The following Obituaries for surnames beginning with "W" have appeared in the Green Howards "Gazette", or have been notified to the Green Howards.

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  The following obituary was published in the April 2003 issue of the "The Green Howards Gazette".

Band Sergeant E T Waites MBW

Karina Waites writes:

Ernie Waites was adopted at birth and brought up in poverty in Scarborough. He showed an aptitude for music, singing in the local church choir. With such a stressful upbringing, he decided to leave home. On 13th September
1943, he was sworn in as No 440096 Band Boy Waites E T of the Regimental Band, 1st Battalion The Green Howards, stationed at Richmond under Bandmaster Reg Lester. One of his proudest moments in those days was when The Green Howards were given the Freedom of Scarborough in 1945 and he was in the Band on parade.

After being stationed in Germany and England until 1947, he attended Kneller Hall where Professor George Garside helped him on his way. On leaving Kneller Hall, he rejoined the Regiment in Suez, under a new Bandmaster, Jerry Jarret. He returned to England in 1949 and was promoted to Lance Corporal. Recruitment brought the Band back to full strength.

Singapore and Malaya in 1950 came next, a separate group would perform Ernie's arrangements in different locations whilst Ernie was 'doing some arranging for the Band.' By 1952 the Band was in Barnard Castle in England and for Ernie, promotion to Sergeant. The next posting was to Austria. Ernie was then offered a place at Kneller Hall to train as Bandmaster. However, his nine years service plus his time as a Band Boy was up and because of the social divide, he decided to leave the army but not before a stint in Germany and then back to Richmond.

Coming out of the army was not an easy time for Ernie. He turned his back on promotion and security to start life with a new Austrian wife, whilst just wanting to play music. Eventually Ernie ended up in Sale, Cheshire with the Eddie Shaw Band playing at Sale Locarno and taking in private pupils to eek out an existence. This led to television shows arranging music and he also managed a music shop for Johnny Roadhouse whilst playing with the Northern Dance Orchestra and the Halle Orchestra. By 1960 Ernie was working for Bob Sharpies in television work including 'Opportunity Knocks'. During this time his military compositions and arrangements started to be published by Herald Music. Then in May 1970 he suffered an horrific accident that changed his life forever. He was in Stanmore Hospital until 1971 and on discharge was unable to walk or drive. For the first few months Ernie was incarcerated at home.

In 1973 Ernie was working at the Golden Garter Nightclub and as a peripatetic music teacher at Ashton on Mersey School. Within three years the School Band came first in the BBC's 'Best School Band in the Country' and also played at HM The Queen's Garden Party for her Silver Jubilee. At this time, pupils leaving the school wanted to stay in the Band so The Ashton On Mersey Youth Showband was born.

The North West Festival of Remembrance was started in 1976 and went on for 16 years, ultimately performing at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool, the biggest stage in Europe. Altogether, the Band raised over £500,000 for ex-service charities and other deserving causes. A chance meeting with Geoff Nalton at the (Corner Cafe in Scarborough during a Band Concert, helped Ernie to reunite with The Green Howards. He attended several functions, the most memorable with his former Bandmaster, Reg Lester, at The Tercentenary Celebrations.

Ernie worked tirelessly, despite two multi-heart by-pass operations, a hip replacement, a hip revision and also diabetes.
In 1993 he received the MBE for 'services to the youth of Cheshire and support for ex-service organisations'. In October of the same year The International Rotary Club of Great Britain made him a Paul Harris Fellow, even though he wasn't a member.

His work with his band family went on; his last ambition was a tribute to the Northern Dance Orchestra, with many hours spent arranging music for another big show in April 2003 to raise £3000 + for Cancer Research. It was at a 'preview' concert in October 2002 when he became ill. Unfortunately, this was one heart attack too many and his poor heart had not the strength to fight anymore.

Ernie died on Wednesday 23rd October 2002 with his wife, Karina, and children Robert and Amy by his side, his first son Eddie being abroad for the last ten years. He will be sadly missed by the music world and his many friends in the
Regiment. At his funeral, the Regiment was represented by Geoff Nalton and Peter Varley.

Editor's Note:
Ernie Waite's biography 'The Band Plays On' is still available. It includes many funny and colourful anecdotes about his time with the Regimental Band around the world between 1943 - 1954. It can be obtained from Wilshere Publications, 14 Hayling Road, Sale, Cheshire M33 6GW price £7.50 including p&p.
(Cheques to Wilshere Publications)

 

The following obituary was published in the April 2001 issue of the "Green Howards Gazette".

Captain D H Warrener

Captain Godfrey Thrift writes:
It is with the greatest sadness that I report the sudden death of Don Warrener.

