Page 32 - QDG 2022

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1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards
and with a few sore heads, the focus switched back to South Wales as we headed to Swansea. At this stage we had been well prepared and had experience of the parades. However, no-one was quite prepared enough for just how long this freedom parade was! Despite the marathon march, local media posts and videos showed some excellent footage of a smart and well-disciplined Regiment. In the post parade reception, the OC, 2IC and SSM were acquainted with another former C Squadron soldier, Mr Tony Shuttleworth. Mr Shuttleworth shared his stores of serving in Aden with the Squadron in the 50s which were thor- oughly appreciated.
Unfortunately, the Herford parade was cancelled due to extreme hot weather, so the Sqn returned to Norfolk having represented themselves to an exemplary standard throughout the parades. Heads were held high, and all looked forward to some summer leave.
Charity Golf Event
Just before some well-earned summer leave, and on the hottest day of the year, the C Squadron golf team had another outing, but on this occasion for charity. Sergeant Daniel Pugh, Lance Corporal Sell and Lance Corporal Shaw embarked on a charity event for McMillan’s Cancer research. The aim was to spread aware- ness of cancer and to raise £500 for this important charity, and this was achieved by the team playing golf continuously for the daylight hours. They played numerous local golf courses but without stopping. As this coincided
ards. To make the most of the location, the first few days also had a battlefield study integrated into it. This focused on the importance of Gibraltar and the rock itself during the Second World War. The second half of the course was a four-day exercises in and around the tunnels and training areas of Gibraltar. This exercise focussed on the basics, but everyone was placed into command appointments at varying stages so that their suitability for command could be assessed. Lance Corporal Edwards mentioned that the highlights of this exercise were the close quarter battle training, patrolling through the centre of Gibraltar town, bunker clearances and learning about the exten- sive tunnels and fortification which were built during the war, a hugely impressive feat of engineering.
Op BALLAM / Op LONDON BRIDGE
As you will all be aware, in September, Her Majesty The Queen passed away after over 70 years on the Throne. On her passing, the military enacted Operation LONDON BRIDGE, which is the colossal military support to the period of national mourning and the state funeral itself. To assist in the delivery of this opera- tion, another operation called Operation BALLAM was introduced. The aim of Operation BALLAM was to provide addi- tional troop support to the Metropolitan Police, security services, marshals and other agencies in London. C Squadron were selected to provide 80 soldiers to this contingent and therefore a few days after the passing of The Queen,
is amazing how many of the Squadron took up marathon length runs over this period, and, even more remarkable how Stella Artois was the choice of hydration! Towards the end of the period of state mourning, the Squadron was used more and more to help the police and provide crowd control. On the day of the Funeral itself, the Squadron were on notice to move, but managed to find a spot near Buckingham Palace to pay respects and observe the funeral procession. Despite being a very sombre period in our national history, all members of the Squadron were honoured to be part of this event and wish The King, a long and happy reign. C Squadron again returned to Norfolk after a multitude of forms of transport, including trains.
Handover
After two and a half years in Command of C Squadron, in October, Major Bryn Williams handover over the Squadron to the second-in-command, Captain George Barham. Major Williams gave an emotional farewell to the Squadron, presenting them with a United Nations flag which had been signed by all those who had deployed on Operation NEWCOMBE 2. In his leaving speech, he couldn’t help but finish with a few quotes which had become ingrained in the Squadron, particularly ‘Be Steady and Be Blue,’ and ‘in the Great Sand Sea, the Cavalry are King!’
A look to 2023
After a varied and thoroughly enjoyable year, the Squadron now begins to look at the horizon for future events. These primarily involve a deployment to Texas in the USA to support the multinational exercise - Exercise WARFIGHTER. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, a number of the Squadron will also be involved in supporting the training provided to Ukrainians, which will be a valuable contribution to the war effort and one which I know the Squadron will excel at.
Promotions/Awards
Before we close for this year, it is impor- tant to recognise a few members of the Squadron who have received honours and awards throughout 2022. Most notably, Sergeant Adam Humphreys, who was award a mention in Dispatches for his acts of bravery whilst in contact with the enemy on Operation NEWCOMBE 2. Major Williams and Lance Corporal Wright received Joint Commanders’ Commendations for their time deployed on this operation. To recognise her support to females in peace keeping Lance Corporal (then Trooper) Faulk- ener was awarded the civilian Rising Star award which is a tremendous accolade.
BW & GB
with the summer solstice, that meant almost 21 hours of golf! In total 25 miles were walked, and 72 holes of golf were played. Despite some sunburnt faces and sore shoulders, the team managed to ‘drive’ past the initial target and raised over £700 for McMillian, an excel- lent result.
Ex BARBARY STAR
the Squadron were merely given roll mats and told to sleep on the floor of disused office blocks – all very odd
C Squadron found them- selves yet again deploying on an operation, this time to London. After numerous coach journeys and a lot of waiting around, C Squadron arrived in St James in central London. Here we found ourselves accommodated in a massive disused depart- ment store above the tube station. Despite being told that the accommodation and food would be good (ha!), the Squadron were merely given roll mats and told to sleep on the floor of disused office blocks – all very odd. The first few days were a frantic blur of activity as everyone
In October 2022, a few
members of C Squadron
had the privilege to join the
Royal Yeomanry (RY) as
they conducted their Poten-
tial Non-Commission Officer
cadre in Gibraltar. The course started bright and early on a Monday morning where the students woke to see the famous Gibraltar rock. From this morning onwards, each day the students thought that at some stage they would be made to run up it! The first few days of the course involved the Army Leadership Develop- ment Programme which included lessons on training delivery, the role of a NCO, health and safety and values and stand-
massed onto the site and tried to identify what our role would be. On several occa- sions, the Squadron deployed to support police vehicle checkpoints and to help manage the infamous queue which was forming to see Her Majesty lying in state. Aside from these tasks there was a lot of waiting around. Everyone got used to ‘playing the system’ with every person of the Squadron taking advantage of the ability to ‘go for a run’ around London. It