Memories of a Serviceman

Donated 14 May 2015

See Raymonds Story below

Memories as a National service man, 1951/53

I was posted to the Cameronian Scottish Rifles, At Winston Barracks, Lanark.

Rules and Regulations

On my first day the Training Sergeant introduced us to the army

“These are your rules and regulations, you will follow these or I will jump on you like a ton of bricks, reveille 6 o’clock in the morning by a bugle call followed by Hey Johnny Cope on the pipes. Make your beds in regulation order, wash and shave, then breakfast. After that, then drill and weapon training. Lights out 10 O’clock. And pay attention to the bugle calls these are, Reveille, Hey Johnnie Cope, Cookhouse Brose and Butter, On Parade, CO’s Orders, Bonnie Mary, Defaulters, The Last Post, Officers Mess. You will soon be used to them.”

First day we got our uniforms and kit, there were about 14 recruits in the squad and a corporal was in charge of the room. Next we were led to the Bedding Store to be issued with blankets, sheets and pillow-cases. Further essentials were a set of knife, fork and spoon (‘eating irons’) and mess tins, a small wallet called a house wife containing thread and some sewing needles, boots, socks and pyjamas. The corporal was an old soldier and told us what to do, shine up the brass on our equipment, blanco it, shine up our boots and how to iron our uniform, (the tartan trousers were a bit of surprise). I made friends with two Glasgow chaps, one of whom died of wounds later on in Malaya. Next morning we were taken to the arms store and given a rifle covered in grease, and a bayonet. The rifle had to be completely cleaned and was later inspected by an officer.

Next day we began rifle training and drill. Later on we went to the rifle range. We were told how to lie on the ground aim at the target and fire. The noise was deafening. The sergeant and corporal were screaming at us when we missed the target, but in the end everyone passed. During our training on the rifle range, maybe by the promise, that whoever got a bulls eye got sixpence.

The Commanding Officer died. I think it was an accident horse riding. We had to attend the burial in Lanark Cemetery.

I lived just two miles from the barracks and some nights, me and my two pals asked if we could go for a run, we changed into P.T. kit and jogged down to my parents house, got our tea and jogged back to the barracks. After six weeks we passed out, marching behind the pipe band at the regimental march at 180 steps a minute. We felt proud as punch.

The intake was then posted to Dreghorn Barracks Edinburgh. This was a big wake-up call. There were four drill sergeants all long service men. Each sergeant took control of a new squad and at the end of the squad’s training the best squad was picked. This was an honour for the sergeant so they showed no mercy in recruits training. They were happy when they saw someone crying. Each sergeant tried to be stricter than the other sergeant. The intake was split into four groups, one for each sergeant. Their task was to make soldiers out of us - remember this was a lot of ordinary young men, some who thought they were hard men, some thought it was a laugh and others who just wanted to get their time done, and the sergeants did not like national service men. At the end of our training the best squad was selected, so every one of the sergeants wanted his squad to be the best.

First day in my squad on parade the sergeant gave us a lecture, and then inspected us. “You, yes you with the knot on your back like a hawkers bundle, stand up straight put your chest out, your an idiot, what are you?”. “I am an idiot sergeant”. to the next man “wipe that smile from your face, bit of a hard case eh, well listen son the only hard case here is me, some of you broke your mothers hearts but you wont break mine” Me next. “Did you shave this morning”. “Yes sergeant” I replied. He then said “did you use a mirror? “Yes sergeant”, “then use a bloody razor next time”, and so on addressing the rest of the men in turn, giving each man a bit of abuse. They had a system in the drilling of recruits. In the drill parades, if someone was too slow or kept making a mistake, he was pointed out to the others in the squad, and the whole squad would be told to report for extra drill that day, that person would not be long getting in shape.

General

Special attention was placed on uniform during basic training as part of ‘bull’, the term used for the cleaning rules and presentation regulations surrounding kit. The recruits were introduced to Blanco to be rubbed into all webbing items and Brasso, used to polish brass buckles, cap badges, and buttons this took up a large part of the new recruits’ daily routine,

The recruit’s uniform had to be meticulously presented in accordance with Army specifications. In order to meet these, new soldiers devised a variety of methods to maintain the appearance of their kit. For example the usual way of creating the crease in the standard issue thick woollen trousers was with damp brown paper and an iron, Weapons were also supposed to be cleaned thoroughly and oiled using flannels called a 4 by 2 soaked in oil and drawn through barrels with small lead weight called a pull-through. If kit or barrack conditions were not up to standard, strict punishment would follow. A serviceman with dirty kit could be put on Company Orders or confined to barracks (CB) for seven days. Those who committed more serious charges could face 28 days CB, stoppage of pay or menial tasks, such as washing latrines, or ‘spud-bashing’. Really serious offenders would face court martial or imprisonment. In most cases, however, punishment was for largely trivial offences.