I had known Don since the beginning of 1940 when we both commissioned into the Green Howards.   I was already at a recruit training company at ]affa Lines in Catterick when Don joined Captain Bennedik and myself in February.   At that time we were messing with the Gunners and indeed we both played rugby with their team.   His wife Vera was also then 'in digs' in Richmond.   This situation remained the same until Don was posted to the lst Battalion and I temporarily lost touch with him for the duration.   Whilst in Ireland with the Battalion he contracted polio which constricted his movements for some time in more senses than one.

He commanded 'C' Company 7th Battalion on the D-Day invasion but had to be invalided home on health grounds after a few weeks.

Our next association was after the war when in 1946 Don became Chairman of the London Branch and I was Treasurer.   During this period our families also met socially which included some enjoyable golf at Tyrrells Wood until they moved to Dorset where Don worked hard for the Dorset Branch.   Don was a very generous and thoughtful friend and all who knew him will be greatly distressed at his passing.

The sympathy both personal and from the London Branch is extended to Vera, Michael and Heather in their great loss.

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The following obituary was published in the August 2004 issue of the "Green Howards Gazette".

Colonel R M Weare JP DL

The funeral took place privately in Oldstead near Coxwold on 4th May 2004. A memorial service was held in St Cuthbert's Chapel (the Regimental Chapel of the Yorkshire Volunteers) in York Minster on 15th May 2004 which was attended by members of his family and many who had served with him in the 1st Battalion, between 1954-1970, and the Yorkshire Volunteers, between 1970-1982. His father's batman, Tom Sevill (aged 93 years) completed the service with a superb rendition of 'Bonnie English Rose' on his accordion.

Major J R Chapman MBE writes:

Colonel Richard Massey Weare JP DL died, aged 70 years, after a long struggle with cancer in St Leonard's Hospice, York on 27th April 2004. Richard Weare was the only son of LtCol F G G Weare, who served with the 2nd Battalion on the Western Front in 1918, through the Irish Rebellion and later in India in the 1930s and 40s.

Dickie Weare was born in Poona, India, where his parents were posted with the 2nd Battalion. He and his five sisters were educated in England before Richard was sent to Eaton Hall Officer Training College from where he obtained a Short Service Commission in his father's old regiment in July 1954. He was posted to the 1st Battalion in Minden, Germany and made a Platoon Commander in 'C' Company. He was soon appointed to command the Assault Pioneer Platoon. He loved explosives and became renowned for his practical jokes with detonators under lavatory seats or on tail-gates of 3-ton trucks.

He obtained a regular commission and promoted Lieutenant on 1st April 1956 just before the Battalion sailed to Hong Kong. Soon he was well known throughout the colony for his energy, enthusiasm and enterprise. In 1957, when the Battalion moved to Stanley Fort, Lieutenant Weare was made Regimental Signal Officer after passing out top on his RSI course at Hythe with a Grade A report. He also ran the Regimental Cycling Team revolutionising the use of sports bicycles in the colony and winning the Army Unit Championship. He also organised the Regimental Cricket Team. Colonel Woods, the Chairman of Army Cricket, stated "Cricket in the Army is looking up - thanks largely to The Green Howards and their cricket officer."

I personally met Captain Richard Weare when he was made Adjutant of the 1st Battalion in 1960. When the Battalion moved to Iserlohn in West Germany, he invited me to be his Assistant Adjutant after I had spent only a year as a platoon commander. First under Lieutenant Colonel John Oldfield and then under Lieutenant Colonel John Scott, I doubt if I had ever worked harder. Yet I would leave the office at 7pm, having done one fiftieth of the amount of work he had done in the day. I would retire exhausted to the Officers' Mess, whilst he changed into his black and white referee's strip to coach the Regimental football team.

Dick Weare's energy was electric, not just on the sports field with his rallying cry: "Green Howards - set 'em alight" or in the Adjutant's office, but also with the welfare of the soldiers. No effort was too much to help a Green Howard or their family. Although strict, punctilious and forthright, he always put training standards and welfare of the soldiers before anything else. Nothing escaped his inspections, especially as he knew the name, background and family of every soldier and NCO in the 1st Battalion. Although he was sometimes unpopular with certain officers, who blamed him rather than themselves for the number of orderly officer duties they performed, he was respected and admired throughout the Battalion.

He left the Battalion in 1963, before they went to Libya, to become Staff Captain (Q Ops), British Land Forces, Kenya. It was a job he thoroughly enjoyed, especially as many troops trained in Kenya for the Radfan Operations in Oman. From there, he was posted to a more static job as G3 (Ops) at Scottish Command from 1965-1966, so when he returned to the 1st Battalion in Colchester in 1968 as 'C' Company Commander, all his pent-up energy was released.

