BASIC TRAINING
'ALL BULL & BLANCO'
Every fortnight, some 6,000 nervous young men, from all walks of life and from the length and breath of the country, descended upon their training camps. First impressions were that they resembled concentration camps – barbed wire and armed guards, wooden (or brick) huts set in spider-groups of four with an ablution block, with some larger buildings and, of course, the parade ground.
Once through those gates, life was to change dramatically. Gone were the comforts of home, you were apparently suddenly fatherless, witless and useless which you would be reminded of constantly at 100 decibels from your drill instructor, sergeant, corporal etc.
Your new home consisted of rows of iron beds, each with its own steel narrow wardrobe and locker. In the centre of the hut was a pot-bellied stove (unlit), together with a table and chairs. The floor was covered with highly polished lino. So your first job was to file your way to the Bedding Store to be issued with blankets, sheets and pillow cases. In some cases “biscuits” (straw filled mattress squares) were also issued. “Eating irons” – knife, fork, spoon and a mug were also issued in time for the evening meal.
Shouted in and out of every procedure, the “kitting out” performance is one most remembered. Passing, alphabetically, along rows of benches or counters, each man would be piled with articles for which they had to sign for. Here they learnt backward speech; socks – pairs – two, drawers – cellular – green, overalls – denim … Boots were a source of amusement as no half sizes existed, so it was pot luck whether you got a size too big or a size too small. Now staggering under weight of so much ill-fitting kit, it was time to leave the Quartermaster Stores to the shouts of “If anything fits, then you must be deformed!” Although the Navy and RAF did have tailors, for the majority of Army recruits, alterations to kit had to be done by themselves.
The dreaded haircut was next. All the “teddy-boys” of the day, with their immaculate “quiff and DA” hairstyles were the most affected. With power clippers, barbers sheared off locks at a speed any sheep shearer would be proud of and you were scalped. Thus all identity and individuality had been removed.
Name, rank and number had to be stenciled on your canvas kit bag. Then as each and every part of your kit was stenciled, penned, or, as with you eating irons, hammered, it was placed in the kit bag. Thus your number was soon learnt and never forgotten.
Within a day, all were now in uniform, hair cut, and ready for the photographic production line. Quoting their number, this was chalked on a small piece of blackboard which had to be held just under the chin. “No smiling, sit in the chair, board up, look at the camera!” and with a single click it was all over. This was necessary for the issuing of the “1250” Identity Card which must be carried on your person at all times, produced to anyone who has authority to see it and to lose it would mean a Court Martial.
Pay books were issued and Pay Parades took place each week, where you stood in line and waited for your name to be called. Step forward, come to attention, salute, state “your last three” and name, collect your pay, step back, salute and march back to your billet. The rate of pay was about 4 shillings per day – with a deduction for ‘Barrack Room Damages’ even though none has occurred.
It is not surprising that not all who had arrived at the training camps were still there that evening at lights out. Some had already decided that this was not for them and absconded, only to be rounded up by military or civilian police and brought back. It is also not surprising that crying and sobbing could be heard at night during those first few days.
Next morning Reveille came too soon. Reveille could be anytime after 5 o’clock depending on the NCO. The men were awakened by the usual bellow of “hands off c…ks and on your socks”, followed by the clatter of a pace stick hitting metal coal buckets, lockers and beds. Anyone not out of bed could be subjected to their bed being turned over with them still in it. Ablutions would often have men shaving in cold water, with too few basins, often without any plugs, and too few toilets with no seats or doors. Thus Basic Training began: you would have no time to yourself. Every waking minute would be full with cleaning, scrubbing, polishing, parading, running, jumping and eating because if it wasn’t, you would be put on a charge.
