THE LIGHTBOB

THE LIGHTBOB
Newsletter of the Oxford Branch
of the Royal Green Jackets Association
The Royal
Green Jackets
No. 2 - May 2013
43rd & 52nd
Light Infantry
CYPRUS 13
The Annual Study Day of the Friends of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry will be held at
Edward Brooks Barracks, Abingdon, on Saturday 22nd June and will be devoted to the Regiment’s operations
in the Cyprus Emergency between 1956 and 1959.
The aim of the Study Day is to gather material for
the Regimental Archive on the experiences of the
members of the regiment who took part in these
operations, and also to place them in the wider
military and political context.
Presentations will be made by Nick van der Bijl,
author of The Cyprus Emergency, and by Lt Col
George Elliot, who has written the Regimental
History. There will be an open session in which
former officers and soldiers who served in Cyprus
will be given an opportunity to exchange experiences. General Sir Robert Pascoe has agreed to chair
the study day.
The results of a patrol in Limassol
In addition to the Friends, the Study Day will be
open to former members of the Oxford & Bucks LI and Greenjackets who served in Cyprus, subject only to the
capacity of the lecture rooms. Applications will be treated on a ‘first come - first served’ basis. Registration opens
at 0930hrs on the 22nd, and the day will end with tea at approximately 1630hrs. A baguette and fruit will be served
at lunchtime. There is parking on site. To cover the cost of lunch and tea and coffee the charge for the day is £10.
Cpl Ken Groves of Letter ‘A’ Company manning a
road block on the Limassol bypass
An operation in the foothills of the Troodos Mountains
The programme of events and an application form for those wishing to attend is enclosed.
Cyprus 13 will be a golden opportunity for old friends and comrades who served together in Cyprus to not only
remember old times but to add some valuable knowledge to the records.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
From the Editor
An essential part of an Old Comrade’s formal wear is a regimental tie. Last year I
found that my treasured silk Oxford and Bucks L.I. tie, which was bought many
years ago, was beginning to become noticeably frayed, and it was time to get
another.
I looked first at the Rifles Direct website, but without any luck. Although there
was a section on regimental ties, it did not include any Oxford and Bucks ones. I
contacted Rifles Direct in Winchester and the manager gave me a list of websites.
Silk neckwear at about £32 plus postage was out of my budget, but there were
some reasonably-priced polyester ones. A company called BA Military Store sells
them on eBay for £14.79 plus £2.60 postage, while Oliver Bainbridge of Durham
are the cheapest, offering them at £14.99 post free.
In the end I followed a recommendation by branch member Brian Cox and
contacted Shepherd and Woodward of High Street, Oxford, who had the virtue of
being local if I wanted to collect in person. They do not advertise these ties on
their website because they say it is not financially viable, but will order them. On
the basis of supporting a local business, I ordered one at £14.99 plus £1 p & p.
And very smart it looks, too.
What I find disappointing is the failure of Rifles Direct to provide these ties or,
indeed, very much else of an Oxford and Bucks L.I. nature. Their new website
lists ties - both silk and polyester - for The Rifles, Royal Green Jackets, Rifle
Brigade, King’s Royal Rifle Corps, and even (would you believe) the Royal
Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment. The ‘M4 Rifles’ have only
been a part of The Rifles since 2007, whereas the 43rd and 52nd formed the Greenjackets with the RB and KRRC in 1958.
It would appear that the problem, as far as Oxford and Bucks ties are concerned,
is lack of demand.
Roy Bailey
CHAIRMAN’S CHAT
‘A’ Company currently has four Riflemen deployed on OP Herrick; 20 in Afghanistan
throughout the summer of 2013. One Officer is deployed with 2 RIFLES in Northern
Ireland acting as a Platoon Commander and one Corporal is deployed with 5 RIFLES in Germany and about to depart on a major exercise in Canada with them after a
period of intense training.
There are 8 volunteers for OP Herrick; 20 of whom are undergoing the arduous training to ensure they are selected for mobilisation later this year. ‘A’ Company will be
sending Riflemen to complete their Annual Camp in Denmark and also Scotland later
this summer, as well as many junior NCO’s attending promotional qualifying courses.
7 RIFLES will perform a Freedom Parade through High Wycombe on Sunday 9th
June with ‘A’ Coy playing a leading part in the ceremonies. Recruiting is a high priority for the Company and we held a successful Open Evening on the 9th April when
approximately 12 potential recruits attended, many of whom have now started the
process to enlist in ‘A’ Company.
th
This year the RGJA Band Concert has slipped to Sunday 16 June 2013 and it is
hoped that better weather will allow the event to take place outside and that more of
the association members ‘Old and New’ will attend.
It has been decided to close the Company Bar on the last Thursday of each month due
to low attendance, as it proves too expensive to cover the bar staff. However if anyone
wishes to organise an event or a games evening the bar can be opened provided you
drink more than one shandy each, which is the usual amount for association members (Southern Shandy Drinking Softies)!!!!!!!!
