A Story of One Identical Twin: Working Class Boy to Army Major (Advancement through the Ranks) In an Armoured Tank Regiment

By Alan Brace

This is a story of two identical twins born in 1961 who from the age of 16, lived very separate lives and followed very different paths; one joining the Army and living and working in England and Germany, getting married, having children and after 33 years, leaving the Army to settle in Dorset and work as a civilian; working for a member of Parl

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alan Brace
• Release date: Nov 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9781805412236

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A STORY OF ONE IDENTICAL TWIN

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Copyright © 2023 by Alan Brace

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review.

ISBNs

978-1-80541-224-3 (hardback)

978-1-80541-222-9 (paperback)

978-1-80541-223-6 (eBook)

In memory of my mum, who sadly died this year,

and for all my family:

Debra, my wife

Harriet and Samuel, our children

Isobel and William, our grandchildren

and for all those that follow in our footsteps.

Contents

Chronology of Events

Military Abbreviations and Terms

Army Rank Structure

Map of Germany

Map of Dorset

Main Characters in My Life Story

Introduction January 2023

1. Young and Teenage Years

2. JLR RAC, September 1977 to December 1978

3. Soldier, 1979 to 2002

4. Tank Ranges, Exercises and BATUS (British Army Training Unit Suffield)

5. Army Officer, 2002 to 2010

6. ERE Postings, D&M School, TSG, ATDU and RAC Training Regiment

7. Football (Springfield, PUFC, BYFC and TuS Sennelager)

8. Married Life

9. Living in Dorset and Germany

10. Working Life After the Army, 2010 to 2016

11. Haven and Characters at Haven, 2016 to 2022

12. Grandchildren

13. Covid and Hobbies

14. In Memory of Mums, Dads, Grandparents and Great Grandparents

15. Summary and Life-Changing Events

Appendix 1 – Eulogy for Mum’s Funeral

Chronology of Events

Military Abbreviations and Terms

Army Rank Structure

Map of Germany

(showing Fallingbostel, Paderborn and Münster)

Map of Dorset

(showing Bovington Camp and current home in Winterbourne Abbas)

Family Tree

Nephews, nieces and great nephews and great nieces

Other Relations and Close Friends

Auntie Betty (Mum’s sister – living in Alconbury)

Uncle Phillip (Betty’s husband, my uncle)

Auntie Ena (Andrew’s godmother)

Uncle Les (godfather to both twins – Alan and Andrew)

Auntie Pam (my godmother)

Uncle David (my godfather)

Main Characters in My Life Story

Introduction

January 2023

My name is Alan Brace, and I am sixty-one years of age. I have a story I think you might enjoy reading. A story that begins on 28th June 1961, my birthday, but not only my birthday, also that of my identical twin brother Andrew. A fact that has shaped me in ways I cannot easily explain or understand, but nonetheless it has made a significant contribution to who I am today. A tale of childhood and teenage years, family life, joining the army and a career lasting thirty-three years, marriage, children, holidays and work after the army.

This is a tale of many ups and downs, a rollercoaster ride of emotions, experiences, laughter and sadness, a tale to share with family and friends, colleagues and a wider audience, and to serve as a historical and social record of many decades of change that I have been witness to. This is an opportunity to observe through my eyes where I started and the journey I have travelled, where I am now, and maybe where I am headed. To share personal memories that may remind you about your own lives and experiences and to raise a smile, have a laugh and reflect on how young we looked, how much we have done and how much the world has changed in that time. To reflect also on the lives of those that have died or who we have lost touch with but to whom we owe so much. It may not be accurate in every detail, but it will reflect my recollection of my memories and experiences.

Born in 1961, I lived most of the sixties and seventies in and around St Neots in Cambridgeshire. Up to my fourth birthday I lived in a semi-detached cottage at Parkers Farm in Eynesbury Hardwick, a few miles from St Neots and until I joined the army at sixteen, I lived at 20 Greenfields, St Neots. We did briefly live at Hill Top Farm in Abbotsley, while my mum and dad (George) were trying to make a go of their marriage but that was short lived. My mum and dad separated in 1974 when I was thirteen. My mum remarried in 1975 when I was fourteen years old. Dick is my stepdad. A year or two after I joined the army, Mum and Dick moved to Little Paxton, a village on the outskirts of St Neots.

