Jimmy died on 17 May 1995.
He joined the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards in October 1937 and was posted to ‘C’ Squadron of the 8th King’s Royal Irish Hussars in March 1938, while they were in Cairo.
He first got his foot on the promotion ladder in December 1939 and was a war substantive WO2 in May 1945.
He served in all the desert campaigns in which the 8th Hussars took part, and fought with the 8th Hussars from D+3 to the end of the war in Europe. He was Mentioned in Despatches in 1945.
From May 1944 to 1947 he was SSM ‘B’ Squadron. In early 1946 he had the dubious pleasure of spending two months on a Guards’ drill course.
He served with the Regiment in Korea 1950-51 as SSM HQ Squadron and moved with them to Lüneburg in March 1952, when he was SSM ‘A’ Squadron. In January 1955 he was posted to Headquarters 7th Armoured Brigade in Soltau. In December 1957 he moved back to the UK and was employed at the D and M School.
He became an Irish Hussar on amalgamation on 24 October 1958 but did not in fact serve at Regimental duty in the Queen’s Royal Irish Hussars. After service at the D and M School, he spent 15 months at Warcop as RSM and then joined the Junior Leaders’ Regiment until being posted on the Long Service List to the Hong Kong Military Service Corps as RQMS.
His last years of service were spent on the Camp Commandant’s staff at Aldershot from May 1966 until November 1967, when he took his discharge.
Jimmy was a man of lively character and was always in the thick of anything going on in the Mess. On release, he did not sever his connection with the Army, becoming a BIA at Glen Parva. He retired from this appointment in November 1985, his total service for the MOD being 49 years. On the formation of Leicester Troop, he became their president and with Nora was always a kind and considerate host to visitors like myself, Inge and Barbara.
