Patrick Baty

@ForcesNews Such a shame.

The specialised airborne unit was disbanded in February 1976 after just 11 years of service🪂 The Parachute Squadron Royal Armoured Corps completed seven emergency tours in Northern Ireland between 1969 and 1975🔗⬇️ forcesnews.com/services/army/…

19th May, 2008 Trooper James Thompson, aged 27 from Whitley Bay, of 5th Scottish Regiment Battle Group and 23 SAS, was killed by an IED blast whilst on operations in Musa Qaleh, Helmand Province Lest we Forget this brave man, the 1st SAS man killed in Afghanistan 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🇬🇧

80 combat sorties. 'I'm no ruddy hero' he said. 104 years old with no surviving relatives to attend his funeral, which is at Bodmin Crematorium tomorrow at 11.30. Please spread the word it's the least we can do 🙏🇬🇧 gbnews.com/news/ww2-veter…

People don't realise Rhodesia built a horse cavalry unit in 1975. yeah, horses, in the helicopter era. the army mocked them as "donkey wallopers". ironically that joke unit was one of the most effective and only lost 9 men in the entire war. insane to think about.

Today we are proud to recognise David Bird on his 70th birthday. David served for over 22 years in the Armed Forces, including serving with the SAS in Northern Ireland and during the First Gulf War. Following his military career, he continued to dedicate his life to keeping others safe through his work in complex and high-risk environments around the world. David’s commitment, courage and professionalism have left a lasting impact on many people and communities throughout his life and career. David is currently facing one of the greatest battles of his life as he lives with acute dementia. His family wanted to mark this special birthday by recognising the remarkable man, veteran, husband, father and grandfather that so many people know and respect. With warm wishes from everyone at the Veterans' Foundation, we thank David for his service and wish him a very happy 70th birthday.

Bardzo dobre zdjęcie poszło w świat: "Polska Straż Graniczna patroluje granicę konno". Choć to na zdjęciach ma być WOT. Jest moc!

@PhoneyMajor There have been at least three other recent SAS Tory MPs, including Sir Julian Brazier (21) MP for Canterbury for 30 years.

3/ David Davis, ex 21SAS, is a Tory MP. Paddy Ashdown, ex SBS, was leader of the Liberal Dems. James Glancy, ex SBS, was a Brexit Party MEP. Alistair Cairns - 'Al' to his friends at the Guardian - is ex-SBS & a minister in the Labour Govt. As for the LRDG theguardian.com/politics/2025/…

1/4 Far as I'm aware the SAS has never provided the British parliament with a left-wing MP. Lots of Tories, however. Among the wartime SAS, Carol Mather (left), Stephen Hastings, Randolph Churchill & Fitzroy Maclean were Conservative MPs. Lord George Jellicoe was a Tory Minister.

If you’re at a loose end on Wed 20 May then I’m in conversation with the gallant Tyneside flyer @JohnNicholRAF about his excellent new book ‘Blitz: When WW2 Came Home’ at @theexchange1856 in North Shields. Ticket details here via @ForumBooks theexchange1856.com/event-details-…

@Mr_Andrew_Fox @robert_lyman And the balloon???🫤

@robert_lyman Was nervous as hell before my first jump but loved it once the chute opened. Couldn’t get enough. Other than my soldiers, it’s the only thing I miss about being in the Army!

This is impressive. I did 13 static line jumps in my career and was scared witless every time (don’t laugh @Mr_Andrew_Fox)

@NicholasOShaug1 The 5th and the 12th Lancers were in Dublin during the Easter Rising.

Surely he is a dragoon?

@northumbriana @cityoflondon @CityPolice Thanks Dan. It's most odd. He wears this a lot. I don't know of a connection. Maybe he just has remarkably good taste.

@cityoflondon @CityPolice Paging @patrickbaty 🧐

Many congratulations to Penny Lancaster (Lady Stewart), who has received the Freedom of the City of London today, in recognition of her role as a @CityPolice Special Constable and her charity work. She was joined by her husband, Sir Rod Stewart, and their guests for her ceremony at Guildhall. #RodStewart #ITVLooseWomen #CityOfLondon news.cityoflondon.gov.uk/penny-lancaste…

What was a 1930s traditional six-bedroom mansion opposite the Roehampton Gate of Richmond Park is now, well, whatever the hell that thing is.

This and another disappeared from our village churchyard on Salisbury Plain a few years ago. Hitherto thought to be no photo record, until this discovered recently. Please repost. It’s just possible that…

@RepPatHarrigan is 100% right. The retrospective application of the 1998 UK Human Rights Act to historical NI “cases” is an ideologically-driven witch hunt by @UKLabour

@romeo017 😄

The Royal Lancers (Queen Elizabeths' Own) was formed by an amalgamation of the 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's) and the Queen's Royal Lancers on 2 May 2015. The weather was appalling but it was a memorable event.

@tempjust_Liles Sorted.

@patrickbaty And the poncho; what a piece of kit!

Bring back the PARA smock and OG trousers. The SLR will never make a come back, sadly.

Grateful to Times columnist Giles Coren for putting to the sword a local council pipsqueak for trying to put out of business a restaurant in the middle of nowhere where owner Ruth Hanson does all the kitchen prep herself, the washing up, the bookings, the till, payroll and then cooks it. The restaurant is called Hansom in Bedale, North Yorkshire. To give you an idea of its remoteness it’s 7 miles from Northallerton and 31 miles from York. So, on occasions, her husband Mark, who had a job of his own, gives up his evenings to chauffeur some guests to and from their homes. Coren points out when he reviewed the place last year ( he gave it a glowing recommendation) he had to hitchhike from Northallerton station. No Bedale train, no metro, no Uber hanging around at the corner. Enter Chris Doyle, licensing enforcement officer for N Yorkshire council, who has written to Ruth saying in his view Mark was operating a taxi service and that would require a raft of expensive and time consuming licences. Ruth responded that Mark was her husband, he was unpaid and there was no separate charge for the journey. Doyle said he didn’t care as there was deemed to be a commercial benefit and warned without a licence the council may take legal action. Coren has a great last paragraph; “ Yeah, you sue her, you absolute local heroes. “ You teach Ruth and Mark a lesson for being great at their jobs, for treasuring their customers, for trying to create a little joy and make ends meet in a collapsing world.” PS Thought you’d like to see what a Ruth menus looks like. This is called the Sunday Sharing Feast. Starters. Smoked Leek and Pickled Croque Monsieur Whitby Crab Crumpet Pickled cucumber, Garden herbs. Heritage beetroot, whipped goat’s Curd, Wild Garlic emulsion. Main Course Wensleydale chicken, Apricot and sage Wellington. Honey and mustard mash, buttered spring , cider sauce. Dessert Yorkshire rhubarb and ginger trifle. Cost; £55. With publicity thanks to Coren’s column and this tweet I suspect the queue will be out the door and Mark can have his evenings off again.

“Many of our policy makers and much of civil society, inspired by the success in Northern Ireland, believe that all wars and terrorism can be stopped by clever conflict-resolution discussion and compromise, forgetting that violent actors such as the IRA only come to the talking table when their paramilitary capability is rendered ineffective by the actions of a military that is trained to fight and die for its citizens.” “So much of the current criticism of the SAS’s actions of the past stems from this mistaken belief that peace and security can be achieved and maintained without fighting and sacrifice, and that those, like the SAS, that do the fighting, killing and dying on behalf of society are somehow out-of-date, illegal dinosaurs. And this is the most dangerous fiction of all.” telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/04/2…