The Magazine of The Royal Corps of Signals

Transcription

THE
wire
October 2013
www.royalsignals.mod.uk
The Magazine of The Royal Corps of Signals
UNITED
K I N G D O M
S P E C I A L
F O R C E S
18 (uksf) signal regiment
N
GT
H
GU
IL
BY S
T
RE
special forces Communicator
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AN D
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The Magazine of the Royal Corps of Signals
AUGUST 2013 Vol. 67 No: 5
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CONTENTS
News from Operations
News from Blandford
News from Training
News from Formations
News from Regiments
News from Squadrons
Other Units
Sport
Royal Signals Association
Last Post
Obituaries
Page
2
5
6
14
16
77
95
RESPONSIBILITIES REGARDING SECURITY OF SUBMISSIONS
There has been a recent increase in the number of security breaches
as a result of articles containing protectively marked information
being published in ‘In-House Publications’. You will appreciate that
this could affect the security of operations and may inadvertently
affect personnel security by facilitating the easy identification and
subsequent targeting of soldiers and, potentially, their families.
To ensure further breaches are prevented, contributors are reminded
of their responsibilities for ensuring that any articles submitted for
publication are checked in accordance with the Defence In-House
Publications Policy and Process:
a.
Sources of material. All articles have been cleared
by the relevant internal authority before submission.
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104
110
110
c.
Use of Imagery. Images of identifiable individuals
are classed as personal data and must comply with the Data
Protection Act 1998. Photography or imagery always
requires permission (Reference B refers). Reference C
provides further guidance on legislative and MOD
requirements, this includes Image Security. Reference D
defines the record management procedures for video, film
and photographic images.
References:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
FRONT COVER
WO2 (FofS (IS)) Owen Trimble and Sig
Danny Pain taking part in the RN/RM Field
Gun competition
b.
Protective Markings. All submissions for The Wire
must be kept.
2010DIN05-020 (Defence In-House Publications Policy and Process).
2012DIN05-006 (Consent Form for Defence Imagery).
JSP 440 (Defence Manual of Security) Chap 5, Part 8, Section 5.
JSP 441 (Defence Records Management Policy and Procedures).
ABN 86/13 (Army Social Media Governance and Registration).
BACK COVER
Cpl Usher from 11 (RSS) Sig Regt
diving with a friend in South Africa
Authors alone are responsible for the content of their articles. The opinions expressed in the articles of this publication are those of the individual
authors and do not necessarily reflect the policy and views, official or otherwise, of the Royal Corps of Signals or the Ministry of Defence. All
articles and submissions are published at the discretion of the Editor.
This publication may contain official information. It should be treated with discretion by the recipient.
1
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NEWS FROM OPERATIONS
3rd (UNITED KINGDOM) DIVISION
HEADQUARTERS AND SIGNAL REGIMENT
HELMAND ICS SIGNAL SQUADRON (202 SIGNAL SQUADRON)
OC
SSM
Maj Dixon
WO2 (SSM) Brown
ENGINEERING TROOP
Network Section – by LCpl ‘Welshy’ Hopkins
Not wishing to blow our own trumpet but it is as Carlsberg
would say ‘Probably the busiest and diverse section in HICSSS’
One of the many responsibilities of the section is providing
support for Video Teleconferencing (VTC), or as it is known in
the civilian sector, Visual Collaboration. Currently we support
on average 8 conferences per day with the vast amount going
smoothly. That saying, when the IP conference decides to
drop and all the staff officers get a little edgy it’s down to us
to reconnect the call via ISDN as quickly as possible, ensuring
that no vital information gets missed. These VCTs are used as
a means in which critical information and updates get passed
from location to location across the globe, therefore as you
could imagine it is paramount that we ensure the conferences
run smoothly.
delivered first class support on behalf of an ever busy
Network Section. We’re often asked to lend a hand to other
sections, be it cable pulling with the Telemechs or power
issues with the EDs. No two days are the same in HICSSS
Network Section!
Mission Secret Section – by Sig ‘Michael Jordan’ Rodger
So another month has passed out here in the desert. The MS
team have been working day and night to keep
communications afloat in the town of Bastion and beyond. A
few of the guys have been coming into work with shocking
haircuts. What do you expect when you go and see Edward
Scissorhands on Bastion 2 and don’t pay a penny! The barber
here is also the tailor who will try and turn your floppy hat
into a pair of PCS shorts, also at no charge. He doesn’t even
offer an extended warranty.
The amount of faults in the last month have been coming in
thick and fast due to the move of TFH back to Bastion and the
vast amount of officers that can’t get their head around the
new Op JANA password criteria! Everyday is something
different out here, some lucky operators have been deploying
to FOBs and PBs with a deployable Overtask system,
providing MS services and some extremely lucky people have
been helping out the CDT team last month.
Whilst working out here we’ve had some help from the much
loved “Royal Air Force”. The Tactical Communications Wing
(TCW) crew have been working alongside us for the last
couple of months and now that their ultra-long tour of four
months is drawing to an end next month, their trips to the
Green Bean Coffee Shop have rapidly increased on a daily
basis. Last week they took part in the Bastion half marathon
which they all managed to finish, just.
On camp there has been a few restrictions emplaced this
month due to a fuel shortage. No aircon on during the day in
the tents, so if you were on night shift you had to suffer by
sweating buckets in your own pit. Only 2 showers a day at 3
minutes each, shocking I know. Also there was a shortage of
Cpl Kay hard at work
Our main responsibility however is the maintenance of the
Promina network within Bastion. With roughly 1500 phones
dotted around such a vast camp our engineers are always
scattered across Bastion fixing faults and maintaining
equipment. Working closely with 15 Signal Regiment and in
particular 600 Troop, we constantly monitor the network to
ensure any problems or faults are dealt with swiftly and
efficiently. All our engineers are responsible for at least one
Network Equipment Room which houses the Promina
equipment for all the phones in the local vicinity, as well as
Housekeeper/Overtask/JOCS/DII C(S)D servers and VSAT.
It’s not uncommon for extra jobs to come our way. LCpl
‘Justin’ Creber experienced this first hand when asked to
build and configure a TNG from scratch having never touched
the kit before. He more than exceeded expectations and
2
SFP on TV Hill
THE WIRE, OCTOBER 2013
desserts in the scoff house. This upset many of the HICSSS
team due to the lack of the famous chocolate fudge cake
which is also available in the HUB back home on camp.
world for 2 weeks. Although at this rate the way the Queens
finest Royal Air Force are going about their business lately, 14
days will more than likely look like 3 days.
Now that Ramadan has started there has been a total ban on
sunbathing throughout Bastion. As you can imagine this has
caused riots and uproar with many people going on R&R in
the next couple of weeks, they can’t even “panic-tan”.
CLOSE SUPPORT TROOP
So until next time, when we bring you more on goings in the
world of HICSSS.
Power Section – by LCpl Tommy Byford
So HICSSS Power Section / MT have now successfully
completed 2 months of our 6 month tour on Op HERRICK 18.
What can I say? Things have run surprisingly smoothly despite
having lost LCpl Myles ‘Maz’ Gorey and Sig Tom ‘I-STAR’
Julian to R&R and Sig Dave Pettit’s temporary move to MOB
Lashkar Gah. With this is mind Cpl Jim ‘Steve McDonald’
Reeves and LCpls Tommy Byford and Michael ‘Pez’ Perry had
everything covered even though at times it felt as if they were
working 24 hours on with 24 hours on. Luckily we had help
from our very own Combat Human Resource Specialist from
the Adjutant General Corps ‘Lord’ LCpl Adam Beckles BSc
(Bronze Swimming certificate), who, despite his choice of cap
badge, has actually became a vital member of the section.
Due to the recent rise in temperature, Power Section have
been increasingly busy responding to power outages. The
increased temperature seems to be too much for the KBR
civilian generators which, in the worst case, resulted in one
catching fire! Thankfully, the military FEPS generators that we
use as back up are slightly more solid and robust. All jokes
aside, Power Section have been doing an excellent job
providing the vital back up power to a majority of NER’s that
Camp Bastion has, including the most important JOC NER
which provides all comms back to the UK.
Request for Change Section – by Lt Andrew Hutchings
As we move into our third month of RFCs everything is
starting to come together nicely. It is sometimes hard work in
the sense that the jobs are always coming in so there are
occasions when just as the job count starts getting low, 10
more RFCs will come in over night and we will have to work a
few long days to get them back down again. However the
team is always up for the challenge and it is a good sense of
achievement completing the jobs.
We have recently had a loss of manpower and a change of
personnel with two members of the team moving over to the
Projects Team and our RFC 2IC Sgt Tom Hallums and (just
back from Op JANA) LCpl ‘Lloydy’ Lloyd going out to some of
the FOBS to help with the draw back and to bring some of the
CIS kit back to Bastion. However our new Tele Mech LCpl
‘Hopki’ Hopkins is proving a great addition to the team and
just as keen to do any job going as the Tele Mech he replaced
has been pro rugby player Cpl ‘nearly 300 club’ Thomas.
The jobs count is starting to creep up a little bit as we are just
finishing two much bigger RFCs that have taken away the
majority of our manpower, although there has not been any
complaints helping the Danish with a comms move as their
free cake, Danish PX and coffee shop make it a great working
environment. These bigger RFCs are coming to an end and
the job count will soon be shooting back down when we get
the full team back on the smaller tasks again.
Morale in the team is high for most as their R&R is creeping
up fast; however it’s not so high for people who have just
returned and are now facing the fact that they have 4 months
to push until they are next home. We are approaching the
half way point of the tour and I think the opinion amongst
most is that it has gone well so far and before we know it we
the bulk will be done and it will be plain sailing from there.
ICS Detachment FOB Shawqat, TSU Nad-e-Ali
- by LCpl Neil Harper
Moving into the 3rd month of the tour, our compact five man
detachment are preparing for the rapidly approaching draw
down of our FOB and PB outstations. The team here
commanded by Sgt Stevie Ware are responsible for the
mission secret ICS communications across the Nad-e-Ali Area
of Operations (AO). This is no small task, as we are operating
and maintaining a variety of applications, systems and their
respective bearers.
Power Section enjoying a well earned Welsh Cake with the Boss
Power Section also has the responsibility of running an MT
department for HICSSS. LCpl Tom Byford and LCpl Myles
Gorey are jointly IC of this department. They were both
pretty much thrown into the unknown with this role due to
having no real MT training. Despite this, it didn’t take long for
them to get to grips with the task in hand. A massive boost in
morale came in the MT when Bastion JOB MT kindly replaced
all green fleet Land Rovers with a fleet of no expense spared
TATA Telcolines, which are massively preferred not only by the
MT but all of HICSSS.
All is well so far, especially now the first chunk of R&R is out
of the way. I look forward to the next chunk when I’m the
one back in the UK with beer in hand and not a care in the
As a Communications Systems Engineer, I am the manager for
two Mission Secret Overtask networks along with our
restricted J1/J4 Housekeeper network. For Voice
communications, Cpl Jimmy Nye engineers our Promina
telephone network which offers our users secure voice. For
these systems we use both SATCOM and point to point
Kestrel radio data links. Sig Garreth Doyle Thorpe is the
Communications System Operator responsible for this primary
IP bearer being used throughout Helmand province.
Along with our primary role of maintaining user’s J6
requirements, as a detachment we are responsible for
maintaining the welfare and morale of the fighting troops (2
LANCS) who reside in the FOB. We maintain the FOB WiFi,
which gives the lads a much-loved link to those back home
and provide welfare phones through our Promina Node.
With such a lot of important equipment to keep up and
3
running, we keep a couple of back up generators on hand and
these are looked after by our resident Electrician and serial
gym abuser LCpl ‘Deano’ Wilson. With the civilian contractors
shortly departing, he will be IC power for the whole FOB.
LCpl Harper - If I look hard enough can I see the Satellite
As mentioned before, we are drawing things down in the AO
and as a result amenities and niceties are disappearing daily.
This includes luxuries such as flooring, sleeping tents, showers
and God forbid the tiny NAFFI shop we have on site. So there
are some austere times ahead, however we shall persevere
ever diligently to maintain our high standards and provide
robust and stable comms, till the very end. Certa Cito.
ICS Detachment MOB Price, TSU Nahr-e Saraj
– by Cpl ‘Vin Diesel’ Gardner
Currently within MOB Price, there is a routed architecture of
various communications infrastructure systems consisting of
Voice and Data via inter-operable transmission mediums. This
delivers real time information to the Headquarters in order to
conduct operations effectively.
The administrated services provided within MOB Price are
deployed via Project Overtask, Promina, J1/J4 Housekeeper
and the Bowman TNG. These are routed over a meshed
network topology via Kestrel, VSAT and Reacher Mediums.
Two of these links are transmitting cryptographic information
to and from the UK utilising a 2-4Mb Bandwidth.
Afghanistan as we know it is currently going through a Project
Overtask upgrade called “Op JANA”, which utilises a Windows
7 client within a Server 2008 environment. This project has
had years of planning with a view to provide robust
communications in a speedy and effective manner by
replacing tired obsolete equipment with up to date, faster
network equipment.
everyone’s mind is the impending TFH HQ move. First of all
the Inst Techs, Cpl Ryan Hardy and LCpl ‘Westy’ Westerman
are straight into recces and the new builds. While installing all
new fibres, CAT5, patch panels and horrible trunking they
have to deal with, the Engineers finding every existing cable
and driving over it with the biggest vehicle they have!
The IS team have to be the second busiest Troop, especially
with Op JANA rapidly approaching. This MS upgrade brings a
lot more work to their doorstep, with new installations to
maintain and the extra training to carry out. MS is their
biggest responsibility, but they also have other systems that
require a lot of attention, such as JOCS, RLI and TNG. One
thing that has to be mentioned is LCpl Ross Wilson from IS
takes his military drills very seriously. While attempting to
rectify a fault, he felt a small round object fly past his head
and automatically thought grenade. As he is such a quick
reacting soldier, he jumped on the floor and shout “Grenade”,
only to find that it was a cricket ball!
Not the most over worked section, but still important, is the
COMMCEN. One of their jobs consists of waiting for the all
significant PING sound from the MPTE and each member of
the section then races to press the space bar. COMMCEN
have a vital member of the team, Sig Lee Flindall, A.K.A the
aircon masher, as every time he touches a unit he breaks it.
Tech Support is not your average section, but is led by the
illustrious Sgt Johnny Howe. LCpl ‘Griff’ Griffiths is the lone
CS Op member who denies that he is part of the Tech section
and spends his time attempting to prevent the CS Eng playing
with ‘his’ KESTREL network. The biggest job for this section is
PROMINA, which runs the all important RED and BLACK
phones. However, LCpl Joel Burton seems to be taking
everything within her stride and rapidly fixes all faults.
As mentioned before, power is a lonely job, but Cpl ‘Ange’
Kay has taken on added responsibility of Tp Cpl as well. One
of her many jobs is handing out the dreaded Sanger duties
and as a result the whole Troop are more than polite to Cpl
Kay at the end of the month when duties are being allocated.
Finally, the command team! Capt Jonny Leigh is a very busy
man; he has to fit in all duties that come with the role of Tp
Comd, but also had to find time to cheer on the LIONS in their
very successful tour of Australia. Other personalities in this
section are SSgt Kev ‘Bickers’ Bickford and Sgt Steve
‘Booners’ Boon, a duo is well known on the MOB as they have
taken on the RD task of training skill at arms to all TFH staff.
All in all, Lashkar Gah Troop is more than ready for all the
challenges that are ahead.
Within MOB Price there is a dedicated ICS team who support
the 350 users both physically and technically. This includes,
installation of new services, moves of legacy infrastructure
and 1st hand technical assistance via phone or in person.
The employability base for this post relies upon the team
being somewhat technically minded or at least willing to
understand the basics in order to effectively assist the end
user. It appears that IT has become something of an art in
terms of technical support, which requires us to be open
minded when approaching faults to achieve the end result….
Customer satisfaction.
Lashkar Gah ICS Troop – by LCpl ‘Griff’ Griffiths
A month into tour and Lashkar Gah Troop are well settled into
routine and are tackling all faults head on. The troops have
broken off into different sections which are IS, Tech, Inst
Tech, COMMCEN, the Command Team and the very lonely Cpl
‘Ange’ Kay in the Power Section. The biggest thing on
4
The CO and RSM mid quad bike safari on Juno Hill
NEWS FROM BLANDFORD
HEADQUARTERS ROYAL SIGNALS
THE WORSHIPFUL COMPANY OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGISTS (WCIT)
EMPLOYMENT PANEL EVENT- 30 OCT 13
The Royal Signals has had a long and close relationship with WCIT, primarily focussed on DSCIS and 11 (RSS) Sig Regt, but more
recently in a wider partnership which has seen the two organisations working closer together in a number of areas. To further
develop that partnership, the WCIT Employment Panel has offered members of the Royal Signals the opportunity to make use of a
number of services to provide help for those looking to transition into a new career. On 30 Oct 13 the Employment Panel will visit
Blandford to deliver an ‘employment panel workshop’.
The outline program for the visit is as follows:
Ser
1.
Time
0900
Event
Welcome
Location
PMH
Remarks
Plenary Introductory Session in the Princess Mary
Hall
• How to Write a Killer CV
• Building your achievements bank
• Psychology of Interview and Interview
Techniques
• Setting up a Business
• Never eat alone – building up your network
2.
0930-1230
Delegate Group A WCIT
Employment Panel
centralised presentations
3.
0930-1230
Delegate Group B
One to one sessions/CV
review
PMH
Classrooms
Delegate timings and room as per
programme (to follow).
4.
1230-1330
Buffet lunch
PMH
Lunch served in Malta room
5.
1330-1630
Delegate Group A
One to one sessions/CV
review
PMH
Classrooms
Delegate timings and room as per
Programme (to follow).
6.
1330-1630
7.
1630
PMH
• How to Write a Killer CV
• Building your achievements bank
• Psychology of Interview and Interview
Techniques
• Setting up a Business
Never eat alone – building up your network
Delegate Group B WCIT
Employment Panel
centralised presentations
Centralised final ‘Wash Up’
and feedback.
PMH
Plenary Final Session in the PMH
This is an outstanding opportunity for those members of the Corps who will be (or may be) looking to prepare themselves for their
second careers. However, to gain the most benefit from the day, some preparation will be essential. Those interested in attending
the ‘one to one’ session in the afternoon should visit the WCIT webpage (www.wcit.org.uk) to familiarise themselves with the
organisation and, in particular, identify any preference for an Employment Panel coach (Find A Coach - ITC Coaching). There will
also be a requirement to complete an outline CV prior to the Resettlement Workshop and an opportunity for the completion of
psychometric profiling assessments.
If you wish to attend or require further information, please contact Diane Asplen, E1 Commitments HQ R SIGNALS, at SOINCDCOS-E1 [email protected]. Once overall numbers are known an Administration instruction will be distributed to interested
parties with more comprehensive details and actions on the part of the attendees, filtering may be required to ensure numbers for
the ‘one to one’ sessions do not exceed the capacity of the Employment Panel. However, the centralised presentations are
available to all.
5
NEWS FROM TRAINING
11th (ROYAL SCHOOL OF SIGNALS)
SIGNAL REGIMENT
BLANDFORD
CO
RSM
Lt Col M Brookes
WO1 (RSM) C Hoggard
The Regiment bids a fond farewell to WO1 (RSM) Matt Darby
who moves on to take up the post of Garrison Sergeant
Major, Blandford Garrison. Best of luck with your new post
and we look forward to your weekly patrols of our areas!!
The Regiment welcomes WO1 (RSM) Chris Hoggard who joins
the Regiment from a tour with Yorkshire Officer Training
Regiment (Sheffield UOTC).
WO1 (RSM) Hoggard takes the reigns from WO1 (RSM) Darby
2 (CATTERICK) SQUADRON
OC
SSM
Maj CJ Lewin
WO2 (SSM) K Umney
Another busy period for 2 Squadron who have grown again!
We welcome all of the CLS section who join us from the
recently disbanded 1 (Ouston) Squadron. A large turnover of
staff means we have a few new arrivals to welcome and a few
farewells to say.
In SHQ we welcome Capt Kia Kerr as the new Squadron 2IC
and say farewell to Capt Kate Bilney who moves on to 12
(Mech) Bde HQ and Sig Sqn as their 2IC. Thank you for your
graft and good luck in Tidworth. We also welcome WO2
(SSM) Kris Umney as the new Sqn SSM who arrived just in
time for a bit of drill at the RSA parade. Great to have you on
board. Finally we have a new FofS, WO2 (FofS) Graeme Firth
who is officially the shortest member of SHQ! Welcome.
Elsewhere we say farewell to SSgt Guy Bufton, previously Tp
SSgt to Rhino Tp, and stand in SSM. Good luck at 30 Sig Regt
and enjoy your leave. SSgt Trev Evans, our newest
parachuting daredevil takes over the Rhino Tp reigns. SSgt
Michelle Margrie, Tp SSgt Beaufighter Troop moves on to
pastures new and leaves her new Tp Comd, Capt Rich
Simpson, in charge – God forbid!! Capt Matt Bennett joins the
Iron Tp massive, fresh from tour with 14 (EW) Sig Regt and is
busy getting to grips with his Sqn size Troop!
6
We also say farewell to WO2 (YofS EW) Steve McCaskill, Sgt
Andy Ward, Sgt Dave Williams, Sgt Robbo Robertson and Cpl
‘Olly Muirs’ Sanders. A big 2 Squadron welcome to SSgt Jason
Sheath, Sgt Graham Martin and Sgt Robert Gill, all joining the
instructor pool within the School.
Here is a selection of things we’ve been up to!
Royal Signals Parachute Team One Jump Course 13/001
– by Sig Scott Rhino Troop
It’s about 1800hrs on a swelteringly hot Saturday afternoon
and I am crammed into a tiny Cessna Caravan in an orange
jumpsuit, facing out of the door at 3,500 feet thinking ‘what
am I doing here? I joined the army to stay on the ground’.
The look of absolute terror on my face said it all as the Jump
Master mutters something I can only assume is
encouragement but I’m far too busy feeling sorry for myself
to hear him as I stare out into the abyss and the ground
below. Emily is already at the door, shaking, feet dangling
below the aircraft as she prepares to take a literal leap of faith
and all I keep thinking about are the briefs we had hours
earlier detailing exactly how many ways we could die by
getting tangled in our canopy, dangled from the plane if the
static line fails to deploy, or get knocked unconscious from a
bad exit, and she’s gone. One second she is at the door, the
next she is plummeting away from the plane faster than I can
keep track of her. The static line yanks and I see her
parachute starting to deploy. She’s fine, but instead of
feeling relieved I’m terrified, because I know I’m next. ‘In the
door!’ yells the Jump Master. I shuffle forwards keeping as
much of my body inside the plane as possible. I’m in position,
‘Look up!’, I look up, ‘Go!’, I hesitate...’Get out the damn
plane!’ he screams. I jump. For a split second as I’m falling,
and I see the door of the plane drift further and further away,
all I can think of is ‘whose idea was this then?’.
We’ll mine actually; I knew that my Tp SSgt, SSgt Trev Evans
was pretty keen on skydiving, being a member of the Corps
team, and having heard about his antics in the air on one
weekend, I enquired about how to get involved. He told me
there was a course running soon at Netheravon and, if
enough people were willing to get involved, he would
organise a jump for us. Having always been afraid of heights I
thought ‘what a great opportunity to try and face my fears’,
so after a bit of a discussion with the rest of the guys on CSBR
13/003 (well not much discussion, as they were all pretty up
for it) we decided to dive right in. So we found ourselves
arriving at Netheravon at 0800hrs on Saturday 13 July,
nervous but ready to get stuck in. We couldn’t have picked a
better day for it. The weather was amazing ‘Perfect jump
weather’ as our instructor, Cpl Stu Storey, informed us. The
original plan was to complete all of the training on the
Saturday and jump on the Sunday but the conditions were so
good we were told we may get a jump in later that day.
We started with the basics, an intro to the kit we would be
using. I had always thought that a parachute was a simple
piece of kit, how wrong was I. At first glance it looked like a
normal day-sack with lots of string and something resembling
a poorly constructed tent attached, but as Stu went through
the component parts and how it worked I started to realise
how complex it really is. The canopy is made up of several
cells that are connected together and, when one fills with air,
it channels air into the others allowing it to fully inflate. We
also learned about the nuisance factors that can occur when
the parachute deploys and how to correct them. Things like
line twists, a high slider, high end cell closure. Then they
introduced us to the altimeter and how it works, the helmet,
jump suit and radio we would be wearing. Finally, the CYPRES
or cybernetic parachute release system which is a small
automatic activation device that will, at a certain altitude and
speed, trigger a cutter by the means of a small explosive
charge that will deploy your reserve chute for you if you are
incapable of doing so. What a relief it was to learn about this
particular piece of equipment, and the whole course sat
patiently, attentive as we learned how to switch it on and
make sure it worked correctly.
Then it was time to get the mats out and start practice our
body position. After a quick warm-up we got down to it,
trying to perfect our exit technique, throwing a hard arch and
getting our safety count right (something we would practice
throughout the day). The position you take when exiting the
plane, we were told, is one of the most important steps when
jumping as bad position can cause line twists and an unstable
platform for your parachute to deploy from.
Next we learned the PLF or Parachute Landing Fall. It’s a
method, similar to taking contact in rugby, of breaking your
fall to reduce the chance of injury. It was funny watching
everyone sprawl around the mats legs and arms everywhere.
We were almost positive we would need to use this later, so
we worked hard to get it right. After a Drop Zone orientation
brief we went for a break and then straight into the hanger
for some practice in the aircraft mock-ups. They are basically
wooden frames surrounded by mats, which imitate the plane
door and space inside, so you can practice exits. Crammed
into this small space with everyone else, all in jump suits and
helmets things started to get very real, very quickly Stu and
Trev took us through our exit drills, aircraft emergency drills
and various malfunctions that can happen as you exit. Then
the really important lesson, the reserve drill. Every parachute
container has a reserve canopy inside just in case the main
canopy has a problem, cannot be controlled or for any reason
is unsafe to use. We donned some vests with mock cutaway
pads and reserve handles on the front and practised over and
over ‘Look, Locate, Cut-Away, Reserve, Arch’. These words
and actions quickly became engraved in our brain.
It was all a bit intimidating but our instructors were fantastic,
constantly reassuring and directing us. Being team mates for
the Corps, they had a wealth of knowledge and experience
and this defiantly put us all at ease, allowing us to focus on
learning the drills correctly. A few things were made very
clear by Stu at the start; it’s perfectly safe, we won’t let you
jump until we are 100% happy you are capable, and once you
get on that plane...you’re jumping...end of, and he wasn’t
joking. Then it was on to the harness practice. I’m pretty
sure these contraptions were conjured up by some medieval
sadist. They consisted of a metal frame with a parachute
harness suspended in the middle and once you were strapped
in they were absolutely torturous on your legs. They were
really helpful for practising what we would do once the
canopy was deployed and practising the landing pattern we
would use on the way to the parachute landing area.
After a final written test on everything we had learnt and a
brief, we checked out our kit. Holding this daysack sized bag
filled with the thin sheet of material that would stop me
plummeting towards the ground, I couldn’t help but feel
scared. Every logical part of my brain told me I knew what I
was doing and I was going to be fine, but the uncertainty of
what we were about to do still gripped me.
We were on the flight line. We had had our equipment
checked. We had done our radio checks, turned on our
CYPRES and the plane was taxiing towards us. It was all very,
very real now. As we boarded the plane, I looked around at
the nine other guys, some terrified, some excited, but all
ready to go. As we ascended my eyes were glued to my
altimeter, watching the tiny dial go up and up. It took my
mind off the ground disappearing rapidly away below us. The
door opened at 3,500 feet and the noise in the plane was
deafening, just rushing wind and propellers. Sig Emily Hyde
jumped, I got to the door and the lads whooped and cheered
encouragement. I couldn’t let the other lads down. I had to,
no matter how terrified I was, I just had to jump. Maybe out
of pride, or fear, or a mixture of both I jumped. I fell through
the air and watched my parachute start to open above me
and for a split second I was gripped with fear, then it was all
OK. I looked up and the canopy had opened. It wasn’t on
fire, or a cartoon anvil, or a load of spanners. I had no line
twist or malfunctions, I was fine, dangling 3,000 feet in the air
but I was fine. Then I realised I was actually enjoying it. I did
my control checks and steered towards the holding area, it
was amazing. I turned and looped, put the brakes on then
dived and it felt unreal, to see that something I considered so
frightening could be so enjoyable.
I got to 1,000 feet and started my landing pattern. The
ground got closer and closer. I flared my canopy a little too
high and landed quite hard but I was fine (I knew that PLF
would come in handy). I could see the others above me, as I
made my way to our meeting point, drifting down from the
sky like those tiny green soldiers with parachutes you used to
throw out your bedroom window as a child. When everyone
was down we assembled at our meeting point cheering and
talking about our descents. Trev and Stu had said they had a
surprise for us and they didn’t disappoint. They appeared
from the plane, performing some of their formations under
canopy, in Corps rigs flying with the Corps flag below them; it
really was an impressive sight. They landed pretty much right
in front of us, upright on tiptoes (unlike my less than graceful
landing). We all stood together for a couple of photos, all
smiles and high-fives then as we made our way back to the
hanger I thought about the day we had just had. How scared
I was on the way up, what compelled me to jump out of the
plane, how amazing it felt on the way down and how I had
done it with some of my best friends.
Eight months ago, before I had joined the Army, I would
never have even have dreamt about doing something like this,
but that’s what being a soldier is all about I guess. Trying
something new, getting over your fear and getting on with it.
I’d like to say thanks SSgt Trev Evans for giving us all the
opportunity to get involved in something so enjoyable and all
the work he put in to organising the weekend for us and to
Cpl Stu Storey for his outstanding instruction, guidance and
motivation throughout the day. They really love what they do
and it totally comes through in their instruction and attitude, I
could not have imagined two more passionate instructors to
guide a group of terrified young soldiers like us through their
first jump and they both made the experience, even the
nervous bits, thoroughly enjoyable. A big thank you to Sigs
Emily Hyde, Tom Gardiner, Matt McAlister, Liam McNamee,
Matt Moran, ‘Nicko’ Nicholson, ‘Parky’ Parkinson, ‘Smiley
Pirate’ Smailes-Peart and ‘Tommo’ Thomson for your support,
encouragement, general mickey taking of how scared I was
and for doing it with me. I honestly couldn’t think of a better
group of people to have done this with. Thanks to
Netheravon which is a non-profit organisation, owning one of
the biggest drop zones in Europe.
If you are thinking about skydiving I cannot think of a better
place. The atmosphere was relaxed and put us at ease from
the start, the people are friendly and insightful and the
facilities are second to none. I will defiantly be back to jump
7
again and, despite my nerves, I would really like to get
involved in the sport and explore what skydiving has to offer.
However my biggest thanks go to the bloke who packed my
parachute, mainly because it opened.
Parachuting at Netheravon – SSgt Trev Evans and Cpl Stu Storey
lead the way
3 (HARROGATE) SQUADRON
OC
SSM
Maj J Wilson
WO2 (SSM) Kemp
3 (Harrogate) Sqn Permanent Staff Crown Green Bowling
– by Sgt Jones
The task of organising a Morale afternoon for 3 (Harrogate)
Squadron fell to TTT (Technical Training Troop) and CTS
(Communications Technologies Section). After a great deal of
research to try to find an event that was exciting, thrilling,
team building and original we came up with a plan to go
Crown Green Bowling. During our research SSgt Adie Dear
had discovered a hidden gem in the backstreets of Blandford
Forum; A Crown Green Bowling Club. SSgt Adie Dear and Sgt
Helen Jones liaised with the Bowling Club and went firm on a
date of 19 June 13.
The cost of the event was £5 per person. This included expert
tuition from the members of the club and a buffet style snack
after the games. Invitations and flyers were pushed out to
the Squadron and there was a great deal of interest. We had
a max of 24 places; equal to 3 rinks (playing strips). Both
military and civilian members of the Squadron were invited.
Bowling, got the hang of the bowls and their bias. Anthony
Chambers (Sqn I-HUB) seemed to have his own method and
with this we often saw his bowls careering into another rink.
Some of the teams were really competitive. SSgt ‘Alfie’
Garnett and Sgt Gus Lambert from Cable Systems Section
were ‘in it to win it’ and their competitive streak was an
amusement to all. Sgt Georgie Lodge led the way in the
‘style and posing category’. She also had a natural flair for the
game. A small prize was presented to the bowler showing
the most ‘raw talent’. This was judged by a member of the
Bowling Club and given to Sgt Kevin Wilson (CTS). After a
few sandwiches, cakes and brews we headed home with fond
memories of our crown green bowling experience.
The day came and thankfully it was a sunny and warm day.
The Bowling club was ready to teach us the skills required to
perform. They had a licensed bar serving cold refreshments
which were enjoyed by all.
Some members of the Sqn began to shine on the Green. SSgt
(SQMS) Clare Boswell, AKA The Face of Crown Green
'Style and Poise'
A good day was had by all who attended and we look forward
to returning in the future.
Trailwalker 2013 – by Sgt Jones
The face of Crown Green Bowling
8
3 (Harrogate) Squadron female team was made up of Maj Jo
Wilson (team I/C), Sgt Georgie Lodge, Sgt Helen Jones and
Cpl Jo Lyle. We had an excellent training programme written
by Cpl Jo Lyle who was the team PTI. The programme was
designed to prepare us for the 100km route. We had all
trained for at least 2 months prior to the event which was
held on 27 July 2013 and we were feeling ready and excited to
take on the challenge.
Our admin teal consisted of SSgt (SQMS) Clare Boswell and
Sgt Pete Mellor (MSS). We set off on Friday afternoon in
order to get to Queen Elizabeth County Park, Hampshire and
pitch our tents in a good spot. On arrival we were all happy
to see that we had got there ahead of the masses and set up
our tents and registered with ease. We then went shopping
to get any last ‘carb’ fixes we needed and some unnecessary
but tasty cakes.
The morning of the event arrived and the plan was for reveille
to be at 0430 to allow plenty of time to pack the tents away
and get breakfast before the 0600 start. SSgt Clare Boswell
and I were sharing a tent and missed the wake up call, not
emerging from our tent until 0450. The rest of the team
thought this was very amusing.
Our overall time was 20:03 hours and we finished at 0200 in
the morning. The CO and tRSM were there to welcome us
and present us with our medals. After a quick change we set
off back to camp all looking forward to a hot shower and long
lie down.
After all the training we had done we thought we were well
prepared. Looking back we do not think any amount of
training can prepare you mentally for the first attempt at this
epic event. We managed to finish in a time of 20.03 hours due
to stubbornness and gritted teeth. We are already planning
our tactics and training for next year’s event – the Trailwalker
bug has well and truly bitten.
Race to Rudesheim – by Sgt Miller
After breakfast and a morale chat from the CO, Lt Col
Brookes, we were off. The first few check points went by
really quickly. The weather was dry and cool, perfect
conditions to start the event in. Cpl Jo Lyle was definitely
winning best prize for fashion as she wore super bright pink
compression calf socks. Our team could be seen for miles due
to Jo’s socks. Everything was going smoothly until we left
check point 4, we had completed 38km to this point. The
distance between CP4 and CP5 was 12.5km and to us it felt as
though we were constantly going up hill. This leg made us all
realise what we had got ourselves into.
Race to Rudesheim is an annual endurance charity event held
by 3 (Harrogate) Squadron in its adopted town Swanage to
raise money for local charities.
We arrived at CP 5 and fuelled up on goodies from our admin
team. Any foot admin was overseen by SSgt Clare Boswell
who had a new job as team podiatrist. We then left for CP6.
The 4 teams were split into Permanent Staff, Lightning Troop,
Ulster Troop and Battleaxe Troop with the much coveted
Race to Rudesheim trophy up for grabs. Each team would be
split down into groups of 5 and would have to complete a
round robin of a 2 mile run, a cycle and then a row before
continuing on the seemingly endless loop until the distance
was complete.
At CP8 we had a heavy downpour but this did not dampen
our spirits. We enjoyed brews expertly prepared by Sgt Pete
Mellor and changed into some dry kit, a huge morale boost.
From CP8 the pace really slowed and it took us 3.34 to
complete 13.8km, morale in the team remained high however.
By this time blisters were beginning to pop (which is funny
when they are not yours), legs were getting stiff and general
fatigue was setting in, it was well past all of our bedtimes.
From CP10 to the finish is only 4km but this seemed more like
20km. The boss, Maj Jo Wilson, remained cheery and
extremely determined to get us to the finish.
At the finish line we were once again welcomed in by our
amazing admin team. Without these guys we would not have
done as well as we did. They were faultless the whole day
(apart from when we beat them to CP2 and left without
seeing them!) The whole team are extremely grateful for
their efforts – Thank you!!
The event consists of a team of four teams of 15 personnel
racing to complete a distance of 534 miles (the equivalent
distance to Swanage’s twin town Rudesheim). The event
differed from years gone by in that it would take place on
Swanage seafront, right in the public eye. This would ensure
that more money would be collected, but also to spur on any
of the slackers.
The race started frenetically with many teams forgetting that
this was an all day endurance event and shot off sprinting
down Swanage seafront. A canny tactic was adopted by the
Permanent Staff team lead team captain FofS IS Nicki McNeal
with old heads and experience leading the way. It was clear
that the majority of the distance could be gained on the bikes
therefore their maximum efforts were centred here.
Confused and dumbfounded looks could be seen spread
across all the faces of the opposing teams as updates on
distance covered consistently showed the Permanent Staff
team leading.
Eventually other teams slowly worked out that this was the
way to go, and the three other teams slowly started to make
up the ground on the leaders. Ulster Troop buoyed by captain
Cpl Craig Burley pushed his team hard and Sgt Caroline
Ruscoe began to whip her Battleaxe team like a thoroughbred
racehorse.
The energy reserves of the Phase 2 soldiers began to show,
and after 5 long hours in the 30 degree heat' the Permanent
Staff team were caught, leaving a straight race to the finish
for the remaining hour of competition.
Tactics were to come into play again as the mandatory 33km
(the distance of the channel) was completed on the rowing
machines leaving the team to split down to complete the
remaining distance.
The female team and the admin team on the podium.
L-R Cpl Jo Lyle, Sgt Will Mellor, Maj Jo Wilson, SSgt Clare Boswell
and Sgt Helen Jones
The Race to Rudesheim had now turned into a straight
marathon with the majority of competitors completing over
16 miles just on foot. However, the youthfulness of the Phase
2 soldiers proved too much with Battleaxe Troop romping
home to victory leaving a poor wounded Permanent Staff
team to finish in 4th.
A quick prize giving then a Squadron BBQ back at Blandford
9
was followed by a well deserved sleep after the exhausting
efforts of all the competitors.
The complex task of organising the event was trusted into the
hands of Sgt “it will all be fine, trust me” Clough and was
successful with over £750 raised for local Swanage charities
and helped improve the Regiment’s profile with the local
Swanage community.
Exercise TOPHAM HATT – by Cpl Farrow
Ex TOPHAM HATT is an ongoing Public Relations exercise
conducted quarterly by 3 (Harrogate) Squadron. A team of 17
volunteers, including Ph 2 soldiers and permanent staff led by
Sgt Pikendra Tumbahangphe deployed to the Swanage
Railway over the weekend of 29-30 Jun 13.
Our team joined the exercise in the morning of 29 Jun on a
sunny day and after we were delivered a safety brief by
Project Manager Mr Frank Roberts, we were set to work. On
this particular day there were two main teams, the one I was
part of remained at Swanage whilst the other was driven to
Herston Station where they spent the day laying railway track.
Following work that was done on the previous Topham Hatt
in April, our team’s work was focused on a carriage which was
used as our base named the “Scenery Van”. The paint on the
carriage roof had been stripped off ready for new layers to be
applied as had the sides of the carriage. The larger focus of
the day was spent painting the roof and sides however there
where a few other tasks given that allowed the Signals to
show off their famous wood working skills.
The sides of the carriage and doors where in a pretty bad
state with either the wood completely rotted or damaged in
such a way that doors could only be opened from the inside
with the use of a sturdy boot! Some of us had the pleasure of
tearing the old panels off the doors with trusty crow bars
then replacing them with new ones which would later be
painted in order to bring the carriage in line with its snazzy
new look.
The whole day was a good experience as we left the site
knowing we had done something useful to help the area and
the day was made even better by working alongside other
volunteers from the area that are no strangers to the site. 4 (MILITARY TRAINING) SQUADRON
OC
SSM
Capt M Brown vice Maj E Mortimore
WO2 (SSM) B Sherwin
Welcomes & Farewells
The Squadron has seen plenty of changes in personalities in
the past few weeks. Firstly we welcome our new members of
4 (Mil Trg) Sqn permanent staff; WO2 Baz Sherwin joins us as
the new SSM, WO2 Steve Kelly joins us as the new SMI, Sgt
‘Butch’ Slingsby takes up his post in JCTT and Cpl Nicky
Bingham who joins the SQMS department.
Squadron Internal Changes: CSgt ‘Glenn’ Loe moves from
MSTT and into the SQMS department. The ever busy SSgt
Matt Stratton can eventually leave his multi role tasks as the
SQMS/SSM/Odd job and move back into his treasured
Squadron MT.
As always with new arrivals, come our farewells. We say
farewell to: WO2 (SSM) Nat Butler, WO2 (SSI) Matt Stowell,
SSgt Bruce Morrison, Cpl Bhesh Chemjong and not forgetting
the CMSR team: Sgt Loz Clegg, Sgt Dale Thompson who
move to the Regimental Training Wing and to Cpl Chris Burley
who joins 3 Sqn.
10
PNCO Training Team
A very busy schedule has seen some significant changes in the
PNCO training team, firstly we would like to say welcome to
SSgt ‘Inch-high SSI’ Gaz Collins, Sgt ‘Delhi’ Shyam Lama, and
Cpl ‘Chancer’ Glancy, who arrive from SCTT, 30 SR and 1 ADSR
respectively. With all welcomes there are farewells and SSgt
‘Robocop’ Welton moves to SCTT, Sgt Dambar moves to 30
SR along with Cpl ‘ Brew boy ’ Bheshraj, all the best in
pastures new.
PNCO CLM 13/003 - by Sig Starr
As usual, the rumour mill was hard at work, this time with
what to expect on our approaching PNCO course. “The PLDs
are cheeky”, “Exercise is pretty cheeky”, “Watch out for the
log-run it’s cheeky!” Now I am just a humble Tom (at the time
of writing, hopefully not at the time of publishing), but if
there’s one thing I’ve come to learn, when someone says
‘cheeky’ in the Army they mean hard! So we prepared for the
worst and went into the classroom phase on day one.
In true Army fashion we got stuck straight into some good old
fashioned PowerPoint presentations with the enthusiastic and
volume control challenged Sgt ‘ Baby 4 Sqn 2IC ’ Fitzsimmons.
The general atmosphere was a relaxed one, although you
could tell that everyone was slightly apprehensive about what
the next two weeks would bring. First impressions of the DS
and particularly our section commanders Cpl Glancy and Cpl
‘Romance’ Machin were that they would operate on a firm
but fair basis. In other words, follow orders, pay attention to
your drills and give 100% at all times and everyone would get
on. We were then divided into two sections consisting of a
mix of Phase 2s and external students, some of which had a
good few years’ experience in the Field Army and on
operations. Needless to say a few squawking crow sounds
were projected around the classroom.
On only the 2nd day it was time for our first Battle PT exercise
which, even though we knew was going to be physically
challenging, was aimed mainly at getting our section to pull
together and work as a team. After a, some might say, overly
enthusiastic “warm-up” by the PTI, we set off already out of
breath. It didn’t take long to see the stronger and weaker
members of the section but everyone pulled together with
the stronger members encouraging the weaker ones and
eventually both sections finished without anyone dropping
out. However, it wasn’t over yet as Thursday’s was the one
that had been dubbed “cheeky”…treat yourself!
Thursday arrived and at approximately 0830hrs we set off out
on the area over hillier and rougher terrain than the previous
one. This time it was definitely harder and we were each
appointed by our section commanders to temporarily take
control of the section, during which we were assessed. Whilst
in my command appointment I shouted so loud I brought my
breakfast back up, leaving a pile of half-digested Alpen in a
bush; I wasn’t the only one suffering though by any means.
About two thirds of the way in, we put all of the kit we were
carrying down and moved on to the log-run. The pace slowed
down at this point, with peoples’ arms becoming fatigued and
the ground becoming really uneven. Still, we dug-in and
pushed on to the assault course. Now the assault course isn’t
exactly easy when you’re feeling fresh and we were far from
fresh, nevertheless it’s amazing how effective screaming at
each other to “get a move on” is and we got through it and
straight back on to the log. The last push was up a long hill
and everyone had to give it their all to get to the finish, but
yet again both sections finished with all of their members.
That same afternoon back on to the area for our Shakeout/
SOP phase, we patrolled out as a platoon with our bergens
fully laden with the intention of rehearsing the occupation of
a harbour area followed by working routine and the next day
battle drills. The weather was hot and sunny and dressed in
all our kit it was uncomfortable to say the least. Still, we had
a lot to learn and take on board, so we put the discomfort to
the back of our minds and carried on. Some of what we had
learnt in basic training came back which made getting to grips
with living in a harbour area easier. We were taught a number
of lessons by the DS throughout the evening and once the
sun set, sentries went out and we carried out our duties
throughout the night. By the morning I’d been bitten that
many times by midges that I was on the verge of going into
anaphylactic shock, luckily I had a pack of Oreos in my ration
pack and all my troubles faded away. The Friday was spent
with the sections going through battle drills with our
respective section commanders which turned out to be very
helpful when we deployed on exercise the following week.
“Lick-out”,” gopping” and “rats” are all fairly apt descriptions
of exercise, but what about when that exercise is taking place
during one of the hottest summers in years, with
temperatures reaching 30⁰C; possibly “turbo lick-out”, which
is exactly what Ex BATTLE STRIPE was.
The exercise began with the platoon patrolling out on to the
area where a snap ambush was set-up and a suitable harbour
area was established by the DS. Subsequently, the troop
moved into the harbour area and occupied it. Each man was
positioned into their respective shell-scrape, each of which
was specially designed to provide the occupant with at least
two hours of restless sleep a night. After a stand-to and soak
period, the troop went into working routine, which meant
clearing the track plan, laying comms cord, putting out
sentries etc. Once the harbour area was secure and all admin
squared away, the fire team commanders were called into the
centre for their mission briefs. Obviously, after not reaching
the centre within five seconds they were hastily prompted by
the DS to ‘Screw the nut!’ Each section was tasked with
patrolling their AOR and engaging any enemy forces.
As the sections left the shade of the woods it was out of the
frying pan and into the fire, as the temperature sored higher
than that in Tenerife. With all our kit on, even patrolling was
enough to make you sweat like a fat bloke on a trampoline,
and then came our first contact and we realised it doesn’t
have to be raining for you to become soaked from head to
toe! The DS had to be extra vigilant about heat injuries due to
the unusually hot weather and everyone was ordered to keep
hydrating. During the ex there was a noticeable improvement
in all areas from turnout for the morning inspections to the
leadership skills of appointed fire team commanders. Often
following our testing scenarios was a debrief, or in Cpl
Glancy’s case a “long brief” with pointers and direction of
areas for improvement for the rest of our lives.
In retrospect, even though it was a hard graft, everyone
benefitted enormously from the two weeks. We have been
taught the values and standards expected of a JNCO, the
attributes needed and just as importantly, that if you want
something, you have to work hard for it. Horror stories and
rumours aside, the DS were actually great; knowledgeable,
professional and a good laugh, which never goes amiss! Of
course if I don’t promote, I take all that back.
Exercise SINKING HAVOC – by LCpl Lee
On 29 May 13 members of 611 (Communications Training)
Signal Troop, 4 (Military Training) Squadron, travelled to HMS
Raleigh in Cornwall to pit their wits against the Royal Navy’s
multi-million pound Damage Repair Instructional Unit, known
affectionately as HAVOC.
After the initial safety brief and video we were given clothing
for the exercise including a non-waterproof overall, boots,
Members of 611 (Comms Trg) Sig Tp outside the Royal Navy’s
Damage Repair Instructional Unit ‘HAVOC’
helmet and a belt. We were then led into the simulator,
picking up hammers and tucking them into belts as instructed.
The experience starts with a warning on the ship’s tannoy
that a missile was incoming. The missile then hit the ship and
suddenly we were plunged into darkness and incoming water.
The two teams then followed their team leaders, LCpl Jay
Usher and Cpl O’Brien down a ladder into a compartment
that was already quickly filling with water. At this point Cpl
Stu Tait dropped his hammer instantly and had to spend the
next few minutes retrieving it from under the icy water!
With the lighting off, and the ship already rocking from side to
side, the teams sprung into action, and in small groups began
to deal with the holes all over the cabin. The freezing cold
water was under significant pressure and the water level in
the room rose at an unnerving rate. We worked for what felt
like five minutes but was in fact closer to forty. The exercise
was certainly testing with the icy water, the swaying motion
of the simulator and the sheer difficulty of trying to hammer
wooden wedges into the holes before being overcome with
water. Eventually the simulator was stabilised, drained of
water and lighting restored; indicating our heroics had saved
the day and our lives! Thoroughly exhausted but with
beaming grins we all trudged out to the relief of many.
The day proved to be a great team building experience and
provided us with a useful insight into the training undertaken
by other members of the Armed Forces.
Lanyard Trophy 2013 – by Cpl M Devlin
Phase 2 trainees arrive at Blandford having completed 6 miles
in basic training and receive a 3-month programme to get
them up to the 8 mile AFT. On the 4 March 2013 we started
our training with 70 bright eyed volunteers. We too had 3
months, but we had to get them up to 40 miles.
At 11 (RSS) Sig Regt we faced two main challenges. The first
being time available to train. All our team members were
either trainees or instructors, all working to course
timetables. We did not have the luxury some units have of
focusing solely on Lanyard training for weeks on end and so
almost all of the training was extra-curricular to work. The
second challenge being the lack of experience in the Phase 2
trainees and, ahem, some of the permanent staff... It really
highlighted what you take for granted with trained soldiers.
At the start of our training we had people who packed
bergans with spare boots and respirators, thought Monster
was a good endurance sport drink and who had not covered
enough distance on foot to know what ‘hot-spots’ were.
Steep learning curve, indeed.
11
Our training regime consisted of three sessions per week:
Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Wednesday was our main
effort of the week, making use of the time available through
the sports afternoon. Training was progressive: we started
out with small distances, carrying little weight and increased
both gradually. We used the camp’s own training area and
the local area out back which provided up to 15 mile routes.
In the later stages of training we spent weekends away in the
Black Mountains to get used to undulating terrain. To make
up for the lack of experience in the trainees we also put on
other ‘lessons’ – bergan packing, foot care, nutrition, etc.
As the weeks passed, injuries took their toll and those not up
to the challenge dropped by the wayside. By the end we had
enough people, just, for 3 male teams and one female team.
The training culminated with two days on the trot: 20 miles
followed by 8, then a week’s rest before the event.
Come race weekend we were as well prepared as we were
going to be. If the teams were nervous on the long journey
up they didn’t show it. After some suspect coach parking and
some discrepancies with the kit list, we settled in for an early
night before the early rise. The route was fairly simple to
navigate and had only one big feature early on, which I was
glad to get out of the way early. The weather was warm and
clear – sun cream was out and camelbaks were drained.
Compared to 2012 this was amazing! I think everyone went
through highs and lows throughout the 40 mile route and it
was good to see people encouraging those struggling.
Our female team finished in 7th place (Reg Female), our C
team in 17th place (Reg Male), our B team in 15th place (Reg
Male) and our A team in a very impressive 3rd place (Reg
Male). Of the four teams we entered only one person didn’t
make it round; a testament to the training and mental
strength of all involved.
Lanyard provides, for everyone, experiences and lessons they
will not soon forget. You learn a lot about yourself and your
colleagues. A special mention to Cpl Mills who, after finishing
with our A team, went onto his MLT course the very next day.
I went home to bed. Each to their own. From my perspective
I enjoyed the teaching involved with Phase 2 trainees: from
waterproofing kit to sock choice, they have all taken away
basic tips and tricks that they will use their whole careers. I
have also found that Skins recovery clothing is, literally, the
best thing in the world.
Overall our competition went well, with excellent results, and
big thanks go to all those involved. The admin teams were
superb, the organisation by those up high was spot on, but
the biggest credit goes to the trainees. Most Royal Signals
soldiers go their whole careers hiding in fear at the thought of
Lanyard Trophy. These guys, with very little knowledge and
experience, smashed it out mere months into theirs.
5 (MARESFIELD) SQUADRON
OC
SSM
the weekend of the event. Our preparation (or lack of) would
get worse when Sgt Matt McKelvie’s back went into spasm
two weeks out. Despite the team’s best efforts, a
replacement could not be found. And so, we set out at 0600
hrs on the morning of 27 Jul 13 with 100km ahead of us as a
team of three and only a few training runs between us.
The detailed map study conducted by Sgt Shaun Hernon the
week before did not pay dividends when within the first 3km,
the team found itself running an extra kilometre downhill in
the wrong direction. From this point forward, a more
concerted effort was made to ensure no extra distance was
added through complacent navigation.
Throughout the day, each team member had his little wobble.
Shaun’s wobble came at the 40km point when he realised just
how utterly, utterly boring running is and how his midget legs
do not help him. At around the 50km point when the sun
started beating down, Dave’s face went the same colour as
his luminous orange shirt and he nearly melted. The short
down pour of rain at the 60km point could not come soon
enough. For Ant, drinking 50 litres of Lucozade at
checkpoints 7 and 8 was nearly his downfall. He still suffers
from a mild aversion to sugary sports drinks.
These little tests aside, the race was not half as hard as
expected. Our strategy of walking up every hill, no matter
how shallow a gradient, paid off as we were surprised to find
ourselves as the lead team by checkpoint 5, a lead which we
did not let go and were in fact the first team to finish. It must
be noted however, that Trailwalker has a staggered start and
our 0600 start (thanks Capt Draper) meant that we set off 2
hours ahead of the serious competition.
Had we ran as a four instead of a three we would have been
placed sixth out of approximately 500 teams. Despite not
being given a team placing, we were still happy to clock a
time of 12hrs 15mins, especially with little or no training.
Yeoman of Signals course number 68: beat that.
Maj G Wills
WO2 (SSM) M Ellis
11SR Trailwalker Team F - YofS Course 67
To follow on from previous arduous events, Yeoman of
Signals Course 67 decided to enter a team into this year’s
Oxfam Trailwalker. The team consisted of Sgts Dave Wood,
Shaun Hernon, Ant Kirkby and Matt McKelvie with Jon Perks
and Dave Ward providing the all important race support.
Our initial thoughts were of serious training and lots of miles
in our running shoes. These thoughts were soon extinguished
when we realised that the work rate on the YofS course
would ramp up significantly for the eight weeks leading up to
12
13
NEWS FROM FORMATIONS
11 SIGNAL BRIGADE
Comd COS Brig Greg Wilson
Maj Jamie Balfour
Future structures and announcements concerning the
Reserves have ensured a busy summer for all and of course a
great number of changes in personnel in the HQ also took
place. Brig Cole has moved on to RCDS while the old COS,
Maj Hervey Scott, is heading back to school too and ACSC.
Further changes in the HQ include many new faces in the Ops
team, now headed by Maj Ian Kirk, and some arrivals into the
staff of 2 Signal Group which has taken on responsibility for
UK Ops and Reserves and Specialist ICS Regts. Maj Bill
McCreath has arrived from just down the road in Stafford to
replace Maj Ally Duncan who has moved to Scotland so as to
be closer to St Andrews golf course. Maj Duncan contracted
out his leaving cakes to Capt Charly Mcnelis who had
apparently decided she needed the practice and used the
event to hone her recipes. Lexy, the HQ’s ever hungry
Labrador dog, sadly never had a chance once Capt Ian
Flannery decided the cakes were all part of his training diet.
Exercise HORROCKS 1
The first in a series of Defence Land Warfare led exercises
designed to refine and mature the structure and procedures
of the A2020 Reaction Force (RF) Div HQ came to a conclusion
in July. Project HORROCKS includes workshops and exercises
to develop the concept of employment of the A2020 Reaction
Force (RF) Div and further exercises are planned imminently
to build towards the deployment of a 2* UK HQ within an
ARRC construct. The exercise provided an opportunity to
consider the draft 11 Sig Bde concept of operations and a lot
of thought regarding the G6 functional command issues
under A2020 structures. Representation from across 11 Sig Bde from the Comd
through to an emulation of the proposed 7 Sig Gp component
provided by CO 16 Sig Regt and his Ops team. In addition to
supporting the A2020 RF Div HQ procedures these exercises
will also assist in shaping the manner in which the Multi Role
Signal Regiments (MRSRs) will deliver capability to 1* and 2*
deployed HQs in the future.
An engaging and at times challenging time was had by all,
with areas for development highlighted that will be taken
forward throughout the remaining series of HORROCKS
events and beyond.
Exercise HORSESHOE EAGLE 2013 – by Maj Monty Montgomery
The ‘rate my cake’ competition (where the hungry HQ staff
were the real winners) and farewell to Maj Duncan
RSI Conference in London
In early July a number of staff from the Bde HQ supported the
RSI Seminar in London, in the historic surroundings of
Headquarters Ship Wellington, the home of the Honourable
Company of Master Mariners. The theme for the seminar was
‘Enabling NATO and coalition operations in the postAfghanistan era’ and the keynote speaker was COMARRC,
who gave a very interesting speech on his thoughts how the
R SIGNALS should support future operations. It was
interesting to compare the experiences of 1 Sig Bde’s support
to the ARRC and JRRF with those of 11 Sig Bde’s direct
support to operations in Afghanistan, the Air Assault Task
Force and UK Operations. In November 11 Sig Bde's Asst
Comd will be leading an RSI Workshop to explore how best to
integrate the Regular and Reserve components of the Corps
as we move forward and develop the Army 2020 structures,
trailed in previous editions of The Wire.
14
Ex HORSESHOE EAGLE was the name given by 2 Sig Bde to its
bi-annual CPX. The same title has been maintained by 11 Sig
Bde for the CPX this year. It was over two years since the
Regts had taken part in a Bde CPX due to previous Op
OLYMPICS commitments and so it was a challenge for both
the small 11 Sig Bde Regular UK Ops team, supported by the
Reserve Staff Officers, and for the Regt Comd Teams. The
aim of the CPX was to test the planning capabilities and
expertise of each of the Regt’s Comd teams. It would also be
the ideal chance to practice the Reserve Officers at the HQ in
their roles. At last minute the Bde Comd and COs were
whisked away to RMAS for the Army 2020 brief and so
additional pressure was put on the 2ICs and Ops teams. The
entire exercise was based at HQ 11 Sig Bde in Donnington with
the Regts deploying assets to site, to provide real time
communications for ex management purposes. The ex owner
was the newly arrived SO1 G3 , Lt Col Bob Lovett, so not too
much pressure there then! The Regular team of Maj Charlie
Millar, Capt Des McGuckian and Capt Ian Flannery had been
working on the ex plan for sometime supplemented by the
Reserve staff during their Bde weekends. The week before
the CPX, Maj ‘Monty’ Montgomery and Maj Jason Fensome
supplemented the team in Donnington, to work through the
detail and validate the serials.
71 Sig Regt provided the HICON/LOCON staff, ably led by Maj
Brown. Her team vetted the ex serials and added some
realisms to the scenario and all their inputs.
