W E L S H G U A R D S · number checks and television glory, the Battalion has steadily built itself back into fighting shape. Number Three Company had an outstanding exercise in

R E G I M E N T A L M A G A Z I N E 2 0 1 0

WELSH�GUARDS

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WELSH GUARDSREGIMENTAL MAGAZINE

2010

COLONEL-IN-CHIEFHer Majesty The Queen

COLONEL OF THE REGIMENTHis Royal Highness The Prince of Wales

KG KT GCB OM AK QSO PC ADC

REGIMENTAL LIEUTENANT COLONELBrigadier R H Talbot Rice

REGIMENTAL ADJUTANTColonel (Retd) T C S Bonas BA

ASSISTANT REGIMENTAL ADJUTANT

Major (Retd) K F Oultram

*REGIMENTAL HEADQUARTERS

Wellington Barracks, Birdcage Walk,London, SW1E 6HQ

Contact Regimental Headquarters by Email:[email protected]

View the Regimental Website atwww.army.mod.uk/welshguards

*AFFILIATIONS

5th/7th Battalion The Royal Australian RegimentHMS Campbeltown

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WELSH GUARDS REGIMENTAL MAGAZINE

CONTENTSFOREWORDRegimental Lieutenant Colonel .................................................. 3By The Commanding Officer 1st Bn Welsh Guards ..................................................................... 4

1ST BATTALION WELSH GUARDSThe Prince of Wales’s Company .................................................. 5Number Two Company ................................................................. 8Number Three Company ............................................................ 12Support Company ....................................................................... 15Headquarter Company .............................................................. 18

REGIMENTAL BANDBand Write Up .............................................................................. 23Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme .................................... 26

REGIMENTAL BAND EVENTSHeroes Return Tour of 3 Cities .................................................. 27Ex Cockney Lark 4 ........................................................................ 28A Look at the Australian Army Band Corps ........................... 29My First Band Tour ....................................................................... 31

DISTRIBUTION OF OFFICERS .................................................. 33

DISTRIBUTION OF WARRANT OFFICERS ............................ 35

HONOURS AND AWARDS ....................................................... 36

BATTALION EVENTS1st Bn Welsh Guards Rugby ...................................................... 371st Bn Welsh Guards Football .................................................. 38Battalions Home Coming Parade & Kape Tour ...................... 39

BATTALION TRAINING/OPERATIONSCambrian Patrol ........................................................................... 42

THE BATTALION IN KENYAEx Askari Thunder ....................................................................... 44A Company Commander’s Perspective on the CALFEX ExAskari Thunder IV ........................................................................ 46A Platoon Commander’s Perspective Ex Askari Spartan ........................................................................ 49

WELSH GUARDS AFGHANISTAN APPEALBrigadier PRG Williams DL Report ............................................ 54Glanusk Polo ................................................................................. 56Afghanistan Appeal Dinner combined Biennial RugbyDinner 2011 ................................................................................... 58

RECRUITING/TRAININGRegimental Recruiting ................................................................ 61Regimental Support Team ......................................................... 63

BATTLEFIELD TOURSNormandy ..................................................................................... 64

ASSOCIATION EVENTSImber Court ................................................................................... 66Association Golf ........................................................................... 68

INDIVIDUAL ARTICLES2737811 Guardsman Wright ..................................................... 70Commemorative Service – Swansea ....................................... 72Jock Lewes ..................................................................................... 73The Welsh Guards 3000 ............................................................. 74GSM Mott ....................................................................................... 75Holywell Cadet Centre ................................................................ 78An Honourable Badge of Service ............................................. 79Breaking and Entering ............................................................... 80I’ve also been to the top of Kilimanjaro .................................. 81Colours and Battle Honours ..................................................... 85Company Colours ........................................................................ 871st Bn Welsh Guards Light Aid Detachment REME .............. 90A Unique Household Division Association Welcome .......... 91Commeration of Lt Col R Thorneloe MBE ................................ 91Welsh Guards Run – Arabia ...................................................... 92Remembrance Service Address byBrigadier P R G Williams DL ........................................................ 94

ADVERTISEMENTS ..................................................................... 95

WELSH GUARDS COLLECTION ............................................... 96

WELSH GUARDS ASSOCIATION ............................................ 98

ASSOCIATION BRANCH REPORTS Aberdare Branch ......................................................................... 98Cardiff Branch .............................................................................. 99East Glamorgan Branch ............................................................. 99Llanelli Branch ........................................................................... 100London Branch .......................................................................... 101Merthyr Tydfil Branch ............................................................... 102Midlands Branch ....................................................................... 103Monmouthshire Branch .......................................................... 104Montgomeryshire and Shropshire Branch ......................... 105North America Branch ............................................................. 106North Wales Branch .................................................................. 106Ogmore Branch ......................................................................... 108Pembrokeshire Branch ............................................................. 110Swansea and West Glamorgan Branch ................................ 110Welsh Guards Reunited Branch ............................................. 111

WELSH GUARDS ASSOCIATION DARTS & SHOOTS ...... 114

WELSH GUARDS ASSOCIATION AGM ............................... 116

FORECASTS OF EVENTS 2011 ............................................... 118

IN REMEMBRANCE .................................................................. 119

IN MEMORIAM ........................................................................ 120


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Brigadier RH Talbot Rice, Regimental Lieutenant Colonel

I am hugely grateful to my predecessor,Colonel Sandy Malcolm, for everything thathe did to sustain the Regiment during aparticularly busy period. As I already knewbefore I took over, I inherited a strong,vibrant and close Regiment which continuesto make its mark in the Army and elsewhere.The outcome of the Strategic Defence andSecurity Review leaves the Regiment and theBattalion unscathed, but sets manychallenges on the Army as a whole whichwill work their way out over the comingmonths.

The Army is a busy place these days and theBattalion has had, in many ways, as a busyyear in 2010 as it had in 2009. The challengeshave of course been very different; but theboys have emerged with high morale andequally high standing. The many articles from the Battalion beartestimony to their busy and variedprogramme. I am sure you will enjoy readingwhat they have been up to: companydeployments to the Falkland Islands andMoscow and a Battalion deployment to Kenya,as well as a public duties stint in the summer. Itis a good reflection of the flexibility of WelshGuardsmen and the Army in general, and anindication of why young men and womenboth join the Army and remain in it.

The Regiment as a whole is blessed with firstclass officers, Warrant Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers, and their qualityis evident in the highly regardedappointments they hold across the breadthof defence organisations. The Ministry of

FOREWORDDefence, the Field Army, the Recruiting andTraining organisation, Sandhurst andelsewhere – all draw on and benefit fromthe talent we have. Several WelshGuardsmen have deployed on operations asindividuals over the past year, and Icontinually hear words of praise for whatthey have done. This strength in depth,combined with strong manning, bodes wellfor the future. In this regard I would like tothank in particular our recruiters and ourtraining staff at ITC Catterick who deliver thelifeline of any Regiment, namely manpower.They do an excellent job producing really goodguardsmen for the Battalion, and without theirapplication, hard work and enthusiasm ourfuture would be much less certain.

The Association continues to flourish and Ido not underestimate the amount of timeand effort that goes into ensuring that itdoes so. Our branch secretaries do a greatdeal to keep our Regimental family alive andwell and I would very much like to thankthem and the Branch Committees for all theydo. We have one of the strongestAssociations in the country and this is downnot only to our Association officials who doso much to organise social and other events,but also to the members themselves whowish to keep the concept of our Regimentalfamily alive. I do, however, encourageyounger members of the Regiment tosupport their branches for this is importantif we are to sustain the health andwellbeing of the Association. I highlight in particular the Association Bi-

Annual dinner which will be held in

Wrexham on Saturday 9 April.

Our Band remains a great success story and

their programme is as busy as ever. They

have given the Regiment a great deal of

support this year, whether playing on the

homecoming parades in April in Wales, or at

fund raising concerts throughout the year.

They are a credit to the Regiment and a

tremendous ambassador for it.

There is a separate article on the Afghanistan

Appeal in this issue by Brigadier Peter Williams,

the Appeal Chairman. It is thanks to his energy

– and that of many other loyal Welsh

Guardsmen, friends and families – that the

Appeal has been such a tremendous success;

and I send my sincere thanks to all those who

have contributed in their diverse ways. As we

go to press, the total raised stands at over

£800,000 – a really impressive sum. Our

Colonel, HRH The Prince of Wales, has been

magnificent in his support of our Appeal, and

he has given generously of both his time and

resources. We remain closely engaged with

our injured and the families who have been

bereaved, and we will continue providing

whatever support they need.

2011 will undoubtedly see another busy

and varied year for the Battalion. The move

from Aldershot to Hounslow, the Royal

Wedding on the 29th of April, the Birthday

Parade and preparation for another

Afghanistan tour in 2012 will provide more

than enough challenges. I know that the

Battalion will rise to them all, and will

equally ensure that there is time for fun in

between.

I t is an enormous privilege for me to take over as RegimentalLieutenant Colonel: both my father and my grandfatherserved in the Regiment, so the Welsh Guards has been a

part of my life since childhood.

Lieutenant Colonel C K Antelme DSO, Commanding Officer

FOREWORD

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We were also lucky to be chosen for the

Army’s presentation to the new

Government’s Defence team. Ministers of

mixed experience were exposed to both

the realities of the campaign as well as the

importance of the Regimental system. A

corner of Helmand was recreated on

Salisbury Plain and Guardsmen told their

story through word and deed.

Welsh Guardsmen have been welcomed

home and cheered at events all over Wales

and received a memorable standing

ovation at Cardiff City Football Club before

a crowd of 25,000 fans – a You-Tube hit.

We were on duty once again at the Ryder

Cup in Cardiff, representing the Regiment

in front of the third largest TV audience of

any sporting event in the world. Number

Two Company joined 17,000 Russian

troops on behalf of the British Army in a

colossal parade across Red Square

celebrating the end of the Second World

War; a diplomatic and public relations

coup providing some happy headlines for

the Battalion, including the perhaps

inevitable ‘Welsh Guardski’. Away from the

Public eye the Battalion has been exposed

to the scrutiny of the Divisional and

Brigade Inspection Teams. Every two years

these in-depth examinations are used to

measure the Battalion’s administrative

health: with a monumental effort across

the Battalion in the aftermath of a tour that

‘frayed our edges’ we achieved very good

results – we are officially alive and well!

Against this diverse backdrop of serial

number checks and television glory, the

Battalion has steadily built itself back into

fighting shape. Number Three Company

had an outstanding exercise in the

Falkland Islands where amongst the icy

winds and long patrols they found a warm

welcome from the islanders who had

formed bonds with the Battalion in 1982.

The Quartermaster, Nicky Mott, returned to

the South Atlantic to lay a wreath at Bluff

Cove, having last seen it as a Guardsman.

All five companies have been marching,

shooting and living in the field. The

evidence of their endeavours includes

beating eight other major units to win the

12th Mechanised Brigade Skill at Arms

Meet and picking up a Gold, a Silver and

two Bronze medals on the Cambrian Patrol

Competition. The Battalion Headquarters

has just completed the CAST exercise in

Catterick. We eagerly anticipate our Battle

Group Exercise in Kenya which affords us a

fantastic opportunity for both military and

adventure training endeavour.

Our links with our bereaved families and

wounded have remained strong, with

exceptional efforts by all those injured to

make speedy recoveries. Sgt Young is

joining a team of injured soldiers walking

to the North Pole. Our more conventional

sporting achievements saw us in our

second Army Rugby Cup final and two

Welsh Guardsmen were selected to play for

the Barbarians. Our football team goes

from strength to strength recently beating

the Coldstream Guards 7-0. Guardsmen

have walked, skied, parachuted and sailed

around the country and beyond.

We return from Kenya to move to

Hounslow and from there we will continue

our preparations to return to Afghanistan

in March 2012. In the meantime we have a

State Visit and our part in the Troop to keep

us busy.

A year has passed since the Battalion returned fromoperations in Afghanistan and life has been as variedand as busy as ever. Any Battalion recently through

the turnstiles of Brize Norton finds itself much in demand asevery morsel of experience is devoured by the wider Army.Demonstrations, lectures and interviews from all rankspeppered the start of the year.

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THE PRINCE OF WALES’S COMPANYY Ddraig Goch Ddyry Cychwyn - The Red Dragon Gives a Lead

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Maj MellishCapt Charles-JonesLt Maltby2Lt WrightWO2 RyanCSgt JonesSgt DaviesSgt OwenSgt ParryLSgt BjegovcLSgt CanavanLSgt HughesLSgt HaymanLSgt MillerLSgt SkittLSgt ThomasLSgt OwenLSgt QaimuriCpl FarrarLCpl EdwardsLCpl GreenmanLCpl JonesLCpl LawrenceLCpl LodwickLCpl LoveLCpl MeekLCpl SmallLCpl SafeeGdsm AbberleyGdsm AndersonGdsm ArthurGdsm BamberGdsm BawGdsm BiltonGdsm BritlandGdsm BrownGdsm BrenchlyGdsm CannGdsm CafferyGdsm ChanceGdsm CharlesGdsm Collins

Gdsm CrayGdsm DaltonGdsm DaviesGdsm DaviesGdsm DelaneyGdsm DoweyGdsm EdwardsGdsm FaulknerGdsm GreenanGdsm GriffithsGdsm GriffithsGdsm HowellsGdsm HylendGdsm JacksonGdsm JohnsonGdsm JonesGdsm JonesGdsm JonesGdsm JonesGdsm McCarthyGdsm MasonGdsm MottramGdsm ParryGdsm PattersonGdsm PhillipsGdsm PoundGdsm PowellGdsm PowellGdsm ReynoldsGdsm RichardsGdsm RobertsGdsm RobertsGdsm RobertsGdsm RutledgeGdsm SaundersGdsm SimmondsGdsm SmithGdsm TavagaGdsm ThorneGdsm TownsendGdsm Tyers

In Caernarfon, Sgt Parry 19(awarded a mention indispatches for his conduct inAfghanistan) delivered apresentation to the Lord Mayorand distinguished guests. Hegave a Platoon Sergeant’sperspective on our six monthtour of Helmand province whichwas very well received.Wrexham put on a reception forthe Company in the town hallwhile a presentation was againdelivered to the Mayor and hisguests. This was actually aclassic diversion tactic and gavethe CSM a chance to eat hisweight in free food. The nextday the Battalion moved to Rhyland enjoyed a generous buffetafter the parade that ensuredtunics fitted well once again

Marching through Caernarfon

The Prince of Wales’s Company has been very busy sincereturning from Afghanistan. In the immediate post tourperiod one of the many highlights has been

the Marches through Caernarfon, Wrexham and Rhyl. Thesupport from Wales was a source of great strength forevery Guardsmen throughout the tour and the marches werea great opportunity for us to show our appreciation.

after the Afghan weight lossplan. Throughout our marchesin North Wales the public gavethe Prince of Wales’s Companyan extremely warm welcomeand our Guardsmen enjoyedthe opportunity to marchthrough their home towns infront of their friends and family.

As if being in the Prince ofWales’s Company wasn’tenough we had theopportunity to pushGuardsmen closer to their limitwith a basic parachutingcourse. The first day was spenton the ground learning thebasics and a quick look aroundduring the day revealed amixture of worried looks andextreme concentration. The

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next day included the first jumpand everyone landed safely(some harder than others!).This was followed by thechance to learn how to pack achute correctly; it really paid offto be a Guardsman as theattention to detail involved wasimpressive. A mere 5 hours laterand everyone had packed andready to jump once again. Itwas widely agreed that thesecond jump was the mostnerve-racking jump of thecourse mostly down to the factthat each person had packedtheir own parachute and wasnot convinced of their ownability. Nevertheless, after thesecond successful jump eachindividual was growing inconfidence and wasincreasingly less nervous whenit came to exiting the plane andthe aim of pushing each manoutside his comfort zone waswell and truly achieved!

The Battalion Ski trip (Ex WELSHPISTE) provided anotheropportunity to let hair downpost Helmand. 33 Jam Boysattended and were awardedtheir basic ski proficiency. Somehave went from “Bambi on ice”to hardcore off piste mad men.With Captain Charles-Jones

running the trip in 2011 the JamBoys can look forward to moreof the same next year!

The 12 Brigade Skill at ArmsMeet was held at Bulfordranges between the 14th and18th July. Twenty two teams often men were put forward fromBattalions across the Brigade,including a very well preparedteam from the Prince of Wales’sCompany under Lt Thompson.

Before the competition startedthe Prince of Wales’s Companyteam was selected from thebest shots in the Company.The selection process gradedpotential shooting teammembers on their ability toshoot at varying distances withthe rifle and pistol and alsotested their physical fitness.After selection there was just aweek and a half of trainingbefore the competition began.

The March and shoot startedwith a tough two miler acrossopen ground and small tracks.The steep terrain (and the factthat they were against the clock)meant that teams wereunsteady and fatigued whenthey started the shoot. Havingto sprint between each firingpoint maintained the levels of

fatigue and therefore madeshooting accurately moredifficult. The tough training forthe Prince of Wales’s Companyreally paid off as they were thefastest team to complete thetwo miler course and thenreceived the best score on thefollowing shoot.

The Association Cup andthe Army 100 Cup were bothcomplex and demandingshoots that involved movingbetween firing points on therange and firing from a mixtureof positions. The AssociationCup also tested the accuracy ofeach firer over long distance astwo of the practices involvedshooting at a range of 500m. By this stage in the competitionthe Prince of Wales’s Companyand number Two Companywere at the top of the leaderboard with very little pointsbetween them.

Marching through Caernarfon The Colour party consisted of Sgt Owen, Sgt Davies and Lt Thompson.

On the final day of thecompetition all twenty twoteams took part in the fallingplate shoot. The battle for theoverall winners was stronglycontested between both WelshGuards teams and the teamfrom the Rifles. The scores wereso close in the overallcompetition that this final shootwould decide who the overallwinners of the week would be.The shoot itself involved each ofthe teams negotiating anobstacle course between the400m and 300m firing pointbefore knocking down all oftheir targets.

At the final prize giving theBrigade Commander revealedthat the Prince of Wales’sCompany team had narrowlybeaten the remaining teams tothe post to be crowned theoverall champions of thecompetition.

The POW Company shooting team negotiates the final obstaclebefore beginning the shoot.

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With the Prince of Wales’sCompany already havingachieved so much this year itseems impossible that wewould be able to fit any morein… You would be wrong.

Our SNCOs not only competedin the Battalion pace stickingcompetition but won it after ahard fought fight with NumberTwo Company. CSM Ryan did anexcellent job of leading from therear / backseat driving. In histeam were Sgt Parry 700, SgtOwen 75 and LSgt Hughes 39.CSM Ryan later went on to leadthe Battalion team in the worldpace sticking competition atRMAS where they finished arespectable 3rd.

Lt Maltby decided that he had toget away and so organised aweeks sailing on Glad Eye. Tojustify the trip he took someNCOs and Guardsmen alongwith him. EXERCISE WELSHWIND saw members of theCompany board Gladeye inGosport, and take her along thesouth coast, via a series of pitstops, to Salcombe and back.The weather was marvellous

with a good wind which sawthe men transform fromcomplete novices to competentmembers of crew in quickorder. Highlights of the tripincluded a 14 hour sail fromPoole to Torquay with abeautiful sunset and nightpassage, and the opportunityfor the crew to go up the mastin the boson’s chair- anexperience which, even in calmwaters, feels pretty hairy. Thetrip provided a greatopportunity for the men tolearn a new skill and have anentertaining and challengingtime doing so, and was a greatway for the more experiencedmembers of the trip to up theirsea miles for any further sailingqualifications.

August saw a quick fire burst ofPublic Duties, including JamBoys dismounting the Queen’sGuard to Jam Boys (the NewGuard commanded by theCommanding Officer), with ahealthy dose of SupportCompany thrown in. Septemberand October were focussed onpreparations for Kenya and,with a Company low level skillsexercise and getting theindividual course training underour belt for driving othermandatory annual trainingtests. The Company Cambrianpatrol team also put in amemorable performance,coming away with a Silveraward after limited time forpreparation.

Kenya will be a fantastictraining opportunity for bothtactical training up toBattlegroup level and some ofthe best adventure training theArmy can put on. After a year inthe lead the Jam Boys willcontinue the trend.

The POW Company Shooting team with their prizes. Lt Thompson, LSgt Williams, LSgt Qumari, LCpl Greenman,LCpl Small, Gdsm Roberts, Gdsm Howels, Gdsm Charles, Gdsm Thorne, Gdsm Jones

The Brigade Commander awards Lt Thompson of the Prince of Wales’s Companythe Cup for his team winning the 12 Brigade shooting competition

The Brigade Commander addresses the teams and unveils the final scores

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The opening of the New Yearpaid witness to both a newCompany Commander andCompany Sergeant Major.Major Henry Bettinson beingreplaced by Major Dai Bevanand Company Sergeant MajorTopps replaced by CompanySergeant Major Dunn. With anoverhauled CompanyHeadquarters the Companywent back to the very basics ofsoldiering, instructing andexamining on MATTS 1-6. Theemphasis here lay on skillssuch as first aid, map reading,fitness and weapon handling,without forgetting, mostimportantly of all, values andstandards. A number of rangedays, nav exes and PFTs later

saw the Company standing inremarkably good stead. With the foundations laid itwas time for the Company todeploy on their firstconventional training exercisefor some time. EXERCISEMIGHTY STRETCH was aprogressive, shake out exercise,over 4 days in late February,set on Aldershot training areaand designed to get back tobasics. The exercise startedwith an insertion tab onto thearea before occupying andestablishing a platoon harbourarea. The second and thirddays saw section commanderstake the lead at an instructionallevel in teaching thefundamentals of individual,

Maj DWN BevanLt AJH DunlopLt MCD Simpson2Lt B Figgures-WilsonWO2 PJ DunnCSgt GP RobertsSgt RW ParryLSgt D EvansLSgt GI GreenLSgt RJ HeathLSgt N HemmingsLSgt S MarshLSgt P OwenLSgt B WilliamsLSgt CP PheaseyLCpl L ChallengerLCpl L CollinsLCpl JAB CooperLCpl AN GwillymLCpl AJ HobbsLCpl SL JonesLCpl G LucasGdsm LJ AdamsGdsm PA ArnoldGdsm WD AustinGdsm KS BevanGdsm ST BromleyGdsm TAJR CampbellGdsm SC CampbellGdsm AM CollinsGdsm B CrazeGdsm CP DavisGdsm LD DaviesGdsm CRHI DaviesGdsm TM DaviesGdsm LD DaviesGdsm GP DaviesGdsm IJ DaviesGdsm R DupplawGdsm MA EdwardsGdsm RD EdwardsGdsm SR Edwards

NUMBER TWO COMPANYGwyr Ynys Y Cedryn - The Men of the Island of the Mighty

2010 was certainly not without significant event for the‘Men of the Island of the Mighty’. The year saw NumberTwo Company participate in numerous CT level one

training exercises, adventurous training, a Company KAPE(Keeping the Army in the Public Eye) tour, public duties andmost noteworthy of all, representation of the entire BritishArmy in Moscow for the 65th Anniversary of Victory in EuropeDay. This is but a few of the many events and exercises that theCompany have been involved with.

Gdsm Davies 65 overlooks as Gdsm Harding puts fire downto clear a position on EX DRAGOONS BITE

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Gdsm LDE EvansGdsm S GizzieGdsm JH HardingGdsm SG HarrisGdsm CM HeathGdsm JP HillGdsm J HorrocksGdsm MC HughesGdsm DJ HughesGdsm TA HurrelGdsm TP JamesGdsm JD JenningsGdsm LR JonesGdsm TC JonesGdsm J JonesGdsm LC LeachmanGdsm RJ LewisGdsm JD LloydGdsm LP MeaneyGdsm NB MoyoGdsm IM MundyGdsm SA NadinGdsm J NieblingGdsm CD O'SullivanGdsm JP PrewettGdsm LA PikeGdsm MSJR ReesGdsm M RetallickGdsm SR RhisiartsGdsm CR RobinsonGdsm AW RogersGdsm DLJ RogersGdsm CA RoderickGdsm ML RowlandsGdsm JW RowlandsGdsm SA SimmonsGdsm ML StevensGdsm SL TaylorGdsm BR TuckerGdsm CD WebbGdsm D WaleGdsm G WoosnamGdsm JA Woosnam

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pairs and fire team fire andmanoeuvre. Lessons were alsogiven on obstacle crossings,judging distance and givingtarget indications. All of theseskills were put to the test as allsections in the companyrotated through up to 5 sectionattacks. The attacks passed offwell with the majority of theGdsm rising to the physicaland tactical challenge ofclearing enemy positions andassisting their sectioncommanders with reliabletarget indications.

Conducting CT1 training inthese initial months of 2010

was very useful and certainlyhighlighted the dichotomybetween a non conventional,counter insurgencyenvironment in Afghanistanand a conventional trainingenvironment. Despite this theCompany responded well tothe transition and continues todevelop as we prepare forKenya later in the year.

The 1st March is clearly alwaysof note for the entire Regiment.This year’s St David’s Day wasno different and in fact carriedextra significance for the menof Number Two Company. Noaccount of the company’s

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actions should neglect tomention Gdsm Penlington ashe returned from Hedley Courtto parade with his 2 Companypeers. It was an important dayfor many in the Company asGdsm Penlington took up hisplace on the parade square.

The next few weeks werespent with the company beingdivided between a number ofadventurous training activities.Central amongst these wasNumber Two Company’sparticipation on the Battalionski trip. This heavily subsidisedtrip to Les Arc was takenadvantage of by many in theCompany and turned out to bea truly fantastic week. Forthose in the Company who hadnever skied before it was atotally unique experiencewhich proved a steep, buthighly rewarding learningcurve. Gdsm Wale clearlyembodied the novelty thatskiing had to many when heremarked to his horror that itwas snowing in the ski resort!Other more experienced 2Company men took fulladvantage of the piste, manyshowing little to no regard fortheir own personal well being.By the end of the week GdsmRhisiarts had earned himself areputation as a fearless daredevil, suicide nut case,

frequently throwing himselfdown the slopes at a speedwhich would have made many,more mature skiers’, eyeswater. In addition LSgt Owen39 (Pistol Pete) earned himselfa similar reputation assomeone who thought little ofthrowing himself off jumpsand into a heap on the deck.The result of such kamikazeactivity was to have a certainslope that had caused himmuch heart ache, renamed‘Pistol’s Piste’!

No ski trip would be completewithout the obligatory Aprèsski and this one was absolutelyno different. One night aboveall others stands out however.On the third night half of thegroup elected to stay on themountain and experiencesome genuine French Alpineculture. Those that participatedwere treated to fondue in arestaurant half way up themountain before taking part inan ancient, traditional Frenchtable dance in the bar. Thenight concluded with a lanternlit ski back down and into theresort. In essence this was atruly exceptional adventuroustraining package in which allhad fun and all qualified fortheir Basic Army Skiingproficiency.

LCpl Challenger delivers a set of orders for a recce patrol to his section Number Two Company on the slopes in Les Arcs

Gdsm Penlington takes up his place on parade alongside his Two Company comrades

No.2 COY

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Elsewhere in the companyothers took the opportunity togo, either to Capel Curig inNorth Wales, or ski diving. TheCapel Curig training revolvedaround a variety of outdoorpursuits from hill walking tokayaking. Twenty six men fromthe company attended, withsome taking the opportunity togo mountain walking andobtaining their MLTqualification, enabling them totake groups hill walking in thefuture. The remainder focusedon kayaking and canoed in andamongst the Lakes thatsurround the North Walestraining centre.

Those that did not opt to eithergo skiing or to Capel Curig tookup the chance to goparachuting. The course ran for5 days from Monday to Fridayin mid March at the JointServices Parachuting centre atWeston-On-The-Green, nearBicester in Oxfordshire. Thefirst day was spent learning thebasics and safety drills andprocedures associated withparachuting. Next aprogression was made ontostatic line jumping, beforegoing onto basic free fall andthe important skill of beingable to pack a parachutecorrectly. All in all the companyhad a fantastic Adventuroustraining programme which,regardless of where peopleended up proved fun andeducational.

March also bore witness to theCompany deploy on their KAPEtour of South West Wales. Beingbased out of Penally Campnear Tenby in Pembrokeshirethe activities revolved around anumber of surges into thelocality. In addition theCompany also conducted amarch through Bridgend. Thepurpose of all of thesecompany actions was to raisethe profile of the Regiment,

assist the recruiting teams andraise money for the WelshGuards Afghanistan Appeal.

The first day saw surges intoPembroke and Haverfordwest,the evening also saw a numberof Gdsm and LSgts go down toLlanelli ACF in order to raise theprofile of the Regiment there.For those that did notparticipate this was a fantasticopportunity to get some downtime either playing rugby,doing PT on the beach or, in theevenings, relaxing in the bar.There was a strict gated policyin force, however to ensureeveryone remained onreasonable form for the secondday when Number 2 Companyparaded through Bridgend. The parade was a hugesuccess and the crowds turnedup in force to cheer on the Menof the Island of the Mighty. Thereception was just aswelcoming as the weather andfrequent calls of “well doneboys” and “welcome home”were heard above audiblegeneral applause and cheers.After conducting the march thecompany were very kindlyhosted by the Mayor ofBridgend at a reception party. The remainder of the KAPE tourfocused on further surges. Thethird and fourth day borewitness to surges intoCarmarthen Cardigan andAberystwyth and Lampeterrespectively. All in all the KAPEtour passed off well andmanaged to generate over£5,000 for the Welsh GuardsAfghanistan Appeal.

The next few months werecertainly eventful ones for thecompany. Of greatest note wasour participation in the 65thAnniversary of Victory inEurope Day. The celebrations ofthis monumental event wereheld in Moscow’s Red Square.Number Two Company of theFirst Battalion Welsh Guards

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CQMS McCabe overlooks as the Company march onto Red Square

On the heel in Red Square

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addition there was also anopportunity to enjoy a slightlymore relaxed pace as theCompany held a smoker as wellas a quiet steady bimble up PenY Fan.

The 12 Brigade Skill at ArmsMeet took place later in themonth of June and saw unitsfrom across the Brigade pitchteams against one another in acompetition hosted and run bythe Battalion at Bullford. Theevent was a huge success forthe Battalion. Unfortunately forNumber Two Company havinglead for the entire duration ofthe competition were pipped tothe post by the Jam Boys,merely by one point.Nevertheless the event was aresounding success for thewider Battalion with first andsecond place going to theJamboys and Number TwoCompany respectively.

The remainder of the summermonths were spent splitbetween public duties andleave. Number Two Companyjoined forces with elements ofSupport Company to provideguards for Windsor Castle, the

Tower of London and QueensGuard. Upon completion of our3 week public duties slot weembarked on 3 weeks wellearned summer leave.On our return to camp in earlySeptember it was time to bidfarewell to a very familiar andpopular face as CompanyQuarter Master Sergeant DeanMcCabe moved on to a newWO2 posting at GibraltarBarracks. The Company QuarterMaster Sergeant had beenfiercely loyal to the Company forover two years and was widelyrespected and admired. He wasreplaced by Colour SergeantRoberts 02 having recentlyreturned from Sandhurst as aninstructor.

The past two months have beenspent with one eye firmly fixedon our 6 week deployment toKenya in November. As such theCompany have been tying uploose ends; conducting rangepackages as well conducting arecent deployment ontoAldershot training area to honeour low level skills and drills inpreparation for exercise inNovember.

All in all therefore it is plain to seethat 2010 has been a fairly fastpaced but exciting and variedyear for Number Two Company,not just in terms of training butalso in terms of changingpersonalities. Sergeant DeanMorgan 10 took up a place atSandhurst as an instructor andSergeant Davies 03 moved toHDPRCC. Although there hasbeen much change one constanthas remained in that theCompany has continued to workexceptionally hard in order to setthe conditions for exercise AskariWarrior in Kenya in November.This alongside our battalionmove to Hounslow is thedirection in which we are alllooking for the closing monthsof 2010 and the beginning of2011.

No.2 COY

of the Mighty’ wasoverwhelming as noexperience had ever come closeto comparing with it before. Theday was phenomenal andincluded an extensive fly over aswell as the display of countlessarmoured vehicles and evennuclear war heads! Needless tosay there was much interest inour uniform as many of themen jumped on any possibilityto have photos shoots with asmany Russian young women aspossible. The day finished witha spectacular fireworks display.All in all May 2010 will alwaysbe remembered by theCompany as a truly unique andremarkable month.

In the weeks that followed theCompany deployed on anotherCT level One Exercise this time inSennybridge. Ex DRAGOONSCLAW, had an initial 3 day blankfire component followed by theremaining time being spentbuilding up through severalphases of live fire. The exercisewas a valuable opportunity forthe Company to re-familiariseitself with live fire having beendetached from it sinceAfghanistan last year. In

were given the immensehonour and privilege torepresent the entire BritishArmy during the parade whichtook place on Sunday 9th May.

For the 10 days that we weredeployed the Company wereoperating out of the MoscowMilitary University, a trainingcentre for Russian officers in thecentre of Moscow. Theprogramme of events for ourstay was varied and excitingand involved being hosted bythe British Ambassador at herpersonal residence, being takenaround Moscow visiting sightssuch as the Kremlin, the Tombof the Unknown Soldier andMarshal Zhuko’s memorial.

Without question, however, thehighlight of the Company’s stayhad to be the parade itself. Over20 heads of state were inattendance including AngelaMerkel and Wen Jiabao, theChinese Premier. There wereover 10,000 other troops alsoon parade including many fromformer Eastern Bloc countries aswell as French and Americans.The feeling of exhilaration andpride for the ‘Men of the Island

Major Bevan leads Number Two Company off the Buckingham Palace forecourt in July

No.2 COY

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Maj J HobroughCapt Harvie/Richards2Lt A MajorWO2 CA TaylorCSgt R GwilliamSgt S PetersSgt J GeenSgt D CopeLSgt DLRCrombieLSgt G CunninghamLSgt TA HiscockLSgt LR PeekLSgt D SimonsLSgt W SokoLSgt PR StirlingLCpl JBladenLCpl JJ ChardLCpl A EdwardsLCpl SAE EvansLCpl DL GrindleyLCpl D HedgesLCpl P LiddyLCpl SR MoceLCpl BJ RobertsLCpl GW RowlandsLCpl M WaltersGdsm N AnkrahGdsm S BaileyGdsm BazzardGdsm M BawaGdsm TTC BerryGdsm M BrooksGdsm J BrufordGdsm C ButtonGdsm J CaswellGdsm J CavenderGdsm DR ClarkeGdsm A DaviesGdsm G DaviesGdsm L DaviesGdsm O DivavesiGdsm KM EvansGdsm RD FlorenceGdsm S Goss

Gdsm L HammondGdsm SL HaywardGdsm D HollandGdsm J HibbernGdsm RW HillGdsm DRNH HughesGdsm R JayneGdsm D JohnGdsm K JonesGdsm G JonesGdsm S JonesGdsm R KellyGdsm E KempGdsm JK KorosayaGdsm L LangleyGdsm MK MalleyGdsm SM MayGdsm C MillinsGdsm J MorrisGdsm GJ MundyGdsm EB NabukebukeGdsm CS O’SullivanGdsm T PughGdsm A RichardsGdsm PJ RileyGdsm L RobertsGdsm S RobertsGdsm AJ RobertsGdsm L RobertsGdsm J RogersGdsm GR SmithGdsm RLT SokoGdsm A TameGdsm L TaylorGdsm 21 TaylorGdsm G ThomasGdsm S ThomasGdsm S TyrellGdsm J TyrellGdsm RM WaqanisaraviGdsm SMA Webb

NUMBER THREE COMPANYFy Nuw, Fy Ngwlad, Fy Mrenin - My God, My Land, My King

The last ten months have been very busy for NumberThree Company. After some well deserved leave overChristmas, the company returned and immediately

conducted a short and sharp five day exercise on Aldershottraining area, to dust off, basic skills and drills.

‘CSM Taylor leads way on Llanelli half-marathon!’

No.3 COY

At the beginning of Februarythe company took part in theLlanelli half marathon. True tothe spirit of Number ThreeCompany, we ran it as a squad,in boots and every mancompleted it in one hour forty-five minutes, which was afantastic effort.

This was followed by the KAPEtour, which saw the companymarch through the centres ofSwansea, Merthyr Tydfil, Cardiffand Newport where we weregiven a warm reception fromthe families and friends of theRegiment. We would like totake the opportunity to thankCapt Robinson of the RIT Southfor all his help in organising thetour.

Over the Easter period NumberThree Company went skiing fora week in Les Arcs, in France.

This was a great success, andgave much of the company theopportunity to go skiing for thefirst time and gain their basicskiing proficiency certificate.This has left many guardsmenwith the skiing ‘bug’ and keento return and develop theirability on the slopes, whichhopefully they will be able todo on the battalion’s nextskiing trip in early 2011.

The summer was dominatedby the company’s deploymentto the Falkland Islands as theroulement infantry company inMount Pleasant. As the firstofficial deployment from theBattalion since the end of theconflict twenty eight yearsbefore in 1982, it was a veryimportant and emotive twomonth deployment. While outthere the company took part in

13


the several memorial servicesand were very warmly receivedby all of the locals who werethrilled to see the battalionreturn.

But the deployment was notjust a battle field tour. While therest of the battalion enjoyed ascorching summer, NumberThree Company battled withsome truly awful southernhemisphere winter weather,and conducted some fantasticlive fire tactical training (LFTT).This included an arduous tabback from the ranges that boththe Commanding Officer andRegimental Sergeant Major,thoroughly enjoyed! Thetraining culminated in acompany level exercise inconjunction with HMS Clydeand HMS Portland and gave usthe opportunity to testourselves fully as a company,in preparation for Exercise

Askari Thunder. Aside from theLFTT, section commanderswere given considerablefreedom to patrol as sectionsand conduct patrols thatranged from beach clearancesto digging ditches for gratefulislanders (often in exchangefor some much neededhospitality and shelter from thesnow!).

At the end of the tour wemanaged to send sixguardsmen to South Georgiaaboard HMS Portland as wellas several trips to see the localpenguin population, whichwere widely considered to looklike ‘bearskins on legs’. Wewere able to conduct a numberof battlefield tours of MountLongdon and MountTumbledown and theexperiences of the battalion in1982 were brought to life byour very own Falklands veteran

in the form of the QM MajorMott, who we were honouredto have with us.

On return from the Falklands,Number Three Companycaught up on some muchearned summer leave, beforestarting in earnest for theBattalion’s forthcoming tour ofKenya. To this end all of thecompany completed thebowman radio upgrade courseand a short five day exercise totest its new radio capability.This was then followed by afurious selection and trainingprocess to find and prepare acapable Cambrian Patrol team.After two weeks of trainingcall-sign Bravo-Two-Zero-Bravo, deployed to the BreconBeacons and conducted a closetarget recce of an enemyobjective before continuing, tocomplete all of the militarytests and challenges. The team

was a relatively young teamand did exceptionally well tocomplete the arduous patrolon time and complete, and wasrewarded with a Bronze medal,which was an extraordinaryachievement.

At the end of September,Number Three Company saidgoodbye to Second LieutenantEmlyn- Williams, who hasseconded over to the IrishGuards, for their tour ofAfghanistan on Op Herrick 13.We wish him the best of luckand look forward to hearing allhis war stories when hereturns.

While Number Three Companyhas not had the opportunity toconduct many ceremonialduties this year, we were luckyenough to provide the guard ofhonour for the state visit of thePresident of Kenya in February.

‘The ‘Little Iron Men’ on the windiest day in living memory’

No.3 COY

No.3 COY

14


‘Sgt Simons, and his patrol enjoy South Georgia!’

The company football teamhas had another strong seasonunder Sgt Peters and narrowlymissed out on winning theEllicott cup in a very close finalwith Support Company. Thecompany has a number ofyoung players coming intotheir element with GdsmHolland and Gdsm Rodgersboth displaying real potentialafter some excellentperformances and this leavesthe company well placed tofight Support Company for thetrophy next year.

The company has continued tosupport individuals achievingtheir own goals and is pleasedto report that Gdsm Davies 200has completed a charity sail insupport of ‘BLESMA’ with exWelsh guardsmen Clive Jones.Number Three Company wouldalso like to thank the WelshGuards association for theircontinued support and inparticular for taking GdsmThomas500 and Cpl Bladen ona battlefield tour which washighly informative.

Number Three Company isnow putting the final details toits deployment to Kenya inearly November which is sureto be a very testing andfulfilling exercise,complimented by somefantastic adventurous trainingopportunities.

Number Three Company saysgoodbye to Maj Gallimore, andlooks forward to the nextinstalment of his book withmuch anticipation! We wishboth Capt Harvie and Sgt Copethe best of luck as they beginselection in January 2011, andSgt Griffiths 96, LSgt McEvoyand LSgt Harry as they moveinto the respective trainingjobs. We have also lost LtDunlop to Number TwoCompany and CSM Baldwin ashe takes up the role of RQMS(T). But we have gained and

would like to welcome, MajHobrough, Capt Richards, LtMajor, CSM Taylor, LSgtCunningham and LSgtCrombie. Number ThreeCompany would also like tocongratulate CSgt Gwilliamand wife Barbara on the birthof Erin, Sgt Cope and his wifeon the birth of his son Jack, aswell as LCpl Liddy and GdsmBailey.

Memorial to the Sir Galahad and allWelsh Guardsmen who never returned

No.3 COY

No.3 COY

15SUPPORT COY

SUPPORT COMPANYNac Ofna Ond Gwarth - Fear Nothing but Disgrace


Maj JJ BethellCapt JP OlszowskiCapt CSN FentonWO2 J JenkinsonCSgt SJ BoikaCSgt AM DaviesCSgt M DavisCSgt GJ WilliamsSgt GL EvansSgt P HughesSgt JefferiesSgt G JonesSgt GM JonesSgt AJ MarshSgt S YoungLSgt ML BarryLSgt D BickLSgt GW CunninghamLSgt L DaviesLSgt WP DaviesLSgt P DerenLSgt M EvansLSgt RJ JohnsonLSgt SD JonesLSgt GR LewisLSgt JR MartinLSgt GJ LiasLSgt SD PearceLSgt A RalphLSgt MS ShaplandLSgt JR ThomasLSgt LJ WilliamsLSgt RG WaddellLCpl MG BiggsLCpl ML BunceLCpl RM CookLCpl T CumminsLCpl A Davies

LCpl SP DrylandLCpl GP EvansLCpl J EvansLCpl T EvansLCpl C GreenLCpl S GriffithsLCpl D HainesLCpl R HillLCpl ST HowellsLCpl GD JenkinsLCpl KW JohnLCpl R JonesLCpl A KasteinLCpl J LiverseyLCpl J MartinLCpl NukuLCpl S PottsLCpl S PowellLCpl IWL RobertsLCpl A SelbyLCpl I StevensLCpl T ViavialeuLCpl GL WilliamsGdsm DM AshworthGdsm AR BeattieGdsm S BolaBolaGdsm DL ButterfieldGdsm C BrownettGdsm S CarterGdsm N ChambersGdsm BM ClarkGdsm L CollinsDmr CPL CookeDmr LA DavidGdsm C DavidGdsm CD DaviesGdsm BL DaviesGdsm J Edwards

Gdsm MC EvansGdsm CM EvansGdsm EvansGdsm K EvansGdsm GR EvansGdsm B FlynnGdsm B FordeGdsm J FrancisGdsm K FullmanDmr DJ GriffithsGdsm MK GriffithsGdsm M HarriesGdsm I HayGdsm ACS HayerGdsm AS HayesGdsm AE HertzogGdsm S HolmesGdsm M HopkinsonGdsm M JonesDmr RA JonesGdsm DT JonesGdsm CH JonesGdsm D JonesGdsm O JohnsonGdsm JuddGdsm GM KempGdsm TK KennedyGdsm DC KirwanGdsm D KingdonGdsm RJ LawrieGdsm SG LewisGdsm P LepchaGdsm E MacedruGdsm KM MatthewsGdsm ST McMailGdsm M MonaghanGdsm J MorganGdsm A Mortimer-Rees

Dmr A Niuyagoyago

Gdsm JA Parfitt

Gdsm L Parr

Gdsm C Rees

Gdsm CM Richards

Dmr DJ Rogers

Gdsm G Rowlands

Gdsm GA Rowlands

Gdsm J Ryan

Gdsm J Salisbury

Gdsm OK Sanchez Tomas

Gdsm GD Scaife

Gdsm J Screen

Gdsm SD Sheppard

Gdsm JSheppard Smith

Gdsm JL Siviter

Gdsm L Skates

Gdsm DM Smoldon

Gdsm KJ Tancock

Gdsm S Taylor

Gdsm B Thomas

Gdsm KR Thomas

Gdsm A Thomas

Gdsm JT Vaganalau

Gdsm S Walters

Gdsm KA Watts

Gdsm RIK Woodmen

Gdsm J Worthington

Gdsm DBJ Williams

Dmr CJ Williams

Gdsm DP Williams

Gdsm J Williams

Gdsm MEL Williams

Dmr NS Wyer

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SUPPORT COY

SUPPORT COY

After the high-tempo of OpHERRICK 10 and the euphoricreturn from Afghanistan,Support Coy returned fromChristmas leave in January to aprogramme of low-leveltraining, intended to get theplatoons back into the swing ofthings and to practice them in‘basics done well’ soldiering.Navigation, first aid and basicfield craft were tested aroundthe local area and the CQMSset-to on the long-battle toreturn stores and armouries tonormal Household Divisionstandards ahead of inspectionteam visits later in the year.Training was reinforced by anumber of RAAT tasks, whichsaw the platoons workingalongside units as diverse asEton College Cadet Force and22 SAS. This period also saw amarked, if sometimes painful,improvement in the standardof fitness across the Coy –which has been maintainedthroughout the year by muchdedication from the platoonstaff. There are still some ‘fuller

LSgt Pearce leading the Recce Pl onto Pen-y-Fan.

2009 was a busy year for Sp Coy on operations, and thefollowing year has been no less hectic – albeit spentlargely in the UK. This year has, however, offered a

chance to spend more time working together as a company,reinforcing our own distinctive identity.

figures’ in the Coy, but almostall had made it around aPersonal Fitness Test route bythe middle of the year. In May,the Coy tackled the infamous‘Fan Dance’ over Pen-y-Fan andfinished in good order.

