Regimental Sergeant Major Horace Cyril "Phil" Phillips MBE MVO - Welsh Guards

Obituary – The Times 2 January 1992 - Sergeant Major Horace Cyril “Phil” Phillips MBE, MVO, Welsh Guards, former sergeant-major of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and of the Queen’s Bodyguard of the Yeoman of the Guard, died on Christmas Day aged 76. He was born on 27 March 1916.  The Duke of Kent, King Hussain of Jordan, nine foreign princes, two sultans and a sheikh were among the 6,000 cadets trained by Phil Phillips.  When he marched off the parade ground at Sandhurst for the last time, as Academy Sergeant Major the most senior sergeant-major in the army it could truly be said that he had moulded a new generation of young officers.  Phillips himself belonged to a new generation of sergeant-majors though he might not have looked it.  Well over six foot and weighing 14 stone, a former guards light-heavyweight boxing champion, he appeared every inch the traditional RSM as he towered over his charges on the square, his boots and brasses outshining their own.  He believed in the virtues of drill, if only to teach soldiers how to react to a command, and he cultivated a resonant bellow to go with it.  He argued that it was no use calling “Fire” on the battlefield if the men had to shout back “What” He was horrified on a visit to West Point to find the drill instructors using megaphones.  Underneath, however, Phillips was a gentle giant who never swore at or bullied his recruits. He thought seriously about his work and responsibilities. He read widely on politics and current affairs and advised all his cadets to do the same.  Before being posted with his regiment overseas, he would spend days studying the local traditions.  Phillips was born at Chepstow, Gwent into an army family. His father had served in both the Boer War and the First World War and although young Phil trained as a butcher on leaving school, his ambition was always to sign on with the Welsh Guards. He did so in 1934 and after his first spell of public duties in London, mounting guard at Buckingham Palace, he went with his battalion to Gibraltar.  When war broke out, it became the first unit of the British Expeditionary Force, sailing to Marseilles by battleship then travelling north by train.  Phillips was captured near Arras, however, during the Dunkirk retreat and spent the rest of the war as a prisoner in Poland, in Stalag 383.  The Germans started moving their prisoners West to escape from the advancing Russians in 1945 and Phillips was one of a group who wrestled control from the SS shortly before they were liberated by the Americans.  He then volunteered to return to active service and was about to be drafted to the Far East when Japan surrendered, Instead he went with the Welsh Guards to Palestine and on return took part in the first trooping of the colour since the war.  The escort to the colour was provided by the Welsh Guards 1st Battalion’s Prince of Wales Company with Phillips as the company sergeant-major.  After postings in West Germany and Berlin he took part in the 1953 coronation, then went on his first tour of duty at Sandhurst, as Regimental Sergeant Major of Old College, one of the three constituent parts of the Academy.  He was seconded to the King’s African Rifles in East Africa, then in the early 1960s returned to Sandhurst as Academy Sergeant-Major in succession to the legendary John Lord.  Colleagues warned him that Lord would be a difficult act to follow, especially as Phillips was the first Welsh Guardsman to the job, following a long line of Grenadiers.  But when Phillips retired in December 1970, marching up Old College steps after the Sovereign’s Parade, while the band played “Auld Land Syne” he had carved out his own place in Sandhurst history.  The army said at the time that had he accepted the chance of a commission he would probably have become a Lieutenant-Colonel. But he argued that while there were many lieutenant-colonels, there was only one Academy Sergeant-Major. On retirement he was offered the post of senior messenger sergeant-major of the Queen’s Bodyguard, twinned with that of superintendent of St. James’s Palace. The first involved organising the 66 man Body Guard as its only permanent official and parading with them in Tudor uniform and white ruff.  Already the veteran of King George V’s Silver Jubilee, George VI’s funeral and eight trooping of the colour, he now added a succession of state occasions, including the Prince of Wales’s wedding and the annual state opening of Parliament. One of his last parades marked The Body Guard’s 500th anniversary.  His other job consisted of running St James’s Palace and state apartments and brought with it his own apartment at the palace; after fifteen years he finally retired to his native Wales.  Phil Phillips was a notable rugby player in his youth, turning out as flanker for Newport, London Welsh and the army and for the Welsh Guards when they won the army cup after the war. In retirement he still played golf and worked for his local church and army charities.  He was survived by his wife, Glenys, their son and two daughters.

