What a wonderful time we have at Hallowe'en, when old comrades, young soldiers and their guests get together to enjoy each others company; complemented by the fine food and wine, enhanced by the stirring sound of the Pipes and Drums.

For the first time, all the Victoria Crosses won by London Scots are on display together in the 1914-1919 War Memorial. George Mitchell's VC has been lent to us thanks to the kindness of Mr Colin Rayden the Chief Master of the school that bears Mitchell's name.

On a sadder note we realised that we have not had a First War Veteran present at our dinner. Stewart Oncken was the last to have attended, but now he has passed on to join the Great Majority. A few others still survive, but are now too frail to join us and enjoy the evening which commemorates their great deeds.

At about 1840 the Top Table is piped to the hall by Pipe Major lan King, and the rest of us follow. We then turn to face the First War Memorial, where a wreath is laid by Pte Daniel Bessell, then the lament is played by the Pipe Major: Following this grace is said by the Reverend John Maclndoe and we settle down to enjoy our dinner. The haggis is piped in, and Colin Granger follows behind twirling the whisky bottles in the customary manner.

A little later we have The Presentation of Awards. The Messines Trophy being presented to Cpl Murdo Durrant by Major General Mike Walsh, CB, DSO, Knight President of the Honourable Society of Knights of the Round Table. Cpl Durrant's citation read as follows: 

"Tonights Messines prize winner has served in the London Scottish since June 85, enlisting into No 6 Platoon, then at St Mary Cray in Kent. During his time with G Company he has also served with 4 Platoon and Recce, as well as Company HQ. Over the past two years his outstanding contribution has been to the Company Signals Detachment as Sigs Det Commander and RSI. At the end of last year he attended The School of Infantry Signals Wing, on the Regimental Signals Instructors Course where he achieved a distinction, a rarely awarded grade on a TA course. Despite the demands of his civilian employment where he is a Sgt in the Metropolitan Police, his attendance on Company weekends, and in particular field training exercises, is first class, and he is meticulous in the execution of his duties in support of the company. At Camp this year he attended the Junior Officer and SNCO Cadre where he was rated well, and last week returned having successfully completed the Pln Sgts Battle Course at Brecon at the grand old age of 21. In addition to his purely military duties he has made a great contribution to the life of the Company as President of the JRC."

Then the McDonald Trophy was presented by Colonel John Clemence to L/Cpl Geoff Young; whose citation read as follows:

"Tonights McDonald Trophy winner joined G Company in July 87 after a distinguished career in The London Scottish Cadets. He enlisted into No 6 Platoon at Bromley, before being transferred to the Reconnaissance Platoon with which he served on several major exercises in BAOR. On one of his first weekends in the Company, whilst still a junior soldier, he was co-opted into the Companys Cambrian Patrol Team where he performed with distinction. In April last year he volunteered for a six month attachment to The Gordons in Northern Ireland, where he served on patrol, principally in the nationalist area of West Belfast. Upon return to the Company he returned to 6 Platoon and was promoted LCpl where he has proved himself to be a resourceful and effective section commander who sets an excellent example to the men in his platoon."

After the Loyal Toasts proposed by Colonel John Clemence, Major Patrick Layden read messages from Ken Duncan, Perth, Australia on behalf of John Allen, Peter Judge and 'Young' James Eadle, "who are thinking of you and give their regards to all at HQ". Alan Hardinge, Victoria, Australia. "On the occasion of Hallowe'en to wish all the attendees at the function, on behalf of the few of us London Scots in this neck of the woods. We hope you all have a nice memorable evening and we here will be thinking of you". Richard Holliday OC 'G' Coy 72-74. "His greetings to all at '95' especially old friends and 'G' Company". "Still fighting for breath. Have not been able to attend any function for past 14 months. Regret cannot be present to ruin proceedings. Regards to all and best wishes for a marvellous evening". "Chips" (Hon. Sec. 3rd Bn) - "Wishing all London Scots a very good evening on their special Night, Sincerely". Mary Souter. "Will you please convey my apologies to the Colonel and all those present for my unavoidable absence". Ronnie MacPherson. "My apologies for absence and best wishes for an enjoyable evening". John Bannan. "I much regret that I shall not be able to attend". J. A. Hewson. Arthur F. M. MacLennan aged 94 of Goispic, Sutherland. (Who was in the 1st Bn. in 1917) "Sends best wishes for the evening - also the future". "Apologies from Colonel Attwooll that he is unable to attend Hallowe'en but he is unwell". "Deeply regret enforced absence 'on Duty' in Abu Dhabi Hilton. Please convey greetings to all assembled at '95' for Hallowe'en. Strike Sure and best wishes for a great evening". Jock Anderson.

