\u201cReveille was marked by a bugle call at 6am. Even after a poor night\u2019s sleep, I was glad to get out of bed. I joined the melee at ablutions, washed in cold water and shaved. It was no hardship as very few people had running hot water in their homes. Breakfast was served: lumpy porridge and a sausage with a couple of doorsteps (thick slices of bread and margarine). Inspection followed and names taken. \u2018Unshaven. Stand closer to your razor. Filthy ears,\u2019 were the remarks made by the inspecting officer. A squad at a time, we were marched to the stores and given an assortment of webbing: packs, haversacks, belts and straps. We carried our bundles back to our places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sergeant Wigger stood in front of us with a webbing belt and pack: \u2018This is your equipment. It is called 08 pattern, because it was first designed in 1908. I will show you how to fit it together. Copy me.\u2019 We put it over our civvies. The NCOs adjusted it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe then went back to the stores where the armourer sergeant gave each of us a rifle covered in thick grease and a pull-through rope and rags for cleaning the inside of the rifle\u2019s barrel. We sat down and were told to clean off the grease. At the same time, Wigger told us that we were riflemen and we had just been issued with our best friend: the 303 short Lee Enfield rifle and bayonet. It was never to leave our side and was to be cleaned and cherished at all times. The exteriors were examined meticulously. We were told how to pull the cloth from the breech to the muzzle using the pull-through. The NCOs were soon peering down the barrels of the rifles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We were told that we would never carry our rifles at the slope on our shoulders, like lesser mortals in other parts of the British Army. The corporal demonstrated the two ways riflemen held their weapons. The shoulder entailed holding the rifle vertically by the right side. This involved supporting the weapon by the trigger guard. That was painful. The second position was the trail. It involved holding the rifle horizontally at its point of balance. That was almost impossible. The next order was issued. \u2018We will form up and march next door to get used to carrying our rifles at the trail.\u2019 Next door was the All England Tennis Club, the headquarters of world tennis. We set off, almost in step, with the occasional dropped rifle. The entrance to the club was the next driveway. On the firm concrete surface, we were given our first foot and arms drill lessons. It was here that I regretted wearing my highly polished brown brogues. I started to hack a hole just below my right ankle in my endeavour to snap to attention. This would not heal until we were issued boots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the end of the week, we paraded at the stores to be confronted by a line of soldiers presided over by a thick-set man wearing a green caubeen. We were the last squad to be dealt with. Each man was issued with Long John underclothes, shirts, two pairs of grey socks, a cap comforter and brown woollen overalls called battledress. We were asked our height and chest size.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A blouse and trousers were thrown on the counter. My battle dress jacket and trousers were marked with a large figure 9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Excuse me,\u2019 I said politely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Corporal!,\u2019 yelled the man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Excuse me corporal, but this suit is the wrong size.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Trouble?,\u2019 asked the warrant officer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018This is too large, Sir,\u2019 I replied<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Smallest we\u2019ve got,\u2019 the officer said. \u2018Next.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I found out later that this was Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant (RQMS) Wallie James, the second most senior warrant office below RSM Reid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Next we were issued with puttees and a \u201cfore and aft\u2019 cap. There were two sizes only: Too small and too large. Then came the caubeens. Our next stop was at a great array of boots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Size?,\u2019 Shouted the sergeant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Six, Sergeant.,\u2019 I replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A pair of large unpolished boots were thrust at me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Excuse me Sergeant, these are the wrong size. I take size 6,\u2019 I said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Best we can do.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Trouble?,\u2019 shouted the RQMS. \u2018What you again?\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018These boots are too large, Sir.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Take them, you are lucky to have them. What\u2019s your name?\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Rifleman O\u2019Sullivan, Sir.,\u2019 I replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018I will remember that!,\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We went back to our places where we dressed in our uniforms. I was 5 feet 5 inches tall, with about a 35-inch chest. My uniform was for a man at of least 5 feet 9 inches with a 40-inch chest. My puttees held up my trousers which were supported by braces made as short as they would go. The blouse was enormous. The webbing belt acted as a corset. My forage cap was supported by my ears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We were shown how to clean our boots and equipment using materials we were forced to buy. Next morning, we marched to Putney Heath to church. This was a long and painful march as my feet floated about in my huge boots. The Mass was celebrated by the battalion Catholic padre. I will always remember on the march watching the highly polished boots of Sergeant Dickie Bird. He was a former Royal Ulster Rifles (RUR) regular, a cockney and a gentleman who became a true friend. We met members of the other companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 2nd Battalion of the London Irish comprised four fighting companies, each made up of four platoons, plus support personnel. Each company numbered just over 100 men. The four companies were named E, F, G and H. The Headquarters (HQ) Company completed the battalion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Each company was unique. E Company included a great number of Irish and London based Irishman. Many had served in the Irish army. Some said that they had been rebels in the 1919-21 independence war. F Company catered for West End actors and the staff of theatres. They often acted a part. When digging air raid trenches on Putney Heath, they tied rope round their calves, turned their caubeens around and wore them like cloth caps in imitation of a building labourer. As they worked, their language became more lurid. Among their ranks were names already known in their profession. In addition to Jack Allen, there were some lesser-known actors including William Edward Hodge and Nigel Stock, who became a post-war film and television personality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some recruits were residents or worked in the locality. They included employees of Chelsea Borough Council. These gravitated to G Company, where the CSM, a platoon sergeant major and several NCOs had all worked for the council. Some claimed they were crew of the same dust-cart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The most famous Church of England teachers\u2019 training college in London was St Mark\u2019s and St John\u2019s, known as Marjons. Before the war began, its principal contacted the London Irish and marched the whole college along King\u2019s Road to the Duke of York\u2019s barracks where the regiment had its headquarters. Here, they had special drills to fit in with their studies. They became H Company and were commanded by Captain Fritz Lane, an ex-Guard and a stern disciplinarian who had won an MC and other medals in the 1st World War. By enlisting in the Territorial Army, the Marjons students avoided the six months of service demanded by the Military Training Act. This allowed the majority of H Company to qualify as teachers before they went off to summer camp in 1939. Because it had so many educated men, the London Irish became an officer-producing regiment. Its ranks included titled persons and wealthy businessmen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
HQ Company comprised specialist platoons. Many of them had been transferred from the 1st Battalion, as had most of the 2nd Battalion\u2019s NCOs and officers. They included pioneers, mortar-specialists, drivers of the troop carrying vehicles (TCVs), signals, transport and anti-tank platoons. HQ Company also had the intelligence officer, the regimental quartermaster, the armourers, the pipe band, the buglers and the drummers, the battle patrol and the battalion headquarters (BHQ). At full strength, HQ Company numbered about 400 men. It would be divided later into two: HQ Company and Support (S) Company.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cReveille was marked by a bugle call at 6am. Even after a poor night\u2019s sleep, I was glad to get out of bed. I joined the melee at ablutions, washed in cold water and shaved. It was no hardship as very few people had running hot water in their homes. Breakfast was served: lumpy porridge […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":16983,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-17433","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonirishrifles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonirishrifles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonirishrifles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonirishrifles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonirishrifles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17433"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonirishrifles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17433\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17434,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonirishrifles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17433\/revisions\/17434"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonirishrifles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonirishrifles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}