Page 116 - KRH Regimental Journal 2022

114 The Regimental Journal of The King’s Royal Hussars
great support in helping families deal with frequent deployments before the family returned to Lulworth at the end of 1977.
Patrick’s next appointment was to command the RAC Gunnery School at Hohne in Germany as a Major. The Director of the Royal Armoured Corps came out on an official visit. Patrick explained that he had to deal with commanding officers and from time to time would have to tell one that his regiment’s gunnery was not up to standard. Patrick said his job would be much easier if he was a Lieutenant-Colonel. Six months later Patrick was duly pro- moted. His subsequent career took him to the Royal Armament Research & Development Establishment at Fort Halstead in Kent, back to Lulworth as Chief Gunnery Instructor and a final tour with the Army Logistics Executive in Andover. Some years earlier the Kayes bought a house at Puddletown and they lived there till a final move to Alford, near Castle Cary.
In 1960, the Regiment moved back to the UK (Tidworth) where it converted to Centurion tanks. This was the first time in its his- tory that the Regiment was not equipped with armoured cars, having been the first unit to give up its horses in 1928! During this period John was posted to C Sqn as SHQ Tp Sgt. 1961 saw a move back to Hohne in BAOR where he was initially posted to C Sqn and subsequently Recce Troop.
In 1965 John left the Regiment to take up the post of PSI with the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars in Gloucester. This turned out to be a testing time, initially as SSM to A Sqn (RGH) on pro- motion to WO2 and subsequently as acting RSM. The period entailed overseeing the partial disbandment of the TA as part of widespread government funding cuts. In 1967, he returned to A Squadron as SSM just as they received the new Chieftain tank. It was during this period that he showed his potential for the future by being an active and imaginative SSM.
In 1968 his talents were rewarded with a commission and appointment as MTO, a role he performed with considerable distinction for five years, a period covering Hohne, Perham Down, the Regimental Amalgamation and tours in Tidworth and Sennelager. In this job as always, he gathered together a first-rate team and drove it remorselessly to achieve the highest standards. Always looking for opportunities, he was part of an 11th Hussars team that entered the Daily Mail London to Sydney Air Race in 1969; the team were commended for their teamwork. He was a considerable expert on the Stalwart HMLC and their abilities during their early period of service. This expertise was called into question however when he managed to get ten Stalwarts bogged concurrently for 24 hours on a beach whilst on exercise in Denmark in 1977. As the LAD struggled to recover any of the vehicles, the tide turned, and all ten Stalwarts floated out of the mud. The LAD recovery vehicle however did not and was drowned in the sea!
After his long period as MTO, John was to experience two tours in Command of Headquarters Squadron, interspersed with another period at ERE at the Personnel Selection Centre at Corsham and later Deepcut. During the first, his abilities as a co-ordinator and general fixer were severely tested during a Northern Ireland tour and the Maze Prison riot of 1974.
Following a further move to Catterick (as RAC Training Regiment) in 1979, John took over as Regimental Second in Command. In this role, he was outstanding, not only organising the departments within the Regiment with his usual vigour, but also continually impressed the staff of other units with his tre- mendous ability and willingness to be helpful and find solutions to difficult problems.
Following his 31-year career in the Regular Army, John embarked on a second military career as an administrative officer with 34 Signal Regiment in Middlesborough. He remained here for a further 12 years, eventually ending his 43 years military service in 1997. His hobbies included renovating the family farmhouse in Brompton on Swale and, in later life, model railways where he built an impressive layout in one of the barns. John is sur- vived by his wife Pauline, who also took a full and active role in Regimental life, and his three children.
NL
Major John Lemon
11th Hussars (PAO) 1952-1969 Royal Hussars (PWO) 1969-1983
Following in the footsteps of his father, SSM Tom Lemon MM, who served in the 11th Hussars before and during the Great War, John Lemon joined the regiment as a Trooper at Carlisle in 1952. What followed was a long and illustrious 30-year career in both 11th and Royal Hussars where he rose through the ranks to become Second in Command of The Royal Hussars, a feat believed to be une- qualled in either of the old regiments.
Upon joining, John was imme-
diately identified as one of the new breed of very able and ambitious post-war soldiers and he quickly rose through the ranks, possibly too quickly for some of the older NCOs with wartime experience! He was initially posted to A Squadron in Wesendorf, West Germany, and promoted to L/Cpl in the same year. In 1953, only a year after joining, he was chosen as one of a detachment of eight to form the Regiment’s representative marching contingent in the Coronation procession
of HM The Queen.
Following the Coronation, he re-joined A Squadron which had now deployed to Seremban, Malaya during the Malay Emergency in a counter-insurgency role. The Regiment would remain in Malaya for three years and during this period John was rapidly promoted to Cpl and subsequently Sgt. A Mention in Despatches was also awarded for his work in Malaya. Following a period with the Training Wing in Singapore, he returned to the UK in 1956. The Regiment now completed a three-year tour as the 67th RAC Training Regt at Carlisle, training new RAC armoured car regiment recruits. John remained attached to A Squadron (Radio Wing) during this period.
In 1959 the Regiment moved to Omagh in Northern Ireland where they were responsible for carrying out internal security and border patrols. The stay in Ulster was a short one as in 1960 John deployed to Sharjah as part of the advance party, before moving back to Aden. His squadron was then moved to Kuwait where he led A Sqn Support Troop equipped with four, newly issued, Saladin armoured cars and intended to provide fire support to the screen force deployed on the Iraqi border.
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