How many of you were presented with 'Honorary Marine Bar Tankards' at any time during your tour in Gan?

Your old mate,

Don't worry 'confused' you can still use your green plastic mug.

still got mine says on it presented to jeff gozomephobia scott "marine bar" raf gan 1975. they filled it with a mixture of pernod, lemonade and whatever else, stood on the bar to yamsing it last thing i remember, apart from waking up next day to find had honked over the siggie flag i had been presented with prior to my repatriation. remember nobby shipperley looking at me daggers, still more or less cleaned up, in fact added to the the flags appeal as had been presented to may "marine bar siggies" over many years. wonder who ended up with it in the end.

Wash your mouth out, a siggie in the marine bar? Not in our day, we had our own bar, not wanting to mix with the pond life in the marine bar!!!

Steady on Willie,I take it you don't have a tankard like old Skippy then.

Your old mate

Don't worry there Willie, his idea of a good night out - 2 slices of toast and a cup of cocoa, cos he was too POBSB to buy a glass of lemonade.

I don't understand where the slices of toast and the cocoa come into it Skip. Is the sun getting to you mate??

Your old mate,

Well, we're more than a month down the road since this thread was first posted and there's only one person, other than our old 'roo p**s brewing mate, who has admitted to owning the 'Honorary Marine Bar Tankard' and he's a brown job who can't hold his ale.
You're in good company Skippy, maybe you two could have your own reunion - in a phone box - but don't ask me which corner you should head for when good old Jef 'Great' Scot does his honkin'party trick or he, when you do the same.

Look after that tankard Skip, ' looks as if there are only two in the whole world. It could be worth as much as my green mug in time.

Your old mate,

P.S. It may be time to head back to the garage you wally - sorry - walaby. ( another spelling mistake Willie )

hi

we all know how you cream your coffee.

You've finally reached gutter level Skippy, well done.

you sure can dish it out - but you sure don't like it when handed back to you, typical limp wrist brigade.

One merely has standards of acceptability and a level to which one just doesn't allow personal standards to fall, for example, I wouldn't urinate in the street but I don't suppose it matters too much down there in the outback.

It doesn't bother me where I urinate, cos the nearest town is a 5 hour drive, or 90 mins in my helicopter, so distance is not an obstacle in my life, could be better than walking to the corner shop for a packet of smokes. Off to Bora Bora next week to sail my yacht back to Cairns. Retiring at 34 was the best thing I have done.

I don't suppose you had much choice Skippy, retiring at 34 is the only option when no one will employ you.
Anyway, it gives you time to polish your 'honorary Marine Bar tankard' before you fill it up with home brewed roopiss.



P.S. Yes, I'm back from another film shoot in France and firing on all cylinders, let the banter continue.

not when you invent an electrical component that is used by all computer manufacturers, and the cheques keep coming in. so in reality - who has to really work, and I know its not me.

Just as well at your age.

Still got mine. I had the honour to be a Marine Bar AFM. I was voted in the same time as Diddy Pinwell. I think he was Ground Equipment (Right, Diddy?) I remember the Tigers tasted very tinny in the tankard. Because we were all going home at the end of March 1976, the Gozome Do's were done in batches of about 8-10 guys in one night, to fit us all in. I think I was on the same night as Phil Miles, Phil Kitching, Haydn Hobbs and others. When I went back in 1992, I saw that the shell of the bar was still up, and that all the graffiti, written in chalk, was still plainly visible. I suppose the building must have gone now, as no today-time visitors seem to mention it. I'm not sure that I would want to visit now, too many memories...

You're right about there being nothing left of the marine bar. I went back in 1999 and all that was there was the concrete base and the flue for the oven *** griddle effort. All overgrown round the slipway where drunken nuttahs used to ride their bicycles into the sea.Cost me 2 front teeth in 1972 visiting Gan on a football trip from Masirah, I slipped on seaweedy type green stuff and cos I was laughing my head off at the time the gnashers were the first point of contact. No dentist about, so it was off to Cyprus emergency dental treatment, still at least I saw some women for the first time in 8 months.

I still have my Hittadu Hermits tankard.

I still have my Siggies tankard, but, like the owner, it's a bit the worse for wear, I blame Rod Matheson and Ian Birkby, not to mention Ron Taylor for that! Cheers, Willie.
PS I think Ron may still have MY green mug, he will probably be using it for the "amber gnats pee" that passes as ale in OZ!!

By the way Willie, I found your green mug, a little faded, due to being in sun too long.

I recieved my "Genuine Selangor Straits Pewter" Marine Bar Tankard, for injuries received whilst on duty in the marine bar, hence the inscription on the tankard Bill "Stitches" Hughes. Really I should not have been emulating Nobby Shipperley by stopping a punka fan with my head! I lost my balance and fell on to a bar table littered with glasses and bottles after two hours compulsory stitching and sojourn in Sick Quarters I discharged my self and returned to the on going party in the Marine bar, we were entertaining a visiting Merchant navy ship, I was persuaded "didn't take much" to return to the ship at closing time and continue the party on board. To the amusement of the ships crew I fell in between the ship and the pinnace whilst jumping for the companionway, I was unceremoniously hauled out of the oggin and spent the rest of the night in the ships sick bay nursing my wounds, never did get another drink either
Next day I was missing from RAF Gan and declared technically AWOL. Deep Joy!!! those were the days.
and that Gentlemen and Ladies is all you had to do to get a Marine Bar AFM Tankard.

Bill (still have the scars but no stitches) Hughes