What happened to some of
the Old Pals who served
with us in
47 Regt. Royal Artillery
and the
REME Workshops,
Napier Barracks, 1957 - 1966
(or thereabouts) and have found
us here.
I've had three associations with Napier Barracks: firstly as a Cpl/Sgt in 1959-61 with the Corporal system, secondly in 1970-71
when Thunderbird was there and I was the ASM at the RAOC Supply Platoon based at Wulfen and finally in 1982-87 when the
Canadair drone was based there and as a major I was the equipment manager at LE(A) responsible for providing spares and repairs
support.
I was also responsible for all Range Radars so my job also took me out to Benbecula once or twice a year but it wasn't
anything like the place that I remembered from the Corporal days.
On retiring I spent the next fifteen years working for the British
Electrotechnical Approvals Board organising safety approvals in UK for TVs, HiFis etc, It was like home from home, run by an ex
REME Brigadier and staffed by ex REME, RE and RAF officers! I am now fully retired and living in Winnersh, not too far from the
Arborfield Garrison of sacred memory.
So much has changed there with SEE and a little added on bit which is the AAC being the
only units remaining and even these are destined to close before too long. The remainder is now under private developement as a
satellite village/town to Wokingham. One happy outcome was when the bypass was pushed through some years ago it cut the old
REME Depot in two and the Regimental Staff billets on the south of the bypass were sold off and redeveloped as a pig farm.