1946 Summer

THE ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL
Subscribers are requested to notify at once any

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for delivery of copies unless this is done.
Editorial Notes
All correspondence should be addressed to :
EDITOR:
Lieut.-Colonel A. L. DUNNILL, O.B.E.
THE EDITOR,
THE ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL,
ARMY PAY OFFICE,
STOCKPORT ROAD,
MANCHESTER 13.
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INDEX
The Taj Mahal
Old Comrades' Association
No. 2 Base Clearing House, 1944-45
Obituary
Corps News - Officers
" Operation Octopus"
Officers' Club
Retirements . .
Heard the News ?
Malta Re-union Dinner
Personalia
Outside the Pr"o cess System In Jerusalem
A Kashmir Holiday
The Other Side of the Picture
Our Chess Page
Shakespeare and the R.A.P.C.
Durban
Meditation
A Regimental Pay Office
Notes and News from Offices
151
154
156
160
162
164
165
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
175
177
178
179
180
181
182
The Royal Army Pay Corps Journal

Vol. V.
Summer, 1946
No .. 36
in December 1915. He was twice mentioned

in- Despatche~.
He was promoted Major and Staff Paymaster
in -March 1922 and Lieut.-Colonel and Staff
Paymaster four years later.
In September 1931 .he was promoted Chief
Paymaster to take up duties as Command
Paymaster, Egypt. On his ' return from his
overseas tour in March 1935, he was posted for
duty ' as Command Paymaster, Northern
Command. Next year he went to Eastern
Command.
He remained at 80 Pall Mall until he was
appointed Paymaster in Chief at the War Office
on 28th November, 1937, with the rank of
Major-General.
After completing the first half of his normal
tour of duty the second World War broke out
and to General Riley fell the responsibility of
converting the Corps from its peace-time
strength of a few hundred, into a machine
capable of dealing with the affairs of several
millions of soldiers and their families.
The magnitude of the task and the organisation required to bring it into being can
hardly be appreciated, yet within a surprisingly
short time, new offices had sprung up within
the U ;K. and large drafts of t:einforcements
were en route for many overseas destinations.
With all the continuity of planning that was
required to combat the many problems that
were daily arising it was only natural that when
his normal tour of duty had expired in 1941
- General Riley shou Id be asked to remain at
the helm. He willingly agreed and in fact
remained in office until August 194,3 when he
decided to retire, after serving the Corps for
33 years.
He received the C.B. and K.B.E. for his
services as Paymaster in Chief.
Retirement did not however, mean a complete severance from the Corps in which he
had spent so much of his life.
He was
appointed Colonel Commandant on his retirement, a position which he still holds.
He takes a deep interest in the affairs of the
Corps and especially in those of the Old
Comrades' Association of which he wa3
recently elected President. It is fitting that they
should have such an ardent supporter at a
time when the Corps is returning to a peacetime strength.
EDITORIAL NOTES
-Army Pay Office,
Stockport Road,
Manchester 13.
JUlze 1946.
The reception given to our last issue has far
exceeded our most sanguine hopes. The letters
of appreciation that have been received from
past and present members of the Corps inspire
us with confidence fer the future, and already
we feel that the R.A .P.C. Journal stands upon
a very firm foundation.
In this issue, additional space has been

devoted to the Old Comrades Association. It
is good to learn that the committee has farrcaching plans, which, when they can be put
into effect, will d<;> much to bind together all
those who have served in the Ccrps during the
last six years.
Those of us who remain have a duty to

perform to those who helped us during the
dark days of war, and it is only by our full
support that the committee can hope to carry
out their plans.
F or this issue we have received a large
number of articles and photographs, some of
which, for lack of space; have had to be
excluded.
We hope that the writers of these articles
will understand the reason for the nonappearance of their efforts ~ and that they will
not be discouraged. Every effort will be made
to print them in a future issue.
Our Frontispiece
MAJOR-GENERAL SIR GUY RILEY,
K.B.E., C.B.
Major-General Sir Henry Guy Riley,
K.B.E., C.B., was born in November 1884,
and received his commission as 2nd Lieutenant
in the North Staffordshire Regiment from the
Militia on 23rd May, 1906.
Three years later he was promoted Lieutenant and in 1910 transferred to the Army Pay
Department as Lieutenant and Paymaster,
being the first to be so transferred.
On the outbreak of the first World War in
1914 he proceeded to France with the British
Expeditionary Force, being promoted Captain
MAJOR-GENERAL SIR GUY RILEY, K.B.E., C.B.

Colonel Commandant, Royal Army Pay Corps
153
THE T AJ MAHAL
By FRANK H. A. KEMPE
ATURALLY enough, the first amnarrow waterway which leads to the mausoleum,
bition of every new arrival at India/
all serve to accentuate the perfect symmetry of
S.E.A.C. Pay Office is to achieve speedy
the architecture.
The mausoleum itself,
repatriation. Invariably, the second is to see
standing on a three-hundred-foot-square platthe Taj Mahal.
form of sandstone is magnificent in its stillness.
Cases where the first is achieved before the
Shining like phosphorus under a full moon, it
seq:md are few and far between, which is as
is a lasting memorial to the beauty of sadness ;
well, fo'r to come within a hundred miles of
the strength which is sometimes born of sorrow.
this architectural wonder and then to leave
Internally, it is no less magnificent. The
without seeing it would be more than a minor
octagonal central chamber, housing the sartragedy.
cophagi of the Great Mogul and his beloved,
What is the universal appeal of the Taj ?
is embossed in gold leaf.
The delicately
Why do people of every race, creed and colour,
fretted screen which surrounds the tombs has
whose tastes in nearly every other respect
been described as a spider's web in white
diff~r, agree that at Agra there is something
marble. The tombs themselves, elaborately
The Taj MahaI.
unique; the most splendid jewel in the silver

sea of world architecture? These questions,
often asked incredulously, (sometimes sceptically, can only be answered by a visit. And even
then, the visitor seldom knows why the first
glimpse of the Taj, through the giant sandstone
entrance gate, took his breath away.
The flat Indian planes provide a perfect
setting for the Taj. The pure white dome and
four sentmel minarets stand out on a vast
carpet of green, a pearl set in jade. Their
reflection in the stilI waters of the Sacred
River J um,na completes a picture of perfect
peace.
At closer range, early expectations are fulfilled a hundred times. The richly embossed
gateway, the long avenue of melancholy cypress
trees, the fountains playing softly into the
inlaid with mosaic in precious stones, are

among the treasures of the world. Above them,
always burning, hangs a great bronze lamp,
ornamented richly with gold and silver. Dying
roses, . placed in the chamber by attendant
priests, fill it with a strange, unearthly fragrance
and the atmosphere of unreality is charged by
the curious echoes in the high ceiling. No one
could stand within it and not experience a
strange emotion of mysterious sadness.
But it is not only the beauty of the craftsmanship which weaves this magic. There is
something more than all this; something
which appeals to feelings even deeper than those
stirred by pictorial beauty. And to appreciate
this, you have to know the story of the Taj.
For the story of the Taj is one of the greatest
love stories of all time.
154
grief.
Plans were immediately put intooperation but it took twenty thousand labourers
and the best craftsmen in Europe and the East
over s~venteen ' years before a memorial
beautiful enough to house the sleepin~ queen
could be completed. Once this ambition had
been realised, Jehan's only consolation was the
prospect of his own approaching end, when he
could gain re-union with his beloved. He
planned a second Taj on the far bank of the
J umna, and joined to his wife's memorial by
a marble bridge, to house his own remains.
Appalled at the expenses already incurred,
however, and dismayed at the prospect of still
further expense, his son Aurangzib seized
power and the old emperor spent the evening
of his life a prisoner in his own Agra Fort. He
died gazing across the planes on to the Taj,
and there he was buried.
Was it worth while? To build the Taj,
tremendous privations were placed upon the
people. Labour was forced, the workers were
underfed, the mortality rate was appalling. A
memorial which would have given lasting
benefit to the people instead of rendering them
impoverished would have been more in keeping
with an enlightened civilisation. But if you
stand on the banks of the J umna, watching the
moonlight reflected on the dome of the Taj,
so that it sparkles like a ~illion diamonds, it
is not possible to regret that the wish of
Mumtaz-i-Mahal was fulfilled in its most direct
manner.
Shah J ehan was the last of the great Mogul

emperors. A son of J ehengir Kahn and grandson of Akbar the Great, he lived up to the
tr,aditions of his line. He was a capable general,
a shrewd statesman, a just judge and a generous patron of the arts. Particularly, did he
encoU(age his architects, and many of the
examples" of Mogul skill in building constructi.on in existence today can be traced
directly to his influence.
His inspiration was his queen, the beautiful
Persiin-descended daughter of his Prime
Minister. He married her when she was twentyone and gave her the title of Mumtaz-i-Mahal
or Exhalted of the Palace. From then on, she
was his confidante and advisor in everything.
Whenever he was in doubt on points of statecraft or jurisprudence, it was to her that he
turned. She ruled his court and possibly his
empire, and was at his side even when he led
his armies on the field of battle.
The ideal partnership was not destined to
remain for long. In her thirty-ninth year,
Mumtaz died in her husband's camp, in giving
birth to her fourteenth child. Even in this
extremity, she hid refused to leave J ehan and
have her child in the Imperial Palace. Her
dying request was that her emperor should
erect to her a memorial so beautiful that it
could never be surpassed.
J ehan dedicated the remainder of his life to
the fulfilment of this last request. Only in this
could he find refuge from his overwhelming
" . " 1""-
"PRIMROSE AND BLlJE"

In connection with the publication of the
Regimental March in the Spring 1946 number
of the Corps Journal, the following note ' has
been received from the composer, Major H. M.
Lovering, R.A.P.C., now serving at Droitwich :
The march, as published by Messrs.
Hawkes Ltd., was scored for a
Military Band.
The piano transcription (as published
in the Journal) is, therefore, nothing more
than a simplified version, with the sole idea
of giving members an idea of the refrain,
etc.
The B.B.C. have repeatedly broadcast
the march as played by various Regimental
Bands ;:md the H.M.V. Gramophone Co.
have issued a record-H.M.V. B9371which is a very good recording of the
march as played by a famous Guards'
Band-(with the Regimental March of the
R.A.M.C. on the reverse of the record).
~oosey &
.
No IT
AlNT
1?E<>'PAY~~""~"""""
lT~ MAUD tlU,\\NG"'ON
155
R.A.P.C. OLD COMRADES' ASSOCIATION

Before proceeding with an account of the
Association's activities during the past quarter
I propose to review the past in a brief
retrospect.
The inaugural dinner and meeting which
signalised the birth of the O.C.A. was held at
Lyon's Corner House, Coventry Street, on
20th April, 1928. The Chair was occupied by
Colonel Armstrong, c.B., C.M.G., Colonel
Commandant of the Corps. Over 300 members
and ex-members of the Corps were present.
Thereafter the Committee of Management met
monthly, and by October 1928 the Hon.
Treasurer, Lieut.-Colonel A. B. Cliff, was able
to report that the balance at the bank amounted
to 246 10s. 6d.
To that band of enthusiasts, headed by
Colonel Armstrong as the first President, the
indefatigable and kindly Hon. Secretary, the
late Captain E. J. W. Browne, do we owe an
everlasting debt of gratitude. The only two
members of the original Committee still serving
are Major C. V. Rooker, M.B.E., M.M ., and
Captain L. Tripp.
When Mr. Browne who had retired to civil
life found that he could no longer devote the
necessary time to the job, Major G. Lidstone,
O.B.E. took over the reins of office.
He
tendered his resignation in June 1939 and the
writer of these notes took over.
Major H. Duesbury, functioning as Hon.
Treasurer, with Major F. W. Beech as Hon.
Solicitor, formed the Association into a
Charitable Trust, thereby protecting our
interest on investments.
Details of our financial progress throughout
the war years were given in the Annual Report
for 1944-45, and I do not want to encroach on
the Hon. Treasurer's preserves, but as a
reminder to offices having surplus funds, I
would like to mention that substantial donations
have been received from a number of Pay
Offices during the war years.
.
I cannot leave the past and review the
present without touching on the irreparable loss
the Association sustained by the passing of
Captain E. J. W. Browne, the first Hon.
Secretary, who died on 12th June, 1941, and
as a tribute to his memory cannot do better
than to quote from my report of September
1941, which read as follows "To the younger generation he may not
even be a name, but to the R.A.P.C. of pre-war
days he was a personality, and it is safe to say
that no member of the Corps was more universally known and loved than was' Ted ' Browne.
He was one of the enthusiastic band who

conceived the idea of an O.C.A. in 1928, and
as its first Hon. Secretary bore the brunt of
the work of bringing it into being. He continued
in office for 10 years, and it was characteristic
of his deep sense of duty that when he found,
owing to pressure of business, he could not
devote the time that the office demanded, he
resigned the Secretaryship and continued to
serve as a Member of the General Committee
of which he was elected Chairman in 1939 .
The late Captain E.
J.
W. Browne.
" Captain Browne possessed all the qualities

which go to the making of an ideal secretary. A
man of an affectionate disposition, of human
understanding and sympathy, he was always
ready to help others in distress. Above all he
was a tenacious fighter in a good cause. His
passing has left a gap that it will be hard to fill,
and, "hen the time comes for us to resume our
annual meetings and dinners we of the older
generation will feel a tightening of the heartstrings when we find that his cheery smile and
warm clasp of the hand is no longer there to
greet us."
Mention must also be made of Colonel W. S.
Mackenzie, C.B.E., and Mr. W. Thurgood,
both founders of the Association, who died on
19th December, 1944, and 12th June, 1945,
respectively.
Colonel J . Feehally, O.B.E., accepted the
vacancy of Chairman on the death of Captain
156
as ours, he was always a leader, and one who

had the courage of his convictions. He was a
leader who could-guide without goadinginspire without interfering -trust and not be
timid about it.
"Perhaps his gift of leadership is in his
blood, for he is a descendant of a family of
soldiers. He has in his possession a Victoria
Cross gained by a near relative, and in South
Africa there is a fort, Fort Armstrong, named
after his father.
" We have been privileged to have had him
with us, and for so long.
" It was only after much thought that he
came to his decision to resign because he felt
he might not be able, in the future, to give the
Association that attention which such an object
should receive. I wish we could say' Carry on,'
but we must bow to his decision."
. Browne and here we have another outstanding

example of devotion to the welfare .o~ . t.he
Association. His duties and responslblittles
at this time were well known to everyone in the
Corps, yet he was prepared to ~nd time to
guide our destinies fro~ the Chal~. We who
are charged with the lIlner worklllgs .of the
Association know only too well how emlllently
suited he is to fill the post, keeping the
wanderers to the point at issue, and analysing
with shrewd judgment the value of the points
raised. May he long continue in office.
And now for current events.
At the April Meeting of the General Committee our President, Colonel Armstrong,
stated that he felt the time had come when he
should hand over the Presidency to a younger
man. He proposed that our Colonel Commandant should succeed him, this was seconded by
Mr. Pond and naturally carried unanimously.
Colonel Feehally in his capacity as Chairman
expressed the Association's regret in the
following moving speech.
" We have just heard with great regret our
President's desire to resign after being with us
from the inception of the O.C.A., of which he
was one of the founders and the first President.
" None can have heard it with greater sorrow
than I who have known him longer than anyone
here. Personally, I have known him for forty
He has been my Section Officer,
years.
Regimental Paymaster, Command Paymaster,
and Chief Paymaster at the War Office.
" About three years ago when he relinquished
the post of Colonel Commandant, I bade him
farewell as such on behalf of the General
Committee, and tried to say what the Association and the Corps would like to have said.
"He then ceased to serve actively after
fifty-three years continuous Army service, in
the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, the Army Pay
Department and the Royal Army Pay Corps.
Then our regret was tempered by the knowledge
that he would continue to remain our President.
Though we were then losing our first Colonel
Commandant, we were keeping our first
President. Now the time has come when he
feels he must hand over, and he will, to us,
remain the founder of the Association. To
him, and to us I hope that will mean much.
" From the moment the formation of the
Association was first mooted, he has given it
splendid support. He put into the proposal
all his vitality and vigour and the fact that
, Johnny Armstrong , was to be President gave
it impetus. He had then, and still has, the
confidence of us all.
" Even in an unspectacular department such
As foreshadowed in my notes in the last

issue of the Journal, action has been taken to
set up regional branches. A meeting of delegates
from Command and Regimental Offices at
Home, was held at Knightsbridge Pay Office on
25th April, 19 /16.
The meeting was opened by Major-General
Sir Guy Riley (President of the Association)
who welcomed the representatives of the various
offices, and explained that during the war years
the General Committee had been in effect a
" Caretaker Government." He thanked Colonel
Norris for the way he had kept the Association
alive during the war, and expressed regret at
the loss of a number of the older members of
the Association and also at the resignation of
Colonel Armstrong, who had been our President
for nineteen years, and without whose support
and interest, the Association would have been
sadly handicapped. Although we shall miss the
guidance of the older generation, General -Riley
thought the younger generation would do well.
When Captain Browne died, Colonel Feehally
stepped into the breach as Chairman. Lieut.Colonel Malpass very kindly agreed to become
Treasurer in place of Colonel Mackenzie, and
he felt that the funds were very safe in his
hands.
The Association had grown to such an extent
that our activities could no longer be carried
out from London, and we must de-centralise,
and do it quickly, failing which we should lose
touch with men who have left the Corps on
release.
Colonel Feehally then outlined the decentralisation plans. He said : " I would like to mention that General Riley
was elected President of the Association at the
157
THE ROYAL ARMY PAY.' CORPS JOURNAL

last meeting of the General Committee and I
think we sp-all have a worthy successor to
Colonel Armstrong and one who will take
great interest in the Association, its needs and
activities.
.
"I think if we are successful in formmg'
branches, and the branches hold social functions, General Riley will be disappointed if he
does not receive an invitation.
"The General Committee after much
thought and discussion came to the conclusion
that the pre-war organisation, catering for a
membership of perhaps 1,000 or less, would not
be suitable for the future. There are now
bound to be hundreds of men in the North
of Ireland and Scotland-particularly Scotl~md
-who would not want to come to London for
an annual meeting and dinner.
"In civil life a man's circle of friends is
very small but in the Army he forms a large
circle.
" The O.C.A. would like to maintain that
large circle and if we can have a certain number
of inner circles formed to give it lasting
strength and power, it will be all the better.
I do hope that you will work hard, and endeavour to get something done towards early
de-centralisation.' ,
The meeting then went on to consider the
establishment of branches throughout the
country.
Colonel Feehally said that the general feeling
was that these areas should be run by a"Branch Secretary" or a "Branch Committee" and invited the remarks of those present.
Captain L. Cook (Officers' Accounts, Manchester) proposed that the Association should
appoint a paid organising secretary. . He
thought that a man able to give his whole time
and efforts to the job would be able to build up
the RA.P.C., O.C.A. on the same lines and as
well as the RE. and R.A.S.C. Associations.
Colonel Feehally pointed out that the membership and wealth of the O.C.A's. of the
RA.S.C. and RE. was much greater than that
of the R.A.P.C. Association and thought that
the Association should first look after the
" hardship" cases amongst its members and
then think about expenditure on social events.
He thought that the first essential was to form
the branches and get each branch set up in
such a way that they themselves could organise
and advertise their events and so keep the
members in touch with one another. The
Association could not afford the drain on their
resources for paying an organising secretary.
The branches would have money to publicise
'
themselves.
Mter some discussion it was agreed that

branches of the O.C.A. should be set up as
follows:.
.
SCOTLAND (EAST) Edinburgh, and (WEST)
Glasgow; N.W. AREA in Manchester;
N.E. AREA in York; E. MIDLANDS in
Leicester; WALES and W. MIDLANDS in
Kidderminster; S.W. AREA in Exeter;
S.E. AREA in London.
The various representatives agreed to make
plans for the early establishment of these
branches.
Captain R E. Roberts, A.P.O. Radcliffe has
been appoined representatiYe for the N.W. Area
and Mr. W. F. McNarrara, A.P.O. Kidderminster, for Wales and W. Midland Area.
Colonel Feehally pointed out that although,
to begin with, the branches were " milit~ry,"
the ultimate object was to make them principally civilian.
I t was suggested by several speakers that
there was a demand for a branch in South
Wales and the chairman stated that if anyone
would take on the job, the Central Committee
would give him th~ir support.
Colonel Feehally reported that Northern
Ireland and Eire had not sent a representative
to the meeting but he would communicate
with them and ascertain what could be done
towards the formation of a branch in that area.
Colon~l Feehally said that the General
Committee should continue to look after the
" hardship' " work of the O.C.A. but that the
local branches should concentrate on the
development of social activities.
Several representatives thought that local
branches should have power to deal with
applications for cash grants in cases of urgent
hardship.
,
Colonel Feehally pointed out that office
representatives at the moment had the power
to make grants up to 5. It was hoped shortly
to re-constitute the Management Committee
and they would then deal with applications for
grants.
Colonel Feehally said that the grants would
come from the Central Fund and not from the
funds of the local branch and he hoped that
local secretaries would make a point of arranging annual dinners, meetings, smoking concerts
and other functions. This could best be done
by having a selected local newspaper in which
to advertise all the activities of the branch so
that they would come to the notice of all
members-whether civilians or serving. The
office representative would certainly be able to
help but he would probably be representing
only a small percentage of the branch's mem158

bership. The O.C.A. is not a military organisation. It is intended mainly for those who
have left the Corps and are in .civil life.
The duty of the branch secretary would be
to contact all members in his area but the
assistance of a representative of the local pay
office on his committee would be necessary.
Lieut.-Colonel H. H. Malpass (Treasurer)
then gave a report on the position of the
Association's funds. "We have a general fund
into which we have put all our subscriptions
and all donations. We have dealt with applications for grants in cases of hardship from
income on our investments. At the present time
the Charitable Fund totals between 10,000
'and 11,000. The income at the moment is in
the region of 280 annually. We have in the
General Fund a rather large amount of cash
because we expected about this time to have to
deal with larger numbers of hardship cases
than usual. We have about 1,500 in the
General Fund at the bank."
After discussion as to the best methods of

financing local branches it was agreed that each
branch secretary should receive an initial
grant of 50 from the General Fund to meet
the expenses incurred in connection with the
establishment of his branch and an annual
grant of 1/- for each member in the branch.
The Secretary undertook to supply branches
with lists of ' members' names and addresses
at the earliest possible moment.
S.S.M. Leader (F.9) gave some details of
the work of the O.C.A. Employment Bureau,
'set up to help members to find employment.
He said that the success of the Appointments
Bureau had been "mixed." The results in
London had been quite good but in the Provinces they had been almost negligible. The
only way he could get men to contact ,him was
through advertising in the national and
'provincial newspapers, blii ' even then he
received very few replies. The only reason for
this, he thought was that those who saw the
.:1'.
":.r ,' /
'9
----
The man who left the Battalion without ,joining the O.C.A.
159

been made with an old-established company for
the issue of a special" Old Comrades' Insurance
Policy" which is available to Members Only
at considerably reduced rates of premium. The
usual benefits are applicable.
A sliding scale of " No Claim" bonus up
to 25 per cent. is allowed, and provision has
been made for generous claims settlement.
Inquiries, in the first instance, should be
addressed to the Hon. Secretary O.C.A., giving
date of expiry of present policy with value, and
H.P. of the car or cars to be insured, when
further details will be supplied.
The Civil Appointments Bureau has been
successful in securing various positions for a
number of members. Up to the time of compiling these notes, employment has been found
for at least 35 members, and the efforts made
by the Bureau on their behalf have been
greatly appreciated. There are, however, still
a number of members registered for employment who have not yet been placed, and five or
six applications are received weekly. Members
who are in a position to offer employment are
therefore strongly urged to get in touch with
S.S.M. H. Leader, The War Office (F.9B),
64 Victoria Street, S.W.1, who will be only
too pleased to assist in finding a suitable
employee. Great difficulty still exists in placing
provincial members, but with the formation of
Regional branches, contacts will be made
locally and more openings than heretofore
should become available.
advertisements were prejudiced by the fact

that the Headquarters of the Bureau was in
London.
If the Bureau were de-centralised he suggested that each branch secretary would be
responsible for the employment bureau in his
own area.
The Secretary thought that once a branch
found a man agood job, the word would go round.
Major Roberts (Radcliffe) said that he had
been able to find jobs for 37 men in Manchester
and district, and the reason for this success
was due to the way in which members of pay
offices and ex-members kept in touch with one
another and let it be known immediately a job
was available.
Colonel Feehally congratulated Major
Roberts, and suggested branches should work
on the lines to which he had referred.
In winding up the proceedings, MajorGeneral Sir Guy Riley thanked the members
for coming to the meeting, and said the results
achieved had been very satisfactory.
As will be gathered from the foregoing,
de-centralisation is well under way and notes
from the branches should appear in subsequent
issues of the Journal.
The advantages to be gained by membership
are manifold, and are fully set out in a pamphlet
promulgated by A.C.1. 689 of 1945, but there
is one which is not mentioned and is peculiar
to our own O.C.A. viz. : 'Motor Car Insurance.-Arrangements have
No. 2 BASE CLEARING HOUSE,

21st ARMY GROUP, 1944-45
some months, and was comprised largely of
former No. 1 B.C.H. personnel from IIfracombe and even one or two of the original
B.E.F. of" Lancastrian" fame. 21st A.G. had
begun to take shape and the unit was in the
process of forming the third Imprest Audit
Wing under the command of Captain, later
Major and Lieut.-Colonel, Barrow.
The function of No. 2 B.C.H. was to maintain the Unit Imprest Accounts of all battalions
and formations in 21st A.G. and as more
units came into the groups before and after
" D" Day on operation "Overlord" the
Wings grew to five in number comprising 26
sections plus Regimental Services, Misc.
Wing, etc.
Together with the rest of London we
endured the fiying bombs from June onwards,
first in Montague Square and then in
Egerton Gardens, S.W.1, at the end of August
HIS article commences with the departure of a very small draft of two other
ranks from 29th Coy. R.A.P.C., Knightsbridge, in April 1944, bound for the depot
without embarkation leave.
V\T e were to
understand the reason for this after the several
months of wcrk in U.K. that fcllowd .
We spent several days at the depot being
billeted quite comfortably at the" Three Arms
Club." There wa<: litle to do at the depot as
the hands of the Permanent Staff were fully
occupied ',vith a draft of some 200 strongrumoured to be India bound.
We were, therefore, not sorry when F.9
rem.e mbered our existence and ordered us to
proceed a short distance to Montague Square,
W.1, where a number of large houses served
as the offices of No. 2 B.C.H., then part of
No. 9 C.P.O. (Base).
No. 2 B.C.H. had already been operating
160

excellent stage and many shows and plays
were given, all of which were up to the best
R.A.P.C. standards. The Belgians enjoyed
these things as much as we did. as many of the
local lads and lasses were employed as-civilian
staff in the office.
We were free at weekends, and as the weather
improved many enjoyable visits were made to
Blankenberghe, Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent,
Courtrai and other Belgian cities of interest.
"Beating a Retreat" by massed pipes and
drums of the Regiments of 52nd (Lowland)
Division in the old cobbled square in
Oudenarde was a stirring spectacle.
However, the Allied Armies advanced on all
fronts and came V.E. Day and later V.J. Day,
and we all knew that the life of No. 2 B.C.H.
was nearly ended. At the end of August 1945
came the order to split into Corps Districts
with the L. of C. Accounts at No. 9 C.P.O.
(Base) now located in Brussels.
So we departed from Ruyen, some of us to
No. 20 C.P.O. (Base) Hamburg, and others to
Nos 18. and 19 C.P.O.'s. The stories of these
units of the R.A.P.C. can perhaps be told
another time. *
All former members of No. 2 B.C.H. would
agree that during the eight months in Belgium
a very great deal was owed to Lieut.-Colonel
Blackwell, officer-in-command, and Major
Barrow, second-in-command, for all that they
did for the comfort and welfare of the unit.
Without doubt a grand job of work was
successfully completed by all ranks.
No. 9 C.P.O. (Base) departed from us and

proceeded overseas to their first location at
Bayeaux. Thus No. 2 B.C.H. became a separate
unit under the command of Lieut.-Colonel
Blackwell, and work continued smoothly until
early December 1944 when it was announced
that we should leave for B.L.A. quite soon.
Mobilisation boxes were issued and a few days
before Christmas we were complete, the
advance party had gone and the unit moved
into the London District Transit Camp to
await the oleasure of Movement Control.
Two days after Christmas we were on our
way to Folkestone where we slept on the
ship over-night.
Next morning we had a
perfect crossing to Ostend, which was not now
much like the popular peace-time resort. After
a night in 113 Transit Camp the unit entrained
next morning and arrived soon after mid-day at
the tiny village of Ruyen in the hear'~ of Flanders.
The advance party, under the second-incommand, Major Barrow, had done excellent
work, but the severe weather with 18 inches of
snow that followed, and Von Runstedt's attack
in the Ardennes did not at first make life too
happy. We slept and messed in one textile
mill and the office was in another just up the
main street. The senior N.C.O.s were in the
village and the officers were up on the Mont
de l'Euclus. However, our transport arrived
and the office started work in March 1945.
With the arrival of better weather and some
50 A.T.S., life became more reasonable.
We made friends in the village, learnt
French and also learnt that the Flemings are
very hard-working and efficient farmers. The
village hall was requisitioned and this had an
* The Editor would be glad to receive articles

dealing with Nos. 18, 19, and 20 Command Pay
Offices.
A.T.S. Group, 2 B.C.H., Ruyen.
161
1Dbituarp
COLONEL W. S. MACKENZIE, C.B.E.
Lieut.-Colonel A. C. Barchard writes : I have just seen, in the March number of the
R.A .P.C. Journal, an " Obituary" article about
Colonel W. S. Mackenzie, C.B.E. .
, May I add my tribute to the memory of an
old friend: in fact, I think I can claim to be
his oldest friend iO
n the Corps. I joined in 1903
~after nearly 15 years in my regiment, and
" Mac," as we always called him, was a year
or two later than that. We were both in the
Regimental Pay Office, Aldershot, until 1908,
when I was sent to Cork. But" Mac" and I
were ever friends, and even up to within
lO days of his death we exchanged letters
frequently: it was always my considered
opinion that he was the ablest Paymaster that
I ever met. Moreover, he was a charming
companion, and at all times, whether in his
work or socially, he had definite tact. In those
days we played a lot ' of golf together, on the
Farnham Golf Links, and" Mac" lived quite
close to me in Upper Hale. I miss him much,
and I am indebted to his son, Gordon, for
being able to keep alive the memory of my
old friend. One of the nicest things he wrote
was (l " Memoir" to his spaniel-he had a
pretty turn of words-and I hope this endeavour to perpetuate" :M ac's" memory will
net be amiss in the eyes of any who knew him
later on than I did, and to his whole family" Ave abque Vale."
Queen's Medal, and was later stationed in

Malta for nearly 2 years.
On completing his service of 21 years he
was discharged to pension in November 1906.
Captain Alfred Gordon Leonard Harding

died at York City Hospital on 30th January.
The deceased enli~ted in the 6th Han ts
Regiment (T.A.) in April 1911, and was
mobilised on 4th Augus~,}914, on the outbreak
of the Great War. He was sent to France and
continued to serve until January 1918, wh,en he
received his Commission in the Indian Army.
Some 3t years later he was demobilised with
the rank of Lieutenant. ' .
In Aptil 1940 he was 'commissioned as
Lieutenant in the RA.P.C., and was promoted
Captain in January 1945, but he only held this
rank for a year, when he was taken ill suddenly
"\\'hile serving in the Regimental Pay Office,
York. He was admitted to hospital but died a
few days later.
A. J. Hutchings (late S.Q.M.S., No. 815)

died at Emscote, Warwick, on 22nd January,
aged 69.
He enlisted in the Gloucester Regiment at
Bristol on 6th September, 1895, and remained
with that Regiment for just over 4 years, when
he transferred to the Army Pay Corps in
December 1899.
He remained in the Corps for the next
20 years, being discharged to pension in
October 1920, in the rank of S.Q.M.S.
F. W. Turner died at Canterbury on 22nd

March, at the age of 60 years.
Turner enlisted in his home town on
18th February, 1904, and joined the East Kent
Regiment, transferring to the Army Pay Corps
some ten years later, soon after which he was
discharged owing to ill-health.
In March 1919, he re-enlisted into the
RA.P.C. and continued to serve for the next
22 years, part of which was spent in Egypt and
South Africa.
, He was finally discharged in the rank of
S.Q.M.S. in May 1941, "\\'ith a total of nearly
34 years' service.
The death of No. 7675492 Pte. Eric J. Yoke

took place in India on 13th April from the
effects of smallpox.
The deceased, who for some time was serving
at Finsbury Circus, transferred to the Reading
Office, but was only there for two months
before being sent to Meerut two years ago.
Yoke was a keen and able sportsman and took
part in many sports meetings whilst stationed
in London. While in India he had played
cricket and football regularly.
His sudden death took place a few weeks
before he was due to return to England for
release.
To his widow (ex-Cpl. Marjorie E. Yoke,
A.T.S., of the Reading Office), we extend our
sympathy in her loss.
The death of Arthur Herbert Step hens (late

S.Q.M.S., No. 419) took place in Cork,
Ireland, on 9th March, 1946, in his 75th year.
The deceased enlisted in Aldershot in
November, 1885, and joined the Royal Horse
Artillery. Mter serving for nearly 5 years with
that Regiment he transferred to the Army
Pay Corps in 1890.
During the next 16 years he took part in the
South Mrican War, receiving the' King's and
162
The death of ex-S.Q.M.S. J. Chambers

(No. 421) took place at Yarmouth, Isle of
Wight, on 5th April, 1946, at the age of 76.
Enlisting in London in October 1887, the
deceased joined the 17th Lancers and five years
later transferred to the Army Pay Ccrps.
He took part in the South African War,
being awarded the Queen's and King's Medal.
He was discharged in 1909 but on the
outbreak of war in 1914 he returned to the
Corps and continued to serve until September
1919, when he again left to enjoy the retire. ment to which his 27 years' service in the
Army justly entitled him .
On 20th April Ernest Alfred Parris died in

St. Mary Aboott's Hospital, Kensington,
London, at the age of 58.
Enlisting in the Royal Sussex Regiment in
July 1904, the deceased transferred to the
Army Pay Corps.
During the Great War he served in France,
Malta and Crete, and was discharged in the
rank of Corporal in 1919 after 14~ years' service.
The late Lieut.-Colonel R. W. KeIIy, O.B.E.
Colonel Kelly was a keen billiards enthusiast

and won the Rhine Army Championship and
the Caledonian United Services Handicap and
the Open Services Club Snooker Championship
for the Seton Cup. In his younger days he
played football for Hamilton Academicals.
C. H. Bradley (late 301, S.Q.M.S.) died in

York on 13th April, aged 79.
Enlisting in November 1884 in the Argyll
and Sutherland Highlanders, the deceased
transferred to the Army Pay Corps in 1893.
Despite the fact that on the outbreak of the
Great War in August 1914, Bradley had just
retired with 30 years' service, he again returned
to the Colours, being finally discharged in the
rank of S.O.M.S. in ,M ay 1922.
Colonel Frederick Mostyn ,\Vatkins, C.B.E.,

died in the Royal Victoria Hospital, Folkestone,
on 23rd April, in his 73rd year.
Joining the Royal Irish Regiment in 1893
the deceased transferred to the Army Pay
Department in 1898 in the rank of Captain.
He was promoted Major and Staff Paymaster
in September 1909 , and Lieut.-Col. in 1914.
During the first world war he was sent to
France and promoted Acting Colonel and Chief
Paymaster at the end of 1917.
From 1919-1 921 Colonel Watkins served in
Iraq and for his services there he was mentioned
in dispatches and awarded the C.B.E.
In
September 1921 he was promoted to the
substantive rank of Colonel.
After his return from foreign service he
served in various Command Pay Offices at
home, . finally retiring while stationed in
Edinburgh in February 1933, on reaching the
age of 60.
Lieut.-Colonel R W. Kelly died in Edinburgh on 21st March, 19't 6.

