The Association

 Formation

 The Grenadier Guards Old Comrades Association was formed as a result of a suggestion made after a review of the Brigade of Guards held by His Majesty The King in April 1913

 First Meeting

 H.R.H. The Colonel having approved the formation and the then Lieutenant Colonel Commanding The Regiment having been assured of generous financial support called an inaugaral meeting of all ranks. This was held on the 14th November 1913. At this meeting, officer bearers and a Committee were elected and rules were drawn up
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By April 1914

 On the 17th April 1914, five months after the first meeting the membership had reached 1,000 on the 31st July in the same year, immediately prior to the outbreak of the Great War branches had been formed at Bristol, Cardiff, Derby, Manchester, Nottingham and Reading.

First AGM 

 On the 17th April 1914, five months after the first meeting the membership had reached 1,000 on the 31st July in the same year, immediately prior to the outbreak of the Great War branches had been formed at Bristol, Cardiff, Derby, Manchester, Nottingham and Reading.
The first Annual General Meeting was held at Chelsea Barracks on 26th March 1915.
                                                                                           

Now 48 Branches,
with 11,531 Members

 From then on and for the next years up to 1949 other branches were formed (see the Short History of the Association in the Thirty-Fifth Annual report (1950)) until today and after some re-organisation there are now 48 Branches with members of the Association spread all over the world and as at the 12th January 2006 the Life Membership Roll gives a total of 11,531 members.

New Name

 The title of the Association was changed to the "Grenadier Guards Association" at the Annual General Meeting held on 1st April 1967
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Registered Charity

 The Association is Registered under the Charities Act 1960 (No 287265)

Rules

The Association Rules and By-Laws for Branches were revised as recently as March 1999 but the objects of the Association have not changed since the beginning in 1913 and these are:

  1. To maintain connection between past and present members of the Grenadier Guards, and thereby promote their mutual interests and the welfare of the Regiment generally.
  2. To grant financial assistance to needy members or their widows, or on behalf of their children, provided their adverse circumstances are of an unavoidable nature and that the funds of the Association permit.
  3. To circulate information concerning the Regiment and the advantages of service therein, and to encourage desirable candidates to join.
  4. To arrange meetings in London or such other place as may help to promote the objects shown above.

 

Terms of Membership 

The Terms of Membership are :

  1. Serving Members:
    All Serving Officers, Serving Warrant Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers and Guardsmen who have completed recruit training.
  2. Members:
    All Officers who have served in the Regiment.
    Officers and Soldiers of other Corps or Regiments who have formerly served in the Grenadier Guards or the Regimental Band.
    Discharged Soldiers, provided they have completed their recruit training in the Regiment and have been awarded a character assesssment of not less than "Satisfactory".

Members of Associations of other Regiments of the Household Division may be elected as Associate Members of branches

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Subscriptions

Association Subscription Rates - Life Membership

  • Up to the age of 55 years - £5.00
  • 55 years of age or over     - £3.00

All subscriptions are paid to the Branch Secretary and the monies retained in Branch funds.
Applications for membership should be made through the nearest Branch Honorary Secretary (see list of Branches and Secretaries Telephone Numbers)

Magazine - "The Grenadier Gazette"

Regimental Magazine.

A joint Regimental/Association Magazine titled "The Grenadier Gazette" is published each year in March/April and copies, with payment, can be ordered through the Local Branch Secretaries or direct from Association Headquarters in London.

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   Association Goods

   CLICK HERE FOR          PRICE LISTS

There is an Association Goods section where one can obtain such items as Ties, Buttons Brooches for Ladies, Membership Badges and all sorts of other items. The list is shown on a seperate page of this website. Click on the "Association Goods" title in the side panel to reach the price list. The list of items is also shown in the Grenadier Gazette each year with the current price but for up to date postage costs (ring 020 7414 3285 for advice) should be added to the cost of the items required.

 

Newsletter Autumn 2007

Another outstanding year is almost to a close, with the Association beginning to show dramatic signs of prospering. The countless new and divers activities being undertaken by many Branches can only serve to encourage members to take on active rolls.

With the determined backing of The Commanding Officer and The Sergeant Major, the Battalion are also making an energetic attempt to close the gap between the serving Association Members and the non serving members, this initiative will become more apparent in the New Year.

