Other Units

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This section covers the time spent in units other than the categories found under Units page.

Training NCO

I moved from 20 Fd Sqn to the Training Regiment to complete a six week Cadre and on completion became L/Cpl (by grace of god). In those days 1964, we did everything connected with the training of recruits it was towards the end of my time at No 1 that trainers started to specialise in drill, weapons, combat engineering etc. I also spent time as an admin NCO which was time well spent as it was an area which would stand me in good stead later in life. I became a whiz at building triple single Bailey Bridges, the Heavy Ferry, Heavy Floating Bridge etc, something that as a L/Cpl in a Sqn I would have never become. Another first was time spent carrying out the role of public relations NCO this involved me and the local press across the country, again a good move for later in life.
One aspect I will never understand was the gratitude of parents at passing off parades, we had made their sons life hell for 18 weeks yet they shook our hands and thanked us for what their sons had become and achieved.
I went back in 1983 with some of the TAVR from Belfast and was impressed with young NCO's who were running ranges etc.

RSME 1969

I went on leave from 12 Fd Sqn Christmas 1968 and was due to go back early January 1969, however I received a telegram to report to the RSME on Monday 6th January 1969 as I was to become a Welldriller and my kit would be sent to me.
I arrived at the RSME along with 7 other Cpls, we were gathered together and given the lowdown on why we were there and what the course was about, the course was one year long, we would get a B1 qualification and the top people would go to various parts of the world to take over drilling teams. We had until Friday to make our minds up.
It is fair to say we all said yes! Among the group were Armoured Engineers who became good friends, Dave Clegg, Wally Telfer, One other person was Terry Thomas. It soon became apparent that we were not welcome in the welldrilling fraternity. We started in the RSME workshops learning to weld, taking diesel engines apart, pumps Lab, Hydraulics Lab and the Blacksmiths, Dave Sculthorpe was the WO in charge, I was to meet and work with him in civi street in the 1990s
in Wigan and we had many a coffee and chin wag about days gone by. The result of the course was that the qualification was dropped to a B2 (Later A2)and I was posted to Sharjah to take over the drilling team from Bill Thomas.

28 Cadet Team
The Cadet Training Team consisted of an Officer who was always from the Royal Artillery, a WO who was always from the Cheshire Regiment (22 of Foot) and a Sgt who was always from the Royal Engineers. We were based in Chester and had the dubious task of looking after the Cheshire ACF and a number of CCF in private schools. The WO and myself went all over cheshire and the Isle of Man (IOM) together or as individuals we attended annual camps and ran the higher level exam/test days. With the ACF we had little if any contact with the kids our job was to deliver training to the adults who were a mixed bag, the better ones we called upon to help on exams/test days.
The CCF were a different kettle of fish they were private Grammar schools, Sandbach Grammar, Birkenhead Grammar and King Williams College in the IOM, at these we were involved teaching the senior boys who would then pass it on to the younger ones.

I was sent down to the RAEC centre at Wilton Park to complete an Army Methods of Instruction course and after that a projectionists course at the same place. While there I came across a a guy called Alan Skidmore who had been my Troop S/Sgt in 12 Fd Sqn, he was now a QMSI at the RSME, I enquired as to why was he here, his reply was that the RSME had sent him to see if the RAEC course was as good as theirs. I would have cause to regret not remembering this conversation 10 years down the line when completing forms for my QMSI course. We once ended up at Hawley lake with the Cadets, while there I came across an old friend from 12 Sqn, Brad Reynolds he was in charge of a Cent bridglayer that was there for reasons that have disappeared in the mists of time. While in Chester I met my wife and we had a son born in the local hospital.

My next posting was to Maidstone to 20 Fd Sqn after going on a six month A1 welldrilling course, this went down like a lead balloon when I reported to the Sqn to say hello and goodbye for six months.

112 (v)Fd Sqn RE

I arrived in Belfast in about October 1982 as a QMSI , immediately I was lumbered with organising the Christmas Ball for the SgtsPSIs 74 Engr Regt(v) Mess, oh joy! There were some good PSI's and TA people who were into this sort of thing and I would put the success of the evening down to them. The pecking order that is normally omni present in a regular Sgts Mess is magnified threefold in a TA regiment and it took time to adjust to this. I must say I enjoyed my time with the TA, I was with a Sqn based at Bangor Co Down. At the time the TA was undergoing changes that for many was not what they had joined for, to them it was a hobby and not a job. It never ceased to amaze me that the few faithful turned up time and time again on drill nights and weekends. The Officers and NCO's in the Sqn were in the main a decent bunch, the younger Officers and Cpls would have fitted in to a regular unit with ease, I had served in 20 Sqn in 1974 in Oman with one of the TA officers, he had left the Army and was a now a barrister in Belfast. The TA is a great place for obtaining things, as someone always knows someone who can get it at trade price.The PSI's were a mixed bunch, I was lucky I had a couple of decent Sgts under me, some of the others left a lot to be desired, this included regular officers.

