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European Branch Newsletter – Feb 2010 |
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RLIRA UK Newsletter February, 2010
Howzit folks,
Welcome to the January/February newsletter of the RLIRA.
Another busy couple of months have been and gone since our last newsletter and as is usual a lot has happened. This newsletter focuses primarily on our new museum which although only just opened, is proving to be a big success with all who have so far visited.
You can see photos of the museum on our web page:
http://www.therli.com
as well as on countless Face Book sites.
The UK RLIRA continues to grow its membership with another 26 members joining us in the last 8 months, taking our UK membership alone to over 350! Believe it or not, it seems that there are still ouens and crows out there who are not aware of our Association. If you can spread the word, please do so. We know that Face Book and other social networking sites are proving very successful in this respect and we would like to keep up the momentum and to strengthen our membership even further.
Duplicate Presidential colours
Last year we decided to have a duplicate set of Presidential Colours made for us. The Colours were beginning to show wear and tear – they are over forty years old – and we were concerned that they would not last long in their current state and with their current use.
Our solution was to have a duplicate set made and the originals sealed to prevent any further deterioration.
We can now announce that this has now happened and we have now taken custody of a duplicate set, made in Pakistan, believe it or not, which are wonderfully made and excellent replica of the originals.
From now on, the duplicate Colours will be available for all RLIRA ceremonial occasions.
Museum opening
It is with great pleasure that we are able to announce that on the 30th of January the Rhodesian Light Infantry Regimental Association opened its museum on the first floor of the Royal Air Force Association Club in Bedford.
The museum consists of three large rooms packed with weapons, uniformed mannequins and memorabilia from the Regiment’s history. Maps, photographs, models and medals are housed in impressive glass cabinets, while Commando trophies and plaques, gleaming guard the walls and corridors.
The display, consisting of memorabilia from the RLI also contains equipment and kit from other units, such as the Rhodesian African Rifles, Selous Scouts, Rhodesian Regiment and the SAS, which offers the visitor a fascinating insight into the military history and esprit d’corp of its troops.
The opening of the museum was attended by well over a hundred ouens, crows and visitors who enjoyed the colourful spectacle expressing their admiration at the paintings by John Wynn-Hopkins and Craig Bone and the myriad of items donated or loaned to the Association and the museum by contributors from all over the world.
If the feast of military memorabilia was not enough, the staff of the RAFA club welcomed all to the opening by laying on an excellent array of food throughout the day and into the evening, challenging even the most gargantuan appetite. As The RAFA bar followed suit, and as is usual with ouens who are challenged, the duel went on well into the night, where a valiant rear-guard action was fought resulting in a draw, although there were a number of casualties suffering from post traumatic dress disorder when the bar closed, one case of an attack of unexpected gravity syndrome with accompanying complications of A and E; fortunately not critical, cured by a long wait and a short rest, and a number of cases of short term memory loss and morning after light intolerance syndrome!
We would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff of the RAFA club for helping to make the opening of the museum such a success, many many thanks.
To all of you who contributed your kit and katundu to the museum, on behalf of the world-wide Association we would like to say many tatendas. Again, thanks to your generosity we have been able to successfully complete another major project creating one more prompt to assist in maintaining The memory of the role played by the RLI in Rhodesian history.
The museum is continuing to grow and it would seem that it has taken on a life of its own, including attracting new friends and associates who having seen the museum, have been so impressed that they have offered their help to add to its success by providing their skills and expertise free of charge.
To everyone who has and is helping with this project we would like to say a very big thank you.
Museum opening hours
Please find below arrangements for visiting the museum. There is no charge but we would ask that anyone who does visit the museum contributes to its maintenance by providing a donation. In addition, would you please sign the visitors book adding your comments.
Monday ....... Closed
Tuesday – Friday: 11am - 2.30 pm ... Evenings 7pm - 11pm
Saturday:.......11am - 3pm .... Evening 7pm - 11pm
Sunday ....... open 11am - 4pm
Visitors to the Museum should present their RLI or Forces Membership cards to the Bar staff on duty and sign the Visitors Book
Non Members should contact Martyn Hudson Mobile : 07788788095 or Ewan Fleming Tel. 017515019051.
Anyone wishing to visit outside of these hours should contact Martyn Hudson tel.07788788095 and arrangements will be made
Museum donations
Below is a list of equipment and articles that we are still looking for. Any articles can either be donated or loaned to the museum and a receipt will be provided for equipment left in our care.
A special request to any Blue Job out there who would like to donate a “blues” uniform. This is probably the only uniform that we are currently outstanding and we would appreciate it if you could donate one to us. It is important to remember the role played by the Rhodesian Air force and we would welcome the opportunity to include this in our display.
A lot of hard work has gone into the museum project and its success so far has been as a result of the generosity of RLIRA members and friends from around the world who have given up their time and memorabilia to support our project.
Ouens, we need some bucks!
WE have still not completed the museum and require burglar bars, lighting as well as the installation of a security CCTV system to ensure that the collection is kept safe.
Could we ask members to assist by donating to the museum project. We would be grateful for any contributions and any contributions that you give will be useful in both the maintenance and enhancement of our museum project.
White Sergeants mess jacket – we already have the trousers;
Clandestine tackies;
Medals – individual and collections;
Plaques – Assorted;
Beer tankards;
Water bottles, dixies and webbing;
Money – lots of it!
Subscriptions for 2010
it was decided that subscriptions to support new and existing projects would continue.
The subscription period will run from January 2010 to December 2010; details of the cost of subscriptions is given below.
Full members £15 Full members and family £20
Associate members £10 Associate members and family £15
Affiliate members £10 Affiliate members and family £15
Honorary and Life members – No subscription ,
Folks, it is vital for the continuation of the Association that we are able to raise funds in order to support the maintenance of the Troopie, the museum, as well as developing new projects and the operation of the association in general.
Committee members give up their time and in the majority of cases, their expenses too, in order to run the Association and maintain its success. We don’t think that this is fair and so we would ask you all to send in your subscriptions to keep the Association alive and flourishing. We have more than 300 members and if we all subscribe, we should be in a much better financial state than what we are in now.
This is our Association. It continues or dies dependent upon the enthusiasm and motivation of its members. Without your support and your intention to maintain this association of friendship and shared history, it will falter and all of the work that we have done to date will be of no value. We need your support.
CQMS stores
You can still buy RLIRA polo shirts and Rhodesia remembered DVDs from our stores.
The RLI shirts (assorted sizes still available) do not have any commando badges, but the RLI emblem on the breast. These items are reasonably priced (every little helps)
and of excellent quality.
Rhodesia Remembered DVD’s £15
RLIRA golf shirts £15
We hope to be able to expand our CQMS stores with the inclusion of ties, berets and so on in the near future.
To purchase any of these items, or to pay your subscriptions fees, or to make a donation, please see below.
London prayer meeting
Gerry Doyle and a couple of ouens from 2 Commando arranged a prayer meeting in London in January, in a pub just outside of Marylebone station. Gerry would like to thank those who attended and wondered if it would be an idea to arrange to stage another prayer meeting, possibly at the same venue?
If anyone is interested in joining Gerry’s meeting, or thinking of holding one in their area, let Mark know and comms will be sent out to all call signs to report and encourage attendance.
This would be a great way of keeping in contact with RLIRA members in your area.
Well done Gerry!
Selous Scouts and SAS get-together.
On Saturday, 17 April, the Selous Scouts and SAS are holding a get-together at Chick sands.
Members of the RLIRA have been invited to come along and join in with their celebration.
If you would like to go along, please contact Barbara Breseler at:
b.bresler23@googlemail.com
for more details.
RLIRA bank and payment details
Below are details of the RLIRA bank account which should allow overseas and those UK members who wish to pay by cheque or bank transfer.
In addition, it is possible to pay by credit or debit card to Dick, on +44 1234 852 800
Or 01234 852800
If you are going to phone please could you note the times when Dick will be available. Dick works for Martyn Hudson and has very kindly donated his time to help our members pay their subscription fees, donate and purchase RLIRA goods.
Please phone Monday to Friday – UK GMT:
Before 9:00
During lunch time: 12:30 – 1:30
After 4:00
Those members who wish to use cheque, postal order or bank transfer, please note the following details:
RLIRA BANK DETAILS
ACCOUNT AT
NATIONAL & WESTMINSTER BANK ( NAT WEST )
81, HIGH STREET
BEDFORD
MK40 1YN
TEL : 0845 3041910
ACCOUNT NAME :
RHODESIAN LIGHT INFANTRY REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATION ( RLIRA )
SORT CODE : 60-02-13
ACCOUNT NUMBER : 62234145
International BANKING
IBAN: GB42 NWBK 6002 1362 2341 45
With the winter fast coming to an end (hope springs eternal) it won’t be long now until shorts and vellies make their new spring and summer fashion must wear items. We hope that this newsletter finds you all well and we look forward to meeting you all at our forth coming events.
Stay well
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E-Cheetah (SA): January 2010 |
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Editorial
Been a busy last quarter. The RLIRA gathers worldwide momentum on a weekly
basis, driven of course by the dynamism and vision of the South African branch.
My time has been taken up with Keith Bartlett’s miraculous resurrection and
handling a barrage of emails from ouens across the globe. It really is
heartwarming, and humbling, to deal with such correspondence and for the first
time in a long, long time to truly ‘feel’ our brotherhood. It’s something very,
very special and something for which I am grateful on a daily basis; something
which is a gift and a privilege.
Oops: In the last e-Cheetah, we erroneously reported the death of Keith Bartlett.
Keith is very much alive and kicking. We heave a massive sigh of relief and
sincerely regret the error. We had been given this information from a normally
very reliable 1 Commando source (an oxymoron if ever there was), so didn’t
bother to verify it. In future we will. (Our chairman adds his comment in the
‘The Last Post’ section.) Keith, like The Trooper statue, is therefore
officially ‘unValed’, and is advised he may now claim back pay at
www.sars.org.za
Your committee has as always been hard at work. As proof, herewith the minutes
of one of our O Groups:
Scribe to John van Stan and Skippy Michell: I see Skippy’s and John van Stan’s
pics were left out by mistake in the recent e-Cheetah. My apologies.
JvS: Ah, you guys just don’t like 1 Commando, that’s all!
Skippy: Yeah, I think it’s a 1 Commando AND Durban thing!
Scribe: Where’s Durban?
JvS: I see there’s a lack of love and admiration being shown for both the best
commando AND Durban. Lots of guys out there just couldn’t make it into 1
Commando … but they mustn’t still be jealous of us.
Scribe: I know—I applied for 1 Commando, but was rejected because my IQ was in
double figures.
JvS: Ah ha! You have a point, but at least our knuckles didn’t drag along the
ground like others in the Battalion … a prerequisite was that we had to stand
upright on our hind legs, a characteristic sometimes not seen in our other less
fortunate commandos. Plus we were only occasionally banned from Coq d’Or, Lion’s
Den and other drinking holes and we carried only the prettiest nurses over the
back gate at night, into the lines.
Scribe: Admittedly we did have to shave our palms before spitting on them.
Lastly, I’d like to offer my gratefully thanks to our webmaster George
Dempster
and his team for all their support, particularly his son Colin who does all our comms notices and e-Cheetah design and layout. These okes are the crucial glue
that keeps us all in comms.
Out to you all and see you in Durban, which I’ve spotted on the map, in a couple
of weeks.
Chris Cocks
Resident clipboard-wielder of Biro-stained digits
YOUR TEAM OF OUENS
FROM OUR PATRON
The RLI Regimental Association’s presentation to Jill Landrey, the initiator of
the Troopies’ Canteen, Mt Darwin, 1973
On 6 November 2009 I received an email from Bill Wiggill and Phil Kaye, advising
me that the Chairman of the RLIRA, Ian Buttenshaw, had decided (with his
committee) to acknowledge Jill Landrey for establishing the first Troopies’
Canteen in Mount Darwin in 1973. I, as Patron of the RLI Association, was
requested to make a belated presentation to Jill, in recognition of her work.
The presentation took the shape of an engraved silver medal and a scroll making
her an Honorary Member of the RLIRA. I was OC Support Group at the time, who
were the first Rhodesian troops (except for area border-control operations) to
be stationed at Mount Darwin. This happened after the terrorist attacks on 21
December 1972 in the Centenary area where Support suffered some severe
casualties from a landmine when responding to an attack on Whistlefield Farm.
Brigadier John Hickman, the recently established JOC Commander at Centenary,
decided that Support Group needed some R&R. But instead of sending us back to
Salisbury he told me, to my astonishment, to establish Support Group at Mount
Darwin where we were to indulge in some light training, and plenty of sport! At
this time the Rhodesian Army was in such a state that there were no tents
available. So when we arrived at Mount Darwin I immediately made contact with
the Member-in-Charge BSAP Dave Parry to try and secure some accommodation in the
shape of some old farm buildings. Dave Parry, who had received information that
Mount Darwin was going to be attacked, thought that we had been sent to prevent
this. I told him that I had been sent for R&R and knew nothing about an
impending attack; furthermore, I did not believe that there was any foundation
in his information. Famous last words! The only accommodation Dave Parry was
able to secure for us was the courthouse! A number of the troopies found this
somewhat ironic. The stipulation was that we had to vacate the premises every
Tuesday so that the magistrate could conduct his trials. The nearby Country Club
allowed us to use their toilets and showers so we became fairly comfortable.
Then on the night of 8 January 1973 terrorists launched an abortive attack on
Mount Darwin. I mention this to set the background to the close relationships
which built up over the subsequent seven years between the civilian community of
Mount Darwin and the RLI. After the attack on Mount Darwin a JOC was quickly
established next to the courthouse and became the RLI’s second home for the rest
of the war.
It was at this time that Jill Landrey started a small canteen for the troopies.
This eventually built up into a sizeable operation, which the RLI and other
members of the Rhodesian Army really appreciated. With this background, it was
only a great pleasure to be able to participate in Jill’s presentation. Phil
Kaye proved to be an absolute star in organizing this presentation. Jill’s
family had never been together as a family group for 29 years. When they got to
hear of the RLI’s impending presentation they decided that they would also
attend. But they wanted their attendance to be a total surprise to their
mother/sister and great secrecy was attached to their movements.
On Saturday 5 December Phil Kaye picked me up and we set out to Melkbosstrand
where Jill lives to make the presentation. We met Jill’s family group at a
prearranged venue and did the final briefing. Jill has a large family who came
from all corners of the world including the United States. Phil and I,
resplendent in our RLI blazers and ties, went ahead and located Jill’s house.
Phil knocked at the door and asked for Jill. When she appeared, he introduced me
and told her that we had arrived to make a presentation from the RLI
Association. She was thrilled, and I could see tears in her eyes. I told her
that there were some other people who wanted to be present and would she mind if
we brought them in. She readily agreed. Jill’s family, meanwhile, had parked
behind an adjoining building, and when we called them they appeared in pairs,
one group after another. The expression on Jill’s face as she watched her
relatives appear was something very special to see, and I am not ashamed to say
that I had a tear or two in my eyes. After the whole family had been re-united,
and it was a really emotional scene, we went into the house to make the
presentation. I read Ian Buttenshaw’s citation/letter to her, and then presented
her with her scroll making her an Honorary Member of the RLI Association. This
was followed by the presentation of her medal. After a few glasses of sparkling
wine we went to a very good restaurant for a long lunch. I don’t know whose
brainchild this was, but I would like all branches of the RLI Association to
know that we were instrumental in giving Jill Landrey one of the happiest days
of her life.
Lieutenant-Colonel Ron Reid-Daly
[See Phil Kaye’s report under Comd & Sigs: ‘36 years on – The RLI says thank
you’]
SA CHAIRMAN’S HOWZIT!
Skippy Michell, Bill Holmes, Dave Hosking and Bill Wiggill
Since the first e-Cheetah published this last quarter, there has been a great
deal of activity throughout the Association and in particular the SA Branch. A
fair number of new members have come into the fold as detailed later. New men
and woman are joining on a regular basis. So, six months down the line since the
AGM we have already surpassed our first goal of increasing membership by 10%.
The QM Gary Huxham has also been as busy as a beaver and the webpage has been
updated with some of the latest merchandise now available to members. The
numbers of members appearing at our gatherings wearing Association merchandise
has indeed grown considerably in the last six months. This is very pleasing to
see as it indicates a definite rekindling of the regimental esprit de corps.
This has been further enhanced by the volunteers coming forward to offer help in
any way possible and others giving substantial donations to the Association
coffers.
Insofar as the preparations for the birthday reunion on 6 February are
concerned, Skippy Michell and his KZN team are hard at it. I met with Skippy in
Durban for a recce of the venue. Also while there I had the great pleasure to
see Robin Tarr again (last seen when I was a recruit). Robin kindly showed me a
video of the Trooping of the Colour. This DVD was made off the original 16mm
film. Robin has consented to let us make a copy and we hope to have this, among
others, on view at the birthday. (Robin should also be commended for voluntarily
taking up the duty of representing the RLI at the SAS Remembrance Service each
year in November.) It also appears that we have at least one RLI ouen coming
from Australia and about five from the UK with the possibility of at least one
man from the USA. Rumour has it that about four ouens from north of the Limpopo
will also attend, after skirmishing south.
Phil Kaye (3 Cdo: not his fault), arranged for Troopies’ Canteen organizer Jill
Landrey to receive a Rhodesian Commemorative Medal and RLIRA Honorary Life
membership. Well done Phil. A report on this event is also in this edition.
SA Branch Secretary Chris Ras (1 Cdo and QM Stores) has stepped forward to take
up the post of the Nominal Roll Officer for the whole Association. This is a
crucial function as most original records are missing so Chris has a mammoth
task facing him. He will need every ounce of help from all you members in
ensuring data is accurately captured. A big thank-you Chris from all the Exco on
your regimental spirit it taking on this vital duty.
On a serious note, while in Durban, Sylvia and I visited Bev Taylor (wife of
Kevin, 3 Cdo / Selous Scouts) in Parklands Hospital. Bev has cancer and is
having a tough time of it. She has been released for now but the Taylors should
be kept in our collective thoughts. John van Stan (1 Cdo) was also hospitalized
at the same time for gallstones but has now been released. I am sure they asked
him to leave, which disappointed the nursing staff.
Many thanks to you guys already sending in photos for the proposed RLI Pictorial
History in the planning and research phase. Please keep these coming in, giving
a spiel on each photo (including date, place, names etc.) along with your name
and regimental details.
Stay good until we see you all in Durban on 6 February.
Bill Wiggill
PAYMASTER’S SITREP
Our Treasurer Mervyn Kluckow reports: It has been a fairly smooth
handover-takeover from George. The Association accounts are now fully
operational on a recognized accounting system: Pastel. All statements raising
the 2010 subscriptions have now been sent out. But of course quite a few have
returned undelivered so I am busy tracing members to update the respective
contact addresses. I would appreciate that should any members’ contactable
address change that they advise us accordingly. Without a doubt the EXCO have an
excellent working relationship and Bill, Chris and all other appointees are
gelling and YES, things are happening. I am really looking forward to the coming
year with all it may have to offer to all our members.
The RLIRA (SA) gratefully thanks and acknowledges the following who have made
generous donations to the Colours and/or Benevolent funds:
- Des Archer
- Neville Craig-Smith
- Lloyd-Evans Trio
- Phil Kaye
- Mervyn Kluckow
- Several covert manne
WEBMASTER’S SITREP
George Dempster reports: The RLIRA website averages 2,000 unique visitors per
month from all corners of the world. Key activities on the website include
registering to become a member, viewing the event gallery and requesting
merchandise. If you are a regular visitor to the website take a minute to click
on the navigation button ‘Branches’. This is where you will find new merchandise
including caps, ties, golf shirts, waterproof jackets, The Saints book and the
Rhodesia Remembered DVD. We have recently introduced a ‘Join a Branch’
initiative. This is intended for those individuals who do not belong to one of
the existing branches and wish to receive regular communications. A number of
visitors to the site are trying to establish contact with long-lost mates. This
will be made possible during the first quarter of 2010 by the introduction of an
address book. An individual’s details will not be released unless that
individual has given prior permission. Suggestions on how we can improve the
website can be sent to gd@e2.co.za
QM STORES
Our QM, Hux, reports: We will be adding shortly to our merchandise list the
following, therefore keep an eye out on the RLI website to see when available.
We will also send out a comms notification:
- RLI key rings
- Commando key rings
- RLI licence disc holders
- RLI stickers
- RLI plaques
- Commando plaques
- RLI ties
- Berets
- Beret badges
- Lapel wings
- CIBs – Combat infantry badges which, when available, we will have to explain
what it is for and who is eligible to wear it.
We now have available green dry-mac lightweight jackets with the RLI emblem
embroidered on. Check out the website for photo.
J.O.C. SITREPS
GAUTENG PROVINCE
Gary ‘Hux’ Huxham reports: Please note that the first ‘official’ RLIRA Gauteng
region ‘watering hole’ has now been established. We request that members meet if
possible at the watering hole on the first Friday of each month, commencing 6
November 2009.
Time: 15hOO onwards or sooner if you wish.
Venue: Newton’s Pub 7 Grill (upstairs)
Address: 17 Newton Street, Kempton Park (Spartan) Gauteng.
GPS coordinates: X: 28º 13’ 25”; Y: 26º 6’ 55”
Owner’s name: Chris Bloom to whom I am grateful for making his pub available to
us.
All members and guests welcome.
CAPE PROVINCE
Peter Gombart reports from Port Elizabeth: As news is very scarce this side, I
thought I would include an amusing incident (amusing now, but then not so
amusing) that happened to me in 1972. I was going to ask my father-in-law-to-be
for permission to marry his daughter and as I was a bit nervous decided to go to
the Quorn Hotel to build up a bit of Dutch courage. Anyway, after many little
brown bottles, I managed to pluck up the courage and everything went according
to plan. The next day I drove to RLI with birds singing in the sky, brilliant
blue skies, feeling on top of the world. As I pulled up to the Main Gate, L/Cpl
Johnny Vrey informed me that the RSM Springer wanted to see me URGENTLY. I
thought, “How nice; Harry wants to congratulate me on getting engaged!” Right!
Anyway, I proceeded to the HQ and did a smart halt outside the RSM’s office and,
with a huge grin, said “Good morning, sir”, only to be bellowed at: “Get in here
you f%*#**g little shit.” He then went off at a tangent and yelled who the bleep
bleep did I bleeping think I bleeping was and how dare I bring a bleeping whore
and her Alsatian into the camp and then just leave her and go home. He said the
aforementioned lady had then gone to Training Troop and began soliciting the
rookies. When the BOS tried to remove her, the lady-in-question’s dog bit him.
Of course I was dumbfounded. I explained that I had been at my In-Laws’ house
asking permission to marry their daughter and he asked if I could prove it. I
gave him my chick’s telephone number and my mother-in-law’s telephone number
with trembling hands—no more flipping blue birds in the sky; only dark thunder
clouds. For once I was innocent. Anyway, the RSM told me to make a sexual
departure and that he’d let me know if my story panned out. I didn’t hear from
him again and eventually forgot about the incident until …
Picture this, the year 1980; Zanza Buildings, Proes Street, Pretoria; Defence
Headquarters for the Recces; me and Dennis Boyd sitting waiting for the Admin
Officer when in walks Jimmy May (ex-RLI medic and resident soak). The
conversation went as such:
Jimmy: “Hey, Pete! Howzit going, china? Long time no see.”
Me: “Hey, Jim! Good man, good to see you again.”
Jimmy: “Hey, Pete, I’ve been meaning to apologize to you for years, man.”
Me: “For what, Jim?”
Jimmy: “Well, some years ago I picked up this slut in town with her dog and I
told her my name was Pete Gombart.”
KZN PROVINCE
Skippy Michell reports from call sign SLV (Sweaty Little Vlei):
Since the last report from the ‘Last Outpost’, KZN has held two meetings in an
effort to stir up some form of a crowd, and we are slowly getting the guys on
board but it’s like pulling teeth. The first get-together in November was at the
Shamwari Club, which happened to coincide with the SAS memorial weekend, thus
there was a good sprinkling of all units present. There was obviously a good
turnout of ‘Saturday Afternoon Soldiers’ as their patron General Walls was in
attendance, plus Scouts, Air Force and BSAP. The RLI numbered approx 12 guys and
were unusually well behaved and avoided getting into a punch-up with the Police
for old time sakes! It was great to see Dawn Doughty who had just arrived from
New Zealand and who came along with Dave Hosking and company. The RLI was
represented the following day at the SAS service by Robin Tarr and myself. It
must be mentioned here that a big thank-you goes out to Robin who has taken it
upon himself for the last 12 years or so to represent the RLI at this service
and has laid a wreath every year for those who paid the ultimate sacrifice. The
second get-together in December was attended by fewer members, but apologies
were forthcoming which indicates to me that the interest is still there to build
the KZN region, and thanks must also go to the stalwarts of our get-togethers:
Dave Hosking, Ian Scott and Bill Holmes who are a great help in motivating the ouens and coming up with ideas for future jols.
Mike Longuet-Higgins is a
regular at all our meetings and has a long history with the RLI having been
instrumental in forming A Company (1 Cdo) and marching them off on the final
parade.
Plans are well under way for the Birthday Bash and the venue has been set at DHS
Old Boys Club in Durban North. The venue is central and fits the bill in terms
of accommodating the number of people expected. KZN membership is currently 68
on record, with responses from 34 and active participation from 13 members. With
guys stationed as far north as Pongola and as far south as Shepstone,
logistically it is not easy to meet with all. We have ‘unearthed’ two new
members: Alan Lukan and Graham Black (1 Cdo). We welcome them and trust they
will ‘fall in’ at our regular functions.
I received an email out the blue from Paul Mindry (1 Cdo 1978–1980) who
packed his bags eleven years ago and went to live in that small wet island
called England. He works in a hotel in Woburn, Milton Keynes and says that he
thoroughly enjoys life in the UK. (I think he must have lost it!) Dave
Strivens
is in regular contact and he too lives in UK; he is still on his quest to rid
the world of beer by drinking it all himself.
The Shamwari Club, which has been the hub of Rhodesian gatherings in Durban, I
suspect has had a fallout with the Germans (with whom we share the facility) so
we have been requested to move our army memorabilia to a new locstat. This is a
good opportunity for the RLIRA to find a new ‘home’ that is ours and not shared
with other organizations. Two possibilities are being pursued in the form of the
Durban Light Infantry and the Natal Mounted Rifles. Both units have welcomed us
as an association and I will put out a comms in the New Year confirming where we
will be refreshing ourselves in future.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Bev Taylor (Kevin Taylor’s wife) who is
extremely ill in Umhlanga Hospital.
Mike Longuet-Higgins, Jacqui Kirrane and Skippy Michell
Ian Scott and Graham Black in ambush
Robin Tarr, Skippy Michell and Skippy’s dad WO1 Jeremy Winch at
the SAS Durban reunion, Flame Lily Park, November 2009
Robin Tarr, who laid the RLI wreath at the SAS Remembrance
Service, Durban, November 2009
CHINAS SIGNING ON
FALL IN! Welcome to the following who have registered recently with the RLIRA:
- Geoffrey Banham (Lt, 1 Commando, 1961–80)
- Mick Jeffrey (Tpr, Support Commando, 1976–79)
- Hugh Gatland (Tpr, 2 Commando, 1976–77)
- Steve Rowley (Support Commando, 1975–77)
- James Wessels (L/Cpl, Support Commando, 1979–80)
- Debbie Behr (affiliate, ex-wife of late Bruce Firkin)
- Lora Venter (affiliate)
- Isidore ‘Izzy’ Mok (Tpr, 3 Commando, 1974-75)
- Graham Black (Tpr, 1 Commando, 1973-75)
- Jan Stander (honorary)
- Kerrin Cocks (honorary)
- Jannie Ferreira (Cpl, 3 Commando, 1979–80)
- Andy Schwenk (Tpr, 1 Commando, 1963–67)
- Jill Landrey (honorary life)
- Leon Alexander du Rand (Tpr, 2 Commando, 1973)
- Shaun Philp (honorary)
- Eric Rhodes (honorary, 116Bn, 8SAI Infantry School)
- Clive Dredge (Sgt, Support Commando, 1974–79)
- Charmayne Ferreira (affiliate, daughter of late Lionel Ferreira, Support
Group)
- Lionel Radloff (Tpr, 1 Commando, 1975–76)
- Allan Sawyer (Sgt, Support Commando, 1972–80)
- Shaun Huxham (honorary)
- Jacques Olivier (honorary)
- Rob Marsh (Tpr, 2 Commando, 1976–77)
What is very lekker is the amount of wives, but more so, members’ children who
are registering. This means the RLIRA will hopefully survive for another
generation.
THE LAST POST (VALE)
We reported the death of Keith Bartlett in the October issue of e-Cheetah. We
received an e-mail from Keith’s brother Allan, as follows: “Just for your info,
Keith Bartlett is my brother, saw his name in the Vale and nearly fell off my
chair; phoned him a few minutes ago, he is alive and well and contactable at
039-695 1588 or 079-492 9270.”
Our sincere apologies to Keith and all who know him / knew him / want to get to
know him.
Bill Wiggill
Neill Jackson reports: In this time of family togetherness, love and goodwill,
please keep our comrade-in-arms, Graham Enslin, in your thoughts and prayers.
Graham was the Commando Sergeant-Major of Support Commando, RLI, on Op Uric, and
was flying in the same formation as his brother Brian Enslin, a trooper in 1
Commando, aboard Puma 164, when it was shot down in September 1979. Graham and
his son, Brian, leave Queenstown on Thursday 17 December, on a pilgrimage to the
war grave of his brother at the Puma crash site located by Rick van Malsen near
Mapai, in Gaza Province. They will be at the gravesite on Saturday 19 December,
and will affix a brass plaque to a tree at the head of the grave in memory of
Brian, read out the Roll of Honour of the men who died with Brian, and read a
special poem and say a prayer for them all. Please keep Graham and young Brian
in your thoughts and prayers as they undertake this difficult and emotional
pilgrimage.
BRIAN ENSLIN
This is the poem written by Vera Phillips Mealing that was read out at the
gravesite by Graham:
An ode to the RLI
Sad, yet peaceful, dusty and hot
The rustling of leaves, on msasa trees
The glitter of brass, with names etched in black
A haze of white stones, simply standing at ease
Muffled voices, afloat in the air
Sounding persistent, their bodies unseen
In unison, murmuring, “We died not in vain
Man knows life’s story, only till death
We who have fallen, now know the rest
Honour our going, deep in the heart
Remember the wounded, they played a great part”
The voices receded ’neath indigenous trees
The ground then camouflaged, in shadows of leaves
An ominous silence, clung all around
From clouds in the heavens, to the dust on the ground
Boots now are silent, many lives just a dream
Hallowed their uniforms, white, silver and green
Dear Mark (types Pilbeam, chairman of RLIRA UK)
Always nice to read up on what’s going out there in the outer regions of the Old
Regiment, and I’m also glad to hear Martyn Hudson got over to RSA to attend
their get-together as well. Got to be some rewards for all the effort he has put
into the Association on our behalf. I think the UK Branch attempting to combine
the Pioneers weekend and one of ours an excellent idea, and I’m sure even if not
the start of a regular thing it would add a touch of spice and impetus to their
event. Nothing worse than the same thing every year for turning away the
crowds—apart from the UK weather that is! On another subject: I came across an
old photo the other week from a friend of mine who served for many years in the
Sultan of Oman Armed Forces in the 1960/70s—it was of Spike Powell in 1971 in Salalah (Southern Oman), and he has his RLI flashes on his shoulder. He had
served with the RLI and then went off to the SOAF before returning to Rhodesia
for another period of service—something I didn’t know he had done until my
friend told me about it. Spike as you probably know served in numerous roles in
the Commandos and I have many fond memories of him at Grand Reef with 2 Commando
before he was tragically killed in the second downing of a Viscount en route
from Kariba. Today being Remembrance Day, I thought it nice if it were possible
to pass the picture onto the Australian Branch as, I am sure him being an
Aussie, there are many there who would also remember him fondly (author of the
photo gives permission for it to be passed on). A great soldier and a real
character.
Fraser Brown
UK
SPIKE POWELL
Geoffrey Bond, author of The Incredibles and Remember Mazoe, among others,
passed away on Boxing Day 2009, in Chippenham, UK, aged 89. Originally with the
Grenadier Guards, Geoffrey served as a regular captain at Army HQ (KGIV
Barracks), i/c public relations from 1975 to 1980 before moving to England in
1989. He was a prolific writer, having written a staggering 31 books as well as
many plays for radio. The RLI will always retain special memories of him, a true
friend of the Battalion, as The Incredibles was for many years the only
published, and accurate, account of the regiment (and is still much sought after
today by collectors). Our sympathies to Stella.
John Foran. David Armstrong in Western Australia recently received this letter
from the late John Foran’s sister: Dear David, my name is Joan Young and I am
John’s older sister. John was born on the 28/11/1941 in Brisbane, the fourth
child of seven, and died on the 13/07/2002. He had heart problems and suffered a
major stroke while undergoing a bypass operation. He was married before he went
to Rhodesia but that broke up prior to his going, and he married again while
over there and his wife Lorraine came home with him but that also didn’t last
although they remained friends.
Les ‘Punchy’ Belstead, 3 Commando 1969–1975, passed away in Pietermaritzburg on
7 January 2010 after a long battle with diabetes. Les is survived by three
children. The RLIRA extends our sincere condolences to the Belstead family.
