Quartermaster Roland Pillinger

Roland Pillinger was born on 13 May 1860 and enlisted in the 61st Regiment in Oct 1876. He purchased his discharge in 1879 and 11 days later joined the ranks of the 10th Hussars, on 28 April 1879, when the depot was at Canterbury. He sailed out to India and reached the 10th at Rawalpindi in 1880. He rose through the ranks, promoted to Lance Corporal in 1881, Troop Sergeant Major (TSM) in 1885, Quartermaster Sergeant (QMS) in 1888, Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant (RQMS) in 1897 and was commissioned as Quartermaster on 29 Nov 1901 with the rank of Honorary Lieutenant. He was promoted to Hon Captain on 7 Feb 1910 and Hon Major on 16 Dec 1911. He served in the Sudan battles of 1884 and was with the regiment in the Boer War. He retired from the regiment in May 1913. But in 1914 he went to Cairo to join the Egyptian Camel Corps. In 1915 he joined the ASC for the Gallipoli Campaign, being appointed ADC on 8 June 1915. In 1916 he joined the Staff, Middle East. He was married first to Blanche but she died in India in 1912. He married again on 25 Sep 1920 to Doris Blanche Baker. They had a son and lived in Torquay, then moved to Hove near Canterbury. This had an unfortunate outcome as the house was destroyed by fire along with his memorabilia. His last home was in Wear Bay Road, Folkstone. He died there on 14 May 1951 at the age of 93.
Major Pillinger is best remembered for his editing of the Regimental Gazette. This was initiated by the CO Lt-Col Kavanagh in 1907 and he appointed Quartermaster Pillinger as editor. This quarterly magazine turned out to be, if not the first of its kind, by far the best. When Major Pillinger retired from the 10th in 1913 the tribute that appeared in the magazine began: ‘The retirement of Major Pillinger after over 34 years continuous service in the Regiment makes a gap which we can hardly realise. The Officers mess, the Quarter-Master’s Stores, the daily function at office, in fact the whole barracks seem unreal without him. There is a depressed feeling throughout the Regiment, and every phase of its routine, for we have suffered a very great loss.’ The rest of the article carries on in this eulogizing way but gives very little in the way of facts except to say that his nickname was ‘Pilse’. The fact that most of these regimental gazettes are available on the internet is down to the hard work of the major’s grandson Richard Pillinger. The photo is of Troop Sergeant Major Pillinger in stable dress c1885.

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