Some conscripts who were illiterate were taught to read. Those eventually serving in Malaya 1948-1960 initially had no experience of jungle warfare, but as the conflict progressed, specialized jungle warfare schools were established and manuals covering all aspects of operations in the jungle became available.

New recruits were issued with their kit, including best uniform, second-best uniform, best boots, second-best boots, Physical Training (PT) kit, utensils, gas mask, weapons, headwear, and bed linen. The uniform was notoriously ill-fitting. Although it could be tailored to fit later, for the first eight weeks of basic training, the recruits had to make do with what they had been given. They were also assigned a barrack room and their civilian clothing could then be parcelled up and sent home, so beginning to sever the ties with their civilian life. Basic pay for a private soldier was 28 shillings (£1.40) a week net in 1948. This compared poorly with the average weekly wage in 1951, which was 8 pounds 8 shillings and 6 pence. A notice at the Quartermaster’s Stores reminded them that their kit was twenty pounds worth of government property, and that if they lost any of it, they would not only have to pay the cost of that item, but also pay for the item to be replaced.

My grandfather in Ireland died while I was at Dreghorn Bks, and my parents were going over from Scotland for the funeral, I decided to apply to my commanding officer for permission to attend the funeral. My only excuse was that I was brought up by my grandparents. They gave me permission providing that after the funeral I got the boat straight back or I would be in serious trouble. I went to the funeral with my parents and after the funeral I prepared to leave to go back to Dreghorn. My uncle Tommy who as in the T.A. and in charge of the local army camp said “never mind going back I can get you a few extra days”, so I agreed. When I got back I realised I was in serious trouble as I was classed as absent without leave. The commanding officer tore me to ribbons, “You have missed a lot of vital training and this cannot be made up”, from then on I was in everyone’s bad books.

Then a route march from Garelochhead to Arrochar, and the midges were hell. Maybe this was part of the jungle training. Next crossing a small river, walking along a rope and hanging on to another overhead rope. Halfway across they would swing the rope and you would fall into the water. Going through thick bushes a wooden face would suddenly pop up, to test your reflexes too see how quick you could fire at them. Taken up the hills at dark and left on your own for a long while. Assault course, climbing ropes and getting over high walls, and plenty of rifle and drill.

Winston Barracks

When I started a Winston Barracks I became friends with two Glasgow chaps and we still remained pals and they were in the same squad as me, (one of them died of wounds in Malaya later on). One day on parade the drill sergeant was in a foul mood. Someone laughed at something and so he doubled them round the square a few times, then started to give them abuse when they got back in line. Two chaps started giving him dirty looks and he lost his temper. “Fall in you two men” and they were taken down to the guardroom. When they had been put in the guard room, the sergeant took his anger out on us by making us double a couple of times round the square, then started on the squad. When he came to me, he stuck his face into mine “you are an idiot” he said.  “what are you”, “an idiot sergeant”, “louder” he screamed, “an idiot sergeant” I yelled. You might have broken your poor mothers heart but you will not break mine, what do you say to that he said”, I replied “I would give someone a pound note to wipe that moustache from below your nose”. I wanted to be put with my two mates. “Fall in two men take this man to the guardroom”. But I was put in a different cell from them. That night it was unlucky for us. The sergeant was the guard commander. My cell door opened and he was standing there with the guard behind him. ”Are you a big man now” he said, “do you want to wipe the moustache from below my nose now?” “I never said I would wipe the moustache from below your nose, I said I would give someone a pound note to do it” I replied. He then shouted a lot of abuse at me and slammed the cell door shut. Later on I heard singing coming from the large cell not far away, then a regimental policeman opened my cell door, we need this cell, so you are going in with the other two clowns. They were sitting on the beds singing “Hey good lookin what you got cookin” so we had a sing song together and ignored the shouts of keep quiet and the cell door getting banged. Reality was realised the next morning, we were up on a charge, 7 days confined to barracks and in the bad books of the sergeant.

Sitting in the barracks polishing my boots when in the door came three Cameron Highlanders who where stationed in Redford barracks beside Dreghorn barracks, I recognised an old pal of mine Jim********* who used to worked in the mill with me and lived in the village. He heard I was here and came over to see me. The three all wore kilts and some of the others in the barrack room said “what’s in below the kilts”, the three of them lifted the kilts laughing, as they had nothing on below, we had a good chat and then they left. I kept friends with Jim and his wife for the next 50 years.

We had a route march from Arrochar to Garelochead, with blanks in our rifles, at certain points along the road a shot would ring out and a shout of ambush right, we had to dive into the side of the road and fire back, at the end of the exercise we had our feet inspected for blisters, and if any they were quickly dealt with.

Near the end of our training we were having a break, watching a squad doing drill on the parade ground, I thought they were great, quick march, about turn, slow march, quick march, present arms and so on, the sergeant said he never seen a rabble like that, and we would put them to shame, and we so did, a proud day marching behind the pipe band in full uniform.

