RAOC Gazette - page 191
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 |
Guernsey and St Malo were visited together with some UK South Coast ports. Lieutenant Colonel Hudson-Peacock selected the ideal three days of July to lead a distinguished gathering of geriatric officers (fortified!) along half of the Oxfordshire Way from Bourton on the Water. All were pleasantly surprised at their ability to last out. New arrivals include Captain Roger Atkey, W02 Dawe pending transfer from REME, Staff Sergeant Watts pending transfer from RAMC and W02 Moffat WRAC. To all, welcome to DSCS. Training Centre HEADQUARTERS VISITORS to the Headquarters will be excused if they arc con- fused because Major David Elliott, our CRLO, welcomed Lieu- tenant Fifi Elliot WRAC (anyone for it!) as Staff Captain Recruiting. Then the trend was established when a Lieutenant Colonel David Elliott was appointed SOI Corps Recruiting—the explanation being promotion for David—congratulations. Those poor on mathematics should have the answer of two Elliotts, one without a ' t,' in the Headquarters. August is supposed to be a quiet month, but Crusader, which will be history when you read this, has been preoccupying us, and we do sometimes feel like professional movers, with many amendments to the plan, hopefully everyone will return safely and not become stranded—like those tourists in France. Our Reprographic Branch sees movement, in fact all change, with Sergeant Mollison posted to Viersen—and ski-ing, and Lance Corporal Wimble, having successfully passed his AI course, off to RAF Brampton. We welcome W02 Truss and Private Mac Neilage respectively to Blackdown, the latter has just finished his printers course. Major Charles Nockles has retired, and after some twenty years in Blackdown as Quartcmastcr and Housing Commandant, he has been the resident expert with the Housing and Welfare department. ^ We must say farewell to Major Hutton-Dunton, the Sunray of 44 Squadron RCT who has toiled well with transport support despite the economic burdens. We wish him good luck in BAOR and hope he has a reasonable garden to bring up his high standard. We welcome Major Quick, his successor from Canada. TRAINING BATTALION AND DEPOT TRAINING COMPANY. Recruiting has peaked again making it necessary to form up a very substantia] ' shadow' platoon— Aden Platoon. Although this augurs well for all those Units screaming to fill gaps in their ranks it does mean that, yet again, our MTIs have been spread very thinly across the board (except Corporal Zycinski who can afford to lose a bit of weight!). One man who can smile about it all is ' Windsor Davies ' Egan who has been promoted Local Sergeant to look after Aden Platoon. Yet again ' flower-power' is rife in the Company. This time we have Corporal Arthur Thomas fresh from the Black Watch via his Supply Specialist course and still sporting the ' Red Hackle.' He comes to swell the ranks of expatriate BWs, bringing the number to an alarming four in the Company. Could this be an Infantry coup? Our rations clerk, Mrs Doreen Garner, has returned from a three week holiday in South Africa to where, joking apartheid, she plans to emigrate. There is no truth to the rumour that she was the advance party for our missing Chief Clerk, Sergeant Terry Armstrong, who is currently enjoying the delights of an en- forced holiday in Zimbabwe. The Company provided one hundred and seven walkers in a charity walk organised to raise funds for crippled children. Our muscle-buster, QMSI Ron Spree, ' managed' the Training Company contingent, who were presented with the Starlight Marathon Shield for walking a total distance of eight thousand eight hundred'and forty five miles. Altogether two hundred and fifty people walked a ' staggering' thirteen thousand six hundred miles, to raise a total sum of between £5,500—£6,000. Best individual performances came from Privates Griffin and Henry with one hundred and twenty miles each. We hope that the RMA, Sandhurst, is prepared for the com- bat survival techniques of Sergeant Geordie Tones who has gone there as an instructor on promotion to Staff Sergeant. He has promised to let us know whether an Officer Cadet is more easily skinned than a squirrel. The Company spent the first two weeks of September at summer camp in Wales. Watch this space for news of thrills and spills in the great out doors. There will also be news and action pictures from the inter-platoon Novice Boxing