RAOC Gazette - page 163
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 |
Marriages: Private Dave Chesswcll to Deborah Bartle. Promotions: To Lance Corporal, Mick Taylor and Dave Connolly. Our welcomes, goodbyes and congratulations to all concerned. Sergeant Bennett receives the Long Service and Cood Conduct Medal from General Sir W i l l i a m Scottcr. CORPS VEHICLE COMPANY SINCE our last contribution Phase 1 of the Part 1 Works Service here has been completed. This means that we now have storage areas for vehicles and a fine looking perimeter fence. All we need now before we start wrapping vehicles in protective envelopes is electricity to operate the dehumidifier. Although working conditions are primitive it is very interesting for everyone here to be included in creating a new Unit with a relatively storage technique. None of this activity exempts us from the inspection cycle; indeed, it seems to encourage them! So spring cleaning came early with the Admin Visit carried out by the CRAOC Lieu- tenant Colonel Hellis. The climax of the day was the entire Unit being tested on BFT. Although exuding confidence, our OC was seen slipping glucose boosts to the less fit. Congratulations are due to Corporals Bushnall and Thomson on gaining RPC 1. We welcome Staff Sergeant Rodo, Sergeants Coleman and Allen, Corporals Mawdsley and Strange, Lance Corporals Nightingale and Bowen. STORES SECTION 32 ARMOURED ENGINEER REGIMENT WORKSHOP THE Section now serves a Regimental Workshop and has an army of nine! These luckless souls are sourly brooded over by one ' Q ' Evans. ' Q ' sits menacingly behind his desk, The Daily Express open at the ' Target.' Maybe the clerks next door have a dictionary, he pops his head through the hatchway to ask. Lance Corporal Thompson is nowhere in sight. Maybe Corporal Vince Banton—but no, he sits there, oblivious to his surroundings, pen poised over a leave pass, wondering whether to hitch-hike to Manchester or use up a valuable flight. Private Chris Allen will surely have a dictionary, but he is at the counter deep in conversation with an oil filled Craftsman relating the experiences he encountered whilst on an EG Border Patrol. Cardboard wagons, whatever next? ' Q ' leaves the heat of his office for the storehouse, deter- mined to find the nine letter word, only to stumble across Lance Corporal Colin Cowling, the one and only driver in the Section! He is sat upon a box furiously plucking bristles from a hardened paint brush mumbling " I'll get a quarter—I won't get a quarter." Of course, he only arrived yesterday and today the Housing Committee have a meeting! ' Q ' doesn't have the heart to disturb him. Sergeant Bill Hall, who ruthlessly rules the Storehouse, advises ' Q ' to quickly look out of the back window. ' Q ' has visions of a Chieftain AVLB backing into his car and races the fifteen feet in a matter of minutes, clears a four by four patch in the condensation on the window and peers out. He spies three plucky storemen in the mist. Private Tom Harrison is industriously hacking away at the ice with a pick, while Private John Edwards is holding a tow chain trying to direct a Land Rover near enough to connect the chain on. Lance Corporal Norman Parsons, ankle deep in slush, is supervising their efforts to recover the boggged in pallet trans- porter. Pallet transporter! only the Section could manage that! The task completed, the three exhausted storemen report back to Sergeant Bill Hall who offers them his handkerchief and tells them to dry their eyes and have a cup of coffee! Headquarters Hohne Garrison THE time has eventually arrived for Headquarters Hohne Garrison to introduce themselves to THE GAZETTE. WOl Jack Atkinson our Superintendent Clerk, was recently granted a two year extension with us, could this be due to his life long membership at Hohne golf club? Next is the ever youthful Corporal Tcs Hayward (CC AQ), who after returning from his RPCl Course successfully was notified of his posting to Headquarters Intelligence and Survey Group in August, which was surprisingly his number one choice. His football and cross-country year has left him with a winners medal in cross-country and his football ability has helped re- establish our superiority in the game by beating 79 Supply Depot, two one, two nil, two one in the past three games. Lance Corporal Paul Spittle leaves us this month to return to 22 SAS, after a brief visit there last year to attempt the SAS Course; we are confident that second time might be lucky. He leaves as a newly-wed after marrying Christine and we wish them both the best of luck. Private Scouse Scott, the third of the AQ Clerks is eventually coming down to ground level after his trip to Axams where he was the star of his local paper in Merscyside with a photo in his downhill ski-ing attire. He leaves us temporarily to go to Bracht for his RPC II Course for which we wish him luck. Last but not least the G Clerk, Private Sieve Lcvett who celebrates his anniversary at Hohne this month. Along with the other clerks he is also a member of the football team and also received a medal in the CTOSS Country Final for Hohne Hackers. People will probably remember W02 Chris Levett who is Steve's father, now living in Preston working for the DHSS. We have noted a ninety five per cent handover in officers and with fifty per cent of the clerks leaving, the stayers wonder if they've not been told something they should know, however. only time will tell. Land Forces Cyprus HEADQUARTERS JANUARY saw our two budding John Travolta's: Corporals Keith Cammack and Kevin (KC) Smith, attending ballroom dancing classes. This lasted some two whole weeks until ' K C ' decided that they could not teach him anymore. There is a rumour circulating that they were asked to leave! On the 24th January the Happy Valley Hill Climb took place. This is an annual event which is of two races. The first is a fun race for veterans, juniors and ladies which is over a distance of two and a half miles and has to be completed within thirty minutes. The second race is for seniors, over the same course but ex- tended to three and a half miles and again to be completed within thirty minutes. The Headquarters had no representative in the first race but one of the representatives in the senior race was Corporal ' K C ' Smith who finished in twenty two minutes eighteen seconds and helped the Episkopi Garrison B Team in- to thirteenth position out of a total of fifty four teams. February saw the Headquarters squash team have yet an- other resounding victory over Headquarters RAOC in the Epis- kopi Minor Units squash league. Sergeant Fred Taylor diplo- matically lost to the CRAOC, but WOl Wilf Wright convincingly beat the Adjutant, Captain John Vickers, and W02 Ralph McKee had no sympathy for W02 Brian Bragger. Ski-ing is to the fore at the moment with both officers and soldiers alike making every excuse to pay a visit to Troodos. Sergeant Paddy O'Rourke went for the first time with the Sergeants Mess ' Singles' and nearly beat the downhill record. Unfortunately, a bush or was it bushes, stopped him. He says ski-ing is not his forte and is going to stick to archery in future. Our G Branch champion Sergeant Phil Gadsden, has managed to tear himself away from the office and is spending a week ski-ing as these notes are being penned. It is strange how he always goes on leave when GSD is at its busiest. Congratulations are in order this month to W02 Ralph |
| Book number | R0403a |