File - The King`s Royal Hussars

THE KING’S ROYAL
HUSSARS
NEWSLETTER
August 2013
1
The
King’s Royal Hussars
Looking after soldiers and their families now and in the future.
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The KRH Appeal
A great opportunity for you to make a real difference and enhance the lives of
our injured soldiers, old comrades and their families.
Please support your Regimental family
Why have The KRH Appeal?
As a modern, versatile armoured regiment, The King’s Royal Hussars has provided a large number of
mounted and dismounted troops for operations in Afghanistan and Iraq over recent years. Thankfully we
have not incurred the scale of casualties experienced by other regiments, however with our largest
deployment to Afghanistan planned for 2012, now is the time to act to ensure we are prepared properly.
As a family regiment, we aim to look after our own, and as such, the existing Regimental Welfare Trust
Fund has provided welfare grants for our soldiers and their families, serving and retired, for many years.
This Appeal will increase the funds the Trust has available, so show your support for our serving soldiers
and become involved with the Appeal by donating money, organising your own events or just
participating in the events.
Support the KRH Appeal and allow our Regiment to make a difference to the lives of soldiers and their families who
have been affected by their active service.
What can you do to help the appeal?
We are a family Regiment and this appeal will only succeed with the help of the wider Regimental
family and their friends.
You can make a big difference to the lives of our soldiers.
In these extraordinary times, they deserve nothing less!
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Visit www.krh.org.uk or www.bmycharity.com/krh to make a donation
and find out how you can help with fundraising.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------The KRH APPEAL OFFICE
The King's Royal Hussars
Aliwal Barracks
TIDWORTH
Wiltshire
SP9 7BB
Phone: +44(0)1980 656839
Web: www.krh.org.uk
E-mail: [email protected]
The KRH Regimental Trust is a registered charity— Charities Commission No 1021455
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COMMANDING OFFICER’S NOTES
Having taken over from Colonel Alex
Potts in April, I have been fortunate
enough to catch up with a large
number of you in person. The
welcome that Holly and I have
received has been fantastic and we
wish to thank you all for your efforts
supporting both the Association and
the serving Regiment.
Our main effort in 2013 is the ‘moral
component’: ensuring that Leave, sport
and troop cohesion are given the
space in the calendar required. This
has seen the boys enjoy some great activities, including a Regimental Adventure Training camp in
Cornwall for 200 members of the Regiment. We have also rationalised the day to day working
hours, with PT and Sport a daily activity for all.
The Regiment has been through the uncomfortable experience of Tranche 3 redundancy.
Although 2 members of the Regiment received the unwelcome news that they are being made
redundant as non-volunteers, the overall sense is one of relief, as it could have been much worse.
The next significant event for the Regiment is a deployment to BATUS, Canada. C Squadron are
deploying as part of 2 R WELSH Battle Group, with the rest of the team providing the opposing
forces. We will return to 2 weeks' Leave for most, with a concentration of career courses prior to a
decent 4 week break over Christmas.
2014 involves a fair bit of training for the bulk of the Regiment, prior to a deployment to Canada for
the KRH Battle Group. We will assume the Interim Lead Armoured Battle Group role in August
(from 2 R WELSH) as part of the UK Defence contingency forces through until the end of 2015.
I hope you will find this newsletter useful and informative. Please do not hesitate to make
suggestions for improvements as I am keen we do all we can to reinforce communications to all of
you, as the vital Regimental wider family.
JNJK
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This Editions Front Cover
The front cover of this edition of the Newsletter has a picture of our Colonel in Chief, HRH Anne,
the Princess Royal KG KT GCVO which was printed in the 1971 edition of ‘The Hawk Journal’, the
annual Journal of the 14th / 20th King’s Hussars. Princess Anne was appointed the Colonel in Chief
of the 14th / 20th Hussars in 1969 and first visited the regiment at Paderborn between the 29 – 31 of
October the same year,(pictured during the visit below), and then again in June 1970 just before
the regiment converted from an armoured regiment to a reconnaissance one and moved to
Tidworth, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Princess Anne was not the first Princess
to have a huge connection to the
regiment, the first was Princess
Frederica of Prussia who also appears
on the front cover and, as you will read
below, her presence is still with us now
in the form of our cap badge. The article
below was written for the 1971 edition of
‘The Hawk’ just after the appointment of
Princess Anne as Colonel in Chief, and
is quoted as written and in full.
Princess Frederica
The honour which the Regiment
received in having the Princess Anne
appointed as our Colonel-in-Chief
prompted me to do some research into
our first Royal patroness, Princess
Frederica of Prussia. When the Princess
came to England in 1791 she had already married Frederick, Duke of York, second son of King
George III, and there was another marriage ceremony in London in the same year. On her arrival
she was met at Harwich by a party of the 14th Light Dragoons, who escorted her to London. In
1798 the King approved the 14th being styled the 14th (or Duchess of York's Own ) Regiment of
Light Dragoons, a title which the 14th was to keep until 1830 when King William IV, another Royal
patron of the Regiment, decreed that our title should become 14th or The King's Light Dragoons .
In 1798 the Regiment's facings were changed from yellow to orange, the colour of the livery of the
Royal House of Prussia and Brandenburg. We also adopted the badge of that Royal House, the
Prussian Eagle, which was then added to our Guidon’s and appointments. It later became our cap
badge, which it is, of course, today. The badge originally had "FR" (Frederica Regina) on the
Eagle's breast, but this was discontinued after World War I, during which, the war being fought
against Prussian dominated Germany we ceased to wear the eagle as a badge. We do, however,
continue to use the old “FR" badge1 seen on the leading page of this journal2. Princess Frederica,
born in 1767, was the daughter of King Frederick William II and Princess Eleanor Ulrica of
Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel. Her father was the nephew of Frederick the Great and succeeded him to
the throne. She is connected to Princess Anne through her marriage to the Duke of York, one of
whose brothers, Edward, Duke of Kent, was Queen Victoria's father. Frederica's husband had
1
2
The badge of the 14/20H and that of the KRH has the cipher ‘FR’ in the centre, this represents ‘Frederica Regina’.
The Journal that is referred to is the ‘Hawk Journal’ from 1971 and not this Newsletter.
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been commander of two military expeditions to the Low Countries, neither of which had been a
success. He was later appointed Commander in- Chief of the Army at the Horse Guards, where he
proved to be an excellent administrator and reformer. He and Princess Frederica spent much of
their time at Oatlands Park, near Weybridge in Surrey, a large house which is now a hotel, much
used for dinners and dances. In December 1969 Major Desmond Scar and I visited Weybridge to
see if we could get any further information about the regiment's illustrious Royal patroness. We
saw the monument which stands at a road junction in the town and consists of a stone pillar. The
inscription says that the pillar was erected by the inhabitants of Weybridge by voluntary
contribution of their sincere esteem and regard for her late Royal Highness, who had exercised
every Christian virtue and died universally regretted in 1820. In the churchyard of Weybridge
Parish Church the tomb of Princess Frederica is to be seen. Impressive in its simplicity, and kept in
excellent condition, it is set amid the gravestones of the citizens of Weybridge buried there. But it
was in the town museum that most information was to be found and the curator kindly showed us
several documents which threw some light on the life of Princess Frederica at Outlands. A
description of Frederica by a contemporary describes her thus:
"She is below common height, her figure elegantly formed in
proportionate delicacy and slightness. Her countenance is precisely
that which is best calculated to win general esteem. Her complexion
is extremely fair, her hair light and her eyelashes long and nearly
white. Her eyes, which are blue, possess a brilliance that bespeaks
the warmth and purity of soul by which they are animated".
Another document spoke of her as being clever and well
informed. She liked society but disliked all form and ceremony
and was affable and accessible. She did a lot to help the poor
and under-privileged of Weybridge and its neighbourhood. A
group of poor children, which she treated almost as if they
were her own, were clothed and educated under her direction.
The children were invited to wine and cake parties on
Sundays. She also did much to help poor old folk. She was a
great dog lover and had as many as 40 dogs which were a joy
to her. Although she and the Duke lived a generally quiet life, they enjoyed inviting clever and
amusing people down from London at weekends.
These "wits and beaux" would "RV" at Whites Club and come down together in a party. They
would sit down to lengthy dinners with good and generally light conversation. The Duke and
Duchess both enjoyed hearing the latest gossip from London and had no objection to "naughty”
stories. The Duke was a keen whist player and would continue playing with his guests until the
early hours of the morning. "Beau" Brummell was one of the most frequent guests at these
occasions. He and the Duchess felt genuine affection for each other and he was probably the
greatest friend she had in her lifetime. Brummell was also a friend of the Prince Regent, who gave
him a commission in his Regiment, the 10th Hussars. A story is told of Brummell’s campaigning
days in London. He was a colourful but thoroughly idle officer who paid no attention to his duties.
The only way he could recognise his troop when he went on parade, was by the presence of a
soldier with a blue nose. But one day there was a disaster, as some new recruits had been drafted
in and "Bluenose" was moved to another troop. Brummell's career came to an end when he was
posted to Manchester. The city was not such a splendid place as it is now and Brummell sent in his
papers giving as his reason that he had not volunteered for Foreign Service! Princess Frederica
died on August 6, 1820. She was buried without any of pomp and ceremony which is usual at
Royal funerals but her memory has been kept alive through her links with the Regiment.
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C (XIH) SQUADRON
C Sqn has had a productive and successful year so far, and without a doubt we are now ready for
this summer’s BATUS. The last four months have been hectic and hard work, but at the same very
rewarding. We started the four month period with an almost constant barrage of small arms
ranges, Challenger 2 weapon handling tests and vehicle maintenance. This was followed by a
highly successful range package in Castlemartin, Wales; in no small part due to the excellent
advice and oversight provided by Sgt Mitty and his gunnery instructors Cpl Daniels, Cpl Gainford,
Cpl Burke and Cpl Gillon. Unsurprisingly our highest score came from Sgt Mitty, with a level six
(top marks) in his Annual Crew Test!
Above, Cpl Burke enjoys an ‘amber nectar’ and right, Lt Foster tries to hide in the ranks
Once ranges were complete, and all crews had proven themselves capable of live firing in BATUS,
the focus now switched to the tactics and field craft which are the bread and butter of any
armoured squadron. We spent our first week of exercise on the plain conducting troop level drills
such as hide occupation, troop attacks and resupplies. Not only was this a great refresher for us
all, but it allowed us to get to know our crews for the first time; the close confines of a tank are
certainly a brilliant ice-breaker! This was followed by a week on a simulated exercise, a chance for
the squadron to stretch its legs and start operating as a unit.
In June the KRH conducted Ex Ace Foundation, a battle-group bridge crossing demonstration with
troops from 2 Royal Welsh among others. C Squadron was at the fore, and with everyone from the
Divisional Commander down coming to watch the pressure was on. However after a shaky start
followed by a few hundred rehearsals the demonstration came off without a hitch, with a Brigadier
and the rest of the audience voicing their approval, although thankfully not asking for an encore!
After a good week on the area we were thrilled to be returning to the virtual wars of Combined
Arms Tactical Trainer (CATT), this time working closely with the 2 Royal Welsh Battle Group
complete. It was good for everyone to meet those we will be working so closely with in Canada,
and to begin to foster good working relationships. We were also joined by new arrivals Sgt Daisley,
Tpr Leach, Tpr Webb and Tpr Slade. Sgt Daisley in particular will be an asset to the Squadron with
his D&M background and experience. The Squadron outperformed all expectations during the two
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weeks in Warminster, one minor glitch aside (a delay operation known as Operation Certain Death,
with foreseeable results!). We managed to maintain our excellent reputation confirmed last year on
tour, as well as our tendency to employ wayward and eccentric officers!
The last four months have been tough but the Squadron is in a great place and is much more a
cohesive unit because of it. Of especially good news are the promotions of Lt Westlake-Toms to
Captain, LCpls Barton, Tollafield and Gray to Cpl and the promotions of Tprs Britton and Davies to
LCpl. The Squadron now takes some well-deserved leave before the 3 months of BATUS. Warfare
not welfare!
Above left, where the magic happens on Ranges and right, the beast roars
A (xHx) SQUADRON
The Squadron returned from Easter leave in April to begin the new term in as busy but enjoyable
fashion as ever. The biggest change for the Regiment was the handover of Lt Col Potts to the new
CO, Lt Col Justin Kingsford, and all were involved to line the route and tow the outgoing Colonel
out of Aliwal Barracks in his tank. Also to depart in April were Lt Higton and Cpl Barton, both of
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whom were dispatched to Canada to take up roles as safety staff in BATUS, where they are to be
posted for about seven months.
With the Squadron then getting stuck into a small arms range package run expertly by Sgt Collier
(ineptly but enthusiastically assisted by 2Lt Padgett with his new-found shooting skills), we
continued to tick the annual training boxes to ensure the Squadron was up to speed for the coming
year. Maj Smith spent an arduous weekend in Southern Spain with the other Sqn Ldrs and the new
CO, supposedly discussing the Regimental Plan for next year, but probably playing a lot of golf.
