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RAOC Gazette - page 123

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Full title RAOC Gazette
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Publication date 1980
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Early date 1980
Late date 1980
Transcription RAOC Berlin
OUR New Year resolution was to write more frequent news-
letters and to include news of RAOC personnel from all Units
in Berlin. We arc, therefore, re-tilling the newsletter to RAOC
Berlin.
After the praiseworthy efforts of Ordnance Services for the
successful Berlin Tattoo we held our heads high for our ARU.
The GOC, Major General Richardson carried out the in-
spection and he was evidently well pleased with the various
displays which were arranged for him and with the chance (o
meet so many of our military and civilian staff. The GOC
presented Sergeant Tom Lynch of the Vehicle Depot with the
Long Service and Good Conduct Medal during the inspection.
We also have cause to celebrate the award of the MBE to
Frau Use Utzing and the BEM to Hcrr ' Eckie' Hommclshcim.
Both rendered long and faithful service before their recent retire-
ment, Frau Utzing as Berlin Budget Supervisor and ' Eckic ' as a
driver, mostly for successive CRAOCs. The British Ambassador
is to present the awards when he visits Berlin.
Other people in the news are Lance Corporal Bob Nairn
of Ordnance Services Orderly room fame who has got himself
engaged and Staff Sergeant Pete Hewitt of 14 Field Workshop
Stores Section who ran an eight mile leg of the REME ' round
the wall' run for charity. Such diverse pursuits our chaps
get involved in! Running also occupies Staff Sergeant Lennie
Rowland's thoughts these days—he is in the running for pro-
motion !
Over at 7 Flight AAC, Corporal Andy Crawford has pulled
some crackers and out has popped more spares for the Work-
shop. Two others who know about spares are WO I Pat
Moore and W02 Bob Allan who have recently been promoted.
Provisioning does have its compensations especially when you
reach PAF (Provision Advancement Factor).
Our spotlight this month falls on the Supply Depot. At
the helm, steering the food as it were, is Major John Ridding.
When he is not playing hockey, WO) Les Cheetham puts on
his Depot Superintendents cap and Staff Sergeant Harry (Volks-
lauf) Miller assists him. In the Butchery we meet WOl Ron
Moore who is shortly going to beef up Northern Ireland and
Sergeant Dennis Endean. Last but not least are Sergeant 'Eastie'
McGurk, Sergeant Dave Walsh and Corporal Pete King from
the Bakery.
Our personality of the month is Staff Sergeant Tom Mc-
Gurk. A furtive look at his Record of Service shows that he
has been to Greece, Denmark, Norway, Cyprus, France, Hong
Kong, BAOR and Berlin. Oh for the life of a baker! He has
also been to the East on detachment a few hundred times. His
wife Meg works with NAAFI.
We welcome to our fold Major ' K i p ' Gibson and say
farewell and thank you to Major Gordon McNicol who has
taken his Tattoo memories to MOD. Others to join Ordnance
Services are WOl Sam Weller, Sergeant Jim O'Bryan, Staff
Sergeant Roy Gill and Corporal Duggie Hill. Our cheerful
Scots postie Corporal Rick Martin has left us for more con-
ventional work at Dulmen who will also gain WOl Pat
Moore in March. WOl Pete Neale is planning to leave then
too. Captain Martin Tracy has forsaken Rations for an SAS
course and our thoughts are with him. Food for thought!
We are also doing a roaring trade in transfers and im-
pending transfers, thereby demonstrating the popularity of life
in the RAOC. The count so far is three in, one in the pipe-
line and three applications being processed.
Sua Tela Tonanti.
RAOC in Cyprus
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were v i s i t e d r e c e n t l y by C o l o n e l
Carruthers from the Manning and Records
Office and in a very hectic week he managed
to give his lecture four times and interview the
majority of RAOC soldiers. He also managed
to find time to present Long Service and Good
Conduct Medals to W02 Tony Collins and
Sergeant Mick Jarwood.
