Regimental Histories - Year 1960-1985 - Brockbank - Page 0082
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Delmuld troop was engaged by two gunmen sitting on a hill in the Republic. The incident was concluded when the Squadron Leader arrived, leapt on the back of the Ferret, and directed a sustained fire. The gunmen ran but two cows sufiered. A characteristic of the tour, not always well recorded in the accounts of the insurgency, was the remarkable hospitality received by the Regiment from the very moment it arrived. The Officers Mess staff under Staff Sergeant McGrath worked a conservative sixteen hour day throughout the tour with their four days Rest and Recreation leave and the odd hour’s fishing as their only relaxation. The Sergeants Mess was equally busy repaying hospitalityr The Colonel of the Regiment came on an informal visit in February spending a day with each squadron. It was not all work: fishing became a popular pastime and sailing, football and orienteering were enjoyed when possible. A Squadron oflieers also managed to fit in some most amusing hunting with the Iveagh, kindly mounted by the locals on green four year olds, These were subsequently sold as “Hunted by Her Majesty’s Cavalry," A constant stream of journalists from the Press of the Regiment’s recruiting area arrived to see the action. Only the tragic death of2lLt Garner-Richards in a road accident marred a very successful tour. The Regiment already knew that it would be returning in 1976 to Lisanelly Barracks, Omagh, for a full eighteen months garrison duty. Meanwhile, it was welcomed back at Detmold on 6th May by the Band playing ”Back Home”. The rest of 1975 in BAOR can be shortly recounted. For» mation exercises were planned in Ocrober so individual training had to be set in motion at once before the tanks were taken out in September to work up for the exercises. The final military event was gunnery camp in November but there had been time to organise a regimental horse show in July: it was a great success for all except the regimental stable where an outbreak of coughing reduced entries to two. A few individuals were able to get in some polo and Major Coghlan had the distinction of being selected to represent England at the Three Day Event at Luzerne, Much credit was earned by the stable staff for keeping their charges fit in a poor year for 79 |
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