More from this week's
Witney Gazette:
RAF Brize Norton has admitted it may have contacted pubs in West Oxfordshire in the past to tell them not to serve soldiers in uniform.
Pubs in both Carterton and Witney have claimed they have had orders from the nearby RAF base, but until now, the base has denied making contact.
However, a spokesman for the base said that, although there had been no official communication between pubs and the base, an officer, who had now left, might have spoken to landlords asking them not to serve personnel.
Last week, Guardsman Brad Thomas and fellow Grenadier Guard Jimmy Nuttal were working for an Army recruitment team when they stopped for lunch at the Cross Keys pub, in Market Street, Witney.
But as they looked at the menu, they were told to leave because the pub would not serve members of the Armed Forces wearing uniform.
Steve Kemp, of Manor Road, Carterton, said he had witnessed a similar incident at the Beehive, in Black Bourton Road, Carterton, a few months ago.
He said that up to 15 soldiers in uniform were told that they would not be served, so they went to a nearby charity shop, where they bought and changed into dresses before returning.
Bus driver Mr Kemp, who was having a drink in the pub at the time, said: “The soldiers were waiting for a plane from Brize Norton.
“They spent a couple of quid each on the dresses from a charity shop, and then when they were finished, they took the dresses back to the charity shop.”
It is not known where the soldiers were from or where they were flying to.
Beehive manager, Steve Patterson, did not recall the incident, but claimed the pub had been asked by RAF Brize Norton not to serve anyone in uniform, as did the owner of the Cross Keys pub.
He said: “We do it to avoid any confrontation with the base. They have asked us not to serve anyone in uniform.
“I would quite cheerfully serve them on a personal level.
“I served in the Armed Forces for 12 years. I have no gripes with the military. However, there is no point in me doing it on my own if all the pubs in the area have been asked the same thing.”
Personnel in the Navy, Army, or RAF are banned from entering any pub in uniform, unless it is for a funeral or wedding.
Last night, RAF Brize Norton spokesman, Katie Zasada, said: “As far as I know, there has been no communication to Carterton pubs or any other pubs not to serve personnel in uniform.
“That is not to say that at one point there wasn’t a telephone conversation with an officer here and some of the pubs.
Ms Zasada added: “I can’t say for definite, but there was a bit of a feeling that he had phoned up the pubs to reduce the amount of alcohol-fuelled trouble.
“The situation is that as it stands that it is quite clear in regulations that personnel in uniform do not go into pubs, unless specifically authorised.”
Mr Kemp, 51, called for the ban to be overturned.
He said: “I reckon it should be lifted now.
“It’s like kids in school uniform.
“If kids are playing up, you can distinguish which schools they are from, but that’s in schools and not for adults.”
He added: “These lads are brilliant lads, and they don’t cause trouble.”
There's an Oxfam shop close to the Cross Keys, so perhaps next time....
One wonders whether the pub would serve someone dressed as, say, a Star Trek character - or as an SS-Obersturmbannfuhrer ?