I am very sorry to report that Phil Watkin died on 28th November 2005. He was born in British North Borneo in 1921, coming to England in 1925 for his education. He read law at St. Catherine's College, Cambridge. In 1941 he was commissioned into the M & R Sikh Regiment [later Sikh Ll], joining at the re-raising of the 2nd. Bn. at Multan in 1942. He, together with Lts. Rice and Purdie, were sent from India as re-inforcements to the 2nd Bn. when they were in Syria, when the situation called for a calming influence on the withdrawal of French troops and administration from that county. Later he joined the Colonial Service working in Nigeria. During this spell he completed his legal studies, being called to the Bar in 1953, remarkably on the same day as his wife Bess whom he married in 1945. They had two daughters. He returned to Yorkshire to help run Bess's family's Textile Company, and while there he was commissioned into the TA as an officer in the KOYLI Regiment. In the 1960's, when leaving that Company, instead of returning to the Bar, he became a solicitor, practising in that capacity until retirement. His interests lay in music, English landscape painting, fly fishing and shooting. In Hukm's history of the Syrain period, he mentions that Phil also enjoyed horse riding [in that episode on Police horses]. With his daughter Mrs. Enright he visited the Regt. Centre in Feb 1988. He was pillar of our Regtl Association, always keen to keep in touch. Even at the age of 83 he was able to return to Borneo to visit the scenes of his childhood. The funeral service was held at Skipton on 2nd December 2005. Instead of wreath our Association sent as requested, a contribution to SSAFA in his memory. | 
