symphony in ‘A ’ which is now almost completed.

The Gallant Signals

‘11 \c f (IE (5/ ,xx (3/, ‘

‘i

Li. exit Its long I shall remember One sunny winter’s day The bold and merry Signal Troop Turned out in strength to play. Their Captain was a Gunner But no one seemed to care,

At 3 o’clock they booted up And to the field did fare.

On changing o'er the wind was not So good as it had been,

at

But blowing in our faces

DIFFERENF

The consequence soon was seen. And now around the goal mouth The play waxed thick and fast, It seemed as though without a goal The battle could not last.

The wind blew wild and playfully And drove the ball outside, Our linesman too a gunner With vexation could have cried.

But still the old boys held their own

But still the boys played manfully And scored two glorious goals, And knocked their wild opponents o’er As though they played at bowls.

Soon after this, the game was driven Around our own goal mouth,

:bur STILL

And every time Phillips kicked north A Vetboy kicked it south.

THOSE

The greatest hero of the day Was daring charging “ Bull ” With kicks and shoves and trips and drives ’ He filled his record full.

Our bold and brilliant goalkeeper With many a cunning twist Kept out the ball though sorely tried With feet and head and fist.

Another hero on the field Our noble graceful ” Gus " He threw his legs high in the air Without much care or fuss.

But so severely was he tried At last two goals were scored But this occasioned no disgrace Each time a man was floored.

Up to half time its only fair

Soon after this bold Thomson Made another run away, And lightly in between the posts He made the ball to lay.

And to complete the roll, To say the Vet boys had some luck And also scored a goal.

’1

And Thomson made a dash,

And hard into the enemy's net The ball went with a crash.

. ELVS ivE

Polo. THE INTER-REGIMENTAL. Another inter-regimental has passed and we have failed to carry off the cup. In the first match we played, we beat the Tenth after extra time by 5 goals to 4 and in the

final we lost to the Twelth by 2 goals to 4. In both games we started badly and im— proved as the match progressed. This un— doubtedly lost us the cup. P010 is a game which must be played ” all out ” from the word “ go " and nothing leSs than full speed ahead is any good. The result was disappointing but we must not be depressed. we have a great number of


26

THE EAGLE THE EAGLE

officers playing polo now (about 20) and amongst them are many who show consider— able promise. Our trouble is that there are no “ star performers ” and the task of the selection committee was no easy one. Our players must make up their minds to get out of the “ ruck.” They must not be content to remain where they are. The first eSSential is to be ” stick perfect.” This is a matter of constant practice, you can't learn it in tournaments it must be acquired on the practice ground and in the Polo Pit. We shall never get a really good team until the players really put their backs into it and acquire complete control over stick and ball. Since last year our stud of ponies has been greatly improved. We have a really promis— ing lot of young ponies, many of which should be really good next year. The batch brought in the Argentine are turning out well and several should bec0me first class. As we have said, we are not depressed,

3rd Chukker: Richardson scored with a good shot. Our side had many chances but could not score. Shooting most inaccurate. Score :—1—3. 4th Chukker: Our side began to play better whilst the Tenth whose ponies were not really fit began to tire. Casey and Swire each scored for the Royals. Score :—3 — 5th Chukker: Our team was very much on top. The forwards began to show more dash and had several chances of scoring which did not materialize. Swire and Moseley both made good runs but failed to score. Gairdner again not properly marked and scored for the Tenth. Score. ‘——3-- 4

looking ahead we expect to do much better

in the future.

We are quite capable of win-

ning the Inter-Regimental either in Egypt or in India before our tour of foreign service is up and we intend to do it. The team which represented the Regiment consisted of :— -Captain A. S. Casey ............ Back. Lt.-C01. E. W. T. Miles 3. MajOrC. G. Swire .............. 2. Mr. R. 13.1Moseley .............. 1. In the first round we met the Tenth Hussars and after a very good match defeated them after extra time by 5 goals to 4. The game was fast and even. Our opponents had the best of the first three chukkers, but our team improved in the latter half of the game and with better shooting would have won by a larger margin. 1st Chukker: Fast play resulted in a goal scored by Captain Gairdner from a good centre. Score 1—0—1. 2nd Chukker: Tenth attacked and had the better of the play, Gairdner was not properly marked. Richardson scored for the Tenth and Colonel Miles for the Royals. Swire made a good run

but hit behind. Score 2—1—2.

6th Chukker: Swire scored with a good angle shot which hit the post and later made several good runs which were marred by bad shooting. Score :—4——4. Extra time was played and after less than one minute Colonel Miles scored the winning goal from a long shot. Result :—-Royals 5. Tenth 4. Subaltern’s Tournament.

Winners of the Open Cup.

ponents hit the ball better than we did. Lloyd and Kidd both worked well and put up a sound defence but the forwards were too slow off the mark and their hitting was weak.

This was played during the second week in February. Our team consisted of 2——

Results of other Tournaments. November. Visitors’ Cup. 4 teams entered

Mr. Lloyd ............... Back. 3. Mr. Kidd 2. . ....... ....... Peake Mr. 1. Mr. Moseley .............. In the first round we beat the Tenth Hussars very easily after a poor game by 8 goals to love. In the final we were beaten by a better side in the 12th Lancers who won conclusively by 7—2. Thefinal was a throughly good galloping game in which both sides rode hard and galloped. We were beaten because Our op-

the final, 3 (rec. 3)7

by us. Our ” C ”team lost to the 12th. Lancers in (1. Mr. Hermon ;

2. )[1‘.Scott ; 3. Capt.

Wilson ; Back. Capt. Casey). December. Lady Maxwell Cup. 2 teams

entered by us. Our “ A.” team beat the RA. in the final,

117-;— (rec. 7;)

(1. Mr. Kidd; 2. Mr. Lloyd; 3. Maj. Fitzgerald ; Back. Capt. Casey). February. Country Life Salts. Our Subalterns’ team lost to the R.H.A. Subalterns in the semi—final, 5—5:}; (rec. 3%). This team was defeated in the final by ” The Rockets.” (1. Capt. Peppe, R.H.A.; 2. Capt. Wilson, Royals ; 3. Capt. Gairdner, 10th. Hussars; Back. Capt. Casey, Royals). March. Open Cup.

One team entered.

We lost 2-7 to the 10th. Hussars in the semifinal. (1. Mr. Moseley; 2. Capt. Wilson; 3. Col. Miles; Back. Capt. Casey). March. Kings Cup.

Miles; Back. Capt. Casey). January. Junior Championship. 3 teams entered by us.

The team selected by Gezira S. C. defeated the 12th. Lancers Regimental team, winners of the Open Cup, 5-4. (1. Col. Miles; 2. Capt. Casey; 3. Capt.

Our ” A ” team lost in the final to the 12th.

Gairdner, 10th. Hussars; Back. Major Horne,

(1. Mr. Moseley; 2. Capt. \Yilson ; 3. Col.

Lancers, 3—7.

10th. Hussars).


THE EAGLE THE EAGLE Team.

They were our saviours on numerous

occasions and although Dernpster is becoming slightly ‘ piano ' on trip he can still stay the pace with the. young fellows. We did not discowr any future internationals in the course of this experiment but the results obtairnd were decidedly promising and with the experience gained this year should prove of great value next and subsequent seasons.

.\,~: regards the competitions entered the Command tharnpionship ltrier—Regimental proved rather disappointing as the Regiment were defeated in the first round by The King's Regiment lry 1% goals to nil.

This was not a

satisfactory game as most of our players appeared to play decidedly below their usual form. We congratulate the winners on their success and hope that they will go far in the Lilzampionship. Sm en tr ants competed in the (airo Military liootball League and some very good matches rere, pla_ . Utir Regimental team was however _ ill largely in a state of adolescence and finished in this League 4th.

Two well known figures in the Polo world. Captain A. S. Casey on “ Dunboyne.”

” Dunboyne " as a 4—year-old was one of the late Duke Of Beaufort’s cubhunters, and

came into Captain Casey’s possession as a 5—year-old.

Football Notes. At the commencement of the season it was decided to introduce fresh and younger players into our Regimental Football Team and to give some of the veterans who had nobly ‘turned—out’ the previous season a well earned rest and a front place on the touch-line. This drastic change and the re— placement of former ‘ Regimental l’ets' by unknown quantities was open to, and received, a good deal of criticism from selfconsidered authorities. Two stalwarts of the defence, namely, Farr-,v'tjpl. Dumpster and Tpr. Freeman were, however, too good to be

replaced and were retained in the Regimental

Regarding the competitions within the Regiment the Inter—Troop competition has been completed and won by the 2nd. Machine— Gun Troop. An innovation was introduced in this competition in the method of play as teams played on the Group principal instead of on the ‘ knock-out ’ system, The advantage of this sytem being that a weak team would play at least three matches in the preliminary group instead of being de— feated in the first round of the competition and therefore, perhaps, playing only one game as a Troop the whole of the season. Each Squadron of four Troop teams played as a group on the League system and the winning team of each Squadron group went into a final group of four teams and played the competition proper. The. four teams to sue— ceed in their preliminary groups were 2nd Troop, ”A” chlll., 2nd Troop, ” 3” Sqdn., 2nd Machine Gun Troop and The Band. The final results placed these teams in the following order :— \\"inners. 2nd Machine Gun Troop 2nd Troop, " A. " Sqn. ..... Second. The Rand ................. Third. 2nd Troop, “ l} " Sqn ....... Fourth. Altogether fifteen teams competed.

ll'z‘mz-grs of Inter—Y‘roop Football (up.

The Inter—Squadron League. proved, as always, a very popular competition, but is

(.l!.G. ;-.).

ceed in this match will be the winners of the

not at the time of going to press completed.

competition. This match should draw a good gallery and the encouraging cries of ” wheel it

Machine Gun Squadron and fl ~adquarter Wing have yet to play and the team to sue—

out to Dixie” will no doubt be numerous, vociferous and stentorian.

Command Inter-Unit Boxing Championship. On the 20th. February the Regiment fougth the Durham Light Infantry in the second round of this event (having drawn a bye in the first round) and defeated them by 14 points to 13. The match was fought in our Barracks and

Middle Weight :——Tptr. Thomas, “ B ” Sqdn. \Von. 1st String \V'elter I—Tpr. Marston, “ B ” Sqdn. \Von. 2nd

String

Sqdn.

Welter 2—Tpr.

Crook,

"B ”

LOst.

in addition to the unit events we staged 5

Light \Vcight :7~Tpr. Jones, “ MG." Sqdn.

special contests. Our team was as follows :— Heavy W'eight :—-Tpr. Kerr, ” MG." Sqdn. Retired. Light Heavy z—Tpr. Creask ” MG." Sqdn. VVOn.

Lost. Feather \Veight :——Tpr. Kilner, " M.G.” Sqdn. Lost. Bantam \Veight :—-Boy Parkin, Band. Won. Fly Weight :ngr. Allen, “ B ” Sqdn. Won. This was a very close thing and the Regi-


THE EAGLE

THE EAGLE

Equitation Notes.

The Cavalry Brigade and R.H.A. Horse Show was held on the 19th. and 20th. December and was a very good show, attracting a large crowd of spectators on the final day. It was a very successful show for the Regi-

Champion Man-at-Arrns by Sjt. Pamplin who gave an exceptionally good display and was unbeaten in any of the Dummy Thrusting or All Arms events. Our show jumpers were a disappointment as they had been sliOWing very good form previous to the show, but when the time came none of them came up to expectations. Outside the Military Events, Captain Casey won the Heavyweight Polo Pony Class and the Championship with his black pony

ment, as we gained 2 Championships, nine

“ Fitzcubbin,” and Mrs. Wilson won the

first prizes, nine seconds and : ten thirds.

Lady’s Hack Class with ” Ballyadam.” We must hope for a repetition of this success when we get to India.

We have now 36 recruits at Riding School of which the majority are the draft of the K.D.G’s which arrived out here in November. As most of these have a considerable amount of service they should not remain there long.

The list of winners appears below. The greatest success was the winning of the

Brigade Horse Show. Show which was

Lance Sword and Revolver (Other Ranks

held at Abbassia On the 18th., 19th., and 20th.,

Senior): lst. Sjt. Pamplin. Lance Sword and Revolver (Other Ranks Junior): lst. L/Cpl. Rogers ; 3rd. Tpr. Willmore. Dummy Thrusting (Officers):

The

T12: Royals Team m 1914..

T07) Row :—~Cpl. Double ; Tpr. Currie ; Sjt. Rickards; Tpr. Collins; Cpl. Titmas.

ment just managed to winibv the'odd point. In this competition two points are awarded for a win and one point for a lose. This latter point can be withheld if the Referee considers that the loser has not put up a fight. Owing to their being Overweight several of our team had to fight out of their proper weight, and Tpr. Symonds at the last moment was unable to box. Thomas did well in giving away a lot of weight to fight Middle. Kerr was unlucky ; he was winning his fight when he dislocated his thumb.

Second Row :WTpr. Bartlett; Tpr. McCann ; IZ/Lieut. Swire ; Cpl. Hoinville ; Tpr. Ball.

Boy Parkin put up a real good show just Crook was when a win was badly needed. not up to his usual form, but Marston fought better than he has ever fought before. Kilner put up a very plucky show and Jones fought well against a good man. Creask won his fight but he has lost the use of his left and was not up to his previOus form. Allen was very weak owing to banting to get down to the weight. Our next fight will be against the Light Brigade in the Semi Finals on the 22nd. March.

Brigade

Horse

December last year proved very successful for the Regiment. The following are the events in which the Regiment either won or obtained a place. Officers’ Chargers, Cavalry Regiments

and R.H.A.: lst Major R. Heyworth; 3rd. Mr. C. E. D. Cooper. All Polo Ponies (Heavy): lst. Captain AS. Casey; 3rd. Mr. HB. Scott. All P010 Ponies (Light): 2nd. Mr. R. C. Kidd; 3rd. Lt.—Col. E. W. T. Miles. Arab and Egyptian Country-Bred Polo Ponies (Open): 3rd. Major C. Swire. Ladies Hacks: lst. Captain P. L. Wilson. Open Jumping (Officers): 2nd. Mr. R. A. Hermon. Jumping (Other Ranks Senior): 3rd. Sjt. Conduit. Remounts: 2nd. The Royals. Lance Sword and Revolver (Officers): 1st. Mr. P. G. Heywood—Lonsdale; 3rd.

Mr. R. A. Hermon.

lst. Mr. P. G. Heywood—Lonsdale;

3rd.

Mr. R. Peake. Dummy Thrusting (Other Ranks Senior) : lst. Sjt. Pamplin ; 2nd. Sqn. S. M. Weir. Dummy Thrusting (Other Ranks Junior) :

2nd. L/Cpl. Rogers. Champion Man-at-Arms:

Winner : Sjt. Pamplin. Tent Pegging (Section Open):

3rd. The Royals. Tent Pegging (Individual Open):

lst. Sjt. Forsyth. Mules Pairs (Light Open): 2nd. The Royals. Mules, Pairs (Heavy Open): 2nd. The Royals ; 3rd. The Royals. Champion Polo Pony:

Winner: Captain A. 5. Casey. Mule Race (Open): 3rd. The Royals.


THE EAGLE THE EAGLE

Mr. RA. Hermon, 2nd Officers’ Jumping.

Shooting Notes. Sgt. Pamplm, Champion J! What-Arms, Cavalry Brigade Horse Show.

The shooting season having practically come to an end, perhaps a few words as to the

results of our efforts would be of interest. In our last issue we gave a brief account of the various shoots in which the Regiment had an interest, so we will just mention a few of the bags that the best days have produced. The shoot at Kom Wahal has been a great success, especially for snipe shooting. Four or five guns have been there most week—ends and all have thoroughly enjoyed it. During the Christmas leave, a period of ten days, we

accounted for 52 duck and 714 snipe. Our total for a dozen visits has been just under 400 duck and about 1350 snipe ; a most satisfactory result. The local manager, Mr. Cree, has done

everything possible to make the shoot a success, and has most admirably succeeded.

The duck shooting was not quite as good as we had hoped, owing to the enormous ex— panses of water round the shoot, to which the

duck departed when we started shooting on any particular part. The going in the snipe Sgt, Pamplm.

tales ground is not bad, on the whole, but

told of shoes lost and never recovered, may mean that some people have other views on this subject ! Some of us have had some very perilous journeys on the mud roads between Tanta and Kom Wahal, after rain, owing to

their narrowness , their treacherous and rutty surface and the yawning canals on either side. But this can be our only ” grouse " about the shoot. unless we count the collapse of a certain major ’s bed in the middle of one night, and on another occasion a severe and unprovoked attack by bugs causing several 8. sleepless night. El Ayat does not accomodate as many guns as Korn Wahal, but 3 or 4 guns have been down there on most Sundays. It is quite handy to get at, being only about a 1-.13— hours journey by car, and a very attractive spot when you get there. Our best days have been 107 and 87 duck, and altogether we have bagged over 400 duck and about 50 snipe in eleven shoots. The trouble with this shoot is that it is rather too near the Nile, and unless

there is a strong wind blowing, when the river gets very choppy, the birds go and settle on


34

THE EAGLE

the Nile and do not return to their feeding ground. But everyone has greatly enjoyed their mornings’ sport down there. The pool at Mansuria has not been a suc— cess, probably owing to its being too near Prince Kemal el Din's shoot, and also too small, but a few duck have been collected

there.

The four of us'who had guns at Katta this year have had very good sport, and many bags of over 50 duck to a gun in a morning have been recorded. This shoot turned out one of the best in Egypt this year.

THE EAGLE

Tel—el—Kebir has also produced some good bags, about 30 to a gun being the average. We had one gun shared by four, in this shoot, giving each one shoot a month. The shoot near Beni Yuscf in which Major Swire had a gun was exceptionally good, and he topped the century to his own gun one day there, as well as another day at Katta. Everybody has had many chances of Shooting and on the whole it has proved a very enjoyable and successful season. Bundook.

Racing. Amateur racing has carried on quite well this season so far as Arabs are concerned, but unfortunately, the difficulties in getting hurdle races going proved too great and we are still confined to arabs for our fun. Mr. Cooper has been our only successful owner, with his Pan; after running 3rd. over

a mile and a furlong in the Arab Grand Mili—

tary at Heliopolis, he won a 1 mile and 3 furlongs race at Gezira (owner up), and followed it up by winning a race at Heliopolis the next day, Lister being the jockey on this occasion. Mr. Cooper’s 3 year old, Wisteria, has only been out once when she ran very green but will no doubt improve next time.

Correspondence. Dear .Mr. Editor. May I, as newly elected chairman of the Old Comrades Club, be allowed to encroach on your space with a few lines to members of the club and to all Royals interested in its well being. Before saying anything else I feel sure that it is the wish of all that I should express our appreciation of the work done by our late chairman Mr. Brooks and by all those who have so willingly and ably supported him. We all greatly regret that our rules enforce the retirement of Mr. Brooks (after 2 years as chairman) during which time he has presided over our destinies with dignity and tact worthy of our deep appreciation and we are delighted that he has c0nsented to continue to serve the club by remaining on the com— mittee. Mr. Brooks has been more than

fortunate in the support he has received from our vice—chairman Captain Allen whom we all know has the affairs of the Regiment both past and present next to his heart, and from Mr. Booth who for 5 odd years has carried on as Chancellor of the Exchequer, a by no means

enviable task, in

thy of

Downing Street

a manner wor—

in

its

brighter

moments and deserving of our most sincere

I dare not mention any more names or [

shall never end but i must express our very great appreciation of the work of the com— mittee in general and of those members of it who have taken so much trouble in arrang—

ing and carrying through our \arious entertainments. The club is going strong and great efforts

Please accept my very kind regards and best wishes to all. Yours faithfully,

J. Ayres. Mr. J. Ayres was discharged from the Regiment in 1891.

are being made to arrange a programme which

will be attractive to both old and young at the same time and which will bring all to— gether as much as possible We have a cricket team in the making which we hope will lead to great tl’rings in time. We should be very glad to see any serving members of the Regiment WllCIM'Vcl‘ they can spare a moment to drop in and give us the news while on leave ; they would receive. a more than hearty welcome. Visits of this kind mean a great deal to us old Royals. We should also much appreciate more visits from officers, if only occasional ones,

who happen to be in London. More young blood is required to keep the pot boiling and after all the club does help us to keep up the friendships formed in the Regiment and to prove the truth of the saying ” Once a Royal always a Royal." Finally we must express our most sincere gratitude to our old friends the Westminster Dragoons for all their kindness and help. I do not believe that it is sufficiently realized what the use of their magnificent building is to us or where we should be without them ; truly they have lived up to the saying “ A friend in need is a friend indeed ” with which I am sure all who have been to our club meetings will agree most heartily and I sincerely trust that more Royals will in future take advantage of their kindness by joining the club.

London, W. 11. Dear 1111’. Editor,

I have to thank you for copies Of the ‘ Eagle " received and the contents are liiost

interesting. I left the Regiment in 1893 while, staioned at Island Bridge Barracks, Dublin, being discharged through injuries received whilst shoeing a very spiteful horse. I afterwards served 20 years at the \Var Office and whilst in various positions there 1 often saw many of the old Regiment. I note with regret the passing of six old Royals. Colonel )laclean was a splendid soldier and 1 call to memory, that in 1906 he came to the

War Office on business, 1 was then in charge of the Hall of the new building in Whitehall and his delight to know that a Royal had been given the post, was manifest. I told him there were at least three more old Royals on the Clerical Staff, Simpkins, Haylock and Diggory all ex N.C 0’5, and also Billy Weightman (late Fencing Instructor) was Hall Porter at the Foreign Office, this greatly pleased the Colonel. The name of T.S.M. I-‘ye takes me back to Tug of War days at Colchester, 1891, when

Tom Spring was on the end of the rope with a numnah round him. Old Royals of that time will remember the team we had. Sjt. Camerick, Cpl. Cartel, Pte. Beatty and l’te. Pownall are names I have in mind. Our system of jerking was a great success. At York, 1392, the. drayman of the Tadeastle Tower Brewery invited us to try our luck at a local circus visiting the town. Colonel Tomkinson, a splended gentleman, gave

57, Lower Chestnut Street, \\'orcester.

TSM. Pye permission to take his team and needless to say the Royals won easily. Spring

All of these would, I am sure, be the first

to say how very much harder, if not impossible, would have been their task without the

158, Portobello Road,

I). l‘ I irhgow.

thanks.

untiring efforts of our hon. see. Mr. Rateliffe who, ever since the opening of the club, and in spite of frequent illness and much personal discomfort has contrived to keep things going and to be of very real and live help to many Royals in time of difficulty.

35

Dear Sir, Shall be pleased to hear from Old Comrades

or anyone who will drop me a line when they have nothing better to do.

was there.

Lieut. Roberts was an officer in my Squadron at York in 1893.

I saw him many times

when he came to London to the \Var Office,


THE EAGLE 86

THE EAGLE

where he had several officer friends on the

specimens of the old purchase Officer Colonel

Staff, a few years back.

James Ainslie, who, after a few questions as

In my book of Recollections, since leaving the Regiment, I could supply you with much interesting information for the “ Eagle,” should you wish. Best wishes to all for 1929.

to purpose of joining the Army etc, abruptly said ” Have you had any breakfast my lad.” I very truthfully answered ” No Sir.” “ Then see that he has some food at once Serjt. Major.” Afterwards I was posted to " C ” or Captain A. Maclean's troop, but as the troop was at that time on duty at Hamilton on detachment, I was attached to ” A ” or Captain E. Bacon—Hutton’s troop. I was very sorry to read of Colonel

Yours faithfully, Frederick Tay10r_

The following is an extract from the War Office Record of Mr. F. Taylor. " Taylor Frederick, late resident Hall Porter War Office, formerly served as Serjeant Farrier in the 1st Royal Dragoons. Appointed a temporary Messenger 30th July, 1898, in the Department of the Commander in Chief. Services asked for by the Army Veterinary Department during the War in South Africa, 1900 to 1904.

Returned to

War Office and promoted to the Establish— ment and Head Messenger to the Quartermaster and Adjutant General 1905. Was personal Messenger to Sir Herbert Plumer. Hall Porter and Resident Messenger 1910 to 1916.”

Wallsend-on—Tyne. Dear Sir,

Once again I have to thank you for the copy of the “ Eagle ” which came to hand on Saturday, January 19th. As we have no Sunday pOSt I waited till to-day Monday for an additional reason and that is, tO-day is the 55th anniversary of my being sworn in at Bow Street, London, by the sitting majistrate, Mr. Boyd, to serve her Gracious Majesty, Queen Victoria, as a member of The Royal Dragoons. Standing by my side, I suppose to see I did it properly, was the person who filled the bill, as we say, Serjeant George Cooper in full dress, and right smart he looked. Ten days after that I arrived at Jock’s Lodge or Piershill Barracks, Edin— burgh, after a stormy voyage from Free Trade Wharf to Granton and was almost at Once taken in hand by the then R.S.M. Humphery Lionel Webb (afterwards Quarter— master and Major) and by him ushered into

the august presence of one of the finest

Maclean’s death, he would be a good age, I

think, well over 80.

Captain Morton’s troop was “ G” and Captain H. C. G. Trench was in command of “F " troop. Captain Leigh left the Regiment soon after I joined. One of Captain C. F. Morton’s troopers,

Things we want to Know. Who was the trOOper of the ” Donkey ” Squadron who said ” We had a sand storm on the desert.” *

*

Who was the S.S.M. who told a trooper to get the Blow Lamp and a couple of rivets to mend his breeches ?

* *

And if he was surprised at such things occuring on the desert P *

*

And could the S.S.M. give him the aids for this performance. it

1!

*

*

Why has a certain N.C.O., 0f the ” Wing " stopped smoking ? Does he need his ”ackers ” to pay for shingling ? *

*

)k

If the ”lost souls” are looking forward to being adopted. *

*

Who was the N.C.O., of H.Q. Wing who mounted Main Guard in horse tail puttees ?

*

it

*

Is it true that troop drill is done on Resi-

dency Guard P I think, was the late Archibald Forbes, the famous war correspondent.

*

>l<

*

One of the incidents with the then Major A. Maclean was that he was Field Officer of the Day in Dublin on the 6th May,

Who is the Whispering Baritone P

1882, when ‘LOrd Fred Cavendish and Mr.

And is he a Knight of the Lone Table

Bourke were murdered. He heard the scuffling on the main road and galloped right over the flower beds and jumped the hedge but was too far away from the assailants who left the two dead bodies and galloped away in their jaunting cars. He at once rode to barracks (Island Bridge) and soon all roads round the park were blocked. One result, which was probably attributable to his quick—

*

>14

*

* *

a'i

Who runs the married womens’ Seniority roll ? ’1:

*

as:

a:

What was the cause of the early appearance of a \Vasp On the Sjts’ Mess Tennis Court P

best of weather, luck, and any other good

Who was the Troop Sjt., who said to his

class on gun drill “ Dinna laugh at the wee laddie greetin.” *

*

it

The name of the married NCO. who was roused at two in the morning because the peas hadn’t been put in soak.

thing they would care to have. *** I am, Sir,

Yours sincerely, Thomas Steel,

late Royal Dragoons.

lf its true that a L/Cpl. of " l-l Q is an ideal travelling companion.

TELL ME ANOTHER. I married a widOw who had a grown-up daughter. My father fell in love with my step-daughter, and married her. My father became my son-in-law, my stepdaughter my mother, because she was my father’s wife.

in the trials at Green Street in 1883, when

29 persons were duly sentenced, five to death and the remainder to various terms of penal servitude. I must not intrude on your valuable time any longer but memories cr0wd up On one, at times, and seem to stand out astonishingly clear. May I wish you and all the Boys the

>l<

>l<

And do they take their promotion from birth, marriage, husband’s promotion or for beauty? 4:

*

‘4:

ness, was the discovery that night of the

knives that had been used. This was of course kept a profound secret but it came Out

If the members of the Sjts' Mess are more proficient at cribbing than they are at cribbage ?

My wife had a son ; he was my father’s brother~in-law and my uncle, for he was the brother of my step-mother. My father’s wife had also a son ; he was my brother and my grandchild, for he was the son of my daughter. My wife was my grandmother, for she was my mother’s mother. I was my wife’s husband and grandchild, and as the husband of a person’s grandmother is his grandfather, I am my Own grandfather.


THE EAGLE

Puzzles.

THE EAGLE

Regimental Gazette—April 1929. In each of the following puzzles figurcsarc represented by letters. In each case a Key word contains all the figures 1 to 0 in their proper order. The meaning of the keyword in problem No. 1 is “ Orderly.” The pro— blem consists of a simple Multiplication sum. CALLED HOME

The Editor offers a prize of PT. 25 to the. sender of the first correct solution of either puzzle receivol. Solutions to he sent to the

Strength Decrease:

Editor of the little, Officers' Mess.

396985 Cpl. Loach, G. “ 11.6." Proceeded to lldqtrs., Sudan 17010110: force and strucl;

396878 Tpr. Swift, W. H.Q.W. Embarked at Port Said on 16/12/28 for transfer to Army Reserv-.:. Posted to the Queens Bays on

"0 Farmer titles, if. . . .sheuld fall \V'heu times are laid and. . . .appal

off strength of this RegL, w.e.f., 11/2/29, Promotions and Appointments:

arrival in U.K. 393774 Tpr. Tomlin, R. H.Q.VV. Embarked at

Just . . . .upon your ripening grain

400968 Tpr. t‘asson, A. HQAV. Appointed l'npaid l.’(ip1.. w.e.f., 2/12/28. 399819 Tpr. .\1acdonald, R. “31.6.” Appointed Unpaid L.’(‘pl., w.e.f., 7"12’28. 400557 'l’pr. \Valker, \V. “ 31.6." Appointed

Port Said on 16/12/28 for transfer to Army Reserve. Posted to the Queens Bays on

’Til each one of your. . . .shall seem A lovely. . . .in your dream And hope spring into life again." The same five letters, arranged differently in each case. supply all the missing words

MICLLON CALLED HHOLMTL TODLMLH HLMOIAITME

From warm. . . .to. . . .snows

Find the key-word.

The. . . .doctor madly goes

A certain individual approached ill> Sqn. Q.M.S. 0n the last day of a certain month last year and asked if he could have a statement of his accounts. The Srpr Q.:\I.S. concerned handed him the following. which was a true statement DR. “4;.

s

Total cash issues and stoppages ........

(,1 4

.-\llotment ;

.

diem Balance Credit XO/X/ XI ...............

t) —- X

1i ——

E —- EU —— SXU EH—N — EEU

..

CR.

d.

Balance Credit H E/E/

XI ...............

X —A —— H.U

X0 days at 1/ per diem Clothing Allowance . .

F\' —4 1’1 —- X lil-l 4— 1 Eli —-- IV —~ EEL

1. What is the keyword 3' 2. At the end of which month was the statement made ,3 3. “hat was the ranl. of the illdiviclual eoneernml : 4. What was the tredit Balance shewn at the end of the state-

ment ?

The same five. letters, arranged differently

in each case, supply all the missing words. The Editor offers a prize of PT. 25 to the sender of the first correct solutions received. Solutions to be sent to the Editor of the Eagle, Officers’ Mess.

ISA d 8.11

li 7-7 liX 1'

\\'.P.C.

Nor ’til the, higher. . . .he gains May he escape these. . . .pains.

Two correct solutions were received of the last Puzzle and the prize of RT. 25 was awarded to each: S.Q..\l.S. Davidson and Mr. Thomas Steel. A VILE old woman 0n EVIL bent Put on her VEIL And out she went Oh LEVI my dear Come tell me pray How are we going to LIVE tO-day.

