Vol.

No. 1

THE

Royal Army Pay Corps

,Journal

SPRING, 1931

THE

R l) Y.-\L

AR~lY

PAY

CORPS

J OU R~AL

'THE

Royal Army Pay Corps Journal

All C lasses of LIfe, Fire, A ccident, M otor

and Livestock

INSUR ANC E
placed

with

leading

Companies or

Vol. 1. No.

Spring, 1931.

Lloy;ds

CONTENTS

by;

G. M. REYNELL & CO.

PAGE

bv Colonel J . C. Armstrong, c.n., C.M.G., Colonel Com mandant, Royal Army Pay Corps...
1
A Short History of the Royal Army Pay Corps
2
Obituary-Captain H . J ohnston e
3
R .A .P .C. Officers' Club
3
R.A .P.C. Old Com rades Associatio n
4
Malta-The I sland of Sun shine '"
6
" Submission! Then Confession! !" by Capta in A rthur Gawn
12
Cologne Cathedral
13
Corps News ancl Notes
.. . 15-33
Droleries de Corps '"
34
L etters to t he Ed itor
36
Our Crossword Puzzle
36n
FOREWORD,

L TD .
illajo r G. Ma itland -Reytl cll (lale R.A .S. C .)

CARLTON

HOUSE

Lower Regent Street, S.W. 1

,TeI , { <>drallls C. errar d 0925 .
phone

WM.McEwAN
a eo.

;\il reader are cordially i11\'ited to COll 11ll

I:S Oll any in ' ura nce matter.
~hey ,,:111 be
aclvised free of charo-e by iliajor "\Ialtland
Reynell, \\'ho ha an UJ1 iqlle exp.erience of
L ife a nd many other classes of 111 l1 ra nce.

LTD.

FOU NTAIN BREWERY .

EDINBURGH

Journal

Committee: Lt .:Col. H. G. Ri ley (Oha il'man). Lt.-Co l. O. R. Charlton, M.. C .,

Lt. -Col. A. B. G liff, Capt.. B. Sant., Capt.. C . J . H Treg lu wlI , M.C ., Capt. A . E. B a rlow , a nd
Ca]?t. A. L . Dunuil l.
I

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RAPCSportsVVear

y;

The New
! Colonial Stores

Blue Blazers .... .... .... .. 21 /. 30/ 35/Pocket Badges-S ilk (i /- ;

!fi

G old 9 / 6

142 ABB ASSI A STREET

I~

Phol/e : 12(j/ Zeilo/ll/ CA / NO

W hi te Fla nn el Tro users .... ..... ... 10 / II

All Woo l 18/ 6

!fi

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Te nn is Shir ts- T will .. .... ... 3/6 &

Art Silk 6 / 6

~.A

P roprietor ..flrmy C ontraclor

80, PALL MALL, LO DON, S.W. I.

(Telep h one Regent 2112).
Local Representatives have Leen aRPo inted in eac h ommand a nd R egim enta l 1'n.,V Offi ce, to whom a ll

&- General M t rchant

Corps Naws and Notes s hould be sent for transm iss iOIl t o the Ed it o rs . Other articles intc uJed for publication
may be sent eith er t o the LocHI Represe ntaLive o r direc t. LO the EdiLOIS. All com muni ca tion s sho uld be<11'
the R a nk and Nam e of th e se ll d el' ; th ese may, if d es il'ed , be marked " Not fol' puuli catioll .. in which case
a nom de pi It m e sho uld be giv en .
'

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TRE ROY .\L AlllltY PAY OOlU'S JO lffiN.\L w ill be p u bli s hed qu a rt e l'i y, v iz., Sprittg (in Ma rch) , S'II1II1IIC1' (in
June ) , A!!lumn (in Sept.emLer) , a nd C hri st171a s (ill D ece mb er ).
Th p. ,.l'i cp of the J o ul'Ilal if ordered
t h l'O ugh the Loca l R epresent:tti\'e is 1/ - a copy; if sent by post, sin g le cop y 112 ; per annum (foul' iss ues) 4/ 6
paya ble in adva.nce.

Catering to SUit all

~!fi

!:i

The Firm with the Quality

Reputation.
Always
..
at your Service.
..

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v. MARICH & CO.

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MALTA

!n

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TRY US.

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IVHO

SUPPORT US .

R ead ers are advised to keel! tb eir copies f OI' bind ing . Specia l a r rangements will be m n.d e
o f' each vo lu me as co m pl et ed . Pal'li cul llrs wi ll be n.nnoun ced in a fu t ure n um be r.

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FI R.'WS

THE ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL,

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THOSE

THE EDITORS,

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SUPPORT

All co mmuni cations to be a ddressed to:-

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Sp eci al Price s for quantiti e .

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C aterer for Officers and Sgts messes

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Art Si ll, 10 / 6

~ . A . P.C .

Joint Editors: Lt. -Col. A. B. Cliff a nd Capt. A. L. Dunni ll.

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By Appointment

CIGARETTE MANUFACTURERS
(Established 1838)

London Address:BILLlTER BUILDINGS,

E.C3.

MARY

COl'

the binding

BUGEJA

MALTA CLOTH MANUFACTURER

Sda Reale, No. 69, RABA TO, Malta

Malta Eomc Spun Mu le Cloths a nd a ll kinds
of Ma lta Cloth.
N.B.- Cll s t' o mers are kindly l'equ es ted to ca ll at the above
address for genuine good s . ha ving no connection with
any other fi rm o r Malta Cloth Dea ler.

THE

ROYAL

.\ R \IY

P.\Y

CORPS

JO URNAL

The Royal Army Pay Corps Journal

SALUTE

FATHER WILLIAM
lJy toJtin.g his hi.n..t Cl.,
'YOUNGER'~ YOU
I

:>

Then seize glass or tankard wilh foref inger

and thumb of Ihe right hand bri ng ing th e
vessel to the lips with a circular molion.
On
the word .. cease " place the empty vessel
smartly on the counter ready 10 be re charged .

Foreword
W .hen after a lifetime in the Army, a soldier finds himself relega ted
to civi l life, he is sometimes inclined to adopt the role of ((

LClUdat01' tem-

pm'is acti." The good old days seen th rough the mist of years take to themselves bright colours that seem to be missing from the drab monotones
of the present.

BREWED
Canleen.

M l lilary

and

But ,\/ e of the old generati on in the Royal Army Pay Corps are
fortunate, for there can be no doubt that the Corps of to-day in its
efficiency, its espl'h de COl'pS, and its virility, is a far finer organisation
than that which we knew thirty or forty years ago.

ED IN BURGH

IN

Me ss e uppl i ed

Slal i on, ' al

Home

a nd

a l all
Ab,oad

To-day we have an Old Comrades Association which is doing

WM. YOUNGER 6. CO. LTD ., Abbey and Holyrood Breweries, Edinburgh

SACCONE & SPEED, Ltd.

Th e leading W11te Me1'chan ts ill Malta

20 Sda Mezzodi, V ALLETTA

wi ll

be

send a copy of their price list

on applicat ion.
Whisky-U John H_a ig," U White Horse," U Black and
White," 7/ 6 per bottle.
Spanish Wine-u Valdepe as," 12/ - per dozen.
BY

pleased

to

APPOINTMENT TO

H .M. THE

MALTA

inv ~lu a ble work in cementing the friendship of all ranks, and in g iving

EXPORT

to those of us whose days on the active list are over, a precious link w ith
the old Corps. We have a Benevolent Fund w hich is ready to aid those
in distressed circumstances. We have an Officers' SpOrts Club which
brings officers together in friendly riva lry among themselves and with
other Corps. N one of these organisations e~isted thirty years ago.

BREWERY

CISK BE ERS are scoring e\'erywhere overwhelming success.

A warded certificate for PURl TY, QUALITY
and 1 LERIT by London Ins titute of Hygiene
in 1930 and 1931.

CISK

Lastly we have now a Magazine w hi ch, I am confident, wi ll meet

a long felt want by giv ing us interesting details of the doi ngs of our comrades, old and new, whether they be serving in ano ther station at home,
or in a .station overseas, or have left the service, and so it will bind
us yet more closely toge ther in unity and friendship. We owe a debt
of gratitude to those who have g iven it birth ; and it is our dury to do
our best, each one of us, to make the enterprise a success, in return for
. the ti me and thought and labour which is being g iven so ungrudging ly
to the production of our M agazine.

PILSNER
MUNCHENER
STANDARD ALE

KING.

THE WAY TO PROMOTION!

F. :B lacRley
CONFECT I ONf.R.

21

Sda Reale, VALLETTA, Malta

LIGHT LUNCHEONS AND AFTERNOON TEAS .

Chocol a tes and Candi es prepared in mod ~ rn premises.
Absolute purity guaran teed and excellence or quality
..
no~ to be
urpa ssed
..

. G. M. LUSHER
Stone House, St. Julian',s Friars, SHREWSBURY

Acq uire n thoroughly sound practica l know leilge or

Book-keeping. Cost Accounts, etc .. by devoting a few
hOUTS of yo ur lei sun~- iD you r own q u uters-to an expert posta l Course under the Mt" l n,polil8D College
Compl ete tuilion for 1s t Cl ass Certificate, L .A .A .,
' or C.W.A. exams. Moderate Fees payable by insta lme nts. Send br FREE Prospectu!'o TODAY. mentioning s ubject (s ) or exam. (s ) in wbicl' iuterested.

J. C.

MTROPOLlTAN COL1&

Colonel Commandant, Royal Army Pay Corps.

Dept. G 10 /9 , ST. ALBANS

RECfMENTAL T AfLOR l a the

SHROPSHIRE YEOl'vIANRY
ROYAL ARTILLERY

MlLIT ARY AND CIVIL TAILOR

SUPPORT THOSE FIRMS WHO SUPPORT US.
ii

and 4th Bn. K.S.L.I.

ARMSTRONG,

.-

THE

R OVAL

ARMY

P AV

CORP

J OU R NAL

A Short History of the

Royal Army Pay Corps

From March, 18gg, a n officer appointed
t u th e Army P ay Dep:ntmen t from a com
batant unit \Vas no longer requi red to resig n
his "combatant comm ission " but continued to serve Oil such comm ission in the
Army P ay Depart ment. A t th e same time
. ubstantive rank was accorded to officers
ill th e Department in lieu of honorary
rank .
In 1905, the Arm y Acco unts Dera rtment
\\'as establi shed, \I' bich was composed o f the
Army Pay D epa rtment and Corps, a nd
Civilia n Staff of th e War Office. In 1909,
th e R oyal Warrant of 28th April, Jg05
(Army O rder 86 of Ig05) \\'as cancell ed
and th e Army Pay Depa rtment \I'as rein stituted and mainta in ed as a separate
department. (The Army Pay Department
alld Corps continu ed their pay work duriJlg
1905 to 1909 )
In I g20 , the King approved the .2'ran t of
the titl e" Roya l" to the Army Pay Department a nd Corps and in th e same vea r it was
dE-cided that the officers o f the R-oya l Army
Pay Department should form part of the
Royal Army Pay Corps.
H.M . the King was g raciously pleased to
approve of the R oyal Army Pay Corps
adopting the motto "Fide et Fiducia " in
the regimenta l badge of th e Corps in view
of the" excellent services performed by th e
R.A.P.C. durin g the Great War" in addi tion to th e reward gran ted in respect to th e
title of the Corps.
There has been no actua l break in continuity since the Army Pay Depa rtment
was form ed in April, J878.
Precedence of the Royal Army Pay Corps
ia the Army.
Administrative Corps were as a rule composite formations, into one corps, of officers
who were members 'Of a department and
men who were alread y members of a corps,
but administered by th eir appropriate
departm ental officers. The order of precedence previously assig ned to the differellt
corps in the King's Reg-ula ti ons in the
ma jority of cases depend ed upon the dates
on which officers a nd men became one corps.
The present precedence table , however,
!lOW g ives weight to th e hi storical claims
of co rps existing as corps of men before the

In th e" History of the British Sta n ding

Arm y , r66o--1700," it is recordeo th nt for
the mpose of distributio n of pay and of
keeping accounts the Colonel of each rep'iment was allo\\'ed to employ a " Colonel's
Clerk" wh o was entirely civili an and was
removable at the Colonel's wil l.
The
function of a "Colonel's Clerk" corresponded to th ose of the modern Paymaster .
H e kept the regimenta l accounts . anel ill
turn accounted to the Colonel for sums
remitted by th e Pay master Genera l.
These outies were subsequent ly placed
in the hands of a R egimental Officer detailed by the Colonel of the Regim en t . We
cannot ascertain the date of the chall ,l!e.
This practice was found to be un sui table
and on 25th December, 17g8, Pa ymasters.
",,,;th special commissions as such, were
appointed to regiments. At the same tim e
District Paymasters were appointed to each
Recruiting District at home.
On 1st J anua ry , 1870 . th e Control Depa rt, ment, which contained a P ay S ub-Department. was formed. Their duties were :"To receive, disburse, and account for,
under directio n of the Administrative
Officers of th e Control Department in each
Command, money receivable and payable
on account of Army Services."
Th ey also performed Treasury Chest
Duties.
The Control Department existed until 1st
Apri l, 1878 .
The Army Pa y Departm ent was establi sh ed from 1st April. 1878, by R oya l Warra nt, dated 22nd October, 1877.
ThIS
Warrant establi shed a General Depa rtment
fo r Army Pay Services into whi ch the existin g Regimental P aymasters gazetted to regiments or corps a nd officers of the P ay SubDepartment of the Control Department were
to 1 e absorbeci . Un der this Warrant a n
o fficer on appointment to the Arm y P ay
Department from a combatant unit was
required to resi g-n his "combatant com mission" a nd be " commissionec1 as a P aymaster" ,"vith " honorary rank."
In 1890 , the Army Pay Department was
re-organized and Station P aymasters were
instituted. In 1893, the Army P ay Corps
(clerks for pay services) was formed.
2

THE

R OVAL

ARMY

PAY

formal identification with their officers and

in view of this the date when such ~orns were fo rmed, even though a t that date their
officers were not part of the corps, has been
taken as the governing factor .in arriving
at the order of precedence of the corps.
I ncidenta lly , it is interesting to note that
there is in effec t no such expression as
"Departmental Corps," the correct designation being "Administrative Corps."
From 1873 , all corps o f a departmental
characte~ w~re show n in the precedence
tabl es IJ1 the King 's Regulati ons and
Queen's Reg ulations under the general
l1 eading "Departm en tal Corps" and this
practice continu ed d0'nl to.' the Kin g ' s
Reg ulati ons o f Ig12 (reprint J914). The
ne~t regula ti ons were those of I g23 , before
\\'hlch date all departments had amalgamated n'ith th eir corresponding corps,
a nd the expression" Departmental Corps"
,~ 'as consequentl y omitted from the regu latIOns.

CORPS

J OURNAL

OBITUARY.
Captain H. Johnstone.
We much reg ret to announce th e death
?f Captain H . Johnstone, which took place
ill the Queen A lexandra M ilitary
H ospital, Mi llbank , o n February 12th .
Enlis ting in th e Army in 18g7, Captain
John stone t wo years later, at the age of
2 I , saw ~ervice in th e South African War.
Subsequently he \\'as statio ned abroad
ill C hina and Egypt.
He was commissioned as Li eutenant and Assistant Pay master ill I g18, and p romoted Captain in
1926 . He leaves a widow, a son and two
daug hters . The funeral took place with
full
military
hon ours at Greenwich
Celll etery on February 17th.
Besides a
large number of priva te mourners, the
detac hm ent of the R oyal Army Pay Corps,
W ool\\'ich. was present with officers
from Barnet a nd Deptford, and the Royal
Art i l1 ery Band, under the direction of
Cal,tain E. C. Stretto!l . M .V.O.

Royal A r~y Pay Corps Officer's Club

Corps Sports Week , 193 1
Tu es., J 11l1e 30 th.
Golf. Match v . R oyal Army Ordnance COI]JS at vVorplesdon.
Wed., Jul y 1st.
Lawn Tennis, at R oehampton .
'
Thurs ., Jul y 2nd .
Golf. Summer Meeting, at Barn ehurst.
Friday, July 3rcl.
Annual Dinner, at Trocadero Restaurant.
Sat.,
July 4th.
Cricket v. 14th/ 20th Hussars, a t H oun slow.
Mon., Jul y 6th .
} Crick et v. Royal Army O rdnance Corps,
Tues., July 7th.
at United Services Ground Portsmouth .
.
Wed., July 8th.
} CfIcl,et v . Army Ed ucationa l Corps,
Thurs., Jul y gth. .
at North Middlesex C.C. Groun d, H orusey, N.
Golf Section. nesults 1930
Toiler Cup .-Presen ted by Briga dier H.
13 . T oller, C.~1.G.
Best net score a t
Ann_ual Slimmer meeting. Cap tain O . D.
Carratt, S8 - I8= 70 (bogey 74).
Uiley CleelL-P resented by Lt.-Col. H .
G. Ri ley. Best gross score at Ann llal
SUl11mer Meeting. Cdpta in R. C. Stan ham ,
8 - (bogey 74).
Colonel 's Cup.-Presented by Colonel C.
Campbell Toc1d. C.;\ I. C. Best score nga ill st
bogey. dl1rin g Oc tober (a t hCllle or abroa d) .
Cnpt:lJII H. C. B. :\Iillillg, 3 I1p .
.Th ere \\'as a ti e ill thi s evellt, t\I' O canIs
Captaill
Of. .three li p beillg received .
i-IJlIIIl g- (York), havin g- a better meda l
score th an CajJl:lill Ead ie (Egypt ) . \\'ins
1.1I1c1er Rule i'.
3

Red Cross Trophy .-Best bogey score

under ha ndicap. Lt. -Col. I. P. Brickman.
Runner up , Lt. -Col. H. George-Andrews.
Bogey Foursomes.-Lt.-Col. I. P. Brickman a nd Major C. H olmes . Runn ers up:
Capt. R. G. S tall ham a nd Capt. P. Haynes.
Lawn Tennis Section. Results 1930.
Musson Cup (Singles) . -Presen ted by
Brigadier A. I. 'lusson. W on by Capt .
F . T. Bain es, who bea t Capt. R. G.
Stanh a m 6-8, 6- 4, 7-5.
Mackenzie CliPS (Doubles) .--Presented
by Col. \ 7,,1. S. Mackenzie, O .B .E . Won
uy Capt. R. G. Stanham a nd Capt. H . G.
B. Milling.
Veteran s' Doubles .- WolI bv Col. R . A.
B VOllng, n. B.E. , and Col. -D. G. N. 1.
Wimberley.

THE

ROYAL

ARMY

PAY

CORPS

J OURNAL

Royal Army Pay Corps

Old Comrades Association.

ence enrolled 822 members (61 life members and 761 annual subscribers) ; to-day,
at the close of the third yea r, there are
1,055 members (97 life members and 95 8
annual subscribers).
All who have served in the Army Pay
Depa rtment, Army Pay Corps or Royal
Army Pay Corps are elig ible for membership and are in vited to join. The subscription is very small and I\"ithin the reach of
everyon'e, being onry 5S. for the first year
of m embership and 2S . 6d. each yea r aft erwards; the yea r commences 1st April. Those
who desire to become life members can do
so on pay ment of t wo g uineas.
One of the reasons frequently given for
llOt joining the Association is the apparent
lack ' of benefit, the usual statements being
"There is no use in joining, I can't get
anything out of it," or "Why should I
join, I don't want 8,.nything out of it? "
The fo und ers of the Association had neither
of these thoughts in their minds, the onl y
thin g th at mattered to them \I'as to ha ve a
united corps of all past a nd p resent members, alixious a nd willing to stick together,
to clo all in th eir power to advance the
interests of the Corps in general a nd of its
individual members in particular.
The Committee of Management m eets
monthly, when all correspondence except
purel y ro utine matters is submitted b y
the Honorary Secretary and dealt with.
Oth er items, under consideration, not
finall y disposed o f or the subject of further
consideration and correspondence a re also
dea lt with and matters th a t ca nno t be dealt
with by the Committee, are prepared for
presentation to the General Committee .

The third Annual General Meeting of the

R.A .P.C.O.C.A. will take place at The
Corner House, Coventry Street, W . I, on
24th April, 1931, at 3.30 p.m. All members
are cordially invited to be present. The
chair will be taken by the Colonel Commandant .
The third Annual Dinn er will be held th e
same evening at 7.30 p .m . The Colonel
Commandant will hold a recep tion at
7 p.m.
Tickets (7S. 6d . each) for th e
Dinn er can be obtained from :
Staff-Serg eant-Maj or A. t. Clark , M.B.E.,
Co mm and Pay Office, 80 , P all 'fall, S . W. I.
Applications for membership shc uld be
made to the Honorary Secretary:
Staff-Sergea nt-Majo r E. J . W. Brown~.
Th e Barracks, Barnet, Herts.
The Old Comrades Association was
inaug urated at a Re- Union Dinner of the
Royal Army Pay Corps, h eld at The
Corner House , Coventry S treet, W.1, on
20th April , 1928.
Th e Army Pay Corps, as such, was
formed on 1st April, 1893, and it was
composed of the P ay master Se r gea nt ~.
Military Staff Clerks a nd Probationary Staff
Clerks of the variolls Corps and Reg iments
of th e Army who naturally retained their
old regimental associations, and also felt
that they were o nly lent from their old
corps, I\'ith the result th at it took exactly
thirty-five yea rs to get the Old Comrades
Association into bein g.
Th at sllch an Association was necessary
had long been felt by th e older members
of the Corps, who kne w by experience,
that after a man h ad left th e service , h e
was very seldom seen or heard o f, and in
many cases took no furth er interest in his
old corps. The time being ripe, the
Colonel Commandant was approached and
with his assistance the scheme was launched
at the Re-Union Dinner.
A committee having been fo rmed a nd
rules dralvn up, the Association started to
fl1nctio n, and in the first year of its exist-

The General Committee hold their meetin gs 011 the first W ed nesdays in Janu ary ,
April, Jul y a nd October, \"hen all matters
ot CTeneral interest and th e various items
ref~rn:d from the Management Committee
are dealt with. Every s uI ject is dealt
\\'ith exhaustively and th e decisions
arrived at a re the 'result of g rave delibera.
tion and ripe experience.
4

THE

R OYAL

ARMY

PAY

Since our formation, death has claimed

IS of our members ~rnd we have been able
to assist the widows in those cases left with
little mea ns, until they have commenced
to draw th eir pension.

J OURNAL
COMMITT EE NOTES.

At tJle Com mittee of Ma nagement meeting held

in Janu ary tht! H onora ry Secretary reported that
donations a mou ntin g to 25 h ad been received from
the Salisbury llranch-15 from th e H ead ql1 ~r t e rs'
Fund as a result of the Ga rri son Tattoo , and 10
profits from a dance held at The Gui ldh all. Sn li sbury. T he Comm ittee desire to pla ce on record
their g reat appreciat ion o f the efforts mad e by t he
Salisbl1l'y llranch to assist the fund s. Two appli ca tions for ass ista nce we re cons id ered, a nd it was
decided to refer both cases to t he General Committee. Th e Honora ry Secretary reported the death
of S.Q.M.-Sgt. M. W. Plowman , an d sta ted that he
had att ended t he funera l, together with S.Q.M. Sgt.
Rooke r, o n beh a lf of the O. C. A., a nd t hat in accord.
ance wit h th e wis hes of t he Committee he ha.d forwnrded a, wreat h a nd se nt a letter of co ndolence
t o the widow.

V.,le have also been able to help some of

Oll r members in obtaining employment;
this is a serious problem and the g reatest
difficulty is experienced in g etting to know
in tim e when suitable jobs become vacant.
It is hoped th a t the Magazine will be a
grea t aid in this respect. We were represented before the Commission on the 'w orkin g of the Civil Service by Brigadier H. B .
T oil er , C.B., C.M.G., who pressed the
claims of th e Pay Corps to p riority in Pay
Office vaca ncies.
O ur President also
strongly advoca ted th ose claims to the
Army Council in reply to a letter from them
on the sllbjec t of unem ployment amongst
ex-R eg-ulars . As a furth er sideli ght on our
activities th e claims of pre-\l'a r pensi oners
to have their pe nsi on re-assessed \I'as
taken up v,:ith the Prim e :Mini . ter and the
Secreta ry of Sta te for War; although we
h ave not been successful , we have man aged
to have the case considered, and we ha ve
not yet fini shed with the matter.

At th e Februa ry meeting it wa s dec ided to con

t in ue the subscripti on to th e " British Leg ion
J ournal. " The design for the Roll of H onour submitted uy the H onora ry Secretary was approved,
and it was hoped to have it a ll ready for the
Annua l Meet ing ane! the Dinn el. Two other app li cations for assistance were dea lt with; in one it was
decid ed to forwa rd such hel p as was necessa ry to
enable th e app li ca nt to carry on ; in the other (an
old case where assistance was being given) it was
repo rted that a pension was nuw in payment, a nd
nu furtl, er help wo u ld be reqnired. COrJ'espond ence
regarding app li cat ions fo,' emp loyment was consid ered, and the action tak en by the Honorary
Secreta l'y app roved. '" a "ioll s oth er matters of minor
importance were dea lt with.

The foregoing o nlv re presen ts a small

portion of the va riOllS items dealt \\"ith,
but it is sl1ffi cient to sholl" th at we are
going steadil y fonl'a rd a nd achi eving the
objects for \yhich th e Association \I'as
formed. Finan cially we are gettin g 011 a
sound basis, and ha ve in vested a sum of
600 to aid us in our further endeavo_u rs.
\ Ve h ope to add to our in vestments ' in the
near futnre.

The Ge neral Committee met at 80 . P a ll Mall , on

th e 7th J a nuary , 1931, at 4 p.m. Th e following
were present :-S.S.-Major A. (J Clark, M.ll.E.,
Chairman ; Mess rs. R. C. B. Sharp, .l .P .. J . Thu r.
good , S .S.-Major P. Plo\\"man , S.Q.M.S. C. V_
Hooker, ergeants A. C_ Tnuble and T. F. Pond,
togethe r with Ca pta in L. E. Ja mcs , M.C. , H onorary
Treas urer, and S.S.-Major E. J. W. Browne,
H onorary Secretary. Jt was dec id ed to suumit fOI'
a pprova l of the Annu;d Meeting a new rule regarding Honorary Members, a lso a n amendment to Ru le
7 (v i) ra isin g from 2 to 5 the amount t he
Commit.tee of :1Ihlnagement can disburse in urgent
and necess itous cases. It was agreed that t he
Annua l Report shou ld be printed , nt a cost not.
exceeding 5. Co .... es pond ence on the subject of
the J ournal ,,"<IS S11bmitted . and it \V<lS decid ed to
..endel every a s istance. The Committee approved
that the A nlllw I Diuner he held :It Th e Cornel'
H Oll se, Cove ntry Street. W.1 , and decid ed that t he
extra expe nse of Rowers be done (lway with.
Tributes were paid to the memclIies of three Old
Comrades who had passed away sin ce t he last.
m eeting-Lt.Col. R. B. Cartwright , O.ll.E .,
Se rgeant F. HlIwes, and S.Q.:1I I. -Sergt. M. W.
Plowman. App li ca tions for assi lance referred from
th e 1la nagemenl Co mmittee we re f11l1y co nsidered,
and together wi t h other items of minor importance,
dealt with.

