Six Months Extra

Surely there must be a lot more of us "Long range snipers" out there in the wide world?????

handyman wrote:

Thanks for the welcome Brum. I only found this site today, while researching my old camp at Hildesheim. I clicked on a link and there it was. I originally intended to join the 16/5th Royal lancers, but after doing the various tests at Wolverhampton Army recruiting centre, I was told that I would be going to the Royal Artillery because they need men of your calibre. I was 18 at the time and the recruiting officers joke fell on deaf ears. I remember his next words to me, and I quote, "You are going to be a TARA young man". I had not got a clue what a TARA was and I said so. He then said," Its a Technical Assistant-Royal Artillery". I still hadn't got a clue but I stuck my chest out and said, "Thats for me Sir". It turned out that I was to become a Regimental Surveyor and the RSMs general dogs-body as all the rest of the Surveyors were. But I loved my Army service and I would do it all again, given the chance. Those were good days, and thank the Lord, apart from being deaf, I am in perfect health and fighting fit.

See what happens when you play with big guns? You can claim for that I think!

I have had several people say that to me Teabag, but finding out information on this subject is not easy. My hearing began to get worse a few years after I was demobbed in 1968. A bad chest cold that went to my head finally finished me off. Result, two hearing aids and a lot of use of the word "Pardon"?

Am a bit concerned over my Avatar, we don't have Lance Corporals in the Artillery, we have Lance Bombardiers!!!!!!!Help.

handyman wrote:

Only 3 of us Shelldrake. Tut!tut! this is not good enough. Where are the rest of the Cannon fodder? Get fell in you skivers, stand up and be counted.

"Three's too -bloody -many", I can hear them saying !

See what happens when you play with big guns? You can claim for that I think! [/quote]

Teabag's right.

For example.

Back in the 80's, word came to us from an Irish Ranger friend that anyone who had fired the SLR, before ear defenders were issued ,could claim for damaged hearing, (subject to an examination of course).

I got £1000, and my hearing is fine !

Chase it up handyman, you won't get it if you don't ask.

You cannot have too much of a good thing, thats what I say. Once a gunner, always a gunner. Ubique quo fas et Gloria Ducunt. Where do you suggest that I look for info on this subject Brum. Any advice would be appreciated.

Handyman, have a look on the Veterans website at www.veterans-uk.info, I am sure that will be a good starting point for you.

brum wrote:

See what happens when you play with big guns? You can claim for that I think!

Teabag's right.

For example.

Back in the 80's, word came to us from an Irish Ranger friend that anyone who had fired the SLR, before ear defenders were issued ,could claim for damaged hearing, (subject to an examination of course).

I got £1000, and my hearing is fine !
Chase it up handyman, you won't get it if you don't ask. [/quote]

I'm tellin!

Teabag wrote:

brum wrote:

See what happens when you play with big guns? You can claim for that I think!

Teabag's right.

For example.

Back in the 80's, word came to us from an Irish Ranger friend that anyone who had fired the SLR, before ear defenders were issued ,could claim for damaged hearing, (subject to an examination of course).

I got £1000, and my hearing is fine !
Chase it up handyman, you won't get it if you don't ask.

I'm tellin![/quote]

Pardon ?

I'm deaf as a post but they wouldn't pay me, they say in my case it's age related hearing loss

Hey Handyman. A welcome to the group from Canada. Some where in my murky past I was a young lad in the R.C.A. in the militia. An out fit called 32 Loc. Bty. RCA. Does that count for anything?Brief as it was, as the following year ( 1960) they changed it back to infantry (Brockville Rifles). So looking back on my career, Militia, Regular Army I've worn a R.C.A., Brockville Rifles, RC Sigs, Logistics and U.N. hat badges. Maybe I should put'em all up on the old beret and out do Monty.

[b]Hey, thanks for the welcome Hardrations. Yes service in any Artillery unit counts. Once a gunner, always a gunner. I was a Regimental Surveyor with 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery and during my service I had the pleasure of the company of two lads from the 1st Regiment Royal Canadian Horse Artillery. We were on a Survey training course held at Hohne barracks Germany in the middle of winter. I was so impressed at the standard of their cold weather gear compared to the rubbish that we had. I did my best to swap my gear with their's but no sale mister.
All the best from a cold cold Britain. Tony.

Can anyone clarify for me what the Gunner Surveyors did? I find it hard to believe that they would be surveying during the heat of battle. Or does it mean something totally different in gunnery terms.

I spent 24 years with the Gunners and I would also be interested to find out what they did!!

Oh, that's easy.

One used to stand by our command post with an arty board and shout "Down Safety !"

I see, I remember that!! The always looked suspiciously clean.

LOL< that is no help at all Guys.

I thought I'd leave it to Handyman to explain Jim, he used to be one.

