RAOC Gazette - page 247
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 |
a draw which brought together the Cannonballs and their rivals the Engineers, who incidentally were runners up in the BAOR competition, together in the same Islander for the last jump in the Relative Work; the atmosphere on the ride up lo the jump height of eight thousand feet could have been cut with a knife. First out were the Engineers who clocked up four good manoeuvres in the specified working time of thirty seconds followed by the Cannonballs who managed only two points, push- ing them into second place. The last accuracy jump was just as ill fated with Gary Hawthorne, the last man down hitting dead centre, whooping with joy and offering crates of beer only to find that we had also been outclassed in that event not only by the Engineers but the Cyprus Combined Team who had led from the start on their home ground. Final results for the RAOC Team, were second in Relative Work, third in Accuracy and Captain Gary Hawthorne third in Individual Accuracy. A tremendous time was had by all, the competition was fierce but friendly, the hospitality was second to none. The team would like to thank those of the Corps who serve in that paradise for their help during the championships. They all look forward to returning soon. ON GOLDKN QUADRANT EXERCISE GOLDEN QUADRANT is the excuse used by the RCT to have a jolly good time on the Ijssclmcr in Holland utilising the much sailed Contcssa 'St Christopher III.' This year Headquarters NORTHAG sailing stalwart W02 Phil Careless, appears to have been one of the RCTs best customers having successfully run three courses with crews made up from all nations represented in Headquarters NORTHAG. On one recent exercise the crew was made up of:—Skipper: W02 Phil Careless. Crew: UntcrofTizicr Ulli Oymann German Army, Privates Dick Tucker and Thomo Thomson and Soldat Chris Verstraete of the Belgian Army. The motley crew on Exercise Golden Quadrant. Left to right: Sergeant Ulli Oymann, Skipper W 2 Phil Caiclcss, Private Tomo Thomson and Private Dick Turner. The final leg of the voyage was just as thrilling as the rest; occasional lee rail under on the starboard tack all the way home. All say it was a week to remember. The crew mem- bers were granted NORTHAG seamanship certificates and have sworn an oath of allegiance to each other not to talk to out- siders about the night life! They wish to thank the RCT for the hire of St Christopher III—and the administrators of such useful and enjoyable events. CAMBRIAN MARCH WINNERS A TEAM of nine men from 6 Ordnance Battalion based in Bielefeld and Giitersloh won the 1983 Cambrian March. This annual test of endurance and military skills lasting four days, covered fifty miles of Welsh mountains and moorland, lived up to its reputation of being the toughest infantry patrol in NATO. A fuller description of the competition will appear in the next edition of THE GAZETTE. — 204 A CKNTURY OF ARMY GOLF THIS YEAR, indeed this month, the Army Golf Club at Aldcr- sliot is one hundred years old. The Corps has been closely associated with the club over most of these years, and has, on several occasions, provided its Chairman. A great many mem- bers of the Corps have enjoyed its facilities when stationed in the area and have, over recent years, seen it develop into the excellent full length championship course it is today. However, one cannot write of the Army Golf Club without thinking of the late Colonel John Lloyd-Jones. A past Chairman and a member of the Centenary Committee, he was sadly not to sec the celebration of the event to which he had contributed and had so much looked forward to. It was on Saturday 13th October 1883 that the Surrey and Hants News carried a notice inviting officers serving in the Alder- shot Division to contact Lieutenant Colonel E. H. Sartorious VC, with a view to establishing a gold club in the Camp. Three weeks later at the Annual General Meeting of the Aldcrshot Officers Club this was proposed, carried and the Aldcrshot Com- mand Golf Club founded. No evidence remains of the first course as (he area is now in part, occupied by Rushmoor Arena. By 1895 Rushmoor was becoming unsuitable for golf as the ground was required in- creasingly for militia encampments and manoeuvres. So an- other site was chosen on Smallshot Common. Smallshot was that area behind and to the East of the present Army athletics ground and swimming bath. The golf course was inside an old horse racetrack which has long since disappeared. In 1898 a meeting was held of officers interested in golf and its future in Aldcrshot. It was a large enthusiastic assembly, reflecting the increasing popularity of the game amongst service men. It is probable that at this meeting there was some criticism of the nine hole Smallshot course, in any case, once again the land was required for development. In consequence of this a notice appeared in the press in 1900 stating that the GOC had given approval for yet another move, this time to Cove Common some- where near the site of the present course. The first tec was opposite the present car park of the Queens Hotel, and by 1905 the club had rented a private dwelling house at 4 Farnborough Road for use as a clubhouse. In 1908 there were about two hundred male and fifty lady members. Inter-unit and club competitions were being regularly reported in The Times and the following year an extended course was officially opened with an exhibition four ball match in- volving nonclcss than James Braid. It is interesting to note that about this time, just to the North of the golf course, a certain Mr (Colonel) S. F. Cody. Inspector of Kiting at the Balloon School, was experimenting with powered flight. He did a great deal of his early flying along the perimeter of the course. In 1912 Lieutenant General Sir Douglas Haig, himself a keen golfer, was President of the club. By the time the First World War had ended the club had given up its clubhouse in the Farnborough Road, but had kept the course more or less intact. A new clubhouse in Shoe Lane was built in 1924 by the Army Vocational Training Centre, now No. 2 Rcttlcmcnt Centre which remained in use for fifty years. Many will remember it with mixed feelings! In 1940 an order was made transferring to the Air Ministry seventy seven of the one hundred and twelve acres of the course. Only five complete holes and three greens remained. In 1946 a new committee was formed to decide the future of club and course. It was a stroke of good fortune when Captain Torrie, a local golf course architect, offered to help with the reconstruction and extension. Under his guidance, and with the expert assistance of local Army units, a party of POW began work. With remarkable speed and at a minimum cost, they built and had ready for play by 1947 a new nine hole course of two thousand seven hundred yards; it was not until 1967 that the club could say that once again it had a full sized course. In 1963 it was suggested to Major General Ward, the Vice Adjutant General, that there was a need for ' a centre of army golf' in the United Kingdom. The idea was that a course was needed where Army units could hold their various competitions and championships at a reasonable cost. But this meant not only providing a course which was an excellent test of golf at cham- pionship length, but also facilities of the highest order. Be- cause of its favourable position; the availability of land, and a large golfing population, Aldershot was chosen.. The golf archi- tects, Cotton, Pcnnick and Partners were engaged as consultants — |
| Book number | R0406 |