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RAOC Gazette - page 132

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Publication date 1978
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Early date 1978
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Transcription The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
THE RAOC Senior Ranks dined in the Sergeants Mess on
Friday 24th February. Fn addition to saying farewell to Major
Peter Walton several other guests were invited including the
CRAOC, Colonel Cooke, and the new Second in Command
Headquarters Wing, Major Jim Houseman. Everybody obviously
enjoyed themselves although Staff Sergeant George Stephen,
who organises duties, wishes he had organised them a little
better as he realised he had to report in at 0700 hrs the follow-
ing morning* WOl Ken Giddings was in the hot seat and all
the guests joined together in thanking him and his Committee
for an excellent evening.
We wish good luck to Captain Bill Allan on posting to
York and welcome Major Mike Groves as S02 Training.
A quick nominal roll is produced below and starting next
month Colleges will be producing newsletters in turn.
Conductor R. E. W. Briggs, Staff Sergeants G. A. Stephen
and J. A. Kay in the Academy Headquarters; Staff Sergeant
P. W. Harrison, Corporals J. Lane and W. R. McLernon, Lance
Corporals S. Briggs, J. Robertson, P. J. Taylor and L. A, Doel,
and Private R. Day in New College; Sergeant R. L. Carr and
Corporal C. E. Richmond in Victory College; Sergeant U, V.
Curry and Lance Corporral K. Robson in Old College; and of
course not forgetting our Technical Clerk Staff Sergeant B. H.
Wicks in the Technical Stores.
Training Centre
HEADQUARTERS
EVERYTHING is back to normal and the Headquarters star!
can be seen three times a week pounding the sports field in
preparation for the B FT to be held this month.
Recently the Training Centre entered a team in the REME
Veteran Cross Country Challenge Race held at Bordon and out
of seven teams, we were placed second with Major Bryant finish-
ing fifth out of sixty nine competitors.
The Training Centre football team is still plugging away
in Division One of the South East District League; the results
are starting to improve and we are looking forward, to our
Richards Cup Quarter final match against 10 Ordnance Sup-
port Battalion- The winners will meet Kineton in the semi-
final, our hopes are yery high.
Mrs Dennison, the wife of our Commander, is holding
auditions for the play * Conduct Unbecoming * which is our
entry in the Army Drama Festival, no doubt that is why
Sergeant Thomson is walking round the office quoting " to be
or not to be—that is the question."
We wish. Major L. R. Fleck (Retd) all the best on his
recent retirement and welcome in his place Major D. H. Davey
(Retd) from AG9. Private Simpson our WRAC girl has just
started a PTIs course at the ASPT in Aldershot. We also wish
her every success.
CENTRAL VOLUNTEER
HEADQUARTERS
THE Commander CVHQ Study Period for 1978 is well and
truly over; the Laundry Trailers have returned their rather in-
elegant forms to their sheds, the 1 bath equipment (the new one!)
has heard its last * oos and ahs, and the Petroleum Equipment,
looking thoroughly uncomplicated on display, has returned to
West Moors and the fog of " p i ' mystique!
Your scribe has been reminded to let you know that it
wasn't all fun and games, on the Study Period outside display
stands. Mud was the order of the day and yes the ' Q ' Staff
even managed to borrow ' Boots Wellington' for certain visiting
officers, who obviously forgot to tap their barometers prior to
departing for Blackdown.
Staff Sergeant Foster with his Laundry equipment is believed
to have made a fortune with his instant ' mud remover' machine
and Staff Sergeant Kirkbride resisted all 'backhanders' from
visitors anxious to top up their tanks prior to the civilian tanker
drivers overtime ban.
In the Study Period Tela Theatre
production, the CVHQ
C
Players presented that smash hit TMC 5* a playlet depicting
the mobilization of the typical volunteer. Mr (Private) Winter
our 'Jekyl and Hyde' Clerical Officer had the star part, in a
production masterminded by Major M. A. McLellan (Retd) and
directed by WOl (C. B. de Mille) Clark. One member of the
audience was heard to comment he had seen less ham in a
pork pie.
