Page 111 - MERCIAN Eagle 2011

BAILEY Reginald CSgt
of Rugeley, Staffordshire died on 16 May 2011 aged 80. He was called up for National Service in May 1949 and joined the 1st Battalion The Worcestershire Regiment in Gottingen, BAOR. In 1950 when the 1st
Battalion went to Malaya he transferred to the 1st Battalion The Cheshire Regiment and demobilized in 1951. Reg then became a member of B Coy 5/6 North Staffords (TA) in Rugeley and was appointed the first CQMS C Coy Mercian Volunteers (Burton on Trent) in 1967 and in civilian life worked as a painter and decorator for Cannock Chase District Council until retirement. He was a staunch supporter of the Association and was Branch Secretary of the Rugeley and District Branch WFRA.
BASSETT John Michael O’Reilly MBE Colonel of Shrewsbury died on 15 December 2010 aged 80. He enlisted at Derby into The Sherwood Foresters Regiment in 1948 and after a short period of other ranks service he
was commissioned in September 1949. He was first posted as Coy 2IC and RSO to the Royal West African Field Force and then in 1951 he returned to the 1st Battalion The Sherwood Foresters Regiment as IO and Assistant Adjutant and served in the BAOR, Egypt and Cyrenaica. In 1953 he transferred to the 2nd Battalion The Sherwood Foresters Regiment taking the post of MTO/ Tech Adjt before assuming the appointment of OC HQ Coy. After amalgamation of the 1st and 2nd Battalions, John then transferred to the RAOC. In 1976 he was awarded an MBE after a period of service at BRIXMIS in East Germany. On leaving the Army in 1976 he took up employment as a Regular Army Careers Officer in Cheshire and also became Commandant Cheshire ACF in February 1983.
BEARD Sam G T WO2 of Malvern, Worcestershire died on 9 July 2011. He enlisted as a Territorial in 1938 and joined the 8th Battalion, The Worcestershire Regiment. Mobilised in 1939 he was stationed at Norton Barracks for two
years and was then posted to the 12th Battalion. He then moved to Reykjavik, Iceland on 8 June 1941 remaining with the Battalion until it was converted to 179 Field Regiment Royal Artillery in February 1942. He continued to serve throughout the North West Europe Campaign from June 1944 until May 1945. He was demobilized and became a Territorial in 1962 and continued to serve until 1966 and commanded the Malvern ACF detachment.
BENTON Mervyn from Wolverhampton died in August 2011. Mervyn was in the Mercian Regiment Volunteers and 3rd Battalion, The Staffordshire Regiment and rose to the rank of Warrant Officer. His funeral took place on the 12th August at St. Peter’s Church, Walsall.
BLAGDON George Kirton Pte of Clifton, Nottingham died on 23 June 2011 aged 84.
BOLAS John John Bolas died in St. Giles Hospice on 1st June, aged 74. John was a National Servicemen and served with
1st Battalion, The South Staffordshire Regiment. He was a well known member of Hednesford Branch of the Regimental Association. His funeral took place at the RC Church in Cannock on Monday 16th June at 1000 hrs and a substantial number of Staffordshire Regiment Association members attended.
BOOKER Lewis “Lew” Pte of Long Eaton, Derbyshire died on 28 September 2010 aged 91. As a member of the
Anti Tank Platoon 2/5th Battalion The Sherwood Foresters Regiment, Lew was taken prisoner at Tamera, Tunisia. He
was incarcerated in a camp in Italy from which he escaped in September 1943 and eventually reached British lines. After the war he returned to his pre-war work as a plumber for HW Bower Ltd of Beeston, Notts. He worked for the company until retirement on his 65th birthday. As founder member of the 2/5th Association Branch he regularly attended their meetings until the Branch disbanded.
BOWERS CSgt CSgt Bowers joined the Drums of the 6th Bn North Staffs in 1957 and stayed with them until he joined the Royal Signals for his National Service in Germany. He re-joined the Drums in the early 1970’s with 1 Mercian V at Burton
and then became the Regimental Mascot handler following the formation of the 3rd Bn The Staffordshire Regiment in 1988.
He died in September this year at St Giles hospice, Lichfield. Members of the Mercian Volunteers and The Staffordshire Regimental Associations attended his funeral.
BRENNAN Michael Ward Lt Col
Lieutenant Colonel Michael Brennan died on Saturday 8th October 2011 at Charing Cross Hospital, aged 97. Mike was born on 15th January 1914 and was commissioned into The South Staffordshire Regiment
in August 1935. He served with the 1st Battalion in Aldershot, Dover and Palestine, before postings to the School of Signals in Catterick and 5th South Staffords in Alnwick and Northern Ireland, in 1940 – 1. In March 1942 he was promoted to Captain and posted to the 2nd South Staffords, joining them in Kingsclere and taking part in the Operation Husky Glider Landing into Sicily.
In January 1944 he attended Staff College and in September 1944 became Brigade Major of 5 Parachute Brigade. He
served with the Brigade in Normandy, the Ardennes and Holland. He was wounded on Operation Varsity, the Rhine Crossing. After the War he served in a variety of staff and regimental appointments, including serving with the 1st South Staffords in Egypt. He took over the Battalion in Cyprus and was the last Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion, The South Staffordshire Regiment until the amalgamation in 1959.
After serving in the Army, Mike became a driving instructor and he enjoyed holidays in France, which his family claim seemed
to be routed via casinos. Mike and his wife Sally lived for many years in Painswick in Gloucestershire, but in 2006 they moved to East Sheen in London.
Mike is succeeded by his widow Sally. He had two sons, Andrew and James and a daughter called Virginia. A service of thanksgiving took place at Painswick in Gloucestershire.
BROWN John Patrick ‘Bomber’ Pte of Nottingham died on 26 February 2011 aged 71. ‘Bomber’ enlisted into the 1st Battalion Sherwood Foresters Regiment in 1958 and served in B Coy in Malaya, Ireland, Germany
and Cyprus. He left the Army in 1966.
BROWN Leslie Norman Pte of Kingsbridge, Devon died on 27 September 2010 aged 83. He joined the 1st Battlaion The Worcestershire Regiment in 1945 and served in Germany, Italy, and Yugoslavia, he was also a member of the Battalion Cross Country Running Team. After demobilization, in 1948, he became an electrician at the Rover Car Company Longbridge and also assisted his wife with their antique business and at her childrens’ nursery school.
BRUCE Tony Cpl of Harborne, Birmingham died on 20 January
2011 aged 56. He joined the 1st Battalion The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment in 1970 and became a member of the Band, then he
transferred to play in the Band of the Coldstream Guards leaving the Army in 1993. He played the saxophone and clarinet and after he left the Army was employed as a musician in the London West End shows including Whistle Down the Wind, Cabaret, Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat and Blood Brothers.
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