THE CRAFTSMAN - rememuseum.org.uk€¦ · REME has evolved, maintaining an excellent level of...

July 2019

Magazine of the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers

THE CRAFTSMAN

290 [email protected]

ContentsFEATURES

Excellence in REME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .294

Edinburgh Garrison Personal Development Event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .296

British Forces Brunei Workshop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .298

Cumbrian Challenge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .305

Fact Sheet Pull-Out: Suicide - Myth verses Fact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .312

REGULARS

What’s the Corps been up to Online? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .301

The REME Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .330

Obituary; Death Notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .331

London Gazette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .332

Officer Assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .333

The REME Charity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .334

Corps Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .335

SPORT

7 Battalion Shoot to Victory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .311

8 Training Battalion REME Boxing Night . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .314

Army Ladies Cricket Tour to Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .318

REME Men’s Cricket Pre-Season Training Camp in Cyprus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .323

REME Corps Karting Team: Round 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .324

The REME Lightning Bolts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .326

Arborfield Old Boys Go For a Run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .334

OPERATIONS AND EXERCISES

Ex Arctic Mountaineer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .302

Op CATAN 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .306

Op TORAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .308

2 Royal Anglian LAD - Ex BRAVE WARRIOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .310

JULY 2019 Volume 75 No. 7

Corps Formation: 1 October 1942

Corps Motto: Arte et Marte

Corps Patron Saint: St Eligius

(Celebrated 1st Sunday in December)

Editor: Katy Walton+ Corporate Publications Editor,RHQ REME, The Prince Philip Barracks, Lyneham, CHIPPENHAM, SN15 4XX [email protected] (preferred method) (Mil: 95481 4529 Civ: 01249 894529

SUBMITTING ARTICLES TEXT: should be submitted in MS Word and namesaved as per the article. No formatting, columns, powerpoint etc. Articles to be cleared by CO/OC/EME orappropriate REME CoC, or nominated substitute andshould be submitted as soon as possible.PHOTOGRAPHS: MUST be submitted separately, injpeg format and be at least 500kb preferably 1mb ormore. Only photos over 3mb can be considered for thefront/back covers and please remember captions.FILESHARE:websites, such as dropbox are ideal forsubmitting larger files.EMAIL: The ONLY email address which should be usedis: [email protected]. Not DII. Pleaseuse the article title not ‘Craftsman Article’ as the emailtitle.TIMINGS: The latest submission date is the first day ofthe month prior to publication. This does not guaranteethe article will be published in that specific edition.

Births, Engagements, Marriages and Deaths:These will be inserted free to all past and presentmembers of the Corps.

Contents:The contents of The Craftsman are strictly copyright andall rights are expressly reserved. The views expressedherein do not necessarily reflect the policy and views,official or otherwise, of the Editor, the Corps or theMOD, therefore no responsibility for these will beaccepted. Whilst including an advertisement we are notnecessarily endorsing the product and as a result, thepublisher and its agents do not accept responsibility forany transaction between the reader and the advertiser.Whilst we take all precautions with regard toadvertising, readers are advised to take professionaladvice before entering into any commitments.Letters concerning reproduction, contributions or anyother matter should be addressed to the Editor.

© Published by RHQ REME. Funded by The REMECharity. www.remecharity.org.

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Front CoverSSgt Doyle and Lt Col Denton

on Exercise ArcticMoutaineer, an Army level

adventurous training expedi-tion to do some challenging

ski mountaineering on BaffinIsland, in the Canadian Arctic.

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Before submitting an article you are requested to read the guidelines on the inside front cover 291

298308

301What’s the Corpsbeen up to Online?

312Suicide

Myth vs Fact

326 330

294Excellence inREME

318


Key:

RHQ REME

Operations

Exercises

Other

REME Global Reach IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

In our newest feature we highlight theglobal reach of REME personnel, whetherit be on operations, exercises or any other challenge set before them.

30 Members of 72 Coy 7 Avn Sp Bn REME deployedto Bavaria, Germany to take part in 2 weeks of AT

including Walking, Climbing, Canoeing and MountainBiking. All those that deployed got a lot from the trip,pushing themselves to the limits both physically and

mentally. Look forward now to deployment onEx CRIMSON EAGLE in September.

Adventure Training – Bavaria, Germany


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GET INTOUCH

Where in the world are you keepingthe punch in the Army’s fist?

Phone: (Mil) 95481 4528/ (Civ) 01249 894528Email: [email protected]: facebook.com/REMECorpsTwitter: @Official_REMEInstagram: @REME_Official

#TravelTuesdayKeep an eye on our social media channels forour new Travel Tuesday campaign, giving youweekly updates on REME’s Global Reach.Then catch up on everything you’ve missed inthis dedicated section of The Craftsman!

Members of 6 Regt RLC LAD aresupporting 62 Sqn RLC during July asthey deploy on Ex LION SUN 1/19.Providing both Real Life Support andfirers, the LAD soldiers will undertakean extensive live firing range package:ranging from pistol to GPMG. Theyalso have the opportunity to takeadvantage of Cyprus’s multiple AToptions at the end of the Exercise.

Ex LION SUN – Cyprus

Elements of 1 Royal Anglian deploy to Helsinki during June onEx SABRE. This is an interoperability Ex with the Finnish Army toallow further training and cohesion with our NATO counterparts.

The LAD are deploying armourer support to provide EC and RLS toa light role infantry company during the Ex.

Ex Sabre – Helsinki, Finland


WO1 Ben Taylor is currently the Operational Infrastructure (OI) IntergratedLogistics Support Manager (ILSLM) in DE&S. However, his real passion is sport,specifically Rugby League. He was the Head Coach for REME Rugby League (RL)for three years before taking on a new challenge as Head Coach of Army RL in2016. Since taking that on, he has taken Army RL to the Inter-ServicesChampionships, where they beat all the other services to become champions.In this month’s interview, WO1 Taylor talks about why supporting yourpassions benefits the Army and how it has enabled him to pursue his passion.

Excellence in REME

6. What has been yourbiggest achievement so far? Inter-Services Champions 2018(First time in five years) andwatching the players achievesuccess. Developing playersfrom Corps to Army is evidentnow from my time as REMEHead Coach as we had 14players within the squad lastyear. Rugby League gives memore satisfaction with soldierretention and well-being. Wehave had a few examples ofindividuals staying in the Armybecause of Rugby League,which highlights theimportance of sport and has amassive part to play in thelongevity of the Army andREME.

WO1 Ben Taylor5. You are the Head Coach for Army Rugby League.What is your secret to success?I deliver a framework or handrail which enables the players to makethe decisions when under pressure mentally and physically. Theteam has been developed over three years, improving all the timeand, most importantly, in ways that that work for each other on and

off the field. This relates to an operational environment wherethis skill set can be utilised. Rugby League is the natural sportfor soldiers as it requires a high level of aerobic fitnesscombined with physical robustness and a huge amount ofdedication. The sport embraces leadership, team cohesionand selfless commitment which are all attributes of who aBritish Army soldier is. I use the sport to get the best out ofevery soldier, which has benefits to the individual to maintaina successful military career.

7. How have you balancedbeing a successfulsportsperson and asoldier with your otherresponsibilitiesDuring my last assignment to 6 CSBn REME, the CO and OC weresupportive to ensure I could

1. What made you join the Army? I was always very fit and enjoyed all sports and being outside. Iwanted to learn a trade with a skill set whilst combining a sportingcareer. REME offered a professional working accreditation in manyareas and a variety of careers within the Corps with greatopportunities to be involved with sport.

3. What have been the highlightsof your career so far?I have had six major highlights in my career.I was promoted to WO1 (ASM), deliveringengineering leadership on demandingoperational and training deployments. Thiswas after passing the Artificer Course in2011.

I was the Head Coach of REME RugbyLeague 2014-2017 and the Head Coach ofArmy Rugby League from 2016 until today.This was after a successful period as a player,winning the Armed Forces Rugby LeagueWorld Cup in Australia 2008. This has notbeen achieved since 2008. I was alsoselected to play for Rugby League GreatBritain Lions during a six-week tournamentin Australia 2008.

2. Are you happy you made the right decision?It has developed me into the person I am today, gaining experience inleadership and coaching, and engineering qualifications.

REME has evolved, maintaining an excellent level of training at each stageof a REME career. The Artificer path has challenged me at every stage and Iwould recommend this pathway to everyone for the benefits it offers you.

First game for the Inter-Services as Army RL Head Coach 2017

4. How does WO1 Taylor differ fromMr Taylor who first came to theArmy and the Corps?My career started with below averageacademic results and no life skills orprofession. I now have a HND in AutomotiveEngineering and BA Honours degree. I am alsoan Incorporated Engineer (IEng), a qualifiedRugby League coach and a Physical TrainingInstructor. I have toured the globe,represented Great Britain, UKAFRL and Armyat Rugby League, and deployed on overseasoperational and training exercises.

8. What are your goals for 2019 as a REME Soldier, asportsperson, and in wider life? For 2019, I am aiming to:Ensure REME tradesmen are safe and using equipment that is currentand fit for purpose within my new role within DE&S.Continue as Army RL Head Coach and achieve a successful Inter-Services.Looking forward to a new career outside of the Army in civilian life.

10. If you could sum up your life now, how would youdo it? The Army, particularly REME, has developed me over 22 years tobecome a professional and qualified individual within sport and theprofessional working environment with financial and medicalsecurity. It has prepared me for my next challenge in civilian life, as Iwill leave in a much better place than when I started.

maintain the balance of work and sport. It meant working extra hours duringevenings and weekends whilst deploying for extended periods if required.

This balance between work and sport was achieved by planning regularlywith the OC to ensure my work commitments were always delivered whilstgiving RL the hard work and time it needs to be successful. Having an OC whounderstood the importance of sport and the positive effects it had foreveryone involved was vital to our success. He must be given special thanksfor his support as I couldn’t have achieved this without him.

On other occasions there have been times in my career where I was notsupported by my OC and this certainly had a negative effect on my careerand family life at the time.

9. What attributes do you think makes asuccessful sportsperson and soldier, andwhat advice would you give others chasingsimilar success to yours?Sportsperson - The willingness to get better every time youtrain as the more you train the more luck you will have.Soldier - During your time, find your passion, whether thatis sport, AT or something else and utilise the Army toenable your commitment to it. This will have benefits forpersonal and career development, making you a happiersoldier and providing the Army with a retention tool.

Be recognBe recognisedfor

for

your professiona your professionalism and expertise

g your professionalism and expertise

your professionalism and expertise

The Institution of Engineering and Technology is registered as a Charity in England & Wales (no 211014) and Scotland (no SC038698),Michael Faraday House, Six Hills Way, Stevenage, SG1 2AY, United Kingdom.

www.theiet.org/armed-forces

To start the process to becoming professionally registered, contact us:professionally registered, contact us:

Text IETMOD and your full name to 62277*** and we’ll call you back

Call +44(0)1438 767648

Email [email protected]

***Free text line, no charges apply.WITH YOU NOW AND FOR THEREST OFYOUR CAREER

**Visit www.theiet.org/armed-forces to see if you meet the SRA criteria.

*Provided by the MOD, dependent on eligibility – available from April 2019*Provided by the MOD, dependent on eligibility – available from April 2019.

Gain professional status by becoming registered through the IET.Professional registration provides recognition of your military skills and experience and may mean you are eligible for up to £3,000 once achieved*.

We are licenced by the Engineering Council to award Chartered Engineer (CEng), Incorporated Engineer (IEng) and Engineering Technician (EngTech) with a streamlined application process in place via REME Special Registration Agreement (SRA)**.

With IET membership discounts available for technicians and annual fee reimbursement by the MOD, there is no better time to apply.

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Now a regular feature with The Craftsman, our Excellence in REME interviews give us a deeper insight into those members of the Corps that are surpassing the demands of their day-to-day role.We aim to acknowledge those achieving extraordinary feats in the world of engineering, sport and occasionally interest we may never even have thought of.Therefore, if you know an individual or group, Regular or Reserve and serving within the Corps, who �tsthis description then please contact the Editor to allow the Corps to continue promoting andcelebrating Excellence in REME.

Finding Excellence in REME

[email protected] RHQ REME, MOD Lyneham

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celebrating Excellence in REME.this description then please contact the Editor to allow the Corps to continue promoting andTherefore, if you know an individual or group, Regular or Reserve and serving within the Corps, who �tsoccasionally interest we may never even have thought of.We aim to acknowledge those achieving extraordinary feats in the world of engineering, sport and those members of the Corps that are surpassing the demands of their day-to-day role.Now a regular feature with The Craftsman, our Excellence in REME interviews give us a deeper insight into


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celebrating Excellence in REME.this description then please contact the Editor to allow the Corps to continue promoting andTherefore, if you know an individual or group, Regular or Reserve and serving within the Corps, who �tsoccasionally interest we may never even have thought of.We aim to acknowledge those achieving extraordinary feats in the world of engineering, sport and those members of the Corps that are surpassing the demands of their day-to-day role.Now a regular feature with The Craftsman, our Excellence in REME interviews give us a deeper insight into


this description then please contact the Editor to allow the Corps to continue promoting andTherefore, if you know an individual or group, Regular or Reserve and serving within the Corps, who �tsoccasionally interest we may never even have thought of.We aim to acknowledge those achieving extraordinary feats in the world of engineering, sport and those members of the Corps that are surpassing the demands of their day-to-day role.Now a regular feature with The Craftsman, our Excellence in REME interviews give us a deeper insight into


M ME RHQ REME REME, MOD yneham OD Lyn ham

this description then please contact the Editor to allow the Corps to continue promoting andTherefore, if you know an individual or group, Regular or Reserve and serving within the Corps, who �ts

We aim to acknowledge those achieving extraordinary feats in the world of engineering, sport and those members of the Corps that are surpassing the demands of their day-to-day role.Now a regular feature with The Craftsman, our Excellence in REME interviews give us a deeper insight into

Therefore, if you know an individual or group, Regular or Reserve and serving within the Corps, who �ts

Now a regular feature with The Craftsman, our Excellence in REME interviews give us a deeper insight into


Escape of 3 RIFLES LAD

personnel but also the other guest speakers within the audience. Iwould fully recommend this presentation as it opened the eyes ofthe audience as to what there is out there if you are willing to put abit of additional time and dedication into your military career.

