RAOC Gazette - page 332
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 |
The Battalion Chief Clerk Staff Sergeant Jed Stone probably better known on the hockey, cricket and rugby fields in BAOR shortly leaves us for another rough post in the Military Secretaries branch in Hong Kong. His place has been taken by Staff Sergeant Dave Monger recently arrived on promotion from the Ministry of Defence. We wish you and your family a happy stay in the battalion. Our Doc's Sergeant is Phil Congdon, who can be seen in the early mornings pushing his Ford Escort from his quarter to the office. The other members of this busy • orderly room are the security NCO Sergeant Mick Moore whose early retirement as the battalion football team as goalkeeper has certainly helped the team. Corporal Smudge Smith and Private- Mac McDermott run the documents section and are busily preparing for the Doc's inspection hoping to achieve a better result than 6 Ordnance Battalion, their careers depend on i t The other grafters in the Orderly Room are Lance Corporal Brains Barton (he makes the Colonels coffee) and Private Chippy Wood just arrived from Blackdown. Private Squire on a twelve month stay has just arrived from Int and Sy Group BAOR, we wish them both an enjoyable stay. Sadly we say farewell to our stalwarts Staff Sergeant Jed Stone and his wife Ronnie, have a good time in BFPOl, to Sergeant Ken Fanklin and his wife Lesley to Colchester, to Sergeant Mick and Ann Moore to Viersen, congratulations on your promotion. Also Sergeant Billy and Linda Richards to Bicester. We wish all of you the very best for the future, you will be hard to replace. 51 ORDNANCE COMPANY THINGS are looking busy in Obernkirchen these days. The Summer Siesta is over, and for a brief while soldiers were actually seen in the barracks! But not for long, Captain Mike Eagle aided and abetted by his 2IC W02 Charlie Harris took their whole platoon and half of the Company Headquarters on a little exercise (looking after some simmo for an Arty Div exercise). An enjoyable(?) time was had by all except for Corporal ' Jock' Seggie who seemed to spend most of the night relaying messages on the radio. He now reckons he has enough practice to enable him to do a RSI course. It was a pleasant change to see Sergeant ' Paddy' Organ and his boys from the Battalion for the exercise. They helped to add a little control! Corporal John Koren and his drivers felt a little isolated sitting near the top of the hill, but then they were in constant demand as they had most of the Company vehicles with them. No sooner had Ammo Platoon come back than Pet Platoon started to deploy on their exercise. In the meantime enough soldiers were found to escort the old OC, Major Peter Chambers, out of barracks on an old 25-Pounder. The OC has left on promotion and we wish him and his wife Valerie all the best. (Lance Corporal Nick Avery, one of our APTT's, was left with the job of dragging the gun back up the hill. Fortunately, he did eventually manage to get some help.) We welcome Major Ralph Elliott and wife Dot to the Company and CSM Higham our new CSM. 52 ORDNANCE COMPANY A fairly quiet period—the clocks have gone back one hour but life on the hill stands still. Most of the Company personnel deployed on Exercise Vengeful Merlin. Although primarily an artillery exercise the Company set-up and operated two am- munition circuits before handing over to elements of 1 and 4 Ordnance Battalions. Preparations for the Company Harz adventure training in November are now well under way with two ten mile ' bashes ' under our belts already. The training is to be led by Second Lieutenant David Bird who keeps muttering about arduous adventure training and is busy planning lectures on survival and how to telephone for assistance from a German civil telephone. The last night march was won in a very credit- able time by Corporal John Clarke and his section and con- gratulations also to Lance Corporal Mick Illingworth who confounded his critics by bringing his section in third place. Corporal Ian Akeroyd is now receiving further map reading tuition after leading his section off the end of the map. It's rumoured that he was attracted by a star in the east namely the bright lights of Brakel! New arrivals to CAD Pombsen and Privates Davis and Forrester from Blackdown and Lance Corporal Dudgeon. Have a good tour. Congratulations to Norman Foster on his acting Lance Corporal. Farewell to Sergeant Ken Caldecott on departure for Belize. 