• BRIGADIER H D (DAVID) ALLFREY MBE, COMMANDER 51 (SCOTTISH) BRIGADE
  
• COLONEL ANGUS TAVERNER LATE RA(V)
• KEVIN REILLY, CHAIRMAN, ROYAL SCOTTISH PIPE BAND ASSOCIATION
• LIEUTENANT COLONEL S L E L JACKMAN TD RLC (V)
• PIPE MAJOR SCOTT TAYLOR
• DRUM MAJOR DREW CALDWELL

 

BRIGADIER H D (DAVID) ALLFREY MBE, COMMANDER 51 (SCOTTISH) BRIGADE

David Allfrey was commissioned into the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (SCOTS DG) in August 1979. As a young officer, he served in Germany, Northern Ireland, Canada, Belize and the Far East. After a period as an Armoured Troop Leader he became Regimental Gunnery Officer, Public Relations Officer and Liaison Officer to 33 Armoured Brigade. He joined Operation RALEIGH as Reconnaissance Officer in 1984 and, with 4 soldiers, remained in the field for 12 months establishing stages in the Eastern United States, the Bahamas, Panama, Peru and Chile! Following junior staff training and a period in SCOTS DG Battlegroup Headquarters he was appointed to Britannia Royal Naval College as the Army Liaison Officer where he was a Divisional Officer, later commanded Hawke Division and worked as both Deputy and the Head of the Leadership Department.

In 1990, he attended the ‘Dagger’ Course at the Royal Military College of Science (RMCS) before becoming a Grade 2 Staff Officer in the Ministry of Defence in London; briefing on procurement issues relating to anti-tank missiles, air defence systems, helicopters and logistic vehicles. He commanded an all arms squadron in support of the Armour Centre and a Challenger tank squadron as part of 19 Mechanised Brigade in Catterick. In 1995, he moved to the Royal Armoured Corps Personnel Branch to take over responsibility for the Manning and Career Management of Royal Armoured Corps, Intelligence Corps and Corps of Army Music officers. He relocated with the Military Secretary's Department to the new Army Personnel Centre in Glasgow. He was selected for promotion to Lieutenant Colonel in 1996 and he served nearly 3 years as Directing Staff at the Joint Services Command and Staff College before commanding SCOTS DG over the period May 2000 - July 2002. He took the Regiment through 2 tours in Kosovo and a Training Year.

Promoted to Colonel in July 2002, he became an Assistant Director of Studies at the Defence College of Management and Technology (the erstwhile RMCS), responsible for the development and delivery of a range of technical education programmes, including the Defence Technology Courses, the equipment capability and defence management aspects of the Military Knowledge package, the new Initial Command and Staff Course (Land) and Pre-Employment Training (ET). He became Colonel Army Recruiting in August 2005 and played a key role in designing and delivering the ‘One Army Recruiting’ change programme. He has been Commander 51 (Scottish) Brigade since 1 July 2007.

He is married to Fiona, has 2 teenage children (Olivia and Edward), a Springer Spaniel (George) and a Maine Coon (Sydney). His interests include his family, music in all its forms, just about all country pursuits, furniture making and watercolour & oil painting. He became a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in 1985 and is an alumnus (1999) of the Windsor Leadership Trust.

 

COLONEL ANGUS TAVERNER LATE RA(V)
Colonel Angus Taverner has recently been appointed as the Deputy Commander 51 (Scottish) Brigade having previous served as Colonel Reserves Media & Communication at HQ Land. Before joining the TA, he held a Regular Commission in the Royal Artillery between 1980 and 1993. He served in BAOR, first in 94 Locating Regiment, and then as ADC to MGRA, in HQ 1 (BR) Corps. After a six-month tour in Belize he joined 26 Field Regt, serving as both FOO and Adjutant, which included a six-month tour in Northern Ireland. He completing Div II of the Army Staff Course at Camberley and was posted to MOD LSOR 6. In 1992, he returned to Thorney Island to command 31 Battery (FH70) in 47 Regt before leaving regular service in 1993.