After the coffee break guest speakers from the IET, Institute ofMechanical Engineers (IMechE), Society of Operations Engineers(SOE) and Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) gavethe audience an insight into their respective institutes and the REMEspecific routes to their professional registration.

Having recently attained Incorporated Engineer (IEng) throughthe Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) and nowwith Engineering Technician (EngTech), a pre-requisite for the

Artificer selection board in 2020, I set about organising a PersonalDevelopment (PD) event. I opened the event to all REME personnelin Scotland to introduce and educate them about the importance ofcontinuous PD, whilst in the military but also in the civilian sector.

With the date set, lecture theatre booked, funding secured and avast amount of emails sent to the LADs, POCs and guest speakers,the event took place on Tuesday 30 April at Redford Barracks inEdinburgh.

With personnel from the LADs of 2 and 3 SCOTS, SCOTS DGand 3 RIFLES in attendance the event was opened by the CorpsASM (CASM), WO1 Hembery. This set the tone for the daystructured around educational and PD driven lectures andpresentations.

Following the CASM, Capt Colville from 27 Army EducationCentre (AEC) took to the stage to present a ‘Whole LifePresentation’ which I had requested having received it on myWOCLM Pt3 course. This encompassed the ‘Army Skills Offer’,now called the ‘Army Accreditation Offer’, what an AEC canoffer and also an insight into the additional educationalavenues available to all Officers and Soldiers. With CaptColville’s vast educational knowledge and captivatingpresentation techniques, he engaged not only with the military

Scribe: WO2 (AQMS) Basford BSc IEng MIET CMgr MCMI

Edinburgh Garrison PersonalDevelopment Event

Attendees digging intothe funded lunch

Following on from a very successful event, I would like to personally thank all ofthe guest speakers and the attendees, as well as a special thank you to Col ScottComd ES 3 Div for funding the refreshments and lunch for all attendees. If youwould like to organise an event similar to the one above please use the currentPOC below who are happy to assist.Current CASM: WO1 (CASM) Paul Hembery BEng (Hons) IEng MIMechECurrent RAJA ASM: WO1 (ASM) Matthew Chapman Dip Eng (Open) CEng MIMechE

IET: Kayleigh Winter - [email protected]: Jill Dwyer - [email protected]: Claire Collins - [email protected]: Tania Barker - [email protected]

Your local AEC: Request a ‘Whole Life Presentation’

Having covered education, PD and professionalregistration in depth, the event was bought to a closeby WO1 (ASM) Chapman, the current raja ASM, thedriving force between the current and former servingmembers of the Corps and many civilian sectoremployers and recruitment agencies. Having flown upfrom Lyneham along with the CASM, it soon becameclear that it was also very beneficial for those inattendance to listen and speak to the raja ASM inperson as there were personnel in the audience whowere either in the process of transitioning into thecivilian sector or who were coming up to their end ofservice.

3 RIFLES LAD

Team Building AfternoonScribe: LCpl McDonald

in the rooms, the one-hourcountdown began. Being in ateam with the ASM, AQ and the brains of the LAD, Cfn Fowler, I thought we would standa good chance of escaping ‘The Asylum’ in the quickest time but this was not the case,eventually escaping with seconds to spare.

To everyone’s amazement the winning team, headed up by LCpl McGovern, escapedthe hardest room ‘Alcatraz’ in just over 32 minutes, the fastest time since the EscapeRooms had opened, resulting in the team being placed in third position for this room, agreat result.

With all brains exhausted we all made our way through a busy city centre to COSMO’sfor some well earned food and a drink with ‘Team McGovern’ basking in their victory. Agreat afternoon out with the LAD.

Following on from the PD event, with the Wednesday afternoon cleared by the CoCand funding secured, all in-station members of the LAD downed sports kit (or tools)to participate in a team building afternoon to strengthen team cohesion.

With the admin instruction written by myself and Cfn Finch (yes, RecoveryMechanics can read and write!), transport booked and glad rags ironed, we all set out

to the Escape Rooms inEdinburgh. On arrival wewere divided into teams offive or six, working togetherto solve various riddles andmathematical problems in anattempt to escape differentthemed rooms within thetime limit of one hour.

With the teams in position

Team McGovern

Cfn Fowler trying to tell the time

PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION FOR YOUR SKILLS

Improving the world through engineering

Become professionally registered as an Engineering Technician (EngTech), Incorporated Engineer (IEng) or Chartered Engineer (CEng) through a route specifically designed for REME personnel. Enhance your military career and benchmark your skills and training.

07590 735 816 or [email protected]

Ross Raffermati, EngTech MIMechE Clare Phillips, CEng FIMechE

Select The REME Charity when shopping on Amazon Smile and the charity will

receive 0.5% of your purchase amount.


BRITISH FORCES

Brunei WorkshopWorkshop Families Day

Scribe: Sgt Price

The Workshop Summer Families’ Day was held in September and was designed tobring the whole personnel and their families together. This included our LocallyEmployed Civilians (LECs) and Royal Gurkha Rifles (RGR) tradesmen and their

families. The event was also attended by the REME element of the Royal Brunei ArmyLoan Service Team, with WO1 Tom Clarke, WO2 Jonathan Griffiths and their familiesjoining in the fun.

With a number of activities and games to keep the children entertained, they tookevery opportunity to cool down on the waterslide during what was an extremely hot day.The Bouncy Castle was a huge success even in the 35 degrees of Brunei sun, with parentstrying to burn off the excess calories and hoping that their children would use up the

Labuan Memorial Service(Lest we forget)

Scribe: LCpl Gillham

The Significance of LabuanLabuan Island is well known asthe location of the Japanesesurrender at the end of WW2.The actual location is aptlynamed the Japanese SurrenderPoint, situated on the north ofthe Island. It was where theJapanese Army officiallysurrendered to the AustralianArmy (10 September 1945),Lieutenant General Masao Babaofficially handed his sword overto Major General GeorgeWootten. Labuan WarCemetery is now aregistered Commonwealth World War II Graveyard. Thepersonnel buried in thecemetery, come from a varietyof Allied countries;including India, Australia andGreat Britain, most of whom

bottomless pit of energy that they never seem torun out of.

With all the food set up in the Workshop WelfareFacility, the ‘Knag N Knife’, it was a feast fit for aking, such a fantastic spread, as each family hadbrought the food of their choice for all to enjoy.With such a diverse Workshop, everyone got tosample a variety of food from the various cultures.As you see in the pictures, the ‘Brunei Bloat’ hasaffected a few members of the Workshop sincetheir arrival.

The day was enjoyed by all who attended andwe looked forward to the next gathering(Halloween Party) and bringing the Workshopcommunity even closer.

Halloween

The hour was late on Tuker Lines as the sun melted intothe horizon and the shadows grew long like crookedfingers reaching for the innocent. Blood curdling

screams could be heard from the Workshop as all kinds ofabominations and ghouls descended on the Compound…

…This was probably due to the fact that the liquidrefreshment was warm but everyone soon got into the partyspirit when the ice arrived. This was the Garrison WorkshopFamilies’ Halloween party and everyone invited was in fancydress, ready to make the most of the night and aiming to bethe winner of most horrible costume. The Workshop Welfarefacility looked more like a crime scene with gruesomedecorations everywhere including bodies (past employees)hanging from the rafters.

The ghoulish event got into full swing with a terrifyingHalloween playlist and a buffet put on for the rabid guests,which was consumed until there was nothing left. Itresembled a scene out of the walking dead. There were funfilled activities and inventive games put on for children of allages, children and big kids alike, including a game whereyou had to put your hands in the mystery box as well as avery messy flour game. This was a fantastic event for familiesand anyone else attending. Everybody got involved andreally got into the spirit of the evening.

Scribe: LCpl Allanson


Scribe: SSgt ParkinsonOn 22 November 2018, a St Eligius Day event was held in theWorkshop. The event was split into three phases. Phase 1 consistedof multiple challenges conducted by six teams in the morning. Phase2 finished off the three weeks of work that had gone into preparingto compete in a Soap Box Derby in the afternoon. The teamsconsisted of the four elements REME, RLC, RGR and the LocallyEmployed Civilian (LEC) personnel. We also invited a fifth team from

St Eligius Day

were killed during the Japanese invasion of Borneo or in the Borneocampaign of 1945. Many died as a direct result of the treatment theyreceived as Prisoners of War, which included a number of REME, RAFand Royal Artillery personnel. The graveyard was officially made intoa Commonwealth War Graves site overseen by the CommonwealthWar Grave Commission. Historically, Surrender Point is also thelocation where the first war crimes trials were conducted in SouthEast Asia, which resulted in many executions.

The Memorial Service - 11 November 2018Personnel of the British Forces Brunei Workshop attended theMemorial Service in Labuan War Cemetery, which was extremely wellattended. It was a respectful and sombre occasion, as all memorialservices should be.

It brought together manypeople of different religions,cultures and nationalitiesfrom all around South EastAsia, including the AustralianArmed Forces, British HighCommission, MalaysianArmed Forces, 2 RGR and theWorkshop. After the mainservice we endeavoured tofind our fallen REMEbrothers, many of whomwere Prisoners of War held bythe Japanese and subject togruesome treatment by theircaptors.

It’s almost unthinkable toimagine of what they musthave been through and howhorrifying the whole ordealmust have been for them. Itwas definitely an emotionalexperience for all inattendance. It was anopportunity to rememberour fallen but also to forge new relationships with our hosts andthose in attendance. We were hosted extremely well and were madeto feel as though we were a real part of the event.

the Royal Brunei Armed Forces, headed up by REME personnelon Loan Service. Each challenge was designed to test individuals,both mentally and physically.

Once all challenges were complete in the morning, lunch wasserved in the form of a locally prepared buffet organised by oneof our LECs, Jai, our G1098 Stores person. It was a greatopportunity for the teams to come together after the morningevents and cement the relations that were beginning to form.

After lunch, it was time for the main event. All Soap Boxdesigns were judged by the SO3 ES, Capt Bage, who took intoaccount the designs, looks and engineering quality. Teams werelined up in order of their positions from the morning and set offaround a route that was approximately 1km. The competition wasfierce and some teams got off to a flyer, some took wrong turns andsome lost part of their machine. After completing the event, allresults were totalled up and the winners announced; Team 4, theREME team were the overall winners and also took the best design,closely followed by an excellent RBAF team whose efforts and SoapBox were a real credit to the whole team.

The day finished with a top table dinner held within the Workshop.It was a great opportunity for all to come together in a social setting.This type of event was a first in Brunei but hopefully not the last.There were 45 people in attendance, with a three-course mealdelivered by the Garrison Chefs, who prepared excellent food. Therewere a couple of traditional readings delivered on the evening fromCpl Carl Leek and Sgt Ryan Schofield, providing all of our guestssome background on our Patron Saint, St Eligius, and on our Corps


Garrison Fitness Challenge

history. We were also fortunate enough to have Cpl Naresh, part ofour RGR contingency in the Workshop, deliver a traditional Nepalesesinging performance and some unexpected entertainment fromLCpl Ben Allanson.

Overall the occasion was a great success and a big thanks shouldgo to all of those who attended and to Sgt Price, who delivered avery successful event. Well Done.

Scribe: Sgt AylingBrunei Boat Section (QGE) organised the ‘Garrison Fitness Challenge’for Garrison Support Troops on Tuesday 10 July 2018 in order toincentivise individuals to improve their fitness level and giverecognition to the fittest individual. There were 10 event stands,consisting of three Upper Body, Lower Body, Three core and onesurprise event.

The Garrison Fitness Challenge was created to fill a void - no othertrue test of fitness existed withinGarrison. The majority of the athleticevents negated to accurately test overallfitness. Even Decathlons, while testing arelatively wide range of abilities, missedvital components of physical fitness.

The competition was asuccess and reallyemphasised the high levelof fitness within theGarrison. However, therecan be only one winnerand the events weredominated by Sgt Ayling,who managed to stop fora jam sandwich and a cupof tea between events. Hismammoth efforts ensuredthat he went on to winwith an overall lead of 15points.

The Garrison FitnessChallenge events aremade up of a broad rangeof functional movements.

The aim offunctional movements was to move large loads over longdistances, quickly. Make no mistake - the Garrison FitnessChallenge was designed to test, not train, fitness. The goal is tofind the fittest athletes, not to produce an easily replicableworkout programme.

Results: 1st - Sgt Ash Ayling (REME)2nd - LCpl Sameer Shrestha (BST)3rd - Sgt Santosh Rai (QOGLR)

For more information and to book a place, please contact: Paul Isitt [email protected] 01935 381524 / 07843 477848

For REME dependants 29 July - 2 August 2019

Dinghy Sailing Course

The REME Sailing Club are providing anopportunity for REME dependants to learnor develop their skills at dinghy sailing. Noprior experience required but there is a

minimum age of eight years old.The course will be held at South CerneySailing Club (SCSC) near Lyneham, thehome of REME Water Sports with an

excellent sized lake and clubhouse withgalley and showers. Camping on site is

permitted for those who wish to.Costs: £80 per person plus membership ofthe REME Sailing Club (from £15). Payment

by BACS transfer.

THE RUNDLE CUP13 JUL 2019

Car parking will be available within the Tidworth garrison and a shuttle service will be provided from the 4/6 REME Bn parade square to the Polo pitch.

So fill up the picnic hamper and come and join us for a whole afternoon of sun, socialising and Polo.

Tickets cost £5 per person and children under 12 are free.

For more information please contact Maj Vernon Gadsby: Email: [email protected] | Tel: 01249 894515

RHQ REME is pleased to announce that it will be providing an all-ranks hosting area at the 2019 Army vs Navy Polo match that takes place in Tidworth Garrison. The event is open to all REME members, families and extended friends, and as part of the REME family we would be delighted if you could attend.

What’s the Corps been up to?

Facebook has been following several of

the Corps Teamsas they’ve been

competing at home and away.