The (2/11th punctuation of the two sentences is as follows. :44

i1) 11 is mid, I said, not or. (2) That that is is, and that that is not, is not. Is not that it ? It is. The following is .in ordinary linelish sent—

encI , lint i.» not punt tiiaied.

(“an you maltr-

sens. ot i1 : " loin s \.ln it- Saint] had had had had had had had had had had more Weight with the examiners. "

l‘npaid

1. (pl, w.e.f., 7/12 28.

398510 I. Cpl. l’h‘amley. ti. 111).” Promoted t‘orporal w.e.f., 210/28. 398537 I. Cpl. Cree, \V. “11.6.” Promoted t‘orporal w.e.f., 10111 28. 396300 l.."(‘p1. Creighton, A. H.Q.\V. l’ronioted Corporal w.e.f. 2291128. 3984151. t‘pl. l’lardine, 1.. “ 31.6.” Appointed Raid 1. Cpl. w.e.f., 2 10 28.

398929 l. t‘pl. \.\'ill;inson. A. “11.6."

Ap—

arrival in U.K. 396882 Farr. Smith, H. “ MG.” Embarked

at Port Said on 16/12/28 for transfer to Army Reserve. Posted to the Queens Bays on arrival in U.K.

391010 Tpr. Fairbairn, R. ”A.” Embarked at Port Said on 16/12/28 for transfer to U.K., POstcd t0 the lst K.D. Guards on

arrival in U.K. 401300 Tpr. Shackleton, A. ” A." Embarked

at Port Said on 16/12/28 for transfer to U.K. Posted to the Queens Bays on arrival in U.K.

pointed l’aid l.t‘pl., w.e.f., 10/11/28. 387404 Tpr. Beer, S. H.Q.W. Embarked at

400520 1. (pl. llarrisou, 15. “ A." Appointed l’aid l.‘(.pl. w.e.f.. 22 1128.

1055899 l..t‘pl. l">artlett, ll. “ A." Appointed Paid 1. (pl. w.e.f., 30 12 28. 401171 1. Cpl. \\'hyte, l " A." Appointed

Port Said on 16/12/28 for transfer to U.K. Posted to the Queens Bays on arrival in U.K. 7782766 Tpr. Cooper, F. ” A.” Embarked at,_

Port Said on 16/12/28 for transfer to U.K. l’aid thfplw w.e.f., 11129.

399959 Bdsm. Freeth, \V. H.Q.\V. Appointed Unpaid L/Cpl., w.e.f., 29/1/29. 400008 Bdsm. Dickenson, J. H.Q.\V. Appointed Unpaid L/Cpl., w.e.f. 29/1/29. 400764 Tpr. Davies, S. I’LQAV. Appointed Unpaid L/Cpl., w.e.f., 6/2/29. 400487 l.‘t‘pl. Foster, T. “ A.” Appointed Paid L/Cpl., w.e.f. 20/2/29. Embarkations: 393533 L/Cpl. Edwards, A. H.Q.\\‘. Embarked at Port Said on 16 12/28 for transfer to Army Reserve. Posted to the Queens Bays on arrival in U.K. 393549 Tpr. Godfrey. t‘. “ 1%." Embarked at Port Said on 16/12 28 for transfer to Army Reserve. Posted to the Queens Bays on arrival in U.K. 387858 Tpr. Marsh, R. H.O.\\'. Embarked

at Port Said on 1612,28 for transfer to Army Reserve. Posted to the Queen’s Bayson arrival, in U.K.

Posted to the Queens Bays on arrival in U.K. 401120 Tpr. Freeman, F. “ B.” Embarked at

Port Said on 16/12/28 for transfer to U.K. Posted to the Queens Bays on arrival in U.K. . 6910859 Tpr. Russell, A. “ MG.” Embarked

at Port Said on 16/12/28 for transfer to U.K. Posted to the Queens Bays on arrival in U.K. 401180 Tpr. Muddiman, H. “ A." Embarked at Port Said on 5/2/29, for transfer to the

UK.

Posted to the Queens Bays on

arrival in U.K.

401501 Tpr. Furey, F. ” A.” Embarked at Port Said on 16/2/29 for transfer to the U.K. Posted to the Queens Bays on arrival in U.K. 387322 Sjt. Riley, \V. “ MC.” Embarked at Port Said on 16/12/28 for U.K., to attend Course at Small Arms School, Netheravon

Wing.


40

THE EAGLE

398737 L/Cpl. Toone, C. " A." Embarked at Port Said on 16/12/28 for UK. to attend Course at the School of Signals, Catterick.

Certificates of Edcucation: 400991 Boy Burningham, R. HQNV. Awarded 2nd Class Certificate of Education at an

401071 Tpr. Evitts, J. ” M.G.” Awarded 2nd Class Certificate of Education at an Exam.,

held at Abbassia on 30/11/28 and 1/12/28. 401321 L/Cpl. Francis, “7. " A.” Awarded

‘THE EAGLE

ried Families Hospital, Abbassia on 12/1/29.

the age of 18 years on 30/1/29. Raised

the wife of, of a son, Maurice Foster, at Married Families Hospital, Abbassia, on 2/2/29.

to the higher rate of pay frorn that date. 389699 B. Mr. Smith, S. HHQW Permitted to continue in the service for a further period of one year until 9/6/1930. 393410 L/Sjt. Constable, A. "B.” Extends

393425 Cpl. Haley, W. “ B ”, to the wife of,

Exam., held at Abbassia on 25/26 Octo— ber 1928.

400784 Tpr. Davies, S. H.Q.W. Awarded 2nd

2nd Class Certificate of Education at an

Class Certificate of Education at an Exam.,

Exam., held at Abbassia on 30/11/28 and 1/ 12/28. 400751 Tpr. Horney, H. ” A.” Awarded 2nd

399924 Boy Seabrooke, W. H.Q.W. Attained

389621 Sqn. ng. Clifford, c. ” MG.”., to

2nd Class Certificate of Education at an

Exam. held at Abbassia on 30/11/28 and 1/ 12/28. 401357 Boy Freeth, R. H.Q.VV. Awarded

41

of a daughter, Muriel May, at Married Families Hospital, Abbassia, on 18/2/29.

393279 L/Cpl. Goodwin, C. “ B.”, to the wife held at Abbassia on 25/26 October 1928. 400609 L/Cpl. Gray, R. ” B.” Awarded 2nd Class Certificate of Education at an Exam.,

held at Abbassia on 25/26 October 1928. 401305 Tpr. Horsfall, F. ” A.” Awarded 2nd Class Certificate of Education at an Exam.,

Class Certificate of Education at an Exam.,

held at Abbassia on 30/11/28 and 1/12/28. 401420 Tpr. Hunt, S. “ A." Awarded 2nd Class Certificate of Education at an Exam.,

held at Abbassia on 25/26 October 1928. 400962 Tpr. Lavington, W . " M.G.” Awarded 2nd Class Certificate of Education at an

401359 Tpr. Jeffries, \V'. ” B.” Awarded 2nd, Class Certificate of Education at an Exam.

Exam, held at Abbassia on 25/26 October 1928.

400612 Tpr. Keeble, W. ” B." Awarded 2nd

399590 Tpr. Minter, F. ” M.G.” Awarded 2nd Class Certificate of Education at an Exam., held at Abbassia on 25/26 October 1928. 400779 Tpr. Murray, J. " M.G." Awarded 2nd Class Certificate of Education at an Exam., held at Abbassia on 25/26 October 1928.

400606 Tpr. Spindloe, G. HWQW Awarded 2nd Class Certificate of Education at an Exam., held at Abbassia on 25/26 October 1928. 400753 Tpr. Swain, T. “ B.” Awarded 2nd Class Certificate of Education at an Exam.,

held at Abbassia on 25/26 October 1928. 491328 Tpr. Trunks, S. ” B.” Awarded 2nd Class Certificate of Education at an Exam.,

held at Abbassia on 25/26 October 1928. 400613 Tpr. Wilson, J. ” A." Awarded 2nd Class Certificate of Education at an Exam.,

held at Abbassia on 25/26 October 1928. 400489 L/Cpl. Balch, \V. ” B.” Awarded 2nd Class Certificate of Education at an Exam.,

at Abbassia 0n 25/26 October 1928. 400755 Tpr. Bournc, F. H.Q.W. Awarded 2nd Class Certificate of Education at an Exam., held at Abbassia on 30/11/28 and l/12/28.

held at Abbassia on 30/11/28 and 1/12/28.

held at Abbassia on 30/11/28 and 1/12/28. Class Certificate of Education at an Exam.,

held at Abbassia on 30/11/28 and 1/12/28. 491117 Tpr. Mead, H. “ A.” Awarded 2nd Class Certificate of Education at an Exam.,

held at Abbassia on 30/11/28 and 1/12/28. 401059 Tpr. Miles, A. ” M.G.” Awarded 2nd Class Certificate of Education at an Exam.,

held at Abbassia on 30/11/28 and 1/12/28. 400048 Tpr. Rowe, R. H.Q.W. Awarded 2nd Class Certificate of Education at an Exam.,

held at Abbassia on 30/11/28 and 1/12/29. 400766 L/Cpl. Scaife, A. ” A.” Awarded 2nd Class Certificate of Education at an Exam.,

held at Abbassia on 30/11/28 and 1/12/28. 400544 L/Cpl. Walker, J. ” B." Awarded 2nd Class Certificate of Education at an Exam.,

held at Abbassia on 30/11/28 and 1/12/28. 4119482 Tpr. Williamson, 8. ” B.” Awarded 2nd Class Certificate of Education at an

Exam., held at Abbassia on 30/11/28 and 1 / 12/28. 400518 Tpr. Walsh, T. H.Q.VV. Awarded

2nd Class Certificate of Education at an Exam., held at Abbassia on 30/11/28 and 1/ 12/28. Births:

389668 F.Q.M.S. Picken, J. H.Q.VV. to the

399860 Tpr. Crossley, G. “ M.G.” Awarded

wife of, of a son, David Lindsay, at Married

2nd Class Certificate of Education at an

Families Hospital Abbassia, on 2/12/28. 389464 '1‘. M. Plumbley, E. H.Q.W., to the

Exam., held at Abbassia on 30/ 11/28 and

1/12/28.

wife of a daughter, Pamela Viola, at Mar-

his service to complete 12 years in the Corps of, of a son, Cyril George Heniy at Married Families Hospital, Abbasisia, on 27/2/29. Married Quarters Roll: 390253 L/Sjt. Marriott, E. " A.” Absorbed into Class 20, M.Q.R., w.e.f., 1/2/29. Service: 399206 Boy Rose, H. H.Q.W. Attained the age of 18 years on 20/2/29. Raised to the higher rate of pay from that date.

of Cavalry of the Line.

Authy dated

22/11/28. Re-Engagements:

313817 Sjt. (O.R.C.) Hinton, W. H.Q.W Re-engaged on 5/3/29 to complete 21 years in the Corps of Cavalry of the Line.


THE EAGLE '

OUR NOTICE BOARD.

1

3. T0 Intending Subscribers:

Our Next Number:

All matter for publication in our next number (Due in July 192% should reach the Editor not later than Jllllt‘ 10th.

.\ printed subscription form will be found below. This should be filled in and sent off as

2. To Contributors :

soon as pOssible.

Pictures and Sketches are extremely hard to reproduce unless done in special Indian Ink on plain white paper. The Editors will be pleased to supply ink and paper to any artist, if needed.

4. Our Address: Our

address

is:r- The

lidiior

of “The

A Regimental Journal of

Eagle." The Royals, Abbassia, L‘airo, Egypt.

THE ROYAL DRAGOONS SUBSCRIPTION FOR

FORDIS FOR OLD COMRADES.

OFFICERS.

11) :~_\li'. .l\). A. lx’aicliffe, l’lon. Sec.

To :~'l‘he Editor of “ The liagle,"

l‘he Royals ()ld Hunrades Association, The Royals,

94, Netherwood Road, London, \V. 14.

Abbassia, Cairo. Sir,

I desire to become a subscriber to “ The Eagle ” and have filled in the form of sub«

seription below :

51'}: I desire to become an annual subscriber to the ” Eagle,” and enclose my subscription (Z/Sd.) for the year ending Dee. 3lst 1929

July 1929

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(to which my copy of the “ Eagle ” should On receiptof this Order, please pay to Messrs. Llovds Bank Ltd. (Cox‘s Branch) Pall Mall, the sum of twelve shillings and six pence and the same Sum every succeeding January until further notice. Cross all cheques,

be sent).

etc'” 7 " Eagle a/c.”

CAIRO-EGYPT

Signature

. ..

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NOTE 1—Single CUIlllS may be obtained by Oillgé'i'» from the Editor, price 3/od, by 01:1 Comrades, from Mr. Rateliife, price 8d. (pastime in eveiy case).


THE EA GLE

EDITORIAL NOTES When our last issue went to press, our

We wish to apologise for the late issue of

Boxing Team had reached the semi—finals of the Command Inter—Unit Competition. In the semi—final they met the Light Brigade,

our last number but we must ask for indul-

R.A., who were the ultimate winners, and were rather easily defeated by them. an”

The Mounted Police Sports were held on Heliopolis Race Course on April 3rd. We had several entries in the open events, and in these the chief success was gained by Sjt. Leuty who won the Scurry.

gencc in this respect on the plea of the rigours

of Command Manoeuvres.

V V

7

am:

2nd. Lieut. R.St.(}.B. Gore has just been gazetted to the Regiment. We hope to welcome him shortly in person.

We congratulate Major Dumbreck on again qualifying in the Staff College entrance examination.

>I<>l<*

School, Weedon, on July 7th.

we are still in the throes of barrack reconstruction. . . . The Sjts. and the Cpls. hope shortly to be back in their Messes. The Officers, who have resisted gamely up to date, expect to suffer a similar eviction before the departure of the Regiment.

According to the latest information the Regiment will sail from Port Suez on October

Back numbers of the ” Eagle ” can always be obtained on application to the Editor.

Congratulations to Lieut. on his promotion.

T .G.

Hardy

$*J.:

Lieut. l’.G. Heywood-Lonsdale started his duties as Instructor at the Equitation

3rd., On the “ Dorsetshire.” *rlwk

We congratulate Brig. Gen Makins, CB.

D80. and Major Parker—Leighton on their success at the recent General Election. $30!:

The following records of shade temperature will give some idea of the weather we have been enjoying :— 860:620 March April 9402700 May ...............103°:78°

Solutions and results of the Puzzle competitions in our last issue will be found at the end of this issue. ***

Gummed wrappers for sending the ”Eagle” home are obtainable from Squadron Offices. POStage to England, 1 Piastre. >z<=z<*

All matter for publication in our October number should reach the Editor not later than September 1st.

“A Part of our Empire” A well known writer has asked “ \Vhat is the value of the Empire to our friend, John Smith, the painter or plumber, who is often out of work, who argues that he and his master have not profited by the Empire but, on the contrary, pay taxes which they might not have been called upon to pay,

w 2 I

a» e

M

’sr

Regiment returning from Manoeuvres. Egypt 1929.

had not present and past Englishmen gone fooling round the world, meddling where

they were not wanted, taking what did not belong to them— 9” The writer then proceeds to point out the enormous economic and material advantages which we gain from our Empire, and the duties and moral obligations which its possession entails. Space does not permit that we should discuss so large a subject here but it is perhaps as well that the Dragoon who is so


8

THE EAGLE

shortly to undertake his duties in one of the most important of our overseas possessions,

should give this question some consideration, however brief.

In view of the fact that

people, especially those who have never left England, are sometimes curiously ignorant of this matter, some slight history of this

portion of our Empire may not be out of place. India may roughly be described as a great triangle two sides of which are washed by the sea, whilst the third is walled in by those giant mountains, the Himalayas. To many of us this is all it remains, and we the climate,

the

people and religion are much the throughout. This is far from the case. In the first place India was a country with any sort of unity,

possibly imagine that

same being never either

physical, social or religious.

The 319,000,000

people of India speak no one language, follow no one religion, and have no general public opinion. They are divided into many dif< ferent races, Dogras, Pathans and Sikhs, embracing several different religions, Hinduism, Mohammedanism and Sikh, and

speaking about 20 different languages. The detailed history of India starts from the time when Alexander the Great invaded India through Afghanistan in 327 B.C. After his withdrawal India was invaded by various Mohammedan conquerors whose em— pires rose and fell to each successive invader,

THE EAGLE

The beginning of British rule. in India dates from 1765 when Clive arrived in India as Governor of Bengal. From now on until 1824 British supremacy was only maintained

Pathan and Bengali are no more alike than

by a series of hard, but successful campaigns.

This was only accomplished by the East India Company continuing to maintain British Troops and also by raising Indian troops in addition. In 1857 a portion of their Indian troops

soldier ranks next to the priest at the top. Whenever and wherever we take the field

revolted and the. Indian Mutiny broke out.

The Mutiny was practically confined to the Old Bengal Army, then recruited from a class which is scarcely represented in the Army to-day. The Sikhs remained loyal, the Punjab sent reinforcements and the Gurkhas distinguished themselves fighting on our side. The story of the Siege and Relief of Lucknow is known to all, and to this day over the old ruins of the Residency, the Union Jack is flown day and night. This is to commemorate the bravery of British women and soldiers and loyal Indian Sepoys. The

the calling which a man should follow, the

in wartime British and Indian troops will certainly be fighting side by side, and unless mutual confidence exists good results cannot be expected. To-day the British Army in India, ably supported by the Indian Army and the Police, is protecting this vast Empire from outside aggression and interference and maintaining internal peace amongst the various races which inhabit it. “ The British Army in India.”— Ifor us, who are about to form part of it, it might be as well to reflect for a moment on what these words mean, what years Of tradition and honour they represent. As

we have seen, after centuries of invasion and conquest, of oppression and unrest, the Indian peoples have at length reached the haven of some form of stable government, have met from their latest invaders, for we can hardly be deemed less, with a form of

justice and equity, a great measure of consideration and fair dealing. Not to every man is given either the opportunity or the ability to become a Clive or a Warren Hastings but their heritage we have, the heritage of the prestige of the British soldier which even to-day is undiminished in India. Surely this heritage is no small a. prize, no The courage honour to be lightly worn. and self sacrifice, the determination and

endurance, which gained this vast territory for the Empire, have left in the East memories which will never fade. Perhaps our tour of duty in India may be but an eventless and a humble one but we repeat, is it not as well After to stop and think for an instant ? all,

” Spectemur

Agendo.”

only place in the Empire where the Union

Jack is not hauled down at sunset. After the Mutiny, the administration of India was handed over by the Company to the Crown and at the outbreak of war in 1914 India seized the opportunity of taking

her place as a recognised unit of the British Empire, Indian troops fighting in France, Salonika, Palestine, East Africa, Persia and

Iraq and materially contributing to the

‘ Acts of the British Parliament which is the

and defence of Arcot, and the battle of

account resemble either in birth, character,

and sealed the fate of French competition.

than an Englishman with a Jew pedlar, the In the great a Dutchman and a Cossack. determines largely so which caste of system

until one Babar founded the Moghul Empire which lasted, at any rate in name, until 1857, but the Empire then was split up into many different states. The Portuguese were the first people to trade with India and when Catharine of Braganza married Charles 1st of England, she gave him Bombay as a wedding gift. In 1600 an English Company was formed on a purely commercial basis to trade with India. In those days however it was neces— sary to fight in order to trade. The French and Portuguese were also endeavouring to trade, and thus very soon the Company was forced to maintain soldiers to protect their warehouses and trading stations. The siege Plassey in 1757 finally established the English

more in common with a bazaar shopkeeper,

9

success of the allied arms. y To—day India consists of “ British India’ of

15 provinces,

and about 700 Native

States. British India is governed by and in the name of his Majesty the King Emperor, and the various Governments and Legislatures Owe their existence and powers to

ultimate source of all authority in India. subject to certain The Native states, by their own ruled each are s, limitation Ruling Prince or chief. They also maintain small military forces known as Indian State Forces. The chief fighting classes of India on no or mode of living the barrack servants 01‘ residents in bazaars. The Gurkha has no

Obituary On the 27th March, 1929, there passed away at his residence, 7, Aldred Road, West Hampstead, after a short illness, one of the

best known and most popular of Old Royals in the person of Major ” Dusty " Parsons, a. former R.S.M. of the Regiment, who suc— ceeded ”Billy ” Finn in that capacity in january 1893. The funeral at Fortune Green Road Cemetery, Hampstead, on 30th March was

attended by Captain L. R. Plumb

and

Messrs. W. A. Francis, J. II. Brooks and

J.ll. Booth—old “ Royals ”-and a number of his friends. A wreath was sent from the members of the Royal Dragoons Comrades’ Club. The coffin plate bore the simple inscrip—

the last, he was proud of the Regiment and its associations and was never happier than when he could foregather with comrades of former days and talk of old times. On such occasions he was wont to reply to those who addreSsed him as “ Major,” “ Why ‘ Major ’? what's the matter with ‘ Dusty ”’ ? News of the passing of this fine old soldier will be received with great regret by those who were privilegd to know him, and Royals everywhere extend the sincerest sympathy to his widow and family in their great loss.

Record of Service of Major C. W. Parsons.

tione~Charlcs William Parsons, Died 27th

March, 1929, Aged 70 years. It is difficult to put into words how greatly he will be missed by the very large circle of friends who valued his fellowship. Modest and unassuming, yet smart and upright to

1st Royal Dragoons, November 1875 to September 1901. 3rd County of London Yeomanry, October 1901 to May 1916.


THE EAGLE

Medals. South Africa (7 bars), King George’s Coronation. 1914—15 Star, Meritorious Service. British War Medal, Territorial Decoration.

Allied Victory Medal.

Old Comrades’ Notes Beyond our more or less usual functions there is little to record. In April we held our monthly Dance and \Yhist Drive. The latter functions are becoming quite a popular item for our more elderly members and friends, who begin to find dancing somewhat too strenuous! The little “ gambles ” for boxes of chocolates have also “caught on” and this diversion rapidly passes the interval away. The Annual Ceremony of the Combined Cavalry O.C.A’s of laying a wreath upon the Cavalry \Var Memorial in Hyde Park was very successfully organised. I hesitate to say how many eX—cavalrymen were on parade but certainly many thousands. Huge crowds too, were in attendance and these were able to hear every word of the Service via the media of the microphone and Loud Speakers installed for the ceremony. The Royals had a good muster and about 100 paraded, amongst whom were several of our officers. It is regretted that I was unable to obtain a really satisfactory photograph for reproduction in the “ Eagle.” Our final Dance and Whist Drive of the season 1928—29 was held at \Vestminster on May 11th., when as usual, a really enjoyable evening was spent. The following

morning Sunday May 12th. the Club’s Annual Ceremony of laying a wreath upon the Cenotaph took place. It wasavery wet morning, but it was gratifying to see over 70 Old Comrades mustered in spite of heavy rain to pay tribute to their fallen comrades. 'l‘he Wreath, supplied by the British Legion Poppy Factory—took the form of the Regimental Crest and was remarkably well executed. Inscribed thereon, on a card in the centre was :— Thz‘s wreath was laid here by the members of The Royal Dragoons Comrades Club in memory of their Corrzmdes who fell m the Great War on this the eve of the fourteenth anniversary of a day of great losses. ” Hail Brother and Farewell.” This month, June, will witness 21 Cricket Match between Old Royals and the Stanhope Institute on the ground of the latter at Burnt Oak, Edgware, by kind invitation of Samuel Lithgow Esq. OBIS. Tea is being provided from the funds of our Club to all

of our members who like to attend. Apropos of this Cricket Match, it is hoped that this may be the forerunner of many others, as already invitations have been

received to play other teams probably on Saturday or Sunday afternoon. It is hoped that readers of this will take the opportunity

Francis; L/Cpl. Wilson; 'l'ptr. Thomas; L/Sjt. Wood ; Tpr. Creask ; Tpr. Long. Tpr. Kilns-r; Tpr. Crook; Tpr. Jones.

17th Battn. London Regt., Capt. (Hon Major) in Command of Depot June 1916 to 19th April 1920.

Home, November 1915 to 19th April 1920.

Cpl. Lewis; Major C. Swire : Lieut. Cooper; S.S.M. Davidson.

Yeonianry, Regtl. Sergt. 1901, Lieut. and QM. Capt. and QM. October QM. March 1909.

[Front Row ;

3rd Co. of London Major October September 1903, 1903, Major and

Present War :——— Home, 4th August 1924 to March 1915. Egypt, April 1915 to July 1915. Gallipoli, August 1915 to October 1915.

ROYALS BOXING TEANI

lst Royal Dragoons, Regtl. Sergt. Major January 1893.

Boy Parkin: Tpr. Allen.

Ranks Held.

'l‘j:tr. Curtiss:

South African War., October 1899 to Sept1901.

Top Row ;

War Service.

T pr. Marston ; L/Cpl.

17th Battn. London Regt., June 1916 to

19th April 1920.

2nd Row :

IO


THE EAGLE

12

THE EAGLE of sending their names to me so that a. number of players are available to select from to form a good team. Now then you younger “ Old Royals ” leaving, litre is. an opportunity to keep fit and keep in touch. It is also hoped that should the Cricket team idea “ catch on” and providing that we can get some young players to participate, there should be a prospect of a Football team as well. A long time before these lines appear in print, another Annual Outing will be a thing of joyous memory only. This year, four coaches—sufficient for 1‘20 passengers —have been hired for a trip to SheernessonSea. We are hoping that a fine day will be our good fortune. I learn that our old friend Mc‘Douall— sometime Band Serjeant of the Regiment and later with the

5th

Dragoon

Guards,

is now Bandmaster of the Sultan of Zanzi— bar’s Band. I’m sure we all wish him good health and good fortune. (Should you read this Mac, a line to the Editor will, I’m sure,

be very acceptable). Congratulations to General E. Makins on being re—elected member of Parliament for the Knutsford Division of Cheshire and

elected for the Oswestry Division. Sympathy —or should it be congratulations .L—gOes out to Mr. A. Hopkinson, who after representing Rusholme for so many years as an “ Independent ” was, this year, defeated at the polls. I’m afraid the ” Royals” party are sadly weakened by his defeat and hopes of increased pensions for Old Royals only are now even more slight than they were prior to the Election 1 All Royals, past and present, will grieve at the passing of that. splendid Old Royal~ Major (Dusty) Parsons, who died very suddenly just before Easter. I also have to record with much regret that Bandsman Mott (sometime Corporal in the Royals Band) of the Life Guards passed away under very tragic circumstances while the Band was on an engagement in the \Vest of England. I understand the deceased leaves a wife and three children,

and pending action by the Pensions Ministry help is being given to the widow from the funds of the Life Guards and our own Aid Society. Your old friend and Comrade,

R. A. Ractliffe

“Going to the Dogs” To those of our readers who are unacquainted with Egypt and its possibilities i: may occasion some suprise to learn that we in Cairo are not entirely lacking in opportunia ties to indulge in even the very highest forms of sport Not the least among the many and varied attractions that are offered to the visitor to this country may be numbered the. Greyhound Racing, which takes place on some three nights a week in the delightful suburb of Zamalek. Possibly even in the ranks of our residents there may still be some deluded individual who has yet to experience the delights of this full—blooded sport, which its devotees acclaim as the prince. of outdoor pastimes. In any case we feel sure that some short description of this noble entertainment

13

also to Major Parker Leighton on being

can hardly come amiss either to these or to our readers at home. In Cairo, no less than in London, finance

is paramount. Whether it be in supplying the hard—worked troop—horse with the extra handful of ”drieS” which will add that spirited dash to his movements for which he is so justly renowned, or whether it be in finding the necessary piastres for that extra packet of Gold Flake wherewith t0 solace the weary soldier in his limited hours of leisure, the economic factor assumes large proportions. At Zamalek no Opportunity is lost to provide a seductive combination of profit and pleasure. The earnest student of form, armed with the latest information,

Field Marshal’s

to none and of these by process of elimina-

baton in his knap—sack, surely today, in Egypt, he should secrete a “Grey-hound Racing up to date " in his gas—mask, To the habitue, the world of the dog at

tion we decide to look at two, ” Spinach”

every soldier carried a

Zamalek posesses a fascination all its own, while the novice will find that the first prospect almost beggars description. There, in the cool of the summer night, surrounded

by the rank and fashion of Cairo, where youth and beauty rub shoulders with astute age and shrewd wit, where l’aquin’s latest creation brushes the galabieh, where the

gent’s natty velour vies with the'tarbush, surely there may be found all the Romance of the East, all the luxury of the West. And then, when the lights are lowered and

the track stands out vividly green under the glare of the arc lamps, then comes the supre— me moment, the very acme Of excitement, fostered by the knowledge that in a mere trice we may be richer or poorer by as much as twenty piastresl Unlike the painter in the play, the immaculate squalor of whose velveteen attire is a never failing source of wonder and delight, the spotless white coats of the attendants, complete in their bowler hats, couple an air of quiet dignity to the proceedings, sufficient in itself to subdue any ribald tendencies on the part of those who have dined not wisely but too well. Tenderly the attendants encase each quivering hound in his little cubicle, silently

they close the doors and with a musical hum the great hare starts on its tireless journey round the arena. The traps fly up, the dogs leap into their mad chase, and in a flash they are round and the race is over, while the dull roar of conversation sweeps out again, broken only by shrill jubilations of

the winners or the deep—throated curses of thOSe who have lost. But let us accompany one of our prominent owners to the dogs. On arrival we find that we. have. missed the first eight races but there are still two to be run and undeterred by such small details we hasten to the paddock to glean lirom sundry

may return from his excursion a merrier

what information we can.

but a richer man, and if in Napoleon’s era

and knowing advisors we gather that out Of the six runners, four have chances second

and “ Le Roi Soleil.” Our fair companion however, adhering to the principle that no horse with a bad name ever won the Derby, expresses a predilection for a dog whose nomenclature is unconnected with food and the unbeatable ” Spinach ” is therefore ruled out. On inspection the kingly one proves to be a greyhound of subdued aspect and mournful appearance, to the uninitiated eye, somewhat sparsely covered. We are assured however that the seeming lassitude masks an ardent spirit,—”A very ’onest little dawg, Sir”#and that thOSe slight

bony protuberances are but proof of the fineness of his training. Accordingly with not a little trepidation we invest our hard earned piastres on “ Le Roi Soleil” and repair to watch the Homeric struggle. The miserable hound, after one contem-

ptuous glance at the passing quarry, takes but little further interest in the proceedings and after cantering sedately round, finishes an inglorious last ! The unbeatable “ Spinach” fares only slightly better as after starting with the greatest dash he stops to

bicker with ” Mutton Cutlet ”, which passing altercation undoubtedly loses him the race.

