RAOC Gazette - page 104
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 |
THE UNION JACK CLUB 111K SHHVK'KMAN AND SKUVICKH'OMAN'S t ' l . m IN LONDON t'G very important and rather revolutionary changes have I been made to the membership rules of the Union lack Club j . as. it is now over five years since the Club opened the doors its new premises opposite Waterloo Station to its members j their families, this might be an appropriate moment to nind our readers of the Club and the facilities it has to offer. ice 1975 many thousands of Servicemen and women, wives and ildren have stayed in the Club or used the many amenities lilable there. Of course, many more have not been to the new jb either because they did not require accommodation or Club :ililies in London. But there must also be lots of others who it don't know about the Club and what it has to offer or, rhaps, don't even know how to find it. Although the Club is a mere three minutes walk from the iin platforms of Waterloo Station, from which it is incidentally ill signposted by British Rail, the description * opposite aterloo Station * is very confusing because the station has a tmber of different entrances. Go straight from the central atforms and turn right out of the main concourse and you 111 see opposite you a grimy and sooty building with jumbled tters on the wall which once said " Union Jack Club Annexe." >me of the tetters are missing but unfortunately there are still st enough of them to suggest that this might be something to ] with the Club or, worse still, the Club itself. In fact this nlding no longer belongs to the Club and has long since ceased have any connection with it at all. but the jumbled letters main to confuse and distract those who do not know. The new Union Jack Club is, in fact, in the opposite rectton in Sandell Street which is the street which faces you hen, after leaving the main station concourse and going down ie stairs, you emerge into Waterloo Road with the rail bridge n your left. The main entrance is a few yards down Sandell treet on the right. You will see the two Union Jacks flying bove the door and, in the background, the twin towers, the nailer of which contain six floors of accommodation for families id (he larger twenty two floors for single men and women. Every bedroom—and there are four hundred and seventeen ngles and sixty three doubles—has hot and cold running ater, fitted cupboards, and an electric alarm clock. Cots are Iso available for very young children. The Public Rooms re on the ground floor. There are two reception desks, one for imilies and the other for single members. There is a Meni- ere' Bar and lounge and a smaller, snugger, families bar with a hildren's playroom next door. There is also a families writing Dom and, beyond the Members' Bar and lounge, a library and uiet room with panelling and bookcases which came from the Id club and were donated by the Jewish Ex-Servicemen's Lssociation. There are two television rooms with coloured ets and, downstairs, a launderette with automatic washing lachines and spin-dryers. Last but not least, there is a large estaurant which operates a cafeteria service, for all meals, starting nth breakfast from 7,30 am to 10.00 am, lunch from 12 noon o 3.00 pm and dinner from 4.00 pm to 9.00 pm. Although hese facilities are designed for single members on the one hand nd families on the other, there is, in fact, no segregation and eople use the different parts of the club as and when they nsh. In spite of the efforts made by the club to publicise itself mong the Services in general and Recruit Training Establish- lents in particular, there must still be some Servicemen and Service women who do not realise that they are automatically iembers of the Union Jack Club as long as they are serving nd remain below commissioned rank, and for this they do not iave to pay any form of annual subscription. It would, there- ore, seem sensible to make use of the facilities which are here for the asking, specifically planned and designed to meet he requirements of the Services and their families and, by all ccounts, considered excellent value for money. Ex-Servicemen and women are also eligible to be full nembers of the Club for an entrance fee of £3 and an annual ubscription of £2. Up to now an Ex-Serviceman or woman leeded three years service to qualify for membership but the first if the changes mentioned earlier has just reduced this to two ears—a very important concession—which will enable former National Servicemen to become full members of the Union iack Club. A second and equally important innovation has just been approved by Ihe Governing Council by which widows of Service or Ex-Servicemen can now be treated as Temporary Honorary Members and allowed to use all the facilities of the club when staying there. Members of the TA can also stay in the club at membership rates when on duty and as Temporary Honorary Members when staying privately. What, then, is the Union Jack Club? It is not, as some believe, a Ministry of Defence Establishment but a completely independent charity. This does not mean that it is in business to distribute charily to Servicemen and women but simply that it is not required lo make a profit beyond that needed to cover its operating costs nor is it subject to taxes which a profit- making company has to pay. The Union lack Club exists and operates for the benefit of Servicemen and their families, Servicewomen. those who have served in the Forces of the Crown, and the widows of Service- men and Ex-Servicemen. It is neither an official nor a private profit-making organisation and its profit margins are, therefore, very narrow indeed. To survive in these difficult times it relies on the goodwill and steady practical support of its many members. LEARN TO HANG GLIDE HAVE you glimpsed Hang Gliders floating you and wished that you were that intrepid last you can be, for the Army Hang Gliding 5th April 1981 can teach you to be at one ocean of the air. effortlessly above Birdman? Now at Centre opened on with nature in th& The Centre will train Servicemen to hang glide from basic to instructor level, using the British Hang Gliding Association (BHGA) Pilot Rating System and will offer, in addition to ' free- flight ' hang gliding, powered hang gliding as well. A good student on a basic course, should get his BHGA Pilot One Certificate (Pi) in four days, so he will be on con- tinuation flying for the remaining six days, given good weather. Thus, he should return from his course a safe, competent hang glider pilot, who can ridge soar, and it will have cost him only about £70 for his ten days flying. Free as a bird. The cost of each course will be in the region of £12 per days flying training and will cover full board, tuition, hire of equipment and transport during the course. However, once the student has achieved the aim of the course, he will then merely pay for the hire of the equipment and a small accommodation charge. The Centre and its accommodation are located in the Senny- bridge Training Area camp though the training slopes used, will depend entirely upon the days weather. If you want to fulfil your ambition and hang glide, then contact AHGA Centre, c / o Headquarters Wales, The Barracks, Brecon, Powys for further information. |
| Book number | R0250 |