REGIMENTAL NEWS

November 2015 – February 2016

IN MEMORIAM

Captain The Earl of Strathmore & Kinghorne (Thirds Guards Club member and Dundee & Angus Branch Scots

Guards Association member) died 28th February 2016.

1ST

BATTALION

Sporting Success

Football. The Battalion Football Team has had a spectacular season with back to back wins. Their most recent game, against the Welsh Guards, saw a well-earned 4-3 victory. Other notable successes have come in the form of a 9-1 victory against 9 RLC and a 3-1 win over ATC Pirbright. The team is going from strength to strength and continue to do the Battalion proud.

Rugby. The Rugby Team have done extremely well given that this is

their first season in the Army Rugby Union Premiership. The team capitalised on some early wins against the Welsh Guards and a very narrow defeat to The Royal Welsh, 13- time Army Rugby Champions. The start of 2016 saw the team come up against some very strong opponents. Their last game saw them playing in the Quarter-Finals of the Army Rugby Union Championship. It was a hard and physical game which saw 17 Port and Maritime win 23-3. The team are still firmly within the premiership and look to consolidate their position after some well- earned leave.

Boxing. The Boxing Team are training hard of the upcoming Household Division Championships which are to be held in Aldershot towards the beginning of April. The team, coached by Sgt Harvey and LSgts Miller and Monkhouse are a mixture of novice and experienced boxers. The training tempo will increase after February leave and will see the championship team selected out of the Battalion Team. We are looking forward to the preliminaries and what will be a fantastic culminating final. From this championship event, the Household Division will select a team to compete against the Parachute Regiment later on in the year.

Skiing. The Alpine and Nordic Ski Teams have had another successful season with Lt Arbuthnott doing the Regiment proud and coming 35th in the individual combined competition. Lt Martin led the Nordic Ski Team with again notable success. The Battalion as whole, along with F Company,

were able to send a number of novice skiers and instructors away to Val D’Isere for the annual Exercise TARTAN SNOWPLOUGH. This continues to be a great success story for the Battalion, introducing Guardsmen with no previous experience of skiing and training them in some of the best conditions along with world class instructors.

Right Flank Live Fire Tactical Training. Right Flank have been stood by for UK Contingency Operations

since late November 2015. However, that did not stop them conducting some exceptional ranges and LFTT packages. This proved a fantastic opportunity to develop and hone skills with live ammunition, in safe but stressful situations. Right Flank now look forward to some well-deserved leave and prepare for a busy 2016.

B Company Gunnery Competition and Cadres. B Company were also stood by for

assisting in UK Contingency Operations. The Company has been busy meeting this commitment as well as conducting a number of exercises on Salisbury Plain and the annual B Company Cadres in Brecon. The Machine Gun Platoon also participated in the 3 UK Div Mounted Gunnery Competition coming second. An amazing achievement, all the more so when considering we came ahead of our Mechanised Infantry brethren 4 Rifles; good and healthy competition!

Left Flank in Denmark. Left Flank took part in Exercise WHITE SWORD as part of a multinational exercise demonstrating interoperability with Danish and American armed forces. The exercise saw the longest and largest Mechanised Infantry road move since Afghanistan. Left Flank conducted themselves impeccably and were praised by the Danish Brigade Commander for their skill and attitude throughout the two week exercise.

Pipes and Drums tour the United States of America. The Pipes and Drums are currently away on a two month tour of North America. Capt Charlie Craven is leading the Pipes and Drums along with PMaj MaCrae and DMaj McCutcheon on what has been a phenomenally successful tour. Reviews and videos have been posted

on the Facebook page, 1st Battalion Scots Guards, and could not be more flattering of not only the performances but the conduct and bearing of all those on the tour.

St Andrew’s Day. St Andrew’s Day was celebrated with the traditional 0630 hrs bagpipes and gunfire. This

was shortly followed by a multitude of Scottish physical tests, although the most difficult to stomach was by far the porridge eating event. The day was made all the more special for the presence of the The Colonel, HRH The Duke of Kent. The Colonel oversaw the events and also took the opportunity to present several members of the Battalion with Accumulated Service and Long Service Good Conduct medals. LCpl Nassiwa AGC(SPS) was also presented with her Op GRITROCK medal for her service in Sierra Leone. This was a special day indeed, which marks our return to the home of the Guards.