This little incident while confirming our companion’s suspicions as to “ names ” hardly supports the contention that the two delectable comestibles in question invariably agree. The actual winner proves to be ” What a hope,” a dog in regard to whose chances our informants were singularly reticent. As we now find that he started a raging hot favourite we cannot help feeling that we have either been purposely misled or else that this judgement on which we relied so confidently was not altogether sound. Although no whit depressed by these little vagaries of fortune we nevertheless feel in need of some slight sustenance and a general move is therefore made in the direction of the refreshments. For those who take an intelligent interest in their food, the. fullness of gastronomic delight may be enjoyed at the little tables so snugly sited hard by the paddock itself. There may the gourmet give full vent. [0 his tastes. supning to the strains of the


EAGLE

14

THE EAGLE

orchestra mingled with the mellow baying of greyhounds straining at the leash. For those who prefer other but not less active pursuits, there is a floor which can hardly be described, whereon all and sundry may shake a foot with unrivalled abandon. So much indeed is this appreciated, that many of those who come to watch remain to play. And there let us leave our little party. Doubtless they will have many and tender memories with which to greet the rising sun on the Rangcs the following, or

should we say the same morning. And mellowed by good Ainstel Beer and fortified by the recollection of a. night wellspent.

will their eye be any less keen. will their aim be any less steady 3' (We would remind. our run/rt: that we can adopt 11:) rest/)onssz'lz’ti' for [/13 'zr'l'c‘rus 0,." our L‘Oizfm'lmfors, csfm‘fo/[y [12 regard to the equipment profit/311* a. soldier, nor mu m (Iltogei/zw’ I'ct'onmzirnd f/Ir', cozu'si’ (ZeSCVHMi' abate. as one oft/11’ " Aids to get d fii’Ol"177'l'Ié?._“ Ed

Notes on India We have recently been informed that we shall probably embark for India on October 3rd. from Suez on the SS. Dorsetshirc which brings out the 13/1Sth. Hussars from Shorncliffe to relieve us here. Our destination is Secunderabad (our official address being Trimulgherry, Deccan) where we succeed the 9th. Lancers who in their turn proceed to Sialcot. Our last and only previous tour of duty in India ended in 1911 when we left Muttra in the United Provinces for South Africa 18 years ago. Of those who were serving then there are only three officers left, the Colonel, Major Fitzgerald and the Quartermaster, and other ranks R.S.M. 1i].

Mander, 8.8.31. Bowles and Tpr. Dawes. Our readers may like to know something about the new station but we can tell them very little and that only from Odd bits of information gleaned here and there.

seldom falls below 800 real cold weather.

and there is no

Quarters. These are said to be good. lilectric light has been installed. Barracks are scattered which means long distances. Secundrabad itself is 6 miles away. Sport. Duck shooting can be obtained in the winter but it is not Very good. There is plenty of big game shooting in the neigh— bourhood but to enjoy this properly takes some arranging. Panthers have frequently been shot in the vicinity of barracks. Native servants, etc.

These are very numerous. They include a Butler or body servant, Bhet-stie or water carrier, Dhobie or washerman. Syces each of whom grooms one horse only, t‘howkidar

Topography and Climate. or watchmanr—usually a thief but necessary Secunderabad lies in the South of India midway between Bombay and Madras and is situated in the Native state of Hyderabad which is the largest in India. The journey from Bombay takes some 20 hours. The station lies in fairly high country about 2000 feet above the sea. There is not much cultivation but it is well ” tree’d.” The soil is rocky and covered with rough grass. The temperature is 1110derate. It is never very hot but at midday

to scare other thieves away, l’rion or mes»senger. Each man has his own job and it is

against his caste to do any other The local language is Tamil but the servant classes usually speak linglish. Hill Slair'ons. Married families

go

make?

Thought

you

were

such

a

wonderful cricketer.” my 211d. Dragoon: ” Well I ought to be, 20 for Oval the at dad was groundsman

to \\'cllington in

the summer. There is also ()otzicamund in the Nilghirri Hills, a delightful spot with a

climate like Devonshire.

OVERHEARD AT A CRICKET MATCH. IstDmgoou (to 2nd. Dragoon rc‘é‘m’mug .What unsuccessfully from, the modest.) to gomg were you runs these all about

’ears.” that? lsty. Dmg001i‘.“\Vell, what of

‘ My

but I father kept pigeons for 40 years, can’t fly !


THE BAG LE

THE EAGLE

E\E.R\ DEW Tfipis -‘Mw- WW

ANNUAL REGIMENTAL DINNER. At the Annual Regimental Dinner held at the Cafe Royal, Regent Street, on June 3rd.

the following telegram was sent to The Colonel—irrChief, His Majesty the King. To the Egzterry in Waiting, Windsor Castle. The Past and serving officers of The Royals assembled for their annual Regimen— tal Dinner at the Cafe Royal, Regent Street,

I7

The following telegrams were received :— To Major General Sir J. Burn Murdoch, Royal Dragoons. l have received with much pleasure the message from the past and serving officers of the Royal Dragoons assembled at their Regimental Dinner and I thank them warmly for their Birthday wishes and for drinking the health of their Colonel-in - Chief. George R 1.

drink the health of their Colonel~in—Chief,

His Majesty the

King.

They are very

thankful for his recovery from his recent

severe illness. They wish him, Many happy returns of the day.

Chairman, Royals Regimental Dinner, Cafe Royal, Serving Royals hope you all have a very happy evening and wish they were with you.

J. F. Burn Murdoch,

Colonel, The Royals.

QUERIES

Abbassia.

Individual Training Now that we are in the midst of that too x well known phrase ‘indiiiidual training” per/zaps the following, taken from an ancient manuscript in the author's possession may be of help to those who find themselves being trained as individuals. I’llith many apologies to Major General D’Ordel from whose famous work of individual training I am quoting.

Open Ground z—Ground which is open. Taste :—The exact and unvarying amount of work which will be done by one or more men in a definite period of time under any circumstances. Unit :—Any number of troops exceeding one. Woods :—Are often places so covered by trees that tr00ps cannot see them.

Definitions . Tactics .

Alignment :—The line in which troops are formed. (see line) Change of position :—A movement by which one or more soldiers, or guns, or wagons,

or any other person or thing, move so as to change their position. Defile z—Any passage or pass which narrows the front of troops. It may be a marsh or ravine, or street, Or alley, or door, or area gate.

O'S'M'

"Is

that

(And we woudcv‘

flu. . l‘?

we? h medal

ru‘l' jvu‘l‘i'ces

. ribbons

are

‘4ch

an? H . “PM,”

\ downl/'

Front :—The direction of the enemy, real or supposed. The real direction of the enemy should approximately coincide with his supposed direction. High Hills I—Are hills which are higher than mounds, but not so high as mountains. Line :—The alignment of troops. (see align— ment)

1. It should be carefully remembered that the object of most military operations in the field is to defeat or at least inflict injury On the enemy. ' 2. Generally speaking an engagement between two hostile forces, whether great

or small, begins either by one side in motion attacking the other while stationary, or

by the collision Of both sides when in movement.

The exceptional case of troops meeting when both hostile forces are stationary will be found fully dealt with on page 30. 3. The point or spot in the enemy's line or position at which it is easiest to inflict the most serious injury is often, if not usually, his weakest point or spot.


18

Tina EAGLE

4. When there is no great difference in the opposing forces, except in respect of numbers, a commander in deciding whether to attack or defend, will bear in mind the question

of numbers. 5. Where there is no great difference, except in arms, a commander will remember the question of arms. If, for example the enemy be unarmed a commander would be well advised in attacking him, unless, indeed, he can provoke the enemy to attack

him. 6. If a commander intends to attack a position, he should generally not omit to select a time and a place for his attack; these are both important considerations in an attack on a position. '7. The tactics to be adopted in defence, or in attack, must to a certain extent, depend

upon the nature of the ground, and upon the numbers and nature of the forces at the disposal of the commander and of the enemy. For example, the tactics adopted by a single private soldier operating against an army corps in virgin forest, will not be the same as those of a commander of an army corps operating against a G. S. wagon in the open. The Arms and their Uses.

Infantry. Infantry are combatants who are not mounted on horses, tanks, dragons, or other

animals and who are not directly in charge of guns. They are however often armed with rifles. In the absence of dragons or other animals their mobility is derived from their haunches. They are employed in fighting the enemy sometimes in attack, sometimes in defence.

The Commander must remember that the infantry have nothing to fear from a single Cavalryman, dragon or gunner, and that if he keeps his head he will have them at a decided disadvantage,. Cavalry. Cavalry are combatants mounted on horses (in time of war) and armoured cars, and are

armed with maces, shovels 0r swords. The lances employed by the cavalry during the best period of French Empire are now

THE EAGLE

no longer in use. The only use of cavalry in mobile warfare is that of charging the enemy and subsequently harassing their retreat. It is not advisable to adopt the modern plan employed with such signal failure by some foreign generals of wasting the cavalry by breaking them up into ridiculously small units for the purpose of observing the enemy’s movements— a purpose which can be so much more easily done by the Commander and his staff, trained as they are to realize the meaning and import of such movements as they may see. The Commander should remember that the cavalry have nothing to fear from a single infantryman, dragon or gunner, and that if he keeps his head he will have them at a decided disadvantage.

practical topography as it was taught by Julius Caesar, and as I am glad to say still largely practised.

The only articles needed, are a sharp pencil, a clean or moderately clean piece of paper, and a keen eye, one that has had a

good night‘s rest preferred. With these anybody should always be able to give a simple and full sketch of the ground.

The actual sketch may be made to vary with the nature and character of the ground sketched, but I do not think anyone could do

better than to take the accompanying sketch

Artillery.

Artillery are combatants directly in charge of guns. Garrison and heavy artillery should never leave their appointed places in fortresses, and must on no account be put to so undi— gnified a use as to be drawn about the country, very slowly, to oppose field guns inferior to them in range. Field artillery is employed for silencing the field artillery of the enemy, and until this has been done it should never shoot at infantry or cavalry. The Commander should remember that the gunner has nothing to fear from a single infantryman, cavalryman or tank, and

that if he keeps his head he will have them at a decided disadvantage. The Vickers Maxim. A gun employed by many, because it is supposed to shoot faster than anybody else. It is worked by machinery, and consequently called a machine gun. it will often fire itself, and so should always be used in the forefront of battle. Topography.

It is of the utmost importance that every man should have a knowledge of map making. He should not be fettered by abstruse mathematical calculations, nor should

he

waste his valuable time in learning the use of complicated instruments. He should learn

MOUNTFHNS

19

as a standard form of map to be used on all occasions. It is a road map I made for my Commanding Officer during the Fenian Riots in Ireland; and I well recollect many years after highly commending a subaltern who had copied it, when map making at Aldershot ; while I had to severely censure another

young officer who had produced a totally unintelligible map of the same place with the help of some instrument, which I think he called a Mercator’s Projection, or it may have been a protractor compass. Cavalier.


THE EAGLE THE EAG LE

Sergeants’ Mess Notes Now that our sojourn in the Land of the Pharaohs is practically finished the renova— tion of our old home is nearly completed. Our temporary home has been the scene of many enjoyable evenings, for owing to its dimensions we have been drawn closer together, and no doubt our neighbours have often wondered at the meaning of the shouts of “ Spade and a Die,” etc. The game of Euchre seems to have got a good grip on our card playing fraternity, the chief exponent being the R.S.M., who appears to have many sleepless nights. He assures us he cannot sleep if he doesn’t pay. We must, however, congratulate him on the excellent way he entertained us under the most trying conditions on manoeuvres at El Shurafa, to say nothing of the encore at Helwan. During March we had a very enjoyable trip to the Pyramids by moonlight, (Gents only.) We took the necessary refreshment with us and had a sumptuous repast ’neath the shadows of the Great Pyramid. The effect of the moon rising over the Sphinx no doubt upset some of us, for their adventures after leaving the vicinity still remain a mystery.

On Whit Monday the Mess, complete with ladies, paid a visit to the Barrage, “ a miniature Kew Gardens situated in the Nile.” The buses paraded at the Orderly Room at 9.30 am. and after being duly inspected and the markers told off the R.S.M. nobly marshalled us to our places and SH “ he failed to hand the parade state to the Adjutant” who appeared on the Orderly Room Verandah. We eventually arrived at the verdant pastures of the Barra— ge. Echelon “ A “ under the command of ” Pick " and the Brewers’ agent had preceded us and chosen the site where we were to imbibe and indulge in those sports and pastimes one usually associates with Bank Holiday outings. The Ladies nobly responded to the call and the cricket match, Ladies v. Gents,

was an overwhelming success.

The way

the ladies moved was suprising, in fact I understand that one Firm of Ladies Outfit-

ters is still worrying us for the sole rights of using the snapshots as an advert for their silk st0ckings. As may be expected the ladies secured an easy victory, Miss Beryl Cripps being the best “ Batsman” for the ladies, scoring a 19 all round the wicket. The collapse of the Gents wickets was brought about by the googly bowling of Mrs. Mander. The Three Legged Race was worthy of Stamford Bridge, and taking into consideration the heavy going the times recorded were astounding. \Ve heartily congratulate the Heavy Brigade (S.Q.M.S. Clifford and Mrs. Plumbley) on winning the event. The Serjts. Mess Race was also a victory

for

the

Heavies,

S.S.M.

Bowles

being the winner with the R.S.M. a good second. The catering arrangements were perfect and the efforts of the hard worked committee were fully appreciated. We arrived back to Abbassia a tired but happy throng and everybody voted the day the Best Ever. Other successes in mounted sports have been obtained. S.S.M. (R.I.) Taylor, 8.8. M. Boag, S.Q.M.S. Clifford and Sjt. Forsyth formed a section in the Tent Pegging Competition open to all British Troops in Egypt at the Egyptian Army Sports and took the first prize, silver medals and a handsome cup which has been added to the Mess plate. The Five Furlong Sjts. Mess Open Scurry at the M.M. P. Sports (one of the big events of the year) was won by Sjt. Leuty. His jockeyship left nothing to be desired. At the Canal Brigade Horse Show at Moascar Sjt. Conduit won the Open Jumping Competition, putting up a very fine show against many competitors. Congratulations All. In the field of cricket we are doing much better than last year, and have got through the first round of the Sjts. Mess knock out competition having beaten the R.E’s by 10 wickets. The R.E’s score of 68 was easily passed by our opening batsmen (Sjts. F0ster and Pamplin.) The RE’s low score was due to the deadly bowling of S.S.M. Bowles and Sjt. Yardley.

_’,_,4.1

._.

‘flgrwne We have yet to suffer defeat in our Friendly matches. Our Tennis is improving and although our path to the final is not so rosy as we should like it, we have at

least run our

opponents much closer than we did last year.

Sjt. Riley has rejoined us from the Machine Gun School, Netheravon, and as forcasted

in the previous notes he obtained a Distinguished Certificate.

Z ,IS/TUVdfd

/9—2-9_

We congratulate S.S.M. (LF. & G.) Davidson, S.Q.M.S. Pickersgill, Farr. Sjt. Dempster and Sjt. Wilson on promotion to their present rank, and welcome L/Sjt. Wood on his appointment. These notes cannot close without reference to the sad loss to S.Q.M.S. and Mrs. Clifford whose little son died at the Military Families Hospital on 5th. May, from Heat stroke. They have the deepest sympathy of the whole Mess.

Corporals’ Mess Notes Since the last publication of the “ Eagle ” we have received several dates as to the probable time when we shall be housed

in our own Mess, but up to the present we On Whit Monday are still in lodgings. ded on a trip to procee rs 44 of our membe the Nile Barrage where a most enjoyable day was spent.

We were entertained on the

boat by a very good Jazz Orchestra and the return journey afforded us plenty of time for dancing. Most of the time at the Barrage

was spent in sightseeing and we also had a donkey race, Cpl. Lewis winning by a short leg. , We extend our best wishes to our members and to Cpls. Hart and Holt on their promotions, hoping it is only one of many. It is with deepest regret that we have recently heard of the sudden death of one of our old members, Cpl. Ronnie Mott.

to his wife We offer our deepest sympathy


THE EAGLE

THE EAGLE

22

and children. He was well liked by all that knew him in the. Regiment. \Ve hope that by the time these notes appear in print our Mess will be ready and

we shall start entertaining again, and we hope to take up more space in the next edition of the “ Eagle.” W.G.

L/Cpl. Wilson. L/Cpl. Carr. Tpr. Davis. Tpr. Kaye. Tpr. Lodge.

' L/Cpl. Sturrock. Tpr. Sullivan Tpr. Sanderson. Tpr. Hunter.

From these names the committee were able to select teams 8: individuals, to represent

the Squadron in the Regimental meeting, the results of which are recorded on another page of this journal. It will be noticed that ” A ” Squadron were very well represented. We congratulate L/Cpl. Foster & L/Cpl. Hinchcliffe on their very clever Hurdling. The Squadron Cricket Team commenced

the season by winning the first match against ”B” Squadron.

ammué”

fl «my»

um"

Jock

Siqfls

on for India,

The second match was

against ”MG. ” Squadron, and we were The members of the Squadron beaten. Team are allowed to use the Regimental practice nets every Tuesday during the evening Stable hour; this little encouragement should help to improve the batting. We take this opportunity of welcoming Mr. EF. Gosling to the Squadron. He has taken over the cricket of the Squadron and has been successful in arranging friendly matches for the Squadron Team on another Team's ground The Inter—Troop Cricket Competition is again put off owing to the limited ground allotment. On the 15th. of May a party from the Squadron visited the Cairo Zoo, and had a good look round. Other places of interest

Squadron Notes

will be visited during the summer. Every Wednesday morning since the 20th. March a Section Competition has been arran— ged and points have been awarded towards

the Inter—Section Shield Competition. “A” SQUADRON NOTES.

The Squadron Dismounted Sports were better attended this year. Fourteen events open to all Ranks within the Squadron were crowded out. Two or more heats were drawn for all events except the three miles. The sack race was delayed owing to the great demand for empty forage sacks. There was quite a scurry in one Troop forage barn as a keen competitor was caught emptying the

Troop Serjeant’s “ Jew Sack”.

The Inter-Troop relay race & Tug—of—War were great struggles and produced much excitement. The 3rd. Troop were the winners of the relay race. The lst. Troop winners of the Tug—of—War. The most successful winners & runners up in the individual events were :— L/Cpl. Foster. L/Cpl. Francis. L/Cpl. Wright. Cpl. Cree. Tpr. Redlcy. Tpr. Davies. Tpr. Burchcll. Tpr. Taylor 87. Tpr. Pettit. Tpr. Butcher.

SO

far no mounted events have been arranged.

The Horses are enjoying a well earned rest, after serving us so well during the Training Season and Manoeuvres. Up to the end of May the Competitions arranged have included, Running, Swimming, Diving, shooting on the long ranges

and 30 yards range . The number of points gained by each Section up to the end of May is as follows :—

No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. (16) ,, We congratulate Sjt. Conduit on his winning the ” Open to Egypt ” Jumping at Moascar on the 19th. of April. A success which he well deserved and a fitting reward for his great patience and determination. We also congratulate L/Cpl. Wright T. on his swimming success. He was second in the ” Open to Egypt ” '75 yds. event held at the Heliopolis swimming Baths. Preliminary Musketry Training commenced on the 23rd. of May and will continue throughout June, terminating with the annu— al classification early in July. Then off to the Change of Air Camp at Alexandria by the sea. THAT Ric/mm ML A I M W


THE EAGLE TH E EAGLE ‘ ‘B” SQUADRON NOTES.

An Inter—Section competition, much on the same lines as “ A ” Squadron, has been

The past quarter has been very unevent— ful, and provides us very little material for our notes, beginning as it did at the close. of manoeuvres. Our activities in sporting circles have been confined to the winding up of the Football and Hockey seasons and the opening of the Cricket season. In football we finished the Inter—Squadron competition holding second place, which, though perhaps not exactly the position one would choose is nevertheless quite creditable. We also claimed the same position in the Hockey table, but sad to relate, at cricket

we have still to record our first victory. However the season is still young and with the talent we have at our disposal we can afford to be optimistic. The Squadron dismounted sports were held on April 3rd, and though perhaps not very well attended, some good performances

were recorded, L/Cpl. Rogers being awarded the special prize for individual efforts with an aggregate of 15 points. A most enjoyable day was spent on Monday, June 3rd, when we had a Joust

against ” A ” Squadron of the 10th. Hussars. This consisted of Shooting, Dummy ThrusJumpinc,

Section

Tent

Pegging,

Swimming, Tug—Of—W'ar and Billiards. Contrary to our expectations we had to award the Palm to our friends the 10th. We tied with them in the Shooting, 3rd. in Dummy Thrusting, 2nd in Jumping, and lost the Tent Pegging and Swimming, but won the Tug—of— War and Billiards. During the past three months trips have been arranged on most Wednesdays to the chief local

places

of interest,

and

were

much enjoyed by the people taking part. Amongst the places visited can be numbered, The Barrage, ZOO, Museum, and the chief

Mosques of Cairo and the famous Citadel. The Squadron Annual Musketry Course has been concluded with the exception of a few casuals, and though exact figures are not available owing to the aforesaid casuals, the results show a most marked improvement on last year.

THOSE

LIGHTS OUT

some. of their acquaintances Of last year.

So far we have made few preparations for leaving this delectable land for the coral strand of Biblical fame, but by the time copy is submitted for our next issue we hope all the attendant winds of changing stations will have blown themselves out. During this clOse and (tranquil) season,

the senior l\'.t‘.0’s of the Squadron are being taught and exercised in the gentle art of thrusting the dummy, etc., much to

the disgust of their long suffering steeds, and the amusement of their companions in distress, the riding school recruits. The number of horse inspections we have had of late, by divers people, in spite of many more spectacular attractions, is con—

CERTAm

ch-o-a

0F A

czR-mm

SQUADRON

m

TimR

SPARE TlME. of bedding is in any way due to the present epidemic amongst sparrows of nest building. Several of our old friends have left us for civilian life and we wish them all the luck, and hope to hear from them from time to time. The annual turn—over also took place

during the last quarter. This meant losing many of the old hands of the Squadron to “ MG,” etc., and we hope to see them do

well in their new Squadrons. To all who have joined us through the medium of the turn—over, we extend a hearty welcome and trust they will find life with us very happy.

crete proof of the constancy of the British soldier to his fancy, and how sadly he takes his pleasure, and as it appears to be a national trait we pass no comments on his taste.

ting,

a PUT

inaugurated, and the shoot took place a short while ago; other phases of this compe— tition will be gone through from time to time as Opportunities arise. At the moment a batch of the Squadron are enjoying their well—earned ? rest at the Change of Air Camp, where we hope they are having a most enjoyable time, renewing

Before closing the subject of horses, we here and now refute the statement, that a kitten was seen mauling and dragging one of the right half Squadron all over the stable; it is pure invention, and we are given to unders— tand that it was the kittcn’s mother that was the culprit. This of course puts an entirely different complexion on the matter, because as we all know this particular cat is a very powerful animal, and evidently was foraging for its young at the time. Howe-

"M.G.” Squadron Notes Now that the arduous period of training has come to an end we are anxiously awaiting our turn to be called to the golden sands of Alexandria, where for a fortnight we shall

was done; still it is an object lesson, not to

indulge in the sports and pastimes, otherwise known only to the patrons of Messrs. Cook and Co. (taking for granted of course that the Quarter Bloke plays the game) and endeavour to forget for a time the ” Fourteen Sequences” and that never failing plaint “ Don’t forget to remnnber.” We must not however allow our thoughts to run too far ahead but look back and try to give you a brief resume of our activities in various spheres since our last notes appeared. We proceeded to El Shurafa for the

believe all we hear.

manoeuvres and stood the test creditably.

ver, we believe the cat found some little

difficulty in dragging the horse under the forage barn door and the stable guard (having finished splitting the mealies for the midday feed) arrived on the scene and drove the marauder off. The horse apart from fright was unharmed, so little harm

What an absurd notion, that the shortage

Our young Pack Leaders are to be congraulated on not having a Pack fall out during

the whole period. One wonders if the people who never tire of writing of the romance and glamour of the desert, ever

experienced a day in bivouae at E1 Shurafa and enjoyed the fare as produced by our cooks in the sand storm. The soup was originally clear but on reaching the festive board was found to be thick but not with the ingredients one usually attributes to thick sOup. However, we returned to barracks looking remarkably fit and well, and the chin strap marks have not faded yet. On the Easter and Whitsun holidays the Squadron proceeded to the Barrage by Nile steamer, and a very enjoyable time was spent. The Easter party comprised the Second year gunners under the fatherly wing of the Serjt. Major. The second, or Whitsun party was entirely made up of First year


26

THE EAGLE

gunners and their comfort was in the capable hands of Serit Riley.

Cricket is in full swing and our path to the Inter-Squadron Cup is still open. We opened the season with a match with “ The Wing ” who were lucky enough to escape defeat by making a drawn game, we therefore shared the points. We defeated " A ” Squadron thanks to the display of Captain Joy but the whole team is to be congratula— ted on their excellent team work. In the first round of the Small Units Cup we were drawn against the 3rd. A.C. Company and were rather unlucky to lose by the small margin of six runs. In the Squadron Inter—Troop Tennis match the lst. Troop proved their superiority over the 2nd, but in all fairness to the Second

Troop they were without the services of the “ Quarter Bloke,” whose twight would cer— tainly have told. We offer our congratulations to L/Cpls. Adderley, Hancock, Freer and Shelton and

to Farr. Serjt. Dempster on their recent promotion and sincerely trust that at some future date we shall have the pleasure of repeating the same. One wonders on going through the barrack rooms at divers times

THE EAGLE

if it really is a Blob Stick that is being polished so labouriously, or the proverbial Baton. Mr. Cooper who recently joined us from ” ’ ” Squadron has proceeded home to attend a course at the Machine Gun School and we hope that he gets the highest certi— ficate, which incidently is the lowest we can

pOssibly accept. We congratulate Scrjt. Riley on having gained the customary “ l) ” and welcome him back to the fold. By the time these notes appear in print we shall be in the throes Of preparation and looking forward to the ”very pleasant,” Inc, “ Life on a Troop Ship ” with its never

failing source of inconveniences. We trust that the “Dorsetshire ” does not carry a Menu Writing \Vag as did our old friend the “ Neuralia.”

We understand that the voya-

ge is going to be very interesting, for several companies have been floated and competi— tion is rife as to who will run the mileage sweep, and “ Housey, housey ” combine. Everyone has promised to ‘ put a bit away as soon as I come back off leave” to help swell the coffers of the ” get rich quick fraternity ”. “ O‘1

“Flutters from the Wing” Once again Mr Editor is pressing me for copy, therefore I suppose I must, in duty bound, narrate to the reader as faithfully

as I can the events of the past quarter. Since my last notes were written the Annual Tum-over has taken place and so we have lost a number of old friends who have returned to duty squadrons and in exchange have received a number of new friends. These latter have soon settled down to their new work and are showing great promise of becoming as proficient as their predecessors. Others we have lost and to whom we extend our best wishes for their success in their new surroundings are Tpr. Freeman, in whom we miss one of our best footballers,

Tprs. Christie and Baxter, who have ventured to transfer to an Infantry

Battalion,

The

Lancashire Fusiliers, and Tpr. Harris who has returned to civilian life. we have to welcome to our ranks Tpr. Lewis who has joined us from the 2nd. Bde. R.H.A., and L/Cpl. Dow who has rejoined us from the Scots Greys after being on the sick list for some time past. Our hearty congratulations are Offered to Sqn. SM. Davidson, Sqn. Q.M.S. Pick— ersgill, Sgt. Wilson and Cpl. Holt on their promotion; also to L/Cpl. Toone on his success at a Course of Signalling at Catterick. Others deserving congratulation are L/Cpl. Casson, and Tpr. Wilson on gaining First Class Certificates of Education and Sgt. Baker and Tpr. Harvey on their success in passing in subjects taken, at the same examination.

Winners Inter-Squadron Hockey “H 0” Wing.

Sjt. Davis; Bds. Stevenson ; Farr. Albin. Sitting: Bds. Ogden ; L/Sj’c. Foster ; R.Q.M.S. Mynard ; Captain P.L. Wilson; Eds. Tomlinson: L/Cpl. Pope. : Plumbley Major Tptr. Standing: Tpr. Phillips; Bds. Seabrook;

In the field of sport our teams have also been very successful. We have the InterSquadron Football Cup to our name as well as the Hockey Shield. Cricket has, of course, only recently started for this

season, but our team is already showing promise of future sucess. In the two matches played, we had a hard tussle with the Machine Gunners and eventually the game resulted in a draw. Against ”B” Squadron we did one better and managed to beat our opponents by a small margin. The Change of Air Camp at Alexandria is Once again starting, and we are all looking forward to having a good time amongst the

fishes.

Before

we

enjoy

these

benefits,

however, there are the musketry laurels t0 ' win and with that end in View we have been revising our preliminary musketry for the last few weeks. We shall not have to wait long before we know whether we are all “ marksmen,” however, as we commence

firing on the ranges this week. Let us hope the results will prove better even than usual. Next quarter should be a very eventful one as the Regiment will be going to India

in October next: but no doubt I shall be able to tell you all about that in my next notes. Ajax.


THE EAGLE THE EAGLE

Sports and Play

\’\ inners Inter-Squadron Football Cup. HH 0” Wing.

Sitting:

Standing;

Bds. Stevenson; Tpr. Brown; L/Cpl. \\'a1ker Captain 17’. L. \Vilson; Farr. Albin; L/Cpl. Skinner. S.S.M. Bowles, M.M.; Tpr. Turner; Bds. Tomlinson: Tpr. Hudson: L/Cpl. Dewar: L/Cpl. lrluggett.

L/Sjt. Foster;

L/Cpl. Turnbull,

Band Notes

Capt. A. S. Casey’s “Fitzcubbin”.

\Vinuer of Heavvaeight Polo Pony class and Champion Polo Pony at the Cavalry Brigade Horse Show, Egypt 1928.

In commencing we wish to express our deep regret at the news of Musician Mott’s death Whilst playing with the Life Guards Band at Bristol on the 10th April. His death was very sudden and was due to heart failure. \Ve all Offer our deepest sympathy to his widow and children. Mott served in The Royals’ Band for almost twelve years and held the rank of Band Corporal previous to his transfer to the Life Guards Band in 1927. He was always “ One of the best” and was popular everywhere that he went. An excellent musician and a fine soldier,

his death will be regretted by everyone with whom he came into contact. ” Those whom the Gods love die young.’ *

*

>l<

Mr. Smith left us for the United Kingdom

on April 2lst for three months leave.

He

will rejoin us in time to become re—acclimatis— ed for the voyage to India. We have had several interesting Cricket matches and the team is improving very well and we shall have a number of good bats and

deadly bowlers before very long. Some of them have occasionally turned out for the Regimental team and several of them play regularly for the 2nd team. \Ve had one very good match with the Band of the 12th Lancers at Helmieh which we lost by 17 runs, but hope to have a return match at home before long.

Waterloo Day proved a heavy day for the Band as we attended the Regimental mounted parade in the morning, played at the Officers 1). Sergeants Cricket match in the afternoon, and at the Officers Mess in the evening. Bed was a welcome finish for that day.

POLO NOTES Since our last issue little of note has Occurred as far as polo is concerned. The 12th. Lancers kindly presented a very nice cup for an American Tournament for teams

of handicap of 5 or under. This provided some most amusing games to wind up the

prospects in India. The majority of the Arabs and of the older ponies which were purchased tO play on when the Regiment first arrived in this country have now been disposed of and it is hoped that the young sound ponies which will be shipped in time to arrive at Secunderabad just after the Regiment, will at least form the nucleus of

season, even if it did not produce polo of a

a well—mounted team.

Very high order. The Regiment could only produce one team within the requisite handicap and this was not strong enough to win. The actual games do not call for any further comment. As we write, polo at Gezira is finishing and Our thoughts are turned more to our polo

will be the young Argentine ponies which were landed here early in ’28. These have

Included in these

been very carefully schooled to date and in some cases have played slowly, and from

what we hear of our future home it sounds an ideal place for the completion of their education.