In conclusion I must acid that the great

success, so far a ttained, has been due to the
wllOle-ll(!a rtecl co-opera ti on of everyone
connected ""ith th e Association: President
Vice-Presidents, Committees a nd Offic~
Representatives have g iven th ei r time and
services with out stint. If this sp lendid spirit
of co-operation is maintained and I feel
it will, I have no dou! t we 'shall go on
gathering strength doing good and above
all adding lu stre to th e splendid Corps to
whi c h we are all so proud to belong.

E. J. W.

CORPS

BROWNE,

}-/ o l/ o rary S ecTetary .

THE

--'-MALTA.
THE

ISLAND

OF

SUNSHINE,

Th e Gralld Harbol~r, look ing towards the entratlCe, Oil tI~e left are " the hi!Jh
bast.iolls alld crowning palaces of Valetta." The arches seen rH th.e top left co rner
ar!! -in the Uppe r Barracca Gardel1s; immediately below, at the ,vater's edge,
is tlte Custom H ouse.

ro zi - the lo cal horse-vehicle - or hy

ascending, from a point just across the
road from the Custom House , to th e Upper
Barracca in a terrifyin g lift.
Malta is an island fifty-eight miles south
or Sicily, and some t\\'o hundre d miles east
bv so uth-east of Tunis on th e coast of
Africa. It is a surprise to many to find
th a t Malta is nearer to th e Equator than
Tuni s , but such is th e case, as may be seen
bv looki ng at a map. From the extreme
point on the north-\l'est of th e island to
the opposite point on the south-east is
abo ut eighteen miles, and at its \Iiclest
point, measured from east to west, it is
about twelve miles ac ross. The tota l a rea of
Malta IS 9It sq uare miles, abo ut t\\'o-thircls
that of the Isle of Wight. The adjoining
isla nd of Gozo, \\'hich is und er th e :r~daltese
Governmen't, has a n area of 24t square
miles.
The Maltese language , supposed to be
derived from Arabic, is the only la nguage
spoken in the country dis tri ct : in the
towns, however, m ost of the l\Ialtese und erstand English, and th e ed uca ted classes
speak English and Italian.
The olel capital, Citta Vecchia (or
Notabile) is abo ut eig ht miles from Valetta,
th e present cajJital; .the latter stands on a
I eninsula, along the ridge of whi c h runs
th e principal thoroughfare of the CltyStrada R ea le-\\'ith steep streets running
clown on the one sicle to the G rand Harbom
and on the oth er to the Iarsal11uscetto
H arbo ur .
Malta is, o f course, tho:: neadq uarters of
the Mediterranean Fleet, a nd is more importa nt as a naval than as a milita ry sta ti on.
The l\Iilitary Head quarters is in Va letta, at
the Auberge cle Castille, a nd th e Arm y Pay
Office is a building al1110 t adjoin i ng . The
R.A. are stationed at Ti g ne , across t he

"Al1d now at sunrise an island is in

sight, flat, bald, blazing yellow i n th~
morning sun." Thus did Henry Killgsley's hem, Raven shoe, see Malta when he
passed it on his way to the Crimea, and
it must be admitted that the first view of
Ma lta, as seen from the sea, is not prepossessing.
But what a difference \I'hen the ship h as
passed between the two break\\ a ters and
entered the Grand Harbour, "a vast and
deep lagoo n of cerulean water, \\'ith the
high bastions and crowning palaces of
Valetta to the right , and to the left the
picturesque confusion of the three citi es .
Seuglea Cospicua , and Vittoriosa." Th e
writer*: \\'ho thus describes his first
impression, goes o n to say-" There exists
ill all the world nothing more imposin g of
its kind than this splendid, natural h a rbourage, \\'ith its bastioned sides rising t o
fair cities, its stern magnificence of
motionless ships of war, its gaiety of
-changing colour and m yriad a11imation.
The tints of Valetta on that cloudless September morning were as though ocean itself
bad spurned an ideal city from the fi yin g
rainbows of its foam; the \\'ho le mass of it
'Seemed to have arisen, flawless . already in
beauty, like Cytherea herself from the very
scul of the sea."
Before the ship has dropped its anchor
it \\'ill be surrounded by gail y painted
dgha'isas, some occupied by boys \I'h o
clamour for coins to be thro\\,1l into th e
water that they may dive for them, some
by sellers of lace or fruit, while others are
\I'aiting to convey passengers to the sh ore .
Whether one reaches the shore by dghaisa
or as an official passenger by the War
Department launch, the landin g is at the
Custom House , fr om which the main part
of Valetta is reached either bv car or caT

.. " Malta an d Me."

By Eric Shepel'ci,

ROYAL

ARMY

P AY

Marsamnscetto Harbour , There are barracks for one infantry battalion at Floriana
just outside Valetta, one each at St.
George's and St. Anelrew's, just beyond St.
JuFan's, and one at 1111 tarfa, adjoining the
old capital, Citta Vecchia, eight miles in land from Valetta. At Imtarfa also, is the
Military Hospital. The Royal Air Force
are stationed at Calafrana and Hal Far,
south of Valetta.
Climate
The climate is health y , ancl at certain
times of the year delig htful. April, May and
June, October and November, are perhaps

CORPS

JOURNAL

There are plenty of mosquitoes, though,

fortunately, no malaria. Worse than the
mosquito is the sand-fly, the bite of which
brings sandfly fever, which is very unpleasant for a few days but leaves no permanent effect. Most people sleep under a
sandfly net during the summer months,
thoug h the .vriter found a good spraying
of the bedroom with "Flit" the last
thing at night rendered a net unnecessary.
Clothing.
During the \-"inter months the same
clothing-both uniform and plain clothes
- is required as in England , ,,ith a few

,.....

6~

\, ~ ~
5

oFi.. L La..

the ideal months . The summer is very hot,

the mean temperature being about 76 and
rising at times to 90 in the shade, and, except for a rare thunderstorm, there is no rain
between April and October. In \I'inter the
mean temperature is about 55
From
J anuary to :March there are days of heavy
rain and cold \\rinds, but even during this
period the majority of the days are fine
with plenty of sunshine . The worst trial
i3 the sirocco, a warm, damp-laden wind
from the south, which makes everything
moist and sticky and has a peculiarly enervating effect.
0

.,: ,r f

fsla..nd

'cca.Lc.II",

4
!

.". S "".,u

exceptions. For instance, it is not necessary to bring extra heavy underclothing,

thoug h some medium woollen underclothin g is required during the coldest
\\'ea ther; also, "formal" morning dress.
(top-hat and tail-coat) is never required. A
really good tropical waterproof (not rubber)
is necessary. In the summer- May to October-drill uniform with sun helmets and
light linen plain clothes are worn during
the day time, and officers wear white linen
mess jacket and waistcoat when mess
dress is worn. Bring plenty of light cellular underclothing for the summer months.

THE
THE

ROYAL

ARMY

PAY

CORPS

families live at Sliema, where there is a

school for young children, a nd where
during the summer months such children
spend most of their time in bathing
costume a nd flourish exceedingly provided
care is taken regarding their food. The
rent of a furnished flat is from about 9
a month upwards , For comfort in the
winter evenings it is advisable, if possible,
to secure one with a fire-place in the
sitting room, but only a smaJl number can
boast of this . Electric ligh t is fitted
everywhere. All cooking is done bv gas,
which is very expensive. Linen, g lass, and
cutlery should be brought fr011l home .
"Malta cloth," made in the isla nd, an
exceJlent material for curtain . , loose
covers, tablecloths and various similar I urposes, may be obtained from i\Iary Bugeja
in Rabato,
Landlords vary-the writer was fortunate in having one who not on ly provided
everything asked for but carried 'O ut all
suggestiQns made-b ut as a g eneral rule it
is advisable to see that everythin g required
is in the flat a nd all decorati.ons and alterations are done, before entering into occupation; it may be very difficult to get a nything done afterwards.
Servants are not difficult to obtain , Very
few of them will sleep In the house, but
as they seem to be p repared to come a t
a ny hour of the morning and stay to a ny
hour of the night, this does not matter
very much. Some of them are ve ry good .
For a cook, who will, if required, also
do the marketing and most of the work
of the house, the wages are ahout 3 a
month for a woman or s a month for
a man, in addition to fo'Od.

;as it will be found necessary to change

several times a day. Officers can obtain
drill uniform and linen suits much more
'Cheaply locally than in England. Other
ranks are, of course, issued with summer
uniform.
Boots and shoes, also, are
cheaper locally , a really good pair, made
to- nleasure, costing about 32S.
(Gatt
~ nd Camilleri Strada FOt'ni). With these
exceptions it' is advisable to bring \\'ith
'One all clothing required as baggage for
a passenger's personal use is exempt from
the customs duty of 10 per cent. charged
'On things which one may have sent out
later from England. The greatest care
must be taken to preserve clothing from
the attacks of moth and silver-fish; even
that in air-tight cases should be regularly
shaken and brushed and lightly sprayed
with "Flit" or some similar preparation.
As regards ladies' dress, a flu' coa.t,
though not essential, is m ost welcome 111
the winter months, but especial care must
be taken in the summer to keep out moth
and silver-fish. A thick tweed coat is very
necessary, as is also a tailor-made costllme.
A Burberry is essential. A good sllpply of
'evening dresses is ~clvis" hIe . th ough the
usual French georgette and crepe-de-Chine
rot in a very short time, bl1t special wearing
silks for this climat e can be bOllght locally.
Ladies are advised to bring out several
washing frocks (not crepe-de-Chine) as it
is difficult to get readymade dresses on the
island, and the duty on those imported
(except when brought in as personal luggage) is quite a considerable item. The
silk obtainable from Indian shops in Valetta
is good and cheap, and local dressmakers
can make up plain frocks and also copy
simple models.

'Quarters.

Food.

There are a number of officer's quarters.

but usually not more than one is allotted
to the R .A.P.C. All other ranks are provided with quarters.
On first arrival
while looking for quarters an officer will
probably go to an hotel (Royal Hotel,
Strada Mercanti, inclusive terms 12S. per
-day, recommended). Unfurnished houses
or fiats are difficult to obtain, but there
are plenty of furnished houses and flats in
Valetta, and also at Sliema, which is
only half-a-mile by ferry, but over three
miles by road, from Valetta. Most officers'

The food, it must be admitted, is on the

whole not good, nor is it cheap. Chickens
at 2S, 6d . each may appear to he cheap,
but when you see the size of the
chicken-- ! Beef is imported alive from
Tunis, mutton is rarely seen. Fresh co,,'s'
milk is practically unobtain able , and
goats' milk, consumed in large quantities
by the lHaltese, is of course never touched
by the English, in fact its consumption is
forbidden in Garrison Standing Orders
owing to the risk of Mediterranean fever.
Tinned milk is therefore universally used .

ROYAL

ARMY

PAY

~ORPS

JOURNAL

JOURKAL
Vegetables are plentiful and cheap, but
saLads should always be washed in a weak
solution of permanganate of potash. The
saJ;I1e rule applies to fruit, except that
which is peeled. The fruit is really good
-Malta oranges are of course famous, and
,delicious melons can be obtained in the
summer at quite a nominal price. An ice.chest is a necessity; when taking a
furnished house or flat, see that the landlord has provided one. The water is good,
though it is the wliversal custom to boil
it before drinking (all water is charged
for by meter).
As regards alcoholic
-drinks, any of the standard brands of
"'hisky cost 7S. 6d. a bottle; a good Spanish
wine-"Valdepenas"-may be obtained at
,/

to 'liave a banking account in London for

any payments which may have to be made
at home, as a comparativeIy heavy charge
is made for cashing a cheque on Malta in
England.
No charge is incurred, however (beyond the cheque stamp) when
cashing an English cheque in Malta, but
it is uneconomical to make payments in
the island by means of English cheques as
each such cheque costs 3d. (2d. for the
English and Id. for the Maltese stamp),
It is convenient to open an account at a
local bank (Barclay's have a branch in
Valetta) which will be satisfied with a
remarkably small balance and make no
charge for keeping the account, and the
stamp on the local cheque is only Id.

- - ------~ -- -'""

- .-_.----_.

Valetta-Piazza R egina. On the left, Altberge de Castile. On the right, Barracca Garrisot~ Church
Dlld gateway to Upper Barracca Gardens. The builditlg adjoit~illg the gateway is the Army Pay
Office.

IS . .a bottle; a light beer, brewed in

the island, cosJs about 2S. gd, a dozen;
-and all other wines and spirits are cheaper
than at home.
(A price-list may be
obtained from Saccone and Speed, 21
Strada Mezzodi). Aerated waters are a1so
very cheap. English cigarettes are about
the same price as at home, but pipe
tobacco is cheaper, and very good Turkish
'cigarettes can be obtained at a much lower
price than at home . (V . Marich and Co.,
Palace Square, Valetta.) There is an excellent English bakers and confectioners
(Blackley's) almost opposite the Union
Club in Valetta. The N.A.A.F .I. Retail
Store is in St. James' Cavalier, op'p osite the
Allberge de Castile.

There is no colonial allowance, and other

allowances are lower than at home and
much lower than at any other foreign
station. "Of course, before the war you
C'Ould live in Malta for almost nothing at
all. Unfortunately the War Office heard
about this, and it has never allowed itself
to find out how things have gone up, consequently Army allowances in Malta are
incredibly low."*
~ecreation.

For officers there is the Malta Union

Club in Vaietta, which has all the usual
amenities of a club and separate rooms for
ladies. The Club has a branch at Sliema,
where dinner-dances are held twice weekly,

Finance.
British money is used.

It is advisable

*" Malta. and Cyprus," by

.9

Glad~'s

Peto.

THE

ROYAL

ARMY

PAY

CORPS

IOURNAL
THE

'Of 4S. without entrance fee. Ladies of the

families 'Of members, 2S. quarterly; or of
monthly members, 2S. monthly.
The Malta Amateur Dramatic Club produces several plays and usually a "Gilbert
and Sulli van" opera during the winter
months.
English newspapers arrive in Malta four
days after publication. There is a lQcal
daily newspaper, the Malta Ch'Tonic/ e,
which has telegrams from London giving
the principal news from home.
The
Malta Directory (6d.) is a very useful publication for the new arrival. It c'Ontains
a list of all Civil, Naval, Military and Air
Force officiafs, and a directory of their
addresses as well as those of the principal
local residents. It also contains tables of
the legal fares for dgha,isas and carrozin ,
Another useful book is " Walks in M a /.ta "
(2S.), by A. Weston, which is 'Obtainable
at Critien's (opposite the Union Club in
Valetta) . This book describes what there
is to see in Malta, and how to see it, and
also gives directions fQr various c'Ountry
walks some of which are delightful in the
early spring when the wieds-streams
which are quite dry in summer-are full of
water. An excellent road map, prepared
by the R .E., may be 'Obtained from the
Government Printing Office. A motor car
is extremely useful, in fact invaluable, but
there is an ad 'Valorem import duty of 15
per cent. on the value fixed by the
Customs authorities. 'An officer bringing
his 'Own car can, however, by obtaining a
banker's guarantee, defer payment of this
-anyway fQr two years-unless and until
the car is sold in the island. As wear and
tear is exceptionally heavy it is nQt an
eC()nomic proposition to bring out a new
car-a really good seC()nd-hand car is
better. Nor is it advisable to buy a secQndhand car on the island, as the prices 'Of
these are very high compared with the
values at home. There is a standard tax
of 4 4S. a y ear (plus an extra 5 per cent.
a year for the privi leg e of entering Valetta)
on all cars irrespective of horse-pO\;ver .
Car hire is cheap, some garages cbargin g
as little as 40. a mile fQr a four-seater car.
with driver.
There is a summer camp at Ghain
Tuffieha , 'Open to all ranks, where 'One can
stay 'On repayment. With a car an officer
can stay thete with his famil y and still

and the terrace of which, overlooking the

sea is a favourite rendezvQus for tea and
cocktails. Entrance fee, 6; quarterly
subscriptiQn, 1 Ss.
Wives, daughters,
mothers and sisters 'Of members, and members of the Naval and Military Nursing
Services may use the ladies' rooms 'On payment 'Of lOS . per quarter.
The Malta Sports Club has grou\lds at
the ~ Marsa (about two miles from Valetta)
for lawn tennis (concrete CQurts), golf
(only possible in the winter), polo, cricket,
rugby and associatiQn football and hockey.
At the Marsa, also, is the Pavilion containing dressing rooms and baths, where
refreshments can be obtained, which is
surrQunded by a delightful garden. There
are badminton and racquets courts in
Valetta, a men's bathing club at Tigne,
and the lawn tennis courts at the Sliema
bra.n ch of the UniQn Club also belong to
the Sports Club. Entrance fee. 1 (lOS.
belQw the rank of Captain) ; subscription,
7S. 6d. mQnthly or 1 quarterly. Wives,
daughters, mQthers or sisters of members,
Ss. mQnthly or 12S. 6d. quarterly. The
Ladies' Bathing Club, which adjoins the
Men's Club at Tigne, is a separate organisation.
The Malta Racing Club holds meetings
at the Marsa on twelve afternQons each
year. Annual subscription (1 10S.) includes admission to the enclQsure on each
day of racing. Officers of the R.A.P.C.
have, in the past, 'Owned, trained and ridden
many winners in these races.
The Royal Malta Yacht Club caters for
sailing and mQtor-boat enthusiasts, as the '
club comprises both sailing and motor-boat
sectiQns. The annual subscription for full
members is 1 IS. The club premises are
situated at the Hay Wharf, Marsamuscetto .
. Sma1f yachts may be hired ' from local
boat-builders at about 10S. a day, but the
enthusiast unversed in local conditions must
be wary 'Of the rapid way in which the wind
dies away at sunset.
The Malta Garrison Library is in P alace
Square , Valetta . There are reading rooms
where English newspapers and magazines
may be seen.
New books are obtained
from the Times Book Club. Three books
(anyone of which may be new) may be
taken out at a time. Entrance fee, 1;
quarterly subscriptiQn, 10S. Officers may,
at their option, pay a m'Onthly subscription
IO

ROYAL

ARlIfY PAY

attend his office every day in Valetta. A

very p leasant holiday can also sometimes
be spent on one of H.M.'s ships when the
Fleet goes for its summer cruise, and it
is occasionally possible to get a n indulgence
passage 'On a troopship to EgYI t and back.
As regards home leave, it is extremely
difficult to get a passage by the " all sea"
route. P. and O. mail steamers bound for
England call 'On alternate W ednesdavs
(9 days to LondQn, or 3 days by travellil~ g
overland from Marseilles) , but very few
berths are available for passenge rs fr om
Malta. P. and O. "one class" boats,
and those 'Of the Aberdeen and C'Ommonwealth line also call. The usual route is
by boat tQ Syracuse, and thence by train
tu BQulogne (3 days, Malta to London ).
Another route , thQugh it involves several
changes, is by boat t'o Tunis thence to
Marseilles, and thence overla n ~1 (Malta to .
London, 4 to 5 days). Yet a nother route
is by the Adria Line (every Tu esday),
visi~ ing Messina, Palermo and Naples en
rc:ute t'O Gelloa and th ence by train (an-ivin~ in LondQn on the fo llowing Monday) ;
th IS route can be recommended. An alternative rQute by the Ac1ria Line is (every
Thursday) tQ Venice and thence by train .
One of the great disadvantages of Malta is
that the tQur 'Of duty there, five yea rs, is at
least two years too J.ong, a nd it is essential
to get home to England at least once during
this period, and if possible every year.
There is much of interest to be seen in
Malta. St. Jobn's Cathedral in Valetta
is plain without, but richl y deC()rated
within from its floor 'Of mag nificent inlaid
slabs commemorating many illustrious
members of tbe Order of St. John of Jenlsalem tQ the gorgeous paintings on its
ceiling; it contains some w'Onderfu l tapestries which are 'Only on view at certain
times of the year. The Palace of the

CORPS

10UR~AL

Grand Masters, the several Auberges

which hQnsed the Knights of St. J ohn,
St. Paul's Cathedral at Citta Veccbia the
island in St. Paul's Bay where St. 'Paul
was wrecked in A.D. 58 (Acts xxvii.,
v4r), Musta Church, with its tremendous
dome, the megalithic ruins of prehistoric
temples, Haigar Kim and Mnaidra near
Krendi-but space will not permit e~en an
enumeration of the many places 'Of interest.
".Many. Service men in Malta know nQthing
ot the Island but the way from the UniQn
Club to the Marsa."
This, like many
other statements in "IVlalla a,nd Me," is
somewhat exaggerated, but it has some
foundation in fact. There is so much to
see, and yet the seeing sQmetimes gets
postponed until it is too late.
And when 'One's tour 'Of service is over
'One may be glad to leave but one's mind
will be full of happy ~emories-of the
view from the Upper Barracca where the
mig hty ships of the mig htiest Navy in the
world are ly ing far below in the blue waters
of the Grand Harbour \\'hile the little
steam ferries and dghaisas hurry tQ and
fro; of Citta Vecchia seen frQm the bastions
of Valetta framed aga in st the marvellous
colQurs of a Malta sunset of a street in
old Notabile on a summer 'afternQon \\'hen
it seems like a city of the dead but the
ancient walls give shade from tl;e fierceness of the sun; of wonderful Eastern
gardens hidden- b-ehind high stone \\'a lls
\\-ith orange groves and olive trees ano
trellises 'Of vine; of the bathing at Tigne
or at Ghain Tuffieha; of the hour befQre
dinner on the terrace at the Sliema Club'
of midnig ht picnics ano of eggs and baco~
at sunrise at Salina Ba y after a Sli ema
dance; or o f the lower bar at the U ni01l
Club on the night when the lVlediterranean
Fl eet returns from its summer cruise!

SI,et ch es by S Q . .If.S . S T.
Sl eel.
trIal> by H . L . Clliu"herllJin
(Sltretvsbt<r )

Maltese Carrozi.

11

~HE

ROYAL

ARMY

'PAY

CORPS

THE

JOURNAL

Submission! Then Confession!

By

CAPTAIN ARTHUR GA WN

(Retired, late A.P.D. and R.A.F.)

had lost in the Crimea, also for sentry boxes
the Guards" pinched" from the 4th R.B.
lilies, to say nothing of their having to
contribute "re;imentally" to the cost of
"the Colonel',; da wg."
But such incidents were as tiny as the
order "Sign Here" was stentorian from
the colour-sergeant who wanted his pay
list signed at the month end. The company storemall usually was halldy with
junks of cake (home made) for grousers
who were soon reminded that "grousers
never became major-generals."
So corporals signed agreeably to an
account disclosing "Total cash payments
1 I8s. 6d.," with an occasional ba lance on
the wrong side .
Reflection reminds one that the ration
comprised bread, l ib.; meat-with fat and
bone-lIb. Messing allowance, 3d. a da y,
only arrived on 1st April, 1898. The
generosity of " the Commons ,. in granting
that 3d. a day in aid of messing was, in
the manner pecul iar to Parliamentary
grai1ts, stultified by the taking away of
2ll. deferred pay-a reserved rig ht-from
ali who accepted it. So by accepting 3 d .
the soldier gained Id. a day .
An Irishman (not "frae Aberdeen")
when told his pal on ly had IS. 6d. and
therefore could not lend 2S. 6d ., "vas asked
for the IS. 6d. anc1 was told he owed IS.
There was, however, one redeeming
feature! The Royal Warrant allowed a
soldier to be paid his deferred pay at the
expiration of his first or second period of
limited engagement; bui he must not, of
course, meantime be receiving messing
allowance.
And there were soldiers in those days so
conservative of their "rights reserved"
that they went without that 3d. a clay till
forced by Royal Warrant to take it. They
had probably heard too of " The Merchant
of Venice."
"Short Commons" they were! The

A.P.C. No. 530 had held effective rank

for three years in a battalion fresh from the
Burmah War. 1887-1889. Hindustani was
the battalion tongue for yea rs . It was of
course infra dig. for a rifleman wearing the
Burmah medal to sleep parri passu ,,-ith
the" rookie" whose breast was p lain. A
rifleman wearing the :Mec1al and Star
awarded to those who marched from Kabul
to Kandahar, the lYledal and S tar for
Egypt 1882-1885, as well as the Burmah
Medal, had to be treated with the respect
that comes with fear.
Discharges to pension and transfers to
the Army Reserve were not so frequent as
to obviate a slump in promotion. The
rifleman, who had secured the first step to
major-general by appointment to acting
corporal, found the cOl"11l11and of men as
problematical as promotion to effective
rank was a protracted and wearying business. The junior colour-sergeant had nineteen years' service !
No. 530 (as No. 1376 4th R.B .) had
heard a few "fairy tales," particularly
when" duty corporal of the wet canteen.")'
Exactly how he was going to secure promotion to sergeant outside the 4th R.B . was
a frequently debated question. Years wou ld
pass before such preferment looked possible
ins-ide the bf!ttalion; and the possession of
a certificate of qualification for sergeant was
compulsory with a corporal (who would
remain a corporal).
One night in " The Shot," as a reward
for treating Corporal Jess Wallingford* to
"one over the five" in the Corporals'
Mess No. 1376 was given what he thought
was a reliable tip about his next step to
major-general outside the battalion.
It
was in the newly created "big pay anc1
promoti on corps "-the A.P .C .
The A .P .C., in common with the Staff
Clerk Section, A.S.C., became a daydream.
The three years corporal h ad IS. 8c1 . a day,
minus prescribed (and unprescribed) public
and regimental stoppages. It h as been said
that even corporals' accounts were mu1ct
in the value of blankets that their fathers

'-Co rporal Jess Wallina[ord,

Army Shot with

I-tifle "nd Revolver for eight consecutive yeal's.

(contintled at foot of next page)

12

~OYAL

ARMY PAY

CORPS

JODRN AT.

COLOGNE CATHEDRAL
b~stl.e of life served but to emphasize its
~hgI1lty) ~hen t~e flower-sellers stood at

To you who were stationed with the

B.A.O.R., the Ca th edral of Cologne was a
well-known sight. It was a lmost the first
building to meet the eye as one came out
of the noisy station entrance and it
?omin~ted ~ny distant view' of tl~e city by
It;; t wm spIres.
Perhaps you went through its doorsthat west door-and were awed by its cool
,,:astness; and coming out, blinked in the
h g ht of day and then were soon swallowed
up in the ever-moving crowds and traffic.
You saw it, even in the hot summer sun -shine, grey and solem n (as though the

~ts. steps With then gay baskets. You saw

It ill the winter, with delicate white touches
of snow outlining its sculptures, and you
~hl~dder.ed to hear the wind whistling up
111 ItS pl11nacles.
Beneath the shadow of the Cathedral you
\Vatch~d on November IIth the silent surroundmg crowds, the massed military
bands, the old and honoured flags, and all
thpse others who took part in the impressive
ceremony of Remembrance.
Did you ever, stand ing on one of those
lovely mountains towering over the Rhine
the Siebengebirge, pee;
eagerly through
fieldglasses and make out in
the dim bl ue haze of distance two infinitely small
spikes, which were the
Cathedral's tall spires?
And now, long after
our "Cologne Days,"
does 110t this familiar
picture of the "K6i11er
Dom" bring back in a
flood memories of the
. happy days full of comradeship in that gracious.
busy city on the Rhine?
F .M. J .