After providing the Guard of Honour for the Colonel-in-Chief, HM Olav V, King of Norway in Newcastle, 'C' Company under Major R M Weare replaced 'B' Company on an independent command in British Honduras, now called Belize, in Central America. The Company achieved wonders in this remote, small colony, thanks to his energy, vision and leadership.

Surprisingly, in 1970, he left the regular army to form Borodin Communications in Stonegate, York with his old friend Major Bill Kingston with whom he worked for over a year before starting his own business. However, he did not lose his love of all things military. He joined the 1st Battalion, Yorkshire Volunteers as 'B' Company Commander at Middlesbrough with a platoon in Scarborough. His enthusiasm and skill at communicating and advertising the Territorial Army soon raised the numbers of his Company well above establishment. His enthusiasm was contagious. Later he was to become Second-in-Command then Commanding Officer, taking a year's sabbatical from his new business, dealing in precious stones, so that the Battalion could be run efficiently. It was the time the TA practiced mobilisation procedures which later led to the large exercises in Germany involving the TA for the first time since the Second World War. Lieutenant Colonel Richard Weare was in his element.

In 1992, he became Chairman, Yorkshire & Humberside TAVR Association, whose HQ was in York. He could therefore spend time developing his business and tackling many of the decisions required as a result of 'Options for Change'. He appreciated the need to build up the Territorial Army and particularly his beloved Yorkshire Volunteers as the regular army was again reduced.

Then in 1992, the four battalions of the Yorkshire Volunteers were cut as a result of 'Options for Change' to just the 1 YORKS, 2 YORKS and 3/4 YORKS and each battalion reduced to one company. Worse was to come. In 1995, the Regiment lost its cap badge. The 1 YORKS became the 4th/5th Battalion The Green Howards, 2 YORKS became 3rd Battalion PWO and 3/4 YORKS became 3rd Battalion DWR. Colonel Weare, understandably, felt very bitter by the way the MOD had treated the Territorial Army, but to his credit, he still maintained his interest both in The Green Howards and the re-organised Territorial Army.

Richard Weare's lasting legacy was the founding of the Friends of The Green Howards Trust, which subsequently created financial stability in the Regiment. Since the 1980s, it has funded many of the best initiatives and projects and has been the bedrock for the remainder of the funds.

The Regiment has lost a second generation Green Howard who, in his 16 years with the 1st Battalion and 22 years with the Yorkshire Volunteers, has been an inspiration and example to so many officers and soldiers who have had the stimulation and pleasure of working with him. Part of the Yorkshire Volunteers' Collect best sums up Richard Weare's life: 'generous in judgement and unselfish in service.'

Richard Weare did not marry and is survived by four sisters.

Lieutenant Colonel Richard Rocket writes:

Dickie Weare preceded my arrival in the 1st Battalion in Minden by about two months, arriving in July 1954 from Eaton Hall OCS. As a short service officer he arrived in the Battalion as a 'finished product', as opposed to we regular subalterns, joining from RMAS, who were considered of little use until the Hythe and Warminster young officers' courses had been completed.

I first met Dickie on his return with the Battalion to Clifton Barracks from Exercise BATTLE ROYAL. I had arrived in Minden too late to take part in this exercise, the largest ever undertaken by the Army since the war. Dickie, at that time, was a platoon commander in C Company, commanded by Major 'Tug' Wilson. I had only a brief three-week stay in Minden before attending the Young Officers' courses with Bill Kingston.

By the time we had returned to Minden in March 1955, Dickie had been appointed the Assault Pioneer Platoon Commander, having gained an 'A' Grade result on his course at Chatham. This appointment was a feather in his cap, as the other three platoon commanders in Support Company were all Captains and Dickie was still a 2nd Lieutenant. Dickie was a round peg in a round hole. The 'Chunkies' gained an excellent reputation under his command and amongst other activities became the commanding officer's (Lt Col Harry Styles) private enemy force. Colonel Harry conducted a highly imaginative series of exercises at Soltau that year, with the Pioneers acting as the army of 'The Monster of Munster' and the 'Begum of Bispingen'. In the area of field engineering, the performance of Dickie's platoon raised questions of whether there was really a need for the Corps of Royal Engineers in the Army's order of battle!

As the Battalion's 'sapper' and later, as Adjutant, and a highly successful football officer in Hong Kong and Iserlohn, Dickie's astonishing energy and enthusiasm was an example that few could match.

