That Pink Chieftain
Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2019 7:24 pm
Sorry to resurrect this one, Gentlemen. I did at least feel it was worth a separate thread rather than detracting further from Stephen White's "Chinese Eye" thread...…
I've "borrowed" the pics from the other thread - copyright of Richard Kent's book duly acknowledged.
Anyway - the point is that I was able to track down, and contact, former Corporal of Horse Clive Seager (ex RHG and RHG/D), the chap in the photograph. I confronted him with the pictures (by email
) and asked for the lowdown.
In his own words, (reproduced with his blessing) Clive explained as follows:
Ah, you have found my little pink tank! At the time I was instructing D and M at the RAC Training Regiment Catterick, the Queens Royal Irish Hussars were the resident regiment and for some reason they and I hit it off really well. So much so their CO asked me to transfer but I had huge loyalty to my regiment and of course the Blues was also my family regiment and I was the third generation of my family to serve with them. However I digress, when the QRIH were getting ready to leave Catterick they decided to give me a parting gift which was the pink tank. I was teaching the basic classroom part when I could see outside all the nobs hanging around, CO, RSM, Sqn Ldr and to cap it all the regimental photographer! Now at this stage I realised that I had dropped an almighty one and completely forgotten about an important visitor. Then the Pink Tank turned up and I was called outside. The tank was duly handed over. There are nice touches all over it, not least down the glacis plate where they had painted a tie, being a good Household Cavalry man we always wore one, but they painted it in QRIH colours. Sadly I couldn't actually use the tank either for instruction or on the road as they had to get it resprayed the normal colours. I was never so honoured by anything during my service as I was by that simple thing.
So, a touching story and now we all know the truth behind this unusual paint scheme. The caption in Richard Kent's book is slightly misleading - it wasn't for an "officer" per se.
Regards
Kevin
I've "borrowed" the pics from the other thread - copyright of Richard Kent's book duly acknowledged.
Anyway - the point is that I was able to track down, and contact, former Corporal of Horse Clive Seager (ex RHG and RHG/D), the chap in the photograph. I confronted him with the pictures (by email
) and asked for the lowdown.In his own words, (reproduced with his blessing) Clive explained as follows:
Ah, you have found my little pink tank! At the time I was instructing D and M at the RAC Training Regiment Catterick, the Queens Royal Irish Hussars were the resident regiment and for some reason they and I hit it off really well. So much so their CO asked me to transfer but I had huge loyalty to my regiment and of course the Blues was also my family regiment and I was the third generation of my family to serve with them. However I digress, when the QRIH were getting ready to leave Catterick they decided to give me a parting gift which was the pink tank. I was teaching the basic classroom part when I could see outside all the nobs hanging around, CO, RSM, Sqn Ldr and to cap it all the regimental photographer! Now at this stage I realised that I had dropped an almighty one and completely forgotten about an important visitor. Then the Pink Tank turned up and I was called outside. The tank was duly handed over. There are nice touches all over it, not least down the glacis plate where they had painted a tie, being a good Household Cavalry man we always wore one, but they painted it in QRIH colours. Sadly I couldn't actually use the tank either for instruction or on the road as they had to get it resprayed the normal colours. I was never so honoured by anything during my service as I was by that simple thing.
So, a touching story and now we all know the truth behind this unusual paint scheme. The caption in Richard Kent's book is slightly misleading - it wasn't for an "officer" per se.
Regards
Kevin