Misfits, Dad's Army Types et al...
Discussion
I’m a (temporarily off the road) blood biker.
Despite having done blue light and advanced car courses in the cops, to use one of the charity’s liveried bikes, I have to get a “civvy” advanced motorcycle qualification - IAM, RoSPA or equivalent. I’m a cheapskate and lazy with it, so I’d just use my own bike when I was on the rota. I have a high viz jacket, that I’d stick on as I arrived at the “sending” hospital and take off once I’d delivered at the “receiving” hospital.
Some of the other “untrained” volunteers, who were also using their own bikes, started to add... I’m going to be generous, and call it “livery”... to their own bikes. LOTS of livery, in some cases. The committee fairly quickly wrote it into the “rules” that the only “livery” allowed was a “Blood” sign, fore and aft, no blue lights, no battenburg, no NHS stickers printed out, lamintaed and stuck all over the place. You get the idea.
Also, using my own bike had the advantage that it didn’t have a real time GPS tracker fitted to it, so I could “save time” on some of the routes, IYSWIM.
Despite having done blue light and advanced car courses in the cops, to use one of the charity’s liveried bikes, I have to get a “civvy” advanced motorcycle qualification - IAM, RoSPA or equivalent. I’m a cheapskate and lazy with it, so I’d just use my own bike when I was on the rota. I have a high viz jacket, that I’d stick on as I arrived at the “sending” hospital and take off once I’d delivered at the “receiving” hospital.
Some of the other “untrained” volunteers, who were also using their own bikes, started to add... I’m going to be generous, and call it “livery”... to their own bikes. LOTS of livery, in some cases. The committee fairly quickly wrote it into the “rules” that the only “livery” allowed was a “Blood” sign, fore and aft, no blue lights, no battenburg, no NHS stickers printed out, lamintaed and stuck all over the place. You get the idea.
Also, using my own bike had the advantage that it didn’t have a real time GPS tracker fitted to it, so I could “save time” on some of the routes, IYSWIM.
Thesprucegoose said:
jusr started this job, where there is a father, a manager and son, admin.
The son so has said his dad;
Started as a private, finished as a colonel
Was in the RLC
Was a sniper
Was in the SAS
Has got the victoria cross
It ll sounds a bit Jay from the inbetweeners.
There are very few living VC recipients. They’ve all been gazetted / MiD it’s very easy to check. Best thing is to ask them to check, whilst you’re stood by them.The son so has said his dad;
Started as a private, finished as a colonel
Was in the RLC
Was a sniper
Was in the SAS
Has got the victoria cross
It ll sounds a bit Jay from the inbetweeners.
Edited by GOATever on Tuesday 15th October 23:50
https://www.facebook.com/javier.avendano.7771586
This is an absolute screamer. He’s been rumbled using a photo of a British guy, serving with 3 Para in Afghan, and claiming it was him, by said soldiers mates. I wonder if he’s heard of Don Shipley. I think he may soon do so.
This is an absolute screamer. He’s been rumbled using a photo of a British guy, serving with 3 Para in Afghan, and claiming it was him, by said soldiers mates. I wonder if he’s heard of Don Shipley. I think he may soon do so.
Edited by GOATever on Wednesday 16th October 00:52
GOATever said:
https://www.facebook.com/javier.avendano.7771586
This is an absolute screamer. He’s been rumbled using a photo of a British guy, serving with 3 Para in Afghan, and claiming it was him, by said soldiers mates. I wonder if he’s heard of Don Shipley. I think he may soon do so.
One of the best yet. According to his face booked hes been in the Army, Marines, and is now a Navy SEAL. But wait one of his photos is a screen grab from American Sniper. What a tThis is an absolute screamer. He’s been rumbled using a photo of a British guy, serving with 3 Para in Afghan, and claiming it was him, by said soldiers mates. I wonder if he’s heard of Don Shipley. I think he may soon do so.
Edited by GOATever on Wednesday 16th October 00:52
t.Claiming to have a Silver star and not on the list. Few people have turned in and that's Stolen Valor a federal offence.
GOATever said:
Thesprucegoose said:
jusr started this job, where there is a father, a manager and son, admin.
The son so has said his dad;
Started as a private, finished as a colonel
Was in the RLC
Was a sniper
Was in the SAS
Has got the victoria cross
It ll sounds a bit Jay from the inbetweeners.
There are very few living VC recipients. They’ve all been gazetted / MiD it’s very easy to check. Best thing is to ask them to check, whilst you’re stood by them.The son so has said his dad;
Started as a private, finished as a colonel
Was in the RLC
Was a sniper
Was in the SAS
Has got the victoria cross
It ll sounds a bit Jay from the inbetweeners.
Edited by GOATever on Tuesday 15th October 23:50
Odds on its a Jay From the Inbetweeners moment.
That’s a point....is parental Walting by proxy known as Jaying?
Thesprucegoose said:
jusr started this job, where there is a father, a manager and son, admin.
The son so has said his dad;
Started as a private, finished as a colonel
Was in the RLC
Was a sniper
Was in the SAS
Has got the victoria cross
It ll sounds a bit Jay from the inbetweeners.
