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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: rhq@thefusiliers.org

RHQ/RRF/1363 14th

April 2010

Funeral of Captain Jon Allen

The funeral of Captain Jon Allen, 1 RRF took place at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on 12 April

2010. The Colonel of the Regiment and Mrs Minter attended with over 700 Fusiliers, other military

colleagues, family and friends. The combined Corps of drums from the 1st and 2

nd Battalions and a

Northumbrian Piper played at the service. A fitting send off for a first class officer and brilliant young

man. The Regiment‟s thoughts and prayers are with Jon‟s mother, father and family and with Rosie

Curling his girlfriend.

Captain Tony Harris

Captain Tony Harris, who received serious injuries when the vehicle he was in struck a mine in

Afghanistan last May, had his left leg removed below the knee 2 weeks ago. Since then Tony has

undergone 2 further operations. Despite being operated on the night before, Tony attended Jon Allen‟s

funeral, where he was in good spirits albeit a little tired. He is now back in East Grinstead Hospital for an

unspecified period. The Colonel of the Regiment and all Fusiliers wish him a speedy recovery and look

forward to his return to work in the not too distant future.

Tony and Liz Harris recently enjoyed a weekend break at a top hotel in London courtesy of the enormous

generosity of John Madill a retired RNF officer who now lives in Albuquerque, USA. John will be coming

to England for the Freedom Parade and the annual RNF St George‟s Day dinner. Once a Fusilier always a

Fusilier.

John Madill on the ranch in USA

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Area Colonel Warwickshire

Brig David Paterson will relinquish his appointment as Area Colonel Warwickshire on St George‟s Day

and pass responsibility to Col Peter Merriman. Her Majesty The Queen has approved the change in

appointments. Brig Paterson has been posted to Afghanistan for a year as the officer responsible for

Afghan National Army Training. The Colonel of the Regiment, on behalf of all Fusiliers thanks Brig

Paterson for the time, limitless energy and all that he achieved in Warwickshire and, indeed, for the whole

Regiment and warmly welcomes Col Peter Merriman who is of course a „Warwickshire lad‟.

--------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 RRF

------------------------------------------------- The untimely and tragic death of Captain Jon Allen has been at the forefront of everyone‟s thoughts in the

Battalion. The Regiment has lost a fine officer and the whole Fusilier family feels and shares in that loss.

The Commanding Officer offers Jon‟s family and Rosie his, and the Battalions, condolences and can

assure them that Jon will be sorely missed and never forgotten.

--------------------------------------------------

At work March has been a month with two key tasks – the Equipment Care Inspection (ECI) and the BCIP

5.4 Bowman upgrade. All members of the Bn have worked hard to ensure that equipment care processes

and procedures were at 100%, and their efforts were rewarded with a suitably praiseworthy report.

Alongside this work everyone has been trained on the latest version of the Bowman communications

hardware and software – a large organisational task in itself. The officers and SNCOs led by example,

with many taxing hours spent scratching heads whilst puzzling over their laptop screens. Capt Tom

Atkinson – never known as the Bill Gates of 1RRF at the best of times – particularly enjoyed his training!

Fus Hill works hard on LFTT Lcpl Hutton masters BCIP!!

Y Coy have spent a portion of the month trialling the new Mk7 helmet, the new lighter weight body

armour and the latest respirator, at the CBRN testing facility at Porton Down as well as the Enhanced Joint

Combat Identification Marking System at Bovington. Simultaneously, W and Z Coys have been working

with Boeing. The trial involves testing a new load carrying unmanned wheeled vehicle through the use of

computer simulation - basically having a lot of fun on a grown-up computer game. A tough week at work

for Capt David Snowden! The new piece of kit, if and when it does enter service, will be used in

Afghanistan to lighten the load for the infantry soldier on the ground.

