Hi all

[DaveO'Leary]

To sort a bet.........Is it true officers (RAF) are brought a cup of tea in the morning?

I thank you.................O'L

[The Rocket]

Well,

That depends if it's me, or Miss Rocket who gets up first!:ok:

[DaveO'Leary]

Corrr, that must have been brill Mike, does that mean you got toast as well?

O'L

[k3k3]

Historically, yes! And if you were one of the chosen few (I wasn't!), allegedly the attractive (Dutch) blonde batting lady at one of the Mess blocks at Bruggen would do more than bring you a cup of tea!!

Would this have been around 1976?;)

[ShyTorque]

Probably the same as the young "lady" who worked in the East wing of the Officer's Mess at 1 FTS in the late 1970s.

She was known as... "The Goblin Teasmade".

Unfortunately I was in the West wing. :(

True story :ok:

[henry crun]

Obviously Bruggen was similar to Wahn.

It was hard luck if you happened to be at the end of the corridor, sometimes the tea would not arrive because it had been delayed enroute.

[Pontius Navigator]

Yoou should have seen the T-lady at Yeovilton.

Hairy Matelot, huge pot (tea) in rope cradle, lid inverted, sugar bowl in the lid. Didn't spill a drop. Milk? Already in the tea.

[BEagle]

The batty bringing a morning cup of tea tradition ended in the late '80s.

Ofiicers Mess rooms were then supposed to be provided with tea/coffee making facilities instead. Few were - another cost-cutting deceit.

[NoseGunner]

To actually answer the original poster:

No not for about a decade!!

[Onan the Clumsy]

Corrr, that must have been brill Mike, does that mean you got toast as well?yeah...soldiers :}

[Pontius Navigator]

Mike or was that easier to clean? Ie bed in the middle of the room so you could get all round it to make it?

I bet there are still only two layouts in the mess. Rooms that are occupied with a bed against the wall and those for visitors with beds in the middle.

Course the dark blue is different having neither beds nor rooms.

[DET1]

These days the Pilot Officers/Fg Officers bring the FS/WO their tea in the morning.

[plans123]

My Fg Offs are finally learning how to make me a decent cuppa, taken them a while to learn though!!! :}

[Red Line Entry]

The wardroom at HMS Sultan (Gosport) still has batting service - the RN know how to hold onto (most of) their traditions!

[DaveO'Leary]

Thank you all for your replies, much appreciated.

DO'L

[jindabyne]

My man Galeb used to do a good brew each morning at RAF Khormaksar (Aden) - unfortunately he also used brown polish on my new hush-puppies one morning.

[[email protected]]

The Officers Mess at Wattisham still has batting and if you are downstairs in the West Wing - the lovely Dawn will bring you a cuppa (no crack of dawn jokes please:).

ShyTorque, I remember Linton mess well - the goblin teasmade was enjoyed by a mate on my course who also had fun with her mother!

[Compressorstall]

Why is it that I have always been posted somewhere just after all this happens, or it happened after I left?

I had a Batman who, despite repeated requests not to, would wash everything I owned at the same temperature to ensure a uniform 'greyness', and then it tasted like he used the washing water to make the tea.

[MReyn24050]

The batty bringing a morning cup of tea tradition ended in the late '80s.
Ofiicers Mess rooms were then supposed to be provided with tea/coffee making facilities instead. Few were - another cost-cutting deceit.
I think Yeovilton continued up until the mid 1990s,

[Bof]

Slightly off thread - but only slightly. Back in '57, 216 Sqn had brand new Comet 2s (following the Comet 1 accidents) and were newly operating a slip service throught to Adelaide via El Adem, Khormaksar, Katunayake, Changi and Darwin.
Now you have to realize that in 57 there were no upper airways or upper air rules in Europe or anywhere else on the route. There were no mil aircraft up there other than a few fighters or a singleton bomber and certainly no civil acft above about 25000. So as far as the Comet was concerned, you climbed to an initial altitude of about 33,000 ft, set cruise power, engaged the speed lock and drifted up to your max height which of course was achieved at the top of descent. On a long sector - say El Adem to Karachi this could easily be 44,000 ft. I seem to remember we were restricted to 45,000 as we could hold our max diff with an 8000 ft cabin.
We used to fly two sectors before slipping, so El Adem was a one and a half hour tech stop before onwards and upwards. Now the hardest worked crew member was clearly the navigator who used to hit the ground running for flight planning and met. These were also the days when met briefing was a fairly long "interview" with the met man who loaded you up with masses of charts and you then had a complicated session at flight planning working out the fuel required and the point of the initial TOC (worked backwards from the TOD!!). The poor guy was always the last man back on theaircraft.
Now all this is really leading up to the point of the tale. El Adem was of course an unaccompanied tour and I believe the only female on the base was a very elderly lady who ran the Naffi wagon or Sally Anne which would trundle out to meet the Aircraft. A wag of a co-pilot (P G********h) got an old type penny, fixed it to a 2 inch piece of gaudy deckchair material and a safety pin and declared it the G********h medal, to be awarded to the first 216 nav to get his end away on a one and a half hour turnaround at El Adem. There were never any takers!! Aplogies for nicking the thread, but I thought it would fit the mood!

