Quote:
Originally Posted by Cruachan
Aye, most of our RPs had done at least one "tour" in Colchester. 
But maybe that was just an Argyll thing.
J |
Nope, it was other outfits too. I well remember attending a wedding as part of the honour guard. It was at the Garrison Chapel in Munster. The incumbent unit was 3LI. My mate and me went into the Naafi for a pint before the ceremony. We commented when we went in that we'd never seen such a poorly decorated Naafi in many years. The walls were bare, just bare bulbs hung in the ceiling - no shades, bare 3 x 3 tables and plastic chairs; in fact no attempt at comfort anywhere.
We set our SD caps and swords on the table nearest the bar and asked for two pints. A minute later the canteen cowboy came in and demanded to know who owned the swords. A question we found baffling as we were the only two customers. Nevertheless we replied that they were ours. He demanded we picked them up and kept them in our hands at all times because he didn't want people picking them up as he might be the one who finished up with one stuck in him.
Of course we laughed. The barman educated us; telling us how he was the sixth barman in two years, the last one was apparently still in BMH Munster having the broken pint glass removed from his face - we picked the swords up!
So no, not just the Argylls although I did see them at work in Catterick during the nightly battles with the Black Watch (and any poor English bloke who happened to inadvertently walk in) at the Walkerville Hotel.
Then there was the running animosity in Tidworth between 2 Royal Irish and 3 Para which led to the Tidworth Riot - but that's another story.