RAOC Gazette - page 312
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 |
completed the Winchester Marathon in three hours ten minutes (not bad for a forty three year old). Staff Sergeant Lcn Salisbury wishes it to be known that, at the spritely age of fifty, he has run his last BFT! husband of the former has denied any responsibility and has referred her to a psychiatrist. The conclusion to this brief epistle is to say farewell to Captain Bob Willox and wish him well in his new posting and also, to welcome his successor, Major Maurice PaJmer. APPRENTICES COLLEGE SINCE returning from Summer block leave, Headquarters Com- pany have been particularly busy. An element of the RAOC Apprentices College led by the External Leadership Training wing departed for an attempt on Mont Blanc. They had a marvellous expedition and returned looking fit and suntanned. Whilst Staff Sergeant Edwards and Sergeant Tarwacki were gallantly climbing up glaciers in France, the Peter de Savory of Headquarters Company, Major Ashcroft, was away with an eager party of sailors somewhere between Portsmouth and Poole. The exercise, nicknamed Water Jolly, apparently wasn't. The English Channel was reported to be much rougher than the waters around Rhode Island. One of the recent events which caught the imagination of the Company was the 1st Camberley half marathon in which several members of the Company recorded times between one hour twenty one minutes—one hour forty seven minutes. Well done you racing snakes. Since then the Company has been involved in a Home De- fence weekend when it performed a series of tasks to make a very interesting weekend. County Fayre, an exercise involving about sixteen teams, lasted all day on a Saturday. It consisted of intelligence tests, general knowledge, shooting, powers of observation, fitness and AFV/Aircraft recognition. Three mem- bers of Headquarters Company—Sergeant Self, Corporal Starbuck and Corporal Franklin—formed part of the winning team. Later that day the 'A' Team caused havoc whilst Platoons of ' B ' Company performed their Home Defence tasks. There was plenty of excitement as the 'A' Team, led by Corporal ' Murdoch' Smith, littered the training areas with Thunder- flashes, trip flares and blank 7.62-mm rounds. Some members of Headquarters Company played a part in the counting of over £2,500 collected for ' White Lodge,' a charity organisation for the handicapped. We welcome Sergeant Wilson to the ELT Wing, Lance Corporal Stubbs to the gymnasium and Staff Sergeant Coats ACC and Private Packer ACC to the College catering staff. We wish them a happy tour. We say farewell to Staff Sergeant Gibson who has moved on to Ordnance Services Viersen, and wish him and his family an enjoyable tour in BAOR. EMPLOYMENT TRAINING SCHOOL. Major Tony Rowe our 2IC and Corporal Hale have returned from the FIs, and with Captain Bob Willox now firmly in the OIC Clerical Train- ing chair we are once more almost complete—Sergeant Murphy being our sole representative in the Falklands now. Staff Sergeant Long has left us on promotion—many congratulations and thanks to you and Mrs Long for your support during your time here. We welcome Staff Sergeant Davies and family into the fold. We all heartily congratulate W 2 Sanford (14/20H) on his forthcoming Commissioning into the RAMC—we shall miss your panache about the place! WOl Braithwaite has joined us temporarily from the School of Ordnance to assist the Sup Specs in preparing and running a Class 3 Tech Storeman AAC Course—Yes! we really are 'spread- ing our wings' now! Even the Victuallers are getting in on the act with the first ROWO Course in December. W02 Cooney and Staff Sergeant Davidson triumphed on the golf circuit at the RAOC Autumn Meeting winning the Greensome Stapleford Cup (they received one each). Staff Sergeant Davidson came second in the Autumn Scratch. Everyone (well, almost everyone) participated in Exercise Stonewall 83 and those from ETS who were involved in the County Fayre run by our own Commandant did particularly well—finishing second and third in the inter-unit competition. Staff Sergeant Salisbury and team organised a most successful School Bar-B-Q at which almost eighty members of the School and friends attended. Thank goodness it was held on a Friday night as surely no-one was fit to instruct the following moming! Our shorthand students and their instructor paid a working visit to Bagshot Park to take the minutes of the AGM of The Federation of Army Wives Clubs, and the details of the question and answer sessions following the Presentations at the FAWC 'A' COMPANY. This must surely be the youngest Company ever. Aiamein Platoon were just starting their third term, Ardennes Platoon although in their second term had only been with us for ten weeks and the two recruit platoons, Aden and Arnhem, were just joining. This meant that eighty per cent of the Company had only been in the Army for two and a half months. Militarily it has been a busy term. Aiamein Platoon are still commanded by Lieutenant David Newell assisted by Sergeant Christopher and A/Sergeant Fleming. They are a mature well disciplined platoon who carry out their Corps of Drums duties excellently. Ardennes Platoon are commanded by Lieutenant Ian Lancaster and Sergeant Brock. A/Corporal Narraine is doing a good job moulding this large platoon of new apprentices together. Aden and Amhem Platoons are commanded by Second Lieutenants Gilbert and Douglas, along with their platoon Sergeants Wells and Cook. Progress with these recruits has been very encouraging, they have the makings of two very good platoons. Major Richard Ginn is now Officer Commanding 'A' Com- pany. His new outlook on College life has got us all on our toes. Welcome aboard Sir! On the adventure training scene, the following members went off to climb Monte Bainco—Black, Hawlett, Hardman, Lord, Brown, Jones, Parham, Tyrrell and Watson. Regrettably the weather and luck was against them and they did not reach the summit. All agreed it was a wonderful experience. Ap- prentices Brand, Seymour and Twells spent an enjoyable week sailing off the South Coast and have really earned their sea legs. The winter sporting season has just got into full swing with Company sportsmen being involved in all College sports. Special mention must go to our half marathon runners who took part in the Camberley Half Marathon. Lieutenant Smith finished in one hour twenty four minutes fifty five seconds. A/Sergeant Fleming one hour twenty four minutes fifty nine seconds. CSM Rooke one hour twenty eight minutes. A/Private Gregory one hour thirty two minutes. Well done all of you. The Federation of Army W i v e s ' Clubs take a break during their seminar at Bagshot Park amongst whom are our intrepid shorthand writers. Seminar. It was a daunting task, but all acquitted themselves admirably and the result was thirty nine pages of transcription completed within five days. The team was led by Mrs Ursula Douglas who was ably assisted by: Staff Sergeant Mick Woolley, W/Sergeant Melanie Lockhart, Lance Corporal Gary Thompson and W/Private Sue Giacomelli. The School recently organised the very successful RAOC badminton championship. It was good to see two of our civilian instructors, Peter Page and Paul Parkinson taking part, with the latter taking home the Plate competition (runner-up) trophy. Definitely worth a 'mention is Derek Monk's splendid (charity) effort in the Camberley half-marathon—he finished in grand style. Us lesser mortals are more than content with the twice weekly dash across Ash ranges and participation in the ' hash ' runs which have become a popular feature of Tuesday evening. Captain Bob Willox is definitely leading by example having just — 259 |
| Book number | R0406 |