Journal 2008 - The Journal Royal Highland Fusiliers - The Royal ...

escorts flanked either side of the memorial in No 1 Dress to pay thecorrect compliments during the unveiling and act of remembrance.The day was very poignant and attended by many members of theRegimental family both old and new. The Royal British Legion wasalso on parade in strength carrying their Standards, which addedgreat colour and splendour to the occasion. (See also the Front Cover!)During the month of September, the Battle of Assaye wascommemorated, in usual RHF style, by All Ranks in theBattalion. Each mess celebrates Assaye Day annually with a Ball.The weekend of celebrations started on the 20th Sep 07 witha service on the main square at Glencorse Bks. The Battalionparaded in a hollow square and the QM, Major J E B Kerr,marched on the Assaye Colour with escorts to the sound of thePipes and Drums. This was to symbolise Quarter Master Grantand his well-known actions during the Battle. At the service Lt DE Reed gave a very stirring rendition of the battle, which wouldhave acted as a history lesson to our newest Jocks and hopefullyinspire in them the pride in our Assaye Colour that is felt byeveryone associated with RHF both past and present.As the Battalion focus now changes towards operations and OPHERRICK, there are no forecasted ceremonial duties till ourreturn from Afghanistan. This will mean that the enclosed drillsquare in Glencorse Bks will be silent to the echo of marchingtroops, SNCOs screaming words of command and the sound ofpipes and drums. The drill square will now see a different role– for troops taking part in Battle PT lessons.VISIT TO 1 RNZIROn the 27th of July, Lt Morgan and Lt Muir departed for NewZealand to represent 2 SCOTS at the 1st Battalion, The RoyalNew Zealand Infantry Regiment’s 50th Birthday. The Battalion’srelationship with 1 RNZIR stretches back to Singapore in theearly 1970s when the Royal Highland Fusiliers and 1 RNZIRwere stationed there. A parade was held in 1973 to commemoratethe affiliation.The shock normally associated with swapping a Scottish summerfor a New Zealand winter was not as great as hoped consideringthe adverse weather which we had experienced in Edinburgh sofar. So it was no surprise that on landing in Auckland we weremet with rain. A short flight to Wellington followed, and at thatpoint we had several days to experience New Zealand beforeattending the celebrations over the weekend of the 3rd to the 5thof August.Palmerston North is a couple of hours north of Wellington andis not the most attractive of places, although it does have a largestudent population. The first event of the Birthday Weekend wasa cocktail party held in their Warrant Officers’ and Sergeants’Mess on the Friday evening.The event itself presented an opportunity for us to meet up withour Regimental Secretary, Colonel Steele, and introduce ourselvesto their Mess. Everyone was extremely friendly and quite impressedthat we had all travelled so far, not perhaps realising we had a stopoffin California planned for the way back! We also interestinglymet several Officers and NCOs including an ex-RHF Sergeant, RabKelly, who had transferred across from the British Army.The open day commenced with a Powhiri, a traditional Maoriwelcome, during which their Commanding Officer LieutenantColonel John Howard led the Battalion in a Haka.The rest of the day comprised demonstrations of 1 RNZIR’sarmoured personnel carriers and equipment and tours of theirhistory room, detailing the numerous conflicts in which theyhave been involved. It was extremely interesting to read of theirdeployments to Vietnam and meet several of those involved, asit is a conflict which is not talked much about in Britain. In thelate afternoon, a parade and beating of retreat was held with theinnovative and impressive parade at odds with the diabolicalweather. This included their Colours arriving on the square inarmoured vehicles, Maori warriors patrolling the edges of theparade ground and some more recognisable drill as the Colourswere paraded and the band went through its paces. The rainSomething that New Zealand has no shortage of, scenery.46 THE ROYAL HIGHLAND FUSILIERS