Y and X Coys also deployed to Castlemartin ranges to conduct their Annual Crew Tests (ACTs) on

Warrior and for the dismounted Fusiliers to conduct some Live Firing Tactical Training (LFTT). The

Warrior ranges went well, with all crews achieving good scores with a large number of level 6 passes. The

„Top Gun‟ award went to LCpl Dan Hart (Y Coy) for a particularly outstanding battle run. The ATk

Platoon 2IC, Sgt „Raymondo‟ Rose blitzed down the attack lane, scoring highly and putting the Platoon

Commander‟s crew to shame. The dismounted ranges were just as successful with all involved managing

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to achieve live Fire Team Attacks, and the Bn were also visited in the field by the Veterans Minister and

CINC LAND.

The CO (left) Veterans Minister (centre) and CinC, General Wall (right)

Congratulations go to the nineteen Fusiliers who have successfully completed their Fire Team

Commander‟s Course this month. They are all now wearing their hard-earned first stripe having enjoyed a

challenging six weeks in Brecon.

The Bn football team played the Black Watch in the final of the Infantry Cup on 24 March in Tidworth and

were beaten 2-1 after some pretty dubious referring decisions!

Z Coy decided to let off a bit of steam and go paint balling instead of taking a sports afternoon. It soon

became abundantly clear that the Fusiliers welcomed the opportunity to „shoot‟ the Coy 2IC and CSM.

Everyone had a good time, less the bruising, and it was good to have the Coy together in one place for a

relaxed, fun afternoon.

Some members of the Battalion are enjoying a skiing trip to the French Alps and now that everyone has

returned from a well earned Easter break the Battalion is looking forward in particular to St George‟s Day

and exercising the Freedom of the County of Northumberland.

A rare sight; both RSMs on an FTX

2 RRF

Major Generals Inspection. Before the Battalion started conducting Guard Duties at the Palaces and

Castles across London they were inspected by the GOC London District, Maj Gen W G Cubitt CBE on the

24 Mar. The whole Battalion was inspected in full „Blues‟ rather than Great Coats. This is a serious

inspection that can result in a „show again‟ order cascading down from the GOC. The Battalion passed

with flying Colours with the GOC most impressed by the overall standard. There followed a short

reception for the Maj Gen in the Warrant Officers‟ and Sergeants‟ Mess, and lunch with the Officer‟s in

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the Mess in Calvary Barracks. The Corps of Drums of the Battalion have been ordered by HQ London

District to take their place amongst the Bands and Drums of the Brigade of Guards on the annual Horse

Guards summer Beating Retreat on 9 and 10 Jun in recognition of their outstanding ability and

performances whilst on Public Duties; a major coup!

Get on Parade! The GOC’s Inspection

The Drums Platoon prior to the GOC’s Inspection

TRANSGLOBE Crew Returns. For those who can remember back to the start of the year you may recall

that 7 members of the Battalion embarked on a Sailing Expedition, Ex TRANSGLOBE. This was a Tri-

Service expedition where each Service sails its own yacht around the world, one leg at a time. The

Fusiliers on the Army yacht „Challenger‟ were given the infamous Southern Ocean leg; Cape Horn and all.

They had an incredibly eventful time. Not only did they lose the track on the mast that holds the sail in

place as previously reported but once this had been repaired back in New Zealand they set off again, now

considerably behind the other boats. They subsequently hit some atrocious weather; big winds with a big

sea to match that the other crews had missed. This caused extensive damage to the boat and Challenger

was knocked down no less then 4 times (knocked down means lying flat in the water, from the top of the

mast to the keel) on the worst knock down it was estimated that the boat turned through 130°. The boat

performed as designed to do and righted itself, but the damage was too much to finish the leg. Some of the

damage was cosmetic (gas locker and top box covers gone), but other damage was more serious and

included an irreparable stub mast, stanchions and jackstays but more significantly, the binnacle had

sheered. Throughout this period the yacht‟s Emergency Signal Transmitter (EPIRB) was activated and it

took 22 hours, 4 countries, 2 fishing vessels, and the second of two spotter planes to find them. Luckily

there were no major injuries however a few suspected broken ribs and numerous cuts and bruises were

looked at when they eventually landed safely in the Falkland Islands, which was not the intended finishing

point of the leg! The boat is in for repair and the Fusilier crew landed back in the UK on 24 March, with a

few stories of daring do to tell. The full description of this truly amazing journey can be found at:

http://www.exercisetransglobe.com/

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Light seas in the Southern Ocean Yacht surfing in a medium sea

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March and the beginning of April has been a relatively quiet period for the Battalion. The budgetary

restrictions of the last year are still impacting on training resulting in only one training weekend in March.