Social Media. The Battalion has continued to develop our presence on social media. This has taken the

form of our Facebook page – 1st Battalion Scots Guards – and our Instagram account – ScotsGuards1642. The Scots Guards page on the Army website has been updated to reflect our new home and our new role. In addition to the launch of these social media sites, which provide weekly updates, photos and videos of what the Battalion is doing, March also sees the launch of the new Regimental Website.

F COMPANY

London continues to be a busy place and F Company remains fully involved. The street lining for the State Visit of the President of the People’s Republic of China was of particular note given the controversy the visit has caused. This was not F Company’s only public ceremony as the Company was to present a small Guard of Honour for the Prime Minister of the Republic of India, Narendra Modi, in the Treasury Drum, which featured heavily in the latest James Bond film that had just been released. F Company also assisted in a French public military ceremony at the Marshal Foch Statue, Grosvenor Gardens. The contrast between ceremonial styles was remarked by Lt Wesley as being one of the more unusual ceremonies on the F Company calendar; it would seem foreign cooperation in the field is a simpler task than on the parade square.

F Company along with many other members of the armed forces and associated charities were in the public

eye for National Poppy Day. It was a concentrated effort to raise money for the Poppy Appeal on the 29 th

October in the build up to Remembrance Day. An impressive amount was collected all over London by those involved with main railway stations proving most lucrative. A long day out for those out on the shop floor but the importance of what was being done was not lost by those involved.

F Company was able to reinforce Left Flank on their deployment to Denmark on Exercise WHITE SWORD. A section was sent under LCpl Ferguson for the week-long exercise and F Company was mixed in to Left Flank rather than operating as a homogenous section. The idea was to demonstrate interoperability between the Danes, Americans and British. From all accounts it was a tough week with very low temperatures and a sharp learning curve for the guardsmen.

With two sections away on deployment it left the Company light on numbers with the run up to a busy Christmas period. The company maintained their high levels of professionalism all the way through until

Christmas leave on the 27th December. Unfortunate that the Company was on duty but it was then followed by a healthy amount of leave in the New Year as well as a skiing exercise in the French Alps.

REGIMENTAL HEADQUARTERS

Extension of the Appointment of the Regimental Lieutenant Colonel. At the request and recommendation of the Regimental Council and other senior retired officers from the Regiment, the Military Secretary is delighted to approve an extension of five more years to Brigadier G H F S (Harry) Nickerson in his appointment as the Regimental Lieutenant Colonel Scots Guards. This period will almost certainly extend beyond his service in the Regular Army, but this is by no means unprecedented and the appointment may be retained by a Retired Officer.

F Company Scots Guards to Edinburgh. It has been confirmed by Headquarters London District and by

Headquarters 51 Brigade in Scotland that F Company Scots Guards will provide this year’s Royal Guard at Edinburgh Castle and at the Palace of Holyroodhouse during this year’s Royal Week. They will deploy to Edinburgh in the last week of June and remain there until the end of the first week in July.

Presentation of New Colours 2017. Readers should be aware by now that due to a number of very good reasons, most notably the availability of Her Majesty The Queen, presentation of New Colours to the Regiment will not now be taking place this year. Regimental Headquarters are investigating the options for a New Colours

parade, with the hope of highlighting the Mechanised Infantry role of the 1st Battalion at the same time, in May 2017. All members of the Regimental family will be kept up to date with these developments.

Regimental Association Gathering. Largely as a result of there not being a New Colours Parade this year, an Association Gathering is being organised in its stead. The Gathering will take place in the grounds of Brechin

Castle, Angus over the weekend of 1st and 2nd October in the area of their equestrian park. It will involve a band concert and March through the City on the Saturday and a Gathering with a multitude of events on the Sunday. The Chairman and Secretary of the Association will issue further information in due course.

