Page 118 - MERCIAN Eagle 2011

116
VALLANCE Robert Capt Robert served with 5/8 Foresters and D Company 1 Mercian in Nottingham from the very beginning until he moved to Oxfordshire due to pressure of work and joined the 4RGJ. He was a very keen Huntsman
and served as Secretary to the Bicester with Wadham Chase Hunt for many years. The photograph is of him with his platoon on the deployment of B Company 1 Mercian V to Cyprus. Members of the Association attended the Service of Thanksgiving.
WALKER Gerald Brooks Lt MC of Burnham, Buckinghamshire died on 19 January 2011. He joined the Army in 1942-43 and in December 1943 received an emergency commission with the 6th Royal Berkshire Regiment, he was then posted to C.M.F in February 1944 and
then was attached to the 2nd Battalion The Sherwood Foresters in April 1944. He was posted to the 14th Battalion and joined them at Anzio. He was Platoon Commander 11 Platoon D Company he received an
MC for his outstanding gallantry during
an attack, later he was wounded at San Savino. He returned to UK and served with The Royal Berkshire Regiment at No 17 ITC until April 1945. He then retired from the Army and took up a career in the theatre
as a stage manager. He later worked in film and television working for the BBC. After retirement he travelled extensively.
WEIR David ‘Dave’ Pte of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire died on 3 July 2011 aged 63. He joined The Royal Army Service Corps in September 1963 and served
as a storeman until May 1975. He then joined the HSF Mansfield and then later the 3rd Battalion The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment. In civilian life he worked as a coal miner and later for Mansfield Brewery.
WESTWOOD Raymond Michael Pte of Bolsover, Derbyshire died on 26 January 2011.
WILDE, Philip Lt Col
Born in April 1944 in Marple, Cheshire, and having been educated in the County, it was natural that Philip should be commissioned into the 22nd. Joining the Regiment in Munster in September 1965, Philip’s
Sandhurst training was soon to be put to the test by his Platoon Sergeant, the redoubtable Sergeant Lees, formerly SAS, who was to quickly redefine Philip’s formally trained tactical mindset. Together they formed a good team, distinguishing themselves on one occasion when 1 CHESHIRE were enemy ‘Red Force’, with
the Platoon single handedly bringing a large NATO exercise to an untimely end 24 hours early, by making off with the ‘Blue (NATO) Force’ entire petrol resupply under cover of darkness! Regimental duty took him through postings in UK, Bahrain, Berlin, two Op Banner tours and to the Staff College in 1977. From there he returned as a Company Commander in Minden, including another Op Banner tour. His travels then took him to a Staff job in Hong Kong, back to Northern Ireland as Training Major to 4 UDR and thence to Warminster as an instructor at the JDSC. Philip’s selection to be first CO of 3 Cheshire in 1986 was an admirable choice, bearing in mind his County roots and his previous experience as a successful Adjutant of The Mercian Volunteers. This fledgling TA Battalion needed the impetus and drive which Philip gave it. And under his leadership from January 1987 to August 1989, the Battalion made its mark and was highly respected for its achievements. On retirement from the Army in 1997, he took up a position within the Royal British Legion (RBL) as the Head of Membership Training. His dedication was recognised by the award of the RBL Gold Badge, its highest accolade. He retired from the RBL in 2009 on his 65th birthday. Philip brought a boundless enthusiasm into everything he tackled; he had an unquenchable joie de vivre which rubbed off on all with whom he came in contact, which he retained to the end, and above all, he was an example to us all on how to lead a full life. Philip was without doubt a rare example of a multi-faceted individual who was truly able to find a proper balance between his professional and family lives; and the fact that his son and his son-in law are serving officers in the Regiment, means his legacy lives on.
WILLIAMS George Cpl
of Sawley, Derbyshire died on 22 October 2011. He enlisted into the 2nd Battalion The Sherwood Foresters
in January 1942 and served in North Africa and Italy where he was badly wounded. He left
the Army in January 1947 and was later employed at Plessey, Beeston.
WILLIAMS Noel Trevor St John Col of Chester died on 27 January 2011 aged 92. He was granted an emergency commission in the 8th Battalion Sherwood Foresters in 1941 and was posted to the School of Oriental
Studies then attached to the Intelligence Corps in 1944 where he was involved in the interrogation of Japanese POWs. He was demobilized in 1945 but later rejoined into the Army Education Corps. He was
Captain of the 8th Battalion Sherwood Foresters Soccer Team and also played in the Army Soccer Team in Singapore and qualified as a Class I Football Association Referee. He retired from Army Service in 1971 and took up employment as the District Education Officer of Education for Cheshire County Council.
WOODHOUSE Roy Pte of Tividale, Oldbury, West Midlands died in November 2010. He was a National Serviceman who served with The Worcestershire Regiment from 1952-54.
WRIGHT Dennis Pte
of Rolleston on Dove, Staffordshire died on
4 October 2010 aged 67. He enlisted into The Worcestershire Regiment and served in Minden, Gibraltar, Dominica and UK. After leaving the Army he worked for Pirelli
for 27 years.
YEATMAN Wilfred Pte of Beechdale, Nottingham died on 15 September 2011 aged 85. He enlisted into the 2nd Battalion Sherwood Foresters in 1943 and served in Italy and Palestine and discharged in 1948.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Associates, Friends and Relatives of the Regiment
BAXTER, Mrs Alison
Mrs Alison Baxter (nee Clayton) joined the
then Int & Sy Gp (V), subsequently 3 MI Bn (V), on commissioning from the University of London OTC in October 1995. On arrival, she served with 29 Int & Sy Coy (V)
as a Recruit Training Section Commander before joining 24 Int Coy (V) where she became OC 241 (JSIO) Section. It was with 24 Coy that she spent the majority of her TA career.
Alison died on 30 March 2010 after
a brave struggle against cancer. She is survived by her husband, Maj Mike Baxter MERCIAN, and their daughter, Alexa.
BELL June Wife of Reverend Joe Bell, Padre 1 FORESTERS Northern Ireland 1961-63 died on 1 August 2011.
CAVENDISH Peter Maj Gen (Retd) CB OBE DL died on 24 October 2011 aged 86, long time Trustee of the Vesting Trustees of the Regimental Memorial, Crich.
THE MERCIAN EAGLE