Welcome to “THE SITREP” – your RLI RA-Africa newsletter – Volume 11, February 2020.

Salutation

Greetings all ouens and crows, and if it isn’t too late, a very belated Happy New Year to you all.

The RLI’s 59th

Birthday – 01 February 2020

Although it was anticipated that the year before the big “six-oh” would not be that well attended, the

doubters were proved wrong – again! Almost 60 men, including one lady, Haley Fourie, paraded in the

sweltering heat of the Gauteng sun, at Dickie Fritz, to celebrate the regiment’s 59th

birthday. It really

was a scorcher – spectators were moving chairs into any available shade whilst the troops (the

youngest of whom will be at least 60 this year) endured the heat to pay their respects to patron, Col Ian

Bate, and the fact that the regiment was celebrating yet another birthday.

Proceedings began with the march-on, musically assisted of course, by the ever-present pipe band,

whose services are always deeply appreciated. Col Bate’s acceptance of the parade, plus his opening

remarks, were delayed somewhat by some “dick-head”, taking photographs, and positioned directly

between the patron and the RSM, Rudi van

Aarde.

(positioned here, just prior to a firm order from the RSM to remove himself, or else! No names, no

pack-drill but, some Mothers do have them!)

Colour-bearers for the day were Alan Strachan and Chris Ras, whilst the ever-faithful, Padre Bill

Dodgen, conducted the payers and service.

Rolls of honour, for the entire regiment, were read by representatives of the various commandos.

Notice that all of them are so old, they all wear spectacles - one of whom uses his glasses to hold his

beret in place!

Bongwe (1 Cdo) Fig (2 Cdo) Charlie (3 Cdo)

Bucks (Support Cdo) Neville (Base Group)

As with all parades, marking special occasions, the traditional laying of wreaths took place. Once

again, it was pleasing to see so many other units in attendance. Admittedly, many of the individuals,

wearing berets of other units, were former soldiers in the RLI – but, not all. It is always heartening to

see BSAP, Intaf, Guard Force and other units participating in RLI celebrations.

That said, Regimental Sergeant Major, there is an opinion that we need to brush up on a few

regulations and get things straight. The following will illustrate the point:

Lastly – we almost always associate the words “Lest we forget” with our fallen. The next photograph

is, perhaps, a reminder of the need to remember some of those who survived. This photo was a result

of complete serendipity and not staged in any way. For sure, one particular unit will see the humour in

this one.

Let’s make a special effort to attend the big 60 in 2021 and many congratulations to those

responsible for making the 59th

the huge success that it was.

Finances

Speaking with Mark Taunton (Treasurer), on 01 February, it is little wonder that he is looking

somewhat perplexed. With another year passing, Mark is concerned about subs – and for good reason.

The association has two rules regarding non-payment of subs:

1. A member ceases to pay subs after he/she has “checked out”. Remember

that you need permission from the current chairman in order to perform

this operation. The chairman will then inform Brian Lewis (instigator of

this sub-rule) and the applicant will be informed accordingly. To date,

nobody has complied with this requirement!

2. A member ceases to pay subs after he/she has reached the age of 70. A

quick piece of mental arithmetic concludes that, come 2030, it is very

unlikely that there will be any full-members eligible to pay subs.

Such a situation in 2 (above) will deplete the coffers of the association by at least 20%. It would be

folly to assume that associate, and legacy members, will fulfil the shortfall. We need to put A into G

and come up with a plan. Mark, and the committee, would be grateful for input from anyone with an

idea.