Regimental Remembrance Sunday. All are reminded that this year’s Regimental Remembrance Sunday will

take place in the Guards’ Chapel on Sunday 10th April. Parking is available on the Parade Square at Wellington Barracks and all family members are most welcome. Association members are reminded that lunch on a “Pay as you Dine” basis is available in the Cookhouse after the Parade has returned from the Guards’ Memorial.

Third Guards Club Dinner. All Third Guards Club Members are reminded that this year the annual dinner will

take place in Edinburgh over Royal Week on Wednesday 6th July in the New Club Edinburgh. The Third Guards Club membership list and letter from the President, plus the dinner invitation, reply card and envelope back to Regimental Headquarters will be send out to all members shortly.

Regimental Website. Readers are informed that much progress has been made regarding the new Regimental Website and it is hoped that it will be launched shortly for all to access. The intension is that the size and scope of the website will expand over time depending on how well it is used. Therefore, this may or may not be the last Regimental Newsletter depending on whether or not the Website is viewed as a better means of communication which supersedes the need for the continuation of the Newsletter.

Extension numbers. Regimental Headquarters has had a slight revamp of their telephone extension numbers

and they now are as follows:

Regimental Adjutant Ext 3333 (Back to the original number) Equerry Ext 3779 (A new number) Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant Ext 3334 (No change) Clerks’ Office 3324 (Back to the original number) Regimental Stores Ext 3335 (No change) Archives Clerk Ext 3419 (No change) Fax Machine Ext 3445 (No change)

Thanks to Mrs Jan Rawlings. Our thanks, as always, to Mrs Jan Rawlings for all her help in the production

of this newsletter. It is greatly appreciated by all at Regimental Headquarters. Although having retired, she still formats this letter through the kindness of her heart.

44 SILK ESCAPE MAP OF FRANCE

Before the Normandy invasion on 6 June 1944 – D Day – folded silk printed escape maps were issued to be carried in pockets. This map, in its original folds, shows the boundaries between German occupied France, in the North and West, and unoccupied France, run by the puppet government at Vichy. It also indicates German patrols along the Pyrenees because Allied escapees were most likely to aim for Spain. Very quickly after the invasion the Germans took complete control of all France.

This map belonged to Major William “Willie” Whitelaw, later The Viscount Whitelaw, who was awarded the Military Cross while commanding S Squadron 3rd (Tank) Battalion Scots Guards in the Battle of Caumont on 30th July 1944.

The map was presented to the Regiment by his daughter, The Honourable Mrs Susan Cunliffe- Lister in October 2015.

The photograph to the right shows Major Willie Whitelaw being presented with the ribbon of the Military Cross, by Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery at Plön, Schleswig Holstein, in June 1945.

KINGSTON POLICE CHASE ‘TRIP’ HELPER WAS

OFF-DUTY SOLDIER

PC Brenden Exter-Beek seen in the photograph on the right, had been pursuing a suspected drug dealer through the streets of Kingston in Surrey when LSgt Lawson, a Bandsman in the Scots Guards Regimental Band, kindly assisted by sticking out a leg to trip up the suspect. PC Exter-Beek thanked LSgt Lawson for his assistance before adding ruefully, “I reckon I’d have still got him, but that’s my personal opinion!” The photograph shows LSgt Lawson being formally thanked by the Police in Wellington Barracks the day after the event.

