CONGRATULATIONS COLONEL ROGER
It was with great delight that the Norfolk Editor heard in Dec 04 that former 6 R Anglian Regimental Signals Offr Maj Roger Herriot, later to serve with Cambs ACF as a Coy Commander and then as Training Major, had been appointed as the Cambs ACF Dep Comdt. Congratulations Colonel Roger.

It is interesting to note that many former 6 R Anglian officers have been appointed as senior ACF officers: Col Paul Raywood, the first CO of 6 R Anglian - Comdt Norfolk ACF; Col Alan Fairless, former OC B ‘Brutal’ Coy 6 R Anglian - Comdt Bedfordshire ACF; Lt Col Miles Green, former IO and 2IC A Coy 6 R Anglian - Dep Comdt Norfolk ACF.
[B&C 104]

DOYEN’S DILEMMA
Further to his fascinating pieces in B&C 101 Dec 03 and B&C 102 Jun 04, Maj John Knox Forte MBE, 90 on 2 Nov 2005, in Greece, is indeed the doyen of the Regt, commissioned in Aug 1935!
To quote B&C 84 Jun 95: ‘he feels grieved to have to explain to the modern generation that his name, of Norman origin, is pronounced phonetically ‘force’ and unlike that of the illustrious Italian caterer.’
Sadly, John is in feeble health, without one hip and suffering from an arthritic writing hand. Nevertheless, his handwriting is most readable. Long overdue, here is his tale of the unexpected visit of the Prince of Wales to Sandhurst in 1935.
I suspect that most of us during our military career experience a period of embarrassment when we wish the earth would part and swallow us up. But of course, it doesn’t and we have to live with our mortification until, with the passing of time, we are able to laugh it all off and even invite others to share the joke. Hence this entertaining reminiscence of an unforgettable incident which occurred during my earliest days of soldiering.
One morning during the spring of 1935, my last term at Sandhurst, Edward, Prince of Wales, criticised for spending too much time on the nest with Wallace at nearby Sunninghill, suddenly decided to don his uniform as a Major General and pay an official visit to the Royal Military Academy. Since it was impractical to amend the training programme without notice, HRH settled on a tour of the premises and a desire to meet prominent members of the staff and the captains of (some 20) games, including myself as captain of association football. We were to be introduced by our respective Coy Sgt Majors, as no one else could identify us all. We were warned to be prepared to answer such questions as: ‘What Regt are you entering?’, ‘Where is your family home?’, ‘Are you having a successful season?’ and ‘What school did you attend?’
Although association football was one of the 3 major games, we were lined up in order of cadet seniority, starting with the senior under-officers and ending with my humble unranked self. This meant that by the time the exhausted Edward, noted for his mumbling, reached me he would be inaudible, particularly as I was already hard of hearing, my ears being bung full of cottonwool due to an unpleasant ear infection. Scared stiff, I explained my predicament to my CSM, Biff Bowen of the Scots Guards, and begged to be excused the introduction. His bellowed response still rings clearly in my ears 70 years on: ‘In that case Mr Forte you will bloody well have to lip read, won’t you sir?’ Having been paraded 30 minutes early in true military tradition, I had ample time to make an appreciation of the situation. There appeared to be 4 courses open to me:
1. To reply: ‘Pardon Your Royal Highness, I’m afraid I am hard of hearing.’ This could be ruled out since the question might be repeated ad infinitum, albeit louder.
2. To mumble inaudibly. This would work provided that Edward was in a hurry to get back to his oats but this was only a probability and not to be relied on.
3. To reply simply: ‘Norfolk.’ This would cover regiment (not yet Royal), county (of origin) and school (suggesting a County High School). This was a sound bet at 3 to 1 on a correct answer. Risky but a dead cert if the previous question related to a successful season. In such a contingency this was Plan A.
4. Plan B was to reply: ‘At the end so far of a successful season, I am expecting to be commissioned into the Norfolks. Norfolk is my home county and also where I attended school and learned to play football.’
Although Plan B could hardly go wrong, it required careful rehearsing and was as crappy as hell.
In the event it came to pass that I heard the cadet before me mention something about match results. Whereupon, I put into motion Plan A, blurting out ‘Norfolk’ almost before any question had been asked. The heir to the throne stared at me quizzically, fidgeted nervously with his Sam Browne belt and muttered something to Biff Bowen, of which I caught the word ‘end’. This left me guessing momentarily if he meant the end of the line-up or ‘The End.’ However, I was soon enlightened by the look of utter disgust on Biff’s face, one that only a Sgt Major worth his true salt is capable of bestowing. Fortuitously (no pun intended), I never heard another word about my gaffe though one wag observed: ‘Perhaps that was because you were deaf.’
[B&C 104]