In preparation for our deployment to BATUS as COEFOR (the enemy) in the summer, we handed
over our remaining Challenger 2 tanks to C Sqn and took over a fleet(ish) of Bulldogs (432’s in old
money, but hugely modified), so we could train on them as they are the vehicles we will be using in
Canada. Meanwhile 3rd Troop, under Lt Walker and Sgt Burnie, were detached to C Sqn in order to
train alongside them as a reserve Troop. They disappeared to Castlemartin, in deepest darkest
Wales, for a range package, and Sgt Burnie and his crew did spectacularly well and achieved a
rare 100% pass on their test shoot. 3rd Troop emerged as the most successful sabre troop on the
ranges, producing one Level 6D Pass (the top mark), one Level 6, a Level 5 and a Level 4. Also in
this period, the Squadron Leader took part in Ex Prussian Grenadier in Germany and Poland, and
many officers and soldiers from the Regiment were involved in the highly successful annual
Cavalry Memorial parade in Hyde Park.
A Squadron were tasked with the running of a 3 week Regimental AT camp towards the end of
May which took place at RAF St Mawgan, just outside Newquay in Cornwall. It was an opportunity
for the soldiers to take part in a ‘round robin’ of activities over a number of days, including sailing,
climbing, walking, kayaking, and mountain biking. The 60 metre abseil during the climbing phase
was conquered by all, with varying degrees of terror. The final day was dedicated to coasteering,
which essentially involves donning a wetsuit and a helmet and jumping off really high cliffs into the
sea, all of which we are told is perfectly safe. Tpr Stott clearly aimed to prove otherwise, by
choosing to practically collapse and rag-doll into the water rather than jump clear of the rocks. It
was funny, once we established that he hadn’t in fact caused himself any grievous injuries. In all it
was a very successful camp enjoyed by all (particularly Lt Garbutt who managed three solid weeks
in Cornwall in shorts and flip-flops, which apparently counted as ‘work’), and there was even the
chance for a few responsible evenings out in Newquay.
Above, the other five dwarves left ages ago
and Right, Sgt ‘Boy’ Collier, Lt Bertie Garbutt
and Maj Charlie Smith.
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On return from Cornwall, we began a Squadron Study Week, in order to form part of our
conceptual training ready for Canada and beyond. This involved lessons ranging from armoured
tactics in the attack, to COEFOR strategy, to A (xHx) Squadron history, and finished with a large
rehearsal of a squadron level obstacle crossing on a model. It was a valuable week and much was
learnt by all (though inevitably some sleep was caught up with by others!). At the end of the week
Maj Smith hosted a barbecue at his house for the Cpls, Sgts and Officers in the Sqn, which was a
great opportunity to get together with the recently qualified Crew Commanders, Cpls Oakes,
Whittingham, Harrison and Baldwin.
Above left, Cpl Solly makes a valid point and right, the A Squadron ‘Brain Trust’ examine the model
Following our week of conceptual study we went to put our skills into simulated practice in CATT in
Warminster, where we were able to develop our Troop and Squadron level manoeuvre and tactics.
Despite the occasional occurrence of a rogue tank crew steaming off into the distance we
managed to perform pretty well, particularly as it was our first go at using four tank troops under
the construct of an 18-tank squadron. Our newest Troop Leader, 2Lt Nicholls, acquitted himself
well (having only just been in CATT about a week before!) and is settling in to take over 1 st Troop
from Lt Garbutt when he departs before Summer Leave. Mr Garbutt will be heading off to finally get
a degree, and will be spending the next five years as a medical student in the hope of one day
getting a real job.
In the wake of the Tranche 3 redundancy announcements, we as a Regiment and particularly as a
Squadron were untouched. With that behind us, we continued to train up on Bulldog and CVR(T)
ready for BATUS (Lt Padgett accidentally getting trained on both), whilst also losing a few soldiers
to deploy with C Sqn. Sgt Daisley, Cpl Feeney Tpr Webb and Tpr Leach should have an
enjoyabletime playing on real tanks there, while the rest of us crash around the Prairie in our
armoured mess-tins. June and July provided numerous opportunities for sport within the Squadron;
Capt Wicks and Sgt Burnie played well in the 43 Bde Festival of Sport squash competition, helping
the KRH finish 2nd of 14 teams. The D’Arcy Hall inter-squadron sports competition took place over
arun around the local area, which involved some very large puddles, a lot of mud and some
savage hills (and LCpl Edmondson nearly losing his leg below the knee to some enthusiastic
barbed wire). LCpl Beard won that event overall, although being a PTI his time unfortunately didn’t
count! The Squadron performed exceptionally well in the athletics – particular mention must go to
Tpr Stancombe who won almost everything that Capt Wicks didn’t win, and his showing in the
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high-jump was remarkable, comfortably beating the opposition. Cpl Solly won the long-jump, Cpl
Freitag the 100m, and we took the 4 x 100m crown, as well as the ‘Mystery Relay’ (a 4 x 100 relay
but with a 25kg bag instead of a baton). In fact A (xHx) Squadron’s showing across the board
meant that we won the D’Arcy Hall cup, which was a great success, and congratulations to all
involved. It was noted that the D’Arcy Hall Cup had been originally presented to the 20th Hussars in
1919 by Capt W D’Arcy Hall. Through amalgamation it has remained the premier sports trophy in
the Regiment, and we were all delighted that it should come back to A (xHx) Squadron this time
around.
Above left, Tpr Stancombe showing some extraordinary spring, and right, Tpr Stott keeps his cool
despite having been stabbed in the foot by LCpl Campbell!!
Left, the winning A sqn 4x100 relay team.
In the run-up to summer leave we have
had a few changes to staffing, notably
SSgt Sercombe relinquishing his grip on
the SQMS Dept to SSgt Holland, and
moving into the position of SSM. WO2
Durrant has left us (and his second
SSMship!) to take up a position in the
Training Wing, and we wish him all the
very best there. Rumours of his new found
mid-life wish to buy a motorbike are
unconfirmed. We would like to offer SSgt
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and Mrs Holland our very best wishes and congratulations on the birth of their baby daughter
Evelyn Rose.
Meanwhile, in the sidelines, the Officers have been busy with preparations for the Officers’ Mess
Summer Ball, an event which is given much-needed support from across the Regiment and from A
Squadron itself. Similarly the Rundle Cup Polo competition was a great success for the Regiment
last weekend, thanks in large part to the support it received from several A Squadron soldiers. We
also hosted Ampleforth CCF’s summer camp, which was surely worth it just to hear Cpl Oakes
describing schoolchildren performing Rambo-esque bayonet charges across the training area with
no regard for their own safety.
The Squadron is now looking forward to a well-earned summer break to enjoy the fantastic
weather before we begin preparation in earnest for heading across to Canada. 2Lt Padgett and his
Cambrian Patrol hopefuls (hopeful only that it will be cancelled...) will be treated to a cheeky
training week on return from leave, and the BATUS activation party will head out just before the
leave period ends in order to pave the way for the main body. Hopefully the exercise will be a
success, and there will be some good opportunities for Adventurous Training while we are out
there. Look forward to endless stories of navigational errors, mosquitoes and catastrophic
boggings-in!
Above, LCpl Clarke collects the D’Arcy Hall Cup for the victorious A Sqn from Col (Retd) Tom Hall
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B (XIVH) SQUADRON
There has been no respite for B Sqn over the past few months with taskings coming thick and fast
in the build-up to Summer Leave and BATUS.
Left, The face of WO2 (SSM)
Lee Ashton displays the
timeless weary resignation of
many an SSM over the
centuries. On the other hand,
Maj Ant Sharman, OC B Sqn, is
convinced that if they go left
flanking it should be a super
wheeze!!
We bid farewell to 4th Troop at
the end of Easter leave as they
temporarily joined C Sqn putting
in to practice the new 18 tank
squadron concept and reformed the Sqn into two Sabre Troops. 1st and 2nd Troop have both now
fully formed with the arrival of two new Troop Leaders in mid-June, namely 2 Lts Kirkham and
Bartles. Troopers Jones, Westgarth, Ridings, Buckley and Pope have also recently arrived while
returnees to the Sqn include Sgt Pollard and Sgt Buglass busily taking ownership of the tank park
and ensuring all the pre-BATUS admin gets squared before departing on summer leave.
An advance party have been preparing to head off early for the handover/takeover of the vehicle
fleet. This time, B Sqn will be equipped with BASILISK in their role as COEFOR for the exercising
battle group. We hope to give C Sqn a bloody nose at every opportunity and use it as a good
chance to get used to working in a mounted role again, employing conventional tactics and
doctrine in preparation for our return to BATUS as exercising troops next year.
The Sqn has also managed to squeeze in some time on Bulford Ranges, grouping and zeroing in
preparation for an ACMT(APWT in old money) later this year. By taking the time and employing a
high level of individual coaching, all of the Sqn achieved high scores proving that they are just as
effective as dismounted soldiers.
Outside of the military field, the Squadron has also had some success. Although pipped to the post
in the D’Arcy Hall cup, a strong performance was put in by all especially by the swimmers, headed
up by Sgt Lareau, and the cricketers, captained by Mr Kirkham.
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Left, Troopers Jones and Ward at
Castlemartin Ranges.
The weeks leading up to leave have been
busy, with the Sqn becoming heavily
involved in the Rundle Cup and the
Officer’s Mess Summer Ball alongside all
the preparations for Canada. All those
who worked at the social events were
highly commended for their
professionalism and manners. Trowbridge
Armed Forces Day presented another
opportunity for B Sqn to show itself off in a
public forum. The team led by Sgt Pollard did admirably despite sweltering temperatures and
Polish boy-racers threatening to steal the tanks!
Heading into the final week of work culminated with a gun run for CO’s PT and a church parade.
Despite having to carry the Sergeant-Major amongst other heavy burdens the Sqn resisted
temptation to drop him even in the sweltering heat.
The Squadron goes in to summer leave looking forward to the challenges ahead and keen to test
their mettle against the Royal Welsh Battlegroup. Further afield, the prospect of returning to
Canada with an extremely healthy AT budget should be enough to dissuade even the most cynical
trooper from abandoning the Squadron for the bright lights of Las Vegas.
D (XRH) COMMAND & RECCE
SQUADRON
It has been a busy period for D Command and Recce Squadron from Recce Tp ranges to
Command Tp Muddy Hawk exercises. In addition the Squadron worked hard in the stringent
combined assurance week focusing on equipment care and management. The period was topped
off with the Darcy Hall competition in which D Sqn performed with Great Spirit but to no avail,
although the Sqn did win the regimental ‘Tough Mudder’ endurance
competition.
Recce Troop has had a busy few months, beginning with CVR(T)
ranges in the mist and rain of Castlemartin, Pembrokeshire. Here four
new gunners conducted their initial shoots in order to qualify. The Leech
twins (Fozzy and Meatball) spent hours in the turret every day, with the
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result of near toxicity poising (HDSS…) on several occasions. Capt Lambert the new Troop
Leader tried his best to sabotage the whole process by breaking every wagon he got in, however
with ten minutes to go the last round was fired and the whole process was declared a success.
On return from Ranges there was a hectic period of low level training, prior to providing the Recce
Troop for a Brigade level Obstacle crossing. Once our military duties had been fulfilled our
attention switched to athletics, with Cpl McKay proving his ‘Brawn over brain’ theory by winning the
best effort 6 mile race, despite getting lost and adding an extra kilometre to his route. The Darcy
Hall competition was the first run with the new ‘Command and Recce’ Squadron, and high hopes
were held for a strong showing. Sadly this was not to be the case. Despite SSgt Oldfield coming
second in the pool, and Fozzy, Meatball, Tprs Taylor, Henzell Leech and Gemmel putting in
outstanding performances in the Athletics, Capt Lambert led the Cricket team to last place,
kyboshing any chance of silverware.
Not content with all this activity Recce then spent a week in Brecon, where the weather changed its
habit of a lifetime, and the sun shone. An unexpected side effect of this being some crazy tan lines
being discovered in the evenings. In the 28 degree temperature the Troop went through military
skills and fitness training. All things that would have been a walk in the park on Salisbury Plain, but
in the mountainous terrain of the Brecon Beacons it was a different prospect entirely.
Outside of military life our congratulations go out to Cpl Lees on the birth of his first son, and Cpl’s
Leech (Both Fozzy and Meatball), and McKay on their new homes.
Looking forward Recce are about to enjoy some well-earned time off, prior to putting their best
Russian accents on to play enemy in Canada.
It seems very odd that this time last year Command Troop were deployed in
Afghanistan on Op HERRICK 16 fulfilling a number of roles across the
Regiments footprint. In what was meant to be the 'quiet' year, Command
Troop has been very busy along with the rest of the Regiment. One of the
more significant changes has been the collection of new faces that have
moved to command troop from across the Regiment. One of these major
changes has been the moving on of Capt Nick Beattie who held the post of RSO for nearly three
years. Another change in the Troop hierarchy has been the promotion to Sgt Pople who has been
replaced by Sgt Smith. So with Capt Sherbrooke as the RSO and Sgt Smith there is certain
element of the ginger step child for Command Troop!
Since returning from a well-deserved Christmas leave period the troop has been bounced from
task to task and have taken everything in their stride. The first hurdle was the commitment to train
the soldiers deploying on Op HERRICK 18 from 1 Mech Bde. The whole regiment was stood up to
take on roles from playing the local population to guarding camps.