Dedication from Soldier Magazine - Death was his cell mate for a whole week, “Work or we shoot!” That was the daily threat as Phil Phillips his six foot two-inch frame wasted to nine stones by three years of captivity since Dunkirk  was brought with his comrades into the day- light from the evil smelling depths of their underground prison in East Prussia.  As the guards cocked their Chemises yet again, the tough 28 year old Welsh Guardsman thought; “This must be my darkest hour.” Perhaps it was, although the rebellious prisoners did win the right to refuse to work.  But his fate hung in the balance once more in the closing days of the war at another camp, Stalag 383 in Bavaria. As the Americans drew closer, war-weary SS guards wondered whether to shoot the prisoners or surrender to them. The SS forced a smile and handed over their weapons.  So fate decreed that ‘Phil Phillips – 14 stones these days, his tattered battledress replaced by a magnificent uniform of scarlet and gold – would symbolically guard the person of Queen Elizabeth II during the glittering ceremonies of Her Majesty’s Silver Jubilee. From the comfort of a deep armchair in his spacious apartment at St James’s Palace, Mr Cyril ‘Phil Phillips, now 62 and Sergeant-Major of  The Queen’s Bodyguard of the Yeoman of the Guard, dismissed the dark days of the war with an elegant wave of the hand. Modestly, he said that most of the 81 members of the elite bodyguard could tell similar tales. But by any standards the story of this big man from Chepstow in the Wye Valley is remarkable. Thursday, 17 December 1970, was a good day for ‘Phil’ Phillips to reflect on a past well spent. At the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, 116 officer cadets were passing out at the Sovereign’s Parade reviewed by Field-Marshall Sir Gerald Templer. Academy Sergeant-Major Phillips, then 55, was leaving the Welsh Guards after 36 years for a new life in the Yeomen of the Guard, a royal bodyguard founded in 1485 by another Welshman, Henry Tudor, King of England, and the oldest military corps in the world. It was the sixteenth Sovereign’s Parade stage managed by ASM Phillips. Six thousand cadets, many of them senior officers now, had been his respectful charges. Nine foreign princes, three sheikhs and a sultan had been among them. No doubt all of them would have agreed with his remark on that day. “I abhor bad language, but I am a firm believer in loud words of command.” As the band played and the adjutant’s charger mounted the steps of Sandhurst’s Grand Entrance, it was a time to reflect. To reflect on that day in 1934 in Cardiff when at the age of 18 he joined the Welsh Guards and went to Caterham where the diet was such as to stick in the mind as well as the stomach – “brown stew, bread and dripping and onions.”  To reflect that as a member of the Prince of Wales’s Company of the Welsh Guards he took part in King George V’s silver jubilee. Later he marched in red tunic and bearskin at the coronation of George VI. To reflect on the lighter side of a young guardsman’s life in the thirties before the grim reality of a soldier’s lot on the shelled and mortared approaches to Dunkirk. There, as a colour-sergeant, he was involved in a rearguard action before his unit was overrun and he ‘went in the bag’ for five years. These were not passive years. He was one of a group of non-commissioned officers who refused to labour for the Germans and were banished to that subterranean goal in Prussia. Later, in Stalag 383, he was among those handcuffed for long periods when Hitler ordered Repressalien after Dieppe. A fellow prisoner at the time was Sergeant Fred Mulley of the Worcestershire regiment, now Secretary of State for Defence. And when the SS guards called it a day, Colour-Sergeant Phillips formed a platoon and joined the Americans in a battle against diehard fanatics. To reflect on the British Army post war – Palestine, Berlin, the young Queen’s coronation, an earlier spell at Sandhurst as sergeant-major of Old College, to Kenya as regimental sergeant-major of the 11th Battalion, The King’s African Rifles. And other memories – an extra in a film with Elizabeth Taylor; adviser on drill and dress for a Thames TV series ‘Frontier’ about a fictitious regiment in 19th century India; a game of golf with seven generals against a show business team and of course his MBE. And so today. After that final Sovereign’s Parade he became the first person to hold the twin posts of Superintendent of the State Apartments at St James’s Palace and Sergeant-Major of the Queen’s Bodyguard, of which he is the only permanent member. During the last seven years he has been at the monarch’s side at all the great occasions of State in a role that stretches back into deep history. From the orderly room in St James’s Palace he musters the part-time bodyguard, all handpicked for their distinguished military records, and parades them to Friary Court before they leave by coach for the centre of the Royal Stage. He is a giant among equals – a superb sergeant-major among super sergeant-majors. Mostly, the magnificent 81 are former ‘high-powered’ warrant officers of the Army, Royal Marines or RAF. Together they can muster 500 medals and close on 200 years of military service. “It’s like a brotherhood,” says their sergeant-major. As he leads them through centuries old drill – “a partisan (or pike) is a different kettle of soldiering from an SLR! (Self Loading Rifle)” – His immaculate pedigree is apparent in every measured step. It is all a very long way from that dungeon in wartime Germany for a man who epitomises that hoary old saying “old soldiers never die.” In this case, they don’t even fade away.

Battery Sergeant Major William Elvin - Royal Artillery

William Elvin enlisted into the Royal Artillery on 27 November 1851 and served for 21 years. He was a veteran of the Crimea and an Indian Mutiny and entitled to three medals. He was appointed to the Queen's Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard on 30 October 1883 after the death of Colour Sergeant Appleby, Royal Marines. In 1885 he served in the Second Division of the Guard and can be found in the same division in 1897. He was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal with a £10 annuity in 1906 and in 1910 he is found in the First

Division; he rose to the rank of Sergeant Major within the Body Guard sometime between 1911 and his death.  He was present at the Inspection of the Guard by King Edward VII and the following year by King George V. William died on 17 May 1913 and entitled to a Long Service and Good Conduct (LS&GC) medal and three Jubilee and Coronation medals.

