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Some 40 years ago saw the start of Operation Banner. Given the length of the campaign, the deaths, the injuries, the general misery & suffering for large numbers of people & dare one even say the cost, it is extraordinary that this 40th anniversary seems so poorly recognised. I was in the National Army Museum a few days ago, there was not even a temporary display acknowledging this recent history. But I suppose history nowadays has to be sanitised,tidied up & selectively forgotten about. The sequence of events on the day: 1330 The RUC Inspector General requested the Ministry of Home Affairs request military aid in support of the civil power. 1500 The RUC were exhausted & the USC were mobilised 1500 The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland requested the British Prime Minister supply troops. 1630 The British Prime Minister & Home Secretary agreed to send in troops. 1700 British Troops (1st Battalion The Prince of Wales's Own Regiment) crossed the River Foyle to enter the Bogside. The rest is history… Around the web there are various links with pictures & videos that can be followed from a wide range of standpoints. It is a shame that so many of them use material that is chronologically wrong. This link is fairly straightforward: http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/FactSheets/OperationBannerNotableDates.htm

Units have been traditionally defined, not surprisingly, by Unit Name. I haven't yet defined the point, but this must have been supplemented in the 1950/60s to include Standard Unit Code. SUC changed to UIN under a MAOS Amendment in August 1977. The year 1977 was the period of implementation of changes outlined in the 1975 Defence White Paper. This was the "One Army" concept to make the Regular Army & TAVR more integrated, heraldic signs were removed from vehicles & a more discrete identity marked in small characters on the nearside wing. UIN these days also includes, not just Army units, but others authorised to deal with the MOD, in fact I have a UIN of my own!

I have just returned from Chelsea Hospital after bidding a final goodbye to Peter who died on 27th July 2009. In due course a range of regimental magazines will make formal note of his career. This is a brief & self-centred appreciation of a most supportive friend over the last 15 years. When we restore our vehicles, most of us I think, would like to present it as close as we can to its in-service performance. With that we try to learn something about the history of the vehicle itself, together with its role militarily & technically. Any of us would feel pride in be complimented on the presentation of the vehicle by veterans. When veterans engage in helping then that is a bonus indeed. I have been most fortunate in being given that support by Peter. At the age of 15, Peter joined the RTR as a boy soldier in 1938. As a driver-mechanic his technical skills came to the fore, at the end of the war this mechanical role drew him into REME. Being parachute trained his skills took him far and wide from jungle & sea drops to Airborne REME Workshops through to tank design. Much as he loved tanks it is ironic that the climax of his military career was devoted to anti-tank warfare with the Malkara missile system fitted to Hornet. After his spell at the School of Tank Technology, Peter was appointed as EME to Cyclops Squadron 2 RTR as the Trials Officer for the Hornet/Malkara missile system. He was responsible for making a working system from the Malkara designed in Australia with the Hornet designed here by FVRDE. It required relentless technical effort & personal commitment to bring the system to a standard of formal acceptance. Once this had been done the system was handed over in 1965 to the Parachute Sqn RAC formed from a residue of Cyclops men and the recently disbanded SRS. After this success Peter moved onto a successful career in the Canadian energy industry. Nearly 16 years ago I negotiated the loan of a non-running Hornet that was residing at the back of the Tank Museum. Sorting it out automotively took some time (clutch, flywheel, track rods, hub seals, entire brake system, hydraulic rams etc) but the biggest frustration was not knowing anything about the deployment of the vehicle. Books were less than informative either not making mention of it or providing contradictory or what I have since found wrong information. I placed an advert in Pegasus appealing for information. This led to my first meeting with Peter when I drove the Hornet from Salisbury to where he was staying at Aldershot. Although it was a rainy day I could see the tears in his eyes on seeing a driveable Hornet once again. From then on Peter provided me with a vast amount of information from his notes & records with many photographs that has enabled me to compile articles in Windscreen, Tank & Pegasus. Here we are at the annual reunion of the Parachute Sqn RAC Old Comrades Association. Here is Peter taking an active interest in my Shorland restoration a few months ago. We had been in regular & productive contact for the last 15 years, but that has now suddenly stopped. It is not just a loss on a personal level but there was, I am sure, still a vast wealth of information should have been recorded.