In May the whole troop deployed to Cornwall for the Regimental Adventurous Training camp in
Newquay. This was a great chance to take the foot off the pedal and have a well-deserved rest. A
whole host of activities were laid on including sailing, mountain biking, hill walking, coastering and
rock climbing which Cpl West was particularly a fan of! I think the highlight was the coastering
which was a great way to clear the head by jumping into the sea from big cliffs after a good troop
bonding session in town the day before.
Ex Ace Foundation has been the biggest leap for Command Troop to take. As the key enablers for
the Regiment, the troop was tasked with provided communications for the exercising troops as well
as building one of the biggest models ever seen. Turf was delivered, trees trimmed and planted,
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tracks laid, with Cpl Stringer being tasked watering it every night to keep it looking fresh and green.
Everyone did exceptionally well and all the hard work paid off with the Brigade Commander being
very pleased with the whole exercise.
The Troop now heads off on some well-deserved leave in preparation for deploying to Canada in
late August.
The squadron say good bye to Capt George Matthews who is leaving the army this summer after
spending 4 years in D Sqn, Capt Guy Bachelor from Hereford has arrived to replace him as D Sqn
2IC.
HQ (SUPPORT)
SQUADRON
Foreword by Maj Mickey Caulfield, OC HQ (Support) Squadron
Well there goes another 3 months at the speed of sound! It’s been an extremely busy, but also
productive period for the Sqn. Many were able to take full advantage of the Adventure Training
package put on by the Regiment which would have been the first for a number of years. HQ 2IC,
WO2 Calvert deployed to Cornwall to become the Adv Trg Sergeant Major. It was with a heavy
heart that he took on the role knowing that he was to be located in a lovely part of the country with
fun activities arranged for everyday of his deployment. It’s a hard old life but someone has to do it!
Members of the QM & QM(T) Departments who were unable to attend the Regimental Adv Trg
organised their own and deployed to Ambleside in the Lake District for a week’s trekking early in
July. There was a rumour from there that Cpl ‘Kenny’ Kendall actually took his wallet with him and
although it was never physically taken out of his pocket, we must acknowledge that this is progress
and that one day he may well buy a drink!
The Chefs from the Catering Dept have also been busy in recent times. Not only have they picked
up the additional workload of the 2RTR chefs who are currently deployed in Afghanistan but they
also supported Exercise ACE FOUNDATION. This entailed the chefs producing a huge number of
packed lunches over a 3 day period but also an in the field curry with all the trimmings which went
down a treat for all those who attended.
We also have had to say some fond farewells to a few of our Heads of Departments. Maj Anna
Hicks who for those who may not have met her is our Regimental Doctor. Anna has been with us
for over 3 years now and has been nothing short of fantastic! She has improved the deployability
of the Regiment considerably and she is very much the model for how to be a Regimental Medical
Officer. We thank Anna for all her excellent work and wish her well in Pirbright. In Anna’s place
comes Capt Dave Hindmarsh.
Unfortunately we’ve had to say goodbye to our equally excellent EME, Capt Pip Lines. Many
congratulations must go to Pip for winning the coveted Churchill Medal. The Churchill Medal is the
premier prize awarded by professional engineering institutions to recognise engineering
15
achievement within the Armed Forces. The award goes to an individual or small team for
'achievement in engineering and technical advancement in support of military operations'.
The medal was awarded for her leadership and innovation during operations in Afghanistan whilst
deployed as an engineering officer with the King's Royal Hussars in Helmand province.
Not only is Captain Lines (pictured left), the
first female to win this award but also the first
REME officer to receive it. We wish Pip the
best of luck as she becomes Adjutant for 6
Bn REME who are just down the road. Pip
has been replaced by Capt Rob Ashton.
And finally we say farewell to Capt Andy
Harvey our Regimental Administrative Officer
(RAO). Andy has had 2 stints with KRH both
as a Warrant Officer and then as an Officer.
Andy has been incredible and has made sure
the Regiment’s administration has been of
the highest order. This is down to him and his fantastic staff. Andy is moving on to promotion to
Major so many congratulations for that. He will attend ICSC(L) at the Defence Academy,
Shrivenham and we wish him luck not just for the course, but for his future success. Andy is
replaced by Capt Nige Hinton. Although our next farewell has not left the Regiment, I would like to
thank Cpl Janine Boyd who has been one of my HR Administrators. Cpl Boyd has supported the
Sqn superbly over the last 6 months and has dedicated much of her own time in order to ensure
the soldiers are administrated properly. Her behind the scenes work often goes unnoticed but it is
essential if the soldiers are to be looked after appropriately. Many thanks for your hard work and
good luck with your move to C Sqn.
The Sqn supported C Sqn’s firing period at Castlemartin Ranges in Wales. A number of the LAD
deployed and performed miracles in order to ensure as many C Sqn tanks were available for
training as possible. The LAD was ably supported by the QMs and QM(T).
We can look forward to a spot of summer leave which hot on the heels will be the deployment to
BATUS for the vast majority. Happy holidays!
Quartermaster Main (Boots ‘n’ Socks)
Since the last newsletter article submitted by the QM’s, we have pretty much reached the end of a
long line of IT migrations, Board of Officer Stock Checks and inspections, culminating in the
Logistical Support Inspection late in April. Thankfully, all accounts were deemed in very good order
and an overall green grade awarded. This was in no small part down to the dedication and
attention to detail from all in the department, who put in long working hours weeks prior to the
event taking place.
In preparation for the Logistical Inspections, Cpl Ashmore was moved across from the QM(T) Dept
and took up a familiar role as Clothing Storeman. At the same time, Cpl O’Donnell adopted a new
role of Regimental Unit Application Administrator and took on the responsibility for oversight of the
new accounting system – MJDI. This has proved to be hugely beneficial to all that work with MJDI
and provided both QMs with a focal point for troubleshooting when required.
16
Left, the Regimental SHE WO, WO2 Pete Robinson looking
very composed at the top of Nab Scar in the Lake District.
The department also welcomed LCpl Vernon from A Sqn, who
slotted in as a secondary Ammo Storeman…but only after
completing his Regimental Equipment Repairers Course in
Deepcut!
In May, C Sqn and an element of D Sqn deployed to
Castlemartin Ranges, ably supported by the ammunition team
in the form of the RQ, Cpl Law and the newly qualified LCpl
Ford. It was a good learning experience for all, especially
given that this sort of activity hadn’t been carried out for over 2
years. Despite Cpl Law doing his best to take out those in
close proximity to the ammo bunker on one occasion and a flaw with a certain batch of ammo, all
went swimmingly and the team returned with a healthy amount of LSA and a slightly improved golf
swing!
June was dominated by administration support to the likes of the Regimental Adventure Training in
Cornwall and to Exercise ACE FOUNDATION – the Brigade sponsored obstacle crossing
demonstration on Salisbury Plain. The usual scrounging of tents, tables and anything else we
could lay our hands on to make the events that little better took place and the numerous trips
around the local area and to Bicester commenced in the QM’s van. Given the QM’s and Sgt
Miller’s limited knowledge on certain adventure training activities, it was a miracle that the unit did
end up with the correct equipment to conduct the training in St Mawgan, after some creative, yet
clueless booking of stores!
Above left, Maj Kevin Sloan and Capt (QM) Alex Rutter at the summit of Scafell Pike and right, Mr
Robinson makes light work of crossing a river at Scafell Pike (let’s hope that he doesn’t get Weils
Disease this time).
June also saw the start of the RQMS handover / takeover between WO2 Rob Sinclair and WO2
Mark Lowe. Mr Sinclair has been in the seat since January 2012 and has conducted himself
superbly over the 19 months in post. He was commended by the Col of the Regt for his work
building up to and during the Combined Assurance Week and has been influential in seeing the
17
Regiment through the MJDI migration process. He soon moves over to BATUS with his wife Alex
and their dogs, where they will take up residence in Ralston Village. Mr Sinclair will assume the
post of RQMS(T) BATUS and it is hoped that he will be a useful ally when the unit conducts its
training out there this summer!
Finally, having planned and booked the event some 12 months out, some of the department joined
members of the QM(T) Dept and deployed to Ambleside in the Lake District for a week’s trekking
early in July. Ambleside is situated just to the north of Lake Windermere and is an ideal place to
commence many challenging and scenic walks from. All participants were about the same level of
ability, yet judging by the clothing some members brought, you wouldn’t have thought so (although
Sgt Miller did look dashing in his Levis jeans and polo shirt)! Although the weather could have
been a little kinder, it didn’t dampen spirits at all and we returned thankful for a week away from
Tidworth, having walked some of the most spectacular and challenging terrain England has to
offer, including Scafell Pike at 978m above sea level.
Quartermaster Technical (Spanners ‘n’ Spares)
The Quartermaster Technical Department has had its share of appointment changes this quarter.
It said farewell to Capt Kev Sloan who lead the team in getting a good pass in both the LSI and the
ECI. He then promoted to Major and moved to D Sqn leader, we welcome back Capt Mark Witham
(former RQMS(T) as his replacement. We have also said goodbye to WO2 Chris Dunn who
cracked the whip before and during the combined inspections, the department would like to say
thank you for all your support and good luck with everything you do in the future. Further
congratulations must go to Chris who was awarded the Regimental Medal. We also welcome
WO2 Joey Clough to the G4 slaughter house.
Left, Cpl ‘Kenny’ Kendal and Cpl Buckley Adventure train, and
below Cpl’s Buckley, Maher and Parr chillaxing.
After a great Combined Assurance Week and on being fully converted to the new MJDI system in
April, May saw C Sqn deploy to Pembroke for Castlemartin ranges. With them to oversee all G4
demands went Sgt Malone, Cpl Buckley and Cpl Shores. Once the barrel-gate saga was over the
whole of CMR went smoothly, for the record we got the barrel 5 days earlier than the
recommended delivery date.
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After a lot of hard work since Christmas leave, June and July saw some well-deserved Adventure
Training (AT) undertaken. Cpl Kendall, Cpl Parr and LCpl Cooper enjoyed some cliff diving in
Newquay with the Regimental AT package. QM(T) and the QM Depts joined forces for an AT
package in Ambleside, Cumbria for some hill walking. Even Kenny Kendall enjoyed the hill walking,
it might be because it was done in his home County.
At present like the Regt the department is preparing for COEFOR in BATUS with four lucky chaps
deploying. The remainder of the department will be pushing out duties and setting up the Regt for
success post COEFOR. Whilst Cpl (bum eyes) Buckley will be getting married to Shelley and then
jetting off to Egypt, we hope he can keep out of trouble out there. From everyone in the
department, good luck and all the best for the future.
KRH QM(T) Dept getting in some serious ‘Bromance’
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The Light Aid Detachment
The outgoing EME (Capt Pippa Lines) with her LAD, 29 May 2013
During the period April to July 13 it has been all go within the LAD. We have mainly been
focussing on preparation for the forthcoming deployment to BATUS and supporting the regiment
during Castlemartin ranges (CMR), Exercise ACE FOUNDATION and driver training courses. In
between, we’ve managed to find a bit of time to get some people away on AT and have also had a
couple of social events! A quick summary of the activities that have been going on follows, but not
before some hellos and goodbyes!
Hellos and Goodbyes!
The LAD welcomes a new command team, namely the EME, Capt Rob Ashton REME, who arrived
from 4 CS Bn REME; WO1 (ASM) Dean Oatley who also arrived from 4 CS Bn REME and WO2
(AQMS) Jazz Bal who was posted from BATUS. Other additions to the LAD include Cpl Martinez,
Cpl Newhouse, LCpl Thomson and Cfn Stockley. Finally, a number of attached personnel have
arrived to support the LAD for the BATUS deployment; we welcome Sgt Brocklehurst, Cpl Amos,
Cfn Kelly, Cfn Ashton, Cfn Filmer and Cfn Wilkinson from various units across the Brigade.
The LAD says goodbye to Capt Pip Lines REME who departs to 6 CS Bn REME as Adjutant; SSgt
Olive who assumes an instructor post at The Royal School of Artillery; SSgt Tomlinson who takes
his recovery skills to 102 (V) Battalion REME on promotion; Sgt Perry who is returning to his
beloved Wales at 1st Battalion The Rifles in Chepstow and SSgt Rees who has been assigned to 5
FS Battalion REME (hopefully he can now concentrate on being the Army Rugby Coach without
being pestered by the LAD!).
CMR
On a wet and windy 7 May, the Fitter Section advance party made their way to the ranges, only to
arrive in an unusually warm and sunny Castlemartin. As they got there a couple of days before the
main body there was time to relax, introducing new personnel to the wonders of Royston Vasey
(think League of Gentlemen!) the local area and to enjoy the local hospitality.
20
The first week was extremely busy, especially for the Techs and Armourers who didn’t get to see
much of their beds due to the long hours and many nights crawling around in a turret. However,
this was not the same for the VMs and the Reccy Mechs who would nurse sore heads in the
morning; the result of excessive heating in the blocks – apparently!
Also deploying to CMR was a Contingent from ES Ops. On many occasions, help and support
would be required from them but the ASM and Tiff Jays were never around, which prompted the
usual response from Tiff Jones that they had “gone fishing”. They returned daily but there was a
serious lack of fish, more practice required – roll on the next ranges!
Although the Fitter Section enjoyed CMR, it would have been unusual if everything had gone to
plan. This time it was the turn of the ‘barrel tank’, which every visiting officer enquired after.