There followed the 1st set by the Pipe Band: Slow Air Dream Angus, March Copper Mill, Strathspey Molly Connell, Reel The Ale is Dear, Slow Air Waly Waly, Jig The Jiggernaut. This was greeted by enthusiastic applause.

Then followed the address by the Chairman, Colonel John Clemence:

"General Purdon, General Walsh, Brigadier Ross, Colonel Thornycroft, fellow colonels, welcome guests, gentlemen and fellow London Scots, I am sure that the thought which is uppermost in all minds, as we gather once again to commemorate the deeds of the past on the Anniversary of Messines 1914 is, in fact, what the future holds for us, The London Scottish. It would, of course, be very nice if I were able to announce what the outcome of Options for Change will be. The fact is, that in judicial terms, the jury is out and judgement will not be given until December 19th which, by chance, is the day Parliament breaks up for Christmas.

However, I can tell you something. Guidelines for the re-organisation of the TA were passed down from Divisions of Infantry to Honorary Colonels in the week of September 23rd. As a group, we were asked to make recommendations as to how existing Units could be fitted into the proposed structure. In London there are to be three TA Infantry Battalions, each 490 strong in volunteers and based on a three Rifle Company structure, with uncertainty, however, on their role and the support weapon element. It was made clear that the future of The London Scottish and The London Irish could only be in association with a TA Battalion in London. The three Battalions in London are 10 Para, into whom it would be difficult for non-Para Units to fit, 4 RGJ, which is a fully recruited Battalion, and 8 Queen's Fusiliers, a mixed Battalion of Queen's and Fusiliers of comparatively recent formation. The arithmetic would have defeated a better accountant than I, and if disbandments were to be avoided, the alternatives seemed to be in no particular order:-

    1.     8 QF to be allowed four Rifle Companies, London Scottish, London Irish, Queen's and Fusiliers.

    2.     5th Queen's Fusiliers to absorb The London Scottish, and The London Irish to go to 4 RGJ.

    3.     A new London Regiment to be formed of London Scottish, London Irish and Fusiliers.

You will appreciate that different Regiments view these with different degrees of enthusiasm, and in spite of meetings in an attempt to come up with a unanimously supported conclusion, the Honorary Colonels in London failed to do so, and I suspect that all of us have made our own representations and most of us have written private letters to the Director of Infantry. However what I can say is that my counterparts in The London Irish and the Fusiliers have strongly supported The London Regiment concept. Very strong representations were also made on the subjects of PSI's in future being provided from the same sources as hitherto, guarantees over uniforms, etc. and also Regimental representation through the retention of Regimental Colonels or equivalent. More than that I cannot say except that I am reasonably confident that we have a future based within a London Unit. One of the reasons for my confidence is that at the time of making my representations, G Company was the strongest individually recruited Company in London, and my thanks go to Mark Ludlow and the Serving Company for putting me in that position of strength.

I can also say how grateful I have been for the understanding and support that I have had from General Sir Peter Graham, both as Colonel of The Gordon Highlanders, and Colonel Commandant of The Scottish Division. Bearing in mind that this has been at a time when The Gordon Highlanders were unexpectedly told to merge with The Queen's Own Highlanders, we must be doubly grateful. I know what a personal shock this was for him.

I must also say how grateful all of us in London must be for the part played, and for the support and advice received, from Greater London TAVRA and, particularly, the Secretary, Brigadier Peter Bowser.

I sincerely hope that the trust you have placed on me at this difficult juncture will not have been misplaced and so we shall now have to wait and see, and your prayers will be appreciated, whichever God you happen to communicate with.

I would like to thank all those in various capacities who have served the Regiment over the year. My most sincere thanks to you all for your support.