Over on Instagram,we followed the story

of DDay on it’s 75thanniversary.

You can check out thewhole story on

@reme_o�cial’shighlights

Throughout June,we shared abouta wide range of

topics, frommental health to

cricket, on Twitter.

Keep up with the action by following the Corps:

@o�cial_reme

@reme_o�cial

/REMECorps

Lt Col Terry Denton and SSgt Michael (Scouse) Doyle, with tenother experienced team members, embarked in April this yearon an Army level Adventurous Training expedition to do some

challenging ski mountaineering on Baffin Island, in the CanadianArctic.

Ski Mountaineering is where Alpine Mountaineering meets SkiTouring and could be considered the pinnacle of the Joint ServicesMountaineering Scheme. The Army Mountaineering Associationconceived this expedition to provide a unique challenge: BaffinIsland is very remote (helicopter rescue was days away), has veryinhospitable weather, unreliable snow cover and extremely ruggedmountains. This extreme environment and demanding activitydelivered everything it promised; testing those involved, buildingresilience and giving them skills and tools with which they can goforward as Instructors for the benefit of the wider Army.

The expedition was two years in the making and couldn’t havebeen achieved without much hard work from the expedition team,

Lt Col Denton letting it rip!!

So it begins… heading up the frozenWeasel River towards Mt Thor

Ex ArcticMountaineerForeword by Lt Col Denton

or without the support of the AMA, ATGA and Team Army.SSgt Doyle tells his personal account and experience here…

Ignite a Passion...Scribe: SSgt MJ Doyle - Metalsmith - 3 ACS Bn REME

I first clicked into skis on Exercise Supreme Glacier 2000, 19 yearsago. I was hooked immediately and knew that it was the sport forme. The yearly journey that it would take me on was incredible andhas provided me with some of the greatest memories of the last twodecades.

In October of 2017, I saw an advert on the Joint Services MountainTraining Centre’s social media page looking for volunteers to takepart in a Ski Mountaineering Expedition to Baffin Island in the

Canadian Arctic. Now I know opportunities likethis don’t come around very often, but over theyears I’d been building my JSAT qualificationsand gaining more experience year in year out.So, I thought, why not go for it.

I was invited to a training weekend in NorthWales in Easter 2018. We took part in a two-dayhiking, climbing and team building exercise. TheExpedition Leader made it quite clear that hewas looking for commitment from individuals toattend further training weekends and to getinvolved as much as possible with theorganisation as it was a mammoth task with

At the beginning of our journey


Looking out to the gateway of the Auyuittuq national park and the frozen sea

everything involved. Unfortunately, I was due to deploy on OpCATAN (Somalia) that year and would only be back the followingFebruary, so would be unable to make any further commitment.There were over 80 volunteers from the Field Army.

In November of 2018, whilst based in Mogadishu I received anemail from the Expedition Leader that I’d been selected for the team.I was over the moon and that gave me something superb to aim foronce I’d finished on Operations in the New Year.

April 2019After four flights we were finally at the gateway to the AuyuittuqNational Park, Baffin Island, Canada. It was freezing cold and the briefwas, ‘wear everything’ for the eight-hour Skidoo trailer ride we were

Crossing the frozen ocean in our Qamutiq

Getting through frozen, rocky rapids requires teamworkPulking our way homewith Mt Thor looming in

the background


Sgt Doyle standing in awe of the Arctic landscape

SSgt Doyle and Lt Col Denton with Mt Asgard in the background

about to undertake. It was amazing being in a Qamutiq beingdragged at high speed across the frozen sea. We could already seethe mountains were like nothing like we’d ever seen before - massivegranite shapes rising directly vertical from the horizontal sea floorand the weasel river valley. Almost other world. Mount Thor - thehighest vertical drop cliff face on Earth - was a cracking example ofthis.

After negotiating some tricky rocky rapids, wewere soon at our Base Camp at Summit Lakewhere we were able to set up our tents and themain group tentage. We also had to surround ourBase Camp with a Polar Bear deterrent fencewhich when tripped activated a banger. We alsohad a flare gun and air horns as further Beardeterrents. At this point we started planning ouritinerary for the next two weeks. The expeditionhad no specific objectives, rather it wasexploratory, with the daily activities being planned

in accordance with the terrain and weatherconditions alike.

The expedition phase was superb andincluded highlights such as skiing across frozenlakes, magnificent valley views, ski touring up

incredible glaciers and skiing down some reallychallenging rocky routes. We also encountered

some Polar Bear footprints on one of our tours,which made us think that they could be close by,

watching us!Of course, being in the Arctic we were going to experience

some brutal weather. This came to the fore when temperatures wentdown to -31degrees Celsius and we had to cease training. We justhad to spend the bad weather days keeping ourselves entertained inthe group tent and reading the many books which were beingshared around.

The absolute highlight was the big mountain day which was a20km loop past Mt Asgard. This mountain was made famous in 1977

when James Bond skied off it in ‘The Spy WhoLoved Me’ and opened a Union Jack parachute,which was some stunt even by today’sstandards. The view of Mt Asgard and the frozenArctic mountains from the glacier we werestood on was probably the finest mountainview I’ve ever been able to lay my eyes on.Simply breathtaking.

Exercise Arctic Mountaineer was a highlightto compliment all the other highlights I’veexperienced within Corps and Army level Sportand Adventurous Training.

Time foranother ascent

Ignite a passion early on in your career, findsomething which youlike doing and work atit. You never knowwhere it may take you.



Ever Thought of Becoming aREME Winter Sports Instructor?

ALPINE

SNOWBOARD

NORDIC

If you are interested in becoming anAlpine Ski Instructor, please contact:REME Alpine Chief Instructor: SSgt L Tidd

[email protected] visit the ATG (A) website:

atga.mod.uk/cmsnew/index.php/skiing

Course Information AlpineSKI LEADER 1 SKI LEADER 22019/11/17–2019/12/01 2020/01/12–2020/01/242019/12/05–2019/12/19 2020/01/26–2020/02/072020/01/12–2020/01/24 2020/02/09–2020/02/212020/01/24–2020/02/07 2020/02/23–2020/03/062020/02/09–2020/02/21 2020/03/08–2020/03/202020/02/23–2020/03/062020/03/08–2020/03/202020/03/22–2020/04/03The online booking system can be foundat: atga.mod.uk/cms_new/index.php/skiingPOC: SSgt L Tidd (4 REME).

If you are interested in becoming aSnowboarding Instructor, please contact: REMESnowboard Chief Instructor: SSgt C Jacks

[email protected] or visit theBASI website: www.basi.org.uk/

Course InformationBASI Snowboard Level 1 course/s on ExSUPREME GLACIER 19 (18-22 Nov & 2-6 Dec).Required to attend the following week toattain shadow hours for full qualification.POC: SSgt C Jacks (1 SG).

If you are interested in becoming a NordicInstructor, please contact: Nordic Secretary:Capt A Hardman

[email protected] visit the ATG (A) website:

atga.mod.uk/cmsnew/index.php/skiing

Course InformationBASI Nordic Level 1, Ex NORDIC SUMMERBLUEBELL (9 – 20 Sep 19) in Lyneham.POC: Capt A Hardman (5 REME).

Cumbrian Challenge

Special guests were at the finish line The team from 7 Avn Sp Bn

On Saturday, 18 May 2019, four members of 7 Avn Sp Bn completed the gruelling ‘Tougher’ challenge inCumbria’s Lake District. Sgt Wilkinson (HQ), LCpl Rai (HQ), Cfn Gent (HQ) and LCpl Ward-Sell (71 Coy)covered 32km with 1650m ascent in 9 hours 17 mins to raise money for Walking with The Wounded.

The team finished 13th out of 49 teams, showing true grit anddetermination throughout and completing the challenge,despite injuries over unforgiving terrain. Even with the setback,the team was constantly smiling in the face of adversity andmorale was raised significantly due to a visitor dropping by.The team would like to thank everyone who supported the

cause, raising £918 (+£77.35 Gift Aid) for a very worthy cause.

What is the issue? Currently in Somalia, ahuge issue in the ES field is that neitherthe UN nor AMISOM have formalrecording with regards to their vehicles(like JAMES which we have in the UK). Witha lack of formalized record history, there isa lack of understanding of vehicle status.Also, the UN uses incredibly inefficient

The ES training team have delivered training to over 65 soldiers,from seven African countries, focused on numerous unfamiliarplatforms and with a broad spectrum of audience expertise andprocesses. Their subject matter was invariably highly specialist, oftencomplex and usually delivered via an interpreter. The vehicles andplatforms were rarely known prior to arrival in the training location:the first day and most evenings of each deployment were routinelyspent analysing and understanding various vehicle platforms andsystems.

While training Ethiopian Soldiers, the ES team found that operatormanuals for a critical item were in Italian and so safety and operatorguidance was not understood and consequently being ignored.Through painstaking analysis of the equipment and manual, theprocesses were understood and transcribed and were then, in theabsence of an interpreter, laboriously translated into Amharic. Theresulting aide memoire was taught to the Ethiopians and wasincorporated into their processes, greatly increasing equipmentavailability and user safety. When teaching welding, Sgt Barnettnoticed an impressive adaptability based on available resources,which was pragmatically managed rather than attempting to rigidlyapply UK practices.

Perceived as less glamorous than combat training, ES Training hadoften been neglected by the TCCs. Training audiences were alwaysappreciative, keen, and were pleased to have an opportunity toimprove. One welding course was attended by an additional 20(totally untrained) students, who were taught a hastily modifiedsyllabus in parallel to the advanced course. The training improvedexpertise, motivated the students and anecdotally improvedplatform availability and combat effectiveness.

Op CATAN 6Op CATAN 6Scribe: Cpl Sutherland, 4 Armored Close Support Battalion REME

Atotal of six REME personnel have been deployed in Somalia on Operation CATAN; fivefrom 6 Armoured Close Support Battalion REME and one from 4 Armoured Close SupportBattalion REME. Operation CATAN is the UK`s Armed Forces contribution to the United

Nations (UN) and African Mission Somalia (AMISOM) led operation to fight against al-Shabaab.Finishing the last rotation of a three-year long mission, the UK has formed many vital unionswith a varied mix of personnel and departments across Somalia. There were two areas wherethe REME achieved effect; embedding in departments within the UN and ES training deliverydirect to AMISOM. The ES Training Team deployed on the ground providing essential trainingand equipment courses to enable and ensure that the AMISOM troops were combat effectiveacross all sectors. They have improved the skills of the AMISOM Forces tradesmen, enhancingtheir long-term operational capability and enabling them todiagnose and action the required repair in order to ensureequipment is back on the road in the hand of the user, in a missioneffective condition.

Cpl Sutherland ES Training Co-ordinator - ES TT Tech Elec)

Lt Heron SO3 JSOC - SO3 ES

Presentation of certificates to the ENDF Metalsmiths

engineering management processes. AMISOM are reluctant to usethe repair and servicing process as they will not receive their vehicleback in a timely manner. This coupled with a lack of technicalexpertise means vehicle availability is often very poor across allfleets, because AMISOM tend to run their vehicles into the ground.

What have REME been doing about it?We have provided support to the UN and AMISOM by embedding

within departments and helping with projects that they otherwisedo not hold the technical knowledge or experience to executeindependently. At the same time, we have been providing training to

AMISOM TCCs on engineeringprocesses and specific equipment thatthey hold.

Personally, I sat within the JointSupport Operations Cell (JSOC), whichis the logistical interface betweenAMISOM and UNSOS and offeredadvice on how they can best achievetheir goal of providing logisticalsupport to the soldiers on the ground.The department provides real timelogistics and oversees the execution ofbespoke logistical projects. A keyproject I had been intimately involvedin is the verification and tracking of amajor fleet deployed in theatre totaling246 vehicles. Whilst being highlyfrustrating at times, particularly withPresentation of certificates to the BNDF Tradesmen


We have been involved in a wide range of tasks. We sized up a newweapon mount for a new Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC), wherean engineering company sent out test pieces to ensure that we hadsent correct measurements to them. We learnt the spares process

and advised how it could beimproved. Another one of ourtasks was to look after theSAAB painting programme;we had to check quotes to seeif they were fair and correct.We also ‘out’ inspected thevehicles after they had beenresprayed. Considering thefacilities were very sub-standard, SAAB did a fantasticjob.This deployment has been agreat experience to learn andhas given me new skills to

take forward into my career. It has been particularly rewarding tocontinue to develop REME subordinates as I helped mentor thejunior VM who works for Op TANGHAM. I advised on ES problems todevelop solutions and helped prepare the Operation for an LEA.

As SSO for Sector 5, my role during the deployment wasto identify training opportunities, facilitate training andact as a liaison between UN personnel and AMISOMforces. The Op CATAN training teams delivered a wide range oftraining to the Burundi National Defense Force (BNDF), covering;Equipment Support, Logistics, Medical and Engineering. Tosuccessfully plan and organise training courses, I had to regularly linkin with high ranking Officers from the BNDF, to ensure they ‘boughtin’ to the training that we had to offer. As a whole, the BNDF were reallyappreciative of the training. Theywere very receptive andthoroughly enjoyed all aspects ofthe courses. The biggest challengeof my deployment was trying toorganise the BNDF Soldiers tobring the necessary equipment fortraining, and to adhere to timings.Overall this was an enjoyabledeployment and a uniqueopportunity to not only work withAMSIOM forces, but to also get aninsight into the day-to-dayworkings of the UN. I wouldrecommend a deployment such as Op CATAN, to anyone who hasthe opportunity.

the process being severely hindered by the untimelyreceipt of spares, overall the final output of increasingAMISOM vehicle availability has been achieved andcontinues to improve.

The tour has offered me an incredible opportunity toput me in good stead for my career in the future. It hasgiven me the opportunity and ability to make realengineering decisions and being heavily involved in thetracking of such a large fleet has given me a hugeexperience which will be useful for LAD command. Also,working with many different nationalities and cultureshas broadened my understanding of alternative methodsto operate; which I may not have had the privilege toexperience elsewhere at this point in my career.