Submission I Then Confession I

/c on'tinued fro-m previol/.S page)
sleeplll g on straw mattresses was hard'
"'~he Shot" with its "Divisional day ';
tWIce a week, its "Brigade day" thri~e
wasn' t soft! The psendo-cavalry uniforn~
of the A.P.C.-more gaudy than neat-was
no magnet!
B~lt pro~o~ioIl! higher pay! ink instead
of nfl e slm gmg, a softer station and th e
fact. that four other corporals with school
certificates, first class, had registered their
names for the A.P.C. appeared good enough
and No . 1376 followed suit in 1893.
Had he never served in a fighting battalion
th~ A. P .C . would have been his" mother"
ltI:llt .. He would have settled down to ink sll11gmg a nd accounting. What esprit de
co~ps he had belong-ed properly to the Rifle
Brigade. He applied for return to his
b~ttali?l1. He failed! Resolved to reconCile hImself to the new corps he soon

learned how tQ "Everywhere you see a

figure put a tick, tick, tick."
If on one occasioIl more than another he
:vould he had never left his battalion
It was wl;en, on th~ ee days' leave pending
embarkatlOn for Sa1l1t Lucia , West Indi es,
he saw a corporal 4th R.B . in 1896, wearing
th' medals for Ashanti Exped ition and
Matabeleland.
. His chagrin was poignant and throughout
hIS care.er. he felt th at direct enl istment (for
those liking the qualified in clerical and
accounting duties) into the A.P.C. should
have been possible.
But this article is intended to be impartial
and in. no sense possible of controversy. Tt
tells SImply of the coming of No. 13764th
R:B . as No. 530 A.P.C. The manner of
hIS going into civil a nd commercial life
:nay, according to our worthy Editor's
Judgment, be subject matter for a subsequent J ou rnal.
13

THE

ROYAL

ARMY

COR'PS JOURN_A
_t
_-=-,~~_ __

PAY

II'ish to place on record our appreciation

of th e help g iven to us by .o ur rea<;lers
Il'hether by literary or artIstIc c<;mtnbntions, y suggestions or by finanC1~1 suppor . Without the \~I h ole.- hearted assIstance
which we have receIved It would hav.e 1 ~e ll
impossible to proceed \\ith the pllbhcatlOl1
of the Jo urnaL Not only h as thiS support
been received from the serving members
of the Corps but a large number 'of former
members of the Corps have become subscribers.

Owing to lack of sl 'ace a large number

of contributions have had to be held over
for future numbers but we hope that those
who have been c;O\l'ded out will ll ot. be
deterred from sending in further contnbution s in the futL,re.

We have received a number of u se~ ul

suggestions as regards a rticles to. be Illcluded, and these as fa r as possible are
being given effect to. ~ numI;>er of re~<;lers
suggested articles deal111g wlt.h conchtlOns
at overseas stations and the art1.cle on Malta
in thi s issue is the first of a series. <? tl~el
suggestions - inco~poration of Se1110n.ty
Roll Foreign Service Roster a nd the waiting 'list for the ~1a r rie<;1 Quarters. Roll
-presen t certain chfficultles, but wIll be
further Lonsidered, and a number of ot~er
suggestions will, it is hoped, be emboched
ia subsequent issues .

A great many difficultie.s have h a.d ~o be

overcome in the production of thIS Issue
and we crave our readers' il1c1 nl gence for
any errors or shortcomin gs which they may
notice in this number.
At th e same time we shall welcome suggestions which. will prove helpful in com
piling future Issues.
We shall also welcome assistance from
those who are able to introdi.1ce the Journal
to their friends. We have notifi ed as many
as possible of those who have left th e
Corps, but fear there ml1~t he a g reat
number of othe rs who have not yet heard
01' its existence.

Just over one thousand copies of. thi s

iss ue are being despatch ed to s ~lbsc n bel'S
ill all pa rts of th e world, but. \I'lth future
issues we hope thi s number l\'Ill be greatly
exceeded.

":i1l

F inally we h ope tlla t Oll[ readers

sllp!,>ort those firms who have so readIly
supported us by adver~ising il~ these
pages, a n d that tbey v,: ~l1 lIIeptlOD the
J'Ournal when correspondlll g wltll advertisers .

From "The London Gazette"

Regular Army.
ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS.
Col. (temp. Brig. ) and Ch ief Paymr. H ..B. Toller,
C.M.G. retires on ret. pay, Nov. 15, n.nd I S grante,d
hon. rank of Brig. Lt. -Co l. and Staff P aynn.
(temll' Co l. and Chief Payn:lI.) R. W. Macfie to
be Co l. and Chief Payml'. Nov. 15. Lt. Co l. and
Staff Paymr. G. A. C. Ol'msby-John so~l, O.B .E .,
M C to be temp. CQl. a nd Ch Ief Payml. Nov. 15.
C~pt: and P aymr. R. G. ,Stanh"m to b~ ~lal', and
l:ltafi Paym l'. Oct. 22. Capt. and Payml. 1. .H.
Grant to be Maj. and Staff PaYJl1r., Nov. 15, wlt~l
re 't. seny. May 29, 1927 a nd precedce. below Ma) ..
S.g A. Godfrey. (Su ch sel11ol' lty. not to count fO:.
Army sen iority pay, and all ces. 111crease of pay 0
ret. pay~.
Cl . f
Col a nd Chief Payr. A. 1. Musson to be
l1 e
Paymr. , War Offi ce and Offr. i /c . Records ,
R.A .P .C., r ov. 15, an d to be granted temp. rank
Brig.
Maj. (Asst. Paymr.) W: Palmer r~tires on ret.
pay on aLLaining the age !tmlL for retIrement (Dec.
7) ; SLaft Sergt.Maj. W. T. Cork to be Lt. (A sst.
Paymr.) (Dec. 7).
Capt. F. W. C. Thomas, Suffolk R. , to be Capt.
and Paymr. (on prob .), Aug. 28.
The fo ll owing Majs. and Staff Paymrs. to be Lt.
Cols. Jan. 1: C. J. I3arradell , R. S. Ansoom.be,
O.B.E . Maj . (A sst . Paymr.) J. Stoddard retires
(age limit ) on ret. pn.y, Jan . . !.
.
.
Capt. (Asst. Paymr.) D. T . Kirk,Patnck retires
on ret. pay , J an. 1; Staff Sel'gL-Ma). A. Newman
to be Lt. (Asst. Paymr.) , Jan. l.
Maj. and Staff Paymr. R. W. Anderson , M.B.E.,
to be Lt.-Col. Feb. 20.
.
Maj. (Asst. l'aymr.) W'. J: Cryel' I. ellres on ret .
pay on attai nin g the a ge hmlt f~r retIrement (Feb.
5) . Staff.Sergt. Maj. E. B. GOdW111 to he Lt. (A sst.
Pa'ymr.) (Feu. 5).
"
Lt .. Co l. and Staff Paymr. C. J . Bal'l'adell retnes
0 11 ret . pay (age limit).
Feb . 23. Ma j. and Payml'.
F. K. l'omel'oy l'etll'es 011 reL. pay' (age limit) .
Feu. 22.

14

ROYAL

ARMY

PAY

CORPS

J OURNAL

Corps News and Notes

Editorial Notes
In presenting this , our first number, we

THE

Aldershot Command
COMMAND PAY OFFICE , ALDERSHOT.
The past year has seen man y cha nges in staff ,
but otherwise it has proved ca lm and uneventful.
In August the Colonel Co mm anda nt retired , to
be succeeded as Command Paymaster by Colonel
W. S. Mackenzie, O.B.E. We have a lso lost Lieut.Colonel GengeAndrews (to Scottish Command),
Major Stanham (to Preston), Lieutenn.nt
ewman
(to W oking), S.S.M. Goode (to Ceylon) , and Ser
geant S. G. Jon es (to Egypt ).
Sergeants Clark,
Finch , Hopk ins , Fin ch , Tasker, W inch a nd COl'
pOl'a ls Br'oadbpnt an d Lawson have all been married
from the station duri ng the last year. The strength
of the detachm ent has been increased by daughters
bom to Capta in Overton and S.Q.M.S. Gebbet, and
a son to Corpora l Broadbent.
Cricket.-Matches played , 15; won , 7 ; lost, 7 ;
drawn, 1. Batting honours went to Sergeant Fergusson, and bowling honours to Mr. F. Thornton.
We entertain ed Hounslow Record and Pay Offi ce
and W oking Record and Pay Offi ce. Our match
with Hounslow was left drawn. Scores: Aldershot,
136 for 6 declared ; Hounslow, 106 for 6. Woking
won an exciting ga me by 2 runs. The return match
at Wokin~ was less excit ing, as we su ffered a heavy
defeat. Scores: Woking, 91 ; Aldershot, 28.
Our best ach ievement was against a fa irly strong
R.A.S .C. t eam , whom we defeated by 40 runs. W e
dj smi ssed ,t-hem for the small total of 68 runs.
Tenni s . ~A Sing les Tournament on a handicap
basis, in whicb 37 members took part, was beld
during the season a nd proved to be a popu lar and
successful event. The w in.ner was Mr. McNamara
and the runnerup Sergeant Cook, both of whom
were presented with silver cups, in miniature, by
Colonel VV. S. Mackenzie.
Two friendly malches were played with Lo ca l
Auditor 's Sta ff.
Result: one w in each.
Two
friend li es were a lso played with a civilia n side
fr om Aldershot. Result: one win each.
W.O.'s and Sergeants' MeSS.-D uring t he summer
months we entered a team in the Sergeants' Mess
Tennis League, and, altholl gh the choice of players
was limi t.ed. we ma naged to play all OUl' matc hes
and finished fourth place in the divi sion. We had
one entrant for the Corps Tennis Cha ll en!!e CupSergeant Lovede r- who, after beating S.Q.M .S.
Pen rce, of Woking office, was defeated at Salisbury
by S.Q.M.S . Littler.
Since th e winter season set in we have had some
enj oyable even in gs at bill iul'ds and snooker-W .O.'s
a nd sergeants playing officers and civilians respec.
tively, and officers versus civili ans. An excellen t
sporting "spirit" preva ils on these occasions.
Several of ou r men entered for the unit stage of
the Command Inter U nit Snooker Champ ionship.
Some fine games were played, amI in the fin al of
the un it stage Sergeants Cook and L1ngham were
opponents, the scores being 56 and 58 points,
honoul'S going to Sergeant Langham for the unit
representative.
In D ecember, 1930, news reached us that sanct io'l
had been received for estab li shment of a R.A.P .C.
Sergeants' Mess in th e Command. T bis is a pleas.

ing fea ture, a nd we look forward to extending our

social act ivities and rec iprocatin g t.he many kind in
vitations received from other Ser)!ea nts' i\1esses.
A very enjoya ble ch ildren 's Ch ristmas pnrty wa~
held in the Mess on Friday, J anuary 9th , fol' the
who le of the office staff. About 150 sat down to
tea, which was follo wed by community singing,
arr ival of Father Cbri.tmas and di stribution of
presents, ga mes, and dan cing. Everyone was in a
ch eerfu l, happy, and fe stive mood, and heartilJ
joined in the s ingin g, etc. We were honoured by
the presen ce of Colonel and Mrs. J. Armstrong
and Colonel and ,'vII's. W. S. Mackenzie. ~, : . 3
l\l ackenzie kind ly consented to disf<uute the
prese nts to the children, much to ':,e pleasure of
the l itLl e ones.
The pa.rty w?
organi sed by
S.Q.M.S. Hudson and his COJJl,nittee, and their
untiring efforts were well rewarled by a successful
party and the apprec iation of I hose present.
Football.- During the present season a team fronl
t he Detachment was entered for the A ldersh"t
Command Junior League. This is the first time a
Corps team has t aken p'nt in the C'om mand Le8~ue
games and our team ha. made h;"ory- in more
ways than one. Space will noL-it is hopeu-permit
of the record to date; but pass in g mention must
be made of the huge sllccess of two trial games,
both tea ms composed of Corps men, durin g the
cou rse of which consid erable hidd en talen t camo
to light and severa.l spectators laughed immod er
ate ly. Th e season was opened at bome with a defent
by t,he Woolwich Office, 5--3. The visitors ca me
in force, but, lu cki ly, we were able to accommodate
the spectators, having been allotted a pitch in the
arena where the Tattoo is held . Later, the team
defea ted Hounslow, at Hounslow , by 3- 2.
nille Club .-Activity during the year 1930 has
ueen confined genera lly to the sUl ff , the team not
being co nsid ered of suffi ient st,rength to ju tify
entry into Cou nty 01' other Leagues. Last winter
an InterO ffice League of fOllr t.eams of fOllr memo
hers ellch was formed , a nd home and away
matches were fired. The re ult W'IS H win for the
tea m co nsistin g of Mr. EJ],u'd (caplain), S.Q.M.S.
Wa Iters, Sergeant Langham, and Mr. Sali, bl1ry ,
w ith nn aggregate of 2,123 po in ts out of a po,. ible
2.4 00. This w inter a n individu a l championship on
th e Dropped Po int Handicap system is being com
peted for , and firi ng for this will finish in April ,
1931.
The resu lts of friendly matches fired during 1930
we re as follow s :v. 2nd Colc1 stream Guards A. Lo t by 15 pts.
v. 11th Hussars .... ......... H. W on by 151 piS.
v. Old Farnhamians ...... . A. W on by
1 pt,.
v. 2nd Co ldst l'eam Guards H. Lost by
4 pU;.
v. 11lh Hussars ...... ...... A. Won by 63 pts.
v. Old Fal'llham ians .... . H. Won by 2') ptR .
Offi ce rs v. Staff ...
Staff won by 87 pts.
Tho Secretary wou ld welcome postal matches
with other Pay Offices. The strength for a team
of 10 (8 to count) wou ld be in the neighbour hood
of 93 / 1,000.

15

THE ROYAL ARMY

PAY

WOKING.
Th e football team, who last season in the triangular tournament with the Aldershot and Hounslow offi ces won three matc hes and lost the remaining one (at H ou nslow), have once again gone into
training and are looking forward with pleasure to
renewing the fr iendly rivalry with the sa me offices.
Unfortunatelv our team will not be so strong as
last year , OD account of departures and other cir
cumstances/ a nd the non-arrival of " recruits."
.Thera was general regret at the leave-taki ng of
Major L. J. Webb on his departure for Salisbury.
He was a keen tennis player and a cricket stalwart
whilst here.
The office generally was delighted to welcome an
o.ld friend in the person of Lieut. A. Newman.
Happy recollections are still entertained of his
previous connection with this office.
Sergeant H. W. R. Dow has been holding him self in readiness for some months to proceed for a
tour of foreign service.
Lance-Sergeant P . Lydon is due to join here on
his arrival from Hong Kong.
Wc will miss our highly-esteemed Regimental
Paymaster (Lieut.-Colonel R. W. Kelly) during the
next three months , as he will be sojourning in South
Africa.
Old members of this office will doubtless regret
to hear that those gallant old pensioners, Messrs.
Coombs and Griffith , were seriously injured when
proceeding home from the office on the evening of
the 19th January. It appears they were knocked
down by a motor-lorry . Mr. Coo mbs received a

CORPS J OURNAL

number of more or less minor lDJuries, but was

able to proceed home. Mr. Griffith , h owever, had
to be ad mitted to the Woking Hospita.l, where it
was found he was suffering from concussion, a fracture of the left leg, an d severe cuts on the left
eye. H e is now p rogress ing satisfactorily , alt hough
some time mu st necessaril y elapse before he returns
to duty.
Captain and Mrs. Tuke have been blessed with
an addition to their family-a son having been
born in J anuary.
A most enjoyable complimentary dance was held
in our Club on the 21st January. It is at such
times that we appreciate the fact that we have a
Club of our own. There was certainly a sp lendid
assembly , the occasion having been made to bid
far ewell to the W.O.'s and Sergeants, and their
wives, of the 1st Battalion. The Royal Wa.rwickshire Regiment, who have been our companions for
the last ~hree years, on their departure for
Palestine. Dnring the even ing S.S.M. Anderson ,
R.A .P.C., ma de 'a highly appreciative speech, in
which he expressed the feeli ngs of our members.
R.S .M. WiIliams suitably responded . The terpsichorean art and conv iviality continued until an
early hour, but it was apparent that nobody wanted
to say " finis." However, all good things come to
an end, and it was agreed by one an d all that it
was one of the most en joyable evenings spent at
this station for a long time.
Two furth er very pleasant dances h ave since been
held, at all of which Sergeant Dow has capably
carried out the duties of M.C.

EASTERN COMMAND
COMMAND PAY OFFICE,
80, PALL MALL, S.W.1.

.. Where we Work."-How many of those

stationed at No. 80, Pall Mall, give a thought
lo the old building in which they work? To the
majority it is simply a place to which th ey mu t
perforce find their way on six days of the week ,
there to perform their allotted tasks and leave as
soon as may be wit~out a thought of their enviro nment. Some, indeed, go as far as to express their
opinion that it is a " ramshackle old place--wa,nts
puJling .do\~n." A few, and they form a very
small mmorlty of the occup,a nts, express an in terest
in the old hou se and its nei~hbourhoQd , which are
replete with historic associatIOns.
No. 80. formerly known as " Schomberg H ouse,"
was , in its original state, no doubt a n and some
bui l din~; in its present condition, however, it has
?alled forth. very disparag;ing comments; one writer
~n an e~,en~ng pa~r gomg so far as to describe
It as a
disgrace to Pall Mall." and not without
reason , as apart from bein g sadly in need of paint
and a general clean-up, it has at some not very
remote date heen mutilated and disfigured by the
demolition of the eastern wing and repla-cement
thereof by a nondescript a nd unsighLly specimen
.
of Victorian architecture.
. The origin.al portion of the bui lding is J acobean
m style; bm lt of dark red brick with the wi nd ow
op'enings picked out in hricks of ligh ter red. The
front .had a portico over what was apparently at
one tlm~ a cent:al doorway; this is supported by
two quamt teruunai figures of elderly gentlemen in

a state of semi-nudity, whose" origum is wropt in

mystery" (vide Jeams Yellowplush , who knew Pall
Mall weH). A country v isitor ~azing wonderingly
at the figures, was heard to ask If they were " Pall"
and" Mall ".
The interior has und ergone many vicissitudes, and
it is difficult now to trace the original layout of
rooms c.orridors, etc. The walls of the rooms,
which' were no doubt originally panelled in wood,
a re now cove red with slabs of fibrous plaster, and
the whole interior treated to a utilitarian coat of
distemper, of a tint no doubt calculated to be soothing to the nerves of the ardent \vorkElrs. wrestling
with the intri cacies of A.C.I.'s and E.C.O.'s.
The painter, Gainsborough, is reputed to have
once resided at No. 80, but he does not ap'pear to
have embellished the wall with any of his masterpieces,; periodical visitations are made by 8ainters
of the modern school attached to .. H.M . .W.";
their work, ho wever , can scarcely be compared with
that of Gainsborough.
Habitues of No. 80 console themselves for the
lack of artistic amenities, with the excellent Cluh
established on the premises for their benefit, wh ich
is highly ap~reciated and madEl fullest use of for
meals and light J'efreshments; and members can
claim the distin ction of membership of a .. Pall Mall
Club", with the added advantage of facilities which
the more "high-brow" clubs lack, for a game of
darts or ping pong when t ime 'permits.
R.W.
Two successful Bridge Drives land one Whist
Drive have been held quite recently in the Social
Club r un by this office. The first prize winners,

THE

ROYAL

ARMY

PAY

CORPS J OURNAL

Bowen and S.Q.M .S. Dennis are definit.ely lost lo

us, whilst thEl tragic death of the late Lieut-Co lonel
Cartwright robbed us of an enthusiast and an
ardent tennis player.
It may interest the manv frienus of S.Q.M.S .
Dcnnis to know that he h ~s ~et.tled r10wn at the
" King's H ead", Cba rtham , two or t,hree miles
from here. and as his address suggests, he is in a
po~it i on to welcome any Old Comrades who care
to pay him a visit. It ca.nnot be denied that when
the Coq~s lost H. J. W. Dennis, it parted with one
of the most versa,tile sportsmen the R.A. P.C. has
prod uced, for , be it cricket" tennis, bO\\'1s, golf,
billiards or any other game, tl'd present licensee
of i he " Kin~'s Head" was a most u<eful partner_
The ce;satlOll of all sporting activities here is
more to be regretted , in that there is such an
ab und ance of g rounds and opponents available, con sid erations which the maioritv of stations do not
enjoy. In the absence o'r any sport necessitatin g
Lhe form ation of a team, one or two of us have
taken a d vantage of the low subscri ptions required
of mi litary members by th e CalJterhury ( ~olf Club,
and spend our spare time in t rying t o qualify for
handica ps or in en deavourin g to reduce th em. The
Golf Club being in close proximity to the barracks
is an asset to the station. quite apart from the
exemption fr om the entrance fee afforded to
Officers joining, and the reduced subscriotions for
W.O .'s and N.C.O.'s. This . of COUJ'se IS due to
t he fact that the course is on W.D. land .
Until the dep'artlll'e of the 3rd Carahiniers to
C:o lche ter this sea&on, we were constant guests
of the Reg iment, and their repeated invita&-ions and
challenges were t he means of our disco\'el'i ng hidden talent among our members wh ich would not
otherwise hnve come to light. Matches of all kinds
we re 3rmn ged, including rifle shooting, and it, was
hoped that their stay at Canterbu ry wou ld be a
prolonged one, for they wel'e tho mai n sOUl'ce of
entel-tainm ent in the Gal'ri~on , whilst thp.ir dances
attra~ted a large following fl-om the City.
As no
regimpn t has I'eli eved the Garahiniel's, entertai n
ment in t he barracks is practica lly nj], for although
the 59th F ield Company, R.E., has recently arr ived,
they cHnnot, by r eason of t,heir small r.umbers, be
ex pected to step into the hoes of a Cavalry
Regiment. As a Brigade of Artillery is expected
to take I)ver the barracks within the year. we a re
hopeful of ne xt winter, at least as far as da IIces,
whi st drives and smnk ing concerts are concerned.
The n,hsence of the Carabiniers will . I am afraid,
preclude us from enteltaining bhe De'Ptford office this
year, although it had been hOl1erl to !Take the
exchan ge of visits an annual ::tffa ir. The Hlc ('e~s of
last vear's visit from Deptford was mainlv due to
the faci lities afforded bv the memhcr~ of th e 3rd
Carabini ers' sergeants' 'i-ness, n~ they pl a('ed the
cricket ground, pavilion, ten nis co urts. bowling
green. a nd their mess at our entire.' disposal.
Th eir barracks being now empty. it do(\s not fE'em
po sihle to entertain another officE' at, t.his st.ation
next yeal', hut if it can be alTllnged in suh ~E'(]uent
vea.rs, it ",ill not be through la ck of sl1pport at,
thi s enn.
OUI' annn al outing to DymchurC'h win. i( seems .
be our only fun ction this 'ear. but it, is hOp'ed
th/lt wheo t,he Brigade of Artill ery settleti down
here, we sh ,.lI a,ga.in be able tr, f nler into anothe(
)'o und of enterta in ments.
B.J.B.T.

after each drive, were allowed to get rid of part

of their illgotten gains by standing a refreshing
liven"r to the company. They were :-Sgt.-Badger
Mr. Ricllbell and Mrs. Scott. Second prize winn ers,
not being reimbu rsed to t he tune they deser ved .
were all owed to escape the above honour. The
" booby" orize in each case, was a present of "
hottle of "0uld Ireland 's" hest black mixture.
a nd the fortUl1ate winners stated Lhat they wero
on ly partially satisfied.
.
L. / Sgt. H. E. Smith has left us on transfer to
the Army Reserve.
Sgt. W. Craddock having now joined the happy
hand of " Benedicts" , we wish both his wife and
himself the best of happiness.
Congratulations to Sergt. R. Plowman on proF.L.
motion to the substantive rank .
BARNET.

The Detachnlcnt at th is station are quartered in

the Barracks form erly occupied bv th e 7th Batta li on, King's Royal Rilles. generally k nown
throughout th e A rmy as the Barnet Militia. The
entrance to tpe Barracks , although situated in the
High Street, is very difficult to find ; which only
those who have tried. on their own , can appreciate.
The married fami li es are quartered in the Barracks: but the Officers and sin gle men are on the
Lodging List, a reversal of th e IJ st'al procedure.
Tt is probahly t he only station in the British Army
where the Royal Army Pay Corp constitutes the
so le garrison , and have a whole barracks to th emselves.
The. Record and P ay Office, Royal Tank Corps, is
situated here and altogether there are many worse
stat ioYls tha n Barnet.
.
Sergeant F. A. Jon es h'o m Malta has recently
joined the Sta.tion. a nd we extend to him a hearty
welcome: at t he same t im e we wi sh good luck and
good health to Sergeant Bolton nnd h-is fami ly who
sai led for Egypt on the "Lanca~hil'e", on 9th
March, 1931 .
I cannot clo<;e t hese notes with out referring to
our mascot" t he goa,t" which has nobly kept the
weeds down and brou~ht us much credit in high
places: by the wa.y, the lumour that the goat ate
Lhe Sergeant Major's Sam Browne, is with out
found"tion.
E.J.W.B.
CANTERBURY.

Tt i not an easy task to compile a few Dotes

of gen.eral interest, p'u,rticula dy co nn ect.ed with
enter tn.mm ents, when the majority of Lhe mem bel'S
of the office are past t he rep uted " prime of life" ,
hut no doubt sinlila l' difficulty is experienced in
m'n ny stntlOns.
Had our Journal heen in ex istence dur in g the last
fom ?r five year~ there \~ould have heen ample
material a bout wl11ch to write. as we were then in
a position to rni.e representative teams for cri cket
Lenn is, I;t~d. billiard~ . n n~ spent manv enjoyabl ~
hours vl~ltlng nelghhoul'lng clubs. Th e coming
season WIll , J am a fr ~l id . see t.he di sap pearance of
our old established cJ'lck et eleven, for . ('ltn'ing the
p~st three or four years we have gradu a ll y p'arted
WIth. a numh.er of cricketers. w hil ~t wP ' have
~'ece l ved no reh efs whn co uld ab l.v fill the vaca ncies
In the ten.m.
Our loss has not, unfort un atelv .
a lways been a noth er office's ll'a in. for although
C~ptai n El.Ii~ott,
S.Q .M.S. Old field, Sergennts
KlmbelI , Wllhams a,ncl For e are still availa.ble to
the Corps, such useful a ll -rounders as Lieut-Colonel

17

THE

ROYAL

ARMY

PAY

CHATHAM . (Royal Engi neers .)

