Please feel free to contact me if there are any errors or omissions….. this is how I remember it all, it is after all 40 years ago!!

Easter 1980, Mick Kimberley and I shared a farewell `do` in the WOs and Sgts mess at Duss, so the staffing estimate of 3 PC Regt RE around Easter time of 1980 @ Dusseldorf:

CO – Len Calcutt

2 i/c – OC Depot / 30 something Sqn)  – Andy Murray (Feb 80) / Peter Linney

Other Officers – Don Bramley, Laurie Watkins, John Connelly

RSM – Bob Davidson

WO 1s Tech – Lenny Perkins, Pete Golightly, ??

HQ Sqn (30 or something??) – Alec Wilson, Dave Gladwin, Stu Cambridge, Dave Blane, Graham Warden,

Mick Buckley, Jack Kennington, Mick Kimberley, Norman Joy, Brian

(Andy) Anderson, [Some may have already left?]

Depot Sqn (30 or something) –

Don Scott [left in 78], Pat Elliott, Gerry Maguire (newly promoted from Brunsum), Mick Pickard, Graham Stewart, Terry East, Alf Fensome, Jim Brady, Terry Hughes, Lofty Brooks, Paddy Vance, Bill  Winfield, Jimmy Craig, Johnny Fee, Geoff Salmon, Lou Lister, Nigel Dickens, Geoff Baker, John (Tommy) Sands, Alf Manship,  Bob Short, `Eck Horsborough, Alan Monks, Jim Davidson, Gary Pearson. `Taff Lockwood, Don Lomax, Terry Hart, Frank Gray,

Amongst the WRAC, some names taken from my leaving card – were:  Cheryl Cannon and Scouse, Sharon, `Midge aka Michelle Francis, Sandy O, Mabs, Lynda Bunce, Jan Fairgrieve (?), Mary Ruttel (?), Ruth, Ann Sampson, Debbie Lake.

[ Maybe left already? ] : Di Waddington, Sue Battison,

Some civilian names – 40 years later very sadly I am unable to read all of them from my card: Yanis, Fr Jausen (?), Unina Haggart (?),

More names listed on F/B –  from Nov 1980, whether they overlapped with Easter of 1980, perhaps someone could clarify – these names have been suggested:  Jimmy Welfare, Johnny Wheeler, Simon Hazell, Scouse Billington, Lonny Lonnergen, Chris Clark, Bernie Breen, Spike Martin, Liz Stewart, Heather Crawford, Kim Higgingbottom,

(there must have been many others – 18 early morning courier departures, 3 x nightly TRS runs, daily staff required at Depot end = 83 persons.   Once again my apologies for the name lapses)

Accounts                                             – Tom O`Grady, Fred Wright, ????

Mails Branch                                       – Norman Harman [ left in 79], Ray Gaffey, Douggie Kerr,  Civvy net: Sandra                                                                              Archibald, Hilde Taylor, Faz Huck &  Walter ?

ERS Sqn (30 or something)              – Nick Wand, Me – replaced by Joe Kelly, FPO Lohausen staff:??

MT at Scotton Barracks                     – Andy Quinn, Dick Inkpen, Clive Billings & David Scott (REME),                                                                                                 Geordie Lachs, ????

Photos of that time that may jog a memory – or two :

I was stationed in Duss – Jan 1977 up to Easter 1980

Full details – as researched by Lou Lister, myself and many others, are on the PCS F/book sites under “Files” and also on the PCS website.

1978 – Regimental dinner night –

Me, Jack Griffiths, Ray Gaffey, Stu Macfarlane.  Seated: Maureen Griffiths, Marj, Moira Macfarlane, Tommy O`Grady, Norah Gaffey, Norman Harman and Sue on the end, Renate O`Grady between them.

1977/78 Footy team – Allegedly:  Danny McKeown, David Scott, Norman Harman, Mac Maccoll, Eck Horsburgh, Dougie Swanson, John Norton, Clive Billings, Dougie Kerr, Geordie Lachs, Ray Gaffey, Alan Monks, Jimmy Grant, Trevor Lindley.    Taken at Mill Hill around 77-78.

1978 – Unit Bar-b-que at Scotton Bcks –

The Quinn family on both photos plus: Tom O`Grady and son Simon, with Cheryl Cannon amongst those at the rear, my wife between mother and daughter.

I have several “group” photos – I am unable to find three, in particular:   Food queue, Darts, volleyball teams.Volleyball photo is mine – Scott and his mum Maureen Griffiths, Norman Harman and family, Stu Macfarlane with his back to camera.   Courtesy of Dave Blane: Dave Gladwin / Alec Wilson (not McDonald) and families.

