RAOC Gazette - page 217
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 |
STORES SECTION 50 COMMAND WORKSHOP. Since our last article was published in Tin; GAZP.TTI; quite a lot has hap- pened within the Unit. First of all congratulations to W02 Kevin Ashworlh on the recent presentation of his Long Service and Good Conduct Medal and also for representing British Forces Hong Kong at cricket. Congratulations also go to Corporal Derek (Tnff) Cooling and his wife Pauline on the birth of their son Iwnn Rhys. Tnlf has also been making a name for himself in the sporting worltl by representing British Forces Hong Kong at rugby, and is soon to tour Korea for ten days with the Tigers Rugby Club. We would like to say a belated farewell to StafT Sergeant Pete Birchall who has left us for CAD Kincton and lo Sergeant Bob Sacrc who should have by now settled into his new job at Headquarters RAOC 4th Armoured Division. Finally welcome to Staff Sergeant Taff Morgan and family and Corporal Charlie Wclbourn and family, may their lours with the Unit be enjoyable ones. STAMPE COLLECTION (Continued from pane 3%) stop was I^i Flcchc—two earth runways cut out of Ihc pine forest. Here we were served with petrol by a retired French- Canadian Mountic. (I always thought that French Canadian* slit the throats of Englishmen before they spoke to them but this was very friendly). On from La Flcchc to Alcncon. Once again the deserted airfield. French lunch times arc obviously very long and very important. Here wc found no one to give us fuel. By this time wc were not quite so concerned with the niceties of social behaviour and my shoes went on the restaurant radiator and my bare feet went on after them. Following Ihc previous nights' efforts I had discovered an- other thing about France this day. All French lavatories arc meant to be purely ornamental—those accessories which might render them functional arc never there. From Alcncon wc still had enough fuel to reach Bcrnay. Again the deserted airfield; again a search to find someone to give us fuel, but this accomplished, wc then took off on the next leg to Rouen. By the time Rouen was in sight, the sun was getting low and it was expedient to stop for the night. Wc had covered a lot of ground that day. After wc had put the aircraft in a hangar a fat man emerged from the tower with a mouthful of stainless steel teeth. By now I was develop- ing an instinct for the troubles that would beset us and I had a nasty feeling that this was the next. Stccl-tccth started off in a friendly manner, noticing that the aeroplane had a French registration and that wc were British, and where were we taking it? The next question was not quite so friendly, May I see your licence? He then pointed out very carefully that to fly a French registered aeroplane in France one needed a French licence, or at least an endorsement on a British licence. 1 knew Stccl-tccth was going to be trouble! Then he shrugged and said that he didn't care, but with evident glee he announced that we were going to have great difficulties at Le TouqueL Steel-teeth had been a false alarm. Nevertheless I felt sure that wc could not escape from Rouen that easily. That night, 1 inspected the hotel basin in Rouen. The next morning there was a ground mist which the Met Office assured us would clear as the day wore on. We sat and watched the ground mist develop into a fog. We watched the hangars disappear and the bus disappear and the garage disappear and for a day we watched the fog. This meant a second night in Rouen. On Wednesday morning the weather was a little better, we thought we would take off and have a look at it and indeed it proved possible to fly round the snow and under the rubbish and land at Dieppe, there to telephone Le Touquet, (being non radio) and get clearance to land. At Le Touquet, I anticipated the major problem of the whole exercise—the clear- ing of the French customs. I was sure they would ask for the export licence for war material, but as it happened the repeated enquiries which had been made between May and November must have bored them so much that they were very little interested in us. The threat uttered by Steel-teeth in Rouen was still in our minds and before we took off, a very friendly man approached us, sat down and wanted to talk about the aeroplane. He, ovcr-politely asked if we minded whether he looked at its documents, and then the licences, and one anticipated the next problem. Jerry hurriedly pointed out to him that although it was a French aeroplane, it was British owned, it was insured in Britain and it was being flown to Britain permanently. The aspect of the insurance appeared to carry some weight and he departed in as friendly manner as he had arrived but there was something far too smooth about this man and we both agreed later than he reeked of the steel hand in a velvet thing. From Le Touquet we set off for Cap Griz Nez and the leg across the channel. The channel looked particularly cold. It was extraordinary how the engine note began to rise and fall over the water. Another curious phenomenon appeared in that little flight. Although we steered a constant heading, something took us in a zig-zag course from ship to ship— funny things isogonals! Force Ordnance Company Belize THIS month we have undergone a twenty four hour airhead defence exercise, ' Mayan Trial.' Our contact with the enemy can only be described as brief and intermittent. Rumour has it that they got lost and had to be tracked down by helicopters. Never-the-less valuable lessons were learnt and Sergeant Dave Anson now knows which stand-to positions to avoid in the future. It is funny how messages sometimes just do not reach the end of the line. The latest news of our ' water babies' and the unit boat, ' St Barbara,' is not good. She is now back in dry dock again with a faulty water pump after two or three weeks of fairly satisfactory operation. One of the newer helmsmen, Lance Corporal Angus McGregor, disclaims any responsibility and FOWO has washed his hands of the whole affair. Meanwhile on the sports field Stores Platoon have taken a hammering losing convincingly at rugby and again by a narrower margin at cricket. In an attempt to regain prestige they challenged the Combat Supplies Platoon to a cross country competition which they narrowly won. Buoyed up by this success they moved the venue indoors for a games night only to receive another pasting. The Combat Supplies Platoon now eagerly await their next challenge. As usual the list of arrivals and departures is long. We are particularly sad to say farewell to Staff Sergeant Joe Doignie who has been detached to us from 52 Company RAOC(V). At his farewell party he was presented with a replacement ' Hurry U p ' stick fashioned from local wood. The original stick had taken a battering on the heads of many unlucky supply specialists. We also say farewell to Sergeant Ritchie, Corporal Foord, Lance Corporals Skinner and Clegg and to our new arrivals Sergeants Anson, Maye, McGill, Lance Corporals Mc- Gregor, Fenny, Stott and Private Horan, we say welcome. Presentation of a plaque by Staff Sergeant Doignie of 52 Company RAOC(V) to the Sergeants Mess, British Forces Belize. Colin Smith receives the plaque. CSM (Continued on page 424) — 422 — |
| Book number | R0404a |