The Green Howards Friends Website,

The following Obituaries for surnames beginning with "A" have appeared in the Green Howards "Gazette", or have been notified to the Green Howards.

Sid Adams

The following was published in the April 2008 edition of "The Green Howard"

Mr Dave Lewis, Hon Sec of the GHA Northallerton and Bedale Branch writes:

Syd Adams of Northallerton who served with ‘A’ Company, 1st Battalion, The Green Howards in Hong Kong and had just received his 50 year Gold Badge. An active member of the Royal British Legion on his release from the Forces and later became a member of the local Branch of the GHA, serving as Vice-Chairman, Treasurer and Entertainment Officer.

Green Howards from all over the area attended the funeral at All Saints Church, Northallerton. A Guard of Honour, made up of the Northallerton, Thirsk and Guisborough Branches, formed up outside the church and the cortege was headed by the Branch standard. The church was filled up to capacity reflecting how well Syd was known and respected by the community.

He will be sadly missed by the Branch members. Our sympathies lie with his wife Pat and the family.

Keith Allison

Mr Ron Boyes writes:
It is with sadness that I have to report the sudden death at home of Keith Allison a staunch member of the Guisborough Branch. Keith served with the 1st Bn from Nov 1949 to March 1955, serving in Malaya, Austria and Germany. He was a regular at branch meetings and will be sadly missed.

The funeral service conducted by The Rev Clive Artley was held in St Aidans Parish Church on Thursday 17th prior to cremation. Members of the branch formed a guard of honour with the Branch Standard and two Royal British Legion Standards in attendance.

Our sympathies and condolences go to his widow Eunice and Graham and twins Jill and Joy in their great loss.

Ex-Private Bill Anderson

Major J R Chapman MBE writes :

Bill Anderson, who served as a National Serviceman with A' Company, 1st Battalion between 1949-1950 during the Malayan Emergency - then took on a regular engagement with the Malayan Scouts (SAS) for a further three years - died on 29th December 2004, aged 74.

Bill was a great communicator. When recovering from dysentery in Singapore hospital in 1953, he took a correspondence course in journalism and had two articles published in The London Evening News, about the soldiers' war in the Malayan jungle, before he had even completed the course. Once demobbed, he became a reporter in Aldershot, then Doncaster, where he set up his own news agency with two fellow-journalists.

In the 1970s, he worked closely with the Recruiting Officer, Captain Dickie Weare, to promote his old Regiment. The Green Howards were seldom out of the local papers and often received national coverage. The best known PR event was of ex-Private Tandy VC DCM MM - who had served with Bill's father in the 2nd Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment in WWI - meeting his old comrades for a reunion in hastily made trenches at Strensall Camp. Photos were syndicated all over the world.

As journalism changed and many national papers began to shun the day-to-day output of free-lance journalists. Bill concentrated on creative writing, espedally for TV documentaries, films and children's books. His imagination produced a charming series of books for children: The Royal Mousehold, about a family of mice living in Buckingham Palace and his latest book 'Sally, Face Like a Flower' about Sally Johnson, a Down's Syndrome child - written off by the medical world. She went on to become a renowned watercolour artist, whose work raised over £250,000 for charity before she died, aged 25 years. Sales of the book have already reached 5,000.

Bill was proud to wear his Green Howard tie when attending Friends of the Museum AGMs in York or ex-Malayan Veterans Reunions and always kept up-to-date with regimental activities through The Green Howards Gazette. His funeral was at St Mary's Priory, Old Malton on 8th January 2005 conducted by the Rev'd John Manchester, who is chaplain to the Malton Branch of The Green Howards Association.

Bandsman Jack Appleby

Bill Moore, Chairman, Newcastle Branch, writes:

It is with a sad heart that I inform you of the death of Jack Appleby on 6th August 2003 after a long illness bravely borne.
Jack joined the Regiment in February 1954 as a National Serviceman. After basic training he was posted to Minden and there he had an interview with the Bandmaster and became the first National Serviceman to join the Band; an honour he cherished for the rest of his life. He kept in touch with the Regiment by joining the Newcastle Branch and was a regular attendee until ill health prevented him.

