Page 167 - RSDG Year of 2023

Edinburgh Castle. The culmination of this was when Her Majesty The Queen, Colonel-in-Chief, opened the Museum on 3 July 1995. He also remained a member of the Regimental Council as Vice- President and then its President until recently and his wise counsel was often sought by successive Colonels of the Regiment. On 13 April 2019, as President of the Regimental Council, he unveiled the Regimental Memorial in the National Memorial Arboretum at a service conducted by The Reverend John Murdoch and attended by 140 members of the Association. He also never lost interest in what the Regiment was doing and regularly asked for updates on their activities right up until the end.
Four years after leaving the Army, General Norman, in 1992, took on an 18 year project running an organisation bringing aid to Bosnia- a project inspired by a journey to Poland in the company of Michael Lycett who had also served in the Regiment and who had made frequent visits to hospitals with money and supplies. In 1992 clashes between Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs broke out into full-scale hostilities. It was a conflict characterised by bitter fighting, indiscriminate shelling of towns, illegal detentions, torture and murder. By the middle of the year the number of refugees and displaced persons exceeded two million. General Norman registered a small charity,
called it Dumfries and Galloway Acton and, with the help of neighbours, former Army friends and borrowed vehicles, ran aid convoys carrying new clothing blankets, food medical supplies, tools and school materials. Insurance for loads which might require £30, 000 cover was unobtainable, so one or more male member of the team remained in the cab at night to keep watch. After 10 years the focus changed to funding and overseeing recovery projects in cooperation with reliable Bosnian aid organisations. From 2004, they set up medical first-aid facilities in more than 160 remote, neglected villages of north-east Bosnia. This was a battered enclave, where Croatians and Muslims were surviving on the edge of an area dominated by Bosnian Serbs. The Aid Agency never favoured any particular ethnic group but instead concen- trated on providing help where it was needed. Everyone who took part in these journeys believed in their value, not only in the material sense but for the message of friendship that came with them. In the course of 18 years, he led more than 30 relief aid convoys.
Tessa died on 13 January 2011 and he subsequently married Jillian Andrews and who survives him along with Camilla and Simon from his first marriage. General Norman died on 18 December 2023 having lived an extraordinarily fulfilling and inspiring life.
LIEUTENANT COLONEL MICKY BLACKLOCK
Lieutenant Colonel Micky Blacklock was born in London in 1928. His father was a submariner and a most distinguished officer in the Royal Navy. During Micky’s early years, the family were always on the move and were posted to wonderful places such as Malta and Gibraltar. In her memoirs, his mother wrote about Micky’s childhood that he was an
adventurous child - clearly he had a mind of his own.
Because the family was always on the move Micky went to various schools but after passing Common Entrance he went to Charterhouse which he enjoyed and where he thrived; then, like so many at the end of the war in 1945 on leaving school, he was enlisted and joined the Seaforth Highlanders for a short time before passing into The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
He clearly had a successful time at Sandhurst, made many great friends and he was delighted to be commissioned in 1948 into his regiment of first choice, The Royal Scots Greys, who had performed with such distinction during the war. They were based at Luneburg near the East German Border and on arrival he noticed the devastation
of the war with cities and towns in ruins: as the first officer to join since the end of the war, he received a very warm welcome.
After three years in Luneburg he went with the Regiment to Barce in Eastern Libya and various other postings and it was in Catterick in 1958 that he met Patsy whom he soon married in Kelso.
They served together with the regiment in Munster and at the Staff College Camberley after which he was given his first choice of posting, to Headquarters 51st Highland Division in Perth. They had many good friends in Perthshire and Micky was able to maximise his passion for fishing, shooting and stalking!
On the subject of stalking, in his book ‘Straws in the Wind’ Micky tells a story about himself around this time. He went stalking at Black Mount after which he was persuaded to stay for a dram or two and dinner which inevitably concluded with a glass or two of port. While driving back home to Perth in monsoon conditions around Tyndrum with zero visibility and feeling rather sleepy, he saw a girl hiker in a red anorak standing bedraggled by the roadside – quite apart from showing a degree of gallantry on such a night, he thought her conversation might keep him awake.
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