Before committing myself to a l'ev iew ot tho

activities of th is detachment for the pa,st few
months, I would like, first of all , to congratulat a
everyone concerned with the g iving of the Royal
Army P ay Corps a magazine of i ts own.
Th at this undouhtedly suppU es a long felt want,
is manifest by the number of questions with which
one is bomb1l-rded when joining at a new office.
Most members of the Corps, and many ex-members,
too, appear to have an interest in something 01'
somebQ.dy-a't"lhe previous omce, or some other office
that- the newcomer has at some time or other
served in: whether it is the cricket team, tennis
or hockey, or whether" old-so-and-so " still stands
on his head and sings "familiar objects from a
different ang le", no matter: the interest is there
and they want to know all ahout it,
Another point in the favour of a regimental or
corps journal is t hat it is second to none as a
med ium for promoting and maintaining that esp,rit
de corgs so essentia l to the well-bei ng of every unit.
Admitted we have not d one so bad ly in this respect
in the past, in spite of the absence of a corps magazine, but it will be agreed that we shall have an
opportunity of doing far better in the future with
its assistance, since it will get us in to the ha hit of
discussing mattel's as a Corps and from th", po.i nt of
view of the Corps as a whole. If, then, for no
other reason than t hi s, the sponsors of the magazine are tQ be congratulated wholeheartedly, and
deserve the sincerest sU[lport of every member of
t he Corps.
Regarding the efforts of this Detachment. it
should be und erstood, in the fir~t place. that it is
impossible for us to d isassociate o ur activiti es from
those of the Royal Signals Detachment, inasmuch as
being members of the one sports 'an'd Social Club
we naturall y work in unison in all matters of sp-ort
a.nd sociabili ty.
'
Only in one event do we meet in competition.
a nd that in connection with the "Anderson
Challenge (Tennis) Cup". This ('up , p l'psented by
Major J . G. Anderson, Regimental Paymaster,
Royal Signal~, is intended to he pla yed for yearly
by teams selecten from both offices. L ast yearthe fir st of its !lxistence-the cup was e<:U1'ed by
the ., Royal Enginecr" side, we having succeeded
in beating (.be "Royal Signals ,. side by 6 events
to 2. The day was a great success in every way.
Good clean sporti_ng teh nis was seen. anel, in addi tion, the occasion was enh anced sociall y hy the fa ct
that Colonel N. D. Noble, D .S.O. , and Mrs. Nob le,
together with Colonel H. A. Vernon , D.S .O ., and
Mrs. Vernon, were" At Hom e" to th e wives and
friends of t he members of both offices. It certain lv
was a gre:tt day-even "olel Sol" who had been
t hreaten ing all the mOl'l1ing to h:we nothing to do
with us, altered 'his mind~ a.nd ~tting on :hi 'l
brightest bib and tucker ente l'ed into the piri t of
the occasion and gave a most deligh tfu l performance. Needless to say, we are now looking forward
to the fine \veather and a repetition of this event
during the current year, when it is hoped thn t Mrs.
Anderson will again honour the" Royal Engin eer"
side by p'resenting them with the cup .
At cricket, it would appear we did none too well,
that is judging from our number of " win's -", but
actun,\1y our losses were genel'ally by a very srn" 11
margin . We do not, however, contem pl ate sha l'in g
the disappointment of Moth er Hubbard 's dog this

CORPS JOURNAL

ye:!.r; on the contrary , we expect, when we renew

our acquainta nce with the teams from Hounslow
and Woolwi ch detachments, as it is hoped we shall,
t ha.t the ultimate results will be slightly in our
favour.
,
By th,e way, we would lik e to hear fl'o m ot.her
offices wi llin g to se nd cri cket n-nd tennis teams , and
their accompany in g part.ies, to moot us. We ca n
guarantee a ll a jolly enj oyable day to say the least.
Let us hear from you .
Our cricket and tennis teams lost a good supporter ,when Lieut. Co lonel T . L. Rogers, O.B.E. , was
p'ost ed to Aldershot; \\-e all hope that he will have
as happy a time in hi s new station as we tl'U t he
han at Chalh am. The arrival of Lieut-Colonel L . J .
Lightfoot , O.B.E. , from the Scottish Command,
however. has consid erably heartened the cricket
team and it remains to be seen whether we have
not anotller "dark horse" in the tenni s lin e.
COI'pl. W. C . 1. Pullin a rrivlld from . Leith on
the 16th December last-another cricketer I believe.
"V" ca.n do w~th them.
On Friday, 19t h Decem bel', a Christmas party
was g ive n 1,0 the children of t he members of the
c1uh. In all, about no children sat down to tea,
which . bes ides tea, consisted of bread a nd butter,
cakes of a ll descriptions (some e\'fJll beggared description) , jelli es, fruit. \;on-\;ons a nd a thousandalld-one other things that both delighted the eye
and filled the "little mary ". Eat I oh boy! you
said it-and how-for a whole hour or more it was
one glorious pack. The little gourma} ld.-bless
theil' appetites- they kept on with the good work
until the very tahles were mere ske letons oj their
former se lves. How they (that is, the children ,
1I0t the ta,bles) managed to take part in the games
t h at followed will only be explain ed when somebo dy
determilles what exactly is a child' s caRacity. But
that is not all. for they were quite I'eady to attack
agai n when-with Captain Spilsbury leading-they
marched off to raid the bags of weets and fruit.
Th e runlling buffet, too, wa very well patron ised.
Then came th e event of the evening-the di stribut.10n of pre ents by Fathe,l- Christmas.
'Th e'
elder boys rece iving watches a nd fountain pens, t he
eld er girls hand-l,ags and man icure sets; books,
clock-wol' k motors, complete with batteries and
electri c head lights, d oll s and dolls' houses , and so
on , en-ch child receiving n-n appropriate present
nccord in g to age and ex . But alas! the even in g
was a ll too 8hol't fot: the chi ldren, for they were
wide awake long after tb eir parents remal'k that
' they (th e parents ) were quite ready for \-ed ' .
Our sin cerest co ngmtulations a re extend ed to the
following Warrant Offi cer and N.C.O.:7657497 S.Q.1VLS. P. E. Maiihews. Daughter
born 26112/30. (Brenda Elisabeth). 765B055 1'.8.
E. L. Trtlssler. To be Staff Serge,tnt 1110130.
" BARRY" .

THE

ROYAL

ARMY PAY

~lIatches being a matter of 9 runs, which serves to

i1lu sLrate how well-matched the team were. Colonel
Orpen-Palmer, the O.i/c Records headed both the
batting ".nd bowling averages, 'w ith Mr. T aylol'
(our effiCIent stumper) second on the batting and
Mr. Nash seconcl on the bowling. We greatly
apprecIated the efforts of our ri val offices in entertn-ining us on the occasions of our visits, and
extend t,o them a very co rdial invitation to visit
us during the comin g season.
Our fixture li st for 1931 is a lready rap idly filling
up, a.nd a lthough we do not hope for a more
enj oyable season than the last one, we do hope fOl'
a still greater measure of succ~ss. UnfortUllately,
we shall be .wlthout the serv Ices of ~ergt. LMl e
(who IS now In EgYRt), and the gap caused by his
departure will , no doubt. be hn-rd to fill from our
limit ed resources. but we have an enthui sastic commiltee who will, I feel sure, use whatever talent
we possess to the best advanl age. Apart from
the. " cricket" aspect of t he matches, there is the
SOCIal aspect, a nd the l'enewfll of acquaint ance which
they a fford is pleasurably an t.icipated by players
and spectators a lIk e, and we hope that t he Corps
slogan (" cheerio "). will again echo in m1a l1Y
st ra nge places.
" THE PESSIMIST".
Tenn is.-During the seaso n of 193J a number
of match es were a lTanged bet.ween this office and
others in the vi~init.Y, and thesE,l were thoro ughl y
en.l0yed by a ll. The resu lts were very satisfactory.
The us un-I 'St,ation battles' were fougbt out
with results as foll ows:'
Op'en Singles-Winner :- - Col. Orpen -Palmer
I-I'cap SibgIes-Winner :-Sgt. Wilson.
H 'cap D oubl es-W inn ers :-Col Orpen-Palmer and
.
Sgt. L an e.
Durin g. t.he com in g se;tson we hnp'e to arrange
games .wlth other offices. and, providing our tenni.
en t hU Siasts surviv e the hockey a nd foothall season
and steer clear of ' moves' , to be in a position to
' hold up our end' against a ny local challengers.. T{lG ..
who says ~ I !

Football.-A team was formed from the slaff

Jcivilian and mi!itary) of t he office and departments,
I. e., Royal Engllleers a nd R.A.M .C. in Barracks.

The season was opened with a match nga inst

Co mmand Pay Office, Aldershot on 17th October
~?30, i:n . w hi ch we s uffered. defe~t by 3 goals to
Ih e VISI tors were ente rtn lll ed to tea in the clu h
I'oo m , a nd a fterwards an enjoyable t im e was spent
nt lIId ool' gnomes .

2:

Our next ga~e was a!so played at home, th e Deptford Office be lll g Ollr opponents. The visit ors hnd
two ex Hounslow mell , l' epre~{'ntin g t bem in
S.Q.M.S . Rooker ann Mr. Edwards. In th is - game
we met a team aoout equal to ourselves in speed.
but as e:-ents proved, we hn-d it in stam in ~, and
ra il out v Ictors b~ 5 goa ls to 1. Sgt. WiJliap,s pel'formeci t he hn-t-tl'l ck for us and Mr. Guyet.t ohtained
the oth.e l' two goals. The visitors goal wa s obta in ed
by t heu' centre forward. The teams adjouJ'Jled to
Lea in the club room after t he game. a,nd afterwards
an enj o.vab le evening was spent.
.

In th e game v. DeRot, Middlesex Regt. , which

was also played at home, on 19th November, 1930,
we met n mu ch fa ter a nd youngel' team than our~?Ives,. ~nd had Lo adm it defeat by 7 goals to 2.
Ihe n Sllors played cl ever and clean footba ll and
we just co uld not keep PP th e pace.
At the request of Deptford a l'et.uJ'Jl fixture was
arranged a nd played at Hounslow, this game being
a ls.o . won by us , the soo.re being 3 goals to 1,
WIlhams and Dall'son be.ll1g t he scorers for the
hom e team .
On 16th J,ulUary, 1931, a ~'~me took place between
teams repl'eselltJIIg the CIVIlIan a nd Military Staff
of the Office. The MilitafY with the wind in their
fa\'oul' failed to score in the fil'st half th e sco rtl
at half time being 0-0. In the second' half goals
were stored hy Dawsor. (3') ancl Way fol' the inlies ,
who ran out \\'inn el's by 4 goa ls to nil. The teams
wel'e:-

HOUNSLOW .

cricket section, under the Captain cy of Major Cockburn . had a very en joy:tble
~paSOlI' ill 1930.
We> played the Chath,tm, 'l\7arl ey.
Aldershot ancl Wokillg office'. the Depot Royal
Fusili ers, the D epot East SUI'.'2Y Regime"It, 8ergeail1t~. of th" 17th 121.st Lan cers, 'lIld a io t a I Leam
crIlled ,. The Bunnies". Tn n.<1dH,ion, -ve heIr! a
series of " tests" between the milit.arv and (ivi lian
staff&, which evok erl rivalry '1.lld entliusia~l1l. Th e
" Civvtes" Won the "rubber" by two games to
one, the measure of their superiority in one of the
Cricket.-oul'

I8

CORPS JOURNAL

I9

THE ROYAL ARMY

PAY

M ILlTARY:-Cpl. Finn; Captain Oliver, Sgt.

Hehir: Sgt. Lancaster, Sgt. Bishop, Sgt. Wilson;
Cp!. Rudland, Sgt. McCririe, Sgt. Williams, S.S .M.
Holman and S.Q.M.S. CUl"1Y
CTVILJANS:-Messrs . Pearce; Pile, King ; \~7 ay,
Nash, Ta ylo1" ; Cook, Guyett, ,Dawson and Dray.
A match v. Woolwich Office was played at Wool
wich Stadium on 23rd J anuary; the ground being
very soft., permission was only gi-:en for a h~J
hour each was to be played. WOOIW1Ch played wlth
the w ind the first haH and were one up at half
~ time. In the second half they added 2 more goals
and we experienced another defeat. The home side
deserved to win being much faster and playing
bet(,er football than we did. After the match Wool
",ich entertained us to tea, wh ich was much appre
cia ted. A large gathering spent a most enjoyable
" JOCK",
time.
SociaJ.-Tucked away in the west in a barracks
where social activities are not very frequent, we
endeavour to get together through the medium of
monthly whist drives which we hold in asp-are
l'oom in barracks. The attendances have been satis
factory, and the result has been some very enjoyable
evenings, the wives of the staff of the office getting
to know each other so that when they meet in
town or elsewhere it is not as stlangers.
At Christmas the staff and their fam ili es were
entertained at a Christmas tec. by the Officers of t.he
Detachment. It, was a splend id t urn out, a most
enjoyable evenin g being spent. The weather was
not kind, being very foggy , but tl:e jazz band turned
up like heroes a nd we made up inside for the dismal
cond itions outside. Majors Cockburn and Burridge
led their sides admirably in the nursery rhyme
competition.
We are continuing our efforts for the rem ainder
of the winter, and when the summer cricket outings
come along we shall all feel the benefit of our
interchange of ideas during the winter.
G,M.
WARLEY.

The Warley Detachm en t takes the opportunity

in the first issue of the J ournal of s'lnding its greet.
in gs and best wishes to all comrades at hom e and
auroad.
It is hoped that by the time tl,e journal is in
print f,he cricket club will have awakaned from its
winler slumbers, and no doubt challenges will soon
be fl ying around to other detachments to "come
anri be slaughtered."
The detachment will be present in force at the
Mll1ual dinnel'. It is rumoured th at certain N .C.O.'s
bave already gone" on a diet" to prepare for it .
C.A,C.
WOOLWICH .

Out' activiti'ls, which will be found und er t he

wu'ious headings enum erated below, have p'ursued
the even tenour of theil' way. P eace, howevel', has
been disturbed by the desperate. and so far unavail
ing, efforts of the office representatives W g:.'. van ize
into act ion the literary talent, which is lying dor
mant. It is a curious reflection that our co nfirm ed
story-tell ers who greet one most mOl'llings with: " T heard a good one yesterday" , show a marked
l'eluctance to comm it themseh'es to print; an d vet
t hese stories-somc of them-are quite printahle!
So virtuous are we that our J!ossip.writers ha ve
no materi al to work upon , and apparenj,ly their
im ag in ation is quite in capable of inventing any. A
really lamenta hle state of aff airs when in these days

CORPS J OURNAL

no newspaper or periodi cal is comRlete wit,hout its

record , fic t itious or garbled , of " other people's
doings". Our IJOets- we have none-,-at least" Judging by the immaculate leugt.h of hall' whi ch lS sup
posed' to be the outward visible sign of the species.
It would he in(,eresting , though d c, ubtless, profitless,
to speculate as to whether poets ca n be bald.. OUl'
crossword and guzzle experts exp03tulat,e bItterly
that to have to compose such trivialities is like
piling P~lion on qssa.-Have, they not sufficient
practice m unravelhng a Ray h st ?-But eno ugh of
this melancholy catalogue. 1 our lit erary efforts
have so far been negligible, we ma y congratulate
ourselves on the measure of success th a t, I'as atten
ded our other endeavours. Vlie hope, however, in
the near future to bring the former into lin e with
the latter.
L .H.M .M.
Cricket (1930) Results:-

RA.P.C. (Woolwich) , 119; 6th T. Ely.

RA., 87 for 3 wkts.
8/5/ 1930. RA .M .C ., 132 for 9
(d eclared) i
R.A.P .C ., 71 for 8 (m a tch d rawn),
5/6/ 1930. RA.P.C., 125 ; 4th T,B. RA" 149 for 8.
12 /6/l9,0, RA.P.C., 73 : 3rd T.B., R .. \ ., 71.
18/ 6/ 1930, RA.P.C .. 42 for 8 (rain stops play.
A " 'Mil . Coli. of Science, d id n ot
go in).
20/6/ 1930, R.A.P.C., 267. ; 1st T.Bde. , RA. , 98
(Shield) .
26/61).930. R.A.P,C., 115 ; RA.S,C ., 92
3/7 /1930, RA.P.C., 82 ; 94th F.Bty., 5l.
7 /7/ 1930. R.A .P,C., 96: RA.M.C" 1?5 (Shi eld).
15/711930. R.A ,P .C., 196 ; R .A.P.C. (Warley), 152
19/7 / 1930. R.A.P.C. (Woolwich) , 155; R.A.P,C.
(Chatham), 40, ditto, 2nd ings. , 51.
26/7 /1930. R.A.P.C. , 161-: B ,A .P, G. (Ch atham) , 55
1/811930 , RA ,P.C., 85; 5th T .Rty., 1Hi.
14/8/ 1930. RA.P,C. , 110; 95th F .Bl y., 75,
27 /8/ 1930, RA.P.C ., 51 for 6: M,C. of S., 113.
2/9/1930. Army Pay Office (Woolwich\. 165;
Army Pay Office (Warle~' ). 37.
Golf (1930) .-Two enjoyable tr.atches were played
against Hounslow .
.
TenniS (1930).- Eastern Command Lawn TenniS
Championsh ip (other ranks). Won by this Unit
after defeating :-RA.P.C., Hounslow, RE., W ool
wich, R.A,S.C., Woolwich, RA.S.C., Colchester
and R .E. , Chittham.
Woolwich Garrison Tennis Shield. Won by this
Unit. This competition v.:as run on a Leit~ue basi~ ,
and competed [or by 8 umts of the vVool wlch Garn
son.
Army Lawn Ten nis Championships (1930) . Comp,etitors from this unit were entered ~ith t he folLowing results :-(a) Reached the seml final round of
the O.R.'s Singles. (b) B eached the final round
of t he O.R.'s Doubles.
R.A.P,C. Other Banks Tenn is Cun, This cha l
lenge trophy was won by Sergt. T. A'. W. Boggis of
thi s Unit. The trophy was comp'eted for by other
ranks of the B,.A.P .C. serving in the United King
dom,
Friendly Fi.xtures , The followinJ! fi xtures were
played and wel'e all won by this Unit, with the
exception of one drawn game (t,h at vel'SUS R.A.S.C. ,
Woolwich, played on 12 /6/ 30) :-Vel'sus R.A .P.C"
E nste rn Comm[tnd (28 /5/ 30 and 24 /6/30) : R.A.S.C. ,
Woolwirh (12 / 6/ 30 and 12 /8130) ,: RA.P.C .. Houn
slow (11 ;7/ 30 and 18/7/30); R.A.P,C " Chatham
2/ 5/1930.

(24 /8 / 30r ~'

20

THE ROYAL ARMY

PAY

Foot ball.-In the Woolwi ch Garrison League the

members of the Deta chment play for the Staff a nd
Departmental team; th e eleven, which contains ten
members of the Corps, and in the majority of the
matches has been entirely RA,P,C. personnel, is at
the top of the League Table, with the following
record (to the end of February, 1931) : Played 13,
won 12, drawn 1, lost 0, goa l for 58, against 17.
The complete record of matches played to the end
of February is:24,9.30
AldershotCd. Pay 0 ffice, at Aldershot 5- 3
26.9.30.
1st Training Bde.,
RA. Depot, at Woolwich
~
2,10.30. *lst Training Battery
do .
3-3
10.10.30. RA .S.C. (Woolwich)
do.
2-0
14.10.30. *5th Training Battery
do.
6-0
23.10.30. *RA.S.C. (B)
do.
5-2
28.10.30. *R.A. Depot (B)
do.
1-0
31.10.30. R.A.V.C.
do.
7-1
6,11.30. *4t.h Training Battery
do.
7- 1
do.
9-1
14.11.30. Mi l. CoIl. of Science
25.11.30. *R.A.M.C. (Woolwich)
do .
:>-2
5,1.31.
R.A.V.C . (Woolwich)
do.
7-1
8.1.31.
*59th Battery, R.A.
do.
4-0
13.1.31. *94th Battery , RA.
do.
3-1
15,1.31 . *93 .. d Battery, R .A.
do.
7-1
23.1.31.
Hounslow Pay Office
do.
3-0
do.
3-1
30 .1.31. ' 6th Training Battery
3.2.31.
*R.A. Depot (A)
do .
4-3
5.2.31.
'R.A .S.C. (A)
do.
3-2
18.2.31 *Mi1. CoIl. of Science (A) do.
9-1
20.2.31.
Hounslow Pay Office, at Hounslow 3- 3
* Denotes Woolwich Garrison League Fixtures.

CORPS JOURNAL

Sergeant S. W. J. Knight has played during this

season for the Army against Civil Service, Spartan
Leag ue, Camhidge University, Oxford University,
F.A. XI. , As ton Villa, and J ers'lY F.A., being
captain of th e team in the last five matches.
Miniature Rifle Club.-Run in conjunction with
the civilian staff, t,he dub is in a flourishing
?ondition, Owing to. the range not being fullsize
It has not been pOSSIble to enter for any compet,j
tions: lt is hoped, however, that, \\:hen funds
perlmt, the R.E. WIll be able t o effect the necessary
Improvements.
Mem bel'S a re divided into three classes ,md
monthly .. spoon" competitions are held.
'

Billiards.-W.O. n . (S .Q.M.S.) P. Black, won

the 1930 Army Billiards Championship,
This
year he has a h:eady w<;m the Garrison Cha mpion
shIp, beatlllg 1 pr. Maj. J. Poole, Dep.ot Brigade
R.A .. U1 the final by 300-149 . We wish him the
be~t of lucl< in the further .stages of the champi on.
shIp, and hope that he will revea t his success of
1930.
Xmas
partY.-Tbis took place on
9th. Some 350 parents, children and
frte!1ds were present. Tea, during ",hic!"> the Royal
ArtIllery Ban d played, was followed by a. conjurl.Jlg
a nd Punch and Jl!dy entertainment, and finally by
the dl stnblltlOn ,)1 presents trom a giant Xmas tree.
Our thanks are due to all thos'l wbo worked so bard
to make the party the unqualjfied success it was.
Annual

J~nu a ry

Northern Command
owners are pnrch nsing bits of o ld York. And the
trams-who ' cou ld forget the trams, an d where
would York be without t hem ? Banging, clanging
a nd clattering on their way frol11 the very heart of
the city to its uttermost suburbs: their merry music
cheers the sick, the sorry and the healthy from six
How many
in the morning to eleven at night.
times, and how many of us have cause to bless
those trams for awaken ing us in time to reach the
office with essential punctuality ?
This preamble is to enable the reader to i!'nin or
rega m the atmosphere of Yorl( before com ing to
the news of the Pay Offices situated and the
It A,P.C , sojourning therein.
The first it,em I should like to refer to is the
Third Annual Dinner of the York branches of the
Old Comrades Association, held at the Coach and
Horses Hotel , Nessgate, York, on the 4th Decem
ber, 1930. U nfortunately, the Colonel Commandant
who had attended our other two m'letings and had
promised to be with us, if possible, was, at the
last minute, un able to come. He sent us a wire
but we should very much have preferred his genial
perso nality at our gathering. The chair was ab ly
fill ed by the Command Paymaster, Colonel Macfie,
suppo rted by Lieut.Colonel Malone, Lieut. Colonel
Oldham , a nd other officers of the Corps in the
Garrison. S.S.M. Browue, the Hon. Seoretary of
the Association , was again-for the tbird tirne-a
guest of honour, and again told us all "bout it.
(I'm a bit weak here, I know, but I'm rather hazy
as to what he did tell us-I think be missed the
support of the Colonel Commandant.)
It was

COMMAND AND REGIMENTAL PAY OFFICES,

YORK ,

If an d when I leave York I hope it will be on a

summ,er day! when the sun is shining brilliantly.
I bke to thlIlk of York bathed in sunshine' it 'is
so often bathed in rain. I like to think of' it on
a Ijulet day , WIth only the sound of tbe Minste]'
chImes spraying their music through a balmy air
but, alas, al} I can think. of i~ 7.45 a,m., battJjng
to office agamst a fortymlle wmd or else with toes
and fingers ~rozeJJ stiff on a bitter frosty morning.
Then th~ Mmster, huge and forbiddin~ , seems, like
a caprtclous g Iant, to collect th e bOisterous wind
and hurl It back WIth treble free from all points
of. the compass at every unluck y cyclist and pedes
trlan co mpelled to travel in its vicinity
. Yet, for th.e soldier, York has its compensations:
It. teaches hIm to apprecIate a more congenial
~ltmate ,v:hen he leaves the a ncient city, and if he
IS a ~ychst or motor ist he will acknowledge that
the Clt:v Fathers know how to retain and maintain
the ancIent aSl?ects of the city. Who could ever
forget the dehghtfully uneven granite setts of
Flsherg ~te; the abominably old and worn wooden
blocks In. Petergate an d Monkgate; the narrow
streets ,. WIth narrower pavements, from which th e
pedestrIan steps at peril of hi s life, chased as he
IS by huge lorri es and omnibuses, which seem to
spend most of their time threading these narrow
streets and mounting the pavement here there and
ever:ywhere to pass a motor-bike or the :nore lordly
Austm Seven drawn up near the curb while their :

2I

THE ROYAL ARMY PAY

something about wreaths, relief (sounded like
P.A.C. claims, but it wasn't t hat), and subscrIpt ions from the Benevol ent Fund, which he hoped
they would never ask us to refund. (Hear , hea r . )
In fact. 1 am sure it was quite a good speech
(figuratively speaking)-600. I t hink he sa id , we
had accumulat ed.
Lieut.-Colonels Ma lon e and
Oldham spok e briefly a nd pithily .
S.S.M. Jones
also mad e a n excellent speech. (1 know his was a
_ good ~ ; un , because I have .heard it twice before.)
At a later hour ID th e evemng, S.S.M. Godwln was
preva iled upon to say a few words. Owing to the
applause whi ch pun ctuated hi s speech, I wa.s un able
to gather th e gist of hi s remarks. but judgmg from
his beaming countenance it mu st have been somethin g rattling good and jolly.. Li eut.-Colonel Malon e
paid a well -deserved co mphment to our old comrade-Harry Counsell, who . a t each of onr three
gat herings , has contribu ted to th e harmony and
jollity of the evening by his inimitable songs and
monologu es. Harry is a host in him self at such
parties, and we are ind eed fortun ate in hav ing him
\vith us in York.
Old Sports Club members of the York Club will ,
1 am sure, be pleased to hear that Comm and and
Regimental have a t last a malga mated for spo rt.
Onr progra mme for the past year was, therefore , a
little more ambiti ous than hitherto. Several very
success[u'l tenni s mat ches a nd tourn amen ts we re
held , and much enjoyed by all who took part in
them. 1 hope 1 ca n say as much for our non
playing supporters .
Th e usual cri cket programm e was ca rried throug!',
but our fellows a re really too good for half-day
matches, and many remain ed drawn.
The usual Offices An nu al Outing was not a suc
cess. In fact, it was nearly a tragedy ; but I'll
come to that later. We had proposed to spend th e
day on TIkley Moor, taking Bolton Abbey in as
well. The reason of our visit to Jlkley will be
apparent to those who conscientiously read their
.. News of the World." The scent of mystery attracted us and we desired to make our observa
tion on the spot. Unfortunately, it poured with
rain the whol e of the "blessed" day, except for
a short tim e at Ha rrogate. On our way to H arrogate. we had to pass over Blubberhouses Moo r (1
~h ou ld blubber if I had to pass over very often) .
Some of our memhers were greatly struck with the
bea utiful scenerv (the rain and wind was scudding
across it and moan in g 1i.k e souls in torm ent, or "
O. Q. ~J.S . an~wer ing observations on hi s monthly
account) a nd desired to stop a nd contemplate for
a while. We stopped, ad mired, and went on agai n,
and here is thp tl'i1.gi c part of it.
One of the
S.S.1\1.'s, bein g of an enqu iring turn of mind . and.
perhaps, bein g a bit of a geolog ist, had wandered
across the moor to view a peculiar bou lder on th e
si de farth est from the road (this information WHS
acq uired by the Sherlock H olm es method of dedu cti on) . It was not lln t il we arrived in H arrogate
that Wl< di scovered he was not ,vith ll S. Oh! th e
fluttering among L:le feminin es, the com ings and
goin!!s of the men, the surmi ses, th e suggestions:
nobody cou ld quote a precedent ; nobody knew of
any regulatio n, kC .I. , or Circular of Decision
covering t-he case. So with sinking hearts and

THE ROYAL ARMY PAY

CORPS JOURNAL

r isin g appetities we sa t down to. an excell ent tea.

