RAOC Gazette - page 57
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 |
Soldiers of the Apprentices College marching off parade with fixed bayonets with soldiers of Ordnance Services at the rear. majority however stayed on in Alexander Barracks to watch first a display by the full Corps of Drums of the RAOC Apprentices College and then a band concert by the remainder of the Staff Band, Both Schultheiss and Coca-Cola donated the proceeds of the sales of their goods to charity. The final and fitting climax to the days events was a Ball held in the Bruno-Gerhke Halle, a local gymnasium and sports centre in Spandau. The Ball was intended primarily as the unit's own internal celebration but certain local dignitaries were invited to attend, together with DGOS and DOS BAOR.. The Halle was appropriately decorated with large pictures of the Spandau Citadelle and the Tower of London and the whole setting was transformed by the imaginative use of cannons, RAOC and Spandau flags and shields, several large flower arrangements, table centres, potted plants and shrubs, and an ornamental fountain. As people arrived they were greeted by a small section of the Corps Band playing chamber music and the Ball was then launched by an impressive and colour- ful display by the Corps of Drums of the Apprentices College. Throughout the rest of the evening the Dance Band Section of the RAOC Band played an entertaining selection of music which had everybody on their feet non-stop. The only interlude was during a superb buffet, served simultaneously to each of the seventy tables and nearly five hundred guests, during which the Staff Band gave an excellent concert of entirely appropriate English and German music. Few who were present will forget the sight of the Spandau council tors from all the different parties, who were ail contesting an important election on the following day. wiih arms linked and swaying to the irresistable Jilt of "In Milnchen sleht ein Hofbrau Haus; Ein, Zwei, Zuff a/ So at the end of this memorable day. the culmination of months of planning and hard work, what did it all mean? Over seventy RAOC Apprentices and Bandsmen had travelled over a thousand miles to participate. Honour had been given by Berlin's oldest Borough, dating back to 1160, to a unit stationed in Berlin since 1945 and with a current strength of forty eight military and four hundred civilians. Was it just another event in Berlin's busy social calender which would soon be forgotten or was there some deeper, lasting significance? It is sometimes easy to forget Berlin's isolation, deep in the heart of communist East Germany, one hundred and ten miles in front of the Corps FEBA. But if the award of the Freedom of Spandau is to have any long term meaning it must be in the context of the Western Nations determination to maintain a Free Berlin. One of the longest serving civilians in the unit wrote to the Commander Supplies following the celebrations. After offering his congratulations on the quality of the days events he concluded by saying " Sir, once more my thanks for a memorable day T and when you and your Corps receive the Freedom of a truly free Berlin, my wife and I both hope we shall be present/ 1 And so say all of us. SAFE DRIVER I Captain * Jock ' Forrest {Retd) T well known in Corps and Corps Association circles especially in the West Midlands reads not only t h e RAOC Gazette but ' Drive Alive * t h e road safety magazine of the RCT. Taking part in a slogan contest his skill won h i m a prize. H e is seen here receiving a cheque from Brigadier Barratt the Garrison Commander Donningron. UTOPIA CO/Commarider Supply Ordnance Services, Lieutenant Colonel van Orton talks to seventy eight year old In-Pensioner Sergeant William Nicholls and Yeoman Warder e x - W a r r a n t Officer Brian D'Arcy at the Freedom Parade. IN SIX YEARS the cost of living here in Canada has dropped forty per cent, according to figures just compiled by the Do- minion Statistician. In 1920 a weekly family budget of twenty nine staple food products for five people averaged £3 10s 6d; to- day it is £2 3s. 04-d. The fall has been accompanied by a striking increase in employment. Between May and September this year eighty five thousand eight hundred and sixty nine additional workers were added to Dominion pay rolls, and good Western wheat crops are still further swelling the increase. From THE GAZETTE of May 1926. 42 — |
| Book number | R0250 |