354991 Colonel Nigel Bromage, OBE, Grenadier Guards

Discussion in 'The Brigade of Guards' started by dbf, May 14, 2013.

  1. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD

    Colonel Nigel Bromage, who has died aged 86, had an adventurous career in Arabia during an era marked by considerable political turbulence.

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    In 1945 Bromage was commissioned into the Grenadier Guards and posted to 3rd Battalion in Palestine. He was seconded to the Arab Legion and, as the commander of a Jordanian armoured unit, took part in a number of fierce skirmishes with Jewish forces during the campaign which preceded the birth of the state of Israel.

    On one occasion one of his armoured cars was hit by an armour-piercing shell and the vehicle set on fire. Unwilling to see it fall into the hands of Jewish fighters, he had it taken in tow while he tried to steer it, the driver being dead in his seat. He wrote afterwards: “I had an interesting 20 minutes sitting on the mudguard while the Israelis shot as us with everything they had.” In 1948, at the battle of Latrun, he was wounded by a grenade. He was subsequently awarded the Jordanian Gallantry Medal by King Hussein.

    The British government was embarrassed about the number of British officers serving in the Arab Legion and fighting the soldiers of the nascent Israeli state. Ernest Bevin, the then Foreign Secretary, made a statement to reassure Parliament that there were no British officers on either bank of the river Jordan. The declaration was carefully timed: Bromage and his comrades were positioned in the middle of the Allenby Bridge that spanned the river.

    Thomas Nigel Bromage was born on April 14 1927 at Ootacamund, India, where his father was an officer in the Indian Police. His family returned to England in 1929 and he was educated at Ampleforth.

    After attending Staff College in 1954, Bromage returned to 3rd Battalion, Grenadier Guards, accompanying it to Cyprus during the Eoka emergency. His wife, Pamela, was so disenchanted with the posting that she threw his shoes out of the window of the hotel where they had to spend Christmas.

    A spell in London on public duties with the Queen’s Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, was followed by a return to Jordan as assistant military attaché. King Faisal of Saudi Arabia and some leading figures in Iraq had been assassinated, and King Hussein wanted to bring in Sir John Glubb, erstwhile commander of the Arab Legion, to deal with the emergency. Glubb demurred, saying he was too old. “Bromage,” he noted, “is the man you want.”

    After three years in Jordan, in 1963 Bromage was posted to Saudi Arabia to set up the British Military Mission to the Saudi Arabian National Guard (SANG). A fluent Arab speaker, he recruited a number of Jordanian officers, and the Mission succeeded in turning a force of tribal irregulars into a functioning army.

    Bromage stayed in the Arab Peninsular for most of the rest of his service, first as an adviser to the Kuwait Liaison Team and finally as Military Adviser to the United Arab Emirates. He retired from the Army in 1978.

    After his military service he was retained by Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia as a loyal friend of the kingdom. His official position was adviser to the SANG office in London, but his role extended well beyond this and he became a trusted confidant of Prince Abdullah’s family. Senior British politicians, diplomats, soldiers and businessmen sought his advice over many years. He was appointed OBE in recognition of his services.

    In 2010 he received the Al Rawabi Holding Award for services from the Saudi-British Society.

    His memoir, A Soldier in Arabia, was published in 2012.

    Nigel Bromage married, in 1956, Pamela Kaye, who survives him with their son and daughter. Colonel Nigel Bromage, born April 14 1927, died April 14 2013


    http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/Details?uri=D7631003
     

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  2. Recce_Mitch

    Recce_Mitch Very Senior Member

    :poppy: Colonel Nigel Bromage, OBE. RIP :poppy:

    Paul
     
  3. Smudger Jnr

    Smudger Jnr Our Man in Berlin

    :poppy: Colonel Nigel Bromage, OBE. R.I.P. :poppy:

    Tom
     

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