RAOC Gazette - page 104
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 |
Headquarters Scotland (Army) ORDNANCE BRANCH WE were all delighted to see the return of Mr Eddie Aitchison from his enforced absence on sick leave, The branch recently held a farewell lunch to Mrs Beaumont who will shortly be leaving us on transfer to the Sunny South, Col- chester by name, we will certainly miss her and of course ' Muffin ' the Spaniel. Also involved in the farewell was Mrs Wilson who has gone over to the opposition and is now working for REME in the Contract Repair Organisation in Glasgow. We welcome Miss Shirley Williamson who has stepped into the hot seat, Our DADOS Combat Supplies, Major Joe Raynon-Jones, is at the moment away visiting Benbecula—he left armed with a gallon bottle of whisky destined to raise funds for the Corps Stall at Chelsea Barracks—we'll wait another few days yet be- fore sending out an SOS for his recovery. |'J.'.L',!•'.*-'.•,"...... .•,"]'.'.'.' i. i i f REGIONAL DEPOT AND OSU \VH recently launched an appeal to raise funds to purchase ar. electric mobility carriage for Andrew Cunningham, the handicapped son of Mr John Cunningham who works in our transport section. The target of over £500 was quickly reached and a generous contribution from the Stirling Branch of the RAOC Association did much to help. The carriage was presented at a ceremony in the depot and was much appreciated by Andrew and his parents. The dust is beginning to settle a little after an almost one hundred per cent turn over of military personnel in the last few months. We have welcomed Lieutenant Colonel Douglas Gillies .fr:>m Chilwell as our new OC, he comes with the distinct advantage of understanding the local dialect. Major Andy Dunn has flown off to BAOR to make his fortune, and Major Peter " erguson has retired to civilian life. We wish them both well •i the future. Captain Keith Hewlett is trying to get the adrena- a flowing in preparation for a stint on the semi-permanent caff at Cultybraggan Camp which the powers that be no doubt hought would whet his appetite for his next posting to BAOR n August. Our latest arrival is Captain Bill Burrnp who_ is adjusting to the realities of life after secondment to the Nigerian Army. SATO DEPARTMENT RA RANGE HEBRIDES DURING the last month or so we have been very busy. Two Rapier Launch areas have been in continual use and we have seen five different RA Batteries and RAF Regiment Rapier Squadrons finish their yearly firing practice. As reported in our last article, Staff Sergeant John, alias 1 Blaster Bates,' Wiggell is still chasing sheep, but he now roams much further than the Ammo Compound. Our SAT, W 2 Arthur Burns, has recently returned from leave and in fact is just leaving again for a well earned rest in th:; 'Costa Del Middlesborough * (in preparation for his forth- coming posting to 3 BAPD). At the moment he is very good with a number 7 Iron (for hitting AT Corporals with). Talking of 7 Irons, Corporal Dave Stewart has just completed two weeks driver training with 410 Troop RCT at Craigiehall Head- quarters Scotland. Needless to say he passed his test with flying buses, I mean colours. The Orderly Room are to inform the Lothian Bus Company when Corporal Stewart is on leave. We would also like to thank him for his generous help in commissioning our Lance Baths. The Department has had its name changed recently to SDU Department. Freely translated means 'Sheep Disposal Unit.' S.\TOS Duty Vehicle was seen heading in an easterly direction towing a broken down Sheep. Our SATO, Major Scourfield- Evans, and Sergeant Ben Bienkowski recovered the Sheep to an area, which is a closely guarded secret and the strains of 1 Hughie and Bill' were heard from Sergeant Bienkowski who said * That Sheep has been broken down for at least a week. 1 On a more serious note we must say farewell to our ( Supply Specialist' Lance Corporal Paul Cope and his wife Janet not forgetting Starsky, the multi coloured Bassett and wish them w^U at Bicester. At least Lance Corporal Cope did not get ih; stacker or side loader bogged down on our wonderful three hole golf course. (Readers please take note). At the same time we would