.Enlisting in the Argyll and Sutherland
HIghlanders in October 1896, the deceased
transferred to the Army Pay Corps eighteen
months later and was posted to the Regimental '
Pay Office, Hamilton.
In April 1916, he was commissioned as
Lieutenant (Assistant Paymaster) and promoted
Captain three years later.
In March 1926 , he was promoted Major and
Staff Paymaster, and sent back to Hamilton as
Regimental Paymaster. After five years in that
rank. he ~eceived his Lieut.-Colonelcy and
remamed m the same post until he retired in
April 1938.
On the outbreak of the 1939 war Lieut.Colonel Kelly rejoined for duty and was posted
to the C~mmand ~ay Office, Edinburgh, where
he remalI~ed uptrl he finally retired early in
1946. . HIS retlrement was tragically of short
.duratIOn.
,
Roland D. Tolley (late 3848764, Sgt.) died

in Warwick on 4th May, at the age of 44.
Enlisting in July 1919 in the Loyal North
Lancashire Regiment, he transferred to the
RA.P.C. eighteen months later.
Apart from a tour of five years in Egypt and
Palestine the whole of Tolley's eighteen years'
service was spent at home. He was discharged
to ptmsion in August 1937.
163
THE STORY BEHIND THE GLORY
Corps News - Officers

Extracts from " The London Gazette"
The King has been graciously pleased to
approve that the following be mentioned. in
recognition of gallant and distinguished serVIces
in North-West Europe.
Royal Army Pay Corps
Lt.-Col. (temp.) C. R. Haddock, M.B.E.
Maj. (temp.) N. Caterham.
Maj. (temp.) L. G. Hinchliffe.
Maj. (temp.) T. M. Turner.
Capt. (temp.) G. C. Alston.
Capt. (temp.) J. Buchan.
Capt. (temp.) K. H. Coles.
Capt. (temp.) D. W. Greenfield.
Capt. (temp.) A. Piper.
Capt. (temp.) 1. T. Shaefer.
Capt. (temp.) G. E. Smith.
Capt. (temp.) R. Yuill.
Lieut. R. Tasker.
To be Lieut.-Col. and Staff Paymr. 1st Cl.
Major and S.P.2 (W/S Lieut.-Col. and S.P.l)
H. O. Browning-23rd March, 1946.
To be Major and Staff Paymr. 2nd Cl.
Major and S.P.2 A. G. W. Broadhurst from
H.P. List-23rd March, 1946 (with precedence
next below Major and S.P.2. E. D . Edinger).
To be Captain (Asst. Paymrs.)
Lt. Asst. Paymr. A. W. L. Shepherd, 11 /5/1946.
Lt. Asst. Paymr. J. J. Staples, M.M., 11/5/1946.
Lt. Asst. Paymr. A. D. D'Allen p;er, 13/5/1946.
Lt. Asst. Paymr. E. G. L. Bro",n,
14/5/1946.
To be Lieut. and Paymr.
From Emergency Commissions, 14th December, 1945.
Lt. and Paymr. (W. Subs. Capt.) D. E. Grant.
Lt. and Paymr. E. B. Forster.
Lt. and Paymr. C. E. Goddard.
Lt. and Payrrir. W. Stones.
War Subs. Lt. W . G. Pepper.
War Subs. Lt. 1. F. J. C. L. Wem.
War Subs. Lt. D. H. Evans.
Retirements
Major (Asst. Paymr.) W. A. Williams,
M.B.E., 2nd January, 1946.
Lieut.-Col. (S.P .l) H. J. H. Cox, O.B.E.,
4th April, 1946, and is granted hon. rank of
Colonel.
Major (S.P.2) K. N. Howard, 25th April,
1946, and is granted hon. rank of Lieut.-Col.
Major (S.P.2) (W/S Lieut.-Col. S.P.l) O. D . .
Garratt, M.C., 9th May, 1946, and is granted
hon. rank of Colonel.
164
Col. and Chief Paymr. T . L. Rogers, C.B.E.,

26th May, 1946, and is granted hon. rank of
Brigadier.
Major and S.P.2 T. H. Grant (Ret.) is
restored to the substantive rank and appointment of Lieut.-Col. (Hon. Col.) and S.P.l,
20th May, 1946, on ceasing to be re-employed.
BIRTHS
BEDFoRD.-On 12th April, 1946, at College'
Hill Nursing Home, Shrewsbury, to Dinah
(nee Reece) and Captain Edward Bedford,
RA.P.C., a daughter (Jane).
BURcH.-On 20th May, 1946, at City of
London Maternity Hospital to Rosetta (nee
Barons), wife of Lieut. J. A. Burch, R.A.P.C.,
a son (Adrian John).
SMITH.-On 15th May, 1946, at 84 Dudley
Road, Manchester 16, to Margaret (nee
Hutcheon), wife of Lieut. S. H. Smith, R.A.P.C.,
a son (David Stewart).
MARRIAGES
PARK-PEGLER.-On 4th May, 1946, at
St. George's Church, Leeds, quietly, Colonel
Hugh P. Park, R.A.P.C., to Eve L. Pegler,
widow of Jack Pegler (died P.O.W. Thailand,
1943).
STANHAM-RILEY.-On 11th May, 1946, at
Cob ham Parish Church, by the Rev. J . . E.
Hardy, Captain R. Quentin O. Stanham, only
son of Major-General and Mrs. R. G. Stanham,
of Woodlands, Cobham, Surrey, to Andalusia,
only daughter of Lieut.-Colo.nel Christop~er
Riley, and the late Mrs. RIley, of TrInIty
Manor, Jersey.
DEATH
WATKINs.-On 23rd April, 1946, at Folkestone, Colonel F. M. Watkins, C.B .E., late
A.P.D ., aged 73.
FORTHCOMING MARRIAGE
COMMANDER (E) G. A. COOKE, R.N.,
AND MISS R. INGRAM M USSON
The engagement is announced between
Commander Godfrey Arthur Cooke, RN ., son
of the late Mr. A. G. Cooke, and Mrs. Cooke,
The Dene, Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire,
and Rosemary Shcila, the youngest daughter
of Major-General and Mrs. A. Ingram Musson,
The Manor, Little Chishill, near Royston,
Hertfordshire.
~~ Operation
Octopus"
Ever since "The Anglo-Saxon Clarion" "scooped" the story of

King Harold and the Arrow, somewhere about ten sixty six , it has been
the custom for wars to .be followed by exclusive stories about the secret
inventions that helped to win the war. In order that the Journal might
maintain its place in journalism, the international ace reporter, Semaj
Llessur, was specially commissioned and now, for the first time, we are able
to give the exclusive story of " Operation Octopus."
But let us go back and unfold the full story.
On a fine Sunday afternoon-well, it wasn't
raining anyway-a certain Staff SergeantMajor was sitting on the end of a pier, thinking
of this and that and looking gloomily at the
float of his fishing line. Suddenly the float
disappeared and the line started to run out.
Remembering all that his uncle had taught him,
the S.S.M. started reeling in and then began
a terrific struggle. It was soon apparent that
it was no ordinary fish that he had hooked and
he was wondering what to do next, when he
noticed a beautiful blonde s"'imming around
near his line.
" Don't mess around down there," shouted
the S.S.M. "Come up here and help me to
land this fish ."
"Fish be hanged, you have got a beastly
hook caught in my tail and you are ruining the
part of me that wags! "
His face went a deep crimson and he started
to stammer an apology bUf the words stuck
in his throat when a mermaid clambered up
on to the pier.
" Now take the wretched thing out and mind
you don't tickle," she commanded, " And just
to show that you are really sorry you can give
me a cigarette- but not one of those issue
things, if you please ! "
Something was obviously unusual about the
whole affair and then it dawned on him.
"I say, where did you learn to speak
English? "
" Oh, these naval schoolmasters get around,
you know. But what'S the matter with you
or don't you like blondes? "
" It's not that. I was thinking about all the
work that is waiting to be done in the office.
I need a dozen pairs of hands. Wish I had
been born an octopus 1"
" Then you could have come to my classes."
"What classes? "
" I got fed up just swimming around with the
HE first hint that something was afoct

came from the War Office when somebody started looking through the various
monthly returns.
"That's funny!" said Colonel WayteFforitte.
" Yes, this fellow Handley is always good for
a laugh," replied Major Caullemup, idly
reaching over and turning the radio on a bit
louder.
" I don't mean that idiotic row! " snapped
the Colonel, " It is this return from the Pay
Office at Much-Bonking-on-the-Sligh."
" Heavens! Is that place still going? Time
we moved them somewhere else but I suppose
they are screaming for staff as usual? "
" That's just the point-they are not. And,
what is more, they are bang up to date! "
"My dear colonel, don't talk utter rot!
There must be another sheet to that return or
a ' D.O.' letter somewhere."
" There can't be. Here is the signature on
this page and it is part of the technical officer's
job to see that the signature always comes at the
end of a letter."
" Then I suppose we ought to do something
about it."
And so the hunt was on. Warrants were
made out, RT.O.'s harassed into reserving
sleeping berths and telegrams dispatched
instructing that accommodation be found.
Much-Bonking-on-the-Sligh was to be inspected !
But apart from several damp patches and a
faint fishy smell in the posting wings, they
could find nothing amiss . . No clerks in excess
of establishment, no hidden pending pads, in
fact, they appeared to have arrived in U topiaan up-to-date pay office!
Of course, the senior officers were posted to
other offices to apply the apparently miraculous
systems but without result and after a while
the whole matter was dropped.
165

girls after my naval he;;trt-throb got posted to
China station, so I started a school for the
octopi. It's amazing how quickly they learn."
" But what can you teach the octopusesI mean, octopi ? "
" All the usual things, reading, writing and
arithmetic but some of them will soon be up
to university standard. You see, with so many
hands they can do several things at once and
they are often writing an essay with one feeler,
doing geometry with another, knitting with
two more and The Times' crossword with one
of the remainder."
" Don't you think they ought to be doing
something for the war effort ? "
" They would love to, hut people seem so
narrow-minded. They raise their eyebrows
and say that there is nothing in regulations
about employing octopi."
You can guess the rest of that conversation
and you will not he surprised to learn that ten _
certificated octopi started work the following
week in the Pay Office at Much-Bonking-onthc-Sligh. The mermaid went back to her
school to train , more reinforcements and give
them a course in machine accounting.
The experiment was an immediate success,
for the octopi could each post a thousand slips
a day, several feelers posting simultaneously
and two more doing check clerk.
As a result, staff could be moved to other
sections so that even Non-Effective Wing was
up to date.
Of course, you want to know what happened
when Colonel Wayte-Fforitte inspected . the
office. Well, no War Ofhce inspection has ever
been a complete surprise, has it ? so when the
Colonel was due, the octopi just hid in the
static water tank until it was all over. But,
alas, Much-Bonking will soon be back to
normal aftermath, for it has beep. ruled that
octopi cannot become" established" and they
have been declared "redundant." . .so ends
" Operation Octopus."
Extract from the " London Gazette."

approve the following awards in recognition of
gallant and distinguished services in the
defence of Hong Kong in 1941.
The Military Medal
No. 825116 Sergeant Henry Herbert
Luckhurst, Royal Army Pay Corps.
BIRTHDAY OF
H.R.H. PRINCESS ARTHUR
OF CONNAUGHT
On the occasion of her birthd~y on 17th l\!lay,
1946, the following telegram was dispatched
to Her Royal Highness Princess Arthur of
Connaught, R.R.C., Colonel-in-Chief, Royal
Army Pay Corps.
"The Colonel Commandant, the
Paymaster-in-Chief and All Ranks Royal
Army Pay Corps send Greetings to Your
Royal Highness on the occasion of your
Birthday."

approve that the following be mentioned in
recognition of gallant and distinguished services.
IN THE MEDITERRANEAN THEATRE.
2320652 W.O.1 (actg.) W. H. Ould.
7889270 Sgt. A. Bone.
7664334 Sgt. C. W. Gordon.
7663757 Sgt. J. H. Phillips.
IN NORTH-WEST EUROPE.
7660166 W.O.1 D. W. Hider.
7667783 SjSgt. L. E. F. Rose.
7665665 SjSgt. E. R. Wright.
7662514 Sgt. E. R. Ashton.
7670381 Sgt. F. A. Russell.
7676513 Sgt. T. V. Woolridge.
4342367 CpI. M. H. E. Hardiment.
The following reply has been received by

the Colonel Commandant from the Secretary
to Her Royal Highness.
Dear General,
I am desired by Princess Arthur of
Connaught to send to you and all Ranks
of the Royal Army Pay Corps Her Royal
Highness' thanks for your message of
Greetings on the anniversary of her
Birthday, and also for the kind thought
which prompted the sending of this
message.
Yours truly,
(Sgd.) F. BLUNDEN,
Secretary.

approve the publication of the name of the
undermentioned as having been granted a
King's Commendation for brave conduct.
7658644 SjSgt. (Local S.Q.M.S.) Harold
Fletcher, Royal Army Pay Corps.
Major-General Sir Guy Riley, K.B.E., C.B.,

Colonel Commandant,
Royal Army Pay Corps.
166
...,
Generals, won his match in the Singles agairst

Admiral Drew by 5 and 4.
In the foursomes Major-General Stanham
and Major-General W. M. Ozanne beat
Admirals Benson and Drew by 3 apd 1.
After bein g all square with fOl r matches to
come in, the Admirals eventually won by two
matches.
ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS OFFICERS'

CLUB
The following arrangements for the Summer
of 1946 have now been completed.
Cricket.-19th and 20th June, v. R.A.O.C.
at Didcot; 8th and 9th July, v. R.A.S.C. at
Aldershot; 10th and 11th July, v. A.E.C. at
Aldershot; 10th September, v. Cross Arrows
at Lords.
At Didcot the R.A.O.C. are the hosts. For
the two matches at Aldershot we are the hosts
and the games will be played on the ground of
the Officers' Club. Wickets will be pitched at
11.30 hours and stumps drawn at 18.30 hours.
It is hoped that many members of the
Officers' Club will find it convenient to visit
Aldershot during these four days. It is difficult
to anticipate what catering facilities will be
available, but every effort will be made to make
them adequate to the occasion.
Golf.-The Summer Meeting is being held
,on 27th June, at Calcot Golf Club, Reading.
The following competitions will be played : THE RILEY CLEEK (presented by MajorGeneral Sir H. G. Riley, K.B.E., C.B.) for
the best Gross Score in Singles.
THE TOLLER CUP (presented by Brigadier
H. B. Toller, C.B., C.M.G.) for the best net
score in Singles under handicap.
Two Ball Foursome against Bogey for the
Captain's prize.
(Presented by MajorGeneral R. G. Stanham, C.B.)
Tennis.-The Officers' Club, Aldershot,
have . placed six Courts at our disposal on
Friday, 9th August, from 2-30 p.m.-6-30 p.m.
It is h0ped that it will be possible to play
off the Open Singles for the MUSSON CUP
(presented by Major-General A. 1. Musson),
and also the finals of a Command Knock-out
Competition, but whether or not these events
are played off, a number of Courts will be
available throughout the afternoon for noncompetitive games.
It is anticipated that adequate catering
facilities will be available, and both playing and
non-playing members who intend to be present
are requested to notify the Tennis Hon.
Secretary, Lieut.-Colonel L. H. M. Mackenzie,
M.B.E., The War Office, 64 Victoria Street,
London, S.W.1, so that the necessary arrangements can be made.
OUR ARTISTS
"YOUNG lE " is the pen-name of Mr. B. H.
Young, a civilian clerk in Reading Pay Office, an
example of whose work appears in this issue. He
has never had a drawing lesson in his life and may
be described as a natural artist whose hand is guided
by his eye.
He never borrows an idea or a caption-all his
characters and subjects are recognisable, but presented in an original and artless fashion which allows
the artist to get away with anything.
" JAYCOT" (Lieut J. Cottrell), another contributor in this issue, began his working life as a
clerk. Drawing was a hobby and when he was
24 he decided to take up humorous drawing professionally. In the eight years prior to the outbreak
of war he sold upwards of 2,000 humorous sketches
to thirty different periodicals including Punch,
Illustrated, The Sketch, Sunday Pictorial, Sunday
Referee, etc.
Since July 1940, he has been in the Corps, and
intends after his demob. devoting most of his time
to teaching art, but hopes to find time to contribute
to some of his old papers.
Will the artist whose sketches appear on pages 171
and 203 of this issue kindly reveal his identity to
the Editor. His contributions were received without
any indication as to their origin.
Some members of the 75th Detachment, Malaya,

taken on board S.S. Empire Star, en route from
Singapore to Java in 1942. Reading from left to
right thev are : (Back Ro~)-Lj Cpl. G. Smith, Cpl. Wild, S.Q.M.S.
(Fruity) Orchard, Pte. Talion.
(Centre Row)-Pte. Waiters, Pte. Donohoe, late
S.Q.M.S. "Taffy" Thomas (buried at Meerut),
Cpl. Humphreys (taken P.O.W. in Java), LjCpl.
" Mick" Childs.
In an Admirals v. Generals Golf Match of

26-a-:side at Camberley on 14th May, MajorGeneral R. G-. Stanham, playing No. 4 for the
167
cfR eliremenIs
BRIGADIER T. L. ROGERS, C.B.E.
~~
Transferring to the Army Pay Department

in 1911 his Corps' life has included tours in
Dublin, the B.E.F. 1914-16 and 1939-40; at
th~ War Office and in all the Command Pay
Offices at Home. In addition to two periods
as .Command Paymaster Malta, Gibraltar,
India and Egypt have been his foreign stations.
His tour during the siege of Malta was
marked by the most acute phases of enemy
action and the worst shortages of food.
Thomas Leslie Rogers joined the London

District Pay Office as a civilian Acting Paymaster
on October 1, 1916. He was commissioned
to the Royal Army Pay Corps on January 8th,
1917,. and was sent to the office at Victoria
Station, London, to deal with the payments of
front line troops on leave. In December 1919
he was posted to Warley as Regimental
Paymaster, in the rank of Major. He proceeded
overseas to Poona a year later, relinquishing
his majority and being granted the acting rank
of Captain. In February 1923 he moved to
Ceylon, where, for the next year, he was
On returning from
Command Paymaster.
overseas he had a short stay in Woolwich and
in October 1924 was promoted Major and
posted to York, in which station he served as
Regimental Paymaster until October 1929,
when he took up a similar appointment in
From November 1930 until
Chatham.
February 1937 he was at Aldershot as Assistant
Command Paymaster under Colonel Mackenzie,
and was then promoted Colonel and proceeded
to Singapore as Chief Paymaster. Nine months
later he became Command Paymaster, Hong
Kong, and served in that capacity until
December 1939. After a short spell as C.P.
Scottish Command he was sent to Manchester
as Officer-in-Charge of the newly formed
Officers' Accounts Office on June 1, 1940.
Mer two years in Manchester he was
appointed C.P. Eastern Command, being
granted the rank of Brigadier for a short period,
and in November 1942 he took up the duties
of Command Paymaster, South-Eastern Command. He returned to Manchester in October
1943, was promoted to Brigadier in February
1944, and served there until his retirement on
March 31, 1916.
In 1919 he was awarded the O.B.E. and in
January 1942 the C.B.E.
His only son, Frank Leslie, who passed
through Woolwich and was commissioned to
the Royal Artillery in 1938, was killed whilst
flying on March 14, 1942.
"
For his services in the two Great Wars he

was awarded the M.C. (1916), O.B.E. (1919),
C.B.E. (1940) and Mentioned in Dispatches in
1916 and 1941. In addition he holds the 1914
Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal, 193945 and Africa Stars, and the K. G. V Silver
Jubilee and K.G. VI Coronation Medals.
In 1918 he was promoted Brevet-Major.
Known throughout the Corps as "0- J "
perhaps his outstanding qualities have ' been
his enthusiasm for everything affecting the
good of the Corps, his kindliness, his youthfulness and energy. His great keenness for
sport is exemplified by the various challenge
trophies presented by him for its encouragement . .
He returns to his home at Fleet with the
best wishes of all his friends for a happy,
active and long enjoyment of his retirement.
MAJOR P. R. FRYER
Mter 47 years in the Army, Percy Robert
Fryer retired on 4th March.
Percy, as he was known to so many in the
Corps, enlisted into the Royal Scots on 30th
BRIGADIER G. A. C. ORMSBY-JOHNSON,
.
C.B.E., M.C.
When Brigadier Ormsby-J ohnson retires on
.30th August, 1946, he will have completed
oyer 39 years' commissioned service since he
joined the Bedfordshire Regiment in 1907.
(Continued on page 181)
168
HEARD THE NEWS?"
By S.Q.M.S. W. T. CARD EN, R.A.P.C.

Mter the uncomfortable crossing to Japan,
'I'HE sixty dirty, grimy prisoners-of-war,
and from the start of their life in the mines of
coated with dust and oil from the long
K yushu, the prisoners continued their subtwelve-hour shift in the mine, stood at
versive
actions. Cigarettes, fish, fruit and other
attention at the camp guard-room.
banned articles, and IT, were. smuggled into
Two or three of the guards shambled from
camp under the noses of the guards; somethe hut and began the inevitable search. When
times sacks of rice, flour and vegetables transJ oe's turn came and the yellow hands explored
ferred themselves from the stores to the
his person in search of contraband, J oe always
cook-house boilers without being accounted for
felt an overpowering desire to smash the ugly
in the Jap Q.M.'s books (resulting in a " big
head from its squat body. "Butch" ground
ration" day for the hungry miners and
his teeth in silent ra?e, but such humiliations
" extras" for the sick); in the mine, electric
were a common occurrence which most of us
cables unaccountably broke themselves ; handhad become used to. There was always the
fuls of sand got into wagon axle-boxes, electric
consoling thought that we'd" get 'em ,; some
motors, dynamos and pneumatic drills ; signal
day.
wires, railway switches and dynamite fuses and
The J ap's slant eyes peered short-sightedly
exploders went wrong. Some of the saboteurs
at the smooth, unbroken surface of the rice in
" fell by the wayside" and were punished for
Andy's mess-tin. He was puzzled-this rice
their- ignorance or inefficiency, but the small
should have been eaten in the mine, that was
war-within-a-war went on.
why it had been given to this fool of a white
Of all the underground activities, the most
man before he left for work that morningimportant was the acquisition of IT, the morale
why hadn't he eaten it then ?-it was little
sustainer. "Is IT in today?" or " Did we
enough for twelve hours heavy work. But Andy
get IT in ?" were among the most frequent
had his reasons.
questions asked in camp. Today Andy was
The J ap called in his outlandish tongue to
carrying IT, and the Jap was interested in
the N.C.O. guard-commander.
Andy'~ mess-tin!
Those of us " in the know" began to sweat
"Why you no eat?" asked the guard
a little-these Nips were sometimes uncannily
commander, peering aggressively into Andy's
accurate in locating contraband. They had
face and indicating the rice with a squat forediscovered the false-bottomed water bottle
finger.
Andy made a gesture towards his
last week, with dire results for the unfortunate
middle, and said, "Hara dami." The J ap
prisoner carrying it. And now the J aps were
prided himself on his English, "Ah," said he,
suspicious of Andy's uneaten rice! And Andy
" You stomache no O.K., eh," and wagging
. was carrying contraband today-Andy had IT !
his oafish head in evident satisfaction at his
* * *
discovery of the cause of Andy's failure to
Ever since that ill-fated day when the guns
dispose of his meal, waddled back into the
and bombs had ceased their relentless bombardguard-room.
Solemnly seated at his table he
ment of our small island and we found ourselves
the salute by all ranks (in J ap
acknowledged
prisoners of the Emperor's yellow hordes, we
style
as
per
orders)
on dismissal, and away we
had nearly always outwitted them. In the camp
to
changing
room
and wash-house.
rushed
in China, letters were smuggled in and out,
Andy
carried
his
precious
mess-tin to his
forbidden articles found their way into camp
hut,
where,
from
beneath
the
smooth surface
through guards and barbed wire, electric lamps
of
rice,
he
disinterred
his.
prize,
the tightly
mysteriously disappeared from perimeter and
folded
J
ap
newspaper,
the
morale
sustainer,
J ap quarters, and re-appeared in the prisoners'
IT!
huts and hospital.
With our watchers posted ready to give
At the airfield, where the white "coolies"
warning at the approach of sentries, our
laboured in the heat and dust of the tropical
unofficial inteFpreter settled down to the task
day, a little work was made to look a lot and
of translation in peace, and that night the
the ignorant white man always misunderstood
whispers, in English, French, Dutch and
the orders of his yellow master, did the wrong
things and generally held up the job.
(Continued on page 172)
169

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MALTA RE-UNION DINNER, 1946

Probably the first R.A.P.C. re-union dinner
to take place since the war was held at the
Talbot Restaurant, London, E.C.2, on 10th
May, 1946, when thirty members and exmembers of the Corps who had served in
Malta during the period 3rd September, 1939
to 9th September, 1943 attended. Brigadier
G. A. C. Ormsby-Johnson, C.B.E., M.C.,
presided.
An appropriate atmosphere was lent to the
room by still visible war damage, a large Malta
Blue ensign draped on a wall and copies of the
Til'nes of Malta and II Berka lying about.
When all had taken their places at table
Brigadier Ormsby-J ohnson requested silence
and read out the Malta Roll of Honour, after
which all stood in silence in honour of their
memory.
Brigadier Ormsby-Johnson then made a

very happy and humorous speech, during
which he read the following cable from Malta:
" Greetings to all friends of Malta, although
not present our thoughts with you all. TaylorHolland-Caunter " ; and a message of regret
at not being able to be present from Brigadier
.
G. H. Charlton, M.C., now in India.
Dinner closed with the playing of the Corps'
March, " Primrose and Blue," by its author,
Major H. Lovering, ~ho had also played the
Anthems. The gathering then broke up into
" Gossip" groups for the exchange of news
and reminiscences.
The following were present: Brigadier
G. A. C. Ormsby-Johnson, C.B.E., M.C.,
Lieut.-Colonel H. A. A. Howell, M.B.E.,
Majors D. Barclay, W. K. Cole, H. G.
Ensoll, O.B.E., B. C. Frogley, F. W. Grant,
A. E. Jones, H. Lovering, G. G. Rose,
Captains S. V. Austin, H. Basham, P.
Cammidge, A. B. Lewis, A. Piper, F. T. B.
Stephens, Lieuts. H. Hawkins, T. E. Lythgoe,
W. L. May, L. S. Newton, G. H. N. Sleeman,
S.S.M. H. Leader, S.Q.M.S. L. W. Werendel,
Sgt. K. J. Sanders, Cpl. N. J. Probert, Pte.
E. H. Watson, Messrs. J . L. Aubourg, A. W.
Emberson, Franz Farrugia, and R. C. Hendry . .
Letters of apology and good wishes were
received fro~ anum ber of officers and men
who were unable to be present.
It was generally agreed that the dinner was
a great success and should become an annual
affair and that all who have served at any time
in the Command Pay Office, Malta, should be
entitled to be present.
Greater difficulty than had been anticipated
was experienced in obtaining addresses, so an
address card index has been instituted and will
be maintained by Lieut.-Colonel H. A. A.
Howell, M.B.E., The Priory, Brown Street,
Salisbury. It will be greatly appreciated if all
who read this will at once forward their names
and addresses and any changes as they occur.
W.L.M.
ROLL OF HONOUR
It is regretted that owing to a typographical error
the name of Lieut. F. Harrod was shown under the
heading " Died Whilst Serving" on page 123. of
the March issue irlstead of under the headmg
" Killed by Enemy Action."
Lieut. Harrod was killed at Villa Rosa, Malta, on
2nd April, 1942.
Following the' toast of the King, proposed

by the Brigadier, the National Anthem and the
Maltese National Hymn, " Innu Malti," were
played.
170
~e~~(J..naeia
Ex-S.Q.M.S. H. A. Tarrant was discharged

from the Corps in the Far East in 1939 where
he took up a civilian job.
In 1941 he re-enlisted in the R.A.S.C. and
soon afterwards was taken prisoner by the
Japanese.
Liberated in September 1945 he has, since
arriving in U. K., been a patient in Moston
Hall Military Hospital, Chester.
We understand he is unable to write but he
would welcome news from his friends.
...
The Editor would welcome news from

Individuals for inclusion on this page. Subscribers wishing to get in touch with others
should give their addresses, as the Editor
cannot undertake to forward correspondence.
Sgt. W. Wells (late 7659944) will be pleased

to hear from old friends at the Leicester,
Oldham or Reading Offices if they will get in
touch with him at 61 Suffolk Road, Barking,
Essex (Tel.: Rippleway 2029).
Lieut.-Colonel J. McMillan (late of Army

Pay Office, Manchester, and B.A.O.R.) has
obtained a post with the Manchester Guardian
as their N ew York representative.
Captain W. R. Thaxton, demobilised last

July has resumed his Accountancy practice at
6 Wardrobe Place, London E.CA (near
St. Paul's Cathedral). Tel.: City 6086.
He will be pleased to see any old Leicester,
Port St. Mary, and " White Cliffs of Dover"
friends and would welcome them at his office
if they should be passing through London at
any time.
Philip F. Holland (late Lieutenant, Radcliffe

and Knightsbridge Offices) has taken over the
proprietorship of the White Cross Hotel,
Eel Pie Island, Twickenham. This is a pleasant
riverside hotel possessing beautiful gardens
and caters for all functions such as dinners and
dances.
Lieut.-Colonel T. R. Robson, now living at
vVhitton, near Twickenham, is still as enthusiastic as he always used to be in playing cricket
in spite of his advancing years and hopes to be
able to find the necessarv time to take a few
more wickets in the coming season.
. A. V. vVareing, who is now back in practice

with Messrs. Balshaws, Solicitors, 22 Acresfield,
Bolton, will be pleased if any friends from
M.E.F., will contact or write to him.
H. F. Bellerby is back at work as a War
Agricultural Officer in Kent and is living 10
Canterbury.
Ex-Sgt. S. W. Parkinson has taken up a
post on the editorial staff of the Manchester
Guardian. He tells us that he joined at the
same time as another ex-Serviceman who
turned out to be a brother officer of one of
his old friends.
but if I do issue ~he \

aIlOWdt1CQC)'wiH you collQd your childt
I'YQS
171
madam
Cl H
to
A KASHMIR HOLIDAY
LETTER TO THE EDITOR