53 ORDNANCE COMPANY WE are battling on against the odds, relentlessly issuing Simmo to our four wheeled friends, and then graciously taking it all back a week later ready for the onset of Autumn Exercise Fever. It all sounds dramatic, and it is, believe me. Beavering away under all that activity is the unmovable good Old British Tom, too many in the Company for me to mention here but I'll try. When I asked Corporals Buttery and Whitley in the Simmo Park for some interesting anecdotes they simply said " Work— Unhanding, repacking, banding, new lable and back to join the rest." There was the day when Private House lost his hyster; but he found it again! In APB similar tales of woe I'm afraid work, work, work; " Where " I said in a totally disbelieving manner " well" said Corporal Cordner " Lance Corporal Pearce is sweeping up in- side, Private Wright is sweeping up outside and I'm supervising " In fact they were preparing for a large Mob programme which is going to keep them busy for a month or so. Needless to say Staff Sergeant (CQMS) Wolfe had many horror stories to tell, some unprintable some incredible and others just too long. However, the CQMS would like personally to thank all his merry men: they are Corporals Kitchen, Norrie, Lance Corporals Mclntyre, Lynch, Privates Pursell, Thompson 475, Lowrie, Besson, Dalloway and Private Mushroom West. Welcome to Lieutenant Currie from his YO course at Black- down. It's hard to believe that we ever get any time for sport, but we can muster a mean rugby team. During the Brigade sevens two of our luckless souls suffered serious injuries, Lance Corporal Stubbs received a badly broken jaw and now has the most inscrutable smile and Private Pentland suffered from strained ligaments in his knee, that was fine, but he then proceeded to fall over after discharge from the MRS and got himself admitted to BMH Rinteln. Lance Corporal Stubbs lost his smile when he discovered he was paying food charges whilst in BMH, all he ate was soup and that was through a straw. The Company was then asked to provide some orienteers for the BAOR RAOC Championships in Herford. Lieutenant Crosby and Corporal Halliwell finished with reasonable results. CSM Wreyford finished in fifty six minutes but was most annoyed when he was disqualified for missing checkpoint four. Well done also to Lance Corporals McGrath and Pearce for finishing the novice course. Finally congratulations to Scooby and Mrs Julie Sowerby on the birth of their daughter Sian, best wishes to both mother and baby. Farewells to Corporal Rowlands and Private Wood 958 to Falkland Islands and W/Lance Corporal Lloyd. Best wishes to you all. Welcome to Private Wood 492 from Blackdown and we hope you have an enjoyable stay with the Company. 6 Ordnance Battalion 61 ORDNANCE COMPANY THE unit deployed on Exercise Vengeful Merlin for our yearly trip supporting the Artillery Div. Being static for the first few days the unit were able to catch up on patrolling from a base camp with Recce and fighting patrols out daily and nightly under the guidance of the CSM and the 2IC, Captain Wilson, who like that type of thing as it gives them a chance to wear their favourite colour make-up (cam cream). The wives and families came for a brief visit to the unit exercise area to find out what really happens when their husbands disappear for weeks on end. Corporal Taff Barry organised some games to amuse the children while the OC gave a short chat to the wives on the Company's role in peace and war. On the sporting scene the Company was well represented in the Battalion football team which beat 47 Field Regiment RA four nil in the first round of the Army Major Units Cup and which beat ' C ' Battery RHA four two in the defence of the BAOR Minor Units Cup they won last season. The wives club keep fit class decided to emulate their husbands and hold their own BFT, so on a cold Monday evening fourteen gallant ladies ran twelve laps of the athletics track (three miles) to raise money for the Children's Ward at BMH Rinteln. When all the cash is collected they hope to raise over DM800. Congratulations to Corporal Rogers for successfully pass- ing his MT NCOs Course, and to Corporal and Mrs Elliott on the birth of their baby boy. Finally, we say our welcomes and farewells. Welcome to Sergeant Chetkowski and Private White. Farewell to Lance Corporal Bancroft and family on posting to Munsterlager. — 277 — |
| Book number | R0406 |