War Dispatches from Lt.Col. Mike “the Bike” Ellison
1st Battalion Willesden CC Regiment
1st Battalion Willesden CC Regiment
Officer commanding 5am assault corp – PBP Campaign 2007
HQ Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Paris, August 2007
“The Battle for The Brevets”
The colonel wishes to accord full credit to the fortitude and gallantry of the 5am assault corp as they fought The Battle for The Brevets. Despite the severity of several actions and some appalling weather conditions,troopers Ayres, Williams, and Rini rode with admirable courage in their first campaign.
The colonel wishes to accord full credit to the fortitude and gallantry of the 5am assault corp as they fought The Battle for The Brevets. Despite the severity of several actions and some appalling weather conditions,troopers Ayres, Williams, and Rini rode with admirable courage in their first campaign.
With Major Ayres leading the charges up the hills, Captain Williams forcing the pace in the valleys, and Lieutenant Rini maintaining their overall cohesion the trio blasted a path to Brest for the regiment to follow. Undaunted by their efforts les trois braves immediately set off on the return and played a full part in the overall success of the regiment when it reunited at Carhaix for the final assault.
He would wish to draw particular attention to the valour of Lieutenant Rini, an american volunteer and the youngest member of les braves, who suffered terribly when both achilles tendons were shot out and, despite the constant pain, then refused to fall back when the chamois in her riding pants turned into sandpaper. The assault corp are to be commended for the one hundred percent success rate of their mission which contributed to the overall accomplishments of the regiment. The severity of the campaign resulted in some unfortunate casualties in the main force who became hors de combat but which thankfully did not influence the final outcome as the regiment held the field.
The colonel would also note the vital part played by the commissariat who, despite being fatigued by lengthy external lines of communication and the needs of constant unlimbering and relimbering, nevertheless attended to the needs of the troops with patience, forebearance, and good humour throughout. Their contribution to the overall succes of the campaign cannot be underestimated.
Finally the colonel would wish to express his gratitude to those member of the BEF who came to his aid when he fell victim to guerilla attack whilst returning home from the campaign *. In particular he would thank Col. Rob Bullymemt, officer commanding the Chiselhurst Regiment of Volunteers who acted as an interpreter thus ensuring his rapid evacuation to field hospital medical facility and subsequent recovery. Sustaining a triple fracture to the lower jaw plus severe impact contusion to both neck and shoulder he nevertheless managed to repatriate himself both speedily and successfully without recourse to emergency evacuation facilities. (ed: where do we get such men)
* Here seen displaying wounds received following a skirmish with an APC while returning home from active duty
Previous missions 1991 1995 1999 2003
Battle Honours
Saint Quentin ’91 ’95 ’99 ‘03
Mortagne ’91 ‘99
Villaines-la-Juhel ’91 ’95 ‘99
Fougeres ’95 ‘03
Tinteniac ’95 ’99 ‘03
Loudeac ’91 ‘03
Carhaix-Plouguer ’95 ‘99
Brest ’91 ’95 ’99 ‘03
Previous missions 1991 1995 1999 2003
Battle Honours
Saint Quentin ’91 ’95 ’99 ‘03
Mortagne ’91 ‘99
Villaines-la-Juhel ’91 ’95 ‘99
Fougeres ’95 ‘03
Tinteniac ’95 ’99 ‘03
Loudeac ’91 ‘03
Carhaix-Plouguer ’95 ‘99
Brest ’91 ’95 ’99 ‘03