Paul, I find that I will probably have a few hours in the NAM tomorrow & will just look out to see if I turn up anything of relevance.

I think it is the only full book I have seen that bothers to concern itself with postwar markings. Trouble is it tries to cover "all" nations, to my mind a whole book could be devoted to British postwar markings with defined dates of change. I think that restructuring was the implementation of the 1975 Defence White Paper.

I was guided by "Army Badges & Insignia since 1945" by Rosignoli 1973. He captions the badge as South-Eastern Command but in the text states "The South-Eastern Command was disbanded in 1944 and it's former territory absorbed by the Southern and Eastern Commands." This is a little curious given the title of the book! "The formation sign of the latter was changed in 1947." But there is no indication to what. A number of District signs are shown but none for SED. The signs should have been discontinued under a CRAOC order in Sept 1977.

Manual of Army Ordnance Services Volume 1. Pamphlet No.15 Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations in Ordnance Usage. 1978.

I think I've got all the MJ AESPs, if you are stuck on a particular thing I can copy a few of the relevant pages.

Is it possible to transfer the impact of a heavy hammer via a long steel bar resting squarely on the arm?

Paul can you hit the perimeter of the drop arm ring hard directly opposite to the arm side?

Afraid I could only find the IPC in fiche, but at least the Servicing Schedule is on paper. Both documents apply to all 33 of the MJ variants. Hope that helps.

Robert, lucky you're not running a business trying to sell cakes & vintage records then.

A couple of years ago I was after an out of print book. I did the usual net book search & was surprised with what I found. About 20 hits, most around £15. I bought the lowest one from Eire for £9 but Oxfam was in a league of its own, priced at exactly £50! I have noticed that they are usually top of the charts on price. I know "it's for charity" but how do they expect to shift books if their pricing is so out of step from the rest of the market? What seems to be in the shops is lower priced but that is usually the McNab type of stuff. The best book bargains are sometimes in locally based charity shops, who don't have the good stuff creamed off by a national network.

No, not me. I didn't realise there were comments. I just thought it was a straight copy of the newspaper page. I originally read the article in the paper itself, don't want to put the local paper out of business!

You'd have to get used to working in laboratories & offices that are only illuminated by dim blue lighting. You'll also need a torch for use at a crime scene, these agents never seem to be clever enough to turn the light on!

Yes well done Richard, I knew I could rely on you. In fact it is Mystery Object No.99 with a cover on!

This was the last secondhand bookshop in Salisbury, the other one closed last year. Thanks Oxfam! http://www.salisburyjournal.co.uk/news/4520280._Oxfam_killed_my_bookshop_/ There are two issues for me. I am not anti-charity, I periodically give & indeed a significant proportion of my estate is bequeathed to charity. But those of you who are in employment, just consider this. If very close to you an organisation conducted the same business to you but operated with unpaid staff, were supplied with goods that were free, enjoyed reduced rent & rates. Then you lost your job because there was a reduced demand for your services, would you feel good about it? But it's alright because it is charity, sorry mate! In Oxfam's defence they say it is the decline in secondhand book shops is not their responsibility, it is down to the people like Tesco, Amazon, the internet & the recession. But their 100+ secondhand bookshops thrive, not surprising considering the low running costs. So despite having been a regular customer of the two defunct bookshops, I have frequented the Oxfam bookshop. Although I have bought some books there it is very sanitised in what is sold & in the military section top heavy with McNab type books & the St Michael book of tanks, type of publication. Sad to say I have never found any British Army technical or training publications. In one branch I asked why, it seemed that these paperback publications were not seen to be of interest or of value & not welcome. So I assume someone taking in a pile of military booklets found in grandad's attic would end up dumping them if the old secondhand bookshops are no longer there. I doubt they would be aware of the few specialist military book sellers or feel bothered to travel to visit them. Seems a shame.

Yes very warm, could you be a bit more specific?

You CSI investigators don't miss a trick! But not sure if it would have helped, this is what it said:

Nope, but certainly looks as if it might be.

Oh what a give away! You CSI people are all so cunning.

Oh beak & head cover? It's a bit big for that.

Come on GE.

Oh well you've got the bug then. I was going to give it up as MO NO.100 had so few takers. Stand by 101 will be up in a few minutes!