Page 66 - 1RHA 2024

1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery
Officers’ Mess Major HK Breslin RHA
The Officers’ Mess of 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery has been emptier than usual this year due to the ongoing Op CABRIT rotation. With a Battery’s worth of officers deployed to Estonia at any one time, coupled with mission ready training (often in Germany) and post-operational tour leave for the about to depart and newly returned sub-units respectively there has often been empty chairs at our dining table. We have, however, been lucky to welcome a number of new officers into the mess and have still had plenty of opportunity to come together for both formal events and more relaxed gatherings.
The start of the new working week is heralded by the Command- ing Officers’ lunch, at which every Monday all officers in station gather together for an early lunch and a solid break from their laptops. It’s a useful forum for getting business done, but also a chance to catch-up with one another given the busy exercise and deployment programme and the dispersed nature of the Regi- ment’s various working areas. The livers’ in cohort continues to thrive, and Black-Tie Tuesdays are a much anticipated event in the subalterns’ weekly calendar.
We celebrated Christmas in a slightly unusual fashion this year. As a result of a jam-packed December schedule, the decision was made to move our usual Christmas Ball into January. The previous PMC, Maj Andy Chalmers RHA, was an outstanding “Lord of Misrule” and we celebrated the Yuletide in a traditional early-English way with poetry, games, merriment, good food and flowing drinks.
Two Regimental Dinner Nights in March and June were held to dine-out departing mess members. Surrounded by the traditional mess silver, these dinner nights have been an excellent opportu- nity to welcome the partners and guests of 1 RHA officers into the mess as well as to bid farewell to departing colleagues. We have also been able to welcome B Battery back from their 9 month stint on Op CABRIT, and to give Chestnut Troop’s officers a fitting send-off.
Mess members enjoy showing off their Barbour jackets at the RA Gold Cup
The Summer Ball, which we held as a combined event with our neighbour Regiment’s 19 and 26 RA was a great success. The “South American Fiesta” theme was embraced by all and made for a colourful and entertaining evening of music and dancing. The 1 DSR BCT Polo Tournament and the Army versus Navy Rundle Cup have also allowed mess members to don their white jeans and enjoy a chukka or two down at Tidworth Polo Club.
A big thank you must go the mess staff, ably led by our mess manager Lisa Allison, and the mess committee for their ongoing work to support a wide variety of events and activities. Without their support the home of our Regiment’s officers would not be in such fine form. We look forward to a number of further events in 2024 and a big celebration in Summer 2025 when the Regiment is re-united once more following the end of our CABRIT rotation.
64
The Officers of 1 RHA at a Regimental Dinner Night in June