Duncan joined the 8th Kings Royal Irish Hussars at Lüneburg in West Germany in 1956, two years before that regiment’s amalgamation with the 4th Queen’s Own Hussars to form the Queen’s Royal Irish Hussars.

Capt D Vaughan-Arbuckle
Capt D Vaughan-Arbuckle

Posted as a cornet troop leader to ‘A’ Squadron he soon proved to be a notable sportsman and games player, representing the Regiment at langlauf (cross-country) skiing and hockey and the Army at cricket.

Within four years he engineered a posting to Bovington in order to marry – at the time a life-changing move for which the commanding officer’s permission was required.

Luckily this was forthcoming and so began a marriage which was to last a lifetime.

In 1962 Duncan rejoined the Regiment and he and Vicky, his wife, spent the next two years in Singapore where their married quarter became a welcoming and generous home from home for a succession of subalterns.

Now in ‘C’ Squadron he first commanded a troop on active service in Sarawak and then a half-squadron detachment in Brunei and began to play polo, representing the Regiment in a variety of Malaysian tournaments.

At the end of 1964, he moved with the regiment to Wolfenbüttel, the army base nearest to the Inner-German border, as second-in command of ‘C’ Squadron an appointment he kept for four years and which enabled him to ski in the winter and play polo and cricket in the summer.

In the summer of 1967, he was captain of the Regimental polo team.

At the end of that year, he retired, becoming a wine merchant and creating the wine museum Vinopolis in London. Vicky predeceased him and his last few years were spent in a nursing home.

Related topics

  1. A short history of The 8th Hussars
  2. A short history of The Queen’s Royal Irish Hussars
  3. Aden and The Persian Gulf 1961
  4. Malaya and Borneo 1962-64