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MARCH
2015
The Clerk’s Newsletter
CLERK’S CORNER
You will all have received my message about the Company’s Events during the rest of the
Master’s Year. I do want to flag the importance of Wednesday 27th May, the significance of
which will become clearer in the next few weeks.
It was a great disappointment to have to cancel ‘Strike Up The Band’ because of insufficient
ticket sales. A number of members have generously made donations despite the cancellation
and if others would like to do so, please contact the Office to find out how best to do this.
Although the Master’s Outing is not until mid-June, we
have to confirm numbers by mid-May so the ‘flyer’ with full
information accompanies this Newsletter. This will, I know,
be a most interesting and enjoyable summer outing. With
Easter in early April we don’t want this to be missed so
please make sure your booking is returned by Friday 1st
May 2015.
SRR
This is the final call for anyone wishing to join the group for the visit on 29th April.
There are 3 spaces remaining.
Nigel Bamping
LLB AKC
The Clerk’s
Newsletter
 A monthly publication
giving detail about
forthcoming events
 Reports about past
events
 Detail of the Master’s
diary
 News from our
affiliations
 News about the Livery
and Liverymen
Royal Marines
Those of you who heard the Commandant General at last year’s Banquet or read his speech
in the Newsletter will know how much they value the affiliation with the Plaisterers. In February we were able to make the Hall available for a lunch after a Memorial Service for a former
Royal Marine Brigadier. In March there will be 400 in the Hall for breakfast prior to the Afghanistan Campaign Service at St Paul’s Cathedral. That is a representation of what it means
for us to be ‘a member of the Corps family’. A good number of those attending will have
been seriously wounded during the conflict and are benefitting from assistance from the
RMCTF, the Master’s Charity.
The Master’s visit to the Royal Marines Commando Training Centre at Lympstone in December featured in the latest edition of the Corps magazine, ‘Globe & Laurel’ and I am including it
in this Newsletter along with a piece about 10 Training Squadron, responsible for Landing
Craft Training and an interesting item about the humanitarian role of the Royal Marines in the
current Ebola outbreak. If you have questioned why the Company supports the Royal Marines I hope in these three articles you will find part of the answer.
Committees
We will need new members on several committees from July. I am disappointed that no-one
has responded to my invitation at the end of last year. Most Committees only meet 4 times a
year but they do essential work. Can you give some of your time and enthusiasm to help the
Company?
Gone but not Forgotten
Past Master Peter David Holliday, 1947-2015
Mrs Esme Crozier (widow of Liveryman William Crozier) in her 100th year.
(see page3)
Inside this issue:
Clerk’s Corner
1
Royal Marines
2/3/6
Master’s Diary
4
Livery News
4
Looking Ahead
5
News of Honorary
Liveryman
5
Page 2
The Clerk’s Newsletter
ROYAL MARINES
The Master and Mistress visited the Specialist Training Wing at CTCRM Lympstone on Tuesday 2nd December. The ‘Top Student’ was Cpl Palmer (see photo of him receiving his prize). Here is Cpl Palmer’s article from ‘Globe & Laurel’ about the S1
Signallers Course:
We are (now) finally there! - The story: ‘At the Line of Departure’ - Thirteen weeks ago (8 September), nine budding S1 signallers arrived at CTCRM, to be greeted by the CISTC Training Officer, WO1 Wilson RM, with his Opening Address and an endless
supply of stationery, paper and most importantly, a large bundle of ‘Pamphlet 208’, all of which came in very useful from day
one.
‘Contact, Wait Out’ - Straight into an assessed exam, the S2 final written paper (to ensure we have retained a level of
knowledge), ‘Brilliant!’. This was the followed by two weeks of ‘blowing out the cobwebs’ including Ex Blazing Trail which, in a
nutshell, is the S2 final exercise. This Ex put us through our paces, setting up man-pack and vehicle, Coy HQ CPs and relevant
comms links. We were assessed on Move Orders and reminded ourselves of the local training area by navigating around
Woodbury Common (or did we, Cpl De-Van?); it was a timely reminder of what was to come and the speed and temp of the
course which we would encounter as potential S1s.
