RWF NI - EARLY 70's PIC ?

[ap1]

Ritchie 64 found this picture elsewhere. He's posted it in the gallery, but I wanted to ensure a wider audience. Ritchie thinks its "Mouse Cooper". It has to be early 1970's, probably the Derry 18 month tour. Is it RWF? Anyone recognise the others?



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[Bob Bacon]

Definately 'Mighty Mouse' Brian Cooper

[ap1]

Zooming in, the L/Rover has a blue plate attached to the rad grill, possibly B Coy's POW Feathers??? OC's Rover?

[Radar]

Without a doubt Mighty Mouse, I was on the CO's rover group as sigs driver operator with him, Col Llewelyn and Big Tom, Owen 33 and others whose names escape me at the moment. (I hate getting old)

[Radar]

I am of course talking about 78 but I do recognise Mr Cooper.

[richie264]

Thank's Al yeh I knew it was the mouse, and it had to be the mid 70s as he was CSM B.coy then or is this him when he was RSM ?(Def WO's badge). Where is he now !! I believe I saw him in Llangollen last year as I drove through, shame I did'nt have time to stop, looked as dapper as ever.

[Rog Ball 01]

Having a close look at the photograph, could it have been taken at Lydd? Reason that I say this is because of:

What is on the landrover bonnet (I dont think that the bn Landrovers had ariel mountings)and the guy standing next to the passengers door

The shape of the buildings behind the lead man in the picture.

[ap1]

Good points Rog. I have to say the Bar looks pretty convincing though. Also, look beyond the houses in the background, is that the side of a hill? Could it be Strabane?

[jack murphy]

yes thats brian cooper .it is probably belfast 1986 b coy csm

[steve carey]

It deffo aint strabane.Looking at wooden stock on SLR most prob 70s

[Rog Ball 01]

We were in Strabane in early 70s Steve.

[richie264]

Was Mouse on a posting maybe with NITAT but the streets look to real to be a training village, although the tree's in the background have a Senelager look about them. but just looking at the sign above his head it appears to be Chinese !! The guy to the right appears to be wearing putties, they took my gaiters off me when I joined the Bn at the end of 75. I reckon it may be the 76-77 tour. B Coy were in Andytown with us in Delta's their patch had a rural boundary & no Macro on the lanie. " The Plot Thickens".

[Rog Ball 01]

Having done some more research, I have found that the photographer, Peter Denton, published the photograph on a site called http://l.yimg.com/g/images/en-us/flickr-yahoo-logo.png.v4 in a sub section called The Troubles.

Having seen the photograp, we are all wrong. The picture was of a riot in ASndytown in Oct 1976, just outside Andytown Police Station. A comment made by one pof the viewers is as follows:

"This is just at the start of the Glen Road, beside Andersonstown Police Station (http://www.flickr.com/photos/gerryward/2097541257/), outside McEnaney's Bar (http://www.flickr.com/photos/gerryward/1863257713/in/pool-356384@N21). Apart from the bar getting a 'make over' and the recent removal of the police station, the place is still very much recognisable, especially the little roundabout"

[richie264]

Ha thanks Rog I was just tracing back to where I got the pick from & confirms what I said in my last post.

[ap1]

Excellent Rog, I should have recognised the bar. Hopefully we can identify a couple of the other guys now.

[John Turner]

It can't be the 70's - look at the antenna pods on each wing of the rover, they're on top of boxes, they're CLANSMAN and clansman didn't come in until 1980. For them to be on a rover in NI, clansman would have to be well-established

The box contained a bit of kit called a TUAAM - Tuning Unit Automatic Antenna Matching - WTFs that still doing in my brain cells!

Not sure when Brian Cooper went from CSM to RSM, but I was B Coy until 1980 and can't put a name to any of the other faces - not easy anyway though, low res photo.

Reckon it's a tour from Lemgo - maybe the Bobby Sands tour, in fact I can't remember any other tour from Lemgo - nor can I remember who was RSM in that tour ...... and I was in Tac HQ then too! (Springfield Rd RUC)

[eglen john]

Porky Philips was RSM on that tour John, Mouse became RSM after Larry Bohana, about 2 years into Lemgo

[richie264]

Looking at the lannie again I would have thought if it was the 81 tour it would have Macrelon armour & looking at the guys wetproofs & helmets I'd say 70's as helmet wise we were wearing Cromwells in 81. I would have thought that the Larksboro kit would have had antenna boxe's, although I did my Stdn 2 cadre in Lemgo with Larksboro I can't remember !! :arghh:

[ap1]

Agree Ritchie. Pre 80's. The Bn's 78/79 tour in Londenderry, all troops issued NI Boots. So it pre that date. You guys on the 76 tour of Belfast, were you wearing putties and tin chats and looking like the first troops ever to deploy back in 1969 :-) ? I'm sticking with Rogers find. Belfast 1976. The only other option could have been the emergency tour in 1975 I think.