Captain lan Homersham writes:

Dick Weare was the Signals officer in Hong Kong when I joined the Battalion. The dedication with which he looked after his platoon seemed total. John Edwards recalled at a recent London Branch meeting how he'd just settled down on his bed after Sunday dinner when he heard familiar footsteps, the doors banged open and in came Dickie to dig them all out and into a 3-tonner with a crate of beer and Sheko as a destination. No argument. He and Sergeant Terry Latham had both returned from their signals courses at Hythe with A' Gradings, no mean feat, and this was passed on in the quality of instruction they and Corporal Ruthven gave to regimental signallers on the ancient 19 and 88 sets. If you made a good job as Signals Officer, you were well qualified to become Adjutant and thus it was when the Battalion moved to BAOR, Dick became Adjutant.

Dick's dedication to being a good officer was magnified in this role. He shone and glittered, all brass and moustache to John Oldfield's more relaxed and elegant Commanding Officer. He set and expected the highest standards and was pretty scathing of those who failed to meet them. The triumvirate of Lieutenant Colonel John Oldfield, Captain Dick Weare and RSM George Calvert DCM easily countered any areas of weakness in the Battalion. What remains uppermost in peoples' minds of Dick in Iserlohn was his decision that the sport of most importance in soldiers' lives was football and that he, RMW, was going to be Football Officer and 1 Green Howards was going to triumph. To our amazement, Dick suddenly appeared one afternoon in full black and white professional referees' rig. Not much good at the game himself, he'd found the most important alternative! Limited PRI resources would not stretch to the kind of kit - and food - Dick believed his team should have so he took over the dining hall every Thursday evening (clever timing) and ran a bingo session, himself being the caller, to raise funds. Naturally the football squad reacted to Dick's commitment, trained hard and developed a fierce esprit de corps.

The reputation of regiments in Germany in those days depended to a considerable extent on their sporting performance. Whilst neither the Cross Country Officer (Nick Hallidie) nor the Boxing Officer (myself) could measure up to Dick's bingo calling and referee kit, we were not going to allow Dick's footballers to claim all the glory. In the event the Green Howards XI, beaten in the BAOR Cup by a semi-professional Royal Leicestershire Regiment side, went on to have a highly successful North of England tour where Dick arranged for the team to meet the great, former Green Howard, Middlesborough football hero, Wilf Mannion, and Middlesborough and England trainer, Harold Shepperton. The cross country side were runners up in BAOR and fourth in the Army finals, whilst the boxers were beaten in the BAOR finals by one point by the Green Jackets. Quite an achievement for one battalion and much motivated by the example of one man - RMW

Colonel R ] Elliott, formerly Yorkshire Volunteers writes:

When Richard Weare joined the 1st Battalion Yorkshire Volunteers as an ex-regular Major from The Green Howards, he quickly earned a reputation of being the true professional which was exemplified in all he did, occasionally to the extreme. I recall that at camp in Scarborough in 1971, when the entire battalion assembled on the parade square following what proved to be a false fire alarm, Richard Weare was the one person with the presence of mind to wear a steel helmet and respirator with his pyjamas.

I did not get to know him well until 1974 when the 1st Battalion was deployed as part of the British Army of the Rhine for the first time and was tested in its operational role on Exercise BOLD GUARD. Richard Weare was then Battalion Second-in- Command whilst I was in inexperienced Company Commander, frantically learning the techniques and pitfalls of air-portability. At one particular juncture, I was close to breakdown having been ordered to air lift the whole company, including anti-tank weapons and command vehicles, on 45 minutes' notice. Who should arrive at that juncture but Richard Weare whose first enquiry was whether or not I had had anything to eat so far that day. I politely pointed out to the 2IC that I had more important things on my mind at that moment but he ordered his driver to make me breakfast and for me to sit and eat it whilst he disappeared with my CSM. Some 30 minutes later I discovered that the entire company, vehicles and all, had been made ready for the move and as the helicopters flew in, Richard Weare was seen speeding off - presumably to the next anticipated problem area. It was that episode which made Richard Weare my role model as I resolved that should I ever become Second-in-Command, I would endeavour to act as a trouble-shooter in similar fashion.

Richard Weare assumed command of the 1st Battalion, Yorkshire Volunteers in 1975 in time for one of the Battalion's most testing operations on Exercise SPEARPOINT in 1976. This was the largest BAOR exercise for nine years, and found the 1st Battalion as the only TA unit participating in the 2nd Armoured Division's operational role. As I recall, the Battalion performed its role on that Exercise with flying colours largely as a result of the very high quality of the training generated by its Commanding Officer.

