Head Dress

Many thanks Gordon ! I was only a simple squaddy from teeth armed units and
we relied on our technology conversant betters to do the tricky stuff !

Gordon. wrote:

Quote :

Funny how the British squaddy manages to look like a sack of spuds, no matter what they're wearing !

Speak for yourself Sir

Ah, most remiss of me sir !

The Caledonian element managed to look like a badly-filled haggis.

(Steel helmets on !)

There you go Dearie

Len (Ciphers)

'oops, someone beat men to it .. must be the time lag (8hrs) on the West Coast of Canada ..
and 'goodness gracious me, already ... some one else was in 6 Armoured

Len (Ciphers)

Quote :

h, most remiss of me sir !

The Caledonian element managed to look like a badly-filled haggis.

Quote :

'oops, someone beat men to it .. must be the time lag (8hrs) on the West Coast of Canada ..

It`s an age thing Len

Gordon. wrote:

Quote :

h, most remiss of me sir !

The Caledonian element managed to look like a badly-filled haggis.

How very dare you, I was the epitome of the perfect soldier!!

BUT!!!!No rooti gong???

Gordon. wrote:

BUT!!!!No rooti gong???

Not yet, still composing my Plea of Mitigation!!

NFC

Gordon. wrote:

NFC

Near Field Communication?

WTFIT?

Gordon. wrote:

WTFIT?

.



It's used on Smartphones, bit like the Bluetooth system. Scaleys............ISTsnifff

Smartphones, Bluetooth?

You might as well talk Martian.

He is a Martian,,,Or maybe a gunner....not much difference

pete26 wrote:

[
The bofors may not have fooled them, but I recall that a fighter squadron was on fast alert from the Londonderry area IIRC. They 'buzzed' the Maze when I was there.

Cleaning my boots one morning in the Kesh, in '73, a movement caught my eye.
Looking up I saw a Phantom making a low pass over the H blocks, he was clogging on a bit so there wasn't any sound then he put his nose up, fired up his afterburner and shot skyward. The noise was actually painful.
Enquiring later, I was told that they made these runs from time to time, photographing the ground so that the experts could look for evidence of tunneling.
The afterburner was for the benefit of the inmates.
That plane was from (I think) Leuchars.

[quote="brum"]

pete26 wrote:

[
.
I was told that they made these runs from time to time, photographing the ground so that the experts could look for evidence of tunneling.
The afterburner was for the benefit of the inmates.
That plane was from (I think) Leuchars.

With the alleged mentality of some of the locals, I suppose it's possible they might have been tunnelling in .............

And maybe worse than a Phantom, we were close to two Lightnings doing the same stunt at an air display. If my ears hadn't been semi effective after earlier proximity to 25pdrs. & 40mm at 240 rpm, ( "Don't flinch lad ! It's only a bang!") discomfort would have been greater.

brum wrote:

Cleaning my boots one morning in the Kesh, in '73, a movement caught my eye.
Looking up I saw a Phantom making a low pass over the H blocks,

I was there in early 74 Brum and they hadn't built the H blocks by then. They still used the old nissen huts for the blighters.

Did you go back later ?

pete26 wrote:

[I was there in early 74 Brum and they hadn't built the H blocks by then. They still used the old nissen huts for the blighters.

Did you go back later ?

Ooops ! You're right, we just got into calling them H blocks in later years.

We only did the one tour, finished in Jan '74 as a matter of fact.

I often went there on various admin trips in later years though.

brum wrote:

pete26 wrote:

[I was there in early 74 Brum and they hadn't built the H blocks by then. They still used the old nissen huts for the blighters.

Did you go back later ?

Ooops ! You're right, we just got into calling them H blocks in later years.

We only did the one tour, finished in Jan '74 as a matter of fact.

I often went there on various admin trips in later years though.

Then we took over from you !

4th Jan 1974.

My independent armoured squadron got attached to 32 Engr Regt for Op Banner.

[quote="pete26"][quote="brum"]

pete26 wrote:

Then we took over from you !
4th Jan 1974.

My independent armoured squadron got attached to 32 Engr Regt for Op Banner.

I've been trying to remember who it was that took over from us, REs, of course.

I was with Main Gate Troop.

Probably watched you arrive.
Did you wave ?

Pete can you remember who took over as do not have a RE unit recorded

26 Armoured Engineer Squadron – Haig Barracks Hohne
NI Infantry Role Jan to May 74 command 32 Engr Regt

21 Engineer Regiment – Assaye Barracks Neinburg
Regiment to NI Long Kesh Infantry Role Dec 74 to Mar 75

I was in the Nicker Factory in Lurgan 72/73 (Royal Signals) and remember taking the Brigade Water Cannon to Long Kesh when there was trouble...

Cheers
Steve
http://royalengineersbaor.blogspot.de/

[quote="brum"][quote="pete26"]

brum wrote:

pete26 wrote:

Then we took over from you !
4th Jan 1974.

My independent armoured squadron got attached to 32 Engr Regt for Op Banner.

I've been trying to remember who it was that took over from us, REs, of course.

I was with Main Gate Troop.

Probably watched you arrive.
Did you wave ?

No mate I didn't wave, as I was still suffering an hangover still after flying in from Gutersloh.

They flew us through a storm too to land at Aldergrove and I was sat over the engines - turboprop.

A wet and windy welcome. A lot like the weather today in fact.

steve wrote:

Pete can you remember who took over as do not have a RE unit recorded

26 Armoured Engineer Squadron – Haig Barracks Hohne
NI Infantry Role Jan to May 74 command 32 Engr Regt

21 Engineer Regiment – Assaye Barracks Neinburg
Regiment to NI Long Kesh Infantry Role Dec 74 to Mar 75

I was in the Nicker Factory in Lurgan 72/73 (Royal Signals) and remember taking the Brigade Water Cannon to Long Kesh when there was trouble...

Cheers
Steve
http://royalengineersbaor.blogspot.de/

Hi Steve,

I think it was the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards who took over from us. I have a pic of them in 'Op Bouncer mode' in David Barzilays book BRITISH ARMY IN ULSTER ( Vol 2).

Can't help you with 21 Engr Reg though a few of our lads had been ex- 21 before moving to Armd.

Just seen TV showing Yorks. Regt marching through York after an Afghan tour. Now it's a wee bit naughty to slate lads who have done some real, dangerous soldiering, but it's not their fault that the only kit on hand these days, for whatever task they are doing, is that new fangled, multi-purpose desert- or- everywhere DP Combats with something akin to suede boots to mask any sound of marching. Same dress appears on the squaddies who have been recently drafted in to run their eager hands over female visitors arriving for the Olympics. More like landing in a Third World banana republic I imagine.

Don't seem very impressive, to one from my era, more akin to the scorned sloppy dress of the long-haired Dutch lads who inspected trains from the Hook when they halted at the German border. And the berets they have now !!!!!! OK for no two to be worn alike when on normal duties perhaps, maybe a bit of individual tweaking can be tolerated. But for a formal parade, or for close contact duty with the public, & especially with foreign visitors, sloppy turnout can only give a negative impression of our capabilities. I wonder if RSMs have a different outlook on what's allowed in the modern army.

Something more like that avatar of the Asian lass with the white scarf please! Oh. go on! There's an opening for someone to take the piss, but baggy combats aren't parade kit in my book.

Hrrumph !!! It shouldn't be allowed ! Have another G & T Carruthers ?