COMD & SIGS
36 years on – The RLI says thank you
By Phil Kaye (12 Troop, 3 Cdo)
On 5 December our Patron Ron Reid-Daly and I were able to thank Jill Landrey for
the services she and her helpers provided to all members of the armed forces
during the war years. Jill was the founder of the first Troopies’ Canteen in
Rhodesia, located in Mt Darwin, a facility that many, if not all, members of the
armed forces benefited from at some time during their service in the area. The
RLI had a long relationship with Jill and her husband Dan in the Mt Darwin area.
Our Chairman Ian Buttenshaw clearly remembers the help that Dan Landrey gave
when the RLI first moved into the Darwin area in 1972. Dan had spent most of his
life farming in the area, having bought his farm there at the ripe old age of
19. The Ruya River, a well-recognized infiltration route, ran through his farm
and Dan was involved with PATU for a number of years and gained a detailed
knowledge of terrorist activities. Dan was also well recognized for his superb
tracking skills and bushcraft.
The security situation in Mt Darwin in 1973 was such that Jill, like most
farmers’ wives with young families, would spend the day in the relative security
of the village while the children attended school and until their husbands were
back from patrol to escort them home. This obviously entailed packing food for
the children. Jill felt concerned for the welfare of Dan’s PATU stick as there
was no food available for them, which prompted her to approach the local BSAP
Member-in-Charge with the idea of setting up a kitchen in which she could cook
food for the local troops and police patrols. The MIC assisted and in short time
$1,000 was raised to purchase a deep freeze and other kitchen essentials: so was
born the first Troopies’ Canteen in Rhodesia. This concept spread throughout the
country and soon every town sported one, staffed by willing volunteers. How well
I remember enjoying the canteen offerings which, in addition to providing food
when it was difficult to prepare your own, such as when in convoy, also gave a
welcome relief from camp food. In RLI we ate very well compared to the other
units (personal experience of both!).
In recognition of the service to the unit a very emotional Jill was presented
with Honorary Life membership to the RLIRA as well as an engraved Rhodesian
Commemorative Medal. Jill’s daughter Astrid was very instrumental in organizing
the presentation which had been kept a secret right up until the arrival of Ron
and me. We had a brief meeting at a restaurant just prior to meeting at Jill’s
house to finalize matters and all went according to plan. From what I can
ascertain there were a number of people involved in the deception: well done to
Astrid and all those involved. The final cherry on top was this event brought
all the siblings together in Jill’s home for the first time in 29 years! They
all travelled in for the presentation which added even further to making the
event special for Jill. It was an honour and a privilege to have had the
opportunity to recognize Jill on behalf of the RLI Association. Thank you to Ian
Buttenshaw, Ron Reid-Daly, Billy Wiggill and Martyn Hudson (Puds) for their
total support of this from the beginning.
Responses from Jill and Astrid:
Dear Phillip
This is a thank-you letter. There are never enough words to express my utmost
gratitude and joy. You went through so much organizing and painstaking effort,
which are all beyond my comprehension. It’s hard for me to believe that someone
who did not know me would do so much for me. I am truly honoured and overjoyed
at the award bestowed on me. I would like to add though that I received numerous
awards every day when I worked in the canteen: each and every member of the
security forces, no matter colour or creed, would bless me with their smiles and
appreciation. God bless you Phillip and your beloved family. Thank you, dear
friend.
Jill Landrey
Dear Phil
Words can never express the gratitude I feel for meeting you and for what you
have done for my Mom and our family. The effort you went to was really beyond
your call of duty and we sincerely appreciate your efforts. It was a day I will
never forget. I hope you and your family got home safely.
Astrid
Ron Reid-Daly reads out Ian Buttenshaw’s letter of appreciation
(see letter below) to an emotional Jill Landrey.
Ron Reid-Daly, Jill Landrey and Phil Kaye, posing with Jill’s
framed RLIRA Honorary Membership certificate.
The chairman’s letter to Jill.
Click here to download and read [Doc]
Jill Landrey and cook Ravu in the Mt Darwin Troopies’ Canteen,
13 November 1973.
Hell, what a great site. I was in 2 Commando from 1978–1980. My older brother,
Braam Kruger, was also in 2 Commando. It is great to hear from all you men
again. It seems such a long time ago. Still the best time of my life. Go well,
you all.
Paddy Kruger
My Daddy used to fight for the Green & White, and I would like to know if
anybody can remember him—Lionel William Ferreira (Support Group, 1st Battalion
RLI). I am also looking for anybody who knew Trevor Wentzel (killed in action,
27 April 1971) as I am looking for his wife Jacqueline and daughter Aurene.
Thank you.
Charmayne Ferreira
sharky.ferreira@gmail.com
Please receive our sincere thanks for the Association’s support and help during
the time of seeking employment. It is with great joy and pleasure and a
heartfelt gratitude that I am able to inform you Veronica has finally found
employment. We have relocated to Brits which for a start is hot and the
environment is green and lush, with plentiful bird life. The people are
wonderfully friendly and helpful. Now we can slowly find our feet. Please convey
our heartfelt thanks for all the assistance and prayers during our trying
period. This means that unfortunately we are not able to attend the 8th November
memorial service but once settled we will definitely endeavour to attend future
meetings.
Trevor & Veronica Schoultz
Brits
Dear Chris
Your kind invitation to me for 2007 The Saints book launch in London remains in
my heart and I was with all of you in spirit. Fifteen copies of John’s journal
remain—a 35-year journey. I’m 82 and recovering from a broken hip but my spirit
for John’s witness and all of you who served, is willing to move on with the
journal if it is the Lord’s will. God bless.
Phyllis Coey
Ohio, USA
[Ed: Mrs Coey is the mother of Corporal John Coey (2 Commando medic, KIA 19 July
1975). She writes to me on a regular basis, and would really appreciate it if
any of the ouens, especially 2 Cdo ouens who knew John, would drop her a line.
She also has a few copies left of John’s journal, A Martyr Speaks, if anyone
would like to acquire one. Her address is: Apt E 14, 6555 US Hwy. 68 South, West
Liberty, Ohio 43357, USA]
Hi Mark [types Pilbeam, chairman of RLIRA UK]
Came across this picture of us removing the trooper from its plinth prior to
packing for shipping. Taken early morning with my old P&S camera, it is a slide
so not a great picture but a little history which I doubt whether anyone else
has. Please pass on to the ouens. I am also enquiring what happened to the new
Regimental Colours. I notice that at the unveiling at Hatfield, Marcus [types
Austin] was carrying the President’s Colour and although authorized it
was never presented. Both colours were made and displayed at last inter-commando
rugby competition. I have a photo of them. They were sewn by a very nice lady,
Mrs Meiring, I believe. The CO and I visited her at home where she was doing all the
work. She gave us a long technical talk on all her work and a nice cup of tea,
but what she failed to tell us was that she was very ill and in fact I think she
passed away soon after completing them. Back to the question what happened to
Regimental Colours. I think both sets were sent to RSA in our boxes and yes
there was a difference between the two: centre top of the flame lily wreath had
a crown and the new one had complete circle of flame lilies. Enough waffle.
Ken Reed
UK
[Ed: Former RSM and ultra scary guy.]
Neill Storey replies to Ken’s email:
Please put Ken’s concern to rest and tell him we have the post-UDI Regimental
Colour and are hoping to have copies made of both so that the originals can be
on permanent / fixed display. Great pic for the museum of Trooper uplift. Can
Ken give an approximate date?
[Ed: 1980]
There are two errors in the recent e-Cheetah: Sam Cassidy was always going AWOL
and thought of joining up with the Congo mercenaries; it was later found out
that he was a deserter from the Irish Navy! No one knew the Irish had a navy and
Army HQ (Central Africa Command) were told to keep in touch because the cost
involved of getting him back was too costly. And lastly, nothing has been
mentioned about the RLI’s Drum and Pipe band under direction of Drum Major (Sgt Colhoun); he of all 4 foot tall! This little bit is for our QM who publishes all
the stock he has in the store but I reckon he should have stock taken every day.
(No harm meant: only said as a joke; wait until my undertaker gets hold of him.)
John Dollman
What an outstanding e-Cheetah you guys have produced! It brought back so many
memories especially Nigel Rittey’s most amusing and accurate recollections of so
many of the chaps I served with early on in the regiment, circa 1965 onward.
Please pass my on congratulations to all for the fine job they have done. What
fun it has been to read and will form part of my collection from now on. I am so
pleased that Keith Bartlett is alive and well! He was a fine NCO I had the
pleasure of serving with in 1 Cdo.
Dick Lockley
Tom Thomas, secretary of the Selous Scouts Association, says: Fine newsletter
and some great comments from some great ouens. In your next one, please put a
note, for any ex-Scouts who are not members of The Selous Scouts Association and
who want to be, to please contact me on
thomas@selfcopypapers.co.za or
julius@ancyl.org.za
Thank you very much for the first e-Cheetah. Very good and I appreciate all the
effort gone in to this publication. I have one correction I would like to draw
your attention to. The Chinas Signing On list has a spelling error on my name:
there should be an ‘s’ at the end of Andrie to make it that very uncommon South
African name Andries. Most know me as Jo. I also appreciate your recognition of
the superior brain power of the chaps from 2 Commando in admitting to their
ability to use modern technology (relatively speaking) like cassette tapes as
opposed to the 3 Commando’s use of the analogue printing system of pencil and
paper, and then snail-mail post. Thanks for that. I was in 2 Commando when Major
Charlie Aust was OC and Ed Fouché was my Troop Sergeant. Keep it going. I am in
Kabul at the moment and will still be here for a while. If any other ouens are
here please get in touch with me.
Jo van Tonder
Andries Johannes van Tonder (88553, Rfn, 2 Commando, Jan–Dec 1974)
[Ed: Sorry about the spelling mistake, Andrie. Must have been the Base Group
Roneo machine.]
Many, many thanks to all for the e-Cheetah. Really appreciate you keeping me in
the picture with great memories.
Charlie Aust
UK
0158 ex-Major Digger Essex-Clark ex 1 Training Unit to the RLI from 1 January
1961 to 3 December 1962 (before that 396 Pte, Cpl, Sgt Rhodesian Staff Corps 18
January 1951 to 8 October 1954; 2Lt, Lt, Capt 1RAR 9 October 1954 to 1 November
1960), reporting as requested. First: I offer my mighty congratulations on your
e-Cheetah. It was informative, witty, well crafted and a delight to receive. May
it continue in the same vein: often ribald but never crass or insulting.
Digger Essex-Clark
Canberra, Australia
For anybody interested, Stu Taylor, having weathered the storm in current-day
Zimbabwe, is alive AND well!, still married to the best wife he’s ever had,
knows Zimbabwe like the back of his hand, and believes that his whole guard of
honour are still with us: Mike Slater, Paddy Gallagher, ‘The late’ Keith
Bartlett (!!). Also Colin Welch, Tony Edwards, John van Stan, Pete Lang and
Neville Fourie. Stu spent most of his serving life in 1 Cdo (Little Pink) and it
was whilst in 2 Troop that the expression MMWC (Main Manne What Count) was first
coined. If anyone would care to dispute that, come and see Stu in Zim! He was
one of them. It was when the late Alistair Boyd-Sutherland handed over command
of 1 Commando to ‘Fearless Fred’ Watts that he explained to the new incumbent
that 1 Cdo was like a machine that ran on beer and if that beer was not made
available, the machine would stop. Fact of life, 1 Commando always worked hard,
played hard and always went that extra mile, as I’m sure the rest of the
Battalion did in all they undertook, whether at a beer drink, on operations, on
the sports field, or the parade square. It was good to be a member of that elite
bunch of ouks. Just to put the record straight, ‘the late’ Keith Bartlett and
Taylor were good mates in 2 Troop, and Keith’s regimental number was 4458, I
think and Stu’s was 4178 and Stu joined in 1967, so I think Keith must’ve joined
in late 1967 or early 1968. Just a bit of trivia really, but there it is. All
the best to you all. By the way, Stu wrote a book Lost in Africa, available from
our illustrious Scribe. It takes a lighthearted look at Stu’s life in the region
and includes a few humorous moments. If you feel like crying OR laughing, get a
copy, you'll enjoy. Be good.
Stu Taylor
[ … we presume, as this is written in the third person]
Zimbodia
[Ed: Stu’s book is brilliant. You WILL laugh and cry. Order it from
www.30degreessouth.co.za, or get hold of QM Hux who has copies.]
Am very impressed with e-Cheetah and what a great idea. Am also impressed that
Hux appears at last to be doing some work. Anyway, keep it up and all the best.
Terry Griffin
Hey Chris
Congratulations. Maiden voyage! Excellent. Crack and humour is even better.
Fracken cutting edge stuff.
Bruce Kidd
Francistown
Good work in compiling the e-Cheetah. Some interesting stuff.
Rob Scott (Tpr, 3 Commando 1976/77)
Western Australia
Outstanding email publication! I look forward to the upcoming info.
Cheers mates
Ken Gaudet (730199, Recce Troop, Support Commando)
USA
Great work on the new e-Cheetah—an excellent production which will fill a huge
void in our lives. Lance-Corporal Cocks, take a step forward, fall out and
report to the Commando Barman to draw an extra ration of cold Castles. Excellent
job, sir, and I look forward to the next episode.
Neill Jackson
781105, Gobshite subbie, Support Commando
I am just writing a quick note to thank you all, for all your hard work on the
new Cheetah mag. I have just finished reading it and it is truly first class.
The association can only get stronger when members see this sort of thing
happening and it certainly adds to the likes of the Lion & Tusk. Well done again
everybody.
Martyn Hudson
UK
First of all: Very well done with the publication of the e-Cheetah. Most
informative and it does bring memories good and bad to me, mostly good ones.
Secondly, some time ago I paid up 50 bucks as a full member and although lots
has been said about sending me a membership card nothing has yet materialized at
my fortress gates: whether this is our postal service (I’ve written to the
address you mentioned in the e-Cheetah (julius@ancyl.co.za) but doubt if he is
interested until about 2014 when he be comes our President. Thank heavens I’ll
be with those ouens who are there already. Hope they will have some beer stacked
away, or this person ‘Crouks’ who is still looking for the green bag in Gaansbaai with the cards in it: more than likely he used the bag for shark fins,
perlemoen or crayfish tails! No worries, it can wait until next year’s R200
bucks which will be coming later on. The only big worries are when they put me
down I want to be dressed in a green blazer, RLI pocket badge, green beret with
silver cap badge and this QM is still waiting for stocks and I haven’t too much
time in waiting for it. If you want to know my number (regimental), the first
one was P11667: SA ARMY 1946, then 1130 Federation of Rhodesia 1956–1963, then
again RLI 1979–1980: 721130 and in between that lot, SA Army and odd-job man
having children and grandchildren with one great-grandchild on its way Nov/Dec
2009. I can’t write any longer and although my legs still move they won’t allow
me to do PE tests or run. I love my favoured beer Budweiser but can’t get it any
more although it is the beer chosen for the 2010 Soccer World Cup; it is off the
market because the importer has been liquidated. I am uncertain if the 2010
games will also be liquidated as our team’s coach is presently liquidated.
John Brian Dollman
PS. It time we get together here in Kaapstad
[Ed: John – Crouks has said he has found the green memberships cards and is
happy to flog you one for 50 bucks. Don’t get too set on wearing your RLI greens
in the grave: the 2 Commando ouens will scale them before you’re cold. It is an
honour to have you on board, sir.]
ADMIN & LOG
Museum Project Bedford
During 2009 the UK Branch has been planning the RLIRA Museum project, which was
given the go-ahead during the AGM held at Hatfield; the project was to be split
between two locations with two high-quality cabinets going into bar at The
Rifles’ home in Davis Street, Mayfair, London and a larger display in Bedford
covering the top floor of the local RAF Club. Both locations are fully owned by
the respective regiments and will give us no cause of concern about having to
move in the future.
The pictures of The Rifles’ bar are already on the website as are pictures from
Bedford; however, after the appeal went out for artifacts to put in both
locations the response has been very slow and as a result the Exco has decided
temporarily to go ahead with the Bedford location first. And, as you will see
from the photos, the work in progress is coming along nicely and it is planned
to do a lot more work between Christmas and New Year. We have now had the date
confirmed to clear all the Regimental artifacts from the British Empire &
Commonwealth Museum down in Bristol and this will happen on 7 January, with the
initial date for the opening of the Bedford Museum being 30 January 2010.
Most of the artifacts at the BECM are hanging, i.e. lots of photos and pictures,
but we are looking for all the other items that went missing from the Battalion
e.g. that odd bit of silver you might have in your loft, including trophies,
beer tankards, china and cutlery, the drums etc. Quite a lot of similar items
have now been located and hopefully will arrive in the UK for early March.
Anything else that you might have which you feel should be displayed will be
gratefully accepted. The Presidential Colours have been sent off to be encased
and will also be displayed in Bedford. But we also need hardware such as
weapons; we currently have three: an AK-47, a G3 and a PPK, but for security
reasons and costs we have managed secure a deal on replicas which will also be
delivered in the New Year. If you can help with any of the items below, please
let me know:
- stable belts: all regiments
- badges: all regiments, types cloth and stay-bright
- uniforms: sands, camo, greens and CT
- RLI berets (3 types)
- boots, stick boots, clandestines / para takkies
- compasses, binos, bayonets (incl CT), rifle slings, cleaning kits, field
dressings, webbing (incl CT), and any other souvenirs you might have picked up
from the QM/CQ stores ‘by mistake’ or on the battlefield
If you live in the UK we can help get parcels sent free of charge; if you live
in RSA, send to either George Dempster or Bill Wiggill (or your nearest JOC
rep); and in Australia to Bruce McGregor. If you cannot help with any of these
items a small cash donation would be very welcome as some of these items can
easily be purchased in the UK. To those of you who already sent items we are
very grateful. Thanks to John Thomson for the £1,000.00 to purchase the two
cabinets in London and the anonymous donation received late December to purchase
the cabinets for Bedford. I would also like to thank David Heppenstall and
John
Wynne-Hopkins of the Rhodesian Army Association for their generous help and the
loan of mannequins, uniforms and model aircraft used by the Fireforces. Lastly,
thanks to Neill Storey who has put in endless hours trying to locate items and
doing the manual labour.
If you need labels for free posting, email
martyn.hudson2@btinternet.co.uk with
your address; if you are sending parcels off your own bat, please address them
to:
Martyn Hudson
Cornerview
Bolnhurst
Bedford
MK44 2EN
UK
We need your help for this worthy project!
Martyn Hudson
Invitation to the official opening of the RLI Museum
Dear Member
The committee of the Rhodesian Light Infantry Regimental Association would like
to take this opportunity to invite you and your guests to the official opening
of the Rhodesian Light Infantry Museum in Bedford on 30 January, 2010.
Venue
Royal Air Force Association Club
93 Ashburnham Road
Bedford
MK40 1EA
Travel and parking
Travelling from St Pancreas Station in London to Bedford is approximately 45
minutes by train.
The RAFA club is approximately:
2-minute walk from the train station;
5-minute walk from the bus station.
Parking for the club is available outside of the club as well as to the rear of
the club on Guru Ravidass Lane, off Ashburnham Lane, MK40 1ED.
Warning order
The RAFA Club will be open from 11:00 to 23:59 on the day of the opening.
Official ceremony and opening of the museum will take place at 13:00 and members
and guests are asked to be there at least twenty minutes before the ceremony
begins.
Accommodation and Refreshments
The club will be offering a subsidized bar together with hot and cold meals
throughout the day.
History of the museum
It was decided at the AGM of the worldwide RLIRA in August 2009 that the UK
committee would be tasked with the job of completing the installation of the
“working” RLI museum with memorabilia and artifacts from the Battalion’s
history. In a very short period of time, with help from the RAA, our members and
friends; all enthusiastic volunteers, we have gathered together an incredibly
large, diverse and altogether magnificent collection of RLI memorabilia from all
around the world. Professionally displayed on the second floor of the RAFA club,
the museum with its exciting and colourful displays of uniformed mannequins,
portraits, paintings and photographs, medals, models , kit and katundu all
expertly displayed and described tells a fitting and appropriate narrative of
our Battalion’s proud history. Please could you confirm your attendance either
by phone call, or by email; details of which are given below. This will help us
to ensure appropriate catering. However, if you are unable to confirm, please
feel free to turn up on the day. We look forward to being able to welcome and to
share with you a very special day in the history of the worldwide RLIRA and
those who served and supported the Rhodesian Light Infantry.
Mark Pilbeam
UK Chairman, Rhodesian Light Infantry Regimental Association
Phone: 077887 88095
email: Mark.pilbeam@dsl.pipex.com
Songs of the RLI
One of the Scribe’s pet projects is to gather all our RLI songs together. We
have Butch Fourie’s The Lovers’ Lament, sung to the tune of Mull of Kintyre
(below), but need the others, e.g. Riding down to Salisbury, Don’t let me cross
over, etc. Please send through to me what you can remember—even bits will be a
start. This one, immediately below, an old favourite sung to the tune of Galway
Bay, was submitted by Bill Wiggill and Stu Taylor. We think Trevor Kirrane wrote
it originally, but would welcome clarification. I don’t think the words (Bill
calls them lyrics) are quite right, so any fine-tuning will help. Bill and Stu
reckon there’s also a verse missing (Bill calls it a stanza), but we’re unsure.
The RLI / Tartan Green
Have you ever been across the sea to Rhodesia
And stood there at the foot of Rhodes’s grave
Or further north to a place called Bambazonke
There live the men who wear the Green Beret
Our playground is the great Zambezi Valley
Our pleasure is the public’s main concern
They ban us from their nightclubs and their parties
We are the men who wear the Tartan Green.
Erect we stand on ceremonial occasions
Our colours fly for all the world to see
Our pride is our one and own distinction
We are the men who wear the Tartan Green
The Lovers’ Lament
Far I have travelled
On land and through sky
Dark are the mountains, the valleys are green
And oh our colours fly higher than high
We are the men of the RLI
RLI, you fought for your country
To see them survive was all that was needed
Oh RLI
Now one lay wounded
He’s so far from home
And all the troopies they pray for his soul
And as his life leaves him he sees a heavenly choir
Then they carry him back to the RLI
Now as they give your country away
Fear not my brother
There will come one more day
When we’ll be called to give our last fight
For we are the men of the green and white
THERE WE WERE … KNEE-DEEP IN GRENADE PINS
Ian Clegg recalls: I was intake 139, volunteered for RLI, did most of my
training in Training Troop, then four of us were sent to Brady for a signals
course. When we got back the other three were posted to commandos and I was sent
to Darwin. For the first four weeks Captain Pearse was Pronto; when I got back
from R&R he had disappeared and I ran the show for the rest of my year except
for a week or so when Uncle Ron came through on the line from Bindura wanting to
speak to Pronto and on finding out I was only a troopie went off his head and
said something like: “Give me bloody Parker.” I thought if someone can say that
about The King he must be someone important so I put him through … of course
listening in now and again. Putting two and two together, I have a feeling it
was about his new barracks near Bindura that still hadn’t been put up and he was
a bietjie voes. Well, a signals sergeant appeared for a week and then
disappeared, never to be seen in Darwin again. I found Lt-Col Parker to be fair
excellent; he tried many times to get me to sign on but to no avail. After that
I spent more time in the gungen than I spent out, with one period of 18 months’
continuous; all with F Coy 1RR as a stick leader; all Op Hurricane and one in
Honde. The last camp I did was at Mukkas. Two ex-RLI sticks (mine and one other)
were seconded to RLI at Darwin as Fireforce for ten days, then to RAR at
Rushinga for a couple of weeks. I had two MAGs in the stick but sadly nothing
happened: we hadn’t had an MAG with F Coy for over a year at that stage and
would have loved to have made use of them. Then I got malaria.
‘Braveheart’
By Titch Brotherton
I was the CSM Training Troop at the time in 1979/80, after broken service. My
previous post was at Llewellyn but I’d been sent straight back to the zone,
pushing out troopies into the op areas. One CSM day in Training Troop I received
a phone call from a Support Commando officer, requesting my skills as a mortar
man for an external: Op Tepid in Zambia.
“Hey CSM, this is Lieutenant … (can’t remember his name).”
“Yes, sir,” I replied.
“We need your services in our mortar team.”
“No problem, sir,” I replied. But there was.
The problem was I had been out of action for some time. It reminded me of how I
felt with my first para jump: “No. 1 … CSM …show the way!” and all that bravado.
Well, straight into action by chopper from the Valley …. can’t remember where …
to somewhere in Zambia. Brief was 300+ ZIPRA dug in and +/- 130 1RLI commandos’
battle group to take them out; with me sitting on mortar bombs on the chopper
over Lake Kariba thinking ‘what if?’ As the training CSM I was dressed in full
battle order with helmet and shovel as well, while the rest of the lads looked
like cloned Rambos. The plan was that the mortar group would land out of range
of the enemy as they had five 82 tubes over there. Well, we landed within range
of the ZIPRA tubes and we debussed into harassing fire, with our ammo and tubes.
At that point I was the envy of all the Rambos what with my new camo and helmet,
pick and shovel. We got into position and bedded in as I proceeded to dig in and
fill the ammo boxes with sand with which I surrounded myself. ‘Braveheart
Brotherton’ was okay; so was the young mortar man who joined me: John Doulgeris.
If my memory serves me right I think they flew in helmets and picks and shovels.
‘Always master the basics’. We were bombed with harassing fire from the gooks
throughout that day and night: the mortar group and the atts and dets were
clapping every time the mortar bombs landed away from them.
It was about 23h00 that evening when the ZIPRA gooks decided to do a night
withdrawal, not before unloading itheir arsenal onto our position. Here I am,
lying face-down in my shellscrape with John, who is kindly telling me every time
a bomb is launched from the gooks’ tubes: “Sir, time of flight … xx seconds.” I
reply: “Thanks for that, now shut up!” After what seemed like hours of shelling,
and we are all literally shell-shocked, John suddenly sees the sky light up.
“Sir, get your head down. I think an RPG is on its way.”
I reply f#@k off; that’s no RPG: we could hear something ‘very big’ approaching.
“Get your head down!” The next thing was a loud explosion, then more and more.
At that point Braveheart was curled up so tight that his helmet could have
fitted over his entire body. In the morning, where once was a large tree there
was open ground. John and I had escaped a 122mm rocket attack. You could have
heard a pin drop that morning: we were all stunned but happy to be in one piece.
To be continued … and is … below …
Braveheart 2
It was in the 1970s’ Op Cauldron. I was a trooper in 1 Troop, 1 Commando;
heavy-barrel gunner, in the Centenary area. The late Sgt Graham Burns was the
patrol leader of call sign 1/1A, a four-man patrol. We were on follow-up
operations and tracks were getting fresh. We had Saki Makay and his dogs up
front; one was a bloodhound and the other was a black Bouvier des Flanders; we
also had a fixed-wing above us. We joined another call sign led by Lt Ron
Reid-Daly. The prize was the paymaster gook who supposedly had Rh$120,000 on his
person. Now the stage is set: we are on tracks, adrenalin pumping everywhere,
extended line, silent signals, and communications to the fixed-wing. The next
thing, up comes the halt sign, hand on head and ‘into me’ by the trackers. We
had just followed our own tracks in 360 degrees; the gooks had been
anti-tracking. Well ‘Uncle Ron’ gets on the radio and asks the pilot whether he
can see anything? The reply, whatever it is, makes ‘Uncle Ron’ seriously angry
and he replies: “If you don’t wake up, I will stick feathers up my arse, fly up
there and dive-bomb you.” “Copied,” is the pilot’s response.
Well, the trackers pick up the spoor again and we continue to follow up until
late afternoon. Orders are given for the evening ops to the follow-up group: our
brief is to move to a location by sundown and night-ambush a path. Well, we
arrive at some path two hours or so later, and to this day I think it was the
wrong path. We set up our night ambush with our four-man stick; half of us awake
as is the general rule. After our evening brew we get into position; arcs of
fire and responsibility identified, weapons ready, and like most night ambushes
it is a long and stressful affair, trying to identify shadows and sounds etc.
It’s an uneventful night. At first light, stand-to for 15 minutes before and
after. After stand-down, I turn to Sgt Graham Burns to inform him and the rest
of the group that I need to take a crap and indicate the direction I will be
leaving and entering. Off I go with heavy barrel (HB), paper and panga, into the
bush about 50 metres away but I still have the ambush area visual. The rest of
the group is busy packing up. I place my HB next to me, dig my little hole, pull
my shorts down to my ankles, adopt the squatting position, and begin my morning
constitution with birds singing, dawn breaking and me scanning the area around
like a three-star troopie. After a minute or so, scanning to the right, I notice
movement about 40 to 50 metres away from my position. It is four gooks with AKs
heading straight toward me. I feel my sphincter latch onto the grass, instant
adrenalin dump. What now Braveheart? Do I engage? Do I try to alert the rest? So
I decide that, still in the squatting position, to retrieve my HB and proceed
back to the ambush position. The rest of the group is oblivious to what’s taking
place; the gooks are still on track, heads down, heading for kak. There was no
need to clean myself as the grass did that for me during my frantic bunny-hop
withdrawal.
On arrival back at the ambush position and in a frantic whisper inform Sgt
Graham Burns that the gooks are about to stumble into our position: “Sarg! Check
… gooks! Don’t shoot yet. Let me get into position first.” This was so I could
get my HB bipods out to ensure we had maximum chance of success … $120,000.00
worth of success, ek sê! But sadly it wasn’t to be: the lure of money overruled
all fire discipline as the rest ‘opened up’ in a frenzy and all hell broke loose
before I even had a chance to take aim. FNs on automatic from the hip is just
not the way to go. Result: we manage to slot two but no money. Later when we
took stock of what had happened, I saw wild bullet lines climbing the trees and
refrained from morning constitutions from then on.
To be continued …
Digger Essex-Clark recalls: I met Paddy Driver (of the buck teeth) in Vietnam in
1965 when he came and visited me at my battalion, 1RAR (Royal Australian
Regiment), attached to the US 173rd Airborne Brigade; when he was serving with
the US 101st Airborne Brigade (‘Screaming Eagles’). He was in top form and
stayed overnight with me discussing our time together in 1RLI. Sadly, he was
later killed in action in Vietnam. You probably know that John Salt was killed
tangling with a hippo on the Zambezi. Rittey’s description of him is an absolute
classic. Harry Harvey is well ensconced in Perth. He transferred to the
Rhodesian SAS after I left the RLI.
CSM ‘Crash’ Hannaway was a perpetual nuisance, but an efficient CSM. I had to
defend him on a nasty charge but got him off on an absurd technicality. I also
had to upbraid Hannaway somewhat when after he told me that he had demolished
two 3.5" anti-tank rocket launcher blinds at Woolendale while I was clearing our
range exercise with Range Control. I found that he had not destroyed the blinds,
only noisily detonated two primers instead, and that I had travelled back to
camp with the two 3.5" blinds that he had put under my seat in my Land Rover to
save him time. I then went out and destroyed the blinds myself. I didn’t charge
him because he would have been court martialled and discharged from the army,
and I needed him as a competent disciplinary and drill CSM during those very
early days of the RLI. However, he was hard to trust completely after that
incident and later childishly let himself down badly and left the service. I
also became a somewhat permanent defending officer in the RLI at that time and,
for example had to defend a few of the ouens who deserted to the Congo in search
of filthy lucre. The lucre wasn’t there, so they came back. Extraordinarily, the
powers that be charged them with desertion only, a charge in which there is an
absurd loophole, which I used. The loophole was that intent to remain deserted
is paramount, and as they were there in the courtroom, I announced, as their
defending officer: that there was no case to answer and got the lads off. If the
powers that be had added a secondary charge of AWOL, I would not have been able
to help them. There is more humour to that story in that I also gave the most
extraordinary reasons for their need of quick money, such as one of the accused
had been the cause of both his girlfriend’s and her mother’s pregnancies and I
had the mother and daughter there as witnesses, which caused a bit of merriment
in the court, but their evidence became no longer essential for me to win the
case.
I also remember well the Harry Crampton incident with the croc, on the river
near Buhera. I had warned the ouens not to go too near the water because the
nearby village chief had warned me that there was a rogue ngwenya in there.
Harry Crampton and Alistair Platt decided to ignore the warning. Harry Crampton
actually got away by gouging out the croc’s eyes but he was nastily hurt. He had
his inner thigh sliced open in about four deepish slashes and his scrotum half
opened with one testicle dangling out. So with a saliva-wetted matchstick I
wound up the tubes and slipped them and the testicle back inside, pinned the lot
together with a safety pin and bathed the whole mess in Mercurochrome. David
Parker gave him a large shot of rum, and we sent him off to hospital with a very
shaken and bruised young Alistair Platt. Harry Crampton returned to us at
Cranborne, as bright as a button but his thigh looked like the map of a busy a
railway junction: Clapham or De Aar? I’m sure that the rearranged testicle never
affected his future romantic endeavours.