Richard Weare's professionalism extended to all facets of his leadership. Not only did he insist upon the highest standards in basic and personal skills (heaven help you if you were two minutes late for an 0 Group or, as I once did, took a wrong turning down a cul-de-sac with eight 4-ton lorries following), he was also the greatest supporter of all other aspects of TA life, social and sporting. I remember in particular how he would turn up at locations all over the country to support the battalion orientating team which I led at the time and how, the following morning, the team and I would, without fail, receive hand- written letters of thanks and congratulations. When he handed over command in 1977 he became Regimental Colonel of the Yorkshire Volunteers and it was during this phase that he was responsible for the establishment of the Regimental Chapel in York Minster, which was consecrated in the presence of HRH The Duchess of Kent in 1982. Having previously tested me in the writing of a charity for the Friends of The Green Howards, Richard Weare also instigated the drawing up of the Yorkshire Volunteers Regimental Trust as a registered charity, not only for the Chapel, but for all regimental benevolent purposes. But his charitable inspirations did not end there for during his time as Chairman of the Yorkshire & Humberside TAVR, he instructed me to write a third charity, which has now become the very successful Yorkshire Cadet Trust.

Despite having 'retired' from active soldiering in the 1980s, Richard Weare continued to wholeheartedly support all activities of his former regiments and the Territorial Army in general, right up to his untimely death. He rarely missed an annual dinner or Regimental service and it was only recently that he stood down as a Trustee of the Yorkshire Volunteers on the grounds of ill health. He was an inspiration to us all and will be sorely missed.

Lieutenant Colonel Adrian Frais writes:

I first met Dick when he joined the TA as OC 'B' (Green Howard) Company, Yorkshire Volunteers in 1970.

The Company had got off to a strong start when it was formed from the old 4th/5th Battalion in 1967 but had suffered some turbulence in 1969. The Middlesbrough Company never found it very easy to recruit officers and before Dick arrived there had not been a company commander in post for some time. He would inform us that, "Every day's a lovely day for soldiering!" - usually at Otterburn with the sleet coming in, horizontally, across the Cheviots. I don't think that I've ever met a Regular officer who was less perplexed by his first encounter with the Territorial Army. Dick understood what made the volunteer soldier tick from the outset. He realised that we volunteered, not just when we joined, but every time we attended training. He put his flair for recruiting to good use and the Green Howard Company, under his leadership, soon recovered its sense of identity and strength of numbers.

For a long time I was the only other officer in the Company. I am very grateful to have known him and to have come under his tutelage. I learnt a great deal from him and not just about soldiering. Dick Weare was one of the major influences in my life.

In May 1975, Dick was promoted Lieutenant Colonel to command the 1st Battalion, Yorkshire Volunteers - 1 YORKS. He was quick to identify talent from any part of his battalion and he broke with existing practice by commissioning senior NCOs to fill key appointments. This was just one of a number of enormously perceptive and successful moves on his part. The Battalion recognising his many qualities, gave him its undivided loyalty. Dick made sure our training remained focussed on our mobilisation role - which gave the Battalion a sense of purpose. Our 'camps' were always in Germany as participants in major exercises. 1 YORKS became one of the best-recruited infantry battalions in the TA, at that time, and a force to be reckoned with at Bisley. Not surprisingly, at the end of his tour of command he became Regimental Colonel, Yorkshire Volunteers. Despite some opposition, he forced ahead with the Regimental Chapel project in York Minster, which culminated in its dedication in the presence of HRH The Duchess of Kent and established the Regiment as an entity.

The Yorkshire Volunteers has not survived but the Regimental Chapel remains as a reminder of the Volunteer 'spirit' in our county and as a fitting memorial to one of its most outstanding officers.

Major lan Kibble writes:

Two principal characteristics that Dick Weare possessed were energy, and selflessness. Everything he did in army and civilian life was pursued with a relentless enthusiasm that often left others standing. He was impatient with those who failed to match his pace and, like many successful people, he was not universally popular. Nevertheless his achievements in the Green Howards and the Yorkshire Volunteers were outstanding. It was he who had the inspiration and energy to establish the Friends of the Green Howards Trust, which has transformed the fortunes of the Regiment. He was the founder of the Richard Weare Charitable Trust, which makes donations to good causes particularly those concerned with young people in Yorkshire. Much of his generosity and care for others is largely unknown and he would have wished it to be so.

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The following obituary was published in the December 2000 issue of the "Green Howards Gazette".

Brian West

Norman Ward writes:

Brian West died on Tuesday 25 July 2000 at the age of 69.   Brian had suffered from Leukaemia for the past three and a half years.   Like the trooper he was he never complained, always more concerned for the health of those that he knew to be poorly and wishing them well.   His attitude towards his illness was like his outlook on the whole of life, positive to the end.   He leaves his wife, Anne, sons Richard and Leonard with daughters in law and grandchildren to whom we extend our deepest sympathy.

