RAOC Gazette - page 140
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 |
Despite the collective experiences of the many ex-para mem- • , of the Company, freely passed on la those about to make rr first parascending flight, Corporal Whitebread insisted on r ying upon* the heavy drop techniques! Consequently, having I- unced on one ankle, he had to be taken to a Bundeswehr hi^pilal where his problems only just began, for his red cross bo\es failed to arrive, and the escape committee consisting of himself and the occasional visitor, failed to ever agree on where the tunnel should start! Canoeing proved popular under Private Alby's instruction and CSM Cook and W 2 Webster witnessed many a pale face us they sent the Company over the abseiling face, only to be rejoined later by beaming faces, as techniques were mastered, -nd more confident bodies sought further attempts. Captain ".utchinson produced a few blisters on his scenic walks through L ie hills, but anguish gave way to apfelkorn as yet another gaststaette hove into sight. Lieutenant Grieveson, arriving a few days into the camp direct from his Silberhutte basic canoeing course, brought the officers and senior ranks tent into convulsions when he announced, having been asked how he had enjoyed the course, that whilst the canoeing was reasonable the evenings began to pall as he had to sit in a bar and drink all night. It was at this juncture that he noticed the beer tent! For the Company barbeque the local Forstmeister provided me hundred litres of the best local brew, which proved a jreat success, particularly when the OC, caught by an old trick, was sprayed with several litres of it. The food, as al- ways was excellent, and prepared by Sergeant Webster and his two assistants: Lance Corporal Slade and Private Ford. Captain Pepperell was given an unexpected stag night and send off prior to his UK wedding. He had to return the heavy load chains to Sergeant Baillie however, as they began to show signs of wear as they were dragged around on the 2ICs leg. Somehow the key to the padlock was not discovered well into the following day, and well after a combined Company and Bundeswehr choir, ably led by Corporal Wilmot had sung several dubious repertoires to bottle percussion accompani- ment! Windsurfing proved a popular pursuit, but the instructor had great problems keeping the attention of his students as they either careered off at a rate of knots across the lake or were totally mesmerised by blond bombshells windsurfing at speed amongst them. Altogether a thoroughly enjoyable and worthwhile exercise which has raised the espirit de corps of the unit to even greater heights, tanned—or burnt—most bodies, raised fitness levels and introduced Bavaria to the younger soldiers who are already making enquiries about Snow Queen. CORPS TROOPS WORKSHOP HERE we are again, with two exercises behind us and one to go. The first, Exercise March Hare, was a disaster, with sub-zero temperatures, snow and freezing rain, it really made us think, ' was it all worthwhile?, 1 the REME did not, and called it off after two days, needless to say there were some happy faces on the way home. The second exercise, Exercise Summer Air was held in Bavaria, the land of beer and moun- tains, but this too turned out to be rather cold at first, but the sun did shine for a few days and most of us came back look- ing as though we'd been to Spain for two weeks. In the past three months we have had quite a turnover of staff, so we would like to welcome, Captain Henty our new OC in place of Captain Parry, who has gone to Headquarters 1(BR) Corps, we also welcome Sergeant Dave Jones, Lance Corporals Alan Smith and Mark Hall and wish them a happy tour in Bielefeld. We say goodbye to Sergeant John Frew, who has gone to the Army Air Corps in Detmold. Congratulations to Lance Corporal Mick Ogden on pro- motion to Corporal, to Lance Corporal Nooky Nock on success- fully passing his B3 Supply Clerk course at Blackdown, and to Private Graham Hilton on passing a Regimental Hygiene course at Sennelager. We would also like to congratulate Lance Corporal Alan Smith and Private Mark Piikington on their marriages to Miss Julie Wilkinson and Q/Private Kym Pearse respectively. We wish them many happy years together. Commiserations go to Sergeant Terry Kidd, his car caught fire in a petrol station forecourt, luckily it was put out before any damage was caused to anybody, and to Lance Corporal Harvey, who's car argued with a ditch and came off the worse of the two, again no-one was hurt only his pocket aod pride t 22 AD REGIMENT WORKSHOP STORES PLATOON HEREWITH another tale from the land of Napier, this ex- clusive suburb of Dortmund. The Hebrides trip finally made it and Sergeant John Taylor, Privates Percy Percival and Dave Bradbury by all accounts had an excellent time and fitted in some work in between. Private Percival (our tame commando) apparently took great delight in training the OC Stores Platoon Benbccula, who is keen on becoming a Commando. (Never mind the medics can fix their complaint!) Meanwhile back at camp Private Paddy McDowell has been departed to Wilton (and we hear that he has gone back even further to his homeland so Headquarters UKXF must have sussed him out quick!) Sergeant Graham Seymour managed to get his hockey trophy with the Workshop, even though he was posted when the Workshop won the Dortmund Garrison Minor Units Hockey Cup. The OC, and Private Hamiy Hamilton also picked up a trophy. Graham has been superceded by Sergeant Neil Anderson from Headquarters RAOC but the hockey teams loss is the soccer teams gain and so far the Stores Platoons' record is impressive despite Corporal Jock Nairn as manager! Congrats! must go to Private Josh Houghton on his recent marriage and we must say well done to Privates Pete Rowley and Carl Evans on becoming much needed HGV drivers. The Hebridean party made it back for the exercise in June but Dave Bradbury opted for a posting instead! We now have Privates Widdowfield and Wilson in lieu. The exercise proved interesting and the drivers were used more than usual because our trips took us up past Hamburg. (Note: Past Hamburg!) W02 Brian Davies was amazed at the ability of Private Chalky Greenidge. He would drop off to sleep at ten seconds notice and was awarded the Golden Blanket award because of it. Farewell to Sergeant John Taylor and the OC who will be back in UK. by the time this reaches print. Corporal John Walsh will also be on his way back and more new faces will have taken their place. Combat Supplies Battalion ^ ^ ^ _ _ ^ M : ! ^ ^ ^ _ 49 RP COMPANY. The unit has role and equipment, allowed us to drive the unit's Leopard tanks and then made us ' sing for our supper * on a twenty two kilo- metres section battle march, against the German unit! The route included obstacles such as an assault course, a two kilometre downstream row by sections using assault craft, carry- ing a soldier on a stretcher for one and and a half kilometres, sawing a log in half and a rope river crossing. The unit sur- passed itself by being placed second, overall, Highlights of the march were Private Duke leading the singing of the ' Vulgar Boatmen f while on the assault craft phase. Lance Corporal Smith who just managed to ' drop in ' at the rope crossing and Lance Corporal Bird who did the impossible by leading one of the sections off the map that had been provided, and still finished on time! The CCRAOC Brigadier Skinner and the CO Lieutenant Colonel Dickinson both managed a panic tan on their visit. Brigadier Skinner qualified on the Leopard Tank as a driver, while ' Monty' had a pleasant bath in a nearby river. Our hard working acting Admin Staff led by Corporals Ridley and Lamb and Private Miller worked very hard and produced excellent goodies from the cookhouse. W 2 Brooks and the CQMS Staff Sergeant Nolan on their time off learned to paddle canoes under water, while Sergeant Dymond introduced the art of flying into rock climbing! Admin and Trg Staff—thank you for a super camp. Captain Osborne, the Unit Training Officer, has already booked his holiday at the Diemelsee. On the postings in side we say a sincere welcome to Sergeant Joyner, our new 'Cordon Bleu' Chef, Privates Harrison and Mc- Donald and Craftsman Greenbank. Lance Corporal Dunbar our able Post NCO has departed for the joys of Warminster and will be greatly missed by all the Company. 1 13 — |
| Book number | R0250 |