Llew Lloyd-Evans later played rugby for Rhodesia and came over from RSA with his
family for our RLIRA (Oz) Brisbane reunion in April last year. George Mulder,
when in our dug-in patrol base covering the bridge on the road from Solwezi to
Kipushi (in the Congo) over the northern reaches of the Kafue River to prevent
UN forces using the road to transfer from east to west along the border, was
peering out of his overhead covered slit trench during a visit by Major-General
Bob Long, commander of the Rhodesian Army. The general, using his usual
conversational starting gambit asked: “Where are you from lad?”, expecting to be
answered with the name of a town in Rhodesia, South Africa or the UK. Well,
George, taken aback and his eyes squinting tight in shock, replied “Right here,
sir!”, followed by the general’s confused reply: “From Kipushi, corporal?” “No,
sir!” said the bewildered George. “Right here, sir.” A few seconds later the
general moved on with his entourage, muttering, “Strange …very strange.” We
never discovered whether it was George’s extraordinary appearance of squinting
tighter than normal over the sights of his Bren gun, or his reply that the
general found strange!
I remember Nigel Rittey, the author of these very clever and witty anecdotes.
Nigel was a very smart (intellectually and in dress and bearing), quiet and very
likeable ouen. He, Bob Meecham, George Moulder, Harry Crampton, Llew
Lloyd-Evans, Jumbo Griepel and Danie van Eeden were perhaps my first privates to
lance-corporals in A Company, 1RLI (later 1 Commando).
Mike McDonald comments: A couple notes regarding The Saints book: with my foggy
memory a small number of names don’t seem to match the pictures. Page 423 bottom
left: Spanner looks an awful lot like Cpl Len Lewis who was the stick commander
in my Tembué 2 story.
Just some background info on the house-clearing pictures on page 329: this is
actually the abandoned Elim Mission where the missionaries were murdered. During
the latter half of 1978 we were training for an attack on a large ZIPRA base in
Zambia that was actually an old British Army barracks, by a lake. Because of the
lake the attack only had to cover two-thirds of the base perimeter. Aerial recon
photos showed the full camp but we didn’t know if the barracks were one or two
storeys’ high. There were a lot of buildings with some trenches dug nearby. We
did dry runs over and over at Elim for days but went to an abandoned farm for
live-firing rehearsals. Quite loud it was running through rooms, shooting and
throwing grenades. We had available South African-made AK-47 rifles but I didn’t
like them as the pistol grip under the forestock interfered with changing
magazines, so I stuck to my FN, but most guys liked them and the fact they could
use captured gook ammo. The attack plan was for SAS and other RLI commandos to
para-drop and fight their way to the base perimeter. Support Commando would come
in fresh and do all the house-clearing fighting. There was much debate whether
to bomb the buildings or not because building rubble is very much harder to
fight through. A four-man stick would clear a building on their own as any more
soldiers would simply get in the way. The camp would be cleared systematically,
row by row, column by column. We had specially made shaped charges that we would
plant at the ends of the buildings and blow open an entry point, hoping the
blast would take out most of the inhabitants. The top middle photo shows a
soldier running with a mock-up of the charge; the soldier in the lower left
picture has it on his shoulder, walking back to the starting point past OC Nigel
Henson sitting on sandbags (must be him, judging by his hair!). Note the top of
a ladder in the top right photo to be used if buildings were double-storey. I
was in the only emergency reserve stick ready to go assist if any sticks got in
the shit. D-Day comes (sorry, I cannot remember op name, date or ZIPRA camp/lake
names) and we were on the way to Kariba to launch the attack but at the last
minute, we detoured off to the middle of some farm area to stand by, hoping
troop movements hadn’t alerted ZIPRA spies. We had an extremely close call from
a cigarette butt tossed from a passing 2.5 truck that started a roaring grass
fire that threatened to burn all our vehicles and equipment. We ripped small
trees out of the ground with superhuman strength and miraculously beat it back.
All smoking was banned thereafter; the guilty smoker from another commando was
actually hunted down for court martial and firing squad but was never found. The
operation was called off because Prince Charles was visiting Zambia at the time.
The ZIPRA camp was eventually bombed by the air force … so quite a tale behind
those five pictures.
The bottom right house-clearing pic has Russell Philips SCR as the last man
walking and Meese sitting with cigarette. Top middle pic shows a soldier running
behind explosive carrier … possibly me as I had medical stuff in South African
kidney pouches before we were issued fancy MA3 bags and I used a wide SKS sling
on my FN. Top left pic is maybe Lt Vernon Prinsloo who has a folding-butt
short-barrelled FN.
Operation Dingo Zulu One
Chimoio November 23 1977
By Mike McDonald
I was an MAG machine gunner with 3 Commando when we got the word at Grand Reef
Fireforce base for all paratroop soldiers to grab their kit and board trucks. We
went to the RLI barracks in Salisbury and were given the night off without
explanation. In town I met friends who asked why 3 Commando was in town along
with other RLI and SAS troops? I didn’t know but was told a rumour was
circulating that we were going to attack a ZANLA terrorist camp of 300-strong in
the Zambezi Valley. That was good disinformation put out by someone. The trend
became that soldiers doing external operations were the last to know.
Next day we went to New Sarum Air Force base and were put in quarantine. The 48
3 Commando soldiers along with 96 SAS soldiers were given the mission briefing
by some top brass in a hangar with a big model of the ZANLA Chimoio base complex
80km inside Mozambique. The complex contained sub-camps, one being for urban
guerrilla-warfare training etc. Each camp had a card with the number of
terrorists within. I added up all the cards and they came to roughly 5,000! I
looked around the room at all us tough professional veteran soldiers and we
seemed a very small force for such a big camp, but we also had 40 heliborne 2
Commando guys and the whole of the air force. We also had 48 Support Commando
paratroopers standing by inside the Rhodesian border as emergency backup. This
raid started the joke for all big externals thereafter; taken from the
book/movie A Bridge Too Far … for us it became ‘A Gomo Too Far’. Hopefully we
would rescue some Rhodesian prisoners held in the base. We even fancied catching
Robert Mugabe there.
Special instructions were, upon landing, to capewell off parachute, take off
reserve parachute, get behind cover and “watch and shoot”; and when safe to do
so, take off the parachute harness. It was to be a wild turkey shoot with
terrorists, fleeing from the air force bombing, crashing straight into us. We
would then link up with rest of the para stops for a 24-man sweep line to
assault the main base. We were not to wear camo cream either … to avoid
fratricide. We were not drink any river water due to fouling from dead terrorist
bodies. They really harped on about no looting and that we would be searched on
return to Rhodesia. Lastly we would sew a four-inch square of orange plastic
Dayglo to the top of our combat caps so the choppers could make out our
positions. Yeah, right, hang a sign: ‘Shoot me’. What we did was sew the Dayglo
to the inside roof of our hats and when we stopped we would take our hat off and
lay it upside down on the ground beside us. Some guys later kept up this
practice on Fireforce ops. Legend has it that a Rhodesian soldier on a sweep
wearing his Dayglo visible on top was shot and killed by a woman terrorist with
an RPD.
Next morning we kitted up and put on our parachutes. I had 16 x 50-round belts
for my MAG, and some were carried by the rest of my stick. It was an
unforgettably awesome sight with six long lines of paratroopers marching to the
six waiting Dakota transport planes for this historic raid. Lots of air force
personnel were along side, waving and cheering us off. Some took photos and
looked at us with awe, as we were heroes in their eyes. Some air force women
were teary-eyed; perhaps they thought some of us would not be coming back. It
was a two-hour flight to Chimoio. We flew low under the Soviet radar, bizarre to
see trees and rock faces out the window only yards from the wingtips as we
passed the gomos. One Dakota pilot with a French-sounding name was nicknamed
‘Stuka Pilot’ and I always seemed to get his plane [it was Bob d’Hotman].
Finally we got the ten-minute warning. I leaned back and there was a loud
pop/crack noise. Ten guys near me jumped a foot off their seats thinking we’d
been hit by ground fire but I’d cracked the little window behind me with my MAG
butt. Finally, “Stand up, hook up, check equipment!” The one dispatcher was
partly out the doorway, continuously photographing the camp getting bombed up to
the last second when we jumped. This same dispatcher told me later our Dakota
took four hits from ground fire.
As I jumped out I noticed a huge fireball over the main camp and the sound of
constant gunfire. I quickly checked my canopy, then the paratroopers on each
side of me, and then studied the ground for running terrorists. Of 12 combat
jumps I have, this damned parachute draped all over me on my hottest LZ ever. I
fight this entanglement and even use my knife to slash para cords, with bullets
cracking all around. My fellow stick mates help pull the ’chute off and I take
cover ten yards away behind the right side of a large tree with another soldier
on the left. Part of my ’chute is hooked on the branches of a young tree which
draws lots of fire from several terrorists in a bushy river line about 70 yards
away. Luckily we landed in this scrub because the ground toward the terrorists
is flat and open; had we landed 50 feet farther north we would have been easily
killed in the open. A moment’s respite to wiggle out of harness and we watch,
hoping the terrorists will come across the open towards us. On any combat jump
we want to get out of the parachute harness immediately so we can fight
evenhanded. We can’t see muzzle flashes or determine the exact position of the
terrorists, as the river line is one long thick mass of bush across our front.
Our stick commander gets a K-car to fire at the river line; the K-car fires
three rounds and asks: “How’s that?” I was thinking of maybe 20 or 30 rounds
would have been a good start. The K-car fires another short burst and that’s
all. The enemy goes quiet and we slink off to the right some way to join up with
rest of para stops. As soon as we link up word comes down the line that Keith
White has killed a gook carrying an FN rifle, which raises some eyebrows! The
overall assault is delayed because the main command chopper is damaged by
anti-aircraft fire and withdraws. Eventually the main commander comes back in a
new chopper. All Rhodesian aircraft involved were hit by ground fire on this
operation.
We start sweeping toward the main terrorist headquarters. I spray a few thick
bushes with clearing fire en route. We see a G-car land and go a few hundred
yards to our northeast; I think it picks up an SAS KIA. We come across an
abandoned anti-aircraft position with an intact Soviet 7.62-long machine gun on
a tripod in a pit next to a hut. This gun site has hundreds of empty casings so
it’d clearly run out of ammo, and was not destroyed by the air force. We burn
the hut as small-arms ammo explodes inside … and we carry on. We take cover in
the edge of some bush 150 yards short of camp: totally open area with a road
running across our front. We scan the base with binoculars but no sign of the
enemy. A four-man stick at each end of the sweep line will dash across the open
ground and take cover inside the edge of the base while covered by the rest of
the para stops. If it’s clear the rest will come across. I’m in the left-hand
stick and this will be the longest run of my life. I run as fast as possible
with all my weaponry but not as fast as I would like. We run past several slit
trenches with dead gooks inside them. Finally we get to cover in the main camp
with no enemy fire evident. The rest of our para stops arrive, again with no
enemy fire. We sweep toward the main building area. I see a pair of shoes on the
ground with the body of the owner wedged in the fork of a tree 20 feet away;
it’s missing half its head from an air strike. A few bodies lie here and there.
We reach the main buildings which are somewhat burned out and one of our
officers steps gingerly inside to clear it.
Main headquarters area is then cleared. There are two rows of round huts running
north-south on the eastern side of camp. East of us is a large field, then some
woods running north-south on the far side. Most of the base inhabitants have
fled to these woods where the SAS are currently sweeping through with plenty of
skirmishes going on. Our stick gets to clear the row of huts on the eastern
side. My MAG is too unwieldy so I rest it on its bipod nearby and use my pistol
for hut-clearing. Most huts contain a bed, a table and a wardrobe. With Soviet
uniforms lying all around, these are probably the Soviet advisors’ quarters. A
G-car lands with Special Branch and a prisoner to give us a guided tour. We make
a large pile of captured material nearby. I place a brand-new folding-butt AK-47
in the pile which is quickly snatched up by a chopper pilot for his personal
defence. I’m glad he got it. I place a briefcase full of documents on the pile
and several more trips with goodies, including a few empty holsters, stacks up
the pile. I clear more huts and score a fancy Oris watch for myself off a side
table, but I am still mindful of the anti-looting order. Some huts I have to
shoot the padlocks off to enter. No gooks found lurking in any huts. Our huts
are cleared so we take up defensive position northeast of the HQ area. To our
north is a bayonet-practice range and some large fields. About 500 yards away to
the north in some thick green scrub a lone gook keeps taking potshots at every
aircraft that passes nearby. I wish I had a captured AK with several magazines
so I could blast away at him. The gook does this for a couple of hours actually.
I’m conserving my own ammo as we are still far from home and might get an angry
response from the nearby Frelimo garrisons. Several times we come under fire
from the woods, plus take a few stray shots from the SAS skirmishes. We hug the
ground, looking around anxiously, then a few minutes later are back to sitting
around. Same routine every 15 to 20 minutes. I’m starting to wonder who has shot
at us more today: gooks or SAS? A terrorist armed with a Soviet SKS rifle with
bayonet extended appears out of the dead ground to our east, running flat out
straight towards us, away from the SAS. I grab my MAG and fire a single burst as
two other soldiers fire double-taps at him. Simultaneously he drops dead 15
yards from us. Two of us run over to him and I give his SKS to a trooper to
clear and I check his body. I keep his fancy necklace, with a wooden medallion
carved on both sides, two inches in diameter, and still have it today. Now
obviously, not all our rounds hit the target and a couple went into the woods
beyond. The SAS guys whined for months afterwards how the RLI fired on them at
Chimoio. SAS ouens: you’re great soldiers and we love you like brothers but get
over it. P.S. I fired those some of those rounds.
Near the end of the day we burn all the remaining huts. An SAS call sign links
up with us. They are carrying typewriters and all kinds of booty. An SAS mate
taught me that in future I should always bring a Bergen on camp raids, even with
only a couple of water bottles in it, to be used for carrying away all the
booty. We go off together to find a night position. At dark by a copse we form
all-round defence: SAS one half, RLI the other, and each to guard their own
half. It is a dark night and during my shift I hear a moan and a cry from the
SAS side. It is a sleeping SAS soldier and one of three passing gooks has just
stepped on his head! The SAS sentry fires his RPD immediately and kills two
gooks, with the third escaping. I was very alert for the rest of my shift.
The next day we recover our parachutes. Mine is all burned and my para helmet is
charred from a grass fire started by gook tracer. I recover some para cord for
myself. We get a chopper ride back to Lake Alexander. Nobody checks us for
looted items (but other ouens were by nasty MPs). We are very glad to get back
on Rhodesian soil. I felt sorry for one 3 Commando stick that ambushed a road to
prevent Frelimo regulars from arriving; they didn’t see any action but it was an
important job. The Support Commando reserve paratroopers were not required
either.
No rest for the wicked; we get briefed immediately about another raid on a ZANLA
base at Tembué codenamed Zulu 2 and get resupplied. For Zulu 2, 48 RLI Support
Commando paratroopers will be in on the assault with the SAS. 48 3 Commando
paratroopers went to Mt Darwin as the emergency backup force. At Mt Darwin we
donned parachutes at 8.00am and waited to be called. Two Dakotas came straight
there from dropping their first load of paratroopers, refuelled and waited with
us. At 10.00am we took off our parachutes but waited nearby in case we were
summoned but we were never required.
Many years later back home (in Canada) I checked the archives of the public
library for the newspapers during the time of the Chimoio raid. These historic
raids had made the front pages of newspapers around the world. Sadly though, the
ZANLA bullshit terrorist propaganda version of an
agricultural-training-centre-for-refugees got bigger headlines and bigger
coverage than the official Rhodesian communiqué printed beside it. It was one of
the highlights of my military career to have been part of this operation.
Rhodesian Light Infantry: snippets from memory # 2
By 2037 Sergeant Rittey J. N. (Nigel). Served 19/2/61 to 19/2/68
Congo border
As happens in Africa the Congo blew up in late 1961 when the Belgians, in their
infinite wisdom, pulled out leaving the indigenous population to fight over the
prize. They have been fighting ever since. Katanga, under Moise Tshombe, decided
to break away from the rest of the hooligans, which resulted in chaos. They were
fighting God knows who for God knows what reason. The remaining Belgians packed
their belongings into their cars and ran for the Northern Rhodesian border to
the south, bringing with them tales of dreadful atrocities committed not only by
the locals but by the oddball and trigger-happy assortment of United Nations
forces dumped there to keep the peace.
The brand-new RLI was sent to Ndola by land and air and then dispersed into
positions at Kipushi, Kasumbalesa, Solwezi, Mwinilunga and a whole lot of other
‘backside of the universe’ places. The trip by air was made in two beat-up old
Rhodesian Air Force Canadairs; a sort of DC-4 Skymaster with different engines,
and a Dak or two. A few Vampires also came up to provide air support against
whatever someone might have put in the air. (The Katangese at one stage actually
had an aeroplane or two including a Fouga-Magister flown by a mercenary which
evidently did wreak a bit havoc among its enemies on the ground.) Some blokes
made their way by road from Bulawayo, bringing much-needed transport and
supplies. Initial transport was rented from construction firms on the Copperbelt
but, until that was secured, we found ourselves as inmates of a disused
prisoner-of-war camp alongside Ndola Airport, which had once housed Italians
captured during the Second World War. The plumbing was shot and the toilets were
little oval-shaped holes in the floor of the shower rooms. Some had feet painted
on either side to ensure that one’s aim was mostly dead centre. The walls bore
the forlorn etchings of those lonely men who had been locked up there nearly 20
years before. Their names, if put on a piece of paper, would have made a good
menu selection in a pizzeria!
The road trips to our destinations were hot, bumpy and very dusty. When we
arrived we looked like the contents of a vacuum cleaner bag; sort of moving
piles of dust with red-rimmed eyes. After that, the only washing facilities were
provided by plunging into nearby rivers, bathing and washing clothes, without
soap. There wasn’t any. At this time a tragic accident involving a Bren took the
life of Private De Haas who became the RLI’s first operational casualty. I ended
up at the Kasumbalesa Customs post, where, being a Bren gunner, I had to dig my
trench on top of one of the giant termite mounds found in the area because our
subaltern, Lieutenant Bob Davey, had read in the good book that your platoon’s
Bren had to have a superior field of fire. The authors of this good book had not
known that the termites of Northern Rhodesia made their homes in concrete. I was
still digging at the crack of dawn while the other okes had been kipping for
hours.
At one point the Katangese kindly sent us a truckload of their Simba beer as a
goodwill gesture. Rumour also has it that an approach was made at the time to
our top brass who were asked: “If perhaps they would consider hiring the
regiment out to go and sort out a few of their enemies?” We patrolled the border
by Land Rover and often met with the Katangese in their Austin Gypsies. We
traded smokes, beers and bits of uniform with them. All this was done in sign
language as they spoke no English and we spoke no French. Screening refugees was
a heart-rending affair. We were told of drunken soldiers tearing around
Elizabethville spraying machine-gun fire at will, looting and raping at random.
Some cars carried bullet holes as witness to the horror these unfortunates were
leaving behind.
After a few weeks we were pulled back to Kitwe for a couple of weeks’ R&R. The
mining townsfolk entertained us royally while we fascinated their daughters.
Some clot caught a dose of the crabs which resulted in all of us having to
endure a ‘short-arm inspection’ …why ‘short arm’, I will never know! There were
a lot of guys standing on that parade in the middle of the Kitwe showgrounds
with their ‘shreddies’ around their ankles, who were well enough hung to put
horses to shame. Fortunately only a few found their courting tackle shaved and
painted blue by the ‘turd stranglers’. The regiment returned to Bulawayo at 30
miles per hour in the trucks and Land Rovers that had been sent up to support
us. We had all grown from the experience … as had our piles.
The move to Cranborne Barracks
The brass had long before committed to the idea that we should move to
‘Bambazonke’ (Salisbury) to a new barracks that had been thrown up by the
contractors, Messrs Holland Africa Ltd, at Cranborne on the main road to New
Sarum Airport. Fond farewells were said to the birds of Bulawayo and off we went
to pastures new. All of us who owned civvy vehicles were to drive or ride them
(or in some cases push them or tow them) the 300 miles to Salisbury. A mileage
allowance would be paid to us after arrival. This turned out to be about twice
what it actually cost me to ride my ancient BSA from Bulawayo to Salisbury. The
profit was quickly converted to Castle lager. All those without cars or bikes
went by road or rail. The new home was a big improvement on Brady and they soon
had us planting trees and strips of Kikuyu grass all over the place. The rules
were simple: if it moved you saluted it; if it didn’t move you picked it up; if
it didn’t move and you couldn’t pick it up you painted it white. Passing the
tatty remnants of Cranborne today, on the way to or from the airport, produces a
twinge of sadness, when I reflect on all the blood, sweat and tears we put into
it.
Sergeants’ Mess rituals
A newly promoted sergeant would be formally welcomed to the Mess by the RSM at
the Friday night ‘prayer meeting’ and with due ceremony would find himself given
a large chamber-pot filled with Guinness laced with other noxious substances.
The pièce de resistance was the sausage, which was found floating around in it.
As a token of the generosity of his hosts, the novice was presented with a huge
Havana cigar and was invited to finish the lot off in a given 20 minutes. Very
few walked out of the mess …
Warrant officers, sergeants and even the occasional invited guest, if accused of
any form of s**t-stirring, could find themselves invited to wear a spoon around
their necks for the evening and buying drinks all round. This famous spoon was
about 4 to 5 feet in length and had been carved from a fine indigenous wood.
Dining-in nights involved getting dressed up in green pants, ‘bum freezers’,
dress shirts and bow ties. There was a lot of bull that came with this tradition
and it was only toward the end of these evenings that we could go bananas. On
one occasion Sergeant Pete Eldridge had had the temerity to whip his table
napkin out with a flourish and wave it about before putting it on his lap. RSM
Robin Tarr made us do another ‘dining-in practice night’ as a punishment for
this dreadful act, which he considered to have been to the prejudice of good
order and military discipline. He was a little short on humour at times.
Smoke breaks
A ritual at the time was the smoke break, which was usually declared when the
nicotine cravings of our superiors became too much for them to stand. This
involved troopies hauling out a wide variety of fags, pipes and cheroots and
puffing away happily until “Fall in!” was barked at them. There were a few
favourite brands at the time. Filter cigarettes in vogue were Life and Peter
Stuyvesant, which were smoked by the guys who could afford them at about five
bob for fifty. The peasants among us coughed our way through countless Texan,
Camel, Flag, Springbok, C to C and, if payday was far away, Star, which could be
bought at 3d for 8. I enjoyed the cork-tipped variety but found that after a bit
of running around the bush carrying those things, I was often left with a pocket
full of cheap tobacco and a box of paper tubes. Many joined the army as
non-smokers but quickly found they needed something to do while seated in the
common hurry-up-and-wait position in the shade of a tree, building or truck,
while tolerating clouds of smoke from all sides. Perhaps they were influenced by
a particular NCO, who commanded, “Smoke Break! … Those without cigarettes, go
through the motions!”
Barracks bathrooms
While these were kept clean most of the time, they were always very noisy and
filled with steam coming from countless sweaty men running piping-hot showers,
basins and baths. At times it was difficult to see anything in this murk and, as
using the dripping wall mirrors to shave was out of the question, you quickly
learned to use razors by Braille. I began shaving while seated in the bath, a
habit that I have not broken after 43 years. These bathrooms, ‘designer-built’
by people who knew they would never have to use them, contained baths, showers,
basins, urinals and rows of ‘crappers’, all of which contributed to an endless
variety of noises and not-so-delightful aromas at peak hours.
Drill and ‘Toy Soldiers’ display: 1963 Rand Easter Show in Johannesburg
Choreographed under the pace stick of RSM Ron Reid-Daly, this display was lauded
by press and spectators alike. It took weeks of practice and damned hard work
both behind the scenes and on the parade ground. There were two elements to it.
The first was a precision display of drill without a word of command from start
to finish. The troops in full greens came in to the stadium straight after the
show-jumping events, which was a bit dodgy because of the horse droppings and
piles of sawdust. We marched in a single block and moved to a set series of
manoeuvres timed to a double tap on the base drum. The block split in four
different directions followed by further splitting-off and the performing of
intricate wheels and counter-marches. Finally the whole thing got back together
as the original ‘column of klompies’ and then exited the stadium to loud
cheering.
The Toy Soldiers thing was equally intricate, but here we were all dressed in
ridiculous costumes, carrying wooden muskets. Some guys were cavalry, which
meant wearing a sort of ‘horse’ made of plywood and hessian as well as a
uniform. (They performed in fear of an attack from the rear by the randy
stallions quartered around the arena but, fortunately, none were propositioned!)
The highlight came with the firing of a cannon that meant we had to fall down
onto the grass, flat on our faces one after the other like rows of skittles. A
few were unlucky enough to plop straight into the mess left by the show jumpers
so, by the time the last display night came round, the red, white and blue
uniforms had camouflaged themselves and stank horribly.
Accommodation was provided at the Milner Park show grounds and we were allowed
out between shows to wander around the exhibits and fascinate the dollies. Very
early on, Reid-Daly declared the fleshpots of nearby Hillbrow off-limits. There
were enough fights with Joburg’s ‘Duckies’ in the show ground let alone out of
it.
Bushcraft and survival training with Alan Savory
There must have been about 20 of us who gathered together one early morning at
Cranborne, boarded Land Rovers and headed slowly for the Zambezi Valley. It was
slow simply because our mentor, Alan Savory, drove his own diesel-powered
vehicle and set the pace for the rest. A camp was scratched out of the riverine
bush on the banks of the Sapi stream about 30 miles inland from the Zambezi.
Within a few minutes of chucking down our kit, somebody yelled “Snake!” The
unfortunate reptile (a fat Puff adder) was quickly beaten to death. Savory, a
really jungly type, said “Ah! Dinner!” …and then showed us the Cordon Bleu
recipe for Flambé Puff adder a la Savory. It tasted like chicken and wasn’t too
bad.
There followed a programme of intensive training on unforgettable subjects: how
to build fall traps, pit traps, fish traps and snares; how to make weapons such
as bows and arrows, knobkerries, spears and knives; where to find water; how to
poison pools of fish; ground tracking and aerial tracking; which plants, leaves
or berries were edible; the behaviour of wildlife found around Rhodesia and many
more. By the time the course was over, we began to trust in our ability to
survive just about anything, without ‘jamstealers’ or air drops by Dakotas.
The only people who I can remember were on this course were Teddy Wilde, Mike Dippenaar, Len Monson, the late
Dave Parker and a fellow called Williams. Sadly
the others are forgotten. At one point our mentor allowed us to try to hit a can
in the riverbed with both his double-barrelled .470 and his .375. The
butt-shaped bruises on my right shoulder are long gone, but my printer’s tray on
the wall still holds the two cartridge cases I fired on that day. I hit the can
with one of them.
The training culminated in a 60-mile foot slog without food or water. This began
when the two groups we had been split into, set off from our base on the Sapi
stream to reach the Zambezi where we had to turn around and make it back to the
camp. Our group was fortunate enough to follow the vultures to a zebra freshly
killed by lions. We ran to the scene making fierce noises that put the
unfortunate lions, hyenas and vultures right off their breakfast. This gave us a
haunch of meat that, while welcome in our hungry bellies, became a cumbersome
and heavy piece of deadweight that had to be carried for many miles in the heat
of the Rhodesian bush. The other group did not have it so easy. All they could
come up with for the protein part of their diet was a water tortoise.
It was surprising to me to find that the well-built ‘rugger-bugger’ types did
not fare as well as the skinnier guys when the chips were down and all we wanted
to do was lie down and die under any tree giving a patch of shade. This initial
bushcraft and survival course became the forerunner of the many used later by
the SAS and Selous Scouts to sort the men from the boys. From what I can
understand these later ones made ours look like a walk in the park and I have
nothing but admiration for those who survived them. Ours was quite rugged
enough, thank you …!
To be continued …
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E-Cheetah (SA): November 2009 |
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| E-Cheetah (SA): November 2009 |
STAND BY YOUR BEDS!!
728352 L/Cpl Chris Cocks (retd.) GSM and bar (11Tp, 3Cdo, Jan 76–Feb79)
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Howzit ouens and welcome to our first quarterly SA e-Cheetah. Being appointed Scribe is an honour—and a fair bit of graft, made so much easier by your overwhelming contributions. My days of cruising round the 3 Commando hard-standing armed only with a clipboard and a studious look of intent, in order to avoid futile chores from lurking CSMs, have obviously come back to haunt me.e-Cheetah is your forum, so send me any old interesting stuff, as long as it’s legible (2 Cdo okes can send cassette tapes), porn-free and within the bounds of decency.
We really don’t need to know the graphic ins and outs of Horseface
in the commando attic, for example, or the coloured chick reversing up
against the diamond mesh fence near the armoury. |
In all comms, it’d be lekker if you mentioned your sub-unit and years of service. Your rank and number might be nice to have as well.
Congrats to Bill and his new team on the RLIRA SA committee. Already their energy is proving infectious.
Expect the next e-Cheetah later in January 2010. Comments, chirps and suggestions welcome.
Complaints should be directed to
julius@ancyl.org.za.
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CHAIRMAN’S HOWZIT!
Since the AGM at the end of this last August to date ( two months) I am very pleased to say that operations are moving ahead at a high rate of knots. At our first committee meeting only two goals were set for this current term, namely:
- To seek and find the many ex-RLI men not accounted for on the Regimental Association roll with the aim to increase the listing by 10% before the next AGM (July 2010)
- To build on the solid foundation already made, an Association the members are proud to be part of.
To attain these objectives, the willing participation of the members themselves is a crucial component.
I can say that I am overwhelmed and humbled by the response of the ‘ouens’ in rising to the call to duty. Well done to you all.
The list of men and the offices they fill are as follows:
Just to see you men and ‘crows’ in our green RLIRA golf shirts, growing in number at every gathering and the orders flooding in to Hux thus far is very heart-warming. Well done to our QM (Hux) for the great effort he is putting into the merchandise, sourcing and vetting on your behalf.
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I was kindly invited to the Selous Scouts AGM up in Polokwane and it was great stuff to see how they do things and see again old friends from long ago. Our Patron, Lt. Col. Reid Daly was also there and again always good to talk with ‘Uncle Ron’.
The excitement is definitely building with our battalion 49th birthday celebrations set for 6th February 2010 in Durban. Gen. P.G. Walls has kindly consented for him, and Eunice to attend as our guests of honour. Also, our patron will also be there to keep us sharp. |
I know that Skippy and his team are working flat out to host this event. In addition,
great praises are due to our Exco Chairman and the UK Exco members for pulling out all the stops in trying to procure for us our own set of Regimental Colours for the birthday and for all meets in the future.
Especially pleasing, is to see the resuscitation of this paper and the efforts of Chris Cocks and all you contributors putting it together. Plan is at present to produce the e-Cheetah on a quarterly basis to begin with. This is ‘your’ newspaper and contributions forwarded to the editor on all happenings both glad and sad from you all are heartily received.
I am thankful for the great team we have in the SA Branch and look forward to seeing you all at the Birthday. Thanks are also extended to my committee and this includes the sterling efforts of George Dempster in keeping the webpage constantly updated and guiding me along the straight and narrow, if this is possible.
Bill Wiggill
SECRETARY’S SITREP
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I was elected to this post at last AGM 29 August 2009. I accepted with much trepidation. I woke early hours of that Sunday morning really seriously worried about my new assignment and thinking of what exactly was expected of me.
Fortunately for me, my Domestic Seagull has good knowledge of the laying out of minutes and tickling the buttons on the keyboard. This eased the angst a bit.
I have since attended two meetings with the aid of a tape
recorder and literally spend hours afterwards trying to decipher
and make sense of it all but mostly worried that I’ll miss out
the important things. However, I’ll give it my best shot. |
It is exciting to see new membership with some putting up their hands to stand in as regional reps and assistants to regional reps plus other important tasks.
I would love to name them all but due to failing memory (they
say it comes with old age) it isn’t gonna happen now.
Hoping my computer skills will improve as time goes by and this eventually will become a piece of cake.
If I can find the mouse!
Chris Ras
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QM STORES
Our QM, Hux, reports:
At the moment we only have few items available but will be adding to the list shortly. At the Memorial Day we will have the following for sale:
- RLI green golf shirts with embroidered emblem.
- RLI caps with embroidered emblem.
- Rhodesia Remembered DVDs
- Book and DVD “The Saints”
Other items we are working on and hope to have soon and if I have any samples by then of the items listed below available by the 8 November 2009, I will have them on display:
- Official RLI logo personalized nametags
- Dry Mac jackets with embroidered emblem
- RLI ties
- Blazer badges
- Beret badges
- Individual RLI Cdo golf shirts
- Ladies style golf shirts with RLI logo
- Kids size golf shirts with logo
- RLI and Cdo. plaques
- Books “other” for the use of
Unfortunately, items I have ordered for myself from the New Zealand organization which should have arrived last week, seem to have gone astray in the post as did the items I ordered from the UK and will have to be reordered and sent again as I did with the UK items.
We’re always on the lookout for other products and suppliers, so any idea, please pass them on.
[Warning order: There are several dodgy ‘skelems’ out there who fly off sub-standard stuff to further their own aims … so be careful. Clear with Bill, George or Hux before surrendering your hard-earned cash.]
J.O.C. SITREPS
GAUTENG PROVINCE:
Gary ‘Hux’ Huxham reports:
As below is the official invite to the Memorial Day service and braai which is to pay tribute to our fallen and all other military members who lost their lives. It would be a show of strength and unity from the RLI members if we all attend. So let’s make the effort. Please if possible wear your colours and medals etc. Carol needs the RSVP so that she can ensure enough salads etc.
We will have some RLI memorabilia available on the day.
Please join us for a service to remember the sons, husbands and fathers who were called upon to do their national duty with the security forces. We will honour the sacrifice they made.
