ARmy Rumour SErvice

Back in the late 60's,I was for my sins,a Staff Car driver at 68 Sqn RCT,and was tasked to hustle Labour MP George Brown,around BAOR.

We were visiting 1 (BR) Corps,and the Div Comd,in Herford,and various units in 2 Div,1 Div,up to Hohne,then flying out of Hamburg back to the UK.

Depths of winter,couldn't clean his car on a couple of occasions(water freezing on contact),couple of feet of snow on the ground for the whole of the week.

Never late,early mornings,late nights (he was a piss head),dropped him of at a German Military airfield near Hamburg,no probs.

Got back to Rhein/D,my lovely Troop SSgt,tore me a new one,complaints from the little 'dropshort' Captain that had acted as his aide,about the state of the car,etc.

Conversation along the lines of "you're never going to drive a VIP,ever again,you're coming of off 'black cars',and driving a 3 tonner",etc. What pissed him off was the fact that,I was quite happy driving a truck,and would get to spend more time partying on the Garrison,great.

3 days later the 'thank you' letters started coming in,from 1 (BR) Corps,and Div HQ in Hereford,the CO's of the units we visited,saying how well the visits went,by which time,said SSgt had had words with the OC,suggesting I wasn't the sort to have in the Sqn,etc.

3 weeks later I was posted to an Aircraft carrier (Hermes),with my HQ in Lee-on-Solent,I then spent 3 months at the Map and Chart Depot in Guildford,sorting out about 10 tons of maps for the ships Commision,in the meantime said SSgt,had written to my new WO2,telling him what a tosser I was,he showed me the letter,then showed it to my CO,who wrote to the CO of 23 Regt RCT,who gave the SSgt,a week to pack,and posted him to the Maritime unit in Gosport.

I had to get kitted out with OG's,and KD's,and my nearest RCT unit was,yup Gosport,so whilst driving around to the Q Stores,who should I see but,'my friend'.

His new job was i/c G10 stores/POL account,and not a happy little bunny,I then told him where I was bound,and the fun I was having,my lovely new Navy quarter near Lee-on Solent,my Rum Ration,and Blue Liners duty free allocation,and then thanked him for having a word with the OC,to get me such a great posting.

Just before I left,I told him I was glad that a vindictive cunt like him,had got his just reward,and drove of with the biggest grin ever on my face.