Eventually, the tank was fixed only for the crew to be too scared to fire “in case the barrel falls off!”
Ultimately, a successful CMR package was achieved for all involved.
Social Functions
In order to maintain the ‘work hard, play hard’ attitude of the LAD, several functions have also
taken place during the last few months. A REME study day, followed by a SNCOs’ working lunch
and chest-poking session was the first and last time that the LAD will have a function on a
Wednesday. To say that PT the next morning was emotional was an understatement!
Learning from our mistakes, an all-ranks dinner night was held on a Tuesday, to bid farewell to the
outgoing EME and ASM. This was a great education for ‘the lads’, who learned the hard way that
ignoring etiquette costs you money. Even though fines were limited to £1, this still paid for plenty
of drinks following the dinner!
Finally, the LAD had a beach-themed summer function on 16th July (another Tuesday!) to say
farewell to several people who were due to leave during the BATUS deployment. There was plenty
of drink, food and embarrassing stories; and despite some questionable fancy dress, all involved
had a thoroughly enjoyable night.
Special thanks go to SSgt Hooper, SSgt Thornton, Staff Pryce and their teams for arranging the
above functions.
BATUS Deployment
It is common knowledge about the Regiment’s deployment to BATUS as both COEFOR and as
part of the Battlegroup. Well that means that the LAD will be deploying too, with both a fitter
section to support the tank squadron and the remainder of the LAD to support COEFOR. Training
to develop all the required competencies has been underway for a little while now and we’re in a
good place to be able to support whatever the Regiment throws our way. By hook or by crook the
REME will keep all the Regiment’s equipment fit and in their hands – not ours!! C Sqn Fitter
Section deploy at the beginning of August under SSgt Thornton and the COEFOR LAD deploy in
two parts, the advance party under command of the ASM and the main body a couple of weeks
later. We’ve very much looking forward to the challenges that BATUS brings, as well as the odd bit
of time off from work in Canada that we might get!! We’ll let you know how we got on when we get
back in October!
21
Regimental Aid Post
June has been an interesting month for the RAP as we have welcomed
some new faces, lost some faces, and even managed to get out of the
medical centre!
We have been fortunate enough to have a small exercise to aid as a refresher to all those due to
deploy to BATUS on Prairie Storm 3 on how to grapple with the tentage and the never ending fight
with cam-netting. Day 1 involved first, a much needed refresher lesson in navigation from Sgt
Hudson so that we weren’t going to get lost in the next couple of months in Canada. After
transporting the RAP out onto Salisbury Plain and setting ourselves up in one of the tree lines, we
then had a day’s navigation exercise followed by a night navigation at a rather late hour due to it
being the summer solstice! But morale was quickly on hand when, due to Medical Centre
commitments, and a quick replenishment from the changing over of LCpl Daffern with LCpl
Francis, meant that the 24 Rat packs were only used as a very last resort.
After an unseasonably dry night the RAP went under time trials where the stopwatches were taken
out and the RAP was constructed, moved and reconstructed in the safest and quickest time. This
has given us a good heads up for what is required on BATUS where a quick turnaround is
essential! But it was no rest for the wicked, as new doc, Capt Dave Hindmarsh, put the team
through its paces by teaching them how to deal with medical casualties in the CBRN environment.
This was under the watchful eye of the Colonel and RSM who kindly came to visit and watch our
progression.
Above left, LCpl Daffern and LCpl Francis take note and right, the RAP do some medical stuff!!!
The medics have been especially busy whilst away from the medical centre too and have taken
great opportunities to fit in extra teaching and training to the Squadrons. Special mention goes to
Cpl Vincent and LCpl Francis for their exceptional and in depth lessons given at Ex ACE
FOUNDATION. The lessons were extremely well received by the Regiment.
Just to prove that the medics are not all about FFDs and tents, LCpl Daffern represented the Army
Medical Services (AMS) at the Women’s Rugby tournament down in Newquay at the end of June.
LCpl Daffern’s team successfully won the plate and also raised £75 for charity, well done! Maj
Anna Hicks is also off to the Formation Skydiving World Cup at Banja Luka in Bosnia in August –
good luck!
22
Above left, LCpl Oliver-Taylor and Cpl Pople back each other up and right, more of that medical
stuff!!
The RAP was sad to see the departure of much loved Cpl Charlotte Pople, who is now based with
4 Rifles down in Bulford. Thankfully, due to strong ties with the Regiment in that she is married to
Sgt ‘Pop’s’ Pople, we know that she will not be out of sight (or sound!) for any long period of time. It
is also with a sad heart that we are soon to see the departure of Maj Anna Hicks, who is due to go
to Pirbright to look after Phase 1 trainees in the middle of August. The very best of luck to the pair
of you – please keep in touch!
We would like to welcome two new members to the RAP, LCpl Kavanagh and Capt Dave
Hindmarsh as the new RMO, the pair of us will be with the RAP for the foreseeable future and
have managed to bond with the rest of the group on the exercise.
Lastly, we have to commend both Cpl Harris and Cpl Vincent who were both successful on the
Sergeants board. Both promotions were well deserved, so a big congratulations to them both and
fingers crossed for the rest of our medics for the next promotion boards!
Gentlemen, the Padre
It seems remarkable that it’s only ten weeks since I joined The Regiment as
it feels I have never been anywhere else. I came from a posting with The
Grenadier Guards and already knew members of The KRH through BATUS
in 2011 and HERRICK 16 last year. When I arrived at Aliwal Barracks in April I was greeted by a
lot of well-known faces and right from the start I have been welcomed warmly and made to feel at
home.
The last few months have been spent getting to know people and trying to understand the cavalry
way of life. This has included trips to C Sqn training at Castlemartin Ranges, adventure training in
Newquay and hours wandering Salisbury Plain trying to find groups of exercising troops at night.
Currently I am also looking after the ROG for 1RHA and 2RTR and a few weeks ago had to visit
someone at the Army Air Corps base at Middle Wallop. Being a bit of a petrol-head I had a sneaky
look round the workshops and was introduced to a man whose job was to rebuild the cylinder
heads of high powered engines. His workbench was spotless. Everything was in its place and he
showed me how the various bits were put together and the machinery that was used to press seals
and grind valve seats.
23
Left, Padre Gary Scott brazenly
‘tokes the bong’ outside the welfare
block with his very successful
‘Cherrypicker Shag’ blend of tobacco
that has been specially blended for
the KRH at his behest.
The remarkable thing was that this
man was completely blind. Here was
a man who could very easily have
used his blindness as a reason for
not doing things but instead he knew
what he wanted to do and
persevered until he had become a
highly skilled engineer.
Someone once said that if you look
for excuses you will find them. Look
for opportunities and they will be
there too. We all have limitations of
some kind but too often the biggest
thing that holds us back is how quick
we are to minimise our own
potential. As the Bible puts it ‘In due
season we shall reap if we don’t lose
heart’ (Gal 6:9). Think what it is that
you want to do or achieve and give it
your very best shot. It’s amazing what we can achieve when we aim high and don’t lose heart.
A few notices…
KRH WAGS Choir
The Regimental Carol Service will be held at The Garrison Church on the morning of Friday 6th
December and I am hoping to get together a group of KRH wives and girlfriends for the occasion.
The idea will be that we would meet for a couple of rehearsals beforehand (wine and nibbles will
be provided) and then sing a few Christmas songs at the service. This will be a fun enterprise and
no musical knowledge is necessary (in fact it may be a positive disadvantage!). Further details will
be advertised after we return from Canada.
Contact details:
If you need to get hold of me for any reason please use the following:
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: 07786395025
Office: 01980 650481
All blessings
Padre
24
RUMOUR CONTROL
Hello all!!! We have a new and revamped wives committee that is available to all of our readers
should they wish to put a suggestion to the Welfare Office but don’t feel that you want to do it in
person. The committee is representative across the rank structure so that the regiment is
represented proportionally and so that everyone can find someone that they feel comfortable
talking too. The current members are:
Holly Kingsford
Ollie Smith
Karen Smith
Lisa Kennedy
Lisa Hay
Zoe Sumner
Michelle Hume
Donna Thomson
Natalie Parker
07798 640514
07790 902314
07739 975508
07754 298233
07854 708510
07825 774018
07414 074940
07986 552945
We are all delighted to welcome Holly Kingsford back into the regimental family at the coal face so
to speak. Already Holly has made a welcome difference to the normal Coffee Mornings by inviting
us all around to Aliwal House when the weather is nice so that we can enjoy the sun and partake in
our activities in pleasant surroundings.
Staying with Coffee mornings, we do enjoy quite a good turn out each Wednesday which is always
great to see but it is always nicer to see more faces. Of course we understand that many of us
work and that we have been in Tidworth a long time now so most of us have jobs and are
extremely busy in other ways.
Perhaps the notion of a Coffee Morning seems a little outdated to us and is something that has
remained from the more austere times of long postings abroad. That said it is a wonderful way of
meeting people, doing a little networking and getting some factual information which our soldiers
are so often loathe to pass on to us (or just forgot). If you know of someone who has just moved
into the area, and it can be very daunting especially for a young wife who has left home for the first
time, please invite or encourage them to come along, if it is not their thing then so be it but at least
they should give it a try.
Looking ahead we know that the regiment will be deploying to Canada very soon for 2 – 3 months.
During that time the Welfare Team will be organising a trip to the Tower Park Complex in Poole
(we are looking to do it on Saturday the 14th of September). There is a lot to do there for all ages
with a large Swimming complex with lots of slides, Bowling, Laser Quest, a Multi-Plex Cinema and
a whole host of restaurants. If you would like to ease the burden of driving down there with all the
kids then the Welfare Team will be laying on transport there and back. All you need to do is let
Paul Mulcahy know.
Finally on page 27 there is the ‘families Notes’ from the 1947 edition of one of our Regimental
Journals. It makes for interesting reading.
25
FOR HIRE FROM THE WELFARE BLOKE
Bouncy Castle, outdoor, for the
bouncing of.
Bouncy Castle, Indoor, for the
bouncing of
Bouncy Castles
Both Bouncy Castles are available for hire for £50 a day (£20 of which is a refundable deposit).
The Regiment will not be held responsible for any injuries to children that use these facilities, the
responsibility lies with the parents in all cases. To hire the Bouncy Castles please contact the
Welfare Team to make a booking, or for any other enquiries. Tel: 01980 650722/651159.
D.I.S.C.O
The Disco (including mixer, lights, and speakers) is available for hire for £80 a day. Please contact
the Welfare Team to make a booking, or for any enquiries. Tel: 01980 650722/651159. A great deal
of money has been spent upgrading the disco kit since Christmas which has enhanced the whole
ensemble enormously. The disco has a special adaptor that will let you play music from your
iPhone, iPod or pad.
Tickets out
The Welfare Office now has tickets to Finkley Down Farm, Cholderton Charlies and the Hawk
Conservancy. Each ticket will admit two adults and two children free when presented to the
entrance of these establishments. To obtain a ticket please call the Welfare Office and book them,
please be aware that in the summer these tickets are out almost daily so book ahead if you can.
We will charge a fee of £5 per ticket so that we can maintain this incredibly good offer in the years
to come.
26
27
KRH Inter regimental Polo Tournament
Last month the annual Inter Regimental polo tournament was held. Teams from the Royal Navy,
the Irish Guards, the Queen’s Royal Lancers, the Household Cavalry and ourselves competed for
the trophy. After a strong win in the semi-final against the HCav we replicated this again in the
final against the Royal Navy and finally managed to secure another victory in the tournament after
26 years.
The Inter Regimental Trophy, which is awarded to the winner, was made to mark the first ever polo
match played in England in 1869 – coincidently played between the 10th Hussars and the 9th
Lancers. It was the first time that The King’s Royal Hussars have won it – previous to that it was
the 14th/20th King’s Hussars that won the tournament last in 1987. A whole 26 years since our last
win.
The semi-final was played at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. It was the first time the KRH
team consisting of Col Nick Hunter, Capt (Retd) Robert Freeman-Kerr, Capt (Retd) Philip Kaye and
Lt George Walker had played together. The team plays quickly came together and we managed to
steal a comfortable 5-2½ lead by half time. The HCav quickly fought back and managed to gain
another goal but then gave away a couple of penalties which Col Nick Hunter converted easily to
secure a 7-4½ victory. This guaranteed us a place in the final at Guards Polo Club in the Windsor
Great Park against the Royal Navy.
Above, the KRH Polo Team with the Inter Regimental Trophy. From left Col Nick Hunter, Capt
(Retd) Robert Freeman-Kerr, Capt (Retd) Philip Kaye and Lt George Walker.(Photo by Tony
Ramirez).
28
The final was on an equally as hot day as the semi-final. The Royal Navy side was the same team
that had faced the Army in the Rundle Cup the day before and were an extremely experienced side
who had played together a number of times before. However, on the day with the team scoring
from a number of runs down the field and penalties being pushed through the posts, there seemed
little the Navy could do. By half time the score sat at 6-1½. The Navy tried to claw back but we
managed to quickly close them down and turn the play to score another two goals. However, the
Navy in the final chukka scored their first and last two goals of the match which meant the final
score was 9-3½. It was a great victory, especially for some in the team who had been in the final
five times and failed to get a win.
