Latest news with #GreenHowards
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
D-Day diorama to go on display at North Yorkshire regimental museum
An 'incredibly detailed' D-Day diorama will be on display at a North Yorkshire regimental museum. The Green Howards Museum in Richmond will showcase the model, which marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day, from May 29. The diorama was created by 15-year-old Ted Hemsworth, the youngest member of the North Riding Scale Model Club. The model commemorates the role of the 6th and 7th Battalion, Green Howards on June 7, 1944 - the day after D-Day. The model commemorates the role of the 6th and 7th Battalions of the Green Howards on the day after D-Day (Image: Green Howards Museum) The scene features a model of CSM Stanley Hollis VC, the only soldier awarded the Victoria Cross on D-Day. Ted's model was recently exhibited at the National Scale Model Show in Telford, where he was named Junior National Champion by the International Plastic Modellers' Society (IPMS). Ted began building Warhammer models at the age of 11 and founded a Warhammer club at his school, Stokesley School, in Year 8. His interest in historical military models led him to recreate scenes from different periods, and he is currently working on British Infantry soldiers from the Napoleonic Wars (1799–1815). His D-Day diorama is constructed using a mix of materials. The soldiers are hand-painted with precision (Image: Green Howards Museum) The base is layered cardboard, shaped and built up to create terrain. Soldiers are hand-painted with precision, right down to CSM Hollis's rank stripes. Landscape elements are created from matchsticks, foam, and even cotton wool to simulate explosions. The North Riding Scale Model Club meets fortnightly and welcomes all ages and abilities, with members working across genres from fantasy to historical subjects. The group offers support, advice, and a community for anyone interested in the hobby. The Green Howards Museum pays tribute to over 300 years of Green Howards regimental history. The regiment was raised in 1688 and amalgamated with The Yorkshire Regiment in 2006. The museum is 50 years old and is located in the old Trinity Church in Richmond's Market Place. Its archives contain more than 35,000 artefacts and there are more than 4,500 medals on display in the Medal Room (including 18 Victoria Crosses and George Crosses), as well as the regimental silver and Richmond Town Hall silver. The Green Howards have seen action in almost every country in the world. Their bravery is renowned and this new exhibition pays homage to the 2,000 Green Howards who served in Normandy on D-Day, having arrived both by sea and by air. At the heart of the Green Howards Museum's mission is its specialist research service centred on the discovery, recording and preservation of artefacts, stories and memories for future generations. The museum is a charitable trust committed to conserving 300 years of Green Howards military history and providing a continuing, accessible narrative of its prestigious past. Based locally in Richmond Castle and then in the barracks on Barrack Hill (now The Garden Village), the Green Howards served in every major conflict around the world, including the Crimean War, World Wars I and II, and more recently, the Gulf War. The museum's regular exhibitions and events commemorate not only the history of the Green Howards but also reinforce the unique heritage link between the regiment and Richmond's local community.
The Guardian
07-05-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Mick Biegel obituary
My friend Mick Biegel, who has died aged 69 of cancer, operated successfully in varied arenas, primarily in the armed forces. He spent 10 years in the Green Howards, 15 years in the Territorial Army (now the Army Reserve), and was commandant of the Essex army cadet force. He also led the education team at the Military Corrective Training Centre (MCTC) in Colchester, Essex, for which he appointed OBE in 2004. Born in Salisbury, Wiltshire, to Petal (nee Chapman), who later worked for the RSPB, and Patrick Biegel, an RAF officer, Mick also held in high regard his uncle Peter Biegel, an equestrian artist, whose work was favoured by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. Mick was educated at Dauntsey's school in the county, then gained an education degree at Didsbury College of Education (1977). After graduating, but unable to secure a teaching post, he took a summer job in the Dutch bulbfields, which enabled him to reconnect with his Dutch cousins. He then worked for the armed forces goods and services supplier Naafi in Nottingham before going to Sandhurst and being commissioned into the Green Howards in 1980. Military service took him all over the world, including Cyprus, Kenya, Germany, Canada and Australia. While serving in Northern Ireland, he met Alison Glasse, a fellow army officer, in 1986, and they married in 1988. Mick left the army the following year (although in 1999 as a reservist he volunteered for the Nato peacekeeping force in Bosnia), and the couple settled in Great Wigborough, Essex, in 1991. Mick then worked for Essex Training and Enterprise Council as head of training (1991-95), as well as a freelance quality inspector for army education centres. He returned temporarily to full-time reserve service with the MCTC (2001-05), while also serving as commandant of Essex army cadet force. For this, and his voluntary work with the Essex branch of the Army Benevolent Fund and the Essex Youth Trust, he was appointed a deputy lieutenant (DL) for the county of Essex (2004). From 2015 until 2017 he worked as office manager for the Suffolk Chamber of Commerce's New Anglia Growth Hub. All these roles benefited from his capacity to operate positively in any setting – aided by his considerable communication skills, infectious geniality and ability as an engaging raconteur. Mick began battlefield guiding for Anglia Tours in 1999, specialising in the first world war, and led more than 500 tours before his cancer diagnosis in 2017, which led to him losing the ability to project his voice. Despite the illness's severe restrictions, he continued as active a life as possible. I met Mick in 1995 when we became next-door neighbours. After my retirement and his illness we got to know each other very well, watching television sport and having regular 'putting the world to rights' sessions. Mick is survived by Alison, and their children, Thomas and Holly.
