Page 5 - QDG Volume 9 No. 5

1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards 3
Colonel of the Regiment’s
Foreword
The past year has gone in a flash for me,
and I suspect it will have also for those
serving with 1st The Queen’s Dragoon
Guards. Their Brigade Commander
acknowledged at a medals parade at
Swanton Morley in early December
that QDG was the most operationally
committed regiment within the Army
over 2024 and praised the spirit, profes-
sionalism and positivity of our officers
and soldiers.
Our squadrons have passed like
ships in the night as they have bounced
between commitments, and it has been
well over a year since the Regiment
has been all in one place together. Our
families have had to endure lengthy
separations and for the second year in
a row we had a squadron (this time C
Squadron) deployed over Christmas.
As has now become routine for this
small family Regiment, the sacrifice of
those serving was reflected across our
Regimental Comrades who once again
stepped up to raise the funds to provide
every soldier deployed with some useful
gifts and each of their families with a
hamper of Welsh goodies.
As you will read in the pages below,
the ■■■ pace of life has been principally
due to three back-to-back six-month
tours in Poland for our sabre squad-
rons. Where they served alongside US,
Romanian and Croatian forces as part of
NATO’s efforts to deter Russian aggres-
sion in the Baltic region. Each squadron
conducted pre-deployment training at
Fort Irwin, California alongside US allies,
which added to the tally of time away
from home. You will also note that in 2024
QDG soldiers also saw service on oper-
ations in Kosovo and Cyprus and have
trained in France, Germany, Italy, Norway
and Sweden amongst others. For the
last 6 months of the year, QDG oversaw
the training of over 2,000 Ukrainians
in North Yorkshire as part of Operation
INTERFLEX. Recruits arrive as civilians
with no military experience and depart
as trained soldiers, ready for service on
the frontline. QDG has also strengthened
friendships with existing partners and
allies and forged new ties where oppor-
tunity arises. These relationships are key
to ensure mutual trust and understanding
with those alongside whom QDG might
be called to fight.
I was fortunate to visit A Squadron in
Poland in March, RHQ in North York-
shire in November and to help present
medals at Swanton Morley in December.
Whilst there is so much that has changed
in the Army, I always return from such
visits uplifted by the clear evidence that
For the last 6 months of
the year, QDG oversaw
the training of over 2,000
Ukrainians in North
Yorkshire as part of
Operation INTERFLEX
somehow the rather intangible, magical
QDG spirit that we all knew and loved still
endures. In part, perhaps this is because
we strive not just for professional excel-
lence but also to give our people a richer
life experience. In such a high opera-
tional tempo it would be easy to drop
other aspects of regimental life and yet
QDG have competed in sports ranging
from sailing to rally car driving. We have
developed a very competitive Nordic
skiing team and recently our squash and
boxing teams became Royal Armoured
Corps champions. This is testament to
good leadership and to the quality and
resilience of our young soldiers.
Our Regimental Comrades have also
been very active this year with many
gatherings and reunions held over
2024. The RCA regional branches go
from strength to strength, and it was
a pleasure to present a new flag to our
newest ‘Valleys Branch’ in October. Such
a vibrant RCA provides our veterans
opportunities for comradeship and
re-connecting with former comrades-in-
arms and binds people into an enduring
regimental ‘cwtch’.
Our wider community also thrives.
Our museum has recovered from its
pandemic low, visitor numbers are up,
its governance is tight and financial
foundations robust thanks to the chair-
manship of Jono Beatson-Hird who has
now handed over the reins to Brigadier
Didi Wheeler of the Royal Welsh. The
Regimental Trust is also very healthy
thanks to our trustees under Alex Roe’s
chairmanship and the serving regiment
and our wider community benefit from
generous financial support for lots of
retention positive, ésprit de corps or
regimental cohesion activities and initi-
atives. Our badged Combined Cadet
Force in Rydal Penrhos School, Colwyn
Bay, is going from strength to strength
and I was honoured to be able to present
QDG berets to the members of their
Army contingent in May. QDG has been
as supportive as it can, given its ■■■
programme, to our badged Army Cadet
Force detachments across Wales. It was
also reassuring to end the year with a
visit, alongside the Commanding Officer,
to Kensington Palace to engage with the
Princess of Wales’s Private Secretary
to explore future regimental engage-
ments and we all look forward to seeing
our Colonel-in-Chief in the year ahead.
A lucky five deserving members from
across our regimental family attended
a Carol Service at Westminster Abbey
hosted by Her Royal Highness in early
December.
The year ended on a sad note with the
loss of Lieutenant General Sir Maurice
Johnston who had such a significant
impact on the Regiment from the amal-
gamation process that formed it, as
Commanding Officer from 1971-1973 and
as Colonel of the Regiment 1986-1991
where he was instrumental to saving the
Regiment from amalgamation in the 1992
‘Options for Change’ Defence Review. He
remained a regimental eminence grise
throughout his retirement and we owe
him a huge debt of gratitude.
Whilst manning in the Regiment
remains strong, wider recruiting chal-
lenges are a worry and the wider QDG
community can help by encouraging kith,
kin and friends to join this fine Regiment.
Enjoy this year’s journal and read
about all the exploits and achievements
of our people who ensure QDG remains
First and Foremost!