Africa's Commandos - new book on the RLI

[JMA]

A poem:

The Troopie

He stood erect and proud.
Was unveiled before the crowd,
Representing what could not be said,
A memorial to the brave and dead.

A symbol of courage for all to see,
A salute to soldiers whose souls fly free.
The pride of the Rhodesian Light Infantry,
The man of bronze, the Immortal "Troopie".

He weathered sun and wind and rain.
He suffered not, he felt no pain.
Standing at ease and looking ahead.
He saw not the tears we shed.

A symbol of courage for all to see,
A salute to soldiers whose souls fly free.
The pride of the Rhodesian Light Infantry,
The man of bronze, the immortal "Troopie".

Where he stood is now an empty space.
Nothing else could ever take his place.
Yet he lives on in each and every heart.
In the lives of which he was a part.

Gone is the symbol of courage for all to see,
A salute to soldiers whose souls fly free.
Gone is the pride of the Rhodesian Light Infantry,
Gone is the man of bronze, the immortal "Troopie".



by Mrs. Jenny Ayling, from the RLI Cheetah 1980 Souvenir Edition.

[JMA]

Rededication of The Trooper Hatfield, UK, 2008

Dedication speech by Lt Col JCW (Charlie) Aust - last CO of the RLI:

It is, indeed an honour and privilege to say a few words during this unique and deeply moving ceremony.

On reflection I realize and believe that it is a special time for personal thought. Our joint memories, our thoughts, our personal meditation this day, would fill the pages of military history with the most incredible unique and awe inspiring tales of war and peace.

Before us stands the symbol of our past ----- a sepulcher of our beloved Regiment our comrades, our fallen. Yes ---- these are personal thoughts and memories we cannot share.

It is essential that at the outset I speak on ALL our behalf, to express our deepest appreciation and gratitude to the Marques of Salisbury for the truly incredible and generous gifts he has given us and our Regiment. His permission to lay up our Colors in his private Chapel and to erect our Memorial on his private Estate is remarkable. The Marques' family is deeply embedded in the history of our once wonderful land - let us not forget ‘Hatfield', the suburb home of our Cranborne Barracks.

Let us not forget our Capital City and its title.

I personally remember, my friend Lord Salisbury's brother. Lord Richard Cecil with deep affection - he who died in action on the front line of our war. He who enjoyed our Country and its people. He is held in deep and respected memory today.

Thank you Lord Salisbury. We will remain eternally grateful for your kindness. And we do thank all your staff for their wonderful work to assist us.

We welcome especially this day our new Patron Gen Ron Reid Daly - a founder member of the RLI and a legend of our time and war.

I must also take this opportunity to speak on all our behalf in thanking Martyn Hudson for his truly outstanding efforts in organizing the relocation, repair and erection of our beloved Troopie and indeed for all his incredible work in arranging this unique weekend and all the events. His conduct reflects unbelievable determination, energy and commitment. Martyn, we all salute you in admiration and gratitude and indeed all who assisted you.

Our Chairman, Buttens Buttenshaw, who so sadly was unable to attend reminded me of Col Tufty Bate's statement when we unveiled the Troopie so many years ago ------‘that whilst the breath of one RLI member still existed the statue would remain'. Tufty who initiated the idea for a Regimental War memorial would be so proud this day. Let us thank him for this foresight..

Now I do, again on all our behalf thank all who have done so much to help us. As the years go by and we get older memories may fade but this sacred corner will always ignite that unique torch of military memory.

I do offer our gratitude to all our comrades from across the globe who could not attend who have also done so much for our Association. Let us cast aside differences of opinion which have arisen. Let us cast aside any anger. We thank and think of all our leaders and members across the world that are absent today. Our thoughts are with you.

As the ceremony proceeds I will once again think in sadness and gladness of that unique Regiment. The Troopie will again reveal to the world, a parachute Commando Unit of UNBELIEVABLE ability. A Regiment with nicknames which reveal a character and ability second to none. ‘The Incredibles', ‘The Saints' -‘The Green and White'. A band of brothers drawn together from all the corners of the world. Who can forget or, indeed, even repeat that incorrigible sense of frolic and fun and leg pulling that devastating efficiency in battle, that unbelievable courage and commitment.

I have learnt that comrades in war bring the human closer to his companion, than any other life - style. It is a unique blending of the human race. With gathering maturity our Regiment bred incredible, irreplaceable characters. Rank was deeply respected. Life was extremely tough and hard on so many occasions , yet true friendship jelled between all ranks.

The loss of our comrades initiates (and always will) deep sadness, yet deep pride. Before us today stands our anchor, our joint symbol of deep respect. As the veil falls we will see again he who stood upon the Holy Ground. He, we always saluted in passing --- our beloved Troopie He is now with us forever in safety.

I am reminded, in closing, of a well known song of the 70's. A song reworded by a tough RLI ouen. A song we sang together when enjoying R and R or stand down with a few grogs. I am moved to quote the words which have never ever left me.

"Far have I traveled on land and through sky.
Dark are the valleys, the mountains are green
But oh our Colours fly higher than high
For we are the men of the RLI
Now one lies wounded. He's so far from home.
All of the Troopies they pray for his soul
As life leaves him. He hears a heavenly choir.
As they carry him back to the RLI."

