Fusilier from Middleton set for training mission in Canada

W Company, Fifth Fusiliers making final preparations for a training mission in Canada

Representatives from W Company, Fifth Fusiliers based in Bury are making final preparations for a training mission in Canada, taking part in the exercise will be local Fusilier Joe Atkinson-Riley, 20 from Middleton.

Fusilier Atkinson-Riley joined as a reserve two years ago, soon after leaving school.

The reserve infantry rifle company known as W (Gallipoli) Company, Fifth Fusiliers, will depart at the end of the month to BATUS (British Army Training Unit Suffield) where they will join First Fusiliers on a series of training exercises. Members from the platoon will work alongside First Fusiliers who are fully equipped with the Warrior Armoured Fighting Vehicle.

The exercise which is expected to last for two weeks will provide reservists with a unique opportunity to gain valuable skills working alongside First Fusiliers.

Sgt Jed Dyson, Training Sergeant, W (Gallipoli) Coy Fifth Fusiliers said: “BATUS is a fabulous opportunity for members of W Company to learn and work alongside First Fusiliers in a training environment. We’re all really looking forward to going to Canada and fully intend to make the most of this opportunity to learn and develop new skills in combat.”

On returning from BATUS Fusilier Joe Atkinson-Riley plans to complete a promotion course to gain his first stripe, before deploying on a six-month United Nations operational tour of Cyprus early next year.

W (Gallipoli) Company, Fifth Fusiliers are based at Castle Armoury and regained Company status at the end of 2018. The Army cuts of 1999 sadly saw C (Fusilier) Company reduce from a fully manned company to a much smaller Machine Gun Platoon. Over the years, Bury's Fusiliers have refused to allow themselves to dwindle further and have instead grown. They have also maintained their strong Fusilier identity, despite being attached to three other infantry regiments. In December 2016, this resilience resulted in the Army moving the Platoon back under the command of 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers so that Bury’s Fusiliers were part of the Fusilier family once more and since then, have grown to Company strength.

The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, known as ‘The Fusiliers’, is an English infantry Regiment in the British Army, formed from four historic Fusilier Regiments in 1968. Since then, the Fusiliers have seen service across the world in Northern Ireland, Cyprus, the Balkans, the 1st and 2nd Gulf Wars and Afghanistan. The Regiment has two battalions, First Fusiliers in Tidworth and Fifth Fusiliers in Newcastle, and both adapt readily to challenging scenarios.