RAOC Gazette - page 193
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 |
D O N M N G T O N Jfor tlje $Ucorti STATEMENT IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS ON RAOC BOMB DISPOSAL IN NORTHERN IRELAND EIGHT T O MILLION RECOUP POUNDS OFFICIAL, Paid Stationery is being returned to Building B8 COD Donnington by all UK Unils for eventual credit to the MOD by the General Post Ollice. The return programme which began in March this year and goes on for another seven months has been cheerfully carried out by a mixed WRAC/RAOC team part of which is shown in our photograph. * So far the team has checked, sorted, measured and weighed close on half a million OP envelopes and OP labels, some with the George VI stamp embossed on them. When all the old envelopes and labels have been harvested it is anticipated that MOD will be credited with something in the region of £8,000,000, Carry on the good work Donnington. Foreword by Brigadier C. W. Smith GM, Director of Land Service Ammunition As the professional head of the global RAOC bomb dis- posal effort, I was extremely heartened by the inclusion in the recent Statement on, Defence by the PUS of 5 for Defence (Army) (Mr Philip Goodhart), of a positive and direct reference to the RAOC bomb disposal teams deployed on active service in Northern Ireland, To the'best of my knowledge, this is the first occasion on which such a statement has been made, and it is therefore with considerable pleasure and pride that the relevant extract from the House of Commons Official Report (Hansard) dated 10th July 1981, is reproduced below for the information of the Corps: Hansard Vol 8 No. 139: There is, however, one area in which Army specialist assistance to the RUC and the UDR to the people of Northern Ireland will not be reduced. Of all the invaluable work performed by the Army Forces in the Province, few tasks are so consistently demanding and dangerous as the work of the (RAOC) bomb disposal teams. Their levels of technical skill, coupled with ice-cool nerves, commanded the highest admiration and respect even among other members of the security forces in the Province, who themselves regularly face the dangers of terrorist attack. Men with the necessary attributes are a rare commodity, and at any one time there are only about fifty of them in small teams throughout the Province. It is worth mentioning just a few of the cold statistics to bring home the value of the men who stand specifically between society and the bomb. In 1980, Northern Ireland bomb disposal teams were called upon on over one thousand separate occasions, and so far this year the tally has run to over six hundred. Many of these—about half—turn out to be hoaxes or false alarms, but every one must be approached with the same care and thoroughness and makes the same demands of sfclill and courage. We were shocked when, on 19th May, a six hundred pound bomb near Newry killed five soldiers. Very few of us, however, even noted in passing that on 3rd February this year a bomb disposal team succeeded in neutralising an exactly similar bomb near Bessbrook in South Armagh, again contain- ing more than six hundred pounds of explosive. Similarly, as recent as 15th June, a van was found on the northern outskirts of Lurgan containing six hundred pounds of explosives in beer kegs and was defused by our experts. Alas, only a month or so ago a senior non-commissioned officer was killed while attempting to defuse a booby-trapped car bomb* He was the seventeenth soldier to be killed on these duties in Northern Ireland. Since 1971, over one hundred and fifty decorations and gallantry awards have been made to soldiers working in this area. The work of these courageous soldiers is backed up by another group of remarkable men—our research scientists work- ing in this field. It was said this afternoon that our equipment comes through too slowly and is often too expensive and that our research establishments work at too leisurely a pace. That charge cannot possibly be levelled at the experts working in this field. In remarkably rapid time—and in the closest co- operation with the users—we have developed a range of equip- ment that has swung the balance against the bomb. The full story of this scientific adventure will not be told for many years, but those involved deserve more than an interim vote of thanks The team at work. IN MEMORY OF A LEGIONNAIRE 1 (BR) Corps Stores Company have named their unit club—The Legionnaire-Several names were put up and each member of the Company voted for his preference and, by an overwhelming majority, the vote went to the memory of one of their ' civilian' employees, Herr Stanfuss, who had worked with the Company for fourteen years. An ex Sergeant Major in the French Foreign Legion, he was in France earlier this year for the Legion re-union when he suffered a sudden heart attack. He enjoyed working with the British Army and had been an honorary member of the club for many years. Particularly popular with our younger soldiers he did much to cement relationships, and it was particularly touching of his widow to present some money to the Company so that those of us who had not been able to attend his funeral would be able to toast his memory. He will be remembered with affection for many years to come and often toasted in The Legionnaire, BASE DEPOTS INTER OFFICERS MESS TOURNAMENT THE seventeenth annual Base Depots Inter Officers Mess Tournament took place over the period May to July 1981 with teams from Bicester, Chilwell/Donnington, CADs/DLSA and CVD/RAOC Andover vying for the coveted trophies in friendly competition. The organisers of the golf, cricket and tennis sections are to be congratulated for the excellent arrangements made under difficult circumstances. The Golf Section was played at the Wrekin Golf Club on 21st May with the CADs/DLSA team emerging as worthy winners, and Chilwell/Donnington second, in a close fought contest. Cricket followed at Bicester on 24th June when the Bicester stalwarts narrowly defeated CVDs/RAOC Andover in an exciting final. 153 — |
| Book number | R0250 |