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National Service

  • Thread starter Thread starter RayD
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Phil, in my earlier posts I said that I was at Gosport in charge of a billet of lads who were on the trade course behind me, that meant I would be leaving the billet and being posted to Devizes and they would have to have another L/Cpl in charge of the billet. It was sad really, as they were a good bunch of lads except for the odd one or two, which you always get. The night before I was leaving I wanted to press my B.D and clean my brasses but before that the lads wanted me to go down to the N.A.F with them for the last time which I did. when I got to my bed space i had not got a stich of kit. "Come on lads I have some packing to do" two hours had gone by and I had given up on seeing my kit that night, all I could do was sit on my bed and call them all the things under the Sun. Then a lovely thing happened, they all gathered round my bed and Tudor Greaves gave a little speech and then presented me with a pencil and fountain pen set, which I have to this day and it has never been used. just before lights out they brought all my kit back, pressed packed all but the things I would need the next day. I must have made some impression on them.
Some years later I am working in swansea and the guys in the plant spoke about a guy called Tudor Greaves, the very same guy from Gosport, so I contacted him on the night and we had a drink at my hotel.
Dave
 
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Paul we spent a long time in that N.A.A.F.I. in the first two weeks at Blandford in August 1954 as the food was terrible. the farmers did well out of the amount of food that went into the very big Pig swill tubs outside the "Cookhouse?" I don't think you could call it that.
Dave
 
I told the tale of the bad Cpl. a little while back, now for the good one.
In my locker I had a two page colour picture of Gina Lolobrigida.
This corporal wanted this picture so badly, he tried all sorts of bribes to obtain it, all to no avail.
However, the day before our final passing out parade I told him, get my kit into good order and the picture would be his.
I spent most of that evening in a very quiet NAAFI while the rest of my squad were busy.
Bless him, he did just that, best my kit ever was.
Good lad though.
 
Hello Dave, you must have great memories of that night, #1124, and yes I do believe that Army grub was a bit grim in your day, though I must say that in my day was very good, I did a couple of stints in the Cambridge Military Hospital, and the food there was first rate.
 
Paul, I think the A.C.C lads there were learning their skills at Blandford, we were the guinea pigs, and we did not know it.
For the life of me I would not have a clue where that camp was now, when we left it after two weeks they took us by T.C.V from the back of the camp to Barton Stacey.
Dave
 
My son captain, is an RE Para, 51 Sqn, and he did 12 weeks at Gib barracks Cove, in 2005/6, he did't have a car then and we took him and brought him back a few times, I did't know the barracks myself, but just down the road there were the "Gurkhas", in Church Crookham just the other side of Fleet, by the Reading Road.
 
Paul
Thanks for the information about your son, he's following in the family footsteps. Its a fair old journey from Brum to there.
I did 2 weeks there as a T.A. recruit ( I was aged 36 at the time I still think I was the oldest recruit to get through), I must admit most of the time spent there I did not know if I was on my a--e or my elbow.
I cant remember the name of the station close to Gib Barracks, but when the NCOs came to pick us up, they made us stand for a number of minutes with our cases in each hand held out. Then they searched the recruits for who they regarded as puffs, it was in the 80s, not to politically correct then (ear rings or holes where they had been). I really find it difficult talking to you old sweats about it because you have done it for real and I absolutely love all your stories about N/S.
Being the oldest recruit and having a young family, the nco's were having a p*** up on the night and one of them needed a baby sitter, a couple of nco's came in to our room and one of them Said " my surname and I want you to be baby sit" so I sat down on the floor and put my thumb in my mouth. They found it very funny and he asked me could I baby sit for him tonight. I did it and found out later that this nco turned out as a nice guy, when he gave you a bollicking you could see a twinkle in his eye as he did it.
Those two weeks I look back on with a lot of pleasure and satisfaction.
 
