Back to Library Journals

RAOC Gazette - page 243

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 LADIES OF THE CORPS
RETIREMENT OF
•-.< v that some members of the WRAC are being gazetted to
^rmanently employed in RAOC, it may come as no surprise
am that they are not the first to be gazetted into the Corps.
t
VVAAC, ATS and WRAC have all been employed with the
Coi'P s m various appointments, some for very long periods and
i t i that time have been accepted as part of RAOC, Many, no
doubt, remember Colonel Hill who served in the War Office
a nd Ministry of Defence under (en Directors of the Corps.
Nevertheless, they remained essentially WRAC:
Before the WAAC was incorporated in 1915, three ladies
were actually gazetted into the Army Ordnance Department.
Their names were Miss Ida Beavor, Miss Carey Morgan and
v , Cecil Barocchi and were sent to France in 1915—the
English women to be employed there.
Not much is known of the first two except that Ida Beavor
married a Sir David Hall and Carey Morgan worked at Val-
delievne in the Workshops. All three were employed as Superin-
tendents for the repair and chemical treatment of respirators,
or smoke helmets as they were first called.
PROFESSOR
TURNBULL
IN December Professor James Turnbull retires after twenty two
years as Head of Chemistry Branch at the Royal Military
College of Science. During that time most, if not all, ATOs
have benefited from his knowledge and from his sincere desire
to train officers for the wide range of ammunition appointments
that we fill,
There can be few officers or civilians who have contributed
so much to our specialisation, and it is felt that you may wish
to join in making a gesture of appreciation to mark his retire-
ment.
It is proposed that ATOs (Serving and Retired) make a
donation of 50p per head (or nearest foreign note equivalent)
which will be used to purchase a suitable gift.
DLSA has given his full support to this proposal, and
it is hoped to make the presentation to Professor Turnbull at a
guest lunch, at Didcot, in December.
Donations should be sent as soon as possible to:—Lieutenant
Colonel R. J. Dace QGM RAOC (JHT), DS Ammunition II,
WV Division, Royal Military College of Science, Shrivenham,
Swindon SN6 SLA, Wilts.
CORPS CHRISTMAS
CARDS
THE Christmas Card for 1981 is white and portrays, on the
front, the Corps badge, in colour, surrounded by a double
line (blue and red) edging. Inside are the words " Greetings and
Best Wishes for Christmas and the New Year from." The
size is five and a quarter inches by four inches,
The price will be lOp per card, including the cost of
packaging and postage to Units at home and overseas. Orders,
together with crossed cheques/postal orders made payable to fc
the RAOC Aid Society, should be sent to the Corps Secretary,
RAOC Secretariat, Deepcut, Camberley, Surrey GUI6 6RW.
The profits made from the sale of these cards will go to the
RAOC Aid Society.
Respirator repair in France during World War One.
Mrs Barocchi held the appointment at Abbeville from 1915
i itil 1918 and was then loaned to the American Chemical War-
tare Services at Chateaureaux.
She was an accomplished violinist, but a road accident in
France precluded further violin playing. After the war she
joined the Metropolitan Opera Company of New York but was
the victim of a further accident—on this occasion on the rail-
way and was forced to abandon her operatic career. She then
took to writing and several of her poems appeared in American
magazines. Two of them were set to music and published in
r
ritain. Quite a remarkable lady.
Cecil Barocchi was British by birth and Italian by marriage
c-ut regained her British nationality in the 1920s. She died at
Boston in 1929.
Just thought the ladies may be interested.
(Technical Note: Some seven million six hundred and
seventy seven thousand anti-gas helmets and respirators were
received and conditioned—of which some four million one
hundred and thirteen thousand nine hundred were repaired re-
treated and re-issued.)
A. J. C.
GRANT OF REGULAR
QUARTERMASTER COMMISSIONS
THE following Officers and Warrant Officers Class 1 were
selected by the RAOC Arms Selection Board for the grant of
Regular Quartermaster Commissions (Ordnance Executive Officer)
in RAOC during 1982/83. Actual commissioning dates will be
notified individually in due course.
Major J. Bennett MBE, Major J. Kitwood, Major C. Robin-
• i BEM, Captain M. C. Allen, Captain E. C. A. Hillan, Cap-
ri J. F. Kenwright, Captain J. B. McGili MBE, Captain A.
Vvard, Captain B. P. Wilson, WOsl A. F. O'Shaughnessy and E.
J. Redfem BEM.
The selections are provisional at this stage.
— 201
m
RAOC
OFFICERS
CLUB
COCKTAIL PARTY 1981
A COCKTAIL PARTY will be held at the Headquarters
RAOC Officers Mess at Deepcut from 1830 hours to
2030 hours on Thursday 19th November 1981.
This invitation is extended to serving officers of the
Regular and Reserve Army and their ladies and to retired
officers who are members of the Officers Club and their
ladies, A number of Corps Guests are also to be invited.
The cost of tickets will be £2.00 per person. Due
to staff and space limitations the numbers will have to be
restricted to three hundred and bids to attend will be
accepted on the basis of first come first served.
Applications to attend the Cocktail Party should be
made in writing, by 6th November to the RAOC
Secretariat, Deepcut, Camberley, Surrey GUI6 6RW,
together with a cheque payable to the RAOC Officers
Club.
Book number R0250