Page 127 - The Royal Lancers Chapka 2017
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REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL LANCERS (QUEEN ELIZABETHS’ OWN) 125
 that a tattooed, scruffy individual with a shaven head could only be a brand new trooper and not, as he soon realised, the latest Troop Leader! It was from that moment that Laurence would forever be known, affectionately, as “KingO” Grant.
Laurence embraced life and was always at the epicentre of mess activity. Never did a prank, a party or a pint go down without him having some mischievous involvement. On his first night in the mess he was the first to bravely volunteer to facedown mi- ni-flares fired in the direct role. Over lunch and dinner his con- versation would vary from the mundane to the ridiculous; life in green to the musical composition of Dub-step, ancient works of philosophy to the love of cheap lager and Old Rosie cider – there seemed to be no topic that he couldn’t discuss.
His leadership and military competency were evident to all throughout his time in the Army. He won the fabled ‘Binos’ on his Troop Leaders’ course and, when he arrived at the Regiment, he excelled in the pre-tour training packages he was thrown on. Following a successful tour on Operation HERRICK 17, he was assigned to D Squadron and Troop Leader of Surveil- lance Troop. No sooner than he arrived, he set about training two teams for the Cambrian Patrol competition. One of his teams would win Gold, the first for the Regiment. Laurence’s team were also heading for Gold when an incident, beyond his control, frustratingly denied his team the top prize. In the face of his soldiers’ disappointment, Laurence showed extraordi- nary maturity and leadership in galvanising morale around the troop’s collective success. However, the Commanding Officer at the time was immediately taken aside by the completion staff to be shown Laurence’s team score. It was exceptional. Laurence had gained the highest score for leadership out of all 140 British and international team commanders; such was his formidable and natural aptitude.
After his military career, Laurence went on to work for KPMG in London and had recently moved to Hong Kong with his long-term girlfriend Olivia. Before he died he had been heav- ily involved with charity fundraising, most notably for Walking with the Wounded. He set up his own charity, Help Me in Hong Kong, to support those suffering from mental health problems. This was typical of a man so keen to help others.
Laurence was a great friend to all that knew him. His funeral was attended by over 400 family and friends, with a heavy pres- ence from all ranks of the regimental family. He is, and will con- tinue to be, sorely missed by all that knew him.
WMFT
Lieutenant General Sir Richard Swinburn KCB
When Richard Swinburn joined the 17th/21st Lancers in 1957, there was no doubt about his potential to rise to the top. The clue was in his name: Richard Hull Swin- burn. His uncle, who had only recently handed over as Colonel of the 17th/21st Lancers, was Sir Richard Hull, then a Lieutenant Gen- eral, but who was later to be- come Chief of the Imperial General Staff, Chief of the Defence Staff, a Field Mar- shal and a Knight of the Gar- ter – the only cavalry officer
to have achieved all four of these distinctions. Clue two was his father, Major General Henry Swinburn. Having been commis- sioned into the Indian Army, Henry Swinburn was Chief of Staff of the 51st Highland Division, part of the British Expeditionary Force. He was taken prisoner at Saint-Valéry-en-Caux in June 1940, and spent over four years as a prisoner of the Germans. Had he not lost those years, Henry Swinburn, in the opinion of Field Marshal Bill Slim, would have risen to the very highest rank. And finally there was Richard’s mother Barbara, not only the older sister of a Field Marshal, but herself the daughter of a distinguished Major General, Sir Amyatt Hull. Initial indica- tions seemed to be good. Richard had been a Senior Under Of- ficer at Sandhurst.
The question, therefore, was did he have the necessary ability? Richard was to take over a troop of tanks which had, for some time, been without an officer as Troop Leader, and which was therefore, in the ‘expert’ opinions of the other Troop Leaders, somewhat below standard. They were very quickly to discover to their astonishment, (and some irritation), that they had a true professional in their midst.
It could be said that all successful men need a mentor, and Rich- ard found his in his first squadron leader, Jock Cockburn, who was later to become one of the very best armoured command- ing officers of the Cold War. Richard was later to become Jock’s Adjutant, and shortly afterwards, continued to develop his mili- tary skills on the staff at brigade headquarters, where he worked for two distinguished officers: the commander, Dick Ward, who was later to rise to four star rank; and the Brigade Major, Harry Dalzell-Payne, probably the most able officer of his generation.
So, for him, the signs were good, but for his contemporaries, running a parallel career could be extremely demoralising. Those who took over from him were hard pressed to maintain even a half of his previous standards, while those who handed over to him were inevitably to see their prized former commands rise to unprecedented levels of professional competence – and even sporting excellence! And it was in those early regimental years, as Adjutant, of both his regiment, and of the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry, and as the commander of an independent ar- moured car squadron in Cyprus, that he learned and developed his extraordinary relationship with, and understanding of, his soldiers and, indeed, with all of those who would in due course come under his command. He knew, as well as anybody, that battles are not won by tanks, guns, ships, or aircraft. They are won by the young men and women that fight them. He would always encourage those under his command to get out on the ground, and go and talk with their soldiers, to listen to them and to respect their views. By so doing, he would then be more likely to earn their respect and trust.
One sunlit day in Hampshire, in August 1964, Richard married Janey – Jane Brodie, and hence the name, “Brodie” of their sub- sequent lurchers and wolf hounds. They set up house in a tiny cottage in the woods, Landhause Louise, and those young offic- ers who were serving with him at the time have never forgotten their seemingly limitless generosity, kindness and friendships. His loyalty to those enduring friendships was invariably to last a lifetime.
After two years as Military Assistant to the Vice Chief of the General Staff in London, Richard was appointed to command his regiment, the 17th/21st Lancers. The regiment had spent the previous year dispersed in the static role as the depot regiment at Bovington. Swinburn’s task was to restructure and retrain it as an operational armoured regiment for service in BAOR, a task which he relished and carried out with his usual determination and enthusiasm. Regimental command was followed by moving to the hottest seat in the Ministry of Defence, as Colonel, Army
 



















































































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