JANUARY 1973 Fighting tires in Northern Ireland has. unfortunately. an added dimension. This picture captures an inter-Service atmosphere with watchful Army protection as Service teams. including Royal Navy men, go about their firefighting duties.
Christmas ’77 will remain imprinted on the memory of thousands of men of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines as the one spent in a strange town in the company of a Green Goddess. As Christmas neared, some 4,000 R.N. and R.M. firefighters, with more than 500 supporting personnel “in the field,” were preparing for probably the most unusual festive season of their whole naval
careers.
Throiighout
the UK.
including
Northern Ireland. they were ready to dash at a moment's notice to meet any of fire challenge as men from at the Services had been doing during the previous weeks. Hotels, warehouses. arages, llats, oil depots, these were just a chimney ires few of the outbreaks tackled with determination since the sailors moved in at the start of the t'iremen's strike.
type
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.
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Many hutitlredx more s.'Iilitr\ were ready
the operation in the .\‘ew Year it the strike continued. to
join
Working a three-watch system (ll hours on anti l2 off, with one watch off duty), many of the men were operating from the Green Goddesses, while nearly 30 rescue teams worked from Land Rovers. ln \C\'l.‘f.'ll parts of the country there were alxo
.\'av_v-marineil “l-'|_\-in_i: I-'Iotrll.'i~." opt,-r;irin_g front (iuililexxex bv:in_i: held in resent: lll the merit of tl‘l.t]t!f lire or rnciilent. Two ol these hail lsectt lllCl~Lllillllt.‘Ll ll NI. ship». l)e|u_t:c and llowxet.
Ark in Neapolitan reminder for
Depending on some
of the naval
circumstances and area.
short break with their families over part of the holiday season. .\tc:inwhi|e much of the sailors‘ tem rary accommo< dation had been given estive touches and many organizations. groups and individualx had provided (7hri~.tnia.\ comforts for the Servicemen. (Continued in Page 40] to
snatch
a
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Naples
of HMS. Ark Ftoyal. whose runs ashore on Mediterranean deployment before returning home for Christmas included the tamed Italian city. with the Ark is the stores support ship R.F.A. Lyness. men
firefighters were hoping
YACHTlES' H EU MON Command:-r the Prince
of Wales has Ieccpu-it an invitation to I reunion at Ituynl Yer.-attain put and
Ponuuoutb an :9. Abuse: J00 at nanny at mutt.» and run an «In to attend. met In
Nightcall tor
Goddess and the naval tiretighters way. "Delta Two." manned by sailors from H.M.S. Dolphin. heads out into the a Green are on their
night
to tackle a blaze in
Birmingham.
Picture: C90tPhot) Enc Thompson
NO GAG ON PAY STUDY FINDINGS The Armed Forces Pay Review Body is free to suggest what would be appropriate rates of pay for the Services even if they cannot be implemented under Government pay policy. This was made clear by the Defence Secretary (Mr. Fred Mulleyl in a written
answer to a
Parliamentary question.
question also asked ll the .—\l:l‘RH t~ free publish in its tt.‘p0fl\ any cotlcluxion which it
The to
has reached on the shorttall ol the level ol Service pay eonipareil with other occupations. and on the resulting h.iril~.hip xulleretl by those \c{\'in_i: in mi,liorcex. The one-word reply to the whole que-aion \\':t\ "Yt:~._" Meanwhile. public tll"»t.‘U\\1tln on Service pay ll.'t\ continued unabated and the (‘omnions has approved without it (ll\'l\l(ll\ ;i motion callrii_i: on the Government “to ensure a reasonable ll1CtL‘.'t\l.‘ in the reniuneration of Servicenieti and Service women ill the .-\rmed Forces and it \1tl‘\l£il1ll(tl tniprovenienl in their Cllfltlllltlllx of \r,'l“-‘lCL' "
‘A R.-\\'l' DE.»\L' For the (iovernnient. the .\1mister of sum [or l7L‘lv:nCL‘ (Dr. John tiilbertl mid the recommentlztltttrh of the .-\l-’l‘Rl! "must he inipletitented ill a way that is Cuttxislcnl with the (io\etnt1tt:nt's pay _i-.uide|ine~. and this ni.i_v involve pliaxitii: over .1
period
"
Movrtig the motion. .\lr. (iraliani l’:i_ee \.'ll(l the ordinary citizen was inking why Serviccrnen and women were being given "siieh :3 raw deal." He said that ii a ten per cent. increase wax applied overall in April, the gap between comparable
s.'Il;tflL‘\ and Ser\'icemen'». earniiigs mu-.t get.bigget. "I xuggext that somethini: better than the ten per cent. should be given in April and that there \l‘l0llltl be eomparahi|it_\ .it some stated future
date." .\lr l’:i_ee \'.tttl: "l l‘t.‘llt.'\L' that both otlieers and other ranks In the Services are so disillusioned with the Review lioil_v_ with the way the (iovernnient liax-e hamstruni: and lenced in the Review lloilv. that there is a demand [or an Arnied Force-. tie_i:oti;itint: boil_v on the lines til the Police l'>t.'tlt,‘l’:tllt1n.“ Mr John (‘ronin \.'tltl tl was abxurd that firemen Nlltttlltl he receivirie, on :iver.i_i:e, {l3 a week more
tielitirii: irrex Ih;m the men who were actually iloini: their rob for them. "Tlte \ubslilute tor not
for union» ix the tI\\Ltl’1InCC that the Government look alter the ItlII.'fL‘\t\ oi’ the Arrtted Forces in the m.itti:r of pay and conditions of work. We Ill
thi: llttltxt.‘ should be the shop stewards. We xhould be the union reprexentzitivex ol the Set‘ should be not jtlsl the .\lini.~ter \‘tCL‘\. We their representatives. and we should insist that the (internment take appropriate action in the niatter ol pay and Ctlndlliulls of work." (Continued in Page 40) —
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