Bermuda Regiment, it turned out to be something of a sentimental journey for his wife.

Mrs. Frances Ryan says she was surprised to find that the reign of great-aunt, Lady Cubitt, as Governor's wife is still remembered in Bermuda today for at least two reasons.

When she arrived here, Mrs. Ryan found the LCCA (Lady Cubitt Compassionate Association), named for its founder almost fifty years ago, is flourishing, stronger than ever.

In spite of her family connection with the LCCA, Mrs. Ryan says she has limited her involvement with the charity to "rattling tins on street corners''.

It was only after Mrs. Ryan had been here awhile that she realised her family had also been a part of perhaps one of the most publicised moments in Bermuda's history.

This was in April 193l, when Sir Astley and Lady Olive Cubitt were invited to open the Bermuda Railway by taking the inaugural ride from Hamilton to Somerset and cutting the ceremonial ribbon on the newly constructed bridge connecting Somerset with the main island. It has been generally agreed that the introduction of the railway signified a profound change in Bermuda's way of life.

Now, as the couple prepare to return to England, Mrs. Ryan says that part of that story has come full circle: "I remember Rosemary, great-aunt Olive's daughter, telling me that a railway spike which had been presented to her in Bermuda, had been lost in the upheaval of moving into a nursing home. I only realised the full significance of this once I got out here and began to look at old photos of the railway opening.'' It was Rosemary who had performed the ceremonial rite of driving the last spike into the track on that memorable day.

Now, Mr. Wilfred Hall, whose home backs on some of the old railway land at Flatts, has presented one of the old spikes found in his garden, to Mrs. Ryan as a keepsake "and to partly make up for the fact that Rosemary's spike was thrown away. Sadly, she died two years ago, but I shall treasure it.'' Mrs. Ryan recalled Rosemary telling her that she had met her future Royal Navy husband in Bermuda and that he had proposed to her under the flagpole at Admiralty House. "I went there on a little pilgrimage and although most of Admiralty House is now gone, I was pleased to find that the flagpole is still there!'' It also turns out that Lady Cubitt's other daughter, Lavender (who, in her late seventies, still lives in Sussex), returned to Bermuda as the wife of an army officer at Prospect, who, as Mrs. Ryan explains, "was effectively doing the same job that my husband has been doing at Warwick Camp.'' For Lt. Col. Ryan, his job for the past three years has been that of the Bermuda Regiment Staff Officer, on loan from the Royal Anglian Regiment in Britain.

"This sounds a terribly big title, but I assist the C.O., Lt. Col. Allan Rance with the planning and organisation of training.'' His duties have also included setting set up overseas camps and courses and the co-ordination of major exercises in Bermuda.

Reflecting on his time here, Lt. Col. Ryan says that it has been more challenging and satisfying than he had expected. He points out that a posting to Bermuda as one of the permanent, five-man team of officers and warrant officers, is recognised in Britain as a "definite career enhancer. It's one of our most important overseas postings.'' He believes that Bermudians may not realise that the officer loan scheme is not merely a one-way affair. Bermudian officers train in Britain, he says, and officers who come out here consider it a valuable learning experience. For him, personally, Lt. Col. Ryan says he has learned "a lot'' about soldiering generally in Bermuda, and how to train and motivate people. Rather more unexpectedly, he maintains the Regiment's ceremonial role compares favourably with any British unit.

"I wore ceremonial uniform more in my first six months here than in my whole army career,'' he laughs.

"I think the Regiment is very well trained, given the fact that it's a part-time force. And it continues to get better, because the officers keep developing and re-thinking what is really required in practical terms, in the core skills necessary to maintain an efficient force.'' Lt. Col. Ryan, who served in Northern Ireland before coming here in 1990, says he believes the Bermuda Regiment is unique in the sense that, in an emergency, it is expected to provide a reasonably rapid response: "In England, the Territorial Army, which is also a part-time force, is not expected to mobilise within just a few hours, as Bermuda is. From test embodiments which we've run here, we are confident that the Regiment could meet its commitments in a very short time.'' In his view, the 700-man Regiment (with a force of 300 available on a fast basis) provides "a tremendous pool of discipline in man-made, or natural disasters, such as hurricane Emily.'' The Ryans say they will be sad to leave Bermuda and the friends they have made here. Adds Mrs. Ryan, "I think our three-legged Siamese cat will be sad, too.

We brought him here with us and he's become quite a character around the camp.

He, of course, thought he'd died and gone to heaven when he arrived in Bermuda. What he doesn't know is that he now has six months of quarantine to face when we get back to the U.K!'' Mrs. Ryan is compiling a history of the Cubitt family and would be interested in hearing from anyone who has any stories or information on their time here.

Their address in Britain is: Headquarters, Warminster Training Centre, Warminster, Wiltshire.

A PIECE OF BERMUDA'S HISTORY -- Lt. Col. Kevin Ryan and Mrs. Frances Ryan hold one of the spikes from the old Bermuda railway. Mrs. Ryan is a great-niece of Lady Cubitt, whose Governor husband opened the railway in 1931.