Roll of Honour

The rolls for January and February are as follows:

RLI

RoH January

KIA Rank

First

Name Surname Awards Commando DOD

Tpr

Anthony

John

"Tony"

Brading 2 Tp, 1 Cdo 22-Jan-

70

Tpr

Bradley

Wade

"Brad"

Little 3 Cdo 05-Jan-

79

KOAS

Sgt

James

Bernard

"Jim"

Cary Spt Grp 29-Jan-

69

Tpr

Leigh

Anthony Robinson Base Grp

24-Jan-

74

L/Cpl

Robert

David MacDonald Base Grp

19-Jan-

75

Tpr

Brian

Maurice Brnjac Base Grp

19-Jan-

77

Tpr

Anthony

George

"Tony"

Camacho 1 Cdo 12-Jan-

78

Tpr

Andrew

Lindsey

"Chunky"

McIver Spt Cdo 01-Jan-

79

RLI

RoH February

KIA Rank

First

Name Surname Awards Commando DOD

Tpr

Gerald

James Parkin Spt Cdo

24-Feb-

76

L/Cpl

Douglas

John

"Doug"

Cookson 1 Cdo 28-Feb-

76

Tpr

Christie

"Chris" Diedericks 1 Cdo

28-Feb-

76

Temp

Sgt

Peter

Cyril

O'Brien

"Pete"

White BCR 1 Cdo 28-Feb-

76

Tpr

Derek

Guy -

called

Guy

MacKenzie 7 Tp, 2 Cdo 01-Feb-

77

Tpr Allan Eric Vaughn Spt Cdo

17-Feb-

77

Tpr Simon le Vieux 2 Cdo

07-Feb-

78

2LT

Desmond

Charles

"Chappie"

Rosenfels BCR 3 Cdo 08-Feb-

79

KOAS

Cpl

Peter

Robin Eggleston 3 Cdo

15-Feb-

66

2LT Charl Viljoen 2 Cdo

28-Feb-

68

Sgt

Kenneth

"Ken" Reynolds 3 Cdo

12-Feb-

70

Maj

Neville

Alastair

"Spike"

Powell MBE OC, Base

Grp

12-Feb-

79

Sunset Calls

On 17 December 2019 we were informed that Cpl Bez Bezuidenhout (724160) of 2Cdo passed away.

It is with regret that we inform you of the death of Gary Taylor. Gary passed away on the 19th January 2020 in the

UK as a result of heart failure. Gary (Gonzo) Intake 150, served in 41 Troop Support Commando 1975/77 then went

on to university.

It is with regret that we inform you of the death of Michael Upton. Mike, a member of the Association (Africa

Branch) died in Perth Australia on Tuesday the 7 January 2020. Mike served in the Regiment in the early days when

we were still No.1 Training Unit and later joined the RhAF and mustered as a Chopper Technician earning a Bronze

Cross (BCR) during his service.

May they all rest in peace.

A Little Nostalgia

This month’s cover photo depicts the RLI (shoulder) uniform of Basil Dippenaar, as worn at the 59th

birthday parade.

It is the uniform that continues to stir the blood of all RLI ouens, crows, spectators and admirers, just

at it stirred the gooks 40 years ago, albeit in a different direction. In 1961, however, new recruits to the

newly-formed regiment paid little heed to their new green and silver livery. Rifling (that’s a good

choice of word) through various Internet articles, there is evidence to suggest that some early RLI

troopies did not adorn their new uniform until months after is was issued to them. The regiment had

been formed from various units of the Rhodesia Regiment but, conflict in the Congo required certain

individuals to attend call-up in Northern Rhodesia. Having received their new green and silver, some

soldiers continued to wear their original uniform, saving the new issue until their return to Brady. Had

these recruits known then, the reputation that the regiment was to earn later, such a scenario would

never have occurred. As one American commented – “The finest fighting machine in the World”.

Back in 1961, and 1962, the first CO and RSM (Lt Col John Salt and RSM Ron Reid-Daly

respectively) were busy trying to weed out the bad eggs they had inherited into the new regiment. So

much so, that an editorial appeared in the Bulawayo Chronicle calling for the RLI to either be

disbanded, or relocated away from Bulawayo – such was the havoc being caused, all over town, by

troopies back on R&R. One wonders what opinion those critics had of the RLI in 1979.

