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Profiles currently available
Mike KeebleMike's history since Chepstow; I played a lot of sport (what's new!) and had some great trips to Malaya, Ceylon and Hong Kong playing either soccer or rugby with a variety of teams. Near the end of my stint I had a working trip to Indonesia, which was great, in a joint British / Australian mapping exercise called Operation Mandau. It was at Pontianak, right on the equator. I also met Wendy (my wife of 28 years) in the last year of my posting in Singapore. She was a schoolgirl, and the daughter of my pay WOII.. We met at the local pool (at Gillman barracks). She was 16 and I was 21. I know, I was a baby snatcher! But what a baby!!! She was in great shape and a lovely person – and I haven’t regretted my choice for one minute. We were engaged before I left Singapore in December 1970 but were separated for 8 months when I went back to UK and she stayed on in Singapore whilst her father completed his term. Back in UK I was posted to 42 Survey Engineer Rgt. at Barton Stacey, Hants. Whilst there I had a working trip to Norway (Carto Norge). On Wendy’s return I used to commute to Brighton as often as I could as that’s where her father was posted. In August 1972 I bought out to emigrate to Australia with Wendy and her family. Her dad had completed his 22 years and her mother had quite a few rellies already in Oz so they decided it was time to go! At that time I was a Corporal, with little chance of getting Sergeant for quite a while, what with the queue in front of me so it seemed a good idea for me to join them - especially as they wanted Wendy to go with them. It turned out very well as I had a job within two weeks as a drafting assistant with National Mapping, Melbourne (Federal Govt) where I was involved in making maps of Antarctica. Wendy and I got married after 3 months in Australia, and I soon became a Cartographer after sitting a test in Canberra. After three years with National Mapping I left for a promotion with the State Electricity Commission, still in Melbourne, Victoria. One year after arriving in Australia, Wendy and I had bought some land and had our first house built. I got a second job working from 5.30pm to 11pm. weekdays and from 7am to 3.30pm on Saturdays to help pay for it. I was working in a tile factory stacking clay tiles to start with but soon was ‘promoted’ to fork lift driver. I did this for 4 years (until Paul was about 12 months old). Wendy was also working hard and had two jobs a lot of the time. The things we did to get ahead! After 13 years with the State Electricity Commission, working in mapping / reprographics related jobs I resigned from the position of Superintendent Plan and Photographic Centre to move to sunny Queensland for a life-style change. The Commission, at the time, was looking to shed many of its 30,000 staff and offering financial incentives, so I took the money and ran, so speak We bought an established duplex (2 homes) on just under 2 acres of land and I got stuck into gardening! After building a home from scratch in Melbourne I had become an avid gardener and 2 acres in sunny Brisbane, was terrific. There’s a statement (from an old advertising campaign) that locals always quote. It states "Ah, Queensland; beautiful one day, perfect the next!" Well, after 12 years here I can assure you it’s true! Initially, on arriving in Queensland I worked as a storeman in a Horticultural business just around the corner from home. It was great. Start a 7am finish at 3pm and plenty of time for the garden! But after 8 months the mother-in-law spotted a vacancy for a temporary Cartographer position with the Mines Dept. which I successfully applied for. [ I think she thought her daughter would be deprived if I remained as a storeman for the rest of my life!]. After 1 year with Mines, I successfully applied for a full-time position with Main Roads, where I have now been for the past 10 years. I currently hold the position of Supervising Cartographer (Operations) with the Corporate Mapping Unit. Wendy, on the other hand, decided 3 years after we moved to Queensland that she wanted go to Uni and become a teacher. She had been working in a local council respite care centre, originally as a volunteer, but then as assistant coordinator. She was also teaching religious education, again in a voluntary capacity, as well as being on the school council. After 4 hard years of study Wendy graduated with honours and landed a job with the local school in which she was involved as secretary of the school council. I reckon the Principal must have pulled a few strings! Throughout all our time in Queensland we have been "host parents" to many overseas students; must be over 50 now! Firstly they were short term commercial students but over the last 8 years they have been mostly long term high school students that have gone on to be Uni students. Many have stayed more than three years and some even 5 plus! They mostly came from Asia and we have hosted many from Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, China, Taiwan etc etc. With the odd exception they have all been great kids. Currently we have two Hong Kong brothers. We have decided, however, that when they leave that will be it. At one time we had our 3 teenage children and 5 teenage students (before Wendy went to Uni herself). And to top it off we all went off on a cruise to New Caledonia. A great time was had by all! Incidentally, our first student, a lovely young lady from Hong Kong is now married to an Australian and living in Melbourne with their two children and her parents! How’s that for an extended family! Wendy and I have 3 children, Paul 24, who is in Sydney with 3RAR (Royal Australian Regiment) which is a parachuting Infantry Regiment. He has recently moved to a pay clerk role within 3RAR as he was getting a few back problems. He is enjoying Army life and is engaged to Joanne (a wonderful young lady and Julia Roberts lookalike). Why wouldn't he be happy! They are to be married in Sydney in January 2001. Virginia, our daughter is 21+ and she married Ronnie last July. They were childhood sweethearts for 10 years, having met at school. They have a home near us and are doing well. Ronnie is a motor mechanic who also has his own business in concrete spraying and associated work. He part manages the garage he works at, which is owned by his step-father and mother. Virginia is an excellent horsewoman and has been riding for over 10 years. She works with mentally and physically disabled people and enjoys it. Matthew, at 19, is our youngest. He is working for Repco (car spare parts supplier). He just loves driving and building cars. He has put together a great car from a couple of wrecks with some help, of course, from Ronnie. He has a long-term girlfriend and is very settled. He still lives at home. Wendy is now the deputy principal of a local private Christian School, just 5 minutes from home. She loves her work - and me of course! My main hobby is gardening and with 2 acres it keeps me fit. I enjoy a little boating and fishing and we have a 4.3m runabout we like to use - mostly in the summer. Queensland has a terrific climate for all outdoor activities. We also enjoy camping and a little cycling. Apart from in winter, when daylight hours are short, we enjoy getting up early and walking, and I even still do a little running. So, if anyone is ever thinking of coming to Oz don’t forget to look us up. We’ll always have plenty of room to put you up and you'll be made very welcome!!
