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RAOC Gazette - page 33

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Publication date 1981
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Transcription Table Tennis competition. After the event Private Hodgkins
refused to comment on why his arrows were still stuck in
the gym roof.
Our hockey team put up a good show in the Bari Cup.
Drawing all five of their matches. It must have been a Jong
drawn out two days!
We welcome Sergeant Foxley, Corporals Tratter and Park,
Lance Corporal Doran and Privates Brown, Jones and Ullah.
We say farewell to Sergeants Garbutt and Wishart, Corporals
Gavier and McKay and Lance Corporal Lowe.
fine individual performance and not only won the SMG In-
dividual
Trophy but was runner up in the SLR competition.
V
Our C Team, led by the inlrepid Staff Sergeant 4 Curley'
Thynne, reached the final 4 of the Falling Plate Match only to be
narrowly defeated by the A' Team of ' C ' Company.
Congratulations go to Sergeant Rob O'Byrne on passing
RCB, Sergeants Bob Trude and Graham Chubb on promotion
and Private Terry Williams on his marriage to W/Private
Yvonne Walker.
We welcome back W02 John Burkin 4 from over the water
and welcome into the Company WO I Chick * Fowles and
Privates Reddy, Swinscoe and Co I burn.
Our best wishes go with WOl Eddie Weeks, A/Corporal
Harry (Radar) Felling and Sergeant Gavin Dunhill on their
respective postings.
CVD ASHCHVRCH
THE highspot of this month has been the visit of the DGOS
and Mrs Brown. They kindly accepted our invitation to dine
and they joined in the spirit of the occasion by participating in
that old Mess game horse racing. Despite the aid of a com-
puter calculating the odds the General did very well by cham-
pioning a horse called Generals Delight. The following day
he took the opportunity of looking round the vehicle depot
and met the personalities. At lunchtime the DGOS presented
W02 Bond with his Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
whilst Captain Alan Cable read out the citation. The Cap-
tain's voice was heard to quaver slightly, this was not put down
to the fact that he was speaking in public, but had just received
the news that he was a contender for that long course!, in the
not too distant future.
Our other celebrities this month have been the returning
WOsl Foster and Dodds. They have been hard at it for what
seems most of the winter as Chief Ski Instructors in Aviemore
for Exercise Knees Bend. Not content with instructing they
took honours in competition. They led the Vehicle Depot
Ashchurch team to victory in the RAOC Ski Competition and
were placed first and third in the RAOC individual champion-
ships. Then first and second in the RAOC Veterans Race and;
second and third in the Army Veterans Race. Is there more—
Yes—to round off a very successful season the pair were
presented with their Corps Colours by Major General Stanyer,
well done indeed! (PS. I expect they'll be there next year too).
' B ' COMPANY. News of the month is the Edge hill Depot
has finally died and is lying down. So ends an era. For several
months stocks had been gradually moving across to Marl-
borough Depot or were being issued but during the past couple
of months Staff Sergeant Terry Kitchen and his merry but
dwindling band of * Roundheads ' (although they tackled the job
in 'Cavalier' fashion) made a final thrust and the Depot was
completely empty of ammunition before Easter. All personnel
have been redeployed and are now in the process of trying to find
the ammunition which they have sent across, and are trying 1
to familiarise themselves with new terminology such as * Issues,
* Receipts/ ' Igloos' and ' SESH.'
A pat an the back also for Sergeant Joe Hinds and his gang
of nightbirds -who received most of the Edgehill stock during
hours of darkness and put it to bed. The occasion was
celebrated in a well tried traditional manner by swallowing
several jars of a well known local brew in the Castle Hostelry
in Edgehill village.
Staff Sergeant John Jones, who has been with us, first in
HAG, and latterly trr DIG, for four and a half years, has finally
decided to call ft a day and is to retire to the North East,
his intention being to dispense cool refreshment to weary
customers from behind the bar of his own inn. John has
been a very hard working and loyal member of the unit and he
will be sorely missed. We all wish him the very best of
success in his new venture.