Let us remember those immortal words:

They shall not grow old as we who are left grow old.
Age, shall not wear them. Nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them.

May I end with a 5 word prayer, as I ended the final speech before the Regiment marched off the Parade Ground at Cranborne and into history in 1980.

MAY GOD BLESS THE RLI

Thank you

[JMA]

Lynx : Rhodesian designation for 21 x Reims Cessna FTB337G Milirole delivered to the Rhodesian Air Force. Normal weapons load being twin .303 Brownings, two pods of 37mm SNEB rockets and two 15 gal Frantan (frangible tank - locally made Napalm). They would come in as close as required... the trick was that the pilots were attached to the various Fire Forces for a period of years and they got to know, train and fight with the same RLI soldiers over a long period. They were not just a callsign in the sky... we could put a face to the voice.

[JMA]

A painting of the Angel of Mercy (or Death - depending on whose side you were on):

[JMA]

The death of great RLI soldier Al Tourle while running a tracking course in 1972...

... Just before catching Colin that evening, we heard the roar of lions in close proximity on the ridge just above us to the south of the riverbed. We had decided that we would call it a day, find some water and a suitable place to base up for the night. We filled our water bottles and set up our bivvies on level ground above the riverbed. The area was typical heavily wooded mopani trees/savannah, elephant grass and jesse bush vegetation. In other words thick and dense! We were wet and cold from the rainstorm that had just passed over.

... Al had agreed that we could have a fire that night. A very rare treat I might tell you! As light was falling, Colin and I collected some leadwood and started the fire next to two big rocks. The call of the lions echoed through the still of the evening setting. In the meantime Al and Andr were making comms with Pete and the base back at Kariba. They could not get through to Kariba as the relay station had been brought down for a changeover late afternoon. While this was being effected, a storm had hit the relay position, which forced them to abort the exercise until the next morning. The storm was heading towards Kariba.

... After some time around the fire, Andre and Colin retired to their bivvy for the night. Al and I positioned ourselves on the bigger of the two rocks and started to reminisce about the RLI days. The fire had died down and only the glow of the coals remained. It was about 1930hrs (we did not have watches), it was pitch black and there was a light guti (misty rain) falling on the trees above us. The droplets from the leaves were falling to the ground. Mosquitoes had taken over from where the mopani flies had left off. It was quite noisy in its own special way. Suddenly the stillness of the night erupted with the roar of lions upon us. They had crept up on us from behind totally undetected, a feat that has left an indelible impression on me all my life. The one lion landed right on Als back while the other bumped sides with it and was thrown slightly off line. We were both knocked off the rock towards the coals of the fire. Immediately I scrambled to grab my rifle, which was at the opening of my bivvy. When I turned I could just make out that the one lion had Al by the neck and was dragging him between its legs away into the thick scrub. I instinctively double tapped a few rounds over the top of the lion. It dropped Al and disappeared in the darkness.

Andre and Clive had both joined me by now and we went forward to where Als body lay limply. He was unconscious and lying on his side with his head at right angles. As Andre and I were checking his vital signs the lions came charging back at us. We all grabbed our rifles and discharged a few rounds in the direction of the lions. They immediately dispersed under the volley of fire and ran off into the night. Andre and I turned our attention back to Al. He was just starting to come round, bleeding heavily from his chest, neck and back. The lion that landed on him had locked its jaws around Als neck, its upper jaw piercing his chest and lower back, in the process breaking his neck. We rolled him gently onto his back, moving his head as we rolled him over. I could already feel that his lower body was completely limp. We broke open our medical pack and start to dress the open wounds. As we were doing this Al uttered his first few words, Where am I, what happened?

Al Tourle survived the night but died as dawn was breaking and the CASEVAC chopper was approaching. None of the Rhodesian helicopters had a night flying capability.

[JMA]

The Crippled Eagles



The Crippled Eagles was the informal name of a group of American expatriates that fought with the Rhodesian Security Forces during the Rhodesian Bush War. The name and emblem came from author Robin Moore who offered a house in Salisbury as a meeting place for the Americans who served in all units of the Security Forces, but never had their own unit. The name of "Crippled Eagle" and badge was meant to symbolize their abandonment by the US government.

KIA in the service of Rhodesia

John Alan Coey..............Corporal.....725702....July 19, 1975
George William Clarke......Trooper......728197....May 15, 1977
Richard L. Biederman.......Sergeant....726685....December 6, 1977
Frank P. Battaglia...........Trooper......728515....March 6, 1978
Joseph Patrick Byrne.......Trooper......728721....October 26, 1978
Stephen Michael Dwyer...Trooper......729803....July 16, 1979
Hugh John McCall...........Sergeant....727941....July 16, 1979

"When we landed on the shore and saw the foreign heather,
We knew that some would fall and would stay there forever,
I will go, I will go."

...and still they went and joined the battle. RIP brave friends.

[JMA]

... all 11 of them, 2nd hand, all but used up from Israel. The Augusta Bell 205A. The technicians kept them in the air and operational.



Note: exhaust venting upwards for heat to be dissipated by the rotors as a defence against SAM-7 heat seeking missiles. It worked.