Alan died on 20 June 2004 in Ontario Canada where he had emigrated in the late 1950s. He was aged 74.
He joined the Army in September 1947 at a recruiting office in his native London.
Following basic training at 7 PTC, he was transferred to the RAC and posted to 14/20H in February 1948. This regiment was then a training regiment based at Catterick Camp. Alan qualified as a gunner/signaller.
On 31 July 1948, he was posted to 4H then at Colchester but about to depart for a three-year stint in Malaya to combat communist-inspired bandits. He served with ‘B’ Squadron which included a six-month tour in Hong Kong.
He returned to the UK with the advance party of the 4th Hussars in September 1951 and served on Salisbury Plain (Tidworth/Warminster) until his discharge in March 1953.
Subsequently, he joined the TA and the Westminster Dragoons wherein he became a sergeant. Early in 1961, by which time he had taken up permanent residence in Canada, he joined the Governor-General’s Horse Guards.
He re-established contact with the Regimental Association in 1996.
