Best or worst posting

[ricardian]

I once had a detachment from a detachment! This confused the system.
When I was with the RAF Liaison Party, I was posted to Transport Command HQ Unit Uphavon, on 'permanent' detachment to RAFLP. I arrived & cleared at Uphavon with 2 blue cards at the same time. No trouble it was SOP at Uphavon.
When I came back I went from Orange directly to Yatesbury on a 3 month course.
I travelled from Orange to Paris to Calais by train, boat to Dover. Train to Victoria, tube to Paddington, train Paddington to Chippenham to Calne and RAF bus to Yatesbury.
This took about 30 hours and I put in a claim for the overnight subsistence rate, I think it was about 30/-.
Yatesbury Accounts chucked it out on the grounds that I had only travelled from Upavon, about 16 miles over the hill!
It took me several days to persuade anyone in Yatesbury accounts to phone Uphavon and confirm my story.
30/- was serious money in 1958.

When I came back from Akrotiri in 1967 I was posted to 38 Group Support Unit at Tangmere. Soon afterwards I was detached to 24 (Air Portable) Brigade, Plymouth. 2 years later I was posted to 3 MHU (RAuxAF) at Mountbatten.
I had arrived with my blue chit at Tangmere but because Tangmere had closed and 38 Gp SU had moved to Benson I had great difficulty getting my blue clearance chit signed by sections on a station at which I had never arrived.

[Ex-Ascot]

Ricardian, Mountbatten must have been a good posting. We just went down there to be chucked in the sea. Usually in the winter.

[ricardian]

Ricardian, Mountbatten must have been a good posting. We just went down there to be chucked in the sea. Usually in the winter.

Yes, second only to Akrotiri. At Mountbatten we had nothing to do with the sea-going types as we were permanent staff instructors to 3 Maritime HQ Unit RAuxAF. When my posting to 3 MHU came in at my previous site my boss thought it was a mistake as the RAuxAF had been disbanded in the 1950s. Very enjoyable time, worked normal hours but took Friday and Saturday off as we worked most Sundays, that was when the RAuxAF came in for the day to do their training. When I was demobbed from there in 1973, I had no idea who the CO was (he was a Master Mariner and thus divorced from the rest of the RAF) so it was embarassing for us both when I had my final interview after getting my blue clearance chit signed up - he asked why I was not signing on so I explained that (a) I was medically downgraded and thus ineligible for signing on, (b) there were no vacancies in my rank and trade and (c) I was a 30 year old corporal who was looking forwards to being treated as a responsible human being when I joined GCHQ as a Radio Officer.

[compo]

I'm still trying to figure out whether Omagh was Nigel's best or worst posting!

[lasernigel]

I'm still trying to figure out whether Omagh was Nigel's best or worst posting!

It wasn't too bad. Saw some pretty bad things, shot at, bombed,mortared and stoned. But it had good points as well. Canada winter repair programme was the worst. Cold enough in Suffield to freeze the proverbial off. Medicine Hat was good the first time but some of the girls there were pretty rough.