Senior Term, Army Apprentices College, Harrogate, Summer 1970 (2)

John Latter, on November 21, 2007, said:

Part of the "Senior Term" photograph taken in the Summer of 1970 at the Army Apprentices College (ex Army Apprentices School), Harrogate in Yorkshire, consisting of intake 67C (Technicians in the Royal Corps of Signals who had begun their training in September, 1967) and intake 68C (Telegraph Operators who had joined in September, 1968). See the link below to view the whole photo.

I - 24105616 A/T Sergeant John Latter - am standing second from the right in the back row (the one with the 'green dot' on his forage cap).

On the far left of the back row is Peter (Pete) Lavers of Rawson Squadron who I was eventually to meet again when he joined 2 Squadron of 22 Signal Regiment in Lippstadt, Germany (part of the British Army on the Rhine - also see B.A.O.R.). Churchill Barracks in Lippstadt was my first posting after leaving AAC Harrogate.

In front of Pete is Mick (or Mike) Graham (two blue dots) of Rawson Squadron who had grown a moustache since in stood next to me in the 67C Recruit Squadron Group Close-Up phot0 (link below).

In front of Mick is Dai Hughes (I think we called him Taff or Taffy) of Penney Squadron. I'm sure I met Dai again after we left Harrogate but I can't think where..

In front of Dai is Brian Gardner (pink dot) who was in Phillips Squadron like myself. Between leaving Harrogate and joining our first units, Brian, Kevin Stock (who appears on the Senior Term 1970 Group Photo) and I went on holiday together to a Warners Holiday Camp near Great Yarmouth.

Next to Brian is Roy Churm (white dot) of Penney Squadron who I believe I met again somewhere in Belgium in 1972 or 1973 while I was en route from Lippstadt to Scotland for an adventure training holiday.

Next to Roy are Stephen Hare (dark blue dot) and Chris Ball (red dot). Steve and Chris were Telegraph Operators who had joined in September 1968 when I was their room NCO.

Standard Info

There are four photos in this series altogether:

1) 67C Recruit Squadron Group Photo

2) 67C Recruit Squadron Close-Up

3) Senior Term 1970 Group Photo

4) Senior Term 1970 Close-Up (this one)

The Army Apprentices College Harrogate was a Royal Corps of Signals (Royal Signals, R. Signals) Apprentice Training College which trained an "Apprentice Tradesman", or "A/T", for various technical roles in the British Army.

I was trained to be a 'Radio-Relay Technician' (RR Tech), other trades included Radio Technician (Radio Tech), Technical Equipment Technician (TE Tech), and Telegraph Operator (TG Op). Technicians, who were basically lazy, served an apprenticeship of three years while the more alert Telegraph Operators got the job done in two.

The Army Apprentices College (AAC Harrogate, AAS Harrogate) was situated in the new buildings of Hildebrand Barracks on Penny Pot Lane when I joined while earlier intakes had been housed in the wooden 'spiders' of Uniacke Barracks (also on Penny Pot Lane). There were five squadrons: Phillips Squadron (whose members wore red flashes in their epaulettes), Penney Squadron (blue flashes), Rawson Squadron (yellow flashes) and Scott Squadron (green flashes). Recruit Squadron was split into four Troops, each named after one of the other squadrons (ie Phillips Troop, etc.,), and all 'rookies' wore white flashes. A sixth squadron, Bradley Squadron, was formed towards the end of the 1960s.

On arrival at AAC Harrogate I was allocated to Phillips Troop and my room NCO was A/T Lcpl (= Lance Corporal) Peter (Pete) Emmett who originally came from the Junior Leaders Regiment Royal Signals at Denbury. The recruits in my room were: John Latter (me!) from Dover, Dick Spiers from Folkestone, Christopher Muriel from Canterbury (I think), Alan Taylor (er, not 100% sure he was in my room), Steve Hughes from Ashford in Kent, George Walker from the West Country, and two others. If I remember correctly, our Permanent Staff ("PS") Troop Sergeant was Sergeant "Daddy" Groves of the Royal Signals.

I remember three other Dovorians being at Harrogate while I was there:

1) Kerry Manning: I first met Kerry at St Mary's Primary School (at that time situated in Queen Street) in 1958 and he became my best friend. We were both in St Mary's football team for 1961/1962 where I played left-back and Kerry played right-back. We then went to Dover Grammar School for Boys together. Kerry joined up a year earlier than me in the intake of 66C ("A" intakes joined after the New Year, "B" intakes after Easter, and "C" intakes after the Summer holidays).

2) Malcolm Hood: Malcolm and I both went to Christ Church C of E Infants School (alt. "Belgrave School") between 1955 and 1958. Malcolm lived in the Winchelsea area of Dover and I lived in Westbury Road and Clarendon Place. This meant we didn't see much of each other after school. After leaving Belgrave School we went to different Primary and Secondary schools so by the time I saw him at AAC Harrogate I only just about recognized his face.

3) The third Dovorian at Harrogate was a chap called "John" (I think) who came from the Elms Vale part of town.

I began at AAC Harrogate in September, 1967 and passed out in the summer of 1970. By that time I was an A/T Sergeant and had achieved a T3/T2 rating which meant I became a Lance Corporal on joining the Regular Army.

The College closed after the Final Graduation Parade on 2 August 1996 and the buildings are now demolished. The Google Earth geotag is approximate - if you have, or know of, any old maps showing the College's location I would be grateful if you could contact me at jorolat AT gmail.com.