The exercise preparation began on the Thursday before with
the Reebok and other comms installations arriving and being
set up. The Reebok would provide the IT for the staff users to
use for exercise and real time play. The same system also
provided the telephone networks throughout the Regtl CPs
and staff desks. Friday evening was the arrival and briefing
phase when the ex scenario was explained and some
refresher training on Sharepoint, RCHAT and other
peculiarities of the ex. The Ptarmigan building was used for
the Regtl CPs and was full of Regt Ops teams and Bde staff
not only covering the ex but making new and re-establishing
acquaintances. It was early to bed however as the ex was
due to start at 0600hrs Saturday with the issuing of the ex
OpO.
interview was recorded and would provide much joviality on
the Sunday debriefs.
Saturday morning and a virtual High Readiness Reserve (HRR)
call out exercise to begin the day. With HRR now becoming
more prominent, this would both be a useful test of the
procedures the Regiments had in place and provide valuable
feedback for the Bde on any gaps in the required skill sets,
location of individuals etc. The formal issue of orders were
given and the Regt Comd teams began to beaver away on
their staff work ultimately to produce the estimate and their
own Regt Wng and OpO.
38 Sig Regt had been requested to provide the admin for the
weekend and they more than exceeded their brief. The team
led by Maj Paul Griffiths, not only provided the standard
breakfast and lunch, but on Saturday evening, provided a
superb curry meal with liquid refreshment.
Throughout the entire day, Maj Alan Baker, from CAST UK,
was on hand. At the Bde request, he was here to examine
how we did business and get feedback from the CAST. It
would be interesting to see the CAST perspective and advise
us on best practice for all aspects of our activities.
Midday Saturday and due to some technical issues and the
need to focus on key areas, elements of the planning phase
were removed and we went into the ex deployment phase.
The Regts had a chance to backbrief the Bde Staff and gain
further direction and later, SO1 G3 visited each Regtl CP to be
further briefed and to put across his own ideas.
Throughout the afternoon, as the teams continued to plan,
and HICON added some interesting serials to test the
flexibility and their thought processes, some lucky volunteers
were encouraged to take part in a mock media interview.
Organised by Capt McGuckian, some tricky questions were
asked and it was interesting to see how each volunteer
maintained the official media line, or not in some cases. Each
Throughout the weekend Maj Chris Moseley had been
working with the Regular staff to validate the exercise. Using
the CAST format, he and Capt Ian Flannery created and
maintained the exercise aims and validation matrix. This
would be used at the Sunday back brief to the Regts and
provide a platform to use for future validation exercises.
Using CAST best practice; this same system will be used to
validate trg on the Regt annual deployment exercises.
Sunday morning was primarily debrief time with each
Regiment summarising its plan. The Bde Comd, Brig Cole
opened proceedings and thanked everyone for their efforts.
The Asst Comd, Col Chris Edwards, echoed this and then
handed over to the Regts. After presentations, Maj Moseley
and Capt Ian Flannery presented their validation of the
exercise based upon the CAST model. It was an excellent way
to compare the exercise aims and training objectives against
what was achieved.
On a lighter note Capt Des McGuckian then entertained the
audience by taking us through the media briefs and
recordings… great fun for us, probably less so for each
interviewee but no harm done and it helped the CPX end with
a smile.
The CPX, although modest in scale and objectives, achieved
what it had set out to do. It was a success in that it got
everyone together and let us all assess our own abilities; it set
the base line for all to build on and with some very positive
and constructive feedback, the next CPX will shortly be in
planning. As the Bde Staff develop their engagement with
each other and the Regts, we all look forward to a bigger
success in 2014.
Royal Signals Squash Championships 2013
7th – 8th November 2013
at 2 Signal Regt, Imphal Bks
Contact Maj S Bason RAF Henlow 95381 6305
15
NEWS FROM REGIMENTS
1st (UNITED KINGDOM) ARMOURED DIVISION
HERFORD
CO
RSM
Lt Col J G Hill
WO1 (RSM) D J Mears
There is more reshuffling to come as deployment on Op
HERRICK draws closer. We look forward to welcoming 200
Sig Sqn into the fold later this summer; meanwhile, 201 and
212 Sig Sqns will merge and 211 Sig Sqn will take on Falcon.
Ex PASHTUN HORIZON has just concluded; HQ Sqn did a
fantastic job and received considerable praise from the staff
officers on the exercise. Many thanks and well done to all
those who were part of the RLS team.
We are sad to lose Regt 2IC Maj Gary Stoker, a larger-than-life
character who has put a tremendous amount of work into his
time with us. We wish him well in his next posting, and
welcome new 2IC Maj Al Garrett. We also say goodbye to
RAO Det Comd and occasional Adjt Capt Kate Sutton who
takes up a new post just down the road in Hameln.
Army Lawn Tennis Championships – by Cpl Thomas
The 93rd Army Lawn Tennis Championships took place at the
Aldershot Tennis Centre from Saturday 13 to Wednesday 17
July 2013. The competition consisted of many seasoned
players in the Army, TA and retired veterans competing at the
very highest level to secure the limited places and trophies of
the ALTA (Army Lawn Tennis Association). The successful
competitors would represent the Army in the upcoming
competition to be held at Wimbledon in September.
I competed firstly in the men’s open singles starting in the
blistering 32o heat. The match lasted 2hrs 30mins; sadly my
opponent was well-acclimatised as he was based in Cyprus
and won the match with a result of 6-4, 6-3. Sunday games
consisted of the mixed doubles, having also lost 6-2, 6-3 I
proceeded to the men’s open doubles where I was teamed up
with a hard-hitting potential officer from the RLC. We made a
good team and made short work of our opponents, winning
6-2, 6-0 and securing a place in the quarter finals.
Monday games saw us playing in the mixed doubles against
the eventual runners-up of the competition, who beat us 6-2,
6-1. I also played in the plate competition which consisted of
the players who lost in the first round. My match lasted just
over 2 hours with a 6-4, 6-2 loss, my opponent then went on
make it to the finals, losing to the defending champion.
Tuesday and Wednesday consisted of semi-final and final
matches and prize-giving. Having thoroughly enjoyed the
competitive nature and professionalism of the sport I hope to
take part in the winter indoors competition and become a
member of the Royal Signals Lawn Tennis Team.
HEADQUARTERS SQUADRON
OC
SSM
Maj S Vernon
WO2 (SSM) B Anderson
HQ Sqn bids farewell to Training Officer Capt ‘Oz’ Faramus,
who is hanging up his beret as he makes the transition to
civilian life. We also lose Sqn OC Maj Stu Vernon. We wish
16
them both the best of luck for the future; they will be missed.
New arrivals include incoming QM Maj Lawrence Kerr and QM
(T) Capt Fred Fensom.
Exercise PASHTUN HORIZON – by Cpl Watson and LCpl Cunnew
HQ Sqn was tasked with providing real life support for 7 Armd
Bde MST on Ex PASHTUN HORIZON 1 and 2, in preparation for
Op HERRICK 19. The task was broken down to security,
accommodation, feeding, transport, power and general duties
for up to 650 exercising staff. This task would see members
of 1 ADSR deploy to Warminster for a total of 7 weeks. On 6
June a merry band of experienced and reliable Royal Signals
soldiers was drafted in from around the Regt and placed
under the command of HQ Sqn OC Maj Stu Vernon and SSM
‘Baz’ Anderson. Once formed up and placed into shifts by Sgt
Jay Copland we were introduced to SSgt (SQMS) Lee ‘not so’
Jolly who immediately began detailing us off to tasks,
briefings and MCCP with the Sqn clerks.
The advance party departed on 9 June and began the epic 14
hour coach journey to the UK. On arriving in Warminster the
SQMS, supported by the RLS SNCO and his team, began the
task of taking over Knook camps North and South. We then
set about taking over all the accommodation and guarding
both sites ready for the arrival of the staff. The initial build
phase for the field kitchen at CATT lasted 1 1/2 days and was
led by the SQMS and IC tents, Sig Aimee Bunyan, who put her
tent-building knowledge from previous Div exercises to good
use. In addition Sgt Greg Ward and his RSE team were busy
providing “power to the Corps” with his FEPS equipment.
The remainder of the Sqn arrived late on 14 June; within a day
the build was complete and some time was allowed to
explore the delights of Warminster.
Shift rotations were well-organised and set for the duration of
the exercise so each shift could plan days off and organise
transport for R&R days. Of particular note was the birdwatching trip to Bournemouth beach! PT was organised daily
by duty PTIs Sig Pascal, Sig Connelly and Sig Kernohan to
keep the troops fit over the 7 weeks.
At the end of the Ex we were thanked for our hard work by
GOC Maj Gen Chiswell and several members of the team were
awarded GOC’s coins for their efforts. At ENDEX we took to
work collapsing the field kitchen and collecting in stores; after
the dust had settled and the staff had left we then had a welldeserved Sqn BBQ with a few comical skits and inter-shift pub
games. There was fun for all. The final element was the 17
hour return coach journey to Herford, a real treat!
201 SIGNAL SQUADRON
OC
SSM
Maj A Stannard
WO2 (SSM) S Miners
Squadron Update – by Sig Heathcote
In the last month, 201 Sig Sqn has been extremely busy with a
number of exercises, and with several people away it only
became more challenging. The Sqn is working with both
Bowman and Falcon detachments as well as supporting trawls
to Canada, Kenya, and Ex PASHTUN HORIZON in the UK. On
Ex LONG LEASH and Ex FREE FLIGHT we deployed our Falcon
detachments within barracks. The aim was to connect Falcon
to the Hub and potentially to other systems. With many
unforeseen faults, all the engineers and operators did their
best to overcome these problems and we learned a lot.
This month we also supported the Bismarck Challenge,
working on the build and preparation for the event. This was
a charity event whereby members of the Regt ran and tabbed
their way through a gruelling 14.1 miles across Herford.
A fond farewell to our favourite senior CS Eng SSgt Adam
Stares who has taken a post with NATO Tp on promotion. A
legend on the dance floor as well as Op HERRICK 15, more
recently the Falcon programme and not forgetting the pole
vault; he’ll be sorely missed. We’ve also bid goodbye to Cpl
McCran on promotion to 30 Sig Regt, LCpl Clarke who is off
on his Class 1 course, and Sig Rees on his second tour at 12
Mech Bde Sig Sqn. All the very best for your future careers.
Eagle Troop are very sorry to lose SSgt ‘Stevo’ Stevens, our
Troop Staffie who transfers over to the current 212 Sig Sqn.
His steady hand has guided us through a changing Sqn – his
no-nonsense energy and charisma will be very much missed.
From Hawk Tp, LCpl Janes leaves for 18 Sig Regt, LCpl
Attwood to his Class 1 course and Sig Holdcroft makes the
bold leap back into civilian life. And finally our fantastic SSM
WO2 Stevie Miners who has been the rock of 201 Sig Sqn
through HERRICK, Op OLYMPICS, Falcon and beyond. You
will be much missed – our best wishes for you and your family
for your final 6 months of military life.
We welcome from Blandford, Sig Harp, Sig Pritchard and Sig
Goulding who will be thrown into driving and Falcon courses
in the coming months. We also welcome new OC Maj
Andrew Stannard and WO2 (SSM) Tiplady – we’re very
pleased to have you and wish you good luck at 1ADSR. In
Hawk Tp, we welcome newly posted CS Engs Cpl Richards and
LCpl Hickson, and from Blandford, Sig Boulton, Sig Nicholas,
and Sig Laidler.
tabbed. Now in its thirteenth year, the event is not only a
gruelling test of physical endurance but is an opportunity to
improve links between Herford station, military families and
the local German community. It’s followed by the brilliant
Party in the Park.
After a turbulent week of weather, it was with trepidation
that 230 brave participants gathered on a very soggy sports
pitch on a Saturday morning. CO 1ADSR, Lt Col Hill, took
extra precaution by wearing a sturdy pair of wellies. In fact
the conditions turned out to be ideal – the predicted rain
cooled participants off during the race and we were then
rewarded with an afternoon of glorious sunshine. The gallant
winner stormed through the finish line in an impressive 1hr
27min, closely followed by favourite physio Paul Westwood.
Pain enthusiast SSgt Conley led the tabbers in with 2hr 32min.
The entire Regiment put in a fantastic effort, recording some
times to be very proud of and more than earning their
afternoon Herforder (and recovery protein bar).
The event would not have been possible without the fantastic
efforts of QMSI ‘Bananas are good!’ Foley and his team who
put in many hours to clear and mark the route, not forgetting
the QMSI’s memorable motivational speech to warm up the
crowd. Our enormous thanks to SSgt Adam Stares who led
the publicity effort, Provost Sgt McEwan and LCpl Richardson
for flawless security and LCpl Max Williams and LCpl
Ferguson (who travelled all the way from 102 Log Bde) for
masterminding the registration and results process. We are
very grateful for the fantastic support of the RAO, catering,
and SHEF departments as well as the NAAFI for their valuable
contribution. We thank Sgt Nick Budd for essential
collaboration with Party in the Park and conducting the build
with a dedicated team of hard-working marshals from 1(UK)
ADSR. Most of all - pivotal to the whole operation was SSgt
Jo Cordery – project manager extraordinaire.
Exercise DISTANT WRISTBAND
The Corps Col’s challenge was simple: travel 500 miles from
Herford with €150 and a Royal Signals Benevolent Fund
wristband. The contest was put to 201 Sqn who came up with
a plethora of ingenious ideas including bungee jumping from
the Contra Dam James Bond style, a cheeky helicopter ride to
Switzerland and road trips to Rome, Prague and Paris.
The winners were LCpl Jack Arbon and LCpl Nick Janes who
took on the excursion to the cultural mecca of Paris. €150 was
carefully spent on a tank full of petrol and lastminute.com
advice on cheap hostels. Their main effort was to visit the
Louvre and the statue of messenger God Mercury – the R
SIGNALS Jimmy. They also extended the wristband’s
sightseeing to the Mona Lisa and inevitably the Eiffel Tower.
A fantastic exercise which challenges the rest of the Corps to
photograph their wristbands in even more imaginative and
exotic locations.
EAGLE TROOP
OC SSgt
Lt C Dawes
SSgt J Stevens
Bismarck Challenge, 29 Jun 13 – by Lt Dawes
The Bismarck Challenge is a 14.1 mile trail course across the
landscape of Herford and Bad Salzuflen that can be run or
Heike Mohn, SSgt Connelly and Lt Miller receive their Bismarck
Challenge trophies
HAWK TROOP
OC
SSgt
Lt C Miller
SSgt J Cordery
Female Festival of Sport, 3 Jul 13 – by Sig Royals
The Female Festival of Sport was held in Sennelager and was
open to all female military and dependents in BA (G). This is
the first time this event has taken place; hopefully due to its
success it will become an annual event. The idea behind this
event is to encourage females to participate in different team
sports, specifically to try something completely new, and
hopefully finding a sport that they may be particularly good at!
There are 4 sports: volleyball, hockey, basketball and
rounders. Each participant played volleyball and hockey in
the morning and after lunch basketball and rounders. The
emphasis is on enjoying the sport, not necessarily being good
17
at it. This then gives girls like me the confidence to ‘have a go’
and just enjoy attempting a different type of sport. Although
competition is not the aim as such, we were still delighted
when we came first overall, winning the hockey, basketball
and rounders (much to our surprise!). I really enjoyed the day,
as I think many of the other girls did. I considered I wasn’t
good at anything at all; however, that really didn’t seem to
matter. I met some people I haven’t seen since basic training,
got lots of fresh air and exercise and most of all had fun!
The victorious 1 (UK) ADSR Female Festival of Sport team
211 SIGNAL SQUADRON
OC
SSM
Maj T Moran
WO2 (SSM) R Savage
1980s, the 1 ADSR track and field team made it to Aldershot
for the Army Inter-Unit Team Finals, bolstered considerably by
some temporary loans from Ex PASHTUN HORIZON.
Kicking off the proceedings Sig Crooke’s unorthodox yet
curiously effective hurdling technique gave the men’s team a
strong start in the 400m hurdles. In the female race LCpl
Crocker put in an outstanding performance, finishing 5th in
her first attempt at the event and having only been warned
off 10 minutes before the race. Another new member of the
team, Sig ‘O-K’ Ofori-Koranteng, managed 2.20m in his firstever pole vault competition. Sig Hume, not-so-fresh from the
Ex PASHTUN HORIZON night shift, gallantly stepped up to run
the 5000m, barely faltering when his shoelaces came undone
on lap 1. He then, from nowhere, put in a sprint finish that
wouldn’t have been out of place in the 100m. Fast-starting
Sig Royals also did well to make it round 12 ½ laps of the track
on a very hot day.
Cpl Thompson and Sig Smith were high points-scorers for the
male and female teams respectively at the Morrison Cup, and
today was no different, Cpl Thompson doing particularly well
in the long and triple jump. Meanwhile, LCpl Pritchard fared
well against strong competition in the 200m and 400m, and
Sig Gubb improved on his personal best time in the 3000m
steeplechase. The relay teams made it round the track
without incident and the day’s results were tallied. The male
team finished 9th out of 14 teams and the female team joint
6th out of 9. The competition was clearly a big step up from
the Morrison Cup but both teams did themselves proud
(though all achievements faded in comparison with Sig
‘Barber’s Pole’ Crooke’s epic sunburn).
As ever, the Sqn has been scattered to the four winds over
the last couple of months, with a sizeable contingent
deploying to Warminster in support of Ex PASHTUN
HORIZON. In addition, several members of the Sqn have
spent 2 months at BATUS on Ex PRAIRIE THUNDER. Back in
Herford the SWE tent got an outing for Ex FREE FLIGHT in
conjunction with 201 Sig Sqn, and we have also had a chance
to enjoy some time on the ranges and learn some survival
skills on Ex PREMIER BATTLEAXE 2 in Sennelager. It hasn’t all
been hard work, however; the Sqn summer function was a
great chance to relax and socialise with a BBQ, some beers
and some interesting attempts at karaoke. Many thanks to
Sgt Wynter and his team for putting it together.
We have recently said goodbye to Sig Hume, who moves on
to 30 Sig Regt, LCpl Beck, off to 2 Sig Regt, LCpl Bates, who is
moving to 11 EOD on promotion, Cpl Hillis, who takes up an
instructor post in Blandford, and Sig Webb, who goes to 16
Sig Regt. We wish them all the best of luck for the future.
SSgt (YofS) Ross McDuff will shortly leave us for 16 Sig Regt,
as will WO2 (SSM) Richie Savage, who moves across to the
Training Wing. Both have put a huge amount of work into
their time in the Sqn and they will be sorely missed. From ATC
Pirbright we welcome new Sqn 2IC Capt Johannes Loots, and
from 16 Sig Regt, the all-new Ops line-up of WO2 (FofS) Stuart
Sharman and SSgt (YofS) Andrew Simpson.
Sig Gubb on his way to a new PB in the 3000m steeplechase
BA (G) Championships, Herford, 9 Jul 13
The final event of the season was the BA (G) Championships,
held a stone’s throw from our barracks in Herford. With the
home advantage, and the relatively small logistical challenge
of a mere 10 minute journey (still too much for Sig Brazier,
who managed to get lost on the way), the teams were
brimming with confidence going into the competition.
MAIN TROOP
OC
SSgt
Lt E Haley
SSgt C Simmonds
Athletics Update – by Lt Haley
Army Inter-Unit Team Championships, Aldershot, 19 Jun 13
After the usual last-minute panicking, pleas, threats and
bribery that, sadly, must always accompany team
management of a sport that hasn’t been truly cool since the
18
LCpl Pritchard in action for the 4 x 400m relay team
There were some strong performances in the field events in
particular, with top 3 finishes for Cpl Thompson (long jump
and triple jump), Sig Sym (high jump) and SSgt Vinten (pole
vault). On the track, newcomer Sig Noble showed blistering
speed to finish 2nd in both the 100m and 400m. Cpl Thomas
came away unscathed from his first attempt at the high
hurdles, and SSgt Connelly did well in the 400m equivalent.
For the ladies it was a case of multi-eventing – SSgt
McLaughlin competed in all 3 throws, with an excellent 3rd
place in the discus. Meanwhile Lt ‘Metronome’ Dawes had
the unenviable task of running in both the 5000m and 1500m.
Pte Stevens doubled up on the hurdling events, showing very
good technique, and Pte Carey covered the sprints, both of
them earning some solid points for the team.
The teams had been in the mix for medals throughout the
day, but after the relays we were in for a nervous wait. The
results of the female competition were announced first, and 1
ADSR had done enough to finish 3rd, finally bringing home
some silverware (this came as something of a surprise, and
several half-eaten ice lollies had to be swiftly disposed of in
order to march out and receive the medals from the GOC, Maj
Gen Chiswell). The male team was extremely unlucky to miss
out on medals by a single point, but still put in excellent
performances all round. They will no doubt be hoping to go
one (or maybe 3) better next year. Many thanks to QMSI
Foley and the PTIs for supporting the event.
TAC TROOP
OC
SSgt
2Lt I Archambeau
SSgt C Brady
2013 Cricket Season – by Sig Rennie
Our 2013 cricket campaign went extremely well. In the
quarter-finals of the BA (G) Cup 1 (UK) ADSR played against 35
Engr Regt, beating them by 7 wickets. A big congratulations
goes to Sig Josh Cooper who notched up an unbeaten 50 and
Sgt Freddy Wynter for his 5 wicket haul. We then played 28
Engr Regt in the semi-finals. After winning the toss we
elected to bat first. Our opening batsmen needed to put on a
huge opening partnership, and thankfully they did, reaching
the 80 mark, before Sig Alex Lloyd fell for 26. Our middle
order batsmen didn’t do too well with me, Sgt Rob McEwan
and Cfn Barrett scoring 0 between us. After reaching 168 all
out 28 Engineer Regiment went in to bat. With the opposition
at 150 for 5 it looked as if they were going to win. However,
quick wickets taken by me, Cfn Auguste, Cfn Barrett and Sgt
Budd ensured that the Engineers were all out for 160 and 1
(UK) ADSR were on the way to the final.
On Friday 12 July, we set off for Hohne. The weather was
great, the skies were blue and we were all looking forward to
playing some competitive cricket. After a long trip with Sgt
McEwan’s horrendous rendition of ‘Come On Eileen’ by
Dexy’s Midnight Runners we finally arrived. With the toss
going in 32 Engineer Regiment’s favour, we were to bowl
first. It went on to be a long day in the field, as there were
missed stumpings, dropped catches and poor fielding. 32
Engineers went on to score 211 for 9, leaving us a huge deficit.
With our opening batsmen going well, we were in with a
chance; however, 32 Engineers’ bowling proved to be good.
With no one surpassing the 50 mark, 1 (UK) ADSR was all out
for 162. After the medals were handed out, a couple of drinks
and some food, Sig Lloyd got our minibus lost, turning a 2
hour journey into an 8 hour one.
Finally I want to congratulate everyone who played this year
and with good funding from the Regiment, and good support
from the soldiers, we hope to achieve the same again next
year.
SPEC TASK TROOP
OC
SSgt
Lt J Mason
SSgt R Jones
Exercise PREMIER BATTLEAXE 2 – by Lt Haley
On Monday 15 July it was an early start for 211 Sig Sqn as we
prepared to deploy to Sennelager for a 2 day MATTs package.
The high temperatures and continuous sunshine made for
good conditions on the ranges, giving members of the Sqn an
excellent opportunity to practise their marksmanship prior to
firing their ACMT the following day. In some cases this
practice was much-needed, but eventually everyone was
successfully zeroed.
The Sqn then moved on to a revision of harbour drills before
doing it for real and occupying the harbour that was to be
home for the next 2 nights. The next few hours were devoted
to battle lessons, the ever-popular ‘too much/too little/just
right’ camouflage demonstration making an appearance.
Once it finally got dark at 2230hrs it was time for the night
nav, which proved surprisingly tricky (Sgt Riley’s GPS was
definitely not used at all).
Day 2 was mainly devoted to firing the ACMT, with some good
scores from most. After this it was time to see just what SSgt
(SQMS) ‘Ray Mears’ McCrone and Sgt Wynter had been up to
for the last 24 hours as the soldiers were given lessons on
survival skills. Various attempts at setting traps, building
shelters and starting a fire then followed, with mixed results
(despite some very determined efforts by some, no one was
able to get anything more than smoke).
The second night’s activity was a night stalk. The challenge:
to make it through the forest to the minibus without being
caught and sent back to the start. Only 2 were successful –
Sig Lea went for the conventional approach, but Sig
Wallington thought outside the box and pretended to be a
member of the DS, striding through the undergrowth and
flashing white light liberally to reach the minibus and a
grudgingly impressed Lt Haley.
On the final day it was back to the ranges for the last
practices before returning to camp. The exercise was a good
opportunity to refresh basic skills prior to summer leave, and
the weather was an added bonus. Thank you to Sgt Taylor
and all the DS.
212 SIGNAL SQUADRON
OC
SSM
Capt C Davidson
WO2 (SSM) D Cattle
AREZZO TROOP
OC
SSgt
2Lt G Baynes
SSgt P Chadwick
BA (G) Team Swimming and Water Polo Championships
– by 2Lt Baynes
Wednesday 10 July saw a scratch team of budding swimmers
from 1 (UK) ADSR travel to Hohne to compete in the BA (G)
Team Swimming and Water Polo Championships.
The morning was the Team Swimming Championships; a
strong team was fielded with signallers from the ADSR,
complemented by officers from the Div HQ. All team
members entered at least one race with Sig Sym putting in
the performance of the day in winning the 4 X 50 IM. After a
lot of hard work and some great team effort on the relay
races the team placed third overall winning the bronze medal.
19
After a strong morning performance in the Team Swimming
Championships it was time for the Water Polo Championships
in the afternoon. Having little previous practice the team was
apprehensive about competing. However, thanks to some
excellent last minute coaching from Sgt Ashcroft and the late
addition of the CRE and Maj Roberts, both ex-Army level
players, we were able to field a super-competitive and
relatively experienced team. The first group of matches was
won with ease and the 1 ADSR team were soon getting a
good reputation for being formidable competition. Having
won the first two rounds of matches we found ourselves in
the final against 3 RHA. After some great defensive work
from Lt Mason and powerful offensive action from the CRE
the match was drawn 1-1 at full time. With extra time declared
the match would be decided on a golden goal. Despite our
best efforts 3 RHA managed to score a scrappy goal, winning
the game and forcing the ADSR team to settle for runners-up.
Overall it was a successful day for those wearing the Rhino
and having qualified for the Army championships in
September, training is well under way to beat 3 RHA and walk
away with the top prize!
MONTE CASSINO TROOP
OC
SSgt
Lt R Drysdale
Sgt W Watt
Red Cross Visit to Harewood Barracks
On 1 August Harewood Barracks played host to 24 children
from the German Red Cross holiday scheme; as part of an
initiative to find out more about the town in which they live,
the children wanted a glimpse of what goes on behind the
wire. They spent an interesting morning learning about ration
packs and vehicle maintenance, and trying out a variety of
vehicle horns and sirens. They also got a chance to have a
look at some of the equipment used by the Regiment,
including Cormorant and Bowman detachments.
The group thoroughly enjoyed themselves and went away
with a much clearer idea of life in the barracks. Many thanks
to all those involved in the day, and in particular to Sgt Watt
for organising a very successful event which demonstrates
the strong Anglo-German links in Herford.
RIMINI TROOP
OC
SSgt
Lt C Buescher
SSgt C Wood
Exercise ARCTIC EXPRESS - by LCpl Gardiner
On Friday 11 May, 10 soldiers embarked on their trip to
Portsmouth harbour where they would start their voyage on
Endeavour to sail to Oban within two weeks. Most of us had
never sailed before and there was going to be a lot to learn,
but we were all excited about the challenge. Following a long
day of travel, we had a weekend off before the hard work and
training began.
Gathering at our vessel on the Monday morning, we were
greeted by our Skipper Glynn Jones and two sailors who
would be making the voyage with us. The first day was taken
up with training. Sig Miller kindly volunteered to show us
how to use and wear the life jackets as everyone had a good
laugh at his expense. After splitting into rooms and watches
(the nautical term for teams), we were ready to set sail.
The first leg was a short sail from Gosport to Cowes, where
we arrived without incident and docked overnight. Although
it was only a short sail, people were slowly getting a little
seasick. We were up early the next day to set off on a 30 hour
leg to Falmouth. True to the old Army adage, “If it ain’t
raining, it ain’t training!”, we received our full training value
on this leg. Not only did we have to learn how to sail in the
dark, but in the rain as well. Still, if we could manage in these
conditions, we could manage in anything and we arrived in
Falmouth on schedule and ready to steady our legs back on
land.
Milford Haven was our next destination. Morale was high as
we left Falmouth ahead of schedule. The winds were not very
strong, so the engine was used to get us out of the harbour.
After a few hours the winds eventually picked up and we got
back to sailing in earnest. By the time we got to Milford
Haven the bilge pump needed to be mended before we could
continue. As the engineers worked at fixing it, the crew
stayed on board to ensure help could be offered as required.
Afterwards we had a huge crew breakfast at a local café. This
became a challenge between the lads of who could finish the
biggest breakfast in the menu.
LCpl White helps 8-year-old Ronja try on helmet and webbing
Whilst the next leg to the Isle of Man was not the most
exciting sailing – we used the engine most of the way - it
provided some of the highlights of the trip. Seeing dolphins
playing with the waves in front of the boat was amazing, and
sailing through the broad sound between Skokham Isle and
Skomer was very special. Cpl Cromar managed to get diesel
all over the deck and Sig Royals, resulting in both needing a
wash down. LCpl Forshaw volunteered to catch a bird that
had been trapped in the forepeak, but without his wingmen
LCpl Beck and Sig Wilson, he was about as much use with the
feathered variety as he is on a Friday night in Bielefeld.
On the Isle of Man we encountered some trouble. Waking up
early to set off for Jura, we found the tide had gone out too
far and the vessel was now grounded. A local fisherman came
to the rescue and managed to free us.
Sig Reynolds explaining how a generator works
20
Once on our way, the winds were strong and the storm sails
were put up. The seas were rough, which made a great
experience. At this point the toilet broke, and we had one
left for the whole crew. After some desperate attempts to
unblock the loo, it became apparent that it was more serious
and needed some expert attention. Fortunately we weren’t
far from Oban.
From Jura we went on to the notorious Corryvreckon gap –
we had been warned this would be the roughest and most
testing part of the two weeks. The vessel swung from side to
side madly as we passed through, but thanks to WO2 (SSM)
Daz Cattle’s steering, we got through safely and arrived in
Oban ahead of schedule.
After a day of cleaning we went out for a team meal in Oban,
which was a great way to end the exercise. Everyone was
disappointed the adventure was over, but at least we were
leaving with our Comp Crew qualifications and some great
memories.
Getting to grips with the basics of sailing
2nd SIGNAL REGIMENT
YORK
CO
RSM
Lt Col C Vaudin
WO1 (RSM) P Mason
219 SIGNAL SQUADRON
OC
SSM
Maj Davis
WO2 (SSM) Blowes
FALCON Collection From Ashchurch - by Sig Plant
As part of re-roling as an MRSR, 2 Signal Regiment personnel
were tasked with travelling down to Ashchurch and collecting
the Regiment’s brand new Falcon detachments - a task we
were all really looking forward to. On Monday 8 July we
travelled from York to Ashchurch, arriving there around
lunchtime, however the team’s morale had already taken a hit
in the first few hours as the route planner did not plan a KFC
stop on the way. Upon arrival the guys had lunch at the
world’s smallest cookhouse before setting to work on the
first Falcon vehicles.
The task its self was pretty simple and we made a great start we had eleven Falcon detachments to sign for and we went
through them with a fine tooth comb, checking all the serial
numbers of each piece of equipment, checking all the kit was
present and that it was all serviceable. However, one or two
of the detachments proved to be more trouble than they
were worth, some with damaged kit, some with kit missing
and some with incorrect serial numbers.
With a lot of waiting around for the new Unicom print outs,
some of the guys got to have a really good look at the military
quad bikes that were sat in the next hanger. This was made
even more enjoyable by the unit SOP to leave the keys with
the vehicles.
With the guys ahead of schedule it was looking that we were
looking at an earlier finish than was originally planned and
rumours of a mid-week finish spread around. The opportunity
to relax was met with a few beers and Sig Davis and I took
the opportunity to get to the gym and beast ourselves like the
machines that we are.
All in all the task of signing for the eleven detachments and
the palletised Falcon equipment went very smoothly and with
few dramas, most likely due to the fine selection of the
soldiers on the task. THE WIRE, OCTOBER 2013
Adventurous Training at Capel Curig – 21 - 27 July - by LCpl Parl
The two week Regimental AT package saw around 140
soldiers from the Regiment deploy for a varied week
organised by the QMSI, WO2 Miller. The smaller groups of
the second week meant all the activities were available to the
participants, with the added inclusion of a ‘relaxation day’ on
the beach for one group.
Golfing friends SSgt ‘Molly’ Molleneux and SSgt ‘Mav’ Britton
both brought their golf clubs with them, hoping to slip away
for a few holes. Unfortunately they spent their time chipping
balls around the back of the accommodation, with Molly
constantly moaning that his ‘new’ clubs were not working.
Mountain biking was the favoured activity, with much
discussion over Sig Hardcastle, who the week before had
managed to send himself through a tree trunk. ‘Hardcastle
Hill’ as it came to be known was the talking point for the
week as each day passed without incident. However, Sig
O’Brien soon ventured down, skidded out of control up a
bank and disappeared into the tree line, eventually appearing
shaken and full of cuts.
The weather was a bit more predictable though, with
beaming sun most days. This was a problem for the kayakers
who returned with muscle vest tan lines from the undignified
wet suits.
Evening activities were either ‘The Royal Oak’ for an
expensive pint, sitting around a crude campfire to be eaten by
midges or playing volleyball. A few tried their luck at the Oak,
hoping to find some company for the evening but none were
successful.
Many participants of the AT week were hoping to enjoy the
scenic views and stunning landscape Snowdon has to offer.
Sig Whittaker lead the charge to the top before others could
catch their breath, however the view from the top was
nothing but cloud as the weather had changed leaving a
wasted effort behind.
All in all it was a very enjoyable week with bonds forming
across the newer arrivals – a well deserved week of fun after
a successful tour of Op HERRICK 17.
21
246 GURKHA SIGNAL SQUADRON
OC
SSM
Maj Orr
WO2 (SSM) Durgha
and teamwork it demands but also the pride of the work that
is done towards it.
Jai 246 Gurkha Signals Squadron!
Exercise TRAILWALKER 2013 - by Cpl Rabi Lama
Exercise NORTHERN YANKEE - by Sig Dhandu Tshering Tamang
History of Trailwalker. The Queen’s Gurkha Signal Regiment
originally started Trailwalker in 1981 in Hong Kong as a training
exercise to test soldiers stamina and teamwork. This evolved
over time to become one of the biggest charity events held in
UK. The challenge is to complete the 100km Trailwalker trail,
across the South Downs Way in under 30 hours in teams of
four. Every year thousands of kind-hearted people including
the military take part in the event to raise a huge amount of
money for charity (£1.3 million was raised last year) which
goes towards two main charities; namely the Gurkha Welfare
Trust (GWT) and Oxfam UK. The 100km trail consists of nine
checkpoints manned by troops from the Gurkha Regiments;
Queen’s Gurkha Signals, Queens Own Gurkha Logistic
Regiment (QOGLR) and Queen’s Gurkha Engineers (QG Engr).
A total of 20 troops deployed on Ex NORTHERN YANKEE, a
Level 3 Adventurous Training exercise to California, United
States of America for two weeks from 20 June 2013.
Trailwalker 2013 and 246 GSS Involvement. Like every other
year, on 24 July, 246 GSS deployed to Checkpoints 7 and 8.
Island Tp staffed CP 7 at Devil’s Dyke and Sek Kong Tp led by
Capt Vishal Pun and Kowloon Tp led by Lt Kearney operated
CP 8. Apart from the CPs, there was a water point between
CP 8 and 9 to provide water and morale for the walkers.
The setup of all CPs was completed smoothly and in time
after the inevitable testing and adjustment. The Check In
desk was manned by the team led by Sgt Dan Rai, catering led
by Sgt Bishal Limbu, setting up led by Sgt Damber Thapa,
stores led by SSgt (SQMS) Santosh Gurung, car parking and
marshalling led by Lt Gordon and power led by Sgt Prakash
Gurung. A provision of Gurkhali music led by Sgt Navinkaji
Gurung was provided overnight on Sat 27 July, which aimed
to boost the morale of the participants. On the morning of 26
July 2013, the CPs were inspected by Commander, Lt Col
Stoke and Gurkha Major QG Signals, Maj Yambahadur Rana to
make sure that they were all set and ready to host the event.
The first team arrived CP 7 at 1416 hrs on 26 July 2013. After
this the checkpoint got busier and busier as more teams kept
arriving. The busiest period for our CP was between 2000 hrs
and 0300 hrs the next morning. Pan washing team washed
faster and faster, Chefs made sure there was enough food for
everyone, marshalling started wandering here and there.
Dining tent attendants made sure everyone got the hot food
and water they needed. Not only that, there were some
volunteers from Oxfam as our helping hands and they worked
non-stop. All this went on throughout the day and night.
Later after dusk when the morale element of the walkers had
nearly vanished from, the Check-In Desk team with Oxfam
volunteers came up with the idea to cheer up the participants
by banging the drums, singing songs, clapping, dancing,
tapping and it was almost like there was a small concert at
Devil’s Dyke. Capt Vishal Pun, the cheerleader was hi-5-ing
most of the participants. All this created an atmosphere
similar to tribal rituals or offerings made to the God for the
wellness of all the walkers. The team was so happy to achieve
that little smile on the faces of every participant. This
continued until the sweep up team arrived at the checkpoint
at 0540hrs in the morning. Only then, everyone went to bed
with tired bodies but great feelings of pride in the heart for
the job well done at the checkpoints and water points.
Over 1350 individuals or more than 330 teams out of 500
teams completed the course in time, which was mission
accomplished for the Trailwalker 2013. Hence, this amazing
experience and an astonishing achievement not only make
the Trailwalker highly respected for the great determination
22
Prior to embarking on the adventure, we all got our kit issued
and visas applied for. Shortly before we departed from
Imphal Barracks at 0300 hours on 20 June 2013 to London
Heathrow, 2IC Saheb, Capt Lokbahadur Gurung briefed us
and offered us good luck for the trip. We were a team of
eighteen led by Lt Kearney Saheb. Finally, the flight took off
at 1130 and everyone was excited.
After a 12hr flight we landed at San Francisco Airport. For
most of us it was the first time to the USA. Soon we arrived
at the hotel where we stayed for a night. We managed to see
the city centre and China Town later that evening and ate
delicious Chinese cuisine. The next morning we went for a
quick browse in the outdoor shop before we drove off to our
camping site, which was 4 hours drive from San Francisco.
The base camping site was known as Horton Creek, which is 5
minutes’ drive from a beautiful town called Bishop. We were
briefed by the leader and divided into three groups for three
main events, trekking, rock climbing and mountain biking.
First, we did mountain biking in one of the most famous trails
known as Buttermilk trail, southwest from the Horton Creek.
Although the trail was sandy and challenging, we did about 18
miles and enjoyed it a lot. We had some thrilling experiences
coming down steep and sandy downhills and also had some
fun carrying bikes due to the dense vegetation and confusing
tracks. On the day we also did the Horseshoe trail. It started
from a beautiful town; Mammoth and finished completing a
whole loop around a volcanic lake called Horseshoe Lake. It
was one of the best trails because it starts from a town and
ends in a beautiful lake with wonderful scenery on the way.
The next day we went for a rock climb, northeast from the
camping site, called the Owen’s river gorge climb. It was one
of the popular sporting climbs in California. It lies right next
to the Owen’s river and offers a wide range of sporting
climbs. We climbed
three cracks and
learned a few rope
techniques as well.
We also went to
Horseshoe Lake for
a climb. It was right
in a heart of
Mammoth town,
which is complete
paradise full of
beautiful lakes,
mountains and
biking trails. After
four days of biking
and rock climbing,
we had a welldeserved break. As
we were going for a
trek the next day,
we utilized our
break by shopping
for the expedition,
playing golf and
having dinner in
town.
SSgt Laxman Rock Climbing, near Bishop,
California
After all the preparation and packing, we proceeded to our
final days of the trekking phase. With all the necessary gear
packed, the load was quiet heavy. It was a complete five-day
trek across dense pine jungles and high altitude mountains,
and encountering wild flora and fauna was inevitable.
However more importantly there was the presence of the
black bear which was a real menace. Finally, we started our
expedition with a steep uphill climb. After walking a few
miles, surprisingly, we came across a red meadow resort with
a small shop and huts. We wondered why it lay in the middle
of nowhere until we hit the amazing pile of stones named the
Devils Post pile. It was a real place of interest for all and was
unbelievably amazing. After a long 12 mile walk we finally
reached the first camping site in Fern Lake. As it was near a
river and a damp place, there were a ridiculous number of
mosquitoes. The next day we planned to camp in Isberg
riverside, which was about 15 miles away from the Fern Lake.
We came across beautiful landscapes, rivers and ended up
with a campfire in the camping site. As usual, we again
moved off in the next morning, planning to stop at Isberg
peak at a height of 10,000 ft. Although the route was short it
was all uphill. Thus, we ended up exhausted. However, we
saw two beautiful lakes, Sadler Lake and McClare Lake. The
panoramic view from the peak was just awesome and
mesmerizing. As we were approaching closer to the Yosemite
Valley, the finishing point, the natural beauty just got better
and better. Before we came to the finishing point, we had a
final camp at a place called Falls. Due to the hot weather and
sandy tracks, we saw a few rattle snakes and we nearly
stumbled over them. Finally, we came to the beautiful
Yosemite Valley. The Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls were
simply breathtaking. The significant amount of rocks found in
Trekking at Yosemite National Park
the valley have made climbers around the world visit
Yosemite and climb the wide range of rocks. Most famously
El Capitan and Half Dome.
Finally, our expedition ended and we drove back to the base
camping site at Horton Creek. We flew back home the next
day, on 4 July 2013.
Walking for five continuous days, fighting the mosquitoes and
despite feeling like we were burning the candle from both
ends, we really enjoyed the trip and learned a lot. The
beautiful views, falls, lakes and rivers just made me feel like
the whole two weeks lasted only two days. Ex NORTHERN
YANKEE was a great lifetime experience for me.
3rd (UNITED KINGDOM) DIVISION
BULFORD
206 Signal Squadron have recently completed FALTAT
conversion. In order to facilitate this 206 have conducted
three exercises incorporating a crawl, walk and run phase
with each deployment. The exercises were Exercise Tethered
Flight which ran in May for two weeks, Exercise Long Leash
which ran for two weeks in June and recently Exercise Free
Flight for two weeks in July.
exercise under the guidance of the FALTAT team. The first
week for the radio troops was a PACEX. During the second
week the radio troops deployed as their respective roles.
MAIN and FWD HQs were deployed to Old Carter Barracks
(OCB). This week was quite relaxed and non tactical which
gave the troops time to set up slowly and work on the
operation of each HQ.
Mons ‘cuddles’ Troop ran by Lt Eaton, SSgt Jim Allen and Sgt
‘I keep making mistakes in the WAS plan’ Metcalfe, are our
FALCON Troop within the Squadron. The majority of the
operators are trained on FALCON with a few awaiting courses.
The conversion took place over a period of five months
incorporating the above exercises. As FALCON needed to
deploy as part of the conversion, the ops team incorporated
our radio troops too. Normandy Troop, known as the
‘Normandy Northerners’ and Cambrai ‘it’s not our fault’ Troop
deployed with training objectives set. The main objectives
were to develop trade knowledge, to give all troops practise
in the set up and operation of the HQs, to test our equipment
capability and to bring all operators up to a good working
standard. These exercises were also our build up training for
Exercises IRON RESOLVE and IRON TRIANGLE. Cambrai Troop
are currently MAIN HQ and Normandy FWD HQ. All exercises
were conducted on SPTA.
Exercise LONG LEASH
Exercise TETHERED FLIGHT
TETHERED FLIGHT was the crawl phase or our deployment.
The main aim of this exercise was to deploy only FALCON,
with no integration of other capabilities and no external
connectivity. Mons Troop deployed independently for the
With the walk phase, an exercise scenario was incorporated
with the Squadron receiving orders for deployment. SPTA
was to be known as FALIA and the scenario was based around
contingency operations. The pace was ramped up and the ex
was semi tactical.
Main HQ deployed to OCB with a co-located FALCON CP
which provided the LAS to the HQ and FWD to the West of
SPTA in Stoke Hill Farm, also collocated with a CP. LO and
RRB detachments deployed to various locations throughout
SPTA independently or collocated with FALCON WASP nodes.
Exercise situation updates were sent frequently as well as
warning orders and radio orders for movement. FALTATs
involvement became less as Mons Troop were performing to
a high standard. Integration of external military systems was
incorporated with REACHER, JOCS DU and Housekeeper
being passed over the FALCON network.
Exercise FREE FLIGHT
The run phase; however the Squadron Yeoman, SSgt Thomas,
was heard at certain points cursing “It was supposed to be
23
Spot the LO detachment’
Troop orders in the field
crawl, walk and run however we seem to have adopted a
crawl, walk, SLEEP approach”. The Ops Team seemed to have
booked the weather as it was a scorcher for the whole
exercise. Orders were delivered to all by 206 Sig Sqn’s SHQ
and the all were ready to deploy bright and early on Monday
8 July 13.
Cambrai Troop started well by deploying without any flooring
or connectors for the DRASh, however a quick trip back to
camp sorted that out, with blame being passed to all with the
common saying being repeated of “it’s not my fault”. Main
HQ deployed to OCB for the week 1, FWD HQ to a site in the
east, getting to location with only a slight detour. Movement
was more frequent with a detachment moving at least once
every two days. The Sunday of the first week all assets
recovered to Stoke Hill Farm where the Squadron had a few
hours stood down and a BBQ with a nice cold can of juice.
Out detachments indulged in the fresh food as they had been
on rations for the week. The recovery was also a chance for
troops to do a handover of roles, giving a chance to set up
and operate each HQ. Normandy Troop, now MAIN, set up at
Stoke Hill and remained there for the rest of the week. They
were soon in a good routine which included a bit of PT each
day, with a competition for the fastest time to DD crossing
being set up which was 10km away. PT was definitely needed
especially with Mons Troop as they deployed with their tuck
shop, supplying everybody with junk food.
Cambrai Troop, now FWD, deployed firstly to the west. Once
in location they set up and sited the HQ well. The exercise
continued with frequent moves. FWD moved location once
more into the east; think this was their breaking point as they
ran slightly over their FOC timings by 12 hours…. but “it
wasn’t their fault”.
Within the last week MAIN was visited by the Corps Colonel
and Corps Yeoman. They were shown around the HQ and
briefed accordingly; they were especially interested in our
FALCON assets. All training objectives were achieved to a
good standard and we also received a very good FALTAT
conversion report. The exercise ended on a high with 206
breaking the record for the longest FALCON link of 63km on a
BAND I antenna.
206 would like to say a farewell to SSgt (YofS) ‘Tomo’ Thomas
as he moves on to 39 Signal Regt on promotion and welcome
SSgt (YofS) ‘Buzz’ Burrell to our Squadron.
YofS Thomas enjoys his ice cream during his final Sqn ex
EQUIPMENT SUPPORT TROOP
Supporting the Regiment and its many tasks and events has
never been so busy for ES Tp. The start of June saw four
Troop members return to Blandford for a week long TNG
course followed by a workshop, kindly hosted, by 15 Signal
Regiment. This will help the Regiment in the interoperability
tasks in the future (if TNG actually makes an appearance).
The Troop participated in Exercise RED TRICORN which
included one day of it at the yearly DVD display. A good day
was had by all seeing all the future MOD vehicles and systems;
however I think the highlight for everyone was the amount of
freebies that were on offer and then some definite skills in
bartering were displayed on the trip back.
3 (UK) Div HQ and Signal Regiment resident IS guru Cpl Cole
has donned the image of our Troop Yoda in order to begin the
cascade training of MAGPIE in preparation for all the Horrocks
exercises and future deployments. Many MAGPIE courses
have been attended by ES Tp members in order to provide the
SMEs required to support the Regiment in the future.
‘Spot the WASP’
24
Lt ‘Sharp Shooter’ Banting gained a tour at short notice to
Afghanistan to join the deployed element of the Regiment
and we wish her all the best. Congratulations to Cpl Cole for
selection to promotion and well deserved indeed.
was running around coughing and spluttering as he didn’t
have his respirator, a lesson I’m sure he won’t repeat.
REGIMENTAL MECHANICAL TRANSPORT
Everyones seemed to really enjoy the serials and have taken a
lot away with them, especially from CSgt Mo Maloney.
Sp Sqn deployed on Ex RED FALCON SOMME for a 2 week
back to basics exercise. The Sqn Deployed to SPTA for their
first location where we went back in time to occupy a vehicle
harbour area. This was certainly something the younger
generation in the Sqn could get their heads round, especially
Sigs Cal Ashton and Jorden Temple, as it was like watching
the chuckle brothers trying to put up a Cam Net.
This was a shock to the system for most soldiers who have
joined the Army in the last 10 years. Once everyone got to
grips with erecting Cam Nets the training began. SSgt Jamie
‘I take photos of everything I do’ Ranson set out a cheeky
map reading navigation exercise in 30o heat, surprisingly
nobody got lost. On day 2 the sections were introduced to
CSgt ‘Mo’ Maloney (SQMS) who gladly introduced them to
some infantry tactics in order for them prepare for serials
later on in the exercise. We then moved to Bovington
Training area where the fun began. They were sent out on a
night vehicle navigation exercise. On their return CSgt
Maloney, Sgt Richie Silcock and a few of the enemy were
lying in ambush; the section reacted reasonably well.
As the exercise went on the scenarios were changing to
introduce A CBRN phase, this is where CSgt Maloney and Sgt
Mac McCall stepped in. As the sections were sitting waiting
for some sort of brief CSgt Maloney lit some CS pellets and
walked in the middle of them. You can imagine the carnage
as they tried to donn their respirators. Of course you always
get one who misplaces his respirator, LCpl ‘badmin’ Harrison
3 DSR CATERING DEPARTMENT
Another extremely busy month for the department saw chefs
deploy on Op SPONSOR, (catering support to the G8 summit
in Northern Ireland) as well as chefs deploying in support of
206 Signal Squadron on Ex LONG LEASH and FREE FLIGHT,
and also with Support Squadron on Ex RED FALCON SOMME.
The feedback from all deployments was that as per usual the
catering department gave 110% and the food was exceptional.
On the down side the proposed cut back of military chefs has
started with 12 assignment orders hitting the UCM in one
morning, eventually the department will reduce to 4 chefs.
The department enjoyed a joint team bonding day with the
chefs from 1 Royal Anglian. Four hours of paintballing
followed by a few sociable wets was a good way of letting off
some steam. The majority of the department are now on well
deserved leave ready for the IRON RESOLVE 13 push.
Finally we say farewell to LCpl Tucker and Pte Silk, and
congratulations on promotion to Cpl for LCpl Gurung.
REGIMENTAL GENERATOR BAY
June and July have been a busy time for the RGB, with
Support to 206 Signal Squadron in their implementation of
FALCON, Ex LONG LEASH and Ex FREE FLIGHT. Elements of
the RGB also deployed to Northern France to support the
commemoration of D-Day on Ex IRON TRIBUTE, and the
Support Squadron Battlecamp, Ex RED FALCON SOMME.
The RGB spearheaded the Regiments’ involvement in the
Lanyard Trophy Competition 2013. SSgt Jamie Ranson
managed the team, young Sigs Robson and Morley both
completed the 40 mile endurance march which is testament
to their determination and physical courage. Cpl Craig
Watters headed up the Admin team with Sig Matthews.
There has also been time for young Signallers to get away on
Tactics training
The Regimental Lanyard Team
a number of Adventurous Training courses including Sailing at
Gosport and Parachuting at RAF Weston on the Green.
Congratulations to Cpl Craig Watters for being selected for
promotion to Sergeant, we wish him all the best when he
moves into the mess.
206 Sig Sqn on Ex RED FALCON SOMME
Focus is now firmly switched to forthcoming Divisional
Headquarters exercises in September and November.
25
10th SIGNAL REGIMENT
CORSHAM
CO
RSM
Lt Col EA Dallyn MBE
WO1 (RSM) JA Garner
Whilst we welcome a number of new faces to the Regiment
we say thanks and farewell to those that leave us for pastures
new. We say farewell to Maj Ben White, Maj Dave Hughes,
Maj Si Bristow and Capt Robin Foster amongst many
others. As a result we extend a warm welcome to Maj Ben
Howarth Regt 2IC, Maj Harriet Cairns OC 241 Sig Sqn, Maj
Kerry Larsen OC 243 Sig Sqn and Capt Ed Vickers as Adjt. The
Regiment also seems to have been on the ‘Senior Officers’
Visit Circuit’, welcoming the opportunity to host visits from
the Master of Signals, GOC Th Tps and Master of the General
Ordnance. Wider activities have continued, with the Regt
coming 10th in the Army Operational Shooting Competition
and Trailwalker (clearly a lucky number here somewhere….),
and runners up in the UK South Comd Water Polo. AT
activities include cycling from Coast to Coast, various sailing
endeavours, and Level 2 AT in North Wales and the Lake
District. Also thanks to the Defence Academy, we had an
interesting professional development day at Shrivenham
which also provided an opportunity to get various members
of what is otherwise a very dispersed unit together.
225 SIGNAL SQUADRON
OC
SSM
Maj G Johnston
WO2 (SSM) A Gleadall
10 Signal Regiment Development Day - 26 June 13
- by SSgt (YofS) Connor
The Officers, WOs and SNCOs from RHQ and all four Sqns of
10 Signal Regiment recently visited the Defence Capability
Centre at the Defence Academy in Shrivenham for a series of
briefs from SMEs on equipment capability and development.
To start the day Brig Vickery made the time to deliver an
introductory brief and the format of the visit was briefed by Lt
Col Sharkey.
The presentation in the AFV hall was by SSgt Cooper and
covered the evolution of Armoured Fighting Vehicles. He ran
a number of comparisons between various nations' Main
Battle Tanks and covered everything from main armaments to
armour plating. Particularly interesting was the arms race
between reactive and composite armour and modern antitank munitions. Staff Cooper held the audience’s attention
with his unique humour and an insistence to refer to us as
‘plucky Brits’.
Our final lecture of the day was from Mr Rob Cooke and
covered Artillery gun drill and munitions. During this
presentation Mr Cooke utilised a number of Regtl key
appointments to fulfil his gun crew. At this point the RSM
seized the opportunity to be ‘Gun No. 1’ (despite being
reduced in rank to Sgt). The RSM bellowed his instructions to
the rest of the gun crew with the gusto that only an RSM can.
In the feedback given to Lt Col Sharkey at the end of the visit
the overriding theme was that everyone wanted more time at
each lecture. We could have easily spent a few days or a
week browsing and listening to the briefs, a testament to the
quality of the facility and the lecturers. I would highly
recommend all ranks from any unit to visit the centre.
After a final brief from the CO, Lt Col Dallyn, the Regt was
moved back to Corsham for a brief change and a pub dinner.
Once everyone had eaten the CO took the opportunity to
brief those that attended the meal and say goodbye to a
number of the Regt’s WOs and Officers. Those leaving were
Maj Hughes, Maj White, Capt Foster, Capt (TOT) Claxton,
Capt Coombs, Capt Dobson, WO1 (FofS) Mulheran and WO2
SSM Gleadall.
Overall the day was fascinating and definitely a success from a
development perspective. With a strong turnout, it was also
a fantastic opportunity for the seniors and officers of the
disparate parts of 10 Signal Regiment to bond and build on
our strong Regimental ethos.
Our first lecture was delivered by Lt Col Scattergood on the
subject of CIED, encompassing both things that go bang and
how things go bang. He was a thoroughly engaging and
energetic presenter who throughout the 60 minute lesson
crammed years of experience and knowledge into the talk.
The stand out moment of the lecture for me was learning that
wood does not burn!
We were then split into two smaller groups to view the light
weapons armoury and the Armoured Fighting Vehicle hall. In
the light weapons armoury we were greeted with what can
only be described as an arsenal of weapons that would not
look out of place in an Arnold Schwarzenegger film (or for the
modern generation a Jason Statham film). In the armoury our
lecturer was Lt Col (Retd) Starling. What became apparent
almost immediately, other than his enormous capacity and
passion for firearms, was his unwavering disapproval of most
American weapon systems. He was particularly riled by the
flawed rationale behind their design, modification, and the
Special Forces and spearhead units who select them based on
how “ally” they look! Throughout the lecture we learnt
exactly why our weapon systems operates in the way that
they do and why our ammunition is the calibre it is. All the
way through Lt Col Starling backed his information with facts,
figures and an arid sense of humour.
26
241 SIGNAL SQUADRON
OC
SSM
Maj H Cairns
WO2 (SSM) L Davies
Visit of GOC Theatre Troops to 241 Signal Squadron
– by Sig Snookes
On 25 of June Maj Gen Tim Radford DSO OBE (Late Light
Infantry) visited 241 Sig Sqn site in Colerne, and was briefed
on the specific roles of each Sqn within the Regt.
The GOC Th Tps (now Force Troops Command) arrived at 241
Sig Sqn lines to be greeted by a mix of ranks and trades of the
Corps, including Reserves. With all the preparation complete,
including the best china being brought up from the Messes,
the GOC was afforded the opportunity to see a variety of
specialised Corps roles that he would not normally see. He
was also able to have a somewhat informal, social element
that allowed him to hear what people thought about ongoing
events in the wider Army and the impact on the Corps.
This visit allowed more junior members of the Regiment to
actually see a Maj Gen first hand and interact with him; it
certainly added a human dimension to these rarely seen
ranks! It also allowed the GOC to really see each trade in
detail, as well as see the morale and quality of the troops
amongst the Regt.
General Radford showed a strong interest in all aspects of the
trades there that day (but mostly 241 Sig Sqn's Installation
Technicians), taking the time to understand the true
importance of the Corps in the wider Army and its vast
contribution to Defence. He rounded off his visit with a short
but positive speech on his appreciation for the continuing
efforts of 10 Sig Regt and the wider Corps to both Op
HERRICK and other commitments across the globe.
243 SIGNAL SQUADRON
OC
SSM
Maj K Larsen
WO2 (SSM) J Attwell
Team Change
The month of August has seen a significant change in
Squadron personalities. The Squadron said a fond farewell to
its OC Maj Dave Hughes and welcomed his fresh faced
replacement Maj Kerry Larsen.
Before and After Sqn Command
Upon arriving at the Joint Service Adventure Sail Training
Centre (JSASTC) we were greeted by Syrinx and Amoria, the
two yachts that we would be calling home for the next five
days. As the two skippers and crew got acquainted with their
new homes, the first mates, Sig Chris Newton and Cpl Bob
Haines went off to buy the main bulk of food for the week.
After lunch at the Hornet Sailing Club the familiarisation and
safety briefs continued until we were ready to slip moorings
and head to sea. LCpl Chris Ingleby, skipper of Syrinx, was
very nervous when leaving Gosport for Cowes because he
hadn’t sailed in a while, but with encouragement from SSgt
Daz Offord (Coastal Skipper) we got under way. We moored
for the night at East Cowes with no loss of crew or damage to
the yachts.
The following morning as LCpl Chris Ingleby was about wake
his crew for a bit of morning PT, he realised that he had left
Max on the pontoon at JSASTC. He didn’t know that the crew
of Amoria had spotted him and taken him aboard. Max had
quite a few adventures during the week, even skippering
Syrinx whilst the crew were away.
