Page 70 - Mercian Eagle 2012

Warrant Officers And Sergeants Mess
With the PMC breathing a sigh of
relief on a command appointment successfully passed thoughts now turn to the future. The Warrant Officers and Sergeants Mess are eagerly anticipating the attendance of Major General Sharpe and Brigadier Williams at the Ferozeshah Dinner. Initially thought to be the final hurrah for such a prestigious evening
we now await to see how we will accommodate such important days as the Mercian Regiment moves forward.
Even with MST looming the Mess continues to reinforce its cohesion, attempting to build on its success during ‘pub night’ as our brothers in arms from the Garrison were invited into the Mess prior to deployment. CSM Ingram B Coy, 4 SCOTS highlighted the advantages of a large cranium whilst dealing with the
The Warrant Officers and Sergeants’ Mess members have been holding the Bn together like glue over what has been a very fragmented period of CT1-2 training during the build up to BATUS and the various different tasks that the Bn is undertaking. This with the added friction of only having, until recently,
2 Platoon commanders testing the metal of the Pl Sgts that are new in post.
The Handover of RSM took place on 5th June 12 and saw Capt Triandafilou move on to become BCMO and WO1 RSM Mears take post. This event was marked by the pulling out of the previous RSM from the Warrant Officers and Sergeants Mess and delivering him
to the Officers Mess. The Provost Sgt mustered the men street lining style
as the SNCOs said farewell through
the medium of port on the steps of the Warrant Officers and Sergeants Mess before placing the newly commissioned BCMO onto a Chesterfield trailer and dragging him through the Ranks to the Officers Mess where he was greeted by the Commanding Officer and the Officers Mess and forced to quaff champers.
The 15th June 2012 saw the Bn Host the Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire
Mr Ian Dudson CBE. A Battalion photo was conduced and then LS and GC presentations were presented in the Mess to Sgt Howdle, Sgt Steyert and Cpl Chambers followed by a finger buffet.
A ‘Hollywood’ theme was chosen for the Summer Ball with a fantastic amount of effort placed both into individual outfits and collectively as the outdoor plan was thrown into last minute chaos.
As the rear of the Mess danced to the sound of jigsaws, drills, the swish of paintbrushes and the occasional clang of marquee tubing it would have made the A team proud .
Whilst the Mess paraded for marquee erecting early on the morning of the event the Fallingbostel weather was particularly unkind. As the hours passed and leak after leak forced its way through various channels on the car
park the thought of hours of Fred Astaire impressions amongst lighting sets and sodden carpets forced the event indoors.
As the guests made their way past the Oscars and up the red carpet the paparazzi awaited. Each table would have made Madame Tussauds envious and highlighted an
impressive level of
imagination. What was
most worrying was
the level of comfort
shown from the large
contingent of cross
dressers who made
the most of embracing
their feminine side on
the night!
After the prize draw, band and fantastic food the night was topped off with the star performer of the evening. For once this title wasn’t given to WSM Walker but to ‘Chrystal’ who brought the house down with her set of comedy and song. The PMC willingly volunteered to act as assistant on set along with Sgt Brown with both still maintaining that it was particularly cold in the Mess that night.
Geography section of the pub quiz ensuring both the PMC and RSM were part of the winning team
The Mess eagerly awaits the challenge
of the Corporals Mess on the next games night and is particularly
looking forward to the warm welcome into the Officers Mess this Christmas. After giving the Officers such a ‘hearty’ welcome last year the fast rope training onto the Officers Mess roof and working from the top floor down is going well.
Finally on thePhtoeriEzdownatrhdesWisaurpra!!nt Officers and Sergeants Mess is particularly looking forward to dining in Lt Col Davies as our new Commanding Officer and hoping that the night is a memorable one.
As the guests made their way past the Oscars and up the red carpet the paparazzi awaited.
68
Signals Platoon By Sgt D Pritchard and Cpl P Vass
After a busy year, and finding out that the Battalion is getting disbanded through the Army20/20 scheme, the Signals Platoon has decided to write a piece on the honour of the Signals Platoon “Battle” Flag.
The “Battle” flag became the hallmark of the 1st Battalion the Staffordshire Regiment, Signals Platoon, during a test exercise in Kenya in 1963.
The platoon was acting as ‘enemy’ during an exercise and unlike the rifle companies, they had no flag to identify themselves with. The RSO at the time was given two hours by the Commanding Officer to find some form of identification in which to ‘fight’ under.
Cpl Tom Mason, who was serving with the platoon at the time had a passionate interest in the American Civil War, and had taken a full size battle flag on exercise with him.
The flag was flown from a radio antenna during the exercise, appeasing the CO, and was officially adopted by the Signals Platoon. It has been flown by the Signals Platoon to this day. The original flag was used until 1981, when after seeing many years of service it was replaced by the platoon whilst serving in Gibraltar.
The replacement flag was flown by the RSWO in the 1991 Gulf War, serving as a rally point for all Signals Detachment Commanders
for orders. It was then flown until the late 1990s when it mysteriously disappeared.
In 2004 a full size Infantry
Battle Flag was presented to
The ‘Battle’ Flag
the Platoon by the outgoing
RSWO, WO2 Carl Cooper. It has
been handed over from RSWO to RSWO over the years, with the
RSWO being the custodian for this precious flag. This uniquely proud symbol was displayed permanently on an 8 metre mast outside of the platoon buildings in Tidworth until a misunderstanding during a visit by the Jamaican Defence Force forced its rather un- ceremonial and hasty removal from public view.
This flag has been taken on Operational tours all over the world including Telic 6, Telic 9, Herrick 14 and soon to be deployed on Herrick 19. However, the flag is deemed too precious to be flown on a regular basis and is kept with the RSWO. To this end, RSWO WO2 Lee Davies presented a replica flag, which is flown on all exercises and operational tours.
With the all three Battalions merging into two Battalions soon, we felt it only right, to share with the Mercian Eagle, the history that some members of the 3rd Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Staffords), Signals Platoon, will be bringing to their new posts.
THE MERCIAN EAGLE