‘Prepare to Move’ - A hugely beneficial week-long package at the School of Signals, Blandford then followed. Here we conducted Ex Rich Tapestry, which included yet more Move Orders and also detailed Radio Rebroadcast Planning. Whilst we were
away from CTCRM we did however have homework, a host of Defence Writing problems to work on, and so no early nights at
the local night spots for us (oh really!). We had to prepare, write then subsequently deliver various exercises within our syndicate groups.
‘Re-Org’ - Weeks 4 and 5 consisted of a combination of lectures and signals exercises to plan and run. All of the lads had much
morale which the DS tried to ‘hoover up’ but, not matter how hard he tried, we remained in good spirits. Weeks 6 and 8 again
saw us conducting exercises which were based on syndicate produced paperwork. Ex Radiant Thought followed, a RRB/VHF/
HF set of comms trials, for which we had to produce Post Exercise Reports and presentations to demonstrate our methods and
actual findings.
‘Warning Order’ - Weeks 9 to 11 consisted of more challenging deployment which included Ex Penultimate Shift, an interesting
insight into how to establish Bravo HQ (moving five times in 48 hours). Ex Far Horizon, the culmination of the last nine weeks
of instruction and practice is the ten day Final Ex conducted on Salisbury plain with both the S3 students and the Combat Intelligence 2 course; a challenging collaborative exercise which confirmed we could conduct the roles of CP SNCO, Radio CSgt and
other Coy or RRB commander appointments. Combining signals and CI specialists on a single final exercise adds realism to the
simulation of complexity and concurrent activity in a CP. Contrary to popular belief, I did put in my ‘stop shorts and recces’.
We even had some short term field commissions with some students taking on the role of RSO. Typically the weather did not
let us down and we were constantly deluged with wind and rain plus yes, you guessed it, loads of mud (thanks to the armoured
Battle Groups). These conditions could still not break or dampen the morale of the course. Thanks must go to S3 3/14 who
really ‘dug out blind’ for us.
‘Recovery Phase’ - Weeks 12 and 13 focused on our final projects which had
been set at the beginning of the course. In syndicates of three, we had to
present to our relevant subject sponsors, other signals ‘experts’ from within
CISTC and out guests (who sponsor the S1 course) the Mast Plaisterer, Mr
Mike Jones , his wife Heather and the Plaisterers’ Clerk, Mr Nigel Bamping
from The Worshipful Company of Plaisterers, one of the Livery Companies of
the City of London. That evening, we held the top student award ceremony
in the Sergeants’ Mess where, alongside a curry buffet, Cpl Powell gave our
guests an overview of the S1 course and I was presented with the Plaisterers’ Trophy (plus a nice cheque to spend over Christmas).
‘End Ex’ - The course was exceptionally challenging but all students were taught and assessed in a fair and appropriate manner. Thanks must go to our instructors, WO2 Chris Higgins RM and CSgt Jon Platt. With no more Sigs dits to spin, the course is
now complete. The Christmas decorations are up and I am about to start a ComBAT Staff user course on Monday, Hoofing!
If you thought being a Royal Marine was just about marching and firing a gun, think again!!
Continued/….
Page 3
ROYAL MARINES (continued)
Worshipful Company of Plaisterers
‘Operation Gritrock—Fighting Ebola
Facing enemy fire takes bravery. So does going to a country in the grip of a disease for which there is as yet no cure.
Lance Corporal Paul Gray from 539 Assault Squadron (part of 1 Assault Group) presents his light-hearted take on a none-theless dangerous adventure.
As with every deployment there is paperwork, but when you’re preparing for an exercise that is then switched to a real time
humanitarian operation, with no idea of what tasking lies ahead; the admin become a frantic whirlwind. In typical Royal fashion, 539 Squadron rose to the challenge and took it in our stride.
We sailed 17 October from Falmouth, bound for Sierra Leone and joining us for the trip was a troop from 42 Cdo. The sea
transit took 12 days and consisted of; Reception Staging and Onwards Integration (RSOI) - phys on the flight deck (but only
when 820 Sqn weren’t pretending they were characters from ‘Top Gun’), acclimatisation, weapons training and training with
the ship’s crane and upper deck crew (who are proper old sea dogs, but great to work with), which is vital for launching and
recovering all our craft, RM350 Celebrations and more RSOI.