(spoken like a true Yorkshireman! - Ed.)
Sir,
The memorial of a 19th century soldier of the Oxfordshire Light Infantry
is currently attractively displayed in
the grounds of Edward Brooks Barracks at Shippon, near Abingdon, where it has been inherited by
The Rifles, the successor regiment
to both the Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and to the
Greenjackets. It can presently
be enjoyed by staff and by old comrades who visit the barracks but,
alas, not by the wider public in Oxford.
Over the years it has been moved to
t em p o r a ry l o c at i o n s sev e r al
times from its original site in the
graveyard of St. Clements Church on
the Plain. When the tombs were
moved to St Clement’s Churchyard in
Marston many decades ago and the
cemetery was converted into a
roundabout, the statue was moved to
Cowley Barracks which was then the
Depot of the Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry.
When the Regiment was incorporated into the Greenjackets in the late
1950s and the HQ buildings
at Cowley Barracks were demolished
the statue was moved again to the
TA Headquarters in the Slade. Later
when the TA site was given up for
development, it moved once again to
its present location.
It has nev er been f orgotten
nor neglected by its regiment, but its
constant movement means that it has
been entirely forgotten by the city.
Although the ‘Gown’ is well celebrated in Oxford, the ‘Town’ has few
memorials of its own, or of its old
regiment in which very many local
citizens once served.
Consequently I would like, one day,
to see it returned to its original site on
the Plain in Oxford. The roundabout
there is now decorated with a garden and the statue would prove a
very attractive centrepiece if reinstated, where it could then be enjoyed by local ex-soldiers together
with all the citizens of Oxford City.
Brian Cox,
Wheatley
Charlie Helmn
• There is a strong rumour that Charlie will lead a team from ‘A’ Company on the
Forces March later this month in an attempt to better last year’s triumph by ‘E’
Company of Milton Keynes.
2
(Editor’s note: see page 4)
IN MEMORIAM
We have learned of the deaths of the
following old comrades since the publication of the last newsletter:
Pte J. K. Hughes (14659162). Served
in the 2nd Bn (52nd) from 1943 to
1947. Died 19th January.
VISIT TO PEGASUS BRIDGE
Every year Major John Howard’s daughter Penny Bates and her husband
George organise a visit of veterans and
other interested parties to Pegasus
Bridge and the cemeteries and memorials in the area - and this year is no
exception.
S/Sgt Jim Wallwork DFM, Glider
Pilot Regt. Pilot of the lead glider
carrying Maj John Howard in the capture of Pegasus Bridge on D-Day.
Had the extremely rare distinction of
flying a glider on the four major Allied airborne landings: Sicily, Normandy, Arnhem and the Rhine crossing. Emigrated to Canada. Died 24th
January aged 93.
Sjt R. D. (Reg) Lee. Served in the 1st
Bn during WW2. Wounded in the
Ardennes. Mayor of Thurrock 1995-6.
Very supportive of the 43rd Old Comrades Association and their remembrance pilgrimages to Europe. Died
13th February.
WO2 D. A. (David) Taylor. Served
in 4RGJ from 1970 finishing in HQ
Coy. Died 24th March.
2013
(Members meet in the Volunteers’ Bar
at Edward Brooks Barracks (EBB) on
the first Tuesday of each month at
20.00hrs.)
Thur 16th May. Rifles Officers Oxford
Club Lunch.
A full programme of events is planned,
with much hospitality by the French
authorities, including the premiere of a
TV documentary about the capture of
the bridges and an outside concert. There
will also be visits to several cemeteries
with the laying of wreaths.
Captain David Henry Maitland.
Commissioned into the Regiment in
June 1942 after basic training with the
Royal Fusiliers. After a brief period
with the DCLI in 1943 he returned to
the 43rd and became Liaison Officer
to 71st Infantry Brigade, but missed D
-Day due to a car accident. Wounded
in Holland in late 1944, and finished
the war serving in Trieste. Died 18th
April aged 90.
Wed 22nd - Sun 26th May. The Forces
March. Ilfracombe to Bulford.
Sun 9th June. The Rifles will exercise
the Freedom of High Wycombe.
1100hrs onwards
Sun 16th June. RGJA Oxford Branch
Band Concert. 1130hrs onwards. Curry
lunch available on payment.
Thur 20th June. 43rd & 52nd Regimental Lunch.
Maj D. C. (David) Taylor MC.
Commissioned into the 1st Bn in April
1941 and served with them until July
1946. He was wounded three times;
during the attack on La Bijude crossroads in August 1944; in the Ardennes; and again, more seriously, after
the advance through the Reichswald
Forest. Died 15th April.
