RAOC Gazette - page 304
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 |
empty and dead, the gymnasium turning cold and the square beginning to rust Come back Mong's (Recruit nickname)all is for- given ! "What will all the permanent staff do now" was the daily cry. For those of us not caught for one of the dozens of courses arranged by Captain Coombs, our 2IC it was off to Plymouth, and camp. Canoes, dinghies, windsurfers, rock climbing equip- ment and even an Adventure Training Officer, Lieutenant Jane Turpin WRAC, arrived. We set off for Plymouth where the biggest initial problem was navigating around HMS Drake, a rather large naval shore base (in lieu of ships recently axed?). The Senior Rates Mess was some nine hundred rooms large, the Junior Rates accom- modation and facilities far superior to anything ever seen by the Deepcut squaddies, and, for what must be the first time ever, the Company ' subbies' thought their accommodation and food was great. The two weeks that followed were enjoyed by all, with everyone having a go at the things they liked doing and also some they didn't. Captain Coombs, Lieutenant Argyle, Corporal Jock Thomas, Lance Corporal Eddershaw and Private Pickering kept the hill walkers happy (the OC joined them in week two), Sergeant Grant was OIC stables (mucking out?), while W02 Spree, Sergeant McMechan, Corporal Crawford, Corporal Lang- ton (App Coll), Lance Corporal Hamilton and Private Mig- lazavitch were involved in the water activities at Jupiter Point, The- remainder of the training staff came from outside this company. Next years camp we believe is to be a return to Plymouth in June. We all look forward to it. Whilst all this was going on CSM Dusty Miller was to be found in Leconsfield getting a bit of HGV driving in. (What is this company coming to?). By the time these notes appear in THE GAZETTE Training Company will have lost a few of its long standing members, The OC, Major Jim Keating, WOl George Penrose and W02 Ron Spree will all have gone. The OC to Hong Kong, WOl Penrose to spend his last six months in North West District and W02 Spree to Arborfield. Sergeants BI Linn and Gordon axe also on the move, the former on promotion to School of Petroleum and Sergeant Gordon to Cyprus. Lance Corporal Petrie goes to FOD Dulmen and Posting Orders are in for Captain Coombs (would you believe Hong Kong!) and Second Lieu- tenant Whitaker. Corporal and Mrs Gibson have just produced a son— well done—and, before we close, a special mention goes to Lance Corporal Colin Hall, who tried water ski-ing with the rope around his neck- He says that it got rid of all his hang-ups! APPRENTICES COLLEGE HEADQUARTERS COMPANY. We welcome back Staff Sergeant Les Thwaites from his climbing expedition in France, he's been heard to be reporting sick with Legionaires Disease. Corporals Dick Rainey and Mark Snelson are very quiet in Training Wing, maybe it's got something to do with the sixteen to two defeat they suffered in the Games Night at the Sergeants Mess. Congratulations are in order to Staff Sergeant Mick Rooke on passing his Skill-at-Arms Course, Sergeant Bill Gibson and Corporal Steve Woollaston on passing their UEL Summer Course, Lance Corporal TafI John on passing his canoeing and HGV2 Course, We also send a get well to our Chief Clerk W 2 Alan Purvis who has recently been in hospital. We say farewell to Corporal Pete Coney on his posting to Bielefeld and we welcome Corporal Graham Smith from Dulmen and Corporal Paul Rhodes, (Light Infantry) on a three month probationary period as a Staff Clerk to the Company, Apprentice Lance Corporal Julian Turner of Arakan Platoon, on the left of the photograph, was selected to undergo training for Exercise Monte Bianco, This is an annual A r m y - w i d e alpine training exercise hosted by the Italian Army's Atpini Regiment. Aden have had an extremely active period preparing for the South East District Patrol Competition. For this they have been practising such arts as endurance marching, shooting, infantry tactics, map reading and radio procedures. Further- more, they undertook a very wet ELT Camp at Capel Curig where Apprentice Lance Corporal Johnson had an argument with the rock face and lost—result: dislocated shoulder. On the sporting front Apprentices Harrison and Gartside from Anguilla are regular College footballers. Apprentice Sergeant Corish, Apprentice Lance Corporal Bollesty and Apprentice Private Coultas have represented the College well at cross country, achieving most creditable results against local junior teams. Rugby appears to be far the most popular College sport in Ardennes Platoon (perhaps influenced by their fanatical Platoon Sergeant) and team members include Apprentice Lance Corporal Moore and Apprentice Privates Roberts and Hutchings. Apprentice Private Roberts has even reached the dizzy heights of playing for Aldershot Services. Aden have their share of sporting starts with James and Preston playing rugby and Mcintosh and Fazakerley playing football for the College. Apprentice Collins was twelfth in the National Water Ski Championships (Junior). Farewells go to Lieutenant Goldie and we must welcome Second Lieutenant Gorsuch to Aden Platoon and Corporal Rainey to Arnhem. ' B ' COMPANY. At 0400 hours the one hundred and forty nine Apprentices of ' B ' Company started one of their most arduous days so far at the College. It was wet. dark and windy as, in the early hours, final preparations for Exercise Washington Wander took place, The Inter-Platoon competition had begun. Their mission: a twenty five mile race on the South Downs—time allowed, ten hours—carrying only rations and survival equipment. The vehicles arrived at the two start points at 0700 hours and soon the first teams were under way. Meanwhile, a group of fourth term Apprentices attempted to erect a one hundred and sixty pound tent and failed miserably. Shortly afterwards the tent went up again, correctly, thanks to the efforts of a recruit platoon of just three week's service! The check points were all sited on obvious high points on the South Downs Way in order to improve radio com- munications (or was it that most were within easy walking distance of local hostelries?). One check point moved in- exorably nearer the pub and, consequently, three groups dis- appeared down the road towards Brighton—to the naturists* beach one presumes! This was soon spotted by roving control and corrected. All went according to plan except that no-one had seen three four man groups from Benghazi Platoon—they had disappeared completely. Two turned up shortly afterwards, the third finding itself some three hours later at a check point with still over half the course to go. Weather conditions gradually worsened until, by mid after- noon, continuous rain set in. The wind rose steadily until about 1700 hours when a force nine to ten gale was announced over the radio, but, by then, only the packing up of control points 'A* COMPANY, Since the start of the Autumn Term, *A' Company has boasted two new recruit platoons—Arakan and Alamein. Both are settling in well, with Alamein doing parti- cularly well during a recent Cancer Research collection and Arakan making their mark by being best W Company Platoon in the College cross country. In addition, Arakan have now sampled the delights of sleeping out on local training areas and Apprentice Private Fullwood has emerged as a notable water colour artist. Very little has been seen of our most senior platoon, Anguilla, recently, as they have all been hard at it learning their various trades with the Employment Training School, The beginning of term saw Arnhem carrying out their REME trade training at Bordon, together with the REME element of Ardennes. Meanwhile, the Ardennes RAOC element carried out copious physical training culminating in a twenty mile cross-country march! % — 252 — |
| Book number | R0250 |