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RECOLLECTIONS OF THE D.L.O.Y.
I joined the D.L.O.Y when I moved to Manchester for work in 1959. I was allocated to the squadron, I think it was ‘C’ Sqdn., commanded by John Chartres which was based at Urmston. I think that my fellow officers included David McGill, Roland Fernsby, Anthony Evans, and Jan Foster. We were a happy bunch under John who was a first-rate squadron leader. David McGill was 2 i/c.
I am afraid that my recollections are not so much of our military prowess which was obviously exemplary and of the highest order to satisfy even a Field-Marshal but more of our social events - such as of John Chartres lying on his back with a pint of beer on his chest, and a decidedly hungover Dan de Beaujeu getting dressed the morning after.
My first camp was at Barry Buddon, near Carnoustie. John Cardwell was in command and life in the mess was one big party. I remember Tony Marshall who took over command from John riding a motor-cycle through the mess hut. At the end of one day’s work Jimmy Clemence thought that it would be a good idea to have an armoured car race back across the land not realising that there were trenches dug across it. The subsequent court of enquiry on which I sat together with John Peak and another, of course exonerated Jimmy.
John Cardwell before one guest night insisted that the dry martini contain barely a drop of Noilly Prat. Our main guest, the Brigadier, was looking forward to a good game of roulette but unfortunately he never got it. During dinner his legs were tied to his chair (by Anthony Evans) and the curtains were set on fire.
At another camp, Leyburn, as we were about to go out on a two-day exercise, I, as i/c HQ Squadron, was leaning on the tailboard of the landrover poring over the map when my Sergeant inserted the aerial in the holder at the front. Unfortunately he touched the very low slung overhead mains cable. We both ended up on our backs. Luckily, after a reviving cup of tea we were able to carry on. At the same camp John Ferguson drove a vehicle into a ditch.
One personal memory is of our last camp (before the TA temporarily was disbanded) at Shrewton when, as PMC, the beautiful fillet steaks I had bought from Edwards Wholesale Butchers in Manchester for the Officers’ Mess for the first night dinner were found that afternoon after the shops were closed (Saturday)to be badly “off”. The mess cook and I rushed into Salisbury to The County Hotel (Berni Inns) which saved the day by “lending” us some rump steaks which had to be returned the following morning (Sunday). I despaired but my sergeant told me that he knew a wholesale butcher who would be open the next day. Luckily he was right and The County Hotel guests that evening were treated to the highest quality rump steaks that Berni Inns had ever sold.
That camp was notable for the fact that our parent regiment, the 14th/20th was at Tisbury and there was some social inter-action between us.
Later Note: I left the regiment when it was transferring to the RTR which was around 1967/8. I was a temporary Major since there was no room for any more Majors.
re Tony Marshall, it was a great pity that John Chartres was passed over, I think for not being "posh" enough. That was a decision between John Cardwell and Roger Hesketh.
Speaking of Roger, John Ferguson and I organised the final ball at Meols and my wife and I got to know Roger and Mary quite well. (Mary put me up for the Royal Enclosure at Ascot.)
The ball was a great success and Roger really pulled out all the stops. He even took down the metal fencing up the drive so that guests arriving would have an uninterrupted view of the countryside. He said that it was nice to look out and realise that he owned all the land that one could see - although he was anything but pompous. Their second daughter, Sarah, died of leukemia at around 9 and Laura went on to marry someone (Anthony Blond, about 22 years older) who had been a contemporary of mine at my Oxford college. They were not a very savoury couple and she died not long after him. Drink and drugs played a large part as it did with Robert (son) who died about 8 or so years ago. Roger used to keep us enthralled about his role in Operation Fortitude and said that he had written an account of it but Chapman Pincher beat him to it. The book was eventually published after his death but is virtually unreadable as he put it every single sentence spoken and thought thought. It needed a good editor. He brought the peace treaty back from Luneburg to deliver it to Churchill and was terrified he might leave it in the taxi from Victoria.