The QM was a strange guy, but I had a lot of time for him after we had returned from summer camp at Whyk Reggis, he was the only one who was at Girdwood Park to accept all the kit and transport that had to be secured and stayed until the job was completed. A TA soldier of what ever rank is adept at disappearing quickly after a weekends training. Any PSI who stands on ceremony and thinks someone else will unload or collect stores, get transport fueled up etc is in for a big shock. The Sqn was run by the TA Officers and SNCO's the theory was that they were being paid to do the job, the PSI's advised the OC and others, organised the training, ordered equipment, collected it and returned it, in the main this worked well and it was a good Sqn to be in, I cant speak for the other Sqn's in the Regiment. Combat Engineer Training was modular and was organised at a regimental level in so much as the Training Major would allocate the organisation of the weekend to a PSI (QMSI) who would draw the instructors from the PSI's and TA NCO's who were up to scratch. Little did I know that as a civilian I would call upon this experience in 1989/90 when I was organising training linked to the introduction of NVQs.

Training took us to Aldershot to carryout MGB training using piers, the QMSI who handed the bridge over was in 20 Sqn with me in 1974. I went over a few days before the Sqn and took over the equipment and accommodation, the lads flew in to Heathrow on the Friday night, coaches brought them to Aldershott and we started building early Saturday morning, early Sunday we completed the training and stripped out the piers and handed the lot back including accommodation by 1300hrs, back on the coaches to Heathrow and on the Belfast and home.

We came across to the bridging camp at Haltern, Lancaster frequently to carryout watermanship training, on the way back we would stay overnight at the TA center in Birkenhead, 107(v) Fd Sqn RE the QMSI there was a guy called Pete Mirfin who was on the QMSI course with me, I was to meet him again in Wigan when we were both civies he was tendering for a job as he had his own firm cleaning building exteriors . I will always be proud of serving with the TA in Belfast they were a fine bunch of people.

202 (v) Fd Sqn RE

My last six months in the Army, 1884, were spent at my request with the TA based in Swinton, Greater Manchester, I had bought a house in the area, and my Mother lived 2 miles down the road, my wife's family lived 3 miles away, after 25 years the circle was complete I had come back to the area I set out from in 1960. I attended their annual camp in Scotland for a week prior to going on to a pre-release course at Catterik.

At camp I had time to fit in a bit of MGB which by now I had finally got to grips with. The main task at camp was to take an old railway bridge down using thermic lances and alongside to build a 23mtr laminated footbridge, as I was spare I looked after the footbridge while the other QMSI looked after the railway bridge. Unlike Belfast the TA Officers and SNCO's were responsible for very little, the Sqn PSI were expected to run everything including G10s and there was a great amount of interference from the Regimental HQ PSI's. We the Sqn QMSI's running training were not allowed to send away for or see the exam papers prior to students taking the modular exam this to me smacked of bureaucracy which I had never seen in Belfast. All in all I thought the TA in Belfast left their counter parts in England standing. Prior to leaving I was handed my LSGC without I am glad to say without a ceremony.

I went to Catterick on a pre release course and came across a guy who had been in the same troop in boys service. He was an electrician who was setting up his own business. I have already mentioned Barney Morley from 31 Sqn, running a club with his wife in the camp at Catterick.

The time came in November 1984 when it was all over, back to being a civilian. I was lucky to pick up employment quickly and became a project manager, the skills picked up on the CBT ENG 1 and the QMSI course were called upon time and time again and proved to be effective. When the role of the organisation changed I moved into training again calling on the skills learned in the Army all I had to do was to obtain civilian trainer qualifications. Later I became responsible for implementing and helping staff achieve the Investors in People (IIP) award, again for anyone who has been in the Army this was like falling of a log, very easy, the hard part was getting other managers to sign up to the IIP criteria. I got involved with Quality Assurance and had to write all the SOPs for the organisation again Army experience shone through. After working for 18yrs for the same organisation I have now retired and joined the REA, Armoured Engineer Branch.