Page 174 - RSDG Year of 2023

172 EAGLE AND CARBINE
At about 0900 hours Mike was woken in his tent by the sounds of a helicopter and a furiously-barking dog. The helicopter was trying to land with the Corps commander but was being prevented by Mike’s Dalmatian Trooper. Mike’s retelling of the story went: ‘it was clear to me that either the helicopter would run out of fuel or Trooper would die of exhaustion, so I had to retrieve Trooper’. Face to face the general demanded the name of the unshaven young officer dressed in a white polo neck jersey, very old trousers and gum boots. A furious letter followed to the Divisional commander stating that ‘.....I had occasion to visit the Sapper Bridging Camp, there I came across an officer who resembled an old washer woman....’. The displeasure of the two generals would then have been passed down the chain of command to the Brigade commander: Brigadier Dick Ward late of the Royal Tank Regiment. Mike was a marked man. On a Soltau exercise the Brigadier passed Mike’s troop in his LandRover while he was shaving and bare chested. Unable to rebuke him for incorrect dress, and despite Mike not wearing head dress, the Brigadier reprimanded him for not saluting. Unwisely,
Mike got his own back at a mess party, hitting Brigadier Ward over the head with a pillow, which covered him with feathers. Neither Ward nor his wife were amused or forgiving.
With unfortunate timing Mike arrived to command B Squadron 14/20H in Hong Kong in 1971 much the same
CHRISTOPHER GAISFORD- ST LAWRENCE
time as General Ward took up his post as Commander British Forces (CBF) Hong Kong. The two were reunited in Sek Kong during a Fitness For Role (FFR) inspection of B Squadron. The day did not go well. Inevitably, other incidents occurred in squadron life but Mike steadfastly supported his officers and soldiers whenever they fell foul of authority. Following a brief interlude with A Squadron for its 1974 tour of South Armagh Mike then undertook a series of ERE appointments until he retired from the Army in 1979.
Mike, who was the step nephew of the novelist Georgette Heyer, was intelligent, erudite, very amusing company and enjoyed the good things in life. With his devoted wife Darry they liked nothing more than entertaining, with both taking responsibility for shopping and cooking. Many young officers came to experience the lethality of their Pimms or Rumtopf and enjoy wonderful wines during an evening of fine dining.
Following the Army, Mike entered Lloyds and became an underwriter with one of the Murray Lawrence syndicates. Inseparable from each other, and their Dalmatians, Mike and Darry lived variously in London, Sussex, the Languedoc, and eventually settled in Cambridge. Mike died in September 2020 during the Covid pandemic.
John Symons
Christopher Gaisford- St Lawrence was born in Ascot on 12 June 1930. His father was a naval officer who served through both World Wars. He was brought up in Hampshire, but was always destined to inherit Howth Castle, as his uncle was a bachelor.
He went to Ladycross, and thence
to Ampleforth. After Ampleforth he completed the obligatory 14 weeks military training among the squaddies in Catterick Camp, an experience that enlarged his vocabulary, before going to Sandhurst as
an under officer having done well at his RCB assessment.
He was then commissioned into the Royal Scots Greys choosing it over the Irish Guards as it was the regiment that his youngest paternal uncle, Cyril, a man for whom he had particular respect, had commanded before the war.
He joined the regiment in Luneburg at what was a sad time; Ann Stewart, the wife of Duggie Stewart, the regiments charismatic commanding officer had just died along with
her newborn child. Duggie Stewart was a very able officer and an excellent horseman, competing in both the 1948 and 1952 Olympic Games. At the latter he was part of the Gold Medal winning show jumping team. Christopher was a competent rider, and rode one of Duggie’s cast offs, Muchtar, in two day events with some success. He got to know his commanding officer who came to appreciate his worth and give him more responsibilities.
He was assigned to C Squadron, then commanded by Aidan Sprot, who had seen active service in the war and went on nine years later to command the regiment. The Greys were part of the 7th Armoured Division, there were two such in Germany at the time, and Luneberg Heath was a vast training area, not far from Hanover.
In Spring 1952, after a gunnery course at Lulworth, Christopher embarked with the rest of the regiment for Libya aboard the Empire Windrush, a ship that is remembered to this day for other reasons. The regiment was stationed near Barca between Benghazi and Tobruk. C Squadron was deployed briefly in Malta and the Canal Zone, both adventures that involved elements of farce. At