Page 193 - Bugle Autumn 2014

OBITUARIES
BRUNYEE Robert Roy Brunyee (Roy) died on 8th June 2014 aged ninety-two. Born and bred in Padstow, he trained as a builder and became a byword in the town for his skill as a tradesman.
1941 found him in Plymouth helping to repair some of the devastation caused by German bombing, and it was there that he received his call up papers. He was drafted to the 5th Battalion DCLI, joining them on the east coast where they were deployed guarding the beaches between Walton-on-the-Naze and Harwich. Because of his trade skills, he was posted to the Assault Pioneer Platoon. In the Summer of 1942 the Battalion became part of 214 Brigade, earmarked for the invasion of France. After training on the Isle of Wight and in Kent, they crossed to Normandy on 21st June as part of the 43rd (Wessex) Division.
After a series of skirmishes in the advance to Caen, the Battalion was thrown into Operation Jupiter – the capture of Hill 112 which controlled the vital crossings of the River Orne. The Germans were fully aware of the immense tactical importance of Hill 112 and thus deployed a very large armoured force in
its defence. The subsequent battle was perhaps the most
desperate action of the Normandy campaign. The 5th Battalion was the only unit of the 43rd Wessex Division actually to reach the objective, but in the course of holding it for nineteen hours against enormous odds was forced to withdraw, having been reduced to barely company strength. Brunyee was wounded, and owed his life to the courage of the carrier drivers who continually
ran the gauntlet dodging the German tanks to evacuate the wounded to safety.
After a period in hospital in England, he rejoined the 5th Battalion, serving with them in the many battles fought in France, Holland and Germany.
After the war Brunyee returned to his old trade as a builder in Padstow. Although a man of great humility who would never have dreamed of carping about his war experiences, he was
immensely proud of the 5th Battalion, attending their annual Old Comrades dinners in Newquay each year.
He married Olive after the war who sadly died of cancer in 1979. They had one son Robert, to whom we extend our sincere sympathy.
CARLYON Serjeant Brian Roy (Chuck) Carlyon of 1 Cosawes, Ponsanooth, died on 4th June 2014 aged seventy-eight. He lived the many facets of his life to the full, enjoying all that he accomplished and making many friends.
Born one of six children, he helped support
his family while still at school, delivering fruit and vegetables for a nearby small holding. On leaving school at fourteen, he put his energies into running a chicken farm at Illogan; then, at sixteen, he decided to swap chickens for pigs. After a year or so he made a big change, becoming a tin miner at Wheal Jane (?) which was still just in business.
Called up for National Service, he enlisted in the DCLI and served with the 1st Battalion in Jamaica for two very enjoyable years. He was a
born soldier – loyal, sociable with a great sense of humour – and it was therefore no great surprise that, after a short time on the Reserve, he re- enlisted in the SCLI for a further spell of happy service in Gibraltar, Berlin and Northern Ireland, rising to the rank of Serjeant. When Chuck finally left the army he was able to pursue his abiding interests, racing pigeons at National level, while at the same time becoming a highly accomplished gardener.
The presence at his funeral at Penmount Crematorium of a splendid gathering of Old Comrades that overflowed the chapel was a testimony to his great popularity amongst all ranks.
We extend our sincere sympathy to Chuck’s widow, Edna.
CLINTON Major George William Tremaine Clinton died suddenly on 17th November 2013 at the age of eighty-six. Educated at Worwood and Heles schools in his home town of Exeter, he was called up for National Service in 1945, he experienced a wide range of postings which led him to Malaya, the Rhine Army, the Caribbean, Australia, Austria and U.K.
Clinton originally joined the 28th Training Battalion in Northern Ireland, before being posted to 163 OCTU (Artists Rifles) from which he received a War Emergency Commission.
Commissioned into the Devonshire Regiment, he was posted to their 4th Battalion in Austria, but, after converting to a Regular Commission, joined their 1st Battalion in Hong Kong. A subsequent move to Malaya saw the Devons deployed in the State of Johore, one of the first British units to see action in the jungle against the Communist MRLA. Once out alone with the unarmed padré he came face to face with a Chinese terrorist – confronted by the Church Militant, the terrorist fled!
Returning home in 1949, he exchanged from the Devons
to the DCLI, serving as Mortar Officer in Bordon, Bulford and Minden. He was also an expert rifle shot, representing 1 DCLI at Bisley in 1952.
Later that year, Clinton was seconded to the rapidly expanding Malay Regiment. Returning to the jungle of Malaya, he served with the 1st Battalion against the terrorists in the States of Johore, Perak and Kedah. He finished his three year attachment as Adjutant. On returning to England, Clinton qualified on the anti-tank course at Netheravon and then rejoined 1 DCLI in British Honduras as 21C of B Company. Whilst there he attended the atom bomb tests at Maralinga, Australia, as the Caribbean Area representative.
On the return of the Battalion to England, he served as the Anti-Tank Officer in Osnabruck. In 1957, he was posted to the DCLI (TA) as Training Officer/Adjutant. Two years later he was attached to the REME Army Apprentices School at Arborfield in charge of military and adventure training. During this final tour of duty he met and married Margaret Cawse, a school teacher from his home town of Exeter.
Retiring from the Army in 1964, Clinton found employment with a Finance Company in Sussex. There he found time to indulge his love of gardening, ornithology, photography and wood carving. We extend our condolences to Margaret and her two sons, Tremaine and Julian.
THE RIFLES
REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATION NEWS 191