Someone was talking about some of the lads could not get the arm to synchronize with their boot when carrying the rifle in the shoulder arms position,We had in training a lad who had to go in the rear rank, because when the order to shoulder arms was given, we all waited for the crash as he would throw his rifle over his shoulder and it would hit the ground with an almighty clatter behind him. He could not get the knack of gripping the stock with his right hand to guide it to the slope position, the N.C.O's used to do their nut.

Dave
 
On occasions I had periods when I did not have any work to do and Captain Donald Welsh would come up to the armoury and ask me if I was busy as he wanted a C/pl to take charge of a few of the recruits who were going to Devizes Railway Station to load up one of the open backed trucks with some brand new steel wardrobes, the ones we had were wooden and bulky so they were being changed. When we got there and saw what job it was we had got work for days, there were about 160 all wrapped in corrugated paper with string around the middle to save from damage. I think they were about 6'x4'x2' deep, the problem we had was securing them so three or four lads were on the back of the truck holding them from falling over, the driver took it steady in the couple of miles to camp but we nearly caused an accident. There were not many cars around in those days but one was following us from the town and a big sheet of the corrugated paper took off and landed across the windscreen of this car, he had to stop and we did, we ripped all the paper off the units so they could not cause any more trouble and drove on to camp.
Dave
 
#1136, I remember one lad Dave he could not get Drill, as you might expect, in the Foot Guards, a much larger time period was spent on the Square, in fact during basic training you would expect to spend at least 12 weeks purely drilling. We had a lad, his name was Cartwright, he came from Devon I seem to remember, big strapping lad with real fine fair hair, good with his kit, and rifle drill. He never managed to march?, they did everything, even painting his left boot cap yellow, the coordination between arm and leg just was not programmed into his brain, and he was discharged as, "insufficient acumen for the Brigade of Guards". He did not want to go and a very likable lad, but drill was the be all and end all in the Guards. As we were often told when you represent the Monarchy and British State, literally millions around the world are looking at you always.
 
Did anybody see Wednesday's Daily mail.? In there was a report about army snipers and how one soldier killed 5-6 people by hitting one who was carrying explosives, the intriguing thing was that the photo showed a sniper using a long barreled rifle and he was left handed and the rifle also with the bolt on the left. I seem to think the photo has been printed the wrong way round, as I have said before I never saw a left handed rifle. Also the distance was approx 800 yds with a tele sight, this would not have been possible without one.

Dave
 
I did paul, and you also, I did notice that he was in the Coldstream Guards, obviously you read the article as well but you did not see what I did as regards the weapon and it was a lefthander.

Dave
 
Here I must bow to your superior knowledge Dave, I am not as technically minded as you, through your experience of firearms and military service, I only fired them.
 
Paul,I have contacted the Daily Mail and asked them whether they have printed the photo the correct way round. As I said it was a lefthander which I have never seen issued.
They have responded with a standard email and will contact me later.

Dave
 
Some of these modern sniper rifles are "Bespoke", I understand Dave, probably, American (Barrett M82A1), the IRA imported 3 or 4 of these, and they are accredited with killing over at over mile. in fact the very last British casualty in Ireland I understand was killed by one of these. We must be carful not go to far off thread.
 
Re the photo - my wife is a reformed journalist and says it is common practice to print photos the way that suits the text layout regardless it then becomes incorrect.

I agree with Paul that, as interesting as it is, this is somewhat detached from National Service. Is there a Birmingham link?
 
Back in the 1950's there weren't any complicated weather forecasts on the telly and I assumed that the weather was the same all over. But N/S taught me that it could vary across the country because I remember a lovely warm bright spring Saturday afternoon in New St, everyone wearing light warm-weather clothing, and me walking from the station to my bus stop dressed for winter in wellingtons with rolled down tops, duffle coat, raf gloves and a woolly hat, certainly got some funny looks. I had a 36 hour pass for weekend leave and on a Saturday morning in snowy Yorkshire I had trudged in a blizzard through deep snow to Thirsk railway station to a catch a train to Brum. Nice snowy views from the train in Derbyshire but on reaching Tamworth I could see that the Midlands were basking in sunny spring weather and definitely no snow.
 
