RAOC Gazette - page 9
Image details
| Corps | RAOC |
|---|---|
| Material type | Journals |
| Book page | |
| Chapter head | |
| Chapter key | |
| Chapter number | |
| Full title | RAOC Gazette |
| Page number | |
| Publication date | 1981 |
| Real page | |
| Colour | No |
| Grey | No |
| Early date | 1981 |
| Late date | 1981 |
| Transcription |
Jfor fyt &£tortr MEDAL FOR RHODESIA MONITORING FORCE THE QUEEN has approved a new medal to mark service in Rhodesia by the Commonwealth Monitoring Force between 1st December 1979 and 20th March 1980. Called The Rhodesia Medal, it can be awarded to people in the Services, the Police and to civilians of the small multi- national force on * Operation Agila ' who kept the peace between twenty two thousand guerillas and the Rhodesian forces during the ceasefire run-up period to the elections. The operation was described by the then Defence Secretary Mr Francis Pym as a superb job that did much to further con- stitutional progress in Rhodesia. On the front, the cupro-nickel circular medal has a crowned effigy of the Queen by sculptor David Wynne, The reverse has a sable antelope, similar to that used on Rhodesian coins, sur- rounded by the inscription ' T h e Rhodesia Medal 1980.' The ribbon has red, white and blue vertical stripes. Fourteen days' service in Rhodesia is the basic qualification for the medal, but there are variations to this for RAF aircrew, those granted awards equal to or higher than the Queen's Gallantry Medal or a Queen's Commendation for gallantry, and for casualties. The Royal Mint at Llantrisant, Wales, is producing the medal and about two thousand five hundred will be awarded. If their governments wish, it will be available also to the forces of Australia, Fiji, Kenya and New Zealand who took part in the monitoring operation. THE FREEDOM OF THE CITY GRANTED TO ORDNANCE SERVICES VIERSEN 15 ADVANCED ORDNANCE DEPOT formed in England during the Second World War and landed on the Normandy beaches in 1944 before establishing itself in Antwerp in Sep- tember of that year. Between December 1945 and 1952 the E>epot was located at Glinde near Hamburg before returning to Belgium. However, in 1948 a part of the Depot was estab- lished in Viersen on the site presently occupied by Firma Kaiser's Kaffee. In 1959 the complete Depot moved to its purpose-built site covering one hundred and fifty four thousand three hundred square metres near the Bahnhof. The unit was augmented by Central Distribution Point One in 1968 and in 1971 by the Stationery Group from Munster to which was added a Printing Section later that year. In 1973 the Inventory Control Point including a. computerised Automatic Data Processing Branch was established in Viersen. The titles of both the headquarters and depot have changed several times during its history and on 1st April 1979 they were finally re-designated Headquarters 15 Ordnance Group and Ordnance Depot Viersen. The other units comprising Ordnance Services Viersen are the Accommodation Services Unit Rhine Area, RAOC Management Services Unit BAOR and 89 Supply Depot RAOC located at Sittardter Strasse Viersen. In addition to RAOC, there are within Viersen members of units of the Royal Corps of Signals, the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, and the Womens Royal Army Corps and we also have on our staff, officers and soldiers of the Royal Army Pay Corps and the Army Catering Corps. A small inter- national unit of the Northern Army Group is also located in Viersen and has British, Belgian, Dutch and German members. A total of over one thousand personnel are employed within Ordnance Services Viersen, of which some seven hundred are German Civilians. The Depot has therefore great significance &,w Phot a Sergeant Voice. Members of t h e Stadt during their visit fro Ordnance Services Viersen. to Viersen as an employer providing annually several million marks, in wages, into the local community. Although established in Viersen since 1948 the Official Representatives of the Stadt Viersen had not previously visited the Depot, The full council led by the Buergermeister Hans-Willi Gerfce and the Stadtdirektor Dr Hans-Christian Voilert were welcomed by the Commander, Colonel Carruthers, the Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel Rees, the Controller ICP Lieutenant Colonel Gill, Commander Supply Rhine Area Lieutenant Colonel Frank- lin and the Civil Labour Manager Herr Putzschler. Following the welcoming address a full tour was made of the Depots 1 facilities and the Stadt members were able to meet and speak to their constituents in their places of work. The tour ended in the Depots' Repair Maintenance Workshop where a matching pair of hand carved flower display stands made in the workshop and depicting the Viersen Coat of Arms on both sides of the Corps Badge, were presented by the Works Council to the Stadt on behalf of all members of the Depot. At the reception held in the Windberg Officers Mess follow- ing the tour the Buergermeister presented an engraved pewter plate to the Commander to commemorate the official visit. The climax of the visit was the official offering of the rights of ' T h e Freedom of the City* by the Buergermeister Hans-Willi Gerke to the Ordnance Services Viersen. The honourable dignity offered was subsequently graciously accepted by the Colonel-in- Chief of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. 4 The Freedom of the City' is a historical right which was first granted to British Forces during the middle ages, and which permitted them to enter a town bearing arms. Earlier the military camps were generally set up outside the town walls and the soldiers only allowed to enter the town without weapons, so as to avoid tension between them and the townspeople. ' T h e Freedom of the City' would only be announced when a friendly relationships between the troops and the citizens of the town had developed. The granting and accepting of the honour will be celebrated in Spring 1982 and will be prepared and planned by a joint German-British Committee, The photgraph shows the members of the Stadt and the reception committee with the Buergermeister central front row with the Commander to his right and the Commanding Officer to the left. N E W MISSILE TRAINING S Y S T E M A new training system for the Army's latest helicopter-borne tank-busting missile is saving time and money and improving air gunner standards at the Middle Wallop, Hampshire, base of the Army Air Corps. The West land Lynx helicopLer, now in service with the British Army of the Rhine, carries eight TOW (Tube-launched, Optically tracked, Wire guided) air-to-ground missiles that are launched by the air gunner and directed onto the target by lining up the cross wires of an optical sight, |
| Book number | R0250 |