reams of escaping dreary England quickly drained into the Atlantic as the ?A? Company of Duke of Cornwall?s Light Infantry?s (1DCLI) 1st Battalion sailed towards Bermuda on February 18, 1954.

It was to be the last full regiment of the British Army to be posted to Bermuda as the entire British Army Garrison was withdrawn in 1957 ending a 256-year connection to Bermuda.

The ten-day trip from Liverpool, England, on the was Derek Lovemore?s first sea voyage and may have been a weaker person?s last.

?The stink of sickness some several decks below the water line, the hand basins full of spew, and the floors slimy with the emptyings of my mates? stomachs became a memory etched in stone for me,? Mr. Lovemore graphically described the voyage.

Mr. Lovemore, now living in Brisbane, Australia with his wife Audrey, has since travelled the globe by boat and was one of the 145 soldiers stationed in Bermuda as the last full British Army unit between 1954 and 1957.

He only spent a year in Bermuda, from 1954 to 1955, however the period left such an impression he started a web site a little over a year ago to document his time on the Island and to contact former ?mates?.

Mr. Lovemore remembers the moment he first saw Bermuda. ?Happy was the day we smelled land and Bermuda seemed to lift from the horizon like a sweet smelling rose,? he said.

The Atlantic crossing had battered the sailors? stomachs and the as she sustained damage to her rear loading doors and some of the vehicles she was transporting on her deck.

On February 29, 1954, after spending a night moored in Hamilton Harbour, ?A? Company finally disembarked via river steamer because the was too large a ship for Front Street and lined up behind the 1DCLI Band all dressed in winter gear.

Mr. Lovemore said: ?Such a thrill for a young soldier as a member of a famous and ancient Regiment to see the crowds welcoming the ?Return of the British Garrison?.

?We marched off to Barracks at Prospect at the cracking Light Infantry pace of 140 paces to the minute with rifles carried at ?the trail.?

He could have deferred his National service until the age of 21 because of his employment as a printer, but chose to enlist rather than be conscripted later on.

In 1953, when Mr. Lovemore enlisted, two years of National service was required in Britain, but he did not see service as a predicament, but as an opportunity.

?Life in Britain in the early 50?s was hardly enriching, with dark and dismal weather and negativity abounding.

?I elected to enlist at 18 in November 1953 because I wanted the adventure of military experience and hoped for a foreign posting in Malaya or Kenya.

?I didn?t even expect that I?d get so lucky in being posted to A Company detachment in Bermuda.?

In Bermuda the DCLI stood guard in two hour durations at the Representatives Building on Front Street, performed ceremonial duties ? Beating the Retreats at St. George?s, Church Parades ? and other requirements including practising rifle drilling three or four times a day.

Time was allowed outside of the Barracks and by Mr. Lovemore?s account the men made the most of their time here in Bermuda.

His personal interests revolved around social boozing at the Sailor?s Club and other Front Street bars, watching others pig out at The Buccaroo ? anyone who could inhale an obscene sized ice-cream concoction in 3 minutes got it free ? movies at the Barracks and swimming.

The only limit for the men at the British Barracks at Prospect appeared to be the pay they received for their duties.

?My pay in those days was three Bermudian pounds and 10 shillings so apart from the money I got from gardening there was a serious cash flow problem.?

Mr. Lovemore, however, found Bermudians to be very friendly though regardless of his admiration for the life in Bermuda, he never ventured to try Bermuda Shorts.

?I personally met many local Bermudians who made me feel very welcome and was often stopped on the street for introductions.

?I guess our pale skins and short haircuts gave us away, but we very quickly discovered Horseshoe Bay and our local swimming hole on the north shore and finally got a tan.

?We soon looked very tropical in our colourful shirts, but always slacks, seldom shorts. In fact the ?Bermuda Shorts? angle was always avoided, I think that narrow minded British attitudes overcame our willingness to experiment.?

While Mr. Lovemore served in Bermuda until his discharge from the Army in 1955, others in A Company were sent elsewhere in the Caribbean either as punishment for misdemeanours, electively or to make up number deficiencies in other Companies.

?Fresh troops were always undergoing basic training as replacements for National Servicemen completing the time commitment, two years and would be rotated back to the UK.?

While ?A? Company was constantly evolving and changing because 120 soldiers were National Servicemen in 1957 the entire Company left Bermuda.

Mr. Lovemore continued his printing training in Britain, became an engineer in the development of high speed offset news presses, which he installed the world over and eventually moved to Australia in 1967.

The 71-year-old is now retired and hopes to reconnect with former members of the Battalion and ?mates? in particular the family of Major JA Marsh who died in 1988 and Richard Butterfield who used to take him and others on fishing trips.

His website is http://djk1157.googlepages.com/home. and comments and connections can be made on his blog at: