ISSUE No 13 - The Yorkshire Regiment

ISSUE No 59
Jan 2014
CONTENTS
Page
Contents........................................................
1
Editorial........................................................
2-3
Chairman’s Notes…………………………
4
Branch Notes …………………………….
5-16
Articles.........................................................
17-38
Fond Farewells……………………………
39-50
Forecast of Events ………………………..
51
Museum Shop Items ……………………..
52
New Standing Order ………………………
53
EDITORIAL/AREA HEADQUARTERS
1
I would like to start this edition of The Yorkie by wishing all readers my sincere best wishes for a
happy, prosperous and healthy New Year.
This has been another busy six months, in July members of the Association travelled to Warminster to
attend the Handover of Colours Parade. The day was exceptionally well organised and it was great to
see many ex members of the Battalion that had settled in the area but had not ventured north for many
years to attend Association functions.
This year’s annual reunion was held in the Park Inn, York as many members thought it was time to
move venue from York Racecourse. The turnout was high with 180 sitting down to dinner and many
more came for a drink afterwards. Unfortunately it was not the success we had hoped for, this was
mainly due to service at the bar. So this year we will return to the Voltigeur Suite, York Racecourse on
Saturday 4th October.
For me, Christmas started with an Executive Committee Meeting and Branch Executives’ Annual
Lunch, held in Worsley Barracks on Sunday 1st December 2013. Our guests this year were Colonel
Stephen and Amanda Padgett. Colonel Stephen is currently Catterick Garrison Commander. Steve
Kennedy ensured the lunch ended on a high by telling some new jokes. It was an excellent afternoon.
This was closely followed by the eagerly awaited “Strictly Social” gathering of friends in the Fulford
Conservative Club on Friday 6th December 2013. This was one of the best attended ever, it was great
to see everyone especially Tommy Copperwaite, Dave Foster, Bob Sweeting and Bryan Girling who
had travelled some distance to be there, also a number of serving and retired Officers’ attended
Brigadier Andrew Jackson, Colonel Stephen Padgett, Captain Andrew Stephenson and for the first
time after retiring 23 years ago Captain Henry Middleton who came out of the woodwork and last but
not least Major Ivan Scott-Lewis who is a keen supporter of this event.
The final social event of the year was the King’s Div LE Officers’ Lunch. This year’s event was
organised by Major Pat Ralph, late Green Howards, and was held in the Park Inn Hotel on Friday 13th
December 2013. It was particularly good to see two new members for the first time, Captain Dennis
Jolly and Captain Pete Thompson. A good day was had by all.
At this juncture I would like to say how sad I was to hear the news that Brigadier Malcolm Cubiss had
passed away on the 7th August 2013. Many fond memories of him came flooding back to me that day.
My first recollection of speaking to Brigadier Malcolm on a one to one basis was whilst I was serving
with 2 Yorks in 1992 as Quartermaster. I received a message to call in at RHQ and speak with
Brigadier Cubiss, the then Regimental Secretary, on a subject which was to be disclosed on arrival.
Sitting in his office I was served tea by one of the admin staff, it was then I knew that I was being “set
up” for something. The Brigadier explained to me that the Association was soon to loose its Chairman,
John Fielding, he explained that John had done an excellent job over the years however, as John was
standing down the Brigadier was of the opinion that what was required was a younger person to take
over the reins and that I filled this criteria. I of course argued my case explaining that I did not have
the experience or the inclination to take on the likes of George Hardaker and other long standing
members of the Association if it came down to controversial decisions. “My dear chap” he said “I have
thought this through and the way round this situation is to make George Hardaker the Assistant
Chairman”. I realised after a short time there was no way I was getting out of his office until I agreed,
which of course I did. He then stood up, shouted to the Assistant Regimental Secretary, “come on
Colonel Weeks we are going to the pub to celebrate, and bring some money”.
I was summoned on many occasions to join Brigadier Malcolm and Colonel Michael Weeks for a
drink after that day. I can truly say I enjoyed their company immensely.
2
In recent years Jenny and I have been invited for lunch along with Steve and Janet Kennedy to
Brigadier Malcolm and Wendy’s home and we have many fond memories of him recalling countless
stories about what he got up to whilst serving – some never to be repeated!
Brigadier Malcolm will long be remembered, not just for his bravery or bravado as a young officer,
which is well documented in numerous military books, or his leadership which was to come later in his
career, but remembered with affection for his wicked sense of humour. One of the most colourful and
respected Senior Officers in the Regiment that will be sorely missed by us all.
More recently I was informed of the sudden death of Dave (Doc) Doherty. Dave had gone to work on
25th September 2013 just like any other day and without warning collapsed and died, he was just 56
year’s old. As many readers will know Dave was the secretary of our Bradford Branch and did sterling
work for the Association throughout his tenure. Dave will be missed not just by the Branch but by the
many members of the Battalion who served with him in 1 PWO.
Moving into 2014, we have a number of events on the calendar. On Friday 30th May we kick off the
Yorkshire Regimental weekend with the Officers’ Annual Dinner to be held at The Merchant Taylors,
York. The following day a Regimental Church Service will be held at York Minster. Following the
service we move to the Knavesmire for the ever popular Yorkshire Regimental Maiden Stakes. The
cost of a badge has yet to be decided upon. Details for all these events will be published by RHQ later
in the year.
Imphal Day has always been hugely enjoyed by those attending and I encourage you all to try to
participate in this commemoration of our Regimental Day. The cost of a buffet ticket remains at £8.00
per head, obtainable in advance from myself at RHQ. Cheques to be made payable to “PWO Museum
Fund”. As in the past the service will take place at All Saints Church, The Pavement at 10 30 hrs
followed by a buffet lunch in Worsley Barracks. This year it will take place on Sunday 22nd June 2014.
2014 will commemorate the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War and many towns and
villages will be making plans over the next 4 years to hold special commemoration services, therefore
may I ask readers, if they come across any interesting stories especially if it concerns soldiers from the
West or East Yorks, to forward them to myself for inclusion in future editions of The Yorkie.
May I remind all subscribers that annual payments for The Yorkie are now due. For those who pay by
cheque please make payments to “The Yorkie” for £6.00.
Before I sign off, I would just like to mention the fact that Major Michael Sullivan retired in
September and therefore I will not be able to call upon his IT skills to assist me with this edition and
future editions of The Yorkie. I would like to thank him for his guidance and patience he has given
both Steve Kennedy and I over the years. We wish him well in retirement and of course with any
endeavours he undertakes in the future.
As one door closes another one opens and I would therefore like to take this opportunity to welcome
Wing Commander Alan Bartlett who has taken over from Michael Sullivan. Anyone wishing to speak
to Wing Commander Bartlett in regard to PWO matters can contact him on Tel: 01904 461018 or by
email: INFHQ-KINGS-YORKS-RegtAffrsC2@mod.uk
I look forward with pleasure to seeing some of you at one or more of our Association events this
coming year.
BA
3
CHAIRMAN’S NOTES
Happy New Year to each and everyone and I am sure 2014 will be another excellent year for you all.
Well it has been 15 months since I took over as Chairman, how time flies and during this period there
have been lots of discussion with regard to how we go forward with the Regimental Association, in
particular with regards to funding. After various meetings in particular with the Col of The Yorkshire
Regiment, General GJ Binns CBE DSO MC, I am pleased to announce that we have been granted up
to £18,000 to carry out antecedent activities for the next financial year. I am hopeful this amount will
be agreed by the Yorkshire Regiment Trustees as part of a Grant back in future years.
It was nice to see so many people at the Reunion at the Park Inn Hotel, which despite a number of
hiccups went very well, however having listened to the comments from your branch representatives on
the executive committee, it has been agreed that we will return to the racecourse for the 2014 reunion.
The theme this year will be The Regiment 1958 – 2006. I would encourage all our reader’s to make
every effort to attend. Our secretary Brian will no doubt be asking for photos so if you could send
them in it would be much appreciated.
Once again there was an excellent Executive lunch at Worsley Barracks, thanks mainly to Brian
Atkinson, CSgt Sean Hyland and Steve Major who pulled out all the stops to make the event such a
special day. We were very pleased to welcome Col Steve Padgett and his wife Amanda as guests,
having recently returned from a extra long posting in America (9 years) and is now in post as
Commander Catterick Garrison. We hope to see more of them in the coming years.
In December Sylvia and I attended an excellent Christmas function with the Selby branch and would
like to say a big thank you to everyone who made us feel at home. The entertainment was first class
and I know from the response of those attending that both the singing and the jokes told were very
well received.
I am so sorry that I was unable to attend the December PU due to family commitments, but from what
I have been told it was another excellent event and people travelled from as far afield as Northern
Ireland and Wales.
In closing these notes, I would like to thank all those who have continued to support the Association,
in various ways, with a particular thank you to out Branch Standard bearers who have shown there
support throughout.
See you all soon.
BC
BARNSLEY BRANCH
Chairman
Secretary
Mr B. Cousen
Mr T. Smith
4
25 Well Lane
Monk Bretton
Barnsley
S. Yorkshire
S71 2EF
Tel: 01226 218925
2 Lidgett Way
Royston
Barnsley
S. Yorkshire
S71 4FD
Tel: 01226 723679
Monthly meetings are held at 19:30hrs on the first Friday of every month at the Keel Inn Motel, Canal
Street, Barnsley. Please contact the Chairman or Secretary for exact directions should you wish to
attend. Postcode for Sat-Nav purposes is S71 – 1LJ
Hey up, Nar then.
Well here we are again; Barnsley Branch numbers are down slightly, but we still have an active
membership of 40 and we continue to get around 20/25 members attending our monthly Branch
meetings at the Keel. Since the last set of notes, we have yet another new member who has joined the
fold; this is Pete O’Brien from Sheffield. Pete served for 15 years in the Army 1975 -1990. His first 7
years were with 1 PWO, B Coy & ATK Pl in Celle and Bulford. He then left the Army only to join up
again in the RCT/RLC. We warmly welcome him to the ever growing Sheffield contingent of the
Barnsley Branch.
After consultation with the Executive Committee and RHQ, it was agreed that as Sheffield Branch had
recently closed down the Sheffield Standard should be handed over to Barnsley Branch for
safekeeping. The new Standard Bearer although a Barnsley Branch member, is actually a Sheffield lad,
Tony Roebuck. For all former Sheffield Branch members reading these notes, please rest assured that
the Standard will be well looked after and will be paraded alongside our own Standard on all
occasions. The Sheffield Standard was on Parade at Chapeltown, Sheffield over the Remembrance
Weekend, as well at as the Barnsley Central Commemoration Service alongside the Barnsley Standard.
Sheffield Branch
Association
handing over the
to Barnsley Branch
Cousen for
Standard Bearer and
Stalwart Douglas Parker
Sheffield Branch Standard
Chairman Brian (Bob)
safekeeping at our August
5
meeting.
Barnsley and Sheffield Branch Standards on parade at the Town Hall Barnsley,
Remembrance Sunday 10th November 2013.