On top of the Inter Regimental, the more novice KRH polo team has enjoyed a number of
successes in tournaments at Tidworth Polo Club. The team, comprising of Lt George Stephens, Lt
Henry Foster, Lt Bertie Garbutt, Lt George Walker, 2Lt Rich Nicholls and 2Lt Dan Gregory have
won both the Crabs v Cav and the President’s Cup tournaments. Hopefully our winning streak will
continue and we will come away with a win in our own KRH Cup tournament being played at
Tidworth on 10th and 11th August.
The King’s Royal Hussars Get Tough
3 former and serving
members of the King’s Royal
Hussars fought through
mud, fire and exhaustion in a
gruelling 12 mile race.
In early June, the four
Hussars chose to spend
their weekend at the
notorious Tough Mudder
Competition which was held
South of London in early
June. Despite the warm dry
summer weather, they found
themselves wet, cold and muddy by lunch time.
Inspired by the military, the Tough Mudder obstacle course is a worldwide event. The courses are
set up about the globe attracting thousands of adventurers with a thirst to prove themselves. They
consist of 20 odd obstacles through which the competitors must fight. Such obstacles include
electric wires, burning hay and long claustrophobia inducing mud filled tunnels to name just three.
On having had to swim through an underwater ice filled doorway, WO2 Leigh Ashton (34)
commented, “it took brain freeze to a whole new level!”
Having already raised over 2 million pounds for the charity ‘Help for Heroes’ and with an emphasis
on team work, it is unsurprising that the competition attracts a lot of military competitors.
Already, there is talk amongst soldiers throughout the Regiment about entering the next locally
held Tough Mudder competition in September.
29
A Historical Reward for the Army’s Future Leaders.
Every accomplishment should be rewarded. In this case, as per a 50 year habit (should that be
custom?), a 90 year old antique silver stick has been presented to the top student of the King’s
Royal Hussars Junior Non-Commissioned Officers’ Cadre.
Commissioned in Birmingham in 1922, the 14th King’s and 20th Hussars received the highly
valuable Stirling silver stick as part of their amalgamation in which they formed the 14th/20th King’s
Hussars in 1922. Known as the ‘Whip Mounter’s Stick’, it has been used as trophy for victorious
men since its creation, and it was decided in the 1960’s that it should be awarded to the top
student of the then 14th/20th King’s Hussars JNCO Cadre and has continued into the present King’s
Royal Hussars being awarded to the top student of the Pre-Junior Non-Commissioned Officers’
Cadre.
This year, tested for fitness, leadership and good basic infantry skills, the stick was awarded to
Lance Corporal Harris (24). He said “it’s great to actually get something of such value for the hard
work we have to put in, I’m just sorry I can’t keep it.”
This stick is just a slice of the Regiment’s rich and historical past that continues to stand at the
forefront of an increasingly sophisticated and high tech army.
The Commanding Officer, Lt Col J.N.J. Kingsford, presents to LCpl Harris the ‘Whip Mounter’s
Stick’.
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Three Hawks Return to the Scene of the Crime. Vitoria 2013
In June three King’s Royal Hussars, Captain Wayne Price, WOII (SSM) Rob Bretherton and Cpl
(now Sgt) Paul (Mulks) Mulcahy returned to the scene of a crime that was committed by one of our
forbear regiments, the 14th Light Dragoons exactly 200 years ago. It was a crime that the Officers
Mess of that regiment, then the 14th/20th King’s Hussars and now the present day King’s Royal
Hussars (KRH) have benefited from since that day in the early summer of 1813.
By June 1813 the war that had been
raging in the Iberian Peninsula had
dragged on for six years with the ebb and
flow of success being traded fairly equally
by both the British led allied forces, which
included Spanish and Portuguese troops
and their foes, the French. Now though,
in the early summer of 1813 the allied
Commander in Chief, Lord Wellington had
pushed the French armies under the
command of Napoleons brother and, at
the time, the current King of Spain,
Joseph Bonaparte and his military commander Marshal Jean-Baptiste Jourdan back into the
Basque country of North East Spain. Joseph knew that the situation was perilous and, if he was to
maintain any grip on Spain then he would have to defeat Wellington decisively and soon. The
trouble was that every time the French armies turned to face the allies they, (the allies), would
outflank them to the North causing the French to have to move further back towards the Pyrenees
and France itself, giving up more and more of Spain as he did so.
The French army (actually in was a series of armies), although significant in size was hampered by
many things not least being the huge baggage train that was moving alongside it. The sheer size of
the baggage train was the culmination of the many years that the French had been in control of
Spain and it contained huge amounts of plunder and wealth that the French had stripped from
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Spain, as well as hundreds of women (also known as baggage), millions of francs and other
denominations and the thousands of belongings (and more plundered wealth) of the FrancoSpanish court and the Officers and men of the French army.
By June the 21st 1813 the French army had reached the western outskirts of the town of Vitoria
and once again it turned to face Wellington and his allied army. This time, because the time was
right and the ground suited his needs, Wellington decided to oblige Joseph Bonaparte and give
battle. The battle of Vitoria, in terms of the ground that it covered was one, if not the, largest battle
of the Peninsular and Napoleonic Wars and it is not my intention to go into the minutia of the battle
itself, I will save that for another day. The present day KRH was represented in the battle by the
10th (Price of Wales Own) Hussars and the 14th Light Dragoons and, although the British Cavalry
took little part in the battle itself the 14th Light Dragoons have forever been remembered for their
part at the end of the battle.
The Battle of Vitoria effectively ended any influence the French had in Spain and was a crushing
blow to Napoleon and his quest for dominance in Europe. Although it did not herald the immediate
end of the war in Spain 9and later France), Vitoria was the straw that broke the French camel’s
back and, despite the fact that there were still more battles to come the writing was well and truly
on the French wall after Vitoria; indeed it was this battle that saw Wellington elevated to the rank of
Field Marshall. At the end of the battle and with the main route to France cut off by the allies,
Joseph Bonaparte ordered the French, including the baggage train to head east from Vitoria on a
road that had not been reconnoitred and one in fact that was wholly unsuitable for the masses of
men, horses and carts that were desperately trying to flee from the victorious allies.
Wellington, sensing that he could put the whole French army in the bag and end the long war
ordered his cavalry to pursue the French and capture or kill as many as they could so that they
could not reform and fight another day.
Left, the 14th Light
Dragoons fall on the
French Baggage Train.
For their part the cavalry
who as mentioned above
had largely been
spectators on the sideline
during the day were
delighted to have been
released and set off with
great élan after the French
who were by now in
disarray and looking after
number one. There was
one problem, the French soldiers who were unencumbered by belongings were much faster that
the baggage train which was competing for space on the road. Very soon the infantry had largely
passed the baggage train leaving it between themselves and the allied cavalry, when the cavalry
came across the baggage train it was just too much and, despite the fact that they had orders to
pursue the French armies they could not help themselves and the bulk of them stopped and
started looting the fantastic treasures that the baggage train contained. Many a soldier made
himself temporarily rich on that day and one of the treasures, (dubious treasures), looted that day
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from the personal baggage of Joseph Bonaparte himself was his silver chamber pot causing the
14th Light Dragoons to be ever called after that,“ The Emperors Chambermaids”.
This chamber pot, known now as the ‘Emperor’, has been used ever since by the 14th Light
Dragoons and its successor regiments as a loving cup in the Officers Mess, being filled with
champagne and toasted by every officer on certain dinner nights.
And so, 200 years later the three of us were delighted to have the opportunity to return to the
scene of the crime in the form of a Battlefield Tour which was being conducted by the Peninsular
War 200 group (PW200) who, for the past six years have been celebrating every major battle and
event that took place during the Peninsular War through the medium of a battlefield tour and
religious commemoration. The president of PW200 is General Sir Nick Parker KCB CBE ADC Gen
but, on the ground and the senior coordinator of the battlefield tour of Vitoria was Colonel Nick
Lipscombe who is one of the leading experts of the Peninsular War, as well as a successful
published author on the subject. Alongside Colonel Nick, and every much himself a complete
expert in the Peninsular War in his own right (if not the absolute leading authority) was the deputy
President of PW200, Professor Charles Esdaile.
Above, Colonel Nick Lipscombe and Professor Charles Esdaile both waxing lyrical during the
excellent Battlefield Tour of Vitoria
During the battlefield tour we were to be attached to a larger group from 97 Battery, 4th Regiment
Royal Artillery commanded by Major Rob Alston and whose forebears, known as ‘Lawson’s
Company’, also took part in the Battle of Vitoria. Despite the fact that we were attached to this
group we were very much free runners which was to work in our favour during our tour. We set off
on the 18th of June from Portsmouth on the ferry to Santander in Northern Spain. It might be
thought that flying would have been a better option but with the Welfare Officers reluctance to fly
anywhere unless it is operationally expedient, the ferry option was selected and we all looked
forward the 25 hour crossing, not least Captain Price.
Conditions on the boat were very good and the timing of the ferry was such that an evening in the
bar could be enjoyed without the fear of an early morning drive. It soon became apparent that the
artillery contingent were determined to enjoy the crossing more that the average passenger and
more than one of them was sent to bed by their Battery Sergeant Major only to reappear at a later
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stage in the hope that they would not be noticed; the fact that they were beyond the ability to be
silent ensured that it didn’t work.
When we arrived at Santander, (and having been the last to get off the Ferry due to a middle aged
man clearly going through a mid-life crisis who was driving a very red Maserati, but would not
move it unless he had a clear 50 meters either side of him and his beloved car), we drove the two
hours along the stunning Northern Spanish coastline to Bilbao where we dropped south to Vitoria
arriving there in the early evening. Our accommodation was to be a Spanish Army Barracks which,
despite its size and capacity for troops, seemed like a ghost town. The reason for its lack of
soldiers was explained later that during ETA’s terrorist campaign, the camp, which is in the heart of
Basque Country held 5000 troops but recently, with the demise of ETA’s current campaign, it had
been reduced to only 800 troops.
Above left our accommodation at the Spanish Barracks at Vitoria and right, the modern day town of
Vitoria as seen from the barracks.
We Brtishers were allocated our accommodation by the Spaniards which, on the whole, was as
pleasant as could be expected and was superior in many ways to the transit accommodation that
we might see in a British Camp (if in fact the British army did indeed have any left). Suitably
accommodated and having been into Vitoria town briefly to replace the wash bag that Captain
Price had left on the Ferry we settled in for our first night.
The next morning (20th of June) dawned cloudy but warm and we all trooped up to the Spanish
Cookhouse high in expectation of what delicacies would be on offer from our European friends.
Any hopes of breakfast Tapas were soon destroyed when we were confronted by a family size
pack of (very watered down) Aldi Ham and some rolls that had been cut up, oh, and some jam. It
was hard to keep our silence when the Chef (and I use that term loosely) came to enquire as to
whether the fodder was to our liking.
Undaunted, we boarded our coach which was the same one that 97 Bty had travelled across from
England in and was crewed by the redoubtable ‘Ray and Steve’ who, as a double act had few
equals. It was in fact in amazement that I once watched as Steve smoked 12 (yes, 12) cigarettes
over the period of one hour. Not to be outdone and unless he had multiple amounts, Ray managed
to wear the same track suit bottoms and leather (yes, leather) waistcoat for the entire trip. In the
‘dickie’ seat of the coach and our guide for the times that we were in transit was Professor Esdaile
who announced early on that it was his intention that day to prove to us military types that not all
academics were boring old geeks who wore cords, sensible shoes and tweed jackets with leather
elbow protectors. The good Professor was onto a good start because he was dressed in his best
safari suit and quickly earned the soubriquet ‘Jumanji’ from those aboard the coach.
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With all souls aboard we set off to commence the battlefield tour proper starting where the British
first crossed the River Zadorra at Puebla de Arganzon, in fact the battle of Vitoria was all about
bridges and it is amazing to note that of the numerous bridges that cross the Zadorra which runs
pretty much the length of the battlefield, Joseph (and Jourdan) had not really managed to picket
many of them leaving the way open to the allies to cross this considerable feature with relative
ease. Due to the sheer size of the real estate that the battle covers we were required to move from
point to point in the coach which did not detract at all from the experience. As we moved to the
various key positions, Professor Esdaile regaled us with the various phases of the battle and what
life was like for a soldier in Wellington’s army at the time, these insights were invaluable in setting
and maintaining the tone of the tour.
Above left, the Knoll of Arinez, (its higher than it looks, honest), above right, Captain Wayne Price
on the bridge that crosses the River Zadorra at Tres Puentes, below left, WOII Bretherton atop the
Knoll and right, the village of Arinez seen from the top of the Knoll.
The landscape around Vitoria is extremely hilly (some might say mountainous) and it was with
looks of fear and trepidation that we gave each hill as we passed them one after another praying
that there was no requirement to scale them. In fact it was our fervent hope that any Napoleonic
soldier worth his salt would have the well-being of those to follow them on these tours in mind
during the battle, and keep the fighting to the low ground; apparently not!! After driving up a
number of these high points (which were in fact all battled for during that epic fight) we arrived at
one called the ‘Knoll of Arinez’ which, during the battle had first been occupied by Joseph
Bonaparte and his commanders and then, later in the fight, by Wellington; and yes, we were going
up it.
