Former WW2 SAS Serviceman Recalls His Experiences
A former SAS serviceman residing at a Caerphilly care home has been reminiscing about his time stationed in Malaya and Korea during the Second World War.
86 year-old Bob Chidgey, a resident at HC-One’s Trafalgar Park Care Home in Nelson, enlisted on 9th January 1950, joining the Royal Welch Fusiliers at Brecon where he did his basic training before being transferred to Colchester Barracks.
On 19th March 1953, he was transferred to the 22nd Special Air Service 1st Battalion Welsh Regiment, where he travelled by troop ship to Changi for basic parachute training, with further training taking place in the jungle that summer.
Christine Karanja-Jones, HC-One Care Home Manager at Trafalgar Park, commented: “Bob joined our family back in June with plenty of stories to tell our staff and residents. We were amazed to learn about his travels during the war and he even dug out his medals to show us.
“Bob has led an extremely interesting life and he’s a real character because of it. There’s never a dull moment when he’s around and we felt really privileged to hear all about his time in the SAS during our recent Remembrance Day event.”
The decorated soldier attained an array of medals for his contribution to the war effort, including the Korea Medal, the United Nations Service Medal Korea and the General Service Medal Malaya.
The SAS was founded in 1941 and is the British Army’s most renowned special forces unit, with the 22nd Regiment carrying out a number of operations worldwide. Their motto, ‘Who Dares Wins,’ has become a popular quote in British culture.