1. The Colonel's Fund Grenadier Guards

Many of you will have heard of the Grenadier Guards Association Wounded In Action Fund and indeed, many of you have already donated funds to it. The initiative has been so well received that the Regiment has now decided to ring fence the Fund within the Regimental Charities. More details can be found in a Brochure shortly to be distributed (see www.grenade.org.uk ). Suffice it to say, that if you are tax payer and wish to donate to the Fund, we will be able to claim 28 pence in each pound back from Revenue and Customs. This very worthwhile cause will enable the Regiment to be at the heart of the recovery of all those Grenadiers, and their families, who have been affected by serious injury or disability, by providing the right support, at the right time and in the right place.

Notes from the Regimental Adjutant

Since their return, the 1st Battalion have had a brief spell of leave, held a very moving Thanksgiving Service in Aldershot Garrison Church, and enjoyed numerous parties and a Battalion Reformation Parade on 27 November 2007 which was attended by The Colonel. Thereafter, they go on their Post Operational Tour Leave until 21 Jan 08 which will be followed by a very busy programme in 2008 culminating in a Battalion exercise in Kenya and marks the start of their work-up training for their return to Helmand Province in mid to late 2009. Aside from the high cost in terms of those who were killed and seriously injured, the Battalion had an outstandingly successful tour in Afghanistan and has been highly praised for it right up the Chain of Command. Hopefully, this success will be recognised in the announcement of operational awards in December.

Plans for The Colonel's Fund Appeal continue apace. The Appeal is a window of opportunity, sandwiched as it is between two tours in Afghanistan, for the Regiment to ensure that it has sufficient funds available to exercise its duty of care in helping to deal with the injury and welfare problems which are expected to arise from these and future periods of active service. We are working on a Programme of Events for the Appeal which will run throughout 2008 and any fund-raising ideas will be welcomed by the Project Officer, Captain Jeremy Quarrie, who can be contacted on 02074143281 projectofficer@grengds.com

Many of you will have heard the sad news of the death of Brigadier Peter Prescott, MC on 31 Oct 2007. June Prescott's address is: West House, 66 High Street, Rolvenden, Kent, TN17 4LW.

2. The First Battalion

As you know, after the deployment to Iraq which ended in September last year, the Battalion conducted the quickest turnaround the British Army has ever seen, in order to enable the Battalion to deploy on operations in Afghanistan, in March this year. This 5 month turnaround saw the Battalion begin training for Afghanistan, the day it returned from post tour leave. As you can imagine, there was an enormous amount of work involved at every level, in order to get the Battalion deployed in good order under these situations.

The Battalion's role in Afghanistan was to act as mentors to an Afghanistan Brigade, in what is known as Observation Mentoring and Liaison Teams. This mentoring role, as we would quickly find out, was far more hands on than it could ever have been anticipated. The order, which came from the highest level in Afghanistan, was that every Afghan Army Patrol had to have a mentoring team supporting it. The result of this is that often, Grenadiers found themselves broken down in to as small as six man teams, with an officer or senior NCO in charge and split between two heavily armed, stripped down land rovers with three people in each. As a result of their role, the Battalion has been cast all over Helmand Province it is fair to say that no other battle group out there can boast a better coverage. The result of this is that self sufficiency and independence of command are skills that were fast developed.

Within a week of arriving in theatre, the Inkerman Company began preparing to deploy on a Brigade sized operation, which was to clear the small rural agricultural district of Babaji of Taliban, who had a significant strong hold in the area. It was a clear threat the Brigade Commander, Brig Lorimar (PARA), believed that the ANA should be at the forefront of every planned operation conducted in Helmand. This seemed entirely fair and sensible, as this was their country and we were assisting them. However, what this also meant was that it was members of the Grenadier Guard's Battle Group that was up with the point Platoon, mentoring them through the assault. This often saw the Battalion decisively engaged and was the result of some serious exchanges of fire, on many occasions.

When looking around the Battalion, it is a very different set of faces to those that were deployed. Nearly every individual has been engaged in some form of direct fire fight. The young immature Gdsm has aged ten years, the fresh faced nervous Pl Comds are now stern and decisive. The entire Battalion has had a facelift. They are still the immaculate, professional and dedicated group of men they have always been, however, they now have a calm and quiet confidence and an unflustered ability to take things in their stride and deal with them, with the minimum of fuss, but still in our own immaculate manner. The Battalion are now complete back in England. They have some very well deserved leave ahead of them. They, in every sense, have earned their spurs, in what has to be one of the most challenging and difficult roles on operations currently conducted by the British Army. We look to the publication of the honours and awards list and I am sure, the efforts and losses of the Battalion will be reflected.