Harold Macmillan
(1894–1986)
MP for Bromley 10 January
1957 19 October
1963 First Lord of the Treasury Conservative Macmillan [59]
1959
The UK applied to join the European Economic Community for the first time, the application split the Conservatives and was vetoed by Charles de Gaulle; acceptance of Keynesianism; Rent Act 1957; Wind of Change speech; Notting Hill race riots and New Commonwealth immigration; beginning of Beeching Axe; Night of the Long Knives; Cuban missile crisis; Profumo Affair.
Sir Alec Douglas-Home
(1903–1995)
14th Earl of Home until 1963
MP for Kinross and Western Perthshire from 1963 19 October
1963 16 October
1964 First Lord of the Treasury Conservative Douglas-Home [60]
—
Was the Earl of Home when he became Prime Minister, and renounced his peerage on 23 October 1963 in order to stand for the House of Commons.
Harold Wilson
(1916–1995)
MP for Huyton 16 October
1964 19 June
1970 First Lord of the Treasury
& Minister for the Civil Service (1968–70) Labour Wilson I [61]
1964, 1966
Social reforms, including legalisation of abortion, abolition of capital punishment and decriminalisation of homosexuality; Rhodesian U.D.I.; adopted, then abandoned, the National Plan for the economy; Devaluation of the pound; foundation of the Open University; disputes with trade unions over In Place of Strife and prices and incomes policy.
Edward Heath
(1916–2005)
MP for Bexley 19 June
1970 4 March
1974 First Lord of the Treasury
& Minister for the Civil Service Conservative Heath [62]
1970
U-turned over intervention in industry; negotiated Britain's entry to the European Community; Violence due to Northern Ireland's "Troubles" peaked; the Sunningdale Agreement agreed; Three-Day Week; called early election in backfiring attempt to confront striking miners.
Harold Wilson
(1916–1995)
MP for Huyton 4 March
1974 5 April
1976 First Lord of the Treasury
& Minister for the Civil Service Labour Wilson II [63]
Feb.1974§, Oct.1974
§Hung parliament. Ended dispute with miners; Social Contract with trade unions over the economy; Health and Safety at Work Act; Renegotiated terms for EC membership, then 1975 referendum validated entry; North Sea oil; Cod War.
James Callaghan
(1912–2005)
MP for Cardiff South East 5 April
1976 4 May
1979 First Lord of the Treasury
& Minister for the Civil Service Labour Callaghan [64][65]
—
International Monetary Fund loan to support the pound; the Lib-Lab pact; enacted devolution to Scotland and Wales but referendums stopped them; breakdown of relations with trade unions and Winter of Discontent.
Margaret Thatcher
(1925– )
MP for Finchley 4 May
1979 28 November
1990 First Lord of the Treasury
& Minister for the Civil Service Conservative Thatcher
(I, II, III) [66][67]
1979, 1983, 1987
First female Prime Minister of the UK. Falklands War; sold council housing to tenants (right to buy); miners' strike 1984–85; privatisation of many previously government-owned industries; decreased the power of trade unions; negotiation of the UK rebate towards the European Community budget; Brighton hotel bombing; Sino-British Joint Declaration; Anglo-Irish Agreement; Westland Affair; abolition of GLC; Section 28; the "Poll tax" and Poll Tax Riots; Lockerbie bombing; the end of the Cold War.
John Major
(1943– )
MP for Huntingdon 28 November
1990 2 May
1997 First Lord of the Treasury
& Minister for the Civil Service Conservative Major [68][69]
1992
Early 1990s recession; Gulf War; ratification of the Maastricht Treaty and the Maastricht Rebels; forced exit from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism ("Black Wednesday"); the Downing Street Declaration (initiating the Northern Ireland peace process); Privatisation of British Rail; The National Lottery; Citizen's Charter; Sunday Shopping; "Back to Basics" campaign; Cones Hotline; Dangerous Dogs Act.
Tony Blair
(1953– )
MP for Sedgefield 2 May
1997 27 June
2007 First Lord of the Treasury
& Minister for the Civil Service Labour Blair [70][71]
1997, 2001, 2005
Hong Kong handover; Death of Diana, Princess of Wales; Independence for the Bank of England; Ecclestone tobacco controversy; Belfast Agreement; Human Rights Act; devolution to Scotland and Wales; House of Lords Reform; Minimum wage introduced; 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia; Fuel protests; creation of Greater London Authority and Mayoralty of London; 2001 foot and mouth crisis; War in Afghanistan; Iraq War; top-up fees introduced for university tuition; Civil Partnership Act; Constitutional Reform Act; 2005 London bombings; Cash for Honours scandal; Identity Cards Act.
Gordon Brown
(1951– )
MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath 27 June
2007 11 May
2010 First Lord of the Treasury
& Minister for the Civil Service Labour Brown [72]
—
London car bombs prevented from detonating; Glasgow Airport attack; child benefit data misplaced; Donorgate; Northern Rock and other banks nationalised; Treaty of Lisbon ratified; 10p Tax rate abolished; Financial crisis of 2007–2010; Parliamentary expenses scandal; Release of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi; arrest of Damian Green; Chilcot Inquiry established.
David Cameron
(1966–)
MP for Witney 11 May
2010 Incumbent First Lord of the Treasury
& Minister for the Civil Service Conservative Cameron
(Cons–Lib.Dem.) [73]
2010§
§Hung parliament; leading a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats. Bloody Sunday apology; Spending and Strategic Defence reviews (budget cuts to public services with ensuing anti-austerity protests and strikes); 2010 student protests; Arab Spring; Military intervention in Libya (Operation Ellamy); Alternative Vote (AV) referendum; News International phone hacking scandal; Welfare Reform Act, Health and Social Care Act; 2011 riots; European Fiscal Union veto; Cash for access scandal.