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RAOC Gazette - page 119

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Material type Journals
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Full title RAOC Gazette
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Publication date 1977
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Early date 1977
Late date 1977
Transcription m &broa&
Planning and Workstudy Unit BAOR
MENTION of the monih to SSM Les Reynolds on retirement
to civilian life. Birmingham's gain is our loss. It is a great
pity that Les's linguistic abilities do not stretch to Urdu. His
future would have been assured!
Farewell also to Sadie Cornelius and Lorna Kielty our
conservancy experts. Sadie is returning to pastures old at
Blackdown and Loma is moving down the road to assist the
General Staff.
Welcome to SSM Dennis Balsdon, his wife Carol and
family, may your tour be a happy one.
The new conservancy experts are now in situ. Mrs Nell
Thomas and Mrs June Johnson—Welcome to the Mill.
Congratulations to Doris Hudson, wife of our converted
driver, SSM Mat Hudson, on passing her driving test. Mat
was heard to proclaim his delight—whilst walking to work the
other day.
The travellers have been busy, with SQMS Geoff Seaby
at Antwerp and Dulmen together with SSM Dave Ashworth,
who also accompanied SSMs Dave Stott, Ron Ball and SQMS
Dave Thomas to the Laundry at Hohne. Conductor Steve
Mayes and SQMS Rod Harban have been flitting around the
barracks world at Krefeld, Dusseldorf, Viersen and Moenchen-
•i^.dbach. Our OC Major Ollive and Jim Hillary were tremend-
ously busy studying statistics at the Lido De-Jesolo in Italy and
Sergeant Nobby Gaunt popped in between UK leaves.
The Unit's Queens Jubilee Medal was awarded, with due
ceremony to SSM Dave Ashworth, who just happens to be the
Unit Scribe. The OC censored the three page citation! t
As this is now the ' close season' for the Welsh, Corporal
Roberts* eyes are looking clearer on Thursday mornings. He
does miss his rugby I Although with the Welsh,—I mean the
Lions—on tour, he can still keep in touch with the game.
Lance Corporal 'Pit Stop' Kettle is back from leave in
UK looking refreshed and continues to juggle with the vehicles,
like how to provide six vehicles for details when we only
have five and two of those are in workshop—keep it up Stan,
you're doing well.
15 Composite Ordnance Depot
STORES SUB-DEPOT VIERSEN
VIERSEN is firmly entrenched in tropical heat reminiscent of
Tebrau and the pineapple sheds of Pandan. Those poor souls
observed lurching from super heated sheds gasping for oxygen
in June 76 can be seen repeating themselves in the identical
conditions of June 77.
The hot weather has given our athletes troughs and peaks.
On the 1st June we won the Tri-Angular Athletics Champion-
ships against our arch rivals SSD Dulmen and VSD Moenchen-
gladbach. With SSD Dulmen developing a strong athletics squad
this season, they were clear favourites at the start of the day,
We, however, with strength in depth in the field events, especially
the hammer and discus where we came first and second in
each event through WOl Pratt, Corporals Gregory and Pearce,
built up a six point lead by lunch time. The relay events were
all won by Dulmen, but not without strong pressure from us,
notably in the 4 x 200 metres where Corporal Dave Spencer
overtook his old rival Sergeant Hinson, only to lose the lead
on the handover. Corporal John Beryram burned off the
opposition in the first lap of the 800 metres and finished an
easy winner, with the good time of two minutes thirteen
seconds. Captain Andrew Byles and Corporal Ray Dempsey
unexpectedly split the Dulmen runners in the 5000 metres,
finishing second and third respectively.
The two tiredest men at the end of the day were Sergeant
Jim Mar-Gerrison and Corporal Dave Spencer who competed
in three relays, the 200 metres and the Long Jump, Jim also
running in the 100 metres* Between them they amassed fifty
one points towards our final of one hundred and twenty nine
points, which was enough to beat Dulmen into second place with
one hundred and eighteen points and the VSD into third with
ninety five points.
We then entered the Rhine Area Minor Units Champion-
ship and everything went wrong.
Inexplicably poor baton
changing saw our otherwise fine relay team disqualified. This
led to an unexpected fourth place, had we even finished last
in this event we would have been overall second and gone
forward to the BAOR Championships.
As previously reported in THE GAZETTE General Chopra,
DOS India visited Viersen and met quite a few of our stalwarts.
The photograph shows the DOS meeting WO I Pete Collyer, W02
Jeff Hutson, Sergeants Dick Carrol and Chris Kimpton.
The Inter Departmental Fve-a-Side Football League Com-
petition started some six weeks ago with the four major depart-
ments in the Depot supplying two teams. The Regimental
Wing 'A* team were the overall winners. They played a total
of seven games, winning five and drawing two, scoring a total
of twenty four goals and conceding only three.
Major Harmer kindly presented the trophies to the Regi-
mental Wing l A' team and the runners up—Stores Group 'A'
team. He added special thanks to Corporal Lane and Lance
Corporal Kennedy for organising such a successful com-
petition. The photograph shows the Regimental Champions
looking flushed with triumph. The team was formed by: back
row, Lance Corporal Terry Kennedy, Major Harmer, WOl Bob
Collyer, Sergeant Jim Mar-Gerrison and kneeling, Staff Sergeant
Tiny Davison, Corporal Jim Lane (captain), and Corporal Alan
Licence.
BAOR Ammunition Inspectorate
J<;NE
was a month of visits and inspections. 'But that's your
1
jv b the critics will say. However, on this occasion it was a
case of the Unit being the target for a change.
First we were visited by DOS BAOR, Brigadier F. P.
Crawley, who was very interested to see what his Inspectorate
gets up to, and enjoyed a good lunch before we handed him
over to the tender care of Headquarters RAOC 4 Division,
Then to keep us on our toes, a weeks visit from the Command
Staff Inspection Team to see if we could justify our existence.
At times the bartering was reminiscent of an Arab market,
but apart from some minor changes we escaped unscathed.
Finally, a visit by the C-in-C, General Sir Frank King, who
v
\ t is most interested to see Ammunition Technicians working in
a slightly different environment to his Northern Ireland days.
Staff Sergeant Jim Unsworth organised a Bier and Brat-
wurst evening at a local hostelry and invited members of
l (BR) Corps Combat Supplies Battalion. The only thing miss-
ing was the bratwurst, but it allowed more time for the bier,
Sergeant Curly Thynne disappeared to BATUS for a few
days to assist the AAC and Major Derek Hellings has visited
DLSA. to catch up on the rumours (and discuss licencing of
ammunition compounds).
Congratulations to Staff Sergeant Ian McRae on being
awarded the Queens Jubilee Medal, the only one in the Unit,
It must be his curly hair that does it!
WO I Ray Boucher has returned from Northern Ireland
saying it was beneath his dignity to stay there any longer after
his appointment to Conductor.
Our Walsrode detachment as usual report how busy they
have been.
Sergeant * Cuddly* Clay has finished his diet,
claiming to have lost a few pounds, as be bought 'the crate*
on Friday it was probably from his wallet [
There are now two Q's on the ranges , * Rocket Man' Bo wen
?- J W02 Marritt who arrived a couple of weeks ago from
I--i land, I do wish someone would tell him we don't wear
Mark II suits' when watching Swingfire firings.
' Q ' Davis continues to commute between Walsrode and
Italy, how does he do it!
V
89 —
Book number R0246