About this site, the contributors and ex-members

Contributors

Bob Richardson, Jan 1969-1970, and 1973-1975

"One thing (or rather two) I'll never forget concern Capt Cooper. On more than one occasion when we were working down on Salisbury Plain, and had packed up ready for the drive back to Acton in the early hours, we were all treated to a fish and chip supper (obtained from some 'chippy' in the middle of nowhere) and a beer (from a barrel and pumps clamped on the tailgate of a LandRover). Still in the same general area, John ? (see my 19 Dec email) and I were driving back to Acton, and Capt Cooper (who was in his car) called a refreshment halt at the pub in Chitterne. It was a nice summer evening so we were in short-sleeve order. However, we'd been spotted by a couple of patrolling MPs who objected to our manner of dress as it was after 7pm or something daft like that. Capt Cooper told them - in his own initimable way - what they could do with their regulations, and nothing more was said or heard! He always looked after his men.

I used all my annual leave (plus the 2 weeks paid special leave my employer granted me), most weekends, and as much as I could fit in during the week (mostly trips down to Salisbury Plain to provide light for the regulars) 'working'. In '69, I was living in a London Hostels Association hostel in South Kensington, and had to rely on lifts to get 'home' or at least part of the way, following the night-time adventures on the Plain. On one occasion, we didn't get back to Acton until about 2am and the lads I was with were all within walking distance of their homes, so I walked back to South Ken (near to the West London Air Terminal on Cromwell Road), with hob-nailed boots making a bit of a racket on the pavement. I got into bed just before 5am, and had to get up two hours later for 'proper' work, only to go down to the Plain that evening - but with a guaranteed lift back."

Larry Hayward, 1978-1984

"When doing the lighting for a military band events on Horse Guards Parade in the 1980's we mounted our carbon arc searchlights on scaffold towers on three sides of the square in advance and then turn up for each perforance over a few nights. It was great fun having such a good view and seeing the Blues & Royals and Guards in action often in the presence of the Queen.

The Lister generators were parked round the corner to keep the noise away from the crowd during the event. One night after going home we left one of the Lister Generators running and when one of the Squadron returned the next day it was still running!

Once when I was working in Central London, I said to the lads I'll meet you up at Horse Guards rather than go all the way out to W3 [Acton] and back. So I went to HG with my kit in my ruck sack and sat down on a Lister Generator right next to the rear of 10 Downing St. As I was in civys at the time a Policeman asked me what I was doing. I told him I was with 873 Mvt Light Sqn RE but he didn't like me being there so told me to move on. So I walked over to the gents toilet in St James and changed in to my uniform and then walked back to the Listers and started removing the covers and getting them ready, without interference, while the same Policeman looked on! "

"On Cup Final Day in May 1979 Captain Cooper arranged for a portable TV to be taken to Salisbury Plain so we could stop training and watch it! Otherwise we would not have attended that weekend!"

David Samuels, 1971 -1976?

Ian Tristram, 1976 - 1984

Jack Woodroffe, 1950s -1978

Ed Woodroffe

Mark ("Ossie") Osborne, 1988-91

Peter Cox, spring 67 to early 69

The REs was the family corps, great uncle in WW1, father in WW2, and elder brother in National Service and afterwards a reservist in 223 Fld Park Sqn at Chelsea. So in 1960 when aged about 17½ I enlisted and was posted to 222 Fld Sqn, also at Chelsea. I made many friends, it was like a "club" but with a big difference - instead of costing a membership fee, we got paid for enjoying ourselves, learning to drive, competing in cross country driving competitions, building bridges and blowing things up.

Sadly, the whole regiment of which 222 was part, was disbanded in 1967 to save a few quid because of the Government's budget deficit. I think they called it a Strategic Defence Review and it brought about the end of the "TA" and the start of the "TAVR", leaving just two reserve sapper units in the whole of London - a Para RE squadron, and a strange RE outfit at Acton of mainly ex-gunners that had some old war-time ack-ack searchlights. The Paras wouldn't take me or one of my mates from 222 because we wore glasses (but we did pass all their physical tests), so we and two other friends from 222, all of us HGV drivers who wanted to retain our sapper links, went to 873 at Acton where Capt Cooper welcomed us in.

Less than two years later, another defence review resulted in the formation of a "proper" sapper TAVR unit in London (sorry, no disrespect to 873 & SL ops), 217 at Holloway. Many of our old friends from Chelsea joined, and asked we four to transfer. I was rather reluctant, I'd had many memorable experiences in 873; the wonderful tattoos - who could not be moved by the sight and sound of hundreds of bandsmen in scarlet tunics or full highland tartan playing the '1812' whilst highlighted by our elderly carbon-arcs with 'home-made' coloured screens; half-burying an army minibus in a hay stack in Ulster at the start of 'the troubles' while we imbibed where we shouldn't have; going through check-point Charlie in Berlin during the 'cold-war', in uniform, and confronting Russian Generals; and roaring through town and country flat-out in an RL with Lister trailer under police escort en-route to assist in a civil emergency.

But in the end, the lure of operating "big-boy's toys" - AEC 6x6 10-tonners and heavy earth-moving plant, against standing beside a static searchlight in the middle of Salisbury Plain on a dark and chilly evening with the beam of the light cresting the top of a distant rise lighting up we knew not what on the other side, made the choice to de-bunk from 873 after so short a time a little easier. But I did miss the bands and the grandstand view the searchlight towers gave of all the other tattoo displays.

Just a very few of the members of 873 from 1961 to early 1990s

SSMs of 873 from 1961 to 1991