RG Officers Host The Governor
Last week the Officers of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment held an inaugural Officers’ Curry Lunch, a newly conceived quarterly event to host personnel who support the Regiment.
A statement follows below:
The guest of honour on this occasion was His Excellency the Governor, who attended as Commander-in-Chief, and received an engraved 105 mm shell to mark his time in post.
The Governor decided that this event would be an excellent opportunity to respond in kind and present several of the officers present with their Commissioning scrolls. Those presented were Lieutenant Colonel S Dyson, Captain D Hayton-Williams, Captain L Mauro and Captain A Pearce.
The event also provided the RG with an opportunity to bid a fond farewell to the following officers:
Major Chris Ghio joined the Regiment in 1993 and has enjoyed a varied career, taking in many different courses and deployments. He completed the arduous Section Commanders’ Battle Course in 1999 before undertaking the Platoon Sergeants’ Battle Course at the Infantry Battle School Brecon in 2004. He deployed on Op TELIC 6 (Iraq) in 2006 as a Platoon Sergeant, later returning as a Company Quartermaster Sergeant before undertaking the role of I Company Sergeant Major in 2010. He commissioned in 2015, fulfilling the role of Aide de Camp to His Excellency for a short period before returning to the Regiment. During his career in the RG, Major Ghio has deployed to Canada, Germany, Gambia, Nigeria, Kenya, Morocco and the United States. He successfully completed the gruelling Cambrian Patrol competition twice, achieving gold and silver. Major Chio will formally leave the RG on 28 January 2020.
Major Julian Valverde joined the Regiment in 1994. An experienced soldier, he has achieved much in his career. He successfully completed Section Commanders’ Battle Course at the Infantry Battle School Brecon in 1999 before passing Platoon Sergeants’ in 2004. His highlights include Platoon Sergeant at Infantry Training Centre Catterick in 2006, Rifle Company Sergeant Major in 2011, and Regimental Sergeant Major in 2014. Commissioning in 2015 he became Aide de Camp to His Excellency in 2015, and later took over as Quartermaster (Technical) at the Regiment. He deployed to Northern Ireland on operational tour; further deploying to Jordan, Nigeria, Kenya, Morocco, Switzerland, Cyprus and Germany. He represented the Regiment in football and rowing. Major Valverde will formally leave the RG on 28 January 2020.
Lt Martin Garcia-Magrath joined the Regiment in the spring of 2017. He has served in the Regiment for just under three years as a Platoon Commander. During his time, he deployed to Bahrain as part of Op KIPION and has also deployed to the South Atlantic. Lt Garcia-Magrath has applied to start an internship with a finance company in London, starting in February 2020.