Date: 8th November 2009
Time: 10: 30 for 11:00
Venue: Dickie Fritz Moth Shell hole – 115 Dickie Fritz Ave, off Elm St. Edenvale
Conducted by: Lt Col (Rev) Bill Dodgen
Dress: Jacket and Tie or Smart Casual (Medals and Headdress optional, but encouraged)
Wreaths may be laid
After the service, we’ll have some braai fires going, so if you’d like to stay on and reminisce with old friends please bring your own nyama; we’d love to see you. We’ll supply salads and rolls.
A R20 donation per person, to cover cost of salads, charcoal etc.
Drinks can be purchased from the MOTH BAR – the prices are very reasonable and they’ll value the support.
RSVP: Carol Doughty: 073-5235987 by no later than 4th November 2009
CAPE PROVINCE: Peter Gombart reports from Port Elizabeth:
Hey Chris,
I unfortunately never got to meet you as I had left RLI by the time you had arrived and had become a bearded wonder with the dizzy rank of C/Sgt. Anyway, enough of the flipping Boer War and I suppose you want some sort of news from me for my area. As this is pretty new to us and I am still gathering guys together, we don’t have much news as yet. But what I can tell you is that there are about 6 okes in my neck of the woods that I have found so far, being yours truly ,ek, Phil Raath (ex 3 Cdo), John Radford (Bn. HQ and same recruit course as myself), John Callaghan (Ex CSM Base Group after Harry Birkett).
I am the resident soak and party animal and also the Sergeant Major of Outspan Shell Hole so am always open for a party. Phil Raath is most of the time in America so we have very little contact. As we get more members together and talk more, I will send you more and if you need anything else, please contact me. By the way I see you sign of as L/Cpl. Retired, well I remember my promotion to lance-jack was the best promotion I ever had, boy, did that one stripe wear heavy on my shoulder. In those days we still wore khaki shirts in camp and our lance-jack stripes were made by the tailors at the QM and were made out of old sheets. Man, I thought I was the bee’s knees, every time you spoke to somebody you would sort of push your right arm forward so that he could not miss your one stripe.
KZN PROVINCE: Skippy Michell reports:
Attached is my contribution (albeit small) to e-Cheetah from the KZN region. As you say its early days for the new representatives, but as more ouens get together the more stories will be forthcoming.
KZN Region will be hosting the Regimental Birthday Bash on 6th February 2010 and the ouens are busily going around sourcing a venue and generally trying to get our act together to make it a memorable occasion. Provisional sighting is the Mills Bomb Shell Hole, Amanzimtoti.
Comms (letters etc) – Not so much comms, but more just finding “old” mates through Facebook. In the last month two blasts from the past got in contact – those being Tony Tidings (UK) and Mike Ingram (Aus). See pics (What happened to their hair??)
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FORTHCOMING JOLS: Titch Brotherton 724079 WO2 GSM no bar, reports:
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For my sins, I am the IRLIRA SA Events Officer – for 2009/2010. The first forthcoming event will be our birthday and that will be held in KZN – at a Shell Hole not gas station! Still needs to be recce’d and confirmed by the KZN Rep, Skippy and associates. The 2010 calendar for national and regional events will to be distributed asp.
COMM. 006/2009: It is with pleasure that I inform the Association members that Gen. Peter Walls and his dear lady, Eunice will be our Guests of Honour at the 49th Birthday Celebration in Durbs on the 6th February 2010. Bill Wiggill
The GFL (Get Fired) Lunch usually happens around early December in both Jozi and Durbs. The organizers will be sending out their Comms shortly
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CHINAS SIGNING ON
Welcome to the following who have registered recently with the RLIRA:
- Mike Higgins
- Derrick Taylor (3 Commando)
- Steve Hageman
- James Wessels
- Andrie van Tonder
- Trevor Schoultz (3 Commando)
- James Jamieson
- Bruce Elliot (1 Commando)
- Lt. Col Bill Dodgen (Padre)
- Brian Authers
- Denis ‘Charlie’ Buchan (Associate Member: SAS (No 1 Para Trg. School). All the mmwc trained at New Serum Para Training School will remember ‘Charlie or else!)
- Chris Abrey (3 Commando)
- Cindy Mattisson (Affiliate Member: spouse of late Neville Harding, 3 Commando, Neville’s details are on the Vale page of the website)
- Ron Wheeldon (Associate Member)
Ron writes:
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“When I left MID/RIC to take up a post with JOC Repulse, I was issued an RLI beret, badge and stable belt because, as a regular, someone assumed I was entitled to them. It took all of about 6 hours for the mistake to be recognised and rectified because, unusually by that stage, I was not trained at RLI and was never part of the battalion and I was quite vocal in expressing my belief that there was an error. I was then badged staff corps and described as "Rhodesian Infantry" without the "light" bit. This is all because I had, I think, a unique route into the army. My late brother was at RLI as a national serviceman, so that might be the source of the rumour. At Repulse I served with Leon Jacobs and Nick Fawcett and then Ken Johnston, all fine examples of the sort of soldier RLI could turn out.”
THE LAST POST (VALE)
Sadly, the ouens seem to vacating their perches with monotonous regularity. As and when info comes to hand, it will be published on the website and in e-Cheetah. Our VALE section on the website still needs a lot of work, considering little in the way of records has been kept of those ouens who have died since 1980. Mike McDonald in Canada has been doing a great job in getting the VALE section updated, but it’s a massive task. Please send any info you might have on any ouens you know who’ve passed away since 1980 to Mike at
mikemcd@sympatico.ca. Accordingly, the Last Post section in the e-Cheetah is not restricted to ouens who have only recently abandoned their posts.
Colin Mason
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Aged 53, resident of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe died suddenly while working in Afghanistan. Colin was as part of the crew on a Russian-operated Mi8 helicopter. Information at the time of writing is that he had a heart attack and died in his sleep.
Colin leaves two children. His father Mike lives in Auckland, New Zealand. Colin served in the Rhodesian Light Infantry where he was a PTI sergeant from c. 1976-1980. [Thanks to Rhodesian Services Association for info.] |
John Robert Foran.
John died of a stroke on the 13-7-2002. John served from May 1976 to May 1979 in 1 Commando as a corporal.
Keith Bartlett.
Keith passed away in July 2009 in the Durban area. He signed up in 1966, served in 1 Commando as an NCO. He also served as 3 Cdo. 11 Troop Sergeant in 1976/77. He was also posted to School of Infantry, Training Troop etc.
Tom Swift
John Dollman writes: Tom was a great friend of Ron, Boet Swart and me; he joined the Rhodesian Federal army in 1955 from the South African army, after serving in the British army during World War II. I know at the break-up of the Federation he served as a captain in the Northern Rhodesian army for eight years then came back to Southern Rhodesia in about 1972 as a civvy where he died in 1995. As I remember him he was a short tubby man and on Friday prayer meeting could put away at least a case of Lion beer and still ride his Vespa scooter home. Maybe if Radcliff and Hope who were two of his helpers in the RLI QM stores are members of the Association, they will recall Tom.
Tom’s daughter, Wendy Boshi, records: Thomas Swift 1920–1995. Tom was the first RQMS of the RLI and remained there for 3 years (1961–1963) before accepting a commission in the Northern Rhodesia Regiment and moving to Tug Argan barracks in Ndola. Mom joins me in sending love to you all.
Alan Pearson.
Alan was Signals Troop and also a bit of a muso. He was often seen jamming in the Round Bar on R&R. Alan passed away in 2006 after a battle with emphysema.
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COMD & SIGS
Craig Bone, BSAP reject, 11 Troop stopper of 12.7 and 14.5 rounds, Battalion artist and neighbour of Holly from Miami Fla, is working on a painting of the late Bob Smith (11 Troop Yank) and wants to know if anyone can remember whether Bob was missing a part of a finger (weird question Craig!). Still ‘skriked’ about those Freddy rounds, Craig now wears a GI helmet full-time … his ‘Bone-dome’.
[Ed: Bob Smith, from Georgia, USA, served in 11 Troop, 3 Commando. He was in Hugh McCall’s stick during a Fireforce contact in early January 1979 (Brad Little KIA), when the stick got pinned down by some seriously aggro gooks. Bob took a couple of 7.62 intermediates in the gut, but still managed to crawl across open ground and rescue a couple of chinas. McCall put him up for a BCR, but he had to be content with an MFC. Bob died a few years back in his home state of Georgia. He was mowing his lawn when an out-of-control 18-wheeler careered into his garden and took him out. Bizarre, and sad.]
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We have an RLI beer mug with Cockroach Steakhouse on it (see pic). Does anyone you know the background to this?
Cheers
Hugh Bomford
hbomford@clear.net.nz
[Ed: Hugh runs The Rhodesian Services Association in NZ. They have about 1,200 members worldwide now. It’s open to all ex-Forces members. If you’d like to receive Hugh’s seriously boned monthly newsletter, email him and he’ll put you on his mailing list.] |
Howzit Billy,
Congrats on being nominated at the last AGM, I couldn’t make it unfortunately but best wishes for the year! I have recently managed to locate a lady who was the founder of the Troopies’ canteens in Rhodesia—Mrs Jill Landry, a farmer’s wife from Mt Darwin. I think many of us in the RLI being based in Darwin from time to time, made use of the facility and I felt it would be good to recognise the service and support given by her during the war years. She is an old lady now living in the Cape. I have organised a Rhodesian Commemorative Medal which I have had engraved and would like to present it to her. I have paid for it and am not looking for any reimbursement but feel it may be something we could do on behalf of the association and members possibly even the SAS, Scouts and Rhodesian Army Association as well. Don’t know what you think but if you agree would you be able to provide a letter from our association to her thanking her on behalf of all members of the RLI?? Secondly would you broach the other associations for me? I am happy to make a trip to CT at my own expense to present it on behalf of all of the associations, perhaps we can get a couple of the guys from the Cape to come along on the day? I will pick the medal up in the Isle of Man on Monday the 20 September but would only be able to get to the Cape after November.
Your thoughts?
Regards
Phil Kaye
(12 Troop, 3 Commando)
Dear All,
It is a great gesture to give her the medal, and I will certainly pen her letter on behalf of the Association. I believe we should make her an Honorary Member of the Association, in much the same way as we have done for Tim Calvert. She was nothing directly to do with the RLI, but like Tim went out of her way to help us, so Hon. Member is the only real course of action.
Please confirm you all agree and I will take it from there.
Best Regards
Ian Buttenshaw
Chairman, RLIRA
Dear Ed,
Thank you for the e-Cheetah. For keeping the One RLI alive. And to also keep what was, now is. Careful you don’t start something! Just reminiscing about some of the old 3 Cdo chinas: Chris Cocks, Mark Pilbeam, Martin Hudson and Charlie Warren, our boss men: Major Strong, Lts Adams and Thornton, W/O Johnny Norman, Sgts Taylor, types Derrick and Kevin. Then needless to say, Major Snelgar, Lts Carloni and Greenhalgh, W/O Brian Lewis, Sgts Paul Abbott and Charlie Norris. Craig Bone has even started to get the Americans alive with his ‘scene’ painting now in the Pentagon. ‘Pillars and Pudding’ are looking after the Troopie now in the UK. Sorry for rambling again. Just sending a message to say thank-you, I hope from us all.
Cheers from Francistown
Bruce ‘Stamp the left foot in’ Kidd
(3 Commando)
[Ed: Thanks to Bruce for the whacky pics that appear throughout the newsletter.]
Hi Bill
Many thanks for the mail. It’s great to be back in touch with everyone again. Face book is the way ahead, but now being a member of the Association is first prize! I live in Harare, but work in Sudan, clearing mines and Unexploded Ordnance. Have been here 5 years and before that was in Iraq for a year, before that Lebanon etc. We do a 7 to 8 week bush trip followed by 2 to 3 weeks R&R. I am really keen to get to the birthday in Durban, but it doesn’t fit in with our R&R schedule, although I am in a position to pull strings, so hopefully I can arrange something and we’ll meet up there, if not before! Thanks so much for all the good work you guys are doing, and for keeping the spirit of the RLI going. We owe it not only to ourselves, but everyone who has gone before us and our once awesome nation.
Cheers for now and stay safe
Best regards
Bruce Elliot
(1 Commando) Go
Good morning to you Chris and the other blokes and ouens!
Greetings from Canada. I lost contact but never forgot the RLI for thirty years. I left after Independence Day. After the ceasefire, things changed for me, and everyone else. It wasn’t the same anymore. How is everyone? Anyways, I hope everyone is OK but I imagine there are a lot of fond memories amongst us former RLI soldiers. Write telephone or e-mail me:
647 Toronto ST.
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
R3E 1Z4
Telephone: 1 (204) 779-6215
robertjameskejick@yahoo.ca
Cheers
Bob Kejick
(Support Commando, Feb 77–April 80)
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ADMIN & LOG
- George Dempster came across the old 1 Commando flag and this has gone back with Martyn Hudson for the RLI museum in the UK.
- Bill has some artifacts from the ‘Puma’ wreck in Mapai for Neill Storey to check out.
THERE WE WERE … KNEE-DEEP IN GRENADE PINS
Ed: After publication of The Saints, stories, reminiscences, ‘warries’ etc. kept on coming in. Here are a few to kick off with (also, please feel free to send me your stories, which we’ll publish next time round):
3 Commando Fireforce, early 1979
By Mike McDonald
I was 3 Commando MA3 medic at this time doing Fireforce out of Beitbridge. We had a Rhodesian K-car crew with South African G-car crews. On this particular callout the K-car orbited atop the contact centre as usual. The G-cars for some strange reason did little individual orbits each at 2, 6 and 10 o’clock position to the K-car instead of the usual one big orbit. As usual orbiting counterclockwise so the chopper’s machine guns face inward toward the contact area but meant the pilot was turning into his blind spot. This brought the choppers paths more inward toward the contact area. This day we had a real cheeky bunch of terrorists who kept firing at the G-cars. I was sitting across from the chopper gunner exposed by the door. Many bullets kept cracking the air by my face constantly but we couldn’t see the shooters as it was forested below. I’ve never received so much ground fire before in a chopper. Finally I get really pissed off and bugger the no firing rule from the G-car because of bouncing around empty casings, if I see these gooks I’m going to blast away at them. Everyone is focused on the ground looking for these gooks. Something makes me look up. I see our flight path at the 6 o’clock position and I see the flight path of the chopper at the 10 o’clock position. I instantaneously do the math and see we are on a ‘collision’ course. I slap the chopper gunner’s leg and point to the oncoming chopper. He screams into his radio mouthpiece and both choppers do a hard right turn. Both choppers pass each other belly to belly twenty yards apart! Too damn close! Amazing the soldiers behind the pilots didn’t fall out. I believe I saved the lives of 12 men, 8 RLI soldiers and four aircrew by three seconds. The next Fireforce callout we were back to one big orbit! The South African aircrews were a little different from their Rhodesian cousins but they did risk life and limb for us many a time. One good thing riding in a South African chopper on the way back from a contact we would fight for the extra headset so we could listen to Radio 5, a South African rock music station.
Snakes and Gogos
By Mike McDonald
In the first week I joined RLI we went out to Mazoe for training. On the first day I was napping in my bivvy after lunch. I was awoken to find a huge baboon spider inches from my face. The next thing I remember I was outside the bivvy beating this ‘deadly poisonous tarantula’ to death with my water bottle. There was a couple of guilty looking RLI Rhodies sniggering nearby, welcome to Africa. On my first bush trip with 3 Cdo we stop by this small base near Buffalo Range. There are some African soldiers toasting mopane worms on a grill over coals. My RLI corporal shows me this procedure then asks me to eat one. Smartass me says I’ll eat one if you do. This darn Corporal pops one into his mouth and eats it. Damn, so I had to eat one too.
Support Cdo had a trooper nicknamed ‘Snake’. In the bush he was always turning over rocks etc looking for snakes on his patrol breaks and often finding them. At Grand Reef Fireforce base there was this big mamba. Snake would chase the mamba from the berm to the airstrip trying to catch it. The mamba would get cranky and chase Snake back to the berm. This happened back and forth several times much to the amusement of lots of Support Cdo onlookers; I don’t think he was able to catch the mamba. Legend has it that Snake whilst early into a several day deployment into Mozambique caught a world record size cobra but had to let it go due to military operations. Watching television recently a herpetologist from South Africa was being interviewed, he looked hauntingly familiar like Snake. This snake expert even said he handled snakes in the army in Angola clearing them from bunkers etc. “If that’s really you Snake congratulations having a career in your beloved hobby”.
At Grand Reef I was nearby when a cobra went into the 3 Cdo’s batmen’s tent when they were all inside having an afternoon siesta. All the screaming batmen exited the tent immediately only one by the doorway! Aye if only we had it on video. An Afrikaner 3 Cdo trooper killed the snake and skinned it. Only one batman slept in the tent that night because of a cobra’s reputation of hanging around in pairs. On one extremely quiet day a very bored 3 Cdo soldier caught a chameleon and spent several minutes chasing the batmen around with it. Good thing batmen weren’t armed or they would have shot me.
One time Support Cdo was camped by the sports club of Ngundu Halt north of Beitbridge. At dusk the Recce Troop sergeant had a hell of a dramatic time killing a big cobra in his tent with a shovel. He was in quite a rattled state afterwards. I was sharing a tarp bivvy with the company clerk there. He had the 8 to 10pm radio watch in the signals truck while I did the 10 to midnight. At the end of my radio watch upon returning to our bivvy I found him sleeping about 30 yards away in the open. I thought whatever, crawled around our very dark bivvy crashed in my sleeping bag on the stretcher. I asked him the following morning why he slept out there and he said huge snake crawled into our bivvy!! I was quite angry with him for not warning me.
In Essexvale during troop medic course training I caught one of those huge locusts with a body the size of my index finger and big powerful back legs. I strolled over to the late Englishman Tpr. John Connelly pulled open his t-shirt and dropped it in. He mumbles “Now what have you done McDonald”, pulls open his shirt neck and sees this brute as it starts kicking against his chest. He screams his head off, jumps around, drops his rifle, rips off his webbing, rips off his chest webbing and finally pulls off his t-shirt all in screaming jumping hysterics. Aye if only we had it on video. Why do Rhodesian and South African men find it extremely hilarious to see an Englishman freaking out over a gogo inside his shirt? Later that evening by my posy (sleeping place) I place my rat pack on my lap for dinner, I open the box and find this big black scorpion running around inside. My rat pack sails thirty feet into the air and curses fly toward John who his laughing his head off in the next posy over. What RLI dudes do when bored? Speaking of scorpions I’m sure I sat on one once at night. I was sitting for about 30 seconds when this fierce pain stung my right butt cheek and I jumped about 3 feet in the air. The next day I had a red welt about 8 inches in diameter on my right butt cheek, I let it heal itself.
In Llewellyn Barracks I find a newly hatched six inch long baby cobra/mamba. It still has its egg tooth. Sadly a poisonous snake has no place inside a military base. All I can find is a six inch flimsy stick to try to pin it down to catch it. This little snake was quite a lively cheeky devil rearing up, flaring his hood, hissing and trying to bite me. Nearby is a truck packed full of African National Servicemen watching this crazy man playing with a snake. After several minutes, it was quite tricky I’m able to pin this snake down and grab him behind his head. I hold him up wriggling for all in the truck too see. Then the RLI streak of humor takes over and I lob him slowly and high into the back of this truck full of African soldiers. All but two debus immediately, hey good ambush training for them. The biggest of the group big tough Sam stands there frozen, trembling and crying. The smallest of the group calming kills the snake with the butt of his weapon. Aye if only we had it on video. In a bush camp once the batmen called me over to kill a puff adder. I just caught it and carried it a couple hundred yards outside of camp and released it. Maybe it will bite some terrorist scouting out our camp.
With 3 Cdo we were operating out of Grootvlei airstrip way down in the southeast. This area was very bad for ticks. Every day I would take my boots and socks off there would hundreds of these tiny mites between my toes. Never had this problem anywhere else. Nearby was Mabalahuta base by Gona re Zhou Park. Everyone knows the infamous Mabalahuta ants there. We often heard the screams of first time visitors who unwittingly actually sat on the long drops where thousands of these little brown monsters would rush out between the planks and bite simultaneously. SAS guys poured gallons of diesel on their campgrounds to fight them. Our guys would put foot powder or grease on the legs of their stretchers to stop them at night. If the corner of your sleeping bag touched the ground, a column of them would run up it and you would find them all over your face in the middle of the night. I eventually just usually found the cab of a truck to sleep in. I have no idea how the resident game rangers put up with them. As a commando MA3 medic I twice treated soldiers who had a painful ear filled to the brim with earwax. Both times syringing flushed all the wax with a big tick.
With Support Cdo the day before R&R I loaned my can of Mercurochrome spray to an RLI Aussie prankster. They pinned down this handsome RLI NCO, pulled down his shorts and sprayed red all over his one-eyed trouser snake and surrounding area. We don’t know how he explained it to his girlfriend on R&R.
Rhodesian Light Infantry: snippets from memory
By 2037 Sergeant Rittey J.N. (Nigel). Served 19/2/61 to 19/2/68
The recruiting office King George the V1 Barracks, Salisbury in February 1961.
Having been far too clever to go to University, I found myself beetling along the Borrowdale Road on my way to KG V1 to join this new Rhodesian Army thing my mates were all yakking about. When I reached the boom I asked politely where the Recruiting Office might be found. This bloke with a nose spread from East to West, right across his unlovely “mush”, said something impolite, followed by a description of where this office was and a warning about where I would have to “park that piece of s**t motor bike OK?”
The office turned out to be a room in a dingy building with a mixture of various types of battered chairs, a few overflowing ashtrays, stompies all over the floor and some very peculiar characters lolling around. I found a seat in the queue between a long, tall, fair- haired character, which had come from Jo’burg. His name was Bernie Hetem who eventually turned out to be an acceptable guitarist and would-be rock star. His buddy, Brian Van Der Poel, was there too. The fellow on my left was a rugged character who looked like a soldier even before he had been attested. This was Roy Roelofse who had come from Umtali having left the furniture manufacturing business.
A couple of Ducktails, hidden by clouds of cigarette smoke, could be seen from time to time stamping their fag ends out on the floor and causing the eyes of the attending MP to resemble those of a Gaboon viper focusing on its prey. I think one was “Cammie” Collins. The other, like so many, is a mere flash of static in a few old brain cells…perhaps the Gaboon viper got him….
Finally the moment arrived to join this military thing, see the world, enjoy free board and lodging, free medical care, free pension, learn a trade* and enjoy a generous salary of £35 a month. (They only told us about all the deductions after our first payday came around.)
We were told, “Do come in Sir, sign here…here…here…here…here…there too…tick this…tick that…great! NOW YOUS ARE A F#@## SOLDIER! Get your backside into that line there for yous medicals / train ticket to Bulawayo!”
The medicals, conducted by two medico types…Doctors Ainslie and Lambert-Porter, seemed to be a matter of seeing how tall and heavy you were, whether you were alive and breathing…and could we perhaps actually see and hear things. The worst crime was for any of us to have been found in possession of flat feet. (I thought it perfectly natural that we should all have flat feet…how would we stand up if they were anything else…?)
* I am reminded of a popular legend at the time, which tells of the occasion where a recruiting officer had met with a fellow bearing a close resemblance to Quasimodo and had tried to sell the idea that this cretin could join the Army and actually get paid while learning a trade. The officer was dumbstruck by the response from this prospective soldier when he countered…” But I don’t wanna join the Army to learn a trade …I just wanna kill people!”
Brady Barracks
We were collected at Bulawayo station by a Private Walsh and found ourselves poured into the back of a WW11 vintage “QL” which bellowed, whined, rattled and creaked its’ way to the gates of Brady Barracks. My first thought was that any Hollywood producer, seeking a perfect location for movies titled, “Escape from Stalag Luft 3”, or, “Breakout from Belsen” would only have to paint it all grey and sprinkle a little snow around to make it work!
From the moment of arrival, the shouting started. For some reason these noisy people insisted that everything should be done “at the double”. When those morons were trying to teach us to march, we quickly learned that our arms had to swing at shoulder height…”parallel to the ground” they said. It was only after passing out of recruit training that we were allowed to swing them at a far less abnormal angle of about 45 degrees.
Kit issue was hilarious. We were all rushed to the QM Stores where we stood around until summonsed by the Gods to go get our issue. Very little fitted. They told us that if it fitted, you were deformed in some way. Funnily enough their kit fitted OK so we deduced that they must have all been a little misshapen. Their boots were smooth with a mirror shine, but the ones we got were rough and pimply as a rhino’s backside.
Their Khaki Drill shorts and bush jackets were crisp with creases you could sharpen a pencil with. Ours were presented as piles of khaki material resembling the cleaning rags used for washing Bedford trucks. Their belt brasses and buckles belonged in the window display of Tiffany’s…all shiny and golden. They gave us brass objects that looked like they had been recovered from Delville Wood. Their belts were snow white. They gave us gungy “Gang” green jobs and told us about “Blanco” and how we could purchase it “for a very modest cost from the canteen”. Their berets fitted. Ours looked like the kind of thing a ship’s cook might wear. We never saw if their “Drawers Cellular, troops- for- the- use- of ” fitted them…or whether these “Jam Stealers” actually attempted to wear the darned things. We found that it was anatomically more correct to wear the brutes back to front as the “Y front” had clearly been designed by someone who hated soldiers. They became known as “Shreddies”. Thanks be, to the Good Lord that the regiment never wore kilts.
On getting to the canteen and asking about this “Blanco” stuff, we found that we also had to have a few other things. Brasso, Starch, Cobra floor polish, yellow dusters, Kiwi polish, sandpaper (for smoothing off the Delville Wood relics prior to using the Brasso), cotton wool for “boning” the boots, an electric iron (not only for clothes but to get those blasted pimples out of the boot leather), washing powder and of course, “Bed Boards” and safety pins, so that one could painstakingly display ones spare bedding in exact box-shaped piles at the foot of one’s bed for morning inspections. Having blown the coming months’ pay, you were now in a position to re-manufacture just about everything they had given you.
The boots had to be ironed to get the darn things smooth after which it was a matter of a sort of spit and polish technique using Kiwi polish…the only polish that really worked. Initially it was layered on thickly. This was followed by hours of circular applications using wet cotton wool. Private Alistair Platt, a pasty little fellow and a fine soldier, with lips that looked like Mick Jagger’s,( We couldn’t use this analogy at the time as “Tackie Lips” hadn’t begun to make his millions yet!), was the master of boot boning and earned the coveted “Stick Man” title several times. His boots could have been hung from the ceiling at a barn dance to replace the mirrored ball. If those boots had been caught by the spotlight, the revelers would have been blinded.
A few of our colleagues recalled
At this time we got to know more about the motley collection of characters who were to be our companions. Many are forgotten in the mists of time, but a few notables are recalled with no difficulty.
Jock Martin, an ex Brit army type who annoyed the Hell out of us by slow marching around the barracks at all hours of the day or night, making a dreadful noise with his bagpipes.
Sergeant Henry Lourens, supposedly ex Long Range Desert Group, who was a rugged looking character famous for the remark “Getting shot is b****rall…I’ve been shot before”.
Steve Jones, Johnny Le Bron and Eddie Etheridge who were all archery enthusiasts. Eddie was killed years later while serving as a mercenary in the Congo.
Ted Wilde, wise in the ways of the Rhodesian bush, he grew up on a farm near the small town of Plumtree.
Jumbo Greipel, a giant of a man with a gentle heart.
Chippy Ackerman and his mate Herbie Lordan. These two were like circus acrobats. They demonstrated their prowess by swinging like orangutans from the rafters of the barrack rooms. Herbie was a master of the Bedford RL and could make those bellowing monsters really fly with superb double de-clutching.
The diminutive Jimmy Smith-Belton, later to make a name for himself in rugby circles.
Tiny Clemo was first spotted by the lads when he came to sign up as a “D” Company “Boy-soldier”. We all thought this gawky child had got lost on his way to his primary school. It was rumoured that Orderly Officers regularly instructed the cooks to ensure he got more “graze” and milk than the other troopies in an attempt to grow him a little faster. (He spent a lot of his career as a “Jam stealer” and now lives in Randburg SA having later specialised in Logistics…a sort of “civvy” version of “Jam stealing”?)
Tex Benzies was a fellow motorcyclist who owned a Matchless 500 twin, which ran rings around my ancient ex-police BSA 600 side-valve machine. The old runways of the Kumalo airfield next to Brady became a sort of raceway for amateur Jim Redmans and Ray Amms in the Battalion.
Pat Miller. A fine shottist, as I remember who served with distinction in later years.
Colonel John Salt, our CO, the “Main Man Wot Counted”. He was a tall, cadaverous character with a booming voice, which was revered by us all. On parades, dressed in his KD’s, he resembled a schooner under full sail. His shorts were impressive and cascaded down to well below the knees while the bush jacket looked just as if he had crashed through a marquee and taken the whole thing with him after wrapping it up with his belt and Sam Browne. Under the cap was a weather beaten face dominated by a massive schnozzle that, if pointed North or South, made him vulnerable to any gusts of wind from the East or West. He never did get blown over. Perhaps it was the stabilising effect of the ears of elephantine proportions that stuck out on either side of that huge bonce that did it.
Harry Crampton was a barrel-chested ex stevedore from Sydney Docks with a face revealing many excesses and huge paws. He was reputed to have been able to pull the cap off a bottle of Castle Lager using only his fingers. Some years later an unfortunate crocodile tried to take him while we were happily splashing around in a dam at Buhera. The croc lost and Harry was rushed to Enkeldoorn Hospital for treatment where he was reported to have spent his time fascinating the nurses. When the croc attacked Harry, he was not the only one to get injured. Alistair Platt turned the water into froth in his frenzy to get away from the commotion and failed to stop when he reached the shore. He sustained an injury when he crashed into some rocks.
Cammy Collins and Bruce Cromarty, who probably did more than most in the development of “RLI Speak”. This may have originated from the jive talk of Joburg Duckies, the lingo of the Durban beachfront, Afrikaans, Funagalo, Rhodesian schoolboy dialects and a motley collection of bits of barracks communication from dozens of armies around the world. Even the most “frightfully frightful fellows” from Sandhurst and the like, quickly realised that they had to learn it and use it if they wished to get their points over to us and earn our respect.
“Bok” Wentzel. A quiet little guy who later sadly lost his life in action.
Jack Barratt who modeled himself on Nikita Khrushchev and who spent most of his later career as the charismatic barman at the Cranborne Corporal’s Club. He was, as a Brit, most knowledgeable on all things Russian and probably caused a lot of anxiety for our “cloak and dagger” types at a time when the Russians were our enemy. They were the providers of AK 47’s to all sorts of funny buggers around the world and harbourers of the cocktail-quaffing terrorist masters in Moscow.
Bob Hope who described himself as “six feet and then some”. He had a flash of silver hair on the front of his head. He also went the “Jam stealer” route.
Joe Conway. The life of most parties.
Barry Bougaard, another vertically challenged character.
Derek Taylor-Memmory, a corpse-like member of what we rudely referred to as the “Turd stranglers” (Medics). I worked with him as a medical rep in SA where he passed away from lung cancer (I think) a few years ago.
Mick (Paddy) Ryan, who was rumoured to have deserted from the navy and who consumed copious quantities of alcohol, which stimulated his passion for “a good foit”. He was once found kicking the canteen jukebox to a pulp. As the new RP Sergeant, I had to go and talk him out of it. There was no argument. He fell into the Land Rover without protest and was locked in the Box until justice took its’ course on CO’s Orders the following day.
Not such a gentle and cheerful Irishman was the notorious Sam Cassidy, who really was nasty when pissed. He spent a large part of his career confined to the Box. I hope the years mellowed him. Maybe cirrhosis got him first.
Piet Myburgh, the raw Afrikaner who was all legs and surprised the country by winning the Sunday Mail 110 Mile March. He was a really nice fellow with limited powers of communication.
Bob Meacham. A fanatical runner, he was always at the front of any foot-powered events. I seem to remember that he held the record for the fastest time “running” down the Cliffside at Kariba Heights. This started from the Sergeant’s Mess, turned at the main road hundreds of feet below and then involved flying back up again. A drunken game at that time was to pitch Dumpy bottles over that precipice and to listen to hear if you had scored a direct hit on a pile of rock down below, he must therefore have risked life and limb to do it. He could easily have found himself singing an octave higher.
George Molder. If ever anyone fitted the description “eyes like pissholes in the snow”, he was it. He was the guy who put his Bedford RL, AD 808, over the side of a cliff near Kariba.
Basil Rushforth was a really mad motorcyclist and scrambles enthusiast. He was the envy of all the lads because he owned a Lotus Cortina GT that went like the bats out of Hell.
There was Sam Maulgue, a quiet and simple soul who owned a massive American car and who was sadly killed when it left the road around the Holy Circle and hit a culvert in the ditch outside B Company.
One of the people who led me to hate gymnasiums was Len Monson. Built like a compact brick shithouse, with cauliflower ears from years of hitting the canvas as a wrestler, he really gave us the works. On one occasion he ordered “Tallest on the right, shortest on the left! From the right…NUMBER! Odd numbers one pace FORWARD MARCH! Odd numbers ABOUT TURN! PAIR OFF!!…now, put on your boxing gloves…you’ve got 10 minutes to knock the living daylights out of the oke in front of you!!” (He was a fan of the drill instructor’s “Gwelo Screech” parade ground commands, which made him sound like a spaniel being kicked in the nuts.)
