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RAOC Gazette - page 23

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Shropshire Branch
WE are pleased to report an excellent Remembrance Sunday
when our 'Old Sweats' contingent was actually larger than
usual.
We were also very pleased to be hosts for the day to an
old 1914/18 Soldier from the Middlesex Regiment—a Mr Bill
Amor—who is now resident at one of the local homes and
confined to a wheelchair.
Bill, proudly wearing his 'Pip,
Squeak, and Wilfred' had tears in his eyes as he sat by the
saluting dias as Brigadier M J. Short took the salute. After a
chat with Brigadier and Mrs Short, Bill was escorted to the
Sergeants Mess where they did him proud.
Will old friends please note that Major George ' Boomber 1
Coomber (Retd) has returned to reside in Shropshire and is
again a stalwart supporter of the Branch. By the time you
read this we shall have enjoyed our Christmas Draw, Dance
and Cabaret and it will be time to wish all our friends a Healthy
and Prosperous 1978.
Birmingham Branch
WE held our Branch Annual Dinner on 14th October at a
new venue, the Drill Hall of 23 SAS Regiment, This was by
the kind invitation of Lieutenant Colonel R. M. B. Walker, MC,
the Commanding Officer.
Our member, Captain Bob Reid,
is Adjutant and we are very grateful to him and his staff for
the hard work that they put in to help make the event the
outstanding success that it was. The catering was arranged
by Brian Townsend. We are happy that some of our younger
members are willing to get themselves involved in running things,
We were honoured to have Major General Callan the DGOS as
principal guest, especially as it was the first time that he had
been able to attend a Branch Dinner since taking office. Major
General Key was at his sparkling best in welcoming the guests,
and the DGOS gave us a lot of up-to-date information in a
bright and breezy way.
The SAS put on a special display of their modern equip-
ment and after dinner we spent quite a time looking around
and having discussions with the personnel who are certainly
well trained and experts in their fields. We were able to repay
them just a little for their endless trouble and friendliness by
inviting them to have a drink or two with us. A large party
from the Shropshire Branch attended, and Kineton and Ash-
church were represented. Unfortunately Lieutenant Colonel
Walker had been called away on duty and could not be with
us but Bob Reid made an able deputy.
The Branch as usual attended the Civic Service at the
Birmingham Hall of Memory on Remembrance Day. Brian
Townsend laid the wreath on our behalf.
JOB
VACANCIES
RTJSTOISJ G A S T U R B I N E S L I M I T E D
LIIVCOL3V
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DUE to an industrial dispute involving the printing of
the Advertising Supplement, the December GAZETTE was
late in publication. The inconvenience caused to readers
is regretted.
MANAGEMENT IN THE ARMED FORCES
AN ANATOMY OF THE MILITARY PROFESSION
by Air Vice Marshal John Downey
IN this book the author presents a description of the military
management system, together with his collaborators—a Vice
Admiral, a Brigadier and a Group Captain.
The book is divided into three parts. In the first part, the
changing role is examined.
Here the author looks at the
politico-military responsibility for formulating defence policy,
which must take account of international, national, political,
and social influences, as well as economic and technological
factors.
In the second part, the fundamentals of military
organization are set out: the principal functions within the
system—data inputs, policy formation, command, and training—
are studied, and the methods and techniques used to carry out
these functions are described. In the final part, the author
discusses the impact of deterrence strategy on the military
system and poses questions which the profession might ask
about its own future,
Air Vice Marshal John Downey joined the Royal Air
Force, in 1939, serving throughout the war as a pilot in Coastal
Command. His postwar flying and staff posts were mainly in
training and research and development He retired from the
RAF in 1975.
The Contributors
Vice Admiral James Eberle has recently been appointed
Vice Chief of the Naval Staff. He fought in the Second World
War at sea as a junior officer, holding senior command and
policy appointments since that time. He attended the NATO
Defence College, and undertook a Defence Fellowship at
University College, Oxford. A member of the International
Institute for Strategic Studies, he is also on the Council of the
Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies. Brigadier
'Tim* Lanyon fought in the Second World War in France
and North Africa. He subsequently commanded a nuclear
missile regiment, and has been an instructor at the Staff
College, Before retiring in 1975, he was a Director of Army
Management Services. Group Captain David Robinson, is still
serving. He taught at the RAF Staff College and has directed
the development of RAF supply and engineering computer
systems, which he is now responsible for operationally.
THE STORY OF THE WRAC
THE story of The Women's Royal Army Corps has just been
published by Leo Cooper Ltd in their Famous Regiment Series.
The story starts with the forerunner of the WRAC in 1917
but naturally the largest part is taken up with the ATS in the
1939-45 War.
A large number of ATS and more recently WRAC married
soldiers and might be interested in this book.
It is being sold by Leo Cooper Ltd for £8.50 but copies
can be obtained from Corps Headquarters WRAC, Queen
Elizabeth Park, Guildford, Surrey, for £5.95.
STILL, ON
TARGET
OLDER readers will be interested to know that Captain Sankey,
perhaps the most famous of Corps competition rifle shots, is
still a member of a small bore club and competing well—
although now over eighty. Captain Sankey, who lives in Fare-
ham, enlisted in the Rifle Brigade in 1916, transferred to RASC
in 1919 and to the Corps in 1922. He was commissioned in
1941.
Over the years Captain Sankey built up not only his consider-
able reputation but a valuable collection of trophies which is
now one of the showpieces of the Corps Museum and well worth
a visit when in Deepcut
— 252 —
Book number R0246a