OUTSIDE THE PROCESS SYSTEM
IN JERUSALEM
Dear Sir,
I suppose the Corps is noted for achievements in activities outside the office-we seem
to excel in dramatics, choirs, football, tennis
and every conceivable sport. But the most
original and useful " pastime" is enjoyed by
members of the 90th Battalion in J erusalemthey have adop1 ed a little home of blind
children some few miles from their barracks.
The home, situated at Beit J ala, near
A group taken in the garden
of the Beit Jala Blind School.
Bethlehem, was founded by an English woman,
a Miss Lovell, in 1895. The story of her life,
of the children is a great inspiration and the
which ended in 1932, would take too long to
fellows join in with them heartily. One fellow
relate. Sufficient to say th3:t when she travelled
goes every Saturday and reads the letters which
to the M.E.F. (not by "Medlock ") nothing
have arrived from others now in England,
whatever was done for the blind in those parts,
another helps with the housework, whilst
and there was no Braille system. After learning _ others give the children physical training or
Arabic in Syria from 1893-1895, she opened a
take them out for walks. I have even seen an
school for blind children in Jerusalem and
RA.P.C. S.S.M. knitting up the , seams of
adapted the Braille system to that language.
garments knitted by the older blind children.
No society or trust supported her gallant work,
Then there is water to be brought from the
and how it survived on small gifts from friends
village and a hundred-and-one menial tasks.
of hers in this country is a heartbreaking saga.
Each pay day a collection is taken from the:
Her first child pupil was a Christian Arab girl,
men in the detachment who are interested
Adele \Vafesh, who was taken to her as a baby.
(nearly 100 per cent.) and this helps to pay the
As she grew up, Adele helped the founder and
grocer's and greengrocer's bills.
together they translated books into Braille.
It is a sad day for the fellows when they say
Most notable was their translation of the Bible
good-bye to their adopted daughters when they
which took 12 years. Mter Miss Lovell's
leave for the U.K., and there are many tears.
death, Adele carried on the work educating
But we can still help them and there are always
blind children, although sightless herself, and
others who fall in and take their places.
at the outbreak of the war had some 20 blind
If any reader who knows the children would
persons in her charge. Funds, however, became
like up-to-date news or photographs, will they
scarcer and existence was a day to day affair
please communicate with the writer at
as the friends of the founder themselves passed
158A Braemar. Avenue, Neasden, London,
away.
N.W.10.
Yours faithfully,
At the outbreak of war the position appeared
C. R. CLOTHIER.
hopeless, as little help could be expected from
friends in England, and Adele was advised to
"HEARD THE NEWS?" (continuedfrompage 169)
close up the home and send the children back
Javanese, flitted silently and swiftly through the
to their poverty-stricken village dwellings.
camp.
She did not, however, accept the advice, and
"We're bashing them in Burma." "The
shortly afterwards British servicemen stationed
Yanks have landed on Leyte." "The Russians
at Jerusalem found their way to the home and
have them on the run at Kiev." "We hit
RA.P.C. fellows began to call regularly to help
Berlin with 1,000 bombers last week." "Atta
Adele and the only sighted helper, the houseboy! we'll be out in six months." " Yes,
keeper. Gradually the interest of the RA.P.C.
increased and towards the end of last year our
sir! Everything's fine."
C.O. visited the home.
:Morale was sustained and, in' some cases,
All visitors are called "uncle" by the
raised. We had done it again, the contraband
children and conversation is easy because the
had got through; once again we had " heard
children speak English fluently. The singing
the news."
172
By SJSergeant H. SWINTON
boarding house-quite a large place, and found
ourselves in tents in the garden, surrounded by
apple and cherry trees-the fruits of which
were, unfortunately, not quite ripe. Mter a
very good meal, bed was the order of the daywe were all ready for it.
As Kashmir is a Hindu state, the food, as
far as meat is concerned, consists largely of fowl
and mutton in various forms, beef being absolutely forbidden. It was plentiful and well
served, and, after a preliminary skirmish with
the Major-Domo, and a liberal application of
baksheesh, we got quite as much as we could
manage. Cycles were hired for convenience in
getting around, and we set out the morning
after our arrival to explore. First call was at
the W.V.S. Hostel-a large house in extensive
grounds, with a first-rate canteen and a ' good
library. Inquiries revealed the fact that the
Srinagar Club, the Club in Srinagar, had
placed two tennis courts at the disposal of
troops. We also learned that we could swim
in the Dal Lake, and that motor trips to various
points of interest were arranged by the W.V.S.
After the first day, our time was spent more or
less in the same way each day; tennis in the
morning, swimming and sunbathing from
house-boats moored out in the lake in the
afternoon, tennis again in the evening, and a
visit either to the local cinema, or to one or
other of the hotels in the European quarter.
The night usually finished with a visit to a
Chinese Restaurant, which was run on a boat
anchored in the Jumna river, and the consumption of large quantities of queer looking
foods. A projected visit to the nearest spur of
the Himalayas was abandoned after stormy
weather for three consecutive days wreathed
the surrounding hills in dense cloud, although
this was the only period of the leave when rain
fell. We had an interesting experience shortly
before leaving'--we received an invitation to a
Kashmiri wedding. We had grown friendly
with the son of the owner of a cycle hiring
firm, from whom our cycles were hired, indeed,
we saw quite a lot of him, as the cycles were
continually cracking up, and he invited us to
his wedding. He was, exceptionally in Kashmir,
a Moslem, and of course, we didn't see the
bride-I don't think he had seen her either, at
the stage of the celebrations when we visited
him. These celebrations go on for days-it
ASHMIR was thrown open, as a leave

centre, to the Central Command in 1944,
and I, together with several thousand
others, applied for permission to spend I?Y
leave there. After a lot of correspondence wlth
hotels, boarding houses and Travel Agencies,
accommodation was obtained, .and at 11-30 on
a Friday night in the middle of May, with the
temperature standing well over 100 degrees,
we entrained for a two-day journey to Rawalpindi, the railhead for Kashmir. The less said
about this part of my leave, the better-what
with dust, heat, lack of food, and the invasion
of the carriage by giant cockroaches, the sight
of Rawalpindi on the Sunday morning was very
welcome. My friends and I scrounged around
and managed to get some food before the buses
arrived to take us on the last leg of the journey180 miles by mountain road to Srinagar, the
capital of Kashmir. 'Pindi was left behind about
9-30 in the morning, and the long climb to
the 9,000 feet high ridge of the Murree hills
started. Once the plains had been left behind,
the scenery was superb-green forested hills
rising on all sides, with the road turning and
winding like a snake round their flanks. It was
appreciably cooler until we dropped, over the
top of the ridge, down into the valley of the
Jumna River, which dashed violently along on
its way to the plains. It was here that the really
hair-raising part of the trip started-the road
ran for over 100 miles, clinging precariously to
the precipitous sides of the J umna gorge, with
a drop varying from fifty to a thousand feet
into the boiling waters below. The more
nervous members of the party concentrated on
reading, and a couple of unfortunates who were
suffering from mountain sickness, begged us to
throw them into the river and have done with
it. We entered the Kashmir valley just before
dusk, and rolled along a tree-lined avenue,
between green fields and orchards, with the
snow-covered Himalayas ringing us round on
all sides like a gigantic wall. Srinagar itself
lies on a huge' lake, or series of lakes, which
comprise half the area of the Kashmir Valley,
and the city itself is intersected with canals and
waterways. The native quarter is very much
like any other native quarter, dirty, smelly
and crowded, but the suburbs were Europeanised, clean and spacious, with tree-lined avenues
and modern houses. We were staying at a
173

was the third, I think, when we went. Half the
village seemed to be there, in the court yard
of the father's house-attended by the usual
millions of flies and bad smells one associates
with native villages. There was some weird
music (?) emanating from the interior of the
house, and we were seated at the head of the
table, as guests of honour, to await dinner. The
'first course was rice and curry-very nice, too,
and we all took liberal . helpings and enjoyed
them. But, after that, course followed course
in unending procession, all vastly different in
appearance, but alike in one respect-the use
of curry. After the tenth or, twelfth, I know ' I
:felt' as -though I was on fire, and one or two of
n;ty friends 'had had to give in. The other four
of us managed to struggle through to the 'end,
but I think our hosts took a dim view of our
capabilities as trenchermen. After tal<.ing some
photographs (which didn't come out for some
reason or other) we left them to it, and went
back to our digs for some dinner. On the last

day of our stay in Kashmir, a party was invited
through the W.V.S., to visit the Residency, for
tea and tennis. The Resident and his wife and
two daughters dispensed tea on the lawns in
front of the Residency, and after a couple of
hours' tennis, we returned, very regretfully to
our hotel, to pack for our return in the morning.
The ride down was eve~ more hair-raising than
our ascent, especially when the driver had to
throw water over the brakes when we were half
way down, to make them grip. The leave train
was waiting in Rawalpindi, and after another
two days' discomfort, we arrived at Meerut, in
the middle of a dust storm. Two or three days
later, the monsoon broke, and we were overwhelmed with the miseries of the monsoon
season-flies, mosquitoes, sand and prickly
heat, and Kashmir seemed to be a long, long
way behind us.
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PICTURE

By " OLD NICK"
,
I
1956
'",
" - and here was the Second Division - Aftermath."
174
Pay Office but, at the request of the ClVlC

authorities, owing to the difficulty of having
so many troops in the City in the evening with
very few suitable places to go to, it was hurriedly
evacuated and turned into a most successful
club for the men and women of the Allied
Services.
At the Opening Ceremony, Guards of Honour
were furnished by the Company (the Guard
Commander being Lieut. A. H. Matthews),
and by the United States Navy.
After the ceremony the Commanding Officer
had the satisfaction of being congratulated by
General Loyd on the smartness and turn-out of
the R.A.P.C. Guard of-Honour.
Another interesting ceremony which falls to
the lot of O.C. Troops is the periodical
" Request" made to His Majesty's Judge of
Assize when visiting the City of Exeter.
O.C. Troops, three times a year, is informed
of the arrival of the Judge by the Under Sheriff
of Devon and asked to attend at his Lodgings
to make the usual " Request."
This the O.C. Troops does accompanied by
the Garrison Adjutant, Major Warren L.
Sparkes of the Devonshire Regiment.
The origin of the custom is as follows:
In 1685 in the reign of James Il, James,
Duke of Monmouth, landed at Lyme in
Dorsetshire hoping to seize the Throne. To
meet the danger, loyal folk in the "West
Countree" raised a regiment under Henry,
Duke of Beaufort, at Bristol, which became the
Devonshire Regiment, and Monmouth was
defeated at Sedgemoor-the last full battle to
be fought on English soil. King J ames was
apprehensive and sent his friend, Judge
J effreys, down for what became known as the
Bloody Assizes, which started at Winchester
and, when it arrived at Exeter, the authorities
(and the Judges) were so anxious lest the
citizens of Exeter should rise and try to rescue
the prisoners that the local troops were confined
to barracks-instantly to be in readiness to
quell any riot.
Ever since then the Senior Officer of the
Exeter Garrison has had to request His
Majesty's Judges, before any Assize, for
permission for the troops to be out of, and not
confined to, barracks.
. On several occasions the Judge has asked
"What will happen if I say , No' ?" To
APRYL
T is a very prevalent idea that Paymasters

are dull fellows, who spend all their time
dabbling in the abstruse mysteries set out
in the Royal Warrant for Pay, Allowance
Regulations, Financial Instructions and other
official publications dealing with the soldier's
emoluments, and that being so, have little or
no contact with the other side of military life.
During the War the Royal Army Pay Corps,
both at home and overseas, has had to turn its
hand to jobs of all sorts, many of them far
removed from implementing the regulations
dealing with officers' and soldiers' emoluments.
Perhaps it will be of interest briefly to sketch
some of the" jobs of all sorts" that have fallen
t? No. 32 Company at Exeter, during the last
SIX years.
The Commanding Officer since 1941 has,
by virtue of his seniority, been carrying out the
duties of O.C. Troops, Exeter Garrison.
These duties are many and various; for
instance, close collaboration with the Military
Police in maintaining discipline in the Garrison
which at various times consisted of troops of all
arms, Royal Marines, soldiers and sailors of the
United States of America, The Royal Air Force
(i.n~luding Polish and Norwegian Airmen);
VISIts to licensed houses in case of trouble at
all hours of the night; dealing with leave,
compassionate leave and extensions for the
thousands of soldiers who spend their leave in
or pass through the Garrison area; close
contact with the civic authorities and full
support and co-operation in all military parades
and functions; assistance to them in clearing
emergency fuel dumps and the collection and
distribution of blankets, bedding and other
gear in connection with the temporary accommodation of children evacuated from London.
M.any a time have personnel of the Company
furmshed guards and armed parties for ceremopies and parades.
The Company's part in the Defence Scheme
of Exeter and collaboration with the Home
Guard .would require a chapter in itself.
One interesting ceremony was the occasion
o~ the opening of the Allied Services Club by
Lleut.-General (now General) Sir H. Charles
Loyd, K.C.B., D.S.O., M.C., at the Royal
Albert Museum in January 1944.
.
. The Museum had been for some time the
headquarters of the Company and the Army
175
THE ROYAL ARMY PAY
THE ROYAL ARMY ,PAY CORPS JOURNAL
CO~PS
JOURNAL
OUR CHESS PAGE
(Reproduced by permission of the proprietors of the" E xpress and Echo.")

u~der Lieut. Doidge.
Y..J. DAY, EXETER. Party from No. 32 Company, R.A.P.C:.
In background: "A" Company, Devon and Cornwall Sub-Dlstnct Group, A.T.S.,

'h
; r
under Junior Commander Gay.
which the reply has always been, " If you say

, No' the troops will remain confined to
barracks until your departure from the City."
So far the answer has always been "Yes."
This duty is made mo re pleasant, for later
on comes an invitation from the Sheriff of
Exeter to take lunch at the Guildhall.
Another interesting duty that has fallen to
the Company is the running of a Legal Advice
Bureau. During the time when we had a qualified solicitor on the strength of the Company,
it was his duty to endeavour to straighten
out the domestic problems of soldiers and
auxiliaries in this part of the country.

Space forbids a recapitulation 'of all the
" extra jobs" performed by all rank,s of the
Company but the foregoing will show that
although we are" PaYII?-0ngers" first and last,
there are many other thmgs to be done as well.
It is my view, that the more we are in touch
with the rest of the Army and the more
military, as distinct from clerical, we become,
the better it will be for the .Corps.
There can be no questlOn of our adaptability: this has been proved time and again
both at home and abroad.
H.M. THE KING'S BIRTHDAY

The King has been graciously pleased, on
the occasion of the Celebration of His Majesty's
Birthday to make the following awards:C.B.E.
Brigadier G. H. Charlton, M.C.
Lieut.-Colonel J. Feehally, O.B.E.
O.B.E.
Colonel C . J. K. Hill.
Lieut.-Colonel H. G. B. Milling.
Major H. C. H. Taylor, M.B.E.
M.B.E.
Major J. G. Allen.
52504 S.S.M. A. F. J. Brooks.
Major B. H. F. Buckmaster.
Major H. J. W. Warman.
B.E.M.
7662047 W.O.2 J . C. Doyle.
6204464 W.O .2 K. D. Goodhew.
765\1727 S /Sgt. F. L. Hunt.
7665024 S/Sgt. L. A. Newel!.
7661971 S/Sgt. S. Sheppard.
"'BuT 1l>ISi\NC1LY ~EMEMeER you

1ELLING
ME.
To 'Pos, 'HE.~E
SLIPS SE~GEM"T
176
..
a job of work alongside his depleted subjects.

An excellent study in democracy!
Although the Chess Editor has received some

correspondence, he is still , without any Corps
matter for publication in this column. This is
disappointing as it is very certain that many
Corps members have participated in Chess
activities during the past winter. It is to be
hoped mistaken modesty will not deter them
from passing Oli" to him game scores, problems,
etc., or locar notes.
Meanwhile, here is a Chess Quiz. Answers
will be welcomed at 27 COURT HOUSE GARDENS,
WEST FINCHLEY, LONDON, N.3.
1. What is meant by " Philidor's Legacy" ?
2. What is the" Orang-Outang" opening?
3. What is the chess meaning of "Zugswang" ?
4. Who is the present British Champion?
5. What is " F.LD.E." ?
6. Here are four openings and the names of
four variations arising therefrom. Pair
them correctly:Variations
Openings
Queen's Pawn
Dragon Variation
Ruy Lopez
F egatello Variation
Two Knight Defence
Co lIe System
Sicilian Defence :
Riga Defence
i~nswers will be given in the Autumn issue.
I
.,;
(
Solution is invited to the following

:,
End-game No. 1King, Bishop and:pawn
versus
King, Bishop and pawn
White to play
an~
win
Answers to Correspondents
W.T.E. and M.C.-Thanks for lines of
appreciation and good wishes.
R.McD.-Am looking up the point you raise
when I have access to the book quoted and
will write to you in due course. At the moment,
I don't know Victor Rush's address. When
obtained, I will pass it on to you. (If he sees
these Notes he will, I hope, disclose himself.)
Many thanks for letter.
A.J.D.-Sorry I missed you in Jerusalem. In
the main I agree with your criticism of my
game with Thomas, especially your conclusion
that I was lucky to escape with a draw! I do
not agree that Black's 4 ... B.Kt.5 was bad.
In all close games, Black's problem is the
development of this Bishop and he should be
prepared cheerfully to exchange it for White's
King's Knight.
Thanks for interesting notes.
World Championship
With the sudden passing of Dr. Alekhine,
the Chess world loses its champion and greatest
artist. The incident is the sadder by the
thought that an accusation of Nazi-collaboration
cannot now be defended, proved, or disproved.
Nothing, however, can detract from the rich
contribution the doctor made to our Chess
knowledge.
Who is to be the new champion? One
interesting suggestion is that the title should
revert to the Dutchman, Dr. Max Euwe, who
robbed Alekhine of the title for two short years,
1935-37. Certainly Chess prestige would be
' safe in the hands of so great a player and
gentleman. Alternatively, a Masters' Grand
Tournament may be decided upon.
End-games. The study of Chess Endings
is every bit as important as study of the
openings, to which latter, proportionately, too
much attention is probably devoted. It is not
easy to define precisely when the Middle Game
ends and the End-game begins. I suggest that
the distinguishing feature of the End-game is
that the King has to take off his coat and do
TO A PRIVATE OF THE A.T.S. ON HER

BEING TOLD OFF FOR TALKING
Thy voice, my pretty sweet, is soft and low
But all day long its murmur's constant flow
Gets on my bleeding nerves. So, ox-eyed pest.
Just get you up and sit with Private West.
177
Shakespeare and The Royal Army Pay Corps
DURBAN
By MAX RUMNEY
By COLONEL L. E. JAMES, M .C., R.A.P.C.
HE versatility of Shakespeare is so
familiar to the general public t~at his
status has inevitably been the subject of
conjecture and distortion. Publications after
publications appear to prove that Shakespeare
was Bacon was a German, was a chess player,
in fact wa~ all things to all men. So it is with
pleasu~e that one turns to a s~rious monograph
entitled Shakespeare-Our Fzrst Paymaster, by
Lucas Illiasse and Saul Buncombe (Lunar
Press, 2/6).
The authors ex officers of the R.A.P.C.
build up with ('~ystal clear logic the thesis that
this unknown William, fleeing to London from
the oppressive atmosphere of hi.s unhappy
domesticity, begins a new career m the War
Office and emerges as our first paymaster to the Army. What the Admiralty owes to Pepys,
so the Army owes to Shakespeare. He ~rought
order and system to Army pay-orgamsatIOn,
where chaos and irregularity existed.
All speculations about the surname Shakespeare are fascinating, and the au.thors' o~n
supposition is ingenious and plaustble.
Ith
much documentation, they prove conclusIvely
that in the early days when this unnamed
~illiam was, developing his small Pay" O~ce
mto a worthy Corps-~he Government hI~h
ups" dubbed him the Che.ques payer, whIlst
in the Army he was affectIOnately kno"Wn as
the Shekels payer, and hence the eventual
amalgam-this name of greatest renownShakespeare.
.
It is difficult to resist the temptatIOn of
quoting more and more from this sch<:>larly
work, but due to lack of space the revl~wer
can only end with a synthesis of some quotatIOns
(of which hundreds abound in the book) in
order to depict in a " polyfotoesque " manner
Shakespeare's service with the Pay Corps.
:v
1. His staff:
-Coriolanus, iii, 1.
4. Revision:
Bear the addition nobly ever.
-Coriolanus, i) 9.
What need we fear who knows it-when none
can call our power to account.
'
-Macbeth, v, 1.
5. Soldiers' complaints:
ments, etc. :
1483s, W.S.I., Pay-
The rest have worn me out with several

applications.
-A Winter's Tale, i, 2.
Our battalion trebles that account.
-Richard Ill, v, 3.
Sixpence I had 0' Wednesday last.
-Comedy of Errors, i, 2.
He humbly prays your speedy payment.
..
- Timon of Athens, Il, 2.
Too little payment for so great a debt.
-Taming of Shrew, v, 2.
6. Leave:
I take my leave with many thousand thanks.
-Ill Henry VI, iii, 2.
Let them have pay and part I.
- l l Henry IV, iv, 2.
7. Morale:
I lack advancement-how can that be ?
-Hamlet, iii, 2.
These times where none will sweat but for
promotion.
-As You Like It, ii, 3.
He brags his service as if he were of note.
-Cymbeline, v, 3.
8. N.C.O.'s:
If any hour meet a sergeant a' turns back for
very fear.
-Comedy of Errors, iv, 2.
..
'
9. Authors' theory that Shakespeare's office

was at Reading :
Now he will be swinged for Reading.
-Three Gentlemen of Verona, i, 3.
Such as his Reading and manifest experience
has collected.
-All's Well That Ends Well, i, 3.
10. Transfers:
He has since done good service at Shrewsbury.
- l l Henry IV, i, 2.
When last I was in Exeter the mayor in courtesy
showed me the Castle.
. -Richard Ill, iv, 2.
11. Opinion of his successor at Reading :
There was none such in the army of any sort.

-Much Ado, i, 1.
My whole charge consists of ancients, corporals,
lieutenants.
- I Henry IV, iv, 2.
Captain Jamy is a ,m arvell,o us and falorous

gentleman-that IS certam.
-Henry V, iii, 3.
'Tis an office of great worth, and you an officer
, 9
fit for the place.
-Three Gentlemen of Verona, 1, ~.
2. The Pay Clerk :

He can write and read and cast accompt.
-Il Henry VI , iv, 2.
The authors deserve the congratulations of

all lov'ers of Shakespeare for their labour of
love and the Royal Army Pay Corps fe~l
dce~ly grateful for the additional glory to theIr
ever increasing good name.
3. Wings:
You can produce acquittances for such a sum.
-Loves Labour Lost, ii, 1.
Who with their drowsy slow and flagging Wings.
-II Henry VI , iv, 1.
178
UDGED by the remarks which from time

to time came to those of us in the Imperial
Army Pay ' Office, Durban, South Mrica,
from February, 1941, onwards, it was an
enviable station. I do not think "common
report " erre.
d
Perhaps there are some who may yet wonder
why an Army Pay Office was opened in South
Africa. Originally the purpose was to look after
the financial side of the military families who
were evacuated from Egypt and Palestine.
These families were administered by O.S.F.O.
(Overseas Service Families Office )-a military
organisation set up in Durban by the G.O.C.,
Middle East. If this was to be our lot, then our
small staff of 16 all told was ample. Alas! we
walked right into the welcoming arms of the
South African Department of Defence who
were kindly looking after the interests of the
British and Commonwealth troops who were
filtering round the Cape on their way North
and East. As is well known, the Cape route
became very congested and large convoys
arrived with clock-like regularity at both Cape
Town and Durban. For various reasons-the
main one being shipping shortage-all troops
were put ashore in South Africa and two
Transit Camps were opened, one with 30,000
capacity and the other 15,000. In addition,
hospital patients from the Western Desert, the
Middle East generally and India were sent to
the Union, and over 6,000 hospital beds at
Johannesburg, Pietermaritzburg, Durban and
Cape Town were maintained. Mter the fall of
Singapore, hundreds more evacuees from the
East came to Durban until a total of something
like 3,000 was reached. Meantime, the South
African Government were looking for payment
of their services in providing staffs for Camps,
construction work, transport, etc., and vast
quantities of munitions and supplies for Middle
East, etc. One further activity was caused by
the raising of 30,000 natives for the African
Auxiliary Pioneer Corps. These were recruited
from Basutoland, Bechuanaland and Swaziland
and Pay Offices were originally opened in the
former two Territories but were subsequently
centralised in Durban, which remains as the
" fixed centre." A better pen than mine will
no doubt one day tell of the varied trials and
amusements which resulted from this effort to
harness hitherto" untried" manpower.
So much for the main activities of the Pay

Office.
There were numerous subsidiaries
arising from these.
Durban was the obvious place for the office,
but there were demands from the S.A. Defence
Department for it to move to Pretoria, which
was their H.Q. and later the British Military
Liaison Mission established themselves there.
All pressure was successfully resisted, I think
to the general benefit.
Climatically, Durban leaves much to be
desired ; May to August are delightful months,
but the humidity during the summer months
(our winter) was a severe tax on " that Kruschen
feeling." The sun temperature was not excessive when compared with say Cairo and
Khartoum, but the wet thermometer was very
partial to the 90 degrees mark for: long periods
on end. Sea bathing as a corrective was overrated owing to the danger of the currents and
the sharks. These latter were having a serious
effect on Durban's popularity as a watering
place and the two or three years of conv~ys,
with attendant waste matter from the ShIPS,
were blamed for the sharks' boldness on coming
in-shore.
Leave could be taken inland and many
tasted the modern delights of Jo'burg or the
more peaceful and less sophisticated ones of
up-country farms .
The hospitality of the
people of Natal and Cape Town has become' a
byword and it was sufficiently evident to create
correspondence in the S.A. press from members
of the U.D.F. complaining of their being
neglected by their own folk! I believe a similar
situation arose in England however, so perhaps
it evened itself out throughout the world. The
Detachment was well provided with opportunities for games-we had our own tennis
courts and ran successful soccer and cricket
teams.
Many at home had cause to realise that
supplies both of food, clothing and lux,!ry
articles were plentiful, by the parcels whIch
could be sent. I should say that, without
exaggeration, 50 per cent. of ~ll troops p~ssing
through took advantage of thIS opportumty.
Such an article as this could easily devolve
into a combined catalogue and guide book. So
far as it has gone, it has probably done little
to give a comprehensive picture of R.A.P.C.
Proceed process by process.
179

life in one of the "peaceful" war stations.
Suffice it to say that our inconveniences were
confined to a severe black-out (no joke in midsummer with no " long" evenings) an occasional "unidentified" aeroplane and a
persistent feeling that we were too lucky
when we pictured conditions in England.
Whilst in South Africa, good relations were
established with the South Mrican Adminis-
trative Pay and Clerical Corps. Often we called

upon them for assistance which was given
wholeheartedly and whenever opportunity
occurred we weighed in on their behalf.
The Imperial Army Pay Office, Durban, will
be needed still for a while and for those whose
destination it may be, there is an opportunity
to see a Dominion which has a past, present
and future of absorbing interest.
A REGIMENTAL PAY OFFICE
MEDITATION
I wonder what the future holds. Tommy
Handley,it was, who sang a song about the
" good old Army," the other day and I heard
someone in the Merchant Navy programme
singing the same thing only she twisted it
round to be appropriate for those chaps.
I wonder what they meant. I couldn't help _
thinking at the time that they were getting
pretty near the knuckle particularly as I had
just had a few letters from men who had gone
back into civilian life.
Now I see that there's an official pamphlet
called " Regular Army-Why Drop Out?"
and it's pretty easy sort of reading too with all
the facts and figures adding up to something
that looks very much like a degree of security
for the future. Couldn't help thinking that
that was more or less what Tommy Handley
and that woman were getting at.
Had a look in a shop the other day and saw
a sofa and two armchairs for 120. Must sit
on something but where the devil 120 is to
come from I'm blessed if I know. Come to
think of it, I'm sitting in quite a comfortable
chair doing this meditating now and I haven't
paid a penny for it. And where the-no, one
shouldn't start to get worked up in a meditation
for then it becomes a nightmare-where am I
going to get a house for I don't want a prefabricated affair a little bit? Of course I should
probably have to have one if I stayed in the
Army but the silly old Army doesn't know any
better and, anyway, they'd probably furnish
it for me.
Wonder what the work in the Army is going
to be like when all this mad rush of release is
over. I'm pretty red-hot on my own job but
I found that conversation I had yesterday hard
to follow. He seemed pretty red-hot on his
job too but it was Greek to me. But thenI know-that bloke was a regular. He went on
to say how regulars in peace time used to do,
180
as their normal work, stuff which is now dealt

with by every sort of section in a whole Pay
Office. Come to think of it, they must have
known quite a bit but I suppose that the regulations weren't as tricky then as they are now.
Must be right there for I'm sure that soldiers
in peace time never got so involved in their
love affairs as some of these chaps now. Bad
things love affairs, I suppose, but life would be
dull without them. The trouble starts when
they get complicated and the fun stops then
too. That pamphlet made it pretty plain that
the Army looks after wives and kids. Blessed
if " civvy street" does unless things get very
bad.
Seems I'm likely to be paid a pretty good
wage in the Army. Wonder how they got on
in the days of the" Queen's shilling" -she only
died about forty years ago, so someone has
bucked things up a bit since then.
That regular I was talking to yesterday keeps
worrying me. How did he get his varied knowledge? If I thought of taking on, I wonder
how on earth I'd get it for these wretched
regulations are amended to ribbons and ... . .
I suppose someone is thinking about these
sort of things but I can't help wishing I knew
a bit more. Can't help wishing that I knew
just a few things to be able to make up my
mind for what with the wife and the kid ....
Grand little bloke he is. Must go upstairs
and have a look at him-and then go to bed.
But I wish someone would make my mind
up for me.
C.H.T.
Readers whose subscriptions expire with this

issue will find a reminder in their coPY. The
Editor hopes that such readers will decide to
renew their subscriptions and requests that they
will return the form to him as early as possible.
>
,h
'.
It might be an elementary school or the

Labour Exchange of a small but progressiveminded township. It might be a local Carnegie
Library. It might be a lot of things. What it
is really is the offices of - the Regimental
Paymaster . . .
You enter.
Inside, two very ex-servicemen in blue
uniforms smile. It's their job to smile and look
very ex-servicemen. They are the look-youovers ; they decide who enters and who remains
in their domain, the hallway. But they like
you, and you are admitted into the intestines,
bowels and similar organs of the offices of
Regimental Paymaster.
There is the familiar buzz of industryperhaps not so familiar but nevertheless
recognisable. Men of the Royal Army Pay
Corps are best over massive volumes of
impressive documents.
A.T.S. and their
counterparts of civilian life giggle, stare and
Important
scuttle like frightened rabbits.
officers stroll leisurely departmentally. Solid
civilians in the winter of their lives barely move.
Directly in front there is a notice in modest
print. It bears the legend : "If it is possible
it will be done immediately. If it is impo.ssible
it may take longer." The impersonal visitor
stares, for a second time, around him. He
approves of the profound sagacity of the
pointer. The execution of the idea is a masterpiece of tact.
He advances.
Everyone obviously has studied the technique of the larger offices. Everyone apparently
is master of their individual situation. The
fourteen years' old child who fingers pay
vouchers as she slips them to their allocated
pigeon holes has the same surety of touch as
the 65-year-old lieutenant who guards his
uninspired ledgers.
The Group " C " Class 1 Clerk who passes
up the office-moves with the confidence and
grace of an experienced mannequin-neither
would he be jealous of her tips. Here is
efficiency, knowledge, and the desire to work.
Here is a battle ground. Daily on this field a
thousand pay accounts are attacked and
sJ..a ughtered. Cold, evil figures-or perhaps, to
avoid confusion, digits-destroy a hundred
dreams.
This is the office of the Regimental Paymaster.

After a time if the visitor is deemed
sufficiently important the P.R.i. of the Royal
Army Pay Corps waxes generous and tea with
sandwiches are provided gratis from the
Officers' Canteen. And, of course, another
battle has been won.
After a time longer the visitor is invited to
leave the premises and to pass the remainder
of the day as he or she chooses. Usually he
accepts this latter invitat~on eagerly, but because
he has learned, if nothing else that afternoon,
at least tact, he departs outwardly somewhat
grudgingly, inwardly seething with joy-the
joy of escape-the desire to be free and the
realising of this desire.
J. E. HISLOP, Pte.
RETIREMENTS-(Continued from page 168)
October, 1899, and served with that unit for

five years before transferring to the Arrry Pay
Corps in March 1904.
He served his probation at Cowley Barracks,
Oxford, and on the closing of the old Depot
Pay Offices was transferred to Warwick, and
later served at Hamilton, W.O. Accounts 2,
F 9, Deptford, Lichfield, Perth, Canterbury,
Eastern Command and finally at the R.A.S.C.
Office in London.
Percy was a keen cricketer in his younger
days and of 'this he has many memories. One
howeyer that was always a favourite when
relating his experiences referred to an occasion
when in 1913 while playing for the Hamilton
Office against Blantyre he took four wickets
for five runs. The captain of his own team
rushed up to him and kissed him in the
continental fashion!
He recei ved his commission as Assistant
Paymaster in October 1926.
Although he has now left the Corps for a
spell of well-earned retirement he leaves
behind a host of friends-for wherever Percy
went he made new friends-and we know that
they will all join us in wishing him the best of
good fortune after his 42 years in the Corps.
181
THE ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOURKAL
NoTe I
Command Pay Offices
EASTERN COMMAND
Congratulations, Mr. Editor, on your fine performance in producing such a magnificent Spring
edition of the Journal. It was grand to read about
RA.P .C. comrades whom we thought we should
never hear of again.
We take this opportunity of welcoming Brigadier
C . N. Bednall, O.B.E., as the new Command Paymaster and wish him a long and happy reign.
In the field of sport, we are severely handicapped
by shortage of numbers, so short in fact that we are
unable to raise an outdoor team of any description.
Cricket will soon be in full swing, and even if we
could persuade the A.T.S. clerks to don the white
slacks, we could scarcely raise an XI even then.
Nevertheless, there are a few enthusiastic cricketers
in the office, and one of them, S.S.M. E. M. Bullous,
the Chief Clerk, was . chosen to represent an Eastern
Command Headquarters XI on May 11.
The
Assistant Command Paymaster, Lieut.-Colonel R S.
Ellicott is honorary secretary, cricket section,
RA.P.C. Officers' Club.
Schools of Instruction are of great benefit to the
RA.P.C., Eastern Command possesses No. 1
Command School of Instruction in Pay Duties.
Formed in May 1941, it was located at Ashford,
Middlesex, until February 1943, when it moved to
its present situation at 3 Sloane Gardens, London,
S.W.L
The first Officer-in-command School was Major
R. E. Noel-Clarke who was succeeded in November
1942 by Major W. G. Wall ace, who remained until
he returned to Civvy Street in June 1945. He was
then succeeded by Major J. R. Williams, who now
has as second-in-command and Chief Instructor
Captain E. E. Taylor Smith, and the staff is completed with three Warrant Officers, Class 11.
In addition to the full qualifying courses held in
the School many short revision courses and lectures
are held at various points throughout the Eastern
and South-Eastern Districts. In the nine months
from July 1945 to March 1946 the unit dealt with
806 students in the School and 491 in short courses
outside. Audiences at lectures in the same period
totalled 11,725.
As a result of their excellent work in the School
two Warrant Officers, Shaw and Leggett, were
awarded Certificates of Good Service by the G.O.C.
in the last New Year Honours List. We congratulate
them on their well-merited awards.
Release is leaving its mark in the Command Pay
Office, many new faces appearing.
Our latest
departures were those of Chief Clerk, S.S.M. A. J.