Sergeant “Beaver” Fraser-Kirk, one of the Vehicle Maintenance guys at the MT yard who, when asked by Captain Keith Dyer the MTO, why he was looking a bit rougher than usual, explained, “It was those okes last night Sir. We each bought a crate of 24 Chibulis and when they were finished, somebody bought me a meat pie. I think the thing was vrot!”
Interesting buck-teeth were to be found under the moustache of the Irishman,
Sergeant Paddy Driver. Also ex British Army, he could have eaten an apple through the strings of a tennis racquet.
The Battalion loan shark was Tiny Sevenster, one of the more punch-drunk RP’s. This resourceful character could always lend you five quid as long as you paid him ten at the end of the week. He was reputed to have amassed vast fortunes over the years.
Another financial whiz kid was Kenny Mills who became a professional investment guru back in Johannesburg in later years.
A notorious British Army surplus character was WO11 “Crash” Hannaway, whose nickname was derived from his love of blowing things to bits. He was very good at it and brought this skill to the attention of the authorities by flushing a stick of “808” down the toilet in the men’s room of a well-known Gwelo hotel. Legend has it that the ceramic bowl was blown to smithereens whilst the water tank was found swaying about still doggedly attached to its copper pipe, the sewage system was trashed and the whole place was plastered with delicate shades of dark brown. The perpetrator was reported to have retreated back to the bar after pulling the chain of the ancient “crapper” thus sending this lethal turd on its mission of destruction. He was said to have sat there with a cherubic smile on his face, quaffing his beer and occasionally checking his watch, until the moment of eruption when he casually asked, “Wot’s going on chaps?” Somehow he remained in the army where his reputation as a bit of a pisscat flourished.
While “Crash” Hannaway was our A Company CSM, he blotted his copybook a little more by riding my very rare motorcycle (a 1000cc,vintage V twin1937 Brough Superior SS100 and which weighed about 700 lbs) straight through the swing doors of the WO’s and Sergeants Mess, while wearing a Davy Crockett hat and with a musket slung over his shoulder. Fortunately my bike survived with no damage. Having not yet attained the lofty heights of Sergeant, I could not witness the scene inside the Mess.
Jock Press and Tom Douglas who sang the duet “Walking my baby back home” with a professional touch and a lot of feeling. The latter was our platoon commander before going on with a distinguished career in the Life Insurance Industry.
The famous Sergeant Ernie Walters was a survivor of the Normandy landings who owned several mementos from that era including Nazi flags and pieces of German uniforms. He also had a set of very poor false teeth of similar vintage, which he sucked at, waggled and left lying on his bedside locker when kipping. He was a Staff Corps cook and went down in history on that fateful day at a camp kitchen in Buhera, when, in a moment of vocal excitement, the teeth fell into a pot of porridge destined for the troop’s breakfast. He was seen frantically digging about in the pot with his ladle while turning the air blue with colourful language and spraying copious quantities of saliva from his naked gums.
Among the musically talented troopies was another great beer drinker and guitar twanging fellow,
Terry Dempsey who later made a hit in the music business by composing, among many others, “Love is a beautiful song”. He was not often sober at that time. Castle Breweries shares would have taken a dive if he’d chosen to go on the wagon.
Always bickering with each other were the Lloyd-Evans brothers. Lyle and Llewellyn were twins while Denzil, the third brother, was either the principal peace-keeper or s**t-stirrer-in-chief between them. They were fine rugby players and very likeable. At one stage they chipped in to buy a very smart Ford Zephyr, which they shared and fought over regularly. At a camp in Kariba on one occasion the twins were having a “barney”. Fists and epithets flew about but, when I tried to break it up, I was attacked by Denzil who seemed to want them to knock the stuffing out of each other and resented the intervention in their family feud.
Mike Boone was a fanatical motorcycle racer and scrambles enthusiast. On leaving the military he made a career in the motorcycle business.
Lofty Cawthorne was an ex-pugilist serving time as an RP. He was perhaps a little less intellectually challenged than most other Regimental Police and, when held up against the likes of “Punchy” Pretorius, Tiny Sevenster or Jimmy Thurling, could almost have been referred to as “gifted”. I later served my stint as RP Sergeant and got to know him a little better.
Many troopies developed into ruggedly good looking fellows and broke a lot of hearts around Bulawayo, Salisbury, Gwelo and other places in the Federation where they stopped long enough to fascinate the “birds”, “cookies”, “gooses” or just generic “fluff”. “Crumpet” or “crutch”. Some however were rather challenged in terms of appearance. There was a troopie called Warren who was once told by a Drill Sergeant on a parade that he had “a face bearing a close resemblance to the scrotum of an elephant”. Another unfortunate was a Private Newman who was informed by the terrifying RSM Reid-Daly that his face “was like a bucket full of arseholes”. To my mind, these two were positively good looking compared to the very likeable Private Gouws who was tall but whose height was made up of about 80 % legs, 8 % torso and 12% for the rest. “The rest” was dominantly neck on which could be found a head like an inverted pear, out of which peered a pair of cheerful eyes situated either side of a snotbox modeled (badly) from a statue found in Pompeii. The whole protuberance was clad in an unhealthy yellow skin. Nobody picked on Gouws because he was a true gentleman who would stop at nothing to help his colleagues. I saw him at a Riot Drill once. He looked exactly like a Hermit crab occupying a sort of khaki coloured “shell” (his steel helmet) below which trailed two legs, two long arms and an SLR rifle.
There were a few really handsome types in the Battalion included a well-known OC of D Company who once borrowed my boat at Kariba for a jaunt on the lake. This included a degree of “au natural” sunbathing in the company of a couple of nurses. The sunbathing (and perhaps one or two other things) was over-done and treatment was required for sunburn on some unusual parts of their bodies.
2nd Lieutenant Harry Harvey is remembered for a time when, as a wet-behind-the-ears “subbie” commanding our platoon on a bloody awful conventional warfare exercise on the Somabula flats, continually stated that, “the book says this / says that / says the other”. Sergeant Bob Meacham, and indeed all of us, were getting a bit bored with what this “book” had to say but our subaltern rattled on quoting this tome of great knowledge until Bob had a go at him by saying, “But Sir, we haven’t read this f*****g book!”
Major “Digger” Essex-Clarke was our first A Company OC. He was every inch a soldier and was feared but admired by all us new recruits. He was the one who ultimately decided if we got weekend passes following the dreaded Saturday morning inspections.
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| [Ed: watch this space for Nigel’s following installment.] |
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RLIRA UK Newsletter October/November 2009 |
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Rhodesian Light Infantry Regimental Association
UK BRANCH
RLIRA UK Newsletter October/November , 2009
Please can we apologise to everyone for the dearth of communications coming out of UK’s RLIRA communications centre, affectionately known as the spare room, since our last news brief around September time.
Truth be told a combination of work, required RnR and domestic responsibilities have resulted in a M25 style traffic jam of the old pins, ratchets, cogs and twiddely bits called the brain, resulting in gridlock of the imagination, only resolved quite recently with a sharp but firm message to the back of the head with a half brick – but enough of this psycho babble!
This newsletter will be brief, and as you only ever get one apology at a time from us, we are not going to apologise for this newsletter being brief until the next newsletter, by which time you will hopefully have forgotten about how brief this newsletter is, and things will be back to normal.
Important thing to remember is that the committee is still beavering away on your behalf, with the museum project trundling forward and beginning to pick up pace.
We have also begun planning for our summer get-together which we believe will be a crowd pleaser and will, with a bit of luck, not only help to increase the membership, but will give all of our members the opportunity to participate in the planned festivities.
The committee is also proceeding with plans for the 50th birthday celebrations to be held in 2011, possibly in London, but we are still..still..still…waiting for someone out there to give us feedback on whether they think that this is a good or bad plan. So far we have had the offer of a small string quartet but that is about it. So c’mon ouens, proverbial finger out and get back to us!
By the way ladies, this is an opportunity to place firm pressure to the rear. Remember that we are planning a dressie up thing for the evening, so you get the chance to not only choose the feathers, but the possie where you can spot the graze and shake the glitter! Arm-lock the old man and make your ideas known!
RLIRA Summer Do!
Every year the Rhodesian Pioneer Corp – a charity that helps relocate folks who leave Zims – has a long weekend braai. The place is usually packed with folks and we thought that it might be an idea to combine their do with ours.
We thought that we could set up an RLI Base Group (we already have promises of very large tents) in which we will hold our own braais, kit and katundu, and even organise inter-commando games, thus giving Support commando ouens the opportunity to win something after all of these years!!
The area would include all of the comforts of home, possibly a sleeping area for ouens and crows who only require a possie for the night (or two) while at the same time provide the opportunity for happy campers to pull in with their own canvass and deck chairs, or hire one of the more permanent chalets (small wooden kia).
We could offer breakfast, beers, braais, beers, competition, beers, mid afternoon tea, beers, quiz’s, like university challenge, beers, evening poetry recitals, and for the ladies, beers!
The weekend usually runs for 3 or 4 days and when you arrive, or leave is left up to you. We would probably arrange a formal RLI day, say the Saturday while leaving the opportunity to come and go as the ouens and crows please.
We, as the RLIRA, would participate as part of the weekend, although we would hope to add our own special and subtle way of doing things and smaak a lekker jole ek se.
It’s an idea and we would like to hear your comments on it. The weekend is a planned, well organised affair with all of the comforts of home including the selling of Rhodesian, food and beverage, fishing pools, (can’t comment on them) and planned entertainment with bands and discos.
So, if you think this is a winner, (or not) then please get in touch with us in the usual way.
RLIRA polo shirts, golf caps and DVDs
Further to an external involving a number of our special operatives cunningly described as rugby supporters flying into the RSA, we would like to report a successful repatriation of polo shirts and golf caps which are now available for sale.
As you all know, (we are always banging on about it,) we need to refurbish the bank account in order to continue to maintain what we believe to be a good standard of support and maintenance for the Association in general, and the Trooper in particular.
Sales of the DVDs are going ok, but could be a lot better and we would urge folks to spread the news about it and persuade friends, relatives, and populations of small emerging nations to purchase a copy of it for posterity, but also for its well put together story of the RLI and the RLIRA.
In addition we also have a limited number of polo shirts (green in assorted sizes) and golf caps for sale. The RLI shirts do not have any commando badges, but the RLI emblem on the breast. These items are reasonable priced (every little helps) and of excellent quality.
DVD’s £15
RLIRA shirts £15
Golf caps £10
All of these items include postage here in the UK.
To order these over the phone contact:
01234 852800 and speak to dick.
Article in the Rhodesians World Wide Magazine
Many of you who are subscribers to the RWW magazine will have seen the write up of the August ceremony and the accompanying photographs of it and the Troopie.
The RWW did us proud with their spread and we would like to take this opportunity to thank Chris and his team from the RWW for being good enough to publish the details.
If you have not seen the September/November issue of the RWW it is worthwhile taking a look. Chris has included a fair few photos of the event in both colour and black and white.
RSA RLIRA AGM
Martyn Hudson travelled over to RSA to attend the Annual General Meeting of the RSA branch of the RLIRA. Martyn spoke to a well attended meeting bringing the south African members up to date on the projects that have been completed and continue to be worked on here in the UK.
His news and report was well received and the ouens over there would like to express their thanks to all who have helped in making our shared projects completed to date, the success that they are.
At the same time a number of new committee members were elected to the SA committee and we would like to take this opportunity to welcome them all on board.
Our thanks to Martyn for his work over there in RSA, apparently the beer only costs 35p, hell in the trenches!
Well, that is it for the mo. Hope this finds you all well.
Please remember that this is your Association, so if you have any comments, criticism, or helpful cooking tips, please get in contact with us and make your feelings known.
Stay well
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RLI Colours Presentation: Help with Names & Date |
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RLI Colours Presentation: Help with Names & Date
I am making a special appeal to members of the RLI to assist with identifying the missing names. I would appreciate any information on this Parade and date so a special appeal to General Walls and Bob Meecham to assist. Yes, that is our (RhAF) very own SWO from New Sarum in Bob Meecham.
I know that there must be a lot of memories (still never call it history) regarding this photo so please help me to ensure it is not lost.
Click here to view the image
Photo of the RLI Colour Presentation which was kindly made available to ORAFs by John Moore and Gus Mason. Thank you both.
ORAFs has been unable to ascertain a date but it is believed this photo may be from 1967 as the RLI at that time had an Hon. Colonel.
Those identified in the photo are:-
Back row Left to right:
1. Lew Hallamore
2. Geoff Liversidge
3. ?
4. Jimmy Jamieson
5. Clive Murray
6. Charlie Farndell
7. ?
8. Pat Miller
9. Jumbo Greipel
10. Bob Hope
11. Quinton Quixley
12. Tony Riley
13. Bob Meecham
14. Tim Baker
15. Terry Wilde
16. Gerry Meecham
17. ?
18. Colin Dace
19. Trevor Marsberg
Centre row Left to right:
1. Mike Milton
2. ?
3. Len Monson
4. Reg Lotter
5. ?
6. ?
7. Wally Watson
8. Doug Lambert
9. John Moore
10. Trevor Des Fountain
11. Trevor Kirrane
12. ?
13. Harry Birkett
14. Ernie?
15. Bill Toland
16. Dave O’Connor
17. ?
Front row seated Left to right:
1. Dave McMahon
2. Jim Finlayson
3. Peter Shaw
4. Dave Bundy
5. Ron Reid-Daly
6. Hon Col REB Long
7. Governor of Rhodesia, Sir Humphrey Vickery Gibbs
8. Peter Walls
9. Robin Tarr
10. Geordie Butler
11. Derek Hughes
12. ? Edwards
13. ?
If you can help – e-mail Peter Jones - peter_jones@telkomsa.net
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Progress and Achievements |
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In the last two plus years the Association has gone from strength to strength, we have in excess of 700 members, 300+ in the UK, 200+ in South Africa, about 100 in Australia/NZ and the rest scattered globally. We have taken possession of our Queens and Regimental Colours and the Trooper Statue and these are now securely housed on the Marquess of Salisbury’s Estate in Hatfield, England, and their Rededication last year was a most memorable and emotional occasion, that will never be fogotten by those who attended, and for those of you who did not, a superb DVD – called “Rhodesia Remembered” has been produced to record not only the occasion but RLI’s History as well. Prior to the Rededication an international AGM was held that charted the Association’s course for the next few years.
All in all the first two years of the revived Associations existence has gone exceptionally well, and rekindled the bonds of comradeship, that were enjoyed by us all during the Battalions existence, - long may it continue.
The Future
We now have to continue the momentum to expand the Association and “Preserve our Heritage”, so that future generations will know about the RLI and our fallen are not forgotten.
The Trooper Memorial
The Trooper Memorial will be complete this year when we add the “Killed on Operations” and “Book of Remembrance” names to the plinth, they are due to be fitted shortly, as is a low chain link fence around the Memorial. It is also planned to construct two benches either side of The Trooper, so visitors have a place to sit and remember. For these we need sponsorship. Each bench costs GBP350/- and we are looking for funding from either individuals or groups of individuals to pay for these. The names of the sponsors will be put on a small plaque on each bench. So it is over to you now, if you are willing to sponsor or part sponsor a bench please contact Martyn Hudson, and either send him a Cheque or transfer your donation to the RLIRA Bank Account. We are hoping to have the benches in place by the UK Reunion on 8 August, so let Martyn have your donations asp.
In response to this appeal C/Sgt Coom A.H. - 3 COMMANDO RLI donated the funds for one of the benches - Thank you Tony
RLI Museum
This project, as will be seen from our website, has started, with dual locations of a Display Cabinet in The Rifles (formerly The Light Infantry) Club in London, to display our more valuable artefacts and three rooms above the RAF Club in Bedford, to house our Fire Force Museum and remaining Memorabilia.
What is needed now is twofold, firstly Finance and secondly Items for display.
The best way to raise the finance is for all members to buy the “Rhodesia Remembered” DVD, and also buy one for your friends as well – not copying it!! In this way we should easily raise the required funds to go ahead with the Project.
With regard to items for display, please send them to Martyn Hudson at the address detailed on the website. All items will be recorded as who donated them.
Presidential and Regimental Colours
The unconsecrated Presidential and Regimental Colours are now suffering a bit of “wear and tear”, being both used in the UK and having undergone two trips to Australia in a ‘Ski Bag’. It is therefore planned to get three replica sets made, one each for the three main branches; UK/Europe, South Africa and Australia, the originals can then be displayed in the Museum, suitably sealed as were the Queen’s Colours, so that they will not deterioate. – Again this needs finance.
50th Anniversary 2011
Looking towards our 50th Anniversary celebration in 2011. It is virtually impossible to have a same day celebration worldwide on 1 February, it is to cold in the UK, Australia uses ANZAC Day for its get together, and UK for weather purposes goes for early August. Thus, it is proposed that each Branch does its own thing on its appropriate day and that we use the UK Reunion as the central International Celebration in August, similar to the unveilling of The Trooper last year. Whilst not wishing to push the UK over other branches, The Trooper and the Colours are in the UK as will be, hopefully, our Museums, so it is a logical venue.
RLI Merchandise
A number of items have now been produced including ties, blazer badges, golf caps, shirts etc., and the DVD which are available from the various branches, all profits go to the projects mentioned above, and we need the funds, so all purchases, particularly of the DVD are much appreciated.
Finance
Basically we need to raise money to finish the projects and keep the Association vibrant. The relocation of The Trooper and rededication Ceremony, resulted in a shortfall of GBP629-19 from the donations received, this was covered by the Raffle ticket sales.
The Way Forward
To set up our Museum and fund the other projects we have the following sources:
- The easiest way to raise finance at the moment is to sell the DVD, selling 5000 at GBP15/- each will make us well off, and any more on top would be a bonus and we would probably never need to appeal for funds again.
- Selling the available RLI Merchandise.
- Any donations, either in support of the Museum Project or the replica Colours would be gratefully received
- We need sponsors asp for the benches at The Trooper Memorial.
Summary
Generally the RLI Association is progressing well and Branches are continuing to expand, Reunions run by the various Branches are being well supported, but as with all organisations we cannot go forward without finance, and the best way at the moment for us to raise this is by everyone buying the DVD.
It is now up to us all to help “Preserve our Heritage”
The Saints Forever
Ian Buttenshaw
Chairman RLIRA ExCo
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Search for downed PUMA – Lost in Mapai |
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Under the cover of darkness, on the night of the 6th September 1979, I was flown out of the forward admin area of Op Uric, situated deep in the Mozambique bush, to our Operational Forward HQ situated at Chipinda Pools.
I was the sole passenger in the SAAF Puma that evening, and my task was to sort out notices for the casualties sustained earlier that day, when a SAAF Puma carrying elements of 1 Commando 1RLI and 2 Engineer Squadron had been shot down on the outskirts of Mapai (Rail) formerly known as Jorge de Limpopo, killing all 17 on board. During the 40 odd minute flight back to the Rhodesian border, I vowed that I would one day return to the crash site to honour my friends and comrades in arms who had made the supreme sacrifice that morning, but who, because of the expediency of the battle, had to be left behind where they had died.
29 years later I was privileged enough to be invited to join Bob Manser's expedition to find the Donaldson Canberra lost over the Malvernia area in January 1977. It became plainly obvious during this search, that the local police, militia, and Mozambicans were more than willing to assist in the location of these war sites and bore absolutely no malice towards their former adversaries. It was then that I realised that it was possible to honour the pledge I had made in 1979.
Slowly over a period of 5 months I was able to assemble a ‘Team’ for the Mapai expedition by using the members of Bob’s Canberra party as the nucleus. Regrettably both Bob and Alistair Macrimmon were both unable to make it and so Neill Jackson ex Support Commando, ‘Stan’ Standish White ex SAS volunteered their services. Added to these ‘volunteers’ were Eastern District farmers Duff Odendaal and his son in law, Gareth Barry. The final search team was thus made up as follows:
Rick van Malsen
Kevin Jones
Malcolm Macrimmon
Neill Jackson
“Stan” Standish White
Duff Odendaal
Gareth Barry
Nearly two hundred E mails were sent out globally as we planned, sourced information, obtained eye witness accounts, speculated on where the actual site was, made up introductory letters and catch phrases in Portuguese, sorted out admin and log etc. It finally all came together and on Thursday 11th April 2009 ‘The Team’, complete with wives, converged on Mabalahuta camp in the southern Gonarezhou National Park.
Friday 12th April was used as a rest day and was used to prepare ourselves for the trip to the search area. Later in the afternoon we held a final formal briefing of what to expect, where we were going etc.
Saturday 13th April 2009 we rose early and in two vehicles, left camp at 0500 hours so that we could be at the border at 0600 hours, the supposed opening time. True to form, the bleary-eyed border officials only arrived at 0645, which meant we only got through the border formalities at 0800 hours, 1 hour behind our planned timings. The road down to Mapai remains mostly unchanged over the last 30 years. Trains derailed by various SF operations that many years ago,
were still in evidence, as well as many shot out buildings. We all just hoped that Stan’s contribution to the road had been removed, as he couldn’t remember where he had buried them.
At 1030 hours we arrived in Mapai (Rail) and asked directions the police station.
This was a broken down 2 room building that could have passed for a toilet. Not an auspicious start! A young policeman read our letter of introduction and said that we needed to see the local military or garrison Commandant. He then went off to find him but returned to say he was not there. We were then taken to the head of FRELIMO party for the area. Arlindo Penicela Baloi, who, although unable to speak English, was able to read our letter of introduction. Thank heavens for Bob’s notes! He reiterated that we had to go back and get the Garrison Commandant’s permission. Back down the road again and fortunately the Commandant was now at home and after reading our letter cheerfully gave permission for us to go to the crash site, but insisted we had to get the local headman’s blessing first. Protocol reined supreme! Now accompanied by Arlindo we set off to site. Suddenly Arlindo stopped me and spoke to a portly gentleman on the side of the road who turned out was able to speak English. Wallah a translator! Solomone, the translator, climbed in and off we went. We followed a track leading directly East from the main road for about 3 kms when we stopped at a small village where, seated under a tree, was the local headman Araujo Chivite. After a brief discussion between my other two passengers and Araujo, he readily agreed to show us where the site was. With Araujo‘s 2ic also in tow, (now making 5 of us in a king cab!) we then continued down the track which gradually turned South where we intersected the main Mapai – Machaila road about 3.7 kms from Mapai (Rail)
We had only gone a few metres down the road when we were told to stop and on getting out of the vehicle, we were shown an area which we were told was the crash site. An initial search turned up a partially burnt SF water bottle and then we started finding the unmistakable signs of an aircraft crash.
There was a large mound in the centre of the site and this, we were told, was where the soldiers killed in the crash were buried. We had brought a prefabricated cross complete with a base with us and asked permission to erect this on the site. Araujo immediately agreed but only on condition the site was cleaned up first, which they insisted on doing themselves!
These were recovered and brought back with us.
Once the cross had been erected, a brief service was held, using the exact format as Bob had used at the other sites, and the Roll of Honour read out. This is repeated below for those who have not seen it.
“With thanksgiving, let us remember those who sacrificed their lives so that we may live on in peace, and in appreciation, we now dedicate this cross to their memories. Help us to keep them in our thoughts, and never forget what they gave for us."
| CAPT JOHANNES MATHEUS DU PLOOY 1 RLI |
CAPT CHARLES DAVID SMALL ENG |
| 2ND LT BRUCE FRASER BURNS ENG |
SGT MICHAEL ALAN JONES ENG |
| CPL LEROY DUBERLEY ENG |
CPL GORDON HUGH FRY 1 RLI |
| L/CPL PETER FOX ENG |
TPR JACOBUS ALWYN BRIEL 1 RLI |
| TPR AIDEN JAMES COLEMAN 1 RLI |
TPR MARK JEREMY CROW 1 RLI |
| TPR BRIAN LOUIS ENSLIN 1 RLI |
TPR STEVEN ERIC KING 1 RLI |
| TPR COLIN GRAHAM NEASHAM 1 RLI |
TPR DAVID REX PROSSER 1 RLI |
| CAPT PAUL VELLERMAN SAAF |
LT NIGEL OSBORNE SAAF |
| F/SGT DICK RETIEF SAAF |
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"They shall not grow old
As we that are left, grow old
Age shall not weary them, nor do the years condemn,
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them"
Neill then repeated the words of the service in Afrikaans in memory the South African crew. Finally the ‘Last Post’ was played. At all stages of the service the Mozambique contingent were actively involved which we all found very humbling and magnanimous.
At the end of the proceedings headman Araujo called a woman called Lydia, who was farming the surrounding fields, and instructed her to build a fence around the site so that the war graves can be looked after properly in the future.
After leaving an appropriate reward with the headman for this to be done, we packed up and left the site, each in our own thoughts.
After dropping off Araujo at his village, we returned to Mapai (Rail) and then decided to go down to the old Mapai airfield and Mapai (River) both targets of the Scouts column raid in June 1977. Arlindo and Solomone both accompanied us on this leg, which rather inhibited us from scouting around too much for old military positions. At Mapai (River) we were shown a mass grave, covered by a concrete slab, which we were told held the civilian victims of this raid. Expedition members showed the appropriate respect at this site.
We then returned to Mapai (Rail), dropped off our two passengers and headed off back towards the border.
Our next task was to return to the site of the Donaldson Canberra crash site in order to place a more permanent memorial to the airmen lost in this crash. Time was running short, so we dispensed with protocol and just drove direct to the site.
After placing the cross, we sounded the “Last Post” which was particularly fitting as the sun was starting to set as the sound of bugles rang out hauntingly through the silent bush.
We then had to rush for the border before it closed, which we got through without any problems and headed for home, arriving at 20 00 hours. We had travelled a total of 360 kms in 15 hours.
There are many people involved in making a trip, such as this, the success it was. My grateful thanks go to the following:
First and foremost to Bob Manser, who pioneered searching for these forgotten sites. Bob gave us all his notes to use, offered invaluable advice and encouragement throughout
Prop Geldenhuys for all the help, encouragement and research done on our behalf.
Eyewitness accounts from Gavin Wehlburg, Jono Lane and Keith Dell all helped to get an overall picture of approximately where we had to look.
To the ex Rhodesians of Francistown, who fabricated the crosses, galvanised them and then painted them all at no cost. They looked magnificent.
To the 5 wonderful Mozambicans who took the time out to guide us and asked for nothing in return. You were a wonderful example of what true reconciliation should be. There is absolutely no doubt that this war memorial will be looked after by these people.
And lastly to the most wonderful “team “without whom, none of this would have happened. All rallied to the call, and freely gave up their valuable time and at personal cost, to be there. “Thank you” is not enough.
RICK VAN MALSEN
FRANCISTOWN
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SA Branch Minutes of the Annual
General Meeting August 2008 |
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THE
RLIRA - SA BRANCH
MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL
GENERAL MEETING
HELD
AT THE E2 OFFICES
JOHANNESBURG
SATURDAY
AUGUST 2ND
2008 - 1330
Members present
As per the
attendance register
- Appendix 1 below
Apologies
John Cannon / Ian
Downing / Dr Sanford
Ware / Henton Jaaback
/ Dave Gunns / Martin
Kunhardt / Trevor Desfountain
/ John van Zyl / Tom
Argyle / Trevor Schoultz
/ Ron Reid-Daly / John
Redfern
Welcome
The Interim Chairperson
(George Dempster) welcomed
the members and partners
to the meeting on behalf
of the SA executive
and suggested that the
notice convening the
meeting be taken as
read.
George
explained the format
for the day before asking
Chris Cocks to read
a message from our Patron
- Digger Essex Clerk.
Patron's Message
After reading the message
(see Appendix 2 below)
Chris gave a brief overview
of the RLI membership
cards and the selling
of raffle tickets for
the Troopie rededication.
Local Activities
George reported back
on the activities of
the local branch which
included Hamish McIntyre
taking leave of absence
as the Chairperson,
the appointment of George
by the other exco members
in the position of Interim
Chairperson, and the
opening of a bank account
which has received R10,000
in donations over the
last 3 months. Members
were thanked for the
generous donations towards
the Troopie rededication.
Ian Bate gave an
overview of the reasons
for the association's
existence, which include
the fostering of relationships
through regular meetings
and improving communications.
Boerie Hume gave
an overview of the Durban
activities, in particular
Simon Willar's ‘GFL
Lunch'.
Troopie Rededication
George opened the discussion
on the Troopie rededication
service including the
planned activities for
the 26 September 2008
and the wording on the
plinths. Some robust
debate took place with
regards to the extra
plinth which will be
placed at the bottom
of the Troopie. Skippy
Mitchell asked the meeting
to note his displeasure
regarding the additional
plinth, duly noted.
The members were then
asked to vote on the
plinths on the Troopie.
The vote was unanimous
- including Skippy.
International round-up
George
Dempster spoke on changes
during the year to the
international executive
including the appointment
of Brigadier Digger
Essex Clerk as the Patron
of the association from
Australia. Colonel Ian
Buttenshaw was elected
the Chairman, based
in United Arab Emirates
and Martyn Hudson the
CEO based in the UK.
Other exco positions
include Chris Cocks
as the historian and
Shaun Ryan as the legal
advisor. The branch
chairpersons - Tony
Young from Australia
and George Dempster
from SA make up the
other exco members.
Overall the
Association
has become a lot stronger
and more active - The
launch of the Saints
and the advent of the
website attract at least
20 new registrations
per month with more
than 5,000 hits monthly.
International membership
will surpass 600 by
the end of August and
is expected to reach
1,000 by year-end.
The Ozzie
and New Zealand branches
get together on ANZAC
day - where they don
medals and march under
the Rhodie flag with
other OZ army units.
The UK branch,
headed by Martyn Hudson,
met for a weekend bash
last year to appoint
a local committee. Since
then they have focused
their attention on the
restoration of the Troopie
and other Battalion
paraphernalia.
America
has not yet formed a
branch. However, they
got together last weekend
to celebrate the memorial
of the 7 Americans killed
in action with the RLI
- spearheaded by Ed
Coey, borther of Cpl
John Coey (KIA) and
Rich Byrne, nephew of
Joe Byrne (KIA). Medics
Keith Nelson (USA) and
Mike McDonald (Canadian)
were both present at
the reunion. Also present
were Jeremy Hall (2
Cdo) and Craig Bone
(3 Cdo - Craig is our
‘official' RLIRA artist).
Exco Election - SA
Branch
George asked if member's
of the existing exco
were prepared to stand
for nomination for the
next year. All present
accepted with a postal
vote from John van Zyl.
Additional nominations
were called from the
floor and were received
from Phil Kaye, Skippy
Mitchell and Terry Pittaway.
No objections
were raised to any of
the existing exco standing
again or the new nominations
- it was then suggested
by George that all members
nominated stand as the
exco for the following
year. This was approved
by all members present.
Pat Hill nominated
George Dempster as the
Chairperson, which was
seconded by Ian Bate
and a number of other
members. George accepted
the nomination and proposed
Chris as the secretariat,
which was seconded by
Ian and accepted by
Chris.
The RLI
RA - SA Branch exco
for 2008/09:
Chairman - George
Dempster
Secretariat
- Chris Cocks
JHB representative
- Ian Bate supported
by Phil Kaye
Durban representative
- Boerie Hume supported
by Nick Skipworth-Mitchell
Cape representative
- Denis Croukamp
Nelspruit representative
- Terry Pittaway
A note of thanks
was delivered by Chris
to Shirley and George
for organising the event.
George in turn thanked
Graham Roy for printing
the banners and suggested
that all present - in
typical RLI style -
ensure that they go
missing by the end of
the day. Mission accomplished.
Chris reminded all
present to forward information
to populate the VALE
and gallery sections
of the website with
an appeal to forward
as many pictures as
possible.
In closing
George reiterated
Ian's earlier remarks
that the association
has as its main goal
the bringing together
and reconnecting of
old friends through
social gatherings and
regular communications,
without forgetting those
that made the ultimate
sacrifice.
There
being no further matters
for discussion the meeting
adjourned at approximately
15h00. The chairperson
thanked all members
who attended, inviting
all members to enjoy
a few cold beers and
a braai. - which lasted
to just after 8pm.
Appendix 1 - attendance
register
Armstrong, Pat
Atkinson,
Stretch
Barron, Kevin
Bate, Ian
Bezuidenhout,
Rhodes
Charles, dave
Cocks, Chris
Dempster,
George
Doughty, Carol
Fletcher, Colin
Fraser,
Rob
Hill, Pat
Hume, Boerie
Jansen,
Mike
Kaye, Phil
Kotze, Andrew
Kruger,
Paddy
Lamb, Ted
Leid, Pete
Olivier,
Piet
Peak, Graham
Pickering, Dave
Pittaway,
Terry
Ras, Chris
Roy, Graham
Scott,
Ian
Skipworth-Mitchell,
Nick
Soares, Dos
Strachan, Alan
Thompson,
Wayne
Urwin, Bobby
Watt, Pete
White,
Roland
Wrathall,
Jon
Appendix 2 - Patron's
message
PATRON'S SALUTE
TO THE 2008 AGM OF THE
RSA BRANCH
Greetings, to all
Ouens in the Republic:
en hou gaan dit?....
I send you a warm and
strong salute from across
the Indian Ocean; and
also on behalf of all
Saints of our world-wide
Regimental Association.
Our Association
has had a good year,
and our numbers have
swelled as many ex Ouens
of the Regiment have
found their old friends
though our web-site,
and renewed their strong
bonds, friendships,
and mutual trust forged
under stress. We thank
Chris Cocks, Tony Young
and George Dempster
for their initiative
and energy for getting
us all closer together
again.
