Lieutenant Colonel Richard James (A 57) has been in touch with us to tell us about a new memorial to the Gloucestershire Regiment, which was dedicated and unveiled by HRH The Duke of Gloucester at the National Memorial Arboretum on 25th September 2024. This Memorial was to celebrate the 300 years of existence of the Gloucestershire Regiment of which one of the most celebrated Commanding Officers was Lieutenant Colonel James (Fred) Carne VC, DSO (ISC 1920).
Richard was very involved with the design element with the stonemasons and sculptors, fund-raising for the considerable costs of such a project, to coordinating the Dedication of the Memorial and contacting ex-Regimental colleagues all over the world.
The Memorial includes as part of the insignia the United States Presidential Unit Citation which was awarded for the Battalion’s stand at the Battle of the Imjin River in 1951, part of the Chinese Spring Offensive in the Korean War, at which Colonel Carne was the Commanding Officer. He, and many others, were Chinese POWs until 1953. Carne spent much of this time in solitary confinement and spoke afterwards of the horrific conditions which included brain-washing and the use of hallucinogenic drugs to soften him up. Whilst imprisoned he carved a Celtic stone cross from materials available in the PoW camp which takes pride of place in the Regimental chapel in Gloucester Cathedral.
Career soldier James Power Carne was born in Cornwall in 1906, the son of a brewer and wine merchant. Awarded the VC for his gallantry, the citation read ‘Colonel Carne took control at a critical moment when a leading company Commander was wounded, and altered the direction of the attack. He was cool and confident and a great inspiration to his battalion.’ He was an iconic figure in the Regiment and those who knew him speak of him with great fondness.
More information on the memorial and the Glorious Glosters can be found here: https://www.glostersmemorial.co.uk/ and https://soldiersofglos.com/