Barrack Room Inspection.

Going back a bit, but I remember a TV documentary about events in Normandy following D-Day. Chap there, a tankie, had been more than scathing about RMP but changed his mind & sang their praises when they were route-signing and taking heavy casualties at manned crossroads.

Guess nobody likes a copper until you need one..............i

but when you ask the time their bloody watch has stopped,

I recall that the RAF Police in Gutersloh would sit outside the Gunner Barracks waiting for an unsuspecting Grunt to stagger back to Camp, normally minding his own business. They would then win d him up until they had "Sufficient Evidence" to charge him with Insubordination, Drunkeness, Threatening Behaviour or some such other trumped up Charge. Fortunately the RSM got wise to this practice and put the SWO in the picture - it soon stopped.

A mate and me pissed the RAF police off.when we managed to break into the station with a large restaurant sign,during a security exercise.

Severe reps all round.

On the whole they were a lot more human than the monkeys. (no pun intended

REDCAPS/COPPERS, like any profession, good and bad.

CIPHERS, you are a grand poet ! Nice verse that on the red caps. Yes they were in the thick of it sometimes. Many got killed/injured in the World Wars. Many Redcaps killed/injured in Iraq/Afghanistan.

Just my two bobs worth.

Beachley Boy wrote:

Ah Barrack room inspections - I can remember..

STAND BY YOUR BEDS !

Wasn't that a song by Tammy Wynette?? Oh...sorry....that was Stand By Your Man....ooops. My bad!!

Quote :

Stand By Your Man

That was the command when the WRAC billets were raided by the monkeys

Gordon. wrote:

Quote :

Stand By Your Man

That was the command when the WRAC billets were raided by the monkeys

Raiding the WRAC billets? Female or Transsexual monkeys I hope!
That would have been an exciting detail.

Quote :

That would have been an exciting detail.

Wouldn`t know Les....I prefered the WRAF ladies,Though they had some funny ones too

QARANC for me, especially commissioned ones. That tender touch oooooooowwwwwaaa!!!!

Jimsigs1

And me, they had a certain fragrance and confidence about them.

Yep....rubbing alcohol,

And the smell of starch on those funny hats they wore.

I never forget the time we came out of the desert at RAF El Adem and clapped our eyes on a couple of RAF nurses.

How come the brylcreem always seem to have better kit than WE did ?

Need to go and have a lie down! NURSE...........................

Every Positive has a Negative! Just remembered MATRON, FFS, Ex Ranker with a 5 O'Clock shadow and a bedside manner guaranteed to dampen any ardour quicker than 3 spoonsful of Bromide. Arrrrgghhhh.

Went to a New Years eve party at my RMP mates flat. Things were getting a bit out of hand and I suggested to my mate that someone might call the RMP's. "Do them no good, he replied, they are all here".

When our Sapper Sqn. flew to Hannover in a RAF VC10, Autumn of 1977, the lads took a collection for the driver. The female acting as Service trolley dolly took it up to the front end after landing.......

It amounted to around £5 in small change, 96 Pesetas, 2 gaming machine tokens, three bottle tops & a pair of WRAF knickers.

So who got the trolley dolly`s knickers???YOU????

How did he know they were WRAF knickers ? Is there an identifying label or part number.
Thought the service girls wore their own civvy types. !! I know because I married a WRAC girl (50 years ago)

Jimsigs1

The trolley dolly`s would probably be the only femals on the flight.The service number would be stamped on the rear end..

A lot of them didn't wear knickers (I heard).

My sister was a WAAF ....... i.e for you kids the name preceded WRAF. Whilst it is true to say that the majority of female service personnel wore their own nether garments (as did most males, from memory ) in former times there were certainly issue items which were of the Passion Killer variety. These both protected when worn and amused when displayed for public inspection. I have no first hand knowledge of 1970's Service female underwear, though my familiarity with the civilian garments of similar function is extensive. Even now !

Back to inspections (of a sort, if not barrack room)........... That flight to Hannover was memorable. My cousin was a pilot with 10 Sqn., when he heard we we using them he arranged for me to be called forward to the cockpit for the flight. The RAF VC10's had a VIP seat behind the two pilots, I took post there & was given a headset to listen to all the chat that went on, but missed the hilarity in the passenger area.

It was unfortunate that the German baggage handlers were on strike, so we had to unload our own kit and transport it to Hameln in our advance party 4 tonners. All was going well until the last truck pulled up. Driver backed up, getting as close to the cargo bay as possible. Too close. Back of RL made contact with one of those floppy bits on the trailing edge of the wing, it didn't go unnoticed.

Until then we'd had a reasonably good relationship with our RAF contacts, this changed things. To say they weren't chuffed is putting it mildly. Sqn Ldr. pilot screamed blue murder, you'd have thought the VC 10 was his personal property rather than just something he had on temporary charge. "That effing truck goes nowhere until I've had a full inspection!" he raved.......... (This is the promised inspection bit.........). And so it was. Rest went off to Hameln & a meal, I stayed with the RL, subdued driver, the VC10 & silent RAF types until mechanical experts tugged at ailerons and made sure they weren't about to drop off. The FMT3 was an unusual one. Not many accident reports have sketches of airfield perimeter strips and big aeroplanes...

not like our draws cellular for the use of , ginger