FUSILIER NEWS Regimental Headquarters The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers HM Tower of London London EC3N 4AB Tel: 020-3166-6909 Fax: 020-3166-6920 E-mail: [email protected]

RHQ/RRF/1363 14th June 2011

HONOURS AND AWARDS

The Colonel of the Regiment congratulates the following on receiving awards in The Queen’s Birthday List:

MBE

Major Chris Carter formerly OC A (Fusilier) Coy 4 MERCIAN now Training Major 4 MERCIAN.

CinCs Certificate for Meritorious Service

Major Iain Hallam formerly Training Major 5 RRF.

Sergeant B D Cormell 2 RRF Midlands Recruiting Team.

FUSILIER GATHERING 2011

Due to a very poor take up for attendance at the Fusilier Gathering 2011 a decision has been reluctantly taken to cancel the event at Tidworth as guests of 1 RRF. From across the Association no more than 70 Fusiliers, including wives had indicated an interest in attending. This number was not cost effective and would have resulted in the price per person being prohibitively high. If there is a desire for a centralised Gathering to continue then Areas and Branches must support by attending. Presidents of Associations are to seek an opinion from their Branches and inform RHQ of the outcome. In the meantime the intention will be for RHQ to support Area and Branch events and encourage interaction Regimentally across the 4 Areas. A message concerning this from the Colonel Association is on the new Association Web site.

1 RRF

On the 16 May, 1 RRF remembered Albuhera. 200 years after the event, weary from Exercise LION's STRIKE, with battle planning and procedure fresh in their minds, the Battalion gathered at Imber Village for a Drumhead service. In amongst prayers, remembrance and some traditional hymns, which the Fusiliers sang loudly, the RSM and Padre spoke of the events of that day. The Padre (Revd Tracey Bateson) drew parallels from the story of David and Goliath, where the Israelites had been outnumbered by the Philistines, just as the British were in Spain. And yet, just as David did the unlikely and defeated Goliath, so the Fusiliers defeated Napolean’s forces at Albuhera. Even though involved for less than an hour, the intervention by the Fusiliers was decisive. Keeping the parallels with King David, the Fusiliers were encouraged to use skills they had acquired before joining the Army, to train hard to be the best soldiers they can be and to be patient for the operational tour in 2013!

1 At 0830 hours on Monday 6 June members of the 1st Battalion came together to celebrate and remember the actions of the servicemen and women involved in the D-Day landings, 67 years ago. The Battalion gathered to listen to a presentation from Lt Alex Gay which focused on the involvement of the 2nd Battalion the Royal Warwickshire Regiment on D-Day, and the ensuing battle for Normandy. In 1946 the Colonel of the Regiment, Field Marshall Montgomery the Viscount of Alamein ordered the observance of the 6 June by the Royal Warwickshire Regiment as Normandy Day to celebrate the Regiments involvement in liberating Nazi occupied Europe. In 1963 the Royal Warwickshire Regiment re-titled to become the Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers, and in 1968 amalgamated with the 3 other Fusilier Regiments of England to become the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. Following the presentation Padre Bateson gave a short service of remembrance followed by the National Anthem. The morning gave a stark reminder to the Officers and Fusiliers alike, of the bravery and courage shown by our predecessors, and what it means to be a Fusilier.

X Coy on the ranges in superb weather

May began with X Company running selection for the Fire Team Commanders Course (FTCC - JNCO Cadre in old money). After a gruelling 3 days consisting of navigation tests, a log race, basic tactical assessment and various other physical tests a shortlist was drawn up of those who would attend the course in Brecon. Those Fusiliers who passed are now in Brecon working hard with the aim of promotion on returning to the Battalion.

The final LION STRIKE exercise of the Battalion’s time as the Land Warfare Centre Battlegroup took place in May, and X Company enjoyed their role as enemy once again. As ever, they managed to successfully fend off the Light role Companies as they fought their way into Imber Village, and 2Lt George Eid along with his RPG team managed to repel the armoured attack led by 2Lt Xavier Teasdale- Firth who was attached to Z Company for the exercise.

Okehampton provided the setting for small arms ranges towards the end of the month, which saw the whole of X Company conducting live firing up to, and including, the Annual Combat Marksmanship Test. The weather conditions provided some particularly demanding conditions on the final day which was a good test to fully establish the best shot!

2 Members of X Coy wondering what the man with the gun is going to do next

The return of those men deployed on HERRICK 13 as Battle Casualty Replacements with 16 Brigade meant that May has also been a month for reorganisation. Having enjoyed anything up to 4 weeks off on Post Operational Tour Leave, the men had a good break, but many were keen to get back to work. In the words of Fus Oliver Hashtroudi, “I started turning into a civvi after a couple of weeks and needed to get back to the Army! “ The men will now rejoin their respective platoons, and begin to share their experience of being in Afghanistan with the remainder of the Company as they start to prepare for deployment as a Battalion in 2013.