like to welcome our new Supply Specialist Lance Corporal Alan Douglas, his wife Mary and daughter Claire, We hope they like our tropical weather. We thought we were saying goodbye to Staff Sergeant John Wiggell, but. we have just been informed, sadly, it is only leave. again. Finally a mention for our three visitors from 1 Ammunition Inspection and Disposal Unit, no doubt Corporals Gough, Miller and Hedley will return to their respective detachments full of knowledge and scarred of 7 Irons. South East District GETTING his feet well and truly wet by means other than the usual one of sailing was our CRAGC, Colonel Richard Cooke. who recently made a parachute jump with 6 Field Force into Studland Bay. Lunched out was Major Bob White (Retd). S03 Accommodation Services. We wish him a long and happy retirement and welcome his successor Major Tom Moffat (Retd). Also lunching at our ex- pense on the same occasion were Majors Chris Bedford and Dan Putt on posting from 6 Field Force. Major John Cranmer has taken over as OC Supply Depot Aldershot from Major David Hancock who is retiring. Major Mike Wilks (Retd) now fills the R 3 post in the depot. Congratulations to Captain and Mrs Bob Lawson on the addition to their family and to Major Jimmy Meads on his promotion, The Chief Clerk, W 2 Allan Carroll has timed his leave well again as was appreciated when GAZETTE note-writing time came round I 6 Field Force HEADQUARTERS OUR non para trained staff were offered the * Thrill of a Lifetime ' recently when a parachute jump was organised into Studland Bay, near Poole. Most of the staff clerks in the Headquarters volunteered and en- * joyed the thrill! Photographs were taken but proved to be too horrific to print. Football attention this week moved from sunny Argentina to windswept Aider- shot, where the Headquarters were involved in a gruelling tussle with neighbouring rivals, LSG. On a blustery Wednesday afternoon we astonished our opponents with some dazzling footwork and some lethal finishing, winning by four goals to two. It was one way traffic straight from the kick-off with Sergeant Len King in tremendous form in the LSG goal. Private Steve Findlater's swerving corner, aided by a one hundred miles per hour wind hit the back of the net. LSG let their heads drop and minutes later Headquarters went two up when a two yard drive by Captain David Charters (Int Corps) was also taken into the net by the wind. We then decided to slow the pace down and nearly paid for it but with the help of goal- keeper Staff Sergeant Dave Wolfe who made two brilliant saves from well hit back-passes by Private Steve Connolly. Head- quarters managed to maintain their lead until half time. The second half was much the same story, with a continual seige on the LSG goal and it wasn't long before Corporal K. Knight (Int Corps) miss hit a penalty kick, putting Sergeant Len King the wrong way, with the ball trickling over the line. Then it happened. LSG pulled back two quick goals, or rather one, and one given to them by referee WOl Fred Stephenson who by all accounts had a superb game, introducing his own ideas about offside. It wasn't much later when I-SG scored a third, but Private Steve Connolly was quick to spot that the referee hadn't been watching and took a goal kick with the referee allow- ing play to go on. He was surrounded by furious LSG players sharpening their studs and was only saved by the fact that Head- quarters had gone up the pitch to score their fourth, he then blew the whistle. LSG took this defeat in their stride but refused to exchange shirts after the game. Major Chris Bedford leaves the Headquarters after two years as DADOS (sorry S02 ORD), 16 Para Brigade and 6 Field Force. Chris is to take over as OC 7 Field Force Ordnance Company; he certainly knows how to use a tommy cooker! Our best wishes go with Chris and his family and we hope they thoroughly enjoy their new posting. A warm welcome to Major Geof Browne who is our new SOI ORD, we hope he enjoys the change from his last post as OC 321 EOD Unit in Northern Ireland. Our congratulations go to Private Michael Moore and his wife Ann on the birth of their son Graham MichaeL 79 — |
| Book number | R0247 |