Since then he has continued to serve in the TA, initially with CVHQ RA but from 1995 with the Media Ops Group (MOG(V)), completing a mobilised tour in 1995 as SO2 Media Ops for 24 Airmobile Brigade in Croatia and Bosnia. In 1998, he was promoted to Lt Col and appointed CO MOG(V). In this role, he led the Media Ops support for Ex SAIF SAREEA 2 in Oman in 2001 and was the Army's Spokesman during the 2001 Foot and Mouth epidemic.

From early 2000, he returned to MOD, on Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS), working for the Director News as SO1 Media Ops Policy and Plans. Between 2000 and 2004 he was responsible for developing Media Ops doctrine (JWP 3-45), and subsequently conceived and established the new Defence Media Ops Centre (DMOC) at RAF Uxbridge. He was also responsible for the co-ordination of Media Ops planning and support to recent operations including Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, the Balkans and Iraq.

On the civilian front, he is a Director of Dubai Consultancy, Research and Media Centre Ltd where he is responsible for media research, monitoring and analysis activities. He has also been a consultant to the UK Ministry of Defence, overseas governments and commercial organisations on Information Strategy, Media Relations and Crisis Communication. Of note, he helped the Director of Targeting and Information Operations (DTIO) to devise new ways of measuring the overall effectiveness of strategic Information Campaigns and conducted a year-long study to assess the impact of perception in the development of military strategy.

He lives in Helensburgh on the banks of the River Clyde with his wife, Kitty, a doctor who is a Consultant in Travel Medicine and Infectious Diseases. In his free time, he is an enthusiastic amateur photographer and a keen offshore sailor, skippering Royal Artillery boats in the 1991 Fastnet Race, the 1992 Round Britain Race and many offshore races subsequently. Currently, he simply enjoys cruising the beautiful waters of the Firth of Clyde.

 

KEVIN REILLY CHAIRMAN, ROYAL SCOTTISH PIPE BAND ASSOCIATION
Born in Leith Edinburgh into a 'Pipe Band' environment, Kevin’s father was a tenor / bass drummer with the British Railways, East of Scotland Pipe Band based at St Margaret’s Depot in Edinburgh. He started playing tenor drums as a thirteen year old so that he could accompany his Dad on a visit to Chalon Sur Son in France for a week’s festival.

He moved to Sunderland to attend Teacher Training College and took an old practice chanter and a copy of the RSPBA Elementary Book with him. This sat on the shelf for the time he was training. Kevin started taking 'lessons' from P/M Joe Robertson who was the P/M in the local band, Houghton Le Spring & District in 1976. Perseverance paid off and Kevin used to turn out regularly at engagements and local competitions.

In 1980 Kevin joined the National Council of the RSPBA to represent the bands in the North East of England. He spent the first few years trying to understand what the association was about and how it worked. He served on the Marketing and Media group for a year and then the Standing Orders and Steering Committee for a period of 10 years as convenor. In this time the rule book was rewritten and a computerised compiling system introduced where the band received their results on the day of the competition. Meanwhile he still continued with my band playing and learning.

In 2003 Kevin took over as Chairman of the RSPBA which was one of the proudest days of his life and one of the saddest as his father had died on the previous Thursday and never saw him 'installed' as the Chairman of the RSPBA, an association that he had been part of for over sixty years.

Kevin initially served one term but the members had the confidence in him to lead them for another term and who knows what will happen in 2009.

 

LIEUTENANT COLONEL S L E L JACKMAN TD RLC (V)
Lieutenant Colonel Stephanie Jackman was appointed SO1 Projects in 51 (Scottish) Brigade in September 2007 on her return from a six month mobilized deployment to Afghanistan on Operation HERRICK. Her 18 years of Territorial Army (TA) service began in 1990 when she was commissioned into the Women’s Royal Army Corps (WRAC) which was then disbanded in 1992 whereupon she transferred to the Royal Logistic Corps (RLC).

