Sgt. Feather SomLI & SCLI (WO2 on retirement)

Martyn Feather, son of the Late CSM Charles Feather has kindly sent in this gallery for us all to enjoy and spark a memory.

In tribute to my Father

Charles Feather - CSM. - Died 5th. August 1994 aged 68yrs after a long illness. He enlisted first into the Royal Navy on 9 December 1943 and transferred after 8 months to DLI, then KOYLI in 1944 and finally Som LI on 25 March 1947 and served in that Regt until discharged on 16 November 1947.
He re-enlisted into Som LI on 5 March 1952, where he served with BAOR, FARELF and MELF, and on amalgamation, with SCLI on 7 November 1959. He served with the SCLI in Osnabruck, Gibraltar and Berlin.
In 1965 he was posted to DCLI TA at Bodmin as PSI. In 1967 he was posted to 1 KOYLI/2LI in Berlin as CSM. In 1969 he moved to 1 LI in Northern Ireland, then Lemgo in 1970 and finally to the LI Depot at Shrewsbury, where he was discharged from the army on 6 November 1972 after serving for a total of almost 24 years. Later he joined the TA serving with 6 LI in Cornwall in the rank of WO2.

Martyn writes:

Can I also share a little piece of history with you regarding the 12 September 1959 Somerset Light Infantry farewell parade at Knook Camp - almost 47 years later on 22 January this year, my TA squadron (265 (KCLY) Signal Squadron (Sharpshooters)) was disbanded and reformed with Headquarter Squadron (KCLY) as 265 (KCLY) Support Squadron (Sharpshooters) - the disbandment parade took place in front of the Duke of Westminster at, of all places, Knook Camp!

It wasn't until visiting your site that I realised both myself and my father had probably taken part in the same sort of parade in exactly the same place.

May I also thank you for your kind invitation to your next reunion, I would be delighted to attend. If at all possible I would also like to bring my mother as she would no doubt love to meet old friends again.

Oh and yes, the little guy with the ginger hair in some of the photos is me! Sad to say, there's less hair now, and its certainly no longer ginger!

Finally, regarding my parade at Knook Camp this year, if anyone is interested there are some photos of the parade here Knook Camp Parade.

1956 SomLI. - I know this one from 1956 pre-dates the SCLI (and me for that matter - I arrived the following year) but in the photo are Sgt Eric Herrington and future wife Thelma, Jean Feather and Sgt Charles Feather.

Berlin

Sgt Charles Feather

Casemates Square

My Mother Jean Feather and Major Stevens

The car featured in two of the pics (one black and white and one colour), and taken in Southern Spain, was a VW Karmen Ghia.

Alameda Gardens, my Dad and I.

With my Dad on the Upper Rock

Camp Bay Beach Gibraltar

Martyn Feather and Rock Ape

Dad, Smudger and Me.

El Adem

Catalan Bay

Eagle Airlines Britannia

Brandenburg Gate Berlin

BrandenburgGate.jpg - in the photo are my mother Jean Feather, myself, Marion Hall and Jo Hall (Ray Hall's wife and daughter).

TerryKeane. - an additional humourous bit to this one, almost immediately after the photo was taken, the ape decided to urinate down Terry's back - woops! The other thing I remember about that day was one of the apes leaping through a taxi window and nicking my peanuts!

BerlinLastDay.jpg - my mother and myself just before leaving Berlin.

Gibraltar

Senior NCO's Gibraltar.

MarchingOut Form. - thought I'd include this one to jog the memories of all those married servicemen and their wives, this was when we handed over the quarter at 390 Imber Road, Warminster before moving on to Osnabruck. (I was about two and a half years old then!)

View Flat Bastion. - this is where we first lived in Gib, nice view but grotty place built in the nineteenth century, overrun with mice and cockroaches, had to go outside to the bathroom, and the floor above the bathroom was supported with scaffold poles! It also had a small backyard backing onto a sheer rockface. We moved to St Georges Block fairly soon after.

Senior NCO's Gibraltar