As ever our Standard Bearers have attended funerals across the County for ex Regimental members,
always making their own travel arrangements. As explained previously, everyone at the Branch is
extremely grateful to Dave and now Tony as well, for their dedication to the role of Branch Standard
Bearer. Thank you.
On Sunday 1st Sept 9 of us attended another excellent afternoon at the Leeds Irish Centre for the
Annual Leeds Branch Dinner. May we through these notes thank Alan and all members of the Leeds
Branch for organising a good afternoon, long may this continue. Thanks.
On Saturday 5th October, 12 of us attended the Annual Reunion at the Park Inn, York City Centre. It
was a change from the Racecourse and pleasing to see plenty of old faces, who have not been to the
function for a number of years and even more faces in the bar afterwards. Once again, thank you to
Brian for organising a great night’s entertainment.
6
Barnsley Branch Member Tony Parkin celebrating 65 years as an Association Member
at the Annual Reunion on Sat 5th October 2013.
Sunday 10th November, saw members from the Branch at Numerous commemorations services across
the borough. 13 members attended the Barnsley Central service, with spectator numbers once again up
on previous years. 3 members each attended both Monk Bretton and Hoyland services, whilst 2
members attended the New Mills, Holmfirth Commemorations. This was the first time, other than
recent funerals that both standards had been on parade together.
As these notes are written, plans are well underway for our second Branch Christmas Dinner at the
Keel, with Richard Broxup once again the chief organiser. The dinner will take place at the Keel, on
Saturday 22nd December. This is intended to be a small and informal dinner for the Branch, with
around 35/40 persons attending. In addition to this, the Branch committee executives attended the
annual Branch Executive’s Christmas dinner on Sunday 1st Dec at Worsley Barracks, York.
The next major function for the Branch will be our sixth biannual Spring Ball, which will take place on
Saturday 22nd March 2014 at Ardsley House Hotel and Country Club. This is slightly earlier in the
calendar than in previous years as we agreed to move the date, to distance our function from the
Y&L’s St Georges Day ball, in an effort to hopefully maximise attendance at both events. For those of
you that have previously attended this function, you will know that it’s a great night out, so please
leave this date free in you diaries. Accommodation at the Hotel is discounted for the function, with the
cost of a double room with breakfast being £70 and a single room is £40. Please call the hotel direct to
book quoting Prince of Wales’s Own function on 22nd March 2014, on 01226 309955. Branch
Secretaries will receive official invites soon, but if you are not part of a Branch and would like to
attend, please contact the Barnsley Branch Secretary direct, at the number/address listed above.
Branch secretaries will shortly be receiving an invitation letter to the dinner, would Secretaries please
consolidate their respective Branch returns and return to me. Thank you.
Everyone is welcome to visit us at any time, and if there is anyone who lives in the Greater Barnsley or
Dearne Valley areas who wish to join the Branch, please don’t hesitate to contact the Chairman or
Secretary on the above numbers. We will be more than pleased to inform you of where and when our
meetings are. We know that there are still plenty more Ex Yorkies in our area, so why not come down
to the meetings, you will be surprised just how many of us you will know.
That’s it fer nar, till next time, Si Thi
TS
BEVERLEY BRANCH
Chairman
Secretary
7
Mr A Robinson
35 Ferry Lane
Woodmansey
Hull
HU17 OSE
Tel: 01482 883212
Mr D Teal
6 Sylvan Lea
Mill Falls
Driffield
YO25 5FL
Tel: 01377 240682
Beverley Branch Meetings are held at the Beverly Catholic Club, Station Square, Beverley on the first
Monday of each month at 19 30 hrs. Visitors always welcome.
On Sunday 10 November 2013 members attended a service at Beverley Minster, a wreath was laid at
the Minster and at the War Memorial in Hergate. Our standard Bearer Norman Arksey was unable to
attend due to ill health, we wish him a speedy recovery.
By the time these notes get to print the festive season will be over, therefore may I take this
opportunity to wish all our association members and serving soldiers a happy new year.
PR
BRADFORD BRANCH
President
Secretary
Mr John Craven
27 Sutton Avenue
Swain House
Bradford
West Yorkshire
BD2 1JP
Mr E Bagshaw
15 Egremont Crescent
Woodside
Bradford
West Yorkshire
BD6 2SJ
Tel: 01274 608697
Mobile: 07794235427
ernest.bagshaw@hotmail.co.uk
Meetings held on the 3rd Wednesday of each month at the Northcote Conservative Club, Northcote
Road Bradford, West Yorkshire BD42 4QH.
Future Events
Bradford Branch annual dinner will take place at the Fiddlers on the 22nd February 2014. The Fiddlers
is undergoing a refurbishment and will be ready for our annual lunch, we have also booked the
resident DISCO.
NEW MEMBER
We had a new member joined us in July Mark Beneke.
We had a sad occasion with the death of David Doherty (DOC) who served with the 1st Battalion and
after leaving the Regiment joined the association and took the helm as the Secretary with his usual
hard work and determination.
Marie would like to thank all those who attended with special thanks to Barry Medhurst for organising
the Association Standards.
8
EB
HARROGATE AND RIPON BRANCH
Secretary
Mr L R Metcalfe
13 Lickley Street
Ripon
HG4 1LJ
01765 692975
My December reports always reflect on our Branch pilgrimage to Colsterdale. We honour those
members of the Leeds Pals who gave their lives at the Battle of Somme on July 1st. As in keeping the
service was held with Peace and Humility.
However 5 weeks later we were reflecting on the bravery of one of our own members Brigadier
Malcolm Cubis OBE MC., who died on 7th August 2013. Malcolm along with Mrs Wendy Cubis were
regular attendees at Colsterdale and will be greatly missed.
For Armistice Day a Remembrance Service was held in Bedale with Branch members who are also
members of the Malaya Borneo Vets. Thank you to John Lile for being on Parade with the PWO
Standard.
Looking forward to meeting members at the Luncheon at the home of Colonel and Mrs Crossland.
TH
HULL BRANCH
Chairman
Secretary
Mr B Medhurst
68 12th Avenue
North Hull Estate
Hull
HU6 9LE
Tel 01482 859432
Mrs B Medhurst
68 12th Avenue
North Hull Estate
Hull
HU6 9LE
Tel 01482 859432
Just a brief reminder to all readers past, present and future that our monthly meetings are now being
held at Mona House Barracks in Sutton and that we now start at 2000hrs. It remains the 3rd Tues of the
month. This was an initiative we started in an effort to engage more with the 4 YORKS soldiers.
Another initiative we have started is to invite our partners to alternate meetings, we supply our own
food and wine and have a good yarn after the meeting has ended (and sometimes during !).
Plenty of socialising and sterling branch work has occurred since our last notes in July. 4 YORKS at
Mona House kindly invited Hull Branch members to a BBQ night on Fri 26 July which they held to
officially open their refurbished bar. There was a very good turnout of both Reservists and branch
members, a good night was had by all and it was good to see and share a beer with the likes of Derek
Shakesby, Mally Mallinson and Nick Drowley. Long may the good friendship continue.
9
Our main event of the year has been the Battlefield Tour to France. A separate in-depth article has
been written on this under the articles section.
Once again the branch sent a sizeable contingent (27) to the Leeds Lunch in early September. It is an
annual function we all look forward to and always have a cracking day out with good friends. A big
thanks and a massive pat on the back to the Leeds Branch. The race day was also well supported with
21 in attendance, a bit disappointing for the Hull Branch to be put in the overflow room again (second
time in three years) selling canned beer at over inflated price’s and only room for 9 people on the
balcony. Let’s hope its someone else’s turn this year. Imphal parade again with 22 attending, reunion
29, both cricket matches attended by Hull branch. With transport for the Roses match provided by the
very kind people at Leconfield Barracks to whom we send a big thank you.
Remembrance Sunday had a good turnout in Hull with the Standard carried by Paul Atkin. Terry
O’Neil, Fred Rooney and Andy East joining the parade. Wreaths were laid by Terry (East Yorks) and
Andy (PWO) at the Hull cenotaph. Pete Blyth MBE laid one at the memorial in Sutton. It was a busy
weekend all round for the Hull Branch. Andy East, Terry O’Neil and Paul Atkin took part in
remembrance display at the Hull Street Life Museum on the Saturday.
Centre of attraction for that day was a piece of a tree from the battle of Oppy Wood. Which hopefully
will be preserved with the help of Graham Dyson and then mounted in a glass case with brief details of
the history. Also on display is the late Dennis Peaks (see Fond Farewells) drum, which was dedicated
to the Branch by his family, and again we hope to restore that to its former glory to have on permanent
display at Mona House. The Sunday get together after the formal ceremonies were over, was held at
the upstairs room of the King Edward pub in Hull. The landlord Brian together with Barry organised a
raffle and the landlord was selling curry meals and all the profits were donated to the Yorkshire
Regimental Benevolent Fund. A total of over £400 was raised, this together with collection box’s in
pubs around Hull, and sales of Yorkshire Warrior choir CD, the selling of Christmas wreaths by Andy
has meant well over £1000 has again for the second year running gone to the coffers. We would like to
take this opportunity to thank Geoff Meakin for designing the cover, copying the CD and printing the
whole thing at his own expense, so that the full £5 raised goes to the people that need it. The weekend
was rounded off with a trip to the Archbishop Thurston School in Hull. 1500 red balloons were
released in memory of the WW1 fallen. Andy, Terry and Paul Atkin attended this one.
10
Whilst Barry once again attended the service at Hull cenotaph, and Paul at the behest of CESA
attended a service at the Spoatley War Memorial.
Our Christmas function was held at Andy East’s place in Leven with guest of honour once again being
Angie and Rob Stone they were accompanied by their son and daughter Kallum and Rosie and Rosie’s
boyfriend Liam Fisher. Both Kallum and Liam are serving now in the 1st Battalion The Yorkshire
Regiment. PB give the welcome speech and told both lads how proud the Hull Branch was to have
them in our midst. 36 sat down to a 1st class meal (thanks Lizzy) before the party games began. Stone
family won the key game, but were unlucky to be judged into second place after Rosie Ann allowed
jelly to dribble on to her finger during the jelly game. The highlight of the night was when the long
lost Ken Marshall walked through the door to wish us all a Merry Christmas. Also we would like to
say a big thank you to all those who attended and donated raffle prizes. Just one more thing since the
party, a new club has been formed at the New Inn. It s called the Spider Web Fan Club, anyone
wishing to join can contact John Devonish via the Branch.
11
Peter Blyth showing off his new pair of Regimental braces at the Hull Branch Christmas Party.
Christmas will have been and gone by the time of publication, so we hope you had a good one and that
you are enjoying the New Year.
FPM
LEEDS BRANCH
Chairman
Secretary
Mr A Calverley
167 Town Street
Middleton
Leeds
LS10 3TA
Tel 0113 2704504
Mr J Jordan
8 Primrose Grove
Halton
Leeds
LS15 7QS
Tel 0113 2609482
Monthly meeting held at the Spinning Wheel Hotel, Dewsbury Road at 13.30 hrs on the first Thursday
of each month. New members are always welcome.
