Missing Corps

Looking down the list, it can be seen that quite a few have no entries against them, and correspondingly there is little or nothing about them in the locations area of the main site.

I have been given a clue as to some of the Army Education Centres (34, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, and 51 AEC's). I know there is a mention of at least one other (38?) somewhere as well. Anyone know of any others in the past?

And there is little to show for others such as the RADC, RAVC, RAPC, etc. It is appreciated that in a lot of cases, there were only one or two attached to various units, but where there was possibly a presence of a particular unit (for example a Dental Unit attached to a BMH, etc.) it would be nice to be able to add them and let them know they are not forgotten.

I have sent a message to the Royal Pioneer Corp Association and wait to see if I receive a reply.

Paul.

Where would we be without the pay corps? Need petrol coupons urgently? Sod off and come back when I am open! No, they were good lads.

Paul,
As far as I know there was only one pure RAPC unit in BAOR/BFG and that was the Command Pay Office. The RAVC had the War Dog Training Unit and Vetinary Hospital in Sennelager.
Bob

BobG wrote:

Paul,
As far as I know there was only one pure RAPC unit in BAOR/BFG and that was the Command Pay Office. The RAVC had the War Dog Training Unit and Vetinary Hospital in Sennelager.
Bob

Thanks Bob.

Paul.

the RAVC is still at sennelager but the title was changed in the 1980's (I think to) No1 army Dog Training Unit. The MSO dog handlers were trained by them and I think remained on the roll of the dog school.I think The Vets hold the record for the longest Static unit in BAOR they have been in Normandy Bks since 1945. and the MSO contingency of the vets were in the ,now demolished Balaklava Bks in Schlangen north of B Lippspringe for as far as I can remember.

Along the lines of this question, I am unfamiliar with many terms. Looking for 54 Transport served in Korea, and am told from there they transferred to Germany. Would I look under another heading to find that unit?

Teabag wrote:

Where would we be without the pay corps? Need petrol coupons urgently?  Sod off and come back when I am open!  No, they were good lads.

My only RAPC posting between transfer in and posting to the Computer Centre, Worthy Down followed by transfer to the Reserve was 12 Armoured Workshop REME, Mercer Barracks, Osnabrück, Nov 82 - Nov 85. They were 2 Armd Div workshop, but 2 Div returned to UK as an infantry div wef 1 Jan 83 The Workshop became a minor unit supporting a brigade that stayed and joined 1 Armd Div. For most of the time there was me (a former RAC Control Signaller) and the staff sergeant.

We were open mornings, 9-12. Most of the job was sale of petrol coupons. Afternoons involved all the labour intensive work like working out how much to pay the cash paid soldiers (a lot of REME couldn't handle their beer tokens. There was always month left at the end of the money); calculate Food and Accommodation refunds for single soldiers out of camp on leave or exercise; calculate Fuel and Light rebates, etc.

As a former Control Signaller, unusually the REME volunteered me to run the MRG radio truck on exercise (I'd left the cavalry cos I was fed up of interminable exercises. Grr).

I quickly realised the REME couldn't handle code change, frequency change and dipole retuning, so if I was going to exercise, I'd do permanent night stag so I could do these things correctly to my satisfaction, thank you.

Having changed radio frequency and dipole length to match, I'd find myself alone on the HF 1 Armd Div Log Net. So I'd call Div to find out if they'd bothered. Usually, they hadn't.

It came to pass one morning, a soldier whose money had run out before the month was moaning at not having beer tokens to drive his duty free 2.8 litre Capri or whatever. I banged the counter, achieving a satisfactory BANG! and started giving him a hard time. My Pitmatic accent may have come across hard because I was angry.

Now I knew GOC 1Armd Div was visiting. It had been posted on Orders, and I'd heard the voice of a General next door. So I ought not have been surprised when the communicating door between Pay Office and Orderly Room opened, and a General Staff cap came through, followed by the GOC.

He introduced himself along the lines of, "Hello, hello hello. What's going on here then?" Universal silence.

I explained the situation and he smiled. Because, "I recognise that accent. You're the radio operator who gives my signallers a hard time every night on exercise."

Mumbled reply, "Sorry, Sir."

"Not at all. They're a bunch of slackers." Beam from Workshop OC who'd followed the general through the door.

End of tour, days to do. Sat alone in office doing stuff (see above). Phone rings. "Pay Office, Corporal Alien." (Nobody had ever taught me to assume the caller was an officer and say Sir just in case.) "Corporal Alien, it's the OC. If you'd care to bring up my claim for my Operational Readiness Telephone, in return I'll let you read the most overwritten end of tour Confidential Report I've ever seen."

The OC described me as "the best NCO I've ever known." Admin Officer (platoon commander) stated that "Corporal Alien stands head and shoulders above any other NCO in the unit."

My career had peaked. Four years to go and counting.