Chequer and shorthand typist, Pte. M . Koenig,
A.T.S .
R.A.P.C. Costing Section, Sandridgebury and

London.-In spite of the persistent rumours of
impending moves we are still "carrying on" at
Sandridgebury, and those who have months to serve
are .hoping to spend the summer here. The London
- District Office is still located midst the gaiety of
Mayfair in its lofty eyrie on the sixth floor of Leconfield House .
A club called "Four Eighty Club" has been
formed for all "Costers" who have served at
Sandridgebury, Reigate, or London C.E.A.O.'s, as a
means supplementary to that offered by RA.P.C.
O.C.A., of keeping serving members in touch with
those who have left the service. An enjoyable outing
has already taken place in the form of a " feed" and
visit to a show, which was attended by serving
members and "Released" members living in the
London area. It is proposed to hold our first Annual
Meeting for all members in mid-October 1946 w'i th
local meetings as often as possible.
S.S.M. Pete.rs, S /Sgt.'s Ashby and Ridewood,
Sgt.'s Beach, Carpenter, Fostekew, and Poulson,
Cpl.'s Dickson and Jones, L / Cpl. Sanders, Pte.'s
Benjafield, Cakebread, Carpenter and Harwood
have left us for civil life and we wish them" all the
best. "
We welcome the following budding" Costers " Pte.'s Bennetts, Bird, Cannon, Denning, Donne,
and Hazlewood.
182
In this issue we bid farewell to Brigadier

Ormsby-Johnson, who left us on May 29th. All
who. have known him, particularly the old stagers
will regret that his cheerfully ebullient presence no
longer" gingers up" the Corps. We hear whispers
that he is to continue his association with the army
in another sphere. We wish him a long and very
happy retirement.
In his stead we extend a hearty welcome to
Brigadier F. C. Williams, who joins us from India.
We hope his sojourn in Salisbury will be pleasant.
Other departures and arrivals were Lieut. Evans,
who departed joyfully for the nearest M.D.U. We
shall miss him, we wish him the best of luck and feel
that he will miss us! He was replaced by Lieut.
Inglis, who has exchanged the hurly-burly of
Whitchurch for the cloistered calm of Southern
Command. Pte. Evans, A.T.S., temporarily replaced
Pte. Kaines, whom we hope speedily recovers from
her illness, and Mrs. Jewell, nee Offer, who has been
our shorthand typist for more than five years, finally
found domesticity more attractive than the typewriter. We wish her happiness and success in her
new sphere.
At the moment we are trying to cope with a move
from our old haunts to the rural delights of Wilton,
and informal talks on the discarding of unwanted
items are the order of the day. It is hoped that being
nearer to Headquarters we shall be able to take more
part in sporting and social activities in the future.
An additional burden on our hardworking staff is
the reorganisation of the Command involving the
abolition of S.M. District, Oxford.
Our only sporting effort so far has been a combined
shooting match with 22 Detachment against a local
team. The size of the office renders it very difficult
to do anything on our <nNn account.
SCOTTISH COMMAND
Since the Spring issue of the Journal, further staff
moves have been arranged and by the time these
notes have been printed we shall have bid good-bye,
with best wishes, to our present Command Paymaster, Colonel C. G. Moore and have welcomed
his successor, Colonel R. H. Smyth, O.B.E., M.C.
No other news of general interest has transpired
with the exception of the sadly lamented death of
Colonel R . W. Kelly, O.B.E., who passed away on
21st March, 1946, so soon after his well-earned
retirement. We feel sure that all will join with us
in our expressions of sympathy to Mrs. Kelly and
family.
District Pay Offices

ALDERSHOT AND HANTS. DISTRICT
The Engineers have done some "encroaching"

here and are in possession. In the old building there
have been changes in the individual sections and
the only room still being used for its pre-war
function is Central.
So far as staff is concerned it is rather a coincidence
that the only pre-war soldiers here are people who
were here in the years shortly before the war,
Lieut.-Colonel J. Burne, Captain C. H. Peasley,
S.S.M. A. Broadbent. But many will recall the
following members of the civilian staff who are still
serving: Messrs. Eckersley, A. J. Barlow (both
D.C.O's.), J. Rason, P. Vince, W. Ellard, J. G. and
A. H. Montague and Fyfield.
Captain A. Alldis
is also here carrying out the duties of Visiting
Paymaster.
Other well-known personalities are
Mrs. Rowe (nee Marjorie Wilson) now serving as a
clerk, and our pre-war messenger, Mr. Holloway
(now retired) who still looks in occasionally.
Reading Office will be interested to hear that
ex-S /Sgt. G. Lee is here as a civilian clerk.
As the Corps are playing two cricket matches at
Aldershot and the Army Tennis Championships are
also being held here during this summer, it is hoped
that we shall be seeing quite a few members of the
Corps during these functions. If the weather is fine
these should be very enjoyable R.A.P.C. "reunions."
For the benefit of the many members of the Corps

who have at some time or another been stationed at
Aldershot it is ' thought that a "picture" of the
Aldershot Office as it now exists might be of interest.
The most noticeable alteration is the new office
erected on our" centre court." During the 1914-18
war a temporary office was erected on the tennis
court but in course of time this was removed and
the court reverted to tennis. Alas, this time the
bui~ding is a very solid brick building (officially
chnstened Armstrong Building) and it looks as
though the tennis court is lost for ever. Another
noteworthy alteration is the location of the
Sergeants' Mess. The old mess is now a N.A.A.F.1.
but the new mess is situated in the Sergeants' Mess
of Salamanca Barracks and there are a number of
single sergeants' rooms occupied by the W.O's.
and Sergeants of this office and the Railways'
Branch. Dances and socials are well attended by the
staff of the two offices and members of the Dispersal
Units in Aldershot. The mess recently received as
custodian, the cups and medals of the late S.Q.M.S.
P. Black which have been presented to the Corps by
Mrs. Black.
NORTHERN COMMAND
My remarks in the first issue of the Journal
regarding our inability to raise a Darts team has
resulted in a storm of protest from our Costing
Section, and to prove their words they have ignored
the small numbers required in a Darts team and
produced a Cricket eleven, although they admit the
inclusion of two outsiders. In a match on May ' 17
against the C.E.A.O. Civilians they came out easy
winners, scoring 116 against 49. We hope to hear
some more from you" Costers," especially after such
a brilliant start.
Since the writing of the last notes we have had
rather' a procession of Command Paymasters. After
a stay of a few months Brigadier A. A. Cock burn left
us ' for Manchester, to be followed by Brigadier I. P.
Brickman, C.B.E., who looked in for a week or two
before being posted to Western Command. Our
SOUTHERN COMMAND
best wishes go with them in their new appointments.

Welcome to Brigadier N. Forde on his return as
C .P., from Eastern Command, and to Lieut.-Colonel
J. W. Brennan our new A.C.P. from Northern Ireland
District. New arrivals also include Pte. G. Noakes
from 62 Detachment, Pte.'s J. G. Boulton and G. E.
Pearson from 51st and 50th Battalions, who we are
sure will enjoy their sojourn in York.
Promotion has been the order in the Costing
Section, and we offer our congratulations to S.S.M.
A. T. Gower, S /Sgt. A. Dixon, Sgt. S. Readman,
Sgt. J. E. Bowran, Cpl. G. E. Brown, L /Cpl. C. B.
Starke, L /Cpl. E. L. Ham and L / Cpl. A. Allan.
Those who have left us for Civvy Street, or who
will have attained civilian status by the time these
notes appear in print include S /Sgt. Hodgkinson,
S /Sgt. Dixon, Sgt. Davis, Sgt. Readman, Cpl. Brown,
Pte. Beattie, Pte. Corn be, and last, but certainly not
least, our only member of the A.T.S., Pte. Y.
Spanton. Good luck, and don't forget to drop us a
line now and again.
"
The huts which were used as Costing and Pay

Schools still exist but not as part of the Pay Office.
183

EAST ANGLIAN DISTRICT
There is not a great deal of news to broadcast

from a small office like ours so perhaps an introduction to our" Old hands" might be of interest
to other" Oldsters " in the Army Pay Services.
We have among us Lieut.-Colonel A. G. Burdett,
Capt~in R Plowman, Lieut. H. Forse and S.Q.M.S.
W. Pmkney who are real old hands with two of the
younger generation of Regulars in Sgt. R Hodgkiss
and L /Sgt. K. Dodsworth. Many, too will remember
Mr. Bill Monaghan (ex S .Q.M.S. 'of the Corps)
Mr. Cook and Mr. Tothill, and last but not least
Mr. W. Savage, one time of York (RP.), who is
our cashier.
We. have just said good-bye to S.S.M. J. Marsh,
who IS now at O.C .T.V. (Bash on Cadet!) We
wish him the best of luck.
'
Good-bye and good luck too to all those who have
recently left us for civil life-unfortunately space
prevents individual naming.
The strength-or should it be weakness-of the
unit prevents organised sport to any great extent
but with the coming of the Summer we turn to
bowl~ with expectation of pleasant lunch hours and
evenIngs.
Our Social functions-usually quarterly affairstake the shape of a chicken dinner (we do not bring
our own birds), and a visit to the Empire followed
by a social and d ance at the Parochial H all. JlMF.
We are pleased to welcome Sgt. "Johnny"

Durrant, who has recently joined this office on his
return from Sierra Leone.
Social activities here are still very successful,' and
at the monthly dance held at Coombe Lodge, on
Friday, April 26, 1946, we were indeed happy to
see so many of the old familiar faces, now relegated
to Civvy Street, who came back to spend a social
evening with us.
Our T able Tennis team, despite the loss of such
pillars of strength as S /Sgt. " Les " Davis , and Sgt.
" Ted " Constable, is still acquitting itself well, and
on May 2, administered a sound and salutary
beating to our old antagonists, the Brentwood
National Fire Service. Let's hope we don't have a
fire, or we may yet have reason to regret our
temerity !
Farewell to old friends upon their return to
civilian life, and in particular to S /Sgt. Arthur Bowler
and Mrs. Bowler, both of whom served in this office
from its formation. Thank you, Arthur and Vera,
and here's wishing you well.
EADPO.
EAST. CENTRAL DISTRICT, LUTON

The renaissance of the R.A.P.C. Journal is hailed
as a harbinger of peace, a lasting one this time let us
hope. The" years of the locust" which have elapsed
since the last pre-war issue of the Journal have seen
many changes of personnel of this office, as elsewhere; of those who were present at the birth of
the Journal at Pall Mall in 1931 only two remain
here, and of those who were serving here at the
inception of this office four only are left, and they
take this opportunity of conveying greetings to all
their old coll eagues w ho are now scattered far and
wide.
To detail our activities during the past six years
would involve some research; it may be stated,
however, that we have been able to maintain by
sports, dances and other social activities, that atmosphere of congeniality so necessary during the past
trying times to keep up the morale of the staff. In
our present location-St. Mary's School, which is an
old " pre-Ellen " building, we are fortunately well
equipped for social functions, of which there have
been a regular sequence. Our Social Evenings and
Games Tournaments-billiards, snooker, darts and
table ten nis, h Ive b~ en very popular. A visit of
" Stars in Battle Dress" with their puppet show
was much appreciated, as also were the Music Club
evenings provided under the auspices of the A.E.C.
Many interesting Cricket matches have been played
against teams from other offices and local firms. Our
dances, albeit our dance floor in the old School Hall
is somewhat corrugated, have been well attended,
and the Cabaret shows we have put on have disclosed
hidden talent among members of our staff.
We were sorry to lose our jovial D .P., Major
Cooper, but welcome his successor, Lieut.-Colonel
S. R F. Hide, M.C., whose keen interest in and
encouragement of our sporting and social activities
does much to lighten our official labours .
H.W.
MID WEST DISTRICT

This office on formation arrived in Shrewsbury
on October 14, 1944, under Major F . J. Bairsto,
and was accommod~ted in Benbow House and the
Congregational Church at Coton Hill and School
Gardens. We have since evacuated the latter and
extended to hutments behind the Ca .tle Market.
So far, we have not started a farm, as the P .R.1. will
not sanction the purchase of cows and pigs from its
funds.
The Detachment, as detachments of the Corps do,
quickly m~de its presence felt in Shrewsbury and
district.
Smoking concerts, dances and cabarets
built up the reputation of No. 26 Detachment. A
Smoking Concert and Dance was held to bid farewell
to the Command Paymaster, Brigadier G. A. C.
Ormsby Johnson, C.B.E., M.C., on his posting to
Southern Command.
The entertainments section have presented three
plays-" Poison Pen," by Richard Llewellyn, at
Belmont Hall; "Without the Prince," a comedy
by Philip K~ng, and ." I have been here before," by
J. B. Prie<;t\ey, at St. George's Hall. The latter play
was also presented at St. Dunstans, Church Stretton,
and to various isolated units in the district.
It is with deep regret that we report the death of
S.S.M. J . Score on December 30, 1945, at the
Military Hospital. Copthorne, Shrewsbury. He had
been in the Service over 30 years and we extend to
his family our deepest sympathy.
. An experience which is undoubtedly one in a
lifetime was encountered by the Detachment one
Saturday morning in February 1946. The office
could not be reached for the River Severn h ad overflowed and flooded the streets to a depth of quite a
few feet. On Coton Hill boats and water tanks were
used for conveying food and necessaries to houses
adjoining the Detachment Offices. It was strange
to find nearly all the members of the Detachment
congregated in the street by the Granada" longing
to get into the office to work but finding it impossible
EAST AND WEST RIDING DISTRICT

In an endeavour to be different from others we
will spare the blushes of the Editor and his 'staff
for the really first-class job they did with the re-issue
of the Corps Journal and not congratulate themthey may read between the lines if they wish.
184

It is felt that special mention must be made of the
release of Pte. H. Charles who put in such good work
on the Entertainments Committee and to whom much
of the success of the Social side of the Detachment
was due.
We regret to have to record the death of Mr.
F . Bailey, a Departmental Civilian Officer, on
23rd March, 1946. " Old Bill," as he was more
popularly known, joined the Command Pay Office,
Salisbury, as a civilian clerk on 4th July, 1927 and
remained there until March 1943 when he' was
transferred to Command Pay Office, York, on
promotion to Departmental Civilian Officer, subsequently coming to Nottingham on the formation
of the District Pay Office.
He was ever ready and willing to help in any way
he could and his passing is deepl y regretted.
To Lieut. J. W. Alderman, now unfortunately
hors de combat, we send greetings and wishes for a
speedy recovery.
Coton Hill showing Benbow House,

the District Pay Office, Feb. 1946.
to do so on account of the rising waters. Two officers
climbed over the main line railway at Shrewsbury
to endeavour to scale the roof tops and so secure any
machinery or documents which might have been
damaged . This was impossible as the water was too
deep.
On the following Monday the Detachment were
at work again to find that no damage had been done
to documents, etc., but that the cellar of the
Congregational Church was flooded to a depth
unknown before.
The Detachment received awards of G.O.C.'s
Certificates of Merit for the late S.S.M. Score,
S/Sgt. Dunn, RA.P.C. , and Cpl. J. Lines, A.T.S.,
and we offer our congratulations to the recipients.
Since "V" Day we have said farewell to the
following and trust that their sojourn in the various
spheres will be all they wish. Lieut. E. J. Conynham
to 33rd Battalion, Lieut. F. A. Mills and Lieut. S.
Lipton to Depot and Lieut. F. Roberts, Lieut. K. H.
Kenyon and Capt. V. E. Dodsworth released. Sgt.
J. Brannigan to 41st Battalion, Pte. Oliver to 48th
Battalion, Pte. H. E. Jones and Pte. K. H. Griffiths
to 25th Detachment, S /Sgt. R E. Rousseau to
33rd Battalion, Pte. L. G. Page, Pte. F. J. Dunford
and Pte. F. N. Wright to 42nd Battalion; L /Cpl.
W. C. Keane, Pte. B. D. Grimshaw, Sgt. W. H.
Vickery, S /Sgt. J . E. Taylor to Depot, and Pte.
W. P . Greenwood to Army Reserve. S.S.M. J. R .
Perkins, S.Q.M.S. F. Peters, S /Sgt. A. M. Jackson,
Sgt. F. H . Pendleton, Sgt. J. Pickens, Sgt. H. W.
Shergold and numerous others have now been
released.
We welcome Lieut. J. Colbeck from O.C.T.V.,
S.S.M. H. J. Jordan from Finsbury Circus, and
Pte. Oliver from Royal Artillery.
With these few notes we will close and wish the
Journal every success and hope no more little men
with black moustaches and big ideas will interfere
with its future publications.
NORTHERN IRELAND DISTRICT

No doubt this office h as been heard of by many of
the readers of the R .A.P.C. Journal through the
medium of Acquittance Roll "slips" and various
types of correspondence, but I don't think there are
many who have been "privileged" to serve the
Corps in the North of this island. The office is
still "on the map" but has changed its location
from the beautiful tree and lawn-surrounded
T yrone House to Victoria Barracks after the
closure of No. 9 Demobilisation Centre.
The
huts in which we are esconced are, however, very
neat inside, after the fashion of all Demob. Centre
Establishments, and no comphints have been heard,
except from the few who used to enjoy a nice dinner
hour pleasantly spread out in the "summer" sun
of the Tyrone House lawn.
I shall not dwell long on Sports activities as the
number of our male staff does not enable us to run
the usual football, cricket or hockey teams, but the
Sports Club functions with darts' matches, dances,
badminton and an occasional outing with the "illgotten gains" to keep the members happy.
As for personalities, in my brief on-and-off
eighteen months' service here changes h ave been
few. Lieut.-Colonel Holmes departed for overseas
service and was replaced by Lieut.-Colonel Brennan,
who in turn was succeeded by Major Neal, the present
District Paymaster. Captain Cow-per still remains
as Supervisory Officer and Captain Edwards as
Liaison Officer, although he is now looking forward
to Demob. and will probably be in Civvy Street by
the time this a.rticle appears in print.
S.S.M.
Warwick, S /Sgt. Matthews, L /Sgts. Kennedy and
Carroll and myself, Sgt. Miller, remain as senior
N.C.O.'s and no changes have been apparent among
the A .T.S. and civilian staff.
HAGGIS.
NORTHUMBRIAN DISTRICT
Sorry all you gentle (?) readers were deprived of the
pleasure of our company in last quarter's Journal
but pressure of work compelled us most reluctantly
to refrain from contributing. May we offer our
congratulations, though, to the Editor on a very
successful resurrection of the old Journal.
For the benefit of the few who have never heard
of 60 Detachment let me say that we are (we think)
just about the happiest office in the Corps and it is
extremely unlikely that esprit de corps is anywhere
NORTH MIDLAND DISTRICT

All ranks at Nottingham were delighted to receive
their first post-war copy of the Journal.
Since sending our last notes to print, we have had
many departures to civil life, really too numerous to
mention individually-but to them all we say
Cheerio and good luck. It is hoped that all released
members will keep in touch by advising of any
change of address.
185

more evident. We have a few well-known Corps
men in our midst, including Captain H. ' V. W.
Woodman, S.S.M. J . Shields, Sgt. J. Patterson and
Messrs. B. Shaw, "Mick" Cleary, and "Harry"
Counsell, and your humble scribe, who help in this
respect, but I'm afraid we older hands must yield
pride of place to the "duration" personnel,
Military, A.T.S . and civilian who have all given of
their best with never a word of complaint-:-well
done, slaves!
Social life of the detachment was largely centred
around our club before we moved from Gosforth to
Fenham Barracks. The club house was a cottage in
the grounds of our palatial office, Culzean Park, and
in this club were all manner of things to brighten
our work-weary lives, including of course a bar.
Other social activities were in the form of dances,
invitations to which were keenly sought after.
In the sporting world I'm afraid we have not been
able to do much other than an occasional table tennis
match with a local club and on very rare occasions
we managed to raise a soccer team only to receive a
severe licking for our pains each time.
Departures.-On 30th April our C .O., Lieut.Colonel A. T. Barnes, said farewell to us on his
return to " Civvy Street." Our very best wishes go
with him for his future happiness and good health.
On 8th May S /Sgt. (Curly) Hirst hopes to say
farewell as he boards the train for" Demob." I'm
sure he's been very undecided about whether to go
or stay but the lure of a civvy suit won in the end.
Arrivals.-On 1st May Lieut.-Colonel B. J. B.
Temple arrived from London to take over from
Lieut.-Colonel A. T. Barnes. We offer him our
heartiest greetings and hope that his sojourn with us
may be long and pleasant.
To conclude, may we from the District Pay Office,
Newcastle, extend a hearty greeting to all Pay Office
personnel both at home and overseas.
JAKE.
Africa and Chester. He is leaving us within a few

weeks to return to his" civvy " job. Lieut. J. T.
James, late of Radcliffe, is Admin. Officer. S.S.M.
H. W . ViI'l:cent (ex East Africa and Manchester, is
here as Chief Clerk, and S.Q.M.S. J. W. Reed, who
served at Woolwich, Foots Cray and Milford-onSea before joining the Command Office at Chester
is still with us, and on the civilian side we still have
Mr. F. Brierley (ex S.S.M.) and Mr. H. E. Banks.
SALISBURY PLAIN AND DORSET DISTRICT

The receipt of the first copies of the re-issued
Journal was eagerly awaited by all and once they
arrived no time was lost in passing them to subscribers. It was indeed a pleasure to be able to read
of the activities of the various offices both Home
and Overseas and to renew old friendships.
In common with other offices we are suffering
from releases. Faces ' are continually changing and
the replacing of staff must be a cor.tinual worry to
those responsible. We welcome the following to
Barnards Cross and hope their stay here will be
very pleasant-Ptes. Bates, Mainwaring and ScottIson from Exeter, Ptes. Cossens, Rowlingson,
Knowles and Beckford from Bournemouth, Ptes.
Howe, Elliott and Evans from Reading.
Sgt. Alan White has left us on being commissioned,
and we wish him the best of everything.
Cpls. Nowlan and Thompson and Ptes. Thompson,
Purkiss and Walker have been released .
A grand staff dance was held on Friday, 17th May,
to bid farewell to the Command Paymaster,
Brigadier G. A. C. Ormsby-Johnson, C .B.E., M.C.,
who is retiring at the end of the month. The dance
was arranged by Lieut. A. H. Barnard of the C .C.H.,
assisted by his very able committee. In spite of
the scarcity of spirits our scouts, spurred on no
doubt by the tales of the ex-Oslo contingent, managed
to get a plentiful supply of food. r should like to
mention the efforts of Cpl. Thompson and Pte.
Purkiss, both of whom are now demobbed. Cp1.
Thompson has carried out the duties of M.C. at our
various functions and Pte. Purkiss has supplied the
musIc.
During the course of the evening our O.C.,
Major H. E. Worts, M.B.E., in announcing the
Brigadier's coming departure voiced the regrets of
all those present and paid glowing tributes to the
Brigadier's unfailing efforts towards the happiness
and personal welfare of all those who were fortunate
to have served under him.
Brigadier OrmsbyJohnson replied that even though he was retiring
from active participation in the Corps he would still
have its interests at heart. I am sure all will join
with me in wishing Brigadier and Mrs. OrmsbyJohnson the very best of happiness and a long and
pleasant retirement.
Among the guests present were Lieut.-Colonel
H. A. A. Howell, M.B.E., the Assistant Command
Paymaster, and Major and Mrs. Doggerell from
Oxford.
NORTH-WEST DISTRICT
The social life of No. 25 Detachment is very
largely handicapped by lack of numbers, but during
the past winter, table tennis, billiards and snooker
handicaps were well supported, and the facilities
provided in the office building for these games have
proved very popular in the evenings.
Two outings by motor coach have been made
recently, one to Blackpool on April 25, when a
visit was made to the Operetta " Gay Rosalinda,"
and the other to the Lake District on May 13, stops
being made for lunch at Keswick and for tea at
Bo\.Vness-on-Windermere.
Like all sportsmen we were sorry to hear of the
tragic disaster at the Bolton football ground and a
donation of five guineas was sent to the M~yor of
Bolton's Fund from the funds of this unit.
Certificates of Good Service were awarded to four
members of this Detachment by the G.O.C. Western
Command in January, the recipients being Lieut.
J. T. James and Cpls. G. O . Roberts, L. E. Jones
and C. E. Foxcroft.
Being a very small Detachment and mostly" new
blood" very few of the staff are known elsewhere
but of the. old brigade-:-pre and early-war vintage:
we have Lieut.-Colonel E. C. Etherington as District
Paymaster, who joined us about twelve months ago
from the Middle East via Finsbury Circus. Captain
D. E. Mark is our second-in-command, and will be
remembered by many who have served in West
SOUTH-EASTERN DISTRICT
We were unable to include any notes in the first
re-issue of the Journal, but those who knew it as of
old welcomed the old, familiar cover, and its breezy
notes. To those of us, who saw it for the first time,
it came as a revelation, and gave a very real meaning
to the expression, esprit de corps.
186

With the good weather coming along vIsitors to
Hestercombe during any evening would see stumps
pitched and the boys of the " 23rd" getting their
hand in for the summer season; cricket matches
having been arranged with other units in the district.
Although the open air is calling, indoor sport is
still a top line feature. Since last going to press
further tournaments have been in progress and at
the time of writing two finals have been played
producing as winners Pte. Jack Northcott at darts
and Mr. "Ned " Sparks at billiards. The final of
the men's doubles is due to be played within a few
days, the contestants being Pte. Gordon Williams
and Sgt. Arthur Barrett versus Pte. Ernie Brooks and
Sgt. Tom Avis. The men's singles and mixed doubles
have not yet reached the final stage. An indoor
sports match has been arranged with the Taunton
Police at which a good evening is anticipated.
Old friends are still leaving us en route for civvy
street and at the time of publication the following
" old hands " will have left or be serving their last
days in the Corps: S/Sgt. Leo Miller (A.T.S .),
S/Sgt. Bill Luxton, Sgts. Arthur Barrett and Roy
Townsend, L /Cpl. Ted Potts and Pte. Jack
Northcott. All at Hestercombe wish them the very
best of luck with rationing, coupons and all the little
things that go to make up peace-time days 1946 style.
A word of welcome is also due to personnel who
have recently joined us from R.P. Bournemouth and
R.P. Whitchurch, and we extend a sincere welcome
to those who will shortly join us from D.P.O.
Oxford.
In common with all other offices, the staff, who

might be described as foundation members, have
practically all dispersed.
Our locally renowned
Dance Band was reduced to one, the other two having
been released. Fortunately, we have been reinforced
by Sgt. Coulson, who rejoined the fold on the
amalgamation with Mickleham, and Pte. Redmond
who performs on two instruments, or three-if you
include the stamping of his feet.
Before these notes are in print, we shall have lost
three more of our personalities: Capt. A. E. T.
Marshall, the Supervisory Officer, whose sense of
humour never failed him; Lieut. C(:lOk, who was
always in his element when organising entertainments and who will be missed by the Tunbridge
Wells Operatic Society, with whom he played
leading parts, and S /Sgt. Tester, who will create a
vacancy in the Sergeants' Mess Euchre Party.
Owing to shortage of staff, we have not been able
to indulge in competitive sport during the past two
years, but, with the influx of some young blood, we
hope to get a few cricket matches in. Incidentally,
our A.T.S. are hot stuff at Net Ball.
We extend a hearty welcome to the following, who
have recently joined this unit: Sgt. Grant from
28th Battalion, Bournemouth, S /Sgt. Francis from
No. 3 G.S. (Pay) Edinburgh, and Ptes. Redmond,
Bolding, Blackwell, Shalders, White, Johnson,
Largue, Davies, Sismore and Wright, and offer
congratulations to S /Sgt. Tester, S /Sgt. Grant,
Cpl. Durrant, and Sgt. Haines, on their welldeserved promotion.
SOUTH MIDLAND DISTRICT
SOUTH WALES DISTRICT
This, alas, must be regarded as our swan song,

for by the time these words appear in print, we shall
have closed down.
The office, now situated at Headington Hill Hall,
Oxford, a country house in very pleasant grounds,
was first opened at Salisbury in July 1944, and
transferred to Oxford a month later under the
command of Major Burdett. Colonel Moore then
became District Paymaster for a short time before
taking up his appointment as Command Paymaster,
Edinburgh, and our present C.O. is Major Doggrell.
Life at Oxford has been pleasant, and now that
some of us will be going to the District Pay Office
at Taunton and others to Salisbury, we shall have
many happy memories of our social life here. We
have had many pleasant parties, our last being held
on May 3, when we were honoured by the presence
of the C.P., Brigadier G. A. C. Ormsby-Johnson,
C.B.E., M.C.
We offer our congratulations to Sgt. D. G. Hacker
on being awarded the B.E.M., and to Capt. A. H.
Booth, S /Sgt. A. Lock and Cpl. K. M. Kettle
(A.T.S.) on being granted the G.O.C.-in-C.'s
Certificate for good service.
Pre-war regulars will be interested to hear that we
have been well served by S.S.M. Day, S.Q.M.S.
Lowther and S /Sgt. Hann.
This is a " young" office-in fact it's only some

20 months old-and is quite small, but the activities
during its ' period of duty as R.A.P.C. ambassador
to Wales have been quite varied. Most competitive
sports have been played, and the results of our
cricket, hockey and soccer matches between 1944
and 1946 have been quite good.
Major W. A. Williams, M.B.E, left us in October
1945 after a lifetime in the Corps-it is interesting
to note that he was in the Army before some of our
fathers were born-Eheu Fugaces .... !
Major
A. E. Bish,op is now O.C.
Most of our A.T.S. colleagues have now goneand we are shortlv to lose all the remainder. G.S.C.
lads will replace' them as far as statistics are concerned, but the smiling (?) faces will be irreplaceable!
What is home without a woman's ' touch?
Contrary to the foreigners' belief, South Wales
is not a conglomeration of tinplate mills and s!ag
heaps and there is some reaUy lovely countryside
in the district. Apart from the many unofficial
excursions into the Vale of Glamorgan, the whole
office has on occasion sallied forth to the Wye Valley
and other places.
The Sergeants' Mess flourishes under the c~air
manship of S.S.M. J. G. Woodthorpe, and has gamed
quite a reputation in the Cardiff Darts' world.
Incidentally a good Sergeants' Hockey XI was
raised (whe~ the total mess membership was II !)
To correct the belief apparently held by certain
other offices, St. Michael's College, Llandaff houses
only the District Paymaster's Staff, and not the
pupils of that other notable comedian, Mr. Hay.
To conclude-we wish you all" Pob Llwydd."
SOUTH-WESTERN DISTRICT
First of all, congratulations from 23rd Detachment
on the first post-war publication, which to coin a
current slang word was "smashing." As a result
of the brilliance of the Spring edition the number
of subscribers for subsequent issues has increased.
187
Regimental Pay Offices

BOURNEMOUTH
Bournemouth is so well known that readers do not
need to be told that this is one of the best of our
" h ?me statIOns.
.
" Th e office was opened in 1939,
havmg no pre-war history.
From a small beginning when both the Records
Office and Pay Office were housed in the Cumberland
Hotel, the office spread to a number of large hotels
along the Overcliff facing the sea.
Early in the year we said farewell to our R P
Colonel W. D. N . Robotham who went to Glasg~~'
and welcomed in his place Colonel G. S. Bates fro~
Oldham.
-Lieut. ~ Col.onel I. S Hogge, O.B.E., has, ?ofter a
long penod In Bournemouth, left for Singapore.
Many old members of the Corps will be interested
to. know t~at Major F. W. Cooper, M.B.E., is still
wIth us-m charge of the Clearing Wing.
. Alth0,ugh the battalion, owing to accommodation
difI:ic~tIes has been very scattered, entertainment
actIVItIes have been maintained at a high level
Known as the." Rapcats Players" our partY hav;
produced vanous successful shows including
.
'"" Dangerous" C orner, " "
, J upIter
Laughs" and
~alo?n Bar to troops m Hampshire, Dorsetshire,
WIltshIre, etc., and also to many hospitals.
Losses by release and transfers to "Stars in
~a~le Dress" have caused our recent activities to be
lImIted. to assisting a local Concert Party who are
producmg a " Non-Stop Variety" for the entertainment of troops in the Southern Command.
~ur Dance Band was also very much in evidence
durm~ the war years and was in demand locally for
battalion and other functions.
Th.is batt,al~~n has. held a high place in local
sportmg actIVItIes dunng its stay in Bournemouth.
Our Hockey teams had a good season last year.
Played
Won
Lost
Drew
28th Battn.
16
7
4
5
Mixed
13
II
2
The Ba~talion ,side contained a strong ex-M.E.F.
element, I.e., LIeut. Bayliss, S.Q.M.S.s O ' Leary,
Storey, Kaylor, L jCpl. Sharpe and Pte. parkin.
The Mixed side owed much to the keenness of
the ladies, notably Sgts. Watson and Underwood
who both .played fQr .southern Command.
.The Cncket team won the Bournemouth Cricket
VIctOry League last year. We also won the MacAdam
Football Cup and our Table Tennis team headed
the Bournemouth Table Tennis League
Thi~ s~ason .we have entered the B~urnemouth
and DIstnct Cncket League.
Bournemouth Savings efforts for 1945 were noteworthy for the fact that this office headed the list of
Pay Offices for the year.
In a .letter Field-Marshal Sir C . Deverell (the
Hon. !?Irector General of H .M. Forces War Savings
CommIttee) states: "I am glad to see from the
Royal Army Pay Corps National Savings Statement
for December that the Bournemouth Pay Office is
once more at the head of the list. To have reached
top place three times in 1945 and to be first for the
year a~ongst the larger Offices is a record of which
the UnIt may well be proud."
The~verage per head was 41 18s. Id. , and the
total amount saved in the year was 65,797.
BRADFORD
Since publication of the last Journal we have lost
o~r office representative, Lieut. Le Vey, who, with
LIeuts. Clarke and Field, has proceeded overseas .
For the benefit of readers outside this office the
Bradford " o~d-time~s" a~e re-introduced. Major
T. Blackett wIll reqUIre no mtroduction as a veritable
gold-mine of inform~~ion on the intricacies of Pay
matters and an unfaIlIng narrator of experiences in
the Far East. Major W. T. G. High will be best
remembered as a member of F9 inspecting staff in
the. years ~mmediately following the 1914-18 war;
whIlst Major M. V. Barton, who served with us for
some years prior to and following outbreak of war
was re-posted to us after a tour in West Africa.
Captain F. G. Gore will be known to readers
wherever the Journal circulates (who remembers
the nom-de-plume " Buttons" ?) and seems to have
met. and. serve? with all the Corps' "characters"
durmg hI~ servIce. As Technical Officer (and Chief
Turf AdVIser) the necessary liaison with other offices
is assisted by his personal contacts with " those who
m~tter." . Capt~in B. C. Crowther joined us from
KIddermmster In the earlier years of the war and is
~mce mO.re at his desk following a prolonged absence
m hospItal. Others who will be remembered by
many readers are Captain W. Drummond and
Lieut. T . Lythgoe.
Our chances of finishing the football season with
a~ orgy of champagne drinking from well-won cups
~.hsappeared on Good Friday when Manningham
Imposed a defeat in the semi-final of the Bradford
Amateur Cup.
L jCpl. Craig, our goalkeeper, was a pillar of
strength throughout the season and his prowess in the
Corps' team caused him to be selected for the Bradford Park Avenue team. The remaining members of
the semi-final team were Cpl. Broadhead, Ptes. Beattie,
Cart~r, McGuinness, Lister, Vines, McDiarmid,
LewIs and Boydell. It is worthy of record that during
the past season Ptes. McDiarmid and BoydelJ were
scorers of 21 and 17 goals respectively and any
~eference to the close of a good season's play must
Include the name of Sgt. Key who, as captain of the
team, put in a lot of hard work during the season and
largely contributed to the good team-spirit .
The heavy hand of release is hitting us in all
branches of sport. Whilst our "champions" are
leaving us, the "mainstays" of the civilian teams
who represent our rivals are returning from the
Forces. In Badminton we will miss Lieut. Lewis who
has proceeded overseas and Sgt. Ireland our " star"
player who is due for early release.
Sgt. Stempt's place as Dance Band Leader and
Pianist will become vacant during the next few
weeks. So far a substitute has not been found but
we're still hoping. It would be regrettable if the
Band which represents one of the most successful
of our ventures were forced to suspend acti vities.
The monthly Battalion dances are taking on the
new role of re-unions by the continued attendance
of the many released ex-members who reside in ' the
Bradford district. It is very pleasant that we continue
to enjoy their support and it is hoped that the last
dance of the season on 29th May will be a real
re-union of old friends and that they will continue
188

