Visitor Comments
Any publishable comments or suggestions sent in through the Contact Page will be listed here:
Bob Lambert: I look forward to meeting up with some old Ray/PR pals! Any thoughts of a venue? I can assist if you need help in the London area.
Cheers, Bob.
Noel Daly: I would prefer a nice restaurant & would like the www.roast-restaurant.com in Borough Market to be considered.
Bob Lambert:
Very good. I know the “Roast" in Borough Market and there are also plenty of good pubs nearby if we get thirsty! By the way, I bumped into David Cameron (Petty Ray Processing Geophysicist) last month at an industry reception. He recognised me but I hadn’t seen him since the mid 1970s! He has lived in the USA for the past 30 odd years!
Cheers, Bob.
Vivien & John Garrigues: John and I would be interested in attending a reunion lunch in Aug. Pleased keep us updated .
Nick Bright: I would of course be very interested in a "reunion" lunch or dinner, but during the dates you mention I would expect to be in the Isles of Scilly. Please keep me posted though.
Patricia Jay: Hi Noel, count me in. When Terri Woods returns from her jolly holis, I will get her to contact you.
Fritz Kronberger: I am sorry to miss out. Would love to see some of the guys that were there in the beginning. I have great memories. The tea lady was my favorite. I was lucky, she served me tea all day. Hello to all. Fritz.
Ann Marlow: Thank you so much for the invitation for meeting up in August. You really have got a job on your hands trying to organise it all and I do hope it works out for you and you get a good reception. I am afraid I won't be able to make it. Peter Brooks invites me every year to his gathering around Christmas time but I haven’t been able to make it which is a shame because I have very affectionate feelings for Petty Ray and all the people who worked there. Let me fill you in about me. My name is Ann Marlow and I joined Petty Ray as a telex operator which was quite a busy position and then I was asked to do typing as well so I was kept pretty occupied. I stayed there until the merger and took redundancy. I was very sorry to leave but managed to find another job locally in Hayes working for a Surveyor in an Estate Agents and stayed there till I retired at 60 in 1991. My husband retired the following year and we then moved to Dorset and have been here for eighteen years. I keep in touch with Shirley Kennedy by E-Mail very regularly, almost daily. She and Richard live in Wales and she doesn’t enjoy very good health. I can't see Christine Ferreday (nee Christine Austrin) on your list. She was attached to Petty Ray as one of the secretaries working for Larry Asher and others. She hasn’t got a computer but I am in contact with her frequently by ‘phone because she lives fairly near to us in Christchurch Dorset so I will send your E-Mail to her by post. You may have worked out that I am now 84 this year and I am not very mobile which is why I won't be able to join you in August but I do wish you a really great time and I am sure Pat Jay or Peter Brooks will be in touch with me to tell me all about it. Best wishes, Ann (Marlow)
Alan Edwards & Pauline Hannon: Diary has changed so we will now be there at the Roast on the Saturday 29th Aug.
Bob Lambert: I won't be able to make it on Aug 29th as I will be on vacation in Portugal with my family. I can join a lunch earlier that week: 24th, 25th or 26th.
Vivien & John Garrigues: John and I will not be able to make the reunion lunch - we have a trip planned to Australia in September. Therefore, a trip to the U.K. prior the our vacation will be a bit much. Do keep us in the loop for future events. If you ever find yourself in the Woodlands area, please don't be a stranger. Kindly regards Vivien
Rod Carroll: Hello Noel, I can make it. By the way what about Phil Rawlins, Jock Drummond and Chris Walker? Hope you are well and prospering, Regards, Rod
Geoff & Heather Bywater: Noel, Unfortunately I will be unable to attend. Cheers, Geoff
Ed Lengel: I worked EAME in the Tommy Grimes and Neville Osborough days Early 70's). I spent a lot od time in Ethiopia, Oman, Egypt, Somalia amongst others. I visit with Don Townswnd and Bo Bohannon (County Managaer, Oman). See Bob Braham and Bill Wally occasionally. Bo has a lot of pictures in Oman. I have one of Mike Keene and myself in Ethiopia. How do I send it to you.
Noel Daly: Ed: You can E-Mail me at ndaly@RobertHRay.com & attach any photo files. Let me know if the files are larger than 10MB & I will send you FTP instructions. I assume that you knew Steve Jabas (now living in Brisbane with his wife Ann - Ex Geosource Brisbane office manager). Also John Garrigues who now lives in The Woodlands - just north of Houston.
