RAOC Gazette - page 265
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 |
Congratulations to Lance Corporal and Mrs Clifford on the •in of their son Thyssen Francis Damien and to A/Corporal ; sscr and Lance Corporal O'Mara on their promotions. No arrivals this month but beaucoup 'Au Revoirs * namely: alonel P. M. UnderhiJl, Lieutenant Colonel D, J. S. MacColl did Captain D. G. Ashworth. Amongst the workers posted were tergeant Keating of the Orderly Room and Sergeant Ginge Trartside, Lance Corporal Williamson, Privates Bird, Jolliffe, Mack and Rowan. <&m Sketch by John Dargavel. On D. W's departure. (Wine, to a gifted bard, seen here with Harp, is a mount that merrily races * from watered wits, no good has ever grown!) (Cratinus 500 BC.) Centra! Ammunition Depot Kineton MAJOR FOX who has thrilled the reader with the everyday story of Kineton for the past two years has been posted to Black down. His relief as OC Head- quarters Company is Major Lillington who, no sooner had he arrived, took off for three weeks exercise in Denmark with 45 Shadow Company. This year has been a very successful year for golf- The Station course has thrived under the best greenkeeper of them all, Major Taylor, with occasional help. There have been days when the players were queueing to play and the first hole along the A41 has proved a real hazard both for the golfer and the motorist Over thirty club members played in the Station Golf Meeting and a most enjoyable time was had by all. Meanwhile, the * professional' golfers have been storming their way round the District Courses and winning plenty of F r? zes. StafE Sergeant Hooper and Lance Corporal Whitley are c npeting in the All England Finals of the Rover Amateur Golf Competition, the winners going forward to the European Hnals. Central Ammunition Depot Longtown THERE was an uneasy air over Longtown as the last two vehicles loaded with explosives for destruction went to Otter- burn for the final day of Exercise Elbow Room, will they, ur won't they? return empty was the thought on the faces of all '" Lved. As the day went on the Depot staff paced the floor v ; Ung, Staff Sergeant Jim Ball who had co-ordinated every- thing was frantically searching through all the paperwork look- •ng for any items that may have been missed and hoping like • • . . . that he did not find any. By mid afternoon the phone call that confirmed Elbow Room was over arrived and the staff, both military and civilian alike, were seen dancing in the offices, storehouses, in fact any- where, Yes, Exercise Elbow Room is over not just for 1981 but forever. For those who were not lucky enough to take part in Elbow Room and therefore unable to share our relief at its end, let me briefly explain what Elbow Room is about: Elbow Room was designed to dispose of, by demolition, all the obsolete* surplus and unserviceable ammunition held in the UK and BAOR. The demolitions took place on Belshiel Ranges Otter- burn which must be the most desolate, lonely, windswept and wettest place in Northumberland. The demolitions took place in phases of approximately two weeks at a time when personnel would come from various units throughout UK and BAOR and be accommodated at Otterburn Camp for that period. The normal day would start at about 0830 hrs on the demolition area, having had breakfast and travelled the four miles to the pits. The vehicles loaded with items for disposal would be at the rendezvous point (hopefully) having left Longtown under Police Escort at 0600 hrs that morning. The ammunition was then transhipped on to a four-tonner, one series at a time, each series being six pits of sixty eight kilograms NEC per pit. The sixty eight kilograms NEC being made up from all natures along with Bulk HE. The four-tonner then travelled the mile or so over a very narrow and precarious track to the pits where the explosives were unloaded into the mud filled holes some twenty to thirty feet deep. Great care is needed at this point because the rain which is travelling horizontally due to the high winds blinds you and you may stumble into a pit if the wind hasn't already blown you in. When all the pits have the ammunition correctly placed in the mud the initiation charges are placed and are detted up, the majority of people are on their way back to the RV point by this time to begin the cross-loading of the next series; ten series a day was the plan, exciting wasn't it! Since Elbow Room began in 1979 a total of over one million nine hundred thousand Kgs of ammunition has been disposed off, quite a remarkable feat and we would like to thank all the outside units who, without their assistance and co- operation, Elbow Room could not have succeeded. So it's back to the routine depot work which includes military training twice a week in preparation for the BT Annual BFT. Not very popular. The members and their ladies of the Sergeants Mess were fed and watered at a Ladies Dinner Night, the usual Longtown high standard was maintained and a good night was had by all. We welcome Corporal Mick Elliss from the ASA and hope his tour is a happy one and to Mr Ted Dennis who is in hospital with a foot infection, we wish him a full and speedy recovery. 1 Ammunition Inspection and Disposal Unit EAST. The centre of activity over the past month has been in the SATO (East) area with the successful running of Exercise Sea Stoat 2 at Ashfordby Gun Range, Melton Mowbray, The weather was in general kind to us and our many visitors from our depen- dant Police Forces, all of whom showed great interest in what they saw. After an initial brief and slide show from Major Mead, washed down by C-QMS tea, our visitors spent the days on * walk-abouts* being briefed by the DS's at the various task locations. Their presence often lent a new dimension to an exercise situation not previously encountered, that of actual crowd control, The highlight of the week was the visit of Brigadier Smith who kindly accepted our invitation to make presentations of Oak Leaves and Certificate of Commendation to Staff Sergeant Nicholson, Corporal Bonsai 1 and Lance Corporal Ennels R. Sigs. The ceremony was informal and reflected the closeness of the Unit and the shared pride we all felt with the recipients. Now for some good news and some bad news, first the bad news: (1) Staff of SATO(East) appeared on Worldwide TV in July 1981 and in many nationals including foreign magazines (magnifying glasses and * grid-refs * on application), (2) Staff of SATO(East) made radio broadcast in August 1981. Now the good news: SATO(East) promises not to make an LP. Comings and goings seem to be the only other occurrences. We welcome back W 2 Mitchell from Northern Ireland, WOl Dedman from Longtown and Lance Corporal Anderson from BAOR. Farewell to Lance Corporal Mann who is off to BAOR. Congratulations to Captain Roberts and Corporal Smalley on their respective marriages. — 221 — |
| Book number | R0250 |