We have said farewell to Mr Harry Cooper
our Command Fire Adviser; we wish Harry
and his wife Shirley the best of luck in their new posting.
Annual Unit Inspections have kept us alert and currently
we are properly secure, medically competent, dentally firm,
educationally normal, perfectly hygienic, fired with brilliance
and correctly posted. This is in no small measure due to the
efforts of W02 Brian Bragger and Sergeant Tom Goodwin who
it is rumoured have had to buy a large number of drinks in
the Sergeants Mess recently.
— 328
W 2 Collins receiving his Long Service nnd Cood Conduct
Medal from Colonel Cnrruthcrs <it Akrotir! in Cyprus.
RAOC AT EP1SKOPI. It would be fitting to mention the highly |
competent civilian clement in the Headquarters. Their friendliness j
and glamour ensure that all visitors at least begin their requests j
with a smiling countenance. Mrs Lctti Seaton and Mrs June
Black look after our clerical tasks whilst Mrs Anita Simpson
and Mrs Sue Brakes make up the UK clement of the typing
pool. Our locally employed typists arc Beatrice, Androulla
and Stcfania. For the sake of brevity I will not attempt to
write their surnames.
Sergeant Dave Franklin is to be congratulated on his
selection for an assistant Instructors Course at the Royal Mili-
tary Academy Sandhurst. He has also been ' in the news'
recently when he was the first RAOC runner home in the
Cyprus Major Units Cross Country Race (Our team managed
a creditable seventh place). On New Year's Day he ran from
Troodos to Episkopi, some twenty miles and came in first. A
fine effort since he also experienced a temperature difference of
some sixty five degrees on the trip.
We have said farewell to WOl John Milne who has left us
for Colchester and civilian life. Wc welcome Mr Ron Jones,
the new Command Fire Adviser, and his family.
STORES AND VEHICLES AKROT1R1. In December, thirteen
RAOC personnel and five ladies took part in and completed,
a ' mini-walkabout' competition which is a senior orienteering
competition of seventeen miles minimum distance. The course
was set over some very rugged and hilly terrain and RAOC
teams took sixth, ninth, tenth, thirteenth and twenty eighth
places overall.
In January several members of the RAOC in Akrotiri
and some of the wives and children took part in the annual
' Round the Houses' race. This is a road race of about three
and a quarter miles and RAOC did very well. Out of one
hundred and ninety seven runners, Staff Sergeant Bob Burt was
first veteran (over forty), his daughter Paula was first lady
and Mrs Marjorie Franklin was the oldest competitor to com- :
plete the course (we understand that it was a very young field
this year)! The report on this event would not be complete \
without mention of the three RAOC soldiers (?)—Sergeant Ron
Marklcy, Corporals Pat Gordon and Stu Johnson—who turned
up and ran in ladies nighties, long Johns and DMS boots. All
good fun, but did they have to tell everyone that they were
RAOC!
The selections for the WSBA Army Rugby Squad have been
announced and congratulations go to Staff Sergeant Jack Leek,
Corporal Tom Mayoh and Lance Corporal Scouse Woodruff
on being selected.
We extend a warm welcome to Captain Brown who has
recently arrived from Donnington to assume the appointment
of OIC Stores Depot. It was thought that W02 Pete Rose
might be unhappy at being plain WOIC Stores again (as opposed
to acting OIC) but, with only two months to do here, he seems
to be taking it well! Other new arrivals to whom we extend an
equally warm welcome are Staff Sergeant Malcolm Stevenson,
Sergeants Pete Docherty and Pete Lynch, Corporal Nigel Dowse
and their families.
Finally, we congratulate W02 Agripine on his promotion to
that rank and wish him well in his tour with UNFICYP. We
also say goodbye to Staff Sergeant Pearson, Sergeant Pickett and
Corporal McGuire.

Book number R0403a