We Australians
had a good ANZAC Day
reunion in Brisbane
and marched smartly
though the City on the
Anzac Day parade. We
were magnificently acclaimed
by the crowd.
The UK Branch had
a good reunion last
year and are looking
forward to their big
day on 27th September
when they get together
with a few of us from
overseas to celebrate
and commemorate the
rededication and display
of our Troopie and the
re-laying up of our
old Queens and Regimental
Colours in the Salisbury
Family Chapel on the
Hatfield House Estate
in Hertfordshire just
north of London. Wreaths
will be laid on the
plinth of Troopie at
the commemoration service,
to represent the UK,
South African and Australasian
branches.
Also The
UK Branch, under Martyn
Hudson will have done
a superb job of repairing,
re-erecting, rededicating,
and celebrating the
return of our Troopie.
I thank you for supporting
them so well.
I congratulate you
in the Republic for
having your second reunion
and for the renewed
strength of your Branch
and getting together
again today to further
cement your regimental
bonds and to celebrate
our illustrious past
as a hard-fighting Rhodesian
battalion.
The
Zimbabwe Government
under Mugabe have made
an utter disgrace of
‘Old Rhodesia' and what
we once fought for.
The spirit of Rhodesia
that we all fought for
then, has today burst
into a fresh glory as
those nations that belittled
and threw shame on our
colonial past are now
damned eternally by
their stupid blunders
as the world recognises
our right to have fought
hard against the evil
that is now represented
by Mugabe and his undemocratic
and despised Zimbabwe
government.
Well
done then … and now
… proudly. Have a great
day together,
boeties: en alles van
die beste'.
M'dala Digger Essex-Clark
Patron
Canberra,
Australia
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Rededication of the Trooper Statue - Appeal
for Funds |
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Our Troopie statue, forged in
honour of those who served and
those who fell with the Regiment
in Rhodesia will be rededicated
and given a permanent home in
a ceremony to take place over
the weekend of the 27 of September
in Hatfield House London.
For the first time since
1980 the Regiment will have
a home where its traditions
and history will be commemorated
and those who served will be
remembered.
As previously
mentioned, the UK Branch of
the RLIRA is currently seeking
donations for this worthy project:
You can help by;
Sending
donations in the form of electronic
transfers to the RLIRA - South
African Branch bank account.
All receipts will be acknowledged
on the website. All funds received
will be transferred to the UK
branch during August 08 - This
will reduce the amount of bank
charges - No matter how big
or small - please deposit funds
- WITH YOUR NAME as the reference
number to;
Absa Bank
- Northcliff Branch
Bank
Code - 334705
Account number;
9202735349
Account Type -
Call account
Account Name
- E2 RLIRA SA Branch
International
Swift Code - ABSA ZA JJ
Every proudly donated Rand
will help, so please raid your
piggy banks or money-boxes.
For now
Kind Regards
George Dempster
0832844957
gd@e2.co.za
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South African Branch Newsletter May 2008 |
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Dear Members
Hard to
believe that seven months have
passed since our re-launch meeting
in Johannesburg on the 27th
October 2007. Members of the
executive committee met in JHB
on Friday May 9th – where the
following was discussed and
agreed upon.
- Chairmanship
Hamish McIntyre
has stepped down as chairman
with immediate effect because
of out-of-town business
commitments. George Dempster
will take over as Interim
Chairman until the next
AGM (Aug 2, 2008). Hamish
will remain on the committee
of the SA Branch.
- Durban Rep
Boerie Hume is appointed
to the committee with immediate
effect, as the SA Branch's
Durban rep.
The committee
therefore, until the AGM,
is comprised as follows:
(Interim) Chairman:
George Dempster
Secretary:
Chris Cocks
Ian Bate
(Jhb)
Hamish McIntyre
(Jhb)
John van Zijl (CT)
Trevor Desfountain (CT)
Boerie Hume (Dbn)
- 2008 AGM
The AGM will be held
at midday on
Saturday
2 August 2008
at George Dempsters offices
(in the outside entertainment
area) at:
E2 Solutions
Unit 16
Northcliff Office
Park
203 Beyers Naude
Drive
Northcliff
Johannesburg
- Theme: "Fundraising
for the Troopie"
- Cash bar available
– or bring your own
- Bring and braai
- Entrance: R20 per
head (to cover salads
& rolls, which will
be available)
- Dress: casual
- Partners welcome
- 2009 AGM
It was agreed that the
AGMs should be held on a
rotational basis between
Joburg, Cape Town and Durban.
It will be decided at the
AGM whether the 2009 AGM
is to be held in Durban
or Cape Town, with the 2010
AGM being held in the other.
- Bank account
GD will endeavour
to open an RLIRA SA Branch
bank account at Absa soonest.
- Website
GD will open up a "Classifieds"
section on the website,
with a specific "Careers"
section included.
- Trooper Statue
The RLIRA SA Branch
expressed gratitude and
wholehearted support for
Martyn Hudson's and the
UK Branch's efforts in the
relocation/rededication
of the Trooper Statue.
Rededication of the Trooper
Statue
Our
Troopie statue, forged
in honour of those who
served and those who
fell with the Regiment
in Rhodesia will be
rededicated and given
a permanent home in
a ceremony to take place
over the weekend of
the 27 of September
in Hatfield House London.
For the first time
since 1980 the Regiment
will have a home where
its traditions and history
will be commemorated
and those who served
will be remembered.
A world wide
members meeting, disco
and Sunday lunch will
take place at the Ramada
Jarvis Hotel.
Please visit the
website
www.therli.com for
more information. |
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MEDICAL APPEAL for ALAN
HAWK
Alan Hawk (aged
58), an ex-RLI corporal, is
seriously ill in Harare. His
friends are desperate to get
him to South Africa for medical
treatment. The cost of the operation
will be around US$15,000
+ costs of getting him to SA.
Alan is currently in a government
hospital in Harare, suffering
from some form of gangrenous
thrombosis that has attacked
his feet and legs – he has already
had a toe amputated. Suffice
to say, hospital conditions
are appalling – no drips, no
medicine.
If you can
help in any way, please urgently
contact Martin in Zimbabwe
on
00-2634-851842 or
00-263-912-336644 or
via email on
bubi@ecoweb.co.za or Chris
Cocks on
info@30degreessouth.co.za
or 0027-11-673 2218
IN CONCLUSION
Our
intention is to forward a short
monthly newsletter to all members
of the SA branch from now on
with information on events and
a membership update.
If you have a regular or planned
meeting in your area – or looking
to re-establish contact with
an old mate – then forward details
by e-mail to
gd@e2.co.za.
For
now
Kind Regards
George
Dempster
0832844957
gd@e2.co.za |
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Minutes RLIRA (SA) meeting Joburg 27/10/07 |
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Minutes RLIRA (SA) meeting
Joburg 27/10/07 |
MINUTES OF THE MEETING
OF THE RLI REGIMENTAL
ASSOCIATION (SOUTH AFRICA)
HELD AT THE FOURWAYS
GARDENS CLUBHOUSE IN
JOHANNESBURG AT 1200
HOURS ON SATURDAY 27
OCTOBER 2007.
- 53 delegates
attended of which
34 were full members
- George Dempster
(GD) welcomed everyone
and outlined the
purpose of the meeting
as a) a reunion
and b) to elect
an RLIRA (SA) committee.
- Ian Bate then
addressed the floor
and highlighted
the importance of
the reunion and
the meeting. He
put emphasis on
the pride of having
served in the RLI.
- Pat Hill addressed
the floor and outlined
developments with
the Rhodesian Forces
Memorial Project
and urged members
to support the project.
- Trevor Desfountain
addressed the floor
and passed on best
wishes from Ian
Douglas Smith to
the RLIRA. He also
talked in general
terms about Cape
Town and its activities
in terms of the
RLIRA.
- Chris Cocks
then read out an
address from the
Patron, Digger Essex-Clark,
followed by a message
of support from
Peter Walls.
- GD explained
the roll of the
EXCO, the voting
process and nominations
for the SA Branch
of the RLIRA. He
read out the nominations
as:
George Dempster
Chris Cocks
John
van Zyl
Trevor
Desfountain
Ian
Bate
Hamish MacIntyre
- GD asked for
additional nominations.
There were none.
- As no additional
nominations and
no problems with
those nominated,
those nominated
were accepted unanimously
by those members
present.
- The new SA EXCO
then met and the
following appointments
agreed upon:
Chairman: Hamish MacIntyre
Secretary: Chris Cocks
Treasurer: George Dempster
Cape Town rep: John
van Zyl
Cape Town
rep: Trevor Desfountain
Joburg rep: Ian Bate
Three resolutions
were passed, namely:
- The first priority
of the association
was to establish
networks and contacts
of ouens.
- to open a bank
account - action
GD
- to find a Durban
rep to sit on the
committee. Pat Armstrong
will assist with
this.
The meeting was formally
closed at 1400 hours.
Minutes: proposed
by George Dempster
Seconded by John van
Zyl |
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The Les Booth Raffle - for Operation Miracle |
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Rhodesian
Air Force - Request
The Les
Booth Raffle - for Operation
Miracle
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Les Booth
(30 LAR) has
kindly made
a RAF 5 Pound
Coin and Spitfire
print as shown
below available
to raffle to
raise funds.
"90th
Anniversary
of the RAF £5
coin" manufactured
from 925/1000
sterling silver
and proof finished
stuck by the
Royal Mint in
Guernsey.
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DEFENCE
OF THE REALM
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Along with that comes
a "Defence of the Realm"
print of the Supermarine
Spitfire Mk IIa as it
banks over the London
skyline. The actual
size of the print is
234mm x 183mm.
In addition Prop
Geldenhuys has donated
a copy of the
Operation Miracle
book that will form
an integral part of
the prize for one lucky
winner - - to be drawn
during the evening of
the Unveiling of the
Miracle Memorial on
3 October 2008 - in
a mere six weeks time.
Cost of ticket
is R10.00 each (South
African Rand)
Cash payments to,
or Nedbank deposits
to P.M. GELDENHUYS,
Account No 1349 086738,
(Branch Code 134925
and or SWIFT Code NEDSZAJJ,
if requested), together
with Name with RAFFLE
as reference, will qualify.
Ticket purchasers
are requested to show
proof of payments /
deposits by e-mailing
Prop at
pey@lantic.net and
/ or phoning Durban
031-3066408 to confirm
transactions. (Any other
volunteers who would
like to help run this
Raffle will be more
than welcome.)
Pledges are also
most welcome - but remember,
if not 'paid up' by
the time the draw is
made, then 'no draw!'
A special appeal
is made to all our affiliated
associations to please
circulate this notification
to their members and
also to remind them
that if they are able
to attend the Unveiling
at the Shamwari Club
on 3 October 2008 that
they are very welcome
and their company would
be appreciated. However,
please advise Prop if
you are attending so
that the club can be
notified of numbers
attending (for catering
purposes).
Note by Eddy Norris
I would
like to mention that
it would be greatly
appreciated if overseas
associations could offer
suggestions as to how
overseas folk could
participate. I do believe
that I saw Terry Bennett
hand up to take charge
of the UK folk. Thanks
Terry?
Could the
AFA Branches, BSAP,
Army and School Associations
please also pass on
this notification to
their members.
Eddy Norris / Prop
Geldenhuys
Verification
is available from: orafs@isdial.net
;
pey@lantic.net or
Les.Booth@marshallaerospace.com
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Rhodesian Light Infantry
Regimental Associationn
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YOUR PATRON’S IMPRESSIONS
OF THE BRISBANE 2008 REUNION |
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Rhodesian
Light
Infantry
Regimental
Association
UK Branch
Newsletter
OCTOBER
2007
Dear
All
Well
, at
last
our
region
is finally
constituted
and
established
as "The
UK Branch
of the
Rhodesian
Light
Infantry
Regimental
Association
." I
would
like
to thank
you
all
for
your
support
in getting
us this
far.
I would
also
like
to give
a big
welcome
and
congratulations
to our
new
Committee
members.
YOUR
PATRON’S
IMPRESSIONS
OF THE
BRISBANE
2008
REUNION
I
also
sent
these
‘impressions'
as part
of a
‘thank
you
'letter,
to all
the
ex-RLI
ouens
attending
the
reunion
‘
The
Rhodesian
Light
Infantry
Regimental
Association
(RLIRA)
Australasian
Branch
annual
Anzac
Day
Reunion
was
held
in Brisbane
, Queensland
, over
the
period
24 -
25 April
2008.
Over
forty
of us
well
–retired
but
still
vigorous
Saints'
and
our
ladies,
plus
some
of our
children
and
relatives,
and
some
parents,
travelled
from
all
over
Australia
to Brisbane
for
this
reunion.
The
reunion
started
with
pre-dinner
drinks,
followed
by dinner
at the
posh
Stamford
Hotel,
Brisbane
, on
24 th
April,
where
many
of us
were
staying.
Those
attending
the
dinner
were
grouped
at Commando
tables,
with
the
top
table
consisting
of the
reunion
chaplain,
the
Rt Rev
Nicolas
Jackson,
plus
four
‘original
Saints'
- ‘The
Incorrigibles'
- consisting
of Lew
Lloyd-Evans,
Miles
MacDonald,
Alan
Lucy,
and
me (all
A Company)
and
Michael
Buchanan
(D Company);
with
our
ladies,
Anne,
Carole,
Margaret,
Brenda,
Susan,
and
Kate,
respectively.
I nicknamed
the
original
members,
whom
I took
to the
Congo
in 1961:
‘The
Incorrigibles'.
The
members
at the
top
table
were
also
privileged
to have
behind
them,
the
splendidly
mounted
and
displayed
unconsecrated
(post
UDI)
Presidential
Colours,
which
Shaun
and
Annette
Ryan
had
gallantly
and
awkwardly
brought
over
from
the
United
Kingdom
in a
ski
bag.
Four
of the
original
RLI
Saints
~ ‘The
Incorrigibles'
after
breakfast;
standing
right
‘Incorigible'
Alan
Lucy,
with
left;
later
Saints
john
Costopoulus,
then
Andrew
Gibson,
BCR;
seated
left,
‘Incorrigibles'
Lew
Lloyd-Evans,
then
‘Digger'
Essex-Clark,
and
Miles
MacDonald.
We
were
welcomed
to the
dinner
by Jack
Lamont,
and
a moving
address
was
given
by Marshall
Ross.
We toasted
‘The
Regiment',
and
‘ Rhodesia
'; and
a splendid
buffet
dinner
was
enjoyed
by all.
The
next
beautiful
morning,
at O545
hrs
or ‘first
light
~ or
more
colloquially,
‘sparrow
fart'
~ we
held
an emotionally
moving
Anzac
Day
Dawn
Service,
on the
bank
of the
Brisbane
River
in the
City
Botanic
Gardens.
With
our
Colours
proudly
with
us,
the
Rt Rev
Nicolas
Jackson
conducted
the
service.
Vince
Zorocic
read
Psalm
23 and
we all
responded;
after
which
we sang
the
Rhodesian
National
Anthem;
I recited
the
Ode
of Remembrance,
and
then
we closed
on the
river's
edge
and
I cast
onto
the
river
the
splendid
poppied
wreath
to represent
the
loss
of RLI
ouens
and
Rhodesia
‘To
Old
Rhodesia
and
the
RLI'
This
was
followed
immediately
by many
casting,
individually,
poppies
representing
their
loved
ones
and
friends
of those
who
died
as a
result
of war.
These
poppies
then
settled
by the
wreath
as it
flowed
slowly
downstream
to represent
all
we have
lost.
This
casting
of our
past
was
accompanied
by Tony
Young
playing
sad
pipe
music
(
Thug
Me Goal
) and
then,
slightly
more
brightly
but
slowly,
our
Regimental
march
(
The
Saints
).
On the
steps
down
to the
River
after
the
Dawn
Service
After
the
service,
we returned
to the
hotel
for
breakfast
where
Tony
Young
had
organised
the
Rhodesian
Republican
Flag
to fly
proudly
on the
cross-tee
of a
flagpole
that
had
the
Australian
National
Flag
at the
masthead:
it looked
splendid.
Later
that
perfect
morning,
we formed
up in
Brisbane
in our
RLI
blazers,
badged
berets,
and
glittering
medals,
and,
after
a long
wait,
marched
smartly
and
proudly
in the
massive
and
long-columned
memorial
march
through
the
centre
of Brisbane
. My
most
vivid
memories
are
of the
precision
of our
drill
movements,
and
the
palpable
pride
of all
of us
marching
in step
to the
much
needed
cadence
call
of step
because
there
were
far
too
many
pipe
and
bugle
bands
thumping
discordantly
and
confusingly
ahead
and
behind
us.
I was
also
very
proud
to have
two
of my
grand-daughters
marching
with
us.
On the
march
All
in all,
I was
overwhelmed
by the
sheer
enthusiasm,
dedication,
spirited
drill
movements,
and
well-merited
pride
of all
within
our
contingent.
On
the
matter
of wearing
medals,
particularly
those
of our
forebears
on our
right
chest,
Lew
Lloyd-Evans,
who
came
with
his
family
from
South
Africa,
wore
his
forebears'
medals
going
back,
incredibly,
to the
1879
Zulu,
or Kaffrarian
Wars.
The
Presidential
Colours
had
already
added
much
lustre
and
pride
to our
reunion
dinner
and
Anzac
Day
Dawn
Service.
Now
they
became
our
symbol
of our
pride
and
Rhodesian
service
as we
marched
through
the
centre
of the
City.
We
marched
six
abreast
and
the
six-deep
column
indicated
that
there
must
have
been
about
40 plus
marching,
including
my two
adult
granddaughters,
Belinda
and
Amanda,
representing
the
families
of those
of our
Australasia
Branch
who
have
died
since
its
formation.
Mandy
and
Belinda
(my
granddaughters)
with
RLI
Colours
Once
again,
I believe
that,
as in
Sydney
last
year,
our
march
together
as a
team,
and
ebullient
crowd
support,
gave
us all
a strong
sense
of acceptance
and
welcome
from
the
people
of Australia
, and
a clear
recognition
of the
value
of our
past
endeavours
as Rhodesians.
Though
we marched
with
Section
‘F ‘
of the
march,
as ‘Allied
Forces‘,
we were
still
placed
ahead
of the
United
States
of America
but,
naturally,
behind
those
representatives
of the
United
Kingdom:
a clear
statement
that
we had
fought
alongside
Australian
Forces
in the
Boer
War,
the
First
and
Second
World
Wars
and
in Malaya.
In fact
‘ Rhodesia
', but
not
Zimbabwe
, is
still
recognized
by the
Returned
Services
League
of Australia
(which
organises
the
marches
in each
capital
city)
as an
allied
nation
and
once
member
of the
Commonwealth
of Nations
.
The
Governor
of Queensland,
and
the
next
to be
Governor-General
of Australia,
Ms Quentin
Bryce,
took
the
salute
as we
gave
her
a very
smart
‘eyes
left'
and
unfurled
and
dipped
the
Presidential
Colours,
carried
gallantly
by Miles
MacDonald,
an ‘Original-Incorrigible-Saint'
and
Vince
Zorocic,
our
branch
secretary,
a younger
and
final
‘Incredible'-Saint';
whose
proud
father
was
watching
the
march.
Front
rank
and
Colours
Major
General
Dick
Wilson,
Commander
of the
1 st
Australian
Division
and
the
Australian
Joint
Deployable
Force,
who
was
taking
the
salute
with
Quentin
Bryce,
saluted
as soon
as he
saw
our
Colours
dipped.
He later
commented
about
our
smart
dress,
drill,
and
impressive
presentation,
and
the
brilliance
of our
Colours.
Many
others
have
since
commented
that,
apart
from
some
of the
many
Australian
Regular
Army
Infantry
Units
marching
on the
parade,
we were
‘second
to none'!
This
became
obvious
to us
all
as the
clapping
and
shouting
surged
louder
and
louder
as we
approached
and
marched
past
elements
of the
huge
crowd
(estimated
as the
largest
ever
to attend
the
Anzac
Day
march
in Brisbane)
that
lined
the
whole
three
kilometre
route
from
assembly
area
to dispersal
point.
Some
sudden
whoops
and
joyous
shouts
from
the
crowd
indicated
that
there
must
have
been
the
odd
pocket
of ecstatic
Rhodie
spectators.
The
march,
however,
due
to stoppages
from
collapsing
old
soldiers
and
some
spectators,
and
halts
for
their
medical
attention,
and
the
typically
late
arrival
of the
Royal
Australian
Navy
band,
took
three
and
a half
long
standing-and-marching
hours.
After
the
march,
we assembled
with
our
families
in a
small
reserved
area
at the
Port
Office
Hotel
for
some
much
needed
refreshments
and
a snack
lunch
where,
again,
many
memories
of past
warrior
and
other
events
past
were
recalled
and
enjoyed.
It
has
been
reported
that
some
250,000
came
out
onto
the
streets
of Brisbane
to watch
the
march
and
well
over
two
million
are
estimated
to have
watched
it on
television.
The
reunion
dinner,
Dawn
Service
and
march
combined
was
a grand
occasion
that
reignited
our
pride
in our
service
for
Rhodesia
and,
particularly,
our
time
spent
creating
and
experiencing
the
eternal
bonds
of comradeship
and
the
excellence
of professional
soldiers
within
the
magnificent
Rhodesian
Light
Infantry
– ‘The
Incredibles'.
The
reunion,
as a
whole,
and
especially
the
march,
also
enabled
our
families
to see
our
pride,
the
worthiness
and
strength
of our
RLI
bonding,
and
the
importance
and
respect
that
Australia
gives
to those
who
have
served
well
as soldiers,
sailors,
or airmen.
One
ex Rhodesian
Air
Force
man
identified
himself
to me
at our
Dawn
Service,
but
I saw
none
with
us or
with
the
other
Rhodesian
group
at the
march.
It
was
a indelibly
memorable
and
emotionally
rewarding
two
days
for
all
of us
that
gathered
in Brisbane
for
our
RLIRA
Reunion.
Our
Branch
President,
Tony
Young
and
the
Queensland
Chapter
principals,
Marshall
Ross
and
Jack
Lamont,
must
be congratulated
and
thanked
for
their
organisational
skills
and
dedication.
There
are,
of course,
many
others
who
deserve
special
and
warm
thanks
for
their
efforts,
but
I must
mention
Shaun
and
Annette
Ryan
for
bringing
out
and
returning
our
Colours
in a
most
awkward
ski
bag;
Lew
and
Carole
Lloyd-Evans
for
journeying
from
South
Africa
with
their
son
Darren;
and
Margaret
and
Miles
MacDonald
for
organizing
the
Dawn
Service.
I must
also
thank
Tony
and
Jean
Young,
once
again,
for
their
masterminding
and
constant
guidance
to all
involved
in the
reunion
and
its
primary
organisers
of the
Queensland
Chapter,
Marshall
Ross
and
Jack
Lamont
and
their
supportive
ladies,
Yvonne
and
Jennine,
respectively.
We were
also
graced
to have
with
us Andrew
Gibson,
once
of 3
Commando,
a Bronze
Cross
of Rhodesia
winner.
It
was
a memorable
and
heartening
two
days;
especially
meeting
so many
old
friends;
and
I look
forward
to seeing
all
of you
again
in Perth
next
year!
I
wish
all
of you
and
your
loved
ones
a most
healthy
and
fortunate
twelve
months
in the
meantime.
We will
all
have
to save
up for
that
grand
occasion,
with
our
brother
ouens
from
West
Australia
.
~The
Saints
go marching
on~
Digger
Essex-Clark
Patron,
The
Rhodesian
Light
Infantry
Regimental
Association
30 th
April
2008
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ANZAC DAY The 2007 Sydney
Reunion |
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ANZAC DAY
The 2007 Sydney
Reunion
|
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The RLIRA
Reunion in Sydney
April 2007
These are
my immediate
observations,
impressions
and comment
about the Rhodesian
Light Infantry
Regimental Association
(Australasian
Branch) re-union
before and during
the Anzac day
holiday in Sydney,
Australia 0n
Wednesday 25th
April 2007.
The dinner
the night before
the Anzac Day
parade and then
the Anzac Day
parade and following
get-together
enabled a magnificent
surge of comradeship
and renewal
of self-belief
and self-respect
in all that
we had stood
for as soldiers
in Rhodesia.
The massive
and enthusiastic
crowds watching
the march took
the RLI contingent
to their hearts
and enthusiastically
applauded our
Ouens. This,
in itself, was
a heart-warming
and encouraging
experience.
Many of my friends
and my (probably
much biased)
Rhodesian born
children said
spontaneously
after the march
that the RLI
contingent was
the smartest
of all the civilian
attired groups
on the three
hour long column
of veterans
and others on
the march. The
Ouens marched
with such obvious
pride and precision
that the effect
on the watchers
was palpable.
The reunion
was a significant
occasion for
the wives of
many who attended
because they
could see the
importance that
friendship and
mutual respect
forged in combat
have on teams
of men, and
also the significance
and importance
of the RLIRA
to maintain
that comradeship,
respect and
self-confidence.
The wives could
also forge a
special and
unique bond
between themselves
that will only
strengthen the
worth of the
Association
to all whom
are involved
in it and its
objectives.
All in all
it was a joyous
and memorable
event of much
vitality and
regeneration
of dormant regimental
spirit that
I expect will
long remain
in the memories
of those who
attended and
enjoyed the
camaraderie,
sense of team,
and unique ‘occasion’
of their short
time together.
The Saints forever!
Digger
Essex-Clark
Click here
to watch a video
of the parade.
To download
the video please
right click
here
an click
on the save
as option.
Below are
some pictures
from the event.
Please click
on the pictures
to enlarge.
MEDICAL
APPEAL for ALAN
HAWK
Alan Hawk (aged
58), an ex-RLI
corporal, is
seriously ill
in Harare. His
friends are
desperate to
get him to South
Africa for medical
treatment. The
cost of the
operation will
be around
US$15,000
+ costs of getting
him to SA.
Alan is
currently in
a government
hospital in
Harare, suffering
from some form
of gangrenous
thrombosis that
has attacked
his feet and
legs – he has
already had
a toe amputated.
Suffice to say,
hospital conditions
are appalling
– no drips,
no medicine.
If you
can help in
any way, please
urgently contact
Martin
in Zimbabwe
on
00-2634-851842
or 00-263-912-336644
or via email
on
bubi@ecoweb.co.za
or Chris Cocks
on
info@30degreessouth.co.za
or 0027-11-673
2218
IN CONCLUSION
Our intention
is to forward
a short monthly
newsletter to all members
of the SA branch
from now on
with information
on events and
a membership
update.
If you have
a regular or
planned meeting
in your area
– or looking
to re-establish
contact with
an old mate
– then forward
details by e-mail
to
gd@e2.co.za.
For now
Kind Regards
George Dempster
0832844957
gd@e2.co.za
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UK Branch Newsletter - September
2008 |
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Rhodesian
Light Infantry
Regimental
Association
UK BRANCH
September
2008 News Letter
|
Dear All,
It is now
three weeks
until the Rededication
Service /Weekend
on 27th/28th
September, 2008.
a few more tickets
have been made
available 24
exactly. Please
follow directions
on the website
www.therli.com
click on the
statue right
hand side and
menu comes up
on the left
hand side, if
you have not
already booked
your ticket
accomodation
is available
at the Ramada
Jarvis Hotel,
St Albans Road
West. Hatfield
AL10 9RH Tel
: 01707 252402,
three, two and
one night packages
available at
a discounted
price for us,
all information
on website.
REGISTRATION:
when tickets,
identification
badges / bracelets
and welcome
packages will
be given out
as you register
with us ON ARRIVAL
at the hotel,
this has become
necessary due
to some bad
press from a
few of our Australian
EXCO members.
It will be essential
that you wear
your identification
badges at all
times as the
hotel staff
have been instructed
only to serve
meals to folks
wearing the
identification
badges etc Registration
in reception
will be:
Friday,
26th September,
6pm until
7pm,
Saturday,
27th September,
12 noon
until 2pm
and 5pm
-6pm
Sunday,
28th September,
8am until
8.45 am
Tickets cost
members £25.95
plus Partners
£10.00 all hotel
packages include
Sunday lunch
on your return
from the Rededication
Service / Laying
up of the Colours
at Hatfield
House and disembarkation
of your coach.
SUNDAY ONLY
TICKETS: cost
£25.95 plus
£10.00 for Partners
but £15.00 extra
is added for
Lunch i.e. Members
£40.95 plus
partners £25.00.If
you are coming
on the Sunday
only, please
be at the hotel
no later than
0800 am to register
with us and
board your coach
for Hatfield
House, NO Entry
to Hatfield
House other
than by coach
and NO Entry
to coaches unless
identification
badges and bracelets
are worn.. There
is plenty of
car parking
space to leave
your car at
the hotel. Coffee
will be available
in reception
from 8 am. Pick
up at Hatfield
Railway station
will be 9am
please advise
us beforehand
if you require
this.
PROGRAMME
FOR THE WEEKEND:
This is
going to be
a spectacular
and perhaps
emotional weekend,
where you are
going to meet
up with long
lost friends,
comrades and
share memories
and war stories
and perhaps
our last major
parade.
Friday,
26th September,
2008 Registration
6pm -7pm and
will be an opportunity
to meet your
UK Committee
and members
of the Exco
Committee whilst
enjoying an
informal buffet
supper.
Saturday,
27th September,
2008 Registration
12 noon until
2pm
WORLDWIDE
AGM 2.30
pm until 5pm.
Agenda will
be published
later
Please make
sure you have
given your Proxy
votes to your
respective Branch
Chairman if
you are not
attending. We
want your Questions
and Views, this
is your Association
and we need
to plan for
the future.
Agenda will
be published
for you before
the event.
There will
be Books on
sale by courtesy
30degreessouth
UK and also
Memorabilia.
Ties £9.50
Blazer Badges
£23.50 CIBs
£9.00 RLI golf
umbrellas £10.00
Ladies umbrellas
£6.00 extra
programmes £5.00
Beer Tankards
£12.00 Bags
£3.00.
Saturday
Evening Dinner
/ Disco 8pm
Sunday
28th September,2008
Registration
for Sunday tickets
8 am until 845
am in Reception
Coffee will
also be available
there.
Coaches
will leave outside
hotel reception
at 09.00 am
PROMPT No admittance
to coaches unless
wearing your
identification
badges and bracelet,
please take
spare shoes
on the coach
for service
down by the
river Lee due
to our British
weather and
RLIRA Umbrellas
will be on sale
at hotel.
ONLY coaches
will be allowed
into Hatfield
House for the
Services and
down at the
river.
9.30 am
Rededication
Service in Chapel
/ Armoury, Hatfield
House and Laying
up of Queens
Colours.Call
to Service by
the Bugles of
the Rifles,
the service
will be led
by the Rev Clive
Larrett.
10.30 am Re
– embarkation
of your coaches
and drive to
Statue site
by River Lee
11.00 am Unveiling
Ceremony of
the Trooper
Statue, with
Badges, Plaques
and it is hoped
the Rolls of
Honour.The Band
of the Rifles
will participate
with a marching
display.
There will be
plenty of photo
opportunities
by the Statue
, a full colour
programme of
events is included
in your ticket
price and is
included in
your Welcome
Packagee
Return to
the Hotel is
by your coaches
at 12.30 pm
1.00pm.
Lunch at the
Ramada Jarvis
Hotel, Hatfield
Speeches and
Raffle will
be drawn following
Lunch.
With
regard to the
Raffle, please
do not forget
to bring your
counterfoils
with the money
and especially
any unsold tickets
so that they
can be sold
over the weekend.
We have just
heard Craig
Bone one of
our members
and the artist
may be here
to present the
first prize.Unfortunately,
the prize of
the Television
has been with
drawn by the
sponsor and
instead they
have given us
a Camera, Olympus
U840 digital,
due to donor
on difficult
times. Lots
more prizes
have been donated
over and above
the prizes already
listed.
Remember
the 1st prize
has been valued
at $10.000.00
what a fantastic
prize, keep
selling those
tickets..
NEWS
FROM AROUND
THE WORLD
PATRON
During August
our Patron Brigadier
Retd. John “Digger”
Essex- Clark
resigned. We
sadly have to
accept his resignation
but owe him
a tremendous
debt of gratitude
for all his
wisdom and input
to help form
this worldwide
association
and guide us
thus far through
these turbulent
times.He will
be with us in
spirit.
However,
we now proudly
announce and
welcome our
new patron,
Lt Col Ron Reid-Daly
CLM, DMM, MBE,
first RSM of
RLI and later
Training Officer,
OC Support Group
and latterly
CO Selous Scouts,
who will be
present on the
Re-dedication
weekend and
we look forward
to meeting him
there and thank
him for doing
us this honour.
Australia
:
Tony Young
has resigned
from the post
of Chairman
of the Australasia
Branch but will
remain a member
of the RLIRA,
meantime Vince
Zoricic, Australasia
Secretary, is
handling all
communications.
MISINFORMATION
FROM AUSTRALIA
Bruce
McGregor
from Australasia
Branch has been
sending missives
questioning
our transparency
and running
of the Rededication
weekend as well
as the manner
in which we
have collected
funds for the
Trooper.
It has now come
to light that
Tony Young the
previous Australasian
Chairman held
a Raffle on
Anzacs Day in
April to collect
money for the
Trooper. They
have now been
asked by our
Chairman, Ian
Butteshaw to
state where
the money is,
which has only
come to light
through the
honesty of one
of their members.