Throughout April and May, theCoy conducted specialistweapons cadres, based atKnook Camp andpredominantly exercising onSalisbury Plain, although theMortar Platoon was able tomake use of dry trainingfacilities at Nescliffe.Traditionally, annual specialistweapons cadres have been atthe centre of Sp Coy training,but the tempo of life in thebattalion recently hadprevented full cadres being runfor some time: so a ‘by thebook’ revision of key skills wasextremely valuable. Hard workby CSgt Furlong, CSgt Davies 90and CSgt Boika – as well as theplatoon commanders and theCoy’s G4 staff contributed tosome extremely good training.And by holding the cadres at

Mortarmen in the Falkland Islands

the start of the training year, itwas possible to conductcontinuation trainingthroughout the summer, evenwith elements of the Coydetached for periods of time. Alarge number of volunteersfrom the Rifle Coys joined theCoy for four weeks, with thebest being selected to reinforcethe platoons. TheReconnaissance Platoon, inparticular, is now fully mannedand has taken on a new leaseof life, under the keen interestof the commanding officer. TheAnti-Tankers of the JavelinPlatoon made good use of thetraining facilities at the SupportWeapons School in nearbyWarminster and were able tospend time practicing OP workand even revising their AFVrecognition – after the previoussummer’s ‘bunker busting’ overcompound walls in the GreenZone of central Helmand.Absent on parade for thecadres was the Corps of Drums– detached to London Districtand reinforcing the Grenadiersat the Queen’s Birthday paradein June. LSgt Martin 62, asacting Drum Major, insistedthat the Corps was the bestthing on the parade – althoughhe is suspected of being slightlybiased…

Summer saw the majority of SpCoy engaged in Public Duties,although with Battalion leave

staggered, the Coy was split tosupport duties teams from thePrince of Wales’s and NumberTwo Coys and did not form anycomplete royal guards. Mostmembers of the Coy enjoyedthe brief experience of a returnto ceremonial soldiering –albeit with characteristic banterand grumbling – and theduties period passed quickly.Throughout this time, however,the Mortar Platoon and aPermanent Range Team (PRT)drawn from across the Coy wassupporting Number Three Coy’sdeployment to the FalklandIslands. Despite the bitingwinds of the South Atlanticwinter, the Mortar Pl were ableto achieve some high qualitytraining and practiced theirintegration with groundmanoeuvre and other JointFires assets from the Islands’garrison. It was noted thatArgentine sabre-rattling overthe Islands’ sovereignty died-down around the time that theMortarmen arrived. Onreturning to UK, the Mortar Plput their well-practiced skills tothe test at the 12 BrigadeMortar Concentration back onSalisbury Plain. This was anexcellent opportunity tointegrate with the Brigade andthe Pl was certainly among themost proficient on the exercise:it was also noted that the WelshGuardsmen were the onlyMortar Pl to conduct daily PT!

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SUPPORT COY

SUPPORT COY

With the end of summer leave,the Coy was once againreunited and began to preparefor deployment to Kenya onExercise ASKARI THUNDER. Aspart of this, the Coy hasundertaken a fundamental re-organization which will shapehow we operate in the future.During Op HERRICK 10,member of the Machine Gunand Anti-Tank platoons weregrouped into Fire SupportGroups (FSGs) which couldoperate independently or indirect support of rifle coys. Thiswas a temporary expedient forthe tour, but one which hasbecome increasingly popularacross the Army in recentyears. This has now beenadopted as a permanentarrangement for Light Roleinfantry battalions and thetraining courses at Warminsterhave been overhauled toreflect it. Henceforth, the Coywill comprise three FSGs ofapprox platoon size, as well asthe Recce and Mortar platoons.The FSGs will initially beequipped with Javelin andGPMG (SF), but the Bn hasrecently taken delivery of itsfirst .50” Heavy machine Gun(HMG) and 40mm Grenade

Machine Gun (GMG) which willbe used to keep individualscurrent between now andthebattalion’s next operationaltour. The FSG men will also bea priority for driver training –as it is intended that theyshould be able to operate as amounted grouping, using theJackal high-mobility 4x4vehicles familiar fromAfghanistan. Each FSG will bepermanently assigned tosupport one of the riflecompanies in the field, but willcontinue to train centrallywithin Sp Coy. The FSG conceptis new and continues todevelop but is already familiarfrom Afghanistan and offerssignificant advantages.Nonetheless, we are certainlyfortunate that CSgt Davis 76has recently returned from aposting on the instructionalstaff at the Support WeaponsSchool, where he assisted indesigning the new FSGstructures – his ‘insideknowledge’ has already provedvaluable..

At the time of writing, the Coyhad successfully converted tothe new version of theBOWMAN radio system –

known as BCiP 5.4.2 – and putit through its paces on the localarea in Aldershot. The ReccePlatoon also used this periodto good effect in training forthe annual Cambrian Patrolcompetition. Cambrian Patrolis a gruelling 48 hour exerciseheld annually in October,across arduous terrain in theBlack Mountains andSennybridge. The ReccePlatoon team of (LSgt ),commanded by Capt Harvie,on loan from Number ThreeCoy, performed to a very highstandard and received ahighly-coveted gold medal –the only one awarded duringthis phase of the competition.This was an outstanding resultand testament to thedetermination of the team andthe hardwork which went intopreparing them for the patrol.

Despite a very full trainingprogramme, members of theCoy have still found time for‘extracurricular activities.’ TheCoy is well-represented in theBn Rugby team and, under theguidance of WO2 (CSM)Jenkinson and Sgt Evans 53,the Coy football teamtriumphed again in the EllicottCup, winning a thrilling final

with Number Three Coy 3-X,with goals from GdsmMonaghan and Parr, to retainthe title. Meanwhile Sgt Young,wounded in action during OpHERRICK 10, has shown gritand determination toparticipate in an expedition toAfrica with the BattleBackprogramme and is currentlypreparing for a trip to theNorth Pole to raise funds forservice charities. Othermembers of the Coy arecontinuing to receive medicaltreatment from last year,including LCpl Evans 15, LCplHillard and Dmr Leach, but allare now definitely on the mendand have either returned totheir previous duty on thegraduated return to workscheme or are being employedelsewhere in the Bn.

A number of key appointmentshave also changed over duringthis year. Three officers insuccession stepped in to fill theshoes of Maj Austen Salusburyas Company Commander - MajAlex Corbet Burcher , Maj ScottBroughton and latterly MajJohn Bethell – who will remainin post for the next year. With anumber of officers moving on,several of the Coy’s seniorshave stood-in as PlatoonCommanders for lengthyperiods of time: at the end ofthe year, CSgt Davis 76, SgtHughes 87 and newlypromoted Sgt Evans 53 wereeach commanding one of thenewly-established FSGs. CSgtWilliams 27 will handover asCQMS to CSgt Boika of FSG afterASKARI THUNDER. With a newteam in place across the Coy byearly 2011, we will be set forMission Specific Training for OpHERRICK 16. For now, theimmediate focus is Kenya andthe Coy looks forward todemanding high qualitytraining on Exercise ASKARITHUNDER..

Recce Platoon Training for Cambrian Patrol

18


HQ COY

HQ COY

Lt Col CK AntelmeMaj BPNR RamsayMaj NPG MottMaj DJ RyanMaj M EvansMaj TJ HarmanCapt AF BowenCapt P DurhamCapt WGH FreemanCapt D HannanCapt LJ McNaughtonCapt N MoukarzelCapt DW PridmoreCapt P RobinsonCapt T Spencer SmithCapt O JamesWO1 AL RobertsWO2 M PollardWO2 B BaldwinWO2 LT ScholesWO2 DP BrownCSgt SG BowenCSgt C DonaghueCSgt I Edwards- JonesCSgt P FurlongCSgt JP MyersCSgt L WilsonCSgt MW SmithSgt JA DaviesSgt G EvansSgt M FarrSgt P GriffithsSgt J JonesSgt SW JonesSgt SA O’BrienSgt S ParrySgt D SavageSgt M StephensSgt J TurnerSgt DJ WebbSgt A WilliamsLSgt DC BullerLSgt J Darcy

LSgt GJD DaviesLSgt J DaviesLSgt CA EvansLSgt JA FullerLSgt D HarrisLSgt JP HaytonLSgt E MarquardtLSgt SM McFallLSgt R OwensLSgt DL ParryLSgt G PaddockLSgt J PhillipsLSgt MA ProsserLSgt M SmithLSgt PS TaylorLSgt K WilliamsLCpl C AbrahamLCpl GJD ClowesLCpl A CunninghamLCpl I DaviesLCpl GE DaviesLCpl JL GlanvilleLCpl M HorrellLCpl MG JonesLCpl LG JonesLCpl GJ LeeLCpl MY LewisLCpl LR MorrisLCpl LJ PienaarLCpl SM RobinsonLCpl JM SanigarGdsm E AdjeiGdsm G AllenGdsm PT AllenGdsm K BarnesGdsm M BaileyGdsm KW BebbGdsm GP BerryGdsm G BispGdsm D BookerGdsm SM BoultonGdsm SA CheGdsm CDM Deekes

Gdsm PMC DiversGdsm AP DoyleGdsm PSC EvansGdsm G EvansGdsm MF FatchuGdsm P Gardner-AllenGdsm MLO GreenGdsm MP GriffithsGdsm CA JohnsonGdsm TRT KnillGdsm RDT LukeGdsm SM MathewsGdsm BD MillinsGdsm L MillsGdsm G MorganGdsm B PattersonGdsm CR PayneGdsm M PikeGdsm ST RoweGdsm AS SarrGdsm JSJ ShawGdsm RA SmithGdsm S Williams

Maj GT FordhamCapt D MorganCapt G JonesCapt G GilesWO2 R OldfieldWO2 A GliderWO2 PA GodfreeSSgt S BrownSSgt J HaywardSSgt J ReesSgt M Chandler-JohnsonSgt PP DenyerSgt SA KnightSgt MG LuffSgt T JamesSgt P Page

Sgt SA ShawSgt M VeaseyLSgt A DewanLSgt L GibbonsLSgt GR HarveyLSgt G LimbuLSgt CL ThomasLSgt K TurleyLSgt J TuttonCpl W FrancisCpl PP PimlottCpl B RaiCpl C TreloarLCpl V BandaLCpl A BeeLCpl JM FelixLCpl OO ForresterLCpl L HutchinsonLCpl D HarryLCpl S MandipeLCpl AJ PrydeLCpl M ThompsonLCpl B ThoulessLCpl K WilliamsCfn M EverleighCfn A KirbyCfn J GoadCfn E MooreCfn S VahdatCfn I WharmbyPte Y AbukariPte P AdjeiPte N CampbellPte PL CurriePte L HayfordPte D GurungPte WK KemehCfn AR OluwabusolaPte GT WoodsPte J Samuel

HEADQUARTER COMPANYOfna Dduw, Anrhydedda’r Brenin - Fear God, honour the King

19


HQ COY

HQ COY

As well as having to achieve allthat is required from their ‘dayjob’, the training, PT and teststhat all soldiers have tocomplete must be achieved.This is not always easy, butwith the help of the riflecompanies everyone gets anopportunity to tick the boxes. There has been some turmoilin the management of thecompany over the year withthe departure of two CompanyCommanders in quite a shorttime. Thankfully CSM Brownhas been in the chair to makesense of it all and keepeveryone on track.

QUARTERMASTER’SDEPARTMENT

Since returning from OpHERRICK 10 theQuartermaster's Department

With 162 soldiers, Headquarter Company is thebiggest Coy in the Battalion. Each and every manand woman contributes to the functionality of the

battalion within their own specific field. Certainly without theexpertise and dedication of the members of HQ Coy thebattalion would very quickly grind to a halt.

Hours of hard work from the QM Dept laid the foundationsfor an extremely successful 12X SAAM

has quickly settled into itsrole within Lille Barrackssupporting the Battalion onmany activities.

The department was soonsupporting many events in theNew Year starting with the StDavid’s day, which was a greatsuccess for the Regiment.Companies were soon eager toget back into training, resultingin a battalion field-firingexercise in Sennybridgesupported by a G4 hub headedup by RQMS (M) Pollard, whilstthe remainder of the teamwere busy back in Lille Barrackspreparing Home ServiceClothing for 2 Coy’s trip toMoscow.

The main event of the summerwas the support to the BrigadeSAAM being held at Bulford

Ranges. The Dept, particularlythe Pioneer Sergeant (Sgt Parry64 “Fred”) and the CateringPlatoon worked wondersensuring the standards setwere the same as aGuardsman would haveexpected 20 years ago whencompeting at Bisley.

Then came the CombinedInspection Week (CIW). Theweek was spilt into two parts,encompassing the LogisticalSupport Inspection (LSI) andEquipment Care Inspection(ECI). The Dept put in manyhours behind the scenes over aperiod of weeks to ensure theBattalion would come throughthe Inspection with flyingcolours. The ECI element wasgraded Yellow and the LSI wasgraded Green, both extremelygood reports consideringwhere the Battalion had beenfor the previous 12 months.Credit to all the team involved,particularly both RQMS’s whoas always were delving into thedetail to ensure that no stone

was left unturned.

On completion of the CIW, itwas deemed to be an idealopportunity to concentrate theefforts on the Infrastructureand welfare facilities on offerwithin Lille Bks. A plan was puttogether to overhaul the NAAFIcomplex.

The Corporals’ Mess movedinto a more spacious locationon the top floor of the NAAFIthereby freeing up three roomson the ground floor. It wasdecided that the three roomswere to be transformed into a“Sports Bar” "Internet room"and a “Cinema Room”.

With the plan in place,numerous white board “blueprints” and a simple “GantChart” the project was set. Itwas time to get "into theweeds of it all".

The first to be tackled was theSports Bar. The PioneerSergeant, put his Pioneeringskills into action and fitted noless than 58 pictures includingthe donated rugby tops frompast and present WelshGuardsman and footballmemorabilia from over theyears. The Sports Bar isregularly open everyWednesday afternoon, postfootball, rugby and othersporting home fixturesallowing all ranks to host theaway teams without disruptionto the Cpl’s Mess. The bar isoften run by the mostsupportive of sport members,"water boy", LSgt Parry 34(Paz).

The second project was theTV/Cinema room. Theequipment was all priced andpurchased. RQMS Pollard andFred secured a good deal toliberate some sofas from theBritish Heart Foundation, a 60inch Plasma TV was purchasedand a surround sound systeminstalled by LSgt ‘fixit’ Owens

20


HQ COY

HQ COY

43. By far the biggest withinthe Battalion, the junior ranksare justly proud of their over-sized screen! The memorabiliaon the walls is of junior ranksthat have played sport for theBattalion; all donations fromthe Old and Bold will begratefully received.

The final piece in the jigsawpuzzle was to install anInternet facility. After somegood work by CSgt Wilson(Master Tailor), Sgt Farr, LSgtDavies 44 and LSgt Phillips theInternet suite is now fullyoperational offering freeaccess to all members of theBattalion.

The Department now is fullyfocused on the imminentdeployment to Kenya onExercise ASKARI THUNDER,where the G4 chain will nodoubt be pushed to its limits insupport of the Battalion. Uponour return the Battalion willproceed onto a well-deservedChristmas break but will soonbe engaged in next year’sArms Plot move and PublicDuties commitments. AfterKenya the Department will alsobe saying farewell to theQuartermaster who will beleaving us to attend ICSC(L).

During 2010 we said farewellto Capt Evans (Civilian Street),

WO2 Roberts 99 (Sarn’t Major),WO2 Thomas 53 (Sarn’t MajorOld College, RMAS) and CSgtHarries (Civilian Street). LSgtHemmings and LCpl Jenkins 16are now both employed withinthe Battalion’s company stores.LSgt Wilkes has moved to theHousehold Division TailorsShop and LCpl Sullivan hasbeen posted to the ITC Catterickas the Ammunition Store man.The Department welcomedCapt Bowen (QM Tech), WO2Pollard and Baldwin, whobecame RQMS (M) and (Tech)respectively. CSgt Wilson hasreturned to the Battalion as theMaster Tailor, whilst LSgtPhillips has recently returnedfrom the recruiting world andis now Unit MSA accountant.LSgt Davies 44 has returnedfrom ITC Catterick to be theAmmunition JNCO and LCplCunningham has joined theDept as the Home ServiceClothing Accountant. Finally,Gdsm Boulton (Stan) hasmoved to become the RationStore man under the watchfuleyes of the RCWO.

MT PLATOON

After settling back into thenormal daily running of the MTPlatoon and returning from awell-deserved POTL, thePlatoon has been busy playing

catch-up. Lille Barracks MT is atotally different environmentfrom the high tempooperations in Afghanistan.During the beginning of theyear we dived head first intothe ever familiar busy periodwhere everyone endedrunning around in circlestrying to find their feet.

There were the inevitablepersonnel changes, not least inthe change-over of MTOs, fromCapt ”hello butty” Dawson toCapt “wheyeyeman” Hannan.Over the next four months lifein the MT Platoon was fast andfurious supporting activitiessuch as KAPE tours, adventuretraining exercises in Franceand the Isle of White, and theSAAM for 12 Mech Bde. ThePlatoon Sergeants alsochanged in January, with Sgt“Stench” Stephens handingover to Mr Happy himself, SgtJones 21.

After a short stint warming theMTO’s seat the madColdstreamer, Capt Hannan,handed over to Capt Robinsonjust in time for the CombinedInspection Week. After muchhard work the Platoonachieved a well-earned greenon the LSI and performed wellon the other inspections too.

In June LCpl Horrell, who evensounds and looks like his fatherHonk (!), deployed on Op FIRICto the Falklands with Number 3Company for six weeks wherehe was the MT representativeand through much hard workearned himself a CBFCommendation - well doneLCpl Horrell!. The remainder ofthe platoon pushed on withthe public duties phase andwere heavily involved with thedriving for the kits and capeswagons, and on someoccasions even getting to stagon - lucky us!

The platoon has hammered

driver training over the pasttwo months, with LSgt Haytonand his team holding twohundred and fifty theory tests,and using up all of our steadystate driving entitlement fromCat B to C+E. At the same timewe have run GS courses andconverted the majority of theBattalion’s drivers to left handdrive 110 Land Rover andBedford ready for ourdeployment to Kenya inNovember.

The platoon has recently hadan influx of new blood fromthe other companies. GdsmGreen has come across fromshiny 2, Bebb from the JamBoys, Williams 07 fromIronmen and, best of all, thewell-loved cartoon characterRowe 30, alias “Shaggy - donknow sir”, also from the PoW’sCoy. Others include LSgt“Trigger” Evans 88 from the RPStaff, LSgt Hayton fromColchester and Gdsm Morgan44 from HDPRCC.

With Kenya now firmly on thehorizon the boys are reallylooking forward toexperiencing the Savannahand the adventure training,before returning in lateDecember for a well-earnedChristmas leave. Hopefullyeveryone will have achieved atan, shed at least a stone inweight and saved some moneyready for the holiday season!

CIS PLATOON

As with the remainder of theBattalion the past 12 monthshave seen variety, excitementand a great deal of hard workon the part of the CIS Platoon.

It has been a period that hasoffered the opportunity toreturn to the basics of life as aninfantry signaller. The platoonreturned from Christmas leaveto run a Signals cadre for themore junior members of theplatoon, as well as guardsmen

Capt Freeman (IO) and Capt Spencer-Smith (Ops Offr) hard at work during Mini-CAST.

21


HQ COY

HQ COY

from the rifle companies. WelshGuards signallers, both fromthe CIS Platoon and the riflecompanies, put their newfound skills to good use duringvarious exercises throughoutthe year, and will look tocontinue to do so during theupcoming deployment toKenya on Ex ASKARI THUNDER.

Undoubtedly the primary focusfor the CIS Platoon during 2010was the Uplift to BCiP 5.4. Nosmall undertaking, it saw theBattalion host BOWTAG(S) andmembers of 228 SignalSquadron for a three weekperiod, as nearly every memberof Battalion went throughsome form of signal training touplift them to the latest versionof the BOWMAN system. Withthe training courses over therifle companies deployed to theAldershot Training Area.

As one of the key enablers, theCIS Platoon has been providingsupport to various otherBattalion activities throughout2010, from the 12 BrigadeSAAM to CAST. The platoonalso dusted off their bearskinsand bulled their drill boots tojoin in with 1WG’s Public Dutiescommitment during thesummer.

The Platoon is now lookingforward to deploying to Kenya,

and the inevitable commschallenges that such anenvironment will present!

AGC DETACHMENT

Life within the 1 WG AGC (SPS)Detachment has been verymuch the reversal of life withinthe wider Battalion. Whilst theBattalion returned from OpHERRICK after a successful 6month operational deploymentthe Detachment work was verymuch at the beginning of a verylong administrative road withthe successful completion ofour Assurance and OperationalReadiness Inspection (AORI)being the ultimate goal.

In terms of our personnel as itis with many AGC (SPS)Detachment the end of theoperational deployment spellsthe end of era with a largenumber of personnel departingonto posts within otheroperational units, in particularwe said goodbye to LtBrownridge, WO2 Harrison,SSgt Bishwaneth, Sgt Knight,LSgt Edwards, LSgt Stafferton,and Cpl Ngando. On the flipside we have seen an influx ofnew and highly competentindividuals in the form of; CaptGiles, WO2 Godfree, SSgt Rees,Sgt Page, Sgt Santos-Carey, CplMorrey, Cpl Farrar, Cpl Howatand LCpl Jones. We have also

seen a significant number ofindividuals recognised by theCorps for their dedication, andability to produce results in thedemanding Guardsenvironment, with a significantnumber being selected forsubstantive promotion; LSgtChandler-Johnson, Pte Appiah,Pte Gurung and Pte Thompson.LCpl Jones and LCpl Appiahhave also been recognised fortheir ongoing professionaldevelopment with both beingawarded with NationalVocational Qualifications(NVQs).

During this period of significantpersonnel change we havebeen required to start up anumber of new mission criticalinitiatives, such as theimplementation of the realitiesof the Data Protection Actlegislation, and the beginningsof Information Management.Both of which are crucial tocontributing towards the widerArmy efforts of the digitisationof the battle space. Whilst in thebackground efforts arecontinuing to ensure that JointPersonnel Administration (JPA)is also an area in which theBattalion becomes morefamiliar with as an operatingsystem and the tools it has tooffer.

Although we have been drivingforward with a number ofcrucial aspects of Battalionbusiness I am glad to say thatthe AGC (SPS) Detachment didhave time to undertake a shorthill walking AdventurousTraining Expedition to the LakeDistrict, organised by CaptGiles, during which themajority of the detachmentdeveloped their level ofpractical map reading skills andalso had a lesson in how crucialmaintaining morale is to thesuccess of the team, with theextremely bad weather puttinga dampener on people’s

enthusiasm.

Overall it has been anextremely busy period at theend of which we hope for afairly positive AORI result,however, the road which we allseem to be working so hard totravel down will soon beextended to far flung deepestdarkest Africa, with themajority of the AGC (SPS)Detachment deploying toKenya on Exercise ASKARITHUNDER.

CATERING DEPARTMENT

Looking at the forecast ofevents in October 2009 itseemed that 2010 was goingto be a quiet year for thecatering department. Howeverthe last 12 months have turnedout to be an extremelychallenging period.

As well as the day to daycatering support thisdepartment provides to theBattalion, there have beennumerous large cateringevents such as St David’s Day,the respective Mess’ Christmasand Summer Balls, 12 MechBde SAAM and other variousVIP functions. These events allcome with their own set oflogistical challenges but thefeedback has been nothing butpositive. It has been a steeplearning curve for the morejunior members but theexperience that they gain fromthese events is invaluable.

Sgt Luff led a small cateringteam in support of the No 3 Coydeployment to the FalklandIslands. There have also beenvarious other smallerdeployments such as cateringsupport to CAST North and toNo 2 Coy when they navigatedthe costal paths of the Isle ofWight. A recent 24hr swimmingpool marathon by the chefsmanaged to raise £680 for thisyears BBC children in need.

Members of the AGC Det on Adventurous Training in the Lake District.

22


HQ COY

HQ COY

LSgt Dewan, LCpl Thouless,Pte’s Adjei and Hayford camesecond out of 29 teams in theOFCS phase of the Ex Tiger Catcatering competition. Off theback of this success, LCplThouless and Pte Adjei wereput under even more pressurewhen they were entered intothe Cook and Serve event at thisyears Combined ServicesCatering Competition. Theyproduced a fantastic 3 coursemeal from scratch in under 90minutes while beingscrutinized by some of thiscountry’s top civilian Chef’s.They were awarded a bronzemedal for their efforts, whichwas one of the top awardshanded out for this categoryand proved that these twoyoung talented chefs can morethan hold their own againstother top tri service chefs.

The department got a clean billof health during the LogisticSupport, Equipment Care andEnvironmental HealthInspections. We are alsoundergoing structural changeas a result of Project Kitchenerwith loss of the Master Chef, aLCpl and a Pte post, so it will bea leaner department that facesnext year’s challenges.

LAD

After returning from Christmasleave the LAD had to catch upon the backlog work that hadstacked up during Op HERRICK10. During this busy time wemanaged to get some muchdeserved Adventure Training inand some other competitiveevents along the way.

After returning fromAfghanistan the Battalionconcentrated on getting all ofthe Guardsmen and AttachedArms onto some AdventureTraining. For the LAD, we gotthe chance to go skiing in LesArcs for the week with No 3Company. The entire LAD had agreat week skiing and thosewho had never skied beforepicked it up quickly. This wasalso a great opportunity to geteveryone out of their comfortzone, some of the first timeskiers even throwingthemselves down some blackslopes by the end of the week.

The DW race is a 125-mile racethat starts on the Kennet andAvon canal in Devizes and joinsthe River Thames in Readingcontinuing all the way toWestminster. Two teams fromthe Battalion entered the race.LCpl Harry and Cfn Goad of the

LAD were one of these teams.They completed the race in 22hrs 30 mins, and came 40th outof 127 who started. Not put off,they have both expressed adesire to beat this time nextyear! They also became theArmy Champions in thediscipline of K2 B class 13 miler.

On 30th April No 3 Companydeployed to the FalklandIslands on Op FIRIC, supportedby Cfn Wharmby and CfnMoore. Over the next 9 weeksthey supported the Company atMPA and on Onion Range,repairing Land rovers, BV 206and small arms. Cfn Moore hadthe tough job of completely re-stamping every GPMG barrel inthe Armoury and inspecting allthe weapons prior to overheadfiring. As well as gauging themortars. Cfn Wharmby waskept more than busy keepingan ageing and crippled fleet onthe road with assistance fromthe MT JNCO, LCpl Horrell, andGdsm Evens 28.

1WG’s Equipment CareInspection (ECI) took place inJune 2010, with the LADneeding to put in a lot of workto prepare all the equipmentand check the managementsystems prior to the arrival of

the inspection team.Unfortunately the Battalion didnot quite achieve the Green thatwe were hoping for, but oureyes are now firmly fixed onachieving a green in next year’sinspection.

In June the Welsh Guards hadthe honour of hosting the 12Mech Bde SAAM at BulfordRanges, with the LAD providingSmall Arms Equipment supportthroughout. With perfect firingconditions and a slight cross-breeze, the week wentsmoothly with only cosmeticrepairs to the weapon systemsbeing required.

After learning that Number 2Company had a cache ofsurfboards and wetsuits intheir company stores, the LADdeployed to Saunton Sands forsome impromptu AdventureTraining. Everyone got stuckstraight in trying to catch themonster waves. After few goodwipeouts most of the LADmanaged to get up on a wave.It was a good day and everyoneput in maximum effort in orderto enjoy the day. The LADfootball team also continue todo well in the Craftsman’s Cup.On returning from Kenya, theyare looking forward to the nextfixture, against 17 Port andMaritime LAD.

CONCLUSION

From what you’ve read you’llsee that HQ Company is ingood order. The unsungheroes of the battalioncontinue to work behind thescenes ensuring thateverything that must be doneis completed without too muchfuss and bother. The companycontinues to be home to someof the most loyal andinspirational Welsh Guardsmenwho keep the Battalion thesame happy place it has alwaysbeen.

Members of the Catering Department take part in the Exercise TIGER CAT Catering Competition.

Ellerby’s Clarinet Concerto, andMusn Dave Jones onVibraphone performing “ATribute to Lionel”. We werelucky to still have in the Band atthe time oboist/BSM Julian Kirkand bassoonist Musn OliverGalletta to whom, on the finalday of the recording, we bidfarewell. They have now left topursue other careers, in whichwe wish them all the best.

Another solo feature was fromSgt. Andy Libby on Alto Saxperforming a Japanesearrangement of John Lennon’s“Imagine. In March the Band

In December of last year theBand spent two days in theGuards Chapel recording ournew CD “Heroes’ Return”. TheCD is a mix of modern andoriginal works with oldfavourite selections like ‘ATribute to Gershwin’ given anew lease of life from one ofJapan’s leading arrangersNaohiri Iwai.

As well as excellentperformances from the Bandas a whole, included on the CDare solos from Musn Kim Easterplaying Ist Movement“Carousel” from Martin

BAND OF THE WELSH GUARDSLCpl Caroline Smith

This year, The Band of the Welsh Guards hasundertaken many diverse jobs from recording a CD,roulement band at Kneller Hall, Classical Spectacular

at the Royal Albert Hall to, most importantly and proudly,supporting the Welsh Guards for their Homecoming Paradesand a fundraising concert tour in Wales. We even managedto fit in a week’s adventure training skiing in Andorra, aswell as public duties.

The Band of the Welsh Guards during the CD Recording, Heroes’ Return at the Guards Chapel.‘

BAND OF THE WELSH GUARDS

said, ‘Bon Voyage’ to Sgt. Libby,as he went on ExerciseProgram Longlook workingwith the Australian Army Band.The trip by all accounts wasgruelling, the stopover inHawaii sounded punishing asdid the barbecues, sea andsun!! In exchange, wewelcomed from the AustralianArmy Band the delightfulpercussionist Sgt. Richard“Ozzie Dick” Cutler.Unfortunately we were unableto offer him the weather he isaccustomed to, but after hisvisit with the Band to Rhyl I’msure he would agree it’s been afair swap.

”On February 6th the Bandplayed in concert at St.JohnEvangelist Church, Sidcup in aidof the Royal British Legion. Thesuccessful concert includedsolo performances from MusnDave Jones on Vibraphone

playing “A Tribute to Lionel”,LCpl Rebecca Watts on Violinperformed “Schindler’s List”and LCpl Stu Laing on Cornetdedicated “My Love Is Like ARed, Red Rose” to his wife whowas in the audience.

On the 3rd of March the Bandwas at Buckingham Palace toplay for the arrival of the statecarriage procession, as part ofthe three day state visit bySouth Africa’s President JacobZuma.

Throughout March, the Bandwas proud to support the 1stBattalion Welsh Guards whoundertook HomecomingParades throughout Wales. TheHomecoming Parades startedin Cardiff, also helping launchArmed Forces Day, and werealso held in Swansea, MerthyrTydfil, Newport, Bridgend,Caernarfon, Wrexham andRhyl. Each parade involved upto 250 returning soldiers whowere given a heroes’ welcome.The Parades allowed thesupporting public anopportunity to show theirappreciation and pride for thebravery and dedication of theWelsh Guards, this waspalpable in every town and citywe visited. In every townproceedings ended with areception and presentation,the hospitality was fantasticand greatly deserved. Our visits to Wales did not endthere, as we returned at theend of April to Swansea, St.Davids and Cardiff for our threecities fundraising concert tour“Heroes’ Return”.

The beginning of May saw theBand undertake two, week-

23


24


long Tattoos back to back.Firstly, The Voorthuizen MilitaryTattoo in Holland, part of theDutch National Celebrations forthe 65th anniversary of theliberation of the Netherlands.This featured military bandsfrom all over the worldincluding Poland and Trinidadand Tobago, to name but afew.

Immediately on our returnfrom Holland, we beganrehearsals for the 3rd WindsorCastle Royal Tattoo. Its aim is toprovide support to servicemenand women throughentertainment. The Tri-Serviceevent is a programme ofmodern, traditional, UK andoverseas acts.

Following the general electionon the 6th of May the Bandwas situated on Whitehall toplay for the procession routefrom Buckingham Palace to thePalace of Westminster for theState Opening of Parliamentwhich took place on the 25th ofMay.

After such a fast paced andbusy start to the year, the Bandeased its way into the usualrigours of summer season

including the Queen’s BirthdayParade and Beating Retreat.However, it wasn’t long beforewe were back in Wales forArmed Forces’ Day. This yearCardiff proudly was the hostcity for the nationalcelebrations of Britain’sservicemen and women, torecognise their bravery andsacrifice. Thousands of peoplelined the streets in support ofthe troops, veterans, and

cadets that marched fromCardiff Castle to the Bay in theblazing sunshine through thered, white, blue, and greenconfetti. The parade was led bythe Prince of Wales and theDuchess of Cornwall. Theywere joined at the Roald DahlPlas, Cardiff Bay, by the thenHead of Armed Forces, AirChief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrupand Defence Secretary Dr. LiamFox, for the open air Drumhead

ceremony. It is estimated that50,000 people attended thecelebrations.

A week later, on the 3rd of July,it was back on the bus to travelto Kirklington Polo Ground inOxfordshire. The polo matchwas organised by JessicaTomblin in memory of herbrother, Lt. Col. RupertThorneloe, and the event wasin aid of the Welsh GuardsAfghanistan Appeal. Twoteams competed for the RupertThorneloe Memorial Cup. Itwas a beautiful day with lots ofactivities and fundraisingevents as well as the match,with the band providingmusical entertainment.

Just over a week later on the14th July, the Band returned toWales for another worthwhilecause. This time to PembrokeCastle to play a part in thisyear’s International HolidayCamp for the disabledorganised by members of theOrder of Malta. The campbrings together over 450disabled guests and helpersfrom over 20 differentcountries across Europe. Theethos of the week long holidaycamp is to provide”... them



Sgt Richard Cutler with the Band in front of Cardiff Castle before marching through the city on Armed Forces Day

The Band performing in the Massed Bands during the Voorthuizen Military Tattoo in Holland

25




with the opportunity to share aholiday and to experience theculture, spirituality andhospitality of a different nation,with like-minded people”. Afterthe marching display ourenthusiastic and appreciativeaudience had a chance tointeract with the Band, byconducting and playingpercussion. To round off theBand played the InternationalCamps theme of the year, ‘AllYou Need Is Love’ (by theBeatles). Every year the camphas a different song thatrepresents its theme: “ love iseverything and is completelyfree from poverty andexclusion.”

A week after our return fromsummer leave the Band packedup and left to begin a 2-monthroulement tour of Germany. Wewere based at JHQRheindahlen for the durationof our stay. The Brass Quintetplayed at many Mess eveningsthroughout the region, and theBand as a whole played atBeating Retreats inFallingbostel, Paderborn,Gutersloh, Krefeld and BadOyenhausen. These were all insupport of Anglo-German

relations. The Beating Retreatin Paderborn was also part ofthe bi-annual celebrations for‘Britfest’ and culminated in ajoint British, German and PolishTattoo.

As we were in theneighbourhood, we met upwith the Welsh GuardsAssociation on the 12th ofSeptember to join in theparade to honour andremember the liberation of

Hechtel. Unfortunately theweather wasn’t on our side,and we were in for a goodsoaking, but no one’s spiritswere dampened by theweather. The day included alovely lunch, wine, speeches,poetry and of course singing!

We’re now back in WellingtonBarracks and have preformedat The Festival ofRemembrance with guitarplaying legend Brian May

“The Band performing at Pembroke Castle for the Maltacamp 2010”

The Band of the Welsh Guards Beat Retreat in front of the impressive Schloss Neuhaus

(from Queen) and Kerry Ellis.The Cenotaph and the WelshGuards Regimental March tothe Guards’ Memorial (BlackSunday) was very moving, asmany ex-Welsh Guardsmenmade the journey to London tosee the unveiling of a newplaque in the Guards Chapelfor Welsh Guardsmen killed inAfghanistan during thesummer of 2009.

It has been a busy and variedyear for The Band of the WelshGuards, and we now wait inanticipation for what the nextyear will bring.

Finally congratulations to LSgtScott Murray upon hiscompletion of the course andin becoming a fully qualifiedPTI, he has since beenwhipping the band into shape!Congratulations also to LCplRichard Burton on his successin being accepted onto theBandmasters Course, and toSgt Andy Libby and Musn MarkSkinner who both got marriedto their respective partnersduring the summer.

BAND OF THE WELSH GUARDS26


I discovered that the AFPS wasan opportunity for politicians,past and present, to get upclose and personal withmembers of the Armed Forces– Private to Major General – toget a better understanding ofwhat life is like in the military.Looking at the tasking sheet Inoticed that it was a LondonDistrict task and as well as theWelsh Guards Band it alsoinvolved the First BattalionGrenadier Guards hotfoot fromtheir return from Afghanistanand subsequent performanceson Horse Guards Trooping theColour at the annual Queen’s

ARMED FORCES PARLIAMENTARY SCHEME

Major Stephen Barnwell

Birthday Parade. The venue wasthe Royal Hospital, Chelsea andapparently it was an annualMOD event.

At that first (and only) recce visitto Chelsea it became clear thatthis was a Tri-Service event, butone where each Service takes itin turns to act as hosts. Thatbeing the case it quicklybecame apparent also that insuccessive years each Servicehad been trying to out do theothers and it had resulted in anevent that had been scaling upquicker than the interest on thenational debt.

I remember the look ofincredulity on the face of theQuartermaster 1 Gren Gdswhen the chairman of the AFPSsuggested that he might like toorganise the setting up ofdisplay stands to demonstratesome of the weapons andtechniques employed by theBattalion on their recent tour inAfghanistan in order to impressthe guests as they arrived. Thecalm explanation that all suchequipment is immediately backloaded upon the completion ofOPS was met with something ofa “shrug of the shoulders”moment. The idea of turning outa Guard of Honour was alsomooted, but expertly “flatbatted” by the sameQuartermaster after he’dascertained there was noprincipal guest and only ageneral arrival time that wasspread over a period of 30minutes - scope for a “Grand OldDuke of York” moment or two.

For our part in this therequirement was to providebackground music during the 2hour reception and a bugle callto end it – the latter being asignal for guests to make theirway outside to watch aconcluding ceremony ofBeating Retreat.

The net result of all this on thenight was a superb welcomingarray of display standsmanned by Guardsman from 1Gren Gds exactly as requested- the Quartermaster has

obviously “pulled more than justa few strings”; 2 brass quintetslocated at opposite ends of theGreat Dining Hall playingsuccessively in an almostcontinuous manner throughoutthe cocktail party - in a similarmanner to that of the 2 bandslocated at opposite ends of thelawn at a Buckingham PalaceGarden Party; followed by agrand fanfare from the balconyabove.

The concluding 20 minuteceremony of Beating Retreatbegan promptly at 2130 Hoursand by the half-way point nighthad fallen. Fortunately this wasJuly and the band was by nowentirely familiar with thedisplay and more importantlythe music. They continued onto the finish completelyunhindered to receiverapturous applause from theassembled guests as well asfrom some of the in-pensioners at the windows oftheir dormitories.

So, over to you then next theRoyal Navy and the Royal AirForce – enjoy!

Major Barnwell

A FPS – the Armed Forces Pension Scheme isn’t it?Apparently not. This engagement was for the ArmedForces Parliamentary Scheme. A new one on me!

I’m sure there are rules about this sort of thing, aren’t there?Once we’d got that one cleared up I was eager to find out whatthis event was actually all about and what it entailed.

Welsh Guards Brass Quintet 1 of 2!


A Grand Fanfare sounded from the balcony of the Great Dining Hallreplaced the customary Bugle Call

2138 Hours and night is drawing nigh


BAND OF THE WELSH GUARDS 27

This appeal was set upfollowing the Welsh Guardstour of Afghanistan.Unfortunately there were thosewho paid the ultimate sacrificefor Queen and Country. Inaddition to these sad losses,many of the Welsh Guardsmenreturned with injuries, some ofwhich will stay with them forthe rest of their lives. The

Appeal’s aim is to provide lifelong support not just for thesoldiers themselves, but for thefamilies of those affected.

On tour with the Band werespecial guests The MorristonOrpheus Male Voice Choir andIona Jones (soprano). The tourcommenced on St. George’sDay in the Brangwyn HallSwansea, home of the

The Welsh Guards Band undertook a tour of three ofWales’s southern cities over the course of oneweekend in April. Entitled “Heroes’ Return”, the tour

was entirely charitable, raising both money and awarenessfor the Welsh Guard’s Afghanistan Appeal Fund.

REGIMENTAL BAND EVENTS

Morriston Orpheus Choir andcoincided with their 75thanniversary. Saturday eveningwas a sell-out performance atSt David’s Cathedral, St. David’s,and the tour wrapped up witha late afternoon concert in St.David’s Hall Cardiff on Sunday25th April. Of the threeconcerts, the St. David’sCathedral performance wasthe most enjoyable. The size,beauty and stunning locationof the venue added anintimacy and atmosphericsense of welcome notachievable in the large spacesof the Brangwyn and St David’sHalls.

Audiences were treated to avaried programme of music,with each artist altering their

musical contributions at thedifferent locations. Solos frommembers of the Band featuredthroughout. At St David’sCathedral, LCpl Rebecca Wattseffectively demonstrated themusical virtuosity of bandmembers by putting down herflute and picking up her violinto play the solo theme to thefilm Schindler’s List.

“To fallen soldiers let us sing…” The opening line to theevocative, and perfectlychosen, Mansions of the Lord,with which the MorristonOrpheus Choir opened theirperformance each evening.Even after trimming back fromtheir 85 voices in order to fitthe space of St David’sCathedral, the choir sung witha tenderness that portrayedthe real heartache of the song,emphasising the emotionalhardship at the core of theAppeal Fund.

Iona Jones treated theaudiences not only to her clear,unfussy soprano singing, butalso delicately gatheredeveryone for communitysinging with a medley ofwartime favourites. Onceagain, this worked best in theclose proximity of St. David’sCathedral, adding a strongsense of “family” to thisconcert. Finally to signal theclose of each concert The Bandand choir performed “Now theday is over” sotto voce to a lonetrumpeter playing The LastPost. For many, this was a verymoving reminder of theconcert tour’s purpose.

HEROES’ RETURN – THREE CITIES TOURWelsh Guardsmen in Afghanistan

Sgt Charlie Hancock

Welsh Guardsmen in Afghanistan

28




After arriving at the chalet in

the early evening, we were

introduced to the chalet staff

that were to be cooking and

looking after us for the week

when we weren’t on the slopes

(or in the bars enjoying a quick

après ski beer).

ADVENTUROUS TRAINING - EX COCKNEY LARK 4.

Musn David Jones

On the 10th of January 2010, 15 members of the bandarrived for the bus very early in the morning to headtowards Gatwick Airport, and escape the cold and

thick snow of England for a week skiing in the cold andthicker snow of El Tarter on the Andorran Pyrenees.

On Monday morning we all

headed up to the slopes

together to be separated into

three groups with the

beginners going straight to Cpl

A Jenkins class (AKA the

Rabbits), whilst the rest took to

the nursery slopes to find

they’re skiing legs and getseparated into theintermediate and advancedgroups, ready to spend theweek training for their Basic SkiProficiency and Ski TourProficiency. Wednesday sawthe intermediate group, ‘TheBadgers’, undertake a bit ofuphill skiing as well asdownhill for their Ski TourProficiency, then in theevening, everyone ventured upthe hill from El Tarter to Soldeufor a nice posh meal and a fewdrinks. The week culminated inthe tests that we had spent theweek preparing for, soeveryone headed to the top of

the mountain after lunch. Onour arrival at the top of theslope which we were using forthe tests, the faces of thebeginners all of a suddenbecame very tentative lookingas they spotted the signdenoting that this run wasactually a black run, buteverybody (even thebeginners) got down to thebottom unscathed. Witheveryone having passed withflying colours, Saturday wasspent enjoying many slopes allover the resort in one biggroup, then packing up readyto make our way back to amuch less snowy England.


BAND OF THE WELSH GUARDS 29


I was required to spend myfirst couple of weeksperforming both as a vocalistand Saxophonist with theSydney band (AAB-S) andstraight away I had anopportunity to get an insightinto one of the premier bandsin the AABC. The high qualityfacilities that an AustralianArmy band has, as comparedto ours in the UK, was verynoticeable. The comprehensivestudio for rehearsing theconcert band was equippedwith a state of the artrecording studio as well asseveral practise studios foreach section of the band. Theavailability of computers toaccess DRN (their equivalent toour JPA) was most apparenttoo, with enough sparecapacity for many of the band’scomposers and arrangers toaccess Sibelius. A highemphasis is put onencouraging the band’smusicians do their own

The Australian Army Band Corps (AABC) is made up of 5full time bands and a larger number of reserve bandsthat are located right across Australia. My host officer

for Exercise Long Look, Major Peter O’Connor, had compiled aprogramme comprising visits to several bands that would giveme the opportunity to see the vast and diverse nature of theAABC.

compositions andarrangements, which aresubsequently performed onband engagements. Changingfacilities and storage space forequipment and uniforms werealso there in abundance -something I noted at all thebands I visited - and veryunlike the UK bands all haveaccess to a number ofdedicated band vehicles.

My first engagement with theAAB-S was a performance withthe Concert Band and Big Bandat an RSL Club in Pittwater. Thisgave me the opportunity towitness how the band carriedout engagements - logisticallyas well as musically. There wasa heavy focus on Health andSafety in the work place,particularly when loading andunloading band equipment. Allthe Army bands are providedwith a tail gate truck and aSergeant is given theresponsibility of monitoringthe whole load process – no

small task given that the bandsall use a vast amount of heavysound equipment and havetheir own mobile staging. Alllifts and movement are carriedout methodically under strictsupervision to avoid accidents.In comparison to our FootGuards Bands, the Sydneyband carries out much fewerengagements and so musicalpreparation is more thoroughwith lots of time for rehearsal.My impression of the overallmusicianship of the AustralianService musicians is that it ismuch more diverse than oursand equal importance isplaced on all the differentstylistic approaches to musicmaking.

