RAOC Gazette - page 161
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 |
CKAOO UP r >H Major General commanding the Household Division has .\ r .-me years, required "the CRAOC London District to aecom- .,..;, mm oii administrative inspections of the mounted House- jitik: Division Units. In their frockcoats and on beautifully turned- (>ui chargers the Major General and his Staff are indeed an inipressive sight. Up to 1966, RAOC, the only Service required o n parade, was represented by the solitary figure of CRAOC, standing at the side of the parade ground in No. I Dress. Lieutenant Colonel Trevor Vaughan-GrilTith, who was in post at that time, proposed to the Brigade Major, Household Brigade, and the Chief of Start London District that CRAOC should appear mounted on such inspections. The suggestion was , / r ^ d by the General subject, of course, to the CRAOC being • ; £k- to ride a horse! During 1967, Lieutenant Colonel Vaughan- Orir:Jiri took instruction in the art of parade ground equitation an d when the time came presented himself in No. 1 Dress Ceremonial ready to mount. Unfortunately, the parade was cancelled at the last minute because of inclement weather. THE K>'ZAOC C O K P S D A Y , 1978 THE messages shown below were exchanged between RNZAOC and RAOC on the occasion of the RNZAOC Corps Day celebration: — From Lieutenant Colonel J, Harvey MBE, Colonel Com- mandant and Lieutenant Colonel A. J. Campbell, Director of Ordnance Services. Greetings and best wishes to the Represen- tative Colonel Commandant and all ranks RAOC on the occasion of our Corps Day celebration on 12th July 1978. From Major General J. T. Stanyer CBE, Representative Colonel Commandant RAOC. Please convey to Lieutenant Colonel L Harvey MBE, Colonel Commandant RNZAOC and to Lieutenant Colonel A. J. Campbell, Director of Ordnance Services and all ranks of the RNZAOC, my thanks for their greetings on the occasion of the RNZAOC Corps Day on 12th July 1978, which are heartily reciprocated by all ranks of the RAOC COMBAT SUPPLIES BATTALION EXKRCISE PARASHOT Photo PR London District CRAOC Headquarters London District, Lieutenant Colonel N . T . N, Carter, t h e o n l y Corps m o u n t e d officer, inspects t h e H o u s e - hold Cavalry M o u n t e d Regiment i n Hyde Park. When Colonel then Lieutenant Colonel Ian Crompton was posted as CRAOC in 1968 he found that he was expected to be mounted on parade less than a month after taking up his ap- pointment; he had thought AG9s question about his riding experience was meant as a joke—perhaps it was. After several painful hours in the Riding School on Chargers especially selected by sadistic grooms and the occasional hack through Hyde Park, he was given the all-clear to parade mounted. Subsequently it was decided that CRAOC should wear Undress Order—a frockcoat—on future mounted and dismounted parades and that he should continue to be mounted on appro- priate occasions. This was the start of a custom which continues to the present day as our splendid photograph shows. Long may it continue. KNOCK WIN CAPTAIN COX and his team from the Combat Supplies Battalion have won Exercise Parashot outright. Parashot starts with a parachute descent into ' enemy' territory, as a four man patrol—they then proceed to move the teams around like chess pieces for the next twenty four hours. That may not seem so very long but every second is action packed, if only moving tactically to the next agents RV. The agents tested the team on the whole gamut of military skills. Radio tasks were followed by AFV recognition and an engineer obstacle crossing; there was even an endurance march right in the middle—and straight up the biggest hill they could find. They did however, give the teams the chance to repair and use a Land Rover at the top, but they didn't tell them that they would be ambushed when they got out! The helicopter handling and navigation was an example of map reading at the double and the first aid stand at the drop off LZ was highly realistic. At this point, to ensure that it wasn't just the team leader who * was doing all the work, he was sent off to be debriefed. The Second-in-Comrnand and radio operator then moved off to clear an aircraft of booby traps and rescue the black box—which was the real point of the whole exercise. They then had to destroy a Scorpion before rejoining the OIC; all then going off to the CQB range which was the final stand before full debriefing. Parashot was demanding both physically and mentally and the team worked extremely hard to win. In competition were Teeth Arm teams for whom the necessary skills are their daily bread and butter, the only other support arm team was from 5 Field Force Ordnance Field Park to whom much credit for entering must also go. KNOCK *iN extract from the Donnington Garrison Duty Officer's book ^ited 25th July 197S reads; — " Thirty five years ago at the ripe old age of fourteen and a half, I commenced my working life with the LMS Railway in Stafford walking the streets in the dead of night knocking the doors of railway workers so that they would get to work on time. It is ironic that, on my last duty in the Army after thirty two years service, a visiting officer should request—nay plead, for^ an early call so that he may catch a train. I honestly believe that him up there is telling me that my true vocation ,r you've guessed—a knocker upper! (Not a bad rate for the f> h i it her, I started at one shilling per day and now I'm getting -IS.66)." The duty officer concerned was Major Gordon Fritchard RAPC, who was carrying out his last duty before leaving the Photo PR 4 Armoured Division The Combat Supplies Battalion T e a m w h i c h w o n t h e Rothmans Trophy f o r t h e best team i n t h e para phase, t h e Para Cup f o r t h e best team i n t h e patrol phase a n d t h e Daily Telegraph Trophy f o r t h e best overall t e a m . Shown here w i t h t h e i r trophies are, back r o w Corporal Coats a n d Corporal K i d d (2(C) w i t h f r o n t r o w Private Nesbit and Captain Cox t h e t e a m leader. 31 — |
| Book number | R0247 |