UK HoC Report on Single Accommodation
sorry, I'm trying to reply while picking myself up off the floor laughing.
No. Last I checked, most places have also done away with cleaners for anything other than common areas so not even the last strands of "batting" still exist. Almost all (don't know if there are any left on mainland UK) messes are run by private contractors and believe me when I say it's a race to the bottom!
No. Last I checked, most places have also done away with cleaners for anything other than common areas so not even the last strands of "batting" still exist. Almost all (don't know if there are any left on mainland UK) messes are run by private contractors and believe me when I say it's a race to the bottom!
'Proper' batting ended in around 1969, Our faitfhul old chaps at RAFC were told that henceforth they would be 'mess servants'.
Over the following years the standards declined until even the morning cuppa was binned. "Tea and coffee making facilities will be provided for each room", we were told.... They weren't - or, if they were, they often didn't work.
Worst ever OM accommodation I experienced was at Honington in the 'Orlits'. Tiny rooms with barely enough room to swing a cat - yet there were beanstealers living for free in the OM proper. The huts at 'New Chivenor' were palatial in contrast.
When I moved to Brize, I said I didn't want to be put on the list for a suite, but any room on the ground floor would do as I had to squeeze in all my worldly possessions (except the car), but I needed a garage (to store what wouldn't fit in the room). But they gave me a room on the 2nd floor with rattly sash windows, just as the backlog of VC10 movements (after the aileron cable grounding) was ramping up, so the 'roar of the four' was a constant feature in the middle of the night. I also found that anything left in the garage would be stolen by 'patch rats'.... Fortunately I'd decided to buy a house and moved with considerable relief in Oct 84.
But now? How do any singlies afford a house in the Brize area? Mine was about 2.3x my annual salary as a 9 yr aircrew Flt Lt back then, for a 2-bed semi + garage, but since then house prices have gone through the roof. They are now about 2.5x what they should be in terms of inflation.... Absurd! I doubt whether 6 yr aircrew Flt Lts are on £120K p.a. these days! So more than ever now singlies need a decent standard of OM accommodation if they want to have a reasonable standard of living!
Over the following years the standards declined until even the morning cuppa was binned. "Tea and coffee making facilities will be provided for each room", we were told.... They weren't - or, if they were, they often didn't work.
Worst ever OM accommodation I experienced was at Honington in the 'Orlits'. Tiny rooms with barely enough room to swing a cat - yet there were beanstealers living for free in the OM proper. The huts at 'New Chivenor' were palatial in contrast.
When I moved to Brize, I said I didn't want to be put on the list for a suite, but any room on the ground floor would do as I had to squeeze in all my worldly possessions (except the car), but I needed a garage (to store what wouldn't fit in the room). But they gave me a room on the 2nd floor with rattly sash windows, just as the backlog of VC10 movements (after the aileron cable grounding) was ramping up, so the 'roar of the four' was a constant feature in the middle of the night. I also found that anything left in the garage would be stolen by 'patch rats'.... Fortunately I'd decided to buy a house and moved with considerable relief in Oct 84.
But now? How do any singlies afford a house in the Brize area? Mine was about 2.3x my annual salary as a 9 yr aircrew Flt Lt back then, for a 2-bed semi + garage, but since then house prices have gone through the roof. They are now about 2.5x what they should be in terms of inflation.... Absurd! I doubt whether 6 yr aircrew Flt Lts are on £120K p.a. these days! So more than ever now singlies need a decent standard of OM accommodation if they want to have a reasonable standard of living!
Last edited by BEagle; 25th Apr 2021 at 08:36.
And in 93 a certain tall athletic Scottish Nav VC10 squadron boss wrote me down for not being a team player on my 1369 after buying a house as a single guy to get out of that dreadful mess.....turned out very lucrative in the end
'Proper' batting ended in around 1969, Our faitfhul old chaps at RAFC were told that henceforth they would be 'mess servants'.