For the Corps Birthday, the two youngest Marines (one from 539 ASRM and one from 42 Cdo) continued the tradition of reciting The Convening Order (with no notes of course), followed by the Captain of Argus reciting a letter from the Brigade Commander wishing us well; all washed down with a tot of port and birthday cake from the ship for sundowners.
We entered the Joint Operating Area (JOA) on 29 October and immediately started our tasking. The first of which was force
protection for RFA Argus as she entered Freetown in order to facilitate the offload of Department for International Development (DFID) stores. This included 32 pick-up trucks donated by the government to aid the logistical efforts. Once alongside,
we received a third dose of RSOI—don’t lick fruit bats and wear mosquito rep, simple.
The following days were filled with dodging thunderstorms, beach and river recces within the Freetown area. This assessed the
suitability for logistical on-load and the need to facilitate a Non Combatant Evacuation Operation (EO) should the occasion
arise. The first was at Lungi Beach, just west of the main airport where we inserted a recce team by Inshore Raiding Craft (IRC)
straight onto the beach via LCVP, local (approx. 200 in total) quickly gathered to see us and they gave us a huge welcome and
provided us with key local knowledge.
The second tasking was to recce an area on the south
end of the Freetown Peninsula called Mama Beach or
Eden Park, which is where some of the Pongos* are
based. Hoofing, get a face to face with another Brit
and get some good knowledge of the surrounding
area.
All our tasking has been interesting and challenging,
many of the waterways and areas are mostly uncharted, with very limited Admiralty data; therefore
detailed navigation planning has been of paramount
importance.
The biggest challenge for us has been to break contact from every Bootneck’s worst enemy, the media.
The attention we’ve been given by the media has
been extremely high throughout the operation so
far—with Royal being in the press or media most
days, the ‘crates’ total is getting pretty high.
539 Squadron is now supporting the Joint Inter Agency Task Force (JIATF) and assisting in slowing the Ebola outbreak. There is
no confirmed end date to Op Gritrock but Royal is ‘cracking on’ and making the most of the experience...more (reports) will
undoubtedly follow but in the meantime, remember, don’t lick the fruit bats!
ANY VOLUNTEERS!!!!
*RM slang for Army
Worshipful Company of
Plaisterers
Page 4
THE MASTER’S DIARY
During February 2015, the Master, Michael Jones, attended the following events on behalf of
the Company. * Indicates he was accompanied by the Mistress

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
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



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Construction Liveries Group Presentation at Saddlers’ Hall
City of London Guides Association Annual Lecture & Evensong at Temple Church
AIS FPDC Plaisterers Awards & Lunch at Plaisterers’ Hall
W/Co of Stationers’ Masters & Clerks’ Dinner at
Stationers’ Hall
W/Co of Coopers’ Masters & Clerks’ Dinner at Coopers’ Hall
W/Co of Architects’ Livery Banquet at Vintners’ Hall*
W/Co of Constructors’ Livery Dinner at Drapers’ Hall
Inter-Livery Pancake Races in Guildhall Yard*
W/Co of Pewterers’ Livery Dinner at Pewterers’ Hall
W/Co of Dyers’ Dinner at Dyers’ Hall
LIVERY NEWS
Past Master David Holliday OBE, Master Plaisterer 2004-2005
The sudden and unexpected death of David whilst on a sailing holiday in the Caribbean
has come as a huge shock to us all.
After schooling in Bristol and at Brixton School of Building, he joined John Laing. Within
20 years he had risen from Articled Student to be Chairman of Laing Homes and Super
Homes Ltd.
He became a Liveryman in 1987 having been encouraged to do so by his father, Leslie
who was already a Member of the Company. His proposer was Past Master W J Bell
and his Seconder, Liveryman P J H Telling.
On leaving Laings in 1988, he was Chief Executive of Admiral Homes and then Chairman
and Chief Executive of Ward Holdings, a role he relinquished in order to become Master
of the Company at very short notice in July 2004 following the untimely death of the
Master Elect, Roger Measom. David was an enthusiastic Master and has continued to
contribute to the life of the Company in many ways in the subsequent decade.
David’s interest in construction and particularly in housing led to an active involvement with the National Housebuilding
Council for which he was awarded an OBE.
