RIP - Lt Col R Colvin Chamberlain (DB, 47-56)

Roger Colvin Chamberlain: Day Boy, 1947 - 1956

Born 5th March 1938 - Died 20th August 2023

Joining CCB at the age of 8 he was the youngest in school for a long time. At CCB he played a significant role in many school drama's both acting and production. He and his brother gained entrance to Cambridge although he did not take up his place instead taking a commission in the regular Army.

His mother taught Art at Christ College

Colvin Chamberlain joined RMA Sandhurst in 1956 straight from Christ College, commissioning into The Royal Regiment of Artillery on 2nd August 1958.

After his Young Officers' Course at Larkhill he joined 45 Fd Regt RA in Dortmund before a posting to Junior Leaders' Regiment Royal Artillery in Oswestry as an instructor, and then to I Parachute Bty (Bull's Troop) 7 Parachute Regt RHA as a Forward Observation Officer. Whilst with Bull's Troop he deployed to Libya to test parachutes following a run of deployment failures and to Australia as part of the opposition force for an Australian Brigade completing its pre-Vietnam deployment training.

He next served in 17 Trg Regt RA in Woolwich as Adjutant, before Hong Kong as a Forward Observation Officer in 25 Fd Regt RA. Returning to Larkhill in 1970 he attended then instructed on the Long Gunnery Staff Course before returning to 25 Fd Regt as Second-in-Command in Catterick, arms plotting them to Munsterlager, before taking command of 54 (Maharajpore) Light Bty RA - a command which included a demanding Emergency Tour in Belfast in 1975. 

After another sojourn in Larkhill, this time as a staff officer, he was posted to Canada for a two-year tour as the exchange officer to the Canadian Artillery School in Gagetown, New Brunswick.  This was to be the finale of his field gunnery career. During the 1980s he had back-to-back staff tours in the MOD in procurement, notably on the BATES and ADCIS system teams, which led to a final posting to Larkhill where he concluded his service in 1993. Colvin worked for several more years as a Retired Officer at Larkhill before retiring to Devizes.  

He was predeceased in 2008 by Judith, his wife of 41 years, in 2011 his brother Bernard S (DB, 48-58) but is survived by his son Edward and daughter Finetta, as well as by his second wife Deborah.