We had almost forgotten the 1I1Cldent when 111
wa lked t he miss ing S.S.M. Oh! t he joy , the relief,
the clapping of hands , a nd hearty cheers-the situation was saved a nd the proud boast can st ili be
made that whatever the circum stan ces a Sergeant.
Maj or never misses a good meal.
Cap tain MOOl'e, who is our cri cket captain, leaves
us next month , without reli ef, alas ! Poor old
Regimental Office-more work, no cri cket- but good
lu ck to Captain Moore in hi s new station; we shal!
mi ss him .
One last. word: th e pride of our offi ce is our
garden-with its del ightful law n . a nd . herbaceous
border on which such t end er care IS laV Ished. And
thi s, in sp ite of the fact th at 0 11 ca tt le ma rk et days
it is usuall y the scene of au excell ent rodeo-but,
a t a ny rate, we no longer have any " J ohn Gilpins "
to use the beautiful law n as a tra inin g sc hool for
wild and enormous hunters!

Spo>rt for the R.A.P.C. staff is diffi culL. W e a re

one short of a cri cket. eleven. We are at.tached to
various units, and in conseq uence, unless yo u shine
particu larl y at sport. your chan ces are small .
S.Q.M .S. Gibson a nd Sergeant J ordan ha ve played
a good many ga mes for the H o~' a l Engineers at
hockey. Needless to sa.v, during th e summ er , our
worthy "Sk ipper "-Captain BalTatt- is in great
dema nd for t he Staff a nd Deparlmental cri cket
team.
P romoti ons.- H earty con gratulation s are extended
to Sergeants Fowler and Jordan on t heir pro motion
1.0 that ran l< on December lOth , 1930. May th eir
next step come soon.
22

LlCHFI EL D.
The third mon t hly whist drive of t he winter
season, held by the Record and Pay Office Sports
Club took pl ace on Tuesday, 7th Janu~ry , 1931,
and was quite it good show. Sergeant Low, for th e
third time in succession, was amC' ll g th e prize
winn ers. "Lucky a t ca rd s, unlucky in love," does
not apply in Sergeant Low's case, as he recent.ly
took a pri ze in the matrim oni al s1akes.
W e extend a welcome to Sergeant H . \\1i1 &o n, wh o
has joi ned us from E gypt.
Th e 2nd Battalion of the l(in g's Own Royal
Reg iment arrived a t Lichfield ea rly ill J anu ary.
after a foreign tOtH of 18 years, and were acco rd ed
a civic reception on a rrival.

Moves.-Sel'geant Ba ker left us in December last

for Preston. Our very best wi hes go with him ,
and at th e same tim e we extend a welcome to
Sergeant Fin ch, !Josted in hi s stead. W e are SOlTY
to record that Sergeant Baker had t o report sick
soon a fter a ITi vin g in Preston, a nd ha d to und ergo
an operation for gastric trouble, but now are pleased
to hear of his recovery. Captai n Ba rratt has left
us tempol"3l'ily for duty at W ar Office, and has
bee n reli eved by Captain B owa rd.
General. -W ill members of the Corps pl ease
remember when visiting Ca tterick, that th e
"Costing Blokes" wo uld be p leased to see them.
" COSTER."

Scottish Command.
La bour, and will not be ava il ab le. Th e losses we
have sustain ed put us in a very diffi cult position,
and the team to be fi eld ed will be very much below
the strength of the past two seasons. It is pro
posed, however, to carry thl"ough the attra ctive
ca rd , which has been arra nged by the untiring
efforts of t he H on. Secretary, S.Q.M..S. H.. Scott.
Hockey.-D uring season 1929-30 a very successful
hoc key t ea m was run , a nd ma ny enj oyable games
took place with units in and around Edinburgh .
Unfortunately, th e present season has been ma rred
by bad weat her as well as by the lack o f players ,
and thE: task of the H on. Secretal'y, L ance-Sergeant
A . L. Brown, in arra nging and fulfilling fi xtures,
ha s not bee n an env i1l.ule one. Th e team bas an
able s kipp er in Captain R. S. E lli colt. Th e la st
li ne of defence is held by Mr. J. W. Garland (exS.Q.i\ I. S. of the Co rps)-" Old J oe" can still wield
a sti ck with the best of them.
" ED1NA."

COMMAND PAY OFFICE, EDINBURGH.

Arrivals and Departures.-We welcome Lieut.Colonel and Mrs. H . Ge nge-A ndrews and Captain
C. E. Elliott -H eywoo d and fam ily to the Command
and hope th eir sojourn in Edinburgh will be ~
happy one.
Our best wishes go with Lieut.-Colon el L . J.
Li g htfoot, posted to Chatha m, a nd Captai n H. E.
Wa IT an d family, who are due to sa il for Egypt
early in March.

CATT ERICK .
News , especiall y Co rps new s, is jllSt wh~t we
lack and, in conseq uence, all here are a nXiously
awa iting the first issue of the Corps J ourn al to get
to kn ow wh at it is li ke in th e outer world . We
are particularly isolated here, a nd co.ndilions a l:e
far from ideal. Surrounded by YorkshIre moors, It
is very bleak in the winter month s (they seem
longer here), and apart from Sergeants' l\fes~ functi ons th ere is very littl e entertai nment 111 th e
Camp . Th e Co rps ,~as well represented at a Dance
held in the R.A.S .C . and R .A.O C. , ergea nts' Mess
on J anuary 31st, 1930, at which S. Q.M.S. Fowler
perform ed as " F ather Time ". at tbe witching hour
of midni ght mu ch to the en joyment of everybody
present. TI; ere are, howevel', two cin emas in the
Cam p for those who care for film thrill s. The
nearest town-Richm ond- is fOlll' miles away , hut
is well worth a vi~i l. It is a historical old town ,
being qna in t.ly huilt. and possessing one or two
it ems of especial in terest, na mely . Richm 'lnd CasLle,
th e Market Cross, Trinity Church and Old A bbey ,
and "The Sweet Lass of Ri chmond Hi ll. " The
writer (not on the married quarters roll) ha s. to
trav el back and forth chill y, bUl mu st co nSId er
himself fortun at e in compa ri son wit.h an other member of th e sta ff , wh o, so me tim e ba ck, had t o
travel dai ly from Darlington , 11 matter of 12 mil es
or so, th is being at th e t im e the nea res t ph1.~7.,; 3 t
whi ch acco mm oda ti on was avail able.

CORPS JOURNAL

Retirements.- S. Q.M.S. S. G. Hayes bas just

go ne to pension, after ma ny years of a rduous servlce~ but as the W.D. hav e still need of " Jerry 's "
ser VICes , be has been appointed to the civ ilian staff
of the offic.e in place ~f Mr . .C. G. WI!ite (exS.Q.M.S., ot th e Corps), who has retired on account
of the age limit. Mr. W hi te was a produ ct of t hat
fine old regi ment, the Sea forth Highlanders, ancl
now, a fter more than 40 years' service, he is ta king
" Tiny," who had been a
a well -earn ed rest.
memb er of the office staff for the past 10 years was
~I'eatl y esteemed by everyone with whom he 'came
In contact, and to mark their appreciation he was
made the recipient of a parting gift by his ma ny
fTl end s a t Command H eadquarters. W e shall miss
h is cheery personali tY uy the .. open window."
Long may he be abl e to reco unt those wonderful
tales of St. H elena, Africa,. and the Coast a nd
en joy hi s "reward for serv ices rend ered." '

..

LEITH.
The suggestion to found a Corps J ou rnal was
well received at Leith and everyone has been loo king forward to the first i sue since the decis ion to
proceed with the project. It is certa in that tbe
publication wi ll suppl y a long- felt want throughout
the Co rps, and particu larly at the more remote
stations to which new s fi lters through but slowly,
Among these can be numb ered Leith, a nd tl. e
a niv al of t he Journ a l will be eager ly awaited.
In this first issue it will be fitting to g ive a
res um e of our var ious activities sin ce t he transfer
of the office from Hamilton . It can be said at
once that the amenities of th e Scottish ca pital are
mu ch to be preferred to those of the ducal burgh ,
and the leis ure hours ca n be well spent in variou s
ways , without th e necess ity of goin g too far afield.
Th e majority of t he Midlothi a n and Fifeshire coast
resorts are within easy reach of the city, and ,
though lack ing the developm ent of more well known watering places, afford welcome relief to th e
toi l of th e day during the su mm er months. FOr
ih!' more energetic the co untrysid e arou nd a uonnds
in hi storical lore, a nd t he Pentland Hills, overlooking t he city, offer to the pedestrian unlimited
opportunities of leaving the hu b-bub of the workaday world behind.

~? u catio llal.- Co.ngmtulaiions a re d ue to Lan ceSergeant A. L . Brown 011 obtain ing hIS Special
Cert Ificate at the recent exa mination.

Sport. -As the numbers in this office a re too

li mited to permit of running teams for cricket
hockey, etc., we have had to join forces with th~
Infa ~try . Record an d P ay Ofljce, Leith, and, d espite
the In eV Itable cro~ of casualt ies throughout the sea.
so n, have been fau'ly successful.
C'ricket.-We look forw ard wit h more opti mism
t llltB confid ence t.o the open in g of a new season.
Dnnng the "close" seaso n we ha ve lost the services of Lieut-Colone l Lightfoot, Lan ce: Sergean I.
Mander, and Corporal Pulhn. In addition to t hese
Sergeant Ed e is expec ted to embark for Egyp t.
earl~ .1Il March , and M r. W allace will probab ly be
recelvlllg an appowtment under the Millistry of
23

THE ROYAL ARMY PAY

CORPS JOURNAL

THE :ROYAL ARMY PAY

-------------------The social life of the detachment has been

p<trticularly well catered for si nce our a rrival here
and is carried on in combination with our colleagues
of the Co mm and Office. A social club was quickly
formed , and a club room obtained in Leith Fort.
During the winter months a whist drive and da.nce
is held twice weekly, and these fun ctions are well
attended by the members and t heir families. An
outing to one or other of the a djacent places of
....-intelest is arranged durin~ the summer, and CIll:ist..
mas t im e sees the celebratIOn of the eagerly awal ted
Yuletide party , beloved by the children of .all ages.
Altogether the venture has gone wIth a SW lllg Slllce
its in ception, and, considering the strength of the
Detachment, has proved a great success, and
appe<trs likely to continue to be so. A ~ord <?f
thanks is due to Sergeant W. F. Ede 101' hIS
enthusiasl11 whilst ta king a leading part in .the
promotion of the social gatherings. By the tWIP
these lin es are in print uur colleague will have
arrived in Cairo, where he will find plenty of scope
for continuing his activities in the social world.
It has not been found possible to run a football
team with the small number avai lab le for thi s
oranch of sport, and active participation in outdoor sports during the winter months in confined
to the a ll cient game of goI and an occasional game
of hockey , as and when the weather permits'. We
h<tve held our own fairly well at th e latter sport,
but, having St1ffered the loss of the services of
several of the mOI'e prominent l11embers of the side,
the season looks like petering out without distin c
tion. It is almost unnecessary to say that Edin
burgh has no shortage of golf courses, a nd a set of
golf clubs is almost an essenti al part of one's equip
ment north of the Tweed. The office staff includes
quite a number of enthu siastic golfers, and this
section of the Club will ue very prominent as the
lighter evenings approach. Several handicaps have
been decided in the past, in which Captain T. A.
Meek, M.C., has been conspicuous from the back
mark. The same officer has also met with success
in the Command tourneys, and has worthily represented the Corps against aHcomers. To the poor
pedestrian in search of rela xation the air aro und the
City appears to be mainly composed of golf balls
during the summer evenings, and it is a hazardous
business to stray far from the world famous Princes
Street; it is not without risk to perambulate along
that noted thoroughfare for that matter, but that
is another story.
The cricket season will be well under way before
the summer issue is published, and we anticipate
carrying out a regular programme with a fair
measure of success.
The team canied off the
Scottish Command (Eastern Section) Cup two
seasons ago, but failed to reta in possession of th e
trophy last year , though results genera lly were quite
satIsfactory. Lt.-Col. L. J. Ligbtfoot easily headed
the batting averages for each of the past two
seasons, and L. f Sergeant F. W. Grant similarly
cli tinguished himself in th e bow ling department.
Th e services of Lt.Col. Lightfoot will not be avail .
able during the coming summer, and his keenness
and enthusiasm will be much missed, quite apart
from his a ll -round abilily at the glorious game.
Several other capable members of the team have
departed to otber stations, and it remains to be
scen with what success we meet during the current

year. But, win or lose, the game's the thing, and

many pleasant hours wi ll be spent on the prettily
situated ground at Redford Barracks, even if the
majority of them are occup ied in chasing the
leather.
Other summer sports which are ca lered for include
tennis and bowls. in both of which games consider
able interest is shown by the majority of the office
staff. P articu larly is friendly rivalry fought out on
the bowling green <tnd, as almost everyone can
participate ID this ever-popul ar form of recrealion,
it is sure to retain its popularity.
In closing, it is doubtful if the detachment will
he represented at the forthcoming annua l meeting
and dinner of the Old Comrades' Association , or at
the Cup Fina l which the F ootball Association has so
kindly an'anged for the following day. Most of
us will, perforce, have to wait ti ll we are with.in
easier reach of the rendezvous, but it is a pleasure
only delayed, and everyone hopes that all who a re
able to attend this year will have a jolly good time.
PE~TH.

An Office Social and Recreation Club is success

fully run at this station, the' Cllief objects being
tennis, summer outing, whist drives, dances, and
a party for the families at Christmas.
Owing to ample and cheap fac ili ties in the locality
for golf and bowls, it has not been found possible
for the Clu b to run either a cricket, footb all or
hockey teaI)l. Several of the members , however,
take part in those games with the loca l military
and civilian clubs.
The first whist drive and dance of the present
season was held at York House Oll Lhe 8th October,
which was attended by most of the Officers and
their wives, and a very pleasant and enjoyabl e
evening was spent. Whist drives an d dances held
in the Recreation Hut on the 7th November, 12th
December, and 6th February, again proved to be
very popu lar, and on each occasion were well
attended.
The Annual Christmas Party, held in the
Recreation Hut on December 24th, brought together
a good attendance of members with their families
and friends ; each child was presented with a suitable present from the hands of Father Christmas
(S.Q.M.S. Ingle).
Congratulations to Corpl Le Vey in obtaining
his "First" a nd .. Special " Certificates at the
October, 1930, exami nations, with distinction in
three subjects.
Lance-Sergt. Gi les proceeded to Aldershot on
the 8th January to attend a course in Cost Account
ing Duties; hi s geni a l personality is missed.
Capt. A . L. Dunnill proceeded to London on the
23rd February on posting to the Office of the
Co mmand Paymaster, Eastern Command, 80, Pall
Ma ll.
We welcome to Pertb Sergt. C. W. Paul and
family, who joined from Woolwich on the 27th
January.
Lieut. J. Moulding, 2nd Bn. The Devonshire
Regiment, join ed on probatiou at Perth on the 23rd
February.
We take this opportunity of ex t ending to S.Q.M.::;.
J . Keller a nd fam ily the besL wishes .of th e Detachment on their departure for service overseas; they
embark for Egypt about 10th March.

24

CORPS JOURNAL

Southern Command
COMMAND PAY OFFICE, S.\LISBU~Y.
The Detachment here held another dance at the
loca l Gui ldhall on February 20th , in aid of the
O.C.A. funds. The place was tastefu ll y decorated
in the Corps colours, and a crowd of 130 danced
ft'om 8 p.m. tu 1 a .m. to musi c supp lied by Stainer's
Band. It is hoped by this effort to send another
substantial con tribution to the Association.
Captain A. C. W. Hands, who has been with us
for three yea rs, has been posted to Warwick. He
has been l'elieved by Captain F. G. Norton , from
Eas tern Command, to whom we wish a very
pleasa nt stay in this ancient city.
We shall soon be losing the services of Lt. Colonel
R. W. R ackett, who ha s been posted to Warwick.
He is being r eli eved by Major R. H. Walker, who
is at present serving at York.
Major L. J. W ebb ha s joined this office, and this
addition to the playing strength of our cri cket club
will be very welcome.
S.-Sgt. Hillary smi les again, having been
appointed temporary S. -Sgt. , with effect from
Janu ary 12th, 1931.
SARUM.
PE~HAM DO WN CAMP.
I believe that in a new corps magazine such as
ours, it is consid ered to be the thing to write and
describe th e advantages and disadvantages of one's
station, the id ea behind this being that the maga
zin e becomes a type of tourist guide for prospecti ve candidates for tha t station in future years, and
I think , if .rny memory serves me correctly, one
should describe the climate, clothes required , aUowances admissible, etc.
Well, Perh<tm Down Camp is an old War Camp.
By War, you must not think of that little show
of 1914, and you must not think of what the
Australi<tn or Canadian Forces did , 01' were sup
posed to have .. did" here, but to remember that
PictPict Hill is the north-east outpost for Old
Sarum, the Roman Fort. Now, that should interest
a ll the budding archreologists in the Corps, and they
should come down here in swarms to inspect our
tumulii. For those of lighter vein who occasiomUly
have a " hob" on the alleged winner, we have the
racing stables at Weyhill , about four mi les away.
No, this station is not in the Colonies and there
fore co lonial allow!tnces are not admissible, aithough
when you are statIOned here you can see no defipite
reason why it should not be a colony, or a t least a
foreIgn statIon of some sort. You just look and
wonder, and the more you look <tnd the more you
wonder the more sure you become that it is and
thiLt you must be dreaming. Yet you wake up
and becon;te .rath~r annoyed with yourself for yo ur
lapse, untIl It ra Ins, and the ralllY season sets in,
and you say to. yourself, " Monsoons," and you are
Ju st left .guessmg. But not for long; King Snow
makes hIS appearance, and the Tanl{s Medium
Mark H. have to parade lik e the elephants of the
old Roman Army, and squash a roadway to Tidworth aud the villages of Kimpton and Thruxton
before yo~ can ha ve any milk for your tea, and
you say,
I must h ave been mistaken after all; it

is in a Polar Expedition that I a m serving not the

R.A.P.C.': However. the weather clears,' and you
walk to Tldworth. (One could get a. lift in a private
car before the :' mechanised " were costed.) To do
a httl e shopplll!7 you make the acquaintance of
" Robbers ' Row , ' and you say to yourself that it is
the Tropics, otherwise why the shark.infested
waters ? With regard to cloth ing, I wou ld strongly
adVIse a ca.reful perusal of the" Daily Mail "-bv
the way , I ought to get something out of tha't
paper for the advert.-and huy up a ll American
Army mackintoshes and Australian Army boots that
are going cheap. If it were not for the Official
Secrets Act, I would endea vour to describe to you
all the weird and wonderful contrivances which go
to make up a Tank Battalion, but I can assure you
that 11: tank, at least a. young tallk, is unable to fly
or SW I.n:t,. although we end en vour to emp ha sise these
capabIlItIes upon any stranger who enq uires too
closely 'into the functions of our Mechanised War
appliances.
"TAFF."
EXETE~ .

The Officers and Staff of this office welcome the

creation of the Hoyal Army Pay Corps Journal, and
hope that it will be a real live wire amongst the
many journals now in existence.
Th e Exeter Office, in a ll its solitud e, does not
ellJ.oy the hustle and bustle of some offices, but
It IS hoped that the following remarks may be of
some Intel'est to other members of the Corps.
Blrths.-Sergeant Lewis, a so n.
Born 19th
December, 1930.
Deaths.-lt is with profound regr et that the
deaths of Mr. J. Ford , S.Q.M.S. i\Jacnamara and
Sergeant F. H awes have to be mentioned . Mr.
Ford, late of the Cameronians, passed away at his
office table. He had suffered from heart tro uble
and this was t he cause of hi s untimely dea.th:
S.Q. M.S . Macnamara, a lthou gh suffering intensely
from an internal comp la int, continued at his duty
untIl a few days before his death. His passing
was mourned by all who knew him. Sergeant Hawes
appea red to be in good h ea lth, a nd was photographed for the office group on the day of his
death. He was at the office until 5 p.m., and
attended an eveuing class until 9 p.m. Much to
our regret and surprise he passed a way in his
sleep.
.
S.ocinl Club. - Our Social Club is not exactly a
thnvln~ affa Ir, but when fund s permit an enjoyab le
OUt111g IS arranged. We do not take an active part
in <tny sports, owing to the la ck of young and ab le
members.
Savings AssociaHon.-Mr. E. Ha wkins (late
A.P.C.) is the Secretary, and by his persuasive
powers many of the slaff contr ibute a weekly contribution.
Old Comrades' Assodation. - This Branch thrives
under its Secretal'y, Mr. Salmoll, late R.A .P .C. Up
to .t!1e prese nt there are nine mi lita ry and three
clv llt an members. All credit must be paid to Mr.
Salmon for his untiring efforts.
~5

THE ROYAL ARMY PAY

HILSEA (and Wessex Area).
This Area comprises the following Corps memo
bel's :-Hilsea Pay Offi ce: Lt. CoL Anscombe, Capt.
Baines . S.S.lVL Lambert, S.o..M.S. Cbad:vlck.
S .. Sergt. Lukins, Sergts. AylwlI1 and WJlson ,
L.Sergts. Argent and Freeman ,. and CorpL Pan~elL
On C()sting Duttes: Caetam Dla,,' a.nd S.S.M. Gngg,
i/c Wessex Area; S.Q.M.S. W a.Lk1l1s, a t HJJsea.
S.Q.'U.-B.'s Harman a nd Whit.e, and Sergt. P. Hdl
. POrtsmouth. S .. Sergt. Peters and COl'pL Wood s
at Gosport, Sergt. Crowe at Netley, S .O,.M.S.
Jones Sergt. Backwell and L .. Sergt. Lees at
Dovin'gton , and S.O,.M.S. Berkeley, Sergt. Stew art
alld L.Sergt. Vea l at D evonport.
.
We welcome the Corps Joul'l1al , and.unal1lmo,:,s ly
wish it long life and success ; we gIve IL our ul1lted
support.
It is with profound regret that we have to report

CORPS JOURNAL
the death of S.O,.i\I.S. M. W. P lowman , who was
emp loyed on costing duties with the 13th Company ,
R.A.S .C. , Portsmouth. He was l~lI1g III Netley
Hospital for a month with pneumoma, t o whIch he
succllmbecl on the 16th December. Our deep.est
sympaLhy is extended to his widow and ~IS famdy,
who are so well known throughout the COl ps:
W e have experienced many recent changes III the
costin a sla ff the arrivals being 8.O,.M.S. Watkllls,
from Egypt' (who, by the .way , landed at Ti lbury
Docks on Christmas mornll1 g ) , 8ergt. Crowe and
L. 8el'gt. Lees from the School of !-:ostll1g, Alder
shot.
Sergea nt Stewart, !r'o m lldworth , and
Sergeant Hill, from A ldershot. The depart~res
have 'been Sergts. Oli veI' and PItcher to Woolwl ch,
and Sergt. Wolfe to Leit h, a!1 on ,Pay duty. W e
wish a ll the very best 6f lu ck m theIr new Jobs.
(FOr WINCHESTER Notes, see page 33.)

Western Command.
COMMAND PAY OFFICE, CHESTER.
The Detachment here is so small in number that
we cannot form any corporate body for games.
Several individual members are, however, pro
minent in sport in Chester. S.S.M. A. W. Deacon
plays in the forward line for the Soccer team of
.. 1 " (Supp ly) Coy ., R.A.S.C. , and in the halfback
lin e for Tattenhall Hockey Club. L.Sgt. Doggrell
plays in goal for "1" (Supp ly) Coy., and a lso
plays fullback for the Chester Wa ter Polo team.
lfe bas been in this team two years! and du.rmg
this period the. team IHl.~'p. bee n chnmp lons of L,veI'.
pool and DistrIct ComblDatlon.
SHREWSBURY.
Major W. Palmer retil'ed on the 7th December
last, after a lon~ and hO!lour~ble career. All who
know him will JOIll us III wlshmg hIm and Mrs.
Palmer long life and happiness in theIr weU earned
retirement. Major Palmer en iJ sted on the 7th
December, 1889, and served with cred,t In many
parts of the world. He wa s commIss Ioned on the
24th May, 1913. We hope to spe h,s s~"mg face
for many years to co me at the O.c:.A. d,nner.
Congratulations and welcome to Lieutenant W . T.
Cork who was comm issioned on th e 7th December
and posted to Shrewsbury for duty.
.
Congratulations to 8 .O,.M.S.'s Pugh and ChlDery
on their promo~ion to Wanant rank.
.
We mu ch regret ha ving to say good bye to Lieut ..
Col. A. B. Cliff, whose sLay amongst us has been
much too short. We welcome Lieut.Col. W. S.
Hack who has taken over the reins of office.
W~ are now preparing our ~owlin g green for ,~he
summer, and arranging. a se l'l~s of m~tches. 1 he
bowling green is beautlrully sltuaLed m the office
grounds and was laid out by thc office staff (a fter
office hdurs) under the ab le guidance and assistance
of Lieut .. C~1. F. P. Vidal.
~'lany happy games and tourneys were played last
summer, and we look forward to another successful
yeor.
The office library (consistIng of nearly 500 books)
hos proved very popular. We wdl be very glad to
a:Tange an exchange of books (by fifties) with any

~=

Our fortnightly whist drivcs during the wmte,'

have again proved most popul.a r. The on ly d.iAi ~

culty we ha ve is in accommodatll1g all those desllou.
of attend ing.
D. Mc. I' .
PRESTON.

