Chapter 2: 1979 to 1985

Posted to ‘D’ Squadron

My commissioning course signalled my discharge from the ranks, after 6 years 229 days, and I was directed to ‘D’ Squadron based at The Keep, Fulwood Barracks. I felt somewhat in limbo as my commission had not been gazetted so my status was unclear and I fell in initially with the troops I was shortly to command. Ever flexible, I went along with not having a rank but with a wry smile and soon the issue was resolved with my appointment as troop leader, based at Blackpool.

A uniform allowance was duly paid into my bank account which helped a little way towards the purchases then required (it perhaps purchased a couple of hats.) I needed a Sam Browne and had a new one made by J Houghton and Son, Darwen; the No2 dress served as my service dress as it was a good fit and lasted me throughout my commissioned service; the cut was often admired! I secured a mess jacket and waistcoat of appropriate size from the store at RHQ but the overalls (trousers) were made to measure. I purchased a reasonable pair of mess boots and had boxes fitted for my spurs by Whitakers of Deansgate, Bolton. I eventually received some officers’ collar dogs from the Adjutant, Major Thompson, rescued from the uniform of one of my predecessors, and the various pips were available at military outfitters in Manchester. I bought my brown shoes in Perth, Scotland. All-in-all, assembling the right kit took some effort and funds but it had to be done.

There was no doubting that ‘D’ Squadron and ‘B’ Squadron were different, but then I was looking through different eyes now.

Having signed in at the main gate to Fulwood Barracks, which was manned by MOD Police, I made my way around to The Keep – Headquarters of ‘D’ Squadron. I had picked an evening when training was taking place over at Blackpool so it was pretty quiet at The Keep. I was, however, greeted by a smart young lady on her motorbike, Private Stephanie Bird, who asked if she could help. When I told her I had come to join ‘D’ Squadron Stephanie enthusiastically told me about the squadron, taking me for a potential recruit, and not knowing that I was being posted there as a troop officer.

There were two other officers with ‘D’ Squadron; Captain John Eastham under whose command I was to spend most of the next 5 years and the glamorous Captain Avril E Walton WRAC. Permanent Staff Administrative Officers (PSAOs) and Non-Regular Permanent Staff (NRPS) had not been assigned to the TA in 1979 so the TAVR officers, supported by a regular Permanent Staff Instructor (PSI), were responsible for all their own administration, including the accounts. Captain Walton was soon to leave ‘D’ Squadron and the squadron account was destined to land in my lap. There were two short courses which I needed to do; Basic Accounts and Audit. Of course, in typical army style, I was sent on the Audit course before the Basic Accounts course ensuring that I was thrown in at the deep end. Here I met up with Lieutenant Terry Lovell DLOY doing the same courses for the same reasons. Terry had taken over as RSM during my first TA camp at Thetford in 1973. The difference between trooper (me) and RSM (Terry) was behind us both now and we got on well serving together on many occasions in the future. For now, though, we were both immersed into the world of military accounting and welcomed each other’s support.

In fact, once I had “got my head around” the AB397 and associated forms I actually quite liked the book keeping and at ‘D’ Squadron there was plenty to keep me occupied as we had two bars to run; Preston and Blackpool.

There was in fact another officer who regularly appeared with ‘D’ Squadron. This was Lieutenant Dave Thomas from the Kings Regiment. An infantry officer, senior to me in rank, Dave was good to have around despite the occasional teasing banter. In fact, Dave Thomas and I seemed to appear together regularly on courses, purely by coincidence, and probably both as syndicate leaders/ duty students.

I enjoyed training my troop and as my first commissioned camp was to be in Gibraltar in 1980 I had a keen troop to command. The lynchpin was my troop Sergeant, Ged Kershaw and I could not have asked for better. With bags of experience and man-management techniques he was a pleasure to have alongside.

Regimental training during my first 6 months was focussed on preparation for Ex Marble Tor and our troop began to gel. My three excellent Section Commanders (Cpl Jackson RM, Cpl Bowker, Cpl Jackson BP), all eventually became Warrant Officers with two of them taking commissions. The nominal roll of the composite ‘C’ Sqn, as it deployed to Gibraltar in 1980 under Major Dick Ferguson, is provided as a PDF in the Gibraltar folder.

