RAOC Gazette - page 174
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 |
.,nd easily won by several octaves, and the Anglians are now - c . ; mg definitely off key! Oakley House, for many years the home of the Officers \l-jv*, has been pronounced unsafe and is sadly, to be demolished. XIK* last Regimental Dinner was held in its gracious dining room when Captain John Humphreys, a resident of Oakley for st the pa two years, was dined out. The final party was held n the 9th September and many officers who had previously served in the Depot and their guests attended the farewell to this fine old house. Meanwhile, both Lieutenant Colonel Mike Watts and Captain John Humphreys are determined not to be the last officer to sleep in the house—atone with the ' grey lady. 1 In the Supplies Sub-Depot at Lisbum, Mavis Kirke, our CO. (who actually thinks she is the CO but in reality is our Cubical Officer) has returned bronzed and slimmer from her Spanish holiday. She maintains that the local cuisine was fattening but she offset this by tactical evasion of the Spanish waiters which she reckons equates to a BFT. Welcome Lieutenant Tony Brown and WOl John Kenwright and farewell to Captain John Humphreys and WOl John Over. United Kingdom Land Forces JUST what is there to say in the silly season for leave except that the offices are more deserted than usual. Those that have just returned are all moaning about the awful weather they have experienced in this delightful country. The only person happy with her holiday in Joyce Deering the COO's PS. She had the sense to go to Spain and has returned many shades darker. Even our Kenya representative Harry Parry has just returned from there complaining of the unreasonably cold and cloudy weather which !h"t country is also experiencing. His conclusion is that lions rciiist hibernate during the cold as the only ones he saw were the metal ones which were part of the Nairobi Game Park entrance gates. His other complaint was that he omitted to pack his swimming costume in his overnight bag for the RAF Hercules night stop at Athens where the temperature was well up in the eighties. What a shame. A more difficult person to keep track of is our other over- seas wanderer J. J. Evans. Currently he is to be found residing/ resting in his office, though whether he is only recovering from his last forray abroad or from cycling the four miles to work ev-ry morning is not clear. The fitness bug has bitten him deeply and he can be seen most mornings valiantly peddling through the summer rain well protected by a duffle coat. John Cogley having sold his last batch of secrets—the pepper content of a ten man ration pack—went out and bought a new Mini GT. His reason for buying the exotic version is to relieve the boredom of the daily journey from his home to his new duty station at Ashchurch. We wish him luck in his new appointment and hope the car impresses the vehicle types. Headquarters Scotland STORES SECTION RA RANGE BENBECVLA WE have been informed by these wizards of weather, the Met Office, that we are definitely in the middle of summer, (remind me to book for Alaska next year) although up here sunshine is a time for a national holiday. Nevertheless, through gale, hail and rain we find little time for either enjoying or not enjoying the weather. With a continual stream of Visiting Units arriving things up here have been pretty busy. At the time these notes are being written by your Hebridean scribe we have lost Lance Corporal Tim Kelly for six weeks, as he soaks up the sunshine in Kenya, and we are still awaiting the return of Corporal Steve Thomas, who left around about the end of February for temporary detachment to BATUS and has not been seen since. (Come back Corporal T™all is forgiven). Apart from personnel detached we have had an upheaval in thi Section with W02 Pete Jackson hopefully settled in BAOR and Captain Martin Thwaite now on his way to BAOR, com- plete with decrepit Ford Escort, cats, plants and not forgetting his wife Maureen. We wish them both the best of luck in Bracht. We welcome to the Section our new OC, Captain Alastair Cartwright. and his wife Magdalene and hope that they enjoy their tour here, W02 Bob Hanbidge appears to have settled in alright and like the rest of us is now in the accepted state of mental pre- occupation known on these islands as confusion. Our Master of Ceremonies as far as the Association is concerned has cracked it again. Staff Sergeant Brian Reid has laid on another very good Association Dinner. This one was held on the 16th August to dine out our old OC and his wife, and also to say goodbye to Corporal Andy Anderson who leaves us for BATUS. You the reader may be tempted to think that the RAOC Association Members up here must walk around with continual red eyes, holding on to bottles of aspirin. Not true, only some of the time. However, our Association does tend to be well supported, when you consider that we have only about eighteen members of the Corps (and of course their wives) up here. Until our next tale of woe: " Slan Leibh.' 1 South East District THE month has seen many changes, the chief one being that of our CRAOC, Colonel Richard Cooke, who leaves us to take over command of COD Bicester. In his place we welcome Colonel Norman Green hot from the corridors of power at the MOD! This month also sees the retirement from the Army of Major Tom Paterson, however he informs us that his involve- ment with shooting and the Bisley meetings will keep him in touch for many years yet\ We also say good-bye to Major Alan Robertson OC of the OSU at Ashford. To both these Officers, we extend all our good wishes in their future retire- ment Orders for ' duty frees * are being taken by Lieutenant Colonel Keith Holtby, Major Granville Holt and W02 Alan Carroll who depart any day for Germany on Exercise Bold 4 Guard. On an equally energetic note, the Buller Barracks and* Steeles Road area is now strewn with broken bodies as the result of the MA As attempts to get everyone through their BFT. It is with deep regret that we record the passing away of Mr D. V. Manby, who retired on the grounds of ill-health on the 19th May, from an ASA appointment in Aldershot and Mr E. J. Derrick, who was serving us at RMCS Shrivenham* To their families we extend our sincere condolences. Photo Le$ Wiggs, Soldier Magazine Colonel Norman Green, the new CRAOC South East District, with the retiring CRAOC after the presentation of the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal to Sergeant David Van Spall. Also in the photograph is Mrs Van Spall. SUPPLY DEPOT ALDERSHOT COLONEL RICHARD COOKE has left to be the Commandant of COD Bicester. He has our congratulations on his promotion and our best wishes for his new job. Colonel Norman Green is welcomed as the new CRAOC of South East District and — 143 — |
| Book number | R0247 |