RAOC Gazette - page 145
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 |
tEfje Station jgtttos; &t Home Headquarters Director General of Ordnance Services ORD 1. With the weather showing signs of improvement, and Spring very definitely on the way, people's minds are turning towards planning their summer holiday. The saturation of TV and newspaper adverts with holiday attractions has attracted many Ord 1 members. Whether the anti- cipated pay rise will see many jetting off to exotic places is uncertain, but at the moment dreams are rife. Major Robin Farey has in the planning stage a week's adventure training on the Corps Yacht. With luck a few branch members will be off in June sailing around the south coast. If he can time it right, our Chief Clerk would like to carry out his handover somewhere between Cowes East and the Needles! Two of our branch members, Major Rupert Catt and Major Rick Ginn, have recently helped bring the LE(A) Hockey Team to the finals of the South West District Minor Units Cup, and are hopeful for further luck! ORD 2. We have at long last said farewell to Major George (Mac) McLaren; details of his career and retirement are reported elsewhere in this issue. To Mac's successor Major Pat Alcock, we say welcome. The slot left vacant in Ord 2c when Major Arthur Neve moved sideways to join ' the Mafia' in Ord 2d has now been filled by Major Bryon Harness who comes to us from BAOR; to him we also say welcome. During the odd spare moments Lieutenant Colonel Reg Williams has been known to hit out at the odd golf ball (and connect!), as too has David Tobitt; Major Stuart Portman continues to succumb to the lure of the hockey field; and in pursuit of fitness, Lieutenant Colonel Alan Newcombe has been seen tearing around the airfield leading (being led by?) a huge white Pyrenean Mountain dog—rumour has it that the dog (guide?) became necessary after he went base over apex over a wire fence during an earlier run! Major John Norris on the other hand has found a much easier way of keeping fit— with an hour on the back of a horse each week. The Ord 2/4 five-a-side indoor soccer team continues to dominate the LE(A) league table, being unbeaten to date and its success being attributed in no small way to Steve Durrans, Ord 2c's gladiator who has scored in every game. To SQMS Les Caddick, who recently had a knee operation, we send our very best wishes for a speedy recovery. ORD 4. Yet another busy month which included the lunching out of Lieutenant Colonel Dudley Upton who is currently on his ' bricks and mortar' course before finally leaving the Service. When asked what he intended to do, he shrewdly replied, " I have a few irons in the fire." Could this mean that his golf clubs are being retempered in preparation for the new season? Whatever, we take this opportunity of wishing him and Rosemary all the very best for the future. We welcome the arrival of Major David Wheeler and also Conductor Noel Fletcher who is taking over from WOl Matt Hudson. Directorate of Supply Management S MAN 1. We say farewell this month to WOl Ian Reid who has been Chief Clerk S Man 1 for just over a year. In that time he has been promoted and has managed to keep us all in some sort of order. Now we wish him and his family all the best in his new posting to Headquarters Paderborn Garrison. In his place we welcome W02 Allan Brookes from the British High Commission Nicosia. TECHNICAL EQUIPMENTS DIVISION MAJOR JOHN CANTOR has had a Schuss in Scotland. He's a good schusser. He's back with us now full of ski-ing stories and tales of how he conducted himself in tightly packed week- end ski-lift queues. He tells me his next venture is a hang gliding course in Holland. Anyway, it's nice to see that familiar figure again stroking along the Depot road on his Doris bicycle each morning. Major John Staples is back from his Blackdown Manage- ment course. On his return he received a much-awaited com- munication from AG9 giving him licence to leave us shortly for ' Der Alte Vaterland.' His German improves daily with such gems as ' Uppengercaller' (Telephone) and ' Geriatric' (German Conjuror). Major Philip Inman has successfully completed his Provision course and is now finding out how difficult it is to put his learnings into practice. EOQs are fine, but what do you do with a manufacturer's Lead Time IOU? Major John Edwards is extraneously busy producing the play ' The Gingerbread Lady' for the Garrison Theatre. Similarly Captain Graham Grant is supervising the Sergeants Mess, Captain Colin Buckle is supervising the Garrison Families Club and Captain Colin Kennedy is looking for ' mugged' cutlery in the Officers Mess as House Member. Lieutenant Colonel John Beaty is doing something in Ghana. Is the World really ready for Sergeant Ken Saxon? This ex- Yard of Ale champion has had the perm taken out of his hair and an eyebrow posted to under his nose in preparation for his much self-publicized demob in April. His colleagues in the Comms Branch military cell are planning an ' in character' farewell surprise for him. More about that in next month's notes. A soldier's farewell this month to W02 Les Dalton and Sergeant Colin Knight. During his tour here he has represented the Army, Donnington Garrison and this Division in rallying, rugby and football. We shall miss his ready wit and engaging sense of humour and hope therefore that he calls in to see us from time to time; say once every twenty years or so. We wish them both untroubled times. Corporal Dave Prescott has successfully completed his all-mouth-and-trousers RPC1 course. And finally, because Lieutenant Colonel Clinton A. Hodder US Army will probably be the leading points scorer in the Salop Basketball Second Division League, we have nominated him as Division Personality of the Month. VEHICLE DIVISION NOT once but twice. That's how many times Sergeant Dave Major passed his BFT during one week. Once as Phase II of his annual test and the second time as an ' encore' for the DOPT as part of the Garrison ARU. The other DSM warriors to have their names ' drawn from the h a t ' Sergeant Don Maclean and Captain Paddy O'Connell. Major Mike Pike was almost caught but wriggled out with the excuse that his shorts were still away being MoTd. Without doubt the ' man of the match ' at this particular session of BFT, Lieutenant Colonel Alan Barn (Colonel Alan, as many of his friends will know, less than six months ago underwent open heart surgery. He is now fit and well). Needless to say he passed with flying colours. Corporal Pete Scott has returned to the fold full of ' h a i r y ' tales from Londonderry. You're our hero Pete! We proudly announce the substantive promotion of Lance Corporal John Pursell which means that there are now no private soldiers serving in DSM Vehicle Division. Following an almost fatal plague of ' paratrooper's heel,' the latest ailment to strike MTSPB.is ' sniveller's knee' with the dreaded ' telephone ear' lurking ready to attack. (Sorry readers —private joke). We said farewell and welcome in the same breath to Brigadier Robert Bromham who left us as DSM and arrived as Chilwell Garrison Commander all in one day! We extend our welcome to our new Director, Brigadier Paddy Groves. We promised not to mention Squadron Leader Peter Autie this month—so we wont! And finally, we wish good luck to Lieutenant Colonel Alan Kennedy on his resettlement course to become a ' hit m a n ' for PSA. — 346 — |
| Book number | R0403a |