st omer

[mickcollins]

hi all i did my training in late 70 and 71,just found out surfing the net that st omer as been demolished,have many happy days from the old tower block school.was saddened to see that this had happened it.although i hated the military side of the catering school especially some of the drill instuctors whom i wont mention,who i think took great delight in making our lives a total misery especially mine,still cant bear thinking about them now,was glad when i finished my training and never wanted to see the place again as long as i lived.
anyway the old tower block brings back a lot of memorys and i thought it was a brilliant school.some great instructers,k1 and k2 it must have been a mammoth task to keep that place running,one of the instructers once told me that when we went for our meals in k1 or k2 we were eating our own experiments.
did serve 22 years but only 15 with the acc,still work in catering now though.and still enjoy it,but my thanks go to them catering instructers at the school there were lots of good ones andc the butchery department sid swan if i remember.
must have cost a small fortune to run that place,they had everything.remember there was a store on the ground floor where copper pans were lined up an all the expensive equipment,think they had to be signed for though.very sad to hear its gone will always remember the old tower block,mick

[stampy608]

During the 70’s, anyone who climbed aboard one of the old white coaches from the railway station on the first day of training had to be impressed with their first sight of St Omer. 
Gray tiled, slab walled buildings, cobbles with minimal shrubbery, the main drill square and matching shed (that no one could ever find the keys for), the clock tower - flag flying in the breeze, and of course the tower block itself were an imposing site for the average 16 year old. 
In the weeks to come, you realized that the surrounding barracks looked quite ordinary to ours.  The view we had! – who didn’t look out of those windows  in the class rooms to gaze at the small dots on the drill square, the activity on the sports pitches,  the meandering canal with its trees full of RED squirrels, the Paras leaping out of the barrage balloon on Queens Avenue and the aircraft flying low into Farnborough, particularly on air show week?
Any apprentice must have covered every cobble during area cleaning, checked every external door handle on guard duty and according to the old poster in Brian’s hairdressing salon, fully understood why 457 billion flies couldn’t be wrong.  They heard the shooting from the 30 metre range, the drill sergeants barking orders and endured the snaking queue into K2 at meal times whilst the apprentice NCOs were allowed to push in front of you. They broke step going over the canal bridge at least twice a week and knew full well that something more evil than Baz Ash lurked in that smelly festering water. The place buzzed – soldiers were being made.
You didn’t have to like St Omer – I didn’t – but only fools didn’t respect it or what it stood for.  Its demise reminds us of how detached and short sighted the MoD has been regarding its policies over the years. Why did it close every hospital it had when it knew that we would have to go to war someday and that casualties would occur?  Anyone who served in the Gulf War or the Falklands will testify to the fact that poor equipment or shortages of key items have been around for years, has it ever changed?
I look on Google Earth at all of the key barracks I served in over 16 years and now not one survives or is in the hands of the British Army – and all in such a short time.
St Omer’s tower block will be missed by many, particularly the cockroaches, but mainly by those who looked out of that coach window and saw it for the first time many years ago.
 

[mickcollins]

well said stampy and all true,after completing my training as i said earlier i didnt want to see the place again ever,and when i had been with my unit a few years my boss then told me i would be going back ther on a course.(B2 then i think)well the thought of st omer filled me with dread and i didnt want to go.told the master chef i didnt want to go,but i had no choice.looking back now i think a lot of it was the way i was treat in training,dont get me wrong i new it was tough and wouldnt be easy and didnt expect it to be a walk in the park.our squad corparal was a prat and didnt treat everyone the same,some got away with murder and others got the stick all the time no matter what they did.not gonna mention his name but his name as been mentioned on the forum elsewhere.anyway i went back on the course and loved it.it was to be another 3 or 4 years before i went back on my B1 and again loved every minute of it in them classrooms in the tower.all my B1 notes i wrote everything down was reading through them last nite 31 years ago,time does fly.remember then if we wanted a smoke,just tell the chef you were going to the toilet,used to have to go down the steps one floor to toilet then light up.as you said the views were great.often got a rollocking from the instructer,"get away from that window chef".great memorys from the old tower block.regards mick

[rubberguts]

My. How things must have changed since my day in 54. As "Nig Nogs" we arrived at Aldershot Railway Station carrying our orders in one hand and empty suitcase in'tother as per requirement, to post our civvy clothes home in.
"You for Ramilies?" and before a reply could be uttered, the next order was given "In that truck there" said one of the NCO reception detail of squad Corporals and Sergeants.
Tail gate slammed and it was off by transport kindly supplied courtesy of RASC's TCV's to Ramilies Barracks for kitting out,  medical, jabs and assignment to a squad hut. I have no recollection of St Omer being a multi storied building, Fairly new Yes, and the quarters were were centrally heated wooden spider blocks, or a central corridor with dormitories off each side.
 St.Omer was the pride of the Top Brass from Whitehall, who seemed  eager for an excuse to show visiting Dignitaries the best in the Army. I rather suspect part of the reason to be, they were treated to a good feed into the bargain.

[james ongley]

Hi rubberguts, Having joined in 54 you needed a rubbergut. The railway station procedure was still the same in 64 , we were handled quite gently though.90 odd recruits that day but no panic. As the intake was so large they stuck us over the bridge into Mons breaking us up into 3 plts.The 2nd term we crossed the bridge into the spiders as we called them but only for a short stay as we moved on up to Clayton.Going back in later years on courses I,like many others didn´t  really appreciate the place .Maybe us old guys preferd a bit of rough.