Image (standing) by kind permission of Mr David Elvin (descendant)
Image (seated) from an album held in the Guardroom of St James' Palace.

Biography: Edited from The Yeomen of the Guard 1823-1903 by Ian McInnes (ISBN 1-900734-19-2)

Hospital Corporal-Major Henry Spence - Royal Fusiliers and Royal Horse Guards

Obituary from unknown paper -  "The Death has just occurred (2 December 1898) of Mr Henry Spence of HM Body Guard an ex Hospital Corporal Major  of The Royal Horse Guards. Mr Spence, whose height was 6ft 2½ins, enlisted at the age of 15 in the 7th Royal Fusiliers in December 1847 at Barbados and returned from North America in 1850.  He embarked with the Army and landed in the Crimea on 14 September 1854, was engaged at the Battle of Alma, wounded, and recommended by Col LW Yen (Commanding Royal Fusiliers) for Distinguished Conduct and promoted Corporal on 24 September 1854.  He engaged in the flank march to, and capture of, Balaclava, and participated in repulsing the attack on  26 October 1854.  He was engaged at the Battle of Inkerman and again recommended by Sir T Trowbridge for Distinguished Conduct.  Later, he was engaged in the attack on the Redan on 18 June 1855 and at the capture of the Quarries.  In August 1855 he was promoted Sergeant and took part in the storming of the Redan on 8 September 1855.  He embarked for England in July 1856 and was promoted to Colour Sergeant in May 1857.  In November 1857 he embarked for India, landing at Karraches and took part in the many forced-marches on the North West Frontier.  He returned to England in August 1861 having completed his first term of service - viz, 10 years and 119 days with 3 years boy service.  He re-enlisted into The Royal Horse Guards in December 1861 and was promoted Corporal-of-Horse in January 1864 and Troop Corporal Major in 1873.  In September 1875 he was discharged having completed his second term of service.  He was in possession of the Crimea medal with clasps for Alma, Inkerman and Kebastopol, also the Turkish War Medal, the Medal for Distinguished Conduct in the Field and medals for Long Service and Good Conduct.  He became one of HM Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard on 20 June 1882 and continued with them until his death in 1898.   Mr Spence also held the Testimonial of the Royal Humane Society for saving life in Regent's Canal in 1874".   In 1887, during his Body Guard duties, Henry Spence added the Jubilee Medal with 1897 clasp.  

Image by kind permission of Joy Schneider (descendant)
Biography: Edited from The Yeomen of the Guard 1823-1903 by Ian McInnes (ISBN 1-900734-19-2) and newspaper obituary.

Sergeant Drummond A Window MBE MVO - Royal Air Force Police

Drummond “Spike” Window was an Air Raid Patrol (ARP) Messenger Boy in 1940. In 1941 he joined the Home Guard (Hampshire Regiment) and saw service in the city of Portsmouth during the heavy Blitz period.  Whilst he was on duty at Pershore, Worcestershire, on the 29 May 1943 he was involved in the rescue attempt of the crew of a downed Wellington Bomber that had crashed in the town.   For the rescuers’ prompt action and great endeavours to extricate the crew from their stricken Aircraft he, and other the rescuers, received letters of commendation from the Officer Commanding Royal Air Force Pershore, Gp Capt AR Combe and Lt Col Taylor, Commanding Officer, 4th Battalion Worcestershire Home Guard. Later that same year he volunteered for service in the Royal Navy.  He saw active service in most theatres of war including the D Day landings at Omaha beach in Normandy and the Java rebellion and the Indian Navy Mutiny in Bombay in 1946.  He was discharged from the Royal Navy in Germany in June 1947 (Royal Naval Party 1735 Wilhelmshaven West Germany); in February 1948 he enlisted into the Royal Air Force (RAF) Police once again seeing active service.  This time, in Malaya between 1949-51 and Cyprus and the Suez Landings between 1954-56.  Drummond’s dedication and devotion to duty under dangerous conditions and the high standard of police work earned him a Provost Marshal’s Commendation from Air Cmdr WIG Kirby CBE.

As a RAF Special Investigator (equivalent CID) based in East Anglia we received a further Provost Marshal’s Commendation from Air Cmdr WS Gardener and Letters of Commendation from the Chief Constable of Grimsby (Mr CE Butler OBE); Detective Superintendent CID East Suffolk; Superintendent of Norfolk County and the Chairman of the Justices of Grimsby.  Between 1962-65 he once again saw active service, this time in the Far East employed on criminal and counter intelligence duties, during the Indonesian Campaign, whilst there he was awarded his Long Service and Good Conduct Medal (LS&GC) by the Command Provost Marshal, Gp Capt J R Coulson and the Air Officer Commanding Far East Air Forces Commendation in the New Years Honours List 1964.  Sergeant Drummond Window was discharged from the RAF Police in October 1966 after 24 years exemplary and loyal service.  In 1967 he was sworn into the West Riding Special Constabulary and by 1977 he had risen to the rank of Divisional Commandant of "A" Division, South Yorkshire Police.  During his service he received the following Letters of Commendations from Superintendent DR Porter, South Yorkshire Police; Mr P Carlin - Chairman, Thorne RDC and Road Safety Committee and Superintendent FE Booker - HM Customs Hull.

