9th-12th-Lancers - Year 1960 - Page 0009
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| Regiment | 9th/12th Lancers |
|---|---|
| Year | 1960 |
| Transcription |
THI: IX, i Il ROYAL LAN Iiks RILKrIMENTAL JOURNAL ll “A" SQL‘ ADRON NOTES N the 11th September. 1960. “A" Squadron oi the 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Walcs'sj, came into being. In times to come, those oi as who were present will he abe tn say \ th pride “I was there". For the the time it has been a questinn .tl "settling in" for all of us, A rather boring stay at Tidw rth tsinec wc were without vehicles; as reli d by [\\’l‘ brief excursions into the field » act as enemy for the Grenadier Guards N Cadre. It was here that tine memtter of [he Squatlrun learned to his cost that the place to explode thttnderilasltes is definitely NOT tn denim pockets. During this period visits to Bovington and Ltllwttrth were arranged and thoroughlv en- tuved by all who took part, ‘On Octtther 11th. 1960, the Regiment moved [0 Ireland, to be stationed in Omagh. in the County of Tyrone, about eighty miles Snutltewcst of Belfast. 0n the move over, then: were no notable incidents, and lunch to the astonishment of all concerned not one single soldier succeeded in being‘ (a) left behind; (11) drowned; {L} de' n! of all or part of ltts kit. None even got on the wrong boat, We arrived in Omaglt which is to he our home for some time to Come. The great majority of the Squadron at once settled down to serious cultivation of Anglo—Irish relations, with. as it now seems, some considerable measure of success. Once safely settled. little time was lost, and during October the first period of Troop Training took place itt contunetion with the police. This was to familiarise us with our task in Ireland. Other useful information, gained hy chance, was that there is a dance in Gottin village (some ten miles from camp; once a fortnight and that it is definitely not wise to drive or park Saladins (m grass verges on Irish Roads. since they turn over and that the Irish are indeed extremely friendly. Following thi “Ex Gatneboy Green" took place. This t Is purely a Sqttadrnn Head- quarters Exetctse and the only feature which tirade it outstanding was the constant rain! We have since learnt then that this is nothing strange. Various border patrols tn the area of Ontaglt continued, moving out into the Hallvgawley and Dunganntln areas, in a 2540 mile radius of Omagh. the role oI the Squadron now being resolved inttt n semi LS. pattern in supporl oi the Royal Ulster Cunstabularv. These patrols wen: devoid of inetdem 7 except snot rain, rain. and yet more r . Gttrtin ranges had a VI t from the Gunnery wing in February. under the kindly eye ttl Sgt. Percy — the day was a [mnplete suecess but it was found that despite the constant rain, phosphorus grenades mu Set hrnelten on fire 1 As a departure from this, “operational log" the cross euutry run made a welcome, and, tu those of us who were spectnting or otitciating. an amusing Change. Sgt. Mulvihill in a superh breakaway. came in lirst. Success for the Squadron seemed assured, btlt unfortunately the next member of the Squadron to come In was a gallant 9th. which changed the picture somewhat. A pistol shoot on the 30yd. range in February resulted in Sgt. Ward proving that after all. the best wa‘ to 'core with a pistol is to Close your eyes! From the middle ul February onwards a great deal of the energies of the Squadron were ttevntett to preparation for the visit by the Secretary of State for War. The Squadron, in eontttnction with “B" Squadron and R,H.Q. prOVIded the tnuunted contingent [or the parade which was held to mark the visit. At about this time 2 Troop spent from 10 pm. to 3 am. squatting on a bridge in an awkward position — detaining no more than a courting couple — hut lo, and behold we were greeted two days later by the news that the gentlemen at a Certain illegal organisation hall blown it up the next night! From now on, the Squadron was plunged inttt a frantic programme at work in preparav tion [or the Annual Administration Inspection. Everyone was determined to make the first entry on the clean pages of the new rcgirnent's book a good one. and. as it transpired, this was achieved, This over. we were faced with an extens ve Troop and Squadron training programme to be carried out at Ballykinlar We were fortunate enough to have seven and a half days of sunshine. We kept hard at it hit eight days, and. al the end, had itnprtweti rremendou A separate chapter would be needed to recount the wealth of incidents during this period. but one feat worthy of record was the Crossing of the ford at Hallykinlar at low tide. |
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