Page 78 - QDG Year of 2020

76 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards
Sadly the following deaths were notified to the Regimental Secretary throughout 2020.
Name Regiment
D C Finnan KDG
B Simpson KDG
WO1 (Bandmaster) T Royley QDG
Maj P de Berniere-Smart BAYS/QDG Maj A T Marsden QDG
G A Ellis QDG
J W Hall BAYS/QDG T M Fegan QDG
C J Holmes KDG/QDG Sir Desmond Rice KCVO CBE BAYS/QDG P Hartwell KDG/QDG Lt Col C A Eade TD DL BAYS
Col R F M Windsor CBE DL BAYS
Maj J A Moreton MBE KDG/QDG R.A. Opperman BAYS
L Holmes QDG
T Davies QDG
D R King QDG
A P Sykes Bays
A J Beavis Bays/QDG T Williams QDG
Served Dec’d Age
1950 - 1952 Dec 19
1956 - 1959 Jan 20 83 1975 - 1981 Feb 20
1942 – 1959 Mar 20 96 1961 – 1978 Mar 20 80 1960 - 1982 Mar 20 80 1954 - 1965 Apr 20 84
June 20 1956 – 1959 June 20
1943 – 1979 July 20 95 1949 - 1975 July 20
1948 - 1949 Aug 20 90 1944 – 1952 Oct 20 95 1948 - 1984 Oct 20 91 1956 – 1957 Nov 20 84 1960’s Nov 20
1986 - 1997 Nov 20 52 1970 – 1982 Dec 20 72
1955 – 1957 Dec 20 85
1956 – 1959 Dec 20 82
1959 - 1983 Jan 21 82
Harry Peter Russell was one of three who commis- sioned on 16 April 2016 in The Regiment. Harry is eldest son of a distinguished Royal Air Force Officer and so it was inevitable and much to his father’s pride that he joined the Welsh Cavalry.
Harry left Kingswood School, Bath, in 2009
and after a cliché Gap Year began work on a
Graduate Scheme for Amazon – little did they
know that they would be welcoming him back
years later. Here he learned a lot about himself
and where he testifies his humbleness origi-
nated. Soon after commissioning, Harry and his
peers started a summer Troop Leaders course
in Bovington. Harry managed to avoid going on
Platoon Commanders’ Battle Course in Brecon by cunningly booking a holiday and seeking permission for said holiday whilst at Boisdales one Cavalry Memorial. So, whilst the other two QDGs were getting ready for sixteen weeks in Brecon, Harry was getting ready for a stint in the mess. To this day Harry insists that he was just as busy due to a one-week exercise in Slovenia and a two-day Cambrian Patrol Competition.
After completing tactics, Harry had the good fortune of trans- ferring to C Squadron for Ex DIAMONDBACK in the summer of 2017. It was perhaps during AT after the exercise that Harry added most value by organising charity work for himself and two of his brother officers. He spent the day litter picking
around Yosemite National Park, demonstrating his grounding.
A few short months after returning from Cali- fornia Harry found himself on his way out to Sierra Leone. He spent four months there as the 7 Bde Defence Engagement Officer organising and leading multiple STTTs as well as acting as the battle captain for the first Democratic Elec- tions. Harry’s time in Sierra Leone was immensely successful, not due to the fact that he lost 12kg, but because of being awarded a Brigade Commander’s Commendation. A year later Harry was back in Africa, this time as SO3 J3/5 in Kenya. He commanded the force protection platoon and
acted as a gofer for BATUK. Harry still found time to enjoy himself on safari and spend plenty of time fishing.
Harry signed off soon after returning from Kenya and proposed to his now wife India. Although he had signed off, Harry’s hard work did not stop. He went on to organise a mess shoot and deployed on Ex WESSEX STORM as B Squadron 2iC’s 2ic, never surrendering even to the end.
Harry now lives in Lincolnshire with India and their three dogs and enjoys the slower pace of life in the country.
We wish them all well in the future and look forward to welcoming him back as a Leatherseller.
EJMH
Valetes
Captain Harry Russell