When I joined the army ......

**nasher546** · 10-01-2009, 18:36

Chow,

Danny Donavan (RIP) was my first Plt Sgt when I joined JS Coy in the Depot. What a sound guy. Size 6 Ammo Boots, but he could'nt half drive them into the parade square! Wages were £1.10 shillings a week. You are right you could by loads for that, however we were always skint 4 days later.

**John Turner** · 10-01-2009, 19:37

My first pay packet - age 15 - in Z Coy - IJLB Oswestry, was £1:14s:6d and the sixpence was a compulsory bingo ticket!

I don't remember if that had to last a fortnight or a week - surely a week - I was getting a quid a week on me paper round a few weeks before!

Not many RWF went through IJLB in my time there - Sullivan - Pat Dunne - Mike Carnell, Glen Nurse, Alan Ankers - struggling now.

**Fortyfive** · 10-01-2009, 20:14

Just like Chow & Paul Nash. Danny Donavan was my first pl sargent. & we use to get £2.00 a wk pay or was it a fortnight ???. Do you remember the training cpls saying 5 mins smoke break, I use to say I dont smoke cpl & they said run round the sq LOL. I learnt to keep my mouth shut LOL

zedder · 10-01-2009, 22:17

danny donavan was my pln sgt and csm crocker was my sgt major in junior soldiers in 1974 had a great time zedder ex rrw.

**davidrmac** · 23-01-2009, 08:59

It was 1976 one of the hottest summers on record when I went to the Depot . Frank Watkins , RSM Gill , Ginger the barber , POSB , the pig track , sugar loaf , that poxy fire cart and who remembers the 1 in 4 at the back of the camp ? What a hill . All my mates back home were sunning themselves in either Barry or Trecco . I was being bounced around Crickhowell with new boots , oversized combats , kf shirt , 58 pattern webbing and those tin helmets with the pin right in the centre of your head , great . "Get in the river and break those boots in you wa%$£rs" . Ozzy Lloyd and a guy called Mick Evans (D&D) were our section commanders . Affectionately known as Batterman and Robin . Mick would batter you into submission and Ozzy would rob you then share the proceeds with Mick . They used to collect our embassy and number 6 coupons for us on a daily basis so that we would not lose them !!! Every day in training was hard physical work and when we had the opportunity to pick a hobby for the evening it was great . I thought that archery sounded good . There cannot be much physical stuff involved with that . I was sorted , cushy number . We were told to meet at the Greenfields at 1800 . When we got there , all the kit was out and I thought this is great , shooting arrows in the sun on a lovely evening . All of a sudden Ozzy and Mick turned up on a lambretta or a vespa , something like that with a high back on it like the mods used to ride .
They lined us up and gave us perimeters that we were not allowed to stray outside of . For the next hour Mick chased us around the fields on the vespa with Ozzy on the back in the standing position shooting arrows at us . I was absolutely Bo&^%"ed . Great days , great memories . Not sure that they would get away with it these days but , it did us no harm . I changed my hobby the following week , I chose boxing with Derek Adams , another story for another day .

**Fortyfive** · 23-01-2009, 16:38

Hi Mac. Deltas had just got back from Cyprus that summer & it was hotter here than over there & we had to spend every afternoon at the swiming pool in tidworth LOL. & hide in the lockers when they came round the blocks looking for people to go out onto the plains to put the fires out

**CARL PUGH** · 24-01-2009, 22:37

Like your write up Mac about Batterman and Robin, but i wonder what you and Johno were called when you were there in the the 80's.
Regards Pug "21E for Dog"

**davidrmac** · 02-02-2009, 10:07

Carl
I dread to think !
Royal Welch that I served with in the Depot were ;
Ken Lloyd
Jacko Watkins
Mick Donnely
Yoko Davies (I always used to nick his bike when he was BOS)
Gary Blewitt
Lance Edmunds
Ned Huntley
Brian Dando
And there was a guy in the orderly room whose name escapes me .
As you can see there was a strong Royal Welch presence there at that time .
In the beginning , Major Tom Silverside was OC Training Company .
There are only two people in that list that I have seen since 1986 and they are Lance , about 1995 and Mick about 2001 .

**Braz** · 02-02-2009, 14:50

Hi there, 2 Royal Welch Guys in Bn HQ at that time were, Wayne Beddis, and Garry Homersley. Cheers Braz.

**Roberts 7017** · 24-05-2009, 10:31

What an incredible thread , when I joined june 77 (Malaya 7) they sent me home for 4 weeks on full pay as they did`nt have enough recruits to start the platoon, the only rwf at crickhowell I remember was pete leese? as Pti. and one in hq I think homesley. will definately visit crick`in septemberafter the sigs reumion.