-----------------------------------The Second XI has enjoyed several friendly
match,,:s ~layed locall.y and has been inspired by
enthUSIastIc players WIth a keen interest in the game.
A number of spectators have followed the league
team on most of its matches and this support has
been appreciated.
.
It is hoped to continue the activities ofthe football
club next season, although availability of players is
so far uncertain.
Hockey.-The Hockey team fulfilled its fixtures
to the end of the season despite the continual loss
of experienced players through release and other
causes. Keenness of the players and the small but
enthusiastic band of supporters was maintained to
the end.
A total of 27 matches were played, 13 being won,
2 drawn and 12 lost. Two matches were played
against Shrewsbury Office, each team winning its
home game, and one match against Kidderminster
Office which we won.
A very happy team spirit prevailed throughout
the season and whatever the match result the
camaraderie and high spirits of team. and supporters
remained unaltered. The good times spent on the
return journeys from many of the away matches will
be remembered and several of the home" functions"
proved equally successful.
Cricket.-It is not known at the time of writing
if we shall -be able to field a team this season, as many
of our former stalwarts have since joined " civvy
street," but such names as Hayter, Blackburn, Reece,
McCoy, Archibald, Appleyard and Umpire Butler
will long be remembered. Of the original team that
put the 48 Detachment amongst the elite of local
cricket only two players are still with us, A. E.
Turner and S jSgt. Lewis.
It is hoped that there are a few cricketers among
the . new arrivals to enable us to get cracking once
agam.
In the past two of our players have assisted the
Corps' Cricket Eleven-A. E. Turner and Q.M.S.
Blackburn-and it is again hoped that we may be
represented in these games . .
Rifle Club.-The Rifle Club recently completed a
successful season in the National and Midland
League matches. The Club suffered the loss of many
of the best marksmen through release but the
remaining members gave a very good account of
themselves against formidable opposition and
enthusiasm has not flagged.
The Club will continue its activities through the
Summer and hopes to enter a team for the Summer
League Competition.
The winners of this season's monthly spoon
competitions are: Sgt. R. Sucksrnith, S jSgt. H.
Newton, Sgt. G. L. Bradbury, Pte. J. McCann,
Pte. W . V . Hayes and Pte. L. Marshall . .
Entertainments.-Several excellent plays have
been produced by the Dramatic Society during the
past winter. Release and overseas postings have
made it necessary to cancel two productions that
were in hand. It is hoped, however, that it will be
possible to recommence next winter.
Shakespeare Memorial Theatre.-The first
visit since the re-opening for the Shakespeare
Memorial Festival was made by 48 members of the
unit for a performance of " Love's Labour Lost."
Further visits are planned for such productions as
"Henry V," " As You Like It;" and "The
Tempest."
to participate in. other Summer activities and so help

to prolong the comradeship of the war years.
Sunday outings have come into their own again
with the advent of suitable weather.
The trials of Pay Office life now include " reduction of establishment" and it is with regret that we
record the relinquishment of well-deserved acting
ranks by S.S.M. Mitchell, S.S.M. Atkinson (nee
Bonnington), S jSgts. Ireland, Sturman, Pearce and
Gordon, Sgts. Calvert, . Trotter, Webster, Ashworth
, and Godding. Their cheerful acceptance of the
position gives an appropriate example to those who
may be called upon in the future to descend the
ladder.
The Officers' Mess held their monthly dance on
10th May, and the occasion fully upheld the nowestablished tradition of a really good evening.
Decrease in membership of the Sergeants' Mess has
resulted if. anytl}ing.in increased attendance, and the
past month has beaten all previous records . No
doubt the record ' attendance is in part due to the
determination of members approaching the end of
their service to have a " final fling" before resigning
themselves to take on the more serious responsibilities
of civilian life. A party of about thirty took advantage
of an invitation from the Leeds (R.E.M.E.) Mess on
8th May. In the light of previous experience of
Leeds hospitality a pleasant evening was anticipated
and expectations were fully realised. We are now
looking forward to an. early return visit from Leeds.
The pleasant -relations existing between the two
messes is apparent in the attendance of some of our
Leeds friends in the Bradford Mess on normal
evenmgs.
For the benefit of ex-Bradfordians who wonder
what has become of former office "personalities"
we record that CpJ. Eric Jones who gave us so much
enjoyable entertainment in the hey-day of our
Canteen Theatre has been released after a brief spell
of service with Stars in Battledress. S jSgt." Dick "
Dyer, whose unwavering sense of humour brightened
up many a dreary Main Issue is back in his G.P.O.
position, but we still enjoy the services of Sgt. Fisher,
that magician who seems to possess the uncanny
power of being able to produce from nowhere
anything from a pin to a battleship. Captain Buckley,
of Dance Band and Trumpet fame, left us some time
ago for Middle East and the universally known
Pte. " Tommy " Orange has forsaken an army career
for the greater freedom of civilian life.
We . close by sending greetings to all exBradfordians. It speaks well for the comradeship
that existed amongst us that many have devoted
part of all-too-short holidays to taking a trip to
Bradford to see us and we hope that they and others
will continue to "look us up" when opportunity
arises.
C.M.
DROITWICH
FootbalI.-The league programme has now
drawn to a close and the football club can look back
on an interesting season, if not a very successful one.
Despite serious drains on our playing strength the
club fulfilled all its fixtures in the Worcester and
District Amateur League.
Our most successful
period culminated in our match in the semi-final
of the Worcester Mirror Cup Competition. We lost
the match but earned praise from some of the league
officials for our display.
189
THE ROYAL 'ARMY ~ PAY; CORPS JOURNAL

EDINBURGH
Lieut.-Colonel J. B. Cooper has left us for the
delights of B.A.O.R His successor, Lieut.-Colonel
H. Finlinson, arrived at the same time as the War
Office decision to mechanise the G.S.C. accounts.
The Concert Party duly presented their "Gaieties"
during February and apart from being a financial
success for the Leith Hospital it was an artistic
triumph for Lieut. Ron Pearce, the producer (who
has now left us for" civvy street "), Sgt. Leavesley,
A.T.S., who arranged the dances, Pte. "Johnny"
Whyte, our fugitive from E .N.S .A. and Sgt. Bill
Owen, who produced one of the largest" swing"
bands ever seen in Edinburgh.
S.Q.M.S . Archibald has rejoined us from the
Scottish Command Pav School.
D1,lring May we met the Glasgow Office football
team on our own ground and just managed to win.
Major Pott is still away through sickness and we
hope that the long rest is doing him good after all
his labours.
,
The favourite "after office hours " pastime at
present is to charter a bus and get out of the " Auld
Reekie Smoke Belt" for a few hours and, in fact,
some of the more athletic types are beginning to
show signs of sunburn!
We hope to get some tennis and cricket this
Summer, but so far these are only items on the
agenda and h ave not yet started. "EL TA WIL."
Incidentally, before the next issue of this Journal

has appeared S.S.M. Goldthorp, SjSgt. "Jock"
Stewart and S jSgt. Ted Lenthall will have passeci
through the M .D.U.
S.S.M. Dick Fairclough remains in the position
of Mess President and is supported among others by
evergreen S.Q.M.S. (Alec) Kent, S .Q.M.S. Ken
' Sallows and S.Q.M.S. Bob Tanner.
Summer evenings in Sunny Devon have somewhat
lessened the attraction of Mess gatherings, and the
energetic Entertainments Committee hopes to arrange
a counter attraction in the form of coach tours to
well-known Devon Coast and inland resorts. Any
more for Dartmoor? Liaison with old members is
maintained through membership of the No. 32
Dinner Club.
We offer our congratulations to S jSgt. Ken Wright
and Sgt. Jack Chapman on their marriage and to
S.Q.M.S. Bob Tanner on his engagement.
Cricket and Tennis.-The end of the Winter
Season and the bright weather have accelerated our
preparations for summer games.
Our cricketing talent is at the moment an unknown
quantity, but it is suspected that it will not be very
great. Nevertheless, we intend to get good exercise
and competition. A number of fixtures have been
arranged, including inter-Wing games which will be
played on the Devon County Cricket Ground. In
this we are extremely fortunate.
The problem regarding tennis is, at the moment,
lack of courts, but we have a number of enthusiasts
and, without doubt, something will be arranged.
EXETER
To start with, we would like to express to the
Editor our appreciation of the very successful
resuscitation of the Corps Journal.
Since penning our last notes the " complexion"
of the staff has changed considerably. This, of course,
must be a common plaint in all offices, but Exeter
seems to have suffered undue losses.
The unhappiest, and one which will engender
widespread sympathy throughout the Corps, ' was
the admission to hospital of Major G . A. Barnes,
M .B.E. He was apparently well up to the day he
was admitted and it came as a shock, to us particularly, to learn that he was seriously ill. Here's
wishing him a speedy recovery.
'
Another invalid is Captain C. C. Beazley, but the
news of him is better, and it is expected that he will
be out and about soon .
We have said "Goodbye and Good Luck" to
seven officers who have left the service on release
and to three posted.
Our congratulations are extended to Major H.
Finlinson who left us to join Edinburgh on
promotion.
Mention should be made of Pte. Richard Northcote a student of New College, Oxford., His
pian'oforte recitals at all perf?rmances, which included
the works of Chopin and ' Mendelssohn were outstandirig and received unanimous applause. '
others are coming in to take their places. From

Ack-Ack we have our C.S.M. Kenny, not to mention
Ptes. Vera Tregillis, Margaret Parker, Jean Drummond an-d L jCpl. Theodora Eagleden.
Pte. Parn Marker has joined us from the Parachute
Regiment, Sheila Smart from RE.M.E :, and Gwen
Lunn .ftom Ordnance. Then we have Pte. Ruth
,Smith straight from the m ysteries of Combined
Operations, to the greater m ysteries and intricacies
(dare we say, d ark deeds ?) of the A.T.S. Orderly
Room.
Income Duty Section's "Heavenly Twins, "
Pte. Joan Horle and Miss Mary Bunt (of the civilian
staff), celebrated their joint 21st birthday, on 6th
May.
No account of the Pay Office would be complete
without mention of the civilian members of the staff,
many of whom have been with us since the dark days
of 1939, doing invaluable work.
Mrs. Booth, w ho has done such splendid voluntary
work in " Ye Olde Shoppe," where one can purchase
practically anything from a packet of notepaper and
envelopes to a jar of bath saits, is now shouldering
the full responsibility of the Canteen.
Mrs. Dewar, who has been with Clearing Wing
since 1939, sails on 17th May, to join her husband
in Meerut. Before leaving, her office colleagues
made her a presentation of a compact in memory of
the happy times spent together. All our best wishes
go with her.
May we offer our congratulations to Mrs . Mary
Hunter (nee Braund), on the occasion of the birth
Personal Notes.-"A" Company, Sout~- West<,;rn

Group A.T.S. (formerly Devon and Cornwall
Group), are a happy crowd, really.
Reveille , at
06.30 hours, to the accompaniment of the m~rnmg
radio programme (we lucky people have a WIreless
set in every hut), and crawling ihto 4-ton trucks at
07.30 hours can be quite enjoyable, particularly
now that summer is coming to Devon once again .
Ptes. Hilda Baker and Gwen Evans are two of
many new recruits who have recent ly joined our
Company, and who are really having a wonderful
time in the A.T.S., with no regrets whatever about
joining up.
One wonders w hether Cpl. Lena Pass ell finds
winding toy trains and demonstrating the finer points
of perambulators as full of inspiration as posting
slips, etc., in the old Wing 4 machine section.
,
S jSgt. Monica Robertson has also left us. She IS
going to Paris shortly, to live with a French family
au pair, in order to rise above , t~e "parlay-voo
Fransay " stage of French conversatIOn.
Another of our friends who will be leaving us
shortly is Cpl. lrene Normington, whose sweet
soprano voice has delighted so many at our Camp
coneerts.
,
But although we are losing so many good people,
Soccer.-Owing to " release" which has naturally had its effect on most activities this season, it
was found impracticable to field a team of" regulars"
each week, which forced us to confine our matches
to " friend lies . "
Enthusiasm has been high however, and this has
enabled us to produce a team without fail for every
fixture throughout the season.
Of the fourteen matches .played, we won 5, drew 1,
lost 8. Although it was not exactly a brilliant season
it was nevertheless, an extremely enjoyable one,
concluding with a visit to Nj). 36 Company, RA.P.C.,
Ilfracombe, to play our annual" Derby." Despite
the fact that we were well and truly trounced, it
proved to be the high spot of the season, and the
boys are already talking of revenge next season.
It would not be fair to conclude however without
mention of the right royal welcome we were given
by our opponents at Ilfracombe for this our final
match of the Sf'ason.
Hockey.-After several successful seasons of
hockey, the release of a large number of our best
players early this season made things very difficult
for us. A few games were played and much enjoyed,
but after a series of disappointments due to the
vagaries of the weather and the difficulties of team
raising we regre tfully closed down.
Recent Departures.-To Release: Lieut. S.

Bates, Lieut. H. Doidge , Lieut. D . T. Fotsey,
Lieut. N. E. Griggs, Lieut. L. C. B. Hardaker,
Lieut. G. A. Roberts, Lieut. P. R ycroft , Sgt. R J.
Belben, Sgt. R . F . K. Chapman, Sgt. A. G. Davey,
Sgt. C. N . Parsons, Sgt. L. R. Pullen, Cpl. E. A.
Rolfe, Cpl. J. D. Morgan, L jCpl. D . J . Delmage.
Posted: Major H. Finlinson-to Edinburgh,
Captain C. R Wilkinson overseas, Lieut. C. B.
Francis-M.D.U., Aldershot.
Entertainments.-Even though the glorious

Springtime in Devon drew all to the fresh air and
countryside, the Indoor Entertainments' Department
has kept going with great success. A variety show,
" Play Parade," by Q. Chellingsworth, was the first
spring show and received full support. This was
followed by a light classical concert, produced by the
retiring, now demobbed, Entertainments' Officer,
Lieut. Doidge.
Sergeants' Mess.-We experience more farewells

these days than welcomes. A goodly number of
members gathered in the Mess recently to say goodbye to Sgts. Bob Belben, Roger Chapman, Alf.
Davey, Nelson Parsons and Les Pullen.
190
WARRANT OFFICERS AND SERGEANTS, No. 32 COMPANY, MARCH 1946

Sgts. Belben, Perham, S jSgt. Lucking, Sgts. Parsons , '\Tood, Chandler, S jSgt. Ainscow,
Sgts. Chapman, Johns, Coleman, Liddington, Trainor.
Centre RowSgt. Roberts, S jSgt. Harris, Sgts. Dump~r, Gu~st, Temple, S jSgts. Lenthall, Hart,
Sgts. Stableton, Jenkins, S jSgts. Stewart, WIlce, Wnght, Dawe.
,
Front RowS jSgt. Holmes, S.Q.M.S. Greenham, S.Q.M.S's. Sallows, Kent, S.~.M. Fal,r cl.ough,
Major G. A. Barnes, M.B.E., Lieut.-Col. E. W. Booth,. O.B.E . , M.C., Major H . Fmlmson,
Capt. W. Coleman, S.S.M. Goldthorp, S.Q.M.S's. Tanner, Potter, Hales.
Back Row-
191
THE ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS TOURNAL

of her daughter, Ann, on Easter Saturday (20th
April).
'
We were all pleased to hear of the reunion of
Sgt. and Mrs. Spry-Phare. The former looked
extremely fit and well after his three-and-a-half
years' service overseas.
It is hoped that we shall be able to report many
more such homecomings during the course of the
next few months.
FOOTS CRAY
Military Training.-It is interesting to recall the
various activities in which the 34th Battalion took
part and . a~s? some of the personalities engaged in
these activities.
During the early days of the war and after the
wo~l<;i shaking events .of the Dunkirk era, military
trammg was taken senously indeed and one recalls
the. enthusiasm of our first instructing staffMajor Clowes, Captains Abigail and Maillot, Lieut.
(Two-Gun Pete) Boyd-Morrison and Co. Amongst
the N.C.O.'s we had S.Q.M.S. Bill Bailey, Sgts.
Keene, Lavender, Ronnie Lamb Fairley Mears
Davis, Hartley, Morgan, Saunde;s, Goddard, etc:
These men to whose valuable training we owe such
a lot remain clear in our minds in connection with
those far off days . During May 1940 the development of the war changed the skies and pleasant fields
of Kent, from a happy dream of summer sunshine
to a tempest o~ roaring flames with their accompani~
ment of machme guns, bombs and shells which for
a. considerable time went on incessantly day and
rught.
Throughout these diversions which became rather
tiresome the exiles of Foots Cray, a place of safety
carried on with their work and play.
'
Three rifle ranges were in use daily before and after
office hours and at week-ends. A Defence Company
was organised and instructors were selected and
trained to impart their knowledge and skill to the
new recruits who were appearing in their hundreds .
The Defence Company had soon to be sub- ,
divided into four Combatant Companies, 'a H.Q.
Company and an A.RP. and Ambulance Company.
No. 34 Detachment RA.P.C. was now known as
t~e 34th Batt.alion, the activities of the troops became
highly orgarused and in a short time the Companies
were brought up to a high standard of smartness and
efficiency . We became very proud of the bearing of
our men who compared favourably with the men of '
the su.rrounding units . Shooting became a ,firm
favounte and soon the standard in contests was
so good that we could not find opponents from outside
formations willing to take us on.
We have to thank the" Home Guard" with whom
we co-operated in the area Defence Sch~me, for their
~onstant he~p in providing willing and enthusiastic
mstructors m all types of battle training. There is
no .d oub! that we owe them a debt of gratitude for
t~elr assls.tance and comradeship during those most
difficult tunes, particularly to the members of the
Sidcup L.P.T.E. Garage Home Guard Company.
The A.T ..S. als0.f<?rmed training companies for drill
an? physlca.l tram~ng, many of them taking part in'
firmg practIces With marked success.
With the advent of Colonel R H. Sayer and later
of S.S.M. Marks, the training further developed
and was even more highly organised. The R.A.P.C:
O.C.T.U. w~s giving us . an increasing flow of young
and energetIc well-tramed officers who readily
passed on their modern up-to-the-minute training

methods.
Battle drill replaced our original" square bashing"
exploits and moving at the double became the order
of the day, with the result that our men took on a
keel?- and energetic lo.o k totally foreign to the average
clencal worker.
Field exercises were frequently
held and a splendid "battle course" was constructed covering about two miles of the countryside.
By the time " D " Day arrived we were ready for
anything, our teething troubles were over and all
were anxious to help in wiping out the perpetrators
of the unwarranted attacks on our fair land.
In conclusion, . let it be said, that throughout the
whole of the penod there existed in our battalion a
rer:narka~le spirit of good fellowship and comrade, ship, It IS to be hoped that that spirit will be carried
away into civil life by our ' friends now leaving us so
rapidly.
Dramatics.-The 34th Battalion RA.P.C. Dramatic Society formed in 1941 is still going strong.
Under their. enthusiastic producer, Reginald
Barratt, the Society was soon in full swing and the
first play, " I Killed the Count," was produced early
in 1942.
"I Killed the Count" was quickly followed by
" Grumpy" and "The Last of Mrs. Cheyney"
and once again Robin Forrest as Mrs. Cheyney a~d
~ydney Kellham as Willie Win ton were outstanding
m a very strong cast.
.
T~en ~ame Night Must Fall" early in 1943,
and m thiS play the performances of Reginald Barratt
as Dan, Joan Smith as Mrs. Bramson, Kay Stammer
as Mrs. Terence and Robin Forrest as Olivia were
remarkable.
Noel Coward's comedy, " Hay Fever," came next,
followed by The Wind and the Rain," The
Barretts of Wimpole Street" (with grand performances by Joan Smith as Elizabeth, Sydney Kellham
as Robert Browning and Ivor Martin as Edward
Barrett) and He was Born Gay."
The Society has attained for itself a first-class
reputation and perfotmances have been given in
Sidcup and district including the Garrison Theatre,
Woolwich. 350 has been handed to various charitable funds as a result of these efforts.
The Society ' is now busy on a production of
Bird in Hand," the comedy by John Drinkwater.
Past and present members of this office' will be
interested to know that several members of the
Dramatic Society are turning to 'the stage professionally. Reginald Barratt, whose 'training was
interrupted at the outbreak of war, is now studying
at the London Academy of Dramatic Art, and was
recently awarded the Gold Medal for Acting,
obtaining the full scale of 280 marks . He is the
second person in the history of the Academy to
. attain such a high standard. Sydney KelIham, also
studying at the Academy has been awarded the Silver
Medal, with honours and Robin Forrest the Gold
Medal with honours. Julie Jones, entering for the
Alexander Korda Scholarship at the Royal Academy
of Dramatic Art came third and begins training in '
May.
Athletics~-Revival of the Journal affords us an
opportunity to present an outline of tile achievement
attained by the Foots Cray Athletic Section during
the war period.
The Athletic Section formed in the summer of
1940 flourished until 1945. During this period, we
192

Final of the Woolwich Cup at the Royal Ordnance
ground at Plumstead on 1st May, 1946,
they Will be remembered as the enemy in Front.
Within five minutes of the start of the game the
RA.P.C. were awarded a pepalty which was taken
by Nelson, who, sure-footed, placed the ball in the
net. This livened the game up and after some good
play by the RA.O.C., a goal was obtained after a
scramble in the goalmouth.
In the first half, the RA.O.C. were definitely on
top as our ~efence was scrappy. Very shortly, however, Hawkms was sent away with the ball, and from
approximately 15 yards out and on the touchline
put in a shot which entered the net in the far corner:
This to the spectators, was the finest goal of the
match.
Later, Smith was kept busy and touched a few
over the bar. The lead of the RA.P.C. was shortlived, for the inside right of the RA.O.C. put in a
low shot well out of reach of Smith. The interval
score was 2 goals each.
On the resumption of play both teams were keyed
up to final pitch. It was obvious that after the rest,
the RA.P.C. were beginning to get on top. Vanstone,
receiving the ball after some constructive play by
Hawkins and Ison, was able to net the third goal
for us. From this moment, the RA.P.C. never
looked back; they were tackling well and making
full use of the ball. A very cool attempt by Vanstone,
who, receiving the ball high, nodded it to his foot
to score his second goal.
The RA. P.C. kept pressing and the opposing
goalkeeper was extended under the onslaughts.
During this period, Vanstone netted his third goal
to complete the hat-trick. The RA.O.C. reduced
the lead after being awarded a penalty.
After this incident, Smith played a good game,
touching three good attempts over the bar.
In
defence, Richardson played a captain's part and
stood out for his fortitude and consistent heading,
and Nelson for his stubbornness and quickness in
tackling. Now it was a question of how many the
RA.P.C. could score, as the RA.O.C. were being
run off their feet.
Shortly, Vanstone scored the
final goal to bring the score to 6-3 in our favour.
It was a great game played in a very sporting
spirit and ably refereed.
Sergeants' Mess.-During the past few months
we have been steadily losing our members to Civvy
Street. Amongst the many, Bert Benton, Tommy
Thomas, Hector Harrison and Stan Mason will
doubtless be best remembered by old members of
the Mess, whilst on 7th May, two more celebrities
left our midst-Len Coxhead and Uncle" Norman
Marks, our genial and popular Mess Chairman.
Whilst wishing all these departures the best of luck,
we would like to remind them that they will always
find a welcome in the Mess, especially on a Thursday
night, when there is always something in the way of
a social function.
were represented individually and by teams in track

and cross-country events. A.A.A. handicaps were
won by members on several occasions over the
following distances: 220, 440, 880 yards and 3 miles,
also the 2 miles walk. Teams were regularly successful in the Medley Relay and 1, 2, and 3 miles team
races.
The enthusiastic pioneers of the Section who
worked hard to achieve these good results are
deserving of mention. Among them we remember
Jimmy Atkinson (Croydon), Jack Bartholomew
(Highgate), Frank Bewley (Synthonia), Norman Day
(Thames Valley), Jack Fletcher (Belgrave), Hector
Harrison (Elswick), AlIen Luckett (Epsom), Ray
Seager (Blackheath), Timothy Woodcock (Surrey)
and Jack Wetherall.
In 1943 our team began to hit the headlines. In
the News of the World 12 miles relay race at Mitcham
third place was obtained in May against over 60
other teams from all parts of England.
At the 1943 All Services International meeting at
Epsom we were honoured in having two members
of the Battalion chosen to represent the British
Army. Cpl. Bewley took part in the 2 miles race
and Pte. Woodcock in the 2 miles walk.
The winter of 1943-44 and summer of 1944 really
saw the months of hard training bearing fruit. In
the News of the World series of relay races we
obtained two firsts, two seconds and a third; in the
January 1944 race, we broke the course record,
which by the way is now held by No. 33 Battalion
R.A.P .C., to whom we extend our heartiest congratulations. In January 1944, we were successful
in winning the Kent County Senior Cross-Country
Championship, the London District Inter-Unit
Cross Country Championship, and the London
District School of P.T. 12 miles relay race.
Our crowning success however, came on WhitMonday 1944 when at Walthamstow Stadium,
befor.e a crowd of 26,000 the team defeated Belgrave
Harners (England's National Champions, including
three internationals) over a distance of 2 miles, this
success being repeated the following week at Palmers
Green (British Legion Meeting).
It is interesting to note that these were the only
two occasions during the war years that the colours
of the famous Belgrave Harriers 2 miles team
were lowered.
Our team on both occasions consisted of: Cpl.
Frank Bewley, who later distinguished himself in
India, Sgt. C. Hogben who is still doing well as an
athlete with the B.A.O.R, L/Cpl. H. Woolf and
S/Sgt. A. Brown.
Our heartfelt thanks are due to Messrs . Unilever
Ltd:,. who put their New Eltham Sports ground and
pavIlIOn amenities at our disposal. The facilities
thus afforded for training and sports meetings were
undoubtedly responsible in a large measure for the
general success of the Club.
The exigencies of the service have now taken
effect and one by one the members of the Athletic
~ection have been posted away until we now find it
unpossible to raise a team and so our glorious run
has ended.
Football.-During a debate in the House of
Commons, when the soldiers pay was being discussed, it was mentioned, that the Royal Army Pay
Corps was known as the enemy behind the lines."
Every thinking person knows this to be untrue, and
to the RA.O.C. whom the RA.P.C. met in the
Factor~
GLASGOW
With the ever-quickening tempo of demobilisation,
it becomes increasingly difficult to keep track of the
old hands" who have left us.
However, it is
sincerely hoped that the republication of the Journal
will provide the link whereby old and new, past and
present, are joined in spirit, if not in body. We who
remain, not only send our very best wishes to those
193

who have left us, but also extend the heartiest of
welcomes to all new arrivals.
The Office representative will be only too pleased
"Co offer all possible help in the tracing .of "old
comrades," and all inquiries, verbal or written, will
receive his special and immediate attention.
We offer Major T. S. Rennie a warm welcome into
the fold. May he re;gn long and successfully in our
new super office at Y orkhill with its fluorescent
lighting and greenhouse atmosphere, etc. He undertook the hazardous journey from Whitchurch to fill
the breach resulting from Major A. E. Chenery's
departure for that office. Our best wishes go with
" Chin," who, in addition to his capable management
of Clearing Group (where we all knew his bark to
be worse than his bite), was a stout pillar of the
O.C.A., the Journal, and all matters pertaining to
the Corps.
Football.-A revival of sporting activities began
in February when a ser-ies of inter-wing football
matches took place. Eventually a unit team emerged,
and many thrilling matches were played, notably
against the Physical Training Staff, Maryhill
Barracks, and Glasgow Corporation Tramways.
On 8th May we ventured to Murrayfield and
engaged the RA.P.C. Edinburgh team. It was a
grim struggle with both teams displaying dogged
fighting spirit and the play throughout was of a high
standard. Finally Edinburgh won by I goal to nil.
A special word of praise should be given to Ptes.
Rogers, Devlin, Cummings and Murphy.
After
this enjoyable encounter both teams and spectators
were the guests of Colonel E. C. Overton.
The return game at Glasgow is being looked
forward to eagerly by both teams, and we in Glasgow
are delighted at this additional opportunity of
strengthening still further the bond of mutual
respect, co-operation and friendship which already
exists between the two major RA.P.C. groups north
of the Border.
Lieut. Morris, S jSgt. "Bob" Paxton and Pte.
Kirkwood have worked hard to ensure a successful
season.
Cricket.-On 11th May Major C. J. Taite
captained an untried team against St. Mungo's
College. It was a bowlers' day as the resultGlasgow RA .P.C. 42, St. Mungo's College 39,
indicates.
Mixed Hockey.-As a result of a challenge
received from some dar.ing A.T.S. in India Wing, a
match took place at Laurel Bank Playing Field
between St. Andrews Halls and McLellan Galleries,
the former winning by 4 goals to 1. Sgt. Scott,
A.T.S., was a tower of strength in defence for
McLellans, while Pte. Dick, A.T.S., and Sgt. Betty
Campbell, taught some of the "mere" males how
hockey should be played.
Bridge.-Under the persevering enthusiasm of
Lieuts . . O'Neill and McAulay, a bridge club has
been inaugurated.
.
Social.-It is anticipated that the advent of
summer will see a revival of the eyer-popular
"Wing Outings."
During the past year many
enjoyable trips were organised to the Trossachs,
Loch Lomond, and other noted beauty spots and
whilst it is admitted that the scenery was not aiways
the greatest source of attraction, these trips nevertheless offered to the "puir Sassenachs" an
introduction to the charms of the greatest little
country in the "wurrld." Scots wha' hae !
HOLLINWOOD, OLDHAM
Writing notes in preparation for this issue seems
to have consisted mainly of saying who has gone and
who is left; but old friends will read with interest
the notes on sports, entertainments and farewell
parties. .
_
Farewell to Arms.-Among those who are no
longer governed by K.R.'s, A.C.I.'s, Orders Parts I,
Il, Ill, etc., and are now standing easy in " Civvy
Street "-in the fish queue perhaps, ,or waiting for
cigarettes-are Major Franklin, Captains Rigby,
McQueen, Moore, Rawlinson, Lieuts. Bowtell,
Shepherd, Walker, S.S.M.'s Lamming, Middleton,
S.Q.M.S.'s Clarke, Oliver, S jSgts. Baxter, Rigby,
Pearson, Sampson, Sgt. Ecclestone, Cpls. Smith
(G. A.), Roberts, L jCpls. Pearson, Ward, Ptes.
Daneter, England, Gill, Leach, Turner (E. E.),
Underwood, Vaughan, Warren; and of A .T.S.
members, Sgts. Allen,Tomlinson, L jCpl. Green (D.),
Ptes. Beevers, Berger, Clark (M.), and Mitchell as
well as civilian clerk, Olive -Rayner.
Cheerio to you all and the best of luck. We
hope that those of you who are subscribers to the
Journal will continue so. (Drop us a line if you're
thinking of coming back-we can find you a job
in the Post Room !)
Arrivals.-We extend a welcome to Lieut. E. R
Black who joined us on 28th March from York
Dispersal Centre and to Lieut. D. W. Pilling who
joined us on 1st May from overseas but who is
shortly to be demobbed.
We welcome also the number of new postings
from the G.S .C. and trust they'll enjoy their stay
in Oldham.
Departures.-Congratulations
on
passing
O.C.T.U. to S.S.M. McArthur, S.Q.M.S. Kirkby,
S jSgts. Bestwick, Foskett and Sgt. Bechley who are
now commissioned and posted to Glasgow (among
his "ain folk "), Leeds, Sidcup, Nottingham and
7 M.D.U. Ashton, respectively.
Congratulations also to SjSgt. Pat Grove, S jSgt.
Anne Thomas and Sgt. Mabel Pollard of the A.T.S.
who have also successfully passed the R.A.P.C.
O.C.T.U. Good luck, girls.
Captain Jones, Lieuts. Baggley, Dodds, Onslow,
Knight, Smith and Md. Wallace have left for
overseas and Lieut. Noakes has taken over Administration in place of Captain Moss who has joined
the London District Pay Office. We hope they'll
be happy in their new surroundings.
Sports.-The sporting element of the Battalion
has been particularly active during the past quarter
and the spade-work that has been done should
result in many interesting events during the summer
season.
A new departure this year has been the formation
of a Bowling Club which, having its headquarters
at the Woodhouse Gardens Inn, has many strong
supporters. Under the aegis of Lieut. H . Phoenix,
ably assisted by S jSgt. (Bill) Egan (shortly to leave
us on release) an attractive fixture list has been
arranged. Two inter-office matches have already
been played in which the Civilians have twice beaten
the Military by a very small margin.
Many a
pleasant evening in the sylvan surroundings of the
" Green" are looked forward to this summer.
But everything is not "beer and bowls" at the
" Fighting 49th" and the Tennis Club has made a
successful debut. Lieut. P. Pocock has proved a
worthy" ringmaster" and he hopes to be able to
194

Lieut.-Colonel J. L. Oliver in January of this year,
and Major W. C. Gear is our respected A /R.P.
Sport.-Rugby, Soccer, Cricket, Tennis and Golf
have -been very popular during the war years, and
each season has brought forward excellent players
and teams. This can be judged by the results of our
Football team this year. The Garrison Cup was won
by defeating the Royal Marines by 7 goals to nil,
and an outstandiI:lg victory was obtained over
32nd Company (Exeter) of 11 goals to I (although
Exeter have always given us grand sport).
Entertainment.-Numerous variety shows and
plays have been" put over" in the Garrison Theatre
(Alexandra Hall) and many are the dances we have
all enjoyed on its sloping floor.
Education.-The Company is justly proud of
having the distinction of opening the first " Study
Centre" in Southern Command. Many of those
who are now demobbed, will look back with thanks
to" St. Margaretts " and the New Centre (considered
by the A.E.C. to be the best of its kind). Every
effort has and is being made to provide pleasant,
cultural, social and recreational activities, for a new
and better Democracy.
Release.-Many have already gone to Civvy
Street and with them go our best wishes and thanks
for the good work, comradeship and loyalty during
those past "dark days.
Meanwhile we who remain will keep the Flag
flying. Major A. P. Gilbert will be pleased to hear
from all old members of the Company and we all
look forward to reading contributions in the J ourn?l
from those serving at home and overseas and from
those who are now Old Comrades or Legionaires.
devote quite a lot of time coaching. Public tennis

courts in a near-by park have been booked for two
evenings weekly and , though the initial response has
been rather timid, it is hoped more will turn out
for practice as the days lengthen and the weath~r
improves. Amongst fixtures arranged are Alexandna
Park Oldham, Ferranti's and Fairey Aviation. The
Secr~tary of the Club is Pte. Coulson who is still
on the look-out for fixtures .
The Cricket Club has been unfortunate this
season insofar as they have been unable to secure
a ground for practice and home matches, though the
highways and byways are still being searched. In the
meantime away fixtures have been arranged and
include matches with brother detachments at Leeds
(6th July) and Bradford (28th July). Lieut. Wainwright is Officer-in-command Cricket and L jCpl.
Wright is proving an active and worthy secretary.
The football .season is closing with a burst of
enthusiasm, the Corps XI twice beating an RA.O.C.
XI 2-0, 5-0. A lunch-hour seven-a-side Soccer
K.O . Competition has also been arranged and twelve
sections and the Officers' Mess are represented.
The football fraternity are very sorry to lose the
services of L jCpl. C. Ward, who was released on
18th May. _He has been the mainstay of the club
during the hectic " Release" period and his place
will be hard to fill.
Entertainments.-With demobilisation claiming
so many old and regular supporters of all social
activities, there is little to report except that the
Unit Dances still take place each month.
We had a very large attendance, including Colonel
G . W. Nelson and Lieut.-Colonel Rutter, at our
Dance at The Hill Stores, Oldham, on the 25th
March. This was generally voted to be one of the
best dances we have had for a long time. Our C.O.
and second-in-command were also present at
Failsworth Stores for our dance on 26th April.
Our next-on 31st May-is a very special occasion
as it is in aid of the Army Benevolent Fund.
Dramati::s.-Lieut. Groom produced Noel
Coward's comedy, "Hay Fever," in March, ably
assisted by stage-manage!', Charles Newman (now
demobbed) who sang his army swan song with the
set, using remarkably effective props as his notes.
The play was enthusiastically received by large and
appreciative audiences .
Of the actors, the old timers were represented by
Rene Slater, Edith McColl and Edward Leach;
comparative newcomers to the company included
Jean Parry; and Pat Pearsall, Eric Gearing, Donald
lnkster and G. Peters made their first appearance.
Corrections.-In the last issue the name of
Captain Targett should have appeared as belonging
to the old brigade, under the heading " Introductions." Apologies.
KIDDERMINSTER
To those readers who were disappointed to see
that the March issue of the Journal did not contain
any contributions from Kidderminster, we offer
apologies, and hope that our notes for this quarter
will be as acceptable as jf they had appeared in the
March Journal.
Looking back over the war years, during the early
part of which the office vacated its old home at
Woking, and came, via Folkestone, to -Kidderminster,
it is pleasing to see that almost every line of social
activity was followed eagerly and with great
enthusiasm.
One of the earliest activities to become rea lly a
part of the social life of the Battalion was the
Rapcats Concert Party, which continued in existence
until very recently. Two people-Norman Gilbert
and John Carlsen-were largely responsible for much
of the concert party work during the early days, and
late in 1940 an offshoot of the concert party set out
as the Dramatic Society under the guidance of Eric
Tripp.
The Dramatic Society later embraced
another unit organisation, which despite the oddsounding title of " The Verse and Prose Section,"
offered some very useful talent. With the arrival. of
Derek Wheatley (who was later to become entertamments' officer for the district) the Society was well
and truly launched on a long career which came to
an end only when the Central Pool of Artistes and,
later demobilisation, saw the departure of the
seas~ned performers who gave us so many enjoyable
plays. Despite the difficulties which confronted the
Society from time to time, a succession of plays (at
one time the Society was able to offer two plays
almost simultaneously)-which included "George
ILFRACOMBE
The staff of the Ilfracombe Pay Office regret that
no contribution was published in the Spring edition
of the Journal, and we hasten to confirm that the
Old Warwick Office is still alive and very much
kicking.
Owing to the lack of suitable accommodation, we
had to vacate our peace-time home at Warwick and
proceed to North Devon in July 1940 and, despite
numerous rumours, re moves, etc., we are still here.
Command.-Lieut.-Colonel C. C . . Blackwell,
M.B.E., assumed command of the Company vice
195