Headed by the Commander, Colonel R. K, Hind, everybody
who is anybody in CVHQ rushed to donate blood to the Army
Blood Supply Depot Aldershot recently,
Remarks like " you can't get blood out of a stone " and
"it's the only time I can get a rest M echoed along the corridors
of CVHQ for quite some time,
The RSM, WOl Hendry, looked rather pale after his
' blood letting'; however, we found out afterwards that it
was not the blood giving that upset him, it was the fact that
when he last gave blood in Singapore he apparently received a
can of beer and was most upset at finding the Blood Supply
Depot in Aldershot were not so generous!
We welcome Sergeant Jim McGee from BAOR to the Train-
ing Branch, he was received with such open arms by the two
Training Captains, Captains Burrow and Rowlands, it was
quite embarrassing. Rumours that Sergeant McGee is wearing
one magnetic boot until he can run in circles himself are un-
founded.
SCHOOL OF ORDNANCE
THE School running team dragged their tortured bodies to the
start line once again this month. This time the competition
was the South East District Minor Units Championship, and it
was also the local qualifying round for the Army Champion-
ships. If the team finished first or second, they would qualify
to compete—a fact Captain Ted Walcroft had concealed from
the other members of the team. Ten minutes before the start
a member of another team approached the School team to
say that the School stood a good chance of qualifying for the
Army Championships—the cat was out of the bag. Needless to
say, the team then ran a tactical race to finish third out of
seven teams, and thereby not qualifying for the Army Cham-
pionships. It seemed that only the team captain and Lance
Corporal Pete Knox (who is a fitness maniac) were the only
people who looked appropriately sad.
This month we say a sad farewell and congratulations to
Lieutenant Colonel Newnham on posting and promotion. We
welcome Lieutenant Colonel Willis from DSM, Major Malcolm
Bryant from Headquarters BAOR and Major Brian Allen from
UKLF.
United Kingdom Land Forces
HEADQUARTERS
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VARIOUS changes have taken place in the
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Public Relations world recently, spearheaded
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by Sergeant Tony Hodgetts who is on a six
montns
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emergency tour in Northern Ireland.
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IF l Sergeant
Pete Maile has been posted to the
st
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Division in BAOR while Staff Sergeant
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^* e x Turner has departed for a two year
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tour of duty in Northern Ireland. Recent
**"
arrivals include Corporal Mike Abraham
vice Alex Turner, and Sergeant Sid Barker
is due in shortly vice Pete Maile. Sergeant George Moffett
covered the well renowned Green Goddess campaign from
Preston and Manchester and is now packing his kit ready for
a nine weeks stint in Belize in the company of Lance Corporal
Colin Farrington; they enjoyed it so much last year that they
wanted to go again, honest! Our chief photographer, SSM
Tony O'Shaughnessy, had a riotous time recently pictorially
recording the goings on in Bermuda, (Why no pictures'}—
Editor.)
In the 'A' world, Staff Sergeant Pete Bird has arrived in
Wilton to take over as Chief Clerk Army Legal Services from
that Wilton Worthy Staff Sergeant Alan Stanistreet. In his
turn, Alan has become Chief Clerk 'A* Branch in place of Staff
Quartermaster Sergeant Brian Taylor who has exercised his
option to become a civilian. Sergeant Mick Cartwright, also
of 'A* Branch, has also moved on to pastures new and has
been replaced by Sergeant Taff Dacey, late of the Parachute
Regiment and now a fully fledged RAOC Staff Clerk.
Ever eager to imbue the youth of this country with military
tradition, RAOC history and clerical knowledge, Conductor Iain
Leggatt has taken charge of yet another potential transferee in-
to the RAOC, in the shape of Private D. E. McCutcheon RMP
who views life from the lofty heights of the Superintending
Clerk's office. We wish him well and hope to be able to wel-
come him into the ranks of RAOC in the near future.
Stop Press—We believe congratulations are in order for
W02 John Grigsby to whom the Meritorious Service Medal
has been awarded.
ORDNANCE BRANCH
THE Chief Ordnance Officer, Brigadier Charles Smith, continues
to attempt to visit all parts of his extensive empire—a reward-
ing if rather exhausting task. We hope during the summer
months to obtain some rather more interesting news items
following his visits to the * outposts' in Kenya, Belize and
Canada.
A
346 —
Book number R0246a