When our training had been completed, we where given 7 days leave. When that was up and we had to return to Dreghorn on a Friday. I told my parents I would probably be back the next weekend. On the Saturday we were told to hand in our web belts and were given ones as used by jungle forces and we would be leaving on Monday for Southampton to go to Malaya. Remember this was not the time of mobile phones and very few people had telephones in their houses. They also said that a few of the intake would not be going but this was all rubbish. One of the chaps had got married that week and most had arranged to be home next weekend. Everyone was panic stricken. That afternoon I decided I was going to go home and let my parents know. A few others were going to do the same. We had to be back before midnight that night. I got a bus to Glasgow then Lanark then New Lanark, my parents were surprised to see me and I told them what was happening and telling them I might be back next weekend as some men might be held back. A drink of tea and then I left to get back to Edinburgh.

Leaving For Southampton

On Monday we left for Southampton then onto the troopship Dunera, laden down with troops, some bound for other parts of the world. As it was pulling away, everyone started to sing For Auld Lang Syne, and they played the record Jambalaya every day. We got days shore leave in sColombo Ceylon, then onto Singapore and then got the train to Segamat in Malaya. Trucks took us from there to HQ company, and that was a big surprise, getting of the trucks the first thing we saw were two Ibans, with swords or parangs at their waists and what seemed like human hair hanging from them, then the troops walking about, some of them giving us a bit of banter. We were taken to our tents and then went to the stores for blankets, Mosquito nets and mattresses. I got sent to the M.M.G. platoon tent, after a few days I settled in. First 3 day patrol, in pack, 3 days rations, change of clothes, mosquito net, spare boots poncho cape, blanket, two 50 tins of cigarettes, mess tins and anything else needed for the three days, round waist 50 to100 rounds of ammunition  on our belt, bayonet, two hand grenades, toggle rope, water bottle a machete stuck my pack

Wakened about dawn, got in trucks and left camp, near a rubber plantation we were dropped off, then began a march through the rubber plantation, first time I had seen monkeys; a lot were in the trees above us. Then we came to a swamp and waded across it, I kept looking down at the water and tried to get across quick, In my haste to get out quick my rifle barrel was pushed into the bank, I knew that it was clogged up with mud and had to be cleaned right away. We all got across and rested in a rubber plantation, this was my first experience with leeches as the older hands began to burn them of each other with a cigarette, there were a few on my arms and neck, I could have screamed with fear, some of the boys laughed at me. Then we began to get ready to continue the patrol. Figures appeared walking through the rubber trees in front of us, and all hell broke loose, everyone began to fire in the direction of the figures, it dawned on me then that I had forgotten to clean the mud from the barrel of my rifle and If I fired it, it would explode, all I could do was bend down on one knee and sit still. This was only something I had seen in films before, then it was all over, no bodies were recovered I think we went back to a point where we got fresh ammunition delivered, then carried on with the patrol.

After marching all day we stopped for the night, a toggle rope was spread out between two trees, and two poncho capes were buttoned together, that was the roof, and another one on the ground, this is where three men slept, then we made something to eat, It was getting dark and the rain began. Three of us crept in the basher as the would be tent was called, I knew the ground was full of ants and maybe snakes so I was terrified, lying down  fully clothed with a blanket over us I dropped to sleep, next thing I was awakened by a shake, It was pitch black, put your hand on my shoulder and follow me, It was the sergeant, my turn for sentry, we walked a short distance into the jungle, the sergeant said, you will be relieved in one hour .I stood still It was pitch dark, then I became aware of all the noises in the jungle, nobody told me what to do in this situation, I started to think If there were snakes, spiders or leeches around me I was not scared, I was petrified, after what seemed ages, a soft voice from the sergeant said put your hand on my shoulder and follow me, that was my stint at guard finished, Back into bed cold and wet, next thing shaken again, stand to, after that was finished I got a few hours sleep, we did get a rum ration,  next  day we carried on patrolling, that night I asked the other two men in my basher if I could sleep in the middle and got a lot of good humorous abuse from them, from then on I settled down to daily routine, some nights patrolling the kampongs making sure the people were not slipping food out to the terrorists, road patrols and anything else that came up.

One morning I wakened up to find my hair was falling out, panic stations, the other men in the tent began to sing ” Fallen leaves ” they all thought it a great laugh, someone told our sergeant and he seen the state I was in, so he told me to report special sick in the morning. Reporting sick was frowned upon and to stop any malingers before you reported sick you had to hand your mattress, blankets and other equipment into the stores and parade outside the medical officers tent with your small pack holding your cleaning gear, soap and towel and toothbrush, the sergeant inspected you and if he could find anything wrong you were charged, I was marched in to the Medical Officers tent, after a short conversation with me he told the sergeant to take me outside for five minutes the bring me back in. When I went back in the medical officer handed me a letter and said give this letter to the receptionist at the British Military Hospital in Singapore and I was marched out, outside the sergeant said take a rifle and ten rounds of ammunition you will get a truck down to the railway station in Segamat in an hours time. Shocked I asked the sergeant how was I to get from the railway station in Singapore to the hospital; “there’s a military police office at the station they will direct you” he said.

