RAOC Gazette - page 269
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 |
Corps Troops ORDNANCE COMPANY nNU * S three minutes for THE GAZETTE notes this month, . ht-ru's hoping the 'phone doesn't ring How we have become so busy is hard to see—it all seemed Major Ian s0 quiet on return from the August leave break. Inshaw had been settling in quietly as OC. Captain John pewhurst was away (again) on adventure training (again) with eight men, this time hill walking and mountaineering in Greece, The high point of the trip was (1 suppose) Mount Olympus, arranged mainly for Corporal Osborne to speak at his own level to the Gods. I believe that they were suitably impressed kv this turnout! •: aptain Keith Hewlett arrived to become the new adminis- t r a t e officer and he too settled in quietly. Still no bustle about the place, Then, in early September, we deployed on Exercise Autumn Spear to the Hannover area, encamped deep in the woods to 1 service Headquarters REME Corps Troops demands. Every- one had plenty to do there. The REME section under Sergeant Gus Bio or worked their normal exercise shifts—twenty three and a half hours on, half an hour off; the Stores split them- selves into stock maintenance teams led by Corporals Geordie Finlay, Del Bates and Taff Andrews; PC and A started their f ;Mnu :i" maintenance cycle prior to an early October audit, under Sergeants Alan Strange and Sandy Short However, Private Scouse Smith's bronchial ague proved infectious and laid low most of PC and A by the end of the exercise and Private Barry Collins ended up on crutches—less of a cold and more of a badly sprained ankle in his case though! Back to Gutersloh to get fit, BET run on Mondays and Thursdays, sport on Wednesdays, the Ordnance Company boasting rugby, football, hockey, cross country and orienteering teams embarking on league programmes and hoping that some- one somewhere will invite them to enter for the respective DOS Cup Competitions, Tuesdays see us playing the local Gunners at six or seven a side rugby, football, hockey, basketball and, most successfully, cross country—look out, Dulmen! CSM Gerry Greenaway leaves us in November after a lengthy, extended tour. He has served here under three OCs and has seen many changes in his time. All those who have known him at Gutersloh will know what a tremendous job he has done for the Unit and wish him and his wife Pauline well at Blackdown. Our thanks to them both for all their hard work over the years. A welcome to our new arrivals who are Captain Hewlett, Second Lieutenant Inions, Sergeant Witnall, Corporal Bennett, Lance Corporals King, Baker, McGee, McDermott ACC and Privates Hodgson, Porter and Taylor, Blast, there goes the 'phone. r ot STORES PLATOON 71 AIRCRAFT WORKSHOP SINCE our last contribution the summer has passed and we are now into autumn. We are not sure which afternoon summer was, but a few rain free days have been recorded at DetmolcL Still, it's all sunshine for the Platoon football team under the determined managership of Lance Corporal AJex Crawford. Thank goodness he didn*t leave us for the Scottish team post as was at first feared. Notable successes were the three to two defeat of 4 Armoured Division Ordnance Company, the four to three victory over 4 Armoured Workshop and also 9 Regiment A AC by three goals to one. The undoubted highlight was the nine to three annihilation of 71 Aircraft Workshop Sergeants Mess team, which is no mean feat considering they are the recent winners of the 1 BR Corps Sunday Sergeants Mess league. The exercise season is upon us once again, Sergeant Frank O'Brien, Corporal Ray Bailie and Private Dave Lee have just returned mud splattered and travel weary from two weeks in the American Zone in support of 712 Aircraft Maintenance Group. Sergeant Mike McPhee is to be congratulated on passing his 4-72 ADP Supply Managers course, also Corporal Dave Middle ton, Lance Corporal Geoff Johnson and Private Nev Stewart, who have just successfully returned from a 4-72 ADP supply controllers course at RAF Hereford. The workload is still unrelenting and will undoubtedly in- crease as more Lynx helicopters become operational with our AAC Squadron dependencies. Their characteristic mechanical reverberations are becoming quite familiar here in Dermoid. Some people have their cars rustproofed as a means of keeping the * rustbug * at bay. Corporal Graham Whittington has however discovered an even better way; keep getting in- volved in motor accidents and T armed with a bolt-on concept car, it is quite easy to have a rebuild over a relatively short period of time. However, make sure you are not to blame, or it could prove a very expensive way! We were recently honoured by a visit from the DOS BAOR, Brigadier Crawley. His visit culminated in the presenta- tion of the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal to our OC, Captain Eric Pitchforth, to whom we extend our hearty con- gratulations. Congratulations are also due to Lance Corporal Middleton on his elevation to Acting Corporal and to Private Pete Finer on his Acting Lance Corporal. All comes to he who waits, and most junior ranks are eagerly awaiting the much expected Corps Order; that veritable scroll which always contains equal measures of hope and disappointment. The DOS BAOR, Brigadier Crawley, operating the RAF 4 - 7 2 System VDU console during a recent visit to the Stores Platoon 71 Aircraft Workshop—under the watchful eye of Captain Eric Pitchforth. We welcome to our ranks Corporal Phii Brennan from Donnington, Corporal Mike Danagher from Northern Ireland, Private Dave Lee from Bramley and Private Tony Worral from Bicester. We are sure they will soon get used to working under constant pressure! Goodbye to Sergeant Dave Kelly, who, on promotion, has left us to live down the road at 4 Armoured Division Ordnance Company. Perhaps if he ultimately attains his goal it will be redesignated the 4 Division Canoe Company! His undoubted expertise will be missed during our subsequent summer camps. RAOC in Cyprus f*— - ^ ^ , ^ ^ 1 1 W I \ ^1 / \ *^LrLfil__J \Bvlf~ijflj VJMn^HV SEPTEMBER and October saw the culmina- t on a num er * °^ ^ °f military and sporting activities. Amongst those of most interest were assistance to UNIFIL which became established on a regular basis, our annual camp at Akamas at which we were joined by ^ ^ M ^ S F a number of very enthusiastic RAOC TAVR ^^E^F who entered into the spirit of the occasion ^ ^ ^ splendidly, and the gruelling Cyprus Walk- ^ about which took competitors some seventy miles from the southern coast of the island to the Troodos Mountains and back in far less than the twenty four hours per- mitted. The latter, reported in more detail in this newsletter, provided elation and disappointment for us. Elation because Major Trevor Seabrook as part of an Episkopi Hash House Harrier's veteran team came an astonishing third in this punish- ing event, and disappointment because the RAOC 'A' Team of three failed to achieve an almost certain second place to the winning 3rd Royal Anglian team due to a run of remarkable bad luck. As it was Sergeant Don Pearson and Corporal Dave Franklin achieved the second fastest time of little over fifteen and a half hours, but no prizes. RAOC DHEKELIA. Events in the Supply Depot have con- tinued to revolve around the task of supplying UNIFIL. Some interesting facts have emerged as a result of this new role, one 221 — |
| Book number | R0247 |