Best Ever "GIZZIT" Liberated Back To An Engr Sqn

[A_Knocker_Till_The_End]

As the title aks what are some of the best "gizzits" ever brought back to a unit.

To start then:

Myself & room-mates liberated 3 of the huge bmw flags for our room back in hameln from one of the car garages in Sonnetoffen(?) during a snow-queen in the 80's, when we got them back to 37's block they were too big to fit around the room so ended up getting "mag to grid".

**Gizzit - Derived from the words "please could you give it to me" .
Normally items are taken without the owners permision, especially when applied to Royal Engineers.

 

[wedge35]

I reckon the most legendary has to be when one of the shiny old artillery pieces outside the guardroom in Topcliffe was towed away by a group of Sappers and installed outside the camp in Ripon (for a little while anyway). Great stuff if only because annoying the dropshots is even better fun than nicking blue lights from monkeys

 

[SKJOLD]

4 stars of a generals car.

SK

edited to add;it never ended up in an engineers bar.

 

[monkey_tech]

One of the best we ever had was at Oakhampton Battle camp, at the end of an ex, myself and another full screw, went off in what we thought was the dead of night to liberate the "Welcome to Oakhampton Battle Camp" Sign.
Trusty leathermans out we unscrewed the bugger just in time to be spotted by one of the home team lads, we promptly completed the BPFA run quick time with a 6 x 4 foot sign under our arms.
So we spent the rest of the night lying low and set off home early doors the next day. Later that night in the post Ex piss up all that were left in the bar was myself, the other afore mentioned full screw and Sqn OC. It was at this point that we decided to present the trophy to the OC, who promptly spent the next five minutes going ape saying
“Do you know how much trouble you are in already!” after that he said
“The only to get out of it is if it hangs in my office” which it does. Along with the black nasty over the eyes SF style photo that we posted back to our kind host, none other than 29 Artillery Commando. I thank you

 

[MacSapper]

Early 80’s I was in a works party from 32 Sqn at Ripon to go overnight to Brize and unload our G1098 off a Hercy Bird that had just come back from the New Hebrides (Papua New Guinea).

We got there at about 0200hrs and were shown by a Snow Drop were the Herc was parked up on the pan. As we didn’t know what Gizzits or PRoFs (Professional Reallocation of Stores) that our rear party across the globe had put on we stripped what we could out the Herc and filled three 4 tonners with the G10 kit and disappeared into the night whence we had came.

On returning 3 weeks later after our leave, we were met by our QM doing a blue veiner outside the block supported by a Oraficer of the Snowydrops type who politely informed our now reformed works party that he wanted back all the Crab equipment that had Proffed off the Herc otherwise our next flight would be out of a Herc on a pallet with no parachute.

The list I can remember was read out by the Lisping Crab went something like this.

Life Raft 10 man x 4 complete with oars, emergency survival packs and radio’s.
Life jackets x 42
Fire rescue axe x 4
Fire extinguishers x 10
Cargo straps adjustable complete issue
Navaid Gimble ? x 1
Torches
Head sets
Engineers toolbox complete
Oxygen cylinders
First aid kits and trauma packs
Top Bunk Bed and mattress from the cabin
Observers Bubble window
And a folding urinal complete with waste hose

By the time he had got this far we were in hysterics and we spent a few hours going round the square complete with a barking provo Sgt in tow.

When things calmed down a bit, there was an amnesty and most the kit was returned
Fkin nice toolbox though, there on wheels you know.

 

[Harry_Webster]

Although an outsider,

A Goat was liberated by the RE troop (from Ripon) in Punta Gorda and smuggled back into Rideau camp for there entertainment, in a dumper truck.

A Para step from a C130 was liberated by a composite bunch of blokes from Brize and deposited at 9 sqns bar.

 

[Older_by_the_day]

Although an outsider,

A Goat was liberated by the RE troop (from Ripon) in Punta Gorda and smuggled back into Rideau camp for there entertainment, in a dumper truck.

A Para step from a C130 was liberated by a composite bunch of blokes from Brize and deposited at 9 sqns bar.

Never saw the step!!! Someone must have proffed it back!!!

The whole of the ( Sqn bar was proffed from everywhere!

 

[Gundulph]

And then there was 53 Fd Sqn RE - during one of their 'Epic' Wildenrath Tours were invited by the Roc Apes to partake in a couple of dry sherrys at their Bar - All hell broke out next morning when a search party stormed the singlie accomodation block looking for all the Falklands Souvenirs (mainly decomissioned rifles!) that had decorated their Bar the night before... not only did all their souvenirs go missing but their entire Bar was destroyed!!! Faith was fully restored though as 53 being a Construction Squadron rebuilt the Roc Apes Bar in double quick time and to a better standard than it was previously, the weapons were quietly secreted back in place during the rebuild!!!


Those were the days!