Lt Matt Selby, BCR with the SCOTS, parades in Canterbury on return from Afghanistan

Recce Platoon and elements of Mortar platoon deployed to the range complex in Lulworth to conduct Armoured Fighting Vehicle (AFV) live firing. Most of the crews were confident and hit the targets but it was evident that some of the crews were a little rusty and so this provided a very good training opportunity for the gunners to ‘get their eye in’. Recce platoon was supported by Mortar platoon who ran a pintle mount shoot from their AFV. Concurrently, from a static firing point, snipers engaged targets at varying distances. The ranges were visited by the Commanding Officer, Lt Col Swift, on the Tuesday, after a thorough safety brief, he was able to engage and hit some of the sniper targets and also conduct the GPMG pintle mount shoot.

After engaging and destroying targets by day, both Recce and Mortars engaged and destroyed targets by night. By the Wednesday, crews began to fire their Annual Crew Test. The Platoon as a whole achieved a high Level 5 pass. With the whole platoon passing it was not until the end of the day that the top gun award was decided. This time it was not clearly won by one crew and the trophy was shared between 3 crews; LCpl Jay Smith and LCpl Paul St Louis, Cpl Francois Wright and Fus Eugene Kevane, and LCpl Robert Grantham with LCpl Dean Mace.

3 Following in Recce Platoon’s tracks, Z Company ran a Warrior Gunnery Camp on Lulworth Ranges. Initially, the lack of recent field firing was evident. Ultimately, however, it was a highly successful week, which allowed most of the Company’s gunners to pass their Annual Crew Test. It puts the company in a very good position for its next gunnery camp in December, which marks the beginning of the build up towards BATUS next spring. The very next week Z Company was back out on the ranges, this time in Bulford and Warminster to get everyone through the Annual Combat Marksmanship Test for their personal weapons prior to the Company’s deployment to the Falklands in the Autumn. With the long summer days and night shoots needing to be fired, the week felt very long indeed. A huge amount was achieved, however, and the standard of firing was noticeably improved by the end of the week.

The 1RRF SPS Detachment has recently celebrated success at the annual Triple Crown Competition held in Worthy Down on 18 May 2011. Four members of the Detachment, captained by Cpl Danni King took part in the Military Skills event which consisted of a series of military stands including first aid, CBRN, a loaded march and an obstacle course. The march and shoot event was also entered and a further four members of the Detachment completed the 12 mile march with a time of 2 hrs 7 mins and finished as winners of the SPS Detachment March & Shoot competition. The standard of competition was higher than ever before and over 120 teams entered the competition this year. The winning team consisted of Capt Tony Frank, Cpl Benny Benoit, Pte Dally Mandson and Pte Jim Sussex.

The SPS team on Triple Crown In a valiant effort to discover if anyone in the Battalion could play cricket, Maj Edd Sutthery organised an inter-mess cricket competition. Rain threatened to stop play early on during the day, but was simply ignored as the Fusiliers took on the Corporals’ Mess in the first game of the day. The Fusiliers were as ruthless as the England bowling attack, even English drizzle and a slippery wicket could not dampen their spirits as they marched to a convincing victory. The WOs and Sergeants Mess took on the Officers’ Mess next for the honour of playing the Fusiliers in the final. The tone of the match was set from before the toss, when the RSM took the field as an umpire! After some suspiciously competent quick-bowling from Lts Ben Everson and Alex Gay, the RCMO, Capt Darren Robinson, came on to deliver a lesson in keeping the batsman guessing. ‘Surprise, deception and shock action’ are not necessarily the principles of cricket, but Capt Robinson succeeded in defeating the batsman with two deliveries to first slip followed by a rocket to the top of off stump. Set a target of 104, the Officers engineered a truly English collapse, ending up needing one run off three overs with two wickets to spare. Both promptly fell and the match was tied. A two-over decider was played, with the officers sneaking home, 2Lt Greg Marriott holding on for the vital catch. Unfortunately this exposed the Officers to the frankly outrageous pace of the Fusiliers’ attack of Fus Sylvnaus Stewart and Fus Gedeon Charles, which even Captain Tom Atkinson’s Indiana Jones hat couldn’t counteract. The Fusiliers, well led by Fus Tom Driscoll, quickly amassed a total of 150 runs, which proved far beyond the capabilities of the Officers!