SIR JULIAN RIDSDALE CBE
Further to the obituary in B&C 103 Dec 04 for Sir Julian Ridsdale CBE, here are some fascinating sidelights on pre-war regimental soldiering in the ‘piping days of peace’ by Maj John Knox Forte MBE.
Julian Ridsdale, who died in Aug 2004, joined the 2nd Bn The Royal Norfolk Regt in 1935 at Aldershot at the same time as myself. 67 years later we were both to become joint doyens of the Regt. At the time of joining, junior subalterns were regarded by their seniors as the lowest form of life and we were only tolerated to be seen at the far end of the ante-room, provided we were not heard. This was probably just as well as had the CO been able to hear Julian’s oft repeated boast that one day he would emulate his illustrious uncle Stanley Baldwin, he would have prevailed upon the MO to have him certified. In the event, Julian did not realise his ambition but he did outstay Stanley Baldwin by 5 years as an MP. Besides politics Julian’s other obsession was studying Japanese culture and the language.
After a heavy curry lunch, for which the 2nd Bn was renowned, having sent it’s chef, known by Kohima veterans as ‘Baron Larken’, on a course at Veraswamy’s prestigious Indian restaurant in London, sensible officers would be pounding their ears, or in contemporary jargon ‘Studying for the Staff College’. But Julian would be swotting up madly on his Japanese. In 1937 the Bn sailed to Gibraltar where it was split up into 2 camps. I recollect partnering Julian at rackets, the only occasion within living memory the Regt has ever competed in an Army Rackets tournament. After only a few months in Gibraltar, Julian was selected to attend the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. He distinguished himself by passing out top of the Japanese class and was subsequently posted to Tokyo as Assistant Military Attaché.
We met up again in Mar 1942 when we both attended the same course at the Staff College, Camberley. But Julian never made the grade, despite his brilliant brain, being too Jap orientated to put his mind to Military Studies. At the same time he was pre-occupied wooing Victoria Bennett - the alleged prototype of Ian Fleming’s Miss Moneypenny in the James Bond series - whom he was soon to marry. His Staff College downfall came when he was called upon to give a lecturette on the role of a cavalry regt - horses had been replaced by armoured cars 2 years earlier. Julian had failed to do his homework and he held forth with such buffoonery as to shake the College to its foundations. True, he didn’t go as far as addressing his audience in Japanese or to discuss the tactics employed by the cavalry at the Battle of Balaclava but his gaffe was almost in the same category. What he did was rattle off a précis, which he had memorised from his far distant Sandhurst days, on the employment of cavalry before the days of mechanisation. At first it was thought that this was an opening spoof but it quickly dawned on the syndicate and the DS that there was a nutter in their midst. By dusk the next day Julian was en-route for a posting where his real talents would be appreciated.
It was another 20 years before we met again for the last time. After unsuccessfully contesting Paddington North in 1951, Julian was elected Conservative MP for Harwich in 1954. I had travelled from my home in Corfu to bring back my daughter, staying in Frinton with friends during the school holidays. In those days the journey took 2½ days and involved 2 sea ferries and 3 trains, the last being the express boat train from Liverpool St to Harwich. I arrived with a 3-day beard, in crumpled clothing, and looked like a tramp. At the gate exit opposite the ticket collector I observed a majestic figure in full morning dress, immaculately clad from the grey topper on his head to the matching spats on his feet. An enormous blue rosette protruded from his buttonhole. As our eyes met we both became speechless with utter astonishment until I exclaimed in a loud voice: ‘Julian, how good of you to turn up. How did you know I was coming?’ The MP for Harwich hissed: ‘Can’t talk now old boy. I’m meeting a VIP.’ ‘Oh,’ I replied dejectedly, ‘I thought you had come to meet me.’ So I pushed off as requested.
Although our paths never crossed again, I followed Julian’s distinguished parliamentary career with interest. Parliamentary Under-Secretary for various ministries, CBE 1977, knighted in 1981. He had also been awarded the Japanese ‘Order of the Sacred Treasure.’ He retired in 1992 after 38 consecutive years as an MP, an unbeatable record a retired regular army field officer is ever likely to approach. The Regt has reason to be proud of it’s protégé.
[B&C 104]

Editorial Rule
 To qualify for inclusion in the B&C there is only one rule - something described must have been said to have happened. 
The authority is the Editor, British Army Review No 114 Dec 96, `If the facts don`t fit the legend, print the legend’.

However, the rules of good taste, respect and confidentiality are always applied.

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