Marble Tor 1980

For my first annual camp as a subaltern, Gibraltar was perfect. We were flown out by RAF Hercules C130, sitting in the strap netting and wearing earplugs. The squadron was hosted by 2LI and billeted in Lathbury Barracks with the four “subbies” sharing a house.

General Franco had closed the border with Gibraltar in 1969 and it remained so for 16 years. Between duties on the Spanish frontier at Four Corners Guard Room we made the most of the training facilities on the rock. This still left ample time for R&R and building up our suntans and morale to support recruiting back in the UK. In the evenings the troops sampled the beer at the Angry Friar and many other pubs along Main Street.

On one particular evening I had been invited by 2LI’s Adjutant, Capt Mark Elcomb, to join his small party on a journey through Lower St Michael’s Caves. My day had already been physical, fighting in built up areas on Buffadero. This extra three hour subterranean trip was itself quite demanding, skirting underground lakes and climbing between stalactites and stalagmites but certainly well worth the effort. As we finally emerged above the ground we found ourselves high up the rock and guided by tiny green lights (glow worms) on our way back down to the mess. Mark was a good leader in and out of the caves and ended his service career as a Brigadier. Link to Underground Gibraltar.

Major Dick Ferguson was always keen that we should not become mess bound and we would be off out at the first opportunity. We ate and drank well and I was introduced to a “green mountain” sweet. This was very cold ice cream drowned in crème de menthe which removed my ability to speak – a problem when I was left to settle the account as my fellows headed off to the next bar.

Four Corners Guard

My troop was detailed for guard duty at “Four Corners” over the bank holiday weekend. During one night the Spanish removed the gates and the prospect loomed large of our being in the world’s newspapers the following day. However, before dawn, new gates were installed and the status quo maintained. This frontier guard duty was the first time that we had drawn operational ammunition. The rounds had been issued so many times, counted and reissued that some of them were decidedly suspect.

As a troop officer from Blackpool I arrived bearing gifts of Blackpool rock. It was decided that the children in hospital would be worthy recipients and a PR visit was orchestrated. Accompanied by scarlet guards, a small party visited the Children’s Ward to hand over the sweets and pose for a photo-shoot.

Figure 9: 4 Troop on the Rock

Figure 10: Four Corners Guard at dusk - 2Lt Tustin takes the salute

Other Activities for a Junior Subaltern

In the 70’s there was a feeling of freedom in the TAVR and we did not feel particularly bound by budgets. If there was a will and you got the paper work sorted there was much to be enjoyed.

When I was an officer cadet at Chorley our PSI was SSgt Bill Woodcock. The troops, me included, had a go at gliding, sub-aqua and orienteering; the latter two continuing after my commissioning and transfer to ‘D’ Squadron. While the gliding was a one-off experience the other two were more frequent events. The photographs below show Tpr Michael Cooper ‘D’ Sqn at Stones Bank Quarry – Remembrance Day afternoon, Nick Gee with ‘B’ Sqn Gliding in Bowland and John Tustin orienteering in the Trossachs.

One area of training which was terminated as I joined the officer corps was the completion of my HGV driver training. Alas my HGV provisional licence expired as my training as an officer cadet took over. It was good fun while it lasted - driving around Chorley and the Lancashire countryside in a 4 ton truck under the close supervision of Dave Webster, a bus inspector with Ribble Motors during the day and a chef with ACC in the TA.

Figure 11: "Other Activities"

SSgt Woodcock was a diving instructor and we hired Chorley baths for one evening per week to train. Having covered the basics we then ventured outside, the first dive being locally in November.

The orienteering took us away to different parts of the UK with SSgt Geoff Heald taking the lead. I was finding the power of the pen in so much as being a commissioned officer allowed me to sign and authorise quite a lot. We were, of course paid for our orienteering trips. My zenith in orienteering was to organise our regimental competition at Lyme Park, where for my first time, I addressed the regiment.

At Preston, under the lead of Sgt Kershaw an Indoor Shooting Club was established. We met at the indoor range in Fulwood Barracks and enjoyed evenings shooting followed by a beer.

Platoon Commander’s Course

I successfully completed my probationary period of twelve months as a subaltern and the stepping stones forward appeared clearly in front of me. The next “tick in the box” was completing my platoon commander’s course at the School of Infantry, Warminster. I considered that this was better done with one pip on my shoulder rather than two as the expectations placed on me might be lighter. The content of the course was quite appropriate as our Regiment was tasked with an infantry rôle but the cohort was mixed as the course catered for UOTC students during their summer break. In fact, I was well positioned both with my experience in the ranks and the build up to Exercise Marble Tor – my first camp as an officer. Being a qualified signals instructor also afforded me some credibility.