With this
in mind, together
with what Bruce
McGregor published
on Lekkerwear
website I now
urge you to
boycott the
Lekkerwear website
and do not purchase
their tacky
clothing with
our Badge on
it. I am sure,
like me, you
are all fed
up with this
now.
PROXY
VOTES
Many of
you received
abusive emails
about the current
RLIRA Exco and
more specifically
the Troopie
Rededication
project being
organised by
our UK Branch
Committee These
mails were initiated
by a few members
of the RLIRA
Australian Branch
and posted on
a number of
open websites.
The International
Exco took the
decision not
to enter into
a slanging match
but instead
decided to set
the record straight
by correcting
blatant lies
and inaccuracies.
The Exco of
Australia branch
then decided
to call for
a UDI which
has effectively
split the branch
An email
from one of
the Australian
members Quentin
Fourie to Tony
Young tells
the full story
of what’s going
on within the
Australian exco.Any
one wishing
a copy I will
willingly send
out.
As you will
see from the
programme our
Worldwide AGM
is on Saturday,
27th September
at 2pm and in
spite of knowing
90 of you will
be attending
this, it would
be convenient
to have your
proxy votes
before hand
therefore would
you please fill
in the proxy
voting forms
with your desired
option and return
to me on line
or just send
an email. All
postal voting
forms have gone
out to members
on our postal
list. We the
International
Exco will have
to take decisions
for which I
will need your
suggestions
and Proxy votes.
I currently
have 56 proxy
votes out of
a membership
of 280 members
if you have
not yet given
me your proxy
to vote on your
behalf at the
International
AGM I ask you
to email me
now
martyn.hudson2@btinternet.com
saying I give
Martyn my proxy
to vote at the
International
AGM on Saturday,
27th September2008.
Remember
this surge by
the Australia
EXCO was designed
to destabilise
the Rededication
Service and
split our members
and hopefully
try to get my
committee and
I to resign
under pressure
, but they were
wrong it has
made us stronger
and has united
us more with
the RSA Branch
and members
world wide,
infact we have
members coming
from USA, Canada,
Australia, New
Zealand, RSA,
Zimbabwe, Malawi,
UAE, The Oman,
Hong Kong and
Europe, as well
as the UK and
Ireland this
shows the massive
support we have,
if any of the
Australian members
are feeling
disillusioned
with their EXCO
and do not want
to be part of
theie UDI scheme
they are very
welcome to align
themselves to
another branch,
just ask and
it will be done.
I would
also like to
point out that
Tony Young refused
to distribute
the Patrons
Appeal for donations
and sell any
of the RLIRA
raffle tickets,
however some
of their members
did find out
about it and
sent very generous
donations.
FILM
Patrick
King , Producer,
Westminster
King Productions
Ltd. will be
making a documentary
film of the
whole weekend
and you may
be asked for
interviews during
the course of
the weekend.
Some of you
may become film
stars, if you
need an agent
Messrs Hudson
and Pilbeam
will be available.
We have
acquired some
very old Ceremonial
and Fireforce
film footage
which will be
showing on plasma
screens in the
Bar area during
the weekend.
Copies will
be available
for purchasing.
THERE MAY
BE ONE FINAL
SURPRISE!!!!!!
NO, Tony Young
is not coming!!
With no
further news
I look forward
to seeing as
many of you
as possible
in Hatfield
over this very
special weekend
and enjoying
the friendship
and camaraderie
we always had
and marching
together in
step together
as we always
did.
Finally, I would
like to thank
my UK Committee
for all their
hard work and
dedicated support
during all our
planning stages
for the Re-Dedication
Weekend
Any further
queries for
the Re-dedication
Weekend please
just ask.
Best Regards
Martyn Hudson
Chairman UK
Branch RLIRA
and CEO Worldwide
Exco.
Cornerview,
School Lane
Bolnhurst
Bedfordshiree
MK44 2 EN
Tel: 01234 376712
or Mobile 07788788095
Email :
martyn.hudon2@btinternet.com
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UK Branch Newsletter - December,
2008 |
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Rhodesian
Light Infantry
Regimental Association
Newsletter
December, 2008
It’s been
a busy year
for the Rhodesian
Light Infantry
Regimental Association,
UK branch, and
as 2008 draws
to a close it
would be a good
idea to summarize
our journey
and to highlight
our progress.
In February
the RLIRA UK
branch had its
inaugural meeting
in Sandy, Bedfordshire
where a committee
was elected
and immediately
identified its
objectives which
included the
drive to increase
the membership
and an ambitious
project to rededicate
the Trooper
statue.
The scale
of the project
to rededicate
the Trooper
was certainly
ambitious and
had the members
of the infant
Association
known that the
Trooper was
currently in
a state of disrepair,
with no home,
and more importantly,
no money to
support the
project, then
it may well
have been that
the rededication
of the Trooper
might have been
seen as a bridge
too far.
Seven short
months later
the Trooper
stood resplendent
in his new home
at Hatfield
House and the
world-wide membership
of the Rhodesian
Light Infantry
Regimental Association,
some of whom
were there in
body, all of
whom were there
in spirit, saluted
and welcomed
him home. Well
done buggers.
The UK branch
now has over
300 members
and is still
growing. It
has been identified
that despite
all of our efforts
there are still
former members
of the RLI who
do not know
of the Associations
existence. It
is our intention
in the New Year
to raise our
profile and
to play a more
active role
in bringing
to the notice
of these ouens
the existence
of the RLIRA.
Money
continues to
be in short
supply and it
is important
that fund raising
for the Association
continues. We
would ask all
of our members
to assist where
ever possible
in their fund
raising efforts
as it is vital
that we raise
money in order
to continue
with the projects
that have been
identified for
the new year.
In closing,
the UK committee
would like to
thank all of
the ouens and
their families,
for the support
that they have
given to the
Association
over the past
year and we
are confident
that with your
help the UK
branch of the
RLIRA will continue
to move forward
and grow in
strength.
To all of you
and your families,
may you have
a happy Christmas
and a wonderful
and prosperous
new year.
Committee
news
Notes from the
RLIRA UK Association
committee meeting
on the 6 of
December, 2008:
Neill Storey
was co-opted
on to the committee
as Artefacts
Officer to assist
in the Museum
Project, to
collect and
display RLI
memorabilia.
On behalf of
the Association,
we would like
to welcome Neill,
a 1 Commando
ouen, to the
committee and
to thank him
for the work
that he has
already done
on the project.
Martyn Hudson,
chairman of
the RLIUK Assoc
informed us
of his intention
to step down
from his post,
in order to
concentrate
on the planning
and execution
of the creation
of an RLI museum
and the celebrations
for the Regiment’s
50 birthday
bash.
Mark Pilbeam
was nominated
by Shaun Ryan
and seconded
by Neill Storey
as the new Chairman
of the Assoc
in the UK. Mark
will act as
the Chairman
until such times
as his nomination
is officially
confirmed.
At the same
meeting the
committee were
informed that
Nigel (Budgie)
Holmes would
not be able
to carry on
as the Secretary
to the Association
as a result
of a very heavy
work load. We
would like to
thank Budge
for all of his
help in the
preparation
and planning
for the Rededication
Ceremony at
Hatfield on
the weekend
of the 27 and
28 of September,
thanks bugger.
The new
committee is
as follows:
Chairman
and Secretary:
Mark Pilbeam;
Vice Chairman
and Treasurer:
Martyn Hudson;
Padre and all
round nice guy:
Revd. Clive
Larrett;
Legal Advisor
(but still under
suspicion):
Shaun Ryan;
Artefacts Officer:
Neill Storey.
A general
communication
requesting nominations
from members
to the post
of Chairman
of the UK Association
will go out
in the very
near future
and until such
times any inquiries
or questions
relating to
the Association
in the United
kingdom can
be forwarded
to Mark at:
Mark.pilbeam@dsl.pipex.com
Telephone: 02476
370506
On behalf
of the UK Association
we would like
to express our
thanks to Martyn
and Maggie for
their dedication
and perseverance
without which
the Rededication
of the Troopie
statue would
never have happened.
Martyn and Maggie
worked tirelessly
to make the
weekend the
ultimate success
that it was
and the Association
will always
be grateful
for their hard
work and generous
spirit, tatenda.
The UK committee
would also like
to thank their
Crows, the unsung
heroines of
this particular
play, for all
of their help,
support, food,
advice, Enos,
“have I missed
anything Dear?”
and patience
throughout the
year. Our love
and thanks.
Awards
The following
have been recognized
by the RLIRA
Association
for their service,
help and support
in making the
Rededication
of the Trooper
weekend such
a success:
Life members
The Marques
of Salisbury,
Martyn Hudson
and Craig Bone
Honorary
members
Lt
Colonel Richard
Frost MBE, Isla
St Clair, and
Patrick King
Regimental
Stalwarts
Revd Clive Larrett
and Mark Pilbeam
Our thanks
go out to you
all.
Armistice Weekend,
8 and 9 November,
2008
On Saturday
the 8 of November,
a short ceremony
of remembrance
was held at
the Trooper
statue at Hatfield
House.
Poppy
wreaths were
laid at the
foot of the
statue by Martyn
Hudson, Shaun
Ryan and by
Brigadier John
Essex-Clark,
former patron
of the RLI Association,
to remember
all those who
had made the
ultimate sacrifice.
It was an emotional
time for the
small party
consisting of
members of the
UK Association
and their families,
who gathered
in the rain
to observe a
minutes silence
in honour of
the fallen.
Digger has written
a personal account
of his first
meeting with
Troopie and
the short ceremony
which can be
viewed at:
http://www.therli.com/Troper_memberFeedback.asp
The following
day, Sunday
9 November,
members of the
RLIRA Association
joined with
members of the
Rhodesian Army
Association
(RAA) at the
Field of Remembrance,
St Margaret’s
Church, Westminster
Abbey, in London
for the official
Armistice day
ceremony.
Well attended,
the service
was conducted
by Major, the
Revd T.J. Mesley-Spong,
formally senior
Chaplain of
HQ No1 Brigade,
who was flanked
by Colour Parties
of the RAR,
RLI, RR, the
BSAP and the
RAA.
At
the conclusion
of the ceremony
guests and their
families returned
to the Novotel
hotel for lunch
and the AGM
of the RAA.
Further information
on this AGM
is given later
on in the newsletter.
Warning
orders
We
would like to
draw ouens attention
to the following:
1. Following
agreement by
members at the
AGM, an annual
subscription
for membership
to the RLIRA
UK branch will
begin early
next year. Although
the finer details
have not yet
been ironed
out, it is thought
that the membership
subscription
will be £15
per year.
The annual subscription
will form an
important part
of the funds
necessary to
maintain the
Association
here in the
UK, but will
also provide
the foundation
for the funds
necessary to
implement future
projects which
are essential
to the continuing
growth and success
of the UK branch.
2. We are
planning to
have our annual
meeting of the
Association
on the weekend
of the 1 of
August, 2009.
Could we please
ask members
to make a note
of this date
in their diaries
in preparation.
Further details
to be given
in the new year.
3. In the
new year the
Artefacts Officer
will begin the
collection of
RLI regimental
memorabilia
for later housing
and display
in the new RLI
regimental museum.
It is hoped
that a successful
collection of
a wide range
of Regimental
artefacts will
be sent in by
members so that
they can later
be displayed
for the benefit
of all and help
to keep the
memory of the
RLI strong and
active in the
minds of both
her members
and the public
in general.
4. RLIRA
golf shirts
We have been
offered the
opportunity
to obtain golf
shirts with
RLI and Commando
insignia on
the breast.
Details of these
shirts together
with an order
form are attached
to this e-mail.
These shirts
are high quality
with the proceeds
from their sale
going to the
RLIRA UK funds,
so buy into
this wonderful
Xmas opportunity
(an example
of why I never
went into advertising!)
To save money
get your orders
in before 15
January.
5. Marching
at the Cenotaph
– November,
2009
We are
currently investigating
the possibility
of the RLIRA
marching at
the main ceremony
at the Cenotaph
on Armistice
Day, 2009.
We will keep
members appraised
of our progress.
Annual general
meeting of the
RAA, 9 September,
2008
On the
9 of November,
after the Armistice
service, the
RAA held its
Annual General
Meeting at the
Novotel hotel,
just down the
road from Vauxhall
bridge, in London.
As usual and
keeping with
Regimental tradition,
the meeting
was “warmed
up” by a number
of penetrating
questions raised
by Martyn Hudson
who was concerned
that there was
not greater
unity amongst
all of the security
forces who served
in Rhodesia.
Martyn proposed
that the RAA
should work
towards bringing
together all
of these units
under an umbrella
organization
with representatives
of each association
working together
on a single
joint committee.
It was pointed
out that some
of the associations
had very few
members and
as a result
without the
support of a
larger, but
representative
organization,
they would find
it very difficult
to continue.
Martyn felt
that joining
together all
of the associations
under an umbrella
organization
would enhance
both the RAA
and ensure the
continuing success
of all of the
associations
who represent
those who served
in Rhodesia.
The RAA committee
noted Martyn’s
questions and
said that they
would discuss
these issues
at future committee
meetings.
Congratulations
Captain Clive!
The Revd Clive
Larrett, Padre
to the UK Association,
is now Captain,
the Revd. Clive
after being
commissioned
as an officer
in the British
Army.
Apparently
it wasn’t easy.
As part of the
officer selection
course, Captain
Clive had to
drag his unwilling
body over an
assault course,
and as the story
goes it was
more will than
power!
On
behalf of the
ouens, well
done Captain,
The Revd. Clive.
RICM medal
A new medal,
the Rhodesian
Independence
Commemorative
medal (RICM)
is
now available
for order from
Award Productions,
although delivery
will only take
place in February,
2009.
Information
on the medal
and the reason
for its striking
can be found
at:
http://www.therli.com
More information
about the medal
and how to order
can be found
at:
www.awardmedals.com/RICM
Alternatively
you can contact
Award at:
award@crown-lane.co.uk
Award Productions
Ltd, PO Box
300, Shrewsbury
SY5 6WP, UK
RLI artefacts
and the new
museums
At
the AGM in September
the idea of
an RLI museum
which would
display artefacts
and memorabilia
of the Rhodesian
Light Infantry
was introduced
to members.
The location
of the museum
was discussed
with two possible
venues considered.
The first was
a room above
the RAF club
in Bedford which
would allow
for the storage
and display
of the Regiments
history which
had the advantage
of being able
to provide catering
facilities as
well as having
a very reasonable
annual rent
and easy access
to Hatfield
House for the
Trooper statue.
The second,
through the
very kind invitation
of the Light
Brigade, was
to house the
Regiment’s memorabilia
in the Light
Brigades building
in London.
This site would
offer a central
London location
and the opportunity
to display Regimental
artefacts alongside
those of the
rifles Brigade
in a more formal
setting.
The committee
has decided
to make use
of both locations
providing different
experiences
for those who
visit the museums.
The Rifles Brigade
Museum will
be used to house
formal memorabilia
of the Regiment,
such as silverware
from the Officers
Mess, drums
and so on.
The Bedford
location will
be used to display
the “working”
side of the
Regiment with
a display which
will include
uniforms, weapons
and such like,
similar to the
museum in Toranga,
New Zealand.
Neill Storey,
our new Artefacts
Officer, together
with Martyn
Hudson have
taken ownership
of this project
and members
will continue
to be updated
on the progress
of the project
in the New Year.
Members
corner
We
would like to
invite you ouens
to submit letters,
articles or
comments which
would be relevant
to the Association.
Although the
news letter
is primarily
used to keep
members up to
date with the
goings on in
the Association,
it would be
nice if we could
get amongst
other things,
feedback and
news of members
and their families.
If you have
anything that
you feel would
be of interest,
(Editor’s decision
is final and
Klaar) please
mail it to:
Mark.pilbeam@dsl.pipex.com
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UK Branch Shirts and Caps |
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Back
of the
Cap |
Tshirt
and
Front
of the
Cap |
RLIRA UK
BRANCH SHIRTS
AND CAPS
Shirts will
have the Regimental
badge on left
breast and your
Commando badge
on right breast
(in place of
GFL in photo)
and RLIRA embroidered
on sleeve.
All shirts are
100% combed
top grade cotton
short sleeved
golf shirts
with knitted
cotton collar.
Sizes are from
Small to 4XL
(South African
sizes)
Shirt
Price £ 16.95
+ £ 2.00 postage
(UK Mainland)
(5 XL – 7 XL
available to
special order
at additional
cost)
Caps
with badge to
front and ‘the
saints’ to rear
- one size fits
all.
Cap
Price £10.00
+ £1.50 postage
(UK Mainland)
- postage £0.50
if ordered with
shirt.
NB:
ORDERS MUST
BE PLACED BY
15 JAN FOR MARCH
09 DELIVERY |
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UK Branch Shirts & Caps
Order Form |
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RLIRA
UK SHIRTS
& CAPS
ORDER
FORM
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NAME:
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ADDRESS:
POSTCODE:
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CONTACT
PHONE
NO:
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EMAIL
ADDRESS:
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ITEM
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CDO
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SIZE
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QTY
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PRICE
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TOTAL
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GOLF
SHIRTS
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SMALL
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@£16.95
each
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MEDIUM
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each
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each
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each
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each
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each
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each
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CAPS
ONE
SIZE
FITS
ALL
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@ £10.00
each
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ONLY
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@ £2.00
each
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CAPS
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& CAP
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ORDER
TOTAL
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PLEASE
SEND ORDER PLUS
CHEQUE PAYABLE
TO THE RLIRA
TO:
NEILL
STOREY
RECTORY
COTTAGE
IBSTONE
BUCKS HP14 3XZ
Tel: 01491
638 906 (W)
Mob: 07836 574
335 email:
neillstorey@gmail.com
BEFORE THE
15 JANUARY 2009
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UK Branch Newsletter - October
2008 |
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Dear All,
In our first
year since our
formation in
October 2007
we have come
a long way and
increased our
membership to
250 members.
The climax of
this year has
been taking
up the challenge
given to us
by the Exco
committee to
have the RLI
Trooper Statue
repaired and
erected in his
final resting
place and the
Laying Up of
the Queen’s
and Regimental
Colours at Hatfield
House this culminated
in our Re-Dedication
Service for
the Trooper
Statue and Laying
Up of the Queen’s
Colours at Hatfield
House on 28th
September,2008
through the
generosity of
The Marquess
of Salisbury.
Are you
still buzzing
with excitement
? The weekend
was a huge success
as the ouens
and their "crows"
relived many
memories as
well as discovering
the whereabouts
of lost souls
and addresses
exchanged. We
were so blessed
to have a whole
weekend of fine
English sunshine
to adorn the
Troopie as he
was unveiled
by Lord Salisbury
in such a beautiful
final resting
place as the
autumn tints
were appearing
in the surrounding
foliages and
trees. The Trooper
Statue stands
on a wide bank
in a sylvan
setting backing
on to a commercial
wood of tall
pine trees fronted
by a copse of
deciduous trees,
but looking
out across the
River Lee Many
great men had
tears in their
eyes as the
speeches of
Lord Salisbury
and Charlie
Aust, the last
CO of RLI, bridged
the years from
1980 to 2008.The
wreath laying
was particularly
poignant the
Flame Lillies
resplendent
in the sunshine
as they were
laid at the
base of the
statue whilst
the Band of
the Bugles and
Rifles played
Nimrod, first
by Lord Salisbury,
Col. Charlie
Aust, Martyn
Hudson assisted
by Mark Pilbeam,then
George Dempster
for South Africa
and finally
Shaun Ryan on
behalf of Australia.
The
Band of the
Bugles and Rifles
gave a splendid
display of marching
and playing
finishing with
a rousing rendition
of the "Saints"
We then returned
to our Coaches
and the hotel,
where we were
seated for Lunch
at tables for
ten, and during
his speech Martyn
yelled "Contact"
and as we rushed
outside to see
the surprise,
a flypast of
a Dakota! Five
times he flew
round, door
open and a crew
member waving
to us!
All too
soon it was
time to go home
and for me back
to hospital!
I have to thank
all of you who
managed to be
with us for
this memorable
occasion and
to thank you
for all your
kind letters
and emails since
the event. I
am now home
from hospital
and on the mend
at long last.
We have now
to move onwards
and upwards
as they say
and we have
ideas already
for next year,
Saturday, 1st
August,2009,
at Hatfield
House to be
the date, and
it will be a
family occasion,
put it in your
diaries, and
also it will
be the date
of our UK Branch
AGM.
All reports
of the weekend
and AGM with
photographs
and members
memories are
all on the website
www.therli.com
We are indebted
to George Dempster
for all his
hard work in
getting all
on the website.
There is also
Rededication
Weekend Memorabilia
for sale : Engraved
Glass Tankards
£12.00, Umbrellas
Mens £10.00,
extra programmes
£2.00 and Trooper
carrier bags
£1.00.
There will
be a DVD of
the Re-Dedication
weekend complete
with interviews
produced, and
should be out
in time for
Christmas priced
£15.95. There
are also Trooper
Statue Christmas
cards available
showing a picture
of our Troopie,
these can be
bought from
RAA, Taungup,
23 Highfield
Road, Lymington.SO41
9JD Quote :
RLI Ceremonial
A7 priced at
10 for £10.00,
20 for £15.00,
30 for £18.00,
50 for £25.00
Pay by Sterling
Cheques / Postal
orders made
out to Rhodesian
Army Association
There
is much to be
done this next
year too, we
have been offered,
through Richard
Frost of the
Rifles and Bugles
Band, a place
in their Museum,
in Mayfair,
London to show
and store our
RLI Artefacts
free of charge,
so there will
be much work
in store for
us and finally
to move them
to London from
Bristol. Neil
Storey has been
co-opted to
the UK Committee
as Artefacts
officer.
REMEMBRANCE
DAY SUNDAY,
9TH November
2008
The Rhodesian
Army Association
are holding
a Service of
Remembrance
at Plot 65,
The Field of
Remembrance,
St Margaret’s
Church, next
to Westminster
Abbey in London.
Members and
families wishing
to attend please
arrive there
10.15 -1030am
for the service
to be taken
by the Rev.
T.J. Mesley-
Spong, formerly
Senior Padre
HQ 1 Bde, Bulawayo.
Brigadier "Digger"
Essex-Clark,
our previous
Patron will
be attending
as will our
Chairman Ian
Buttenshaw.
Following
the service
the RAA will
have their Luncheon
/ Reunion at
the Novotel
( Waterloo)
London, Lambeth
Road London
SE1 7LS. Those
wishing tickets
for lunch £20.00
per person from
Geoffe Cooke,
Tel : 01474
322767 asap.
Address: 14,
Hibernia Drive,
Gravesend,DA12
4HT Tables will
be allocated
to specific
groups and it
is hoped a good
number of RLIRA
will be in attendance
at the service.
SATURDAY,
8Th November,2008
Richard
Frost, on behalf
of the Band
of the Bugles
and Rifles,
has donated
a wreath to
us to lay on
their behalf
at our Trooper
Statue at Hatfield
House. I will
also be laying
a wreath of
Poppies there,
on behalf of
the RLIRA Association
at 11am Saturday,
8th November,2008.
If anyone would
like to attend
Hatfield House
with me for
the wreath laying
please let me
know as soon
as possible.
Hatfield House
is closed for
Winter however
I can arrange
for our entry,
but I will need
to know the
names of those
attending. We
should meet
in your own
transport, at
Hatfield Railway
Station, across
from the gates
to Hatfield
House, at 11.00
am. Please let
me know asap.
NEWS
FROM THE BRANCHES:
AUSTRALIA
: It has
been announced
that John Kirkman,
from Perth is
the newly appointed
Chairman of
the Australia
Branch, whom
we warmly welcome
to the Exco
Committee. We
wish him well
with re-organising
his branch following
the unfortunate
recent issues.
He has received
a cheque for
$530.00 from
Tony Young being
revenue from
the Brisbane
Reunion, April,
2008 and they
have decided
it should go
towards the
Perth Reunion
April 2009.
We should at
this point thank
the many Australian
individual donors
who contributed
generously towards
the Trooper
Fund, collectively
£1200.00.
I should
also point out
I am unable
to show the
balance sheet
on the expenditure
of the Trooper
funds as we
are awaiting
three large
bills !! Namely,
Installation
of the Trooper
Statue, Making
of the Plinth
and Costs incurred
at Hatfield
House to erect
the Statue,
which I am assured
will be presented
in due course
!
SOUTH AFRICA
Chris Cocks
has resigned
as Historian
of the Association
due to business
pressures and
we are deeply
indebted to
him for a lot
of painstaking
work and wish
him much success
in these difficult
times. He remains
on their Committee.
Meantime,
was just so
good to see
so many happy
faces at the
Re-dedication
weekend, thank
you all again
for the efforts
made to be there,
you will be
kept informed
as the plans
for 2009 evolve.
Regards
to you all,
Martyn Hudson
Chairman
Address Cornerview,
School Lane,
Bolnhurst, Bedfordshire.MK44
2EN
Telephone
: Home 01234
376712 Mobile
07788788095
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UK Branch Newsletter - January
2008 |
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Rhodesian Light
Infantry Regimental
Association
UK Branch
Newsletter
At the beginning
of November
I wrote / emailed
all the members
with reference
to our first
Meeting on 9th
February, 2008.and
informing of
a possible change
of venue. Due
to the increased
membership I
can confirm
that we have
had an overwhelming
response with
over 100 members,
partners and
guests wishing
to come along.
This has left
no alternative
but to change
venues.
PLEASE SEE
SEPARATE PAGE
ON THE REUNION
DAY.I can assure
you it is easier
to get to and
a good deal
has been agreed
with a local
hotel.The costs
are still £20.00
per person and
I would be grateful
if you could
forward payment
to me as you
will understand
there are a
lot of up front
costs that need
to be covered.
We are catering
for 20 people
who may not
have replied
for various
reasons. Cheques
should be payable
to M.A. Hudson,
with Xmas just
around the corner
a £10 .00 deposit
will do.
As you would
have read from
Digger’s report
there is a lot
to do next year
and we have
had a picture
donated by John
Wynne-Hopkins
of an RLI Fireforce
scene, beautifully
done and beautifully
mounted. This
will be auctioned
in the evening
with a reserve
price.
There will
be a Raffle
with lots of
wonderful prizes
:
Colour
TV, Digital
camera,
The
Saints and Masodja
Books donated
by 30degreessouth,
Lots of Booze
!!!
Rally
Jackets, incar
CD Player, Sweat
shirts, Cuddly
toy and lots
of other prizes
too many to
mention If anyone
would like to
donate a prize
all will be
gratefully received!!
The tickets
will be £ 1.00
each and in
books of ten.
I would
be grateful
if you could
sell as many
tickets as possible
to friends and
family. Please
order in multiples
of 10 and include
payment with
Reunion/AGM
Tickets.
If you are not
coming to the
Reunion / AGM
perhaps you
could try and
sell some tickets
for us , once
again send your
cheque payable
to M.A. Hudson.
I will guarantee
that prizes
will be sent
postage free
to all winners
who do not attend.
Anyone
wishing to purchase
official RLI
merchandise;
On sale will
be :
Ties
$29.99
Combat
infantry badge
to be arranged
Parachute Wings
$7.00
Blazer
badges $40.00
Anyone wishing
to obtain berets,
badges , medals
and ribbons
please see
www.rhodesianservices.org
All the merchandise
mentioned will
be available
for sale on
the day, 9th
February,2008,
and will be
charged at the
exchange rate
paid to the
Australasia
branch for the
goods. The decision
has been taken
that all memorabilia
will be charged
at the same
rate worldwide.
There will also
be T shirts
and Baseball
caps with RLI
insignia available.
All
pictures of
events mentioned
in this news
letter will
be on display
at the AGM /Reunion
There were far
too many to
be included
in this letter
and would cost
a fortune in
printer cartridges
!.
Martyn
Hudson
Chairman
UK Branch
TEL : 01234
376712
MOBILE
07788788095
EMAIL :
martyn.hudson2@btinternet.com
Cornerview,
1, School Lane,
Bolnhurst, Bedfordshire,
MK44 2EN
REUNION
/ AGM AGENDA
SATURDAY,
9TH FEBRUARY,
2008
VENUE
: THE CONSERVATIVE
CLUB, BEDFORD
ROAD,SANDY,
BEDFORDSHIRE
LUNCH : 1.30PM
- 2.30 PM
AGM : 3.00PM
SOCIAL 4.30PM
– 5.30P0M
PLEASE
NOTE WE NEED
TO CLOSE THE
HALL TO SET
TABLES FOR THE
EVENING BUT
THE BAR WILL
REMAIN OPEN
!!
EVENING
: 7.00 PM DOORS
OPEN
BUFFET
: 7.30PM
SPEECHES / RAFFLE
AUCTION : 8.00PM
– 830PM
DISCO
: 8.30PM -12.00
MIDNIGHT
Last orders
at the bar 1130pm.
SANDY
is easily accessible
by road just
off the A1 road
at Sandy Roundabout.
There is ample
car parking
behind the Conservative
Club which is
a 10minute walk
from the station.
Taxis are available
and pick up
can be arranged
tel. mobile
07788788095
Martyn Hudson
By train
Sandy is on
the Kings Cross
/ St Neots/
Peterborough
line
The Holiday
Inn Garden Court
Hotel have given
us a discounted
price for a
double or twin
room £52.00
for two people.
Tel : 01767
692220 Contact
June Melrose
Director of
Sales.
Please
quote RLI Reunion
when booking
, payment required
on booking to
get discounted
price. Breakfast
£8.00 per person
payable on booking.
These prices
are for Friday
and Sunday nights
also during
that weekend.
Meeting
Venue: THE CONSERVATIVE
CLUB, BEDFORD
ROAD,SANDY,
BEDFORDSHIRE
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UK Branch Newsletter - Christmas
2007 |
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FIRSTLY CAN
I TAKE THIS
OPPORTUNITY
TO WISH EVERYBODY
A VERY MERRY
CHRISTMAS AND
A VERY HAPPY
NEW YEAR AND
MAY 2008 BE
A YEAR FOR US
TO REMEMBER
ALL THAT WE
STOOD TOGETHER
FOR, FRIENDSHIP
AND COMRADESHIP
Since our
last news letter
so much has
happened our
membership has
moved on to
a staggering
176 members
and I would
like to thank
everybody for
their help in
achieving this,
there is still
time to get
to our target
of 200 by February
2008 !
During the
month of November
our Patron,
Digger Essex-Clark
was here from
Australia and
it was a great
pleasure to
meet him. We
attended three
functions and
I am sure he
won’t mind me
copying his
report to the
Executive Council
- The
Launch of
MASODJA
This
was a gala
occasion
at a splendid
and ancient
venue. Many
have asked
how did
it compare
with the
launch of
the Saints,
comparisons
are odorous
wrote Shakespeare
in his “
Much Ado
about Nothing”
but the
venues,
the atmospheres
and emotions
were so
different
that it
is impossible
to do so
anyway.
Alex Binda’s
excellent
book Masodja
in its style
of presentation
and of narrative
matches
that of
the Saints
except that
the Saints
have many
more colour
pictures.
Both have
been superbly
edited and
produced
by Chris
Cocks company,
30 degrees
South. The
humorous
highlight
of the launch
was Butch
Zeederberg
(ex RAR,
and MC for
the Launch
) addressing
Lord Salisbury
as “ Lord
Cranberry”
because
of his earlier
title, as
Lord Cranbourne
before his
elder brother
(who then
had the
title, of
Lord Salisbury)
was killed
while reporting
with the
RAR in the
bush war
and the
title then
passed to
his younger
brother
on his death.
This beautiful
but inadvertent
“ faux pas”
brought
the house
down.
- Attend
the preliminary
activity
(opening)
at the Field
of Remembrance,
Westminster
Abbey, and
visit by
HRH the
Duke of
Edinburgh.
This was
done between
10.00 –
12.00 hrs
on Thursday,
8th November.
I placed
a Poppy
on the RLI
Badged cross
on the plot.
Four Mdala
ex RAR Masodja
had been
flown in
from Zimbabwe
by the RAA
and at the
expense
of the Royal
Commonwealth
Ex-services
League (RCEL)
to attend
the week’s
Remembrances
activities.
This included
all costs
: accommodation
, pocket
money costs,
buying new
suits, shirts
, shoes,
winter coats
and berets
for them.
These four
askari from
1 RAR( Masodja)
all of whom
had also
served in
Malaya added
vast emotional
depth to
the Launch
- Attend
with the
RAA Representatives,
the Royal
Commonwealth
Ex-services
league Lunch
and Meeting
which followed
the opening
of the Field
of Remembrance,
the lunch
and signing
by the Duke
of Edinburgh
of the 1RAR
drum skin
at Canada
House, London.
I escorted
the four
askari with
David Heppenstall
on a walk
up Whitehall
to Canada
House ,
during which
I pointed
out Mandela’s
statue in
Parliament
Square,
the Old
War Office,
Churchill’s
war cabinet
rooms, the
statue of
Slim, Montgomery
etc. At
the entrance
to Horse
Guards I
gave a smart
“Salute
to the left,
Salute order
to the M’dala
askari,
to both
the resplendent
red caped
and Chrome
helmeted,
Horse Guardsmen
on mounted
duty.The
M’dalas
did so and
each horse
guardsmen
gave a polished
and smooth
flowing
cavalry
sword salute
to our salutes.
