Category Archives: Military

Britain, Military

Two soldiers of the Coldstream Guards charged with firearm offences

COLDSTREAM GUARDS

A SERVICEMAN chosen to be the most senior soldier in the historic Coldstream Guards of the British Army has been charged with “conspiracy to sell ammunition”.

Kirtland Gill, 40, and a fellow serving soldier from the regiment – which is among the elite units tasked with guarding the royal palaces – are accused of firearm offences.

Jamaican-born Gill was recently selected to be its next regimental sergeant major – a key post in the regiment which is involved in the discipline and welfare of the enlisted men.

Gill, considered a poster boy for recruitment, has met the Queen twice and has previously been described as an “ideal role model for all soldiers”.

The prosecution of such a prominent figure has sent shockwaves through the Army. The son of a fisherman born into a poor family, Gill flew to Britain to visit relatives aged 20 and ended up enlisting with the Army.

A Warrant Officer Class 2, he served in Iraq and Afghanistan with the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards. He had been due to take up the regimental sergeant major post later this year in the longest continually serving Army regiment. It would have put him in charge of orchestrating events like the Queen’s Birthday Parade.

Last year, Lieutenant Colonel David Marsham, Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion, congratulated him on the promotion, saying: “Alongside being the first black sergeant major of the battalion, he is a tried and tested soldier with an immaculate service record and great vision for the job. He is an ideal role model for all soldiers.” It is understood that the promotion is now on hold pending the outcome of the prosecution.

Gill was charged with conspiracy to sell or transfer ammunition and possession of a prohibited weapon, namely an imitation firearm capable of discharging a “noxious liquid”.

It came after a six-month operation by Scotland Yard’s Flying Squad and follows raids on addresses in Berkshire in January, when a quantity of 9mm calibre pistol ammunition was recovered.

Lance Sergeant Rajon Graham, 32, was also charged to conspiracy to sell or transfer ammunition and four counts of selling or transferring ammunition.

Both men have been bailed to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on July 1.

The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regiment in the British Army, having been active since 1650. Like other foot guards’ regiments, its soldiers wear scarlet jackets and black bearskin hats when on ceremonial duty as protectors of royal palaces, including Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace.

The regiment acquired its name because it spent three months staying in Coldstream in Berwickshire in 1659.

Dubbed the “Lilywhites”, the regiment’s motto is ‘Nulli Secundus’ – second to none.

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Britain, Military

Royal Marine Commando: ‘On The Front Line’

LYMPSTONE

No civilian had ever come any where near passing the Royal Marine Commando course. But back in 2012 ITV journalist Chris Terrill hoped to be sent on secondment with the Royal Marines in Afghanistan. To be able to do so he was first required to pass the 32-week ‘non-combatant’ military training course. He was 55 at the time. This video shows in extraordinary and accurate detail what Chris went through at Lympstone with the Royal Marines. It runs for almost 47 minutes.


. The badge is designed to commemorate the history of the Royal Marines as a Corps.

. The ‘Crowned Lion on a Crown’ denotes that it is a Royal regiment. It was King George III who conferred this honour in 1802 in view of the meritorious services of the Marines in the late war.

. The word ‘Gibraltar’ represents the Siege of Gibraltar in 1704.

. ‘Per Mare Per Terram‘ means ‘By Sea, By Land.’
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Britain, Europe, France, Government, History, Military, Society, United States

75th Normandy Commemoration

NORMANDY

SEVENTY-FIVE years ago, Britain had embarked on its most momentous military mission. Upon the outcome of D-Day, June 6 – the largest seaborne invasion the world has ever seen – hinged the very freedom of all Europe. Events this week in Normandy have been an impassioned reminder of the huge sacrifice and human cost of liberating Europe from the tyranny of Hitler and the Nazis.

Codenamed Operation Overlord, it was an endeavour of mind-blowing scale and complexity. Some 156,000 British, American and Canadian troops landed on French soil in a heroic push to prise Hitler’s choking grip from the Continent.

Few were highly experienced, meticulously trained military men. Most were plucked from loving families and ordinary jobs: Insurance clerks, shopkeepers, postmen.

Displaying unimaginable courage, they stormed the chaotic Normandy beaches. It was, undoubtedly, hell on Earth – wading ashore into a hail of bullets, with shells exploding, the sea red with human blood, and the piercing screams of the dying.

Quite easily, the enterprise could have foundered – leaving Europe caught in the death roll of Nazi dictatorship. But thanks to the tenacity and sacrifice of the selfless men who fought that tumultuous day in 1944, the attack succeeded – altering the course of the Second World War.

Yes, the human price paid was huge. On D-Day alone, around 4,400 Allied troops paid the ultimate sacrifice. But tyranny was conquered, and the Continent liberated.

This week, a dwindling band of military veterans were joined by royalty and world leaders in Portsmouth – an embarkation point for the battle – to commemorate the anniversary. To witness the intrepid warriors – all aged over 90 – wiping away tears for fallen comrades was moving and humbling.

Her Majesty the Queen commended the resilience of the “wartime generation”. The bravery of those who fought – and died – would never be forgotten, she said. They deserved the thanks of the whole free world.

Truly, the debt our heroes are owed cannot be repaid.

 

YET, what would these exemplary men, who stoically stared death in the face when barely out of short trousers, make of today’s intemperance and bigotry?

In attendance was Jeremy Corbyn, who aspires to be prime minister, but who invariably fraternises with our enemies. His contempt at President Trump being an honoured guest at the anniversary was visceral – even though American GIs died to preserve our liberty. The US, via NATO, has ensured peace in Europe ever since.

Earlier, he whipped his Marxist acolytes into such a frenzy of hate an NHS worker ignorantly shrieked “Nazi scum” in the face of a Trump supporter.

Welcome, then, to the new intolerance of the hard-Left. Anyone failing to share their bigoted and hateful views is branded racist or fascist – even at events celebrating freedom.

Since these buffoons have clearly never read a history book, here’s a lesson: The Nazis murdered six million Jewish people, and stamped the evil of fascism across Europe. Someone who merely proffers a different opinion is not a Nazi.

Each time these screeching fanatics resort to such disgusting slanders, they cheapen the very ideals the veterans fought for.

250 giants of D-Day, now frail but burning with the valour that carried them to victory, returned to Normandy in an act of pilgrimage. They witnessed the inauguration of the first British monument on the coast of France to honour the 22,442 members of our Armed Forces killed there.

Seventy-five years ago, Britain had far more to worry about than the present political turmoil of Brexit. The future of the world was in the balance.

But even after we have untangled ourselves from the EU, Europe will remain our historical and geographical kin. In times of danger, Britain will resolutely defend the freedoms given to us by the band of brothers on D-Day.

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