ARmy Rumour SErvice

The Bournemouth, Poole & District Branch, Royal Tank Regiment Association, visited the CIS (Signal) school at Bovington on Tuesday 10th July 2012. 14 of us arrived at Allenby Barracks, where we booked in, parked up and made our way to the CIS School where the CO gave his opening address.
The CO is our own Lt Col G D who gave a brief rundown on who is based at Bovington and then concentrated on the CIS School. He explained the different courses run at the school, which include an advanced course which is like the old control signaller course. Due to the complexity of the equipment this extra course is being maintained whilst D&M and Gunnery have lost their equivalent “mech” courses.
The next port of call was a radio room which displayed the infantry radio’s being used in Afghanistan, some of which have been bought off the shelf from the USA. All are secure so the Taliban can’t listen in to what’s going on. They are also reasonably lightweight so they don’t add too much to the other 56lb or so of other kit which weigh down the average squaddie. What was good were the little lightweight walkie-talkie type radio’s given to each patrol member, secure, with a range of about 500 meters, so the patrol can communicate with each other without having to shout or come together to communicate. Lots of frequencies, so each section can have their own “chat net”.
Before looking at Bowman we had a trip down memory lane, looking at C42, B47 and C13 from one million years BC (Before Clansman), and then a 353 and 351 from the more recent past. We then moved on, going outside past the Church Army Red Shield (NAAFI Wagon) glad to see some old units are not disbanding! And without stopping for tea we moved into another area where a number of mock up Land Rovers were situated all with full Bowman bits and pieces. This is best described as the signal version of a gunnery GTS as the instructors can create all sorts of faults for the students to sort out. To see a number of Rovers all without wheels led to a number of comments, mostly about the city of Liverpool! Not sure what that was all about.
Into another classroom which was like video game city, you could choose to be the gunner or commander and engage the enemy whilst using all the Bowman data and of course voice procedure is still all important. GD joined us again at this point for a final question and answer session before leaving the CIS school and moving to the WO’s & Sgt’s Mess for lunch and refreshments.
The GSM kindly agreed to our using the mess and allowing GD to join us. The GSM and all the RTR instructors at the school joined us for lunch and a couple of beers. Also present was my old troop leader from Herford, Lt Col J W, who is based at Stanley Barracks and is Commandant of the Army School of Recruiting. Another guest speaker/victim for our branch is now in my sights. Bill (no “Y”) Haley had a short day at the D&M School so joined us as did Tommy Cormack who had to go back to work. Sadly Tony Upton ex 1 RTR/APTC was away from Bovington so could not join us on the day.
It was also unfortunate that Kev Coughlin a former Signals Instructor could not get time off work and was unable to attend.
It was a very interesting and enjoyable experience, many thanks to G D and his instructors for taking the time to arrange the day and indeed for allowing us to enter the “signal” world.
Fear Naught

The Bournemouth, Poole & District branch, Royal Tank Regiment Association visited the National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas in Staffordshire on Sunday 19th August 2012. We travelled up by coach on Saturday and stayed in hotel accommodation overnight at Burton on Trent. Due to a couple of people dropping out at the last moment, P R & M L joined us from Yorkshire, having been offered the double room that was on offer.
Concerned that it was a double room, I suggested to them that they try to swap it for a twin room when they arrived. They arrived before us and followed my suggestion and exchanged rooms. However, I didn’t mean that they take mine and D R's twin room and leave us with the double bed!!
Saturday night in the hotel restaurant saw the staff put lots of tables together so we could sit as a large group. A great time was had by all; in fact the time passed so quickly that the plan to visit down town Burton on Trent went by the wayside. The bar had 3 different real ales, it was a very warm night and the beer garden was a good substitute.
On Sunday, following breakfast we set off for the Arboretum, We met J L & SL at the RTR plot where lots of photos were taken before we dispersed to wander around the site our own pace. We did have tickets for the land train tour, which was a godsend for the older, less able branch members. The train had a running commentary and had us laughing when we passed the Royal Army Dental Corps plot as the commentary started with the sound of a dentist’s drill. Not every plot could be commented on, so there was loud cheering as we passed the RTR plot and a quite detailed explanation of the RTR was given.
I had acquired a wheel chair for Maurice Bourne MM, our 92 year old El Alamein veteran, and we two sought out and found the Mediterranean garden. This garden commemorates not only the North African campaign, but Greece, Crete, Sicily and Italy as well as post war conflicts like Cyprus and Palestine. We then headed past the Basra wall, and a number of infantry plots including the Light Infantry, Para’s and The Royal Hampshire Regiment. We also saw the QDG, the 10th Hussar and 11th Hussar memorials before Maurice insisted that we visit the beer tent. The other elderly members were also superbly looked after by both the younger members and especially by their wives.
To be honest, you would need about a 5 days to be able to see everything at Alrewas so you have to decide what you most want to see and concentrate on that.
All too soon it was time to board the coach and head back to Dorset. Without doubt this is the best thing our branch has done in many years. Despite trying not to, at branch meetings you tend to get the older members sticking together while the younger ones also form little groups. This weekend that was totally blown away, there was more bonding within our group in 48 hours than in 5 years’ worth of branch meetings, and remember this is a branch where the members get on with each other very well and has no in branch friction whatsoever.
Thanks must go to the “Not Forgotten Association” whose kind donation allowed this trip to take place.
We stayed at the Premier Inn Central (there are 2 PI’s covering Burton) Burton on Trent, which is a new and very clean and shiny hotel. The Beefeater restaurant next door was first class and the “meal deal” which gave you a 3 course evening meal and an all you can breakfast was amazing and fantastic value for money.
If you fancy a trip to the National Memorial Arboretum but don’t live very close to it, trust me, when I say you can’t do it justice on a one day round trip, I fully recommend the Premier Inn Central at Burton on Trent (10 minutes by car from Alrewas) as the perfect base for a group or family base.