The week was very busy as we followed the RYA Competent
Crew syllabus; practicing skills from Man Over Board (MOB),
knots, spinnaker drills, picking up moorings and anchoring.
Everyone had a go at the helm, coming alongside the practice
pontoon in the Medina River (Cowes) under instruction from
SSgt Offord.
We had a short break for extra PT on Wednesday afternoon
after having lunch and practicing dinghy drills in Newtown
River, Sig Newton, LCpl Pugh and Cpl McGrath went
swimming as Sgt Gilles performed the duty of safety boat in
the dinghy.
The most memorable moment of the week was when LCpl
Chris Ingleby went below deck to check the charts and left
Capt Paul Lester at the helm of Syrinx. Unfortunately, Capt
Lester began to steer the yacht towards the shipping channel.
At a distance the opposing Wightlink ferries approaching
headlong looked like they were going to create a yacht
sandwich. After a quick radio conversation between both
skippers and swift action from LCpl Chris Ingleby the danger
was averted.
Following a fast sail back to JSASTC on the Friday morning Cpl
Bob Haines quickly said goodbye to Max and put him back in
the place where the Syrinx crew had left him on Monday. It
was heart warming to see LCpl Chris Ingleby’s delight that
Max was still there. After the exercise Max made a slide show
of his adventures on Ex TIGER SOLENT and presented it to the
crew of Syrinx, much to the amusement of LCpl Chris Ingleby,
especially when he thought he had left him on the pontoon at
JSASTC.
The Squadron also said farewell to the Ops Offr Capt
(TOT(IS)) Nicky Coombs and the SSM WO2 (SSM) John
Attwell. The remainder of the team pass on their thanks for
all the hard work and wish them good luck for whatever the
future has in store for them.
Exercise TIGER SOLENT – by Cpl Burgmans
On 17 Jun, 11 sailors from 243 Signal Squadron and a last
minute addition, LCpl Jon Ingleby, from 241 Signal Squadron
embarked on a five day sailing adventure around the West
Solent on Exercise TIGER SOLENT. As we got on the transport
to depart Andover, one of the skippers, LCpl Chris Ingleby
decided that sailing around the Solent wouldn’t be enough
exercise for his crew so he brought Max ‘The med ball’ along,
little did Max or anyone else know how much of an adventure
he would have.
"I see no ships!”. Sig Newton, Capt Lester and LCpl Chris Ingleby
27
ABF Charity Spinning – by Sgt Poole
It was an early sunny Saturday morning on 1 June 2013 and it
was time for the Coast to Coast team of 243 Signal Squadron
to don their ABF T-Shirts and saddle up for an epic 2 day
charity event before heading off to the Lake District to start
the Coast 2 Coast challenge. The team setup the spinning
bikes and ABF banners in the entrance of Asda, Andover.
The generosity of the public was immense; hardly anyone
went past without dropping a few coins or notes in the
buckets. Kids badgered their parents for ABF wrist bands or
balloons and the parents obliged.
Morale was high as conversations with the crowds of
shoppers allowed us to take our mind off the constant thigh
burns. Cpl Nick ‘I work out’ McGrath seemed to attract the
most interest, catching the eye of a large number of elderly
shoppers. Sgt Andy ‘Competitive dad’ Poole and LCpl Andy
‘The looks’ Fraser were locked into a testosterone-fuelled
battle with neither willing to stop pedalling first.
Exercise TIGER COAST TO COAST 8-12 July 13
– by WO2(FofS(IS)) Crompton
The plan – cycle off-road from coast to coast and use the
team’s cycling prowess to raise money for the ABF. The Tim
Woodcock route was deemed suitably challenging as it
crossed 3 National Parks covering 214 miles from St Bees in
Cumbria to Robin Hood’s Bay in Yorkshire.
WO2 (FofS(IS)) Crompton kicked off the planning, selecting
the route, putting a team together and organising recces,
before handing over the real work to Sgt Andy ‘Ooh Shiny’
Poole. He happily took over and submerged himself in a
world of planning, admin and buying himself the latest ‘gucci’
kit.
After the first 4 hours the competitions were soon forgotten
as they realized a long day still lay ahead. The competitive
types finally had a break allowing Sig Chris Newton to stop
kissing babies and do some work.
As the morning stretched out the arrival of WO2 FofS(IS)
Chris Crompton was a relief as it meant another change over,
allowing some well earned rest and a bite to eat. As Sgt Tony
‘Mr Motivator’ Frewin took up his position on a bike, his
enthusiasm for spinning took the team to another level as he
cycled and bounced to the rhythm of the music.
Recce of Black Sail Pass
Looking fresh at the start of the day
Day 2 saw a small change in participants and helpers as well
as our own photographer Cpl David ‘big lens’ Harrod who
ensured he would capture the team at their best and worst
moments. SSgt David ‘I am not using those bikes’ Shilton
brought his own road bike and turbo trainer to get a cheeky
training session in.
The day came to an abrupt end when the ASDA team
explained that we had to be out by 4pm, however there was
still time for a final burst of energy as the Rocky theme tune
started to play in the back ground.
Thanks to Asda and the generous people of Andover we
managed to raise £3101 for ABF. Individual sponsorship for
those taking part in the Coast to Coast expedition increased
this to £3626.
28
Day 1
As day 1 arrived, a mix of nerves and excitement kicked in as
the impending challenge loomed. The team had to make it to
Coniston by the end of the day, covering 40+ miles on the
steepest part of the route. They set off to a good start,
however as they climbed up Black Sail Pass and the first peak
came in to sight it was evident that the temperature, which
had soared to 29 degrees, would be the first adversary. At
the base of the steep climb it was time to sling the bikes on
their backs and start to hike. The heat by this point was
slowing progress and a convenient stream offered an
excellent opportunity to cool down. Cpl Stevie ‘I’m HOT’
Richards was particularly thankful for this, once he had
finished having a quick spa break amongst the rock pools the
team pushed on, knowing full well that the daylight hours
were slipping away.
At the top of Black Sail Pass the views were incredible but the
feeling of relief in the body and legs more so, however it was
time for some awesome downhill. LCpl Andy ‘Team Player’
Fraser took the lead on ‘Old Bessie’ and we arrived at the
checkpoint having experienced only a few ‘dismounts’,
including WO2 (FoS(IS)) Chris ‘Knee Pads On’ Crompton
launching himself and bike towards a couple of oncoming
walkers.
After a quick lunch stop, the Commanding Officer and
Regimental Sergeant Major joined the team for a steep climb
team used peloton drills to speed towards the destination. By
lunchtime they had made up 2 hours and were relieved to see
the Admin Team at the side of the road ready with lunch. The
afternoon was dubbed the ‘Tour de Tan Hill’, as the team
members competed on the endless climbs to reach the fabled
Tan Hill Inn.
The climb up Black Sail Pass
up onto moorlands, before a rocky but enjoyable descent into
Boot. The rest of the day can only be described as a slog, as
the team hiked over loose rocks and trudged through
marshes. By 2000hrs they were completely exhausted and
had to call it a day, some 2½hrs short of the target, Coniston.
Day 2
The morning of Day 2 confirmed that the task in hand was
immense - 0530hrs start with Walna Scar to conquer before
breakfast. The heat once again was proving to be a challenge
alongside the ever more frequent hill climbs. Some
improvisation was required to provide a quick repair to WO2
(FofS(IS)) Chris Crompton’s bike, using trusty zip ties on his
brake discs. Sgt Andy ‘Tyre Shredder’ Poole also had an
unlucky day as he managed to destroy two inner tubes and
suffered one exploding tyre. Throughout the week, the
admin team led by Cpl Dave ‘that’s not a Camera, this is a
camera’ Harrod, proved invaluable. They ensured that the
necessary support was where it needed to be, whether it be
transport or feeding. Cpl Harrod and Sig Jack ‘The Morale’
Leeming enjoyed using their bike mechanic skills of an
evening, relieving the pressure on the riders, whilst Cpl Lisa
Hutchinson and Sig Leeming proved their culinary skills
providing top notch meals by the road side.
Day 3
Day 3 provided an ideal opportunity to catch up on some lost
time. A long section of the day’s route was on tarmac, so the
Sgt Poole taking in the sights
Day 4
Day 4 arrived and it was time for Cpl ‘Face plant’ Smith to
steal the limelight. Whilst going down a perfect smooth
tarmac road he hit a speed bump at 30mph and decided to
see how far he could fly. Not to be outdone by the rider, the
bike flew through the air and landed on him, definitely one for
‘You’ve been framed’. Needless to say Cpl Smith was unable
to continue and needed to be rescued by the support crew.
Later on in the day the team's navigational skills were put to
the test as they found themselves neck deep in moorland fern
as the light faded.
Day 5
The remaining four riders now had the final destination in
their sights, however there was a 2km climb to overcome
first. The team set out in high spirits but when the gradient
changed from 20% to 33% nothing but grit would see them to
the top. After a quick rest it was time to get back on the trails
and ride some fast singletrack before heading towards Robin
Hood’s Bay. The approach was quick, using an old railway line
and the team arrived in the bustling tourist hot spot in high
spirits. After a photo session the whole team celebrated with
29
Tyndale, the point to point link, and its capabilities.
Aside from the Tyndale detachment, the Squadron was keen
to promote the ceremonial aspect of our role, and so I
prepared my brief and donned my Number 1 Dress for the
occasion. General Pope was interested to hear about the
various events that we had been involved in; from the annual
routine events such as the Queen's Birthday Parade, State
Opening of Parliament and Remembrance Parade, to the less
routine such as the Royal Wedding and the funeral of
Baroness Thatcher.
Throughout the demonstration the Ops Officer, Capt Gifford
and SSgt (YofS) McGinn were present to answer any higher
level questions and spoke about our various UK Operations
tasks and Force Elements at Readiness.
Tour de Tan Hill
a glass of bubbly and the riders could finally rest their legs
and feast on fish and chips.
After five days of mountain biking the challenge was finally
complete. The feeling of achievement was felt by all as skill,
endurance and teamwork had been put to the test. More
importantly, combined with a charity spinning event, £3626
was raised for the ABF.
Overall, it was a fantastic opportunity to brief the MGO and
show him what our Squadron is all about.
Dinghy Sail Training – by LCpl Curran
On 24 June 13, nine of us from 251 Signal Squadron travelled
to Thorney Island to take part in dinghy sailing for adventure
training under the instruction of the Ops Officer, Capt Gifford.
As soon as we arrived we were issued our kit and went
straight into lessons on setting up, controlling the dinghy and
how to turn. After the lessons we launched our dinghies into
the harbour to practice what we had been taught. The idea
was to sail using a beam between two markers. Although we
all achieved our aim, by the end of the practice everyone had
become familiar with the capsizing drills.
Job done – Robin Hood’s Bay
251 SIGNAL SQUADRON
OC
SSM
Maj J Squires
WO2 (SSM) L Watts
Visit of the Master General of the Ordnance to 10 Signal
Regiment – by Cpl Wallace
At 0500 on 1 July 2013 my Tyndale crew and I departed for
Colerne to set up our detachment in preparation of the visit
by the Master General of the Ordnance, Maj Gen Nick Pope.
On arrival at our stand location, the detachment sprung into
action; Cpl Thompson and LCpl Wardley, established the
Bantam and Fallback, LCpl Sutton set to work dismounting
the stacks from the back of the vehicle and cabled them up
before rehearsing his brief for the General on the stacks
themselves and the virtualisation side of the Tyndale
equipment. Sig Wells, who is the Agile Node operator for the
detachment spoke about the purpose of Agile Node on
30
What does all this mean…?
The second day started with lessons on knots, rules of the
road, and different types of turns. This was to develop our
skills further and we got introduced to an upwind leg of the
course, allowing us to sail around a triangular course, again
being afforded the opportunity to practice our capsize drills.
After the days sailing we had a relaxing evening and utilised
the BBQ skills of Cpl Hatch and Sig Buxton.
On Wednesday we were introduced to racing, specifically
around a triangular course. Lt Col Bunce visited us for this
and joined in on our race.
On our last day of sailing we decided to do something
different and sail out of the harbour to a beach, land, have a
picnic and return with the tide. After some well earned
sunbathing over lunch we started to get ready to depart, but
this leg was not as smooth as we hoped. Sig Barry inverted
his dinghy after crashing into LCpl Chadwick, who was dealing
with avoiding a marker post. Luckily the safety boat was
there and quickly sorted it out and we all got back safe and
sound.
the start of the AOSC itself and the aim of the Team Captain
from the start was to have one of the team finish in the Top
Army 100, thus gaining the illustrious “Army 100” Badge and
insisted that in order to achieve this the training should again
concentrate predominantly on application.
We had an enjoyable week, excellent weather, and we had
successfully completed our RYA Basic Sailing Level 1 and 2.
During the 3 week training period leading up to the AOSC, the
weather was absolutely perfect which made the ranges much
more pleasant than during the training in March. All team
members worked extremely hard during this period working
mainly on application from various firing positions and from
various distances, concentrating on learning to shoot as
opposed to learning the shoot.
AOSC started on Sun 30 Jun 13 and was split into two phases;
the first 3 days comprised of the Individual Matches to place
people in the Army 100, with the next 2 days comprising the
Fire Team competition. In order to gain the “Army 100”
badge, the top 100 placed firers would compete in an extra
match on the penultimate day of the AOSC to determine their
final placing and also had to achieve an aggregate of 60% OMS
over all the individual shoots. The top 20 placed Fire Teams
would also compete in a further match on the final day of the
AOSC, to determine the final Team places.
Proudly holding our RYA Basic Sailing workbooks
Army Operational Shooting Competition – by SSgt Beer
Training for the Joint Corps Operational Shooting
Concentration (JCOSC), began back in March this year and
was conducted over a four week period at Warminster and
Bulford ranges. Training was tough at times due to extreme
cold weather during March and April, and the team worked
hard to keep up their spirits during the cold, blustery and at
times snowy conditions. After 4 weeks of training, the JCOSC
Team was chosen with Cpl Barr, Cpl Subba, Sig Goldup and
Sig Philcock making up the ‘A’ Fire Team, Lt Hickmott, SSgt
Beer, Cpl Sunawar and Sig Davies made up the ‘B’ Fire Team
and LCpl Nixon was chosen as the team reserve.
The JCOSC took place over the period 15-19 April, with a total
of 40+ Fire Teams from a variety of Corps competing. After a
hard fought competition, 10 Signal Regiment’s ‘A’ finished
4th, gaining the Regiment entry to the Army Operational
Shooting Competition at
Bisley, with the ‘B’ placed
8th.
Changes to the AOSC
rules this year meant that
each Fire Team could only
have one person who had
previously attended
AOSC, with the remaining
3 being newcomers or
“Tyros”. Thus after
careful consideration, the
Regimental AOSC team
comprised a mixture of
the JCOSC Fire Teams and
the final team chosen
consisted of SSgt Beer
(Team Captain), Cpl Barr
(Previous Army 100), Cpl
Sunawar and Sig Goldup.
Training for the AOSC
recommenced on 10 Jun
13, three weeks before
Prior to the final Individual Match, all team members were
placed in the top 100, and all were in reach of the “Army 100”
badge as long as they achieved the 60% cut off mark over all
the matches. Cpl Sunawar at this point had to achieve a score
of 132 out of 200 in the final match (which is a very good
score for that specific match) in order to remain over the 60%
threshold; to his absolute testament he maintained his cool
and concentration to score 134 in the final match and was
ultimately placed 84th in the Army 100 gaining his “Army 100”
badge and medal. All four Fire Team Members finished In the
top 100 with SSgt Beer placed 62nd, Cpl Barr placed 61st and
Sig Goldup placed 45th. 10 Signal Regiment were the only
Royal Signals Regiment, and one of only 3 teams in the
competition, to have all four members placed in the top 100.
The team competition again saw further success, with the
team finishing in the top 20, qualifying for the final team
shoot. The team were now in competition with the hard-lined
Signal’s shooting regiments of 22 and 30 Sig Regts and were
determined to hold their own. The team put in 100% into the
infamous final “Casevac” match to finish in 10th place overall,
three places behind 30 Sig Regt and 9 places ahead of 22 Sig
Regt. Sig Goldup deserves particular congratulations, as he
has been selected
for the Army
Combat Shooting
Team competition
taking place in
Canada in Sep 13
which, considering
he started off as
Butts Party, is a
significant and
well deserved
achievement.
10 Signal Regiment AOSC Team with their Army 100 Medals and Badge
The Regiment
have now firmly
placed themselves
on the map as far
as AOSC is
concerned, and
are already
relishing the
opportunity of
further success at
AOSC 2014.
31
(ELECTRONIC WARFARE)
HAVERFORDWEST
14 Signal Regiment (Electronic Warfare) Open Day
- by LCpl Castleton
On 29 June 14 Sig Regt (EW) had their open day, which was
open to the public and the families of soldiers. The weather
stayed warm and dry and the people flocked from
neighbouring towns and villages. Soldiers stood by their 9 x
9’s and eagerly awaited to take the locals, friends and family's
money…in the interest of charity of course!
The day was fit for people of all ages. A lot was on offer to all
such as showing parents the day to day life of a soldier, for
example what their sons and daughters carry and do on a
patrol, getting the kids to play on combat computer games,
letting the teenagers fire pistols to see if they were better
than Her Majesty’s trained soldiers, the opportunity for the
families to buy local produce, to go on helicopter rides and
most importantly letting dad go to the beer tent to grab a
burger and a pint to watch the England Rugby game!
All in all the day was a great success, not only did we raise
money for local and military charities, but the public were able
to meet the soldiers in their area and bring the community
together for the good of those in need.
honour. Team two was named Jimmy, after the God Mercury,
the Corps mascot. They ran with a precarious homemade
attempt at Jimmy’s staff. Fancy dress was optional but true
to 223 Sig Sqn (EW) form they didn’t disappoint. Costumes
included Cpl Lee Halsall as a Mexican Hombre, LCpl Chris Reid
as a crazy looking surgeon and Lt Tom Macdonald hobbled to
the start line dressed as a giant tub of popcorn.
The day of the event kicked off well with Sig Kieran McKenna
heading up the admin team. They worked around the clock to
ensure each participant got to the start line on time, recorded
lap times, controlled all the safety aspects and even helped
the guys limber up before their lap, not to mention their
efforts at supplying everything from ice lollies to chip butties
throughout the day. LCpl Jim Brown showed his skills with a
persuasive smile and charity bucket. He raised a considerable
amount in a short time by accosting people as they entered
and left camp. The admin team’s efforts were second to none
and they were always on hand to answer to our every whim.
As the day progressed you’d expect lap times to slip ...... Not
the 223 ninjas! Lt Luke Facey stopped halfway round, bought
a newspaper and flump and still came in under 9 minutes.
However, the star of the show had to be Sig Sam Robertson,
who was painted silver, wearing women’s grey tights in an
attempt to look like Mercury himself. He smashed every
single lap with the majority of his lap times under 9 minutes.
As the night closed in LCpl Katie Evans couldn’t be missed in
her luminous raving gear and Regimental spirit shone with
other members of the Regiment turning up to run a lap and
cheer us on throughout the night.
Morning rose with many stiff legs and tired faces. However,
spirits were high and we decided to run the last lap as a team.
Each participant ran at least 14 laps of the route and raised
over £600 for a good cause. All in all, a good day's work!
226 SIGNAL SQUADRON (ELECTRONIC WARFARE)
OC
SSM
Maj B Davenport
WO2 (SSM) M Witham
Exercise DRAGONS GALLOP (Royal Ascot) – by Cpl Turner
Sig Brookes ‘using the force’
Ex DRAGONS GALLOP was a chance for members of 226 Sig
Sqn (EW) Rear Ops Group to take advantage of the 2 for 1
offer for the grandstand at Royal Ascot advertised on the
Defence Intranet. This was to get a well deserved break from
the RAF Brize Norton R&R runs and the opportunity to let our
hair down and do some team bonding.
Exercise ALFRED’S RUN – by LCpl Anne Johnson
Royal Ascot is one of the main events in the racing calendar
and a chance to see some of the finest fillies from around the
world. It is also an opportunity to see the Royal Procession
and Her Majesty the Queen in public. On the afternoon of 20
Jun we headed to Aldershot to take over accommodation
ready for the racing to start on the Friday with hopes and
dreams of backing a winner and hitting the jackpot.
From my love of challenging tasks and fancy dress the idea for
Ex ALFRED’S RUN was formed, with the added bonus of
raising money for charity. Two teams of ten participants ran a
continuous relay of the PFA route for 24 hours, to raise money
for The Royal British Legion. Team one was named after the
mighty Knight Alfred, our Squadron mascot. Each member of
the team had to run carrying a dagger and shield in his
Friday morning arrived with Cpl ‘T-Bird’ Turner, Cpl ‘Godders’
Godfrey and LCpl ‘Dicko’ Dickson all suited and booted in our
best gear ready to mingle with the high rollers. A short taxi
ride later and we arrived at the train station. The train was
soon packed with top hat wearing gentlemen and ladies in
their best frocks, we knew we were in for a good day, as long
as the rain held off.
OC SSM 32
Maj M Nettleship
WO2 D Corcoran
Once at Ascot we were greeted by the Service Stewards in
dress uniform at the dedicated forces entrance before
heading for the Armed Forces Bar, after all it was Pimms
o’clock! Once we had settled in the beer garden we studied
the form guide and soon realised we had no idea what we
were doing and so went for the 2nd option of just picking our
favourite numbers and hoping for the best.
All bets were placed and we had decided that the three of us
would each put a £5 stake to win in each of the 6 races, so in
each race we would have 3 horses and any winnings would be
split. Surely we would have some winnings with 3 horses in
each race?!
At 1400hrs the Royal procession entered the course and made
its way down to the Royal Enclosure. It consisted of three of
the Royal Carriages with HM the Queen in the lead carriage
escorted by a mounted Royal Guard.
Three races in and the sun had come out to play and was now
baking hot and so we had to get some more beverages from
the bar to keep us cool. At the same time the racing wasn’t
going well, at least not for us as we had not even had a horse
that had come in the top 3, never mind picking a winner.
By 1700hrs all 6 races had run and we had decided to collect
all our winnings which would provide us with our beer money
for the evening. We realised we had not won anything. Not
only had we not won anything, we must have picked all the
sick lame and lazy horses possible as we didn’t even get one
that placed in any of the 6 races. Looking like betting was not
our thing we decided to cheer ourselves up with the
traditional singing around the band stand.
This was a chance to mingle with other race goers and hear
the stories about some of the big winners and losers. One to
mention was a bloke that was heard saying he had lost 8
grand on one bet. After hearing that, losing £35 pound each
didn’t seem too bad.
As the day was starting to wind down we headed back to the
train station to go back to Aldershot. Some people were
looking a bit worse for wear and not as smart as when they
got the train that morning.
The Resort was owned by the American Military that had
agreed to allow 237 Sig Sqn (EW) to stay on the camp as part
of a collaboration between NATO forces, after Lt Col Smith of
the US Army, previously a resident of 14th Sig Regt (EW) had
recommended our Sqn to the Commander of the base.
The Sqn was split into four teams, each team participating in a
different kind of AT on separate days. These included rock
climbing/bouldering, mountain trekking and kayaking, with
each activity placed in various locations around Bavaria and
conducted by qualified instructors.
The Rock climbing that was instructed by Cpl Andy Kerr and
LCpl Tony Cole was located 5 minutes from our resort. The
teams had to work together primarily for each others' safety
and where trust in each other would be tested. Command
skills were also put to the test to motivate and manoeuvre
their partner through the crags, sometimes with the partner
being blindfolded and conquering a fear of heights.
Two separate days of trekking took place on arduous routes
on two separate mountains. Both mountains were instructed
by a number of the Sqn staff, Lt Collier, SSgt Hardy and Sgts
Turton and Wilson who all took command of the treks. The
first was Mount Kramerspitz, which took the teams 4-5 hours
to trek up to 1986m in the high altitude, the routes being
constantly up hill and frequently along harsh terrain, with the
views of the towns and Alps that stretch off in to the distance
being incredible. The second day of trekking took us to the
comically named yet legitimate Wank Mountain, a 1780m
climb that took 3-4 hours to ascend to the summit plateau. At
the top we were greeted by the locals with drinks followed by
a quick trip down the mountain on the cable cars which gave
excellent views of the surrounding environment.
The third activity was kayaking took place at Lake Eibsee
where we spent the day learning the basics skills as well as
games and some physical exercise all of which was instructed
by OCdt Steve Wyndham-Smith and Sig Kurt Spencer.
These activities were spread out over the 2 weeks with visits
After a lie in the next morning and a spot of lunch it was time
to head back to camp and reflect on yesterday’s events.
I think we were all in agreement that it was a great day even
though we didn’t win anything and are looking forward to
hopefully taking advantage of the 2 for 1 offer if it is
advertised again next year.
OC
SSM
Maj C Wootten
WO2 (SSM) Morrison
Exercise BAVARIAN DRAGON – by LCpl Young
After completing their latest tour of Afghanistan (Op
HERRICK 17), 237 Signal Squadron (Electronic Warfare) had
returned from 8 weeks of POTL to invest their time in some
Adventure Training and get the Sqn used to working as a
team again.
Under the management of Lt Robinson and Lt Collier, a 2
week programme of various activities was put together, to be
held in Bavaria, Germany from 3-15 June. We left on Monday
morning to complete a 22 hour coach ride across Europe to
our destination, the Edelweiss Lodge and Resort, an Armed
Forces Recreation Centre (AFRC) located in the small town of
Garmisch-Partenkirshen.
237 learning the ropes!
to the local cities such as Munich and Garmisch-Partenkirshen.
In Munich the Sqn travelled by train to the city which is home
to one of the biggest beer festivals in Europe and we spent
the day exploring the city as well as the night life. The Sqn
also took a trip to the now tourist attraction of Dachau which
was constructed in World War 2 by Germany as a work camp
for the Jewish and POWs as well as German public and priests
who fought against the ideology of the Nazis.
The 2 week Adventure Training finally came to an end and 237
Sig Sqn (EW) packed up their tents and left Bavaria to return
to 14 Sig Regt (EW) in Brawdy with some decent sun tans and
the objective of returning as a team again after a long tour
33
and POTL. The organisation of the trip had been a success,
we arrived back to barracks the Saturday morning and the
Sqn was ready to return to normal duty the following day.
SUPPORT SQUADRON (ELECTRONIC WARFARE)
OC SSM
Maj K Sturman
WO2 (SSM) Dolan
Visit To The Regiment By Her Royal Highness The Princess
Royal 15 July 2013 – by Capt Olly McGrail
After long hours and much minute by minute planning by the
Project Officer, Capt Olly McGrail, Her Royal Highness finally
landed at 1120 in one of the helicopters of the Queens Flight
at Cawdor Barracks on 15 July. Much to the relief of the rest
of the Regiment who were patiently stood on a set of stands
on one of the hottest days of the year, ready and poised for
the Regimental photograph to take place. Once the man
from ‘TEMPEST’ had done his stuff Her Royal Highness was
whisked swiftly off to attend a short update on the Regiment
from the Commanding Officer, Lt Col Purves, followed by
several Squadron capability briefings.
The Regt artist, Mrs Gail Pearce-Taylor is presented to HRH along
with her husband WO1 (RSM) Mic Taylor
had tasted’ at any such visit. So well done the chefs!
The remaining serials saw Her Royal Highness being
presented with an original painting by the Regimental artist,
Mrs Gail-Pearce Taylor, before signing the Regimental Album
prior to her departure. Her Royal Highness was then taken
back to the Helicopter Landing Site where the Master of
Signals, Regimental Secretary, Commanding Officer, Aide-deCamp, Corps Regimental Sergeant Major and Regimental
Sergeant Major bade farewell after a hugely successful visit;
much to the relief of the Project Officer.
HRH chats to members of 236 Sig Sqn (EW) prior to their
deployment on Op HERRICK
HRH commented that the briefs were extremely interesting
and so all was well. This followed a private lunch for Her
Royal Highness, the Lady in Waiting and Personal Protection
Officer. The next serial was planned to allow HRH time to
meet approximately 100 members of the Regiment, some
with their wives and partners. Again, this went like clockwork
and everyone enjoyed the opportunity to meet Her Royal
Highness and to ‘nibble’ on various canapés. These were later
commented on by the Regimental Secretary as ‘the best he
HRH signs the Regimental album
15th SIGNAL REGIMENT (INFORMATION SUPPORT)
BLANDFORD
CO
RSM
Lt Col P Pearce
WO1 (RSM) Collins
Back-to-Back Morrisons Cup Winners - by Cpl R De-Bique
15 Signal Regiment (IS) arrived at the annual Morrisons Cup as
the reigning Minor Unit champions, bolstered with a female
team and brand new Regimental Tracksuits. They were once
again under the command of a very quick team captain Cpl
Ronald ‘Olympian’ De-Bique, known for getting the utmost
devotion out of his men and women. The path to victory and
34
retaining their title was beleaguered with hurdles (400m and
110m), barriers and water jumps (3000m steeplechase, pole
vault and high jump). There were 7 teams competing for the
desirable Championship, scoring was as follows 1st - 7 points,
2nd - 6 points, 3rd – 5 points and so on.
Day 1 got off to a sobering start compared to last year, with
the 800m (Cpl Yubs Gurung, 6th) and the 5000m (Sgt Chris
‘SYMFS CT’ Slade, 4th) races respectively. The other minor
units stuttered to open their account in a bid for glory and the
rumours started again that 15 Signal Regiment (IS) should
have been competing within the Major Unit format, which
stood out as a shimmering approval to the Regiment’s vast
display of athletic proficiency. Hammer time (can’t touch this)
started at 0950hrs with SSgt Tony ‘The Tiger’ Raby keeping
the pressure going with 2nd and 6 points in the bag. This was
quickly followed by a Hop, Skip and…. 1st and 7 more points
in the triple jump by Cpl Darral ‘Spring Boy’ Jukes to round
off the morning proceedings. After a light lunch and a few
stretches, the afternoon events continued where the morning
had left off. Maj Adrian ‘Balboa’ Woodley in his swansong,
lobbing the discus into 3rd place and 5 more points were
gained. The final event was the long jump in which Cpl Darral
‘Spring Boy’ Jukes needed only 2 jumps; one to win and the
other just to make sure he had won and 7 more points.
After a long night’s sleep and massages, the sun bust through
and day 2 kicked off with a flood of 7s; 400m Hurdles, 200m,
High Jump (Cpl Ronald ‘Olympian’ De-Bique), Pole Vault (LCpl
Jonathan ‘Bird Man’ Scott), LCpl Bhids ‘The Hunter’ Gurung
dropped the javelin over the 30m line and Cpl Darral ‘Spring
Boy’ Jukes hurdled away their final hopes in the 110m Hurdles.
2nd places were achieved in the Shot Putt with WO1 Kerr
‘Ching….’ Laye. Then the long gurgling events were on track;
1500m (Sgt Dave ‘Pocket Rocket’ Hill, 4th and 4 pts) and the
3000m S/C (Cpl Stu ‘Highlander’ Taylor, 4th and 4 pts).
The day came to an end with the much anticipated and hotly
contested relays, which saw the team 1st after a blistering 1st
and 3rd legs, but a perfect demonstration in the 4x100m relay
and a extraordinarily tough 3rd in the 4x400m relay. Special
mention has to be made for Sgt Purcell Charlery, Sgt Prem
Gurung (both in the 4x100m relay) and Cpl Rory Griffin
(4x400m relay), who responded in kind in our greatest
moments of wanting. Once the dust had settled and the
pulses lowered, the realised its providence with a record
points total of 105; (9 x 1st places, 2 x 2nd places, 2 x 3rd, 3 x
4th, 2 x 5th and a 6th place).
With the lack of female soldiers within the Regiment, the first
ever 15 Signal Regiment (IS) Female Morrison Cup Athletics
team comprised of WO2 Lesile Read (200m and Long Jump),
Sgt Nichol (Discus), Sgt Nikki Phillips (400m, High Jump,
Javelin and Hammer), Sgt Hannah Yarwood (800m and
1500m) and Sgt Karly Bond (Shot Put and 100m). With very
little training and with some team members having never met
before due to Squadron separation. The team surpassed
expectations and set the presidency that with proper training,
personnel and time the overall result can and will be improved
upon. WO2 Leslie Read raced and qualified for the 200m
finals and Sgt Nikki Phillips raced and qualified for the 400m
finals. The girls also qualified for the 4x100m finals and in that
race did not place last even though they were all senior to the
rest of the field.
bright and sunny Saturday towards the end of June. Through
fortuitous organising the same bright and sunny Saturday as
the Grand Prix and the Lions match. Putting this aside, the
advance party started setting up the ExCon areas, preparing
to receive the exercising troops and instructors started to
practice the 6 SATs loaned from 11 (RSS) Signal Regiment;
readying them for their debut as Demo Troops. By the end of
the day, Sgt ‘Si’ Mersh REME had drilled in to them the
various skills they would be demonstrating and how to hold
the rifle to his exacting standards.
This year's ENDEAVOUR focused on getting back to basics
and preparing for contingency ops. A 3 day ‘RSOI’ package
ensured that the troops were up to speed in the true and
trusty basics like patrolling, R2s from the AATAMs (yes, we
have no 9 Liners) and formations. This package also saw the
Pl launched in to the field to occupy a harbour, practice
patrolling and learn the rudiments of the Close Target Recce.
One of the Regiment’s strengths is the wide variety of
experience within its ranks, so the Platoon was able to draw
upon the experiences of an embedded ‘Infantry Advisor’ in
the shape of Sgt ‘Davie’ Rennie SCOTS acting as Platoon Sgt
and as a sort of DS Fwd. With night recce and ambush patrols
aplenty the Platoon was soon getting in to their stride, so
SSgt (SQMS) Andy King took them through house clearance
and some of the finer points of Operating in a Built Up Area in
the Skills House. As the final night arrived, the Platoon shook
out in to its FUP ready for the dawn attack; the finale of the
Exercise, which was to be carried out in front of various
visiting dignitaries such as Cdr 11 Sig Bde, the CO and the QM.
The attack took place in 3 positions, 2 dug in and a final ‘end
of level baddie’ consisting of the Adjt, SSgt King and several
SATs. However, they were no match for the assaulting
section. They entered the house with grim determination,
covered by fire from both remaining sections and a GPMG FSG
high on the hill, it was all over in short order. So short in fact,
the whole assault took about half the time that had been
planned for it. No plan survives contact with the enemy!
Moreover, this Exercise was to prove this adage once again.
In this case, the plan to bring breakfast forward to the
Platoon for an après battle breakfast amid the corpses was
scuppered by the Sennybridge midges, all of whom were hell
bent on breakfasting upon the 50 odd souls in the valley.
Knowing when one is beat is a good skill to have, so it was
decided to move the troops back to Farm 5 where the midges
were yet to be seen. Allowing the guests and the exercising
troops to mingle and for some well earned re-enactments.
All through the exercise the Exercising troops (initially) and
DS were kept going by the fantastic food delivered by SSgt
Andy Westerberg and Sgt Joan Jones from the Newport
This proved to be another high-quality advertisement of 15
Signal Regiment (IS) to the rest of the Corps and places the
challenge at those other Minor Units for next year.
Exercise MAU ENDEVOUR (Battlecamp)
- by Sgt Gareth Vernon
15 Signal Regiment (Information Support) provides constant
Level 3 technical support to all three Forces and is made up of
Communicators from all Services and Cap badges. As well as
the various MATT and PDT exercises, the Regiment’s Training
Wing also plans and executes the Regimental Battle Camp, an
eagerly anticipated chance to get out in to the Oulu and do
what we joined up for.
Well, maybe not the RAF lads.
This year's offering centralised at Farm 5 on Sennybridge
Training Area; the advance party arrived in three packets on a
Victory! Comd 11 Sig Bde and CO 15 Sig Regt (IS) pose with the
assaulting troops
35
based 217 (City of Newport) Headquarters Battery Royal
Artillery (Volunteers) (part of 104 Regiment RA (V)). The
EndEx Barby certainly appeared to satisfy the Exercising
Troops!
233 (GLOBAL COMMUNICATION NETWORKS) SIGNAL
SQUADRON
OC
SSM
OC Net Ops Tp
OC Net Sp Tp
RSIT FofS
Maj (TOT) Martin Flather
SSgt Marc Beckett
Capt (TOT) Bob Pace
Capt (TOT) Paddy Ferguson
WO1 (FofS) Carl Gaber
It’s all change in Corsham! In April the Corps Heritage
committee granted us the new title of 233 (GCN) Signal
Squadron and this has subsequently required the renaming of
600 Signal Troop to Network Operations Troop and the Royal
Signal System Support Team (RSSST) to Network Support
Troop. The Squadron is completed with the unchanged Royal
Signals Inspection Team (RSIT).
With the usual summer change of personalities, the Sqn has
welcomed a new OC Sqn, OC Net Sp Tp, Sqn FofS and YofS,
and FofS RSIT. We bid a fond farewell to Maj (TOT) ‘Big Bob’
Wymer, who moves on to HQ ARRC. We wish him and his
family all the best for the future. The Sqn has also said
farewell to WO1 (FofS) ‘Loggy’ Wright to SANGCOM, SSgt
(FofS) Pete Fraser to DE&S ISS CIS 4 on promotion to WO2,
SSgt (FofS) Glen Ruscoe to 216 (Para) Sig Sqn, SSgt (FofS)
Griffiths to FALTAT and SSgt Mark Whittaker to HQ DSF.
a prestigious institution situated on the downs in the
Georgian City of Bath that is steeped in military history and
rugby playing prowess.
Ten seventeen year old students, all from very well to do
backgrounds and all studying Advanced Level Physics during
their final schooling days descended on 233 (GCN) Sig Sqn
Ops team, namely WO1 (YofS) Laura Midwinter and WO1
(FofS) Marcus Clarke. The Yeoman and Foreman stopped,
collaborated, and listened before selecting their crack team to
brief and entertain the teenagers during their visit.
They knew they had a problem...and that no one else could
help...and if they could find them...then maybe they could
hire...The A-Team (Sgt Andy Cunnington and LCpls Mike
Hedworth and Samantha Thomas).
Beechen Cliff School students on parade at 233 (GCN) Sig Sqn
Assembled together, LCpl ‘No Medals, No Tours, Please Stop
Asking About Killing the Taliban’ Hedworth gave a brief on
the wide area systems managed by the Corps, in particular the
systems governed by 233 (GCN) Signal Squadron personnel
within MOD Corsham. Following this WO1 (FofS) Marcus ‘Get
Some Sand under Your Boots’ Clarke woke the bored A-Level
students up by swinging a few lanterns and engaging the
young audience with his Op Herrick war stories.
Maj (TOT) R Wymer hands over to Maj (TOT) MR Flather as OC
233 (GCN) Sig Sqn
We extend warm welcomes to Maj (TOT) Martin Flather who
took over the reigns as OC in June, Capt (TOT) Paddy
Ferguson as OC Net Sp Tp, WO1 (FofS) Marcus Clarke and
WO2 (YofS) Lee Shackleton into Sqn Ops, WO1 (FofS) Carl
Gaber as the new RSIT FofS, WO2 (FofS) Farrington into Net
Ops Tp and SSgt (FofS) O’Donovan and SSgt Bates into Net
Sp Tp.
The Sqn congratulates SSgt Lee Greenhough and Sgt Jim
Gollop on their selection onto the FofS course starting in
September, Cpl Gaz Creswell on promotion to Sgt and finally
LCpl ‘Tron’ Darby on promotion to Cpl.
Beechen Cliff School Visit 08 Jul 13 - by Sgt Andy Cunnington
Picture the scene, early Monday morning on the 8th day in
July, a visit has been arranged to MOD Corsham by the sixth
form students of Beechen Cliff School. Beechen Cliff School is
36
With the blood thirsty youngsters re-engaged, the FofS
handed over to Sgt Andy Cunnington and LCpl Samantha
‘Give us a Job’ Thomas to brief the students on some of the
tactical radios and antennae currently used on Ops. Interest
fully recaptured, our enthusiastic visitors were tasked with
sending a message over the radio systems to their
counterparts acting as a Headquarters, with the winning team
being rewarded with cakes. The students were then
introduced to a full set of OSPREY body armour, helmet and
bergan with many students trying the equipment on and
realizing the sheer amount of weight carried by many soldiers
on Ops. Following a few random questions, many of which
should not be repeated, the students left the bosom of 233
(GCN) Signal Squadron feeling a real warmth and joy for a
career in the military.
Visit of The Master of Signals – 26 July 2013
- by Capt Bob Pace
15 Signal Regiment (Information Support) were privileged to
host a visit from the Master of Signals; Lt Gen R Baxter CBE
DSc FIET FBCS CITP (late R SIGNALS) on the 26 July 2013. The
purpose of the visit was so that the unit could brief the
Master on the Regiment’s role, its current delivery of
operational capability and the capability it is likely to deliver
within contingency. To cap off the visit, the Master was able
to present medals within the HQ WOs’ & Sgts’ Mess.
On the Master’s arrival at the Regiment the CO, Lt Col Paul
Pearce, and WO1 (RSM) Mark Collins, with the
accompaniment of a lone piper ably provided by WO2 (RQMS)
The Master of Signals being welcomed in style by a lone piper
Huxter SCOTS. After a short presentation from the CO and
Ops Officer, the Master was invited to receive to a series of
briefs from the Squadrons, starting with 259 (GIS) Sig Sqn.
The Master arrived at 259 (GIS) Sig Sqn and was greeted by
the OC Maj T Wood RA. He explained that he would see two
of the three Troops on his visit (Tactical Services Troop and
Information Services Troop) and their supported services.
From there he was briefed by Sqn Ops Officer WO1 (RSMI)
Cable RA on the Sqn’s enduring commitments to Op HERRICK,
BATUK and the AATF. He was also briefed on current work;
where the Sqn is heavily involved in the BCIP 5.5 uplift to
FLEET (delivering the software updates to all surface vessels
operating the Bowman system) and continued support to
TNG, HOUSEKEEPER, and all MST events such as the
PASHTUN series of exercises.
He was then briefed on future systems and services that the
Sqn believes it could be involved with, such as MAGPIE (ARRC
ICS standalone system), DTT (Defence Targeting Toolset), and
NETBRACIS (the new CBRN BISA). Finally, the Sqn explained
how it ties all this together through its IT Service
Management system (this included the Reach Back and
service desk support).
After a quick overview on the Sqn as a whole he was then
introduced to SSgt (FofS (IS)) Daz Preuss (Acting Tp Comd)
who then, having realised he was actually taller than someone
else, began to give a delightful insight into what we as
Tactical Services Troop (TST) actually do. Starting with the Tactical Network-Layer Gateway team, Sgt
Shane Morley began to give his brief on the support given to
the end user. The Master of Signals obviously found this
system extremely interesting and to the shock of all present
started asking questions about the system that made even
the seasoned TNG vet a little uncomfortable. Maj Wood, who
is obviously a keen angler and very keen for the Master of
Signals to stay within his time frame, reeled him back in. The
Master of Signals was then introduced to Sgt Karly Bond and
Sgt Williams RM who both gave an outstanding insight into
what services the Reachback Team and the Close Support
Team actually deliver to the wider audience.
In the absence of the OC Capt Pete Asplen, he was introduced
to the team by the newly commissioned Capt Johnny Laye
and was given an overview of the HOUSEKEEPER system. He
was then handed over to Sgt Matt ‘on duty’ Evans who
briefed him on the responsibilities and capabilities of the
Level 3 support team and described the HOUSEKEEPER
deployment to Op HERRICK and the rest of the world. The
Master of Signals was given a demonstration on remotely
The Master being briefed on HOUSEKEEPER by Sgt Evans
accessing the HOUSEKEEPER system to assist in fault
diagnosis and rectification.
The Master was introduced to Maj (TOT) Martin Flather who
gave a brief run through the history of 233 (GCN) Sig Sqn
concluding with its current composition and how this fits in
with the wider Regimental mission.
Capt (TOT) Bob Pace went on to highlight the role of Net Ops
Troop and the renaming from 600 Sig Tp, highlighting the
continued support to the Promina Network and the role this
plays with Op HERRICK. This was also an opportunity to raise
the lesser known tasks placed upon this Troop, therefore the
OC spoke about the role played in the maintenance and
support of the 117F and 152 fleet of radios that is conducted
on behalf of Army HQ. In addition, the task of the Frequency
Managers and their role in the wider Defence Spectrum
Organisation as a Delegated Management Authority was
covered.
Capt (TOT) Paddy Ferguson spoke about the role of his Troop
and in particular the support to Falcon and the myriad of tasks
that this is presenting as it is fielded to the Army, from
support tasks to FALTAT, support to Exercises through to the
development of the Falcon Strategic Management Cell. The
Master was keen to understand where the challenges lay and
in particular, how the newly trained operators were coming to
terms with this new system. Finally from 233 (GCN) Sig Sqn,
WO2 (FofS) Phil Whitehead spoke about the continued role
of RSIT and the increasing assurance role that this plays. In
particular using recent examples of visits to BATUK to explain
the challenges faced by our Corps personnel and how RSIT
can influence this. The FofS also spoke about professional
registration through the Special Registration Scheme for the
IET; the Master was keen to understand if RSIT were the
Champions of this and whether this formed part of the RSIT
visit to units. Standby standby……..
The Sqn was represented by Flt Lt Jason Foster RAF, WO2
James Grant, Flt Sgt Mel Patterson and Sgt Paul Parsons. The
Master arrived in the conference room and Flt Lt Foster
introduced the team. The intention was for Sgt Parsons to
brief on the Deployed MJDI server, then WO2 Grant to brief
on The LogIS Client Build and some other applications that
the Client is used to access such as JAMES and
E-Compendium. This was to then lead into an introduction of
the 262 Sqn website, which is used as an aid for our user base
to begin troubleshooting prior to raising an incident.
However, The Master had other ideas and there then
followed a conversation on Logistics and support in general
which took up all the allocated time. He then had to beat a
hasty retreat due to the impending LS&GC presentation in the
Sgts' Mess.
37
The final, and most important, event for the day was saved to
last. 15 Signal Regiment (Information Support) were
delighted that the Master of Signals was able to conduct a
medal presentation within the Warrant Officers’ and
Sergeants’ Mess. First up was WO2 (FofS) Read who was
presented with her Royal Warrant, (in true slightly belated
fashion). Then it was on to the two LS&GC recipients, SSgt
(FofS) Paul Wade and SSgt (YofS) McPhie. The Adjutant
delivered both citations with crisp and unfaltering oral skills.
After the presentation of flowers to the wives, the Master
concluded his visit with an address to the Mess, which was
followed by a buffet lunch and light refreshments.
SSgt (FofS) Gurung gets animated during the TST brief to the
GOC on TNG capability
The GOC started with a visit to Squadron Ops and he was
briefed on our enduring commitments to OP HERRICK,
BATUK, and the AATF. We also explained that we are
currently heavily involved in the BCIP 5.5 uplift to FLEET busily
driving the length and breadth of the country to access ships
at different ports whilst maintaining our continued support to
TNG, HOUSEKEEPER, and to all MST events on exercises such
as PASHTUN DAWN etc.
Master of Signals and CO pose with the Medal and Warrant
recipients and their wives
259 (GLOBAL INFORMATION SUPPORT) SIGNAL SQUADRON
OC
SSM Maj T Woods RA
W02 A Humes RA
Major General Tim Radford DSO OBE GOC Force Troops
Command’s Visit to 15 Sig Regt (IS) - by WO2 A Humes RA
On a not so sunny Tuesday afternoon in June, the personnel
of 15 Signal Regiment were formed up on parade awaiting the
visit of the GOC Theatre Troops. WO1 (RSM) Collins led the
parade and luckily for him it did not rain as he had promised
the CO sunshine! Medals were presented to those who
deserved them with SSgt ‘Frankie’ Franklin doing a very
professional job as medal cushion carrier. After an address to
the Regimental personnel, tea and biscuits were served, Cpl
‘the only man with a camera’ Griffin took some photos, and
the presentations from the various departments began.
WO1 (RSM) Collins introduces the parade to his drill voice
38
The work doesn’t stop there, we briefed the GOC that we are
currently scoping L3 support to future applications such as
MAGPIE (ARRC ICS standalone system) DTT (Defence
Targeting Toolset) and NETBRACIS, the new CBRN BISA. We
also explained that we have the new FCA 2 coming online
soon and much work has gone into scoping the type of
support required for this system. Finally, we included the
Reachback service desk support we offer to our customers.
Following on from a Sqn Ops in-brief into current ops and
commitments, GOC Force Troops was greeted by OC Tactical
Services Troop (TST), Capt Adi Watts, who played host
explaining the Tps role in the L3 Sp and assurance
environment in relation to in-service Tactical Communication
Systems and services. The Tp is split into 3 functional areas
and as such provided an opportunity for the GOC to be
briefed on each. SSgt (FofS) Bikal Gurung briefed on the
Regt’s sp to the Tactical Network Layer Gateway, the linkage
between the Tactical and Operational level and the teams
involvement in Anglo-French interoperability trials before
being introduced to Cpl Ronnie De-Bique (Now Sgt). After
discovering his athletic talents challenged the Tp to a Hurdling
event across the desks and partitions on the shop floor.
Much to the relief of the OC Sqn, Maj Trev Wood, we politely
refused. SSgt Lomas (RLC) briefed the GOC on the Service
Desk and Reachback processes, adopted within the Tp,
explaining how we support the customer/user from the home
base, exercises and operations. CPO ‘Busta’ Brown, our RN
representative, gave the GOC an insight into the Close Sp
team, its roles, and responsibilities and only managed to get
the ‘Senior Service’ accolade into his brief once before a
change of topic quietened him down.
‘White Space’ CSgt Weaver (RM) and Mr ‘Shaggy’ Shenton
briefed the GOC on other events that the Sqn had been able
to participate in during this year, Badge briefed on some of
the events that he took part in leading up to Ex APHRODITE
ESCAPE, the Sqn trip to Colditz Castle, where we had the first
ever attempt at a break into the POW camp, when Sgt Phil
Bisby couldn’t get his key to work, this was due to seeing
double. We then briefed him on Ex VISTULA ODER, the
cultural visit to Berlin, and the planned upcoming trips to
Arnhem in September to visit the Op MARKET GARDEN sites
and a Staff Ride trip to the Falkland Islands in Apr 14.
decided to ‘pop home’ briefly without telling anyone and was
left behind. So with the speed of a thousand gazelles
(keeping to the speed limit) one of the minibuses had to go
back and pick him up, eventually arriving at the Eurotunnel
with barely minutes to spare.
On arriving in Sennelager there was a quick brief from our
host OC IST(G), Mr Shaggy Shenton, on the plan of action for
the following 3 days. This started off with a cultural visit to
one of the local watering holes followed by copious amounts
of meat, meat and more meat in a local Balkan restaurant!
Mr ‘Shaggy’ Shenton and the GOC discuss memories of BAOR
SSgt FofS ‘potatoe’ Wade introduced the team and the key
Housekeeper personalities. The level 3 engineers provided an
overview of the advice and support delivered to the
worldwide Housekeeper nodes and the integration we have
with our commercial partners. After a quick Q&A session he
was taken onto the next part of the Regimental tour
Heading up the team for 233 Sig Sqn was Capt (TOT) ‘Paddy’
Ferguson who delivered a persuasive and informative brief,
outlining the role of his new Sqn and in particular, his newly
formed Network Operations Support Troop. After setting the
scene, SSgt (FofS) Si Brewington took the helm and provided
a seamless presentation on Capt (TOT) Bob Paces’ new Tp,
Networks Operations Troop, or NO Troop for short. After
what must have been an enthralling ten minutes learning
about cutting edge systems like Promina Multiplexers and IP
bearer systems, Maj Gen Radford was treated to the sweet
sweet tones of WO2 (FofS) Lesley Reid whose laser sharp
focus was aimed at the subject of FALCON. This “potential
car crash” seemed to be close to the heart of the GOC and
was discussed at great length. SSgt (FofS) Prem Gurung was
next up and the gave a sterling performance deliberating the
impressive support given to Cormorant users by the Strategic
Management Cell; which incidentally, has been subordinated
by Capt (TOT) Fergusons’ Net Ops Support Tp. The 233 Sig
Sqn showcase was concluded in the same way as it
commenced, with Capt Ferguson flying the flag for Maj
Martin Flathers’ burgeoning Sqn. Maj Gen Radford was left
in no doubt that the work hard/play hard ethos was well and
truly engrained in the very fabric of 233 (GCN) Sig Sqn.
Tuesday arrived and everyone including the members from
IST (G) jumped in minibuses for the 5 ½ hour trip to Colditz.
On arrival, we were shown to our rooms, which were
refurbished officer’s quarters from the Second World War
(For information Colditz is now a Youth Hostel and Music
Academy and at time of press only costing €22 per night).
Once unpacked a tour of the magnificent town of Colditz
ensued allowing people to enjoy the architecture and local
delicacies. The evening consisted in visiting a local
establishment and partaking in authentic German food and
drink. The end of the night saw the first failed attempt ever
of a serving member of the British Armed Forces trying to
break into Castle Colditz (Sgt Phil Bisby (RA)).
Colditz Castle
Wednesday morning saw a poignant tour of the prisoner
quarters of Colditz and a few of the 20 + tunnels that had
been dug in the attempt to escape. Unfortunately, due to
lack of funds the restoration of this historical building is a
slow process. They are currently renovating the Chapel and
where the glider was stored in the roof eaves. This is a slow
process and will be finished by 2015. Wednesday night saw
the final team-building event in Paderborn Germany…..a
Chinese meal. Go figure! 15 Signal Regiment (IS) consists of
19 different cap badges from across the three services and a
plethora of Civil Servants. Ex APHRODITE ESCAPE, where Op
commitments allowed, brought many of these Arms together
to unify and strengthen the bonds between the different
departments within the Regt. All participates would like to
take this opportunity to thank Mr Shaggy Shenton for all his
hard work in organising a fantastic and informative exercise.
262 (LOGISTICS SYSTEM SUPPORT) SIGNAL SQUADRON
SSgt (FofS) Brewington explains multiplexing and IP to the GOC
Exercise APHRODITE ESCAPE
Ex APHRODITE ESCAPE was 15 Signal Regiment (IS) cultural
and team building exercise conducted from the 22 – 25 April
13 in Germany. In the early hours of Monday morning the
Troops embarked on a mammoth 11 ½ hour minibus drive
from Blandford to Sennelager. The only hiccup with this was
15 minutes down the road realising that Sgt Phil Brown had
OC
SSM
Flt Lt J Foster RAF
WO1 I Cochrane RLC
Exercise MAU KICK
On a glorious day in July, the Regiment’s finest footballers
assembled in Bicester (home of 262 (LSS) Sig Sqn) for the first
of the COs Inter-Sqn sporting competitions. The venue for
the 5 a-side football competition was Bicester Leisure Centre
and consisted of teams from RHQ, 262, 259 and 233 Sqns.
39
Favourites RHQ were up first against the hosts, 262 Sqn. In
the absence of the CO, the RSM led his team into battle. And
battle he did…..taking out SAC Jordan with a ferocious tackle,
which earned him a head lock and a sporting tap on the head
from the young SAC!! Undeterred and with the Adjutant's
socks in full flow, RHQ fought on but could not undo 262 and
lost the game 6-1.
Both 259 and 233 had stolen a win from RHQ, therefore it was
essential that 233 beat 262 on the last game, to be in with a
chance of winning the competition. With 262 only needing a
draw they started with a less experienced team, which cost
them early on, as 233 came out with a win. 233 dominated
the first 5 minutes, pinning 262 in their own half. The
pressure earned them an early goal and 262 needed to make
changes to get back into the game. With a few tactical
substitutions 262 fought back and held on to a deserved 2-2
draw. The draw meant 262 (LSS) Sig Sqn were worthy
winners of the prestigious trophy and will be the team to beat
in the Volleyball to be held at Corsham.
WO1 (RSM) Collins maintains discipline on the pitch
259 also started well with a win against 233, which put them
in contention with 262. The next match saw the hosts come
up against the mighty 259 who were looking to gain the
advantage going into their last game but it was 262 who
dominated and won the match 4-0.
The victorious team proudly sporting their winners medals
ELMPT
OC
RSM
Lt Col SW Whittley
WO1 (RSM) T Woodall
230 SIGNAL SQUADRON
OC SSM
Maj J Higginson
WO2 (SSM) C D Orr
The last few months for 230 Signal Squadron have been busy,
as we are entering the final stages of HFT. The Squadron
training has continued at a rapid rate, with Ex MALAYA
WARRIOR refreshing troops' soldiering skills, MALAYA MIND
enhancing their historical knowledge, the CO’s challenge to
test the Squadron's ability and the Leicester Trophy to show
255 Signal Squadron how to play sport. Throw in AT in
Bavaria, a successful Lanyard Trophy, a good show at the
Corps clay pigeon shooting competition and a first-class tab at
Nijmegen, the Squadron has been getting out and about.
As we come to the end of July we say farewell to a number of
key characters. The OC, Maj Jardine, will be leaving, with her
replacement, Maj Higginson, taking command at of the start
of August. 230 Signal Squadron 2IC, Capt Davies, will also be
leaving the Squadron, with Capt Crawley taking his place. The
Squadrons transformation does not stop there! The Squadron
Ops team has taken a serious blow in losing both Foreman,
WO2 (FofS) Gaber, and the Yeoman, SSgt (YofS) Simpson.
Exercise MALAYA MOUNTAIN – by LCpl Dickson
On Sun 23 June a convoy of 7 minibuses set off on a long
journey from Javelin Barracks to the Drei Muhlen lodge in
Bavaria. After several pit stops and fag breaks we finally
arrived 8 hours later. The lodge was fantastic with facilities
40
and standards you would expect to find in a hotel. We were
allocated our rooms and given a quick arrivals brief by Sgt
Cowell, who had organised the AT package. We were then
split into our groups for the week’s events consisting of rock
climbing, hill walking, kayaking and white water rafting.
Due to the miserable weather the rock climbers were forced
to go indoors at Oberstorf but this didn’t bring a dampener to
the day. Sig Miles and Sgt Cowell were pushed out of their
comfort zones on a selection of walls and routes and did well
considering their fear of heights. The more confident
members of the group took part in a few races. LCpls Oxley
and Powell fought a close battle but were no match for LCpl
Dickson. The majority of the minibus were asleep as soon as
they hit the road back to the lodge. Other groups went
kayaking over the first 2 days, initially on the lake to learn the
basics and then onto the river once they were competent.
Inevitable capsizes on the river kept the spirits high for those
involved despite the weather.
There were also several groups out on the hills walking with
one of the ample MLT instructors. Depending on the
instructor and the ability of the group the routes varied from
a leisurely stroll to the more challenging Nablehorn Peak. On
the last day of the week we all went on a more relaxed walk
to Neuschwanstein castle, more commonly known as the
“Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” castle. LCpl Kerr didn’t fill his
group with confidence when shortly after leaving the lodge
he managed to get himself lost, although I’m sure he’ll look
back on it and see the funny side.
Halfway through the two weeks the groups returned to camp
and changed over. This gave the instructors a chance to relax
and explore the local area for potential routes. The return
journey to Bavaria took longer than planned thanks to LCpl
Walken filling a diesel minibus with petrol, proving to us all
that he does indeed know everything about cars!