Brian, as a National Serviceman, served with the 2nd Battalion in Egypt and Cyprus in the 1950s as a 'chippy' in the Pioneer Platoon, a trade that he continued with in civvy street.   He was a good attender of the Branch being our Vice Chairman and also a member of the Malton Branch.   He was intending to be present at Warminster in October.   We shall drink to your memory at this weekend.   You will be sadly missed by all.

The funeral was well attended by members of Newcastle and Malton Branches, with a guard of honour and Standard flying we escorted him on his final parade.

  The following obituary was published in the April 2003 issue of the "The Green Howards Gazette".

Colonel G Widdowson

Colonel Geoffrey Powell writes:

The superb sparkle on George Widdowson's field boots was to anticipate that of his fine future career. As a portrait confirms, George was a very smart officer; what is more, his ability and charm matched his appearance. Those field boots he wore with his riding breeches when commanding C Company of the 5th Battalion when the writer first met him in 1936, the year the slow process of the TA's mechanisation began with the issue of half a dozen 15-cwt trucks to each battalion. Even then such Service dress was worn for all purposes until the outbreak of war in 1939.

Commissioned in 1931 at the age of 20 years, he found himself in command of a company five years later at a time when regular officers might wait 15 or so years for their third pip. With his Company he went to France and Belgium to suffer that tormenting withdrawal to Dunkirk and the prospect of - what to many seemed inevitable - national defeat. Employment at home followed but when the Regiment's TA battalions departed in 1941 to win fame in the Desert War, George was not with them. However, he followed in due course as a replacement major and it was alongside the Canal that the writer again ran into George late in 1942, to learn that he was stuck in the Depot, unable to join the
Regiment because he was too old at 31: Monty refused to have company commanders in the Desert over the age of 30. George jumped at my suggestion that he might try 4th Parachute Brigade, then training nearby. A meeting with the future General Sir John Hackett, then the 33 year old Brigade Commander was arranged and, in the 10th Parachute Battalion, George soon found himself.

By way of Palestine, Tunisia and a short campaign at Taranto in Southern Italy, George worked his way home, eventually to drop at Arnhem as second in command of the 10th Battalion, part of the 1st Airborne Division. After the most bitter fighting, in which out of the 24 of his Battalion's officers who dropped, its colonel, two majors, four captains and seven subalterns were all killed, George was taken prisoner.

The war over George returned to what became a successful career in Barclays Bank. He also joined the Territorial Army, not to The Green Howards, but to The Royal Engineers where he raised 229 (East Riding) Airborne Engineer Squadron and later became second in command of 131 Parachute Engineer Regiment. After the award of the MBE, he commanded 130 (Lanes) Engineer Regiment (AER), and then was promoted Colonel of 25 Engineer Group and Chief Engineer of 51st Highland Division. Appointed CBE and for six years ADC (AER) to the Queen, he was also a
Deputy Lieutenant for the West Midlands. As a magistrate he served in both Hull and Birmingham.

His time in a German POW camp had left George with a permanent lung complaint. Because of this he began to spend the winter months in Spain, so deciding to learn the language properly. A year at a Spanish university, followed by three years at Hull University, brought him a BA in Hispanic Studies at the age of 85 and headlines in The Times.

George Widdowson died on 15th December 2002 at the age of 91. Sadly hardly any of his contemporaries who knew and liked him so much, survive. His first wife, Kathleen Mary, whom he married in 1936, died a few years ago, leaving him a son and three grandsons. The Regiment offers its commiserations to George's second wife, another Mary, and the rest of his family.

Major Ken Gardner TD writes:
George Widdowson was a pre-war member of the Territorial Army and attended a Training Camp, Halton, Lancashire in July 1939. It was understood he was almost the youngest major in the TA (at age of 27 years) when attending that camp. This was the occasion of the expansion of the TA and the 5th Battalion Green Howards took in the newly formed 7th Battalion. George became 'C' Company Commander at Beverley Just before the outbreak of war on the 3rd September 1939 George became involved in Vulnerable Point (VP) duties and was at Dishforth RAF Station as a Detachment Commander 1C the Guard. After regrouping of VP duties he was posted to 7th Battalion Headquarters at Bridlington. He was still with the 7th Battalion when the unit was sent to France. It was believed that at this time he became Officer Commanding Headquarter Company and was evacuated from Dunkirk. I personally lost touch of his movements after he left the Battalion which was on beach defensive duties at Bournemouth in 1940.

