Denis James Foran was born in Leicester in 1945 and joined 1st Battalion The Royal Leicestershire Regiment in 1962 aged 18 years. He served first in Watchet and then in February 1963 moved to Hong Kong and then to Borneo where he first saw active service during the ‘Confrontation’ between Indonesia and Malaysia.

During his 6 months in Borneo he took part in what became known as ‘the Mike Peele’ raid, a successful operation against a numerically larger enemy force for which Second Lieutenant Peele was subsequently awarded the Military Cross. It became the custom that the Regimental lanyard previously worn only by officers, could be awarded to soldiers who gave outstanding service on active duty. Awards had previously been made after Korea, and on return from Borneo Denis Foran was recognised for the honour.

In 1964 the Battalion became the 4th (Leicestershire) Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, and Denis served a second six-month operational tour in Aden in 1965 and then three years in Malta and Libya 1965-68 and Bahrain 1969-70. In 1970 with the disbandment of 4th Battalion, Denis joined the 1st Battalion (The Vikings) on a further operational tour in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Denis served well with The Vikings but made clear he was a Tiger first and foremost. Now a Sergeant, he was Mentioned in Dispatches for his service in Northern Ireland 1971-1972.

Later the 1st Battalion moved to Cyprus where the highlight of the sporting year was the Cyprus Walkabout, a rugged orienteering event covering 35 miles on Day One running from sea level at Episkopi to the top of Mount Troodos, and returning on Day Two. Open to Service competitors from all theatres it always attracted a very strong field. Denis was a member of the winning team of three in 1972.

Leaving the Army in that year he cut short a military career that would have assured him higher office, for Denis was the epitome of a soldier and was respected and admired by his peers and contemporaries alike. He spent the next 40 years of his life in Leicestershire, and latterly was a driving instructor and tester for the Arriva coach company.

Denis became a member of The Royal Tigers’ Association (RTA) and eventually a member of the General Committee. He regularly attended reunions and functions and was a loyal member of the Association for which he proudly became its Standard Bearer. One notable event was a parade in France after a successful campaign to prevent the authorities turning a First World War battlefield at Loos into a land-fill site. Many of the men who died in the battle were from The Leicestershire Regiment. A stone monument marks the site, and Denis was on parade with the Standard in the midst of an array of French standards. Another occasion was the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War when 10,000 veterans and over 700 standards paraded. His final visit to France was for the official opening of ‘Dick Read Square’ in Berles-au-Bois near the Somme, when a strong contingent of the RTA joined in the celebrations to mark the occasion in late September 2010 and at which Denis proudly paraded the Standard. His French friends in Berles remember him with great affection. He also organised the Old Comrades’ Christmas reunion in Wigston, which proved popular amongst veterans.

After much research, in 2002 Denis located the grave of Lance Sergeant Philip Smith VC in an unmarked plot in a Dublin cemetery. He was a member of the Regimental party that travelled to Dublin for a memorial service together with many descendants of Philip Smith VC and at which an inscribed stone was laid.

Denis Foran’s legacy to The Royal Tigers’ Association will be one of fond comradeship and a willingness to be involved cheerfully and with enthusiasm in tasks undertaken. He was a valued member of the General Committee and stalwartly loyal to the aims and activities of the Association. He was the consummate soldier who will be greatly missed. He bore his illness positively and with great bravery. He died on 9 Feb 2013

Our deepest sympathies are extended to his widow Eileen, and to her family.

MKG