ENIGMA 2000 Newsletter - Issue 33

March 2006
Articles, newsreports and Items of interest :enigma2000-owner@yahoogroups.com

Favourable comment from members

“A few comments on E2K32;- I enjoy Thomas Wagner's article on the intelligence organisation in the former East Germany. The two things I remember about the old "GDR";- firstly, the "Praktica" brand cameras which were widely sold in the UK in the late sixties and early seventies and were made by "Kombinat VEB Pentacon, Dresden, Deutsche Demokratische Republik". I still have one, the Nova 1B model single lens reflex which was regarded as very good value for money at the time and must have been a big earner of foreign currency for East Germany since they were widely promoted by many of the big photographic retailers. I saw some cheap and cheerful binoculars with the name "Praktica" on them recently but I think they were made in China and had nothing to do with the original user of the brand. The other thing which comes to mind with regard to East Germany is the radio teletype transmissions from the old GDR Berlin news agency which were always on the air when I was playing around with RTTY on my old Amstrad computer in the mid to late 80's. This must have been a very comprehensive set-up as there was always at least one frequency active in English at any time of the day or night.

Interested in the reference to "Jimmy", the Royal Signals badge featuring Mercury the Messenger of the Gods. I work for a small electronics company and at one time we had a Quality Assurance inspector who was ex-Royal Signals, now retired and gone to live in his native Wales, and he always had a small wooden plaque on his desk with the Royal Signals badge on it to which he always referred to as "Jimmy". I always assumed that was just his own made-up name not realising it was a generally understood nickname.”

In connection with the ‘Jimmy’reference PLondon spoke with an ex-member of the RS and asked about the origins of the nickname for Mercury. Whilst the recipient of the enquiry did not know he did refer to a copy of the ‘Wire’ where the answer was given but also mentioned that members of the Royal Artillery substituted ‘Jimmy’ with ‘Interflora!’ After the permitted laughter PLondon reminded that person of other regiments’ names for the RA – the best being ‘Long Range Snipers’. The Royal Army Medical Corps was not mentioned in the conversation but PLondon remembers it often being referred to as ‘Rob All My Comrades.’ That’s it you lot, no tittering in the ranks, read on!!.................................

Another:

“Another super newsletter NL32

– spies, spies and media stuff. KW is a master of the scathing comment and keeps me rolling with laughter ‘til I put it down.”

And the last:

“If PLondon does as good a job with MM as him and ML do for E2k then the Numbers Interest will really take off bigtime.”