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Vol.

No. 2

- .
J'

THE

Royal Army Pay Corps


Journal

SUMMER, 1931

THE

ROVA L

ARMY

PAY

BALLROOM
BILLIARDS
G ARA G E

CORPS

By Official
Appointment
To the R.A.P.C. Officers Club

T elej>ho lle - 69-70

Our special Pure Dye Reppe Silk Ties 5/ 6


U ncreasable Weave ., ... ... ...... , .... .. .. ,6/6

GEOR GE HOTEL

Blazers, Woven Stripe and


Corps
Buttons .. ..
.. . .... 57 / 6
Made t o measure.

LICHFIELD

Swea ters , Scarves, Squares, Badges, et c.

~he

Full Price List on Applica t ion.

SWAN HOTEL

All goods are subject to 10 per cent.


Cash Discount to members of the Officers'
Club.

OLDWORLD
COMFORT &
HOSPITALITY
T elephone - - . -

The Royal Army Pay Corps Journal

J OU RNAL

39 Panton S tree t.
Hay mark e t S.W .1

E s tabd. 1898

93

Only Address

THE

Royal Army Pay Corps Journal


Vol. 1. N o.

Summer, 1931.

CONTENTS
PAGE

Editoria l Notes
Fro m" The London Gazette"
37
R .A. P .C. Officers' Club . ..
38
Old Comrades' Association-Annual l'l'leet ing and Dinner
40
Our Phi latelic P age ...
Egypt: by E. C. Williams
.
" The British E m pire "-Why?: by J. Me rnfield
SI
No tes on the History of A rmy P ay : by Li eut. -Col. E. E. E . T od el , O .D.E,
.S2
Corps Ne \\'s and Notes
56 to 74
Married Quarters Roll-Waiting Li st
74
DrOleries de Corps .. .
76
The Cairo Taxi -Dri ver-A Tribute: by E. C . Wi ll ia ms
78
Army F ootba ll CU I
Letters to the Ed ito r
80
Cross\\'ord Puzzle Result ...
44b
Notices
Cover, p. (iii.) ,

E DlTO IH AL NOT,ES
80, Pall Mall, London, SW . I.
Jun e, 1931.
We are naturally gratified at the kindly
reception \,,, hich has been accorded to the
first number of our new JOURNAL, and the
support which has been received is a g rea t
encouragement for the future. The circulation already considerably exceeds ex pectations, but at th e 'same ti11le there
m ust be a larg e number of former members of the Co rps who would become subscribers if they were a ware of the
JOURNAL'S existence, but with vvh om we
have not yet been able to get into tonch .
We would ask every reader if be will
endeavour to obtain at least one new subscribe{--the larger th e circulation the
better we sha ll be able to make the
JOURNAL.

who have made and carried out the


arrangements in each office for the collection of m a terial and distribution of copies.
Their h elp has g reatly facilitated th e
administrative work and we h 01 e we may
r ely on their continued co-operation in the
future.
OUR CONTEMPO RARI ES.
The Edito rs acknow ledge with ma ny thanks
receip t of t he following Journals.
.. H.A .M.C. News ancl Gazette," J an ., Feb. , Mar .,
Jlby and Ju ne.
" The Wire," April , May ancl Jun e.
.. Ti, e Sapper," April , May and Ju ne.
"'Ihe G unn el', " May and June.
.. RA.O,C. Gazette ," April an cl May .
H.A .V .C. J ourn a l," May .
.. Th e Acco untant, " April a nd May .
0<

From "The London Gazette"


Qegular Army.
ROYAL ARMY P AY CORPS.
Li eut. C. C. Blackwell from Borcler Regt ., to be
L ieut. a nd Pavm r. (March 12, 1929 ) and to be Temp.
Capt. a ncl P a:VJl1r" Jun e 12 1929.
,
Li eut . (Temp . Capt.) ancl Paymr. C. . Bla ckwell to be Capt. a11c1 P a.vml'. (March 12, 1931) wilh
seniori ty, March 12, 1929. (L.G. , .13/ 3/ 31.)
11,1 t. J. L . OliveI', Somerset Light Infy. , to he
Capt . a nd P,1ym l'. (on probation) Nov . 15, 1930 .
(L.G. , 13/ 3/ 31. )
.
Ma j . a nd St:1ff Payl11r . R. "lvV. K ell y to be Lt.-Col. ,
.
Mal'. 17, 1931. (L.G ., 17 / 3/ 31. )
Li eut. H. H, Cottier, R.A., to be I.Jleut. ancl
P aym r. (on probation) , Nov. 24, 1930.
(L.G.,
24/ 3/ 31. )
"Maj. and Staff PaY111 1'. H. Duesbury to be Lt .Col , "Mal'. 31 , 1931. (L.G. , 31 / 3/ 31.) .
Capt. F. R. Ri chardso n from R . Marll1es to be
Cap.t. anel Pa.vml'. , Apri l 2, 1929. (L.G ., 7/ 4/ 31.)
l'vhjor (A ss t. Paymr.) W. Golel thol'pe . havl1lg
at.tain ecl the age li mit for ret lr e l11e~t, retu;e on
leLil'eel pay, Apn l 2:7 , 1931. (L,G ., .:.'8 / 4/ 31. , .
Li eut. E. C. Brewer. BOl'der Regt. , Lo be LIeut.
a,ncl P~ 'y I11 I' . (on proba,t ion ), J a,n. 1, 1931. (L.G ..

A number of suggestions have been sent


in with regard to m a tter t o be included.
Some of them we have been able to g ive
effect to, but it will take some tim e before
all suggestio ns can be cIealt with . The
process must be g radual and we hope that
those who ha ve so kindl y assisted in this
way will not be discouraged if they do not
see their ideas ca rried o ut in th is number.
The outstanding event during the past
quarter has been the annual Re-union
Dil1Jler on April 24th. The ga th ering was
a great success and the attendan ce constituted a record.
A full report ap! ears
elsewhere in this issue.
We direct the attention of all officer
readers to the announ cement appearin g in
this and the previous issue und er Officers'
Club Fixtures, of the Annua l Dinner which
will be held at the Trocadero Restaurant
011 Friday, 3rd J uly . It is hoped tha t all
past and present officers who can do so
will turn up on this occasion. Furth er
I articulars may be obtain ed from the
Honorary Secretary of the Dinner Fund ,
Hyde Park Barracks, L ondon, S.W.7.

~~m,).

SLaff Sgt,-Ma,JQI' J ohn QUU1I1 to be Li eut. (A L.


P'ly nlL.). Apri l 27, 1931. (L.G., 28 / 4 /~1. )
.
Lt..- 01. (A t . Payml'.) A W llI tL le havmg
a ttain ed t he age li mit for l'eL ~I:el11ent, l'et.Ires 011
ret.il'ecl pay, May 27, 1931. (L.G" 26 / 5./ 31.)
Staff Sgt.-Major A. E, J ones to be Li eut. (A ss t..
Pavm l,). Mav 0 , 1931. (L.G. , 26 / 5 /31.)
.
Lt.-Col. a ncl Staff Paymr . (temp. Col. and Ch Ief
Paymr .) G. A. C,. Or1l) sbv-John on, O.B.E. , M. C.,
to be Col. a nd Cluef PaYl11r, Ma,y 15, 1931. (L.G .,
12/ 6/ 31.)

Qegular Ar my Qeserve of Officers.

We cannot conclude these notes without expressing o ur sincere thanks to all


who have assisted in the production of the
first two numbers of the JOURNAL, ancl
especially to the Local Representatives

ROYAL ARJlfY PAY CORPS.


.
Capt. (Asst. P ay ml'.) D,. T. K il'kpatri ck haVin g
n.ttnined t he age II1l1l t of It ahl h ty t o reca ll , ceases
to helong to the ReserVe of Officers, Ma y 13, 1931.
(L.G. , 12/ 5/ 31.)

37

THE

ROYAL

ARMY

PAY

CORPS

JOURNAL

Royal Army Pay Corps Officers' Club


SUMMA RY OF A RR ANGEMENTS F OR 1931.
30th A p ril (Thursday) .-GOL F v. H eadquarters Eastern Command .
17 th J ttne (\~"'edllesday) .-GOLF v. R .A .M.C ., a t Ful well , nr . T wickenham .
30th June (Tuesday) . -GOLF v. R .A .O. C ., a t Wo rplesdon.
1st July (Wednesday) .-TEN NIS , at R oeh am pton (Ladies' Day) .
2n d July (Thursday) .-GOL F , at Barn ehurst , Bexley H eath .
3rd July (Friday) .-ANNUAL GENER AL MEETING , at 80, P all Mall , S.W. I
(2.15 p. m .)
A NUAL DINNE R a t Trocadero, P iccadilly , W .I (745 p. m .) .
4th Jnly (Saturday) .-CRICKET v. 14th /20th Hussars, a t H oun slow . (On e day ma tch) .
6th 17th (Mon. & Tues.) .-CRICK E T v. R. A .O.C ., at U nited Services G round, P ortsmouth . (Two day m atch. )
8th /9 th (Wed . & Thurs .) -CRICKET v . A.E. C. , at North Middlesex G round, H ornsey .
N . (T wo day ma tch .) T he A .E.C . are o ur
g uests at this ma tch .
l ot h July (Frid ay) .-Arrangements are in p rogress for a Corps T ennis Match against
th e A.E.C., to be played in Lon do n.
GOLFING SO CIETY.
Matches , 193 1.
A m'ltch v. H .Q., Eastern Comman d
was played at SUll dri dge Pa rk G .C . 011
Thursday, April 10th , aJld if we ",ere not
lu cky in so fa r as t h e resul t \\'as concern ed
we were certainly fo rtun ate in th e \\'ea Lh er,
h a ving a n ideal day. Singles \\'ere played
over th e Old Course in t he mortlin g, ami
in the aftern oon fo ur-ball foursomes over
the New Course.
T he results wer e as foll ows:R.A .P .C

No. 1 Course.
H.Q., Eastem Commanrl.

Capt. Eynon
L t.-Co l. Brickman ...
Capt. Ba rlow
Capt. James
Cap,t. Gal'l'fLtt
Capt. B arratt
Maj . Ro lmes .. ,
L L.Col. FenneD

o
o
o
o

Capt. Rose .. ' 1


Col. Leland
1
(1
Capt. Hil lyal'd 1
Maj. Ande l'son 1
Cr,L Tap ley
1
1 Col. Drumll1ond O
1 :I.;:"j. Thomson 0
0
1 Col. Bald
3

No, 2
Capt. Eynon and
Lt .. Col. Brickman 0
Capt. Ba1'low and
Capt. James
0
Capt. Ganatt Hnd
Capt. Barl'utt
1
Maj. Ro lmes and
Lt.-Col. Fennell
1
2

To lal

&6
&3
& 4
& 5
2 up
2 dow n
5&3
5 & 4

7
4
5
7

5
Cou rse.
Capt. Hose and CI)I.
Leland
1 5&4
Capt. Hi lI ya rd &111 aj.
Anderson
1 2 up,
Co l. Tapley and Col.
DI'll11lmonu
0 6&5
Maj. Thom on and
Co l. B;l,ld
0 5& 4

2
Total 7

I t is impossible to get a really re presenta ti ve team for most of th e matches, but


for the match aga in st th e R .A.O. C. G olfin g Society a t W orplesdon on Tuesday ,
Jun e 20th , it is hoped tha t it will be
possible to a rra ng e a more rep resentative
tea m as th e match tak es p lace in the Co rps
week .
Arra nge ments a re also in progress for
a ma tch with th e R .A .M.C. G.S. on June
n t h, and with the Exch equ er and Audit
Department G .S. (date not yet fixed) .
Summer Meetin g, 193 1.
This m eeting will take place at Barnehurst Golf Club , Bex ley H eath, 011
T h ursd:1y , July 2nd . Singles in the m orning, Medal Play und er handicap , Bogey
F oursomes (2 -ball ) uud er h andicap in the
aft er noon . (Pa rtners will be drawn for.)
F ull pa rticulars and entry forms have
already been circulated .
Th e Annu al G eneral Meeting of the
Golf Secti on will be h eld in th e billia rd
room o f th e Club on con cl usion of th e
fo ursomes.
Half -yearly Spoo n Competiti on.
Thi s competition \Vas in stituted to
enable members abroad to participate in
t he acti vities of th e Club (as was the compe tition fo r the Cam pbell T odd Cup
whi ch takes place durin g ctober) . Th e
entries ca nn ot th erefo re be judged unti l
approxim ately six weeks h ave elapsed from
th e end of each period .

THE R OYAL

AR MY

PAY

T he rules of this competition are as


follows : A spoon is a war ded each h alfyear ending Jun e 30th and ' December 31st
fo r th e best score unde r h andicap m ade
by any m ember of the R. A. P .C. G .S . on
a ny gol~ course at h ome or abroa d during
the pen od . Ca rds, duly sign ed by the
member' s opponent a nd showin g th e
actual score for each h ole fo r 'which a
"vin or a half is cla imed , sh oul d be
despa tch ed to t h e H o n . Sec., R .A. P .C .
G.S. no t la ter t ha n 1st Ja nua ry a ll d 1st
1st July each year. In t he event of a ti e
the spoon will be awarded by th e Golfi ng
Sub-Com mittee to the p layer whose score
is considered th e best , h av in g regard to
th e courses o n which th e roun ds were
played .
Th ere is no li mit to th e num ber of
cards which ca n be entered.
A ca rd th a ~ .has b.een taken o ut fo r a ny
other com petltlOn WIll not be accepted for
th e I:alf-yea rl y Spoon Competition.
WlUner of competition 31st December
1930, for prize kIndly presented by Colo nel
G. A. C . Ormsby J ohn son-Cap tain H
G. B . Millin g , York , 2 up.
.

CORPS

J OUR NAL

LAWN TENNIS .
T h e annual T ournament will be h eld a t
R oeha mpton o n Wedn esday , th e 1st July,
193 1. Start at 10 .1 5 a .m. sharp.
. ( I) " Musson " Challenge Cup. A level
sIn g les event as in previous years .
(2) "Mackenzie " Cups . Two cups for
th e winnin.g pair to be won 'O utrigh t.
P artners W Ill be drawn. This will g ive
all officers a n eq ual in terest and obviate
the o utcome being con fin ed to a few "experts " wh o mig ht enter in pa irs.
(3) Veterans' Doubl es. W ill be suspended fo r 193 1.
(4) American Tourn ament. An America n tourn ament (doubles) will co'm mence
immediately after lun ch for officers h aving
n :) furth er interest in th e major events.
P artn ers will be d ra\Vu . I n previous years
officers who h ave been elimina ted at an
ear ly stage from the ma in con tests have
had no fur th er participa tion in the to urnamen t a nd this even t h as been int rod uced
to prov ide a full day 's sport for all concern ed.
(5) Mixed Do ubles. T hi s proposa l received little support and h as been abanI

Hand icaps .
Th e following altera ti ons are notified:Capt . Milling , I S to IS .
Capt. Ea die, h om e IS to I S.
abroad 14 to I!.
Ma jor S ta nha m, 9 to S.
Th e following han dicaps are all otted : Capt . Bain es, 24 .
Lieut. Ruck , 24 .
Cal t . Black well, 20.

do n~p.

PEUSONAL NOTES.
Briga di er A. 1. M usson h ad the h onour
of bein g presented to Hi s Majesty the King
a t t he L evee h eld a t S t . Ja mes' P alace
o n 24 th March , 193 1.
Col'o nel G. W . F itto n, C.B., C.M.G.
(retired pay), h as very generously presented a full dress sash , s\\'ord slings an d
knot, cock ed h at an d p lu me, to F.g Branch
at t he W ar Offi ce, Jor th e use of th e Chief
P aymasters, present a nd futtLr"e, wh o may
desire to mak e use of th em durin g th eir
tenure of appoin tment at th e War Office.
Major A. W . M. C. Skinn er was included
in the E ng lish tea m in an angli ng match
bet ween E n gland and Scotland, which
took place recently on L och Leven. T h e
total catches (team s of 20) were: Scotland
~42 trout (1531b. 14oz.) England 206 trout
(1351b.). Th e catch of Major Skinn er a1l d
hi s par tn er was 2S trou t (181b . 20Z.).

East erJI Comma nd and War Office Section.


Th e r esult of th e draw for th e K nockout
Com petitio n (ha ndicap) is a~ foll ows :Firs t R ou:"d- Capt . Barlow v . Capt. Bl ack wel!; Major Cock burn v. Capt . E din ge r ;
Major H olm es v . Lieut . Buck ; Capt .
Gqrra tt v . Lt.-Col. Brickman . Secol1d
R ound (received byes in fi rst ro und)Lt.-Col. Riley v . Lieut . Thies; Cap t .
James v . Capt. Barratt .
Round s must be com pleted by foll o\\'ing
dates--1 st round, May 31St ; 2nd, Jun e
14th ; 3rd , Jun e 24 th ; fi nal by 12th July.
FIrst na med in each round h as privilege
of selectin g the cpurse.

BIRTH .

MTLLlNG.-On May 26, 1931, n.t Gate Fnlfol'd


Lodge, York, to Gwendolen (lI ee Chapli n) wife o[
Capt. R . G. D. MiLling-a SO ll .

, Sweep-Two-thirds to winner ; one-third


to runner up .
39

Tint

ROyAL

ARMY pAy

CORPS

JOURNAL

Royal Anny Pay Corps

Old Comrades Association.


ANNUAL' GENE RAL MEETING
sons other than those eligible for ordinar~
membership.' "
Serjeant T. F . Pond seconded the proposal, which was carried.
Mr . J. Thurgood then moved that Rule
7 be amended to enable the Committee of
Management to make payments up t~ 5
instead of 2 at present. He explamed
that as the General Committee only met
every three months, there were often cases
where the Committee of Management h av.e
to wait over two months before urgent
cases can be assisted to a greater extent
than 2-it nearly always happens that
cases of this nature are received shortly
after a General COTTlmittee meeting, and it
is considered that if power was given to
the Management Committee, cases of this
nature would be overcome. He therefore
proposed that Rule 7 (vi.) be altered to
read : " The Management Committee are empowered to disblll;se a sum 110t exce~ding
five pounds in urgent ~nd necessItous
cases."
The proposal was seconded by S.Q.M .S.
R. Val1intine, and on being put to the
meeting, was carried.
Lt.-Colonel Duesbury, in proposing a
vote of thanks to the Committee, said: "I
am afraid that we cannot really give justice
to the members of the Committee. All of
us o\\"e them a great debt of gratitude for
what they have done. The prosperity of
our Association is due to their splendid
work and I think the best way to show
our gratitude is to re-elect them if they
will stand. It would be invidious to pick
out any name of the officers of the Committee. We do know, those of us stati-0ned
near London what a large amonnt of work
they put in. ' I have great pleasure in proposing this vote of thanks."
This was seconded by Serjeant H. E.
Price, and on it being put to the meeting,
the show of hands left no doubt that the
work of the Committee ' is highly appreciated by the members.

The third Annual General Meeting of


the R.A.P.C. O.C.A. took place at The
Corner House, Coventry Street, W . I, 011
24th April, 1931, at 3.30 p .m. There was
a fair muster of the members, and the chair
was occupied by Colonel J. Armstrong,
C.B., C.M.G., Colonel Commandant of the
R.A.P.C. and President of the Association.
He was supported by Colonel W. S.
Mackenzie, O.B.E ., Vice-President; Mr.
A. C. Clark, M.B.E., Chairman of the Committee; and various senior officers of the
Corps .
The notice convening the meeting having
been read by the Hon. Secretary, the Chairman called upon him to read the minutes
of the second Annual Meeting. There was
no discussion and the minutes were thereupon confirmed by the Chairman.
The Chairman, in calling upon Colonel
W. S. Mackenzie, O.B.E., to propose the
adoption of the Annual Report, said: " You
have all seen the report and statement of
accounts for the past year, which show
that economy in the administration of the
Associa tion has been very carefully exercised." Colonel rvIackenzie then proposed
that the annua l report and statement of
accounts be adopted. This was seconded
by Captain A. Gawn, and on being put to
the meeting was carried unanimously.
Mr. R. C. B. Sharp, J.P., in proposing
the next item, said: " Mr. President. After
very careful consideration and deliberation,
the Committee have decided to recommend
to this meeting fhat honorary membership,
carefully restricted, should be accorded to
persons who have been closely identified
with the Corps and have sho"'n their
interest in us generally. It is intended that
the conferring of honorary membership
shall be a high mark of our esteem and
bestowed as a very great privilege. I
therefore move that Rule 3 be enlarged by
the addition of a new paragraph (iii.) to
read as follo~\'s:" , Honorary membership may be con ferred by the General Committee on per40

THE

ROYAL

ARMY

PAY

The Chairman announced that with the


exception of Major Loton, whQ was shortly
retiring, and . S.Q.M.S. C. V. Rooker,
M.M., who is for overseas, the Committee
had decided to offer themselves for re-election for the coming year. "I am sure,"
he said, "it will be a great advantage if
they carry on. They have done an immense amount of \vork without any trouble
to the President whatsoe,ver."
This was seconded by S.S.Major B. J.
Temple and carried unanimously.
The
Chairman then proposed that Lieut. J.
Feehally and S.Q.M.S. , F. P . Mum1y be
elected to fill the vacancies caused by the
retirement of Major Loton and S.Q.M.S
Rooker. This was seconded by Sergt . C.
Bone and carried.
The Chairman having asked if any melllber had any further business to bring
before the meeting,
Mr. H . Down proposed that an honorar ium of 10 be paid to the Honorary Secretary, who was a hard working fellow. "I
would like to say 20 and I I}ope I may
have the plea~ure of pmposing that sum
in some future year." Lieut. C. H. Parrott
said: "I would again like to have the
pleasure of seconding that proposition,"
-which on b0ng put to the meeting was
carried unan im0us1y.
Staff-Sergt. -Major E. J. W. Browne, the
Honorary Secretary, in reply said: "Gentlemen, if my endeavours in the past have
met with your approval I am very pleased,
and I hope I shall continue in the good
work and gain your approbation during
the coming year. I thank you very much
indeed."
The Chairman then referring to the
retirement from the Corps of Staff-SergeantMajQr Clark, who has been Chairman of
the C01111niUee since the inauguration of
the Association, said, "I believe he bas
overcome some very great difficulties, some
of them almost insurmountable. He is
hardworking, loyal, and any. job he takes
up he puts it through. .I hope someone
will propose a small honorarium as a mark
of our appreciation." Mr. J. Thurgood
said: "As a .member of the Cpmmittee I
would like to make a propositiQn that a
sum of IO be paid to IyIr. Clark as a
mark of our appreciation for work well
done. I do know something 'Of the work

CORPS

JOURNAL

he has done. I don't think any man could


work with a more splendid spirit, greater
enthusiasm, and more earnestness as a
Chairman of a Committee. Members understand him and are ever ready and willing
to obey his ruling."
Colonel Mackenzie,
iu seconding the proposal, said he agreed
with all that had been said about the good
work done by Mr. Clark.
In reply Mr. Clark said: "I thank you
very much indeed. What I have done fQr
the Old Comrades Association has been a
labour of love. I love the work and I do
my best in the interests of the Association.
I thank you very much."
Staff-Sergeant-Major Browne, in proposing a vote of thanks to Colonel Annstrong
for again taking the chair, said: "I have
much pleasure in proposing a very hearty
vote of thanks to Colonel Armstrong, our
President -for taking the chair at this
meeting 'to-day. We are all intelligent
people here, and it does not want me to
tell you that a Chairm an either makes or
mars any gathering, and from wbat you
have all seen of the manner in which he
has conducted the business to-day, you can
rest assured of a jolly good time to-night.
He has made a success of his own career
and has n ow retired full of honours, and
something even more than honour-the
love and esteem 'Of those who have had the
pleasure, the great pleasure, of serving
with him. In his retirement he is just as
busy as ever , and one of the jobs near a~ld
dear to him is the Old Comrades AssoClaHon; he is untiring in his efforts on our
behalf and you can judge for yourselves
by the swing with which this meeting ha
gone what an asset he is to us. I beg to
move therefore a hearty vote of thanks to
him, which I hope you will acclaim in the
usual manner."
This was greeted with prolonged
applause. Colonel Armstrong, in reply_
said: "Gentlemen, I am afraid our Secretary gets worse every year. I really don't
know what to say. I am very grateful to
him for his kind remarks, and I really (ion't
know how I would get on if he was not
at my side keeping me in order. He Pl1t~
his heart and soul into the job. I hope
he will have a good dinner and thoroughly
enjQY this evening."
The meeting then terminated .
4.I

THE

R OY A L

A R MY

P AY

CORPS

J OURNA L

Third Annual Dinner


Durin g th e dinner the o rchestra played a
va ri et y of well kn o wn airs a nd th e old
t ime choruses again pr oved immensely
popular , th e assembly joining in with g rea t
vigour.
Th e first toast, tha t of " His Ma jesty ,"
was proposed by th e Ch airman, who sa id .
he had o n beh alf of those present
despatched a telegram of loyal g reetings t o
Hi s Majesty a nd h e ,.vould now call upon
th ose prese nt to drink t o th e long life a nd
continued good h ealth of His Majest y .
" I g ive y'o u th e t oast of His Majest y Th e
Kin g ." 1 1I e toast was accorded mu sica l
honours and was drunk with th e enthusiasm whi ch sold iers know h ow to show.
Th e C hairman then announced th at all
coul d smok e an d the com pan y prepared to
li sten to the only o th er toast of th e evening .

Th e third A nnu al Dinn er of the Old Co mrades Associa tio n was aga in held at The
Cor ner H ouse, Coventry St reet, W. 1, on
F riday, 24 th April , 1931, a nd was a ttend ed
hy over 300 members of t he Corps past
As in fo r mer years the
a nd present .
Colon el Comman da nt of t he Cor ps, who is
the President of th e Association , h eld a
reception before th e din n er.
T his ver y pleasan t fea ture, being q uite
informal , is very deeply apprecia ted by the
meJnbe rs, an d enab les th e eveni ng to be
started under the best possib le con diti on s,
ill other words, ever yon e sta rts off p leased
with themselves and th e gath ering a t large .
Th e Chairman' s table had bee n t astefull y
decorated with choice blooms by Cap tain
A. A. Gawn, and th e Roll of I;;Io nour wa
placed imm ed iately in fron t of th e Chairma n and faci.ng th e assembly. Th e g nest
of h()l1o ur was MI'. J . B . Croslan d, C. B .,
Deputy U nder Secret ary of S ta te for War,
who occup ied th e seat on th e left o f th e
Ch airman.
The followin g t elegram was despatch ed
to the Private Secretar y to Th e Ki ng:~' The
Old Comrades Associa tion ,
R oyal Army P ay Corps, assem bled at Th e
Corner Ho use , Coventry S treet , London ,
on th e occasion of th eir third A nnual
Dinner , send their loyal greetings to Hi s
Majesty .
(Sgd .) J . C . Ar mstrong, Col. Co mmandan t . "
Th e followin g m enu was served :H ors d' CEu vre Moscovi .

