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AN
OBITUARY
Nigel Loring was commissioned into
the Regiment from Sandhurst in December 1968, and joined the 2 LI in
Berlin early the following year. He was posted to the Depot in
1970.
He returned to 2 LI when they seemed to be spending longer in
Northern Ireland than in Colchester (abt 1972). In 1974 he was
seconded to The Sultan of Oman's Force and joined the Jebel
Regiment.
On 6 January 1975 whilst leading an advance across open ground he
and his Company came under accurate and heavy machine gun fire from
enemy positions from his front and flank. He led the few men of
his leading group forward to some cover, and despite being under
heavy and continuous fire, set about organising fire back against
the enemy position. Shortly afterwards he was shot and killed.
Shortly after his death, His Majesty The Sultan of Oman posthumously
awarded Nigel the Bravery Medal. This medal was only awarded to a
small number of Officers and Soldiers each year for courage of the
highest order.
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He also recieved the Dhofar Clasp and General Service Medal
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Citation for
the Bravery Medal |
Captain Loring was commanding 2 Company of the Jebel Regiment on
the operation against the enemy at Sherishitti on 6 January 1975.
At 13.30 hrs his company came under fire whilst crossing an area of
open ground to the West of the Wadi Sherishitti. He was leading
the advance with the leading platoon. During the contact most of
the soldiers in the leading platoon were pinned down in the open
ground and many were either killed or wounded. Captain Loring
despite himself being wounded re-organised those who were still
alive and within a few minutes was personally leading the advance
towards the known enemy positions. As the party lead by Captain Loring reached the high ground to the west of the Wadi they came
under heavy fire from an enemy group hidden in the Wadi. Captain
Loring was killed instantly at point blank range.
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Captain Loring had been extremely brave in previous contacts in the
Central area and had on many occasions shown complete disregard for
personal safety. The action of getting the point platoon on their
feet whilst under fire and advancing across open ground was a most
gallant action, and he showed leadership and bravery of the highest
order.
Plaque at the Christian Cemetry in Muscat
Nigel's body was never recovered and in his memory a
small plaque has been fixed to one of the gateposts of the Christian
Cemetary in Muscat. It reads as follows:
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In memory of
Captain N.C.T. Loring, WB.,
2nd Light Infantry
26-2-49 to 6-1-75
Killed in action serving with Jebel Regiment |
A truly brave Light Infantry Officer.
CEDE
NULLIS
May he
rest in peace
"Copyright Leslie Parkin © 2003. All rights reserved."
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