Page 93 - KRH Year of 2021 CREST

Soon after Julian assumed command of B Squadron the Tenth spent a few months in Tidworth converting to the armoured car role in preparation for a tour in the Arabian Peninsula in 1964. Having commanded Recce Troop in Jordon a few years earlier Julian was in his element. In desert conditions. B Squadron was first deployed to the Radfan. Rebel activity had continued after the main campaign and mines, mortar and small arms fire were a constant hazard. Three of the five troops operated in iso- lated locations in support of 2nd Battalion Coldstream Guards, 1st and 4th Battalions Royal Anglian Regiment, 45 Commando Royal Marines, and the Federal Regular Army (FRA). Julian was respected for his professionalism by their respective commanding officers and B Squadron received high praise from many quarters.
After five months the squadron moved to Beihan near the Yemen border with troops again deployed in isolated locations in sup- port of the 2nd Battalion FRA. There was less rebel activity but administrative support of the widely dispersed squadron some 200 miles from the main base in Aden was a challenge. The final move was to Sharjah in the Trucial States (now the UAE) for four months. This change of scene and tempo included a long squad- ron patrol to Muscat & Oman and a small detachment to Riyadh to demonstrate Ferret scout cars to the Saudi Arabian military. Throughout the long unaccompanied tour Julian proved to be a resourceful, respected and popular squadron leader. Late in 1965 the regiment arrived in Munster and Julian remained in com- mand of B Squadron for a further year in the traditional BAOR armoured car role.
Sometime after arriving in Germany Julian met Susan Whitby and they married December 1967. By this time Julian was Adjutant of the Sennelager Training Centre. Subsequent appointments included a spell at Bovington, Training Major with the Mercian Yeomanry and as a Ground Liaison Officer with 6 Squadron RAF at Coningsby. When Julian retired from the Army in 1975 the Gordons bought a house at Woodhall Spa in Lincolnshire. They had one son, Alexander. Julian worked for Ross Poultry for sev- eral years and was then bursar of a girls’ school before contracting the dementia from which he subsequently died. He will always be remembered with great respect and fondness by his former 10th Hussar comrades.
up troop morale with his sense of humour. Nevertheless, on a live firing exercise he had been peppered by a hail of small iron splin- ters when a machine gun shattered. Fortunately, he was using binoculars at the time and avoided damage to his eyesight.
On the sporting side he had become a rugby officer. He admired the Fijians most of whom were huge men weighing 16 stone and standing over 6ft, and described playing them as “trying to slow down oak trees hurtling towards you at 60mph”. He single-hand- edly won the Regimental Sports Competition for A Squadron. He excelled in discus, shot-put, and all the running events up to 400yds. He was an all-round athlete with prodigious power and coordination. He played occasional cricket and scored 183 in an inter-state match. Sadly, for the regiment and the Army at the beginning of August his time was finished. He returned to England by troopship, and in due course was awarded the Malaya Campaign Medal which he was justly proud of.
In October 1955 he went to Jesus College, Cambridge to begin his glorious career in first class cricket. This should not detract from a very full life, with success playing golf at the highest level, pilot- ing his own aeroplane, several successful business enterprises, journalism, public relations, and cricket administration becom- ing President of M.C.C. in 2001. In all this he was supported by Susan his widow and loving wife for 62 years.
For the record and briefly, he played in 62 tests, scoring 4502 runs averaging 47.9. His bowling average was 34.9 taking 66 wickets. He captained England 31 times, winning 10, losing 7 and drawing 14. Equally impressive were his feats for Sussex.
His autobiography was published by Quiller in 2020 and is a thor- oughly good read. An objective excellent obituary was published
The Regimental Journal of The King’s Royal Hussars 91
in the Daily Telegraph on 27 August 2021.
CJ Spence Esq
10th Royal Hussars (PWO) 1956-1957
JGUD
E R Dexter CBE
11th Hussars (PAO) 1954-1956
JPWF
In July 1953, Ted Dexter left Radley College where he had been Head Boy and played
cricket for 4 years in the school team. He began his National Service in Carlisle. After 10 weeks he was selected for officer training at Mons in Aldershot. Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in April 1954, he was posted to 11th Hussars, then based in-Malaya on active service. Arriving by troopship, he joined A Squadron at Seremban, com- manded by George Hodgkinson, and whose task it was to deter and
An affable, patrician and larger than life figure Christopher was born at Clifton, Bristol in 1937, educated at Marlborough and joined the regiment in 1956 in Aqaba, Jordan as a National Service officer. He was a good all- round athlete and the 10th Hussar Gazette recorded he hit a long ball at polo and was a successful spin bowler for C Squadron.
On completing his National Service Christopher joined his family firm Spence Veitch, City Stockbrokers. He also joined the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry and
was posted to B Squadron in Devizes as a Troop Leader.
Christopher was a member of the Stock Exchange, then became a merchant banker and was later High Sheriff of Berkshire. He was a man with limitless energy, amazing financial and organisational skills and an enormous love for horses. He became a member of the Jockey Club in 1986, later to be appointed Senior Steward from 1998 to 2003. He will be remembered for the many changes he introduced to improve racing and ensure the commercial suc- cess of the organisation we know today.
Christopher was also a successful owner-breeder with his own small stud where he bred a horse called Celeric. The horse was
detain communist terrorists using force if required. He quickly became a competent Troop Leader with great common sense and drive.
In May 1955, his troop was sent to Singapore to assist B Squadron quell rioting. He seems to have understood the danger and kept