Bundeswehr Military Skills Competition – by Lt Levens
After some enjoyable physical and skills based build up
training, 16 Signal Regiment entered four teams; each of four
soldiers, into the 30th International Bundeswehr
Monchengladbach Military Skills competition. The annual
event comprised of a number of challenging stands including;
shooting, marching, navigation, military knowledge, first aid,
raft racing, an assault course and a particularly memorable
CASEVAC straight up a steep sandy hill. The German Army
hosted fifty teams for the exciting and arduous event from
several NATO forces. All the teams from 16 Signal Regiment
performed well. Particularly strong was 255 Signal Squadrons
team, led by Lt Levens, which included Cpl Smith, Cpl
Robinson and Sig Jackson. The team beat 14 entrants from
units such as the Royal Engineers and the RAF Regiment to
win the best British team cup and a bronze cup for third place
in the active soldier’s category.
Bavaria’s finest!!
During the ex groups were lucky enough to get the chance to
go white water rafting just over the border in Austria. Most
of the lads had been looking forward to this the most, as it
gave them chance to get soaking wet and show a bit of
competitiveness. The waves and current didn’t let us down
and thrashed us about which produced the white face of fear
from LCpl Powell as we crashed into a large boulder. There
were also several other boats on the day along side us one in
particular with German teenagers in, and inevitably we
jumped ship and threw them overboard as you do.
It was a great two week package full of fun, relaxed
atmosphere and great facilities. Sgt Fogg and Sgt Cowell did
a great job organising it and everybody involved thoroughly
enjoyed it.
Bunderswehr’s best of British
255 SIGNAL SQUADRON
SUPPORT SQUADRON
OC SSM
OC SSM
Maj A Biggs
WO2 (SSM) C Steers
The second half of hybrid foundation training (HFT) has seen
a large change in the personalities of 255 Signal Squadron. The Squadron says farewell to our OC, Maj Lawson, whose
daily morale will be greatly missed, and warmly welcomes Maj
Biggs who takes up the mantle. The last couple of months have been a busy time for the
Squadron. Initially deploying to Sennelager for Ex BAHRAIN
SHOT where SSgt Greenlee ran an extremely challenging
range camp, culminating in a live fire tactical training range
which showed the rapid progression which had been made
over the previous week.
The next big commitment for the Squadron was the joint 16
Signal Regiment / 1 Military Intelligence Battalion parade
through Monchengladbach to commemorate the closure of
the Joint Headquarters Rheindahlen. The week of drill
proceeding the big day was a short, sharp shock for all but
the hard work paid off and the parade was enjoyed by
participant and spectator alike.
The penultimate two weeks before summer leave saw
the Squadron involved in the Commanding Officer’s
Challenge, a two week round robin of events seeing the 3
Squadrons compete against each other in a range of physical
and mental pursuits all based on military skills.
Having earned a well deserved summer rest, the Squadron is
looking forward to the challenge of proceeding through the
FALTAT process with its newly acquired Falcon fleet.
Maj P Williams
WO2 (SSM) M Dunnachie
PNCO Course, Elmpt Station – by SSgt (SSI) Chris Craven
After a break of more than 2 years due to operational
commitments, the Royal Signals PNCO CLM course finally
returned to Elmpt Station in May. The course was filled with
personnel from a plethora of units as distant as 14 and 21
Signal Regiments.
The course began on Sunday 12 May at midday. After the
initial induction and paperwork phase was complete the
course were given their opening address by 16 Signal
Regiment’s RTO, Capt Read, where they were encouraged to
give it their best effort. This was soon put to the test when
the students had to complete a 2.4km best effort streaming
run. From this they were formed into 3 sections and given
their section mentors which comprised of Sgts Mackay,
Horton and Cpl Keenan.
Monday saw the course complete their mandatory AFT on the
training area followed by lessons on developing subordinates
and value based leadership. Despite completing 2 fitness
tests in just 2 days, the course were given no respite and
Tuesday morning saw them compete as sections for the first
time on the first Practical Leadership and Development (PLD)
task, “DS bins”. With all 3 sections starting off at the same
time, they had to collect various pieces of equipment, one at
a time from their respective pens after completing a lap of
the station sports pitch - very simple in theory, absolutely
exhausting in practice! After a hard fought battle with 3
section, 1 section ran away with it on the final lap.
Periods of practical classroom instruction with LCpl Thomas
41
delivering lessons on range cards, basic voice procedure and
reports and returns. Wednesday surprisingly saw no form of
physical exertion; instead the students were given lessons on
discipline with SSgt (SSI) Craven. This was followed by a
Combat Estimate lesson delivered by Sgt Mackay, which left
many wishing they’d rather be on another PLD. Their wishes
were granted on Thursday morning with PLD 2, which was
everybody’s favourite, a five mile burden retrieval around
Elmpt Station’s infamous “Hill 60”. 1 Section sped off initially
leaving the other two sections for dust, but 3 Section
gradually caught up over the remainder of the course, and
with their defeat on PLD 1 still fresh in their minds, kept the
pressure on 1 Section, finally pushing in front towards the end
and winning the event.
Lt Budden delivering a fine set of Orders
the HLS and await helicopter extraction. With 2ICs now
Section Commanders, the Troop made it “to the chopper”
just in time for ENDEX to be called.
The course culminated in a dinner night in the Cpl’s Mess
where the Commanding Officer of 16 Signal Regiment, Lt Col
Rumsey awarded the Top Student prize to A/LCpl Turner.
After a few skits by the sections, the course and DS enjoyed a
curry buffet before getting some much needed rest.
Corps Orienteering Champions 2013 - by Capt N Pollitt
The students working hard on their much loved PLDs
Thursday afternoon saw each member of the course deliver a
10 minute lesson on a subject of their choice. Obviously no
two lessons were the same, with subjects ranging from
sexually transmitted infections to the history of modern
fashion! On Friday the sections started their SOP day and
under their respective section commanders, Cpl Navoka, Cpl
Nelson and Cpl Robertson the sections completed a “round
robin” of practical lessons including occupying a harbour area,
casualty extraction under fire and a combat estimate under
SSgt (SSI) Craven. The day finally ended with a set of
deployment orders, given by the Troop OC Lt Budden. With
the teaching phase officially over, the course headed back to
their accommodation for some much needed admin before
the final confirmation exercise began.
Exercise BATTLE STRIPE began on a very hot Sunday
afternoon, with the Troop deploying to the Station training
area under the watchful eye of the newly drafted in Troop
Sgt, Sgt McCallum. Setting up their harbour area, the
exercise had begun in earnest with the first command
appointments being given out as the sections completed their
clearance patrols. With the bad weather rolling in, the
exercise conditions couldn’t have been better. Sgt Mackay
was very well prepared for the bad weather, as soon as he
sensed that the rain was about start he had his Goretex on
before the first drop hit the floor!
The sections, now in routine, the rotation though various
serials including fighting patrol and the defence of the
harbour location could commence. All was going well for the
course until they were attacked by the enemy in the night and
had to fall back to their Emergency Rendezvous Point (ERV).
After moving to a different location, the course set up a linear
harbour area and started their whole occupation drill from
scratch. The exercise continued until first light Wednesday
morning when, yet again, the enemy found their location and
attacked. After a 90 minute fire fight, the sections took heavy
casualties with all 3 section commanders being hit, and the
decision was made by the Troop Commander to withdraw to
42
Congratulations to the 16 Sig Regt Orienteering Team who
took the Major Unit titles in the Female and Male categories
to become the Royal Corps of Signals Orienteering Champions
2013. The competition took place over 2 days, (Day 1 –
Individual Championships, Day 2 – Team Championships) and
was a huge success for the Regiment.
The Individual Championships were held in the area of Elstead
Common, an extremely marshy area that was to play a key
factor in the results of this Championships. The event took
the form of an event course, where competitors are required
to navigate from control point to control point visiting all
controls in the order specified. The Regiment entered 8
individuals into the competition, 6 male and 2 female and
came away with some notable results. LCpl Gibson took 3rd
place in the M21 category and Capt Pollitt took RU spot in the
M40 category and 7th overall in the main Championships.
The team event took place the following day in extremely
humid conditions on Hankley Common, which increased the
difficulty of the event somewhat. The event took the form of
a Harris Relay which involves 2 types of control. The spine
controls which all members of the 3 man team must visit. The
remaining controls, typically 20+ for longer courses, require
only one team member to visit. Major Units had to compete
with two teams of 3 and female teams one team of 3.
The team was up against some extremely strong competition
in the Major Unit competition with 15 Sig Regt, 11 Sig Regt and
3DSR fielding many Corps runners within their ranks. In the
female competition the Regiment took the R SIGNALS Major
Unit trophy and considering we only fielded 2 females' this
was a brilliant result. In the extremely close fought Male
competition the Regiment produced some outstanding
individual runs to take the coveted top spot and be crowned
R SIGNALS Major Unit Champions with a winning time of
1:04:25. Considering the inexperience of the team this was an
outstanding achievement.
Overall the Championships were a great success for the
Regimental Team with a number of runners being selected to
attend the Corps Orienteering Training Camp in Scotland this
year. Thanks go to Maj Simon Ing on organising such a
successful Championships.
21st SIGNAL REGIMENT (AIR SUPPORT)
COLERNE
CO
RSM
Lt Col A R Aitken
WO1 (RSM) Brown
The Regiment has experienced a busy period in preparation
for its upcoming deployment to Afghanistan. Concurrently
there has been a state of transition with the Regiment
starting its re-structuring into a Multi-Role Signal Regiment.
The past month has seen us say farewell to 244 Signal
Squadron as they re-subordinated to 30 Signal Regiment and
43 (Wx) Signal Squadron (V) as they re-subordinated to 39
Signal Regiment (V). These occasions were marked by
re-subordination parades. Despite a busy programme the
Regiment has also found time to enjoy itself with some
quality adventure training, sporting and social events. 21
Signal Regiment (Air Support) would also like to say a
goodbye and good luck to the Commanding Officer who will
sadly leave us soon.
drill commands. Many were preparing to use their FADs for
the first time in anger and the tailors had a busy few weeks in
the build up to the parade. For some of the junior officers
this was the first time they had done sword drill, luckily they
had masterful tuition of Maj J Snelgrove, OC 244 Sig Sqn, who
used his time on London duties to great effect.
Preparation is key and to ensure the parade went perfectly
the RSM had the Regiment on the square for long days during
the heat wave prior to the build up of the parade.
Concurrently in the background the Quartermaster’s
Department set up the tents and hospitality for our honoured
guests and families of the Regiment.
SUPPORT SQUADRON
OC
SSM Maj C Budding
WO2 (SSM) D Stedman
Re-Subordination Parade 25 Jul 13 - by Capt J Corns
21 Signal Regiment (Air Support) conducted a
re-subordination Parade on the 25 Jul 13. The aim of the day
was to provide an outstanding display of foot and weapon
drill in order that a memorable military spectacle will mark the
re-subordination of 244 Signal Squadron to 30 Signal
Regiment. It will also mark the end of 54 prestigious years of
the Air Support role the Regiment has undertaken. The
parade also provided a poignant farewell to the Commanding
Officer, Lt Col A R Aitken, who sadly leaves the Regiment for
HQ ARRC in August 2013.
The parade consisted of a total of four squads (Sp, 214, 220
and 244 Sqns) and consisted of 147 members of the Regiment.
The Regimental Parade and March Past was supported by the
Band of The Royal Corps of Signals and the Corps Pipes and
Drums. The parade was held outside the Bristol University Air
Squadron (BUAS) hanger adjacent to Colerne Airfield.
The parade all started weeks in advance of the big day with
the RSM, WO1 Brown, busy writing the parade instruction and
SSMs busy preparing the Squadrons for the Regimental
rehearsals. For many drill was a shock to the system, but for
the keen few (mainly those with pace sticks) they thrived on
the crack and thud of rifle drill and the deafening shrieks of
Lt Col A R Aitken on parade
Having sweated through the hot rehearsals the Regiment was
blessed with an overcast and cool day on the 25th July. After
a cheeky glass of pre-parade port the Regiment formed up to
start the parade. All the hard work and practice was worth it
and put to good use, the Regiment performed to an
exceptional standard of drill and turn out. The Regiment
marched to the glorious tunes of The Royal Corps of Signals
and the Corps Pipes and Drums. The RSM marched on the
Regiment; the Adjt, Capt J Corns, marched on the officers
before handing the Regiment over for the CO to take control
of the parade. The lead Inspecting Officer and address was
from Commodore J Pentreath OBE, Capability Director Joint
Helicopter Command (JHC).
In a break with tradition the parade had multiple Inspecting
Officers, one for each squad. These inspecting officers were:
Regimental Photograph with Inspecting Officers
43
Commodore J Pentreath OBE, Col G R Norton (Corps
Colonel), Brig J J Cole OBE (Comd 11 Sig Bde) and Brig T J C
Carmichael (Comd 1 Sig Bde).
In his address Commodore J Pentreath OBE thanked the
Regiment for its close support and long history with JHC and
wished good luck for HERRICK 19 and its future as a MultiRole Signal Regiment under 11 Signal Brigade, supporting 1
Armd Inf Bde. He also wished 244 Signal Squadron luck,
continuing its Air Support Role under 30 Signal Regiment.
The parade was a huge success and was enjoyed by all our
guests and families. The bands were superb and certainly
made the inspection more bearable. Once the parade was
finished the Regiment took a photograph before retiring to
the Colours Restaurant with guests for a well earned curry
and beers. For the Officer’s and Warrant Officers the day
would continue with a Cocktail Party, Beating Retreat and
Sunset Ceremony later that evening. The day was a huge
success and the Regiment can be proud of a superb parade.
Armed Forces Day – by Sgt Ramsey
After weeks of careful planning by myself, Sgt Paul Ramsey,
and Capt Si Mansfield (OC LAD) Armed Forces Day 2013 was
finally upon us. We could not have asked for a better day in
regards to the weather which was also responsible for the
large crowds of people who attended the event.
The day began with a march through the village to the school
led by 220 Signal Squadron followed by the Royal British
Legion contingent with the Brownies and Boy Scouts
following, all marching to the drum from the Royal Corps of
Signals Band. Members of the public lined the route to
witness the spectacular event of the soldiers marching
through the village.
After a few words from the CO and headmaster of the local
school all spectators moved through to the school playing
field to enjoy the day’s events which included a dog show,
which OC LAD didn’t win for a change.
The Regiment provided numerous military themed stands
including a popular obstacle course run by the gym staff, a
weapons set up by the Training Wing and a range of specialist
vehicles including the SV(R) stand run by LCpl ‘Smudge’ Smith
from the LAD, which is always popular with the children,
especially when they are allowed to have a go on the crane.
Adventure Training Capel Curig – by Capt Mansfield
On the week commencing 9 June, the Regiment travelled to
Capel Curig in Wales for a week of adventure training under
the organisation of the LAD. The participating members of
the Regiment were split into five groups; four of these would
rotate daily between the arranged activities, while the fifth
group attended a Summer Mountain Foundation course.
The first activity was rock climbing under the supervision of
WO2 Dave Stedman and LCpl Alex Deans and due to adverse
weather conditions took place at a local indoor centre. All
groups enjoyed this break from the elements, the highlight of
which being when CFN ‘Eddie’ Irvine lost his footing and was
suspended above his group; expecting their mercy he
naturally received abuse similar to that expected of a piñata.
The Second activity for the groups was Mountain Biking over
various courses under the supervision of Cpl Wayne Derham
and Sig Steve Anthony. With a capable leader such as Sig
Anthony exclaiming that he “is a total pro”, the sight of him
going over a jump and landing separated from his bike only
further instilled the confidence the men had in his leadership.
The third activity for the week was kayaking with Sgt Mick
Richardson and Cpl Dougie Phillips. Everyday started the
same, with a trip to the local café for sustenance, before
travelling to a very cold lake for what everyone was assured
would be “guaranteed fun”. Fortunately, due to the Welsh
weather, everyone was already used to being cold and wet;
regardless the kayaking was still enjoyed by all as this was the
only time they were supposed to get wet whilst working.
The final activity was hill walking with Capt Mark FarleyThompson and WO2 Jon Colbert which took teams over many
different routes of Tryfan. One group in particular took what
is best known as the hardest and most dangerous route over
the ridge by accident; this trip was made further challenging
by including possibly the worst day of weather over the week.
Once safely down from the peak, and with a hot brew in
hand, the group agreed it was a good adventure and well
worth the hard work to complete.
While these activities were taking place the SMF course, run
by Capt Si Mansfield and Capt Kirsty Davies-Walter, ascended
and descended Snowden, the Glyders, Tryfan and, Caernedu
over the week as well as completing an overnight phase as
part of the course criteria.
The highlight of the course was Sgt Chris Marks, who is MLT
trained with years of experience, continuous map reading and
orienteering skills which saw him climb various additional
mountains over the course of the week; it was decided that
he was just showing off his fitness and lust for adventure, not
a lack of skills, in his quest to be a role model for the younger
members of the Regiment.
Armed Forces Day March
The weather stayed magnificent for the whole day, rounded
off with the final event of the day, a tug of war competition.
The Regiment have played a key role in the village Armed
Forces day for the last few years; it confirms the strong bond
that exists between the Regiment and the local community.
44
The team out on the hills
The week overall was a massive success with all participants
in agreement that it was well worth attending and that they
were walking away with new experiences they could use later
in their careers. A special thanks go out to Sgt Andrew
Liennard and Cpl ‘Ginge’ Roberts for all their hard work in
organising and delivering a fantastic week for everyone.
Sports Person’s Dinner 2013 - by SSgt Cleghorn
In recognition of individual and team sporting achievements
during the past year, the Regiment held its annual Sports
Person’s Dinner, think Sports Personality of the Year, but
grander and with more booze! The evening was organised by
SSgt Cleghorn and his committee which comprised of Sgt
'Dinger' Bell (event 2IC) SSgt (SSI) Walsh (the man who gets
things), Cpl Towers (ABF/Charity liaison) and LCpl Allen (IT
guru). It was also a great chance to raise money for the Army
Benevolent Fund and the Royal Signals Benevolent Fund.
The event took shape in the form of an informal dinner with
VIP guests including the CO, Lt Col Aitken, the very beautiful
Miss Wales who kindly agreed to present the awards and Mr
Keith Oliver (Sp Sqn SQMS store man) who was an extremely
modest but inspiring guest speaker who represented Great
Britain in the Biathlon at 3 separate Winter Olympics.
During a superb dinner accompanied by plenty of wine, LCpl
Allen treated us to some stylish video nominations for best
team and individual awards. In addition there were tributes
to individuals who were being awarded Regimental and Corps
Colours. Miss Wales presented the Regimental Colours and in
the case of any absentees there were always plenty of
volunteers to receive an award on a friend’s behalf.
football shirt
kindly donated
by Alex Bray
who plays for
the under 21
team, a luxury
over night stay
in Lucknam
Park with full
use of the Spa
facilities, RSM
for the day
which was
reluctantly
donated by
WO1 (RSM)
Brown and a
Cadburys
chocolate
hamper,
donated by
SSgt (UCWO)
Olly Rodgers.
There was
some frantic
and
competitive
bidding, well
auctioned by
SSgt (FofS) Vernon receiving his Regimental
SSgt (SSI)
colours
Walsh. The
auction raised
a total of £665 which due to it being near the end of the
month was an excellent amount. There was also a charity
raffle which raised a total of £250.
Towards the later stages of the evening came the Awards for
Team and Sport’s Person of the Year. As 21 Signal Regiment
(Air Support) has participated in many sporting events during
the past year, with great success, it would serve to be a great
challenge for the CO and RSM to decide who would win.
After much deliberation and head scratching it was decided
that the Regimental Athletics team would receive the award
for team of the year as both the male and female teams were
the winners in the Morrison Cup. In the Army Finals the males
came 4th and the females came 3rd.
SSgt Cleghorn, Miss Wales Gabriel Shaw, Mr Oliver and Sgt
Dinger Bell trying to impress!
Personnel who received their Regimental Colours were:
SSgt (FofS) Vernon
SSgt Kendall
SSgt Rowlands
SSgt (SQMS) Durrans
Cpl Harrison
LCpl Northam
LCpl Hopper LCpl Gruby
LCpl Pechey
LCpl Pittam
Sig Lythe
Pte Wellsford
Sig Pearce
Pte Namaganda
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Rugby
Badminton
Badminton
Swimming/Waterpolo
Rugby
Rugby
Rugby
Football
Football
Football
Football
Football
Cross Country
Athletics
After the dinner the next phase of the night was the charity
auction with many items, including a signed Swansea City
LCpl Silvera received Sports Person of the year after
competing in Divisional, Corps, Army and National Level
Boxing and also winning the ABA National Champion in the
67-71 kg female category. The night was a great success and
ensured that the dedication and hard work that has been put
in over the past year was recognised and celebrated in the
correct fashion.
Exercise TIGER BEAUFIGHTER DIVER 2 – by Capt Mansfield
Leaving to go anywhere at 0430 in the morning is relatively
upsetting; unless you’re driving in the rain to Egypt, on a
diving expedition of course. Of the forty people who were on
the trip, a large segment were already qualified and
completing their advanced courses, with some undertaking
the recovery diving course. Others were starting to dive for
the first time, with some in particular who were scared of
water, which had to overcome many fears to even begin to
head down to the qualification level of 18m.
The ten day trip started with an early morning journey with a
late afternoon arrival so we could collect the required kit from
the Black Rock dive centre in the Dahab region of Sinai. Upon
arrival we were all given our rooms by the pool and about
20m from the beach, thus allowing us easy movement to and
from the dive centre each day. Other than the diving itself,
45
tackled the communication problem by improving relations
between UK Forces and our overseas allies, namely an
Australian Cpl who had been attached.
During the exercise we managed to develop a list of certain
individuals that excelled in the art of epic fails. To name a few
is only right and proper. Sig Smith 466 almost knocked
himself out with a stealth gene cover, from which he then
managed to stagger into the big red button and killed the
power to the entire Ops Room. He also decided to give
himself a promotion by answering the phone as LCpl Smith.
Luckily, leading by example was Cpl ‘Taff’ Roberts who
managed to lose his beret, which finally turned up several
days later and was being used as a helicopter landing pad for
visiting dignitaries.
Divers assemble!
there were plenty of other activities for the soldiers to get
involved in ranginged from camel riding to trips in the desert
on quad bikes. Others took the leisurely approach with their
time off by having fun on the banana boats, sunbathing and,
windsurfing. Several members found windsurfing much
harder than it looked and had to be rescued by the boats as
they just set sail with the wind, heading on an adventurously
close trip to Saudi Arabia.
The diving was an incredible experience as the Red Sea is so
clear with a huge variation in aquatic creatures to marvel;
forgetting that you’re in a canyon 30m down. The dive centre
managed to coordinate the movement of all forty people
daily whilst sending us off all over the Dahab region to
complete different dives to make sure no area was overused
or too busy.
The whole trip was summed up on the last full day by a boat
trip with all 40 people being taken out on some very choppy
waters. Then we were taken to a remote diving location so
we could dive as a large group. Although the boat trip out
was an hour long rollercoaster which made many of the group
feel ill, the overall experience was fantastic; although I think
many people will never want to dive on a live aboard boat.
Despite these epic fails, 214 Signal Squadron managed to last
through the exercise in hope for the sun to stay around ready
for summer leave.
Exercise BEAUFIGHTER TIGER DIVER 2 - by Cpl Nick Pallis
A crack team of 6 divers from 214 Signal Squadron departed
York to test the water of the Red Sea in Dahab Egypt, on a
Regimental AT expedition. After travelling through the night
to Gatwick Airport, a long flight and bus transfer, we already
looked beaten. We finally arrived at 1900hrs, the temperature
was still 27 degrees so all we wanted was our bed along with
an air conditioned room, but instead we settled for the bar, as
we knew we had an early start in the morning.
The expedition was 40 pax strong, so depending on our
previous experience we were broken into smaller groups.
Naturally I stayed with the beginners just so I could look after
them. There was a surprisingly large amount of theory to
cover along with a swim test and some written exams, we
even had homework! However, it wasn’t long until we were
in the water and practicing our new skills.
Throughout the trip many people overcame obstacles, both
physical and mental. All of the participants who tried came
away with a PADI qualification and are now able to dive
without an instructor down to 18m.
214 SIGNAL SQUADRON
OC
SSM
Maj S Bennet
WO2 (SSM) McDiarmid
Exercise PASHTUN PANTHER - by LCpl O’Hara
On 28 June, the Squadron took over the ICS responsibilities of
Ex PASHUTN PANTHER, supporting the training Battle Groups
on their CFX and FTX exercises. We were responsible for four
POPs and one site at Bodney Camp. The exercise allowed us
to test our drills and skills on similar equipment which we will
be using on our upcoming tour of Op HERRICK 19.
With summer finally arriving the equipment servers were
kicking out some heat, added to the fact that most of us were
sleeping under wriggly tin roofs, the comfort level was low.
Our saving grace came in the form of an open window, the
size of an A5 envelope allowing almost no wind to come
through. In true 214 Sig Sqn style we soldiered on.
Ironically for the whole of the exercise, we as members of the
Royal Corps of Signals had to face our toughest challenge yet,
no mobile phone reception. Different people managed to
overcome this in their own ways. For example Sig Smith 115
46
The 214 Sig Sqn dive team
The first dive was eventful and I managed to have a few dices
with death, in quite a short space of time. For example my
head nearly exploded as I couldn’t equalise and finally when I
reached the bottom of the sea bed I almost knelt on a Lion
Fish, the second most dangerous fish to get stung by in the
Red Sea. The initial dive was going great until we got out of
the sea and I realised I had burst my sinuses and snotted out a
cup full of blood. However, in true 214 Signal Squadron style,
I soldiered on and continued with our second dive, after some
well deserved lunch.
After passing our final exam, all the groups were now fully
qualified Open Water Divers. The whole expedition embarked
on a very fun boat ride, I say fun because I found it hilarious
watching quite a few of the guys struggling with the effects
of sea sickness. Once arriving at the dive site and dropping
the anchor, we spent the day diving around the beautiful
corals seeing lots of exotic fish and creatures.
To round the trip off we had a final group meal where the
York boys didn’t let us down and provided entertainment. All
in all this was a great trip and a very memorable experience, a
must if you are lucky enough to get the opportunity.
214 Signal Squadron Family BBQ - by LCpl Barker
On Saturday 20 July 2013, soldiers and their families of 214
Signal Squadron attended the family summer function,
organised by those who had not been part of Ex PASHTUN
PANTHER. The family BBQ was an ideal time for the Squadron
to relax in a neutral environment at the 2 Signal Regiment
welfare facility.
The MT section did a fantastic job of running the bar and a
budding Jamie Oliver, Cpl Dan Hale took great pride with the
hog roast. After watching the BBC’s Apprentice and trying to
emulate Lord Alan Sugar, Sig Chris Mee and Sig Steff Carson,
who ran the bar, decided there should be a surcharge for
providing cold cans of pop and beer…I’m not sure how
successful they were?!
The entertainment for the day took the form of different
sporting stands, such as the tin can ally, beat the keeper and a
very competitive wellie wanging competition. The stands
were run by members of both the Troops. LCpl Boyd from
Roman Troop, looking like the fresh Prince of Bell Aair, ran the
wellie wanging stand. Both Troop Commanders had a go and
as usual Roman Troop was obliterated by Saxon Troop. Lt
Alex Mitchell, who excelled in this activity, is now looking into
accreditation for wellie wanging as an official Army sport.
Towards the end of the day the Squadron OC made a speech
thanking the families for their support in the run up to Op
HERRICK 19. He also presented cheques to the 3 Squadron
charities, The Yorkshire Air Ambulance, the Army Benevolent
Fund and SANDS. After this, the much anticipated results
from the wellie wanging competition were announced. The
winner, LCpl Lee Day was so thrilled and proud of his
achievement he gave the OC a big hug, the runner up LCpl
Tim Nasilasila didn’t.
A thoroughly good time was had by all and we look forward
to the next Squadron social before we deploy on HERRICK 19.
220 SIGNAL SQUADRON
OC
SSM Maj Stowell
WO2 (SSM) Robertson
Exercise SCORPION EAGLE – by Sig Lowndes
In the first week of June 2013, 220 Signal Squadron took part
in a pre-deployment MATTs week, which covered all MATTs
ranging from 1 through to 9.
With the heat of a summers day blazing down on us the CBRN
scenarios became quite a testing phase of training, especially
when kitted out in 4R!
Also away from CBRN, at the CIED stand It was a good chance
for new Signallers to the Squadron like Sigs Peart, Todd,
Llewellyn and Crimmins to get their first ‘hands-on’ the
Valons used out in Theatre. These training exercises bring
home the importance of training to a high standard as part of
our pre-deployment period.
Overall my best part of the week was getting on the ranges
and scoring highly for my section. However, Sig Newton
proved himself to be a bit of a sniper taking 4 hours to zero.
The week ended with a Squadron social in the bar in which
awards were given out for both Best Section and Best Soldier.
Firstly, the Best Section award went to Cpl Andy Yeomans 2
Section, and finally Best Soldier went to Sig Parsons.
Lanyard Trophy – by LCpl Plumeret - Page
We were all well prepared for the arduous competition after
months of training around Colerne and also out of Warcop
camp in the surrounding training area where the competition
would take place. The build up training was headed up by
SSgt John Miller who gave every soldier wanting to take part
in the competition an ideal training regime to build them up
so that we were all ready to put in a good effort on the day.
The training was hard but progressive and without it the lads
and ladies of 21 Sigs would have been unprepared for the
horrendous 40 mile stroll over some disgusting terrain.
Three weeks before the event the majority of the soldiers
taking part in the competition made the long journey up to
Warcop camp to get in some final training and get some time
on their feet to get used to the ground they would be tabbing
across on the day. Up until this point every soldier taking part
had been training together but now it was time to pick the
teams. The Regiment put forward five teams to compete in
the competition including a female team and four male teams
which consisted of an A, B and C team and 43 (Wessex) Signal
Squadron, which the CO 21 Signal Regiment, Lt Col Aitken
would be competing with.
In the early hours of Saturday 8 June 2013 the men and
women of 21 Signal Regiment were preparing themselves for
a day of tabbing across the Pennines' and believe it or not
were all volunteers. There were some worried faces, Sig
Scott looked even more peculiar than usual and was doing his
usual pre tab flap! Nipple tape was being applied, feet were
taped up and everyone was doing last minute kit checks to
ensure they didn’t step off looking like cadets.
The sun beat week, which was jammed packed full of training
scenarios and practical lessons enabled both fresh faced
signallers and the experienced JNCOs to complete all their
MATTs in one single week. The MATTs package which was
produced by Sgt Louis Simpkins also allowed for some quality
pre-deployment training.
Key scenarios throughout the week included a MATT 3
scenario created by Cpl Andy Peters which incorporated
having a real time ‘NO PLAY’ amputee as one of the
casualties. This gave all the exercise personnel a sense of a
proper battlefield situation. The small details of having a real
time amputee can be the difference of good training and
outstanding training.
As well as completing the fitness tests, exercising troops were
in and out the gas chamber testing their new GSR respirators.
21 Sigs female team on the start line
47
Every team gathered at
the start line, which was a
couple of miles outside
Warcop camp, getting
their bergens weighed and
getting themselves ready
for the rest of what was
going to be a long day. A
random French team who
were also competing in
the competition were
getting prepared by have a
pre-tab smoke and
laughing at everyone else
stretching. They also
looked confused as to
why one of the other
teams was going for a jog
to warm their legs up.
possible for Oxfam. The
course consisted of a
gruelling 100km run over
the South Downs National
Park. Starting at the
Queen Elizabeth National
Park and finishing at
Brighton race course with
some horrendous hills in
between.
The team arrived Friday
evening to set up camp
and began race
preparations which
consisted of walking
around in our Skins
21SRAS Competitors - from Signaller to CO
Leggings and eating as
much pasta as we could
while discussing tactics for
the following day. As we made our way down to the start line
The horn sounded and the majority of the teams set off at a
the next morning we were greeted by the nervous faces of
ridiculous pace that would definitely not be continued for the
the other military teams. After some words of
first few hundred metres. It was clear from the start that the
encouragement from the Oxfam representative we were
A team would be a strong competitor for first place as they
under starter’s orders and awaiting the sound of the claxon.
were right at the front! The B Team had a strong start and
the RCMO, Capt Chay Hook, set the pace for the rest of the
After starting we found ourselves setting of at a rapid pace
team, which continued until the first hill. It was disgusting!
and looking down at my GPS watch I wondered if this would
As the morning progressed the temperature began to rise and
come back to haunt us later on…….(it did). As the sun was
the sun cream came out. I applied copious amounts to my
warming up around the 25km point the team was suddenly hit
bald head, which inevitably ended up in my eyes.
by leg cramps as soon as one member was stretched off and
ready to go again another member would be struck down
The day dragged on and by the half way point people were
rolling around while grabbing a calf or thigh which must have
starting to get tired. A pasta stop was exactly what everyone
looked rather amusing to the race organisers at the
competing needed! It was noted that the 21 Sigs A team were
checkpoints.
in second place and the 21 Sigs Female team were leading the
race in front of all the other competing women’s teams. As
After the 40km point the 30 degree heat gave way to
the day progressed everyone became less chatty and there
torrential thunderstorms so after a quick change into some
was a lot less banter going on.
wet kit at the next check point and drinking what seemed like
another 5 litres of PowerAde we were off again but our pace
had slowed rapidly. Shortly after we lost two members of our
team due to injuries and we were well and truly locked in the
hurt locker. Due to their only being two of us left we were
forced to join another team which were also depleted from
injury.
As we hobbled over the finish line the only thing that kept me
going was knowing my tent was closer than the ambulance
on the other side of the field. We managed to raise over
£1500 for charity and we probably spent the same amount
again on PowerAde and energy gels.
The A Team cross the finish line – an impressive 2nd place
It was a difficult day but all involved knew it would be. The
relief on the faces of everyone taking part was apparent.
Every team that 21 Sigs entered into the competition put in an
outstanding effort with the 21 A team finishing in 2nd place, 21
Sigs B team finishing in 6th place and both C and 43 Wessex
Signal Squadron both finishing the competition with
respectable times. The 21 Sigs female team put in an amazing
effort finishing first female team overall with a time of 12hrs
and gave the 21 Sigs B team a run for their money.
Trail-Walker 2013 – by Cpl Heyden
This July saw four members of 220 Signal Squadron take on
the 2013 Trail-Walker in order to raise as much money as
48
Happy faces at the start line (apart from Cpl Heyden!)
22nd SIGNAL REGIMENT
STAFFORD
CO
Lt Col LC Westerman
RSM WO1 (RSM) A Fraser
217 SIGNAL SQUADRON
OC SSM
Maj N Schurmann
WO2 J Stephenson
217 Sig Sqn Leadership Day in Alton - by Sig Abbott
After many exercises and much hard work, the OC finally
allowed us some time off to explore pastures closer to home.
Pastures obviously meant MLT to Cpl ‘distance’ Priestly, who
turned up in his Tom Sawyer outfit, to the amusement of the
Sqn. Shortly after the Sqn set off in search of Alton Castle.
We arrived, the big question……what ride first? Most
descended on to the brand new ride ‘Smiler’, and judging by
Sig Connelly’s smile from ear to ear it was well worth the 50
minute queue. We then spent the rest of the day going from
each of the main rides, ‘Nemesis’, ‘Air’, ‘Thirteen’, ‘Rita’ and
‘Nemesis Sub Tera’, apart from LCpl Daniels and Cpl Priestly
who obviously did not eat the same breakfast (Weetabix) as
the rest of us. As they could only manage the little log fume,
baby roller coaster, tea cups, merry go round, ice cream van
and getting lost on a hike around the grounds of the castle.
Overall it was a fantastic day out, and once back onto the mini
bus and heading home, the Sqn’s morale improved greatly!
Exercise DRAGON CENTAUR HADRIAN - by Sig Rogerson
Finally a break between exercises 22SR, 217 SQN are ready and
raring to start a week on AT.
Earphones in and heads down as the long drive up North
began, on arrival into the centre of Carlisle we were dropped
off at the castle near the town centre, split into 2 groups
given maps and compasses and told ‘have a nice day walking‘
by the admin team as they drove off to set up camp.
Team 1, led by LCpl Robinson set off 15 minutes in front of
team 2 which was led by LCpl Glasgow. Five hours later and
16km further, both teams finally arrived at camp where the
smell of the BBQ’d food cooked by 22SR, 217 Sqn’s very own
Jamie Oliver (SSgt Marlborough) was a delicacy. After which
we got to sample the night life of nearby Brampton.
At the Discovery Centre
When we arrived, after the longest drive ever by Sig Green
(even though he followed the Sat Nav which apparently was
the shortest route?) we disembarked for the highlight of the
day ‘Alton Castle’. Cpl ‘Ray Mears’ Crossfield’s explanation
of the medieval castle was extremely well received by all in
the Sqn. Not only did he explain, but his enactments were
very true to life. You could say he is a reincarnated Altonion?
Once we took the standard cheesy photos, we then moved
location to Alton Towers Castle.
At 06:30 we were woken up to the smell of bacon and
sausages which got every one up quickly to start a long day’s
walk. This was the first day we saw some remains of
Hadrian’s Wall and a couple of the towers. We finished our
walk at the remains of a castle, thankfully not to far away
from a pub so we could refresh ourselves.
On awakening on the next day this was the day we were
looking forward to the most starting with the Roman Army
museum where we learnt more about the wall and why it was
there. After a spot of lunch we then travelled to Kielder
reservoir where we took part in a high wire course, where
there was a king swing, a leap of faith and Jacobs’s ladder. A
lot of terrified faces (Cpl Debendra, Sig Taylor) but with the
support of everyone they managed to complete it. Jacobs’s
ladder was an obstacle where the logs got higher and higher
so you were forced to help each other to get up, it helped
build trust with your fellow team mates.
Thursday was the final day walking but the furthest to walk
with plenty of hills to get over and the weather finally coming
in. This was the day we saw most of the wall. After visiting
the museum the previous day people were finally
understanding why we where there. By the end of the day
every one was tired but looking forward to the ‘cultural visit’
to Newcastle where we congratulated Cpl Debendra and Cpl
Thomas on their promotion.
At the castle
Being new in the Regiment this trip was a great experience
for me to get to know some more people from the Sqn and I
thoroughly enjoyed myself and was a great experience. I am
definitely going on the next available AT either to walk the
wall or to doing something different.
49
217 Sig Sqn in Parliament - by Cpl Elliot (MT guru)
Led by our illustrious leader SSgt ‘Prime Minister’ Sim, off we
went to visit David Cameron in the House of Parliament. After
a lengthy drive and a lack of packed lunches we arrived hot
and hungry and proceeded straight to COSTA coffee. David
Cameron wasn’t going to be happy as we were now five
minutes late.
done to LCpl Price, Sig Smith and Sig DeSilva. In between
each act we had a number of awards to be won and all Sqn
personnel were eager to win, however unfortunately their
can only be one winner, they were:
Golden Blanket Award – Lt Owens (just beat SSgt
Graham)
Best Haircut Award – LCpl Parker (RSMs favourite)
Invisible Man Award – SSgt Graham
Admin Vortex Award – Cpl Hutch followed by SSgt
Marlborough
Gangster Award – SSgt Sim
Face Fits Award – 22SR Football team
Joker Award – LCpl Magee
By The Book Award – Sgt Cunington
217 Best Worker Award – LCpl Daniels
We finally arrived at the pit stop expertly driven in by LCpl
‘Stig’ Tularam who dropped us at the door and to our surprise
David Cameron was late and we were met by a lovely tour
guide called Elizabeth. Apparently she built the buildings in
1840. David Cameron was still nowhere to be seen.
The tour began and we shuffled through the chambers, taking
in famous battles and learning the history behind Parliament.
After two hours and exhausted by our learning experience we
noticed a well dressed figure approaching our location. Was
this the moment we met David. ‘No’ it was Sgt ‘I have been
looking for you everywhere’ Grix who had apparently
ordered another iced latte.
Elizabeth said her goodbyes and we proceeded to take our
own tour, delighting at all the plaques indicating great events
in our history.
We did however think we met Daniel Craig who was stood
outside near Big Ben. Since then and after further
investigation into the photograph, it appeared to be WO2
(SSM) ‘I still have hair’ Stephenson.
Thanks must go to SSgt Sim for another brilliant day out and
a wonderful meal at the end of the day cooked magnificently
by his better half.
Prior to the main event “Critterish Allsorts” produced an
exciting and scare fest for some by showing and talking about
a range of different animals from the adorable chinchilla to
the frightful spider!! Point to self, don’t ask Sig Green to
move spiders from your house. We also had the bar open,
which all SNCO’s and above didn’t move from, Sgt Bastow!!!!!
A hot buffet, a number of children’s activities in which we had
volunteers to help with, the classic bouncy castle and of
course the raffle with 22 prizes to be won, all the money
raised was donated to Royal Signals Association.
217 children meet an angry crocodile
When the evening drew to a close, all left happy and smiling.
222 SIGNAL SQUADRON
OC SSM
217 Sig Sqn visit Parliament
217 Sig Sqn Families Summer Function - by Cpl Crosfield
I, Cpl Wayne Crosfield was tasked to organise the 217 Summer
Function held on Wednesday 10 July in Fraggers. Having
experienced many functions before I wanted to make this one
more memorable and family orientated.
At my disposal I had an enthusiastic bunch of lads to work
with LCpl Gill (2ic), Sig McDonald (Prizes on me) Sig Connelly
(Supersonic DJ) and Sig Amir (No job to small). After hours
of discussions we had decided on the theme, location, dress
etc. Our main event for the evening was “217 Got Talent and
Awards night” and each Troop was tasked to arrange an act
to perform on the night and we weren’t disappointed. MT
performed the Gangnam style dance, A Tp sang a song with
acoustic guitar in Nepalese, B Tp performed a striptease and
boy band song and C Tp showed us their dance moves by a
dance off. From a personnel perspective, and the crowd
going wild, B Tps act was the most entertaining, a huge well
50
Maj H Frost
WO2 Finn
In the run up to Summer Leave, the Sqn has seen the OC and
SSM depart – best of luck to Maj Oli Dinnis and WO2 Billy
King in their new postings. There are some notable new
arrivals in the shape of a new Sqn OC, Maj Hannah Frost a
new SSM (plucked from India Troop) WO2 Scotty Finn. Also a
new FofS, SSgt Sam Richards and Golf Troop welcomes a new
member, Sgt Dave Morgan.
The Sqn has now completed the FALCON set to work period,
much to the relief of those involved and is currently in the
process of handing over the vehicles and personnel to the
rest of the Regiment, ready to see FALCON support the HQ
ARRC exercises, as this now seems to be right around the
corner. Members of the Sqn also received a well deserved
break and were able to get away to Inverness to conduct a
multi activity package in the Cairngorms. The weather was
excellent and everyone who took part enjoyed themselves.
Exercise RANGER DRAGON - by 2Lt P Malan
Ex RANGER DRAGON saw members of the Sqn deploy
unsociably early on a Sunday morning to make the seven hour
Rock climbing took place on the Kingussie crags which was
very quiet due to the fact that it is not in any rock climbing
guide, but allowed for some excellent climbing opportunities
and Sig ‘Scouse’ McPhillips to demonstrate his Spiderman
abilities. The week wasn’t all work and guys did manage to
take part in a cultural visit to Johnny Foxes in town and
mingle with the local wildlife of Inverness.
Exercise FREE FLIGHT - by 2Lt D Irons
Sig McPhillips enjoys the sun from his kayak
drive up to Inverness for a Multi Activity week. Despite the
weather not normally being favourable at any time of the year
in this part of the country, we were all pleasantly surprised
and those of fairer complexion i.e. Cpl Steane had to ensure
that they did not burn alive in the glorious Scottish sun.
The week was split down into three parts and allowed all to
sample various different aspects of AT. These were rock
climbing, kayaking and hill walking. The kayaking took place
on the beautiful Loch Morlich under the watchful eye of Sgt
‘Smudgy’ Smith. All had ample opportunity to take to the
water and try their paddling skills as well get each other wet
during the games that were instigated or by simply tipping
each others boats.
Groups also walked to the peak of Cairngorm and took in the
beautiful views of the national park. These were led by SSgt
‘Jay’ Jennings who also gave deeply insightful talks on the
local moss in the area and demonstrated Naismith’s rule
exceptionally well by getting to the top in half the time
expected, although Sig Cooper did point this out on more
than one occasion. At the end of each walk many took to the
lake to cool off after a long stroll, but many forgot that the
water was fresh off the Highland hills and despite the warm
weather was still very cold.
Ex FREE FLIGHT marked the final hurdle in 22 Signal
Regiment’s journey through the FALTAT process. Following
the successful integration of Magpie and Falcon on Ex LONG
LEASH, the aim of Ex FREE FLIGHT was to build the CJOC, a
representative cell from ARRC Main Headquarters, and
further integrate ARRC ICS equipment, including Wonderwall
and IP VTC. The initial build of the headquarters went
smoothly; by the end of day 1, Hanger 6 was already looking
like a headquarters thanks to excellent support from the
Regimental Generator Bay and Cpl Gooding’s team of
Installation Technicians. Throughout the rest of the week the
installation crews of those detachments providing the
headquarters wrestled to deploy and test their LAS plans
affronted by a barrage of faults which continuously cropped
up. Overwhelmed by the continuous persistence of both the
day and night shifts, the onslaught of faults ceased and by the
Tuesday of week 2 only cosmetic adjustments remained to be
ready for the Staff Readiness Check on Wednesday. What
followed was a long night of interior design for all, initiated by
the “queer eye” of SSgt (YofS) Muirhead. The headquarters
went down a storm, and following a closing address by the
new Sqn OC, tear down began at an impressive rate.
All that remained was for FALTAT Tp to disband and the
detachments and their crew to return to their parent
Squadrons, weary after 4 months hard graft, but much the
wiser and in a good position to spur on the development of
the Falcon capability within the Regiment.
OC SSM
Maj JS Jones
WO2 (SSM) Autar
Exercise KHUKURI WESTON - by LCpl Sanjoyhang
EX KHUKURI WESTON 1/13 was held in Swynnerton training
camp from 7 to 12 July 2013. While most people were heading
towards the beach and supermarket to get charcoal for the
BBQ, 248 Gurkha Signal Squadron were deployed to
Swynnerton for their MATT Week. The aim of the exercise
was to conduct MATT training and also run the inter-Troop
OC’s Challenge to identify the best Troop in Squadron. The
location provided suitable opportunities for the Squadron to
run the MATT camp away from the draw of Regimental
duties.
Upon arrival, after a quick familiarisation of the camp by Sgt
Narantak, all Squadron personnel went through their WHT
and Navigation theory test as a preparation for their ACMT
and Navigational practical test during the week. Next day all
personnel travelled to Kingsbury ranges to go through the
G&Z prior to the ACMT. Whilst the RCO, Sgt Amritman, and
his safety supervisors were running the range, Cpl Barun
assisted by LCpl Nauraj took the BCDT/BLS as a concurrent
activity. An exemplary demonstration to the junior ranks and
their counterparts, Sgt Rudra achieved best shot of the day,
dropping just one shot. Once everyone recovered back to the
camp, the evening involved classroom based MATT serials.
LCpl Nicole looks on as Cpl Bailey enjoys a climb
Tuesday started with a 1.5 mile inter-Troop March and Shoot
competition at Kingsbury ranges. The hot weather,
undulating terrain and the run with 15kg of weight tested the
51
Exercise KHUKRI CLASS
- by Sig Sandesh Lama and Sig Reban Rai
On the morning of 18 June 13, ten members of 248 GSS,
including November Troop OC Capt McEvoy set off on the 4-5
hrs trip to London for the start of Ex KHUKRI CLASS. It was a
managerial and initiative development Exercise and a cultural
awareness tour run over the period 18 - 21 June 13.
The aim of this Exercise was to develop problem solving
abilities throughout 248 GSS in order to prepare soldiers for
dealing with unusual and unfamiliar tasks which they would
have to rely on their wit and initiative to solve.
November Troop going for the best time
mental and physical robustness of everyone; however the
encouragement from seniors and teamwork played a vital role
during the march. The shooting of the falling plates was a
new experience for some of the members of the Squadron
but it was a worthwhile experience. With good efforts by all
of the Troops, November Troop was the overall winner.
On Wednesday morning SSgt Subaraj conducted a Military
skills test as part of the OC’s challenge where Lima Tp
achieved high marks and secured the top spot. The next
challenge was PFA1 which was also a part of the OC’s
challenge. With the Squadron OC, Maj Jones running
together with the whole of the Squadron, it wasn’t going to
be a pleasant run for some members, but with the push and
encouragement from the Squadron OC, everybody scored a
very decent score and the result was a 100% pass. With the
highest average score from the whole of the Troop, Lima
Troop secured another top score on the event. Lima Troop
maintained their winning streak by winning the next challenge
of Orienteering which was successfully conducted by Cpl
Tejman. All the Squadron members were keen and eager to
contribute towards the overall score for the Troop. Sig
Sandesh, a role model to all the signallers got the fastest time
with all the check points.
Thursday morning started with the AFT; no doubt the pace
and the route were praised by most of the members of the
Squadron, and every single soldier crossed the line with a
smile on their face. Once the entire classroom based MATT
lessons were finished, all the Squadron personnel enjoyed the
rest of the afternoon with the Squadron smoker BBQ
courtesy of SQMS SSgt Subaraj. The BBQ was the morale
booster to the whole of the Squadron. Out of nowhere there
was an inter-Troop volleyball challenge where everyone saw
how rubbish the Troop OCs can be in volleyball. But with a
little bit of practice and hands on the Squadron OC did prove
height can be an advantage. The BBQ allowed everyone to
relax after a long hard week. At the end of the programme
the Squadron OC called out the score of the results for all the
events and the position for each Troop. With all the effort
and hard work Lima Troop were crowned the champion
Troop. Having just arrived on the Squadron, Lima’s new SSgt,
SSgt Ashok was well impressed with the result and the effort
put in by the members of the Troop.
Overall it has been a great week where all Squadron
personnel were mentally and physically tested. Each and
every member of the Squadron put in a great effort and a
bigger credit goes to the instructors and the exercise
co-ordinator WO2 (SSM) Autar for running such a unique
event and allowing the Squadron personnel to complete their
MATTs as well as giving them the opportunity for personal
development.
Jai Queens Gurkha Signals.
52
Over the Exercise period we were based at RAF Northolt
where we got handed our accommodation for the time being.
After an ill-advised attempt to drive our minibus through
London, where we saw all number of landmarks we hadn’t
intended to, we all headed for dinner and received a briefing
on the week’s activities. We were divided into three groups
of three members of varying ranks.
The next day we
headed through the
train service to
Trafalgar Square, a
public space and
tourist attraction in
central London. At
1000hrs Capt
McEvoy gave us a
series of 43 tasks to
complete in a set
time period where
we also had to bring
at
least one
LCpl Keshav gives a makeover.
photograph of each
task delivered for
proof. The tasks were to be completed no later than 1800hrs
in the evening and we had to be back in time at the same
place where we started.
As our day passed, it became pretty hectic with the constant
heat and trying to finish on time. Initially we were quite slow
in completing the tasks as we only managed to get 8 done
before 1300hrs. As the time was moving on we headed over
to a Thai restaurant as LCpl Keshav had managed to get us all
free meals - what a LEGEND! Slowly we picked up speed and
once we got our momentum, it was time for the race and
time to put our individual skills to the test. Interaction with
the local people was the main key for the successful
completion of this Exercise, as we had to make sure that they
were clear about our intentions and the purpose of their
involvement. Some of the tasks given were; ‘’Get above
fifteen stories’’, ’’Help
someone with their
shopping,‘’ ‘’Meet a
rockstar’’ and so on. One of
the tasks was to feed some
pigeons with a picture taken
as proof and, somehow, we
realised that certain things
are not there when you need
it. We did find some
eventually and tried our best
not to scare them away,
although we did become a
centre of attraction for the
general public for a while.
At the end of the day, we
almost managed to
complete all the tasks given
Sig Sandesh gets a new look
and returned to Trafalgar Square where we had commenced
our journey earlier that morning. After all the groups arrived
McEvoy Saheb gave us a short brief and then we went for a
dinner where he also analysed each group’s task completion
list. It was a long day; however it felt like the effort was paid
off when we looked at the photographs which were very
interesting and funny.
During the Exercise, we had also an opportunity to immerse
ourselves in the rich culture of the surrounding area, with
several trips around London to visit the ever impressive
National Army Museum (NAM), the Houses of Parliament and
the Science Museum where we learned many interesting
things. We had a chance to get inside Parliament where we
encountered the chambers of The House of Lords and
Commons. Similarly, we had a chance to explore the
evolution of firearms in the NAM. It was really interesting to
learn the history of how weapons and wars started from the
early human civilisations. From wooden sticks to swords and
to rifles, every revolution had lots of changes and adaptations
to the changing world. We also learnt about the histories of
the early rulers of England and how they laid the foundations
for and developed the British Empire in its formative years.
We finished the tour inside the Science Museum where we
wandered through the exhibition which was huge and hosted
a lot of interesting material.
All in all I have had a fantastic time on this Exercise. All of the
events were fun and something new to learn at the same
time. The Exercise was extremely worthwhile, informative
and enlightening and we would definitely encourage others
to participate in a similar exercise in the future.
Brize Norton to Solenzara after being delayed for a few hours.
The second group were fortunate as they had a comfortable
civilian flight from Birmingham to Bastia.
The third phase of AD13 was to start exercising the FWD CP
and ECCP over the period 17 to 21 June. All the services were
maintained by 248 personnel with the users consulting us for
any problems. The final phase of Deployex 13 was the
recovery phase which included a controlled close down of the
services and recovery to Innsworth and Stafford after the
completion of all phases. It included packing of all our kit and
the recovery of all personnel.
In conclusion, it was a whole new experience for all of us. We
managed to make our way towards the beach and relaxation
after long hard days of work. As a morale booster, a BBQ was
organised which everyone thoroughly enjoyed. There were
times when we had to work long hours solving some
problems but we managed to provide the services effectively
and efficiently. As a junior member of the Troop, it was a very
interesting time for me and I look forward to being part of
such exercises in future to gain more experience.
Jai QG SIGNALS!
Trailwalker 13 - by Capt Sam McEvoy
This year, the annual Trailwalker competition was held over 27
– 28 Jul 13. For those not in the know, Trailwalker is a
competition run to raise money for the Gurkha Welfare Trust
and Oxfam, and involves a team of four having to cover
100km in 30 hours over the South Downs.
Jai Queen’s Gurkha Signals!
Exercise ARRCADE DEPLOYEX 2013 - by Sig Sandeep Gurung
It was starting to get warm in the UK when 248 Gurkha Signal
Squadron (GSS) was about to deploy for an exercise led by
Lima Troop in Corsica. Corsica is a small island at the tail of
France which is full of natural beauties with lots of beautiful
mountains, rivers, lakes and stunning beaches.
The main intent of OC 248 GSS was to enable deploying ARRC
staff in support of AD13 by providing a robust CIS network
with redundancy, ICS IAW the NER with comprehensive RLS
coordination and forward thinking service delivery. The main
effort of the 248 Deploy Team was to provide MS FAS services
to all staff users. In order to run smoothly, the Exercise was
divided into four phases.
The first phase was the preparation phase which took place
from 29 April to 30 May in Beacon Bks. During this phase, all
the equipment was tested and prepared, checking their
functionality in order to provide services to the users. Deploy
and build was the second phase where most of the
equipment was deployed on freight through road movement
to Corsica on 27 May. The 248 Deployex personnel were
deployed in two groups. The first group flew on C17 from
The deployed members in between beach visits
TW Team - happy at the start
The criteria for entering a team is simple – you simply need a
team of four, an admin party of two to administer the team,
and a lack of common sense. It was because of this that 22
Sigs managed to enter five teams – 252 Sig Sqn, a Veterans
team, and three from the Regiment itself – X-Ray, Yankee and
Zulu. Training had begun several months before, safe in the
knowledge that the event was still a very long way away.
Training was beset with some difficulties such as exercises
and courses getting in the way, but the major drama was the
main driving force behind the Vets team, Maj McCreath,
getting run over and breaking his arm. Rumours of the Vets
team driving the car are currently unconfirmed.
The teams deployed on the Friday beforehand, and arrived at
what appeared to be Glastonbury, with tents all over the
place and all sorts of weird and wonderful characters around.
We also had a surprise addition to the team, Sig ‘Satnav’
Sanam, who had volunteered on the Wednesday and done a
training run on the Thursday, and was going for his hat-trick.
We bedded down for the night and waited for the morning
with nervous anticipation and outright dread.
53
The morning arrived and we arranged ourselves for the start
time of 0800. We were understandably nervous, but overall
we just wanted to get started and get it done. At 0800 we
were released by the Master of Signals, and the timers on the
watches began for what would be the long slog. Trailwalker
is a mix that has mindsets based on taking a plaster off
(something that would become very relatable later on).
There are us, the runners, who just want to get the 100km out
of the way and done with, and then there are the walkers,
who will take close to the 30 hours to complete. Trailwalker
starts easily, and you can pass many people and get some
morale. We quickly started adding up checkpoints in the
glorious sun, and all was going well until CP4, where the sun
began to take its toll and the Swedish blonde masseuse that
Capt Surendra had promised failed to appear. The road to
CP5 was saved by the approaching thunderstorm that started
to rain on us, cooling us down and allowing us to continue.
This caused extra problems however in terms of feet, with
blisters getting worse and the thunderstorm becoming a
torrential downpour by CP7 that had rivers going down the
streets. The road to CP5 was also where we got slightly
geographically embarrassed because of a dodgy sign, and also
because we didn’t listen to Sig Sanam. It was up to Sgt Gus
Hopkinson to get us back on track. Lesson learnt, we quickly
put Sig Sanam in the front and continued.
It was around CP7 that bodies began to pack up, and, while
the hot meal provided some much needed morale, people
were beginning to flag. It had truly become an endurance
event by this point, and conversations turned to interesting
topics like feet, which bits of people were hurting the most
and the distinct lack of Vaseline that had been applied to
those areas, and the perennial topic of why the place was
called the South Downs when it only ever seemed to go up.
Our team had turned to a group of walkers at this point, and
we were aware that time was adding up and our pace slowing
down.
Even my watch had given up at this point, having counted out
55km travelled and deciding this was far enough. The team
agreed with this assessment, but secretly seemed quite
pleased that I could no longer announce every time we
passed a kilometre. It was also here that we learned that
YofS Burrell should definitely not be allowed to nav, after his
promise of ‘that next checkpoint looks quite far away, but it’s
not, it’s less than a mile’ took us about an hour to get to.
quickly, but then found ourselves on the longest 5km of our
lives to the finish point. This 5km simply never stopped and
we finally saw the finish line hove into view at just after 18hrs
and 100km of our lives. Any suggestion of sprinting / running /
slow jogging over the line was swiftly shot down by all
concerned, and we crossed safe in the knowledge that we
never wanted to do that again.
Trailwalker was actually a lot of fun and is a worthwhile
experience to do. Special thanks must go to Lt Holmstrom
and Sgt Kez Hopkinson for their admin support, who we
would have been completely lost without. They had to see
some horrible things (feet) and patched us up extremely well.
While definitely a ‘grizz’, Trailwalker should be done at least/a
maximum of once, and is a definite tick in the box to look
back on.
252 SIGNAL SQUADRON
OC SSM
Maj AB Arthurton
WO2 (SSM) AP Williams
Exercise HONG KONG DRAGON - by LCpl Assuon
It’s always good to leave your working environment and do
something different and challenging outside your comfort
zone. Doing this will help exhibit individual leadership skills
and the qualities necessary to enhance the performance of
military personal of the 21st century during peace or war.
