Jim, very many thanks for your kind words. The Sir John Black policy of
recruiting vets affected all services, not just the RAF in isolation. We have
in the UK an organisation called the Corps of Commissionaires. The Corps is
made up of mostly Serjeants, Colour Sergeants and Sergeants Major. They provide
reception services to large companies as they have their own uniforms and
theyâ??re always incredibly smart. We had these men at all reception points
throughout the company in the UK, and in accordance with the John Black
directive issued at the beginning of WW2, if any ex employee was later
re-employed through honourable discharge, their retirement age would be when
they wanted to leave and not at age 65.
We had three Commissionaires in key locations in Coventry and all of them were
in their late seventies. They were always scrupulously polite, immaculate in
their uniforms and charming conversationalists. I used to talk to all of them
as I was able and apart from the pleasure of having a chat, it was an
opportunity to study their medal ribbons. All three men had won the Victoria
Cross, our highest award for bravery and the man who worked the Sales Block
reception desk had won it twice! But between all of them, anyone with the
knowledge of medal ribbons could see they proudly wore the Victoria Cross, the
Mons Star, the Distinguished Service Order, the Gallipoli medal and the
Military Cross, plus the various other general service and victory medals aka
Pipsqueak and Wilfred. All those men had done WW1 from start to finish in the
desert, in Greece, at sea and the horrors of trench warfare in France and
Belgium. They were always very quiet but never a day passed without a nod of
the head, a smile or a friendly greeting. The thing I remember about all of
them was that even after a brief conversation on any subject, you parted
company feeling better for having spoken to them. They were true gentlemen who
had somehow survived the nightmares of close quarter engagement on many
occasions and amazingly had not been sent mad through what they had seen or
done. Those are the people I remember and respect the most.
Jonmac
> On 23 Dec 2023, at 12:32, Jim Henningsen <trguy75@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> John, a tip of a Bass Ale to you and all those who served. I have always
> appreciated your personal stories that covered all the emotions. Just like
> this one, sad as it is. Cheers to you. My favorite that I still share with
> others when they comment on how sloppy the commission plate stampings look is
> the one where you told us triumph standard hired disabled RAF war vets to
> give them a job and some of them punched those plates as best they could. To
> me they are perfectly imperfect!
> Merry Christmas to you
> Jim Henningsen
> Ocala, fl USA
>
>> On Dec 22, 2023, at 10:59â?¯PM, John Macartney <johnbmacartney@gmx.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> For at least the last thirty years, I have attended a self-funded
>> Christmas lunch held in Coventry for former employees of
>> Standard-Triumphâ??s Home and Export Sales departments, Export Shipping,
>> Dealer Development, Advertising and staff from the Parts Division. These
>> were what anyone visiting the building known as Fletch South would have
>> encountered had they arrived at that location. All in all, about 250-300
>> people tops. My first lunch back in 1992 (Iâ??d been living overseas until
>> then) saw a total headcount of about 180 and over the years that followed we
>> always drank a toast in memory of those who had died during the previous
>> year or who were absent through ill health. During the pandemic and the two
>> lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, we didnâ??t have a Christmas lunch because of
>> infection risk but we do know too many people died through COVID, cancer or
>> just old age. Today was sobering for all of us as only 10 place settings
>> were at our usual table and the Memorial Toast was for 49 people who were
>> hale, hearty, life and soul, happy and jolly at the 2019 lunch which
>> everyone today also attended.
>> It seems but only yesterday we were all together working for one objective,
>> young women, young men, together with many more older examples of the same.
>> And in a finger snap, but just a few survive and for maybe only a little
>> while longer? Who knows? How many place settings for the 2024 lunch? Iâ??d
>> rather not ponder that.
>>
>> Jonmac
>> ** triumphs@autox.team.net **
>>
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