RAOC Gazette - page 212
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 |
course, be reported in the next Newsletter. Traffic Branch have been kept very busy during the present troubles, with most drivers getting their chance to drive almost every type of vehicle in the Province. Now (he bad news, one SOG ' D ' and master driver Mr Leslie Waite, while on holiday in Blackpool had a narrow escape when his car was involved in a traffic accident, the car was a write-off, however, we are happy to say both Leslie and his wife escaped with very minor injuries. QM'S DEPARTMENT. Sergeant 4 Nobby ' Clarke ACC and family have just arrived and are settling in nicely to Northern Ireland life. Nobby is our Senior Cook and NCO IC our SNCO's and soldiers cookhouse. He joined us from the Irish Guards in London and has only made one mistake since arriving, he forgot that there is no reduction in feeding strengths at weekends, as we do not get away at weekends like our counter- parts on the mainland. Corporal Andy Leishman is looking forward to his posting to Hong Kong and at present is on a crash course in the use of ' chopsticks/ After Thirty five years at the Ammunition Sub-Depot. than ever and consequently was renamed. Lance Corporal (Pascenel) Kyle was so named because he refused to take off his woollen hat—he said it was something to do with being a sign of his City of Origin—Glasgow! After Evje we entered the river system that wound its way to Kristiansartd and it was the start of frequent portaging stages. Fortunately, we had trollies with us but they proved to be so fragile that great care had to be taken on some of the tracks. It was just before Kristiansand that the major mishap of the expedition occurred. After we had camped for the night Sergeant Pip Pittaway and Captain John Hardcastle noticed a rapid that wasn't marked on the map. Fortunately there was a way round it as the river split into two around a small island. To go to the right avoided the worst of the rapid. The next day our intrepid canoe instructor, who had been pining for white water all week decided to go to the left of the island and with hastily yelled instructions to Corporal Smudge Smith to paddle faster (whilst he was three feet under water), they capsized. This would not have been too bad but having seen one canoe going to the left, the other, bearing Corporals Pascenel and Troll decided to follow. Needless to say that when Captain Hardcastle and Sergeant Pittaway emerged from the back of the island they were con- fronted with two capsized canoes and numerous items of kit floating down river. Fortunately, all items were recovered with the exception of Sergeant Kent's trolly and Lance Corporal Kyle's camera, which accounts for the lack of pictures to accompany this article. We reached Kristiansand later that day and with the prospect of a day in hand we decided to spend it there on a camp site. It was after all Midsummer Night, which is celebrated wildly by all Norwegians. It would also give our capsizees a chance to dry out their kit. When we left the camp site we crossed the estuary and entered a small river system on our final leg to the centre. A great many of the water systems marked on the map were in fact only ditches so it meant many more portages. Un- fortunately, another of the trollies had broken in Kristiansand so it took us much longer than expected to cover the last leg. We camped about two kilometres from the centre on the last night and we left the centre on the Friday evening with no one looking forward to the journey back. The expedition had been fun but beer was prohibitively expensive at £2 a pint! SUPPLY SUB-DEPOT. We held a barbecue outside the Ward- room in June. Lance Corporal Dougie Kyle initiated our new barbecue stands and delighted everyone with his high standard of cuisine. Captain John Hardcastle had a triple celebration recently, the birth of his second son, notification of his posting and passing his promotion exam, all within a week, it was some party! Lance Corporal Himsworth has recently been promoted and has taken on the weeding of the unit garden, Finally we say goodbye to Lance Corporal Dick Spence who leaves us for Hong Kong on promotion and welcome Lance Corporal Ken Wakefield to replace him. VEHICLE SUB-DEPOT. All goes well with the VSD. LSLs come and go (always on Sundays or so it seems). Sergeant Dixie Hale has now mastered the Humber Pig and no longer brings Belfast to a standstill when he takes to the road. Corporal John. Watson found out the hard way that a Saracen will not start when flat batteries are replaced with the same flat batteries. Tough luck John but it happens to us all now and then. The VSD was well represented in this year's ' Truck Driver of the Year' competition held at Lisburn. Sergeant Stu Morton gained third place and Lance Corporal Jock Pringle drove well to be runner up. Well done to the both of them. Canoeing seems to be the latest craze for Corporal Dave Walsh after he returned from a two week trip to the ' British Outward Bound Centre' in Norway; we find it hard to stop him running down to Belfast Lough every ten minutes far a quick paddle. On the domestic scene, confirmed bachelor Corporal Phil Baron has just announced his engagement to Miss Eileen Simpson we wish them all the very best for the future. Now for the more usual * Ins and Outs T we say farewell to Sergeant Stu Morton who goes to Antwerp and Corporal Mark Fox and his wife who are off to Hong Kong. We welcome W02 Geordie Adamson and family, we hope they will enjoy their stay with us, AMMUNITION SUB-DEPOT. A fairly busy month for the ASD. We had our fair share of visitors with Colonel Shaw and Colonel AQ and Brigadier Smith DLSA taking a keen interest in what we get up to. We were represented in the Northern Ireland Sector Dog Trials by two of our civilian patrolmen Steve Dowie and Sam Quigley who with commendable efforts were placed seventh and sixteenth respectively, Sun and Rooky should also be given a pat on the back. Mr Lenny Fisher a stalwart of thirty five years at the Ammunition Sub-Depot retired on the 22nd July. A party for him and his wife was held in the World's End Club. The Com- manding Officer Lieutenant Colonel Hurles presented the couple with a silver tray. We wish him a happy retirement knowing he will probably call m on future occasions to ensure the Depot is surviving without him. A potted Sports Day was held with the Supply Sub-Depot producing convincing wins in the football and volleyball com- petitions and taking overall first place with the ASD a close second. Our farewells go to Lance Corporal Andy Stevens and his family who hopefully will settle happily at Donnington, Sergeant Jim Whitehead and family heading for Antwerp and Sergeant Chris Edgeworth shortly to be married joining the hallowed ranks of IAIDU. In conclusion a mention must be made about the Unit cricket match in which the Kinnegar Codgers (Officers and SNCOs) narrowly beat the Kinnegar Colts (JNCOs) by nineteen runs. However, there is a rumour going around that there is to be a rematch without the services of Chief Umpire CSM Wilson. REMEMBER THE DEADLINE FOR COPY—28th OF EACH MONTH — WITH THE EDITOR AT DEEPCUT TRAFFIC AND YARD. First the good news. Congratulations to Lance Corporal Bob Holmes on promotion and on his forth- coming marriage. Private and Mrs Mick Duffy are eagerly awaiting the arrival of their first born, the big event will, of 176 |
| Book number | R0250 |