The next phase of my visit waswith the band in Melbourne,which is where the DefenceSchool of music (DFSM) is alsolocated. It was no surprise thento discover that the facilitieshere are outstanding. Unlike inthe UK, the DFSM (as the titlesuggests) also incorporatesthe Navy. Newly trainedrecruits just out of phase-onetraining, as well as musiciansup for promotion, all attendmusic courses here. They alsorun comprehensive courses inSound Recording and inProduction and Lighting. At thetime of my visit a team fromAABC were just getting readyto deploy to Afghanistan toprovide a staging and lightingcapability for use whenentertaining NATO Forces onoperations. The main focus forme during this part of my staywas the Anzac Day paradethrough the streets ofMelbourne, which wasimmediately followed by aperformance at the notoriousMCG stadium.

After 9 days in Melbourne Imoved on to Darwin to visit theAAB-D. Here a reserve bandthat normally only meets on a

Tuesday evening was takingpart in their annual 2- weektraining camp. Unlike the fulltime bands, this band washoused in temporaryaccommodation in an oldWarehouse, but nevertheless itwas well equipped with first-class equipment. Again I wasactively immersed in theactivity of playing in the bandand this time became afeatured instrumentalistduring a performance at theMindil markets. I was also ableto offer some instruction in thetraining programme byteaching jazz improvisation,which was greatly received bythe inquisitive part timemusicians. The OC too wasgrateful for the training I hadgiven, adding that it would beextremely valuable for futureengagements up here in theNorthern Territory.

Although originally attached to1RAR, the Band in Townsville(my next port of call) is nowpart of the AABC. Unlike otherfull time bands, which aremade up of approximately 35musicians, this band is only a20-piece group of musicians.Their role is mainly to provideentertainment for the unitsbased in Townsville and like allbands, the AAB-T also providea high percentage of supportto the local community. I tookpart in several gigs with theRock Band and the Big Band,which included a marchthrough the streets, a Ball inPort Douglas, and providingmusical support to a SchoolCareers Fair in Cairns.

The Canberra Band wasdescribed to me as the busiestBand in the corps. Upon arrivalthe change in the weatherfrom the lovely warm sun ofNorthern Queensland changeddrastically to a cold rainy day...had I returned to England? Iwas met by Captain Thompson

A LOOK AT THE AUSTRALIANARMY BAND CORPS

SGT Andy Libby

Sgt Libby performing at the MCG stadium with the Australian Army Band-Melbourne

30


who briefed me on the natureof what I could expect over thecoming weeks and hesuggested a more informalsetting might be a nice way toget acquainted with some ofthe members of the Band. Thisturned out to be at a popularwatering hole in the city and itis fair to say a fun night washad by all.

So the task at hand, afterintroductions with the OC, 2ICand BSM, was to play BaritoneSax in the Concert Band andthe Big Band. Theengagements I was to beinvolved in were a Guard ofHonour, The Queen’s BirthdayParade, The Graduation Paradeof the Staff Cadets, and theMerimbula Jazz Festival. It feltquite an honour to have theopportunity to be a part ofsuch high profile events.

My first job with the Band was aGuard of Honour for thePresident of the Maldives.Having played at several similarevents in London this was agreat opportunity to see howthe Australians greet theirinternational dignitaries. What aSpectacle - a prestigious Band,the Federation Guard and thepresence of the GovernorGeneral of Australia. I certainlyknew I had arrived at Canberraat the sharp end of things.

That first Saturday evening Iwas invited to a Dining-In

dinner at the RMC SergeantsMess. Another opportunity tosee the Australian way of doingthings and also the opportunityfor my fiancé (now my wife –see related photo in theWeddings section) to buy anew dress! I was introduced tothe Colonel of Duntroon whowas very interested to see if Iwould be taking part in theQueen’s Birthday Paradewearing the traditional headdress of the Foot Guards - “TheBearskin Cap”. I informed himthat due to Luggagerestrictions this was almostimpossible, or was it? On theMonday morning the BSM andCaptain Dave Thompsondecided that maybe there wassomeone in Australia whomight just own such a hat.Jackpot! The Vice Defence Chiefhad served with the IrishGuards as a young Captain andwas the proud owner of abearskin cap, which he washappy to loan. So after a littlecleaning and adjustment of thechin strap I was now ready toparticipate in the Queen’sBirthday parade in fullCeremonial Uniform.

Having taken part in the“Trooping of the Colour” inLondon on many occasions, Ihoped the Queen’s BirthdayParade in Canberra would besomething I could do withrelatively ease. Although similarin many ways, carrying out

Australian Drill was a challengein itself, but thanks to the manyBand members teaching methe relevant movements I wasable to take part relativelycomfortably. I also wondered ifthe Parade would be as high inpomp and ceremony as I havecome to expect back home andit did not disappoint. TheAustralian way of precision andexpertise was no different andthe parade ground was full ofall the traditions and pageantryone would expect from such ahigh profile event. Photoopportunities had been thenorm everywhere I had beenso far and here was noexception. Major Steve H, who Ihad met in the UK when theRMC Band had come to Londonto participate in Public Duties,took me to see the General whowas quite interested in findingout who the person was whohad be wearing his Bearskin!

There was no respite for theRMC Band after the Parade andit was onto the Merimbula JazzFestival. Having rehearsed allthe previous week with theRMC Big Band the first gig wasa Sunday afternoon concert atthe Bowls Club. The venue wasabsolutely jam packed with anAudience just dying to see thisprofessional organisation inaction. The band did notdisappoint and under theleadership of Captain DaveThompson the band played arip roaring Jazz Set with someincredible solos from the likesof Bubba, SGT Matthews, andDigger Apps.

One of the questions I askedmyself during the visit was,“apart from being greatmusicians and people, how dothey manage to stay so happywhen the Schedule is so busy,and what keeps motivatingthem to keep their standardsso high”? The first part of myquestion was answered by the

BSM, “don’t ever tell the bandwe are busy, just relay to theBand that we are working atthis gig and that one”; simple,but brilliant I think, and the OCadded that he tries to makesure that whenever themusicians come to work theyalways feel they have apurpose.

All the Army Bands I visitedhad several points in common- an excellent managementteam, not only in theirapproach to the Job, but alsotheir management of people.Army musicians certainly feelvalued and most are veryhighly motivated. All Bandshave excellent facilities and theSenior NCO’s are well qualifiedin their respective areas ofexpertise whether it be Healthand Safety or Group Leadersresponsible for report writing -unlike in the UK the NCO’s in theAABC have a bigger role to playin this area by actively writingreports on subordinates. Myoverall experience was one ofwitnessing high standards, notonly musically, but also indeportment and in the highlevels of quality in peoplemanagement, administration,and welfare. The opportunityto work and make music withmusicians from anothercountry has been a highlyrewarding and beneficialexperience and it has helpedme in my own development asa musician.

The proud owner of the Bearskin Cap (Right),the Vice Defence Chief, was a former Officer in the Micks!

Sgt Libby



31




I received a message a fewdays later with a date and timeto be measured for my newuniform. I excitedly arrived atWellington Barracks and wasgreeted by the Bandmaster,who took me around thevarious stores and offices toget my kit. It was during thistime that I discovered the Bandwere about to undertake a 2-month Roulement Tour ofGermany and would be basedat JHQ Rheindahlenthroughout. It was then Irealised that as soon as I wasposted to my band, I would betravelling there with them! Itwas certainly a shock. Thethought of spending 2 monthsaway from home with a groupof people I’d never met wasdaunting, but upon reflection Irealised it would be a brilliantopportunity to get to the knowthe band and get stuck into thejob.

So on August 31, with amixture of excitement and

apprehension, I loaded all mynewly issued kit onto thecontainer lorry and preparedfor the long bus journey aheadto Germany. Once we’d arrivedand settled in at the BandBlock, we began our firstperformances of the tour.These included several BeatingRetreats at Army Camps - thefirst being Fallingbostel - andvarious other venues aroundthe area such as the stunningcastle at Paderborn – SchlossNeuhaus.

As I had not yet learnt themarching display, I became anaccomplished security guardon these gigs! Though afterwatching the Band performingthe display, I was eager tolearn it and get started! Myfirst opportunity to play cameat the Stadtfest inMönchengladbach, a town notfar from the JHQ. Having notyet mastered the art ofremoving several pieces ofmusic from my card case, the

public of Mönchengladbachwitnessed all of my musicflying across the square. Thiswas much to the amusementof the band. I managed to havea little more practice atmastering this skill however, ata British country fair in Krefeld!

One of the most significantgigs of the tour was aLiberation Ceremony inHechtel-Eskel, Belgium. Thisevent was celebrating its 66thyear and is a Ceremony that isattended annually by veteransof the Welsh Guards. This yearthe Veterans were able to bringtheir “Regimental Band” toparticipate in the Ceremony,which involved the Bandmarching as part of the paradethrough Hechtel-Eskel.Afterwards followed a fantasticspread for lunch and somerousing singing from theveterans!

The next gig with the Bandpresented yet anotherchallenge for me. The gig wasan evening Marching display atthe picturesque BadOeynhausen. By the time theBand had begun the marchingdisplay it was pitch black and Isoon had to startremembering all the pieces wewere playing from memory! Itwas certainly interesting.

Whilst at JHQ I had theopportunity to play in somebrass quintets at the Sergeant’sMess. This was a beneficialexperience for me and alsovery enjoyable. As well as this Iparticipated in Full Bandrehearsals, which gave me achance to hear the band in thecontext of a concertperformance and wassomething I also enjoyed. TheBand also did group PTtogether regularly and all ofthese gave me the opportunityto get to know people.

Annually, the Band travels to

Paris to play at the Prix De L’ArcDe Triomphe, and this year wasno different. Throughout myfirst few weeks in the band I’dheard lots of positive stuffabout the trip and was reallylooking forward to it. As part ofour performances, we playedmusic to the crowds at theraces and even marched onthe racing track itself. We wereblessed with stunning weatherand were well fed withdelicious French pastries,something I particularlyenjoyed!

When we weren’t performingaround the area or rehearsingFull Band, there was time tosee the nearby areas andsocialise on camp. Oneweekend was spent inDüsseldorf exploring the OldTown. Other members of theBand went to Cologne and intoMönchengladbach. Thebowling alley at JHQ hosted ourBand Social and the cinema oncamp was also explored! TheBand were very friendlythroughout the tour and reallyhelped me settle in, whether itwas chatting over a pint ormaking me sing songs on thelong coach journeys. 999green bottles on the wallproved to be a hit!

As October began, the Bandhad fewer performances to doand so it was decided that wetravel back to the UK and

MY VERY FIRST BAND TOURMUSN Kate Challinor

When I was called into the Deputy Chief Instructorsoffice at Kneller Hall to receive my first assignmentafter completing phase-2 training, I was ecstatic to

discover it was my first preference - the Band of the WelshGuards.

The Band of the Welsh Guards Beat Retreat in front of the impressive Schloss Neuhaus

Musn Challinor

32




return to Germany for the lastgig of the tour some 2 and halfweeks later. Before thishowever, there was a MessBand in Brunssum, Holland.The Mess dinner was tocelebrate Trafalgar Day and wewere to provide a band toentertain the members of theNavy. The dinner also receivedmilitary personnel of varyingnationalities from French toCanadian. The evening wasenjoyable as the band werevery warmly welcomed by thediners. After the dinner hadfinished, we travelledovernight to the UK and arrivedjust as the inhabitants ofWellington Barracks wererising!

The last performance of thetour was a Tattoo in Minden. Inits second year, the tattooincluded bands from the CzechRepublic, Poland, Germany aswell as us, billed as the “WelshGuards from England”. Thefinale, involving all the bandsas well as Pipes and Drums,included Time to Say Goodbye,Thank you for the Music andAmazing Grace, which receiveda standing ovation from theaudience.

The tour was a greatopportunity to meet the Bandand I really feel they made thisas easy as they could for me.My earlier apprehensionsabout going are long gone, as Ifeel it was the best thing Icould have done as newmember of the band. Now allthat remains is to get settled inLondon!

The Band of the Welsh Guardsat the 2nd Minden Tattoo

The Band of the Welsh Guardstakes part in the 66th AnniversaryLiberation Parade in Hechtel-Eskel,

Belgium – an annual pilgrimage for theWelsh Guards Association

The Band of the Welsh Guardsentertaining the public at the

British Country Fair in Krefeld.

DISTRIBUTION OF OFFICERS


DISTRIBUTION OF OFFICERS 33

DISTRIBUTION OF OFFICERS as at 1 January 2011

REGIMENTAL HEADQUARTERS

Colonel-in-Chief HER MAJESTY THE QUEENColonel of the Regiment HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCE OF

WALES KG KT GCB OM AK QSO PC ADCRegimental Lieutenant Colonel Brigadier R H Talbot Rice Regimental Adjutant Colonel (Retd) T C S BonasTemporary Equerry Captain H T S FinneganAssistant Regimental Adjutant Major (Retd) F K OultramDirector of Music Major S Barnwell

1st BATTALION

Lieutenant Colonel C K Antelme DSO Commanding OfficerMajor B P N Ramsay Second in CommandMajor E J T Mellish Officer Commanding The Prince of Wales’s CompanyMajor D W N Bevan Officer Commanding Number Two CompanyMajor J M Hobrough Officer Commanding Number Three CompanyMajor D Ryan Officer Commanding Headquarter CompanyMajor J J Bethell Officer Commanding Support CompanyMajor A Bowen QuartermasterCaptain N R K Moukarzel AdjutantCaptain T C Spencer-Smith Operations OfficerCaptain P J Durham Intelligence OfficerCaptain C H L Beare Intelligence Officer DesignateCaptain C J P Davies Officer Commanding Anti-Tank PlatoonCaptain P Robinson Defence Transport ManagerCaptain D Pridmore Regimental Careers Management OfficerCaptain J R E Harvie Second in Command Number 3 CompanyCaptain O G James Regimental Signals OfficerCaptain T R Richards Second in Command Number 3 CompanyCaptain D Hannan CG Unit Welfare OfficerCaptain L McNaughton IG Training OfficerLieutenant A J H Dunlop Second in Command Number 2 CompanyLieutenant T R Thompson Platoon Commander Prince of Wales’s CompanyLieutenant G C Charles-Jones Officer Commanding Reconnaissance PlatoonLieutenant C E Maltby Platoon Commander Prince of Wales’s CompanyLieutenant M C D Simpson Officer Commanding Mortar PlatoonLieutenant F J Wright Platoon Commander Prince of Wales’s CompanyLieutenant A L Major Platoon Commander Number Three CompanyLieutenant B N H Bardsley Platoon Commander Number Two CompanySecond Lieutenant J A Bromfield Platoon Commander Number Three CompanySecond Lieutenant M Wright Platoon Commander Prince of Wales’s Company




34

EXTRA REGIMENTALLY EMPLOYED

Brigadier B J Bathurst OBE Comd Initial Training GroupBrigadier R H Talbot Rice Director Equipment, HQ LFColonel A J E Malcolm OBE COS, NATO Training Mission BaghdadColonel R H W St G Bodington LVO MBE ACOS J7, HQ ARRCColonel R J Æ Stanford MBE Higher Command and Staff CourseLieutenant Colonel G A J Macintosh SO1 Instr Kuwaiti Staff CollegeLieutenant Colonel G Bartle-Jones Commanding Officer 2nd Battalion ATR PirbrightLieutenant Colonel D L W Bossi SO1 OCE Op HERRICKMajor T F Charles COS HQ 145 (South) Bde, AldershotMajor R G B Pim SO2 J3 FP, PJHQ, NorthwoodMajor G C G R Stone SO2 Offrs Ft Gds APC GlasgowMajor G RHarris DSO MBE SO2 CT & GC Land Ops Dir, MODMajor H G C Bettinson SO2 Plans Fd Trg Gp (UK)Major R W Gallimore SO2 Experimentation LWDGMajor C T Sargent OC 2 Coy1 GREN GDSMajor D HBasson ResettlementMajor M LLewis SO2 G3 Ops/CTS HQ 101 Log BdeMajor J D Salusbury SO2 Concept & Doctrine C2DC WarminsterMajor T A Smith SO2 Rec Ops (Contracts) HQ Recruiting GroupMajor M Cooling SO2 CSS Plans, HQ 3 DivMajor N Mott ICSC (L)Major T A H Eastman SO2 Plans/Resources HQ 16 Air Asslt BdeMajor E N Launders SO2 Future Plans HQ Land Major H S Llewelyn-Usher MODMajor A J Salusbury SO2 Fort HalsteadCaptain C N Ulvert SO3 J3 (Ops-In) JACIGCaptain A R M Spry Staff Captain HQ London DistrictCaptain C G Jones Adjt Offr Cdt Sch, KabulCaptain J W Aldridge AMA to ACGSCaptain T F Anderson ResettlementCaptain J D Livesey MODCaptain S C Broughton MODCaptain A J Plewa Gunnery School Armoured CentreCaptain K Dawson Instructor 2 Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Captain J P Olszowski ResettlementCaptain C S Fenton Brde Rec Force 12 Mech BrdeLieutenant B J Figgures-Wilson Platoon Commander AFC HarrogateLieutenant J Young Platoon Commander 1IG OP HERRICK 13Second Lieutenant E R Emlyn Williams Platoon Commander 1IG OP HERRICK 13

INFANTRY TRAINING CENTRE CATTERICK

Major T J Badham Officer Commanding, Guards Training CompanyCaptain C J R Fraser-Sampson Platoon Commander

35DISTRIBUTION OF WO’s

DISTRIBUTION OF WARRANT OFFICERS


DISTRIBUTION OF WARRANT OFFICERS AND BATTALION STAFF as at 1 JANUARY 2011

REGIMENTAL HEADQUARTERS Number Rank Int Name

Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant 24797497 WO2 A Campbell

REGIMENTAL BAND

Band Master 25083859 WO1 E FrostBand Sergeant Major 24862977 WO2 S A Charles

1st BATTALION

Regimental Sergeant Major 24788299 WO1 A L RobertsRegimental Quartermaster Sergeant (Main) 24830440 WO2 M PollardRegimental Quartermaster Sergeant (Tech) 24823463 WO2 B J BaldwinDrill Sergeant 24738054 WO2 L T ScholesCSM The Prince of Wales’s Company 25026698 WO2 L M RyanCSM Number Two Company 24710250 WO2 P DunnCSM Number Three Company 25050230 WO2 C A Taylor CSM Headquarter Company 24815189 WO2 D P BrownCSM Support Company 24906414 WO2 J G JenkinsonMaster Tailor 24866734 CSgt L Wilson

EXTRA REGIMENTALLY EMPLOYED

Garrison Sergeant Major London District 24520588 WO1 W D G Mott OBEGarrison Sergeant Major 160 Brigade Wales 24772832 WO1 A J HughesRSM Old College, RMAS 24772353 WO1 D L ThomasRST, South Wales 24797524 WO1 M MonaghanRST, South Wales 24788725 WO2 W J Williams30 Cadet Training Team Wrexham 24805880 WO2 A Brown Counter Terrorist Training Team 24738040 WO2 G W JonesTraining Wing Blanford 24836375 WO2 R F WilliamsMaster Tailor, London District 24823101 WO2 S D ShieldTraining Staff, RMAS 24842827 WO2 J J JonesTraining Staff, RMAS 25014288 WO2 M Topps

LONG SERVICE LIST

ACIO Wrexham 24623898 WO2 R J Brace

HONOURS AND AWARDS

36


HONOURS AND AWARDS

HONOURS AND AWARDS 2010

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE ORDER

540534 Major G R Harris MBE

MERITORIOUS SERVICE MEDAL

24797524 Warrant Officer Class 1 M Monaghan24797497 Warrant Officer Class 2 A Campbell

MENTION IN DESPATCHES

30010995 Lieutenant C S N Fenton (Now Captain)25067519 Lance Sergeant M E Parry (Now Sergeant)25202212 Lance Corporal R W Lodwick25224394 Guardsman L Skates

QUEEN'S COMMENDATION FOR BRAVERY

30014919 Lieutenant C J R Fraser-Sampson (Now Captain)

QUEEN’S COMMENDATION FOR VALUABLE SERVICE

535472 Lieutenant Colonel R S M Thorneloe MBE 560189 Captain A Corbet Burcher (Now Major Retd)545956 Major R W Gallimore543986 Major G C G R Stone

BATTALION EVENTS

37


BATTALION EVENTS

The modern professionalrugby era has, of course, seenan influx of overseas rugbyplayers but this has notdampened the desire of LWRFCto continue to serve Welshpeople as a safe Welsh island inthe busy London storm.Formed in 1885, the ethos ofthe club does not differ to thatof any club back home but theyhave to work significantlyharder than their principalitybased counterparts tomaintain their “Welshness”.Some serving and manyretired members of theRegiment have had theprivilege over the years ofpulling on the red jersey at OldDeer Park, myself included.Sadly nowadays, the advent of

professionalism and therequirement for top flightrugby players to train full timedoes not fit in with the militarylifestyle. This has not, however,dampened our desire tocontribute to LWRFC in any waywe can.

Many famous players haveworn the LWRFC jersey, notleast the likes of JPR Williams,John Dawes, John Taylor,Gerald Davies, Mervyn Davies,Mike Roberts and Geoff Evans,all who toured with the BritishLions on the 1971 trip to NewZealand and Australia.

I attended a thoroughlyenjoyable lunch hosted byBrigadier Ricketts at the UnionJack Club in the autumn of

2008. Also in attendance werethe Commanding Officer andthe Chief Executive of LondonWelsh. The aim of the lunchwas to see how we coulddevelop our long standingrelationship to each other’sbenefit. After a couple of hours,plenty of wine and a fulltummy I rode the train homescribbling notes on how wecould develop the currentsituation further. The first stageof the plan was to get a Guardof Honour to Old Deer Park forthe last home match prior to OpHERRICK 10. This was a greatsuccess with WO2 “Monster”Davies 33 leading a party of 40Welsh Guardsmen up the M3for a very full day. They werehosted fantastically throughoutand it took quite a while tocorral the boys back onto thetransport to get them home.

On return from Afghanistanwe arranged another GOH on6 March 2010 where we weregiven an incredibly warmwelcome. The men thatmarched onto the pitch at half-time had all served inAfghanistan and were led byLCpl Jones 09 with Sgt Hayesand his recruiting team onhand. I said a few wordslasting no more than a coupleof minutes but we were allstruck by the complete andutter silence that descended.As we turned to march offspontaneous and thunderousapplause made for very largelumps in throats. We collectedwell over £1000 for the WGAAat half time alone with tearfulmembers of the crowd shovinghandfuls of cash into ourbuckets.

The next project was to run aMilitary Tattoo at Old Deer Park.The key was to secure theservices of the band and MajorStephen Barnwell, the Directorof Music, stepped up withoutany hesitation at all ablyassisted by CSgt DarrylLowden. Their foresight andexperience was invaluable inus running a hugely successfulMilitary Tattoo in late August2010. A significant amount ofwork from LWRFC went intopreparing the event led bynone other than John Taylor, arugby legend. Joe Jones atLWRFC and WO2 (DSgt) “Scully”Scholes from the battalion dida vast amount of the donkeywork and following manymeetings and rehearsals theday arrived with a buzz ofexcitement hanging over OldDeer Park. The local police wereplanning for up to 3000 peopleturning out and at £5 a headand with plenty of buckets toshake all was looking good forthe Afghanistan Appeal.Participants included theRegimental Band, the LWRFCchoir, dozens of youngsters forthe mini rugby, LSgt Dwyerwith the Recruiting Team andan enormous inflatable assaultcourse, LSgt Johnson with theCorps of Drums, teams fromThe Prince of Wales’s Companyand Support Company for theGun Run, a large contingent ofChelsea Pensioners, all theLWRFC playing and coachingstaff and much more. Whatcould possibly go wrong? Rain!A huge rain cloud appearedover Old Deer Park just prior tothe event and remainedthroughout. We knew we were

WELSH GUARDS RUGBY ANDLONDON WELSH RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB

Capt A F Bowen, Unit Rugby Officer

The Welsh Guards and London Welsh Rugby FootballClub (LWRFC) have enjoyed a mutually beneficialrelationship for many years. This can be attributed to

our similarities with Welsh Guardsmen and LWRFC playersalike hailing from Wales but working in the South East ofEngland.

38


BATTALION EVENTS

BATTALION EVENTS

taking a risk by running theevent with so much rain on theforecast but made the call tocrack on nonetheless. Skin is,after all, perfectly rain proof, orso I am told! Did the raindampen our spirits, no. Wasthe event a success, yes.

I am utterly convinced that wemade many friends bycracking on in atrociousweather conditions. The localcommunity turned out andwith the Mayor of Hounslowthoroughly enjoying the eventwe have started the allimportant process of securinga worthwhile partnership withthe local community ahead of

our move to Hounslow in theSpring of 2011.

THE 300 CUP

The current holders of the 300Cup, Number 3 Company, lookforward to locking horns withtheir opposition in the nextrugby conflict which will beheld in Aldershot on 19 January2011.

John Williams 300, the founderof the 300 Cup, will be with usto present his trophy. We areincredibly grateful to 300 forhis long standing support toWelsh Guards rugby and lookforward to him presenting histrophy to the victorious teamfor many years to come.

persuasive. Resplendent intheir new kit the team’s seasonwas off to a good start.

The opening fixture of theseason was a friendly matchagainst neighbours 10 QOGLR.Determined to start as theymeant to go on, the team put ina fine performance to run out10-2 winners. Among thescorers were Gdsm Flynn witha fine hat trick, Pte Samuel (2),Gdsm Cann (1), LSgtCunningham (1), Gdsm Holland(1), and even the PlayerManager (Sgt Evans 53) comingoff the bench to lead byexample with a late goal. Bythe end of the match, 10 QOGLRhad been comprehensivelyoutplayed and an own goal bythe Ghurkhas finished thematch.

The first competitive game sawa fixture with the 1st BattalionColdstream Guards in the 4 DivLeague. A fiercely contestedopening quarter in whichneither side could secure a goalwas broken by theColdstreamers after a defensivemishap. The team was resilientthough and determined to riseto the occasion. Sgt Peters,wearing the Captain’s armbandgave a convincing pep-talkbefore the restart and the teamraised the tempo of the gameaccordingly. By half time, GdsmCann and Flynn had bothstruck to reverse the score to 2 -1. After the interval, theColdstream Guards workedhard to regain the advantagebut team stuck to their task andfurther goals from Sgt Peters(2), and a second from GdsmCann put the match beyonddoubt. Once again, Sgt Evanspicked his moment to take aturn himself and again showedthe youngsters how it is done,bagging a double.

The following week saw theBattalion team take a breakfrom external fixtures. Inter-

company football took centrestage in the Ellicott Cup. Anenjoyable competition inAldershot led to a thrilling finalwith some very good footballand eventual winners SupportCompany, triumphing over No3 Coy 2 – 0 in a match whichpitched regular battalion teamcaptain and manager againsteach other.

Normal service resumedimmediately after the EllicottCup, however, and the fixturescontinued to come thick andfast, with the Bn entertainingthe well-rated RAC ArmourCentre in the first round of theArmy Cup. After a slow start inwhich both sides struggled tosustain an advantage, thehome team showeddetermination and killerinstinct to overcoming theopposition 5 – 0. Gdsm Cannmoved up to become theteam’s leading goal-scorer atthis point in the season, nettingfour goals in the match, whilefriendly rival Gdsm Flynn whoscored the remaining one.

After a fine display in the ArmyCup it was onto the Div Cup,with the Battalion drawnagainst an experienced sidefrom 27 Regt RLC, who hadprogressed well in thecompetition last season. Afteran indifferent display in the firsttwenty minutes, with theBattalion were under continualpressure, the team wassteadied by a close-range goalfrom stand-in centre midfielderGdsm Edwards 27. The secondhalf saw the team finding theirrhythm to score a further twogoals, from substitute SgtMarsh and latterly GdsmHolland, securing his first goalfor the Battalion. Althoughreduced to ten men after acontroversial red card decision,the team maintained the focusto secure a deserved 3-0victory.

It’s evidently clear to see that1WG has enough talent tocompete in football and againstany other major unit; this hasbeen reflected in the resultsthis Season as currently theteam is unbeaten.

The Battalion Football teamformed up again in earlyAugust with the new manager

1ST BATTALION WELSH GUARDSFOOTBALL TEAM 2010

The new season was definitely setting off with best footforward: with a keen interest from the younger Gdsmin particular and an average of between 20-30 players

attending evening training regularly basis.

at the helm (Sgt Evans 53),eager to set his own stamponto the team. (The Chairman,Major Mott) was persuaded tospend a substantial sum onnew training equipment andtwo new football strips. Thisprofligacy may have runagainst the Quartermaster’snatural inclinations but thesilver-tongued Sgt Evans was

39


BATTALION EVENTS

BATTALION EVENTS

The toughest encounter of theseason to date was yet to comethough, as the team played afurther 4 Div League matchagainst local rivals the ‘doctorsand nurses’ of DMSTG fromKeogh Barracks. The Medicshad been comprehensivewinners in the same fixture lastseason and seemed confidentof repeating their success. Butthe team raised their game,determined to restore honour,or at least exact revenge.Gdsm Flynn repeatedlyscythed through the DMSTGdefence, creating chances forGdsm Cann who finishedprecisely adding another hattrick to his tally for the season.Not to be outdone, though,Gdsm Flynn struck twicehimself, even while injured. Theteam had the Medics on therun and with the battalionteam streaming forward, thetwo full backs came fully intoplay. Gdsm Rodgers muscled inon the scoring act with a fine

strike from just inside theDMSTG box. WO2 (CSM)Jenkinson, his oppositenumber in the number 3 shirt,ventured forward at everyopportunity, attempting to dothe same, but in the unfamiliarterritory of the opposition boxwas frustrated in his efforts,despite a fine delivery fromGdsm Cann. The Battalionthough ran out 6 – 2 winners.

Upcoming fixtures see theBattalion entertain 1 RSME inthe second round of the ArmyCup and face the ColdstreamGuards again in the InfantryCup. Both are expected to behard-fought contests but withcontinued support from thebattalion and the companies,the team is upbeat about theirprospects and even thepossibility of silverware thisseason: a genuine return onthe Quartermaster’sinvestment…

After a series of letters ofrequests were sent to the localMayors, full planning startedto take shape. After a follow onmeeting in October in LilleBarracks with members of the

Battalion, it was decided thatbased on the dates andlocations of the marches, wewould incorporate them with aKeeping the Army in the PublicEye (KAPE) tour.

THE BATTALION HOMECOMINGPARADES AND KAPE TOUR

I n June 2009 a meeting took place at RegimentalHeadquarters, chaired by Colonel Bonas with the aim ofdiscussing the Battalion’s return from Op Herrick 10, and

in particular how we were going to plan the HomecomingParades in Wales.

CSM Jones 27 talking to members of the PoW Coy

40


BATTALION EVENTS

BATTALION EVENTS

The master plan was to stagethe first event in the capital ofthe Principality “Cardiff” andwas designed to involve thewhole battalion and to launchthe month’s long event. Afterthe Cardiff parade took place,Number Three Company tookup residence in MaindyBarracks for a week and theycovered the south east regionof Wales. This involvedmarching through Swansea,Merthyr Tydfil (both freedomlocations) and Newport. Thefollowing week saw NumberTwo Company moving intoPenally Camp in Tenby, withthe aim of covering the southwest region of Wales. Which,initially included marchingthrough Bridgend. Lastly, wesaw the Prince of Wales’sCompany moving into ParsonsBarracks in Donington, and

they covered the north ofWales. They marched throughCaernarfon, Wrexham andRhyl. Around the fringes ofthese parades a number ofrecruiting surges took placealong with collections for theAfghanistan Appeal, where aconsiderable amount of moneywas collected from the Welshpublic.

On 4 March 2010 at earlyo’clock, the Battalion preparedfor the drive from Aldershot toCardiff, to conduct the first of 8parades in Wales. Prior to thisevent happening theRecruiting Officer, CaptainPeter Robinson had his workcut out, leading on numerousmeetings and recces that tookplace before hand with thelocal Police, Mayors ProtocolOffice, local Council, the Cardiff

Castle management team etc.This was to ensure that exactlywhat was required wasbooked, in place and most ofall that angles were covered.

The Parade itself comprised ofthe Regimental Band, 3marching parties of 60 personsfrom each of the riflecompanies, with a colour partywith an ensign. Additionally,the Regimental Support Teamunder Sgt Hayes accompaniedby a recruiter LSgt Adams setup a recruiting area in ChurchillWay, along with weaponsdisplays from SupportCompany for interest tomembers of the public.Headquarter Company was thelast moving part; they providedthe bucket collectors for theAfghanistan Appeal, astaggering amount of money

was collected from donationsand selling of the infamouswrist bands to members of thepublic on the day.

The freedom of Cardiff wasgiven to the Battalion on 27April 1957, with this in mind itgave us the right to exerciseour freedom rights throughthe capital, something that wehad not done in over 12 years.At precisely 1130 hrs on 04March the parade stepped offfrom the Millennium Plaza atthe bottom of the MillenniumStadium, with the bandleading, closely followedbehind by the CommandingOfficer at the head of theparade. The immediate areawas surrounded by membersof the public, and families, whocame to offer their support tothose marching; additionally

Public recognition CSM Taylor on the field in Cardiff FC with elements of the Battalion

The parade stepping off at the Millennium Plaza The parade

41


BATTALION EVENTS

BATTALION EVENTS

this was captured by the local

media. The parade progressed

through the pedestrianised

shopping area of Cardiff. Here

the sounds of the band’s music

reverberate and the crowds

gathered more. As the parade

left wheeled into Duke Street,

and on into Cardiff Castle, it

came apparent as to how

much support from the public

had been generated. As a large

crowd has amassed in support

of the Welsh Guards, the

Guardsmen, noticing this,

swaggered with pride into the

castle lined with Standard

Bearers from the Veterans and

the Cardiff branch of the Welsh

Guards Associations.

A short inspection from the

Lord Mayor of Cardiff, the Right

Honourable Councillor Brian

Griffiths, accompanied by the

Commanding Officer, and the

Lord Lieutenant of Cardiff Dr

Peter Beck accompanied by the

Regimental Lieutenant Colonel,

Colonel Malcolm, took place in

the Castle grounds. Shortly

after this the Lord Mayor

addressed that Battalion

personally recognising them

for their outstanding

achievements and

commitments in Afghanistan.

As the Colour was being

marched off parade and the

parade was dismissed, a

number of persons were

nominated to attended a small

civic reception held in the

Castle Undercroft attended by

a few dignitaries which

included Armed Forces

Minister, Bill Rammell, First

Minister of Wales Carwen

Jones, Lord Mayor of Cardiff,

Lord Lieutenant of Cardiff to

name a few.

In terms of the media coverage

this was fantastic, the event

was captured by many parts ofthe media machine, it wastelevised on national and mostof local channels, this includethe BBC, ITV and on S4C.Additionally, media websitessuch as Wales on Line and theBBC to name but a few gave theBattalion excellent coverage.All day long the Welsh Guardswere talked about hourly,advertising the parade andafter completion they becamepart of the news line up onmost radio channels includingReal Radio, Red Dragon FM andBBC Wales Cymru. Thefollowing day there were writeups in most of the national,and local papers in Walespicturing the parade andrecognising the achievementand sacrifice that the Battalionhad made.

In tandem with the parade,National Armed Forces Day (26June 2010) was launched on byBdr Russ Wardle; Brigade

Commander of 160 (Wales)Brigade and the Armed ForcesMinister, Bill Rammell. WO2(CSM) Taylor was largelyinvolved in the launch, thisincluded photos for the posteradvertising the day UK wide,and interviews with the press.

It would not be right if I failedto mention the hospitality thatwas given to the battalion bythe Cardiff City Football Club asmy final point, as they also hada large part to play in thehomecoming in Cardiff. Firstly,on the Battalions return inOctober from Op HerrickCardiff City FC hosted over 300members from across theboard. These includedmembers of their families whowere looked after in their owncorporate suite with food anddrink provided. Prior to thematch against Crystal Palacetaking place, 80 members thebattalion including some of thewounded had the honour ofmarching on to the centre ofthe field, where a nearly fullcapacity crowd, and playersgave them a standing ovationfor over 5 minutes. Secondly,on 6 March 2010 the Battalionwere invited back to thestadium in support of “Help forHeroes”, the AfghanistanAppeal and for ourhomecoming tour, where 30members of Number ThreeCompany led by the CSMmarched onto the field againto “Men of Harlech” to receiveexactly that same applause,and reception as previous. TheBattalion were presented witha large canvas picture of theparade stood in the centre ofthe field with the crowd in theback ground, which will standout well on one of the walls inthe battalion conference room.

Photo opportunity outside of Cardiff FC

BATTALION TRAINING/OPERATIONS

42 BAT. TRAINING/OPs

The 48 hour patrol tests arange of military skills, and isrenowned for being gruellingand tough.

For the first time in severalyears the Welsh Guards werein a position to enter thecompetition, putting forwardfour teams: three from theRifle Companies and one fromRecce Platoon, which I had thepleasure of leading.Due to the busy pace of

battalion life the teamsconducted very little trainingprior to the event. This was ingreat contrast to many of theother teams, who had set asidemonths in advance to prepare.Recce’s team trainingconsisted of a single day spentrehearsing river crossings.Most of the preparation effortwas focused on theadministrative side, and theteam managers did a superb

job of ensuring that each of theteams arrived at the start linewith the right equipment at theright time.

The patrol began in themorning with orders and a kitcheck. The initial phase was theclose target recce of an enemyposition. With a long insertiononto the target and extractionoff, the first day was over bythe time we reached our lie up.After a brief rest period duringwhich the patrol report wasproduced, we stepped offagain arriving at the nextrendezvous just before firstlight. From this stage on, ourmovements were directed byagents playing roles of alliedsoldiers; extravagant Russianaccents had to be tolerated toget any information from

them. Our second day took usthrough some wonderfullyimaginative stands, rangingfrom a minefield CASEVAC toan ANP-style checkpoint, all thewhile tabbing across some ofWales’ most spectacular (andvertical) features. At last lightcame we conducted a 60mriver crossing followed by afurther march through thenight. It was with great reliefthat we were finally told thatwe could cache our bergans.We were promptly ambushed,and after fighting through wethen ran against the clock toresupply Cellini Village withammunition. As the first lightof our third day began to showwe had a final scramblethrough the tunnels under thevillage before being debriefedand regurgitating all the

WELSH GUARDS RECCE:CAMBRIAN GOLDCaptain James Harvie

The Cambrian Patrol is described as the British Army’spremier patrolling competition. Competing in the eventare teams from across the Army, as well as many

international teams.

The Recce Team: LSgts Shapland and Pierce, Gdsm Jones 78, Chambers, Lawrie, Harries and Davies 47


43


BATTALION EVENTS

BATTALION EVENTS

information we had collectedon the patrol.

The Cambrian Patrol is nomean feat, and many teamslost men or dropped outentirely, despite far moreintensive preparation than ourown. Every Welsh Guardsmanwho entered the eventcompleted it successfully,which was a remarkableachievement. 2 and 3 Coy wonbronze medals and the POW’sCoy won silver. The Recce teamwon a gold medal, the onlyone of that phase.

There were three things whichcontributed more thananything else towards theRecce team’s gold. Firstly, theoften challenging navigationwent with barely a hitch.

Pacing and bearing wascrucial, particularly in the dark,and every man kept his owncount. Navigation checks werekept to a minimum, and thoseleading legs did so withconfidence and speed.Secondly, patroladministration was properlyadhered to and enforced bytwo very strong LanceSergeants. Water and foodstops were enforced, andrations were ploughedthrough to fuel the longmarches. While this is certainlybasic stuff, many patrolsevidently sacrificedadministration in an attempt tomake up time, to their longterm detriment. Finally andmost importantly was theincredibly positive attitude of

the Recce Platoon guardsmen.Several members of the teamfinished the competition withvery little skin left on the solesof their feet. The river crossingwas the greatest single factorin terms of degradation. At lastlight it was extremely cold, anddespite immaculatewaterproofing drills much ofour equipment (and ourselves)was soaked. The guardsmenwere never the least bitdaunted by any of thechallenges, and their singulardetermination to complete thepatrol in good order was thekey to our success. At each newchallenge, regardless ofphysical fatigue and lack ofsleep, they reacted to pressurewith complete effort andenthusiasm. Not only that, but

they remained switched onand receptive to informationthroughout, meaning thatwhen we finally reached thedebrief stage it was theguardsmen supplying all of theanswers, to the impressedamazement of those debriefingus.

Cambrian Patrol was one of thetoughest military challengesany of the Welsh Guards teamshave faced outside ofoperations. The remarkableachievement of all of the teamsis testament to the fact that itisn’t necessary to prepare formonths for the event; goodbasic patrol skills and a bloodyminded determination to finishthe event is all that is requiredto succeed.

The Author on a short stop above the ANP-style checkpoint

44


We arrived at the British ArmyTraining Unit Kenya (BATUK) totake part in Exercise ASKARITHUNDER, just the fourth suchexercise since Exercise GRANDPRIX was phased out. Theexercise saw us pitched intothe fictional country of JELA, anation blighted by ethnicviolence and unwantedincursions from neighbouringSORTU. The rising tensions inJELA were to form thebackdrop of our training over a

THE BATTALION

IN KENYA

THE BATTALION IN KENYA

five week period, culminatingin a six-day final exercise.Already a significant amount ofwork had been done by theSecond-in-Command, OpsOfficer and the Quartermasterand his G4 team, but the hardwork was still very much tocome.

The exercise was divided intofour main phases, namedASKARI WARRIOR, CENTURION,MARAUDER and SPARTANrespectively.

Exercise ASKARI WARRIOR sawthe companies enjoy greatautonomy as they deployed totheir respective trainingscamps in the MPALA FARM andOL DOINYO LEMBORO trainingareas where they undertookbasic company-level training,conducted a progressive live-firing package tailored by the

company hierarchy and honedtheir fieldcraft skills.Meanwhile the Mortar Platoonand 127 (Dragon) Battery hadmoved north to the ARCHER’SPOST training area to conducttheir own bespoke firingpackages. We also welcomedseveral guests during thisphase. Andy, a former RSM of22 SAS, joined us to pass on hisexperience, demonstratinghow to catch, kill and preparean animal in the wilds ofAfrica! At the same time 5journalists flew over from theUK to report back on ourtraining to an array ofnewspapers, television andradio stations.

Exercise ASKARI CENTURIONtook place in the ARCHER’SPOST training area, morecommonly referred to asARCHER’S ROAST for thetemperatures were a good 10degrees higher than they werefurther south! The pace oftraining also picked up as thethree rifle companies movedinto a six-day round-robin

1st Battalion Welsh Guards –Exercise ASKARI THUNDER

I t had been nearly twenty years since the 1st BattalionWelsh Guards last exercised in Kenya, and whilst themajority of those who deployed in 2010 were not

present in 1991, there was still sufficient collective memoryto ensure that the Battalion arrived with tales of scorchingweather, beautiful sunsets and close encounters with wildbeasts still ringing in their ears.

LCpl Grindley gives a fire control order to his section

A Guardsman clears a trench position.



45


comprising CALFEX, FOBsecurity and CLP serials. Thispart of the exercise was run byBATUK staff and representedus conducting a show of forcenear the SORTU-JELAN borderin the hope of deterring anyfurther aggression on the partof the Sortu People’s Army.

Following those six gruellingdays everyone was able tocatch their breath somewhatduring Exercise ASKARIMARAUDER, as the Battalionmoved into MOB SIMBA for awell-earned shower and somehot food. Over a two dayperiod Battle GroupHeadquarters conducted aseries of TEWTs, including aBattle Group-level obstaclecrossing, line of departuresand helicopter drills.

For Exercise ASKARI SPARTANthe Battalion moved south andonto the LOLLDAIGA trainingarea where we were tasked toclear the area of the Sortusoldiers and insurgents, and tobegin the process of stabilisingthe region. The efforts of thefollowing six days werechallenging and varied, fromthe Prince of Wales’s Companysecuring of the UNHCR Campand Number Two Companyadvancing to contact acrossthe brutally steep LolldaigaHills, to Number ThreeCompany dealing with unrestin Balla Balla and the ReccePlatoon leading the Battalioninto the FUP for the final attackonto Objective ZINC. But itwasn’t just the enemy forcesand indigenous populationsthat Welsh Guardsmen had todeal with; Number 5 Platoonfound themselvescompromised…by a pride ofLions!

With the enemy defeated andpeace restored to JELA, the

Battalion recovered to TuracoFarm for a smoker beforeheading off for some well-earned Adventurous Training.Guardsmen taking part inactivities as diverse aswindsurfing and rock climbing,whilst a few determinedparties made it to the top ofMount Kenya, which at 5,199mis the country’s highest peak.During this final phase we alsowelcomed the RegimentalAdjutant, Mrs Bonas and somemembers of the WorshipfulCompany of Drapers, long-time supporters of theRegiment. They were treatedto a varied package of basicfieldcraft, live firing, safari andadventurous training, as wellas getting the opportunity tohave a few beers with someguardsmen!

All in all it was an immenselysuccessful exercise for theBattalion, be it the hard graftand determination of theguardsmen, which wasregularly commented on byBATUK and Brigade alike, or theremarkable resourcefulness ofthe MT Platoon and REMEDetachment in ensuring thatthe vehicle fleet was always upand running. The CIS Platoonbecame the first in the BritishArmy to get secure voice anddata working in the field,whilst the Engineer Troopcontinued to surpassthemselves in the constructionof the many camps across thetraining areas. Our collectivework ensured we recovered tothe snowy UK with a pat on theback and some warm words ofapproval from the BrigadeCommander. Perhaps mostimportantly a new generationreturned home with a newswathe of tales of adventureand near misses!

The Coy Second-in-Commands (L to R, Lt Dunlop, Capt Richards, Capt Charles-Jones)enjoy a light-hearted moment prior to the lauch of Exercise ASKARI SPARTAN

One of many glimpses of the locals!

LSgt Hughes 39 and the Battalion’s newest recruit!

46




INITIAL IMPRESSIONS

The reality matched the legendin most respects, but inobjective terms the CALFEXwas simply a fantastic trainingopportunity. It was live firingat its very best, integration ofall arms in a pressuredenvironment and dismountedclose combat in some of themost difficult environmental

conditions that the BritishArmy can offer. In addition toall this - it was just plain hardgraft, and will be a trainingevent against which youngsoldiers and commanders willset their personal andcollective thresholds in thefuture.

