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and hurling grenades, thereby exposing themselves to enemy fire. Soon all the tank commanders were killed, including Major Sanford, who was shot through the head by a sniper. Arthur took his place directing the tank while Squadron Sergeant-Major Craddock assumed command and, together with his infantry counterpart, led them to victory. The battle of Imphal – of which the re-capture of Nunshigum was an important part - turned the tide of the land war against Japan and the Japanese were chased all the way back to Rangoon. Arthur gained a new squadron leader in the advance, Major Michael Huntley-Wright, but he too was killed, shot by a sniper when he dismounted at a river crossing.
Arthur spent the next 12 months on active service and was awarded a Mention in Despatches, ending
Alexander Beagrie
Alexander Beagrie (Benny or Ben to his friends) was born in Kinlochleven on 16 April 1938 to Annabella Beagrie, known as Nan. After a year, Nan was sent to live and work in London and Ben’s grandparents, George and Jessie, took him in and raised him. George secured a position as a gardener at Abergeldie Castle,
Aberdeenshire, which was then leased to the Crown and supplied vegetables and cut flowers to Balmoral, so the family lived in tied cottages around the estate.
Ben was educated at Ballater school. The headmaster advised that he did not see Alex in an office job. Consequently, Ben left school at the age of 15 to work in forestry at Fersett, on the west coast. Life in a forestry bothy was not for a youngster and eventually, he moved back to Aberdeenshire to work on the Royal Estate.
At 18, Ben signed up and joined the Royal Scots Greys: he fondly recalled his time as a tank gunner and his stints in Catterick and Munster. He represented the Greys in the boxing ring and taught himself to play the accordion. Ben then became a gunnery instructor at Lulworth. He used to say that this was the happiest summer of his life and that the worst mistake he ever made was when he decided to leave the Army in 1959. In retirement, he joined the East of Scotland branch of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Association and took great pleasure in meeting up with old comrades and new friends at Association functions.
the war as Regimental Intelligence Sergeant when the Regiment moved back from Burma to the North-West Frontier of India, now Pakistan. On his return to civilian life, he began a long and distinguished career in marketing and for the next 20 years he designed and promoted business systems for large organisa- tions, devoting his spare time to beekeeping, painting, gardening, and travel. Over the years after the war, Arthur travelled out to Burma and wrote 2 books detailing his experiences. He became a well-known and popular figure at Regimental reunions where he provided a fascinating insight into the life of a tank crewman in the Burma Campaign to younger soldiers, who held him in awe. The motto of 3rd Carabiniers is ‘I serve’, and Arthur certainly gave that service to his comrades, his Regiment and his Country.
On leaving the Army, Ben returned home to work on the Balmoral estate, mainly in forestry, but also working with the ghillies. Jessie’s parents and brother rented a croft nearby and after his shift on the Royal estate Ben would work on the croft, often with horse and plough.
Though he liked working on the estate, Ben realised that there was little chance of advancement there, so returned to education. He took part-time classes at the Commercial College in Aberdeen and studied during his breaks at Balmoral. He passed the Aberdeen University Preliminary Entrance Examination and embarked upon a degree course. As well as studying, he took up weightlifting and broke a university record with his first lift, won the Scottish Universities’ Weightlifting Championship (Light Heavy Class) in 1968 and gained a University Blue.
He had a year out as an uncertificated peripatetic teacher of PE in various Aberdeenshire primary schools and after graduating, gained a teaching qualifi- cation in English, Geography and History at Northern College. By this time, Ben was married with two children. He was offered the post of teacher of English at Ballingry Junior High School and the family moved to Fife.
Ben joined the Kirkcaldy Folk club and took up singing and playing the guitar. He was a club stalwart, playing guest spots at other clubs and folk festivals and was once the guest artist on Sheena Wellington’s show on Radio Tay. At Ballingry School, he ran a guitar club, a weight training club and a hillwalking club. He also trained pupils for public speaking competitions. When asked how someone with an Aberdeenshire accent could teach English and public speaking, his response
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