However it is understood he joined the Parachute Regiment and later dropped at Arnhem. He wore the Territorial Decoration with at least four clasps, promoted to full Colonel and was awarded the CBE during his TA career.

 

The following obituary was published in the December 2001 issue of the "The Green Howards Gazette".

Brian Wilson

Mr Tom Heron writes:

Sadly I have to inform you of the sudden death, overnight whilst alone at home on 23rd June 2001, of 22963913 LCpl Brian Wilson, of 11 Farmlands Road, Dringhouses, York YO2 2UA. He was 68 years of age. Brian served in B Company, 2nd Battalion Green Howards, between 1953 and 1956 in Egypt and in Cyprus. After a short spell in civilian street he was recalled to active service with the Yorks and Lancs for the 1956 Suez Campaign.

Brian's wife Doris died whilst he was in his thirties, leaving him to care for their four sons, one of whom, Nigel, was an invalid. He devoted all his time to their upkeep, only working as a plasterers labour when the demands of his family allowed. He saw Kevin, Graham and Ian happily married but Nigel was to predecease him by some four years.

A very useful boxer in his army days, he also took part in whatever Battalion sport was available. He was afterwards well known in the York area for his skill as an inside forward, playing for Dringhouses in the York and District Soccer League. He was, however, even better known as a cricketer for Dringhouses in the York and District Senior league. Widely acknowledged as the best wicket keeper in this league, many people regarded his as not far short of county class.

Brian keenly supported the affairs of the 2nd Bn Branch of the Green Howards Association, which was represented at his funeral, in York, on Monday 2nd July.

 

The following obituary was published in the April 2002 issue of the "The Green Howards Gazette".

Fred Wilson

Mr 'Norman 'Ward writes:

It is with regret that we report the death of Mr Fred Wilson who died in his sleep on the night of 4/5th September 2001 aged 71 years. Fred was a likeable character who enjoyed his social life and took great delight in lending a helping hand to his daughter's business. His last weekend was spent in Richmond with some of his closest colleagues he had served and remained friends with from his serving days. It was quite a shock to his family and friends alike to hear of his sudden death. Deepest sympathy goes out to his family at this very sad occasion.

Fred served with the 1st Battalion in Malaya, Austria, Germany and Cyprus from 1950 to 1955 attaining the rank of A/Sgt in the Signals Platoon.

Being our Secretary he was always a good attending member of the branch, never missing the Annual Reunion. He will be sadly missed by all. Fred had a very good send off with standing room only in the church and members of many area branches lined the pathway to the church. On this occasion Tom Curry carried the Standard for Fred's final parade.

Captain K Winterschladen

Major J R Chapman MBE writes:

Captain Kenneth Winterschladen died peacefully on 5th December 2003, aged 84 years, after a long illness, which he
bore with dignity and courage.

Kenneth was born near Danby in North Yorkshire in 1920, part of the well-known family of Wine Merchants, whose Company was created in Darlington by his German grandfather and grand-uncle. His early years were spent on the North Yorkshire Moors, which resulted in a deep love for the countryside and an ambition to farm. After Repton School, rather than go to university, Kenneth started as a student Land Agent working on a large estate in North Yorkshire, where he claimed there were more draft horses than tractors.

At the outbreak of WWII, Kenneth initially enlisted in the Royal Scots Fusiliers before transferring to obtain a commission in his local regiment. The Green Howards. He earned a reputation as a keen shot and good small arms instructor. Later, between 1941-42, he served as a Captain with the 6th Battalion in North Africa and was wounded and later captured. On 16th June 1942, the Battalion, under Lt Col E C Cooke-Collis (as part of 69 Brigade) had tried to break out through the Italian lines at the Ageila Pass after the Battle of Gazala. His captors, in General Rommel's Afrika Korps, handed him over to the Italians who incarcerated him in a POW enclosure near Benghazi, before flying him to a hospital in POW Camp No 21 in Italy. He slowly recovered from his wounds, but remained in FG 21 until the Italian Armistice on 8th September 1943. As the Italians laid down their arms, the German army quickly took over the Italian camps and as the Allies advanced north, arranged for all the Allied prisoners to be sent by rail in cattle trucks, through the Brenner Pass, to various processing camps in Germany. Captain Ken Winterschladen was sent to Oflag VIIF on the Austrian German border before being moved by train to Oflag 79 near Brunswick in 1944. There, he met up with many Green Howards officers including his close friend Captain John Oldfield, with whom he had been at Repton. It was only in this last year that his parents learned that he was still alive. They were able to send books in Red Cross parcels so that he could study and take his Land Agents' Society theory exams whilst in prison.