Th e toastmast er an no un ced in stentori an


t ones: "Crave silence for th e t oast of the
O ld Comrades Associa tion, by Colonel W.
S . Mackenzie, O .B .E." Colonel Mack enzie
in proposing t h e toast , sa id: " Gentlem en ,
I am afraid I h ave not a voice lik e th e
a nnonncer behind m e , but I will do m y
best to mak e m yself h eard . I see by the
ca rd thi s is our third annual dinn er , but
as I t houg ht it was the fourth I h ave just
had a littl e arg ument with our Secretary,
wh o h as agreed tha t I may call it our fourth
re-union d inner. Th e a ttendance on these
occasions h as been a t oken of th e k een
en joym ent we all feel in meeting our old
fri ends a nd comrades across wh at the
jou rnalists call ' The F estive Hoa rd.' This
is a record year. The com pan y to-ni ght is
larger th an ever b efo re. Y ou will agr ee
th at tha t is a h ealthy sig n . There is
an oth er reason wb y we can cong ratulat e
ourselves, and th at is to-nig ht for the first
time we h ave as an h ono ured g uest th e
Depu ty U nder Secretar y o f St at e fo r W ar,
Mr. J . B . Crosland . W e all know th at
Mr. Crosland , under S ir H erbert Creed y ,
is the arbit er of our desti nies as a Cor ps ,
but I venture to say th at only those of us
wh o have ser ved in the Wa r O ffi ce kn ow
th e k een interest he t akes in our welfar e
and efficiency . W e appreciat e very much
his p resence with us to-ni ght as an earnest
of the interest he takes in our social
activities and we hope that we shall have

Consomm e a ux Cheveux d' A nge


Creme a la R ein e
F ilet de Soles A rchidu e
T ourn edos P ortugaise
T omato Farcie
P ommes Chatea u
Poul et er Cocotte au x P orto
Salade F rancaise
Po ire Car di nal
Fria ndises Chocolat e
Cafe
42

THE

R OY A L

AR MY

P AY

th e pleasure o f his com pany \"ith us in


fut11re years . H e has before him to- ni g ht
visible evidence of the good comradeshi p
which ex ists in th e Corps for whi ch h e is
responsible , and th e fl ouri shin g sta te o f th e
Old Co mrades Associ ati on , a nd I do not
think th at an y words o f mine are n eeded in
a mplificati on . But wh en we pride ourselves
on the success of o ur :association do 110t
let us forget tb a t credit is du e in 11 0 small
measure
t o our
energeti c Secretar y
S. -S. -Ma jor Bra"v u e, also to our Committee
as a wh ole . Th ey have given , each and all
of them , of their best, cheerfull y and
ul1 g rudgingly, for our commo n welfa re, b ut
I wo uld li k e to speak to-nig ht of m yoId
fri end and comrade S.-S. -Ma jo r Cla rk
better known by most of his old comrades
as 'Nobby .' In my yo un g days, wh en we
sa id that a . m an was ' pr etty nobby ' at a
job, we intended t o convey that he did it
exceptionally well , and I ca n vouch for it
that M r. Cl ark is ' pretty n obhy ' a t an y
iob whi ch h e und ertak es. For four years
in succession he has been mainl y respon sible fo r the arrangements of o ur re-union
dinners , and they could not h ave been
better. In a fevv days' time h e ,is leaving
the Active List, and I want, on behalf of
all present bere, to say th a t he takes with
him our best wish es fQr hi s prosperity, a nd
our deep g ratitude for th e work h e has
done for O UI' Associ atio n . I h ope we sh all
see his oheery face with us for many
years. I now ask you t o drink to th e h ea lth
and prosperity of the Old Com ra des Association. "
The toast was acclaim ed in th e most
hearty ma nner and the toastmaster th en
announcecl' " Crave silen ce for the reply of
Major E. J . W . Bro'wn e, the H on ora ry
Secreta ry ."
Staff-Serg ea nt-Major Brown e .
i'l re ply, said: "Mr. Chairman a nd O ld
Comrades. I stand b efore yon I'o-n ig ht
Tecently p romoted"
(much la ug h ter)
" with feelings of pride and pleasure.
Pride in being called u pon to reply to thi s
toast which has been so eloquently put to
you, a nd addressing such a wond erful
gathering o f myoId comrades . N ow each
year this t oast has been put to you hy
one of o m distinguished offi cers and I have
had the good luck to reply, and thi s yea r
I will have t o be very ca reful no t to repea t
myself because in the nex t issue of our

CORPS

J OUR N AL

J our na l yo u may probably see' Yes, it ",as


a very good speech , but I think we have
heard it befo re.' Neverth eless I am goin g
to r epeat myself a nd I a m goin g to t ell
yo u that our Associa tion has prospered. It
h as fulfill ed th e functi on s for which lVe
started out, a nd I claim t ha t apart from
what ever else lVe do, we were j ustifi ed in
formi ng this Associa ti on , if it is o nly for
th e fact that t h e wives and relatives of th e
ga llant members \I'hose na mes are inscri bed
in th is book, the R oll of H onour, now o n
this table. T hey, t he dependa n ts, h ad a
word of sym path y an d con sola ti on fro m
th is Associa ti on in t h ei r berea vem en t an el
when it was n ecessary som ethin g to assist
th em un t il th ey were able t o b elp th emselves. NolV I think , if it was for th a t
object alone. we have justifi ed t he formation o f th e Old Com rades Associa ti on.
" V.Je are th ree years o ld to-nig ht. Yo u
ca nnot ma ke from 1928 to 1931 four years,
no ma tter how long yo u have been in th e
P ay Corps. I always get a little ex tra service in by working that sort of wh eeze
as I al ways say I enlisted in 1895, I did,
but I enlisted o n 31St December (la ug hter ).
" T o-nig ht I wo uld li ke to remind yo u
that this Corps is goin g along wond erfully.
W e have had a Colonel Commandant, a nd
we are very prou d that th e right m an was
selected for th e job. W e have had a n Olel
Co mrades Association form ed an d we ha ve
our own Jo urn al, an d now we h ope th at
with this good sta rt thin gs will conti n ue
to imp rove, an(] th at wh en we come to t he
en d of o ur acti ve service th ere will be 11 0
bogey of un em ployment sta rin g us in th e
face .
" Th ere is no do ubt th at these ga th erin gs
b rin g us all togeth er and th ey h elp t o k eep
us in t ouch , th ose who have left , m eet th ose
still ser vin g , a nd also those yo ul1 g m embers a mo ngst us wh o are sta rtin g th eir
careers . By this means all kn ow wh a t is
going on . An y o ld how, it is a n excu se to
get to Lon don . I do th ank yo u most
sincerely not on ly 'o n my own beh alf but
on b eha lf of th e Com mittee for the su pPort
th a t you have all given us. It is all very
well to talk abo ut it. b ut with out th at
suppor t the m embers of th e Comm ittee
could do nothing. I ha ve g rea t pleasure in
t ellin g yo u that we now h ave 100 life mem-

43

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JOURNAL

bers and 1,000 annual subscribers, and


although that is very good, when I know
that at one time during the war our
strength was 14,000 other ranks and goodness knows how many officers" (laughter)
" I think we should have a lot more members than we have. I want you all to
become recruiting agents for the O.C.A.
and to bring them all into the fold. They
all ought to be in, and it would be an act
of charity to brinO' th em in . When the
Colonel Commandant represents us at any
meeting connected with the finding of employment for retired members of the Corp.s,
let him be able to say 'I have five or SIX
thousand members behind me,' and thus
strengthen our Cilse for the employment of
retired members of the Corps in Army P ay
Offices.
"I am not going to detain you any
longer. I thank you most sincerely for
the splendid manner in wh ich you have
received this toast."
Staff-Sergeant-Major ilrowne resumed his
seat amidst loud applause, and cries weFe
then raised for a speech from StaffSergeant-Major Clark, who said . "Mr.
Chairman and Old Comrades. I thank
you, Colonel Mackenzie, very much for
what you have said about m e , and
you, gentlemen, for the way you have

received those remarks. What I have


done for the O.C.A. has been a labour of
love. I love the work, and I hope I will
be able to continue to help in it for
years to come. I thank yo u very much
indeed. "
The Chairman then annollnced that the
following telegram had just been received
from the Private Secretary to His Majesty
The King : " The King thanks you and the
Old Comrades Association of the Royal
Army Pay Corps assembled together for
your kind message of loyal greetings, a nd
hopes you are having a very pleasant
evening.' ,
The meS'i'lge was received with great
enthusiasm and was followed by a sort
of genera l post, everyone being anxious to
have a few words with some old comrade
they ,had . spotted during the dinner. An
were . anxious to have a look at the" Roll
of Honour" and were unanimous in declaring it a worthy tribu te to the gall ant
fellows whose names are inscribed therein.
Towards midnight the company broke up
after a very jolly and successful eveni ll g.
The Dinner Committee consisted of :
S.S.M. A. C . Clark, M.B.E., Eastern
Commancl; S.S.M. E. J. ' W . Browne,
Bm-net; S.Q.M.Sergt. C. V. Rooker, M.M.,
Deptford.

THE MOST EXALTED ORDER OF THE


BOWLER HAT.

pay-no rent to pay, and can leave ~ bis \V.ife the


best of all cia ses of p'roperty-a l~ttl e p,ece of
clenl' old England. Further, a Socialist Chancellor
or the E xcheq uer, who by fatth 's a dlsbeh ever 111
,>\vnership of any kind , wi ll sm il e upon the deal ,
a lld give at a substantial blessing, by remitting all
income tax on the interest payable on th e mortgage,
a nd half rate of tax on the premium of the .endow
ment policy.
Ask me why ' it costs less annually to buy a house
on th ese lines, than to rent one!! I will t ell you
the answer !
Carlton House,
G. M. REYNELL.
Lower Regent Street,
London , S.W.1.

Th e Order of th e Bowler Hnt is one whi ch will


Rooner or later, confe1'1'erl on every ser:vi ng
Ro ldi e'. Its on ly merit is that it usually ca rn es a
life pension,
at .the worst, a ~,atu!ty. Th e pen
sio:1 compares III w,th the rate of pay Issuable whilst
on the active list. ~nd unless suppl emented, ret1'~nchment of expen.es is foreshnclowecl.
Further.
"tlt of n re lu ced in rome. provision must he mad e
fol' house rent. sin ce lodj! in g nllowance or free
Ql1nrt er. ~utomat.i r~ I1 y re~ses . "An unw ise mnn
wi ll not w~ ll rons;cler this , and a fool doth not
ul1rlpl'st.nnd." The wise man will <~rl'ive at tn e concll1 s ion that he must have somewhere to li ve. and
without capital he can on lv rent, not huy. Mon.ey
p~irl in r~nt. will disapP'enr li ke. water down a. dral.n ,
onrl on his death his pension w,ll cease. and hI wife
. ..
will agai n have to studv retrenchment. .
T.ife Asstl1'anre Companies offe r Rpecla l faclh tles
for DUl'chnsing h ouseR. A Hou se Purchase P olicyI'eallv an endowm ent nssurance-can be started at
nn\' time. If started five years before retirment, the
comp~ny "..jll lend at least 80 per cent. of th eir
~ Il" \'evor 's valuation of t he hou se selected, when the
time comes. Interest is charged at about 5! per
ce nt.. and nt the maturity of th !l poli cy, usultlly
fifteen vears ft'om comm encement , the deeds are
hand ed 'to the owner, who then bas no interest to
],~.

0:

DEW ON A ' SPIDER'S WEB.

{Hebe H a ven, H ong K ong.}


.
H ow bright the clust.ered d,'ops that he
Upon a sp'ider's web at mer!, !
Th eir native crystal ca n outv, e
Th e loveliest diamond ever worn.
Could huma.n eyes distil such gems,
All tears would be at once di vine,
And Queens wou ld-garb their diadems .
With sorrow's flowers Lo make them shllle.
WM. WILLIAMS.

44

THg :ROYAL ARMV PAY CORPs JOURNAL

Our Philatelic Page


In response to the requests of a number
of philatelists in the Corps vve are instituting a series 'Of articles dealing with the
royal hobby of stamp collecting.
Space forbids us more than one page and
so we are at once confronted with the
problem of how this page can best be
utilised. For this article, at any rate, it
would seem that a brief survey of the
philatelic activities of the British Empire
dl11'ing the past few months would be an
appropriate subject.
On the whole there have been very few
new issues from the Colonies during the
present year, but as space at our disposal
is limited it is only proposed to deal with
those countries which have made notable
additions to their current sets.
Australia has added four new values to
the current King's head type, 2d. golden
scarlet (Dies I and n.); r id. red-bro\-\'ll
and Sd. in orange-brown.
Kingsford
Smith's record flight from England to
Australia has been commemorated by a
special set of three values (2d. red and 3d.
blue) both inscribed" Postage," ancl 6d.
purple inscribed "Air Mail." This latter
value was sold out within a few hours of
its appearance and should prove to be a
good investment.
The possibility of a
second printing must, of course, be borne
in mind_ A new pictorial set is shortly to
appear.
Newfoundland has added two more
stamps (20C. black and 28c. green) to its
recent" Dickenson " issue, bu t this is no w
being replaced by a similar set on paper
bearing the new National Shield watermark . Up to date only two values of this
new set (6c. and Sc.) have appeared. A
picturesque set of three values for Air
Mail use was issned early in the year .
Only 20,000 sets were printed and the set
has now been superseded by a similar set
on the new paper_ At current prices the
first set is well worth obtaining, as owing
to the popularity of these stflmps there is
bound to be a keen demand and a consequent rise in prices.
The inauguration of New Delhi bas been
commemorated by a new set of six values

for India. Each value bears the King's


portrait in a medallion, but each has been
allotted a different central design depicting the historical and architectural glories
of Delhi. The whole set is most attractive and in view of the present situation in
this country it is bound to be a popular
issue.
A provisional Air Mail set of three
values has been issued by the Sudan authorities, the existing stamps having been
overprinted_
From Hong Kong it is reported that a
new set is being prepared in consequence
of reviseQ postal rates .
Apart from the above there have only
been a few isolated issues from one or two
colonies.
We shall welcome suggestions from collectors as to the type of article they would
like included in this page in future and
hope that some, especially those stationed
abroad, will send us notes of interest dealing with this subject.
Collectors are reminded that notices
regarding exchanges, etc., can be inserted
in the "Small Notices" column in tile
Journal.
Finally we commend to all those
interested a study of the attractive bargains
set out by philatelic dealers in the advertisement pages of this issue, and we hope
that our readers will support those firms
\O\Iho have supported us in our endeavour to
bring together those who are bound by the
ties of a common and instructive hobby.
A.L.D.
LATE NEWS.

As we go to press we bear tbat S.Q.M.S. R. G.


TUl'I'ant {now in Jnmaica } has been placed 0 11 prohation for Warrant. Offi cer, Clnss I.
Th e Seniority List of the Royal At'my P a.v
Corps, published in May, 1931, under War Office
snnction, contain s a complete list of \V'nrrant
Officers, N .C. O.'s nnd ~Jen of the Corps. Copies
may be obtained f"om the Assistant Erlitor, Stnff
Sgt.-Maj. W. E. C. Loflus, 80, Pall Mall , S.W .!.
{p"ice 1/-}. Amendments will be pllblished in future
issues of this JOURNAL, so that readers will be abl e
to " eep th eir cop ies up-to-date until the publication
of the next Seniority List.

45

'rHE

ROYAL

ARMY

PAY

CORPS

JOURNAL

EGYPT

morning bells are rung in the streets to


sound tile "stand to," and. the men,
,yomen and children of Port Said assemble
instantly for the "assault." Port Tewfik
is an offensive little harbour at the southern
end of the Canal, noted for sharks and
shell-fish of all varieties.

Egypt is a low lying country, rectangular in shape, which runs lengthways practically due north and south and forms .the
extreme north eastern corner of. Afnca.
The Nile-its sole excuse for eXI:;tenceflows straight down the centre 111tO the
Mediterranean Sea creating a belt of fertile land through the desert which affords
a scanty means of livelih?od for the
"fellah" and, normally, a nch source of
profit for lando\\'ners a~ld business. ~ouses
in Cairo and Alexandria. In adchtlOn to
tourists themail1 crops art! cotton, stlJ;.ar ,
vegetables and ~iminutive eggs. Irr~ga~
Hon is made poss1ble by dams ~m the .nv~l
and by a network of canals wIth an 1l1tncate system of sluice gates. The question
of water is a vital one.

The Capital and its . S~burbs.-Cairo,


with a population of a mlllton and a qu.arter, stands on the rig'ht bank of t~le NIle,
roughly three hours from ~lex.andna. The
European quarter of the cIty 1S very sm.all
111t nicely laid out, and thick~y so\vn WIth
hotels and pensions of all kll.lds. There
are quite a number of well eqUIpped shops,
and four or five reputable cafes and restaurant!'>.
Owing to a superabundance of
motor cars and a dearth of good roads
crossing- the streets is ~nore hazardous :ha~l
in Paris, while the nOIse and ?~st n:ake It
advisable to live outside. HcllOpohs and
Meac1i are both healthy suburbs ~ quarter
of all hour away. The former IS served
by an excellent electric tr~in and the l~tter
by a branch line of the railway. The lOad
out to Heliopolis is good, and the one to
Meadi quite respectable once you are clear
of the native quarter. There .are three
residential districts on the outs~lrts of the
ci ty-Zamalek. Giza and <?ezlra, where
there is llood accommoda.tlOn and easy
access to the principal sportJllg club on the
Island of Gezira.

Ports.-Alexandria, the second 1ar~est


town, with a population of .-,,00,000, IS a
fine city and has a be~ut1ful harbour.
Four days from Marse1.lles, t\\ ~ from
Brindisi, and one from Plraeus, \Ylth fr~
quent sailings, it must eve~ ~ol~l a certalll
charm for the exile. Port SaId IS a further
hundred and fifty miles to the east and
marks the northern entrance to the Sue?
Canal. In this picturesque little place there
are some 50,000 inhabitants, 1110.St of Wh0111
live on passengers. An approachIng smudge
ot smoke on the horizon brings ?ut the
worst in almost the entire populatIOn. Tf
a ship is sighted in the early hours of the

46

THE

ROYAL

ARMY

Railway System.-The main lines from


the three ports all converge on Cairo, those
from Port Said and Suez running alongside
the Canal and joining at Ismailia on their
way to the capital. From Cairo the railway more or less follows the river and
so serves the townships of Upper Egypt.
The regi'On of particular interest to the
Army is Lower Egypt, there being no
British military stations in this countly
south of Cairo. With the exception of a
warrant officer on costing duty at Moascar
Barracks (Ismailia) the activities of the
R.A.P.C. are centred ill Cairo and at
Abbassieh (an urban district on the road
to Heliopolis). Rail way fares are lower
than in England and trains of the Continental pattern make travelling fairly comfo-table, except while crossing stretches of
desert, when everyone and everything become covered with a film of grit and dust.
Electric fans are only to be found in first
class compartments.
Roads and Motoring.-Roads are not
Egypt's strong point, though there is a
passable one running straight across the
desert from Cairo to Suez, and another
from Cairo to Port Said via Ismailia. The
road from the capital to Alexandria is not
to be recommended, especially after rain.
In Cairo and Alexandria there are
numerous tramway and bus services, but
the most convenient means of locomotion
is a car of one's own. Second hand cars
can be picked up 10ca1Jy, though freight
and import duty (17 per cent. ad valorem)
are quite reasonable. Petrol is roughly
the same price as in England and there is
a car tax of 3 Ss. per annum, which
includes 1ll1mber plates. In the municipality of Alexandria, however, a horsepower tax is in force. Insurance rates are
50 per cent. above those 'Obtaining at home,
but this is understandable in a country
where Pyovidence is expected to work
overtime. O,,,ing to the fact that there
is practically no rainfall, the garage question in Cairo and district can be solved
by just raising the hood. But this does
not apply to Alexandria and Port Said,
where winters are apt to be watery.

Climate.-The climate is one of the


three outstanding advantages of the
country-the other two being cheap alcohol
and frequent sailings to Europe. In Cajro
a few showers may be expected in February

47

PAY

CORPS

JOURNAL

and one or two thunderstorms towards the


end of April, but on the coast rain is
frequent throughout the winter season.
From November to April the capital enjoys
ideal weather conditions, a temperature of
from 6:; degrees to 70 degrees being usual
at midday, though it may all but freeze
at night. In summer the heat is dry until
the end of July, when the Nile -is in full
flood. The average maximum temperatnre
at this time of the year is IIO degrees, with
occasional jumps to II5 degrees, but this
does not last long at a sh'etch, and a cool
north breeze blows regularly from the
Mediterranean at sunrise and sunset, except during the Khamseen winds. Most
people try to pass the summer months on
the coast or in Cyprus, where the joys of
bathing offset the increased humidity.
Great care must be taken all the year
round at so,;nset, as a sharp fall in temperature may be experienced, which is very
often foIlovwd by a slight rise an hour and
a half later.
The People.-The native of Egypt is a
good natured lazy being, not overburdened
with initiative and rather trying in the
sense tliat he does not pay much respect
to certain little matters on which rest the
foundations of western civilisation. Among
the foreIgn population the greatest numb,"r
of anyone definite nationality are undoubtedly Greeks, closely fonowed by
Italians. But there is a vast horde of
people, far exceeding either of these, who
for a variety of reasons have become, or
been born, " local subjects." A glance at
Egypt's geographical position is enough to
make one realise that this country is the
cross-roads between the East and the West,
and can therefore boast of counting among
the strangers within its gates samples of
all types of human beings, except possibly
Esquimaux.
The number of pukka
Western Europeans and Americans is extremely limited. The lingua frallca of the
country is French, though most Government employees speak it a little \\'orse than
English .
Greek and Italian naturally
follow in importance. At the telephone
exchanges all languages are equally misunderstood.
Insects.-Egypt gives a warm welcome
to all forms of insect life. Spring is the
season of multi-coloured fleas and restless
beetles, while summer is given over to

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buzzing fiies, whining mosquitoes, and


ubiquitous ants, to say nothing of sandflies and bugs. Malaria is rare, if not
unknown, and mosquitoes are only troublesome near the Nile.
Quarters.-The new arrival, who has
already committed matrimony, would do
well to begin his tour by skirmishing for
the necessities of life in a Pension, while
he selects the kind of fiat he wants. The
bachelor, if placed 011 the lodging list,
has a wide choice, but might do v"orse
than put up at the Turf Club in the first
instance, where inclusive terms work ant
at about 20 (Egyptian) a month. Pensions vary so much that it is impossible to
give a very accurate idea of the price.
Suffice it to say that it is not always in
the most expensive establishments that one
suffers the least discomfort. Though life
in these places is out of the questi'On for
those with young children, it can certainly
be cheaper for two people, even assuming
the almost indispensable addition of a
sitting room, than in a flat. Generally
speaking, Pensions in Alexandria are
cheaper and better than those in Cairo.
In both cases th'Ose under foreign management are the only ones possible for 110nmillionaires with a leaning towards amiability.
G.H.Q. rules that all officers on Headquarters Staff B.T.E. must live in Cairo,
or round about Gezira. The personnel at
Abbassieh may live at Heliop'Olis. There
are no available married quarters at
Abbassieh Barracks, though accommodation for single officers can very often he
found. From mid-March to mid-November
it is fairly easy to find a furnished flat at
a nominal rent, as owners wh'O are going
away are usually anxious to have their
places kept clean during the summer. But
the newcomer should beware of sharks \o\'ho
are out to make a profit on the rent. In
the city itself the rent of unfurnished
fiats averages between 8 and 12 per
month, but in the Gezira district 12 to
24 is a n10re common price-in fact the
rent is c:1lculated on a basis of 4 per room
(other than the h81] and offices).
Unfllrnished flats in Heliopolis are far cheaper
and rents range from 5 to ro monthly.
Officers should be on their guard against
com1lJittin~ tJ:!emselves to buying furniturp
before arriving in the country. Offers are

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often made by letter to those at home,


prior to embarkation for Egypt.
The
really satisfactory solution 'Of the problem
is to buy brand new furniture-or have it
made-here. With regard to second hand
stuff, local auctioneers make a ring against
the inexperienced, and try to force them
to pay through the nose for" old junk."
Furniture may often be bought from the
outgoing tenant, but great care should he
exercised in taking over any accommodation formerly in the hands of local
foreigners, whose ideas 011 maintenance
may cause much subsequent inconvenience
or a nature not usually encountered in cold
countries. Of course, bargains are to be
had, but one needs to be either very
shrewd or very lucky-but best of all, both.

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than with the complex arithmetic of a


polyglot cook.
Servants' wages differ
according to the district. A cook should
not be paid more than 5 a month a
suffragi 4 ro 4t and a cook's boy '1.
It is better to base their wages on the
principle that they are supplied with food
-because they will take it anyhow.

The Pyramids o[ Giza a nd the Sphinx.

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sunshades) bought at home are inclined to


split in tbe heat. Laundries are numerous
and excellent, with a very rapid service
and a low price. Articles are charged at
the rate of IS. 8d. a dozen, whether they
are sheets or handkerchiefs. Drill suits
are w?shed and ironed fQr IS.
Amusements.-It is just at the moment
when one dares to amuse oneself that life
in Egypt becomes a trifle expensive.
Cinemas are certainly cheap, but other
forms of relaxation are dispensed at shattering prices . A dinner at a restaurant, a
dance at Groppi's or at one of the large
hotels, or a visit to the Opera is slightly
discouraging to those with refilled tastes
but short pockets. The operatic season
lasts about six weeks, commencing in late
November, and is very fine. Good Fren('h
touring companies can be heard at the
Kursaal, which is a small theatre. The
fact that the number of places of amusement suitable for Europeans is strictly
limited enables the proprietors to force up
prices and so cause entertainments to be
an expensive factor in life in this country.

Food and Drink.-On the whole food ill

Servants.-As everywhere else, domestic


happiness depends very largely on one's
ability to get on with, or to get on without, servants.
These rapscallions are
generally of Sudanese extraction and,
though born to be hewers of wood and
drawers of water, are not enamoured of
their birthright.
They rarely steal out-

right (except in the case of food and in


the acceptance of wages) but are particularly insidious in their avoidance of anything which bears the slightest resemblance
to work in a crude form. A few reliable
records, however, can be found testifying
to the existence of good servants. Economical folk, fired with the co-operative
spirit, run their household with a cooksuffragi, but a staff of three. including a
cook's boy, is mo're usual. Kitchen Arabic
is easy to learn, and servants with any
knowledge of English are to be avoided.
as it will be round less expensive to wrestle
with the crudities of elementary Arabic

ROYAL

Egypt is cheap, and alcohol incredibly so.


But the exile never has the opportunity
of tasting English cooking unless he does
it himself or visits a conlpatriot who does
so. Eggs are cheap and the country produces some fin'e vegetables.
Oranges,
tangerines, dates, figs, apricots, melons and
bananas are cheap when in season, but
apples-in fact all imported food stuffs
incllwipg coffee-are apt to be expensive:
The great difficulty is meat. The mutton
i5 excellent, but the veal and beef need
to be tasted to be believed, and are most
unreliable. Chicken and turkey never
accompanied by sauces or Stuffi;lg, are
naturally monotonous. The fish is very
bony and of poor flavour, except the
prawns, which are magnificent. Of course,
those who live in fiats can deal with
Groppi, Lappas, Orosdi-Back and the
Nile Cold Storage Company and satisfy
their every whim.
Though spirits are
served in very generous portions in the
local hostelries, drinks are really only
cheap wben consumed on olie's own
premises.
At the N.A.A.F.I. all sound
brands of whiskey can be obtained at about
55. 9d. a bottle and gin at 3s. 9d.
Clothes and Laundry.-From November
to April the same kind of clothes are worn
as during the winter in England, except
that an overcoat is rarely needed, and light
und.erwear is quite sufficient. During the
hot months white suits are essential. It
is not advisable to have any clothing' where
cut is of importance made in Egypt,
though summer suits are cheaper here than
at home. On the other hand all forms of
underwear can certainly be more economically bought here than in England, as
al 'O any kind of boots and shoes. With
rea-a I'd to ladies' clothing, there are quite
a number of good dressmakers who can be
relied upon to make simple washing frocks
at a reasonable figure, and in this connec
tion it is to be noted that most dresses
of silk or semi-silk material (including

Clubs and Games.-The chief Sporting


Club is on the Island of Gezira, anG includes a race course, polo ground and
swimming bath. At Heliopolis and Meadi
there are also sporting clubs, both these
su.burban clubs being provided with
swimming baths.
The Turf Club, in
Cairo, is purely a residential club. The
climate makes Egypt an ideal country for
games. Cricket can be played from March
to September; golf, tennis, and sqllash
racquets all the year round. The Gezirn
Club has a grass golf course. The]1 there
is polo in season and during the winter
both football and hockey. For those who
wish to ride Gezira has a good hacking
track . From October to April there are
race meetings over the week-end both nt
Gezira and Heliopolis, a reduced entrance
fee being charged to members of these
two clubs.
At Gezira married officers pay a subscription of 35S. a quarter and single
officers 24S., but these rates are apt to
vary as G.H.Q. guarantees a certain fixed
minimum quarterly which is divided among
those officers on G.H.Q. staff, in Cairo,
who 11' ish to belong to the club. Therefore SUbscriptions are inclined to be higher
49

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during the summer months. At the Turf


Club the subscription is 1 a quarter. At
the Heliopolis Sporting Club the rates are
the same as those of Gezira.
Currency and Banking.-One Egyptian
pound is worth 100 piastres, or 20S. 6d.,
the pound sterling being equivalent to
97l piastres . Therefore one loses I-40th
of one's pay. It is also just as well to bear
in mind that although the earning value
of the piastre is 2td., its spending power is
Id. Branches of all the leading European
banks are to be found in Cairo, hut
Barclay's (Dominion, Colonial and Ove.rseas Branch) is the official bank, and will
cash officers' sterling cheques up to a limit
of 50 monthly, at par. .0her banks
usually charge a small commiSSIon on conversion.
Postage.-The rate on letters going home
is 2td. and registered letters cost 6d. The
parcel post should be avoided and trea~ed
only as a last and desperate resort. First
of all the rates are arpallingly high, and
secondly the actual despatch of the parcel
calls for the w isdom of Solomon and the
patience of J ob. Multitudinous forms have
to be filled-in in great detail, some in
triplicate, others in duplicate; and if the
head of this particular department h appens
to feel a little fidgety, they may be

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returned fm correctio n or additional information ad infillitum.. Finally, a package of any weight may be anything from
two weeks to two months in transit. With
regard to heavy incomin g parcels, \\~h.ose
arrival is notified by the posta l authonttes,
a sharp look-out should be kept for
curiously computed demurrage charges.
Papers and Books.-Th ere are two daily
papers printed in English and one illustrated weekly p Ublication. Each of the
three principal towns has a good . lending
library. Reuter's telegrams can be seen
in the chief hotels and clubs, and in one
or hvo of the principal bars. All Engli sh
papers and mazagines are available, but
very expensive.
~eligion and Education.-Ample provision is made in Cairo and the suburbs for
members of the Church of England and
Roman Catholics, but other denominations are only provided fo r in the capital
itself. With the exception of the Engli sh
School, Cairo and Victoria Coll ege,
Alexandria schools for Britishers are not
Egypt's 10:lg suit. Elementary education
for children up to the ages of seveJ1 and
eight can be obtained fairly easi ly, but
ill th e case of those of riper years arrangements are not very satisfactory.

C:LiL'o-the Mahomed Ali Mosque and the Citadel, from the Mokattam Hills .

