RAOC Gazette - page 204
Image details
| Corps | RAOC |
|---|---|
| Material type | Journals |
| Book page | |
| Chapter head | |
| Chapter key | |
| Chapter number | |
| Full title | RAOC Gazette |
| Page number | |
| Publication date | 1983 |
| Real page | |
| Colour | Yes |
| Grey | No |
| Early date | 1983 |
| Late date | 1983 |
| Transcription |
R A O C AID S O C I E T Y HALF YEARLY REPORT THE Executive Committee of the RAOC Aid Society ack- nowledges with grateful thanks the following donations totalling £1,619.77 received during the period 1st January to 30th June 1983. This does not include the personal subscriptions of serving and retired officers and soldiers. Technical Training Wing COD Bicester; Officers Mess Chil- well; Junior Leaders Regiment Wareham; RAOC Training Centre Clothing Shop; AD Jackson; Burmah Oil Trading Limited; Sir Christopher Lever; RAOC Association Chilwell Branch; 3 BAD ; Headquarters RAOC TA Corsham; All Saints Church Dort- mund ; RAOC Association Birmingham Branch; Headquarters Training Centre Blackdown; Saint Barbara's Garrison Church Blackdown ; Lieutenant Colonel and Mrs Hynes; Admin Branch ; RAOC Association Didcot Branch; GM Stroud; CVD Ludger- shall. A donation was received in memory of Brigadier G. F. Ayton from Major V. S. Ebbage, and a donation was received in memory of Mrs V. G. Greer from Mr J. Greer, donations were also received in memory of Colonel J. Lloyd-Jones in addition to those notified in the annual report. The Committee also wish to announce that during the first half of 1983 grants totalling £22,943.63 were made to two hundred and fifty eight applicants, including five serving personnel, who were considered to be in need of financial assistance. Examples, in summary, of those helped: — Ex Private helped with cost of replacement medical device for his wife (grant in conjunction with RTR Association and Benevolent Fund). Widow of Ex Private, old age pensioner aged 78, helped with cost of security locks in her home in Belfast after a burglary. Family of ex-Private (unemployed for five years) helped with cost of children's clothing. Ex-Corporal, who is tragically ill, and his wife helped with a grant to settle outstanding bills. Widow and family of late Warrant Officer helped with cost of rent of temporary accommodation and electricity bill pending re-housing. Ex-Warrant Officer and family given substantial help to re-furnish after their home had been partly destroyed by fire. Extracts from some of the letters of thanks received: — " / should like to say how grateful I am and thank you for helping me have the telephone put in. I live alone and am eighty four, and my late husband would have been delighted to know that his service with the RAOC has not passed un- noticed." " Thank you for the grant towards the purchase of a wheel- chair, it will make so much difference and I am so grateful for your assistance." " I want you to know I really am grateful and appreciate your so kind act, thank you so much, and to the RAOC Association many, many thanks." " I have had my faith in hitman nature restored, thanks to both yourself and (SSAFA). You have helped me enormously and saved me a lot of worry." THE POPPY A S Y M B O L OF PEACE, COMPASSION AND REMEMBRANCE A YEAR during which public debate on defence issues has been intense seems an appropriate time to comment on the fact that The Royal British Legion is often accused of glorifying war. Nothing could be further from the truth. Far from being warmongers, the Legion's ex-Service mem- bers believe they owe a debt of honour to remember their comrades who did not return and to care for their widows and children, as well as for those who came back, broken in body or in spirit. It is clear, therefore, that, far from per- petuating the glories of war, The Royal British Legion is deeply concerned with its tragic aftermath. Last year, television coverage of the Falklands conflict brought the grim realities of war home to us. However, memory fades and familiarity can deaden our response. Thus, Northern Ireland's problems, with the terrible toll of death and disablement, have become almost commonplace. Yet, four hundred and ninety eight Servicemen have been killed there since 1969 and many more wounded. But, whilst others may forget, the Legion remembers in the best way possible; by giving immediate help in a wide variety of ways. The Legion's free pensions advisory service handles over eleven thousand five hundred cases every year. The plight of war widows is of particular concern, especially the unjust anomalies in pensions of those widowed before 1973. And few people know that, since 1948, the Legion has been organising low-cost pilgrimages to war graves in many parts of the world. Disabled people usually find themselves at the end of the queue for work, especially during periods of high unemploy- ment, but not with the Legion, which is the biggest private employer of disabled people in the country. Their Poppy Factory, for example, provides full-time work for one hundred and fourteen very severely disabled ex-Servicemen and women, and part-time work for a further seventeen, who produce the staggering forty five million poppies, two hundred thousand remembrance crosses and sixty six thousand wreaths sold during the annua] Poppy Appeal. At the RBL Village, near Maidstone, Kent, disabled ex- Service people are employed on a variety of work, including the production of road signs and timber pallets, and in printing. Here, too, is 'The Churchill Centre,' a purpose-built rehabilitation and assessment centre, built in 1981. The Legion also operates the Attendants' Company, the country's second largest car park- ing organisation, employing seven hundred and sixteen ex- Service men and women, twenty eight per cent of whom are disabled. And finally, perhaps the least-known area of Legion enterprise; their London Taxi School, where one third of the capital's taxi drivers learn their trade. The RBL's autonomous Housing Association was formed nineteen years ago and, since then, it has provided more than ten thousand homes for elderly and disabled people. Five Country Homes provide residential care for ex- Service people who, through age or infirmity, can no longer look after themselves. And three Convalescent Homes provide short breaks for those recovering from illness. Far from diminishing, the calls on the Legion's services are on the increase as men and women suffering from the effects of war—often long after the event—continue to need help. In- deed, the Legion is committed to capital work, estimated at over £6,000,000 over the next five years, to enable Residential Homes to cope with more very old and geriatric residents. Another factor is openly-stated Government policy which indicates that the balance of funding health and welfare services may alter, with charities expected to shoulder a higher percentage of the cost. The need for a successful Poppy Appeal in 1983 is there- fore more important than ever. As people buy their poppies, may they also see them for what they really are—symbols of peace, compassion and true remembrance. HOUSE FOR SALE BADGERSWELL COTTAGE (DEVON) for sale £42,500. Rural. Okehampton area. Stone built sixteenth century. Modernised with extension added recently. Three bedrooms, lounge, dining. Oil central heating, double glazing incl diamond leaded, large fireplace, three quarter acre garden/paddock, greenhouse, garage/ workshop, shed. RV £202. Details Rickeard, Green and Mitchelmore, Okehampton (0837) 2543 or Lieutenant Colonel Hambly—Edinburgh Military 6315. FOR SALE FULL RAOC MESS KIT—thirty eight inch chest; thirty two inch waist; twenty eight inch leg. With Staff Sergeants tapes sewn on £20. Contact Staff Sergeant Walsh on Brecon Mil Ext. 424. — 169 — COVER PHOTOGRAPH THE unusual cover photograph was taken by Sergeant S. Slater who is a photographer with Public Relations 1st Armoured Division. See article on page 172. |
| Book number | R0406 |