Ice Breaker
I am seventy four, married and living in Northern Ireland. I completed my education and joined the Royal Air Force in 1967 and trained as an aircraft propulsion mechanic, becoming a technician in 1973. My hoped for career of twenty two years and a pension was cut short due to the defence cuts of the Labor government in the nineteen seventies. I left the Royal Air Force on a Friday and began work with the MOD in Holywood, County Down for just over a year before moving into the world of telecommunications with the Post Office where I remained until my retirement in 2007. Once again I started at the bottom of the ladder as a lines man and through time gained the rank of senior technician gaining a post within the engineering control based in Telephone House, Belfast. I would retire with the rank of Technical Officer. Shortly after leaving the Royal Air Force I joined the Royal Observer Crops (part time) working at 31 Group Headquarters (the main bunker) within Thiepval Barracks, Lisburn until the ROC ceased to exist. As a result of my military background I had no hesitation whilst working as a telephone engineer in supporting the work of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, The Ulster Defence Regiment, and the British Army. I have had a strong interest in local history and it was for that reason that I began to research CSOS Gilnahirk close to where I have lived since 1957. Sadly I have no experience of Signals Intelligence gathering or Wireless Telegraphy or Amateur Radio. Feel free to ask me any question.