Page 29 - MERCIAN Eagle 2020

Sports, Adventure Training & Messes
Officers’ Mess
PMC: Maj Wheeler
As I am sure all Messes around the Mercian Regiment will agree, 2020 has been a somewhat frustrating year. For the Officers of 1 MERCIAN, the year started positively, finally welcoming our own Pte Derby bust to the Mess and also with a January Dinner night; an opportunity for all the officers
in the Battalion to sit down for a formal supper for the first time since A (Grenadier) Company’s return from Estonia in late
2019 and enjoy the trials and tribulations of the Tapper’s Cup as some of our officers tried (and sometimes failed) to outwit each other. Undeterred by COVID-19 the vast majority of livers-in chose to ‘lockdown’ in the Mess for much of the spring, they made the best of the situation and developed a siege mentality to allow them to continue to work and keep each other’s spirits up whilst remaining safe amongst the rich history the Mess provides.
This year has seen significant churn
for the Mess and we have said farewell
to several Mess Members; our Battalion second-in-command Nick Higgins,
the Quartermaster Martyn Chatterley,
four Company Commanders (including
Matt Odell, Ed Michell and Alex Burgess), Padre Mark Henderson, Ops Officer Jack England, OC LAD Aaron Ritchie (REME), the RSO Alex Johl, OC Anti-Tanks Capt Reece Courtney, Lts Church (SPS) and Moore and of course our Commanding Officer Lt Col Neil Kelly. We wish them all well in their
new ventures. A special mention has to
go out to OC Headquarter Company, Maj Mick Whillock (Uncle Mick), MERCIAN and STAFFORDS legend, who has left the Army after 33 years in uniform. At the time of
Warrant Officers’ and Sgts’ Mess
PMC: WO2 Massey
For those not in the Battalion the
1 MERCIAN Warrant Officers’ and Sgts’ mess have profited massively in 2020.
The HCR moved into Bulford and their Officers took over the grandiose, but unfit for purpose, mess we were using, and a brand-new facility was built for us. We now have all members living in the same building whereas prior we were spread all over camp in several buildings. This has done a lot to improve mess cohesion and the bar and dining area is the best mess facility in the Army. Great thanks must go to WO2 Buckley for his efforts in setting up the new mess; he has gone above and beyond the
writing, we still owe him a proper dine out! OC Recce, Tom Margetts, deserves
praise for doggedly breaking through
the COVID-19 risk-assessment barrier
to arrange a hugely successful Officers’ Mess versus Warrant Officers’ and Sergeants’ Mess cricket match in Tidworth in September. After arriving in Company t-shirts and tracksuit bottoms, we believed that cricket might not be the preferred choice of sport of the Warrant Officers and SNCOs of the Battalion. We were right. However, they gave us a great game and most definitely won the sledging contest with some outrageous (not to mention slanderous) heckling. Nevertheless, the Officers valiantly prevailed against such adversity, winning comfortably (no matter what the PMC of the Warrant Officers’ and Sergeants Mess’ might tell you). Despite the challenges of the year, the Mess remains
Captains Gardner and Arnold retire after batting
The officers’ winning score of 156 runs. Photo evidence required due to Sgts’ attempts at cheating
very healthy, with a committed cohort
of Mess members sustaining the close- knit family ethos on which the Mercian Regiment prides itself. We don’t know how long current restrictions will prevent us from having a proper Mess function, but we do know that an increasingly healthy Entertainments Fund ensure it will be some party when we do!
The teams
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
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