RAOC Gazette - page 91
Image details
| Corps | RAOC |
|---|---|
| Material type | Journals |
| Book page | |
| Chapter head | |
| Chapter key | |
| Chapter number | |
| Full title | RAOC Gazette |
| Page number | |
| Publication date | 1978 |
| Real page | |
| Colour | No |
| Grey | No |
| Early date | 1978 |
| Late date | 1978 |
| Transcription |
five hundred were to actual terrorists bombs—adding up to two hundred and ninety six thousand pounds of explosives. Three thousand five hundred and nine calls were to deliberate hoaxes and three thousand four hundred and nineteen to finds, totalling one hundred and twenty five thousand two hundred and sixty pounds of explosives. Of the actual bombs, three thousand eight hundred containing one hundred and ten thousand two hundred and fifty pounds of explosives were successfully neutralised. A statistician has estimated that every pound of explosive detonated by terrorists in Northern Ireland causes £1,000 worth of damage. Using this figure it can be estimated that the Unit has prevented about £100M worth of damage to property in Northern Ireland since 1969. There is no doubt that this saving of property has prevented untold hitman misery in the form of lost homes and loss of places of work and in the words of a former Chief Constable of the RUC r has done much to promote goodwill and friendly relations between the community at large and the Security Forces. Obviously something as intangible as goodwill is very difficult to quantify, but it is an indisputable fact that the action of the EOD operators, which can be seen by everyone to be totally peaceful in intent and to have no sectarian bias what- soever, have created a bond between them and the community. To the EOD operator a terrorist bomb, regardless of which terrorist faction has laid it or what the target might be, is something to be rendered harmless with the least possible detri- Moving in on a suspect van after Wheelbarrow mounted on an mental effect to people or property, The number of EOD operators in the Unit at any one time armoured Eager Beaver has done its work. is approximately fifteen. During their four-month tour they are on constant call. In mid tour they get four days leave. On average an EOD operator answers calls to approximately THE HISTORY OF THE AWARD one hundred and twenty incidents during his four month tour, of which about twenty are live devices. Because of the in- IN 1966 in co-operation with the Ministry of Defence, Wilkin- son Sword Limited sponsored the award, to he known as the dividual nature of their task there is no doubt that the EOD operators are subject to personal stresses during their tours, far Sword of Peace, for presentation annually. The object was to greater than those experienced by an average member of the recognise outstanding efforts by British Units in fostering good Security Forces. relations in the territories and areas in which they are stationed. The Units receiving the Sword of Peace are selected each year To date three hundred and ninety seven ATOs and ATs by the Ministry of Defence on recommendations made by the have carried out EOD tours in Northern Ireland, including Admiralty, Army and RAF Boards. forty five second tours. Their successes have not been achieved without terrible cost nor have they gone totally unrecognised. These Swords of Peace are specially inscribed with the To date sixteen EOD operators have been killed carrying out name of the Unit concerned and the area in which it qualified their duties and ten injured, three seriously. Their gallantry for the award. They are, however, standard Service pattern has been recognised by the award of one GC, three OBEs, swords so that they may be carried on parade. six MBEs, twenty four GMs, twenty two QGMs, fifteen BEMs, The original idea for a Sword of Peace for presentation to thirty one MIDs and two GOC Commendations. the Services arose from a purchase by Wilkinson Sword of a These awards have almost invariably been made to the unique sword for the National Army Museum, made in Lon- team leaders, who make the actual approaches to explosive don in 1799 for presentation to a Lieutenant Samuel Snook of devices. The Unit consists, however, of these and some sixty the Bombay Marine, Lieutenant Snook had been so outstand- other men who support them in various ways on operations. ing in his humanity to some refugee women from the Pelew It is clear, therefore, that the achievements of the Unit are based Islands that his brother-officers and the East India Company on team efforts and not isolated individual actions. presented him with this specially inscribed sword. The refugees had been stranded in Bombay from 1793 to 1797 without friends or means of supporting themselves. Lieu- TAILPIECE B Y FELIX tenant Snook supported them out of his own slender pay and in 1797 the East India Company sent these refugees to Macao in the charge of Lieutenant Snook in its ship ' Warley/ On arrival at Macao, he purchased a small vessel at Govern- ment expense to take them back to their home in the Philip- pines ; they eventually reached the Pelew Islands in safety where Lieutenant Snook restored the women to their families. THE CITATION THE citation reads as follows: — Eight years ago, 321 EOD Unit RAOC was established in Northern Ireland to counter the terrorist bombing campaign. Its role is of a non-offensive protective nature, in that its actions are aimed solely at preventing loss of life and property. The Unit is manned by Ammunition Technical Officers and Am- munition Technicians of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps with a supporting staff of drivers, store men, signallers and escorts, all on emergency four month tours from Units in UK and BAOR. The Unit has become well known and has received considerable publicity. tt is self evident that the operations of the Unit have saved human life, and there is no doubt that they have both prevented damage to a vast amount of property and helped to prevent terrorists achieving their aim of totally disrupting the economy and society of Northern Ireland. Since 1969 (to date) the Unit has dealt with some twenty four thousand five hundred calls of which some nine thousand 66 |
| Book number | R0247 |