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Antiquities.-This is a country where


the struggle to westernize the East can be
seen in all its varying aspects and intensity. Outside the towns, native farmers
can be observed struggling \\'ith Mother
Nature armed with the weapons of the Old
Testament and aided by a modern system
of irrigation. Cairo itself is full of the
remains of an ancient civilisation. There
are churches dating from the seventh century and mosques from the eighth century,
while museums and ancient libraries
abound. The Pyramids of G iza and the
Sphinx are nine miles outside the city at
the end of a goodish road and beside a first
class hotel. Alexandria is famous for its
catacombs and for Cleopatra's Column.
But the majority of the antiquities are in
Upper Egypt, and can be visited either by
rail or by luxurious river steamers.
Local Leave.-Apart from Alexandria
and Port Said there are no places in the
country where relief from the heat of sum-

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mer can be procured. The Island of


Cyprus, twenty-four hours a way, is really
the hm station of Egypt and there, provided that the coastal towns are avoided,
a very cheap h oliday can be passed, high
up in the mountains.
Rhodes Island,
about the same distance 'off, is also a
delightful holiday resort. Since the introduction of Allowance Regulations, 1930,
these latter p laces have become very
popular, as officers can go there \\'ithout
losing colonial allowance and still retainin g local allowances.
Conclusion.-It is curious how times
which we did not think of as particularly
happy ones have only to fall a certain dista nce behind us to be suffused in a softer
light. And so, as we take our last look
at the receding shores of Egypt over the
stern rails of a departing steamer. many of
us realise that it was not such a bad place
after all.
E. C. WILl.IAMS.
Heliopolis, May, 193 I .

"The Bri tish Empire"- Why?


The recent meetings of the Imperial
Conference in London gives an interest to
the reason \\'hy, and in what circumstances .
the word "Empire;' \I'as first applied to
Britain. The term Imperialism is associated in the general mind \\ith jingoism,
or the boastful beating of the big drum
and cymbals, as well as the destruction of
popular liberties. Be that as it may, the
origin of the word Empire, in the British
sense, is of considerable constitutional
interest and importance.
The "New Engli sh Dictionary)) says
the word meant, in Henry VIII.'s time,
" a country of ,,,hich the sovereign owes
po allegiance to any foreign superior.))
In this sense Parliament made use of the
word when the supremacy of the Papacy
was brought to an end, and declared in
the " Statute of Appea ls" : "This realm
of England is an Empire." Later the " 'ord
I"as used to denote a union of two or more
States. When the union of England and
5cotland was first discussed, th e Earl of
Somerset spoke of making "of one isle
Que realm."
Many .01 jections bein g

raised from the Scottish side, it \\'as proposed that the United Kingdom should be
called the Empire, al,ld its sovereign the
Emperor of Great Britain. This project
was realised ill 1603 by the union of the
crowns, when J ames 1. became King of
England, the composite state thus formed
being at once described as an " Empire ."
In a speech 'On March 31St, 1607, the King
makes use of the word on two occasions:
"My meaning in seeking union is only
to advance the greatness of your Empire
seated here in England," and again, ill
reply to a petition from several English
towns stating their interests would suffer
by the uni'o n, he says, "If the Empire
gain and become the greater, it is no
matter. "
Milton llses the term "this Britannick
Empire." A proclamation of King James
in 1604 spoke of our "Imperial Monarchy,"
and in a petition to the King, presented
in the same year, the King was styled
" the most blessed monarch that ever this
Empire will enjoy."
J. MERRIFTEI.D, S.-Sgt.

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Notes on the History of Army Pay


By LIEUT.-COL. E. E. E. TODD, O.B.E., R.A .P.C.
army, the King appropriated to himself
each man's ten shillings, sent them all
home, ,and hired professional soldiers in
thei r stead. This proceeding did nothing
to endear the Norman regime to the
Eng lish.
Ill.
Ed\\'ard II. adopted a system of indents
or contracts to obtain troops. His predecessor had issued ,. Commissions of
Array" to prominent county men to raise
the troops required. but it was necessary
to get down to a definite monetary basis .
Thus, under the "indent," a local man
of substance Drovided a given number of
armed men for a given period for an
agreed sum of money, th e contractor
makin g his O\\'n arrangements 'with the
men. When their periods of service came
t o an end, these men. now trained soldiers,
hired themselves out to the same or another
con tractor .
IV.
A muster-roll of Calais, da ted r346, provides the first definite record of rates of
pay. The Prince of 'Wales got 20S. a day;
the Bishop of Durham (a renowned leader,
often engaged against the Scots along the
Border) got 6s. 8d.; Earls also 6s. 8d,;
Barons 4S.; Knights 2S,; Esquires, Constables, Captains and Leaders IS.; Vintenars (commanding 20 men), mounted
archers, Pauncenars (mounted cavalry) and
Hobelars (lig-ht cavalry mounted on
ponies) 6d.; foot archers 3d. ; Welsh spearmen 2d.; and tradesmen such as masons
and carpenters rates varyin g from rod. to
6d. or 3d.
About the same time an ullpainted bow
cost IS., or JS. 6d. painted; and a sheaf
of 24 arrows cost IS. 2d.

I.
The \vord "soldier" means, according
to its derivation, a man who fights for
money. The Latin word solidus , meaning
a piece of money, re-appeared in Old
French as soldi er ; and the Italians still
use soldo for a small coin. In this sense
England invented the soldier. The Continental military system in feudal times
was based on ideas of Knight Service and
chivalry; and to receive a wage for fighting \yas unthinkable. After the Norman
Conquest,
England's
foreign
Kings
attempted, but \yith little Sllccess, to
force a feudal military organisation upon
the English; and so ineffective \\'ere the
results that, by stress of the necessity of
having to raise troops somehow or other,
the Cro\vn calue to accept a money payment in lieu of personal service, and hired
professional soldiers with the proceeds.
This money payment was recognised later
by Statute, and was known as " Scutage."
Later still, Richard Coeur-de-Lioll \,vas
reduced to the necessity of paying even
his knights.

n.

One of the earliest indications that the


English \yere beginning to accept 1'orman
rule ",as that the shires \yere prevailed
upon by William Rufus to provide 20.000
men for a campaign in France. The
N ormans were prepared to make use of the
AngloO-Saxon military system, together
with as much of the feudal system as they
,couLd put into practice.
Uncler the
Anglo-Saxon s~'stem (which had been
codified by Alfred the Great), one armed
man for everv five hides of land had to
be forthcomil~g on the King's proclamation, and provided with subsistence and
pay at the expense of the shire; \yhile
every free landO\yner of five hicles or more
had himself to serve for the durati0l1 of
the campaign and pay his O\YI1 way. E'3.ch
of the 20,000 men mobilised for Wil1iam
Rufus was provided by the shires with
JOS. "conduct money" or travelling expenses.
On the' concentration of th e

V.
The o rigin of most regulations is the
existence of an abuse.
Under the old
count~T -levy
system. officers and men
arrived at the muster with their ""orst
horses. and if these were lost on service, the
highest compensati'o n was claimed. Thns it

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became necessary to value and mark the


horses 011 a rrival, and the" broad arro\\' "
came into being. The drawing of pay for
non-existent men was one of thE' most
frequent a nd long-continued of fraucis, and
rose to its maximum during Elizabeth's
reign.
VI.
A protracted \\'ar with France \\'as
closed in 1360 by the Peace of Bretigny.
The troops, however, grO\\'lJ accustomed to
the excitements and loot of \\'ar, \\'ere in
large n um bers desirous of remaining in
France rather than returning to peaceful
pursuits at home. Out of these trained
ex-soldiers
" Free
Companies"
",ere
formed, \\'h ich hired them se lves out t'o the
highest bidder. 1'ho e \\'h o financed the
Free Companies held command ' therein
and shared the profits thereo f in proporti ol1 to wha t each put into the venture,
An officer might sell out if he could find a
bnyer-wherein lies the origin 'of the purchase s~;stel11, not abolished till late last
centur\. An unpopular officer might be
bought out by his colleagues. Later, in
order to check abuses, it became customary for the CrO\\'n to iss ue commissions to
selected persons to form companies, which
\\'ere to be used for the King's service
onll'.
Later still, the Army agents
secured com missions for their clients.

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the captains. The national uniform was a


\\'hite coat, embroidered with the Red Cross
of St. George, and Henry VIII. made this
uniform compulsory, in order to prevent
pO\l'erful nobles retaining bodies of armed
men in private liveries. A fe\\' " crack"
companies \\'ore all \\'hite, not merely the
coat. Hence, under the Tndors the soldier
was known popularly as the "vVhite-coat,"
and it \I'as not till Elizabeth's reign or after
that the term" Red-coat" crept in. Henry
VIII. caused a statute to be passed to pUll ish
with imprisonmellt and fine, officers \\'ho
defrauded their men in the matters of pay
and stoppaO'es for clothing; but the statute
\,vas largely a dead letter.
IX.
In 1512 all Expeditionary force \\'as sent
to France; but no pay was forthcoming,
and rati ons \\'ere insufficient. A mutiny
broke out. in \I'hich the main . plank"
\I'as a demand for 8el. a day pay, in place
of the customary 6d. The ringleaders were
hanged a nd pay rem ained at 6d. Forty
years later Bloody l\Iary granted 8d., and
this remained thereafter the standard rate
for t\\o centuries. \I'hen its place was taken
by the Queen's Shilling.
X.
The ne\\' science of gunnery had in
Henry VIII a keen student. Drawing the
field gnns had al\l'ays been a sore point
\\ith the gunners; and Hemy raised a
special Compan~T of \Vaggoners \\ith teams
of horse. The \~r aggol1ers \\'ere mustered
a nd paid once a month; and frauds bv
officers \\'ere at once recognised a nd regtilated by the I rovisi on th at the paying
offu:~r \\'as n ot to take, out of the men's.
pay, more th an Id. per month for himself.
XI.
In the early part of Queen Elizabeth's
reign, the state of the Army \\'as probably
\\'orse that at any other period of its history . Elizabeth had noO \l e for a soldier;
money \\'as not forthcomin g , or was forthcoming only after long arrears had accumulated; and thoug h the state of impecuniosity to which the pnblic services \\'ere reduced \\'a not yet so extreme as it came to
b ~ uncler James and Charles, yet the effect
on discipline \\'as al1110 t equally bad.
Fraudulent enlistments, desertions, and
neclllation by officers became rampant.
The .officers \I'ere not entirely to blame, as

VII.
Henry VIII. \\'as a distinguished army
administrator. F or the first time, in his
reign, it was definitely established that
each m a n \\'as to receive pa~' from the day
of leavin g ho me to the dav of return.
Absence \\'ithout lea ve beca'me a crime.
The coullty levies \I'ere g Iven "coa tmonev" and "cbnduct-l1lonev" - the
former to provide uniform, the latter as a
travellin g- and
subsistence allowance.
These allowances \\'ere paid in advance but
ultimately \\'ere deducted from pay' for
Hence arose
value in kind received,
" stoppages." There i a centuries-old
hi.stor~' of stoppages, intim a tely concerned
\rlth th e \\'elfare and discipline of the
Army. Conduct-money \\'as , in the first
instan ce, provided bv the county, but \\'as
after\\'ards refunded hy the N afional
Exchequ er,
VIII.
Clothin g was I rovided on repayment by
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into use--Lieutenant, Major, Colonel, regiment infantry, colours, and s'o forth. For
nearl~ two centuries, the recog nised drill
instru ~t o r h ad been the Sergean t, but now
the Corporal took his place. The Secondin-command was the Serg ea nt-Major (cor
responding to the p resent- day Major) . It
became usual to have t wo drummers p er
Company , ,yho did not merely make cal.ls,
but were used as en voys in parl eys WIth
th e enemy-.- They therefo re had to be m en
of intellig ence? w ith a certain kno\Nledge
of the enemy ' s lang uage, a nd th ey received a hi gh rate of pay .
XV .
In 1585 a tr ea ~ y was entered into with
the Dutch , \I-hereby 4 ,000 m en, raised by
th e press-gan g , ",-ere sent to the L ow
Countries to assist in repellin g the
Spa niard . E ngland was to h old certain
Dutch coast towns as " security, " but the
troops were permitted merely to garri son
these towns, and \\"e re of no effective use
t'O the Dutch. Consequently, both the
Dutch and E li zabeth refused to provide
funds, and the entire force \\-as. reduced to
a condition of beggary, sta rvatIo n , lack of
clo thes, and fin all y mutiny _ Th e onl y
officers wh o ""ould serve '''''ith such an
Army were of the worst type, who , looking
to recoup th em selves out of th e pay (again
if an d when fort hcomin g) of men \yh o h ad
di ed or deserted , \\"ere m ore interested in
indiscinlin e a nd sta rvati on th a n in trai nin g.
Th e Earl of Lei cester , wh en ap pointed
C'O mma nd er- in-Chi ef, \I-as in strum ental in
findin g arrea rs of- pay, but still for current
expenses nothin g \I'as I rov ic1 ed.
XVI.
Prin ce lIIallri ce of Nassa u took over comm and from the Ea rl of Lei cester . A clbtin glli shed stu dent of war, 11 e rea li sed that
n othin g could be do ne with an un pa id,
in disciplined mob , a nd he \I'as strong .
en ough to in sist on regul a r pa yment and
the p unishm ent of fra udul ent offi cers. Bllt
th e pay system itself stood in th e \\"ay of
efficiency . Th e sta n da rd ra te of pay of 3d .
a dav amo unted to 12 3S . 4d . a yea r , out
of \\:hi ch 4 2S. 60 . \\-as deducted for a
winter and a summ er suit of cl othing, a nd
6 r8s _ 8d . (a t th e rate of 2/8 a \\-eek) for
subsi ten ce . leaving 11 2S. 2d. (or abo ut
5d . a week ) onl y to be paid in ha rd cash.
The deducti on for clothin g was ca ll ed " off-

the irregularity with which money \V.as


forthcoming, and the g eneral financI al
and administrative disorg anisati on led to a
situation in whi ch the onl y thing to do was
to " pay the men a nd y~urself as a nd ho.",
you mig ht."
At o ne tane the Arm y 111
Scotland had a muster roll of 8,000 ; but
not m ore th a n 5 000 \yere p resent \rith the
cQlours, th e pa~ of the balance (if and
wnen received ) g oing into the o fficers'
pockets, not n ecessarily for themselves, but
simj)ly used to "carry OD." The Special
Commissioners appointed to put down cor ru ption , were of little avail.
XII.
The old COWlty system fin ally brok e
down-though nothing better took its
place until the advent of Cromwell's
" N ew Model." The rebels in th e N orth
were better equi pped th a n the forces of th e
Crown.
The pre,S-gan g I-vas in ve nted
und er th e stress of threatened invasion by
Spain , and th e gaols were e m p ti e(~ to fill
up the ranks. On e Easter Sun day 111 L ondon the doors of the Churc hes \\-ere lock ed
on th e cong regati ons, and the adult males
were drafted h'O lus-bolus into th e Army.
But a disorganised rabble, \yith out reg ular
pay or sufficient clo thing or equip ment , \I'as
worse than useless-a fact \\-hich g radually
came to be recognised by a body of m en
who began to stud y th e a rt of \r ar. Now
by a fe w ; later, un de r th e Commol1\\-ea lth ;
and la ter still und er Marlboroug h, it
became a card inal princip le th at one of the
first pre-requi sites o f a success ful campaign, was regula r pay, good food, a nd
good clothing.
XIII .
Pri vate enter prise began to m ak e up for
the deficiences 'O f th e Crown . T o protect
the South Coast, 4 ,000 arquebusiers \yere
rai sed, and prizes were g iven to en courage
marksmanshi p with th e ne\\- " ha nd-gun."
The City of Lond on raised a Corps of 3,000
men , who were mustered three tim es a
week. A Comp any of 300 was raised by
pri vate subscri ption a mong th e Protesta nts
of London .
XIV.
The white coat was replaced towards the
end of E li zabeth's reig n by a red or blue
coat, th en called a " cassock." Th ese \\"ere
provided by the Counties and T O\\"l) s, not
by the Crown . Many modern terms came
54

THE

R OYAL

ARMY

reckonings " -ano ther form of stoppages.


As for . th e subsistence money of 2/ 8 per
week , It was the commo n practice for the
captain to make a p riva te contract for feeding the Compan y , and ma ke wha t profit he
could. The cap tains also suppli ed cl othing, but often bad quality was supplied, or
the men Ir ere ch a rged excessive prices or
th e cl.othing was withh eld altogether. The
cap tam s themselves received fund s onl y
irreg ularl y, any bCj la nce bein g (th eoret{cally) squa red u p e very six months so it
is difficult to kn ow I\" hether or not they
were more sinn ed aga inst tha n sinnin g.-

XVII.
In the a ttempt to control ab uses, control

bega n t~ be. tran sferred to Departm en ts


and offiCI als 111 London . Th e" Treasurer
of t~e Force~ " ca me in to bein g. But corrnptIOn co ntInued, both amo ng the offi cials
and the co ntractors. It was long before
E lizabeth h ad it broug ht home to her that
the Swin dler-in-Chief, of h erself a nd of th e
Am1Y, \I-as the Treasurer of the F orces
hill: self. Littl e else co uld be ex p ected at
a time \" h en th e soldier was reo-a rd ed bv
th e .Crown as a rogue, a n d Arm; administratIon was beneath consid era tio n.

XVIII.
1'h ~ reig ns of Ja mes I. a nd Cha rl es I.
con s~ltute a dreary re-itera tion of th e sa me
11.egilg en ce. Und er th e latter, an exp editIOn was set on foot aga in st Ca di z, but th e
anI? g un s a nd the o nly ex peri enced t roops
avaIlable h ad to be ob tain ed fro m H o lland.
A force of 8,000 m en was rai sed by the
press-g.a n g, and con centra ted at Pl ym outh .
A portIOn of th ese were sent to H olland by
way of exc ha nge, b ut th e Sta tes-G eneral
re~use d to accept such ra \\" stuff, a n d
shl pp.ed th e lo t of th em back to Ply mouth.
Th e .l!n pec.uniosity of E li zabeth and J a mes
Was mtenslfiecl und er the first Cha rles' he
could not afford th e cost of going himseif to
Pl Ymouth ; and wh en the g un s a rri ved from
H oll and , th ere was no m oney to pay for
the unloa d1l1 g of th em . Plymo uth was in
a . st~te of ind escribable confL~ s i'o n a nd indisclpilne i and when the expediti on did get
to Ca.dlz, th e Spani a rd kne w ho w best to
t:eat It: en oug h butts of sack were left outSIde the wa lls of the town a nd the operations cam e to an a bl-upt e~d .

PAY

CORPS

J OUR TAL

XIX .
The Scottish n SUl gs of r639-40 were
Ch a rles' undoing. He knell' not where to
tUrIl for money or tmops . Except for the
Statute of Philip and Ma ry, which was
r~p ea led by Jam es I. , the military organisatIOn of th e country \1-aS, theoretically , stilI
based on the old S tatute of Winchester.
b.ut countless ex pedients had been adopted
Sll1ce th en, so th at when Ch a ries attempted
~o re-introduce the old feudal system (call1l1~ on every Peer to rally to his person
wIth s~ ma ny fo llo\rers, and ordering the
Lord-LIeutenants of the counties to raise
levies of foot ) , he was met by protests from
the lords and ri ots by the commoners . The
pay ment of coat-money a nd conduct-m oney
by the shires was refused . The Scots
advanced as far as Ri pon; a nd there they
agreed to remain in considera tion of a payment o~ 800 a day. Charles, quite una ble
~o p rOVIde such a sum , was perforce thrown
lIlto the hands 'O f his P a rliament, which
first proceeded to make itself indissoluble
witho l~t its own consent, a nd nex t negotiated Inth th e Scots a return to their own
country .
XX.
In th e Ci vil W a r, it was some y ears
before the L ong P a rli ament realised that
there bein g in fact 11 0 milita ry organisatio~
of the country a t all , victory would come
'Only to .that sid e which p roduced a reg ula r.ly paid and discip lined army. In this,
OlIver Crom well showed the way. P arliament vo ted a p erman ent esta blishment with
regular monthly pay. But money was stilt
th e supreme obstacle ; a nd in 1644 a Committee ,ras appointed to establish the " New
Model" of the militia . This, set up in
r 645, was Eng land' s first Reg ular Army _
(To be continu.ed.)
N OTE . - R ead ers a re recom m ended to the
Holtoura ble J . IV . FORTESCUE ' S monumental
"HISTORY OF THE B RITI SH ARMY" in 2 1
v ol,.mes. lily in debt edn ess to which i s h ereby
acknow ledged _ Th e m ain fac ts embodied i,. these
Notes h ave been take,. from p a rag raphs and footn otes occttrn-ng h ere a nd th ere in that e1~trancing
wor k. w hich is only 1-ndirectly CO'lce r ned with the
p ay 0/ th e Army .
E .E .T .

55

THE ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOU~NAL

Corps News and Notes


Aldershot Command
COMMAND PAY OFFICE, ALDERSHOT.
Changes in the staff siuce the last issue include
the depa rture of Captain Moran (fDr Chatha1l1), Sgt.
Hill (for Southern Command on COSt lllg dutIes) ,
and Mr. Lea per, who has taken up an appol11tment
with the Ministry of L abo ur at Leice~ter . In th eIr
p'laces we have nDW \Iith us Lieut. Parratt, Cpl.
Harris and Mr. H ayes (from York 'L nd late of
E astern Command Pay Office).
Sgts. C. Moni and H. Cla rk and L {Sgt. H. Gear
are nDW manied men , :lnd we have to report addi tions to the fam ili es .o f the follow ing :-Sgt. J.
Siml110nds (a son) and L /Sgt. E. Ransom (a
da.ughter ), whilst we regret to have omitted to
I.eport in last parRgraph of thi, station news the
R.A.P.C. Football Team .

of the longer eyenings attendances h ave not been


quite up to expectatiOns a nd consequen tly ,,e are
givi\1g lit em a rest for a month or SD .
Tenni s is nDIV in full swi1lg, and fri endly matches
have been played against the R . .'\.M .C. and
I\. .S.1,.I., both of which we won. Th e Sergt~.' Mess
Tennis League, in which we are entering a team,
began again at the end of May. We are hoping to
be able to keep .our end up an d at least dD as well
.us we d id last sea .on.
Costing School.-Th e pre ent cour e (fii"th) will
break up on Jun e 12th. when th e students will
disper e for a well eamed rest to await \Iitlt eagerness the results of the exam in at ion and the new s of
their destin ati Dns. All are hopeful of success and a
Aldershot , 1930-1931.

Ba ck Row (left to right) : S.Q.M.S. W. E. WilSDn, L / Sgt. C. P. Bading, Sgt. F . L oveder, Sgt.
C. Enda cotL, Sgt. J. C. Si:mJl1Dnds, S.Q.M.S. H. R Hud so n, Sgi. H. Clark , Sgt. C. A . Mot'l"ls,
L {Sgt. B . Tasl,er, Sgt. L. Coo k
S eal ed. : Sgt . G. Tristram, L /, gt. A. T . Gear, L /Sgt. A. H . 0' Co nnor , Capt. O. P. J . Rooney,
Sgt. A. W. Hop,kins, L/Sgt. W . G. A. Giles, L /Sgt. J. Wilson . .
Ground: LlSgt. J. S . Lawson, L / Sgt. E. Lowther, L {Sgt. A Broauben t.
pleasant station . The c Ul"se is composed of the
births of daughters to S.Q.M.S. Pomroy an d Sgt.
following members of the co rps: L / Sgts. Bateman,
Tristram-one each!
DonDvan , Giles, Lawson, Mander and '~7 ilson, the
Several of the staff are assisting at the TatLoo this
instru ctor being <::.gt. F. W. Loveder. They have
year in the capacity of marshals a nd l1shers.
been a great asset to the ga mes .of the office, p,arCaptain Overton, Sgts. Camp, CDok and Simmonds
ticularly football and cricket. Th e s ingle members
are all under orders for overseas during the ne:-.1;
of the course are aUached to the 2nd Bn. , The Royal
Trooping seaSDn.
Scots, whilst the school itseU is beside the Costing
Sergeants' Mess.-Since the last publication of the
Section, separated from the Pay Offi ce by the tennis
J OURNAL activities of the Mess have been confined
court and adjacent to the R.A.P.C . Sergeants' Mess.
mainly to whist drives (both solo and progressive)
Cricket.-We have only played one match to date,
under the very able management of Sergt. Ferguson.
against the Royal Army Service Corps Sergeants,
These proved very successful, b ut with the advent

56

____________T
__H_E~R~O~Y~A~L~A
~R~M~Y~~P~
A2Y~C~O~R
~P.~S~J(~)~U~R~N~A~L~___
and, a l thoug~ we lost by 23 runs (103 to 80) intere~t
as to the ult u nate resu lt was maintained
the end
of th~ game. We have I een unfortuntae in gettin
p~actICe owmg to the weather! but the team on it~
filst out1l1~. sh.owed p.os.slblllhes of maintaining a
good stand,nd In r~mamlllg fixtures. Lt.- Col. T. L.
Rogers \I:as OUl hIghest scorer, with 23 runs, and
the bowlI ng honours went to Sergt. Horner 4 f '
25, and Mr. Self, 3 for 24. Since the mat~h w~~
p layed, alTangements have been made for week]
practIce at the nets with the Pl"OfessiDn al (M/
Burg~ss , Surrey GrDund Staff) and und er .our ne\~
captam (Lt.-Col. RDgers) we a re cD nfident .of a
_
.cessful seaSDn.
suc
Ten.n i s. -TI~is sectiDn under the guidance .of the
captam .of tn e team , CDlDnel W. S. Mackenzie
O.B.E., has started .off full .of enthusiasm and hi(7]~
hDpes. Ava~lable t.alent has already been tried D~t
w~th . gratlfYll1g results. Our annual handicap is in
pIOgl~SS and the resul ts .of the matches are watched
Wll!, mcr eas mg mlerest. Four valiant lads have
decIded tD UphDld th e prestige .of the command b
enten,ng fDr t he cDrps challenge cup, S.Q.M.S. Hul
son, Sergeants Cook, H omer and O'Connor-we wish
them the best of lu ck.
A very enjoyable a fternoDn was spent on the CDurt
when the .officers .of the detachment tried to beat the
mem bers of t~e sergeants' mess. The result has
nDt been pubh hed, but the wives of the members
of the ergean.ts' ~,ess now think that their husbands
-ca n play tel1J~IS. The .office als D enjoyed 1.\\"0 friendly
matche a~a lO,s t an AldershDt civilian team an d the
L?cal AudItor s Staff. Matches have been arra nged
WIth the Woolwich and Hounslow offices and it is
hoped t.o arrange one with the Chatham office. A
team has been entered for the co mm an d tennis leag ue
~nd It .IS expected that last season's record of fourth
phwe 111 the league ta.ble wi1l be beaten.
.
J Foo~ball.-In friend ly games and in the Command
unlOI L eague, 0;11 team, cDm posed entirely of
R_ .P. C. men , fim shed the season with the f01l0wmg record.
Pb):ed 26: won 4 ; Drawn 1; Lost 21.
The JU1l10r League is composed of the second
elevens of the reglment.s and units whose strengLh is
not more than 300. and when it is realised that we
beat the 2nd Bn., K.S.L.I. an d were defeated by the
odd goal in matches with 2nd Bn., R.W. Kent Rgt
2nd Bn. , The Cheshire Regt., 2nd Bn ., The Buff~'
~th ~ussars and No . .s SectiDn, R.A.O .C., the abov~
I ecold may be cDnsldered very satisfactorv. The
eventua l ~tnd unbeaten league champi~ns-the
M.W.E.E.-actua ll y defeated us in the last game of
the s~ason by a sma Jl er ma lgin than any .of thei~
vlctones over the other league teams.
OUI tea n!s were drawn from twenty available members , and It was a remarkable achievement even to
fu lfil .the fixtures , especialJy as, agart frDm Lhe above
mel?tlOlled close defeats, we suffered some unholy

td

lud1l1~s.

Owmg to i1lness we .were unable to play the ~'eturn


match agamst WoolwIch but \I-e eutertnined Houns1~,~ .and drew after an exciting game in which the
VISltlllg custodian shone. Score 3-3. Later in the
season . Woking visited us and were defeated by 4--D.
On. tIllS occ!tsion our sporting neighbours {ulfiJJ ed
then fixt,ure and. gave us a most enjoyable game,
although facen WIth glleat difficulties ill even getting
eleven players together.

