Page 54 - The KRH Year of 2023 (CREST Sharing)

54 The Regimental Journal of The King’s Royal Hussars
The ‘grey city’ of Berlin was brightened in October by the presence of 35 red-blooded cavalier JNCOs on this year’s Battlefield Study which focused on the Soviet armoured advance towards Berlin in the final months of The Second World War. Prior to the ‘grey city’ a study period was held in Bovington, for many the nostalgic return to Bovington’s famed Stanley Barracks was superseded by the introduction of Lt Col Matthew ‘Sticky’ Whitchurch (RE, Ret’d) and his energetic introductions to the study phase of our trip. An opportunity for everyone to embrace the mindset of German efficiency, not a minute was wasted for Sticky’s passionate explanations on Soviet and German movements around Berlin in 1944. This enthusiasm was topped only by Sticky’s entourage in the form of the ‘Soviet Forward Detachment’, embodied wholeheartedly by living historians Will Kerr and Frankie Pulham, whose commitment to the cause was evident in their valiant efforts to style themselves in period dress. Lessons at The Tank Museum aided our understand- ing of 1940s firepower and helped lay the groundwork for the rest of our trip. The final evening concluded, with the help from our Soviet comrades, with the assembly of a period weapon stand amounting to over £250,000 of rare munitions. An addition to the night was an incredible dis- covery from SSM Thorpe (C Sqn) who was surprised to find his SS-clad football teammate hidden amidst the display.
With the Berlin Hawks now laden with study guides and map books, the trip to Berlin could finally begin. Sticky
Whitchurch’s arrival to London Heathrow in a pinstripe suit, overcoat and fedora was extremely well met, and soon we were making our way across to Eastern Germany, Seelow for the analysis of the main German defensive line. Chatham ‘Coach’ rules were quickly learnt and applied as the team were expertly guided by Sticky’s melodic tones across the Oder River towards the defensive fortress at Kostryzn, Poland, on a hop-on hop-off tour across rural Germany and its various battlegrounds. The first evening was cemented with an excellent buffet dinner as well as a must-see watch of Downfall, improved greatly by several alarmingly accurate impressions from across the cohort.
Diligently following the route taken by Soviet attackers into Berlin, the Hawks warmly welcomed their arrival to the busy capital. In a true embrace of Berliner life, with most choosing to exploit their night ventures at Maxims or Berghain, the mandatory morning coach visit to the local Golden Arches was key to ensuring success and survivabil- ity for the next day’s study. Visits to the German-Russian Museum, the Leipzig Memorial, and the Soviet War Graves at Treptow Park kept the group on their toes and enabled an excellent delivery from Sticky on the progress and eventual victory of the Soviet armoured march. Rounding off the trip with a final presentation on lessons learnt, the Hawks bid a sad farewell to the Fatherland, making our way back across the water, a few steins heavier and happier.
MB
Ex BERLIN HAWK
The Regiment was honoured to host the Rt Hon Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker of the House of Commons, and Mr John Sweeney, veteran BBC investigate journalist turned Ukrainian war reporter, for this year’s Flashman Lecture series. A Flashman Lecture is where notable individuals are invited to address the Regiment, sharing their life’s experi- ences or providing a unique perspective on a particular event of significance.
September saw the welcoming of Mr John Sweeney, identified by his notorious bright orange beanie that has been a daily fixture of his War Diary on X, where Mr Sweeney often gives daily war updates and life from the Ukrainian perspective. The beanie has now become synonymous with the Ukrainian resist- ance against Russian aggression, although its original purpose was to ensure that the Ukrainians would not misidentify him on the front and shoot him.
Mr Sweeney gave an insight into the reality of life and the con- ditions faced by ordinary people on Ukraine’s eastern front because of Russian aggression. Detailed evidence of alleged Russian war crimes, including the use of chemical weapons and torture, which he unearthed was accounted in his docu- mentary Under Deadly Skies: Ukraine’s Eastern Front and sub- mitted to the International Criminal Court as evidence against Russia’s actions.
Mr Sweeney spoke extensively on the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, and gave his own personal and psychological review of the leader. Having followed the President’s rise to
Mr Speaker leading the charge
power and then been a war reporter in the Second Chechen War and subsequent conflicts, Mr Sweeney has seen first- hand the policies of President Putin. In one account in 2014, Mr Sweeney spoke of how he was sent to Siberia, by the BBC, to ask President Putin of Russian involvement of the shooting down of flight MH17 over Ukraine. Disguised as a professor of mammotholgy (down to his looks supposedly), Mr Sweeney ambushed the Russian President whilst he was speaking to senior Russian professors. Mr Sweeney spoke of how he was later taken away and put on a flight back to the UK, not before receiving a punch to the stomach.
Flashman Lecture Series