RAOC Gazette - page 59
Image details
| Corps | RAOC |
|---|---|
| Material type | Journals |
| Book page | |
| Chapter head | |
| Chapter key | |
| Chapter number | |
| Full title | RAOC Gazette |
| Page number | |
| Publication date | 1980 |
| Real page | |
| Colour | Yes |
| Grey | No |
| Early date | 1980 |
| Late date | 1980 |
| Transcription |
poofe &eiritto ON CYPRUS 'After a spasm of terrorist activity the security forces began to assume control. Immediately Sir John Harding was replaced by a worthy, civilian social engineer.' A SHORT HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY ORDNANCE COPRS By ON SINGAPORE ' Early in the Borneo confrontation Singapore was suffering from the elephantiasis which always afflicts large operational bases at the end of their useful life. They become a home of culture and rest for over-inflated staffs playing the staff game of avoiding decisions, endless processing and minute writing, and eventually capitulating to Civil Service rule. However, the RAOC is always as busy as ever dealing with the run down, disposing of surplus stores and generally tidying up.' ON THE FORMATION OF REME BRIGADIER A. H. FERNYHOUGH, CBE, MC IT will be good news to those familiar with Brigadier Alan Fernyhough's earlier works on Corps History that this new edition of the Short History is now available. To quote from his Preface: — The Short History of the RAOC published in 1965 is now out of print. It was decided that a new edition would extend the period covered from 1945 to the end of 1977 . . . . the extension 1945 to 1977 is not a summary of an existing book to which references can be made for more details of any particular event. It has therefore been necessary to cover the subject in greater depth while keeping the chapters reasonably short. This particularly applies to the ammunition organisation, much affected by technical developments since the war and by the im- pact of terrorism on the task of the RAOC // must be stressed that history is an account of the behaviour of people and their reactions to events at a particular time and place in the past. Readers need to know the en- thusiasm and frustrations felt at the time, and this is impossible unless the author is free to comment. Historical writing can rarely if ever be objective. This particularly applies to the history of Corps and Regiments. In this history, events are seen through the eyes of the RAOC. Comments and criticisms are bound to be subjective which is not to say that they are invalid or unfair. So from the very start the appetite is whetted: further reading does not disappoint! The early chapters remain much as those in the 1965 edition but thereafter his new chapters, taking up half the book, are entirely fresh material. They sum- marise the entire spectrum of RAOC activities since 1945 and cover both the factual aspects of RAOC history and the wider political issues world wide which led to the present systems of logistic support. What makes this history such compulsive reading is that one never knows when to expect the next ' Ferny-ism '—a mixture of wise comment, vigorous conclusion and pungent wit, all expresed one hardly needs to add in faultless prose. It is impossible to resist some quotations: ' Between the two world wars it was realised in the Army that mechanization and the increasing complexity of modem equipment indicated the need for a separate Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. This was not possible in the 1930s because Great Britain was suffering from one of her periodic bouts of pernicious anaemia in defence—the symptoms being disarmament in the face of vigorous rearmament on the part of the enemy. Although the disease was nearly lethal it seems to be incurable. Only the name has changed. In the 1930s it was called 'Appeasement.' Now it is called ' Detente,' a French expression meaning abject surrender. So REME was not formed until 1942 but the process was well thought out.' ON LE(A) 'An opportunity was provided to sort out the post-Nye confusion and take a fresh look at the whole Army Logistic System. The task was given to Major General R. M. Somerville who came up with the Logistic Executive (Army). This is an ingenious development which has great merits, but its future success depends on appreciating historical lessons or all the work will be wasted.' It will not be Brigadier Fernyhough's fault if the historical lessons are ignored. From these extracts it will be readily observed that his ' natural force has not abated.' He has always proved a master of under-statement so I too shall conclude this review by saying that the new Short History is ' highly recom- mended reading' for all ranks of the RAOC. A. B. C. (Brigadier Fernyhough's new edition of the Short History of the Corps is available from the RAOC Secretariat, Deepcut, at the price of £2, including postage and packing. Cheques should be crossed and made payable to 'The RAOC Officers Mess Reserve Fund.') W H Y NOT WRITE FOR THE GAZETTE ? ON SENIOR OFFICERS ' Some senior officers did not accept or even recognise the challenge but were content to soldier on until overtaken by retirement or death. It was not always easy to see which came first and this led to the subversive recommendation by a younger and still energetic officer that the RAOC and British Rail should amalgamate, as being the largest passenger-carrying organisations in the country!' ON BAOR ' It was now obvious to the meanest intellect, and there were several of these about, that the Base Depots were in the wrong place.' ON ANTWERP ' To guarantee failure it was ruled that Antwerp was not to be an issuing depot. The stocks were to be ' In Mothball.' It was not explained how an organisation run and manned as a museum could suddenly spring to life carrying a heavy operational issue load ' — 278 — THE EDITOR welcomes new contributors, it is your Journal so why not contribute to it? Articles on any subject will be welcomed: sport, adventure, work, experience, humour, fiction—even fantasy. While articles of any length will be considered, the ideal is in the region of 2,000 words. Scripts should be double-spaced type written, though manuscript will be accepted. Pictures should preferably, be black and white but colour prints will do—some slight loss of quality occurs. A reasonable level of controversy is the life-blood of any Journal—it promotes thought and discussion. Security however, is always a consideration and, though the ultimate responsibility rests with the Editor, it should be borne in mind when touching upon possible sensitive subjects. As THE GAZETTE is principally a magazine the purely technical article should be avoided, though no hard and fast boundary exists. Why not use THE GAZETTE if you have previously written for publication, why not try your hand if you have not. |
| Book number | R0403a |