Unit History: Lancers

UK tour with the 9th Lancers Band in 1953

Written by william denis haydock

I was cornet/piano player with the Band and between May and August we played at Leamington Spa (Coronation fortnight), Brighton, Weymouth and closing the tour with two weeks at Folkstone.
When I was posted to Detmold Germany I was immediately struck by the comfort plus the well prepared food of Lothian Barracks. We had double glazing and a tiled bathroom and only six to a room. Where I had come from, Catterick camp in Yorkshire, was an absolute disgrace - rat infested huts and good food spoiled.During my time in Germany I had two Christmas Dinners 1952 - 53 and they were magnificent. I remember Sgt. Geoff Daniel bringing tea in bed for us on Christmas morning - in a bucket.

9th Lancers Band - Detmold -Germany in 1952

Written by william denis haydock

One memory of 1952 which I shall always remember occurred on Christmas Eve.At the time I drank very little alcohol but on this day I drank whisky, a drink forbidden to other ranks. I drunkenly closed the door to one of the rooms but in doing so my hand and wrist went through the glass part cutting through the vein.Blood gushed everywhere and along the stairs, across the road on my way to the MI room. I thought that I was going to die being in a drunken stupor.I had 12 stitches inserted in my wrist which still show the marks today.I somehow remember playing piano in the Corporal's Mess with one hand, the left,with a little ensemble.Now this is where time plays a trick with my memory.The Corporal's Mess gig must have been on Boxing Day.I certainly learned a lesson that Christmas about the dangers of drink when one is not used to it.I was only 18 at the time and definitely not streetwise.

Detmold-Band of 9th Lancers- Isla in 1954

Written by william denis haydock

Isla Aule, 15 years of age, worked in the NAFFI - black hair - full of life. She was a very good friend to me - we grew very fond of each other during my time in Detmold, Germany, BAOR 15.I was a very young eighteen year old doing my National Service. Last saw her at the gates of Lothian Barracks as I was leaving in a three ton lorry for the UK and demob.She was standing beside her bicycle with low slung handlebars. I knew she was genuinely fond of me as I was of her.I still have a letter from her dated September 1954 - it is in the form of a poem which I had translated in the late eighties - the translation revealed it to have been written as it really was by a teenage girl. We were just a couple of kids having a nice time. I hope life treated her well.

17/21 Lancers in 1966

Written by james robert mackay

i am sure i done a grooms course at 17/21 either in paderborn or falignbostel

16/5 Queens Royal Lancers, in 1974

Written by matthew barrigan

remember being fired at by a Turkish tank whilst doing a patrol around the big communication base in Cyprus, we were in a ferret scout car, i reported the contact and was told to get the hell out of it, told my driver Fred Frost to high reverse not realising Jonathan Dimbley had parked his mini bus right behind us, did`nt even have to fill an accident form in after wrecking his bus