57

--

th RiHe ~IUbb-D ll l"1 ng tbe period ending 30th A pril


W~ ~e~t~n ~5 . been h usy comp leting cards fur th~
111 I
anchcap. Tbe final placings in this event
were:1. AI'. E ll a.I'd
Average.
2. SSgt. Ma.rshaJJ .. :.: .: .. : .. :: .. .. .
~~.~;
3.
gt. Simmuncls
. .. .... ........... 97:71
thInf MlJar~!' a short compet~tJOn was held in which
e 0 0\1 mg were pl'lze wlllners:-

1. Mr. Self ...... .......... ~........ .... . A~~~~.re.


2. Capt. Overton ... .. ... ... ..
97 58
~e Mr. Ellard ..................... ... .
9728
_ result of .the ShDOt fDr the B~ii Medal and
ewspapel' CertIfi cates for 1930, held on 1O{4/31
was as follows:'
BeJl
. . .. Mr. Salisbury
D Medal .. ...... .. ... .....
aily Mail "Certificate
. Mr. Salisbury
" T imes" Certificate
S .S.M.Plowman
:: D a ily Telegraph "C~;tifi~t~..
Mr. Salisbur
Sunday TImes" Certificate . .. . ... .. Capt. Roone~
T o wlIld lip the winter season, a match Officers v
Sta~, was arranged on 17th April, and th~ Staff \I-on:
Scoles:-Sta ff, 563; Officers, 559 (recd. 45 pDints).
ThiS was followed by a d istribution of pri ze in th
Sergts'. Mess, a~ ~\'hich the C.P. very kindlv officia~
ted. a nel a CO!lvlvIal ~v~ning. It is probabie that a
s~m1l1er team competItIon will be arranged if sufficIent mem bers can be p,ersuaded to de\ole the time
but tenl1lS and cricket. may interfere.
'
The S~cretl\ry . Sgt. Marsha l!. is still open and
anxIOus to accept challenges for Postal Shoots with
other offices.
WOKING.
. Be.fore rel ating any stat ion n ews, it should be
le col d ~d ~hllt the firs t Issue .of Lh
JOURN,IL was
enthUSIastIcally recel\ed, and was cOJlsidered to be
ever SD mu ch better than ha d been expected. The
editors and committee are to be congratulated on
ItS success, and we should like to express our gratitude to them.
AJl at the station were present at the event of the
y~a:r-the ann.ual reunion dinner of the O.C.A.,
~,hlCh .was aga1l1 thorough ly enjoyed. What a bless1l1g It 15 to be near enough to attend.
Two ve~y p'leasa~t fUllctions have to be recorded.
The fi~st. IS our VISIt to Hounslow in search of footb.aU VIctIms. It tumed out that we were the "ict lms (we. l?'~t by fO lll" goals to two) but we are
always wI lJ1I1g to take a licking in return for such
a hearty welcome and entertainment as was o"Ur lot.
By the way , Sergeant Montague at outside left
scored both .our goals. What a wonderful player
he must have been when beards were worn on the
football field!
Our intel:-office functiDns with Hounslow are
always an Immense. success, and it is hoped that
they may lon g contmu e.
The second of the functions referred to broke
new ground when ~h.e staff of the Deptford Office
paId us nn all day VISIt, an account .of which appears
under the Deptford notes. Our visitors were very
loth to "em?llS" when the time came, but everyone a.greed WIth. S.S.M. Mockler, who , in expressing
thanks, emphaSIzed that more such affairs mllst be
held between these two offices.
W oklng No tes con t inued on pag~ 63 . .

THE ROY AL ARMY

PAY CORPS

JOURNAL

Eastern Command
COMMAND PAY OFFICE,
80, PALL MALL, S.W.l.

Wil l readers kindly note t hat we shal.1 be ':lery


pleased to see them at our, month ly whi st dn ves,
which we are continuing du rmg the summ er month s.
W e so met im es have surpr ises in old fn ends drop
ping in to see us and we shall be very pleased . t o
meet an y who may be paying a visit t o th ese parts.
At present th e Social Clu b is in t he t hroes of a dart
t ournamen t a nd a keen competit ion is bemg waged
for t he v:U uable cham pionship' shi eld plus t he
" boun ty" which goes to the winning team. Any
office in t hi s area wh ich wo uld care to. spend an
evening at darts a nd ca rd s should wn te t o our
wo rt hy Secretary re th e fi x10g of a date; we can
asu re all t hat our euchreites are very chumI"? Y
W e are lik ely to lose th e und er-ment Ioned dUrln g
the ne:-.i, "trooper": Major T . Kin gan , S, Q.M.S.
Bell, Sgts. Fox, Garrod, Kin~ bell and P enfo!d ; all
und er orders for foreIgn servIce. A good trip and
th e best of wishes to one and all of th em .
It might be of interest t o t hose who get posted
here t o kn ow th at th e majorit y of th ose on t he
Married Quarter R oll are li ~ ing i.n . the .marl'1ed
quarters w h~ch are s i t u ate ~ m SLIlhngt on S treet
and V i ctor~a H ouse, Francls Street,. Westmmster ,
a.bout one mile from th e offi ce. Th e smgle members
of the staff are acco mm odated by t he Milita ry F oot
P olice at Knlghtsbndge.
Departures :-Lt .-Col. H . R. Vi. Dawson to Wo<,>lwich, Cap t . F . G. Norton, M.C. , D .C.M., to Salisbury, S.S.M : A. C. Clark , M, B .E. , discharged to
pension.
,
Arrivals: - Lt.Col. J . P . Bnck man , O.B .E., from
W oolwich , Capt. A. 'L. Dunnill, from P erth, S.S ,M.
W. E , C. L oftu s, fro m Deptford .
F L

' ..

B arnet is no mushroom growth of yesterday . Its


hi sto ry shows t hat it is b uilt on the site of a Ro n~an
encam pment , and by a sli ght stretch of IOlagll1atlOn
it migh t be claim ed tha,t Julius Cae a r foun ded t he
t ow n. I t is well known t hat he crossed t he Th ames
at Brent ford a nd ma rched to V erul a m (now St .
Albans) and m ust have occupied th? hill at Ba rn et.
Th e most im port ant event in th e hi sto ry of Ba rn et
is "the Bat tle of B arn et," which \~' as fo ugh t 111
147'0 a nd in which the E a rl of ' an V!ck! know';! as
t he Ei ngmaker, was sla in . Th e battle IS descn bed
by Shakespeare in H enry V I (Act Ill, and by Buh~er
Lytton in n T he Last of t he Barons ,
Ba rne.t bel ~g
an old coachin g town , necessarily many of Its pl Ominent landmarks are its inn s, Most of t he larger
ones are gone, but P epys ment ions in .his Diary tb at
he freq uent ly visited t he Old Red LIO n at B ar ~ et.
T he R ed Li on and th e Green Ma n were the l'l v!l l
postin g houses. I understand t hese , houses st tl~
fl ourish in Ba rnet to t hi S day. Com m g to later
t im es. Ba l'11et is BOW an u p-to -d ~te go-a head tow n,
far enou<Yh from L ondo n to be 111 t he count ry a nd
near en o~gh when one wish es to be in ~on don.
Th ere is nothin g interestID g to record 111 the s h ~pe
of sp,o rt our cricket match with H ouns low havID g
to be aba ndo ned ow ing to heavy rain, ~n d we have
not vet started play in t he Barnet B owhn g L eague.
Colonel E. J . Carter has assumed duty as Officer
in.Charge, Royal Ta nk Co rps. Record ~nd Pay Office.
and has already id ent ifi ed h imself WIth the welfare
of the Detachment. W e bid him a very hearty. wel
come and are sure that hi s Slay a mongst us \\'1 11 he
a happy one. We a lso welco me Sergea nt A. R .
Dewh irst . who has l omed us f rom E g ~' pt, and \\ e
part with much regret from our old fnend :MaJor
G. H . Wh ite wh o has proceeded to York on cha nge
of st'\,t ion.
E . J , '~7,B .
CANTERBURY.

S.S. M. A. C. Clark, M.B.E .-Since the issue 01


tb e fir st num ber ()f t he J OURl'AL we hOlve lost t he
ser vices of S.S ,M. A. C. Olark, M.B.E. , on e of t he
" old brigade." Th e Sergeant-Ma jor enlisted in th e
Bedfordshire Regim ent in 1894, a.nd. smce h iS tr~ n s
fer fro m t hat Regiment , has served m South AfrIca,
H ong K ong, a nd Sierra Leone, a nd can t ell .many . a
good yarn of his experienc.es in t hose statIOns, III
addition to his experiences 111 Ray offi ces durm.g t he
war of 1914-1919. Hi s services were sUitably
rewarded in 1919 when he was awarded t he Men tori ous Serv ice Medal and at Oln invest it ure held at
Buckin gham P alace in 1930, wh en Hi s Ma jest y
in vested him as a mem ber of t he Order .of th e
Brit isb Empire (Mili tary Di vision) , Anyth:n g f ~ r
t he good of th e Cor ps has a.l ways met Wit h h iS
henrty support and. so on the fo t-mati on of the Old
Comrades ASSOCiatIOn he was elected t o t he. committee of management, and t he Corl?s dmn.e rs
owe a great part of their success t o his untl r~ng
efforts and willing end eavo ur to make. everyth.l~ g
" go wit h a swin g. " All wh ~ kn<,>w him wtll Jom
in wishin g him every success ill hlS new sphere of
life which will undoubtedly appear str ange after
36 years service with the colours.
J.K.

Since th e publicati o!, of .the Spr ing n umber, a nd


as a d irect res ult of Its C1 rc ul at ~on , \\'e , have been
able to resuscitate our 10ng.establI shed crIcket tea n~ ,
whi ch , as stated in my last notes , was ID a monbu nd cond ition.
Th e connectIOn hetween t he
J OURNAL and t he fun ct ionin g of a cricket eleyen
may seem rather obscure, but my mourn ful re ~,arks
concernin g our posit ion we re read by t h ree crl cket
in g members of the Corps servin g a.t out stat ions
near here. Th en again , the O.C ,A. Dm ner a ff orded
t he op portuni ty o f meeti ng t hose players , 0.1' at l e~st ,
S .S.M. Ba iley of Shorncliffe, who offered hiS ser vIces
Olnd t hose of S. Q.M.S . Da"is (D over) and L .-Sef!~t.
Ki ng (Sborncliffe) whenever we sh ould r eq ~llr e
assistance. T he JOUlt~AL h ns nlso heen l he med IUm
for co mpletin g a team t o. part.icipate, in t he E astern
Comm Olnd tennis champIOnship . wh ich, up to the
moment, has been most successful. Th e t h r,ee memo
bel'S of the Co rps referred to above, as Isted by
Sergt. Plunkett, have reached the fi na l of the ~ t h
Di vision elim inatin g ro un ds , and meet t he R. A,S.C .
Colchester as finalist s. Th ey won t he Shornchffe
section of the to urnament a fter the R. A.S .C.,. Shorn
cliffe scratched in thA fi rst rou nd , b~' defeatm g th e
R.E. 's an d t he 4t h / 7t h D ragoon G uards i~ , ~u bse
q uent round s, and t he Tanks . in lh e fi na l. 1hls .led
t he Corps pl ayers t o t he se ml -fi n ~l of t he 4t.h DIVIsion , in whi ch t hey succeeded m ?onqu erln g ~h e
R.A ,O, C, winners of th e Dover SectIOn . R eAectmg

BARNET.

In my previous article on this station I told yo u


how the Detachment were situated , perba-Rs a few
word s regarding Barnet itself migh t be.of interest to
reOlders of t he J ourna l.

58

THE

ROYAL

ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL

on t he fact that t he Woolwich Detachmer.t has been


to t he fore .in . t~i s ch amp! o~s hi p in the Rast , it may
be too optimistic to an tIC tpate a P ay Corps fin al
but t he next phase will determin e our fate. We ar~
now in a pos ition, there fore, t o m ise a tennis tea m.
at least , to visit the Chath a m offi ce, a nd in ali
probab ility we shall be ab le t o mu ster a cricket
el even on th a t occasion.
Sin ce t,he first J O'(ltN,\L was pu blished , a nd in
anticipati on of no cri cket, th e marri ed mem bers of
th e Deta ch ment have been co ncen tr atin g on th eir
gardens, which a re und oubtedl y t he best in the
barracks, and a re convenient ly sit uated nea r t heir
quarters. St ra ngely enough, we have had t wo
casualt ies resul ting from excess ive energy in t he
ga l'den, for . ergt. Chantler un derwent an operation
on his hnnd du ring a fortnight in Shorn cJ iffe H ospital, whilst the ba ndages on the left h:ll1d of one
of t he office r precl ud ed hi m from playin g go lf for
over a mon th.
I had one or two enquiri e at t he O.C,A , Dinner
rega rdin g the Canterbury Go lf Club , and I should
like to extend th e in vita.ti on to any golfin g members
of the Co rES who may be spendin g t heir holidays
nea r here, to visit th e course, whi ch th ey will find
to be qui te in terestin g as t he res ult of it bein g
a fa id.v d ifficu lt 18 holes , If a visiting golfer shou ld
have any tro uble in findi ng a n opponen t, t he Detach
ment is in a pos ition to prov ide one.
I have been asked by Mr. " Bob" Maun to raise
an observnlion on t he claim made in the Spri ng
num ber by the Al dersh ot correspondent , tha.t t his
past sea on wns t he fi rst occasio n on wh icb an
Ald ershot Deta chment had ent ered the local football league. T h nve to remind th at writer t hat, as
" recently" as 1906-07, t he Ald ershot Detachment
was represented in both the Co mm and JuniOl' League
and the Oom mand Junior Cup . In t he words of
Mr. Ma un , t he foll owing pl ayers of t hat day will
co nfi rm th e statemell t :- R. W . K ell y (now Lt .Col.
and Sta ff Pa~' m a s ter) , " Noggie " New man, " J ock"
Ande l'so n, Sanders, FOl'ster. Ba rn sley, Maun , Law.
son. Bra nni gn n, L ambert (G. an d C,) , \Vilm ore a nd
Brond ley .
B .J .B.T.

his tea for. Th e scores were : Cba tham P . a nd R.S.


Club 127 (for 8 wickets, d eclared ), (L ieut.-Colonel
Lig htfoot 105 not out ) ; Rainh a m, 59. Bowling :
Lieu t .Colonel Lig ht foot 3 for 5 run s; Lance.-Sergt.
Tullock 2 for 7 ; La nceCorpl . Pink nev 2 for
C!l.pt.
MvT3n 2 for 19 ; S.Q.M .S . Blacket 1 'for 3.
.
II!- OUl' next game, pl ayed on Sa tu rd ay, May 9th,
agamst H empstead Club- whi ch we lost by 7 runs
th e scores being Cha th a m P. a nd R.S . Clu b 66
(Capt. Mo1'an 22) ; Hempst ead 73-the sco ring on
o~r side was a li ttle m ore uni for m, showin g th at
Wlth practice we shall be able to do oursel ves credit
when we co me to renew our acq uain tances within
t he Corps-Houn low , I t hink, will be our firs t
visitors. on t he 19t h June, I believe.

a:

Major Andersoo a nd Majol' l'i eilson


pla.v ing from the fi rst tee, after
th e forma l openi ng of t he minia
t ure golf course at tb e Army P ay
and Record Office, Chatham .

CHATHAM.

Cricket.- W hen yo u come to consider what a


county K ent is fo r cricket, possessin g, as E . V . Lu cas
rem ind ed us recently in t he Smlday T ime s, so many
memor ials to fo rm er cham pions of t he sport-such
as J ohn W illes, t he fi rst to in troduce round a rm
bow lin g . Alfred Mejun, th e sw iftest round a rm
bowl er of hi s t im e and t he hardest hitter, and Fuller
Pilch, th e single-wicket cham pion-to keep alive t he
spit'it in t he yo un ger generation, it, is no wonder
~ha. t even in the smaJJ est tow ns and vill ages th ere
IS no diffi culty in putting out a t eam capable, at
least. of assu ring any a verage v isiti ng team a n
aftemoon' s sport. So it was when on Saturday,
May 2n d , we met t he Ra inh am Cricket Clu b.
Although we had the satisfaction of beatin g them
by 68 runs, it must in fa irness be ad mitted that
had we not the ass istance of Lieut. -Colonel Lightfoot
th e result more t ha n likelv wou ld have been some
what different.
" Does' he bowl as well as he
bats?" nsked one of t he local su pporters, just
as Colonel Li gh t foot put another ball off for 6. I
sUPHose a t the back of his mind he ha.d an idea
t hat if such was t he case th e game, so far as his
t own' s team was concerned, was not worth missing

Miniature Golf, Our ne\\' mini ature golf co urs&


was forma,lIy opened on Thu rsday, May 21st, hy
Maj or J. G. And erso n, R, A. P. C. , after wh ich a
match was played between t he officers a nd W .O. 's
Class I. of both offi ces . r es ul t ing in a win for th&
Royal Signals. Scores :-

59

R oya l Sig nals.


]Ha ior J . G. A nd erson
Maj or R. Cleland , M.C.
Capt. F, Spilsbury
S .S. M. R . Stubbs

33
37
46
37 = 153

R.E.
Major W . P . Neilso n
Capt. S. N, Hill
..
Capt. W . ]\forn n, O.B,E. , M.C.
S ,S,M. G. T . Dav is .. .

36
44
47
48= 11&

THE

ROYAL

ARMY PAY CORPS

JOU RNAL

Sport.-The honorary secretaries and co mmittees


of our Social and Sports Clu b work like " Trojans "
to ma ke things a success, and we would like to
t ake this opportunity of thanking them.
Tennis.-This branch of sport is not yet in full
swing a nd a full account 0 (,he actiyities will be
given in t he next issue. The following toul'llamenls
are being a1'l'an~ed to be played off during months
stated: Open Smgles, May; Open Doubles, Juni ;
Bandicap Singles, July; Handicap Doubles, August.
Home find away fixtures have been arranged with
Woolwi ch.
There appears to be a relu ctance here in entering
for the Rhine Army (Other Ranks) Singles Cup.
Possibly due to the fa ct that in the vi c ini t~, (Woolwich) is a "vampire" \\'ho seems to thrive on
Hounslow " blood" in the very early stages of the
competition.
Cricket.-Our series of practice matches was
spoilt by bad weather. We managed , however , to
get one in , and a sid e comp-osed chiefly of civilians
beat the milita ry side in a cIo e fin ish
The Barnet people :LlTived ill force on the 15th
May, oll ly to find the ground unfit, ow in g to the
rain. In between the showers we visited th e ground,
t o be meL with icy stares from the gro undsman.
Th e afternoon was spent at darts , shoye-ha'en ny
and table tennis. After tea we got going in grand
style with games of solo and euch re , th e end co ming
with the" Sold out" not ice being di splayed.
We were very pleased to welcome 'i\' arley office
on Tuesday, the 19th Ma y. They a lso HrL'ived in
force. The game commenced with " ' arley go ing
in to bat. Our bowling and fieldin g was of such
high standard. however, t hat they were dismissed
for 46 run. We declared at 81 for 7 wickets and
gave War ley another knock. W e are looking forward
to our return game. Th e time for the d eparture of
the coach came all too soon , a most enjo~' able afternoon having been spent by all.
These inter-office matches are eagerly looked forward to by all. W'e are very sorry that 'iVoolwi ch
have had to cry off this year, as we \\' ere looking
forw a rd to our" revenge." Our fixture list is full ,
t.hough, and if only King Sol will smile we shall
be happy.
Football.-Our most succe sfu l season was brought
to a close with a victory over our old riva ls, 'Woking,
the gnme WflS marred by a storm which sent the
spectators running , but finished in hrilliant sunshine. We have been fortunate in at last finding a
centre forward who knows his way to goal, and is
possessed of a devastating shot (ask S.S.M. Anderson !) . The team sp'irit shown throug-hout the
season was of the hi!:hest , coupled with that bit .of
" devil" so often missing in previous years. Vie
nre eagerly .a,waiting the renewal of the game in the
autumn.
HockeY.-The enterprise shown by our small
band of hockey enthusiasts was ampl y rewarded.
This was our first venture at the stick game and
our best effort of the season was a draw, 1",1, with
the Depot, The East Surrey Regt. , who have It
very st ron!: side. A large number of fixtures have
already been arranged for next season , and we are
hoping t he tea~ will not be unduly di sturbed by
moves and postmgs.

Departures. Lieut. C. H. Pn,rratt to Altlershot,


14.4.31 ; 1030912 S.Q.M.S. Spooner, J., to Pe:th ,
23.4.31; 7657621 S/Sat. Butler, W. , to WoolwlCh,
19.3.31 ; 7657900 Sgt. Roberts , J. , to Egypt, 9.3 .31 ;
1866439 Cnl. Deeble, A., to York (R.) , 2.3.31 ;
546143 Cpe Barn sha w, H., to Ca nter.bury, .1.,4.31.
Wc "'ish them all the best of lu ck ID theIr new
stations .
Arrivals. Capt. W. Moran, O.B.E. , M.C., from
Aldershot, 15.4.31: 7657591 8.Q .M.S. Ingle, W.,
from Perth , 24.4.31 ; 6973591 Sgt. Brennan , J., from
Egypt, 6.4.3]; 1027341 Sgt. Webster, H . from
Egypt., 7.4.31.
To each we extend a mos t hearty welcome.
Probat ioners. 3178389 Tpr. Watson , C. , from
R. 'cots Grevs, 3.3.31 ; 7583730 L. Cpl. Poole, W. ,
from R.A.O .t., 8.4.31; 6197916 Pte. Pinkney, W.,
from Middlx. R. , 8.4.31; 2693146 Gdsman. Burrows,
R. .. from Scots Guards, 17 .4.3l.
Now YOLl young fello\\'s who have li ghtl y set
aside vour chances of the F ield Mal'shal's baton,
which 'is sa id to be included in every soldier's knflpsack, rern emiJer in ~ome ~tntioner's shop there is
a pen guaranteed to suit, the hand of any C.P. and
t o fit srl ll gly in the pocket of every careful p'robationer-and if you see it in tbe advertisement pages
of this JOURN.~L it is so-it's up to yo u, and we
wish you the best of lu t k.
Married Quarters Roll. 7733906 Sgt. Shaw, R. ,
placed OIl the M.<",.R. w/e/f 27.4.31. Congratulations.
Msrriage. 11;64032 Cpl. l'ullln , W., married to
Margaret Kate Billings, 25.4.3i. As above.
Trooping Season.
Th e {ollowing W.O.'s and
N.C.O.'s ha,'e been .1otified ' hfl t th",y may be
required {or overseas during the forthcoming trooping ~ea~on :-7657368 S.Q.i\I.S. Chenery, A. E.
7657497 S.Q.M.S. Matthews, P. E .
7657B82 S.Q .M .S. Warman, B. J. W.
6077133 Sgt. West"n, C. R .
7657939 Sgt. Ash, C.
7733434 Lance-Sergt. Gilham, E . f'.
" BAR,RV."
HOUNSLOW.

Our heartiest congratulations are offered to the


Editors on t he production of the fir st nUDl bel' of
the J OURNAL: ' Vhen the copies were received in
the office the distributi on took about two minutes,
but for several hours aftel'\'iards one could hea r
chuckles of am usement. In fact the fun commenced
the evening before as a contributor who hfld received his copy direct brought it with him to the
dance mentioned in the report of our social activities.
Arrivals.-We extend a hearty welcome to
Captain J . Brennan find to Sergeant Botfield, who
haye been posted to this offi ce for duty.
PromotionS.-We congratulate Sergeant Brown
on his promotion to Staff-Sergeant and Corporal
Rudland on his appointment to L ance Sergeant.
Trooping Season.-In the near future we are losing
S.Q .M.S. Worts and Sergeant Williams, who are
hoth under orders for service abroad . One says,
.. Jamaica, please," the other, "Not Egypt again,
surely. " Wherever they go our good wishes go
with them,

60

'THE

ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL


Football.-Final positions in the W oo lwi ch Garrison League, 1930-1931.
(First three positions
only) : P. W. D. L. For Agt. P.
1. Sta ff & Departm ental
(RA.P.C.)
18 17 1 0 68 18 35
2. 751,11. Field Battery
R.A.
18 14
3 89 22 29
3. 4th Training Ba ttery
R .A . .....
18 12 2 4 63 37 26
GOfll scorers were :-Sgt. Caveille, 25: Sgt. Dyer,
15: Sgt. U1ph, 11: S.Q.M.S . Shepherd. 7.
The Garrison Challenge Cup, aud Medal \Vere
wesented at Woolwic\1 Sta dium by Brigadier A. A.
Goschen, D . . 0. Our heartiest co ngratul a tions are
due to the team not on lv on their winning the
League but on gO lllg through the s-eason undefeated .
Miniature Rifle Club.-The attendance of members ha s been mai ntained during the months of
API'11 a nd Mav. Tw o new memhers h'l\'e been
enro ll ed. A. Knockout Competition no\\' in progress, has stImulated a dea l of ll1t erest and keen
co mpetition . Winners of Spoons for Apri l, 1931,

social.-i:'>ince our first report and the issue of


No. 1. of the J OURN,IL, the winter season has
closed. As a " wind up" to the wintel' activit ies
'we held a dan ce on the 27th March, which was ",eil
attended, and although much effort was required
to convert a store into a ball room, with the assistance of mu ch cand le grease, en ow grease, hammers
and pliers (not players) t he basic difficu lties were
-ovel'come. For additi onal decorations the scroungers
pJ'oeluced th eir best efforts, and , WIth the a id of
Messrs. 8irnmonds and Comp.fLoy , very necessary
{lecorations in g i[1sS \\'ere a l'l'anged. A most enjoyab le evening cnslw:l, and it was generally agreed
that the effort was well worth whil e.
Our whist dri"e<; were brought to a condu sion un
8t!'! lIlay , when (he best aggregate prizes were
decided and we re~l et to sav that on it bein a discoyered that r:;talI Sergea nt-Major Holman had won
a prize the word " wangle" was loudl y whispered,
but <tS Major Burridge and Captain Oliv eI' also won
prizes, it became oh" ious that " keepin g ' it in the
family" was the motto to be foll owed! Thtl pri ze
won by S .S.1I1. Holman was a cigarette li gh ter
wh ich it was hoped wou ld prove usefu l to Cen tral
Section in general. hut. to date , t he demand for
matches has not decrea ed.
If these lines should reach anv memher of t he
Corps or O.C.A. resident in this di~tri c t. "'e extend
a hearty invitation to our \\'hisl dri" es, etc., if they
\Vill let us Imow of their des ire to a ttend.
In conclusion. we Hgain rong ratuJate th e promoters of our JOU R~ .IL on their first i sue . The
O.O.A. and JOURNAL should do much to create a nd
fo ter es prit de corps. which so many younger members or ou r Corps really believe does not ex ist to a
mfLrked d eg re,~ in the R.A.P.C. 'i\Te are sure that
in no other Corp,s is the spirit of comradeship,
mutual help and forhearance, more deeply rooted
and sincere tha,n in our own. Our JOURNA r~ and th e
l'AP01"tS of the O.C.A . should speedily com'in ce any
doubters and enlist them into our ranks so that
evr-ry mem her of the RA.P.C. shall be rea ll y in the
Corp~, and not merely of it.

wel'e:--

Class A. Cant E. D. Edin ger .


Class B. S.Q .M .S Prowse.
R.A.P. C.. after
Billiards.-"S.Q.M.S . Black,
winnina the Eastern Command Championship, \\'as
beaten by Sgt. Flint, Cold tream Guards (Alder
shot). In the Inter CommaI'd Staae, bv 50~22.
OUI' repre entaLive left himtie!f rath~r too much lee\\'av to make up. and despite a brilli ant rallv just
fail ed to pull it off.
'
Cricket.-A, usual we ha ve entered a team in the
Garrison League.
Friendly mntche have been
fllTa nged with Warley, CbaLha.m, R.A .O.C. Dockyard and RA.M.C. W oo lwi ch. We sha ll a l 0 enter
a team in the Kno ckout Eastern Command in ternnit com petition.
R es ults to elate are as und er:v. 6th Battery R.A. (G.L.) . Won.
R.A.P .C. 171. (Sgt. Dyer 91, Capt. l\lackenzi(,
39.)
6t h Ety. R.A. 32. (Sgt. Dyer 4 for 32, Sgt.
Cashman 5 for 5.)
v. M .C. of Science" A." (G.L.). Won.
R.A.P.C. 173 for 6. (Capt. Treglo\\'n 79, Sgt.
Cashman, not out, 45.)
.1 .C. of Scien ce 103. (Sgt. Dyer 7 for 12.)
v. B .A.P.C. Warley (friendly). Won .
Warley 59 (Mr. Smith 5 for 17.)
Woo lwich 143 for 8. (Mr. Bunter 50, retired.)
v. RA.S.C. "A." (G.L. ) . Lost.
R.A.P .C. 53. (Sgt. Butler 22.)
R.A .S.C. 75. (Sgt. Cashman 3 for 17, Capt.
Ban'att 2 for 8.)

WARLEY.

Sport.-Our activities are at present confined to


nicket. Three matches have heen played-a!winst
the Depot Essex R.egt ., and HOl1n slo\\: and Wool",ieh PHY Office, the result in each cflse being severe
{]efeat. vVe are, however. hopeful of winning a
mntch hefol'e the end of the sea son. A fter all. the
actual result is a secondary consideration. The
main thing is getting a good sporting game .
Impending Departures .-S.Q.M .S. H. A. Sanderson and ergea,n t W. S. Dart. Desti nations at
p,resent unknown.
WOOLWICH.

Tennis.-The question as to whether the Garrison


League should be continued during the current
season is still under consideration . The shield has
been held for the past two seasons hy the R.A.P.C.,
represented by Sgts. Boggis and Knight.
In t he Eastern Comma.nd L awn Tennis Tournament (O .R) the results up to date are as follows:1st round. v. M.C. of Science "C." Won 3
matches to 1.-Sgts. Boggis and Knight won
6-4, 6-1; S.Q.M.S. Prowse find Shepherp won
6-1 , 6-1. Sgt. Bog-gis won 6-1 , 6-2: Sgt.
Knight lost 10-12, ~.

Once more the quarter's news is due, and desPal'ate and dmstic action has to be taken to make
the office sub-representatives di sgorge their matter.
The office representative himself views his position,
however. with equanimity, as in accordflnce with the
best established practice, he has decentralised his
tasks by generous sub-division of duties to subordinates, to the extent of lea vine; him self nothing but
the burden of forwn,rding the coll ected material.
The results of these effol"ts are given below.
L .B.M.M.