Interesting Links:

The Royal Signals Museum:

The Royal Corps of Signals Museum is located in Blandford Camp in the beautiful Dorset countryside and only a stone's throw from the scenic and interesting Georgian Town of Blandford Forum.

It is the national museum of Army communications and the exhibits and displays show the part that communications have played in the many wars and campaigns of the last 150 years. The Museum collection is regarded as being of National importance and the excellent Archives are recognised by the Public Record Office.

This is just a preliminary note - I'll be revising it and adding a list of the names of the recruits (for the benefit of search engines) in the next few days.

The size of the archive photo had to be reduced in order to get it below Panoramio's cap of 5MB.

©bartowian, on November 21, 2007, said:

remember NATO "Quicktrains" John???

John Latter, on November 21, 2007, said:

bartowian said:

remember NATO "Quicktrains" John???

I certainly do, Bartowian - and I'm curious how you know about them! :)

And thank you for reminding me about them because I've found another website on the 22 Signal Regiment which has this to say:

Now is probably the best time to mention the 'buzz' word of our time i.e. "QUICKTRAIN". Back to politics, I'm afraid: the main reason for BAOR's existence by this time was the perceived Soviet threat. The worry was that the Russians just might cross the so called Iron Curtain and invade the Zone of West Germany. Therefore, all British units in the 'zone' were supposed to be constantly preparing to be 'in readiness' for the expected (one day) Invasion. In rehearsal for this great day, or night, Regimental Orderly Officers always awaited the codeword from HQ 1(BR) Corps in Bielefeld which, to us lower mortals throughout the zone, would translate down to the word 'Quicktrain' --- when ALL British Military Personnel and their dependants would then variously react to that word. To most of us soldiers this meant (nearly always at somewhere between 2 and 5 am!) probably diving out of bed, dressing in Combat Kit and racing to one's designated vehicle -- after collecting one's personal weapon from the armoury, that is. Radio trucks, Landrovers, Armoured 1 ton Humber vehicles ('Pigs') etc. all then swiftly drove out of the barracks and went, by previously, defined routes, to 'hide' locations in, usually, local forests and other wooded areas. Those personnel who lived in Married Quarters, often miles away from barracks, were fetched in to join comrades in their various vehicles.

If Exercise 'Quicktrain' were ever the real thing (presumably we wouldn't know that till we were in the 'hide' locations) the idea was that we would then be moved on to forward positions to do the job we were trained for -- supporting the fighting troops by providing the necessary Communications between themselves and Corps Headquarters.

©bartowian, on November 21, 2007, said:

in case you really didn't guess: --->same place you did---> ...essentially (just that MY nose was more exposed ;-)

da-da-di-da did-did-did di-da...

John Latter, on November 21, 2007, said:

I see - well, it's nice to meet you, Bartowian :)

John Latter, on November 22, 2007, said:

Oops - forgot to mention that the chap in the photo with the yellow dot on his forage cap (far right, second row from top) is "Jock" Murray of Rawson Squadron. We met again in Lippstadt where I was stationed between 1970 and 1974.

Also, I can't remember if it was "Penny Squadron" or "Penney Squadron" so I better put both in (for search engines 'n stuff).

John Latter, on November 25, 2007, said:

I wrote in the first 'Comment':

Next to Roy are Stephen Hare (dark blue dot) and Chris Ball (red dot). Steve and Chris were Telegraph Operators who had joined in September 1968 when I was their room NCO.

Another 'oops' - Steve Hare of 68C is actually third from the left in the second row of the Senior Term 1970 Group Photo. Sorry about that!

marklevy, on December 15, 2007, said:

Was very surprised to find a pic taken at the AAC in Harrogate :-) was 73C myself, pity it's all gone now.

John Latter, on December 15, 2007, said:

marklevy said:

Was very surprised to find a pic taken at the AAC in Harrogate :-) was 73C myself, pity it's all gone now.

It is a shame, Mark - I had always planned on going back to visit someday!

superern, on January 15, 2008, said:

who remembers drill sgt tom barrett...drummie wilcox...sgt/major bill ilsy(?)...what memories!!!

timgj, on June 14, said:

John

The days when you were still young and good looking. there are still a few Phillips people of that generation around. Remember when you took 68C recruits under your wing? I'm currently working with Pete Murdie somewhere between the Shetlands and Norway. Bumped into Dennis Osbourne in Saudi Arabia many years ago.

Wasn't the Drum major Basil Dilcock?

John Latter, on June 15, said:

timgj said:

John

The days when you were still young and good looking. there are still a few Phillips people of that generation around. Remember when you took 68C recruits under your wing? I'm currently working with Pete Murdie somewhere between the Shetlands and Norway. Bumped into Dennis Osbourne in Saudi Arabia many years ago.

Wasn't the Drum major Basil Dilcock?

Nice to hear from you, Tim (does the "gj" stand for Graham-Jones?), and I'm glad to hear there are still some survivors around :)

I remember 68C of course (though I feel I was a 'better' NCO with 69C) and many other people from that time - and specifically, I also recall spending a weekend with Dennis Osbourne at his father's pub in Norwich (the "Ipswich Tavern", if I remember correctly). I wonder where everyone is now?

I also remember Pete Murdie, but I'm less sure about Basil Dilcock,

Did you see the other pics, by the way?:

Army Apprentices College

John

timgj, on July 4, said:

John Seen the other pics - suggestion. Why not put them in the Harrogate section of Friends Reunited as well?

Tim Graham-Jones

John Latter, on July 4, said:

timgj said:

John Seen the other pics - suggestion. Why not put them in the Harrogate section of Friends Reunited as well?

Dunnit! :)

John