Page 123 - QDG Volume 9 No. 5

1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards 121
Regimental Comrades Association Dinner
The reunion dinner was once again held
detailed account of the serving regiment’s
Mr I Moore, Ms R Snape, Mr M Edwards,
at the Cardiff Masonic Hall on Guildford
year, highlighting their achievements on
Mrs A Edwards, Mr P Mepstead, Mr M
Street, with many comrades arriving as
behalf of the Commanding Officer.
Ashley-Miller, Mr A Clay, Mr A Dean, Mr
early as Thursday to enjoy the attrac-
The evening continued with Chris
A Yoxall, Mr K Dicken, Mr R Hallewell, Mr
tions and delights of Wales’s capital
Gibbons leading the toasts and
P Smith, Mr C Lenderyou, Mr P Sabel,
city. The food, camaraderie, and service
presenting Dave Evans with the Valleys
Mr C Evans, Mr B Gabriel, Mr M Ryan,
were, as always, exceptional and greatly
Branch Flag. Before the dancing and
Mr A Greenwood, Mrs A Greenwood, Mr
appreciated by all in attendance, with
festivities began, Brigadier Alan, on behalf
D.J Duruty de Lloyd, Ms M Forse, Mr S
99 comrades and guests sitting down to
of the RCA, took the opportunity to thank
Farthing, Mr J Rawbone, Mr G Brown, Mr
dine.
Chris for his exemplary service to the
J Bangsund, Mr P Rowe, Mr G Powell, Mr
Loyal Greetings were extended to our
Association. As a token of appreciation,
D Grady, Mr S Reed, Miss R Lloyd, Mr M
Colonel-in-Chief, Her Royal Highness
he presented Chris with a regimental
Hull, Mrs J Hull, Mr R Doe, Mrs P Doe,
the Princess of Wales. Her gracious
hiking stick and Scimitar weathervane,
Mr C Morris, Mrs K Morris, Mr A Harrison,
response was read out by the Colonel
while Pat was gifted a bouquet of flowers
Mrs I Harrison, Mr J Crane, Mr G Thomas,
of the Regiment, who then provided a
in recognition of her loyal support.
Mrs J Thomas, Mr E Thompson, Lt Col B
brief update on the activities and accom-
The following members attended: Brig
Thayer, Mrs Thayer, Mr D Deacon, Mrs
plishments of the Regimental family over
Richmond, Col O’Brien, Mrs O’Brien, Maj
M Deacon, Lt Col C Ions, Mr D Rash, Mr
the course of 2024. This was followed
D Roberts, Brig J Stenhouse, Maj Jones, Lt
M Ord, Mrs J Collins, WO2 M Beal, WO2
by Major Paul Jones, the Regimental
Col Ruggles-Brise, Mr S Mildinhall, Lt Col
D Fisher, Maj J Kite, WO2 Welfoot, RSM,
Second-in-Command, who delivered a
Jones, Lt Col Tyson, Mr C Gibbons, Mrs P
Capt Cooper, SSgt Petre, Capt J Davies,
Gibbons, Mr C Williams, Mrs G Williams,
Capt Lewis, RQMS, Cpl Tukana, LCpl
Mr G Williams, Mrs S Williams, R While-
Holland, Mr M Hawtin, Maj M Evans,
Paddon, Mrs S While-Paddon, Mr G
Miss H Searle, Mrs K Cox, Mr D Way, Mr
Humphreys, Ms L Lloyd, Mr P Allen, Mrs
A Bowtell, Mrs L Bowtell, WO1 Chant,
A-M Allen, Mr G Walker, Mrs M Walker,
Capt Maxwell, Capt Al-Khamiri.
Mr D Evans, Mrs S Evans, Mr G Jones,
MLH
The QDG
Regimental
Trust
During the financial year 2023/24,
the Regiment’s reduced level of
operational deployments allowed
time for a higher level of activities
that could be supported by the
QDG Regimental Trust, including
Team Cohesion and Adventurous
Training. The principal grant to the
Regiment increased to £53,370,
(£48,494 for 2022/23) plus an addi-
tional £12,043 expenditure on the
maintenance of heritage assets,
that are on loan from the Trust to
the Messes. Richard Dennis has
been supervising a continuing
programme of refurbishment of our
magnificent picture collection.
With regard to benevolence,
£16,737 was disbursed in benev-
olence grants during the year,
mainly to Regimental veterans.
The principal point of contact is the
Regimental Secretary, who coordi-
nates our cases with other charities
and these activities are covered in
his report.
All bequests and donations to the
Trust are most gratefully received.
The full name of the charity is 1st
The Queen’s Dragoon Guards
Regimental Trust, Charity Commis-
sion number 274689. The Trustees
normally apply gifts to the unre-
stricted Trust fund, although there
is also a restricted fund for benev-
olence should donors specifically
wish to support that activity.
AFJR
KDG Reunion Lunch
Sadly, Derek Edwards who organised all of our reunion lunches for many years
is no longer with us so details I hoped to include are not available. "The annual
KDG officers lunch took place in the Cavalry Club on the 6th of November. Nine
Malayan Veterans 1956-1958 attended: Allan Edwards, John de Candole, Edward
Stenhouse, Ronnie Davidson-Houston, Jeremy Greenwood, George Nicholson,
Tony Gibson, Mike Thompson and Sam Legerton. As usual a most enjoyable
reunion. The numbers are dwindling, but the memories remain, if sometimes,
somewhat embellished. We hope that the 26th Lunch will take place, as usual,
in early November”. JAVdC
The QDG Shoot
This year (2024) is the 17th anniversary of
the QDG shoot. It was originally founded
in 2007 by Colonels O’Brien, MacKen-
zie-Beevor and Pocock as a roving
syndicate. In 2015, it found its long-term
posting to Milborne Wick, outside Sher-
borne in Dorset at Bradley Head Farm, the
home of Chris and Sarah Sprake.
Set amongst pretty perfect shooting
country, it is a mixed shoot of partridge,
pheasant and duck. Whilst all the shooting
is challenging, the partridge are particu-
larly spectacular. We aim for two days and
a bag of 150 birds. That said, on our first
day this season we shot 102 partridges, 58
pheasant and 25 duck.
We have a great mix of serving and ERE
officers (who often share a gun) and the
old and bold. We have had as many as 15
in the field, with 10 pegs. The day is also a
culinary delight, starting with breakfast at
The Kings Arms in Charlton Horethorne,
elevenses in the field and an excellent
lunch provided by Sarah Sprake.
Apart from the shooting and rations,
there is stimulating banter. Had the shoot
been running whilst I was a subaltern, I
would have learnt how to overcome one
of the huge difficulties we faced in Beirut.
When talking to Edward Stenhouse about
ten years ago, we were discussing the
merits of the Ferret scout car. The main
benefit was that they never broke down.
But I explained to Edward that every time
we went over a bump in the road, the
rounds would fall out of the canvas belt
feeding the .30s.
“Stupid boy,” was Stenhouse’s reply.
“We always soaked the belts in water
before we went out on patrol.”
Excellent shooting with first class
knowledge transfer. Anyone interested in
the coming season, please contact me.
JB-H