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Regimental Histories - Year 1960-1985 - Brockbank - Page 0089

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Transcription A Short Hixtary of [he 9rh/12th Lancers
supported by the UDR and RUC”. Once again, like in Aden,
it was a troop leaders and section commanders war.
A Squadron (Major Nash), the last Squadron to arrive in
Ulster, went to Omagh to relieve C Squadron and then to
Fermanagh to relieve B Squadron in June. Bellcoo Police
Station again came under fire, disturbing Sergeant Irvine in
the operations room inside. The bomb disposal work of the
Ammunition Technician Officers of the RAOC was constantly
being sought by troops that found or were called to suspicious
objects, These brave men were now using remote—controlled
devices to test abandoned cars and other obvious targets but
risks were inevitably taken by them and their regimental escorts
on many other occasions The greatly respected Sergeant
Walsh, RAOC, was one ATO who was killed in 1977 whilst
helping A Squadron at Newtownbutler.
Lisanelly Camp to which out squadrons returned on rotation
was comfortable. One of the comforts was the Golly Shop
where the descendant of Hadji Allah Dit, the Pakistani con-
tractor who had followed the foundation regiments round the
Near and Far East after the War, provided a 24—hour service
for soldiers, in defiance of the NAAFI. The camp was the base
for the extremely popular and successful Strikers Angling Club,
for fishing on the river Monroe and for a very good shoot run
by Major Enderby on Capt Ellis’s estate and, of course, for the
stables Under the eye of the Adjutant (now Captain Searby)
and the care of Sergeant Padgett three regimental hunters were
bought to ioin seven other privately owned horses. Hunting
was mainly with the Fermanagh Harriers. A lively article in
The Field by Dermot Kelly, the hunting correspondent and a
retired regimental officer, described the scene. On the military
side the regimental operations room, initially under Captain
Chappell, provided a joint centre for the Regular Army units,
the UDR and the Special Patrol Group of the RUC. It was
backed up by an intelligence staff with representatives deployed
throughout the operational area. A Command Troop was
formed from HQ Squadron as a special reserve for tasks with
the Sabre Squadrons. The band was much in demand. Their
big moment was an appearance dressed in their Bavarian “Blas
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