[richie264]

The 76 tour took us through into 77, we went back out there a couple of months later, I believe it was to cover polling stations during some kind of election or strike, we just seemed to park up in pigs as back up if anything kicked off. We did wear putties during that period but we were also issued the NI boot a cheap high boot that did the job OK.

[ap1]

It can't be the 70's - look at the antenna pods on each wing of the rover, they're on top of boxes, they're CLANSMAN and clansman didn't come in until 1980. For them to be on a rover in NI, clansman would have to be well-established

The box contained a bit of kit called a TUAAM - Tuning Unit Automatic Antenna Matching - WTFs that still doing in my brain cells!



John your actually wrong(Shock Horror) :radar:

Its a Larkspur ATU:

2786

I love google

[Rog Ball 01]

John

Larkspur brought ionto use 1962 especially for C42.

[rob jones 60]

The guy with the SLR with the wooden stock looks like hes wearing a modern shaped helmet with a new shaped visor .his respirator case looks its issued in the 80s . some of the guys with shields look like the are wearing combat boots high,just an observation hope we can date this were and when great thread ....

[richie264]

Na some helmets were like that, could be a driver, the guys wearing the combat boots are inNI boots they were a lightweight patrol boot made for the urban enviroment, although many of us wore them in the field after the tour but they didn't last long, There is a picture of me wearing them in the photo section, the wooden rifle butt/stocks were still knocking around well into the 70's especially in the corps, ha I never thought one photo would get so many hits, thanks Al, I believe it was taken during the 76/77 tour, but the question still remains..where's RSM Cooper now ??

[lucky]

we did have the NI boots for the 78/70 derry tour..so it could ave been 76 belfast! or even when we went out to ardoyne in 77 for just 3 weeks as 'spearhead battalion' it was known as 'an emergency tour' to help the 'devon & dorsets' out who were buckling under the heavy riots, caused by strikes in the 'public sector' there were road blocks everywhere buses being hijacked & polling stations were targeted..could the pic have been in that 3 week emergency tour!

[John Turner]

John your actually wrong(Shock Horror) :radar:

Its a Larkspur ATU:

2786

I love google

Another reason I thought it was 1980+ is because I was Bravos until I joined the sigs in 1980 and did all the NI tours with Bravos up until then without having the Ardoyne in our TAOR. But I forgot that I'd missed one - the 76/77 West Belfast tour, I was in HQ Coy for a brief spell and on that tour was in Echelon at Musgrave Park hospital.

[John Turner]

Guy in the foreground on the right looks like Vivian Whitmore, who is registered here as 'Tonka' http://rwf-forum.co.uk/vBulletin/member.php?3155-tonka

[hoppy41]

its b/coy to the right of mouse cooper is cpl smith (cider)

[Bob Lake]

RSM Cooper is alive and well and living in Wrexham. I saw him recently but was not able to have a chat. I think we can rate Mighty Mouse as one of the great Regimental Characters and it would be very nice if he would came back into the fold where he's is held in great regard, sadly he has not been inclined to do so yet! He was RSM in the early days of the Lemgo posting.

I suspect that the photo is form the Derry Tour 71-72 following Hong Kong , My reasons are that we had not worn DPM combats at the stage, nor worn flack jackets and none of these are in evidence in the photo. We did get an issue of light weight combat boots to run faster at about that time. I note Mr Cooper is wearing a non issue waterproof which was common in those days as gas capes were still issued as waterproofs, We were certainly wearing DPM in Lemgo though most wore light weight trousers. That's a series 3 Land Rover which rather dates the picture.

I was Sigs PL Commander in Lemgo where we converted from Larkspur to Clansman in 1980 or thereabouts.

Thanks for a very good thread

[richie264]

I'll have to keep an eye out for him around town, he was certainly was was one of the many characters the Bn has had. I think Derry the early 70s is to soon, as the lad next Mouse is wearing putties, & I would say that his cap badge is that of a WO, He wasn't a CSM then was he ??

[John Turner]

The bar has been confirmed as a Belfast one so forget Derry - I don't think Mr Cooper did that tour anyway, I certainly don't remember him on it and it's not like he was the type of blerk you'd forget meeting for the first time as a Fusilier FFS!

I think he was Sandhurst regular staff while we were in Ebrington barracks, could be wrong.

[Glyn Hughes 17]

This as been an interesting thread, the following could be helpful: Brian Cooper was Pl Sgt in D Coy at Honiton and onwards to Hong-Konk, in 1969 joining the training staff at Cwrt-y-Gollen and onwards as training staff at RMA Sandhurst. (he was not in Londonderry) He rejoined the 1st Bn at Titworth in June 1975,appointed as B Coy CSM, he was not on the 1975 Belfast tour when B Coy was located at “Moyard” Brian was on the 76-77 tour located at Glassmullin collocated with D Coy. In 1979 he was appointed as RSM 1st Bn RWF.

[laurieh]

Hi John do you remember me from the 70,s Hughes 30

[jones20]

That ain't 86 spud mouse was already RSM when I left in 79

[jones20]

Blokes on the shields are wearing waterproof over trousers don't remember getting issued with them