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RAOC Gazette - page 49

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Corps RAOC
Material type Journals
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Full title RAOC Gazette
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Publication date 1980
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Colour Yes
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Early date 1980
Late date 1980
Transcription Transportation, Longmoor for six months as the Ordnance
member of the planning staff for Exercise Pablo 5 which took
place in Holland in 1965.
In January 1966 he took up an appointment as DAAG
AG9 and eighteen months later was posted to COD Chilwell
on promotion for training in computer programming. He was
Master Programmer at Chilwell until December 1969 when he
was moved to Bicester as Master Programmer (Ammunition) on
the new computer. In November 1971 he was promoted to
Colonel and took over the appointment of OIC Implementation
at CSDW. A year later he was moved to London as Colonel
Ord 1.
He was promoted to Brigadier and took up the appointment
of Inspector RAOC in June 1975, a year later he was moved to
the Central Inventory Control Point as Controller and in Novem-
ber 1976 was re-designated Director of Supply Management
(Army). He assumed his last appointment as Deputy Director
General of Ordnance Services in June 1978.
Bernard Biggs set high standards wherever he went and
his sage counsel will be sadly missed. An officer of great
charm, who did much to enhance the reputation of the Corps;
we will all miss him and I am sure the large number of
friends he and Elizabeth have made during their years with
the Corps will join me in wishing them both good health,
success and much happiness in the future.
JB
fox tfie
&etorta
BIRTHDAY
HONOURS
OBE
Lieutenant Colonel W. J. Scoging
MQE
Lieutenant Colonel I. G. Thomas
Captain J. A. McGrellis
W02 G. J. Arscott
BEM
Staff Sergeant R. Abrams
Staff Sergeant N. P. Grace
Staff Sergeant W. G. Rule
Sergeant P. J. Bedford
Sergeant M. E. Mullany (WRAC)
Sergeant J. Jones
Corporal P. K. Langan
THE
RETIREMENT
BRIGADIER
B.
R.
OF
BIGGS
BRIGADIER BERNARD BIGGS retired from the Active List
in June to take up the appointment of Secretary and Registrar
of Portsmouth Polytechnic College, after a long and distinguished
career which started in 1947. In 1950 he was granted a Regular
Commission in the RAOC, and after a tour of duty as a
Company Commander with 15 Battalion he was given command
of a Mobile Industrial Gas Unit in UK and later in the Canal
Zone. He was recalled to UK in 1953 to attend the twenty-fifth
Ordnance Officers' Course and on completion he was posted to
London as a Staff Captain in Ord 1.
In 1955 he qualified as an Ammunition Technical Officer
and was posted to command a detachment of Western Com-
mand Ammunition Inspectorate.
In October 1957 he was
posted to Singapore and became Staff Captain in Ord 5. Whilst
there he sat and passed the Staff College examination and
returned to the UK in 1959 to attend Staff College the following
year.
CCRAOC
AFTER many tries and much staffing effort, the Corps has at
last managed to obtain agreement to change the appointment
title.'DDOS' to ' C C R A O C ' in 1st British Corps. With effect
from 28th May 1980, Brigadier John Skinner became the first
' Corps Commander Royal Army Ordnance Corps' and his
staff now belong to ' Headquarters, Royal Army Ordnance
Corps, 1st British Corps' rather than ' Ord Branch.'
The board in the corridor in Block 9 in Ripon Barracks,
Bielefeld, will now have a major amendment so for the record I
thought that it would be appropriate to publish in THE GAZETTE
the list of Senior Officers who have held the former appoint-
ment of Deputy Director of Ordnance Services, 1st British
Corps and whose names appear on the board:
1966 Brigadier L. A. Coates
1951 Colonel T. G. Gore
DSO, MBE.
OBE.
1952 Colonel C.
1968 Brigadier N. H. Speller.
Arnold-Edwards OBE.
1970 Brigadier D. K. Allen
1953 Colonel V. D. F.
MBE.
Tarrant OBE.
1972 Brigadier J. C. Moore
1956 Colonel H. A. Brakes
MBE.
OBE.
1974 Brigadier G. E.
1958 Colonel R. M. N.
. Dennison OBE.
Patrick.
1976 Brigadier P. G.
1961 Colonel H. R. Alden.
Macdonald.
1963 Colonel N. G. Kenney
1978 Brigadier W. L.
OBE.
Whalley.
1965 Brigadier N. G. Kenney
1980 Brigadier J. H. Skinner.
OBE.
A
Brigadier Biggs (right) at a recent recruiting convention.
From the Staff College he was posted to Headquarters 39
Brigade in Northern Ireland and later became DAQMG at
Headquarters Northern Ireland Command. At the end of that
tour he moved to- CAD Longtown as Planning and Work Study
Officer. During his time there he was attached to the School of
BREAK
IN
THE
CHAIN
LIEUTENANT COLONEL F. N. WEBSTER has retired after
almost thirty one years service. The Webster family have been
associated with the Corps for over one hundred years, Frank's
father, grandfather and great-grandfather having all served as
armourers.
Frank joined the Army as an Apprentice Tradesman at
Harrogate. On leaving Harrogate, in 1951; he was posted to
RAOC Boys Training at Haslar Barracks, Gosport, to continue
his boys service as. he had not yet attained the qualifying age
for man's service. At Gosport he was promoted to the rank of
Boy Sergeant Major. Late in 1952 he was posted to the RAOC
Training Centre in the rank of Lance Corporal (this must be a
record, he was never a Private!).
In 1961 whilst at CAD Corsham he was awarded a Queens
Commendation for Brave Conduct for his efforts at Barry
Docks when he became involved with a consignment of highly
dangerous forty millimetre ammunition which was awaiting
sea-dumping.
Initially, Frank intends to remain in Belgium where his
wife, an American citizen, is a teacher in the USA Section of
the SHAPE International School. In 1981 he plans to emmigrate
to the USA where he hopes to make a living restoring antiques.
— 34 —
Book number R0404