On Monday 10 June 2013, 252 (Hong Kong) Signal Squadron
embarked on 5 days of various adventurous training activities
at Okehampton in Devon. The activities consisted of surfing,
coasteering, mountain biking and coastal walking. We all set
off from Innsworth camp and after about three and half hours
drive we finally made it to Okehampton training camp. Sgt
McGinn, the exercise organiser, was there to welcome us. We
had the usual arrival brief and went on to sign for our
accommodation which was a 30 man room. The day was still
young so we headed off to Okehampton town for some ‘team
building’ activities. Later that night we met in the camp
NAAFI where I organised a pub quiz. Surprisingly (!), the SSM,
WO2 Williams’ team which included LCpl Adeoti and LCpl
Yebuah, came out on top.
CP9 was the final admin push, and involved Lt ‘Florence’
Holmstrom training for a future career in nursing by
bandaging up my feet while the CO took pictures. Knowing
this was the final push we set off at a blistering pace
(unfortunately, literally). We covered the 5km to CP10 fairly
Posing on Fistral beach
The next day, we drove to Fistral beach near Newquay for a
two and a half hour session of surfing. Though the
temperature was 21oC, the sea was really cold! None of us
had ever surfed before, so there was constant tripping and
falling over. I could not stop laughing!
What feet! – Trailwalker – a truly magnificent feat
54
The second half of the day was coasteering in Newquay. This
was my favourite because it included swimming, climbing and
jumping. Nearly everyone overcame their fears and managed
the 30 foot jump without hesitation.
SSgt Kelly, Sig Morris and Sig Ray building their raft
All the gear, no idea!
Coastal walking was the last activity for the week. It was led
by SSgt Peake in the Newquay area. The temperature
throughout the day was really hot and after navigating for 12
miles we ended up at the sea shore to rest and swim. Overall,
everybody enjoyed themselves and has got a story to tell!
After rivalry on the water and some tactical cheating by both
teams, team two had a good lead from the start and won the
race. To give the losing team chance to redeem themselves
from their defeat the organisers set a challenge on who could
dismantle the rafts the quickest. It was fair to say that team
one already had an advantage with a damaged raft won,
which meant that each team had to do a forfeit by selecting a
member from the other team to chuck into the lake. LCpl
Assoun and LCpl Yebuah were the unlucky ones and went for
a dip. After the team building task everyone chilled out on
the man made beach with some ice cream enjoying the hot
weather and played some water rugby.
Inter-Unit Rounders Tournament - by Cpl Jelf
SUPPORT SQUADRON
Cpl Ingledew-Harteveldt had put together a team to compete
in the Inter-Corps Unit Rounders Competition, held in York on
9 July. As the unit champions, following last year’s success, 22
Signal Regiment were keen to retain their crown; the team’s
spirits were high and focused on the win. Having played
some close, hard-fought matches, 22 Signal Regiment found
themselves facing off against 2 Signal Regiment in the final.
With both teams having won all their previous matches, the
final was to consist of two innings. After some top-quality
and competitive play, 2 Signal Regiment emerged the victors
by just half a rounder. Well done to them and needless to say
we look forward to challenging for the title next year! Finally,
well done to Cpl Ingledew-Harteveldt who was the
tournament’s second highest scorer.
OC SSM
On the Wednesday we headed up to Dartmoor area which
was about 45mins drive to do some mountain biking, led and
instructed by Sgt Green. The route was more uphill than
downhill and very difficult and challenging. We stopped for
lunch and also got the opportunity to chat with some of the
locals.
Exercise HONG KONG SILVER - by Sig Ray
On Friday 19 July, 252 Sqn took the opportunity of an ARRC
HQ stand down for some team building in the Cotswolds
water park. We started the morning by being split up into
two teams and tasked with building a raft. Each team was
given four barrels, six planks, a couple of paddles and some
rope. We were also all issued with a ‘one size fits all’ helmet.
After seeing LCpl Ord attempt to squeeze one on to his
massive head, Cpl Dunn labelled it ‘One size Fits Ord’. In
addition to this each team were given a set of orders which
they had to follow. The orders explained the task which
involved carrying packages across one of the lakes. But there
was a twist as certain packages could not be carried or left
with other packages; if these rules were broken the task
would be reset to the beginning. We were given five minutes
to plan how to build the raft and discuss tactics and then
given fifty minutes to build the raft. Both teams got stuck
into the task and constructed rafts with different designs and
when testing them on the lake, they both floated and
appeared to look sturdy. However, shortly after the race set
off, team one got into trouble as their barrels became loose
which meant that Cpl Breese, LCpl Carroll and LCpl Ross
could not sit on the raft and had to swim along beside it.
Maj J Renshaw
WO2 (SSM) Marshall
Sp Sqn has had yet another busy period, providing the
necessary support to the field Sqns but also providing MATTs
training, CLM, and Military Training to the Regiment. During
this period we have run a Sqn MATTs week in order to get
ahead of the game; a Regimental Battle camp delivering a
high level of military training aimed at improving our soldiers
across the whole plethora of scenarios facing them on the
modern battlefield and a Sqn level Mil Skills exercise to ensure
all soldiers from the Sqn were captured and developed.
Over this time we have had some new arrivals in the form of
Sgt Melia into Regimental Ops, Sig Taylor into the QM(T)
Dept, Sigs Beech, Holmes and Ofari-Koranteng to the Regt’l
MT. The following have left the Sqn on posting, Sig Agar
QM(T) and Sig Davies MT, both promoted on posting and Sigs
Ashton and Flowers who were made redundant as part of
tranche 2 redundancy.
We look forward to a very demanding exercise period, which
will see the Sqn move up a gear in supporting the Regt over a
number of ARRC exercises conducted in RAF St Mawgan. This
promises to be a busy and challenging 3 months which will
see us providing support over some 260 miles across the
country on a daily basis. Go to it!
Exercise HOPTON STAFFORD
This years Regimental Battle camp was scheduled to take
place on Sennybridge Training Area on 7 May 13. The exercise
was split into two 5 day blocks concentrating on low level
Infantry skills at section level with an introduction to
operating as part of a platoon. As the phrase “contingency
operations” is the main focus for us all it was decided to go
back to basics and move away from FOB based scenarios and
focus on operating from Plt harbours.
55
The first full day of the exercise saw the
return to the Sennybridge weather system
that didn’t disappoint for the rest of the
week. The next two days saw the troops
rotate through a series of Battle Lessons
(FIBUA, BCD, Section Attack and Platoon
Attack) and Battle Exercises confirming what
had been taught on the BLs. The morning of
day 3 saw the troops in an FUP around Bivvy
Area 2 and at 0900hrs they crossed the line of
departure into battle to take Celini Village, or
a section of at the very least.
Sp Sqn arriving on Leek Trg Area – CH47, the only way to travel!
Once securing an area of the village the
had been taken outside of their comfort zones and
Platoon moved into over watch where each
developed. All in all, it had been a challenging but rewarding
section rolled through a section in defence shoot to fend off
week delivered in a manner which all soldiers responded to
any probing enemy attacks.
well and there is no doubt it was beneficial for us all.
Exercise HOPTON SUSTAIN - by Cpl Bates
MT
After months of planning and fine tuning Sp Sqn got the
The MTWO, WO2 Kennaugh, has been focussed on improving
green light for what promised to be a demanding but
road safety and sustainable transport on MOD Stafford,
rewarding week of low level military training. The exercise
working closely with Stafford Council as well as the
was designed to develop all soldiers within Sp Sqn from
Staffordshire Constabulary. As part of the new road safety
Signaller to SNCO and to put people outside their comfort
initiative, the MT has hosted a Safe and Skilled Driving
zones with the necessary tools to cope with the whole variety
competition as well as a Bike Safe hosted by the County’s
of situations that are seen on the modern battlefield.
Police motorcycle officers. This was a great success and a lot
of useful information was imparted to the riders in
At this point we were promised by WO2 (SSM) Marshall that
attendance. The recent Station Health fair became an
a CH47 was inbound to deploy us to Leek Training area. With
excellent launch pad for the MT to launch the new Drink
3 x MAN (SV) ready to roll we couldn’t help but think he was
Driving campaign and Sig Beech did a first class job hosting a
having our pants down. Moments after we practiced our
stand offering soldiers the opportunity to drive a car whilst
emplaning drills, the CH47 arrived. After a short flight
under the influence of alcohol. Luckily the car was only
hugging the contours from Stafford to Leek we were
remote controlled and the alcohol was simulated by wearing
touching down and were moving into all round defence; the
a pair of beer goggles. The stand was followed up a day later
exercise had started.
by an inspirational, hard hitting presentation called the CRASH
COURSE which was delivered by an external team from
Over the next 48 hours we rolled through a number of battle
Staffordshire Police and Fire Service. Needless to say
lessons and battle exercises delivered by WO2 Marshall, Sgt
excellent praise was received and some tears were shed by
Parry and Sgt White which developed our individual
those in attendance.
soldiering skills as well as providing us with the necessary
knowledge of the grouping system.
On a lighter side the last few months have seen LCpl Mechan
deployed to Kenya and Jordan training local nationals to drive
Day 3 saw us deploy into a harbour location. Once we were
military vehicles (scary stuff as he stated). In May, the
established and well into harbour routine we received a
MTWO, Cpl Stott and Sig Anthony deployed on Ex DRAGON
warning order to prepare for a platoon level advance to
COYOTE to the USA to trek the Grand Canyon and Yosemite
contact to destroy all enemy within our AOR. We collapsed
mountain range as well as a brief period of gambling in Las
the harbour and set off in the early hours to the FUP. Spirits
Vegas. The remainder of the MT have all gone on AT in either
were high as we were all looking forward to putting our
Wales or Cyprus, offering a great opportunity to let their hair
soldiering skills to the test and implementing the new skills
down (what little hair they have left).
we had been taught earlier in the week. Under the direction
from the SSM as Plt Comd, Cpl Stott’s section was the lead
section who initiated the contact,
suppressing the enemy with a high
rate of fire and utilising his FSG to
good effect; calling in mortar fire to
keep the enemy pinned down. The
attack was then carried out by Cpl
Bates’ section who smashed
through the enemy position taking
up a good aggressive posture to
allow his section to re-group. The
attack carried on up the valley over
the next 4 hours, during which time
we were able to utilise the cover
offered by the main river to good
effect. The FSG was called upon
throughout the attack to suppress
the enemy with both mortar fire and
HMG.
The week had been challenging and
educational. Soldiers at all levels
56
The deployed element of Sp Sqn
BRAMCOTE
CO
RSM
Lt Col NM Stokoe
WO1 (RSM) A Stechfield
The summer posting plot has led to big changes in 30 Signal
Regiment, as we bid a fond farewell to Lt Col Watts at the
beginning of May and welcomed Lt Col Stokoe in July as the
Commanding Officer 30 Sig Regt and Commander QG Signals.
Well done to the Regtl 2IC, Maj Rook who had the hand on
the tiller of HMS Gamecock in the intervening months.
Farewell also to the Regt Ops Officer, Maj Rose; the Adjutant,
Capt Cox and TOT, Capt Clarke all moving on from RHQ over
the Summer.
244 SIGNAL SQUADRON
OC
SSM
Maj J Snelgrove
WO2 (SSM) D Seymour
followed the Beating the Retreat, again entertained by the
Corps Band. In all, the day was a fine end to 21 Signal
Regiment (Air Support)’s command of 244 Signal Squadron
and the Squadron now looks towards 30 Signal Regiment as
we continue supporting JHC worldwide.
BRAVO TROOP
Op HERRICK - by Lt Bensaid
Bravo Troop is currently deployed on Op HERRICK under the
command of Lt Chloe Bensaid, since Mar 13. The 13 troops,
along with 9 Army Air Corps colleagues, work to support Task
Force Jaguar, the deployed British helicopter force located in
Camp Bastion. LCpl Wan will be leaving us slightly early in
anticipation of the birth of his first child - congratulations in
advance from all in the Troop.
This month, 244 Signal Squadron said a fond farewell to 21
Signal Regiment (Air Support); on 1 Jul 13 the Squadron
re-subordinated to 30 Signal Regiment. This historic change
of command was marked by a parade on Azimghur Barracks.
Meanwhile the pace of operational and exercise tasks in
support of Joint Helicopter Command has remained high.
Bravo Troop are fast approaching their end of tour in
Afghanistan, soon to be replaced by India Troop, led by Lt
Keddie. Delta Troop, under Lt Swatridge has been heavily
committed to supporting JHC exercises in Jordan and will
remain there until later this year.
244 Signal Squadron Re-subordination Parade
- by Capt Brinkworth
On 25 Jul 13, 2 Signal Regiment (Air Support) marked the
re-subordination of 244 Signal Squadron to 30 Signal
Regiment, and 21 Signal Regiment (Air Support) to 11 Signal
Brigade. Having sharpened the Regiment’s drill throughout
the week, the many afternoons spent marching up and down
the square under the RSM put the marching contingent in a
confident mood.
As the parade began, marched on to the Royal Corps of
Signals Band and Pipes and Drums, a little drizzle lightened
the atmosphere and stiflingly hot conditions of the previous
week. Cdre Pentreath (Capability Director JHC), Brig
Carmichael (Comd 1 Sig Bde), Brig Cole (Comd 11 Sig Bde), and
Col Norton (Corps Col) were the inspecting officers. Guests
were invited back to the Officers' Mess where a cocktail party
Bravo Troop on Op HERRICK
Seven soldiers work in the Operations Room, ensuring the
airframes are tracked and controlled effectively. The
helicopters range from the MERT casualty evacuation team,
to the Apache attack helicopters which support troops on the
ground. According to Sgt Carroll, the pressure of working in
the Ops Room has reversed the progress Cpl ‘Furny’ Furnival
had made in his banter. Cpl Alexander (sporting a new
moustache for the tour) and LCpl ‘Harry’ Harris have been
working hard to support TF JAG’s ICS networks. Two of the
244 Signal Squadron Re-subordination Parade
57
Various members of Bravo Troop have completed a half
marathon, the DANCON march (25km speed march with 10
Kg), and the midnight ‘Pedro’ 5km full moon fun run. Bravo
Troop wishes to say goodbye to LCpl ‘Mac’ McIntosh who will
be leaving Bravo Troop and the Army soon after we return –
all the best for the future.
and Trailwalker 2013 among other routine Ex, training, sports
and summer BBQ parties. Soon after the announcement of
Tranche 3 redundancy, the Sqn picked up 9 (out of 23) Cpls
for promotion to Sgt and 4 (out of 21) LCpls picked up for Cpl,
which is proportionally a great success for the Sqn. With
summer posting approaching, the Sqn bids a fond farewell to
the Ops Officer Capt Jon Sillito who leaves the Sqn after 2
years and 3 Trailwalkers to serve with 10 Sig Regt and to WO2
(YofS) Knowles who is now replaced by WO2 (YofS) Graeham
Wootton. WO2 (SSM) Suresh Kumar Limbu took over as 250
SSM from WO2 (SSM) Tirtha Bahadur Rai who now moves on
to an extended SSCP career. We also managed to squeeze in
a fantastic Summer Function and another successful
Trailwalker in July.
DELTA TROOP
Exercise SWAN WAAT4 2013 - by Cpl Rabin Gurung
Exercise PASHTUN VORTEX 13A - by Lt Swatridge
At 1400 hrs on 21 June 2013, five teams comprising of 5
participants led by SSgt (SQMS) Gopal departed from 30
Signal Regiment, Bramcote, to Sennybridge transit camp in
order to take part in one of the most physically and mentally
challenging charity events, known as “WAAT4 Challenge” held
every year in the Brecon Beacons, Wales. This annual event
has been a huge success with nearly £100,000 being raised for
various charities. The WAAT4 Challenge’s organizers; Gary
and Mark along with Dyfed Powys Police, Powys Division are
already planning next year’s event which will take place on 21
June 2014.
Troop, Cpl Boothby and LCpl Cheshire are based in Lashkar
Gar. Cpl Boothby, the ‘Buzzard Ops Cpl’, has the unenviable
task of receiving requests for troop moves for TFH, and
making sense of it all. LCpl Cheshire works on the Helicopter
Landing Site (HLS) team, ensuring the safety and loading/
unloading of airframes. Sig Pitt and Sig Clelland have also
rotated through this role. D Troop, 244 Signal Squadron, deployed to Jordan for an 8
week exercise, supporting Joint Helicopter Command during
their PDT in preparation for Op HERRICK. Their role there was
to provide Housekeeper, a relatively new capability for the
Squadron, as well as providing ground to air communications
to the Chinook and Merlin aircraft.
The Troop deployed 2 rebroadcasting detachments to the
training area to provide the exercise with secure VHF back to
the Staff HQ, based in Aquaba, Jordan. With the midday sun
providing temperatures around the low 40s throughout, there
was little chance to stay cool. However each Detachment
Commander took it upon themselves to improve the remote
Rebro sites whilst deployed, with the end state consisting of a
very impressive gym facility and pathways to the outside loo
and shower. After their gruelling 5 day stint in the desert, the
detachment crew were then rotated to the air conditioned
Ops Room where they passed the radio traffic between the
aircraft and the Staff HQ.
With this being the first, large deployment for the majority of
the Troop, there was a cloud of uncertainty as to what to
expect, however a highly enjoyable exercise was had by all.
Having the chance to ride in the back of both the Merlin and
Chinook aircraft and to gain an understanding of what the J6
role to Joint Helicopter Command was a large stepping stone
for the Troop.
OC
SSM
Maj J Malcolm
WO2 (SSM) Sureshkumar Limbu
It has been yet another busy 3 months for the Squadron. The
highlights have been RSIT, ECI (if you can call these highlights)
This event is a circular team navigation challenge, centered
mainly on the iconic Pen y Fan. It is organised by DyfedPowys Police, supported by members of the Brecon Mountain
Rescue Team, Wales Air Ambulance, and the Gurkhas based in
Brecon Infantry Battle School. The main objective is to raise
money in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust, Wales Air Ambulance
and Brecon Mountain Rescue. There were two different
navigational based routes of 40km and 30km with different
levels of difficulty. Obviously, as everyone in our team were
serving soldiers the 40Km route was chosen hoping to be
more challenging, exciting as well as developing leadership
skills and enhancing team cohesion.
The event started in the morning of 22 June 2013 from the
start point near Brecon town centre. After the blast of the
start horn, with vigour and excitement, we all started running
and in a matter of seconds the crowds became out of sight.
Perhaps we were too competitive! Within the 40km challenge
course there were two Special Forces selection routes (The
‘Fan Dance’ and ‘Point to Point’). The route was very difficult,
however it was filled with scenic and breathtaking views. As
“Hill Boys” from Nepal some team members found it very
nostalgic!
Team photograph at finish point with OC Squadron
SSgt Gyanendra looking for the BBQ tent
58
All team members finished the course in a respectable time
with team “X-Ray” from 250 GSS finishing in 4th place with
the time of 5hrs 28mins. We are thankful to SSgt Gopal for
organising and leading the teams from 30 Signal Regiment. A
total of £1,200 was raised to support the aforementioned
charities. No doubt the event was not only very tough and
challenging but also enjoyable, encouraging and memorable.
A visit paid by Maj Malcolm, OC 250 Sig Sqn, during the event
at various check points made us feel very supported,
encouraged, motivated and valued for the work we were
doing for the charities.
Finally, congratulations to all participants for completing one
of the most challenging routes in Wales which wouldn’t have
been possible without unflinching determination and
excellent teamwork. Finally a special thank you goes to 2IC
Regt Maj Rook for providing Regimental support financially
and encouraging the soldiers to participate in the event.
Exercise STONEY RUN 24 Jun – 12 Jul 13
- by Capt Bharat Shrestha
Ex STONEY RUN is an Overseas Training Exercise that took
place at Grafenwoher Training Area, Germany from 22 Jun - 12
Jul 13 alongside US 44th Expeditionary Signal Battalion.
Members of 250 Gurkha Signal Squadron led by Capt Bharat
Shrestha were deployed on this exercise to conduct
interoperability training with US and UK ICS. This exercise
saw the first ever deployment of FALCON overseas to provide
wide area communications for US CIS systems.
Capt Bharat briefing Col Mangelsdorf (7th US Sig Bde Comd)
during Ex STONEY RUN
We have always worked with coalition partners in many past
and current operations. This was an ideal exercise to conduct
such training so that on future exercises or operations the
communication footprint can be minimised thus reducing the
logistics burden.
Sgt Raj Gurung from 250 GSS and Chief Kim from 44th
Expeditionary Signal Battalion were behind the successful
engineering of the network (pulling their hair out). All in all, it
was a successful exercise developing US and UK ICS
understanding and further enhancing UK and US relations.
Exercise INCAS DRAGON - by SSgt (SQMS) Gopal Saru
Ex INCAS DRAGON was a Level 3 Adventure Training trekking
expedition to Ausangate Mountain in Peru, led by Exped Ldr,
SSgt (SQMS) Gopal Saru and Exped OIC, Capt Om (2IC) of 250
Gurkha Signal Squadron over the period 19 May – 04 Jun 13.
Ten personnel from Sqn deployed on exercise in order to
complete a 58km long remote and arduous high altitude
trekking expedition around the Mt Ausangate followed by a
cultural visit to Machu Picchu - one of the New Seven
Wonders of the World. The main aims of the AT were to: (1)
develop leadership, personal robustness, self-reliance and
self-confidence; (2) inspire the soldiers to gain their Summer
Mountain foundation (SMF) qualifications through Distributed
Training (DT) and (3) to promote and develop administration,
team work, cultural awareness and physical robustness.
The team departed from Bramcote on 19 May on a 16 hour
flight from London to Lima via Amsterdam. After a 45min
domestic flight to Cusco (3,400m) from Lima next day that
followed a 2 day cultural, educational and historical visit to
Moray and Sacred Valley including Cusco City tour as
acclimatisation phase. The final day of acclimatisation
included a 6 hour walk up to an Andes high pass at an altitude
of 4,170m.
The main trekking phase of the AT involved 6 days/5 nights
camping on the Ausangate mountain range. At 0500hrs on 24
May the group left Cusco for Pacchanta (4200m) where they
were met by Condor travel’s staffs. The arduous trek started
with natural hot spring bath and a first typical Peruvian meal
served by the staff. The first campsite was Ninaparayo
(4,800m) which was reached at 1700hrs. On day 2, the group
trekked for 8 hours to campsite 2 (Kilita 4800m) through the
enthralling Campa pass (5,070m). During the trek, some
members suffered minor altitude sickness, however Sig
Vishnu was put on the ‘Safety Horse’ to prevent from getting
worse. Day 3 of the trek started with an early morning
breakfast followed by a long gradual uphill walk along a
valley, experiencing breathtaking views of Andes Mountains.
After 4 hours of long unrelenting slopes, the group reached
the highest peak of the trek – Condor Pass (5,230m) and
spent the night by lake Sibinachocha.
The Condon Pass with Mt Ausangate in the background
Sgt Raj from 250 GSS and Chief Kim jointly solving problems
Day 4 of the trek included a long walk around the lake
Sibinachocha followed by crossing of Yayamari Pass (5010m)
and finished at Laguna Ccscana (4820m). The penultimate
59
day was a straight forward and much shorter walking day of
around 6 hours to Phinaya (4700m). This was the last
campsite which was located next to a local school. The group
was privileged to witness the children’s cultural performance
in order to fund a school trip to a regional carnival festival.
The staff organised a special celebratory dinner with
traditional food (Pachamanca) to mark the successful
completion of the trekking. On the final day, the group
trekked for 2 hours before being picked up by a minibus for a
trip back to Cusco.
The inside of the Bus Stop Café
The Bus Stop Café will be serving a range of hot drinks, toast
and cakes. The opening hours allow both families the chance
to relax after drop off and before pick up and soldiers a place
to go together during NAAFI break.
Machu Pichhu, one of the wonders of the world
The café is being run by the Welfare Department who are
strongly encouraging people to use it as a meeting location
and a place to unwind. Sgt Nicky Moxon spent the last few
days prior to the opening of the cafe putting the finishing
touches to walls and interior.
On return to Cusco, the team visited Machu Pichhu - a truly
magnificent scene of Inca ruins. Machu Picchu is a 15thcentury Inca site located at 2,430m and was built as an estate
for the Inca Emperor Pachacuti (1438–1472). The group also
enjoyed a day of white water rafting in Urubamba River and
horse riding in the Sacred Valley. The final day of R&R was
spent in Cusco discovering more Inca cultures and enjoying
local food before safely returning to the UK. Overall, the Ex
was a challenging but worthwhile experience and thoroughly
enjoyable; the memory will stay with all members of the
expedition for many years to come. I would like to express
my sincere thanks to all Exped members for their participation
and support throughout the Ex.
Capt Matt Cox, Adjt, Sgt Nicky Moxon and Lt Col Niall Stokoe
having opened the shop and checking out what is on offer!
Over the next few weeks the Regiment will hopefully see the
success of the venture. Teatime and cakes it is!
Exercise COBB RING 13 - by Sig Forrest
The Exped team visiting the Moray Argricultural Laboratory
256 SIGNAL SQUADRON
OC
SSM
Maj J King
WO2(SSM) M Lane
Bus Stop Café Now Open!
On Mon 1 Jul 13 the Bus Stop Café at 30 Signal Regiment
officially opened. The new CO, Lt Col Niall Stokoe opened the
shop just after the school bus had left. The wives and families
were then able to enjoy a cup of hot cuppa and snack.
60
Ex COBB RING saw the Troop deploy to Pirbright training area
and was broken down into two phases. The first part
consisted of a week refresher training on our basic field craft
skills with everybody instructing on subjects such as
constructing a shelter, target indication and basic patrolling.
Sig Mjahed’s lesson on Camouflage and Concealment was so
effective that it resulted in the Tp Comd Lt Smith forgetting
where he had placed his helmet as he couldn’t find it.
The first week also gave the Troop an opportunity to practice
its navigation skills. This resulted in Sgt White breaking the
clutch on the Landrover and also several members of the
Troop being engaged by the Army Cadet Force who were also
training in the area. Unfortunately, due to a lack of our own
ammunition we were unable to return fire and practice our
Fire and Movement upon the over-zealous school children.
During the end of the first week we then started the second
phase of the exercise. Drivers were sent back to Barracks to
collect the Early Entry HQ along with our support assets such
as our Electricians and Installation Technicians in preparation
for the HQ build. Once all our equipment arrived in Pirbright
the Troop then proceeded to set up the EEHQ. This was a
good opportunity for newer members of the Troop such as
Sig Owers to see the HQ and how it is built.
The remainder of the week gave the Troop more experience
in operating and maintaining various communication assets
such as JOCS, BBiaB and VTC and also in working with Staff
Officers who finally arrived on the Tuesday in the form of an
Operational Liaison Reconnaissance Team (OLRT). The new
OC of 256, Maj King, also visited the Troop during this phase
and was hopefully suitably impressed with the professional
and capable manner in which the Troop conduct themselves.
With the exercise nearing an end all that was left to do was
teardown and return to Barracks to carryout turnaround.
With no major equipment failures or faults we were quickly
able to do this and return to our appropriate readiness states,
ready for whatever tasking may come our way.
Exercise COBB RING 13 - by Sig Dagnall
On 13 Jul 13, 12 members of 256 Signal Squadron deployed on
Ex COBB RING. This exercise is run annually and has been for
decades. The main aim for this exercise is to test
interoperability on communications platforms and to work
with secure HF communications between the United States,
Canada and the United Kingdom. We were working with 2
Sqn JCSE (Joint Communications Support Element).
This exercise involved eight soldiers from 256 Signal Squadron
deploying to MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa. Another four
members of the Squadron also deployed to Kingston, Canada
and we had a number of American soldiers come to 30 Signal
Regiment as well as Kingston. The exercise took place from
13 - 31 Jul, and was divided into two separate phases, both a
week in duration. The first week was spent entirely on the
Airbase and predominantly involved testing communications
kit. Cpl Dixon, LCpl Nanda-Kumar and I were out constricting
a makeshift horizontal dipole from the American masts and
paracord. Sig Pretty set up and operated a Falcon CP-1
detachment. This is the first time it has ever been deployed
and operated outside of the United Kingdom.
It was an eye opening experience to work with both the
Americans and Canadians, it was interesting to see how they
work compared to us. Regardless of the difference in the way
we worked, there was a huge difference when they took us
on their Squadron PT due to their inability to play football.
They introduced us to a sport they named ‘Gatorball’, a
combination between football and rugby. The fatal mistake
they made was placing all of the British on one team; an hour
of running rings around them and they decided to call it a day.
Even with their lacklustre performance on the pitch, there
was an instant bond between the US, Canadians and the
British, with the eight of us from the Squadron merging well
with our Coalition partners. They were excellent hosts to us,
each lunch break showing us a different place to eat around
Tampa, not to mention the occasional visit to the gun store.
During the HF testing, using a Bowman HF man pack radio,
we managed to get secure voice communications with
Kingston, Canada some 1200 miles away. Once we had
finished testing, we spent the majority of our time with the
Americans, around their version of the ‘trailer of knowledge’.
On the second week, we deployed to Camp Blanding, North
Florida for a week on a field training exercise designed to test
JCSE’s ability to operate their communications kit. Part of this
exercise involved convoy drills and patrolling through villages,
all of which was very interesting as we had an opportunity to
see how our Coalition partners operated in these conditions.
On endex, we returned to the Ops Room, and were welcomed
with pizza and beer, which is always a nice surprise. Once we
had ploughed through all the pizza we could eat, we were
educated by the Americans in a game they called ‘Corn Hole’.
The exercise, in my eyes, was a massive success. Everything
we set out to do was achieved. It was an excellent
experience and one I hope to be a part of again.
Bramcote Open Day – by Cpl Shevill
On 30 Jun 13, 30 Signal Regiment held its annual open day.
Four weeks prior to the open day I was tasked with running
and organising the Charlie Troop stand. This year we were
asked to run an Air Rifle range to allow members of the public
to fire an Air Rifle in a controlled environment. During the
lead up to this event there were a number of creative ideas
on how to build a range, in the middle of a field. Before we
even started building anything we had to source the Air Rifles.
Luckily this wasn’t as difficult as first thought thanks to
Warwickshire Army Cadet Force.
During the week prior to the open day the Troop rallied
together to construct our range. In the end I decided to build
the range out of two 12x12 tents and two cam nets to create
an enclosed range.
On the morning of the open day it was an early start with a
parade at 0630hrs to implement the finishing touches in
anticipation for the arrival of the general public. After
morning parade myself, LCpl Getis, Sig Sul, Sig Baxter, Sig
Clegg and Sig Pratik made our way to our stand, which to our
relief was still standing after rain and high winds in the days
leading up to the event.
Public and military spectators around the display arena during
Bramcote Open Day
In addition to the Rifle Range, Charlie Troop personnel were
utilised for parking duty and to collect entrance money from
the public. The public began arriving at 1000hrs and from the
time the gates opened, until the event ended our stand was
busy throughout. After the event was over the Regiment
enjoyed drinks at the 501 bar to celebrate a job well done.
SUPPORT SQUADRON
OC SSM
Maj Gaz Greaves
WO2 (SSM) Jim Womble
Welfare and Community Department - by Capt Dougie Icke
Bramcote Station Welfare and Community Department
remains as busy as ever! The UWO knows his team will soon
all but move on to new assignments and similar to Alex
61
Ferguson is planning his next winning team. The provision of
primary welfare support to soldiers and families remains our
fundamental business but in the area of community effect we
feel we are doing well!
Welfare Clerk, Mrs Corris Cooper, who we know is going to
be a great success within our close-knit team!
Capt Dougie Icke is over the moon following successful bids
to the Libor Fund to fund a Children’s Indoor Play Area
(£19,680) and the groundworks/fencing for the soon-to-arrive
Skatepark (£17,694). In addition to the recently approved
AWGC and SCWGC grants for skatepark equipment (£21,164)
we feel that the community – especially the children, will have
much more to do within Bramcote Station. The CO will open
the above facilities on 13 Sep 13. No doubt a few young
soldiers will take the opportunity to bring their BMXs into
camp. The UWO will resist the urge to join them – difficult as
this might be! It is a shame the outgoing Adjutant – Maj Matt
Cox is leaving as apparently he used to be a skate boarder!
The Regiment conducts Potential Non-Commissioned Officer
Courses twice a year, designed to assess Command and
Leadership and develop subordinates. The course is based on
Basic Close Combat Skills (BCCS) but to also build and assess
each individuals Command and Leadership Skills.
Sgt Nicky Moxon and LCpl Kirsty Abel have worked their
magic in our recently opened ‘Bus Stop Café’. This new
community project offers soldiers and their families a friendly
place to enjoy hot drinks from our very posh new coffee
machine, homemade cakes and toast. Sticking to the
Regimental 2IC and UWO’s mantra of ‘Build it and they will
come’ – we are now recruiting volunteers from the
community to look after the place on a daily basis and
watching out for eagerly anticipated customers!
Sgt Moxon and LCpl Abel continue to organise community
events each week. Our Community Development Worker, Jill
Muir, has organised continuous residential holidays for our
young people, as well as keeping the Youth Club going with
Cpl Neil Dickinson. Cpl Kharun Rai continues to be busy in
the PRI shop with the aim of reducing stock and increasing
profit. Our Gurkha Support Worker, Shova Gurung, has now
organised the Nepalese cooking classes for the station wives/
partners to attend, with baking classes being organised in
return by some of our very talented bakers within the
community. I could go on… we seem to be in a good place
within the community and long may it continue!
Sadly, we say goodbye to SSgt Somras Tamang who after
almost 2 years as the Welfare Dept 2IC and Officer Manager
moves on to an extended SSCP career and an initial Provost
SNCO job at ATR Pirbright. He will be greatly missed!
Replacing Somras is SSgt Dambar Phago who knowing he has
big boots to fill has started off keen, professional and
enthusiastic – welcome Dambar! Lastly, we welcome our new
PNCO Course ‘Exercise BATTLE STRIPE - by Cpl Allan
Week one began with a nice AFT around Gamecock Barracks
taking in the lovely scenery of the windbreaks, followed by
presentations and lessons including 6 Section Battle Drills,
7Q’s, Range Cards, Nav, 4C’s. Two mornings of the week had
PLD’s planned with Command Tasks along the way and
burdens needing to be picked up, to assess how people work
within a section, under pressure, problem solving, and time
management. Sgt Richie Allen was IC photographer,
capturing each section throughout the PLD. LCpl Andy Harker
made sure that the PLD’s and Command Tasks flowed nicely
for the students, to help achieve their aim.
Week two the students, Enemy and the Training Wing team
deployed to Caerwent Training Area to conduct the exercise
phase. On arriving the Admin team scampered away to set up
the admin support area with the Enemy, whilst the students
deployed to their harbour location. Within hours of getting
settled the activities began for the sections, to test each
individual’s role as Section 2IC and their basic battle skills.
Fighting Patrols, Standing Patrols and Recce Patrols were
ongoing every hour of everyday. The enemy were put in to
positions all over the training area to then attack the patrols.
The hot weather was both challenging and exhausting, but
the guys and girl kept with it and performed to the best of
their abilities. To end the week all 3 sections together carried
out a final attack which seen all of them assault a position and
carry out Fire Support along with the final task of Casevac
extraction, which started from the final assault position back
the ERV located 3km away. A quick sweep up of the areas
used was conducted and ENDEX was finally called.
A few awards have to go out to LCpl Harker for the best
‘Action Man’ enemy. Golden Blanket award is a toss-up
between Sgt Richie Allen and Cpl Stacey Allan, old man naps
are included in this decision and a massive well done to LCpl
Mcanespie who was awarded both the Top Student and Top
Field Soldier Award.
32nd SIGNAL REGIMENT (VOLUNTEERS)
GLASGOW
CO
RSM
Lt Col Rennie-Smith
WO1 (RSM) Love
Exercise FRENETIC SPOKE – by 2Lt MacDonald
A team from 32 Sig Regt completed a cycle from Land’s End
to John O’Groats from 20 – 26 Jul 13 to raise money for the
Army Benevolent Fund (ABF). The cycling team consisted of a
pair from 33, 40 and 51 Sqn plus the CO and we were assisted
greatly by the admin team made up of drivers from 33, 51 and
52 Sqn. The cycle was to be a continuous relay with a
minimum of a pair of cyclists on the road at any one time
during the 870 mile cycle.
The team met in Alamein TAC in Huyton before travelling
down to Land’s End to start the cycle. After the obligatory
photo with the signpost the team headed to the start line
62
where SSgt Kim Roberts suffered an ego bashing fall before
we even crossed the start line! The team started riding as one
big group before splitting down and doing legs in pairs as
planned before reaching our stop for the night at RAF St
Mawgan.
After an early start to maximise riding time the 33 Sqn pair
consisting of SSgt Roberts and Capt Stubbs took on the first
leg towards Bristol. After a swap with the 51 Sqn pair of 2Lt
MacDonald and LCpl Galliers the baton was handed to the 40
Sqn pair for an allegedly “hilly” leg. WO2 Urwin and SSgt
McMahon completed this leg through the Devon countryside
with no issues and after another leg each in the blistering
heat for the 33 and 51 pairs we reached Bristol. Arriving at
1600 was a very good effort and allowed us to relax and
watch Chris Froome win the Tour de France for inspiration.
The CO and RSM joined us in Bristol with the CO joining the 40
Sqn team for the first leg of the day on the route to Huyton.
He had a shock introduction to the trip after being stung by a
wasp before making it out of Bristol! The overcast weather
provided perfect conditions for cycling and helped the team
smash through the 167 miles to Liverpool in just over 10 hours.
This was again much quicker than we had estimated and to
top it off the sun came out just as we had finished.
to the 40 Sqn team. On their second leg we had our first high
speed puncture with WO2 Urwin performing a F1 style speed
change to get back on the road and took us beyond Perth to
Bankfoot. The team got a bit of cycling relief as we went up
to Stirling Castle to get a photo shoot with Miss Scotland.
LCpl Galliers finally found a use for his aerobars with Miss
Scotland perching on them for the photo from the Scottish
Sun. Miss Scotland even had the honour of informing LCpl
Shields of his promotion.
Capt Affleck from 51 Sqn joined the team on Day 5 and had
joined the Flying Scotsmen on their leg on the A9. Once again
the team ate up the miles and arrived in Inverness at 1300
which was supposed to be the end point of Day 5. The call
was made to continue on and try and decrease the distance
for the last day. The team continued on and after reaching
Helmsdale it was decided we should push on and get to John
O’Groats that day. After a superb day of riding and 217 miles
covered John O’Groats was reached. After a bit of confusion
as to where the final signpost was I managed to
unceremoniously fall off into nettles less than 500m from the
finish line! Jumping up to avoid photographic evidence I got
back on my bike and we rolled over the finish line as a team at
around 2100.
For the sake of competition the pairs each gave themselves
team names resulting in The North Irish Horse Power from 40
Sqn, the 33 Express from 33 Sqn and the Flying Scotsmen
from 51 Sqn. Day 3 began at 0615hrs when the clouds opened
and it proceeded to rain torrentially for the next 2hrs which
just happened to coincide with the Flying Scotsmen’s and the
CO’s leg to Preston. The Flying Scotsmen and the CO handed
over to The North Irish Horse Power just outside Preston who
cycled until the Carnforth Services where we were met by
SSgt Bithell and SSgt Middleton from 50 Sqn who were
joining the 40 Sqn Team for a leg. The 50 Sqn pair had an
unorthodox style of cycling with some resemblances to
Kermit the Frog being noted by LCpl Galliers. At the same
time the 33 Express set off with the CO towards Penrith and
they had the accolade of completing the ‘Shap Challenge’, a
brutal category 2 ascent. The Flying Scotsmen finished off the
day by cycling to Carlisle and kept going until Lockerbie to cut
down the distance for the final day.
Day 4 began the RSM's continued request for bacon being
once again denied by the Chef for breakfast. The group then
got a quick picture at Carlisle Castle before driving to
Lockerbie where the North Irish Horse Power set on towards
Stirling. They handed over to 33 Express and the CO at
Abington Services. Apart from a bit of a navigation mix up
approaching Stirling the change overs ran quite smooth with
the Flying Scotsmen taking the group to Stirling by 1300. We
carried on for another 30 minutes before handing back over
The cyclists all performed brilliantly, however the challenge
would have been unachievable without the fantastic support
we received from the Admin team of LCpl Peever, Cpl Todd,
LCpl Shields, Sig Porter, Cpl Wright and LCpl Porter. They
took the pressure off by navigating, kit carrying and keeping
our morale up. Overall the exercise was a massive success
and a big thanks go to SSgt Kim Roberts for all the effort she
put into organising it.
‘Go To It’ And Get In The Ring: Lanyard Trophy 2013
They said ‘Go to it’ and we certainly did. At 0500 on Saturday
8 June, 44 teams from across the Corps set off for the 34th
Annual Lanyard Trophy.
32 Signal Regiment put in 2 mixed teams for this year’s
competition, hosted by 216 Parachute Signal Squadron from
the Warcop Training Area in Cumbria. It was an admirable
effort on such a ‘blisteringly’ hot day which saw both teams
complete the 40 mile course competitively. The physical and
mental challenge, as is always the case with this prestigious
and historical endurance event, was considerable. All team
members carried the 40lbs minimum load. From the high
temperatures and scorching sun, Warcop threw many more
punches for the competitors to contend with, with undulating
terrain along the stunning Pennine Way, river beds, rocks,
more rocks, bogs, streams and never-ending fields of heather.
Nevertheless, most competitors were just grateful that it
wasn’t raining this year!
The ‘A Team’, gallantly led by Lt Will Whitmore of 51
Squadron, came out of the corner fighting to complete the
course in 14hrs 59mins and claim the TA Male Runners’ Up
prize. They narrowly missed out to 63 (SAS) Sqn who finished
12 minutes ahead of them. A special mention must go to Sig
Readshaw from 50 Sqn, who despite being a last minute
backfill, stepped up to the plate and rolled with the punches
until the bitter end with a smile, or at least a grimace, on his
face. A thank you goes to Sig Dodds who provided much
needed entertainment in the early rounds as he climbed up a
very big hill and decorated it splendidly with his breakfast.
Protest over, he thankfully found his sense of humour again
and got back in the ring: there was no stopping him then until
the final bell!
The team with Miss Scotland
The ‘B Team’ was solidly led by Capt McCartney and they truly
dug deep to finish the course with all eight team members.
They also had a last minute addition of Cpl Barrett from 50
63
Sqn. It was a great effort and a selfless sacrifice from all.
Navigating in the dark to finish, the ‘B Team’ clocked in at a
time of 18hrs 30mins.
Of course, none of this could have been done without the
fantastic Admin Team. ‘Coaches’ SSgt Mcginlay, Sgt Kelly,
LCpl Maclennan and Sig Huey worked tirelessly for almost 24
hours solid, getting the teams safely to and from the course
and keeping them fuelled with lucozade, sandwiches and
pasta at every opportunity with stoic good humour and
professionalism.
residential, providing 30 short-stay (up to 18 months) one-bed
flats for veterans who have specific housing needs, or require
a greater level of support. This area also includes common
rooms, a gymnasium and amenities for use by the residents of
the building only.
The other half of the building will be the “front of house” or
public part, which will contain training facilities, offices, IT
resources, health resources and a training kitchen and café
and kitchen garden for residents within the facility and other
veterans in the area to improve their employment prospects.
33 (LANCASHIRE) SIGNAL SQUADRON
OC
SSM
Maj R Paterson
WO2 (SSM) Jolliffe
Honorary Colonel Appointed High Sheriff Of Merseyside
Col Ian Meadows OBE DL, Honorary Colonel of 33 Signals
Squadron (V) has been appointed High Sheriff of Merseyside.
The Squadron has been supporting Colonel Meadows in his
various duties around Merseyside, including providing a two
man honour guard for his swearing in at the law courts.
The 32 Sig Regt Lanyard Team
Maj Bob Patterson, Capt Andy Bowdler, Capt Paul Knight and
Lt James Gostling attended Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral’s
service of commemoration for the Queen’s coronation on 9
June 2013. Colonel Meadows also attended in his capacity as
High Sheriff.
Scottish Veterans Residences - Bellrock Close Project Official
Launch – by SSgt Gareth Howell
As a result of the close affiliation that 32 Signal Regiment has
fostered with the Scottish Veterans’ Residence, the CO was
asked to assist with the launch of the new Bellrock Close
Project based in Cranhill in the East End of Glasgow.
The CO was keen to support this worthwhile cause, and his
plight of willing volunteers was eased by the added incentive
that Carol Smillie was participating in the event. Given Carol’s
attendance and the fact it is such a worthy charity, it was a no
brainer for me to volunteer for this task along with the CO,
Maj Emma Bruce (RCMO), WO2 Karen Swan, LCpl Shields and
LCpl Grice. Once we arrived at the project we were told to
don a fluorescent jacket and hardhat each before receiving an
informed brief about the project and a photo shoot with
Carole Smillie for the launch.
The Project
Currently, several Veterans, of all ages, are leaving the forces
struggling with mental health, homelessness or other issues
and feeling that they have nowhere to turn for support. The
Scottish Veterans’ Residence Bellrock Close Project aims to
change that, providing help to Veterans as soon as they leave
the forces before desperation, addiction and suicide attempts
become an issue. The facilities will include medical care,
training and education and employment, all designed to offer
specialized support to Veterans with transition to civilian life
with the ultimate aim being to support and motivate the
Veterans in an effort to integrate and ultimately live
autonomously in to the local community.
The development comprises of two distinct buildings: one
mainstream for permanent let, and one for transitional
supported accommodation to house veterans in need of
additional support and assistance. The mainstream block has
21 flats, two of which are suitable for wheelchair users.
The supported block will consist of two halves – one half is
64
ABF Charity Abseil – The Big One Blackpool
Ever looking for new ways to support Miliary Charities the
Squadron were tasked with taking part in a Charity Abseil for
ABF. This year the abseil would be off The Big One in
Blackpool, a mere 65m high! So, undeterred we accepted the
challenge and volunteers were found who wanted to take
part, they were Capt Phil Stubbs, Cpl Matty Riley, Cpl Brian
Hardy and Sig Jane Davies
The statistics for The Big One are impressive, travelling at
75mph and pulling 3.5g in the bends but our intrepid
volunteers were not going to be using the rail to descend the
65m high point, but instead they would be hanging off very
long ropes!
Most people get to the top and then have the excitement of
travelling at speed down the ride. However the only way up
for our intrepid rope monkeys was a long climb with 3 stops
on the way. Once at the top it was time to take in the
magnificent views across the Bay and out toward the Lake
District. But, not for long as it was soon time to connect to
the main rope and start the abseil down. Exciting? Yes,
Frightening? Without doubt, Would you do it again? Of
course!
was similar to the police saying after a local Tyne/Wear derby
match, ‘’ it was a good day we only made 30 arrests’’
The Sunday saw intense competition with an orienteering
competition at Wynlatter Country Park, the winning pair of
Cpl Andy Barrett and Cpl Geordie Cullen romping home a full
10 minutes faster than the next pair, claiming their prize of
large box of chocolates (Army not allowed to issue beer as
sports prizes anymore) shame was it melted in the minibus!
The Squadron recovered back to the TAC on Sunday 7 July
and although the activities undertaken were not traditional
ones; a break to try something different proved highly
successful albeit expensive! Morale was high and talk of a
repeat next year was the recommended course of action.
51 (SCOTTISH) SIGNAL SQUADRON
The 32 Sig Regt Abseil Team - Capt Phil Stubbs, Cpl Matty Riley,
Cpl Brian Hardy and Sig Jane Davies
The best comment of the day was from Cpl Matty Riley who
was heard to say, “I don’t do stairs, I live in a bungalow
now!!“ The day was a tremendous success and although
there were plenty of oooos and ahhhs on the way down we
managed to raise a considerabe sum for ABF.
Cpl Hardy about to go!
50 (SCOTTISH) SIGNAL SQUADRON
OC
SSM
Maj B Hogg
WO2 (SSM) P Standing
Exercise TEES TRAIL
50 Squadron deployed to Borrowdale in the Lake District on
what turned out to be one of the hottest weekends in the
area for that time of year for 10 years. An advance party of
WO1 Barry Hunter, SSgt Dave Ross and Sgt Kev Patterson
arrived at Chapel House Farm Campsite to set up the covert
12x12 tentage admin city to allow the main body locate the
spot. The next day saw the Squadron take part in the more
off beat AT activities of Ghyl Scrambling and Via Ferrata, a
mountain traverse activity first used by the Italian Army to
cross the Alps.
This certainly put a few Squadron members out of their
comfort zones, although expertly managed by the civilian
training company, hazards on their risk assessment did
include ‘’hit by solid objects’’ fall from height’’ ‘’drowning’’
and hypothermia. The evening events saw a definite age spilt
with the younger majority sampling the delights of Keswick
and the older minority, led by the veteran in all areas Capt
Dave Carr, retire to the quaintness of the local pub. A quiet
campsite after 10pm, the Squadron was only ‘’ticked off’’
once by the farmer for borderline boisterous behavior! Which
OC
SSM
Maj P Mell
WO2 (SSM) A Tochel
Eercisex NORTHERN LEADER – ‘Scavenger Hunt’
The Squadron convened on a typically bright and warm
Scottish Saturday morning for Ex NORTHERN LEADER 2, a
leadership development exercise based around a ‘scavenger
hunt’ through the streets of Edinburgh city centre. After a
quick briefing from the OC, the teams, armed only with a list
of tasks to complete, a letter of introduction and a great deal
of enthusiasm, set out for the city (all on the same bus!).
Over the next few hours, by ingenuity, initiative and a little
outright cheating, they had achieved such feats as meeting
the penguins at the zoo, getting themselves on local radio
and, most miraculous of all, gaining free entry to Edinburgh
Castle!
In late afternoon the teams returned to the TA Centre, many
of them rendered somewhat tired and emotional by the day’s
exertions, and the scores were counted. After a few gentle
leadership-themed team discussions, the day was rounded off
with a Squadron barbeque, after which the winning team, led
by Cpl Williams and made up of Cpl McCole, LCpl Rodger, Sig
Kimsey and Sig Munro, graciously accepted their prize. The
final event of the day was a sumo wrestling competition,
which was won in emphatic style by LCpl Clarke.
Exercise NORTHERN AVENTURE
Over the period 26-28 July 13, 51 Signal Squadron deployed to
Kinlochleven (nr. Fort William) for an adventurous training
weekend. Friday night was consumed by packing, travelling
and moving into the accommodation.
Saturday: the Squadron was split into 3 groups:
Group 1: Ice Factor. This was conducted at the Ice Factor
centre in Kinlochleven itself, the troops were enjoying ice
climbing, rock climbing and the aerial adventure course.
Group 2: Blackwater Reservoir. Capt Gaw led this group up
the river Leven to the Blackwater Reservoir, where they
studied how the dam was built, enjoying the scorching sun.
Group 3: Ben Nevis. On what seemed like the hottest day of
the year, the OC, the 2IC, 2Lt Whyte and the SVSM were led
up Ben Nevis. We were sweltering in the heat by 0900 and
the day only seemed to become even hotter as time went on.
We were well equipped with warm kit and waterproofs to
ensure the rain stayed off! Being a sunny Summer Saturday,
there were many tourists and locals alike heading up, some in
particularly unsuitable walking attire with only a small 500ml
bottle of water. Just 400m shy of the summit there was a
large area still covered in snow, which provided great
amusement and an opportunity to cool down. After a steady
65
3hrs of ascent we reached the summit with some great views,
and not a drop of wind – we ended up looking for shade to
have a break from the sunshine. It was mobbed – circa 100
people on the summit itself and we had to queue to take a
photo at the summit cairn. The descent gave little relief with
the jarring of knees, but the halfway point with the cold
waterfall was an opportunity to cool off once again and re-fill
water bottles. The descent took 2hr 40mins due to the paths
being busy. We treated ourselves to an ice-cream at the
bottom and returned to Kinlochleven for a well earned BBQ.
The Squadron enjoyed a great barbeque on the Saturday
evening, and sampled the local ales too. Sunday was a clearup and journey South at around midday.
37th SIGNAL REGIMENT (VOLUNTEERS)
REDDITCH
CO
RSM
Lt Col Cairns TD
WO1 (RSM) Moore
The Regiment would like to thank Capt Paul Blythe for his
short spell as Adjt before he heads off to his annual visit to
Cyprus! and welcome the incoming Adjt, Capt Anthony Glover
and Akiko to the Regiment. A warm welcome to SSgt Jason
Kent (Sp Sqn SPSI), Kimberley and family. Farewell and
happy retirement to YofS ‘Scouse’ Lloyd as he embarks on
resettlement before leaving the Army at the end of his colour
service; we wish him luck in reducing his golf handicap and
hope to see him in the near future as a reservist!
Royal Signals Corps Sailing - by Capt Dave Dewfall
Ex DRAGON BALTIC is the Royal Signals annual sailing regatta
based out of Keil, Germany. Our Regiment's Day Skipper,
SSgt Cat Smith acted as skipper's mate to our on loan skipper
Lt Col Ian Blower. Due to a lack of high pressure system over
most of Europe we had little wind for most of the regatta,
however, on the day of the racing we proceeded under sail to
the start point full of confidence and bravado, having out
sailed all the competition in a number of one on one contests
over the previous few days.
Corps Sailing Champions 2013
Regimental Golf Championships - by WO2 (YofS) Lloyd
The annual Regimental golf day took place on 11 July at
Bromsgrove Golf Club. The day was open to all personnel
within the Regiment from civilian staff to FTRS, reserve and
regulars alike. The day was aimed at all levels of golfer from
the refined stalwart through to the complete beginner and
we had both ends of the scale; with a 9 H/C player through to
“I’ve just bought some clubs from a car boot for a tenner”
(that being Dianne Cohen (RHQ) from our Admin staff).
The day was made competitive with prizes to be won from
the local pro shop, but keeping it as fair as possible players
were split down into divisions – the stalwart golfers in Div 1, I
play now and then! into Div 2 and I have just bought some
clubs, or borrowed some, into Div 3.
Overtaking on a calm day
Following a delayed start and jostling for position we crossed
the start line for the main race in second place; it turned out
that the leaders made an error though, crossing the start line
and as such they had to do a 360 degree penalty turn. During
the next couple of hours a highly competitive race followed
with first place swapping through the top three yachts, until
the final leg. When we turned the marker we had the lead
and a slick move with raising our spinnaker secured the lead;
especially when our main competition had theirs wrapped
around their forestay! As a result we just needed to keep it
under control and left it to SSgt Cat Smith to fly the spinnaker
which allowed us to soar ahead leaving the competition in our
distant wake; this resulted in us taking the title Corp Sailing
Champions 2013.
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The format for the day was kept simple, just put down how
many shots it takes each person to put the ball in the hole, a
Stableford system would then determine the winners and
losers later in the day. In order that we kept Bromsgrove GC
happy we placed a competent golfer within each group,
however by the end of the round the competency of that
golfer was surely tested with numerous recordings of double
figures.
Talking of double figures, there was a prize for the most
played golf played, although it was slightly contentious as
ever and could have been won by others if people had
recorded precisely the amount of double figures on their card,
however, SSgt ‘PJ’ James (53 Sqn) picked up the prize. Employing the rule that only one prize could be won per
individual there were only 3 who did not receive a prize,
therefore congratulations for not being the worst goes to
Capt Dan Wall (OpsO), Sgt ‘Gilly’ Gilbert (beat by the ladies
team on Lanyard) and Ms Dianne Cohen (RHQ). That leaves
the overall prizes, 1st Div 3 - SSgt Dean Thompson, 1st Div 2 Sgt Eileen Monaghan, 1st Div 1 - Capt Andy Barnard. 2nd
overall was awarded to Maj Mark ‘golf skills cse’ Rouse and
1st overall being WO2 (YofS) ‘Scouse’ Lloyd. Longest Drive
went to WO2 (CSM) Jonny Cash and nearest the pin Capt
The main event was the presentation of an Operational
Service Medal, VRSM and Op OLYMPIC commemorative coins
by the Mayor of Colchester to the following individuals:
Cpl ‘Chilly’ Chalcraft – HERRICK Operational Service Medal
SSgt (FofS) Trevor Webb – bar to VRSM
SSgt Rob Aldridge – bar to VRSM
Cpl Elaine Witcomb – bar to VRSM
Sgt Adam Witcomb – bar to VRSM and Op OLYMPIC
Commemorative Coin (absent on duty).
WO2 Kevin Elliott – Op OLYMPIC Commemorative Coin
LCpl Michelle Hughes – Op OLYMPIC Commemorative Coin
WO2 (YofS) ‘Scouse’ Lloyd receiving the winners prize from
the RSM
Andy Barnard. Overall, a competitive and enjoyable day with
plenty of team spirit throughout.
36 (EASTERN) SIGNAL SQUADRON
OC
SSM
Maj K Humphries
WO2 (SSM) WO2 K Elliott
This has been a very busy quarter for the Squadron with the
build-up training for ADE13 continuing, as well as preparation
for various inspections, including the move from UNICOM to
MJDI. We welcome back Sgt Jock McRae who re-joins the
Squadron as 845 Tp Sgt in Colchester, having completed his
Op Tour and POTL. We say goodbye to Sgt Adam Witcomb
who has left the Sqn for gainful employment as a Cadet Adult
Instructor on FTRS. Also to Sgt St Ledger AGC who, having
completed her FTRS at the MCTC, has decided to leave due to
family and work commitments.
Congratulations to WO2 Kevin Elliott on his recent promotion
and appointment to Squadron Sergeant Major.
Congratulations to Sigs Beckham, Duro and Lowe for
completing the first part of their CS Op Class 3 at the Bde
trade camp held in May. Thanks go to Capt Raj Sherchan and
SSgt Rob Aldridge for their continued work representing the
Regiment at various OSCs. Our thanks also go to WO2 Tara
Pun for hard work and dedication to the Sqn for the past six
years. WO2 Tara Pun now moves to the Sqn Ops Team, led by
Capt Sarah Earl, to assist with the planning and running of
Sqn exercises.
Visit by the Mayor and Mayoress of Colchester
Tuesday 2 July 2013 saw the first visit by the Mayor and
Mayoress of Colchester, Councillor Colin and Councillor Laura
Sykes, to 36 Sig Sqn. They were given an overview of the role
of the Squadron and Regiment and viewed the training
undertaken on a drill night.
Although the
Squadron, in various
guises, has been
associated with
Colchester for over 30
years, this was the
first visit by the
current Mayor and
Mayoress. On the
evening they viewed
the training being
undertaken on the
BOWMAN equipment
and the recruit
training being carried
out by SSgt Rob
Aldridge.
Medal Recipients
The Mayoress of Colchester presented a bouquet of flowers
to those partners in attendance. Following the presentation,
the Mayor of Colchester addressed the Squadron before
everyone retired to the bar for a buffet, prepared to the usual
high standard by Sgt Marcus Morley.
Squadron Recruiting Activity - by Sgt McRae
The new RRMT and recruiting team which consists of Sig
Lowe, Sig Duro and led by Sgt McRae at 36 Sqn had a
challenging first two months on the job. Getting to grips with
a byzantine computer system, establishing reliable comms
with the recruitment partners (Capita) and working out how
the coffee machine works are all part of the day job!
Main effort this quarter was the national Step-up campaign,
which saw the team rushing from the office to interact with
passers by in the sweltering town centres of Braintree and
Chelmsford. Working alongside regular recruitment teams
from the Army Careers Centre (ACC) in Chelmsford has given
us a greater relationship and demonstrates the ‘one-Army’
ethos, which bodes well for future events.
