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BRIAN RICHARD CONWAY 42A Brian’s life recorded from his letters over a period of 8
years. Brian was recalled to H.Q. on the 16th September 2011. Contributed by: Trevor STUBBERFIELD (52A) |
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I
first met Brian in 1954 when he was a R.E.M.E Sgt. Technical Instructor at
the Arborfield Army Apprentices School.
I was in 4 Div. as an Apprentice Vehicle Mechanic and Brian was instructing
on Vehicle Ignition Systems. Although
I had no knowledge at the time of his background, it was clear that Brian had
a great empathy with the apprentices he was teaching. The reasons were to become much clearer
later in life. One thing for sure was
that he knew all the ins and outs of any of the scams or tricks we tried to
get away with. After
getting in touch with Brian again in 2003 there followed a ‘catching up’
series of letters, each normally consisting of ten pages, laboriously bashed
out on his trusty typewriter. Over the
next eight years he steadily refused to succumb to the temptations of the
internet and e-mails, preferring his old reliable method of communication. There appeared a story of a quite nomadic
life that he and Pam experienced, behind which was a continuing theme of
working with and teaching the youth of wherever he was at the time. The
only way I think I can do justice to Brian’s life is in the form of a
time-line, interspersed with his recollections in his own words. And so………… |
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Chepstow Army Technical School This
is where I was born as my father was an Instructor Electrician, Royal
Engineers at the school. RE history
dominated and at one time I thought I might go to Kneller Hall to be trained
as a Bandmaster with the RE as my Grandfather had been. 1937 – 1942 Duke of York’s Royal
Military School, Dover. I
was a ‘Dukie’ (Duke of York’s Royal Military School, Dover) member of the
Corps of Drums (drum, fife and bugle) 1937 to 42 and had been destined for a
career in military music until my father stepped in and insisted on my
following a technical career. I had
been evacuated with the DYRMS to the Queen Victoria’s School at Dunblane for
two terms. 1942 - 1944 Arriving at Arborfield. Walking
through the gates of Arborfield on the 19th January 1942 the first chap I met
was Bandmaster Nell of the 4/7th Royal Dragoon Guards, the DYRMS
bandmaster. “Name boy?” “Conway Sir”
“In the band at the Dukies weren’t you?”
“Yes Sir” “Well you’re in the band here as well”. Thus I became one of the first members of
the newly formed Corps of Drums, becoming its first Boy Drum Major after just
three months at the school. 1944 The Dispersal. Arborfield
ATS was dispersed at Easter 1944, the camp to be used for the preparation of
‘D’ landings in Normandy. I finished my apprenticeship at the Motor Fitters
School at Aldershot. I passed the
trade test and was sent to Ashton under Line for a four week driving course,
then on to Colchester for six weeks of infantry training which made
Arborfield look a doddle in comparison.
They did not like ex-boys and it showed. In 1945 a Luton private school had been
commandeered by REME as a holding unit where all new recruits into REME were
posted. Luton was next for an onward
posting to 4 Command W/S, REME, York.
After a few days there I was sent to 1 Command W/S, REME, Catterick to
work, under instruction, on Churchill, Sherman, Stuart, Cromwell and Comet
tanks. A course at Luton for two weeks
came next involving work on the Cadillac engines used in the Churchill. It came in handy later in my position as a
Churchill ARV commander with the Royal Tank Regiment. Then it was back to Arborfield for a course
on the Valentine ‘Scissors Bridge’ and
Churchill ‘Jumbo Bridge’ launching equipment. Back
to Catterick again. 1945 - 1947 India. Posted
to the Armoured Corps School, Ahmednagar, India, as a Sergeant in the IEME at
the age of 19. 1947 – 1949 2
Base W/S, Tel el Kebir. Kenya, 1948
Italian Somaliland (Mogadishu). 1949 UK Tidworth. 7th
Royal Tank Regiment. Here I met Pam
and we married in 1950. 1950 Korea. Recovery
Sergeant with C Squadron, 8th Hussars.
C Squadron 7 Royal Tank Regiment. You
may have read ‘Kim il Sung! My part in
his downfall’ written by myself and published on page 22 of ‘The Forgotten
Punch in the Army’s Fist’ written and compiled by John Dutton 43A in which my meeting of, and marriage to, Pam is
recorded with both Lt. Colonel (now Brigadier) Snow and me finding ourselves
in Korea. John has it slightly wrong
in that Pam and I met in 1949 but actually married in 1950 when the Korean
War started. 1954 - 1957 Return to Arborfield. January
1954 my first stint as a technical Instructor. I remember Tommy Latham teaching Engine
Assemblies in VM 2 including Engine Testing on the dynamometer installed at
the end of the Blacksmith and Welding shop.