17 members were present for the September 2012 meeting. The loyal toast and toast to the regiment were given. The minutes of the AGM in July were available and passed. The latest branch members address list was available to all members. The London branch newsletter and the Tank Times were available to view. A vote of thanks was given to the branch secretary for organising the recent trip to the National Memorial Arboretum.
Letters from RHQ RTR regarding the merger of 1&2 RTR and the service in London to celebrate the 70th anniversary of El Alamein were available.
Graham Collins confirmed that he was available to carry the branch standard on remembrance Sunday in Poole Park. The branch president is organising a wreath from RHQ RTR.
It was decided to hold the annual ladies lunch on Sunday 20th January 2013; further details will be announced later.
There being no further business the meeting was closed and a separate short meeting for those attending the Cambrai celebrations in France was held before the guest speaker was introduced.
Members of the Bere Regis scout group gave a presentation on their project “Remember them”, the aim of which is to allow the scouts to connect with remembrance Sunday and understand what it is really all about. The scouts researched the names on the war memorials in the villages of Bere Regis, Winterbourne Kingston and Affpuddle. They discovered who these people really were, what schools they went to, where they lived, what they did prior to going to war. They discovered the real human beings behind the names, like the 15 year old who joined the 5th Dorsets in1914 only to die at Gallipoli in 1915 still only age 16. Or the 2 brothers who joined the RAF in WW2, one was killed in 1943; the other shot down and killed in April 1945 just before hostilities ended.
They looked at why a number of soldiers from Canada are listed on the memorials? And the reason is that many people migrated to Canada (primarily the prairies) at the turn of the 20th century, only for a number to decide that they had made a mistake but did not have means to get back to the UK. The outbreak of war in 1914 gave them the opportunity they needed. Join the Canadian Army, get sent to the UK, once the war is won ( it will be over by Christmas remember) get de-mobbed on the right side of the Atlantic and go home to Dorset. Sadly they had not bargained for the horrors and casualties of the western front.

The scouts have visited the battlefields of Flanders and seen the memorials, the trenches and the cemeteries. One scout laid a wreath at the grave of a distant relative; his friends then laid a wreath at the next grave along, why? Because it was the grave of an unknown Canadian soldier, and they thought that as one of many unknowns it had probably never had an individual tribute placed on it, so they gave this Unknown Soldier his own personal salute, a very thoughtful act.
We did not really know what to expect from the scouts. We were surprised and pleased at what we saw and heard.

Fear Naught

15 members were present for the October 2012 meeting. The loyal toast and toast to the regiment were made. Green fields was a nil return and the minutes of the September meeting were available to view. Members were informed that they would receive all details regarding the January Ladies lunch by post. The cost of the ladies lunch will be subsidised to the tune of £3.00 per person. Names of volunteers were taken for the 6 vacancies offered to us for the Bournemouth Christmas lunch with entertainment at the Marriott hotel organised by the "Not Forgotten Association". It was agreed to provide a buffet for the November meeting as we are hoping for a number of guests. It was agreed to donate £25.00 to the Bere Regis Scouts following their presentation as guest speakers in September.