Over the following years the standards declined until even the morning cuppa was binned. "Tea and coffee making facilities will be provided for each room", we were told.... They weren't - or, if they were, they often didn't work.
Worst ever OM accommodation I experienced was at Honington in the 'Orlits'. Tiny rooms with barely enough room to swing a cat - yet there were beanstealers living for free in the OM proper. The huts at 'New Chivenor' were palatial in contrast.
When I move to Brize, I said I didn't want to be put on the list for a suite, but any room on the ground floor would do as I had to squeeze in all my worldly possessions (except the car), but I needed a garage (to store what wouldn't fir in the room). So they gave me a room on the 2nd floor with rattly sash windows. I also found that anything left in the garage would be stolen by 'patch rats' in the middle of the night.... Fortunately I'd decided to buy a house and moved with considerable relief in Oct 84.
But now? How do any singlies afford a house in the Brize area? Mine was about 2.3x my annual salary as a 6 yr Flt Lt back then, but since then house prices have gone through the roof. They are now about 2.5x what they should be in terms of inflation.... Absurd! So singlies need a decent standard of OM accommodation more than ever!
Over the following years the standards declined until even the morning cuppa was binned. "Tea and coffee making facilities will be provided for each room", we were told.... They weren't - or, if they were, they often didn't work.
Worst ever OM accommodation I experienced was at Honington in the 'Orlits'. Tiny rooms with barely enough room to swing a cat - yet there were beanstealers living for free in the OM proper. The huts at 'New Chivenor' were palatial in contrast.
When I move to Brize, I said I didn't want to be put on the list for a suite, but any room on the ground floor would do as I had to squeeze in all my worldly possessions (except the car), but I needed a garage (to store what wouldn't fir in the room). So they gave me a room on the 2nd floor with rattly sash windows. I also found that anything left in the garage would be stolen by 'patch rats' in the middle of the night.... Fortunately I'd decided to buy a house and moved with considerable relief in Oct 84.
But now? How do any singlies afford a house in the Brize area? Mine was about 2.3x my annual salary as a 6 yr Flt Lt back then, but since then house prices have gone through the roof. They are now about 2.5x what they should be in terms of inflation.... Absurd! So singlies need a decent standard of OM accommodation more than ever!
3-month moving averages properties in Witney for Jan 95 and Jan 21 to put Beag's numbers in context:
Property type Jan 1995 Jan 2021 Change Detached £99,643 £447,500 +349% Semi £77,331 £430,000 +456% Terraced £75,894 £281,000 +270% Flat £54,200 £282,500 +421% All £78,619 £378,875 +382%
So the average Flt Lt is going to need a 10% deposit (28k, plus the usual extras for tax and solicitors), call it 35k total an a mortgage of 4.7 times their annual salary to afford a flat or terraced house in Witney. To put numbers on that, that's £1100 a month against monthly take-home of approx £3300, spot on 1/3rd of take home pay.
At least they'll have had plenty of time in the training system to save up their 35k!
I recall a Mess Meeting when we were asked to approve the cost of new curtains in the 'Ladies' Room' (remember those?). One chap stood up and asked whether we could instead vote for plumbing repairs in the single rooms, whereupon OC Bogs and Drains retorted that such a comment was inappropriate. Uproar followed and the 'Ladies' Room' only got its new curtains shortly before the Gorbachev visit many years later. Funny that.
Did they ever fix that dreadful murky brown water which would flow from the cold taps unless the water had been run for several minutes?
Did they ever fix that dreadful murky brown water which would flow from the cold taps unless the water had been run for several minutes?
I was pleasantly surprised in 1982 to find that my shared cabin on Hermes had a sink with hot and cold running water. My pleasant surprise turned to mystification when I discovered that there was no pipework attached to the plug-hole; it simply drained into a spit-kit that required lugging up to the next deck to empty.
The Captain's day cabin was another matter entirely (as Bomber H will attest!). LM was entirely unaware that we were using it.
Mog
The Captain's day cabin was another matter entirely (as Bomber H will attest!). LM was entirely unaware that we were using it.