I have already paid tribute to the Serving Company, about whom Mark Ludlow will tell you more later, but I must mention our appreciation for our three PSI'S, WOII Martin 'Bigfoot' Barclay with our thanks for also running 1st Tuesday Shooting, C/Sgt Mick Kessack who I hope is now recovering quickly from his stay in hospital, and Sgt lan Strutt. Also our PSAO, Captain Terry Nolan, without all of whom the volunteers would be hard put to perform at all.

I think that is enough of Colonel's talk, and I must turn to our guests whom it is my great pleasure to welcome. Firstly, may I say how welcome are all our private guests, many of whom I am sure are people of great distinction. I cannot single out individuals, but that does not mean that you are in any way less welcome at this our most significant Regimental Function. Our Regimental guests this year are:-

Major General Mike Walsh, who I welcome again as an old friend of the Regiment, and who has attended these Reunions before in his capacity as Knight President of The Honourable Society of The Knights of The Round Table.

Brigadier Kim Ross, OBE, is currently Commander of 56 London Brigade, and is late of the Scots Guards, having been 2IC of their second Battalion when David Rankin-Hunt was serving, and I am told he used to take the Subalterns racing greyhounds. It seems to me to be a very hard thing to expect Subalterns to compete with greyhounds. He was formerly an instructor at the Staff College, and commanded the 1st Battalion, becoming later Chief of Staff at HQ Scotland. He had the good sense to marry a nurse, which I can personally recommend, and is immensely popular in his position in 56 Brigade.

Lieutenant Colonel David Thornycroft has recently taken over as CO of 1st Battalion 51st Highland Volunteers and is attending his first Hallowe'en. I would like to wish you David, from us all, a most happy tenure, and as long as we remain in 1/51 you will have our wholehearted support. None of us know the effective date of implementation of Options, but we are looking forward to the 25th Anniversary celebration in 1992. It has been a tribute to succeeding CO's of the Battalion that it has lasted to that landmark as one of the best, if not the best, Volunteer Battalion in the country, and if it is to become the Third Volunteer Battalion of The Black Watch, we wish it well. Having been in at the beginning in 1967, it will be particularly poignant to leave it as its Deputy Honorary Colonel.

John Mclndoe our Honorary Regimental Chaplain from St Columba's is always most welcome, and I thank you once again John for gracing our table.

Our Guest of Honour is a man who, as a result of Options for Change, I have been privileged to meet, get to know, admire, and work with. Major General Corran Purdon is Colonel of The London Irish Rifles. You will all have your own memories of The London Irish, alongside whom London Scots of First War and Second War vintage fought. Speaking to London Scots of the Second War vintage, I have come to realise how much we relied upon each other Regimentally, and for the last twenty-five years they, like us, have been a sub-unit of a Battalion from whom they were separated by some distance, plus, in their case, some water. Corran's "Whose Who" entry is most remarkable. His father was also a Major General, DSO, OBE and MC, and Corran's son, an Irish Guardsman, is about to command the Welsh Guards. Corran was commissioned into the Royal Ulster Rifles in 1939, and from then until 1965 he seems to have been wherever trouble was, to such an extent, that one wonders whether the trouble was there before Corran arrived. Palestine, Egypt, Malaya, Cyprus, Borneo, and from then on, not content to put his feet up, he commanded the Sultan of Oman's Armed Forces and was Director of Operations in the Doha War of 1967-70.

He has a CBE, an Omani bravery medal and DSM for gallantry, together with an MC which he won in 1945 when he was wounded. Later on he became Deputy Commissioner of The Royal Hong Kong Police, (for which he holds the CPM - not characters per minute). He was Honorary Colonel of The Queen's University of Belfast OTC, President of the Army Gymnastic Union, more of which later, and was appointed Honorary Colonel of The London Irish Rifles Company in 1986. Throughout the build up to the issue of guidelines, we realised that we were in a similar, if not the same boat, as the Irish (In their case, of course a coracle), and that our individual futures might be more secure if, once again, we fought alongside rather than against the Irish. Corran has been commissioned for 52 years, with the result that there are almost no senior officers in the Army today whom he did not know when they were in a much more junior positions.

It has been a great pleasure working with you Corran. I think we have been a reasonable double act. We can both agree that all the best things come in small packages, and I hope that if ever I meet your pack of hounds I shall receive a less raucous welcome than your rnilkman.

