Last
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26 January, 2012
Welcome to my Corner. Having now retired from The
Queen's Royal Hussars Association Committee I felt that I should try and
trace, and unite, many of the friends we all made during our time in 3rd
Hussars, 7th Hussars or The Queen's Own Hussars.
November 7, 1958, was inevitably a sad day for all when the flags of the
3rd and 7th Hussars were lowered for the last time. The ceremony was a
moving one, but its significance was only relative, as when the flag of
The Queen's Own Hussars was broken it bore proudly the White Horse of
Hanover and the cipher of the 7th, which only seconds before had
seemingly disappeared forever. To pretend that two old and proud
Regiments could be united without some differences of opinion would be
foolish, but what differences did exist were soon settled in a frank and
friendly atmosphere, when common sense and a desire to compromise
produced answers satisfactory to all.
Before we left Tidworth for Munster, March 20th
1959, was a memorable day for us all in our new Regiment, The Queen's
Own Hussars, when Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, our
Colonel-in-Chief, accompanied by Her Royal Highness The Princess
Margaret, came to Tidworth to present the Guidon, many Old Comrades from
both our former Regiments were present to view a Guidon carrying the
honours of battles in which they themselves had taken part.
Over the next 35 years The Queen’s Own Hussars established itself as one
of the top Regiments in the British Army, seeing service in much of the
world, whilst securing the highest admiration and popularity throughout
the Army in all fields of military life. Our adoption and Freedom of the
City of Birmingham in 1959 was a great honour for the Regiment. We were
also given the West Midlands, Warwickshire and Worcestershire as our
County Links and from where we have recruited ever since. Some of you
may recall that there was a period in the Regiment when we had every
rank in the British Army from Trooper to Field Marshall, The FM being
the late Sir John Stanier. Overall QOH produced: 1 Field Marshall, 1
General, 1 Lt-Gen, 7 Maj-Gen, 6 Brigadiers and 8 Colonels.
For many of us even more sadness was felt when on 1 September 1993 QOH
amalgamated with QRIH to form our new Regiment The Queen’s Royal
Hussars. We also lost, not one but both of our Regimental Bands from QOH
& QRIH. Now, sixteen years on the Regimental Association faces a new
challenge in supporting our boys in their quest to help rid the world of
those who wish us harm.
Over the past five years it is noticeable that the number of Association
members attending Regimental and Troop functions has declined
considerably. Sadly many of our older members, who have left us to their
final resting place, are not being replaced by younger members who
appear to be leaving the Regiment with little intention of joining the
Association or their local Troop. This now shows that some of our Troops
are being run by one or two loyal members. One Troop has nobody willing
to take it on and will probably have to close down if nobody comes
forward. It would be nice to know that the 70 year olds currently
running Troops will be replaced by young 40/50 years old who can bring
new ideas on the way forward for the Association and the Troops.
It is the expressed wish of the Regimental
Association that every soldier who served in any of our former Regiment
be registered as an Association member thereby maintaining the
relationship you had whilst serving with your Regiment. Whether you wish
to be an ‘active member’ or just being registered is for you to decide.
The Register of Association Members for 3H shows there are 95 members,
for 7H 89 members and for QOH 336. I am aware that there are many, many
more of our comrades out there somewhere, so it would be great, that, if
together, we could find them!!?.
Our biggest problem these days is The Freedom of Information – (Data
Protection Act). Under this law we are not allowed to pass on your
personal details to a third party without your written authority. If you
are an Association Member who knows any ex 3H, 7H or QOH who is not a
member please give them my details and ask them to contact me. If your
are reading this and your are not a member but would wish to join the
Association then contact me ASP as shown below.
If there is anybody who is trying to find old mates please give me what
details you have and I will do the rest.
Best wishes to you all.
Joe Cox.
Martyrs’ Cottage,
55 Main Road,
Tolpuddle, Dorchester,
Dorset DT2 7ET
Tel: 01305 848360
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