We say 'Welcome 5 to Sergeant Fletcher, who has joined
us from the School (we'll soon knock him into shape after
spending all that time with ATs). Sergeant Gilmartin, Lance
Corporal Miller and Privates Potter, Dalby, Evans and Bram-
mall and wish you all a very happy stay here in Kineton.
VEHICLE DEPOT HILTON
FAREWELLS, this month, to central figures in Hilton Life—
Mr and Mrs Palm, Mr Phil Plume and Mr Hughie Williams.
Harold and Rose Palin both commenced their careers in the
Civil Service in the days before World War Two, saw service in
ROF Nottingham and both retired on the same day here at
Hilton where Harold had been Senior Vehicle Control Officer
and Rose had operated the Registry for some years.
Phil Plume is no longer the Assistant DMA; he has left
for Kineton leaving Steve Smith to hold the fort on his own.
Driver extraordinary, Hughie Williams, retired to local
life amid a massive send off from the Civilian Canteen. In
response to Pete Bower's address Hughie agreed that he had
indeed driven just about everything, we had * Driving the OC one
day, clearing the muck out the next/ at which slip of the tongue
the whole affair dissolved in good humour.
To these departures we bid fond farewells. We would
like to see you from time to time.
The darts finals were held on the grand scale in conjunction
with a disco dance in the civilian canteen. A huge success,
Anne Bryan won the ladies singles from Cherry 1 McCreadie and
Tim OTlaherty, of REME, got a bye in the mens finals
because the other finalist, Tim Tidmarsh of Kits Store, was
indisposed—he's better now we're glad to say.
Welcome to Jim Glover to the Registry and John Clifford
to take Mike Fogg's place as Admin Officer, Mike is off to the
Yorkshire Moors to join a mysterious American set up,
Welcome also to Pat Robinson into the Pay Office.
Nice to see Mrs Davy and Mr Walker fit and well again.
Norman House has been tempted away from his gardens and
is now employed in the Yard Section.
Central Ammunition Depot Longtown
CONGRATULATIONS are the order of the day once again at
Longtown. Firstly, to Mr Bill Harvie who recently celebrated
his sixtieth birthday, with drinks all round in the Officers Mess.
It was noted that on this occasion he DIDN'T fall asleep.
Secondly, congratulations and best wishes are extended to
Staff Sergeant Brian Maxwell and his wife Frances on their
new arrival, Kathryn* a sister for Ian.
At a recent Regimental Dinner held in Sergeants Mess, at
which the Officers were guests, the CAO, Lieutenant Colonel
Ridley, was reminded of the excellent grapevine employed by
the Senior Member when he was presented with two boiled eggs
to help him keep to his diet, whilst all around him tucked into
their steaks.
Mr Gordon Routledge, SOG D and WOl Tony Dedman have
returned after their three week R and R at the School of Ord-
nance on a Middle Management Development Course. We don't
know what they do to the students down in Deepcut but they
are both walking around muttering such things as " Kepner
Tregoe Rule—Okay" and "Where's my Lake list of things to
do? I'm lost without it 1" Joking apart, it would appear from
their comments that if you have to complete a course at Deep-
cut, then this is the course to do, thanks to the efforts of Ray,
Reggie and Fred.
Finally we welcome Staff Sergeant Duncan Learmonth and
family who have joined us from Middle Wallop for their last six
months of service life.
Petroleum Centre
THE visits to the Unit over the past few
months have been fast and furious.
Annual Inspections, Technical Inspections,
all behind us now for a while anyway,
Our last visitor, Brigadier Alway, was
pleased to present the Long Service and
Good Conduct Medal to our Chief Clerk
Staff Sergeant Ralph Gothard,
It is
rumoured that Ralph asked the CSM if
because of his diminutive size he could
' wet * his medal in a half pint of beer. As the medal was wetted
in the traditional manner the answer was obviously negative!
Central Vehicle Depot
HIGHLIGHT of the month was the fine effort by our ski-ing
team, on winning the RAOC Team event at the Army Scottish
Ski Championships held at Aviemore.
Staying on the sporting scene our congratulations go to
the Regimental Wing on winning the inter-unit Archery and
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Book number R0250