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DRILL (ALL ARMS) 1951 The purpose of drill is to develop in the individual soldier that sense of instinctive obedience which will assist him at all times to carry out his orders. That the foundation of discipline in battle is based on drill has been proved again and again. Good drill and a high standard are not learnt on the barrack square merely to be discarded in everyday life…. It is the constant duty of those in command to insist on the standard they know to be right … Once an idle action or bad turnout is allowed to pass, whether during the recruit stage or later, the standard is lowered and further bad habits will follow. |
With boot polish, Brasso and blanco bought at your own expense from the NAAFI, your first job was to polish your boots to such a shine you could see to shave in them. This was achieved using the back of a hot spoon and melting and spitting the polish in, over and over and over again, to remove all the imperfections in the leather. Every piece of brass had to be cleaned, both back and front, and polished to an immaculate shine. Webbing – the straps, belts, packs etc that were worn – had to be blancoed. Blanco was messy, but had to be applied with a rag or brush to all webbing and had to be done at night as it took several hours to dry. If it wasn’t dry, then it would come off onto your uniform.
Rifles had to be cleaned both inside and out. The barrel was cleaned with the aid of a “pull-through” – a piece of weighted cord or string with a small piece of oiled rag attached to it. Every bayonet also had to be cleaned.
Every morning everything would be laid out for inspection, with weekly Full Inspections. Squares were made of the blankets and sheets, all kit and equipment was laid out on the bed in a specific way that allowed every piece to be individually inspected.
Should the drill instructor find anything wrong with your kit, no matter how small the speck of dirt, you would be put on a charge. Punishments dealt out really depended upon the person dishing it out. Punishments could range from having your whole kit thrown out of the window into the dirt, to peeling potatoes, painting coal white, to removing dirt from between floorboards with a match-stick, or worse.
Cleaning of the hut was done on a rota system by those in the hut. The main areas that had to be immaculate were the toilets, the dark brown linoleum floor and the stove. The floor was polished with “bumper” pads – a padded block on a broom handle which were swung back and forth across the floor to provide a high gloss shine. On wet evenings rags were provided for all those who came into the hut to attach to their boots to protect the floor from dirty boots.
The stove was rarely, if ever lit. Despite the fact that it may be winter. there was little or no fuel for it, the reason was that, if lit, the heat would ruin the highly polished finish which would take several hours of black-leading to restore it.
Basic Training consisted of learning to salute, march, shoot a rifle, unarmed combat and the use a bayonet, lectures on the hazards of nuclear attack, exposure to tear-gas, and doing everything in double-time, and, of course, guard duty. The most enjoyable of these by far would be the bayoneting of palliasses, as, to all involved, those straw filled bags became the drill instructor.
From a motley crew who stumbled and scratched their way forward, arms and legs swinging and flopping in complete incoordination, with bits of new kit falling off at regular intervals, you learnt to march as one, became fitter and learnt to work as a team.
On the firing range you were taught to have a relationship with your rifle. Rifles could, supposedly kill a man at a mile way (if you could see that far) and were also effective at close range. You were taught how it was essential to have “one up the spout” and how to ensure that the bolt was securely in position. You were taught to make sure that the butt fitted snugly and firmly into your shoulder and all the perils and self-harm that would befall you should you not abide to these rules. You were also taught not to waste bullets as they cost 7d each. All ammunition was ‘live’ as ‘blanks’ were not available back then.
Exposure to tear gas was normal practice during Basic Training. Supplied with gas masks, you had to carry them into a remote building on the camp. Upon a table in the centre of the room stood a metal canister. The doors were then closed and instructions given to put on gas masks. Further instructions that, once the canister had been ignited, gas masks were to be removed. Should anyone leave the building or replace their masks, they would have to go through the whole ordeal again. Once the room was full of gas they had to remain in the room for 2 minutes before being allowed back out into the fresh air. Smarting of the eyes and the inability to breathe were suffered by all, but apparently, little is known of the long term side effects of those tests.
Further exams were taken to assess aptitude and intelligence to determine each recruits ability for further trade training and to assign them to individual regiments, squadrons etc
Thus was life for the eight weeks of Basic Training. Men who were complete strangers a few weeks ago had bonded against a common enemy – the drill instructor
The Passing Out Parade was to follow which consisted of marching in full uniform past a dais on which stood the Commanding Officer. Never again in their life’s would they be as smart as they are now. A proud moment for all concerned.