Time seems to fly by, here we are writing for the January 2014 notes. The PU on the 9th August at the
Conservative Club in York was well attended as usual. Into September we found ourselves taking up
the invitation to visit the war graves in Belgium and France with the Hull Branch. Unfortunately Geoff
and Eileen Thewlis could not attend due to Eileen’s ill health, so Brian Webb took up the Standard. I
think at this point I should say what happened in France stays in France!!! It was a great trip and a big
thanks from the Leeds Branch to the Hull Branch for making us so welcome once again.
12
Our annual Sunday lunch held at the Irish Centre was well attended. We hope all who came had a
good afternoon. We thank you all for your support. The annual Reunion this year was held at The Park
Hotel, York, 14 Leeds Branch members and guest attended.
The last few months has found our ex Branch Chairman Brian Fogarty in and out of hospital. Brian is
now in his 80’s but still soldiering on. Some of you may remember Stan Yarwood of The West
Yorkshire Regiment and 1 PWO. Stan was a company storeman in Aden 1965-66, he has also been in
St James Hospital. Hilda and I paid him a visit and found him in good spirits, he has since returned
home. Here’s wishing good health to both of them.
Remembrance Sunday was well attended, every year there seems to be more and more people at the
Cenotaph in Leeds. We had 12 members from the Leeds Branch attending. The Branch Standard was
carried by Geoff Thewlis. The wreath was laid for The West Yorkshire Regiment and 1 PWO by the
grandson of the late Steve Swales who was a Leeds Branch member.
On a more sombre note we have attended the funerals of –
Mr David Doherty – Bradford Branch
Mr Michael John Grant – York Branch
Mr Denis Peaks – Hull Branch
RIP Branch Standard was carried on each of these occasions by Geoff Thewlis.
We are looking forward to the Executive Lunch on the 1st December and to round off the year the last
PU of 2013 on the 6th December. Here’s too many more in 2014.
By the time these notes go to print the festive season will be over so may I take this opportunity on
behalf of the Leeds Branch to wish all out Association Members, serving Soldiers and their Families a
healthy and lucky New Year.
Onwards and upwards.
AC
LONDON BRANCH
Chairman
Secretary
Edred Bowman
10 Woodman Court
Shaftesbury
Dorset
SP7 8PY
Tel: 01747 852281
Major Alec Finch TD
“White Rose”
The Cloisters
Wantage, Oxon
OX12 8AQ
Tel: 01235 762439
alecfinch@talktalk.net
Date for the diary.
London Branch Lunch, Union Jack Club, Saturday 26th April 2014
Joint meeting with the London Branches of the Green Howards and the Duke of Wellington’s
Associations, Saturday 20th September 2014
All welcome but prior notice of attendance is required.
13
Our meeting held in the Union Jack Club on 21st September was well attended despite our dwindling
numbers and eleven members sat down for lunch which the Union Jack Club do so well, at a
reasonable cost.
The meeting also doubled for our Biennial General Meeting during which we re-elected our Chairman
and Secretary. Dennis Bowen is our branch representative for the York meetings and Bryan Girling
was elected Standard Bearer. The meeting also considered the future of the London Branch. The Duke
of Wellington’s Branch and the Green Howards like ourselves have dwindling numbers and all three
branches thought about a possibility of an amalgamation. However, after each considered the problem
it became apparent that there was no desire by most members to consider a change and therefore it was
agreed that each branch would soldier on as at present. As time goes on, no doubt all three branches
will cease unless new blood can be found amongst younger ex soldiers.
June 6th 2014 will be the 70th anniversary of the “D” Day landings when the East Yorkshire Regiment
had two battalions, the 2nd and 5th in the first wave to hit the shore. The 2nd Bn landed on Sword Beach
alongside the 1st Bn South Lancashire Regt between La Breche on their right and Ouistreham on their
left. The main remembrance ceremony will be held on Sword Beach and the Queen will be in
attendance. I have booked to travel with Swan Hellenic on “Minerva” which is a small vessel by
comparison to other cruise ships. It will visit Dunkirk for a trip to Ypres and the Flanders Fields
Museum, Caen for the Gold Beach and Arromanches Museum, Cherbourg and the US landings but
most importantly for me it will on the morning of the 6th Jun hover off Sword Beach were the 2nd Bn
landed. The Captain will hold a service of remembrance on board. I have obtained through the services
of Paul Hardisty who has connections with the Royal British Legion a Wreath dedicated to the East
Yorkshire Regiment which I intend to place off shore during the ceremony to remember our soldiers
who died or were wounded on that day. Hopefully, I shall be able to show some interesting
photographs in a later issue of the Yorkie.
Our next London Branch meeting is on 26th April 2014 and will be a joint meeting with the Dukes and
Green Howards at 11.00am in the Union Jack Club London. It is open to anyone who would like to
attend but we do require names well in advance for security purposes.
AF
SELBY BRANCH
Secretary
Mr P Howdle
7 York Road
Riccall
York
YO19 6QG
Tel: 01757 248321
Meetings are held in the Working Men’s Club on the first Wednesday of the month at 20 00 hrs.
By the time these notes go to print the Christmas festivities will have come and gone. We held our
annual Christmas Dinner on Thursday 5 December with 40 members attending including our
Regimental Chairman, Major Byron Cawkwell and his wife Sylvia.
In 2013 we lost 3 members and our thoughts go out to all family members.
May I take this opportunity to wish all Association members all the very best for 2014.
14
PH
YORK BRANCH
Chairman
Secretary
Ms Marianna Proietti
15 Slessor Road
York
Tel: 07583 806177
Mr B Bilham
36 Granny Hall Lane
Brighouse
HD6 2JG
Tel: 07764 684020
Meetings: Monthly in the WOs’ and Sgts’ Mess, Worsley Barracks, Fulford Road, York. The meetings
take place on the last Tuesday in the month at 20 00 hrs.
First of all we would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to Steve Mitchell for his
dedication and hard work as our Branch Secretary over the last several years. Steve is not leaving us as
a member, but his work commitment does not allow him to participate as much as he would like to and
so he has decided to stand down. However, jumping into Steve’s shoes as the Branch Secretary is
Bryan Bilham. We welcome Bryan and look forward to working with him.
In September Branch members attended the annual Eden Camp Parade with the traditional picnic
hamper stowed away in the boot of the car and the wasp repellent left on the kitchen table. We would
come to regret the latter when we had lunch. I took along my three year old grandson Theo, the lad is
into everything that is Army so it was appropriate that he came along to see the displays. It was a very
enjoyable day had by all except for the wasps. I would recommend insect repellent every time, as the
picnic area is infested with them. Talk about a running buffet- ours was a sprint. The parade was well
attended and well organised. Dennis Bowen wore his Warrant Officers uniform and looked the part.
Well after a good parade and a walk around the displays what could be better than to retire to the
NAAFI for a pint before home, well I was not driving.
RB
November came and so did Remembrance Sunday. I was in sunnier climates over in Cyprus to take
part in the Remembrance service in Peyia, which was organised by a Former PWO brother by the
name of Alan Wilson who has lived out there for the last 20 or so years. The service was held in the
main municipal car park with over 600 Ex Pats also in attendance at the service. I was tasked with a
welcome speech and a few readings much to my enjoyment and from it another 3 properties were
donated by ex pats for the ex military to enjoy free accommodation over in Cyprus, (If interested
please contact myself direct).
MP
The Branch was on parade with other ex service men and women from all over York. It was a lovely
sunny day, the parade marched from the Punch Bowl on Stonegate, over the river Ouse to the
Cenotaph and from start to finish both sides of the streets were lined with members of the public. It
was so good to see so much support for us and serving members of the Armed forces. The service went
well and the act of Remembrance was an emotional moment for all on parade. After the parade several
branch members went to the WOs and Sgts Mess at 4 YORKS for a curry lunch. I thought I would try
a glass of free port; the bottle of port is in a box so you cannot see how much is in the optic. If you get
a full glass your ok, it’s free. However if you get half a glass i.e. the bottle is empty guess who got half
a glass and had to pay for a new bottle.
15
RB
Whilst in Cyprus I was also contacted by The Not Forgotten Association and asked if I could make my
way to London and be interviewed by The Telegraph for a Christmas Charity Appeal in which The
NFA was one of the 3 charities picked by The Telegraph, so on 14 November off I went and did my bit
as requested by The Not Forgotten Association, which most of PWO Association have been fortunate
enough to attend one or more events hosted by the NFA. I have also had my portrait done in a very
modern way again to raise much needed funds for the NFA, there has been 6 pictures commissioned
by the NFA to mark 100 years since the first world war, and the first subject was Harry Patch, I have
been the second and all these will be auctioned off next year, and it is to raise awareness also of the
different veterans from different campaigns over the last 100 years.
MP
I would like to wish all members of The PWO Regimental Association a very Happy New Year and to
toast all members that have passed in the last year and would like to wish all PWO Association
Members that may be poorly or on hard times our thoughts and prayers are with you all.
MP
ARTICLES
FOLKESTONE 1914
16
Just recently I was looking at some old photographs of our six month posting to Dover in 1974 and in
particular Folkestone as most of the quarters were located there. Those of us who served with the
battalion at that time would agree that Folkestone was a great place to live. Little did we know at the
time that this sleepy seaside town was altogether different in the summer of 1914. The following
article caught my eye some days later and I thought as this year commemorates the outbreak of the
First World War it would be of interest to our readers.
BA
Stepping into the unknown
Millions of soldiers left for the Western Front from Folkestone – its harbour was the last sight of
home for so many. Now an impressive arch is planned to mark the town’s unique role, one of the
focal points of next year’s centenary commemorations of the outbreak of the First World War.
In the early summer of 1914, Folkestone, a Kent seaside resort made fashionable by the Victorians,
was in understandable good spirits. The season was into its stride, the great hotels were full, and along
the lovingly tended lawns and footpaths of The Leas, a cliff-top promenade with a view clear across to
France, visitors could stroll, sip afternoon tea and be serenaded from bandstands.
Admittedly, less reassuring noises were coming from over the Channel, but hardly anyone in
Folkestone – or anywhere else in Britain – believed the latest ill-mannered posturing of the
Continental powers would harm the nation’s mood of wellbeing. The assassination of Archduke Franz
Ferdinand of Austria on June 28 had, indeed, caused more than the usual disturbance, but the trouble
all seemed too far away to concern the leisured classes savouring the sea air. But by early August,
Britain was at war, and Folkestone was set to play a crucial part in the action.
Over the next four years the town would be the main artery through which millions of troops passed on
their way to the front. For many it would be their last sight of home. To commemorate next year’s
100th anniversary of the start of the Great War, the town is intending to build a memorial arch at the
top of the harbour road – now called the Road of Remembrance – down which the men marched on
their way to the ships. ‘Folkestone’s role in the war was absolutely vital,’ says Michael George, from
Step Short, a local charity raising money for the memorial. ‘Earlier, troops were shipped from
Southampton to Le Havre, but the crossing was too long and hazardous, so from early 1915 the route
was switched solely to Folkestone. From being a rather quiet, gracious resort, we became the biggest
army camp in Britain.’
