We now were taken under command of a Drill Sergeant, whose name has been blotted out of my mind, and his assistant Corporal Twomey. They played a "bad cop, good cop" role. Guess who the "good" one was! Despite many threats to our personages, we never became really proficient performing the "slow march", probably because we wondered what use it was for prospective tank crews.

On the third day, when lined up for drill, our ranks were swelled by the addition of another Trooper. One by one, each of us was subjected to scathing comments by our "beloved" Drill Sergeant. At last, standing before the newcomer (he was quite small) the Sgt. bellowed out "And who are you, you miserable specimen?" "Advani, please corporal, sergeant, sir" was the reply. We all burst out laughing which resulted in an extra hour's drill. More of Trooper Advani later on.

Shortly afterwards we were considered good enough to take part in a parade before the Squadron Leader who was accompanied by the Commanding Officer, Lt. Col Broome. Being previously aware that the CO's nickname was "Bushy", from the luxurious growth on his upper lip, we now saw why. As befits his rank, he appears prominently later in this narrative.

Guard Duty

As the important duty of guarding the Barracks was assigned to MPs and regular RTR personnel, two less significant places to guard were employed to train newcomers.

One location required two Troopers being on guard for two hours at a time. While one stood guard at the entrance, the other patrolled the perimeter of the vehicle storage area, located inside the Barracks, which took ten minutes or so, after which the roles were reversed. It was here that I was first put on guard duty.

With service in the Home Guard I was very familiar with Guard Duty, not so for my partner as it was his very first experience. I was nearing the end of a circuit when my "comrade-in-arms" was being approached by the Orderly Officer and the Sergeant of the Guard. The following exchanges, more or less verbatim, followed. "Halt, hands up or I'll fire" "This is the Orderly Officer!" shouted back the Sergeant. "Stop, I'm going to shoot!" (As ammunition hadn't been issued it was an idle threat.) "How long have you been a soldier?" "About three weeks!" "It's pack drill for you, you (expletive)." From a very understanding officer came "That's enough Sergeant he's only learning!"

The other location was on Salisbury Plain upon a small hill crowned by a clump of trees. There, a couple of weeks later, I had the first of two tours of duty guarding this wind-swept hill whose elevation is not recalled. On both occasions we had to check a long inventory at the beginning and conclusion of guard duty. Although the quantity of all items, including the Nissen Hut, was printed on the inventory form, the number of live trees surrounding the hut was not. Each of the hundred-plus had to be counted, the result being inserted on the inventory form, together with the reporting of any signs of a severed limb. Perhaps it was to discourage, during the icy days of winter, the smuggling of axes in order that a tree, or parts thereof, may be chopped down to feed the stove!