Mr Cahill taught Vehicle Electrics, Jack Huber was on Carburetion, Ted
‘Lofty’ Lay with Motorcycles, Mr Holloway had Axles and Gearboxes, Wally Cork
Fuel Injection Equipment and Mr Abbott was the Senior Workshop
Instructor. Others recalled are Mr
Winsome in VM 3, the Senior Workshop Officer and Mr Giddings who was my
instructor in VM 3. 1957 - 60 624 Ordnance Depot Vehicle Park W/S
Benghazi, Libya. Here
I met Roy Durston 54B My
next posting was to Cyprus, 8 Infantry W/S, Nicosia, and our MFO was sent on
ahead. Unfortunately the posting was
cancelled and I had to set up a makeshift LAD with Bill Tate as OC. Benina
airport holds no pleasant memories for me.
An incoming flight from East Africa had crashed into the surrounding
hills killing everyone on board, and we were called in to solder the mortal
remains into air-tight linings before being fitted into the coffins and
airlifted back to the UK. Editor’s note. This link leads to a report on the crash http://tinyurl.com/68rb2qv 1960 - 1967 Army Technical College I
returned to the college at my own request, I was a glutton for
punishment. My first task was to
reform the Corps of Drums, but this time with Flutes, Drums and Bugles, a
completely independent band in its own right, alongside the Military Band (Band Sergeant Major Toby Parker of the
Argyle and Sutherland
Highlanders), and the Pipes and Drums under Pipe Major Ronnie Carver
(Royal Highland Fusiliers). I met Michael Cheeseman 62C who was a side
drummer and to this day is a member of the Corps of Drums Society. In between times I did do some
instructing. I also attended Reading
Technical College as a day-release student along with evening classes at
Farnborough Technical College for the CGLI Full Tech Cert. and IMI Membership
respectively, the minimum qualifications required for entry to the Teacher
Training College at Roehampton, London. 1967
Left the army. I
finally left Arborfield after thirteen years service there, man and boy.
After my experiences at Arborfield I planned to take up teaching as a career
in civilian life. When I got to
Garnett College I soon found out I had a lot to learn about how to teach. Then
followed a series of Teaching Posts Overseas in Technical Education. 1968 - 69 Tobruk to the Bahamas. Starting
in Tobruk (back to Libya again) at the Islamic Arts and Crafts Institute
although not for long. Colonel Ghadafi
(only a Captain at the time) threw all of my team out of the country during
the coup in 1969. I met Captain
Ghadafi, by request, regarding matters pertaining to the school and
staff. All my questions were met with
“Lah. Mushariff” (I don’t know) although I knew he could speak English having
attended a signals course with the British army. and the Bahamas
beckoned. I was a Lecturer and
Industrial Liaison Officer for the Motor Trade of the Bahamas Islands. I established what trades were required to
be taught, in return for which the Motor Trade would take my students from
the Technical College. It came to a
halt when the Bahamas gained independence and we were effectively thrown out
of the country when the government refused to renew any work permits. 1972 – 75 Sultanate of Oman So
once again I was on the move in 1972 to the Sultanate of Oman where I was
appointed to the post of Head of Mechanical Engineering at the Oman Technical
Institute on a three year contract, leaving in 1975 after three very happy
years. 1975
Saudi Arabia and More training. Eight
years after leaving the army I felt out of touch with the latest developments
in the motor trade and so followed three years working as Service Manager
with Chrysler Motors in Saudi Arabia.
This was a three month project training Pakistani mechanics to
assemble Dodge 3 ton trucks from semi knocked down kits for the Saudi
National guard. I finished the job in
record time and was pleased to leave Saudi.
On this assignment I met up with Colonel
George Paris MBE REME, who was my last commandant at the Arborfield
Apprentices College before I left the army.
It felt very strange addressing him as George and him me as Brian. I
felt I ought to salute him each time we met. 1976
United Arab Emirates. Two
years spent here as Service Manager with General Motors, one year in Abu
Dhabi and then one year in Dubai for the distributor of Oldsmobiles and
Pontiacs. There followed a post with a
Swiss Company, ORT (Organisation for Rehabilitation through Training). 1978 – 80 Nigeria (Kaduna). Employed
at the Peugeot Assembly Plant as part of an International Training Force to
train the Nigerian workforce to assemble 404 and 504 Saloon cars sent out
from France in component form. 3000
employees assembling 280 cars per day.
Good money, paid in Swiss Francs into a Swiss account. I enjoyed the training but not the country
and was glad when Pam and I returned to the Sultanate of Oman. 1980 - 86 Sultanate of Oman. I
was employed as the Senior Mechanical Engineer for Royal Properties, based at
Salalah Here I met up with Pat O’Hara 52B (ex REME Captain) who
was now the Director of Royal Road Transport belonging to HM Sultan Qaboos
and on a visit from his base at Muscat, the capital of Oman. 1986
Retirement. I retired
in 1986 and Pam and I came to live in Cyprus. ___________________________________________________________________________________ |
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Photos of Brian and Pam can be viewed from the links
below.
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First Published: 15th November 2011. Latest Update: 15th February 2015. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ |
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