Big Jim Wyatt joined the Army in Peterborough, as a Drummer with the 4th Battalion the Royal Anglian Regiment in August 1964. He was discharged with an Exemplary Conduct report in June 1989.

During this time, he served in Malta GC, Bahrain, North Africa, Germany, Cyprus, (including operations with the United Nations) three emergency operational tours of Northern Ireland and of course various periods within the United Kingdom.

His total Army Service to Queen and Country was 24 years and 281 days. He gained the General Service Medal for operations in Northern Ireland, the United Nations Medal for service and operations in Cyprus and the Long Service and Good Conduct medal for outstanding service throughout his Army Career.

His release report read as follows:

I met Jim for the first time in Malta on a hockey pitch. He hit me hard on the head with his stick so I squared up to him! He was 6’ 4 and I was 4’6! I think I apologised for getting my head in the way! We became friends from that moment and he became a bigger influence on my life than I could ever have realised at the time.

Jim was a good footballer…probably better than given credit for. His Battalion football career however didn’t really kick off the way he thought it might!

The Battalion team were playing a top Maltese team, Sliema Wanderers in Marsa Stadium, Malta, in front of about 1000 spectators in October 1967. Jim, although part of the squad, wasn’t playing as it happened, but was watching from the stand. We were doing quite well, so much so, that their coach, who was also the local priest, came to the touchline to remonstrate with some of his players and give out instructions! Our team captain however thought this unfair and shouted across for Jim to stop him! Big Jim then took the priest by the arm and pulled him away from the touchline!

Now, the Maltese are an extremely religious race and on seeing this….the locals in the crowd, not taking too kindly to seeing their Priest taken in hand, started moving menacingly towards him! Jim saw this and took off! Three strides later, he was across the pitch, ducking punches…he literally threw himself over an 8 foot wire fence, with half the population of Malta hot on his heels! He then flew across the pony trotting track, evading many startled horses and their riders and carried on running till he reached camp about 5 miles away, with hundreds of very irate and upset locals chasing him on foot and in cars! He did get back safely but, he didn’t leave camp again for almost 10 weeks!

After Amalgamation in 1970, both Jim and I moved to the 3rd Battalion the Royal Anglian Regiment and it was in Paderborn, Germany that his football career really took off. Led by our excellent Captain, Robbie Allen, we won the Infantry Cup 5 times both in Germany and the UK and became one of the best Army teams seen for an age. Jimmy was an integral part of this success.

He had a great left foot! It was a bit of a thunderbolt ! A lot has been said of it…he took a young soldier under his wing when he joined the Mortar Platoon and told him to get in goal whilst he had a few shots at him! Into the unknown this lad duly obliged and decided to try and stop his first shot with both hands spread…….he almost broke his wrists! He never went in goal again! I remember him having a shot from 30 yards in a game at Sennelager stadium that actually ended up in someone’s back garden in Berlin! He was very tall off course and the simplest tactic that we adopted was to give the ball to Jim, …..in three strides, he would be up the other end! The team trained with Middlesborough Football Club one day…managed then by Jack Charlton….a world cup winning centre half in 1966, Jim turned him over, Jack came away with twisted blood! Jim loved his football, the Battalion crowd loved Big Jim and that left foot!

Whilst we served together, from those special early days with the Corps of Drums, that special bond was created between us all, the words work hard, play hard were always evident. Although we all live in different cities and counties, even in other countries, we still have that togetherness and pride in knowing each other.

Roberta, on behalf of the Pompadour Family, be sure that we all recognise Jim with total respect and honour, he was a top Soldier and a top Pompadour. A big man with a with an even bigger heart.

RIP Jim