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Right, Cpl Mulcahy casts a critical eye across the
battlefield and decides that if he was Wellington it would
have been bags of smoke and left flanking.
On cue, just as we started ascending the ‘Knoll of
Arinez’ the sun came out in all its Spanish glory just to
ensure that we enjoyed the climb a bit more, oddly
enough though, this was also the time that Professor
Esdaile chose to remove his ‘bush hat’ which he had
been wearing all day up to this point. We had also been
joined on the battlefield tour by some British civilians
(ex-pats I think) some of who had walking sticks, in the
light of this the pressure was on us not to show any
signs of fatigue and with chests out and taking silent
deep breaths we climbed the knoll, (I may be
exaggerating its height slightly). Once at the top of the
knoll it became clear why it had been chosen by both
sides to view the overall field of battle, the knoll was
pretty much in the centre of the main battle and
had a commanding 360˚ view which would have
benefited anyone who held it; From the top you
could see the heights of Puebla, the town of
Vitoria itself and most of villages that were on its
northern, western and southern sides as well as
the low ground surrounding the knoll. Being up
there really tied the threads of the battle together
for us all and made it become very clear.
Left, Colonel Lipscombe describes the scene as
the Baggage Train was intercepted by allied
troops at the bridge at Durana. It was near here
that the 14th Light Dragoons acquired some
decent loot, including the ‘Emperor’.
Our final stand of the day was the bridge at
Durana which, at the end of the battle and, with
the road to France blocked by the allies, was the
route in which the French armies and baggage
train were taking in an effort to escape capture. It
was near this point that the British cavalry,
including the 14th Light Dragoons and the 10th
(Prince of Wales Own) Hussars fell on the French
rearguard and baggage train, halting the pursuit and causing such angst to the French and even
more to Lord Wellington. So close in fact was Joseph to being captured that a Captain Wyndham
of the 10th Hussars actually pulled open one door of the French Commanders coach whilst he was
physically in the act of escaping through the opposite one. It was with some quiet pride that the
three of us KRH present quietly paid our compliments to the men of the 14th Light Dragoons and
the diligence in which they set about their task of some serious looting.
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The Bridge at
Durana
Above, an aerial view of the village of Durana where the 14th Light Dragoons crashed into the
French Baggage Train during the pursuit. This is also where their pursuit ended
Above left, a copy of the famous picture by Beadle showing Robinson’s Brigade of the British 5th
Division assaulting the village of Gamarra Mayor, where some of the fiercest fighting took place
during the battle of Vitoria. Above right, the same view today which is almost timeless.
At the end of this day we had covered some serious ground and had enjoyed ourselves immensely
having had the battle explained to us in such a professional and clear way, now it was time for
dinner. Our artillery colleagues were on a budget and had pre-booked their meals at various
restaurants in Vitoria over the duration of our stay. We in the KRH however had much more
latitude in where we could eat and so had greater choice. What Mr Bretherton and I had not
counted on though was that we had with us ‘Billy Britain ‘Mulcahy, who did not like any of ‘that
foreign muck’; tricky when one is in a non-tourist part of Spain. This dislike of Spanish fodder was
to continue for the duration of his stay but the final irony was when we were walking around Vitoria
Mulks was noting where all the Kebab Houses were so that he could visit them later, hmmm that’s
not very foreign is it?
The next day, the 21st of June and the actual anniversary of the battle, dawned extremely grey and
extremely wet which, although the reader might consider very dreary was to be a blessing in
disguise. The plan was that we would conduct a drumhead service at the top of, yes, you guessed
it, the Knoll of Arinez to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the battle. The wet weather
programme was a much more sedate affair, unchanged from the original plan except it would be
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Above, the 95th Rifles are briefed by the General prior to the Drumhead Service and under some
very modern pylons.
done at the bottom of the Knoll, much more cavalry. We once again boarded the coach driven by
Ray who was still playing ‘Steptoe to Steve’s ‘Son’ and headed back to the knoll where we were to
meet up with the rest of those who would be marking the event.
When we got to the bottom of the Knoll of Arinez I think all of us were surprised as to how many
people had turned up to take part in the Service. As well as Colonel Lipscombe and Professor
Esdaile there was the honoured guest, who was the current Duke of Wellingtons son, the
Marquess of Douro & El Duque de Cuidad Rodrigo, (who being in a suit had no intention of
clambering up a wet knoll). Also present was Commander Charles Fremantle who is the great,
great grandson of Major John Fremantle an ADC of Wellington’s and the man who carried the
Baton of the French Commander, Marshal Jourdan, back to the Prince Regent in England,
proclaiming the victory at Vitoria.
To add an authentic feel to the drumhead service a large number of re-enactors also attended the
service and represented the 95th Rifles, Some French Infantry, Scottish Highlanders and even a
British General. Not to be outdone, the ladies of the time were also represented with a decent
smattering of ‘baggage’ in period dress; in all there was around 200 of us who took part. The
service itself was conducted by Reverend Stephen Fletcher and, following some readings, hymns
and prayers, wreaths were laid by Major Rob Alston and Commander Fremantle which was then
followed by the last post and a minute’s silence which was ended by volley fire from both the 95
Rifles and their French Counterparts. It was a moving and extremely fitting way to remember the
2000 soldiers who died on both sides during the battle of Vitoria as well as the 8000 who were
wounded, many of who were to die later from their wounds.
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Above, two wreaths lie at the bottom of the Knoll of Arinez to remember the men on both sides who
were killed in the battle, as well as the local civilians, men, women and children many of who were
also killed or suffered in another way during and after the battle.
Our next engagement was in the actual town of Vitoria itself where the civil authorities were to lay a
wreath (or Ofrenda Floral) at the base of the large and impressive Vitoria Battle Memorial that is
located in the town’s main square. It must be said that more of an effort could have been made by
the authorities, especially as the town views the battle as their personal liberation from French
dictatorship, All of the signs that proclaimed this and more around the town and even on the livery
of the busses lent itself to the suggestion that the commemoration would be a good one. The fact
that it wasn’t is perhaps that money was a factor, as Spain is still suffering a great deal from the
global recession. This was a fact that we could not ignore because there was a demonstration
against the money that had been spent in the main square, at the same time as the
commemorations. Nevertheless the ceremony went ahead and we soldiers formed one side of an
open square to witness the event.
What we were not expecting was the ceremony to start with a very lithe young chap who
performed some Elizabethan type dancing with lots of bows, kicks and deft movements. Exactly
what this had to do with the battle of Vitoria was certainly lost on us and we were left wondering if
we should throw some coins at his feet!!! Once we had been treated to this display of abstract
dancing the wreath was laid jointly by various luminaries including the British Ambassador to
Spain, Giles Paxman (brother of journalist cum Pit-bull, Jeremy Paxman).
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Above left, the impressive Vitoria Memorial and right, a typical street in Vitoria’s old quarter.
With the formal ceremonies over we were placed in the good care of an individual that we knew
only as ‘Pancho’, he is a local historian and guide and if I don’t miss my guess doubled as an Elvis
impersonator when he wasn’t conducting tours of Vitoria and the battlefield. When I asked him
what Vitoria’s part in the Spanish Civil War was and how the area was affected he seemed very
proud to tell me how Vitoria hosted and looked after Nazi Germany’s Condor Legion, some of who
flew and operated out of the local airfield.
Pancho gave us all an excellent tour around the town of Vitoria (enabling Cpl Mulcahy to note
down the locations of more Kebab Houses). Of particular interest was the old town of Vitoria which,
in the main, is largely as it was in the 19th century at the time of the battle. The old quarter has an
extremely novel way of waste disposal in the form of small disposal points on street corners where
citizens can open a flap and insert their bag of household waste. Then it’s then just a matter of
pulling a lever and the whole lot is sucked away at great speed to emerge at the collection point
two miles outside the town. Finally on this day (and with some relief as we had been on our feet for
a fair part of it) we were given free access to the excellent military museum in Vitoria which has a
large section dedicated to the battle.
This then concluded the KRH involvement in the battlefield tour and commemorations of the Battle
of Vitoria. Not only had we been hosted in exemplary style by Colonel Lipscombe and Professor
Esdaile but also by Major Rob Alston and the officers and men of 97 Bty (Lawson’s Company) 4th
Regiment RA. All that was left for us to do now was spend another night in the very pleasant town
and then make our way back to Santander where we would spend the day before heading back to
Blighty on the 2015 ferry. It had been a fantastic few days for the three of us and I would
thoroughly recommend it to everyone.
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Be rude not to...............
41
THE CAPTURE OF
GENERAL WILHELM JOSEF Ritter von THOMA
BY CAPTAIN GRANT ALLEN SINGER
10TH ROYAL HUSSARS
4TH NOVEMBER 1942
Researched and Written by Wayne Price
Second Edition
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By September 1942 the war had been raging in North Africa for nearly two years, ever since the
11th Hussars had fired those first shots in 1940, and broken through the wire that separated British
administered Egypt and Italian controlled Libya. Initially the British and commonwealth troops,
(known as the ‘allies’ and, prior to the USA getting into the war, consisted mainly of British,
Canadian, ANZAC, South African and Polish forces), enjoyed a good deal of success against the
Italians, many of who were less than enthusiastic about Mussolini and his fascist Black-shirts. It
wasn’t long before Hitler realised that he was going have to stiffen the Italians resolve and sent to
the Western Desert the newly formed Deutches Afrika Korps under the command of General Erwin
Rommel. Since then and in successive offensives, the allied and the axis forces had in turn
advanced and withdrawn across the inhospitable terrain of sand and solid bedrock. With the
scorching heat in the summer, freezing temperatures of the winter, lack of water, impenetrable
sand storms, abundance of flies and many other afflictions, the desert was a thankless place to
wage war. But, for a long time it was the only place that the allies were actively fighting on the
ground against the German and Italian forces, therefore and because of that, the world was
watching, it was vital the allies won.
It has often been said that the war in the desert was a chivalrous affair with both sides respecting
the other, as well as the rules that govern civilized warfare. If you read enough accounts of the
desert war it is easy to lose yourself amongst the romanticism that often sits among the facts.
Images of British officers sheltering under a parasol that had been ‘liberated’ from one of the more
swish cabarets in Cairo, whilst writing a letter home and listening to Marlene Dietrich singing on a
dusty gramophone may have comforted the wives and mothers at home, but it didn’t fool those in
the desert. The reality was much grimmer, water was always scarce and when it was to be had it
was rationed, hot and brackish.
Cuts and sores would fester in the desert and would be made worse by the absolute myriad flies
that were Omni-present on the body and in food and no doubt eventually in the mind. The heat of
the summer was crippling enough without wrapping yourself in the many tons of armoured vehicles
which added enormously to the heat with its electronic boxes, guns and engine. The sand and dust
was as unbearable as it was everywhere, nothing in the desert escaped a layer and it clogged the
throats and noses of the men who were fighting.
Whilst it may be true that in the main both sides tried to fight as decent a war as it could (after all,
weren’t the enemy suffering as much from the conditions as we were), it cannot be said that this
particular theatre of war, or any theatre of any war in general is gentlemanly or ever entirely
honourable. It is without doubt that some atrocities or unnecessary killings were committed on both
sides during the campaign, as generally this is always the case in war. We would also be naive in
the extreme if we thought that the killing and destruction was prosecuted with any less force by
either the allies or axis forces as it was anywhere else in the war, the numerous cemeteries left in
the wake of the desert war would vouch for that.
Due to the nature of the terrain in the North African campaign and the vast area that it was fought
over, it was, by necessity, a war of movement and therefore it was a war dominated by the tank. A
tanks primary role in war is to destroy the opposition’s tanks and the 10th Royal Hussars were one
of the armoured (tank) regiments in the allied order of battle.
There are many ways to destroy a tank, mines or anti-tank artillery will do the trick, a tank however
has two main ways that it will attempt the same effect itself. The first is to fire a high explosive (HE)
shell at the enemy tank; this will explode on the outside of the turret and send shockwaves through
the metal causing a ‘scab’ to form on the inside of the turret. This scab can be anything from a few
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inches in diameter to a few foot, it will spin at an incredible speed around the fighting compartment
within the turret and do incredible damage, to anyone and anything inside the vehicle. In all
likelihood it will also cause the tank to burn. The second way to destroy a tank was to fire an
armour-piercing (AP) round at your adversary. An AP round travels at stupefying velocities (the
modern day version being one and a half miles per second). The AP round will strike the outside of
the tank and, using its energy, punch a hole through the armour and pass into the vehicle itself.
Inside, still travelling incredibly fast it creates a huge overpressure that literally turns human flesh
into a mush as well as anything else within the tank. The incredible energy also causes a flash fire
which will gut the vehicle. This then is the ‘chivalrous and ‘gentlemanly’ war that the tanks of the
10th Royal Hussars (10RH) and the rest of the belligerent forces were fighting in the desert of North
Africa in 1942.
(Above)This watercolour was painted a few days after the action that saw the capture of
General von Thoma by the Belgian Liaison Officer for the 10RH, Major Henri Le Grand,
DSO.
