JANUARY 2016 Edition 12
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JANUARY 2016 Edition 12 Top: RHAA member Jimmy Sinclaire celebrates his 103rd birthday. Bottom Left: 7 RHA. Bottom Left (inset) C Bty RHA. Bottom Right: J Bty RHA 1 EDITORIAL January 2016 higher than in the previous years. Under the shadows of Dear Member, 2016 and for the first time in almost 20 years, all of our Horse Artillery Regiment’s and King’s Troop, have been Firstly, I am delighted to report that F stationed in the United Kingdom. Consequently, it is Major General D M Cullen CB OBE, hoped that our membership will swell and that many has agreed to take on the duties of more of you will be able to attend our Annual Dinner at President, Royal Horse Artillery Trowbridge on Saturday, 14 May 2016 and the AGM at Association. Major General Cullen th assumes his duties with effect from Larkhill on Saturday 24 September 2016, see page 36 11th December 2015, vice General Sir for further details. Timothy Granville-Chapman GBE KCB, Master Gunner, St James’s Park who has stepped down due to his This year’s newsletter is considerably larger than the additional heavy commitments which include the Royal one produced somewhat hastily last year. Each of the Artillery Tercentenary in 2016. Batteries have produced excellent and informative articles where you can read about their experiences throughout the last twelve months. In this edition we “We are most grateful to the Master Gunner for have included an article about the RHA recipients of the Victoria Cross (see page 25) which can also be found (in his term as President and were particularly a slightly more interactive format) on the Association pleased that he was able to attend the Reunion website www.rhaassociation.org. Dinner in 2015 before handing over as President. Many will be aware that overseeing Continued on page 3 the Gunner world has become more demanding since the removal of the post of CONTENTS: Director, Royal Artillery.” 2. Editorial 3. Jimmy Sinclair 103rd Birthday This time last year I reported on just how close the 4. RHAA Staff List Association had come to going into suspended 5. Battery Articles animation, this year I am delighted to be able to report 25. RHA recipients of the Victoria Cross that your Association is very much in existence and is 31. The RHAA Standard thriving. Due to the hard work and commitment of our enthusiastic Committee and to your own continuing 32. Last Post support, your Association is now entering its 109th year 33. Memory Lane and will continue to foster the comradeship, high ideals, 36. Calling Notices traditions and prestige of the Royal Horse Artillery to its 37. Welfare members, serving and retired, for many years to come. The views expressed in this publication do not At the 2014 Annual General Meeting (AGM), I agreed to necessarily reflect official opinion in any way. carry out the duties of Chairman on a temporary basis until a new and permanent replacement was appointed. I am confident that the Association is again on steady ground and as for all ‘old soldiers’ the time has come for me to take off my boots, put up my ‘basher’ and begin “smoking my pipe in the mountains, sniffing the morning cool”. It has been my passion, privilege and honour to have served the RHAA for many decades and I hope that one of you reading this will volunteer to be the next Chairman and take the Association forward into 2016 and beyond. The financial state of the Association is healthy; our membership remains steady and the attendance at the RHAA Newsletter January 2016, Edition Edition 12 Newsletter 2016,RHAA January 2015 Annual Dinner and the AGM were significantly 2 EDITORIAL Continued… January 2016 Please do visit the website which is now fully up and running and from where you can keep in touch with your former colleagues, share photographs and tell us about your experiences and much more. In an effort to align ourselves more closely with the digital era, we have made the current and previous newsletters available online and we hope by going digital we can reduce postage and production costs and avoid the need to increase the small annual subscription that members pay by sending out future editions to you directly via email or as a direct download from the website. We should be grateful if you could visit the website and register your interest for future digital editions. Further details can be found on the home page of the website. Inside the newsletter can be found the calling letters and letters for the Reunion Dinner and AGM. It would be appreciated if you would note the dates of these functions and return the forms to the Dinner and Membership secretaries by the dates given. Information and forms are also available from the website and will also be published