LTHE EAGLE

THE EAGLE

Cricket Notes The cricket season this year opened with a

visit of an eleven from England, brought out by Mr. H.M. Martineau.

is much quicker and surer. Perhaps the slip fielding is still a little uncertain.

l\I.E.R.A.E. 123 (Capt. Wilson“ 5 for 45

They played 5 mat—

ches during a stay of a fortnight. and in only the

We have many useful bowlers (of great

last of three days, was a definite result airived

variety) who have their (lays in turn S,S.M. Bowles has so far been the mainstay of the

at at, and they beat All Egypt by 3 wickets As the team was composed ahnOst

attack, with his deceptive slow bowling, ably

entirely of first class players, the results, from Egyptls point of view. were quite satisfactory. We are pleased to see that 5. Block one of the members of this side. has been awarded his blue

seconded by Captain \Vilson whose leg breaks are now getting him many wickets. L/Cpl. Huggett and Tpr. Burchell left and right hand niediiun pace are. reliable change bowlers and LC pl. Huggett gained a personal triumph in the command match against the South Wales Borderers by taking 4 wickets for 0 runs in their first innings. Sjt. Yardley's off breaks are also dangerous on his day. Other young bowlers of promise include Evitts, Syiiionds, Thomas and Mead. The batting is well above the average for a

Alexandria.

at Cambridge, while R. Skene, l Akers»I)ouglas, and CK. Hill—\I'ood are playing regularly for

Oxford. At Cairo they played Gezira Club, the Army and All Egypt. The first two mate and ches resulted in draws in favour of the Club in which games the Regiment was Army,

represented by Mr. Lloyd and Capt. Joy. The All Egypt match in Cairo was a draw in favour of the tourists.

Their visit was a great success and we hope that some of them. at least. may return another

year. i There has been a distinct all round improve year, ment in the cricket. in the Regiment this

and we hope to do some good in the various

leagues and cups for which we have entered. The Regimental team is entered for the Egypt, Command Cup, open to all units in and and the Frank Cook Cup open to all units friendly many addition In clubs. civilian fixtures have been arranger . in The results of matches already played these these events will be found at the end of ” n notes. B This year we have also many more will help the team matches, and hope that this

make younger players to gain experience and may they that so t, improvemen the necessary Regimental be able to fill the vacancies in the . _ . side as they occur. Ljnits Each Squadron is entered in the Small competition Competition which is a knock out did so open to Egypt, in which “ HQ’ Wing better this well last year. May they go one league in year! We have also our Squadron is keennesss great which in the Regiment r‘e‘vea): shown and many exciting finishesoccur,

ling talent to be tried out in Regimental

B

_ team matches. in team a entered have Mess The Serjeants’ and should do the Serjeants’ Mess Competition game easily. well. They have won their frist has been year this shown form general The that we fact the Perhaps most encouraging. conditions out are getting used to the light and here partly accounts for this. few catches The fielding is greatly improved,

fielding are now put on the floor, and the ground

Capt. Wilson 3 for 9). May 17th :7 ~Royals 123 (Sjt. Yardely 24 not lluggett 31.) Gloucester Regt. 122 (S.S.Mi Bowles 3 for 24, Sjt. Yardley 2 for 8). May 20th :-—-Royals 132 (Capt. jov 30) HQ.

Regimental

side

out

here,

but rather lacks

soundness, as shown by one or two collapses this year, but our tail has generally managed to We are lucky during the pull us through. first leave period. to have few of our best cricketers away,but we shall be correspondingly weaker during second leave, when we shall lose

four of our Regimental team.

The Command

Cup will be over before this change over occurs. There have been many individual efforts of merit, and we will leave

the scores below to

Burchell 3 for 7.) J May 25th :wRoyals 112 (Sjt. Pamplin 50 not, Sjt. Foster 30). R.C.of S. 45 (S.S.M. Bowles 4 for 23, Mr. Gosling 3 for 5, Burchell 2 for 7). June 7th :~-Royals 114 for 9 (Capt. Wilson 34). HQ. M.E.R.A.l“. 157 for 5 (Burchell 2 for 26). Total 17. Wow 10, Drawn 5. Lost 2 B Team illmches.

April 16th 2—Royals 114 (Midgley 35 not, Albin 20). 2nd. E. Co. RE. 90 (Evitts 6

for 35)April 23rd:——Royals 245 (Mr. Scott 90, Old

49,

SQMS. Clifford 44).

R.A.P.C. 77

(Symonds 5 for 24). April 25th :~Royals 173 (Major Heyworth 70 not, Thomas 31, Symonds 31). R.A.O.C. 99 for 6 (Mead 3 for 38). April 30th z~Royals 128 for 8 dec. (Major Heyworth 4o, Sjt. Foster 26). Imperial Court 64 (Evitts 4 for 32, Mead 5 for 16). May 7th 2~Royals 184 ((Stevenson 36, Slade 31, T.M. Plumbley 28, Mead 23). R.O.A.C. Civilians 182 (Slade 6 for 58). May 10th teRoyals 59 (Precious 18). RA. SC. 145 for 7 (Symonds 2 for 37). Total 6, Won 4. meii 1. Lost I.

speak for themselves. COMMAND CUP. RCgImSHZfll Matches.

April 15th :~Royals 190 for 5 (Capt. Wilson

90, Sjt. Yardley 31).

Royals v. 12th. Lancers.(Preliminary Round). This match took place at Helmieh, on 11th. and 12th. of May, during a particularly hot spell.

31

We batted first and started disastrously, losing 3 good wickets for 9 runs. joy and Wilson however made a stand, and the next wicket fell. at 81. Wilson left having scored 37, with the board showing 99 for 5. Then however LLoyd got going and finding useful partners in Yardley and Dumbrcck the score rapidly rose above the 200, the last wickets falling at 220, to which LI,oyd had contributed an

invaluable 76 not out. The 12th. Lancers did not start very well, losing 4 for 36 and 7 for 123. Then however Bingham joined lit-gale who had gone in first and was batting very steadily, and a determined stand was made. It was not until their score

stood at 189 that Binghani lost his wicket, having scored 44 at a critical time for his side. The next wicket fell at 191 and Hegale was out caught in the slips at the same total, leaving the Royals with a first innings lead of 29. In our second innings the opening pair put on 38 but after that wickets fell quickly and we had 5 down for 70. Poster played a sound innings of 32 and joy contributed 41. With 9 wickets dovm for 133, at teatime. it looked as if the 12th, Lancers might force a win.

However,

our last two batsmen put up a great stand, hitting the loose balls Very hard and wr-re not defeated till they had put on 51 runs in 40 minutes, Huggett scoring 33 and Burchell 19 not out, our total reaching 184. This left the 12th Lancers only just over 1 1/2 hours to get 213 riuis. This they set out to do

right lustily and Levereiitz scored a very quick 70. Btit the time was not enough and at the drawing of stumps they had collected 139 for 4, leaving us winners on the first innings and so we passed into the first round.

Green Howards 186

(Huggett 5 for 49). April 16th :kRoyals 130 (Sjt. Pamplin 38, Major Dumbreck 23 not). Gezira 223 for 6 dec. (SSH. Bowles 5 for 57).

April 2rst z—Royals 238 for 4 due. (Capt. Joy 109 not, Mr. LLoyd 67). R.H.A. 176 for 4. April 22nd :fiRoyals 185 for 7 (Capt. Wilson 62 not, Capt. joy 37). Shell Co. 99 (Capt. Wilson 5 for 10, Sjt. Yardley 4 for 13). April 24th :—~Royals 104 (S.S.M. Bowles 32). , Green Howards 112 (Huggett 4 for 18). April 29th :#Royals 133 for 9 (S.S.M. Bowles 36) RAMC. 175 for 7 dec. (Capt. Wilson 3 for 45). May 1st. :iRoyals 182 (Mr. Lloyd 48, Thomas 25). 12th. Lancers 97 (S.S.M. Bowles 4 for 55, Huggett 3 for 20). May 4th ziRoyals 138 (Ogden 28, Mead 29). South Wales Borderers 84 for 5. May 5th :rRoyals 145 (Mead 3o, Capt. Joy 27). 10th. Hussars 121 for 8 (Burchcll 5 for 31). May 8th :7Royals 220 for 6 (Major Heyworth 55 not. Sjt. Foster 56, S.S.M. Bowlcs 40). Welsh Guards 52 (S.S.M. Bowles 4 for 16,

THE ROYALS. Ist. Imu’izrgs. Maj. Heyworth b. Stanbridge ................ Sjt. Poster b. Stanbridge .................... SSM Bowles b. Stanbridge .................... Capt. joy c. Brooks b. Andrews .............. Capt. \Vilson c. Leverentz b. Brooks .......... Mr. l.I.oyd not out .........................

Sjt. Yardley b. Stanbridge ................... Maj. Dumbreck c. Brooks b. Stanbridge ....... Sjt Paniplin c Bromfield b Rawnsley ........ L/C. Huggett b. Stanbridge .................. Tpr. Burchell st. Bromfield b. Rawnsley ....... Extras

Bowling Ist. Innings. Stanliridge 6 for 68. Rawusley 2 for 83. Brooks Andrews

1 for 20. 1 for 27.

5

2nd. Innings. b. Andrews ................... b. Andrews ................... b. Stanbridge ................. c. Brooks b. Rawnsley b. Stanbridge ................. b. Andrews ................... 0. Brooks b. Rawnsley ......... l.b.w. b. Andrews .............. c. AndreWs b. Rawnsley ........ c. Leverentz b. Andrews ........ not out .......................

271d. Innings. Stanbridge Brooks Andrews

Rawrisley

2 for 68. 0 for 22. 5 for 62.

3 for 15.


THE EAGLE THE EAGLE 12th LANCERS. R0 YALs. 2nd. Innings.

1515. Innin gs. Tpr. Hegale c. Burchell b. Joy ................ Mr. Saudbach c. Pamplin b.\\'ilson ........... L/C. Skelton c. Heyworth b. Joy ............. Tpr. Loud b. Burchell .......................

SI c 11 3

Sjt. Andrews b. Burchell .................... Sjt. Bromfield c. Pamplin b. Wilson ...........

o 10

BM Leverentz c. Bowles b. Yardley ........... 12 Tpr. Stanbridge c. Joy b. Huggett ............. I

Tpr. Bingham c. LLoyd b. Bowles ............

44

Maj. Rawnsley b. Joy ....................... Tpr. Brooks not out ........................

I 0

Extras

Isl Innings. Maj. Heyworth b. Halford

Not out ...................... c. Bowles b. Burchell ........... b. Joy ....................... not out ....................... e. Huggett b. Joy .............

20 27 Io 6 0

0. Joy b. Huggett

.............

70

Extras .....

6

16

Sjt. Foster b. Reynolds ...................... SSM. Bowles c. Crewe—Reed b. Pymm ..........

58

Capt. Joy b. Reynolds ......................

57 3 23 24

Mr. LLoyd c. Lochner b. Martin .............. Capt. Wilson not out ........................ Sjt. Yardley not out ........................ Sjt. Pamplin Tptr. Thomas did not bat. L/C. Huggett Tpr. Burchell

Total (5 wickets dec.) .............. Total (4 wickets)

Total

ROYALS V. SOUTH WALES BORDERERS. We met the S.W.B. in the first round of the Command Cup on the Garrison ground, Abbassia, on 23rd and 24th May. They won the toss and started badly. They lost 2 wickets for 29 and then the procession started. The 3rd wicket fell at 33 and 3 men left with

only I run added.

At 35 three more batsmen

left and the innings closed for 38. LC . Huggett bowled 3 overs getting 4 wickets for 0 runs and Capt. Wilson came out with the excellent figures of 5 wickets for 12. 8.5.31. Bowles bowled 6 overs for 2 runs.

211

...... I39

Run getting was not so difficult when we went in and by consistent batting we reached 211 for 5 by tea time. 8.5M. Bowles scored a quick 58 and Capt. Joy contributed 57. At this total we declared.

The SW. Borderers did a little better in

Bowling. Reynolds Martin Barlow Halford Pymrn Brennan

2 for 47 1 for 53 o for 30 I for 3r I for 31 o for I3 Capt. Joy left with a useful 83 to his credit, and Capt. Wilson with 52 left soon after. Sjt. Yardley soon got going and the 7th. wicket added 40 runs, and with Sjt. Pamplin in, another ()6 runs were added. When he had reached 96 Sjt. Yardley unluckily mistimed a long hop and was caught and bowled. He hit splendidly and his innings included 14 fours and 2 sixes, and he was unlucky not to reach his century. He only gave one chance. The last two wickets soon fell and our total reached 310. With 205 runs to get to save the innings defeat, the R.:\.O.C. lost 2 wickets for 7 runs, and with the exception of S/Sjt. Rogers who hit up a bright 28, nobody reached double figures and they were all out for 66. We thus won by an innings and 139 runs. SSJI. Bowles took 5 for 29 making his record for the match 9 for 03. an excellent performance.

ROYALS v. R.A.O.C.

their second innings, and although they lost 4 for 19, eventually reached 116, leaving us

winners by an innings and 57 runs. S.S.M Bowles took 5 for 32 in this innings, while Capt. Wilson’s figures for the match were 7 for 39.

The Royal Army Ordnance Corps were our opponents in the second round of the Command Cup. We played on June 2nd and 3rd on the Garrison Ground. They started confidently, having won the toss, and put on 48 for the first wicket. at

which total they both left.

SOUTH WALES B0 RDERERS.

After that nobody

stayed long and 9 wickets were down for 80. 2nd. Innings.

1325. Inm'n gs.

Capt. Morgan c. Huggett b. Wilson ...........

I4

Cpl. Pymm c. Fester b. Joy .................. D. M. Brennan c. Yardley b. Wilson .......... Capt. Lochner b. Wilson ...................... Mr. Barlow c. Yardley b. Huggett .............

4 S o 0 o I

L/C. Halford b. Wilson ...................... Mr. Reynolds b. Huggett ..................... Sjt. Bromley not out ......................... Mr. Crewe-Reed b. Huggett .................. Pte. Hoskins b. Huggett ..................... Mr. Martin b. \Nilson Extras

Bowling Ist. Innings. Bowles I for 12. Joy Wilson Burchell Huggett

5 for 12. o for 4. 4 for o.

. Yardley b. Bowles ........... . Bowles ..................... . Thomas b. Bowles ............ . Foster b. Joy ............... . Foster b. Joy ............... . Thomas b. Wilson ............ l.b.w. b. Wilson b. Bowles ..................... b. Yardley .................... C. Wilson b. Bowles ............ Not out

2nd. Innings. Bowles Joy

5 for 32. 2 forgIe.

Wilson

2 for!27.

Burchell Huggett

ofor 2. 0 for 30.

Yardley

I for 3.

Their last wicket put on 19 runs quickly and their total reached 105. 8.8.31. Bowles took 4 for 34 and bowled very steadily and Sjt. Yardley took 3 for 10. We started rather shakily and 3 wickets

were down for 29.

Capt. Wilson then joined

Capt. Joy and runs came freely, and they were not parted till 167 appeared on the board.

RA.O.C. I525. Innings. S/Sjt. Rogers b. Wilson ..................... 26 Cpl. Hickey c. LLoyd b. Bowles ............... 24 0 S/Sjt. Smith ht. wkt. b. \Vilson ............... b’ L/C. Pariniter c. I.l.oyd b. Yardley ........... 11 L/Sjt. Ames c. l.Loyd b. Bowles .............. o Capt. Moore c. Joy b. Yardley ............... 4 L/Sjt. \Yard c. Joy b. Yardley ............... o Pte. Jenman b. Bowles ......................

S/Sjt. Dickson b. Bowles .................... L C. W'heble run out ........................ L/C. Mackenzie not out ..................... Total .. .

2nd. Innings. st. Ll-oyd b. Bowles ........... 1). Joy b. Bowles ..................... c. joy b. Bowles ............... c. Wilson b. Joy ............... c. Joy b. Huggett ............. c. Heyworth b. Bowles ......... c. Wilson b. Huggett ...........

4

not out .......................

17 2 9

c. Joy b. Huggett c. Heyworth b. Bowles ......... Extras

105


34

THE EAGLE

Bowling Ist. Innings.

THE EAGLE 2nd. Innings.

Yardley 30, Maj. Dumbrcck 20).

(Mr. Gosling

5f01‘49-) Bowles Wilson Huggett Joy Burchell Yardley

4 2 o 0 o 3

for for for for for for

34 22 7 15 8 10

Joy Bowles Huggett

2 for 10 5 for 29 3 for 21

”A " Sqn. 56. (Sjt. Pamplin 18). (Symonds 4 for 18). “ HQ ” Wing beat “ B ” by 3 wickets. " B ” 59. (Precious 19, Ebbs II). (Huggett 4 for 8,

Capt. Wilson 4 for 14). ” HQ " Wing 77. (Capt. Wilson 15, Slade I2, Albin II).

35

“MG ” drew with ”HQ ” Wing. ” MG ” 167. (Capt. Joy 113 ). (Dawes 4 for 28). ” HQ ” 112 for 8. (Capt. Wilson 40.) (Sgt. Yardley 3

for 49')

Serjeants’ Mess Competition.

R.E.Sjts. 85. Royals Sjts. 1501”)? 7. (Sjt. Foster 41 retired, Sjt. Pamplin 46 retired.) Royals won by 10 wickets.

Bowling Rogers Ames Wheble Hickey

3 2 o o

for for for for

70 60 25 21

SMALL UNITS CUP.

13 0 I

Jennmn Mackenzie Ward

” K ” Battery R.H.A.135 (Burchell 8 for 50). Squadron League.

So far two Squadrons have played in this competition, the MG. Squadron going down to the 3rd. Armoured Car Company by 7 runs. It was a one day match decided on the first innings, if two were not completed.

M.G.

Squadron.71st

3 for 84 1 for 11 1 for 17

wm

Ist. Innings. Maj. Heyworth c and b, Ames ............... Sjt. Foster c. Jenman b. Rogers .............. SSM. Bowles c and b. Ames .................. Capt. Joy b. Rogers Capt. Wilson b. Jenman ..................... Mr. LLoyd c. Moore b. Jennman ............. Sjt. Yardley c and b. Mackenzie .............. Maj. Dumbreck b. Rogers ................... Sjt. Pamplin b. jenman ...................... L/C. Huggett b. “'ard ...................... Tpr. Burchell not out ....................... Extra 5

p—( UIC/J UJNUJUI N C:

ROYALS.

.

l A.) B.

Equitation Staff. IVIG HQW.‘P0ints Standing ;—Sjt. Conduit; Sjt. Paiupliu ; L/Cpl. Rogers; L/Cpl. Gloyn.

l

”A ” Squadron .

2

0

j

2

Sittmgr—R. S. M. F. J. Mauder; Lieut. R. A. Hermon; S. S. M. R. I. Taylor.

Innings 129

Equitation Notes

“ B ” Squadron. . (Evitts 38, Sjt. Yardley 24, S.Q.M.S. Clifford 25, Symonds 16.) 2nd. Innings 101 for two dcc. (l'ivitts 27, Maj. Dumbreck 39 not, Capt. joy 29). 3rd. A.C. Company.~1st. Innings 13o (Evitts 4 for 26, Sjt. Yardley 4 for 37). 2nd. Innings 28 for 7. (Evitts 4 for 13.) Although the Squadron had only an hour in which to get the AC. Company out in the second innings, they Very nearly brought it it off, and were perhaps a trifle unlucky to lose. Evitts bowled very well in both innings, as his figures of 8 for 39 show. On June 10th “A ” Squa-

dron were beaten by ” K " Battery R.H.A. by 72 runs. “ A ” Squadron.—Ist Innings 63 (Sjt. Pamplin 2nd Innings 51 for 5. (Sjt. 28, Waby 27.) Pamplin 34 not out.)

” MG ” Squadron

”HQ”Wing The above is the state of the Squadron League table to date. Each Squadron will play each other twice before the end of the season. ”A” Sqn. beat ” ’” Sqn. by 21 runs. “ A ” collected 80 (Maj. Hcywortli 45 not out, Sjt. Pamplin 22.) (Tptr Thomas took 5 for 61 and Ebbs 4 for 23.) “B ” replied with 65 (Thomas 18, L/C. Rogers 19 ) (Burchell 4 for 27 and Mr. Gosling 6 for 37.) “ MG ” beat “A " by 117 runs. ” MG ” got

173 for 9 and declared.

(Capt. Joy 80, Sjt.

We have now only 15 recruits left at riding

in the Open Jumping over quite a strong

school, mOst of whom are men of the last draft from the K.D.G’s., and who should all be dismissed soon.

him down through watching the crowd

The Canal Brigade Horse Show held at Moascar is the chief topic of interest for this number, at which we were fairly successful. Mr. Scott won the Polo Pony class with his Captain Wilson was second black pony. in the charger class and our pair of draught mules got second in their class.

After many unsuccessful efforts previously, Sjt. Conduit managed to gain a Victory

class.

His horse, before, had always let

but this day he paid more attention to his

job and jumped at the top of his form. Great credit is due to Sjt. Conduit for his very good performance; his horse is a very difficult one to jump. We entered a TentPegging team consisting of S.S.M. (RI) Taylor, S.S.M. Boav, S.Q.M.S. Clifford and Sjt. Forsyth, in the Egyptian Army Horse Show. They won this event and received a very nice cup and each member of the team a medal.


THE EAGLE

37

THE EAGLE

Athletic Notes the dressing room. His untimely indispesition was felt in the events in which he should have run, but a live man who might recover is better than a crock or a corpse. Before the heats of the 120 yards hurdles were run, L/Cpl. Foster, whom we looked to to give us a lead, had to retire on account of a poisoned knee. This was very unfortunate and could not be helped. In this event we missed the services of Captain Joy and Major Dumbreck very much, and we might have done something here had they been in the team. The high jumpers, L/Cpl. Rogers and Tpr. Clissold, show good promise, and with more training should add at least six inches to the heights which they can clear at present. In the Long Jump we were most

,i.

Before any criticisms are made it, would be quite in order to congratulate the Athletic Team of the Regiment for their performance during the last Command Athletic Meeting. Although they gained only two points towards the Championship Cup Competition, they managed to get into the finals of two of the team relay races and four individual championship events. This was not a bad performance for men whose muscles have been developed for other purposes. The short relay races and individual sprints were the strong point of the team, and with a bit more practice in taking off with the pistol and getting off the mark in time in the relays our representatives should be able to give a better account of themselves in their next attempt. Of the four sprinters in the 220 yards relay and the 100 yards relay, L/Cpl. Macdonald was Outstanding and showed a good turn of speed. L/Cpl. Walker had too many irons in the fire and suffered for this in the later stages of the meeting. L/Cpl. Chadwick is still fast, but does not finish as strongly as we would like to see him finish. Bdms. Tomlinson moves when he gets into his stride but cannot get

B

Off the mark.

attempt.

l

1!.

ll ‘

.iufiu

l

However, the four of them

put up a fine fight and were not unduly distressed either by their efforts or the results. In the 440 yards relay, only two of the team were anywhere near fast enough to compete against the other teams in their heat, and we were not placed, but there is

still a lot of yOung blood in the Regiment which might be turned into good stuff before the next time we are called upon to exhibit our prowess in this event. L/Cpl’s. Chad— wick and Francis must find two or three Others who can keep up with them and then the 440 yards relay race might come within easy reach of them. In the 1/2 mile and 1 mile relays we were unfortunate in losing Robinson, who had to

stop training on account of an injury to his leg. Cpl. Lewis, another miler and 440 yards man, was discovered to have developed a strained heart, and we had to rely upon him to render what assistance he could in

unfortunate. Both L/Cpl. Macdonald and Cpl. Haley spoiled their best jumps by putting a toe over the board. L/Cpl. Macdonald’s second jump was nearly 21 feet, but his toe just splashed a little sand back on to the board. and the jump was not allowed. Cpl. Haley spoiled a 19 foot jump in the same way. These little things are sent to try us, so may they have better luck in their next Putting the Weight is a new form of sport in the Regiment, but there are one or two who will manage 35 or 36 feet before we are called upon to Putt again. In this event L/Cpl. Walker felt the strain of being in too many events, and could only do 28 feet 9 inches in the Individual event. In the team event, owing to a misunderstanding, his partner did not turn up, so we do not know what we could have done. Boy Slade is to be congratulated on getting second place in the 440 yards for enlisted boys, and when he is fully developed, he should make a good sprinter. Our milers and three—milers can all stay the course, but they have not the speed to compete against such men as Ayres of the R.C.S. or Mogg of the Glosters. It is to be regretted that the Tug-Of—War teams did not shine in their events. The necessity for training was plainly shown

when both teams were beaten in the preliminary rounds by two clear pulls. The Regiment will not be in Egypt for the next Command Meeting, but we are confident that our athletes will give more thought to the future and continue to keep

fit until they are called upon to compete in our new station, where we hope that their efforts will be met with a larger measure of success. Jay Dee.

THE ROYALS

Athletic Sports: 9th. Apl. 1929.

1st.

2nd.

3rd.

100 yards ............. 220 yards ............. 440 yards ............. 880 yards ............. 1 mile (Regtl) .........

L/c Walker, HQ. L/c. Chadwick, ”B" L/c. McDonald, MG. L/c.VValker, HQ. L/c.McDonald, MG. L/c. Chadwick, ”B” L/c. Chadwick,‘B' Tpr. Fletcher, MG. L/c Francis, “A” Tpr. Fletcher MG L/c. Balch., “B” L/c. Francis, “A" Cpl. Lewis, MG. Tpr. Taylor, 87.”A”. Tpr. Fletcher, MG. 3 miles ............... L/c. Davies, HQ. Boy Doerr, HQ. L/c. Bunston, “B” 120 yards hurdles ...... L/c.Foster, ”A” L/c. Hinchcliffe, ”A” Major S.C. Dumbreck, MG Tpr. McGregor, MG. Obstacle Race ......... L/c. Wilson, “A” Boy Parkin HQ. Sack Race ............ Tptr. Thomas, ‘B’ Tpr. Minter, “B”

440 yards enlisted boys. . 100 yards serjeants race. Old Soldiers’ Race ..... High Jump ............ Long Jump ........... Putting the shot ....... Throwing the cricket ball Ladies race ..........

L/c. Goodwin, “B”

Boy Waller. Boy Slade Boy Hill. RQMS. Mynard, HQ. Sjt.. Yardley, MG Sjt. Leuty, “’B. RQMSlVIynard HQ Major Fitzgerald HQ Lt. Lavender, HQ. L/c. Rogers, “B” Tpr. Clissold, “B” Tpr. Davies, 28., “A” L/c. McDonald MG Cpl.Haley, “B” L/c. Hinchcliffe, “A" Tpr. Creask, MG. L/c. Walker, HQ. Tpr. Wood, MG. Tpr. Hunter, “A" Tpr. Creask, MG. Tpr. Vine, MG. Mrs. Taylor. Mrs. Hinton. Mrs. Wilson.

Boys’ race ............. Harry Smith.

John Killelly. Betty Rundle. Girls’ Race ........... Pat Virgo. One Mile open ........ Cpl. Ayres, RCS. Sjt. Wright, RAE, ”A” 4' Inter troop relay race. . . “B” 2. Tug of War ........... “B” Squadron

Jack Turner.

Phyllis Barnes. L/c. Jones. EES., IK‘A’! 2.


THE EAGLE

Education The following mathematical problems are given in the hope that they may assist candidates to obtain lst. and 2nd. Class Certificates of Education. No prize is offered for correct solutions. I. You live half a mile from the Station. Having run for your usual train, you arrive

3. Assuming that in blowing his whistle a referee expends one cubit foot of breath,

how many cubit feet will he expend, acting upon the advice of the home supporters, in the course of the first half ? 4. A man having in his pocket 3 half

to find that it has just left, sharp to time. crowns, 2 florins and a Sixpence, enters the

Show by means of a graph :~ ((1) That the next train up will be ten minutes late. (1)) That it will contain 17 passengers in each compartment. *** 2. At the conclusion of his journey, a taxi driver is paid the bare legal fare by a gentleman wearing a monocle and a furlined overcoat.

What in words per minute,

is the driver’s speed of speech? Winners Inter—Troop Relay 2nd Troop “B“ Sqdn.

local h0stelry where he consumes four eightpenny drinks. Upon leaving the establishment, he has in his pocket 3 half crowns, 2 florins and a Sixpence.

many miles north of the tweed is birthplace P

How

his

5. Given that a barber shaves one customer per 650 words, how much would he earn, at

1d. per word, in shaving 25 people P

***

Tpr. Robinson: L/Cpl. Chadwick; Tpr. Thomas; L/Cpl. Rogers.

Correspondence Tennis Notes During the winter we have been strenuously practising to improve our play but the result is still open to comment. However Alfie’s deadly net play and ” Tug’s ” cannon— ball hitting has on occasions caused their partners and not their opponents to use words not to be found in any dictionary. “ Jerry’s” service is also on the upward gradient as he now goes to love—40 and then gets one over. “ Happy ” is also becoming quite deadly but unfortunately he always uses four wheel brakes when moving about the court. “ Mack’s” screw shots are usually treated with contempt and should be placed out of bounds. The general opinion is that “ Tug” ought to be able to manage these kind of shots from experience. The air round the Court on men’s day is not worth breathing and it has been seriously suggested to the Committee that the ‘ chattie ’ should be filled with creosol instead of water. Ted’s

Arabic is also an interesting feature but unfortunately the natives do not understand it. One feels like giving a resonant note on the Trombone whenever it is brought into action. “Tam ” has not been round the Court to dig it up lately but when he appears we shall have to rally round to replace the divots. In the Senior Ranks Tennis League we at present stand fifth as we have only won one match up to the present in defeating the Gloster’s 8-1. We had a very good match with the Officers but they proved far too strong for us and we only managed to win three sets in sixteen. One of the sets we won was a ‘ walk over ’ as Mr. Lloyd had to leave early. we, of course, hope to do better next time I think we had better challenge we meet. them to a return match when they are all on leave.

Justicetown, Carlisle.

trainer and rider of show jumpers, not only at local shows but also at the Royal and the Highland. There is of course ”VVilfred” who came along with me when I rejoined

Last week I received the April number of ” The Eagle” which reminds me that I have been very remiss in not writing sooner to congratulate you on the revivification 0f the Journal and on its healthy and welcome

has been running my farm for some years; his shadow in common with most old Royals

Dear 111r. E ditor,

from the Ycomanry in June

appearance.

It is just 122 years ago that

having recently returned from Hythe I contributed an extremely prosaic article entitled “ Dismounted Action” to l\'o. 1 of the lst. edition. There are very few Old Royals in this part Of the world, but I never go to a local Race

Meeting or Point—to-Point without meeting one, Robson (a post—man in his native town Penrith) who was in ” A ” Squadron at Lucknow. and Allison (Cpl. in “ C ” Squadron in France ) who has a farm near me and has made a great name for himself as a successful

'15, and who

has not grown less.

One usually meets one or two at the National but this year it was not easy to spot anyone owing to the crowd. I did however

we a figure familiar enough to us in the Lucknow days in the person of General Sir lidward Locke—Elliot, now in his 80th. ye: r. and looking as fit and active as ever, who was on the top of the Grand Stand

with his brother—in~law Col. Douglas Percy~ Smith, formerly his A.D.C. Last October I was fortunate enough to do a tour of the battlefields in France and spent a day in the Ypres Salient. I think what strikes

one most,

apart

from the

extraordinary efficiency and beauty of the


41

THE EAGLE

THE EAGLE

40

work of the \Var Graves Commission everywhere, is the completeness of the restoration work in Belgium as compared to France. Positively the only ruins one saw in

158, Portobello Road, London, W. II. Dear M7’. Editor,

Belgium were those of the Cloth Hall itself,

and every wood such as Sanctuary and Polygon \Voods has been entirely replanted with hard woods such as oak, and beech; whereas in France the old woods, Bourlon \Vood for instance, are in the majority of

cases just jungle, and you come across ruins everywhere, notably about Arras whe— re however we spent 3 nights under rather better conditions than we did just east of it in April ’16, all that ground being now under

thriving beet crops, just then being gathered. Undoubtedly the most impressive memo— rial is the Menin Gate but it seems a pity that the whole of it could not have been carried out in stone, as the rather glaring red brick with which the stone is economised gives it rather an incongruous appearance though doubtless it was a matter of expense. The Royals’ tablet is the first on the left on the ground line as you enter the archway from the town side; there are, I think, 53

names on it and amongst many familiar to me were those of James Lecky, young Burn,

Andrews,

Mc’Clellan

and

the two

V'ansons. On another occassion I found myself in the neighbourhood of Loos, now a thriving mining village entirely rebuilt,including the twin pylons, and inspected our precarious position on the night of 26/27th. September 70; ’15 from the Bosche point of view on Hill

he must have been properly rattled by the 15th. (Highland Division) the previous day not to have counter-attacked that night. On the return journey we passed through numerous villages in the back areas,in most or of which we were billeted at some time their with d delapidate less looking another, familiar green shutters and grey iron railings but which space and the fear of awaking breast long forgotten pangs in somebody’s forbids me to mention,

Wishing you all the best of luck in India again, Yours ever, T.S. Irwin.