In order to get away from the usual flurry of completing bounty qualification activity, the Companies

requested field training in order to begin the low level tactical team building in preparation for Annual

Camp. As a result D and HQ Coy went to Feldom Training Area and X & Z Coy went to Otterburn to

carry out Coy planned and conducted Sect level Tactics. Both exercises proved valuable for the Fusiliers

and Riflemen and the junior command element. The Coy chain of command also enjoyed the freedom to

plan and conduct training without input from Bn HQ.

The Mortar Pl also had a chance to complete its annual Live Firing Numbers Cadre. Unfortunately, due to

budgetary restraint again from HQ Regional Forces and 2 Div, the amount of ammunition was reduced to

the bare minimum and only qualifying shoots could be conducted rather than the more complex tactical

engagements and more advanced Fire Planning. The application of mortar fire is a key skill that has been

retained within TA Battalions as part of Op ENTIRETY as the deployment of individual mortar sects to

reinforce regular bns on operations.

LCpl Fudge and Rfn Meades Fire for Effect on last Fire Mission of the day.

It is interesting to note that Capt Martin Hedley, currently Adjt 5 RRF, was OC Mortars with 2 RRF on

HERRICK 10 and had 3 Mortar men from 5 RRF in his Platoon at ROSHAN Tower where they fired a

total 997 rounds in anger.

The last training event saw the Bn deploy to Warcop for a Skill at Arms weekend where the shooting team

spent most of the time coaching the remainder of those present on the marksmanship principles and

application of fire. The aim was to get as many through the new ACMT as possible in preparation for the

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Bn IFFC in Sennelager in June. RSM Goldsmith also took the rare opportunity to have an afternoon of

drill in preparation for the Freedom of Northumberland in Morpeth on 24 April 2010.

On recruiting, much credit should go to Capt Preston-Pacey and his team who have managed to guide and

mentor the recruits though Phase One training and have managed to get 25 recruits ready to attend CIC in

the coming weeks. The Bn has also managed to prepare seven JNCOs for SCBC and it is hoped there will

be 7 potential Section Commanders ready to go the Infantry Battle School at the end of May.

Future Events

17 April – Band play at Newcastle Falcons

24 April – Freedom of Northumberland Parade

8 & 9 May – 15 Bde SAAM

24 May – Flag Day for WO1 RSM Frost in post.

5 June – Commanding Officer‟s Dining Out

12 – 27 June – Annual Camp in Germany

Operations

The Bn has the following personnel deployed on Ops and International Trg Tasks.

Op HERRICK 12 – 1 LANCS BG

Cpl Christopher Unwin Burma Coy

LCpl David Gullane Corunna Coy

Rfn Mathew Fairhurst Anzio Coy

Rfn Michael Hobson Anzio Coy

Rfn Jason Peacock Anzio Coy

Rfn Berrick Fletcher Anzio Coy

Rfn Garth Restell Anzio Coy

Op TOSCA

CSgt Richard Redpath

Pte Amy Pearsons

STTT QATAR

Capt Ben Clare D Coy

The Trg Major‟s latest Adventure Training (Ed; it would be nice to see him in his office occasionally!)

From 6 – 13 March nine members of the Battalion deployed on Ex NORTHERN BAVARIAN HACKLE

to conduct a Basic Ski Proficiency (Alpine) Course in Germany. The exercise aim was to formally qualify

members of the permanent staff and TA hierarchy in order to produce ski instructors for larger, future AT

exercises. The exercise was conducted at minimal cost and comprised of an 18 hour minibus drive from

Durham to the REME Hotel in Wertach (Bavaria), and 6 days of skiing in the Obersjoch and Felhorn Ski

areas, before returning by minibus. All members of the group passed the course and showed steady

improvement throughout the week in some glorious skiing conditions.