The Chairman then closed the meeting and introduced the guest speaker, Capt M*** B**** RTR, Adjutant of the RAC Training Regiment at Bovington. M explained that the role of the unit is to train phase 2 recruits, phase 3 soldiers, crew commanders and Troop Leaders. We had learned from Captain L & Cpl S last year the programme for recruits and this month we learned of the changes since last year. The 22 week phase II Syllabus remains largely the same, Signals, D&M (including getting your car licence) still dominate but the aim is to provide relevent and robust field training which is constantly updated to ensure the recruits arrive at their regiments facing a smaller learning curve as possible. M was shocked and amused to discover that in the dark ages (1960's 70's 80's) soldiers could learn to drive a main battle tank before learning to drive a car. So what's new? The main difference is that a ground mounted GPMG segment has been added which includes a range period, this means that (with Afghanistan in mind) all recruits arrive at their regiments competent in this weapon system in the infantry role. Urban clearing, casualty drills, section attacks and night operating are given a fair amount of time. New officers now go straight to Bovington from Sandhurst, rather than spending time at regimental duty before going on their "young officers" course as was the case in the old days.

The future!
You heard it here first folks, the RAC is introducing height restrictions. Although 99% of recruits will be unaffected, you now have to be between 5'2 inches and 6'2 inches tall otherwise you will be rejected for the RAC. No reason was given for the minimum height but the maximum height is due to IED's, where someone squashed inside an AFV with little or no headroom will have a much greater chance of serious injury. Phase 1 training may be going full circle and return to Catterick. It went from Catterick to Winchester, to Bassingbourne, then to Winchester (again) and now consideration is being given to do it with the infantry at Catterick. This is because the RAC are doing more and more dismounted operations which are likely to continue even when Afghanistan comes to an end. M explained that this is likely to mean an RAC Wing at the Infantry Training Regiment at Catterick, staffed by RAC instructors, and not having our young men thrown to the mercy (or lack of it) of the Black Watch! The ethos is now the combat ethos rather than infantry or RAC, like it or not the RAC and Infantry may not be getting married, but an affair has begun!!.

Lots of questions followed and M did not get away till late, but that's the price of a successful presentation. M did enjoy meeting our WWII veterens Maurice who was at Alamein, Mac who was at Normandy and Bert who joined the RTC in 1938.

The only down side was that I failed to win a prize in the raffle, I was going to complain to the secretary, but that's no use, I AM the secretary.

Fear Naught

15 members were present for the November 2012 meeting. Also attending were 20 visitors who were responding to my invite to attend the meeting and listen to our guest speaker. The main points were quickly dealt with and the guest speaker was introduced slightly earlier than usual.
David Fletcher is the historian at the Tank Museum and has appeared on many programmes on TV and has published a number of books on tanks and is regarded as a world renowned expert on the history of AFV’s. David gave a power point presentation on the battle of Cambrai. He concentrated on certain aspects of the battle rather than a broad overview. I never knew that a tank crossing the canal bridge collapsed under the weight of the vehicle and caused the attack to falter. He talked in detail about how the tanks suffered in the villages they entered, and stated that one tank allegedly came out again almost “silver” in colour due to the immense number of machine gun hits it had received, all the paint was gone! We saw photos of large numbers of tanks that had suffered catastrophic damage from hits by artillery pieces firing over open sights.
What was interesting was seeing the photos of the Germans recovering the damaged British tanks, putting them onto trains and back loading them to repair facilities in the rear areas. Then and now photo’s helped us see the terrain the tanks were crossing.
The presentation was well received by everyone present and afterwards the buffet was consumed and the beer flowed. Two former members of the old Bovington branch were in attendance as was the CO of the CIS school, the adjt of the RAC Training Regiment and a number of new RTR officers fresh from Sandhurst. The GSM at Bovington and a number of serving SNCO’s also were also present which helped us reach an attendance figure of 35 which is simply fantastic.
A very, very, good branch meeting indeed.
Fear Naught

Thirteen members were present for the first meeting of the new year. A few were missing due to illness, this is not unusual, February tends to have the lowest attendance figure of any of our meetings.



A recap of the Cambrai trip in November and the Ladies Lunch in January was followed by the minutes of the November meeting. The signal to the regiment from HM the Queen on the anniversary of Cambrai was available to view, as were the minutes of the RTRA AGM held in Cambrai. Details of the RTR sponsored Church Service and Curry lunch were made available as were the dates of the Nottingham branch remembrance parade at the National Memorial Arboretum. 12th June 2013 in case you were wondering?



It was agreed to donate £25 to the Royal British Legion in respect to our guest speaker. More on that in a second. Finally I informed the branch that I had written to A Sqn 1 RTR in regards to a possible branch visit to Warminster in the summer. This is an ongoing "in hand" item.



The Chairman then closed the meeting and introduced the guest speaker. Ian Jarvis is the Dorset fundraiser for the Royal British Legion, he is ex, 5 Innis DG/RDG.