However, it was not until 8th April 1945, that the camp was liberated by the Americans. Over the next three weeks all the ex-POWs were flown to England in Dakotas. Ken weighed a mere six and a half stone by the time he returned to Danby in North Yorkshire.

Undoubtedly, his wounds and his three years in captivity took a long-term toll on his health, but he rarely spoke about his experiences afterwards, even when pressed. On rare occasions, he was heard to say that he was lucky not to have been a prisoner of the Japanese.

Once recovered from his ordeals, he put his Land Agency experience to work in the claims department of the War Office before joining Lofts and Warner (later Strutt and Parker). In 1947 he met Elaine, who was nursing at a Sanatorium in Switzerland. Two years later they married and bought Butlers Court near Alvescot, Oxfordshire where they lived happily together for 54 years.

Kenneth set up in sole practice in Alvescot in 1963, where his meticulous research and thoroughness made him an expert on many complicated and unusual issues of land law. Once of his clients was Balliol College, Oxford where his good practice enabled him to substantially improve the College's financial position. In 1993, in recognition of this work, he was made a Fellow Commoner of Balliol and his memorial service was held in the College Chapel on 7th February 2004.

Ken Winterschladen always took a deep interest in the Regiment - his cousin 2Lt Bart Wintersladen was killed when withdrawing with the 4th Battalion to Dunkirk - and maintained contact with his fellow POWs in Oflag 79 throughout his life. He was a Friend of The Green Howards Museum and, although he spent most of his life in Oxfordshire, still considered the North Yorkshire Moors his birthright. As a result, Kenneth generously bequeathed the donations in his memory to The Green Howards Benevolent Fund.

 

The following obituary was published in the April 2002 issue of the "The Green Howards Gazette".

Les Woodward

Colonel E T Boddye writes:

Les Woodward died in hospital, aged 70, from a heart condition on the 20th June last year. Les had not been in hospital for very long but the illness had been earlier diagnosed as being terminal. However, he died sooner than expected, much to the sorrow of those members of his family at his bedside and members of the Branch that had arrived at the ward to visit him.

Les had a long career in the Army and was unfailingly interested in the history of the Regiment and what it was doing now - typical of many Green Howards. At one time he was Officers' Mess Sergeant. Celia Sabine recalls that, when the Battalion was in Iserlohn in 1960, the Sabines were the only ones who could pick up Dutch television. Dutch television was showing live the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Kent for which C Company was providing a Guard of Honour. Sergeant Woodward, with his usual efficiency, turned the Sabines' home into a cinema with chairs, tables and Regimental silver to add lustre to the occasion. He made light of hard work; he was a kind man with a great sense of duty.

Les Woodward retained these characteristics when he joined the Branch. He was Vice-Chairman and nothing was too much trouble in his support for Branch activities. When he and Carol entertained the members it was difficult to leave without putting on a great deal of weight. Our sympathies go out to Carol and the Woodward family. The Branch has placed an inscribed brick in the memorial wall at Colchester Crematorium.

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Mick Worton

Colin Inett, Hon Sec Kent Branch, writes :

Mick Worton joined the Regiment in 1959 and did his basic training at Richmond. Upon joining the 1st Battalion at Strensall he was posted to 3 Platoon, A' Company, where he remained for the whole of his service. This was rather unusual in those days as most of us were moved around from time to time.

Mick was a cheerful soldier, well liked by everyone, not interested in promotion just getting on with the job. He was also very sociable being a regular occupant of the 'top table' in the NAAFI beer bar in Iseriohn, where we had many enjoyable evenings. He was also one of the very few who was able to obtain beer 'on tick' from Maria, the barmaid. How he managed this we never found out, perhaps it was a combination of personal charm and blackmail.

In 1962, the Battalion moved on to Libya via Barnard Castle. After 18 months in Tripoli he was sent to Benghazi with the rest of A' Company from where he was demobbed in 1965. Whilst waiting for demob he was put in charge of a group of Arab cleaners, so he did eventually assume some responsibility.

After leaving the Regiment he went to work for British Steel as a furnaceman, a hard and smelly job which he endured for many years until his health finally became affected and he medically retired. He then went on numerous foreign holidays after which he developed a particular affinity for Malta where he had an apartment and many friends. He spent most of his time there, only coming home occasionally to sort out his personal affairs. He also found time to attend a couple of Reunions with us.

Over the years his health deteriorated further, and he was eventually admitted to a hospice in Middlesbrough where he passed away on the 4th April, aged 65 years.

Mick never married and when in the UK lived with his sister in Berwick Hills. He was one of the best who never did anybody a bad turn, and will be sorely missed by all his mates.

To the family we offer our deepest sympathy.

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