Page 240 - The Bugle 2018

COCO’S BRIEFING OVER, WE WERE SHOUTED AT BY ROBERT (CHAD) CHOUDHURY (SOMETHING ABOUT GETTING INTO LINES!). WE WERE CLEARLY AT THE MERCY OF A PT JUNTA AND OFF WE WENT
by car and overtook us with horns blaring to park up at the next convenient spot to wave flags and shout encouragement, a theme that continued throughout the walk.
Having driven past the Bush 100s of times and never dropped in, I and all the team were really pleased with the hospitality, the food and the bar, although not too much of the later. We were happy to have a rest as our first leg had been conducted at a brisk pace. After lunch, the rest and more chatter, we set off at a more acceptable pace to complete the 15 miles to our next stop.
On arrival at Kingsland and the rugby club we were met by our patron Lt Col Ron Bevan who had been a font of advice and good company with it. We unloaded the kit and the tents, then the fun began. The breeze was brisk, the rain threatened, and the tents were blowing in the wind. Chris Topham, Mark Keville and I struggled to erect my 4 man tent (there was no struggle in all three of us advising the others how this should be done) whilst next door General Tim Evans had his issue one man tent up in no time and had been lying down relaxing and doing emails. Our tent quickly got the nickname of the “Officers’ Mess.” We took advantage of the showers and BBQ and had a very relaxing evening.
There had been sad news from Terry Wiltshire that his mother had died just before the march. Never- theless, Terry had turned up on time ready for the off, as was his mother’s wish, I believe. At the end of Day 1 he had to return home to make the necessary arrangements for his mother’s funeral returning on Day 2 to finish the march which was much admired.
Day 2. The start of Day 2 there was a dawn chorus of enthusiasts standing by their tents and communicating at high decibels with each other, which woke us up at c. 5am. We tried to ignore this noisy intrusion but shortly gave way rolling our sleeping bags back and got up for a shower, shave and breakfast. Then we turned to dismantling our tents and packing them away. This was something that I was not looking forward to especially as our neighbour would have his tent down and packed in next to know time. However, expectation is not always met. To our delight General Tim was having all sorts of trouble with this tent, so much so that after
we had achieved the necessary with our tent neatly packed away, offers of assistance to our neighbour were aplenty. With the skill and patience of Topman Topham, the said tent was quickly packed away but unfortunately in an unusable state thereafter.
Just before setting off to another bugle call, we were summoned by Colin (Cambo) Davies, Bugle Major accompanied by another ex Bugle Major, John Boy Morris, for some physical exercise which was supposed to help us. Once the exertion was completed and Coco’s briefing over, we were shouted at by Robert (Chad) Choudhury (something about getting into lines!). We were clearly at the mercy of a PT junta and off we went.
This day of walking was going to be different. We started marching down small country lanes often single lane where the vehicles had to stop to allow us to pass or indeed another vehicle to pass. This gave us the opportunity to shake the collecting boxes and ask for a donation “however large of small, it is all gratefully received.” Fairly early on a large tractor pulled over to allow us to get by. As I approached him cries went out along the lines of “He’s a farmer, you won’t get a penny.” When I made my introduction, he said that as a young man he had wanted to join the KSLI but as the only son he had to farm. He got his wallet out and dug out a £20 note. So much for stereotyping! We were to meet a lot of generous people.
We carried on walking through these leafy lanes with high sided hedges, lovely little villages such as Yarpole and before our lunch stop we walked out of north Herefordshire into south Shropshire as we approached the delightful town of Ludlow. Jim and Jeannie Parker surprised, it was at this point that the main body turned left along the bank of the River Teme to enter the town via a small bridge but before doing so a team photograph was taken by Coco and Mark Keville and I had already headed across the Ludford Bridge (to secure the far bank) and into the bottom of town on a mission. We were to go into as many pubs as possible rattling our tins which we did although as it was a little early in the day success was limited. By the time we got into the centre of Ludlow the main body have arrived and were entering the pubs for different reasons!
We left the capital of south Shropshire and headed north to Craven Arms where we were to meet the transport and be ferried to Ken and Angela Kennedy’s farm to camp the night. This stage of the walk was a mix of very small country lanes as well as the A49 where the traffic whistled past, but even on this large road people slowed down and made donations which was remarkable. On arrival at the
246 REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATIONS
THE RIFLES
Terry Wiltshire back with the team and Fred Vasey from the Caribbean
Not far from the end - Coco, Shaun Lavender, Jim Findlay and Lee Dunn