Page 237 - The Rifles Bugle Autumn 2019
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and 1950 in London, Bulford and Hong Kong. His service with 1KSLI in the Far East was curtailed when, en route back to the UK to attend a signals course, he was evacuated from the troopship with acute appendicitis. Once recovered, he held the appointment of Adjutant at the KSLI Depot in Shrewsbury from 1950 to 1952, earning the lasting respect of all who passed through the Depot during those years. He went on to serve with 1KSLI in Göttingen (BAOR) as MTO and then as a Company Commander. He was still commanding a Company when the Battalion deployed to Kenya for operations against the Mau Mau. In 1956 he was transferred to HQ East Africa Command in Nairobi where he held a G3 training appointment until 1958. He rejoined 1KSLI, by then stationed in Colchester, serving as Adjutant to Lieutenant Colonel John Hardy until 1961. His contemporaries recall him being outstanding in that role. He then transferred to 4th (TA) Battalion KSLI, soldering for three years as Training Major. For the remainder of his Army career he served, successively, as DAAG at the LI Depot, DAAG(A) at AG2 Branch in Stanmore and OIC Infantry Manning and Records in York.
On his retirement in 1975 he managed Light Infantry affairs with consummate expertise and authority as Regimental Secretary in Shrewsbury and then Winchester until 1988. He was a key member of the Shropshire and Herefordshire Deputy Colonel’s Committee, a Shropshire Regimental Museum Trustee and Chairman of the Shropshire and Herefordshire Light Infantry Combined Charitable Trust. He took a keen interest in local affairs outside the Regiment and was for some years much acclaimed Master of the Drapers’ Company in Shrewsbury, well known for its historic ambiance and excellent cuisine. He was also County Treasurer for the Royal British Legion and was actively involved with SSAFA for over 25 years.
Richard was a man of great integrity and uncompromisingly high standards which he passed on to countless members of the Regiment. Inexperienced young KSLI and LI officers stood somewhat in awe of him but invariably found him, with time, to be really approachable and helpful. Successive Regimental County Secretaries benefited enormously from his broad experience and wise counsel. He was a keen and accomplished sportsman, playing cricket at Battalion level for some eight years. He enjoyed riding and was a dedicated and elegant shot, hosting many a good day’s game shooting at Pitchford and Leigh Manor.
Richard Osborne’s final departure really leaves an unfillable gap in Shropshire life and particularly in the lives of those Regimental Officers who had the privilege of serving with him and enjoying his good company thereafter. We offer our kindest thoughts to his widow, June, who was, in his own words, his rock over the years. And to their sons, Stephen and Simon (who accompanied their father on a number of KSLI battlefield tours) we also express our most sincere sympathy; and the assurance that they and June will continue to enjoy the affection and support of the many Regimental friends whom Richard made during his long life.
PATERSON. Captain Malcolm Paterson died, aged 87, at a nursing home in Pretoria on 11 May 2019.
On completing his education at Downside, Malcolm enlisted in the Royal Artillery in September 1951. From 1952 to 1953 he trained as an Officer Cadet at OCS Mons, then at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst where he enjoyed hunting and beagling, also representing the RMAS at sailing. He was commissioned in The King’s Shropshire Light Infantry in July 1953 and posted to 1KSLI in Göttingen (BAOR). As a subaltern he excelled in various equestrian events and was in the winning team of the BAOR Hunter Trials when the Light Infantry Trophy was won by 1KSLI.
In early 1954 he was appointed ADC to Lieutenant General Sir Eric Down, GOC Southern Command who was later to become Colonel of The Regiment. He rejoined 1KSLI in January 1955, serving as Battalion Intelligence Officer in Kenya during the Mau Mau Campaign. While in Kenya he rode in the team which won the All Kenya Polo Championships in 1957, the year in which he also got married. He remained with the Battalion while it was deployed to Bahrain and then to Aden. In November 1957 he was appointed
Brigade Training Officer at Headquarters The Light Infantry Brigade in Strensall, serving there until early 1960 when he was posted to Harrogate as Wing Commander of HQ Company AAS. From December 1960 until January 1962 he was Adjutant of the KSLI Depot in Shrewsbury.
After leaving the Army Malcolm worked for some years with Bowater Packaging. In 1969 he and his family settled in South Africa. His wife, Tilla, died in 2016. To their daughter, Camilla, and two sons, Martin and James, we offer our sincere condolences on losing a father who gave valuable service to the KSLI and who made a number of lifelong friends in the Regiment.
ROGERS. Albert William Stanley (Stan)
Rogers, who died on 14th April 2019,
aged 87 had the unusual distinction of
serving with the KOYLI, the KSLI and
the Middlesex Regt during his National
Service. A Shropshire Lad, Stan was on
his way to join 1 KOYLI in Singapore in
1949 when he was rebadged and sent
on to join 1 KSLI in Hong Kong. When
the decision was made to send British
troops to Korea in July 1950 to repel
the Chinese advances, another Hong
Kong-based battalion, 1 Middlesex,
was tasked, but War Office rules meant
that nobody under nineteen could be
sent to the war zone. Volunteer reinforcements were sought from 1 KSLI and Stan, who had just had his nineteenth birthday, rebadged and became a “Die Hard”.
After a long hard winter of fighting in the Korean mountains, during which Stan was a driver and stretcher bearer, 1 Middlesex returned to Hong Kong and then UK at the end of 1951 and Stan, his National Service completed, joined 4 KSLI (TA) in Shrewsbury. He was posted to the MT platoon, where he gained the various heavy goods vehicle licences that prepared him for a civilian career in transport lasting over forty years.
Stan was a very active member of the Regimental Association, being the Shrewsbury Branch Treasurer for fifteen years and the organiser of many legendary branch outings in UK and Europe. As his Korean War contemporaries passed away, Stan regarded himself as “the last man standing”, and he very nearly was. Stan’s funeral was held at Shrewsbury Crematorium with buglers, standard bearers and many family and friends in attendance.
WALKER. Robert James (Bob) Walker, who died on 7th December 2018, aged 87, carried out his training in Taunton before joining 1 KSLI in Hong Kong in November 1949. He deployed to Korea with the Signal Platoon the following year and, on completion of National Service in September 1951 he joined the Herefordshire LI (TA).
A supermarket manager in Warwick- shire for nearly 50 years, Bob was an enthusiastic supporter of Signal Platoon reunions and attended the LI Associ- ation Dinner in Shrewsbury every year, his last appearance being two months before his death.
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