The build up to the first platoon fighting patrol brought its adrenalin flow with each one of us wondering who would be chosen to lead the patrol. Actually our DS Flt Sgt led the evening’s exercise and we all enjoyed a successful jolly. We did have a break during the middle weekend and, as I had a car, three UOTC students from Cambridge joined me on a trip to Bath.

The second week was more testing than teaching and during the final push when our platoon was forced into an ex-filtration on Salisbury Plain I discovered that there was no longer a prismatic compass on the end of my lanyard. My vision that the bulk of my pay would go towards paying for the loss focussed my thoughts. In the heavy fire I managed to explain the loss to the platoon commander and said that I knew exactly where I had last used the compass and that I planned to go back to this easily recognisable point. Two others, Neil Tumber (DLOY) and Mike Monks, offered to go with me and they did. Off we went and of course our play was not in the exercise script. We were soon behind the advancing harassing enemy and out of trouble. We retraced our route back to the corner of the wood where my last bearing had been taken. Lying down by the barbed wire fence in the dark I picked out the glow of the green luminous paint on the compass lying face up in the grass! That was lucky. My comrades were pleased for me but also added that they had little confidence in our leader and were glad of the opportunity to break away with me. Well out of the distant explosions and automatic fire we made our way steadily back across the plain towards the final RV. As day broke, we stumbled across a truck, with the driver fast asleep. On enquiring it became clear that this was our pick-up vehicle and the main body of our patrol had not yet arrived. We climbed into the back, safe and sound, and waited. We were soon asleep. Some hours later we were awoken by the disgruntled sounds of troops who had been clearly lost and had argued over the map reading. Only in broad daylight had they found their way to the truck. We three kept quiet amidst the recriminations – it sounded as though map reading by squad average had been in play.

Safely back in camp, we three were taken aside by our Australian Army DS Major who was very displeased at our actions of splitting away from the rest of the platoon. I did feel prompted to explain that there had been chargeable acts of dissention during the course of the night’s events but I was going home later that day as the course ended. I bit my tongue and took the criticism with the knowledge that I had recovered my prismatic compass and we had clearly avoided the worst of the night.

The following reassuring entry in the Supplement to the London Gazette appeared in November 1981 and that was another step forward.

My time as a Lieutenant was quite brief, less than eight months actually, as there was a dearth of officers to fill the posts of Squadron Second in Command. Following me, there was a wave of officer cadets/ 2Lts and I found myself carrying out the duties of ‘D’ Sqn 2i/c. Three whom I recall at ’D’ were Spencer Fitzgibbon, Chris Hargreaves and Tony Connaughton. (Howard Parsons had, unfortunately, left us following a leg injury, but did move to serve in the ACF.) I raised the issue of Captaincy with Captain Brian Stocker, our PSAO Admin Captain at RHQ. I always got on well with Brian and he was a great source of sound advice. My acting rank of Captain was published wef 1 June 1982 and finally my pay began to improve noticeably. (I had effectively been treading water since leaving the ranks as a well-qualified corporal.)

NBC Training Officers Course No1 14-25 June 1982

In my short time as a Lieutenant I did managed to squeeze in an extra course. I volunteered for a place on the NBC (Nuclear, Biological and Chemical) Defence Training Officers Course down at Winterbourne Gunner. I had been on holiday and on returning home the brown package in the post gave me short preparation time. Rehearsing the drills in the garden and frightening the neighbours as I roamed through our trees in my NBC suit shouting “GAS, GAS, GAS,” I managed to reach a standard high enough to make the course worthwhile.

Two weeks at Defence Nuclear Biological & Chemical Centre was most agreeable. It was a multiservice course with a mix of Warrant Officers and Subalterns; however, there were only three members of the reserve forces. Being run on regular lines then, the days ran from 8.30 to 16.00 with the middle weekend free; this was more the style! I managed to see the country while I was down there, visiting Stonehenge and seeing the QEII in Southampton water still with the heli-deck on the back and looking pretty rusty after her trip to the Falkland Islands.