Folkestone’s harbour – previously a place of cobbled quays and russet-sailed fishing smacks – was
transformed into a hive of furious activity.
17
To approach it safely down the steep road from The Leas, the marching soldiers were given the order,
‘Step short!’ – now adopted as the name of the group. Troop ships shuttled across the Channel,
returning with the wounded or men on leave. It is estimated that more than about ten million individual
journeys to France and back were made in the course of the war. Remarkably, not a single life was lost
to enemy action during the crossings.
Folkestone’s relaxed mood in those last months before the war was down to more than mere delusion.
The town had long been popular with well-connected military types – Lord Kitchener, Britain’s
commander-in-chief during the Boer War – lived at nearby Broome Park, and the overwhelming view
of these seasoned soldiers, as they clinked brandy balloons in the bar of the Grand Hotel, was that even
if there were any fighting, it surely wouldn’t last long.
18
The first jolt of reality came as the town began to fill up with thousands of soldiers. Shorncliffe army
camp, on the western edge of Folkestone, was quickly swamped, and hundreds of troops had to be
billeted in temporary huts or with local families. The second was the arrival of a wave of Belgian
refugees, fleeing the German advance. Britain had a treaty obligation to defend Belgium, and on
August 4, having received what the Prime Minister Herbert Asquith called ‘an unsatisfactory
communication’ from Berlin, war was declared.
‘Even so,’ says Michael, ‘the feeling was that it would all be over by Christmas. There was lots of
flag-waving and patriotism and getting behind the troops, but still no real sense of crisis.’ Folkestone’s
schedule of summer entertainments continued apace, with packed shows at the Pleasure Gardens
Theatre, roller-skating and dancing and open-air concerts on the quarter-mile long Victoria Pier (now
demolished).
Christmas came and went. Across northern France, the German and Allied armies were solidly dug in.
Back home, the perception was that the conflict was going well. Reinforcements were now arriving
from across the Empire, and with the extra manpower the tide of war would, surely, turn against the
Kaiser.
On the ground, it wasn’t that simple. The advent of trench warfare, and the weapons that evolved
around it meant that no one went anywhere quickly. The only way to advance was to throw men at the
enemy lines. The casualties began to mount. the tales of horror seeped home. Expectation of early
victory began to fade.
And in Folkestone the reality of being the war’s main staging post begin to sink in. More and more
troops arrived in the town. The velvety lawns of The Leas were churned up beneath boots and wheels,
the tree-lined avenues reeked of gun-horses and rattled to the passing of armoured columns. The two
main hotels – the Grand and the Metropole – were requisitioned by the military. Elegant private villas
were turned into hospitals. Down, down, down to the boats went the endless lines of men.
Not all of them were British. Shorncliffe became a major base for Canadian troops, tens of thousands
of whom volunteered to fight for the Mother Country. The Canadians were popular with the town –
not least because their pay rates were three times higher than those of the Tommies, boosting the
takings of pubs and dancehalls.
The Rev JC Carlile, author of a contemporary memoir of wartime Folkestone, describes the town as
resembling ‘a suburb of Toronto’ and notes: ‘The Canadians endeared themselves to the children, and
captured the hearts of the girls so successfully that about 1,100 brides went from the district to
strengthen the ties of the Empire across the seas.’
There were also the hometown heroes. One was Walter Tull, whose father had come to Britain from
Barbados in 1876, settled in Folkestone and married a local girl. Walter became a professional
footballer with Tottenham Hotspur and Northampton Town, but volunteered for service at the outbreak
of war, and in 1915 was sent to fight in France. He was rapidly promoted, becoming, in May 1917, the
first ever black officer in the British Army. The following year Lieutenant Tull was killed in action in
the Somme. His body was never recovered.
19
Lieutenant Walter Tull
A poignant tale surrounds 19-year-old Billy Poile, who was sent from Folkestone for training in 1918,
only to return to the town for his passage to Cap Gris Nez. Explaining to his superiors that he was a
local boy, he asked whether he might be allowed to visit his family, but permission was refused on the
grounds that his ship was ready and waiting. A kind-hearted sergeant, however, allowed Billy an hour
to see his mother, Elizabeth. She kissed him goodbye and, on October 6, he was killed in Belgium.
The still-to-be-famous writers and poets of the Great War passed through Folkestone, too. Rupert
Brook’s A Channel Passage is an account of his crossing in a rough sea:
‘The damned ship lurched and slithered. Quiet and quick
My cold gorge rose; the long sea rolled; I knew
I must think hard of something, or be sick;
And could think hard of only one thing –you!’
Wilfred Owen, on leave from active service, spent a night at the Metropole and in a letter to his mother
described its carpets as being as deep as the mud at the front.
They didn’t always realise it, but the millions who sailed from and, if fortunate, back to Folkestone
were part of a maritime miracle. To protect the troop ships, Britain had sowed a giant minefield across
the Channel and reinforced it with steel nets to keep out enemy submarines. Phosphorescent buoys
were attached to the nets. ‘At night,’ says Michael, ‘you looked out from the cliffs and the whole
Channel would be lit up like a fairground. There’d be smoke and noise and aircraft. It’s incredible that
the Germans never managed a single successful attack.’
For all this, there is almost nothing in Folkestone that speaks fittingly to the time of the Great War.
The Road of Remembrance is nondescript, scruffily bordered, with only an ill-maintained obelisk at
the top. Most visitors follow in the footsteps of the troops with no awareness of what they’re doing.
20
An artist’s impression of the planned memorial on Folkestone.
To remedy this, Step Short is building a 14-metre-high memorial arch at the entrance to the road.
Designed by local architect Philip Gearing, it will be made of stainless steel and feature a life-sized
statue of a soldier looking out to France. ‘A few years ago,’ says Damian Collins, MP for Folkestone
and Hythe and the chairman of Step Short, ‘a group of us got together and we all had the same feeling
that the story of what happened in the town during World War One had been largely forgotten. We felt
there should be something here that not only honoured those who had gone to war but helped to tell
their story. ‘It will be a different kind of memorial, because it will give visitors a sense of how it felt to
walk down to the ships. We want to tidy up and landscape the road, planting the verges with rosemary,
which represents remembrance.’ While funds are in place for the arch itself, which will have its
official inauguration on August 4 2014, Step Short still needs to find the money for an exhibition
centre that will tell the story of Folkestone’s remarkable, and relatively unsung, role in the war.
Today, The Leas is once more an expanse of greenery, the Grand and the Metropole still stand in
Victorian splendour, and the slope to the harbour is as steep as ever. The cries of ‘Step short!’ may no
longer be heard, but it pays to reflect.
GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
I recently received a communication from a Mr Simon Copley about his late grandfather Corporal
Douglas Alan Copley. Douglas Copley served with the East Yorks in the Second World War and was
part of the Dunkirk evacuation. He went on to serve in the desert and was captured and taken as a
prisoner of war back to Italy and onto Germany. Simon Copley would like to know if there is anyone
still alive who remembers his grandfather. Any responses through the editor please.
REGIMENTAL HEADQUARTERS – COMMUNICATIONS
Could I ask that any member of the Regiment wishing to have communications sent out to them by
Regimental Headquarters must keep their contact details up-to-date. Anyone wishing to change their
details or have their details registered may do so by contacting the Chief Clerk (Scott Flaving) on Tel:
01904 461019 or Email: rhqyorks@btconnect.com
HULL BRANCH
21
WWII BATTLEFIELD TOUR 2013
Firstly, I would just like to take this opportunity to thank Beryl & Barry Medhurst & all involved in
organising the Hull branch trip. Their hard work & commitment resulted in a fantastic tour for all of us
who were able to take part.
Day 1.
We departed from the port of Hull on the evening of Thursday the 12th of September 2013, boarding
the P&O North Sea Ferry “The Pride of York” for an overnight passage to Zeebrugge. As would be
expected there was much ‘merriment’ aboard the ferry, (a recurring theme throughout the weekend,) as
old friends got re-acquainted & new friends were welcomed & “initiated” into the fold.
Day 2.
On Friday morning, having sustained ourselves with a hearty breakfast, (including plenty of strong
black coffee I might add,) we set off on the first day of our tour.
The first item on our itinerary was to take in one of the memorials of, “The Great War,” the Canadian
memorial at Vimy Ridge.
Vimy Ridge Canadian War Memorial
Although not a WWII site, it was almost en-route & worth a short detour to see a truly spectacular
memorial. The memorial commemorates not only the battle of Vimy Ridge, (which was part of the
Allied offensive known as the battle of Arras,) but also the sacrifices of our Canadian brothers
throughout The Great War. It sits proudly atop the highest point of Vimy Ridge, the site of arguably
their finest hour during that terrible conflict. To some this battle symbolises the coming of age of
Canada as an independent nation, as it was the first time that all 4 divisions of The Canadian
Expeditionary Force had come together as a single, cohesive fighting entity. They “won the day” by
the use of what were seen then to be daring & innovative new tactics. Also because they had rehearsed
these tactics repeatedly, during the run up to the start of the offensive. The memorial bears the names
of 11,285 Canadian servicemen whose final resting place has never been identified. It can be seen, on
the skyline, from several miles away. Even though we approached it on an overcast, drizzly autumn
day, it was still an impressive sight from a distance. When seen up close it was, however, spectacular
in it‘s sombre grandeur. Something that the photograph cannot really show.
Having subsequently perused the nearby visitors centre & “preserved” tunnel/trench complex, we then
continued, (with a couple of comfort breaks,) on to our hotel in Caen.
22
The Mercure Caen was well appointed & comfortable. Being right in the heart of the city, by the
marina, it gave easy access to the cities sights, shops &, (most importantly,) it’s bars!! Having settled
in & had our dinner in the hotel, recce parties were sent out & a suitable hostelry was identified. Then
after a brief skirmish to get to the bar, it was occupied for the evening, (& part of the following
morning!) this became the evening SOP for the duration of our stay.
Day 3.
Saturday started with a visit to the German cemetery at La Cambe.
This was in stark contrast to the allied cemeteries seen in Belgium & France. There are no rows of
white crosses or polished headstones here, instead simple dark stone plaques set flat into wellmanicured lawns.
German cemetery at La Cambe.
Amongst these stand groups of black basalt crosses. At the centre of the cemetery is a tumulus topped
by a larger basalt cross, flanked by two statues. Here lie the remains of 207 German soldiers & the
cemetery
overall contains the
remains of
some 12,000, recovered
from all over
Northern France &
buried here.
“But they were the
enemy!” I hear
some of you exclaim.
We must
remember though that
they too were
soldiers. They too gave
their lives for
their country, (whether
they believed
in the Nazi cause or
not.) They too
were sons, fathers,
brothers,
uncles or husbands!
Next on the
St Mere
agenda came the town of
Eglise,
23
St Mere Eglise Church
The town was the site of an American airborne assault during the D- Day Landings. The church here
has, hanging from its tower, the dummy of a paratrooper. This commemorates an actual event, which
was later depicted in the film ‘The Longest Day’ by the actor Red Buttons.
