Page 119 - MERCIAN Eagle 2015

The Worshipful Company of Bowyers
The Bowyers’ Company and the Mercian Regiment
The Reverend John Hayton TD, Master Bowyer
The relationship between the
Worshipful Company of Bowyers, an ancient City of London Livery company, and The Mercian Regiment is becoming ever closer. Our original affiliation was with The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters; longbows, Robin Hood and so on. When the Mercian Regiment was formed eight years ago, it was a bonus for us that the other constituent regiments didn’t have
a Livery company connection of their
own. We are delighted to be able to fill the gap and give our financial support to the regimental benevolent fund.
A further gap we were able to fill was
the matter of 2 MERCIAN’s Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM) sword. We discovered there wasn’t a parade sword dedicated to the holder of that post. It happens that Robert Pooley, owner of Pooley’s Swords, is a Liveryman of the Bowyers’ Company. He very generously arranged for a sword to be specially made and appropriately engraved. The Bowyers’ Company paid for it, and accompanied by the Upper Warden, Tony Kench, and Court Assistant Mark Elliott, I was delighted to be able to make the presentation to the then 2 MERCIAN RSM, WO1 Paul Muckle on 21st May 2015 in the WO and Sgts’ Mess at The Dale Barracks. Mark Elliott, who
is a senior corporate lawyer in his “day job,” was at that point chairman of our Charity Committee. He also now sits on the Mercian Regimental Council and is a Benevolent Fund trustee, so our support not merely financial, important as that is.
We three, Tony, Mark and I were also privileged to visit Cyprus at the end of February, visiting 2 MERCIAN in their UN
role in the “buffer zone” and on the “Green Line” in Nicosia. More recently, a party
of eleven Bowyers made the journey
to Chester learn about current infantry practice, and sample current infantry equipment. We stayed in a barrack room; keen younger ones joined the morning PT squad, which was pretty heroic considering what time we got to bed following the preceding mess night.
As Master, I had a “follow up” visit to
1 MERCIAN, whom I visited on their forming up parade, dinner night and family day
last year. This year I was able to combine meeting the officers, with attendance at a dinner night in the mess at Shrivenham.
A further visit to 1 MERCIAN took place
in August, in connection with a charity
fund raising event we are to mount in the City of London next June for the benefit
of the Regimental Benevolent Fund. The small group of Bowyers who attended that planning meeting, were also able to take the opportunity to meet 1 MERCIAN soldiers, tour the facilities at Picton Barracks and crawl into / over the AFVs.
We Bowyers are delighted that current and former MERCIANS are joining
our Company. A trail was blazed by Comd SM Paul Muckle in July. Robert Durrant and Laurence Fitzpatrick recently also joined, and others are expressing interest. It’s a two-way street that can only bring good. We Bowyers are proud to have our connection with the Regiment. Long may it flourish.
Briefing the morning after the night before. A few sore heads!
The sword that was presented to RSM Muckle, 2 MERCIAN
Spending some time on the ranges
2 MERCIAN popping smoke
is
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
117