4 The Officers’ Mess opening batsmen- enough to put fear into any bowling attack

The selected Battalion team was put to the test when 1 RRF played ARRC Sp Bn in the 1st round of the Army Cup. 1 RRF won the toss and elected to bowl reducing ARRC Sp Bn to 114 all out. Fus Stewart 3 - 14, Fus Charles 3 – 17, Fus Driscoll 2 - 14 claiming the wickets. 1 RRF knocked off the runs in 16 overs with Fusilier Stewart 42, Lt Gay 28, Maj Sutthery 28 not out. It was a comprehensive victory and the Battalion have drawn last year’s winners, The Pilgrims, in the second round. This game will be played on Wednesday 15 June, in Hereford.

Maj Ed Suthery and Fus Varte applauded off the pitch having scored the winning runs

In May, a team from 1 RRF LAD departed Tidworth and took part in the minor unit’s category of the REME Orienteering Championships. The event, held on Hankley common training area, was split into 3 separate courses, with the ASM (WO1 Steve John) competing in the Brown course (the longest and most technical, apparently), LCpl Skye and Sgt Mark Horsfall competing in the Blue course (a much easier course, as both felt that they couldn’t match the ASM’s superior athleticism and navigational prowess on the brown course) while Craftsmen Darren Custy, Don Fong, Sean Hibbert, Ricky Mehew, Prab Singh and James Westwood competed on the light green course. Despite the temperature matching that of the Sahara, along with the undulating terrain (which there seemed to be a lot more uphill than down), the team did extremely well, dominating the light green course by taking the first five places in their category, including the first four places for the under 25’s. LCpl Skye did equally well on the Blue course coming in only one second and one point behind the leader from HQ DEME(A). With all members thoroughly exhausted but pleased with their performance of coming second to HQ DEME (A) by a four point difference, 190 to 194. Other successes on the day included Cfn Hibbert, taking first place and Cfn Singh taking second place in the under 25’s category, a sterling effort by both.

5 Capt Matt Clarke (2nd left) and the REME orienteering team

A team of boxers from 1 RRF went to the Army individual Championships in Aldershot. The team fought valiantly, with both courage and pride. Fus Lee Chilton became the Army’s 2011 Light Middle Weight Champion. He came back from a standing count in the first round to technically out box his opponent in an intelligent display of courage and skill. In addition, Fus Chilton and Fus Ashley Peace were selected to attend training with the Army Boxing Team.

WO2 Ronnie Collins was awarded ‘The Paul Oatway Prize’ at the recent Tidworth community area awards for his support to local youth activities. WO2 Collins has coached the U13 Shipton Bellinger football team since the arrival of 1 RRF in Tidworth in Aug 09. The young team involves both military and civilian kids from across the Garrison and wider community and has proven to be a great bridge builder; the children are considerably more aware, more mature and more understanding as youths contributing to society. Recent successes include winning the Div 2 league and runners up in the Cup Final.

In May, six members of the Battalion competed in the second annual “Pain on the Plain” cycling event in Tidworth. This civilian competition included 50km and 100km routes for road bikes, with a share of the profits going to SAAFA. Congratulations must go to the Commanding Officer, who set the bar high in the 100km event, and to Fus Marc Collins Cooper and Capts Matt Clarke, Stu Richardson and Mark Milne who ensured that 1 RRF took 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th places (respectively) in the 50km event. Planning for a 100 mile charity ride in September is already underway!

Capts; Mark Milne, Matt Clarke, Stuart Richardson, and Fus Marc Collions-Cooper

6 2 RRF

May has been one of the few months over the past year when 2 RRF has been in a period of relative routine (although the Companies may disagree!) Internal courses and inter-company sporting events have formed the basis of the month with the highlights being the British Army (Germany) and Army Football 6's and the Battalion’s Skill at Arms meeting.

The Battalion, whilst maintaining its high readiness capability as the Small Scale Contingency Battlegroup, is now firmly looking forward to Ex ASKARI THUNDER in Kenya later this year. As part of the build up there has been a large amount of work going in to improving the vehicle driving standard of the Battalion. The CIS Platoon has also been working hard to improve the Battalion's communications during the Regimental Signaller Part 1 course in Trenchard Barracks. The Intelligence Officer, Capt Georges Strachan-Heyes, in his role as Battalion Shooting Officer organised and ran the 2 RRF Inter-Company Skill at Arms Meeting (SAAM) as an event to both improve the level of shooting within the Battalion, one of the core infantry skills, and to select a team for the Bisley SAAM.

Regular readers will know the Second Battalion is proud of its football team and affords them (and the QM) significant coverage in this publication. They have been in action again over the last month with some good results. As those of you who know Lt Col Mike Butterwick (Commanding Officer 2 RRF) you will be aware that he has a passion for all sports; this has quickly rubbed off on the Battalion. Consequently, there have been a number of sporting events over the last month, mostly inter-Company, seeking to improve sporting capability and image beyond the confines of the football pitch and to identify the wide talent base within the Battalion. As part of this, Capt Dale Smith organised and ran an inter- Company rugby competition; whilst Sgt Lalley along with Mr Neil Saunders, the Battalion SHEF Warden, organised a day of cricket coaching for a local School in Celle.

