| SPRING 1962. |
| THE COMMANDANT. |
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| PLEASE QUOTE REF: lead069 |
| Colonel J.F. Lake, M.C. |
| On 23rd December, 1958, Lieutenant Colonel J. F. Lake, M.C. commanding 4th Battalion East Lancashire Regiment (T.A.) was directed to form a new Junior Leaders' Regiment at Tonfanau. This Regiment was to be the first of its kind comprising the four 'teeth' Arms, namely Royal Armoured Corps, Royal Artillery, Royal Signals and Infantry, both in Permanent Staff and Junior Leaders. He was appointed Colonel Commandant and was informed that the first of his staff would be available in mid-January 1959 and that he would be prepared in all respects to receive and commence training two hundred and fifty Junior Leaders in May, 1959. |
| This indeed was a task of some magnitude, remembering that the staff were drawn from four different arms, the majority of whom had no previous experience of training Junior Leaders, and that Tonfanau Camp, originally built as an Anti-Aircraft Practice Camp for short term students, had been stripped and empty for nearly nine months. |
| In late 1959 a small staff assembled in Morfa Camp and under the direction of Colonel Lake commenced the task of forming the unit. In the short space of three months Tonfanau Camp was equipped, the staff was organised and trained and on 9th May, 1959 the first intake of two hundred and twelve boys arrived. It is doubtful if this task would have been completed in time without the organising ability, tireless energy and personal example of Colonel Lake. |
| In three years Colonel Lake has been responsible for building up the Regiment so that it is now considered to be the finest Junior Leader Regiment in the country. The "All Arms" concept has proved to be so successful that two new Regiments of a similar type have been formed. |
| Every aspect in the lives of those who have served with the Regiment has in some way benefitted by Colonel Lake's influence and he will long be remembered by all those Junior Leaders who have started their Army careers in Tonfanau. |
| Colonel Lake has given every encouragement to sporting activities with the result that the Regiment are current holders of the Army Cross Country Championship and two Army Individual Boxing Championships. |
| It would be remiss not to mention the part that Mrs. Lake has played in the life of the Regiment. Mrs. Lake has devoted a considerable amount of her time to social and welfare activity and without her help and advice this important part of Regimental life would not have been so successful. |
| To them both and their son David, we wish every happiness and success in the future in Washington D.C., U.S.A., where Colonel Lake assumes the appointment of Colonel G.S. Intelligence, in May 1962. |
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