The real paratrooper, who’s parachute became ensnared on the tower that day, was one John Steele, an
American Ranger. Not able to free himself Steele hung there, pretending to be dead so that he was not
shot at, for two hours or more before the Germans “twigged” & he was taken prisoner. The museum
here is probably worth a visit, it gives insights into allied/American WWII airborne tactics both by
parachute & by glider.
Onwards then to Utah & Omaha beaches, These were the primary objectives of the American
contingents on D-Day. Landings at the former were, by all accounts, relatively un-opposed whilst at
the latter there was bloody fighting in order just to gain a foothold, let alone establish a bridgehead.
(Further brief comments on the beach landings later.*)
We
3 off
to the
cemetery
rounded day
with a visit
American
at Colleville.
24
American Cemetery at Colleville.
The cemetery covers 172.5 acres and contains the graves of some 9,387 American servicemen &
women! Most of who lost their lives in the D-Day landings and ensuing operations. On the Walls of
the Missing, in a semi-circular garden on the east side of the memorial, are inscribed 1,557 names of
those who were initially recorded as “MIA“. Rosettes now mark the names of those since recovered
and identified. The memorial building, (the structure in the far background of the photograph,) has a
depiction of battle maps on its walls. To one side, these show deployments of the various forces
involved in the Normandy landings & establishment of the subsequent beach heads. To the other it
shows later progress across Europe & into Germany by the allied armies from East & West.
Words simply fail me. I am not able to describe the effect that a sight such as this has on those who
visit. The only time I have felt more moved was when I visited the WWI British cemetery at Tyne Cot.
Day 4.
Now we get to the meat of our tour. Sunday saw us visit firstly, Sword Beach, the site of landings by
the British 3rd Division. It was here, “The Snappers,” The East Yorkshire Regiment, came ashore. The
assault force was made up of the 1st Bn The South Lancashire Regt, on the right, heading for Queen
White Beach, and the 2nd Bn The East Yorkshire Regt, on the left. Their target, Queen Red Beach.
They were preceded by DD tanks of the 13th/18th Hussars, and demolition teams. On Queen Red, the
East Yorks met determined resistance in clearing enemy strong points, they were later followed by the
5th Bn. However before this was eventually completed further problems had begun to present
themselves. Owing to the prevailing wind, the tide came in both much faster and further than had been
expected. As a result, the engineers were not able to clear all of the beach obstacles, and follow-up
waves of landing craft became severely congested as they tried to find a safe path to shore. By the end
of the day, some 29,000 men had been landed at Sword Beach with remarkably only 630 dead or
wounded.
*It struck many of us, having seen Utah, Omaha then Sword beaches & some of the remaining
German Atlantic Wall defences, that trying to make your way from the landing craft, through many
meters of waist or chest high, sea water & breaking waves. Then to skirmish up two or three hundred
meters of open beach, strewn with obstacles & mines but with very little cover, in soaking wet/heavy
uniforms & equipment. All the while under sustained enemy fire from all sides by machine gun,
artillery, mortar & god knows what else, was something that we would not relish to say the least. It
further struck us that allied losses could have been far higher. We salute those that actually took part in
the first waves on that fateful day, heroes all, without doubt.
After Sword Beach, we then made our way into the town of Hermanville.
Lest We Forget
25
A plaque commemorating the landings by “The Snappers” is situated in a square here, just off the
beach where they came ashore. There we laid a wreath & paid our respects with standards on parade.
The standard bearers also representing our regimental history.
a.) Nobby Arksey, East Yorks - Beverley Branch.
b.) Spider Webb, West Yorks - Leeds Branch.
c.) Paul Atkin, PWO - Hull Branch.
Our parade at Hermanville completed, we made a small detour from our planned itinerary in order to
visit the cemetery there. Whilst moving between the headstones we saw, as you might expect, many
with the East Yorks cap badge. We also, however, came across one headstone bearing the West Yorks
Cap badge. The marker bore the name of Lt A. L. Davis; he was aged just 21 & died on that fateful
day, the 6th of June 1944. There was, safe to say, much speculation about his presence in Normandy?
(Answers to B.A. for inclusion in the next Yorkie.)
Next on our list was a
visit to Pegasus Bridge.
Having parked our coach
in the nearby museum car park
some of us took the opportunity to have a look around the museum where the original bridge has now
been reconstructed. We then took the short walk to the site of the current, (similar but wider &
upgraded,) bridge & the famous Café Gondree, where we had lunch. The proprietor of the café,
Madame Gondree, was just a 4 year old girl at the time of the liberation of her father’s café & of the
26
taking of the famous bridge. (This was allegedly the first liberation of French property during the DDay offensive, though some historians dispute this.) She is a formidable woman now in her 70’s who,
shall we say, does not suffer fools gladly, & leave it at that!
The Café Gondree
We then visited the C.W.G.C. Cemetery at Ranville.
Ranville was the first complete village to be liberated by Allied forces. It was the objective of the 13th
(Lancashire) Parachute Battalion, which was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Luard. The
château du Heaume, in the village, was subsequently used by the 6th Airborne Division as their
headquarters.
The cemetery is the final resting place of - 2,151-British. 76-Canadian. 5-French. 1-Australian. 1-New
Zealand. 1-Belgian. 1-Polish. 1-Unknown Allied, servicemen. Total allied personnel = 2,238.
1 totally unidentified body was also laid to rest here, its origins known only to God.
Interestingly, buried here is the regimental mascot of ‘9 Para’, a dog called Glenn. He is interred with
his handler Pte. E. S. Corteil. Inseparable in death as they were, by all accounts, in life.
(In addition, the cemetery is the final resting place of 322 German soldiers.)
We again paraded our
standards &
wreaths were
respectfully
laid.
REMEMBER
WE WILL
THEM
I would like at this
“mention in
our EYMS coach
Wilson.
Peter, seen in this
wearing the smart
is an accomplished
In addition to carrying
as our driver/guide,
volunteered to play
reveille for us during
tributes to fallen
point to give a
dispatches” to
driver Peter
photograph
maroon blazer,
Cornet player.
out his duties
Peter
the last post &
our two
brothers.
27
Peter you have out sincere and heart felt thanks.
Our final visit of the tour was to the site of the Merville Gun battery.
The Battle of The Merville Gun Battery occurred on 6 June 1944, intelligence, based mainly on air
reconnaissance showing the size of the battery casements, led the allies to believe that it was
composed of heavy calibre guns that could threaten the British landings at sword Beach, only 8 miles
(13 km) away. The 9th Parachute Bn, of 6th Airborne div, was given the objective of destroying the
battery.
When the battalion arrived over Normandy, their parachute descent was, unfortunately, dispersed over
a large area, so instead of over 600 men, only 150, with no heavy weapons or equipment, arrived at the
battalion assembly point. Unable to wait due to time restrictions, they pressed home their attack
against the heavily fortified & defended battery, (see plan,) and succeeded in capturing it, only to
discover that the guns were old WWI weapons, without the range to trouble the landings. Using the
limited explosives that they had been able to recover, the surviving 75 men tried to disable the guns.
Once the paratroopers had withdrawn, the Germans were able to put two of the guns back into limited
28
action. Another attack the next day by Commando’s failed to recapture the battery, which remained
under German control until 17 August, when the German Army started to withdraw from the area.
Day 5
Having spent our final night in Caen, (as per SOP’s,) we set off home, (via the Hyper Market & PJ’s,)
eventually boarding the “Pride of Bruges” in Zebrugge. An extensive end of tour “aherm!” review was
held in the bar after dinner. The verdict? The Hull Branch WWII Battlefield Tour 2013 was a
resounding success & well worth the effort.
PCA.
8 PLATOON (circa 1979)
33 years on these once young soldiers reunited for a few happy hours On Saturday 17th of August
2013. These 8 platoon, 1PWO (circa 1979) men gathered in the Three Cranes public house, York for
this special reunion. Our special guest for the day was our Officer Commanding of the day, Major Ted
Wilkins who had travelled from his home in Huddersfield to be with us.
Left to right: Sniffer Clark, Dave Doherty, Shaun Kelly, Neil Flintoff, Andy Goy, Lt Col Nigel
Parker, Ricky Canham, Terry Chippendale, Major (Retired) Ted Wilkins, Ray Saleh, Dave
Coope, Steve Emerson and Alan Wright. (Dave Doherty sadly passed away 25 September 2013)
29
Of course some had to travel ‘from a far’ with Sniffer Clark driving down from Scotland, Shaun Kelly
and his wife Theresa travelling up from Corsham in Wiltshire and of course Lt Col Nigel Parker our
platoon commander of the day driving up from his home in Norfolk to be with us. Everyone made that
special effort to be there making it possible to have such a fantastic day.
Wives and girlfriends were very welcome and we were very pleased to share our special day with June
Wright, Theresa Kelly, Marie Doherty, Kaz Goy, Faith Chippendale and Emily Coope.
Our Norway adventures were naturally at the top of the ‘pull up a sandbag’ topics of conversation and
we tried to drink to every “remember when” story so you can imagine how quickly the time past and
all to soon our happy afternoon came to end with lots of hugs, hand shaking, goodbyes and the words
“we must do this again”.
And we will! But before we do we MUST make contact with the following members of the platoon
who sadly missed all the fun. Can you help us find and make contact with any of the following so that
they can join us on the next occasion?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
Boyce Max.
Briarcliff Tommy (vomit)
Briggs Brasher
Brown Ray
Cowling Graham
Howland Tony
Noonan Paddy
Murray Zit
Moses John
Parkinson Piggy
Pavloski ?
Quinn Pete
Shakesby Derrick
Swyer Gordon
Parnell Jack
Any information to:
ALAN WRIGHT
Tel: 01302 844297
Mob: 07821832821
Email: A_J_WRIGHT@TISCALI.CO.UK
A tap on the shoulder! – Part 1
30
Some of a Pilgrim Plodder’s memories of the postwar army, in the 1950’s and a Tribute to our
National Servicemen,
A “Tap on the shoulder” has many meanings, The ultimate is perhaps being gently tapped on the
shoulder with a sword, by HM The Queen, her signal for the elevation to Knighthood. It also has a
more physical meaning, to step outside and settle a difference. It can also mean a reminder, to get
behind, into the queue. In sports it tells you get onto the pitch, or into the ring. A shoulder tap can even
mean to get up a ladder, to jump out of an airplane, to open fire, or to go up to the surface from a dive.
Actions speak louder than words!
To me, I can think of perhaps three with some meaningful impact on my life. The first was to tap and
give silent attention to something of importance. A second, well remembered, was on the occasion of
the funeral of my, then mother in law, Terry Rees. She may be recalled by those of 1 PWO, as wife of
CSgt Bill (Smokey) Rees. Perhaps those with long memories may remember her from the time Bill
was PSI in Selby, at the Drill Hall in the 1960’s.
