Cavalry years remain a highlight

 

Guest speaker of the month, John Clark entertained the club with stories of his time with the Mounted Squadron of The Lifeguards Regiment, Household Cavalry.

Born in England in 1935, John left school in the early 50s and followed in his father’s footsteps serving three years with the Household Cavalry. This involved basic training at Windsor as an ordinary guardsman soldier where he learned how to ride and look after horses. If it moved you saluted it, if it was stationary you polished it. That’s when he was first introduced to Kiwi boot polish.

Later John transferred to Knightsbridge in London and the final stage of training. He took part in the Sovereign’s Escort at the State Opening of Parliament ceremony, and at state visits by overseas dignitaries, as well as the annual ‘Trooping the Colour’ pageantry review before Her Majesty at Horse Guards Parade.

John transported us all back to London and our own memories of seeing the mounted Household Cavalry perform their duties and have photos taken with tourists whilst behaving with the utmost dignity.

A highlight of John’s army career in 1955 was touring England and Scotland for three months as a member of the world-famous ‘Household Cavalry Musical Ride’. Dressed in full ceremonial regalia, demonstrating advanced dressage exercise performances combined with intricate formation riding presentations to music in open-air arenas before excited audiences. A thrilling experience.

After three years the option was to sign on for the long haul or take a different path. He chose not to re-enlist and said farewell to the military way of life, a life he enjoyed immensely, along with the camaraderie of his army colleagues and his enjoyment of working with horses.

In 1957 he immigrated alone to New Zealand, arriving in Wellington on a particularly cold and bleak day, however, things got better as he met and married a Kiwi girl.

John then spent his life working in the agricultural industry. After six months on a 500 acre stud sheep and cattle station at Masterton, he worked for two seasons as a herd tester on dairy farms in northern Wairarapa, followed by many more years in the stock and station industry around Masterton and Martinborough. John transferred for several years to Te Puke in the Bay of Plenty before transferring again to Te Kuiti in the King Country.

In 1982 John moved as a north island sales manager to Franklin District, where eventually he worked for 17 years in rural real estate based at Waiuku before retiring from the workforce. This was followed by 12 years as a volunteer assistant with the NZ Police and in 1988 he took his Kiwi wife to the UK for a visit. However, his three year experience with the Mounted Squadron remains as one of the highlights in his life.

Next meeting
Next meeting is Thursday November 19, 2pm. Mangawhai Probus meet every third Thursday in the month at the Senior Citizens Hall, Fagan Place, Managwhai at 2pm. If you require more info or transport please contact Ron and Gaylene Lawrence 431 5617 or Beve Smith 431 5777. All visitors are welcome.

The club’s Christmas lunch will be on Thursday December 17.