Page 169 - RSDG Year of 2023

birth of The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. In the presence of the Colonel in Chief Her Majesty The Queen, there was a perfect parade on the ground beside the Palace of Holyroodhouse with full ceremony, followed by an amazing ball at Preston Hall, the home of the Callander family which was attended by Her Majesty The Queen, His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh and Her Royal Highness Princess Anne. All this was a very impressive end to a most successful tour of command for both Micky, the last Commanding Officer of The Royal Scots Greys, and Patsy
Following his retirement from the Army, Micky joined The National Trust for Scotland which was somewhat of a contrast to his regimental days and turned out to present plenty of challenges, but it provided a stable home in Scotland for the family, Jonathan and Lucinda, in which to grow up. In his first ten years with the Trust amongst many improvements he made was to introduce cutting edge schemes for Visitor Attractions and to provide much needed income for the organisation. He also organised The Trust’s association with The Chelsea Flower Show where every year there was a stand which provided funding for the Trust. He much enjoyed running the Trust’s Commercial Empire and was appointed Marketing Director; he had an excellent team and together their efforts enabled The Trust to undertake much of the urgent work that needed to be done.
After twenty years with the Trust he retired in 1990. However, it was not to be retirement as he and Patsy
PETER FISHBOURNE
Peter was born in 1940 in Quetta on what is now the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan. He grew up in Canada, Germany, and Essex. After Harrow he attended Sandhurst in 1958 and followed his father Joe into the 3rd Carabiniers in 1960. He was deployed with B Squadron to Kuwait via Aden in 1962. Based in Detmold in 1963/64, Peter was able to travel to St
Moritz where he achieved his Cresta Club colours and was part of the Army Cresta team who won the Inter Services race. In 1965, after an Arabic language course in Aden, he was seconded to the Sultan of Oman’s Armed Forces, attracted by the chance of operational work and an enhanced pay packet. The latter was wisely invested in a string of polo ponies and Peter represented the regiment with a handicap of two and, along with team mates and close friends Roland Notley and Sean Mahoney, won the inter regimental cup in 1967.
started a most successful enterprise – VIP Garden tours for the Horticultural Society of the United States. This scheme presented some of the finest gardens in Britain and was extremely popular and most successful. Micky was then invited to assist with some castles in Germany, advising them on ‘opening to the public’ and by chance this job came with a few perks such as receiving invitations to shoot Wild Boar and Mouflon.
A few years ago, he visited The National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire and noticed there was no Regimental Memorial there. He was determined to rectify this and, through his contacts, the Regiment received a generous donation from the Lennox Hannay Trust which allowed it to put up its own memorial, unveiled on 13 April 2019, beside those of other Cavalry regiments.
Micky’s love for Scotland was paramount – the hills, the rivers, people and politics. He was also a man of many parts- a soldier, sailor, prolific poet and writer, tapestry maker, passionate about country sports and a most generous host. Beyond his intelligence he was an impressive leader with remarkable achievements, blessed with a high sense of commitment and integrity.
In later years, Micky and Patsy moved from Maxton Stable House in St Boswells to Glengarnock in Crieff to be near Lucinda and her husband Robin. Micky died on 8 October 2023.
MSJ
In 1969 he returned to Sandhurst as a platoon instructor in Old College and was then deployed with 3rd Carabiniers to Northern Ireland before attending Staff College in 1973. In 1974 he married Mary Ann, an Australian, whom he met whilst playing polo in Munich. They were married in Colne Engage on Grand National Day and horses continued to be dominant theme - with Peter surprising his new bride by attaching a horsebox to the car for a romantic honeymoon stag hunting in Devon.
The first 18 months of married life were spent in Hampshire where Peter was an SO2 at FOCAS in Fort Southwick, Fareham. Their first child, James, was born while they were there. In 1976 Peter took over B Squadron SCOTS DG and the family moved to Osnabruck where their second son, Sam, was born before moving onto Berlin with the Squadron. Peter and Mary Ann were known for their warmth and generosity as hosts especially with the younger officers of the regiment.
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