It was unusual for me to be late for lessons but three of us had mis-read the programme and the lesson on nuclear explosions was actually not in the lecture room but about three fields away: dress included carrying steel helmets. Having realised our mistake we three set off to join the class. Approaching the final leg, there was an almighty explosion when the nuclear bomb simulator released its mushroom cloud above the surrounding countryside. Nobody seemed particularly bothered that we had not been in exactly the right field when the button was pressed, in fact the other students and staff seemed somewhat dazed and oblivious as they passed us on the road back to camp.

In an attempt to maintain my fitness whilst making the most of the excellent food and wine in the mess I decided to go for a run after class one day. The countryside was lovely, the grass green and the sun shone – I was amazed that I did not pass a single soul while I was out. After a couple of easy miles and having passed the backs of many signs I reached a heavily barred gate. Struggling to climb over it to reach the road the message on the other side was very clear – I had actually run back down the Porton Battle Run in my shorts and t shirt! The signs indicated that this was a restricted site and full protection was essential. I did check carefully for blisters in the shower afterwards.

On the brighter side, friends of my wife, Diane, lived in the village. As I had the opportunity I phoned Wing Commander Bill Pawson and his wife Maggie, who accepted my request to visit. I walked around to their house with photographs to aid my introduction and a couple of excellent bottles from the cellar of the Officers’ Mess. We all got on exceedingly well and Maggie phoned Diane while I was there to express her delight that I had called. We dined together a couple of evenings.

Occasionally in some situations, one gets a feeling – an adrenalin rush through the veins and you just know you are going to do something. The Doctor had given us a presentation on the effects of radiation on the body. When asked by one of the students how Strontium damaged the blood the Doctor admitted that he was unable to say. I felt clammy and looked pale as I stood up in the auditorium and offered to explain. My offer was accepted and speaking lucidly and with confidence I answered the question in detail. Sitting down there was spontaneous applause from the whole cadre. Nobody actually connected the fact I was not a regular officer but a TA Officer with a career teaching physics, part of which was nuclear physics. My final grading was a B. (Grade B in army terms is very good and brought congratulations on my return to The Duke of Lancaster’s Own Yeomanry.

Figure 12: NBC Officers Course

Annual Camp 1982

In September the Regiment deployed to Thetford under command of Lieutenant Colonel Dick Ferguson. My new skills as NBC Officer were put to use in running the annual bounty NBC test. Speaking with my Commanding Officer after dinner on our formal dinner night, Colonel Dick was looking to liven things up in what was quite a dull mess building. Jokingly I offered to release some of the spare CS gas. Col Dick’s reply told me to hang on while he got his respirator and off he went. That put me on the spot and stupidly I followed suit, bringing both my respirator and some gas pellets. There was no demur as I struck the fusee match and so the pellets were ignited and the mess gassed. This put any other mess games off the horizon and the annoyance I had caused resulted in me being deposited in the paymaster’s car boot. Unfortunately, I sustained a neck injury which caused me to miss the mess photograph on the following morning and the ensuing Regimental Exercise in the field. Our Regimental Surgeon Major Paddy Gallagher was at camp for the first week only but kindly fixed me up with some diazepam and an appointment at RAF Ely hospital before departing.

My sister’s in-laws lived in Ely so as well as the visits to clinic I was able to call on them and also explore Ely Cathedral, making good use of the CO’s staff car during the exercise. I was available for duty during the night and as a Captain, left to run the ops room. Topped up on diazepam, and finding myself all alone I thought it a good idea to move all the squadrons around to each other’s position during the night. The plan was made, the orders issued and I sat back; or was it the diazepam playing tricks? Handing over the command post the following morning I was thanked for “holding the fort” before I enjoyed a good breakfast and another trip off into Ely. My stabilising neck collar was removed after the troops had returned from the field but before the end of camp – fortunately.

The following entry in the London Gazette confirmed my promotion to Captain and ensured that I was paid in the rank of Captain throughout annual camp (from 1^st June 1982 – thank you Brian.)

Captain John Tustin

From autumn 1982, with my acting Captain’s pips on my shoulders, I settled into the position of squadron 2i/c taking on more squadron centred activities and administration. This involved working closely with the key players in Squadron Headquarters.