SCOTS GUARDS REGIMENTAL ITEMS PRICE LIST

Serial Regimental Items Price

1. Scots Guards Blazer Badge £15.00

2. Badge Lapel Scots Guards Association £4.50

3. Plaque Scots Guards £30.00

4. Greeting Card (Piper) x3 £0.90

5. Leather Key Case (Blue/Red/Blue) £22.00

6. Plate – 1st Battalion Scots Guards £10.00

7. Tie – Third Guards Club (Officers only) £20.00

8. Tie – Household Division (Silk) £20.00

9. Tie – Guards Armoured (Silk) £20.00

10. Household Division Umbrella £18.00

11. Cufflinks Scottish Flag £12.30

12. Cufflinks with Capstar & (Blue/Red/Blue) £21.00

13. Watchstrap Household Division £8.50

14. Braces Household Division £32.00

15. Tankard Scots Guards Engraved £24.00

16. Large Regimental Place Mats x 2 (State Colour) £44.00

17. Medium Regimental Place Mats (Coy Colours) 1st Battalion £46.00

18. Medium Regimental Place Mats (Coy Colours) 2nd Battalion £46.00

19. Print – Battalion Iraq £15.00

20. Print – Battalion Afghanistan £15.00

21. Print – Edinburgh Castle (A3 – 297 x 420 mm) £10.50

22. Print – Homecoming 1938/39: Scots Guardsman at Euston (A3 – 297 x 420 mm) £10.50

23. Print – Return to Barracks (A3 – 297 x 420 mm) £10.50

24. Print – Framed – Return to Barracks (as No 24) £41.00

25. Scots Guards in the Great War 1914 – 1918 £14.50

26. Book Espirt de Corps £14.00

27. Belt Household Division (Blue/Red/Blue) £32.00

28. Badge Lapel Association £5.00

29. Cufflinks Round (Blue/Red/Blue) £35.00

30. Queens Colour Mini £71.30

31. Regimental Colour Mini £71.30

32. Windproof Lighter (Blue/Red/Blue) £9.99

33. Blue Red Blue Scarf (Fleece) £20.00

34. Blue Red Blue Scarf (Wool) £20.00

35. Medal Holder £7.50

36. Blue Red Blue Socks £6.00

37. A Short History of the Scots Guards £5.00

38. Tweed Hat £47.00

39. Regimental Walking Stick £155.00

THURSDAY LUNCH

There will again be the opportunity for former Members of the Regiment to have a sandwich and glass of wine in the RHQ Library from 1230–1345 hrs on the first or alternative available Thursday of each month. A member of the Battalion and F Company will normally be present to provide an informal update, along with the Regimental Adjutant on current issues. There will be a nominal fee of £5 per head, payable on the day and all those planning to attend are asked to let the Regtl Admin Clerk – Dafydd Wilson know – 24 hours in

advance (020–7414–3324). The lunches are currently planned to be held on: 7th April and 5th May. This will only continue if well supported, so all Third Guards Club Members and Association Members are encouraged to give it their full support.

NOTICES

ARTICLES FROM VETERANS WORLD

Finding the Right House in the Right Place in Scotland.

Military Matters is a specialist programme with the Housing Options Scotland providing an independent housing brokerage service to veterans and their families in Scotland. With financial support from the Scottish Government and Poppyscotland, Military Matters provide detailed housing information and advice to dozens of serving personnel and veterans. A Military Matters film has been created about the services they provide and can be viewed at

www.housingoptionsscotland.org.uk/projects-programmes/military-matters A new range of leaflets about civilian housing in Scotland will be available soon. If you think that Military Matters could help you, or know someone who could be helped then please contact the voicemail service on 0131-247-1400 or by emailing

militarymatters@housingoptionsscotland.org.uk Pensions For Life

Widows, widowers and surviving civil partners of all members of the Armed Forces Pension Scheme will now retain their pensions for life.

From 1st April 2015 the rules on remarriage for all Forces widows, have been harmonised so that they are no longer forced to surrender their pensions should they decide to remarry, cohabit or form a civil partnership after this date. The decision highlights the Government’s commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant by

recognising the difficulties many partners of Armed Forces personnel face in earning their own occupational pensions, often due to having to relocate their homes within the UK as well as overseas. The rule change means that all widows will retain their Armed Forces pension for life regardless of any change in their social status. This includes; widows currently in receipt of a Forces families pension under the Armed Forces Pension Scheme 75 (AFPS 75) and all war widows receiving a pension under the War Pension Scheme, and all those married to AFPS 75 personnel (either serving or retired) who may yet become widows.

Although the change will not lead to the reinstatement of pensions for those who have already surrendered

them until their current relationship ends (for whatever reason) from 1st April 2015 the means test used to decide whether AFPS 75 widows’ pensions will be restored or not, has been abolished. Most importantly those who previously applied for restoration of their AFPS 75 pension and were refused under the means

test, and who were not in a marriage or cohabiting from 1st April 2015, can re-apply to VETERANS UK for

restoration of their widow’s pension effective from 1st April 2015. Restoration will be automatic upon re-application.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said: “It is vital that we do right by those who put their lives on the line for their country – that is why this Government enshrined the Armed Forces Covenant in law. These changes reflect the huge commitment surviving civil partners of members of the Armed Forces at a disadvantage”. This change has come into force in conjunction with the Armed Forces Pension Scheme 15.