By the early autumn of 1942 the North African campaign was in its final stages and was once again
going in the favour of the allies who had been rejuvenated by the arrival of General Bernard
Montgomery who, although has been much criticised since the war, only attacked when he was
sure of the plan. Early September had seen the British launch, and win, the battle of Alam Halfa
which had secured the allied position at Alamein. As the official history of the 10RH at war
explained:
“It was the beginning of the end of the Axis forces not only in Egypt but also in the whole of the
North African continent. The stage was now becoming set for the final act at Alamein. Act one had
been the original halting of the enemy’s pursuit from Knightsbridge; Act two the battle which has
just been described (Alam Halfa); and act three was to be the battle of Alamein”.
At its rest area of Khataba the 10RH were re-equipped with two Squadrons (Sqn’s) of the new
Sherman Tank, these were allocated to A and C Sqn’s with B Sqn retaining the less popular and
under-gunned Crusader. Also arriving at the 10RH was the twelve Dingo Scout Car’s that were to
form the newly introduced Close Reconnaissance Troop (Recce Troop) of whom Captain Grant
Singer was to be its first Troop Leader.
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There now followed a brief period of re-organisation and extensive re-training for the 10RH,
especially in the art of gunnery to take into account and to maximise on the advantages in this field
that the American 75mm gun that was mounted on the Sherman offered.
The newly formed Recce Troop also needed some time so that they could work out how they were
going to operate both in terms of locating and reporting the enemy as well as in close cooperation
with the tanks, of who Recce Troop acted as the eyes and ears. There then began rehearsals for
the next attack which was to become known as the Battle of El Alamein and its successful outcome
would be heralded by Winston Churchill as, ‘Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of
the end. but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning’.
At this time the Commanding Officer of the 10RH was Lt Colonel J. P. Archer-Shee MC with Major
A. D. R Wingfield as his second in command. The Sabre Sqn’s were commanded by, Major D.R.B
Kaye (A Sqn), Major R.M. Millbanke MC (B Sqn) and Major G.H. Errington (C Sqn). HQ Sqn was
commanded by Major N.D. Charrington.
On the night of the 19th/20th of October 1942 the 10RH tanks made their way to the assembly area
at Alum Shalut to join their HQ element and B Echelon that had travelled there during the daylight
hours. During two final days of fine-tuning the vehicles and equipment, the regiment was joined by
the other elements that made up the 10RH Battle Group, these consisted of:
B Battery 11th Royal Horse Artillery (HAC)
2nd Troop, 1st Field Squadron, the Royal Engineers
C Squadron, the Yorkshire Dragoons (infantry)
Two troops of D Squadron, the Yorkshire Dragoons (anti-tank guns)
On the eve of this momentous battle the men of the 10RH Battle group were given their orders for
the task ahead, they were in brief;
(a) A deception plan to induce the enemy to believe that the main attack was falling on the
southern sector.
(b) A holding attack by XIII Corps in the South.
(c) The main attack by the XXX Corps in the north and just to the south of the coast road.
(d) A break-out by X Corps (1st and 10th Armoured Divisions) through the XXX Corps area. This
break-out was to have as its final objective the Kidney and Miteireya Ridges; and on these
it was proposed to receive the counter-attack expected from the two German Panzer
Divisions which at the moment were split between the northern and southern sectors. This
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first objective, which lay some eight thousand yards beyond the start line, was to be
reached before first light on the 24th of October.
(e) The battle was to open with a preliminary bombardment at 2200hrs on the 23rd of October.
By the end of the first phase of the attack the 10RH had already lost six Sherman’s totally
destroyed and a number of others damaged, mostly by mines, but repairable. In terms of men they
had lost one officer killed and five other ranks3, and also six officers, including the Commanding
Officer and 19 other ranks wounded. In return the regiment had completely destroyed 27 German
and Italian tanks and disabled a further 15. In addition they had destroyed two 88mm Guns, two
76mm guns, 10 anti-tank guns, three self-propelled guns and nine Lorries. On the 29th of October,
after four days hard fighting, the regiment was stood down for a short rest. Whilst they were resting
and refitting they also took over some replacement Sherman’s, in readiness for the next phase
which was to be called Operation Supercharge. The official history of the 10RH during WW2
describes this short lull:
“At 1730 hrs, on the next day, the 30th of October, the 1st Armoured Division was ordered back a
further six miles to Springbok Road, in order to make room for the 2nd New Zealand Division, which
was to attack in front of us in the immediate future. The Regiment was bombed on the completion
of this move, but luckily without casualties.
On the 31st of October we received orders that an attack would be made at first light on the next
day. This attack was, however, postponed for twenty-four hours and instead, the Regiment took
over a number of Sherman tanks from the 24th Armoured Brigade, which was being disbanded
after its heavy casualties on the 28th of October. We were again bombed in the night, and again
escaped casualties.
The 1st of November was spent in resting and preparing for the final phase of the battle to be
known as ‘Operation Supercharge’, which was to be launched the next day. Some managed to
obtain a quick bath in the Mediterranean to remove the grime of battle, while all secured the
maximum amount of rest before the impending effort”
After the 24 hour delay Supercharge was launched at 0200 on the 2nd of November 1942 and the
10RH, led by Captain Singer and his Recce Troop, moved to their position on the left of 2nd
Armoured Brigade and crossed the start line which was known as ‘Two Bars Track’ at 0600 on the
2nd. During the early stages of the battle the CO, Lt Col Archer-Shee, mistook a Sqn of enemy
tanks for those of his B Sqn, he drove towards them to pass on some orders that he had been
unable to pass on through his radio which was not working. Archer-Shee was only five hundred
yards away when, realising his mistake he turned tail and ran. But it was too late, his tank was hit
and set on fire, luckily he was able to escape with his crew and no casualties. This was the second
time that Archer-Shee had brushed with death during the past week, he was soon to be evacuated
from the battlefield after suffering fainting fits as a result of a hand wound turning sceptic.
By 0900 on the 4th of November and after suffering further casualties, including a much loved
Troop leader, Lt Norman Watson who was killed by an airburst artillery shell, the 10RH were still
advancing in the vanguard of the 2nd Armoured Division with the 9th Lancers close behind to the
right, and the Bays rear and right. This formation dashed forward 4,000 yards destroying an 88mm
gun and some Lorries before being held up by a number of German tanks and anti-tank guns
which had to be dealt with. Six more enemy tanks were knocked out by the 10RH and the advance
46
continued again until being held up once more by even more anti-tank guns which, in many ways
were worse than a tank because of their small size but also because of their huge killing potential.
At the same time Grant Singer and his Recce Troop were moving in
the forward areas collecting prisoners from the destroyed German
tanks. During the sharp engagement with these tanks Captain
Singer had spotted one of them moving to a flank, he approached
one of the C Squadron tanks which was commanded by a friend of
Singer’s and a fellow 10th Hussar, Captain Richard Keane(pictured
right), who was Second in Command of the Squadron; Singer
pointed out the threat. Captain Keane instructed his gunner to
engage the target which was hit by an Armour Piercing round and
caught fire. It was on seeing this that Captain Singer went forward
to capture any crew that bailed out of the stricken German tank.
As he approached the German tank its commander, who had got
out of the burning vehicle, started walking towards Singer with his hands raised. Grabbing a
Thompson sub-machine gun, Singer dismounted from his Daimler and took the German prisoner.
This was no ordinary prisoner though; this was the acting Commander of the German Afrika Korps,
General Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma. Von Thoma had decided to go forward to see for himself to
what extent the allies had broken through so that he could convince Rommel that the German and
Italian forces were in dire trouble. Instead he had met the 10RH, his tank had been knocked out,
and he had been captured.
Captain Singer was ordered to take Von Thoma back to Brigade Headquarters, then to
Montgomery’s HQ where he remained for the night, before re-joining his Troop and the regiment at
0700 the following day; the 5th of November. After some hasty orders the regiment moved off again
with Singer and his Troop, as usual, leading the way to the first bound which was a raised piece of
ground called the Bir-Wagda.
(Left), Captain Grant
Singer (in peaked
cap) and his driver,
Trooper Hyatt,
pictured at 2nd
Armoured Brigades
Headquarters just
after they had
arrived to drop off
General von Thoma.
Von Thoma was
later sent back to
General
Montgomery’s own
HQ, see front cover.
As Recce Troop reached this feature they came across an 88mm gun that was being limbered up
by its crew for a hasty withdrawal, but they were too late, they quickly surrendered to Singer and
were sent back down the line as prisoners of war. There was no time to stop now and the
regimental second in command arrived on the Bir-Wagda and ordered the advance to continue to
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the next bound which was the feature at Daba. Major Wingfield was in temporary command of the
10RH at the time because Lt Colonel Archer-Shee had already been evacuated and was being
treated for a wound to his hand that he had received during his encounter with the German tanks
earlier in the battle.
Recce Troop now advanced a further four hundred yards with B Sqn behind, just leaving the BirWagda feature. As Recce moved forward a second, and as yet unseen German 88mm gun
opened fire hitting two armoured cars of Recce Troop and one of the B Sqn tanks. One of those
Armoured Cars that was destroyed was that of Captain Grant Singer’s, it ripped the vehicle apart
and killed Singer and his driver, 25 year old Trooper George Hyatt instantly. On being told of
Singer’s death, Von Thoma was greatly upset and requested permission to write to his widow
personally. This request was granted by Montgomery and a letter was duly sent to Singer’s widow
Daphne. The official history of the 10RH at war recorded the death of Captain Singer:
“The loss of Captain Singer, who had returned from being ADC to Lieutenant-General Willoughby
Norrie to fight with the regiment at Alamein, was particularly tragic. He had commanded the newly
formed Reconnaissance Troop with conspicuous gallantry and cheerfulness throughout the hard
dog-fight, and was just striking his true element in leading the advance in mobile warfare. This
advance had started with his capture of a German Corps Commander”.
(Above), General von Thoma climbs out of Captain Grant Singer’s Scout car at
General Montgomery’s Headquarters.
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Captain Grant Allen Singer
Grant Allen Singer was born in on the 2nd of June 1915, but for reasons that
are unknown his birth mother gave him up for adoption and he was adopted
by Eileen Singer, (nee Longsdon) and her husband, now Grant’s father,
Washington Merrit Grant Singer. The Singer family, who were from America,
was very wealthy, in no small part from their (now) world famous sewing
machine company. Grant’s adoptive Grandfather, Isaac had been a colourful
character, variously described as an actor, an inventor and an entrepreneur. It was Isaac that had
originally set up the Singer Sewing Machine Company and set the family on its way to making a
fortune. Isaac was also it seems a hit with the ladies and he married a number of times fathering
over 20 children; some legitimate others not so. One of his legitimate sons was Grant’s father
Washington and, due to the family’s wealth, throughout his life Washington lived by his own means
apparently never actually having employment, but being listed as a landowner on myriad
passenger lists as he travelled extensively around the world. Washington had been married
previously to Blanche but that marriage had ended in divorce. Eileen and Washington were
married in 1915, less than a year before they adopted Grant.
During his early life Grant also travelled extensively, not least within the UK where his father owned
properties in London, Devon, Suffolk and the main family home at Normans Court, West Tytherley
near Salisbury which he purchased in 1906. As a young adult Grant travelled around the rest of the
world including America, Indonesia, Europe and Africa. Grant’s father had died on the 11th of
February 1934 at his home, Steartfield House near Torquay and had left an estate worth
£1,018,018. 11s 7d (the equivalent of 61 million pounds in 2013). This meant that Grant had no
need of seeking fulltime employment and it is highly likely that he took over the looking after his
father’s estates and interests around the world, which were extensive. Washington was also a
generous benefactor to Exeter University which to this day has a building (the Psychology
Department) named after him.
Grant was married in August 1937 to Daphne
Helen Travers, who was born in India. Her father
Francis Travers was a successful businessman
in Bombay as well as an accomplished cricketer,
playing at first class level for the ‘Europeans’ in
the Indian league between 1920 and 1929. Grant
and Daphne moved into the Normans Court
estate and used this as their marital home.
Left, the entry in the Times edition of September
15th 1937 describing the marriage of Grant Singer
and Daphne Travers.
When war broke out Grant joined the army,
initially the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry (he may
already have been a member before the war),
before transferring to the 10th Royal Hussars,
joining them just after they arrived back from
France following the Dunkirk evacuation in June
1940. The 10RH had only been in France for a
49
mere three weeks or so but had suffered serious casualties, mostly at the battle of Huppy where
the regiment lost the vast majority of their tanks to murderous anti-tank fire. In fact the 10RH had
returned to England without any of their vehicles and in the latter stages of that campaign had
been used as infantry.
Following a period of training and re-equipping the 10RH were sent out to North Africa to take part
in that campaign. Grant Singer, now a Captain, was detached from the regiment to take up the
post of Aide-de-Camp to Lt General Willoughby Norrie (also a 10th Hussar) at XXX Corps
Headquarters. Grant returned to the 10RH whilst they were resting at Khataba in early September
1942 to take up command as the Troop leader of the newly formed Recce Troop.
