Their mission would be to place the fliers on every billboard in town they could find. I sent them out in teams of two thinking there would be less chance of the fliers being put in the trash bin. I paid ten pounds upfront.
I sat down with a cup of coffee and waited. Three cups later they started coming in for their second payment. The only problem encountered was at Balliol, they didn’t want anything with ‘Military’ on their bulletin board. I doubted if many military people would be at that school anyway.
I returned to the Ugly Cow and let the Manager know what was up. For a fee, he agreed to provide two of his bouncers to check ID at the door. For another fee, he provided tables and chairs for eighty. A little more and a sound system was included, and was I interested in serving any munchies? You get the picture.
I went all out, this would end up costing a bomb but if I wanted it to start off right I had to bear the cost. If I waited on the bureaucracy it would take forever.
Saturday night came around. I was at the Ugly Cow an hour ahead of time. I had brought clipboards, paper, pen. I even thought of name tags. When I walked in the door I noticed two pretty girls just arriving at the bar. Before they could order a drink I approached them.
The barman, Jack, who I was getting to know arrived at the same time. I had him introduce me. I told them I would like to hire them for the next two hours for five quid to register people who came to the backroom.
One of them clarified, “You are going to pay us fifty quid each to get the names and addresses of all these handsome military blokes?”
“Yes.”
“If you had asked I would have paid you!”
It was a little more complicated than that. They were to hand out the forms which wanted names, addresses, military or naval service, country, rank, occupation, and school. I also had a copy of my orders to go with the form.
At six forty-five the room was starting to fill up. There was going to be more than eighty people here, more like two hundred. By seven-fifteen it was standing room only. The crowd was in a good mood, - free beer!
I decided it had to be a very short meeting. I stood on the small stage and spoke into the microphone. It gave the usual squeal which got everyone's attention.
“I am Group Captain Sir Richard Jackson a Queen’s Messenger. I have been tasked to identify problems encountered by members of the military attending school at Oxford. There are considerably more of you than had been estimated. If you would fill out the form we will mail you information on the next meeting, which will be in a larger venue.”
“At that meeting, you will be divided into groups and asked to list your problems and concerns. Please return the forms to the lovely young ladies that handed them out. Enjoy the beer for the next hour.”
As was normal for this type of event people came up to me at the podium. There were eight of them, not a group but eight individuals. They crowded around me to hear any answers I might have to their questions. One thing very noticeable they were the mature people in the room.
Those who were talking and having fun looked like typical college-age kids. These guys were in age from the early twenties to thirties. These were the people I needed to talk to. I signaled one of the girls over.
“Can you ask Jack the barman if he has a smaller room we could use?”
It only took a few minutes and we were led to a room that would seat twenty comfortably. That is when the real business started.
Chapter 19
Once we were settled in the smaller room we did a round of introductions. They were from different countries of the Commonwealth and the US. Their ranks were from First Lieutenants to Majors. I wondered if I was going to have a problem when the two Majors started comparing their date of ranks. The more senior date would outrank the other.
I interrupted them saying that there would be time for that later. Neither of them had read the handout that described my orders. I was questioned as to my rank and on what authority had I called them together. You could tell that some people had read the orders as they looked down so they would not be involved in what would occur next.
“It is all described in the copy of the orders you were given.”
“What Military are you in?”
“None. I am a Senior Queens Messenger who has been seconded to the RAF as a Group Captain. The US Pentagon has approved this program as well as the United Kingdom and Commonwealth Armed Forces (UKCAF). It is a test program to try to improve the conditions of the US and UKCAF students at Oxford University and if it works will be rolled out at many major schools in the world.”
It took a US Army Captain to ask, “What is the US equivalent rank of a Group Captain.”
One of the other tersely told him, “A full Colonel.”
I added to that, “I was given that rank to ensure that none of the students could derail my mission, from a practical standpoint I have no authority over you.”
“I’m supposed to survey you as a group and find out what issues you are facing to see if they can be rectified.”
That unleashed the flood dam. I let them carry