SummaryThe ES Training team’s concept of ops has likely been one of themost challenging amongst the UK’s training teams in the UN FieldMission. The creation of bespoke courses and lessons for eachsector and troops needed an adaptable approach. It required each

member of the team to work extremely closely withAMISOM, intelligently finding the causes of underlying ESand EC issues and to address them. Being representativesof the UK Armed Forces, the highest standards are alwaysrequired whilst consistently balancing an understanding ofall the different cultures, traditions, knowledge andlanguages. During deployment, the ES Training Team havehad a genuine opportunity to fundamentally improve theES understanding, abilities and skill set of AMISOM troopsand enable them to better combat the pertinent threatposed by al-Shabaab in Somalia. Not only that, but alsobuilding a significant and long-lasting partnershipbetween UK Armed Forces and all TCC`s who have workedalongside.Although Operation CATAN has had a drawdown, there aresome positions that remain in theatre. The training teamshave all returned home. However, Lt Heron remains ‘intheatre’ providing Staff Officer Support to the UN in boththe JSOC and Transport Department and will continue toadvise on improving UN practices and AMISOM vehicleavailability.

Sgt Cole ES Advisor

SSgt Sharples Sector Support Officer SSO - Jowhar

During our deployment I have been working with the United Nations(UN) within the Transport Department as an ES Advisor alongsideWO2 Price. I can honestly say this has been a real eye opener for meon how different the procedures are and the work ethic within theUN compared to the British Army.

End of the ES Training team’s VM course

A visit to the workshop

Presentation of certificates by the ES Training team


Op TORAL 7 LAD brought together tradesmen from all acrossthe REME community. The Fitter Section in Camp Qargha,Kabul had personnel from 1 Bn REME, 1 SG, 1 RGR and 1

LANCS, brought together to make up a highly skilled and efficientteam. SSgt Hemingway 1 CS Bn REME has led the Section through abusy initial start and all the way through the festive period.

The section has been supporting D Company, First Battalion TheRoyal Anglian Regiment (Vikings), within the 1 RGR Battlegroup.Much of the work carried out by the Force Protection Companyhappens in the ‘ANAOA’ Afghan National Army Officer Academy. Thishas helped maintain a steady rhythm of work and allow for a betterforecasting of the fleet. The primary role of the Fitter Section hasbeen to support the Qargha Force Protection Company, which hasinvolved not only British Forces, but also Australian, German andTurkish contingents. We have worked closely with our Australiancounterparts; sharing much of our experience and techniques, it hasalso been a good eye opener as to how our Corps operates withinother nations. And as you can imagine, barbecues were a frequentevent throughout our deployment; no surprises, they have an NSNfor a complete barbecue pack, meat and all.

Op ToralINTRODUCTION

Capt Nevin-Maguire EME 3 Armd CS Bn REME First Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles took command of theKabul Protection Unit in November 2018. They are a mixedBG made up of a 1 RGR BG HQ, two 1 RGR Companies andthree Companies from the First Battalion The Royal AnglianRegiment. They provide Advisor Force Protection acrossKabul, working to the Kabul Security Force, a British 1*Command, on Op Resolute Support.

The BG is split across four main locations in Kabul; in orderto support this, 1 RGR LAD was supplemented with membersof the 1 R ANGLIAN LAD with further members being trawledfrom across the Army (1 CS Bn REME, 2 CS Bn REME, 3 ArmdCS Bn REME, 1 LANCS, 1 SG and 5 Regt RA). This brought the

LAD up to 1 + 30. The LAD provides ES to 200+ vehicles, 20 BISTAR platforms,

a multitude of weapon systems and various other pieces ofequipment.

The 1 RGR LAD differs from other units across the Army as ithas both REME and RGR tradesmen. RGR Riflemen areselected via an internal regimental board to attend VM andArmourer courses, so although they remain as cap-badgedRGR Soldiers they are all fully qualified tradesmen who willwork for the rest of their careers in one of the two RGR LADs.

1 RGR BG ended their tour in May this year and werereplaced by 1 R IRISH and 1 RIFLES.

QAA FITTER SECTIONLCpl Lester – 1 CS Bn REME

Having settled into a routine, the FP Company soon got their firsttaste of how much of a volatile environment Kabul can be, seeingthe deployment of the QRF (quick reaction force). The SV(R), Cpl

Smith (Rec Mech) and SSgt Hemingway werecalled upon as part of the QRF, deploying intoKabul to assist in the recovery of multiple ANAvehicles involved in a VBIED incident.

Following the increased tempo of theprevious day’s work, life soon got back tonormal. All eyes were on the festivities thatChristmas would bring and what Christmasgames were in store. The ANAOA mentors werekind enough to hold festive games for the FPCompany; teams competed in numerouschallenges. Not wanting to disappoint, the FitterSection gave it their all under the leadership ofLCpl Lester, ultimately coming third and earningthemselves five places in the DANCOM Marchfor their efforts. After the morning’s antics, it wastime to enjoy the delights of a full-on Christmasdinner, skilfully prepared by the KBR staff withinCamp Qargha. Morale was high and the dayended without a hitch. The entertainmenthowever, did not end. In the lead up to New Yearan Australian Forces entertainment teamarrived; this was well received by all and madefor some slightly cringe-worthy laughs by theaudience at the expense of the brave comedian.


The New Year arrived and routine was well underway,with all departments looking forward to the fastapproaching LEA. Much like any unit in the UK, thethought of an LEA is enough to ruffle any feathers. Butgiven the professionalism of all members of the LAD andguidance from ASM Kerr, all locations were in a goodplace come the day.

With the draw-down to end of tour looming slightlyearly for the Fitter Section, all sights were trained on anexciting ‘hand-over, take over’ with the 1 RIFLES LAD. So,to put the tour into summary; a lot of fine work wascarried out by everyone through some cold wintermonths and, as always, with a professional REME FitterSection at the coal face, all followed by a few BBQ’s andnear beers (0% Beers).

HKIA FITTER SECTIONCpl Watson 1 CS Bn REME and Cpl Naresh 1 RGR LAD

NKC FITTER SECTIONCpl Belcher 1 CS Bn REME)

NKC RECOVERY MECHANICSgt Richardson, 1 CS Bn REME

Come rain or shine the Vehicle Mechanics of 1RGR LAD were given the, often thankless, taskof repair, service and inspection of HKIA’s fleetof Foxhound, Civilian Armoured Vehicle (CAV)and various other vehicles. Without apurpose-built facility to work in, the VM’s hadno choice but to work outside in arduous andtesting conditions. In January and February alot of a lot of snow fell, with an averagetemperature through the night of -14 degreesCelsius!

Also deployed on Op TORAL were two ClassOne Armourers who had the job ofmaintaining a wide variety of weaponsystems and sights over six different locationsthroughout the Kabul AO. Armourers areconstantly bouncing around differentlocations ensuring operation effectiveness isnever compromised.

At the same time, we have one RecoveryMechanic attached with us. He is the back-

After Deploying to NKC as the sole RecoveryMechanic for this location and having been on 15minutes NTM since my arrival, I was expectingto be quite busy day to day. However, after aweek or so I could see that this was not thecase and I needed to find something to fillmy time. This was done by teaching self-Recovery and casualty Extraction to theMultiples as it is the easy way to do thingshere with the Foxhounds and CAV’s, due tothe sheer size of the SVR in the urban areas

With the variety of foreign vehicles hereincluding the American MAXPRO, MRAP andHUMVEE and being one of two recovery assetsalong with the American MRV we also did training toensure we could recover all variants, ensuring theAmericans could recover the Foxhound safely.

One of the tasks we were given was to move two Back ScatterVehicles (truck scanning X-Ray machine) from the city to amaintenance yard. With this being a civilian vehicle we involved theAmerican MRV, utilising the rotator crane and under-lift which madethis job a lot easier. Once the snow came, this then gave Cpl Smiththe opportunity to do some work within the training area of MFNDU,sometimes having to winch vehicles into the camp due to theelevated location. LCpl High however has probably had the easiesttime based at HKIA having completed a record amount of two tasksboth while covering R&R in different locations. It has been a variedand interesting six months working with 1 RGR, 1 R ANGLIAN, 1RIFLES and the foreign forces and their vehicles including German,Danish and American, giving a good insight on how they work.

bone of our LAD. If any vehicles break down it is the job ofthe Recovery Mechanic to deploy on to the ground atshort notice to recover the vehicle safely back to itsrespective base.

In addition to our normal day jobs, we also help theQM’s Department when flights are inbound and also help

with issuing kit to new personnel arriving in to theatre. Intheir own time, the men have taken full advantage of the

excellent facilities the Camps have to offer and can be seenoften playing football, table tennis, pool and badminton.

Overall, we have had a very successful operational tour. As aLAD we have worked hard to ensure vehicle and equipmentavailability stays as high as it possibly can be to keep the kit in thehands of the users but also ensured there was enough down time toensure morale has stayed high.

Asa LAD we haveworked hard to

ensure vehicle andequipment availability staysas high as it possibly can beto keep the kit in the hands ofthe users but also ensuredthere was enough downtime to ensure moralehas stayed high.

In November 2018 a selection of Vehicle Mechanics from 1 Bn REMEwere deployed to Afghanistan to support 1RGR/1 R ANGLIAN andthe VMs LCpl Tapan and Cfn Henry in their KSF role in NKC.

Relatively unfamiliar with PM kit, the first couple of weeks were asteep learning curve for everyone. Slowly but surely things began torun smoothly without any major dramas. It wasn’t until ChristmasEve that things took a turn for the worse and we worked our firstlong night. A vehicle went down on the ground; LCpl High and CfnLodge were on standby to recover it if they were unable to self-recover. As this was happening Cpl Belcher was deployed in a



being opened. Then it was back on with the broken vehicles.After the turn of the year something happened that none of

us had really prepared for… IT SNOWED!!! Suddenly the dayswere darker and colder and with the hangar door being brokenin the open position it was time to don the warm kit under thecoveralls. The cold seemed to make everything take twice aslong as it normally would, but this could have been down tothe amount of brew breaks we took, but still every vehicle thatcame in was fixed and sent back out on its job.

Fast forward a couple of months and it was time for everyoneto begin going home for R&R. With no R&R cover provided wehad to take it all separately, so there was a period of about twomonths from February when the LAD was down at least oneman until everyone was back at the start of April. Now as youcan imagine morale was not at its greatest coming back afterR&R but we all knew there wasn’t long to push until the end.

Eventually at the end of April morale hit its all-time highwhen our replacements arrived and we began our handover. Atthe start of May our six months were over and we began ourlong- awaited journey home, ending a successful Op TORAL.

Foxhound to remove the sun gears of a differentFoxhound so it could then be towed by anotherFoxhound back to NKC. Simultaneously another twovehicles were self-recovered into the workshop and theboys knew we were in for a long night. The remainingpersonnel quickly got the workshop prepared for all thevehicles and began instantly working to fix the faultsand diagnose the problems. Pretty soon it was 3am andeveryone needed a break. After what seemed a quicknap we were back in work at 8am on Christmasmorning, and despite the lack of sleep and being awayfrom their families, everyone’s morale was still high asthe sun was shining and the very much appreciatedmorale boxes, which had sent been sent to us, were

Contact SSgt David Brown ___93784 6103 ___01752 236103

2019 Fam dates:__15-19 Jul 19__16-20 Sep 19

Exercise Brave WarriorScribe: Cpl Wilks

On 17 September 2018 B Coy, 2 R ANGLIAN deployed on amonth-long exercise to Hungary, on Ex BRAVE WARRIOR, aNATO Exercise involving Hungarian, Croatian and US Forces.

The exercise was put into place to reinforce foreign relations anddefence strategies.

As part of the exercise, I deployed as the sole REME Soldier tosupport the Company on all live and blank firing exercises. Further tothis, I also had responsibility for the maintenance of the field kitchen.During the first 10 days the Company conducted Urban Opsalongside the other nations, taking over and holding a village as themain scenario. Fortunately, there were not many faults during thisphase of the exercise, though I gained a lot of experience workingalongside the Light Role Company.

After the Urban Ops phase it was back to the FOB. We had beengiven a small amount of down time in order to carry out some much-needed equipment care on all weapon systems and Light FieldGenerators. During this maintenance period, all members of theCompany had 24 hours R&R in Budapest, including sightseeing. Thenit was on to experiencing the local night life the city had to offer.

In the final phase of the exercise, during the day several multi-national attack scenarios were conducted. As the Hungarian Armyhad no night vison capabilities, the remaining forces had more timefor relaxation and admin in the evenings. All weapon systems wereput through their paces through sustained periods. This resulted in alarge number of faults occurring but was completely manageable.The conclusion of the exercise soon came and we were on our wayback to Cyprus. More importantly the Company had passed theirvalidation and could now move on to Lead Company Group.

2 R ANGLIAN LAD


The 7 Bn Shooting team returned to Wattisham aftersuccessful completion of the Force Troop CommandOperational Shooting Competition (FTC OSC) 2019.

Results were as follows:1.FTC OSC 19 REME Corps Young Officer Champion - 2Lt

Branch 2.FTC OSC 19 REME Corps Rifle, Pistol and All Arms Champion -

Sgt Prabeen Gurung (five years in a row) winning 10individual trophies

3.FTC OSC 19 REME Best Fire Team 7 Bn REME A Team - SgtPrabeen Gurung, Cpl Ale, LCpl Gurung and Cfn Gent

4.Cfn Gent came third overall 5.FTC OSC 19 REME Corps Major Unit Champion - 7 Bn REME

All together 16 trophies were won by the Battalion includingTop Shot, Best Young Officer and Major Unit Champion.

7 Air Support Battalion Shoot to Victory

Following firers were in the Battalion Shooting teamthis year. 2Lt Branch - Shooting Officer 71 Coy Sgt Prabeen Gurung- Team Captain and Coach Cpl Ale - Weapon’s IC/Driver HQ/LAD LCpl Gurung - 132 Admin LCpl Thackray 71 Coy Minibus Driver Cfn Gent - HQ/QM Ammo Van Driver Cfn Schofield - HQ/LAD Landrover Driver Cfn McMillan - HQ/Armourer

Finally, this is three years in a row that the Battalion hasbeen Major Unit Champions.