The truck took me to the railway station and left me there waiting for the train which arrived later on, what a train it was long wooden carriages’ and I got on and sat down next to an open door, the carriage was full of Chinese, Malayan and Tamil passengers, I was the only white person there sitting at the open door with my rifle slung over my shoulder. Then the train started but it went very slow as it was pushing a bogey in front of it in case the track was mined, I could have got off and walked alongside it, some places it got up a bit of speed and then slowed down again. We arrived in Singapore at what seemed hours later and I looked for the Military Police office. Going in I asked for directions to the British Military Hospital. “Your lucky” a sergeant said, “we have patrols going out often and if you have a seat we will get you fixed up, ten minutes “Later he got me a lift.

Going into the hospital I made my way to the receptionist, and gave her the Medical Officer’s letter. “Follow me” she said and took me into a ward, there a nurse gave me a set of pyjamas and a dressing gown and led me to a bed, pulling the curtains round the bed she told me to get undressed and into bed, she came back five minutes later and opened the curtains, I looked at the next bed there was a man lying there but on his locker next to mine there was his hat this amazed me as  I had seen this hat in films before, I kept staring at it, the man spoke to me, you like the Kepi meaning his hat, I said yes he then said Foreign Legion he reached it over to me and I had a good look at it. He spoke good English and we soon got talking, it seemed he had a bullet near his lung and refused to let them operate and then he would be sent back to the fighting, I forget where it was but I think the legion suffered heavy losses in Vietnam. I was ashamed to tell him I was here because my hair was falling out but he had a good laugh when I told him, the nurse came back and said to me, sorry I forgot to tell you to take a shower, after the shower the W.V.S. women came round with free sweets and writing pads. Next morning the doctor came round, had a look at my hair and said normal hair loss return to your regiment and I began the journey back that day.

Back at the camp when I got settled in, the sergeant told me the Platoon officer wanted me right away, the sergeant marched in to the officers tent I stood at attention the sergeant said stand at ease and the officer said I have a letter from your parents stating that they have had no letters from you in quite a while and they are worried that something is wrong, so write a letter today put a stamp on it show it to the sergeant and then post it to your parents. and by the way you are getting a job, report to sergeant Tomminey he will give you instructions .I knew Benny Watson he was a great bloke, so after I wrote a letter to my mother showed it to the sergeant and posted it I went to sergeant Tomminey who I found at the cook house, right, now listen to me he said here’s your job do you see that dining hall ( a long structure thatched with palm leaves ) you keep it clean that’s your job start right away, so I went into it and there was two old Chinese women sweeping the floor and pottering about, they were doing this for scraps that were left over from meals that was what I thought, well it was all the less for me, and put salt out on all the tables at meal times Benny shouted. The cookhouse was only about 6 or 7 yards in front of the dining hall, two cooks and a few young black Tamil lads were doing odd jobs, the food was cooked in two large boilers and there was a large hot plate, the food here was bad, there was a large tin bath filled with lemonade and ice for anyone to drink at dinner time, one of the Tamil lads whose name I found out was Achmed was a bit cheeky. “What you want” he asked me, feck off I said. “I tell sergeant on you” he replied. Tell the sergeant” I said and you will get a boot in the arse if you do not clear off. I was not in a very good mood.

Next morning I made my way down to the dining hut seen the tables were clean, everything was ok, breakfast time I put a packet of margarine on each table, had my breakfast and cleaned up, left the remains of the margarine for the two old Chinese women and wandered over to the cook house, the cooks were in the A.C.C. Army Catering Corps but were sometimes called Andy Clyde’s Commandos which made them angry, and so this was to be my life from now on. One day at dinner time the men were .lined up for dinner, one bloke walked into the bath of lemonade with his jungle boots and jumped around for a while, nobody seemed to bother and a few were laughing, he’s trying to work his ticket someone said, another day at dinner time the duty officer and the sergeant came round, although the food was rotten men were too scared to complain, any complaints the officer said, one man got up from the table and said sir the soup is too salty, which it was, sergeant the officer said bring me a spoon   which the sergeant did, the officer tasted the soup, who else would like to complain about the soup, everyone remained quiet, the officer then says do you know you would pay dear for this soup in a fancy hotel, sergeant keep your eye on this man I think he is a bit of a troublemaker, when they went out every one had a good laugh as they had dared the man to complain. I was getting fed up doing nothing, so I asked the sergeant If I could volunteer for anything, no problem he said, a couple of days later he told me be ready at dawn in the morning with just a light pack, I asked him what was going on he said wait and see.

