NAAFI CLOSURE
 

I read that the NAAFI has announced that it is no longer viable for them to operate. Do you think they have done a good job and will they be replaced by PAYD contractors?

Nothing new; announced 2 years ago and on schedule......

KPak, don't worry, I forget stuff all the time.

To your question. Forties and fifties, my mum and dad were posted to remote places with no transport. The NAAFI was their lifeline and was reasonably priced. Later, people had transport and could get to towns and shops. Then the NAFFI became expensive with poor quality brands and service folks saw that AAFES could provide great ranges at good prices to USAF and US Army folk at good prices and realised UK Armed forces personnel were being ripped off royalty and not being looked after. Then it became Spaafi. Then it was rubbish.

Did a great job after WWII. Went steadily downhill thereafter.

They should have a had a look at the US Forces' Post Exchanges to see how it should be done.

As I said, Danny. AAFES.

Their big selling point was their return of profits to units. Never saw much publicity of the good they did. One tenet was no competition with the locals. Found the shop in Gan selling watches and electronics at UK prices. Pointed out hid local shops on Aden and Singapore were way cheaper. Having been challenged he cut the prices.

Years later, in Ascension, we bought soft drinks at the local down town BBC NAAFI with greater variety and lower cost than the RAF NAAFI a Travellers


Then, at Coningsby the NAAFI wagon became beyond economic repair and too costly to replace. Local woman bought a van, fitted it out, bought sausage rolls etc and sarnies and mad e a profit.

We all know what NAAFI stands for.

February 1959, cold, wet and miserable on Ash Vale ranges during basic training. "Too wet for the NAAFI truck, it might get stuck", so along comes the Sally Ann, as usual, all weathers and better snacks!

Courtney,

Sorry ! (didn't grasp what AAFES meant - after my time, we just had PXs),

Still should've twigged it from the context, Senior Moment, I'm afraid !

Danny.

I recall the NAAFI wagon at Akrotiri arriving outside Ops one day, the hatches being flung open and a very Greek voice announcing his arrival - "it's the thieving, bastard NAAFI again"...

Danny - AAFES is the department of the US DoD that runs the old Post & Base Exchanges - Army & Air Force Exchange Service. I believe it was founded before WW1, so would have run the PXes that you visited. It's run as a company, but is a department of the DoD. There are no stores called "AAFES", they were either Post or Base Exchanges - Army or Air Force, but now all branded "Exchange". People still call them the PX though. Or BX.

They have their greatest value in providing US goods overseas. In CONUS, there are sometimes better deals in commercial stores. However, AAFES Exchanges are tax free, even in the US.

Now the really good deals are to be had at the Commissary - those are subsidized by Uncle Sam.

Roadster 280,

Thanks ! Truly, you're never too old to learn - in my case exactly twice yours plus one !

We old-timers must stick together. :ok:

Danny.

I remember going into the NAAFI to buy some boot polish years ago, only to find a whole shelf of brown boot polish and no black. Apparently they didn't sell much brown boot polish, but they used to sell their limited quantities of black straight away......... military boots being black, I suppose.:ugh:

NAAFI WAGON
 

Well they seem to have turned up with the tea and wads in the Battle of Britain !!!

Another little trick from Gan. In 74/75 every time you bought an item in either the Main shop or Tuck Shop the total bill always ended with an extra half pence. There were no half pence coins coins on the island so it was rounded UP to the nearest whole pence. Doesn't seem a lot but in the days of Cigarettes 10p, Beer 10p, pop 3p etc and 400 personnel with no where else to buy anything the NAAFI chaps were doing very well out of us!!!!

I think maybe I still have an LP bought in the NAAFI shop at Laarbruch during a week visit one Easter by our school CCF.

NAAFI wagon at Halton mid sixties.
SWO approaches van; before he says anything, girl behind counter says 'you can f*** off, I'm not bl00dy serving you'!
Can't think what he might have done to deserve that.

Flew on a KLM flight once where Captain van Driver was in the LH seat - I wondered if his first name was Naafi.

OK hat, coat........

Sad to see the end of an era, but when I think properly about it, my memories of the NAAFI are not all warm and fluffy. Overpriced, terrible beer, but at least you didn't have to drive to get there.

Does any one remember the microwaved "Old Dutch" carpetburgers that you could buy at the bar? (Of course, it may have been just the one NAAFI that did them. Sealand perhaps?). The trick was to throw away the burger and eat the box...

It was the organization that was shot. Couldn't' believe it when we found NAAFI in obscure places like Nairobi IIRC or George Town Ascension servicing the BBC and whatever cover name GCHQ was using.

Remember there refusing to pay top dollar for duty free out of date 35mm film. It was cheaper for Mrs PN to post a box of duty paid from home. Same with trainers. Life of a pair in ASI was 4 weeks tops.

Think that certainly over the last few years they have not had the buying power to get the good brands at anywhere near supermarket prices and its cheaper to go to the local TE & S Cohen and sons. In the one at work today (now rebranded as MACE - though that was a pepper type spray!)) and a certain brand of moggy fuel was nearly £1.50 more expensive than I can buy in the village.