Social and Sports Club.-Oul activities 111 tu"

socia.l life of the office have mad e g l'ea t jll'ogress
during the last eighteen months, thanks bemg due
to our energetic secretary, Mr. H . Sell er, and th e
committee.
On June 19th a tour was made of the LaKe
D istrict. This was the outstandillg eve nt of the
year. A delightful day was spent by a. party of
fi fty among the Lakes, and .altogether a d Ista nce of
173 miles was covered. L eaV In g Pres ton at 6.30 a. m.,
stops were made at Carnforth for breakfast, Kes
wick for lunch, Grange for tea, and finally at
Lancas ter on the return home. Durll1g the stay at
Ke wi ck many of the parLy had a trIp on Lake
Windermere but no attempt was made to break
the motor.b~at record. Again our thanks are due
to the secretary for the splendid al'l'angem ents made
bv him .
. A tr ip was made to the Mi.'~tary Tattoo ~t
Warrington on the 1st October. 1 he Tattoo gIven
by the Prin ce of Wn,les' Volunteers fully wal'ran~ed
the trip , re ultll1g 111 an entertall1lng evenll1g belll g
spent.
The smoking concert on the 17th Novem~er
afforded an opportunIty to bId farewell ~o Major
Ansc'o mbe, Captain MackenzIe, . a nd Captall1. Hard.
who have s in ce departed for HJ!sea, Woolwlch and
China. Thanks to the services of sever.al loca l
artists, a rattling good ev~ning was appreciated by
all, but, lik e all good thmgs, the evenll1g passed
away too quickly.
A successfu l whi st drive and dance was held at
the Regent Ballroom on the 11th D.ecember, and
well aLtended by 30) members and friends.
A billiard halldicap co nclud ed the 1930 pro
gl'amme The final was pl ayed on the J8th December
between l\Ilessl's. T. Messent and l!. Martll1, the
former bein g the wi nn er.
Movement .- 5173698, Sgt. H. E. Kershaw, from
Egypt, J anuary 8th, 1931.

THE

ROYAL ARMY PAY COJ~~PS JPURNAL

COlnmands Abroad
EGYPT.
At the outset let me co nvey the heurty congratu.
lations of the officers and a ll other ranks of the
Corps in Egypt to all concerned for the introduc.
tions of a Corps MagazlIle. It I:, no lI ght Job
lau nch in g a literary bnrque on th e troubled seas of
military journalJ sm , but the wll1ds nre flll r, ami
th ere is not the slig htest doubt as to th e s uccessful
outcome of the venture. Egypt muy he aptly term ed
the " Clapham Junction" of th e R.A.P:C . netwc r "
of activities; therefore, we so)ourners III the lalld
of the Pharaohs particularly welcome the advent
01 a medium for the exchange of ide;Js, and one tbat
will bind a little closer the ties of Ou r lurge ancl
scattered family.
Owing to the length of the tOllr of duty in Egypt,
and the size of the Detac:hment, wlllch, by the way.
is tbe largest of any in the Corps, in any part of
the world (with the pOSS Ible exceptIo n of. Woo l.
wich) , the freque':Ot. departures from the Stati on ;Jre
often lik e the partll1gs of old a nd valued friends.
During the rast year we bade " bon voyage" to
Colonel C. C. Todd , who en joyed the esteem of a ll
ranks ; may he have health and happiness in bis
wellearned retirement. Colonel A. 1. Musson on ly
remained with us from April to Novembel'-his
transfer to the War Office being hailed by the
Detach ment with mingl ed feelillgs of congratlllatioll
and regret. Colonel J. G. Lawrence, who arr ived
from Malta on the 26th of November to take over
the onerous duties of Command Paymaster, came
with an establisbed reputation, not on ly in the field
of finance, bu t a lso as a leader iD allother sphere,
having commanded two battalions of infantry during
the Great War. It gives the utmost satisfaction to

the members of the Corps in Egypt to know that

our prestige and good name were never in uetter
bands.
Old faces g rea Uy missed ow iJl g to exp iration of
tour during the presellt trooping season include
Sergts. Murphy , Daly , Kel's haw , Brown, Wilson
a nd Vin e, to whom we wi sh Lhe best of Incl<. Our
sy mpathy is with Sergt. Cill , who, after a strenuous
fi ve years here as an all round good fellow alld a
keen j::articipator in sports ;Jnd games, had an
Ilnfortun;Jte brea l,down in health, which led to his
discharge.
From a games point of view the Detachment
has had rathel' a chequered tim e during the past
tw el'e mOJlt'ls, chieA y olVing to the unfortunate
acc ident to a lorry conta ini ng the Corps cricket
team , which occllr red last 11ay when on the . way
to Maadi; severa l good men , particu larly S.O,.M.S.
" Danny" FriLz and Sergi. Brown. beill~ badly
knocked aLout.
However. notwithstandll1g the
" slings and arrolVs of outrageous fortune," all past
and present fri ends of the Corps who" ken" Cairo
wlll be glad to know that we have mall aged to
keep the good old " nIne and Yellow" well respected
in the garrison. Majol' W. D. N. Robotham, by his
active particlpatiOIl, is a towel' of strength in the
realms of tenllis " nd cI'ic ket ; Capta in P. C. Harding
is fnll of enth usi asm as the Srolts Officer; Major
F. . Robins is a r~a l asset on the platform as
a vocalist at a ll Sergeants' Mess socials, and it is
only necessary to OMIIlti on such sta lwalts ns Captajns
Ingpen , Woods and Sayer to those wbo know them
to prove t hat our recreatiolJal side has the best of
back ing.

Section Officers, Regimental Pay Office, Abbassia.

Major A . E. Bl'oughton (40 years' service) , Major F. C. R.obins (34 years'), Capt.
P. C. Hal'ding (37 years'), and Capt. R. H. Sayel' (24 years'). Average 34 years'
service. Can any other office beat this?

27

THE RO:YAL

ARMY fAY

S . S . ~l. Brindley , ably assist ed by S.Q.M.S. Fritz,

.'Sergts . James, ~lonk s, Adl a~ a nd others, has led
the Corps billiards t eam to vI ctory In man y a hard
fought gam e, at the time of wriLing th e C orps
heing in th e final of the Egyptian Sta te R aIl ways
Institute Cup competition.
Cong l'atul ations to Staff.~ergts . L(;mg, Lomax,
P rice and lIIernfield on th eIr promotIon fr om the
r ank of Ser geant ; we all I(D OW th e selecti on is wep
merited , and confidently look forward to theIr
f.ud:he(. progress in the Corps.
NILUS.
Cricket.- Th e past season opened very successfull y und er t he ~a.pta in cy of Maj ~r Robotha m, and
a lot of competItIOn for pl aces 111 th e t ea m was
seell. Although our first ga me was lost , we were
s uccessful in our next five games, some outstandlDg
innings bein g those of Sg t. 13roo l,e, 79 a nd 58 not
QUt. Ca,ptain Ingpen 67, S .Q.M.S. Fritz 51, and
Of our bowl ers, ~l aJor
C aptain Woods 50.
R obotha m and COlpl. p ountn ey bo wled un changed
through one ga me, t al<in g 6 for 32 and 3. for 48
r espectively. In oth er ga mes, S. Q.M.S. Fr lt z took
5 for 35, and Ca ptain Wood s 3 for 22. This good
s t art encoura ged us in th e beli ef t hat we wo uld do
well in th e Small e nits Cu p, b\lt all our ca lcula tions were upset when , on our way t o fulfil a fi xture
a t Maadi , tb e lorry on whi ch we were t ra velling
Qvertn rned , with very ser ious res ults. Cri cket
(in cludin g th e cup match) was ca ncell ed for it
~onsiderab l e time, as we had a numb er of our t e<l m
in hospi ta l, in addit ion t o whi ch several memb ers
Qf th e side were on leaye. Wh en we re st arted
-cricket , Captain Ingpen took over th e capta in cy,
but we were onl v a ble to fi eld weak teams, WIth the
res ult th a t win s' were few and far between. In th e
i nter -offk e (Comma nd v. R eg im ental') games, some
v er y good and keen cri cket was witnessed. Th e
first game was won by th e Co mmand Offi ce, who
s cored 115 to 97 , th e main feature bein g a spl end id
innin gs by Sgt. 13rooke, wh o, openin g th e innin gs,
was 8th man out at 71, of which t otal he scored
.4. The second ga me was left drawn , R eg imen tal
scoring 210 for 7 (Captain In j1;pen 88, S. Q.M .S.
Fritz 32), Command 121 for 7. Th e ga me was saved
for Command by Mr. Cash , who, towa rds the end
<>f th e dav batted 39 minutes for 8 r uns. In the
fin al m a t~h, whi ch was won by the Regimental
Office, with a, score of 144 to 65, some very stolid
batting was seen, Sgt. Murphy openin g the innings
for Command , stayed in for over a n hour , and was
"9th man out after scoring 17 runs .
Th e complete results for th e season , a nd leading
.avera ges were as foll ows:Played 21, Won 6, Lost 13, Drawn 2.
Batting Averages.
Ti mes. Total Hi gh est.
Inn s. N.O . R uns . Score . Aver.
31.54
79
Sgt. Brooke
13
2
347
25.66
51
S.Q.M .S. Fritz 14
2
308
Bowling Averages.
o. i\l<l lls . Runs. Wkts .
Aver.
Sgt. Wil es ..
73
6
365
29
12.58
Cpl. Pountney 206
5
911
72
12.65
Ca pt. Woods ... 71
3
308
24
12.83
S.Q.i\l.S. Fritz 154 16
592
46
12.86
Tennis.- The climati c conditions of this st ation
:and the possession of two excell ent hard courts tend
to make tennis the most popu la r branch of sport
<> f the Detachment, and , indeed , the members have
rea son to be prond of the record achieved in this

CORPS JOURNAL
popula r ;Jastime. Our tennis team hav e been wlDnel's o f the Seni or Ranks Tenni s Leagll e for both
1925 and 1926 and hav e consist ently figured in semifin als for each succeeding year. The present season
sigmdised a ver y na rrow defeat in th e fin al a t t he
hand s (or should it be the ra cqu et s?) of the
R.A.O .C., the Detachm ent t ea m losing four matches
to fi ve. In th e Co mm and Inter-U nit Comp etition ,
after disp osin g of th e R .A.l\I. C. an d th e 1st Bn.
Kin g' s Regt. , Ollr tea m succumbed to th e Royal
Signals in th e final. Th e Det achment a nnual tourn a ment res ulted in Ma jor and Mrs. R oboth a m winning
th e Ha ndi cap Doubl es, i\ [a jor Ro both~m a nd Sgt.
W ebst er th e L eve l Doubles, Sgt. Murph y th e
H a ndi ca p Singles, a nd Sg t . Webst er t he Level
Sin gles. This yearl y feature is a very popu lar
event, and a fine st and ard of t ennis is sh own.
Football. - Th e reco rd for t he season so fa r is not
very impressi ve, a facL that undoubt edl y is du e
far more to wan t of p ra cti ce th a n t o lack of
enthu siasm . Th en th e retllrn hom e of two very
fin e foo t ba llers- S.Q,.M.S. Watkin s a nd Sgt.
Murphy-has been a serious loss. A t ea m co uld not
be entered for an y co mpet itions, but a seri es of
fri endl y ma tches have been pl ayed , with t he followin g results :Played 12, Won 1, Lost 10, Drawn 1, Goals for 19,
Goa ls a ga inst 63.
In add iti on t wo matches have t aken place between
t he Co mm and a nd R egim ental Offi ces for t he JnterOffi ce Tropb y (menti oned elsew here ). Both were
very keenl y contest ed , t he fi rst resulti ng in a
draw 2- 2, alld th e second in a victory for Co mm and
Offi ce hy 4-3. Th ese inter-offi ce matc hes a re
. veritable " Derbys," whi ch nct as an irresistible
dra w t o pract icall y a ll memb ers a nd th eir fa milies
of th e D etachm ent, to say noth in g of th e regular
football fans who ma ke each such occasion t he opportunity for tes tin g th eir voc al orga ns to t he full ,
a id ed by ra ttl es a nd th e impedim en ta usuall y asso
ciat ed with Cup-ti e ma tches.
.
Rifle Club.- This hra nch of th e Detacllm ent
Sports Club off ers a very pleasan t a nd practical
way of spend ing a few hours on th e A b hassia
Ra nges.
Tra nsport from t,h e Mess in Ma in Ba rracks to t,he
Ran ges is pro vid ed, and a bou t a dozen r ifl e fans
(in cl udin g offi cers ) visit th e Rifl e R.an ges a bout
t wice a month to indulge in their favourite pastim e.
On arrIv al at t he Ran ge, lots a re cast (as to firing
and markin g fir st respecti vely) , and , wh en th e first
firing pa,rty has finis hed th e practice. previously
agreed upon, a halt is ca ll ed , a nd both parti es
for egath er over a welcome sna ck and a necessary
glass of " Ye Old P ilsener. " Appli cali on at two,
three and fi ve hundred yard s is th e most popu lar
practi ce, abou t tw o dozen rounds per man being
fired , i.e., eight rounds at each dist ance. the first
shot bein g a "sighter," whi ch does not count
toward s th e sco re. Usuall r , by way of va ri ety, a
P ool Shoot is held afterward s.
As, look in g up th e ranges towards th e bu tt s, one
is ga.zin g at a point of the compass midwa.y between
east and south , it will be appa rent that durin g any
morning the sun is gradually veering round from
our left to a point behind th e targets ; not exactly
id eal for si ghting. But" Ma ' al esh, " as we say in
the Arabic, so we carry on . Aga in , th ere may be a
small sand storm blow in g, or th e stick y khamseen
(hot so uth wind) ' may be lIpon us . However , one

THE ROYAL ARMY

PAY

g ets used to th ese li ttle plagues in Egypt. Topees

-a nd coloured spectacles help to co unteract the combJJl ed glare of sa nd and S UII , a mI I<h aki dri ll is very
'comfortabl
. t'er
,
I dl e wea r for the
. holtel' '-] ,'lYS. I n wtn
" e gay don our sel'Vl ce dress I<it as the desert
wmd IS pretty I<ee ll.
. A con veni ent miniature ri fl e ,."nge is al so ava il.a ble, and IS mu ch apprec Iated wh en th e wea th er is
not s ~lta b l e f or t he .oth er ra nges.
b A htt.le fn endl.y l"]Va lry is a dd ed to ti,e e outin gs
y the tntrodu ctlOn of a Spoon Shoot every month
and for thI S purpose a ha ndi cap has been drawn up '
.c1mplled .from the bu tt registe rs of previous shoots:
t l e ha ncltcap fi g ures belll g revised every quarter
Th e meth od of handi ca pping adopted has heen mos t
s u ~ce~s fu l , even th e poo rest shot fee lin g th at he ha s
.a a ll chan ce. of II" lIll1ln g one of t he co veted spoo ns,
as .a . souvelllr of ma ny happy hours spent (fli es,
mOZZles. a nd even loc usts not withsta nd in g ) wit h
hI S C or~ s chulll s on t he Polygo n desert. The handi
cap W ~ l ks out "S foll ows : A Club member with a
40 1;>el ce nt. handI ca p, sco res, say, 55 out of a
pOSS Ibl e 75. H e. th ere for e, a dd s t o hi s sco re 40 er
ce nt. of th e dIfference bet wee n hi s sco re (55) ~ld
,ble (75) , i .e., 40 per ce nt. of 20- 8 poi~ts.
o
score, 63. Anotber ha ndi cap is 55 per cent
H e scores, say, 36.. 55 per cell t. o f c1iffere n c~
bet ween 36 and 75 IS a pprox imately 21 "'T t I
' g (actual results)
2'
0 ait
sco
willre \ 57'2 ' F. rom t lle foregOln
., l
e se~,n th ;~ t th e helter shot onl y got a
.> u c k ~ !l ee
8 POl,'; tS whitst t he oth er received 21'
i~tnts h bucks hee, a nd 1 t hin k it will be admittea
, . at t e dlfry cul ly o f fiX In g i1 fai r Ilandi cap fi ure
has been sntls f" cto r Jl y sllrm ou.ll ted. A s thi s Det~ch
ment fi res a n annu a l course, thi s event h" 5 oeen
~H~l e d .o f (by Jnll t lJ il l :"Ta lJ gel1l ent) lo pi ck tea ms
. ~te l mlll e th shoo Lm g ISS lJ e betwee li th e Com .
m,ln and R eg llll enla l Offi ces for points toward
t~le In ter' 9 ffi ce T rophy, a nd a :nore el1uita bl e all~cas
l?:l 0 f pomt,s t hall p rev iously ex isted has now bee~
aOffi
lll ce.
ved a t. l ro ph y li p winn ers 1929-30 ' R eg 'lm enta I

CORPS JOURNAL

be a ble to enter a tea m soon for th e Sudan 1'1'0 h

and perh a]Js dI sco ver in th e Detachm ent an jn~i;;'
duft'
al optImIstIhC enou gh to entel' til e In cl'
.'-' I
, 1\ lull a S co mpe ~.~~n a t t ~ Command Rifle Meetin g.
billi I ldar~s. -'l here '~ an old say ing that s klll at
. . ar s enotes a IJUs-spent youth . If t his is true
It IS clea r th a t a pretty large numher of th C .
wh o ha ve been, in Egy pt during t he I. t ef 01ps
fi ve y
'
,).
our or
b
ea rs, were, In ~h e ir ea rlier days. verv bad
~y s .
Wh en th e Call'o District Sel:geants' " Me
BI ll iard Leag ue was found ed in th e 1926-27 Se;so~s
we IInm edl a tely too k our pl ace a mon st tl
t'
sa wye rs and \Ve have a lways been thel~ or 1~1 ?P
a bout s. at t he finish of t he foll owing s~asons. l eII~
i~ra-~g we wo n t he cup a nd meda Is out ri g ht. In
F .j. we were runn ers- up to t he Rova l Jri sh
fi'~ s l 'S's-gener,a ll y a dmitted to have poss"essed the
est ergea nts Mess tea n: ~ v er seen in E
t. In
1929-~ the Leag~e was dlvlded into two g!e~tions .
we won our sectIOn very easily , and in th e fin al
met th e 1st Sou t h Wa les BOI:d erers. On thi s occaS I O I~ we ha d to be satI sfi ed. WIth th e " runn er s-u ..
pOS It IOn . but wl"l st admlttm g t he g reat skill of ~ur
op ponents, It would und oubted ly have bee 1
.
ne~ ~' thlfl.g ha d it not heen fo r th e re~r:tt:~~
lOll y nCC ldent whI ch depri ved us p ro t em
f t
i~ a ~i~
of t he ,best in Da nny Fritz and Monk s.
too enll y ~o fo recast th e res ults for 193031. but we
a re . hovel"ln g round the top . a nd are as m'ed of
aga m . .at least. bcco mm g runn ers-up. In olltsid
com petI t Ions we ha \'e ~ I so done very well. and
a l t h,~ ug h we ca nno t POlll t to ha vi ng " lift ed th e
~' nf' Itdh as genera ll y t ranspired t hat t he tea ms who
e ea te . us went 011 an d won,. I t i . of course
a bI g t hl~l g for a small Detacnm ent to ju mp fro~
~e rg:'l."ts Mess st and a rd to play ing t he best six in
att allOl1S 800 to 900 strong , Briga des of R.H.A. ,
et c., etc. .'We recently lost one of t hese " am es b
49
y
e ' POJll
," ts " In 900 wit h th e 2nd South t <>ff
,I
, a ft er
g h mu ch t he. .worst of the " k'Isses." In
axpell
110th enclll
.
' . . el suc competIti on, however . we are still
sIt tm g LIp. ha \' mg chsposed of t he R.A.F Sta tion
H~ho.po !J s , a nd t he R. A.S.C., Ca iro a nd ' Abbass i ~
DI tll ctS. and <I re du e to Ill eet t he 12th Ro al
La ncers on th e 6th F eb ruary in th e semi -fin a l. ~e
th en-;-b ut perh aps It would he be t lo wa it and'
see \\ I;a,t th e oth er fellows are go ing to do a bout
It: ~ e hope t hese notes will ca tch t he eves of
LIttl er,. Macdonald , l lph and Toll ey, wh o a;'e not
now : 'th lI S, but who are a lw ays remembered as
hav ln", gIve n us such yeo ma n se rvi ce over th e period
touched upon above.
E'.Itertainments.- Th e soc ial sid e of li fe in this
SltatlOn n.ecessa J"lly p lays a most impor tant pa rt in
t le creation of th at s pirit of comradesbip and coope ra t Ion so. essenti a l to t he makin g of a wellba la nce.d gar J'l so n. vVJt,h a certa in degree of pardon ahbl e prIde, w.e claim th a t th e Corps' con tribution in
t IS r~sp ec t IS second to none.
. Dlurl!lg th e pas t ha lf-yea r we have been fortunate
III lafvmg th e benefit of S . Q . M .S. J oI' d a n ' s e~llerJence 01' ~hree months as an entertainm ent org~nizer
arrd Presld.ent of th e Entertainment Committee, and
a cred,t IS due t o bim for tb e popularity attained
by t~e Corps Sergeants' Mess fun ction s a mong the
~'e m alDd e r of th ~ U nits in Ca iro. S.Q.M.S. ~'litchel1
IS . prov~?g a . worthy successor ns th e " social
skipp e~,
and IS carry ing on the good work with
enthU SIa sm.

'Tr:r

It

'TI;;'e h av~ also ~o t a Shoo tin g Cup in t he Mess.

S CtUPd bas a lil t of a IlI sto rv as it was OJ'igin all v
1t)I'esen
t l eGy' th e Co mm 'a nrIer "0 f a Ger ma n crui serJ
t~ . le h a rn.so n Sergea nt -:\ Iaj or , Ca pe Town a nd
i\ lOug
dev lolls ways has found a home i~ our
. t~:sh ' ~h~ name of t he prOlJd indi vidu al obtain in g
.
I.g es sco re at th e Annu al Sh oo t is ena ra ved
on thl ~ Sh ootin g Cup ; whil st t hat of t he low t
'scN er IS also eng ra ved 011 a ' ;\,Iood en Spoon
es
am es of Shootin g Cup and Woode~ SpOOII
-winn ers append ed :Shootin g Cnp.
1925. 386202 L .-Sgt. Youn g.
1926. 7040520 gt. O'Keefe.
1927. 7657965 Sgt. K empton.
1928. 7657943 Sgt. Gibson
1929. 2810743 Sgt. Gell. .
1930. 1657286 S.Q.M.S. Barnes
Wooden Spoon.
.
1925. 1030273 L .-Sgt . Smith.
1926. 5718618 L .-Sgt. Stevens
19 '2:7 ., 7657480 S .. Sgt. Ma lyan:
1928 7657674 Sgt. Petch.
1929. 7657674 Sgt. P etch.
1930. 7657674 Sgt. P etch
In conclusion, it may be sta ted that
' I
'o f a ll th is rifle prac t'Ice, It
. .IS hop ed that
' as we
a l esu
mayt
'29

THE

ROYAL

ARMY

PAY

CORPS J OURNAL
the Command cou ld on ly m uster 65 all out. The
r ifle shoot ing was won all along the line by the
Regimental , thus entirely reversing last year's.
resu lt. The first footba ll match was a dmw , but
the Old -,,1en of the Command created a surprise
by winni ng .the second game. A bigger surprise
even was for t he Command to win the fi lst bi ll iards.
match; they were a lso success ful in the first tenn is.
match, but the Regirnental sprang quite an un
expected denou ement IlY winning the second tennis
match after fL te rrific struggle by fiv e matches to
four-su ch sta lwarts as Wehster and Mnrphy being
sadly missed by the Command T e;lm. The points
at the moment of writing are: Regimental 12,
Command 10, with olle footba ll , one tennis , and two
billiards matches still to be played, so that the
ultimate issue is sti ll quite open. It is expected
that the Competition wi ll he finished by the end
of March, when another social evening will doubt
less be held to celebrate the victory of the winning
Office.

To celebrate Christmas a very successfu l effo rt

wa made to give the children a ~~a l idea. of the
festi ve season. A huge ChrIstmas 1 ree , brllhantly
lighted and decorated , and scores o~ p~eseJ1ts were
provided; yells of delight from the ~ I dd l es rewarded
Captain P. C. Ha.rdlOg and Capta.m R. H. Sayer
for the consid!'rab le spade work put In by them.
Lt.. Col. E. W . HartCo x made the hit of the even
ing by a firstclass exhibition of ventl'110qUlsm,
which delighted everyone present..
..
Chall ~nge Trophy. There has ever eXlsted a spmt
~I rivalry between the two offices (Command and
Regimenial ) in the matter of sport, and in 192~ a
lcheme was proounded whereby the resp~ctl\'e
"V17ing ." as they then were, should have a senes of
contests . and the Sports Club Committee and m~m
bers expressed their willingness to put up a Shield
for competition. However, they were spared thIS
ex pense. n.s on the evacuation of tbe Rhineland a
splendid Cup was presented to the Detachmen t by
the R.A .P.C . .Officers' Club, and contests commen~ed
tor the "Rhine Army Cup" in :eal earn~st. Owmg
to their slightly larger n umbers It was qUIte expected
that the Regi mental would win , and they ma nagerl
to do o. although only after a very determined
struggle. In the first year 30 points -:vere allotted
for each of the following events, VIZ.: Cl"lcket,
Football. Tennis, lli lliards , nnd Rifle Shooting. O~ l y
two cricket matches were playrd , the first beIng
all even draw . and with a litlle more enterprise
tbe Command ~ight have won, but the Regimenta l
easilv won the second game. The rifle shootmg
sbo,~e(l the Command Wing to have rea l soldiers,
and they won easily. The J\egimental were v~ ry
super.i or at footba ll a nd hill iards, and won a ll eaSil y,
but the Command easil y accou nted for their
opponents ill a ll the ten n IS games, and the fi nal
pla ci nl7s were:Regimenta l Wi ng, 76 ~ points.
Command Wing, 731 points.
The presentation of the Cup WllS made by Colonel
C. Campbell Todd at a most enjoyable smoker. on
April 1st, and the date may have had somethmg
to do with the spirit of banter that pervaded the
air. 'Vhilst one side were accused of fllTangmg
the fixtures to suit their own convenience and to
the detriment of their opponents, the. others were
said 1.<, have" wangled" transfers, but, of course,
the strict neutral ity of the Sports Officer puts either
possibility out of the quest ion.
For the 193031 season it was agleed to alter the
a llocation of points, two be ing granted for a win,
one for a draw, and none for a loss, lhu mak ing
a mfLxinium of six for each series of games. The
cricket matches in particu lar caused great interest,
and as many as 100 sat down to tea between the
jnnings. In the first match played on Lhe Garrison
Ground the R eg imental , who see m to a lways win
the toss a nd bat first, made 97, and the llIatch
seemed a good thing for them when the score board
of Command innings read: 8 wickets for 82, last
man (Sgt. Brooke) 68. However, the Command
]tail wagged, and the score wa s ta ken to 115. The
'l Jtegimental should have won the second match as.
thanks to a fine effort by Capt. Ingpen, who made
90 odd, they scored 210 for 7 before declaring, and
t hey could onl y d ispose of 7 of t he Co mmand for
121. They made no m istake, however. in t he final
atch of t he series, and declared at 144 for 6, a nd

JA MAICA.
The Jamaica detachment, to wit, Captain Bell.
man, S.S.M. Carlile, S.Q.M.S.s Close, Deeb le, and
Bartlett, and Sergeants RQgers, Mason and Rosti ng
make their bow to the new Journa l, and wish it a
long and useful life. In adtlition to the detachment
we have two lady clerks, Mrs. Bryant (nee Eves)
and ~'liss Sale, who wish to be remembered to olel'
friends.
S.S.~I. Cadile and S.Q.M.S . Deeble go home in
March , and we hope their first winter is not too
severe. We .l1l1derstand t hat S.S.M. Carl ile is being.
re lieved by S.S.M. Parkins and S.Q.M.S. Deeble
by S .Q.M.S. Tuna nt. We wish them a happy toU!h ere.
We bave on ly o ne who pleads g u ilty to indulging
in sports. H e pJays for the S. and D. footba ll team
and performs with a tennis racket.
He is the
" baby" of the detacbment, and stnce the said
" baby " is 44 years of age, perhaps we have some
excuse for not doing more in this climate. How.
ever, we are a ll good supporters-especially S.Q.M.S.
Close-and we tell them bow il shou ld be done, as.
is the way of supporters.
We permitted ourselves to smi le during Christmas,
when we heard of the
bad weather at home
-two families were sefL
bath ing on Boxing Day,
-but we shall not
sm il e during our first,
winter at home.
Some of us do a littl egardening, mostly to
matoes, but what with
thieves, pigs and bacT
luck , it is rather di .
heartening and
certainly does not pay.
The "snap" shows
Sergeant
R 0 Iin g
standing outside an
Arti llery S{,ore-wall s
about 2 feet t hickwhich was canted hy
the 1907 earthq uake.
BANANA.
~o

THE

ROYAL

ARMY

PAY

CORPS J OURNAL

MALAYA.

