Long live the Queen!
CAN'T believe the Queen is 80!
Again I was on night shift in Ipoh, Malaya, as Orderly Room Clerk. It was four in the morning and I was dozing at my desk when Regimental Sergeant Major Geordie Day kicked me awake shouting "The King is dead. Long live the Queen!"
He ordered me to organise a lance guard of honour — for 24 hours four men were to be posted round our war memorial outside the orderly room and they had to carry out lance drill as they marched to their post. I had to awake the whole squadron and could find only very few who had ever carried out lance drill.
I used those few to teach the rest of the squadron and decided they should each do a two-hour stint. That meant they had to stand at attention with their lances and heads bowed. The first guard marched on at 0800 hours, but I'd forgotten about the sun and the heat. Within an hour they were collapsing to the ground, lance and all. I cut the stint to an hour each and it just worked out.
I was sworn at a lot that day! But most said they enjoyed doing the very stately lance drill.
I was demobbed shortly after and, on Coronation Day, I was doing my duty in the Territorial Army as a corporal with the Scottish Horse, I had the honour of commanding an open-topped Valentine tank down a crowd-lined Union Street in Aberdeen to the Bridge of Don. It was absolutely freezing and I had to stand to attention all the way. I was frozen stiff and, at the end of the parade, had to be lifted bodily out of the tank.
The good thing was that I was given a very large dram of Royal Navy rum. But it was insisted that I stand to attention and declare "God Save the Queen!" before drinking my rum.
Bob Gibb, ex 12th Royal Lancers many years ago.
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story, limerick or song that you remember from your service, we would like
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Please send your stories or songs to James Paul
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