RAOC Gazette - page 81
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 |
Royai Brunei Malay Regiment vQv SINCE our last newsletter we have wel- ^TjgJ^^ corned to the Regiment W01 Andrew W S ^ r } Meachen from BAOR and W02 Derek Jggpggjy Pickford from Didcot. Both WOs are now >*^Srt€p%\ learning Malay at the Training Centre. We /wjC*Sl& <s\ wish them and their families an enjoyable A W C N V S ^ D S J J I tour in Brunei. UW J ^ " 7 T ^ 2 HH ^ e w e r e r e c e n t ' y visited by the In- WKSSK^ J I'C&aj/J spector, Colonel Lloyd-Jones and the SOO xwx^EaeE^^lj' Hong Kong, Lieutenant Colonel Fox. They N§2Jii5££/^ met all RAOC Loan Service Personnel ^^*§2y^ serving with RBMR. A splendid dinner was held in the Grill Room, Bandar Seri Begawan to coincide with the visit and this was followed later with drinks in the Sergeants Mess to round off the evening. Heavy rain in Brunei caused havoc with our programme but fortunately our guests managed to find the Grill Room in time. Both gentlemen seemed to enjoy their stop-over here and we look forward to seeing the SOO Hong Kong next year. job'! Whilst Staff Sergeant Graham Manders was trying to stay on three legs! Matty and Staff Sergeant Ben Carr came down to give their vocal support. Staff Sergeant Ben Carr our Garrison Sergeants Mess PMC, has done a wonderful job with the many functions that took place over the holiday period. Thank you Ben. W02 Chris Hadfield and all the ASU Staff also put on one of the most enjoyable functions over the period. Sergeant Alan Owen now works in the afternoons tap; tap, knock, knock ow! my fingers—packing his MFO boxes. Whilst Edna at home has to sit on MFO boxes and rubberized hair. The Kukris have come down with a bang after their first defeat in the league by Panga nineteen points to four; Al- though at the other matches they had runaway scores of over fifty each time. Mr Menon and Mr Phillips our BIAs put on a superb Indian Christmas spread which was attended by the RAOC Personnel. Congratulations to Staff Sergeant Graham Manders being selected to represent the State of Brunei against Sabah and Sarawak in the Borneo Cup. HIMALAYAN HIGHBALL (Continued from page 289) Seated left to right: W O I Talakuli, W O l McKechnie ( R A F ) , Major M . F. Stewart, Colonel J . Lloyd-Jones, Lieutenant Colonel B. R, Fox, W O l Howell, W O l Braithwaite. Standing left to right: W O l Nanovo, W 2 Pickford, W 2 Harrison (R. Signals), W 2 Irvine, W 2 Hendly, W 2 Lightfoot. Congratulations to WOsl Talakuli, Emerson and Nanovo on substantive promotions. We also congratulate WOl Steve Emerson on being selected for SRC in 1980. WOl Appi Nanovo is currently receiving treatment on an old rugby injury but this has not prevented him and W02 Dennis Irvine in organising the Regimental and State seven-a-side rugby tournament which were held at Berakas Camp. The Kukris from Seria Garrison won the State Cup and 2 RBMR were runners-up. In both competitions excellent rugby was played and it was heartening to see many Malays taking up the game. Both our Ammunition Technicians managed holidays in Hong Kong recently. The visit must have been good because Graham Lightfoot is organising a visit to Ammunition Depot Hong Kong for the Brunei Soldiers employed in our Ammuni- tion Depot here. WOl Appi Nanovo took a party of Brunei WOs/SNCOs for a familiarisation visit to Composite Ordnance Depot Hong Kong; the visit was very popular and we thank Composite Ordnance Depot Hong Kong for accommodating our men and giving our Soldiers their valuable time. To all ex-members of RBMR we wish a Happy New Year. Headquarters Brunei Garrison WE have recently entertained the LOA review team giving them our hard luck stories. This was followed by our first RAOC Dinner at the Orchid Rooms attended by RAOC person- nel, their respective staffs and wives. Our Boxing Day fancy dress rugby match was a success, with the ladies winning for the second year running. Our last years medic Nina Hadfield—in uniform this time, came on with the beer whilst W02 Chris Hadfield was looking after our bar. What a great job he's doing. Molly and Major ' Basher' Boucher were our referees with spare balls and handbags! Laura Manders was up to no good with her sauce pan ' knee capping his hands to inspect these white magic flakes for the first time in his life. The clouds were down and the snow was falling fast when we reached Namche, so we decided to find a place for the night. I was told about the International Foot Rest, a local hostel in the centre of the village and this was where we found shelter from the storm. With hot chocolate and a good meal inside us we bedded down for the night next to a large stove. When morning came the snow had stopped and the sun shone. Although still cold it was going to be a good day for walking. We walked for about an hour up to the path which leads round to the valley where you can photograph Mount Everest. It makes one feel very small and alone to stand in the middle of mountains which tower some twenty thousand feet above. Wc had a great day, four people just walking and talking in the greatest mountains in the world. At the end of the afternoon we returned to the hostel to sleep. We decided to return to Lukla the following day and prepare for the return flight to Kathmandu. Whide packing our kit the next morning and preparing for the walk back to Base we had good news. Lieutenant Molyneux walked into our hostel with some other members of the team. He had recovered quickly in hospital and flown from Kathmandu to join the expedition for its last few days. It took only five hours to walk back from Namche to Lukla and we arrived for the evening meal. The Boss had asked if we could fly out to Kathmandu in the next few days, and RANC had agreed if there were spare seats on the aircraft. As we sat around waiting for the 'plane to arrive in the morning we worked out what we had covered over the last three weeks in Nepal. We had done one hundred and eighty seven miles of walking and climbed sixty one thousand eight hundred feet to get a photograph of Mount Everest. To conclude I would like to say that you don't have to be a hard man to go into the mountains, but you will be a lot tougher, mentally and physically, when you come out. In my eyes mountaineering is a great way to bring out the best in soldiers; it shows you their leadership qualities and also proves to themselves how much they can endure. The best way to sum up this is to take the motto from British Outward Bound Centre Norway: When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going. — 298 — SEIVD IT TO THE GAZETTE A short article about events—places—people is always interesting particularly when accompanied by a photo- graph. Send it to THE GAZETTE. |
| Book number | R0403a |