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RAOC Gazette - page 114

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Transcription Dickie who successfully completed stringent tests to be awarded
the German Proficiency Badge by the commander of the German
battalion here.
We wish a speedy recovery to Sergeant Brian Rider who is
languishing in Wegberg Hospital with a back ailment. He is
quoted as saying that it was not caused through the effort he
put into his BFT, so that one wonders what he gets up to in
his spare time!!
We welcome W02 Ray Dewsnap, Staff Sergeants Andy
Gourley and Laurie Wardell, Sergeants Mick Hockham and
Phil James, Corporals Jim Shanks and Keith Davis.
Congratulations go to Corporals Graham Page and Dave
Tydeman on their recent marriages and we wish them and their
wives well.
Ammunition Inspectorate BAOR
THIS month's notes are mainly occupied with comings and
goings, those leaving being Captain Tony Jacques, Corporal
Mac MacDonald and Private Scouse Williams. (RAOC Man-
ning and Records must have decided to split up the Williams
Quartet after reading our last GAZETTE notes). The trio were
wined-out in good fashion in the Duck and Shovel, even before
replacements had arrived.
SATO has been out and about, now that he's found the
combination to the ball and chain in his office there is no holding
him. A brief visit to Hildesheim ammunition compound in sub
zero temperatures was rewarded by promises of a superb Bratty-
stall stopover on the road through Hameln. Unfortunately the
Rat Catcher must have beaten us to it, the Schnell Imbiss had
been towed away.
Captain Andy Williams had similar troubles with Hameln
this month, just as the buffet was announced one Saturday
night, he was called away to a suspect cardboard box, and
returned to crisps and a cheese roll. (We would like to thank
the RMP for the well timed call, the DM20 is in the post).
Newcomer to the Unit is Private Paul Thomas, all pink-
faced and keen from The Factory at Blackdown. Once he
gets used to humping beer upstairs to the club, we hope he'll
have as good a tour as his predecessor Scouse.
Absentee of the month is WOl Dave Young, taking it
easy on a Pre-Operations course at the School of Ammunition
before going to Northern Ireland, again!
BFT reared its ugly head in January. With a superhuman
effort, beer-and-Christmas-pud-infested bodies hurtled round
Herford led by SATO in his seven league boots. A creditable
pass rate was achieved with no cardiac arrests reported, we are
saving those for the DLSA Specialist Inspection next month!
4 Petroleum Depot
FIRSTLY we would like to welcome Mrs Chapman to BAOR
and wish her a pleasant stay in Munster.
A lot went on at 4 Petroleum Depot in the way of Christ-
mas functions.
First the Unit Christmas draw, when members of the
Unit took pleasure in a few drops of the hard stuff, plus an
excellent buffet which was provided by Herr Swill (W02
Hayward AAC) and his well qualified staff.
Secondly the Children's Christmas Party went well, as this
was a bilingual effort Santa arrived dressed as St Nicolas and
after a few mix-ups with names St Santa (Sergeant Frank
Jasper) managed to get through seventy kids with only one kiss,
two kicks and several belts of abuse.
The Depot Christmas dinner was the main event for the
actual Depot Staff. Everyone who works within the perimeter
fence sat down to a turkey and pork lunch. Wine was dis-
tributed freely, as was beer.
At one stage an owl was produced before the meal, but to
dispel rumours it was turkey on the plates.
One of the famous labourers had a little too much of the
Christmas spirit but was well looked after by our para-firemen
who discreetly took him away to enjoy a rest.
The OC gave his Christmas message to all workers, which
included Turks, Greeks, Portuguese, Germans, Polish, Afghans,
Ethiopians, Scots, Welsh and English.
Arrivals: Sergeant Jim Botterill, Lance Corporals Kerr and
Bentley.
Departures: Sergeant Jim Baker.
1 5 Ordnance Croup
HEADQUARTERS
15 ORDNANCE GROUP was well represented at the traditional
New Year's reception given by the town of Viersen for local
dignitaries, which was held in the Viersen Festhalle in January.
The picture shows from left to right, Herr W. Puetzschler MBE,
Civil Labour Manager, Lieutenant Colonel J. A. S. Rees, Com-
manding Officer Ordnance Depot Viersen, Brigadier General
L. J. Christian, Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the
German Territorial Nothern Command, Colonel E. R. Edwards,
Commander 15 Ordnance Group and Lieutenant Colonel J. F.
Shircliff, Controller of the Inventory Control Point.
Ordnance Depot Antwerp
THINGS have been slow to get moving on the sporting front;
the only rugby match has been between a team drawn from the
Officers and Sergeants Messes against a team of junior ranks
(the latter having challenged their elders). Fortunately for this
scribe, who wrote somewhat scathingly last month about the
Unit team being over-dependant on the efforts of a few of the
oldies, the junior ranks were beaten twenty seven to eighteen!
The hockey team won their only game of the month,
against a local Belgian side, but the soccer team went down
(again!) in their only outing so far this year.
One Friday afternoon recently most of the non-gladiators
took their chances at basketball in an inter-department basket-
ball competition. After a somewhat shaky start the typewriter-
tappers from Headquarters ODA, including the CO and Ad-
jutant, made their way into the final to beat a team from
Technical Administration by six points to four. Although the
standard of basketball wasn't going to threaten the future fame
of the Harlem Globe Trotters it certainly did produce some
really good laughs and some quite spectacular flukes (or were
they?).
Returned from their spells on Exercise Snow Queen have
come Lance Corporals ' Yogi' Footitt and Neill Houghton and
Private Tom Burgess. All seemed to enjoy themselves.
Congratulations to Lance Corporal Ken Lomax and his
wife on the birth of Glenn, and to Corporal and Mrs Tom
Plunkett on the birth of Thomas.
We welcome Corporals Horace Giles and family, Adrian
Walters and family, and Private Tom Ives.
(Regret your contribution arrived rather late.—Editor).
A t the reception in the Viersen Festhalle.
ORDNANCE DEPOT VIERSEN
IN Viersen, there is a German Children's Home, called the
Fanny Zahn Heim, which dedicates itself to the rehabilitation
of those unfortunate children who have been caught up in the
conflict of disturbed backgrounds. During the past thirteen
years our Unit has sponsored this deserving organisation, and
the Depot's staff have financed through voluntary contribution
a variety of useful articles, toys and dolls furniture for the
children's use, as well as a pony and trap.
This year it was decided that two woodwork benches would
be a practical and useful contribution in helping the children
to help themselves, and they were duly manufactured. This
month the finished work benches, completely fitted out with all
the accoutrements, were handed over by Lieutenant Colonel
Rees to the matron, Frau Doris Hoeft, in the presence of the
Commander, Colonel Edwards and other representatives of the
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Book number R0403a