in the Gunner. If you know of anyone who has not received this Newsletter - please tell them about it. I hope you have had a Merry Christmas and may I wish you a very Happy New Year for 2016. RHAA I03rd Birthday Card – Produced by Mary McMurray. Derek Bender Armoured Division, ‘The Desert Rats’, during the Jimmy Sinclair - ‘Desert Rat’ Celebrates Second World War and played his part in the siege of Tobruk and the assault of Monte Casino, in Italy. In later 103rd Birthday. life, Jimmy struck up a friendship with Manfred Rommel, Mr Jimmy Sinclair, a former ‘Desert Rat’ celebrated his who was the son of the leader of the German Forces, 103rd birthday, on the 18th August 2015 at The Victoria based in North Africa during the war. He also shares Hotel, Kirkcaldy. In attendance were his family, Mr Eddie regular correspondence with Camilla, the Duchess of McMurray, a friend, Billy Farquahar, a representative Cornwall, whose father was also a Desert Rat. Jimmy from the Royal Horse Artillery Association, Also present said: were retired and serving representatives from 1 RHA, as well as Captain Ramsey MacNeill RHA and Gunner “It was a great honour to have serving soldiers visit Kevin O’Neil, me on my Birthday and acknowledge me for what I from A Battery did during the war...as a lot of those attending my (The Chestnut birthday celebration, have given me bottles of Troop), Royal whisky, I plan on slowly making my way through Horse Artillery, them with a dram a day”. the Battery Jimmy served Jimmy has been described, by many, as a remarkable with during the man, who has done so much for his Country, and is still war. doing so at the ripe old age of 103. As you would expect, the party was a great success and enjoyed by all Jimmy, a Royal who attended his 103rd birthday gathering. Jimmy and Horse Artillery members of his family will be attending our Annual “Gunner”, Association Dinner, as Guests of the Association. served with 7th RHAA Newsletter January 2016, Edition 12 Edition Newsletter 2016,RHAA January 3 Royal Horse Artillery Association Staff List January 2016 President Regimental Representatives on the Central Major General D M Cullen CB OBE Committee Master Gunners Representative RSM Brigadier M S Rutter-Jerome The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery Field House King George VI Lines Newton Tony, Salisbury, Woolwich, London, SE18 4BB Wiltshire, SP4 0HF RSM Committee: 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery Assaye Barracks Chairman & Welfare Secretary Tidworth, Hampshire, SP9 7AB Lieutenant Colonel (Retd) D J Bender Swansea, SA5 4RS RSM Email: [email protected] rd 3 Regiment Royal Horse Artillery Albermarle Barracks Nr Harlow Hill Honorary Secretary Newcastle upon Tyne, NE15 0RF Lieutenant Colonel S P Andrews RA DIO SD Trg SP RSM Westdown Camp, Tilshead, Salisbury, th Wiltshire, SP3 4RS 7 Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery Email: [email protected] Merville Baracks Tel: 01980 674705 (Mil): 94325 4705 Colchester, Essex CO2 7UJ Honorary Treasurer Lieutenant Colonel D P Penniall MBE BEM, RA SO1 GMT and Dep Garrison Comd, Garrison Management Team, Royal Artillery Barracks, Larkhill, Sailsbury SP4 8QT, TEL 01980-845622 Above: RHAA Committee members AGM 2015. Below from top left to Membership Secretary right: Field Marshal the Viscount Alanbrooke KG, GCB, OM, GCVO, DSO Lieutenant Colonel W A Morris RA & Bar, Field Marshal Sir Geoffrey Baker GCB CMG CBE MC, General Sir 6 Marcus Close Harry Tuzo GCB OBE MC, General Sir Martin Farndale KCB, General Sir Colchester, Essex, CO4 5GT Timothy Granville-Chapman GBE KCB. E-mail: [email protected] Tel: 07720 773964 Dinner Secretary Major A Hough RHA RHAA Dinner Secretary 30 Wells Rd Larkhill, Salisbury, SP4 8LT Email: [email protected] Tel: 01980 653337 Webmaster Mr Joseph Dey Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, ML3 9HL Email: [email protected] Master Gunner St Tel: 07828260083 James’s Park who have been Goods Secretary Mr Tony Darby former 78 Primrose Field, Harlow, Essex, CM18 6QT Presidents of the Email: [email protected] RHA Association. Tel: 01279 413844 RHAA Newsletter January 2016, Edition 12 Edition Newsletter 2016,RHAA January 4 The King’s Troop RHA 2015 has been another exceptionally busy year for the Troop. January saw the usual pre- season, post leave preparation with solders, officers and horses undergoing rigorous training to make sure we were all up to scratch for the start of the ceremonial season. A hastily repaired, post ‘Winter Wonderland’ Hyde Park was unfortunately not quite ready to host the galloping salute for accession day on 6th Feb, so Green Park was used to kick off the year’s ceremonial Top: The Troop parades in front of Buckingham Palace for the state visit of the President calendar.