10 Cross St reet, Smethwich.

I have to thank you for the April copy of the “ Eagle ” and I must say I enjoyed reading the contents. Will you kindly permit me to encroach on a page of the issue to thank those readers who have written to me welcome. letters as comrades either late of the Royals or \Var Office Staff. One reader writes that he served with Wolseley in 1882, this of course was before my time. I first saw the famous soldier when the Regiment went to Dublin in 1893,

Lord \N'olseley being G.O.C. of the district. \Ve relieved the 3rd. Hussars who handed over a sick charger belonging to the G.O.C. One day his Lordship came down to Island Bridge to see the horse. I was orderly farrier and in this way had quite a long conversation on Treatment of Lameness. Everyone knew that the G.O.C. was a great animal lover. Four years later I was a messenger at the War Office and posted to the department of the C. in C ., which was Lord Wolseley who

remembered me at once, also my accident. He was a great friend to the ex-soldier and more so to the man injured in the service Lord Wolseley died at of the State. Mentone in 1913 and the Government did great honour to the great soldier by having the body brought to England to lay in state for two days in the War Office. One of the finest oak panelled rooms was conver— ted into a Chapellette and the public were allowed to file past the bier. I was placed in charge of the Chapellette by Colonel Sir E. \Vard, Secretary of State.

The funeral

took place in March 1913 with full Military Honours. I have a letter in my possession from Lady \Volseley in which she thanks me and states that the Field Marshal would not have wished for any greater honour than to rest in St. Paul’s Cathedral near Wellington and Nelson. My very best wishes 'to all serving and ex-Royals. Yours faithfully, F. Taylor.

Dear Sir,

I cannot tell you how pleased I was to receive the “ Eagle,” the Royals’ splendid journal. I was born a Royal and the first man I can ever remember was dressed in a scarlet tunic with a silver helmet and black plume on his head and he was my father. I have never left horses from the time I left the Regiment in 1891 until I gave up my last horse “ Old Bill, ” it broke my heart to part with him but we were too slow.

sons, I have trained horses for, or their

about the Midlands here. I would like to thank the steward of the Serjeants’ Mess for his kindness to me when I visited Hounslow just before the Regiment left for Egypt. I salute the old Regiment with my best respects. I remain, Yours truly, H. Powderhill,

ex Corporal. The Royals. 5, Hugh Street,

Wallsend-oanyne

In

1887 I followed General Sir Drury Lowe as his orderly on the day of the Jubilee Review. . I was in the riding school under Captain Banking and trained many chargers for different Officers of the Regiment. Whilst training a charger for Captain Burn I got injured and that is the reason I did not complete 21 years with the Regi— ment. I would like to mention that one of the smartest Royals I have ever known was Serjt. Major Parsons, “Dusty” we used to call him. I see by the “ Eagle ” that my nearest old Royal is Mr. Ayres at Worcester; I will go and see him as I never see any Royals a about here. I can still groom and ride Polo or horse and c0u1d look after Hunters ponies, and should be very pleased if yOu could put me in touch with any Officers,

Dear 5171/,

Your everwelcome publication duly arrived last night and I signed myself a pass to allow me time to read it and think once more of old times, I noted with pleasure the news from am Smethwick re Harry Powderhill and who , Ayres J. Mr. also and him to writing of was also in the old Regiment during part r. Taylo er Farri tting my time, not forge I will write you further when I have received replies from Messrs. Taylor, Ayres and Powderhill. With best wishes to all Royals old and young, Yours faithfully, Thomas Steel: late Rova/ Dragoons.

##

Things we want to know ? What are the “ Glands ” of a rifle ***

oral who Who is the “B ” Squadron Corp P them knows all about

es Who is this Corporal who writes such inter the to City Dead the of ting descriptions news village correspondent of his local

paper ? ***

***

the following Who is the serjeant who gave ng at the aimi for ons reas as one of the , H ion? port re cent lowest . 121g]; shoot to “Facilitates the tendency ***

a Tug of War If the correct position for P Anchor Man Team Coach is behind the ***

tomb, How did he manage to breathe in the

where he said he could not light a candle, because there was no air ? ***

of If this will obtain for him ” The Freedom

the Village ” with the inevitable “ Golden Casket ” on his return to England. was


42

THE EAGLE

Who .are the two tennis players of the Serjeants’ Mess that \Vinibledon have not *** heard of P And why are they so shy Z***

If all the tales of Secunderabad are true,

THE EAGLE Who was the candidate in map reading who mistook Ain Musa (Moses’ Well) for the Remount Depot. ***

Whether the animals produced from the latter in any way influenced his decision?

according to the “ Indian \Vallah ” P And 110w much he paid for the plan P ***

The correct punctuation of the sentence is

written suggestion, in detail, for a Regi-

as follows :7— ” Jones, where Smith had had TIAI), had

mental Mounted Display z'.c. :— (a) Circus (vaultii g). (b) Rodeo. (c) Jumping. (d) Red Indian Display from Cinema. (8) Bull Fight (comic). Or something quite original. Suggestions should be sent to Major The Royals, C. Swire, Officers' Mess, Abbassia, Cairo, Egypt.

had HAD HAD.” HAD HAD had had more weight with the

***

examiners.

**>!<

Whether these fellucca parties are really quite so romantic as they sound.

_

***

NOTICE. Who is the Officer Of ” B ” Squadron, who,

during Preliminary Musketry, checked the men’s aim while doing the 2nd. Muscle

Exercise}?

And if the road from Maadi to Cairo is better walking late at night P “Go on Ben, have a shot " P ***

If “ wind ” caused him to say this?

***

If he would really like a game of cricket P ***

Who was the N.C.O. who said “No! Sir No ! Can’t get dubbin in this country. Gets all runny like Sir,"

Is it true that “ MG” Squadron are determined to win the revolver cup P $**

And does Sunday morning drill tend to good shooting P

***

***

If a certain member of the Serjeants Mess is proud of his medal P

The following is a simple addition sum :— OIL 1X LAMP LA MP NOT Ll'l~

The correct solutions of our last puzzles are as follows :— 1. Key—word 2—METHOD1CAL. 2. Key—word I—EXHAUSTION. Statement made 1—29/2/28. Rank of Individual :—Serjeant. Credit Balance :—-£1—15—6 1/4. 3. “ 0 Farmer Giles, if TEARS should fall

When times are bad and RATES appal Just STARE upon your ripening grain ’Til each one of your TA RES shall seem A lovely ASTER in your dream And hope spring into life again.”

CMCCC All the letters are contained in one word, the clue to which is the statement made in the problem. It is one of many ! Find the key—word.

The Editor offers a prize of PT. 25 to the sender of the first correct solution received. Solutions to be sent to the Editor of the Eagle, Officers’ Mess.

Regimental Gazette

add:

And whether the subsequent production of the commodity shattered his belief?

PUZZLES.

A prize of 1’.T. 25 is offered for the best

***

Who said

$201: The Sportsman who hates all sport P

43

*

=1:

:1:

4. From warm NEPAL to ALPEN snows The PANEL doctor madly goes Nor ’til the higher PLANE he gains May he escape these PENAL pains.

‘ Strength Increase : 1062571 Dvr. Lewis. G, H.Q.\V., Transferred

correct

solutions. =l< =x< a:

Posted

to

the

Queens Bays

to this Regiment from “L“ (Nery) Bty., R.l'f.A., w.e.f., 30/3/29. Designation altered to 'l‘rooper.

400220 Tpr. Cree. 1), “B”. Disembarked, ex HT. Neuralia, at Southampton on 15/5/29. Posted to the Queens Bays

Strength Decrease : 401160 Tpr lliiddiman. 11, ”A”., Posted to the Queens Hays and struck off the siren

401496 Tpr. Lucas. A, ”B ”.Disembarked,

gth of this Regiment w of, 17/2 29. 399620 'l‘pr Christie. E, "'11 QAV." Trans— ferred to lst b’n , The Lancashire Fusiliers

15/5/29. Posted to the Queens Bays wef. 165/29. 1393744 Tpr. Harris. (3, “ 1’1.Q.\\'.” Dis-2m-

w ef _ 25/3’29, 399621 Tpr Eaxtcr A, “1'1.Q.\\'.” Trans-

on 15/5/29. Posted to the Queens Bays

ferred to lst 1511., The Lancashire Fusiliers

we f., 28/4/29. 400972 Tpr. Rogers. C, ”A" Transferred to 1st 1311., The Lancashire Fusiliers wef,

28/4/29. 401499 Tpr. Oultram C, “A". Transferred to 1st 1311., The Lancashire Fusiliers w.ef

28/4/29. 393533 Tpr. Freeman. S, “' HQAV.” Transferred to 2nd Ede, R11 A , wef, 9/4/29.

389445 Sqn. SM. Stewart. \V, DCM. ”A. l.)isehargcd the service w e.f., 10/4/29. 401501 Tpr. Furey. J, “ A”. Posted to the

Queens Bays 1/3/29. 391514 Tpr. Hurley. \V, “B". Posted to the Queens Ba} s 1/3/29. 401534 Tpr. Berry. F, “ B

Two prizes were awarded, PT. 50 to L/Cpl. Chadwick and PT. 25 to Serjt. Marriott for

15/5/29.

w.e.f., 16/5/29.

Disembarkcd,

ex HT. Neuralia, at Southampton on 15/5/29. Posted to the Queens Bays we 1. 16/5/29. 401438 Tpr. Moss. A, “A". l,)iscmbarked,

on ex 1LT. Neuralia, at Southampton

\\‘.e.f., 16/5/29. ex

H.T. Neuralia, at Southampton on

barkcd, ex 171T. Neuralia, at Southampton w.e.f. 16/5/29. Promotions and Appointments :

393601 L/Cpl. Holt. H, “ H.Q.W." Promoted Corporal w.e.f, 11/2/29. 398519 L/Cpl. Dow. J, “B”. Appointed Paid L/Cpl. w.e.f., 11/2/29. 5667547 Tpr. Bunston. )1, “ B ”. Appointed Unpaid L/Cpl. w.e.f., 26/3/29. 393260 F/Cpl. Dempster. J, MC.” Promoted Farrier Sergeant w.e.f., 8/3/29. 756882 Tpr. Freer. 15, “MC.” Appointed Unpaid L/Cpl. w.e.f., 6/4/29. 401042 Tpr. Hancock. J,” MC." Appointed Unpaid L/Cpl. w.e.f., 6/4/29. 401045 Tpr. Shelton. R, “ 31C.” Appointed Unpaid L/Cpl. \\‘.o.f., 6/4/29. 401085 Tpr. Adderley. S, “ MC." Appointed Unpaid L/Cpl. w.e.f., 6/4/29. “ H.Q.\V.” 399637 Tpr. .Lenaghan. T, 13/4/29. w.e.f., L/Cpl. Unpaid d Appointe 400523 Tpr. Rodwell. H, A". Appointed Unpaid L/Cpl. w.e.f., 2/5/29.


44

THE EAGLE

389697 Sqn. QMS. Davidson. J, ”H.Q.\V.” Promoted t0 \V. 0 Class 2, in the appointment of Sqn.

SM.

(1 F.

(k G.) wet,

11/4/29. 537637 Sgt. Pickersgill. A, MM, “ H.Q.W." Promoted to Sqn. QMS. w.e.f., 11/4/29. 392591 L/Sgt. Wilson A, “ H.Q \V. ” Pro— moted to Sergt. we f., 11/4/29.

389938 Cp1.\\'ood. \V, “ ’ ”. Appointed Paid L/Sgt. w.e.f., 11/4/29. 754333 L/Cpl. Hart. E, “A”. Promoted Corpl. w.e.f., 11/4/29. 399177 L/Cpl. Carr. A, “A”. Appointed Paid L/Cpl. w.e.f., 11/4/29. Disembarkations : 390316 Sgt. Tate. G, “B ", the wife of disembarked at Port Said 9/3/29. 389991 Sgt. McLean. G, “ B ”, the wife & child of disernbarked P. Said 9/3/29. 390253 l./Sgt. Marriott. 15, “A”, the wife CV child of disernbarked. P. Said 9/3/29. 393731 Cpl. Richards. \V, ”13”, the wife

8: child of disernharked P. Said 9/3/29. 398519 L/Cpl. l)ow. .l: “ ‘ ”, disembarked at Port Said 93329.

Certificates of Education: 400968 1.,‘Cpl. (,‘asson. A, “ H.Q\V.” Awarded a First Class Certificate of Education at an examination held at Abbassia on 19/20th March 1929. 400613 Tpr. \Vilson. J, ” H.Q.\\".” Awarded a First Class Certificate of Education at an examination held at Abbassia on l9/20tlr March 1929. The u/rn., passed in the following subjects at the same examination 2* 389989 Sgt. Baker. E, “ H.Q.\V.” English and Map Reading. 401382 Tpr. Andrews. N, ” A ”. Mathematics, Geography and Map Reading. 399873 ’l‘pr. Harvey P, “ H.Q.\V.” Map Reading. Long Service and Good Conduct Medals : 389597 Sqn. SM. Boag. W, MM, “13 Awarded Long service and Good Conduct

medal, with gratuity, 31/5/29. 391408 Sgt. Styles. J, “ H.Q.VV.” Awarded Long service and Good Conduct medal, with gratuity, 31/5/29. 390921 Sgt. Rohinson. P. PSTA. Awarded Long service and Good Conduct medal,

with gratuity, 31 //5/29.

THE EAGLE

Courses : 378322 Sgt. Riley. \\7, “ MC.” Awarded a “ Distinguished ” Certificate at the 30th Qualifying Course. at

the SA.

School,

Netheravon, 16/4/29. 400609 L/Cpl. Gray. R. ”1”)”. Awarded a “ Pass ” Certificate at a Local Command Educational Course, Abhassia, 4/5/29. 398737 L/Cpl. Toone. C, “ H.Q.VV.” Awar-

ded a “ Pass ” Certificate at the School of Signals, Cattericlt, 11/4/29. Married Quarters R011 :

380440 L/Sgt. Foster. J7, “ l*l.Q.W.” Absorbed into Class 20, M.Q.R., w.e.f., 20/4/29. Band Appointments : 400794 Boy. Doerr. A, Appointed Bandsman 9/3/29. 401357 Boy. Freetlr. R, appointed Bandsman 9/3/29. 401355 Boy. Hill. C, Appointed Bandsman 9/3/29. 401 129 Boy. Marshall. 1). Appointed liandsnran 9/3/23. 398997 Tpr. Newey. 13, Appointed Bandsnran 9/3/29. 401165 Boy. Parkin. 1‘), Appointed Bandsnran 9/3/29. 400048 Tpr. Rowe. R, Appointed Bandsrnan 9/3/29. Births : 529537 Sgt. Ducker. \V, “ H.Q.\7V.” to the wife

of,

a

daughter,

Marian,

at

the

Married Families Hospital, Abbassia, on 3/3/29. Deaths : 389621 Sqn. QMS. Clifford. (L, MC. the son of ,Maurice Foster, died at the Married

Families’ Hospital, Abbassia, on 5/5/29. Age 3 months. Service : 392683 Sgt. lillis. 'l‘, “ MC.” Permitted to reflengage to complete. 21 years service in the Corps of Cavalry of the Line. 391186 Sqn. S31. \Veir J, ”A”. Permitted to re—engagc to complete 21 years service in the Corps of Cavalry of the Line. 390850 Sgt. Conduit. \V, “A”. Permitted t0 rc—engage to complete 21 years service in the Corps of (Cavalry ol the Line. 1853896 S/Cpl. l'ieddow. A, ”A”.l’ernrittcd to re—engage to complete 21 years service in the Corps of Cavalry oi the Line.

1856035 'l‘pr'.

Thompson.

W,

” ll.0.\\'."

Permitted to re—engage to complete 21 years service in the Corps of Cavalry of the Line. 394337 F/Cpl. Mayors. W, “ B ". Permitted to re—engage to complete 21 years service in the. Corps of Cavalry of the Line. 391184 R.S.M. Mander. F, “ H.Q.W.” Permitted to continue in the service for a further period of. one year until 22/2/31. 389532 Tpr. Dawes. W, ” H.Q.W.” Permit— ted to continue in the service beyond 21 years until 14/3/34. 311911 S/S/Sgt.i\‘1urray. J, “ H.Q.VV.” Per— mitted to continue in the service beyond 21 years until 12/2/31. 6322 S/Cpl. Grhillyer. \V, ” M.G.” Permitted to extend their service to complete 12 years with the Colours.

45

398573 Tpr. llart. A, ” ll.Q.\\'.” Permitted

to extend their service to complete 12 years with the Colours. 398242 L/Cpl. Hayley. Ii, “ MG.” Permitted to extend their service to complete 12 years with the Colours.

398495 Cpl. Lewis. C, ” MC.” Permitted to extend their service to complete 12 years with the Colours. 393281 Tpr. Munro. S, “ H.Q.W.” Permitted

to extend their service to complete 12 years with the Colours. 393283 L/Cpl. Wall. A, “.”.\ Permitted to extend their service to complete 12 years

with the Colours. 400794 Bdsm. Doerr. A, ”11.Q.VV.” Attai-

ned the age of 18 years on 31/3/29. 399941 Boy. Ogden. F, “ HQW.” Attained the age of 18 years on 14/5/29.


THE EAGLE

OUR NOTICE BOARD.

1

Our Next Number:

All matter for publication in our next number (Due in Oct. 19%)) should

3. To Intending Subscribers: A printed subscription form will be found below.

i‘THEEAGLE:

reach the Editor not later than Sept. lst. This should be filled in and sent off as 2

To Contributors : Pictures and

soon as possible.

Sketches are extremely

A Regimental Journal of

hard to reproduce unless done in special Indian Ink on plain white paper. The Editors will be pleased to supply ink and paper to

4. Our Address:

any artist, if needed.

Eagle." The Royals, Abbassia, Cairo, Egypt,

Our

address

is :— The

Editor

of “The

THE ROYAL DRAGOONS FORDIS

SUBSCRIPTION FOR

FOR OLD COMRADES.

OFFICERS.

To :——The Editor of “ The Eagle,” The Royals, Abbassia, Cairo. Sir, I desire to become a subscriber to ” The Eagle ” and have filled in the form of subscription below :

To :—Mr. R. A. Ratcliffe, Hon. Sec., The Royals Old Comrades Association,

October 192 9

94, Netherwood Road, London, W, 14.

Sir, I desire to become an annual subscriber to the “Eagle,” and enclose my subscription (2/6d.) for the year ending Dec. Slst 1929

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(to which my copy of the “ Eagle" should On receipt of this Order, plea ;e pay to Messrs. Llo yds Bank Ltd. (Cox’s Branch) Pall Mall, the sum of twelve shillings and six pence and the same Sum every SUCCBe— ding January until further notice. Cross all cheques, etc., “ Eagle a/c.”

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be sent). CAIRO-EGYPT NOTE :—Single copies may be obtained by Officers from the Editor, price 3/6d, by Old Comrades, from Mr. Ratclifie, price 8d. (pest-free in every case).


THE EAGLE

Into Battle. The naked earth is warm with spring, And with green grass and bursting trees Leans to the sun’s gaze glorying, And quivers in the sunny breeze ; And Life is Colour and Warmth and Light, And a striving evermore for these ',

And he is dead who will not fight ; And who dies fighting has increase.

Through joy and blindness he shall know, Not caring much to know, that still Nor lead nor steel shall reach him, so That it be not the Destined Will.

The thundering line of battle stands, And in the air Death moans and sings ; But Day shall clasp him with strong hands, And Night shall fold him in soft wings.

The fighting man shall from the sun Take warmth, and life from the glowing

“ Into Battle,” considered by many as

earth ;

Winners of the Old Comrades’ Shield. 2nd. Troop N11}. Squadron.

Julian Grenfell. 1915.

Speed with the light—foot winds to run,

being the finest of all War poems, was writ-

And with the trees to newer birth ; And find, when fighting shall he done, Great rest, and fullness after dearth.

ten by Julian Grenfell in France early in 1915.

julian Grenfell joined the Regiment in India in December 1910, and went on to

South Africa when the Regiment moved there in the winter of 1911. He was a re-

All the bright company of Heaven Hold him in their high comradcship,

nowned boxer, and it. was in South Africa

The Dog—Star and the Sisters Seven, Orion’s Belt and sworded hip. The woodland trees that stand together, They stand to him each One a friend, They gently speak in the windy weather; They guide to valley and ridges’ end. The kestrel hovering by day, And the little owls that call by night. Bid him be swift and keen as they, As keen of ear, as swift of sight. The blackbird brother,

sings

to

him,

”Brother,

If this be the last song you shall sing Sing well, for you may not sing another; Brother, sing."

that he had his fight with Fireman Tye which so many Royals past and present remember to this day. In the midst of cramming for his Promo-

tion Examination he made a high jump on his horse “ Kangaroo ” which was a record

for South Africa. clearing 6 ft. 5 ins. On July 1914 he was dwelling on the prospect of leave in England when the first rumours of war reached him. The Regi— ment left Potchefstrom on August 21st,

embarked at Cape Town on the " Dunluce Castle," and reached England on September 20th, going straight to Salisbury Plain. On the night of October 5th the Regiment left for France. “ It seems foo good to be off at last,” wrote Julian. These are extracts from some of his letters from the front :——“ We have been fighting night and day ; first rest tO-day for

In dreary, doubtful, waiting hours, Before the brazen frenzy starts,

The horses sh0w him nobler p0wers : Oh patient eyes, courageous hearts!

And when the burning moment breaks, And all things else are out of mind, And only Joy of Battle takes Him by the throat, and makes him blind—

four days. The worst of it is, no sleep prac— 1 cannot tell you how wonderful tically. our men were, going straight for the first

time into a fierce fire. They surpassed my utmost expectations. I have never been so fit or nearly so happy in my life before. I adore the fighting, and the continual interest which compensates for every dis— advantage "


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9

THE EAGLE

I longed to be able to say that l liked it, after all one has heard of being

under fire for the first time But it is beastly. I pretended to myself for a bit

that I liked it, but it was no good : it only made one careless and unwatchful and selfabsorbed ; but when One ackn0wledged to oneself that it was beastly, one became all right again, and cool. After the firing had slackened, we advanced again a bit into the next group of houses, which were the edge of the village proper. I cannot tell you how muddling it is. We did not knOw which was our front. We did not know whether our own troops had come round us on the flanks, or whether they had stopped behind and were firing into us. And besides, a lot of German snipers were left in the houses we had come through, and every now and then bullets came singing by from God knows where. Four of us were talking and laughing in the road, when about a dozen bullets came with a whistle. We all dived for the nearest door. and fell over each other. yelling with laughter, into a very dirty out— house. James Leckie, the Old Old Man, said: ‘1 have a bullet through my best Sandon breeches.’ We looked, and he had. It had gone clean through. He did not tell us till two days afterwards that it had gone through him too.”. . . . . . .“ Here we are, in the burning centre of it all, and I would not be anywhere else for

a million pounds and the Queen of Sheba. The only thing is that there's no job for the cavalry. SO we have just become infantry, and man the trenches. I believe we are getting entrenching tools, which is good hearing. We want them. Colonel Burn is taking this, so I’ve only time to write one word of love. He’s off. He tells me I was reported dead. But there’s life in the old dog yet 1”. . .. ...”I have not washed for a week, or had my boots off for a fortnight. But we cook good hot food in the dark, in the morning before we start, and in the night when we get back to our horses ; and we take our good cold rations with us in the day time. It is all the best fun. And picnicking in the open day and night (we never see a roof now) is the real method of existence. There are

loads of straw to bed—down on, and one sleeps like a log, and wakes up with the dew on one’s face. The stolidity of my nerves surprises myself. I went to sleep the other day when we were lying in the trenches, with the shrapnel bursting within fifty yards all the time, and a noise like nothing 0n earth. The noise is continual and indescribable. The Germans shell the trenches with shrapnel all day and all night ;

and

the Reserves and ground in the rear with Jack Johnsons, which at last one gets to love as Old friends. You hear them coming for miles, and everyone imitates the noise ; then they burst with a plump and make a great hole in the ground, doing no damage unless they happen to fall into your trench or On to your hat. They burst pretty nearly straight upwards. One landed within ten yards of me the other day, and only knocked me over and my horse. We both got up and looked at each other, and laughed. It did not even knock the cigarette out of my mouth”. . . . He was twice mentioned in Despatches, and when he came home for a week’s leave in December 1914 he was wearing the D.S.O. ribbon. He was gazetted a Captain in January. In May 1915 he sent home the poem “ Into Battle.” On the evening of May 12th. the Royals were put about 500 yards behind the front line, near the Ypres-Menin Road, to support

an attack on the German trenches running north from Hooge Lake. The ROyals were behind a small hill ; Julian spoke of it afterwards as the little hill of death. Early in the morning of the 13th. the Germans started a terrific bombardment of this hill. Julian went up to the look-out post. He was knocked Over by a shell, which only bruised him. He went down again and made the report of his observa— tions. He then volunteered to get thrOugh with a message to the Somerset Yeomanry in the front line, which he succeeded in doing under very heavy fire. When he returned he again went up the hill, with his General. A shell burst four yards away. knocking them both down in a heap;

A splinter had struck Julian’s head.

He

said: me ; carry doing

“ Go down Sir, don't bother about I’m done." The General helped to him down, and was wounded while so. julian revived, but said to a

brother officer:

He was then taken to the hospital at Boulogne, where thirteen days later, without having spoken one word contrary to that spirit of noble unfailing happiness, he died.

” Do you know, I think I

shall die.” When he was contradicted he said : “ Well, you see if I don’t.” He was taken to the clearing—station. He asked there whether he was going to die, and said: “ I only want to know ; I am not in the least afraid.”

Note :—The greater part of the above was taken from the memoir of ]iiliari Grenfell written by Viola Meyrtell, arid published by Messrs. Burns 8: Oates Ltd., Orchard Street, London.

Editorial Notes. The time has come for us to say good—bye to Egypt and to the many friends we have

made here, and the day after this journal appears we shall be embarking at Suez for India. As to whether we are lucky in leaving this country after two years instead of the normal three, opinion seems to be fairly evenly divided. There is a possibility that in doing so we are one year nearer home. However that may be, our two years out

here have been very successful Ones, and we have all managed to get a lot of enjoy— ment out of them. *

ik

>l<

The last three months have been full of incident. First came the publication of the Draft Treaty, some of whose terms closely affect the future of British Troops in Egypt. Its acceptance still hangs in the balance. Then, more recently, there have been the outbreaks in Palestine and the dispatch of troops from Cairo and lsmailia to assist in dealing with the situation. 2+:

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4<

It was never very likely that we should be sent there, as we were at the time well under

way with preparations for the move. As it has turned out, no Cavalry has been included in the troops sent to Palestine. Our sole representative is Major IJumbrcpk.

who has gone as AQALG. to the Palestine Emergency liorce. Nearly everybody in the l Regiment volunteered to go as his servant #1

:ls‘

>11

We should like to add a word of apprecia— tion to all the nice things that have been said (and quite rightly) in the Press and else— where about I.ord Lloyd, and to express our regret at his retirement. In view of our impending move to India, training has been cut short and none has been carried out since September 14th. Our last leave party returned from Alexandria on September 13th. *

>i<

>11

Congratulations to Major Dumbreck on being awarded a vacancy at the Staff Col— lege. He is due to leave for England in October. Congratulations to Lieut. R. C. Kidd on his appointment as A.D.C. to the G.O.C., British Troops in Egypt, and to Lieut. A. H. Pepys on his appointment as ADC. to HE. the Viceroy of India. ’1:

>I<

*

Congratulations to the following on being awarded the Long Service and Good Conduct

Medal :—S.S.M. Boag and Sjt. Styles. >1:

>1:

>l<

Congratulations to Tpr. Singer and Farr. Hartland on their ‘ increase of strength.’

The winners of the Old Comrades Shield this vcar were the 2nd Troop 31. G. Squadron (122i l’ts.) The 2nd Troop, “ B Squadron (118 pts.) was second, and 4th Troop, “ A ' Squadron (117 pts.) third.


10

THE EAGLE THE EAGLE Results of the Lindley Cup :7-

1st ” A " 4 .................

90 points

\Vc draw our readers attention to the notice. at the. end of this issue re prizes for

2nd MG. 2 ................. 3rd “ B ” 2 ......

68

drawings.

1: y!

>14

lhe records of shade temperature during the last two months have been :77 July ................... . : 710 August ................... 3*

>l<

t

: 72“

=l<

we should like to convey our sympathy to

Sjts. Haley, Ducker and Clifford on their recent bereavements. :z<

We regret

=:<

s:

to announce the death,

The “ Eagle " will continue to appear as before when we arrive in India. We would remind our contributors at home that letters from England will take at least a fortnight to reach us. >I€

As we go to press the Kings Cup at the Alexandria Bummer l’olo 'l‘ournament has just been won by the Royals team, consist— ing of :7 (apt. A. 5. Casey (Back) ; Lt.»Col. \l’. T. Miles (3) ; Lt. R. Peake (2) ; and Lt. R. B. Moseley (l). e

in

tragic circumstances. of Tpr. .l- \Vright, “ A ” Squadron, on September 6th.

2':

All matter for publication in our January issue should reach the Editor by December 5th at the latest.

>i<

Officers subscriptions (at home and abroad) for the coming year are being reduced. May we ask all Officers to save us a lot of work by making a point of filling in the new subscription—form at the end of this issue and sending it at once to their own Bankers.

:k

:r'

The Officers with the Regiment would like to express their thanks to the Officers of the 10th Hussars and the. RILA. for their very kind hospitality this summer while they have been turned out of their Mess. :r

*

>i=

\Ve wish the best of luck to all who are not accompanying us to India. Their names will be. found in the Regimen— tal Gazette in this issue. “'0 hope they will join the Old Comrades" Club when they get home. $

-'

2e:

In conclusion, we welcome our successors

the 13/18th Hussars, and we wish the very best of luck to all our friends of other units whom we are leaving.

