9th-12th-Lancers - Year 2001 - Page 0091
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| Regiment | 9th/12th Lancers |
|---|---|
| Year | 2001 |
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REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE 9TH/12TH ROYAL LANCERS (PRINCE OF WALES’S) 91 Major General Mat Abraham CB MC ff “" eneral Mat was Colonel of the 9th/12th Royal Lancers from 1979 until 1982. In 1942 as a Troop leader in the desert he won the Military Cross when he and his Troop engaged and destroyed a well-dug in anti-tank-gun. He managed to draw fire away from his RHQ and the leading elements of 7th Armoured Division. Although his vehicle got a direct hit he extricated his troop safely. At El Alamein in the same year he was on patrol in the enemy’s rear when he came across an anti tank position. After a successful engagement he managed to capture 58 soldiers and five officers. For this he was awarded a bar to his MC. Sutton Martin O’Heguerty Abraham joined the 12th Royal Lancers in 1940 in France and remained with the 12th throughout the war. By 1945 he was a Squadron Leader and he had the privilege of accepting the surrender of the City of Trieste in the face of fierce opposition of Tito’s partisans who were rounding up any Italians they could lay their hands on and shooting them. After the War he worked on General McCreery’s staff in Austria. He commanded C Squadron in Malaya and went on to com- mand the 12‘h in Wolfenbuttel in Germany and in Cyprus. During his command the 12th Royal Lancers received their first Guidon from Field Marshal Templer as their forerunners The thhLight Dragoons had ceased to carry Guidons when they converted from being Light Dragoons to Lancers in 1816. General Mat went on to be Commander Royal Armoured Corps at 1 (BR) Corps and Director of Combat Development as a Major General. His final appointment as a serving soldier was that of Chief of the Joint Services Liaison Organisation in Germany He was particularly suited to this very sensitive post as by the 60s Germany had emerged from her post-war econom- ic blight and German civilians were beginning to question the necessity of having Allied Troops on their soil. The large-scale NATO exercises on the North German plain, which did some damage to the countryside were the target of much criticism by special interest groups, although this was very much exaggerat- ed. General Mat by nature was a very approachable man. His tact and ability to get on with others, coupled with an engaging sense of humour allowed him to win the German Civil Servants over to the British point of view and to ensure that the Army was able to carry out its function under the NATO agreement. After retirement from the Army he went on to be Bursar of Bedford College at the University of London. His wife Iona whom he had married in 1950 sadly died some years earlier. We all extend our deepest sympathy to Alan his son who, until recently, served in the Regiment. Major Robert (Bob) Maguire MC MM Bob Maguire was one of those remarkable soldiers, who was outstandingly brave and competent and at the same time was regarded with great affection by all who served with him. As a Squadron Sergeant Major he won the Military Medal in the Western Desert when he led a Troop in the 12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's). His Squadron had to cross a minefield near El Alamein and time was run- ning out. He demonstrated how this should be done by closing down his turret and other hatch- es of his Armoured Car and charging straight through. He emerged unscathed on the other side but it must have taken some nerve to do it. Shortly afterwards General (later Field Marshal) Harold Alexander visited the Regiment and having been seen for himself Maguire’s excellent work he recommend- ed that he should receive a Battlefield Commission. In Tunisia in 1943 one of his Brother Officers Lieutenant Brookbank, later to become Major General Brockbank, was ambushed and captured by some Germans armed with Anti Tank Guns. Brockbank managed to escape by seizing a Tommy Gun and shooting three Germans. Maguire arrived in his Armoured Car shortly afterwards and rescued Brookbank and Lance Corporal Roberts. Lieutenant Maguire then accompanied the 12th Royal Lancers to Italy where again he demonstrated outstanding courage and lead- ership earning himself the nickname ‘Guns Maguire’. Just north of Assisi the Germans put in a Dawn Attack on the little village of Morro. Two 12th Lancer Soldiers were killed and as the situation became really critical Lieutenant Maguire managed to reach an Armoured Car and by accurate and effective gun fire he drove the enemy away leaving some 24 of their own dead. For this action Maguire was now awarded the Military Cross. Sadly the Germans had their revenge when Maguire was leading a patrol up a steep hill. He had just rounded a hairpin bend when he was ambushed by some Germans and taken prisoner. He only returned to England at the end of the war. Robert Maguire was born in 1915 in Hampshire. He attended the Ross-on-Wye Grammar School and enlisted into the 12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales’s) in 1932 at the age of 17. Just before the outbreak ofWar at a wedding he was Best Man he met one of the Bridesmaids. Being the man he was he would not marry her in such troubled times when others rushed into marriages with often disastrous consequences. He waited until 1945 when it was all over, married Babs and they remained together until his death. After the War he returned to the Regiment and served first with the 12th Royal Lancers and after the Regiment amalgamated in 1960 the 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's) until his retirement in 1966. In retirement Bob Maguire continued to foster his links with his Regiment he so loved. He served on the board of Trustees ofthe |
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