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5RRF Trg Maj demonstrates perfect

technique in OBERSJOCH

The exercise proved a great success and is now firmly in the programme for next winter, with as many of

those who attended this course hoping to attempt their next progression; the Advanced Ski Proficiency

Course.

Members of the 5RRF group line up awaiting the days instruction at FELHORN (L to R – Capt Hedley, Maj Hallam,

Maj Hindmarch, WO2 (RQMS) McNab, CSgt Lawson, Capt Hill, Sgt Perkins

Area HQ Northumberland

March has continued to be a period where the Area Headquarters has focused on the Freedom Parade in

Morpeth on Saturday 24 April where the Regiment will be granted the Freedom of the County of

Northumberland, the first Infantry Regiment to be honoured in this way.

The day‟s events will begin at 1100 hrs with a Drumhead Service at County Hall and will be followed by a

Freedom Parade through Morpeth Town Centre starting at 12 noon. There will then be a Civic Reception

for the marching troops and ticket holders in the Riverside Leisure Centre. There will be a Fusiliers

Officers Club black tie St George‟s Ball held in The Assembly Rooms that evening.

There will be parking at County Hall and buses to transport people into Morpeth Town Centre where

parking will be very tight. These buses will leave the Riverside Leisure Centre at approximately 2.00pm to

return people to their cars at County Hall.

As a long look forward to next year, Sunday 23 April 2011 will be the 60th

anniversary of the battle of

Imjin and will be celebrated as such.

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Area HQ Warwickshire

Once again Sheldon, Birmingham and Nuneaton Branches of the Regimental Association had a thoroughly

good time at RHQ at HM Tower of London. On Sunday 28 March, some 49 members made the pilgrimage

to the Annual Regimental Service which was followed by an excellent lunch at RHQ. Murray Richards

presented a cheque of £285 to the Fusilier Aid Society, money he raised for his exploits on Skiddaw over

Christmas.

Sheldon Branch organised a battlefield tour of the Normandy Beaches in early March, they were

accompanied by Mr Jimmy Pounds of the Birmingham Branch who went ashore with D Company 2nd

Battalion The Royal Warwickshire Regiment on D Day, 6 June 1944. He provided a vivid and emotional

account of the landings at Sword Beach.

Central Branch held their second Annual Fund Raising Dinner at the Royal Court Hotel in Keresley,

Coventry on 20 March. 134 members and guests enjoyed a superb dinner which was preceded by the

Drums of First Fusiliers providing an excellent “Stick Beat”. Regimental guests included Brigadier & Mrs

David Paterson and Brigadier (Retd) & Mrs Ian Liles. Recent fund raising initiatives by the Central Branch

for the Fusilier Aid Society has totalled £8,200, a cheque for £4,200 was presented to the Regimental

Secretary by Mr Bob Holmes, President of the Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA) who

kindly sponsored FAS at the recent MTA Annual Dinner, along with a cheque of £4,000 by Major Lee

Bott, Chairman of the Central Branch. Mr David Owen, Chairman of the Trustees of the Royal Regiment

of Fusiliers Museum (Royal Warwickshire) was also presented with a cheque of £1000 towards the Fusilier

museum in Warwick.

Bob Holmes presents a cheque to Regtl David Owen MBE receives a donation

Sec and Lt Col (Retd) Keith Kiddie

Brigadier David Paterson presided at the 62nd

reunion of the Fusiliers Officers‟ Club Warwickshire which

was held at Gamecock Barracks on 5 March attracting 52 Officers and guests which included Brigadier Ian

Liles, Colonel Peter Merriman, Lieutenant Colonel Jim Landon and the Mayor of Kenilworth.