[ChristopherRobin]

Beags - still get tea in many Army messes. Bet you wished you'd joined now!

[Samuel]

The Officers' Messes at RNZAF Bases Whenuapai [Auckland], Ohakea, and Wigram are all identical to the RAF basic design to which they were built, and yes, we did have batting services, though not for a number of years now. These included having your shoes cleaned if you left them outside your door at night, and of course the cup of tea in the morning though I recall one overnight stay when I was asked, "Sugar Sir?", to which I replied "No"; "In which case don't stir it Sir".:rolleyes:

[petitfromage]

The kiwis had Tea/Coffee, OJ, Newspaper and Shoe-shine......and just like the RAF "extras" were available in A Wing, No.1 Mess at RNZAF Base Wigram! (circa 1990) ;)

[southside]

I recall a young lady at Culdrose in the mid 90's who supplied more than a cuppa. Popular lady as well. Wonder where she is now?

[STANDTO]

the problem I always found was the further away from the kitchen you were, the colder and more stewed the reultant beverage was. If you were near the top of the building at West Drayton the results would allow a spoon to stand up in it.

Still, a fine tradition and was all part of what it was all about:{

[teeteringhead]

Remember a chum of mine (no honestly - not me) in the East Wing lower at ODIZ in the mid 70s when we were looked after by the amazing Doris (who I gather is still around, although now retired). Said chum had been entertaining a lady, and as sleep had overtaken them, said young lady was still there when Doris called at 0700-ish.

Doris: (unflappable) Mornin' Sir, here's yer tea.

Teeter's Mate: (equally unflappable) Mornin' Doris ..... better make that two cups then!

Which Doris duly produced...

[Wee Jock]

Slightly off topic but a true story - friend of mine did a tour in Gan and on his last day was in his room packing whilst his batty got on with the cleaning. Batty is wailing a bit about how much he'll miss Sir, when Sir (John) notices that batty is cleaning the toilet pan with his facecloth. Yes, he had done it every day for the whole time John had been there.

:yuk: :p :yuk: :p

[SirToppamHat]

If you were near the top of the building at West Drayton the results would allow a spoon to stand up in it.

From what I remember of West Drayton ... you were lucky to get tea! In my days there (thankfully few) spoons were in short supply as were most pieces of cutlery. I have known the staff drop stuff off plates and simply pick up and put back; I guess it's not unusual in the kitchen, but when it happens in the Dining Room ...

I think the last time I got tea in a mess was 1990 in Leuchars and Boulmer.

STH

[henry crun]

teeteringhead: A friend woke, bleary eyed, in a mess room after a good party and was surprised to see two cups of tea on the bedside cabinet.

The batman had been a naval rating in earlier life and knew what to do without being prompted. :)

[Samuel]

petitfromage; 'A' wing was for permanent residents as I recall; those more set in their ways so to speak!. There were no such luxuries if you were in transit, I can assure you!

I should also point out that, as an airman at Eastleigh whilst in the RAF, we had our own collective batting service, for which we all chipped in, and had morning tea, a laundry service, and beds made, all for a few shillings each!

[PerArdua]

teeteringhead: A friend woke, bleary eyed, in a mess room after a good party and was surprised to see two cups of tea on the bedside cabinet.

The batman had been a naval rating in earlier life and knew what to do without being prompted. :)

Was he in the bed with your friend?

PA

[huge forkbender]

There was the story about a female Sqn Ldr who visited the Mess at RAF Buchan in the 80s. Fortunate to be allocated a room with servicable heating she was able to sleep 'au naturelle'. At 0730 there was a knock on the door from the 'batty'. Realising she had kicked off all the bedding she quickly grabbed the sheets and covered herself.
A call from the other side of the door said "Your coffee's by the bed Ma'am"!!

[Inspector Dreyfuss]

On a similar line to the Bruggen story...
Some of the UWAS chaps will remember feeling very pleased with themselves after being visited by an accommodating young(ish) Mess stewardess after a dining in night in the 80s. Only to not feel quite so pleased with themselves at Breakfast when confronted by several mates with a similar tale to tell regarding the same 'lady' from the night before.
The UWAS Adj never did get the full story either!

[bayete]

Holding at Boscombe Down mid 90's I had a Batty that would find me wherever I had fallen asleep (Boggs, various coridoors, my cupboard etc.) and bring me my coffee, much like the butler at the start of Tombraider. It was superb when you had that holding officer hangover!:ugh:

[Later Starter]

Damn,

I knew I should have joined the RAF:)

Steve

[PerArdua]

Boscombe Mess still has a batty who washes clothes and irons shirts for nothing more than a Christmas Box each year, great service but no tea in the morning.

PA

[airborne_artist]

Some of the UWAS chaps will remember feeling very pleased with themselves after being visited by an accommodating young(ish) Mess stewardess

Just the one??

Leeming, July 1979, and the RN pilot pukes of 87 course are having a leaving party in the OM. Two WRAF stewards serving behind bar. Last man standing ( a member of 88 course) at about 0400 is taken back to his cabin in the SEECO huts behind the OM by the two lasses and given a good seeing to.