61

THE

ROYAL

ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL

2nd round. v. R. E. Woolwich. Won 3 matches


to l.-Sgts. Boggis and Knight won 6--1, 6--2;
S.Q.M .S. ProlVse and l\liller won 6--1, 6--2.
Sgt. Boggis won 6--1, ~ ; Sgt. Knight lost
1-6, 6--2, 3-6.
3rd round. v. M.C. of Science "A ." Won 2
matches to 1, 1 drawn.-Sgts. Boggis and
Knigh t won 10--8, 6--2 ; S.Q.M.S. 1'rowse and
Miller lost 1~ , 3-6. Sgt. Boggis won 6-0,
6--4; Sgt. Knight drew 6--4, 4-6.
We bave thus won the Area competi~ion and are
now in the semifinal.
Friendly fixtures have been , or are being, arranged
with Hounslow , Aldershot, Deptford and Chatham
offices. C.P.E.C., R.A.S.U. and M.C. of Science,
Woolwich.
Arriva ls.-Lt.Co1. H. R. W. Dawson (from
Eastern Cd.), Lieut. J. Quinn (from Malta), Sgt.

V. G. Stevens (from Egypt), Sgt. E . G. Yorke (from


Malta) , S.Q.M.S. W . T. Baker (from EgYRt) ,
S.Q.M.S. C. F. Partridge (from Didcot). Proba
tioners joined :-G r. T. Bewick (R.A.) , Pte. W.
ElIenor (Green Howards).
Departures.-Lt.Co l. 1. P . Erickman , O.B.E. (to
Eastern Cd. ) , Capt. J . W. Brennan (t<:> H oun slo\\'),
Sgt. E. L. Botfield (to Houn slow) , Pte. A. E. West
(to Shrewsbury), S.Q.M .S. H. Bridges (to Did cot).
. D i SCharge~.-S.Q.M .S. G. Sandy (havi.ng claimed
cltscharge alter three months' notice), Sgt. W. Tait
(ph ysica ll y unfit).
Promot ions.-StaffSgts. W . G.
White, H.
Bridges, and S. H. French to Warrant Officer (Class
I ). Sgt. E. G. Yorke to StaffSgt.
Educational.-L/ Sgt. W. E. Staff awarded a first
class certificate of ed ucation.

London District
LONDON .
Situatt'd in the Officers' House of Knightsbridge
Barracks. the London Pay Office enjoys the advantage of what for the heart of a great city, must be
regarded as remarkahly congenial surroundings. The
barracks is an imposing range of huildings between
Hvde Park and Knightshridge, built in 187980, at
which time it was rega rded as the hest of its kind
in Europe, even containing "reading rooms for
N.C.O.'s and privates," a curious contemporary
comment in these days of so many amenities for the
soldier. The Officers' House at the western end,
provides us with very f.!leasant rooms for our
labours , most of them ove rl ookin~ the park, and as
the advertisements would say, WIth excellent views
of Rotten Row, the Serpentine and the London Lido.
One room is worthy of st)ecial mention, that wh ich
was the me~s room. which still bears traces of
departed glories in a fine ceilin g and stately columns.
It was here that many brilliant fun ctions were held
in the days when the ba rracks housed the Guards
and it is reputed that Genera l Gordon was enter~
tained here before his last journey to Khartoum.
The exterior is decorated ,,'ith husts of famous
warriors. Wellington , Marlborough and Raglan
amongst them. The barracks bas evidently not
a~ways horne such a ple~sing character for the pre
VIOUS b:trracks, erected 10 17945, are described as
badly placed and a,n eyesore to the neigh bourhood!
Before the next issue of the J OURNAL appears, we
sha,ll. have ~ i ven our farewells to ~ajor .H. Loton ,
who IS retmng after a.1most 42 year s serV1PP. I\hj'lr
Loton enlisted into the Bedfordshire Regiment in
1889, was aPP'ointed Probationary Staff Clerk as a
Sergeant in 1ll92. ioining the A.P.C. on its form ation
in 1893. Commissioned in 1913, he attained his
majority in 1928. Major Loton carries \vith him into
retirement the very si.ncere wishes of all ranks and
grades of this offiC!l together, we are sure, with those
of all who have served with him. We feel we are
losing a friend.
Recent happenings include the promotions of
S/Sergt. H. L. Balthel and Corpl. E. Cememic, to
whom we offer our congratulations; an d the depa rture of S.o..M .S. O. Thornhill to Malta, to whom,
together with all those who have left this office for
other fi elds, we send our greetings.

DEPTFORD.
A wO I'd from S.E.8. An office surrounded by
wood yards. leather tanning, pickle and tin can
fact ories . The smells a re va ried and numerous and
on one side the boats on the Thames emit st:'ange
discords.
It has been said that the office itself was once a
margarine store and can be easil y visualised as
such. However. we haye a few square yards for
tennis courts, bo,,'ls and cricket nets , and are able
to manage an occasional hour for p'ractise.
Unfortunately, the position does not permit the
entertainment of other office staffs, but th is, no
douht. t ends to make us appreciate our rare visits
to of her stations , and the out in g to Woking was
certa inly most enjoyable.
Strange how isolated we are from the outside
world. It has been known for a newcomer to
enquire of a lo cal resident , from the same street, of
the whereabouts of the Pay Office. and to he told
-in the vernacu lar-that such a Rlace was unknown .
Maybe the fact that the office is so situated ha s its
compensations!
THOS. F.P.
Sayes court (Deptford).
A.D. 1581.
A beautiful place is old Saves Court.
W~1ere Qu~en Elizabeth oft~n doth sport
vV lth Ralelgh and D rake a,nd Hawkins I ween
The gaye t of sights that ever was se~n.
A.D . 1931 .
But times have advanced and historv's forgotten
Pageants and carnivals are now " verboten."
'
The Pay Corps is here-to spo il the dreamer
In the clack of the "Bun'oughs" and noisy
"Adrema."
"GROUP 2."
Moves .-Lieut. J . Venables and S.S.M. W. E. C.
Loftus have left us for York and E astern Command
respectively and Capt. J . G. Woods (EgYRt), S .S.M.
C. Mockler (Salisbury) , and S.Q.M.S. C. Deeble
(Jamaica), have arrived .

THE

ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL

Marriage.-:-Congratulations to S/Sgt. E. C. Bos


well for bavmg " taken the plunge."
B ~r ! h .-To H .. Gibbs, a son, 1st May, 1931.
VISi t to Wokmg.-The Officers and Staff of the
He~ord and Pay Office, R.A.S.C., Deptiol'd. paid a
VIS it to then' coll eagues of the Record n'nd Pay
Office, R.A.M.C.- , \;V o~ing,. on Wednesday, 20th May.
1931, the famlhes bemg mcluded in the Harty . .<\
stalt was made from New Cross Gate' Railwav
StatlOn at 9.30 a.m., and a pleasant journey wa's
made by road. On our. arrival a,t Woking about
11.30 a.m., our hosts qUlckly made u welcome in
therr celebrated club room pending lun ch. After
I~nch , t he staffs engage~ in friend ly rivalry at
-cIICket and tenms untrl tllne to retire once again
to the club room for tea. After tea various indoor
games "ere. played , the lad ies a lso tnking part.
As the evenlllg \'; as progresslllg a dan ce took thE'
place of the games. Just befcre the time for depar.
tUl'e, S.S.M. ~nderson of the Woking Office made a
sp~ech 111 whIch he a id how much our hosts had
enjoyed and appreciated ou r visit, and S.S .M.
Mockler (Deptford) SUItably rel~lied , sta tin g that
he . understood.. lt W:lS the fir~t occasion of th e Dept.
fOld st.:tff ha\,mg fonnd thel1' way to Woking, and
he hop~d It wou ld be possible to 3nange a return
battle m the near future. The return journey was
-commenced at 9.30 p.m. , and Deptford was reached
about 11.45 p .m. The visit was acclaim ed by all as
~.g.rea.t success, ar;d it is hoped to arrange a return
\ ISlt l? vVokll1g (m the absence of suitable accom.
modatlOn round Deptford) later in the summer.
The results of the inter-{}ffice games were as
under:C,.icket.-vVoking 52. (Endacott 16, Stevenson
11 , Rooker 5 for 18, Boswell 4 for 18.) Deptford 59.
(Boswell 31, not out, Smith 15, Brooks 3 for 2,
Parso ns 3 for 7, Anderson 4 for 22 .)
The outstanding performance was that of S/Sgt.
Bos\\:ell, .wh? bowled th roughout the \\hole of the
Wokl.ng mnm gs , and openin g t he Dep.tford knock
romamed to cal'1'Y out h~s bat (al thollgh he was
I~cky enough. to have 3 li ves) . The vVoking total
\\ as passed WIth t he loss of only 4 wickets .
Tel1l1/s.-IlIte~.office games were not pla.ved owing
to the call of cTl~ket, but the cou rt was kept husv.
Only on'! authentlC case of an inter-office nature was
the last ga:ne of the day. when the Deptford player
trounced hiS opponent by 6--1.
DOlls.-Woking beat Deptford by 3 games to 2.
Jh~ on ly Deptford successes were those in wh ich the
a~ l p.s took part, viz .. the L:tdies' Double and the
Mixed Doubles, so it has been decided that the
lad les shoul? g ive in structions to the men in readi.
ness. f?r theIr next attempt.
th B!I1iards.-Wo~ing won the only game p']ayed I y
e narrow marg111 of 11 pomts.
.
Snooke1'.-Another Woking victory. (One game
onlv played.)
to Tt b1e TCl'lnis .-Deptford again lost h~1 3 games

ve~.t w~s evident that ou r oppo nents started with a


th y bIg advantage. as t he Deptford pIavers in all
fo~ ga.m es were sad ly la cking in pra cti ce, and there
e dl~ hetter than was to be expected.
Tennr s.-The following matches ha ve been
an-a nged :_
June 23rd.-vVoolwich awav.
.Tuly 29th.-Woolwich home.
STROPS.

S cottish Co mmand

continued from page 64

PERTH.
SOCial and Recreation Club.-Whist drives and
dan ces were held in the recreation hut, on 6th March
a n? 'lOth April, and again proved to be most popu
lar , the hut on each occasion bemg filled to its
utmost capa city .
vVe have now made a
start in the tenllis section ,
and are lookmg forward
to a successfu l season.
With the addit ion of some
"dark horses" amongst
our latest arri vals , it is
hoped tha t we shall be
strong enough to arrange
matches wi~h the local
military
and
civilian
clubs.
Arri va ls.- We welcome
to the station S.Q.M.S.
Alexander
and
ce rgt.
P ardy from E gypt, Staff
Sergt. Ward fl'Om York
(R e g i DJ e 11 tal )
and
S.Q.M.S. Spooner from
Chatham (R.S.) and hORe
that their sta v in Perth
will be a h a p~y one.
Depart ures-Our
best
wishes go with S.Q.~LS.
Major J . Hepburn.
Forsyth t o EdinLurgh,
Dm"", by CPl. T. Thomas S.Q.M.S. Ingl e to Cbat
.
ham
(R.. ),
Corpl.
Brooks to vVolnng and Lance-Sergt. Humphries
to Leith.
Promotions.-Congratul atiolls are extended to
S~aff_ Sel'gt. Ward promoted w.o.n. (S.Q. ns. ),
1/4/ .:>1; Sergt. Blsset promoted Staff Sergt .. 15/ 5/ 31;
and Pte. Thomas promoted Corporal. 23/ 5/ 31.

Woking Notes

continued from page 57.

We look forward to a little more li fe bere now


that the. 2nd Bn. Royal Warwick shire Hegiment
have anned.. I'Ve have already pilted Olll' cricket
st rength agamst a strong .. Details" eleven but
found them too good for us.
'
His friends will be glad to leal'l1 th at Sergt.
C. G. W . Smith is now fit again after a long spell
111 hospital. He was to have been married on Ap'ril
1st, but found himself in hosp ital instE'ad . Ho'wever, all's well that end s well . for his marriage to
M1S8 A. A. Churchma n took place at Guildford on
Mav 11th.
Lawn tenn is a.c~ivities ha ve been delayed owing
to th ~ bad conditIOn of the court, but it is hoped
that lt wdl soon be in full swing .
vVe very much regret losing two old friends in
S.Q.M.Sergts. Pearce and Frisby , who have been
posted to SaJisbur.v and York (R) respectively.
Our staff hll~ been completed bv the arrival of
Corpl. A. F. Brooks from Pert,h and PI'o bationers
Rfn. F. G. Thomas and Private J . l\1cClafferty
(R,ova I Tank Corps).
Th e fol low ing have been ordered to hold them
selves in read in ess for service over ea :-S.S.M."
P. A. Anderson, S.Q .M.S. T . W . Woodford. Ser/l:ts.
H. W. R. Do\V an d .J. G. Montague.

THE

ROYAL

ARMY PAY

CORPS JOUR!'lAL

THE

Scottish Command.
COMMAND PAY OFFICE, EDINBURGH.
T o rev iew th e events conn ecled with this. d eta chme.lt d uri ng th e pe ri od lhat ha. ela psed S111ce th e
pu bli cat ion o f th e firs t issue of th e J OUR:>:AL, IS no
heay y ta k. In !act , a g la nce at one Iss ue o f P a rt
H Orders u ffices t o br in g t o mind a ll t h at h as
o be reco r ded in t ha t tim e.
Depar ture and Arrival.-With t h e d eparture o f
S. Q. M . . Asher t o Yo rk , for emp,l oy ment o~ p ~y
duti es. \\"e lost, unfo rt u na t ely. o ur fi r st office l epl ese1l tati va of t he J OURN.'L . H a rd on t op of [,hat
m oye ca me t he " 'arnin g th a t h e woull IJrobabl y be
required for servi ce oye l'sea next troopin g seaso n ,
a nd so fulfill ed th e proph ecy th at h e was m er ely
j o urney ing to p ort 0 emiJark atio,: by easy stages.
W e hope t hat hi S shor t. st ay In Y ork " dl b e very
h a ppy and th at. h e WIll he lu ck y m th e co mlll g dIStributi on of over sea s stal lOn s . HI S rellef on cost In g
du t ies here is our 01,1 fri end S .Q .M.S. F or sy th.
Ma n v of u s welcome him t o Edin b urg h for th e
secol; d t ime . M ay h is stay be long a nd in c r eas in ~ l y
pleasant amo ng us. 'Wh a t m ore cun we \\"I sh h :m
tha n th:,t V ot e 5.F . ma., long a ppea l' 111 th e h st
of L edge l' R ea dings ?
Cricket.-Com b inin g . a s we d o. for sp ort , with
o ur colleagues a t Lei th F o d,. a n~r of o ur perfor man ces w01thy o f me ntIOn , to geth er with t be res ult s
o f o ur match es, will he found in t h e L e ith n ot es .

" EDIN A H. "


LEITH.
Th e fa ll' city of Erlin b urgh h a a wa kened from
its winter slumber s a nd scenes o f g rea t amm a tlOn
pre \'a il wit h th e comin g o f t he s umm ~ r month s .
Eve ry thin 0' is in r eadin ess fo r the a r1'1val of the
h olid ay " fsitors a nd it is ho ped t h at a ny o f o ur
colleagues wh o are a ttracted hy th e" see Scotla.nd ..
movement. will not for get t o ca ll . up on . old. f n ends
at L eit h if th e capi t al is in cl ud ed ill t hei r It m er a r y .
Social Club.-Our Socia l Club goes me r r il y on its
way a nd we h ave a t t nined th e h appy positi on of
bein g a l>le t o s uhst a ntia ll y redu ce t he s uhscn ph on.
Th e a nnu a l outin g has not a .vet hee n defimt e ly
arra nged. but th e d el a ils ~ r e in proce8s of Fettl e. men t a nd a m ost en io vahl e tim e wil l d oubtless he
spent by all \\' ho parti c ipale. Th e ind oc r acti vit ies
of th e clu b h a ve beell t em pora ril v s u par d ed . whist
cl!i"es . etc .. ha vin g g iven way t o th e n' or e s t renu ou s
pu rsuits sl'm ll1arised be low :Crickct.- Th e weath er h as ap pa rently been mor e
favou ra hl e t han fa rt h el' so ut h . an d t h el'e h a~ bee n
n o interfere nce wi t h ma t ches so far . S .Q.M .S. R.
Scott , Ollr enthu s ia,stic secret a ry, has a I'L'an ged a n
a l.tracti ve li t o f '~T ed n es d ay a nd Sa turday fixtlll'es,
a nd th oug h h a vin g s uffered a co upl e of hea vy
def~a ts we h ave had th e sati~ facti o n o f b ein g victoriou s' aga in st each of the milita ry teams w e have
enga ged.
S.Q.M.S . Scott compil ed 58 n ot o.ut,
a gain t t h e R .A .M. C ., f1 n~ foll o wed up by takmg
6 wick et s for 16 runs , 1I'l111 st L / S g t . Gra n t hit up

43 ill the same match . Th e last llar~ ed was sel ect ed


for th e Sco ttish Comm a nd a gal11 st Edinburgh Insti tuti on (F .P. ) a nd put up a fin e perform a n ce In
cla im ing 5 wi c ~ els io r 22 rUlls . R es ul ts t o t im e of
writin g a re as 101l0 \\'s: R.A .P. C ., 27 ; Burn va le , 94.
R.A .P .C ., 79 ; Edinb urgh A ca de m~', 10l.
1~ / 5 / 3l. l:LA .P. C ., 136 for 7 (dec) : R .A .M. C. , 42.
16/ 5 / 31. RA.P.C. , 94 ; T h e R oya l Scot s , 93.
20 / 5/ 3l. R .A .P. C ., 20; Edinburg h UniY er sity , 120.
23 / 5 / 31. RA.P .C ., 164 for 8 (d ec); L oretto 3rd ,
166 for 9.

2 / 5/ 31.
9 / 5 / 31.

Tennis.-Th e re a re tw o co urts in L~ith F? rt for


the use of warra nt o ffi cers a nd sem o r N .C .O. s . a nd
th e t enni s Bl ayers of t h e d et achm en t are , ~, ak1l1 g
full use of sa me. An en Jo~' a bl e ma t ch \\ lth the
R .A.S .C . was d ecid ed on 20th M a,v. 111 whi ch "~
ff
d d e feat uy fOl1l'teen et s to fiy e . Th e und el ~Iel~~i~ ned r~p.resented th e B.A.P .C. :- M a j or A . W .
1\1. C. S kinner " lld Capt a in H. J. H olhn gsworth ;
S.S .M. R La wso n and S. Q.1\l. S. L . A. M O,ckler ;
S.(l;\LS . T . W. St ennin g and S. Q. M.S. E. ]\[01'1'1 .
Maj o r Sk inn e r a nd Ca ptain H ollin gs worth \\'on all
th e fiv e sets cr edit.ed t o th e de tac h ~ent : a nd It 1 .
perha ps, unnecessary t o say t ha t ,thIS o ~ ce wdl n ot
b e r epresen t ed in th e oth er r ank s t e n11l S ch amplO nship th is year. It is h op ed t o a rl'an g.e oth er fi xtures
wi t h th e uni ts in the Comm a nd dunng t h e sea, on.
Golf.-With t h e excep t ion o f footba ll , for whi ch
th ere d oes not a ppear t o he a n~' well-d efin ed close
season. golf is th e most se non ~l v r> la." ed ga me n 01 th
of t he T weed . A m on t hly com peti t ion IS he111g h eld
a mong th e e nthu sias ts in t h e. office a nd th e ch am pi onshi p will !Jrobab ly b e d eC Ided dUl'ln g J u ne .
Bowls.-Th e d evotees te. t hi s plea sa nt form of
relaxation are fairly num ero us an' ong t he office st aff
a nd a n inter -sectiona l to urna m e nt h as I' een a rra n ged
fo r d ecision during th e en Ul11 g week . Ot h er com petiti on s will be 'h eld ue fore th e umm er draws ~o
It s close and it. is a matt e r fO I' r eg ret th a t we al e
too rem ot e to be a ble t o t hrow ont a fri endl y chal lenge or two to our confre res at oth e l' st a t IOn s .
Mov es. -Ser gean t G . P entney h as been p o~ t e d . LO
Leit h frol11 E gy p t, bu t has n ot .I 01 ~ed a t t im e ~f
wri t in g . h a vi ng proceeded on leave d\l'ect from pOI t
of di sem ba rk a ti on.
S .Q.1\l.S . L. A . J\i ockl er a nd Ser gea nt A . J . ,Y olfe
ha ve hee n notifi ed o f t hell' p roba hl e c1 epa r t l1l'e f or
ser vice overseas durin g th e fOl't hco m1l1 g t l'OO pll1 g
seaso n.
'. Hunt, M .B .E .. . h as ret u1'1l ed .t~
Ca ptain R
du t v a fte r a long absen ce throu gh 111nes, and evel.\ one' was g lad to see him a.gain follOW ing 1115 conva lescencd in lh e I sle of ''''rig ht.

(For PERTH No tes see previou s ta g ~ ) .

ROYAL

ARMY P AY

CORPS

JOURNAL

Northern Command
YORK.

Th e com ings a nd goings of Co rps mem ber s a re


c hro nicl ~ d in th e L ond on G azette a nd in th e Corps
ord e rs-but we mu st wish Gou -sDeed t o LL Co l.
A . Whittl e a nd M ajor W. Goldth oq ie on t heir retirem e nt from th e Corp und er th e age- limi t, a nd
hope th ey ma,\' enjoy in reLirem en t a ll the sooci
things th ey ha ve d ese r ve 1.
Ou r con g r a tula ti ons
a r e due to S .S .M . E . B. G od,yin a nd S.S. i\I. A. E.
J ones on t hei l' promoti on to commi s io'ned ra nk a nd
t o S.Q.1\l. S. J . H . Dmmm ond on bein g jJlaced on
proba t ion for W.O .I.

First a nd fo remost we wis h t o thank and con gl'atulale the Committee a nd th e Ed ito rs for the
successful pu blica ti on of t he first iss ue o f th e Co rps
J OURX .U . It is IUu ch a pprecia t ed by aU.
York has relaxed its win ler dra un ess a nd d onned
it sp r ing attire ; hetween it s freq uen t sh o wers of
ra in it IS no w bea rab le a nd . in fact. so mew hat
attractive. A li t tle less ra in and a litti e mor e s un
wo uld ma k e it m ore a t trac tive still I B ain \\'a t er ,
it. is sa id , i id eal fol' th e cO Illl'.l exi on-on e wo nd er s
wh ether the quantity o f it we ge t here e xplain s th e
wond erful compl ex ions of many o f t he bell es o f
Old Y rk!

LICHFIELD.
A lth oug h we are ra th er a sma ll d et achm ent a nd
th e city is s mall a nd quiet. we m an ilge, ne\'erth ele ,
t o get' a fail' s h a re of s port d u r ing t he s umm er,
t hro ug h th e med iu m of t h e Office S Hor ls Club .

Yo rk :'pl' in g R ace l\l eetin g has co me a nd g on e


left ma ny o f us poo re r bu t wi se r m en .

h Dd

London is a lon g way from Y ork-at least tra in


fa res mak e it seem so : nevel't h eless , s ix m embe l's
of t he Hegimenta l Office WCllt to t he O. C.A . Dinn er
in Lond on on 24th A pril , an d 1'1'0 111 ,tU acco unts
thoroughly enj oyed t b emselve - mee tin g old fri end s
t o t he tune o f .. W" ttl e. "
On t heir return th ey
were most e ll th usias l1 c abo ut t h", wond e rful atm o~
ph el'e of rea l old coml'ad es hi p th a t p e n 'ad ed t he
ga!cd'lll g.

Tenni s .- A g rass court , pl easantly s ituated iu


t he olncol grou nd s is a g r ea t b less in g a nd helps t o
pass ma ll Y eve nin gs a nd lI' eek:ends-:-w hen t h e s un
cond escend s to dry th e eve rl astlll g ra m. Th e seaso!')
h as s l a r ~pd wit h gen ts' si ng les a nd d ou bles ha ndi ca p s . a nd if th e wea th er doe not 1l1tedel'e too
mu c h , we hop e t o ca rry th em t hroug h t o a s uccessful con c lu s ion in a s hort t ime.

Tl'e re i :) ul cO lupar:ctti vely liLtlp Corps or so cial


lO tOmm ellt upon.

Se ve ra l fi xtures with loca.l clubs a re in prosp ect,


a nd we flatter ourselv es th a t, at t ennis, we ca n hold
OUI ' ow n. i f not 111 0 re . Tl is a lso hop ed lo fi x up
ma tc hes wi t h tea ms at t h e B a r rac ks . imil arly t o
la t year. when wc ha d some go od ga mes, wit h lh e
a d va n tage in Q UI' o wn fnso ul'.

DCW~

Th e a nln lga m a ti o n oi th e Cu mnHll1d and R eg im en tal Office fo r Sp 01t, t o whi ch we we re h a p,py j,CJ
refer in CJ UI' last no t es, has s nfl'ered a se ri o us sethack ow ill g to th e forma t lon of 11 n ew H ead q ua r te r,
Clul). which embra ces t h e C0 ll111M nd O ffice, hu t n ot
t he B eg in' ellta l OHi ce- 1I hich co mes I'nd er th e 'Y est
Rldiu g .-\rea . In spi te o j t hi s. a n um ber of Co mmand members a re sLill ac t ively s u p po l-ti ng t he
Regim e ntal to can,v on t he o~d cl uh-w hi ch cnai.J les
us to t U l'l1 o ut a Co r p~ t r ick",t t ea m wa d e u p o f
members f\'Om bOLI, o ffi ces . Thi, tea m ha s tart ed
well o ff t he m a rk with three han dsomt; win s, on e
aga in st a R a ilway team , on e again t th e ' n e\\'
G .H .Q. Club , and on e again st th E; R.A. S.C . "Ye
~ook forward to a n enj o.y able a,nd su ccessful seaso n
If we a r e a bl e t o reta in our t eam , so a hly s kip pered h,v Ca pt . A. K. Ev ers, w ho is ou r o ut st a nd
mg ha[,sma n a nd bow ler. \ .\Ie wp.lr:on e t o t he t eam
Sg t . Brllolie. who h 'ls recent ly joinpc] liS fl0 111 E gyp t.
nnd a l ~o S.Q.)rf S. Fr ishy from W okin g. Sgt. P ease.
OUI' kee n and ene rgeti c cr icket sec ret a ry . h a fi xed
UP. a full an d :ctttr acti ve p l'Og ra m me.

Cricket.- A t cri cket lI' e are not , perha ps. 0 s uccess ful. a with a sm ll s t aff th e t eam co ns ists pract ica lh' of e\'() rv member \\'ho can hol d a bat. and
with 'a few excep'tion s . \\' e ca n not la.v claim to he ing
a nythin g hu t ve ry a mateu r p l a y~ r s. H ~ lI' eve r. we
t h rive on d efea t s a nd our first n ctor~r \\' Ill be cele
hra t ed . 1 h e pe , wit h ca pita ls in th e J U R~~IL and
d ou bJe X e lse wher e. 0 1'1' fi rst m a t ch durlll g th e
last week CJ f May, ag ai n~ t . a R.A .S .C. team at Whi ttin ~ to n Barrac ks . e nd ed 111 a e ver e d e feat , d e tml s
Hr e'" best omi tted. Dllrin g th e first wee k o f Jun e
we meet a n olel enem y. t h e sta ff of Burn twood
M en t a l H ospita l, a~ d a lth o ug h II'P }~a ve whack ed
t he m once at least 111 h.vgone yea r.
hope s prm ~s
ete lna J. " a nd we a re h op ing to ha ke t hem uf t ll1 _
tiln e. In a n y case, we e nJ o~1 Ollr ga nles . RIl e con t in ua l vict c r :e m ust be rat h er hori ng .

OUI' indefatigab le t enn is ecreta ry, S / Sgt. 'W eb st er, is li reless in hi s effo rl s t o ma ke t he tenni s
sect ion of our clu b a s uccess, a nd , in cid ent ally, t o
sting us fo r every co pper h e can squ eeze out o f us .
H e has been in ~trull1 enta l in hirin g for us, this yea r,
a g m ss COU lt o n th e Y orks hire G entl ell1e n '~ Cri cket
GIound. an d we hope some o f t he yo un ger (a nd
old el') B un n; es wi ll he a s keen t (l tUl'll o ut in th e
tOllrnam en l s a s t he sec I'etary i in a rran g in g th em.

Th e Annual Office Out ing l a ke p lace on Jul y 4t h.


Thi s ~'ea l' Li" e rpoo l is be in g v i~ i ted ~n 1. a part fro m
c ricket a nd t enni s ma.tc hes, t h e out l11 g IS th e mp t
impor t an t item on the hor iz on. now lh at th e O.C .A .
Dinn e r a nd th e fa mous L ic hfield " B ower" a re
thin g of th e r.ast . . P ossihly t here a re some old
n' em i,e rs of th p Ll chfi e ld office \\'h o will he
in terested t o heal' th at th e " B owel' '' s t ill Aour i hes.
on Whit I\'fond ars .

65

THE

THE ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL

ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL

Western

Southern Command
COMMAND PAY OFFICE. SALISBURY.

WARWICK.