MALT A.

We wish the ~Iagazine a bright and prosperous

ew Year. l'he onus of local representative hav ing
fa ll en on the pen of the u nders igned, it is hoped
that the fo ll ow ing w ill be of interest to those of
the Corps wbo may do a {,urn of duty he re. The
193132 trooping season will see a grea t hange in
the present staff, 50 per cent. being du e for relief.
Although the Pay Office is only 1, 17' 13"
(to be exact) nodh of the equato r , it is quite a
pleasant spot (at least, not t oo bad) to live in
for three yea rs.
Singapore. is an island about 27 miles lor:g by 14
WIde, conta lnJllg an area of 217 sq ua re miles. It
lS separated from the so utbern extremitv of the
Malay P enin sula, (Johore) by a narrow strait about
~.mi l e .i n width , acros. which a causeway for road
and raIlway has been built. In this strait on the
Singapore side, is the site of ne w dockyard' and air
base. Th e floating clock, which was towecl out from
England some t h ree years ago, is also anc hored
here. Chan g i, where the new defences a re in situ,
IS at the e'1ste m entrance, th e causeway blocking
th e westel'J1 end .
The town of Singarore i sitlwted in the middle
of the sou th sid e 0 the Island. There are two
sma ll island south of the Lown, which more or
less belong to the War Department, Pulan Brani,
the .la lger , houses the Orclna nce Depot al d Royal
EngIneers. while Dl aka ng ~[atl (I slan d of th e Deod)
ha s the R oya l A ["tillery for its in ha bitants. The
R oya l AImy Service Corps run la un cbes for the llse
of all ranks between these isles and the town.
Co mnw,nd H ead quarters (and the Pay Office) is at
F.ort. Cannlllg. '1 he fort is on a hill in the centre
'o r S Ingapore town. The Muni cipa lity have built a
reserVOll on the old fort . t.he lop of wbicb is used
for a. spOJts grou~ld. The quarters (other ranks) at
Ca nmng , also built by the Municipa lity , are with.
out doubt th e fin est obtainable in the service. Un.
fortunately t here are only fou rteen , and three of
the present staff hav e to be qnartered with the
mfantty at Ta nglin, about three miles di sta nt.
;t'hese quarters are quite good, an d there is a good
bn~ serv Ice a''1I lable. The climate varies but littl e
durIng t he year. The mea n te mperature durin g
1929 was 79.6 F.
Th e max imum and mini.
mum temperature varies between 87 0 and 74 0 F
~rh e nights aJ"(~ cool. and thouRh fans are not s~p.
p h eci . the;v are unnecessary. 1'here are no well.
mar ked ramy and dry seasons , the rainfall being
e venly cilstrlbuted throughout Lhe year . Dul"ing the
last ten years the annua l nl'e rage of wet days is
174! a nd th e a'erage lnll1faIJ for tl1e same period i
79 lllch es.
Th e standard coin is the Straits Setllement silver
dolla l'. Tbis. as far a the Army is concerned, has
a fixed raLe of exc hange at 2s. 4d.
SPOI'ts are well catered for. tennis and swim.
mll1g bemg the c hi ef items il.dulged in. Two now
!la1d (ourts I: ave. been built at Ca nning, and there
IS n fine sWlmmlng po I hard b.v Head Quarters
Offices, where one ca n have a dip all the year
round.. OWlI1g to the prevnlen e of sharks and
CI:O oc~d es , sea bathing . is r estr icted to "pag:a rs,"
01 wlled enclosures. blllll In tlle sea. Pu lau Brani
and BJalwng Ma.t i (nforementiouen isla nds) each
I~ave a " p~gar. " and th e Roynl AImy Service
Corps proVIde mean of co nv eva nce.
"GOLDUST."
.

, OUI first letter must open with congratulations

S .Q.M.S. Hu nt on his being placed on probation
promotlOn to W.O.I . May the autumn issue of
Journal contain our further congratulations!
The R.A.P .C. Sports Club Children's bristm
Party was a grea t success, thanks lo some
~vork perf?rmed by Lance / Sergeant Thornton,
111 tbe gUIse of Sa nta Claus, gladdened the h
of the youngsters with parcels that containe<.l ,.
what they wanted." Our recently arrived
(Co lonel G. A. C. OrmsbyJohnson, O.RE.,
favoured the gathering with his presence a,nd
a few words on the good spirit wbich al ways
to pervade such entertainments organi. ed by
COIpS.
Th e members of this deta hmcnt, genera lly speak
lDg, are very keen on s port. This is very glatify
ing, for we all like lo show th e rest of the
th at they are wrong i n thinking that we li ve
contll1ua l atmosphere of regulations and disa ll
a nces. and are a " washout" so fnr as ga mes
co nce rn ed .
Tennis is "Cock oft he. Wl1lk " at present
wait until the "wie lders of the will ow '
a nd we can boast of some very useful pIa
tbat line. The amount of ent hu iasJ1l for the
may be judged by the rumour going 'llO lmd
two 01' tbree of the" tennis ites " are fOpp ly
a refund of" D.Q ." on the grounds that they
occupy theIr quarters fOl' more than n coup le
hours a day.
The Corps is fairly well repre ented
and Depa rtmental hockey lea rn, who
agIng reCl"Ults to the game by gh'ing
chan ce to p lay.
A hockey matcil took place on 4th
between Colonels and Lieut. Colonel, ~I
rison (ave l'age age 48) \'. ~Jalta Engli s h
Result, 3 - 1, for the 'etera ns. The Comma nd
ma ster and Assistant Command Pnynw . ter
pl a ying , and the Costing Officer wa ["eferee.
The Garr ison Sergennls' Mes Billiards
(R.A.P.C. a nd B .A.O . . ) cont'lins wme really
cue,sts , and although they have 1 st their first
mutch es JJ1 the Garrison Sergeant League.
narrow margin of the deCeats lea,'e room to
pose that t.he tide will soon turn.
Th e det.acbment hope to. run a crick t tea
during the comin!1 eason. and with ll ch ta lent
represented by S.::i.M. R ob ins , , . Q.l'I'!.S. i\'elVell
others in n lesser degree, we shn ll. perhap . 5U
some of the larger units.
JlIe~nb e r ~f the .Corps who have pleviollsly
fLt thls stat-lO ll will oe intelested to learn l
Garrison Sergeants' Mess leceived orders to
d ow n on 31st January, but was ub seqllemlv
prieved.
.
Moves thi trooping season I t ~ date) -D ~ partures
Colonel J. G. h~wrence (Egypt), ;\Iajor J. )1
~l acnarnara (York), Capta in E. W. Booth. ~r.C.
(Egypt) , S.Q.M.S. D ore (Winchester). Sergeant
Jon es (Bamet).
An' iv;l ls : Colonel C: . A. C.
<?rmsby.John on, O.B.E., l\'LC. (E astern Command),
S .Q.M.S . Slmpsoll (W ll1 cheste r). S.Q.~I ... :\ ewel
(Woking), Sergeant Gore (Ba met) .
This detac hment, a n. who le. wi hes the .Jou rna l
DVe l' V

S l1c ~es s.

.. B(1TTO)'"S. "

3I

THE

ROYAL

ARMY

PAY

SHANGHAI.
In thi s. the so -ca ll ed " P a ri s of th e E ast," we
ha \' e a Detachm e nt of thirteen, wi t h a C hinese
cl e rk a nd a messenger in additi on_ W e a re not
I suffi ciell t ly numerous to en ga.ge in the sport of
( th e ga rri so n as a U nit, but se veral n: embers of
I th e o,1i -e a re plaY ll1g foo tba ll t hI s wlnle r with
I th e Head qu a rters XI_ , a nd in th e summ er we
us ually pro \' id e nearl y 50 per cent_ of t he crI cket
' eleven _ T en ni s is pla yed indl vidu a Ily as th e
fac il ii.i~- - fo r this gam e a re fa irl y num er ous, a nd
cate!' for t he I'll bbit as well as t he good pla ye r .
Uni t spor ting ne w fr om thi s sta tion will therefore
be non-existent, bu t it i hoped to report th e
prowess of indi\' idu al members of th e H..A .P. C.
a th e year a nd thi s ma.gaz in e p r ogres. .
~e
a lw11\ . have two ma in exercises to keep us occupied
in o'u r leisure hours, na mely, keepin g wa rm in
win ter (we had 21 degrees of frost ea rl y in January )
a nd swatLin g mosquitoes in slimm er with a sha de
te mperature of 100 degrees, com bin ed with a 95
p er cent. humidity .
W e had a ver y success ful ar: nu a l d inn er on the
30t h October . wh en th e R oya l A il' Fo r ce Clu b
ki ndl y loaned us th eir premi ses for the occasion .
A ltho ll gh surro und ed by propell ers a nd pi ctures of
, a irsh ips on t he t op fl oor o[ t h e H ong K o ng a nd
S b a n~ lla i i3a nk buildin g, we were sti ll a bl e to keep
OUI' heacb, and co nfine t he evenin g to t he consumpti on of le monade (1) a nd a ft e r-dinn er speeches about
th e p". sible effect of Adre ma on t he loca l ca ba rets.
, Ch r ist nl as a nd New Yea r festiviti es were ver y qui et,
wi t h the pr ice of foo d a t [our shillings ~ bot t le.
j
Sha ngha i is a p urely t emporary sta ti on , a nd t he
t wo infa nt ry IwLLil li on fo rmin g t he Brit i h ga l'l'ison
are r elieved eve r." yea r , a nd ;I re noL ncco mpa nied
by th eir fa mili es. "Ve are v irtu all y on a n "active
serv ice" foot.in g. Sha ng ha i is si t uat ed t welv e mi les
up t he Wha ngpoo River, whi ch is a tribu tary o f th e
Ya ng tse Rive r. a nd is t he fourth la rges t por t in
tIll' \\' ')r ld. Th e tota l pop ulatio n is nbo ut 30,000
ior eignel" a nd two an d a ha If milli on Chin ese,
abo ut on(' millio n of th e la tter livin g in t he Chin ese
city which is directly und er Chin ese control.
Sha ng ha i itself co nsi. ts of three ma in po r tions:
a Chin ese city of fou r squa r e mil es, a n In te l'll a ti onal
1 Settlemen t of aco ut fou r tee n square mi les , a nd a
Fre ncll Settl ement of four sq uare mil es . Th e build in gs in th e for eig n q ua rters <ll'e la rge sLone- buil t
str uctures, co mparab le wiih t hose of an y oth er city
in th e world , whi ch is t he more rema l'k al,l e wh en
, one ap precia tes th a t Sha ng ha i was ori gin a ll y a mud
fl a t , and almost a ll th e bui ldin gs are built on pi les
bu r ied ill t he mud , a nd t hen fill ed in with cement.
In tel'spersed a mon gst th e modern wps te r nised por ti ons of t he ci t y will be fo und ty pi ca l Ch inese
slum s. where no a ttempl is mnde a t dea nlin ess,
\ an d swarms of childre n. rn,ix eu up with poultry
anu cook in g utensil s, a.bound. Th e g ra du al elimin uI t io n of t hese slu ms a nd t he erecti on of la rge blocl{s
of semi -foreig n fl a ts an d hou ses, in additio n to
im p rov in g tb e a ppeara nce of the city , is a lso
materi ally ass istin g in clearin g up th e mosquito
qu e lion.
R oughl y spea kin g, the members of th e Briti sh
Arlll Y in Sha ll g l13i are co nfin ed within th e limits
of t he lnte rnatio nal Settl ement, and th e Fre nch
Co ncess ion , say . 20 squ a r e mil es, and as over 1 ~

CORPS

JOURNAL

million s alrea dy occu py this area it _roan readi ly beimag in ed that exercise in the .op.en ait o r any outof-doors leisure, is not exactly a n ideal hobby . TheRa cecourse is th e main op en-air faci lity a vailable,
and here th e Sha ng hai R ace Club extend the u tmost
hospita lity to a ll troops stationed in Sha ngh a i, fult
ad va ntage bein g t a ke n of th e cr ic ket , foutb a ll ,
hockey a nd t enms g rounds wbi ch are availa ble.
Th e clim a te here is very va ri a bl e, and al so often,
treacherous. The month s of July , Aug ust and
September can be ex tremely unpl easa n t, a nd tb e
a bse nce of a ny sea ba thing is very much felt. A
s wimmi ng ba th is a va ila bl e a t H eadqu a rters, a nd
is made full use of, but ma ny more opportuniti es.
of a lik e nature a re a lmost a necessity in tb e hot
wea th e r.
Th e main attraction of Shan g hai is its nI g ht lifeof a ll sorts, cin emas bell1 g th e onl y other di version
owin g to th e entire absence of th eatres. Th e main
topi c of co nversa ti on for month s past has been th elIu ctu a ting rate of exch.a nge, the stprling equi valen t of t he dolla l' ha ving fall e n from I s. 6d. in
F ebr uary , 1930, to 15. in F eb r ua ry, 1931.
This
keeps th e buddin g fin 3 ncia I ex pert g uess in g, but sofa I' no body has made e noug h to wa rra nt a n a ppl icat ion [or pre ma tu re retirement, alth oug h apparen tly
several a re st ill li vin g in hopes .
T1ENTSIN.
Th e adiviti es of the represe ntat ives of th e Co rps.
in T ientsi n would hardl y fill a vo lum e, or pro vid e
such thrillin g rea di ng as to be procl a im ed " th e
best boo k of th e yea r " ! T he ma in reaso n is fai rl y
obvioll s , na mely , lac k of num be rs . No r ca n unyo n.,.
ba reported on as ha \' ing been " unfortuna te"
e noug h as to be caug ht in t he net of ma trimo ny;
perha ps t bis is due to th e warning presented by the
la rge per centage wh o a re ma nied! On e never
knows!
Y et th e Corps ta kes its sha re in lh e sports th a t
are go in g, a nd th e S taff a nd D epa rtm ents' tea ms
al'p' lI a vou red wi t h " P ay" ph ys ica ll y as well as.
ma t er iall y. Ev en th e co ncert p la tfo rm has been
g raced by a co rps mem be r ; nl)t with out c red it
eit he r, when o n ~ co nsi ders that t he s up ply 0('
to ma toes seen go ing in to th e hall before t he show
we re re moved agai n in tact a fte r th e pp.rform a nce;
th at spea l<s volum es !
So ra r , t hi s has bee n by way of a prologue, 01"
a n ex pl a natio n o f wh y one ca nn ot g ive wh at one
has not ; t he a lte rnati ve is to give wh a t one ha s.
Th e wr ite r' s inten t Io n, th erefore, is to giv e an:
id ea of wh at life is lik e in thi s fa r-flun !;': "outpost of-Empire" f" o m th e ordin a ry ma n's pomt of vi ew;
hi s imp ress ions a nd experi e nces ma y help , p er ha ps,
so meo ne who is wa rned to co me out he re in th efutu re.
In th e pas l , a nd do ubtl ess still to ma ny hundreds
of t housa nds at home, Chin a as a whole has been a
ve ry nebul ous a n d mys teri ous qu a ntity; a la r ge
cou ntry, far, far awa y , in fact, too fa r to worry
abo ut, co nta inin g peo pl e, ma ny millions in num ber, of a yell o w colour , wit h na rrow slits of eyes
a nd pi gta il s whose dre~s is bri g bt-coloured a nd
pic turesqu e, whose countena nces are inscrutable.
whose cruelties are historic, and whose mo vements
a re as sile nt as th e o wl ; a la nd of dra gon s, lante rns ,
c hop -sti cks ancl puzzles.
Puzzl es I Th e Chinese are as mu ch a perple xity

32

THE

ROYAL

ARMY

PAY

wh en one is among the m as wh en one is not. As

to th eir ha bita tio))s, does not one picture them in
mud hut s or the like , or a re on e' s id eas so vagu e
th at o ne d oes not both er how th ey live 1
, Yet wh en someon e is ordered to Ti ent sin- th e
a nxi et y-" There is a civil wa r on a nd so many
mi ssionari es a nd oth ers a re heing captured. Oh,
do be ca reful , it is such a drea dfu l country ; I wish
yo u were not going." It seems as if shell s and
bull ets droppin g around were pa rt of the day ' s
events!

CORPS

JOURNAL
Southern Command
(continued from page 26)
WINCHESTER.

Th e Annlla l Dinner was held at Dumper's

R estaurant on Sa turda y, Fe brllary 28th , witb
S. Q.M .S. R. E . D a re in th e cha.ir. In addition to
Maj or S _ A . Godfrey, Captain E. F . Cox, a nd the
sta ff , th ere were present : S .S. A\. O'L eary a nd
S .S_M . M oc kl er (Sa li sbllry ) ; ~ I essls. C. n eckwlth ,
F . W . Calte r , " D oggy" Cla rk , - . Fisher , G . A.
H a wkin s , J . L. Ll oy d , C. P a nn eIl , and D. Talbot
(past members). The e ve nin g's entertainment ~va s
in th e a bl e hands of ?ressrs.:! C. BeckWlth,
" Doggy " Clark e, E. Coo k, F. Hu xley and Mrs.
F. M. Mili aI' (a t th e pi a no ). Staff efforts were
co ntri bllted by Mess rs. J . Bec kett, F . P . H a bgood,
a nd S. S .M . P e rkin s (T ' pllmp)l Th e dinner itself
was excell ent , t he fru it sa lad bein g wortb a king ' s
ran so m. Th a Cha irmnn p roposed " Onr Oflicers,"
a nd .. t he tortst was end orsed wilh full musical
hono urs. Majol' Godfrey, a fte r repl yin g, took the
opport uni ty of wishing "God -speed " to S .S.M .
Fe rk ins (leav in O' ( 0 1' J UJIllli ca) . a nd was well supported by a ll p;ese n t. In re ply in g to th e toast. of
"The Vi sitors," S . S . ~ I . O'Lea ry, a fter get tmg
away frolD former a nnual din ner with o ut ma king a
speech was at Ins t boo ked [or a speech . In pr oposin g
t he toast of" Th e Ar tistes," Mr. (Cull y) Long p aid
t ri bute to our old f ri end , " D oggy" Cl a rk a nd otbers
wh o every yea r . ca me a nd ellter talll ed us so .well.
The ' toast was dnl y hononred , ~ nd suit a bl y repl ied
to by ;Vir. Cla rk e a nd Mr. Hu xley . Th e wh ole ev eni ng was exce ll e nt a nd enj oya ble, an d, in warning a ll
present of th e immin ence of th e" ba rm a id 's SOIl!;,:, "
th e Cha i1'llwn hea rt il y th a nk ed ~ I r . Long for ma klllg
th e necessa ry a rran!jements for th e dinn er.

L eay illg ou t t he journ ey her e, wh a t d oes on e find

on ar riYa l ? ~l ay b e one was ex pectin g som ewh a t
primitive sllrroundings a nd co nditi ons; if so, di sillu sion me nt is sure a nd complet e.
On e'. fi rst ma in impl'ession is t hat Ti e nls in is
morE' up -to- da te th a n t he ma jor ity of tow ns a t
home. Th e British Co ncession is a thrivin g modern
to wn. wit.h roads equ a I to an y new a rteri a l roads,
and lin ed with shops th at ca n vie w ith' a lm ost an y
Lond on ones, exce pt, perh a ps, th e big stores; UO I'
are th eir pri ces far behindha nd! As to th e Ba.nk
buildi ng . t hese hu ge edifi ces loom up like sk yscrapers, procla im ing a loud t heir acc umul a ti on of
wea lt h .
Ar r i\' ing in t he resid e ntia l areas one is surprised
by t he size a nd pl easan t appeara nce of nea rly a ll thp
ho uses. especia ll y t he Chinese-own ed ones; lh ese
latter are in Ill ost cases ma nsions sU1'l'0und ed witb
ve ry hi g h wa ll s , a nd out-btul d ings fO I' th e numer ous
members of t he sta ff. The la rge iron gates a r'l
a lways d osed, a nd a wa tchm a n is a lways on duty,
for t he yel'Y r ea l da nge r of kidnappe rs or oth e rs
in tent on reve nge. A lso, il1 ma ny cases tb e walls
are topped with fonr 0 1' fi ve stra nd s of electrifi ed
ba rlJed wi re. ~o th at e nt;-ance to t hese houses ca n
onl.v be acco mpl is hed hy a ver y cleve r a nd da rin g
ru se.

London District.

All stl'eets a re lin eci w ith trees . th e co rners a re

a ll po li ced. a nd freq ue ntly ma rk ed out wit h g uicl ing lin e for th e motor tra ffi c, whi ch is conside ra bl e; a ll men on point -duty Weal' white sl ee ves ;
cent ral overhead li g ht in g is ge nera l. Ga rd ens a re
practically non-e xi stent as we kn ow them in Eng.
la nd ; pla nts will not grow with o ut infinit e la bou r
a nd expense, whil e law ns a re imp oss ibl e.
E veryone co mes a nd goes a bou t.,th eir bu sin ess and
pl eas ure as usu a l. ye t th ere is a wa r on . W ell , if
on e d id not read th e pa per on e would ne ver know
it. nor rea lise th a t such-and- such it Gener a l had bee n
holdin g an im pOlta nt ,:onference in Ti entsin , t hat
Chi a ng's troops had tak en possession of t he pl ace
from Fnn!( 's men . and t a ken over th e whole of the
civil aclministl.'at ion, 0 1' th a t fifty th ousa nd F engti en
t roops had come insid e t he "Va ll a nd cleared out
th e No r t hern ers ft'o m Ti ents in a nd th e neig hbonr.
II1g cou nt ry; th oug h th ere a re tim es when one
find s no tra in s ava il ab le, and one is to ld th at some
General has co mm a nd eered a ll t he r ollin g-stock ;
lu cky th e pel'so n wh o is not p<Lrt-way throug h a
Joul'll ey a nd stra nd ed in so me o ut-of-the-way spot I
So mu c h for a. ver.v gene ral id ea, whi ch , it is
hoped , wI! I be e nlarged upon in furth er a rt.i cles.

DEPTFORD.

Li eut .-Co lonel C. J . B arra dell retired on 23l'd

F eb ru a r y <tnd \\-as succeeded us R egiment al P aymaste r bv Major H. Du es hury .
S. Q.M .S. R. G. TU lTu nt (with fa mil y) e mba rked
fOl' J a maica in M a r ch.
A daug hte r was bOl'll t<> Se rgt.. T. H . Cottam on
12tb Janua ry, 1931.

L<\ WN TENNIS.
Rhin e Army Cups.-T\\'o cups hallded
o\'er on th e evacuati on of th e Rhine to the
R _A. P.C . Officers' Club and all otted as
Sillg les Ch a lleng e Cups to be comp eted
for by W .O .s, N .C . ).5 alld men of the
Cor ps. Winn er: Serg t . T . A . W. Boggis.
Runner up: S.Q .M .S. A_ W . L. Shepherd .
MARRIAGE,
G OOD-E AVES . -On December I.'ith,
1930, COD stallce E . A . Eaves, only
daughter of Mr. and lVIrs. T. G. Eaves,
of Orpin g to n, Kent , to Arthur W.
Good, British Glliana, Vilest Indies.

Late News, S.Q.M.S. DI ack (W oo lwi c h ) has won

Sl age II o f t he Ann.v Billi a rds Oha mpi onship . and
will represent H ome Co unties Area in Stage Ill.

33

THE

ROYAL

ARMY PAY

CORPS J OURNAL

THE

ROYAL ARMY

PAY

CORPS J OURNAL

Droleries de Corps
Travelling Claims Illustrated.

(No. 1.)

~
A

V'S ION OF A RECORD AND PAY OFFICE Of THE FUTURE; .

C:!:.7
r'): 08 .. r ..... .u

" l.T...,c,.tb

,N O\ ...",T_,.., .

IN EGYPT
of /

.b~/{"v. /ve 90t

1'0 - t:,- ,' -

coll~c~ r.t~u. ; s,;..\.' '"

"Provided that no othe r officer is taking a private cODveyance Oft 8 pub lic journey over the same ground in which the officer
might hav~ travelled . allowa nces may be drawll ..."(Allowaoce R~gul a tions. 1930. para. 283) . Drawn by W. H. B a t.s ( Yorl<).

" THE COMPLEAT WANGLER."