To his wife, Rosina, and family we extend our deepest sympathy.

Ex-Corporal Francis Robert Arnell

Angela Arnell, Francis Arnell's daughter writes:

23992070 CPL Francis Robert Arnell of the First Green Howard's died suddenly on the 28 October 2003. He died at home surrounded by his family, after a few months of heart failure and heart disease.

Frank, as was known to all who knew him, was born in Filey in 1943. He went into farming when he left school and during that time was a Hells Angel. He had a great passion for motor bikes. He left the Hells Angels when he Joined the 1st Battalion of the Green Howard's at Scarborough on the 28 November 1963. He served with the Green Howards until 27 November 1975. He served in Tripoli, which is where he met his future wife Margaret, who was stationed there as a W.R.A.C. In Tripoli he performed desert trials. His other postings included Cyprus, where he saw active service, Hong Kong, Singapore, British Honduras, Northern Ireland, and Germany.

When Tripoli closed down the Battalion was posted back to the Colchester, where he married his wife Margaret on the 28 December 1965. He was then immediately sent out to Hong Kong and Singapore with the Battalion. As the posting was active service, no families were allowed. After Singapore the Battalion were returned to the U.K , before, in 1968, doing two tours of British Honduras. He returned to duties in the U.K until October 1969 when the Battalion were posted in Minden in Germany. He remained there till 3 December 1973 when the Battalion were posted back to the U.K to Saighton Camp, Chester. Corporal Arnell also did several tours of Northern Ireland, and he was there in the midst of the trouble. Being blown up and shot at became part of his every day life. Nobody talks about those times and what actually happened. Corporal Arnell never monitored his times in Northern Ireland. He lost quite a few friends there. He had the GSM and clasp for service in Northern Ireland. After his final tour of Northern Ireland he decided he wanted to see his family grow up and handed in his notice.

Cpl Arnell started service as an Infantry man, but was able to do many other trades. He was in a Mortar Platoon, Rifleman, and with the M.T. for a while driving and servicing H.G.V wagons. The R.E.M.E.tried for a while to entice him away from the Green Howards. He ended up doing the ration run and helping another Green howard, George (Josh) Hopkins, - now deceased, run the battalion stores.

When he was discharged, he took an H.G.V. course for his retraining. He passed and became an H.G.V. instructor. However, there was no work for a newly demobbed solider, so he used his knowledge of bookwork and became a bar manager for Scottish and Newcastle breweries. He decided after a year that it wasn't what he wanted, so he moved his family lock, stock and barrel down to Scarborough were he found a job as a farm manager which was back to his boyhood roots.

He brought his family up on the wilds of the Wolds farm for ten years. When he was made redundant he was devastated, but he looked to the future and used his H.G.V. driving skills up to the day he died.

My dad loved to ride motor bikes and was really impressed when I, the youngest of the family, passed my test. He would always take me under his wing. His passion for the Green Howards rubbed of on my elder brother, Cameron, who also served in the Green Howards. This was of great importance to my dad as Cameron carried on the family tradition by following in his father's footsteps. He truly hoped that one of his grandsons will continue this tradition.

He also loved caravanning, the outdoor life and his barbeques.His family was his life and was very proud especially of his own of which there are 13.

10 year ago he was diagnosed as being diabetic but he coped with that as he did most things. He suffered a bad accident at work in September 2001 from which he never fully recovered. In the same month he began to have heart trouble and in December 2001 he was fitted with a pacemaker. By 14 February 2002 dad became to ill to drive and was put of work by his doctor. He was not able to do a great deal after this and my Mum cared for him among his family. I would take him out in his wheel chair.

In September 2003 Dad went into hospital for the last time and was discharged home on the 16 October, his 60th birthday. 12 days later he passed away. He'd suffered from a small stoke while in hospital, and after confirmation from his doctor he faced the inevitable, - that he was not going to recover, and he accepted this. I discussed with him and my Mum where he wanted to be laid at rest. A bit morbid, but at least he knew where he was going to be laid to rest and so did we. This gives us some comfort for our loss.