At St James’ Palace on 3 April 1974 he was sworn-in as a member of the Queen's Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard by Her Majesty.  On 12 June 1982 Yeoman Window was awarded Member of the British Empire (MBE) in the Queen's Birthday Honours List and in August 1989 he was promoted to the rank of Divisional Sergeant Major in the Queen's Body Guard.  In 1994, after 20 years loyal service to Her Majesty through his commitments with The Queen’s Body Guard he was awarded the Silver Medal of the Victorian Order (MVO(Silver)).  Just to prove that you can’t keep a good man down Drummond is very active in the Dunscroft & District Branch of the Royal British Legion.  He is still collecting great achievement awards having received a Certificate of Appreciation from the Lord Lieutenant of South Yorkshire for long and devoted service as Parade Marshal for the Royal British Legion.     

Mr Drummond Window was granted a Coat of Arms by the Lancaster Herald, Royal College of Arms, London. The motto "NON SIBI SED PATRIAE" ( Not for himself, but for his Country) says it all. The Arms are described as Crest - RAF Police Griffin with Partizan; Blazoned Shield - Flaming Sword (3), D Day insignia with Civil Police (Fess); Chequy across centre of Shield; Badges - Partizan Heads (2) within Annulets; Honours - MBE, RVM suspended at Base.  

Spike Window died on the morning of 26 April 2011 at Doncaster Royal Infirmary. 

  Mr Drummond Window's web-site  and also of interest is www.fight4thePJM.org

Sergeant Major James Donelan – 44th Regiment of Foot, Essex Regiment –Royal Longford Rifles – Royal East Middlesex Militia

James Donelan was born in 1823 near Kenagh, Co. Longford.  At the age of 20 he enlisted in the 44th
Regiment of Foot at Athlone, Co. Westmeath.  The 44th were recruiting heavily at the time having suffered great losses   ( 652 out of 684 ) at Ganamak, in Afghanistan the previous year.

He rose rapidly in the ranks, becoming Corporal in April 1844, Sergeant in July 1844, Colour Sergeant in July 1847 and Sergeant Major in March 1861. He was with his regiment all through the long and arduous campaign of the Crimea, receiving the English Crimea medal with clasps for Alma, Inkerman and Sebastopol, and the Turkish war medal.  He was also one of the 100 English non-commissioned officers to receive the special French Medal Militaire given by the Emperor Napoleon 111 for valour and services rendered during the war.

He was particularly mentioned for gallantry during the attack on Sebastopol in the despatches of Major General William Eyre KCB.  James Donelan was also with his regiment when they were sent to India during the closing stages of the Mutiny.

In 1864 James Donelan received his pension after 21 years service and was appointed Sergeant Instructor to the old 37th Middlesex Rifles  ( 19th Middlesex ( Bloomsbury ) Rifles )  He then went to Ireland as Sergeant Instructor of the Militia (Royal Longford Rifles), and afterwards returned to England and for some time acted as orderly room clerk, at the Militia Barracks at Well Walk, Hampstead.

It was during this time, 1872, that he was appointed to Her Majesty’s Yeoman of the Guard, and remained connected with this honourable and ancient corps up to 1898, when he was superannuated from duties.

James Donelan died 9th January 1900, having spent 57 years in Her Majesty’s service, a record not often eclipsed.

Daniel Cambridge was born at Carrickfergus, Co. Antrim, and he enlisted in the Royal Artillery on 24 June 1839 at the age of 18, having been attested at Lisburn some four days before.  On attestation he gave his occupation as that of labourer and he is recorded as being 5 feet 8 inches tall with a fresh complexion, dark grey eyes and dark brown hair.  On enlistment he joined the 4^th Battalion and served as a Gunner and Driver with the 2^nd Company of that battalion in Malta from 14 February, 1841 to 16 March 1847.  On 1 September following, he transferred to the 1^st Battalion with which he served in Canada between the 21 August 1848 and 21 November 1853.  On 1 March 1854 he reverted briefly to the 4^th Battalion, being transferred on the 1^st of the next month to the 8^th Company, 11^th Battalion. In June this Company embarked in the transports Sydney, Jason and Harbinger and, after passing through Scutari and Varna and having changed transports, disembarked in the Crimea on 19 September as part of the Siege Train.  As such it was present at Inkerman and at all six bombardments of Sebastopol. On 3 April 1855, Cambridge was promoted Bombardier and it was in this rank that he won his Victoria Cross. The assault on the Redan was fixed for 8 September of that year and the attacking troops were to be accompanied by a small Royal Artillery spiking party commanded by Captain Gronow Davies.  Cambridge joined this party which was made up of some twenty volunteers drawn from various companies.  In the event, that assault failed and the party was not used. Nevertheless, its services were not completely wasted and Cambridge’s published citation reads as follows.

