General Chat

On page 2 of today's Daily Mail, our police/armed forces are being warned not to wear uniform when off duty and it took me back.

The article should have gone on to include not to hang out uniform washing, when asked where employed - civil service, change car about every 6 months, register car to station/barracks and check under car if parked outside for any length of time.

Only in the past 7-10 days the private car of a N. Irish policeman living in Eglinton, N. Ireland having checked his car and reported a bomb underneath.

This is only the same as we had to do from the beginning of the 70s through to the nineties.

My husband had to grow his hair in the mid 70s when helping a famous museum for 6 months in London. In civvies but with very short hair the RAF were aware he stood out so told him not to get it cut until back at his parent camp. :-D When he left the RAF he went back to work for them as a civvy so was still a target.

We all were referred to as soft targets as we lived away from a service establishment. Our children both joined the ATC (Air Training Corps) and had to cover their uniforms traveling to and fro as an ATC lad in uniform had been shot dead. They had to do bomb checks there as well.

We had to check our car at all times nor accept any surprise parcels. Go to school and make sure the children were only picked up by designated people. Make sure we weren't being followed. Never refer to OH's job as in the RAF only electronics or computers. When our daughter was small we decided to anchor up for the sake of the children's education, dad went off early Monday and came back on Friday afternoon. Totally unaware of his uniform it took her until she started to go to senior school before she twigged dad had been in the RAF. :-D

I wonder how many of our neighbours would have liked the idea of living next to or near IRA soft targets?

EDIT washing his shirts - never hung on a line always tumble dried. Uniform needing dry cleaning handed in and done from the RAF camp. Same with shoe repairs.

At check points - do not ignore sleeping baby in pram - lots of nasty things smuggled this way.

I forgot - do not ignore unattended shopping/luggage etc. - report it. I also forgot about the dry cleaners but I did say do not hang out uniform washing - any colour shirts used to fill the gap and lack of a man's washing.

Yes went through all that in the 80s/90s and I was a MOD civilian, not only the IRA but 'hissing Sid' was alive and well. We had our cars searched going in to work, underneath, in bonnet and boot and we had to open them, panic amongst women who couldn't open the bonnet!!! We then had to park off camp at one station so park and walk in. And we were not allowed to travel to Ireland. Civilians with relatives in Dublin had to get permission to travel there. Regular security films always being alert was a way of life. It seemed strange when all of a sudden the military were wearing their unform out and about.

We had been living on mainland when I had a 'blackout'. I crossed a road to the local M & S and there was a man standing inside the doors looking out towards the street.

I stopped in front of him, opened my bag for him to check contents - I came to in horror and dived out of shop. Poor man must have been waiting for his wife but he was wearing a dark suit and was well built!!!!!!

I was in the UK Army Reserve from 1967 until 1981.

Initially we had to travel in Uniform to and from training camps, but after the start of the 'troubles' that order was quickly rescinded.

Also not allowed to use kit bags, only suitcases

And in the late 50's early 60's it was much easier, to get a lift while in uniform.......

Bob