L-R: Maj Mike Cooke, Lt Col Jim Landon, Maj Richard Coates, Col Peter Merriman & Brig David Paterson, (Area

Col and Area Col des) at 62nd

Officers Club Dinner

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Regimental events taking place in Warwickshire over the coming months are:

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Foot Dinner Club at the Shire Hall Warwick on 9 April 2010

Second Fusiliers Welcome Home Parade in Kenilworth on 21 April 2010

First Fusiliers accepting the Freedom of Entry from Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough

Council on 12 September 2010

Fusilier Gathering in Coventry and Warwick over the weekend 18/19 September 2010

Area HQ London

On 1 April the HQ was delighted to see the removal of the entrance kiosk in the museum along with the

need to charge a separate fee. The running and organisation of the museum remains unchanged but the

manning of the museum is now undertaken by the Tower Warding Staff. The downside could be that

having been accustomed to 100000 visitors we could well expect all 2½ million visitors to the Tower to

walk through the museum! It remains to be seen how this will need to be managed and how the floor

covering holds up.

The refurbishment of the museum project is moving steadily ahead and fundraising results are most

encouraging although we still need to raise another £300k. In the meantime, advertising for the new

Museum Officer is on the streets with a closing date for applications of 12 April. The interviews for the

appointment will take place on 27 April.

Although the external works finished before Christmas, the craftsmen have returned to replace stonework

in the front entrance. Ironically, due to the increased footfall through the museum over Easter, they have

had to stop until after the school holidays!

On the cadet front, Haberdasher‟s Aske‟s CCF at Elstree had a most successful Field Day with the 1st Bn at

Tidworth. They also had a very good annual inspection on 5 March which was taken by Brigadier David

Paterson. At the Greater London (GL) RFCA AGM on 11 March, 103 Detachment (St Mary Cray)

received the Glaziers GL ACF Citizenship award 2009 and Lt Dionne Konstantioious received the award

as the most outstanding ACF Detachment Commander in South East Sector.

Finally, Major Colin Bowes-Crick has been elected as Chairman of the Harben Armoury Trust replacing

the late Rear Admiral Sam Salt. The Trust is administered by the Worshipful Company of Cordwainers and

dispenses grants to RRF ACF detachments in London.

Area HQ Lancashire

Following on from the Homecoming Parade, the Mayor of Salford, Councillor Roger Lightup and the

Mayoress, Valarie Fleet expressed an interest in a visit to the new Headquarters and Museum. They had in

fact been to Moss Street before. This was, however, for the opening of the Museum by the Colonel in

Chief. As is the nature of these things it transpired that the Mayor was also due to meet HRH later that day

in Salford. Thus, for the sake of protocol, the Mayor and Mayoress were not introduced to HRH. Needless

to say they didn‟t see much of the displays or the museum facilities. Therefore, at the beginning of March

the opportunity was taken to rectify the situation and on this occasion the Mayor and Mayoress were able

to spend a leisurely two hours touring the museum and soaking up what is, after all, an important part of

Salford‟s history.

The Fusilier Museum has recently been awarded a “Highly Commended” grading by the „Visit England

Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance Scheme (VAQAS)‟. This is the benchmark for all visitor attractions

in England and the award of this status so early in the life of the museum is a credit to all those that have

made, and continue to make, the museum such a success.

In the run up to Gallipoli Weekend the Friends of the Fusilier Museum volunteered to put together a

presentation on the campaign. The talk was given by Mark Hone, Head of History and Politics from Bury

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Grammar School and officer in the CCF and Steve Douthwaite, formerly a major in the REME who has

recently retired to live in Bury and volunteered to become Secretary of the Friends. The presentation was

well received and will no doubt be the first of many. It is of note that there are more non-Fusiliers in the

„Friends‟ than Fusiliers; something which needs rectifying.

The Fusilier Museum Afghanistan exhibition opened to the Public on Friday 26 March. This has been an

interesting and worthwhile project following so closely upon the operational tour. The stars of the

exhibition are undoubtedly the Officers and Fusiliers of 2 RRF who deserve thanks and congratulation for

their time and input. The unsung heroes are the museum staff and volunteers who have worked long hours

to put the exhibition together. Locally it has been a joint effort with assistance and materiel provided by

the Fusilier Platoon from the Castle Armoury. There will be more on the exhibition in the April Newsletter

Amy Warburton;, a museum assistant with attitude!