Private to Colonel? Rare, but not impossible. I've worked for a few, but (in the RE at least) they tend to be Quartermasters, not COs. There have been one or two who made that jump, but they are rare like hen's teeth. Usual route is as LE (late entry) officers. Commissioned from WO1 rank straight to Captain, most of them only have enough time left on their career clock to make Major. The last LE ½ Colonel I served under went to a leading public school as Bursar on retirement. It's also possible to get a regular commission "from the ranks" at an earlier stage. Again rare, usually when officer potential is identified in a Corporal who isn't a graduate.The son so has said his dad;
Started as a private, finished as a colonel
Was in the RLC
Was a sniper
Was in the SAS
Has got the victoria cross
It ll sounds a bit Jay from the inbetweeners.
As for the rest of it? As far as I'm aware there aren't many snipers in the RLC. Possibly none. "Sniper" is an infantry trade. You can't just stroll onto a sniper course, as they're reserved for infantry soldiers to fill roles in infantry companies. There's no sniper role in any RE unit (although I've known at least two RE soldiers in 25 years who managed to get on a sniper course) and I doubt there will be in any Really Large Corps unit. "Marksman" is more likely, as that is a qualification, not a trade, and is given to those who exceed a given score on their APWT. Very rarely worn, but it does come with a badge. You have to re-qualify on a regular basis, though, it's not a "forever" qualification.
Being in the SAS? Well the SAS recruit from the army as a whole. There are Sappers, Scaleys, etc in the SAS. When they are lost on ops, they are usually commemorated on memorials under their "parent" Corps or Regiment with "SAS" in brackets afterward. Again, service in the SAS is not a "forever" thing. Soldiers can, and often do, end up back in their original Corps or Regiment for a variety of reasons. I worked for an RE SSgt who was back with an RE unit wearing his blue lid. And my next-door neighbour in Tidworth was in the Royal Green Jackets, officially, but serving with the SAS wearing a sandy coloured hat. Again, that's the limit of my first-hand experience with special forces, but I seem to recall that there are a number of specialist small units engaged in support to the SAS/SBS, who work extensively (possibly exclusively) with them, but they wear their own cap-badge because they haven't completed Selection.
As for the Victoria Cross thing? As per previous answers, easy to check. Google their name/rank/number and add "London Gazette" to the search box. This extract... https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/57233/su... ...is the Gazette supplement for my Long Service Medal. With a few exceptions (like for ops where the UK isn't officially involved) all gallantry awards will be published in the Gazette.
Taken in isolation, some of those claims are less likely than others, but taken as a whole, especially the VC bit, it begins to look like an embellished career at best, and a fairy story at worst. There are currently nine living recipients of the VC. Only Four of whom are British. 1 RAF, 1 Gurkha Rifles, 1 PWRR and 1 Para. There are also four Australians, and a Kiwi. There have been no awards of the VC to RLC soldiers, but the last VC issued to a soldier in one of their predecessor units was awarded to Private Richard George Masters VC, Army Service Corps, for actions on the 9th April 1918, as per his citation... "On 9 April 1918 near Bethune, France, owing to an enemy attack, communications were cut off and the wounded could not be evacuated. The road was reported impassable but Private Masters volunteered to try to get through and after great difficulty succeeded, although he had to clear the road of all sorts of debris. He made journey after journey throughout the afternoon over a road which was being shelled and swept by machine-gun fire and once he was bombed by an aeroplane. The greater number of wounded (approximately 200 men) were evacuated by him as his was the only car which got through."
yellowjack said:
there are a number of specialist small units engaged in support to the SAS/SBS, who work extensively (possibly exclusively) with them, but they wear their own cap-badge because they haven't completed Selection.
Hush now.Just because they haven’t done genuine selection and are chosen mostly on who their mates are doesn’t mean certain units, especially those with big green helicopters, aren’t every bit as special. And boy are they special.
Thesprucegoose said:
jusr started this job, where there is a father, a manager and son, admin.
The son so has said his dad;
Started as a private, finished as a colonel
Was in the RLC
Was a sniper
Was in the SAS
Has got the victoria cross
It ll sounds a bit Jay from the inbetweeners.
You can go from a private to a colonel. Close relative of my wife’s was in the US Army for 40 years of service. Started as a private and retired as a Lt.Col. Though he was in for decades. The son so has said his dad;
Started as a private, finished as a colonel
Was in the RLC
Was a sniper
Was in the SAS
Has got the victoria cross
It ll sounds a bit Jay from the inbetweeners.
burritoNinja said:
You can go from a private to a colonel. Close relative of my wife’s was in the US Army for 40 years of service. Started as a private and retired as a Lt.Col. Though he was in for decades.
That’s the colonial forces for you though.They get medals and promotion just for turning up.
yellowjack said:
Thesprucegoose said:
jusr started this job, where there is a father, a manager and son, admin.
The son so has said his dad;
Started as a private, finished as a colonel
Was in the RLC
Was a sniper
Was in the SAS
Has got the victoria cross
It ll sounds a bit Jay from the inbetweeners.