Regimental Signaller Part 1 Cadre. The CIS Platoon managed to run the first part of a two part course that will hopefully see 20 soldiers qualified as Regimental Signallers. Looking forward to Kenya, where the Battalion will find individual companies operating at over 100Km from Battlegroup HQ, this qualification will be essential. Recent years have seen battalion level communications focus on VHF equipment but due to the range the Battalion will be operating over in Kenya soldiers will need to also be competent in the HF equipment at a lower level than currently practised. The course was run at Trenchard Barracks and on Bergen-Hohne training area. The students were taught plenty of theory during the early phases of the cadre before deploying on a comprehensive exercise; where according to the directing staff the highlight was the 'Line Laying' and 'Line Maintenance' elements (this may have something to do with the DS cutting the line and the students having to find the break and repair it in the middle of the night - RSO). In all, 21 students passed the internally run Part 1 of the RS course, of which 20 are loaded on to the 'Part 2' at the Support Weapons School, Warminster, later next month.

7

Fus Jewkes, C Coy testing his line on the Regimental Signaller Part 1 course

Football. In May the 2 RRF Football team competed in both the British Army (Germany) (BA(G)) and Army 6-a-side competitions. As the reigning Army 6-a-side champions there was much for the squad to live up to. At the start of the six-a-side competition the Battalion Squad was down two of its star players, however the Football Officer, QM(M), Maj Will Blinco, held a football squad trials in the form of a small competition and had a lot of new players that were jumping at the opportunity to play for the Battalion. 2 RRF entered an A and B team in the British Army (Germany) (BA(G)) tournament. The competition consisted of two pools and the draw placed the two teams in different groups. In the knockout phase the A and B team met, surprisingly the A team won. As this was also the qualifying event for the Army 6-a-side competition the B team needed to win the 3rd place playoff to qualify for a place at the Army 6-a-side tournament. Despite a Yellow card for the B team goalkeeper they won and qualified. The A Team under Sgt 'Windy' Miller romped home as BA(G) winners. Once again the Second Battalion had two teams in the Army 6-a-side competition!

For the Army six-a-side competition the team had a long drive to Pirbright. After a day to settle in the A and B teams arrived at Aldershot Stadium on 25 May 11 for the competition. After a brief on the rule changes from the BA(G) competition the teams found that they were in the same pool of 8 and that the first game was 2RRF A vs 2RRF B; an unenviable start! After a hard fought game the B Team beat the A Team 4 – 2. The loss to the A Team seemed to motivate them; they played hard and racked up a good goal difference with lots of wins. The B Team managed to scrape some wins too, but due to goal difference they finished the competition in 3rd place and did not qualify for the knock out phase. The A team qualified for the Semi-finals in 2nd place within their group. The knockout phase opened with the A team up against 1 SCOTS, a hard fought game (and some dodgy calls from the man in black – A Team players) with both teams fighting hard to progress; eventually 1 SCOTS went through to the finals.

Congratulations to the Battalion Footballers. Despite no winners trophy (this month) the Army Coach was at the event scouting for talent and two Fusilier players may find themselves heading for Army colours very soon. Stop press; the Battalion won the BFG Army Championships in Jun. More in the next News.

2 RRF Operational Shooting Competition. The aim of the 2 RRF Battalion Operational Shooting Competition was two fold; first to improve and develop the overall shooting ability of the battalion through competition marksmanship; and second to enable the selection of a Battalion Team to be sent to this years Army Operational Shooting Competition at Bisley. Lessons identified from recent operations have radically changed the old ‘competition’ matches into brand new ‘operational shoots’, these have a much greater emphasis on snap shooting, and firing from multiple positions with the full range of section weapons (LSW/LMG/Pistol). Additionally, all shoots are now conducted as fire teams or sections and must contain Section Commanders and machine gunners. 140 members of the Battalion competed in this 8 year's event on Bergen-Hohne ranges. In all there were five competition shoots; The Section Attack Match, The Section Advance to Contact Match, The Fire Team Close Combat Match, The Fire Team Combat Snap Shooting Match and the Fire Team Falling Plates Match.

Falling plates competition – firing from the 400m point

Despite extended periods of no firing due to the range area being set alight by neighbouring live fire exercises, all teams were able to complete each of the 4 main matches on the Wednesday and Thursday, which led to an exciting morning on the Friday with the falling plates competition which was won by the team from 9 Pl C Coy. Prize giving was held in front of the Battalion in Trenchard barracks and saw A Coy take three of the four team competitions as well as the best overall Fire Team and Section. Mortar Pl took a surprising victory over the rifle platoons in the Section Attack Match whilst Sgt Henderson of A Coy won the championship shot and Fus Fick of A Coy was awarded the CO’s prize of best ‘young shooter’ having finished an impressive third overall.