“For having volunteered for the spiking party at the assault on the Redan, 8 September 1855, and continuing therewith, after being severely wounded; and for having in the after part of the same day, gone out in front of the advanced trench, under heavy fire, to bring in a wounded man, in performing which service, he was himself wounded a second time.”

But this is not the full story.  In the library of the Royal Artillery Institution there is an MSS book which contains a copy of the original citation sent to the Adjutant-General of the Forces on 19 December 1856.  This is somewhat fuller than the published version and relates that Cambridge was first wounded in the leg but refused to retire, although recommended to do so.  The citation adds that it was in front of the advanced trench in the Quarries that he was severely wounded a second time, being shot through the jaw.  Lieutenant-Colonel Strange and Captain Davis are given as recommending the award.  Nor does the matter rest here since in a letter dated 12 July 1865 and addressed to JA Browne, the author of “England’s Artillerymen” Cambridge himself gives fuller details.  At the time Cambridge was serving as a Master-Gunner at Tarbert Fort in Argyllshire and his actual letter is to be found in an MSS book also preserved in the library of the Royal Artillery Institution, from which Browne apparently intended to produce a further edition of his work.  The relevant portion of the letter reads as follows:-

I see you have my name recorded as one of the few at the same time I would mention to you and also refer you to Major G Davis VC, that I was 3 times wounded on the 8 September.  However, it is very little difference now although I suffer from my wounds and still will from what the doctors say until my last.  I was twice wounded when asked to retire to the rear but that I did by all means declined to do although hard pressed to do so by several officers.  But finding that I had the strength to stand another chance I advance a third time with the 3^rd Buffs when I received a gunshot wound in my right jaw and by the assistance of several doctors I have at present got 185 bits of bone out of my jaw.  And I can assure you that I suffer very much from my head, I may say all over.

In the London Gazette of 26 September 1855, Cambridge is officially listed as severely wounded which, in view of the foregoing is hardly an understatement!

During March 1856, Cambridge returned home and on 21 April following was promoted Sergeant in the 7^th Company, 11^th Battalion.  As previously mentioned his recommendation for the Cross was forwarded on 19 December 1856.  This must have been unknown to Cambridge since from a copy letter preserved in the War Office; it appears that he wrote to Lord Panmure soliciting the award himself.  From the acknowledgement sent to Cambridge it appears that the original letter had been accompanied by enclosures, which may have been reports by witnesses.  Unfortunately, the letter and enclosures are no longer available but a further copy letter shows that they were forwarded to the Commander-in-Chief on 1 May 1857.  In due course the award was gazetted on the 23 June following, and the Cross presented to Cambridge by Queen Victoria in Hyde Park three days later. Soon afterwards Cambridge received the Sardinian “Al Valore Militaire” the citation for which although to some extent covering the action at the Redan, is rather wider and reads as follows:-

“Served in the trenches throughout the whole of the siege of Sebastopol. formed one of the spiking party on 8 September 1855, on which occasion he was severely wounded.  Was noticed for his cool and intrepid conduct under fire.  This non-commissioned officer has received the Victoria Cross.”

It is interesting to note that on the actual medal his rank is given correctly as Bombardier. In 1857 Cambridge was appointed Master-Gunner at Athlone, “vice McGowan about to be pensioned”.  In 1861 he was awarded the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal with a gratuity of £10; the Order making the award shows that he was still serving at Athlone and gives his unit as 8^th Battery, Coast Brigade.  His record of service shows that he was deprived of Id per diem pay for one year commencing 3 November 1853 and this may have retarded his eligibly for the medal by a corresponding period.   In 1862 he was posted as Master-Gunner to Tarbert Fort with effect from the 11 February “vice Lindsay pensioned.”  As well be seen from the address given in his letter to Browne mentioned above, in 1865 he was still serving at Tarbert Fort.  On 27 June 1871, Cambridge was pensioned after almost thirty-two years service and the same year became a Yeoman of the Guard. Adye, in his “Recollections of a Military Life” tells a story which must be about Cambridge although he does not mention him by name and states, incorrectly, that he served in the Mutiny.  Adye says:-
 

“It appears that Prince Menschikoff and two Russian Grand Dukes were present on the field of Inkerman during the day;  and that reminds me of a curious incident which occurred in relation to one of them long years afterwards.  A gunner of the Royal Artillery served throughout the war, was wounded, receiving the Victoria Cross for his gallant conduct.  Subsequently he served during the Indian Mutiny, and was again wounded.  After he was pensioned I was partially instrumental in obtaining for him an appointment in the Yeomen of the Guard.  Being on one occasion on duty in one of the corridors of Buckingham Palace (at a State Ball, if I remember rightly), a foreign officer who proved to be a Russian Grand Duke, came up, spoke to him, and examined his decorations.  He asked him about his Victoria Cross and then, seeing he had the Crimean Medal and clasp for Inkerman, said, ‘Were you at that battle?’ ‘Yes sir,’ was the reply. ‘So was I,’ said the Grand Duke.  The old Yeoman in telling me the story, said he thought he might be so bold, so he replied to the Grand Duke, ‘Well, sir, if you was at Inkerman, I hope we may never meet again on so unpleasant occasion.’”