The CALFEX (Combined ArmsLive Fire Exercise) takes place

on the Archers Post trainingarea as part of Exercise ASKARICENTURION, the second of fourphases on ASKARI THUNDER.ASKARI CENTURION tests theall-arms company group with

a three-way rotation of 48hour company battle-runs, oneof which is the CALFEX. It fallsnaturally into two parts, a 5KMcompany advance to contactand a company deliberateattack, both with liveammunition fired from directand indirect fire weaponsystems.

The Prince of Wales’s CompanyGroup had come together onthe previous phase of theexercise (ASKARI WARRIOR) andhad enjoyed eight days oftraining together. Co-ordinating and integrating thelive effect of all these differentassets was a significantchallenge. It numbered almost130 men as we crossed the lineof departure, including:

Company HeadquartersCompany Intelligence SupportTeam1 x Fire Support Team (ForwardArtillery Observers and JointTactical Air Controllers)1 Platoon WG2 Platoon WG1 x Kenyan Army Rifle Platoon1 x Fire Support Group (GPMGand Javelin Anti-Tank Missiles)1 x Engineer Section1 x Royal Military Police SectionCompany Sergeant Major’sGroup

The CALFEX is hard work” was a phrase bandiedaround rather readily by ‘those in the know’ in theinitial stages of Exercise ASKARI THUNDER 4. When I

dug into exactly why this was the case, opinions tended todiverge. “It’s hot”…, “It’s long”…, “The ground is anightmare”…, “coordination of the all-arms battle isdifficult”…The CALFEX accounted for only forty eight hoursin an exercise that lasted five weeks in total; yet it was quiteclear from the surrounding mystique that this would be achallenging couple of days at the very least.

A Company Commander’s Perspective on the CALFEX– Ex ASKARI THUNDER 4 2010

An example of the closeness of the country

47




THE GROUND AND THEGOING

For both phases, considerationof the ground was the keyfactor for the companycommander. The advance tocontact takes place in the OlKanjao valley, in the lee of thisconsiderable hill feature. Thevalley floor (where the enemyhad sighted themselves) wasoverlooked by high ground tothe left and right, providing (inretrospect!) excellentopportunities for observationand fire support. Thedeliberate attack took placefurther to the north and wasalso flanked by high ground tothe left and right. The dilemmathat the company commanderfaced was how best to utilisethis high ground by getting hisfire support assets up there tocover the clearance of thevalley floor, while at the sametime not affecting themomentum of the attack.

PREPARATIONS AND BATTLEPROCEDURE

Preparation was key. Ordersfor the second day’s deliberateattack would not be given until

the advance to contact wascomplete and the CompanyGroup was in a hasty harbour.Initial battle proceduretherefore concentrated on thefirst day. Full sets of formalorders were given down tosection level and rehearsalswere completed in detail. Theprocess that we would adoptfor hasty battle procedure oncein contact was confirmed andrehearsed, prior to moving intoa tactical company harbourjust south of the line ofdeparture. The enemy wefaced were a conventionalenemy of approximatelycompany minus in strength,bolstered by a significantindirect fire capability(simulated through the DTESvests we were wearing). Theywere laid down in an initialscreen at the bottom of thevalley, a platoon covering asignificant wire obstacle acrossthe entirety of the valley floorin the centre and a furtherplatoon manning extensivetrench systems around twocompounds. In reality the,enemy were masses of figure11 and 12 targets, interspersed

with grenade throwing pitsand bunkers, live firing trenchsystems and compounds inwhich grenades and smallarms could also be used. Thiswas a range the like of whichthe majority of soldiers in theBattlegroup had never seenbefore, and the level of workand co-ordination required onthe part of both the BATUK Staffand the Range Team was notlost on the exercising troops.

THE ADVANCE TO CONTACT

Once the Company Group hadcrossed the line of departure itwas confirmed in my ownmind that effective use of the

ground would be the key tosuccess on the advance tocontact. As the advanceprogressed, so the thickness ofthe bush increased. Thisreduced the range and effect ofbelt fed weapon systems andtherefore the companycommanders ability to supportthe platoon commandersactions. Low level initiativeamong Platoon and Sectioncommanders was the keyingredient if momentum wasto be maintained. While themantra of assault, suppress,reserve worked well in themore open areas, the realitywas that when the bush closedin on us the advance turnedinto a series of section andoccasionally platoon level smallarms engagements at closerange. Manoeuvring the FireSupport Group into positionwas often clumsy and couldlead to a loss in momentum,the lifeblood of the advance.Very often it was the Kenyanplatoon that was most adept atoperating in these conditions,though they did lack inautomatic firepower.

Add to this the climaticconditions. The temperature atthe height of the day was in themid to late thirties and theCompany Group was goingthrough range helmets andbody armour, combined with afighting order which in somecases weighed as much as thirty

Ol Kanjao hill feature from the bottom CALFEX Valley

Prince of Wales’s Company Group Orders

48




kilos. In all the Companysuffered nine heat casualtiesduring this first day, all of whichrequired evacuation by eithervehicle or helicopter from thepoint of wounding. This had aninevitable effect on the progressand momentum of the advance,it also taught us some valuablelessons both in terms of takingmeasures to prevent this takingplace (drinking and eatingreligiously even when in contactand recognising symptoms inothers) but also the bestprocedures for evacuation.

It was a tried Company Groupthat completed the clearance ofthe final compoundapproximately five hours after ithad crossed the line ofdeparture. But there was no letup at this point. It was straightinto a hasty harbour and equallyhasty battle procedure for adeliberate attack at dawn thefollowing morning. A search ofthe final compound had yieldedsome crucial intelligence as tohow the enemy was laid down,again a company minus againdug-in in a series of trenchsystems and built upcompounds.

DELIBERATE ATTACK

Having inserted by foot into theFUP by dawn the company

moved up to the line ofdeparture with the sound of105 shells thudding into theenemy depth positions. Thelessons of the previous day hadbeen firmly grasped. Speedand aggression, leading tomomentum, aided by speedyand casualty evacuation andefficient re-supply, timelydeployment of the reserve TheFire Support Group occupiedthe high ground to the right ofthe enemy position and actedas a fire base and an anchorobservation post. On H hourNumber 1 and 2 Platoonsdestroyed the enemy sentrytrenches simultaneously,before the Kenyans clearedthree live fire compounds. ‘Live’livestock was tethered alongside figure 11 targets in someof the rooms to add anelement of judgementalcomplexity for soldiersengaging the enemy at veryclose quarters. The attackculminated in the clearance ofa Russian-style trench system,including the use of grenadesand small arms, again up closeand personal. All in all, tough,demanding, exhausting andquite simply some of the bestand most realistic foundationtraining that the majority of uswill ever do in the Army.

CONCLUSIONS

The CALFEX typified everythingthat made training in Kenya sodemanding. Heat, difficultterrain and the integration of amultitude of capabilities andagencies to achieve all-armseffect. All of these elementsintroduce friction andcomplexity to what are, inrelative terms, fairly basictraining scenarios. It was highquality, tough and realistictraining delivered to a veryhigh standard that allows thefine tuning of tactics andprocedures. But from aCompany Commandersperspective (and with a healthydose of hindsight), what theCALFEX really did for the Princeof Wales’s Company Group wasto imbue a measure of grit anddetermination to succeed inthe most challenging and

testing of training conditionsin a way that other trainingdoes not always manage. Tomy mind, this is the real valueof Hybrid Foundation Trainingand is the prime reason why itmust continue. Such a qualitiesmust be part of our DNA andour makeup – our ‘foundation’.Attempting to imbue that sameattitude and ethos on MissionSpecific Training would whollyunfair, given that ourattentions are fully drawn toorientating ourselves to a newset of operational and tacticalcircumstances. Trainingopportunities such as theCALFEX raise all our personalthresholds, both the trainersand the trained, and deliver usto the point where we areprimed to train for, and thendeliver on, operations.

Trench systems in the latter stages of the Advance to Contact

An example of the inside of a live fire compound. The ‘compound’ is sunkinto the ground so that rounds are captured by the dirt walls.

LSgt Hughes calls the rest of his section forwardafter the grenadier has cleared a bunker forward

49




Ex ASKARI THUNDER wasessentially split into fourphases. Phase 1, ASKARIWARRIOR was an opportunityfor the Company to train withlive ammunition up to andincluding platoon attack level.We also used the time toacclimatize and go through ahost of dry training serialsincluding patrols, ambushesand night navigation. Phase 2,ASKARI CENTURION wasessentially a test exercise forthe Company, focussed onthree 48-hour company battleruns, one of which was theCombined Arms Live FireExercise or CALFEX. Phase 3

was ASKARI MARAUDER, anopportunity to go through aseries of Battalion level tacticalexercises without troops,focussed on obstacle crossing,a real education for Platoonand Section Commanders. Theculminating phase of theexercise was ASKARI SPARTAN,a gruelling six-day final testexercise for the Battle Group, afitting end to almost six weeksof genuinely taxing training.

Ex ASKARI WARRIOR

Having moved into theCompany training base on OlDoniyo Lemboro, a game richAfrican savannah land, it

became clear that there wouldbe common themes thatwould endure throughout theexercise. The first and mostobvious was the way in whichthe ground would shape theway we worked. And so we

changed and adapted ourtactics techniques andprocedures to suit theconditions. For example,conventional tactics such as a‘right flanking’ was not suitablefor the close country in a largenumber of circumstances. Theresult of the having such denseundergrowth had a number ofknock on effects; speed ofmovement, use of fire supportand devolved command. Thecloseness of the countrycoupled with the use of liveammunition, focussed theminds of the Guardsmen andthose of the safety staff. It wasnot uncommon to be engagingtargets at ranges as close a fivemetres given the limitedvisibility in places. The rangesthemselves were over a 4 milemarch from the Companytraining base and the numberof smiling faces marching backunder the setting sun wastestament to the realism andexcitement that this uniquecountryside produced. Therewas the odd hairy momentwith the wildlife. I was rathernonplussed to find a heard offorty elephants were using thearea of my section attack rangefor recreational purposes,while the CompanyCommander and LSgt Evans 07

EXERCISE ASKARI THUNDER IVA Platoon Commander’s Perspective

LSgt Hughes 39 with some willing recruits

Exercise ASKARI THUNDER was a test for every memberof the Battle Group due to its arduous and complexnature. The exercise was challenging but also

enjoyable as the pace of it varied allowing all personnel torest before the each phase. As a Platoon Commander therewas plenty to learn along the way.

The daily march to the ranges. The Kenyan Platoon keeping up with the Company snake

50




were seen to move prettyquickly after coming across afemale elephant and her calveson a track in the twilight.

Ex ASKARI CENTURION

The temperature increasedsignificantly as we moved toArchers Post for the secondphase. That said, theundergrowth was just as thick,giving you poor visibility andalso making it difficult in manycases to follow a compassbearing due to the especiallythorny trees. A GPS became anessential piece of kit for aCommander to inform highercommand of their position onthe ground but also to gave theCommander the reassurancethat they were moving in theright direction as theundergrowth was so densethat in many cases it becamevery disorientating.

Speed of movement was notonly slower as a result of theundergrowth, but the standardof mapping made it verydifficult to complete a detailedmap study prior to deploymentonto the ground. Contours on

the maps were at 20 metreintervals making it difficult todifferentiate between high andlow features, unless it was asignificant hill! Dried up riverbeds provided substantialobstacles as they weresometimes not mapped and in

tactical situations at night theyslowed progress substantially.The three 48-hour exerciseswere very different but all heldvery definite challenges for allranks. The CALFEX wasperhaps some of the physicallytoughest training that any ofNumber One Platoon had gonethrough. The number of heatcasualties was significant andlead Sgt Davies 96 to putpropose a Number 1 Platoon T-shirt with ‘I survived theCALFEX’ written on the back!

From a tactical point of viewthe undergrowth and theground in general did affectthe way in which we couldemploy our fire support. Inclose country it was often notpossible for one section toprovide fire support foranother because they wouldhave to be unfeasibly close tothe enemy to do so. As a resultthey were employed using thehigh features to get above theundergrowth to provide a formof overwatch. The Fire SupportGroup took some convincingthat this wasn’t a personal

vendetta as they were asked tolug their general purposemachine guns and javelin antitank missiles up yet anotherlarge hill feature.

The exercise also tested theway we work with othernations forces and how we caninteract with local populationsin complex situations. Weworked along side the KenyanArmy throughout the first twophases of the exercise whichpresented both opportunitiesfor our learning in dealing witha different ethos andchallenges in employing theircapability effectively. We learntat a very early stage that wealso needed to understandtheir culture to gain the bestfrom the Kenyans. For examplethe Kenyan Soldiers took greatoffence to being called “Boys” aturn of phrase, which wewould not consider insulting,but friendly. They sawthemselves not as “Boys” but“Men”. The exercise alsotrained the way in which weinteract and worked with localpopulations whilst one

Lt Maltby hanging out at the local baths.

Company confirmatory orders prior to the final attack

51




moment fighting a kineticbattle trying to extract civiliansout of contact and then veryquickly developing workingrelationships in thoughengagement with key localleaders. This helped to train usall to be more comfortablewith the complex backdropthat all modern warfare takesplace in.

Ex ASKARI SPARTAN

After ASKARI MARAUDER hadgiven us some time to recoverfrom the rigours of Archer’sPost, it was very quickly ontoASKARI SPARTAN, the final testexercise, which took place onLolldaiga training area – whichhad the most hills yet! Theexercise was varied to say theleast. It went from an advanceto contact, to a stabilizationphase and then onto twodeliberate attacks ontosignificant hill features. Again,the FSG were heard to muttersomething about the WelshGuards being re-rolled as a

specialist mountain battalion.The common themethroughout this six testingdays was a distinct lack ofsleep, though the men ofNumber 1 Platoon stepped upto the mark in all respects. Thefinal attack onto Obj Lead wasone that will remain in thememory banks for some time,not least for the breathtakingview at the top. Only a handfulof the Company were in aposition to enjoy it, thoughthey had to extract themselvesfrom the top of the objectiverather quickly after it caughtfire!

It was a very tired but proudNumber 1 Platoon thatreturned to Nanyuki to getsome rest and then deploy onadventure training. Thisincluded a trip up Mount Kenyafor the more intrepid membersof the Company. Others settledfor the more sedate option ofoutdoor activities such asrafting and mountain biking.

The lessons learnt from such a

Surviving Jam Boys at the top. From l to r: Enemy, Gdsm Roberts 72, LSgt Millar, LCpl Lawrence, Sgt Owen 75, LCpl Jones 89,Company Commander, Gdsm Reynolds, Enemy

The summit of Mount Kenya

demanding hybrid foundationexercise will be very useful forthe mission specific trainingthat the Battalion will be takingpart in the next year. Theessential training helped todevelop bonds both in theBattalion, but possibly moreimportantly, developed linksand the understanding of whatother supporting arms canprovide. The exercise as awhole was really beneficial inunderstanding how far troopscan be pushed and whenrequired people will step up tothe mark where necessary toensure that a job is completed.It was also fantastic to deployabroad as a Company and aPlatoon and to mouldourselves into a tight knit unitand to have some fun!

The final objective now clear of enemy, if a little singed

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Throughout all our time inKenya one of the biggestproblems that I as a platoonsergeant faced was makingsure the platoon was able tocontinue operating in theextreme heat of the Kenyanenviroment. Often we wereencountering temperaturesthat were approaching fortydegrees, and this brings with itlots of different challenges forthe boys. For Number ThreeCompany in particular, whohad only recently returnedfrom the artic conditions of theFalklands Islands’ winter, the

challenge was even greater. Itwas extremely important thatthe boys understood howimportant it was to continuedrinking throughout the dayand night if they were toremain fit to fight at amoments notice. But makingsure that every man hadenough water to hydratehimself throughout the entireday was not easy either, in acountry where water isextremely scarce. Water had tobe driven in on trucks from theA1 echelon which could oftentake up to four hours, so

making sure that timely re-supply demands were put inwas important. We were luckyin Number Three Company inthat we had no heat casualtiescompared to the othercompanies who struggledquite badly with them. Thoughthey might well say there was alack of effort on our partactually I think the real reasonthat we were so successful inovercoming this problem wasthat we drilled into theguardsmen the importance ofthe “buddy-buddy” system.This meant that the guys wereconstantly looking out for each

other and then at the first signof any heat illness the platooncommander and myself wereable to take the appropriateaction to avoid a minorproblem becoming a seriousincident.

The ability to prevent peoplewho were starting to suffer inthe heat from becoming full-blown heat casualties wasimportant because of thedifficulty in treating casualtiesin Kenya. Almost all casualtiesthat we sustained had to belifted by helicopter due to thevast distances that separatedus from professional medicalfacilities. When communicationproblems were factored in,organising a helicopter casevacwas often quite difficult somaking sure that we did notsuffer loads of casualties dueto not drinking enough waterbecame really important.However when we did have tocasevac people it was goodpractice to test the Platoon andCompany casevac plan andalso very good for the boys tosee how well backed up theyare when things did go wrong.

Throughout the final exercisewe were wearing TESEX kit,which allowed us to simulatefiring our weapons and alsobeing shot at, both directly andindirectly. At first the benefitsof the kit were not immediatelyapparent, as the mostnoticeable thing about the kitwas the extra weight that it put

EX ASKARI SPARTANBy Sgt Peters

Exercise Askari Spartan was the coming together of allof our training in Kenya, so we all knew that it wasgoing to be a tough and demanding exercise. As a

platoon sergeant with eight platoon Number ThreeCompany, I got a great opportunity to test myself and thesection second in commands on the army’s newest and bestresourced hybrid foundation exercise.

53


on top of the body armour thatwe were wearing already.However as the exercise wenton and we were able toappreciate the feedback thatwe were given from thedirecting staff, I changed mymind. Having the ability to seeexactly where all of the platoonwere at any one timethroughout a particularengagement as well as whatfire position they were in wasextremely useful in sorting outand correcting the basics ofsoldiering. Both the platooncommander and I were able tocome together and talk exactlywhat was good and whatneeded to be worked on sothat we were constantlyimproving throughout and upuntil the end of the finalexercise. The benefits, that weas a platoon gained from thiswere incalculable.

The exercise began withNumber Three Companyinitially in reserve, howeverthis was not to be the case forvery long. As Number TwoCompany’s advance began tomeet fierce resistance in theirarea of operations, we werecalled forward for an assault tothe west of an insurgent

stronghold in the village ofBala-bala. However toapproach Bala-bala withsurprise on our side weneeded to TAB up one of thesteepest hills in the areabehind The Jam Boys whowere desperately fighting theirway through the thick bushthat was doing its best toprevent us from reaching ourline of departure on time.Throughout this tab wesuffered three casualties andthis was one of the mostchallenging casevac that weconducted of the entireexercise. With nowhere for ahelicopter to land and pickthem up, we had to ferry themto the top of the hill or leavethem on axis to be picked uplater, depending on howserious their injuries were.Eventually we did arrive at ourline of departure and theassault began on Bala-balaitself. Before long I had to stepup to the mark when theplatoon commander had toreplace the companycommander, and I foundmyself commanding theplatoon. This was a challengingphase of the exercise and thewhole idea (as we later found

out from the directing staff)was to see what happenedwhen the key people weretaken out of the fight andreplaced by their subordinates.After the assault onto Bala-balawe then moved into thestabilisation phase of theexercise where we had to startthinking about how we wouldsupport the local populationand keep them onside so thatwe could defeat theinsurgency. Changing from akinetic role to a moreinteractive one with the localpopulation was a challenge forthe boys, but one that theyovercame very well. Realisingthat they could be responsible

for gaining the vital intelligencethat we needed for asubsequent mission often bydoing something as simple aspassing the time of day with afriendly local was a big stepforward in their training andunderstanding of what it takesto fight in a hybrid warenvironment.

The final stage of the exercisewas just as challenging as theprevious parts had been. Aftera massive TAB we foundourselves poised to launchonto another insurgentstronghold and after initiallyattacking what turned out tobe the nearby directing staff’stent, we quickly securedNumber Three Company’sobjective with minimalcasualties. However themission was not over and itwould be another six hours,(two of which were fought on acliff face) before the missionwas complete.

Kenya was a fantastic exercise,which challenged everyonefrom the guardsmen to theplatoon commander. It hasgiven us the base to go onconfidently into PDT later onthis year in the knowledgethat we have a strongunderstanding in thedifferences betweenconventional and non-conventional fighting.



WELSH GUARDSAFGHANISTAN APPEAL

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AFGHAN. APPEAL

As I write, a total of £800,000has been raised, and I knowthat more will be raised nextyear, because many of youhave been in touch with yourplans.

I am delighted that so manywish to “continue themovement”, not least becausethe Battalion is due to return toAfghanistan in early 2012, andthe fund must aim off for that,but may I also remind you thatthe Appeal Office will close inearly December. Allcontributions should be sent,after that date, to RHQ, whowill place the money raised inthe appeal account. It doesmean that there can only bevery limited help in runningany projects, so the shortanswer is to run it yourself inthe name of the Appeal, andsend any money you raise toRHQ in the form of a chequemade out to the Welsh GuardsAfghanistan Appeal. Here endsthe Commercial.

The whole exercise has beenmost encouraging, and a heartwarming indication of howexcellently those onoperational tours in aparticularly difficult theatre aresupported. I have been

astonished at the generosity ofthose we have approached,and the sheer variety ofschemes dreamed up to raisefunds has been marvellous.

We have had money raised byskydiving, running against ahorse, desert marathons,climbing every conceivablepeak in Wales as well as theThree Peaks Challenge, andeven someone tattooed in thecause. And we have also had avery generous response fromWelsh Guardsmen on anindividual basis.

The launch began with theThree Peaks Challenge, whichgot considerable publicity, andthis was followed by theinvitation from ChepstowRacecourse to raise money atthe Welsh National. In spite of asharp frost, which at one pointthreatened to spoil themeeting, over £5,000 wascollected, and Northern racingdonated £10,000.

Just one week before theelection, with the mostgenerous support of theDrapers Company, we stagedour major fund raising dinnerin their splendid hall, and thisraised £160,000. Not only wasthis an outstanding success for

THE WELSH GUARDSAFGHANISTAN APPEAL

Brigadier P R G Williams DL

A s Chairman of the Afghanistan Appeal, I am verypleased to report that the Regiment and its wide circleof supporters have risen magnificently to the

challenge of providing a fund of £1 million to help thosebereaved and injured on the Battalion’s last tour.

Capt. Richards tackles a monstrous hill with ease

Planning the next stage

Lt Col & Mrs Bartle-Jones, Col Bonas and Capt's Richards and Thompsonwearing their medals with pride

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AFGHAN. APPEAL

AFGHAN. APPEAL

the appeal, but it also showedoff the Welsh Guards to manyfriends who, up until then, hadnot known them well, and theywere most impressed.

The Kirtlington Polo Club andthe Thorneloe family laid on amagnificent polo day in earlyJuly, which made over £60,000,and the two events at theGlanusk Estate later in themonth brought in over

£15,000. We have also hadwonderful support fromCardiff City, London Welsh andL/Sgt Williams 31 and thestudents of the MilitaryPreparation College, whoraised over £10,000. It justshows what tabbing overthose hills can do; nobody evergave me money like that formarching all over Sennybridge.

None of this could have

Best Playing Pony Brigadier Williams, Major Thorneloe and the Reverend Pryor

The players and the Thorneloe family after presentation of The 2010 Rupert Thorneloe Memorial Cup

happened without thegoodwill of all those who haveput their shoulders to thefundraising wheel, and onbehalf of the Regiment I thankyou all. I must give specialthanks to the Committee, andthe Project staff; they havebeen superb. We must alsothank our Colonel, who hasbeen a great source of supportand encouragement, and is tohost a reception to thank our

major donors, in ClarenceHouse.

Without, I hope, soundingcomplacent, we can say thatwe have risen to the challengeas good Welsh Guardsmenshould, and as the presentgeneration has on operationsin one of the most difficultareas the Regiment has everhad to fight in. We wish themwell on their next tour.

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AFGHAN. APPEAL

AFGHAN. APPEAL

Elements from Number TwoCompany and SupportCompany made the journeydown from Aldershot toprovide assistance as the iconicred tunic and bearskins of theWelsh Guards lined the routeonto the estate. In additionGdsm dressed in desertcombats were to be tasked in

GLANUSK POLO

Saturday the 17th July saw several thousand peopleconvene at the Glanusk Estate for the Wales versus GreatBritain international Polo match. The match was very

kindly organised and hosted by Harry Legge-Bourke formerWelsh Guardsman, at his family home near Crickhowell inSouth Wales, in order to raise funds for the Welsh GuardsAppeal.

collecting money forprogrammes and donationsfor the Appeal.

The grounds to the estate andthankfully the weather bothconspired to set the moststunning backdrop to whatwas set to be an absolutelyoutstanding day. Although

Mrs and RSM Roberts at The Drapers DinnerCorps of Drums performing under UV light

Lt. Col. Antelme giving his speech at the Drapers Dinner

Mrs and Brigadier Williams and Caroline Curtis Dolby at the Drapers Dinner

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AFGHAN. APPEAL

AFGHAN. APPEAL

clearly the main event was thepolo there was no end ofadditional entertainment onoffer. Of particular note in thisrespect was the ParachuteRegiment’s display team theRed Devils who ushered on thestart of the match with aremarkable display, carryingthe flags of both teams, as theyflew graciously andspectacularly through the sky.The Red Devil’s were not theonly ones fortunate enough tobe able to survey the beautifulcountryside from the air,helicopter rides were availablefor those who wished to sharesuch a breathtaking view. Inaddition Harry Legge-Bourkehad arranged for a silentauction to be put on with somefantastic prizes includingsigned film and sportsmemorabilia.

As the teams lined up for thestart of the match and theNational Anthems it was clearthat the game was set to be aclose run affair as both sidesappeared, on paper, at leastfairly equally balancedconsisting of a mixture ofamateur and professionalplayers. The Welsh nationalteam was headed by RickyCooper with a full time

professional contract for anAmerican team in New York. Inaddition Andrew and RichardBlake Thomas and TarquinSouthwell swelled the Welshprofessional ranks. By contrastteam Great Britain were able todraw on a comparable level oftalent in the form of MaxHutchinson, Freddy Dear andHarold Hodges, all with a onegoal handicap.

The Great Britain team openedthe scoring and at first sightappeared to have the best ofthe play as they earned a 3goal lead in the first chukka.The Welsh national side wereclearly un-phased however asthey valiantly fought back,managing to hold the GreatBritain team 4 goals to 2 in thesecond chukka. No doubt thetremendously vocal crowdsupport had a large part toplay in facilitating their team’sresurgence. Indeed as teamcaptain Ricky Cooperremarked:

It really was the first game that Ihave every played when I couldhear thousands of voicescheering us on...One thing thatreally stood in my mind was allof the Welsh Guards behind thegoal really getting behind us at

every break, coming over andspeaking to us to gee us on. Theyreally wanted us to do well.

Unfortunately the match wasfinally taken by the GreatBritain team who won by half agoal. This came despite the factthat the referee had ignoredsome rather unscrupulousBritish play against the Welshin the dying moments of thefinal chukka, which could haveset the scene for an emphaticWelsh victory.

With the match concluded andthe unique Welsh Guardsendorsed plaques handed outto the players the vast majority

of crowd took the opportunity toget involved in the post matchhospitality. A marquee with livemusic as well as a heavilydiscounted bar provided thefocal point for the Welsh fans todrown and dance their sorrowsaway and brought to an end avery unique and special daywhich raised over £25,000 forthe Appeal. The Regiment wouldlike to take this opportunity tooffer our unreserved gratitudeto Harry Legge-Bourke and hisfamily for their incredibly warmand generous support to theAppeal.All photographs are reproduced with thegenerous permission of M PhotographyWales

From left to right LSgt Evans 88, Gdsm Edwards 27, LCpl Nuku, Gdsm Meaney,Gdsm Rees, Gdsm Hill, Gdsm Rogers, Gdsm O’Sullivan Collecting money for the Appeal.

Gdsm O’Sullivan celbrates as Walessnatch a goal in the second chukka.

Lady Guthrie hands out runners up plaques to the Welsh team overlooked by Gdsm Wale.

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AFGHAN. APPEAL

AFGHAN. APPEAL

We would canvass opinionfrom those Guardsmen whowere on our re-union dinner’sdata-base and ask, should we,in the interest of raising funds,invite civilians for the first time.They would after all generateincreased revenue just on ticketsales. Sponsorship would alsobring benefits. The result of thepoll was an underwhelming‘Yes’. 26 said ‘aye’ while 25 said‘nay’. The ‘ayes’ had it.

Galvanize, actionize,all systems go!

The ‘eureka’ moment camewhile walking my dog aroundSwiss Valley, Felinfoel. How dowe get the public interested?The ‘Sun’ newspaper, to itseternal credit has beenunequivocal in its support of‘Help for Heroes’ and the‘Millies’ are their brainchild.Every morning with ourbreakfasts, 4 million or so of usread of causalities inAfghanistan. The omnipresentfear for our loved ones servingthere are the IEDs. Nails,bearings and dog mess!Boys/Men – oh yes, Men aremaimed and killed. Arms andlegs are being lost so why notask someone for an ‘arm and aleg’, cockney speak for a leg ofmoney, - a euphemism. So Idid! The trial run began. First,letters to friends and then therugby database. I ran it byChalkie (Major Glyn White MBE)and together we raised it in our

THE WELSH GUARDSAFGHANISTAN APPEAL DINNER

Chris Beynon

Combined with Welsh Guards Biennial Rugby Dinner

L ike any good idea it must be coaxed, cajoled, proddedand prompted and then for good measure, agitated,enthused and finally sold! When the Rugby Committee

of Welsh Guards Reunion first learned of our AfghanistanAppeal, the concept was warmly embraced cwtched even anda plan of action put into place.

first meeting. It was improvedunanimously.

We designed a badge inBrigade colours with an armand leg in the centre and asmall Leek atop, calling it ‘TheArm and a Leg 100 Club’.Available to all who will donate£100.00 or more! To date wehave 40 members with 35pledged to pay before ourdinner in November 2011.

That is £7,500.00. Oh bother! I had promised P.R.G. (BrigadierPeter Williams DL, ourchairman) that I would get£10,000.00 for the appeal! Iwas £2,500.00 short – and the‘A&L’ was at a standstill.

Remembering the words of SirJohn Goldsmith – “Once yousee the bandwagon comingover the horizon, it will be toolate to jump on it”, I set aboutforming Plan B.

My lifelong friend, BrynPencock, inadvertently paid mea compliment in one of ourcommittee meetings. He hadsaid “The trouble with you‘Barrymore’ is, you sometimestake things too far”. He wasright of course and as Iexplained to Bryn, “If yousometimes push things to thelimits and cross the line, youwill inevitably achieve yourgoal” W Clement Stone.

In selling there are ‘sheep’ and‘foxes’. Those that are driven

and herded and those who liveby guile. Michael Korda haswritten that “it is ok beingMachiavellian, just don’t admitit!” My hands are up. I havesometimes walked with onefoot in the shadows. Withoutasking Colonel Bonas’permission or seeking hisapproval, for I did not think itnecessary, I designed aminiature medal with a leek tothe front with the wordsembossed, ‘Honour ourSoldiers’. The reverse side read:‘Welsh Guards AfghanistanAppeal.’ The clasp ribboncarried the colours ofGowerton Grammar School orBarcelona FC. Navy blue,maroon, navy blue! Identical tothe Brigade of Guards! Draftinga carefully worded letter, I sentmissives out to Welsh people ofhigh profile, world wide. Iasked for their support and inreturn I would see that theyreceived a medal which couldbe worn on the right breast oftuxedo or cocktail frock. Idealfor red-carpet occasions, stageappearances, St David’s orRemembrance days, et al, byreturn of post I received acheque for £1,000.00 fromDame Shirley Bassey. Thepostal service of thePrincipality of Monaco is quitesuperb, for I had addressed itto: Dame Shirley Bassey,Monaco, France. Wrongcountry! It is an independentstate adjacent to France. Iknew that! Then cam a£1,000.00 from Llanelli TownCouncil and another £1,000.00from the Chair of CarmarthenCounty Council, CouncillorTegwen Devichand, (her fatherhad been a Colour-Sergeant inthe 1st Battalion during WW2.John Waygood from RiverTerrace, Porth, Rhondda). Andthen £1,400.00 collected byAbigail Davies, 1 13 year oldwho was the granddaughter ofCouncillor Devichand. The

‘snowball’ effect. Tony Puliscame next. A Newport boywho, at the time of writing, ismanager of Stoke City FootballClub.

I had sold the sizzle, not thesausage. No one had yet seenthe medal. The die at Mappinand Webb was yet to be cast.Who in their right mind wouldbuy a medal from someonethey had never heard of, nevermet and had, yet, sent them acheque for £1,000.00. Welcometo the world of sales. There’snowt as queer as folk!

Freud or Jung said that man’sbasic need was to feel wanted,respected, revered andrewarded. When CharityAgencies ask for money, theyseek to raise their profile bybombarding one’s sensesthrough news and mediaadvertisement. The writtenword is always best. It ispersonal. More discreet andless invasive. There has neverbeen a more persuasive toolthan the quill. With the agency,they give back very little as areward. A colouredphotograph of Ew-aw perhapsor a Parkinson’s Parker pen. Ihave always been taught toreward customershandsomely.

Lady Ga-ga recently spent£25,000.00 on assorted ‘bling’for her stage shows. The lateMichael Jackson would do thesame. He loved medals. So toodo schoolboys and tomboysregardless of their ages, 8 or80. Remember the song, “mybrother, Sylvest”, he wrote 40medals on his chest”. Peoplewill pay thousands for them –just reward them withsomething special and theywill feel special. Link it with acharity as deserving as oursand we have a winner.

Never stop thinking, never stopworking, strive to improve

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remembering the adage, “ifyou aim for the moon andmiss, you are still guaranteed ahandful of stardust”. So fromthe ‘Arm and a Leg Club’, whichis only £100.00, we haveprogressed to out SterlingSilver Medal of Honour which isonly £1,000.00!

There is a Welshman orWelshwoman out theresomewhere who will supportour Welsh Guards AfghanistanAppeal by donating £5,000.00.they will be rewarded an 18ctYellow Gold Medal. Should anyreader recoil in horror andthink, the poor old duffer issuffering from dementia, re-read to debenture! It was MrWilliam Bortrick, Executive andRoyal Editor of Burke’s Peerageand Gentry, who advised that Ishould be asking £5,000.00 -£10,000.00, “bearing in mindthe cause and the net worth ofthe individuals at that level Ishould be approaching”. Soyou see, I am ‘giving themaway!’ roll up, roll up!

As a committee man for WelshGuards Rugby I am privilegedto work with old and trustedfriends who keep a rein on mebut in this instance have givenme my head to market and sell,as I see fit. To win the ‘pumpkingrowing for the biggest entry’,forget putting the seedling in abottle to acquire perfectsymmetry, let it grow wild andfeed it plenty of manure. It maybe ugly, blighted, distorted etc,but it will beat all the ‘prettyboys’ grown in bottles – for theprize is for the biggest not theprettiest!

And finally, my last story toColonel Tom (Bonas) and P.R.G.,whose permission for themedal I now have but did notseek originally.

During the depression yearsand just after the Wall Streetcrash, a young man, a

newspaper vendor, wouldstand on his pitch selling to hisregular customers. Onecustomer took a shine to theboy and on a Friday would tiphim for the week. The boyremembered the man. Hispocket money would go to hiswidowed mother but thedepression began to bite andso he dropped out of HighSchool and took a full time job,selling insurance to peoplewho rented dime a day officesin the sky scrapers of Chicago.

On his first day he took theelevator to the top floor anddecided to work his way down.That first week he sold nothing.On the Monday of the secondweek, at 8 a.m. sharp heknocked on his first office ofthe day and began by saying“Excuse me Sir. May I have amoment of your time?”

“No kid, not today, I’m busy.Beat it!” the same stock replyha had received all theprevious week. He turned towalk out and as he was closingthe door behind him, the mancalled “So you’ve given up thenewspapers, huh?” he waswearing a sun visor, spectaclesand was without his usual hat.Then the boy recognised himas the ‘good tipper’.

“Come on kid. Sit down andlisten to what I gotta say. Firstoff, you ain’t sold no insurance,right?”“Right”“You wanna know why?”“Sure”“Well kid, in life you never askpeople for their time, you takeit!” If you ask for it, they’ll giveyou all sort of excuses not togive it. You’re giving them away out. A reason to say, no”

That was the soundest bit ofadvice the young W. ClementStone ever had. He went on toform his own insurancecompany, The Combined

Insurance Company ofAmerica. After 40 years Clemsold it for 1 billion dollars. Heretired from insurance andwrote self help books andmade another fortune. I wasone of his devotees. So when,Colonel Tom, I did not ask foryour approval to strike a medalat the outset and went ahead,it was never regardless of youand any dissent or reservationsyou might have raised. I knewthat all of us, the RugbyCommittee, yourself, and P.R.G.had at the forefront of ourminds, the greater good – OurAfghanistan Appeal. If anyblame is to be apportioned,then it must be levelled at W.Clement Stone!

To date the rugby committeehas raised £11,000.00 for theAppeal Fund. By the evening ofthe Rugby dinner, Friday 18thNovember 2011, we hope torepresent P.R.G with a chequeto the value of: £………….WATCH THIS SPACE.

It will be open doors and thewarmest of welcomes to anyWelsh Guardsmen and theirmale only, civilian friends.

Tickets are on sale at £45.00each. For this, The Stradley ParkHotel, Llanelli is hosting a 4course dinner with fine winesafter which will follow ourguest speaker for the night, MrRick O’Shea, rugby pundit fromBBC’s Scrum V.

The traditional auction hassome extraordinary prizes andwe will be having somesurprise guests who will addflavour to the occasion.

The code of dress is, as always,lounge suit or Blazer, notwithstanding this, sponsorsmay choose to wear formalblack tie and we will notdissuade them as it is after all,a very special event for a mostworthy cause.

Since its first Rugby dinner in2003, Welsh Guards RugbyReunions have gone fromstrength to strength. It ishoped that as many WelshGuardsmen as possible willattend and with them theirfriends too.

The Stradley Park Hotel, Llanellisits down to dine 400. Doplease try to attend whatpromises to be anunforgettable night.

Single rooms are £62.50 whilea shared Double room is£75.00, the hotel is offering a 3night stay for the price of 2.That is £150.00 for a sharedroom, Friday, Saturday, Sunday,Bed and Breakfast.

To reserve a table of 4, that isshared 4 + 4, the cost is£280.00. To reserve a table for8 the cost is £460.00. Bothtables carry a surcharge of£100.00 which givesmembership of 1 ‘Arm and aLeg Club’ plus a full pageadvertisement or ‘message’ in our prestigiousMenu/Programme. Single tickets are £45.00

Tickets are available from:

Chris Beynon, MayfieldLodge, Clochyrie, Llanelli,Carms. SA14 8EZ.

Tel: 01554 752801 or email:[email protected]

Please make your chequeout to: Welsh GuardsRugby/Afghanistan Appeal.

Should you require anyinformation don’t hesitate tocontact me.

My warmest regardsChris Beynon(Hon. Sec.)

AFGHAN. APPEAL

AFGHAN. APPEAL

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RECRUITING/TRAINING

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The first thing I would like tosay is a big thank you to CaptPeter Robinson, his efforts asthe Recruiting Officer werewhat can only be described asoutstanding, because of hisefforts the job that I took overwas made considerably easierand his work has set us up forthis recruiting year. My maineffort has been to continue onwith the way Capt Robinsonleft off, although he has been atough act to follow the ship hasremained fairly steady.

At the same time that I startedin Cardiff I was joined by WO2Warren Williams who took uppost as the RegimentalRecruiting Warrant Officer from

WO2 Andy Price 80 and Sgt JackHawkins who replaced Sgt WillHayes. This was followed veryshortly by the return of LCplMorris 78 and Gdsm Luke backto 1WG from RST South andLCpl Cunningham and GdsmHarris from RST North. Sincetheir return we have beenbrought back up to strengthwith LCpl Burnett, GdsmWhitefoot and Gdsm Slowmanin RST South and LSgt Duffy,Gdsm Williams 63 and GdsmJones 48 in RST North. There asalso been movement withinthe recruiting world in NorthWales with LSgt “Blair” Jones 60moving from the RST North tothe Bangor Military

RECRUITING/TRAINING

RECRUITING PERSONNEL

WO1 M Monaghan – Regimental Recruiting Warrant Officer

Regimental Support Team (South)

WO2 W J Williams 25Sgt S HawkinsL/Sgt M DwyerL/Cpl B BurnettGDSM F WhitefootGDSM T Sloman

Regimental Support Team (North)

L/Sgt P DuffyGDSM R Jones 48GDSM S Williams 63

Army Recruiting Team 32

L/Sgt ScarfL/Cpl BuckleyGDSM HenneberryGDSM Lovell

Army Recruiting Team 33

L/Cpl Jones 61L/Cpl Williams-DayGDSM Dade

Army Preparation College (Bangor)

L/Sgt R Jones 60

RECRUITING OFFICES

Cardiff GroupL/Sgt Adams – AFCO CardiffL/Sgt Cake – ACIO NewportL/Sgt Lloyd 88 – ACIO Pontypridd

Swansea GroupC/Sgt Ryan-Young – AFCO SwanseaL/Sgt Jury – ACIO BridgendL/Sgt George – ACIO HaverfordwestL/Cpl Lee – ACIO Haverfordwest

North Wales GroupC/Sgt Sanger – ACIO RhylL/Sgt Jones 95 – AFCO WrexhamL/Sgt Williams 31 – ACIO Bangor

143 BrigadeL/Sgt O’Brien – AFCO Shrewsbury

London DistrictC/Sgt Lewis 37 – ACIO Victoria

L ast April I took over as the Regimental RecruitingSergeant Major, probably an appointment that mostreading will be unfamiliar with. The reason for the

appointment is owing to me choosing to step off andsubsequently requiring some form of appointment to fillbefore leaving the Army.

REGIMENTAL RECRUITINGWO1(RRSM) Mike Monaghan

GDSM Sloman and Whitefoot with the captains of Blues RFCand Scarlets RFC at the Cardiff City Stadium

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RECRUITING/TRAINING

RECRUITING/TRAINING

Preparation College replacingFly, LSgt Williams 31, who nowmoves in to ACIO Bangor. All ofthe outgoing RST had anextremely difficult and busyperiod over the last recruitingyear; this was especially sowith the demand for theirservices over the period of theAfghanistan tour and then theHome Coming Parades on thebattalions return to the UK, forthis they are all commendedfor their hard work.

With regards to the presentRegimental Support Team,WO2 Williams 25 has broughtrejuvenation in areas thatrequired attention. His and theteams efforts are highlightedwith a report that he has puttogether and follows thisarticle. His and the teamssupport has been invaluable,not only to me and the InsightCourses that we have run forpotential applicants, but alsoto the overall recruitingsupport to the recruiters.

In terms of our recruiting effortour recruiters are havinganother good year. This hasbeen on top of a periodbetween April and thebeginning of September whenthere were no intakes for WelshGuards. Starting the recruitingyear we already had 40applicants waiting forenlistment dates, the recruitershad to work extremely hard tokeep them interested as some,by the time they ended upgoing in to training, werewaiting a year. Our target wasinitially 80, this has since risento 110. We are well on way toensuring that the targets aremet for this recruiting year andI am confident that we willeventually fill our quota. Interms of productivity byrecruiters we are continuing tosee a steady stream of recruitsfrom all over Wales and withregards to the recruiter whohas recruited the most WelshGuardsmen, all is still to beplayed for. If it is not CSgt

Left to right: Gdsm Sloman, L/Sgt Dwyer, RQMS Williams and L/Cpl Burnett of the Regimental Support Team

Sanger or LSgt Cake it will notbe through lack of trying. Asthis recruiting year draws to anend though, our recruitingefforts will quickly shift toensuring that there is asufficient quantity ofapplicants who are ready togain a place in recruiting year11/12.

In terms of movement withinthe recruiters things haveremained fairly stable. The onlymovement that has occurredhas been the replacement ofLSgt Harrison with LSgtGeorge, LSgt Barry who hasreturned after the closure ofACIO Merthyr, LSgt Jones 51who will return after LSgtWilliams 31 has passed hisrecruiting course and LSgtO’Brien who has replaced LSgtLuckraft in Shrewsbury afterstepping off.

Recruit retention remains adifficult challenge; there isprobably a greater loss ofrecruits from Wales than in anyother area in the country, why?

one can only guess the realreason although some havesaid it is because of the desireto be back home with thefamily. The training staff at ITCCatterick and AFC Harrogateare key in the responsibility ofretention and have done agreat job up to date inproviding 1WG with a goodpercentage of new draft basedagainst recruits that startedtraining. This will remain achallenge and one which I haveno doubt our training staff willcontinue to do well.

The last thing to report is thatchanges may come in the nearfuture. A recent review hashighlighted a need for changeand this change could see theRegimental Support Team’sreturning back to 1WG.Anybody that has beeninvolved in recruiting willautomatically be surprised bythis and will think that thepossibility of this could see adownward turn in WelshGuards recruiting. I think oneof the possibilities is tocompensate this by anincreased effort on behalf ofWelsh Guards recruiting by theArmy Recruiting Teams that arepresently in Wales, with anuplift provided by 1WG. Thedetails are still to be finalisedbut I can assure all those withconcern that I have no doubtas long as we still sendcompetent Non CommissionedOfficers to the recruitingoffices to facilitate recruiting,we will continue to have thequality of men joining that isrequired.

Finally I would like to wish allthose reading the magazine allthe best for the future andfarewell.

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RECRUITING/TRAINING

RECRUITING/TRAINING

To that end we conducted twoInsight Courses in Aldershotper month for the North andSouth applicants from thevaried career offices. Thecourses that were conductedwere very similar to the ADSC(Army Development SelectionCentre) where we looked at theapplicants on their fitness,command tasks, weaponretention skills, Ice breakerabout themselves and a trip toLondon to watch the Changingof the Guard and visit to theGuards Museum.

