Maj Robert 'Bob' Hamond on 11 February 1996. He was born on 28 July 1917, the second son of Major Philip Hamond DSO MC and Mrs Hamond. Bob Hamond spent his early years at Morston and lived later at Morston Hall. He was very proud of his Norfolk background.
Educated at Repton and at the Royal Military College Sandhurst. 2Lt Hamond was commissioned into the Royal Norfolk Regiment in August 1937 and joined the 1st Bn in India later that year.
Although brought up on the Norfolk coast, Bob Hamond always had a love for the high ground and for the first 2 years of his service spent his leave on treks and explorations in Garhwal and the Himalayas. In 1939 the route of one of his journeys covered 570 miles, much of it at altitudes between 15000 and 20000 feet. He carried out valuable surveys of previously unmapped and uninhabited country in Western Tibet. He was 21 years old at the time and was awarded the MacGregor Memorial Medal for the best military reconnaissance of that year. (See B&C 85 Dec 95 concerning The MacGregor Medal. Ed)
He returned to the UK with the 1st Bn in 1940, was posted to the 5th Bn under Lt Col Eric Prattley and soon commanded A Coy. The Bn was part of 18th Division and they embarked for Malaya in October 1941. After two and a half months at sea they disembarked on 13 January 1942 at Singapore. Four days later the Bn was in action against the Japanese Army. After 10 days fighting in Johore the Bn was withdrawn to Singapore and took up a defensive position on the NW coast of the island. On 14 February 1942 the Allied Forces surrendered. During this short campaign Bob Hamond commanded his company with great bravery and distinction. His leadership qualities were to be even more sternly tested during the years in captivity that followed in the appalling conditions meted out by the Japanese and in particular when many members of the Battalion worked on the infamous Burma-Siam Railway. (See below for a reminiscence by Bob Hamond of that period. Ed)
Bob Hamond himself suffered many tropical illnesses, including cholera, but even under the horrendous conditions in which all ranks were living, he continued to set an example to everyone. Many men undoubtedly survived through the leadership and encouragement which he showed in those dark days.
Following the surrender of Japan and after recovering his strength, which he did completely, he rejoined the 1st Bn The Royal Norfolk Regiment and served with them in BAOR, Berlin and Cyprus. He also commanded the Regimental Depot with distinction from 1950 to 1952 and subsequently returned to the Far East for the Korean War, where he served with the Royal Navy on a Fleet Aircraft Carrier. Major Hamond retired from the service in 1958.
In 1946 Bob Hamond married Elizabeth (Betty) Meredith, whose husband had been killed serving with his Regiment, the Dorsets, in Normandy in 1944. The Merediths had two daughters, Sarah and Tessa, Bob became their proud and devoted stepfather, and later grandfather and recently great grandfather to their families. The first family home, apart from many military quarters, was at Morston, followed by a happy time on Skye where Bob was involved with prawn fishing off the West Coast of Scotland. The family then returned to Norfolk, moving finally to Folke House in Dorset, near Sherborne.
Bob Hamond was a true countryman and a great ornithologist. He was equally at home on the sea. He was also very literate, writing prose and poetry with equal skill. He had three books published, the first two to wide acclaim. These both recounted rare stories of British soldiers escaping from the Japanese following the Malayan Campaign. 'A Fearful Freedom' concerns Pte Jim Wright of the IX Foot and 'The Flame of Freedom' is about an officer in the Loyal Regiment. The third book on the 'History of the MacGregor Memorial Medals 1889-1989' involved a great deal of research and earned him high praise from the United Service Institution of India, founders of the medal.
(See page B&C 85 Dec 95 concerning Bob, the history of the MacGregor Medal and the book, an autographed copy of which is a treasured possession. Ed)
Bob Hamond was a splendid regimental soldier, a man of many talents, a fine raconteur and great fun to be with in any circumstances. He has left us, his friends, with so many happy memories of times shared, which will not fade.
To Betty, and to their family, goes our deep sympathy at the passing of such a fine man. JB Dye

Links:
'Hamond is treading the snowy wastes of Tibet for two months.' 1st Bn News in Britannia Issue 26, Autumn 1939
B&C 85 Dec 95 for an account of this momentous trek and the subsequent award of the MacGregor Medal.
B&C 86 Jun 96 for a reminiscence by Bob Hamond of Regimental Brotherhood about RSM J Tuppeny Rice MM BEM on the Burma-Siam railway in April 1943.