All I can say is that we have fought a good campaign, and a clean one most of the time. If we succeed it will be a most happy conclusion, and if we fail we shall always know and remember who our friends were in time of need. In addition, with a continued willingness, as in his younger days, to venture into areas of trouble, Corran has kindly agreed to respond to the toast, for which I would now ask you to stand.

"To our guests, coupled with the name of Major General Corran Purdon".

In his reply for the guests Major General Corran Purdon said:

Those who masquerade under the name of politicians and purport to represent us have left the announcement of TA Options until the 19th December, which will just have to be the last day before parliament recesses for the Christmas break. As retired, one has the advantage of being able to say these things.

I must thank Colonel John Clemence for all the work he put in on our behalf in these difficult times, and, if we achieve the outcome which we all desire, to him must go much of the credit".

Colonel Clemence thanked Major General Purdon for his speech then introduced Major Mark Ludow for his Report on the Company, which was as follows:

"Firstly, and breaking with tradition, I would like to take this opportunity, on behalf of all ranks G Company, to thank Colonel John Clements, our Honorary Colonel, for all the work and many hours of midnight oil that he has burnt on our behalf ensuring that we get the best possible result from the TA review. I feel confident that, largely as a result of his efforts, we in the London Scottish can look to the future with some optimism.

For our part the Company has had a successful year, not least on the vital recruiting and retention front where healthy number of recruits in the pipeline including a fair number of ex regulars, including a Gurkha clerk.

No review of the year however could be complete without mention of the arrival of our cook - Pte John Thom - he has made a considerable impact - across London District - not to mention on Sgt Major Welsh!

To all of you welcome. 

We are now in a strong position to launch into our 1992 campaign, once the Governments plans for the TA have been announced and we have a better idea as to our future role and grouping.

Like the rest of the TA we are at the moment confronted with a problem. It is always difficult to sell a product when you yourself are not yet certain exactly what it is that you are expected to sell.

One thing however is certain, we would not be able to sustain our numbers without the continuing success of our platoons in Bromley. As well as being consistently well recruited, the Bromley Scottish bring a certain South London style to the Regiment and we owe them a lot.

On the training front, 1991 has been an interesting and demanding year.

We had an early success in April when a band of gladiators (otherwise known as The Courage Trophy Team), commanded by Capt Rupert Clements were placed eleventh out of some 90 teams in the London District Courage Trophy competition.

This was our first entry for many years and bodes well for the future. Next year we aim to win.

Undoubtedly the highlight of this year (and for many years) was the issue of the new SA80 rifle and support weapon.

We were the first TA Infantry in London to receive the weapon, after the SAS, and we have devoted a large part of the year to conversion. An effective Cadre was run by the SPSI Sgt Major Martin Barclay, ably assisted by LCpls Collins and Young, to whom a lot of the credit should go.

Our shooting has improved by over 30% across the board and we are confident we have a very accurate and effective weapon.

SA80 has been an excellent boost for moral and has been the focus for both our skill at arms and tactical training this year.

As ever the main point in the year was camp. This year we travelled to Stanford in Norfolk, well known to generations of London Jocks and probably the best infantry training area in the UK.

Camp - or Annual Training Period (ATP) as Lt Norman would rather I say, was scheduled to be a Cadre Camp. We achieved a number of successes, most notably Pte (now LCpl) John Druce achieved the Best Student on the JNCO Cadre and OCdt Blair Radford was placed first on the Junior Officer/SNCO Cadre. A big well done.

In addition we got in some good section level field firing and provided a spirited terrorist type enemy for the HSF, during which Pte Cruickshank staged a re-enactment of his gallant forebears VC (much to the consternation of Major MacRae!).

We were very honoured to be asked to provide a platoon to mount guard alongside The Gordons at Edinburgh Castle this year. A great deal of effort was put in in preparation, in particular by Lt Stewart Young, alias Banquos Ghost, and that oft unsung hero, Alan Morris, our Regimental Secretary, to them went the task of clothing a 22 man guard in No. 1's with all the trappings. No easy task. That they did so was no inconsiderable achievement. Our thanks go also to Major Nigel Rutherford-Young for his advice and assistance. Most of all however, the credit must go to the Jocks who mounted the guard. They were faced with no easy task. Not least the job of mastering both double sentry drill and SA80 arms drill. That they did so in such a short time (from warning order to go) is to their credit. Suffice to say the challenge was met in true G Company style, and many compliments were received as to the guards performance.

