Page 196 - Bugle Autumn 2014

Lt Col Bill Sharpe leads the Association parade in Exeter
educated many Rifles officers and which has a thriving Rifles-badged cadet force, is right at the heart of the Regiment. Also in the town is the famous Abbey in which a chapel is dedicated to the memory of those who served in the Dorset Regiment. Each month a formal page-turning ceremony is held there. Plans are in place to include
the Devon and Dorsets in the chapel by placing two sets of Colours on the walls and displaying a new
Book of Remembrance.
It is hoped to be able
to conduct a Service of
Rededication before the
end of the year.
October was a
particularly busy month,
culminating on the
23rd with a Service
of Remembrance at
the newly-refurbished Tirah Memorial in Dorchester. This commemorates those members of the Dorsets who took part in the campaign of 1897 on the North West Frontier District of India. It was also where Private Samuel Vickery won his VC for rescuing a wounded comrade under heavy enemy fire. The memorial had become discoloured as a large tree had spread
its branches overhead. After the tree had been cut back and the memorial cleaned, it was discovered
Maj Gen Sandy Storrie meeting old friends at the Reunion
The 1 RIFLES guard exercising the Freedom of Bridport
the obelisk looked splendid in the autumn sun and acted as an appropriate focal point for the service
that some repairs were required and research showed that
the name of a particular casualty of the campaign had been omitted. Once these matters were put right, with funding from the Regimental Charity and the local council, the obelisk looked splendid in the autumn sun and acted as an appropriate focal point for the service.
The Association’s Annual Reunion took place in Exeter in May, with many members
arriving early to meet up
in local pubs and get into the spirit of the event. Once the formalities of the AGM had been completed, the parade formed up and the march through the city centre began. Over 250 members made up an impressive parade, led by the Devon Army Cadet Force Band and numerous standards. Elements
of the parade were then inspected in front of the Cathedral by the Lord-Lieutenant and the Lord Mayors of Exeter and Plymouth before a drumhead service and the most