How true that is Oldmohawk, does anyone on this thread remember the "Otterburn Training area", what a godforsaken piece of English real estate that was , I went about 3 times in all and when it wasn't snowing, it was raining I don't think I was ever dry in that place, very similar to "Lunerberg Heath", in Germany now I recall.
 
As requested, Paul.
During training at Barton stacey, as I had mentioned before we had nowhere to dry our clothes and some of us were suffering from colds, piles and bronchitis, I had the latter.
On the square one day I felt very bad, my head was going round and round and I felt cold, I had got a temperature and fortunately it started to rain again, so we were sent back to the hut.
Once inside and sitting on my bed I must of nearly collapsed as my mates told the Sgt who sent for the M.O who sent me off to the camp hospital where I was joined by another lad Maurice who had piles from our billet.
About 12 months before I was called up, I cycled over to Selly Oak with a friend who's brother was a teacher, and his brothers friend's dad had a small orchard, our cycles had trucks attached to the saddle stems so we could bring back some apples. We were introduced to him and we spent the afternoon with his family picking apples(I will not use his real name as he is still around).
I was in hospital four or five days and during that time the orderly officer would come into the hospital to see how we were getting on. This one day the officer, a one pip, came in and stood by my bed and looked at me and said "Where do I know you from" I said You are Cliff Norton and he immediately said Dave Edwards. He was the guy who I had been in his dad's garden over twelve month's before picking apples. He had not long been an officer, he sat on my bed and we had quite a chat, I was worried about getting back squaded, but I was not, neither was Maurice.
I had been selected for W.A.S.B. and I was talking to him about it and he said it was very expensive as his Sam Brown had cost £60, unless you had rich parents and stayed in for longer it was not worth it, so I had to go non desirus.



Dave
 
Very interesting Dave, coming back to Brum on leave, I was in Euston Station, walking along the platform to catch my train when a voice said , "Is that you Paul", turning I saw my old next door neighbour from Adams Hill Birmingham, he was a in the RASC. We had moved by then to Weoley Castle, we had a great chat back to Brum talking over old times as kids. small world in the Military .
 
Some of these N/S men must of been well off, called up 1947 to Stirling Castle for N/S. six weeks square bashing then to Portsmouth for basic training again. Then to Pindlehinton near Dorchester for more training. Served Palestine until June 48 then to Eygpt for seven days R&R then to Cyprus, all for £1 a week
 
I learn't how to jump off a moving train during my National Service ...
oldMohawk said:
Leaving the train at Thirsk was exciting because for a particular reason we usually made our way to the rear coach about 5 miles from the station, opened the doors and jumped out on the station platform while it was still going at 15/20mph !
Click to expand...
At 2.00am there were only 2 taxis willing to turn out at Thirsk Yorkshire and with up to 40 airmen getting off the train it was necessary to be first to the taxis otherwise there would be a long wait while the taxis went to the camp with about 8 passengers in each and then returned. Valuable sleeping time could be lost. We usually had the train doors open about five miles from Thirsk and needed to jump off as near as possible to the start of the platform to be first to the taxis. Judging the right jump-off speed was essential otherwise you could be rolling along the platform if your legs could not keep up with your body speed. As we ran over the footbridge to the taxis, the ticket collector was almost brushed aside as we shoved our tickets in his hand and hurtled past him. The taxi drivers would not move until everyone in their taxi had paid the fare.
The station night staff usually turned out to watch the fun ....
 
There was a similar scenario at Rhyl station, back in the late 50s.
In my experience, leaping off a moving train was something that could only be accomplished in the late 50s/very early 60s. The operation required wearing studded Ammunition boots, the resultant deceleration slide could not be managed with the new DMS boots.
 
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