Next morning six of us including a sergeant set of by truck and were dropped off on the edge of a rubber plantation. After walking for a while we stopped at the top of a small hill, right lie down and you will get to know what’s going to happen. Two Chinese woman rubber tappers a woman and her daughter have arranged to meet a Communist guerrilla with food, he will come out of the jungle at the bottom of this rubber plantation, so everyone lie still, we lay there eaten alive by mosquitoes. My face and hands were swollen up and I was sweating from the heat, the rest of the party was the same, suddenly two women appeared among the rubber trees about 50 yards from the edge of the jungle they stood still for a few minutes then a Communist guerrilla stepped out of the jungle, a big man in a kind of uniform, he stood watching the two women, the sergeant look at us pointed to the man with the light machine gun and held up one finger, a shot rang out and the guerrilla dropped dead. We then ran> down toward him firing into the jungle in case he had anyone with him. The bullet had got him in the left eye and blew half his head away. Someone got a long branch and this was tied between the women rubber tappers bicycles they had come to work on. The body was tied to the branch between the two bicycles, and we set off to a prearranged pick up point. The older woman pushing the front bicycle and the young woman pushing the rear one, I was told to walk behind the young woman. The mans head was facing this way and some of the brains were still dripping out - strange this did not bother me, I asked the girl he name in Malayan and the sergeant gave me a row .We arrived at the pickup point and transferred the body onto a truck, then back to camp.

Now that I knew I could volunteer for anything that brightened me up a bit, but got in a bit of trouble round the cook house, the cook sergeant was a big man with large feet and wore the largest boots I ever seen, I told him elephant tracks were found down at the Dhobi-Wallahs place and they led to his tent, he put me on a charge, next I got charged for stealing a tin of sausages, a lot of stupid things resulted in a few more charges. Christmas> At Christmas time, the two cooks were preparing the Christmas pudding the cook sergeant left them a jar of rum to put some in the pudding, they got blind drunk on the rum, big Geordie the cook sergeant poured the rest of the rum down the drain. Later on I was told I was going to take part in an operation on Mount Ophir, as many men as they could muster was going on this. A communist hospital or camp was supposed to be located on the jungle covered Mount Ophir, the plan was to nearly surround it with troops, then bomb it and if any communists tried to get away from the bombing, men stationed at points around it would get them, the platoon I was with set out to take up positions. A rough road ran round the bottom of Mount Ophir then a rubber plantation, we stopped at a small Chinese or Malayan settlement and let two men off, then a bit further on I was told to get off and keep my eyes on the edge of the jungle in case anyone came out, I stood looking about but could see nothing, a while later the first planes came over, I watched them fire rockets then other planes came over and bombed the top of Mount Ophir, then they dropped delayed charge bombs about halfway down it, this was exciting watching this, then they went away, a wee while later a large bird which was hurt came fluttering near me, I killed it with some stones. As I was standing there I realised If anyone was trying to escape from the jungle they would see me standing on the dirt road before I could see them, this made me a bit nervous, so I wandered back round the corner where the other two blokes were dropped off, they were standing at the edge of the settlement and were looking toward some rubber trees, something caught their attention, it was a communist who had been wounded and he was sitting with his back against a rubber tree smoking, maybe it was dope to ease his pain after got shot.

Back to passing my time in the dining hall, had a stroll over to the cookhouse, asked the cook what was for swill today a joke I thought, he gave me a heap of abuse, on the table ready to go into the dinner pot was a square of meat, it was pressed rabbits from Australia and the peeled of like pages from a book as he threw them into the pot, tasted them at dinner time bloody rotten

A big patrol nearly every body to go on it, I asked to carry a Bren gun (light machine gun), walking along the edge of a rubber plantation we came to a   lake, suddenly a single shot rang out, then everyone started firing, three of us crouched down on the side of the lake, we did not know what was going on but every body was still shooting, there was a small island about 20 or 30 yards from us and the noise from it added to all the shooting, there were monkeys on it. The three of us just sat there. I was dying to fire the Bren, so I said “I can see something in the reeds on the lake” and I put the Bren on branch and started to fire, I never seen nothing, I only wanted an excuse to fire the Bren gun. One magazine away two magazines away out of ammo, then all was quiet - every body had stopped firing and we moved along, I was in a great mood after firing the Bren. We crossed a shallow part of lake and came upon four native huts, and nothing else, I think someone had fired their rifle in mistake. That was what all the bother had been.

Well that’s only some of my experiences in Malays, the battalion was ready to leave for the U.K., every thing was packed away and we left for Selerang Barracks in Singapore. We where there for a couple of weeks waiting on a troop ship, but we were free to go into the city at night, the only thing was you were not allowed to wear a uniform if you went out, one of my pals gave me a shirt and trousers and a pair of shoes, that was the going out dress, so we hit the town, but we got a list of all the places out of bounds, we headed for a place called the Happy Gardens, and it was thronged with Chinese and Malayan girls and the usual drink Tiger beer. A bus was laid on to take us back to Selerang Barracks at night, and there was not many of us sober on that bus, time flew in and the day before embarkation on the troop ship, there was a parade, I was marched away to get a hair cut before it,

The great day had arrived and we made our way to the troopship, which had picked up troops from other places in the Far East, the ship sailed at night and what a departure, the pipe and drum band of the Fijian regiment was marching up and down the quay and as the ship moved away every one on board was singing Auld Lang Syne and a few other songs, this has stuck in my memory ever since.

