Page 118 - QDG Volume 9 No. 5

116 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards
Regimental Comrades Association
Colonel of the Regiment, Brigadier AS Richmond OBE – President
Mr C T Gibbons – Chairman
Wow! Where has the year gone? So
many events parades and reunions.
Over the coming pages you will see
just how ■■■ the Branches have been.
This of course is all down to our members
participating in some way or form. No
matter how large or small you have all
contributed to maintaining the success
of the RCA.
Membership has slowly been
increasing in particular from the serving
Regiment. We all know how important it
is to maintain the RCA ethos and many
of our younger members will no doubt
assist in carrying this forward.
I shall not dwell on what has been
happening as you will see from the
Branch reports below.
Before I handover to Dave Way in
March 2025 I would just like to take this
opportunity to thank all the members
for your continued support over the
past seven years. The RCA has grown
into what is now a well organised and
supported association.
The Colonel of the Regiment, HHQ,
the Committee and Ollie Larminie (RIP)
have been an inspiration to me in helping
transform the RCA into what it is now,
long may it continue.
I’d like to thank you all again for
keeping the Regimental Comrades
Association firmly on the map but more
importantly maintaining a link in looking
after our veterans wherever they may be.
CTG
Chris hands over to Dave
Valley’s Branch
As a newly formed branch in our second
year, we have continued to reach out and
reconnect with former members of the
Regiment who have been out of touch
for a long period of time. Our success is
now paying off with our branch numbers
steadily growing.
Over the last twelve months we have
met up as a branch for Sunday carveries
in local venues within the Valleys. We
have also met up for some social drinks
again in local establishments. In June
we had the opportunity to visit General
Dynamics in Merthyr with the assistance
of Lt Col (Retd) John Smith, where we
received a very comprehensive brief from
former members of the Regiment on the
Ajax programme. This was followed by
a tour of the factory and finally to the
mobility testing ground. Where we saw
the Ajax being put through its paces
driven by Beast Jones and commanded
none other than Bill Rees both former
members of the Regiment. This new
ISTAR platform is completely different to
what we were used to.
In October the branch had the honour
of receiving our official branch flag at
the Regimental dinner, in the Masonic
Hall Cardiff, so we now have our own
identity. In November members of the
branch paraded in their hometowns
for remembrance parade, in Aberdare
alone we had 8 Dragoons on parade. It
must also be mentioned that we had the
privilege of one of our branch members
Gareth ‘Tic Tac’ Jones, representing the
RBL at the Royal Albert Hall London. In
December the Valley’s Branch organ-
ised the Christmas and Kosovo 25 year
reunion party which was held at the
Masonic Hall in Cardiff. It was a great
evening, with many former members of
the Regiment attending who had been
away for many years. The food was
superb, the dance floor did not empty
and the bar staff eventually asked the
last remaining members if they wouldn’t
mind going home as it was early hours
of the morning! A great night was had by
all and as I am drafting these notes, I am
already in the process of organising a St
David’s Day evening meal to be held in a
local country mansion in the valleys, so
the Valley’s Branch is looking forward to
2025.
The Valleys Branch Fluorescent Vest Display Team