Private to Colonel? Rare, but not impossible. I've worked for a few, but (in the RE at least) they tend to be Quartermasters, not COs. There have been one or two who made that jump, but they are rare like hen's teeth. Usual route is as LE (late entry) officers. Commissioned from WO1 rank straight to Captain, most of them only have enough time left on their career clock to make Major. The last LE ½ Colonel I served under went to a leading public school as Bursar on retirement. It's also possible to get a regular commission "from the ranks" at an earlier stage. Again rare, usually when officer potential is identified in a Corporal who isn't a graduate.The son so has said his dad;
Started as a private, finished as a colonel
Was in the RLC
Was a sniper
Was in the SAS
Has got the victoria cross
It ll sounds a bit Jay from the inbetweeners.
As for the rest of it?
"There are five living holders of the VC—one RAF (WW2), three British Army (Confrontation, Iraq and Afghanistan) and one Australian Army (Vietnam)."
I worked under a lieutenant (QM) RE. He had gone from sapper to RSM and then to Lieut. I don't know, but i doubt he would have got much further.
There were no medals for Short service and Good Conduct!
Me? Two years National Service in the 50s.
CoolHands said:
I used to do courier work and there were loads of those urgent blood bikes back in the 90s before walting was a thing. The scruffy ones like you describe are real.
I worked for the National Blood Service (NHS Blood and Transplant) for twelve years. I retired ten years ago, so I am not up to date on this, but the courier thing was just surfacing about the time I left.I was for the last few years a senior union steward and safety rep, with a full time secondment, and I used to get involved in lots of issues. One day at a donor session, a bloke in leathers and a sidecar combination turned up to collect the blood and take it back to the labs. No sign of the usual liveried blood service transport and uniformed driver. We couldn't believe our eyes. Nothing like this had happened before. We called management to ask what to do.
One of the rules we actively followed was never to let blood out of the sight of NBS staff at any time. If this inadvertently happened, the procedure was to label all the units as unfit for processing, and for research work only. I can remember one occasion when one dimwitted team left a stack of EMPTY blood bags outside the venue door. They were worth hundreds of pound each box of ten. They were all dumped. Patient safety is taken very seriously.
I started bringing up the issue of non-NBS staff being entrusted with blood at senior management meetings, but I was given the run around with it, even though the collection team staff I represented (Unison members) were concerned. I couldn't understand why the Transport & General stewards seemed so relaxed about it, even though the official transport staff, their members, and who otherwise would have done the job, were being supplanted by volunteers.
I also was upset that volunteers were being used to do work that was the responsibility of professional staff, threatening their jobs. I believe that the more responsible charities have protocols about this.
As I said, this was all brewing up about the time I left, and I have had little contact with the organisation since, apart from being on the receiving end of several units of blood following a serious operation shortly after. However, it is my understanding that the use of couriers, volunteers or otherwise, is common practice now. I don't know how the legal, safety or clinical issues this involves have been resolved.
Truckosaurus said:
I was foolish enough to click on a link to an 'army surplus' website whilst searching for a new coat yesterday and now my social media feeds are all full of walty adverts for 'tactical gear'.
Just what I need for my dangerous commute across the Hampshire/Surrey border...
Commute? Surely you mean 'tactical insertion'?Just what I need for my dangerous commute across the Hampshire/Surrey border...
I'm in the early stages of planning my mate's stag do for early next year.
No doubt we will follow a well-trodden path and do something similar to what he arranged for me. But one place caught my eye, where we could have the opporrtunity to do Paintball, off-road driving AND Airsoft all at one centre!
I could live out my inner Rambo/hi-vis hero fantasy all in one place! They even include soft drinks - though I expect Relentless Energy will be a cost-plus option but hopefully the weak lemon squash is free!
No doubt we will follow a well-trodden path and do something similar to what he arranged for me. But one place caught my eye, where we could have the opporrtunity to do Paintball, off-road driving AND Airsoft all at one centre!
I could live out my inner Rambo/hi-vis hero fantasy all in one place! They even include soft drinks - though I expect Relentless Energy will be a cost-plus option but hopefully the weak lemon squash is free!
Galsia said:
Truckosaurus said:
I was foolish enough to click on a link to an 'army surplus' website whilst searching for a new coat yesterday and now my social media feeds are all full of walty adverts for 'tactical gear'.
Just what I need for my dangerous commute across the Hampshire/Surrey border...
Commute? Surely you mean 'tactical insertion'?Just what I need for my dangerous commute across the Hampshire/Surrey border...
I think I met a security guard walt at the passport office behind Victoria station yesterday. First he asked to see my reservation code/e-mail to get in, which was reasonable, and then asked me to zoom in to the code so he could read it. Not that he checked it against a list or anything.
He then said, entirely to himself "dark mode is in effect. Go ahead". I think he was referring to the fact my phone has the dark mode colour scheme on?!
He then said, entirely to himself "dark mode is in effect. Go ahead". I think he was referring to the fact my phone has the dark mode colour scheme on?!
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