The calendar requires input from your units to ensure we are able to produce a high quality product

We need high resolution JPEG photographs (min 1mb) depicting your unit on operations, in barracks, on exercise, adventurous training or participating in sport within the last 12 months - caption is required for each.

There will be a £250 prize for the best photographs received - submission deadline is 1 October 2019

PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE CRAFTSMAN MAGAZINE REGARDING PHOTOGRAPHIC SUBMISSIONS

REME 2020 CALENDAR

You can e-mail [email protected] Post a CD to Corporate Comms Manager, RHQ REME, The Prince Philip Barracks, MOD Lyneham, Chippenham SN15 4XX

We need your photographs!

SUICMyth v

MYTH: PEOPLE WHO THREATE ATTENTION.FACT: People who kill themse they do not feel life is worth Some may have actually said that someone might talk ab attention they need, it’s vita talks about feeling suicidal s

MYTH: ONCE A PERSON HAS MADEA SERIOUS SUICIDE ATTEMPT,THAT PERSON IS UNLIKELY TOMAKE ANOTHER.FACT: A prior attempt is a key riskfactor for suicide.

MYTH: TALKING ABOUT SU SOMEONE THE IDEA TO T FACT: Asking someone if t increase their risk or wor topic to talk about, and d do not know whom to ta

MYTH: ONLY PEOPLE WITHMENTAL DISORDERS ARESUICIDAL.FACT: Suicidal thoughts arecommon. Around one in fiveadults say they have thoughtabout suicide at some point.Suicidal thoughts indicate deepunhappiness, but not necessarilya mental disorder.

Sources: Suicide-Safer Universities and Middle-aged men and suicide, Samaritans

EACH SUICIDEAFFECTS AMUCH WIDERCIRCLE OFAROUND 135PEOPLE.


CIDE: vs Fact

MYTH: MOST SUICIDES HAPPEN SUDDENLYWITHOUT WARNING.FACT: It is important to understand whatthe warning signs of suicidal thoughtsare and to look out for them. Eventhough there are some suicides thatoccur without warning, the majority havebeen preceded by verbal or behaviouralwarning signs.

EN SUICIDE ARE JUST SEEKING

elves have often told someone that h living or that they have no future.

d they want to die. While it’s possible bout suicide as a way of getting the

ally important to take anybody who seriously.

MYTH: SOMEONE WHO IS SUICIDAL IS DETERMINED TO DIE ANDTHEY WILL ALWAYS REMAIN SUICIDAL.FACT: Heightened suicide risk is often short term and situationspecific. While suicidal thoughts may return, they are notpermanent. People who have previously had suicidal thoughtsand attempts can go on to live a long life.

UICIDE IS BAD AS IT MAY GIVE TRY IT.

they’re feeling suicidal does not rsen the situation. It is a difficult

due to stigma, people sometimes alk to.

MYTH: IF A PERSON IS SERIOUSLYTHINKING ABOUT TAKING THEIR OWNLIFE, THEN THERE IS NOTHING YOUCAN DO.FACT: Suicide is preventable.

s.org/about-samaritans/research-policy/middle-aged-men-suicide/ (6 June 2019)

ONLY 1 IN 3PEOPLE WHO DIEBY SUICIDE AREKNOWN TO

MENTAL HEALTHSERVICES.

SUICIDE IS THEBIGGEST CAUSEOF DEATH IN

YOUNG ADULTS.

MIDDLE-AGED MENARE ONE OF THE MOSTHIGH-RISK GROUPSFOR SUICIDE – THEYREMAIN THREE TIMESMORE LIKELY TO TAKETHEIR OWN LIVESTHAN WOMEN.


Bout 1 - Middleweight (70-75Kg)Prize awarded by Col Heal OBE

CFN MALKINWeight MiddleBouts W-0 L-0Coy HelmandTrade Electronics Technician

CFN WALSHWeight MiddleBouts W-0 L-0Coy HelmandTrade Electronics Technician

Winner: CFN WALSH

Bout 2 - Middleweight (70-75Kg)Prize awarded by Mr James Pearson

CFN PUNWeight MiddleBouts W-0 L-0Coy NormandyTrade Vehicle Mechanic

CFN SCOTTWeight MiddleBouts W-0 L-0Coy NormandyTrade Vehicle Mechanic

Winner: CFN PUN

Sponsor

8 Training Battalion REMEInter-Company Boxing Night


On Thursday 7 March 2019, over 500 members of theBattalion were sitting tentatively around an emptyBoxing Ring in the centre of the Harris Gym;

anticipation was in the air. Trumpets from the Band of theRoyal Artillery played a Fanfare to welcome in the MasterGeneral, Comdt DSEME and CO 8 Trg Bn REME. After payingthe appropriate compliments, the RSM, as Master ofCeremonies, proceeded to build the atmosphere in the roomand introduce the theme for the night - WARRIOR SPIRIT!

The room went dark, then spotlights appeared over the ringand members of the Fijian Choir performed a fearful Haka.

Bout 5 - Lightweight (57-60Kg)Prize awarded by Mr Gary Paxton

CFN HUTCHINSWeight LightBouts W-0 L-0Coy HelmandTrade Aircraft Technician

2 LT WELSHWeight LightBouts W-0 L-0Coy HQ (Alamein)Trade MSEC(L)

Winner: CFN HUTCHINSMost Gallant Boxer - 2Lt Welsh Best Boxer - Cfn Hutchins

Sponsor

Bout 3 - Middleweight (70-75Kg)Prize awarded by Col MacMullen MBE

CFN SLEVINWeight MiddleBouts W-0 L-0Coy NormandyTrade Vehicle Mechanic

L CPL FLEWITTWeight MiddleBouts W-0 L-0Coy HQ (Alamein)Trade PTI / Vehicle Mechanic

Winner: LCPL FLEWITT

Sponsor

Bout 4 - Super Heavyweight (92Kg+)Prize awarded by Mrs Kate Rossiter

CFN HORSLEYWeight Super HeavyBouts W-0 L-0

Coy HelmandTrade Avionics Technician

CFN KEENANWeight Super HeavyBouts W-0 L-0Coy NormandyTrade Vehicle Mechanic

Winner: CFN KEENAN

Sponsor


The WARRIOR spirit was highly evident throughout theevent, as the spectators were gifted a night of excellentboxing from the start. After every bout the atmosphere waselectric, each fight surpassing the previous in drama andtechnicality.

Win or lose, the level of determination and sheer nerveshown by all the boxers was immense. The months ofpreparation during early morning and late-night technicaltraining sessions, strict diet regimes and intense Physical

Bout 7 - Middleweight (70-75Kg)Prize awarded by WO Cotman

CFN CLARKWeight MiddleBouts W-1 L-1Coy HelmandTrade Avionics Technician

CFN GLOVERWeight MiddleBouts W-2 L-0Coy HelmandTrade Avionics Technician

Winner: CFN CLARK

After an aggressive jumping finish, the attention of the roomwas drawn to the screens to watch an adrenaline buildingvideo featuring the Boxers due to take part; well after aminute or two of technical difficulties… The promotionalvideo, the brain child of the event’s organisers, led by MajTalbot, and produced to professional standard by Guy Butlerand the media team, was a culmination of weeks of work. Itpresented the skills and fighting spirit required in boxing alsoseen in the trade and military activities conducted within theCorps.

Bout 6 - Heavyweight (81-90Kg)Prize awarded by Col (Retd) Bob Fram MC

CFN HUTCHINSONWeight HeavyBouts W-0 L-0

Coy BasraTrade Metalsmith

CFN NAISBITTWeight HeavyBouts W-0 L-0Coy HelmandTrade Aircraft Technician

Winner: CFN HUTCHINSON

Sponsor


training were evident. Overall the night was a great success and enjoyed by all,

including the many VIPS and guests who attended. Thanksgoes out to the Sponsors; Babcock, PR Racing, Motif8, Innotecand Forces Mutual who all contributed to making it anexcellent evening for all. The event would not be possiblewithout the numerous support personnel including the

Bout 8 - Super Heavyweight (92Kg+)Prize awarded by Lt Col Connolly

CFN LANGWeight Super HeavyBouts W-1 L-0Coy HelmandTrade Avionics Technician

SGT CARLINGWeight Super HeavyBouts W-1 L-0Coy HelmandTrade Artificer

Winner: CFN LANG

Bout 9 - Welterweight (64-69Kg)Prize awarded by WO1 (ASM) Hembry

CPL HARDINGWeight WelterBouts W-8 L-4

Coy BasraTrade Recovery Mechanic

RFN MORANWeight WelterBouts W-4 L-4Coy RiflesTrade Rifleman

Winner: RFN MORAN

officials, the doctor, paramedics, gym staff, boxing coaches,media team and the many personnel who got hands onsetting everything up.

The biggest thanks go to the Boxers, who have made manypersonal sacrifices and displayed extreme courage by puttingthemselves in the spotlight and demonstrating that they allhave the WARRIOR Spirit.


The team at Toshogu Shrine Complex in Nikko National Park.

ARMY LADIES CRICKETTOUR TOJAPAN Scribe: Sgt Amanda Potgieter

After a few training sessions and a lot of organisingthe Army Ladies Cricket team finally embarked ontheir historic tour to Japan. Yes, Japan! As it turns

out a rather keen cricketing nation. A large percentage oftheir players are recruited from the very popular baseballfraternity. Most of the skills are directly transferable tocricket and, combined with great athletic ability, theJapanese National team made for excellent opposition.We were based in Sano, a rural town about three hours

NW of Tokyo. It is said to be the Ramen capital of Japan;with more than 200 restaurants serving the noodle dish,we were spoilt for choice every lunch and dinner.The first day consisted of a training session to shake off

the long journey and a bit of sightseeing around theimmediate area. A short walk up Mt Karasawa to a veryold shrine turned out to be a lot longer if you don’t takethe suggested route… The serenity and 360-degree viewsfrom the top made up for it though.

Two of the Japanese players joined us for training on daytwo and despite a language barrier fitted in straight away -possibly due to the universal language of a sport. It also gaveus the opportunity to gauge how strong the oppositionmight be.

The series consisted of seven T20 games over twoweekends and only one game was lost due to weather. Bothsides put their top eleven in for the first game, at the NationalCricket Stadium, and it turned out to be a very closelycontested game. The Army unfortunately coming up sevenruns short in the chase. In each game a different XI took thefield to continue development of less experienced playersand gave others the opportunity for a ‘rest’ by umpiring orscoring a game. The fourth game of the weekend was theclosest and the Army narrowly lost by one run!

On Monday the team used a well-earned rest to explore thebeauty of Nikko National Park. A tour around the magnificentancient Toshogu Shrine complex was followed by a trip intothe mountains. Forty hairpin bends later and suitably dizzy,we were treated to amazing mountain views of old extinctvolcanoes and lakes that formed because of its previousactivity. The team even got to dip a foot into a natural hot spa.


The cricket team with Sendai University and 2 Engr Bde reps

Lake Chuzenji in Nikko National Park

The cricket team with the Sano City Mayor andmembers of the Japanese Cricket Association

Chureito Pagoda, Mt Fuji


Exhibition match at Sendai Univeristy

The squad met the Sano City Mayor on Tuesday morning before making a tripnorth to Sendai in the Fukushima region. Sendai University and 2 EngineerBrigade hosted us on the Wednesday for a full day of engagements. The squadspent an hour at the Army base being briefed on their history, current role, whichis largely humanitarian, and shown around some impressive pieces ofequipment.

Back to the university where we ran a cricket coaching clinic to introducecricket to a broader audience. Few have played cricket before, but the athleteswere very keen to see how their sporting skills could transfer to cricket. Anenthusiastic morning session was followed by an exhibition match in theafternoon supported by 200 keen students. The day was concluded by anevening reception packed with speeches, presentations and local cuisine (whichat times tested the taste buds). The return journey back to Sano included a stop

at some of the sites that were affected in the massiveearthquake and tsunami of 2011. A sobering experienceand some unbelievable stories of heroism and humanendurance.

With heavy overnight rain and what turned into Englishweather during the day, the squad was forced to trainindoors before our last weekend of four games.Unfortunately, the continual wet weather caused the firstgame to be cancelled but we soon got going after lunch.Speaking of lunch, it was very different to the ‘teas’ wehave in England. These fancy ‘Bento’ lunch boxesconsisted of various little portions in a neatly packed boxwhich quite often, we were told, causes competitionbetween parents to make sure they send their kids off to


Part of the coast hit by the Sendai Tsunami

Post-training yoga session

school with the best and prettiest lunch. The Army lost the afternoon game but was raring to go for the

‘finale’ taking place the following morning. Both teams planning toput their best XI forward but not before a social evening with thehosts at another traditional Japanese restaurant. The languagebarrier was soon overcome by a spot of charades and all got to learnmore about each other’s cultures. The final game went down to thewire and the Army, once again, narrowly defeated. Pte Georgie Cantwas nominated MVP for the Army team with some sterlingperformances with the bat. Despite losing the series, the teamcarried the flag well and certainly made an impression in the Land ofthe Rising Sun, as did our counterparts who are going from strengthto strength in their cricket development. Hopefully we will see themtouring the UK in the future.

After all the cricket action it was time to move back to Tokyo forour return to the UK. Our last full day was spent sightseeing. Forsome that was the bustling streets of Tokyo and for others a morepeaceful day in the outdoors with a slight detour to Mt Fuji. Much toour regret it was covered in a cloud which was not shifting at all.Luckily there were plenty of other activities and sights to seeincluding volcanic caves and an impressive temple (which wouldnormally have the most amazing view of Mt Fuji). Back in Tokyo wespent the last evening with a team meal at the famous ‘Kill BillRestaurant’ and of course a trip to Japan wouldn’t be completewithout a karaoke session. Everyone made the most of the timebefore departure with visits to more famous landmarks in the cityincluding the Samurai Museum where we learnt a lot more aboutthat part of their history than you perhaps come across in themovies!

The intent of the tour was to promote development of the gameto both our team as well as that of the Japanese National Team andwe certainly achieved that.

