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until 1988. He was then posted as SO1 DIS MOD London from 1988 to 1991. Following this tour he was then promoted
to Colonel and served as Head of BDLS (NA) in Washington DC until 1995 when
he became Commandant JACIG, at RAF Scampton to 1997. He then became Deputy Commander 8 Brigade Londonderry until retiring from the active list.
HINCE
Mrs Mary Clare HINCE, wife of the late Brig Charles Hince died on 2 January 2019 aged 89.
HOLMES
Lt Col PK HOLMES of Salisbury died on 12
May 2019 aged 79. He enlisted in the Coldstream Guards in 1957 and after rising to the rank of LSgt was commissioned in the Worcestershire Regiment
in 1960 serving with the 1st Battalion in BAOR, Gibraltar, Tobruk, as Captain of the bn team at the CENTO shooting meeting in Iran, in the 1969 UN tour in Cyprus
and as Adjt Mercian Bde Depot where
he captained the shooting team which
won the Minor Units championship. After amalgamation he served as OC C coy in 1 WFR in Berlin and NI where he was involved in quelling a major riot at the Maze Prison. He later served two tours in MOD, two with the School of Infantry, as Training Major and 2IC. On promotion to Lt Col he served at the RCB and ended his military career in 1994 at the Records Office in Exeter.
HOPKINS
484882 Maj Andrew Henry HOPKINS of Llanfaes, Brecon died
on 19 September 2018 aged 71. Andrew was commissioned into the Sherwood Foresters in 1969 and was appointed
Mortar Pl Comd 1st Battalion The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment 1971 to 1972 before taking up the post of RSO 1972 – 74 in Berlin. He was then posted to Infantry Junior Leaders Battalion 1974 to 1976 as RSO before taking up the post of IO in UK/NI with 1 WFR 1977 -78. In 1978 he was posted to UKLF as MILO until 1979 when he attended ASC Camberley to 1980. Andrew was then posted to HQ UDR as COS 1981 – 82 before being detached to 1st Hampshire Regiment as a Coy Comd in UK and Berlin 1983 to 1985. He was then appointed as Trg Major 3 WFR 1985 – 87 and left the Regiment on 29 September 1987.
IRELAND
Mrs June Ireland, wife of Major E A IRELAND, died on 30 December 2018
JACKSON
4975485 Sgt William Henry (Harry) JACKSON of Mansfield died on
7 July 2018 aged 99. Harry enlisted into the 8th Battalion Sherwood Foresters on 8 June 1937 and went with it in
April 1940 to Norway where he managed to make his way to Sweden where he was interned. He subsequently returned to the Battalion and in July 1941 transferred to the Pioneer Corps. Harry was President of Mansfield Branch and was a long serving staunch supporter of both the Branch and the wider Regimental Family and Military Veterans groups.
KILMINSTER
22672923 Sgt Maurice KILMINSTER of Derby died on Sunday 16 June aged 87.
Maurice was called up for National Service on 15 May 1952 and served with the 2nd Battalion Sherwood Foresters until his discharge on 6 May 1954. He re- enlisted as a Regular on 12 February 1960 and served in the 1st Battalion Sherwood Foresters and then 1st Bn Worcestershire & Sherwood Foresters on amalgamation. He was discharged on January 1982. During his service Maurice served in Malaya and Cyprus. He was awarded the GSM clasp Malaya, UN Cyprus and the LS & GC
LAKING
24515448 Pte John LAKING of Torquay died on 21 June 2018 in Rowcroft Hospice, Avenue Road, Torquay TQ2 5LS aged 62. John served with C Coy 3rd Battalion The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment from 26 April 1979 to 25 April 1981.
LANGHAM
311456 Capt Peter Rex LANGHAM MC who died on 9 February 2019 in a care home in Cheltenham, aged 94. Peter joined the Sherwood Foresters on an Emergency Commission, as a 2Lt on 4 March 1944.
He was promoted to Lt on 4 September 1944 and then to a Temp Capt on 26 July 1946. He was awarded the MC in 1945 for actions when serving in North West Europe. He also held the 39-45 Star, France and Germany Star and the War Medal.
LEIGHTON
23534001 CSgt John ‘Lotty’ LEIGHTON of Upton upon-Severn died on 9 July 2018 aged
75. He enlisted as a boy soldier in 1957 and joined 1 Worc R in Worcester in 1960. After an exercise in
Libya he served in Minden, Gibraltar, Tobruk and on a UN tour in Cyprus and remained with the Regiment on amalgamation and served with 1 WFR in Berlin, N Ireland, Belize and Hemer; a total of 18 years with the battalion, with 2 tours away at the Depot
and the TA in Worcester. Much of his early service was in the anti-tank platoon where he developed his comprehensive skills in identifying enemy vehicles and equipment. But it was as a marksman that he was best known. He competed annually at Bisley
for 18 years and was in the battalion team which won the Army championship 5 times. He was placed second in the individual rifle championship twice (Silver Jewel) and third twice (Bronze Jewel). In 1980 he was the National Rifle Association champion. He was in the Army Hundred, 15 times, in the Army VIII teams in SMG, Rifle and Pistol 17 times and in international teams 5 times.
A senior member of the ARA staff stated “He must stand amongst the greatest all- rounders ever; certainly, in modern times”
MEADOWS
Pte 24173927 David MEADOWS of
Brecon died on 14 September 2018
aged 67. Dave joined the Army prior to amalgamation and served with 1st Battalion The Worcestershire Regiment in UK, NI and Berlin with B Coy before transferring to the Pay Corps in 1974.
MELLOR
4979024 LCpl William Frank MELLOR of Chesterfield died on 15 September 2018 aged 100. Frank enlisted into the Sherwood Foresters in 1940 and was posted to 8th Foresters in Scotland on its return from Norway. He served the next two years
in Northern Ireland, before being sent to
the Officer Training Centre in Wrotham
near Maidstone. At Wrotham camp he
was initially placed in the cookhouse as
a GD man but once he was identified
as a Pte 1st Class he was posted to the Demonstration Platoon. In Spring 1944
he was in a draft of 26 posted to France and ended up temporarily attached to 2nd Bn The Seaforth Highlanders, and they crossed to France with 6th Bn The Duke
of Wellington’s on 12.6. 1944. When that
Bn was withdrawn to England, they joined 1st Leicesters in August 1944, Frank was now a Pte 1st Class, Bren, sten gun and 2” mortar operator. He served with that Bn for the remainder of the war, through Belgium and Holland. At Ede on 17 April 1945 Frank sustained a shrapnel injury to his left Hip and left elbow and forearm. After some time convalescing in medical units, he returned to 1st Bn Leicesters in July 1945 and served in Germany. He was demobilised in March 1946, and went to live in Chesterfield. In the French Government’s recognition of the part he (among very many others) played in the Liberation of France in 1944, on 6 January 2017 he was presented with the medal of Chevalier of the Légion d’honneur.
MILLWARD
Mrs Linda MILLWARD of Ashbourne, Derbyshire died on 14 November 2018. Linda, along with her husband Tony who died on 3 September 2018, was an ardent supporter and fundraiser for The Mercian Regiment.
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