Permanent Staff Administrative Officers

PSAOs (Permanent Staff Administrative Officers) had arrived. These were either Captains or Majors retiring from the Regular Army and one was appointed into each sabre squadron and one into RHQ. They brought with them a wealth of experience, took on much of the day-to-day administration and were pleased to have picked up their jobs considerably supplementing their army pensions. These new PSAOs were generally in for the long haul through to retirement – 10 years or longer and added more stability to regiment and the officers’ mess. Our PSAO at ‘D’ Squadron was Major Jim Escott, who was always there with sound advice and whose company I enjoyed.

Captain Brian Stocker was the PSAO at RHQ, Captain Terry Lovell at ‘B’ Squadron and Captain Vic Colborne took post at Wigan. In my service with the Regiment at some time I worked closely with all of the PSAOs and found them all to be a real asset and always friendly, supportive and professional.

Sergeant Majors at ‘D’ Squadron 1979 - 1985

As always, the SSM (Squadron Sergeant Major) was a key player within the squadron. There were 4 SSMs who served in my time at Preston each with his own personality and impact on my service. The first was WOII Dave Stride, sergeant major throughout my subaltern days. A great organiser of exercises with plenty of shooting and pyrotechnics; I believe he went on to join the District Training Team. Unusually, I remember his army number – 24292149.

Stride’s replacement was WOII Jimmy Myers, a graduate who started his time in the TA at ‘A’ Squadron. We worked together on much squadron planning and always got on well. One particular story springs to mind: Cpl P, Sergeant Major Myers and I were walking together when Cpl P pointed out that I must have long summer holidays being a teacher. Wondering where this was going I concurred. Cpl P, being a driver for British Rail then invited me to come and drive his train during the forthcoming summer. Delighted at the prospect I accepted his kind offer and Jimmy Myers quickly spoke up asking if he could also drive Cpl P’s train. The curt response from Cpl P went something like “with all due respect sergeant major, I wasn’t f*****g asking you.” I quickly moved the conversation on to another topic however a picture of note is below.

Figure 13: Heading North to Carlisle

During our journey, Cpl P vividly recalled suicides he had seen on the railway. His advice, should someone step in front of a train moving at speed, was to put the windscreen wipers on and report the occurrence at the next opportunity.

Sergeant Major Myers went on to become RQMS (Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant) – the Regiment’s senior TA Warrant Officer, the Regimental Sergeant Major being a regular appointment.

My third Sergeant Major was John Maclachlan, promoted in from being SQMS at ‘A’ Squadron. An ex regular soldier with operational experience, we got on well together as a team becoming life-long friends. Indeed, I turned to John to clarify this part of my narrative.

At camp in 1985 Sergeant Major John Maclachlan was approached by WOI (RSM) Bob Stapley, on behalf of the CO, with a view to John’s transfer to ‘A’ Squadron at Wigan at short notice. The transfer happened after camp and I would follow to ‘A’ Squadron in the following January, initially as second in command but within the year I was officer commanding and in the rank of Major.

My final Sergeant Major at Preston was newly promoted WOII John Cavanagh, who had been my Troop Sergeant for a while. John Cavanagh was an excellent choice and progressed through to RQMS and on to take a commission. John continued his service in the amalgamated regiment “The Royal Mercian & Lancastrian Yeomanry” in 1992. With my time at Preston coming to a close and John Eastham having moved up to Chorley as Regimental Second in Command, Sergeant Major John Cavanagh was ideally suited to smooth the handover of ‘D’ Squadron to the incoming Squadron Leader, Major Martin Steiger. The close liaison with John Cavanagh was to continue later as he was to be my SSM in the composite ‘G’ Squadron despatched to Gibraltar for Exercise Marble Tor and in the final regimental days of the DLOY within RHQ.

Re-rôled to Medium Reconnaissance

In 1983, while Major John Eastham was commanding ‘D’ squadron the transition of the regiment to reconnaissance was upon us; “time to get on or get off” was the call. We took on board our fleet of Land Rovers and began our training for the new rôle. I was delighted to see this transition occurring under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Dick Ferguson – I felt pleased for Colonel Dick that he had brought the regiment back to a cavalry rôle, just in time to take the salute as the new vehicles drove past at Warcop Camp. Command of the Regiment passed from Colonel Dick to Lieutenant Colonel David Corbin as training in our new rôle commenced. ‘D’ Squadron’s area of responsibility was the North West England and I must admit I was a little envious of the other two squadrons who had Scotland between them. Nevertheless, life was good and the new rôle was exciting.