Longmore, Lieut. Ratcliffe and Cpl. "Paddy"
Evans have been with the team most of the time and
have proved their worth. The modern stars are
Pte. Jack Kelly, who is a very good all-rou~der,
and L jCpl. G. Smith, who is always rattling down
opponents' wickets. The secretaryship has been ably
held by Cpl. Northern.
and Margaret," " Housemaster," " Tons of Money,"

" The Wind and the Rain," " Love from a Stranger,"
"Ladies in Retirement," "Arms and the Man,"
"The Importance of Being Earnest" and "The
Two Mrs. Carrolls "-caused the local dramatic
society in the town to look to its laurels.
A number of plays were produced both in our own
Canteen Theatre and also in the Town Hall. The
Society toured the Midlands on various occasions to
give evening performances to outlying units, and was
selected to perform "Ladies in Retirement" at
Leamington Spa during an A.T.S. Birthday Week.
Despite the fact that the Society is no longer able
to function, it is good to know that thanks to Derek
Wheatley, a scheme was put into operation whereby
a periodical " get-together" will be possible for all
those who took part in the work of the Society during
its active lifetime, and the first of these re-unions
should take place in the not-too-distant future.
It would be unpardonable to leave the entertainments side without making mention of the Male
Voice Choir, which operated under the direction of
Harold Briggs.
Under his leadership the choir,
besides stealing a large proportion of the laurels
available in the various Midlands' festivals, gave the
battalion many extremely enjoyable concert~.
In the world of sport, too, the battalion distinguished itself. Activities in this direction were
many and various, and we can only regret the gradual
inevitable decline which has occurred as the result
of the return to civilian life of so many of our
companions.
Soccer.-In past year the battalion had considerable success in the Kidderminster League, being
either winners or runners-up for both League and
Cup. Unfortunately, in common with other Service
teams; demob. has considerably weakened the side,
and after giving the League leaders a close run the
team fell away at the end. The secretaryship during
most of the war years was held by Sgt. " Tommy "
Atkins.
Notable players were S.S.M . "Bert"
Bullock, Sgt. Jackie Archer and Pte. MuIcahy.
Hockey.-This section started in the 1941-42
season and has continued ever since without a break.
Matches have been played with the R.A.P.C. at
Droitwich, Leicester and Shrewsbury, and the
honours have been even. Other matches have been
played with R.A.F. sides in the vicinity. The Club's
best season was 1943-44, when out of 28 matches
20 were won with a goal average of 114-45. That
year they beat a team which played two internationals and four county players by 9-0. Demob.
problems have caused many scratchings this season
but the spirit of the team has been evident throughout. "Monty" Wright was secretary to the team
during its lifetime, whilst the notabilities amongst
the players were Captain Cutler and Pte. Fielding
as stonewall backs, Lieut. Read, who was like a rock
in goal, S.Q.M.S. Don Marshall, Cpl. Roy Bryant
and Pte. Gorman.
The lady players included
Mrs. Legge, Miss Potter and Pte. Knight.
Cricket.-The cricket teams, too, have been very
successful. In 1942 they won all the cups that
Kidderminster could offer and in 1940-41 took two
of the local trophies. In this period L/Cpl. Hillier
(who scored 78 not out for the Corps at Lords),
Ptes. Quinn, Dixon and Wright carried most of the
honours. Since those days, the XI have been a team
to reckon with in the cricket sphere. S /Sgt. Eric
Table Tennis.-This is perhaps the most successful section in the Battalion, never having been
defeated. L/Cpl. Jack Webster (who has played in
the English Championship), Pte. Hughes (who has
represented West Bromwich), Cpl. Jenkins and
Pte. Leatherbarrow form the bulwarks in this section.
Athletics.-In July 1942 the battalion Athletic
Section came into existence as the result of the first
Annual Sports Meeting. So much enthusiasm has
been exhibited during the meeting itself and also
during the strenuous training during the previous
months, that it was felt that some organisation was
necessary which would cultivate and preserve the
comradeship which the Meeting provoked.
A committee, with Lieut. FarquhaJ,:-Smith as
Athletics Officer, S /Sgt. Eric Golding as Secretary,
and Sgt. Mason as trainer, was elected, and under
their able direction the section became an immediate
success-indeed, hardly a week went by without
some form of athletic activity. The battalion became
affiliated to several athletic bodies, which included
the Midland Counties A.A.A. and the Birmingham
Cross-Country League.
Variety was also added by the inclusion of many
of the A.T.S., among those who achieved constant
success being Jean Knight, Phyllis Hughes and Edna
Haynes. On the male side, Wilson and Warrillow
were by far the best sprinters, winning many events
in even time. Bob House, so often successful, was
the recognised quarter-miler for the section.
Amongst the half-milers, Jack Wilde, who was once
the Norfolk champion, invariably won his race in
grand style. One of his greatest efforts was a superb
half-mile at the Central Midland and District
Sports Meeting held at Warwick in July 1943,
where he clocked 1 min. 59.2 secs. The section
travelled the Midlands extensively and Jack Wilde
was always well to the fore in the half-mile events.
The battalion was always excellently represented
in every track event, Leatherbarrow being undoubtedly the finest long-distance runner the club
ever had . The mile was his speciality and amongst
his most notable successes were the scratch mile at
Birmingham in September 1944, which he won in
4 mins . 41.2 secs. and the Three A's open mile
handicap at Stourbridge in July 1945, which he won
in 4 mins. 15 secs. He also won the battalion mile
for three consecutive seasons. Leatherbarrow also
figured prominently in the cross-country events, and
had the privilege of forming part of the Western
Command team at Leeds in April 1945.
Cyril
Horton, who was posted to the battalion in March
1945, after serving four years in the Middle East,
came as a well-seasoned athlete.
However, not all th~ members joined as experienced athletes. They began, blissfully unaware
that they could run until they came into the Army
and saw others partaking in the sports as amateurs
and many proved extremely successful.
Other R.A.P.C. battalions, particularly Droitwich
and Shrewsbury, will recall the many thrilling and
keenly contested events with Kiddermimter.
196

KNIGHTSBRIDGE
The staff of this office formerly occupying two
buildings, has now been "condensed" into one,
with the help of a shoe-horn here and there. The
b\lilding vacated has been occupied by the P.O.S.B.
Army Branch from Ilfracombe.
Sport.-The arrival of P.O.S.B. in London was
celebrated by a cricket match on Saturday, IIth May,
at Ealing, when Knightsbridge managed to win with
four wickets in hand. The P.O.S.B. score of 68
included a very fine 51 by Pte. Hart, while our star
performer was Cpl. Nursaw with 38. The bowling
of Whistle, Green and Nursaw for Knightsbridge
was first-class and kept the batsmen on the defensive
most of the time.
Dramatics.-The Operatic and Dramatic Society
has flourished during the war years and the record
of shows produced since 1940 speaks volumes for
the enthusiasm of players and audiences .
The
standard of performance is high for amateurs, as all
those who have seen the following shows will agree:
" Off Duty," " Acting Pranks" and" Show What,"
all of which were original revues; and" Hay Fever,"
" A Murder has been Arranged," "Tony Draws a
Horse," "Yeomen of the Guard, " "The Mikado"
and" The Middle Watch ."
The last-named was produced at the Cripplegate
Theatre on IIth and 12th March and it is no
exaggeration to say it was a roaring success. The
antics of Marine Ogg, played by L /Cpl. Childs,
including a few almost inaudible remarks not in the
script, together with one or two fruity embellishments which were very audible, brought the house
down. All the members of the caste, however, were
excellent, and gave a fine polished performance.
The company is now rehearsing" Rookery Nook"
by Ben Travers, for production at the same theatre
on 20th and 21st lVIay, and it promises to be another
laughter-raiser, not perhaps on the same lines as the
original Tom Walls-Ralph Lynn farce, for we are
original as well as versatile.
Re-union Dance.-One of the best dances we
have had was held at the Victoria Hall, Southampton
Row, on 16th April.
The sub-committee and
Sgt. (Raffles) Sadler-who acted as M.C.-are to be
congratulated on the excelIence of the arrangements
made. The presence of l'ome of our Old Comrades
who have been released added a great deal to the
enjoyment of the even,ing.
The band, our old
favourite--H!lrry Cheeseman's-kept the dancing
going with a .swing anp the h~pe of everyone at the
end of the evening was that ,we 'Shall have another in
the near future.
..
ity, the train load of "P.O.S.B.-ites" arived in

London Town without mishap.
Just before the move, we said good-bye to S .S.M.
Harsant, now known to all as Cadet Harsant.
By the time these notes appear in print, we shall
also have lost Captain N. Bradley, who has been
with the Branch since its inception.
Within a few months, our strength of men has
grown from a handful of twenty to weII over a
hundred. This has enabled us to build up a keen
band of sportsmen, whose presence will be felt, as
the cricket season develops.
In the near future, it is hoped to run a dance where
we can meet once more many of our old friends who
are either working as civilians in London, or are
serving in offices in the London area .
Many of our former members have caIIed to see
us since our arrival in London; all our old friends
are welcome.
Every week brings the departure of more staff to
civilian life. The latest" old stager" to say good-bye
is Pte. Hewitt who has been with us since the commencement of the Branch.
Now that we have almost recovered from the
upheaval of a move, we hope to take full advantage
of the amenities in London.
Evening classes,
swimming in the Serpentine, all forms of entertainment from highbrow to Iow, are now within easy
reach.
Thus "Posby " looks forward to a full and
interesting summer.
LEEDS (R.E.M.E.)
The first post-war issue of the Journal has been
an undoubted success and was well received in this
office. Many of the office staff keep tackling the
office representative regarding the second issue.
. Quite a number of the staff have been released,
and it is hoped that they wiIl keep contact with the
Corps through the medium of the Journal.
Football.-The football season ended without
our winning any more cups as we had hoped, due
to the release of some of our regular players. The
Battalion teams, however, gave a very good account
of themselves, and the first eleven having won the
East and West Riding District Competition, were
runners-up in "A" Division of the Leeds Combination League, and semi-finalists in the Leeds and
District F.A. Cup and the Leeds Combination
League "A" Division Cup. The second eleven were
finalists in the Leeds Combination League "C"
Division .CuP and occupied third place in the league
table.
Cricket.-Despite the difficulties of not having a
ground, we have managed to arrange an attractive
list of away fixtures until the end of August. One
match has been played versus Wilson & Mathiesons,
which we lost (144-95). So far we have no outstanding players, but hope to have a workmanlike
side in the near future. The Battalion has entered
for the East and West Riding Knock-Out Competition.
Tennis.-The tennis season has re-commenced
and we hope to repeat last year's performance of
winning the Thornton Trophy in the Leeds and
District Parks League. We have suffered the loss of
Lieut. Aggleton, who is proceeding overseas.
Entertainments.-The dancing season having
finished there seems to be great enthusiasm for motor
'!
KNIGHTSBRIDGE (P:O.S.B.)
Since the last appearance M the Journal, the
"Army Savers," have said good-bye to Devon's
leafy lanes and sun'ny (sometimes) skies. The move
from IIfracombe to Kriightsbridge took place at
the end of April and we have, therefore, only just
settled down to the complete change of environment.
There are many who wiII miss the trips to Lynton,
Lynmouth and Watersmeet, on sunny week-ends;
bathing in the evening at the Torrs; rambles in the
attractive countryside around Ilfracombe, and the
colourful season when visitors arrive.
The last three nights before our departure saw
increasing alarm and despondency amongst the
Devon publicans, but despite widespread convivial-
'197
THE ROYAL ARMY PAY ,CORPS JOURNAL

-------------------------------coach tours and organised theatre parties. Visits
have been made to Scarborough, the Lake District
and Blackpool. Central had a most enjoyable trip
to the Lake District on 5th May. The Sergeants'
Mess had a trip to Blackpool on 12th May, and
many other trips are being organised.
Officers'
Luncheon Club.-The Officers'
Luncheon Club still continues its successful activities
despite declining numbers.
In March the officers of the 41st Battalion,
Bradford and the members of the W.O's. and
Sergeant~' Mess, were entertained at games evenings.
On 3rd April the half-yearly Officers ' Dance was
held which was a most successful function. We were
very pleased to have Brigadier N. Forde, c.P. ,
Northern Command, with us and also several exofficers of the Battalion.
The Easter Snooker Handicap was won by Lieut.
Woods, after a competition full of exciting matches .
All ex-officers of the 51st Battalion have been made
honorarv members of the club, and we do hope that
anyone ~ho may be in the district will make a strong
point of calling at 42 Park Place, either for lunch or
during the evening.
Warrant Officers' and Sergeants' Club.There has been an increase in the social activities
of the club during the last three months, including
a return visit from the Bradford Pay Office W.O's.
and Sergeants' Club, when a most enjoyable evening
was spent.
General.-The numerous changes do not at
present permit of details in relation to personnel,
but it is felt that we should make an exception in
regard to Lieut.-Colonel C. E. de B. Biden. We
shall soon have lost a very real friend indeed, as he

is due for release towards the end of June. Colonel
Biden joined the old RA.O .C. Office at Hilsea
in September 1939, and has been with us ever since,
the last twelve months as our S.P.I. He has proved,
during the years he has been with us, that he has
been, not only greatly interested in the work, but also
in the staff. There must be hardly anyone who has
served in this office who has not benefited from
serving with him.
We offer congratulations to our RP., Colonel
H. O. Browning, M.C., on his being promoted to
Lieut.-Colonel and S.P.1 from 23rd March, 1946.
A number of members of the Corps who were
serving before the outbreak of war in 1939 are now
serving in this office, and a photograph has been
taken of them and forwarded to the editor for inclusion in the Journal. Greetings are sent by them
to all old friends.
F .W.G.
LEEDS (R.A.O.C.)
At the height of the change-over of the first
Posting Wing in this office to Machine Accounting
comes the realisation that once again notes for
inclusion in the next issue of the Journal must be
prepared.
To all the members of this battalion who have been
released during the last three months we send our
best wishes and our hopes that they will quickly
and happily settle down in civilian life after the hectic
but happy time they have spent with us.
During the past few weeks several ex-members of
the battalion have called upon us and we were very
pleased to see them and to realise that they had not
(Reproduced by courtesy of" Yorkshire Pos t.")
PRE-WAR "REGULARS" SERVING WITH 51st BATTALION, R.A.P.C. - 2nd MAY, 1946
Capts. A. R Argent, A . T. Knevett, E. B. Spiers, C. W. Fowler, Lieut. J. K. Gilchrist,
Capts. W. G. Jagot, M.B.E., A. Gibbs, Lieuts. L. S. Bruce, D. W. Fox, H. Fox . .
Seated (2nd Row)- S.S.M. A. E. V. Adams, Major G. M. Booth, Major G. W. Penn" C<?l. H. O. BrOWning, M.C.,
Major F. E. Matthews, Major F. W. Grant, S.S.M. A. D. Dlckmson.
Seated (Front Row)-S.Q .M .S. J . H. Middleton, S /Sgt. A. Bettle, S /Sgt. H. J. Mason, S.Q.M.S. E. J. Taylor.
Standing-
198

forgotten us. Amongst those who came were Lieut.Colonels Chapman and Griffiths, Lieuts. Kates,
Gray, Firth, Leader and Murray, S /Sgt. Graves"
Sgt. Vachell and Pte. Broadhurst.
"
Officers' Luncheon Club.-The club is still'
going: st'rdrig with service as good as
old. -" We
recently held an Officers' dinner at the" Great
Northern Hotel, which was well attended:
Football.-It is with regret that we haV'e 'to"rec6rd
we did not win any trophies during the 'past season.
Still WfY had a very useful team and whilst'f the'
players . enjoyed themselves the few faithftiI -sup'':,
porters who always turned up were assured ohi good
game to watch.
Cricket.-To date three matches have been played.
Our first was a defeat but the last two have resulted
in very good victories for us. We have the makings
of a very good side_ Lieut. Green has already got
off the mark and has scored his first 50. Sgt. Eustace
has done well with the ball and easily leads the way
in the bowling averages.
Marriages.-Colonel H. P. Park to Mrs. Eve
Lilian Pegler at St_ George 's Church, Leeds, on
4th May, 1946, and S.S.M. A. H. Tappenden to
Miss Marjorie Gledhill at St. Chad's Church,
Headingley, on 14th May, 1946.
To both we offer our heartiest congratulations
with our very best wishes for the future.
going into camp on Perham ' Downs.

It was a
shattering blow for everyone and shook us all after
the long association we have had with Leicester.
Before these notes are read we shall be there, hav,i ng
said our good-byes to our civilian friends and
associates inside and outside the office. There is '
not one to whom I have spoken who looks forward
to our move with any gay feeling. Even the weather
turned in sympathy with our mood for soon after
the news was given to us it thundered, we had
lightning and we had hail and rain.
Now having
got over the initial shock we are steadily preparing
for the day and everybody is eagerly searching for
information and asking questions.
or
LONDON (R.A.S.C. OFFICE)

Once again we must apologise for not mentioning
every posting and promotion in these short notes,
for during the past quarter the postings, particularly
to "Civvy Street," have reached a new high leyel.
This applies particularly to Major P . R Fryer
and Captain L. V. Carter, O.B.E., who left in early
March after completing between them, a century of
service in Pay Offices! Major Fryer will be remembered, especially in the Clearing Group of this office,
as a grand person to work with and his broad smile
and hearty .chuckle will be sadly missed. Who else
on completing over forty-six years' service could
say: "I wouldn't have signed on, if I'd known it
wasn't going to be permanent!" We congratulate
Captain Carter, for so long our Battalion Quartermaster, on his award of the O .B.E. in the New
Year's Honours' List.
Similar wishes are also extended to Lieut.-Colonel
H . J. Hollingsworth who left us during the month,
and we are also very sorry to lose Chief-Commander
E. I. Gordon, who commanded No. 2 London Group
A.T.S., but we hear that some of the Manchester
offices may have gained by our loss. We take this
opportunity of welcoming Senior-Commander
E. D. W. Spedding and feel sure that her stay will
be a pleasant one. In the RA.S.C. Office we are
very proud of the achievements of our A.T.S Group.
Their courage and cheerfulness during the air raids,
their hard work on the most monotonous of duties
and their keenness to solve the intricacies of technical
problems have earne9 our admiration and thanks for
a great job well done! We cannot pass on without
a tribute to the enthusiasm and co-operation of our
civilian staff, who in the face of the same difficulties
and in many cases with added famil y responsibilities,
did so much to help us through the last six years.
London is still the most accurate address we can
find for the office and one could add anyone of four
Postal District numbers! Marylebone Road, W.1,
Old Street, E.C.1, Clifton Street, E.1, and Finsbury
Circus, E.C.2! Social events under these conditions
are naturally . very difficult to organise, but the
Officers' Dance on 30th May promises to be as great
a success as the one in December. Friday still seems
to be the most popular evening in the Officers' and
Sergeants' Messes, for this is the evening our released
friends choose to come along and exhibit their natty
suitings.
The 33rd Battalion, RA. P.C. Swing Choir, under
the direction of Sgt. George Mitchell, are to be
featured in the Army Benevolent Fund Show,
"Cavalcade of Stars in Battledress," at the Royal
Albert Hall on 2nd June. Every member is from
LEICESTER (L.A.A.)
Greetings and hearty congratulations from the
staff of the L.A.A. Office, Leicester, on the first
post-war number of the R.A.P.C. Journal. We are
glad it has been possible to resume publication and
were agreeably surprised at the quality of its makeup and layout.
In common with other offices we have felt the call
of ! \ Release" both in accounts maintained and in
staff, .and with such a decline in numbers it is inevitable that our social activities have been considerably
restricted. Badminton has, however, been a bright
spot during the winter months. The arrangements
made for Tennis in the present season, have received
hearty support, and there is every sign of a successful
time during the coming summer on the courts at
Victoria and Abbey Parks.
Those old members of the Leicester offices who
read these notes will learn with regret that we are
no longer able to maintain the" Drama and Variety
Group," but will, I am sure, always have happy
recollections of our productions at the Little Theatre
in Dover Street. Your correspondent is one of those
who were present at the first performance given by
the RA.P.C. Drama and Variety Group in Leicester,
as well as at our final show.
We wound up the winter season with a Unit D ance
at the Leicester Palais de Danse, and this proved to
be one of the most popular and successful affairs
of the season.
LEICESTER (H.A.A.)
Welcome to Colonel H. W. Taylor, O.B.E., who
has arrived and taken over the duties of Regimental
Paymaster. We hope he will have a long and pleasant
stay with us.
There was indeed little to be written about for
these notes until from out of the blue came the order
for the office to move to Salisbury Plain-we are
199

the battalion, or the attached A.T.S. Group, and
every song performed is written or arranged from
traditional airs by Sgt. Mitchell, who originally
formed and trained the Choir. They were heard
frequentl y in the B.B.C. Sunday evening show ,
"Variety Bandbox," throughout the Radio series
"Knocking at Your Door," and have sung at
Garrison Theatres, Gun Sites, Hospitals, Dances
and Charity Shows of all kinds. They have also
broadcast in A .E.F. Music Hall and appear at the
Stage Door Canteen every third or fourth week.
When one considers the long time spent in rehearsing
after normal duty hours they are to be congratulated
on their great successes, which have brought so
much pleasure to so many people and helped so
many charities.
Our Football team had a very successful season,
topping the Neasden and District League, winning
fourteen and drawing two of their eighteen games .
Our Cricket prospects are not so bright, for of
those who played for our 1945 team, only four remain
arid three of these "players are to be released shortly:
Our Cross-Country team is in much the same position
but three of its members, Sgt. Nash, L /Cpl. Wellden
and L /Cpl. Ballisat, represented London District
in the Army Cross-Country Championships at
Sandhurst in February. In the 1944-45 season our
team won the News of the World Relay Races on
four occasions, breaking the course record three
times and causing quite a stir in athletic circles.
us to form a useful team and so retain for the office

the g~od name it has earned throughout the war
years m the Lancashire and Cheshire League.
The soccer season was concluded by a visit to
No: 208 O .C.T.U. R.A.P.C. for a friendly match
w~lch we won by four goals to one after a most
enjoyable game.
Rifle Shooting.-Activity in this sphere has had

to come to a temporary close owing to the fact that
we ~ave scr~pped .t he old miniature range, and a gang
of pIOneers IS busily engaged in putting the finishing
touches to a new one. The new range is below the
office, and is ideally situated so far as lighting
arrangements and absence from outside noises is
concerned. We look forward to its early completion
so that we can resume inter-group competitions, and
thus be prepared for the resumption of inter-office
matches.
Dramatics.-There has been no production
since our last notes, as recent releases have left
many gaps in the ranks of our players. Those players
who are left are very keen to produce further plays
and are constantly on the look-out for any talent that
may ex~st.' particularly among those who have
recently Jomed the office. The" Pay Corps Players"
are very much alive, and I am sure that future notes
will tell of their having gained further laurels.
Cricket.-This sport, like several activities, has
suffered through the return of old and tried players
to <;ivil life . The 1st XI has so far played one match
agamst Chorlton, which is a good-class local club
from v:ho~ they: suffered an innings defeat. Lieut:
Slater IS domg hiS best to arrange fixtures with clubs
in the district and we look forward to having a full
season.
MANCHESTER
Since the last issue of the Corps Journal the office
has had a change in its leadership, Brigadier A. A.
Cockburn having joined us in succession to
Brigadier T. L. Rogers, C.B.E. Before the departure
of Brigadier Rogers there was an informal gathering
of the heads of departments at which Lieut.-Colonel
A. L. D unn ill , on behalf of the whole office wished
the Brigadier happiness in his retireme~t, and
presented to Mrs. Rogers a framed photograph of
her husband. A replica of the photograph was hung
on the wall of the conference room as a reminder of
the man who had guided the destiny of the office
since its inception.
Rep~ yin~, on behalf of himself and Mrs . Rogers,
the Bngadler t.hanked the entire Staff for their loyalty
and co-operatIOn and expressed his confidence that
the same measure of loyalty and co-operation would
be extended to his successor.
To Brigadier A. A. Cock burn I should like
through the very appropriate medium of this Journal'
to extend a sincere welcome from the Staff of th~
Army .Pay O~ce, Manchester. We hope that his
stay With us wlil be a long and pleasant one.
Football.-The good form of. the first half of the
1945-46 season when we held third place in the
Lancashire and Cheshire Amateur League was not
maintained in the second half and the final record
of the 1st XI was : Goals
Played Won Drawn Lost
For
Against
26
13
5
8
80
72
Genera1.-Captain A. Grogan, who has now gone

to India, has very kindly presented to the 15th
Battalion R.A.P.C. a Sports Cup to be competed for
by the various groups within the A.P.O . Manchester.
The cup will remain with us until the office is
disbanded when it will then go to the headquarters
of the Corps.
A portion of one panel of the new East Window in
St. James' Church, Birch-in-Rusholme, bears the
badge and crest of the RA.P.C., and will serve as a
memorial to the association of this Battalion with
the Church. Canon Horner, who is Rector of the
Church, has been officiating Chaplain to the Battalion during the war years.
The Window was
unveiled on 7th March.
In spite of the limitations of space we cannot close
these notes without wishing those who have left us
the very best of luck for the future , and extending a
warm welcome to all who have recently joined us at
Stockport Road.
It was with regret that we bade farewell to Chief
Commander E. D. W. Spedding, our A .T .S . Group
Commander, on her posting to Scotland, a few
months ago . We hear that she has now had a further
posting-this time to London where she has taken
over No. 2 London Group A.T.S. from Chief
Commander E. I. Gordon.
Our own Office Group and Manchester Sub.
District Group have now been amalgamated and we
welcome Chief Commander Gordon as their new
C.O. and hope that her stay in Manchester will be
long and pleasant.
The decline can be attributed to the departure

mainly through releas.e, of most of the players wh~
started the season With us. There are however
~everal prom~s~g young players among 'the recent
mtakes, and It IS hoped they will next season help
200
THE ' ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL

NOTTINGHAM
charity to date.. Despite loss of talent owing to

release and postmgs, an eleventh production is being
rehearsed-Rattigan's "While the Sun Shines."
Previous productions have been: "The Crime at
Blossoms" and " Busman's Honeymoon" in 1942 .
" Tovarich " and" Love from a Stranger" in 1943 ;
"Bats in the Belfrey, " "Springtide" and "Distinguished G athering " in 1944; "Children to
Bless You " in 1945 and " George and Margaret "
and " Flare Path" in the present year.
This is the first appearance of Nottingham notes

in the revived Journal and I must apologise for
having failed to produce anything for the excellent
first number published in March. These notes will
not be a complete resume of Nottingham activities
throughout the war years for I am comparatively new
in this battalion. It is the only home battalion
of which I have post-1939 experience but after two
years here I cannot believe that there are many
happier units in the country.
Congratulations are offered to the following who
have been awarded G.O.C.'s Certificates of Good
Service: S.S.M. Hill, S /Sgt. Pearson, S /Sgt. Wilson,
Sgt. French, L / Cpl. Warshawsky, Pte. Weir,
S.Q.M.S. Spill er (A.T.S.), S .Q .M.S. Mountford
(A.T.S.) and L /Cpl. Taylor (A.T.S.). Contrary to
general belief, Pte. Weir did not receive his for
services on the football field.
Football.-The battalion won the championship
of the Notts. Association League winning 15 games,
drawing 1 and losing 4. They were also successful
in winning the Notts. Association League Cup.
Rifle Shooting.-A team is competing in the
Notts. Small Bore Rifle Association League and at
the time of going to press is top of Division 2. One
member of the team was selected to shoot for
Nottingham against Cambridgeshire.
Hockey.-A team has been run successfully
throughout the war and although results have been
not altogether favourable, the team has consistently
given a good account of itself and I think all playing
members have thoroughly enjoyed their games .
Lieut. Beacroft, Sgt. Birch, L /Cpl. Young, Pte.
Butler and Pte. Rigby have on various occasions
been selected for the county.
Badminton.-Facilities for this sport have been
provided consistentl y and many members of the
battalion have enjoyed good sport. Friendly matches
have been played against local teams and one member
has been selected to represent Nottingham.
Table Tennis.-This year for the first time a
unit team was entered in Division 1 of the local
league.
They put up a first-class performance,
finishing fourth in the league.
Chess.-A chess club has been formed and is
proV'ing very popular.
Athletics.-Unfortunately the 1945 unit meeting
had to be abandoned owing to pressure of work.
L /Cpl. Coggin however, competing as an individual
was very successful both on the track and in crosscountry . Representing the Northern Command in
the Army Cross-Country Championship, he finished
14th (second in his team) and later represented the
Army in a match against the B.A.O.R
Swimming.-Swimming facilities are provided
twice weekly during the summer but no competitive
events are held .
Dancing.-Fortnightly dances are held in a local
works ' canteen and are very successful. In addition,
occasionally, more ambitious dances have been staged
in the City and have proved most enjoyable.
Film Society.-A unit film society exists and has
put on many successful shows.
Choral Society.-The Choral Society has unfortunately ceased to exist after several very
successful years.
Dramatic Society.-A Dramatic Society was
formed in 1942 and h as been most successful. Ten
plays have been produced and 400 raised for
PRESTON
Since I wrote m y last notes in February, I don't
think that one could say that anything startling has
happened in this office.
The arrival of the Spring issue of the Journal was
the topic of the moment. It has certainly been well
received and the standard of pre-war days has been
maintained.
On reading and comparing office notes, I received
a shock when I observed that I had failed to mention
the A.T.S. in my comments. However, arrangements have been made with the Welfare Officer,
Sub. Rhodes, for supplies of " gossip" to be sent to
me for onward transmission. I trust, therefore, that
they will not again be omitted.
Captain D . B. Duthie and Lieuts. Bunyar and
Cook have left us for Civvy Street as have Lieuts.
Holehouse and N ewsome. Captain Overton and
Lieuts. Cannell and Williams left us in March.
Lieut. Fraser left us for service with the Legal
Branch of Scottish Command and Lieut. Burch has
been posted to 29 Company, RA.P.C.
To refill the gaps in the establishment we welcomed to our ranks Captain McNaughton and Lieuts.
Briggs, Howell , Sherlock, Large and Sec.-Lieut.
Watkinson. On 24th April, five young officers joined
us from O.C.T. U., namely, Sec.-Lieuts. Brookes,
Davies, Frere, Pickover and Smith. It is to be hoped
that they will enjoy their stay in Preston.
Congratulations are due to Major T. Hall who
regained his majority and to Major J. Bindley w ho
reached that rank for the first time. Also to Captain
D. B. Duthie on his promotion to that rank.
Lieut. Yearley was married to "Miss K. L.
Phillimore (late of this office) at the Parish Church
of Lostock Gralam on 6th April, and we wish them
both much happiness in their new venture.
Lieut. A . B. Price and Sec.-Lieut. Humphrey are
at present under orders for overseas, whilst Captain
]. N. Price and Lieuts. Mannion and Hodgson have
left us for sunnier climes.
Lieut. Beaver has assumed the duties of Unit
Savings Officer vice Captain Duthie.
On 25th April S.Q.M.S. G. Fox was posted to
O.C.T.U. for modified training and we wish him
good luck on the commencement of his new career.
On 27th March Sgt. YarnelI went on leave and on
his return we learned that he had joined the ranks
of the married men. We offer congratulations to
Sgt. and Mrs. Yarnell and we hope that all their
troubles will be little ones. Writing of little ones
reminds me that a daughter was born on 18th March
to S.S.M. and Mrs . Rudland, as this follows the
birth of a son to S.S.M. and Mrs. Astley, one wonders
whether Preston is a lucky station for SergeantMajors. No doubt S.S .M . Vincent of the District
Pay Office, whose w ife has al so presented him with a
son, will agree with us .
201

, Amongst Group 28 we saw the departure of
S jSgt. Grimshaw, the stalwart on D. and N.E.
Wing, Sgt. Reeve and the "Liverpool Kid," a
welt-known "Meerutonian."
The A.T.S. continue _to leave us in fairly large
numbers and replacements are few and far between.
Whilst admitting that they have all done a good job
of work we are feeling the pinch most in typing, pool
and machine operators.
The Technical Officer,
Lieut. Pilkington, spent hours trying to find candidates for the last Machine Operators' Course.
However, a solution was found and he breathed
agaIn.
Pte. Wiggins has been selected to represent the
A.T.S. of this office in the Victory Parade in London.
L jCpl. Kay, apparently a hockey fiend, was selected
to play for the District Group against Western
Command at Chester, unfortunately she was on the
losing side. The score was only 1-0 so they were not
disgraced. Sgt. Dawber is playing a useful game of
tennis and is in the running for Group representation .
Ex-Sgt. Ambler and ex-Cpl. Walker have been
married since their release and we hear rumours of
others who are seriously thinking of taking the same
steps..
Pte. H ansonjoined us from B.A.O.R. on 16th May
and I hope to include an article on her experiences
as a Pay Clerk in that theatre of war in some future
Issue.
Mr. A. J. Vine (ex-S.S.M.) h as joined this office
as a civilian. The change over from khaki to civvies
having been effected, he is now settling down on our
India Wing.
Mr. Sellars and Mr. Suggate, known to all ,
Prestonites, have been promoted to D.C.O's., whilst
Mrs. Beckett .our head typist has resigned on the
return of her husband from overseas.
The Football season ended on a dull note for our
boys. It had become increasingly difficult to turn
out a good side and consequently precious points
were thrown away. We did manage to get to the
semi-final of the Manchester Sub. District Cup,
but lost to the eventual winners of the trophy. I
expect Radcliffe will have made mention of the final
played between 6th T.B.R.E. and 44th Battalion
R .A. P.C. However, we hope to be able to get another
team together next year.
The Cricket team has not yet begun to function
although the usual circular asking for players has
been sent around the office.
.
The Bowling team has amalgamated with Records
and between the two offices we have found two
teams. I haven't received any reports from the
representative but I have seen the Lancashire Daily
Post and have noticed that they have h ad their boot.:
taken off on more than one occasion. However, th ;;
social evenings these events provide are well worth
their continuance.
F.A.A.A.
Corps and to those worthies of the A .T.S., who have

helped to pull them through, wherever they may be.
Sport has proceeded apace, and , our Football
Eleven, under Captain A. W. P. Henfrey has a
record of which to be proud.
'
Cricket.-Whilst we can regret the absence
thro,;!gh release of such stalwarts as Morgan, Yates,
Makm, etc., yet our present team is looking forward
to some notable successes in the current season and
are now in the capable hands of Captain F. G.
Talbot Butler, M.M.
Hockey.-The A.T.S. team have done exceedingly well, having won the Manchester League Cup
on 6th April.
'
Entertainments.-The entertainments side of our
activit,ies still runs secon~ to none as far as any
BattalIon or Detachment IS concerned. This is not
a challenge but a recognised fact, and its climax came
when the officers of the Battalion recently proved
this by the production of a real tip-top variety show
compered by the Colonel, entitled "The Officers'
,Mess," and which played for three nights for the
benefit of personnel of the Battalion.
Major R . E. Roberts, who has dealt with the
entertai~ments side for the past six years, is still our
Entertamments Officer, in addition to his being an
active representative of the O.C.A., and was responsible for raising the now famous "Pen Nibs"
V!lriety Concert Party, which has given over 200
shows and raised over 2,000 for charity.
Some of the older hands who will be well known to
regular members of the Corps and who are still in
this office, are Colonel S. F. Barratt, M.C., Lieut.Colonel G. Haggard, Majors D. Syme, C. E.
Sanford, " Jock" Keller and T. Whelan, Captains
A. Stewart, J . H. Gibson and J. C. Close, S.S.M.s
D. L. Thomas and L. R. Brown.
The Officers' Mess is under the presidency of
Major D. Syme, assisted by Captain G. C. Kellet
as Treasurer, and it is a case of-what one cannot
think of then the other one can! '
Those past members of the Corps who have been
through the Chatham Office, during the past 20
years may be interested to know that Messrs .
Biddick, Elford, F . Johnson, A. Duncan, are still
with us and have added to their number in the person
of ex-S.S.M. W. A. Carver. Each are glad of this
opportunity of sending greetings to their Corps
friends throughout the world.
I cannot conclude without a reference to the future.
Rumour has it that we are in for a move, and the
nightly prayer of most of us that came from the
South is that Dame Rumour, may on this occasion,
prove to be that virtuous Goddess of Truth.
P .T .60.
READING
It is a pleasure to open these notes by voicing the
generally expressed opinion of readers in this office,
that the Journal is a most readable publication,
admirably produced and deserving of the utmost
support. "Proof of the pudding " was the necessity
for a supplementary order and a demand for order
forms by those nearing their release date.
It would be appropriate, therefore, to offer to the
Editor and his helpers, on behalf of readers ih this
station, sincere congratulations on having evoked
appreciation from discriminating readers such as
prevail in the Corps as a whole, with a first number
which, despite the time factor and other difficulties,
RADCLIFFE
When one has put aside "Journal Notes" for
seven years and then wakes up to the fact that the
Journal has once again been resuscitated one thinks
" how the heck can I start? "
I could start "The curious thing about Radcliffe"
(but there is nothing curious about it) or, "The
departure of Colonel Blank" (but the Colonel has
not departed), but instead I will start off by sending
greetings from Radcliffe, to all members of the
202
achieved a very high standard In magazme production.