Postings.-8 .S.M. O. M{)ckler to. Deptfo.rd,


14.5.J1: S.Q.:M .S. O. Pearce fro.m Wo.kmg, 28.5.31;
S.Q.M.S. J . Manning fro.m Malta, 6.4.31; Opl. J.
H. Hanso.ll fro.m Warwi ck , 1.5.31.
Warni ngs.- S.Q.M.S. L . A. Thursby, Sgt. J . A.
Besent and Cp l. E. F. B awn have been warned
far servi ce a\'erseas next traap'mg seasan.
Births .- Sgt. a nd Mrs. H . E. Price, a daughter,
Qn
farch 17th. .. Ta ff ," no. dau bt, finds Perha 1ll
Dawn a much mare interestin ~ pl ace na,, ~days. Sgt.
and Mrs . IV. H. SkilTo. w ~wln daughters, a n April
22nd. \ iIle have no.w three lats af twin daughters
here, which record surely c~ nnat be beaten by any
oth er detachm ent. A phato.graph o. f t he pro ud
papas a nd th eir I onny kiddies wi ll he fo. rw a rded as
soan as th e c! augh terti of 8.Q .M.S . Pearce JOIn the
stat ian.
Tennis.-\Y e have no. co urt of ~UI'. o."n here,
members af t he detachment I ela ng to. prIvate chlbs.
Owing to. the wretched "-eat her we ha ~e had smce
the sea an bega ll , there has been very httle play so.
far but no.w that the weather has impro.v ed " 'e ho.pe
to. 'get go.ing ~ nd later o.n to. fix up' same matcl:es
with the" Co.sters " attached to. Units o.n th e Pl a m.
. Cricket.-Owing t o. the .Ia ck o.f pl ay ~ng membe~s
we are un able to. run a cri cket team tins year. ~ e
haye mana ged t o. get a t ea m to.gether an three
o.ccasians this seasan and an e~ch o.ccaslOn suffered
defeat. Il1e co. res were. v. Little Durnfard , 55 to.
107, v. Experimental Station , Po rton, 45 to. 1l7, and
v . R .A.F. , Bo.sco mbe, 40 to. 87 fo. r 5 wickets. We
hape, ha" 'ever, to. be nhl e to. .get up tea ms fa r o. ur
annual inter-o.ffi ce matches whIch are sa papular.
.. SARUM."

The o.ffice a t W a rwi ck is situ ated in a .deli ghtfu l


12th centmy buildin g, fo.unded by Wilham de
Newburg as a mo.nast ery . a nd dedi cat ed to. St. Jo.hn
the B aptist, fo.r the reli ef o.~ the poo.r a nd t he rehef
and enterta inm ent o.f p il grims and strang~rs. .At
o.ne time in its wo.nderfully aged caree r thIS building was o.ccupied by Knights Templar and a fterwa rd s b:- th e Knights o.f St .To.hn a f J er usa lem. ~he
h o. use stand s in its o.w n g r o. unds o.ff th e mam W arwi ck to L eamingto.n r aad. It ca n be no. Idle .ba.ast
to state th at we gassess thE' most ancIent buildmg
a; an o. ffi ce thro.ugh o. ut the affices o.f th e Co.rps.
Egypt may "short-hefl;d" us in th e m ~tte~' af
" Service," but there IS an eno.rmo. us chfference
between A .D . 117.5 a nd 1911.

HILSE A (AND WESSEX AREA).

Bowls.-A friendly match wn~ pla~'ecl \\-ith the


Prio.ry B awlin g Olub , a nd res ult ed in a win fo. r ~he
visito.rs bv 10 games to. 4. The figur es do. no.t gl\'e
a true reRex o. f the match , as a t least 4. o. f the
games were Io.st by the n a rrawest o.f marg1l1s.

\Ne have 5everal enthu siasti c tenni s players in


the o. ffi ce, and I bo.pe to. tell yo.u m o. re af thmr
daings at a later date. W e recently Io.st ane o. f o.ur
keenest players (r.o.sted. to. . SalI sb ury) a nd a re
anxio.usly waitin g to. s~e If .hls s ucc~ssar, wh o. h as
arrived fram Egypt, IS go.mg to. lIve up to. tbe
r eputatian he gained t herp , and beco.n;e " Co.ck af
th e Walk" here. He do.esn 't kno.w It (but so.me
day he will ) but he h~ s to. climb a fe\\' fences befo.re
he achieves th at po.sltlOn_

Vile po.ssess a small law n , whi ch , by a fin e ad.i ustment we are able to. use fa r tenn is and bo.w ls . Th e
" Gr~y beard s" af the o.ffice a re a 11 very keen
bawlers, mast o.f t hem bemg members a f the ; o.c~ 1
clubs where a smAll elt-aught af lem? nade (.) IS
abtai~abl e during the pro.ce s o.f " Iaylllg the wo. ad
a n th e pack." Fram what J IHwe seen.o.n the o.ffice
green same af th e " yo.un g blao.ds " wIll. shartly be
handi capped o.n a par \\"Ith the mo.st anCIent o. f the
" Greybeards ."

Althaugh, it i~ accla im ed , Q UI' Area Po.s esses


stat io.ns to. be envied by many, we a re so. scattered
(a seven ho.ur rail jo.urney fro.m end . to. end) tha:t
we are un able to. enter spo.rt an d pastunes. as a Co.lparate baefy a nd challenge aursel ves agamst o.ther
det~chments. Many o.f o.ur members have, hawever,
link ed themselves up with th ~ir unit o.f .attachment
and became real back- bo.nes m the vano.u~ t eams,
a nd dane go.o.d wo.rk in f o.a tball and. hackey matches .
N a w that cri cket and tenms are 1D full vo.gue .we
shall find Oecil do.ing same gao.d leg wo.rk beh1l1d
the stumps, and Lio.nel slashin g vo.ll eys o.ver the net.
We passess ather memhers \~ ho. are re~o.wn ed by
their specialities, such as wo. rlong a to.t~ WIth waaden
h o.r ses, run nin g [unctio.ns at a garrlso.n club. 0.1'
swa ppin cr t heir baby ca rs every few mo.nth~. On ce
a vear. ~vith the aid af Win chest er detachm ent, we
so.rnehaw man age to. scr Atch to.gether a Cri cket team
to. meet Sali sb ur~', which match I S th e mea.ns af
bringin g us into. to.u ch \~ ith o.ld and new friends,
and o.utstancl1l1g as a ne o.f a nI' r ed-letter days.

Tennis.-F cam the number o.r entries received fa;the Lawn Tennis Siugles Challenge OUH , o.ur sma
wee o.ffice appears to. be mak in g a ma ss attack o.n
the tro.ph v n o.w h elc! by Sergt. lTiny ) T . A. W.
Bo.ggis. We wish o.ur entra,nts the best o.f lu ck
in their end ea.vo.urs.
Marriage.-A marriage has been arranged , and
will sho.rtl y take place, hetween Sergt. P . B. J o.hnso.n and A. N . Ot ber. Its.a secret .at pl'esent , bu t
it will leak aut. when h e claIm s Mnrrl age Allo.wance.
Arrival.-We o. ff er o.ur heartie t co. ng ratulati o. ns
to. Mr. H . H epburn a n his appo.intment as Depu ty
Superinte ndin g Clerk ~t this o.ffi ce. W e beheve th~~
this is the first appa1l1tment af a Grade
clel k
o.f the "Pav " sid e to. beco.me D.S.C . .af the
.. Reco.rds." "Mr. H ep'burn's genial per o.na h ty and
enthusiasm will do mu ch to. cement Lh e amal gamatio.n o.f the Pay and Reco. rd s .

rn

Staff.- Ch anges sin ce the Spring issue have h~en


S /Seql;t. Luldn s. p'osted t? Egy,pt, and Sergt. HIll ,
to. Tidwo.rth; Corpl. CraDln arl'lved fram Yo.rk.

66

SHREWSBUR Y.
Th e detachment was very pi ased with t.he nrst.
iss ue o.f th e JOUJ( KAL and hope that th e hi gh
sta nda rd will be mainta ined .
It Illay be o. f inter est to. re ad er~ to. kn o.w Lhat th e
Shrewsbury o. ffi ce (unlik e mo.st P ay Offices) is
beautifully it uaLed in i ts o.w n gro. und s in the
healthi est part o. f the to.w n . At th e present time th e
Raw e r ga rd ens surraund in g the a ffices are at t heir
best., a nd fo. rm a plea s ing sig ht to. th e eye as o.ne
a n 'ives fo. r wo.rk. 1n t he o.fnce gro. un d we Il ave
aur o. wn bo.wlincr g ree n a nd r ecreatio. n g ra und ,
sUITa un ded by tr;es and Bo. wer beds; a n idea l spo.t
fo.r rec reatio. n a,nd rest. H ere ma.ny ha p! y ho.urs
are spent by the st a ff and their friends .
If it beco. mes t he po.li cy o.f th e JorR NAL to. acceHt
fo.r pu bli cat io. n a descri ptio.n o.f st ations, th e sur raunding co. untry a nd attractio.ns, I am sure
Slll"ewsbury wi ll 1ll,tk e pleasa.nt r eading. A pell
picture, ho.wever , o.f th is statio.n mig ht place th e
a uth a rities in diffi culti es by havin g to. refuse" Po.sting .. to. anxio.us a nd nerve jaded applica nts returning fr a m o.verseas . At the same time it is ni ce
to. t hink th a t we have o.ffice fro.m the wind o.ws o. f
whi ch we can see a r eal bit af "Old En gla,nd ."
Green grass, trees. Rawers in 11 rio.to.us blaze o.f
Calallt, and the so. ng o.f the thrush to. a,cco.mpa ny t he
warding of o.bsmvatio.ns o. n Farm 3. (Wo.alwich a nd
Deptfo. rd , pl ease no.te.)
Births a nd Deaths. -Recently a rabin and hi s
mate built a ho.me up a n a sh elf in th is o. ffi ce, near
a Sectio. n Office r. Why , we d o. n' t knaw . Th e shelf
co. ntain ed reg iste rs a nd o.ther docum ent co. nstantl:in 11 e. In spite o.f this, eggs were la id ancl in the
fu lness a f tim e a fami ly bo.l'11 and tak en o. n th e
strength. T ile happy event o.ccurred in th e p' resence
a f th e R eg ime ntal Paym a. te r.. o.fficers and staff,
during a lectlll'e o.n m o.b ilizatio.n . W e we re very
excit.ed, became brd Io.vers, a nd went lo.o. kin g fo.r
suitable wo.rms.
Letters were despatched fro.m the a ffi ce fr o.m
Offi cer i /c Robins, S llI'ewsblll'Y," a slip o. f the pen .
o. f co.urse, but a ny o.ffice who. happened t.o. get o.ne
will und erstand a nd fo.rgive. On e day the praud
mo.ther ro.hin disco.vered a lo.ad o.f new ly arrived
manure nea r the bo.wlin g green, and it was a .io.y to.
see her tu ck in after the wea ry days a nd nights she

Command
had spent patieutly h atchin~ o.ut her eggs. (Talk
abo.ut the O. O.A . dmner, It wasn't in t he same
st ree t .) Jt frdrly to uched o.ur bird laving hearts.
A fter a glo. ri o. us feed she retul"\lecl to. the Sectio.n
Office r's shelf, puffed and blo.wn o. ut, singing to her
hea rt 's ca nte nt. So. Io. ud indeed did she sing that
she a ttracLed th e attentIOn o.f the o.ffice cat wbo.
befo.re we ~a uld interfe re, sprang up'o.n th~ po.a;'
ro.hrn a nd ktll ed he r. Altho.ugh this is a very sad
e ndl\lg lo. a true P ay Office slo.ry , we feel in reco.rdin g it l hat there is fo.r the Oo.rps a lesso.n and a
mo.ra l- " It do.es no.t appear to. be a so.und palicy
to. sho. uL abo. ut it after o.ne has h ad a feed o.f
manure. I t

Birth.-To. th e wife 0.[ S .Q.M.S . Pugh, a daughter


(Mo.lli e Patr icia). 28.3.31.
Depart ure and Arrival.-Ca rpo.ral Bards to.
A Id e rsho. t, 17.3.31. Private 'Went fro.m Wo.o.l wich ,
1.5.31.
Promotion .-S/ Sgt. No.nis to be W a n-ant Officer,
lass IT, 1.4.31.
D.Mc.F.
PRESTON.
Social Club .-A merry party o.f fifty had the
pleas ure a f seE'ing whnt is co. nsidered the finest
Grand Natio.nal o. n r eco.rd , a nd alth o.ugh o.nly two.
were "o.n" the winner, the clerk o.f t.he weather
favo.ured us with a glo.rio.us summer's day . The
annual trip will take place o.n the 23rd June, a t{)ur
af No.rth W a les belllg the pro.gramme.
Cricket.- The ga.rriso.n league fi,,-tures comm enced
o.n 3rd Jun e, and with La ncastrian weather permittlllg. rl n enjo.Y<t,bl e seaso.n is anti cipated.
Tennis .-Nat havi ng a club o. f Ollr own , the
majarity o.f us are members o.f the Ga ITiso.n WIO.S
and Sgts.' Club , o.f which S.Q.M.S. W. Oram is
sec retary.
Corps News.-We wish go.ad lu ck to. Sgt. T.
Bro.wett, who. left fo.) Malta o.n 20th March , and
welcame Pte. Hunt , R.A.O.O., who. jo.ined on pro.ha t ian on 17th April. Co.ngratula.tio.ns to S.Q.M.S.
W. Oram , who. o.btained 3rd place in Epee at t.he
W est e rn Com mand Bronze Medal To.urnament
(E limin at. in g Oo. mpetitio.n) Ro.yal To.urnament, thus
repea tin g hi s effart o. f 1929. Oangratu latio.ns are
al 0. du e to. S.Q .M .S . E. Spiers o.n h is marriage.

Northern Ireland District


No.w that a lo.ng felt want, the Ho.y,, 1 Army Pay
Co. lPS J OTTR NA L. has been in stituted a nd intraduced
La a ll ranks o.f the Co.rps, we wish it a ll pl"Ospel;l y
and shall lo.ak' fo.rward to. each succee lin g iss ue
with ndd ed eage rn ess. We e~:tend o. llr hea rty can gratulatio.ns to. tbe edito.rs a nd to all o.t.he rs wh o.
ass isted in ma king the first issue such a great success .
Departure.-One o.f the old es t member's o.f th e
Co.rps, if no.t in t he Armv . Majo.r W. J. C ryer , who.
has been with \1 S sin ce 1924, pro.ceeded to. En gbtnd o. n
retirem ent in F ebruary last. H avin g ser ved in the
Burmese E xped itio.n o. ver 40 years ago. . we were ever
hano.ured by hi s a ugust presence. Hi s departure is a
loss no.t o.nly tp this o.ffi ce, but to t he who. le Oo.rps.
Ris papularity was r eal to a,lI Ilnd his st.ay .in
Narthern Ireland will ever be re membered with very

ha ppy "emini scences hy nU af us. We extend to. him


o.ur sin cere go.o.d wishes fo.r his co.ntinued go.o.d
hea lth and that o. f hi s family , and hape that he will
enjo.y fI well mer il ed rest fme fro.m all wo.rry a nd
a ll x-iety. wh ich is inva riably attached to. service o.n
t he acti ve l ist.
Arrival.- \iVe wel o. me Li eutenant a nd Assistant
P a ym ast er E. B. Gaclw in , and wish him all good
.luck and a hap. 0Y tim e he re with us.
Sport.-8ergeant E . W. Chappell (Casting) o.nr
all ro.und cr icketm' and tenni s pl ayer last year,
o. bta in ed reco.g niti o. n, especia.ll y in tennis , when he
to.o. k part in the f.I.D. T enni s T o.lll"1l ament. After
strenn o. us appas iti o.n he won the Handicap Singles
and Doub les ll nd was a warded a cup far each event.
We h aRe that he wi ll he as successful in this year's
taurn r:unent and ho.ld high the prestige o.f the Carps.

THE

ROYAL

ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL

Commands Abroad
EGYPT.

A long time ago, il. th e dilo dark days beyo nd


\'O ca Ll , a vel'.)" eminent gent leman told the world
Llt;\t surprise and delight were the spices of life.
I believe he was right I Such being th e case, I
think we must all admit ha ving tasted of thi s particu lar spice on receipt of the first number of t he
J OURNAL Th e s pl endid a rrangement of the copy ,
allied to ex.cellent pa per and good printing, p'laces
it at once in t he front rank as ,t regim enta l production. Th e quality of its contents is certa inly
abo\' e the average, a nd testifi es to t he fact t hat
plenty of talent is to be [ound among th e members
of the Corps.
The 1930-31 t roopin g , ea so n has at last come to
an end, and we haVe now settled dow n to a, nor ma l
existence. It is usuall y a dr3 wn -o ll l business in
this st,ation owing to Lhe ~ize of the deta chm ent.
111e period from Odober to Ma rch is full of in tere L ;
it is just a long series of pa rtings a nd welcomes.
Purting is such sweet sorrow as we all kn ow, bnt it
is usually noticed that our departin g comrades bear
th eir SOlTOWS part icul a rly well, the regret comin g
froID those left to bid them bon voyage.
Arrivals.-To borrow a cricket term- the tai l of
the trooping season has wagged rath er well. Cap'tain H. E. W a rr is a notable addition to the officers,
and the following olher ra nk s have been t aken into
th e fold :-S / Sgt. Lukins (th e "bosun" to those
who h ~,ve known him on the Rhin e) , Sergts . K elso ,
Kilgannon , Ra nklin , Benning, RoberLs, Ed e, Bolton,
Vincent, S/Sgt. Ma dley and last but not least,
B.O.M.S. J< efl er. Th ey are all good men a nd tl'ue
and look like settling down to their long sojourn
in Egy pt with resignaLi on and grace.
Oepartures.-We have srlid all r e-vo ir to th e
following valued members of th e Cor ps, and wi h
them the be$t of lu ck in theil' new t~ tions :S .Q .M.S. Alexand er, Sergts. Petch , Pentney.
Bl'Ooke, Breno an, W ebstel' and Btevens . Owing to
the illness of Mrs. Bake r Wp have o rematul'elv lost
the co mpan y of S.O.M.S. Baker . it is hoped t hat
the tran sfer to U.K. has pro" ed benefi cia l both to
him ltn d to his fnmily.
Promotions.-Egypt has had its fair share of th e
promoti on "plu ms" this veM. Congra tul .. t ions
are extended to S.Q.M.S . Merrifi eld on his promolion from S/Sgt. , and t o S /Sgts. Mad ley , Rob erLs,
R.E. , and Hop.trough on t.heir elevations lo th e
Second Di v ision. It mu st be admitted that the
qu a ntity of pro;notion "good-cheer" provided
during lhe past few mon Lhs has been CJuite embarrass ing to the detac hm ent , hut our friend s wi ll he
pl eased to know we are be ~l rin ~ up very well in t he
circumstan ces, an,l a re co nfid ently look ing fOl'\vnrd
to th e next b;,tch. Since wriling t he a bove we
hnve received the news of th e prcrro ti on to lemporary Sta ff-Sergt . of Sel'l!L. W. H . BI'0\\CJ1 . All hi s
old friend s in E o;y pt \\'i l1 jcin in offe rin g him mo ot
henrty congratula t ions.
NIT-US.
Billiards.-WiLh t he g"n'e Tt, A.Fl C. v. t he R es t,
which took pl ace on 'T'u es d"y, 1Zth May, the hiUi nrd s
seaso n 1930-31 may I'e sa id to hilve come to a close
-a s fa r as co mpetiti ve bil li a.rd s is conce rn ed at
a,IlY rate. Once mOI'e we had to j,e ontent with th e
" runners up " position, losing the Leagu e by a. very

sma ll ma rgin to Lh e R .A .S. C. H owever, we ma naged to ,llace a.noth er cup " on Lh e sillebonr.,l ," so
we mu st rest co ntent with a record of co nSlstencv
of one win nncl four seco nd s during th e fiv e ye;trs
Lhe Leag ue has been in existence. Lenthley and
Monk s were h onollred by being selected io play
for the R est v. the winn ers. Th e tha nl< s of the
whole e f t he clubs, including o ~lrselv es, are due to
J ames of ours, for the energetIc way he has performed the 'duties of L eag ue Secretary for th e past
tw o seaso ns.
Another minor disnppointment was our lot in lhe
outsid e competition mentioned in the Spring num ber. This competition was open to t.cams of. 51.'
fr om a ny Military 01' R.A.F, UniL 01' recogmsed
Civilian Cluh in Cairo and di st ri ct-promoted by
t he E gy ptia n St.aLe Ra i.l wa~s Inst;tute. H a ving
played OUI' \\'a .y lo th e semI -final we expected to
enco unter stiff op,los iti on fr om t he 12Lh R oya l L a ncers. but had t he saLis fa ction o f defeatin g th em very
ens il y by fiv e {!3meS to one. H e n c~ we were. aga in
ill a fin :d. "nd were good favount es to W1l1 t.he
'up whi ch. by the wny , is one of the most beautl '
ful sil ver t rophi es one co uld wish t o see, and ha s
onlv to be wo n twi ce in succession by th e same uni t
Lo become its ow n property. Alas! as a p!1ears to
he the way wil h most favo urites. we were beaten
Iw th e 2nti B r igade R .R ,A., 3 game ench-33
poin ts in their favo lll'.
.
.
A classiclti exa mpl e of not bemg able to ql~lte
" get there" is contain ed in th e fa ct th at dUl'lnf;
six n onths one of OUl' memb ers has been the recl
p'ient of 7 medal (for hilliards and t ennis), a ncl
I;Ot one of th em has been th e " winners' " one.
ft is interest io O' to 110te that Capta in Lidst,oll e
pla vec1 in each ro~nd of th e E.R .R..I. Competiti on ,
and , of CO ln'SIl, hi s wins were 100 per ent.
lLB.
Cricket. -C ri cket in Eo-ypt started on April 7th.
with a maLch aga inst tl, ;B.A .V.C .. which was lefL
dl'aw n, th e ,cori ne: hein g RA .P. C. 215 f~l' 5
(Mnjor R ohotham 50 Capt. Ingpen 41 . both retIred ,
nnd Sgt. Ed e 40 11.0'.); H,.A.V. C. J.67 for 6. 'l"his
was foll owed by a pract ice match between two
elected teams, captnin ed by Mnj or Robotham and
Ca ntnin Ine:pen. th e la t,ter's winning with a sco re
of 13fi t o 102. W e then had n game with th ~ Mili t a ry P oli ce, which, thank s to so me good battmg b v
Sgt. Pountne.v. who scor ed 43 not out. we I11 nna e:erl
to win with Lhe scores 122 to 112. In thIS mntr.h
S.O .M .S . .. Da nnv " Fri tz showed us t,ha t he I ~
sti.ll as good as e;'er , Lak in g 8 wickets in 13 ov~rs.
at n co.t of 40 run s . Tn our next match . agmnst
the ci vili a ns o f the RA .O. C. , Ma ior R.oboth an1
81!'ain clail11ed top sco re, scorin g 55 ont o E a t otal
of 130. Thi s great innings was, h owev6r , not sl~ffi
cien t enoll~h for us to win. th e " civv ies " havln g
scoreo 155. Th e ~16 Snua d,'on R . A.li'. also gave
u a so und thrashin g. Bat t ing first, Lhey were all
ol1 L for 85. and at tea we were cO I~grntulat,ing our;
sel ve . hnt. after Len. Lhe pl'ocesslon sta rted , linG
we fini sh"c1 with a score of 41.
W p now co me 1.0 th e first of Lh e gnmes for t he
Chall enl!'e Trophv . Command wo n the toss. ann
h".tted first, making a ,' erv SA d start bv 10sJl1g 6
wi ckets for 24 runs , but Mr. Cash and Sgt . .Lnn e
by careful batting added 33 runs for the 7th WI cket,

68

THE

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the tota l score eventunll y reaching E6, of which Mr.


Cnsh made 21 not out, R egi mental o]Jened even more
disastrously, 3 wickets being down for 4 rUIlS , but
Capt. Ingpen a nd S / Sgt . Hoptrough Hu ll ed the
game round by ndding 92 in 31 minutes, the form er
retiring after sco r ing 41, and the latter being bowled
afte l: scor in g. 38 . The sco re evenLually totall ed 141,
leavlllg Regl'J'lentnl winners by 75 run s. In the
bowling d epartm ent, S.Q.M.S. Fritz took 5 for 32,
and Sgt. Wi les 4 for 15 for the R eg im enta l, and
Sgt. Ed e 2 for 8 for Comm and . This, a thoro ughl y
enjoyable game, was pl a ved on the Slade Clu b
Ground, and was witnessed by most member.> of th e
Deta chment 'tnd their fa mili es, tea being served in
the Mess during the a fterno on.
Since t hen we have pl ayed two mntches, Lh e first
agninst the 5th A.C. Coy., RT. C., in which Major
RoboLham again exeelled, scor ing 41 run s and taking 3 wi ckets for 31. Th e scores were 5th A.C. Coy.
185 for 7, RA ,P.C. 131. We lost this game bv
bad fielding. In the other ~ame we managed
turn Lhe tnbles on our nld friends No. 216 Sqlladron R .A.F., Lhe game thi s time being played on
the~r ground . We scored 193 (Capt. Ingpen 83,
MaJ or Rohothnm 37, Sgt. Pountney 21), and got
them out for 184, thus winni.ng an exc iting game
by 9 runs.
We are. drawn against R.Q. Sqdn. of the 17th /21ot
Lan cers In the Second Round of the Small Units
CompeLition, having drawn a bye in th e First
Round , a nd we are hOp'eru l of pull ing thi s off.
WS.J,

that is poss ible to come to the fore in the Command


Tennis Cham]Jionship Tournam ent and the Senior
Ranks Tennis League.
Th e Detachment tourn a ment brought forth a
surpri sing number of entrie~ . Keen games are in
prog ress d aily, a nd will conli :1lle unti l early in June
when the fin a ls a re due to be p'layed.
Th e preli minary rounds for the Comm a nd Championship , in whi ch severnl members of the Deta chment have entered their names, are heing pla.yed
to ward s the end of this month at th e Ge7im Sport
ing Club.
D.J .F.S.

Football.-Since the publication of the first numbel' oi th e Corps JOURNAL on ly one match has taken
pl ace, the finnl of the three inter-office matches in
connect,ion with the Challenge Trophy co mpetit ion.
After n very hard fought game vicLory agai n rested
with th e Comman,:\ by the nanow margin of 4 goals
to 3. For the Command Office, Capt>1 in Ingpen
was in Iwi.lliant form between th e " sticks." avin e:
his charge repeat.cdly. It can reasonab ly be beli eved
that had th e Command been without his serv ices.
the laurels of the game would have gone to Re!! :mental. The go:tl scorers were as foll ows :- for
Co mmand : S .Q.M.S. Wheln.n, Sgt. Rtock, Sgt.
Evans (penalty) and Corpl. Smi th ; fo r R egim ental:
S/Sgt. Hoptrough , who , besides plny ing an excellent game throughout the mntch , perform er! th e
H .H.
" hnt-trick."

Challenge Trophy.-W e left orf our "Spring"


repo rt showing t he Regim ental Office lea ding by 12
poin ts to 10 with four evenLs still t o be dec id ed.
The Co mmand wo n both the tennis a nd footb all ,
whilt> the first of t h" two deciding billiard maLches
was won by the Regimental, so that on the result
of the last billia rd match depended th e issue as to
the winners of t he Trophy for the year. RegimenLaJ
were " hot" ra vou rites but the Command \\'on th e
games uy foul' t o two. lInt- and here is the snng
- the ru les of th e toul'l1ey stated that the result
should he decid ed by the highest aggregate: Consequently , as :RegimentaJ were a few ahea d in
points, they again "'o n the CUR, a nd a re to be
hea rti ly congratul at ed . Although R egi.mental \\'on
the honour there is n co nsensus of opinion th a t the
glory goes to th e Comm a nd, and despite the opin ion
of their super optimist memher of t he Trophy Committee, they were perh a ps as near winning the Cup
as they ever will be. The Trophy was presented
to S .S.M. Plow ma n by Mrs. Lawrence, who kindly
graced t he Rroceedings with her presence at a
social 6\'ening held in the Mess.
A t the Annu al Sports Meeting th e ru le re the
scoring of points for billiards was alterecl , and
aggregate will ou ly be taken into account when
games are level. If Command lu ck iR to conLinue
it is expecLed thnt at th<l first match of the new
se ri es, they wi ll win on aggrega te "nd lose on
gg.mes.
The competition for :&31 ",'a~ vpen ed on M!1.y
J Oth. "hen the first nicket match took place. th'e
1'1211'101 ting of which will be left ' 0 the cri cket sr l'ibe.
Thus, the pres!lnt position for the Cha.ll enge
Trophy is:B 0p;imental : 2 poi1lts. Com ma nd: Nil.
W.C.