Th e C.P. sca nn ed hi s General State,

Th en did with gri ef review it,
H e stormed an d g rowled in accents wild
" Who caused t hi s mess sha ll rue it ".
R.P .'s were call ed [ 01' con re l'ence,
'flle mess to disen tangle,
E ach to ok a slightl y different view
But all suspected wangle.
T he S.O.'s th en we re call ed upon,
Their effOl,ts to bes to w,
Th ey tri ed for days to clea r t hin gs up,
But couldn't qui te-you l(11 ow !
Th ey rang tl.leir bells for hours on end,
Made SectIOn Leaders di z"y,
\Vhilst t hese in tu 1'l1 , wit hout concern
Kept harassed clerks-well , busy . '

An 8.0 .S. was th en despatched

To Cen t ral-l.b <l t old stas;er,
" '~' e seem to need ," t he ~ , . P . sa id ,
" Th e ha rd wo rk ed Sergeant Ma jor."
At last he c,~m e, a you tbul don ,
No, not a selll OI' wrangler,
Ru t one who was, the t.ruth to t ell ,
A most judicious wan~le r,
'f h e R.P .'s fell upon th eil' knees,
And f'T o mi ~ed him pronHltivll .
1'h o C.P . we pt and s wore he would
Reward such deep devotion .
Th e wangler sm iJ.:t1 , "E::cll:;e me Sir,
N ot lon g L'II k e~p you waitin g,
T ht' Sta te's ail'i g bt just DS it i ~ ,
,"VHY DID YOU ADD TFIE DATE IN "?
AH TOO-Abbassia ,
PAY CHESTNUTS.
P a ra . 243 was loo ked up a nd t hey read :-" T roops

An old soldi er , m'llTied on tbe st.renglh, was

servi ng aU l"oad in t.he ni neties . Hi s wife presented
him wit h hi s ninth chil d. H e was bv no mean s
uplirted but th ought he had better a 9ply for th e
extra qu a rt er rati on. a nd did so . Th e P aym ast er
wrote enquiring as t o th e hour o r th p. day the inf'~l1t
was bo rll . Th e repl,Y was 7' p.m, Th o P a \' mas tel'
t hen wl'ot e to sav th e quarte r rati on was in adm iss ibl e,
vid e para. 243 or t hn Allow:lllce Regs th e:1 in rOl'ce.

<ii sem bark in n- a rter t he dinn er h l1r will he rati oned

,)11 boa rd ro~' t hat d ay ."
.. PILLO." .
A Ma t ron har! rend ered her St a ff witb pay ltst
th e ral es lIn co mpllted , ",nu. in a ' ta Le or gl'eat
a a itat.io n, adch'essed th e foll ow in g memo to the
P~l y nHIste r :- " T regret. to inform YO ll that I have
ror wal'd ed my Pay List not pl'oped y c0111plicated .
Will yo u kindl y ret urn it [ 0 1' CO l'llpU cat ion ."

34

~lav e I b~en in E gyp t long, s ir, about twenty ye&. rs or more,

, 0 long I ve forgo tten th e homestead a nd th e roses round t he doo r.
Have I lold yo u th e ta le of m y life, sir ? N o Th en li ste n I lalk wi t h l.es t.,
Bat ta lkin 's a t hirsty job, sir, ' t hank yo u, well here's th e b~st.
T'w el'e yea l's a nd years ago, sir, I left home a nd sail ed a way
To. thi land of sand a nd . uns hine-how I regret th a t day'. '
~u " :ve l.ra velled fin e nn th e t roo pd eck . 3rm cha; I'S a nd rea th er beds t oo,
Not I:, t he sam e old streflt, siI', wi t h first cIa s P. & O.
FOl' t!l e fir~t t wo days ~ was . s ick, sir, t ho' so me never turn ed a ha il'
But I d been over th e SIde, SI1', and was as empty as th a t g lass th el'e.
: yel1. t h a n~{ you , J will have a pin t . sir, t his co~n try mal,es a bloke drv.
I he beer a m't as good as in En gla.! ld . but 1 can push t hi s st uff down ir J try.
Th en we pulled in at old Gibmll n,l', nnd th e Ge neral a nd me went ashore.
Ye Gods, wh at a Co vent Ga l'den, ora ngeR threepence a sco re.
All d tb e Goneral ,and .m e had a pint, sir. he pa id 'cau se he' d go t th e dnup- h.
r wo uld ha\>e pa Id m1l1d yo u , ir , but sin ce childhood I'\"e a lwa vs heen sltlw.
Well w e li\'ed lik e ~o rds on th at boat" sir, poached eggs and c ra"~' fi s h for tl)a ,
T~l e rA was go.Jdb r;t1ded flunk eys on board , sir, to wa it on th e Oe nernl and me
~ e hac! mbblts, tu rkey ann goose, sir , ' ca u e I'i sso l e~ and stew we I'll tnl, c,o,
W e couldn't ~at t he duff . Sil', so th ey gave it all to t he crew.
W e ani\' ed at Al ex. a t last , Sil', and I hand ed my sea legs in store.
And put on my topeo a nd drill , sir, a nd steppp.d down on th e ~ho l'e,
And t he .? eneml came up to me, sir, and gripped me by th e h" l1 r1.
H e sal(1 Goodbye Old Sprarsel', we ' ve a rri ved at th e prom ised land."
"Ve.1I if tlus is a lan d o[ pro mi se, sir, t hen this I must co nress.
T pIty t he bl oke th at does a to ur in a la nd t,hat is promi se.les"
~. hen I fir~t came to t his la nd ,. sir, th e Sphin x wa s only a pup,
Th e P ym mlrl s were onl y molehIll s, SIr, a nd th ey're still going up .
!:IS J said to the Gene l'al on 'fhursn ay, when we porred in th e cantee'! for b'~fr,
~ "e "Va r O!fl ce T.lust h,~ve forgott en us, and th ey ' re just lea\'in~ li S here .
,0 we c~ n t1l1u e "mbosslTl g t he pla tes, sir, and puttin g t hem all in a row ,
And hopmg tha t so meday a boat will co me , a I' oa t thnt we don ' t ha ve t o 1'0 1" .
KEJA the KJNKA.TOU .

35

THE

R OYAL

ARMY

P AY

CORPS

J OURNAL

Letters to the Editor.

A CRICKET MATCH IN ITALY.
Perhaps the following literal tra~slati on of a
description of a cl-icket match, Jl1 which my father
took part, and wh ich was J1layed on 1st Janu ary,
1870 between the officers of H.M.S. Defence and a
tea~ drawn from the English resi~ents in Naple.s,
then a separate Italian St"te, wlllcb appeared III
TlJ.-cY'11g0/,O, a leadin.g N<tples newspaper, may he
_ -61' interest to the sportlDg member~ of the R.A .P,C.
The translation was made, I believe, by the late
Sir Thcodore Cook, and I found it among my
father's papers after his death.
" On New Year's day a .most ~II1U~UaJ spec~acle
took Hlace at the Camp dl Marll, VIZ., a cl'lcket
match was pla yed between the officers of H.M.S.
Defen ce an d the English residents at Naples. As
very few of our readers are aware. h.ow this ~ame
is played , although they may know It IS ~,he natIonal
game of Englan d , we will pro ceed to enh~.hten them
to the best of our knowledge. On arrivIDg at .the
gl'Ound the players proceeded to pl,ace three stIcks
in the ground and then mea su.red about twenty
metres and placed three more sticks; an d now the
interesting part of the gam~ began (at least . the
interesting part to the EnglIsh, for to ?ur m ll~ds
we cannot imagine anything more ul1Jl1t.erestmg
than havinrr a hard ball, more lik e a stone than
anvthing else thrown at you as hard as it could
be). The pla'yers are twenty-two ill number, and
were placed as foll ows:
At each place where the sticks were ~here were
two players, one of whom was arme<;J wlth a hard
ball and t he other with a broad pIece of wood ,
which is call ed a hat; the remainder of the playerR
were placed in a circle round the sticks. The gr~at
nim of t he game seems to be that the player WIth
the ball should throw it as hard as he can a,nd do
his best either to strike the player at the other lot
of sticks or the sticks themselves ; and the player
with the piece of wood is to do his best to ward
the ball off himself or the sticks, and to hit the
ball as far away as he can; and then the playel:s
who are stand ing round the sticks !un :md st<?p It
as quickly as they can a nd throw .It at the .stlCks.
Meantime the player who sLl'uck It IS runmng as
hard as he can from one lot of sticks to the other,
an d if they manage to h it the sticks whilst the
plaver who is runn ing is bel\roml t hem , then that
p'layer goes out and another takes his place, and
the party that makes the mo st runs between the
sticks wins the match.
The game seemed to excite great interest in ~he
City of Naples.
;o~ on ly .were t~ere all the Engbsh
resid ents out there 10 their carriages, but from the
fact of the day be in g a public holiday there were
7,000 a nd 8,000 Italians present, a gr0at number of
whom helonged to the re pect:l,ble classes, By the
co urtesy of the players we W(lre allow ed to inspect
the bal\ that they played with , and .we must say
that, although we admire the English character
very much, we hope that the gamo will never ta~e
root very firmly in Italy because we feel certa1l1
if the ball was to strike a person on the head it
wou ld prove inst antan eo us d eath ."
Chester.
F. P . VIDAL
WHEN EVEN THE FLIES GIVE UP HOPE! .
When fishing on Loch Leven one day early ID

May last year, I experienced a curious p'henomenon

whlCh may int erest some of your reH.ders: It was
a sultry day, with th under clouds wo rkmg hackwards a ud forwan]s amongst th~ surl'o undUlg
hi ll s, consequently, fishing was practically. h?'pele~s
and I had to make the most of the sporadIC catspaws" of breezes. It was ~bout. midd ay! when I
had just ma~e a cast-more 10 faIth than 111 h?pe-:when the tall fly slowly rose from the \\ atel pelpendicularly into the air and wa~ ollo~ved by tl~~
other three fli es. As they got high er 1I1tO the a 1.1
they ass um ed a somew il :tt sl' iral Illoveme,nt un t il
the' whole of the 10ft. cast and four fli es were
serpen'till ing in fron~ of me .about , 12f t . alove t,he
wat.er: They were m the all' applo.\Imat-ely tluee
minutes and then returned to the water more
qui ck ly than they had risen. My wife and the two
boatmen were interested sHectato~'s an d on~ of the
latter said that he had on a vrevlOUS occasIOn seen
the one (ta il ) fly rise a short way from the water,
or I shou ld rather say drawn from the wat.e~-tl~e
explanation bei~g, I believe, that the electrlclty 111
the air was actmg as a magnet on th e Ales ,
Edinbllrgh.
A.W,M.C .S.
~ ARRIVAL AT MALTA.
Never' shall I forget our arrival in t he Isla,nd at
the in;p o~si bl e houl' of 1,30 a.lll. nn 1sL D ece~beJ' ,.
1930. Suddenly the entrance to the Grand ~aI bO~1
came into sight and the huge P. & O. ghd;d 111
amongst the vast b!ltlleslllp~ of th~ Brll lsh ~av~,
Imm ed iately the ShlP wa~ Sighted JI1 the hal bOUl.
l,lnnreced ented excitement began , fil' e \~orks a nd
garlands all over th e nume!ous. dg!w/sas . (pronounced " 'dysa" - this is a pecuhal' so rt of. boat,
and I U1~derstand that it is not to be loun? 111 any
other part of the world) a nd t he new C.P. may
perhaps be pardoned. for .assul!,ing for the moment
Lhat the show was In hIS hono ur. Bllt. a l ~s, the
wild id ea \\I,a s soon d ispell ed as t he local Mll1Ister of
Education was seen to slowly walk do\~' n the gangway and enter a launch , illum inate,d WIth blu e, .red
and white lights and decorated wILh. Aa~s, am Idst
chE'er's and fr eq uent s in~lI1 g of the NatIOnal Anthem.
Somewh,tt of a n an LI-cl im ax now ensued, wnd we
:tll , with much difficulty , got ashore and attempted
to get our baggage through the Customs, fina ll y
getting to bed in our new hom ~,s b.y 3 a.lll.
"
It was undoub ted ly a case of Nil deSpel'[lIldulll ,
Malta.
G.A .C. O. -J,
HONG KONG
Hong Kong-beauteous E aste~ n Isle- Thy lofty, green-clad, rocky pile
Tow ers ahove us.
And , with the coming of ~he n.ight,
A myriad points of gleamlDg hgh t
Adorn thy breast,
A mass of jewels, And at thy feet
The co uriers of the sea 3011 meet
To pay thee hom age.
And above, the blue dom e of the sky,
With white clouds drifting gently by,
Lik e foamy lace,
Combin e to make a canopy,
'Neftth which to rest thy c<1lm be~uty ,
Infinite grace.
E. J .B.

36

'rHE ROVAL ARMY PAY

SCHOOL DIRECTORY.
Notices dealing with Schools are inserted here at
the request of the Pr'i ncipals in order to assist
Officers when deciding on their children's educational
career.

CORPS

The Printers of
this Journal-

ST. H I LDA'S,
L I BERTON,
ED I NBURG H . Resident P upi ls on ly. H ealthy
situation.
P reparation for a1J outside
examinatiolls.-Apply Principal.
THE K I NG'S HIGH SC H OOL FOR
G IRLS, WARWICK. The School contains about 430, who are p repared for the
Universities, other pursuits, a n d h ome life .
Boarders are received in the h eadm ist ress' s
house. Fees: T uition 12 to 14 2S. a
year; Boar ding, 64 and 70 a year.
LEAMINGTON H I GH SCHOOL FOR
GIRLS, Beauchamp Hall. Chai rman of
Co_unci l, Rt. H on . Lord Leigh . Head mistress, Miss L. Mi lroy (Oxford Hon.
Sch. Mod. H ist.) . Pupils prepared for
University
Examinations.
Domestic
Science Department; Chem ical Laboratory; Gymnasium; 6-acre P laying Field;
Preparatory Depa rtmen t for C irls and Boys
between t he ages of 4 a nd 8 . ,A nn ua l
Examina ti on for award of Ju nior. 'hx hi bitions. Boarding-H ouse," The Cedars,"
42, Warwick P lace, in an excell ent sit uati on on h igh g round. School fees: 9 g ns.
t , 24 gns. per annum . Boarding fees: [63
to {,69 per ann um .

JOURNAL

secured the contract

with a competitive
estimate. They may

Save you Money

on your own printing and stationery
if y ou will send
details of your requirements to
VICTORIA pRESS
( ST. ALBANS ) Ltd.

Tel . 15

S 8 Victoria Street
ST. ALBANS

SMALL NOTICES.
Small Notices will be inserted in this Column at a charge of 1d. per word, minimum 1/-, each initial
and number to count as one word. Notices , together with Postal Order tD cover cost, to reach the
Editor not later than the 25 th of the month prior to the month of pub lication.
Let,ters may be given a bDX number, and addressed ci a R.A.P.C. Journal , 80, Pall Mall, S.W .l.,
for which a charge of 6d. extra will be made.

EXPERIENCED COACH. School Cert .,

all Army Exams.
Six Boa rders only.
Generous diet ; comfort. Genu ill e individ ual attention. My last S.R. pupil for
Dec. , 1930, exam., came kno\\'ing little'
after si.x weeks of my special methods:
passed IIlto Reglllars.-Major Shaw, M.C.,
R .A. (Cha rterhonse, Woolwicb), M ilforclon -Sea, Han ts.

WILL OLD COMRADES WRITE TOMr.

Henry Mower,
Estate
Agent,
., Melita," Rushmere Heath, Ips \\ich.

Not ices u nder "Will Old Comrades

Write to-" are inserted free of charge
for members of th e R.A .P .C.O.C.A.

Our Crossword Puzzle

FROM THE SECRETARY

OF A HUGE SHIPPING
COMPANY

Condi t io'ns of Entry.

.
.'
f books (to be selected by the. IVlnner)
to t h e va 1
ue f
0 ten 5 hillings to the sender of
1. W e offer a pIlze o
.
I t'
f thl< puzzle
.
the correct 01' most
nearly
correct,
.50 u lOn.o d d 't th" ~ext hest solution s received in order of ment.
,.
t tb
lu o of 5/ - and 2/6 will be awar e
0
e
.
.
I l"l zes o e vt ti:s all rizes will be divided betw een successful comp'etltors. .
I
2. In the ev.ent 0
b
d to the Editors, Royal l\J'my Pay Co rps Journal , 80, PaU Mall, Lone on ,
20 I M ' 1931
3 All solu tlOns mu st e a l esse
. S W 1 so as t o arrive not la ter tha n
t1
a) ,
.

del '

4.

O~ly' ~~e

submllitt~d

solu t io n may be
bU
Y eachs
:Che decision of the Editors W I , In a .c~se,
into regarding the result of this competltlOn.
6. There is no entrance fee.

~.

r~:d:~~sidered

" S uch efficienl training

as ] receh'ed fr011l The
School could 1101 fail 10
brillg good resull s, (l lld,
slil/ 011 the right side of
f orly, ] am II(lW Secretary 01 1 ,550 per
(111111/111 of Ihe C011lpnllY
] j uilled as a jUlli{)J' Iillle '
mOre Ihall twenly y~nrs
ago, oue of the largest
Shipping Compollies ill
Ihe Uliited Kil1gdom."

final , and no corres pond ence ca n be entered

Write in BLOCK LETTERS .

Name

THIS BOOK
OPENED
HIS EYES TO BUSINESS
OPPORTUNITIES

Ranl<
Address

.. . .... . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. ... . .. ... .

As this page and the corresponding

pages ",., t the fr ont of t he J ournal will be
withdrawn [or binding, readers will not
spoil their sets [or binding by cutting out
this p'uzzle.

" uch efficient tra 1l1111 g could not fail to bring good
results ." That is a phrase frl)m thi letter of a former
chool of Acco unt,lncI' tuclent \\'ho hHi reac hed the
height s of his profession. Ag,lin and again it rec ur in
letters from former students- not on lv in il10se from
the Dlany \\'ho hal'e fully ga ined their ,;bjec til'cs, but in
the thou sa nd s of letters from kee n . ri s in~ youn g men
whose present 300 to 500 a ~'e;)r represents bLl! a s tep
towards the four-figure sa lary and the Board Room.
As those w ho undert .. ke It soo n fi nd OUt, . hool o f
Accountancy postal trJining WIIIIOI fail to produce re ults .

YOU, TOO, NEED

Clues Across .

1
4
10
11
13

R oyal Artillery (abb.) .

An aromatic plant.
Morning .
Commotion.
A light pole.
15 H ardened.
17 Pretix.
18 To.
19 H nssar (abb . ).
20 To discover .
22 A bird.
24 Ancient English Public House (initials ).
27 Eternalh- .
29 Old age:
30 A small fish.
32 An imporlant d ale.
33 Yo ur time (lIlitial s).
34 H ealthy.
35 Systems of pumps in
mines.

38 Gratitude.
39 East Riding (abb .) .
40 E xternal.
43 T o ascend .
44 Dairymaids.
46 Guillemots.
47 One (Fren ch).
49 A well -know n bird.
51 A Scottish word meanin g " tough ."
52 So.
53 Illitera te.
58 Thus_
59 A n a rbitrator .
60 A piece of ground.
62 To na me.
64 Mi sfortunes .
65 WQ1thless.
66 Hinderances.
Clues down.

1 1\ n a nim al.
2 Unfading . .

3 An inst run.ent.
4 In tel!ect.
:. Rail-my Transport
(abb. ).
6 Pallindrome of
achievem ent .
7 Prono un .
S An a nim al.
\) P artlv bur ned wood .
12 Merit
14 ()n tilt.
16 Starting Price (abb.) .
18 United Sta tes (abb. ).
~1 J:'r',lloun.
23 Angry. .
.
25 A &UI g lcal 1I1str llmcnt .
26 Cry of wild goose.
28 A bird.
30 In a strll tt.ing ,~~ nn cr.
31 Very Good , ::ilr .

(abb .).
35 A Bishop's :;eat.

36 8helt6r
37 P art of Egypt beheaded.
41 Kind of fung us.
.,
42 Always in office (1111tials) .
44 One dea rly b el ov~d .
45 A light fall of ram .
48 Socia ble.
50 Con,;llmed in the sum mer.
52 Let it st a nd
54 N ett prices included
(initi.\ls) .
55 Same as 32 across .
56 To vex.
57 Properly .
58 Distress Signal.
59 Under ord Jl1 a r y rul es
( ~b b.) .
61 Manuscripts.
62 North RiJing.
63 Ed wal'd (a bb .) .

THIS

BOOK

It wns The S c hoo l' s Free G uid t.! to Cllrct.!rs that se t this man-like
thousands of others-on rht! path to succeo;:s. It was thi s Rook th l [
opened hi .. eyes to th e opp:)rtullilics of 1l1l ~ hcss.-oppo rtunJ{ jC'
o nl y 3 tr.lincd man ca n gr.1Sp. Are you. YOllr'iclf. so (re~ from
un ce rtaint y. 50 s ure 01 your (ut\lr~. so conlidC:llt of sue-cess, th.u you
do not need the !l d\'i('~ thi s 1,:;$0 il yt':l r mun once WJl1tcd so
badly? T hi nk the :tnswer OU l! The.:n ~e n d (or th e Uook.

WHAT

SCHOOL

to ~ u cccss are m ade ab!>olutely clear.

'I""h(' r~~ult~ of School of Acco un-

tancy t raining arc shown ;n instance

3(r~r in ~ t a n cc that would read like

a romance Were I he\" not att es ted

COfJe'ct b\' a Chartered Account ant.

Inrontestab lc proof is gl\'cn th:u
The School's tUlll on is the most
efficient to r commercial :lOd prof~ssion(ll
examinations (lnd (or
training for exec utive po:) iti ons.
Further, thb book explain" ho\\ the
J1er~onal ad\'ice of rhe Principal
cJ.n be obtlined, how fees t.ln be
p.,id by insl:llmems, :1nd ho w
exa mination s uccess and qu alificatio n c.1 n be defi nitdy guarnnlced.

OF

,l.!in.:'s !'.r cci Ili~c :J posutl training for

~(.:Cftt ~ r i.l , na nki n~. Ins urJnC'l? Comm,'rcial

..-\ CCO UnI IIl t'Y

A c co unt a ncy,

THI S t 80 PAGE
TO SUCCESS

.. The Direc t \\.:1V to

uccess "
all ows tht' rcnd"" f 'to see Business
[hroll~h ~xnt'rt~' C)'S. There are
conl li bu li ons from famou s Business
Lcadt::rs . and rhe C;lreers that busines~ offers ~md the a\"f;:l1lu~'S (hat le:ld

ACCOUNTANCY
TRAINING IS

The S c hool of
all

FREE GUIDE

i\l atri cubtio n E, .l min ~ldon~. ,lI1d fo r apprintmc m s ~uc h

3!' General !' Ian.tgt!r, Comnuny ~ccrctJry, :\ ccount.:111r. \\ orks
i\I :m ager , Cost ,\ ccountmu . Office: :\bnOlllc r, .\u ditor. C;J~hit.-r .rnd
Chief Clerk. Also C(l ur!oOC~ fo r vOllths .md 1.Iu il."s ::md in JII bu-.;iness
:lnd

SPECIAL TWENTY.
FIRST BIRTHDAY
OFFER
To uhb, a le its Twt>1l1:rFil st ) '((If 0/ SIIurssJu/
Sl'rt'iu, The
choo/ is
maR. ,ug, to students u,ho
""'01 (It nil tor/y date. n
Sprriol Offer fl.,hid, 'U'ill
wb f {(lII t ial/:r reduce 'he -tOlt
(f (Joining.

ilnd general CduC;Hion s ubj ec ts.

Write for fr-ee copy of The Sc hool's Guide to Succe~s; m ark your request " Gui de to Success"

-THE
.:..'.....SCHOOl OF ACCOUNTANCY
.....
I(.lI ~ _.J--.ii~ ~ .~,...I(:a ~ .~.~c.:a

111 MOOR GATE LONDON E.C.2

MANCHESTER

LEEDS

LI VE RP O O L

SOUTH AFR I CA - P.O . e ox 4592 . JOHANNESBU"G

S UPPORT

THOSE

F I RMS

2 WEST REGENT STREET GLASGOW

WHO

SUPPORT US.

BIRMIN G H A M

THE

ROYAL

ARlVIY

CANTEENS

PAY

to

CORPS

JOURNAL

INSTITUTES

A BRIEF HISTORICAL NOTE

N the last cenLury t,h e Regim ental Canteen was seld om a ny thin g more t ha n th e
ba l'e name impli es, a barrack roo m set
as id e for t he sa le of liquor' and a fe w essential commodities, and a ffot-ding li t tle comfort
of an y sort. Wh ere it was condu cted on t he
Tena nt system it was t he private spec ul at ion
of a civilia n whose pdn cipa l co nce rn was not
unna t ura lly the acquisiti on of profit for him self or the sha rehold ers of his firm _ If condu ded
under Regi ment al a l'rangem ents ,
stewards under no expert commercial control more oft-en t,han not fl ouri shed a t th e
expen se o f t he ma jotity.. I n either ca se 111 3
int er es l s of t heir cnstoll1 e-rs w as a second.a ,y

HE Great W ar of 1914-1918 brough t

ma tters to a head , a nJ pa rtly finan ced
by credits from t he South African
Ga rri so n In sti t utes, t he Expedit iona ry F orce
Ca nt ee ns a nd later the Navy a nd Army Canteen Board were creat ed t{) d eal wi Llt a
situat,ion which the t hen ex isLing sys tems
were unab ie to handle. Th ese purely Wa rtim e orga nisa tions met th e req ui rem ents of
~h e i r hour , but as such , were necessa rily
wound up on termin at ion o f hostili t ies . Th e
asce rt a in ed s urplu ses of I.he KF .C . a nd
N .A .C. B. were distri buLed by Act of P a rli ament , Ihe bu.lk of the /ll . ' ove', 7,200,OGO,

bein g paid ove r 10 Ihe U dle d Se r vi ces Fund_

con sideration .

HE T came t,h e South Africa n Wa r of

- 1899 with t he evolu t ioin of Sir R-edvel'S Buller's id ea of a Field Ca ntee n
Service.
T he South Afri can F ield Force
Can tee ns ca tered for th e requi rements of t he
Troo ps in South A fri ca , a nd a t th e end o f
t he \;Va r becarr e t he Ga rri son In st.ilut es for
th e troops rema ining in South Africa. Th e
A,my at home co ntinu ed under wh at were'
subst an t ially the old systems . 1,., v i ew of

I;he exp ed erl ce g ain ed , howB1'er , Ih ese systems 11'e r e n ow 0 '1'1 thei1' Ir ial.
They were Tried and Found Wanting

UT a' great id ea a nd an O l'g ani za ti~ n

to co rres pond we re, howe ver, now 10
ex istence, a nd "t he opportunity of
creating a busin ess to opera te in P eace and
at t he sam e tim e to prov id e t he necessa ry
rrac h;nery ill readin ess for \;Va r \Va not lost.
Thus in 1921 the Navy, Arm y & Ail' F orce
In sti t uLes . came in to bein g a nd look over
th e final liquida tion o f th ese 'Var-time
co n,e m s fi'l a'lced by a balal1 ce of ul'l'rcali sed

asse t s
ove r
pro babl e
es lillwl ed
350 ,000 .

at

liabilities

t hcn

The N . A.A.F.1. is not Found Wanting

~avy,t\rmg &A irForce Institutes

IS THEREFORE FINANCED BY THE SERVICES
AND CAN JUSTLY CLAIM TO BE

THE SERVICE'S OWN BUSINESS

IMPERIAL COURT,aUPPER KENNJNGTON LANE , JJONDON, S.E .l1

Printed by t he V ict ori a Press (St. Al ba ns), L Ld .. for t he ltoya J Army P ay Co rps, and publi shed at
80, P a ll Ma ll, S .W .L