Hero‟s Café in the museum ran a special Mother‟s Day lunch. The event was well attended and generated

good publicity. The café has developed a good reputation and much support locally as letters in the Bury

Times have shown.

An important part of the Museum‟s education programme is a package that deals with the Home Front

during the Second World War. One of the lessons in the package covers drill for Home Guard recruits. In

order for the museum staff to fine tune the lesson, the Fusilier Cadet Detachment from the Castle Armoury

volunteered to assist with the rehearsal. As cadets know more about drill than most of us they took part in

good humour and made a very positive contribution. Following the rehearsal they stayed on for a guided

tour of the displays.

Cadets drill display for museum staff

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Gallipoli Weekend. Details for Gallipoli Weekend are:

Friday 23 March (St George‟s Day).

1300-1600hrs: Museum Company AGM, Fusilier Museum.

Saturday 24 March

1030-1230hrs: Lancashire Council Meeting, Fusilier Museum.

1400- 1500hrs: Dedication of Fusilier Memorial Wood, Whitefield.

1900-2300hrs: Association Dinner, Radcliffe Civic Centre.

Sunday 25 March (Gallipoli Day)

1030-1130hrs: Regimental Parade and Inspection, Castle Armoury.

1145-1255hrs: Church Service, Bury Parish Church

1300-1330hrs: March Past

1330-1430hrs: Lunch, Fusilier Museum. A bar will be run for the first time in the

Normandy Room.

Rochdale Association Ladies Dinner Night in full swing

NOTICES

Regimental Summer Ball

Attached are details and an application form for the Regimental Summer Ball, which replaces the annual

Regimental Dinner. It is for all serving and retired officers and their ladies and is being organised by 1

RRF at Tedworth House, Tidworth on 3 July 2010. The last time the Regiment held such an event was at

Dover Castle when the Colonel of the Regiment was commanding 2 Bde. The aim is to make this event as

equally spectacular and enjoyable.

Regimental Cocktail Party

Another reminder that the annual cocktail Party at the Tower of London will take place on 24 Jun 2010.

The combined Corps of Drums of the 1st and 2

nd Battalions will Beat Retreat on the evening. Tickets are

available through John Davies on 0203 166 6906. After the excellent turnout and highly enjoyable evening

last year you know it makes sense to come in 2010!

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St George’s Day Lunch at RHQ

To celebrate St George‟s Day there will be a curry lunch for officers (serving and retired) plus

accompanying wives and ladies on Fri 23 April starting at 1230 hours. The charge per head will be £12.50

(£25.00 for a double ticket) and a cash bar will operate. Bookings by telephone (0203-166-6906) or e mail

(rhqrrf-asec@infantry-units.co.uk) and cheques payable to “The Fusiliers Fund” to Captain Davis at RHQ.

The last booking will be accepted at 1230 hours on Monday 19 April 2010.

Aden Veterans Society

Below is the new emblem for the RNF Aden Veterans Society sent to RHQ by Jonty Batey (sniper) who

many of you will remember from both the RNF and 1 RRF ((Ed; Jonty was my first Pl Sgt). The emblem

was designed by John Crawford.

The Fusiliers Aid Society – Charity Event

Capt Chris Dixon and Capt James Fern have been stupid enough to enter the 2010 Bala 70 wild miles on 3

July. This is an endurance event consisting of a back-to-back 47 mile cycle, 10 mile canoe and finally a 1/2

marathon.

This is in aid of the Fusiliers Aid Society

Training has begun, mainly in the form of running and cycling now the sun has made an appearance, the

Kayak leg is still in the discussion/planning stage and considering neither Chris nor James have kayaked in

5 or 6 years, putting it off seems to be the order of the day.

If you would like to donate it is simple and safe to do so online through Just Giving following this link,

http://www.justgiving.com/Christopher-James or a cheque made payable to The Fusiliers Aid Society

FAO Capt Dixon at Regimental Headquarters. Also kayak tips and training are most appreciated.

I R Liles OBE

Brigadier (Retd)

Regimental Secretary