9th-12th-Lancers - Year 1986 - Page 0077
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| Regiment | 9th/12th Lancers |
|---|---|
| Year | 1986 |
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Colonel Slr Andrew Horshrugh-Porter Bart DSO Andrew Horsbrugh-Porter was born in 1907 and educated at Winchester where, amonst other things, he rowed and kept ferrets which were eventually confiscated by a more senior boy. Richard Crossman, later to become a distinguished Minister in the House of Commons. Andrew joined the X11 Royal Lancers in 1927. He was a man of very strong character. An extremely good soldier. I fine horseman and a great man to hounds. He became a six handicap Polo player. A member of the winning team in the l936 inter Regimental, he played successfully for many seasons in this Country and abroad. He commanded A Squadron 12L at Dunkirk with great distinction and won a very good DSO. He then went to command the 27th Lancers and took them to Italy where once more he served with outstanding courage and success aming a Bar to his DSO. At one period In ltaly he commanded Porter Force, mentioned in The Canadian official history of the War. Colonel Peniakoff, commander of Popski Private Army, known to many of us in the Desert and Italy as an outstanding commander, was part of Porter Force. He said that Andrew had trained 27th Lancers by THE 9TH/12TH ROYAL LANCERS REGIMENTAL JOURNAL unorthodox and imaginative methods which had made them into a brilliant armoured car regiment. When the 27th Lancers were disbanded in 1945, Andrew went back to command his old Regiment the 12th Royal Lanc- ers in Austria and in Egypt. Rehnquish— ing command to a more senior officer he attended the Staff College at Haifa and was our Liaison Officer to the American Army in Germany. In 1948 he returned to command the 12th for a second time. First at Barnard Castle where the Regiment was employed in the Training role. Then reforming it as an armoured car Regiment prior to embarking for Malaya in 1951 where a full scale counter-insurgency situation was encountered. Throughout this period and in all these varied roles Andrew was an outstandingly succes- sful Regimental Commander. Com- pleting his tenure of command in 1952, he was promoted full Colonel and was an adviser to The Indian Army in Delhi. He retired in 1953 and went to live in Gloucestershire where he became Hun- ting Correspondent to The Field. Every- one looked forward to his weekly artic- les writted from his experiences on the back of a horse. He was also Polo Cor- respondent for The Times and The Horse and Hound; his articles were much enjoyed. His forthright views illuminated by a clear, eloquent style. Andrew loved a good horse cope. I remember at his eldest daughter’s wed- ding, looking out of the Marquee to see him trotting up on one of his Hunters. I said "Really Andrew what are you doing?” “Trying to sell this good horse; somebody has got to pay for the wed- dingl" I think the prospective buyer was a brother officer. For the past 4 or 5 years he had sufr fered terrible pain with his hip and legs and was an invalid for the last year. Many of us have lost a great friend, a remarkable character and a very fine man. We send all our sympathy to Mary his wife, his son and two daughters and to his grandchildren. G J K M Colonel K E Sat/ill writes: I think that I can claim to have known Andrew longer than anyone, from the day in l9l4 or l915, when he walked into my prep school dormitory as a new boy. He was put in my charge! We were together there at “The Wick”, Hove, Sussex, under a Headmaster G A Thring, for 5-6 years, until I went to Winchester, whither he followed soon after, but to a different House. I did not see anything of him at Sand» hurst, but we both were gazetted to the 12th Royal Lancers, he about a year after me. From Hounslow 1926 to Helmieh Camp, Cairo. 1927 (taking over from the 9th Lancers, who were moving on to India.) We were together in the Twelfth in Egypt and, later, Tidworth up to November 1936, when I left to join the KDG’s in Secunderabad, India. Our paths next crossed in En- gland in the Autumn of I942. Andrew was commanding 27th Lancers, arm- oured cars, and 1 had got stuck on the staff twice; once as 6502 to Dick Mc- Creey, 8 Armd Div, and later as AAG to "Q” Martell at GHQ Home Forces. 1 longed to get back to regimental duty and Andrew, as the staunch friend that he was, invited me to be his ZIC. I had about nine months with him mostly in Cambridgeshire and, fascinated, watched him train 27L up to a very high and thorough standard 7 exceptional. He even put me in an armoured car one day and fired at us from ltX) yards With a 3.03 machine gun, to see if it really was bul- let proof! We had a lot of fun. Later, in Italy We were often alongside each other in the Winter of l944-45. when I was commanding the Twelfth. I reckon that of all soldiers I met it was Andrew whom I knew best. in all his moods. and for whom I had a great admiration. as well as long lasting friendship. K.E.S. 7S |
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