Obituary for Colonel (Retd) RA (Dick) Shervington MA TD DL

Dick’s funeral was at a packed St Mary’s Church, Stansted on Primrose Day, 19th April 2022, his 85th birthday.

His family was honoured that the Regiment and our former Regiments were so strongly represented. “On parade”, so to speak, were Eddie Yorston, who carried the Chelmsford Branch Standard of the Association and Ian Hook, who sounded Last Post and Reveille; together with the Royal British Legion County Standard and Debden Branch Standard, where Dick had been president. He made rather a habit of being a president, most notably as the last one of The Essex Regiment Association, succeeding Geoffrey Morgan – who incidentally was my first company commander in the 3rd Battalion, Berlin 1965.

Dick was also President of the Old Bancroftians Association and of the Saffron Walden branch of the Conservative Party, always expressing his typically robust views without fear or favour. It was a characteristic that could jar with some colleagues, as I realised when I was asked: “Are you Dick Shervington’s brother?” This question was also barked at me by my first adjutant, Captain (later Brigadier) Peter Sincock, who had served with Dick and was a good friend; he promptly awarded me seven extra-orderly officer duties!

Dick was commissioned from Eton Hall as a National Service 2nd Lieutenant in August 1956 into The Essex Regiment, serving mainly in Dortmund. He had a long career in the TA, including tours as a company commander in 4th/5th Battalion and The Cambridgeshire Regiment. He chaired the committee comprising Mike Amey, Desmond Brady, James Kelly and Brian Morgan that created the splendid Essex Regiment Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum in 2014; recorded in the 2015 edition of Castle.

Dick was a partner in Price Waterhouse and took a BA(Hons) at Wolfson College, Cambridge in his 50’s, an academic achievement that his headmaster may not have anticipated! Dick was perhaps disproportionately proud of his military service although he self-deprecatingly described himself as “Colonel Bogus” as both his brother and my son, Mike, were regular officers; Colonel “hackle” and Colonel “red beret” respectively. Another humorous or offensive observation… take your pick, was that whenever he saw a grey Mercedes he would loudly ask: “Why are you driving a reconstituted U-Boat?” And guess what car he drove? Yes, a grey Mercedes! That is until he graduated to a mobility scooter, or dodgem car, named Goliath from which he terrorised Stansted after writing-off his car opposite the Dog and Duck, his local pub – which was re-named the Dog and Dick by the Cornets club at a gathering before his funeral.

I’m grateful to the Regimental Secretary, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Goodin for accepting this personal tribute (not a hagiography!) and to the many scores of regimental friends who sent letters, cards and emails; hugely appreciated by the family, including his children James and Julia, sister Janet and brother-in-law John Hollis, himself a National Service officer in The Essex Regiment, and especially by his “kid bro”.

Col (Retd) Pat Shervington MBE