| Subject: JLRRA(Pt2) - The continuing saga |
Author:
Dave P.
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Date Posted: 19:16:27 04/18/05 Mon
After making it through Recruits Troop, my next port of call was 39(Roberts) Bty and Milne Troop. Ironside Troop being the other troop in 39 Bty. Each of two troops in each Bty, the other Btys being 44 and 77 Btys, had its own shoulder flash worn on the epaulette (Milne was maroon) and there was a very fiercely contested competition each term for 'Best Troop'. The winning troop wore a white flash above their troop flash to denote their status. Together with this status came an awful lot of privileges, enough to make sure that every junior soldier gave 110% to get to be 'Best Troop'.
The rank structure was also duplicated, with every rank up to RSM, except S/Sgt. So each Bty had its J/BSM, J/Sgts and J/Bdrs and there was one J/RSM. Now the thing about giving boys these ranks was that, true to the old saying, "Power corrupts and absolute power, corrupts absolutely". Give young boys this 'power' over their contemporaries, as this did, and you have the recipe for bullying of unimaginable proportions. The thing to keep in mind though, is that, in those days it wasn't seen as bullying, more as character building. Each incident was looked on as a test to be passed and got through and as most of us wanted to be career soldiers, there was no way we were going to complain. We knew that this was just a temporary way of life to be endured on our way to becoming the future shakers and movers in 'Mans Service'. Yeh!........green I know!
So, what do I class as bullying? OK, a few examples. A boy is having trouble coming up to scratch. For one reason or another, he can't seem to bull his boots to the same standard as the rest of us or, no matter how much effort he puts into it, he always looks a bag of shit. You know, the Pvt Pile type who is forever letting the side down? OK. One evening he is summonsed to the drying room, under one pretext or another, and when he gets there, finds himself the defendant in a 'barrack room courts martial'. Now the outcome of the trial has already been decided but we go through the motions, presenting a prosecution and defence argument, just for the entertainment value. The sentence may be anything from 'running the gauntlet' to 'hanging'.
'Running the gauntlet'.......The culprit has to run the length of the main corridor (some 100 ft) which is lined with the rest of the troop, wielding wet towels and socks filled with objects of a none solid state i.e. other clothes (when filled tightly, this can leave some nasty bruises, believe me!). The number of runs depending on the severity of the 'crime'.
'Hanging'............. This was more psychological than physical, in that, no actual bodily harm was inflicted. The prisoner had his hands tied behind his back. He was then stood on a chair and a 'hang mans noose', thrown over one of the bars running the length of the drying room and placed placed around his neck. He would then be blindfolded and after the sentence was read out, the chair would be kicked from under him. What the poor bugger didn't see was that the rope was, in fact, two pieces joined together by cotton. As he fell he would feel the rope tighten around his neck but it would almost instantly snap the cotton join and he would fall on the floor, to the tumultuous and outrageous applause and laughter of the rest of us. Funny as hell but I have seen lads literally shit/piss themselves with the initial fright.
It wasn't all bad though and next time I'll try to show the more positive side of the boys life...................
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