Sgt Henderson – Receiving the impressive shield for 'Champion shot'

All firers benefited over a week of shooting that improved skills and developed potential. This event has nurtured a desire in the Fusiliers to continue to excel in this core skill and has proved a spring board for the Battalion Shooting Team where a strong performance at Bisley later this year is expected.

9 Prize winners with their silverware

Summary. Shooting, communications and sports are key for the Infantry. Shooting and communications are obvious as to their importance. Sport has a less obvious but equally important part to play. Soldiers work as part of a team, whether that is part of the Rugby or Football team or their Fire team or Platoon. Teamwork is key to being a soldier, the ability to rely on your team and for your team to rely on you is even more important on the battlefield than on the sports field. Next month the Battalion will be conducting some adventurous training, again an event where key soldiering skills are developed. Adventurous training is designed to take soldiers outside their comfort zones, testing their spirit with real fear and developing their courage to overcome challenges in a controlled environment.

Next month a large contingent of the Battalion will also be taking part in Ex FLANDERS, 2 RRF's major event for June. The exercise is a high level joint command exercise with the French military and will include the command element of the Battalion attending as LOCONs. There will be a defence platoon and a demonstration from 2 RRF soldiers conducting Fighting in Built-Up Areas (FIBUA) at a major new purpose built complex. The exercise is of such a high profile that several high ranking British and French officers will be visiting as well as President Sarkozi. The Battalion Football team will be competing again early next month this time on a full sized pitch in the BF(G) Major Units Final. Good luck to them.

5 RRF

The last month has been focused on the lead up to the mobilisation of the cohort destined for Afghanistan in the Autumn. The two training weekends in May have been used to concentrate on the slightly mundane, but still highly important G1 administration matters. The RAO and his team have been busy in all of the main TACs taking the cohort through their MCCP, checking all personal documentation and other administration. This is vital for TA soldiers intending to deploy because their time at RTMC Chillwell is very short and the slightest anomaly with their paperwork can lead to their demobilisation.

On the 29 May the cohort paraded at Chillwell having been ‘called out’ as mobilised soldiers. At the time of writing they are going through their mobilisation training. Those successful will progress to 2 weeks of post mobilisation training at Sennybridge before joining their Regular Battalions for mission specific training and deployment in late June.

On other news – congratulations go to Cpl Unwin for coming top student on the last TA Platoon Sgts Battle Course.

The Band received its periodic Band Inspection from CAMUS. This is an important inspection for the band where all aspects of the running of the band are looked at. The inspection team left very happy and much credit must go to the Director of Music Capt Kevin Crook and his team.

10 Band Inspection – L to R: Lt Col Banks, Maj Hindmarch, CAMUS Team, Capt Crook

Future Events.

 06 – 18 Jun 11 – Op HERRICK 15 Battle Camp at SENTA  25 Nov – 09 Dec 11 (approximate dates) – Annual Camp Kenya (COEFOR for 2RRF Ex ASKARI THUNDER).

AHQ NORTHUMBERLAND

After the success of the St George’s weekend the Area has moved into full summer season mode. The Recruiting Team are now at full stretch covering the vast number of Summer Fairs and Shows that are such an important part of life in this mainly rural area. Congratulations must go to C/Sgt Clark and his partner on the birth of a baby boy last week and hopefully this will not impact on the rest of the team as result of the C/Sgt not getting his beauty sleep!

Saturday 28 May saw the ‘Fighting Fifth’ Golf Day take place at Morpeth Golf Club. The weather was once again very challenging which was reflected in the stableford scores. Mr Ron Creasey, ex 5 RRF Band PSI prevailed in both the points competition and for the nearest the pin prize whilst Mr Dave Fitzgerald, ex 6 RRF somehow managed to win the longest drive competition. The day was opened up for other regimental golfers but the only guest player was the oldest man in Lancashire, John O’Grady who had brought Norma across the Pennines to spend the weekend with Bertie and Margy Sexton. Our thoughts are with Geoff Proudlock, a longstanding member of 6 RRF who has played in each of the previous competitions as he recovers from serious surgery.

A large number of The Fusiliers Association of Northumberland is currently travelling to the battlefields of Anzio and Cassino. It was with some surprise and pleasure that they met up with association members of both Lancashire and Warwick in France who were also visiting the battlefields and Commonwealth Graves in the Flanders area and shows how much the service and sacrifice of our former Fusiliers is respected and commemorated.