SIWA. His Excellency, accompanied by Major O’Callaghan, ADC, and two British Army

Officers, left Cairo by special train on the evening of June 7th for a tour of the Western Desert. Dabaa, a small Arab Village a hundred miles west of Alexandria, which is the ter— minus of the desert railway, was reached

during the night and at eight thirty in the morning the party transferred themselves and their belongings into motor cars. Here a small fleet Of nine Frontier Force Light Cars (Fords) were waiting to do escort duty and Shaheen Bey, the Sub-governor of the

Western District and Kaimakam Green Bey of the Frontier Districts Administration joined the party. The cars took the road for Mersa Matruh surrounded by a score of Arab horsemen who galloped recklessly along— side firing in the air and who were With difficulty dissuaded from their seeming intention of accompanying the cars for the whole journey. Frequent outcrops of rock across the road made fast travelling impossible and each successive skyline revealed the same. dreary vista of rocks and scrub devoid of any sign of life, save an occasional low, black arab

tent. After four hours of such tedious jour— neying 85 miles through dust and glare, the first glimpse of Mersa Matruh was literally a sight for sore eyes. Instead of a cluster Of , mud hovels huddled together like frightened children, one saw a small town well laid—out with broad streets and clean, widely spaced

houses on the shores of a green lagoon. Centuries ago King CrOesus of Lyda, Lysander the Spartan and Alexander the Great landed there on their way to consult the oracle at Siwa ; and on the site of the present gover— nor’s house, Mark Antony built a villa for

The Lagoon of crystal clear Cleopatra. water lies like a green jewel amongst the sand hills. Seawards it is walled in by a barrier roof against which the Mediterranean, looking purple in contrast to the lagoon’s amethystine hue, throws up great plumes of spray. Here again His Excellency was greeted by a Fantasia of arab horsemen, one of whom in his excitement had neglected to tighten his girths and took a grisly ‘toss’ over a stone heap to the undisguised mirth of his comrades. By the Rest House all the nota— bilities in their Sunday best were paraded. His Excellency greeted each in turn but even the glories of the ceremonial robes of

E1 Sayid Safi en Din, cousin to the Grand Senussi himself, could not keep the eyes of the rest of the dusty party from lustful contemplation of the lagoon and its promise of aquatic ecstasies to come. After a comfortable night at Captain Hillier’s rest house and an early morning bathe, helmetted and begoggled, with well— greased faces, the party set out On their two hundred mile drive to Siwa. For the first fifty miles the road ran uphill through scrub but once on the plateau, all vegetatiOn ceased and as far as the eye could see there stretched a dismal expanse of grey gravel. The sun was fierce but a fair wind blew from the North West which even after crossing a hundred miles of roasting desert still contained some of the cooling properties of a sea breeze. Three or four gazelle, a party of three arabs with their camels and a derelict Ford Lorry were encountered before luncheon. This we took at Bueb at the 124th Kilometre post, and were grateful for the shade and comparative coolness of a rest house which had been erected there for H.M. King Fuad when he visited Siwa in the spring. After luncheon there were only the Kilometre posts to dis— tract our attention from the dreariness of the unchanging skyline.


THE EAGLE

THE EAGLE

The surface of the road was surprisingly good ; frequent pans of dried mud being as smooth and level as a hard tennis c0urt. Over these the Rolls and Buick were able to attain a speed of sixty to seventy kilometres an hour. What the escorting Fords lacked in speed they made up in resilience and it was seldom necessary to wait more than a few minutes before they came clattering and bouncing over the skyline and the word ” all up ” was passed to the head of the convey. About five pm. the landscape underwent a change. Limestone hills and deep sandy ravines appeared in view and shortly afterwards the cars began a steep descent through the winding pass of Magahaz. The road snakes dOwn from the plateau which has an altitude of six hundred feet into a depression seventy feet below sea level and here the heat was intense and there was no breath of wind.

All at Once the overhanging cliffs of sand and limestone fell away on either side to reveal the open plain of Siwa. From a distance the oasis looks like noth— ing else but a narrow strip of bright green material stretched across a sanded floor. As one approaches, the strip resolves itself into groves of date palms and gardens out of which protrude a double-humped brown hill. It

seems as if a loop—holed fortress has been built about the hills’s face, the ragged battlements of which tower two hundred feet above the plain. By the time the cars slowed up to drive through the avenue of white—clad, cheering inhabitants it could be seen that it was no fortress but a mass of houses built One on top of another against the face of two steep limestone hills. Except that time and decay had robbed their outline of its symmetry, the silhouette of old Siwa is not dis-

similar to that of the skyscrapers of Manhattan Island. The houses are built of blocks made of mud and salt but barely a third of them are habitable to-day. Each Siwa, as his lofty dwelling begins to crumble about his head, descends to the plain and builds himself a house at the foot of the hill. If he is rich and powerful he smothers it with whitewash but woe betide the social climber who presumes to use a greater quantity than befits his rank and station! The Rest House (of course smothered in whitewash) boasted fly—proof windows and was comfortably furnished. The ceilings were made of split palm trunks and matting covered with dried mud and it was necessary to walk delicately above

stairs lest one covered the dining table below

with dust and plaster. In old Siwa the palm trunks are not sawn off flush but protrude from the walls like cannon muzzles giving the t0wn still more the appearance of a fortress. The Rest House is built against the face of a hill SOme thousand yards outside the village. This hill is a honeycomb of tombs and is called ‘ The hill of a thousand dead ’ (Gebel Muta). In ancient days it was the cemetary of Siwa and there still remains an underground passage leading to it from the town. After dinner, the Mamour of Siwa, Hilmy

by date palms and dappled by the early risen sun, its clear green water with bubbles everlastingly rising, looked delightfully c001 and tempting ; and one hOped that whether maid or matron the Siwan ladies were not limited to that one portentous ablution. Later we discovered that divorce was so common that a lady might legitimately in— dulge in as many as four or five ceremonial dips in a twelve month. After breakfast, His Excellency was received by the whole male population of Siwa in the market place.

The Sheikhs, wearing

Bey (brother of the channel swimmer) announced the arrival of the 10cal Zigaga who wished to entertain His Excellency with native dances. There were two distinct schools of Terpsichorean art. One in which a woman performed a dance du dem‘e’re before

their ceremonial robes and silver-mounted and bejewelled swords, the citizens dressed in white and bearing the banners of their

a chorus of handclapping, chanting men; and

Their enthusiastic though dignified acclamations of His Excellency were no less impressive. After the Egyptian Government officials and the Sheikhs had each been presented in

another in which all the young men walked in a circle disclaiming in song their inability to leave a luckless friend under certain cir— cumstances which were left unexplained. the two, There was little to choose between

of either for melody or persistent dreariness measure. Arab Early next morning three fiery trapcoloured highly in ponies caparisoned prov1ded pings and shovel—like stirrups, were Am springs. for a visit to One of the Siwan

Tamusi is One of the most famous of the

many

brides natural springs, for there the Siwan round Ringed eve. bathe on their marriage

religious sects and a detachment of the camel

corps on their white camels, all formed in a hollow square, made an impressive spectacle.

turn, a Visit was made to the garden of

Sheikh Mishri for the ceremony of tea drinking. Guided by the host the party passed through a small wicket gate and found themselves in a green tunnel of grape Vines, which after the glare of the streets was delightfully dim and cool. A pavilion of Eastern carpets and Tripolitan striped blankets had been erected between four giant palms and under


T H E EA G LE

this a white table was spread with fruits and sweetmeats. The fruits were delicious, green figs, apricots, plums, tiny apples and a host of others ; but the sticky Turkish delight and

silver wrapped bon—bons were similar to those one sees in the village post office at home and appeared to have been some time in transit. Lubki, the sap of the date palm, was found, when fresh, to be sweet and harmless and re—

sembling cocoa—nut milk in taste and colour. Its effect after fermentation had already been noted during the dancing of the pre— vious night. Goumar, which is the top knot of a date palm and considered a great delicacy, was found to be ahn0st tasteless

and ‘ woody ’ but not unpleasant. After a decent interval, the ceremony of brewing the tea was begun and, after much sipping and tasting, the guest whose great privilege it was to pass judgment, declared himself satisfied with the brew and the pot came round. The majority of the party declared the mint tea (Shai Nanaa) excellent but time was passing and His Excellency requested that Sheikh Mishri would allow him to forego the other two cups which ceremony demanded. Very gracefully, the Sheikh announced that in His Excellency’s honour the time worn custom should be altered, and that from n0w

on one cup of tea (and not three, six or nine) would be considered the height of good manners. Sheikh Mishri is the most influential and

T HE EA GLE

wealthy land owner of Easz‘em Siwa, and, as

a bitter feud (over a matter of a wall pro— tuding a few feet into the public street) has raged between East and West for over two hundred years, it was imperative that His Excellency should lose no time in visiting a lVestemzv garden. Boarding the motor cars the party set off at speed to the rival tea party. A single \Vestern Sheikh whose f10wing robes almost obscured his pony, rode at breakneck speed before the Rolls to show the way and seemed to enjoy himself so thoroughly that he continued to act as advanced guard for the rest of the day. In the \Vestern garden the ceremony was identical and, though the Lebki was voted inferior to that of the East, their courtly good manners and kindly hospitality was of the same delightful old vintage as that of their feudal enemies. With guides carefully picked from both factions, the party set out to inspect Old Siwa. The t0wn on the Eastern hump of the double hill has now crumbled and collapsed so that from within it resembles a rabbit warren. A few narrow passages, a well and half a dozen houses (one of them the old house of assembly) are all that remain intact. The party scrambled and climbed in a cloud of dust, keeping a sharp look-out for scorpiOns and snakes, t0 the summit of the ruins, and from there looking down one could visualise the town as it used to be—an irregular sky—scraper of honeycombs full of

mysterious, narr0w, winding passages with a WOman’s face at every tiny window and children playing on every roof. Later a visit was made to the olive press. Here one saw a massive mill stOne worn to smoothness by centuries of use grinding

the olive stones into a sticky black pump. As the old labourer toiled round and round the stone basin a sweet chocolatey smell arose and filled the tiny room. The sticky mass is wrapped in goat—skin and placed in a press. As the press begins to squeeze, the oil, thick cloudy and yellow, drips into a jam

tin, a relic perhaps of the crew of the Duke of Westminsters armoured cars. Laterit is sold to Greek Traders who dilute and sell it at great profit on the coast. During the morning there were many op— portunities of studying the characteristics of the natives of Siwa. The Sheikhs as a whole were

pale-skinned

handsome

men,

high

stomached and of indolent bearing. The labouring class~ there is no merchant or middle class in Siwa—are likewise pale skinned, decadent in expression and physically effete. Here and there one sees the dark complexion of the Soudanese, for from time immemorial slave traders from the Sudan have done good business at Siwa. There are about 3,500 inhabitants of the Oasrs.

The women are shy and carefully veiled and except for their faces peering at windows and their heads peeping from every roof, little was seen of them. They wear their hair in a fringe of thick greasy black tassels on their foreheads and decorate themselves with countless silver ornaments, ear-rings, bangles, anklets and bells. The virgins wear a heavy hoop of silver a foot in diameter about their necks to which is attached an engraved disc the size of a saucer, a favourite souvenir of marauding Bedouins and other Visitors ! Although the land is suitable for grain. the Siwans are too idle to cultivate anything except date palms,fruit and olives. Their chief trade is dates and in the autumn the outskirts of the town is crowded with the caravans of Arabs who bring in the years supply of grain in exchange for dates. They also do a small trade in baskets and all their dishes, plates and coffee cups are made of closely woven basket work. After luncheon a visit was made to Aghourmi, a suburb of Siwa, lying about two miles away to the East. “7e had already seen this town in the distance sticking up like a brown island above a sea of palms. Like Siwa, it is built on the sides and summit

of a rocky hill but the cliffs rise so steeply


10

THE EAGLE THE EAGLE

from the plain that it has the appearance still more of a fortress.

A fortress it is, for

the rocks are sheer and the only approach is a narrow path beneath the frowning loopholed walls to a single gateway. The t0wn is in a good state of preservation and is still inhabited ; only a small proportion of the natives having their dwellings outside the walls. From the top of the highest minaret there is a niagnficent view of the surrounding country. To the North and North West are the big salt lakes, and beyond the great lime—

stone hills rise in a rugged barrier against the sky. To the North East are more lakes and far away across the sandy plain another oasis, a faint line of green in the distance. To the East and South, vast rolling sand-hills, bare, trackless and interminable, stretch away into the unchartered sea of Lybia. Gazing in that direction, one was aware of a sense of awe. Somewhere out there the warriors of Cambyses lie buried. Fifty thousand men who, setting out from Mem— phis for Siwa, across the desert never returned ; of whom not one bone or breastplate has ever been discovered. Old Arabic history tells of two other armies which suffered the same fate—out there in the sand. . . Four hundred years before Christ, the Siwan Oasis was famous for its temple of Jupiter Ammon, probably built BC. 1385

ened by masonry. From cracks and fis sures in its rocky bottom there rises a perpetual stream of bubbles and when the water is stirred, as it was by the party bathing late in the afternoon,it effervesces like_champagne. It has the reputation of being cold by day and hot by night and it was certainly too warm to be very refreshing that evening. After dinner that night His Excellency was entertained by more native dancing. On this occasion it seemed that Lebki had been lavishly dispensed amongst the performers. The chant of the Soudanese dancers

escarpment t0 the shore. All save one. The brakes of One of the Fords chose this moment to declare a truce and Shaheen Bey at the wheel was faced with the choice be— tween capsizing and ramming on car in front. He chose the former and so deftly did he contrive it that he and his fellow passen—

became wilder and wilder and louder ;

Markaz. The party dined and spent a comfortable night on the Egyptian Cruiser “Abdel Moneim” where the Captain and Officers, especially the Scotch engineer, regaled them with many amusing anecdotes of Sollum in war time, of the Tara prisoners

the

Kuffran dancing team (what their business was four hundred miles from home was not explained) thr0w themselves On the ground with greater and greater violence ; the dust rose in a thick white cloud about the circling swaying figures ;they danced until it seemed they must drop down' with exhaustion. Even when the head lights were extinguished as a sign that the performance was ended they danced and chanted and clapped all the way back to the village. In the small hours of the morning the strains of the now familiar ”I couldn’t leave my friend like that ” were still faintly audible at the Rest House. An early start was made next morning but long before it was light the road Out of Siwa was lined with waiting inhabitants. The Siwans had enjoyed a 36 hour gala day and more determined to give His Excellency a royal send-off. This they did despite the after effects of ‘the night before.’

gers were able to step out of the wreckage

unscathed. “Mallishl Leave it. Let us walk” he remarked with unruffled philosophy. After a refreshing bathe in the sea. His Excellency received the Officers of the gar— rison, the Sheikhs and other notables at the

and respect, their broad, beaming smiles and affection.

This road was by far the best traversed

similar to that from Matruh to Siwa ;

dreary, colourless desert.

endless vista of Grey Gravel, a few gazelle, a dead camel here and there by the wayside and a merciless sun roasting the hands and faces. The ‘going’ was excellent and by three o’clock in the afternoon the fresh tang of the sea in the air indicated that Sollum

building or decoration. The site of the ruined temple is close to one of the largest and most beautiful of Siwa’s many natural springs. Ein el Hammam, known in the days of the oracle as the Sacred Fountain of the Sun, is a circular basin about

fifty yards in diameter and forty feet deep. Its merge is reinforced with palm trunks and here and there its sides have been strength-

was not far distant.

At four fifteen, with-

out any warning, the bay of Sollum with its tiny, toy-like houses, boats and encampments, lay six hundred feet below. In low gear, at snails pace, the cars des-

cended the old Roman road which zig—zags its way d0wn the face of the precipitious

their foals, pursued His Excellency’s car so

usual by Arab horsemen, took the coast road for Mersa Matruh.

too, one sees traces of the same architecture,

the ruined temple outside for purposes of

Sidi Barrani half way to Matruh is the market place of all the Arabs of the district and there the few Greek settlers no doubt fleece the simple Bedouin to the top of their bent. As the cars reached its outskirts, horsemen appeared from all directions and by the time the Markaz was in View it was almost impossible to get through the streets. A hundred galloping, yelling Arabs mounted on every colour and breed of the equine species and many of the mares followed by

garrison duty, the convoy, surrounded as

Next morning at 7 am. after a visit to the

but it is doubtful whether there was a second temple within the gates and it seems more probable that these stones were taken frOm

an

two thousand years ago the Roman galleys . were anchored in fleets.

officers’ mess of the Egyptian battalion on

and the daring deeds of the armoured cars

against the Senussi in 1916. They also made His Excellency a present of sponges ; for the coast between Sollum and Matruh is the favourite hunting ground of the Greek sponge—fishers.

along the frontier of Tripoli, was exactly

The road to Sollum, part of which passes

natural harbours of Sollum and Matruh,

closely that the rest of the convoy were almost cut off. There was a spirit of boisterous good nature about the Arab Sheikhs very different from the solemn dignity of the Siwans : a spirit which seemed to say : “ You’re a jolly good fellow and so are all of us.” As one gorgeously clad Sheikh was presented after another, each met His Excellency’s look with a virile frankness that is rare amongst the people of the East. Though by their low obeisance they showed their appreciatiOn

during the trip. The first forty miles was almost entirely over ‘ mud pans ’ the surface of which could not be much inferior to that of Verneuk. On the left were white sand hills and the blue sea, and on the right foot— hills, covered with a plant the exact colour of heather, a pleasant change after the

and, as already stated, such famous men in

history as Croesus, Lysander and Alexander The Great came to Siwa (Ammonium as it was then called) to consult the oracle of the Ram—headed God of Siwa. The ruins of the temple are just outside the walls of Aghourmi. Within the town

I7

The coastal strip through which this road runs provides fine grazing for camels. Everywhere there were big herds Of the fattest and wooliest camels attended by long—shanked of arab bovs. Here and there are strips

cultivation, for the Arabs grow enough Barley for their Own use but nothing like the quantity which the land can bear. Cen— turies ago this strip was known as the granary of Rome ’ and all along the foothills the ruins of Roman cisterns bear evrdence to their industrious colonisation. Where now a few Greek sponge traders anchor in the

hearty handshakes were plain tokens of Great, hearty fellows most of

them, keen of eye and active, they did not display their prosperity and rank by magnitude of paunch. When His Excellency, having lent an ear to two petitions, (one of course about remission of taxes) stepped into his car, they gathered up their flowing robes and, scuttling off to their ponies,vaulted into the saddle with the activity of a schoolboy. Mersa Matruh was reached soon after midday. After luncheon a visit was paid to the r0ck known as Cleopatra’s Bath. Four miles westwards along the coast a huge rock has been hollowed out so as to make a chamber about fOur yards square. Here Cleopatra is supposed to have enjoyed the delights of seabathing, hidden from prying eyes and without risk of sunburn. The passage by which the sea enters the bath is cut zig-zag through

the rock in order (One supposes) that the boisterousness of the waves should be


IS

THE EAGLE

THE EAGLE

quelled before they should endanger her majesty’s complexion and coiffure. The floor of this passage is of a delightful rose— pink stone like a natural enamel. Probably the whole floor of the bath was the same ,'

one cannot tell as the roof has fallen in and covered it with rubble. Close by are the remains of many Roman villas. The sand hills are full of pieces of marble and broken earthenware. Blue glass

vases have been found although as yet no proper attempt has been made to excavate the site. Back at Matruh the lagoon was greener than ever and the caress of the sea. breeze doubly delicious ; yet, idling that evening on the sands, there was a pronounced depression in the party’s spirits The morr0w promised only a prosaic train and. . .farewells.

Notes on India.

19

the occurrence. It should be noted that the greater quantity of Third Class Mutton is goat’s meat.

Bombay—Calcutta ..............

Postage for England.

Bombay—Simla ................

Letters for Europe should be pOsted not later than 8 a.m. on Fridays, and parcels and Money Orders not later than 3 pm. on Wednesdays respectively at Secunderabad

Bombay~Karachi ............... Bombay—Quetta. .‘ .............. Bombay—Delhi ................

P.O.

Bombay—Lahore ...............

Postcard Single ........... 1%- Annas. ,, Reply ........... 3 Annas. Letters, not exceeding 1 ounce 2 Annas.

Bombay—Rawalpindi ............

Some Distances Between Towns by Rail.

Bombay—Peshawar .............

Every additional ounce 112- Annas. Hyderabad. Hyderabad City is the capital of HHEH the Nizam’s territories, and the present seat of Government. Six Miles West is the Fort of Golconda. Its distance from Calcutta by rail, Via Bezwada, is about 986 miles ;

from Madras, 490 miles ; and from Bombay, 491 miles, via Wadi. The Nizam’s Dominions, Viz., that part under the sole management of His E. High— ness’s Government cOntains an area of about 82,000 square miles, with a population of (according to the recent Census), 13,374,676. It is bounded on the North by Berar ; on the South and East by the Madras Presi— dency ; on the West by Bombay. The City of Hyderabad is surrounded by a stone wall, which however, is in a weak and

ruined state and is approached by numerous bridges, gates and posterns. It has a popula— tion of about 365,000.

Native Officers and Soldiers are prohibited from Visiting the City of Hyderabad or Tombs of Golconda without a pass from their Commanding Officer. Passes for N.C.O’s and men of British Regiments to Visit the City of Hyderabad cannot be granted. General Market, Secunderabad.

The General Market of Secunderabad occupies a Central position in the town, and is approached by Market Street (which leads from the Clock Tower, Oxford Street) directly to the Market itself. The Market is stocked for the major portion of the year with a good variety of fresh vegetables, European and Country, fruit, mutton, and beef, fish and poultry. The prices current of all these articles are intimated daily to the public in a price list hung up outside the Market Inspector’s office. Meat sold is of different classes, Viz.

Rules for Entering the City. Mutton first, second and third class, and beef

Officers and other Europeans belonging to the District are prohibited from visiting the City of Hyderabad, or the Fort or Tombs of Golc0nda, without permission from the

Resident, to be obtained by application through the G.O.C. Station. As it is usual to send intimation of all such visits before hand to H..E.H the Nizam’s Government and obtain its assent to them, each applica-

tion should as a rule, reach the Secretary to the Resident twelve days before the proposed visit.

as first and second class. The stamps adopt— ed for stamping meat are a circular one for first class, rectangular for second class and triangular for third class. The public are requested to be particular regarding this and not to accept meat, said by their servants

to be first class, unless, it bears the stamp of the Cantonement Authority. All complaints as to the poor quality of articles sold in the market, should be made

in writing to the Executive Officer Secunder-

abad Cantonement, as early as possible, after

British Postal Orders of the denominations of 6d., 1s., 1/6d., 25., and so on up to 215., increasing by 6d, at each step, are sold at Post Offices.

Bombay—Lucknow .............. Bombay—Secunderabad ......... Bombay—Madras ............... Bombay—Bangalore ............

Miles 1 ,349 1,223 1 , 189 1,098 992 1,320 957 865 1,254 1,175 l ,434 1,342 1,542 1,450 885 497 794 747 692

Hindustani as she is spoke. What time is it ? Kyar Budgar hie. Water : Parny What’s the matter : Kyar hie. Look there : Dekko. Well dOne : Sharbarsh. Is it ready : Tieyar hie. Bring it : La—o. Take it away : Lay ja—o. Who is that : K0wn hie. What do you want : Kyar charty ho. Which way : Kis rar. How much : Kyar Darm. Have you anything cheaper : Kutch iss say sustar hie. Come here : Hitherao. Go away : Door ho. Careful : Kooburdar. Quickly : Juldy.

It doesn’t matter : Kootch purwar nuheen. Horse ..... Ghora.

One ...... Ekk.

Dog ..... Kutta.

Two ..... D0c.

Yes ...... Han. No ...... Nuheen. Left ..... Baehn.

Three ..... Teen. FOur ..... Char. Five ...... Parnch.

Right . . .Dahinee.

Six ....... Chha. Seven ..... Sart. Eight . . . .Ath. Nine ..... Now. Ten ...... Dus.

One Rupee (sixteen Annas) = l/4d. approx. One Anna = 1 d. approx. Three Pies 2 One Pice. 4 Pice = 1 Anna. One Seer = 2 lbs. approx.


THE EAGLE

THE EAGLE

/

gone &, lecs WE SHALL Miss THE 811T

COHEN \ NE HEARD

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um

CALLED

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aw

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WORSE THAN THAT

~— & m ARth Too, so THAT HE is

l. buRE ro vnoemmun

our Tum Isn'r WHAT THE TRnuseom DRNERs CRLLWEH

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5—1" m,‘ ;:_ ' TRE HEHR‘! FQRD is \IERY PoPuLNI no? “1T“

m

1939

R “an OF WHVEYAME sane

SUPPOSE

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flap”;

‘:, .

N-JA-IAVEHE u ‘

It is with much regret that we announce the death of the Regiment’s Mascot, “ Jock.” " Jock ” who was a familiar sight to all the Regiment and to many of the Old Comrades, passed away in July after having served for nearly nine years. He was a very disting— uished goose having been presented to the King and Queen at Aldershot in 1924. He came from Ireland with the Regiment in 1922

and served at HounSlOW and Aldershot and was passed for service abroad in 1927 when

the Regiment left Hounslow for Egypt. Of— On arrival out here he was given the which ound, playgr a as ficers’ Mess Garden to included a bathing pool where he used r. weathe hot keep himself cool during the When the Officers' Mess was pulled down stables, " Jock” was moved down to the too was pool and but the loss of his garden

away. much for him and he began to pine back to When he refused to eat he was taken and late, too ! his beloved garden, but alas away. quietly passed ” Jock so our gallant “


THE EAGLE

THE EAGLE

Old Comrades’ Notes.

VVas difficult or the bats not wide enough 01 the VVickets too big, we failed somewhat

n1ise1ably—ealthough I haven’t the actual score at hand I fear we failed to make 30—hardly conntV form I HOVVCVer, quite a pleasant afternoon VV 1s spent, in spite of the low temperature, which prrhaps was ap— preciated by one or tVVo of our term who having veiV kinle turned out to make up our numbers had to play in somewhat tight fitting mufti. Fortunately with care in stooping, there wasn't any casualties to clothes. Tea VVas p1ovided for the teams by the generosity of the Stanhope Institute funds and Club funds paid for tea for all our Visiting members who numbered about 60. I regret to have to report the death of four old Royals this time. These are :— Reynolds, Simons, Cressy and Inwood. The three former old Royals would be quite unknown to all serving Royals and indeed to many fairly old ones. They all enlisted I think in the 80’s. Most of the serving Royals would however remember Inwood, who only left the Regiment fairly recently. Wreaths on behalf of all Royals were sent in those bereavements known in time from the Club. Your old friend and Comrade, R. A. Ratcliffe-

nalled as usual, and in addition, the minus

was shown on the board. Five was deducted off a man’s score every time he was out. The Officers were at—home to the married families and a very nice tea was enjoyed iu the Slade Club. '

SERJEANTS. Total Score. Minns. Score. II —— o = II 34 ‘ IO 24

R. S. M. Mander Not Out . . Sqn. S M. Bowles Run Out ct. Joyb Wilson

R. Q. M. S. Mynard Run Out lbw. b. Gosling, lbw. b. Gosling b Lloyd ct. Wilson b. Lloyd .. Serjt. Yardley ct. Heyworth b. Gosling, Run Out ct. Wilson b Gosling

.. ..

Sqn. OMS. Clifford, b. Llon Serjt.Riley ct. Dumbreckb. Goslingict. FitzGeraldb. Lloyd .. .. .. Serjt. Pamplin ct. Lloydb. Swire T. M. Plumbley Not Out . Serjt. Foster ct. Hermon b. Joy Ct. Scott b Joy Sqn. Q. M S. Davidson b. Gosling, b.Joy 0 & b. Joy ct. Swire b. Heyworth lbw. b Gosling

25 — 37 ~— 37" 32 — 3o 26

25 I5 5 IO

II II II II II II II

on either side typically “ Kentish.’ Sheerness itself (until quite 1ecenth, puielV a Naval Dockyard van) has latterly made considerable progress to be ranked as a Seaside Resort, with pleasure gardens, band— stand, concert parties, speed boats etc., all complete, but, those who expected a touch of Southend, with its Kursal Fun fairs, etc. were disappointed and I learned ”bored stiff” was an expression used about 6.0 p.m. by some of the dissappointcd Ones. The journey home was quite uneventful and the coaches arrived again in London—setting down at numerous places~—ab0ut 1.0 p. In. Our Committee haVe one little grouse about this outing To avoid the disappoint— ment of lack of accommodation, and to obviate the hiring of inferior Vehicles four coaches were booked two months prior to the outing to carry 120 people Unfortunately the anticipated number failed to book, con— sequently one coach had to be cancelled. This cancellation cost the Club {1.1.0 It is difficult to understand the lack of response considering the Club pay half of the actual cost of the coaches. A Very cold wind someVVhat spoilt the pleasure of the spectators at the Cricket Match. The arrangements for our comfort and en—

for a

by sections. On returning to barracks each man received the usual ration. In the afternoon the Officers played the Serjeants at cricket, not the usual kind of cricket match which most of us have seen, but ”Brighter Cricket.” There was cer— tainly some bright cricket, and the “ duds ” enjOyed the game as much as the ” stars.”

OFFICERS. Major Heyworth b. Bowles Mr. Gosling Not Out. Capt Joy Not Out . . . . Major Dumbreck Run Out lbw. b Foster . . Mr. Lloyd b Riley Capt. Wilson RunyOut ct. DaVidson b. Bowles ct.Yardley b. Plumbley Major WilsonFitzGerald b. Bowles

Major Swire st Mynard b. Bowles . . Mr Scott ct.Ma11der b. Riley Mr. Hermon b. Plumbley, b. Foster, b Plumbley

o 22 32 22 25 26

24 I5

II II ll H II I] H II ll ll

the road itselfis undulating and the scene ry

getting the Institute team Lll out

moderate score of a bout (10, we did think we stood a good ch111m \las, either the pitch

C.M.G., D.S.O. and afterwards ranked past

Each pair batted for 20 minutes. This was quite long enough, and too long for some, as the rate of scoring was 150 in the hour. No interval was allowed between pairs. Time was deducted at the umpire's discretion (Le. for a fielder hurt or wicketkeeper changed, etc.) The scores were sig-

H

The outing was generally Voted a huge success. The weather was kind the com— pany good and the coaches Very comfortable. LeaVing Charing CrOss (Embankment) be— tween 9. 30 and 10.0 21.111. the coaches arriVed at Shee1ness—afte1 only one stop for re— freshments e11 route !~—about 1 O p 111. The journey after leaV111g London at Eltham VVis very interesting for although the me read to Rochester is practically a straight one,

We held our usual parade on June 18th, Waterloo Day. In the morning the Regiment paraded on the maidan and was inspected by Brig. R. G. Howard—Vyse,

H

stitute in June last.

joyment was most carefully attended to and our sincere thanks go out to the Committee of the Stanhope Institute for their effort in this direction and to the kindness of S. Lithgow, Esq and Capt I). P. Lithgow for permitting us the use of the ground and gear of the Institute. lo rev at to the match. \Ve could not get out a strong team, such as we should have liked to haVe done. SeVeral of our old and tried players were unable through dutV, etc. to get away, but after

UlUlCflUVUiUI O 0 Our

Practically all that we have to record for the past quarter is a brief account of our outing to Sheerness and our Cricket match against the membe1s of the Stanhope In—

Waterloo Day.


THE EAGLE THE EAGLE

The Hero. Glance at him casually, and you would not find anything notable or unusual about him. Yet observe him closely, and you would become aware of a certain quiet distinction in his bearing and a suggestion of latent power in his rather beady black eyes, which gave some hint of a character fitted for high endeavour and argued sterner qualities un— derlying the somewhat dreamy nOnchalance of his manner. Of medium height and well—knit figure, he carried himself well and moved with the supple grace of the trained athlete. He dressed well, but not flashily, and his well-

cut brown suit bore the hall—mark of a distinguished firm. Tanned and clean-shaven, his merry smile w0n him many friends. He was not particularly good-looking ; indeed, he was almost ugly ; but his was such a frank, friendly face that one could not help

liking him and trusting him instinctively. Sprung from noble stock, he was intensely proud of the name he bore and jealous of its traditions.

For this he had good reason ;

there had been a Bugge at Abbassia since the days of the Pharaohs.

At an early age he had settled down to live quietly in the country, for the cares of a considerable family made constant demands The Bugges upon his time and energy. have always married young. . .

It was on a sweltering day in August that the crisis came.