Mog
Whether I have been extremely lucky, or have low standards(!), but in my time as a living in single officer from 1985 to 1995 (and as an occasional bean stealer thereafter [courses etc.]) I never had any issues with either accommodation or food across UK and RAFG. At a rough guess this covered over a dozen different units (vast majority flying stations). I was more than capable of waking up in the morning, making my own tea, ironing my uniform and bulling my shoes (on the odd occasion 'blues' was required) without need of a servant to do it for me.
My only bad experience with married quarters was at Bushey but that was far more to do with the location than the accommodation.
Can't, though, speak for the OR/JNCO/SNCO/WO accommodation.
My only bad experience with married quarters was at Bushey but that was far more to do with the location than the accommodation.
Can't, though, speak for the OR/JNCO/SNCO/WO accommodation.
Wrath
You obviously did not have to suffer the luxury of the Os Mess at BZN-heating long term US , no hot water and free rodents as pets supplied!
That said my recollections of Marham (not location of course) were very favourable. Some of us even remember batting in MQs!
You obviously did not have to suffer the luxury of the Os Mess at BZN-heating long term US , no hot water and free rodents as pets supplied!
That said my recollections of Marham (not location of course) were very favourable. Some of us even remember batting in MQs!
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Beags, I think that you must have been unlucky with your "batting" services/stations if they "finished" in 1969. As a new "single" officer (divorce) I was well looked after at Scampton 1975, West Drayton 1976 -78 and Brawdy 1978-1980. A mix of service and civilian personnel, but all brilliant!
Bill
Bill
Bill, by 'proper batting', I meant the sort of thing of times past when the battie was something of a gentleman's gentleman! I only lived in at Scampton for a very short time in 1977 before sharing a house with others, but at Brawdy and Wittering the batties were indeed excellent.
Avoid imitations
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On the other hand, the RAF do now allow batting for the other side.
Avoid imitations
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taxydual, thanks for the link to Tales From the Headquarters by Michael Davies. The process which he describes of presiding over rotting window sills and dysfunctional plumbing while having to attend endless Wg Cdr led power meetings featuring word bite bullet points explains much of the dross that RAF leadership seems to represent these days. No doubt the plans formulated at such meetings lead to ever greater 'savings' and provide a stepping stone to a series of advancements and yet more meetings, more plans, more 'savings' until they bloom into full blown policies and Air Rank, before leading to sinecure jobs based on glittering CVs.
Time was when the preoccupation of Commanders at Unit or Station Level was the welfare of their subordinates using the Powers of Subordinate Commanders. Such powers, particularly financial, have long withered and everything has to be referred to ever higher levels. The results are enumerated in this thread, less welfare, more greasy pole climbing. At some point we need to reclaim such powers to ensure that the RAF behind the Station Gates gives value for money again.
Time was when the preoccupation of Commanders at Unit or Station Level was the welfare of their subordinates using the Powers of Subordinate Commanders. Such powers, particularly financial, have long withered and everything has to be referred to ever higher levels. The results are enumerated in this thread, less welfare, more greasy pole climbing. At some point we need to reclaim such powers to ensure that the RAF behind the Station Gates gives value for money again.
Just a little story about what a different experience living in an officers mess was in the mid 60s when I first joined. At that time it was common practice for laundry to be done professionally, with dirty washing being collected and sent off, then returned, with the old detached collars we still wore starched to death. Anyway this was all very nice, but expensive, and took quite a chunk out of a pilot officer's salary. A few chaps got together and at a mess meeting proposed that the mess should buy a washing machine, living in officers for the use of. A crusty old wing commander stood up and said he objected to this, as doing their own washing was "denigrating to the status of an officer" Well he was outvoted and we got our machine, but the phrase "denigrating to the status" entered our vocabulary,to be used on any occasion when somebody was acting in a manner deemed inappropriate.
What that old wing commander would think of life in present day messes can only be imagined.
What that old wing commander would think of life in present day messes can only be imagined.