During the year we attendedan ACE (Army CareersExhibition) for a week on “OPDragons March” at Margam

REGIMENTAL SUPPORT TEAM 2010/11WO2 (RQMS) W J Williams

Insight Course visiting London

The Regimental Support Team with members of the Battalion at Glanusk

Park, Port Talbot with all thearms and services available forall the local schools to visit andhave a fun day out and a lookat what career was available.The biggest job that wascarried out was Armed ForcesDay in Cardiff Bay for thenation and where the WelshGuards had the RegimentalBand and Number TwoCompany were on parade withthe Regimental Support Teamwith a gazebo with uniformsnext to a Mastiff vehicle forAfghanistan. It was a beautifulhot day and the crowds camein the thousands and cheeredon all the three services whichwas well appreciated by all thesoldiers on duty that day.

Next was the Royal Welsh Showat Builth Wells where 20,000people attended over four daysand the weather variedbetween two days of beingvery hot and two days of verywet rain. Although the show isthe biggest agricultural showin the UK, it does attract ourtarget audience as well asfamilies on day trips.

We also assisted with variouscharities throughout the year,such as the AfghanistanAppeal, Help for Heroes andLatch (cancer) where lots ofmoney was raised. CaptainLegge-Bourke, Adrian Hinderand Brain Elliott organised atwo day charity event up inCrickhowell for theAfghanistan Appeal andduring the event theRegimental Support Team andArmy Recruiting Team set upthe caravan and the ClimbingTower. There was music,auctions, polo match betweenWales and GB and theAssociation attended withsome camped out on theestate.

The team also set up down inOxford for a polo match set upby the sister of late LieutenantColonel R S M Thorneloe MBEbetween the Welsh Guards andthe local team where a vastamount of money was raisedfor charity.

The Battalion was invited byCardiff Blues RFC managementto march a Company onparade for the Magners Leaguegame between Cardiff Bluesand Llanelli Scarlets. Twoguardsmen marched thereferee, Linesman and teamson to the Cardiff City Stadiumand then 300 tickets weregiven to the soldiers and theirfamilies as well as a few freedrinks and the RST’s carriedout bucket collections for theAfghanistan Appeal.It has been a fairly busy yearespecially during the summerand obviously it has beenextremely helpful runningInsight Courses for potentialapplicants with the Battalionbeing able to assist and showwhat we have available withinthe Companies.

(L/Cpl Morris 13 and pupils of the Swansea group schoolsduring the Army Careers Exhibition at Margam Park)

Captain Moukarzel commanding a marching party during the live S4C MagnersLeague Rugby game at the Cardiff City Stadium

This year has still been busy although the objective ofit was to fill our recruiting allocation as well as nurtureapplicants who had to wait a period of between 6-9

months for their intake date in to training at either InfantryTraining Centre, Catterick and to the Army FoundationCollege, Harrogate.

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We were again fortunate to haveour regular coach driver PeterGillis who took us safely throughremote areas, narrow lanes andbusy city streets withconsummate ease.

The emphasis was on OperationMarket Garden, the Alliedattempt in September 1944 todrive through southern Hollandand into Germany’s industrialheartland, the Ruhr , and soshorten the war. “Market” wasthe code name for the air plan,the landing of British, UnitedStates and Polish airborneforces by parachute and glider,and “Garden” the ground plan,the advance by 30 Corps led by

the Guards Armoured Divisionwhich included 1st and 2ndBattalions Welsh Guards.

Previous tours had covered thebattle but never in depth.Recreating one of the mostconfusing battles of the SecondWorld War is difficult but in thefirst two days of the tourBrigadier Rickett talked usthrough the operation, and tookus to key locations, in such away that it brought it all to life.His commentary will long beremembered, a great deal ofresearch had gone into it andthe result was a fresh approachcovering both sides of the battle,and the role of the Dutch

Resistance. The Brigadier alsoprovided detailed maps, whichArthur Bland and Ray Cumbleywho fought in the battle, saidwere much better than the fewsupplied in 1944!

They served in the 2nd(Armoured) Battalion fromNormandy to Germany and areregular tourists. As we stood onthe bridge at Graves they told ofthe action there on the 21stSeptember 1944 when undershelling. The blast of oneexplosion flattened Arthur to theground near his scout car, andRay was temporarily paralysedfrom the waist down. He waslifted back into his tank butrecovered an hour or two later.Standing with them at the veryspot was one of severalemotional experiences of thetour.

We stood in fields where theairborne troops landed, we sawbuildings where they foughtand even went into what wasonce the hospital whereGerman and British doctorstreated casualties side by side.We were taken to the banks ofwide rivers and canals that hadto be crossed, to woods, narrowlanes and of course the twomain bridges at Nijmegen andArnhem.

On Day One we began ourjourney to Nijmegen at Joe’sBridge named after ColonelJ.O.E.Vandeleur, CommandingOfficer of the Irish Guards Groupwho captured it a week beforeMarket Garden actually began.Our hotel was in Eindhoven sowe were conveniently placed tocover the whole area.

We dodged a heavy rainshower at Nijmegen Bridge butthe weather improved on DayTwo when we got toOosterbeek and Arnhem. TheBritish airborne landings werein and around Oosterbeek andat the crossroads in the centreof the town the HotelSchoonard, where we took ourlunch, had been full ofcasualties. Oosterbeek sufferedgreatly and when we werethere the streets wereemblazoned with the flags ofthe Airborne Forces in honourof the 66th anniversaryceremonies a week after ourvisit.

Parking a coach in a busy citylike Arnhem is difficult butluckily the recce haddiscovered a space outside aresidential building which hadbeen the hospital referred toearlier. From one of its manywindows Brigadier (laterGeneral) Hackett, commanderof 4th Parachute Brigade,jumped to evade capture afterhe had been treated secretlyby a local doctor. It was just oneof many on the spotexperiences which added tothe already clear picture of theaction described by theBrigadier.

We were helped in many waysby the Dutch people we met,especially when caught intraffic facing the wrong end ofa one way street. Along came apolice car which escorted usthrough it and out the otherend. It was a new, and we hopean enjoyable, experience forthe serving Guardsmen withus and they were wonderful

REGIMENTAL BATTLEFIELD TOURSEPTEMBER 2010

Roy Lewis

Captain Graham Taylor who has organised andmanaged our tours since 2003 was sadly unable totake part in the 26th as he was recovering from a knee

operation. We missed him and Pat but his planning ensuredanother success. Brian Keane took on Graham’s role admirablyand a great time was had by all.

The Brigadier at Oosterbeek

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BATTLEFIELD TOURS

BATTLEFIELD TOURS

companions and very helpful.We admired their resilienceand fortitude after nights outthat ended in the early hoursand hope they enjoyed thesocial as well as the seriousmoments.

Spirits were high when theparty left Pirbright for Doverand were still high when thecoach arrived at the Eindhovenhotel two hours late after along journey caused by veryheavy traffic heading toAntwerp. As usual there weremany special moments torecall and a great deal oflaughter when we relaxed afterbusy but enjoyable days. Thegroup dinner in the hotel onthe first night was a greatopportunity to meet friendsfrom previous tours and get toknow those making their firsttrip which hopefully will not betheir last.

Market Garden was, and still is,highly controversial and as wewalked around the cemetery atOosterbeek we were deeplymoved at the sight of so manygraves. It was there that theBrigadier read the words of thepadre of 2 Para at the openingof the cemetery soon after thewar. It was a fitting end to ourvisit to the battlefields ofOperation Market Garden.

“Please just stand for a whileand breathe in the atmosphereof this place. As you look at thegraves remember what youhave read and see during yourtour of the battlefield and thenfollow their lines up to the endof the cemetery where you willsee a symbol of a very majesticstone cross.

“You will note that the ages onthe headstones are nearly all ofvery young men and you willbe thinking, ‘what a mess,what a complete waste of life.’But a Dutchman, who was awell known member of the

Resistance here, has said,‘Don’t ever, ever think it was awasted effort because yougave us hope. You showed thatsomebody cared and that we were not forgotten.”

The weather had been fine inHolland but on the Sunday theclouds gathered and therewere worried faces as theparty headed for Hechtel.Surely it would not rain on ourparade – but it did. For the firsttime the Regimental Bandwere at the annual liberationceremony which was to have

included an outdoor concertbut unfortunately it had to becancelled.

We attended the church serviceand laid wreaths at the townmemorial as well as theCommonwealth War GravesCemetery at Bourg Leopoldand the Resistance memorial.On the way back to Eindhovenwe recovered from a damp dayat a very handy café, and nextmorning headed into France.Before checking into our hotelnear Calais we spent time atthe seaside resort of De Panne.

Much of the evacuation of theBEF in May 1940 was from thebeaches of the town.

The last night of a veryenjoyable tour was spent in thehotel and the group dinnerlived up to expectations andtradition, the many talentsamong the tour partyblossomed forth and it was theperfect end. When we arrivedin Pirbright promises of “Seeyou next year” were made andplans were already beinghatched for the 27th tour.

Playing in the rain, the Band at Hecthe

The Tour group at Arnhem Bridge

WELSH GUARDSASSOCIATION EVENTS

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ASSOCIATION EVENTS

IMBER COURT26TH JUNE 20102739299 Islwyn Evans

R.Q.M.S. Andy Campbell hadorganised a display of WelshGuards regimental accessorieswith the assistance ofGuardsman Stuart Cousins. Thisgave members assembled thechance to purchase gifts andmementos which previouslythey may only have seen in abrochure, so hopefully this willbe made available in futureyears.

The 2010 Imber Court Remembrance Day was wellattended by over 80 guests, with many from as faraway as South Wales, the Midlands and the South

West.... Upon arrival they were made welcome by R.Q.M.S.Andy Campbell and the manager of the Imber court Mr. NickHartfree and his staff, who supplied tea coffee and biscuits.

Whilst a day of remembrance itwas nice to have R.Q.M.S. AndyCampbell and L/Cpl S.Lang(bugler) in full dress tunicswhich added that little extra tothe service and the guestsfound it very colourful.

In the garden of remembrancethis year as in 2009 the servicewas conducted by theReverend William Pryor. Hisaddress on Saturday 26th June

marked the 66th anniversaryof the original tragic incident ofa V1 bomb landing there. I feelthat it is most appropriate toshare some of his words herewith you :-

“ As one who acts as a chaplainon Welsh Guards Battlefieldtours, I am much aware, thatservices of commemorationremind us of our link withthose who died in the Battlesof the two World Wars, andwith Christ who laid down hislife for us and the Sin that leadsmankind into such conflicts.

This year when thinking of thisaddress, a short butmemorable part of a poem bySir Lawrence Binyon has keptrepeating itself to me. It cameto me first during a shoot atCompton, up on the Downsnear Newbury, when we were

all in the back of the game cart;and the Shoot Captain, a localpolice officer, called for silenceas it was 11 O’clock, on the 11thday of the 11th month, and hethen asked, “Could you say aprayer, Padre?”. And it wasthen that the words rolleddown, word perfect into mymemory. Sir Lawrence Binyonhad lived close by at Aldworth,so his “spirit” must haveprompted me in the Subtletiesand difficulties of this part ofthe poem he had written.“They shall grow not old, as wethat are left grow old,Age shall not weary them, northe years condemn.At the going down of the sunand in the morning,We will remember them!” towhich the refrain is, “We willremember them!”

Guests at Imber Court Remembrance Day

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The Subtleties are the inversionof “Grow not,” as the poeticform of “Not Grow Old?” andthe inversion Shall and Will,where you would expect Willand Shall to emphasise ourWillingness to remember them,especially in the refrain. It is all much more familiar tome now as a prayer atMemorials on Battlefield tours,in which we all can join in therefrain. “We will rememberthem!”

Also in the service, readingfrom the Epistle of the Romans

Chapter 8 versus 31-39 wasCaptain D Harris, WelshGuards, who represented ColTom Bonas, who unfortunatelycould not attend.

At the service in 2009, I met afellow Guardsman, whom Ihad not seen since June 30th1944 at Imber Court.Guardsman Ronald JamesNo.2739272 was with me,(Islwyn Evans No 2739299) inSgt Peregrine’s Platoon. Iwonder if there are any moreof this Platoon still with us- it

would be great to hear fromyou.

During the service I wasgrateful for the helping handof the Rev Pryor who assistedme to stand, since I haverecently had total kneereplacements in both legs, andI am now free to walk withoutcrutches and a lot less pain.

Before going for refreshmentsRQMS Andy Campbellorganised the guests to have agroup photograph taken, and I

have sent out a copy taken by

my son Richard to some of

those present on the day and

more have written or

telephoned me asking for a

copy.

Whilst having refreshments

provided by the Imber Court

team, those assembled were

able to view a display of

pictures and posters

explaining the events of 1944

at the sports field at Imber

Court, written long after the

event, since at the time a report

of the disaster was not

published, in case it should fuel

the ambitions of the enemy.

As writing this report I have

sadly been informed of the

death of Miss Doris Lee on 17th

September. Doris was present

at Imber Court at the time of

the bombing serving with the

ATS at Sandown Park. She had

attended this remembrance

service each year since it

started, and she was a good

friend to us Welsh Guardsmen.

I look forward to meeting old

comrades and new friends

again at next year’s service.

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ASSOCIATION EVENTS

RQMS A Campbell, Mr Islwyn Evans and guests

Mr Islwyn Evans and Reverend William Pryor Mr Islwyn Evans, RQMS A Campbell and Reverend William Pryor

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For our second meeting onThursday the 29th July 2010 wetravelled down to West Waleswhere we played theAshburnham Championshipcourse and the Eifion JonesTrophy was up for grabs. Thisturned out to be a very difficultcourse and was not to some ofthe members liking, howeverthere were some very goodscores posted (some scoresbetter than imagined) and the

WELSH GUARDS ASSOCIATIONGOLF SOCIETY

Martin Griffiths

We started the 2010 season as we did last year inCottrell Park Cardiff playing for the John PowellTrophy. This time however the weather was

glorious which reflected in the standard of golf played. It wasgreat to see so many members of the Battalion present.However it was not so great when it came to the prize givingas the Battalion members nearly had a clean sweep, wherehave all these stars been hiding?

winner deservedly won thetrophy.For our third meeting of theyear on Thursday the 26thAugust we travelled East toBryn Meadows, it wasdisappointing that theBattalion boys couldn’t makethis meeting due tocommitments. However we arelooking forward to seeingthem again in the mix, thishowever didn’t discourage the

1st G Cunningham37 Points

2nd G Evans 36 Points

3rd L James35 Points

Longest DriveG Cunningham

Nearest the PinP John

1st K Davies37 Points

Winner of the Eifion Jones Trophy

2nd P John35 Points

3rd M Griffiths28 Points

Longest DriveP John

Nearest the PinNo Winners

1st Paul John34 Points

2nd S Gelly31 Points

3rd M Griffiths30 Points

Longest DriveR O’Rourke

Nearest the PinNo Winners

1st M Griffiths33 Points

Winner of the Stanier Trophy

2nd S Gelly33 Points

(Lost on countback)

3rd Capt (retd) Davies32 Points

Longest DriveS Gelly

Nearest the PinJ Haycock

Results 1st Meeting Results 2nd Meeting Results 3rd Meeting

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ASSOCIATION EVENTS

Results 4th Meeting

Members of the Welsh Guards Golf Association about to do battle at Chirk Golf Club

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members and again theweather was kind to us, I amnow starting to believe I mayhave the Dai Davies touchwhere the weather isconcerned, however thiswasn’t the case where the mealwas concerned and I thinkJohn Harford would still bethere now carving away if theyhadn’t changed the potatoes(or rocks).

It was now looking like therewas a clear winner for thisyear’s champion.

Our fourth and final meetingwas again at Chirk Golf Club inWrexham on Thursday the

23rd September where wewould find out if our frontrunner was able to handle thepressure and win theconverted Malcolm Trophy,also we would be competingfor the Stanier Trophy, againthis year we placed all thecontenders out in the lastgroup, it has to be said wewere very lucky with theweather as just prior to teeingoff the outlook was not goodhowever we managed to havethe gods shine down on usand it turned out lovely, it wasgreat to have some of theNorth Wales Golfer’s turn outwhich added to the mix

ASSOCIATION EVENTS

ASSOCIATION EVENTS

however it didn’t make adifference on the results as ourfront runner came througheven though he was put undersome severe pressure frommyself though I couldn’t bridgethe huge margin,

I would like to take thisopportunity to thank Major(retd) Keith Oultram and hisstaff for all the support theyhave given the Golf Associationthis year also I would like tothank Major Glyn White MBE forpresenting the prizes and notforgetting John Williams fortaking the wonderful photosalso to all the members that

The Welsh Guards Golf Association Player of the year for 2010 and winner of the Malcolm Trophy is Paul Johnwith a grand score of 130 Points over the season. Very well done John.

have supported the meetingsthis year thank you.

I have now booked thefollowing courses for next year.

Fairwood ParkThursday 2nd June,

Glyn Abbey Thursday 28th July,

Newport GwentWednesday August 24th

Finally Mile EndThursday 22nd September

The dates are out early so keepyour dairies clear, and if youfeel you want to join us nextyear get in touch.

Ken Davies, Bryn Pennock, Bill Elcock and Major Glyn white MBE, all admiring the shot (where did it go?)

Martyn Griffiths being presented with the Stanier Trophy by Major G White MBE Paul John being presented with the Malcolm Trophy by Major G White MBE

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I have attached the relevantinformation regarding theaction that covers his deathfrom the Welsh Guards at Warby Major Ellis and a picture ofthe Memorial. 20 Welsh Guardsdied in action on this day.

Two other members from thesquad picture also died inWorld War II, Guardsman2737274 C Bunsell, 3rd Bn, died1st May 1943 and Guardsman2736125 J Williams, 1st Bn, died29th June 1944.

Here are the details regardingthe Memorial.

The Cassino Memorial issituated within Cassino WarCemetery, which lies in the

2737811 Guardsman WrightJeff Heenan Hon. Secretary London Branch

Guardsman 2737811 Wright, Sydney Charles of the 3rd Battalion, was KIA on the 11th February 1944.He was the son of Harry Samuel and Mary Ellen

Harris Wright of Buxton, Derbyshire.

He is commemorated on the Cassino Memorial, which meanshis body was not recovered for burial.

Commune of Cassino, ProvinceFrosinone, 139 kilometressouth-east of Rome. Take theautostrada A1 from Rome toNaples and leave it at theCassino exit. At the junction ofthis exit and the road intoCassino, is the first of 6 clearlyvisible signposts to thecemetery and memorial. Thecemetery is locatedapproximately 1 kilometrefrom the railway station in ViaSant Angelo and visitorsarriving by train are advised totake a taxi from the station.

On 3rd September 1943 TheAllies invaded the Italianmainland, the invasioncoinciding with an armistice

made the Italians who then re-entered the war on the Alliedside. Progress throughSouthern Italy was rapiddespite stiff resistance, but bythe end of October, the Allieswere facing the Germanswinter defensive positionknown as the Gustav Line,which stretched from the riverGarigliano in the west to theSangro in the east. Initialattempts to breach thewestern end of the line wereunsuccessful. Operations inJanuary 1944 landed troopsbehind the German lines atAnzio, but defences were wellorganised, and a breakthroughwas not actually achieved until18th May, when Cassino wasfinally taken.

The site for CASSINO WARCEMETERY was originallyselected in January 1944, butthe development of the battleduring the first five months ofthat year made it impossible touse it until after the Germanshad withdrawn from Cassino.During these early months of1944, Cassino saw some of thefiercest fighting of the Italian

campaign, the town itself andthe dominating Monastery Hillproving the most stubbornobstacles encountered in theadvance towards Rome. Themajority of those buried in thewar cemetery died in thebattles during these months.There are now 4,266Commonwealth Servicemen ofthe Second World War buriedor commemorated at CassinoWar Cemetery. 284 of theburials are unidentified. Withinthe cemetery stands theCASSINO MEMORIAL whichcommemorates over 4,000Commonwealth Servicemenwho took part in the Italiancampaign and whose gravesare not known.

Here are some detailsregarding the Scroll Picture.

The wording was by poetlaureate John EdwardMasefield.

It was the suggestion of theMerchant Marine that a scrollshould be introduced for thosewho died in WWII. TheMerchant Marine first made theproposal in September 1939.

Cassino Memorial

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In October 1939, a War Officecommittee approved the idea –subject to approval by the King.

A plaque was considered, but“due to production difficulties,as found in the Great War” thisidea was later dropped.

The scrolls were not issueduntil 1946 – and, again,because of the likely delays, itwas decided to print the nameof the deceased – rather thanemploy scribes to write thename (ETA of two years tocomplete by hand).

American printing machineswere used to print the names.

The scrolls were issuedautomatically if a pension forservice duty was awarded – sosome civilians were eligible.

Guardsman S C Wright’s Scroll

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Commemorative ServiceSt Mary’s ChurchSwansea

Steve FisherCommemorative

Service held at TheCollegiate and Parish

Church of St Mary’s on the8th June 2010 for the SouthAtlantic Medal Association(SAMA82) Wales Branch.

The above service, the 4th one,was held to remember thesouls that never returned withus all those years ago. Manyveterans and their familiestravelled far and wide to bethere even staying overnight ina local hotel. The Revd AndrewVessey conducted what wouldbe his last service as he was toretire in the August. Onceagain it was a wonderfulservice to remember all ourfriends that never had thechance to grow old with theirloved ones. They then playedthe song ‘Brother in Arms’which was very emotional andgave everyone time for theirown thoughts and memoriesof our fallen comrades.Knocker Knowles read out thenames from the plaque on the‘Falklands Windows’. And tofinish what was once again awonderful remembranceservice Karl Trenchard read outthe eulogy.

The standard bearer for theBranch is Peter Mundy who in82 was a Cpl in the RAOC. Helater served in the TA with 249Squadron, Welsh TransportRegiment, in Maindy Barracks,Cardiff. Peter now works inMaindy Barracks as a civilian inthe clothing stores. Thank youonce again to Chris Duggan fororganising this special event.

Every one after the serviceretired to the Cross Keys wherewe were able to raise a glass ortwo to fallen comrades inglorious sunshine. We enjoyedlunch there & this carried onwell into the evening. They willalways be remembered andmay they rest in peace.

Also part of the service was the blessing of the new SAMA82 Wales Branch

Blessing of the SAMA82 Wales Branch Standard.

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Lieutenant JS Lewes - Welsh GuardsJeff Heenan Hon. Secretary London Branch

The Memorial to Jock Lewes, unveiledon 7th November 2008 by His Royal

Highness, Prince William of Wales

Jock Lewes: the brain behindthe formation of the SAS

Credit for the formation in 1941of the Special Air Service, todaythe World's most respectedspecial force unit, hastraditionally been given toDavid Stirling. This, as those 'inthe know' acknowledge, is onlypart of the truth. Jock Lewes, ayoung Welsh Guards officer,was at least equallyresponsible and yet, until now,his character and contributionhave never been closelystudied. "The quite outstanding rolethat Jock Lewes played in thoseearly days in the history of theSAS is too little known and toolittle appreciated," Lord Jellicoe.

I have always found history, especially about the WelshGuards, interesting and informative. I came across thefollowing information on the late Lieutenant John Steel

Lewes,(known as Jock Lewes) whose nephew John Lewes isthe author of this excellent book.

Drawing on hithertounpublished personaljournals, this account of JockLewes's life, tragically cutshort on 31 December 1941during an SAS deeppenetration patrol, makes forcompelling reading. JockLewes was killed in action inDecember 1941. He wasreturning from a raid onGerman airfields when theLong Range Desert Grouptruck he was travelling in wasattacked by a loneMesserschmitt 110 fighter.Lewes was fatally woundedin the thigh by a 20mm roundfrom the fighter and bled todeath in about four minutes.He was buried on the sitewhere the attack happenedbut the whereabouts of hisgrave are now unknown. Heis commemorated on theAlamein Memorial (3).

Jock Lewes: a brilliant andpassionate life

Brought up in the Australianoutback where he learnt self-

discipline and self-reliance, hewent on to have a brilliantcareer at Oxford University; asPresident of the Boat Club hewas instrumental in thedramatic 1937 victory againstCambridge ending a run of 13successive wins for Cambridge.

Thereafter Lewes spent time inpre-war Berlin where he was atfirst seduced both by Hitler'ssocialist policies and by ayoung Nazi supporter, one ofthe two loves of his life.However, the events ofKristallnacht in November 1938finally forced him to see theNazis' true aims and he bitterlybroke off all contact with hisfiancee, writing to his parents,"I shall willingly take up armsagainst Germany."

Jock Lewes: leader of menand tactical thinker

Despite his lack of militaryexperience, Jock quickly provedhimself a radical tacticalthinker and brilliant leader andtrainer of men, a rarecombination. He alsodeveloped, and gave his nameto, the lethally effective LewesBomb that enabled the SAS todestroy whole airfields behindenemy lines. After these raids,'Lewes Marches' assisted theelite force to disappear into thedesert and cover longdistances, sometimes withoutvehicle, radio or medicalsupport. Jock's exceptional talentsfound expression in thedevelopment of the SASconcept and ethos. Without hisand David Stirling'spartnership there would havebeen no Special Air Service; asStirling later chivalrouslyadmitted, 'Jock Lewes could farmore genuinely claim to be thefounder of the SAS than I'.

Jock Lewes: "described withskill and authority"

As well as being the longoverdue biography of thishighly gifted and complexindividual, "Jock Lewes, Co-Founder of the SAS", is a majorcontribution to thebibliography of British SpecialForces and is fully endorsed byLord Jellicoe in his Foreword:"It is described with skill andauthority". John Lewes, Jock's nephew andauthor of this stunningbiography, has had the fullestpossible access to Jock's privatepapers and this provides thereader with fascinating andimportant new informationabout the formation of the SAS. For more information about"Jock Lewes - Co-Founder ofthe SAS" contact Pen & Swordon:phone: 01226 734555 . Mythanks to Lisa of Pen & Swordfor allowing me to use theabove information, and JohnLewes author.

4 "Jock Lewes could farmore genuinely claim tobe the founder of the SASthan I" - Sir David Stirling.

4 "[This biography] isdescribed with skill andauthority" - Lord Jellicoe inthe Foreword. This is goingto be a bit of a shock for alot of people," AndyMcNab, author & former SASsergeant.

4 A highly importantaddition to ever popularSAS literature.

4 Jock Lewes is revealedto be the brain behind theformation of the SAS.

4 The author has had thefullest possible access tothe private papers of hissubject.

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Walking is a hugely popularpursuit in Great Britain. Eachyear more than 4.2 millionenthusiasts flock along almost50,000 miles of mappedfootpaths through areas ofoutstanding natural beauty allover the country. It is one of thevery few free activitiesavailable on an unlimited basis.

On sunny summer days,however, bottlenecked styles,over littered footpaths, cryingsunburned children and theimpossibility of finding a carparking space can make it ahassle. To avoid this, CaptDawson and CSgt Roberts 02decided it would be sensible toembark on a 62km ramble at8.30pm on a Friday night. Itwas cold, but the parkingoptions were nothing short ofsensational.

The 14 Peak SnowdoniaChallenge requires a team towalk from a hill top above3000ft to 13 others within 24

THE WELSH GUARDS 3000Captain James Westropp

(Capt Westropp, WO1 (CRSM) Thomas 53, CSgt Williams 205, CSgt Roberts 02, CSMTopps, Capt Dawson, in front CSgt Ridgeway-Buckley and CSM Jones 27)

hours. There are variations tothe rules. Some groups pitchcamp overnight during theevent, and just time theirwalking hours. Some employdiscreet vehicle moves in a bidto keep the time down. Somechose to complete it insections; a couple of peaks perweekend over a period ofmonths. The Welsh GuardsSandhurst team was keen todo it as quickly as possible;drive from RMA Sandhurst toSnowdonia, climb Snowdon,then walk directly to 13 otherpeaks before hopping on thebus and going home. ‘Simple’!

The support team, ablycommanded by LSgt Williams11, comprised LCpl Pimlott(RMC) who primed to providemedical cover if required andGdsm Gardener- Alun at thewheel of the mini bus, droppedus off at the base of Snowdonin the Pen-y-Pass car park. Weheaded straight to the top and

with darkness quickly falling,were surprised to see a railwaystation, but continued to CribGoch, Llyn Glas Cwm GlasMawr, Crib-y-Ddysgl andClogwyn Person. At this stage itwas dark, windy and hadstarted to rain. We saw a 17year old school boy on a Dukeof Edinburgh expedition takeoff his shoes and clamber intoan already wet orange bin bagto get a good night’s sleep. Helooked in such a bad way thatour spirits immediately perkedup.

We descended into the Pass ofLlanberis headed west alongthe road and after grabbing aquick bite to eat from theminibus just outsideGwastadnant, headed straightup a hugely steep hill towardsElidir Fawr. From a navigationperspective crossing all fourstreams was ideal as you couldpin point your exact location,the downside obviously beingsoaking feet, and consideringCSgt Williams 205 had livedwithin 15 miles of the locationfor most of his life, the rest ofthe team began to doubt hisboundless faith in hisknowledge of the area. Therewas absolute euphoria at thesummit.

We descended from thesummit to Y Garn, throughLlyn-y-Cwm, Glyder Fawr andfinally down to our breakfaststop at Tryfan, where we wereunited with the support crewwho had warmed our boil-in-the-bags. The sun was shining,the birds were singing andthere was a smile in the heartas we looked back at the routethat we had covered.Unsurprisingly car-parkingspace competition washotting-up, so we decided tomove on.

As the sun was getting higherin the sky and the threat of rainreduced, WO1 (CRSM) Thomas53 opted for the UK Geartraining shoe instead of thetried and trusted Boot CombatHigh. He scampered up thecrags like a young mountaingoat, leading the rest of theteam behind him. It was worthit as the views from the top ofPen-yr-Ole Wen along towardsCarned Dafydd and Yr Elenwere exceptional, with clearline of sight out onto Angleseaand the sea beyond.

Company Sergeant Major Jones27, who had to sacrifice amajor scooter meeting to makehimself available for the event,took strength from CSgt

(CSgt Roberts 02, LSgt Williams 11, Capt Dawson, CSgt Ridgeway-Buckley, CSgt Williams 205, Capt Westropp, CSM Jones 27, CSM Topps.

In front WO1 (CRSM) Thomas 53)

Over the weekend 02 – 04 Jul Welsh Guardsmenserving at RMAS participated in the Welsh 3000located in the Snowdonia National Park. Our intent

was twofold; firstly to come together as a team andsecondly raise funds for the WG Afghan Appeal.

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Williams 205 and Roberts 02when they informed him thatfrom Carnedd Llewelyn to FoelFras via Foel Grach and GarnedUchaf it was, ‘basically flat.’ Thereality was considerablydifferent, and after crossingparts of the map so dense incontour lines that theyappeared to be little more thana rusty smudge, we finallyreached the finish. However alot of us were unaware that theminibus was another 7kmspast the finishing line!

Unbelievable, especiallyconsidering CSgt Ridgeway-Buckley had run out ofcigarettes.

It was a great event that wasconcluded in 16 hours 43minutes which is a respectabletime. Company Sergeant MajorTopps complained that itwasn’t hard enough andtabbed back to his housenearby. Overall, it was a greatevent that was enjoyed by all,and has raised £3,284.74.

(CSM Jones 27 getting some vital fluids in at the finish)

The Team with a cheque for £3,284.74

But Garrison Sergeant MajorBilly Mott, Welsh Guards, themost Senior Warrant Officer inthe British Army, calmly butwith the utmost efficiency,takes it all in his giant stride.

To obtain the optimum resultson the parade ground andother ceremonies Billy, whohas held the post for the pasteight years, believes in a subtlemixture of authority, firmnessand a renowned dry sense ofhumour. “You cannot get thebest out of people byfrightening them. They have tobe made to feel that theirs is avital contribution towardsachieving the higheststandards by all those taking

BILLY MOTT-THE MAN FOR ALL OCCASIONS

John Stone

GSM Billy Mott following his investiture with the OBE by HM The Queen

The very thought of organising the highly complexdrill, involving hundreds of troops on such highprofile occasions as the Trooping of the Colour, the

annual Remembrance Sunday service and parade at theCenotaph and other State ceremonial events, would be adaunting prospect for most of us.

part,” he said during ourinterview – the first he has evergiven – at his officeoverlooking Horse GuardsParade.

He is, in effect, Her Majesty theQueen’s approved ceremonialWarrant Officer in charge ofmilitary events, not only inLondon District but also inneighbouring counties – HerMajesty is Colonel-in-Chief ofthe Welsh Guards and all otherHousehold Division Regiments.

Billy Mott is the first WelshGuardsman to be appointed tothis highly prestigious position.His much-praised efficiency isseen not only by thoseattending ceremonies and

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solemn acts of Remembrancebut also by millions onworldwide television.

The pride in which hiscontribution to the reputationof the Welsh Guards is held hasbeen marked by a speciallycommissioned oil painting ofhim which hangs prominentlyin the Sergeants’ Mess of the1st Battalion.

The Garrison Sergeant Major

organises and supervises thesmooth-running of prominent annual State events. Theyinclude: Trooping the Colour onHorse Guards Parade,The Garter ceremonies atWindsor Castle, Beating Retreaton Horse Guards Parade, theState Opening of Parliament atWestminster, the Royal BritishLegion’s Festival ofRemembrance at the RoyalAlbert Hall and Remembrance

Sunday Service at Whitehall aswell as special occasions suchas State Funerals, visits byHeads of State on a State Visitfrom other countries and, ofcourse, Coronations.

As such, Billy Mott is widelyrecognized as the expert onthe drill of all Arms. In thiscapacity he has direct contactwith members of the RoyalFamily, the most senior officersin all three Services, the PrimeMinister and Cabinet Ministers.

His parade ground expertise isalso acknowledgedinternationally and sinceassuming his presentappointment he has travelledto such countries as Jordan,Malaysia, Jamaica, Sri Lankaand even to the Pentagon inWashington DC where he hasadvised on office procedures.

Billy Mott is one of threebrothers who have served withdistinction in the WelshGuards. John finished as RSMat the Royal Military School ofMusic, Kneller Hall and Nick stillserves as a Major in the role ofQuartermaster of the 1stBattalion.

He enlisted into the 1stBattalion in 1979 and hasserved in Belize, Canada,Cyprus, France, Germany,Kenya and USA. He hascompleted operational tours ofNorthern Ireland and served in

the Falklands during the 1982conflict.

He has held the post ofinstructor at both the GuardsDepot as a Lance Sergeant andalso three tours at the RMASandhurst as a ColourSergeant, CSM and as CRSM.

Before taking up his presentappointment – he can serveanother five years – he wasGSM at headquarters NorthernIreland.

HM the Queen Mother’sfuneral and the Golden JubileeState procession saw himbeing closely involved in theceremonial arrangements. Hehas also been a key figure inrepatriations of those killed inaction during operations inIraq and Afghanistan. In factworking on behalf of GeneralSir Mike Jackson, he set up therepatriation procedures at RAFBrize Norton in 2003.

He has been appointed an OBEand is the only serving WarrantOfficer and Other Rank to be sohonoured. The very highregard in which HM The Queenand HRH The Prince Philip holdhim was typified during arecent period of back troublewhich he experienced. “PrincePhilip was kind enough tocome over and ask mepersonally about my back,subsequently delaying thestart of his Beating Retreat

Directing operations on Horse Guards Parade

In discussion with HRH The Princess Royal Enjoying a joke with HRH The Prince Philip

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display and I was made awarethat Her Majesty had alsoenquired about my health” hedisclosed.

Remarkably, he carries out allhis responsibilities with justone member of staff – hisOrderly, Guardsman (Steve)Davies 28, who has done thejob for the past eight years.

It was on the Queen’s BirthdayParade in 1998 when DrillSergeant with the 1st Battalionthat he observed with greatinterest the Garrison SergeantMajor (Perry Mason,Coldstream Guards) gettinginto shape the hundreds oftroops on parade. “I decidedthen that I would love to do thejob. But it wasn’t until a fewyears later that I wasappointed. I was aware that itwould be a difficult challenge.It is not, perhaps, widelyknown that the HouseholdCavalry, for instance havedifferent words of commandand procedures from the FootGuards Regiments.”

The high profile use of horseson parades can createproblems, particularlyinvolving Foot Guards officerswho do not regularly carry outmounted duties.

The incredible ability of men ofthe Household Division whoonly recently returned from

frontline duties in fightingterrorists in Afghanistan toadapt to Public Duties fills BillyMott with admiration. “It ishumbling to see just how thesesoldiers tailor and modifythemselves to the demands ofthe parade ground so soonafter returning from activeservice. Their excellence in drillprocedures is equal, if notsuperior, to those in the pastwho had plenty of time toprepare for the big occasions,including Spring Drills,” hemaintains.

The Garter Service occasions atWindsor can produce their ownparticular pitfalls with which hehas to cope. “All ranks want toknow what to do – it is a firsttime for most of them, whohave not previously carried outthis particular duty.”

He asserts, with justification,that the pamphlets,Ceremonial for the Army andBritish Army Drill Manual aretemplates for the military allover the world. “Our drill isdesigned to produce thehighest standards of selfdiscipline. My maxim is: keep itsimple, keep it sweet and neverdeviate from Queen’sRegulations.”

Firmness coupled withunderstanding are his watchwords when playing a pivotal

part in the Royal BritishLegion’s annual Festival ofRemembrance at the RoyalAlbert Hall. With a hugetelevision audience viewingthis moving occasion, Billy Mottis responsible for the marchingdown the steps and into thehall of representatives of themilitary, Legion, wives of someof those killed in action andothers. “It may look to be asmooth- running procedurebut backstage it requirescomplex organisation toensure that the entry into thehall is perfectly orchestratedand with a large proportion ofparticipants who are notGuards-like in their Drillingcapabilities. Often I have togive encouragement to tearfulwidows who can be extremelyapprehensive at the last minuteabout taking part,” he says.

Commenting on the painfulbut important subject ofrepatriations he remembersonly too well the first onewhich occurred after he hadset up the procedure in 2003. “Ishall never forget the columnof 14 hearses carrying coffins,of Servicemen killed in Iraq, orthe repatriation of the firstServicewoman killed.”

He supervised all repatriationsbetween 2003 and 2007 whenhe handed over responsibilityto a roster of Warrant Officers

from the three Services.

However, Billy Mott has sinceofficiated at a large number ofrepatriations from Afghanistanincluding those of two WelshGuards Officers whom he heldin the highest esteem andaffection. They wereLieutenant-Colonel RupertThorneloe MBE, CommandingOfficer and Major Sean Birchall,Company Commander of IXCompany, 1st Battalion WelshGuards.

“I was asked to be the IC BearerParty for the repatriation of Lt-Col Thorneloe and while allrepatriations are deeplymoving experiences, I foundhis especially so.”

Serving in the Falklands, BillyMott was on the Sir Galahadwhen it was bombed by theArgentine Air Force resulting inextensive loss of life andhorrendous injuries among

With His Majesty King Abdullah of Jordan Calling for the Loyal Three Cheers at the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance

Wives of Servicemen killed on duty,pictured outside the Royal Albert Hall

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members of the Battalion whowere on board. “I was only tooaware of the suffering that wasgoing on around me but I hadto focus on finding my brotherNick and I did so. We were bothvery fortunate to be amongthose who survived” he recalls.

On a lighter note, he relateshow he took his mother andsister to a reception atBuckingham Palace in honourof those who had givendistinguished service to thenation that particular year.“After we were introduced by asenior officer to the HerMajesty – who made it clearthat she already knew me verywell! – my mother said that Imade a point of looking afterherself and the family.

The Queen replied: ‘He looksafter me too’.”

He is a Vice-President of theWelsh Guards AfghanistanAppeal and says: “I feel itappropriate to express howoverwhelming it has been tosee the great and wonderfulsupport that has been shownby so many for our boys.”

Despite the many long hours ofpainstaking rehearsalsnecessary to achieve standardswhich meet his highexpectations, Billy Mott clearlyrelishes the continuousdemands of his job. He isimmensely proud of being aWelsh Guardsman and theRegiment, for which he is a fineambassador, has a similar highregard both for him and theservice he performs with suchdedication and distinction.

Proud Family: Billy Mott with his brothers, sister and motherfollowing his investiture with the OBE

Her Majesty the Queen, Colonel-in-Chief of the Welsh Guards,invests Billy Mott with his OBE

Holywell Cadet Centre, Dedicated tofallen Guardsman David Roberts

Dave Webb (Spider)

Holywell Cadet Centre, a GradeII listed building, reopened itsdoors on Monday 22 March2010 following 12 months ofrefurbishment work.

A tribute plaque was unveiledin memory of GuardsmanDavid Roberts of the 1stBattalion, the Welsh Guards,who was killed in NorthernIreland on November 24, 1973.He was killed by a roadsidebomb one week after hearrived in Northern Ireland tobegin his tour of duty in southArmagh. His death was the200th fatality in the strugglefor Northern Ireland by BritishServicemen.

Among those attending thereopening of the centre weremembers of David’s family,including his father Tom.Captain P. Robinson, Garrison

Sergeant Major (Brecon) A.Hughes of Old Colwyn GdsmHarris, Gdsm Morris, Myselfwith the Branch Standard andPaul Oldfield.

Chief executive Colonel NickBeard said: “It gives theReserve Forces and CadetsAssociation for Walesenormous pleasure to be ableto refurbish this building forthe benefit of the cadets in andaround Holywell.“The cadet organisations arebuoyant and inspired youthmovements that providechallenging, adventurous andcommunity activities, whichmotivate young people tosucceed in life with a spirit ofservice to their country andtheir local community.“It is right and fitting thebuilding be rededicated to the

A refurbished cadet centre has been formallyreopened in Flintshire, reaffirming its tribute to thememory of a Holywell Guardsman.

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memory of Guardsman DavidRoberts, who as a local manwas a member of the ArmyCadet Force before joining theWelsh Guards.”Shops, hotels and pubs inHolywell closed for theafternoon on the day of hisfuneral, with 500 peopleattending the service.The refurbished building willallow cadets from the Clwydand Gwynedd Army CadetForce and 2 Welsh Wing, AirTraining Corps, to continue tomeet.

It was a hard place to go toand there was nothing toenjoy, but it was a great placeto come from because aftersixteen weeks of confinementyou were no longer a Recruitbut a Guardsman.

The first day behind walls wasconfusing to say the least. God,the Trained Soldier, toweredand glowered, battle dress wasissued and civvy clothes weresent back home, but the tiniestitem of kit made a profoundimpression, a brass cap badge.From that day you became awearer of The Leek, the oldest

AN HONOURABLE BADGE OF SERVICERoy Lewis

From 1877 to 1960 the Guards Depot was at Caterham-on-the-Hill in Surrey. A Grenadier described it as the“only place in the world which looks like a prison, where

you are treated as a criminal, and yet you spend the rest ofyour life telling everyone how much you enjoyed it.”

military emblem to survive andworn by Welsh Longbowmenat the Battle of Crecy in 1346. In1569 Shakespeare wrote of it in“Henry V”, Fluellen describing itas “an honourable badge ofservice”.

In 1922 seven years after theformation of the Welsh Guardsthe Depot was the birthplace ofa unique football club. In 1921a Brigade of Guards team hadtoured the West Country and in1922 it was at Caterham thatan invitation was received byCaptain Geoffrey Crawshay,Company Commander of 8Company, to take a side to playDevonport Services. It was thebeginning of Crawshay’sWelsh, Wale’s answer to theBarbarians and a club that isstill very active. He game atDevonport was drawn but atradition began, perhapsencouraged by Major (Bt.Lieutenant Colonel) R.E.K

Leatham, the first WelshGuardsman to beCommandant of the Depot.

The Leek was adopted as abadge by two WelshRegiments formed in the GreatWar of 1914-1918, the WelshHorse Yeomanry (Lancers)formed in August 1914 anddisbanded in 1917, and theFifth Regiment of Foot Guardsin 1915. Despite being formedat the height of a dreadfulworld war, peacetime matterswere considered and DavidLloyd-George, then Chancellorof the Exchequer, suggestedthat the Regimental plumeshould be of Tudor Colours ofgreen and white which somebelieve was taken from thecolour of the leek. Steelhelmets worn by WelshGuardsmen of the 273 and 274era had the “plume” painted ontheir steel helmets.

Captain Crawshay saw actionwith the Royal Welch Fusiliersfrom September 1914 to April1915 and then transferred tothe Welsh Guards. He waswounded near Loos inSeptember 1915 and left theRegiment in 1923. He inherited“a fine country house,” LlanfairCourt in Monmouthshire and in1920 became the firstPresident of theMonmouthshire Branch untilhis death in 1954 aged 62.

A close friend of the LloydGeorge family, Captain

Crawshay’s Badge Guards Depot RFC v New Zealand RFC, March 25th 1916

1/1st Welsh Horse Yeomanry

Crawshay introduced Guardsstandards to the Royal NationalEisteddfod. As a Bard he“converted a scruffy rabble ofpoets and preachers into adignified colourful parade ofthe bards, behaving andlooking worthy of theadulation they always wonfrom Eisteddfod-goers”.

Guards Depot XVs werestrengthened by numerousWelsh Guardsmen theroughthe years, and in March 1916they hosted a New ZealandArmy team. The two Britishsoldiers on the accompanyingphotograph are WelshGuardsmen.

The Crawshay’s tour partyincluded W D C Greenacre, ofwhom it was said, “Keen on all

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forms of games and sport. Heis himself no mean athlete andthe success of the Regiment inRugby football in recent yearshas been in large measure dueto this officer’s keenness andcoaching”. Brigadier Greenacredied in August 1978 aged 79.

He is pictured far right in thebackrow in the photograph ofthe 1922 touring team withGuardsman W C ‘Wick’ Powell,in uniform in the centre. Thegreatest Welsh Guards rugbyplayer of all time, Powell wascapped 27 times after he leftthe Regiment. Said to have apass as strong as a DrillSergeant’s voice, Powell isbracketed with Hadyn Tannerand Gareth Edwards in theWelsh scrum-half Hall of Fame.

Tanner also had Welsh Guardsconnections and played for theTraining Battalion whenattached to them during theSecond World War. E and hiscousin W T H Davies were sixthformers at Gowerton GrammarSchool in 1935 when they wereselected by Swansea to playthe All-Blacks. Swansea won

which caused an All-Black tosay, “Don’t tell them back homewe were beaten because oftheir schoolboys!” Tanner’squick rise to fame won him aplace on the 1939 Crawshay’stour and in a careerinterrupted by the war heplayed 25 times for Wales andtoured with the 1938 Lions.

