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The Regimental Journal of The King’s Royal Hussars
WO2 (BSM) K F Bryant RVM
10thRoyalHussars(PWO)1960–1969 TheRoyalHussars(PWO)1969–1982
Kenneth Frank Bryant joined Junior Leaders Regiment Royal Armoured Corps as a boy in 1958, and after completing his training was posted to the band of the 10th Royal Hussars (PWO) in 1960, in Paderborn, West Germany.
But Ken wasn’t done with uniform just yet. He Joined the Yeomen Warders at the Tower of London in 1982 and served there for the next 25 years. It was a job that he absolutely loved, and he remained at the tower until he hung up his Beefeater’s hat in 2007. During his time as a Beefeater, he was awarded the Royal Victorian Medal (RVM) in the 2006 New year’s Honours list, of which he and his family were extremely proud.
Ken was a gentleman, fair-minded and with a heart of gold, always ready to reach out and help others. After retirement he volunteered to represent the Regimental Association on the Combined Cavalry Old Comrades Association (CCOCA) committee, helping to organise the annual Cavalry Memorial Parade in Hyde Park. He was awarded the Regimental Rosette for his outstanding work.
Ken was known by his friends and work colleagues as ‘Lofty’ a name given to him because of his 6 foot plus frame. He was a jolly good musician on the Tuba and Fanfare trumpet. Ken leaves his wife Mary and son Mark and will always be remem- bered and truly missed by those who knew him.
DG
1987 and his time in the Regiment, although short, marked him indelibly.
He initially travelled to Cape Town and then hitchhiked north through Africa, using his guile and initiative with great aplomb. A year or so after leaving he set up his own business in Cirencester, selling socks, pants and ties, largely by mail order and delivered in hampers. Then, in 1994, with a sleeping partner, he bought JH Pakeman & Sons, an ailing traditional tailor with more prestigious premises on the Market Place, relaunching it as the successful business Pakeman, Cato & Carter. Jonathan had a brilliant eye for detail and insisted on the finest materials for anything sold in his shop. He was par- ticularly good at persuading those attending the many fairs he went to at spending far more than they had intended! He had a desire to open in Chelsea but to no avail - it would have been a tremendous success.
Always fascinated by clocks, he signed up for a year’s horol- ogy course at West Dean College. It was a very practical course, which he completed with distinction and his eye for a good clock and practical understanding of horology stood him in excellent stead as he launched himself in his new career and rapidly ascended to prime position in the dealing community. He handled some of the finest and rarest clocks that have ever come to market, concentrating on the great age of English clockmaking, 1660 to1780, He dealt as a sole operator from 1998, and in 2006 joined forces with ex-Christie’s Ben Wright. They went their different ways in 2012, Jonathan acquiring Gerald E Marsh, a clock business in Winchester.
The annual stock catalogues that he started to produce from his first year heading Carter-Marsh were aimed at the annual Masterpiece fair at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea and have become essential reference works. Thomas Tompion 300 Years, which he co-authored in 2013 with Jeremy Evans and Ben Wright, is unlikely to be superseded as a biography and catalogue rai- sonné for many years. The most expensive of all sales at this June’s fair was the Silver Tompion, a grande sonnerie table clock
Ken served with the 10th Hussars until amalgamation with the 11th Hussars in 1969,
at which point the regiment became known as The Royal Hussars (PWO), serving at the time in Tidworth Garrison. Ken worked his way through the ranks and was promoted to WO2 in 1978 and appointed Band Sargent Major. He served with the band until his retirement from the army in 1982. He had served in Paderborn, Tidworth, Aden, Munster, Sennelager and Fallingbostel, and along the way had been awarded the General Service Medal for South Arabia, and later the long ser- vice and good conduct medal (LS & GC).
Lieutenant J W D Carter
14th/20thKing’sHussars1984-1987
Jonathan William David Carter was born in 1964. He was edu- cated at Beaudesert Park School and Radley College where he was not particularly distin- guished either academically or as a sportsman but stood out among contemporaries for his sense of style. He was awarded an army scholarship, and when he expressed a disinclination for a military career, his father pre- sented him with the bills for his
final terms. He went to Sandhurst in 1982.
Once there his reluctance was still more marked. When his pla- toon was ordered to capture a hill using all possible cover, he stood up and strolled forward. His CSgt instructor was so furi- ous that he laid the impertinent cadet flat with a punch. Each realised how badly this could have ended and no report went in. Later they apologised to each other, the CSgt pointing out that he didn’t want to be there either and they became good friends. Carter joined the 14th/20th King’s Hussars in Hohne in 1984 and, just prior to moving to Catterick, hosted a Farewell Party with fellow subalterns at a grid reference on the Ranges, simply because it had not been done before; it was a tremen- dous success with lunch held on a raft floating down a river. Whilst at Catterick he hunted with the Bedale Hunt and was reported to have been more concerned about his top hat than his mount when, on one occasion, he involuntarily renewed his acquaintance with the ground! He competed in the Bedale Hunt Race which was run over 2 miles of natural coun- try including hedges. In 1986 he served in Belize with Recce Troop. He proved to be a good officer, and as at school, he was always immaculately turned out. Despite a habit of inspecting the rooms of fellow subalterns to make sure that their civilian kit met his standards, and on occasion borrowing items that did, he was popular with both officers and men. He retired in