Ed Lengel: Noel, Yes, I remember both Jabas and Garrigues. I will pass your email on to Bo in case he wants to send any pictures. Thanks The pictures have names on two of them. One of Keene and I is in the Ogaden desert, Ethiopia. We were guarded by some two hundred soldiers against Somalis and Eritreans. The collage is part of a large display at Bo’s house in Kansas. Some people are recognizable from the old days.
George Dalrymple: Noel, You seem to have struck me off the list, but I got your E-mail from Fritz. Maybe 7-year Ray personnel, all in Libya, are now persona non-gratis! Anyway, I may possibly be in Houston in August and, if so, would like to see you and attend any Ray function. I'll also look up some old Libya photos and send them to you. Best wishes, George - gmd@zirkel.us
Bill Wally: Noel, Alas we are returning to Houston Aug 18, and can't change our prepaid ticket. Have a great event, and remember "Anything worth doing is worth doing to excess..." plus8man@yahoo.com
Bill Wally - 9/19/2015: Offers his recollections on GeograFrance:-
In the 1950’s many 3rd world countries were still European colonies, and off limits to U. S. companies like Ray. So in 1960 Ray formed GeograFrance, a 10-year joint venture (JV) with Compagnie Generale de Geophysique (CGG), a major French competitor. Ray had advanced technology, and CGG could do business in the French colonies. The JV was enabled by an earlier meeting between Mr. Ray and Leo Teyssot, who in the early 1940s had been an aide-de-camp of Charles De Gaulle, leader of the Free French in London. After the war ended, Mr. Ray had run an ad seeking a French family wishing to exchange children. Teyssot, also with a young son, answered the ad, and they became friends and partners. GeograFrance crews were staffed with men from both CGG and Ray, and worked in colonies like Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia as well as Turkey.
By 1970, all the former colonies were independent, and geophysical technology had advanced significantly. GeograFrance was then dissolved with its employees returning to their parent companies or in some cases leaving the oil industry. Mr. Teyssot was retained as a Ray representative in France, and in 1972 I had the privilege of traveling to Algeria with him. While we Ray employees were booked into the “budget” Hotel Suisse in central (and very noisy and dusty Algiers), Mr. Teyssot was whisked off in a limo to a VIP hotel in the mountains. Clearly the Algerians still appreciated De Gaulle’s support during their war of independence, even if many French did not...
Bill Wally - 9/19/2015:- Somalia memories from Bill (and Dennis, who worked for a major drilling contractor, and also drives a Morgan):-
www.nytimes.com/2013/07/14/magazine/somalias-somewhat-friendly-skies.html?_r=0
This brings back memories of my trip to Mog 40 years ago. Somalia was a Soviet "friend" in those days, and Aeroflot was the only airline which flew 2 flights a week from Moscow and 2 from Cairo. I was on the Cairo flight, which at first wasn't even listed on the departure board, but finally showed up 8 hours late leaving at 3 AM. Our savvy mid-east manager had discovered that the Italian embassy in Beirut had some left-over Somali business visa stamps, so Americans like me could spend a couple of days in Beirut and then travel to Somalia (where our client Conoco was looking for oil). As my telex never arrived, nobody knew I was coming, but I managed to get a ride into town and checked into the "Tella" bungalow hotel - a group of 4-room buildings each with a houseboy to wash clothes, bring coffee, etc.
The next morning I was awakened by a sonic boom from Soviet MIGs flying low over the city. This was rehearsal for celebrations of the 5th anniversary of Soviet occupation. One of our guys who was living in town with his Somali girl friend said police came at 4 AM and told everybody to get up and participate in the "spontaneous" celebration...
There were only a few other Americans in Somalia in those days. Everyone I met had the same question - "How did you manage to get here?"...
Fortunately there was an Ethiopian Airways flight to Addis (where we had another crew and Com*mand minicomputer seismic processing center), so I left Mog on a much safer and more pleasant carrier. Ethiopian was the only African airline with non-western crew and maintenance that was certified to travel to the US. Of course the cabin hostesses were also Ethiopian, and like the Queen of Sheba stunningly beautiful....
From Dennis:
Bill, By the time I made it to Somalia it was 1975, 38 years ago, and by then Somalia had one airplane and called themselves Somalia Air. It was a 707 probably leased to them from the Italians. I think the route was London, Rome, Cairo and Mogadishu. And it left Cairo at 3:00AM. Very nice Filipino cabin crew as I remember. We stayed at the Juba hotel. And yes the Russians did flyovers but they did them at noon. Two Migs flew over in opposite directions and straigh up and hit the afterburners so as to rattle the whole town.
Nancy still remembers going to the market at 5:00AM and jostling with the Russian ladies for the scrawney chickens. We drilled a well for Elf just off the horn of Africa. Thankfully Conoco was leaving and they rented me one of their furnished villas.