RAOC Gazette - page 128
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 |
; .v ;*i" them including an Army Cup victory over all old rivals ![ ! >ng Marston—Engineer Resources. We entertained DLSA P ;!-o first round of the DGOS Cup, and won an enjoyable game. The team has been strengthened this year by the arrival of \] ,i,.ir John Taylor, Corporal David Green and Sergeant David hro>t- A feature of the season so far has been the batting of Major Taylor and Lance Corporal Steve Lawrence whilst Sergeant Frost has proved to be a difficut bowter for batsmen to get away, WRAC mentions this month are for W/Private Strong who came third in the discus at the Army Womens Individual Athletics meeting also held at Aldershot. The WRAC CAD Kineton Small Bore Shooting Team came fourth out of eight teams in the Army Womens Rifle Association postal Competition 1981 League. The individual scores were: — Si.jond Lieutenant Turner six hundred and thirty two. Private Ctarkson seven hundred and sixty six, Private Fleming seven hundred and nine, Private Jupp six hundred and nineteen. The total score was two thousand seven hundred and twenty six. Central Vehicle Depot THE last two months have been fairly busy at CVD and one of the sporting highlights featured the Officers versus Seniors Golf Competition. The Seniors won. Nevertheless it was great fun is participate and hilarious to watch. I saw one player obviously under instruction receiving directions from his partner. It went something like this: " Right keep your head still Keep your heels on the ground—legs splayed right angles to the green—now place the head of the club behind the ball—raise the club and drive it down hitting the ball— (check beginners golf grip). Right go!" He missed the shot—caught his club in the tree and with head down, heels on the ground toppled gracefully backwards. Ah well next year perhaps! At the Corps sports meeting Major Bob Reid with his team took second and third places. This was a very creditable per- formance as they have only been training for a few weeks. The team will be looking for the gold next yean We also had our share of VLPs over this last period. The visit of our DGOS was followed swiftly by the VQMG and DGEME. So we are getting pretty slick at our hosting bit which is just as well, for on the Regimental weekend we have the Freedom of Tewksbury Parade, followed by Beating Retreat, followed by the Annual Cocktail Party, followed by—on the Sunday, the Commandant's XI versus the Mayor's XL Rumour has it that our Commandant, Colonel Sharpe, is to be our open- ing batsman! The honour of carrying the Freedom Sword this year faJls to Major Rodney Brown and he is to be seen marching, with the sword, up and down the Officers Mess corridor practicing most evenings and late into the night (that's when he's not polishing it!). Looking slightly further forward, Summer Camp is just a few weeks away and a certain excitement is beginning to fill the air. Major Roger Bensaid appears to have got a plum job of driving the safety boat and looking after the water ski-ing for the camp. If the weather doesn't change he may wish he'd stayed at home. A full report on the camp should follow in the next issue if we don't miss the deadline again! Major Trevor Seabrook has just returned from a sailing course looking fit but a little blue at the edges. He said the sea was cold so he's gone off to the Med for three weeks to thaw out! Last month we lost Captain Eddie Hillan to Hereford on posting and his place has been taken by Captain Don Longmoor who at the time of writing is wrestling with the Health and Safety Course at the School of Ordnance. We recently also said a reluctant farewell to Major David Evans who retired after almost thirty seven years service. Our very best wishes go with him on his retirement, VEHICLE DEPOT ASHCHURCH IT must amaze all people tasked with writing GAZETTE notes just how quickly they come around. Perhaps Major Bensaid, the collator, has lost my previous scripts and is too proud to admit it. The Unit shooting team has done it again! This time at the SWDIST SAM '81, With a virtually newly formed team and under the guidance of Captain Wheeler we managed a com- mendable second place in the Minor Unit Championships, only a few points away from the first place team. This is the best an RAOC team has done at this meeting since records were kept. To achieve our placing the team gained places in the matches as follows:—three first places, two runners-up, two fourth places and a seventh position. The result also means we