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RAOC Gazette - page 136

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Corps RAOC
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Full title RAOC Gazette
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Publication date 1969
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Early date 1969
Late date 1969
Transcription A HOME OF YOUR OWN—IS THIS YOUR PROBLEM?
WHY NOT LET ME ADVISE YOU. Expert advice can mean
a saving of many hundreds of pounds. I shall be pleased to
provide a plan which will ensure you a home, whether you wish
to buy now or in the future. All existing insurance utilised, THIS
IS MY SPECIALITY.' Consult me NOW for FREE advice.
Write or 'phone to: D. G. H, Gilmour (late RAOC), Wood-
lands, 35 The Broadway, Sandhurst, Camberley, Surrey—Tele:
Yateley 3020.
"
ALL OTHER TYPES , OF INSURANCE TRANSACTED—
SCHOOL FEE PLANS EITHER FOR THE FUTURE OR
FOR IMMEDIATE USE BUT WITH PAYMENTS SPREAD
OVER 10 YEARS—Kit policies at highly competitive rates—Car
insurance with the leading British companies.
LETTER5 to
the
EDITOR
THE LOST GENERATION
Dear Sir,—On page 323 of the February issue it is stated that
the Ordnance personnel sent from Hong K o n g ' t o Siberia in-
cluded Lieutenant Colonel C. J- T. Robertson. This was not so.
The Lieutenant Colonel was. in fact, T. A. (Tommy) Robert-
son, DCM (later awarded the OBE for his services), as will
be confirmed by photographs and documents now in the
Museum, most of which were presented by Lieutenant Colonel
G. C. H. Brooks, RAOC, whose father served in Hong Kong
and Siberia in the rank of Sub-Conductor.
Yours sincerely, W. H. J. GILLOW, Lt.-Colonel (Retd),
32, Allcroft Road, Reading, Berks.
MAJOR H. E. D. HARRIS SAYS', According to the account in
*A History of The Army Ordnance Services' by Major General
A t Forbes the initials of the Lieutenant Colonel
ROBERTSON
who was sent to Siberia from Hong Kong in 1918 were
*'C. J. 77 In the same paragraph of the account it says that the
strength of the Corps there eventually rose to five officers. The
other Robertson could well have been one of them.
EDITOR'S NOTE:
The only reference in the 'History'
to
T, A, ROBERTSON appears in the list of Honours and Awards
received in all the Great War theatres. It indicates that Major
7\ A. ROBERTSON, later Lieutenant Colonel, was awarded the
OBE but no details of service are given.
THE NEW COVER
#
Dear Editor,—I do like the new GAZETTE coverl I remember
years ago we tried a new idea for it, on similar lines, but it so
quickly reverted to the old style—so keep up the good work
and give us the variety which is now suggested!
Yours sincerely, BETTY WILLIAMS,
Veryan House, Worton, Devizes, Wilts.
*
*
*
NEWSLETTERS
Dear Sir.—I think it is time we had a blitz on the appalling
standard of most of the Station news-letters appearing in our
GAZETTE,
Occasionally one is lucky enough to find one or
two that .are of value to a reader outside the unit concerned,
but most are written in the style adopted by my local news-
paper for a series "Around the Women's Institutes."
To take just one example from one of the worst offenders
in last month's edition. The lead paragraph begins In December
Brigadier . . . . . . visited the Depot and the programme was
a hectic one. He took luncheon in the Officers Mess where he
met the military and civilian Officers and, in the evening, was
guest at a cocktail party at which he met their ladies.
Now I don't know about you, but on reading this my im-
pression of the gallant Brigadier and the Depot concerned is a
distinctly uneasy one. Though I have no doubt there was a
hectic programme for all concerned, this is not the impression
the reader gets due to the appalling sense of news value dis-
played by the writer. This particular newsletter is even worse
in the second paragraph which continues The Christmas festivities
went well. The Officers and Sergeants held their separate parties
on the same evening . . . . . ' . "
So much for our valued image as a go-ahead Corps in
Britain's modern army. It is high time that these dreary news-
letters were scrapped and someone, with some sense of what
the real Corps news is, gave our journal a much needed face-
lift.
;
Yours sincerely,D. J.H. GRIFFITHS,Captain RAOC (V),
12, Dene Hollow, Drayton, Portsmouth, Hants.
DEAD-LINE DATE FOR RECEIPT OF COPY
WILL ALL contributors kindly note that the dead-
-
line date for receipt of copy at T H E GAZETTE
Office
really is the 29th of the month foi publication a
month later,
*
*
THE JOURNAL OF THE RAOC
Dear Sir,—In reference to John Cook's letter, under the above
heading, published in the February issue of T H E GAZETTE.
Whilst spending five months at Headquarters 20 Armoured
Brigade during 1968 I was amazed at the amount of handling
my copy of T H E GAZETTE received when placed in the Brigade
Officers Mess and at the number of questions subsequently fired
at me.
I agree with John Cook that to push a few copies out to
such establishments would give the Corps much more of .the
publicity it deserves and, of course, give the regiments more
knowledge about the Corps' overall tasks and its disposition
of units.
Yours faithfully, L. R. BALL. Major (Retd),
Tirso de Molina,- 14, La Linea. Cadiz, Spain.
*
*
*
INSTITUTE OF PURCHASING AND SUPPLY
Dear Sir,—I have been going to write to you for some time
regarding the letter from Major John Littlewood in the December
GAZETTE reporting the Annual Conference of the Institute of
Purchasing and Supply. It was indeed a splendid conference
but I was surprised that so few of the one hundred and fifty
members from the RAOC were present at Scarborough. Many,
of course, are overseas, especially those of the Cyprus branch.
I must echo the sentiments that John expressed that we, in
the RAOC, can, and in fact do, contribute to the running of this
very worthy professional Institute.
In addition to Military
Officers, one of my Civil Service colleagues is a member of
the Council, and -the chairman of one of the main committees
is an Army Department civil servant.
Brigadier Allen was
the principal guest speaker at the opening dinner of the Birming-
ham Branch and many other officers have given, or will be
giving papers at various branch meetings.
The main event in the Institute's course year is the Biennial
Advanced Symposium held at Churchill College, Cambridge,
in March. At that Symposium Brigadier Persson gave a lecture
on Central Government Procurement.
Ex-members of the RAOC are equally staunch in their sup-
port;—the Chairman of the Birmingham Branch is an ex-Major
as is a Past-President, whilst the current President, K. W.
Vincent, is a former Lieutenant Colonel. I am sure that there
must be many more.
To ensure high standards, the Institute's examiner in Store-
keeping is a RAOC Officer and one of the Treatise Assessors
is ex-RAOC. Membership is not easy to gain but is very worth-
while as it does provoke thoughts on one's profession in almost
every conceivable facet.
Yours faithfully, J. D. BROOKSBANK, Major (Retd),
50, Windy Arbour, Kenilworth, Warwickshire.
393 —
Book number R0238a