(1979) Dustbin lid: Barbara & Dick Inkpen, with Marj between them, Pete & Sandie Golightly, Maureen & Jack Griffiths (leaving do), Graham & Rita Warden, with me at the front.

Don Bramley had established a caravan for holidays in the South of France, Dick & Barbara Inkpen used to check it out before / after lettings in the early days, by 1979 we had to book through an agency.

Where the road to St Tropez turned off the local road was a 3 lane roundabout, our first week – that was a nightmare, the 2nd week locals had gone elsewhere and it was a doddle!!   Siesta-time in France is rigidly abided by, we arrived for a day in St Tropez around late morning, not much opened until mid afternoon.  Boats everywhere – on a VERY grand scale!!

1 May 1979     Re-designation from `8 Command to 3 PC Regt RE Cpl Don Lomax was the flag bearer.

Sunday Oct 1, 1979: “several” Landrovers went to Paris for a weekend march, I was interviewed why we had been away nearly a week ………. ” We all had a great time – thank you, Sir!! ”

Up the Eifel Tower went – Jack, Dick and me.

John Jackett, Geordie Lachs (Kepi – MT driver), Steve Wade, Benny Hannon, Jack Kennington, John Connoly, Dick Inkpen, & Tommy Sands.

Front? David Scott (REME), Nigel (Budgie) Dickens and Jonny (pick up the log) Fee.

1980 – Mick Kimberley and I hosted joint farewell evening: Bob Davidson & Mick, Jim Brady, Lenny Perkins and Faz Huck – with their ladies, as marked on each photo below  –

Meanwhile, at the bar: Bob Davidson (PCS RSM) Rhine Area RSM, Mick, Len Cook (RE long service), terry Hughes, Mick Buckley and Graham Stewart.

********************************************

Some of you may have seen photos by Dot (Dorothy) Stewart on my home page (F/book) about a return trip to Hong Kong of one of her family, our own daughter also went back there, not particularly on a military visit, more general sightseeing, many major changes obviously, over Christmas / New Year 2012/13 as a part of her 50th birthday celebrations.

The “Asian” railway journeys on BBC 2 this past few evenings have brought back many memories: 2 x programmes from H/K, we took R & R at Penang – via KL in 1966, had 3 weeks in Singapore in Sep 1966 – waiting for a plane home, when the peace treaty was suddenly signed and 5 Inf Bde had to “get out” of Malaysia / Borneo ASAP!!

As a family, we arrived Osborne flats off Waterloo road on Nov 74 and left on Nov 76.  Whilst I can remember most of the senior positions during 1975 and 1976, some names are cropping up – where did we all serve during those two years?

OCs were Graham Hillier followed by Bruce McCandlish,
2 i/cs were Ivor Siddall and Howard Stanley,
WO`s 1 were Pete Cussons and Stu Macfarlane.

Unit HQ (Osborne)                       –    OC, 2 i/c,  WO 1 and at least:  Graham Stewart /  Norman Peck C/Clerk
CDO RAF Kai Tak                          –    Dave Rutherford, must have been loads more ????   Derek Ewen arrived late 76
HQ FARELF (Victoria)                   –    Jim Brokenbrow, followed by ?
HMS Tamar                                  –     Dave Blane, followed by ?
FPO Sek Kong                               –     me, + Sue Battison followed by ?
FPO Osborne                                –    John Jackson, followed by me + Andy Palmer (?), Abi Torrance at some time ??

Known names that need placing – George Nicholson (just finishing his tour?), Pete Golightly, Andy Ingram, John Couling, John Mcleod, Spr Maxwell, Alex Lennie, Mike Cashmore, Geoff Card, Bobby Best …………………………. ??

Some (of many) random photos attached.   Answers on the proverbial Postcard will be very acceptable!!

A large brown envelope arrived one spring day of 1959 that was to change my life dramatically.

It contained details of my National Service call up – the recruiting office was at Redruth and I was to use the enclosed railway travel warrant for medical requirements at the DCLI barracks at Bodmin.

I was nineteen and a half years of age, in regular employment at Perranporth sub-post office as a counter clerk. Over the past 18 months or so, firstly cycling the 30 or so miles round trip each day, then by moped and finally with my full motor cycle licence, I had progressed by that year to a Triumph tiger cub. I had met my future wife-to-be Marjorie, who also worked at Perranporth and life, was going well.

The employment law stated that jobs had to be available when NS was finished, sub-postmaster Doug Lean explained to me that he had to employ someone else to take my place and when the recruiting sergeant told me the rates of pay, that clinched it!

