Lt Col John Martin Greany, who died on 29 March on Guernsey aged 91 years, served in the Wiltshire Regiment and The Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment (Berkshire and Wiltshire) from 1955 - 1968.
Evacuated from London to Oxford with his family in 1940 as a consequence of 'The Blitz', John attended The Dragon School and Harrow School. He joined the Army as a National Serviceman in the Royal Armoured Corps in 1952. Accepted for a regular commission, he attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst from 1953 - 55 and was commissioned into his late uncle's regiment, The Wiltshire Regiment (Duke of Edinburgh's) on 31 January 1955, his 21st birthday. He served in Devizes, Warminster and Cyprus prior to amalgamation with The Royal Berkshire Regiment in 1959 and then moved to Tidworth with The Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment. He met his wife, Hazel, during his time in Cyprus.
Seconded to The King's African Rifles (KAR) during 1962 - 64 he was appointed Adjutant of the 4th (Uganda) Battalion. Following a brief spell at HQ East Africa Command in Nairobi, he attended the Army Staff Course at Shrivenham and Camberley during 1964 - 65 before being posted as GSO2 to the Directorate of Army Training at the MoD in the Old War Office Building. Thereafter he transferred to The Royal Army Pay Corps, serving initially as Paymaster with 5 RTR before a number of staff appointments in the UK, BAOR and NATO. He was closely involved with the introduction of Command Information Systems into both British Army and NATO HQs and was promoted to Lt Col in 1975. From 1981 he was Commander Finance in HQ Eastern District and retired from the Army in 1984.
In civilian life he became the Secretary of an Anglican charity, The Friends of the Clergy Corporation, based in Westminster and settled with his family in Winchester. Over the following 15 years his considerable experience of Information Systems was a great asset as he modernised and streamlined the administration of the charity. Hazel hailed from the Channel Islands and in 1999 they moved to Guernsey where John joined International Private Equity Services Ltd before finally retiring in 2004. In retirement he took on the roles of Treasurer to St. Stephen's Church in St. Peter Port, to the Guernsey Society for Cancer Relief and the Guernsey branch of SSAFA (where he worked closely with the Chairman, Lt Col John Silvester, also late DERR).
Col Greany has left a small legacy to The Rifles Berkshire and Wiltshire Museum - The Wardrobe in Salisbury for which we are very grateful. His funeral was held at St. Stephen's Church, Les Gravees, St. Peter Port, Guernsey on Thursday 24 April. The Regiment was represented by Lt Col Silvester. The Association has extended its condolences to Col Grealy's widow, Hazel, who lives in care in Guernsey and to their children, Alison, Frances and Pippa and 8 grandchildren.