Long after Bill had retired, I visited her in a Leeds hospital following her severe stroke. Some months
later, Elizabeth and I had just returned from a holiday visit to Northern Ireland and called into Brecon
to see my son Owen. A message awaited, asking me to contact my ex sister in law. I was invited to go
over to Downpatrick the next day, attend Terry’s Wake, and then help bear her coffin. She had
recently passed away. Terry had asked for this to happen. I drove home to Blackpool and then on up to
Stranraer, and on to the Larne bound ferry. Finally, I reached a Downpatrick pub B&B, more than a bit
weary, and settled down for a long sleep.
This occasion, a traditional Irish funeral was very interesting. The coffin was already in the house
when I went there next day, along with lots of flower tributes displayed around it. I met the family, and
some of their many friends. They were chatting, story telling, eating, drinking, and the music went on
into the night as the Wake continued.
Next morning I was briefed, and took my place among the eight coffin bearers, who had been chosen
to shoulder the coffin, from the house, then along a long walk, to the hearse and then us eight alone,
from the hearse through the cemetery gates, and onto the burial place inside. It was a long carry, and
very slowly done.
A Tap on the Shoulder had another meaning at this funeral. The chosen eight bearers shouldered the
coffin most of the way. They were relieved occasionally, for a break, by another member of the family,
or a close friend. A tap was a signal to step out of the carry, and be relieved, or to step in. A very well
managed old Irish funeral routine.
Since that sad time, our Yorkie Editor, Captain Brian Atkinson, has tapped me on the shoulder and
asked me to write an article with some of my memories of our National Servicemen in Malaya, during
the Emergency.
This was timely, because for some years Elizabeth and I have very much enjoyed the Regimental
occasions, Association Branch functions, and the trips, which we have been privileged to attend. Other
more sobering times have been gatherings at Remembrance Day and the sad times when friends and
comrades come to send someone we served with, on their way, with due military and personal respect.
The good thing about those occasions is they are always a time to meet friends from a more active
time. Quite often ex NS Officers and soldiers from those distant times are among, and obviously
belonging, to the Regimental and family gatherings.
31
It is many years, and quite a dramatic change, in how the Army operates, the way it is formed and
organized, since our last National Servicemen left the Army. Good to witness how they now give
support, respect and feeling for the present day Yorkshire Regiment soldiers who have operated in
Afghanistan and Iraq, Northern Ireland, ACE Mobile Force, Bosnia, Sierra Leone and had taken over
the Cold War/ NATO job in BAOR. I was quite impressed to see some ex NS men at The Presentation
of Colours to The Yorkshire Regiment at Imphal Barracks, then much later, to hear them discussing
the Yorkshire Regiment Exchange of Colours at Warminster, and the renumbering of the present day
Battalions.
In my mind, our NS soldiers have been a the people I served with, on Operations, Training for
Operations and the Cold War through Malaya, Northern Ireland 1955/6, Port Said, Gibraltar and
BAOR. The vast majority came along, some reluctantly, others with interest, did their duty, filled the
ranks, often involved themselves in sport, sometimes got into trouble, ticked off the days on charts
stuck in their lockers to their personal, early breakfast and departure on transport to either a troopship,
ferry or flight homewards, release, civilian life, and then continued serving as Reservist some years
until a final discharge. NS officers and soldiers were the bulk of the Army in the busy post war years.
They did an excellent, seamless service, whilst around them, a professional Army was being reestablished, trained, gaining experience, and eventually develop into the present day, very capable,
army.
So my conscience, or perhaps a warmer feeling, has made me respond to Brian’s tap on my shoulder.
It was last year, 2013, during one of the happy PWO Assn Selby Branch functions when I looked
around the room, at people I had served with in Malaya with 1 West Yorks, some of them National
Servicemen, still around, and still part of our regimental system. Bryan Cooney and Fred Rooney were
in my platoon in 1953/54. John Collier and Ken Holey who were very useful NSM in the Canal Zone
and Port Said with the Battalion. We are fortunate to have them and the many other ex National
Servicemen, some from other units, and other active service times within the Regimental Association.
I had a surprise phone call today from Roy Armitage, he was a NS Platoon Sergeant. Peter Williamson
was a 5 Platoon section commander, he keeps in regular contact by email, mostly too intellectual for
me. Both were NS NCO’s in B Coy 1 West Yorks during the Malayan Communist Emergency
Campaign, and became successful businessmen afterwards.
Space does not allow me to write more, about the Operations in Malaya which our National
Servicemen almost totally made up the Rifle Companies of I West Yorks, nor how I had the good
fortune to find myself soldiering with them. I will write again in the July Yorkie. Good wishes.
JMPD
PWO OFFICERS DINNER CLUB – WARNING ORDER
32
From Major (Retired) M L Sullivan
Regimental Headquarters
The Yorkshire Regiment
3 Tower Street
YORK YO1 9SB
Civil Telephone: 01904 461018 & Fax: 461021
Civil Email:
yorksregtaffairs@btconnect.com
PWO Dinner Club Members
5 August 2013
Dear Member,
PWO OFFICERS’ DINNER CLUB QUEBEC DINNER
FRIDAY 12 SEPTEMBER 2014
This is a long-range warning order about the next event on the PWO Officers’ Dinner Club calendar.
It will be a black tie dinner for members of the Club only. The Quebec Dinner will be held in the
Merchant Taylors' Hall, York, on Friday 12 September 2014.
More details will be issued next year.
Please note that you have received this by post rather than email. If you have an email address and
would be happy to receive correspondence electronically, please send me an email to that effect.
Yours sincerely
MickSullivan
PWO REUNION GOLF DAY 2013 – RESULTS
On Friday the 4th October PWO golfers arrived in York for their annual Golf Competition. Numbers
were down a little on previous years but that disappointment was pushed aside by the arrival of two
33
new comers. For the first time we greeted Trevor Oldfield and Paul Dobson. Also, following a four
month absence because of injury it was great to welcome back Alison Matthews who was looking fit,
well and as beautiful as ever.
On the day the weather was kind, the course was in good condition resulting in some very good scores.
It was pleasing to see the two ladies do well with Claire Wooley finishing high up the leader board in
9th place with her great score of 34, well done Claire! Alison was not far behind and I am sure that next
year the men will have to play better if they are to stay above the girls.
Congratulations must go to the leader Board top three: Dusty, Jimmy and Mick who had outstanding
games. Other prize winners were:
Best Front 9:
Best Back 9:
Best Gross score:
Nearest Pin on 18th:
Mick Sullivan
Mark Dennison
Jimmy Ellerton
John Fielding
LEADER BOARD (Nett Scores):
1st
DUSTY MILLER 40 pts (25) Winner
nd
2
JIMMY ELLERTON 38 pts (10) Runner-up
3rd
MICK SULLIVAN 38 pts (28)
4th
NEIL BULMER 36 pts (12)
5th
PETER WOOLLEY 35 pts (14)
6th
MARK DENNISON 34 pts (14)
SAMMY ARZU 34 pts (29)
7th
th
8
JOHN FIELDING 34 pts (15)
9th
CLAIRE WOOLLEY 34 pts (20)
th
BOB WOOLSEY 32 pts (20)
10
11th
ALISON MATTHEWS 32 pts (40)
th
MICK JOHNSON 32 pts (20)
12
13th
DAVE FALCONER 30 pts (24)
th
ALAN WRIGHT 30 pts (12)
14
15th
TOM McGARRELL 29 pts (20)
th
TONY BLANCH 28 pts (25)
16
17th
DAVE MOFFATT 27 pts (19)
th
18
DANNY MATTHEWS 26 pts (23)
GRAHAM THEAKER 24 pts (19)
19th
th
20
TREVOR OLDFIELD 24 pts (28)
21st
PAUL DOBSON 24 pts (26)
Changes to Handicaps:
Playing Handicaps for the following have changed for the 2014 event:
Previous Handicap
New Handicap
SAMMY ARZU
29
39
34
TONY BLANCH
PAUL DOBSON
JIMMY ELLERTON
DAVE FALCONER
MICK JOHNSON
ALISON MATTHEWS
DANNY MATTHEWS
TOM McGARRELL
DUSTY MILLER
DAVE MOFFATT
TREVOR OLDFIELD
MICK SULLIVAN
GRAHAM THEAKER
CLAIRE WOOLLEY
BOB WOOLSEY
ALAN WRIGHT
25
26
10
24
20
39
23
20
25
19
28
28
19
19
20
12
26
27
9
25
21
54
24
21
16
20
38
17
20
20
21
13
Next year’s event will be held on Friday 3rd October, same timings, same place. All we need now are
you the golfers! If you have never joined us before for this enjoyable reunion event please come along
in 2014. For more information contact Alan Wright on 07821832821.
35
Major M L Sullivan with a presentation from The Commanding Officer and All Ranks 2 Yorks
to commemorate his retirement 27 September 2013.
36
King’s Div LE Officers’ Lunch 13 December 2013
L-R Dave Thompson, Dennis Jolly, Dave Elwood, Brian Atkinson, Phil Stainthorpe, Steve
Emerson and Pete Thompson.
Blast from the Past
37
Signal Platoon Palace Barracks Northern Ireland 1972/73
FOND FAREWELLS
38
Regimental Headquarters
Brigadier J M Cubiss CBE MC 1929 - 2013
Malcolm’s Eulogy
By Lieutenant Colonel C W Crossland MBE
Malcolm and I were friends and comrades in arms for some 64 years. We first met in the late 1940s
when, newly commissioned, we served together in the West Yorkshire Regiment in Austria. We
became firm friends from the outset with a shared interest in practical jokes and escapades such as the
accidental splintering of a rowing boat which we had “borrowed” for a fishing trip on the Worthersee.
John Hart, a brother officer and complicit as usual, assured us that, with his recently acquired
knowledge of explosives he could produce home made depth charges assuring us of a catch second
only to that on the sea of Galilee! Suffice to say that is it didn’t work and we barely made the shore in
the leaking boat. This was but one of the many scrapes which we got into and as for the others,
especially in the delights of Vienna, perhaps the less said the better!
Malcolm left the Battalion on the completion of his National Service and returned to Barclays Bank.
At the time I never thought we would bump into each other again as we went out separate and very
different ways……..but how wrong I was! The Korean War broke out in August 1950 and Malcolm,
who was a Z Reservist, was immediately recalled to the Colours to serve with the Royal
Northumberland Fusiliers. In due course the Fusiliers found themselves heavily engaged in North
Korea and it was here, at Sibyon-ni, that Malcolm first showed his true colours when he was awarded
the first immediate Military Cross of the Korean War.
His Citation recounts that he was commanding a forward platoon on an isolated feature, the defence of
which was vital to the security of the rest of the Battalion. At 3.30 in the morning he was attacked by
the enemy estimated to number well over four times his own strength. The fighting was very bitter and
quarter was neither asked nor given and by dawn the enemy had been beaten off. To give you some
idea of the nature of the fighting there were seven enemy corpses within 15 yards of his platoon
headquarters. The total number of casualties will never be known, as the enemy was at pains to remove
their dead whenever possible, but the total cannot have been less than 40 and was probably many
more. On the two following nights, still isolated, he was again attacked and again he inflicted many
casualties in hand-to-hand fighting. He knew well that the successful defence of his feature was the
key to the Battalion’s position and from the outset there was never the slightest doubt that he would
continue to hold it at all costs. The Citation concludes with the words “Throughout these three days Lt
Cubiss set an example in accordance with the highest traditions of the British Army”.