Perseverance from the team has paid off, with 6 applicants in
the last month and 3 more successfully completing their
courses and joining the Sqn. We would like to congratulate
Sigs Gibbs, Byrne and Creasey on passing their Ph1 courses.
48 (CITY OF BIRMINGHAM) SIGNAL SQUADRON
OC
SSM
Maj L Mayell
WO2 (SSM) Potts
48 Signal Squadron Ride to the National Memorial
Arboretum – by LCpl Harrison
Maj Kirk Humphries (OC 53 Sqn)
greeting the Mayor and Mayoress of
Colchester
July 3 saw the ‘elite’ of 48 Signal Squadron massed at RHQ for
a bike ride to the National Memorial Arboretum, Alrewas, a
mere 46 miles away. Trepidation was visible on the faces of
the team at departure. Would the ‘festive’ physiques of the
assembled see them to the finish line? Thankfully, early
nerves were dispelled by Sgt Watson, who kindly turned up
straight from his shift at NCP carparks and still wearing his
fluorescent jacket, so the journey out of the Redditch suburbs
at least adhered to health and safety protocols. The early
pace was set by SSgt Chwieseni; with a name like that I had
expected feats of East African athletic stamina. Sadly, for our
Lycra clad team member he looks like a chubby Ron Weasley
and quickly dropped off the pace; despite having made an
67
investment in a bike that would have paid off Liberia’s
national debt. Through Maxwell and Hockley Heath we rode,
the later being that most wonderful of oxymoron’s ‘Posh
Birmingham’. The only disturbance to the tranquil setting was
the unnerving clicking coming from Capt Standen’s bike
behind me, a noise which could best be compared to the ticktocking crocodile from Peter Pan; only, we all know that the
Boss’s bite is far more frightening than any croc!
As the halfway point rolled by SSgt Ali Nash MBE would come
to the fore. Rumours that SSgt Nash’s MBE title actually
stands for Mountain Bike Expert are unsubstantiated,
however, you’ve got to be nifty on a penny farthing growing
up in post war Wales when the nearest females lived three
valleys away. Ever the gentleman Sig Earwaker kept up his
sedate pace towards the rear of the group. His surname quite
possibly a description of the ridiculous helmet he insists on
wearing. Still, if a mob of local youths had suddenly swarmed
the group, his ‘urban skateboarder’ get-up would see him the
only one to avoid a vigorous happy slapping.
Impressively in this stage of proceedings our glorious leader
Capt Standen was still one of the stronger riders, aided in no
small part by the wealth of curious potions he was applying to
exposed areas of flesh. Personally I think blowing the Sqn
budget on a vile of Gypsy’s tears was money well spent by the
Boss. As the last few miles ticked by, SSgt Brooks mercilessly
cranked up the pace, stretching our ‘train’ out ever further.
Although, with the assorted mob, including SSgt Shawcross
on his kids bike, this ‘train’ was less Hogwarts Express and
more Thomas the Tank Engine. All that was left was for Sgt
Trimm’s contrived attempts at curtailing her ride early to bare
fruition as she popped inner tube number three at the 41 mile
stage; relegating her to the biff wagon with its driver LCpl
‘Compass’ Chinnery who had by this point managed to locate
the group after failing to for the previous 40!
SSgt Ali Nash receiving his MBE from HRH Prince Charles
SSgt Nash, who joined the Army in 1981, received his award
from HRH Prince Charles. SSgt Nash, who lives in Cardiff,
South Wales, enlisted into the Royal Regiment of Wales in
December 1981. During his career he has been a Corporal with
the Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers (REME) in 1993 and
later as Company Quarter Master Sergeant and Company
Sergeant Major. He served in several countries throughout
his career and at one stage, had more than 1,000 soldiers
under his watchful eye.
After leaving the Regular Army he joined the Territorial Army
and is now employed on FTRS as the SQMS in 53 (Wales and
Western) Signal Squadron in Cardiff. He is also a dedicated
charity worker and has raised hundreds of thousands of
pounds for a wide range of charities and good causes. During
his career, SSgt Nash has been awarded the GSM Northern
Ireland; NATO Medal in the former Yugoslavia; LS&GC Medal;
Queen’s Jubilee Medal and REME Corps Colours for rugby.
54 (WORCESTERSHIRE) SUPPORT SQUADRON (V)
OC
SSM
Maj C Quincey
WO2 (SSM) M Evans
Adventure Training to Italy - by Sig Lennon
Bike Ride to the National Memorial Arboretum
With our arrival at the Arboretum a more sombre mood took
the group as we changed and made our way to the Royal
Signals memorial. Set in a pleasant clearing amongst hazel
and maple trees, its centre point a bronze mercury sculpture;
it serves as a fantastic testament to the Corps and the men
and women who have served within. Pausing to contemplate
the fallen from the Royal Signals family was especially visceral
in such a setting; a setting which every member of the Corps
should make an effort to visit. The Regt Padre (Vic
VanDenBergh) then led the Corps service where we took time
to reflect, particular as a Regiment, the passing of WO2 ‘Pez’
Thomas on Op HERRICK, by dedicating a bench in his name.
Ex DRAGON GLADIATOR took part in the Marche area of Italy
and San Marino; it was the first time that most of the group
had been to either of these countries. During the adventure
training we had the opportunity to mountain bike through the
Alpine Della Luna’s challenging terrain and trek through its
relentless rolling hillsides. We also biked from the town of
San Leo, to the Republic of San Marino (England beat them
6-0) where we also had the opportunity to experience some
of its culture, including a visit to the medieval castle.
Instructors gave valuable practical training such as how to
maintain balance and speed whilst going down extremely
steep hillsides and how to apply correct gear changes, which
worked most of the time!
After a reflective service we retired to the Rose Room to
pilfer biscuits from under the watchful eye of the RSM before
clambering into vehicles for the journey home and well
deserved early nights. A truly memorable day.
53 (WALES & WESTERN) SIGNAL SQUADRON
OC
SSM
Maj M Longcake
WO2 (SSM) Cash
SSgt Nash MBE
This summer, SSgt Ali Nash received an MBE for his
longstanding services to the Army and for his ongoing charity
work.
68
LCpl Wong on mountain bike descent
The mountain biking phase definitely had us sweating and
plenty of water and sun cream was needed, as most of us
were not used to the hot climate. The trekking phase of the
exercise enabled us to refresh and improve our map reading
skills as we hiked through Tuscany’s arduous, but beautiful
national park. The mountains were only at 1700m, but they
did start at sea level. Navigation was difficult due to them
being heavily wooded, which reduced visibility, unlike the
views you get in Scotland or on the Top of the Alps. All in all
the exercise definitely challenged everyone’s skills practically
and theoretically.
The exercise allowed me to experience different things that I
would not be able to enjoy back in Birmingham; along the
journey to Italy we stopped at a Chinese restaurant (in
France) where I tried frog’s legs and snail. On the evenings,
after finishing our day’s training we indulged in Italian
homemade food cooked by Maj Phillips and his team. We
also plunged into an ice cold river just because SSgt Tim
Abbott did it first; LCpl Pete Wong found it to be the most
challenging thing he has ever done.
whatever the topic was or wasn’t! We also visited a museum
of the Battle of Rimini from WW2, which is not as well known
as Monte Cassino, however there were more casualties here
and hard close quarter fighting throughout the battle.
Then on to the Coriano Ridge War Cemetery to pay our
respects. The following members of the Royal Corps of
Signals who gave the ultimate sacrifice to their country, we
will remember them.
2565910 WOII EJ Jones
2581869 Sgt WH Vernon
2335687 Cpl HW Burgess
2350768 Cpl OG Jones
2588312 Cpl GA Wilde
7015906 Sig ER Brown
2333468 Sig R Hemsworth
2349522 Sig N Holmes
23449916 Sig WN Jinks
2592819 Sig WJ Rees
2370743 Sig R Santley
2372205 Sig SS Smith
10681603 Dvr T Cryer
576375 Dvr I Radmilovic
2332941 Dvr J Smith
14308848 Dvr J Swindell
When we get to heaven they now owe us a beer as they are in
The Wire. If they have beer in Heaven - I think we owe them a
few as well.
Ice Bath anyone!
Adventure training also brought along the opportunity to get
to know other members of the Regiment that I had not met
before and if it’s one thing I learnt from the exercise; it is that
you do not drop the ‘p bomb’ (politics) when Cpl Russell
Taylor is about; as he will deliver a 4 hour discussion on
AT and Battlefield Tour Team Photo
39th (SKINNERS) SIGNAL REGIMENT (VOLUNTEERS)
BRISTOL
CO
RSM
Lt Col M Cosgrove MBE
WO1 (RSM) W Scarrott
It has been a time of change for 39 Signal Regiment.
Following the release of the White Paper on 4 Jul, we
dropped the ‘Volunteers’ from our title and fell in line with
Army 2020. Additionally we gained a new Sqn, again under
Army 2020 – the Regiment assumed command of 43 (Wessex)
Signal Squadron from 21 Signal Regiment at the end of July.
Despite the new title and changing times ahead, The Regt
continues to provide ICS at readiness in support of UK Ops
and we are preparing for our Annual Deployment Exercise to
Okehampton in Sept.
RHQ and Regt Ops have also experienced change recently
with the departure of the Ops Maj, Maj Neil Fisher, the Adjt,
Capt Andy Rea and the FofS, SSgt (FofS) Niall Anderson. We
wish each of these individuals all the best in their new roles
and the Regt thanks them for their hard work during their
tenure with 39 Sig Regt.
A warm welcome is extended to each new member of staff,
Maj Michelle Warden who takes up the reins as Ops Maj, Capt
Dave Murphy who is our new Adjt and SSgt (FofS) Pit Thapa
who has taken over as Regt FofS. Welcome also to WO2
(YofS) Thomas who joins us as Regt YofS on promotion from
3DSR.
93 (NORTH SOMERSET YEOMANRY) SUPPORT SQUADRON BRISTOL
OC
SSM
Maj A W Morris
WO2 (SSM) K Butcher
The last couple of months have been extremely busy for
Support Squadron since the publication of our last ‘Wire
Notes’. Not only were the Squadron responsible for the
planning, organisation and delivery of the Regimental MATTs
weekend at Longmoor, we also assisted the Recruiting Team
at Weston-super-Mare on Armed Forces Day, participated in
the CO’s Cup Competition, hosted a visit from the Squadron
69
Honorary Colonel and several members of the Squadron even
found time to take part both the male and female Lanyard
Trophy Teams.
Several members of the Squadron have recently been
promoted with LCpls Stu Jones, Ali Tibbatts and Alex Tebbitt
all being promoted to Corporal. Well done and well deserved.
We welcome WO2 (YofS) Guy Davies, WO2 (SSM) Richie
Ayling and Cfn Tom Wixley, all ex-regulars who have taken
the opportunity to re-join the Reserve Army, and to Sig Paul
Martin who joins us from Recruit Troop. A warm welcome
and we hope you enjoy your stay with the Squadron.
We are also pleased to announce new arrivals for Cfn Craig
and Rhea Wookey on the birth of their daughter Neve and Cpl
Ian and Lauren Bailey on the birth of Joseph.
Sadly we say farewell to our 2IC, Capt Bob Nixon who leaves
on promotion to take up command of 43 Sig Sqn in Bath and
to Maj Bill Ruthven and SSgt Neil Raaff who have both
transferred to the Unposted List.
Uniform to Work Day
Several members of the Squadron: WO2 (SSM) Chris
Stockwell, Cpl Marie Perry, Cpl Emma Turner and LCpl Tom
Watson all proudly took advantage of wearing Uniform to
Work on Wednesday 26 June 2013.
Although the Horfield Recruiting Team, led by Lt Martin Crilly,
made an attempt at recruiting and received some potentially
useful contacts, the main aim of the event was to provide
support and fundraising for the Royal British Legion, as well
as a public relations exercise for the Regiment under the
auspices of FR20.
There were some ex-Regular soldiers from the Royal Corps of
Signals, who were very interested in the FFR element of the
stand, but the ‘star’ of the day with the crowd was our RLC
Chef, Cpl Emma Turner on the Catering Stand where Emma
showed of her culinary skills.
Despite being quite a long day, this was an enjoyable event
which gave us the opportunity to put the Regiment in the
public eye whilst supporting a very worthwhile organisation in
the Royal British Legion.
Op OLYMPIC Medallion Presentation - Tuesday 2 July 2013
The Squadron had the pleasure and privilege of hosting Brig T
H Lang QVRM, RD*, DL, the Squadron Honorary Colonel at
Horfield TA Centre on Tuesday 2 July 2013 to present several
members of the Squadron with their Op OLYMPIC Medallion.
The medallions were awarded to individuals who helped to
deliver a safe and secure London 2012 Olympic Games. The
majority of the recipients deployed to Blandford for the
period of the games.
Hon Col 93 (NSY) Sp Sqn with the Medallion Recipients
CO’s Cup 19-21 Jul 13 - by WO2 (YofS) Guy Davies
LCpl Tom Watson in the Police Call Centre where he works in his
civilian role
Exercise WESSEX RECRUITER - Saturday 29 June 2013
On Saturday 29 June, 93 (North Somerset Yeomanry) Support
Squadron took part in the Armed Forces Day Celebrations
organised by the Royal British Legion on behalf of the Town
Council in Weston-super-Mare.
Despite the early reporting time of 0630 hrs at Horfield TAC,
there was an excellent turn-out from both the Squadron and
our sister Squadron, 57 Signal Squadron. On arrival at the
site, adjacent to the Sovereign Shopping Centre, we set up
our stands, which included the Recruiting Caravan, a REME
stand, an FFR detachment Land Rover which was headed up
by members of 57 Signal Squadron and a Catering Stand.
Other stands on the site included the Royal British Legion, The
Rifles, the WRAC Association, the Aden Veterans’ Association,
“Help for Heroes”, the Army Cadets and many more. The
Rifles Band, based in Exeter, also gave a rousing performance
of military music.
70
On a hot summers evening in July, 7 “crack” members of the
Sqn deployed to Blandford to compete in the annual CO’s cup
competition. In a change of tac, the OC decided on a more
mature team this year comprising of 3 WO’s, 2 SNCO’s and 2
OR’s ably led by team captain WO1 (FofS) Chris Klass.
Day one consisted of various military and leadership stands
ranging from BCDT to Command Tasks, culminating with a
cheeky burden retrieval race. Feeling quietly confident with
the team’s performance (despite some dodgy interpretation
of the rules on the tab) the Regiment all met up at FOB
Thorpe in the evening for a BBQ and a few well earned cold
beers.
Day two was more relaxed, starting off with a time trial on
the Go Karts, which saw SSgt (Art Veh) Mick Pearce and Cfn
Craig Wookey battle it out for the fastest driver. After
winning our volleyball match and getting robbed in the
softball, the highlight of the day was thrashing 94 Sig Sqn in
football.
With a Regimental parade, the results were announced with
93 (NSY) Sp Sqn coming a very credible joint second, we knew
it wasn’t our turn to win this year.
A special mention must be given to Pte Emily Palmer for her
outstanding performance for the Sqn over the whole
competition, especially the burden retrieval.
the drumhead service continued Capt Steve Hall and Cfn
Aaron Leighton took the vehicles for some skirmishing
through the town centre to drum up interest and raise
awareness of the events. Over the same weekend the
Squadron held their first set of deployments to local training
area, Pippingford Park. The crews completed full PACEXs and
generated traffic. In addition their tactical set-ups and cam
and concealment were excellent!
The Brighton Troop hosted their annual Summer Dinner with
the new Mayor as guest. This was also a chance for the Troop
to dine out Capt Chris Kong their previous Troop Commander.
In Eastbourne the Squadron sent warm congratulations to Sig
Ian Sussex and his wife Kerry over the birth of their new
daughter Evie. We also welcomed home Cfn Matthew Green
who has safely returned after his 630 mile trek along Britain’s
longest national trail via Yorkshire and London.
Pte Emily Palmer supervising WO2 (YofS) Guy Davies and SSgt
(Art Veh) Pearse on the Burden Retrieval
Trek
56 SIGNAL SQUADRON – EASTBOURNE
OC
SSM Maj S Trevelion
WO2 (SSM) R Vincent
Despite the announcement that the Reserves Forces future
plan sees 56 Signal Squadron being withdrawn from the Army
Order of Battle, the Squadron personnel continue to drive
things forward. It was ironic that only a couple of days after
Armed Forces weekend during which several members of the
Squadron were actively recruiting in the local area, it was
announced that we would be disbanded. However, the image
of the Squadron in the local area was well promoted over the
weekend with events in Hastings, Eastbourne and Seaford.
The main event in Eastbourne was led at the Redoubt Fortress
where the Squadron has its own museum casement. Whilst
Where’s the Det?
Admin stop
71
884 Troop Dinner - by 2Lt Chris Davis
On 15 June, 884 Troop hosted their Annual Troop Dinner at
the Courtlands Hotel in Brighton. The event was attended by
past and present members of the Troop, key personalities
from the Squadron and friends and families. The guest of
honour for the evening was the Worshipful Mayor of Brighton
and Hove, Councillor Denise Cobb, accompanied by her
Granddaughter as Consort.
The dinner was an opportunity to thank and dine out Capt
Chris Kong, who left his role as Troop Commander in
September 2012 to take on the role of Squadron Ops Officer.
All guests were also able to take a few moments to remember
SSgt Tony Back. Tony had been both a Troop Staff Sergeant
and acting Troop Commander and he was a much loved
member of the Troop and Squadron. He sadly passed away in
December of 2012, and it was excellent to be able to raise a
glass in his memory.
The 56 Sqn Team
a course that seemed uphill all the way, collecting various
awkward and heavy items as they went.
Brighton Troop Dinner
It was then time to get changed for the Regimental BBQ
followed by a trip into town to sample the delights of
Blandford Forum.
Troop Commander, 2Lt Chris Davis was also able to present
some awards during the evening to recognise some excellent
achievements over the previous 12 months. Sig Paul Gendre
received the D11 Cup in recognition of a great performance
and report following his DITS course. Sig James Pritchett
received the Route, Boot and Shoot Cup, recognising
a superb performance on his PJNCO course.
Staff Sergeant Peter Mills and LCpl Barry Heanes were both
integral in organising the dinner and thanks goes to them for
making the evening such a splendid success. We look forward
to next year’s dinner, our last.
Exercise LYNX WARRIOR 19 - 21 July 2013
- by WO2 (SSM) Rob Vincent
Led by Sgt Ben Carter the Sqn competed in the CO’s Cup over
a hot and sunny weekend at Blandford. The Saturday began
with four stands. Command tasks where planks and barrels
were put to good use. BCD, where, oddly, the senior
members of the team became casualties and had to be
treated and then carried by the juniors (something the juniors
claim was not restricted to this stand).
Model making, which seemed to involve 8 adults playing in a
sandpit. DCCT where everyone’s application of the
marksmanship principles was put to the test.
Despite the prayers of many the temperature stayed just low
enough for the burden retrieval to take place. The 4 teams
from the Regiment all set off together from Pond Bottom, on
72
Sig Edmonds to the rescue
Sunday morning involved a round robin of go karting, volley
ball, football and rounders. This enabled everyone to show
off their sporting prowess (or in my case lack of it).
Despite not managing to win the CO’s Cup, Squadron
members did pick up two awards; Sig Kerry Edmonds as the
outstanding individual over the weekend and Sig James
Goodwin for best shot on the DCCT (or was it for being the
demon driver on the go karts)?
Weston-super-Mare was part of the plan. The Squadron
congregated in Bristol TA centre on the Friday night before
deployment began early on Saturday. A BOWMAN det and
CST deployed to Weston-super-Mare, the remaining CST and
REEBOK set up within the TA centre grounds, and two more
BOWMAN dets deployed to Caerewent training area. Despite
the distractions of a curious public in Weston, comms were
soon established on all circuits and maintained throughout
the day with the OC getting regular updates on the state of
deployed ICS (Ice Cream Soldiers) in Weston by
videoconference.
Everyone returned to the TAC for a few social drinks on
Saturday night before a hard day of Equipment Care and
preparation for unit inspections on Sunday. Morale on
Sunday was maintained by an excellent BBQ lunch prepared
by culinary and mechanical wizard Cpl Badman, although the
OC did complain that there was too much salad.
Ready, aim, fire
Sig Beard enjoying the sun Ex BRUNEL TROTT
CO’s Cup
The Winners
57 (CITY AND COUNTY OF BRISTOL) SIGNAL SQUADRON
OC
SSM
Maj P Rodenhurst
WO2 (SSM) R Vise
Since the last edition of The Wire the FR20 announcement has
been made. This brought the news that 57 Sig Sqn is to be
merge with 43 Sig Sqn and hence the name of 57 will be
withdrawn from the Order of Battle. Although devastating
news for many people who have spent their entire career in
the Squadron, this should not result in any reservist being
forced to leave or re-badge. Our Troop in Gloucester will stay
in Gloucester but re subordinate to 53 Sig Sqn in Cardiff and
most Bristol based soldiers are expected to remain in Bristol
but become part of 43 Sqn in Bath, which will also take on the
“City and County of Bristol” title to add to their existing
“Wessex”. There is no announcement on timing of the
changes so for the moment it is business as usual and 57 Sig
Sqn will continue to recruit, train and stand ready for UK Ops.
Before the Squadron becomes history; it has managed to
make history by retaining the CO’s cup. The CO’s Cup is
awarded to the best Squadron in the Regiment based on the
performance of Squadron teams over an intensive
competition weekend. Previously based around military skill
stands, this year a slight change introduced team sports on
the Sunday. Despite the change in format, 57 Squadron still
outclassed the opposition and achieved the unheard of
distinction of retaining the cup two years running. This means
the Squadron has won the trophy 4 of the last 6 times it has
been held.
Exercise BRUNEL TROT
The first Sqn comms exercise of the year fell on a very sunny
weekend in late June. The exercise coincided with Armed
Forces Day and deploying detachments to the public event in
CO’s Cup Winning Team
73
Medal Parade
On Tuesday 23 July the Sqn welcomed our Honorary Colonel
Mrs Mary Prior MBE JP, the Lord Lieutenant of the County &
City of Bristol. She presented the VRSM for ten years reserve
service to Capt Eddie Kingston, SSgt Jo Stevens, Sgt Ray Card
and Cpl Matt Williamson. A number of others received VRSM
clasps for further periods of 5 years service (including SSgt
Stevens!) and a large number received their commemorative
coins from the Prime Minister for their contribution to Op
OLYMPICS. The presentation was followed by a buffet supper
allowing the Honorary Colonel to mingle with the troops.
Other Activities and Achievements
At the start of June LCpl Seller and Sig McDonald took a CST
to Northern Ireland to provide the Regiment's contribution to
OP SPONSOR. After a thankfully uneventful period on
standby they returned swiftly (rather too swiftly?) to Bristol in
time for LCpl Seller to join LCpls Dempsey and Sluz in being
promoted to acting Cpl. Cpl Emma Dempsey has now jetted
off on expedition in South America, and on a slightly less
exotic note our Skinners award holder Sig Oliver Camm has
gone to Germany for PDT. Sigs McDonald, Palmer and
Saunders all passed PJNCO CLM and LCpl Hartfield has
become a Skill At Arms jedi. The OC was delighted to attend
Sandhurst to see 2Lt Aimee Morris gain her commission.
Sadly for us she has been posted to 43 Sig Sqn to begin her
career as an Officer, but the changes afoot mean we will see
her again soon. Two new TAPOs, Daniel Stoner and Emily
Griffiths, have joined the Squadron and we hope they will
follow in her footsteps as soon as possible (except the bit
about being immediately posted out on commissioning).
direct route) across the hills and around to halfway point
(overtaking the girls team once more). After hot scoff (for some) and top notch support from our
admin team (cheers Cpl Tanuku and Sig Oladunkoye) we
were off once more. After down-climbing a waterfall section
and then heading along the river, we found that the map
stopped working but we eventually made it overland to
admin point 3 - catching up with the girls team one final time. A zig zag route took us to the ‘supposed’ start of a long
straight (non-existent) path over the hill to admin point 4. We
eventually got there, secure in the knowledge that we only
had about 10k to go.
After the longest 5k ever, we began... the even longest 5k
ever. It was always, in the words of Capt Nixon, just another
1k and we’re pretty much there. In the end though, the 39SR
Male A team were once again thrashed by their girls team,
who won overall TA female winners for third year running. Well done OCdt Morris, Sgt Downs, LCpl Tackley, Sig
Edmonds, Sig Twomey and Pte Palmer!
The Female Team - by Sig Kerrie Edmonds
39 Signal Regiment entered two teams to this year’s
competition, which took place on a hot and sunny 8 June,
across the Warcop area.
Months of training and preparation had preceded the event,
encompassing endurance and strength training and lessons
on nutrition and foot administration. The teams were
confident and eager to embark on the Lanyard adventure.
We arrived at Warcop camp the evening before the
competition. Following a kit check and the weigh in, all that
remained was to consume an enormous, carbohydrate-loaded
meal, in the hope it would provide us with the energy needed
to complete the 40 miles or at least get us to the first check
point where more food would be waiting!
The morning of the competition started early, 0330hrs early,
but the lack of sleep was not discouraging anyone. A short
time in the holding area gave the perfect opportunity for our
final team talk, led by the RSM, WO1 (RSM) Scarrott. His
reassuring confidence in the teams’ abilities gave us a final
boost - we were ready!
Despite agreeing a ‘somewhat steady’ speed at the start, the
excitement and release of adrenaline pushed our pace. Prior
The OC and 2Lt Morris
Lanyard Trophy 2013 - The Male Team (Beaten by the Girls!)
– by Sig Bowe
On arrival at Warcop camp, and after returning last years
Lanyard TA trophy (well done girls team), we headed to our
reserved accommodation (block 39) - to find that it had
been already been taken (by the French). With due resolve,
we arranged alternative digs.
Rise and shine at 3am (so much for the planned lie in until
3.45), breakfast, weigh in and - we’re off. Mass start, track,
golf course, woodland, leapfrog the girls team and already
we’re at Admin Point 1. Feeling good, we round the corner
and bang - get slapped in the face by Murton Pike. Numerous hill reps up and down Avon Gorge had not
provided adequate preparation however we topped out,
rode the valley and took the motorway (as opposed to the
74
Sigs Edmonds and Twomey ready for Lanyard
expectations had led us to believe we’d stay within the main
pack of teams for the first few hours, however crucial
navigation decisions were required very early on. With teams
in the distance veering left and the teams just in front to the
right, our experienced navigator Sgt Cassie Downs decided to
take us straight down the middle! This ended up to be an
excellent decision and nudged the team ahead, reaching the
1st admin stop in quick time. The team's spirits at this point
were high, that was until we met the hill of all hills! An hour
climb and we reached the next checkpoint.
The next few hours took us over boggy ground and
undulating paths, yo-yoing past our male team counterparts
only to be overtaken by them few minutes later. ‘Friendly
banter’ was provided courtesy of Cpl Graeme Tait and for a
short time he succeeded in taking our minds off the task at
hand. Similarly, the picturesque views of the reservoir,
meandering river and distant hills were a pleasant distraction.
The hills became less distant and soon we were on the up
again! With the 30 mile mark approaching, blisters and aching
balls of the feet began to take its toll on some of the
members of the group. We kept going but group morale had
dropped.
This signalled it was at time for a change in nutritional
strategy. Redbulls were shared amongst us. This turned into
a significant moment, as it coincided the passing another male
team! The effects of the caffeine had given us wings and for
a few miles we were flying.
We continued, led confidently by OCdt Aimee Morris, who
stepped in to take responsibility for the navigation. The last
few miles felt long, especially for Sig Kerrie Edmonds who
had made it her aim to hit 100,000 steps on her pedometer
before the finish! ‘Trotting’ down the hills and zig-zagging
across the paths for the last miles. With less than a mile to go
the team came together to jog to the finish, despite Sgt
Downs being in agony, she too joined the team, so we could
cross the line together. Applause and congratulations were
given at the finish, relief and elation were felt.
We finished in 15hrs 43mins - the winning time for TA Female,
which meant 39 had retained the title for another year.
71st (CITY OF LONDON) YEOMANRY SIGNAL REGIMENT
BEXLEYHEATH
CO
RSM Lt Col J Picton
WO1 (RSM) M Whitfield
The Regiment would like to say a fond farewell to WO1 (RSM)
‘Dom’ Graham who, after 22 years, is leaving the Army. In
turn we would also like to take the opportunity to welcome
his replacement, WO1 (RSM) Matt Whitfield who joins us
from 2 Signal Regiment.
Congratulations to WO2 (SSM) Adrian Keeble who on return
from Afghanistan will assume the role of Senior Volunteer
Warrant Officer following his promotion to WO1.
47 (MIDDLESEX YEOMANRY) SIGNAL SQUADRON
OC
SSM
SPSI
Maj Mike Curtis-Rouse
SSgt Claire Goodwin
SSgt Paul Tinsley
Squadron Overview – by Maj Mike Curtis-Rouse
The outcome of the FR2020 was widely awaited from the
reserves and the indicated changes including the rebranding
of the Territorial Army to that of the Army Reserve has been
felt by many of the Squadron as an action which was long
overdue. Whilst for this Squadron in many respects we have
always been a territorial unit having a long association with
the Middlesex Yeomanry, Duke of Cambridge Hussars, a
yeomanry unit, the Squadron has also been providing
individual augmentees for operational deployments for the
last two decades. Indeed as I write these notes, Sgt Pat
Coleman is currently deployed on OP HERRICK as the latest
member of the Unit to be mobilised for operations.
That the Squadron will undergo eventually a merger with the
41(Princess Louise Kensington) Signal Squadron to form a
new unit with the designation 31 Signal Squadron is
reassuring. Both units have shared heritage, and the demise
of either sub-unit would be mourned; the merger will ensure
that the combined unit brings together the qualities and
heritage of each and create a more capable signal unit for
future operations, whether UK focused or operationally
deployed.
Exercise YEOMAN CANOE – by Cpl Rosie Ewbank
It was a dark and stormy night when 47 Sqn left the TAC and
headed for Symonds Yat on the Welsh border and the banks
of the River Wye. As we closed in on the civvy campsite rain
started lashing the outside of the minibus and thunder rolled
ominously overhead. There was some questionable
navigation from Maj Curtis Rouse whose temper was not
being helped by signs being read out in a thick Welsh accent
by Lt Tim ‘Banoffee’ Roberts. The advance party had got
there earlier in the day and set up three 12x12s which loomed
over all the brightly coloured ‘civvy’ tents. On arrival Capt
Alex Orr gave the party a quick orientation brief and also
insisted that we be quiet as he had been forced to pay a £100
noise bond to ensure peace and quiet for the other campers.
This caused much amusement and bets were soon being
taken as to whether Capt Orr would be the cause of the noise
which would break the bond.
After a sound night’s kip we were up early for egg banjos and
porridge before setting off to the canoe hire place. We were
duly issued a buoyancy aid, a paddle and some blue drums to
store our day sacks before getting on the bus and driving
downriver. We dragged the canoes down to the water’s edge
and were soon paddling away in pairs or threes with some
interesting interpretations on the concept of steering. A little
way down the river there was a practice of getting all canoes
together and forming a flotilla, allowing people to swap over
to get the right balance of power and speed in each.
The first couple of miles saw some unintentional beachings
where the river ran shallow with people hopping out to drag
the canoes clear. A few crashes and cutting up incidents
ensued, intentional or otherwise, as everyone got used to the
steering which resulted in a few close calls with the banks.
There was also the inevitable splashing which got a bit out of
hand at one point and causing Capt Alex Orr, Sig James
Shinne and Pte John Barr (cowboy hat and all) to capsize and
emerge spluttering and soaked from knee deep water,
violently protesting that they were not at fault.
The Wye’s course flowed and turned peacefully between
grassy banks covered in wildflowers to steeply wooded banks
75
with towering trees. We stopped for lunch at Ross on Wye by
a picturesque pub, which was happy to provide thirsty
paddlers with light refreshment. Our lunch break caused
quite a stir among the local duck population who filled any
inch of water not occupied by a canoe in a bid for a bit of our
bread. After lunch we really dug in and started making good
time down the river, the final crew to canoe adjustments
having happened. As the afternoon wore on the upper body
work out took its toll on some more than others and the sun
shone down. We wove our way through a variety of other
canoes, some whose paddlers were wearing ponchos and
sombreros and others in pointed party hats with water
pistols.
The Squadron received its first 2Lt in over 4 years! Newly
commissioned 2Lt Matthew Osment passed out of the Royal
Military Academy at Sandhurst on 3 August in front of the
Chief of the General Staff, Gen Sir Peter Wall. It was attended
by both his 2 I/C and PSAO who thoroughly enjoyed the day
and the chance to meet and greet CGS and his ADC. A very
nice lunch was taken with all the newly commissioned officers
in Old College.
The last stretch turned into a race with the more energetic
canoeists vying to be winners and everyone else with aching
arms straggling in behind. After a quick dip in the river for
some we headed back to the campsite and no time was
wasted in getting the BBQ on with Pte John Barr warming up
for his Class 3 Chef Course.
The next morning saw a quick and efficient breaking of Camp,
which provided some entertainment for the other campers
who were just emerging groggily from their tents or getting
breakfast underway. A short drive saw us arrive at the
Paintballing location where we were issued overalls and
masks, before making our way over to the battleground. The
first game was a defend the castle scenario and the Marshalls
were not prepared for how tactically we approached the
whole thing. The second game was the navigation of a maze
with gauze walls, in which pairs fire and manoeuvre was
successfully used by the winning red team. Last but not least
was the ‘Chicken Run’ which involved one team running flat
out and un-armed to touch a barrier and then run back to the
start point, while the other team plastered them with
paintballs. The last event saw a stand-off between Pte John
Barr and the OC, Maj Curtis-Rouse as they were the only two
with paint balls left. After a brief agreement that below waist
line was off limits, a flourishing of handkerchiefs, Pte Barr
proceeded to shoot the OC into oblivion and beyond.
Somewhere along the way the OC was heard muttering that
Pte Barrs definition of the waistline required some work.
Newly commissioned 2 Lt Matthew Osment is flanked by his 2
I/C, Capt Sean Olohan on the left, and his PSAO, Capt John
Donaldson on the right
Sgt Hamlet Jules has once again been showing how good a
shot he is with the rifle. For the second successive year he
has won the ‘Other Arms Cup’ at the Royal Signals Shooting
competition.
By this time it had started to rain quite heavily and everyone
was soaked, smiling and smeared with paint. The drive back
saw everyone except the drivers and co-drivers catching 40
winks in the knowledge of a great weekend had by all. 68 (INNS OF COURT & CITY AND ESSEX YEOMANRY) SIGNAL
SQUADRON
OC
SSM
SPSI
Major Alex Downing
WO2 (SSM) James Paton
SSgt Jay Beattie
Squadron Overview – by Capt John Donaldson
The Squadron has been very busy over the last reporting
period. They have taken part in all aspects of training and
also been instrumental in other activities outside the normal
routine. Capt Sean Olohan, the Sqn 2 I/C, has taken various
members of the unit to a number of Armed Forces Day
parades, the main effort being Walthamstow where a huge
turnout greeted the soldiers. Normal training weekends have
been taken up with MATTs and maintenance training in
preparation for our annual deployment which this year will be
spread over three separate locations – Salisbury Plain,
Okehampton and Newquay! The OC, Maj Alex Downing, is
enjoying his second spell in charge and has been prominent in
establishing new objectives for the Squadron to achieve. A
number of outside visits to the unit have ensured that he has
been busy briefing and getting the word out about what the
Sqn has achieved and is about to embark on.
76
Sgt Hamlet Jules receives his ‘Other Arms Cup’ after winning it
for the second year in a row
After our annual deployment the Sqn main effort will switch
to the ceremonial role and equestrian training will commence
in preparation for our annual participation in the Lord Mayors
Show in November. Always a spectacular event and one that
the Sqn takes immense pride in.
Finally, come the next issue of The Wire, our 2 deployed
soldiers will have returned from Helmand. LCpl Jo Giles and
Sig Danny Ashton are due back late October.
NEWS FROM SQUADRONS
20 ARMOURED BRIGADE HEADQUARTERS AND SIGNAL SQUADRON (200)
PADERBORN
OC
RSM
Maj H J Stoy
WO1 (RSM) G Revell
As the Brigade moves closer to MST for Op HERRICK 20, 20
Armoured Brigade Headquarters and Signal Squadron (200)
has continued to be extremely busy. Over the last few
months we have had soldiers working to provide EXCONs,
HICONs and Rear Link Detachments in Bavaria, Canada and
Kenya. Despite the continuing commitment to numerous
exercises the Unit has also completed Adventurous Training,
an Armoured Commanders Course and hosted the Corps
Colonel and RSM for Corps Day celebrations. The Squadron
has also run an arduous competition for personnel from
across the Brigade: Ex GAUNTLET DAMBUSTER.
RIFLES Battlegroup. Throughout the entire exercise he
worked as their Rear Link Detachment (RLD) providing
intimate support to the Signals Platoon. He was also involved
in the various live firing packages which proved to be a
fantastic opportunity for him to learn infantry skills at a higher
level; he also got a chance to experience the European
flooding intimately and has his ‘wet/dry’ drills down to a tee.
A Squadron in Pink – by LCpl Pheasant
An order to ‘parade in pink’ is not something one usually gets
from the RSM’s office; however on 14 June soldiers from
across the Squadron stood outside of SHQ awaiting
inspection from WO1 (RSM) Revell, all in pink.
Exercise BAVARIAN CHARGER – by Sig Deans
On 6 June a group of soldiers from 20 Armoured Brigade
Headquarters and Signal Squadron (200) deployed to Bavaria
on Ex BAVARIAN CHARGER as part of HICON and EXCON in
support of 5 RIFLES and the QDG.
Although originally deployed as Radio Rebroadcast
Detachments, a number of us were involved in a variety of
tasks, most notably Ex BAVARIAN BIMBLE. This exercise
required the installation and initialisation of the Battlegroup
CNR prior to the live firing phase; in effect the PACEX of the
Battlegroup communications plan. As a junior Signaller, I am
still very much in my apprenticeship years, however it was
highly rewarding to have been in a position of mentoring and
advising the Signals Platoon of the exercising troops. When
we were not deployed on the ranges with the exercising
troops, we worked providing communications support to
HICON.
The RRB crews finally got to deploy during the transition from
Grafenwöhr training area to Hohenfel training area, providing
valuable training experience for both detachment
commanders and crewmen alike. This was an excellent
opportunity for the crews to exercise and hone their skills
before deploying to Canada on Ex PRAIRIE THUNDER, with
plenty of work towards class 3-2 and 2-1 workbooks carried
out. The down-time activities of trips to the American PX
superstore and a weekend in Munich helped to make it both a
rewarding and memorable number of weeks.
It is important not to forget Sig Hall and his work with the 5
Sig Hall fighting through
A very Pink Parade
The reason for this brightening of the parade square was to
support Cpl Rolt and LCpl Pheasant who were to take part in
‘Spin 4 Life’ the following weekend to raise money for Cancer
Research UK.
Fines were
dished out for
those who were
not deemed
pink enough
and then all
participated in
an incredibly
tough circuit
session where
everybody
could bid
money to cut
the 2 hour
session short.
This is where
the real money
came from; you
would be
surprised at the
amount of
money soldiers
are willing to
offer up in the
hope of cutting
the duration of
a PT session.
The “Best Dressed” LCpl Wood
77
Almost immediately this caused a bidding war between LCpl
Lamb and SSgt Meakin who both went up to €50 each to
have the lesson reduced. This most certainly got the rest of
the Squadron into the spirit of the event. By the end of the
lesson €985 had been raised, but more importantly the
session had been reduced to a mere 30 minutes. With a final
€15 from the RSM (for not actually taking part in the session)
the Squadron had managed to raise a staggering €1000 in
under an hour!
fastest). With the alcohol and food flowing through the day
and into to the evening the only thing that’s left which still
befuddles me is the apparent fetish the Officer Corps has for
tweed; perhaps I’ll get it one day...
At the end of the session Sharly MacLennan, a spinning
instructor from Dempsey Fit Squad who had organised ‘Spin 4
Life’, chose a winning fancy dress. This highly prestigious title
was awarded to LCpl Wood and his beautiful pink dress and
wings, earning himself a well deserved crate. We’re also
hoping to put in an entry to next year’s Miss England and are
quite optimistic; I’ve no doubt you would all agree!
Royal Signals Corps Day – by LCpl Lamb
28 June is a significant day for members of the Corps across
the Army as it was on that day, 93 years ago, that the Royal
Corps of Signals was formed. It was an especially significant
day for the soldiers of 20 Armoured Brigade Headquarters
and Signal Squadron (200) as they were to celebrate the day
in style. This included witnessing the Corps RSM ending up
head first in a paddling pool and the Corps Colonel write off a
chariot in spectacular fashion.
The day started with a quick brief from WO1 (RSM) Revell
assuring us that ‘the Squadron fun day would, no matter
what, BE FUN’. It was at that point the heavens opened
signalling the official start of the day’s festivities. Such
activities included: - chariot racing, bucking bronco, clown
bouncy castle, dinosaur bouncy castle, blind fold target
practice, tangram and riddles, tug of war, touch down bouncy
castle and observation.
A particular highlight of the day was the chariot racing,
complete with horse, lance, shield, target and of course
chariot. That is until the Corps Colonel had finished his go
forcing us to revert to plan B (one man pulling a trolley with a
second clinging on for dear life). It seems that the chariot
looked a lot better than it performed despite the best efforts
of LCpl Finch and the Technical Maintenance Section.
The tangram and riddles were more a challenge of the mind
than the body, the last thing you want to do after the tug of
war and chariot race. This event was designed by Cpl
Thompson and Cpl Patterson, involving a set of large shapes
which can be made into other objects such as cats, foxes,
rabbits, etc. The riddles were to work out the clues to the
next shape you make.
Finally the tug of war was run by Sig Thomas, our newly
appointed Squadron PTI. This contest consisted of three
people at each end of the rope with a pool of water in
between, presenting a fairly effective motivation to win.
However, if you go outside the lanes Sig Thomas would
exercise his new authority, resulting in teams of soldiers
refining their ‘sprawl’ technique inside the pool.
The Corps Colonel Flying
Lanyard Trophy – by LCpl Woods
This was it. The culmination of 3 months training had led us
to this point. There was no turning back. Fifty teams of men
and women were slowly corralled into a pen. “1 minute
remaining” was the call out. The RQMS, WO2 Watts, simply
flared his nostrils, scraped his hooves and grunted as we
awaited the sound of the klaxon. I was ready. After all I was
REME and this was merely a Signals event. How hard could it
be?
Only three months of training wasn’t exactly ideal but SSgt
Scarcliff was meticulous and 100% devoted when it came to
how best to prepare our team for the task at hand. Drawing
on a vast ocean of knowledge when it came to preparation
and admin for these sorts of competitions, he meant
business. He wanted a top 5 finish. As they say: go big or go
home. So… Everyday we would set off at various times,
travelling to different locations for a bit of sight seeing and
maybe the odd mile or two. The Möhnesee was a particular
favourite, the route well known for the dam busting exploits
of 1943. Each lost toenail is a constant reminder of my
training, however each mile was “money in the bank” and my
fellow REME compatriots Sgt Smith and Cpl Gemmell were
proving their worth. Unfortunately our rigorous training lost
2 team members to injury; Sig Wheadon and Sig Griffiths, so
they became our admin team and worked incredibly hard to
support us throughout.
I didn’t know what to expect as the klaxon sounded. It was
mayhem but getting ahead with the front runners was
essential. The first manned checkpoint came in no time;
At the end of the morning the scores were totalled up and
once again the Tech Maintenance Section proved themselves
to be as good at cheating in contests as they are skiving from
work. WO2 (FofS) Gordon gladly accepted the prize, a crate
of beer, on behalf of Sgt Reddy, LCpl Draper, LCpl Mason and
of course myself, LCpl Lamb.
That was not the end of the day as Sgt Smith had organised a
families’ barbeque. This included a giant bouncy castle, a
make shift bar, a stage made of two SVs and a cake stand
from our wives’ club (incidentally my wife’s cakes sold the
78
The Lanyard Team in action
enough time to inhale a banana in preparation for “The Hill”
and up we went. We were now on the Pennine Way, and
before we knew what had happened we were at the halfway
point. It was surprising how much of a morale boost having
other unit representatives and our very own OC, Maj Stoy and
RSM WO1 Revell clapping us in was. A quick five minute
turnaround and we were off again.
At no point did anybody let us know that we’d be scaling
down cliffs, yet there we were precariously climbing down a
rock face. Cpl Gemmell thought falling might be the quickest
way down but luckily Cpl ‘Mani’ Pun was there to save his life:
route selection at its best. My feet were now killing me but
the team was still all together. The 3rd manned checkpoint
came and went, and rumour had it we were sitting in 5th
position! Top 5 was possible. We continued to eat up the
miles even with the unstable, boggy terrain. Lt Thorburn was
convinced that the best way to cross a three foot trench was
head first but it turned out that it wasn’t. Our 4th and final
manned checkpoint was upon us and we waltzed on in and
out with a full compliment keenly aware of the teams
snapping at our heels. It was at this point that LCpl Banks
spoke for the first time in the whole event: something along
the lines of “Urghh… Yeah!”.
The last 5km were hell. Time to suck it up. 1900m to go.
Downhill. We legged it, running on nothing but adrenaline.
Extended line across the finish and done! Team intact. Right,
where’s the beer?
It was one of the proudest moments of our careers, it’ll take a
while for our bodies to forgive us but it was worth it. Hats off
to the Royal Signals that was grizzly. So…. When do we start
training for the next one?
member, or, for the 4 intrepid (or stupid) individual
competitors, swapping wet suits for combats and donning a
40lb bergan for the 31.7km TAB from the Sorpe dam to the
Mohnesee.
One hr 35 mins later Cpl Mani Pun passed through the 12km
checkpoint having completed the first of what would be
nearly 3 AFTs in a very impressive time, closely followed by
Sgt Dave Smith of the Sqn LAD and 2 members of the team
from 5 Rifles. As all passed the first major checkpoint, the
Sqn OC was cycling furiously between competitors with
words of encouragement. Things were moving at an
impressive pace, far faster than anybody had anticipated and
with a time of 4hrs 10mins Cpl Pun arrived at the British
Mohnesee Sailing Club to hand over to his team mate for his
second 5km swim of the day. Just 15 minutes behind him, Sgt
Smith arrived and handed over to his swimmer, LCpl Booth
(also LAD), who entered the water and not only made up the
lost time but pulled out an impressive lead by the time the
swim was complete. SSgt Scarcliff, the first individual
competitor, arrived just after the 5 hour mark and, changing
back into his wet suit, set off on the second swim. Meanwhile
on the other end of the Mohnesee Cpl Pun and Sgt Smith
were now into the 11km run. Sgt Smith was swiftly overtaken
by the runners from 5 Rifles who then caught and passed Cpl
Pun on the final stretch to be the first team over the finish
line in a time of 9hrs 12mins. SSgt Scarcliff was the first of the
individuals home in a time of 10hrs 35mins, an effort which he
has vowed to beat in the future.
The event was a great success and the money raised will go to
buy a specially adapted wheelchair for the St Christophorus
kindergarten. Thanks must be given to SSgt ‘Robbo’ Robson
of 35 Engineer Regiment, the staff at the British Mohnesee
Sailing Club and last but by no means least all the members of
the 20 Armoured Brigade Headquarters and Signal Squadron
(200) admin team.
The Lanyard Team working hard
Exercise GAUNTLETT DAMBUSTER – by Cpl Fritsch
Early one May morning in 1943 the sound over the Sorpe and
Mohne dams above the Rhur valley was that of a force of
Lancaster Bombers sent to destroy them. Seventy years later
on a foggy yet warm July morning the Brits were back for an
altogether different, but still daunting challenge.
Ex GAUNTLET DAMBUSTER, the brain child of SSgt ‘Kiwi’
Scarcliff was a charity endurance event held on 25 Jul 2013 to
raise money for the St. Christophorus Kindergarten in
Sennelager. The event consisted of two 5km swims, a 31km
loaded march and an 11km run, held in the area of the Sorpe
and Mohne dams.
The competitors assembled on the southern end of the
Sorpesee at 0515 and tentatively entered the water. Almost 2
½ hours later, in clearing conditions, the first of the swimmers
were out of the water, either handing over to a team
Sunrise over the Mohnesee
Exercise PRAIRIE THUNDER 2, Ghost Run – by Sig Lee
During Ex PRAIRIE THUNDER 2 in BATUS I was given the
opportunity to complete a Canoeing expedition. The AT was
based in Trails End Camp in the middle of a forest north of
Calgary, a pleasant change from the mosquito infested prairie
land of the training area.
On day one we familiarized ourselves with the canoe and
equipment, learning to work with our partner to manoeuvre
the canoe using different techniques. These lessons would
build us up to a 3 day expedition on the North Saskatchewan
River in the Rocky Mountains, which gave amazing clear views
of snow topped mountains and green forest.
79
the side. LCpl Ewen entertained us all with his amusing
commentary throughout, whilst Sig Leonidas decided it
would be in Maj Stoy’s best interests to be removed from the
game, taking it upon himself to run her out. Following this
there was a trip to the Squadron bar for a few good luck and
goodbye speeches.
Fantastic views of the Canadian Rockies
At our start point we all got into our wetsuits, which left little
to the imagination, and buoyancy aid jackets. Well stocked
with sweets and beef jerky we spent the days paddling past
scenic views of the Rocky Mountains, spotting many wild deer
and goats along the way (fortunately no bears). Each night
we would rest by the river in our four man tents next to a
roaring camp fire. We cooked bison sausages and toasted
giant marshmallows, all the while keeping our bear spray
close to hand.
The high point of my AT was tackling the rapids. Feeling my
canoe fill up with water before suddenly capsizing in a rapid
tide was a real test of just how much we had learnt during the
skills training phase. I felt a mixture of fear and excitement as
I swam as hard as I could out of the rapid tides. Seeing the
shore pass quickly by as I was rocked by the waves down the
river was certainly an experience I will not forget in a hurry!
50m down from where we capsized we finally made it out
feeling fully refreshed.
At the end of our expedition at Rocky Mountain House, the
instructors told us that they were amazed how little they had
to intervene or give direction, owing to our discipline and
independence. I learnt a great deal from the expedition and
was pleased to be awarded the Foundation Certificate in
Canoeing.
Taking advantage of the hot weather during the weekend we
went to the local outdoor pool for a generally chilled out day.
The next week we had a busier schedule; sitting in on the
Commanders’ Course on the Bulldogs which consisted of
detailed lessons on specific systems within the engine
expertly delivered by armoured guru SSgt Meakin. To finish
off the working week, we assisted as part of the admin team
for Ex GAUNTLET DAMBUSTER.
Our final weekend was spent at the Libori festival; a large
traditional festival where the main street of Paderborn is
covered in fairground rides, food stalls and beer tents.
Sunday is a day of rest in Germany and this was utilised to its
full advantage following the festival experience. Our final few
days in Germany were spent completing CFTs on the
Armoured fleet in time for summer leave. We were lucky
enough to attempt to drive these vehicles on the area; after
realising how responsive the brake pedal was, passengers in
the back received prior warning so they could adopt a braced
position preventing them from being propelled into the
woods.
This attachment has been highly valuable and insightful. We
have had firsthand experience of the high calibre of soldiers
recruited into the Royal Corps of Signals and have taken
advice from all ranks, which we look forward to applying into
our careers further down the line.
Thank you to all involved in our time spent here in Germany.
OCdt Trippier gaining vital Armoured experience
LCpl Denton bails out!
DTUS Attachment – by OCdt C Henderson
On Wednesday 17 July, OCdt Trippier and I flew out to
Germany on attachment to 20 Armoured Brigade
Headquarters and Signal Squadron (200) from Trojan
Squadron (DTUS) in Newcastle. Prior to arrival we were
apprehensive of what to expect, however this was quickly
overcome by being integrated into the daily routine of Tigris
Troop. Friday came with the promise of potted sports during
OC’s PT; a game of rounders was selected. Due to the
competitiveness of the Squadron members this game rapidly
turned into an aggressive mixture of rugby with rounders on
80
Bulldog Commanders Course – by Cpl Gemmell
On 15 July 2013 20 Armoured Brigade Headquarters and Signal
Squadron (200) held a two week internal Bulldog drivers
familiarisation and commanders’ course instructed by SSgt
Meakin.
The course was split into two full weeks. Week one began
with an introduction to the vehicle, including the differences
between the old 430 series and the Bulldog as it is today. This
was followed by a series of lessons, including Fire Fighting
Equipment, Internal Ancillaries, Running Gear and Power
Pack. Unfortunately for the others on the course, Cpl
Gemmell, a member of the Units LAD, is due to attend a five
week Bulldog DMI (Driver Maintenance Instructor) course in
Bovington. This meant that every lesson was more in depth
as it had to be instructed to this higher level. Each day
finished with SSgt Meakin quizzing the students on the
lessons taken that day. We came up with a mutual agreement
that for every comical error throughout the course, a charge
of one Euro would go towards the end of course drinks. By
the end of the first lesson the jar was already filling up. After
forty minutes practical tuition on circuit breakers Sig
Cunningham was asked to point out circuit breaker M. He
replied ‘not sure Staff, which one is circuit breaker M’, this
was followed by a re-education from the instructor as he was
told ‘the one marked up as M, you dimwit’.
The second week moved the course onto the driving and
commanding phase, where the instructor took the class
through first parades using AESP 601 and an in depth CFT
(Commanders Function Test). After practising a spot of
marshalling we were ready to hit the training area. In turn
each student practiced in both the driver’s and commander’s
seat clocking up the miles to gain enough experience to be
signed off as competent. On Monday and Tuesday of the
driving phase there were two PO’s (Potential Officers) of the
Royal Corps of Signals. We were fortunate enough to be able
to take them out on a cabby to get the feel of ‘Siggy’ life in
the back of the Bulldog 6, the Signals variant. Being thrown
around in the back of a Bulldog feeling sick is not necessarily
something I would describe as fun, however it was thoroughly
enjoyed by both.
Towards the end of the week we were put though our driving
and commanders’ assessments. These consisted of having to
marshal the vehicle out of the vehicle bay and up to the
training area. Jump into the Commander’s seat and
Command the vehicle cross country, put it through the wash
down and command it back to the Troop sheds. At the same
time the driver was being assessed on his/her driving skills. By
the final day the Instructor was happy to announce that we
LCpl Ewen prepares to marshal Sig Leonidas out of the vehicle
park
had all passed with flying colours and were able to have our
FMTs signed off. This only left us to go and spend the quite
extensive funds from the fine pot!
4 MECHANIZED BRIGADE HEADQUARTERS AND SIGNAL SQUADRON (204)
CATTERICK
Introduction – by Lt David Cummings
Again, nothing short of a whirlwind two months at 204. As
we have all returned from POTL after a successful tour, the
troop commanders Lt Cummings and Capt McNiellie, along
with W01 (RSM) Kidd have taken soldiers away on some
adventurous training including parachuting, rock climbing,
kayaking and mountain walking. Furthermore, a very
thorough (and long) Board of Officers is now underway to
backload all vehicles, kit and equipment to get ready for the
Squadron disbanding by the end of the year.
the Mayor of Richmond, Councillor Robert White, a former
Signaller himself!
Towards the end of June the Squadron participated in the
annual MATTs, which included some great weather, especially
for the ranges, which was a welcome return from the
standard, ‘Catterick Horizontal Rain,’ we all know and love.
Soldiers have also been involved in numerous exercises across
the country. Most notably the Enhanced HCDR trials in
Blandford. LCpl Lee Evans and Sig James Brown enjoyed
reminiscing whilst being back in the home of the Royal Corps
of Signals.
At the beginning of July, Cpl Jones, Cpl Thwaite, Cpl Smith
and Cpl Davies were all presented with their Long Service and
Good Conduct medals. Each one was proudly presented by
The proud recipients
204 Signal Squadron also held its very own Pre Junior,
Command, Leadership and Management course, expertly led
by W02 (RQ) Dade and SSgt Edgell. The course was a week
long and included many lessons including; the Seven
Questions, the Orders process and the Six Section Battle
Drills. It also encompassed the practical side of Section
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attacks, command tasks and a gruelling gun run. The course
also threw up some tasty challenges, especially for Cpl Danny
Kennedy forgetting how to put a 9x9 tent together. It is no
doubt to say that this has thoroughly prepared soldiers ready
to progress to the real CLM and hopefully the next rank. We
all wish them luck!
Zeebrugge Ferry. We arrived in Hull only to be told that we
had missed the Ferry, with no fault on the OIC Exped, Capt
McNeillie. Fortunately the paper work was wrong and P&O
placed us on the Hull – Rotterdam ferry that night. Result!!
On arrival into Rotterdam, after a short delay we got on the
road to Torfhaus. Unfortunately what usually takes 6 hours,
took us 12 hours, due to RTAs and road works; efficient
German Autobahn. After arriving at the lodge late the night
before, we set off to tackle our first climb at Marienwand, on
the western side of the Harz Mountains. Initially, this seemed
to be an unimposing crag, but after safety briefs and some
instruction in the correct tying on methods, from Sig
Kennedy, LCpl Hayes and LCpl Hodson it soon proved to be
an excellent starting point for the week and the most
challenging of the first three climbs, set up on the lower face
quickly separated the natural climbers, from those less gifted.
Cpl Kennedy realises that on the ‘fast flowing river,’ planks don’t
always reach…
On 27 July, we also had a dine out dinner for Cpl Andy
Williams and WO1 (RSM) Darren Kidd. After 22 years of
service in the British Army it is safe to say they have
accomplished quite a lot in their time. In a bizarre twist of
fate, the RSM will march the Squadron off the Parade Square
in Helles Barracks, Catterick Garrison, 22 years after passing
off the exact same square after basic training. The whole of
204 would like to pass on their thanks and good luck for the
future as they now embrace life on civilian street.
LCpl Hayes ensuring a swift set up
The RSM receiving the 204 Signal Squadron flag, which flew in
Lashkar Gah during our recent deployment
As we now look forward to rehearsing drill for the
disbandment parade we lose manpower by the day as soldiers
are assigned out to other units. Soldiers are clearing every
week to which we wish them all the best with their new roles.
We are sure they will continue the 204 Signal Squadron
qualities. But as we all draw closer and closer to Summer
leave, we know that we have definitely earned some time off!
Exercise NORTHERN RAT – by Sig Dunn
The Exercise began on a warm Sunday Evening in Gaza
Barracks. Following a quick passport check we drove along
the A1(M) to Hull Ferry port in order to catch the Hull –
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Once we had completed a successful first day of climbing we
were eager to start the second day and move on to much
harder climbs. We arrived at “Schafender Lowe” in the early
hours ready to begin the climbs ahead. The RLT instructors
prepped the day ahead by setting up four climbs on the crag
for the group to attempt. With the instructors happy with the
progress of the group they set up a new route “Grade VI+
Huhnerstalkante Komplett”. This was again another tricky
route the group had to tackle which had an overhanging
boulder. Only 4 members of the group attempted this and
were all successful (Sig Lowe, Sig Kennedy, LCpl McColl and
Capt McNeillie). LCpl Hayes attempted a more difficult
variant of this route unfortunately he did not succeed.
On the third day of climbing the RLT instructors decided to set
up an abseil for the group to attempt which proved difficult
for some of the more inexperienced members. There were
also three separate climbs for the group to attend where the
majority found they were getting closer to finding their rock
climbing limits.
brought the difficulty down but everyone managed to
complete the climb.