On the 4th of November 1942 (as detailed above) Grant captured General Wilhelm Ritter von
Thoma, it was an incredible achievement and was celebrated across the Allied forces. The next
day, Grant and his driver Trooper George Hyatt were once again probing forward trying to make
contact with the enemy. Their Dingo armoured car was spotted by the Germans and was hit by an
88mm shell which tore their little vehicle apart and killed both Grant and Hyatt. Grant Singer is
buried at the El Alamein war Cemetery, whilst George Hyatt, who was from Cliff Vale Stoke-onTrent is remembered on the Alamein Memorial. There is also a Memorial to Captain Singer in the
church at West Tytherley, where the Normans Court Estate lies, just outside Salisbury
Above, detail from the painting by David Shepherd of the capture of von Thoma. This
painting hangs in the office of the Commanding Officer of the King’s Royal Hussars.
Daphne was to remarry twice in her lifetime, firstly to Lt Col Noel M. H. Wall and then later to Major
Dermot Ralph Daly. She sold the Normans Court Estate in 1952 when it became a preparatory
school. Daphne died on the 5th of July 1968 in Oxfordshire. After his father’s death, Grant’s mother
did not remarry, Ellen died at Westminster in April 1955.
General Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma
Wilhelm Josef Ritter von Thoma was born in Dachau just outside the Bavarian
city of Munich in 1891. He attended the Ludwigs-Gymnasium in Munich from
1903 until 1912 when he graduated and joined the Royal Bavarian Army on the
23rd of September 1912 with the rank of ‘Fahnenjunker, the equivilent in the
British army of an Officer Cadet. His chosen regiment was called the Bavarian
3rdInfanterie-regiment ‘Prinz Karl von Bayern’.
On the outbreak of WW1 von Thoma went with his regiment to the western Front where, on the
25th of September 1914 he was wounded by a bullet graze to the head whilst serving on the
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Somme front. The wound was not serious and he remained with his men receiving treatment on
the front line. A few days after this wound he was ordered to assume command of the 11th
Company of his regiment which he did so until he was wounded again, this time more seriously by
shrapnel to his right elbow.
In January 1915 his regiment was moved to the eastern front and he became the adjutant, being
based in Galicia. Von Thoma and his regiment saw much action on this front and were
instrumental in the capture of Brest Litovsk. Von Thoma was also to see action in Serbia that year
when he was seconded to the Austro-Hungarian army to assist them in their campaign against
Serbian forces. It was during this campaign that von Thoma was again wounded, this time by a
bullet to the chest.
Following treatment for his latest wound von Thoma was once again sent to the Western front and
took part in the epic struggle against the French at Verdun.
He then travelled east again, fighting in Romania and taking
part in the German and Austro-Hungarian defence after the
Russians launched their ‘Brusilov’ offensive. It was during
this action on the 5th of July 1916, that the then Leutnant
von Thoma performed an act of bravery that earned him the
Knights Cross of the Bavarian Military Max Joseph Order,
the highest award for bravery that the Bavarian army could
bestow. Von Thoma was now withdrawn from front line
service to attend a series of courses.
He returned to the Western front on the 25th of April 1918
and was almost immediately wounded yet again, this time
in the wrist by a grenade fragment whilst taking part in the
battle of Kemmel. Once again he was treated for his wound
and returned to active duty as the commander of the
Machine Gun Company before, on the 14th of May 1918 he
was appointed the Commanding Officer of his regiments 1st
Battalion. Von Thoma was captured on the 18th of July
1918 by elements of the US 1st Infantry Division whilst
conducting a vicious defence during the Aisne-Marne counter offensive. He remained a prisoner
until the 27th of October 1919.
At the start of the Second World War, von Thoma, (who had by now also seen action in the
Spanish Civil War), was one of the first into action with Rudolf Veiel’s 2nd Panzer Division. He
served with distinction throughout the Polish campaign and received the 1939 Bar to the two Iron
crosses that he had won during the First World War. He was then appointed commander of the
Panzer Regiment 3 with the rank of Colonel before further promotion to Brigadier saw him take
over command of the 17th Panzer Division on the Eastern Front. Von Thoma was well known for
being a cool and level headed commander, Generaloberst Heinz Guderian wrote of von Thoma in
his memoires, ‘Panzer Leader’ that von Thoma was;
“…..one of our most senior and experienced panzer officers; he had been famous for his icy calm
and exceptional bravery both in the First World War and in Spain and he was to prove his ability
once again”
51
Von Thoma was to remain on the eastern front until mid-1942 finishing off as the Commander of
the 20th Panzer Division. In August of 1942 he was transferred to North Africa and given command
of the Deutches Afrika Korps in place of General-der-Panzertruppe Walter Nehring who had been
wounded by a British aircraft that had bombed his vehicle during the battle of Alam el Halfa.
General-Feldtmarschall Erwin Rommel was also en-route back to North Africa to assume
command of all Axis forces after being on convalescence leave in Germany. He arrived back in
Africa on the 25th of October 1942.
When the decisive battle of El Alamein started on the 23rd of October 1942 von Thoma was now a
Lieutenant General. The battle was going extremely well for the allied forces and Rommel was
worried enough to start preparing to move his forces back into Libya. Hitler however had other
ideas and he ordered that the DAK was to stand fast, and fight in positions that they already held,
he finished his order with the words “As to your troops, you can show them no other way than that
to victory or death”. Von Thoma called this order “madness” and decided to go forward himself to
see the battle at close quarters. It was whilst he was conducting this forward movement that his
tank was hit and he was captured by the 10RH, specifically Captain Grant Singer.
Rommel was to say that in his opinion von Thoma was attempting to seek his death in battle, whilst
other officers of the DAK speculated that he had deliberately gone forward in an attempt to be
taken prisoner. Von Thoma was to later have dinner with General Montgomery where they
discussed the battle. He was recorded as saying that “I was staggered at the exactness of his
(Montgomery’s) knowledge, he seemed to know as much about our position as I did”.
Von Thoma was to remain a prisoner for the rest of the war and for a few years afterwards. He was
held in a number of camps for high ranking Germans including, Trent Park, Grizedale Hall and
Wilton Park. It was whilst he was at Wilton Park that he had a leg amputated at Cardiff and was
fitted for an artificial limb. He was popular amongst the camp staff and had a good rapport with his
captors including Winston Churchill who held him in high regard, once commenting:
“I sympathize with General von Thoma; defeated, in captivity and……(long pause for dramatic
effect) dinner with Montgomery.”
General Wilhelm von Thoma was released from captivity on the 25th of November 1947 and died
just a few months later of a heart attack at his home in Söcking, Germany.
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Army Welfare Service
Summer Activities 2013
Community Development Team
Amy Pugh
The Beeches, Bulford
Tel: 07785357065
Emma Link
Larkhill Community Centre
Tel: 07900262106
Colin Wheaton
Ordnance House, Tidworth
Tel: 07769878874
63
Joyce Stretton
TLC, Tidworth
Tel: 07810771630
LARKHILL
JULY
Mon 29
10:00 – 12:00
13:00 – 15:00
16:00 – 17:30
Tues 30
Wed 31
10:00 - 12:00
14:00 – 16:00
09:00 – 18:00
Sharp Hall – Pre-school to School Yr 2 multi-activity
session
Sharp Hall – School Yr 3 plus multi-activity session
Upavon Community Centre drop in – School Yr 1-6 multiactivity session (School Yr 1 must be accompanied by an
adult)
Sharp Hall – Pre-school to school yr 2 multi-activity
Friendship Park/Muga – Play in the Park multi-act
Weymouth – Family and Youth Club day out – open to all
those that attend groups.
£1 per child
£1 per child
£1 per child
£1 per child
£4 per seat
AUGUST
Thur 1
10:00 – 12:00
13:00 – 15:00
16:00 – 17:30
Mon 5
10:00 – 12:00
13:00 – 15:00
16:00 – 17:30
Tues 6
Wed 7
Sharp Hall – Pre-school to School Yr 2 multi-activity
Sharp Hall - School Yr 3 Plus multi-activity
Upavon Community Centre drop in session multi-activity
Sharp Hall – Pre-school to School Yr 2 multi-activity
Sharp Hall – School Yr 3 Plus multi-activity
Upavon Community Centre drop in – School Yr 1-6 multiactivity session (School Yr 1 must be accompanied by an
adult)
10:00 – 12:00
Sharp Hall – Pre-school to School Yr 2 multi-activity
14:00 – 16:00
Friendship Park/Muga – Play in the Park multi-activity,
open to all
HORSE RIDING FOR BEGINNERS AT THE STABLES
Thur 8
10:00 – 12:00
13:00 – 15:00
16:00 – 17:30
Wed 21
10:00 – 12:00
13:00 – 15:00
16:00 – 17:30
Sharp Hall – Pre-school to School Yr 2 multi-activity
Sharp Hall – School Yr 3 Plus multi-activity
Upavon Community Centre drop in – School Yr 7 plus
multi-activity
Sharp Hall – Pre-school to School Yr 2 multi-activity
Sharp Hall – School Yr 3 Plus multi-activity
Upavon Community Centre drop in – School Yr 1-6 multi-
£1 per child
£1 per child
£1 per young
person
£1 per child
£1 per child
£1 per child
£1 per child
£1 per child
£1 per child
£1 per young
person
£1 per child
£1 per child
£1 per child
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Thur 22
Fri 23
Mon 27
to
Thur 30
activity session
(School Yr 1 must be accompanied by an adult)
10:00 – 12:00
Sharp Hall – Pre-school to School Yr 2 multi-activity
14:00 – 16:00
Friendship Park/Muga – Play in the Park multi-activity,
open to all
10:00 – 12:00
Sharp Hall – Pre-school to School Yr 2 multi-activity
13:00 – 15:00
Sharp Hall – School Yr 3 Plus multi-activity
16:00 – 17:30
Upavon Community Centre drop in – School Yr 7 Plus
multi-activity
SAME PROGRAMME AS WEEK BEGINNING 5TH AUGUST
£1 per child
£1 per child
£1 per child
£1 per child
TIDWORTH LEISURE CENTRE (TLC)
ORDNANCE HOUSE (OH)
JULY
Sat 6
OH
Sun 7
Sat 13
Sat 26
Sun 27
Mon 28
Wed 31
OH
OH
OH
OH
TLC
Forum Summer Fair Senior Leadership
Preparation Day
Ordnance House Summer Fair
Drift Car Project Fundraising Day at Tesco
Residential Beeches Centre Positive
Activities
 Drift Car Project car day
 Swim and ice-skating for 8-10/11 yrs
£7.50 per child plus
lunch money
AUGUST
Thur 1
Fri 2
Sat 3
Tues 6
Mon 5
Tues 6
Wed 7
Thur 8
Fri 9
14:00-16:00
OH
TLC


OH
TLC
TLC
 Photography project
 Residential Windmill Hill, T2A
Kombat Kids
Volleyball at Tedworth House
 Bush-Craft week 5-8 yrs (with senior
helpers)
 Bush-Craft (as above)
 Bush-Craft (as above)
 Residential Level 1 Leadership
 Bush-Craft (as above)
 Residential Level 1 Leadership
 Bush-Craft (as above)
OH
OH
OH
OH
OH
OH
OH
Photography project
Swim and ice-skating for T2A
£7.50 per child plus
lunch money
Tidworth Mums
65
OH
Mon-Fri
Incl.
Sat 10
Sun 11Sun 19
Incl.
Fri 27
Sat 28
Sun 29
Mon 30
5-8 Aug
10:00-11:30
TLC
13:00-14:30
15:30-17:00
14:00-16:00
TLC
TLC
SALISBURY PLAIN
TBC
TBC
TBC

Residential Level 1 Leadership
Morning multi sports to coincide with any
Cheeky Monkeys sessions for 5-8 yrs
Afternoon multi sports for 8-12 yrs
Late afternoon multi sports at Perham Down
£2.00 per session
£2.00 per session
Kombat Kids
RESIDENTIAL SPAIN
FIXERS DVD PRODUCTION
CARNIVAL WORKSHOPS
WWT Activities with Generation Plain and
Joyce Stretton
4 days Bikeability
THE BEECHES, BULFORD
JULY
Mon 1
12:00-14:00
Mon 8
Sun 14
12:00-14:00
11:30-14:30
Mon 15
Mon 22
Mon 29
Tues 30
Wed 31
12:00-14:00
12:00-14:00
12:00 start
12:00 finish
Boarders – building relationships with other young
people from boarding school and building relationships
with staff to ensure more chances for future
residentials.
Boarders
Wildplay in the park- Netheravon
Boarders
Boarders
CampOut! – For children going into Yrs 4,5 and 6 in
September. Tent skills, games, camp fire and camping
Day out to Weymouth with Larkhill
FREE FAMILY
EVENT
YRS 4, 5 AND 6
AUGUST
Thur 1
12:00–15:00
Mon 5
Tues 6
Wed 7
Thur 8
Mon 12
Tues 13
Wed 14
Thur 15
Fri 16
10:00-14:00
12:00-16:00
Forest Activities and Fun - Capture theFlag, camp
fire and more! Wear old clothes and shoes!
Activities – Forest Play, Messy Games, Potted
Sports, Crafts and more! Bring a packed lunch
and wear old clothes and shoes!
Messy Games
Ages 11-16
Ages 7-11
Ages 11-16
Free!! Look out for
posters…
Generation Plain Holiday Club
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Important Numbers
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Salisbury District Hospital
SSAFA
Bulford Group Practice
Samaritans
Confidential Help Line
Army Welfare Service (AWS)
Army families Advice Bureau
Army families Federation
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Defence Estates Warminster
Accommodation Support Unit
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