Nijmegen Company

Nijmegen is currently commanded by Major Edward Paintin, assisted ably by CSM Munro. The Company returned from EX RED STRIPE in Jamaica some weeks ago. The exercise was originally in danger of being cancelled, due to the inability of the RAF to fly them, due to lack of aircraft and operational commitments. However, despite this, the exercise went ahead with reduced numbers going, due to insufficient funding, as the Company had to fly on a commercial airline instead.

The Company conducted initial jungle survival training, with lessons on shelter building, track lying and basic tracking. The exercise then took on a more tactical edge, once the Gdsm had become acclimatised and accustomed to the jungle, with the soldiers being taught jungle fighting tactics and movement and jungle harbour drills. The platoons conducted their own training, which built towards an intensive 36hr company level exercise, involving recce patrols and deliberate attacks.

The Company then rotated onto the live firing package, which saw training start at individual jungle combat range and move through pairs, fire team and section and culminated in an impressive platoon attack. Combats were then swapped for swimming trunks for the Adventurous Training and 35 members of the company commenced a scuba diving course. This was a fantastic success, as everyone passed and allowed the Gdsm an opportunity to try something new.

The Company then departed for the tourist resort of Ochos Rios, for three days of relaxation; however everyone had half an eye on Hurricane Dean, which was on course to hit Jamaica. A situation of emergency was called and Nijmegen Company was moved inland to the British High Commission where they aided in the protection of the commission and manned emergency telephone lines.

Back in England refreshed from their break away. They started, almost immediately, to prepare for the move to their new home at Woolwich, which they will share with 7 Company Coldstream Guards and a line infantry Battalion. The move is now complete and the company is continuing with a busy calendar of public duties and state ceremonial commitments.

The Band and Regimental Headquarters

The Band continues to provide excellent support to LONDIST and is well manned. They have been assisting playing enemy on some of the operational training exercises conducted by Regiments, prior to deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan.

The pace of life within Regimental Headquarters remains high, with the new Regimental Adjutant firmly with his feet under the table and the stepping off of RQMS Hawkins who has been replaced by RQMS Hill. The main stays of Regimental Headquarters, L/Sgt Joe Tack and L/Sgt Jay Ellingham, continue to provide valuable and unstinting service to the Regiment and the Association

3. Grenadier Day 2008

Grenadier Day 2008 will take place at Lille Barracks, Aldershot on 29th June. Please take note of the unusual date when organizing branch dinners etc. The date has been brought forward for a number of reasons, not least of all, that the Battalion will be preparing for its move to Wellington Barracks in the late summer and that the Army Show, at Aldershot, is in the first week in July. We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible there, giving your support to both the Battalion and the Association.

4. Meetings

The Annual General Meeting for 2008 is scheduled to take place on 15th March, 2008. All are most welcome to attend. The format will be the same as in previous years, with a period set aside to enable Branch Secretaries to bend the General Secretary's ear, prior to the AGM. Lunch afterwards will remain the same as in previous years.

5. Regimental Remembrance Day - Black Sunday

Black Sunday 2008 will take place on the 18th May. All are requested to fill up the seats inside the chapel.

6. The Mareth Cross 16th March 1943

A short service and wreath laying will be held at the Mareth Cross, by the Guards Chapel, at 1330 hrs on Regimental Remembrance Sunday, 18th May 2008, to remember those of the 6th Battalion who died at Mareth in 1943 and those who have since died. All members of the 6th Battalion, widows and relatives, as well as anyone connected with the Battalion or the battle, are most welcome to attend.

7. Security

A continued reminder to Branches and their members; you must not give out names, addresses and telephone numbers of members to any one not authorized to receive them. The correct procedure is for the person making the request to write to the Branch concerned. The letter should then be passed to the individual, for him to make the decision as to whether to make further contact or give out his/her phone number.