The appearance of the first number was undoubtedly timely, beating the run out of Group 27
by a short head and thereby securing (we hope) a
large number of regular subscribers.
While we are in the mood, it would also seem
appropriate for us that ar~ left, to offer to those that
have gone, our very best wishes for the future. The
first year of the release programme has quite naturally
skimmed off most of the cream of the Corps, including a large number of A .'L'.S. who matched up to
the highest standards of the Corps, and the office is
beginning to feel quite draughty.
Despite their solicitous sympathy for those who
are soldiering on, it is obvious that the great majority
leave with mixed feelings when they survey their
association with the Corps in retrospect. This war
had lasted so long, and so many worthwhile jobs
have been accomplished in collaboration with so
many worthy team-mates, that it is difficult on either
side to rule up and balance off without a further
thought and a few regrets.
Among those who h ave left us recently are Major
H. V. Davies, M.C., and Lieut. D. A. Toone, the
former being almost the "oldest inhabitant," by
virtue of service in this office since 1939, and at one
time and another the incumbent of most of the
supervisory posts.
Lieut. Toone has for some time past acted as
Battalion Sports Officer as well as captain of the
Soccer team.
The garrisons of Huntley and Palmers, St. John's
Institute and All Saints' Hall have now been evacuated to fill in the gaps at Tilehurst Road Drill Hall
and Balmore, where Regimental policemen have been
thoughtfully provided to guide unfamiliar staff to
their respective offices by the quickest and most
direct route.
Iii the realm of sport and social events, repeated
defections by Age and Service Groups have similarly
disorganised us somewhat although a fair number of
Wing dances have managed to weather the storm.

The recent spel'l of persistently fine weather has
turned our thoughts to cricket, but the soccer team
wagged its tail vigorously to bring us back to things
present, as the appended football notes will show.
A Snooker tournament has kept the Officers'
Mess engrossed. All entrants played from scratch :
but quite a number of " rabbits" turned carnivorous
and gobbled up fancied "champs" in the early
matches.
,
The final resolved itself into a dour duel between
Captains Parker and Teasdale who won ,t heir way
through by beating Captains Couch' and Paul
respectively in the semi-finals.
Captain Parker ultimately retained his title in a
match which went the full three frames and in which
he displayed those qualities of guile and opportunism
which are inimical to the office of BattaLon Quartermaster.
An account of the activities of the Musical Society
is given below, but those who have been associated
with this office and who may have enjoyed some of
the excellent musical treats furnished by the choir
will be pleased to hear of the distinction conferred
on its conductor, Lieut. S. C. Curtis, L.R.A.M.,
who was selected as the organist for the Army
Benevolent Fund Pageant, "Drums," which was
presented at the Albert Hall on 8th and 9th May.
The first night's performance was honoured by
the presence of Princess Elizabeth and Princess
Margaret Rose and on the second day by Queen
Mary and the Princess Royal.
A party from the office which included Colonel
and Mrs. James, Miss James, Lieut.-Colonel, Mrs.
and Miss Shand-Tully also attended the first night's
performance, part of which was broadcast.
Football.-The battalion Soccer enthusiasts have
been very active during the past season.
The team was forever changing in personnel and
only five members, namely, Lieut. Toone as,
"skipper," his deputy" Jock" Brown, Ken Stone
(as the" rock of Gibraltar" in goal), Jimrny Wild
-IIlr
mus~
so
rJlCQ,
~o
ba
203
ou~
of
'f ot'm,1/1
LUll

THE ROYAL ARMY PAY 'CORPS JOURNAL
and Ted (the C-ockney) Mitchell played throughout
the season. After rather a poor start, several new
players arrived, and they considerably strengthened
the team, included among them being Lieut. Cox
who distinguished himself in the sporting world of
the Corps in India, and Stan Hurst, who was the
first professional footballer to join the ranks of the
battalion.
From then on many more matches were won than
lost and the team deservedly won its way into the
semi-finals of the Reading and District Service Cup
and the Reading Town Challenge Cup, but after
"valiant efforts, failed at both attempts to reach the
final round.
45th Battalion R.A.P.C. Choral Society.-With
a record run of five years' unbroken service the Choral
Society is the oldest of the various entertainment
branches in the battalion. Its foundation stones were
well and truly laid in the summer of 1941 when a
little band of seventeen met to discuss possibilities of
forming a choir, comprising members of the then
45th Detachment and our colleagues in the Royal
Signals Records Office, Reading.
Our first conductor was Lieut. Hubert O. Wilkins,
who had joined the RA.P.C. in 1939, leaving his
profession as a tenor lay clerk at Rochester Cathedral
to become one of the" Primrose and Blue" brigade.
I mention this fact to show how fortunate we were
in those early days in having one whose whole life
had been devoted to the performance of good music
and it was to Mr. Wilkins (now Captain) that the
Choral Society owed so much.
An extensive repertoire of music, mostly of the
light popular variety, was accumulated and by dint
of hard work and excellent co-operation the opening
concert was given in December 1941. From the
financial aspect this was not overwhelmingly Successful but the standard set was extremely high. During
the end of that winter, we were able to perform
"The Crucifixion" at' three Reading churches,
providing in"addition to a large chorus, soloists and
organist. These were all very well received.
Round about this time the News Chronicle Music
Festival for H.M. Forces was being planned and it
was decided to participate-a decision which provided endless opportunities for practice and an
appearance in first-class musical company. At the
preliminaries members of the choir took part in
elimination contests, which were staged at Taunton,
Reading and Watford, where the main choir bade
farewell in the semi-finals, but were by no means
disgraced.
To cut a long story short, Reading was repre~ented
in the finals by a mixed voice quartet and a ladies'
trio. On 24th October, 1942, we assembled at the
Central Hall, Westminster, to await our various fates.
The mixed voice quartet consisting of Pte. M.
Davey, A .T.S. (soprano), C.S.M. Howard, A.T.S.
(contralto), L /Cpl. Trevisick (tenor) and Pte. F.
Boult (bass) won the premier award and the quartet
ladies, augmented by Pte. Hall, A.T.S ., were
runners-up to a ladies' trio from the W.A.A.F. We
were thoroughly bucked when the late Dr. Harvey
Grace (formerly organist at Chichester Cathedral)
singled out our popular soprano, Pte. Davey, for
special mention. She had, in actual fact, stepped in
at the last minute to deputise and she proved on that
occasion, and later as secretary of the Society , to be
a real" find." We had our photographs taken; our
204
notices in the local press were very flattering and

we were able to feel exceedingly pleased about the
whole matter.
After this brief glimpse of glory we were brought
back to earth, 3085's and appurtenances relating
thereto. We gave some more shows on the" home"
front with visits to the Royal Berkshire Hospital,
the Y.M.C.A. and in our own concert hall. At
Christmas we gave a carol concert which included
excerpts from" The Messiah." The Royal Berkshire
Hospital gained financially from our efforts quite
often and it was a work we all enjoyed to the full.
Midway through 1943 we changed horses in midstream and L jCpl. Ivory, who had been accompanist
for a long period, succeeded Lieut. Wilkins as conductor. His first big job was the performance of a
concert version of " Merrie England" at St. Annes
Hall, Reading. This was sung on two nights and the
Hospital benefited to the tune of 35 as a result.
" Merrie England '~ was one of the finest productions
given in the battalion .
In 1944 the" 45 " Club, of whom you read in the
Spring number of the Journal, approached the
Choral Society to unite in the "The Vagabond
King."
In January 1945 more changes followed and
Lieut. Stanley Curtis, a well-known London
organist, took over from L jCpl. Wilf. Ivory. Lieut.
Curtis gave us every possible encouragement and we
were soon off again on a higher plane than ever,
embarking on a series of concerts including a
popular "Tuesday Serenade" feature.
Choristers, past and present, look back with pride
on the last five years' work. Most of it has been
unspectacular in character but we are pleased to
know that we have radiated a little sunshine-the
sunshine of song-among our patrons. 1941-1946something attempted-more than we expected,
achieved.
J.O.T.
SHREWSBURY
Since publication of the last issue of the Corps
Journal we have again had changes in command.
Colonel G. B. A. Brayden, after a tour of five
months in command, left hurriedly on 25th February
to take over RP. at York.
Lieut.-Colonel R C. D. Kite, late second-incommand, left for RP. Foots Crayon 4th April , to
take up duties as second-in-command at that office.
Both these officers attained their present rank on
posting to their new appointments and we, take this
opportunity to congratulate them and Wish them
continued success in the future.
Lieut.-Colonel H. G. B. Milling relieved Colonel
G. B. A. Brayden as RP. on 4th March and Major
E. W. Lines, M .B.E., relieved Lieut.-Colonel
R . C. D. Kite as second-in-command.
Departures and arrivals by way of releases a,n d
new intakes have been far too numerous for Indi vidual mention ; we wish all those released the
very best of luck in civilian life and welcome all new
arriva ls who are carrying on from where the " Old
U)1S " left off.
Sports.-The end of the football season saw us
in the unhappy position of not having w on a game.
The hockey was a different story-here we maintained a really good side and had outstanding results
-in the latter half of the season we were undefeated

against varied odds.
,1 .'here was a rem~rkable
combination between milItary and A.T.,S . In our
mixed sides and many Saturday outmgs were
enjoyed.
The cricket season has a healthy prospectalthough we haven't yet a home groun~ we h~ve
several good away fixtures and an occaSIOnal midweek match has been arranged.
Arrangements are going ahead to tr>: to ~x up a
tennis club and it is hoped to form a sWlmmmg class
this year, despite overseas postings and releases.
Thanks are due to Pte. J . Lane, who is now the

Captain and who has done so much to hold the team
together. "
1 . A '1
We held a cross-country race ear y In pn over
a four-mile course, and a good number took the
field, "A" Group winning the Group cor:test. When
we can sort out who owns the surroundIng land, ~e
intend to lay a perimeter track for future athletic
meetings .
. 1
h
Cricket is in its early stages ?'~t, bu.t a tna. matc
has been held, and some promiSIng dlsco~enes have
been made. We have quite a heavy fixture list already,
and the games will be played on some .of the fin.est
andn
the bordenng
. Hampshire
groun dS
I
.counties.
Our first match is against the R .A .F. ~aIntenance
Command on 25th May, and we are lookIng forward
to an enjoyable match.
.
The Cycling Club is becomIng more. pOl?ular as
the evenings become lighter. <?n cer~am nights of
the week a motley throng, all With .thelr no~es glued
to front mudguards, can be seen dlsappe.a nng down
the road in a cloud of dust. One fiend I~ kno~n to
pace a bus to and from Basingstoke. to give himself
an appetite for dinner, and leave agam after the meal
to aid his digestion.
The Dramatic Society gave two excellent performances of Agatna Chri~tie's successful play,
" Ten Little Niggers," early m March . .The players
gave some really polished character actIng, and the
large audiences undoubtedly gla~dened the hearts
of those concerned in the productJ~m.
The Revue Section, under their able produc~r,
Pte. Sid Millman, followed very ~hortly With
"Burlesque," which was well . received by the
battalion, and also by nearby Units where the cast
were invited to perform.
.
Dances, social evenings and films c~mtmue to be
very popular events in the BattalIon ~heatre,
although they will not be so numerous dUring the
summer months.
.
f
A new activity has been started In the shape 0 a
Rifle Club. Unfortunately we have no range .of our
n but we have had some good matches WIth the
R~A:F. Chilbolton and local Home Guard teams at
Barton Stacey.
To those readers who have left u~, we send our
best wishes. Some of you are mentIOned here, but
you who are not have not been forgott~n . As. a
matter of fact, the writer of these notes Will be wlt.h
you by the date of publication, an.d he lays down hiS
pen to read with interest what hiS successor has to
say next quarter.
WHITCHURCH
We noticed with gratification the overwhelming
success of the new Journal, and it is. hoped th~t,
having got away with such a flying sta~, ItS p.o pu.l anty
will increase, and the circulation wI.ll. mamta~n an
upward trend. Many of t~e personalIties mentIOned
had slipped our memory smce the early days of the
war and for several days there was a great dea~ of
con~ersation beginning: "Did you see that piece
about old So-and-so in the Journal? "
The past three months have again been event~ul
ones for 40th Battalion. Many old .faces have diSappeared, and far too often, there IS . not e.ven the
small consolation of seeing new ones m their l?lace.
Among our losses must rank high that of Lleut.Colonel H. P. Dyer, M.B.E., one . of the "~ld
Originals." Our heartiest . cor:gratulatlOns go to him
on his appointment as DIstnct Paymaste~, L?ndon
District, and we wish him every success m. hiS n~w
job. Major T. Rennie has returned to ,hiS native
country at RP. Glasgow, and the Officers Mess can
now converse in English. Among o~r rel~ases have
been Captain H. Greensted, our live wI~e. Ent~r
tainments Officer, Captain~. Fra~~s, A.d~mlstratIv~
Officer and Lieut. J. Perkm, our SolICitor Bloke.
S.S.M: H. Hillary, who will be remem~ered by many
readers has also gone, together With a host of
Warran't Officers and Senior N.C.O.'s, all members
of the Old Brigade.
Major A. Chenery has joined us from .Glasgow,
and is rapidly blending with the Hampshire colour
h
We also had with us for a few months the
sc erne.
1 An g Ier, " In
. the
deputy author of " The .C omp eat
shape of Lieut. W. Hopkm.
b k
As far as sport is concerned, we can look ac
on the strenuous games of soccer, and fo~ward to
the sunny afternoons of cricket an? tennis. Our
footballers excelled themselves thiS season, and
finished with a really fine record. T~e first eleven
won the Basingstoke Cup by defeatmg the local
Whitchurch team on Easter Saturday, 2-1,. an~ were
runners-up in the Basingstoke League, bem,? ea~e~
b the same Whitchurch team. We rea~ly coo e
o~r own goose" by entering for everythmg that was
available and we were faced with five league games
in the la~t week of the season. From .the first eleve~
team we lost the following players dunng ~he Ha~yn .
Southcombe, Adams, Waiters, East, Austm, a ey,
Webb (Captain), Andrews and Pendry. Fo~tunately,
the introduction of Infantry personnel mto Pay
Offices enabled our talent spotters to fill the gaps,
an d a t one t I'me , eight of these men were
. fi first
1 t elevenf
regulars. We also reached the seml- na sage 0
the Hants Junior Cup out of 120 entrants, ~ut w)e
were beaten by a fine team (Y.M.C.A., WInton .
YORK
In commencing these notes,. the readers o~ the
Corps Journal at this office Wish to . th~k Lleut.Colonel A . L. Dunnill, O.B.E.,. and his asslsta~ts for
the excellent publication which appeared In the
shape of the March 1946 edition. It's the best and
biggest" bobsworth " we have seen for many a long
year, and it is clear that the am~unt of tIme and
trouble taken by our Editor and hiS staff must have
been tremendous. Once again, we e.xt~nd our. thfl!lks
and congratulations to all concerned In It~ l?ubhcatJ0r:.
Readers will note from the last edItion of thiS
Journal that the Command Pay Office, York,
reported the untimely death of S.S.M. P~ter Black.
This brought to the memory of many hiS prowess
205

at billiards and snooker" eS'pecially during his prewar service in Egypt.
"
The mention of pre-war Egypt will bring back
recollections of Sgt. (later S.Q.M.S., and now Lieut.)
H. Boanas, whose appearance in the Company
Soccer team in 'their recent fixture with Selby Town
Reserves marked his swan song as a player of the
-ancient game. Our spies report that he will be able
to referee a few matches, however, and also can
coach a few budding tennis stars.
Mention of sport prompts us to add that the
Company have entered a team in the York and District Saturday Cricket League. Results are awaited.
In view of the fact that all members ' of this
Company are on the lodging list, and of the derequisitioning of buildings, the activities of our
Sergeants' Mess are being whittled down for the
present. When however conditions permit, it is
hoped to resume with a full programme. It would
be very nice to enhance the appearance of the Mess
with a collection of silver cups, etc.
It is pleasing to note that many of the recent
transfers-in to the Corps from other regiments are
taking kindly to the idea of joining the O.C.A. ' I've
heard it whispered that our O.C.A. representative,
S.S.M. Price, is tempting them with the offer of a

big feed in London the night before the Cup Final.
Ex-members of this office now serving in other
offices will join with us, we know, in offering congratulations to "Tommy" Abbot on his recent
promotion to W.O.I.
We also have pleasure in reporting the marriage
of S /Sgt. R W. Lambert (who served with No. 76
Detachment in the Gold Coast, 1941-43) to L /Cpl.
Nora Powell, of our affiliated A.T.S. Company, on
27th April. We offer our heartiest congratulations
to Mrs. Lambert, and commiserations to our
comrade, for having fallen into the clutches of
womankind despite all the warnings we've given him
from time to time.
Some of our readers will possibly be interested
to know of the few pre-war Regulars now serving
in this Company. Here, then, are their names:
Colonel G., B. A. Brayden (Regimental Paymaster),
Lieut.-Colonel H. Gough (Assistant Regimental
Paymaster), Majors C. Pearce and L. A. Thursby,
Lieuts. H. Boanas and D. Welch, S.S.M.'s H. E
Price and T. Abbot, S.Q.M.S.'s H. Rigby, D. G.
Graham, G. Jenkinson, and J. Ribton, S /Sgts. P. N.
Howes, H. Pearson and J. C. Wilson.
" EBORACUM."
Miscellaneous Offices
BRANCH PAY OFFICE, VICTORIA
to eradicate the all too prevalent idea in the Army

that the Pay Corps is an organisation specially
designed to rob the ranks, and to instil a feeling
amongst those paid ~hat, their welfare was our concern.
Since its inception in -1940 the Branch Pay Office
has been closed on one day only, and that was
Christmas Day, 1945: '
Of late we have had to devote a great deal of our
time to queries raised by newly released troops, and
our pay inquiry bureau section deals with numerous
queries from Civil Resettlement Advice Bureaux and
numerous Welfare Organisations.
Most of the old hands have now gone from the
office, but the Victoria Spirit remains, and our new
staff is carrying on in the old tradition.
The news of the re-issue of the Royal Army Pay

Corps Journal was somewhat delayed in reaching this
office owing to the fact that the Editor's letter had
been on a world tour via Victoria, Australia and
Victoria', British Columbia, finally finding its way
to Victoria, London, some three months later.
.
Nevertheless, our greetings to all colleagues at
home and overseas are sincere though late.
Curiously enough, the Branch Pay Office, although
known to countless troops who have at some time
'or other in their Army service had a " Casual" or
drawn their elusive "Credits" from us, is not so
well known to our colleagues in the Corps; as
witness the Colonel on the War Office Selection
Board, who, on being informed by a candidate that
he was from the Branch Pay Office, Victoria, said:
" What is the Branch Pay Office? Just a glorified
Pay Parade."
,
Well, maybe that does describe our work, but it is
not quite accurate, nor complete.
We started off in 1939 as the Furlough Payments
Organisation, paying troops from the British Expeditionary Force on Special Leave trains that ran
fro~ Dover, Southampton and Newhaven, and also
paymg men at these ports and at Victoria. We
carried on with this until the B.E.F. was evacuated
in May 1940 when all payments were undertaken
by. the Branch Pay Office at Victoria.
During the blitz the office was put to a severe
test, paying large numbers of men granted compassionate leave on account of enemy bombing. In
many cases the work was carried on in a wrecked
office as the Station and, in consequence, the office,
was badly bombed.
Since we commenced our duties, some quarter of
a million men have been paid, apart from exchanges
of currency effected, and we have always endeavoured
THE DEPOT
A hearty vote of congratulation to the E<;litors
on the first number of the re-issue-a really firstclass effort.
Business continues to be brisk at the Depot-at
times, very brisk indeed. It is, of course, impossible
to give details by name of our customers, if we
attempted to do so, these notes would resemble a
nominal roll of the Corps, or, particularly this issue,
a certified true extract from the Army List. Nevertheless " bulk" greetings are sent to all " outgoing"
(or should we say" outgone " ?) clients in their new
stations; they can be sure that when they return
the Depot Staff will get them away on leave (and
off the premises) with all possible speed. It is stilI
the wistful dream of the permanent staff that Python
parties will arrive during office hours-the very large
party that strolled in at 20.30 hours a few weeks ago
completely ruined the Orderly Officer's sleep and
the Piquets' solo school. Still, it was a week-day.
206

Ex-C.M.A. readers will be interested to hear that
Major E. T. Taylor and Lieut. R J. Drummond,
one-time members of the 1922 Boys' Football team,
both passed through our hands recently en ,route
for Accra and India respectively. Are there any more
survivors of that side still serving, I wonder?
Finally, may we use these columns for an appeal?
Will the Pay Office who sent us a Squash Racquet
(Lillywhite's Gradidge) ~with an Officer's Kit, either
please(a) Send for it.
or (b) Send us another one so that we can play?
Command P~ymaster, Brigadier G. A. C. OrmsbyJohnson, C.B.E., M.C., who is due to retire shortly.
. We regret his departure, and wish him continued
enjoyment, prosperity, and successful achievement
in his well-earned retirement.
" JIMJAM."
THE WAR OFFICE

Important among recent happenings at 64 Victoria
Street was the return last month of F.9 (c) O.R.
Personnel and Records from 3-5 Dorset Square,
London, N.W.l, to their" ain folk."
,
They are now housed on the fifth and sixth floors
of the building; nearer heaven than the other
sections of F.9. It has been more than suggested in
certain quarters that the faint aroma of yard-sticks,
D.V's. and extensions of service will no doubt cling
to the walls of Finsbury Circus and Dorset Square
for al I time.
Rumours being passed on from one to another of
these keepers of R.A.P.C. Records say that a headless
major has been seen in Dorset Square surrounded
by a halo of strength returns murmuring: "They
are over establishment."
In the first post-war issue of the Journal a section
of the RA.P.C. staff at the War Office received
" no mention." The work of F.9a (Costing), however, still goes on-as it has done during the past
six years. Captain Becconsall and his staff at Romney
House recently said their good-byes to S.S.M.
S. Norman, S.Q.M.S.s G. Marks and Sid Jones
who left the service for retirement. The only
remaining member of the "old guard" is S.S.M.
W. Jones.
The Costing Section has not yet played any
cricket fixtures this season but they hope to join
with the Royal Engineers at an early date. At present
they are searching for a stretch of ground near
their office. Practice was commenced on 30th April
on a brick and rubble blitz space near the Houses of
Parliament.
The" pitch," unfortunately, was
requisitioned the next morning by the authorities.
The new Education Officer for F.9 Directorate is
Captain R. M . Perrett, who succeeds Captain F. W.
Loveder.
Only one or two of the original 1939-40 vintage
clerks of F.9 (a), (b) and Central now remain.
Tailpiece.-Mr. Robertson, who has been with
F.9 for 27 years would like his old friends to know
that he is very anxious to obtain a copy of
" Forever Amber."
CENTRAL CLEARING HOUSE

Like most Pay Offices, the Clearing House is
rapidly losing its seasoned clerks and youthful
replacements are constantly being introduced to the
complications of Indian Income Duty and the manifold elements that pass through the office. We take
this opportunity of welcoming all the newcomers to
the "family circle" and assure all the "Mr.'s"
that they are by no means forgotten. S.S.M. J. L.
James has recently been posted to this office on
promotion, and S/Sgt. W. Brown joined us on
19th March following his recovery from Diphtheria
contracted on the Continent.
Sport is somewhat restricted in Salisbury owing
to the fact that all military personnel are accommodated in billets. However, this in no way cramps
the style or enthusiasm of Captain L. R Spooner
who can be seen almost any morning, shortly after
dawn, pacing some of the local racehorses on the
downs. I t is rumoured that he can walk faster than
many of them can run! He "walks" in the
S~lisbury Plain and Dorset District Championships
early in June and carries our cash, confidence, and
very best wishes! He was successful in winning the
Southern Command Championship last year.
On 15th April a "Stag Party" was held at
Barnard's Cross to bid farewell to members of group
27 (both D.P.O. and C.C.H. staff). The lucky (?)
individuals were S /Sgt. Field (12 C.P.O. Norway),
Sgt. H. Ince, Sgt. P. Jennings, Cpl. J . Travers,
L/Cpl. F. Fussell, Pte. T. Wolfe, Pte. F. Reading,
Pte. T. Wightman, all of C.C.H., and Cpl. Nowlan
ofD.P.O.
A most enjoyable Dance was held at Barnard's
Cross on Friday, 17th May, and is fully reported by
the representative of S.P. and D.D. Suffice it to say
that it was in the nature of a farewell to the
Commands Abroad
C.B.E., the staff includes amongst others, Lieut.Colonels P. F. C. Bloxam, O.B.E., and F. B. Baker,
M.B.E., Majors L. F. Frisby, T. G. A. Williams,
M.B.E., and C. W. Langham with S.S.M. A. F. J.
Brooks as Chief Clerk.
We are glad to record two Mentions-in-Dispatches,
one to Sgt. T. V. Woolridge who has been with us
for so long and one to Sgt. E. R Ashton, newly
joined from 9 District Pay Office.
A recent highlight was the occasion of the visit
of Field-Marshal The Viscount Montgomery of
Alamein to this Branch.
Brigadier Golding had the honour of meeting the
Commander-in-Chief and of presenting the following
BRITISH ARMY OF THE RHINE

We were sorry not to have had our "copy"
included in the first post-war issue of the Corps
Journal but despite our absence on that occasion
we have very much enjoyed being in contact again
with the familiar names and places we have seen in
that very excellent, first issue.
Notes from all sources in B.A.O.R. have now been
passed to the Editor together with a number of
articles dealing with our ways of living and our ways
of working.
Headquarters, B.A.O.R.-We ha.ve many w:ellknown names here and led by Brigadler H . Goldmg,
207

Officers and N.C.O's.: Majors L. F. Frisby and
T. G . A. Williams, Capt. D. Jackson (late of 8 Corps) ,
S.S.M. A. F. J. Brooks, S jSgt. J. J. Rogerson and
Sgt. E. R. Ashton.
The C.-in-C. had a word for all and we realised
that he was well aware of the efforts of the R.A.P.C.
throughout his campaigns and was able to comment
on some important personal service we had rendered
him on his recent visit to Switzerland.
Recent departures have been those of Major G. M.
Veit, a keen Rhine Army Theatre Club member,
whose performance in " Richard of Bordeaux " was
a )oy to behold and S jSgt. J. J. Rogerson who, by
hiS return to the F.A. and A.A. Staff will doubtless
keep us under very close observation. I understand
that on being called up his first job was to reply to
the observations he had previously raised, but I
gather that on release he will not be called upon to
observe on what he has already done.
To them and to those others who have left we
wish God Speed.
Many of the old faces have disappeared, and

those recently repatriated was S jSgt.
Denms Warren (complete with oboe).
amon~st
9 DISTRICT PAY OFFICE BRUSSELS

9 District Pay Office can rightiy claim to be the
oldest Pay unit in B.A.O.R, as its association with
the now defunct 21 Army Group goes back to the
restless days of the summer of 1943.
.
Many units have been formed under its wing,
and have flown the nest to function as independent
offices. It can truly be said that 9 D.P.O. is "the
daddy of them all."
Some of its offspring are now dead some still
survive, among the former are 2 B.C.H.: 17 C.P.O.,
and 3 F .B.P.O.
Of these, 2 B.C.H. in its hey day, was the largest
Pay unit in the theatre; and 3 F.B.P .0. was
" forward" in every sense of the word. This latter
unit landed on the Normandy beaches early in the
campaign, and finished in the heart of Germany
when the Reich collapsed.
Among the "children" still survlvlOg are
16 .C.P.0. in France and 18 D.P.O . in Germany.
The parent unit, having reached a hoary old age,
has ~ow gone in to partial retirement, and from
startlOg out as a full-blown Command Office, has
been relegated to the " District" league.
Some day, perhaps, abler pens than mine will tell
of the deeds accomplished by 9 Command Pay
Office, and its offspring. It is an interesting tale, .
and well worth the telling.
Lieut.-Colonel J. C. L. Thomas left us early in
the New Year for H.Q. L. of C., and Major F. M.
Laws, M.B.E., took over command.
Lieut.-Colonel E. M. Jenkins assumed command
on 3rd April, in glorious sunshine.
We extend the hand of welcome to him and our
congratulations to our most recent arrivals, the newly
commissioned Lieuts. Evans and Pearson. Though
they have both now blossomed into the full glory
of two pips, both have done good work in the ranks
in the past.
S.S.M . Wykes and SjSgt. Ted Ferrier are enjoying
the fine weather in the right place. They are both
on extended" Sewlrom " in England-" you lucky
people! "
Demobilisation has taken a heavy toll in recent
months, the Sergeants' Mess strength having
decreased by well over fifty per cent. since the New
Year. The MesS' is now all " Regular" except for
one or two who will not be with us much longer.
The mens' mess, too, is sadly depleted, the number
of RA.P.C. personnel numbering less than a dozen.
Our RA. "attachments" and A .T.S. are gallantly
helping to stem the tide. As usual, the staff is
decreasing far quicker than the volume of work.
Perhaps the most missed of all is ex-S jSgt.
" Johnny" Johnson. His versatile piano playing was
the making of many an impromptu party, and he
could always be persuaded to entertain us "just for
half-an-hour." After his departure, the piano stood
unused for four months, and it was with great regret
that we returned it to the owners. SjSgt. Lloyd is
easily the most broken-hearted over this departure,
and we have not heard his magnificent rendering of
" Clancy's Wedding Day" for many a long month.
Those athletically-minded will, no doubt, like
to hear that the detachment relay team, although
H.Q., 30 CORPS DISTRICT, GERMANY

These notes are written to you from H.Q.,
30 Corps District, which recently moved from the
dreamy old town of Nienburg-on-Weser to Luneburg, scene of the capitulation of the German
Armed Forces, the suicide of Himmler and the
Belsen Trials.
On behalf of all ranks se~ing in Pay Branch at
this H .Q ., in Cash offices in this Corps District and
in 19 District Pay Office I send best wishes to all
member:s of the Corps and congratulations to you,
Mr. Editor, on the magnificent first post-war issue
of the Corps' Magazine.
To war-time members of the Corps the magazine
is something we had only heard about or seen when
some old "sweat" showed us his old treasured
pre-war copies but to older members the return of
the magazine is an augury of better things to come.
At first this Pay Branch was concerned only with
control of expenditure in connection with the
disarmed German Forces and Lieut.-Colonel F. J .
Chapman, M.B.E., was our head. In October 1945
he joined the staff of the Military Government and
hiS place was taken by Lieut.-Colonel W. N.
Griffiths who, on 1st May, 1946, proceeded to
1 Corps and was replaced by Major G. C. Pledger,
an old member of the Corps.
. I~ Octobe~ .1945 this Branch took over the organIsatIOn of British Pay Services in the Corps District
and Colonel C. D . Vint joined us as Chief Paymaster.
We were very sorry to lose' Colonel Vint on his
posting to another theatre and hope that he will be
very happy in his new post. To his successor,
Colonel R L. L. Ingpen, we extend a hearty welcome.
Of the pre-war members of the Corps readers will
doubtless be interested to know that Lieut.-Colonel
Groves-Raines, Majors Hazell and Caterham,
S ..S.M. Hornsey and S.Q.M.S. Mossop are serving
With us.
R.H .W.
16 COMMAND PAY OFFICE (BASE) CALAIS
Although in the backwaters of the 'B.A.O.R.,
16 Command P~y Office personnel still find plenty
to occupy the trrne. Under Lieut.-Colonel S . C.
Rogers and globe-trotter Captain L. J.. R. Caveille,
the problems of devaluation are sifted.
208

