RAOC Gazette - page 30
Image details
| Corps | RAOC |
|---|---|
| Material type | Journals |
| Book page | |
| Chapter head | |
| Chapter key | |
| Chapter number | |
| Full title | RAOC Gazette |
| Page number | |
| Publication date | 1981 |
| Real page | |
| Colour | Yes |
| Grey | No |
| Early date | 1981 |
| Late date | 1981 |
| Transcription |
mentioning Hessay we must say a final farewell to our favourite entrepreneur, Captain Jim Bridle. Thanks for being a sport Jim and all the best at Bicester. (PS, Sorry AG9 caught up with you!) LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (Continued from page 259.) Regional D e p o t , T h a t c h a m SINCE our last newsletter—some eighteen months ago—there are a number of changes, particularly amongst the service officers, arrivals being: Lieutenant Colonel John Janes, Commanding Officer; Squadron Leader Bill Tootell, Senior Stores Officer; Major Noel Turner, OIC Returned Stores Group; Major Eric Foster, OIC Provision Control and Accounts still continues to serve at Thatcham being our continuity link for at least another two years. Lieutenant Colonel Janes and Squadron Leader Toofell meeting General Sir Timothy Creasey on a visit to Thatcham. There is one change in our management team amongst our civilian colleagues, this being Mr Bill Fleming (SOG ' B '), OIC Depot Services, whom we welcome from CAD Longtown. Much change has been made since our last newsletter, having surpassed the policies of ' Fair Value,' accepting the loan pool workload of OSUs Ashford, Colchester, Coypool, Liphook and TMP Taunton, the transmission was reasonably smooth, once again due to the loyalty of civilian staff. Fair value is now some- thing of the past, the tendency being to make further savings by refinement of our procedures—line managers actively in- volved in the study of our Steam Provision/Accounting to some form of mechanisation. Early in the year, the Army Fire Brigade disbanded at Thatcham, now supported by the civilian Brigade at Newbury. Our last Fire Officer being Mr Colin Sykes FSOIII who is now serving with Ordnance Depot, Kinegar. Other changes in personalities during the year were a number of retirements amongst our long established civilians, these being Mr Norman Preston after thirty four years service, also Mrs Doris Eland and Mrs Sheila Finnigan the latter now having emigrated to Australia. These men, myself included, were surrounded and ambushed at the entrance to the house called ' Overbays * which over- looked Repulse Bay. Some of us got into ' Overbays ' some were killed or died of wounds. Those in ' Overbays' kept the Japanese off all night and the next day during which time more men were killed and wounded. It was decided to make another breakout to the Repulse Bay Hotel, also under attack, so we left as darkness fell but were surrounded opposite the Repulse Bay Garages. I was. "one of the few who got away, the rest were killed or captured. To the left of the entrance road to the Ridge was a ledge some feet above the road, alone I watched about two hundred Japanese cavalry travelling directly underneath me on the road heading to Repulse Bay or Stanley. This was about the 26th of December 1941. I crawled through a storm water pipe that ran under the road and dropped out on the other side. Below going down the hill I eventually found a stream—all water had been cut off for days when the Japs had captured the reservoirs. I had gone without food and water for several days and was badly dehydrated almost to a point of suffering from delusions : finding water soon cleared up this condition, but having found a supply, I found I was very loath to leave it. To the right of me and to the left of Wong Nei Chong Gap Road the Japs had captured some sailors when they ran out of ammunition. They were taken out of the house but one sailor (Slim Matteson) dived over a cliff finishing at the bottom with a broken shoulder. Slim hid out in a cave and fed from tinned food he found in the haversacks of the dead that littered the hill- side. He was captured thirty one days later; he was accused of being a spy and very badly beaten up and arrived at Shamshuipo POW Camp more dead than alive. He was in Amagasaki Prison Camp with me and survived the war. I was finally captured six days after the surrender and sent to Shamshuipo and finally Hiroshima Camp No. 3, Tomano, in Japan. Colonel Tanaka commanding the Japanese was said to have recorded in his War Diary that he remained for three complete days on a hill west of Repulse Bay Hotel and admitted to very heavy losses due to the gallant action of Colonel MacPhersons administrative troops. General Maltby paid tribute " to the very gallant fighting qualities displayed by the administrative details of the Ridge under Lieutenant Colonel MacPherson." I do hope you can help, some of the residents who were there in 1941 may have some old photographs of the subjects I mention that can be copied. I will gladly pay for any expense incurred. J. HART, 106 Merridale Court, Wolverhampton. 33 Central Workshop STORES SECTION SINCE reading the notes in the July edition that we are a strong band of merry men and women serving in the Robin Hood Country we decided that it was time again to give you a few up to date notes on the happenings in our Stores Section. The merry band however, have been without John Lattimer, Janet Rawle, Betty Goodband, Tony Marchant and Joan Evans who have all been away attending courses at COD Bicester and Chilwell. On the casualty side we have had Maureen Hoskins and Diane Hubbard in hospital. They have now returned and the Storehouse is back to full strength. The ladies in the Control and Account office, who are Joan King, Pam Willis, Linda Brown, Maureen Forbes, Julia Mans- field; and Olive Woolhead have all managed to keep up to date with the increase in paper work caused by the Moratorium restrictions on spending which have been with us for several months. On this note we close our notes for 1980 and wish you all a happy and successful 1981. — 269 — Mr. VJ4- " Himmeir Ze British are using horse artillery!" |
| Book number | R0404a |