Returning Home

We arrived in Southampton 30th May 1953 and there was over 600 friends and relatives waiting to welcome us, (none for me though). We proceeded by train to the army camp at Barnard Castle in Yorkshire and began to settle in, then we got our leave passes and it was home for 7 days, then back to Barnard Castle. We got out any nights we were not on guard duties to Darlington and painted the town red. By then I had not long to go in the service. One night a few of us got drunk in Darlington and my mate Robbie said how about going home for a few days, so drunk we got on the train for Glasgow and made our way to Bellshill where Robbie lived. He went into the house and I made my way to my parents house, by this time we were sober, but it was too late to go back as we were already absent. I stayed in my fathers house and after a couple of days the police called to see if I was there. My father said he had not seen me, but he told me later on in the day I better give myself up to the police, which I did. The police notified my army camp. They said an escort would be sent from Maryhill barracks in Glasgow to detain me until they sent some up for me.

The escort arrived at the police station and I was taken to Maryhill barracks. This place had a very bad name. When I got in there I was given a bath and put in a cell. Next morning there was a lot of shouting and my cell door was opened and a soldier stood there with a basin of water, a towel and a razor, “you have seconds to be washed, and shaved” he said. This was the same basin of water that was being passed along all the cells. I soon found out my pal Robbie was in the next cell. Later he told me his parents had reported him to the police. Then the cell door opened and I was told, “make your bed up the army regulation way and do not sit on it, you stand at all times and if you sit on the floor there will be a pail of water thrown over it”. The food was really bad. Three days later I heard my name called, the escort from my camp had arrived, I think I cried. The escort was two chaps from my company so I knew them. They handcuffed me and we left in a truck for the railway station. But first thing they gave me was a cigarette. We walked through the station to the train and my handcuffs were covered by my jacket. On the train they took the handcuffs of me. Back at Barnard Castle I was put in a cell in the guardroom. Next morning up before C.O. 14 days confined to barracks - very lucky.

Before I went into the army, a bus was run from my village to the Rude Fair in Dumfries. It was a day trip and I met a girl there Jean Smith from Maryport. I gave her my name and address and told her I was going into the Cameronians. I wrote her a couple of letters from Malaya then forgot all about her. I was sitting in the barracks when some one came in and said “Hey Paddy there’s a girl at the guardroom asking for you”, “clear off” I replied as I thought he was kidding me on, but he persisted, so I went down to the guardroom still thinking it was a joke, and to my amazement there was Jean Smith, it seems her brother lived in Barnard castle and when she seen in the papers that the Cameronians were going to be stationed there she went to stay with him for a few weeks and decided to look me up.

She said she did not like staying with her brother and she did not get on very well with her parents. I told her I would meet her the next day, although confined to barracks it was easy to walk out the main gate next day when I met her. I did not know what I was letting myself in for. We decided to run away together. We were away for two weeks sleeping out and staying with one of her pals who she asked to keep quiet about everything then we decided we would head back to my parents. So we started hitching it from outside Maryport to Carlisle. From there we got a lift to Hawick on a milk truck. The driver was going to a place just outside Hawick. We got to Hawick and I asked the driver to stop at a shop so I could get cigarettes. I walked  back  to the shop and  left Jean sitting with the driver. A policeman came into the shop behind me and said “what’s your name soldier”.  I told him my name and he said “ok just come along with me to the police station”, and we walked in the opposite direction to the milk truck. In the police station the policeman told they were looking for me and a girl, so I told him I left the girl in a milk truck up the street. He then directed me into a cell and left the cell door open. There were 5 or 6 cells and an open part for cooking. Some men were hanging around in the cooking area. One of them asked if I was hungry and got me a mug of tea and a thick slice of bread. The police station in Hawick at this time was on the first floor of the Town Hall, and dances were held in the Town Hall every weekend.

Locked Up

It seems that local people could do 30 or 60 days in here. They had prison clothes on. Food was supplied but cooked by the inmates. The man who gave me the mug of tea said he was in for stealing hens and the rest of them seemed in a happy mood. I was waiting for an escort from Barnard Castle to take me back for trial. I was told to go back into my cell and later on the door opened a policeman and Jean Smith stood there. All he said to her “Is this him” and mentioned my name. She said yes. I never saw her again.

There was a dance on that night and you could hear the music and people above dancing. Next morning after breakfast the police sergeant told me that an army escort would be coming for me later on in the day. After dinner time the sergeant came back to my cell and said would you like to see a bit of the town before your escort arrives, and he took me for a stroll around the town. I thought it was very nice of him. An army escort sent to pick anyone up usually sent two men from that area, my escort arrived and handcuffed me and we left for Barnard castle.

