Maj Simon Gilbert Beck
of Holt, Norfolk, on
17 Jan 2008, aged 76, after a long illness. Simon maintained a
low profile resulting in barely getting his name mentioned in
the Bn notes of ‘Britannia’ or, from 1960, in the B&C. Born on 7
July 1931, Simon was commissioned into The Royal Norfolk Regt on
8 Feb 1952, joining the 1st Bn in Hong Kong where he served as
the Intelligence Officer. At Roman Way Camp, Colchester, he
briefly commanded the MMG Pl, taking over from Maj Tony Towell
MC in June 1955 just as Tony and I left it. He commanded the Pl
until Oct 1955 then went to 4 Nigeria Regt (later Queen’s Own
Nigeria Regt) until 1959. Promoted to Captain in the autumn of
1958 he was posted to the Royal Norfolk Depot before moving as
MTO at the School of Infantry at Warminster 1959-1960, followed
by a posting to the 1st Bn. From late 1962 until late 1964 he
was a G3 Intelligence Officer at HQ BAOR and 1 Div. Simon then
joined the Federal Regular Army in Aden. He retired to Norfolk
in Aug 1971 and led a quiet life. John
Denny
[B&C 110] |
WO2 RA
Blood
of Peterborough, on 20 Feb
2008, aged 82. He was Pl Sgt to the late Maj Tom Styles in
Germany 1946 and CSM A Coy in Cyprus 1955-6. A 1964 photograph
of him with the Duchess of Gloucester on the occasion of her
visit to the 4th/6th Lincolnshire Regt appeared in B&C 109 Dec
07. JLR
[B&C 110] |
 WO2 Alf Cooke
of Norwich, on 1 Jan 2008, aged 88. He
served with the 1st and 4th Bns between 1940 and 1961.
Comrades, spanning the whole of his service, were proud to form
a Guard of Honour, 13 strong, as his Norfolk flag draped coffin
with an accompanying R Norfolk wreath, entered Horsham St
Faith’s crematorium on 19 Feb. Conducted by the Revd Canon Bill
Sayer, the reading and hymns ‘The day Thou gavest, Lord, is
ended’ and ‘Forever with the Lord’ were chosen by Alf.
Canon Bill recalled that as a young subaltern, his life was
shaped by Alf’s standards and qualities. “He had integrity and
was a man of dignity and bearing. He once charged my batman for
‘having a scruffy officer’ !”After the Regimental Collect and
the reading of ‘Age shall not weary them’, Trumpeter Eric
Franklin of the Norwich City Concert Band sounded the rarely
heard ‘Long Reveille’. We left to the playing of ‘Rule
Britannia’.
A tribute from Maj John Denny:
“At 0855 hrs in March 1951 at Dover Castle I marched Support
Company’s offering on to the Top Square for practice Guard
Mounting. An erect, immaculate red-sashed figure stood awaiting
his part in the proceedings; Sgt Cooke was, that day, the Bn
Orderly Sgt. This, my first sighting, was the picture that came
to mind whenever, in later years, I met Alf. Born at Little
Plumstead, one of 5 siblings, he worked on the land after
leaving school at the age of 14. In June 1940 Alf was Called Up
and trained at Nelson Barracks, Norwich.
Once trained and formed up on the square to be told off in
drafts, Alf recounted that had he been standing one file to his
left his destination would have been to 4 or 5 R Norfolk and
eventually to the Far East with all that that might have
entailed. As it turned out he was posted to the 1st Bn, then at
Ashtead in Surrey, and part of 20 Independent Guards Brigade.
Alf remained (and was very proud of this) with the 1st Bn until
May 1959.
For the first 12 months he was a rifleman in ‘B’ Coy and then,
finding his niche, transferred to the MT Pl to become the driver
of a Bedford QL - a 3 tonner. (See a 1943 MT Pl photograph in
B&C 107 Dec 06. Ed.).