Social Photographs from my service with DLOY in the 1960s
(kindly refurbished by John MacLachlan, July 2015)
Norman Phillips & Joe Condon
John Aspinall (x2) & Anthony Evans
Tony Marshall ... David Claxton
I liked David Claxton which I know seems to be against the trend, but you must remember that I had left by the time he came to command the regiment. I got to know him well when he invited me to a week-end in the Lake District which he organised for friends. When at Cambridge he and a few friends would each organise a reunion and invite friends. This continued after they came down and was done annually. One organised a sailing weekend and one another sort of activity and David a walking weekend in the Lake District. We had a great time and despite the foul weather climbed Scafell Pike the long way from Dungeon Ghyll where we stayed. I already knew the Lakes but this kicked off my walking the fells.
Dan & Wendy de Beaujeu .... Peter & Mrs Hoare
Elspeth Stuart Mill ... John Stuart Mill
John Stuart Mills (without the hyphen) First of all his name was John Mills with Stuart as his second. At a party once Ruthie Phillips met his parents and said: "Hello Mr. Stuart Mills" to which the reply came: "He's Stuart Mills, I'm Mills". I last saw him at a party in the Canadian High Commission in Grosvenor Square where his wife, Elspeth worked (but was away on business for the National Film Board of Canada.) He died in Brixton with only a son and his second wife with him.
He had been a partner in a very prestigious firm of solicitors in Manchester but they got rid of him (as he was about to become senior partner). He then went to work as the solicitor for the Gas Board but was eventually sacked from that.
Elspeth's father was Angus Orr and a big noise in the cotton business. JSM frequently spoke about him. One day at tea-time in the mess at Shrewton at our last camp before the shut-down, Antony Evans who was a marvellous mimic and had a great sense of humour treated everyone to a take-off of JSM talking about his father-in-law. It was as cruel as it was funny and John just sat there saying nothing.
Having said all this, he was a delightful companion when he was on his own and sober.
John Chartres ... Robert Heaton
Peter Cameron ... Robin Harris (Training Major)
Peter Cameron I had known from way back when we were at Oxford together and struck up a friendship long before he came to the DLOY as padre. He had a brother, John, who is still living, I think. I saw him at a Gaude a few years ago. He was super-bright, a mathematician, which is perhaps why his parents sent him to Winchester and Peter to Marlborough. Later the two brothers did not get on and Peter was very caustic about John's wife.
Peter came to Manchester to the Worsley and Swinton living and his first test came when the church hall was dedicated and the new and very young Duchess of Kent came to do the deed. She was sweet and asked one of the brownies lining the route whether she had been a cub before becoming a brownie! I have a photo somewhere and will look for it.
Peter was a lovely person and I remember while at Oxford I bought a 1923 Clyno (look it up). I gave him a lift at the end of one term and it wouldn't go up the hill at Henley so I asked him to get out and push. It worked.
He was a great preacher and had a great rapport with everyone and at one camp (I think at Nesscliffe, Shropshire) at the Sunday morning mattins when everyone was recovering from the effects of the previous Saturday night he was walking up and down the aisle, as was his wont, when he suddenly shouted out: "and God said 'wake up'. The effect was dramatic. What was so clever was that it fitted in perfectly with the content of the sermon.
On a more personal note I remember while in Manchester he had a fiancée. He told me that she had just said to him: Oh Peter, you are so extravagant. Once we are married you will give me your pay and I shall look after it and give you pocket-money." Abrupt end of engagement. He then married a very nice girl called Mary.
I was very sad when he died at such a young age. He was a big pipe-smoker and this probably paid a large part.
He was a very popular padre. Before he came to Swinton and Worsley he had been offered a New College living in Oxfordshire at Deddington but he wanted to work in a more deprived area. I can't remember where he went but I think it was somewhere in the East End of London. After Swinton he wen to Waterbeach, just north of Cambridge and then to Fenstanton where he was very much liked.
'B' Sqdn (?) ... Anthony Evans & Dan de Beaujeu
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