The Association Area Chairman, Major Chester Potts, has continued to assemble a committee and research the concept of holding a large Fusilier function in Newcastle in the summer of 2012 and plans are firming up for this to go ahead and it will be for all Fusiliers, Regular and TA (RNF and RRF). More details will appear on the Association Facebook page for what will be a very high profile and inclusive event.

AHQ LONDON

Fusiliers Museum London. The more open aspect of the refurbished museum galleries have, as expected, allowed for much larger receptions to take place. The first of these was on 1 June when the Worshipful Company of Cordwainers held a reception in aid of the Museum Appeal. Over 120 guests attended.

11 The Master of the Cordwainers at the Museum reception. Col Easton (left) looks worried

A very successful fashion show was held from 21-25 May. The organiser, Tony Hampton, is an ex member of the Lancashire Fusiliers and RRF and is the MD of the Suzanne Neville fashion house. Some 200 invited fashion stockists and journalists attended the four day event. On 31 May the British Red Cross held their annual “Jailed & Bailed” event in the Association Room. This entails very senior people from the City being invited to Mansion House for coffee whereupon they are instantly arrested by the City of London Police and transported to the Tower for further investigation. On arrival at the Tower the prisoners are put into balls and chains and led in file up to RHQ. They then have a couple of hours to rustle up bail to be released. Last year the British Red Cross raised some £25k at this event.

Sgt Timothy Gowling a Victorian Fusilier

History Talking Back. Come and visit the museum on a weekend and you might get closer to history than you expect. The Fusilier Museum has now got its very own Victorian Soldier. Live costumed interpretation is the latest part of the Heritage Lottery Fund project; Fusiliers Advance! Interpretation is provided by actors from Past Pleasures Ltd who already produce a popular live interpretation programme at the Tower of London for Historic Royal Palaces. Sergeant Timothy Gowing joined the Royal Fusiliers aged 20. He joined the Regiment because they were known as a smart regiment and he had heard of their great victories in the Napoleonic wars. He went to fight in the Crimean War and took part in the important battles of Alma and Sevastopol before being wounded at the Battle of Inkerman. He even witnessed the infamous Charge of the Light Brigade. On Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays you can meet Sergeant Gowing outside The Fusilier Museum. In 12 Gowing's day, the building was Officer's Quarters and soldiers and officers returning from the Crimea were stationed at the Tower. Gowing can tell you all about the glory of battle, but he will also explain the reality of; 'battle not fought by men who were well fed, well clothed, or well housed, nor by an army that was well prepared; but on the contrary, by men who were half starved, clothed in rags, and exposed to all the inclemency’s of a rigorous climate.' In fact, once you get him started, it is hard to shut him up!

Schools World Premier. For the first time, The Fusilier Museum is delivering a dedicated programme of workshops for school groups. Working with friends at Historic Royal Palaces, the Tower Education team, the museum has just finished its first schools project. Four local schools came to visit the museum in March. Each school was introduced to a different Fusilier story through a live interpretation workshop. Back at school, the children worked with the Tower Education team to develop a story board of the story, writing dialogue and doing artwork. The final stage of the project was to work with animators Wendy Scott and John Harmer to turn the stories into animated films. The project culminated in a premiere showing of the films at Rich Mix Studios in Brick Lane. The project team were joined by children and teachers from participating schools and were able to see the results of their hard work on the big screen. The project is just the start of a whole programme of activities for school groups which will be available from September.

The Fusilier Museum London signs up to Free Volunteering from Red Tape. The Fusilier Museum London has joined a National scheme run by Volunteering England to Free Volunteering from Red Tape. The museum benefits from a dedicated band of volunteers who are largely recruited from the local community of Tower Hamlets through the local Volunteer Bureau. Free Volunteering from Red Tape aims to make it easier for people to volunteer and to cut through some of the bureaucracy that can surround volunteer work. It is really easy to get involved. Email, phone or write to: T: 0203 166 6912 E: [email protected] W: The Fusilier Museum, RRF, HM Tower of London, London, EC3N 4AB Include: Your name Contact details Any relevant experience you think you may have. What sort of opportunity you are looking for? Why you want to volunteer? We promise to get back to you within 3 days and in most cases it is possible to start working the following week.

The Association. There have been two major trips carried out by the Association in May. The first led by Captain Bob Keating took a party of 40 to Italy where they visited a number of battlefield sites including Anzio, Cassino and Snakeshead Pass. Although a huge success it is disappointing that the trip fails to attract Regular and TA soldiers who are able to get educational grants for battlefield studies. These trips give a valuable insight to the Regiments heritage and are an excellent opportunity for serving soldiers to experience this on site and to get involved with their Association. The second trip was to Portugal and Spain to celebrate the 200th Anniversary of the battle of Albuhera. The event was organised by RHQ PWRR and a party of 25 joined a total party of 140 including Royal Welch Fusiliers. The four day trip included wreath laying at Albuhera and the Elvas cemetery. A number of senior diplomats and Military VIP’s joined the celebrations and all who attended enjoyed a cracking few days (photographs appear under AHQ Warwickshire).