Alf landed with the Bn transport following D Day and saw the
campaign through to VE Day. The Bn continued in NW Europe
stationed at Solingen, Volksdorf, Neuhaus, Detmold, Berlin and
Hubbelrath. During this time Alf was promoted through to Sgt in
1946, later becoming MT Pl Sgt. Alf had met Betty at Detmold and
they married in Berlin on 8 May 1948 to begin almost 60 years of
a long and happy marriage. A son, Derek, was taken on strength
at BMH Hanover on New Years Day 1951.
Still with the MT, Alf returned to the UK with the Bn in early
1951 and was then off to Korea in late Aug of that year. He was
promoted CSgt in Jan 1952 and in Mar 1952 to WO2 to become CSM
of ‘D’ Coy. He continued with ‘D’ Coy to complete the year in
Korea and then on to serve a further 2 years in Hong Kong before
returning to the UK, serving in Colchester, Cyprus and BAOR at
Iserlohn until leaving the 1st Bn in May 1959. (B&C 93 Dec 99
featured Alf, in a piece by Gerry Jermy, on Korea in 1952. Ed.).
When in Hong Kong the Bn MT had collected an adverse report on
the annual REME Inspection. The CO, Lt Col GR Turner-Cain, was
not pleased and this resulted in Alf being loaned from D Coy to
the Bn MT for 3 months to sharpen them up and prepare for a
re-inspection. The result was Grading ‘Very Good’. GRT-C
smiled!\
And yet a further smile was unwittingly caused by Alf when,
during inclement weather, he was exercising his Coy in the Drill
Shed (MT Garage) and, wandering backwards, disappeared down an
open inspection pit! This was not really funny but since Alf
clambered out unhurt the humorous side of such an indignity
appealed to the English sense of the ridiculous. Naturally no
mention of this would have been made had not Alf, in later
years, enjoyed a chuckle when reminded.
On leaving the 1st Bn Alf served with 4 R Norfolk and was based
at All Saints Road Drill Hall until his discharge from the Army
in Mar 1961. Military Conduct ‘Exemplary’.
After 21 years in uniform Alf worked at the Valuation Office of
the Inland Revenue for 23 years. When the time came to retire
Alf was able to enjoy more of family life, to
which he was devoted, and keep in contact with his many friends.
Much time was spent on the allotment and garden, ever pristine.
Alf was a regular attendee of Regimental Association events. Alf
is survived by his wife of almost 60 years, Betty, son Derek and
daughter-in-law Saffia.”
(Alf featured in a B&C 107 Dec 06
1943 MT Section photograph of 1 R Norfolk at Belford, Northumberland in
1943. Ed.) JLR & John
Denny
[B&C 110] |
Percy
Dedman
of Ipswich on 2 May 2008. Called up for National Service
in 1953 he joined S Coy 1 R Norfolk in Hong Kong serving
in the Assault Pioneer Pl. At his Ipswich Crematorium funeral on
14 May 2 comrades, Eric Pearce and Peter Kent, also of the
Assault Pioneers in Hong Kong, were present. John
Denny
[B&C 110] |
Leslie
Dobbs
of
[B&C 110] |
Capt Walter Stephen 'Gus' Gilding
of
[B&C 110] |
|
John
William Frederick
Hunns
of Thetford on 24 Feb 08, after a long illness, aged 70. A
former Suffolk soldier, he then served with HQ 6 R Anglian and
the Home Service Force in Bury St Edmunds, regularly attending
Suffolk Army Cadet Force camps.
John was born on 3rd June 1937. When he left school he first
worked for Marlow’s of Brandon before being called up to do his
tour of National Service. After he completed his National
Service with the Parachute Regiment, he signed up as a regular
with The Suffolk Regiment and joined the 1st Battalion in Cyprus
during the Eoka troubles. He served with the Regiment for twelve
years and then left the army to work at the Mount Pleasant Post
Office in London.
Eventually he moved to Thetford with his family where he lived
in the same house in Tudor Close for the next 40 years where he
raised his family.