Ian confirmed that this was the first occasion that he had addressed a military association branch and hoped it would be a success? it was.



The RBL was formed in 1921( it got it's royal status in the early 1970's) and is the only military charity that looks after families and dependants as well as serving/former servicemen. You have to have received at least "7 days pay" from the crown to qualify for help from the Legion. The Legion is the main campaigner to encourage the government to honour the military covenant. Welfare remains the heart of the Legion and continues to be the main point of focus. It is recognised as the most effective campaigning military charity.



Another area of focus is to try and modernize it's fundraising so that it can carry on into the 21st Century, Sporting events and using young people appear to be the main axis of attack. Ian admitted that the success of Help for Heroes has had the effect of transforming the Legion's focus in regards to fundraising. It's a difficult area to balance, the Legion is very grateful to the huge number of elderly volunteers who rattle their tins for the cause, but the traditional routes of fundraising are thought to be less effective than they used to be.



The annual poppy appeal is of course still the "big event" of the year and is a 2 week window where the legion aims to raise £40 million.

As far as Dorset is concerned? the county's best ever poppy appeal effort brought in £650,000. Not bad for a small county.



We asked Ian about RBL branches and clubs? he explained that they exist together but are separate. There is conflict in many area's as individuals with no military background dominate the clubs, they join simply for the cheap drink and many have no interest in the Legion itself. This problem is "ongoing" but is being looked at.



This is the third military charity to address our branch (SSAFA & the Not Forgotten Association being the other two) and it's amazing how different they are. Hopefully this presentation will result in our members doing a bit more in November. It was a very interesting and enlightening presentation.

13 members were present for the March branch meeting. A number were still a bit unwell so not a bad turnout at all. A possible new member came along to give us the once over, hopefully we will see him again. We did have a group of 5 young officers visit us as well, they are on their troop leaders course at the Armour Centre. They came along with the guest speaker.

The Loyal Toast, the regiment, Green Fields (nil return) and welfare were all dealt with. It was confirmed that A Sqn 1 RTR had received our letter asking for a branch visit and we are awaiting developments on that front. Names were taken for the RTR sponsored church service and curry lunch on 17th March at Bovington. I am pleased to say that 17 members and wives of this branch will be attending and supporting the Royal Tank Regiment.

Details of ticket application for Founders day at the Royal Hospital Chelsea were given, we have however submitted a nil return.


We have been invited to the annual Burton Village (Christchurch) armed forces and veterans day. It was agreed that as a local event we should support it and it is planned that we will take part in the parade with the branch standard at the head.

No decision has been made yet regarding the Nottingham branch remembrance service at the National Memorial Arboretum. We have been represented there in 2011 and 2012, but it is a long day when you include the round trip from Dorset.

There was no further business so the Chairman closed the meeting and introduced the guest speaker.



Capt T* B* RTR, is currently serving at the RAC Training Regiment and agreed to give a presentation on his first few years in the army as a new troop leader.



Following Sandhurst, he went on his troop leaders course which involved D&M and Signals at Bovington, Gunnery at Lulworth and a tactics phase which included 5 days on vehicles at Warminster ( A Sqn 1 RTR ). On arrival at 2 RTR in Tidworth, he found himself taking 8 soldiers to Austria for a month, snowboarding! Of course it is blatantly obvious to anyone that following initial employment training, it is vital for soldiers to learn about the dangers of Austrian snowboarding, just in case they ever have to deal with Taliban snowboarders hiding out in the Alps!

Now fully acclimatised to snow conditions, he went with 2 RTR on Herrick 13 to Afghanistan in charge of a Mastiff troop. He explained that Mastiff was a popular vehicle but it paid to get one with working air conditioning. After Afghanistan, it was Castlemartin ranges and the following year off to BATUS. By the time he went to Canada he was a reasonbly experienced troop leader and was subsequently employed as part of the range safety team at BATUS. It was interesting to hear his adventures as a brand new officer in dealing with the "old hands" who did not want to deal with a new "nig" officer. As our chairman said on thanking him for his presentation, it was nice to hear the new boy struggles from the officers point of view.



In the post meeting drink and chat, the young officers present were thrilled to talk to Maurice Bourne MM and Mac McKanny. both veterans of WWII. They were amazed and listened in stunned silence as Mac told how as a radio op with virually no gunnery time, he was put in the gunners seat of a Sherman Firefly and promptly took out a Panther tank with a first round hit. He then told them how in Holland as their tank was broken down, they explored an old farm house and captured a group of Germans who has acquired boxes of Dutch Cigars that they planned to sell. They were liberated ( the cigars that is) and passed around the men of the regiment prior continuing the advance. One of the benefits of being on the side that is winning.

Another successful branch meeting.