Company Commanders Course No 34

5-19 May 1984 was a milestone which had to be passed and a stream of “opportunities” were set before me to test my skills and potential. There were some familiar faces as we gathered in Hythe Mess at Warminster in the May of 1984. These included Dave Thomas from the KINGS and Mike Monks WFR, who helped me find my compass on the Platoon Commanders Course.

When it came to the final exercise, “the big push,” my cap badge served me well. The bulk of the cadre set off carrying their kit onto Salisbury Plain for the first 24 hours. I deployed to the area in a Scimitar armoured vehicle, one of two travelling together and when the rains came we closed the hatches and used the “BV” to make a brew. The crew for the Scimitars had played the exercise several times before and literally we had an easy ride.

The second phase took me out of the armour and dropped me into the “Commanding Officer” slot in HQ. Initially this was fairly static and the DS, not wanting to risk the exercise running off track fed me with the instructions. It wasn’t a course for assessing unit commanders.

The third and final phase was going to be a hot battalion pursuit and we were able to leave our large packs at echelon. I was given a platoon to command for the assault across the plain and took an early opportunity to break away and meet with my platoon as well as issue orders. Apparently this went down well with the DS and was noted in my course report. We were wearing SAWS (small arms weapons simulator) kit which detected any small arms “hits” on your person. When hit, a beeping sound issued and you were deemed “out of action.” We formed up and the phase commenced. Within ten minutes of advancing and before we had engaged the enemy, off went my beeper and I was out of the battle. My sergeant was markedly annoyed and reluctantly took over command of the advancing platoon. I am sure it was a fault on the SAWS and the beeper had been triggered as I transmitted on my radio. Hey-ho can’t argue with the beeper. The DS disarmed my SAWS and I walked along behind the advancing troops gradually being joined by subsequent “casualties!”

I successfully completed my Company Commander’s Course at the School of Infantry, Warminster and this qualified me for the next step up the ladder in due course.

Annual Camp Thetford 1984

During our annual camp in 1984 we were joined by a minibus full of German volunteers from a Jaeger Battalion. The senior officer was Major Falk Baier who was attached to ‘D’ Squadron and in particularly to me. We got on well and enjoyed sharing our time together, perhaps better than some of the others. Some years later I had a phone call out-of-the-blue from Arne Baier, son of Falk. Arne was a young man, keen to do a practical course in teaching to help his studies and approached me for assistance. Once the bureaucracy had been resolved, Arne came to live with Diane & me for a month and assisted teaching at Hayward School. He proved to be very popular and had some good ideas which were well received. At the weekends he went off adventuring with some guidance, as far as Inverness, seeing the sites and meeting the people. All in all, Arne had an excellent time with us and we enjoyed his company.

Final Blues Parade for the DLOY

On the 21^st October 1984 our Regimental Museum was finally opened at Stanley Street, Preston. This demanded a parade, indeed a blues parade of 2 officers and 48 men plus guidon party consisting of RSM, RQMS and 2 x SSgts with band and scarlet guards. This accorded due honours to our Honorary Colonel, Simon Towneley, Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire. The marching party was drawn from across the regiment. RHQ produced the parade format, selected the key players based on quality of marching and sizes of blues uniforms available. The Adjutant, Captain Charles Clarke had a steady guiding hand in overseeing matters in particular, sorting out a blues jacket for me and polishing my sword drill. My second in command was Second Lieutenant Ernest Ryder and my guard Sergeant Major was WOII John Maclachlan, both good friends. Such a splash of colour made a great focus for the press and the exercise provided practice for a possible royal visit in 1985. Photographs appeared in the Lancashire Telegraph and Lancashire Life.

Figure 14: DLOY Final Blues Parade

Time at ‘D’ draws to a close

I had had an excellent five years at ‘D’ Squadron both as troop leader and squadron second in command. As we moved through the autumn there was a wave of changes passing through the regiment. John Eastham moved up to RHQ as Regimental Second in Command and Martin Steiger moved into Preston just in time for the Remembrance Day parade. SSM John Maclachlan moved across to Wigan and John Cavanagh was promoted to WOII and became SSM ‘D’ Squadron. Col David Corbin had a mission at ‘A’ Squadron, Wigan, for me commencing in the January of 1985.