An emissary

from a

Foreign P0wer had come on a tour of inspec— tiOn. A misunderstanding arOSe. It was a hot morning : the misunderstanding grew; high words were exchanged. The emissary returned to his country and sent in a violent protest to his Government. The Government of the foreign Power wrote a note.

It wrote another note ; then

it issued an ultimatum, and in this ultimatum there was one particular clause, which, if it was allowed to stand, would make a declaration of war inevitable. Now war was the very last thing that the people of Bugge’s country wanted, for whereas they were totally unprepared and very ill equipped, it was quite otherwise with the foreign Power. Although inferior in point of population, it was yet in a far more advanced state of civilisation and material deve10pment, and

rumour had it that its army was being equipped with a new and terrible form of weapon— projectors of liquid flame, which caused instant and horrible death. In short, it began to be realised in Bugge’s country that war against such an enemy could have but one result, and that the only

way to avoid this impending calamity was to devise some means of removing that offensive clause from the ultimatum. Here was a crisis which called for deeds of high renown, and Bugge, the dreamer, became

the man of action. Did he hesitate to come forward ? Never for One instant—Pausing only to bid farewell to his young wife and to speak a few encouraging words to his little son Lancelot—(it was a family name)—

he boldly emerged from his secluded retreat, and, with pride of race surging in his veins, set forth upon an errand which for sheer reckless daring has seldom been equalled. Without assuming any disguise he crossed the frontier and travelled on until he reached the capital of the foreign Power. On arriving there, he entered the Ministry of War after a series of hair-breadth escapes, avoid—

7'“ 5"an5::

no

ing detection more than once by remaining

motionless where he was.

And there, on the

table before him, was the Ultimatum, even

now about to be sent forth. How could he stop it P Even as he asked himself the question,and, like Homer’s hero of old, “divided the swift mind,” in a flash the answer came to him. Let the Ultimatum go forth, but without the fatal clause. That must be erased for ever.

And with the thought, he

began

to gnaw as he had never gnawed before.

But alas ! having always been of temperate habits and abstemious in his diet, his diges-

tion was not equal to this sudden strain, and as he swallowed the final letter of the final word, he was seized with Violent c0nvulsions. He felt himself to be dying, but his country was saved ; the fateful clause would never

now be read——And this is what it said :— Dea-bugging.—«All Troop—rOOms will be

thoroughly de—bugged between 8.0 and 9.0 am. tO—morrow. Blow-lamps will be drawn from the Squadron Stores. . . . .To this day a drawing-pin marks the spot where his heroic sacrifice was made-

MANOEUVRES ,

‘ “nu-4); _ eu‘msg a ‘3‘“? our 14‘ A(finn) ml. :unrnngj .nr‘, Sunni-"ultkwh‘q jut bun par Houmns (‘ENT‘LEMEN vLEAsE.

'l’ "T“Y"“ in hum A‘scvaslon ,‘

’2 L-_' I


THE EAGLE 27

T HE EA G Lli

Serjeants’ Mess Notes.

Sjts. Pamplin,

Leuty and Taylor.

Conduit,

Forsyth,

Sjt. Pamplin our Cham-

pi0n Man at Arms was again in unbeatable form. In the cricket world we reached the semifinal of the Serjeants’ Mess Competition but here luck deserted us and we lost to the Tenth Hussars by 13 runs. It was certainly “ hard lines” because we had all set our hearts on winning this competition, before

leaving Egypt, and the result gave us all such a shock that we had to drown out sorr0ws. Anyhow congratulations to the Tenth and we wish them the best of luck in the final. On the 28th. July we were challenged by the Cpls., t0 cricket, of course we accepted

and a good game was enjoyed by everyone concerned. We batted first and run up a score of 83. Not too brilliant I grant you, and by the chortling of the Cpls., they thought the same, nevertheless, as events went to prove the score was much too good for them after all, for in just over half an hour’s batting we had them all back in the Pavilion for a score of 16. Leaving us winners by 67 runs. We noticed in the Coporals’ Notes on the Soccer match, they used the expression “ Storming our Citadel ” but we can safely say that they have no “ Citadel " left, as we uprooted it, and distributed it all around

the country—side, in fact we shifted their furniture so many times that they must have thought it was a game of skittles.

balls were sufficient, and he wended his

disconsolate way back home, murmuring to himself “ It w0uld be a good thing if some— one pinched the stumps during the tea in— terval, or they were taken to the saddle— tree maker to be planed down and short— ened.” It was mete that Yardley the keeper of the “ Citadel " should be the one to cause the consternation in the ranks of the Corporals. However, everyone enjoyed themselves espcially the R.S.M. who had a gallant and well run ten to his credit. We were the guests of the Corporals after the match and we hope that the hints we gave them will help them considerably at a future date when the return match has been arranged. SERJ EANTS . Sjt. Foster c. Wright b. Ebbs ........ Sjt. Pamplin c. Lewington b. Ebbs . . . . Sjt. Yardley lbw. b. Ebbs ............ TM. Plumbley b. Ebbs .............. R.S.M. Mander C. Payne b. Ebbs ..... Sjt. Marriott b. Ebbs ................ Sjt. Macklin c. Midgley b. Wright ..... Sjt. Wilson c. Bramley b. Wright ..... Sjt. Dempster b. Wright ............. F.Q.M.S. Picken Not out ............ S.S.M. Davidson 0. Midgley b. Ebbs . . .

21 O 29 0 10 0 0 0 9

CORPORALS. @OOP‘OOOUIOQHOr-t

erty ;

the fort no matter what happened : but two

L/C. Rogers l.b.w. b. Plumbley ........ L/C. Midgley b. Yardley ............. L/C. Ebbs b. Yardley ...............

L/C. Mc’Lean b. Yardley ............ Cpl. Payne b. Yardley ............... Cpl. Hayley b. Yardley .............. L/C. Wright run out ................ L.C. Pope c. and b. Plumbley ........ L/C. Hinchcliffe not Out ............. L/C. Lewington c. and b. Yardley ..... Cpl. Bramley st. Pamplin b. Yardley. . .

hi

” Ginger ” came into bat with a determined look upon his face as though he would hold

(hi

Owing to the leave season and the inability of our friends the R.E’s to get our Mess finished, only two events have taken place during the last quarter. We are still in Our Married Quarter and I’m afraid we shall never have the pleasure of living in Our new Mess and “ making much of it.” In August we had a friendly Joust with the Tenth Hussars and managed to gain the greater number of points at the mounted sports. The following, who represented the Mess, are to be congratulated on the fine show they put up. R.S.M. Mander ; S.S.M. R.I. Taylor; S.S.M. Weir; S.Q.M.S. Dough—

At the Regimental Rifle Meeting some good shooting was seen and we congratulate the following, Sjt. Yardley on winning the 0’ Shaughnessy Cup and being the best shot in the Regiment, Sjt. Constable on winning the Serjeants’ Mess Competition, Sjt. Baker the Individual Revolver and “ A " Squadron the Serjeants’ Mess Falling Plates.

We shall be losing a few of our members this trooper who will be proceeding home, we wish them all the very best of good luck and hope we may have the pleasure of meeting them when the Regiment returns home. We are holding a Smoker for the members who are leaving us and will give a full account Of this in our next issue.

Corporals’ Mess Notes. Since the last issue we have at last moved back from the “ motley throng ” into our old abode which had been unoccupied since January for repairs, and I am glad to say that everybody has settled down once again. Our members do not make themselves so conspicuous by their absence as in the (lays of yore, and I am afraid our comrades in the lower regions are wishing us anywhere but where we are since we have had the ” music box ” installed, also when one of our members

bursts forth into his ‘ Indian Love Call ” (or screech). We Often wonder whether he is calling the ” hounds ” or the ” dead men ”

which nightly adorn his panoramic View. Now about cricket—cricket I said, and our match with the sergeants. We opposed them

One beautiful clear Sunday afternoon. The Corporals Team dressed in their best certainly lived in hepes of proving a stiff task for their Opponents. They did remsemble a cricket team dressed immaculately in their whites, and we wonder why the cooks and mess orderlies wore drill that day. To get On with the subject of cricket, their demon bowler no doubt stayed up all night practising the “ finger twist,” of this we are confident judging by his bowling average. It is said that a certain member of our Mess visited a booksellers in Cairo with a view to getting books containing hints on how to play, and how not to play cricket , but found that all books of hints on cricket and goal—keeping had been sold to a higher rank.

whom we have just referred ?

Is it he to

I think perhaps it is advisable not to attempt to describe the match, as our op— ponents will have given a full and detailed account of our brilliant display of how to get bowled. By the way, during the second innings we wonder whether the first corporal that went into bat was bowled or were his bails accidently knocked Off by the wicket

keeper .7 The same evening we entertained the Sergeants to a games evening which passed off quite pleasantly, though I am afraid several members of the Sergeants’ Mess suffered from sore hands next morning, and

a certain Corporal found his belt rather stiff through taking part in a riotous game of—— well I never mind what. we held our first dance in our new home on July 26th, which proved quite an enjoyable evening.

we noticed several new faces, and

we are sure the owners of them fully enjoyed the evening. It could have been better had not several of our members been basking in the sun at Sidi Gaber, having a well earned rest.

Before the next issue of “ The Eagle ” we shall be losing a few of our members who are not prOceeding with the Regiment to India but sweating on the top line regarding the number of vacancies there are On the boats leaving for England. We wish them all everything that makes life worth living and hope that we all meet again when the Regi-

ment returns to England. G. A. B.


THE EAGLE , THlZ EACH".

over “ A ” Squadron The 12th. Lancers" captained by Major Raunsley. This team had reached the semi—final of the “ Small

that L/Cpl. Wright's fine performance will act as an incentive to all the swimmers in the Squadron, and cause them to make a wholehearted attempt to win next year. The Inter-Section Competition is still going

Units ” and had not suffered defeat to date. Thanks to a steady opening knock by Sjt. .l’amplin, and a partner—ship of (70) by Mr. Gosling and Burchell, the. former scoring (61) and the latter 43), we. amassed a really “ County ” total. Burchell followed up his good batting by taking, (6 for 50) and we won handsomely. in competition matches ,Sj t.Pamplin.socred

will be able to publish a chart, showing the placings of the Sections. There is only one more event, before the really magnificent shield, presented by Major 8. G. Howes, is

186 for an average of (26), and Burchcll, took

given to the winning section.

32 wickets costing(9) runs each. With the ta—

On the 23rd inst. we commenced the section training. The horses looking very well, after a well earned rest are again hard at work, carrying us over the desert on the usual schemes and exercises. In a few weeks we shall embark for India, therefore our next letter should be very interesting. We hope to be able to boast of further achievements in a new country.

lent at hand,our prospects for next season are not very rOsy, but we. will hOpe for the best. Elsewhere can be found the Squadrons

placings in the Regimental Swimming gala. L/Cpl, T. Wright carried the Squadron well into the running for first place, by a series of brilliant performances, Capturing in all four firsts and a third. With a little support this lone-handed attempt might easily have put us first, but this was lacking. We hope

4a

_9

strong and every W'ednesday morning, points

are keenly competed for, at swimming etc., and mounted sports.

In our next issue we

Further issues of this journal, will, we feel sure see our optimism justified.

IA! Mufti ' A

“B " Squadron Notes. T)‘ )1 During the past quarter many r Dig Events ” have taken place. The Cricket

season has prctically drawn to a close and

performances. The whole of the prizes in the Troopers Match came to “ B ”, and we con— gratulate the. following who finished in this

the Regimental Rifle Meeting and Swimming

order :7Farr.

Judging by results the Squadron has had a most disappointing cricket season. Follow— ing a very promising start, we fell away in a most alanning manner, towards the latter

Sports, being the chief of above mentioned “ Big Events,” have been held. hi the cricket world we have not made any

end of the season, failing to fulfil early ex-

that we. should mourn the loss of one of our stalwarts, namely Godfrey, whose place we. have not been able to fill according to the old

Tpr. Hitch. The Sergeant’s Mess Match was won by Sgt. Constable, who appears to have derived much benefit from his leave in England. Farr. Holloway was also second in the Regimental Championship, only yielding the O’Shaughnessy Cup to Sgt. Yardley of M.G. after a very plucky fight. In all the Squadron took two Firsts, three Seconds and two Thirds in the individual matches, but failed to win any of the team matches, finishing a bad second to " .\ " Squadron in the Steele Cup. We sincerely hope that we are not

“A ” Squadron Notes. Since our last effort in this journal we. have Once again, fired the annual )Iusketry Course. As you will see under the heading, Musketry Notes on another page, the shooting of the Squadron was much above the usual stand— ard. Again we are able to boast that we produced the Regimental shot in both classes. At the Regimental Rifle Meeting, all the team events were won in a fine style by our teams. \Ve were not very successful in the individual events however, the 0’ Shauglmessy Cup being snatclu 41 away from us by “31.0." Squadron. \V'e take this opportunity of sympathising with Sqdit, Q.)l.S. l,)ougherty, who, won this trophy in 1925, lost it in 1926 and has shot so well

that he has been either runner—up or third each year since then.

pectations. This relapse can be attributed to the departure of Major Heyworth and Mr. Gosling on leave to England ; depriving us of our steadiest bat and our only bowler of the. “ Slow "type. 0111‘ batting was decidedly bad, the Tail starting generally from No. 3

records, much to Our regret, and it seems

saying (There are as good fish in the sea,

and the bowling, minus the services of Mr.

etc.) and we, are. still searching for the. potential talent which will obtain the Cricket laurels of the future, for the Squadron. The Regimental Rifle Meeting gave us

(iosling, lacked variety.

111 the. Squadron

more matter for the “ Notes " as a few of the,

league the. only win, we registered was against ”13 " Squadron, and were spared

“ l’luins " from the pie were taken by the Squadron. Although the matches which involved an excess of energy appeared to lack interest for the. Squadron (judging by

from being tln

unenviable Woodeirspoon—

ists " by playing 1H,). to a creditable draw. \Ve did however score a very smart win

results), there were several good individual

Holloway,

Tpr.

Lamb

and

doomed to the same fate at the next Rifle Meeting and that the results we have shown

\villbe exactly re.versed,or better still that we shall make a clean sweep, and e.\: post/kitty fill the whole of the ”Eagle“ with the results.


THE EAGLE

THE EAGLE

a place in the Regimental Sports and Work programme to enable the notes of the Squad—

ron to fill the ” Eagle ” with the accounts of our Wlns.

31

The next ” Eagle ” will be composed under different circumstances and until then we must hope and work for the best of any thing which is put in our way. " Deputy.”

M. G. Squadron Notes.

.\ Council of \\'ar.

The Regimental Swimming Sports. claimed Our attention by the splash caused by l; Cpl. Goodwin, who continues in his winning ways, taking First prize. in the 880 yards and one length Over Arm Side stroke, and Second place in the 440 yards to L‘Cpl. \Vright of “A " Squadron who later just failed to win the Command event for that distance, Cpl. Haley and L'Cpl. Bunston were in good form by finishing Second and Third respectively in the Plunging event. Again the Fates appeared to be against us as we filled the bottom place in the list for for the Squadron Swimming Cup. After all these set—backs we are still happy and looking forward to the Winter Sports. Firmly believing that Our efforts in this direction will meet with more success. Every good wish and congratulations are extended to the members of the Squadron who have recently taken steps up the ladder of fame, as per recruiting poster displayed for all and sundry to see before enlistment.

:\t the time of writing these notes the move to lndia is only about five weeks ahead. It is to be noticed that several members of the Squadron are to be seen seriously question— ing an old campaigner of the Squadron on the value of " Ackers " expressed “ pice." Need— less to say the aforementioned “ old soldier " has glorious tales Of starry nights on the Deccan with the tom—toms beating outside the cantonments, and of the “ dhobie " who

will say “ One sock brocked Sab,” and usually has to whistle for his money. The trouble in Palestine just attracts a small amount of interest and if the “ \Vct— Bar Tales” are to be believed these notes should not be required, because we shall arrive in Jerusalem on or about the date of publica— tion of this copy. This clause of the news deals with the “ \Vhat we are going to do next year ” and therefore we can only put our shoulders to the. “ Wheel of Fortune ” and by increased efforts turn it in to our favour in any future events which may find

We open these notes with our heartiest congratulations to Mr. Kidd and the 2nd. Troop on their magnificient performance in winning the Old Comrades Shield, in the face of keen competition. This is the first year that the shield has left “ B " Squadron and we hope that it will now stay with us for as long, if not longer than it did with ”B ” Squadron. We were able to finish our M.G. shooting in July and the results compared as favour— ably as last years, which is very satisfactory. On arrival in India we get a further increase

blem, as our police have failed to discover how it came to be missing. The lst. Tr00p also won the other MG. competition. Our cricket team have also managed to retain their hold on the Inter-Squadron Cricket Cup, winning five matches and draw— ing the sixth. Our thanks in this respect are greatly due to Sergeant Yardley for his most consistent batting and to Tpr. Evitts for his very steady bowling. We also must not forget our groundsman, whose help was invaluable.

in numbers, having another troop of four

held in the Heliopolis Baths during August and though we made a gallant fight to retain the cup, we were eventually beaten by 4 points. We congratulate “ HQ.” Wing on their performance. L/Cpl. Shelton won us the plunging and he has since dOne even better

guns added On to us. In the Regimental Rifle Meeting we did very well. We heartily congratulated Sergeant Yardley on winning the O'Shaughnessy Vase for the best shot in the Regiment. Despite a determine attack on the part of the reserve gunners to wm

Colonel Miles Cup we held our Own as L/ Cpl. Harding’s team won by twenty odd points the from a team of reserve gunners under

” diehard ” L/Cpl. Pope, who got into action without a lock spring. \Ve hear that Edgar Wallace has been invited to solve the pro-

The Regimental Swimming Sports were

in the Command Individuals which he won,

also the Command Team Championship. We won the Inter—Squadron water polo but this unfortunately did not count t0wards the cup. We heartily congratulate Major Dumbreck on getting a nomination for the Staff College


THE EAGLE

32

but very much regret that he won’t go to India with us. At the time of writing he has just left for Palestine as Staff Officer and judging by the ugly rush there was to become the Squadron Leader’s servant a great many other gunners would like to be able to have a look at the Wailing Wall. I’m afraid Mr. Editor that these notes are

very sparse but the days have chiefly been devoted to Education, leave and preparing for India. All very laudable objects but they do not provide much ‘ copy ’ for the unfortunate who has to tell the Editor all about it. Several afternoons sleep have already been devoted to what you see in print before you.

held at Heliopolis Baths on Thursday, 15th. August and in these the Wing excelled them— selves. The following were the events in which the Wing was successful :— 3 lengths free style :—2nd. Tpr. Janes. Diving :—lst. L/c. McCabe. 1 length free style z—3rd. Tpr. James. 880 yards za2nd. Bdsm. Doerr, 3rd. Tpr.

“Flutters from the Wing,” Owing to the move of the Regiment to India in October my notes for this quarter are written earlier than is usual and in consesequence there is not a great deal of interest to tell the reader, but I will try to make the most of what has occurred. This being the leave season the majority of us have taken the opportunity of spending a fortnight at the Change of Air Camp at

Alexandria, and we have much enjoyed the release from the usual routine work at

Barracks. The sea is a great health reviver and has made us all feel very fit and well.

to our midst and feel sure that he will be an asset to us in our work and our recreation. Captain Wilson, who is on leave in England,

MM com:~

THAT N-Co-s SUCH

We very much regret to learn of the be-

reavement of Sjt. Ducker in the decease of his daughter, Marian, recentlyand our sympathy goes out to him and his family at this time. Most of us are looking forward to going to India this year, but there are a few who will

will not be with us there and are looking forward still more anxiously for the boat home : however more about that in my next notes which I hope will be written in the land of the Hindus.

Ajax.

We welcome Captain Browne, who has

wt mom know-

MERE

Richardson. 2 lengths free style :—~2nd. Tpr. Roughton, 3rd. Tpr. James. 1 length side over—arm 2—2nd. L/c.Turnbull. 1 length breast stroke :—lst. Tpr. Broadbent. Squadron Relay 2—Headquarter Wing. We finished up with a total of 27 points, the highest number of points gained and it is

greatly to the credit of the competitors that such a result was obtained. Farrier Hartland and Trooper Singer are to be congratulated on the recent happy events which have Occurred in each of their families.

been serving a very arduous term as Adjutant,

5+:th

OUR

33

THE EAGLE

AND

SHIRE

HA1

CO"

ENTHUSIASTIC

SwnMMrRs '.

BUT SINGER Cocs on FOR EVEfi/

at They have

is, unfortunately, unwell and may be unable

season at Cricket this year.

to accompany us to India. We wish him a speedy rec0very and hope to see him soon amongst us again. Congratulations to Mr. Barne on gaining an Instructor’s Certificate for Signalling at the School of Signals at Catterick. The Signal Troop has had a very successful

beaten the Band, the Transport, and the Administrative Troop. Well, done, Signals !

We managed to obtain second place in the order of merit by Squadrons in the Weapon Training this year: “B ” Squadron just beat us by two marksmen. The Regimental Swimming Sports were

Band Notes. Now that our sojourn in Egypt is almost at an end and we are about to proceed to India we have to note with regret the number of instrumentalists that we are losing and whom we shall leave behind us in Egypt until such time as they can be drafted back to the United Kingdom. We shall feel their 10ss severely for a time but will recuperate once again and in a short time will tackle the more difficult compositions with comparative confidence. Those leaving us are, Trumpet—Major Plumbley, Cpl. Chiddington, Trumpeters Thomas and Curtis, Bandsmen Doggett, Tomlinson and Rowe. All are leaving at the termination of their period of engagement with the exception of Cpl. Chiddington and Bdsm. Rowe. Cpl. Chiddington, we regret to say, is being transferred to the Home establishment owing to the illness of his wife. We hope sincerely that she will soon find health in England.

Bdsm Rowe, how-

to ever, is purchasing his discharge in order Tom that trust We become a film star. Mix & CO., will not be seriously perturbed will at this anouncement as doubtless there part take to them for still be a few films left

in which Reuben will not have the time or inclination to accept. What a wonderful thing it must be to have a ‘ film face.’ How— ever, we wish him the best of luck and shall attend in strength to view his first big picture. The Band Cricket team have had two in— teresting matches recently with the Band teams of the Glosters and 10th Hussars. We were successful in both these matches chiefly owing to the good play of Stevenson and Old, our opening batsmen, who passed our opponents score without being separated. In fairness to the 10th Hussars it must be mentioned that two of their best ‘bats’ were playing for their Regimental team on the day we played them and so were unable to ‘turn—out' for the Band team. However, our younger batsmen shewed great promise and will no doubt be selected to play for Regimental teams of the future. In conclusiOn, we are to congratulate ourselves in having as successor to Trumpet— Major Plumbley that great sportsman ‘ Ben ’ Foster. May his shadow never grow less.


THE EAGLE THE EAGLE

Cricket Notes.

Our opening batsmen then played out time. On the 2nd. day in under an hours play 8 wickets had fallen for 97. Yardley was still in

Burchell last man in, by brilliant and well

judged running, succeeded in giving Sjt. Yardley the. bowling for the whole time they were together with the exception of five balls. .The innings closed for 152 the last two wickets having added 55 runs, and great credit must be given to Sjt. Yardley on his masterly display. The R.A.S.C. opened their 2nd. innings after lunch requiring 215 runs to win. By tea time we had secured 5 wickets for I31 runs, but then our success stopped. After tea we could only manage to dismiss 2 more batsmen before they had sc01 ed the necessary runs, thanks to a fine innings by Captain Rountree, and L/C. Knowler, with hurricane hitting by Captain Hinde.

The Royals .

Isl Innings : Sjt. Pamplin b. Palmer ........................ Sjt. Foster c. Tomlinson b. Hinde .............. 8.8M. Bowles c. and b. Hinde

2nd Innings :

Capt. Joy c. McAvoy b. Hinde ................. Capt. Wilson c. Knowler b. Palmer ............. Mr. Lloyd st. Knowler b. Palmer ...............

c. Knowler b. Hinde ..... c. Knowler b. Palmer . . . . c. Tudor b. Palmer b. Hinde c. Tudor b. Hinde ........ lbw. b. Palmer ..........

Sjt. Yardley c. Williams b. Palmer ..............

lbw. b. McAvoy .........

Maj. Tpr. L/C. Tpr.

Dumbreck c. Tomlinson b. Palmer ......... Evitts b. McAvoy ........................ Huggett c. Palmer b. McAvoy ............. Burchell Not Out ........................ Extras

2nd Innings : Hinde 4 for Palmer 5 for McAvoy I for Rountree ofor Williams 0 for Tomlinson o for

Bowling Ist Innings : Hinde 3 for 65 Palmer 5 for 68 Rountree o for 8 McAvoy 2 for 25 Williams 0 for I

55 95 17 6 13 0

’l‘pr. l ’1‘ior.

innings after losing If) wickets for ()5. thanks to good stand by Mr. Lloyd and Sjt. Yardley we were all out for 185. At 3.30 the R.A.S.C. went in and by 5.30 were all out for 125 of which Captain Tudor and Pte. Gorman made 75.

and was joined by Huggett, and between them they added 20 runs.

Winners of the Inter-Squadron Cricket Cnp~tM.G. Squadron :) / 7. VValkOr ; Tpr. \\'oods ; 'l‘pr. Smalvs. ; Major 3. (X Dumbreck ; 11 Yardley ; Tpi'. Fellows i

Since our last notes we have been knocked out of the Command Cup, by the R.A.S.C. in the semi— final round. It can however he said that the game was one of the best seen on the Garrison ground for some time. Both sides experienced alternate changes of fortune. but in the end we were beaten by three wickets. In the Ist.

2nd Innings : c. Lloyd b. Wilson .......

C.Q.M.S. McAvoy b. Joy ......................

c. Huggett b. Joy ....... lbw. b. Buchell .......... b. Burchell

Pte. Gorman lbw. b. Bowles Capt. Middleton b. Joy ........................ Pte. Palmer st. Lloyd b. Huggett ............... Capt. Hinde Not out .......................... S.Q.M.S. Williams c. Joy b. Huggett ............

Not out Not out

did not bat

L/C. Tomlinson b. Bowles ..................... Extras Total (7 wickets) ......

Sillinq 3 ~l./(‘.

R.A.S.C. Ist Innings : L/C. Knowler c. Lloyd b. Bowles ............... Pte. Christopher b. Joy ....................... Capt. Rountree c. Burchell b. Joy .............. Capt. Tudor 0. Joy b. Wilson ..................


THE EAGLE Bowling :

Joy

3 for 74

Bowles Wilson

3 for 30 1 for 29

Burchell

o for 1

Evitts Huggett

ofor Q 2 for 5

Bowles Wilson Huggett Yardley Burchell Evitts

o I o o 2 1

for for for for for for

Joy 1 for 22. Bowles 3 for 14, Wilson 4 for 9, Burchell 1 for 14.

39 42 10 13 24 It)

The Royals. Ist. Innings : Sjt. Foster l.b.w. b. Cook ............. Sjt. Pamplin b. Cropley ............... S.S.M. Bowles b. Cropley .............. Capt. Joy l.b.w. b. Cook ..............

They won the toss and put us in, the wicket again played funny tricks and we were all out before lunch for 60. However we managed to get 3 of our opponenets out also before lunch, and they did not finally win till 3.30 by 7 wickets. Our fielding and bowling was very keen and good in this match and though the score shows us as having been heavily defeated, we were by no means disgraced. The Royals.

Capt. Wilson c. Martin b. Cook ........ Ist. Innings :

Mr. Lloyd c. Hamm b. Cook ........... Sjt. Yardley l.b.w. b, Hobson .......... Maj. Dumbreck not out ............... Tpr. Evitts not out ...................

Sjt. Pamplin c. Tuck b. Sharp .........

2%

Bowling : Rustell o for 72, Cook 4 for 42, Cropley 2 for 63, Hobson I for 32. With the advent of July our first team was greatly weakened by the absence of Capt. Joy, Capt. Wilson and Mr. Lloyd who went on leave. The Single Soldier’s Camp also took its toll of our team for varying periods. But though not as successful we have managed to improve con— siderably in the field, and a lot of new talent amongt the Band given a trial, the best of whom Tpr. Stevenson should develop next year and

make a lot of runs. Once more the cry is for bowlers more bowlers, we shall lose these at the end of this season, so

are likely to be a bit weak here next year. The 2nd. Team have altogether played 14 matches this year, of which they have won 8,

drawn 2 and lost 4.

Many of these matches

have been overwhelming victories,

and they

have only suffered one bad defeat. Most of the second team have played for the first team at

In the 2nd. round of the Frank Cook Cup we had our revenge on the 2nd. Bde. R.H.A. for our defeat last year. The match was played on the Willcocksiground the gunners winning the toss elected to hat, but with the exception of two batsmen who scored double figures, found the wicket too tricky for them. They were all out before lunch for 71. After lunch we went in, but 3 wickets were soon down for 31, and the score only mounting up by

ones. Eventually, thanks to a stand by Capt. joy and Capt. Wilson, we won by 7 wickets.

Mn

some time or the other, and cricket throughout S.S.M. Bowles.

2nd. Bde. R.H.A. 13f. Innings : Mr. Turnbull c. Lloyd b. Bowles ...... Dr. Hamm c. Wilson b. Joy ........... Capt. Aikenhead c. Lloyd b. Bowles . . . ,

L/B. Hiscock b. Bowles .............. Mr. Vining c. Pamplin 1). Wilson ....... Gr. Rustell b. Wilson ................. Bdr. Martin c. Joy b. Wilson ........ Ly/B. Cook c. Foster 1). Burchell ...... Gr. Freeman run out L/B. Hobson c. Burchell b. \Vislon . . . Dr. Cropley not out ................ Extras ................

N OOHOOU‘V—bON—P

The Four Just Men: Sgt. Foster ; Sgt. Pamplin ;

H N

Silt. Yardley :

H

\I

Lloyd played a fine innings for 82 which included

3 sixes and only_10 singles.

the Regiment has made great strides, so both teams are hoping to maintain their reputations at Secunderabad. The Squadron League was again won by the M.G. Squadron who were undefeated, their narrowest escape being their win over “ B " Sqdn., by the narrow margin of 4 runs. Each Squadron played each other twice the

league table finally working out as under. In the Small Units Cup, none of our teams were successful though H.Q.W. were decidedly un— lucky in losing their match against the R.E’s. In the Sergeants Mess Competition we are

drawn against the Ioth. Hussars in the semi—final. Having defeated the R.E’s and R.A.O.C. In the third round of the Frank Cook Cup we suffered defeat at the hands of the RE's of Egypt.

l

Total ...............

Total ............... Bowling : Sheehan 4 for 32, Sharp 6 for 18. Royal Engineers. 1325. Innings : Spr. Dealtry c. Foster b. Burchell ...... C.S.M. Grace b. Thomas Mr. Tuck c. Slade b. Burchell .......... Cpl. Sheehan c. Dumbreck b. Evitts . . . . Capt. Keane c. Precious b. Foster ....... QMS. Osborne c. Slade b. Thomas Spr. Smith b. Casey .................. Capt. Noakes c. Slade b. Casey ........ L/C. Sharp c. Yardley b. Huggett ....... Spr. Castle 0. Pamplin b. Yardley ....... Spr. Heath not out ................... Extras ..................

H co HO-P funco-bis on»: o

I7

Total ...............

N O U.)

Extras ..................

l

L/C. Huggett and Tpr. Burchell did not bat

Sjt. Foster c. Heath b. Sharp .......... Tpr. Precious c. Keane b. Sharp ....... Sjt. Yardley c. Tuck b. Sharp ......... Maj. Dumbreck c. Osborne b. Sharp . . . . Tpr. Evitts b. Sheehan ............... Capt. Casey b. Sheehan ................ Tptr. Thomas l.b.w. b. Sharp .......... L.C. Huggett b. Sheehan .............. Tpr. Burchell b. Sheehan .............. Boy Slade not out .................... Extras ..................