The photograph (above) shows Cambridge in his Yeoman’s uniform and was taken by Messrs. Soper & Stedman of 147 The Stand. London.  Wilkins in his “History of the Victoria Cross” illustrates a slightly different photograph which, however, may well have been taken on the same occasion.  In the top row of medals Cambridge wards first his Long Service and Good Conduct Medal followed by the British and Turkish Crimean Medals; in the second row he wears the Al Valore Militare and lastly, the Victoria Cross.  It will be noticed that he has had the original suspenders of both the Turkish and Sardinian medals removed and the horn-shaped suspender, as issued with the Mutiny and Second China War medals, substituted.  According to his death certificate at Somerset House, Cambridge died from “general debility” on 4 June 1882, at 32 Fredrick Place, Plumstead, after an illness lasting three and half months, and his son-in-law, a Mr. James McCormick was present at his death.

Images supplied by Peter JW Howell great-great grandson - contact peter_howell@btinternet.com for more information.
Official biography from Army Historical Research; entry written by Maj PE Abbott RA (retd), psc, FRSA, FSA (Scot)

Regimental Sergeant Major Frederick Laing RVM (Silver) - Queen's Own Hussars

Frederick Laing was born on 18 Nov 1918.  At the age of 16½, he lied to the Army saying he was 18, he enlisted into the Regular Army in his home town of Liverpool.  After his depot training at Bovington, he joined the 5th Royal Tank Corp (RTC) in Liverpool, and served with the regular Army until 1961.  During his 26 years he spend 10 yrs in the Middle East and a similar time in Germany.  In 1937 he was posted to the 6th RTC at Abbasia Barracks in Cairo.  At the outbreak of war in 1939 he saw active service with the 7th Armoured Brigade of the 7th Armoured Division deployed to the Western Desert as part of Major General O'Connor and General Wavell's 30,000 strong Army of regular troops.  As a Tank Commander he saw service under General Montgomery at El Alemain. Unfortunately, the 6th Tanks were so decimated along with the Cavalry Regiments that the remnants of the Regiment and the Hussars were amalgamated and joined the 3rd Kings Own Hussars. They were re-equipped with Sherman tanks and sent to Italy fighting through, along Route 6, Cassino to Rome and onto Florence.  He was wounded at Citta Della Pieve, Italy, and was promoted to Warrant Officer II (SSM).  In 1945 he drove onto Syria against the French and Senegal and remnants of the French Foreign Legion.  In 1946 the 3rd Hussars joined the 6th Airborne Division and moved into Palestine. Whilst serving with the 6th Airborne Division in Palestine he made 62 parachute jumps.

In 1947 he was seconded to the North Somerset Yeomanry (a Territorial Army (TA) unit under the care of the 3rd Hussars), which had been in suspended animation in the immediate post-war years. He submitted the Territorials to airborne training with the emphasis on parachuting and gliding.  After two years he returned to to 3rd Hussars (RAC). After service with the 6th Armoured Division and 3rd Hussars he was posted to the UK as RSM of the Fighting Vehicles Research and Development Establishment at Chertsey, Surrey (FVRDE).  After 4 years he retired as Senior RSM of the now Queen's Own Hussars.   When he retired from the Army he took over The Ram public house at Widcombe, where he was licensee from 1961 to 1963.  He then accepted a position at with the Dynamics Group, British Aerospace, where he remained for 20 yrs until retirement.  Fred Laing joined the Queen's Body Guard 1964 and rose to the rank of Divisional Sergeant Major (DSM) and retired at the age of 70 in 1988.  DSM Laing died in 1999.   

Served with the 10th Hussars. He enlisted 15 September 1853 and served for 24 years including service in the Crimea War, being entitled to the two medals and the Long Service and Good Conduct medal. In February 1868 the Regiment was on duty at Cork at the trial of Captain William MacKay Lomasney, an Irish-American Fenian, when the whole of the Country was at boiling point. He was appointed the The Queen's Body Guard on 14 April 1888 and was still serving on 3 November 1913 when he was awarded a Meritorious Service Medal without annuity as a Yeomen of King George V's Body Guard. He was also entitled to the three Royal Commemorative Medals of 1897, 1902 and 1911.