Traveling to the other side of the world is not cheap and we arevery grateful for all the contributions received from ASCB, ACA,individual Corps and our sponsor, Mabway.

If there are any budding female cricketers or anyonewho’d like to give it a try please get in touch with theteam manager, Maj Melanie Vaggers (AGC) [email protected] and join us at any

of our training sessions through the season.



BADMINTON

CorpsChampionship

1 October – 4 October 2019Those interested should contact: [email protected]

The Race Teamswill be on hand toprovide help and

support, whateveryour level of

riding

Interested inracing? This is the ideal time to catch the race teams forany questions you

may have, andpotential to do

your race licenseon the day

Use Code BATD19for the reduced

cost of £105

Book through NoLimits Trackdayson 01525 877087

Book now to avoiddisappointment

The 2019 British Army Motorcycle Track day is beingheld at Cadwell Park Circuit on Thursday 8th AugustOpen to all Serving Soldiers, Veterans and friends.

The aim of the day is for riders to transfer skills from track to the roadsand ultimately make for a safer road riding

You can use a road bike or a track bike. There are also track bikehire companies available on the day (booked in advance)

For any queries contact us via [email protected]

or Sgt Richard Spencer-Fleet, 5 Battalion REME, 94342 3292

BRITISH ARMYTRACKDAY 2019

MOTORSPORT

For more details,search Facebook for

British Army Track Day

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elected to bat against the JFC. Cfn Liam Fletcher wasted no time incementing his position at the top of the order, smashing 77 off veryfew balls, including several towering sixes, and Cpl Craig Wattschipped in with a steady 39 to post a total of 179 in 20 overs. In reply,REME restricted JFC with some very economical bowling byMcKenna and SSgt Justin Whitfield to a total of 101 for 5, withwickets shared between Boynton, Fletcher and Pugh. REME won by178 runs.

With REME and the Cyprus National side on one win each, thetournament came to a final decider. Batting first the Cyprus sideposted 162 for 4, with two wickets for Boynton and one for Fletcher.In reply, the Cyprus bowlers put the REME openers under pressureand reduced the side to 40 for 3 wickets after five overs. Behind therun rate and with wickets down, Boynton and Watts began to rebuildthe innings. Always conscious of the growing run rate, the class ofBoynton scoring 81 and the determination of Watts scoring 29,guided the side home with three balls remaining to win thetournament.The team started their season at the Army Inter CorpsTwenty20 Competition in May at the Army Cricket Ground Aldershot.

Departing London Luton Airport on 02 April 2019, the REMEMen’s Cricket team headed for their annual pre-seasontraining camp in Cyprus. Training was split between two

locations, Dhekekia and Episkopi. Once acclimatised, the teamstarted with several dynamic training sessions in the build up to theirfirst match, a Twenty20 blast against a talented 2 R ANGLIAN side.

Winning the toss and batting first, REME posted a formidable totalof 184 in 20 overs, with Lt Gav McKenna launching an impressive 44and Batesy (SSgt David Bates), hitting a quick-fire 39. JC (CfnJonathan Candler) opened the bowling and made the perfect startto the ANGLIAN’s innings, uprooting their opener’s off stumps, firstball. This set the tone for the rest of the innings, with wickets fallingat regular intervals and barring a couple of fielding mistakes, theteam made a solid start to the season.

After two days of training and recovering, the team moved southto Episkopi to compete in a triangular Twenty20 tournament againstthe Cyprus National side and the Joint Force’s Cyprus Cricket Club(JFC).

In the first match Team Captain, Cpl Jay Boyton, won the toss and

REME Men’s Cricket Pre-SeasonTraining Camp in Cyprus

Scribe: Lt Gavin McKenna

If any new players are interested in representing the Corps this season, please email: WO2 Fazeel Yassin ([email protected]).

Your Magazine, Your Views, Your [email protected] RHQ REME, MOD Lyneham

YOUR MAGAZINE NEEDSYOUYOU

The Craftsman Magazine exists for The REME Family but it is only kept going because you provide the articles in it.From engineering to fencing, if it is about the Corps you can write an article about it.

See inside the front cover for guidelines.


Hopkins knew something wasn’t quite right with one of theengines. Sacrificing a few places, they came in for anunscheduled engine change. Luckily the pits were packedwith well-rehearsed mechanics and it wasn’t the end oftheir race. Managing to claw back laps over the remainderof the race, sticking in a blindingly fast lap of 53:971s, Kart 4

finished a respectable 22nd overall and 15th in weight category.

Team Principal and Scribe - WO2 (AQMS) Alex Gooch

(Total Laps: 124. Total Distance: 148.8km. Fastest Lap Time:56:503s. AVG Speed: 67.64km/h)Drivers: Sgt Andrew James and Cfn Dean Spurle. Mechanic: LCplMartyn Burns

Kart 3, consisting entirely of new members, had a great startwith some extremely competitive lap times coming through andensuring the veteran team members are kept well and truly ontheir toes. Deciding to run in the light-weight category, theyentered qualifying with an open mind, narrowly missing out on a22nd place. Luckily one of the ‘Digby Spitfires’ karts had atechnical issue in Parc Firme, which meant Kart 3 wasn’t at theback of the grid. The race didn’t go without faults and the kartcame in with a cracked chassis but luck was on their side and thered flag meant efforts weren’t thwarted with a DNF. Finishing21st overall and 7th in weight category - a great first race.

(Total Laps; 119. Total Distance; 142.8km. Fastest Lap Time;53:971s. AVG Speed; 64.91km/h)Drivers: WO1 (ASM) Hopkins and Cfn Liam Potter. Mechanic: CfnGrant Nunn.

Kart 4 had a better advantage than Kart 3, in the sense thatWO1 Hopkins has been in the team since its inception. Passingon vital corporate knowledge, he and Cfn Liam Potter had a greatbuild up to the race, with multiple tweaks made to the setup toallow nurturing of driver and mechanical experience to occurthrough live training. A flat sounding engine allowed for pre-qualifying jitters to set in. Placing the kart 21st in qualifying, WO1

REME Corps Karting TeamThe REME Kart team were eager to start the new year having

only had snippets of F1’s winter testing and the ‘Formula 1Drive to Survive’ series to whet our appetites over the long

winter nights. The team started their entry into the Inter-ServicePro-Kart Endurance Championship by heading to Fulbeck inLincolnshire. Fullbeck has a great 1200m track with multiplecomplex corners, well-known amongst the Championship’sveterans and one to be respected as a momentary lapse inconcentration or show-boating only ends with the driver and kartexiting the track via the tyre walls. Having held an extremelysuccessful set of trials in March with 42 attendees, fifteen newmembers joined the team. They were against the curve to learntheir team roles and responsibilities to ensure we continued into2019 as ‘The Best Team in the Army’. Team members enjoyed acouple of days getting to learn how the team operates, the track inall its intricate details and learnt the vast differences between ourtwin-engine pro-karts and the bare basics of an ‘arrive and drive’corporate kart. With a huge change in the Championship rules forthis year - one change has resulted in weight categories being imposedon drivers and karts - we now have light-weight (175kg) and super-weight (185kg) classes which adds to even more technicalities to theracing strategy. In a very nasty accident, one of the Signals’ karts left thetrack resulting in a red flag and the race ending at 2:12:53:00.

Round 1 – Fulbeck (1200m)

KART 3

Changing the valve springs on Kart 4

KART 4


(Total Laps; 130. Total Distance; 156km. Fastest Lap Time;54:093s. AVG Speed; 70.91km/h)Drivers: Capt Ian Hodgkiss and Cfn Shane Forder. Mechanic: CplDaniel Thomas.

Kart 6 was set to battle with Kart 5 for inter-team dominance.Racing in the light-weight category and still needing to addweight, it was obvious that weight wouldn’t be the contributingfactor to them being slow. Being caught in traffic for most of the

qualifying resulted in a mid-grid start - right in the mix forthe first corner – which was not a good position to be in.Having managed to get through the first few laps, itwasn’t long before a kart with a novice driver decided touse Kart 6 as a ground anchor. They even managed tosomehow leave tyre marks on top of the engines. Kart 6battled through some of the field to make up vitalpositions, but it was obvious something wasn’t right withthe kart. Finishing 18th overall and 13th in category,there’s definite room for improvement.

Kart 5 is ready and raring to go

(Total pit stops: 15. Fastest pit: 48:61s. Total fuelConsumption: 118.81ltrs)

The results, out of the starting blocks wouldn’t havebeen possible if it wasn’t for the dedication of the all newpit crew. Most people believe the team is made up of justracing drivers, but we’d be lost without; the Coach andTactician, Lt Tallis; the speed and power of Cfn Kirk Felixand Sgt Chris Bunyan to get us through the pits; and theastute attention to detail of Cpl Chloe Coyle and Cpl LucyBrook ensuring we never ran out of fuel or went out tooheavy.

KART 5

KART 6

PIT CREW

ensuring the kart remained in one piece and knowing it’ssometimes better to surrender the track position and gain it backlater. Handing over in a good position, WO2 Gooch just neededto keep a steady hand to bring the kart home. With an hour ofthe race left, the right-hand engine exhaust welds failed,resulting in the exhaust pointing directly into the driver’s back.Having spent many years telling other team members to ‘driveround the problem’ he knew he couldn’t quit. Luckily the red flagended the race early with the kart finishing eighth overall andthird in the weight category, with some battle scars to takehome.

(Total Laps; 142. Total Distance; 170.4km. Fastest Lap Time;53:553s. AVG Speed; 77.45km/h)Drivers: WO2 (AQMS) Alex Gooch and WO2 (AQMS) Phil Cox.Mechanic: Gapped

Kart 5 needed to be on form to hold its place as best Army kartfrom 2018. Losing one of the drivers to Ex Prairie Phoenix inBATUS, WO2 Phil Cox stepped up. Learning the slight differencebetween his old kart, Kart 3, it was tough driver competition forquickest lap times. Carefully reviewing the data logger and Go-Pro footage they both learnt where each other was losing paceand time. Qualifying seventh, it was thought they were on to arelatively incident-free race, knowing those in front would makeit round the first corner. Having multiple novices on the trackoften means there’s some unpredictability of racing lines. Thisresulted in the kart leaving the track twice in the first stint, while

Luckily thepits were packed

with well-rehearsed mechanics and it wasn’t the end of their race.

CRAFTSMAN JULY GALLEY No 04

We conducted the bulk of training at the JointServices Parachute WingCyprus, making use of theirnew £Million+ aircraft - aCessna C208 Caravan.

“

”

The REMELIGHTNING

BOLTSScribe: Lt Andrew Swaffield

The REME Lightning Bolts APDT are one of fourOfficial Army Parachute Display Teams. Thereare two full time Army teams, The Red Devils

(PARA) and The Tigers (PWRR) and two part timeteams, The Lightning Bolts (REME) and The SilverStars (RLC).We are a team of Officers and Soldiers,

representing all seven trades with ranks rangingfrom Cfn to Lt Col. Each member of the teamconducts parachute displays and training alongsidetheir Regular service commitments. Despite the plethora of ranks within the team, the

position of Team Leader will soon be handed over toLCpl Chris Sharman of 6 Bn REME. Hewill take on the responsibility for thesafe conduct and assurance of all ourparachuting activities.

Whilst in Cyprus the team completed over 1000jumps, averaging around

56 jumps per team member!

“”

We qualified two new display jumpers, Cpl Foster

and LCpl Mayne. “

”


Ex Silver Lightning

In March 2019, the team deployed to Cyprus on Ex SilverLightning to conduct their annual training camp. The two-week training packagestarted with a focus onlanding accuracy, with arequirement to consistentlyland within a 5m radius ofany given spot.

The two-week trainingcamp was a roaring success,with a huge thank you owedto all those who helped inanyway, including the staff ofJSPW Cyprus, BFBS Cyprusand The Silver Stars. The team

are now fully prepared to tackle the 2019 season and we lookforward to meeting, impressing and inspiring audiences upand down the country!

The Lightning Bolts have a busy 2019 season ahead. We arethe lead parachute display team for the National ArmedForces Day event in Salisbury, have a number of high-profileevents lined up and in May our favourite event (and not justbecause they give us VIP tickets); jumping on to the mainpitch at Bournemouth 7’s in front of 10,000+ festival goers!

Whilst other teams focus on impressing crowds with flyingcomplex and impressive canopy formations, the REME

Lightning Bolts have a unique weapon in thebattle of wooing audiences…

Alongside the Silver Stars, the two teams

achieved new records for thehighest amount of lift cyclesin a single day and in a single

week for the centre.

“

”

Lead Parachute Display team for the 2019 National

Armed Forces Day event in Salisbury.

“”



The Speed Star!

Anyone that has seen any 90s skydiving film (Point Break,Dropzone, Cutaway... get in touch for morerecommendations!) will know what a speed star is. The aim ofthe game is to leave the plane, unlinked, and, as quickly aspossible ‘dock’ on to your fellow jumpers and create a starformation.

Flying at a relatively low altitude of 8000ft (Normal jumpsare made from between 13.5-15 thousand feet), each memberof the team attaches a smoke canister to their foot and, oncue, exit the aircraft. Audiences on the ground are grippedwhen they see eight individual skydivers accelerate towardsthe ground at a jaw dropping 120mph, sometimes evenfaster! The team then form a star, before separating andspreading across the sky and safely opening their parachutes.

This high octane, adrenaline fuelled show grips audience’sattention and is a staple of any REME Lightning Bolts display.

The aim is to reach one million people

this year.“

”Get Involved

All of our team members are volunteers who jump in theirown time and have a passion for skydiving. If you want to getinvolved, all you need is a genuine interest in the sport and atleast one jump.

We have an incrediblyexperienced team, having

logged almost 15,000 jumps.

“”

To find out more get in touch with us on/REMELightningBolts,@[email protected].


Be quick as this competition has limited spaces!