I was one of five children. Gary, my older brother, was born in 1955, my sister Jill in 1957, me and Andrew, identical twins, in 1961 and my sister Alison in 1964. My mum was Jean, my dad George. Grandparents on my mum’s side were Winifred (Winnie) and George (my grandad died when I was young) and on my dad’s side, Olive and Ernest. My brother Gary married several times, four marriages at the last count, and he had many children and grandchildren, some of whom we have lost touch with. My sister Jill married twice, to Nigel in 1977 and Tim later, but is now divorced from both and lives with her partner Iain. Jill has three children and six grandchildren. My mum (Jean), who died on 8 January 2023 as I was writing this story, had five children, twelve grandchildren and seventeen great grandchildren. My real dad George also died two weeks after my mum on 21 January 2023.

Many of my extended family, nieces and nephews and their children, my sister Jill and my brother Gary still live in St Neots and Little Paxton, although my sister Alison and twin brother Andrew moved to America. They both married American citizens: Andrew to Connie and Alison to Joe. I did return to Little Paxton and St Neots occasionally whilst on army leave but mostly, I lived in barracks whilst single and, once married, in married quarters (MQs) or my own home. I married in 1986 when I was twenty-five years old. I will celebrate my thirty-seventh wedding anniversary this year in 2023.

At 16 years I left home to join the army, service that lasted 33 years. I left in 2010. Whist in the Army I saw service in Germany, Canada, Cyprus, Iraq, Northern Ireland and whilst in the UK lived in Warminster, Catterick and Bovington. I advanced in rank terms from Trooper (private soldier) to Major, making it to top soldier which is Warrant Officer Class One and then commissioned as a late entry officer to Captain and then Major. Since discharge from the army, I have worked in various occupations, senior parliamentary assistant to a Member of Parliament, manager in an education department at a prison, project officer at the county council and accommodation manager at a Haven Holiday Park. I became a grandfather in 2018 and now have two grandchildren. I retired from full-time work in December 2022 to have a hip replacement operation. This gave me the time I needed to write my story.

Chapter 1

Young and Teenage Years

I was born in 1961, at Bedford Hospital, at 9.05 a.m. with my identical twin brother Andrew being born at 8.40 a.m. Andrew was the oldest, just. I was an inch taller than Andrew and that was the only way, as babies, we could be identified from each other. We were premature, born six weeks early. Mum tells me in her memoirs that she was alone at home when she went into labour; she had suffered a haemorrhage and had to shout to attract the attention of the neighbours to get help. This was in a cottage in the middle of nowhere at Parkers Farm, Eynesbury Hardwicke, a few miles from St Neots. Luckily, our neighbours were in. The flying squad was dispatched to take mum to hospital. My Auntie Ena and Uncle Les were the next-door neighbours. Ena is Andrew’s godmother and Les is godfather to both of us. My dad George was away in South Wales working at the time. No mobile phones in those days so I don’t know how long it took dad to receive the news or to return home. My godparents were Pam and David Flint who lived on a neighbouring farm. Not related but known to us boys as Aunty Pam and Uncle David. They had two sons, Richard and David. We used to play with them on the farm. I remember in the summer, building dens inside the hay bales that were stacked up in the cornfields. We visited them quite regularly even after we moved to St Neots. We were at the farm in Eynesbury Hardwicke until I was about four years old.

As young children we were a little accident prone. Andrew put his arm through the mangle whilst my mum was manually squeezing the water out of our clothes. He still asks me today why she had to reverse the action and take his arm through a second time but, of course, she did have to reverse the action to get his arm out. The alternative was to pull his whole body through the mangle! I had a table fall on my finger and my mum stuck the end of my finger back on. I still have the wonky finger to show for it today. Jill had a nail impaled in her leg, Gary put a garden fork through his foot and Alison fell out of a moving van. My mum was driving at the time, a green Mini Morris van. No seat belts in those days. Mum also fell over our toys on the front step, breaking her front teeth.

Most of my young years were spent at 20 Greenfields, St Neots: a semi-detached house on a corner plot with a fair-sized garden. We grew vegetables, a popular hobby, a hangover from the war years and rationing, I think. The plot