I also pointed
out the
war cabinet
rooms ,
described
Trafalgar
Square and
the importance
of the battle
of Trafalgar
to the by
now quite
stunned
old warriors.
In the reception
rooms of
Canada House
the Duke
of Edinburgh
signed the
1RAR drum
Skin and
chatted
with the
M’dala Masodja
and exuded
charm and
wit and
was not
the cranky
snob portrayed
in the film
“The QUEEN”
- Attend
the RAA
Remembrance
Day Service
at the Field
of Remembrance
at Westminster
Abbey at
10.30 am
Sunday,
11th November.
This was
a moving
yet crisp
service
conducted
by the once
upon a time
Bishop of
Mashonaland,
Robert Mercer,
from which
I walked
back to
the Novotel,
Waterloo
with Martyn
Hudson,
John Wynne-Hopkins
and Pat
Lawless
(chairman
of RAA)
for the
RAA Luncheon.
I had been
invited
to be Guest
of Honour
and to give
the Oration
at the RAA
Luncheon
following
the Remembrance
Day Ceremonies
at the Field
of Remembrance
at Westminster
The lunch
was preceded
by a few
drinks at
the pub
bar then
we sat down
at our lunch
tables for
the Annual
general
Meeting
of the RAA
smartly
conducted
by Pat Lawless,
Chairman
and followed
by my oration
to the 122
packed into
the lunch
venue at
the Novotel,
Waterloo.
The major
points to
be established
during my
visit were:
A) To
establish
closer relationships
with the
Chairman/President
UK Branch
RLIRA.
We first
met at the
Masodja
Launch and
then had
many fruitful
discussions
at the visit
to Hatfield
House and
the Remembrance
Day Service
and the
following
RAA Luncheon.
Because
the UK Branch
RLIRA will
have a major
role to
play in
the health
and longevity
of the RLIRA
and because
it could
be the most
powerful
bloc of
our Association
I also think
of the UK
Branch as
the “ Chipembere
Branch”
B) To
find an
appropriate
home for
the RLI
Regimental
Colours.
Martyn
Hudson,
Shaun Ryan,
John Wynne-Hopkins
(of RAA
Museum Trust
and our
link with
the British
Empire and
Commonwealth
Museum (BECM)
in Bristol
and I visited
Hatfield
House for
a tour of
the home
and of the
estate of
Lord and
Lady Salisbury
on Saturday,
10th November.
They escorted
us through
the estate
and house
and there
is no doubt
in my mind
that our
Queen’s
and Regimental
Colours
will be
most appropriately
displayed
with dignity
and respect
in the chapel
gallery
at Hatfield
House with
the 1RAR
Colours,
both separated
by a splendid
16th century
stained
glass window.The
colours
should be
hermetically
preserved
and glass
framed to
improve
their longevity
I suggest
too that
the Post
UDI President’s
and Regimental
Colours
should be
retained
on their
staffs wrapped
and preserved
correctly
by the President
UK Branch
RLIRA or
as directed
by the RLIRA
Exco for
display
on appropriate
RLIRA/RAA
occasions
or special
functions
in the UK
or overseas.
C)
Relocating
the Troopie
Statue
We visited
a site on
the right
or south
bank of
the river
Lee on the
estate,
and selected
a perfect
site on
a gentle
and low
spur on
the edge
of a young
wood in
front of
an old knurled
tree facing
the river.
It is an
idyllic
spot on
the river
bank that
has a long
sward of
cut grass
between
the proposed
statue site
and the
bulrushes
by the river.
The site
can be approached
by a vehicle
track towards
the river
and Lord
Salisbury
has stated
that he
would allow
groups to
the site
by vehicle
if permission
was requested.
The site
is rarely
seen by
other than
a few fishermen
that are
allowed
into the
area. Lord
Salisbury
has agreed
that only
the words:
RHODESIA
TO THOSE
WHO SERVED
should be
inscribed
on the base
of a narrow
plinth.
It was agreed
that the
statue and
its site
should exude
a sense
of dignity
and allow
quiet and
undisturbed
reflection
and commemoration
rather than
that of
celebration
therefore
it should
not be monumental,
but be displayed
on a low
plinth which
would raise
Troopie
a little
beyond the
height of
a very tall
man. Lord
and Lady
Salisbury
said that
the site
would be
carefully
tended and
any tree
growth removed
that prevented
Troopie
being easily
seen
D)
Enable closer
relations
between
RLIRA and
RAA in the
UK
Martyn
Hudson met
and established
good liaisons
with RAA
principals,
Pat Lawless
and David
Heppenstall
and also
Iain Harper
and John
Wynne-Hopkins
of the RAA
Museum trust.
More needs
to be done
to forge
links with
the RAA
and RLIRA
UK But Martyn
Hudson has
this well
in hand
E) Re
–establish
rapport
with Lord
Salisbury
This
has been
well established
by Chris
Pearce,
Shaun Ryan
and now
Martyn Hudson
F)
Further
RLIRA Action
Branch
Presidents
are now
members
of the Executive
Council
i.e. Martyn
Hudson UK,
Hamish MacIntyre
RSA, and
Tony Young
,Australasia
Shaun Ryan
has become
Legal Advisor
of RLIRA,
a non executive
position
on the Executive
Council.
G) ASAP:
to obtain
the costs
of :
Repair of
Troopie
The long-term
preservation
and mounting
under framed
glass of
the RLI
Queen’s
and Regimental
Colours.
Liaise with
Brig. Pat
Lawless.
Site preparation
and move
Troopie
from BECM
to Hatfield
House.
Erection
of Troopie
on site
The mounting
of framed
colours
in the chapel
Hatfield
House
H) To
organise
a fundraising
campaign
to obtain
money to
pay for
the costs
needed for
the above
actions
Digger enjoyed
his all
too short
visit to
the UK and
a very busy
week indeed
but has
achieved
all his
RLIRA responsibilities
and objectives
with minimum
fuss and
the maximum
enjoyment
! Thanks
to all concerned.
NEW
BOOK LAUNCHES
:
The
Kevin Woods
Story
Masodja
This
time Alex
Binda had
his moment
of glory
mentioned
in the United
Kingdom
Parliament
Hansard
16th October,
2007 Column744
with reference
to the Saints
book and
the RLI
Fireforce
tactics
Steve Crump,
London,
will be
agent for
all these
books and
previous
Rhodesian
books and
I will publish
his address
when his
office is
set up in
Jan 2008
NEWS
FORM OTHER
BRANCHES
AUSTRALASIA:
BRISBANE
REUNION
24th - 25th
April 2008
Anzac Day
Only a few
months preparation
time left.
This is
open to
all members,
for any
queries
regarding
Brisbane
or the Reunion
:
Contact
: Marshall
Ross
myross@bigpond.com
Jack Lamont
lamont4@digisurf.com.au
Full details
available
RLI web
site
SOUTH
AFRICA :
The
new South
African
Branch was
formed on
27th October,
2007 . 53
delegates
gathered
at the Fourways
Garden Club
House in
Johannesburg.
The committee
was elected
as follows
:
| Chairman |
Hamish MacIntyre
|
| Secretary |
Chris Cocks email address : info@30degreessouth.co.za |
| District rep |
Capetown
JOHN Van Zyl and Trevor Desfountain |
|
Durban To be notified |
|
Johannesburg
Ian Bate |
Best wishes
was sent
from Ian
Douglas
Smith and
Chris Cocks
read an
address
of support
from our
Patron Digger
Essex-Clark
NEW ZEALAND
:
We are now
in contact
with Rhodesian
Services
Association
CONTACT
: Hugh Bomford
email address
hbomford@clear.net.nz
Previous
news letters
are available
on the web
http://www.rhodesianservices.org
At the beginning
of November
I wrote
/ emailed
all the
members
with reference
to our first
Meeting
on 9th February,
2008. and
informing
of a possible
change of
venue. Due
to the increased
membership
I can confirm
that we
have had
an overwhelming
response
with over
100 members,
partners
and guests
wishing
to come
along. This
has left
no alternative
but to change
venues.
PLEASE SEE
SEPARATE
PAGE ON
THE REUNION
DAY.I can
assure you
it is easier
to get to
and a good
deal has
been agreed
with a local
hotel.The
costs are
still £20.00
per person
and I would
be grateful
if you could
forward
payment
to me as
you will
understand
there are
a lot of
up front
costs that
need to
be covered.
We are catering
for 20 people
who may
not have
replied
for various
reasons.
Cheques
should be
payable
to M.A.
Hudson,
with Xmas
just around
the corner
a £10 .00
deposit
will do.
As you would
have read
from Digger’s
report there
is a lot
to do next
year and
we have
had a picture
donated
by John
Wynne-Hopkins
of an RLI
Fireforce
scene, beautifully
done and
beautifully
mounted.
This will
be auctioned
in the evening
with a reserve
price.
There will
be a Raffle
with lots
of wonderful
prizes :
Colour TV,
Digital
camera,The
Saints and
Masodja
Books donated
by 30degreessouth,Lots
of Booze
!!! Rally
Jackets,
incar CD
Player,
Sweat shirts,
Cuddly toy
and lots
of other
prizes too
many to
mention
If anyone
would like
to donate
a prize
all will
be gratefully
received!!
The tickets
will be
£ 1.00 each
and in books
of ten.
I would
be grateful
if you could
sell as
many tickets
as possible
to friends
and family.
Please order
in multiples
of 10 and
include
payment
with Reunion/AGM
Tickets.
If you are
not coming
to the Reunion
/ AGM perhaps
you could
try and
sell some
tickets
for us ,
once again
send your
cheque payable
to M.A.
Hudson.
I will guarantee
that prizes
will be
sent postage
free to
all winners
who do not
attend.
Anyone wishing
to purchase
official
RLI merchandise;
On sale
will be
:
Ties
$29.99
Combat infantry
badge to
be arranged
Parachute
Wings $7.00
Blazer badges
$40.00
Anyone
wishing
to obtain
berets,
badges ,
medals and
ribbons
please see
www.rhodesianservices.org
All the
merchandise
mentioned
will be
available
for sale
on the day,
9th February,2008,
and will
be charged
at the exchange
rate paid
to the Australasia
branch for
the goods.
The decision
has been
taken that
all memorabilia
will be
charged
at the same
rate worldwide.
There will
also be
T shirts
and Baseball
caps with
RLI insignia
available.
CLOSER
TIES WITH
OTHER FORMER
RHODESIAN
ARMY ASSOCIATIONS
In the
UK there
are lots
of Rhodesian
forces associations.
However,
it is felt
that our
ties with
the Rhodesian
Army Association
and the
Rhodesian
African
Rifles should
remain very
close, they
have been
established
for a long
time and
are willing
to share
their experience
and banking
facilities.
The Remembrance
Sunday ceremonies
were well
organised
and a very
special
day, and
it would
be great
to see more
RLI folk
there next
year.
TASKS
FOR 2008
1) AGM
/ Reunion
Saturday,
9th February,2008
1.30 pm
2) Repair
of the Troopie
Statue and
have a plinth
made
3) Mount
Troopie
Statue at
Hatfield
House
4) Have
the colours
Framed in
airtight
glass cases
and mounted
in the Chapel,
Hatfield
House.
5) Organise
Open Day
and Dedication
Service
at Hatfield
House
SPECIAL
THANKYOU’S
1) Digger
Essex-Clark
on his visit
and support
for the
UK Branch
and his
help.
2) Chris
Cocks, 30degreessouth
company
for the
donation
of the two
books for
the Raffle
3) John
Wynne- Hopkins
the artist,
and donation
of the picture
of RLI Fireforce
4) Iain
Harper for
help in
tracking
you all
down!!
5) Tony
Young ,
Australasia
Branch for
organising
and acquiring
the RLI
merchandise.
6) Ed Potter
ton for
giving us
our own
Page on
Rhodesian
Forces.org
off the
RLI home
page
7) Carparts
Direct Ltd,
my own company
suppliers
for all
the Raffle
prizes
8) Hugh
Bomford
in New Zealand
for keeping
us informed
of events
there and
the invitation
to the Prayer
Meeting
on the 25th
January
2008
THE
EXECUTIVE
COUNCIL
The
three major
Branch Chairman
/ President,
Tony Young,
Australasia,
Hamish MacIntyre,
RSA and
myself for
the UK Branch
have been
appointed
permanent
members
of the Council.
OBITUARIES
It is
with great
sadness
that we
have to
announce
the following
deaths.
Ted Wray
2cdo UK
Funeral
in London,
20th December.
John Bolton-Smith
3cdo ZIM
George Walsh
QM UK
Colin Bruchhausen
SP cdo RSA
Ian
Douglas
Smith
The man
who defied
the world,
died in
Cape Town
November
20th 2007
at the age
of 88
1919- 2007
RIP
All pictures
of events
mentioned
in this
news letter
will be
on display
at the AGM
/Reunion
There were
far too
many to
be included
in this
letter and
would cost
a fortune
in printer
cartridges
!.
Martyn
Hudson
Chairman
UK Branch
TEL : 01234
376712
MOBILE
07788788095
EMAIL
:
martyn.hudson2
@btinternet.com
Cornerview,
1, School
Lane, Bolnhurst,
Bedfordshire,
MK44 2EN
REUNION
/ AGM AGENDA
SATURDAY,
9TH FEBRUARY,
2008
| VENUE |
:THE CONSERVATIVE CLUB, BEDFORD ROAD,SANDY, BEDFORDSHIRE |
| LUNCH |
:1.30PM - 2.30 PM |
| AGM |
:3.00PM |
| SOCIAL |
:4.30PM – 5.30P0M |
| PLEASE NOTE WE NEED TO CLOSE THE HALL TO SET TABLES FOR THE EVENING BUT THE BAR WILL REMAIN OPEN !! |
| EVENING |
:7.00 PM DOORS OPEN |
| BUFFET |
:7.30PM |
| SPEECHES / RAFFLE |
| AUCTION |
:8.00PM – 830PM |
| DISCO |
:8.30PM -12.00 MIDNIGHT
Last orders at the bar 1130pm. |
SANDY is
easily accessible
by road
just off
the A1 road
at Sandy
Roundabout.
There is
ample car
parking
behind the
Conservative
Club which
is a 10minute
walk from
the station.
Taxis are
available
and pick
up can be
arranged
tel. mobile
07788788095
Martyn Hudson
By train
Sandy is
on the Kings
Cross /
St Neots/
Peterborough
line
The
Holiday
Inn Garden
Court Hotel
have given
us a discounted
price for
a double
or twin
room £52.00
for two
people.Tel
: 01767
692220 Contact
June Melrose
Director
of Sales.
Please
quote RLI
Reunion
when booking
, payment
required
on booking
to get discounted
price. Breakfast
£8.00 per
person payable
on booking.
These prices
are for
Friday and
Sunday nights
also during
that weekend.
|
MEDICAL APPEAL
for ALAN HAWK
Alan Hawk (aged 58),
an ex-RLI corporal,
is seriously ill in
Harare. His friends
are desperate to get
him to South Africa
for medical treatment.
The cost of the operation
will be around US$15,000
+ costs of getting him
to SA. Alan is
currently in a government
hospital in Harare,
suffering from some
form of gangrenous thrombosis
that has attacked his
feet and legs – he has
already had a toe amputated.
Suffice to say, hospital
conditions are appalling
– no drips, no medicine.
If you can help
in any way, please urgently
contact Martin
in Zimbabwe on
00-2634-851842
or 00-263-912-336644
or via email on
bubi@ecoweb.co.za
or Chris Cocks on
info@30degreessouth.co.za
or 0027-11-673 2218
IN CONCLUSION
Our intention is to
forward a short monthly
newsletter to all members
of the SA branch from
now on with information
on events and a membership
update. If you
have a regular or planned
meeting in your area
– or looking to re-establish
contact with an old
mate – then forward
details by e-mail to
gd@e2.co.za.
For now Kind
Regards George Dempster
0832844957
gd@e2.co.za
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UK Branch Newsletter - October 2007 |
expand |
Rhodesian Light
Infantry Regimental
Association
UK Branch
Newsletter
OCTOBER
2007
Dear All
Well , at
last our region
is finally constituted
and established
as "The UK Branch
of the Rhodesian
Light Infantry
Regimental Association
." I would like
to thank you
all for your
support in getting
us this far.
I would
also like to
give a big welcome
and congratulations
to our new Committee
members.
|
CHAIRMAN:
|
MARTYN HUDSON |
| |
|
|
SECRETARY :
|
Brig ( Ret
) VIC WALKER |
| |
|
|
COMMITTEE :
|
MARK PILBEAM
|
| |
SHAUN RYAN
Executive Council
UK Liaison Officer |
It has been a great
honour indeed to be
appointed chairman of
the UK Branch RLIRA
and it is my intention
as the first priority
to grow the membership.
I have always been told
that there is strength
in numbers, so I want
you all to mention the
association to any former
members of RLI that
you might know and convince
them to join us. We
have a potential for
over two hundred members
and I am sure we can
achieve this.
Being a member of
a worldwide association
such as ours gives you
a great opportunity
to contact and meet
former friends that
you might not have seen
or contacted for 25
years. The Regiment
played a very large
part in our lives so
we are all connected
with it and its traditions.
This means such a lot
in our lives. To me
the best years of my
life were in the RLI
and my memories are
of fun and friendship
and that is why I became
involved with RLIRA.
Every association
has its problems and
needs, ours is no different,
yet we have done so
well this year and we
have had our successes
too. I would like to
see our Branch as a
social club and our
Annual meetings kept
to a very casual format,
although we need to
keep within the guidelines
of the Constitution
and there are rules
to follow, and a few
formalities observed.
The newsletters
we produce are your
newsletters, we need
your news, views and
anything else you would
like to share.
In
conclusion I am motivated
and inspired to push
this Branch to great
success and I welcome
any ideas or proposals
to achieve this.
Martyn Hudson
Chairman
We now have
over 120 members and
there are still a lot
of applications in the
post awaiting completion,
listed is the up to
date membership for
the UK and I can confirm
that everybody is now
registered on the website.
The European members
will continue to be
a chapter of the UK
Branch until they wish
to be self-sufficient.
List of Registered
Members UK Branch RLI
Regimental Association
with addresses, email
/ postal.
(To
view the complete list
login to the secure
section)
EX RLI MEMBERS
Written to / contacted
who are already members
of RAA
Chalmers,Desmond
Battleborough Grange
Hotel, Bristol Road,Brent
Knoll,
Somerset.
TA9 4HJ
|
Dickens,Stephen
|
84, Chuch Walk,
Burgess Hill,
RH15 9AS |
Sp Cdo 1RLI |
|
England,Roger
|
12, Wellington
Avenue, Banbury,
Oxon.OX16 3QL |
1RLI/SAS |
|
Fielder,Neville
|
Longmead Arms,
47, Longmead
Avenue, Bishopstoke |
|
| |
Eastleigh, Hants.
SO50 6ES |
1RLI |
|
Gill, Michael
|
9, Blueberry
Rise, Elton
Brook, Northampton.NM3
5HG |
2Cdo RLI |
|
Grieg,Peter |
13,St.Margaret’s
Place, Stradisall,
Newmarket.CB8
8YP |
1RLI/Rh MC |
|
Horton,Evan |
39, Meadcroft
Close, Horley,
Surrey. RH6
9EJ |
1RLI/1RR |
|
Kruger, Paul
|
39, Coastline
Village, Ostend
Road, Walcott,Norfolk, |
|
| |
NR12 0NE
|
RR/RLI |
|
Lewis,Owen |
113, French’s
Wells, Woking,Surrey.GU23
3AU |
3CdoRLI/GreyScouts |
|
Lowe,Dave
|
49, Longmead
Avenue, Bishopstoke,
Eastleigh |
|
| |
Hants. SO50
6ES |
1RLI |
|
McDonagh, Neil
H. |
145, Folkstone
Road, Dover,
Kent |
RAR/RLI |
|
Marsberg,Trevor
|
77,Elmpark Court,Elmpark
Road, Pinner,Middlesex
HA5 3LL |
RLI |
|
Pearson, Trevor |
51, Eriswell
Road, Lakenheath,
Brandon, Suffolk.
IP27 9AH |
1RLI |
|
Shepherd, Kathy |
The Flat, 266,High
Street, Aldershot,
Hants.GU12 4LT |
1RLI |
|
Sinclair, Don
|
12, White Dirt
Lane, Pimco
Buildings, Clanfield, |
|
| |
Nr Portsmouth.PO8
0QL |
2 Cdo RLI |
|
Taylor,Lance |
Hapana Basa
Cottage, Great
Brington, Northampton.NN1
4JB |
1RLI |
| |
|
|
Townsend, Blue
20, Victoria
Road, Devizes,
Wiltshire.SN10
1ET 1RLI
Walsh, George
Flat 34, Dennis
Cadman House,
RBL Village,
Aylesford, Kent.
ME20 7RU
Wandel,Edward
F. 30, Glendale
Close, Horsham,West
Sussex. RH12
4GR 3Cdo
WHEREABOUTS
UNKNOWN Please
advise if you
know where they
are.
|
| |
|
|
|
Barnes,Gary
|
London |
RLI |
|
Benz, Markus
|
Switzerland
|
RLI awaiting
details |
|
Bowker, Shaun
|
Ireland |
RLI |
|
Carey, Tony
|
Ireland |
RLI |
|
Cook, Terry
|
England |
RLI |
|
Dempsey, Des
|
Dublin, Ireland
|
RLI |
|
Fensome, Michael
|
Llanelli, Wales
|
RLI |
|
Grainer, Mark
|
London |
RLI |
|
Harley, David
|
Scotland
|
RLI |
|
Kemp, Les
|
Norwich,Norfolk
|
RLI |
|
Lottering,Errol
|
Letchworth,
Herts |
RLI |
|
Mcfarland, Steve
|
Linconshire |
1RLI awaiting
details |
|
McKinnon, Robert
|
Warrington,UK
|
RLI |
|
Melvin, Scot |
UK |
RLI |
|
Miller, Chris |
Now in RSA |
|
|
O’Connor, Eamonn |
Ireland |
RLI |
|
Partridge, John |
UK |
RLI |
|
Thomson,John(Ginger)
|
|
|
|
Tydings,Tony
|
Middlesex
|
RLI |
|
Van Schalkwyk,
Charlie |
Turnford, UK
|
RLI |
|
Van Schalkwyk
Robbie |
|
RLI |
|
Whitehead, P
|
London, W3
|
RLI |
Over the last couple
of months I have had
a few inquiries regarding
the Combat Infantry
Badge I have included
an article from last
month’s LION & TUSK
magazine on how to obtain
a badge. However if
anyone would like to
get hold of a badge
I will be in Australia
and New Zealand in January
and could pick some
up to save paying postage,
please let me know.
THE COMBAT INFANTRY
BADGE (CIB)
The Rhodesian Services
Association in New Zealand
is now holding stock
of the unofficial Rhodesian
Combat Infantry Badge,
We have been asked to
arrange worldwide distribution
with the exception of
Australia, For Australian
residents please contact
Tony Young directly
pzemedic@bigpond,net.au
The initiative
of this CIB has been
driven by the Australian
Branch of the Rhodesian
Light Infantry Regimental
Association, however
the Badge is not restricted
to ex-RLI servicemen,
and it is open to all
appropriately experienced
Rhodesian ex-infantrymen,
Basic Eligibility
This is the
basic criteria which
must be met for eligibility
for the Rhodesian Combat
Infantry badge, with
these being:
- You must have
served as a member
of the Rhodesian
Security Forces,
- You must have
been an infantryman
who completed basic
infantry training,
- You must be
assigned to an infantry
unit during such
time as the unit
was engaged in active
ground combat
- You must have
actively participated
in such ground combat
and being employed
in their primary
roles as an infantryman,
There is no differentiation
made between TA or Regular
s
Designated
Rhodesian Infantry Units:
Infantry unit
service is to include
but not necessarily
be limited to: BSAP
Support Unit; PATU;
Grey Scouts; Rhodesia
Regiment; Rhodesian
African Rifies; Rhodesian
Light Infantry; Selous
Scouts;
Special
Air Service,
Eligibility of Infantry
unit members who did
not take part in ground
combat:
A number
of Rhodesian infantry
units were self-contained
entities which involved
having some of its infantrymen
multi-skilled in Motor
Transport, Signals,
Medical, Quarter
Master or Catering
type roles, etc
If such persons
completed basic infantry
training and were assigned
members of an infantry
unit which was deployed
into an operational
area, they are deemed
to have been performing
both infantryman and
specialist roles at
the time,
It
is not necessary for
such persons to have
participated in an actual
ground combat for them
to be eligible provided
that, during a deployment
with an infantry unit,
elements of that unit
were involved in ground
combat action,
Evidence of Eligibility
Due to deficiencies
and loss of Rhodesian
service records, claims
of eligibility, and
wearing of the Rhodesian
CIB needs to be on an
understanding of honor
& trust
Wearing
the Rhodesian CIB
The CIB is primarily
intended for ceremonial,
commemorative or other
special occasions when
medals may be worn with
civilian clothing. The
badge should be worn
on the left side, centrally
placed approximately
1 cm immediately above
medal riband or medals
or, without medals,
as a lapel badge.
Prices in NZ$
The Rhodesian Services
Assn stock is purchased
from the Australian
Branch of the RURA.
They (the RURA) are
directing their profits
towards the repair of
the Troupe statue which
is currently in the
UK. Any surplus from
the Rhodesian Services
Assn sales will be directed
towards our various
ongoing Museum Collection
projects.
CIB
$22.50
Engraving
of regimental number
$12.50 Postage to any
address in NZ $2.50
Postage overseas $1
Please note:
Engraving takes approx
1 week. We will combine
postage - i.e. you only
pay one postage fee
for a number of badges
(2 or 3) to one address
Orders
A register will
be kept of all badge
recipients. For this
Register please
supply the following
details with your order:
Name
Reg
number (even if you
elect to not have the
engraving)
Units
in which you ser
The years that you
served from/to any other
award
Your postal
address
Payment
Our preferred method
is by Pay Pal or by
personal cheque (this
also applies overseas
orders from UK, USA,
Canada but NOT South
Africa); direct deposit
Rhodesian Services Assn
account details will
be supplied if required.
We cannot accept credit
card or EFTPOS. Cheques
to be made to Rhodesian
Services Association
and posted to PO Box
13003, Tauranga 3141,
New Zealand.
THE TROOPIE
STATUE
Shaun
Ryan, our UK Executive
Council Liason Officer
has informed me that
things are progressing
with regard to the statue
which will be repaired
and moved to the grounds
of Hatfield House. The
Colours will be placed
in Lord Salisbury’s
family chapel.
A final reminder
of The Book Launch of
MASODJA, Friday,9th
November, at 1730hrs
by invitation only.
.Just a reminder
of our first UK Branch
meeting on Saturday,
9th February,2008.
Full details will be
sent out again in mid
December together with
an Agenda and Meeting
format.
THIS
WILL BE THE LAST NEWS
LETTER UNTIL DECEMBER.
Martyn Hudson
Chairman
Tel : 01234
376712 mobile 07788788095
after 7pm and weekends.
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UK Branch Newsletter - August 2007 |
expand |
Rhodesian Light
Infantry Regimental
Association
UK Branch
Newsletter
AUGUST 2007
To you all,
I would
like to thank
you all who
have responded
to my invitation
to hold a Reunion
and form a UK
Branch of RLI
Regimental Association.
These have been
both encouraging
and creative!!
To date
I have a mailing
list of 80 Registered
ex RLI members
here in the
UK and 22 of
these definitely
interested in
the Reunion
in February
2008. I shall
send out monthly
reminders to
get an idea
of the required
numbers for
catering!! Please
spread the word
as we can’t
let Australia
and South Africa
steal a march
on us !! This
is not cricket!
The date
I propose for
this Reunion
is Saturday,
9th February,
2008.The venue
is the RAFA
Club, Bedford,
easily accessible
from Luton Airport,
having good
rail and bus
links and also
between A1 and
M1 roads. The
club itself
has plenty of
car parking
space and is
just across
the road from
the railway
station and
a short walk
from the bus
terminus. There
are two reasonable
hotels nearby,
The Shakespeare
Hotel, tel:
01234 213147,
walking distance
www.shakespearehotel.com
or
info@shakespearehotel.com
and Travelodge
Bedford Hotel
tel: 0871 984
6276, Fax 01234
270908 a short
taxi ride away.
The club is
open from 11am
and I shall
be there to
set up for our
meeting at midday
although the
scheduled start
time will be
2 pm.
Tea and
sandwiches will
be available
on arrival as
well as a pay
bar, and our
first hour will
be taken up
with the formal
business of
electing our
Branch committee
i.e. a chairman
and secretary
etc votes according
to membership
as follows:
Full member
=2 votes ex
RLI folks
Associate- relatives
of deceased
RLI folks =
1 vote, Honorary-
no connection
to RLI but wish
to be associated
with same =
no vote.
A properly constituted
branch requires
a minimum of
8 members! A
cold buffet
will be available
at 5pm, thereafter
let battle commence!
I anticipate
the cost per
head no more
than £12.
Shaun Ryan,
is our representative
on the Executive
Committee, whose
task is to look
into the welfare
of the Troopie
Statue. This
is broken just
above the ankles
and is housed
with the Regimental
Colours in the
British Empire
and Colonial
Museum ( BECM)
in Bristol.
Shaun is a practising
lawyer and well
equipped to
deal with the
problems of
who will pay
and repair the
statue on our
behalf.
Simon McIlwaine
has found and
can recommend
a supplier of
embroidered
RLI polo shirts,
who seems fairly
reasonable,
their website
and business
page :http//www.lynelbys.co.uk/Aboutuspage.htm.
A few of you
are asking regarding
photographs
of the Saints
launch, please
check the website
www.therli.com
Also Chris
Cocks publishing
company,
www.30degreessouth.co.za
will be bringing
out a DVD.
From Alex
Binda,
Hi
Guys, had to
share to this
one with you
all. The "Saints"
was written
for ouens like
Gerry and his
family, his
email makes
it all worthwhile
! Cheers Alex.
Hi Alex,
Well done on
an excellent
book, long overdue.
My son and I
assemble a Rhodesia
library, and
to date have
all the main
“definitive
“ books on the
BSAP, the Scouts,
SAS, Pride of
Eagles, also
the book Contact,
a limited edition
of Badcocks’s
Shadows of War,
Ian Smith’s
Great Betrayal
(signed) etc
and many other
books relating
to the country
of my birth.
Your book is
arguably the
best in our
growing collection,
but my opinion
would be very
biased in that
I am one of
four brothers
who all had
a connection
with the RLI
My oldest
brother Adriaan
joined the RLI
as a boy soldier
in1966 and is
listed in your
book as a recipient
in 1975 of the
Non-Operational
MFC. He was
initially with
1Cdo and I remember
him telling
us of his participation
in Op Cauldron
in1968, including
the death of
Tpr Thornley
towards the
end of that
operation. In
August 1978
he went on a
Para course
in Bloemfontein
to get his wings,
he ended up
sergeant in
MT and is now
living in Lydenburg
RSA, having
left Zim 1984.
My second
eldest brother,
Daniel joined
a few years
later and was
corporal in
2Cdo.He also
spent some time
in the RP. He
loved the army,
and had an excellent
collection of
photos from
the border patrol
days. A few
of these photos
had been taken
by Scope magazine
and included
in one of their
many articles
on the Rhodesian
war, he is pictured
at the rear
of a stick,
carrying an
MAG. Unfortunately
all these photos
were lost as
he was tragically
killed in 19999
in a hit and
run car accident
two months before
we left Zim
for the UK,
and I don’t
know what his
estranged wife
would have done
with them-such
an important
and exciting
part of our
lives lost!
My third
eldest brother,
Jo’ did his
national service
with RLI in
1974/1975.Their
training officer
was the decorated
WO Ed Fouche.
Jo subsequently
on RR call-up,
was seriously
wounded in a
post contact
sweep in Kandeya,
Mt Darwin in
1977- his failed
night time casevac
from Karanda
Mission is mentioned
in Beryl Salt’s
Pride of Eagles.
He was eventually
casevaced by
road to Andrew
Fleming, where
the medical
staff successfully
patched up his
severely perforated
abdomen, compliments
of a stick grenade.
Upon leaving
school in 1974,
I joined Intaf
with the naïve
view to making
a career out
of it, including
government University
sponsorship.
This did mean
that my that
my National
service training
in1976 would
be in-house,
but I was not
to know , until
debussing at
the Intaf training
facility at
Chikurubi, that
our whole team
of training
officers were
fresh from RLI,
prior to their
secondment to
Guard Force.
The team was
headed by one
Robin Tarr (ex
RSM, RLI), Terry
Wilde (ex WO,
RLI ) and two
ex RLI corporals,
one being Paddy
Gallacher, a
ruthless, hard
man who scared
us shitless.
Don’t let anyone
say that Intake
4 (NS 150 )
had it easy
!!
Ron
Reid-Daly indicated
in his book
on the Scouts
that he was
looking at something
similar on the
RLI, so my son
and I, in our
surfing for
Rhodesiana,
have always
been on the
lookout for
that RLI bible
.Thank you for
not only filling
the gap, but
also for doing
so in such a
professional
manner- the
memories keep
flooding back.
Kind
regards,
Gerry van
Tonder, Derby,
England
Any other
news gratefully
received or
suggestions!!
My address
:
Martyn
Hudson
"Corner
view"
School
Lane
Bolnhurst
Bedfordshire
MK44 2EN
TEL : 01234
376712
Mobile:
07788788095
Cheers
Martyn
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