Page 123 - Mercian Eagle 2016

The Staffordshire Regiment
Major Douglas Colin Forrest MBE
Major Douglas Forrest died on 23rd December 2015 aged 68.
Dougie left school at fourteen and did various jobs to help out his single parent father, who had three other children, his experiences included being a milk man and
mucking out the stables.
He enlisted into The Worcestershire
Regiment in 1964 and served with their 1st Battalion until 1968 when he was posted to The Staffordshire Regiment who were in Berlin.
He met his wife Mercedes in Gibraltar in 1965 and they married on 3rd December 1966. After a posting to Oswestry in 1970 he re-joined 1 STAFFORDS in Dover in 1972 and was with them in the move to Osnabruck and the tours in North Armagh in 1972, Derry in 1974 and Belfast in 1976.
He worked his way up the ranks and was a CQMS in 1978 when the Battalion was in Colchester. In a period of extreme cost cutting, Dougie stuck his neck out when he reported that his soldiers were only getting seven chips a meal whilst they were on the field firing ranges at Stanford. This was not a popular revelation with
the Quartermaster’s Department and an explosive interview followed, but Dougie had last laugh as the rest of the Battalion thought that he was right and he became more respected as a result.
Dougie was promoted to WO2 and became CSM B Company in 1979 when the Battalion went to Derry on the 18-month tour. The Battalion had some very strong personalities and Dougie was one of a number of people who kept things on an even keel. At the end of the demanding tour, Dougie was awarded the MBE for his sterling work as CSM and for the part he played with B Coy in the Maze riots.
Dougie’s rise continued, as he was RSM of 1 STAFFORDS in Fallingbostel in 1986 and was present for the visit of the Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and the German Premier, Helmut Kohl. Every soldier and officer had a role; mostly as camp guards, on parade, range guards or mess waiters; there was even an umbrella carrier and a water bearer.
Prior to the visit there were brigade, divisional and corps inspections. Dougie as RSM played a key role in the proceedings and managed to keep a straight face when
The Cheshire Regiment Association
His first posting with to 30th Battalion, The Royal Ulster Rifles in Larne. He was then posted to 6th Battalion, The Royal Welch Fusiliers in North West Europe in October 1944 and was wounded in action on 23rd October. After recuperating in Congleton, he had a hectic and interesting period of service from 1946 – 48; which included Cairo, the Canal Zone, Palestine and Tripolitania, with detachments to Somali, Kenya and Cyprus. He joined
1st Battalion, The South Staffordshire Regiment in August 1952 and served with them in Northern Ireland and Minden. He was Adjutant of Depot Lichfield in 1953 before moving to the Army Staff College, after which he was promoted to the rank of Major in January 1955. In December 1958 he was posted to 1st Battalion, The North Staffordshire Regiment who were in Minden, which was important regimentally, as The South and North Staffords amalgamated
in 1959, so he was able to assist with bringing the two camps together. He was with the new 1st Battalion, The Staffordshire Regiment in Minden, Lichfield and the first Kenya deployment. He was an influential figure in the early years of the new Regiment.
Chris Vitali remembers him as a decent man, who was scientific, technical and an excellent staff officer. He wrote a guide to airportability which was called ‘Simeon’, which was a brilliant piece of work. Gordon weighed items individually before deciding on what equipment should be taken on a deployment. His calculations were to the nearest ounce as he had even weighed tea spoons. A posting to the War Office followed (1961 – 63), followed by
a posting to the 5th/6th North Staffords
in Burton-upon-Trent from 1964 – 66.
He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel
in 1968 and went to serve in UKLF from 1972 until his retirement in 1978. His first wife, Brenda died in 1963. They had two children, Janet and Jeremy. He later married Joan and in doing so acquired four step children. He continued to stay in touch with the Regiment and attended some of the regimental functions, until he was no longer able to do so.
Second War and perceived a need to
be assertive in making their mark. David became Adjutant in early 1954 serving
two energetic and fairly ‘combustible’ commanding officers whose characteristics
soldiers were ordered to switch from one guard position to another and then back to where they started, every time a different senior officer walked the route.
Dougie was commissioned and became MTO taking over a very close MT Platoon, many of whom had been around for years and who still meet to this day. Dougie fitted in very well and the platoon continued to operate like a well-oiled machine.
He and his wife Mercedes, who was known as Mercie, raised a family of three daughters called Jacqui, Tracy and Naomi. They were a respected and much liked couple and they and their family played
a full part in battalion life. Dougie was a wonderful, loving and caring father who installed principles and standards in his three daughters, who all grew up to be strong and confident women. He was very proud of them, his sons-in-law and their grandchildren, as they were of him.
Dougie worked very hard and was
very loyal to his Regiment and he had immense pride in being part of it. In 1993
he became QM (Tech) for 3 STAFFORDS
in Wolverhampton until 1998. He then became PSAO and served for many years in Burton-upon-Trent until he finally retired
in 2008. A special e-mail was sent to
many regimental personalities announcing this and there were numerous responses from people thanking him for his work
and wishing him well. In that final decade, Dougie was a godsend to the Regiment and did his best to support regimental events whenever he could. In 2005 the Regiment celebrated the Tercentenary while the 1st Battalion was in Iraq and he managed to produce manpower to help with our events. The Uttoxeter Race Meeting was run for several years thanks to help from Dougie. He retired to Crewe and took up golfing. His funeral took place on 5th January 2016 in Crewe and there was a very strong turnout of Regimental members for one of our best officers.
Lieutenant Colonel Gordon Jones
Gordon Jones was born on 27 June 1924. He went to Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School in Sutton Coldfield. After leaving school he joined the Army and served in 164 OCTU in Barmouth and was commissioned in February 1943.
LT COLONEL DAVID OWEN
David Owen was commissioned in December 1948, joining the 1st Battalion at Lichfield. The battalion moved to Cyprus in 1951 where an exercise in Egypt led to
an unscheduled three-year unaccompanied tour in the Canal Zone. Those young officers from the early RMAS Intakes found themselves among soldiers and officers who had served in part or throughout the
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