As a junior officer and Platoon Commander she served with the 3rd Battalion The Worcester and Sherwood Foresters Regiment, 6th Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment and saw service in Northern Ireland with the 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment whilst on a Short Service Commission (SSVC). Returning to the 6th Battalion she became the Regimental Signals Officer (RSO) prior to an initial transfer to 5th Battalion The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment as RSO and then to 151 (Greater London) Logistic Regiment RLC(V) where on promotion she took up the appointment as Transport Control Officer with 210 Transport Squadron RLC (V). During this period she was responsible for deploying the Squadron on a number of Field Training Exercises (FTX) to Germany and Poland.

In early 2001 having completed the Junior Staff Course, promotion qualifications and after two tours as Second–in-Command with 210 Transport Squadron and then 123 Combat Supplies Squadron part of 157 (Wales and West Midlands) Logistic Support Regiment she gained her majority and took up command of 123 Combat Supplies Squadron RLC (V) in Telford. During this time the Squadron was mobilized for operations in Iraq on Op TELIC. Following a demanding two and half years in sub-unit command she took up a staff post within 51 (Scottish) Bde continuing her involvement with TA mobilization and Employer Support as SO2 G1 Policy which was then followed by a tour on Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS) as SO2 G1 Discipline after which she was mobilized for a tour in Afghanistan based with the Brigade Headquarters in Helmand province.

Following her return to Stirling she was tasked with the organisation and delivery of The Pipers' Trail, well within her capabilities as a Logistics Officer. On completion of The Pipers' Trail she takes up a new post as Commanding Officer of Glasgow and Strathclyde Universities Officer Training Corps.

 

 

PIPE MAJOR SCOTT TAYLOR
Pipe Major Taylor comes from Glasgow and started to learn to play the bagpipes at the age of seven. Coming from a well-established piping family, he was taught initially by his father and grandfather. He started competing with the Milngavie Juvenile Pipe Band and by the age of twelve he had progressed to the Clan Campbell Pipe Band (formerly the Red Hackle PB), a grade one band that was under the direction of Pipe Major and now adjudicator Malcolm Mackenzie.

After a years training at the Junior Infantry Battalion Ouston near Newcastle upon Tyne, he joined the Black Watch Pipes and Drums in 1987 in what was then West Berlin and has served with the Battalion in Germany, Scotland, England, Northern Ireland, Hong Kong and two tours of duty in Iraq. He has also toured with the band extensively including China, Indonesia, New Zealand, Uganda, Sudan, Columbia, Panama, Turkey, France, Greece, Create, Italy and five three month tours of North America and Canada. He was appointed Pipe Major of the 1st Battalion The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) in 2003. In 2006 he was posted to the Army School of Bagpipe Music and Highland Drumming as Pipe Major.

He is a keen competitor in the Pipe Band scene and played with the Vale of Atholl Pipe Band in 2001/2002. His job at the Army Piping School has allowed him to compete again at grade one level, this time with the Clan Gregor Society Pipe Band, where he has played for the past three seasons.

 

DRUM MAJOR DREW CALDWELL
Drum Major Drew Caldwell started drumming at the age of 9 years old under the direction of Neil Cranston (Boghall and Bathgate) with Seafeild and district Pipe Band. He then moved along to the famous Boghall and Bathgate pipe band to play as leading drummer with the novice juvenile and later the juvenile band. During my time as leading drummer he received 1st class direction and tuition from Tom and Gordon Brown which played a major part in the band winning all major championships including the worlds.

He joined the army in 1989 to play with the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Pipes and Drums. I took up the position as leading drummer in 1996 when the band was under the direction of Pipe Major Bryon Brotherton. The band succeeded in winning both band and drum corps titles and also the production of a number of extremely popular CD/DVD.

He was posted to the army school of piping and highland drumming as a drumming instructor in 2000. I also took up the position as lead drummer with Torphicen and Bathgate pipe band and also drumming tutor for Craigmount High school pipe band.

He joined The Highlanders in 2002 as leading drummer and later taking over the position as Drum Major in 2004. He is currently employed as an Army Recruiter in Glasgow and also playing with Boghall and Bathgate pipe band under the direction of Pipe Major Ross Walker and Lead Drummer Gordon Brown.