MAJOR R CALDER BEM
By the Regimental Secretary
Major Robin (‘Robbie’) Calder BEM enlisted in the Corps of Royal Military Police in
February 1963, and served the Corps and his Country with distinction until leaving in
1996, for fresh challenges in civilian life, passed away at his home on July 28 th aged
69.
It is a measure of the man that, in a very full, eventful and successful military career,
he rose rapidly from Private soldier to the command of Provost Companies on
operations in the rank of Major, and in seeking to illustrate his sheer professionalism
and dedication one need look no further than his service in Northern Ireland during
‘The Troubles’. In 1976, when the Royal Ulster Constabulary was at particularly low
ebb, the government were determined that the terrorists be denied the selfproclaimed status of combatants and be treated as the criminals they were. This led
to practical difficulties for the largely infantry troops on the ground, particularly in
West Belfast, where they were now required to adopt a quasi-police role. Royal
Military Police assistance seemed the natural solution: its soldiers having both police
and soldier skills to fill the gap. Staff-Sergeant Calder, along with others was
selected to pioneer this operation, later known as ‘POINTER’, in which small teams
of Military Police would deploy to incidents to preserve evidence, interview
witnesses, gain intelligence and to advise military commanders, who were all much
more senior to them. Robbie developed the concept and wrote the doctrine, which
required political, military and intellectual skills, together with sound judgment,
deftness of touch and coolness under fire, whilst all the time being heavily engaged
in commanding, training and administering the teams and just keeping the show on
the road. To be selected to serve in a Pointer team was to be seen to be the
epitome of the professional military policeman - an accolade often absent when
speaking of the Redcaps more generally in those days - and Robbie was certainly
that, and even more - and for his pioneering work, calmness under the most difficult
and harrowing of circumstances and his most effective dealings with senior Army
and Royal Ulster Constabulary officers, he was awarded the British Empire Medal in
1978. The inevitable aftermath of his publically acclaimed success on counterterrorist operations was a posting to the Northern Ireland Training & Advisory Team
based in Sennelager in West Germany. NITAT was a bespoke outfit set up to train o
the huge number of roulement battalions deploying to Northern Ireland on six-month
tours of duty and most importantly impart up-to-the minute operational lessons and
tactics. The tempo at NITAT was high intensity, arduous and unremitting, and once
again, Robbie made his mark. His impact cannot be understated as he had the gift
of reducing often complicated legal issues to easily understandable aide-memoires
and the knack of persuading hundreds and hundreds of soldiers to buy into the
policies and procedures even though presented by a military policeman – who is
rarely every soldier's favourite advocate. He undoubtedly saved lives and Karen has
been gratified to receive many letters from soldiers who benefited from his time there
and who remember him with respect and fondness. Sixteen years later Robbie’s
sterling work in the Province would again receive State recognition when in 1994, he
was awarded a Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Service whilst commanding
176 Provost Company in Londonderry, a Sub-Unit in which he had previously served
as Regimental Sergeant-Major.
Robbie also saw service in Germany, Hong Kong, on operations in the Balkans and
here in Great Britain. He was a particular success when assigned to Helmstedt, on
the Inner German Border between the ‘Free’ West and Communist East, to assume
command of 246 Provost Company, the Autobahn Control Detachment responsible
for access control to the only sanctioned road corridor running through East
Germany to West Berlin. As Officer Commanding and de facto Allied Commandant
at ‘Checkpoint Alpha’ he was responsible for liaison with our American and French
allies as well as with the West German border guards and our own British Frontier
Service and of course most importantly with the Russians. The Soviet military
officers respected him greatly for his soldier-like demeanour, no-nonsense approach
to any real or imagined problem and his patent professionalism while he served with
Karen and their young family on what was then very much the fault-line of Europe.
During the early days of the conflict in the former Yugoslavia, Robbie gave further
proof of the intensity of his leadership and the degree to which he would go to
support and protect his Non-Commissioned Officers in the most demanding and
dangerous situations. He was especially proud that he led the Company in - and
brought them all home.
Intensely private, Robbie was a tough and powerful character - both physically and
mentally - and particularly so when on the rugby field. He demanded much from his
subordinates: never being one to suffer fools gladly. But those that knew him well
also knew that he had a soft centre: caring passionately for his soldiers and their
families, ever generous of his time to help those going through a particularly bad
patch and striving to ensure the welfare and well-being of all his charges.
It would be wrong to portray Robbie as without fault: he could be a challenge to any
Commanding Officer, but only because, while he expected much from those he
commanded, he expected even more from those who commanded him.
I close by paraphrasing some words of United States General George S Patton
spoken in 1945: 'It is foolish and wrong to mourn friends who have died. Rather we
should thank God that such men lived.'
All of our lives are much fuller and brighter as a result of our having shared our time
with Robbie and I know that I for one will always think of him fondly and with a wry
smile as I recall the things we got up to when we were all younger.