Gundulph

 

[sciff69uk]

when at JHQ the flag of 6 Sigs(i think it was) from the ARRC spt bn befor they moved was relocated in to the bar that we had set up in the singles block... found out later it was the scaley fcuk who was on duty that week who was the only one to get in the siht for it coz he didnt take the flag down that evening.... mong

 

[Malariadup]

During pre-Bosnia trg in Hameln we managed to strip 28 and the CETC of pretty much all of the signage. Having not been caught and feeling smug we decided to nick the anchor from outside the bar only for the Ord Offr to tip up, cue us asking lots of amphib related questions because we were only "studying" the anchor, young troopy wandered off into the night happy that he had spread his wisdom and converted us knockers to the amph side

Only problem from crime spree was the phone call to the badge asking for signs back to the SAT because they'd just been put up

One swift b*llocking later and a covert mission was hatched to take the signs back, lots of scurrying around with signs in black plastic bags and cordless drills

After successfully negotiating our way into the block ("honestly sir you wouldn't believe what those f*ckers from Nienburg nicked. We've just had to drive all the way up there and get them back. Yes, sir those feckers should be putting them back up not us" )

A few photos for the bar later, mission accomplished and screaming tyres out of Hameln, tea and medals back at the burg.

 

[Speedy]

I once woke up to find the Regt Christmas tree at HQ 1(BR) Corps in my room. Lord knows how it got there, but it was fecking huge and we had to chop it into bits to get it out again.

 

[Malariadup]

Although not scrictly back to an Engr Sqn,

Whilst on a sunshine posting at BATSUB we had the Duke of Boots as the Inf chaps on NATIVE TRAIL. After two of three sherberts we decided that their flag would be a welcome edition to the Sailfish.

Using only a lovely young (female) REME Air Tech for protection I managed to reach the flag pole undetected, undid flag and was promply grabbed by their duty NCO

"Watcha doing with our flag?"

"Errrr, its come loose and I was just re-tying it, you can trust me I'm a Sapper and know lots about knots!"

Obviously as soon as his back was turned I tried again........and was caught again

Same excuse as before somehow worked

Same thing happened a third time

Forth time my cunning steath and persistance paid off and the flag bid a sad farewell to it's home

Duty NCO luckily was more than a little dim and could remember what I looked like or that I'd actually told him I was an engr (one of only engr 2 jnr ranks in Belize and the only one in BATSUB at the time, it wouldn't have taken Miss Marple to find me)

Next time you're in the Sailfish look up with pride (unless some other feckers nicked it )

 

[chimera]

The tank 'liberated' by 15 Sqn from Macedonia in AGRICOLA 1/2 that sat outside Gundolph lines in Pristina until similarly 'liberated' by 32 Regt on AGRICOLA 4 and shipped back to Germany.

And then the Macedonians asked for it back................

 

[A_Knocker_Till_The_End]

another tale from Hameln from the 80's, the iron water fountain in the centre of town by church was attempting to be relocated to 37's bar by T--y J---s, managed to get it out of the ground, water everywhere, then realised it was a section lift to move the bloody thing so we settled for a few road signs (posts & all) & a pushbike that had 2 flat tyres & no chain..... a great gizzit.
ran into him in the province recently & he's now a "grown up" but still remembers us fecking around as young sappers, good times.

 

[Malariadup]

During FINGAL 1 the badge of 50 Sqn T_____ M_______ decided that the offices back in Maidstone would look good with a trophy outside.

It just so happened that the location we were in had a AA gun by the gate, up comes 8 tonner, gun lobbed on back, fully functional AA piece reaches Maidstone with no questions asked

I think the RAF were either convinced that we had truck mounted (yellow) cannons as general issue, or they were too busy in their pursuit of porn and tweezers

 

[Axeman]

Was in Vogelsang when someone from 77 brought back a huge Greenpeace flag from Cologne, and hung it from the bell tower. All sorts of fun the next day when the belgies thought they had been infiltrated by tree huggers.

 

[Clerk_of_Jerks]

Whilst skiing in France we 'obtained' an advertising banner that was clipped to the fence of a tennis club. It was massive, about 10 metres long. Unfortunately it just got left in the Regt ski store as it was too big to put up any where.

I still have a decorative cast iron umbrella stand in my porch that was 'liberated' from the Pupasch(?), Hameln about 15 years ago. There was also a couple of chairs to go with it but they were too heavy to carry and got dumped.

Does anyone know the story behind the trailer mounted gun that used to sit outside 37 Sqn's bar? It was brought back from the first Gulf war and was movable so that rather than pointing straight up it would end up pointing at the OC's office!!

 

[sparkysapper]

At one of my last Units, two of the blokes who were staying in a hotel decided that they were going to liberate the shoe buffing machine from their floor. It was bundled into their van and brought back to the MT were it stayed for a while, not sure what happened to it, i would imagine that the MTWO saw his career flying out of the window either arranged for it's disposal or he made the blokes take it back. It was never spoken about.

Sparky

 

[megadeth]

back in the 80 s , in 39 fld sqn . we were detailed to go on ex brave defender in uk . which entailed infiltrating 2 airbases in north wales , the list on found objects was endless , trophys , historical propellers , the wooden boards with all the ex commanding officers , a few females were also on the list ,. anybody out there so old to remember that time , and yes its me who killed 3 dogs in 24 hrs , in Rhyll.

 

[chimera]

Wasn't in 39 but I certainly remember Brave Defender. Building sangars at Middlesborough Docks.......wierd