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The Regimental Journal of The King’s Royal Hussars Major W H Bentley MBE
considerable public agitation to make the ranges more open to the public, and many locally, particularly the commercial fish- ermen, wished them to be closed completely.
Bill swiftly identified the problem areas, and with his efficiency, courtesy and tact, along with his energetic tackling of the prob- lem, quickly re-established good relations with the locals. He introduced new and more flexible regulations, including invit- ing the local fishermen to be a part of the Safety Committee. As a result, pressure from those living nearby greatly reduced, and the proposal to close the ranges completely was not implemented. His success in solving this serious problem, which could have affected the training of the whole RAC, was rewarded by a well-deserved MBE.
Bill’s character and way of going about things are fully illus- trated in this. He was never a man for noise and flamboyance, tolerating with quiet enjoyment social engagements. As a sen- ior NCO and Sergeant Major, he could show all the firmness and strictness needed, but he preferred to achieve his objec- tives by quiet and intelligent reason, making himself the mas- ter of his subject, and acting with politeness and tact. His career was a success, and both the Regiment and the Armoured Corps in general owe him a great deal.
His last posting was as a Range Officer at Castlemartin, from which he retired in 1980, living the rest of his life peacefully in
14th/20th​King’s​Hussars​1944​-​1980
Major Bill Bentley, who died in April 2023, was born in 1925 and joined the 14th/20th King’s Hussars in 1944, during the tur- bulent period when they were in Persia, Palestine and Egypt before going into action in Italy in the last few months of the war. He elected to stay on in the Army and had a successful career in the Regiment. His great efficiency and his capacity for detailed hard work were rewarded by steady
promotion and he became Squadron Sergeant Major to both A Squadron and C Squadron. His particular talent lay in in the technical field and in the early sixties he became Regimental Technical Quartermaster Sergeant.
He was not just technically qualified, but also an expert in tank gunnery, and it was in this field that he showed his greatest talent later in life.
Bill was commissioned into the Regiment in 1965 and became Technical Quartermaster.
His regimental service ended in 1971, when he was posted as Range Officer to the RAC Gunnery School at Lulworth. At this time the future of lands owned by the armed forces was being examined by the Nugent Committee who recommended that the Lulworth ranges be closed. At the same time there was
Wales.
JRS
WO1 (RSM) W J Bingham
14th/20th​King’s​Hussars​1947​-​1978
Bill Bingham, who died on 20 August 2023, was one of that dwindling band of soldiers who joined for National Service just after the Second World War and stayed on for a full career. His generation saw the Regiment change from a wartime entity to a fighting unit in NATO. When he joined most Officers and NCOs had fought in the war, having been mechanized only eight years before. The ethos of
Sergeant Major when the Regiment were in Paderborn and later in Tidworth. As RSM he was a great success. He was an old-fashioned disciplinarian, and with his tall, well set-up fig- ure and his strong jaw he looked the part. He was intolerant of slackness and inefficiency, and while basically kindly he ensured that malefactors were dealt with, and seen to be dealt with. He was a hard man, but his fairness and integrity made him greatly respected. Moreover, like all good RSMs he had his finger on the pulse of the Regiment, and his knowledge of how soldiers were thinking, what was going on in the barrack rooms and his feel for the morale among the NCOs and men was profound, and a factor in the efficiency of us all. In this he had sensitivity and tact, knowing what needed to be dealt with officially and what unofficially.
It was during his time that HRH The Princess Anne was appointed Colonel-in-Chief, and the responsibility for organ- izing the parade for her formal appointment was a major task for Bill Bingham. Complicated and unfamiliar as the ceremony was, it was a great success and very much to the credit of the RSM.
On leaving the Army he worked for a variety of firms as an administrator, but on full retirement he and his wife Connie bought a property in Cyprus where they spent several years before moving back to England for their declining years. Life in Cyprus was not just relaxation. They noticed that in the Turkish Zone there were many stray dogs, usually unhealthy and that there were few facilities for them. Bill and Connie spent much time winning the confidence of such dogs and when they were tame enough to be lured into a crate would take them to a Vet
the Horse was still strong in it, and the Army was reducing its Imperial role and moving to a structure and training system designed to fight and win a nuclear war in Europe. Little over ten years after he joined the Regiment National Service ended and the Army became regular and professional.
Bill Bingham’s career was a success through all this turbu- lence, ending as Regimental Sergeant Major. He achieved this not through deep thought and flexibility but rather through his integrity, his loyalty and his determination to do his duty as he saw it to the best of his ability. He had no qualms about demanding hard work both in himself and others. In his time he served with the Regiment in Germany, Sabratha, Benghazi, and Cyprus, in both tanks and armoured cars, and also in that period in the late 50s when the Regiment were “Taxi drivers”, manning the APCs that carried the infantry.
His competence as an NCO brought him to be SSM of A Squadron and in 1969 he was selected to be Regimental