I was put into the cell in the guard room, there was another chap in there who refused to do National service, Harry ******** from Glasgow refused to wear a uniform, so they made him wear army denims. He had been in and out of jail for this. “Have you any fags” he said, I had a couple left but I had no matches so we got a match from someone in the guard room. Next morning we were on Company commander’s parade, I was marched in first. The company commander said to me I have no alternative but to arrange a court martial for you. Harry got the same verdict. Back to the guardroom and after a short time in our cell, a regimental police man came in I knew him from Malaya. Outside for exercise he said, and we were doubled round the exercise yard, then made to do the duck walk a stupid form of punishment. We got this treatment for the next few days, and we cursed him under our breath each day.

Each morning we had to parade at the Company commander’s office and asked if we had any complaints, the answer was always none. We were told the date of our court martial and each told to pick an officer to represent us. I picked Lieutenant Smith, and he had a good talk with me before the court martial to prepare my defence. (although we knew you do not get off at a court martial). A typewritten notice was posted on our cell door stating that “a District Court Martial will assemble at the camp for the purpose of trying the following soldiers”, and there were three names on it. The procedure to follow was: the Provost sergeant will arrange for the accused to be officially examined, dress for the accused will be Battle dress, boots, belt, gaiters, medal ribbons and lowland bonnets, marched in at double quick time by the sergeant major. Three officers sat at a table and it all began - Verdict, three Months in the Military Corrective Establishment at Colchester , Harry ******** got 12 Months and a dishonourable discharge, I do not know what the other chap got as he was not in our regiment. (Another thing was that when you went absent everyone in your room was told to take whatever equipment they needed and I had to pay for the missing stuff and the new stuff).

Harry ******** had already been in the Military Corrective Establishment at Colchester and he was advising me what to do. From the time you entered the gates everywhere you went was done at the double. When we got there the escorts had to march in front and behind the prisoner, it was all in double time, 5 paces, mark time, 5 paces, mark time, strip searched and read the regulations then we were separated. I never saw Harry again. I was marched at the double to a row of Nissan huts and stopped at one. The Staff opened it and I doubled marched inside. There were 6 chaps in there and a large stove in the middle of the floor. I introduced myself to them and the first thing they said was “have you any tobacco?” I said “they searched me well when I arrived”. “Ok”, one of them said “turn out your pockets” and with a hair brush they proceeded to brush out the inside of my pockets and rolled what they found in a bit of a page from a bible, everyone was happy as this was passed around.

Great Bunch of Lads

They were a great bunch of lads, all from different regiments. They put me wise to everything, and warned me about this place and what would happen to me if I acted the hard case. There were four stages. A company, this was mine, B C and D, D company was for the worst offenders, that is men who refused to do anything and were on the strictest discipline, this place can break the hardest cases. Three days bread and water for a lot of minor offences, do what you’re told and do it fast. They also said that the Staff, (The Military Provost Staff Corps) MPSC were called the “murderers of poor Sammy Clayton”. A rifleman named William Clayton, whose nickname was Sammy, was sent to Darland Glasshouse in 1943. Clayton, like many other soldiers, had difficulty coming to terms with army discipline. At forty, he was deaf, older than most of his companions, and suffered from breathlessness and chest pains. He’d been placed in medical category “C”, not an ideal profile for a fighting soldier. It was Sammy’s fourth sentence and this time the MPSC were spoiling to make his life a misery. They saw him as a challenge, someone who needed the stuffing knocked out of him. As a result of their harsh treatment, William (Sammy) Clayton died. Some of the staff were ok here but there are others that are evil bastards they told me, “do not be surprised if you see someone crying here, a lot of chaps cannot take it”.

You got 2 cigarettes a day, one at breakfast and one at dinner time, you had to smoke them under the watchful eyes of the Staff, no nipping them for after. When you finished smoking the dog end was thrown in a pail of water, but they said sometimes you could break a bit of the cigarette if the staff was not looking, this was shared back in the hut at night. The food was measured out, no sugar, only the barest of rations. At night they would come around the huts with a pail of soup made from cabbage leaves and you got a mug full. One of the punishments was you had to Blanco all your equipment a different colour, this I started doing.

Next morning we were wakened by a banging on the door, out at the double cold water wash and shave all at quick time, double back to the hut and wait till breakfast time, cleaning kit and making bed, door opened all  occupants of other Nissan huts were marking time outside. We joined them at the double, a lot of the commands were done by a Staff with a whistle. The breakfast was very poor, and we got a cigarette, and had to smoke it all. I was too scared to break a bit of for later as the Staff was watching every move. When we finished, they walked between the tables with a pail of water and you had to put your dog end into this. The doubled back to the Nissan hut. Some of the others had concealed a bit of their cigarette and this was saved for after. Time was spent now on cleaning the hut and passing the time for the next detail.

