Page 35 - MERCIAN Eagle 2017

Warrant Officers And Sergeant’s Mess
It has been another busy year for
1 MERCIAN Warrant Officers and Sergeant’s Mess. Since returning back from BATUS in autumn 2017 the mess has been spread to the four winds. Whether it is on Sustainable Support to Experimentation
and Training (SSET) tasking’s, exercise or cadres or deployments to Canada, the Mess has still found the time to come together and enjoy the good times. The Mess has gathered together on a number
of occasions to celebrate the successes
of individuals and the collectively, due to fantastic spirit of the Mess members.
Sgt Cromwell was present at Wembley, hosted by Tottenham Hotspur, for
their remembrance parade, where he represented 1 MERCIAN on the pitch during the minute silence. Sgt Cromwell set a
fine example of 1 MERCIAN for all those in attendance and those that were tuning in from around the country and world.
Sgt Geoghegan has done some excellent work and shown some real initiative
in striking up a partnership with West Bromwich Albion Football academy, through the WBA remembrance project.
The picture shows Sgt Geoghegan talking to the U12s age group about the 3rd battle of Ypres, Passchendaele. He also gave an insight into the Mercian Regiment and fielded a question and answer session about his career in their local county
regiment. Sgt Geoghegan spent a number of days educating the youth footballers of
all ages on the sacrifice that was made
by those in the world wars. The WBA academy was extremely forward leaning and has expressed their thanks for such an informative and well thought out educational programme.
The Mess took part in the TNB Garrison 10km obstacle race, which raised £206.69 and was donated
to the MRI scanner
The mess have always been known to work hard and play hard and has thrown some exceptional night in the mess. WO2 Clements organised and ran the fantastic Oktoberfest and we even found a CSgt called the Bulford strangler (but what happens in the mess stays in the mess).
Less formal nights such as the top of the range quiz night organised and hosted by Sgt Angus, and the poker night were
campaign for Salisbury district hospital’s charity. The RSM was also the first to finish from the mess, truly leading by example.
‘1 MERCIAN were seen as the underdogs but showed their true colours taking the competition right to the wire’
enjoyed by all and are set to become a more regular feature.
Finally the WO’s and Sgts Mess showed there true appreciation and welcome to RSM Redfern, as he was dined in with a fantastic night at
Sgt Done did
an exceptional
job in coaching and mentoring the Battalion boxing team. Sgt Done took
the boxing team to the Brigade finals, where1 MERCIAN were seen as the underdogs but showed their true colours taking the competition right to the wire.
All the boxers showed an incredible spirit and showed the fundamentals of the CO’s vision: Grit, Grip, Humility and the Constant pursuit of excellence, which embodies the Mercian ethos.
the dog races in Swindon. Some won, and some lost but it was agreed by all that a great time was had. Overall the mess has been leading by example in all areas and has been driving the CFA main effort of Battle Craft syllabus; empowering JNCO’s to deliver what JNCO’s do best “Train men for war”.
1 MERCIAN PUBLIC DUTIES
Lcpl Lane
As a Section 2IC in A Coy, I was honoured to have been selected to deploy on Public Duties to London along with C Coy over the period May – Aug 18. As someone who had never been to London before,
I felt the whole experience was excellent and I would definitely do it all again if given the chance!
We started with an intense period of drill preparation in Bulford, with weeks spent on the Parade Square ensuring our personal drill was up to scratch in addition to learning the parade formats required
for each location and for each phase of the duty. This involved a lot of early starts and late finishes, but by the time we had finished, we felt almost fully prepared for the task. In late May as we settled into our accommodation in Woolwich, the security situation came under close review due to the threat of terrorism; it definitely reminded us of the serious nature of the threats we would face when we were
on guard. The first major ceremonial hurdle we worked towards was the Major General’s Inspection, which would test our preparation to the limit and would serve to
ensure we were fit to guard the prestigious locations in and around the Capital. Despite the inspection being conducted on extremely hot day, which melted our boots, we passed with flying colours and enjoyed a weekend off before we had our first major public appearance.
The parades themselves were, at
first, nerve wracking to take part in. But as we learned the formats and knew
all the routes, we were able to relax slightly and enjoy being the centre of attention. Despite an immense amount of preparation and rehearsals going on in the background, the Changing of the Guard ceremony itself is fairly short and lasts about 45 minutes, between 1100 – 1145 hrs. Although with some days topping
36 degrees, that was long enough! On the nicest days there would be over 10,000 people watching and the gates of Buckingham Palace would be 20 people deep. It was quite a spectacle.
When actually on guard in either Buckingham Palace, St James’s Palace (the senior Palace), the Tower of London or Windsor Castle, my primary role was to
keep the lads in good order by checking their kit before they went to their sentry box and before each main parade. In addition to this, and acting as Guard
2IC, every two hours, I would march out and post the men on the sentry boxes
to ensure they stayed fresh and alert. It really hammered home the importance of my role in making sure the men were well prepared and were paying attention to what they were told to do.
I am glad to say that it wasn’t all work though, as when we got time off we were able to travel round London to see the sights as well as doing some novel trips. In addition to doing some Chinook training and getting a Boris bike around town, I was also able to visit the Mercian Chelsea Pensioners and had a tour of the facility; it was absolutely beautiful and it struck me how well the retired Soldiers are looked after. I did so much there with the Coy and it was all free. In summary, London was a really good experience for me and I would recommend it to anyone in the Army if they had the chance to do it.
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
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