James Templeman's father was from Somerset but was living in India when James was born 8 September 1838. The family moved back to England and James joined the 10th Hussars. He married Susan Long from Devon in 1863. They had five daughters, at least two of whom married soldiers. In 1899 Susan died and James married a much younger woman called Olive Foreman whose family were from Kent. They were both working at the Cuckoo Schools in Hanwell, James as a bandmaster. He had another family, three daughters and finally a son. His children were spread in age from 1864 to 1911. The seventh daughter was call Rita, the grandmother of Alice Noad (see below) and her brother Paul Clarke. James died aged 77 on 8 January 1916 at Ivy Mead, 10 Westminster Road, Hanwell. He is buried at the City of Westminster Cemetery there. His second wife died in 1948

Images and biography about James Templeman's life outside of the military supplied courtesy of Mr Timothy Noad whose wife Alice Noad is the great granddaughter of Yeo Templeman.  Timothy Noad also has a claim to fame;  he is an Herald Painter (heraldic artist) at the College of Arms and among his fine work are three replacement panels in the ceiling of the Chapel Royal which were placed in 2002, and the royal arms on the Golden Jubilee Medal.

Colour Sarjent Joseph Ward - Grenadier Guard.

He served as a member of The King's Body Guard from 1911-1936.  In his final year he was a Yeoman Bed Goer (YBG).  His date of birth is circa 1870 +/- 5yrs. He was born in Lincolnshire and moved to Nottinghamshire. His fathers name was John Ward.  (research continues)

Image and write up supplied by Mr Paul Stuart Bennett.  Joseph Ward was Mr Bennett's Great Uncle.

Michael Hynes was born in December 1836 in Chatham, Kent. In early 1851, at the age of 14, Michael, and his 10 year-old brother Francis, enlisted as drummers in the 31^st Regiment, in which Francis Hynes, their father, was then a sergeant.  In 1853 Michael and his brother embarked from Cork with the 31^st to the Ionian Islands. In May 1855 the 31^st was sent to the Crimea.  The 31^st was engaged in the trenches around Sebastopol and took part in the assault on the Redan in September 1855.  Michael was awarded the Crimea medal with Sebastopol clasp and the Turkish medal. 

In 1856 Michael and his brother accompanied the Regiment to Malta. In 1857 they went with the Regiment to Gibraltar and in May 1858 the Regiment was sent to the Cape of Good Hope where it stayed until October 1858. In October 1858, towards the end of the Indian Mutiny, Michael and his brother accompanied the 31^st to Poona, in India.

In late 1859 the 31^st was put on readiness for China, and in May 1860, arrived in Hong Kong.  From Hong Kong the Regiment was taken to Talienwan Bay on the coast of China to prepare for the attack on the Taku Forts, as part of the French and British response to the breach of the Treaty of Tientsin.  In August 1860 the 31^st took part in the attack on the Chinese forces located at the mouth of the Pei-Ho River at Peh-tang, Sin-ho and Tang-Ku.  The Regiment also took part in the capture of the Taku forts effectively ending China’s resistance. Michael was awarded the China medal with Taku clasp.

Michael spent the next three years in China. In 1861 the 31^st was garrisoned in Tientsin. In April 1862 it went to Shanghai as part of operations against the Taiping rebels at Kah-din, Najow and Tsolin. 
 

Michael and his brother returned to England in November 1863.  Michael was discharged upon the completion of a limited period of engagement on 30 March 1864. At the same time, Francis Hynes, his brother, went to Kneller Hall to train as a bandmaster.

Michael re-enlisted in May 1864, this time in the 58^th Regiment and by June of that year, was a Drum Major in a service company of the 58^th.  In July 1864 he sailed with the 58^th to India.  Between 1864 and 1870 Michael served with the 58^th in Calcutta, Benares, Darjeeling and Allahabad.  From 1870 he served with his regiment on the North-West Frontier at Sealkote and Nowshera. In 1870 he married the seventeen year-old Margaret Feaver in Sealkote, and in 1871 they had a son, William Alfred also in Sealkote. 

In 1873 Michael transferred as Drum Major to the depot of the 38^th Regiment in England.  In 1874 Michael and Margaret had another son, Francis.  In March 1875 Michael was discharged from the 38^th and enlisted into the 4th battalion of the Royal Fusiliers (Militia) as a Sergeant Drummer. At the time of his discharge he was in receipt of a silver medal for long service and good conduct.

On 10 December 1885 Michael was admitted to the Yeomen of the Guard. In 1897 Michael was in the 4^th Division. While a Yeoman of the Guard, Michael was awarded the Her Majesty’s Jubilee Medal for 1887 with clasp for the Diamond Jubilee 1897 and then His Majesty’s Coronation Medal for 1902.
 

Michael and Margaret had eight children, although three died in childhood, including their first.  Michael Hynes died on 18 May 1906, at the age of 70.

Biography from archives and Paul Hynes, the great-great grandson of Michael Hynes.