Day 5 turned out to be an interesting day with no climbing but
instead a group trip to a local spa. We were asked to disrobe
as we went into the spa area, which was an amusement of
myself and Cfn Kinchin. Once the lads were over the fact that
there were a lot of naked people walking around, some
people were even in their element, like Sig Harvey. Everyone
enjoyed using the saunas, steam rooms and natural salt pools.
A couple of the guys even decided to have a Turkish massage
which helped with the aches and pains from the climbing.
Everyone enjoyed the weeks Adv Trg with the sunny weather,
demanding climbs and uncomfortable spa days and now feel
they have gone above their comfort zones and gained new
skills and have great experiences from it.
Exercise BAVARIA RAT – by Sig Jarret
We set off at 0630 on the Friday morning for the Euro Tunnel
in four mini buses. We made it to the tunnel with an hour to
spare. As we went through different check ins, the four
minibuses had two separate trains so we arranged to meet at
the first service station, but amongst the confusion, the last
two vans missed their turn off for the service station, so went
to the next layby, where we had to phone the other two
minivans to catch up. When we got to Elmpt Station, we had
to stay in the gym, so everyone set up a bed then got ready to
go to the bar for a few well-deserved drinks.
Sig Ronald on top of the World
After the excitement of abseiling the previous day, the RLT
instructors continued to push our new found skills. In order
to stretch the group we would be belaying from the top of
the climb. The instructors set up 3 climbs on 3 separate Crags.
The first climb was a top rope on W-Seite, grade 3, which
everybody completed with ease as it became clear our rock
climbing and confidence with heights had grown. Our third
and hardest climb, Plattenschwindel grade 6, proved more
difficult than it looked with nowhere to grip it was defiantly
the more technical climb, everybody attempted but only a
handful completed the correct route. The alternative route
Saturday morning we set off for Oberstdorf in Germany. With
an uneventful drive, we arrived and were welcomed with a
BBQ and beers, then into town to sample the local lagers.
On Sunday the instructors went to recce the routes.
Everyone else went to the local lake where Sig ‘Skem’
Trenwith was trying to do a handstand on the edge of the
diving board, this ultimately ended up with him face planting
the water. However, as no one got a photo or a video of it,
he went and did it again.
The RSM watches over a Tom Daly wannabe…..
On Monday we got split up and got put into our groups for
the week. Five of us did rock climbing and were all having a
laugh as Sig ‘Skem’ Trenwith yet again was up climbing but
decided that not only would he just use his hands and legs, he
incorporated his knees, chin and elbows involved on his
climbs. There were people next to us just standing watching
him in fits of laughter.
Sig ‘Stingray’ Lowes scaring everyone
On the Tuesday we had hill walking. We started at a river and
followed it up. As we walked more and more up it, it turned
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into a river that just got deeper and deeper as we went, the
view was unbelievable. When we got quite far up, we had to
leave the river and continued up the hill, to the very top,
where fortunately there was a pub. We sat and had our lunch
there, whilst looking at the stunning views. Once lunch was
finished we had to do the inevitable and go back down.
Everyone was back at the lodge as we were all going to do a
toboggan ride. We made a rule that you could break and get
out if you wanted to, however; you would be getting the beer
tokens in…no one broke. As we got back to the lounge it
was LCpl Bellwood’s birthday, so we went to an Italian
restaurant. Here she got presented with a birthday cake and
presents, after that we went out the pub to have a few beers.
Wednesday was our last activity day, bike riding around a lake.
We discovered that there were a few people that had come
off their bikes as their back brake was on the right and the
front break was on the left, so a few people forgot that it was
the other way round when they had to brake. This ultimately
ended up with LCpl Hollyoake (amongst others) doing a
Superman over the handlebars. Everyone was on the floor
laughing at him he got up and dusted himself off.
On Thursday we went to Munich where we split into two
groups. One group went to the football stadium and the
other group went to the Olympic Stadium to have a look
around it. There was also the option of BMW World. Both
groups had arranged to meet back up in Munich town centre
where we went on a bike trip around the town. As we
finished the bike ride we still had some time left before we
had to get the train back, so we all went to a few pubs, and
ended up having a great time!.
Exercise ICARUS RAT
On 1 July for one week, Lt David Cummings took 13 soldiers
from 204 Signal Squadron to Weston-on-the-Green for one
week’s worth of parachuting. This would turn out to be one
of the most challenging things the soldiers would do in their
career; jumping out of a plane at 3500ft.
We turned up on Monday morning to an introductory brief,
where we had to sign a waiver, declaring that we knew the
risks and could very well die during the week… not the most
reassuring thing to hear before we even started. So we did
then literally sign our lives away and started ground training
to prepare us for the first jump. The ground training was
done very meticulously and carefully, knowing that the drills
we were learning would actually save us IF we had a
malfunction! Lt Cummings left us on the first day to recce the
jumping green, (an excuse just to go jumping!) and we were
left to it.
On the second day, the nerves were kicking in. Right from
waking up to queuing for the plane to come and pick us up,
and bring us to our destiny. Sig ‘Ginge’ Matthews was the
first to jump. He had already previously jumped so this was
probably the best thing, as this would give us confidence! “IN
THE DOOR!” Came the cry of the jumpmaster, to which he
duly followed, “LOOK UP…..GO!!” To which he jumped out
and landed under a perfect canopy. The jumpmaster was
extremely impressed with some of the jumping that day. Sig
Hunter and Sig Dixon pulling off jumps worthy of an
intermediate! However Sig ‘Needy’ Young and Sig ‘Not so
very’ Stables showing how to turn around 180 degrees and
try to run back into the plane unknowingly! But also a special
mention to LCpl Martin ‘The Snoz’ Harwood forgetting to
push out and instead push up, and watch it all go wrong from
there. Thankfully everyone landed under a flat and level
canopy. There was mixed reactions, however everyone
enjoyed their first jump.
Sig Stables showing why he was crowned the Squadron’s Most
Handsome Man
Sig Burrell at the famous Munich Stadium
The last day involved travelling back to Elmpt Station to spend
the night in the gym again. Come morning time we set off to
get back to the tunnel. All in all, every single person thought
it was the best AT they have ever done in their Army Careers.
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After all the nerves had settled they soon kicked in again
knowing that we had to pack our own parachutes…and jump
with them the following day. After a very long and tedious
packing lesson (imagine parachute origami) we got into the
debrief. The debrief had already confirmed what we already
knew, some very good jumps and some not so very good
jumps, however nothing that would halt us from progressing.
Unfortunately due to the weather, we wouldn’t be able to
jump for the next 2 days because the wind was so strong.
However, we used this time well to get involved in more
packing lessons, so we really were professionals when it came
to that.
Friday marked the start of the great British heatwave and also
The team led by Lt Cummings
Cpl Inglis perfecting the ‘look of fear’
our second and last jump of the week. We were all so keen
and eager to jump that the rehearsals flew in and before we
knew it we were packed into the plane, ready for the jump!
Sig Dixon proving his worth and showing why he moved on
to Dummy Pulls. Again, everyone jumped and everyone
improved dramatically; maybe for Sig Simpson and Sig
Stables some remedial training could be required. The week
was a complete success and there is no doubt that everyone
has caught the parachuting bug. We all look forward to Ex
ICARUS RAT II and more blue skies!!
Reclaim of Presentation Items to 4 Mechanized Brigade Headquarters
and Signal Squadron (204)
4 Mechanized Brigade Headquarters and Signal Squadron (204) will be disbanded on 31 December 2013. Any
individual who has presented an item to the Squadron in the past may reclaim their item on a collect only basis.
Anyone wishing to reclaim their presented item should contact Capt Catrin Jones to arrange collection of the
item by the following means:
Civilian Telephone: 01748 874101
Military Telephone:
Post:
94731 4101
4 Mech Bde HQ & Sig Sqn (204)
Gaza Barracks
Catterick Garrison
North Yorkshire
DL9 4AU
Items that have not been reclaimed by 31 October 2013 may be sold or auctioned off with the proceeds
supporting the Royal Signals Benevolent Fund.
7 ARMOURED BRIGADE HEADQUARTERS AND
SIGNAL SQUADRON (207)
BERGEN - HOHNE
OC
RSM
Maj CEJ Davies
WO1 (RSM) Wedge
Red Rat 75
To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the “Desert Rats” it
was decided that the Bde would host a week long celebration
to mark the occasion over the period 29 Jul to 2 Aug 13. There
where many events from Battle Field tours, Museum visits,
Families Day, Service of Thanksgiving and a Red Rat Dinner
Night to name a few. But the highlight for the Sqn was the
visit of Mr Len Burrett and his friend Carl. Len was one of the
original members of the “Desert Rats” and was the first
soldier to be issued with our famous Red Rat insignia. Len
joined the Corps in 1936 and was posted after training to
Egypt from where in 1938 he became one of the founder
members of the 7th Armoured Division. He started the war as
a Signaller and ended as an Acting WO1. To host Len for a
week was fantastic for the whole Sqn as being “Desert Rats”
is something that we as a Sqn are very proud of and to hear
the stories Len had about how he was there when they came
up with the insignia and how he had gone all the way through
the North African campaign, he had landed in Italy and taken
part in the fighting there, then landed on D Day and had
pushed through France, Belgium and Holland before returning
to the UK to train troops. This man is a legend and the fact
that he is now 95 and still managed to keep going all week is
amazing, they always say once a soldier always a soldier, well
I can fully testify to Len’s drinking ability as he was hosted by
both of the Troops and was seen to drink more than a few
pints every evening. It was a fantastic week for the Sqn and it
is hoped that Len will visit again especially with the Sqn
re-subordinating to 16 Signal Regiment next year. It would be
great to have him there at the end of the Corps attachment to
the famous “Desert Rats” as he was there at the begining.
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Overall we all worked really well, and key knowledge was
gained and passed down from the more experienced
members of the Squadron to the very newest. I personally
feel my fieldcraft skills have improved, and I can now deploy
with a lot more knowledge and understanding of what
happens in theatre, making me a more confident soldier.
BAG Cycling and Triathlon Training Camp
The above training camp was held over the period of 30 Jun
till the 6 Jul at the REME Hotel Wertach Bavaria and was open
to all serving soldiers in BFG. 22 soldiers participated with
SSgt Billy Watt of 1 (UK) ADSR and SSgt Si Hemming 207 Sig
Sqn representing the Corps.
Len laying a wreath
Exercise PASHTUN RED RAT - by Sig Chadwick
The Squadron deployed on Exercise PASHTUN RED RAT,
which was a week long exercise consisting of the key training
required prior to our up and coming deployment on Op
Herrick 19.
Once we arrived on the training area we were broken into 3
sections, before commencing two days of fieldcraft lessons,
which covered the six section battle drills, actions on contact
and Theatre specifics.
On the first night we took part in a night navigation exercise,
which tested everyone’s skills as individuals, as we made our
way around Hohne training area. This was a lot more difficult
than it sounds and we had people disbursed to the 4 winds
(luckily there was no night ranges).
With the navigation over, it was time to patrol into the FOB
location that we had previously had to recce. Straight away
we were all put into rotations between sanger duties, QRF
and patrolling. With our newly appointed Section
Commander, LCpl Peat, and his trusty 2IC, LCpl Eccles,
members of the section were detailed off with various roles.
These included Section Medic, Vallon Operator and Radio
Operator. Whilst carrying out our first patrol we had to deal
with a mass causality situation and IED scenarios, as well as
fighting off the enemy. With the scenarios complete and the
enemy defeated, the pressure was on for the Section Comd to
navigate us back to the FOB, avoiding any enemy ambushes
that lay ahead.
Back in the FOB the Platoon had to defend our location from
the fast approaching enemy. 2 Section were tasked to
advance onto the enemy, but whilst in formation, a sounder
of wild boar were spotted withdrawing from the bushes on
our left. Sig ‘Paddy’ Main, who at the time was on Sanger
duty, was heard on the net asking if they were a pack of
wolves!! Despite the “wolves” all the sections really pulled
together, defeating the enemy and pushing them out of our
area.
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SSgts Hemming and Watt
The Sunday began with the 7 hour drive to Wertach to then
complete a power threshold test on static bikes, the
equivalent of a PFT but lasting 30 minutes; not for the faint
hearted and a tool used to monitor the training of
professional cyclists. To be blunt we have along way to
obtain Bradley Wiggins' standards.
The Monday saw the different disciples break down into their
respective groups with the Triathletes being taken on various
open water swims and shorter rides under the coaching of
Shaun Green who having served 22 years had a good handle
on squaddie humour. The cyclists were faced with longer
rides and were guided by Sgt Mike Llewellyn RAPTC who
quickly introduced the riders to the ‘hills’ of Bavaria.
With varying levels of ability in both groups people soon
began to feed off each others knowledge and experience, be
it on bike nutrition to general bike set up and maintenance
and for the Triathletes transition hints and tips. Friendships
were born out of the love of cycling a good thing with the
long hours spent in the saddle each day. Each night was a
presentation held by Shaun Green on differing aspects of the
sports from training routines, nutrition, all ending in a Q&A
session where again we were able to learn from each other.
During the week a distance of 450 – 500km was covered in
mostly hot and sunny weather with one day of pouring rain.
The climbs were hard and long but there was always a
welcome coffee stop at the top. Then the best part, the
steep twisty technical descents, where it was possible to
reach speeds of 70 kph, a real buzz.
Highlights were the ride out to Schloss Neuschwanstein, the
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Castle then into Austria and back
taking in the incredible views, and the various mountain
passes which tested both the mind and legs.
The week culminated on the Friday with a 60km ride
comprising after 20km with an 8.5km individual time trial, all
up hill with a height gain of 1500 feet. Both SSgts Watt and
Hemming did the Corps proud finishing first and third
respectively.
SSgt Hemming
The week definitely improved everyone’s ridding techniques,
strength and mental endurance, but a special mention must
go to Cpl Lee Barrat of the Med Centre 1 (UK) ADSR who
managed to crash bending his bike in half. Thanks for the free
cycling tops for your pains, Sgt Mike Llewellyn again for a
fantastic week and the BFG Cycling tops, feebies are always
good!!
presentation on the history of the Royal Corps of Signals and
those non Royal Signals where given the task of giving a small
presentation on the history of 7 Armoured Brigade. This
ranged from the formation to the present day. 207 Signal
Squadron then sang happy birthday to the corps and then
listened to the Royal Signal Corps March (Begone Dull Care)
as it was blasted out around the bar.
The RSM then invited 2 signallers and a craftsman from the
Squadron to come up and give their presentation about the
history of the Corps and the Bde. The lucky two Signallers
were Sig Sackey and Sig Hallet, and Cfn Burrows presented
the history of 7 Armd Bde, much to the relief of the rest of
those gathered. They delivered informative and humorous
presentations on the Corps and the Bde to the remainder of
the gathered Squadron. They explained about the formation,
the origins, the equipment we used both past and present
day and listed the Operations the Corps and Bde have been
involved in since its formation.
After the presentations, a Royal Signals cake was wheeled
into the bar by SSgt Phil Oulton. The RSM then chose Sig
French to do the honours of cutting the cake and serving
everyone in the Squadron a reasonable size slice. The
celebrations were rounded off with a Squadron function
which allowed all members of the Squadron to celebrate in
their own unique way.
Not forgetting the Welfare Officer 7ABSS&HQ, Capt Rick
Newman, who must get a special mention for being best
dressed man on the mountains!!! And for sharing the
‘Newmination’ and power!!!
Sig French with the Corps Birthday cake
Race the Sun – by Cpl Wood
With a team picked purely on their abilities to complete their
event(s) distance (and whoever was hanging around and
available for the week at a busy time before the Squadron
deploys on Herrick 19), we made the long trip to York from
Bergen-Höhne, after a last minute dash to find a canoe that
looked an awful lot like a kayak for the first leg of the race.
Capt (UWO) Newman
The Corps’ Birthday - by Sig French
On the birthday of the Royal Corps of Signals, 7 Armoured
Brigade Headquarters and Signal Squadron (207) celebrated
the Corps 93rd birthday. We formed up as a Squadron and
marched to the Squadron Welfare Facility, Jerboas. The
Welfare team organised a reception with friends and family of
207 Signal Squadron. All LCpls and Signallers within the
Squadron were given the task to research and prepare a small
On the morning of the event, Sig Smith took to the water in
his “canoe”, not knowing whether it would even float, yet
some how managed to complete the course, not finish last
and not capsize/sink. The race then continued in a relay affair,
SSgt Hemming doing the first duathlon of the day and a 10km
run, WO1 (RSM) Wedge smashing a forced march, Sgt
Berridge racing a hill run and a mountain bike leg. Sig Davies
put in a huge effort to notch up 20km worth of running
during a fell run and orienteering, LCpl Gurung and Cfn
Burrows from the 207 LAD both doing around 10km running
each. My task of the day was the half marathon, less said
about how that went the better and Sig Smith’s last event of
the day was an open water swim which he will not forget
anytime soon, due to him getting caught in some weeds and
almost drowning.
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Later in the day, the Squadron OC, Maj Davies, launched
himself round the mountain bike orienteering in an impressive
time, setting up the UWO, Capt Newman, up for his duathlon
back into York, before trying to get the minibus back in time
for the last event of the day, a 3km stretcher race.
Alas he didn’t make it back in time, so the first reserve was
called into action. I joined WO1 Wedge, Sgt Berridge, LCpl
Gurung, Cfn Burrows and Sig Davies as what can only be
described as a rather painful 17 minutes around Imphal
Barracks, however we were supported superbly by the
remaining team members and came in a very respectable time
despite the fatigue accumulated by every member.
The results were announced soon after the stretcher race
finish, and due to some amazing efforts all round, 207 came
third out of 13 minor units, losing to 299 Sig Sqn and ATR
Winchester by only 23 and 8 minutes respectively over 210km
of racing. Cue a well deserved curry and some beers in York.
A special mention must go out to SSgt Caplis, the Squadron
Artificer, for being the teams' “admin party”, racking up some
serious mileage in the minibus dropping off bikes and running
trainers, making sure the day ran smoothly and cheering on
lads doing events as he drove past.
16 AIR ASSAULT BRIGADE HEADQUARTERS AND
COLCHESTER
OC
RSM
Maj GJ Clarke
WO1 (RSM) P Henderson
With the summer sun scorching over the past couple months
the Squadron welcomed a relatively calm period. The usual
build up to exercise and deployment has been downscaled
leading into summer leave, the unusually calm calendar
presenting the opportunity for plenty of Squadron and Troop
training. Live Firing Tactical Training package Ex EAGLES
DAGGER represents the only significant exercise over this
time with SSgt Steel organising the two week package,
putting the blokes from the Squadron through their paces in a
tactical setting. The Squadron also managed to enter a team
of four into ‘Trailwalker’; a best effort 100km foot race event
for charity over the South Downs. Top marks to those who
made the final team, first British team home, cracking result!
The following months are sure to be interesting and busy with
troops deployed as far a field as Mali (still) and Kenya. That
said, the Squadron is still managing to send guys on P Coy,
basic Parachute Jumps course, and lads are getting the
opportunity to jump with our allies - LCpl Baker is soon to
jump with the Belgians, including a balloon jump that is
making him mildly nervous to say the least.
The wholesale changes in the Squadron ‘top corridor’ are now
completed, the new and returning members of the Squadron
settled into their new offices before departing on summer
leave. The next change on the Squadrons calendar is
scheduled on its return from block summer leave with the
move from two Comms Troops to three with the
re-establishing of Charlie Troop. This Troop will see incoming
Troop Commander 2Lt Pete Stradling at the helm straight off
his Troop Commanders course, with the newly returned SSgt
Mick Richardson as the Troop SSgt. Sgt Corbett will move
into the Troop from the Training Wing as Troop Sergeant what could go wrong? Exciting times at the Squadron, the
Troops have their new ORBAT, missions and tasks and are
chomping at the bit.
Exercise ALPHA TROOP REMEMBERS
Ex ALPHA TROOP REMEMBERS saw members of the Troop,
under Lt John Dodson and SSgt Paul Steel, deploy to Stafford
on a group bonding exercise. Gratefully hosted on 22 Signal
Regiment's camp, a quick turn around saw the lads into their
‘out on the town’ gear as they left camp for a Troop meal.
The first ‘do’ under Lt Dodson, it was a perfect opportunity
for him to get to know his Troop more in an informal setting –
for better or for worse! The majority of the Troop opted for a
variation of the restaurants trademark burgers, with the
exception of Sig Tyrone Cox spending the entirety of Troop
funds on his humongous rump steak! Sig James ‘I'm not
eating until I have six pack’ Harper disappointed everyone by
purchasing a salad as everyone conformed to ‘eating is
cheating’ tactics. The meal was followed by SSgt Steel
leading the Troop through the bars of Stafford as he revisited
the town of his last posting, before the Troop headed back to
camp in preparation for the main effort the following day.
The following morning the Troop departed for a visit to the
National Memorial Arboretum. Guided by Alan the tour guide,
the group visited the Royal Signals and Airborne memorials
where Sig Oostuizen and Sig Barton gave presentations on
the history of the Squadron and Pegasus Company. These
presentations were followed by Sig Williamson presenting on
the late General Deane Drummond, a Corps and Squadron
legend. The tour was concluded by a visit to the wall of
memorial where the names of all Soldiers who have lost their
lives since WW2 serving their country, are recorded. The
Airborne prayer was read for the members of the Squadron
who had lost their lives, after which a wreath was laid for
Squadron legend Cpl Steve Dunn who was sadly lost on Op
HERRICK 13 in 2010.
Now in the hot seat, WO1 (RSM) Henderson takes over the
reigns as RSM 216 (Parachute) Signal Squadron
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A humbling and educational day for all members of Alpha
Troop, the trip was exactly what being a member of 216
(Parachute) Signal Squadron is about. The lads had fun,
bonded, and paid their respects to those who deserve it the
most. We will remember them.
Exercise DRAGONS NAPOLEON – by Sgt Ricky Dowds
Ex DRAGONS NAPOLEON, headed up by Capt ‘Chaos’
Cotterill, saw 13 members of 216 (Parachute) Signal Squadron
deploy on a 3 week AT Package in Corsica in order to
complete the challenging GR20. Regarded as Europe’s most
arduous trek, the route will regularly take you up to heights of
2000 metres and above. After the necessary lessons from the
JESMEL’s, SSgt Colin ‘runs with foxes’ Smith and SSgt Gilly
Smith, the group boarded a flight from Gatwick to Nice where
they were to wait for their ferry to Corsica.
On arrival in Nice, as you would expect during the summer in
the South of France, the weather was pretty warm! The
majority of the group had pre-empted this, with Cpl ‘Red Eye’
Rankin proudly sporting his new duty free sunglasses. There
is always one exception however, and in this case LCpl Dom
‘Cakes’ Eccles decided to implement a bit of ‘tech admin’ as
he announced to the group that he had failed to bring any
shorts! Luckily saved by Sig Jas ‘Thug Life’ Moore, the group
set about Nice exploring its restaurants and bars.
A 6 hour boat journey saw the party of 13 arrive safely in Calvi,
Corsica. The group set up camp to the north of the GR20
route, pitching tents in a sea of (biting) ants that became a
running theme for the majority of the trek. The camp was
basic, as were all on the trek, providing the necessities of a
shower, toilets and not much else. The camps sometimes
offered small shops, however, due to prices that would need
you to sell your spleen in order to afford a Tropicana let alone
a beer, these were left alone.
The following morning the groups split into two and after the
necessary group photos, the party set about tackling the
GR20. The pace was steady however due to the nature of the
ground suitably challenging, with the majority of the most
challenging climbs rewarding you with some truly stunning
scenery. Aspects of the route were furnished with chains,
steel wire rope and ladders to assist the trekker providing
another element to conquer along the way. Interspersed
deep water pools on route allowed for some fun, with SSgt
Andy ‘I’m a water baby me like’ Dunn taking full advantage
wherever possible with his trademark bomb!
After 15 days and 130 miles of trekking, the group arrived at
the southern finish point where Sig Tim ‘I used to be in a
band’ Maynard captured a group photograph as Squadron
photographer. A fantastic journey, and with the each
individual being awarded the ‘Summer Mountain Proficiency’
qualification, many of the team are now looking to further
themselves by applying for MLT. A quality expedition, the
Squadron now look forward to their next opportunity for AT.
Colchester Garrison Show – by Sig Wood
This year saw the Squadron support the Colchester Garrison
Show. The show replaced the ‘Colchester Military Festival’
and had over 10,000 people come to visit. The show was
made up of different elements from around 16 Air Assault
Brigade, with demonstrations including the Parachute
Regiment's Red Devils parachuting in, an Apache stand and a
section attack mocked up with blank rounds and pyrotechnics
by the Parachute Regiment. 216 (Parachute) Signal Squadron
hosted a recruitment stand, upon which many of the
attending children seemed far too infatuated with the display
of weaponry and equipment to ask about the role of our
Squadron in the Brigade! The Tier 1 HQ (Para TAC) was
commanded by Cpl Mike Carver and Sig Wood, whilst the
Man Pack Rebroadcast (MPR) element was hosted by Cpl Stu
‘Pinners’ Pinnington and Sig ‘Tat’ Butler, unique to 216 (Para)
Sig Sqn both these capabilities drew plenty of attention from
the passing public.
Concurrent to the Colchester show was the Para’s 10 in which
a number of personnel from the Squadron competed. OC
Bravo Troop Lt Scott Mapplebeck was the first of the
Squadron in with an impressive 1hr 41min. To further add to
the atmospherics of the day there were also two Armed
Forces Rugby League World Cup matches; New Zealand vs
Serbia and Great Britain vs Australia. Two very different
matches, New Zealand destroyed Serbia, where a closer
match between GB and Australia saw the Australians coming
away narrow victors. Overall the day was a great day out for
all that attended. A worthwhile recruitment event for the
Squadron saw much interest in the Squadron's capabilities
from those there on the day with a military focus, whilst the
atmospherics created by the additional events allowed for
those just hoping for a day out in the sun a fun environment
in which to do so.
Caythorpe – by Sig Maynard
In September 1944, during the midst of WW2, ‘Operation
Market Garden’ was launched. From the perspective of 216
Para Sig Sqn this was launched from the small village of
Caythorpe, Linconshire. As such every year on the first
weekend of September members of the Squadron, past and
present, return to our ‘spiritual home’ to pay respects to
members of the Squadron who lost their lives on the
Operation, and those who have lost their lives since.
This year the Sqn took the chance to conduct a MATTs week,
whose conclusion led into the Weekend of Remembrance.
Friday saw the Squadron descend upon the legendary ‘Wagon
and Horses’ pub along with Old Boys from the Squadron as
far back as the men who jumped into Egypt in the conflict
most commonly known as the Suez Crisis in 1956.
Enjoying a night at the Wagon and Horses
The night’s conclusion in the early hours of Saturday morning
led the Squadron into annual fete run by both the village and
the Squadron. In addition to many other elements the
Squadron provided a ‘Crazy Crane’, an assault course and an
air rifle stand; with the latter stand seeing Sig ‘Meads’
Meadon regularly lose to members of the local village
The team photo before the win against Caythorpe FC
89
community. A fly past by a spitfire was to be the the highlight
of the fair but the RAF let us down! The annual match
between the 216 (Parachute) Signal Squadron football team
and Caythorpe Village FC also provided great entertainment;
Cpl Stu ‘Pinners’ Pinnington captaining his side to a win on
penalties following a 1-1 draw.
up to summer leave. The start of the period saw the Troop
deploy to Stafford on Troop bonding exercise Ex ALPHA
TROOP REMEMBERS. A valuable couple of days, this ran
concurrently to a portion of the Troop deploying on AT
package Ex DRAGONS NAPOLEON. With suntans topped up,
and the blokes acclimatised Alpha Tp (-) deployed in the heat
to Warcop for LFTT package Ex EAGLES DAGGER.
On the sporting front ‘Trailwalker’ has presented the most
significant event to note. A 100km best effort, Sgt Richard
‘Dowdsy’ Dowds, Sig ‘Schnell’ Snell and Sig Wood did Alpha
Troop proud as 3 of the 4 selected for the team.
The OC leads the Squadron as they parade through Caythorpe
village
On Saturday evening a formal meal is held with members of
the Airborne Signal Association at the Caythorpe Village Town
Hall. The meal presented the opportunity for current serving
members to get to know past members of the Squadron. The
meal was concluded by a fitting speech from OC Squadron,
Maj Graham Clarke, who also presented basic parachute
wings to those who had recently passed the course.
On the Sunday morning the Squadron donned their Number 2
Dress to parade through the village. Sharp drill from the
Squadron saw them march from the ‘Wagon and Horses’ to
the village church for a service in honour to those who have
lost their lives on operations. The service was heartfelt,
leaving a lump in the throat of many, concluding with the
laying two wreaths at the memorials outside the church.
Little movement in terms of personnel in and out Alpha Troop
offers a solitary welcome to talented boxer LCpl Flynn.
Congratulations go to LCpl Keighley on being selected for
promotion, as well as Sig ‘JLS’ Barton on successfully
completing the British Parachuting Course and gaining his
British Parachute Wings. The Troop now looks forward to a
good summer stand down period before the exciting
prospect of the re-ORBAT of the Squadron upon its return.
BRAVO TROOP – by Sig Gray
A Steady few months for Bravo Troop, as the Troop prepare
for the reintroduction of Charlie Troop. Bravo Troop stores
under the vigilant command of Cpl ‘Browny’ Brown have
worked tirelessly to prepare for the handover of equipment
and personnel to Charlie Troop, whilst the remaining
members of the Troop deployed on LFTT package Ex EAGLES
DAGGER to brush up on their green skills.
The period has seen a lot of new arrivals and departures. Key
members of the Troop have left as LCpl ‘Facetime’ Fricker, Sig
Cox and Sig Noble depart for pastures new. With this come
new arrivals LCpl Winson, Sig Carter, Sig Yarranton, Sig
Malin, Sig MacLellan, Sig Coleman and Sig Wilkinson are all
welcomed to the Troop and the Squadron. Get yourselves on
P Company lads!
Congratulations go out to a few members of the Troop, with
the first going out to LCpl Britton and LCpl Fricker (newly
departed) as they were successfully selected for promotion to
Corporal. Congratulations go to Sig Hale-Mullin as he
completed his British Military Parachuting Course alongside
Troop Boss Lt Scott ‘Scarecrow’ Mapplebeck to gain their
wings. A final congratulations goes to LCpl Laval-Chesterton
who was awarded Top Student on his PNCO, well-in!
MT/LAD TROOP
OC
SSgt
The OC and RSM pay their respects at the village memorial to
those from the Squadron who have lost their lives
Regarded by many members of the Squadron past and
present as the best weekend of the year, this year didn’t
disappoint. Many old friends met, many new friends made,
the weekend was both a fun and humbling weekend for all
involved. The Squadron now look forward to returning to
Caythorpe, their spiritual home, next year.
ALPHA TROOP – by Sig Nunn
OC SSgt
Lt Dodson
SSgt Steel
A relatively calm period for Alpha Troop, the past couple
months have seen the Troop enjoy a change of pace leading
90
Capt Oliver
SSgt Dunn
216 (Parachute) Signal Squadron as a whole is undergoing a
massive change within the hierarchy, and the MT is no
different, with a change right at the top. We say a fond
farewell to Capt Paul Jordan, who leaves us and returns to his
family in Sweden after serving 24 years in the Army, we wish
him all the best for the future. His replacement is Capt
‘Cuddles’ Oliver, who joins the Squadron on promotion from
Blandford, welcome Sir and how would you like your Tea?
A well done goes to LCpl ‘I can swim I just can’t run’ Hanson
for his last gasp winner in the final of the Inter Services water
polo championships. The Army beat the RAF 10 – 8 in the final
with LCpl Hanson shining throughout the competition.
Straight from his success he was sent on his PNCO cadre, his
wife is still wondering where he is.
Last but not least big congratulations to LCpl Scotty Graham
on his recent selection for promotion to Cpl. He has been
great asset to the MT and his promotion is fully deserved.
SUPPORT TROOP – by LCpl Dodds
OC
SSgt
Capt Fred Fensom
SSgt Springett
The period leading into summer leave, in contrast to much of
the Squadron, has seen yet another busy time for many
sections of Support Troop. As ever, there are various
individuals away on a variety of exercises around the UK and
further a field. LCpl Jason Conway is busy sunning himself up
on exercise in Kenya, whilst at the other end of the scale, LCpl
Lamb has a Falkland Island winter to contend with on a six
month deployment out there. Those remaining at the
Squadron participated in Ex EAGLES DAGGER, a two week live
fire range package.
The Troop bids a fond farewell to Sgt Deans and the QM, Capt
Fred Fensom, who have been posted to 21 Signal Regiment
(AS) and 1 Div Signal Regiment respectively. The Troop awaits
the arrival of the new QM, Capt Reid, who will be joining us
after the eagerly anticipated summer leave. A fond farewell is
soon to be said to Airborne stalwart SSgt ‘Jerry’ Springett,
who will be leaving come the end of summer leave having
successfully passing Foreman Selection - who would have
thought it?
Congratulations go to LCpl Tyson, LCpl McCoy and LCpl
O’Brien, who we are happy to announce have been selected
for promotion to Corporal. The promotion is especially well
timed for Cpl O’Brien who is due to get married in a matter of
days; our best wishes for you on the day OB.
12 MECHANIZED BRIGADE HEADQUARTERS AND
BULFORD
OC
RSM
Maj B Jeffery
WO1 (RSM) D Windsor
Hand over/Take over parade – by Lt Will Higgins
On Thursday 18 Jul 13, an incredibly hot and humid summer,s
day saw witness to the HO/TO parade at Barton Stacey where
Maj Sarah Irwin formally handed over 228 Signal Squadron to
the new OC, Maj Brian Jeffery. During Maj Irwin’s tenure she
oversaw the Squadron’s demanding tour to Afghanistan on
Op HERRICK 16 and delivered strong passes from the
Combined Assurance week and RSIT inspections. Maj Irwin
spent some time speaking to and thanking many of the
Squadron personnel for their efforts over the past 2 years
which enabled the Squadron to maintain a strong reputation
before she headed off to take up her new post at RMA
Sandhurst. Maj Jeffery has joined at an interesting time and
after a rousing first speech in front of the troops where he
indicated what he expected and what he wanted the
Squadron to deliver, the troops were fell out and back to the
joys of being back on exercise.
the systems were set up for the Staff Officers including
COMBAT, whilst Forward Troop practiced their Pulse
movement throughout the area.
Whilst performing a recce of the area myself and 2Lt Higgins
were requested to conduct some duties for the Police by
closing off the A303 whilst a Warrior Armoured Fighting
Vehicle was recovered from it. As a thank you the Police let
us get a head start down the A303 before they opened it up
to the public which resulted in a few laughs from the troop.
OCdt Angus laying out the road block
Towards the end of the week we performed the final move to
the area in which the Brigade staff would perform their Ex
ACE MESSENGER 13.2, which was conducted as a night move,
The 228 HO/TO parade
DTUS - 228 Signal Squadron Attachment – by OCdt Tom Angus
(Tarus DTUS) and OCdt Sam Scott (Trojan DTUS)
For two weeks myself and OCdt Scott were attached to 12
Mechanized Brigade Headquarters and Signal Squadron (228).
During the attachment we shadowed 2Lt Will Higgins and 2Lt
Jay Thomas, the Troop Commanders of Main and Forward
Troops respectively. The first week was spent with the
Troops on their CT2 exercise, in which I helped with the build
and set up with Main Troop whilst OCdt Scott joined Forward
Troop for their set up. As part of the attachment I learnt how
The night move
91
although by the time we reached the area at 0500 it was
already daylight. After the HQ was set up we moved back to
camp leaving minimal manning behind so the rest of us could
have the weekend off.
Monday morning saw myself and OCdt Scott changing
Troops, which provided us the opportunity to see how the
other Troop operated. During the week I assisted in the
garages for the troops heading out to BATUS and BATUK
whilst observing the Brigade Staff at work on the exercise. To
top the week off we joined the Brigade Staff for a BBQ on the
Wednesday evening, which allowed us an insight to the
Officers’ Mess. It was a very busy period for the Sqn and we
would like to thank 228 Signal Squadron for being excellent
hosts as well at Will and Jay for allowing us to shadow them
and take away a great understanding of the work the Corps
does and the soldiers that serve in it.
Exercise ACE MESSENGER 13.1 and 13.2 – by Lt Will Higgins
The two ACE MESSENGER exercises were designed to build
up the Squadron’s readiness states in preparation for 12
Mechanized Brigade’s return to Contingency Operations and
future tasks. Ex ACE MESSENGER 13.1 conducted in June
enabled the Sqn to trial and test the Main HQ’s new tent
layout which was completed only the weekend before to the
Brigades requirements. The new look HQ tent is 3 times the
original footprint of the previous HQ and has been designed
to provide all the modern effects a Bde HQ must have but
also maintain the balance between capability and
manoeuvrability to move as and when with the battle.
Forward Troop had the opportunity to carry out the Brigade
Commander’s intent of providing a small HQ which could
pulse forward as and when required. This has led to the
coining of a new phrase in Forward Troop, the word LULSE
which basically means “Love to Pulse” is now used regularly
by the Forward Tp faithful.
Ex ACE MESSENGER 13.2 was the culminating CT3 exercise
which saw the Sqn deployed on to several training areas for 4
out of 6 weeks during the months of June and July with the
ultimate aim of exercising basic command and staff
procedures in the field. From this, the key points the
Squadron wanted to achieve from our personnel going on
exercise was to re-learn the skills which had either been
forgotten or fallen by the wayside due to the heavy
operational commitments of the previous 10 years and
combine them with the new lessons which we can draw on
from our recent experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Ex ACE MESSENGER 13.2 started early on the Monday morning
of 8 July and saw Main and Forward Troops set up their HQ’s
at Old Carter Barracks to GOLD standard. On the following
Thursday, Main Tp conducted a night move to Barton Stacey
along the A303 and strangely our Bulldogs, which are pushing
over 40 years and often liable to breaking down, all made it
through both exercises and countless moves. Only LCpl
Rennick’s Bulldog broke down once and credit to him he only
broke down 10 metres from the finish point, the Bulldogs did
Main Tp proud.
At Barton Stacey the Squadron pulled out all its trump cards
by deploying all 3 Troops (including Support Tp) to ensure the
Bde Staff Officers were catered for appropriately. This would
be one of the final times that 228 Signal Squadron provide full
real life support to the Brigade Headquarters before the
Squadron re-subordinate and lose the task.
The ACE MESSENGER 13.2 exercise in particular gave the Bde
HQ an opportunity to integrate new members of the HQ,
confirm Bde ergonomics and run through a planning cycle,
whilst providing the Bde HQ and Sigs Sqn an opportunity to
operate within a tactical setting. It has been a vital first step
in the preparation of the HQ for the assumption of the interim
Lead Armoured Task Force (LATF) in 2014.
The new Main HQ
So to get the troops into the spirit of tent building we began
an intense exercise scenario for Ex ACE MESSENGER 13.1
which saw us build and tear down the HQ in 4 locations over 5
days around the Salisbury training area. That is by no means a
small feat as it takes a minimum of 26 personnel 8 hours build
time from start to finish.
The Bulldogs outside a ‘building of opportunity’
92
So after a 2 months of being on exercise and playing host to
numerous visits be it from Army HQ, Welbeck, the Troop
Commanders course and Sandhurst Cadets to name but a
few, the lads thoroughly deserved their Summer leave which
is certainly needed as they also prepare to head off to either
Canada or Kenya respectively on their return.
LCpl Riley living the dream and waiting for dark before heading
off on our night move
HQ 101 LOGISTICS BRIGADE & SIGNAL TROOP (661)
ALDERSHOT
OC Capt J Alger
RQMS WO2 (RQMS) M Turner
The Troop has said farewell to the following: SSgt Lehrle, Cpl
Saruwaka, LCpl Purja, LCpl Shone, Sig Barker-McGowan, Sig
Flynn and Cfn Redshaw. Many thanks to you all and good
luck in the future.
Once again the Troop managed to enter a team in the
Nijmegen March. For those looking for a slightly less
demanding time, a day out fishing was held.
However, the main activity in the calendar has been the Troop
Day. Prior to summer leave and the large number of
departures, a day of fun and festivities was planned. The
Troop was honoured that the Corps Colonel and CRSM were
able to join us. The morning consisted of wakeboarding,
inflatable rings and getting wet in many different ways. After
drying off, the Corps Colonel was then given a tour of the
Troop lines and the Brigade Headquarters. The day
culminated in a beach BBQ in the Warrant Officers’ and
Sergeants’ Mess. The Troop OC, Capt Alger, thanked the
Colonel for the visit and presented him with a Brigade plaque.
Busta Bear
The team visited Arnhem and more pertinently the John Frost
Bridge memorial to pay our respects. This did highlight to the
younger members the sheer amount of history that is
associated to these towns because of the war.
Wakeboarding
Nijmegen March
The team led by SSgt (FofS) Gaz Johnston consisting of Capt
Jim Alger, WO2 (RQMS) Matt Turner, Sgt Nico Burger, Cpl T
Saruwaka, LCpl Nath Shone, LCpl Gez Williams, Sig ‘Quinney
Bear’ Quintero, Sig ‘Grinners’ Grindley and Cfn Lauren Elkin.
On arrival at Holland the team set about the vital task of
identifying the camp facilities for the duration of our stay.
LCpl Shone conveniently discovered both the British and
International bar and even more importantly a small kiosk
that served cheaper beer. The first night of team bonding
did highlight that one of our team members was attracting
considerably more attention from the other nations. A
Canadian team was very generous to Cfn Elkin and showered
her with gifts including a small teddy bear, which quickly
become our 11th member, and so Busta Bear was welcomed
to the team with the mission of International relations and
collecting memorabilia.
The final night of ‘acclimatisation’ resulted in the team
experiencing an evening in Nijmegen. The whole town was
like a carnival with live music, bars and masses of street
parties. A local news station was interviewing groups
regarding the pending marches. Fortunately the FofS was the
only member of our team who does not have a face for radio
and stepped up to make his International TV debut. It is lucky
they never selected Sgt Burger for this interview; when a
local asked him if he was competing in the Nijmegen Marches,
he looked particularly confused as to what marches she was
referring too. We learned quite quickly that our logistic
counterparts should not be left unsupervised during
conversations.
0300 on the first morning of the marches and camp was filled
with energy, excitement and enthusiasm. Luckily, we shared
a camp with cadets because none of those adjectives
described our team. After registration we were ready to start
marching the 44km route. The main thing that was noticed
by all Nijmegen first-timers was the support from all the
civilians. From the moment we started at an ungodly hour
there were locals cheering you on by the side of the road.
Before the 10km mark we identified two major problems, the
heat and Cpl Saruwaka’s old man’s bladder; the frequency of
which can only be related to one of a dog marking territory
93
around the block. The most grueling part of the first day was
walking alongside the river; this was near the end of the
march with no protection from the sun and unfortunately at
the hottest part of the day. The temperatures were soaring
to 30o and we had 2 hours of solid walking in these
conditions. The Scottish members of the team were the most
affected by this heat but in true stubborn nature just put their
heads down and completed it.
The second day highlighted that there was a traitor amongst
our midst. While the Team Leader was demonstrating his
selfless commitment by collecting refreshments for the team,
a devious plan was in full motion. Sig ‘Judas-Quinney Bear’
Quintero, covered by Sig ‘Grinners’ Grindley, was filling his
Bergen with stones. Obviously he was well aware of this
treacherous plan from the onset, however morale was low
and the team needed a lift and like all good leaders he took
the hit.
The third day really identified the arduous and unforgiving
nature of the marches. The team was carrying multiple
injuries including numerous blisters, muscle aches, joint pains
and eventually on our return to camp two air casts for stress
fractures. The weather was still an increasing problem, as the
temperatures remained in the high 20’s and with 50 miles still
to go this was not such a party. As we await the Tannoy
introducing the march we hear the inspiring news that today
was going to be the hardest due to all the hills. The easiest
way to describe this day was savage.
The final day and we have completed 119km with 44 to push.
The majority of the route was monotonous and there was not
a crowd to provide encouragement. The last 5km was
another story, formed up behind the band, en mass we
marched as a squad through the town. The carnival
atmosphere had returned with people lining the streets,
hanging out of windows, waving from rooftops and the older
generation showing their support from their hospital beds.
The whole experience was surreal and all of those aches and
pains seemed to disappear.
At the end of the 4-day event, the team had marched a total
of 163km carrying 10Kg (unless Sig ‘Judas’ Quintero had
visited your Bergen) plus water and everyone of them vowed
never to do it again. However as the memory of the blisters,
stress factors and heat dissipate, team members have been
heard to whisper “maybe next year”.
Fishing For Forces Day (Avon Springs)
On 5 July thirteen volunteers of 101 Log Bde HQ and 661 Sig
Tp departed for a fun filled days Fly Fishing at Avon Springs
Fishery in Wiltshire. Funding was sought through the Bde HQ
and also participants gave a contribution which was donated
to the Fishing for Forces Charity. The majority had never fly
fished, so this was a great way of getting people introduced
to the sport.
The morning started with a hearty breakfast with the catering
ladies providing for every persons need. Bill Howell (Fishing
for Forces Founder) opened the day with a quick brief and
explanation on what lay ahead. After the casting
demonstration every participant was assigned a mentor. The
morning fished really well with all participants taking in what
their mentors was teaching them. Capt Morgans and Sig
Dawes out performed the majority of the group by catching
the bag limit. Maj Ballard almost caught the monster (6lb +)
of the day, but sadly lost it which left Sgt Burger with a 5lb
Rainbow trout to win the heaviest fish price.
The day was well organized and all the participants had a
great time. Fishing for Forces did an excellent job on the
whole with the catering and the fishing experience.
The Nijmegen Team
94
OTHER UNITS
1st NATO SIGNAL BATTALION
WESEL
CO
RSM
Lt Col Hunke (DEU)
WO1 Sully (CAN)
1 NATO Signal Battalion have been tasked with supporting the
German Patriot Missile Batteries located along the Syrian and
Turkish border, providing both early warning and re-active
shields against Syrian Scud attacks.
The Battalion’s ‘Maintenance & Support Company’ stepped
up to the mark and quickly threw together a ten man, multinational team to carry out the first four-month rotation on
the mission named Operation ACTIVE FENCE, replacing our
Danish colleagues so that they could return to the Unit for
some well earned rest. So here we are, a NATO bag of
‘liquourice allsorts’ as the CO likes to put it, 3 Germans, 1
Canadian, 1 Belgian, 1 Dutch and 4 members of the Royal
Corps, all prepped and ready for action.
The flight was quiet and uneventful but the hot wind that
greeted us in the face at Istanbul was a shock to everybody
and the coach journey from the airport down to Adana was
equally as uncomfortable. However, we eventually arrived in
the middle of the night and as tired and hungry as we were,
our first night in Turkey was to be one of unexpected luxury
as we had no choice but to stay overnight at the American
base in our own en-suite, air conditioned hotel rooms.
Squeezing ourselves and our entire luggage into a tiny
Mercedes Sprinter the next morning saw another 3 hour ‘lifegambling’ drive on the death defying Turkish roads. Our
journey eventually led us up to the peak of an enormous hill
and a little further from that were the front gates of the
Turkish Military Base in the town of Kahramanmaras, home of
the German Patriot Battery. There to meet us at the front
gates, our Danish counterparts gave us a warm welcome and
began an immediate tour of the considerably unforgiving
terrain and steepness of the site. They explained their daily
routine and pointed out the very few places we were actually
allowed to go without upsetting our host nation, before
staring the Handover / Takeover of the NATO Comms det.
Life on the Turkish base is certainly a far cry from the home
luxuries of back home in Wesel. The rationing of food, warm
water and electricity took a little time to get used to. As soon
as the Danes had departed we quickly established a work shift
pattern and just as quickly, we printed off our ‘chuff-charts’
and pinned them on the wall.
Maintaining several Comms links at once was our bread and
butter so we had plenty of time to join in with the constant
Barbeque and party action hosted by our German friends.
The party lifestyle of the Germans will at least make the
Birthdays of five of our Team worthwhile whilst out here.
After a few weeks of the unavoidable ‘Groundhog Day’, we
had the extremely welcoming news that our individual nations
had finally agreed to extract us from the dark cloud of the
Turkish camp and move us all into a local hotel in the middle
of town… a morale eruption to put it mildly. Beer cans and
BBQs aside, VIP visits have also been plentiful here and so far
we have had the honor of hosting many international
dignitaries including the recent visit to our NATO detachment
by SACEUR and his entourage. And the team has even
managed to hustle their way into a restricted area and have a
group photo alongside a Patriot Missile Launcher.
We have already had to say farewell to Cpl Ritchie Searle who
managed to escape the tour early, using his Class 1 as an
excuse to dodge the war. We are also due to say a sad
farewell to Cpl Roddy Morrison who will be leaving the
mission early to get home in time to witness the birth of his
family’s new arrival… and for this we wish him all the best.
Patriot Launcher
Sharing the base with the Turkish soldiers, most of them on
conscripted service, has been interesting. Both nations have
worked hard to establish a good rapport and both seem to
enjoy learning each other’s language. Learning your access ID
card details in the local language goes a long way in receiving
a friendly welcome at the front gate and every day we make
new friends along the way. SSgt Al Smith and Sgt Bobby Hill
have continued this interaction with the locals outside of
work too by helping out with coaching a local community
Boxing Gym, designed to keep young children off the streets.
All is well with the detachment and a good relationship has
been built with both our German colleagues and our Turkish
hosts. The high winds in our location are proving to be the
real enemy for the SATCOM team but they are managing to
‘make do and mend’ as always. The network Techs are ticking
over quietly and overall morale is good. The current team out
here is now half way through the tour with no injuries, no
disciplinary events and no regrets. We are looking forward to
a good Handover / takeover with our colleagues in the next
rotation and wish them a happy and safe tour, especially over
the Christmas and New Year period.
95
DEFENCE INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY CENTRE
CHELTENHAM
DCOS
QM
Lt Col JB Duckworth
Maj G Woodcock
Jimmy’s Day 2013 (Chicksands) – by Cpl McNally
Jimmy’s Day is an annual event held at Chicksands. Although
primarily aimed at providing a fun filled day of activities to all
serving personnel and their families, it also enables members
of the Royal Corp of Signals to celebrate the formation of the
Corp and help raise money for selected charities.
The Jimmy’s Day committee headed by the DCOS, Lt Col
Duckworth, was the epitome of the Royal Signals; being
ambitious, professional, self sufficient and hard working. Our
mission was to raise money for Combat Stress and The
Primrose Unit at Bedford Hospital whilst providing a free
Family Fun Day in celebration of our Corps anniversary; this all
carried out at the home of the Intelligence Corps!!! The
gauntlet had been laid down by last year’s event which was
one of the highlights of the year, and also by the requirement
to set the bar high for the upcoming Intelligence Corps day.
To ensure the day was a resounding success planning began
in November 2012. This gave us sufficient time to formulate a
plan which could provide a day packed with entertainment
and fun for all ages. Numerous committee meetings were
held prior to the event so that a vast array of ideas could be
thrashed about, this also ensured that any crazy charity
events could be stamped out before the H&S rep came in and
shut us down.
With all the planning complete it was now time to put the
plans into action commencing with the two charity events
which took place on the 26 Jun 13.
experienced members of the team started on the more
difficult routes with the novices climbing the easier routes.
In all we needed to climb the 8m wall 1107 times to complete
the 8848m of Everest which seemed like a rather tall order
especially to Cpl Scott ‘toy story’ Woodrow who was climbing
eight times his height on every ascent.
We set to it with great enthusiasm, the more experienced
climbers navigating with speed and flair whilst the novices
looked on in envy whilst clinging to the wall using the
apparently mandated “10 points of contact at all times”. The
most impressive performance of the day was by our FofS, Jon
‘submarine’ Hatch who was determined to complete at least
a vertical mile (202 climbs). He actually went on to completed
about 230 climbs due to poor maths and blistered hands to
prove it, not sure how a man who goes fishing seven days a
week can get blisters on his hands!!!
The 1107th climb was completed in just 7 hours which was a
massive effort by all, however, the enthusiasm hadn’t
dampened so we went on to complete a total of 1500 climbs.
A good day was had by all with lots of people coming down
to help out. Three courses of students from the Defence
School of Intelligence came along to have a go on the wall
which helped us out no end. In all we raised £475 on the day
so a big thank you goes out to all participants, supporters and
donators who helped raise a fantastic amount for these two
fantastic causes.
Jimmy’s Day 24 Hour Rowing Challenge – by Sgt Wilkinson
On Wednesday 26 June five members of the Royal Signals
along with a member of the RAF departed DISC Chicksands.
We were destined for the Tesco Extra, Stevenage to
undertake the challenge of rowing for 24 hours in support of
Combat Stress and The Primrose Unit.
The challenge involved two rowing machines and 3 teams of 2
rowing ½ hour on, 1 hour off. Each team member needed to
cover a minimum distance of 5km in each of their 30 minute
sessions. This would allow all team members to reach the
80km goal, the equivalent of rowing around the Isle of Wight.
The challenge was started at 1000 by SSgt (SQMS) Pete
Stainforth and Cpl Adam Noone, who both put in a strong
distance of around 6km. The remainder of the group
followed suit and as you can imagine this soon turned into a
bit of a race!
All present and correct - Royal Signals personnel, Chicksands
Jimmy’s Day Everest Challenge – by Sgt Thorpe
On 26 Jun, fifteen volunteers, both military and civilian from
DHU and HQ DISC, climbed the equivalent height of Mount
Everest in aid of Combat Stress and The Primrose Unit,
Bedford Hospital - A cancer care and support unit for the local
area. This event was conducted at Chicksands using a mobile
climbing wall kindly supplied by the Leicester Army Cadets. A
big thanks must go to these guys who also gave up their time
to set up and provide safety for the event.
The climbing began at 0830 and the aim was to be complete
within 8 hours. The 15 climbers were of varying ability, some
had never climbed before, so to begin with the more
96
Cpl McNally, Sgt Wilkinson, SSgt (SQMS) Hepworth, Cpl Noone,
SSgt (SQMS) Stainforth, Cpl Betteridge (RAF)
As always there
had to be a slight
drama and this
was provided by
the Dunk Tank,
however a quick
visit from
Babcocks and all
was good. Dunk
Tank filled and all
personnel
accounted for, we
were hot to trot.
Throughout daylight hours all members continued to produce
decent averages, aided by the high volume of shoppers and
the ringing sound of cash splashing in the buckets. However
we all knew this was soon going to change and we would
need to dig deep throughout the night. Later on in the
afternoon we had a group of students come along to show
their support and rattle the tins; headed up by Sgt Ben ‘2ft’
Cullen, who was asked by a customer if they were Cadets! It
was little incidents like this that kept the spirits sky high.
As we reached the 12 hour point we all began to feel the burn
and discomfort of sitting on the hard rowing machine seats.
This resulted in us initially making use of a towel to add extra
padding, however, this was then increased to two towels,
then three, then four…..I’m sure you get the picture.
Throughout the night it was just as we thought, hardly any
customers and very little donations! We needed something to
boost morale, so it was supermarket sweep time. However,
with only one hour off and walking like “John Wayne” we
couldn’t make it far. Luckily the Crispy Crème Doughnuts
were at arms reach and morale was restored.
The grand
opening of the day
was marked by
the start of the “It’s a Knock Out” competition, which saw ten
teams enter from across the station. All members entered
into the spirit wearing some pretty imaginative fancy dress.
The seasoned professionals also displayed a slight
nervousness wondering what this years event had in store for
them. Following a short brief, the RAF PTI grabbed the
microphone from the PA system and got everyone underway.
This microphone was to become his new best friend forever,
as he utilised it at every opportunity, including whilst in casual
conversation. But with flour and soap in competitors ears and
their heads under water, no one really heard or cared anyway!
DCOS opens the Main Event
As the afternoon went on the food vans and bar did a roaring
trade with the hog roast selling out in just a couple of hours!
The face painting stall was in over drive, transforming children
into animals. This made Cpl Dave ‘no kids’ McNally (who was
manning the inflatables) very happy as the kids took looking
like animals to a whole new level, they broke him.
Sgt Wilkes doing his part to draw in the punters (not sure about
the rank slide!!!)
By 0800 on Thursday all team members had completed their
80Km target, all that was left now was to dig in till 1000. The
final session was completed by Cpl Dave McNally and myself,
we both dug in deep and managed to finish the final row with
a distance of approximately 6.3km. The strongest team of
the event had to be SSgt (SQMS) ‘Heppie’ Hepworth and Cpl
Craig Betteridge (our RAF team member) who both managed
to post distances of around 6.5km every 30 minute session.
In total the team managed to raise approximately £2200 of
which £1350 was donated by customers of Tesco. Thanks go
to Sgts Cullen, Hodgkinson and Wilkes along with Students of
SCC 2/13 for their help collecting over the 24 hour period.
Jimmy’s Day, Party In The Park – by Cpl McNally
The wait was finally over and it was now time to begin the
build for the main event. It was the day before and the
weather was overcast with light showers possible! This
brought memories flooding back of armoured brigades and
divisions due to the stitching and erecting of vast amounts of
GS tentage, but morale was pepped up by coffee runs and the
sight of Sgt Jon ‘wilko’ Wilkinson erecting the flag pole in the
middle of the site, with our beloved Jimmy flying high the
evenings work seemed to fly by.
On the morning of the day we confirmed the weather
booking and awaited the arrival of the various agencies. As
always it was a little tense until the first arrival, but after that
they continued to roll through the gate like a herd of cattle.
The St Johns Ambulance had doubled this year’s presence and
subsequently doubled the ice cream sales. The committee
were relieved to hear that there were no incidents reported,
however their attendance was gratefully appreciated.
The sun and entertainment gave a family friendly feel as the
Military Wives choir performed on the stage followed by a
local acoustic artist who played a number of cover versions.
The relaxing atmosphere was only broken by the noise of the
Miami wave ride and the occasional cheers of someone
hitting the bulls eye on the dunk tank. The biggest of all was
for the CO of the Defence School of Intelligence who
sportingly donned his Mess Kit to give some added incentive.
The event was well attended from start to finish, but as the
night drew in it was time for the bouncy castles, bungie run,
pony rides, petting zoo and birds of prey to leave as the
entertainment turned to focus on the adults. The bands on
stage had more of a crowd now as the atmosphere turned
into a mini-festival as headliners “Indulgence” played popular
cover versions which had everyone dancing along. The
crowds were that large at the end, the final band were
begging to leave the stage as the shouts for “1 more song”
continued 30 mins after closing time.
For the committee there was no time for relaxing as we used
this time to tear down the tentage and remove as much of
the rubbish as possible. The following morning we were out
at 0700 to carryout the final clear up prior to the remainder of
station arriving for work.
So was all the hard work worth it? Well with all the charity
boxes full to the brim, all areas spotless and the buzz around
Chicksands the following day at an all time high, I believe it
was well worth it and we cannot wait for next year. The
grand total raised during all of the events was the sum of
£4234.37.
97
SPORT
ARMED FORCES RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP
JULY 2013 – COLCHESTER GARRISON
by Captain Tom Howley
The Defence Rugby League World Cup took place in
Colchester across July and comprised of four teams; GB,
Australia, New Zealand and Serbia. The GB team was made
up of Combined Services players including eight from the
Army and I was lucky enough to be involved.
Currently, I am the Training Officer at 216 (Parachute) Signal
Squadron, Colchester and changed codes whilst at
Loughborough University in 2006 and never looked back.
League is a fast, simple and high collision sport - what more
could you want! During my time playing League I have
represented Ireland Students, Royal Signals, British Army, GB
Community Lions, and the Combined Services.