8. Notices

The Regimental Calendar

Welcome to our first Regimental Calendar (due to be published shortly). As you will see, each month has pictures which show what the Regiment has been doing during the past year and I hope that you will find them interesting. The 1st Battalion will have a busy year with a Company deployed in the Falkland Islands on a 6 week roulement basis between April and August and then a Battalion Exercise in Kenya. This marks the first phase of training for another tour in Helmand Province in the autumn of 2009. Nijmegen Company and the Regimental Band will continue with their busy Ceremonial Role with the Band supporting Regimental events. £1 from each Calendar sold will be donated to The Colonel's Fund, Grenadier Guards. The Fund has been set up to enable the Regiment to exercise its duty of care to members of the Regiment who have been injured on active service, or who suffer welfare problems as a result of active service.  Details of how to purchase the Calendar can be found part way down the Association Goods list. Click on Association Goods above the start of this Newsletter.

Cyprus Emergency

Stephen Jones (Ex Para Regiment) is seeking information on the Cyprus Emergency 1956 - 1959. This is for a book that he is writing He is looking for both pictures and recollections of the period.
His contact details are as follows:    Stephen Jones, 12 Green Lane, Chislehurst, Kent BR7 6AG

Malaya Emergency 1948-1960 - 60 years Programme June 2008

Thursday 12/06/08 Remembrance 0930, at Kamunting Road Taiping. Friday, 13/06/08 Welcome gathering. Royal lpoh Club.0730 to 2200. Saturday 14/06/08 Remembrance Service Batu Gaja Cemetery. 0730. Refreshments, Kinta Golf Club after Service.
Remembrance Service for Ghurka-Royal Rangers Regiment Tam Bun Road, lpoh. l030 to 1130. Troops Night. 1930 to 2200. Royal Perak Golf Club. Tiger Lane. Ipoh.
15/06/08 Remembrance for WW2 Fallen 0930-1030 Khalsa Dewan Malaysia Maxwell Road. lpoh.
Flight Information: - The intention is to fly with Malaysia Airline to Kuala Lumpur not later than the 31st May 2008. This should give you a cheaper rate than in June. Later, a Booking contact will be given to you ion request. This may allow a few days in K.L. or a few days in the Cameron Highlands, before moving to Ipoh on the 10th June. In addition, the service of a coach company would be required to transport you around. Anyone who wishes would be free to do their own thing and meet up at Ipoh prior to events. After lpoh, it might be possible to have a few days in Penang. At this time, we have contact with a Hotel in the Camerons, (visit to Tea Plantation etc possible) & lpoh, still working on a hotel for K.L. you would be responsible for your own costs at hotels & if you use the coach, would share the cost too. Hotel rates are reasonable and I will be able to give you a rough total after all information has been received. Please be aware, that to obtain the cheaper fare, you may be asked to confirm your booking by a certain date.
Please inform me if you wish to make your own travel arrangements. Reply with S.A.E. A.S.A.P. Hope all this is of help. Thank you. Reg Counsell 76 Bradley Rd. Patchway. Bristol.BS34 5HR   rçgjflaldcounseflahotmaiLcorn or tele 01179699667

9. Association Goods.

The up to date List of Goods and prices can be found by clicking on Association Goods immediately above the start of this Newsletter. Please place your orders with George Turton well before Christmas, to save disappointment. George is in the shop on Wednesday and Friday of each Week.

10. Diary of Events for 2008

The Diary of events can be found by clicking on the Coming Events Button on the Home Page.

11. Website and Email

The Web Site for the Association is at:
www.grenade,org.uk and at www.grenadierguardsassn.freeserve.co.uk

The Website for the Battalion is at:
www.army.mod.uk/Grenadier

Jim White, formerly a Signals Platoon Warrant Officer in the 1st Battalion is contactable via:
jim@grenadier.eclipse.co.uk

Those wishing to undertake research should send their requirements to:
  grenadierequires@grengds.com

Association Non Commissioned Officer L/Sgt Ellingham
     assnnco@grengds.com

For Derek Money, the website manager:
DerekMoney@grenadierguardsassn.freeserve.co.uk or grengdsassn@uwclub.net

May I take this opportunity on behalf of the President and all at Regimental Headquarters to wish each and everyone of you a very happy Christmas and Prosperous New Year. And may 2008 bring all that you wish for to you and your families.

T A Rolfe
Captain (Retd)
General Secretary
Grenadier Guards Association

Tuesday, December 04, 2007