Hi Brum and all
Been on 'listening watch' as moving from a '9 year posting' in Iserlohn my 3rd to Lower Saxony near Cuxhaven and not had the time to respond to the chat and update the web pages but thought this would be of interest regarding National Service the link was sent by a good mate to another chat group and the BAOR unit is 1 Wireless Regiment
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/222149
The 100% move is just two weeks away and will be back soon
Regards
Steve

[b] Ok, are you all sitting comfortably,then I will begin. Gun batteries consisted of six guns,usually 3 batteries to a Regiment so a total of 18 guns could be brought to bear on a target if the target was big enough to warrant it. Very rarely did you get all 3 batteries in close proximity to each other. The whole idea was to spread them out, sometimes with two or three miles separating them, to cut down the risk of a counter attack taking them all out with one strike.
Each gun battery had a primitive optical instrument, similiar to a modern day theodolite that was given the name of "Director". This was capable of measuring angles in the horizontal plane and also angles of elevation, but firstly it had to be leveled by use of a circular spirit level incorporated into the instrument stand onto which the director was fitted. Each director also had a magnetic compass with which they were able to get their respective gun battery pointing roughly in the direction of North in order to receive bearings and distances to targets that could be as much as 10 to 20 miles away. The problem is that this director was in-accurate so in order to make sure that all of the guns are pointing in the right direction, you have to carry out a higher form of Survey which involves doing a survey excercise from a known point on the ground. A point such as a BP or bearing picket which has already been surveyed and of which we know the co-ordinates, height above sea level and also the exact bearing and elevation of several other objects that are on the horizon such as a church spire, tall building, electric pylons etc,etc.
The survey party consisted of 3 vehicles,Svy 1,2,and 3. One for each gun battery, An officer commanded Svy 1, a Sgt commanded Svy 2 and a Bombardier was in charge of Svy 3.

Are you all with me so far. Part 2 will follow shortly. Pay attention at the back, I will be asking questions.

Handyman, it was a lot simpler in a Msl Bty. The Survey chappie would drive in to a field, hammer a tent peg, the top of which had been painted red, into the ground and drive off. We would then come along in the Launcher, cold on account of only having one Parka between six, and park up in a nearby wood. Upon receiving the command "Fire Mission" we would pretend to go through the rigmarole "Fit Fins, signaller starts two stopwatches etc" and report "Fired" then drive on to the next location without putting ourselves out too much! Woops, I think that I might have let the cat out of the bag, Brum?

[b]Wake up that man at the back.

Sorry folks, we had a power cut at 1700 hrs and it was not put back on until 1805 so we went out at 1710 for a pub meal. Thats my story anyway.

As I was saying about us surveyors, the Regiment was carrying out "Fire and movement" excercises and each battery moved to positions recced and marked out by the recce party. As soon as we knew the locations we began to do our survey from a known point, sometimes several hundred yards, or metres from the battery centre. This survey was often carried out in some quite foul weather and some of our improvisations had to be seen to be believed. But we had to get an accurate line and fix to all of the gun batteries as fast as possible but at the same time,we had to be accurate. There was always an AIG hanging around trying to catch us out. It was very strange during all of this survey work, but you were not allowed to pass any information to the guns until you had carried out one vitally important check, and that was to take out your prismatic compass and do a final check of bearing that you were about to send to the battery director.

There was a lot more to our work but I will keep it short. Long before computers came on the scene, we had a Computing trailer that was towed behind one of the survey vehicles, usually Svy 3. This would be set-up in a hide somewhere, and it was simply a mobile office with our Log tables,slide rules and a very antiquated calculator which you had to wind in one direction to add and the reverse to subtract. There would be one or two surveyors stationed in there with one wirking out the information using seven figure log tables and the other bloke doing a rough second check with a slide rule.

In the meantime the information sheets would be collected from the different work stations by the Svy Sgt on a motorbike so that the excercise could be completed and the new line and bearing passed to the guns as soon as possible. Competition between gun batteries and Svy 1,2 and 3 was very keen to see which battery could report "Ready" soonest. We regimental surveyors never had an easy time because when we were not doing survey we became the RSMs dogsbody party. We became specialists in digging and building latrines. That seemed to be the only other specialist trade that we were good for. In the RSMs words," Fetch me the La,di,da bloody surveyors. Ive got a job for them!"

Anyway, if I have missed anything, I am sure someone else can fill in the gaps. I hope that i havent bored you fella'. All the best...Tony.

Windsor Davies was your RSM?

Mr La di dah Gunner Graham!

Surveyors.... I remember one time in Rheinselen the surveyors being used to properly aligne the tents to the BSM's satisfaction. We can't have been the only Artillery unit in BAOR to pull that trick off. Also Survey Section were a good party lot.