His army days were not quite done and he enlisted in the TA
serving with Headquarter Company, 6th Battalion the Royal
Anglian Regiment, in Bury St Edmunds for 10 years. He also
assisted the Suffolk Army Cadets at Annual Camp.
Major
Stan Bullock MBE spoke at his funeral:
‘It is over 50
years since John and I met up and in the usual serviceman’s way
we continued to meet and drift apart until I retired to become
QM of the TA Bn at Bury St Edmunds and there was John still in
uniform working at the same location. John was a dedicated
soldier and as far as he was concerned it mattered not who he
served with or in what capacity he served, always providing his
very best at all times.
John’s father served in The Suffolk Regiment. There is a picture
of him and John’s mother in the museum; his father dressed in
uniform on their wedding day, something John was so very proud
of and we all knew he was a very, very proud Suffolk soldier for
all of his life.
Always very smartly turned out, especially for Minden Day, he
really came into his own dressed in a blazer with The Suffolk
Badge very prominently displayed, flannels, black very shiny
shoes, black beret with roses and of course medals. John loved
Minden day and would be there for the preparation along with his
colleagues on the Saturday morning and again early Sunday ready
for the grand day and he was so willing to do anything, talk to
anyone or help on any task he was asked. John loved to be with
serving or ex-servicemen and enjoyed being a member of The Royal
Anglian Club and of course his very special Suffolk Regiment Old
Comrades Association. He would be sat at the bar on the 4th Tues
of the month with his coke, always willing to help and even
would call Bingo if asked, but the one thing he did not do was
play Bingo ! He attended all the various functions that the
Suffolk OCA organised bringing sister Tilley along for company
and they always enjoyed the occasions.
John attended many of the Veterans Trips organised by the
Association, travelling through France and Holland and into
Belgium. He was always ready to march and parade as and when
told. First on the coach and first up in the mornings, assisting
the Old boys or anyone else he could help. John loved those
trips and made many very good friends who all greeted him on
arrival and made a great fuss on his departure.
I know John had a very difficult time as a young father but so
typical of him he carried out the task lovingly and, with pride,
he would talk of his family and would gladly exchange news with
others of their activities and travels.
During the latter years John became very involved in the
refurbishment of the Regimental Museum at the Keep. He, with a
valiant few, would work for hours drilling up to 100 holes in
those massive walls with a re-chargeable drill that he would
take home and recharge for the next onslaught. Tim Davies
actually let him have one day off during that period as John was
having new windows fitted. He was happy.
Regrettably, as we are aware, John became very ill over the last
year and although suffering considerably continued to attend the
museum for his duties. He refused to admit that he was ill and
we all let him think he had fooled us. My friend John Hunns, a
loving father, a Soldier of the Queen a true friend to one and
all. A gentleman who was never heard to say a bad word about
anyone, ‘Stabilis’ was his motto.’
A guard of honour, all wearing Suffolk ties, formed up in the
Salvation Army Citadel in Thetford: Peter Copeman, Tim Davies,
Keith Flood and Colin Smith, BStE; Brian Wright, Stowmarket and
Maj John L Raybould, 6 (V) Bn R Anglian Regt and Suffolk ACF.
The coffin was draped with the Suffolk flag on which rested
John’s beret and medals. In attendance was the black draped
standard of the Bury St Edmunds Branch of the Royal British
Legion. Nearly £400 was collected for the Royal Anglian
Regimental Museum in Bury St Edmunds. Col Tony Taylor, his 6 (V)
Bn R Anglian Regt CO, Maj Stan Bullock MBE, representing the
Suffolk Regt and 6 V Bn R Anglian Regt; Maj John L Raybould TD
and SSI Christine Forsdike, representing Suffolk ACF, attended
the funeral. John is survived by his children, grand children
and great grand children.
Majs John L
Raybould TD and Stan Bullock MBE
[B&C 110] |
Keith Lovell
of Croydon
[B&C 110] |
Arthur
Storey
of Norwich
[B&C 110] |
|
Editor, Norfolk Section, The Britannia and
Castle
B&C Norfolk
Editor