Page 254 - The Bugle 2018

Padfield – Mr Gerald Alfred died in May 2018 aged 86. He enlisted in 1950 joining 1st Battalion The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry in Cyprus and the Canal Zone. His roles included both Rifleman and Company Pay Clerk. He left in 1952 after National Service and then joined the TA in Bath. His unit was 4 SOM LI. He became a Bandsman before leaving the TA in 1957. Gerald Padfield was a member of the Bath Branch of the Association. In his working life he was a bricklayer and mason before moving to employment with two local authorities.
Parlour – Mr Clifford John died on 1st April 2018, aged 83. Called up for National Service with SOM LI in 1952, he served with 1 SOM LI in Malaya as a Rifleman. On leaving the Army in 1954 he returned to his home in Bristol where he worked for 20 years on aero engines with Rolls Royce. Thereafter he worked for a local funeral director. He remained in employment until shortly before his death. A member of the Taunton Branch, he was predeceased by his wife.
Peck – Capt Gavin le Marchant, died on 5th February 2018 aged 74. Gavin was commissioned in to The Somerset and Cornwall Light Infantry in July 1965 and served as a platoon commander with 1 SCLI. Later he served in Lemgo with 1 LI before leaving the Army in May 1975. Communications became his speciality gaining a PhD and holding directorships. In later life he had a long battle with cancer but his good humour and sharp intellect were much in evidence until the end. He is survived by his widow, Clare, and three sons.
Phillips – Corporal Arthur Cyril died July 2018, a former NCO with 1 GLOSTERS.
Robbins – Mr Reg Robbins died in December 2018. Reg was possibly the last soldier from the Herefordshire Light Infantry who was serving in 1939. In recent years he was a recipient of the Legion d’Honneur.
Simkins – Mr Reg died on 13th November 2017 in his late 90s. Reg had served in WW2 and with 1 GLOSTERS in Korea.
Spring – Mr Vincent, OBE died on 6th August 2017 aged 91. Vincent joined 2nd Battalion The Gloucestershire Regiment in 1944 and served until the year of the amalgamation with 1 GLOSTYERS in Jamaica.
Smith – Mr Robert died on 21st March 2018, aged 75. He commenced his military service with the Territorial Army (RMP) at Highbridge. Two years later, in 1960, he enlisted into the SCLI serving with 1 SCLI in Osnabruck and all subsequent postings as a Rifleman. On completion of 8 years’ service, he spent some time with the Reserve before re-joining the Territorial Army and serving from 1978 to 1991 with the Royal Signals at Bridgwater. Following promotion to Cpl his primary task was Recruit Instructor.
A member of the Taunton Branch, he was predeceased by his wife Ann. Our condolences go to his two daughters.
Symes – Mr David passed away peacefully at Bath RUH after a long illness on Thursday 19th October 2017 aged 72.
David enlisted into the SCLI in 1962 and completed his training at the Light Infantry Depot in Pontefract. He joined 1SCLI in Gibraltar and served with the Battalion in their postings to Berlin, Gravesend, Aden, Canada, Norway and again Gravesend from where he left the Army in 1968. Throughout his Battalion service he was employed as an Assault Pioneer. Returning to his home in Frome he commenced working as a long distance lorry driver, an employment he maintained for 40 years until his retirement. Our condolences go to his widow Vivienne.
Tanner – Mr Ivor Douglas died in March 2018 aged 84. Called up for National Service with the SOM LI in 1953, he served with 1 SOM LI in Malaya as a Pioneer. On leaving the Army in 1955 he returned to his home in Stoke St Michael, Radstock, where he worked as a self-employed Painter and Decorator until retirement. A member of the Taunton Branch, he was predeceased by his wife.
Tideswell – Mr Eric Austen died on 3rd November 2017. Eric was B Coy signaller within 1 GLOSTERS at the Battle of the Imjin River Korea. He had previously served throughout WW2.
Thurman – Mr Peter, died on 20th September 2017. Pete served with 1 GLOSTERS in Swaziland and Chester.
Watson – Lt Col Henry Christopher, TD died on 16th June 2018 aged 80. Chris Watson joined 6 LI in 1971. Previously he served with The Queen’s Bays, where having been commissioned in 1957, he soldiered in Libya as a Troop Leader.
Beginning in 1958 he then enjoyed nine years with the North Somerset and Bristol Yeomanry which in turn became the Somerset Yeomanry and Light Infantry. In 1971 he assumed command of B Coy within 6th (Somerset and Cornwall) Battalion, The Light Infantry Volunteers. Following a spell as Bn 2ic he became CO 6 LI from April 1979 until June 1981. He commanded the parade at The Royal Crescent Bath when the Queen Mother presented the Battalion with their Colours.
As a civilian he worked as a Land Agent. Our condolences go to his widow, Belinda and two children.
White – Mr Mervyn Thomas died on 26th August 2017 aged 83. Mervyn joined the Army in 1949 and subsequently served in 1 GLOSTERS, the Devon and Dorset Regiment and also the Royal Military Police. Service included Korea, Singapore and Cyprus.
Wills – Mr Gordon, died in the early summer of 2018. He served with the Somerset Light Infantry and was a good supporter of the Association and the St Audries reunion.
The Sandhurst Trust is the Army Officers’ charity and is the alumni organisation for all serving and retired Army officers.
• The Trust fosters an esprit de corps
and enduring sense of belonging and connection through reunions and events.
• We sustain the ethos and preserve the heritage of RMAS through events and guided tours.
• By holding events for Trust Members with military and business leaders and through the publishing of occasional papers we promote the understanding and development of leadership beyond the Academy.
• The Trust provides charitable support
to Officer Cadets and staff at RMAS as well as the retired officer community in partnership with the Officers’ Association.
• 100% of donations are disbursed charitably.
• Membership from £15
JOIN TODAY
www.sandhursttrust.org Telephone 01276 412 000
260 REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATIONS
THE RIFLES