For help and information on your Armed Forces pension contact VETERANS UK on 0800-085-3600 or The Forces Pension Society on 020 7820 9988.

UNCLAIMED PRESERVED PENSIONS

Veterans UK, the MOD organisation that administers and pays Armed Forces pensions is trying to track down those personnel who are entitled to received but are not claiming their ‘preserved pension’. The preserved pension is the pension paid to certain entitled personnel who did not serve until their immediate pension point, but who nevertheless became eligible at aged 60 or 65 depending on which pension scheme they served under. The pages of Pennant, which caters for those with an interest in pensions, may not seem the obvious place to advertise for those who have forgotten or perhaps never knew about their entitlement. Nevertheless, we are endeavouring to assist Veterans UK in their search. So, if you know of anyone who meets the criteria below and who is not claiming their pension, please refer them to Veterans UK.

Anyone who has served in the Armed Forces since 1975 may have an entitlement to an unclaimed preserved pension (subject to certain age and length of service requirements set out below), payable at age 60 or 65. There are two Armed Forces Pension Schemes under which personnel may qualify: AFPS 75 and AFPS 05.

AFPS 75 pension benefits are based on rank and length of Service. This scheme was in place for individuals who joined

between 6th

April 1975 and 5th

April 2005. Pensions are payable at age 60 for service prior to 6

th April 2006 and at age

65 for service after this date under this scheme (although benefits payable at age 65 can be brought forward to age 60, with a deduction made for early payment).

AFPS 05 pension benefits are based on length of Service and the best 365 days of Final Pensionable Earnings in the last three years of service. This scheme was in place for those

who joined on or after 6th

April 2005 (although, personnel in service on this date who were

already members of AFPS 75, were given the option to transfer to AFPS 05). Pensions are normally paid at age 65 under this scheme (unless an application is made to have them paid early at an actuarially reduced rate).

There are some differences between the schemes that cover both retired benefits and dependents benefits. To find out more about the benefits please visit GOV.UK and search for Armed Forces and Reserved Forces pensions schemes guidance booklets, both of which are available on the Veterans UK website.

Before 6th

April 1975 there was no provision for the payment of preserved pensions and service personnel who left the Armed Forces had to have either:

completed 16 years service from age 21 if they were an Officer or;

completed 22 years service from age 18 if they were Other Ranks

before they qualified for pension benefits (unless they left the Services on invaliding terms, when separate rules applied). Those who left before

that date without completing the above criteria lost all pension entitlement.

From 6th

April 1975 pensions could be preserved for payment at age 60 for all those who left the service and at the time were over the age of 26 with a minimum of five years service.

On 31st

March 1978 the age criteria

was removed and on 6th

April 1988, the qualifying period was reduced from five to two years.

Preserved pensions have to be claimed at age 60 (or at age 65 for service after 6

th April 2006).

However, you can claim your preserved pension sooner if you become permanently incapable of any form of full-time employment before reaching your preserved pension age.

If you think you are entitled to an Armed Forces Pension that you have not yet claimed, you can do so by completing and returning a paper copy of Form AFPS 8, which can be found by visiting the Veterans UK website at GOV.UK and searching for AFPS Preserved Pension Claim form. Details of where to return it to are included on the form.

FORECAST OF EVENTS

10th April 2016. Regimental Remembrance Sunday. Guards Chapel, 1100 hrs.

12th July 2016. Scots Guards versus The Clothworkers’ Golf Match. The Berkshire Golf Club, Swinley Road, Ascot SL5 8AY

1st-2nd October 2016. Regimental Gathering, Brechin Castle, Brechin DD9 6RL

inks

Scots Guards PRI Shop Scots Guards

Association

Scots Guards Club

Guards Hotel

Edinburgh Guards Museum

Edinburgh

Military Tattoo Guardmounting