Outside work, David’s family were his prime consideration , after that came golf and sailing though not usually at the
same time! David’s beloved Oyster 72 ‘Kealoha 8’ gave him hours of pleasure including his round the world trip in 2008
which led to his book ‘Kealoha 8: A Sailing Adventure”. He was in Cuba with the boat and its crew when he died. Hard
though it is for those who are left, I am sure that in many ways his leaving us whilst on a sailing adventure was very
appropriate.
We extend our deepest sympathy and love to Diana and their three children, and to David’s brother, Assistant Phil
Holliday. We have lost a devoted supporter and servant of the Plaisterers.
The funeral will take place at the Church of St Peter Great Berkhamsted (www.stpetersberkhamsted.org.uk) on
Thursday 5th March at 2.00pm. You are also invited to join the family afterwards at Ashridge Golf Club, Berkhamsted
(www.ashridgegolfclub.ltd.uk). Family flowers only, donations for the Hospice of St Francis (Berkhamsted). If you
plan on attending, please advise the Clerk’s Office.

Mrs Esme Crozier
We express sincere condolences to Master Elect Bill Mahony and his wife Rose on the death of Rose’s mother, Esme and
send them our love. The funeral will take place on Friday 6th March at 1.30 pm at Easthampstead Park Crematorium.
Further information is available from the Clerk’s Office.
Page 5
LOOKING AHEAD
Worshipful Company of Plaisterers
United Guilds Service & Lunch
Friday 20th March 2015
Spring Livery Dinner
Tues 14th April 2015
282 (East Ham) Air Cadets
Presentation Evening
Friday 1st May 2015
Livery Reception
Weds 27th May 2015
Master’s Outing
Friday 19th June 2015
Annual Banquet
Tuesday 7th July 2015
Common Hall, Robing Ceremony, Robing Service & Dinner
Tuesday 21st July 2015
Further details can be obtained from the Clerk’s Office or by visiting the website www.plaistererslivery.co.uk . Booking forms
and event information are also available on the website. Any changes to events will be advised via the website and in the
Newsletter.
HONORARY LIVERYMAN GETS HER GLOVES OFF!!!!!
The Duchess of Cornwall (Citizen & Plaisterer) visited Wiltshire
in February, where she celebrated the 50th anniversary of
Community First, before presenting long service awards to staff
at Dents Fine Accessories.
Her Royal Highness, who is a dog lover herself, was only too
happy to give one lucky pooch in Wiltshire a special treat - a
doggy cake.
Black Labrador Ruby lapped up the dessert, which was made to
appeal to the canine's taste and was even decorated with boneshaped biscuits.
The Duchess smiled and patted the rescue dog as she fed her
the treat while on a tour of a glove maker that first opened its
doors for business in 1777.
The Duchess wore black Dent gloves for the visit to Dents Fine
Accessories, in Warminster.
The Duchess met staff and handed out long service awards on
behalf of the Worshipful Company of Glovers, including one for
Ruby, the chief executive's dog who has been at the firm for a
decade. The Duchess met Alderman Alison Gowman, Past Master of the Glovers’ Company and Court Assistant of the Plaisterers’ Company.
Her Royal Highness also held a pair of 400-year-old gloves which
belonged to Sir Walter Raleigh. Intrigued by the leather items
worn by the Elizabethan courtier, she remarked: "I can't get over
the length of the fingers - they're very elegant."
The Duchess was shown Elizabeth I's coronation glove. Dents was
responsible for making intricate gloves for the last two coronations - King George VI's in 1937 and The Queen's in 1953, with
The Duchess also inspecting the replica of The Queen's glove.
She also tried her hand at webbing to cut glove patterns from
leather and saw a glove ironing station.
HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, with the Master Glover, Mrs
Ann Esselmont, meets Past Master (and Plaisterer),
Alderman Alison Gowman
ROYAL MARINES (continued)
Landing Craft Training
The end of the Royal Marines involvement in Afghanistan has meant that the Corps has
had a major refocus on its Amphibious capability. This coincided with the training
facilities move from Poole in Dorset to a new facility, RM TAMAR in Devonport Dockyard
in Plymouth.