Crawshay’s Welsh celebratetheir 90th anniversary and theconnection with the WelshGuards will be retold. Theclubs 75th Anniversary bookletsaid of Captain GeoffreyCrawshay, “He founded theWelsh Guards Choir and itsrugby team and the prizes andcups both won were, for him,the most prized of all his wartrophies. He was devoted tothe Welsh Guards and they tohim. For them all, the ‘Captain’was a genuine ‘buttie’. He washeld in immense respect andaffection”.

On battlefield and rugby fieldsthe Leek is still worn withpride, an honourable badge ofservice.

Capt Crawshay and Hadyn Tanner on the 1939 Tour

The first Crawshay’s touring team, 1922

After action at the Hook ofHolland and Boulogne in 1940 Iwas stationed with theTraining Battalion at SandownPark Racecourse, Esher andone day was told to report tothe Orderly Room with Evans, areservist who had been adetective in the Devon andCornwall Police. We weremarched in by RegimentalSergeant Major Harry Webbwho then left the room leavingus alone with the CommandingOfficer, Lieutenant Colonel TheLord Glanusk and Major Smart.

We were told we would begoing on a special assignmentto the Royal AircraftEstablishment in Farnboroughwhere boffins were secretlyplanning the defeat of theenemy. Our task was to test theDepot security, get inside andbring evidence that we haddone so without detectionusing any method ofpenetration.

We were given 15 cwt truck,advance of pay for emergencyleave and, as we used to say,the unexploded portion of aday’s rations. We carried rifles,fifty rounds in a bandolier, andwore full battle equipment. Wewere told not to mention it toanyone and were given railwaywarrants to Wales which werenever used.

Like Guardsmen through theages we always obeyed thelast order, but as weft thebriefing Major Smart said as anafterthought, “Oh, by the way,

BREAKING AND ENTERINGDai Tilley (formerly 2735242, 2nd Battalion)

What had two Welsh Guardsmen to do with thesecurity of the famous Royal Aircraft Establishmentat Farnborough in 1943? It took several years for

Guardsmen John Evans (2733787) and I to realise we hadplayed a very small part in improving it. Far-fetched? Well,maybe, but read on.

the RAF security guards use liveammunition!” Veryencouraging.

As further proof of the secretnature of the job our advanceof pay was issued by theRegimental Quartermaster notthe Company Quartermaster.No written or verbal orderswere issued regarding a timelimit or any sleepingarrangements and we had noblankets because, if stopped byMilitary Police it would havebeen difficult explaining whywe were sleeping in an armytruck. We would be arrested asdeserters and n-one wouldhave come to our aid. It was atwo man mission.

There were no road signs inthe war but after a while wefound the base which had amain gate guarded by RAF andCivilian Police. There was onlyone entrance but like trueWelsh Guardsmen we spotteda pub directly opposite thegate. We parked the truckbehind it, removed the rotorarm of the distributor and left itwith the bonnet raised to makeit look as if we had enginetrouble and had gone forassistance.

From the bay window of thepub, while supping some beer,we nonchalantly kept an eyeon the main gate of the basewhich we realised was the onlyway in, there being a highperimeter fence all around. Ifwe wandered around lookingfor a way in it would be asking

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for a bullet or two, so we hadto find some other way.

Considerable traffic went inand out and the guards did notalways check documents andwaved military vehiclesthrough. We decided the bestway in was hitch a lift in one ofthem and if we were stoppedwe would say we had anenvelope to deliver to theCommanding Officer. Webought an impressive largemanilla envelope because wethought when dealing withcivilian security guards that, ora clip board plus bags of cheek,would get us in anywhere.

The subterfuge was notneeded however. In battleorder, ammo slung around usand with Welsh Guardsshoulder titles clearly shownwe walked about half a mile upthe road to thumb a lift. Sureenough an RAE truck camealong and we told the driverour vehicle had broken downand was parked behind thepub. Could they help us fix it?They had no time but said wecould get help in the motorpool, so we jumped in, thetruck got waved through andwe were inside.

So far so good, but now wehad to find proof we hadbroken in and get out withoutbeing detected. We walkedaround looking like a securitypatrol and then found sportsbuildings full of equipment,mowers etc., which gaveGuardsman Evans an idea. Hisextensive knowledge ofrobbery, burglary and thievingof all kinds came in handy andhe said the easiest way to fulfilour mission was to stealsomething which we couldcarry out without raisingsuspicion.

On a desk was an RAE rubberstamp and an ink pad. Westamped receipts etc., and took

them and the stamp with us. Itwas 5pm and workers wereflowing through the main gateto get home so we joined themand made our way back to thepub where we “repaired” ourtruck and headed for SandownPark, stopping for a couple ofpints and a snack en route.

Next morning we met MajorSmart behind closed doors andhe accepted the stamp andreceipts as irrefutable proofthat we had indeed been inand out of the Depot. Withfurther reminders to saynothing to anyone we returnedto our Company. Job done!What happened then we neverknew, but hopefully ouradventure was not in vain andsomeone in security at the RAEat least lost his name and theplace was better protected infuture thus ensuring its secretswere never revealed.

Evans and I had played a verysmall part, the breach ofsecurity had been exposed,but by professional ex-burglars, but by twoGuardsmen with noexperience at all. Both Evansand I were later commissioned.He became a Major in theStaffordshire Regiment andwas awarded theDistinguished Service Orderduring the NormandyCampaign.

Editor’s Note. Dai Tilley ofCardiff was commissioned intothe Royal Welch Fusiliers, andafter the war moved to theUnited States where he joinedthe US Air Force. A member ofthe American Red CrossDisaster Organisation he hasseen “action” all over the States,including the attack on theTwin Towers in New York in2001. He is President of theNorth American Branch of theWelsh Guards Association andlives in Oregon.

So how did I get there? Well Iwasn’t on my own as exWarrant Officer Billy Malcolmwas there as well, togetherwith 3 other Serving NCOs fromthe RAPC, RCT and RE. All of uswere serving in Aden in June1966 and were selected toattend the East AfricanOutward Bound Course at aplace called Loitokitok on theKenya slopes of Kilimanjaro.The remaining students werefrom Kenya (Army OfficerCadets), Uganda (mostly ScoutLeaders) and Tanzania (CivilServants).

The Battalion was deployed inthe Radfan Mountains, myselfa LSgt in BattalionHeadquarters, Habilayn andBilly Malcolm a LCpl in SupportCompany. Early one morningthe Adjutant received a phonecall from 2 Company in Dhalato say that one of their mennominated for Kenya had fallendown a mountainside and

broken his collar bone and wasunable to travel and perhapsPOW Company also at Habilaynmight like to nominate areplacement. The Adjutantthen asked me to get POWCompany on the phone to passon the glad tidings. I saidsomething like “bloody typicalSir” and the Adjutant askedwhat I meant. I said “Well Sir,the Duty Companies seem toget all the goodies andpersonnel from HQ Company,unless a cook was needednever come into the equation,name a clerk who had beengiven a chance like this”. TheAdjutant pondered for amoment or so and agreed withme. “I take it you would want togo 01”, to which I replied in theaffirmative. “Very well you flyout to Falaise, on the Auster(Mail plane) this afternoon, getyour kit packed”. Wow! Now togive the good news to my boss,95 ORCS Lewis Evans back atbase in Little Aden, to say he

I’VE ALSO BEEN TO THE TOP OFKILIMANJARO!23523201 Mike Jones

With all the publicity lately about DJs, Celebrities andEx Wales Rugby International Captains climbing Mt.Kilimanjaro, I thought I might put in my claim to

have been there, done that and got the T Shirt.

Nelion Patrol

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was not best pleased would bean understatement but I wasgoing.

The flight in the Auster, whichwas a flimsy, single enginedplane from WWII thatafternoon was quite eventful.There was one other passengerin the plane, an Arab from thevillage carrying a very sickyoung child who was beingtaken to the hospital inKhormaksar to be treated. TheArab had obviously not flown

before and he was sweatingprofusely, scared out of hiswits and clinging tightly to anarm rest with one hand and hischild with the other, noddingto myself and the pilot andwhispering Tmam, Tmam? Due to the afternoon heat thethermals were quite strongand the aircraft was thrownabout a bit but he still keptmurmuring Tmam etc. I mustadmit the air smelt quite a bitsweeter when I got out and

helped unload the mail atBrigade HQ in Falaise.

The following morning, aTuesday, after franticallypacking my gear the nightbefore we set off for RAFKhormaksar and our flight toKAF Nairobi which would takeour Argosy aircraft about 3hours or so. Two flights a weekwent on the return trip toNairobi, one on Tuesday andone on Thursday. On arrival wefound that we did not have toreport to the Outward BoundSchool until Sunday so we hadfour days to explore Nairobiand as the Airbase had beenhanded over to the Kenya AirForce we were to beaccommodated, courtesy ofthe RAF Detachment stilloperating there, at a large hotel called “The SpreadEagle” about 5 kilometresdown the road. The hotelwas very comfortable withhorse riding, tennis courts,which had seen better days Iwill admit and a swimmingpool which was perfectlyserviceable.

We also shared with El-Al, theIsraeli Airline so there weresome good looking peoplestaying there as well!

Sunday morning saw us allmeeting up with some of theEast African Students at Nairobi

Railway Station for our trip toLoitokitok. The Kenya Studentswere all Army Officer Cadetsand climbing Mt Kilimanjarowas the final part of theirOfficer Training, climb it andyou get Commissioned! The kitwas stowed on the roof rack,piled high on an old coachwhich had seen better daysand we were bundled insideamongst the kit which wouldnot fit on the roof rack. MichaelPalin must have travelled likethis somewhere on his triparound the world.

Like a lot of African countriesthe tarmac roads go out of thecities and then run into thebush and revert to tracks withloads of boulders, ruts, driedriver beds and large waterpuddles to rumble along. Tocompensate for this there wasloads of wildlife to watch onthe day long trip to theOutward Bound School and wesuffered no breakdowns,punctures or wheels falling off.On arrival we were separatedinto 9/10 man patrols, minewas called “Nelion”, andallocated a round house withthatched roof foraccommodation. We met theStaff and were surprised tofind two Ladies from theDerbyshire Police Force and anAmerican Peace CorpsVolunteer amongst them, and

Rv AT Nairobi Railway Station Cave for 1st night stop - ascent

Head Cook – Amboseli Game Reserve

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a retired British Army Colonelas the Warden.

We found out that the Coursewas divided into three parts,firstly rock climbing andabseiling, assault course andother outdoor activities aroundBase Camp, secondly a fourday orienteering expedition inthe Amboseli Game Reserveand finally the ascent ofMt.Kilimanjaro over a three dayperiod, camping on themountain for two nights onthe way up, coming downwould be done in one day.

Reveille was early everymorning and coincided withthe cold mist rising up themountain. Before breakfast we

had to run a mile or so aroundthe camp and then had toplunge into the freezing waterof the swimming pool whichwas fed directly from theglaciers up the mountain.Swimmers mostly us! had tostay in the pool until all the nonswimmers, and most of theAfricans were non swimmers,had safely got out of the water,I was blue with the cold mostmornings by the time I got out.

The rock climbing andabseiling went well withnobody falling off the rocksand then for the second phasewe went into the GameReserve. We stayed atdesignated camp sites eachnight but had no facilities as

such other than being next to astream for water. Cooking wasbasic and done on a wood fire.Each night we constructed a“Booma”, a circular compoundfrom Thorn bushes forprotection from wild animalsand also kept the fire goingthrough the night. Waking upto the sound of a lion roaringin the vicinity was quitesobering when you know whatthey could do to you given theopportunity. We wererewarded with somewonderful sitings of elephants,giraffes, antelopes, zebras andother animals on the plainsand an encounter with abuffalo which was too close forcomfort.

Following our Game Reserveexperience we returned toBase to plan and execute ourtrip to the top of the mountain.We were given lectures onAltitude sickness, measures tobe taken on the mountain andthe plan of attack. Firstly wewould ascend up the slopes,carrying our own kit(celebrities please note, NOPorters!!) through the RainForest and camp overnight in ahuge cave. The next morningwe would climb again up tothe Volcanic Scree where wewould stay for a few hours in apermanent zinc corrugated hutand then make the final climbat 3 o’clock in the morning soas to reach the snow linebefore the sun had started tomelt it.

The first ascent through theRain Forest proved just that, itpoured down and we weresoaked through. Progress waspainfully slow due to thethickness of the foliage and theslippery surface beneath us.The cave complex we stayedovernight in was a vast fissurein a rock face and everyone gotinside with no trouble anddried out. We cooked our food

and turned in early for thesecond phase in the morning.

Day 2, another early start andwe were on our way up to theVolcanic Scree which wasuncomfortable to walk on tosay the least. By now the airwas getting a bit thin andsome of the Students werebeginning to struggle,especially those from theMombassa area on the coastand it was soon clear that notall of us would make the finalascent to the summit. Again onarrival at the hut we cookedour food and got everyone fed.Before turning in we had awonderful sunset and majesticviews of Mt. Kibo which sitsalongside Mt Kilimanjaro.

At about 2 o’clock in themorning on the third day wewere woken up to prepare forour final ascent to the summit.One or two unfortunately weresuffering from altitudesickness and were unable tostart. The remainder started offan hour later in pitch darknesswith the only source of lightbeing provided by theInstructors who had lampsattached to their headbands.Further up the slopes firstly onscree and then into ash thegoing got significantly harderas we not only had the altitudeto deal with but for every twoor three steps you took forwardin the ash, you slid back one.We had to get to anescarpment called GilmansPoint to have claimed to havecompleted the ascent. For theKenya Army Officer Cadets thiswas as far as they had to go,unless they wished to go on.The actual summit was anotherhours walk around the rim ofthe Volcano on the snow line.

On reaching Gilmans Pointdawn had broken and besidesa wonderful sunrise, there wasgreat elation from those whohad made it, but not a great

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Metal shed for 2nd night stop - ascent

Traversing glacier near summit of mountain

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deal of enthusiasm to go on tothe summit from most due toexhaustion and altitude, neverthe less they had made it. TheInstructors then decided whothey would allow to go on tothe summit and luckily I wasone of them. We then formedup in to little parties of 4 – 6and went onto the snow lineand started traversing theglaciers. Looking down into thecrater you had the definitefeeling you didn’t want to godown there, firstly it was hugeand secondly the sides werealmost vertical snow.

At the Summit there was a brickplinth containing a smallcupboard type alcove in whichwas the Visitors Book and onthe top was a brass inscribedtablet with the messageengraved in it from thePresident of Tanzania. We dulysigned the Visitors Book andhad the necessary photo takento prove it before having tomake our way back to GilmansPoint to make our descent

down the mountain. Makingour way back was moredangerous as the sun had nowfully risen and the ice wasmelting under foot but we allgot there.

The descent down the ash wasa lot more easier, all you had todo was lean forward and rundown the volcanic ash or sit onyour snow jackets and slidedown, brilliant! At the Hut wemet up with those who hadstayed behind and re-formedinto our patrols to return toBase.

We followed our path downthrough the Screed and RV’d atthe big Cave we had used onthe way up. Here we cookedour meals and patched upthose individuals who hadbeen bruised or cut by fallingover on the way down or hadblisters, the usual thing! Wetrudged down through theRain Forest for a few hours andsoon began to see familiarsights before reaching Baselate in the day. Just

unforgettable.

After a good nights sleep wespent the next day puttingstores and equipment away, abit of swimming and thenbeing the final evening we hada Cultural Night,a kind of EastAfrican Jamboree when thepeople from the various areasand regions including usperformed around a hugecampfire. It was quiteemotional and thoroughlyenjoyed by all.

We embarked on our battered

old bus the next morning forour long journey back to theNairobi Railway Station for pickup in a RAF minibus.

We returned to KAF Nairobiand were againaccommodated in the “SpreadEagle” Hotel, courtesy of theRAF. The El-Al Aircrews werestill there by the way! Thefollowing day we were due toreturn to Aden butunfortunately one of the RAFFork Truck Driversinadvertently drove the forks ofhis vehicle through thefuselage of the Argosy whilstloading, grounding it and wewere forced to stay an extracouple days in Nairobi. Thiscould have been slightlyembarrassing were it not forthe RAF Movements Officerwho managed to get us a“Casual Payment” to cover it forus. The delay obviously did notendear me to my ORCS and thefrostiness of his greeting whenI got back to Aden was obvious.

Best of luck to those might try itin the future, don’t forget to doaltitude training, I feel that usguys going from the Radfandid have an advantage in thatwe were living and working atabout 9,000 feet which is atleast half way up MtKilimanjaro. I look forward tomeeting up with Bill Malcolmsome time as I’m sure he won’tagree with everything I havewritten!!

Plinth at summit containing visitors book

At the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro

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The Battalion Colours

1. His Majesty King George Vapproved designs for theColours of the 1st Battalion onthe 2nd March 1915. His MajestyKing George VI approved thedesign for the 2nd BattalionColours in 1940. These designsare described below.

2. The Queen’s Colour, 1stBattalion. Gules (crimson). Inthe centre a dragon passant Or,underneath a scroll with motto‘Cymru Am Byth’. The wholeensigned with the ImperialCrown.

3. The Queen’s Colour, 2ndBattalion. Gules (crimson). Inthe centre a leek or within theGarter, ensigned with theImperial Crown: in the dextercanton the Union.

3. The Regimental Colours. TheUnion. In the centre a CompanyBadge ensigned with theImperial Crown. The fifteenCompany Badges are Borne inrotation. The number belowthe Badge is the number of theCompany to which the Badgebelongs. The number in the

dexter canton is the number ofthe Battalion.

4. The dimensions of theQueen’s and RegimentalColours, are 3 feet 9 inchesflying and 3 feet deep on thepike excluding the fringe, whichis about 2 inches wide. Thepikes are 8 feet 7.5 inches longincluding the Royal Crest ontop. The pikes are surmountedby the Imperial Crownsurmounted by a lion crowned.

5. The occasions on which thecolours are to be carried andlowered are detailed inQueen’s Regulations, HerMajesty’s Regulations for theHousehold Division andStanding Orders of theHousehold Division.

6. When the Colours are not onparade they are to be hung inthe Officers’ Mess with theQueen’s Colour on the left (asobserved from the front) withits pike under that of theRegimental Colour.

7. When a Battalion parades tochange quarters, the Coloursare always carried cased andcolour belts worn.

8. The Colours are normallyreplaced every 15-20 years.Historical Record of the Colours

9. 1st Battalion Colours. These were presented and laidup as shown below:

a. The first pair were presentedby His Majesty King George V atBuckingham Palace on 3rdAugust 1915, and were laid upat Llandaff Cathedral on 19thNovember 1925. During the1939-45 war the Cathedral wasbombed and the Colours werekept at RegimentalHeadquarters for safe keeping.They were returned to LlandaffCathedral on 3rd May 1959.

b. The second pair werepresented by His Majesty KingGeorge V at Windsor Castle on23rd June 1925 and were laidup at St David’s Cathedral on10th June 1950.

c. The third pair werepresented by His Majesty KingGeorge VI at BuckinghamPalace on 25th May 1949 andwere laid up in the GuardsChapel on 7th July 1965.

d. The fourth pair waspresented by Her MajestyQueen Elizabeth II atBuckingham Palace on 5th May1965 and was laid up in StMary’s Church, Swansea on the

16th September 1982.

e. The fifth pair was presentedby Her Majesty QueenElizabeth II at Windsor Castleon 14th May 1981 and was laidup in All Saints Church,Pirbright on 25th October1990.

f. The sixth pair was presentedby Her Majesty QueenElizabeth II at BuckinghamPalace on 30th May 1990 andwas laid up in BangorCathedral, Bangor on 26th June2007.

10. 2nd Battalion Colours. Thefirst pair were presented by HisMajesty King George VI at theTower of London on 14thFebruary 1940. They werereturned to his Majesty on16th June 1947, for safekeeping in Windsor Castlewhen the Battalion went intosuspended animation. TheKings Colour was transferredto the Guards Chapel on 28thMay 1956. The RegimentalColour was transferred to theGuards Depot Church on 23rdMarch 1959 and then to theGuards Chapel on 4th June1965.

11. Coloured drawings of theColours are kept in the ColourBook at RegimentalHeadquarters.

COLOURS AND BATTLE HONOURSRQMS W J Williams

The Queen’s Colour above was presented by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth IIon the 4th May 2006 at Windsor Castle.

The Regimental Colour above was presented byHer Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on the 4th May 2006 at Windsor Castle.

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Battle Honours

12. The Battle Honours, granted by Royal Authority incommemoration of war service, are shown below. Thoseprinted in capital letters are borne on the colours:�

The Great War 1915-1919

‘LOOS’ ‘BAPAUME, 1918’

‘Somme, 1916-18’ ‘Arras, 1918’

‘GINCHY’ ‘Albert, 1918’

‘FLERS-COURCELETTE’ ‘Drocourt-Queant’

‘MORVAL’ ‘Hindenburg Line’

‘Ypres, 1917’ ‘Havrincourt’

‘PILCKEM’ ‘CANAL DU NORD’

‘POELCAPPELLE’ ‘Celle’

‘Passchendaele’ ‘SAMBRE’

‘CAMBRAI, 1917, 18’ ‘France and Flanders, 1915, 18’�The Second World War

“DEFENCE OF ARRAS” “Djebel el Rhorab”

“BOULOGNE, 1940” “Tunis”

“St Omar-La-Bassee” “HAMMAM LIF”

“Bourguebus Ridge” “North Africa, 1943”

“Cagney” “MONTE ORNITO”

“MONT PINCON” “Liri Valley”

“BRUSSELS” “MONTE PICCOLO”

“HECHTEL” “Capture of Perugia”

“Nederrijn” “Arezzo”

“Lingen” “Advance to Florence”

“Rhineland” “Gothic Line”

“North West Europe 1940, 44-45” “BATTAGLIA”

“FONDOUK” “Italy 1944-45”�Post 1945

FALKLAND ISLANDS 1982

Wreathing of the Colours

13. When on parade and uncased, the Colours arewreathed with laurel on the following anniversaries:

February17 MONTE ORNITO 1944

March24 1st BAPAUME 1918

April9 FOUNDOUK 1943

May8 HAMMAM LIF 194322 BOULOGNE 194024 DEFENCE OF ARRAS 194029 MONTE PICCOLO 1944

June14 FALKLAND ISLANDS 1982

July31 PILCKEM 1917

August1 MONT PINCON 1944

September2 2nd BAPAUME 19183 BRUSSELS 19449 GINCHY 191610 GINCHY 191612 HECHTEL 194415 FLERS COURCELLETTE 191616 FLERS COURCELLETTE 191625 MORVAL 191626 MORVAL 191628 LOOS 191529 LOOS 191530 CANAL DU NORD 1918

October1 CANAL DU NORD 19188 CAMBRAI 19189 CAMBRAI 191810 POELCAPPELLE 191711 BATTAGLIA 1944

November4 SAMBRE 191828 CAMBRAI 1917

December1 CAMBRAI 1917

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COMPANY COLOURSRQMS W J Williams

The Prince of Wales’sCompany

Gules three lions passant argent. These areattributed to Gruffudd ap Cynan, King ofGwynedd (North-West Wales) and founderof the first Royal Tribe. There is no certaintythat he bore these arms, but they becameto be regarded as his at a later date, andalso as specially emblatic of North Wales.

In the days of Gruffydd ap Cynan, heraldryhad not yet become the exact science intowhich it later developed, and these armswere not hereditary. After a long andadventourous reign, Gruffudd ap Cynandied in 1137 aged eighty-two, and wasburied at Bangor. The result of his policywas a great revival in Welsh power whichlasted till the final conquest of theprincipality by Edward I.

Number 2 Company

Vert three eagles displayed in fess or. Thesearms are attributed to Owain Gwynedd,eldest son of Gruffudd ap Cynan, whosucceeded his father as King of Gwynedd.Owain Gwynedd fought a successfulcampaign against Henry II who invadedNorth Wales in 1157. His arms are famousin Wales as also is his fine motto”Eryreryron Eryri” which means “The eagle ofthe eagles of Snowdonia “. Snowdonia is a

Number 3 Company

Quarterly or and gules four lions passantguardant counterchanged. These arms aresaid to have been borne by Llewelyn abIorweth (1173-1240), commonly known asLewelyn the Great, who restored thesupremacy of Gwynedd and asserted hisauthority over the princes of South Wales.

He married Joan, daughter of King John ofEngland against whom he waged war.Llewelyn ab Iorweth was buried at Conway.These arms were also borne by anotherromantic figure in Welsh history. Llewelynap Gruffudd, sometimes known by thedepressing name of Llewelyn the Last. Hefought against Henry III, who allowed himthe title of “Prince of Wales”. He rose to greatpower in his native land, and became avassal of the English crown. He refused,however, to pay homage to Edward I, whowaged war against him, during the courseof which Llywelyn was killed in a chanceskirmish near Builth on the Wye in 1282.Llywelyn married Eleanor, daughter ofEleanor, daughter of Earl Simon deMontford, who fell in battle in the cause ofjustice and liberty at the end of the Baron’sWar.

These arms were assumed by Owain GlynDwr who proclaimed himself king of allWales in 1402. From thenceforth they havebeen regarded as the official arms ofWales, and as such were borne in pretenceby HRH The Duke of Windsor when Princeof Wales.

Number 4 Company

Gules a lion rampant and a borderindented or. These arms are attributed toRhys ap Tewdwr, King of Deheubarth(South Wales) and founder of the SecondRoyal Tribe. He was the leading chieftan ofthe south for about fourteen years, and thelast man who can really be regarded asking of the ancient kingdom ofDeheubarth. He died fighting against theNormans in 1091, in the ninetieth year ofhis age, after which territory was over-runby Norman adventurers and the power ofSouth Wales decayed. These arms areconsidered to be specially emblematic ofSouth Wales.

horrible word, but no other exists whichconveys to the English mind that particulartract of land called in Welsh “Eryri” whichprobably means “the place of the eagles”.

Owain Gwynedd reisigned 1137-1169, anddied greatly praised by the Welsh bardsand chroniclers of his day.

Number 5 (HQ) Coy

Or a lion rampant gules. These arms areattributed to Bleddyn ap Cynfyn, King ofPowys (North East and Central Wales) andfounder of the Third Royal Tribe. He and hisbrother Rhiwallon, were made joint rulersof Powys by King Harold. Bleddyn apCynfyn ruled 1063-1073. On rhiwallon’sdeath, bleddyn reigned alone over Powys,and probably over the greater part ofGwynedd also.

During his reign, he fought against Williamthe Conquerer, but was killed in an obscureskirmish by his fellow countrymen in 1073.The chronicler speaks of him as “thegentlest and most merciful of kings” and “adefence to everyone”. These arms came tobe recognised as the heraldic emblem ofPowys.

Y DDRAIG GOCH DDYRI CYCHWYN The red dragon gives a lead

GWR YNYS Y CEDYRNThe Men of the Island of the Mighty

FY NUW, FY NGWLAD, FY MRENINMy God, My Land, My King

GOREU ARF, CALON DDEWRThe Best Weapon is a Brave Heart

OFNA DDUW, ANRHYDEDDA’R BRENINFear God, Honour the King

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Number 6 Company(Support Coy)

Paly of eight pieces argent and gules alion rampant sable. These were the armsof the princes of Powys Fadog, thenorthern part of the ancient kingdom ofPowys.

Owain Glyn Dwr bore these arms by rightof descent from the princes of PowysFadog, of which, the lordship ofGlyndwfrdwy formed a part. Heir by birthto Powys and Deheubarth, he revived theclaims of the ancient princess of thecountry, and through a temporarilysuccessful revolution against Henry IV hewas able to rise to such great power andinfluence that he was crowned Prince ofWales. Both North and South Wales wereunited in common loyalty and enthusiasmunder his leadership, and in ten longyears of revolt and campaign Wales wonrecognition from Scotland , France, andSpain as if it were an independentcountry. Though Owain was a greatguerrilla leader, he was never able toconsolidate his gains. His great plans tonaught, but though his allies failed himthe Welsh people never betrayed him. Hefought and failed and faded from thescene into an unknown grave about theyear 1410. The memory of this last andgreatest warrior chief is still bright in hisnative land.

Number 7 Company (Regimental Headquarters

and the Band)

Quarterly 1st and 4th argent three boars’

heads sable tusked or and langued gules

2nd and 3rd party per bend sinister ermine

and erminois a lion rampart or.

These arms are attributed to Elystan

Glodrudd, King of Gloucester and Hereford,

and, by right of conquest, Prince of Fferlis,

which is the territory between Severn and

Wye. The conquest of this area gave him the

name of Glodrudd, which means “of ruddy

fame”. He was the godson of the saxon Ling

Athelstan, whose Christian name he bore in

its Welsh variant form. Elystan Glodrudd

was founder of the Fourth Royal Tribe. He

was born about 933, and was slain in battle

sometime after 1010.

Number 8 Company, ArmyTraining Regiment

Gules three chevrons argent. These arms

are attributed to Iestyn ap Gwrgan, known

as the last prince of Glamorgan and

founder of the Fifth Royal Tribe. He was the

ruler of Morgannwg, now embraced in the

County of Glamaorgan, and also possibly

of part of Gwent, the Welsh Namefor that

area which is now the County of

Monmouth. He lived in the time of William

the Conquerer, and played a two-sided

game in the Norman conquest of South

East Wales, as a result of which he lost his

possessions about the year 1093. His

reputation in Welsh history is somewhat

unenviable, and he is said to have fallen “a

sacrifice to his own treachery and

ingratitude”.

IX Company (Number 1 Company, 2nd

Battalion)

Gules a chevron between between threelioncels rampant or. These arms areattributed to Hwfa ap Cynddelw, Lord ofLlys Llifon in Anglesey and founder of theFirst Noble Tribe. Some say that he wassteward to Owain Gwynedd, and that hishereditary office was to bear the prince’scoronet and place it on his head at hiscoronation. Hwfa ap Cynddelw is said tohave lived at Presaddfed in Anglesey aboutthe year 1150. When these arms werechosen, this house was the home of Major-General W A FL Fox-Pitt, DSO MVO MC whowas at that time commanding theRegiment. The arms were selected asbeing representative of the island ofAnglesey, Mona, the mother of Wales.

X Company, (Number 2 Company,

2nd Battalion)

Sable a chevron between three fleurs de lisargent. These arms are attributed toCollwyn ap Tango,Lord of Evionydd andArdudwy and founder of the Fifth NobleTribe. Evionydd and Adudwy were twocommots in Arfon and now form parts ofthe Counties of Caernarfon and Merioneth.Collwyn, who lived at Harlech, wasancestor to a famous Welsh warrior named

NAC OFNA OND GWARTHFear nothing but disgrace

Y GWIR YN ERBYN Y BYDThe Truth against the World

OFNER NA OFNO ANGAUFeared be he who fears not Death

A FYNNO BARCH BID GADARN Let him be strong who would be Respected

HEBDDIAL NI DDYCHWELAFI will not return unavenged

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XI Company (Number 3 Company,

2nd Battalion)

Vert a chevron ermine between threewolves’ heads erased argent. These armsare attributed to Rhirid Flaidd (Rhirid theWolf) Lord of Penllyn, which is an area nowin the country of Merioneth, and sundryother places extending between theShropshire border and Caernarvonshire.Rhirid Flaidd lived in the middle of thetwelfth century, and was ancestor of manyWelsh families of note, including theMyddletons of Chirk Castle. His arms wereselected as being representative of centralNorth Wales and the border area.

XII Company(Number 4 Company, 2nd

Battalion)

Argent a chevron between three ravenssable. These are the arms of Sir ap Thomas,KG, 1449-1525. He was head of the familyof Dynevor, and the most powerful man inSouth Wales during the reigns of Henry VIIand VIII. Rhys ap Thomas and his army

joined Henry Tudor at Shrewsbury on hisvictorious march which culminated at thebattle of Bosworth, where tradition relatesthat Rhys ap Thomas killed Richard III withhis own hand. He was certainly knightedon the field of battle. He held many highoffices and great estates in South Wales,which gave rise to the saying “The Kingowns the island except what belongs to SirRhys”. He was buried in Carmarthen wherehis tomb may be seen to this day. Hisdescendants, who spell their names bothRhys and Rice, have served in theRegiment. These arms were chosen asbeing representative of South and South-West Wales.

XIII Company(Headquarter Company,

2nd Battalion)

Sable a lion rampant argent. These arms

are attributed to Gwaerthfoed, Prince of

Cardigan and Lord of Cibwr, which is

probably the area between Caerphilly and

Cardiff. Gwaethfoed lived in the eleventh

century. Little is known about him other

than the names of his children. He was

known as one of the three “band wearing

princes”, that is to say, princes who wore

bands of gold about their necks as mark of

their status. Gwaethfoed was descended

from Gwyddno Garan Hir, Prince of Cantref

Y Gwaelod, a Welsh “Atlantis” now lying

beneath the waters of Cardigan Bay, from

the depths of which on stormy nights the

ghostly “Bells of Aberdovey” are said

chime. These arms were chosen as being

representative of West Wales and the

Cardiff area.

XIV Support or TrainingCompany, 2nd Battalion

Argent three boars’ heads couped sablelangued gules. These arms are attributedto Cowry dap Cadfan, Lord of the Vale ofClwyd and founder of the tribe calledGwehelyth Ceinmerch. Ceinmerch is acommot in the Vale of Clwyd which isformed by that area of Denbighshire andFlintshire, through which the river Clwydflows. This Welsh chieftan claimed descentfrom King Vortigern, known in the Triads asone of the three arch-drunkards of the Isleof Britain, and by other unpleasant names.Cowry dap Cadfan lived in the area ofRuthin, Denbighshire, about the time ofKing John, at which period he representedthe old line of Powys. His line is stillrepresented in the Regiment, and his armswere chosen as being representative ofNorth-East Wales.

XV Company (InfantryTraining Company)

Argent between four Cornish Choughs

proper armed gules a cross fleury

engrailed sable. These arms are attributed

to Edwin of Tegeingl founder of the twelth

Noble Tribe of Wales. He ruled in Flintshire

and was mentioned in Domesday as

having held land in this area before

conquest and continued to do so until

1086 when Domesday was compiled.

Syr Hywel Y Fwyall who fought with theBlack Prince at Poictiers and wasknighted by him. The Vaughans ofTrawscoed, now Earls of Lisburne, arealso descended from Collwyn, whosearms were selected as beingrepresentative of North-West Wales.

HEB NEFOL NERTH SICR SAETHWithout Heavenly Helpthe Arrow flieth uncertain

HWY CLOD NA HOEDLFame lasts longer than life

CAIS DDUW YN GAR AC OFNA FARSeek God as Friend and fear not ill

CAS GWR NA CHARO’R WLAD A’IMACOHateful is the Man who loves notthe land that nurtured him

RHYDDID HEDD A LLWYDDIANTFreedom, Peace and Prosperity

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1ST BN WELSH GUARDS LIGHT AIDDETACHMENT REME CORPS BIRTHDAY

CELEBRATION 1ST OCT 2010Cfn Moore

On the 1st of October 1942, the Corps of Royal Electricaland Mechanical Engineerswere formed to maintain andrepair the growing variety ofever more complex equipmentused by the army. The foundermembers of the corps were

drawn from the Royal

Engineers, Royal Army

Ordnance Corps, Royal Army

Service Corps and unit

tradesmen from every

regiment and battalion in the

British Army.

Our day started with a visit to

the Corps War memorial. The

statue of a REME soldier,

located outside the 'St Eligius'

Garrison Church in Arborfield,

serves as the Corps war

memorial. The St Eligius

memorial chapel contains the

Corps Book of Remembrance,

listing Corps members who

have died on active service. It

was good to meet up with

other REME units at the statue

all celebrating the formation of

REME. The weather wasn’t

with us though, with near

torrential rain and wind we set

off for London.

At the Imperial War Museum

we set about looking into the

conflicts that shaped the 20th

century and led to the

formation of REME. Upon

arrival we had a group photo

in front of a set of 15inch guns

from World War 1. The guns

serve as a rather impressive

gate guard to the museum.

The guns are surprisingly not

from the same ship and both

saw active service 30 years

apart! Once inside the museum

Cfn Kirby took over and shared

his knowledge and thoughts

with us on all the major

conflicts of the last 100 years.

He particularly focused on how

REME had supported the

British Army for the last 68

years. His knowledge on small

arms of the past was

particularly impressive. It

made his head swell a bit

though when other members

of the public thought he was a

private tour guide!

After the tour the LAD retired to

a local public house for a lunch

and a couple of drinks paid for

by our seniors. The day was an

excellent way for us to help

foster our Esprit de Corps and a

welcome break from the pace

of work in recent weeks. A big

thank you must go out to the

chain of command within the

Battalion for supporting us on

this event and hopefully we

can do the same next year!

1 WG LAD Personnel at the IWM London.L to R: LSgt Harvey, Sgt James, LCpl Harry, Cfn Oluwabusola, AQMS Gilder,

Cfn Goad,LSgt Tutton, Cfns Kirby, Moore and Wharmby

The Light Aid Detachment received an uplift inpersonnel over the last few months due to Op Entirety.With the arrival of the new personnel it seemed like a

good idea to celebrate the 68th anniversary of the birth ofREME. It was agreed to do this by organising a cultural visit tothe REME Corps War Memorial, in Arborfield, and the ImperialWar Museum in London.

Cfn Kirby explaining the inner workings of an early WW1 tank to the rest of the LAD.

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Peter Woods, Mervyn Evans, General The Lord Guthrie, George Frater, George Morgan.

He then stayed for 45 minutesand talked to most members whowere present; he was presentedby George Morgan (WG) with anumber of coins painted inRegimental and Division Coloursto commemorate the visit.Photographs were taken of theGroup and of the 5 WelshGuardsmen. On leaving, theGeneral invited members to visitthe House of Lords in October.

The occasion was special for MajorPeter Woods (WG, 40/66) who wasfortunate enough to have LtCharles Guthrie as one of hisPlatoon Commanders in 1957, andhad watched with admiration hisprogress to become Chief of theGeneral Staff.In 1993 Peter Woodswas approached by DouglasLinton (Coldstream Guards) andasked to join a group of 4Guardsmen at their proposedregular Monday morningmeetings for “coffee and a chat”.He did, so the currentAssociation was formed; from

those 5 men the membershiphas grown to 55.

Meetings are held at 10 o’clockevery Monday (except bankHolidays) throughout the year forcoffee at the Regency Hotel inBury St Edmunds. Members alllive within 30 miles, but many areless able or too far for such travel,so about 20 attend regularly. Allmeetings are very informal, anynotices are discussed or givenout then and a General Meetingis held annually. Funds aresustained by a draw held atmeetings and other occasionalRaffles.

Visits to Military and CivilEstablishments are arrangedannually, and “in house” lunch isheld over Christmas and on StGeorge’s Day, with a buffet in thesummer. The Group used theterm “Association” initially tofacilitate communication withvisit organisers, and have keptthe term for use in any “formal”business.

A UNIQUE HOUSEHOLD DIVISIONASSOCIATION WELCOMES GENERAL

THE LORD GUTHRIEby Major (Retd) E P Woods formerly Welsh Guards

On Monday 26th July 2010 members of the GuardsDivision Association, Suffolk raised their glasses towelcome General the Lord Guthrie and thanked him

for his visit. The General responded by thanking themembers for their invitation; he praised them for sustainingin such good health an Association open to all sevenRegiments of the Household Division particularly at a timewhen most serving Guardsmen were committed tooperations in Afghanistan.

Lieutenant Colonel ThorneloeMBE follows other distinguishedsoldiers such as LieutenantColonel David Blair Queen’s OwnHighlanders who was killed atWarrenpoint in 1979 andLieutenant Colonel H Jones VC OBEParachute Regiment who died atGoose Green in 1982.

The entire Academy of OfficerCadets and Permanent Staffattended the traditional end ofterm Colours to Chapel service,which was also attended byLieutenant Colonel Thorneloe’sclose family and members of theBattalion who fought with

him in Afghanistan last summer.Despite all that happened on 1stJuly last year, it was still a shock tosee his name carefully engravedon the board. Never have I heardhymns sung so clearly or at suchvolume. It was as if every memberof the Academy was willing himto hear them.

With such passion inside andcornflower blue skies, greenlawns and warm sunshineoutside, it was a supremely fittingway to mark his passing. He liveson in all of us who were luckyenough to work with him.

COMMERATION OF LIEUTENANTCOLONEL RUPERT THORNELOE MBEAT THE ROYAL ACAMEDY SANDHURST

Major Henry Bettinson

On Sunday 8th August Lieutenant Colonel RupertThorneloe’s name was officially dedicated at theRoyal Military Academy Sandhurst. Within the

Academy Chapel an oak honours board commemoratesthose Commanding Officers who have fallen whilst inCommand since the end of the Second World War.

Mrs Sally Thorneloe with the girls

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The plan was to run a total ofaround 200kms in competitionraces including 3 half-marathons, a marathon andan ultra-marathon (72kms). Aseither serving or recentlyretired Welsh Guards officersposted to or living in the UAE,we had followed the WelshGuards' tour in Helmand withkeen interest. All of us hadknown and served with thosekilled or injured and feltstrongly the need to supportthe launch of the Welsh GuardsAfghanistan Appeal.With all fundraising events it isdifficult to know what to setthe target at and in the end wefelt that 15 000 was

reasonable. In simple termsthat was £5000 each which didnot seem too unrealistic. SoRhodri set about establishingthe Just Giving Website and weinformed RegimentalHeadquarters of our scheme.The idea was to raise as muchmoney through family andfriends, a charity event andsponsorship. In fact we werefortunate early on in ourefforts to be sponsored by theSovereign Group (whospecialise in the set up ofonshore and offshorecompanies and trustsworldwide) who offered us£5000 to complete the events.Off to such a good start it was

now into serious training andacclimatizing to running intemperatures of 30 degreesplus. The intended events soonwere upon us:

In order to keep interest upRhodri updated the Just Givingwebsite with pictures andsummaries of the events. Hereare some extracts:

9 Nov 09 Dubai Sports Run (8km) - So Guy takes a 1- 0lead over his youngercolleagues in the first race,with Rod complaining that hispoor performance was due toan all-nighter with some otherex-military friends in theMiddle East until 2 hoursbefore the race, and Jamieunable to get his admin sortedin time to register for the firstrace.

13 Nov 09 Abu Dhabi 1/2Marathon (21 km) - Heatplayed a bigger factor today,slowing Guy down so muchthat even Rod caught him onthe line. A sprightly 14kph paceslowed about half-way roundthe course as the temperature

pushed through 30 degreescelcius with the sun beatingdown and bouncing off theAbu Dhabi streets. So a touchof heat stroke and a belter of ablister to show for today'sefforts, but that's 2 down with5 to go...

20 Nov 09 Mirdiff 10 Miler –It was Guy’s turn to be absentthis morning with a touch ofman/bird/swine flu orsomething. The Mirdif 10-miler‘Donut’ course promisedsomething new... “hills”! It hasto be said that for the Brecon-initiated, these 20m inclineswere not really a factor but areapparently big news in Dubai.

12 Dec 09 Dubai 1/2Marathon - saw all three teammembers starting this race! Aconsiderable improvement inthe half marathon times by allmatched an improvement inthe course, which ran alongboth sides of the Dubai Creek.This is where the fishing villageof Dubai originated from,when it was called 'Deira' - sothere is some history here afterall.

22 Jan 10 Dubai Marathon2010 - Sharing the stage withthe WG Run Arabia team wasHaile Gebrselassie. Haile, whosaid he was disappointed tohave not broken the worldrecord today, but thanked theWelsh Guards team for pacinghis record attempt up to the34km marker!

12 February 10 Wadi Bih,Oman - Delighted to be joinedby Emma Bartle-Jones andTom Bonas to make up ourteam of 5 for this 72km relaythrough the Hajar mountainsin Oman. With some verystriking scenery for abackdrop, each membercarries the baton for a numberof legs of the race while theremainder of the team drivesby 4x4 to the next checkpoint.

WELSH GUARDS RUN ARABIALt Col G Bartle-Jones

During a dinner party in Abu Dhabi Rhodri Richardsand myself hatched a hairbrain scheme to run everymajor long-distance running event in the UAE taking

place over the 'winter' months of November 2009 through toFebruary 2010. Without knowing it, Jamie Thomson as theonly other Welsh Guardsman in UAE at the time wasvolunteered.

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There is over 900m of ascenton the course with some of thetoughest climbing taking placeduring the heat of the day. There was some verydetermined running from allmembers of the team, whofinished in a combined time of6 hours and 13 minutes onDibba Beach.

19 Feb 10 - RAK HalfMarathon. - And so, the finalrun in our campaign. The halfmarathon in Ras Al Khaimah isone of the more popular halfmarathons and saw over 800runners taking part. There wassome cheeky nudging of thepace from Guy for the first 10k,before declaring that he wasgoing to save himself for the'camel polo' later on and thatRod should "keep going"! Thenudge was good as both Rodand Guy knocked over aminute off their 'season best'for this distance!

Jamie through a randomFacebook contact managed toarrange for us to beinterviewed by the Nationalnewspaper and had us filmedon the Corniche beach in AbuDhabi on a spurious trainingday! The Welsh Guards RunArabia team then featured ontheir website but to add insultto injury Jamie's interview waschopped from the website!

The final fundraising event was

a drinks party and auction atthe British Embassy in Dubaiwhere we joined forces withthe 'Help For Heroes'Committee with 25% of theprofits going to the WelshGuards Afghan Appeal. Theevent was very popular, notleast that most were guests ofRhodri and Annie's who hadworked tirelessly to organize it.The Welsh Guards wrist bandswere a best seller and in theend £7500 was made for theAppeal.

I managed to slip in one finalrace on 19 Mar, the inauguralAbu Dhabi Triathlon for a finalbit of fundraising. Havingcompleted the short course(1.5km swim, 100km bike,10km run) with near heatexhaustion it is definitely timeto retire, not least as triathlonsrequire far too much adminand the tri-suits are not thatflattering.

In all we managed to raise £20817 for the Appeal fund andmany thanks to all those whodonated and supported us, inparticular Mrs Anne Fasfous,Annie Richards, BronnyStopford (nee Macdonald-Milner), Ed Cresswell andSophie Waggett for the DubaiEmbassy H4Hs party, andHoward Bilton from SovereignGroup, and our team mates forWadi Bih, Emma Bartle-Jonesand Colonel Tom Bonas.