One pound two shillings and sixpence per week was the NS rate of pay – or three pounds five shillings per week as a regular soldier – exactly my current wage, with no chance of promotion – a no brainer! I passed my medical, the Royal Engineers had a Postal section (PCS) and so I was off to Farnborough with my railway warrant on 31st March as a 6 years regular soldier, having become engaged to Marj a few days earlier.

My service record shows that I was in military training at Cove for about 6 weeks, then trade training as a Postal and Courier operator for a further period at Mill Hill in North London, before joining the Home Postal Depot (HPD) at Shepherds bush, by the end of August.

1959 .. 108 Training party – joining up 6 weeks later passing out,
four of these became “Posties”: Jim Brady, Bob Davidson, Pete Nuttall and me.

 

 

229 PTS August 1959 – we are “Army Tradesmen” half were NS … 1962 Admin parade, with the last of the NS.

All military mail, for overseas destinations would be most commonly addressed to: Name, Unit / Regiment etc, British Forces Post Office – followed by a location number (BFPO XX), was handled by RE (PCS). Distributed from HPD through their 24/7 depot at Gorst Road, Acton at that time, later at Mill Hill. Three daily shifts were either from 06.00 to 14.00, 14.00 to 22.00 and 22.00 around to 06.00 – the dreaded night shift. Weekends were rotated to allow one off in three. Regimental duties still had to be performed, quite often all-night guard duty – two hours on and four hours off, straight back onto one of those shifts.

The exceptions were mails by road – known as courier runs, to and from London stations or of course, to and from the London airports. The railway stations were cleared several times per day, most mail came in during the early hours on regular GPO mail trains, the forces mail bags being segregated for our collection.
The duty courier travelling in the rear of the truck to safeguard the bags of mail in transit – rain or shine!

As Christmas time approached I was on night duty, I spoke to my Corporal and asked if I might leave early on Christmas eve and catch the train home from Paddington, riding there in the front seat of the duty truck. “Not a problem Sapper Jackett, make sure you are not late back to duty” I had noted that there was an 05.30 train to Truro, rather than go back to camp, have breakfast to catch the Cornish Riviera at 10.30. I settled into a corner seat and tried to catch-up on some lost sleep, duly arriving at Truro about one hour before the Riviera – my train stopped everywhere, a salutary lesson!

In the spring of 1960 I moved to the RE (PCS) TA office, which controlled civilian Postmen performing their 14 days per year of military training, courses at Brighton gave me my first promotion before my marriage in September 1960. November 1960 saw the last intake of NS, we had at least 4 NS in our TA office.
In December 1962 we were blessed with the arrival of our daughter, followed two years later by her brother.

September 1960 ……………………………….. December 1964

Easter 1962 – Corporal Jackett on tour in Cornwall… Autumn `62, passed my car test and parentage looms for us

On posting to Tidworth in 1965 as a sergeant, meant a ten month detachment to Borneo (65-66), then Hannover and Celle in Germany (67-71) for the first of three tours over there. Oman (71-72), Rheindahlen (72-74 – see below *) then Hong Kong and Nepal (74-76), Dusseldorf (77-80 see below **). Detachments from Germany were to Belgium, France and Denmark.

1966 – Borneo with `brown knees`, 1974 our FPO counter, next to the largest NAAFI shop in the world, Bill and Heidi were my two German counter clerks * and 1979 my last Remembrance Parade in Dusseldorf **

* Rheindahlen Garrison aka ” Little England “, officially to us – HQ BAOR housed in a huge building affectionately known as “The Big House” also HQ RAF (G) had a separate office complex there. Nine primary schools and 2 secondary schools, illustrating its nick-name, two cinemas a theatre and an olympic sized outdoor swimming pool, completed the unique set-up enjoyed by many families. Walking from my home in south-west extension to my office took 40 minutes, so I drove like everyone else.
Next door to my FPO was a Malcolm Club RAF families centre, in November and early December we set-up two extra counter positions in there to deal with the “Christmas rush” as extra mails and particularly parcels were posted, mostly home to UK or to other families around the world.

** Lohausen barracks Dusseldorf was situated next to the Airport, allowing immediate access to both daily Air Mails in and out, but also UK daily newspapers, which we in the RE (PCS) distributed in trucks alongside the mail. Normally one large container lorry per day handled our surface parcels in and out, but come the Christmas rush, up to three per day were dealt with – very busy times.

I requested my last 12 months service to be in UK, as Warrant Officer class one. I had been offered a commission but we were set on coming home to Cornwall, Marj and our two teenage children had travelled home at Easter of 1980. South Cerney near Cirencester rounded off my 22 years service on 31st March 1981.