The previous World Cup in 2008 was held in Australia where
GB narrowly beat Australia in a hard fought final. Conscious
that GB were not only hosting but defending the World Cup, a
mission statement was set
out from the start; Retain the
Armed Forces World Cup on
home soil.
Preparations started back in
January where the initial
train on squad met at
Marjons College, Plymouth
for initial strength and
conditioning tests. Each
player received an intense
training programme and
Capt Howley getting
further tests were conducted
fitted in the GB strip for
12 weeks later in April. Head
his first cap against Serbia
Coach, Wayne O’Kell (RN)
and his team whittled the
squad down to 24 which met for a week in June in
Portsmouth, prior to the first fixture.
Capt Howley in action against New Zealand
Australia 32-22 in a fiery encounter.
The third group fixture was the big one against the Aussies. I
was again selected to pull on the GB shirt against Australia.
Wearing the GB shirt against the Aussies was a proud moment
especially whilst singing the National Anthem before
competing against our sporting rivals. The Aussies started
well and gained momentum very quickly, building a 20-4 half
time lead. GB came out hard in the second half and began to
build field possession with resulting scores but were narrowly
defeated 20-16. The defeat meant that GB would progress to
the semi finals against the Kiwis who defeated Serbia 66-6.
Plagued with injury from a tough, physical encounter against
Australia, GB recouped and progressed to the semi finals and
a rematch against the Kiwis – I was again selected to pull on
the GB shirt. The semi final was a close encounter with each
side scoring early tries in another hard 80 minutes. With 10
minutes to go, former Hull FC player, Dominic Maloney scored
a try to put GB 16-14 in front; however it was the Kiwis, who
upset the apple kart and scored a last gasp try to win 20-16.
The Kiwis progressed to play the Aussies in the final after they
defeated Serbia 120-0 in the other semi. To come so close and
have it taken from us at the end was heart breaking.
The tournament was an all-play-all format, split into 2 stages;
Australia were crowned Armed Forces Rugby League World
the groups and the knock out stages. The strong competition
Champions after they defeated New Zealand 32-22 in another
resulted in me being excluded from the match-day squad
close run game. The next
against a strong New
Combined Services
Zealand team. After a
Rugby League major
close first half, the hosts
Great Britain Armed Forces Rugby League Squad
event will be in Australia
pulled away to win a
in 2015, where a
comfortable 32-8. In the
Colchester Garrision 2013
commemorative fixture
other fixture Australia
will be played on ANZAC
hammered Serbia 112-0.
day.
The second fixture for GB
The experience was a
was against Serbia and I
once in a life time and
was selected to start and
thoroughly enjoyed being
wear the historical GB
around such talented
shirt on home soil. GB
individuals. I look
soon found their feet and
forward to taking my
ran away winning 96-0.
experiences back to the
Fortunately I capped a
Corps side, which will
strong performance by
again compete in Merit 1
scoring two tries. New
in 2014.
Zealand narrowly lost to
98
Exercise FREEDOM ENDEAVOUR
30 JUN 13 – 6 JUL 13
- by Lt Cdr Adam Coates RN – JSyCC Operations Officer
Units:
10SR – RHQ / 241Sqn
CIO-DSAS -JSyCC
DE&S ISS / Networks
Sunday
0505, just a few minutes after the muster, and driven by LCpl
David Hughes, the Ex FREEDOM ENDEAVOUR team departs
MOD CORSHAM with a 23 hour drive to the south of France
ahead of us; we settled in for what would be a very long and
cramped journey. After collecting WO1 (FofS) Danny
Mulheran - 10SR RHQ - at the ferry port in Poole we boarded
the ferry and expedition leader Lt Cdr Adam Coates – Joint
Security Co-ordination Centre (JSyCC) - was unduly pleased to
get his first time at sea in quite some years! Over the course
of the day the three strong Support Team (LCpl Hughes and
LCpl Stephen Rowe – 10SR-241Sqn - led by PO Roger Brand –
JSyCC - rotated through the driving. At around 0300 local
time we arrived at Parc de Paletes, our base camp in SaintGirons, France. The base camp tent was erected in very short
order and ‘Call the Hands’ (reveille – this is a Navy-led exped)
was set for 0900 later that morning.
footsteps of servicemen and civilians who escaped from
occupied France into Spain was concocted. During the
Second World War Frenchmen were ‘offered’ the opportunity
to work for the Nazis, many of whom decided not to take up
this offer but attempted to flee into ‘neutral’ Spain where
usually after about 6 months of incarceration by Franco they
would be released to go and join the Free French Forces in
Africa. Scott Goodall’s book is available on Amazon for those
who wish to read more (this author does not receive a cut!).
The plaque presentation
Tuesday
Saint Girons basecamp
Monday
We used Monday to acclimatize ourselves, firstly by enjoying
Steak-Frites for brunch and then heading back to camp to
square away all the kit admin, repacking all Bergans and
ensuring all the group kit was carried between the group. In
the heat of the mid-afternoon we headed to the local
museum where we met the British, but now locally-living,
guide Mr Scott Goodall. Regular readers will recall he
featured in Vol. 61 No: 6 helping out on Ex PYRENEES TIGER
for the Royal School of Signals expedition in 2007. Mr
Goodall recommended some changes to our original planned
route due to patches of snow still persisting even in July. We
presented him with a “unit” plaque (fabricated to represent
the variety of units involved) as a small token of our thanks.
Following this we returned to camp for a meal and briefing of
the trekking and support teams.
Ex FREEDOM ENDEAVOUR was initially conceived under a
different name as a weekend in the Brecon Beacons, but after
thinking bigger but failing to secure flights to Ascension, the
difference was split and a more realistic plan of retracing the
The start In Saint Girons
0920 and we are stood on the bridge on Boulevard de General
de Gaule we had a team photo and begin the longest day of
the expedition, the 24 km trek to Aunac, far to the South.
WO2 ‘Lance Foreman’ Owen Trimble – JSyCC - a veteran of
Ex PYRENEES TIGER led the way as we wind our way through
the undulating terrain of the French countryside. As we take
in the scenery and with no need to navigate from the map
due to the clear bright weather and well signed path, WO2
(FofS IS) Owen Trimble reads from the guidebook some of
the facts and figures Mr Goodall has recorded. At least two
of the group regret that final beer of the night as we
approach the summit of the highest point of the day in the
baking heat, but luckily Lt Cdr Adam Coates took his time
bringing up the rear. Descending into a valley now, we began
to stretch out the pace and shortly after joined a road in the
valley. After a short steep ascent we found ourselves in the
99
Lunch in Alos
village of Alos and were able to cool off in the village well,
thankfully before a large dog deposited itself in clear, clean
water! Climbing still further we opened up to a view of
mountains ahead, all looking very green especially considering
the warnings we’d been given about snow. After contouring
around the hill to the east we then descended once more into
a valley ready to start the final gentle climb to Aunac. Our
arrival in Aunac was marked by disturbing a pair of donkeys
baying loudly, one clearly trying to avoid the ‘romantic’
advances of the other! A few hundred metres further up the
hill we arrived at Gite d’Aunac and slumped onto the grassy
terrace where we were to camp for the evening. We dined in
relative style, three courses served with a view of the valley
and an enthusiastic farmer’s dog, punctuated only by the rain
starting. The meal must have been good as SSgt Jim Stocks –
10SR-241Sqn - also an Ex PYRENEES TIGER veteran, caught out
Lt Cdr Coates by asking for heart burn tablets, something
which wasn’t stocked in his mountain leaders first aid kit!
Col de la Core
and before proceeding, we used hand-scales to measure the
weight of each. Capt Colin Northridge’s – DE&S ISS - pack
came out lightest and rather than congratulate him on his
good admin we all questioned why he couldn’t take weight!
After having more than our fill of BBQ meat we climbed once
again into the gloom and up towards our wild camp of the
trip. We had now left the marked route as advised and met
our first patch of snow, Capt Colin Northridge (exped 2i/c)
quickly established that it was short and that we didn’t need
to cross it, but in so doing slipped and drew first blood with a
Evening Meal - We were happier than we look
WO2 Trimble enjoys rations at Etang dEschelle
grazed knee, however a squeeze of magic sponge later we
were on the move and heading up hill again. We were
following a track, but as patches of snow increased we
weren’t able to walk directly on the path which slowed
progress slightly, still at about 1700 we arrived at Etang
d’Eschelle (a tarn) where we pitched our tents and took in the
scenery.
Wednesday
0920 after having had our fill of coffee, crusty bread, butter
and fig jam and having slept reasonably well (the donkeys
were baying again) we descended out of Aunac retracing our
final steps of the previous day. We were soon 500m closer to
sea-level and followed the dirt track rising gently up the valley
and running roughly parallel, Capt John Nixon – DE&S
Networks - who through sheer fitness was leading the way
and kept morale high quizzing us on crisp preferences. It was
a dull grey morning and the view was only that of the hill in
front of us. As it approached lunchtime we were all very
pleased to see PO Roger Brand, LCpl David Hughes and LCpl
Stephen Rowe looming out of the mist at view point at Col de
la Core, quickly followed by the waft of barbeque smell. The
group look a leisurely lunch, swapping out a few items of kit
and taking on the rations we’d need in the high mountains.
Our packs certainly felt heavy with the now wet tents inside
100
Etang_dEschele - WO2 Trimble
The campsite Etang dEschelle
the tally. We sat outside the Refuge de Estagnous in the sun,
and observed the border with Spain high above – the route
down and then up to the ridge was partly in the shade and
looked to be covered in snow and ice. After seeking advice
from the refuge staff, who declared crampons were a must,
our escape attempt was prematurely ended without any
fanfare. We enjoyed the rest of the evening, a fantastic
display from an eagle soaring above and made our own
escape plan back into France and planned a new RV and route
for the support party to meet us.
Friday
Group Shot in the sun
Thursday
We departed Etang d’Eschelle at 0820 – grabbing a few final
photos for good measure. We climbed again initially in the
cold shadow of the mountain but very soon into the hot sun
with the glare of reflection from the large patches of snow
still up at this altitude. We had to cross a few patches of soft
snow but soon reached a col to take on some nutty (that’s
chocolate/snacks to non-naval types) and most of us tried out
the panoramic modes on our camera such was the quality of
the scenery. Descending steeply, Lt Cdr Coates remembered
to switch on our GPS tracker for the day – lucky we didn’t get
lost during the early part of the morning! We continued on to
our lunch stop at Cabine d’Espuges and sat surrounded by
sheep but no sign of the shepherd, to cook up a dehydrated
lunch – all things considered I would definetly carry a heavier
wet ration next time! At this point alone we were back on our
original planned route but only for a few metres as annoyingly
we had to descend down and then very steeply back up for
the whole afternoon. The regular stops allowed Lt Cdr Coates
to bore educate those in the group who were taking the
Summer Mountaineering Foundation course as Distributed
Training about access, conservation and mountain safety.
Despite the heat, large patches of snow persisted on these
slopes and at least one chocolate bar was plunged into the
snow in an attempt to reduce it to an edible temperature. We
reached the ridgeline late in the afternoon to find a local
Frenchman with two young boys springing around the rocks
up there in shorts, t-shirt and flip-flops (the author may be
exaggerating slightly – but not much!). We could now see the
border with Spain high above us and across a large bowl in
the mountain, more importantly, and especially for Flt Lt Pete
Dixon with only limited mountain experience, we could see
Refuge de Estagnous just half a kilometre away. Despite
being so close, SSgt Jim Stocks decided to wedge his leg
down the side of a large boulder in a move that scored only
4/10 for style but resulted in a second ‘hurty-knee’ to add to
Group shot - without Capt Northridge spoiling it!!
After a quick breakfast we left the refuge and now turn back
north into France descending down a beautiful but well
marked track in the heat. We had not been able to call the
support team overnight to tell them of the change of plan but
would they spot on the GPS tracker that our route had
changed? We passed many locals just setting out for a long
weekend in the mountains and were thankful we didn’t have
to climb this route ourselves. At 1015 we achieved GSM
comms and were able to speak to PO Brand. He had seen our
change and we quickly agreed the new RV point and time.
The pretty scenery continued to improve especially at one
point where a bridge across stream beneath a waterfall
presented a clear view of local wildlife. By 1300, still very hot
and carrying heavy packs we came to a Gite with cool drinks,
just a few metres from the planned meeting point and where
the staff seemed very keen to serve us. We were very glad
for the much shorter return minibus trip back to base camp
and spent the extra time packing up ready for the morning.
That night we had a team meal at the restaurant and all
topped up the charge on various tablets and smartphones
ready for the long drive the following day.
Saturday
0400, up and by 0415 we were packed up ready to go except
for one – not bad for stowing an unfamiliar tent in the dark,
and soon we were on our way toward Toulouse and further
north. Both LCpls Hughes and Rowe also took their turn at
driving down the long toll roads of France and the day was
uneventful except when PO Brand made just one tiny
navigational error but caused us to pass (and stop at) a
McDonalds at about 1300, so I wasn’t sure I believed that he’d
actually pulled off the ‘wrong’ slip road! We arrived in
Cherbourg with enough time to spend a few more Euros in
Carrefour and for Capt John Nixon, Flt Lt Pete Dixon, WO1
Danny Mulheran and WO2 Owen Trimble to sit the exam for
the Summer Mountaineering Foundation course in the ferry
terminal. Exams were marked on the ferry back to
Portsmouth – all of whom passed – so in naval parlance
‘bravo zulu’ (well done!). After a long exhausting day and a
final two hours drive in the UK we were back in Corsham,
having thoroughly enjoyed the challenges of the week.
101
MoD Corsham f
Trimble. Presentations were
focussed on informing and
encouraging the interested while
also dispelling the myth that MoD
Corsham was building a track with
a chasm and sand (Earl’s Court
Royal Tournament and the
Command Field Gun event). A poor
turnout gave Corsham a crew of
eight, a following presentation
rose that to eleven; “Build it and
they will come”, the inspirational
words of No.1 Trainer. Recruitment
was essential…… No track to train
on, no gun to gun run, no crew to
better and no money to provide –
nothing to lose, everything to gain.
The Field Gun Officer, Lt Vicki Kay
RN, who last trained at HMS
Collingwood and the aging WO2
(FofS IS) Owen Trimble, who had
run 10 years prior for Gibraltar
stepped into the fold to challenge
the demands.
The Collingwood Gun Team
In November 12, for the first time in the establishment’s
history, MoD Corsham applied to compete in the long
standing Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity (RNRMC) Field
Gun competition hosted at HMS Collingwood, Portsmouth on 1
June 2013. MoD Corsham is a joint service environment that
provides UK and strategic communications and logistical
effort across Defence through a range of organisations. The
joint service community is diverse; MoD Corsham is home to
Military personnel, MoD civilians and civilian contractors who
achieve a professional harmony through work and extra
curricular activities.
With the endorsement of Capt Wise
RN, the senior management team
of the MoD Corsham Field Gun crew
was complete and so the gargantuan task of provision set
about. Later additions to the management team included
SSgt (YofS) Liza Parsons who, throughout the season
provided outstanding support to the
crew and event both on
and off
The RNRMC Field Gun competition was born from the historic
events of the Boer War, namely the battle for Ladysmith in
1899. The Naval Brigade from HMS Powerful and Terrible
adapted deck guns and manhandled them across difficult
terrain against impossible odds in order to successfully
support the British Garrison in Ladysmith. In 1907, the Royal
Navy partook in a display that told of the legendary tale which
had teams from various Royal Navy commands compete for
the Brickwoods Trophy. To date, the annual RNRMC Field Gun
event has only been marred by the two world wars. Last
year, the competition saw a range of teams competing from
Abbeywood to Gibraltar, 7 Air Assault Battalion REME to RAF
Cosford resulting in HMNB Portsmouth being crowned 2012
champions.
HMS Collingwood has been host to the RNRMC Field Gun
competition for many years, annually attracting up to 8000
people during a public open day. The open day takes pride of
place in the establishment’s calendar, with the RNRMC Field
Gun competition taking centre stage and running throughout
the day.
The Field Gun season requires a high degree of commitment
from the crew members and senior management team. Pansite recruitment for the event was tirelessly driven by the No.1
Trainer, Lt Dave Bebbington RN and WO2 (FofS IS) Owen
102
field gun 2013
(due for sale and demolishion) found a car park that allowed
for an 80 yard, banana shaped track which meant continual
bit drilling, pauses in drill negated the possibility of a full run.
The site was a mess. Landscaping and forestry work was
carried out so that the tarmac was visible… a task that took
four crew three days to accomplish. A twisting and turning
track came to life and with it the delivery of gun No.11 prior to
the Easter break. 15 April and the start of gun training
loomed.
Gun training saw the growth of yet more obstacles; gravel,
caravans, pot-holes and drains pepper-potted the track
forcing No.1 trainer to move the track to the dislike of the
HoE. The track was moved to the entrance road of the
Rudloe Manor site, the straightest piece of tarmac that was
available although 4 feet narrower than those at HMS
Collingwood. The crew, an RAF Cosford scratcher, a 10 year
gapped wheel number, a 24 year gapped drag number and
No.1 trainer provided only a limited knowledge base and
experience to the crew. A burden on No.1 and test/adjust of
‘other’ 14 crew members through varying positions…..if they
could attend training. In order that the crew would be
technically able and physically fit enough for the challenge,
track training was hosted twice daily, five days a week during
lunchtimes and evenings. Although outside of the normal
working battle rhythm, crew struggled with professional,
private and medical issues to attend; a full run (out, back and
home) is only possible with 18 crew and in 60+ sessions only 8
of the sessions found 18 or more in attendance. It was a
gargantuan struggle for No.1 Trainer to provide a fast and safe
crew prior to deploying for HMS Collingwood on 27 May 13.
the track
as the social
secretary, a role befitting her
socialising persona. Unfortunately, through injury
on the track, Liza was forced into a support role, colliding
with the limber only 3 weeks before the finals. Liza bounced
back, bringing to bear her supervisory skills, successfully
managing the organisation of a site wide charity horse racing
night which raised in excess of £2000.
By January 13, the gun was booked, transport organised and a
sponsor found. News quickly spread across the site but
volunteers lacked conviction, many couldn’t commit due to
operational and personal reasons, many were not physically
or medically fit enough to rise to the challenge, many were
apprehensive at the thought of walls, wires and a swing rig of
the Earl’s Court Command Field Gun event…..a reflection of
the audiences’ age.
The physical training between 11 February and 26 March saw
many come and go. Sessions averaged six personnel but still
the RAF PTI, Cpl Scott Henley and Sgt Jim Gollop committed
themselves to the instruction of arduous plyometric and
strength training that the event demanded. Many thanks for
their out of hours efforts which saw a crew develop
themselves far beyond standard fitness levels.
Come 15 April there needed to be a track…..no track, no
training. Head of Establishment (HoE) was requested to
provide a length of tarmac 90+ yards in length and 12 yards
wide; nothing on the site came even close to those
measurements. A recce of the abandoned Rudloe Manor site
Injuries plagued the crew; some more serious than others.
This led to the departure of some key personnel gapping
positions that were critical to the continuation of bit drilling.
One step forward regularly resulted in two steps back. One
crew member once attended training dressed, padded and
taped up for the eventuality of being selected for any
position; a valiant crew display at the defiance toward failure
demonstrating flexibility and understanding at the lack of
numbers at each training session. British weather proved troublesome. Many a training session
saw minor bit drilling being carried out in torrential rain; while
other, more seasoned crews found comfort inside hangars.
MoD Corsham crew worked through every one of the
elements that was thrown at them. During the Field Gun
display on 23 May (an event used to demonstrate what the
months of training had accomplished) the heavens opened
and bombarded the crew, the crowd and the track with
hailstones, yet motivation, pride and stubbornness saw the
crew perform admirably in front of a local crowd.
The crew deployed to HMS Collingwood on the morning of
Bank Holiday Monday, 27 May 13. On arrival there was an
immediate dismount of the gun and limber, a quick change
into running gear and then onto the track for a full ‘out, back
and home’. The inaugural training sessions saw some
blistering times partly down to the far smoother surface of
the parade ground and the adrenaline rush of the crew
running alongside their Field Gun brethren. This was a
spectacle to behold, 400+ serving personnel distributed
amongst 21 crews all at HMS Collingwood to win the RNRMC
Field Gun competition.
Friday 30 Jun and the start of the heats, crews dressed in their
103
trophy presented to
respective competition
the No.1 Trainer on
tops, taped
the day for
themselves up and
accomplishing the
hydrated themselves
most with a Field
in the 25 degree heat.
Gun crew when
The event runs over a
faced with a barrage
number of heats (four
of adversity. The
runs on Friday
end of season dinner
afternoon and the
hosted by the MoD
remainder on public
Corsham Officers'
display were run on
Mess was the
Saturday) wherein the
milestone of a
aggregate time
remarkable season
decides which final
which bought
your crew competes
together an
in. MoD Corsham was
otherwise disparate
exceptional, displaying
crew and culminated
discipline and team
in a legacy for MoD
work to bring the gun
Corsham.
home cleanly (no
“Sore & tired limbs required plenty of rest and ice packs”
penalties) for the first
MoD Corsham Field
five runs. Although
Gunner of the year 2013 was presented to Sig Danny Pain for
off the pace of the Field Gun ninja’s like HMS Heron (eventual
his outstanding commitment to the crew, his beyond-human
2013 winners) and HMNB Portsmouth, MoD Corsham were on
physical abilities and good all round egg and without who the
track for a Plate 1 final. However, the Field Gun Gods were
crew captain (WO1 Graham ’Henry’ Cooper RN) would not
not looking down on track 1 that afternoon. During the last
have an ‘Ouchy’ leg.
heat, a run plagued with technical errors and penalties, our
aggregate time slipped us into the Plate 3 final. ‘Eighteen as
A huge thanks goes out to the MoD Corsham Field Gun crew
One’ – the Field Gun proverb took us into the Plate 3 final
sponsor, Sourcefire whose financial support made the 2013
which saw the Barbarians clinch victory by 1/500ths of a
season possible. Also, to Blackthorn Technologies Ltd for the
second over MoD Corsham. No.1 Trainer, the crew and indeed
provision of the crew social shirts and to the Director ISS for
every Field Gunner that day felt a sinking feeling knowing that
his unwavering support throughout.
that may have been their last run.
Key moments of the 2013 season? No.1’s tireless/tiresome use
The final crew, twenty-four strong (including spare numbers)
of Naval lingo to motivate the ‘ship-mates’; Sgt Jim Gollop’s
led by Lt Dave Bebbington RN were made up from elements
partner claiming to be faster and stronger than Jim (there’s
of the Navy, RAF and Army, the latter comprising of Royal
always next season); SSgt (YofS) Liza Parsons’ choice of ‘no
Signals personnel: WO2 (FofS IS) Owen Trimble of JSyCC,
hands duff’ (desert) at the end of season dinner; SSgt Jim
SSgt (YofS) Liza Parsons and Sgt Jae Binnie of DE&S, SSgt Jim
Stocks' lacking of coordination and dexterity when catching
Stocks and Sig Danny Pain of 241 Sig Sqn (10 Sig Regt) and
on drive back; Sig Danny Pain’s geographical tongue…
Sgts Andy Cunnington and Jim Gollop of 600 Sig Tp (15 Sig
translator please; Sgt Jae Binnie’s attempt at a wheel change
Regt). A thank you goes to their respective line managers
on an imaginary gun……; Sgt Andy Cunnington’s dreaming of
and hierarchy who supported them throughout the long and
being as fast as Usain Bolt out to the gun and WO2 (FofS IS)
arduous season.
Owen Trimble’s eating the box lid.
MoD Corsham was well-deserved of the ‘Best Endeavour’
Celebrations for winning the ‘Best Endeavour’ trophy
104
ROYAL SIGNALS ASSOCIATION
Patron: HRH The Princess Royal
President: The Master of Signals
Chairman: Brig DA Hargreaves
Col (Retd) Terry Canham
Tel: 01258 482081
Association Office
RHQ Royal Signals
Blandford Camp
Blandford Forum
Dorset
DT11 8RH
www.royalsignlalsassociation.co.uk
Welfare Secretary
Tel (mil) (9)4371 2089
Tel (civ) 01258 48 2089
Membership Secretary
Tel (mil) (9)4371 2090
Tel (civ) 01258 482090
General Secretary and Treasurer: Col (Retd) T Canham
Assistant General Secretary: Maj (Retd) M Tivey
Welfare Secretary: Mrs L Sizeland
Membership Secretary: Mrs C Addison
Maj (Retd) Mark Tivey
Tel: 01258 482082
Mrs Linda Sizeland
Tel: 01258 482089
Mrs Caroline Addison
Tel: 01258 482090
The Chairman, Brig David Hargreaves, has been overwhelmed by the hospitality shown by the Branches he has so far visited. He
looks forward to meeting as many Branch members as possible in the months ahead.
RSA Annual General Meeting. The 70th AGM of the Royal Signals Association will be held in the Victory Services Club, London on
Sat 15 Mar 14. All Life Members of the RSA are eligible and welcome to attend the meeting, which starts at 1030 hrs. Any points for
the agenda must be received at Association HQ by 22 Feb 14.
Summer seems now to be a distant memory as the last few days have seen the return of rain, wind and cold. Although we should
welcome the transition from summer to autumn this is not always easy. The Association staff in HQ Royal Signals has been busy
over the summer and I would like to extend my thanks to the members in both Norfolk and Catterick Branches for their recent
hospitality to my husband and me during our visits.
Looking forward, the next Association events will be: the Opening of the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey on 7 Nov;
the Cenotaph Parade on 10 Nov and The Project Noel Festival of Carols at Liverpool Cathedral on 29 Nov – 1 Dec. Tickets for the
Festival of Carols are available from: http://projectnoelfest.co.uk/
For those Life Members who have access to the internet, have you looked at our FaceBook page? There is a lot of informal chat/
information/photos to be found here.
Finally, please don’t forget to inform us of your change of address, including email address so that we can keep in touch.
New Life Members. A warm welcome to the following members, enrolled since the last issue of The Wire;
LCpl Chris Adams
Sgt Steve Bell
Sig Jason Bond
Sig Adrian Carleton
Sig Ian Clemson
Sgt Paul Colborn
Maj David Corrie
Sig Alexander Cowan
Sig Kevin Darby
Cpl Jim Day
LCpl Bob Donaldson
Sgt David Easter
Cpl Steve Egerton
SSgt Craig Elsdon
LCpl Mark Emmet
Sgt Jeffrey Evans
Sig Victoria Fielder
Sig Kirsty Gardner
LCpl Leslie Gearing
Sig Neil Gilmour
WO2 Graham Guy
Sgt Gary Hall
Sgt Martin Hart
Cpl Martin Herdman
Sig Trevor Highes
1980-91
1988-98
1987-97
1980-88
1976-79
1991-00
1972-13
1991-94
1985-94
1970-81
1973-95
1972-87
1985-93
1988-date
2002-08
1970-80
1992-95
1991-95
1998-10
1985-91
1974-93
1992-date
1999-08
1984-91
tbc
Cpl Matthew Hodgetts
WO2 Steve Hogan
Sig David Hope
SSgt Stuart Ireland
Cpl Lee Irvine
LCpl Graham Jenkins
LCpl Jason Larkin
LCpl Lee Lewis
LCpl Steven Lewis
LCpl Andy Little
Sgt Paul Lomas
Cpl Dean Lunn
Cpl Ian MacLachlan
Cpl Robert McGinlay
WO1 David McGurk
LCpl Paul McLellan
Sig Trevor Meade
WO1 Stuart Meldrum
SSgt Joseph Millar
Sig David Misell
LCpl Kenneth Morrissey
LCpl David Morton
LCpl Michael Moy
Sgt Craig Murney
SSgt Keith Murray
1998-10
1991-13
1981-90
1987-10
1987-97
1986-94
1988-93
1989-99
1980-90
1981-87
1991-13
1999-date
1965-78
1969-79
1961-85
1977-87
1980-88
1984-08
1971-93
1983-12
1977-85
1983-97
2002-07
2000-date
1974-98
Sig Kerry O’Gara
Sgt Mo Owens
Sig James Petrie
Cpl Gary Pryce
WO2 Matthew Pryme
LCpl Ian Roser
Sgt Paul Salter
Sig Richard Saunders
Cpl Ian Scott
LCpl Richard Scott
Sig Christopher Sexton
WO1 John Sharkey
Sgt Jeffrey Shipton
Sgt Peter Smedley
Cpl Tim Stanton
SSgt Michael Stoneman
Cpl Michael Tennent
WO2 Nigel Varley
SSgt John Walsh
Cpl John Ward
Sig Steven Whitaker
Sig Michael Williams
Cpl George Williamson
Sgt Steven Wilson
1996-97
1979-09
1985-97
1982-94
1983-07
1980-86
1987-00
1995-97
1982-88
1985-95
1991-96
1970-04
1972-86
1983-07
1996-date
1989-date
1984-96
1971-95
1987-11
1970-79
1990-96
1988-98
1970-81
1986-01
105
DONATIONS
Mr R Waldron
£20.00
Mr N Lephard - Ooldea Music Club
£46.40
Mr Jim Star
£20.00
Mrs Patricia Fowler
£7.50
RSA Cornwall Branch
£525.00
Ex-Members of 200 Sig Sqn - in memory
of Billy Patterson
£113.40
Mr Tim Reinhold
£20.00
Mr FJ Smith - in memory of Lawrence
Christopher Smith
£500.00
Royal Signals Museum Shop
£46.78
Royal Signals Recruiting Team
£201.33
Blandford Garrison - Steam Fayre Gate
£230.39
RSA Catterick Lunch
£16.00
Bill and Pat Payne - in memory
of Molly Rozier
£20.00
4 Mech Bde HQ & Sig Sqn Disbandment Parade£63.64
Delta Troop, 22 Signal Regiment Reunion
£34.29
Current Active Fundraising (Please see http://www.
justgiving.com/rsbf)
Andrew Osborne - Fan Dance Race - Winter 2014.
David Cummings - The 3 Peak Challenge.
Lucie Barnes - Bournemouth Marathon Festival Full Marathon
2013.
39 Sig Regt - Beachy Head Marathon Oct 13.
David Tuck - David’s Charity2Challenge.
Ishworprasad Gurung - Ishworprasad’ Page.
ALDERSHOT BRANCH
Chairman
Secretary
Noel Moss
Mary Pagan
Our highly popular annual Quiz Night in May was held for a
second time in the new St Omer Barracks at ‘The Bell’ Junior
Ranks Club. This was our 19th Quiz and appropriately 19
teams took part! These included old friends from Reading,
West London and Winchester Branches of the Association and
strong contingents from 251 Signal Squadron and 661 Signal
Troop. But we are pleased to report that the winning team,
the aptly named No.1 Set were from our own Branch, while
Management from 251 Sqn were acclaimed top serving team.
A view of Stourhead
age are better done with the waving of a flag or painted
wooden paddles, just like those used by aircraft handlers.
The turn-out and professionalism of the squadron were
impeccable. All credit to the OC and all members of 251 Sig
Sqn and our thanks for a very enjoyable afternoon in their
company.
For a summer day’s pleasure, there is little to rival Stourhead,
in the Wiltshire countryside, former home of the Hoare family,
but now a National Trust property. It was the chosen venue
one fine day in June for an enthusiastic group from Aldershot
Branch.
Stourhead’s pride is its lakes and gardens and for our visit, the
gardens were dressed in their finest spring regalia. Giant
rhododendrons and azaleas were in full bloom while the
lawns were carpeted with bluebells while at the other
extreme, Redwoods towered above us in majestic splendour.
Under the knowledgeable guidance of Val and Julia, our
National Trust garden experts, we were navigated around
these spectacular grounds and had the curtain lifted on some
of its secrets. Their botanical knowledge and enthusiasm
were as infectious as the floral perfumes were intoxicating.
Grottos, temples and hidden views across the lake were all
revealed to us.
The ‘house’, though not the most exotic we’ve viewed on our
travels, was very much a family arrangement, with the rooms
laid out for their own convenience and pleasure and with an
extensive gallery of family pictures. So we spent a pleasant
hour or so viewing the various family trinkets and Chippendale
furniture.
Finally, after a quick browse around ‘The Shop’, we boarded
In July, Branch members had an opportunity to review firsthand what 251 Sig Sqn actually do as a day job. After a warm
welcome from the 2IC Capt Tom Collins, we were briefed by
the Squadron Yeoman, SSgt Matt McGinn, on the
responsibilities of the parent 10 Signal Regiment and more
specifically 251 Signal Squadron itself. SSgt Paul Roberts dealt
with the operational role, guiding us on a tour of the
Squadron’s hardware, a van based mobile system providing
satellite linked office/control room facilities wherever and
whenever required within the UK for crisis management. The
detachment crews of Corporals and Signalmen explained the
intricacies of the equipment and deployment tasks. Their
knowledge and enthusiasm were highly evident, a credit to
their training and motivation.
251’s ceremonial role is to coordinate the timing of the public
ceremonies and it was pleasing to learn that, along with their
James Bond style earpiece radios, some tasks in this digital
106
Taking in the Stourhead scene
the coach for the homeward journey and a fleeting glance of
Stonehenge as we sped past - still not finished!
COTSWOLD BRANCH
by Woodbridge RBL and headed off for the battlefields of the
Arnhem area for a few days. Although there were some very
sobering moments, a good time was had by all and organiser
Pattie Smith kept us busy on the coach trip there and back
with a variety of quizzes.
At our April AGM, which was only attended by 10 members,
the Chairman expressed his concern about the lack of
members present and also the lack of membership together
with the average age of members. With so few, it has been
difficult to arrange events, visits to places of interest and even
skittles matches. We discussed at length what could be done
to attract new members.
After the Chairman and Secretary had given their reports they
informed us that they were both standing down. The
Chairman, Bernard Barton-Ancliffe, expressed his regret that
he was unable to revitalise the Branch and felt perhaps his full
time work had left him with insufficient time and someone
else might like to take up the challenge! Fortunately Mike
Walker had decided to replace Bernard and Elizabeth Friend
offered to become Secretary.
We returned to the problem of membership and Bernard put
forward the idea of using the Website to keep members
informed and keep in touch with ex-members of the Corps via
the Area Website Manager. This seemed not to be such a
good idea. However, more social activities were discussed
and one member suggested a monthly social get-together in
The Victory Club for any serving or retired members. This has
already started and the third meeting is about to take place;
light refreshments helped to make it enjoyable. The
introduction of monthly lunches, possibly in The Cheltenham
Dandy, are being arranged. A visit to the National Arboretum
is planned and it was agreed to invite members of the
Chairman’s Camera Club and extend the invitations to other
members of the Gloucestershire Branch. This way it should
be viable. Friends and families are obviously welcome.
Our thanks go to the retiring Chairman and Secretary and our
good wishes to the new officers who will endeavour to
revitalise the Branch. All we need is your support, serving
members as well as retired members. All are welcome.
The meeting closed after refreshments and a raffle.
EAST LONDON BRANCH
Chairman
Secretary
Elements of the Arnhem trip – June 2013
We always welcome more members and encourage any
potential members living in East London, South and East
Essex area to join us. Our meetings are held in the TA Centre,
Gordon Road, Ilford at 7:30pm on the 4th Thursday of each
month (except December).
LIVERPOOL BRANCH
President
Chairman
Secretary
Treasurer
Standard Bearer
Jimmy Carruthers
Bob Taylor
Tony Mullin
Paul Smith
Graham Christian
Friday 21st saw members of the Branch meeting up and
setting off in their cars, heading south to Blandford to attend
the Reunion. This year we had a further increase in members
making the trip, despite the last minute confirmation of extra
accommodation, 16 members, attended this time.
Saturday morning was spent watching the Princess Royal Day
Parade on Hawke Square. This was followed by the Standard
Bearer’s Competition, our Standard Bearer sadly becoming
Neill Keen
Alan Turner
We held our branch AGM at the end of April and had a
bumper turnout, with 38 in attendance. Maj (Retd) Paul
Burton stepped down as Chairman after 12 eventful years
which had seen the branch go from strength to strength.
Incoming Chairman, Neill Keen thanked Paul for the work he
had put into leading the Branch and presented him with a gift
of four cut glass goblets, which Paul said would be put to
good use. Reggie Cullumbine became a welcome addition to
the committee taking on the position of Vice Chairman. All
other posts remained the same. After the election of the
officers, we all got together in the main drill hall for a group
photograph taken by Brian Streetly and this was followed by
a light buffet.
Early in June, a group of our members joined a trip organised
John Hough with WO1 (RSM) Darby
107
unplaced this year. We then visited the various stands laid on
by the various units. In the afternoon we all assembled to
watch the excellent displays on Hawke Square.
Mess closed too early for us “Scousers”. We look forward to
next year’s reunion when we hope to increase our numbers
yet again.
In the evening we all met up again for the Curry Supper and
social evening in the WO’s & Sgt’s Mess. Ex Sgt John Hough
was really pleased to see that the presentation he made at
the previous reunion had been found and had now been put
on show in the Corps Room of the Sgt’s mess by WO1 (RSM)
Darby.
READING BRANCH
On Sunday morning we attended the Drumhead Service and
our Standard Bearer was presented with the 75 year pennant
for our standard by the Master of Signals, Lt Gen R. Baxter;
CBE. The Liverpool Branch having been in existence for over
75 years, 84 years to date.
The Master of Signals attaches the 75 Year Pennant to the
Branch Standard
The Drumhead Service was followed by the RSA members
march past. After the march past, the members of the Branch
assembled in front of the memorial cross on Hawke Square
for photographs. At the same time we made a presentation
of a cheque for £1200.00 to Brig David Hargreaves, for the
Royal Signals Benevolent Fund. The money had been raised
by one of our members and the Provincial Grand Master of
the Mark Province of West Lancashire Freemasons, Peter
Connolly, formerly a Captain in the TA; Royal Corps of Signals.
Chairman
Secretary
Mrs Pauline Tennant
Lt Col (Retd) Hugh Nealon
The highlight of the Branch calendar this year, as it is every
year, was our Annual Dinner held on 19 July at Sonning Golf
Club. In previous years the Dinner has been held in either late
September or early October, however this year the date was
brought forward in the hope that the lighter evening would
encourage a greater attendance. This ploy was partially
successful and some forty four members, friends and guests
sat down to an excellent meal. As our chief guests this year
we were delighted to welcome Col Graham Norton and Mrs
Amanda Norton (described on his Facebook page as Mrs
Corps Colonel!). Col Norton earned his supper with an
excellent address on all aspects of the current Corps. As a
token of our appreciation he was presented with a Branch tie
and Mrs Norton was presented with a lovely bouquet. Our
thanks go to Graham and Marion Riddy, our Social Secretaries
and Col Paddy Verdon, our Vice-Chairman for organising an
excellent evening. The prospective date for next years Dinner
is 25 July, so pencil it in your diaries now. It was a bit warm
for DJs and Mess Kits this year so Graham and Paddy will try
and organise a slightly.cooler temperature next year.
Earlier in the year some of our members formed a team for
the Aldershot Branch quiz and enjoyed a challenging evening
with our neighbours. Our thanks to Noel Moss and his
colleagues for entertaining us even if we didn’t win anything
in the quiz or the raffle. The supper was excellent. In June
we also sent a small team to the Blandford Reunion, and that
has been reported extensively elsewhere.
Our Annual BBQ lunch was held in Benson on 3 August and
was much enjoyed by those attending. However we have
graduated from an outdoor evening to an indoor lunchtime
event which results in a higher standard of catering and less
reliance on the weather. We were also present, in August, at
RMA Sandhurst to see the next generation of young officers
at the Commandants Parade. Always an excellent event, with
good music and smart turnout, guaranteed to bring back
memories for many of our members.
Contact details and our programme of events for the
remainder of this year may be found on the RSA web site. So
if you live in the Reading area we shall be delighted if you
would like to get in touch.
TAMESIDE BRANCH
Members of the Branch present a cheque for £1200 to Brig David
Hargreaves
All in all an excellent weekend was had by all who had
attended, the only complaint being that the bar in the Sgt’s
108
There will be a Service to dedicate the New Standard of the
Tameside Branch RSA at Christ Church, Manchester Road,
Denton M34 3RN on Sunday 13th October 2013 at 1430hrs.
The Mayor of Tameside and 3 local MPs also the newly
formed SSAFFA Blue Choir and a detachment of the Royal
Signals Band will be joining us. Refreshments after at the
Independent Social Club, Denton. Please come along and join
us.
RSVP with numbers who may be attending to 0161 285 7352 or
[email protected]
BEVERLEY EX BOYS ASSOCIATION
Chairman
Secretary
John Hill
Tony Hull
Our Secretary, Tony and his wife, Beryl Hull were very
fortunate to be invited to a Buckingham Palace Garden Party
on Tuesday 2 July by the Not Forgotten Association as Tony is
a Korean War Veteran. They were able to drive up and park
their car inside the Palace. When they arrived they had to join
cars lined up outside the Palace so they got out to stretch
their legs. Tony took a photo of Beryl outside the Palace
Gates and a young girl went up and asked if she could have
her picture taken with them. When asked where she came
from, she said, “Colombia”. Another lady offered to take a
photo of them both and an American lady said how good they
looked, which gave them a boost before they even went in.
Once inside, Beryl asked if she would be allowed to go back
to the car if Tony needed his wheelchair, as he can’t walk very
far or stand for long periods. She was advised by a policeman
to take the wheelchair in with them, so Tony sat in it. An
Army Captain came up and pushed Tony in through one gate
and then an RAF chap took over and pushed him across the
lawn to the large marquee.
designated route to meet them all. There were also a number
of celebrities there and Beryl and Tony had photos taken with
Anton du Beke, who was extremely nice. Also June Whitfield
and Hannah Gordon had their photos taken with Tony.
Altogether it was an extremely enjoyable afternoon.
The annual BEBA Barbecue took place on Sunday 21 July 2013,
in the middle of the heatwave at the home of Branch
Secretary, Tony Hull and his wife Beryl, in Bournemouth.
There were over 30 guests attending and it was very good to
see Col (Retd) Terry Canham. Other people came from quite
a distance such as Cathie and Dave Gwinnell from Cornwall,
Albert and Barbara Trevor from Ramsgate, Tony and Pat
Hemstock from Aylesbury and Dave and Eileen Pegrum from
Welwyn Garden City. Also Russell Robins and Neva came
from Swindon as did Swindon Branch Chairman, Rod Ashman
with Pat. Associate Member, Stan Shine, who was in the
Catering Corps, did the cooking on the barbecue, ably assisted
by Dave Francis. The wine flowed, but so did the soft drinks
as it was such a hot day, and the number of empty bottles
and cans afterwards were testament to this. It would seem
that everybody really enjoyed themselves with some staying
well into the evening.
They met up with David Smithers, another member of the
BKVA, who already had seats at a table just outside the
marquee. They had a very nice tea of finger sandwiches and
cakes, followed a little later by strawberries and cream. A
troop of Beefeaters marched down from the Palace, followed
shortly afterwards by Princess Anne with her husband, Vice
Admiral Sir Timothy Lawrence. A number of people had been
selected to meet Princess Anne and she walked along a
BIRGELEN VETERANS ASSOCIATION
The Birgelen Veterans Association (BVA) has over 520
members who have settled into civilian life in a broad
community around the world. Regular contact is maintained
through a central web site, group email and, annual re-unions.
The Association is dedicated to bringing together and
sustaining contact with the professional men and women of
all Corps and Agencies who served with: 1 Wireless Regiment,
Munster, 13 Signal Regiment, Birgelen, or any of their subunits, and is working to uphold the family spirit of those units
Its other priority is to maintain and to sustain its nominated
charity in the former Regimental areas. This is currently the
‘Hilfe fur Krebskranke Kinder’ (Help for children suffering
from cancer) in Ophoven. Germany. This particular charity
was selected to enable the Association:
•
•
•
Tony and Beryl at the Palace
To maintain an important link to the local
community.
Foster the Anglo/German friendships formed over
the 40 year life of the Regiment in Germany.
Support a very worthy cause.
We offer a warm welcome to regimental veterans, including
wives and children, who have had the privilege of working
and living at these memorable locations
109
We extend a welcome to ex Signalman Martin J Mason who
was a Special Operator at 1 Wireless Regiment between 1955
and 1956. Also to Thomas Wilks who, between 1987-1991,
served at 13 Signals Regiment, Birgelen, with detachments to
Danneberg and Berlin.
Every year in late September or early October, the BVA family
gathers in Torquay to renew friendships, catch up with old
comrades, exchange news, and simply enjoy all that the
“English Riviera” has to offer. The Cavendish Hotel staff look
after us very well and do their best to make everyone
welcome. The gathering starts on Friday and, as you arrive,
you will invariably see friendly and familiar faces in the lobby.
The bar is open for drinks and there’s an outside deck area
and lounge where we sit and start the weekend of enjoyment.
After dinner, there’s normally an entertainer to support the
party mood into the night. The following morning, after
breakfast, you have the chance to explore Torquay and its
surrounds. Many people like to catch the ferry to Brixham to
check out the antique shops and have some fish for lunch.
Otherwise you’ll find plenty of members in and around the
bar area who are more than happy to reminisce about the old
days. Saturday evening is the Gala Event. There’s a 5-course
dinner, normally including a glass of wine, and some
entertaining after dinner stories. This is normally followed by
a professional vocalist who invariably gets many of us
dancing. It’s a great night with plenty of time for chatting to
friends old and new. On Sunday, after a leisurely breakfast,
we gather for the Annual General Meeting. Afterwards,
there’s another chance for another bit of sightseeing and
shopping, or simply to sit and chat in the hotel surrounds. In
the evening we gather for the Grand Raffle. The BVA aims to
raise funds to support its chosen causes throughout the year
but the raffle always does well. If we are lucky, the
entertainments committee normally provides a little bit of
theatre during the evening too. We all head off home on
Monday morning having had a great weekend and all looking
forward to the next gathering.
LAST POST
WO2 J Armstrong
LCpl R Bestford
Brig JB Birkett OBE
Maj P Blackburn
Sig H Brannon
Sig DG Broad
Sig GM Browne
Maj PL Bye
Cpl D Carman
Maj LP Clayton
Cpl RF Cox
LCpl SP Currie
Sgt TGN Egerton
SSgt KW Flint
Sgt P Fox-Roberts
Maj JG Geary
LCpl P Glendinning
LCpl W Hatfield
Maj JB Ivison
Maj RG Knight
Sig JC Lidbury
LCpl PD McGee
EC Parfitt
Sgt MW Rippon
SSgt DJ Ross
Lt Col H Rothwell
Sgt AJ Sewell
SSgt E Sharp
Maj I Sleightholm
Cpl JM Smith
Sig CG Spencer
WO2 DM Taylor
Sig S Trowell
Cpl R Turaga
Cpl M Vijaynand
Sig DBW Wheatley
Lt RH Williams
Sig JL Williams
BL Wingate
Cpl BE Young
1968/91
1942/47
1936/69
1947/85
1940/46
1973/78
1955/57
1962/74
1972/90
1939/71
1948/72
1977/80
1941/52
1942/47
1946/69
1939/58
1983/94
1960/69
1965/97
1938/79
1948/50
1962/69
?
1960/77
1972/94
1946/77
1964/86
1965/87
1959/93
1970/92
1962/69
1968/90
1945/48
1962/70
1961/83
1950/52
1942/45
1952/54
1948/?
1984/94
20-Jul-13
09-Sep-13
30-Jul-13
02-Sep-13
22-Sep-12
14-Sep-13
13-Sep-13
04-Aug-13
13-Jul-13
12-Jul-13
19-Aug-13
06-Aug-13
02-Aug-13
04-Aug-13
09-Sep-13
05-Sep-13
02-Aug-13
??-Apr-13
24-Aug-13
17-Jul-13
07-Dec-12
04-Aug-13
15-Jul-13
09-Sep-13
??-Feb-13
26-Jul-13
11-Jul-13
09-Sep-13
14-Aug-13
??-09-2013
10-Aug-13
06-Aug-13
10-Jul-13
23-Jul-13
04-Aug-13
12-Aug-13
06-Jul-13
??-Oct-12
12-Jul-13
02-Sep-13
OBITUARIES
OWENS - Cpl Len Owens died 4 May 2013
BVA 2012 Reunion
We normally get between 50 and 100 members attending the
reunion. We would encourage many more to come along and
enjoy what is a very reasonably priced weekend in a very
popular seaside venue. The weekend event is entirely
flexible, you can stay for the whole weekend or just come
along to the Gala Evening. If you need any further
information, please contact the Secretary: Cyril Harding:
[email protected] or join us via our website http://
www.birgelenvets.org where you will be made most
welcome.
110
Len Owens, who has died aged 92, was
a radio operator with the wartime
“Phantom” GHQ Liaison Regiment
and won the Military Medal for
providing communications for the
SAS in Occupied France.
Phantom patrols were particularly
active after D-Day, when their major
role involved racing around Normandy
to locate and report the position of all
the various Allied units. Early in August
1944, however, Owens found himself
behind enemy lines supporting a small party
of 2 SAS Regiment near Messac, south of Rennes in Brittany.
Their mission, code-named DUNHILL, was to liaise with the
French Resistance and monitor enemy troop movements
heading from the south to bolster defences at the Normandy
bridgehead. Quickly overtaken by General Patton’s Third
Army, they decided to move north-east to Le Mans to join
forces with another SAS unit. Having no transport, they
commandeered a number of civilian cars, ripping off their
doors to ensure an unobstructed field of fire. On learning
that a large number of British PoWs were hiding in a forest,
they requisitioned buses, adding to the mission’s
unconventional vehicle fleet, to ferry those on the run to
safety.
The following month, Owens took part in an ill-fated mission
under the command of Lt-Col Brian Franks in the Vosges
mountains of eastern France. From the outset it became clear
that the men of Operation LOYTON, as it was known, were
being hunted down by sizeable German forces which knew of
their presence and had moved reinforcements into the area.
Having encountered this stiff enemy opposition, an advance
party, comprising a small raiding force of SAS supported by
Phantoms, had lost all its wireless equipment, and was on the
run and out of touch. Owens was dropped in with Franks and
the main party to salvage the situation.
Through the Resistance, the two groups were reunited,
bringing the total number of SAS to 90 men. They embarked
on aggressive patrolling and sabotage operations, and
succeeded in stirring up a hornets’ nest: the Germans believed
that they were up against a much larger force than was the
case and intensified their operations further. Well aware that
the Allies were operating with the help of the Resistance, the
Germans inflicted savage reprisals on local people. Indeed, so
many men were killed in the village of Moussey that the area
became known as the Valley of the Widows.
The signals from Owens’s wireless threatened to give away
the saboteurs’ position to the enemy, and he had to keep
constantly on the move to avoid detection while transmitting.
On one occasion, while he and his Phantom patrol waited to
flash the recognition signal to a vital resupply aircraft, German
troops got so close that Owens had to dash up a hill, set up
his wireless transmitter and fire off a message to abort the
drop.
With the eastward advance of Patton’s Third Army stopped
short at Nancy, the decision was taken in October 1944 to end
Operation LOYTON. The force was split up into small parties,
each instructed to make its way back through enemy lines to
Allied positions. Owens and his comrades, dodging sentries
and stick grenades, swam across the river Meurthe. They
were pursued through forests and eventually approached
American forces. Realising that there was every chance that
they would be mistaken for Germans and shot, they stepped
into the middle of the road with their hands up and shouted
out their identities in very plain English.
Many others were less fortunate. Of about 90 men who took
part in Operation LOYTON, 31 were lost. Of these, only a few
were killed in combat; the rest were shot after capture.
Leonard Caerwyn Owens, the son of a ship’s carpenter in the
Merchant Navy, was born in Liverpool on October 29 1920.
He went to Sefton Park, a local school, where he was head
boy, but left aged 14 to work for a chandler.
He was called up in 1940 and, despite wanting to go into the
Royal Navy, was quickly sent for basic training to Prestatyn,
North Wales, after which he was sent to the GPO Wireless
Training School at Sheffield. Known to his Service friends as
‘Joe’, he subsequently volunteered for Combined Operations
and was sent to a training camp at Inverary, Argyll.
Owens embarked for the Middle East in Bululo, a specially
adapted HQ communications vessel, before taking part in the
invasion of Sicily in July 1943. He and a small group then
moved to Malta, where they lived in a tented camp on an
airfield and were bombed and strafed during heavy raids.
He later returned to England by way of Sousse and Algiers
and was then billeted in Essex. After volunteering to join a
signals section of the SAS, he was sent on a parachute course
to Tatton Park, Cheshire. Owens said afterwards that he
found jumping from a static balloon at 800ft terrifying. After
rigorous training in Scotland, he was dispatched on Operation
DUNHILL.
After LOYTON, Owens took part in Operation HOWARD with
the 1 SAS under the command of Lt-Col Paddy Mayne. He was
in charge of the wireless communications of a squadron of
armoured jeeps operating as forward reconnaissance in
Holland and Germany in support of the Second Canadian
Army.
Demobilised in 1946, Owens was awarded a Military Medal.
He returned to his former job in Liverpool, but was unhappy
with the pay. He then worked for Rediffusion in Newcastle
before running a news agency from 1950 to 1967. For the last
part of his working life he was district controller of Social
Services for Teesdale. He retired in 1985.
At the National Memorial Arboretum Len Owens established
and maintained a Phantom memorial garden for the
signalmen and others who were killed during Operation
LOYTON.
He married Tess Swart in 1946; she predeceased him, and he
is survived by their son and daughter.
HOWARD - John Richard Howard
John was born in Deptford, London. After
school and an early career in catering, he
had the opportunity to join the Post
Office (Telephones). Aware of the
international situation and prepared to
‘do his bit’ John was conscripted to the
first cohort of the Militia in July 1939.
When he signed up in early 1939 his
background in telecommunications led to
his enlisting with the Royal Corp of Signals.
Training with the Signals marked the start of
much travel, at home and abroad; he remembers Prestatyn
(Lamp and Flag, and Heliograph practice on the beach),
Canterbury, with the Buffs, and Rothampstead, where he
joined 110 Special Wireless Section as a Wireless Operator in a
fledgling Mobile Section. In several locations in Surrey, it
seems the Special Wireless Section, working with associated
Intelligence groups, was being set up and the first trucks
developed and fitted for active service. The ‘Y Service’ was
being established. John proved very proficient, among other
skills, in the use of Morse. At of the start December 1941 John
boarded the ‘Highland Monarch’ in Bristol and the ship made
its way to Greenock where a convoy was soon formed. Some
six weeks later, having travelled via Cape Town, the convoy
arrived south of Suez and here 110 S W Section and its
Wireless Intelligence Section disembarked.
John guarded and aided the transit of the precious equipment
to Camp before a move to Sarafand Wireless Station in
Palestine for further training. He was to visit Jaffa, Tel Aviv
and Jerusalem before returning to Egypt and the fascinating
city of Cairo. The next and perhaps biggest event was the
Battle of El Alamein.
John’s unit moved to El Imayid, passing retreating British
troops, to join 30 Corp, where at the HQ he continued
searching for information on the airwaves and the frequencies
111
requested by Intelligence. German bombing fortunately
caused no damage. In August 1942 Churchill arrived in Egypt;
Montgomery and Alexander became inspiring commanders of
the Eighth Army. Tanks and arms were coming from America.
Dummy tanks and trucks gave enemy reconnaissance the
impression of a major build up. Wireless operators continued
intercepting enemy messages. On 20 October all operational
vehicles were moved to Main HQ at El Alamein. Nine
intercept sets were prepared. At the start of the battle,
despite air attacks, an average of 150 messages were
intercepted each day. On 4 November the German line broke
and began a retreat. In the final five days of the battle
Intelligence were kept busy with over 300 intercepted
messages per day. The SWS moved westwards, always trying
to find areas where signals were strong enough to intercept.
Eventually John sailed from Tripoli, via Malta, to Sicily. There
followed two years in Italy, criss-crossing the country on the
persistent move northwards and ‘a very different kind of war’.
The SWS were attached to various Corps and Divisional HQ’s
as appropriate, including those from the Commonwealth and
the US. In early 1945 John’s first home leave became available
and he travelled by lorry convoy from northern Italy via
Austria, Germany and France and after four years was
delighted to see the White Cliffs of Dover from the Calais
ferry. John soon had to make the return journey. He
eventually sailed home from Naples in June with a
detachment of Signals personnel on the SS Andes. They had
an additional responsibility – guarding twelve prisoners,
including four murderers, being returned to the Military Police
in the UK.
Back ‘home’ John awaited de-mob and was stationed at the
holding centre at Kedleston Hall which had functioned as a
large Y Service operations centre for Special Wireless and
Intelligence operations during the conflict. He eventually
rejoined civilian life, via Aldershot barracks in January 1946
after six and a half years service....’leaving behind many
experiences, some good, some bad but with a strong shared
camaraderie with my pals........’
TEAGUE – Sgt. Michael Teague died 8 June 2013
Michael Teague was always known as Mick.
He was born in December 1936 and started
his military career by joining 6 (Boys)
Training Regiment in Beverley in 1953. He
served in Singapore from 1955 to 1958.
From there he was posted to RAF
Bruggen in Germany for 4 years. After a
spell in Aden he returned to the UK to
Bampton and Bradford before again being
posted to Bruggen. It was during one of
Mick’s tours in Germany that he met his wife,
Katie, to whom he was devoted. From 1971 to 1975 he served
as an Instructor at the Army Apprentice Training College at
Harrogate. He finally left the Army in 1976.
In 1998 after meeting up with Tony Hull at the Royal Signals
Reunion at Blandford they decided to start up the Beverley
Ex-Boys Association, with the first Reunion taking place in
1999. Tony Hull spent time at Blandford going through the
records looking for ex-boys and Mick placed adverts in
various newspapers and magazines. After the death of the
first Chairman, Mick took over the post until 2 years ago.
In civilian life he was employed by Marks & Spencer and
toured the country as their representative, eventually taking
early retirement when they made him an offer he couldn’t
refuse. He settled happily with Katie in Blyth,
Northumberland, where he surrounded himself with his
memories and an incredible collection of Frank Sinatra music.
He was justly proud of his collection. Mick was often seen
out walking the family dog and did so right up to when he
was hospitalised. After a short period of illness, Mick sadly
died on 8 June 2013 and his funeral took place at Blyth
Crematorium on 17 June 2013. Newcastle Branch attended
with their Standard and were represented by Harry Duncan,
Derek Thorpe and Guy Turnbull. We send our deepest
condolences to his wife, Katie.
ROYAL SIGNALS BENEVOLENT FUND (RSBF)
MARKETING MANAGERS REPORT
A very big “thank you” to all those who have donated to the RSBF and to those who continue to fundraise
upon our behalf. All collections go directly to support those who need it the most and if you want to have a
look at some examples from individuals who have already benefit from our grants then please visit ”Royal
Signals Benevolent Fund – Fundraisers “ on Facebook.
SSgt Steve Pearce did a great job organising a fundraising event at Blandford Garrison and 4 Mech Bde HQ
& Sig Sqn did an equally great job at Catterick. If you want to get involved and raise some much needed
money for your Corps Charity then please visit our Just Giving webpage at “www.justgiving.com/rsbf” or
email me at “[email protected]”.
112
3 - 6 Feb 14
10 - 13 Mar
19 - 22 May
9 - 12 Jun
SCBC 1/14
SCBC 2/14
SCBC 3/14
SCBC 4/14
Course Dates:
Civ:01908638518
Mil:942408518
[email protected]
formoredetails
Telephone:
Contact:TrainingCell,299SigSqn(SC).
WaterEatonRoad,
Bletchley,MiltonKeynes,MK35HQ

The Magazine of The Royal Corps of Signals

Transcription

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