Page 20 - QARANC Vol 14 No 9 2014

18 QARANC THE GAZETTE
Normandy 70th Anniversary
In June I had the absolute privilege of accompanying the SE Normandy Veterans for their 70th anniversary of the D Day Landings, on a beautiful morning on the 6th June 2014, exactly 70 years to the day, I was at the Service of Remembrance organised by the Royal British Legion and the Normandy Veterans Association at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission at Bayeux Cemetery. It was a very early start to the day for the veterans due to the numbers of people attending and the security, as amongst others present were HM the Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles and the heads of Government from Commonwealth Countries.
I had taken my two charges to the area for the veterans, got them sorted and turned to my right and spotted a QA beret, I went over and was delighted to meet Vera Hay, aged 92 from Cumbria.
Vera trained as a nurse at Hammersmith Hospital and was one month into a four-year contract when war broke out. She endured the horrors of the Blitz whilst training and was
in no doubt that she wanted to help fighting troops as
soon as she could. On finishing her training in August 1943, she volunteered for the Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service and eventually found herself landing on Gold Beach about a week after D-Day. She was one of the first British nurses to land at Normandy and was stationed at the Field Hospital at the Chateau de Beaussy. Amongst her medals is France’s highest honour the Legion d’Honneur.
Col Jane Davis
OBE QVRM TD DL L/QARANC (V)
Col Cmdt
The Coltman Honor Walk
On the 21st June 2014 members of MDHU Portsmouth took part in the Coltman Honor Walk in the Malvern Hills to raise funds for The Royal British Legion.
The walk is named after William Harold Coltman, the most decorated soldier of the First World War, as a stretcher-bearer he also won all of his awards without firing a single shot.
He was 26 years old, and a Lance Corporal in the 1/6th Battalion, The North Staffordshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales’s), British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place in France for which he was awarded the VC.
For most conspicuous bravery, initiative and devotion to duty. During the operations at Mannequin Hill, north- east of Sequehart, on the 3rd and 4th of Oct 1918, LCpl Coltman, hearing that wounded had been left behind during a retirement, went forward alone in the face of fierce enfilade fire, found the casualties, dressed them and on three successive occasions, carried comrades on his back to safety, thus saving their lives. This very gallant NCO tended the wounded unceasingly for 48 hours.
Two hundred and fifty pounds was raised for The Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal in memory of Bill Coltman. The charity is the UK’s leading Armed Forces Charity who provide practical, emotional and financial support to all members of the British Armed Forces past and present, and their families. They also organise the Poppy Appeal,
run one of the UK’s largest membership organisations and are recognised as the nation’s custodian of Remembrance. The team from MDHU Portsmouth carried two Neil Robertson stretchers with their patients, two teddy bears kindly dressed with bandages by the children of a local nursery, Jumping Jacks, over a 12-kilometre course, which was completed in two and a half hours. The team set off with a burst and found a steady pace to which everyone was comfortable with and forming team cohesion. We were not alone in the event, other teams from MDHU Frimley Park and Northallerton attended along with other
teams from across the Army such as the Mercians.
Our team comprised of Lt Cantillon, CPONN Connett, PONN Ward, Cpl Margett, Cpl Khan, Cpl O’Connor, Cpl Lupton, Cpl Muzvidziwa, Cpl Cserbakoi, Cpl Trotman, Cpl Jessop, LNN Meatyard, LNN Macintyre, LNN Walls, LNN Hill, Pte Keen and Pte Gear. We set off early on the morning and arrived with time to enjoy the sights of the first hill we were about to embark onto, the team stayed together leaving no man or woman behind and enjoyed the day raising money for the charity. After the event we were all invited to have tea and cakes at Commodore Buxton’s house. The event was a success with the weather being brilliant and everyone enjoying the day, and look forward to
next years event.
Pte S Keen QARANC MDHU Portsmouth