Tennis.-More th nn usunl int.eres t ha s been taken


ill Lhe t enni section during the l)ast two monLhs
Iit-stly , owillg to the en t ry of -", Leam for the
McEw a n' s Cup . a co mp~titi o n open t o a ll ranks of
units stationed in th e vicin ity of Cniro. aY]d ,
seco nd ly. Lo th e arrangem ent of a t enni s tourn Ament within the Det achm ent. Th e tea m for th e
McEwan's Cup' co nsisted of the foll ow ing pairs:S.S.M. F lux and S.Q.M.S. Morris; Sgts . Bloss and
Adlani : T a rrant a nd Lane, with CorpI. French for
reS!lrve. Th e fir st round was played against th e
3rd A C.C. and result ed in a 9-0 victory; th e
second ro und ngainst " B " team of the Signals was
lYon by a margin of 6 mntch es to 3. In t he sem ifin al th e G'renadier Guards we l'e heaten by 7 to 2
matches. Th e fin al, wh ich was played a,t ti,e E7.h ekiek Tenn is Court, again st th e R .A.1? (Midd le
East), wns lost hv 7 mntches to 2. This defeaL,
however , has resulted i.n n 'greaL impetus amongst
OUI' tennis players, who are determined lo d o all

JAMAICA.
V,l e open in approved style with correct ion s to
our sedion in th e first number. For B.S.M. " Parkins" read S .S,M. Perkins, nnd in pamgrap h 3,
lin e four, rea d" next" instead of " sa id ."
In Ma rch S.S.M. Carlile a nd S.Q.M.S. Deehl e
duly em harked for hom e nnd we welromed S.S.M.
P erkin s and S.Q.M.S. Turrant with their families.
Last ",pek th e deta.chment were the guest~ of th e
Command Pavma Ler and Mrs. Bellma n at the
Boul'I1emouth Ba t hs. 'T'hese al'e mangnificent openail' sea-water hnth s, with every co nceivable convenience . '~'e had a most en joyable ti.m e in the water,
with l'nceR for adults and children . S.R.M, Perkins ano S.o..M.S. Close fail ed to completE' the race
in whi ch they competed . Th ey saio th ey were no
use at sh ol,t di t,an ces-e:ive th em a mile or "0 and
thev wou ld "how VO ll , and 0 on. After bRLhing we
had an excellent tea ,' and th en ba ck to our private
'bus for home.
BANANA,

to

69

THE

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HONG KONG.

Hong Kong may be re~al'ded as one of the finest


stations ab road in thc BrItish Service. With a sub
tropical climate, there is every faci lity provided for
the sportsman, ranging over tennis, golf, cricket,
squash, football, polo, racing, yachting, swin1ming ,
fencing, and motoring (th e activities of the Corps
in this d irection are given below), wh ilst the shops
provide every want of the soldi er, particularly as
regards uniforms, wh ich are made up by Indian
a nd Chinese tailors at half the prices charged at
, home. As regards accom mod ation, officers m ake
their own arrangements with hotels, fiats, or the
Hong Kong Club, whilst tue troops and married
families are qu artered in excellent barracks, almost
in the centre of the city.
The Corps nel'sonnel in Hong Kong, consisting of
five officers and si-..:teen other ranks, has spent a very

Colonel L ang played with much success in several


matches in the League, Captain liLliam s also giv.
in~ useru l. assistance and Major Herbert and Captam Ethermgton (Sports Officer)" have been played
Ior garrison teams and Headquarters Staff.
Cricket.-Alth ough our total st ~'ength is only 21 ,
we have managed to turn out qmte a good eleve n,
playing fourteen matches, winning six, a nd drawillg
two, OUl' best effort being aga inst t he R.A.S.C. tearn
(which in clud ed Army p layers) on the Hong Kong
cricket g.-ounLI. This we won by a narrow victor Y
of twenty -s ix runs. Another good match against th~
R.A.M.C. (leaders of the Lengue) gave us a win
by one run.
Captnin Etherington has played for an Arm y
eleven and a lso the 1st team of the Hong Kong
Cricket Clu b, and S.Q.M.S. Matthews for Lhe Civ il
Service Clu b.

ROYAL

ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL

GOlf.-Major ~erbert is the on ly member of the


Detachment playmg regular golf, and is playin .,. for
the Small Units "A" team in the ann ua l Ga r7-ison
golf competition. This team is now in Lhe fin a ls for
boLh the handicap a nd scratch events.
Soccer.:-Sergeant Evans pl ays with the R .A.O.C.
teMn whIch won t he Div . TU. T_eagne co mpe. iti oll
tillS year.
. SWimming-S9.M.S. T~lcoat put up a stand;trrl
tnne performance In sWlmmmg Hong Kong H arbo ur.
Dance.- The R.A .P.C. Xmas Dance was held on
191.h December last, und er the very ca Rable (l il'ection of S.S.M. and Mrs. Carter. The General Offi cer
COI~1mandi n g a nd a very large number of staff and
regImental officers and other ranks of Unit$ and
~.M . Ships were present, resulting in a n oulstandlIlg su ccess .
MOves.-Captain D. T. Kirkpatri ck has return er!
to Ullited Kingdom on reLirement, and Captain '1'.
Hard With fami ly has joined the statioll.
Preparations are now being made for the tennis
~ague matches, and with the. improved play and
mterest shown by all ranks, It is hoped to come
out very near the top this season.

the bottoms of which a re tucked into his sooks or


bound round with a kind of puttee' the chief relief
to this is se~n in the house-stafis' who wear long
gowns of wh Ite and they are to be seen outside on
the paveme!lt whenever they have a few minutes to
spare, passtng on the latest scandal to their friends
or barga ining witn some travelling merchant or
even merely squattin g on their haunches looking at
noth in!, a.nd thinking of less. But who ever knows
what n Chin a man is th ink in g about?
SnddpI> ly one h ~ars a deep boom as of a. large
!,ong, repeat.ed at mterva ls, and soon there is borne
upon .the ail' t.he mo.st outrageo us soun ds, rather lik e
~ child playtng. wlth a fiddle, accompanied with
mdl sc llml,? a.te ttnk les from bells and small gongs
and occaSlOna I beats on a t;ype of timpani! It is
hard to describe this " muSJc" in words it mu st
he heard ~o be believed: To be just, ~hen one
has heard It often and tl'led to understan d it there
is method in th e apparent" madness" of the' .. harmonies" and it is not a ll as eas~ '3.S it soundsperhaps I shou ld say "indiscnminate" as it
sou nds.
.
On see ~ing the cause of this noise one corres upon
a processIOn that at once reminds one of n circus,
yet more gorgeous a nd more varied if it is from a
wealthy family; th ~ variety of bright and glaring
co.lours, of paper Images, human and anim al, of
mIniature houses and erections to contain the heart
a nd photo of the deceased, of canopies of ba nd F
(som e~im es o f the foreign pattern, but ; Iways one
of thell' own style), of gadgets impossible to describe
adequate ly, of im itation flower wreaths and last
of. all Lhe enormo us a nd gOI'!'eous catafa lque contamtn!' the ~ffi n and carri ed by abo ut sixty
bearers, all t hI S h a.s to be seen to. be appreciated '
it adds, for :I short time, a pleasa nt dash of co lou;'
t.o Lhe othel'\\' ise dull brown aspect of Tientsin
gener~lly. Th e money. spent on a funeral, particu
lady If the Jeceased IS a man, is enormo us; filled
with awe one strugg les for a .tear in symRatby, but
when t he mourners pass smokmg and eating oranges
a.nd nuts, 01' some such . thing, the struggle becomes
one of supP"esslng a s mile, the more so if the foreign
band ha s passed playing" Tipperary, " which often
happens!

T IENTSIN.

Mrs. Lang presenting prizes at the ann ual R.A .P.C. Sports, Hong Kong.
Sergt. Evans, Mrs. Lang, Capt. Etherington.
enjoyable time on the island, assisted in a large
measure by the great interest taken by the Colon el
and Mrs. Lang in all matters affecting the welfare
of the Corps, with very happy resu lts for all concemed. Severa.l ten.nis "At Homes" and dances
have further contrihuted to this end. Below is
given a short resume of t he snorti ng events:-

Tennla.-Great interest h as been taken in tennis,


both in the L eague and friendly games. In the
League we have obtained 3rd place, p laying twelve
matches, winn ing nine and losing three, whi lst we
have been successful in most of the friendl y games,
particularly against varioll s H .M. Shi ps. Mrs. Lang
last year presented a Challenge Cup a nd rep li ca for
the other ranks handicap singles, an event which
evoked much enthusiasm, the winner being Sergeant
Ormerod with SC I'geant Evans runner up. This year
Sergeant Evans won the trophy with Sergeant
Onuerod in second place. Mixad doubles tourna ments, with prizes given by Mrs. Etherington. Mrs.
Rard , Major Herbert and C~pt . .Wi lli ams, resu lted
in wins for Mrs. Wright and Sergeant Spence and
Miss P. Carter and S.Q.M.S. Tylcoat.
.
Maior Herbert also gave two cups for men's handicap doubles wh ich were won by Sergeant Ormerod
and Sergeant TriPR

Individual perfol'mances worthy of mention this


year a rc shown below:BATTING .

v. H.M.S. "Seraph":
S.Q.M.S . MaW ..,ws
v. H .M .S. "Cumberland ":
S.Q.M.S. Matthews
v. @th H .Bty. R.A.:
S.Q.M.S. Matthows
1'0 1' Civi l
ervice C.C. :
S.Q.M.S. MatLhews
For Garrn. Sgts.' Mess :
Sergeant Troops
For H .K . Cricket Club :
Captain Eth erington

50 not out.

55
54
79
52 not out.
2H

BOWLING.

v. R.A.S .C.:

Major Herbert
v. H.M.S. Cum l erl amcl ":
Major Herbert
v. 12th H.Bty. R.A. :
Sergeant Evans
v. 20th H.Bty. R.A.:
Sergeant Evans
v. R.M.S. "Cumberland":
S.Q.M.S. Matthews

9 for 37
7

55

29

"

6 ,. 19

6 " 32

From my last article a reader might very well


he .tempted to say "So far as seeing anytliing of
Chllla IS concerned you may just as well be in any
~lome town as in Tientsin "! Yes, and no . On'e
IS never ~b l e to forget one is in China, for all work,
whether IIldoors or outdoors, is done by Chin ese,
the man who se~'ves ~ou in the shop is Ch inese,
Lhe .house staff IS Ch.mesal ; but if the shop is a,
foreIgn concem there IS a lways a foreign er of some
n"tiona\ity in charge somewhere-out here everyo ne
oLher than the n atives is a "foreigner."
A train journey dissipates any illusion as tn wha.t
country o~e i~ in fO.r invar iably it seems as if onp.
half of Chm a IS gettmg out or m at a statIOn while
t~e other. half is ontside, and there the conglomeratIOn of l'Ickshas a nd cars defies description ; as to
co ntrol, all that a ppears to happen is that the police
wave t heir trun cheons and shout (the same as every?ne else 5s doing!) ~eize every op.pol'tun ity or beat109. a nc~sha cooh e a.nd achieve nothing! No
~OI'l Ous aCCI dent seems to t a ke place and the ch~toS
~orts iLse lf out, but oh the joy and relief when one's
car or ri cksh,~ crosses the boundary into the
British Concess ion, the feeliug of orderliness, clean li ness and pace is wo nd erful. It should be mentioned
thaL the two railway stations are in Chin ese tenitOly
Then there am the essenti ~tl1y n ative streets when'
on ly native shops are to be found; there is one road.
Taku by nam e. that run s right throu~h t he Concessions and is the recognised connectmg link bet.'veen t~e Ch inese City anrl anoLher vill age, whir;.h
he on elLh er flank of the foreign areas; along Lhls
I'oad on ly is the essentially na.tive traffic allowed .
an d when one sees the disorderlin ess, co nfusion and
dirt, th ere , ono is thankfu l t hat th is is so; yet t.his
I'oad is the fa.vourite shopping centre for things
Ch mese, and is onc of the s ights of Tientsin.
. Possibly the outstandin g reminder of one's being
m Ch ina is Lhe native flmp-ral a nd here we have
somethin g worth seeing. The Chinam an's love of
COIOlll' i-; not apparent in every-day life, his long
gown is of da rk blue and covers trousers of black,

. Before th e d ay of the funeral the body may lie


~ o u se for weeks waiting for a propitious day
for buna.l 0 1' sometIm es for the relatives from the
intel'ior; duri ng this period the 'natjve band and
hired mourn ers weep. wail and squeak daily, chinchinning the joss and scar in ~ off the devila: t he
main entran ce is decorated With an arch of wh ite,
dotted with vario us coloured rosettes, and within
t he courtyard and garden are erected shelters for
the musicians, joss-men a nd all the paraphernalia of
the proces. ion. I have been told that recently at
the fun eral of a famous general, a whol e regiment
made o f paper was carried in the procession and
burnt at Lhe ~rlLveside; the idea being t ha t the
deceased should ha ve his soldiers 'with him on .. the
other side."

In . the

Much co uld be written on funerals if one could


st udy their origin, but very few of the Chinamen
themselves seem tp know the meaning of a good
den,1 that is ca rried or done, a.t any rate not those
witll whom one mosPy comes in cont.a ct h ere.

71

THE

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not missing a single game throughout the season,
either friendly or leag ue. Sgt. Gore. also showed
great promise in t~e half back Ime, ill. t'l~ centre
half position of wbl cb we hope to see hun mstalled
permanently ne:-.1. season .
The following a lso
turned out at different times :-Sgts. Rowley and
Thorntoll. The Staff a nd Dep'artmental XI wound
up a very su ccessful season uy end in g nl) third out
of eight teams in the Command hockey eag ue WIth
a total of four wins, tw o losses, and one draw out.
of seven matches played . The winners, the 2nd Bn .
W orcester R egt. , just beat us 2--1 in one of th e
hest leag ue games, the runn el's-up, th e R.A. F. ,
hav in g been bea.ten by us 3--2. We congratulate
Ca pt. Askin on representing th e Arm y .and RA ..F.
at outs ide- right in the second of two mter - ~erVl ce
mutches aga inst the navy this season. Two seasons
ago we seem to remember his turning ont on the
left wing in the inter-servI ce matches!
Billiards.-As fore cast in OUI' previous letter, the
Garri on Sergea nts' Mess team improved considerably on the early showing in the league,. and
managed to fill the second berth afte ~ comp letIOn of
t he season's programme.

MALTA.

TJI;t summer is nearly upon us in Malta .is in


evidence by lessened activity ill t he (iura fmna)
sports . lio e, and a generall~ keen desll'e to renew
acquaintance with Father Neptun e. Contemporary
with bathing costumes, however, a re mosqUlto.es a nd
other pests, which all go somewhat to neutrahze the
adva ntages. This reference to a Maltese summer
will no doubt, bring forth snorts of contempt from
our' coll eagues servin g on tbe ., track less deserts of
the east." But five years a t this station isn't the
delig!lL[ul holiday th at some im ag ine !t to be, for
there is always the uncomforta ble sIrocco to be
endured . Tha't gentle zephyr is however, a perfect
boon at t im es, for everything fr?ffi earlY:ll1ornlllg
. , li vers" to loss of form at tennis IS attrlbuted to
it. nevertbeless, life isn't too bad, the occasional
grum bles providing material for keen debate.s, not
the least interestmg bemg "Does t be RrJce of
streaky bacon justify an issue of colomal allowan ce
to Malta?"
Arrivals.---Since writing our last letter we have
welcomed tbe following to the detachment, and
wish them ;1 pleasant and healthy stay on the

Valetta- Ma rsa muscetto Harbour, and landing stage for felTies to Sliema .
island :-Capt. L. J. Camp, S.Q .M.S. Hunter,
S.Q.M.S. Thornhill and Sgt. Browett.
Oepartures.---S.S.M. (now Lieut.) J. Quiun ,
S.Q .M.S. Manning and Sgt. Yorke.
Our best
wishes accompanied them , and we .hope that .they
are' by now weB settled down a t theIr new statIOns.
Promotions.-We are able to congratulate S.S.M.
.Hunt a little earli er than anti cipated , on the co nfirmation of his promotion to that rank . The news
that he would be remaining with us in his new
rank was recei ved with general satisfaction.
Births,-The wife of Sgt. Elam presented h.er
husband with a da ugther on 11th March,. the WIfe
o f Sgt. Rowley making a similar presentatIOn t~ ~ er
husband on 30th March. In both cases the add ItIOn
completed th e " pigeon nair." Congratulations!
Hockey.-On account of numbers and age, we are
not in a position to run a team of our own , but
the following pl ayed for the Staff a nd Departmental
XI, of which Captai n Askin is the secretary and
captain besides being a mem ber of the Command
Hockey Committee :~.S.M . Robins played. at le ft
back, beiog a veritable mainstay of the Side and

72

Tennis.-The RA.P.C . l e~~ u e tea m have been


fa irly successful so far , havmg won five of the
seven matches played. The two . defeat~ were, how
evel', of such a heavy naLure, that theu' chances of
fin a ll y fini shing in the first. tW? places are [.lfactl call y
nil. Nevertheless, the remammg fixtures ",111 be
contested with undiminished keenness.
A cup.
generously presented by Sgt. Eh~.m for competitio.n
among other ranks under bandlcap co nditIOns, is
producing some spirited gam es : Th e fact that the
favoUl'ite still sUl'vives is causIng th e close wa ich
ing of the conrt bookie.
Cricket.-The Staff a nd Departmen ta l team , whi ch
co ntained five R.A .P .C.'s, played t heir fi rst gam e
on 16th May the result being a dru w. Our opponnets th e R. A.F. , scored a moml vi ctory though .
th e' S. &. D. being something li ke sixty runs III
a rrears with onl y one wicket to fall when stumps
were drawn . Bett er things are eXHected in the
near future .
Whilst on the subject of sport, it is worth notin g
that t he R.A,P .C. have a lar ge hand in the run
ning of race meetings here. The C.P., Col. G. A. C.

THE

ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL

Ormsby-Johnson , O.B.E. , M.C., is a steward of the


Malta Racing Club , the Asst. C.P., Lt.-Col. N.
Forue, fills the post of honora ry treasurer, and t:;gt.
Elam Lh at of assis La nt to the hon. secretary. In
addili9I1 , a ll th e other rank s, with one exception,
a re emp loyed on the "tote" on race d ay afternoons.
" BUTI'ONS."

Spa t.s.
Spurs .

Cause Ch ilblains.
Field Officers are excepted . Hunting of bugs,
cockroaches a nd mosquitos, done on foot.
Wife.
R.efer to Para. 306 (e)
Allowance Regs . It is
unders tood the lady
decid es. (Ours did .)
Yourself.
From
wo rrying
abo ut
what to bring.
Sundries such as childl'en, grandfathers clocks,
coal or coke. et c., a re le ft to yo ur o'\'n di scretion or
im ag in ation .
N.B.-There ca n be no further di sc ussion . The
Edi tOl"s decision being filJ al . So is this list.

MALAYA.

Co ngratulations are extended to S.Q .M.S. C. H.


Sco uler on being presented with t he Long ervlce
and Good Conduct Meda l.
Two imp,? rta nt cha nges have recently ta ken place
Maj o r GelJeral H. L. Prltchard , C.B.,
here.
C. M.G., D .S .O., has been reh eved by Major General
L. C. L. Oldfield , C. B. , C.M.G., D .S.O. The 2nd
Bn . The Wel ch Regt., who have go ne to Indi a,
he.ve been relieved by the 1st B,\tta li on Th e Gloucestershire Regim ent from Egyp.t. To t he in c.om.
ing Unit we owe o u~' thanks for a most enjoyable
evel1ln g spent a t tbelr " Back Badge Ball, " whi ch
was held in the Volu lJteer Drill H a ll on t he 21st
Marcb.
It may be of interest and regret to those of th e
Co rps who have served in the Command, lo kn ow
that Tong Cheong, the t ailor, di ed last J a nua ry. It
is believed he was for the last twe nty years the
unoffi cial ta il or to the Detachm ent. Th ose who
rem em bel' him will recall the wonderful memory he
possessed.
In Fort Canning quarters the kitchen chimn eys
have been cemented up as gas st oves have been
installed. A la dy occ upying one of the quarters
hearing a peculiar noise in th e chimn ey asked her
Chin ese boy what it was. T~_ e boy replied , " Bird,
Missy . He ha ve some son ."
A requ est hav ing been rece ived from a prospective v isitor to these Sunny Climes for a list of
;~rti cl es necessary for the tour of three ,Years, it is
thought that s uggestions may be rnislellulIlg beca use
opinion~ vary.
On the contra.ry, it is felt th at th e
under mentioned list of things not t o bring for the
reasons stated , wi ll be a help, a nd a nyho w, it is
ever so mu ch easier to compile.

MAURITIUS.

. As less than seve nty R .A .P .C. will, in existing


CIrcum stances, join Mauritius dur in ~ th e next hundred ~'ears, n ot.e~ regard ing th e Colony may not l e
o f mu ch in te l'es t , particua1'ly to offi cers. It is a
long , long tra il to this co un try and not t{)O ilJ te restin g on acco un t of the Ftretch down t he W est Coast
but relief is a fford ed when th e Cape is fLac hed:
wh ere a stay at Ca pe Town , Algoa Bay. E ast Lo n'~ on
a nd Durba n is a lm ost certain. _" t t he last-nam<>d
p lace it is the kindl y practice of the !ocal Old
Comra des to do a ll that is possible to entertain th e
British passer-by, proyiding free seats at theatres,
free Iides on omn ib uses. and treats for th e wives
a nd children. British monev is accepted in t he Cape
with little loss on exchange-.
11,e next call is P OI"t Loui s, which. from the
harhour, with its surrounding mountains forms a
cha l'nling picture. but th e town .i tself is a ramshackle assortment of hovels. b uil t in the usual
E as te1'l1 fashi on, smell y and stuffy . Near hy is
Fort Geo l'ge wh ere the troops perform thei r annn al
training, and where th ere is a perm.went small
garrison.
Th e main garri son is honsed at Vacoas , 13 mil es
from the POI't , 1371 feet altitud e, where t he air is
sweeter a nd cooler a nd mosquitos are not so t roublesome. On t he main l'Oad to th e barracks are foul'
Warrant. Officer' Quarters upon which the civil
popu la tion ca~t a jealolls eye. Th ese are probably
the fin est. qunrte l's allott ed to any soldi el> in the
A rmv . a nd may form part of the subject of a later
a rti cle.
The marri ed qu arters genera lly a re id eal . veranda hed a nd surround ed by gard ens. Th!! barracks
are hutm ents r" i ~ec1 f!'Om t he ground on iron pi les
and a l'e quite p i ct l1re~ (Iu e . Th ., photo!(T'1ph on t he
next lJa.ge . hnws the H e;,dqual'ters Office, includin~
th e p!~y Offi ce, a nd gives an id e:t of the general
a plJearan ce of th e barracks.
Th e total p'arriso n is 125. R.A. , R.E .. RC.S .,
R .A .S .C .. R.A .1VT. C .. a nd our two rep resentatives,
so th at it mnv be und erstood that the Pa.y Office
duti es are not too onerou s, a lthough quite sufficient,
even with the ass istance of a nati" e clerk. Th e
Adrema scho!me work, hprp. minus nlates a nd
ma chi'I Bry. t he cage of N.:<n85 taking t.h e pla ce of
the pInte. Officers number eleven. oensioners 14:
the re IHP four impre t acco un ts, mostiy for th e pa.yment o f t he rnt her le r!!p sta ff of civilia n employ pes .
nnm erous lettin as. miscell a neous I'ents nnd bills.' Onr
No. 2 is. in ad diti on La hi s plty duti es . employed
on costing R.E. Co nstruction , RE . Stores, and
W .D. Bakery .

Lisi oj A,I.ic/es , elc. , not to brin g to Malaya.


Item .
Cause or R ea on.
Bedsteads, iron or brass. Wh ite a nts .
Bottles, rubber hot water. CheaHer to purcha 'e
locally.
Bowlers.
See und er hats
Bunga lows.
The e are prov ided if yo u
are on t he M .Q. roll.
Family.
See under wife.
Games, C ro wn a nd
Un less vou are related to
Anchor.
or a' pal of the sh ip's
Sergeant Majo r.
Hats, bowler.
Conversion to a tO I ee no t
a s ucces, tak es too
much bla nco.
Hats, Silk.
Kuomintang bye law prohibting the breeding of
Worms , silk.
Horses,
See under Spurs.
Law, Moth erinThis is put in as a iok e.
Mangles, metal.
See und er Bedsteads.
Materia ls, Windows,
Done at the public fX cleani ng.
pense.
Pianofortes, grand.
Un less you li re a high.
brow.

73

THE

ROYAL ARMY PAY

Wea ther p,ermitt ing-for we have ra~n to exc~ss


we play tennis (Sgt. E. O. Band , R.A.I .C., officIates
very ably as the secretary of th e Sgt~.' Mess Clu~).
There is plenty of footb all, the maIn teams belllg
GarrisQn, R .A. , R.E. , or rather R .E. ,. plus the
Depart,menls. Rugger, hockey, . and ~ l'I cket b.a ve
the ir seasons, and the sports ground I S large and
rassed like velvet. On wet evelllngs we and our
families pl ay badmini.?n. Add to these amusements
t he trips to the seaSIde, th e walks t o the ueaut7

THE ROYAL

CORPS JOURNAL

spots, the dan ces and whist i~1 the Mess (S~t. Band is
the moving spirit here ~galtl) , a nd !tfe IS not loo
bad .
I shoulJ like, if (he Editor will permit, to describe
the I sland anJ its peop le ~t a Inter dat\l. In the
meantim /l, as no cne. i~ w essing. to come out here,
the a.bove may ue suffi Clellt to ItItroduce ourselves
to the J ournn l.
A. C. FARMER, S.S M., B.A .P.C.

ARMY

PAY CORPS JOURNAL

TEN YEARS AGO.

..... ,.

M a uritius-Headqu ~lI-ters Office.

Married Quarters Roll.

The following is a true co py of a letLer from a


Peon of the P ay Offi ce .
To S.S. Major A.C . F a rm er, R .A.P. C.
V acoas,
Commands Pay Offi ce,
'Z7 /12/30.
V acoas, Mauritius .. .
Sir
l' most respectfully beg to brin~ t o yo nr know
ledg3 that, on Christm as day, I h ave hea rd by a
short noise. A man working in the (ORDONANCE
DEPOT) speaking to one of his friends Sec1'e~ely ,
that Mr. READER is trying to have a man of good
intelligent and of education to work as a labourer
in his stores for some time ; until he co uld man aged
the work well; On occasion (SIR) that Foreman
BATOUR wi ll be retired , because he looks very old
,\nd long service. By this opion (SIR) as t a m
intell igent a nd fair knowl ed ge of Edu catIOn , I have
passed my SIXTH Std Exa min ation and ha ve been
learning as Teachers . But simp ly my father \Va
very ' pOOl' and a lawful conditi on not to be all owed
to protect me at the sta~e. And J am very poor up
to now. The wages of whi ch I a m rece.i,;, ing at
present its very weak t o suppor t my fa ml h es and
myself, And as you are a good master. for me, I
shou ld glad ly liked t.ha t vou wou ld he l<1nd enough
to try this speech t o Mr. READER (S ECRETEL,Y )
And to kn ow if it is true. And Sir, I am work1l1 g
over (5) veal'S und er the Mi.litary Departm ent You
cn.n try aild find my cam cter. an d if t es! im onial s
a re required can be provided. F lease hopmg for a
favo urab le reply and pray to you my (MASTER) to
try your best.
With anticipat ion thanks.
I l; ave the hon our (SIR)
YOUI' most obedient & fa ithfully Serva nt

N.PUNCBOO.
Messenger Royal Amty Office.

Waiting List.
Th e following ull offi cial extracL from the" W a it
Ln g List" for th e Marri ed Qu a rters Roll as at 15t h
Jun e, 1931, is included in t he JOURNAl. as a matter
of general interest to th e COl'RS . . Although pub
li hed under the War Office sancllOn, th e extr~ct
c,\n not be quoted as a n authority in . a ny offiCIa l
doc um ent a nd it must be borne 111 mmd th at the
. W a itin g List" is liable to variation as promotions a.nd other casualties occn!.
This instalment includ es the fir st fif ty IWlres on
the List of Sergeants. (Class 14 .)
Lunn , C. W. ; Vin e, A. J. ; Lillicra p, W : ~. ;
EvereLt , H. F. : Johnson , P. B.; Call1, J .: TI'I sl
ram , G.; Bac kw e11 , J . C.; Pan\<hurst , C: A.; Ca mp ,
F. ; o\'l'e11 , F. W . ; Troops, J 'i H ewltt. W . .A.;
Paddick , F.: Egan, G. B .; Nice: W. F.: ~ \'I ck ,
W. R. C. ; South, W. R. C.: Lew1s. A. B . i F,lsh~r ,
G. E .; Bowen, 1. ; Thom as, F. R .; Pond , 1 . 1,. ;
Gore, F. G.: Si bley, S. W . C. : Allen, R .: Crl cbton.
D . N.: Anderton. E. W. : Hi11 ing , T .: P lunk ett, J .:
J ag'jlt , W. 0.; Mon ks , W . A. ; Ba rt ol1 , M. V: ;
An sell , F.
.: Pat'dy, G. W. F.; Warren , F . A. :
T ay lol', G.: 'W atts, C. D :; Mendon , C. J.: Brown.
G. W. : Chantler . A. F.; Wi11 iams, 'R L : Bogg ls.
T . A. W.; B oanas, R. E. : J ones. W . A.: Evans,
R . E. ; Bayley, R. R.; Spence, G. R . ; Jon es. F. A. ;
Lun e, G. A.
.
('To be continued.)