After China entered the war and the United Nation’s Forces withdrew to defend the line of the Imjin
River. The British 29 Brigade, under American command, had been ordered to defend perhaps the
most vital sector of the line where two historic routes led directly to the capital Seoul some 35 miles
further south. The Fusiliers found themselves in the very centre of the Brigade’s sector with one of the
two routes on either flank. With little or no warning, the Chinese, who had advanced and built up en
masse in great secrecy, crossed the Imjin and attacked in overwhelming strength in the early hours of
the 23 April 1951 which, coincidently, was St George’s Day and the day on which the Royal
Northumberland Fusiliers always wear a red and white rose in their headdress. They were thus attired
when battle was joined.
Malcolm’s Platoon was in an exposed forward position and so took the brunt of the attack when the
Chinese descended upon him without warning. Initially he held them off despite heavy casualties but
eventually, having been wounded by shrapnel in the head and the arms, he made his way back over the
39
ridge line to the First Aid Post for treatment which consisted only of a hastily applied shell dressing.
He then returned to the battle only to find that, without him, his Platoon had been overrun. Somehow
he got back to Battalion Headquarters where he found the remnants of his Platoon and he was then
ordered to withdraw with his depleted Platoon and set up a blocking position. In the morning the
attacks had temporarily eased off so he sought further medical treatment which resulted in him being
evacuated, against his will, to a Field Hospital in the rear. At the first opportunity he discharged
himself by absconding and making his way back to the badly mauled Northumberlands who had been
ordered to withdraw to the next line of defence North of the capital, Seoul. In this action 29 Brigade
suffered over 1000 casualties.
A month later he was again wounded, this time seriously, when a mine which he was arming exploded
prematurely and removed his right hand and ruptured his eardrums. He was evacuated back to the UK
and there were serious doubts that the Regular Commission, for which he had applied and which he is
richly deserved, would be denied him because of his wounds. However, the then Chief of the Imperial
General Staff, Field Marshall the Viscount Slim, intervened personally to ensure that Malcolm did
receive a Regular Commission. The Field Marshall was also Colonel in Chief of the West Yorkshire
Regiment at the time so he had a very personal interest in ensuring that such an outstanding officer as
Malcolm was not lost to the Regiment.
After serving in Korea together, although in different sectors, we found ourselves back in York where
Malcolm, having recovered from his wounds, took over from me as the Adjutant of our Territorial
Battalion. We then went to Staff College in the same year, he to Camberley and me to India, but
thereafter I was left far behind on the career ladder as he subsequently graduated at both the Joint
Services Staff College and later at the NATO Defence College in Rome.
His wounds restricted him to Home and European appointments of a mainly non active service nature
and therefore he was denied the opportunity to command at battalion and higher levels which would
have been his true metier wherein he would have excelled and, I am sure, risen to even greater heights.
His progress to Brigadier was achieved by virtue of discharging with distinction a succession of highly
demanding and prestigious Staff appointments one of which was as Deputy Commander of 39 Brigade
in Northern Ireland. In this capacity he was to adopt the highly unorthodox practice (but typical of
Malcolm) of mingling with the Republicans in civilian clothes, to try to identify ringleaders, relying on
the hilarious disguise of a ginger wig! This went badly wrong on one occasion when a full blown riot
developed and he found himself on the wrong side of the barricades so to avert suspicion he joined in
the stone throwing against the British Troops. To this day there is a mounted and engraved piece of
granite on his mantelpiece to commemorate the exchange of missiles.
Two of his more senior appointments deserve special mention. He was Chief of Staff of the European
Mobile Immediate Reaction Force with tasks in Norway, Denmark, Italy, Greece and Turkey and after
his demanding responsibility he served at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe as Chief of
Crisis Management. They couldn’t have chosen a better man to deal with a crisis as he was totally
unflappable and, indeed, a subsequent Citation stated that “his rock like personality had a calming
effect on those who worked with him”. Fortunately a crisis did not arise during Malcolm’s tenure
which was just as well because his solution, and I quote him, was to “NUKE ‘EM ‘TIL THEY
GLOW”.
His last two appointments were in Northern Ireland, where he was awarded the CBE, and finally
Western District where, as Deputy Commander, he was made ADC to Her Majesty. In this capacity he
seldom attended the Royal Garden Parties on the jocular excuse that “they were black with bishops”!
He left the Army in 1983 to become the Regimental Secretary of The Prince of Wales’s Own
Regiment of Yorkshire until finally retiring in 1993.
40
Although this is a sad and solemn occasion Malcolm himself would have introduced a spot of levity.
He had a wicked sense of humour and he was an inveterate practical joker sometimes at the expense of
his seniors if he didn’t particularly like them. I personally know of one pompous General who twice
incurred his displeasure! Time does not allow me to recount some of his pranks which are now the
stuff of legend but let me close by telling you of just one. Although we were the very best of friends I
was a particular victim on several occasions because of my readiness to accept everything he said as
Gospel. Despite having lost his arm due to explosives he was still fascinated by them and when we
were both serving in York just after Korea, knowing that I invariably played golf on Wednesday
afternoon, he found my golf bag and booby trapped it. I stood on the first tee with my three playing
companions and on pulling out my driver there was an explosion and through the haze I saw the
blackened bottom of my golf bag…………he had attached the grip of the club, by a pull fuse, to a
guncotton primer and like most of his pranks it worked perfectly!
Is there time for just one more illustration of his impish sense of humour? Following his Obituary in
the Times a number of letters were received from former colleagues. One, from Brigadier John King,
recounted that Malcolm had stayed overnight with him and, exiting the bathroom in the morning in
vest and underpants and minus his prosthetic arm, he came across John’s 7 year old son on the landing.
Noting the look of mild alarm on the child’s face Malcolm pointed to the stump and said “see boy this
is what happens when you bite your fingernails”. Brigadier King reports that his son, now 32, has
perfect fingernails!
Yes, I have treasured memories of my very dear friend. Goodbye Malcolm.
OBITUARIES
Brigadier Malcolm Cubiss
41
Officer who won an MC but lost an arm in Korea, and at Nato said his inclination was to ‘nuke’
the Soviets
Cubiss: ‘left pear-shaped officer flabbergasted’
Brigadier Malcolm Cubiss, who has died 83, was awarded one of the first Immediate Military Crosses
of the Korean War.
On the night of November 29 1950, the 1st Battalion the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers (1 RNF) was
holding a position near Sibyon-ni, North Korea, Cubiss was in command of an isolated platoon on the
top of a feature known as “Gibraltar Hill”, which was the key to the battalion’s position.
At 03.30 hours they were attacked by a force more than four times their strength. The fighting was
bitter. The total number of enemy casualties will never be known because they took care to remove
those who fell, but there were seven dead within a few yards of the platoon HQ.
There were further attacks on the next two nights, which Cubiss’s small force once again beat back,
inflicting heavy loses in fierce hand-to-hand fighting. The citation for his MC stated that his resolution
and tactical skill had kept his own casualties to two men.
John Malcolm Cubiss was born at Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, on October 12 1929. He was
educated at Bradford Grammar School before being commissioned in 1949 as a National Service
officer into the West Yorkshire Regiment. After the outbreak of the Korean War he was working for
Barclays Bank when he was recalled as a reservist.
In April 1951, 1 RNF took part in the Battle of the Imjin River. Cubiss’s platoon was dug in on a long,
low hill overlooking the river. The first indication he had that an attack was imminent was when a
group of Fusiliers tumbled through his position shouting over their shoulders: “They are right behind
us!” There was no warning by bugle or whistle. The Chinese soldiers pursuing the retreating patrol
lobbed their grenades into the slit trenches; Cubiss was twice slightly wounded.
42
Two months later he was badly injured when a mine that he was arming exploded prematurely. It
removed his right arm to the elbow and destroyed his hearing. He feared that he might have to leave
the Army, but Field Marshal Lord Slim, Chief of the Imperial Staff and Colonel of the West
Yorkshires, intervened and Cubiss was granted a regular commission.
On one occasion, appearing in the officers’ mess without his prosthetic arm, he was asked by his CO
whether it was giving him trouble. Cubiss replied that he had been reprimanded for not saluting
properly and so, turning round to show the ribbon of his MC, he had detached it and left it with “a
flabbergasted, pear-shaped officer”, offering the advice: “Why don’t you have a go with this?”
Thereafter Cubiss adopted a hook.
For several years his medical downgrading restricted him to home postings. After passing the Staff
College exam, however, and serving as brigade major, he moved to HQ1 (British) Corps in Germany.
In 1967 he moved to Sandhurst as chief instructor and, in 1972, served as GSO1 at the School of
Infantry. Despite his disabilities, he was a marksman with all small arms weapons and shot for the
School.
He went to Belfast as deputy commander 39 Brigade. His hook, prominently displayed as he went
through the streets, was highly polished and as sharp as a razor. He was mentioned in despatched at the
end of his tour.
Pomposity and pretentiousness received very short shrift from him. When a general, a stickler for
punctuality and held in no great affection, paid an official visit, Cubiss arranged for all the clocks in
the camp to be put forward by five minutes. The great man arrived to find Cubiss, a picture of
exasperation, tapping his watch.
After a posting as Chief of Staff Allied Command Europe Mobile Force (Land), in 1977 he returned to
Northern Ireland as colonel in charge of logistic support for operations. He was appointed CBE in
1979.
A short tour at Shape (Supreme HQ Allied Powers Europe) followed. As Chief of Crisis Management
Staff, he said that his personal inclination, in the event of a crisis, was to “Nuke ‘em till they glow.”
Fortunately, he had no occasion to make a formal recommendation to this effect.
In 1980 he was promoted brigadier on becoming Deputy Commander Western District. He retired
from the Army in 1983 and, until 1993, was regimental secretary of the Prince of Wales’s Own
Regiment of Yorkshire.
Even long-standing friendship provided no insurance against Cubiss’s impish sense of humour. A
chum of his, on pulling out the driver during a round of golf, was startled by an explosion which
reduced the bottom of the bag to smoking rags. On his return home this friend was greeted by Cubiss –
who had booby-trapped the bag with gun-cotton primer – innocently inquiring: “Did you have a good
round?”
Malcolm Cubiss married first, in 1959, Ann Learoyd, who predeceased him. He married, secondly in
2000, Wendy Skaife, who survives him with two sons of his first marriage and a stepson and
stepdaughter of his second.
43
Fearless Korean War veteran of formidable appearance and sharp, subversive wit.
Quite aside from the sinister hook which had replaced his right hand, Malcolm Cubiss was a
formidable figure. He had a swift and forthright intelligence, a rasping voice and pitiless wit –
uninhibited by any great respect for those in authority. He would think nothing of saying to some
senior officers over the radio or telephone, “For God’s sake speak up man, there’s a hell of a lot of
noise down here.” He was a natural raconteur and as fearless of giving offence to pious or pompous as
he was of the Queen’s enemies.
