RAOC Gazette - page 193
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 |
BriHsh Forces Hong Kong -J^gL I HEADQUARTERS • r f ^ f e * ? ! ^ /fl% I d THE delay in t n completion and es atcn ese ^ J^FE^ I& 1 c a u s P e c °f t n e notes was mfr/M?/ CrSHP4HHIHi ^ by arrival of our BgJME/ l!*f77>»^^^^^H ^ r s t tropical storm of the H B S y j X £ 2 ^ a 2 ^ J I B i H season. 'Agnes' was deter- I^^^AJ^^^^^I J ^ ^ S J ^ B mined to let Hong Kong I fr f'/_ yf /jf remember her because, having | t£jq | = £ £ a jgfcWi made her presence felt, with ——^1 t r u e f e m a j e unpredictability she decided to turn round and hit us again three days later— leaving plenty of chaos especially for the shanty town dwellers. Congratulations to Staff Sergeant Pat Craig who was presented with his Long Service and Good Conduct Medal by Brigadier D. Crabtree in the Sergeants Mess. The appro- priate wetting took place leaving him with a severe headache and a large bill! I must mention a further section that means little to the soldier on the ground but to the officers it is a constant source of information, MS Branch (Military Secretary's Branch). This is sailed by Staff Sergeant John Russell, who is thought to be Mark IV Bullet Proof Anti Gas. And last but not least, (in build anyway) W02 Kevin Hartley, the slave driver behind all these poor souls. Not content with venting his ferocity on them, he has taken to the squash courts to combat more formidable opponents. (Note- ably Staff Sergeant Pat Craig winner of two games in his career!). We say farewell this month, to WOl Ian Williamson Staff Sergeant Pete Murray, Corporal Mick Langston and Lance Corporal Mark Arnold and welcome W02 Terry Jones, Staff Sergeant Tony Mcabe, Corporal Tony Dandy and Lance Corporal Steve Crownurst and wish them and their families enjoyable tours. ACCOMMODATION SERVICES UNIT HONG KONG THE change of Officer Commanding the Unit was marked by the traditional ASU staff party, during which Captain Roy Lee was chopsticked out and Captain Bob Stephens pitch- forked in. On this occasion the venue was the Oceania Restaurant in Kowloon, Our best wishes go with Roy and Yvonne for an enjoy- able tour at Detmold, Tropical Storm Agnes misread the departure schedule details for Captain Lee, and arrived over Hong Kong a week too late to bid him farewell, but belatedly welcomed the new OC with seventeen inches of rain in seventy two hours! Composite Ordnance Depot Hong Kong The Deputy Commander British Forces Hong Kong, Brigadier Crabtree, presents the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal to Staff Sergeant Craig in the Sergeants Mess Victoria Barracks. The RAOC Senior Ranks of the Headquarters held a lunch in the Sergeants Mess to dine out Staff Sergeant Pete Murray who is away to the sunny shores of Northern Ireland. We hope to have more such lunches, that is, if Sergeant Brian Tock can remember what date we decide upon. Lieutenant Colonel Richardson and officers of the Corps attended the final function on the closure of Flagstaff House, the Commander British Forces official residence. This fine building, the oldest colonial building in Hong Kong, which has seen many noteable Commanders and distinguished visitors has been handed over to the Hong Kong Government. This is the first step in the general plan of relinquishing Victoria Barracks. The building of the new headquarters has reached the twenty sixth floor and should be ready for our eventual move in March next year. A small mention of a Branch that is renowned through- out any Headquarters for having very little work. 1 am referring, of course, to the Adjutant and Quartermaster Generals Branch. Fortunately, AQ Branches are manned not by warriors but by workers and HQBF AQ Branch is no exception. On the A side of things the paper is handled by Sergeant Kath Bradbury WRAC, a pleasant young lady with a ready smile and a * wallop * round the head for any would-be critics of WRAC Clerks. The Documents Section is run by a Royal Green Jacket Serjeant (note the spelling) John Mealin. His posting has nothing to do with the fact that Colonel AQ is Ex RGJ! To help the A side in its continuity and answer all the historical questions of the Branch is Mr Nelson Wong our Chinese Clerk. Q Ops is manned by Sergeant Dick Snell and 'womanned* by his capable assistant Mrs Kathy Shakeshaft. Of course, none of us could function without the assistance of our typist Mrs Maureen Mason. I fear we would never again get a lift to the Squash Courts and to 'Happy Hours* if we didn't mention Driver Yeung HKMSC THE lazy hot summer blisters indefatigably into another month, with no respite for man or mosquito. To relieve the monotony typhoon Agnes waltzed in from the South China Sea, narrowly missing Hong Kong en route for Macau, bring- ing with her howling winds and lashing squalls of rain. Mad dogs and Englishmen were seen tied to lifelines enjoying the downpour. The coyness of Agnes to set a predictable course had our Storm Rescue Parties behaving like motorised yoyos. Most of the swimming pool surrounds ended up in the swim- ming pool, including a sizeable portion of a rather large tree. The car park wall by the Sergeants Mess, after years of faithful service as part of the old Basic Fitness Test, col- lapsed in a fragmented heap. But Agnes has passed, leaving the ever-present bulldozers* pile-drivers and jack-hammers to pollute the atmosphere. There seems to be a perverse and endless competition between Urban Services, PWD, Cathay Pacific and the local motorist, to see who- can produce the highest decibel; (we are not quite sure as to whether the winner is judged qualitatively or quantitatively!) Our flying postman, Corporal 'Geordie' Bowen, has added the wings of Pegasus to those of Mercury after successfully completing his course at the Joint Services Parachute Train- ing School, Sek Kong. The air mail should arrive in record time! The red and blue of the Ordnance colours have taken on a special connotation for those involved in our Unit Community Relations projects; red for sunburn and blue for those areas inadvertently and abrasively exposed to the local flora. The Summer Youth camp has had several of our mem- bers actively involved in the more bracing of out door pursuits (especially the eating of Gurkha curry!) whilst CSM Pete Michael and W02 Ian Cradock made a sterling effort to lose as many children as possible on an extended weekend hiking and boating camp. Ah : the joys of the simple life—sunstroke, mosquitoes, compo rations, leaky tents and sixty exuberant, demanding, totally active children. Never was so much given by so few for so many. Arrivals: 'Agnes, 9 Major Newman, Sergeant Beresford, Corporals Rimmer and Robbins. Headquarters Gurkha Field Force THE Colony is now getting back to normal after being hit, for the second time in a month, by an ' alma st-a-typhoon Severe Tropical Storm. The Colony was battered by over eighty knot winds and very heavy rain and it even became chilly, at least twenty six degrees centigrade. However, sur- prisingly little damage was done except for a few trees changing (Continued on page 160) — 1 tf. |
| Book number | R0247 |