Lt Col Fergus Higgins. Commissioned into the Regiment on the same
day as JAJ (later Gen Sir Anthony)
Read, he was the son of Brig GC
Higgins, also of the Regiment. Served
in a variety of command and staff
posts, including the 2nd Nigeria Regt
and the US Staff College. Died 9th
April aged 99.
The Royal Green Jackets Association
Oxford Branch
Edward Brooks Barracks, Shippon
ABINGDON OX13 6HW
Tel: 01235 548018
E-mail: oxford@theoxford@the-rifles.co.uk
Sat 22nd June. Friends Cyprus Study
Day. Programme & booking form
attached.
Sat 6th July. Turning the Pages Ceremony at Christ Church Cathedral,
Oxford, at 1045hrs.
Anyone wishing to go to Normandy
this June and would like further details
should contact Penny as soon as possible at:
‘Highlands’, 12 Brownlands Close
Sidmouth
Devon EX19 9AS
Tel: 01395 579799
bateshamandjam44@btinternet.com
Next year, of course, will be a visit to
look forward to, as it will be the 70th
anniversary of D-Day.
Sat 13th July. RGJA reunion at Sir
John Moore Barracks, Winchester.
1400hrs onwards.
Thur 18th July. Rifles Officers Oxford
Club Lunch.
Sat 7th Sept. Turning the Pages Ceremony at Christ Church Cathedral,
Oxford, at 1045hrs.
Thurs 12th September.
Branch Lunch.
Oxford
Thur 19th Sept. Rifles Officers Oxford
Club Lunch.
Sept (Date TBC). Oxford Branch trip
to the Assault Glider Trust, RAF
Shawbury, Shropshire.
Sat 9th November. Oxford Branch
Reunion. 1900hrs onwards.
(Events are all held at Edward
Brooks Barracks (EBB), Abingdon,
unless otherwise stated.)
3
A SPECIAL EVENT
SPRING LUNCH
th
The Turning the Pages held on Saturday 4 May at Christ
Church Cathedral, Oxford, was a rather special one.
Prior to the service Canon Roland Meredith dedicated the
new altar cloth (above). The previous cloth, which dated
from the inauguration of the chapel in 1924, was very
worn, and the Cathedral authorities decided to commission
a new one at a cost of £2,000. The two organisations who
use the chapel were asked to find 50% of this, and both the
Regimental Residual Committee of the 43rd & 52nd and the
Oxfordshire Yeomanry Trust were happy to contribute.
The old cloth bore the original badges of Oxfordshire and
Buckinghamshire and the bugle horns on the freize. These
were retained and affixed to the new cloth, which was in
place for the visit of The Queen in April to distribute
Maundy Money. Sadly, Her Majesty did not visit the
Chapel.
The spring lunch of the RGJA Oxford branch was held at
Edward Brooks Barracks on 11th April.
Some 40 veterans and their ladies enjoyed another excellent
meal, and were entertained by an illustrated talk, entitled We
were young once and ..., by Brigadier Robin Draper (below).
Robin traced the history of the 43rd and 52nd from their earliest days, and featured not only the two regiments’ triumphs
but also their disasters. As well as the glory of the Heights of
Abraham, the Peninsular campaign, Waterloo, Noonebosschen
Wood in World War I and Pegasus Bridge in 1944, there were
the disasters of the American War of Independence and the
Siege of Kut El Amara in Mesopotamia in 1916, when the 43rd
went into captivity and had to be reformed.
He also mentioned the gallantry of CSM Edward Brooks, who
won the VC in World War I.
“There is a wonderful history of our regiment”, Robin said,
“and how proud we should be of our successor Regiment, The
Rifles. Here I would say I am always surprised how few people
in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire know that The Rifles are
the county regiment”.
He finished by paying tribute to the 63 Riflemen of all ranks
who have been killed in Afghanistan in the past 3 years, with a
special mention of the four most recent fatal casualties - Lt
Andrew Chesterman, L/Cpl Jonathan McKinlay, L/Cpl Peter
Eustace and Rfn Sheldon Steel.
Robin finished by pointing out that there is no point in studying
military history unless one is also aware of the ripple effect of
historic events.
This is the statue of the soldier of
the 1st Bn Oxfordshire Light Infantry mentioned in Brian Cox’s letter
on page 2.
Following the short service, at which Robert DrummondHay was Conducting Officer, the congregation adjourned
for the traditional sherry in the Prior’s room, where toasts
to the two Regiments were drunk. We were pleased to see
Nigel Mogg and George and Liz Elliott, and also that indefatigable nonagenarian Lawrence Belcher, who instead of
the usual recitation, entertained the gathering with a song.
Judging by the picture above, his efforts seem to have had a
mixed reception!
4
It stands in front of the Mess at
Edward Brooks Barracks, and the
inscription on the plinth reads:
To the glory of God and in
memory of the officers,
n.c. officers & men 1st
Battalion Oxfordshire Light
Infantry who fell in the
service of their country
during the South African
War 1899 - 1902.