" in action" but twice last summer, recorded a win
on each occasion. Old Foots Cray cronies may be
interested to hear that Cyril Hogben is with us here
and still manages a gentle gallop on occasions. Last
summer he was successful in winning the 3 miles race
in the garrison sports and during the winter has run
in several races, being fourth in the garrison crosscountry, and tenth in the area championship and
was a member of the garrison team which tra;elled
to Germany at Christmas for the B.A.O .R crosscountry championships.
Since these notes were first penned, we have
heard that S .Q.M.S. Ted Hartley has been granted
his commission. We wish him every success in his
new job at 19 D.P.O.
UTOPIA.
occasional diversion from Mess life, and learn what

lurks behind the name of Schlicte and Steinhager
(gin to you).
We have good possibilities for sport, but so far
only a few weeks of soccer have been possible. The
snow was expected in early November and the league
was not designed to continue after that date as
grounds were expected to be too heavy. As it transpired, the snow played truant, so though soccer
ceased we did not get the white blanket which was
to bring possibilities of ski-ing and other winter
sports. Only seven games were played in the local
soccer league of which one was won, three were
drawn and three lost.
The unit was also represented in the Garrison
rugger side by Lieut. W. Rydings and Pte. A.
Hodgson_
When the snow did arrive in quantity, in late
January and early February, it was still not deep
enough for the amateur Winter Sports enthusiast
(you require a good " cushion" until you know how
to handle your skis), and we watched the German
youngsters on their miniature skis and little sleighs
with envy.
A very successful Discussion Group was formed
during the winter. At the first meeting, Major
E. B. Bradshaw daringly proposed " That it was the
opinion of the house that 'Frailty thy Name is
Woman '." Captain I. T. Shaefer wittily opposed
the motion and stated a good case for the Fair Sex.
Up to date the following have left us for" civvy
street": Lieut. R_ M_ Ealand, Lieut. C. L. Parsley,
Major R _ F. George, Major I. D. Fraser, Lieut. A.
Fishman, Lieut_ I. G . McD. Goble, Lieut. J- A_ H.
Cave, Captain, I. T. Shaefer, Sgt. J. Simpson, Sgt.
A. T. Hanney, S.Q.M.S_ F . Tasker, S jSgt. L. A.
Freeman, Sgt, V_ A J. Minoletti, Sgt. J. V.
McCluskey, S jSgt. J. Dunkerley, S jSgt_ H. Smith
and Sgt. S. F. Trower.
Sergeants' Mess.-Many times during our
sojourn at Ludenscheid there have been sounds of
revelry by night and your humble recorder, then a
mere Junior N.C.O., knew that his slumbers had
been disturbed by an Inter-Mess evening_ Under
the guidance of S.S_M. P. J- Lydon (since departed
on commissioning), the visits of the R.S.F's .
Serg~ants' Mess never failed to produce an enjoyable
evenmg_
The numbers in the Mess are rapidly declining,
in fact the sombre joviality of Farewell Dinners
comes round with almost monthly regularity_
Nevertheless, S.S.M. H. E. Shilcock is able to keep
a twinkling eye on his happy family. The peace of
the Mess is usually disturbed by the vociferous
support for Scotland of SjSgt. R G_ Stout, but in
his absence the lively banter between S.Q.M.S.
J. C. Alexander and SjSgt_ W_ Richards causes
much amusement for the other members present.
18 DISTRICT PAY OFFICE, GERMANY

Although one can never escape' the grim and
sombre realities which are everywhere obvious in
Germany following the disintegration of the Third
Reich, 18 District Pay Office is happier in its location
than some units. The small metal-working town of
Ludenscheid is tucked into odd twists and folds in
the Westphalian Hills. The R.A.F. and 8th American
Air Force did not consider it worthy of their
attention for which we are truly thankful. Consequently, there is none of the devastation here
which one encounters in dreadful profusion in any
of. the Ruhr Valley towns and cities only 40 or 50
mdes away. Indeed , in normal times, the place must
have. been a bustling and hardworking little township
tu.rnlOg out pots and pans, and aluminium toys and
t~ll?-kets, and later, under the Nazi regime, the more
s~mster paraphernalia of war-machine gun parts,
aircraft components, and bits and pieces for the
" V" weapons.
We were lucky in the choice of first-class accom~odation, both for office and messes, by those who
did the early recce. A pleasant little side street, the
Liebig Strasse, makes up the unit lines. The officers
have two sizeable and well-built houses, while the
Sergeants' Mess and rank and file billets are in three
houses which could probably have been classified
as mansions when they were first built-one guesses,
about half a century ago. Now they are somewhat
outmoded, but still very comfortable, and we admit
that, thanks to foresight on the part of those
responsible, we have wintered well.
Of course,
officers of 18 District Pay Office (or Command Pay
~ffice as it then was) will never forget the mag~Ificent Mess at the original station, Rheine. With
Its beautiful appointments, delightful bedrooms,
~Itra modern shower baths and sun-ray apparatus,
It must have been the pride and joy of its Nazi
owner, and became something of an institution
among B.A.O.R. Pay Services while we lived there.
We left with many a sigh on moving to Ludenscheid
last August, but were pleased to be able to hand it
over to 61 F .B.P.O.
When arriving at Ludenscheid, we were fortunate
to find that the IIth Royal Scots Fusiliers, who had
already been here for some months, had started up
first-class amenities.
The rank and file have a
pleasant club, the "Thistle," with theatre attached
where E.N.S.A., " Stars in Battledress " and German
Troups entertain us once or twice weekly. Also, we
have a " pukka" cinema, the" Antelope," where we
can see our films in comfort even though they are
mostly of a very early " forties" vintage. Officers
now have a 147 Brigade Club here to make an
19 DISTRICT PAY OFFICE, GERMANY

We are stationed now at a place named Blankenese,
a suburb of the much-bombed city of Han1burg
which the RA.F appear to have placed high on
their visiting list. Although the city itself has been
largely reduced to piles of rubble, we have been
fortunate enough to find quarters and accommodation in this picturesque suburb lying on the
bank of the Elbe, where we enjoy the sun and find
life by no means intolerable_
To recite the diverse ways and numerous ex-
209

periences of how this unit and its personnel arrived
here would involve the writing of practically the
history of this campaign, so it must suffice to say
that we have eventually come to rest (we hope !) in
this corner of North-West Europe after many
wanderings. Most of the staff were together in
London in 1944, and many old faces have returned
to the fold after doing all sorts of odd jobs in all
sorts of places. And now we are back to the solid
and accepted Pay Office organisation-complete with
A.T.S. and civilian clerks!
Our leisure time is catered for by the excellent
Army Welfare Service, whilst the sporting side of
the unit is coming into its own once more. Football,
Rugby, Golf, Tennis, Swimming and Yachting may
all be indulged in and , the entire unit may be seen
cruising down the river on most fine Sundays.
CEYLON
fHE COMMAND PAY OFFICE
We're round the bend

No one to mend
That aching gapIn fact we've got Deolali Tap
At the C.P.O. Colombo.
No time to shirk
All day to work
It's full of strife
This blinking .life
I can't get home to see my wife
From the C.P.O. Colombo.
We can't have leave
Tucked up our sleeve ;
With folk elsewhere
We can't compare.
You folk at home go anywhereBut not C.P.O. Colombo.
Our only peace
Will be release ;
When we get back
We wont make track
For that soul-destroying workhouse shack
Called" C.P.O. Colombo."
COLOMBO
The work is rushed

The clerks are flushed ;
The B.O.R's. quick
The natives slickThey're up to every blinking trick
At theC.P.O. Colombo.
JAMAICA
We in Jamaica welcome this opportunity of being
once again able to contribute Notes for the R.A.P.C.
Journal which has been missed so much by its prewar readers during recent years. There must be
many readers who have served at this station and
who will be interested to learn of the activities of
No. 71 Detachment on this beautiful island. Some
will perhaps read our contribution and hope ,to be
posted here when their tour of foreign service comes
along.
Jamaica ,is now the H ~ Q . of the North
Caribbean Area, which includes British Honduras
and the Bahamas. This tends to make our work
more interesting and occasionally some of us proceed
on temporai:y duty to the out-stations.
In these days of globe trotting there are few
people who have not heard something of Jamaica,
the largest and most valuable of the West India
islands belonging to Great Britain. Within a fortnight
from England and five days from New York, lies
the entrance to the beautiful blue Caribbean Sea
and just at the northern gateway is Jamaica, the
Island of Springs. Arrived there you find that you
have left behind the fogs and cold of Europe and
are in a land where there is just one long spell of
'sunshine tempered by day by the breezes of the sea,
appropriately called "The Doctor," and cooled at
night b y the gentle mountain breezes.
Apart from its climate, Jamaica's principal cha~m
is to be found in its profuse and luxuriant plant-hfe.
The island is a country of mountain and valley, hill,
dale and plain, well watered by streams and, waterfalls, where the palm-fringed sands are lapped by a
gentle tideless sea, where wild and wooded depths
and beautiful scenery delight the eye. The wealth
of fern life can be realised when it is known that
nearly 500 varieties are' to be found on the island.
Among Jamaica's special features as a health
resort must be mentioned the practicability 9f an
all-the-year-round out-of-door life with the maximum of light and air and natural "sun made"
foods . The warm waters of the Caribbean Sea
provide splendid bathing facilities.
The Office staff

Is cut by half;
One to do
The work of two ;
The mystery is how they get through
The documents
Are evidence
That all they've got
Is Tommy RotI'd like to burn the ruddy lot
At the c.P.O. Colombo.
For any news
Or any views
On repat. gen.The Peons ken ;
They've got the eyes and ears of ten
We live in huts'I:hey drive us nuts.
Mosquitos bite
Throughout the night,
But that is not our only plight
The Monsoons break
The buildings shake ;
The rivers swell
The natives smellBut still we've got to work like H - - I
The Ceylonese
Do what they please.
The rickshaw wallahs
Pinch your dollars.
The blinking dhobi rips your collars
At the C .P.O. Colombo.
210

, Arrivals.-We welcome the arrival of the families
of Major Purcell, S /Sgt. Nixon and L /Sgt. Erne.
It is understood that they now occupy newly
decorated married quarters in Up Park Camp, and
we hope that their sojourn will make up for the
war-time separations. Most Wednesday afternoons
are now devoted to gardening.
On 26th April S.S.M. Miller arrived from
Leicester (H.A.A.) in relief of S.S.M. Young who
was granted coinmissioned rank on 27th March.
Departures.-Some time has now passed since a
member of the unit has returned to his native land;
but accordin~ to the latest " race card " it is thought
that Lieut. Lindley and Pte. Tymn stand a fairly
good chance and rumour has it that they have been
seen in Kingston doing some final shopping prior
to marking their packing cases. They hope to be
released and to return to their former employment.
General.-For the benefit of those readers who
may be thinking of joining us we should like to
state that we also employ a number oflocally enlisted
auxiliaries from the Jamaica Company A.T.S. This
enables us to keep in touch with local events and
when we organise our social functions it is found
that the "local touch" just makes the "Pay"
affairs the envy of the whole area.
In addition, we, like the home establishments,
can boast a civilian element. Certain of these have
seen service overseas with the A.T.S. and have
worked in Pay Offices in the U.K. (Whitchurch,
please note). Regpay York will be glad to know that
Mrs. Kite is now back amongst us.
Lieut.-Colonel Thomas left India by air for Japan

on the 5th February 1946 and arrived in the Land
of the Rising Sun on the 15th of the same month.
Captain Brazendale arrived in Japan on the
1st March, 1946, having travelled by sea. The
remainder of the staff arrived in the final three
personnel ships, in which during the voyage they
had been engaged in " spreading the gospel" from
a pay information and assistance point of view.
Our S.P. achieved his heart's desire by obtaining
a bank for the Pay Office, and now he sits in the
manager's office in Hiro Main Street, Hiro, Kure.
As soon as the Office had settled down, news was
received that the Division is likely to move to
Okayama (about 90 miles away) early in June.
Colonel Thomas has therefore just visited this place
on the principle that "time spent on reconnaisance
is seldom wasted," investigating the prospects of
bank premises there, and has left behind an American
appreciation of long service and Scotch whisky, both
of which are strange to them.
We will have another instalment of our tale for
the next issue of the Journal.
MALTA
The part Malta played in the second World War
will be long remembered, and as the end of the
war with Italy coincided with the annual celebrations of the Victory of the Knights of Malta
over the Turkish hordes in 1565, the Maltese are
naturally proud of their association with these great
events.
The Army Pay Office, Malta, has played its part
in the recent conflict, and in common with all the
Services and the civilian population suffered heavy
casualties. Due to bombing attacks the offices were
moved a number of times to different locations,
eleven members of 72 Detachment and three civilians
were killed or died of wounds.
The offices are again situated in Valletta, the
capital of the island, and as the local Forces are
demobilised we are gradually returning to peace-time
standards.
In October 1942 a number of the civilian clerks
were enlisted into a formation known as the Malta
Territorial Force and served with 72 Detachment.
Three are still serving-Major S. P. Holland, Lieut.
A. V. Caunter and Pte. R Mifsud. The last named
will be representing 72 Detachment in the Victory
Parade, London, and we know he will receive a
warm welcome from those of the R.A.P.C. whom
he meets in England.
SOJOURNER
JAPAN
, Before I, the" officially" appointed representative
of the Staff Paymaster's Office, Japan (at least as
far as the R.A.P.C. Journal is concerned) " kick off "
with descriptions of and articles on the Land of the
Rising Sun, I would just like to introduce the staff
of "B.A.P.J.A.P." (an abbreviated title for our,
Office) in " Britain's Farthest from Home Troops."
The RA. P.C. are represented by Lieut.-Colonel
F. W. C. Thomas, Major J. A. A. Smith, Captain
E. H. Halliday, Lieut. Alex. S. Barnicoat, S /Sgt.
N. MacKillop, Sgt. T. Williams, Sgt. G. A. Viard,
Sgt. R V. Dow, Sgt. S. F. Gowlett, Sgt. H. Purves,
and Sgt. C. C. Bell.
"Brindiv," the popular name for our Division,
is an abbreviation of " British and Indian Division,"
and forms approximately one-third of the total
Commonwealth Force occupying its allotted portion
of Japan. There are about 15,000 British and Indian
troops in " Brindiv," and they come from all parts
of the U.K., from all parts of India, and from the
independent Gurkha kingdom of Nepal.
In the main they form one British Brigade and one
Indian Brigade, plus one regiment of the Indian
Armoured Corps-7th Light Cavalry.
The whole Division is under the command of
49 year-old Major-General" Punch" Cowan, C.B.,
C.B.E., D .S.O., M.C., who previously led the famed
17th Indian Division against the Japanese in the
Burma Campaign from February 1942 to June 1945.
The Japanese evinced little or no sign of interest
or excitement when the Division "marched in,"
which was not so surprising in view of the fac~ that
we were merely" taking over" from the Amencans,
who ,.were moving further afield.
MEERUT
The number of R.A.P.C. personnel who have
made sojourn at Meerut in the past few years runs
well into four figures. It is probable that many
more will take the road East in the future. To
refresh the memories of those who have tarried
awhile and passed on, to interest those who are with
us still and to inform those who may find their way
here in the future, I propose to give a very brief
outline of life in India/S.E.A.C. Pay Office in Meerut
Cantonment.
First impressions of new arrivals may be surprisingly favourable. True, the advantages of fll:lsh
sanitation may be missed, but those whose conceptIOn
of military service overseas ' include visions of living
in tents, eating from mess-tins and washing in the
open air from buckets, would have some pleasant
211

bazaars wiII provide a great deal of entertainment.
The narrow, beetlenut-stained, dirty streets are
uninviting enough, but there is a touch of the
picturesque about the shopkeepers, who in queer
assortments of garb, squat cross-legged outside
their stores. Bargaining with these vendors is an
art not easily acquired, but undoubtedly the surest
way to secure substantial reductions in price is to
feign apathy. The Indian trader is always prepared
to undercut his rival, and is usually ready to see his
profits evaporate rather than that his customer-should
place an order elsewhere. It is as well to be wary in
making offers for articles which are not really
required. On one occasion, I priced a brass candlestick and was told that it was Rs.14 (21 /-).
Obviously, I had no use for the thing and I declined
it at the price. Whereupon, the stalIholder asked
me to make an offer. For a joke, I said I would give
Rs. 2 (3/-). "Yours sahib" was the over-prompt
repl y and it was only with difficulty and embarrasment that I avoided making the purchase. The
oneness of the Indian and his animals, a remarkable
feature of the national life, can be illustrated in the
bazaar. Goats and naked children huddle together
outside the shops and in the off-turnings. Sacred '
Brahmin bulls wander unmolested through the
thronging masses of humanity. Hollow-eyed beggars
and hungry mongrels glance pitiously at the more
welI-to-do who come to do their shopping.
The animal life is certain to intrigue the newcomer.
It is not easy to get used to the sight of camels moving
majestically in convoy along the dusty roads, or the
monkeys, chattering along the walIs. The howling
of jackals and the wild laugh of the hyena add a
creepy chill to the winter evenings. Bird life is even
more spectacular. The chirpy minors and brilIiantly
coloured hoopoes add a flash of energy and colour to
the languid summer days. Few newcomers miss the
experience of buying a cake, only to have it snatched
neatly from their grasp by the" dive-bomb" attack
of a marauding kite. The Bengal vultures and the
Pharoe's Chicken, the scavenger birds, though less
aggressive are more revolting. The sight of a dozen
scraggy-necked vultures clustered on the roof of the
M.I. room was among the most disquietening of my
early impressions of the camp. There are a good
number of deadly snakes around, but they usually
keep to themselves, which is as weII for everyone.
It is not a nine-day wonder if a cobra or a krate is
caught in the bungalow across the way, but one
doesn't have to expect to wake in the morning and
find such unpleasant companions sharing one's bed.
Insects there are, of aII descriptions, ranging from
the tiny destructive termites and "woolIy bears,"
who can ruin a great-coat in a couple of hours, to
the Flying Beetle, the "Fortress" of the insect
world, whose drone has been known to waken a
sound sleeper.
There are chances to get to know the Indian
people and to see a little of the country outside
Meerut. Visits to local law courts, the gaol, industrial
works (such as the brick factory and the sugar
factory), the Ghandi Ashram, seat of the" industry
in the home" scheme, and local Muslim, Hindu and
J ain religious buildings are planned under unit
arrangements. Trips to Agra, to see the Taj Mahal,
to Fatepur Sikri, dead city of Akbar the Great, to
Hardwar, Sacred Hindu bathing place on the
Ganges, to Delhi, eight times India's capital and to
Lahore are also arranged. A month's leave in the
summer provides an opportunity to visit the worldfamous mountainland of Kashmir or the hill stations
surprises.
For life at Meerut is not as spartan
as all that. Accommodation, for instance, is provided
by firmly built, electrically fanned and lighted
bungalows. (These buildings were standing long
before the Indian Mutiny and are still in pretty good
shape. What scope there is for the imagination of
anyone who cares to ruminate on the types of men
who have occupied his bunk or bed space since it
first housed soldiery!) Then there is the service.
For Rs.l (1 /6) per week, a bearer or personal servant
may be employed to make beds, clean shoes and
generally to perform odd jobs. There is a twentyfour hour dhobi (laundry) service. A char-waIler
will provide early morning tea in bed, and further
supplies whenever needed during the day. For a few
annas, it is even possible to be shaved by a mobile
barber before breakfast. The serviceman ha<. to do
little in the wav of routine domestic tasks for himself.
So much for the life in camp; what are the
amenities of the cantonment itself? Excluding unit
sports, they are limited. There are four cinemas,
showing British and American films. They would
not compare very favourably with the Western idea
of a picture palace but are above the converted
shack type, and usually show fairly up to date
pictures. When I came here first it was not uncommon to have frequent technical hitches and reels
were sometimes run off in incorrect order, with the
most confusing of results. Now, however, there has
been a marked improvement and sound reproduction
has also changed for the better. For those who are
interested, an occasional visit to the Indian cinemas
can be made with advantage, for the Indian film
industry is an infant which is growing up fast and
may have a great future before it. Cafes there are
in plenty and a meal may be ordered any time up to
midnight. This marks the limit of Meerut's amenities, for in India there is nothing to correspond to
the English "pub" and it is not unusual to go
anything up to eighteen months without even
exchanging the time of day with a white woman.
The weather is, perhaps, the most important
factor in everyday life in Meerut. The winter months,
from October to February, produce a climate which
is well-nigh perfect. The rest of the year is of
necessity very trying. "Heating-up" begins about
the middle of March, when the thermometer passes
the eighty mark. By early April it puts up the
century and will reach its peak of anything up to
120 degrees in May. In these days, it is essential to
keep out of the sun and to keep active. Once you
lay down, it requires great reserves of will power to
get up again. During May, the amount of water
consumed per head per day will run into gallons!
In mid-June, the Monsoon breaks, usually with
violent thunder and inches of rain per hour, which
will flood everywhere and make the bungalows
appear as so many little islands in a swirling sea.
The rain is welcome enough after the weeks of dry
heat, but is realIy a mixed blessing. For between
the storms, when the sun starts to dry up the sodden
ground, the humidity of the atmosphere causes a
moist heat which is the most unpleasant phase of
all the variations in climate and produces the skin
irritation prickly-heat. Perhaps the worst feature
of the Indian summer is that the temperature does
not drop appreciably during the night. After a
sweltering day, there is no cool evening breeze to
provide relief and sleeping under mosquito nets in
a three-figure thermometer-reading is an unhappy
experience, even with an electric fan overhead.
Until the novelty wears off, a trip to the native
..
212

of Naini Tal, Simla, ~ussoorie, or ~h~niket, which
all provide excelIent vIews of the majestIc Hlmalayan
Range.
Whilst we are here, there are few of us who do
not particularly, during the summer, curse Meerut,
nd'ia, the sun, the insects and everything else that
seems to be sent to provoke us. But a stay in Meerut,
as in any other Indian town, wiII give some opportunity to learn t<;> ~nde.rstand. an~ a~preciate. the
working of the ASIatIC mInd; It WIll gIve some Idea
of how" the other half of the world lives" and may
even help to prove that the old adage of East being
East is really a falacy. It can be a tremendous
educative experience ... if it doesn't last too long!
FRANK H. A. KEMPE.
NIGERIA
The re-appearance of the Corps Journal from its
compulsory war-time retirement is strongly welcomed
and we out here are looking forward to news of past
friends with lively anticipation. It is regretted that
time did not permit in sharing the honour of including notes in the first re-issue.
With the tour of duty being 18 months only,
except for those lucky people who come out for a
"Cooks Tour" prior to release, there are drafts
coming and going almost each month (principalIy
going just now) and it is not possible to name aII
the staff out here.
Practically speaking these
" fortunate" people are now neighbours of the
Governor, although they have not, as yet, received
the customary visit as newcomers to the district.
Past members will recognise these "luxurious"
premises as being K.G.V. Park, situated within
five minutes' walk of Lagos Yacht Club, where
S.S.M. Vincent is still remembered as the man who
never won a race.
Pre-war members of the Corps out here are Major
P. J. Thornton, Captain C. E. Jones, S.S.M.s
B. W. Higson and W. G. Johnston, S.Q.M.S .s
K. Curling, White, and N. Reynolds, and S /Sgts.
H. WilIiams and G. Harty.
Despite the humidity we manage to run teams in
all the local Sports' Leagues. Last season saw us
with a strong footbalI team, several members being
selected for representative games against chosen
African teams . The football season will have begun
by the time of publication of this issue and we are
looking forward to another crack at the cup and league.
Departures for the U.K. this month will deprive
the office of the several members who " expressed"
the wish that they would like to have stayed longer.
Amongst those departing are Major Thornton,
S.Q.M.S. Reynolds, S /Sgt. Tuckett (congratulation
to him on his promotion), Sgts. Evans, Booth,
Baker, L /Sgts. MilIer, Mears, Smart and Hockin.
Sgt. Goddard with L /Sgts. Fensham and Whitfield
are due to go next month .
By the time these notes are in print, the Command
Paymaster, Lieut.-Colonel A. W. MacDonald, will
have departed for home being relieved by Lieut.Colonel K. I. D . Stewart, O.B.E., to whom we
extend our best wishes for a happy stay in Nigeria.
BATURE.
SOUTH AFRICA
Belated congratulations to those concerned in the
re-birth of the Journal-such an excellent first
number must have meant much hard work and
tearing of hair. A pity that Durban could not
manage a few notes for this auspicious first numberonly a few days' notice of the proposed publication
was received however and most blame must be laid

to the door of the Postal Department for delayed
delivery of the pre-Natal advice.
Old Durbanites wiII be interested to learn that
Imperial Establishments in South Africa are fast
drying up, but it looks as though the Pay people
will be as usual, the last line of defence. Those who
passed'this way in convoy and who were given such
enthusiastic hospitality took away exceedingly
pleasant memories and impressions of this townthese fellows will be surprised to learn the eager
anxiety of the majority of the permanents to leave
these shores for ever-even a whisper of a possible
D.O.V. is sufficient to cause an attack of acute
doldrums.
Most of the war-time concessions
(reduced cinema prices, free municipal travel, etc.)
have now gone and aII canteens have closed up so
the boys are finding life pretty expensive. The
Section of the office (A.P.C.) now housed in Clairwood Camp is particularly affected by' the lack of
canteens as during the week-end visits to Durban
they now have to p.a y treble canteen prices for vastly
inferior food. The excellence of the meals previously
supplied by the many canteens is well known to
service men all over the world.
Unfortunately the splitting of the office between
Clairwood Camp and Durban has resulted in the
virtual death of social and sports activities and our
local sportsmen must now seek relaxation as individual members of civilian clubs-not easily
achieved incidentally as all civilian clubs are hopelessly over-established as far as members versus
accommodation is concerned and quite naturally
preference is given to the returned Springbok.
Like most Imperial Units we have had our small
quota of budding colonials-those who have decided
to forsake the Old Country and seek fortune in
South Africa are S /Sgt. Callaghan and Sgt. Nixon
(Regulars) and Ptes. Turner and McQue. We wish
them all the very best of luck. So far, none of our
people have joined in the Odendaalsrust Gold Rush
but at least two of our number (could they be
frequenters of the Prince of Wales?) seriously
considered the prospects of opening a saloon there
but unfortunately there are no local Marlene
Dietrichs so the idea was abandoned. It is rumoured
that some fellows are finding the Share Market more
profitable than the local race meetings but the one
and only Benno Russell remained completely unconvinced and pinned his faith to old" Cuthbert "
and " Topiary" right up to the time that he left us
for Blighty. The walk back from Pietermaritzburg
was really healthy exercise for him anyway.
Recent local promotions here are Sgt.-Major
J. McClafferty and S /Sgt. T. E. Linter to Lieutenants, Ptes. Adams and Cox to Corporals and Ptes.
Fellows, Ginn and Hampshire to Lance-Corporalscongratulations to all.
Home postings are too
numerous to mention, but in the next issue of the
Journal I wiII give you the names of the couple of
old stagers left.
We have recently had the pleasure of welcoming
Mrs. Edinger, Miss Edinger and Mrs. J ~d~e-they
will no doubt find the absence of ratIOnIng and
Coupons a source of wonder for some time. May
they aII have a pleasant stay here. By ~he tim.e these
notes appear we hope also that Mrs. LInter wIll have
arrived. A few more Corps' ladies and this place
will begin to assume the atmosphere of a pre-~ar
overseas station. We hope though, that the ladles
will be fairly liberal in distributing late passes and
will keep the apron strings reasonably slack.
213

Our Corps social life can do with some energetic
ladies to revive it-the virtual expiration of same
was due to force of circumstances mainly. It did -end
with a bit of a kick though, as we ran three highly
successful dances at Kent House (funds would not
run to the Cosmo Club) and a grand dinner at the
Butterworth Hotel. To those of us who are forced
to live in Durban hotels, the food provided by the
Butterworth was an eye-opener (and a tummy filler)
and there was quite a rush at the Manager's office
next day inquiring for vacancies.
We have had pleasure in welcoming two new
arrivals--one at each end of the Corps ladder.
Sgt.-Major Fred Jones (Cairo and Beirut), who has
retired and settled here, and a daughter for L /Cpl.
and Mrs. Fellows.
Shortage of staff has now resulted in the one and
only Pius Mhlongo being incorporated into Central
Staff, and he now trudges wearily to and from the
Post Office twice daily-pressure of tea-making
renders further journeys out of the question. It has
been difficult to persuade Pius that he is not entitled
to the Defence -Medal.
Taken all round this is a very happy office, but if
F9 does not relent and send us some clerks soon,
we shall have to apply for membership of the Witley
Council.
At this time of the year one notices small clusters
of people whispering together outside the Post Room
and Central-the entries for "The July" are out.
This race, which is comparable to the "Derby"
(only in South Mrica of course), takes place as its
name implies in July, and as the fatal day (the 6th)
approaches, excitement reaches a fever pitch and all
one can hear is " What'll win "-interspersed, praise
be ! with an occasional " What'll you have? "
Anyhow, just to prove there is no deception( and
remember this was in print before the race, I give
you winner" Moscow "-help yourselves and send
along the odds to a pound.
TOTS lENS ! !
W .P.
successful variety shows were produced in which

personnel of this Detachment assisted.
Will Bermuda please note that we, also, had a
claim for" 1914-1918" medal and gratuity.
It is hoped to give more details about the life in
this" Land of the Humming Bird" in future notes.
In the meantime, we send greetings to all old friends
and best wishes for the continued success of the
Journal.
" ELSIE."
~ /~i.L~~\ ,.-~~~~
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.~ . ~
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"M"y 1 SUGGE.ST
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SERGEANT
T~AT INSTEAO OF FI\"'\NG,A PAIR
OF
SCISSORS WOUl..O TENO FOR

GREAiER EFF\CENCY
TRINIDAD
The notification of the "recalling from retirement " of the R.A.P.C. Journal was received too late
for notes from this office to be included. Congratulations to the Editor and his helpers on
producing a first-class number in spite of the
numerous difficulties which must have been
encountered.
We are a mixed lot in this office-a small element
of U.K. personnel holding "Key" appointments
and the remaining clerical staff being composed of
Colonial Military, A.T.S., and Civilians.
Major
J. G. AlIen is the Command Paymaster, and he is
assisted by Captain E. O. (Jimmy) Band, Lieuts.
L. Cooper, H . N. Parker and E . A. (Tug) Wilson.
Regular soldiers in the office are S /Sgt. D. Mee,
Sgts. O. J. Baines, H. Harrison, A. Milne, A. R.
Traylen and J. Wotherspoon.
As we are a small detachment with some staff
living in Port of Spain and others in Garrison
Messes, social and sporting activities are of a combined nature. Lieut. Cooper is Officer-in-command
Garrison Hockey and plays regularly for the
Garrison team with Lieut. Parker. Sgt. Traylen has
joined the station recently and should be able to
render good service next season. Sgt. Wakefield
has figured prominently in the Garrison Cricket and
Football teams.
An Area Stage Society was formed to provide
entertainment for the U.K. Troops and two very
Ex-R.A.P.C. MAN IS
" STAR IN BATTLEDRESS "
From Pte. F. A. DEWDNEY (Meerut)
Personnel of the 33rd Battalion R.A.P.C. will
remember Pte. Donald Clark, as the comedian with
a very sophisticated style.
A member of the
" Finsbury Frivolities" Company, he became very
popular, and took part in numerous entertainments
for troops. On one occasion, a number he had
written entitled" Don't forget your Khaki Umbrelia"
was broadcast by that popular radio artiste, Norman
Long. On another occasion, at the Nuffield Centre,
London, Don had the honour to appear in the same
bill as George Robey.
The writer, on his recent return to India from
L.I.A.P., met Don at Mauripur, near Karachi, on
the 30th March, 1946, awaiting air transport back
to the U.K. Don, who now holds the rank of
Sergeant, has been touring India with the " Stars
in Battledress" in their show "Sing for Your
Supper," which proved to be extremely popular
with the troops. During his tour he broadcast from
All-India Radio, Delhi.
Don is not yet due for" demob.," and he hopes,
after a spell of leave in England, to go on tour with
the same company in Germany. Keep up the good
work Don, for even if your services as Wing Clerk
weren't always appreciated, you have at least found
a job which is to your liking-and ours.
214

1946 Summer

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THE ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL

Subscribers are requested to notify at once any

All correspondence should be addressed to :

Lieut.-Colonel A. L. DUNNILL, O.B.E.

The Royal Army Pay Corps Journal is published

Tel.: ARDwick 4104: Ext. 2.

Local Representatives have been appointed in

The rates of subscription to The R.A.P.C. Journal

All letters, articles, etc., should be clearly written

Small advertisements in connection with articles

Articles, photographs, etc., should be forwarded

For Scale . of Charges for other advertisements

All articles printed in this Journal are copyright,

The Royal Army Pay Corps Journal

in December 1915. He was twice mentioned

In this issue, additional space has been

Those of us who remain have a duty to

MAJOR-GENERAL SIR GUY RILEY, K.B.E., C.B.

THE ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL

THE ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL

The Taj MahaI.

unique; the most splendid jewel in the silver

inlaid with mosaic in precious stones, are

Shah J ehan was the last of the great Mogul

"PRIMROSE AND BLlJE"

THE ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL

THE ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL

R.A.P.C. OLD COMRADES' ASSOCIATION

He was one of the enthusiastic band who

The late Captain E.

" Captain Browne possessed all the qualities

as ours, he was always a leader, and one who

. Browne and here we have another outstanding

As foreshadowed in my notes in the last

THE ROYAL ARMY PAY.' CORPS JOURNAL

Mter some discussion it was agreed that

THE ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL

After discussion as to the best methods of

THE ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL

advertisements were prejudiced by the fact

No. 2 BASE CLEARING HOUSE,

THE ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL

No. 9 C.P.O. (Base) departed from us and

* The Editor would be glad to receive articles

A.T.S. Group, 2 B.C.H., Ruyen.

THE ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL

THE ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL

Queen's Medal, and was later stationed in

Captain Alfred Gordon Leonard Harding

A. J. Hutchings (late S.Q.M.S., No. 815)

F. W. Turner died at Canterbury on 22nd

The death of No. 7675492 Pte. Eric J. Yoke

The death of Arthur Herbert Step hens (late

The death of ex-S.Q.M.S. J. Chambers

On 20th April Ernest Alfred Parris died in

The late Lieut.-Colonel R. W. KeIIy, O.B.E.

Colonel Kelly was a keen billiards enthusiast

C. H. Bradley (late 301, S.Q.M.S.) died in

Colonel Frederick Mostyn ,\Vatkins, C.B.E.,

Lieut.-Colonel R W. Kelly died in Edinburgh on 21st March, 19't 6.