RAOC Gazette - page 166
Image details
| Corps | RAOC |
|---|---|
| Material type | Journals |
| Book page | |
| Chapter head | |
| Chapter key | |
| Chapter number | |
| Full title | RAOC Gazette |
| Page number | |
| Publication date | 1980 |
| Real page | |
| Colour | Yes |
| Grey | No |
| Early date | 1980 |
| Late date | 1980 |
| Transcription |
He has taken over from Lieutenant Trevor Couch who has departed for the Drill Squares of Blackdown. Sorry Sir, no LOA or Herforder there. But, best wishes for your marriage to the lovely WRAC Lieutenant Dianne Binns. The Warrant Officer is W02 Pat Ryan, PC and A is controlled by ' Hissing Sid' alias Sergeant Alan Armstrong, who only came as a temporary measure in June 79, our local Purchase Sergeant is Brummy' Wilkes of Corps football fame. Our Stores Section men are Staff Sergeant BUI Bunting and Sergeant Dave White. Our Minister of Transport is Sergeant Pete Salisbury. Congratulations to Private * Pinky' Powell on his marriage and welcomed Mrs Pinky to Detmold. The party was superbly arranged by Corporals Wynn Davies, Jordie Heddon and Jim Shellum. "~~sa t^t^-1^?iPf4i^S) <i l'^^'' !f~y% Combat Supplies Battalion 43 RP COMPANY. ' Lock and Load ' quite a far cry from ' With a magazine of ten rounds, Load' and this sums up the difference that we encountered on Company Summer Camp in Butz- bach when we met up with the 332nd US Infantry Division on a tongue-in- cheek range challenge. The Americans, at first glance, liked our SLR, the large calibre and feel (' Just like grandpa used'), but on a short run down to the two hundred metres point the consensus was (' the SOB is heavy ')• But the British fell for 5.56mm M16 to the point of many enquiries of 'how many stable belts' did they want for a swoppies. The two-day exercise was run (well, perhaps a slow stroll would be a better description) by Captain Ward, who was aided and abetted by Lieutenant Jobbings. Corporal Ricky Dunne set out to break the endurance record for British soldiers on the march but was turned back onto the right route before he entered the Arctic Circle; which was just as well as the troops with him were beginning to miss their beer. Sergeant Graham Drew with the aid of Corporal Steve Beaumont formed the British element of the ' enemy' for the exercise, and succeeded in capturing one prisoner and gaining valuable information on the location of various bars and promptly left their American allies to check out these ' RVs.' But, like all exercises, the ' Final Attack * was stage managed like a World War I assault, the enemy fought well and expended almost as much ammunition as the first day of the Somme, in about ten minutes. They then withdrew into a passing M113 APC and, under cover of a CS cloud, (Fiendish Swines), drove off into the final paragraph of the Administration Order. We were supported throughout the Summer Camp by our able cooks. Lance Corporal Port and Privates Fenech and Hiett, ACC, who worked wonders with the Compo, supplemented by ' goodies' from the PX. Meal timings did suffer a little when they went down with food poisoning. Funny, that the rest of the Company, well used to their cooking by now, didn't suffer at all! Sergeant Dave Brookes received his Spanish lessons from Raffael and is now mosquito hunting in Belize. Raffael is now wooing our typist Soona Bowes, with red roses in his softer attempts at hard bargaining over a vacuum cleaner. We say farewells to Sergeant John Anderson and Private Taff Watkins who have left us for a country where there is no LOA (how will they cope?). We welcome our new SAT W02 Graham Goodrum GM and also Sergeant Rosser presently residing at BATUS, see you at Christmas time, the Duty Roster awaits you. Congratulations to Lance Corporal Yorkie Nisbett on winning the visitors' prize at the Army UK Free Fall Meet- ing and also on being a member of the winning BAOR visitors' team. Congratulations to Private Tony Cordon and his wife Fiona on the birth of their son Michael Thomas. On the Simmo shift. Summer Camp, and the recent visit, Monty stole the show on both occasions. The following day the Brigadier AQ, Head- quarters 1 (BR) Corps kindly paid us a visit; Brigadier Webster followed and has spread the word of SIMMO to the corridors of power in MOD. The week of visits was followed by a Range Week. Some officers actually managed to hit the barn doors; Private Dave Shillito, among others, found it rather difficult to hit forty eight barn doors stood side by side. However, he is being coached by Private Andy Hughes for the Bisley team next year. No doubt both were still recovering from the fantastic Company Bar-B-Q organised by Sergeant Yorkie Coates the previous Friday. A really splendid evening with folk singers, disco, a Corporal Jason Davis sing-a-long and many well known and loved rugby songs—was he really born so beautiful? —we hadn't noticed. Our thanks to Yorkie Coates and his team. By the time this is being read those in BAOR will be suffer- ing the slings and arrows of Exercise Crusader. After all the preparation it will be a relief to actually achieve the aim. Welcome Lance Corporal and Mrs Lister, Privates Chisholm, Frank and Smith 611, and farewell to Corporals Purslow and Smith, Lance Corporal O'Neill and Private Fogarty. 49 RP COMPANY. Denmark, for the third year in succession the location for the Units Annual Camp, has now faded into the past, but the worthwhile training with the Danish Army, and the friendliness of the Danish Army and people, will linger on, and the various plaques will always revive many fond memories of an excellent camp. A detailed account of the camp would take a long time to write and perhaps fill a complete issue of THE GAZETTE. How- ever, mention must be made of the overall winning section, No. 1 Section, of No. 1 Platoon, consisting of Corporal Cuthbert, Lance Corporal Smith. Privates Baker, Groves, Mills (122) and Milicevic: the'winner of the individual Assault Course Com- petition, Private Hardie, and the runner up, Private Fearon; and the best shot of the camp, Private Woods. We mustn't forget the fabulous cooks Corporal Lamb, Lance Corporal Le-Huquet and Private Philips on loan from BMH Rinteln, well done to you all. While the rest of the Company were in Denmark the Ad- ministration Officer, Captain Callan, organised the Unit stand at the Minden Garrison Sports Day—a rugged coconut shy manned by Corporal ' Ducker' Meah and Corporal ' Stonewall' Hetherington. "Was it seventeen marks profit?" the OC was heard to ask! Other events and personalities in the news over the last period were: Lance Corporal McFarlane, who purchased a sleek new BMW which makes the OC's Audi 80 look rather staid; Private Wallace keeping his fingers crossed and hoping to at- tend an LRRP Course in Bavaria, or be attached to a Unit in Northern Ireland (with Private Dunbar?); Private Fetherstone, who bought some paper flowers the other day and must be planning really well in advance for his marriage; the water 44 RP COMPANY. The build up to Crusader continues in the hallowed portals of 44 RP Company. We have started out- loading our SIMMO in great quantities. Staff Sergeant Brian Reid and Corporal John Goulden were seen to shed the odd tear at seeing their lifes work disappear in RCT transport. This month has been particularly memorable for the Brace of Brigadiers that visited the Company. Brigadier Skinner, CCRAOC, managed, at last, to visit Depot 90. This time the visit went as scheduled and after a demo of RP locations in the field, a drive on a Eager Beaver and the mandatory look at our SrMMO compound, CCRAOC was entertained to a working lunch. Dare we say it that during the Brigadiers visit to our — 131 — |
| Book number | R0404 |