A FURTHER indication of the savings being effected by MOD towards the recent decision to dispense with the services of Joe Byrne as the sawbones of 1/51 Highland. In the words of the famous Mikado character, Koko, Joe's name was on "The List". Contrary to the Gilbertian version, he certainly will be missed.

I had the impression with Joe that he was equally happy either swilling copious quantities of Jeyes fluid about the back of the unsterile ambulance ("They only jolly well use it as a jolly well Naafi wagon in Perth") or carefully sterilising the wound caused by a thorn in one's little finger. His expertise sorting out the malingerers was second to none. You should get him to tell you about the occasion when he was called out of a Mess Dinner at Camp to attend to some Liverpudlian who was suffering from a severe bout of depression. "What makes you think you are depressed?" says Joe. "Well, I was in this pub like, but I didn't like the atmosphere like". Any first aid rules about comforting the patient went straight out of the window and the protecting Jock was projected out of the door scarcely before he had time to open it!

Those who might claim to know him well may be surprised to know he was possessed of military skills such as were practised by expert "Shooters" of the Coy such as Steve Hirlehey or lan King. At one of the range courses for classification, Joe succeeded in penetrating the Fig 11 Target with sufficient 9 mm rounds to enable him to qualify as a marksman. He was quite impossible to live with for days after.

Enough has already been written about Joe so there is little virtue in adding more. I can only hope that Joe will not allow the dust and flies to settle on the mess supply of Irish whiskey.