Competition. SCHOOL OF ORDNANCE A VERY welcome and interesting challenge was forthcoming recently concerning cricket. Interesting because the School put out the challenge and welcomed because it allowed the Ordnance Officers out of the classroom for a whole afternoon! The School Staff challenged ninety three Ordnance Officers to a game of limited over/limited run cricket, with a barrel of beer as the prize. Unfortunately, the School Staff batted first and took the ' limited run' condition a little too seriously. We were all out for a total of forty two, runs, half of which were scored by Colonel Hopkinson and the other half of which were byes! An early tea was taken, after which the Ordnance Officers, ably led by Captain (Snapping) Bill Wiseman, quickly scored forty three runs and hence won the barrel. To save face the School challenged the course to an even more limited run and limited over game and managed to scrape a victory with a single off the last ball. We have finally said farewell to thirty one Commonwealth and Foreign Ordnance Officers' Course. We held a ' Graduation Ceremony' complete with buffet lunch in the School Mess where the students were all presented with their certificates by the Commandant. Major Zuhair Gharaibeh from Jordan replied on behalf of the course, displaying a near ported knowledge of the English language. We must have taught them something! We arc eagerly awaiting the arrival of Lieutenant Colonel Bob Cannons as SI Man/SI Log/SI Man that is if he can be prised out of West Moors. Lieutenant Nick Whale (late RA) has been welcomed into the Corps and presented with a stable belt by the Commandant. There is no truth in the rumour that this was a belt that used to fit Colonel Hopkinson in his younger days! At last we say farewell to Captain Dudley Ells. All those officers who have attended Ordnance Officers courses during the last three or so years and thought that Dudley was permanently fixed to his desk in the ' loggics' branch have been proved wrong. We wish him the best of luck at Manchester. Finally, this month's quote from the School's dictionary: ' Give us the benefit of your thinking* is defined as 'we'll listen to what you have to say if it doesn't conflict with what we have decided to do!' CENTRAL VOLUNTEER HEADQUARTERS A QUIET month with only a skeleton staff running the Head- quarters. The others have been taking advantage of block leave to indulge in their favourite summer pastimes. However, it is the lull before the storm, as Exercise Crusader is just around the corner, and with over four hundred members of the TA passing through here we are all going to be very busy. After Crusader the winter training season will be with us, and the permanent staff will be off to train the TA at Strensall, Barry Budden and Altcar to name but a few of the camps. This means we will be snowed under the masses of paper work produced by Training Branch and Records Branch. Lance Corporal Tony Nosal has left us to go on the dog handlers course. It is not true that they have just found a dog small enough for him! We welcome WOl Bernie Glen from London District as WOIC Records. EMPLOYMENT TRAINING SCHOOL SUPPLY SPECIALIST BRANCH. The Branch has undergone some drastic changes in recent weeks due to the changeover of seventy five per cent of the staff. Congratulations to Staff Sergeant Scott, Sergeants Morgan and Cooney for promotion to the next higher rank on posting and Corporal Hall for his promotion to Sergeant on taking up his new position as an instructor in this School. Welcome to Staff Sergeant Brian McHoul and his family to the fold. PRINTERS. We welcome Sergeant Hutchings from Donnington, though regrettably lose WOl Dave Cornelius who on retirement departed for America to live in Texas. Congratulations to Staff Sergeant Warnes on promotion. TEXTILE REMITTERS BRANCH. This branch consists of two SNCOs, Staff Sergeant Len Moore and Sergeant (acting twenty months) Keogh. They have been kept very busy prior to the Aldershot show, by designing and manufacturing a tent? The out- come was staggering. The tent and design was professionally and skilfully made. It weighed six pound complete, sleeps three men and when folded is smaller than a sleeping bag. The show itself was attended by some quarter of a million visitors, and in conjunction with the Tailors department—Mr Joe Wade and Mr Penrose—the high standards of the ETS were exhibited to the world. 150 — |
| Book number | R0404 |