H

4 for 43

OUIVMO N O OfimOW—b

2nd Innings :

Joy

H

Bowling Ist Innings :

37

O\ 0

THE EAGLE

Regimental Matches:

June 11th. Royals 141 (Capt. Joy 71, not; Sjt. Yardley 32, not). Gezira SC. 134 (Capt. Joy 3 for 24, S.S.M. Bowles 3 for 35). June 12th. Royals 102. (S.S.M. Bowles 34, Capt. Joy 30 not). Ioth. Hussars 184 (Sjt. Yardley I for 9) July 3rd. Royals 160 (Sjt. Yardley 45 not, Sjt. Pamplin 42). 3rd.A.C.C. 3o (S.S.M. Bowles 2 for 5, Mr. Gosling 2 for 10). July 26th. Royals 163 (Sjt. Foster 93, Maj. Dumbreck 31). R.E’s 163 (Sjt. Yardley 3 for 65).


38

THE EAGLE THE EAGLE

(Huggett 3 for 18). August 13th. Royals

119

(Precious 35).

“B ” Squadron 194 (Thomas 85, Ebbs 35, Precious 32) (Sjt. Pamplin 5 for 50). “ A ” Squadron 54 (Sgt. Pamplin 21) (Thomas 8

for 24). MG. Squadron 148 (Sgt. Yardley 45, Sgt. Riley 33, Evitts 23). H.Q. Wing 61 (Sgt. Yardley 5 for 19, Evitts 4 for 20). MG. Squadron 115 (Sgt. Yardley 55) (Thomas 6 for 70, Ebbs 4 for 39). ” B ” Squadron 42 (Evitts 5 for I4, Sgt. Yardley 5 for 24). HQ. Wing 65 (Sgt. Foster 23) (Burchell 6 for 30). “ A " Squadron 47 (Slade 7 for 23).

R.A.O.C. 78 (Evitts 2 for 8, Precious 2 for 6). Sergeants’ Mess Competition: R.A.O.C. 124 (S.S.M. Bowles 6 for 44, Sgt. Yardley 3 for 48), Royals 128 for 6 wickets (Sgt. Yardley 69 not, Sgt. Pamplin 30). Small Units Cup. H.Q. Wing 122 (Capt. Wilson 38, Sgt. Foster 19). R.E.’s 123 (Capt. \Vilson 5 for 40, Dawes 2 for I7).

MG. Squadron 180 (Sgt. Yardley ret. 59, Sgt. Riley 35, Maj. Dumbreck 3o) (Burchell 6 for

52). ” A " Squadron 68 (Sgt. Pamplin 19) (Evitts 4 for 22, Sgt. Yardley 4 for 24). HQ. Wing 229 (Stevenson 104 not, Slade 34, Old 32). ” B ” Squadron 96 (Ebbs 45) (Sgt. Foster 6 for

Swimming Notes. The standard at this sport hs improved greatly since last year, as was proved at the Regimental Swimming Gala held at Heliopolis Baths on the 14th. and 15th. August. At Water Polo this season the Regiment have more than held their own, finishing up

in the semi-final of “ A ” League.

In the

first round we met our old friends, the 10th.

Hussars, whom we beat after a very good

game by 1-0.

This win took us into the semi—

final where we met the team whom we beat last year in the second round, the R.A.S.C.

However this year we were not so lucky having the tables turned on us by 2—1 after a

replay in which two lots of extra time was played. In ” B ” League we were beaten in the second round by 3 goals to nil by the team who eventually won the league, the 3rd. A.C.C. This was a hard game and not so one-sided as the score suggests. We were greatly assisted in these games by L/Cpl. \Vright of “ A ” Squadron who has been chosen to represent the Army in Egypt for the last two years, also L/Cpl. Newall and L/Cpl. Mc’Cabc who have been chosen to represent the Army in Egypt at Diving. In the Command Individual and Team

In [vi/ml: —AI,,"(1. W11 ght I

B. Team Matches: June 10th. Royals 93 (Copeland 22 Stevenson 20). Cairo City Police 97 (\Vood 4 for 17, Mead 5 for 29). June 11th. Royals 175 (Seabrooke 34, Ogden 31 not). Y.I\I.C.A. 204 (Slade 2 for 12). June 21st. Royals 120 (Ebbs 35, Symonds 2o). R.A.M.C. 59 (Mr. GOsling 4 for 28, Thomas 4 for 28). . July 6th. Royals 75 (Mr. Gosling 19). 12th. Lancers I50 (Symonds 3 for 2. Dawes I for 5). July 9th. Royals 101 (Wood 42). R.A.O.C. Civilians 74 (Slade 2 for 5. Evitts 5 for 25). August 4th. Royals 148 (Sjt. Pamplin 27, Ebbs 22). 2nd. C0. RE. 59 (Mead 3 for 7, Thomas 3 for 14). August 11th. Royals 104 (Sjt. Foster 22, Sjt. Pamplin 17). RC. of S. 109 for 7 wkts.

Squadron League: “ B ” Squadron 88 (Gore 22, Rogers 18) (Evitts 6 for 17). MG. Squadron 93 (Capt. Joy 21, Syinonds 16, Prior 16) (Thomas 7 for 40, Ebbs 2 for 34).

\Vood.

Sjt. Yardley I for 8).

'l‘pr.

Gezira SC. 174 (Mead I for’1,

Runners—Up Command Team Championships, Egypt, 1029: 4e. ’l‘urnbull ; Tpr. Broad be nt ; 'I‘pr, Kilner ; Tpr. Park ; 'l‘pr. Ronghton : 'l‘pr. Murray ; ; L/C. Lenaghan; Lient. Hardy ; Sjt. \Vond ; I./C. Goodwin : 'l‘pr. Janos ; L/C. Nowall. 'l‘pr. Taylor.

Yardley 21).

Sjt. Yardley 2 for 8). August 20th. Royals 166 (Sjt. Yardley 48, Burchell 30). R.A.S.C. I32 (Evitts 2 for 20,

"B Sqdn. 54 (Mr. Scott 12. \’\7iddowson o). 3 Co. RC. of S. 194 (libbs 4 for ()3, Mr. Scott. 4 for 72.).

Standing :4«Sjt. Haley ; Tpr. (lreask ;

August 9th. Royals 106 (Huggett 27 not, Sit.


THE EAGLE

THE EAGLE

880 yards :—lst. L/C. Goodwin ” B ” ; 2nd.

Bdm. Doerr ” HQ.” ; 3rd. Tpr. Richard— son ” HQ.” Diving :—lst. L/C. Mc'Cabe “ HQ.” ; 2nd. L/C. Newall M.G., ; 3rd. Tpr. Wood MG. 1 length free style :!lst. L/C.Wright ” A "; 2nd. L/C. Newall MG. ; 3rd. Tpr. Janes ” HQ.” Plunging z—lst. L/C. Shelton l\l.G.; 2nd. L/Sgt. Haley” B”; 3rd. L/C.Bunston ”B.” 2 lengths free style :~lst. L/C. Wright ” A” ; 2nd. Tpr. Roughton “ HQ.” ; 3rd. Tpr. Janes ” H..’Q’ 1 length back Stroke:——lst. Tpr. Murray

4x

1 length side over arm :Alst. L/CfGoodwin “B ” ; 2nd. L/C. Turnbull ”..“HQ ; 3rd. Tpr. Gardiner ” A.” 1 length breast stroke :—lst. Tpr. Broadbent ” H.Q.”; 2nd. Tpr. Creask M.G., 3rd. L/C. Wright ” A.”

Squadron Relay Race :—lst. ” H.Q.”; 2nd. ‘A” ; 3rd M.G. ; 4th. ”.“B Total Points:

” HQ 27 ;

MG. 23 ;

”A” 22; “B” 16. We are all looking forward to our stay in India and hope that we shall increase our prospects in the Swimming World.

M.G. ; 2nd. Tpr. Barton MG. ; 3rd. L/Sgt. “ Crawl.”

Haley ”.“B

The preliminary musketry training Of the Regiment

maintained,

commenced in

ing should be thorough, well thought out, and

May. The pro— gramme was arL,'C. \Vright, " A " Squadron.

that

the organization and execution of preliminary train—

W'inner of the Command Individual Plunging:

ranged so that one LfC. Shelton, MK}. Squadron.

Champiorxships held at Heliopolis Baths the Regiment Obtained the following places in the individual events ;,_ L/Cpl. Shelton first in Plunging, with a plunge of 53 ft. 10 ins., L/Cpl. \Vright 2nd. place in the 75 yards and 880 yards free style and also a standard certificate for boat— ing standard time. L/Cpl. Goodwin 3rd. in the 880 free style, Boy Parkin 4th. in the

Enlisted Boys race and L/Cpl. Mc’Cabe 4th. in the Diving. Owing to the trouble in Palestine several Old friends from last year's Command Meet— ing were absent from the W'ater Polo Cham— pionship. We should have met the R.E’s in the second round, but owing to their team

being weakened by having to send a detach— ment to Palestine, they scratched, so we had a

walk—over into the semi—final. In the semi— final we met the League champions the 12th. Lancers, to whom we lost 2—0. In the Team Championships the Regiment

finished runners-up to the lst. Light Bde. RA. The Regiment competed in the following finals of the Team Championships and ob— tained the following results :# 75 yards Relay Race, 3rd. ; Variety Race, 4th. ; Divine 3rd. ; Plunging 1st. ; 880 yards

Team Race 2nd. ; 440 yards Team Race 2nd. These placing gave us a total of 29 points. The results of the Regimental Swimming Gala are given below :— Inter-Squadron Water Polo :—~Winners

M.G. Squadron. Boys’ Race:—1st. Boy Slade ; 2nd. Boy Parkin. :1 Plate Diving :—»—lst.Tpr. Bailey ” A ; 2nd. Tpr. Early ” B ”; 3rd. Tpr. Wilson ” HQ.” 3 Lengths free style :glst. L/Cpl. Wright “’A’ ; 2nd. Tpr. Janes “ H.Q’ ; 3rd. L/C. Newall MG. 440 yards :ilst. L/C. Wright ” A ” ; 2nd. L/CGOOdwin ”B”; 3rd. Tpr.Barton. MG.

systematic. T00 much importance

Squadron at a time would be able to go through pre— liminary training and complete the final classification without being called upon to supply N.C.O’s

cannotbe attached

to the systematic carrying out of the tests of elementary training. The Command—

ing Officer insisted

and men for Gar— rison duties, Regimental duties or Guards. The scheme w o r k e d

on much smaller

each

instructor

and

pointed Out the vital importanceof

very well. The limit e (1 amount of ammu— nition available

correctdemonstra— tion. The instruc-

tors

throughout

proved themselves keen and capable both in their

makes it in ore than ever vital,

in order that weapon training efficiency may be

squads for

Winner of the O’Shaughnessy Cup 1929:

Sjt. Yardley, MG. Squadron.

methodofinstructing and persuasive


THE EAGLE T HE EAGLE

Winners of Colonel Miles’ Cup: Winners of the Machine Gun Match: Lrfl to rig/22‘ :‘Tpr. Smales; LJ’F. \\'ill<insnn; Tpr. Coatcs;

Left to right :fiTpr. Prior ; L/C. Harding ; Tpr. Cressley ; Tpr. King.

coaching.

There is a vast improvement, as

can be seen by each man’s scoring book, both in the tests carried out in barracks and in the classification on the ranges. This year the Regiment’s figure of merit is 9.8% Second Class Shots. The Best Shoot— ing Squadron is ” B ” Squadron. Their figure of merit, based on the Annual Course,

is 4.5% Second Class Shots. Sjt. Conduit 0f ” A ” Squadron is to be congratulated on becoming the Regimental Shot in the Sjts. and L/Sjts. Class, and L/ Cpl. Lenaghan, also of “ A " Squadron, on

becoming Regimental Shot in the Cpls. and Tprs. Class. Four men who classified as Third Class Shots in their first attempt were repeated, after further instruction, and finally classi—

Shots. The Regiment the lst. August. The was pleased with the year’s result. four teams for the entered The Regiment Central Matches, Non Association Rifle Army Series B. (Abroad) :_

fied as Second Class had all classified by Commander Officer improvement on last

Match 13: The Royal Irish Cup (One Team. ) Match 14: The Young Soldiers’ Cup (One Team). Match 19: The Squadron Shield (Two Teams). ‘ ” A ” Squadron’s Team in Match 19 made a very good score and it is hoped will be fortunate and win an A.R.A. Prize. The Young Soldiers’ Team shot re— markably well and scored 663 points. Tpr. Lamb of “ B ” Squadron scoring 52 out of a . possible 60 points. The Regimental Rifle Meeting was held on Abbassia range on the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th. August. The Committee with Major Dum— breck as President is to be congratulated on producing such a successful meeting on very limited funds. It is hoped that the 1930 Meeting will be made more attractive by producing a greater number of prizes. \N’e hope everyone will agree to raise the subscription to the Rifle Club when we arrive in India.

Tpr. Vine.

REGIMENTAL RIFLE MEETING 1929. RESULTS. Match 1. —All Ranks Match: Awards : First. Class A. :~— Sgt. Yardley. Class B :Tpr. Colclough.

Second. Third. Sqn. QMS. Doughertv. L/C. Turner. Tpr. Precious. V Tpr. Axworthv.

Match 2.70‘Shaughnessy Cup: A wards :7 First. Sgt. Yardley.

Sucond. Farr. Holloway.

T/zz'rd. Sqn Q.M.S. Dougherty

Match 3.—W.O’s and Sergeants' Match: Awards :7 First. LIJSgt. Constable.

Sccorzd. Sgt. Yardley.

Third. LgSgt. Wood.

Match 4.~Corporals’ Match: Awards 1* First. Cpl. Cree.

Second. Cpl. Brown.

Third. L/C. Foster.

Match 5.#Troopers’ Match~0penz Awards :# Ffirst. Farr. Holloway.

Second. Tpr. Lamb.

Third. Tpr. Hitch.

Match 6.—Machine Gun Match.ii(Col. Miles’ Cup:) Awards :—— HUM/ling Team. L/C. Harding’s. Match 7.—Machine Gun Match : Awards :First Team. L/C. \‘V'ilkinson’s. Match 8,—Revolver Match. Awards : —

Second Team. L/C. Newall's.

Open to all ranks armed with revolver: First.

Sgt. Baker.

Second.

Sgt. Conduit.

Third.

L/Sgt. Marriott.


44

THE EAGLE THE EAGLE

Match 9.—Inter-Squadron Sgts.’ Mess Falling Plate Competition: Awards :— First Team. Second Team. ” A ” Squadron. M.G. Squadron.

Who is this man that writes such truthful letters home ?

Match 10.~Inter-Troop Falling Plate Competition: Awards :fi First. Second. Ist. Troop “ A " Squadron. 4th. Troop “ A ” Squadron.

Is he very proud of having his name published in the local press P

Match ll.—Inter-Squadron Revolver Match—(The Heath Cup) : Awards :~— First. Second. " A ” Squadron. H. Q. Wing.

And is he really a swimmer and a footballer ?

*

*

a:

*

45

He does it beezing up his kit And wisping his horse with a bale of straw.

*

a:

*

*

For cutting chaff, the hay is piled; The leaguer always acts as feeder, For well they know if he gets riled, He’ll throw his horse at his section leader Btoo.

*

OUR EDUCATED ARMY Who was the Officer on Church Parade who gave the order, ” Back the three men on

Match 12.—Inter-Squadr0n Matcthhe Steele Cup: A wards :——VVinners :7“ A ” Squadron.

The Royals Dragoons, the extreme left, and “ Don’t carry it on ”? *

>l<

Who is the N.C.O. who sits up all night in order to be ready for exercise on a holiday P

Correspondence.

*

*

Ladbroke Grove, London. The Editor,

Sir, Would you kindly insert the enclosed cutting in the ”Eagle"; it concerns the tragic death of my 5011 which occurred on the 28th July 1929. I served for nearly 12 years in the Royals Band and transferred to the Band of the Welsh Guards in August 1927 and I will be remembered by quite a number of serving Royals. My son was born whilst I was serving in the Royals at Aldershot. I wish the Regiment every success in their new station. I remain, Yours truly, E. V. Richards.

” Geoffrey Victor Richards, aged 3, travelling with his father and mother to Watford on the 2.11 Metropolitan electric train yes-

terday afternoon, fell on to the line and was fatally injured. In a motor ambulance the child was rushed to the Park Royal Hospital, North Acton, where he died.”

5, Hugh Street,

*

*

*

*

Who is this professional Typist of “ B ” Squadron ? >l<

*

*

Wallsend—on-Tyne. Sir,

Your esteemed copy of the ” Eagle ” duly arrived here last night and before I went to bed I had gone right through it. I am in correspondence with Messrs.

And why does he deplore the fact that amateurs use his machine. *

*

*

If a Fly Whisk is a necessary part of a certain L/Cpl’s equipment ? *

*

*

Taylor, Powderhill and Ayres.

I was very sorry to read about the death of “ Dusty” Parsons, as when I left in 1886 he was then my T.S.M. vice Bryant who had gone to Canterbury.

And is it a Family Heirloom needing close care when not actually in use ? >I<

*

*

If celebrating a defeat is very costly P

Last but not least I think I fathomed the’

puzzle, the word is COMPLAINT and the answer is 13111. Best wishes to all Royals present and past. Yours faithfully, Thomas Steel.

THE LEAGUER. (With apologies to the Health and Strength League). Up against the stable wall, The mighty leaguer leans,

PS. I see my solutions to last quarter’s puzzles were all correct though late.

He is upright, strong and tall, And always full of beans. He is always keeping fit, On him your never find a flaw,

Things we want to know. What a certain signaller thought about the “ Hand of Power ” ? * s s; And was it very Heavy ? *

*

*

Who is this “ Chinese Gentleman" who “ knews more about this than you.” *

if:

*

Is it true that a certain N.C.O. in the Wing even “ ticks ” in his sleep P

To :— Sqn. Q.M.S. ” HQ." Wing, The Royals.

*

If ‘08 enjoys being back once more with the “ noise ” ? >i<

24th. fime, 1929.

*

Whether we shall miss “ Sunny Jim ” ? 53, Cambridge Gardens,

Abbassia, Cairo, Egypt.

*

Dear Quartermaster—Serjeant, It is with great trepidation and much palpitation of the chief organ of the cir— culatory system that I approach you on the delicate subject of extra remuneration for my efforts at attempting to justify the existence of my truly unworthy self. My Obligations to you will be increased an hund— red—fold could you find it in your most illusttrious and generous mind to issue to me,

and debit me, with the amount of Piastres Tarif Six Hundred and Fifty, (Pt. 650) on the 28th. day of the month of June, in the year of our Lord One Thousand Nine Hundred and Twenty-nine. You are well aware of my ability to keep an account of all cash transactions which you perform on behalf of me, and the amount

for which I ask is well within my most humble means. Trusting that your most illustrious self will condescend to make the necessary entry in the tomes designated “ Pay and Mess Books.” I beg to remain, Yours most faithfully, A. E. Smith, Trooper.


THE EAGLE

THE EAGLE

Regimental Gazette —— October 1929. Strength Decrease : 400991 Boy R. Burningham “ H.Q.\V.” Discharged H.M. Service and struck off strength 11/7/29. 534140 Tpr. \V. Arthurs ” A.” Discharged H.M. Service and struck off strength 17/7/29. 401505 Tpr. H. Ellis “."B Transferred to lst Bn., Durham Light Infantry 17/7/29. 401054 Tpr. J. McCarthy ” A.” Transferred to 1st Bn., Durham Light Infantry 1/8/29. Embarkations : 398233 L/C. A. \V’all “ A.” Embarked at Port Said on 23/6/29 for the U.I{. to undergo course as a student at the R.M.C.,

Sandhurst. Promotions and Appointments: 3708530 L/C. Sheppard H. ” B.” Appointed Unpaid L/Cpl. 20/7/29. 387163 L/Sjt. \Vhitehurst J. ” A Promoted Serjeant 29/8/29. 393425 Cpl. Haley \Y. “ B.” Appointed Paid L/Serjeant 29/8/29. 398827 L/Cpl. Chadwick F. “ B.” Promoted Corporal 29/8/29. 399602 L/Cpl. Maitin C. ” A”. Appointed Paid L/Cpl. 29/8/29. Certificates of Education:

The u/m. N.C.O’s and men were awarded a Second Class Certificate of Education at an examination held at Abbassia on 13th. and 14th. May 1929 :4 401481 Tpr. E. Bell ” A 401076 Tpr. A. Bourne ” M.G.”, 401388 Tpr. H. Dalton M.G.”, 400484 L/C. S. Edmunds ”B”, 401037 Tpr. A. Gould ” A.”, 400031 Tpr. G.

Hudson ” H.Q.VV.”, 400045 Tpr. G. Ire— land “ B.”, 400075 Tpr. J. Motts H.Q.\ ’.”, 401181 Tpr. G. O’Brien ” A.” 400555 Tpr. F. Precious ”.”,B 3707219 H. Rigg. H.Q.W.”, 398343 Tpr. T. Rushton, 401045 L/C. R. Shelton, ” H.Q.W.”, ” MG.”, 399773 Tpr. S. Wood, ” M.G.”, 400768 Tpr. H. V’Vymer, H.Q.\V.” 399589 Tpr. A. Bushby, ” H.Q.W.”, 401426

Tpr. T. Colclough, ” A”, 401511 Tpr.

I). Crook, “ 15.", 4340766 Tpr. H. Fletcher, “A.”, 401031 Tpr. W. Hillyer, HA.”,

400055 Tpr. \V. Hunter, ”A”, 400244 Tpr. G. Kaye, ”A.’, 398261 Tpr. C. Nisill “H.Q.\V.”, 398931 Tpr. J. Park, “ H.Q.\\’.”, 401069 Tpr. ('7. Redlcy, “ A.” 401068 Tpr. W. Riggs, “ MG.”, 401047 Tpr. E. Shanks, ”MG.”, 400057 Tpr. J. Thorburn, ” H.Q.W’.”, 399792 Tpr. J. \Vright, “ A.” The u/m. were awarded a Third Class Certificate of Education at an examination

held at Abbassia, on 28th. June 1929 :4 401395 400485 400959 764288

Boy Tpr. Tpr. Tpr.

J. Dover, “ H.Q.\V.” W. Ward, “ A.” A. Hoyland, “MG.” A. W’right, “ MG.”

The u/m. were awarded a Third Class Certi— ficate of Education at an examination held

at Abbassia on 25th. July 1929 2* 401515 Tpr. S. Axam, ”A.” 4265287 Tpr. E. McLaughlin, ”.“B 401339 Tpr. E. Early, " B.” The u/m. N.C.O’s and men were awarded a Second Class Certificate of Education at an examination held at Abbassia on 29th.

and 30th, July 1929 : 400024 L/C. A. Adams, B’ 400762 Boy A. Bridger, ” H.Q..”W 399984 Tpr. G. Coates, “ MG.”

401053 Tpr. T. Barton, ” MG.” 5492314 Tpr. C. Clissold, ” B.” 400970 Tpr. \V. Collier, ” MG.” 491578 BOy E. Dean, ” H.Q.VV.” 399226 L/(f. C. Ebbs, " B.” 401042 L/C. J. Hancock, ” MG.” 400066 L/C. A. Lewington, ” B.” 401488 Tpr. A. Mayers, ” B.” 2925547 Tpr. W. Munro, ” MG.”

401592 Boy w. (J’Flynn, ” H.Q.W.” 400247 Tpr. F. Phillips, " B.”

400551 L/C. L. Protz, “ B.” 399874 Tpr. F. Reynolds, ” MG.” 400523 L/C. H. Rodwell, “ A.” 401325 Tpr. P. Savage, ” A.” 401503 Boy N. Slade, “ H.Q.W.” 399875 Tpr. E. Symonds, “ MG.” 401074 Tpr. W. Tilson, " MG.” 401317 Tpr. A. Walker, ” A.”

Tpr. J. Eastwood, ” A.” Tpr. N. Goodright, “ MG.” L/C. G. Johnson, “ B.” Boy H. Lythell, “ H.Q.\7V.” Tpr. H. McCormich, “ B.” Tpr. G. Neat, “ MG.”

401081 Tpr. J. Parkin, “ MG.” 401052 Tpr. G. Poulton, ” B.” 400789 Boy 1“. Pullen, “ H.Q.VV.”

401060 Tpr. J. Richards, “ H.Q.W.”

Marriage, Allowance Roll:

393893 Tpr. H. Roberts, ” H.Q.W." Taken on strength of MA. Roll 21/7/29. Births:

3939561<‘ai‘r. W. Hartland, ” HQW.” To the wife of a (laugher Julia at the Military Iiamilics’ Hospital, Abbassia on 27/7/29. 392786 Tpr. I). Singer, ”H.Q.W’.” TO the

wife of a daughter, Florence Violet, at the Married Families’ Hospital Abbassia on 11/8/29. Deaths: 529537 Sjt. Ducker, W. "H.Q.W.” The (laughter of, Marian, died at the Military Families’ Hospital, Abbassia, on 4/7/29. Age 4 months. Personnel for Discharge or Transfer to

Service : the Army Reserve:

398929 L/C. A. Wilkinson, “ MG.” Permitted to extend the terms of his service to com— plete 12 years with the Colours. 401345 Boy W. Waller, ” H.Q.\\7. Attained age of 18 years on 20/7/29. 393260 F/Sgt. F. Dempster, ”MG.” Permit— ted to re—engage to complete 21 years service on 23/7/29. 311911 S/S/Sgt. J. Murray, “ H.Q.\ Per— mitted to cancel his continuance of service beyond 21 years, 11/7/29. 389699 Bd. Mr. S. Smith, “ H.Q.W.” Per—

mitted to continue in the service for a further period of one year until 9/6/1931.

400483 Tpr. 17. Creask, ‘ MG.” 400249 400971 399923 401538 400250 400969

47

Courses: 401408 L/C. 1. Wilson, " A." Awarded Certi— ficate for No. 2 Local P.T. Course held at Alexandria from 22/4/29 to 4/6/29. 400549 L/C G. I’rancis, " B.” Awarded Certificate for No. 2 local 1’.T. (curse held at Alexandria from 22/4/29 to 4/6/29. 7816824 Sgt. C. Leuty, ” B.” “ Qualified " at No. 4 Local Anti Gas Course held at Abbassia from 6/6/29 to 20/6/29.

399206 Tpr. H. Rose, ” H.Q.W.” 400954 Tpr. A. Sellwood, “ MG.”

401371 Boy H. Stevens, ” HQ.”W

Married Quarters Roll:

401191 Tpr. F. Thomson, “ B.” 5101714 L/C. W. Turner, “ B.” 399871 Tpr. G. Woodward, ” MG.”

313817 Sgt. W. Ilintou, " ll.Q.\\’.” Placed on M.Q. Roll on 29/8/29.

389508 Q.M.S. H. Davids.

397772 Tpr. A. Lawrence. 397714 L/Sjt. \V. Pamplin. Personnel to be pasted to the Home

Establishment on A.V.T. Courses: 394950 Tpr. \V. Burchell. 387182 Bdsm. H. Tomlinson. 529787 Tpr. A. Janes. 387609 Tpr. T. Sullivan. 389464 T. M. E. Plumbley. 311911 S/S/Sjt. J. Murray. 397641 Farr. S. Cox. 393262 Tpr. W. Pirrie. 6195423 Tpr. J. Beard. 387608 Bdsm. G. Doggett. 392654 Sqn. SM. \V. Stephens. Personnel for Special Discharge or Transfer to the Army Reserve: 400973 Tpr. \Y. Smales.

6538857 Tpr. F. Baigent. 401555 Tpr. M. Bernstein. 4608222 Tpr. E. Tretton. 401421 Tpr. C. Manning. Personnel with insufficient service to proceed to India:

391536 11.5,:st J. Smyth.


48

THE EAGLE THE EAGLE

398933 Tpr. L. Bradley. 387920 Tptr. J. Curtis. 399177 L/C. A. Carr. 399193 Tpr. B. Cowen. 3706262 Tpr. T. Gallagher. 398425 L/C. J. Harding. 399194 L/C. C, Huggett. 398452 L/C. H. McLeod. 399186 L/C. L. Midgley. 2558725 L/C. S. Newall. 398931 Tpr. J. Park. 387958 L/C. \V. Rogers. 398343 Tpr. T. Rushton. 398993 L/C. G. Skinner. 399003 L/C. S. T urnbull. 398510 Cpl. G. Bramley. 544423 Tpr. J. Block. 398537 Cpl. W. Cree. 399144 Tpr. J. Cook.

643117 Tpr. N. Gough. 398258 Tpr. E. Holgate. 754333 Cpl. E. Hart. 399059 L/.C. I). Link. 399187 Tpr. W'. Mallan. 398261 Tpr. C. Nisill. 398416 Tpr. C. Owen. 399147 Tpr. A. Phillips. 398201 L/C. M. Royston.

398575 1.,“C. J. Rowlands. 387076 Tptr. \V. Thomas. Accompanying invalid families to U. K. :

312050 Sqn. (2.31.5. R. 1,)Oughorty. 389532 Cpl. J. Chiddington. 388236 Cpl. J. Brown. 1856035 Tpr. W. Thompson. 389621 Sjt. C. Clifford.

Our Notice Board. be10w.

1.——Our Next Number:

This should be filled in and sent off

as soon as possible. All matter for publication in our next number (Due in January 1930) should reach the Editor not later than December 5th.

4.—Our Address:

Our address is :—~—The Editor of “The Eagle," The Royals, Secunderabad, Deccan, India.

2.—'To Contributors :

Pictures and Sketches are extremely

hard to reproduce unless done in special Indian Ink on plain White paper.

The

5.—Prizes:

Editors will. be pleased to supply ink and paper to any artist, if needed.

3.—-—To Intending Subscribers: A printed subscription form will be found

The Editors offer prizes for what they judge to be the best Drawings sent in to them for the January number (13.3. received before December 5th). First :fiRs. 5 0r 6/8d.: Second :——Rs. 3 or 4/. Open to all our readers.

The Citadel.


THE EAGLE

Subscription Forms. FOR OFFICERS.

Signed ...... , A ddress .........

Form “ A.” T0 :—The Editor of ” The Eagle,”

The Royals, Secunderabad, Deccan, India.

Sir, I desire to become a subscriber to " The Eagle ” and have sent a form of subscription to my Bankers.

Note. Form “ B ” should be sent direct to the Subscriber’s own Bankers.

Form “ A ” is only required in the case of those who have not subscribed to “ The

Eagle” previously. Name A ddress

FOR OLD COMRADES.

Form “ B." To :—The Manager, Messrs. .. .

To :———Mr. R. A. Ratcliffe, HOn. See, The Royals Old Comrades Association, 94, Netherwood Road, London, W. 14. Sir, I desire to become an annual subscriber to “ The Eagle,” and enclose my subscriptiOn (2/6d.) for the year ending December 3lst. 1930. Name Address ,

Dear Sir, On receipt of this order, please pay on January lst. 1930, and every succeeding January until further notice, the sum of ten shillings and Sixpence (IO/Gd.) to Messrs. Lloyds Bank Ltd, P.O. Box 48, Bombay, India, to be credited to the “ Eagle Fund, Royal Dragoons.”

Note :wSingle copies may be Obtained by

Officers from the Editor, price 2/8d.; by Old Comrades, from Mr. Ratcliffe, price

8d. (pest-free in every case).

N .B.——This order cancels all previous orders.


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