RAOC Gazette - page 181
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 |
present in Sweden teaching English; and the eldest son, Graham, is Manager of the Job Centre in Aylesbury. He plans to settle in the West Midlands and I am sure that the large number of friends he and Tony have made during their many years with the Corps will join me in wishing them a long and happy future in their retirement. J. B. &ctorb RETIREMENT OF B R I G A D I E R M . J. S H O R T , C B E , RETIREMENT B R I G A D I E R D . F. A. ADC MIKE SHORT was born in East Sheen, London, on 26th March 1926. He was educated at Emmanuel School, Wandsworth, and started his Army career with the Royal Armoured Corps in 1943 at the age of seventeen years. He was commissioned in 1945 and served with the Reconnaissance Corps and the Royal Tank Regiment before being transferred to the Royal Army Ordnance Corps in 1953, since when he has held a variety of important Army appointments throughout the world, including India, Singapore, Malaysia and the British Army of the Rhine. He attended the Army School of Ammunition in 1956 qualifying as an Ammunition Technical Officer and later at- tended the 1963 Industrial Management Course at Manchester University. OF COWDRY DENZIL COWDRY was born in Southampton on 2nd March 1928. He started his service career on commissioning into the Royal Navy in December 1948 and subsequently transferred'to a Regular Commission in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps in June 1952. Following a tour with the RAOC Boys School he qualified as an Ammunition Technical Officer and was posted to Japan where he helped to close-down after the Korean War. When the last round of ammunition was cleared he went on to Malaya as Staff Captain, 28 Commonwealth Brigade, where his work included the disposal of terrorist devices. Next came a tour at COD Donnington in Work Study, followed by selection for the Technical Staff Course. The course at Royal Military College of Science settled his interest in the technology of military weapons which was en- larged during his first Weapons Staff appointment as GS02 Trials and War Games, Defence Operational Analysis Establish- ment Interest notwithstanding, the wider requirements of his career led him next to the command of 7 Ordnance Field Park in Germany. After the camouflage nets and assault courses of BAOR a posting to the Quality Assurance Directorate (Weapons), Woolwich involved him in much pleasurable travel over the purchase of foreign ammunition. In 1970 he took up a Lieutenant Colonel's appointment as Principal Quality Engineer (Weapons), Scotland and Northern England; after which he returned to the Directing Staff at Shrivenham to teach Equipment Management He moved in September 1974, as a Colonel, to the appoint- ment of Principal Ammunition Technical Officer (Systems) at Headquarters CILSA and again in February 1975 to the MOD Management Review Team, to study the interface between MOD and the Defence Contractors. From September 1976 to Sep- tember 1977, as A AG AG9, he was responsible for RAOC officer postings until he returned to Didcot as Director of Land Service Ammunition, an appointment he held until taking up his final task as DDGOS at Andover in May 1980. The Army, as well as the Corps, has much to thank him particularly in the ammunition field, for his penetrating and tireless efforts in the pursuit of greater efficiency and mutual understanding of problems technical logistic and we are delighted that he has now directed his energy into NATO and Eurogroup Logistics and look forward to his continued, support in this field. Denzil and Fay Cowdry who have established their home in Woodbridge, Suffolk, have two children, both now grown up. The family interests include sailing, shooting, gardening, occasional bridge and walks in the country. The Brigadier also persevered as an undergraduate of the Open University until successfully obtaining a BA degree in 1980. J. B. Brigadier M. J. Short, CBE, ADC. Over the years he has had many important posts in the Corps varying from instructor at the School of Ordnance, DADOS appointments, OC OFP, Senior Ammunition Officer in a CAD, CRAOC and Chief Programmer in the early and eventful days of the Central Inventory Control Point at Bicester. His more recent appointments include:—Commandant of 15 BOD BAOR 1974/75; Controller of CICP Bicester 1975/76; Commandant COD Donnington and Garrison Commander 1976/78. In November 1978 he assumed command of the RAOC Training Centre Deepcut, and in December 1978 was appointed Aide-de-Camp to the Queen. In June of the same year, he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the Queens Birthday Honours List. Throughout his wide and varied career he has contributed much to the success of our Corps and his experience and wise counsel will be missed by many. Michael and Tony Short have three sons, Alastair, currently serving with the West Mercian Constabulary; Nicholas, at NEW MORTAR THE British Army's oldest infantry weapon is about to be replaced by one that is more accurate and more powerful. In use since the 1930s, the old two-inch mortar is giving way to the metric-measurement fifty one millimetre man-port- able mortar that will be used by all British Army rifle platoons, Royal Marines Commandos, and the RAF Regiment. Two thousand are on order from a Royal Ordnance Factory and the first will be introduced into service at the beginning of next year. All units will be re-equipped by the end of 1984. Characteristics of the new weapon are that it can: Provide smoke screens quickly and accurately, bring down fast accurate and lethal fire in front of the platoon, provide illumination out to the normal fighting range of anti-tank weapons, be used for indirect fire and overlap in range with medium mortars. The fifty one millimetre mortar is about the same length and weight as the two-inch, but differs in having an aiming sight (illuminated for night use), significantly more destructive power from its RDX/TNT filling, and twice the range with better accuracy. — 390 — |
| Book number | R0404a |