13 The Fusilier contingent at Cassino

AHQ WARWICKSHIRE

Another successful Association Skill at Arms Meeting was held at Swynnerton on 2 May. A total of 10 teams from Warwickshire and the West Midlands Branches along with guest teams from Lancashire, the Staffordshire Regimental Association and the Yeomanry competed for the team trophy which was won this year by the Royal Leamington Spa Branch. The individual best shot was shared between Major Peter Stanley (Coventry Branch) and Mr Mark Blakely (Central Branch), both served together in 5th (Warwickshire) Battalion. Some 120 members of the Association with friends and family attended what is now becoming a really popular meet for Fusiliers. Sheldon Branch and in particular Neil Gregory are to be congratulated for organising a first class event, not forgetting Major Tommy Nugent and his safety team from Warwickshire ACF for running the firing point and reminding members of SA 80 drills! The star of course was Eamonn Gannon BEM for fixing ATE Swynnerton. Warwickshire looks forward to seeing teams from Northumberland and the City of London Associations in 2012, making this a truly Regimental Association event!

Maj Turquand presents the shooting Cup

A first class Normandy Day lunch was held by the Nuneaton Branch at the Chestnuts Club on Saturday 4 June, guests included Lt Col & Mrs Aubrey Chalmers and Major Richard Mills. Around 50 members of the Branch plus a strong contingent from Sheldon enjoyed an excellent meal and entertainment with a ‘40’s theme provided by vocalist Madeline Brown! Ty Chadwick and Tricia Wood were wonderful hosts The Normandy Day Parade was held in Riversley Park, Nuneaton on Monday 6 June, as always there was a good turn out from the Nuneaton Service Clubs and the Nuneaton Branch.

14 The ‘40s night

Continuing on a Normandy Day theme, Murray Richards and his team of cyclists, who are raising funds for FAS and the Fusilier Memorial, made a quick tea stop at St John’s House on Tuesday 1st June en route to Sword Beech. The welcoming committee included Mr Chris White MP, the Mayor of Warwick along with Sgt Cormell and his Recruiting Team.

The Normandy cyclists arrive at St John’s House

AHQ was delighted to host Mr Jim Smith aged 92, at St John’s House, Jim enlisted in 7th Battalion the Royal Warwickshire Regiment on 27th November 1934 in Coventry and served with A Company until 1938 when he was forced to leave due to his reserved occupation. Jim was called up in 1940 and was posted to North Africa in 1941 with the RAOC. Clearly Jim wanted something more challenging and found himself serving with Colonel David Stirling in L Detachment 1 SAS. Jim is recognised as one of the few remaining “originals” of the Special Air Service Regiment, he went on to see action in Sicily, Italy and the Dodecanese.

The Area Secretary was lucky enough to take part in the Battlefield Tour of Albuhera over the period 13 -17 May organised by RHQ PWRR. There was a strong contingent of former Royal Fusiliers and 3rd Fusiliers headed up by Major General Brian Webster and Major General David Woodford, with staff support from Colonels James Aldous and Nigel Easton, the foot soldiers included Lieutenant Colonels Keith Kiddie, Nick Beswick and Majors Maurice French, Brian Whalley and not forgetting Captain John Davis who kept everyone in good order. Congratulations to Colonel Mike Ball and his team from RHQ PWRR for laying on such a memorable event.

15 The Fusilier Albuhera team Col Aldous and Lt Cols Kiddie and Beswick Ed: Nick, where did you get that hat from?

AHQ LANCASHIRE

Bury Wartime Weekend. The East Lancashire Railway Wartime Weekend has been running for nearly 15 years in Bury. It is a three day event, held annually over the last bank holiday in May. The event is well subscribed, attracting thousands of visitors each year. Prior to the move of the Area Headquarters and Fusilier Museum into the centre of Bury the Regimental presence at the event had been limited to the Fusilier Band & Corps of Drums supported by a small team from the Fusilier Association. Now that the Headquarters and Museum are based in the centre of Bury next to the East Lancashire railway the event presented a Regimental opportunity not to be missed.