BBC News
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Yorkshire Army veterans' cross-Channel VE Day survival challenge
Two Army veterans have challenged themselves to travel from North Yorkshire to Normandy without spending any money to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Holmes, 38, and Doug Lincoln, 35, have set their own rules for the 600-mile (965km) trip to France, including carrying their own kit, surviving on their own rations and only using transport for 90 minutes at a time. The friends, who served together in Afghanistan as part of the Yorkshire Regiment, which was formed in 2006 from three regiments including The Green Howards, left Richmond on Thursday and aimed to arrive in Crepon, France, before 8 May. Mr Holmes said: "We will smash it, easy - we don't do failure. We're from Yorkshire." 'Witty banter' The pair said that once they had arrived at the Green Howards Memorial in Crepon, they aimed to join the commemorations on the Normandy beaches to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two in Holmes and Mr Lincoln have set themselves the target of raising £10,000 for veterans' mental health charity Combat Stress, and they said they had already raised about £3,000 towards that well as raising money, they said the challenge gave them the chance to pay their respects to members of their regiment who gave their lives during World War Two. Mr Holmes said: "It is going to be a mixture of physical effort, but it's also going to be mental effort too. "We will need to use initiative, a bit of witty banter, to get to our destination on time." Mr Holmes explained that the rules they had set themselves included carrying all their own food and water on their backs and having no access to money. "We will have no funds at all, just to make it even harder," he said."We will carry all our own rations, but it will be cold rations, too. I mean, everyone loves cold beans and sausages." Any transport, food, tickets, or shelter could only be obtained as gifts from members of the public they meet along the way, Mr Holmes pair would go live on the internet once a day, "under the guise of 'The Misery Miles'", allowing people to pledge money and encouraging them to set extra challenges in return for a Holmes said one challenge had already been set, which was that they should wear their boots backwards on the last day. Asked how much money was pledged for this, he wrily responded: "Not enough." 'Worth it' Mr Holmes said they believed the "biggest challenge" was going to be getting across the English Channel without any cash."We will aim for Portsmouth, with it being a military town, and we will say, help us get across the water. We will work for our passage."Mr Holmes emphasised that there was a serious side to their cross-Channel undertaking."We dreamed up a unique and difficult challenge that would hopefully generate much support and interest, but also one that would allow us to keep alive the sacrifice of those Green Howards who came before us," he said."It's going to be tough: the uncertainty, the elements, the sleeping rough, the reliance on the generosity of strangers."But if we make it to that memorial and help even one fellow veteran in the process, it will be completely worth it." Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Veteran, 98, handed France's highest honour
A British veteran has been awarded France's highest honour for his service during World War Two. Dennis Smith, 98, from Dormanstown on Teesside, was presented with a Chevalier in the Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur at his care home in Middlesbrough. He had joined the Home Guard aged 16, despite the official age requirement being 18. The French embassy said the country "owed their freedom and security" to his "dedication". When awarded the insignia, Mr Smith said he was thinking back to being over there and that he was "very proud" to receive it. The award recognised his "military engagement and steadfast involvement in the liberation of France", the embassy said. In a letter informing Mr Smith of the appointment in December 2024, the French ambassador to the UK Hélène Duchêne said: "We must never forget heroes like you. "We owe our freedom and security to your dedication, because you were ready to risk your life." Mr Smith was presented the military award at Astune Rise care home by army representatives in a ceremony attended by his family. He said: "It's lovely, isn't it? I'm very proud to receive that." In 1944, Mr Smith joined the Green Howards and was sent to France where he later became part of the Black Watch Regiment. His service took him through Belgium and the Netherlands and on to Germany, where he was based when the war ended. Mr Smith later served with the Lincoln Regiment and the Worcester Regiment and took part in peacekeeping operations in Italy before completing his military service in Germany. After leaving the armed forces he worked as a bus driver and met his wife, Rose, who was a conductor. He has one son, two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. D-Day veteran, 98, awarded Legion d'Honneur D-Day veterans receive French award WW2 veteran given highest honour La grande chancellerie
BBC News
10-03-2025
- General
- BBC News
Teesside WW2 veteran, 98, presented with Legion d'Honneur
A British veteran has been awarded France's highest honour for his service during World War Smith, 98, from Dormanstown on Teesside, was presented with a Chevalier in the Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur at his care home in had joined the Home Guard aged 16, despite the official age requirement being 18. The French embassy said the country "owed their freedom and security" to his "dedication".When awarded the insignia, Mr Smith said he was thinking back to being over there and that he was "very proud" to receive it. The award recognised his "military engagement and steadfast involvement in the liberation of France", the embassy a letter informing Mr Smith of the appointment in December 2024, the French ambassador to the UK Hélène Duchêne said: "We must never forget heroes like you."We owe our freedom and security to your dedication, because you were ready to risk your life." Mr Smith was presented the military award at Astune Rise care home by army representatives in a ceremony attended by his said: "It's lovely, isn't it? I'm very proud to receive that." In 1944, Mr Smith joined the Green Howards and was sent to France where he later became part of the Black Watch Regiment. His service took him through Belgium and the Netherlands and on to Germany, where he was based when the war ended. Mr Smith later served with the Lincoln Regiment and the Worcester Regiment and took part in peacekeeping operations in Italy before completing his military service in leaving the armed forces he worked as a bus driver and met his wife, Rose, who was a has one son, two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