Having been recalled as a reservist in August 1950, he was awarded one of the first immediate
Military Crosses of the Korean War. At the end of November 1950, the 1st Royal Northumberland
Fusiliers were holding a position near Sibyon-ni at the limit of the autumn advance into North Korea.
The defence was dominated by “Gibraltar Hill” and the platoon Cubiss commanded held the summit.
The citation for his MC tells the story, “At 0330 hours on November 30 he was attacked by the enemy
in well over four times his own strength. The fighting was bitter and quarter was neither asked nor
44
given. By dawn the enemy was beaten off. The total number of casualties will never be known, as the
enemy took pains to remove their dead. He was again attacked on the following two nights and again
he inflicted many casualties in hand to hand fighting. He knew his feature was the key to the
battalion’s position and there was never the slightest doubt it would be held.”
He emerged unscathed from this incident but was twice slightly wounded in the Battle of the Imjin
River in April 1951. Two months later he was seriously injured when a mine he was arming in
preparation for laying exploded prematurely. He lost his right arm to the elbow, was injured in the
head and had both eardrums destroyed. He had already applied for a regular commission in his parent
regiment. The West Yorkshires, but the severity of his injuries technically precluded it. Fortunately,
Field Marshal Lord Slim, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, was Colonel of the West Yorkshires and
a word from him settled the matter.
For several years his medical category restricted him to home postings but, as a keen shot, he devised a
contraption which allowed him to fire a rifle with one hand. While shooting at Bisley the springs in the
mechanism took over control and he was left struggling on his back on the firing point like an
upturned beetle. Using a modified version, he became a marksman with all small arms weapons.
As a young officer he wore a prosthesis which terminated in a clenched artificial hand but, after being
reprimanded in the street in York by a major in the Royal Army Education Corps for not saluting
correctly, he adopted the hook or wore an empty sleeve.
He attended the Staff College, Camberley, in 1959 and after two years as brigade Major of a Territorial
Army brigade in Nottingham was passed fit enough to serve in Germany. Later, he became a college
chief instructor at Sandhurst and was then promoted to lieutenant-colonel to command the training
depot of the King’s Division at Strensall, north of York.
On the day before the new General commanding district was due to visit the depot, Cubiss was passing
his adjutant’s empty office when the telephone rang, so he took the call. It was the ADC who, thinking
he was speaking to the adjutant asked, “How is your CO known to his friends? The General wishes to
know?” “Piggy” said Cubiss promptly. “Throughout the Army he is known as Piggy,” and put down
the telephone. Predictably, the General stepped from his car next day with the greeting, “Good
morning Piggy,” Cubiss allowed his undamaged left arm to fall from the salute. “Piggy?” he gasped.
“My name is Malcolm – always has been.” It turned out to be satisfactory visit. Put at some
disadvantage, the General expressed delight in all he saw.
Cubiss was GSO 1 (chief of staff) at the School of Infantry, Warminster, 1971-73, then promoted
colonel and sent to Belfast. This was a peak period of Provisional IRA terrorist activity. Blown against
a wall one day by an explosion, Cubiss recognised the doctor helping to pick him up as the one who
had dealt with his injuries in Korea 20 years earlier. “Stay away from me can’t you,” he rasped. “I
always get blown up when you’re around.” He was mentioned in dispatches.
In 1974 he was appointed Chief of Staff of the Allied Command Europe Mobile Force (Land). The
task of the force was to reinforce the extreme flanks of Nato in a period of East-West tension. Two or
three flank nations were inclined to raise objections to exercises on their territory. The Chief of Staff’s
custom of tapping the table gently but persistently with his hook proved persuasive, as it was in
training his multinational staff to be punctual.
He returned to Northern Ireland in 1977 and was appointed CBS in 1979. After a period at SHAPE
(Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe), he was promoted brigadier to be deputy commander
Western District at home in 1980.
45
He was appointed an ADC to the Queen in 1982 but seldom attended the royal garden parties – the
only real duty of this honorary post – on the grounds that they were “black with bishops”. He retired
from the Army in 1983.
John Malcolm Cubiss was born in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, and educated locally. His first
wife, Ann, predeceased him. He is survived by his second wife, Wendy, and two sons of his first
marriage.
Brigadier J M Cubiss, CBE,MC, Infantry officer, was born on October 12, 1929. He died on August 7,
2013, aged 83.
From a dear friend
I first met Malcolm when he came to the old 5th. Bn. West Yorks at summer camp in 1949. At that
time he had started a career in banking and almost immediately during or following Annual Camp he
was recalled to go out to Korea with the Northumberland Fusiliers and the following 3 stories relate to
his time back in the UK having been wounded in the head; lost his right hand and been awarded the
M.C.
1. Following Korea Malcolm applied for a regular commission and after interviews and a medical
appraisal he was offered regular commission in the Pioneer Corps! This was referred by the Regiment
to the then Colonel of the Regiment – Field Marshall Sir William Slim. It was ‘said’ that Slim then
wrote to the relevant authority saying – effectively – ‘that this gallant officer WILL receive a
permanent commission in the West Yorks’ – granted!!
2. Whilst on a posting as a subaltern at the Fulford Road Depot, he was walking one winter’s lunch
time from the barracks into York in a greatcoat and passed 2 recruits on their way back who saluted
him and which he acknowledged, when he was shouted at by an RAMC Major (with his Sergeant)
who upbraided him of acknowledging the salute with a sloppy ‘tip of his hat’. Malcolm listened and –
as was his habit at times – unlocked the artificial hand and gave it to the Major and asked him if he
could do any better!! and walked off. On return to barracks after lunch he was summoned to the CO’s
office (Boris Garside) to find a clear desk with his hand on the blotter. An embarrassed RAMC Major
had returned the hand but what was said between Malcolm and the CO can only be imagined, though
the stories get better!
3. In later years Malcolm was posted to Hythe as CO Senior adviser to the Small Arms School. Some
of the permanent Staff were – apparently critical of this appointment and the story is that after a while
Malcolm ordered the Permanent Staff to attend the ranges with him early one morning. He then
proceeded to fire bull after bull – following which there was complete silence but 100% following and
support ensued.
These vignettes give an insight into the character and sheer determination of a very remarkable
character who faced both professional and personal difficulties with dignity and courage. He will be
remembered with affection and respect by many.
E.A.K Denison
Lt Col
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Brigadier Malcolm in later years.
From Malcolm’s wife Wendy.
When I married Malcolm in June 2000 I entered an alien life as I knew nothing about the Army.
However, I was amazed by the welcome I received into the Army family. Firstly, by an invitation to
lunch from Walter and Jimmy Brooks and after a visit by Tony and Bridget Crowfoot to our home
Malcolm said I had passed the test!
I enjoyed rising to the challenge of the dinner parties and the fun of the Regimental Race Days
organised by Major Steve Kennedy.
Sadly we will never see the like of Malcolm again but I feel very privileged to have been his wife for
13 years.
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We started and ended the day with laughter – what more could a person want.
Wendy Cubiss
Michael Garrett 1943 – 2013
Exercise Hardfall – Norway
Michael was born in Hull on 28th August 1943, the youngest of 13 children. The family moved to
Keighley some months later to escape the blitz.
At fifteen Michael joined the Boy’s Brigade until he was old enough to join the regular army. After
basic training he was badged into the Prince of Wales’s Own Regiment of Yorkshire. Relaxing in the
NAAFI one day with a glass of milk and a sandwich he met a young girl called Kathleen, their
relationship blossomed and in Elgin in 1963 they married.
Michael served in Germany, Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Norway and the United Kingdom. He was
discharged in the rank of Colour Sergeant in 1983, but always remained proud of his military career.
Michael and Kathleen had four children.
You fought your last fight with
bravery, courage and dignity.
You will be missed. In our hearts,
never forgotten and sorely missed.
Rest In Peace Colour Sergeant Garnett
1 PWO
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Bradford Branch
David Doherty (Doc) 1957 - 2013
It came as a great shock when we received the very sad news to say David Doherty had died suddenly
at the age of just 56. David joined the army on the 28th November 1974 and served with the 1st
Battalion for 23 years which included tours in Northern Ireland, Germany, Denmark, Canada, America
and Bosnia. For many years David was a member of 8 Platoon before joining the Regimental Police,
his only tour away from the Battalion was a two year posting to Queen Elizabeth Barracks, York as
Provost Sergeant, he was known to be firm but fair. His last two year’s of service were spent in the
Battalion PRI shop.
On leaving the army David joined the Bradford branch of the Regimental Association. He took over as
Branch Secretary some year’s ago and carried out the duties with his usual grit and determination to do
well.
His funeral was held at Scholemoor Crematorium on 10th October 2013. Many members of the
Association, friends and family attended the service, so much so that many had to stand outside and
listen to the service on speakers which just goes to show how much he was liked and respected.
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David will always be remembered as quiet (at times) but very likeable with a laugh and a smile that
could light up a room
Selby Branch
Brian Stanhope
The funeral of Mr Brian Stanhope took place at York Crematorium on 27 November 2013, this was
followed by a Service of Remembrance at Selby Abbey. All friends were warmly invited to join the
family for refreshments after the service in the Hawdon Institute.
Brian joined the WYR as a National Serviceman in 1955 and served in Northern Ireland and Svez.
Eight members of the branch formed a Guard of Honour for Brian, six WYR and two Assn Members.
Our sympathies go out to all the family.
Hull Branch
Dennis Peak
Dennis Peak passed away on Sunday 27th October 2013 in Hull Royal Infirmary after contracting
pneumonia. Dennis served with 1 PWO throughout the sixties in the Corps of Drums. He was an active
member of the Hull branch for many years.
FORECAST OF EVENTS
22 Feb 14
1 Mar 14
1 Mar 14
22 Mar 14
TBC Apr 14
12 Apr 14
26 Apr 14
Bradford Branch Dinner – The Fiddlers
PWO Regimental Association Executive Meeting - York
Yorkshire Regimental Association AGM – Worsley Barracks,
York
Barnsley Branch Spring Ball – Ardsley House Hotel and Country
Club
Strictly Social (PU) - York
Hull Branch Dinner – Theatre Hotel
London Branch Lunch – Union Jack Club
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30 May 14
31 May 14
31 May 14
31 May 14
22 Jun 14
9 Aug 14
TBC Aug 14
12 Sep 14
20 Sep 14
3 Oct 14
3 Oct 14
4 Oct 14
5 Nov 14
8 Nov 14
Yorkshire Regiment Officers’ Dinner - York
PWO Regimental Association Executive Meeting - RHQ
Yorkshire Regiment Church Service – York Minster
Yorkshire Regiment Maiden Stakes – York Racecourse
Imphal Day Service and Lunch
PWO Regimental Association Executive meeting - RHQ
Strictly Social (PU) - York
PWO Officers’ Dinner – Merchant Taylor’s, York
London Branch Meeting with Green Howards & Dukes
PWO Reunion Gold Day - York
PWO Sergeant’s Dining Club Dinner - York
AGM and Reunion Dinner – York Racecourse
Garden of Remembrance Service - Westminster
Remembrance Sunday – All Branches
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