If you would like to enter or for more

information contact Capt Midgley on

Mil: 94412 2001

or email: [email protected]

REME 6’sl - 17 July 2019

MOD Lyneham

Leaving at 1000hrs

Registration at Beversbrook Sports Facility from 0900hrs

From Calne to Brize Norton

Register online: ��//��/��/��/

Further information, contact Amanda Wood-Woolley:07776 [email protected]

RIDE OF RESPECT

Arriving at MOD Lyneham, C Gate, at 1030hrs

SUNDAY 7 JULY 2019

17/06/2019 13:58:30

REME RugbyPresents...

The 2019 Annual Awards Dinner NightOpen to all past and present players and officials from

REME Rugby Union, League, Masters and Women’s.

For further information please contact: Capt Lloyd Morgan [email protected] SSgt Andy Fyles [email protected]

26 July 2019Principality Stadium, Cardiff

Approx £40-45 per head


Widnes BranchFood Glorious Food

Scribe: Steve HampsonMembers of The Widnes Branch of the REME Association invited theRoyal Artillery Association to get together for a very sociableafternoon at the Game Bird Pub and Restaurant, organised by ourSocial Secretary, Jimmy Williams.

The afternoon was well supported by more than 30 members ofboth Associations and as usual a great afternoon was enjoyed by allwho attended.

The food was excellent and a few beverages were enjoyed by thegroup. It was a great opportunity to catch up with old friends and toprepare both Associations for the upcoming Crown Green Bowlingmatches due to take place later in the summer.

Once again, we must thank our wonderful host Jimmy Williamswho worked tirelessly to arrange the afternoon and who ensuredthat a good time was had by all.

R E M E A S S O C I A T I O N

On Thursday 2 May, members from the Potteries and DistrictBranch were invited to the Tri-Services ‘Veterans House’ inNewcastle-under-Lyme for the presentation of medals to

Norman Lewis. A 99 years old former Sapper, Norman was aremarkable man and as well as a D-Day veteran.

Norman had been part of the final ‘no retreat’ defensive wallaround the port of Dunkirk, whose bravery allowed for theevacuation from the beaches of so many Allied troops. Subsequentlyhe was to become a POW and was sent to Stalag XX-A in Poland. Hewas in possession of three medals, which in his own words hadbecome rather ‘tatty’. Following research, it was found that actuallyhe was entitled to six medals. All six were supplied, cleaned andremounted. Branch members, Ian Webb, Brian Billings and MauriceHope were there for the presentation by Reserve Colonel, ChrisEdwards. Norman escaped captivity and after a very round-aboutroute made it home. His only momento of his experience was that hemanaged to hold onto his POW dog tags, which were fascinating tosee.

Stalag XX-A was located in Thorn (modern day Turon) in Polandand comprised several camps holding as many as 20,000 prisoners atits peak. The main camp comprised a series of 15 forts thatsurrounded the city. Initially opened in 1939 to house Polishprisoners, the numbers were soon increased in 1940 to hold British

Potteries and Branch District Honour a D-Day VeteranScribe: Maurice Hope

prisoners as well. The first 403 prisoners were from the ill-fatedNorway campaign, which our deceased branch member GeorgePratt was involved in, followed shortly after by 4,500 from Dunkirkand the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division captured at Saint Valery-en-Caux. The numbers were further increased in 1941 and 1942 whenSoviet prisoners arrived.

THERE’S SOMETHING

FOR EVERYONE AT...

THE REME CORPS SHOPALL PROFIT MADE IS RETURNED TO THE REME

CHARITY TO SUPPORT WELFARE, BENEVOLENCE,SPORT, ADVENTUROUS TRAINING AND THE REME FAMILY.

We are open online and all items are available from the REME Museum Shop.

Come down and have a look!

We sell a wide range of REME Clothing, Accessories, Uniform, Mess Dress, Toys,

Glassware & Presentation Pieces

REME Museum Opening TimesTuesday-Saturday 09:30am-16:30pm

[email protected] 894871THE REME CORPS SHOP

REME Museum, MOD Lyneham

www.remeshop.org.uk www.facebook.com/REMECORPSHOPFor a copy of the Admin Instruction which includes a

booking proforma, please contact Maj Marc [email protected]

The 2019 ECE Reunion willbe held on 7 September

2019 in the Harris MMWarrant Officers’ and

Sergeants’ Mess at DSEME Lyneham (by kindpermission of the Corps ASM).

Electronic ControlEquipment (ECE)

TechnicianReunion


OBITUARYFormer LCpl Geoff Pattison

Scribe: Gerald NewtonOn behalf of Geoff’s daughters, I regret to inform the Corps of thepassing of Geoffrey John Pattison who died on 4 February 2019.Geoff passed away at Nottingham City Hospital after a long ill-

ness. Despite its severity, he was patient and had a cheerful dis-position. A Mansfield lad, he enlisted into

the Corps in December 1949 aged17 plus and completed basic mili-tary then trade training as a VehicleMechanic . He was pos ted toMalaya, serving there for threeyears deployed on maintainingarmoured fighting vehicles. Heachieved the rank of LCpl and wasqualified as a Class 2 tradesman. Geoff returned to the UK on

posting to the Royal Horse Guards,‘The Blues’, in Windsor to com-plete five years service with theCorps. Geoff’s final civil employ-ment was as a Fitter at the BaseWorkshop REME Chilwell until hisretirement. He was a dedicated caravaner

and classic car enthusiast. He supported the local branches ofREME Association Derby and Nottingham Branch and MalayanVeterans Associations, whose members, including the StandardBearer, turned out in good numbers at the funeral held at Bram-cote Crematorium in Nottingham on 20 February 2019. Theyshowed their support for his daughters Lorraine and Karen, theirfamilies and many friends who attended.Geoff will be remembered by all, with great affection.

��

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Starting at 1230hrs1 August - Elliot Hampton, Trombone & Piano

Stirling Hampton, Trumpet & Piano Sorella Hampton, Flute

Accompanist: Guy Murgatroyd, Piano7 November - Christopher Dew, Organ

Admission is free, to include a bu�et lunch

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Retiring plate donationsin support of

St Eligius Community Church

13/06/2019 15:18:50

ARTHUR – Col (Retd) David Arthur, passed away 29 April 2019,aged 70. Dates of Service 1966 – 1996.HINCKS – Maj (Retd) Gerald William Hincks, passed away 27February 2019, aged 78. Dates of Service 1956 – 1989.ROWE – Former Cpl Grahame (Des) Rowe, passed away 17 May2019, aged 58. Dates of Service 1979 – 1988. WOOD – Former Sgt Martin Wood, passed away 28 April 2019,aged 76. Dates of Service 1960 – 1975.

Death Notices

Death Notice RequirementsIn order to publish a death notice we require the followinginformation: Surname, first name, rank, full date of death,ages and dates of service. An obituary with additional careerand life information is welcome. To inform us of the death, please contact Ms Bev Bate,

Co r p s We l f a r e Manage r on ( 01249 894523 o r [email protected]

The REME Charity would like to say thank you to everyone who has used Amazon Smile.

Between January and March 2019,you have raised £43.06 for the charity.

Hot food is served between the hours of

10.00 and 14.30.including daily lunch specials, freshly made

sandwiches, baguettes, paninis, and

a children’s menu.

We also offer a call in and take out service.

the crowns cafe is a stylish café located within the reme museum at lyneham.

it has a relaxed atmosphere, where you can enjoy homemade cakes, cookies,

scones, pastries, cooked breakfasts & lunches, cold drinks or a cup of fresh

barista coffee or tea.

We’re open: 9.30 - 16.30

Monday to Saturday.


14 May 2019REGULAR ARMY

Intermediate Regular Commissions Lieutenant R. P. DAVIDSON 30191859 to be Captain 11 April2018 (Belated Entry) Lieutenant C. S. WEBBER 30077315 to be Captain 11 April2018 (Belated Entry) Lieutenant B. T. READ 30068861 to be Captain 21 May 2018(Belated Entry) Lieutenant O. J. MCAFEE 30146864 to be Captain 8 August2018 (Belated Entry) Lieutenant R. CHURCHER 30219711 to be Captain12 December 2018 Short Service CommissionsLieutenant J. M. GRIFFITHS 30217503 to be Captain26 October 2018 (Belated Entry)The following have been awarded the 1st Clasp to the LongService and Good Conduct Medal (Military)WO1, M. J. BROWN, REME, 25026901MAJ, R. A. CARTER, REME, 559539WO2, C. V. JOHNSON, REME, 24781730WO2, P. W. MOREY, REME, 25016908The following have been awarded the Long Service andGood Conduct Medal (Military)SGT, J. M. ALLEN, REME, 25175490 SGT, L. A. ALLISTON, REME, 25182636SSGT, N. J. ANDERSON, REME, 25172923CPL, L. M. BAILEY, REME, W1049065WO2, S. G. BATTISCOMBE, REME, 25020396SGT, D. L. BENTLEY, REME, 25183564LCPL, D. B. BOWNESS, REME, 25182987CPL, L. J. BURROWS, REME, 25176057SGT, J. P. CARR, REME, 25179752SGT, D. J. CLARKE, REME, 25156622SGT, D. D. COLEMAN, REME, 25159743SGT, J. D. COPE, REME, 25179293SGT, N. S. COX, REME, 25169403SGT, E. J. DAVENPORT, REME, 25169873SGT, J. B. DAVIDSON, REME, 25183446SGT, S. R. DOVE, REME, 25178656SGT, C. J. DURRANT, REME, 25176580LCPL, D. P. EDMONDSON, REME, 25182646SGT, J. ENTWISTLE, REME, 25182995SSGT, J. A. FARISH, REME, 25182270SSGT, J. J. FAWCETT, REME, 25179751SSGT, D. A. FENN, REME, 25172643CPL, N. J. FIDDES, REME, 25183496SGT, M. D. FIDDY, REME, 25159845SSGT, S. J. FLETCHER, REME, 25173920SGT, C. J. GARVEY, REME, 25176607SSGT, J. GOLDSMITH, REME, 25171235SGT, D. I. GRANT, REME, 25179428CPL, D. J. GREEN, REME, 25175805SSGT, N. J. A. GREEN, REME, 25177221SGT, I. HARRISON, REME, 25183278LCPL, J. HILLIER, REME, 25172608SGT, A. V. HIRST, REME, 25184249CPL, L. HOPKINS, REME, 25172650SSGT, S. A. HOUGHTON, REME, 25169199CPL, R. R. HUNTER, REME, 25178678SGT, O. J. W. JONES, REME, 25171647SSGT, G. P. KENDALL, REME, 25169817SGT, E. D. KENNEDY, REME, 25182364SSGT, M. LEONARD, REME, 25178644LCPL, G. A. LIDDLE, REME, 25172657SGT, G. T. LORIMER, REME, 25175615

Extracts from theLondon Gazette

CPL, A. A. A. MACKENZIE, REME, 25175489SGT, R. D. MARSDEN, REME, 25169634CPL, S. M. McCARVILLE, REME, 25120876SSGT, W. F. C. MERCER, REME, 25180113SSGT, P. MITCHELL, REME, 25169816SGT, T. D. J. MOTT, REME, 25049756CPL, K. A. MUCKLEY, REME, 25183019SGT, E. T. MUIRHEAD, REME, 25183769SGT, C. S. MULLANEY, REME, 25182219CPL, J. R. NEWTON, REME, 25178582SSGT, R. J. NOSCOE, REME, 25167602SGT, S. NUTTALL, REME, W1051650SGT, S. PATEMAN, REME, 25183552SGT, J. T. PERCIVAL, REME, 25176074SSGT, M. L. PINDER, REME, 25179693CPL, M. J. POTTS, REME, 25175093SGT, J. L. QUENAULT, REME, 25171085SGT, S. A. RICHARDSON, REME, 25181419SSGT, D. J. ROBERTSON, REME, 25185128CPL, M. F. RODGERS, REME, 25172655SGT, C. D. SHERWIN, REME, 25171766SGT, S. A. SHINN, REME, 25169633SSGT, B. D. SMITH, REME, 25178673SGT, L. D. SPENCER, REME, 25177058SSGT, P. G. SQUIBB, REME, 25176574SSGT, T. J. SUNWAR, REME, 25184638CPL, S. A. SWINGER, REME, 25180296SGT, G. TATE, REME, 25182218SSGT, S. A. TRICKETT, REME, 25183392SGT, R. W. TROTTER, REME, 25171762CPL, A. J. UPTON, REME, 25169401SGT, P. D. WARRAN, REME, 25183616CPL, K. S. WELLS, REME, 25175492SGT, M. J. WILBY, REME, 25181321SGT, A. A. WILLETT, REME, 25177314SGT, M. K. WITCOMB, REME, 25156619SSGT, N. YATES, REME, 25172760SSGT, S. B. YOUNG, REME, 25177636The following have been awarded the 3rd Clasp to theVolunteer Reserves Service MedalSSGT, D. J. HOLMES, REME, 24828417MAJ, S. A. TRIBELNIG, REME, 24916890The following have been awarded the 2nd Clasp to theVolunteer Reserves Service MedalSGT, R. T. GRIFFITHS, REME, 24916615The following have been awarded the 1st Clasp to theVolunteer Reserves Service MedalCAPT, R. F. CASEY, REME, 537258The following have been awarded the Volunteer ReservesService MedalCAPT, R. F. CASEY, REME, 537258SGT, S. M. HEAP, REME, 24536840


Regular CommissionsLieutenant Colonel N. J. COXON 516582 retires 25 February2019 Regular Commissions (Late Entry)Lieutenant Colonel S. H. GASKIN MBE 556479 retires12 February 2019 Major R. COWAN 24743453 to be Lieutenant Colonel28 January 2019 Short Service CommissionsCaptain J. M. GRIFFITHS 30217503 retires 7 February 2019 Lieutenant M. L. GREENING 30123240 to be Captain12 December 2018 Lieutenant J. C. HOLMES 30146803 to be Captain 12December 2018



