One gets an appreciation of Colour Sgt. Cedric Tweed's service to the Bermuda Regiment when they realise he has been there long enough to see every Commanding Officer come through the ranks.

So, too, has he seen every new officer go through the Warwick Camp gates, some very reluctantly and anxious for their three-year conscription to end, others going on to make careers of the military.

Those privates in the current camp will be the last group of new soldiers Colour Sgt. Tweed will see as his impending retirement is coming up in March, the month of his 78th birthday.

The Regiment's oldest soldier is going reluctantly and will no doubt find life without the Regiment difficult. It has been his life for almost 52 years, since 1951 when there was no Bermuda Regiment and he served in the Bermuda Militia Artillery which then amalgamated with the Bermuda Volunteer Rifles Corp in 1965 and became the Bermuda Regiment.

"They say I'm up in age now, 77, and I'm going to have to go," said Colour Sgt. Tweed who admits that being around the new soldiers helps keep him young at heart.

"It's going to break my heart, but I have to do it. They are going to retire me.

"I've met some good people in the Regiment, I served under all the Colonels, about eight of them. The first Colonel was Col. Brownlow Tucker and we all got on good together."

The young Cedric Tweed got his first taste of military life when working as a civilian for the Royal Engineers and hanging around the British Army at Prospect.

"By being there I looked over their shoulders at what they were doing and I loved it," explained Colour Sgt. Tweed. "They saw I was interested and they taught me.

"My first camp was down at St. David's Battery in 1952 and my second was up at Warwick Camp in `53 under Major Brownlow Tucker."

Colour Sgt. Tweed has held several ranks within the Regiment, including Lance Corporal, Corporal, Sergeant and non-colour Sergeant.

"I had to work for my ranks," he says proudly.

"I've been in different jobs up here, the arms stores, officers' mess, canteen...practically everything they wanted to be done. It makes me feel good, I've done a lot of parades.

"When we went on parade they called us the Grenadier Guards. When the Queen came here in `53 I was picked for that guard."

The veteran soldier has also been overseas to several camps, to England twice, North Carolina several times, Barbados and Portugal.

Colour Sgt. Tweed is by far the oldest soldier at Warwick Camp, his military career beginning back in 1951.

He has seen thousands of young men serve their time, some "kicking and screaming", others willingly.

The whole issue of young men being drafted into the Regiment will continue to be debated, but Colour Sgt. Tweed says he has seen for himself the positive effects the Regiment has had on many young men.

"When they first come here they grumble, but after they get here it's good," he explained, pointing to the lack of discipline as one of the main problems amongst young men today.

"Some of them, when they get out for a few years, want to come back."

Married to Cornelia since 1945 and the father of ten children, Colour Sgt. Tweed still enjoys being around young men. He has seen them all come and go, many going on to become well known in the community.

"There is no discipline at home and they don't have it in the school anymore," he says of the changing times.

"In my day my grandma and your grandma would tell you what to do, but it's different today. When I talk to them I tell them to behave themselves and don't give anybody any backlip.

"Discipline didn't worry me. My father (John Tweed) was a man who disciplined his children and with my mother (Helen) they taught us well."

Colour Sgt. Tweed has retired once before, but it lasted only about five weeks before he went back and joined the reserves which he still serves.

No doubt it will be an emotional occasion when the Regiment's oldest soldier retires. The Regiment is planning a special send-off of its longest serving soldier.

Bermuda Regiment Commanding Officer Lt. Col. Edward Lamb, paid a tribute to the senior officer, whom he admits is "ageing and slowing down a bit".

"Colour Sgt. Tweed is a one-of-a-kind individual, his service dates back to Brownlow Tucker, the first Commanding Officer of the Bermuda Regiment," said Lt. Col. Lamb.

"He has been nothing short of completely loyal and supportive and dedicated to this country. He has soldiered on, pardon the pun, long past many people.

"Even at 77 he still makes a valuable contribution to the Regiment, he's one of the stewards in the Officers' Mess, works under the Quarter Master's Department. Colour Sgt. Tweed is indicative of his generation, people with a very strong work ethic.

"He hasn't let the advancing years slow him down, nor diminish his spirit for serving his country. Colour Sgt. Tweed is like the grand daddy of us all, he's watched many Colonels come up through the ranks."

Lt. Col. Lamb's respect and admiration for the veteran soldier is felt by many past and current soldiers.

`Even though I outrank him by several ranks, I still have a great deal of respect for him," said the Commanding officer.

"In terms of respect I hold him in very high regard - because of his length of service. He is the only soldier who has served in the Bermuda Regiment for its entire history, from 1965 until now. He's been around for as long as the Bermuda Regiment has been around.

"We're going to give him a nice send-off, with the suitable festivities associated with such a magnificent length of service. We has watched everybody come through the ranks. He is a person who personifies the whole business of serving one's country, and he does so with a great deal of pride.

"Even the young soldiers who work under him, in the Officer's Mess and Quarter Master's Department, not just by virtue of his rank but also because of his age, show him a great deal of respect. Trust me, he knows how to use his authority when necessary, he doesn't tolerate any nonsense."