Page 39 - Chiron Autumn/Winter 2023

RAVC
Association
– The
Outsider
by Graham N A Eustace, Honorary RAVC Association Member (also Royal Tigers Association [Royal Leicestershire Regiment] General Committee Member)
It is both right and proper that army personnel have a distinct loyalty to their Corps or Regiment for it is that cohesive quality that produces the
finest in the field of conflict.
Outsiders are naturally viewed with some doubt,
intruders even, and such attitudes are living proof that Corps or Regiment unity is working at its best in fostering the competitive spirit, for that is what it is designed to do.
It was in the shadow of this protective umbrella that I was introduced to the RAVC Association at Remount Barracks in early 2017 shortly after my move to Melton, I was made very welcome by the members
of senior years who were just holding together the Melton Mowbray Branch of the Association.
My Army pedigree stems from the Royal Leicestershire Regiment, later 4th (Leicestershire) Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment with service
1962 - 1971, seeing service in Hong Kong, Malaysia (Borneo and Sarawak) during the Confrontation with Indonesia, the Aden Emergency (South Arabia), Malta and Libya, Bahrain, and the UAE.
As a posthumous war baby by eighteen days, my father, 4863596 Private Albert Henry Eustace, 1st
Bn Leicestershire Regiment, having been killed-in- action 23rd August 1944, Normandy, age 29 years, my enlisting with the 1st Battalion fostered the affinity that bonds branded formations together to the parent unit with overwhelming passion.
That I have been allowed to thrive in the RAVC Association as an outsider is testament to the tolerance and adaptability of Corps principles and I found the serving element both courteous and cordial. My contact with the Veterans has also been excellent. The unofficial Facebook page with 766 members has also accommodated me and what a great asset it is to the RAVC family circle.
My contribution has been rewarded with an Honorary RAVC Association Membership which I truly value, in a way, more so than my parent army
roots as it is an unnatural situation, where I have been acknowledged for my input.
The acceptance into the confines of your hallowed halls has been the greatest of honours, but perversely perhaps, I believe just as passionately that I shouldn’t be here at all, and it should be one of the RAVC veterans in my place. I wonder how many agree with me. Quite a few I would hazard a guess.
During my time in the Association, I have attended a number of ceremonies including three visits to
the Royal Hospital Chelsea for the Hospital/RAVC Covenant recording on 4k video the proceedings for posterity, all of which can be viewed on my YouTube channel.
Perhaps the best contribution, in my view, is the video of the Centenary parade through Melton on the 27th July 2018 that has received 3,219 views, but this has been exceeded by the RAVC Day Reunion held in the 16th September 2017 with 4,438 views. Spreading the word of the RAVC through the emerging virtual media is to keep abreast of the times.
It is my grateful thanks to all who serve and have served in the RAVC, this, the greatest of British Military institutions, and it is my good fortune that you have made me welcome in the heart of your Corps.
My relatively short time with the RAVC Association has been so rewarding and, with your blessing, long may it continue.
Chiron Calling / 37