Serjt Maj James Gilchrist - Duke of Cornwall Light Infantry

James "Jamie" Gilchrist was born on 3 Feb 1847 in St John, New Brunswick, Canada. It's unknown from where his parents originated but he lived most of his young life in Scotland, travelling to Belfast at the tender age of 15yrs.  How, isn't too much of a mystery as travel between Scotland and Ireland even then wasn't that arduous. The question why, as a Scot, he would contemplate anything other than celebrating New Year's Day rather than join the Army is the mystery.  At 1245hrs on 1 Jan 1862, aged 14yrs and 11 months. He chose the 1st Foot Regt, The Royal Scots, and signed to serve 13yrs and 1 month. On enlisting he was:

14yrs and 11 months
4ft 9¾"tall
Florid complexion
Grey eyes
Red hair
Mole under his right nipple

He was passed fit by the Medical Officer (MO) of 4th Hussars and accepted medically by the MO 9th Depot Batt. His Army number when attested was 900, but four days later it was 728.  This could have occurred when he was drafted to the 1st Foot as it was his number for most of his service. Until 1881 each regiment had its own service numbers.  His service career:

War Service

1878/9 - Afghanistan. During the siege and operations around Kandahar on several occasions for conspicuous gallantry and bravery before the enemy. At the sortie of Kandahar on 16 Aug 1880 was highly commended by the late Colonel AG Daubeney, Commanding Officer, 2nd Royal Fusiliers and again at the Battle of Kandahar on 1 Sep 1880.

Service

28 Jul 1866 - 12 Nov 1870  East India
21 Oct 1873 - 17 Jan 1880  East India  (Promoted Corporal 16 Dec 1873. Promoted Serjt 7 Apr 1879)
18 Jan 1880 - 21 May 1881 South Afghanistan (Promoted Col Serjt 21 Dec 1880)
22 May 1881 - 29 Feb 1892  East India (Promoted Serjt Maj 18 May 1886)

Medals - War Medal and One Clasp

Afghanistan
Long Service with Gratuity
Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee
His Majesty's Coronation 1902
Meritorious Service & Annuity £10
King's Coronation 1911

On 18 May 1886 he was transferred to the unattached list and appointed Serjt Maj at Depot Wellington with the Duke of Cornwall Light Infantry where he completed his regular Army on 29 Feb 1892 with 30 years and 58 days service. James Gilchrist was appointed to the Yeomen of the Guard on 14 Nov 1895 and served in the 3rd Division.  In 1916 he is on the Roll as Yeoman Bed Hanger and retired as that rank on 2 Feb 1917.  On 22 Dec 1920 James Gilchrist died and buried at Reigate but it's unknown at what cemetery and sadly his grave is also unknown. 

From letters and research belonging to Cheryl Bourke, Great Granddaughter, and archives at St James's Palace.

Daniel Charles Elkins, Quartermaster Serjeant, 9th (Queen's Royal) Lancers. Born 8 October 1852, attested for the Cavalry 5 April 1871 and embarked with the Regiment for India 9 January 1875, served in Afghanistan, was a Umballa, Bengal in 1885 and discharged to pension in September 1895.  Elkins was recommended successfully for a Long Service and Good Conduct Medal as a Serjeant on 1 July 1889. Appointed to the King's Body Guard 22 August 1902 vice Troop Corporal Major Walker, Royal Horse Guards. 

Elkins was unsuccessfully recommended for the Meritorious Service Medal and annuity in 1922 but, the medal, without annuity, was finally awarded in Army Order 142 of 1936. 


He would have been present at most, if not all, Annual Inspections but it's definitely known that he was on duty at the Inspection at St James's Palace by Field Marshal His Royal Highness The Duke of Connaught and Strathearn KG for King George V.  He was also present at the Inspection of the King's Guard by King Edward VIII on 26 June 1936 that would almost certainly have been carried out in the garden at Buckingham Palace. 

Daniel's medals were sold by Collett in June, 1983 for £265:- Afghan 1878-80 (no clasp as Serjeant), Coronation 1911, Jubilee 1935, LS & GV (Victorian as Serjeant) and MSM (George V Coinage Head as SQMS).  The only other men on those roles known to have been entitled to the 1935 Jubilee Medal were Quartermaster Serjeant White, Conspicuous Gallantry Medal, Royal Marine Artillery, Colour Serjeant Longmuir 1/Seaforth Highlanders and Regimental Serjeant Major John Fraser, RVM, (in the Yeoman Warder Section).



 

Notes by Patricia Laughlin...Above image - "This is the newspaper cutting referring to the Invitation Card (above). My Great Aunt Lilian is standing next to Daniel and again (I think) that could be Kate on the extreme right. 


Left image - "My Grandparents' wedding - obviously that's Daniel on the left. My Great-Grandparents Fanny Connors (nee George) (Daniel's sister-in-law) is on the extreme right and my Great Aunt Lilian is sitting to the right of the bride. I have a feeling that the lady on the right of the soldier in the back row could be Daniel's daughter Kate (Theresa Patricia).

Main write-up from The Yeomen of the Guard 1823-1903 by Ian McInnes
Images and personal details supplied courtesy of Mrs Patricia Laughlin (Daniel Elkins' Great-Granddaughter)