Short Service CommissionsOfficer Cadet Jake ALLITT 30211605 from The Royal MilitaryAcademy Sandhurst to be Second Lieutenant 13 April 2019 Officer Cadet Jakob Ethan FIELD 30032299 from The RoyalMilitary Academy Sandhurst to be Second Lieutenant 13 April2019Officer Cadet Stephen HIGGINS 30236765 from The RoyalMilitary Academy Sandhurst to be Second Lieutenant 13 April2019 Officer Cadet Matthew HODGKINSON 30157988 from TheRoyal Military Academy Sandhurst to be Second Lieutenant 13April 2019 Officer Cadet Andrew James HODSON 30131382 from TheRoyal Military Academy Sandhurst to be Second Lieutenant 13April 2019 Officer Cadet David Jonathan Zephaniah HOLT 30293879 fromThe Royal Military Academy Sandhurst to be Second Lieutenant13 April 2019Officer Cadet Luke Ian Ronald LANGLEY 30171620 from TheRoyal Military Academy Sandhurst to be Second Lieutenant 13April 2019Officer Cadet Stuart Leslie William LINDSAY 30224493 fromThe Royal Military Academy Sandhurst to be Second Lieutenant13 April 2019 Officer Cadet Edward Oliver MERCER 30233452 from TheRoyal Military Academy Sandhurst to be Second Lieutenant 13April 2019 Officer Cadet Haley Elizabeth MORGAN 30203502 from TheRoyal Military Academy Sandhurst to be Second Lieutenant 13April 2019 Officer Cadet Daniel PARSONS 30173694 from The RoyalMilitary Academy Sandhurst to be Second Lieutenant 13 April2019 Officer Cadet Rebecca Jane SMITH 30150280 from The RoyalMilitary Academy Sandhurst to be Second Lieutenant 13 April2019 Officer Cadet Darrell STEPHEN 30297655 from The RoyalMilitary Academy Sandhurst to be Second Lieutenant 13 April2019 Officer Cadet Thomas James SWEENEY 30293885 from TheRoyal Military Academy Sandhurst to be Second Lieutenant 13April 2019 Officer Cadet James Benjamin UNDERWOOD 30205555 fromThe Royal Military Academy Sandhurst to be Second Lieutenant13 April 2019

4 June 2019ARMY RESERVE

Warrant Officer Class 1 Christopher Leslie HUECK 25012489 tobe Lieutenant 12 January 2017 (Belated Entry)The following have been awarded the 4th Clasp to theVolunteer Reserves Service MedalWO2, C. S. GREEN, REME, 24827119The following have been awarded the 3rd Clasp to theVolunteer Reserves Service MedalCPL, H. W. J. GORDON, REME, 24626665SGT, D. S. LYALL, REME, 24913434MAJ, H. M. ROBERTS, REME, 530197The following have been awarded the 2nd Clasp to theVolunteer Reserves Service MedalSGT, R. M. C. HAMILTON, REME, 24947393CPL, D. S. LYALL, REME, 24913434The following have been awarded the 1st Clasp to theVolunteer Reserves Service MedalCPL, A. J. WADE, REME, 24784456The following have been awarded the Volunteer ReservesService MedalLCPL, S. J. BURNS, REME, 30094287CPL, P. M. LOVELL, REME, 30098380CFN, W. MARTIN, REME, 30098262CPL, R. D. MUNDELL, REME, 25120502SGT, M. A. K. VEITCH, REME, 24670681LCPL, S. M. WILLIAMS, REME, 30084612

Officer Assignments

JUNELieutenant ColonelAPD Stuart LE VST SMF DTL DES 01Dec19MajorJCS Bartlett Trg Offr 102 Bn REME 10Jun19GM Corsie SO2 DES/COMJE/HELS/HELS3/ 17Jun19

APACHE/WATTTA McCluskey OC 72 Avn Coy 7 Avn Sp Bn REME 10Jun19S Robertson MAA OA ENG3 DSA 24Jun19BR Thomas SO2 DCAM AHF HQ 10Jun19M Warrener SO2 Attk JHC HQ Land 24Jun19CaptainR Constantinou Adjt 8 Trg Bn REME 03Jun19M Frampton SO3 ES Ops HQ 101 Log Bde 23Jun19R Grewal DES CA UAS WK EA DES/COMAIR/CA/UAS 16Jun19CO Peaple APACHE CSP SPTDES/COMJE/HELS/HELS3 17Jun19 NWG Stafford 2IC BATUS Wksp 03Jun19BP Wilkinson OC 19 Regt RA Wksp REME 24Jun19

JULYLieutenant ColoneMJ Davis SO1 REME Manpower Plans D Pers 29Jul19SP Dutton SO2 SPT RM D Cap 22Jul19CS Ireland Wildcat Output LD DES 29Jul19DP Lethbridge SO1 SF JFC HOC SP 25Jul19CJ Murdoch SO1 LO NRHQ RA 31Jul19DB Steptoe CAE WC HQ ARF 22Jul19AC Walker SO1 J4 ESS Project Officer PJHQ (UK) 01Jul19 MajorMW Ball OC 71 Coy 7 Avn SP Bn REME 31Jul19G Booth SO2 ES HQ 160 Inf Bde and HQ Wales 01Jul19DA Bower SO2 SAE ARF HQ 29Jul19AJ Brown SO2 Offr Trg Junior DSEME 29Jul19DS Buchanan XO CSS D Cap 22Jul19MP Cary OC RMAS 10Jul19DAG Coles SO2 G357 HQ 7 Bde 01Jul19MA Jeffery OC 17 P&M Regt RLC Wksp 30Jul19TR Kent DCOS DSAE Cosford 29Jul19KM Machin ERP Proj CUBIT Asst DCCT HQ 01Jul19CJ Maitland Senior Instr Art Trg DSEME RAS 22Jul19HR Morse OC 47 Regt RA Wksp 15Jul19R Pogson HughesEmanuel MBE SO2 Jef Assurance Dir Jnt Warfare 29Jul19JR Schenk OC 3 Regt AAC Wksp 08Jul19DR Williams DES/COMAIR/CA/UAS/ABW 23Jul19DJ Wilson SO2 Future Plans CSS HQ3 (UK) Div 29Jul19DB Woodhouse SO2 Peers Ops Slur RHQ REME 29Jul19CaptainAR Allchin OC HCR LAD 08Jul19WJ Barraclough Pl Comd 47 Regt RA WKSP REME 08Jul19LJ Bloxham Pl Comd 5 Regt AAC Wksp REME 08Jul19GW Copeland OC 29 CDO Regt RA LAD 15Jul19CJ Cornes SO3 ES Sustain HQ 102 Log Bde 29Jul19SC Dougal OC QDG LAD 22Jul19DCR Douglas OC CLR 15Jul19SJ Drawbridge DES/COMJE/HELS/HELS3/APACHE/YVL 29Jul19JM Golding Trg Offr 6 Armd CS Bn REME 01Jul19CP Hall OC 21 Engr Regt LAD 01Jul19JA Kenny Adjt 102 Bn REME 25Jul19MD Lewis 2IC 12 Regt RA Wksp 31Jul19MHC McLean Pl Instr RMAS Trg Staff 17Jul19CM Mumby OC 7 PARA RHA LAD 01Jul19RJ Murphy Alamein Coy SO3 Ops DSEME 8 Trg Bn REME 01Jul19CAB NevinMaguire OC LAD 28 (CBRN) Engr Regt LAD 15Jul19MDB Peak Adjt 7 Avn Sp Bn REME 31Jul19BT Read 2IC 17 P&M Regt RLC Wksp REME 31Jul19LieutenantEJ Baker Pl Comd D Coy ATC (P) 2 Regt 22Jul19J CapelShyu Presentation Team Offr ARTD RG STEM Team 31Jul19


JA Chapman 2IC Alamein Coy 8 Trg Regt REME 31Jul19LA Cox Pl Comd HQ Coy ATFC (W) 31Jul19B Darney 10 Armd Coy PL Comd 4 Armd CS Bn REME 31Jul19MJ Edwards Pl Comd Helmand Coy 8 Trg Bn REME 31Jul19MR Garrard Pl Comd 4 Regt AAC (AH) Wksp REME 08Jul19ED Grant 2IC Normandy Coy 8 Trg Bn REME 31Jul19ML Greening Avn PL 2 3 Regt AAC Wksp REME 08Jul19MJ Harrison 2IC 5 Coy 3 Armd CS Bn REME 31Jul19DW Horsburgh Pl Comd ATC (P) 2 Regt 31Jul19KJ Jutsum Pl Comd Helmand Coy 8 Trg Bn REME 31Jul19AJ Maling IO 5 FS Bn REME 31Jul19JC Mann Pl Comd 2 Avn Pl 71 Avn Coy 7 Avn 06Jul19

Sp Bn REMELRGM Mottley Pl Comd Trg Coys AFC (H) 31Jul19F Parker SO3 Pers Ops Officer RHQ REME 31Jul19JR Pratt Pl Comd Packs Pl 1 Coy 5 FS Bn REME 31Jul19B Robinson Pl Comd 4 Avn Pl 72 Avn Coy 7 Avn 08Jul19

Sp Bn REMEJK Shenfield Asst Adjt 8 Trg Bn REME 31Jul19JW Sowerby 2IC 659 Sqn LAD 1 Regt AAC Wksp REME 08Jul19

The Trustees of The REME Charityacknowledge with sincere thanks thedonations received during the monthof MAY 2019. They also wish toacknowledge the regular subscriptionsreceived from the Officers and Soldiersof the Corps and retired members of the REME Institution:

DonationsIn memory of Gerald William Hincks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .£295.00Payroll Giving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .£14.44Anon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .£180.00REME Association Birmingham Branch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .£300.00The Estate of the late William Joseph Guckian . . . . . . . . . . . .£250.17St Eligius Endurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .£35.00London Marathon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .£202.50Robert Davies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .£15.00Worshipful Company of Turners Charity Committee . . . . . .£500.00Cycling Tynemouth to Whitehaven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .£790.00Running 60K in 60 days in my 60th year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .£10.00Michael Bailey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .£10.00In memory of Brian Finland-211 Old Comrades Club . . . . . .£90.00Via Amazon Smile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .£43.06In memory of Robert Ian Went . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .£150.00Mr Lewis Cameron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .£347.23D Morris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .£50.00REME Skydivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .£20.00Mr & Mrs D Paternoster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .£20.00

Total Donations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .£3,322.40Total £’s paid in Grants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .£15,642.41No. Grants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37Average Grant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .£422.76

The below donations were donated in April and missed fromMay’s edition.Robert Davies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .£15.00Mrs Max Joy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .£200.00Michael Bailey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .£10.00Joel Hart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .£46.00St Eligius Endurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .£20.00CAFGYE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .£25.00The Broxhead Club (Dinner ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .£720.00In memory of Mr Robert Ian Went . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .£172.21General REME Charity Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .£261.97

If you would like to see how your money is spent, we welcomeone or two observers at The REME Charity meetings. The meet-ings are held midweek, approximately every three weeks. If youwould like to observe a meeting, please contact The REMECharity Secretary on ( Mil: 95481 4527 or Civ: 01249 894527in the first instance.

The REME Charity is here for both veterans and serving person-nel in times of hardship or need. Contact via SSAFA ( 0800 7314880 www.ssafa.org.uk or The Royal British Legion ( 0808 8028080 www.britishlegion.org.uk or your Unit Welfare if serv-ing. All enquiries and information is dealt with in the strictestconfidence. If you wish to discuss any benevolence need youcan contact us on ( 01249 894523.

Anyone wishing to leave a legacy to The REME Charity, which is exempt from inheritance tax, can add a

codicil to their will. Our registered charity number is 1165868

The REME Charity

Scribe: Lt Col (Retd) Mike Tizzard

On 1 June 2019, three Arborfield Old Boys from intake 76B2met up for a Parkrun in the delightful grounds of NetleyAbbey near Southampton. Ian Buchan, Bob Keene and Mike

Tizard, sporting their REME T-Shirts, thrashed themselves around the3.1 miles course and all finished with respectable times. Afterworking up an appetite, the café was visited for a coffee, cake and agood catch up. Several coffees followed and there was still lots leftun-said. A date has been arranged for another Parkrun this year andcatch up later in the summer.

Arborfield Old BoysGo For a Run

Corps Calendar2019-2020

J U LY

6 REME Reserves Management Board (in Derby)

14 Regimental Sunday Royal HospitalChelsea

16 REME Craftsman Cup Cricket Final

17-18 REME Sportsfest 19

18 REME Sports Awards Dinner

S E P T E M B E R

4 REME Museum Policy CommitteeMeeting

10 REME Association ExecutiveCommittee

12 REME Command Group

12 Corps Dinner Night

20 Retired Officers Dinner

21-27 REME Commissioning AssessmentBoard

24 REME Institution and HQ OfficersMess Executive Committee

26 The REME Charity Finance andInvestment Committee

28 Corps WOs’ and Sgts’ Dinner Night

O C T O B E R4 Quartermasters’ Dinner

17 Corps Conference

19-20 Reserves Conference and Dinner

24 Autumn Guest Night

N OV E M B E R7 Field of Remembrance

13 The REME Charity Trustees Meeting

14 REME Corps Council

D E C E M B E R

1 Eligius Day

J A N UA RY 2 0 2 0


F E B R UA RY

29 Regimental Guest Dinner Night

M A R C H

12 Colonels’ Commandant Dinner

19 Corps Council Meeting

25 REME Engineering Awards

A P R I L

4 Broxhead Club Dinner

17-19 REME Association Weekend

23 Spring Guest Dinner Night

M AY

7 Young Officers Conference andDinner


21 NMA Annual Memorial Service

J U N E

18 Corps Council Meeting

18 Beating Retreat & Cocktail Party

Please register your attendance on the Corps Comms (RHQ SharePoint)

https://modgovuk.sharepoint.com/teams/cui1-476/corpscomm/Lists/Corps%20WOs%20and

%20Sgts%20Mess%20Autumn%20Guest%20Dinner%20Night/overview.aspx

Corps Warrant Officers’ and Sergeants’Mess Autumn Guests Dinner Night

Saturday 28 September 2019Closing date for returns: Wednesday 11 September

For further information please contact:

WO2 Colin McNab on 95481 4512 or 01249 894512 or [email protected]

THE CRAFTSMAN - rememuseum.org.uk€¦ · REME has evolved, maintaining an excellent level of...

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