Page 123 - MERCIAN Eagle 2021

MOOR
Dougie Moor, ex 1st Battalion of the Cheshire Regiment, died on 30th January 2021.
NICHOOLS
James Nichools died on 4th January 2021.
NOY
24412246 LCpl Eddie J NOY died on
15 January 2021. Eddie enlisted on 10 February 1976 and served with A Coy 3 WFR, he was discharged 9 February 1983.
O’BRIEN
Cpl Gerald ‘Gerry’ A O’BRIEN of Suffolk died on 12 December 2021 aged 92. Gerry originally enlisted into the General Service Corps and shortly afterwards, transferred to The Sherwood
Foresters on 27 February 1947. He served in the UK and Germany until his discharge on 16 October 1952. He then joined the Reserves until 15 December 1958.
OLDFIELD
Mr Barrie Oldfield, who served with the
1st Battalion of the Cheshire Regiment from 1957/1967, the 7th Battalion of the Cheshire Regiment, 1968, and 1 MERCIAN Volunteers as CSM ‘A’ Company, died on 11th March 2021.
PLANT
Pte David PLANT of Malvern died on 8 February 2021 aged 87. Dave enlisted
into The Worcestershire Regiment on the 27 March 1952 serving in Section
‘A’ RAR 5th Pln in Malaya during the ‘Emergency’. Discharging on 26
March 1955. After National Service Dave served as a Pte in the Army Reserve from 1955-59. Dave was awarded the GSM Malaya Medal. Dave was a very valued member of Worcester Branch WFRA and was awarded the Association Merit Award for Outstanding Service in 2015.
POULTNEY
Sgt John Poultney died on 5th April
2021. He joined A Company of the 7th Battalion the Worcestershire Regiment (TA) as a Junior Bandsman in 1963. He later transferred to B Company of the Mercian Volunteers in 1967.
PRESTON
Maj Les A PRESTON of Kent died on 25 September 2021 aged 79. Les enlisted as a junior leader in 1957 and after training joined The 1st Bn Sherwood Foresters in 1961 and served in NI
and Colchester. In 1967 he was posted
to IJLB Oswestry as an adventure training instructor and then, after a brief spell back in the Bn, he became a recruiter at ACIO
Derby. He joined 1 WFR in 1971 and served in Warminster, NI, Berlin and Ballykelly, as OC 13 AYT, then Colchester and Belize.
He was commissioned in 1979 and served successively in 1 Staffords, POW Depot Crickhowell, as OC EL Wing JIB Shornclife and as Chief Instructor Cadet Training Centre before retiring from the army in 1989.
RATCHFORD
Daniel Ratchford, ex 1st Battalion Cheshire Regiment, died on the 2nd November 2020.
RICHARDS
Maj Roger AU RICHARDS
of Cheltenham died on 9 October 2021 aged 90. Roger followed his father, Brig HU Richards CBE DSO, into The Worcestershire Regiment and joined the
1st Bn in Malaya in July 1950. In May
1952, while leading a jungle patrol, he
was wounded during an ambush and subsequently evacuated to hospital in the UK. Upon recovery, he was posted as ADC to General Gale, C-in-C BAOR in 1953. He returned to the 1st Bn Iserlohn in 1955 and served with it in the West Indies until posted as Adjt of the Depot in 1957. After a further tour in the 1st Bn and a staff appointment in BAOR he re-joined the Bn in Gibraltar
in 1965. He spent the rest of his service in intelligence appointments in BAOR, UK and Norway and then worked at GCHQ as a RO until retiring in 1995. He was a valued volunteer at RHQ researching and writing many articles for the regimental magazine and cataloguing the archives until recently. Two of his sons, Hugh and Benjamin, also served in WFR.
ROSS
Regretfully, we have few details about the early life of this former Warrant Officer, but Stan (as he was known), was a much- liked regimental figure in the 1970s and 1980s. He came from the Walsall area and enlisted into 1st Battalion, The Staffordshire Regiment. We believe that he served in Berlin (1970), Dover, Bahrain, Sharjah, Dover again and Osnabruck. In 1974, as a Sergeant, he became Platoon Commander of 6 Platoon in the middle of the Derry tour. Although the province was quieter than
the peak year of violence which was 1972, there was still a lot going on and soon
after his appointment, B Company lost 2
Lt Mike Simpson (4 Platoon) to a terrorist ambush. In 1977 Stan was a recruiting sergeant in West Bromwich. He returned to the Battalion as a Colour Sergeant and was posted to A Company as CQMS. His CSM was Terry Ellison and together they made an effective and entertaining command team. As a WO2 he served with the Junior Soldier’s Battalion in Taunton in 1981 –
83, which was the right selection, as in motivational terms, he was strong in carrot with little or no stick; which works better with junior soldiers. He then became CSM
of C Company, 1 STAFFORDs in Colchester and finally moved to 2 MERCIAN (V). Stan will always be remembered for his quiet, but efficient way of getting on with things. He had a ‘no fuss style’ of professionalism. He also had a very dry sense of humour. He will be missed by all of those who served with him. Our sincere condolences go to his wife Frances and her family.
RYDER
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Sgt Matthew Ryder, on 27th November 2021, at the age of 34. Matt passed away
at his home in Worcester
and leaves behind his father Michael, brother Dan, sisters Vicky and
Sarah and many close friends. He was born in Cambridge on
25th September 1987 but grew up in Swadlincote in South Derbyshire for
much of his life. Matt served with the MERCIAN regiment from February 2006 until December 2020, completing two tours of Afghanistan and multiple overseas exercises. He also deployed to Iraq attached to the Royal Artillery.
Matt had a passion for dogs, cars and even achieved a black belt in Taekwondo. Above all, he always had time to listen to others. Until his final day he dedicated much of his time to helping his closest friends.
Matt’s funeral was held at Carnarvon Chapel, Burton upon Trent on Wednesday 22nd December 2021. The funeral was attended by many soldiers that served with Matt both past and present.
SAVIC
Michael Savic enlisted into 1st Battalion, The Staffordshire Regiment in Dover and was with them in 1973. He served with
the battalion in Osnabruck and was a Lance Corporal in C Company under Paul Mulingani. He then served in Colchester. His Northern Ireland tours included the tours in Derry (1974), Belfast (1976) and the eighteen-month tour in Derry (1979- 80). In the 1983 – 85 tour of Colchester
he was in the Reconnaissance Platoon, which had re-equipped with the new Fox armoured car. When the battalion deployed to Fallingbostel, they were equipped
with Scimitars. In one test exercise, the platoon commander was injured and Mick commanded the platoon on a divisional concentration and did extremely well, gaining one of the first B grades
for an infantry ‘Recce Platoon’. He later served with the Battalion’s Training Wing, something that he enjoyed and excelled in.
When he left the Army, he settled in Rugeley with his wife and became involved with Rugeley Branch of The Staffordshire Regiment Association. In 2013, he proposed that Rugeley Branch would host the Staffordshire Regimental Association Regimental Reunion at Lea Hall Club in Rugley. This was approved and thanks to Mick, his branch and the club staff, we had
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