The weekend proved to be a good example of a combined Regimental event, coordinated by the Area Headquarters. Taking part where a section from 1RRF, a good part of the TA Machine Gun Platoon, Fusilier Cadets from Greater Manchester Army Cadet Force, the Association, Friends of the Fusilier Museum and staff from the Tourist Information Centre and Fusilier Museum. The aim of the weekend was to raise the profile of the Regiment and at the same time attract additional visitors to the Fusilier Museum. With no practical experience of the Wartime Weekend the decision was taken to organise several events in order to establish best practice for 2012. The 2011 events included:

Fusilier Information Stand. All three days. On the platform of Bury Station based on 12 x 12 provided by the TA. Craft Exhibition. Saturday only. Organised by TIC in Museum. Researching Military Ancestors. Sunday only. Museum Friends Group. TA Recruiting Stand. Monday only. In Gallipoli Garden. Display of Military Vehicles. Monday only. Museum Friends Group. Military Art Exhibition. All week in Museum. Cadet Parade. Sunday. Irwell vale. GMACF.

The weekend proved successful, bringing in many additional visitors and £800 in income for the Museum. Also, all the hard work considerably enhanced the profile of the Regiment and Army. That said, there are areas for improvement which will be incorporated into the plan for 2012. Finally, special mention should be made of the NCOs and Fusiliers from 1RRF, the TA Fusilier Machine Gun Platoon, Steve Fitt, Secretary of the Association in Lancashire and Steve Douthwaite Secretary to the Friends of the Fusilier Museum for their help with the preparation and for their hard work over what turned out to be a very wet and windy but successful weekend.

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Helen Field with Fusiliers from 1RRF Machine Gun Platoon stand in Gallipoli Garden

Fusilier Information Point on the Platform of Bury Station

GMACF Shooting at Altcar. Shooting is a core activity for the ACF and the opportunity was taken to visit the Fusilier Cadets from Greater Manchester firing the target Rifle at Altcar Training Camp recently. Despite horizontal rain the cadets put up a tremendous performance shooting out to 500m.

Cadets with Area Secretary Lancashire at Altcar Training Camp

17 Band on Tour. The Fusilier Band (Lancashire) recently took the opportunity to mix business with pleasure by playing a number of concerts in Belgium. The band formed in 1997 and is now some 35 strong and has established a reputation for musical excellence both at home and abroad. This year the Fusilier band was invited to play in Belgium and events were arranged in the beautiful mediaeval city of Bruges, at the atmospheric TOC H in Poperinge and finally at the famous Menin Gate in Ypres.

Ypres has a particular significance for the British Army for during the First World War, the British Army held Ypres against repeated German attacks for nearly four years sustaining many casualties as a consequence. Throughout the First World War the antecedent regiments of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers suffered 63,841 dead and many thousands more wounded.

At the end of the tour the Band paid their respects to the last two Lancashire Fusiliers of the First World War to be buried. Private Harry Wilkinson was buried in 2003 and Private Richard Lancaster in 2007, both at Prowse Point Cemetery south of Ypres. The bodies of a further two Lancashire Fusiliers have recently been discovered and are being investigated by the Ministry of Defence pending a formal burial.

It was with great pleasure for the band that during the tour the members were able to meet up with fellow Fusiliers from both Northumberland and Warwickshire

Playing at the Menin Gate

Future Events.

Friday 29th July. Rochdale Branch Minden Ball, Rochdale. Sunday 31st July. Association Drum Head Service Gallipoli Garden, Bury. Monday 1st August. Minden Day. HQ and Museum Staff to celebrate. Bury Thursday 1st September. Minden Club AGM and Dinner, Bury. Saturday 24th September. Machine Gun Platoon Annual Dinner, Castle Armoury, Bury. Thursday 3rd November. Inkerman Dinner, Bury. Friday 4th November. Lancashire Council Meeting. Bury. Saturday 3rd December. Oldham Branch Christmas Dinner. Stockport.

18 NOTICES

 FAS now has its own Justgiving site. Those who wish to raise funds for FAS should use this site for all donations: http://www.justgiving.com/fusiliersaidsociety

 This year, Stephen Hussey’s Challenge or Stupidity will takes him to the European Alps with several other Partners in Crime to cycle 320 miles from Turin to Geneva. During the 4 days they will encounter six Tour de France Mountain Climbs including the Infamous Alpe d’Huez. The aim is to raise £3000 for the Regimental Memorial fund at the new Arboretum in Staffordshire. A dedicated National location for the Roll of Honor, and a place for all families and comrades to pay homage to the Regiments recent and not so recent Fallen Comrades. Stephen seeks sponsorship on: http://www.justgiving.com/STEPHEN-HUSSEY1

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 Capt (Retd) Malcolm Johnston intends to walk the Yorkshire Wolds Way and part of the Cleveland Way at the end of next month in order to raise money for FAS. It would be a great help as he slogs along to know that many of you are supporting him. Two years ago he raised over £1,000 for H4H walking the Hadrian’s Wall path and this year is aiming to raise over £1,500 for FAS. All you have to do is go to www.justgiving.com/FallenFusiliers and give as generously as you can.

I R Liles OBE Brigadier (Retd) Regimental Secretary

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