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15			Eric Rowland No1 and Harry Parry No2 with their Machine gun and Clinometer	Drum Major
16	The Band and Drums leading the parade as they tow out of camp their old CO.	Where: Knook Camp in A Coy Lines before going to S of I warminster.When: 1948-49. Who: Back row, Lt Highton, Hartley, Foxall, Sgt Howe. Front row: Livesey, Bowen, DRN, DRN. (don't recall their names )

Photo 10D Field Marshal The Viscount Slim, KG, GCB, GCVO, GBE, DSO, MC and Minnie together,
both veterans of the Burma campaign.
Him the boss man and Minnie from the pack mule train it really is wonderful to see them both survivors together

Stewart Meredith

He had an unusual career: Passed Cadet Course and commissioned Second Lieutenant (Emergency Commission) in the Lancashire Fusiliers, 1 May 1948. Relinquished his commission on re-enlistment in the ranks, 25 August 1949. Reached the rank of Sergeant. Commissioned again as a Second Lieutenant (Short Service Commission) in the Lancashire Fusiliers, 28 June 1950. Promoted Lieutenant, July 1950. Resigned his commission, October 1951.
He served with Maurice Taylor at Knook camp Warminster.

Football fever at the museum

By Rosemary Allen
FOOTBALL fever seems to be in the air at the moment and the Fusiliers' Museum Development Project, as usual, refuses to be left behind.

Work on the museum collection is beginning to take place and some new objects have been discovered at the back of the museum store.

An exciting new find is a 1949 regimental football kit. There is no record of it in the museum's register and the recently retired custodian Tony Sprason has never seen it before.

The museum's assistant development office Anna Bowman has photographed it for inclusion with this article and said: "We know very little about the kit and it seems amazing that it has turned up when there is a lot of excitement about football and it's a World Cup year.

"If any of the anyone knows anything about it we would love to hear from them. It has the number 7/4 marked on the top and RS/27 on the shorts."

The recently discovered kit is going on loan over the summer to a new fashion gallery at Snibston Museum in Leicestershire, the development of which was funded by an HLF grant. The show is called The Beautiful Game and will display the kit alongside other famous strips in state-of-the-art conditions. But the new find will be back to take its rightful place in the Fusiliers' Museum when it opens in the Arts and Crafts Centre in 2008.

The Lancashire Fusiliers were involved in the famous 1914 "no man's land" football game during the First world War and were said to be 3-2 up before the game was called off! These few words describe the recollections of one player at the time: "The Germans started it, coming out of their trenches and walking over to us. Nobody decided for us we just climbed over our parapet and went over to them, we thought nobody would shoot at us if we all mingled together."

C/Sgt Donald Murphy

Some time ago I contacted your site via Joe Eastwood to ask if anyone knew of my late father Donald Murphy and to ask for my fathers name to be included in the L..F.'s at rest "Book". I noticed at the time that Joe Gidmans name was also in the Column. Joe was my fathers best mate and a useful boxer I think he may have represented the Bn. I said at the time that I my mother had a picture of my father and Joe and that his family might like to see it.

Also included is one of my mother Anne) and father on their wedding day. After the 2/5th Bn. disbanded my father found his way, via the H.L I. into the Blackwatch this fact nearly led to his undoing because whilst my mum and dad were on honeymoon in Ireland, my mother being Irish and from Cork (Despite his surname this was the first time my dad had been to Ireland) Proudly announced that my father had served in the Black and Tans whilst they were in the local pub my dad told me it was the closest he ever came to spilling a pint.

There is alsoa scan of my fathers last will in which her leaves his worldly things to his mother a grim thing to have to do for someone who had turned eighteen two months earlier

John Murphy

The Sgt Mess Rule Book 1948
sent in by
John Murphy

The WO & SGT's Mess Rule Book

Click on photo below to enlarge it

HQ Coy 1st Bn Warminster 1948-50.
C/Sgt Donald Murphy is 3rd row back, tenth man from the right, next to an officer (highlighted).

During their stay at Warminster,A Coy of the 1st Bn made a training film about "Invasion From Landing Craft".
They went to Fremington Camp in Devon to make the film.This is the camp.

Mortar Accident 1949
In 1949 the 1st Bn The XXth The Lancashire Fusiliers were carrying out the duties of Demonstration Bn at Warminster.
They often made Training Films for the Army and it was during the making of one such film (possibly Methods of Instruction Part One) that an accident involving a 3 inch Mortar Bomb killed a Lancashire Fusilier and injured a number of others.
It happened on the Ranges at Imber.
The film was being made by AKC and they were filming a Mock up of a Platoon attack by D Coy 1 LF on a Concrete Pillbox.
The Platoon were supported by the Flame throwing "Wasps" of the Carrier Platoon and there was a 2 Inch Mortar smoke Screen laid down.
One of the Wasps had thrown a track and during the necessary halt to fix it,a few people gathered around.
Maurice Taylor and John"Mucky" Mason were squatting down looking at the track when a loud explosion happened quite close to the group.
Jim Costello remembers it as follows:-
"As I and some others were going to the carrier a loud explosion occured and I saw people fall to the ground. We, obviously, were outside the danger zone as A Coy suffered no casualites. I remember dashing to the nearest person on the ground who was screaming out. The right thigh part of his trousers was ripped open and blood was pulsing out of a hole in his leg. I pressed my hands over the hole but that didn't seem to have any effect. I saw a big lump of soiled, white chalk lying nearby so I tried to lick it clean and placed it in the hole. This seemed to stop the blood flow somewhat. The injured lad went a bit quiet and said, "Don't leave me will you Cossie." a few times. Then some people arrived, put him on a strecher and took him away.

Later as we waited around the Oxford carrier I learnt that D Coy's Fusilier James, had picked up a 3in mortar bomb near the carrier and threw it over the carrier to the other side where it exploded and he was uninjured and had been taken away.
I later learned that the lad I had tried to help was Fusilier Sadler.
Much to my grief, and I am sure to his Mam's and the rest of his family I heard that the poor lad had died.

Strangely enough, as Maurice says, we never heard much more about the incident. Other than Lt Warren Sillitoe, I never heard anything about anybody else, even what happened to Fusilier James.

Whenever this incident flashes through my mind, maybe once in a year, I always think about Sadler knowing my name, yet I did not know who he was."

Memories of this incident would be very welcome if anyone else has any?

Thanks
Joe.