Talking of performance, particular thanks comes from the Edinburgh Detachment of the Royal Military Police to Pte Fred Hugil for his late night demonstration of the Highland Fling, if that's what he was doing!

Pte Hugil is now on a 1 year attachment to 1 Gordons in Berlin. The company has continued to provide volunteers on attachment to the Regular Army. LCpl Geoff Young has returned having completed a tour with The Gordons in West Belfast. It is particularly good to see LCpl Ross Keal here tonight having just returned from an eight month tour in Northern Ireland attached to The Black Watch, operating mainly in the border area. Cpl Keal is currently sampling the delights of regimental soldiering near Shrewsbury and returns to G Company in December. We welcome you back.

In addition to In-Camp training, we have run a series of successful w/e exercises this year, concentrating in the main on patrolling and team and section level tactics. We have been well supported by 666 Squadron, Army Air Corps (V), The TAs only Air Squadron, who provide a superb service with their Scout helicopters, much enhancing our exercises and Pte Stokes' attendance.

Another enhancement to our weekend training has been our RMO(A), Capt Mad Doc MacArthur who has proved himself equally adept at blowing people up as he is at patching them up. In this he follows Colonel Anderson in a strong London Jock tradition.

As a result of the decline of the big exercise in Germany, we have attempted to get as many soldiers as possible to Europe on the NATO Patrol competition circuit. In September we sent a small, but elite, team consisting of Cpl Bill Brett, with LCpl Collins, Hallet and Rowe, to Switzerland for the Annual Swiss Army Patrol competition. They were able to resist all attempts to recruit them for the Croatian National Guard and appear to have had a good time! We aim to repeat this exercise and others like it next year.

Finally, congratulations to 2/Lt Cameron McCulloch who commissioned into the Regiment last month, and to Cpls Graham Martin and Murdo Durrant who successfully completed Senior Brecon last week. A not inconsiderable achievement.

I must finish with a word of thanks to Sgt Major Martin Barclay our SPSI and his team of PSIs CSgt Mick Keswick and Sgt lan Strutt. Even if the Orderly Room has looked more like a casualty ward over the past couple of months, they bring true Gordons style to all we do, and we trust this will continue in future.

To summarise, despite the current uncertainty concerning our future your Company is in good health, and looking to the coming review with confidence. 1992 brings prospects of new challenge and a new role - but wearing the Hodden Grey.

Gentlemen I propose the Toast to the Regiment". Colonel Clemence thanked Major Ludlow for his report, and then there followed the 2nd set by the Pipe Band: Slow March Flower of Scotland, Marches Cock o' the North, The Black Bear, All the Blue Bonnets are Over the Border, Bonnie, Daft Donald. The Regimental March brought the programme to an end, and the tremendous applause indicated the appreciation of a wonderful performance.

After Pipe Major lan King had partaken of a dram with Colonel Clemence, the dinner had to come to an end with the evening hymn. The verses being sung by Major Patrick Layden, Jack Tilbury, Ted Coogan, P/M lan King and Colonel John Clemence. We were so awestruck by Ted Coogan's magnificent performance that the chorus was unable to respond. However, we did recover for God Save the Queen.

We thank all those who made this Hallowe'en such an unforgettable occasion, including our new caterers under Audrey Scriven, the London Scottish Cadets who patiently acted as wine waiters, and our special thanks to the Pipes and Drums for their inspired playing which added the crowning touch to a great evening: We really cannot wait until next year.

Messages to and from Queen Mother were as follows: 

To Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother This year our Hallowe'en Reunion is overshadowed by concern for our future and what it will hold, but all Members of the Regiment, whether serving or not, gathered at 95 Horseferry Road to celebrate the anniversary of Messines 1914, send loyal and devoted greetings to our Honorary Colonel.

John Clemence Regimental Colonel

From Clarence House:

To The Regimental Colonel The London Scottish:

I was very touched by your message which I much appreciated.

To all members of the London Scottish, past and present, I send my greetings on the occasion of the Hallowe'en Reunion, with an assurance that my thoughts are very much with the Regiment at this anxious time in its loyal and distinguished history.

Elizabeth R Honorary Colonel October 1991

Last updated 25th September 2000