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ADDRESS GIVEN BY BRIGADIER P R G WILLIAMS DLREGIMENTAL REMEMBRANCE SERVICE

SUNDAY 14 NOVEMBER 2010

But here I am in a pulpit, haveto give an address, and so hadbetter have a text. It comesfrom Groucho Marx: “ WHYSHOULD I JOIN A CLUB THATWOULD HAVE PEOPLE LIKEME?”

After all, you can choose a clubin a way that you cannotchoose your family. And somefamilies can be mighty difficult,and there are those who do notgo much on their own familiesat all.

So when you enlist, you haveto select the organisation youwish to join, rather likeapplying for membership of aclub, a regiment you reckonyou will feel at home in, onewhere there will be others likeyou. You enlist, train togetherand then serve together.Youbecome a member of a team,in due course a fully paid upmember of that team and inour case a life member of theclub that is the Welsh Guards.

You become a WelshGuardsman, and a proudmember of a long anddistinguished military heritage.

And we are here today toremember, once more, thoseWelsh Guardsmen who haveupheld that tradition, and diedin the service of King or Queenand Country.

The 85 listed on the ThiepvalMemorial who gave their lives

on the Somme whose bodieswere never recovered.

The 856 killed in the First War.Did you know that of theoriginal battalion of about athousand, just 13 survivedunscathed to see the Armisticesigned.

The 633 who lie in North Africa,Italy, France and North WestEurope from the Second War.

Those killed in NorthernIreland, the Falklands, Iraq and,most recently as we shall bereminded when the memorialis dedicated after this address,Afghanistan.

“Let us now,” saysEcclesiastes,”praise famousmen and our fathers that begatus”. And we do that becausethey, in their turn, did theirduty and in doing so gave theirlives and upheld the honourand traditions of our regiment.

Any really honest soldier, goinginto battle and especially forthe first time, will admit tobeing at the very least worriedabout he will react andwhether he will let himself andhis mates down; call it fear ifyou wish.

And that is where the trainingand tradition come in; WelshGuardsmen do not let oneanother down, and get on withit with Welsh Guards pride andspirit. As Our Lord might have

said in Afghanistan; ‘Youcannot do better than stickyour life on the line for yourmates’. Not quite the KingJames sentence we heard atthe beginning of the service,but the same meaning.Guardsmen above all look aftertheir mates.

Older generations, lookingnostalgically over theirshoulders, often speculatewhether the youngergeneration could ever be asgood as they were. Any suchquerulous speculation wascomprehensively answered bythe Battalion’s splendid recordin Afghanistan. One look atthose assembled in theGarrison Church in Aldershotfor that most moving memorialservice could see at once thatthe Welsh Guardsman of todayis certainly as good as anddare I say it better than manyof us were, and we are rightlyproud of them.

But there were inevitably tragiclosses and injuries on the tourin Helmand, and that is whythe Appeal was established, sothat as a Regiment, with ourlinks and knowledge of thosewho have encountered greatdifficulties, we can help bothquickly and in ways that othersmight not be able to.

The response has been terrific,and the overall support for allthe battalion has had toendure is implicit in the wayeveryone has thrownthemselves in to fundraising. Ithas spoken volumes about thehigh esteem in which they areheld and is very highly valuedby the Battalion and the widerregiment.

And I hope I am allowed tomention on behalf of theRegiment, our gratitude andappreciation for the verypersonal involvement and

warm and unstinting supportthe Colonel has given to hisown Regiment of Footguardsin so many ways. It has beenmagnificent, and taken toheart by all of us.

And now we come to a curiousthing: you think you havejoined a club, and you end upbeing a member of a family,the very best kind of family thatlooks after its own. Certainlythe response to the Appealfeels like that of a good familylooking after its own. And ofcourse you become a part ofan extended family, the familythat is the Household Division,with the Sovereign as its head.

So we, past and presentmembers of that family,remember those who havegone before us with pride.Butwe must also recognise thatfurther challenges await thepresent generation.They haveinherited the torch; they arethe current standard bearersand upholders of tradition. Liketheir fathers, grandfathers andgreat grandfathers they willnot let the family down.

So while we recall the pastwith pride and gratitude, wemust pray also for the future.

May God support our WelshGuardsmen in all theirendeavours, and help us tosupport them and theirfamilies in whatever the futuremay hold.

CYMRU AM BYTH

A bout a year ago, I attended a meeting with theArchbishop of York on getting people into church.He was quite clear about one thing; they do not go

for the sermon. So do not expect too much.

“WHY SHOULD I JOIN A CLUB THATWOULD HAVE PEOPLE LIKE ME?”

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WELSH GUARDS COLLECTION


THE WELSH GUARDS COLLECTIONStan Evans

The Welsh GuardsCollectionEstablished 1995

President:Brigadier J F Rickett CBE

ChairmanColonel T C S Bonas

TreasurerMr J O Williams 83

SecretaryRQMS A Campbell MSM

CuratorMr S EvansCartref ni

44 Crossfield AvenueOver, Winsford,

Cheshire, CW7 1EG

Tel: 01606 593953

Direct Line07531 395310

[email protected]

Throughout his treatmentBrian would always ring up tosee if everything was alright atPark Hall. Each time he wasasked how he was feeling hisonly hint of complaint was “ Itcould be better” or “I`ve hadbetter days”. The determinationhe showed in facing hismisfortune was unbelievablean example to us all.

The Museum now faces anentirely new future, one wherewe will have to stand up andcount for ourselves, face ourproblems squarely and not beable to call on the only person Ihave ever known who had asolution for every problem putbefore him and would solve itas easily as could be. It`s going

to be hard but to the memoryof Brian we at the Museum willcontinue to make it work forhim. Our thoughts are with hisdevoted wife Audrey.

To say we have been busy hereat the Museum in the lasttwelve months is quite anunderstatement. Besides ournormal duties of manning theCollection and assisting ourvisitors as they tour around theMuseum, we have had majorrestoration to parts of thebuilding itself to contend with.These included the muchneeded refurbishment of thefloor and screening theentrance windows with sunblocking film. Thanks to anMLA support grant we were

able to engage the services ofa professional floor layingcompany from Wrexham tocompletely insulate and coverthe whole floor with woodenlaminate and the difference ithas made is quite stunning.Not only to the eye but becauseit is so easy for the staff to keepclean, the sun screeningproject has reduced theharmful sunlight by threequarters. Thanks to ourBuilding services ManagerGraham Binnie who hasreplaced almost everyfloodlight with state of the artenergy saving bulbs toreduced running costs and theharmful lux rays upon theartifacts plus additionalhumidity monitors, fire andintruder alarms, safety lightsand other high Tec gizmoswhich will protect thecollection and indeed the staffshould any emergency arise.

In March our RegimentalLieutenant Colonel, ColonelSandy Malcolm had beeninvited to install a temporaryWelsh Guards display in thebrand new Museum of theRoyal Welsh and QueensDragoon Guards in CardiffCastle in time for Forces day onthe 26th June. This newMuseum was to be called“Firing line”. “The museum ofthe Welsh Soldier.” After a recceby John Williams 83 and myselfit became very obvious thatnothing but the best would doas we had to show the visitingpublic what quality of artifactscould be found at the WelshGuards Collection in Oswestry.Having met the MuseumDirector Mr Christopher Daleand agreed a four monthtenure we then found out thattheir new Museum would beopened officially by none otherthan His Royal Highness PrinceCharles, Prince of Wales and ofcourse our own Colonel of theRegiment.

Unfortunately circumstances have meant my reportthis year will be a little mixed up date wise. Unlessyou have been given a posting to the other side of

the moon you will be aware of the sad passing of ColonelBrian Morgan. MBE. After a very long illness which Brianfought courageously and without complaint, Brian passedaway at 0345hrs Saturday the 8th January.

The Welsh Guards display at Cardiff Castle

97


With the help of so many exand serving Welsh Guardsmenthe task began. The purchase ofbrand new mannequins todisplay uniforms worn by theWelsh Guards from 1915 to thepresent day. I can`t find wordsworthy enough to thank somany people for their inputinto what was going to be amammoth task with very littletime to do it. However, firstlythe team here at Oswestryworked flat out givingadditional extra time as well astheir normal duties at theMuseum. If we take intoconsideration the fact that ourdriver responsible for movingthe display from Oswestry toCardiff and back again, BrianJohn had surgery on his hipduring the time the display wasat Cardiff yet still volunteeredto drive the van both ways.

Thanks to Quartermaster MajorNicky Mott from the Battalionfor supplying on loan severaluniforms. WO11 Warren

Williams and his men from therecruiting team at Cardiff whodid most of the fetching andcarrying for us at Cardiff Castle.Colonel Tom Bonas, RQMSAndy Campbell and SergeantShane Brandon fromRegimental headquarters forthe support they gave, givingevery request priority in theshort time we had. With thatkind of backup we were boundto succeed. Even thepermanent staff from CardiffCastle were full of praisesaying “they wished they hadthat type of display therepermanently”. Our thanks goesto all the Cardiff Museum stafffor their input as well.

The enclosed photographsshow part of the display andHRH being led around byChairman of the Firing Lineboard Mr Peter Wisher andCurator Rachel Silverson.Afterwards His Royal Highnesscongratulated the WelshGuards Collection for

magnificent Welsh Guardsdisplay. We all hope that oneday His Royal Highness couldvisit the Museum site atOswestry in the not too distantfuture.

Artifacts are coming into theCollection at an amazing ratefrom across the wholespectrum of Welsh Guards,from bits of paper scribbled onduring a battle or from thetrenches to more modernitems where the families feelsatisfied that at last theirtreasures are back amongstothers in a secure and safeenvironment and will be caredfor by people who arepassionate about our Regimentand its glorious history.

Our eldest statesman NormanEdwards 86 years young (ex3rd Battalion) and life longStandard bearer of theMontgomery and ShropshireBranch unfortunately is still inGabowen hospital undergoing

further physiotherapy andtreatment. I`m sure he`s doinghis very best to get back to thefamiliar fit and lovable ways wehave become to know.

By the time this editorial isreleased we will be celebratingten years at Oswestry, Anamazing fete that could haveonly become possible with thegenerosity and support fromour hosts Park Hall theCountryside Experience inparticular the ManagingDirector Martyn Hughes andhis co Director Richard Powell,their events coordinatorRachel, Oh and of course lastbut not least Pauline and Clairour caterers who keep ussupplied with “wads” and“banjo`s” of every description!To you all our heart felt thanks.We look forward to the nextdecade.

Stan Evans.67 At your service.



HRH The Prince of Wales being led around by the Chairman of The Firing Line board Mr Peter Wisher and Curator Rachel Silverson

98


BRANCH REPORTS

BRANCH REPORTS

WELSH GUARDS ASSOCIATIONBrian Keane, General Secretary

ABERDARE BRANCH

We now have 17 Brancheswithin the Association,

making the Welsh Guards thestrongest Association in theRegiment of Foot Guards.Welsh Guards Reunited, a website which encapsulates theentire world and allows easyaccess to all those who wish tokeep in touch with the WelshGuards, has opened a newdimension to the Association inthe way we all communicateand keep in touch. I sincerelyhope some of our ‘newmembers’ will not onlycommunicate via the web, butalso participate in events runby local Branches, theAssociation and the Regiment,as they did for the 2010 Dartsand Shooting Competition heldat Maindy Barracks. In order tokeep our great family alive,continual contact andparticipation is essential.

The annual AssociationBattlefield Tour, ably organisedby Captain Graham Taylor, is aprime example ofcommunicating with theyounger generation. Everyyear 3-4 Guardsmen from theRegiment are invited to join thetour, and it is an honour tospeak to these young men,

who have bravely fought andlaid down their lives for thiscountry, just as our veterans inthe past. The continuation ofthe Association depends onthese men, and I sincerelyhope the message gets backthat we are worth keeping intouch with.

We look forward to our 24thAssociation Dinner in April2011 to be held at Wrexham,North Wales. It is a first ratevenue with ample nearbyovernight accommodation. Itwould be good to see anexcellent turnout from all ourBranches, since it is a greatway of keeping in touch withold and new friends. Furtherdetails are available in theWinter Newsletter, as well asfrom your Branch Secretaries.

Once again, I must mention allBranch Secretaries who workextremely hard for the Association,particularly over this last year incollecting for the Welsh GuardsAfghanistan Appeal by sellingwrist bands, holding dances,sponsored walks, fetes etc. Therehas been a tremendous responsefrom members of the public aswell as our own members insupporting the Regiment, and isgreatly appreciated.

President: Colonel T C C BonasVice President: Brigadier J F C Rickett CBEVice President: R Lewis Esq.Treasurer: Major K OultramSecretary General: B Keane Esq.

Maindy Barracks, Whitchurch Road, Cardiff CF4 3YETelephone: 029 2078 1342E-mail:[email protected]

Please help to keep the Association

alive within your areas, and

support Lunches, Dinners, Dances

and various other events. If you

feel the Association could do

more, then please do not hesitate

in contacting your local Branch or

the office at Maindy Barracks, since

It’s that time of year againwhen Branches have tosubmit a report for theRegimental Magazine. I guessthat ninety nine percent of theBranches do not find this taskdifficult because of variousactivities during the pasttwelve months. For the onepercent such as the AberdareBranch, this simple taskbecomes a problem for ussince we do not get involved inAssociation events andactivities – hence, if there is noinvolvement then there isnothing to write about.

The Branch was represented atthe AGM held at WellingtonBarracks in June, which was, asusual, a very informativemeeting, but unfortunately didnot attend the Darts andShooting Competition atCardiff this year since we hadinsufficient numbers to makeup a team. Hopefully we canget some members together to

attend the Association BiennialDinner at Wrexham in April2011.

We have appealed many timesover the years for newmembers, but with noresponse. There have beentimes over this last year when,on our meeting nights we havebeen unable to hold a meetingbecause of lack of numbers. Itis a sad reflection when oneconsiders our former glory!

I can but hope that one day,someone will read my reportand decide to take over themantle. We desperately neednew blood and new ideas if weare to keep alive.

For those who have lost a lovedone over the last year we sendour sincere condolences, andfor those who are sick, aspeedy recovery.

On behalf of the committee,may I wish you all a MerryChristmas and Prosperous NewYear.

(Formed 1951)

President: Simon Rhodes Esq.Chairman: John Coleman (22217873)Treasurer/Secretary: Michael Williams (2335233)

33 Tre Gwilym, CwmbachAberdareMid Glam Cf44 0AA

Telephone: 01685 877786

the Association belongs to YOU !

Finally I wish to thank you all

for your help and cooperation

shown me throughout the

year, and wish you and your

families good luck and the best

of health in 2011.

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BRANCH REPORTS

BRANCH REPORTS

CARDIFF BRANCH

(Founded 1919)

President: Colonel C J DawnayChairman: David W Parry (22831847)Treasurer: Martyn Williams (246853160Secretary: Bill Morris (22217619)

39 Gareth CloseThornhillCardiff CF14 9AF

Telephone: 029 20611241e-mail: [email protected]

The past year has been quite abusy one for the Branch, thehighlight of the year being theBranch Dinner held tocelebrate our 90thAnniversary; it was wellattended and enjoyed by allpresent. The year ended withthe Ladies Night/ChristmasDraw, which again was ahighly successful evening.

During the year we visited:

The House of Commons.St David’s Day at Aldershot.Windsor, on the occasion of theGarter Ceremony.

And all these events were wellsupported by BranchMembers. In addition, theBranch was represented at theNational Arboretum for theService of Dedication to theHousehold Division on the 3rdDecember 2009. In attendance

was Mr Terry Evans, 24040637,our Branch Standard Bearer.His commitment as BranchStandard Bearer is quiteexceptional and has attendedmany of the funerals ofmembers of the Regiment whowere killed in Afghanistan. Weare also fortunate in as muchthat on the odd occasion whenTerry is not available we have acapable deputy in Mr TerryO’Shea, 24047142, our ViceChairman.

As a Branch we also give ourthanks to Mr David Bishop,22831919, and Mr Roy Tucker,19029281, for looking after thewelfare side of things andreporting back to theCommittee on a regular basis.

During the year we saw achange in Branch Officers.Martyn Williams, 24685316,

has taken over as BranchTreasurer from Alex Webb,22370877, who after manyyears as Treasurer, has nowbeen appointed Vice Presidentof the Branch.

At the time of going to press Ihave been given to understandthat the Branch was

unsuccessful in this year’sDarts and Shoot competition,we shall do better next year.

Finally, on behalf of the Branch,I would like to thank MajorOultram, Brian Keane andKirstie McBurnie at MaindyBarracks for their help duringthe year.

EAST GLAMORGAN BRANCH

(Formed 1920)

President: Lt. Col. D C Macdonald-MilnerChairman: Howard Main (23577106)Treasurer: W John HooperSecretary: Ken Haines (23523287)

Trevone, Duffryn RoadRhydfelinPontypridd CF39 5RU

Telephone: 01443 662248E-mail: [email protected]

Three happy revellers at the Cardiff Dinner

The first event for the EastGlamorgan Branch this year

was to celebrate St David’s Daywith the Battalion at Aldershot.The response from everyonewas extremely pleasing, and inmy opinion, the best sinceMerthyr Tydfil a few yearsback. The weather for Marchwas suburb, and the food firstclass, with no complaints fromanyone – and that must be afirst!

In June we took a coach full ofmembers and friends to attendthe service at Imber Court.Later in the afternoon wecontinued our journey to theTower of London, thanks toIdwal Bellis, who arranged it allfor us. Unfortunately, due tothe excessive traffic in the city,our visit was curtailed to anhour, before we had to returnto Wales in order to arrive intime for a pre-planned meal at

Cardiff Branch Members

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the Institute Club on GelliwastedRoad. My thanks go to everyoneconcerned who helped to makethe day such a success.

September saw the Branchattend the annual Darts andShooting Competition at MaindyBarracks, Cardiff, which again,everyone enjoyed immenselyespecially since we came backwith a couple of trophies! Wewere Runners-Up to WelshGuards Reunited (which were afar better side) in the Darts,although our ‘star man’ (I hate tosay) was Dai Gaule, and I amsure we are not going to hear theend of it for the next twelvemonths!!!

John Hooper, the BranchTreasurer won the ‘Best Shot’trophy, which I am informed, isthe very first time for the Branchto win. Peter Mann and Big Al(Thomas) also did brilliantly atthe Shooting, with Big Al havingto go into a ‘shoot-off’ for thetrophy against John Hooper. Welldone and congratulations John– we will expect an encore next

year (even though Gary Jonesinsists that the rifle wastampered with!) Our ChairmanHoward Main was unable toattend through illness, but I ampleased to report that he is nowfit and well again.

Our Standard Bearer, Mr ‘reliable’Ron Hambly, had yet anotherbusy year with numerousparades, not only representingthe Branch and Association butalso with the Royal BritishLegion, and travelling to ‘far offplaces’ such as London,Weymouth and Ystrad Mynach!Thank you Ron, you are aninspiration to us all.

On a sadder note, we lost one ofour members this year, namely JH Lee (22831502), who passedaway in August, age 73 years.Our thought and sincerecondolences go to his family.

Finally the Branch still meets onthe second Wednesday of everymonth at the Institute Club,Gelliwasted Road, Pontypridd(7.30 for 8pm). Everyonewelcome.

Iwould like to first personallythank all those who workedso hard to arrange the GlanUsk event this year, in aid of theWelsh Guards AfghanistanAppeal. It was a great day out,and would be nice to think thatthis could become an annualevent.

The Branch has just welcomedour new President Mr JohnHarding, as well as a newChairman Major E Pridham. Onbehalf of our members, Iwould like to warmly welcomethem to the Branch and hopetheir stay with us will be longand happy. We are also verylucky to have a new member,the very familiar face of KeithHorrell – it is always good tohave ‘new blood’.Sadly, as in every report wehave had a few members whohave passed away over this lastyear. We send our sincere

condolences to their lovedones. They are not forgotten,and are honoured at everymeeting,

Good wishes from the Branchhave been sent to EdwardMansel Lewis, grandson of ourlate President, Sir DavidMansell Lewis and Lady MaryMansel Lewis, on beingaccepted at Sandhurst. We aresure he will have a long andwonderful career. A big thank you is sent toeveryone who has generouslydonated to the Afghanistanappeal and also to the Branchmembers, it is greatlyappreciated, and we send oureternal thanks. We alsoappreciate the stalwart workcarried out by the Battalion intheir gruelling tour ofAfghanistan. WELL DONE LADS!

Our new President has offered

BRANCH REPORTS

BRANCH REPORTS

LLANELLI BRANCH

(Formed 1974)

President: Mr John HardingChairman: Major E Pridham MBETreasurer: Vernon Jones (22217890)Secretary: Alan Cunningham (24125105)

197 Cockett Road CockettSwansea SA2 0FH

Telephone: 01792 554151 (Home) (Work: 07976971336)E-mail: [email protected]

Members of the Battalion visiting the branch on return from AfghanistanRunners Up - Darts & Shoot Maindy Barracks, Cardiff

Members at a Branch Meeting

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to make available his home inIlston, The Gower, for ourBranch Luncheon / Dinner onSaturday 4th June 2011. This isa truly lovely setting, and mostgenerous of the President. Ifyou would like to attend thenplease let me know ASAP.

We send our apologies to theAssociation for being unable toattend the Darts and ShootingCompetition this year, due toevents which were beyond our

control. I appreciate that a lotof time and effort goes intothese events, and it is rathersad when Branches do notturn up.

Our Branch meetings are heldon the last Tuesday of everymonth at the Naval Club,Swansea Road, Llanelli, (noDress code, casual if you like)and we welcome old and newfaces.

Members of the branch at Ludlow

BRANCH REPORTS

BRANCH REPORTS

Welcome to the New Year,our best wishes go to our

serving, as well as our retiredcomrades and families; wehope you all have aprosperous, healthy andwealthy New Year.

Our meetings continue to be

LONDON BRANCH

(Formed 1926)

President: Lieutenant Colonel C F B StephensChairman: A H Doughty BEM (2741552)Treasurer: Douglas Wilcox (2739697)Secretary: Jeff Heenan (23523251)

27 Mount GardensHarrogateN Yorkshire HG2 8BS


Our meetings in 2011(In 2011 London Branch will celebrate 85 years since itsformation)

Friday 4th February Meet at 4pm then 7pm AnnualGeneral Meeting London Branch

Tuesday1st March St. David's Day Details from RHQ

Saturday 14th May Ladies Lunchtime Party

Friday 10th June AGM Association/Troop meeting

(London Branch First Friday Meeting 4pm onwards)

Saturday 11th June Trooping of The Colour.Details RHQ WG Newsletter

Friday 2nd September First Friday meeting

Friday 7th October First Friday Meeting

Sunday 13th November Remembrance SundayDetails from RHQ

Saturday 3rd December Lunchtime Christmas Party

*Please note that our meetings now start at 4pm and lunches at12 pm. If you are planning to attend our meetings at WellingtonBarracks then please inform the Secretary at least 7 days inadvance, and ensure you have your membership card availablefor entry since the Garrison WO’s and Sergeant’s Mess is nowstaffed by Sodexho

held at London District WO’s &Sgt’s Mess Wellington Barracks,by kind permission of theGarrison Sergeant Major W D GMott, OBE. Welsh Guard

Once again with give thanks toall our Committee Members,and of course our Chairman

and Treasurer Richard Doughtyand Doug Wilcox, for all theirhard work.

Our Chairman Richard DoughtyBEM, organised our June 2010Money Draw which raised over£1600.00 and was donated tothe Welsh Guards AfghanistanAppeal. Well Done Richard, andmany thanks to all who tookpart, and a special thanks toTim Plowden who sold themost tickets again!

Letters of thanks for ourChairman's hard work have

been received from ColonelBonas Regimental Adjutant,and Brigadier P R G Williams,Chairman of the Welsh GuardsAfghanistan Appeal.

A Commemoration service wasagain held at Imber CourtMetropolitan Sports Club inJune 2010. Our thanks to RQMSAndy Campbell who organisedthe event, and members of EastGlamorgan Branch who alsoattended. It was a beautifulsunny day, with a grandattendance of just under 80.

Islwyn Evans who was present on that eventful day at Imber Court.Reading out the names of those who fell. (Photo by Mike Roberts 06)

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The photographs at the ImberCourt Commemoration weretaken by Mike Roberts(23736306). He joined theRegiment in 1959 and foundhis photography skills veryuseful. He chronicled a careerwhich took him all over theworld and was frequentlyasked to take pictures atevents. He became chiefphotographer for all theGuards Divisions in London in1958. He was approached byMajor Ferguson (Duchess ofYork's father) to photographofficers playing polo. One poloplayer was so impressed withhis work that he has sponsoreda limited edition book, to bepublished soon celebrating 40years of polo pictures. Itsforeword has been written byPrince Charles, and the Queenis to receive the first copy. For details of the book pleasecontact Mike on 0208 578 9047.Naturally he has also beenappointed ‘officialphotographer to the LondonBranch!

Sadly during 2010 somemembers have passed away,our thoughts and condolencesgo to their loved ones. Theirnames are entered in theMemoriam section of theMagazine.

Following the RemembranceSunday Parade, we again

paraded at HM Tower ofLondon, thanks to YeomanWarder (Ex RQMS) Idwal Bellis,and watched with greatinterest the Ceremony of theKeys, several of us having doneit before. (Some with a 303 rifleand one or two with a cross-bow!)

Sunday 26th September sawthe Dedication of a Memorialto Major General PeterRaymond Leuchars CBE.(Former President of LondonBranch) in the Royal MilitaryChapel (The Guards' Chapel)Wellington Barracks. Presentwas Mrs Gill Leuchars, her sonand family, Colonel T C S BonasB.A. Regimental Adjutant, Lt.Colonel C K Antelme DSO. CO 1WG. and Mr and Mrs DouglasWilcox London Branch.

The Branch has been able tosponsor various functionsduring 2010. I wish to thankyou on behalf of the committeefor your support and kindness.Donations and subscriptionsalways welcome!

We continue to encouragemore retired Welsh Guards tosupport the Association,whether at our meetings inLondon or the various eventsthat take place around thecountry. We do need youngermembers in London Branch,but appreciate the difficultiesand the costs of attending the

meetings. The Association ingeneral is looking at ways toencourage people to attendmeetings throughout thecountry.

Sadly the Sub Branch meetingsat Bristol are no more due tovarious factors. Our thanks toAlan Ridgewell who organisedthe meetings for several years.The remaining members nowmeet at the Royal British Legionin Staple Hill, with other GuardsRegimental Associations.

Thanks must also go to RonPerrin (2741152) who still holdsthe fort at Eastbourne wherehe is Secretary of TheGuardsmen's Club. Ron can becontacted on 01323 840754 fordetails of meetings of the clubin Eastbourne.

We had another very beautifulRace Day at Ludlow in 2010,and recommend it to allmembers. Our thanks go toCaptain David Davies for all thehard work in organising what

is now an established excellentevent.

Our 2010 Christmas Lunch wasagain well attended, allowingour members to enjoythemselves during theafternoon, dining, dancing andcavorting which enabled themto be home before lights out -unfortunately we have torestrict the numbers to 80 sowe recommend early bookingfor these events.

We are considering having anInternet Web Page for LondonBranch Events/Notices etc. Ifyou have access to a computerand are interested, can you letthe Hon. Sec know so we cansee if it is feasible?

Our yearly thanks to BrianKeane and Major Keith Oultramat Maindy Barracks and RQMSAndy Campbell, L/Sgt ShaneBrandon and Yvonne Mitchellat RHQ for all the help andassistance during the year

BRANCH REPORTS

BRANCH REPORTS

MERTHYR TYDFIL BRANCH

(Formed 1953)

President: Captain Harry Legge-BourkeChairman: Grant Harper (2734772)Treasurer/Secretary: Errold Jones (24581438)

18 Marshall CrescentPenydarrenMerthyr Tydfil CF47 9JA

Telephone: 07903417048Email: [email protected]

in the town centre andsurrounding streets wasunbelievable, with thousandssupporting our Troops. Thesalute was taken outside theTown Hall by the Mayor, withthe whole of the Council insupport. A fantastic buffetwith liquid refreshments was

Another year has passed forthe Merthyr Tydfil Branch (F

Troop). It has been a busy andexciting one for us all.

We started the year with theknowledge that Number TwoCompany of the Welsh Guardswas honouring us by marchingthrough the town. The turn-out

Association Standard Bearers Neville Hamer - Merthyr Tydfil Branchand Jeff Heenan - London Branch

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later laid on for the lads at thenearby Merthyr Tydfil RugbyClub, which was sponsored bythe Council - this was obviouslyreceived with greatenthusiasm!

At the AGM, our Secretary, oneof Merthyr’s stalwarts, JimmyManning, decided it was timefor him to ‘stand down’ asSecretary/Treasurer. The officewas taken over by Errold Jones,who knows it is going to be ahard if not impossible act tofollow. Jim will be called uponfor his knowledge andknowhow for some time tocome. We cannot thank himenough for his unselfishcontribution towards to theBranch.

Then came Veterans Day,which was very well attendedby Branch members as well asmembers of the public. AService was held at St David’sChurch in the town centre, withrefreshments later at theMayor’s Parlour.

The Afghanistan Appeal reallytook off in the town, and Mr

Jimmy Manning handed over acheque for £5100 to ColonelBonas at the Association AGMat Wellington Barracks. TheWristbands are in greatdemand throughout MerthyrTydfil, and are still selling well.

Members of the Branch had agreat day at the Darts andShooting Competition atMaindy Barracks, with JohnJohnson winning the JerryGreenstock (over 70’s shooting)

We are still holding our Socialevenings on the third Saturdayof each month at the MerthyrRailway Club. This has been astruggle of late, but we hope toget it back on course soonerrather than later. All arewelcome.

Our meetings continue to beheld on the first Monday ofevery month at the Ex-Servicemen’s’ Club, Merthyr,commencing 20 00hrs. Thisyear we are fortunate in havinga few new members, and theBranch is looking healthy.Members old and new aremore than welcome.

John Johnson with the Gerry Greenstock Cup 2010

MIDLANDS BRANCH

(Formed 1953)

President: Colonel S C C GaussenChairman: R C Jaynes (2739272)Treasurer/Secretary: Keith Bartlett (23523202)

6 Athelstan RoadBattenhallWorcester WR5 2BWTel: 01905 355233

It has been a quiet year for theMidland Branch, which

makes writing the annual

report more difficult.

Unfortunately most of our

faithful members are now in

their seventies and eighties. Of

course, with advancing age

come health problems –

although I must emphasise,

that this does not apply to

everyone.

Sadly we lost a very popular

member of the Branch this

year. Tom Kennedy (2738611)

died on 13th June aged 85.

Tom was a regular member at

our Dinners and will be sorely

missed by us all. He served in

the Prince of Wales’s Company,

and received the Military Cross

for gallantry during action in

Normandy in 1944.

We had a reasonable turn-out

for St David’s Day at Aldershot

this year. It was a most

enjoyable day meeting up with

old friends, and of course

spending time with the

Battalion.

The Branch Christmas Lunch

was held at the Whitehouse

Hotel, Worcester. We had quite

a good attendance, and

needless to say, a great time

was had by all.

Our official Branch Lunch was

held on Sunday 18th April

2010, again at the Whitehouse

Hotel. We continue to have

reasonable turn-outs, but rely

on other Branches and guests

to swell our ranks. We were

well looked after by the Hotel

staff, which helped to ensure a

highly successful day.

Our next Branch Lunch will be

held at the Whitehouse Hotel,

Worcester (now becoming our

regular venue!) on Sunday 17th

April 2011, so please remember

to put it in your diaries. We will

also be organising our

Christmas Lunch, at a time to

be announced.

The President, Chairman and

Secretary would like to thank

all members for their support

throughout the year. Our

thanks also go to Brian Keane

and all the team at Cardiff for

all the work they do to help the

Branch.

BRANCH REPORTS

BRANCH REPORTS

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BRANCH REPORTS

BRANCH REPORTS

MONMOUTHSHIRE BRANCH

(Formed 1920)

President: Captain D M DaviesChairman: Alan Mountjoy (239297747)Secretary/Treasurer Steve Liversage BEM (24141822)

7 Shaw Close, Ebbw Vale , NP23 6QQTel: 01495 302567 E mail: [email protected]

The Branch celebrated its90th anniversary in 2010

which added to the enjoymentof its usual functions. Therewere major changes in theadministration and wewelcomed a new President –only the sixth in 90 years – inCaptain David Davies ofChepstow who had been VicePresident following hisretirement as AssistantRegimental Adjutant after 46years of service to theRegiment. He took over fromCaptain William Prichardwhose business base is inRussia and the Ukraine, as aresult of which he reluctantlystepped down as President.Coming from a famous WelshGuards family he gave us greatsupport and we acknowledgeall he did for the Branch.

Steve Liversage was appointedBranch Secretary at the AGM inFebruary 2010 which, as usual,was held in Abergavenny TownHall where the Mayor gave theBranch a Civic Reception. Steve,born in Cheshire, lives in EbbwVale and had attained the rankof Company Sergeant Majorwhen he retired in 1993 after27 years service.

The work of Branch officersover nine decades cannot bepraised enough and they havebeen, and still are, supportedby an enthusiasticmembership. Branches formthe Association, they maintainthe traditions of the Regimentin their areas and withoutthem there would be noAssociation. They have neverbeen more important than

they are now, they deal withreal people and deservepractical support. Attendancesat the monthly meetings variesbut undoubtedly there is adecline which must bearrested. There is goodcommunication between aBranch and its members viathe six monthly newsletters butnothing matches attendingmeetings which are mini-Reunions.

We meet every month on thesecond Thursday at The AngelHotel, Abergavenny except inMay and October when themeeting is held at the CapelHotel, Bargoed and Februarywhen the AGM takes place afew yards from The Angel inthe Town Hall.

St. David’s Day 2010 was spentwith the Battalion and thosewho went to Aldershotenjoyed it very much. Meetingserving Guardsmen at thevarious marches in Welsh citiesand towns to mark the cominghome of the Battalion fromAfghanistan were very movingand an opportunity to bringtogether both halves of theRegiment. As one oldermember said, “They are thesame as we were.”

Members attended thesummer event in Glanusk Parkthe proceeds of which went tothe Welsh Guards AfghanistanAppeal Fund, and also ArmedForces Day in Cardiff whichturned out to be a late night forthe fitter and moreadventurous.

Our President organises theAssociation Race Day at Ludlowwhich is another mini-Reunionattracting Welsh Guardsmenfrom far and wide. Aknowledge of horses is notnecessary as the bookmakersgenerally win anyway, but it isa really good day out in awonderful setting.

Our two main lunches arefamily occasions and alwayswell supported. The Springlunch in the Maes Manor Hotel,Blackwood was excellent as italways is and once again ourfriends from the MidlandsBranch were there. We attendtheir lunches, their attend oursin the Spring and December.Our pre-Christmas lunch inEbbw Vale Rugby Club wasagain a success and at thispoint the generosity ofmembers in providing raffleprizes and buying tickets atmonthly meetings and all thesocial functions must bementioned. It is our mainsource of income and is quiteremarkable, showing theloyalty and practical support ofthe membership.

The 2010 Association Day atMaindy Barracks, Cardiff waswell supported and weentered teams for the dartsand the shooting competitionsbut without success althoughPaul John came second in theindividual shooting . Takingpart was the main thing and itwas a great Reunion in itself.

One tradition we keepfaithfully is the men’s ReunionDinner which since 1980 hasbeen held at our HQ in TheAngel Hotel, Abergavenny. As itwas our anniversary year the2010 Dinner was rather specialwith Colonel Bonas as chiefguest. He was there in threeroles, President of theAssociation, RegimentalAdjutant and Branch member.There were more servingGuardsmen there than everand they included CaptainSpencer Smith, GarrisonSergeant Major Mott, RSMMonaghan, RQMS WarrenWilliams and RQMS AndrewCampbell.

Major Adrian Davies, who nowruns the CCF at Harrow School,paid a first visit and we hope to

Pre-dinner drinks at the reunion.Left to right: Bryn Pennock, Alan Mountjoy, Roy Lewis & Captain David Davies

105


see him again, Ian McPhersoncame from Camberley, RayCumbley from Cornwall andLen Brooks and Mervyn Delvefrom across the Severn. ThePresident gave a specialwelcome to the Mayor ofAbergavenny, CouncillorNorma Watkins and to showhow close we are to the localBorough Council, two formerMayors also came.

The Branch Chairman, AlanMountjoy, presented theMonmouthshire Branch Trophyto Welsh Guards Sportsman ofthe year 25163525 LanceCorporal John Sanigar, aRhondda man who excels inboth rugby codes. It was a

busy night for Steve Liversageand assistant treasurer RonOliver of Abergavenny. Theatmosphere was just right andseveral generations ofGuardsmen were reunited inthe true meaning of the word.

With so much going onnationally and at Branch levelthere is a variety of events tosuit everyone, but the mainobject of a Branch remains thesame, to get together withfellow Guardsmen. In the lastfifty years especially theBranch has been to theforefront of all that is best inRegimental friendship. Nowwe look forward to ourCentenary.

MONTGOMERY/SHROPSHIRE BRANCH

(Formed 1950)

President: Mr R G P PlowdenChairman: J O Williams (23860183)Treasurer: Lt Col B D Morgan MBESecretary: Captain R J D Parry

10 GrangefieldsShrewsburyShropshire SY3 9DE

As another year rapidlypasses by, we look back

over a successful year for theBranch. It has also been thefirst year in post for our newPresident, who has settled invery well.

A fond farewell and gift waspresented to the outgoingPresident, Captain Sir BevilleStanier Bt, at our ChristmasLunch. Sir Beville took over asPresident from his father thirtythree years ago, and hassupported the Branch to themaximum during his tenure.He spent many hours travellingfrom his home inBuckinghamshire, keeping intouch with the Branch, and

attending functions, meetingsand presentations. He kindlydonated the ‘Stanier Trophy’, asilver trophy which is played forannually at the Association Golfmatch held in our area, andwhenever possible, wouldmake himself available topresent it to the winner. Allmembers of the Branch willlook forward to the continuedfriendship, and meeting him atfuture functions, as he hasbeen made a Life Member ofthe Branch. We are all mostgrateful for the support anddedication he has shown to theBranch over the years, and wewish him well in his retirement.We welcome Mr Roger Plowdento the appointment of

President. He served with theBattalion in the mid 70’s withNo 3 Company.

In December 2009, members ofthe Branch attended a Service ofDedication to the HouseholdDivision at the NationalArboretum at Alrewas,Staffordshire. The followingmembers attended: Lt. ColBrian Morgan MBE., NormanEdwards (Branch StandardBearer), John Williams 83 andBrian Jones. They were joinedby many others from allRegiments of the HouseholdDivision for the Service, whichdedicated a Garden ofRemembrance to all membersof the Division who have losttheir lives in Operations orTraining since the end of theSecond World War.

In February, we had a lunch tocelebrate St David’s Day at ourregular venue just outsideWelshpool. This was wellattended but sadly could be thelast one held there since thevenue may be closing. OurAnnual Lunch was held in July,at the Wroxeter Hotel, justoutside Shrewsbury. We weredelighted to have as our guest,Major Guy Stone, who was theBattalion’s Second inCommand, and also the Officercommanding No 3 Companyduring the Battalion’s recenttour of duty on OP HERRICK.After lunch, it was extremelyinteresting listening to his

presentation of the exploits ofNo 3 Company during this Tourof Duty.

September was the time toparticipate in the AssociationDarts and ShootingCompetition in Cardiff. We couldonly get together four membersto attend, namely Dave Myatt,Norman Shuker, John Bates andmyself. We made the effort torepresent the Branch in theShooting, but failing this year tobring back any silver! However,it is about taking part, and theevent was very well supported.It was good to see so manyAssociate members present,making it a most enjoyable day.

This year the Christmas functionwill be held at the WynstayHotel Oswestry, on Sunday 5thDecember. We are also planninga lunch for St David’s Day onSunday 20th February 2011(venue to be decided). TheBranch Lunch, which is ourmain event, will be held at theWroxeter Hotel, Nr Atcham, onSunday 26th June 2011 – a littleearlier than usual.

That brings to conclusion thenotes for this year. All that is leftis to wish all Welsh Guardsmenpast and present a very happyChristmas and a healthy andprosperous New Year. We lookforward to seeing you all at theBiennial Dinner at Wrexham inApril, and also at many otherevents planned for 2011.

Past President, Capt. Sir Beville Stanier BTwelcomes the New President, Mr Roger Plowden.

BRANCH REPORTS

BRANCH REPORTS

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BRANCH REPORTS

BRANCH REPORTS

NORTH AMERICA BRANCH

(Formed 1986)

President/Caretaker Percival ‘Dai’ Tilley

33841 N E Haugen RoadNewberg, Oregon 97132USA

Things ain’t wot they used tobe. We have not circled the

wagons during the past year.My lines of communication toour members living on theprairies, the mountains andthe Florida swamps have beenseverely interrupted. The veryhot summer created forestfires that made it difficult forthe smoke signals to getthrough. Drum Sergeant StanCrocker wanted to set up a lineof empty oil barrels across thecountry from Toronto to thePacific Ocean so that he couldrattle out messages inaccordance with the Brigade ofGuards manual “emergencymessage procedure when thesmoke signals are knackered”.

We have a bit of a problem inthe Gulf of Mexico whensomeone tried to refuel theirboat in the dark withoutpaying, and left the cap off. Ithappened once before in aPontypridd National Benzolepetrol station, when the hoselever broke, but no-one madesuch a fuss about it. On top ofthat, it polluted the River Taff atYnysangharad park to theextent that the skinny dippingafter the pubs shut wasbanned.

Ron Bartram, Lance bloke, 2ndBtn (Little Iron Men) London,Ontario, is the unofficialBranch Canuck InformationOfficer. He not only has up todate information on all WelshGuards living in Canada, US

and the Bahamas, he also‘keeps tabs’ on Coldstream andGrenadier Branch members.He is a one man ‘Brigade ofGuards Reunited. I think hemisses those halcyon days of1940, sleeping on the floor ofan empty stockbrokers’ housein West Byefleet and listeningto the ack-ack guns doing theirnightly routine firing at theLuftwaffe who were on theirway to London. He still hasfond memories of taking hisgirlfriend to army rationpicnics on the banks of theBasingstoke Canal andwatching the bovine manurebarges glide by, taking theircargo to Pirbright. Hisgirlfriend had a War Officecontract breaking in armyboots for Grenadiers withtender feet. She also testeddifferent shades of blanco ascamouflage make-up for theATS, our wonderful ladiesarmy.

Sadly, very sadly, the Grenadierand Coldstream North AmericaBranches will have to followour footsteps into ‘suspendedanimation’ or some otherretirement, due to lack ofmembership. American andCanadian immigration lawsseem to be the problem. GregNorman, ColdstreamChairman, told me that theyhave cancelled the combinedColdstream and Grenadierfunctions in Toronto, includingthe Christmas Dinner, due tolack of members attending.

Life goes on in these ‘ereYewnited States’ regardless.Bottled store water is moreexpensive than beer andpetrol, very few people here inthe Pacific North West wear atie, dogs are considered familymembers, not pets, 120channels on TV and morecoming, dentists corner themarket in the medicalprofession , and you don’t haveto say “I thank you Sir for leaveto speak”, but you have to beover 21 and show some ID tobuy a beer.

Every morning a flock of wildturkeys sit on the road near ourhouse, and they can be veryreluctant to move. If you getout of the car to move themthen you leave yourself open toa violent attack from the Tomturkey. He actually tried to getinto my car one day (You don’t

often get this when you leaveyour house in Port Talbot). Veryshortly the deer will beheading down the mountainfor their winter stay in thevalley. Their trails crossing themain road are clearly marked,but you still have to be warythat one does not pop out ofthe trees. This morning I had toslow down for three ravenshaving breakfast on some roadkill.

I recently had a chat on thephone with RSM Stuart ‘Charlie’Payton. He is recovering from aserious staircase accident. Onparade he could ‘put you in thebook’ with his back towardsyou!

That’s about it from theColonies. CYMRU AM BYTH

(Dai Tilley, 2735242, No 4 Coy2nd Battalion)

NORTH WALES BRANCH

(Formed 1936)

President: J Harrop Esq. MBEChairman: G. Binnie (24060777)Treasurer: M Mears (2740728)Secretary: Dave Webb (23523061)

2 Arran DriveRhylNorth Wales LL18 2NSTel: 01745 334340E-mail: [email protected]

December kicked off ourfunctions, starting with the

Christmas Lunch and Draw,and our President thanked allfor making it another success:Llandrillo College Students area credit to young people andturned out an excellent 5course lunch with silverservice. B. Williams 1600 wonthe Top Prize, a Television andGwyn Evans was presentedwith the John Harrop Cup for

the Best Branch Shot at theDarts and ShootingCompetition 2009.

Twenty six members made thetrek to join the Battalion inAldershot for the celebrationsof St David’s Day. We stayed atthe Holiday Inn, and used theSergeants’ Mess in theBarracks, courtesy of theoutgoing Regimental SergeantMajor M. Monaghan. We werealso fortunate to witness the

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handover at 23.59 1st March tothe incoming R.S.M. A. Robertsfrom North Wales

Y Ddraig Goch was flyingproudly as the massed ranks ofthe Welsh Guards turned outfor what was a spectacularhomecoming parade in NorthWales. The Maes in Caernarfonwas the centre of the action onWednesday, March 24, asPrince of Wales’s Companymarked the completion of theirtour of duty in Afghanistan lastyear. It was the only place inNorth Wales on the tour whichwe had the Freedom of theTown. The Regimental Colourswere carried by Lt. T.Thompson whose parentsdrove up from Mid Wales to seetheir son carry the Colours.

More than 150 troops took partin the parade which started atthe Town’s barracks andwound its way down StrydLlyn to form up in front of thenew Fountain and Cenotaphfor the address and inspection.The other side of the Maes wasfull of stands and displays togive people a glimpse of thework of the Welsh Guards,which contained examples ofvarious weapons currently inuse by the Army. There wasalso a climbing wall, wherepeople where able to try outtheir climbing skills under thestrict supervision of expertinstructors, and also a laserrange.

