Page 3 - Four Cavalry Regiments (Crest)

The Regimental Journal of The King’s Royal Hussars 17
C (11H) Squadron
The experience of 2020 so far for C Sqn has been much like the rest of the country; equal parts endless uncertainty, relative isolation and a distinct lack of summer holidays. The challenge to maintain the slick and handsome reputation of C Sqn lay heavily on the shoulders of the command structures within. The officers and soldiers of C Sqn leapt to this task with gusto and creative genius. Below are their stories.
1st Tp
In a turbulent and oft stagnant twelve months, 1st Tp did our level best to fight the odds and make the year an interesting one. Tpr’s Dean and Thomas deployed to the Philippines for a diving expedition in those heady days before terms such as ‘social dis- tancing’ were well established in our lexicon. LCpl Knight was fortunate enough to be on a battlefield study to Israel. While he was notably junior in rank compared to others on the trip, he proved no fish out of water in his knowledge of the subject matter in question.
Not long after these trips recovered, the Tp was dispersed to look after their families and wait out the health crisis of our time, the COVID-19 virus. Outlooks changed from trotting the globe to trotting around the garden - saved for our precious one hour of allotted exercise a day. We grew accustomed to a weekly press- up challenge, won by the Tp’s newest member Tpr House. SOPs changed from tank drills to Zoom drills and all became accus- tomed to muting their mic at the start of a call and turning their camera off to save bandwidth – certainly not as an opportunity to catch some sleep!
PDRC came and went, and before we knew it eight months of the year had trundled by. Upon returning to work in somewhat normal conditions in September we set about taking over tanks and preparing for the much-discussed Tp tests. A week-long
preparatory dismounted exercise in Aldershot unsurprisingly produced a handful of amusing anecdotes. Cpl Hayes proved too much for a stretcher to handle, Tpr Dean developed an unortho- dox war cry and an ambush was accidentally sprung by an old lady and her dog. The Tp’s track plan proved a danger to local cyclists as the comms cord served more as a garrotting wire than a soldier’s tactical aid when they, totally oblivious, hurtled into it at some speed. Much to our mirth.
All in all, 2020 may not have been anyone’s year, but the custom- ary perky nature of the Tp interspersed with moments of hilarity and a good dose of the tank park towards the end has given it a familiar feel.
2nd Tp
(Based on real events)
Day –7
Leading from the front and pre-empting the national lockdown, Lt Howlett self-isolates for a week after mistaking his hangover for symptoms of COVID. 2nd Tp’s work output is unaffected.
Day 0
2nd Tp disperse far and wide across the
AN