CELEBRATING the festive season overseas will be members of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.

The 1st Battalion, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Simon Marr, MBE, will tuck into Christmas dinner at Trenchard Barracks in Celle, Germany. It will be a welcome break for 1RRF who took part in the liberation of Iraq earlier this year. It will be a more basic affair, though, for W Company, 1RRF, who will see in the New Year in Kosovo.

For members of the 2nd Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, tours of duty in Belize and New Zealand and firefighting duties in Manchester and Glasgow during the fire service strike, will be a distant memory as they enjoy their turkey dinner on December 25.

2RRF, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel John Whitwam, MBE, are based at Palace Barracks in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where they are on peace-keeping duties.

Any penpals wishing to send Christmas messages to serving soldiers from either battalion should send letters, marked Pen Pals, to the following addresses:

1RRF, Palace Barracks, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BFPO 806.

2RRF, Trenchard Barracks, Celle, Germany, BFPO 23.