74

R.A.P . C. Football Team- Cologne, 1921

CRICK E T
Arrangements for the Corps
match es are as under:-

ARMY

cricket

4th

TENNIS

CHAMPIONSHIPS , 193 1
TI1e Al' my La wn Ten nis ChamplOnsbips and other
events will be h eld at Tbe Hurlingham Club, London ,
from Ju ly 27th to August, 1931. The events
comprise:-

1931.- Va rs ns 14th/20th
Hu ssa l's at Hounslow.
On the Dep ot, Roy al
Fusiliers' Ground. Play will start at 11.30 a .m.
Route-D istrict R a ilway. Station nearest gro nnd
is H oun slow W est.
Monday anlt Tuesday , 6th and 7th Ju!>y. -T'e rsl/S
R.A.O.C. on the United Se rvices' Ground, P orts
mouth.
P lay will st a rt at 11.30 a. m. Train
8.40 a. m. from liVate rloo-<\ITive P ortsmouth Town ,
ID.56. Officers a nd other r:mks intendin g to be
pl'eRent should notlfy me early so th,\t chea p ti ckets
(if possible) ran be taken for them.
Saturday,

LA W N

July,

Wednesday and ThurSday, 8th and 9th July , 1931.

-Versus A.E.C. 0 11 th e North Middl esex Ground ,


HOl'l1 sey, N .8 . Play will st.ati, at 11.30 a .m. , a nd
stumps will be drawn at 6.30 p.m . the first day .
" R?ULe-'P!ccadilly Tube or Metropo li ta n Railway to
F lnsbury Park Station and No. 111 'bns to the
ground in Park R oad, Hornsey, or by L .N.E.R to
HO\'l1 sey a nd tram to ground.
Th e Co mmi ttee hope th at as ma ny officers attd
oth er nql ks as possib le will be pl'esent a t the e
matches, especially that again st th e A .E. C. who a re
our guest,.
O . H. CHAIn.ToN,
80, P",lI Mall ,
Li eut Co lonel.
London, S.W.1.
H on. Secretary.
RA.P.C. . Officers' Club.

1.

The Army Singles Champi onship (op'en to a ll


ran ks) .

2.

The Inter.Regimental Doubles Cha mpionship


(open to aU Arms and all ranks) .

3.

Th e TnterUn it Singles Championship (open to


W .O.'s and N. C. O.'s and men only).

4.

Th e Op'en Doubles (ope n to a ny pairs il'l'espec


Li ve of a ny Unit or ra~k).

5.

"Other Ranks" Doub les (open to W .O.'s,


N.C.Q.'s a nd men only) .

6.

The Army Plate (fol' th ose kn ocked out in


the first two round s of E vent 1) . No ent ry fec.

Entry Fees for each event :-O ffi cers, 10/, W .0. 's
.C .O.'s, ete., 3 / 6.
F ull pa rti cul a rs a.nd en t ry forms can be obta in ed
on application to the H on. Treasurer , Army LawlI
Tenni s Association , Ca pt. G. W. Ta rl eton, M. C.,
Co mmand H eadqllllrters . Aldershot. Entries close
fi rst post, 20th Ju ly, 1931.

7S

THE

ROYAL ARMY

PAY. CG)RPS. JOUR-NAL

Droleries de Corps

THE ROYAL

L 1

Travelling Claims Illustrated (No. 2)

., A p ubli c om nihu s is co nsidered to be a suitable co nveyance within the meaning of para . 277, AJlo:-,,"~ ance Regulations, 1931, for the co nveyance of officers on dut')'."
Dj'awn by W. H . BaLes (Yot~).

How and Why I Transferred to


a Departmental Corps
Being the further reminiscences of unpaid Lance
Co rpo l'al Goldust.
(with apolog ies to the Sunday Express.)
SYNOPS IS.
R e~d(' rs wi ll l'em em ber that after leav ing t he
Depot I was posted to a battalion on th e souih
coast, and ho w welco me we (the draft) were made.
J no w take up lilY sto ry again to rel ate how , thro ugh
studying for a certifi cate of education, my career
was again changed.

W e had a test paper set for Cornp'os it ion, and had


the choice of two subjects, "Discretion bei ng ~ho
het,ter part of v,dour" or "The pen is mightier
tha n the swo rd ." Nev.e r having relished th e idea
of being on the wrong end of a sword, t his gave
me the idea of transferring to a Corps where ~he
pen is the chi ef and on ly weapon of offen ce. HavUlg
complet.ed A.. F.O. ,18T 4, which duly certified pnd
lesti fl ed that I was th~ person re.sponsi'ble, I 6a01
farewe ll to my comrad es in a rms a nd reported to
the offi ce at Command Headqua)1ers.
I Transfer.
There I was met by a ni ce gentleman (Who turned
out to be the messenger) who made me welcome and

ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL

told me not to feel nervo us b ut to have faith and


cohijdence in myself and I would p'ull thlOllgl,.
After being shown into a waiting room, I sludied
the photogra!Jhs, which ado rn ed the walls, of fa mous
soldiers who had served the ga lla nt Corps to which
now I ha d the honour to belong. Th is bi'ought to
m} mind the say ing" There is a Staff Payma ster's
piece of blottillg ' paper in every prob'Ltioner's gasnms'k." T hen I perused the latest .. papers wh ich
were most corisiderately pl aced near a. comfortable
arm chai r . An C}rderly asked me if I would wefer
a snower bath or a dcink . I.had a pint. Having
r~ad the papers I sank into 'a contemplative mood
an'd my eyes turned again to the photog'raphs of- 'the
gallant so ldi e~s. Then and there I made up' my mind
to ~f~ll ow their gleriQus example and never be cri.med
for \laving a 1'11~ty nib . . Th e messenger tlren a~v0ke
me and asked ) if I 'W0uld -kindly see . the S :S.M.
(Superior Sgt, Major) . 1 foUowed _my thouglltful
fIllel)d and eventually cam'e to a hu ge oRice, whi ch
fdr "space, com.fo lt and lu xuriou sness put a London
stbck bro ker's office in to shame. This then wOl1ld
be ~the scene or m;{ future da ily t.asks.
.
~ must. say tha t after t he com(orts and deJights
of the barrack room and sq ua re, I felt I had come
into my 0w n . We p'assed through this office and
caJl.\e t o a door which )-lad on it:S .S.M .
Don'L wait;
Please walk in.
Y01~ are we lco m e .
;' Having passed through , I sa-w seated ~'lt . a desk
at -mest venerable looking person age. He might
e.'lSily have been mistaken for a " Padre" owil'g to
hiS. .saintly ail' a nd rpanner. 'He bade me welcome
and asked me If I wotlld partake of some tea.
&fpre 1 cou ld answer, a y-oung lady brought. in
sarh'e tea and cakes, 'wlrich; were deli ght.ful.

Esprit de Corps.
To co ntinue, ~ being ambit~ous an d fnll of esprit,
I asked a S e rge~ nt the meamng of the motto on our
badge. H e sa id you ha ve faith in your confidentia ls
a nd hope for promoti')n, but tw el ve years in th e
rank of sergea nt had turned him in to an atheist. I
sincerely hope I won't become a J ew.
.H:.rving received a tempti11g offer from the Editol
of the " News of the Underworld" for t.he contineation of my s tor~' , this will be . the .fii:w 1 instalment publ ished in t hi s maga 7, i',? e . . (Thank goodness.)
GOLDUST.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

Fa/.he!". Of Fiftee/1.~o .serry , canQot - trnce ' yo ur


letter' of .last yen.!'. Die yo u wri te und el'" the nam e
of .. Father of Twelve 1 "
illlglls.-----Should not s(.ricti'y ad'vise wear in g plus
fours with kilts, but ad mire your . origin ali ty. - .
Hil~ e a Reade1'.-So glad to ' hear thert!'s bags of
sand 10 Egypt. How lntel'estibg. Persevere with
your leave.
"D.A:M.N."-Your query- ,re wirele$s is in th e
J,ands of our expert a nd will be answered ,next
week . Meanwhile try milking it.
Corney One.- Army boots are infa lli ble. Also
t ry soak ing them in .the juice of stewed dandelion s.
. Manied. Qltar~ej',"":'Two packets of E psom salt s
dlsso lved ill a PlOt of old a le is an excelhmt Jlreparation for frosting windows. Clearly laLel the
bottle.
.Hmold, It bbass!a.-A pink di ckey should' go }vell
~"I th your 90 rps t Ie.. Oo ngmtul atioll s on your mak IIlg sev.en III the bllhal'd tomnmnent.
.
Affl.i/ed.-Try " Barzo's red pose remover," if
unsuccessfu l, patro nise t he mess unt il it ' g.oes .blue.
. Miss Adre ma , HoxLon .-TechnicalJ y you 'lire
wrong. Water excepted, the expenditure for teas
is met out of the office cleaning all owance_
Gardener, .4 bbass'ia_-Red ink powder sprinkled
at .the 1l00tS if yo ur ,oastor oil 'p la nt should promote
gro\vth and colour.

. Interview with Chief.


The S.S.M. then said the " C.P. " would see -rne
in l)aH an hour , and apologised for having - to keep
rfie waitillg so long. (J f co urse I d1rl-n 't m ind because
evill'yone was so kind and co urteous. H alf an hpur
latel', to the li ck, I was ashet'ed into the presence
of \the " 'C;'P ~," i.e., the Charming P aymaster. H e
most. kindly asked after my health and relati ons
and informed me that my inspi ration must be th e
motto of the Co rps, "Faith and Hope." Seeing
hi s beautifully kept blott ing pad '(it was spotless),
the sa,yi ng afo re-mentioned, flashed again through
my 'mind , and I swore (to mysel, of co urse) t hat
I would never do to- day th at which could be done
to-morrow. This most plea,sant interview ended by
th p. .. C.P." granting me a month's leave with
ration aHce at t he higher rate. Owing to my keenn ess to start work and bein g broke to Lhe wide, I
r~turn ed after a week's holiday.

THE JOY OF BEING AN EDITOR.

Getti l1 g out thi s J OUR..'1 AL is no pic- nic!


If we print jokes people say we are silly ;
If we don't they say wc a re too serious.
If we clip Lhings from other magazin es
Vole are too lazy to '\'1'it.e t hem ourselves
If we don't, we a re s(,uck on our own sLuff.
If we stick close to the job all day
We ought (,0 be hun (.ing up news.
If we do get out and hustle,
We ought to be on the job in the office.
If we don't print contribu(.ions,
We don't anpl'eciate true genius.
If we do pr int them, the JOURNAL is fi ll ed with
junk .
If we make a change in the other fellow's write un
we are too criti'cal ;
If we don' t, we are asleep .
Now, lil< e as not, someone wi ll say
W e sn iped this from some other maga.zine!
We did.

Start -on 'New Life.


I was placed under the supervision of a ni ce, kind ,
gentle, old Q.M.S., who, I believe, had fought in
the I ndian Mutiny or Crimea, or p'erhaps both .
. The taxpayers win be pleased to learn tbat their
In terests ~re carefully studi ed. by th~ Al'"!'Y. For
example (If you Will pardon 'me for dlgressmg) , th e
first thmg T undertook was to check th e ready
"'~9!<oner, a nd although i.t was ten years old, I didn 't
'firru a mista ke. Thjs kindly act on the part of the
' lIuthoriti es goes ,to pro;ye hGW the Corps proteots
Lhe Pu blic.

77

1'HE ROYAL

ARlvfV

PAY

CORPS

JOUR AL

To the Cairo Taxi DriverA Tribute


Mohammuel charged down, like a wolf
on a fold,
Though his lamps "vere not gleamin cr his
driving was bold.
I::
Then, all of a. sudden, he heard a great din
He'd killed three policemen-his luck 'va~
not "in."
In these days of empty cradles and
crowded cinemas, wh~n people are striving
to re-capture the excItements of war in a
hopeless aftermath of peace, it is curious
to reflect. that so few of our young men,
wl:ose thtrst for adventure so often on ly
dnves them to an uninteresting existence
in some distant land, have never thought
of ,?ecoming taxi drivers. And yet, under
t1:~lr very noses, in the hearts of our great
c.loes, a sturdy race of men: are living a
h~e throbbing with emotion, palpitating
\nth danger, and ennobled by comparative
poverty.
Th,eir chances of acquiring
wealth are as doubtful as in many other
soi-disant more creditable occupations but
~here is the compensation of infinite v~riety
lllvolved, the ever-changing road surfaces
the chance of studying human nature in all
toe intimacy of . its IllOSt unguarded
moments, and, above all, the never absent
element of risk, which stimulates love and
robs life of its monotony. Before leaving
his house in the morning, the taxi driver
be he happily or unhappily married , kisse~
his wife goodbye, not carelessly but
eagerly, whether he fears or hopes that
he may never see her face again. For
those, however, who prefer an occasio11al
thrill, the taxi cab presents an opportunity
to all, except the bed-ridden, at little or no
cost, to passenger and pedestrian alikeespecially here, in Cairo, where, despite
the higb cost of living, taxi fares are low,
and a challenge to a greedy world.
To see him as he sits on the small of
his back, all huddled up, at the wheel of
his trusty chariot, with the never-ending
wisp of tobacco smouldering in the middle
of his unshaven face, he does not look the
dare-devil artist that he really is. For such
men as he actually are artists, who have
consecrated their lives to their art, and for

whom the world, in the sense of assnred


prOSl erity and ripe old ag e, has ceased to
exist-theirs not to cheat and lie theirs but
to drive, and die! After all , no ~an whos~
otltlook was limited by mere pecuniary
a.dvantages would ever risk his life so man y
tlmes a da y and for so little as they do,
and with a smile . Without a thought for
their own safety , or for that of others but
with selfless heroism, outnumbered yet undaunted, they roar through the streets in
the face of the most determined opposition.
What a sensation to feel your
engine vibrating madly a.nd the car
~huddering, squirming , swaying, plung1l1g under you like some living thing
possessed, to see huge buildings, rearin g
horses, fleeing pedestrians, dogs and
hawkers at a stretch gallop, reel by in on e
long wavy animated line, to catch a waft
of scalding steam from the over-heated
radiator of a mammoth bus (just missed
with the loss of one mudguard and a little
self-respect) , or the stinging comment of a
well-timed yen-and all for a few piastres!
And then there are the daily races with
their colleag ues and again st the loathsome
amateurs, the owner-drivers, to say nothing
of the exquisite joys of trying to jockey
girl drivers off the road . .
But, in a country where fatalists are
experimenting "vith speed under the guidance of inexperienced, short-sighted policemen, the taxi driver's chances of meeting
with imprisonment for life, disablement, or
sudden deatb are considerabl y greater than
in Europe. For motorin g in Cairo combines the thrills of driving in a chal-i~t
race with Ben Hur witl"; the dangers io f
driving into battle with Qu~en Boadicea.
The cars swirl by, recklessly , as if borne
on the bosom of a river in flood, and th e
air rings with blasphemies, the soundin g of
horns, and the grinding of brakes, while
crouching figures leap to safety , and all ,th e
laws of chance seem quite upset . At ni ght
the risks are greater still, for many roa'ds
with devilish surfaces are badly lit, and
many drivers, without -lights, career about
like bats, only without a warning squeak.

1'BE ROyAL ARMV 'PAY CORPS JOURN"AL


And late:, cars are found lying on their
backs, With wheels in the air like dead
cockroaches on a kitchen floo~ at da\\ll.
Bu~ the greater and more numerous th e
penis, the higher rises the taxi driver's
c~ur.age, and t~e more he puts forth all the
w1zardry of. hIS skill, with undiminished
speed. Aga1l1 and again he stakes his life
on a deft turn of the wheel, or, stand lllg
Oil the accelerator, calls another's bluft
A ~orn opportunist, he gains many a yard:
whIch. the driver of a more powerful car
sometl1~es
loses owing to some overs~ueamIshnes~ about cutting in, keepulg to
hIS correc~ SIde, or gambling on a blind
corner. HIS motto seems to be : " None bu t
the brave deserve the fare."
As in the Navy everything is done .( at
th~ double," so among Cairo taxi-men all
mlllor manceuvres are carried out at forty
miles an hour, whether it be backing out
of a .gara~e, debouching <:)11 to a main road ,
turnlllg mto a narrow SIde street or disobeyin~ a policeman at a cross-roads. The
one thlJ1g, however , that strikes terror into
the heart of a taxidriver is a tram and no
one fills him with such contem~)t as a
~rf!.m driver.
This wretched robot, as he
]ang.les dO\~n the street in his absurd, oldfashlOned t1l1 can, can only stop and start
he. can never swerve, or take short cuts,
skId round corners. But, unfortullately, it

0;

is just this ~i~ited power that gives him


also a very l1mlt:d sense of responsibility
and he ploughs IllS way irresistibly througl~
masses of men and machinery \vith the
!lOnchalance of a .k night in armo~r conductlI1g a massacre In a Turkish bath while
cars h~l rl tl.lemselves against his' plated
flanks 111 vam.
W.h e.n the ~nd comes, nine times out of
ten It IS merclfu~ly sudden, and it is more
o~ten th.e co roner s verdict than the eloctor's
cltagn ?slS . that .marks his exit, for though
a taxI. dnv~r IS .born, not made , one can
never Jnl ~l g ll1e hllll dying in his bed like
some o rdl~ary mortal. Having lived like
a. comet,. It would. not seem dignified for
~l1m to fhck~r out ltke a night light. There
IS no moalllng when he crosses the bar'
only the shatterin g of glass, the crunching
of wood, perhaps a brigh t flame and then
the patt.er of descending debri~-and an
awful ~llence. We might well inscribe
upon hIs tomb stone .Here lies
all that could be collected of
MOHAMMUD EL SKA WCHIR .
Born, 10th Oct, I902 .
Fell asleep on a corner TSt April, I93 0 .
He (hed, as he lived-in a hurry.
Not lost-but gone before.
CAL\' ERT E. WILl,lAMS .

THE

ROY AL ARMY

N.I.D .
A depression over Ireland
J s filling up they say,
.
It may be Hne, .it may be fall',
But it wd] ram to-day.
Every evening at. nine hours
We hear tbe wireless news,
Some sbowers or un settled,
Always the same old clues. .
We heed them not, we know qUIte well
We'll even take a bet.
.
That, even though it does say fall',
It's bo und to turn out wet.
We're stranded on old Ireland's shore
Across the Irish Sea,
You do not often bear from us,
We're known as .LD.
We are loth to make confessiol.IS
In the midst of deep depresSIOns;
But in spite of T.T. races,
We mllst tighten "up our bl;~ces,
Must not back the a lso ran,
But make money wh ile we can.
We will sell you sweepstake tickets
In the face of Postal Pi(;k~ts ,.
For the sake of small comm.ls.slOn
We defy the power's decl~,lOn.
..
We will quote you terms for wm ners
Like a lot of hardened smners.
We must make a little profit
.
So to take some leave and " HOH It ..
From un settled Erin's Isle
To tbe other side a while.
But to turn from things romantic,.
Though we wou ld not be pedantiC,
We will meet yo u at Corps DI?,ners "
. Scoring "bu ll "instead of mners,
Raise our glasses to Y?llr health
Having raised suffiCient wealth.
It may even be suggest~d
.
To those who stand wit h power mvesled
That we cease all this pretence
And simply cbarge the Charge Sl~spense ,
They have said "Prod,uce crede'?tlal,s;.,
We rlon't lik e your ConfidentJals .
Thus it is my heart it grieves,
Ever wr~pped up in " Loose leaves,"
Should yo u ever stroll thiS way
Drop right in and earn yo ur pay.
H.P.P.
PROMOTIONS AND APPOINTMENTS .
To be Warrant Officer Class II and appointed
S.Q.M.S.
31
7733419 Staff Sgt. G. L. Rogers, 1.4.
7733471 Staff Sgt. W. Ward, 1.4.31
7733197 Staff Sgt. J. Merrifield, 1.4.31
To be Staff Sergeant.
7733154 Sgt. R. E. Roberts, 25.2.31
7658096 Sgt. J. T. Madley, 28.3.31
7733604 Sgt. H. Hoptrollgh, 30.3.31
7733558 Sgt. W. K. Cole, 27.4.31
7733208 Sgt. J. Bisset, 27.4.31
77?J3255 Sgt. W. H. Brown, 27.4.31
To be Sergeant .
1029879 L ce.-Sgt. T. P. Phelan, 2.11 .30
77343'2:7 Lce.-Sgt. E . T . Tay lor, 4.5.31

PAY CORPS

JOURNAL

LETTERS TO THE EDITO.R.


Just a fter the South African War some N.C.O.'s
of the Army Pay Corps were lost for some day.s "on
Table Mountain, and went through an unenvll101e
experience.
d h d
t
Whilst in Capetow n in 1916 I foun tea ven Ul e
still talked abo ut, and I believe the puttees a~d
to rn khaki shirts with which they ':I~Lde ropes -m
their endeavour to escape from a p~mlous l e.dge ~n
t he mountain in t he mist, are stili ex hibited ' In
Capetown Museum.
.
As one or two of those who either w~re lost~ or
formed part of the rescue party, are still servmg,
't ntight be of interest if the storl was retold by
~ne of them through the medium 0 the J OURNA L.
SHREWSBURY,
D. McFARLANE.
..
18/5/31.
Staff Sergeant MaJor.
I feel s ure that I am voicing the opinion of all
the other Old-Timers when I say what a godsend
yo ur JOURNAL will be for us.
It will form a grand .link. between OUI' present
monotonously slow old t ime m retirement, and the
good old days whe n we worked al,l d forgathered
with the very best of comrades.
Every good luck to the venture, . and our dee~
gl'atitud e to you , Sir, for undel't..'LkUlg the labolll
of Editorial duties.
PAT KEEGAN,
Palatine Walk,
Little PollertoD,
(late 459 /A.P.C.)
CARLOW. LF.S .
10 /4/31.
ARMY FOOTBALL CUP.
At a meeting of the Woo.lwich Detacl,tment Sp~rts
Club the question of entenng a t~am m the AIIny
Football Association Cup was raised. It was felt
that the Detachment team, tho ugh not strong
enough in itself, might form the nucleus of a team
representative of the Corps as a whole. It was
according ly decided t o circul arise a ll other offi.ces
for their views as to (a ) the desirab ility of. e!1termg
a Royal Army Pay Corps team , (b) the wlllm.gness
of all ranks to subscribe 1/- annually to assist 111
the' .ayment o[ expenses, estimated at 50, for
trave~ing pmctlce games, etc. , of th.e personnel
fO~'ming the team. At the time of gomg. to p~'ess
replies have been received from Chester, Le~tb, LIChfie ld, Hilsea, Hounslow, Deptfor~l, WlD?hester~
Shrewsbury, York and Exeter, all bemg un arnmously
favourab le to both the suggestIOn and the subscrtp
Lion. It is hoped, in the eve l~t of the o~ber offices
also agreeing, to enter a team In the co mmg season.
To be Lce.Sgt.
1865609 Cpl.
4385265 Cpl.
To be Corporal.
5247551 Pte.
401763 Pte.

7657705
7657231
52508
7657617
1864032
1411877
1030'2:73

80

C. Barling, 17.5.31
R. A. Meadows, 18.5.31
W . H. Alien, 3.5.31
T. Thomas, 23.5.31

MARRIAGES.
S.Q .M.S. E. B. Spiel'S, 15.10.30
S.S.M. A. F. AlIi x, 2.4.31
L ce.-Sgt. A. T. Gear, 4.4.31
Stn.ff Sgt. E. C. Boswell , 25.4.31
Cp'1. W . C. Pullin 25.4.31
Sg't. C. Morris, 2.5 .31
Sgt. C. G. W . Smith, 11.5.31

THE

ROYAL

ARM\:

PAY CORPS

] OCRKAL

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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The New
Colonial Stores
142 A BBASSIA STREET
Phone: 12-64 Zeitol.' " CA IRO

m
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Proprietor : AL Y OSMAN
~
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~ .f/rmy Contracior & General Merchant ~

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Caterer for Officers and Sgts messes

:Barrage outing & Fami/J) Parties


Catered for.

Catering to suit all

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The Firm with the Quality


Reputation.
Always
at your Service.

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WM. McEwAN ~CO..LTD.


FOUNTAIN BREWERY

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EDINBURGH

TRY US. ~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

SMALL NOTICES.
Small Notices will be inserted in th is Column at a charge
and number to count as one word . Notices, together with
Editor not later than the 25 th of t he month prior to t he
Letters may be given a box number, and addressed c/o
for which a charge of 6d. extra will be made.

of ld. per word, minimum 1/. , each in itial


Postal Order to cover cost, to reach the
month of publication.
R.A.P .C. Journal , 80 , Pall Mall, S.W.1. ,

EXPERIENCED COACH. School Cert ., all Arm y Exams. Six Board el's onl. Gen erous dieL; omfort.
Genuill e individua l attention . My las t S.R. pup il for Dec . 1930. exam ., cam e kn owin g litt.l e : aft er six weeks of
lIl.v pecia
Sea,
Ha nt l . meth od s, passed into R egu lars -Maj or Shall'. M. C .. R. JL (Chnl'terh ouse, Woolwich ), Milford -onJournal Committee: Lt.-Col. H. G. Ri ley (Chairman). Lt.-Col.
G . H.. Ch arltoll . M.C.,
Lt.-Col. A. B . Cli ff , :Maj or C. Holmes, M.C., Capt. B. SanL, Capt. C.
J. H. Tregloll'n, M.C. ,
n.pt . A. E. Barlow, a nd Capt. A. L. Dunni ll.
Joint Editors: Lt.-Col. A. B. Cliff a.nd Capl. .1\. L. Dunn ill.
Al l commun ications to be addressed to:THE EDITORS,
THE ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL,
(Teleph one Whitehall 9360.)
80, PALL MALL, LONDON, S.W.I.
Local Representatives have bee n aHPointed in each Command and Regim ental Pay Office, to whom all
Corps Ne ws and Notes sho uld be sent for tran s mi. sion to the Editors. OLher :Jrticle inLended for puh li cation
may be sent ith er to th e Loca.l RepresenLative Or direct lo the Editors . All co mmun ications shou ld bear
the Rank and Nam e of the sende l'; th ese may, if c1esil'ed, be mal'k ed " No t for puhl icat ion , " ill whi ch case
a 1/ 01'11 de plllm e should be given.
TliE ROY .\ L ARMY PAY CORPS JOUR '.\L is publish ed quarterly, viz. , SP1'illg (in Ma rch). SllI ll?II e r (in
June), IIIIIII/ lt n (in September) and Christmas (in December). Thp- price of the Journal if ord ered
through the Lo cal R epresenta(.ive is I /- a copy; if ent by post, single copy 112; per all num (fOlll' issues) 4/ 6,
payulile in adva nce.
Readers ,ne advised to keep' their cop i s for bind ing. Specia l a rrangements wil l he made for the binding
of ea ch vo lu me as comp let ed. Parti cubrs will be anr:ounced in n fut ure number.

T HE

R OYAL

A R \\IY

PAY

CORPS

- / SOME NOTES AND A

l QU R NAL

SLOGAN

.A .A .F.r. is a Ser vice orga ni za tio n regis tered un de r th e Companies Act as


not tradin g fo r p rofit ; it has no sha reholde rs receivin g di vid end s, b ut

devo tes all su rpluses de ri ved from its tradin g to the ben efit o f the
Services. It is strictl y limited to dealing ",ith th e serv ing elem ent of H .M.'s
. Fi g htin g F orces , th eir wives and families, and T erritori als \\"hile embod ied for
trainin g .
RISI NG out of efficient and ex pert trading is an a nnual surp lus whi ch , af ter
l11 a kin g suitable provisio n for t hose ca pita l a nd oth er reser ves usual in all
sound busin e-;s , is d evoted solely to th e I en efit of th e Ser vices-the three
partners in their own b usin ess wh o alone sha re in its prosperity .

LTH OUGH it is cl ear th a t th e Corpora ti o n ca n payout no m ore th a n it


can ea rn , it can ea rn more an d more fo r th e Services \Iith th e full est
co-operati'o n an d support of every entitled cust omer. Th e S ur plus ea rn ed
is di stributed in th e form of reba t es a nd discounts a nd in such o th er lI'avs as
ma y from time to tim e be app roved by th e Coun cil a nd th e Service Committees.
Th e amount availabl e for di stribution depend s o n th e trading result of th e
previous year. M'o re trade mea ns more surplus , a nd m ore sur plus mea ns a la rger
d is tribu tio n .
O R the last six yea rs th e actual cash va lue of reba t es a nd di sco unts a lone
has co nsiderably exceeded 400,000 per a nnum . T hi s is th e eq ui va lent
of over 45 per cent. on th e capital em ployed an d Serv ice personn el may be
regard ed as a body of shareholders participa tin g in thi s very ha ndsome di vide n d
by virtue of th eir sha re in th e Cor pora ti on 's busin ess as its customers.

A
F

T is obvious th a t yo ur custo m helps to fi nan ce yo ur O\\'n busin ess, w hi ch in


turn h elps to fin a nce ervice sport a nd recrea t ion an d to provid e man v
a menities of S ervice life \\"hi ch \I'o ul d oth erwise be un obtainable with out
considerable djrect ex penditure.

'Navy,~rnlg &Ai rForeelnstitutes


speciali zes in quality, g uara ntees ",h at it suppli es , a nd adop ts a gen uin e ly co mpetiti ve sellin g po li cy aimin g a t cllttin g neith er q ua lity nor pri ce. Th e Cor porati on' s ideal is to come to be rega rded as th e efficient all -round "Ser vant of
th ose wh o Serve ," a nd it clsks its customers , in th e best interests of th e Services,
to adop t the sloga n-

.. GET IT AT 'NAFFY'"
,',

P "inted uy the V iclo ri a Press (SL. A II"U1 ), Ltcl .. for bhe Rpya,l A rmy Pay Coq )s .
p ubli shed aL 80, P all Ma ll , S :W. l.

nl~d

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