When I joined the army ......

**John Turner** · 28-05-2009, 23:26

I'd just love to somehow go back in time to when I joined the army - with this PC - plug it in to the socket where we did our ironing - and say "Look Sar'nt - I can email my mum .... and stuff - and look - here's your house on Google Earth!"

How he would have laughed!

In IJLB Oswestry, we, as recruits anyway, had to hand in, to the Pl Sgt, a letter a week home, and I think they recorded what you received back too.

When we went on leave our parents would receive a letter stating the amount of food and accommodation we would not be paying whilst on leave - so's they'd have a ballpark figure of what to charge us for the same, if they wanted to.

But I insisted on three squares a day, central heating, colour TV, the same 'bedspace', being woken up at 06:30 daily and a weekly sheet exchange.

We came to a compromise!

**BennytheBall** · 29-05-2009, 01:21

MY cry is not when I joined the RWF it meant eveyything to me but when my 2 sons that both which are in the Army x1 serving as air crew in the the AAC and the other as POM in the RE Both of them done ops tours. They tell me What was it like when you joined the Army dad was life as bad? What do I say, Life is 1 big lottery take your chances. God Bless to All

**Heap90** · 29-05-2009, 12:37

Hmmm. When i joined in Crickhowell i was going to join the RRW until Cpl `Maz` Maslin got hold of me. Look at me, he said, You too can wear a lovely `Feather` if you join my Regiment. Needless to say i was young and attracted to anything `Flighty` lol. Am ashamed to say that i`d never heard of the Royal Welch but looking back i am honoured to have served in the best Regiment in the British Army. We did PT in those `lovely` black daps then but i`m sure we never did any other kind of training in em, thank the lord. Don`t the guys get a pair of Reeboks or some other training shoes nowadays? Had great fun doing fire picket drills there too..."Water on...Water off...Knock off make up" I`m sure the Firefighters in the Station at rear of my house use the same or similar commands even today lol.

**Dai72** · 29-05-2009, 13:50

Originally Posted by griff029

Aden 5 platoon at C O G. Roberts 83, Thom 31 and Mike Crowley were the only RWF guys if I remember. Cpl Clements D and D was our section comander. Anyone else remember him? Ex SAS I think, used to take his whippets out for runs.
We had dreadful red platoon tracksuits, those awful army raincoats, suitcases and useless sleeping bags with feathers, no kip mat, no bivvy bag.

There was a number of us who joined this Platoon from the Juniors Coy. Cpl Bell D&D was another, Sgt Fenwick Glosters, Norrington-Davies Plt Comd RRW, but was changed with another RRW Lt Margeson (spelling iffy)

**Bricoates** · 30-05-2009, 13:46

Yes, the Vine tree in Abergavenny was a favourite haunt it was also where the nco Instructors visited to offer us sprogs the privllege to buy them a pint and share our fags, or else, in them days money was scarce, can you imagine that happening now, a call to Mummy or Daddy and they would be Court Martial'd. Another haunt was the weekly dance at the Town hall, I remember the long walks back to camp, about 5 miles if I remember right, great days.

Roy Jones [12] · 31-05-2009, 16:02

Originally Posted by Braz

You won't believe what a shambles the Depot looks now 17. It's such a shame that such a nice place can be left in the state it is. Surely they could have made it a permanent Cadet Base, or failing a Military Establishment, a Borstal. As for Crickhowell, Beautiful as Ever, what a lovely place. Braz

Yes the old camp is in a sorry state, but there are parts of it still being used. Behind the married quarters on the old mt garage site TAVRA have built a new headquarters training centre for Gwent-Powys acf. At the top end of C-Y-G the greenfield camp is the Cadet Centre for Adventure Training. [CCAT] with accomadation, Both centres are also used by the Regs,. and TA.

Roy

griff029 · 31-05-2009, 20:03

Originally Posted by Dai72

There was a number of us who joined this Platoon from the Juniors Coy. Cpl Bell D&D was another, Sgt Fenwick Glosters, Norrington-Davies Plt Comd RRW, but was changed with another RRW Lt Margeson (spelling iffy)

Didn't Dinger Bell replace a Cpl Lewis from RWF??. Remember Fenwick. If I recall he got an almighty chewing for posing about with a 9mm when the rest of us were carrying largepacks. Can't remember who he replaced?? Remember tabbing across Sennybridge on the final exercise in the famously hot summer of '76??
Lovely days.(???????)