Worshipful Company of
Plaisterers
Contacting the Company
On Friday 5th December the Master, accompanied by the Mistress, presented the prize to
the ‘Top Student’ on the LC1 Course in the new ‘Striker Building’ which was officially
opened the following week. RM TAMAR is situated on the River Tamar but also has an
historic link to HMS Tamar, a Shore Station in Hong Kong for the Royal Marines and Royal
Navy which closed in 1997. The Royal Marines are proud of their history so here is a bit
about ‘Striker Building’:
On 9 December 2014, CO 1AGRM, Colonel Armour opened the newest 1AGRM building on
the RM TAMAR site, located directly behind the Group HQ. The purpose of the building is
to provide briefing facilities and the opportunity to conduct battle preparation for the multitude of personnel who use 1AGRM to train and Force Generate. The building was procured from RUBB and is a semi-permanent shelter, constructed using a concrete base and
built-in modular sections. The final product was even better than first imagined, Measuring 24 x 11m the facility has toilets, a ‘wets’ making area and wet gear stowage, as well as
a large projector, audio system and an all important very capable heating system. Not
only will it be used on a regular basis by the CTCRM students (Recruits, YOs, AACC etc.)
who are trained by 1AGRM on a weekly basis, but it is available to the wider naval and RM
community who may be looking for an area to mount out from on a training evolution; it is
The Plaisterers’ Company
Plaisterers’ Hall
One London Wall
London EC2Y 5JU
Phone: 020 7796 4333
Fax: 020 7796 4334
E-mail:
[email protected]
We needed to provide a name for the building and a competition
was held, with the suggestions narrowed down as a panel
chaired by the Chief of Staff and with the final decision taken by
CO 1AGRM. OC 10 Training Sq, Major Trevor Smith produced the
winning entry, - STRIKER Building—and claimed his prize of a
bottle of Bushmills. The following text explains the rationale
behind the winning entry.
HMS STRIKER (Landing Ship Tank)
HMS Striker was a Landing Ship Tank (LST), specially designed to transport
and deploy troops, vehicles, and supplies onto foreign shores for the conduct of offensive military operations. LSTs were used during World War 2 to
disembark military forces without the use of dock facilities or the various
cranes and lifts necessary to unload merchant ships. They gave the Allies
the ability to conduct amphibious operations at any location on a foreign
shore that had a gradually sloped beach. This ability permitted the Allies to
assault poorly defended sectors, thereby achieving operational surprise and
in many cases, even tactical surprise.
LST 3516 was named HMS Striker in 1947 and was converted to carry heavier tanks. IN the 1950s and 1960s the Mediterranean Fleet had an Amphibious Warfare Squadron, which was employed landing commandos and army troops for operations and exercises. The Squadron’s ships included
LST (Assault) Striker and in the Suez operation and elsewhere, the Squadron was reinforced by other LST(A)s and LSTs.
In June 1953, Striker took part in the Coronation Review at Spithead, representing Portsmouth Home Command and in 1960 she was part of the
Amphibious Warfare Squadron, East of Suez. The ship carried tanks, armoured cars and lighter transport vehicles. They were supported by the
Naval Beach Unit based ashore at Bahrain in HMS Jufair and the HQ ship HMS Meon. One crew member said ‘I served aboard Striker in 61/62,
having flown out to Mombasa, via Nairobi, to join her. She was based at that time in Mombasa and was engaged in the flood relief operations of that
time. We worked the length of the Tana River and carried maize etc to the flooded villages, also rescuing many homeless and taking some to Aden.
We carried a Royal Marine Commando unit, as well as 17/21st Lancers who used to join at Aden. The Marines had a pet dog named ‘Boots’ and the
seaman’s mess had their own mascot in the shape of a large and often bad-tempered monkey named ‘Sippers’. The Marines were led by Sgt Fowler,
who whilst in Gib, turned out noisily every morning at 5am and ran up The Rock and around the base with his rucksack full of bricks...before returning, just as nosily, to the mess, for breakfast!’
As Striker was sued to accommodate, rest and brief troops prior to operations and exercises back then, it was clearly appropriate to use this name for
the new building within RM TAMAR that provides this function for today’s Royal Marines. Uncannily, the bow doors of the HMS Striker, once opened
when beached, closely resemble the roller shutter doors of the newly named STRIKER building.