[rubberguts]

Hi, I suppose we had a built in resentment at being conscripted as opposed to Volunteers who were there because they wanted to be. Although this mercenary attitude soon changed to be replaced by a fierce"Esprit de Corps."
The ACC was widely known as, "Andy Clyde's Commando's" in those days.
I looked upon basic training as a learning curve, discipline with a good standard of comfort. Warm quarters, good beds, hot water first thing, four good hot feeds a day. What more could a joker ask?
 Descriptions of the mysterious place called St Omer had filtered to us about how nice the units were and to be honest when I finally arrived there I wasn't disappointed. To me, the centrally heated Spider units were just the "Dog's Bollocks'.
The daily detail of cooks arriving from St. Omer looked quite resplendent, attired in crisp white cooks uniforms, battle dress tops with orange epaulet flashes, as they heeled and marched their way past the morning parade,  wheeling to finally disappear into the mess hall. As "Nig Nogs" we looked enviously on them, wishing we were that far into our training.

[rubberguts]

Re St. Omer.
 My understanding was the Barracks commenced operating in 1942.  Joseph Lyons & Co. was invited to formulate the system. The operating ratio was one B/3 class cook per hundred Other Ranks, headed by an NCO.
St. Omer used to consist of two bulk Kitchens one either end of the building with classrooms in between where trainees cooked for six covers each. There was also the Special Cooks programme for those identified to become Officers Mess Cooks and staffed with civilian instructors who were also responsible for the instruction of the ACC Apprentices.
Three of us were singled to become special cooks because of civilian cooking history but after a fortnight of nobody really knowing which class we were to attend for the next session, we were invited to rejoin the rest of the squad for ordinary training.
 As usual, our squad had drawn the short straw and was consigned for instruction at a cooking annex some distance away. The return journey at noon meant that by the time we had marched back to St. Omer then queued for lunch, it was often five minutes past one. We hurriedly ate, downed the all important mug of tea, queued to wash the plate, raced back to quarters to prepare for afternoon parade, (prolonged scrubbing of fingernails) and a general check over, all in the remaining five or so minutes.
 One after lunch parade I was reprimanded for being substandard and explained the situation to the RSM, from that day on, we were allowed extra marching time in order to be back in reasonable time for lunch.

We had been informed a group of Top Brass were to pay a visit. We were lined up at the hotplate ready for the service.
 The group arrived and commenced asking interested questions about the different dishes.
Ignoring everything else, a Second Lieutenant walked straight up to me, looked around for an audience, turned back and said "You there!" with what I took to be a hint of triumph and pointing to the tray of mashed spuds continued. "Demonstrate how you intend to serve that."
 I placed a plate on the hotplate, took a rounded spoon of mash potatoes, inverted another serving spoon  and neatly pushed the potato onto the plate.
 "Very Good" he mumbled and beat a retreat.
ACC, one, the Enemy nil I thought.
   

[rubberguts]

Just re-reading Stampy 608's post. It brought to mind the canal bridge and a prank I dreamed up and would regret.
Our detail was nearing the small bridge to St. Omer. Without thinking of possible consequences, It seemed to me it would be a good joke to break step together so we would remain in step to make the bridge sway. The word was passed back. We approached the bridge. The order was given. We check paced as planned. On up over the bridge we went, the bridge began to sway. The order to break step was repeated. We complied remaining in rhythm oblivious of what was happening behind, A very pale looking Corporal dragged himself up to us clutching at the bridge rail shouting for us to walk. We looked around to see utter chaos as the bridge was swaying and jerking about all over the place above the water. Some had lost balance and were literally clinging onto the rails for dear life. It was a guilty few days for me after that. Such was the result of a not so bright idea and youthful exuberance.   

[ARnie]

Good to see some of the memories from the 60/70s. I joined Byford Platoon in 83 turning up at the station after travelling through the night , keen and eager to start my apprenticeship. 1 week Military 1 Catering for the following 2 years. I remember being met by one of the Apprentice Cpls in No2 Dress and red sash where 12 month later I would be doing the same thing. During that 2 years bonds were made and the odd disagreement was had, ( I was fortunate to land in the Glass House for 7 days) I can remember Major Dusty Miller coming into the guardroom and asking me why I'd gotten caught and that someone wouldn't be happy . Rumour had it I was destined to be Boy RSM. I can remember coming out of the toilets with one of the other chefs who was in K2 and a Naval officer reprimanding him by asking if he washed his hands after being to the toilet . "No Sir . I don't P*** on my fingers " was his replies. As for Brian the Barber , he was the boys councilor as if you had a problem he'd listen and advise you to nuckle down n get on.

[nick williams]

happy days when you look back, i joined in 78, and as its been said before arriving at the train station and being piled onto a 4 tonner, thinking what the *uck.
but as the days past into weeks and freindships where made, things where pretty good and we had an awful lot of pride.
does anybody remember marching/running down the canal tow path , having the paras running the other way, only to have them jump in as we where about to pass each other, what was that all about
i also remember having a sneeky pint in the peagus when most of the paras where away

[Fireman]

Happy days lol, i too was at St. Omer in 78 and remember the para's jumping in the canal too!!!! it was hillarious. As for arrival at the train station, i was picked up by mini bus on a sunday afternoon and being only aged 17, it was terrifying lol.
We used to go into the pegasus with the Ghurkas and got no hassle at all, except for the death stares.