Now the punishment begins, back out at the double, heading for the assault course, over walls, up ropes and crawling through pipes. This lasted for about an hour and a half, I was completely knackered. One of the chaps in the hut told me that I would feel like Tarzan when I got out of here with all the exercise and the diet. A well earned rest in the hut before dinner time and I was very hungry. Whistle blowing, the door opened a few squads outside marking time, we fell in at the double beside them and made our way to the dining hall, all in and seated, some of the long term  inmates who had had kept out of trouble began handing out the food under the watchful eyes of the Staff. This was small portions of mashed potatoes, a piece of meat and a few vegetables you could comb your hair looking at any of the plates they were that clean when we finished. Next a plate of Tapioca flavoured with orange peel, then a cigarette. I managed to break a bit of mine and saved it. I was still hungry, double marched back to the hut. Had a hut inspection half an hour later, everything was ok.

Rifle drill next. Before we went out for this, the chaps in the hut told me this was a good laugh as there were soldiers from different regiments here and the rifle drill was not all the same. Door opened, whistle sounded and we doubled outside and fell in. We lined up with the full company and the rifle drill started. This was a pantomime. The rifle regiments had a different drill from other regiments and rifles were being thrown over men’s shoulders when the order slope arms was given. The Staff were yelling and shouting and using every swear word they could think of. When that finished they decided to give us some drill. This is were they got their own back, doubling round the square, left turn, right turn about turn until they got fed up, then doubled back to our huts. It seems this was the same routine every day.

Tea time could not come quick enough, and when it did what little food we got was not very good, and when we finished it there was nothing left on the plates. Time to do our kit now. Blanco and brasses on our kit and boots well polished so you could see your face in them, also time for a smoke. Whoever managed to break a bit of the two cigarette issue that day put it all in the kitty. A long thin cigarette was then made using the page of a bible. This was then passed round everyone taking a draw, the remainder was kept for later on, I never seen a cigarette being smoked down to the last few shreds of tobacco before. 9 O’clock and the door was opened by a member of the staff holding a pail of soup made from cabbage leaves you gave him your mug and he dipped it in the pail, if you got a bit of cabbage in the soup it was great. Wes sat and swapped stories for a while then another smoke and lights out.

Life went on every day the same, assault course in the mornings and rifle drill in the afternoons. I was feeling fit as a fiddle after two months of this. I was released after two months for good behaviour and sent back to my camp. First thing I had to do was to Blanco my equipment back to my regiments colour. Two days later I was called to the Company commanders office and told my service time was up in the next two weeks and in the meantime I was to look after the boiler in the officers mess to make sure they had hot water. This boiler house was on a small hill and in my second week there a chap came up to see me about something. It was a very windy day; the door was open and he had his hand on the door post. The wind blew the door shut and he lost three fingers. They were lying on the ground, I was shattered. Two days later I was finished, they gave me a train ticket home and it was the happiest day of my life even though I still had to do three years in the T.A..

The National Service man on completion of his two years had to do two and a half years in the Territorial Army

After National service you had to do two and a half years in the T. A. Two drill nights a month, four weekends a year and an annual camp of two weeks a year. Some local chaps who were never in the army enlisted in the T. A. You were officially under army orders during all this time, but it was very easy going as nearly everyone was local including the men who held rank. I attended the drill nights and a few weekend, for the weekends you were supposed to sleep in the drill hall, but nearly every one went home for the night. The time arrived for the annual two weeks camp. On the drill night before it the sergeant told us that for the two weeks we would be training in amphibious landing craft in Belgium, The day arrived that we had to leave and we marched to the railway station. On our way to Dover for the cross channel ferry, you would have thought it was a Sunday school outing.

On arrival in  Zeebrugge we had to fall in and march to the camp, the band led the columns playing “The Happy Wanderer”, what a sight it was for the local inhabitants, we were all singing, some were shouting at the local girls I don’t think anyone was in step, the camp was tents and we got settled in, all desperate to get out on the town, which we eventually did, and then it was back to the tents. Next morning we got a big surprise after breakfast we were marched down to the docks and there was no training on amphibious landing craft, we had to unload them, as this was the cold war period. We had haversack rations for dinner and worked on to about 4 O’clock then back to the tents. The days were all spent in the same routine, the good part about it was going out at night on the town, I got a bad dose of the flu and was put in the hospital tent, I gave a friend the money to get me a wristlet watch for my wife, time soon passed and we were back on the road home.
The T. A. pipe band also met once a fortnight, and I thought it would be a good scam applying for to join it, but after the first few weekends trying to play the chanter, they said I was hopeless, but they would keep me on as a store man. This was a great job, no drills, just looking after the pipe band equipment, the pipe major and one of the pipers were brothers. Local chaps who I knew well. The band had to play at the Edinburg Tattoo, so we all went to Edinburgh for a couple of days.

End