Terry EvansTerry's history since Chepstow; Dave LowtherDave's history since Chepstow; Greetings fellow Geriatrics!! Michael MusgroveMuzy's life after 65B;Since leaving training regiment I was posted to 38 (Berlin Field Sqn) in West Berlin as you probably remember I was married whilst in Boy Service and Michael Jnr was
born whilst I was at the training regiment at Cove. Amanda my daughter was born in Berlin in 1969.
George StubbingtonStubby's life after 65B; After reading Dave (his real name is David Attenborough) Lowther's life story the other week, mine seems a might tame compared, but here goes anyway.
After leaving Cove, I headed off to Hameln in Germany, quite pleased, as I had asked for Singapore, Hong Kong or UK as preferable postings, but rumour had it at the time, that Hameln Garrison were allowed the longest hair in the British Army. All lies of course as I was immediately put onto the RP-Staff where I had to take the prisoners for regimental hair-cuts.
Bricklaying was not something very often needed in 65 Corps Support Sqn. so after an even more uneventful 18 months in the workshops I was made Officers Mess Barman for about 6 months (what a skive that one was) before going to Chatham for my B1 course which I passed with distinction but without promotion. From here I was posted back to sunny Hameln, but a different barracks to the newly formed 28 Amphibious Engr. Regt.
Here I really went for it with courses as crewman and pilot on the then new M2B Rigs but found my final army vocation as troop officers ferret driver/cook/handyman. Promotion having still evaded me, and being the only B1 sapper in the regiment, I decided that army life was not really the life for me and purchased my discharge in January ´73 and emigrated to Hameln.
I got married in September ´71 to Jutta, and in August ´77 our son Sebastian was born. By this time I had absolved further courses in engineering skills. I have now been working for an engineering office for pumps and compressors in Rinteln in technical order processing.
In ´75 I was introduced to the game of Squash and although I was able to play at county league level after a time, I was talked into the admin., side. I have now been on the executive committee of the Lower-Saxony Association for the past 20 years and on the German Junior committee for the past 5 as their tournament director. I shall finish both of these posts by 2002 and then concentrate on playing golf which I have been playing now for 4 years.
Well that was my life after Chepstow, probably sounds quite boring to some of you, but I can ensure you all that I have thoroughly enjoyed it and wouldn’t change a single thing. Looking forward to reading the next lot and hope to meet you all again sometime. Back to Top
Dave BetchleyDave's life after 65B;So what happened after Chepstow? Briefly it was a summer stint as a barman in a holiday camp, then as surveyor working for an oil exploration company, with Miles Taylor, in Nigeria, then in Madagascar, then the rest of west Africa. I then surveyed the Bay of Biscay, and then Nigeria for 18months, and lost Miles and Colin Bardsley to nubile french ladies and another survey company, and then I went to Dallas Texas to learn about satellite geodesy, and took that to the Arctic, and then to the Middle East, a short stay in Saudi, and then the americas, and Alaska, and then another longer stint in Saudi, decided to leave with an aussie cytologist, and back to the USA, and then later to Canada for a few years, and left there with a son and went to Adelaide, and I am still here, and supervised exploration crews in the outback, and then my daughter was born and I left the bush for the city, to uni, an honours in social work, then a masters, and now working with children with intellectual disability…and still doing things academic, as well as being the ever present taxi driver, giver of money, carrier of things heavy and dirty, and the lone voice on the beach…my family has an aversion to sand!!!! The travel bug is still there…that tie to my childhood dream of being a royal mapmaker…but more of that at another time. Stevie StevensStevie's life after 65B; Steve Stevens 11-5-49 24060360
Miles (Sloopy) TaylorMiles's life after 65B;(Extract from email 27 August 2002) My profile : Bought out after Bardsley & Betchley and for years we were the three seismic musketeers. Colin and I gravitated around a flat (and various
demoiselles) in the South of France. We then spent a few years in the Sultanate of Oman which is a fantastic country and married a couple of French beauties before
settling in France, me in Paris where I worked for the IGN (local Ordnance Survey) exporting French technology (joke!) to Africa and other dark places and Colin
in Bordeaux for a Canadian company.
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