1969 ‘Bake-off’ for Larne soldier

A Larne soldier swapped his rifle for a mixing bowl and wooden spoon during a tour in Gibraltar in June, 1969.

Twenty-two-year-old William Lorimer stepped in during a bread shortage in the country when the border between Spain and Gibraltar was closed during an embargo of the British colony.

Ranger Lorimer had been serving with the Royal Irish in Gibraltar. Spain’s Franco regime had imposed a blockade on traffic across the border to The Rock.

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Army authorities had asked the Royal Irish if they had any men who had previous baking experience.

Ranger Lorimer – who had worked in a bakery – and 11 colleagues volunteered to work in Gibraltar’s main bakery to help ease the plight of Gibraltarians.

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