qualify to compete at the Army Meeting in July and the team is now busy training for this event. The month of April was heralded by the Sun (the newspaper that is). A member of the Cannon Club had entered a team for a million and one sponsored darts marathon and to everyones surprise we were selected. The next few weeks saw Corporals Scouse Allen, Freddie Stonelake, Tom Looney, Geordie Hender- son, Chris Hadley and Private * General J i m ' Hacket doing press-ups and generally exercising their right arms to undertake this great feat. 0900 Sat 25 Apr 81— First dart hits- the board. They're off! 0900 Sun 26 Apr 81—Going strong. Beginning to look like a cofTee cup, 0900 Mon 27 Apr 81—If I looked like that I would do some- thing about it. 0900 Tues 28 Apr 81—Mad dash to the tape. 1245 Tues 28 Apr 81—Local reporters battering the doors down for the story. Camera bulbs popping. 1254 Tues 28 Apr 81—Eighteen darts hit the board to break a million and one. Congratulations lads. They raised £300 which was donated to the Tewkesbury Wheelchair Society. May has seen the build up to Exercise Amber Glow. This year the exercise took place on Swynnerton Training area in Staffordshire and was used as a build up to Exercise Amber Express in Denmark. Spirits were extremely high and Corporals Moggie Hodgkinson and Scouse Allen kept us continually in laughter. The evening of the fourth day allowed us a respite and so we caught up on a disciplinary matter. A Kangaroo court martial was convened to try Private Elvis Burnard for burying a poncho belonging to Private Pete Bowhay, Witnesses were called and the court was presided over by Lance Corporal Adey Hayes. People were helpless with laughter as the defence and prosecution battled it out A verdict of guilty was reached and though the audience wanted him hung, the judge being a man of compassion, sentenced him to dig out the poncho with a mess tin and KFS, In the end the sentence was suspended. 10 Ordnance Support Battalion laid on a training circuit for * the next few days and the platoon flung themselves into it whole- heartedly. They produced the three fastest teams over the assault course. This was followed by a shoot and the two sections leading in the shooting with the highest individual score went to Corporal Ellis. High or maximum, scores were achieved on all the other stands and this drew the praise of the Com- manding Officer of the Battalion Lieutenant Colonel Champion. The exercise was rounded off for us with a competition organised for all the units. The first part was the assault course where the team did extremely well until the last obstacle when a l communication failure' lost valuable time. Every con- gratulations to the team for their effort. The second part of the competition was a shooting match in which the team led by W 2 Wood achieved a commendable second. The last effort was the trailer race where a three quarter ton trailer was galloped up a field, the wheels taken off and the trailer carried, wheels replaced and a gallop to the finishing line. The team was doing fine until they came to the cross threaded nuts left by the previous team. An objection was raised, but at the end of the day we came fourth overall with the platoon well pleased with themselves. We just wonder what will happen in Denmark! Training for the Travers Clarke Cup was severely affected by weather and commitments and so the team was not up to strength. Lance Corporal Chris Sheldrick achieved third place in the high jump and Corporal Colman fifth in the one hundred metres. Lance Corporal Lloyd Morton should have received a prize for the way he assaulted the pole vault. Better luck to the team next year. VEHICLE DEPOT LUDGERSHALL SERGEANT VIC PETERS has chosen the right time for his weekend excursion this month when he hopes to take a party down to Dartmoor, The unit Regimental week took place in conjunction with Vehicle Depot Ashchurch at Penally Camp and despite some confusion over who was doing what where, most people learnt a few things. Our 48 Company detachment have mostly been trying for their RPC upgrading, that is Lance Corporals Brian Allan, Tony Devlin and Eric Mounsey. Private Derek Gargate has been diverting the visitors to the Royal Tournament to see round his over snow vehicle on the Ordnance Static display. We said farewell to Sergeant John McMullen on discharge after his twenty two and his party was shared by Corporal John Blount who left us for Hong Kong, Sergeant Ambrose Thomas should be receiving his August edition in BATUS 103 — |
| Book number | R0250 |