The Mayor of Caernarfon,Hywel Roberts, thanked thepeople and business owners ofCaernarfon for their support forthe Regiment, by waving theirWelsh flags. He said that thiswas a really spectacular day forCaernarfon, and by the size ofthe Crowds who turned out inlarge numbers to show theirappreciation, he wasoverwhelmed and proud thatthe people of Caernarfonsupported his call. Town

Council Clerk Katherine Owensaid: "Many parents of servingsoldiers were present to showthat the people of Caernarfonand the surrounding areasfully support the WelshGuards”. Residents at PlasMaesincla Home were amongthose showing theirappreciation on the day (manyof them wheelchair users). Theresidents really wanted toshow their appreciation for thework and bravery of thetroops, so a space at the top ofthe steps next to the officialparty was reserved for them inorder they could watch theparade and the inspectionproperly.

On completion of theinspection, the paradeproceeded through the Maes,down to Slate Quay andaround the Castle. The salutewas taken as they passed theCastle steps. (The North WalesBranch Standard was theretogether with the CaernarfonRoyal British Legion Standard.)The parade then passedthrough the Maes on their wayto the Celtic Royal for a civicreception, and on entering thehall, each one of the Battalionon parade was presented witha Lapel Badge by the Council.The final tribute paid by theCouncil was when the Mayorsaid in Welsh, “the Military willeat first from the Buffet”.

On 25th March, hundreds ofpeople gathered in Wrexhamto welcome homecomingsoldiers on parade. The Princeof Wales’s Company assembledat Hightown Barracks forinspection at 11.00 am to begintheir march at 11.30 am. Theymarched from the Barracksalong Kingsmill Road, SalopRoad, Mount Street, YorkeStreet and High Street, wherethe Mayor, Cllr Arwel GwynnJones, took the salute outsidethe Halifax Building Society.

The parade then wound itsway down Hope Street,Queens Street, Queens Squareand to the Guildhall for a civicreception. In his address, MajorGiles Harris, who was awardedthe Distinguished Service Order(DSO), said the support beingshown was all important. Hecontinued, "It's wonderful tobe here and witness the publicsupport. It means a hell of alot. The soldiers were amazingin Afghanistan, they showedhuge courage. In the last 90days we were attacked 140times at close range aroundour perimeter - the boys wereholding the line”. RegimentalSergeant Major Roberts madethe journey up to Wrexham tobe with us on the day (a NorthWalian - diolch Grouch Fawr)The final parade on 26th Marchbrought Rhyl to a halt withnearly a 1000 people here towelcome the lads home, andlocal Schools lining thePromenade towards HighStreet. The inspection wastaken by the Lord Lieutenant ofClwyd, Trefor Jones and TownMayor Glyn Pickering. This wasthe shortest parade to the reliefof P.O.W. Company and theBand! We just managed to getby with the rain holding off forthe March Past, but spirits werenot dampened to the run up.‘Sunny Rhyl’ - what happened!There were 17 Standards onParade, and a special thanks toall the various local ForcesBranches who turned up, andto George Townley for carryingour Standard in my hometown.The reception was held in theTown Hall, and the Mayor, inhis address, said it was a daythat gave Rhyl a lift after thenegatives written in NationalNewspapers about the resort.Major Gallimore, in hisresponse, said that the twoparades that stood out wereMerthyr Tydfil and Rhyl. ‘Seeingso many Veterans from WW2 to

the present day on parade withtheir Standards really gave thelads a Lift’.

3 members attended theGarden Party at BuckinghamPalace this year Terry Mooney,John Vaughan and BillRowlands the feedback fromtheir visit was nothing short of“it was a Fantastic Day”

September was the turn of theannual Battlefield Tour toHechtel, and once again I tookthe Branch Standard.Regimental QuartermasterSergeant A.Cambell and I ledthe Association and Hechteldignitaries’ behind theRegimental Band to the WelshGuards Square. After Lunch wevisited Leopoldsburg Cemeteryfor a wreath laying ceremonyin honour of the Welsh Guardswho fell in Hechtel. A shortservice was held by Willy Priorand the commendation wassaid in Welsh by me.

The Darts and Shoot this yearwas held in Cardiff, and thistime we travelled down bytrain. It was a good day eventhough we did not get anysilverware - we were knockedout by the eventual winners,‘the new kids on the block’,Welsh Guards Reunited. Nevermind always next year!

Since the last Magazine I haveto report the loss of 12members: 22831219 W. Owen;2733828 C.O. Everett; 2741447D. Agaphonoff; 22831624 D.Whiting; 2739439 S. Griffiths;22217761 T.A. Jones; 2736999J.D. Williams; 22831619 F.Hudson; 22218511 D. Hughes;T. Roberts; 22217305 R.Holland, and a former VicePresident of the Branch, OwainLloyd George 3rd Earl ofDwyfor. Our condolences go toall their families and friends.May they all Rest in Peace.

The Branch would like to thankall the staff in RHQ and Cardiff

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for their support over the lastyear. I would also like tomention the outgoingSecretary of Merthyr, JimmyManning, for being a goodsupporter of this uniqueAssociation. We would also liketo welcome Welsh GuardsReunited as the 17th Branch ofthe Association.

Our Newsletters are always onsite

www.welshguardsreunited.co.uk (North Wales Branch) - callin for updates. MonthlyMeetings are still going on:Rhyl 1st Thursday of the monthat the Ffordd Derwen pub,every 4th Wednesday atPrestatyn TA Centre (Bar withmess prices) and the BangorSection on the last Thursdaymonth at the Bulkeley Arms,Menai Bridge.

the year the weather wasbitterly cold as well as windybut I am pleased to report thatour survival rate was 100%.

We ended the year by having ameal in the Caefatri PublicHouse at the end of theDecember. This has nowbecome an annual occurrenceand we have the Manager andStaff to thank for it. As a tokenof our thanks we havepresented the Manager with aRegimental Wall Plaque whichsits proudly on the wall in thepub entrance.

Our AGM was held on Monday11th January 2010. OurPresident Lt-Col “Roddy”Traherne honoured us with hispresence, and as is customary,sat in the chair until theelection of the Committee wascarried out for the coming year,which was again re-elected en-bloc. Sadly our Vice President(21010015) Mr JohnAnderson.MBE. was unable toattend. John is not in the bestof health nowadays and isunable to get to our meetings.

The Secretary attended theSecretaries Meeting on Tues9th February in MaindyBarracks. He found it aninformative Meeting and agood opportunity to meet upwith the Secretaries from theother Branches. On Weds 17thFebruary a number of ourmembers went over the borderto RMAS Shrivenham tosupport the Battalion RugbyTeam in the Army Cup SemiFinals against 3 YORKS (Duke ofWellington’s Regt) which theyduly won. We were warmlywelcomed by our players andthis was much appreciated.Unfortunately no-one couldmake it to the Final but welldone to the players.

March 1st saw a coach load ofmembers at Aldershot for theSt. David’s Day Celebrations

with the Battalion, and a greatday was had by all, (despite usnot being able to find our wayto the Garrison Church in timefor the Service!) The food wasgreat and the beer wasn’t badeither, loads of chat,reminiscing, hand shaking andback slapping as old mates metup for the first time in a longtime, and that sums it up!

On 3rd March theSecretary/Treasurer took offfor New Zealand via Hong Kongfor the rest of the month withhis wife for a holiday with hisson and family in Christchurch,New Zealand. The BranchAccounts have been auditedsince my return and I canconfirm all is in order!

A Detachment from 3 Companymarched through the town ofBridgend on 16th March to arousing welcome. Reportssuggested afterwards thatthere were more people on thestreets than in either Cardiff orSwansea so we are justlyproud of that. We have sinceheard that the Battalion willreceive the Freedom of theBorough when Battalioncommitments allow, and thatwill really be the icing on thecake.

On 17th April we held ourAnnual Dinner Dance, again inthe Masonic Hall, and onceagain there was a healthyattendance of around 80sitting down to Dinner, thenenjoying and dancing to themusic of our resident musicianof many years, Mr Dave Escott.Our Guest of Honour was theBridgend Mayor and Consort.

Friday 23rd April saw theBranch well represented at theBrangwyn Hall, Swansea forthe Combined RegimentalBand and Morriston OrpheusChoir Concert, a great eveningand well worth the travelling.

BRANCH REPORTS

BRANCH REPORTS

OGMORE BRANCH

(Formed 1982)

President: Major T. M. WakefieldHon Chairman: Mr Ray Gorringe (23585533)Hon Secretary/Treasurer: Mr Mike Jones (23523201)

40 Garfield AvenueLitchardBridgend CF31 QA


Due to the pressure ofmeeting the Printers

deadline for the magazine, itinevitably meant we had someevents in 2009 not beingincluded in the final print. Oneof our final acts of 2009 was tovisit the National MemorialArboretum at Litchfield on

Thursday 3rd December 2009for the Service of Dedication forthe Household DivisionMemorial in the presence ofHRH The Duke of Edinburgh,KG.KT. His Royal Highness wasin good form and spoke tomost of our members. As onewould expect at that time of

Final ‘At home’ with the President and family

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We received a shock in earlyJune when our PresidentLieutenant Colonel Traherneinformed us that he intendedto stand down in September2010 as our President. He hasbeen in post for over 10 years,but unfortunately his businesscommitments have forced himto hand over the reins. Luckilywe have got a readyreplacement in Major TimWakefield, a long time friend ofthe Branch and we arefortunate in having him.

Members attended the ArmedForces Day on June 26th inCardiff. It was a good day andwell attended by the otherAssociation Branches, going bythe number of people I met. Incharge inevitably was GarrisonSergeant Major Billy Mott, MVO.It was great to meet theBattalion members eventhough they were ‘cooking’ intheir Home Service Clothingdue to the intense heat.

On Sunday 11th July a partyfrom the Branch went over tothe Royal British Legion inWhitchurch, Cardiff, to supporta Fund Raising Evening for theWG Afghanistan Appeal. It wasnice to meet up with some ofthe Cardiff Branch. Regrettablythis event clashed with theFootball World Cup Final, and

despite it being a wonderfulevening with great artists,attendance inevitably suffered,which was a bigdisappointment for theorganisers.

Weston-Super-Mare was ourdestination on a bright andbreezy Saturday, the 31st Julywith 40 plus of us enjoying theseaside in the West Country.Being just over the border itwas so convenient to have acivilised starting time in themorning and back home earlyenough to still go out forSaturday evening.

Friday 13th August found someof our Committee representingthe Branch at a “Not Forgotten”lunch at the Marriott Hotel inCardiff. Along with membersof other Branches we sat downto a first class lunch and werethen entertained by some ‘oldtime’ music hall entertainersfor about an hour and a half. Itwas a very enjoyable day outand many thanks to BrianKeane for the invitation.

On Sunday 5th September wewere invited to the President’shome near Cardiff, and asusual we descended innumbers. This particularfunction was tinged with somesadness as it was to be our last

with the President and hisfamily as he has now handedover the reins to Major TimWakefield. We marked theevent with the presentation toLt-Col Traherne of a Welshcrystal paperweight engravedwith the WG Regimental Badgeand a Welsh crystal letteropener, both of which heassured us would take pride ofplace on his desk.

On a wet and windy morningin Aberkenfig on Fri 10thSeptember, members attendedan unveiling ceremony of anew ‘Memorial for the Fallen’.Despite the inclement weatherthere was a large turnout ofschool children, civicdignitaries and veterans andafter the religious service, the“Last Post” and “Reveille” wassounded by a bugler from theSouth Wales Police Band. PaulMockett, MBE (22217125) wasin charge of the Military phaseand the Branch Standard wascarried by Ray Gorringe(23585544) whilst the SecretaryMike Jones (23523201) carriedthe Parachute RegimentalStandard (ex Guards Para).

The Darts and ShootingCompetition took place on Sat25th September at MaindyBarracks, Cardiff. We hadenough members attendingthis time (despite the Secretarybeing on sick leave) for us toprovide two Shooting teams offour and a full Darts team. Wedidn’t win anything again thisyear, but continue to hope -maybe next year!

Our Branch AnnualRemembrance Service willagain take place in St. Nolton’sChurch, Bridgend on Sun 24thOctober when we will oncemore pay homage to the fallenWelsh Guardsmen from theBorough. The Service will beconducted by our BranchPadre, The Rev Mike Komor.

Remembrance Sunday will seethe Branch well represented inBridgend and Maesteg. Poppywreaths from the Regimentand the Branch will be laid onthe War Memorials as usual.

A party of us will be going tothe Birmingham Military Tattooon the w/end 26th/27thNovember. Accommodationand transport has beenbooked and confirmed forwhat was described last yearas “outstanding” - can’t wait!

We will finish off our year byhaving an evening meal in theCaefatri Public House after theDecember Meeting which willstart and finish EARLY.(Honest!).

Sadly we have lost thefollowing members during theyear: (23191785) Bob Knight,(23523115) Mike Davies and(22176047) Dick Hancock. Asyou would expect, the Branchprovided a good turn out for allthree at their funerals. Oursincere condolences go out toall the families. Inevitably wehave members and theirspouses who are not in goodhealth and we wish them allthe best.

We still hold our Meetings inthe Caefatri Public House,Bridgend on the 2nd Mondayof the month and once againmay I say you are guaranteed awarm welcome.

Our AGM will be on Mon 14thFebruary 2011, so if you areable please do come along.

The Chairman, Secretary andCommittee would like to thankall the members for theirsupport throughout the yearand especially the LadiesSection at all our meetings andfunctions.

We wish everyone a HappyNew Year and send our thanksand best wishes to all at theCardiff HQ.

BRANCH REPORTS

BRANCH REPORTS

Mike Jones, Hon. Secretary, presenting President with his farewell gifts

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BRANCH REPORTS

BRANCH REPORTS

PEMBROKESHIRE BRANCH

(Formed 1957)

President : Major I B Ramsden MBEChairman: Arthur Ealres (2741413)Treasurer/Secretary: Trevor Warr (2740352)

11 Shakespeare CloseHaverfordwestPembs SA61 1TL

Telephone: 01437 766400

Time marches on – anotheryear and another report for

the Regimental Magazine. Asusual, there is not a lot toreport from Pembrokeshire,and probably will continue tobe the case since we do nothave any young members inthe Branch.

It was heart warming to seethe Regimental Band performon a few occasions in thecounty this year, either as a fullcompliment, or the Corps ofDrums. I am sure they help toinstil pride in the Regiment andin Wales.

The Christmas Draw last yearwas thankfully very successfulsince it is our only source ofrevenue. Appreciation goes toall who sold tickets and for thefew stalwarts on parade. I

hope December 2010 will bejust as successful.

One of our older members, SidElsbury (2734113) commentedon the ‘rolled back capes’depicted on this year’sChristmas card. He remembersdoing Public duties in 1936/7with the Greatcoat folded onthe back, and the cape rolledon the belt, and in 1937, the oldPrince of Wales agreed for thecoat to be replaced by thecape, which was obviouslymuch lighter. Sid wonderswhether this applied to otherRegiments – ANY COMMENTSGENTLEMEN!

Our 53rd AnnualLuncheon/Dinner was held atthe end of September, at ThePlas Hyfred Hotel, Narberth. Itwas an excellent afternoon,

and almost 40 members andguests sat down to lunch.Colonel T Bonas made his usualinformative speech, bringingus all up to date with theRegiment, and was thanked bythe Branch President, Major I BRamsden. During lunch a rafflewas held in aid of theAfghanistan Appeal.

Unfortunately we were unableto muster a team for the Dartsand Shooting Competition heldat Maindy Barracks this year –which is a sign of the times (thespirit is willing but the bodyweak). Sorry Brian, since Iknow you work so hard inorganising these events.

In past issues of the magazine,we have mentioned a few ofour members. If anyonewishes to contact them thenplease get in touch with me.

Jessie James (23172489) – Alan

Sandy (23710801) – RonWilliams (‘Swansea Ron) –Derek Greathead (22831238),served from 1955 to 1977 - TedRees (22217798), now living inWaterlooville, Hants. – BrenenFairburn (2741525) – MajorJohn Evans, DSO, now living inSaltash.

Sadly the Branch has lost threemembers this year, namely,Norman Evans (22831201) diedFebruary, John Morgan fromNew Hedges, Pembrokeshire,died July and lastly, Earl LloydGeorge of Dwyfor, aged 86. Heserved with the 3rd Battalionin Italy. Our sincerecondolences go out to theirloved ones.

Finally, on behalf of thePresident, Committee andMembers of the PembrokeshireBranch, I wish everyone GoodHealth and happiness in 2011.

Members of the Pembroke Committee invited to the Mayor’s Parlour

The year started for mewhen I was elected Branch

Secretary, having been amember for many years. Mythanks go to the members fortheir faith in me.

With great regret we have toannounce the retirement of ourPresident Major Glyn WhiteMBE (Retired). He has been agreat influence to the Branchand has brought it to where it

stands today, which is aflourishing, successful andforward looking Branch. TheMajor has been a great servantto the Branch and the 23 yearshe has been at the helm hasmade many friends, andgreatly respected by all whohave had the pleasure ofknowing him.

The Major, I know, will not beleaving us altogether as he will

SWANSEA & WEST GLAMORGANBRANCH

(Formed 1927)

President: Major Charles Carty MBE TDChairman: Bryn Pennock (23877288)Treasurer: Steve Fisher (24242691)Secretary: Peter Williams (23877300)

12 St Peters StCockettSwansea SA5 5BX

Telephone: 01792 416010Email: [email protected]

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now become an activemember of the Branch.All the members of the Branchand the Welsh GuardsAssociation I know will want usto extend our thanks andappreciation to the Major forhis services to the Association.‘You will be greatly missed Sir’.

Another auspicious occasionwas achieved in the Branch thisyear when Mr Derek Williamscelebrated 25 years of beingour dedicated Standard Bearer.He was presented with a‘certificate of merit’ by ourPresident Major Glyn WhiteMBE (Retired) for such awonderful achievement, I alsohad the pleasure of presentingDerek with tokens of ourappreciation from all hisfriends and colleagues fromthe Branch.

I spoke to Derek at lengthabout his time as StandardBearer and he told me of hisproud and wonderfulmoments, but the highlight ofhis career was at Ypres whenhe carried the Standard to theceremony at the Menin Gatewhen the Branch visited ontheir Battlefield Tour last year.To be there and be able to payhis respects to all the men whohad fallen in the Great Warmeant so much to him andalso to the rest of the memberswho were able to attend thiswonderful Tour.

Derek has been a great servantto the Branch and we wish himall the best for the future andlook forward to him continuingdoing such a splendid job.

The Darts and ShootingCompetition was once again asuccessful day for the Branchwhere our Shooting team won

the day. Well done boys. Alsocongratulations to KarlTrenchard for winning ‘Bestshot’ - it was a pleasure tocome home with somesilverware! (Unfortunately Iwas not able to attend myselfotherwise we would have hadthe Darts Trophy as well !!!!!).So we now all look forward tonext year’s competition, WellDone Swansea Branch.

This year the Branch movedlocation of our meeting place -from the RWF Club to:John Chard VC House, 108 FieldSquadron Royal Engineers TACentre, Richardson Street,Swansea.

We have been givenpermission to use the OR Mess,which the members aredelighted with. I would like tothank Captain Steve Gadd MBE(Retired) for letting us use thisfacility.

The Branch takes greatpleasure in welcoming ourNew President Major CharlesCarty MBE TD (Retired) and weall look forward to the futurewith him at the helm. We werevery lucky to have had MajorCarty already as a BranchMember, so the transition forhim and us will benefit theBranch immensely. Thank youSir and congratulations onyour appointment.

On a personal note, as my firstyear as Branch Secretary Iwould like to thank all themembers who have offeredtheir help, especially MajorWhite MBE, our Chairman MrBryn Pennock and theSecretary General Mr BrianKeane,which has been greatlyappreciated.

BRANCH REPORTS

BRANCH REPORTS

Welsh Guards Reunited hascontinued to go from

strength to strength over thepreceding 12 months. Nowwith 2,499 registeredmembers (as at 27 Sep 10),10,940 photographs in ourgalleries and on average 100+visitors a day, communicationwithin the wider Welsh Guards(national and international)community could not be better(or quicker or easier).

Aside from all the membershiptraffic on-line, the finding oflost friends and relatives andthe camaraderie once againbeing enjoyed by many, thehighlight of the WGR year mustbe the official acceptance ofWGR into the Welsh Guardsfamily as the 17th Branch of the

Welsh Guards Association(WGA). This honour wasbestowed on us on 16 Aug2010 following some monthsof consultation and dialoguewith the Regimental Adjutant(Col Tom Bonas) and theAssociation Secretary General(Brian Keane).

This is a wonderfulachievement and recognisesthe real impact WGR can (anddoes) have within the WelshGuards community. It alsomeans that the WGR Standard,which was commissioned andfunded by WGR memberssome months ago can now beused in public (it’s first sadouting was at the repatriationof Lance Corporal Joseph Pool 1RRS on 9 Sep 10). The

WELSH GUARDS REUNITED BRANCH

(Formed 2010)

Webmaster: Mike Cummins (24472964) - WalesPresident: Captain (Retd) John Powell - AustraliaChairman: Major (Retd) Martin Browne BEM - SpainTreasurer/Secretary: Mike Wakely (24076183) - Wales

1a Hawthorne HillTrefechanMerthyr Tydfil CF48 2ES

Telephone: 01685 371 024

Christmas 1956 - Chelsea Barracks. Back row L-R: CSgt??, Mrs Ayres, 75 Jones underSwill Phillips’ arm, ??, Maj N Webb Bowen, Marge Darlington, Dagwood Darlington, ??Front Row L-R: Lt CJ Dawnay, Mrs ??, Ann Tagart QA, Val Evans. Would appreciate it ifanyone could identify those marked with a ? and let us know.

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traditional Blessing Ceremonyfor the new Standard tookplace on 31 Aug in StBartholomew’s Church,Wootton Bassett, with the RevJan Delaney officiating and ahandful of WGR members andthe Association SecretaryGeneral present.

WGR is very fortunate to havean excellent standard Bearer inthe shape of Ray “Yar” Skinner(22329571) Ray has taken it onhimself to represent WGR (andtherefore the Regiment) at over105 repatriations throughWootton Bassett and pays duerespect to every serviceman (orwoman) returning home viathis saddest of routes.

As WGR membershipcontinues to swell, so doesdemand for tickets to attend,what is becoming the “not tobe missed” WGR AnnualReunion. Arrangedmagnificently by Stu Owens09, Paul Morgan 71, and RoyMorgan 70, and Mike andMandy Wakely. The event, heldin the Seabank Hotel,Porthcawl over the weekend22/23 Jan 2010, was a sell out.Friends who had been apartfor many years were certainlyreunited, as such notableWelsh Guardsmen as Bill“Sledge” Evans 33, Duncan

Stewart and Big Len Davies (toname but a few) wereamongst the 250 (plus) toattend.

Planning is well underway fornext years’ reunion in the samevenue, being held over theweekend 4/5 Feb 2011 andeven though there is 5 monthsstill to go, there are already 187names on the list to attend – itlooks like a good weekend isassured.

WGR has had the sad duty tocontain the details of manyWelsh Guardsmen who havepassed away in this last year

and we simply could notmention all by name here. Itwould be remiss of us howeverif we did not mention a dearfriend who had becomeknown as the Granny of WGRand who passed away on 6Aug 2010. Val Evans, wife offormer RSM Dan Evans (1944-1967), was an amazing lady(Val is bottom right in thephoto taken in 1956). Sheshowed the utmost dedicationto Dan, visiting him as often asshe could in his Nursing Homeand despite her hectic life andher own ill, always enjoyed thebanter and company offered toher on the internet by WGR. Hermany posts and kindly wordsof encouragement are missedconsiderably and she have lefta gap in our membershipwhich can never be filled.

The Welsh Guards Ball held inthe Glanusk Park Estate,Crickhowell over the weekend17/18 Jul was another hugeWelsh Guards event supportedby WGR. Organised by our veryown Adrian “Swill” Hinder,Brian “Fonz” Elliott and with thekind permission of HarryLegge-Bourke, a fantastic eventwas held within the estate,

bringing Welsh Guardstogether in a massive fundraising effort for the WelshGuards Afghanistan Appeal(WGAA). Indeed the WGAA hasbeen the focus for much fundraising within WGR, not least,the gargantuan effort by David“Spider” Webb (also N WalesBranch WGA) who managed,somehow, to pull together asuperb collection of songs toproduce a magnificent charityCD on behalf of the WGAAreleased under the WGR label -such a massive undertaking soimpressively executed.

Another superb fund raisingevent, using the power of theinternet (WGR) to pull the eventtogether, but this time in aid ofthe Ty Hafan and Ty Gobaithchildren’s Hospices, was the210 mile sponsored bike ridefrom North to South Wales. Thebrainchild of Phil Williams 41,he and his team from WGRmanaged to raise a staggering£3441 for the hospices.

There are many “unsungcontributors” on WGR (toomany to mention individually)who give their time and effortfreely in the best interests ofthe Welsh Guards, none more

Ray (Yar) Skinner (22329571) Standard Bearer

WGR Team at Porthcawl 2010

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so than George Griffiths(23908772) and Mike Maloney(24173394), who havemanaged to obtain and donatea quantity of wheelchairs onbehalf of WGR to variousorganisations for their use. Atremendous effort and onewhich epitomises everythingthat is good about the selflessattitude of our members.

WGR’s first foray into thecompetitive arena of theAssociation Darts and Shootcompetition in MaindyBarracks on Saturday 25 Sep

2010 resulted in WGR pullingtogether a team of such ability,talent and physical staminathat they did us all proud andcame away as the 2010Association Darts Championsand holders of the AssociationCup. Further success in theShooting Competition resultedin WGR becoming Runners Up,and for Stuart Owens 09 asrunner up of the best individualshot. There was also anindividual trophy for Tony “Rio”Price 69 for the highest

The Trophy has beenpresented to the Welsh

Guards Sportsman of the Yearsince 1967. The first winnerwas David Bowen, arguablythe greatest post-war WelshGuards forward.

The 2010 winner is also arugby player but with a slightdifference, he plays both codesof the game.

25163525 Lance Corporal JohnSanigar comes from Penygraigand is a backrow forward inUnion and loose forward inLeague. He has played for theBattalion, Army ‘A’ and the WalesAmateur Rugby League side.

He was presented with thetrophy at the MonmouthshireBranch Annual Reunion Dinnerin October 2010.

BRANCH REPORTS

BRANCH REPORTS

Cycle Fundraising Event

Darts & Shooting Team 2010

MONMOUTHSHIRE BRANCH TROPHY2010

individual score (135) in theDarts, A superb first effort byour teams and one which willno doubt wish to be avengedby the other Branches at nextyear’s competition.

In closing, special mentionmust be made of our superbteam of Moderators; AllanRogers (24220048), MandyWakely, Mike Maloney(24173394), Stuart Owens(24632609) and Ralph Fear(24428514) who ensure fairplay and that standards aremaintained on site, that anypotential problems are nippedin the bud and that WGRcontinues its’ climb “Onwardsand upwards”

Chairman Alan Mountjoy presenting theMonmouthshire Branch Trophy to L/Cpl John Sanigar from Penarth

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DARTS & SHOOTING

DARTS & SHOOTING

The 2010 competitions tookplace at Maindy Barracks

Cardiff on Saturday September25th. It began on a ‘knife edge’when:- 1. I was informed the

Instructors could not accessthe DCCT computer, so heart in mouth, began tracking down the computer experts in campto help. Finally, after a two hour delay, we were ‘back on track’.

2. The dart board had been moved to another location -but without an overhead light!

3. Nobody could operate the electronic counter attached to the dart board.

WELSH GUARDS ASSOCIATIONDARTS & SHOOTING COMPETITIONS 2010

Brian Keane

FINALLY – the light wassorted, and, after locatingsome ‘expertise’ among ourmembers, we could use thecounter. (but, by this time, Ihad torn out the little hair I hadleft on my head!) THINGSDEFINITELY COME IN THREES.

I am pleased to report that therest of the day went without ahitch, and it was heartwarming to see so manyAssociation members present,(over eighty) making bothdarts and shooting extremelycompetitive. During the day araffle was held, with the prizesdonated by the Merthyr TydfilBranch. £165 was raised whichhas been forwarded to theAfghanistan Appeal.

RESULTS

DARTSWelsh Guards Association CupWelsh Guards Reunited

Abertawe ShieldEast Glamorgan

Highest Individual ScoreTony Price, Welsh Guards Reunited

SHOOTINGLeatham TrophySwansea ‘A’

Runners’- UpWelsh Guards Reunited ‘A’

Aberdare Cup (Best Shot)John Hooper, East Glamorgan

Gerry Greenstock Cup(Best Shot over 70 years of age)John Johnson, Merthyr Tydfil

William Burman Cup (Swansea Only)Karl Trenchard

John Harrop Cup (N. Wales only)Gwyn William

Winners of The Association Cup, Welsh Guards Reunited

Abertawe Shield Runners-up, East Glamorgan Branch

Highest Score (Darts), Tony Price, Welsh Guards Reunited

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DARTS & SHOOTING

DARTS & SHOOTING

Winners of The Leatham Trophy, Swansea A

Leatham Trophy Runners-up, Welsh Guards Reunited

Winner of The Aberdare Cup (Best Shot), John Hooper, East Glamorgan Branch

Winners of The Gerry Greenstock Cup, John Johnson, Merthyr Tydfil Branch

Winner of The William Burman Cup, Karl Trenchard, Swansea Branch

Winner of The John Harrop Cup for highest score, Gwyn Williams

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ASSOCIATION AGM

ASSOCIATION AGM

Present: Mr J Harding,President Llanelli Branch; Mr MWilliams, Secretary AberdareBranch; Mr W Morris, SecretaryCardiff Branch; Mr D Gaul,representing East GlamorganBranch; Mr A Cunningham,Secretary Llanelli Branch; Mr JHeenan, Secretary LondonBranch; Mr J Manning,Secretary Merthyr TydfilBranch; Mr S Liversage,Secretary MonmouthshireBranch; Mr J Williams,representingMontgomery/ShropshireBranch; Mr D Webb, SecretaryNorth Wales Branch; Mr MJones, Secretary OgmoreBranch; Mr M Davies,representing PembrokeshireBranch; Mr P Williams,Secretary Swansea & WestGlamorgan BranchThere were also12 othermembers present.In Attendance: WO2 A Cambell,Headquarters Welsh Guards: Apologies for Absence:Brigadier J F Rickett CBE, VicePresident; S Rhodes Esq.President Aberdare Branch; LtCol. C F B Stephens, PresidentLondon Branch; Colonel S C CGaussen, President MidlandsBranch; P (Dai) Tilley Esq,President North AmericaBranch; Lieutenant Colonel R LTraherne, President OgmoreBranch; Major G White MBE,President Swansea & West

Glamorgan Branch; Captain GTaylor, Battlefield TourOrganiser.Mr N Owen, SecretaryCardiganshire Branch; Mr KBartlett, Secretary MidlandsBranch; Capt. R J D Parry,Secretary Montgomery &Shropshire Branch; Mr W Elliott,Secretary North of EnglandBranch; Mr T Warr, SecretaryPembrokeshire Branch.

Item 1 - President’s Address

The President began themeeting by thanking everyonefor attending, many travellinglong distances. He wasespecially pleased to welcomethe new President of theLlanelli Branch, Mr J Harding.The Association had seen anumber of changes over thelast year with three newBranch Presidents, namely Mr JHarding, for Llanelli, Captain DDavies, Monmouthshire andMajor T Wakefield for Ogmore,who takes over in September.There were also two newSecretaries: Mr S Liversage forMonmouthshire and Mr PWilliams for Swansea & WestGlamorgan.

Battalion and AfghanistanAppeal

Enormous thanks were givento Secretaries and theirmembers for the massivesupport given to the Battalionand the Afghanistan Appeal.

The last eighteen months hadbrought everyone closertogether, which was noticedand appreciated especially bythe Battalion, with massiveturnouts by the Association forthe Freedom Marches, Bandconcerts and of course,Wootton Bassett.To date, the fund stands ataround £606,000, withapproximately £50,000 alreadybeing paid out to bereavedfamilies, and those who havebeen injured.

HRH The Prince of Wales held areception at Highgrove for thenext of kin, and presentedmedals to the families, and, aweek ago there was anunveiling ceremony at theArboretum in Staffordshire forthose who died in 2009. At thisjuncture, J Manning, Secretaryof the |Merthyr Tydfil Branch,presented to the Presidentcheques on behalf of hismembers totalling £5,100 forthe Afghanistan Appeal- thiswas greatly appreciated.

The Battalion has now settleddown, with 3 Companydeployed to the Falklands forthree months. The Battalionheads for Kenya in Novemberfor a couple of months beforemoving from Aldershot toHounslow in the spring. In2012 they are expected toreturn to Afghanistan. ThePresident concluded that theyare in ‘good nick’ and fullymanned.

Item 2 – Minutes of previousmeeting

Confirmation of the minutes ofthe Annual General Meetingheld 12th June 2009 wasproposed by Mr Mike Jones,(Secretary Ogmore Branch)and seconded by Mr AlanCunningham, (SecretaryLlanelli Branch). This wascarried and the minutessigned. There were no mattersarising from the minutes.

Item 3 – Association Events2010

a) Imber Court/Veterans DayBoth these events take placeon the same day, i.e. June 26th.The Secretary General asked MrJ Heenan (London ) whetherImber Court could be changedto a different date in futureyears. He was informed thedecision was up to thecommittee at Imber Court andalso RHQ- it will therefore bediscussed at a later date. TheSecretary of the London Branchalso requested that totalinformation regarding timingsetc be placed in the WinterNewsletter, and this wasagreed.

b) Darts & ShootingCompetition

This will take place(provisionally) at MaindyBarracks, Cardiff on Saturday25th September, subject to the2nd in Command allowing 7people from the Battalion to actas safety officers. (If this is notpossible, the alternative venuewill be Nesscliffe)There will be overnightaccommodation available at anominal cost of £11 per night.

c) Battlefield Tour

Takes place from 9 -14thSeptember, visiting Nijmegen,Arnhem and Hechtel It isbelieved that the tour is fullybooked, but anyone interestedshould contact CaptainGraham Taylor directly sincethere may be cancellations. Theguide will be Brigadier Rickett,and there will be fourmembers from the Battalionpresent. It was hoped to getthe services of the Band atHechtel, but unfortunately theyare unable to attend.

d) Remembrance Sunday

Date, November 14th 2010,and details available from RHQ.HRH The Price of Wales will be

Minutes of the 82ndAnnual General Meeting

Of the Welsh Guards AssociationWellington Barracks London1230 hrs Friday 11th June 2010

President: Colonel T S BonasVice President: Brigadier J F Rickett CBEVice President: R E Lewis EsqTreasurer: Major K OultramSecretary General: B Keane Esq

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attending, but unfortunatelythe Battalion will not beavailable. The SecretaryGeneral enquired whether theBranches would be interestedin running a coach fromMaindy Barracks for the day,and asked if the Secretariescould discuss this with theirmembers.

Item 4 – Association Events2011

a) Biennial Dinner

This takes place in Wrexhamon Saturday April 9th 2011. TheSecretary General thanked MrD Webb (North Wales) forcarrying out the preparatorywork, stating the venueappears to be excellent, withample parking spaces as wellas plenty of nearby overnightaccommodation withinwalking distance. The cost atpresent appears to be in theregion of £26, but there is apossibility this can besubsidised.

It is hoped that the turnout willbe in the region of 250, withthe Branches of Mid and NorthWales supporting in force.

b) Battlefield Tour:To be decided.

c) Darts & ShootingCompetition: -To be decided.

d) Golf

Now run by Martin Griffiths. Heis doing an excellent job, and ifanyone wishes to play or evenjust turn up to support, hiscontact number is in theAssociation Newsletters.

e) Race Day

Continues to be run by CaptainD Davies, and furtherinformation will be available inthe Winter Newsletter.

Item 5 – Afghanistan Appeal

This has already beendiscussed by the President, butMr J Manning (Merthyr)suggested that every Branch

donate £25, and a raffle againbe run at the next Darts andShooting Competition. Mr ACunningham (Llanelli) pointedout he had to speak to hismembers, and Mr J Heenan(London) informed themeeting that the LondonBranch Summer draw this yearwas in aid of the appeal.The President remindedeveryone of the weekend inGlan Usk in July, run by thePresident of the Merthyr TydfilBranch, and so far only 150tickets have been purchased.Mr W Morris (Cardiff) pointedout that people are alwaysloathe to commit and book toofar in advance.

Item 6 – Troop Tickets

The ongoing system ofdistribution in place is stillgoing well, with everyonebeing satisfied with theirallocation.Next year, the preferredBranches are: Midlands,Aberdare, Pembrokeshire,Ogmore.

Item 7 – Christmas Cards

A coloured copy of theChristmas card will be sent outwith the Summer Newsletter.There is always a big demandfrom all Branches of theAssociation. The Presidentsuggested reducing the size byhalf, which will make it a betterquality, but the consensus ofopinion was that the cardremains the same, and thequality did not appear to be anissue. A Cunningham (Llanelli)proposed that the card shouldbe made available at futureAGM’s, and the ARA pointedout that this would not be aproblem. A coloured print ofthe 2011 Christmas card will besent out with the WinterNewsletter, so that memberswill have time to digest it. Mr W

Morris (Cardiff) asked whetherthe cards will still be availableto be picked up at MaindyBarracks, and was assured thatthis would remain so, since itsaves on postage. Mr PWilliams (Swansea) askedwhether a print of the Layingup of Colours could be used infuture years with a write-up onthe inside of the cardexplaining its significance.

Item 8 – Magazine

The Secretary Generalcongratulated Colonel Bonasand Major Keith Oultram onthe excellent Regimentalmagazine produced this yearand this was supported by allpresent. The President repliedthat they are continuallystriving for more articles,especially individual ones fromAssociation members, togetherwith lots of photographs. TheSecretary General reiteratedthat Branch reports shouldalso be accompanied with aphotograph, bearing namesand Regimental numberswhere appropriate.

Mr A Cunningham (Llanelli)requested that names ofAssociate members of otherRegiments be included in the‘In Memoriam’, but it waspointed out that these wereprobably printed in their ownRegiments’ magazines.Deadline for the magazineremains the same, i.e. 30thSeptember. It was unfortunatethat due to difficultcircumstances, printing waslate this year. The Presidentsuggested that St David’s Daywould be a good time forpublication in future.

Before the meeting closed, afew points were mentioned;

1. St David’s Day will probablybe celebrated at Aldershot nextyear.

2. A display of Regimentaliafrom the Welsh GuardsCollection at Oswestry will bedisplayed at Cardiff Castle from20th June for four months. ThePresident wished to thank theband of volunteers from theCollection for their exceptionalgood work in advertising theRegiment in this way.

3. The ARA stated that includedin the Summer Newsletter willbe a proforma askingmembers if they still want tocontinue as a Branch member.

4. Mr A Cunningham (Llanelli)requested that people‘stepping off’ be given detailsof their local Branch. TheSecretary General said that thishas been spoken aboutpreviously, and is being dealtwith.

5. Mr R Doughty (London)complained that people arerequesting to be buried asWelsh Guardsmen when theyhave never been activemembers of a Branch. It waspointed out that this washuman nature, and usually thenext of kin wanting them to beremembered as such

6. Mr J Williams (Mont/Shrop)informed the President thatthey were unable to contactWO1’s and WO2’s affiliated tothe Branch, to invite them totheir lunches. The RQMS repliedthat the Battalion were so busythese days that they wereunable to find time to attendfunctions, but they shouldreply to the invitation.

The President closed themeeting and once againthanked everyone forattending.

Item 9 - Date of next AnnualGeneral Meeting

The date of the next AnnualGeneral Meeting is Friday June10th 2011

ASSOCIATION AGM

ASSOCIATION AGM

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FORECAST OF EVENTS 2011



JANUARY

FEBRUARY4 London Branch AGM, Wellington Barracks, London4/5 Welsh Guards Reunited Reunion, Seabank Hotel, Porthcawl14 Ogmore Branch AGM, Caefrati Public House Bridgend 20 Montgomery/Shropshire St David’s Day Lunch (venue to be decided)

MARCH1 ASSOCIATION ST DAVID’S DAY ALDERSHOT

APRIL9 25th ASSOCIATION BIENNIAL DINNER WREXHAM10 ASSOCIATION RACE DAY LUDLOW17 Midlands Annual Reunion Lunch, The White House Hotel, Worcester

MAY14 London Branch Ladies Lunchtime Party28 Trooping The Colour – Major General’s Review

JUNE4 Trooping The Colour – Colonel’s Review4 Llanelli Branch Luncheon/Dinner ( to be decided)10 ASSOCIATION ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING11 THE QUEEN’S BIRTHDAY PARADE26 Montgomery/Shropshire Luncheon, Wroxeter Hotel, Nr Atcham

JULY28 ASSOCIATION GOLF MEETING, GLYN ABBY, TRIMSAREN

AUGUST24 ASSOCIATION GOLF MEETING, NEWPORT GOLF CLUB NEWPORT

SEPTEMBERASSOCIATION DARTS AND SHOOTING COMPETITION (TBA)

22 ASSOCIATION GOLF MEETING, MILE END GOLF CLUB OSWESTRY30 Cardiff Branch 92nd Annual Dinner St Peter’s Hall Cardiff

OCTOBER29 Monmouthshire Branch Reunion Dinner, The Angel Hotel, Abergavenny

NOVEMBER13 Remembrance Day

DECEMBER3 London Branch Lunchtime Christmas Party9 Cardiff Branch Annual Ladies Night, St Peter’s Hall, Cardiff (TBA)

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IN REMEMBRANCE

IN REMEMBRANCE

In Remembrance

2010 brought the 100th

Anniversary of the Pretoria

Pit Disaster, Westhoughton,

Bolton, Lancashire in which 344

men and boys lost their lives. It was

the 3rd worst explosion in Britain

exceeded by the Universal Collery

explosion at Senghenydd, Mynydd

Eglwysilan, South Wales in 1913

which killed 439 and the Oaks

Colliery, Barnsley, South Yorkshire

in 1866 which killed 334 in the

explosion then a further 27 the

following day involved with rescue

and resuscitation work causing a

total death toll of 361.

The Pretoria Pit was named after

the republics capital city in South

Africa captured by the British in

June, 1900 during the Boer War.

In Memoriam - Êr CôfWe regret to announce that notification has been received of the deaths of the following

22176047 Gdsm R R HancockAged: 72 Died: 26th September 2010 Aged: 79Served: 1953 – 1955

23908644 LSgt B HillmanDied: 15th April 2009 Aged: 62Served:6th August 1964 – 9th February1973

22601106 W R HowleyDied: 19th January 2010 Aged: 76Served:1951-1953

24263877 A W HuntDied: 15th November 2010 Aged: 51Served: 1974 – 1976

D J JeremiahDied: 25th July 2010 Aged: 83

2739305 W H JohnDied: 12th May 2010 Aged: 84

23523540 M H JonesDied: 23rd March 2010 Aged: 67Served: 1960 – 1969

2734320 W L JonesDied: 20th January 2010 Aged: 90Served: 1937 – 1946

23191785 LCpl R KnightDied: 12th May 2010 Aged: 82Served: 27th October 1955 – 9th January1959

22900825 T MoonDied: 12th January 2010 Aged: 74

500603 Col BD Morgan MBEDied: 8th January 2011 Aged: 72Served: 1955-1993

2741454 Gdsm J MorganDied: 25th July 2010 Aged: 82Served: 10th January 1946 – 26th May1948

2741781 DA MorrisDied: 5th January 2010 Aged: 80

3975541 L/Sgt W F PartonDied: 15th July 2010 Aged: 87Served: 1941 – 1946

3975541 L/Sgt W F PartonDied: 15th July 2010 Aged: 87Served: 1941 – 1946

2738804 Sgt M W PhillipsDied: 19th August 2010 Aged: 87Served: 17th June 1942 – 6th September1943

22217574 K SatchellDied: 10th July 2010

382423 Lord Raglan Born FJ SomersetDied: 24th January 2010 Aged: 82Served: 23rd September 1946 – 27th April1951

222117098 M M SherwoodDied: 14th April 2010 Aged:

447292 Lt I H Stewart-BrownDied: 2007/2008 Aged: 71/72Served: 2nd September 1955 – 1stSeptember 1957

320961 Lt R B StuartDied: 27th July 2010 Aged: 85Served: 10th September 1943 – 1st January1949

LSgt R StoneDied: 19th February 2010

22831289 Gdsm W G T TuckerDied: 29th November 2010 Aged: 77Served: 1953 - 1957

176791 Col V WallaceDied: 20th December 2009 Aged: 88Served: 8th March 1941 – 30th January1973

2739426 Gdsm C N WedgeDied: 22nd March 2010 Aged:

95572 Capt F N H WiddringtonDied: December 2009 Aged: 89Served: 3rd July 1939 – 5th September1949

22217902 Sgt C WoodwardDied: 16th May 2009 Aged: 73Served: 1956 - 1959

2741477. Gdsm D AgaphonoffDied: 22nd December 2009 Aged: 81Served: 1946 – 1948

2734246 Gdsm D AnthonyDied: 31st May 2010 Aged: 91Served:1946-1949

2739411 Sgt H J BeardDied: 20th November 2010 Aged: 84Served: Jan 1944 -

23523474 WO2 D T BowenDied: 18th January 2010Served: 1960-1978

2741064 Gdsm D S CantelloDied: 3rd March 2009 Aged: 82Served: 1945-1948

Major J H CarsonDied: 28th September 2010Served: May 1942 – January 1947

22459612 K DaviesDied: June 2010Served: 16th April 1951 – 15th March 1954

23523155 Gdsm M J DaviesDied: 7th August 2010 Aged: 72Served: 15th October 1958 – 14th October1964

22217425 Sgt G DowieDied: 12th May 2010 Aged: 77Served: 1951 – 1966

2740943 Gdsm L C ElliottDied: September 2010 Aged: 83Served: 3rd April 1945 – 24th December1952

23523024 R FitzgeraldDied: 25th August 2010 Aged: 71

Capt D FletcherDied: 2nd November 2010 AgedServed: 1943 - 1974

0630088 CSgt J FullerDied: 20th May 2008 Aged: 76Served: 8th December 1971 – 7thDecember 1982

22497790 Gdsm R GreensladeDied: 16th September 2008 Aged: 75Served: 1951 – 1953

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R E G I M E N T A L M A G A Z I N E 2 0 1 0

WELSH�GUARDS

Documents

W E L S H G U A R D S · number checks and television glory, the Battalion has steadily built itself back into fighting shape. Number Three Company had an outstanding exercise in