By the time the regiment did eventually relocate to Cranborne there would not have been a single

recruit who did not don his green and silver the moment he received it. Whether it was deliberate, or

inadvertent, is not known but, instead of repeating the shenanigans of Bulawayo, troopies restricted

their frolicking (mostly) to a particular area of Salisbury instead of the entire city. This was indeed

fortuitous – because, the BSAP knew exactly where to park their B-cars on a Saturday night, thus

saving subsequent COs similar editorials in the Rhodesia Herald.

In the main, “rorts”, inter-commando and inter-unit rivalries were confined to a particular circular-

shaped “water-hole”, on Baker Avenue, whose French title roughly translates to “The Golden

Rooster”. Did you know that?

Tales surrounding the monkeyshines of the RLI, and other units, at said water-hole, abound - two of

which are related here without revealing names and/or unit affiliation. The first involved two RLI

troopies from different commandos. A renown bully, was given his comeuppance by a peace-loving

recruit, albeit the “rort”, having started inside, actually culminated in an alley outside the premises.

The engagement started with a punch to the face but, was soon reduced to biting – human teeth into

human flesh. Any medic will confirm that a human bite can be more destructive than that of a hyena –

especially if the biter has just returned from a six-week stint in the bush! The outcome of the skirmish

saw both combatants making separate visits to the RLI hospital the following morning – and both for

the same reason. Injuries were to be hidden from the RSM when musters were called. Detection of the

fracas would lead to certain CB, if not DB. Multiple layers of Clearasil managed to disguise the

bruised eye, whilst layers of skin-coloured bandages provided a rather thin veneer to an already

putrefying arm. The rest is history, of course, but it is worthy to note that the two protagonists are,

today, the very best of mates.

The second story does not involve the RLI (or so they say) but, members of that regiment were

certainly present. It so happened that a soldier, on R&R, espied are rather striking member of the

opposite sex, and asked her for a dance. The response was rude - and somewhat akin to Ian Douglas

Smith’s comment, “Not in a thousand years”, or words to that effect. Not losing face, in front of his

mates, the young warrior decided to pursue the issue. Knowing that the fledgling woman would,

eventually, have to visit the “Ladies” a plan was hatched to unfurl a yard of tissue from the toilet roll,

in the Ladies’ loo, and smear a helping of tresses from the pod of a buffalo-bean thereon. A careful

rewinding of the toilet-roll would leave everybody none the wiser. Sure enough, and before long, the

“mini-skirted Coke bottle” needed to “spend a penny” – whereupon, the deflated soldier approached

the DJ for a change of tune. When the lass reappeared from “powdering her nose”, Jessica Jones was

in full swing with “Waikiki Man” – part of the lyrics being, “dance to the music as long as you can”.

Perhaps those lyrics should have read “……… as fast as you can” because, the warrior sure got his

wish! And the rest is history, of course, – but, it does make one wonder why Clem Tholet, or John

Edmond, never a wrote a song entitled “Casavac!!!”

Inter-branch news

For the first time since its inception, “The Sitrep” has received news from one of the other Africa

branches. This from Nick “Skippy” Michell in KZN

Sitrep 1: On 24th November 2019 RASA (Rhodesian Association of South Africa) held their Annual Charity Golf

day which this year fielded 3 teams from RLI. The RLI have always been a great contributor - financially and

"spiritually" if you get my drift, and they continue to support the event every year. Unfortunately, I couldn't join

them on the course this year but, once my role as "chief bottle washer" is over, I will be back.

Sitrep 2: Pursuant to my first book "Out on a Limb" which I released in November 2018 I have a second out,

which details the start to end of Operation Enterprise which was being fought just 20kms outside Salisbury and

came to be known as "The Battle for Salisbury", ending up as arguably the most successful internal Operation

of the war. You can obtain a copy from me at R250 which excludes postage. Order directly from me at

skipworth61@gmail.com

Thanks for this, Skippy – good effort.

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Cheers. Keep your head down, pecker up, and pay your subs. Until next time.

Ed