SUBJECTS

Army apprentice training
Christmas 1928
Halifax noon day gun
Indentured apprentices
Lt. Col. Pasley's complaint
Military education
Royal Hibernian Military School
Royal Military Asylum, Chelsea
Royal Military Asylum, Southampton
Sickness and health
To be shot for not singing in church

Art, Thanks for your reply re. 'Struck Off' (the admissions register entry for 'unfit' – ed.). On another matter can you tell me at what age the boys entered the Army, I find it hard to believe that they could go straight from school age 14. Also the transcript sent to me by Peter shows my grand uncle trained as a carpenter. Does that mean he was trained in carpentry or that he was trained to be a qualified carpenter? Back in those days an apprenticeship for a trade was at least 7 years. I wonder did the army have its own version of a trade certificate to enable future sappers etc to engage in army construction work. I would welcome your comments

Tom Burnard

3 December 2005

Tom, Peter dwelt as some length on the trades taught the boys at the RMA. Yes, they did enlist in the Army at age 14, some younger. See the Sons of the Brave book for discussion on the use of boy soldiers. Boys trained in various trades, carpenter, tailor, leather boot working, musicians etc. were not considered to have served an 'indentured apprenticeship' although in the early days of the RMA they were regularly given indentured apprenticeships for the statutuary 7 years upon leaving the RMA. The same for girls while they were accepted for admission from 1803 to 1840.

The army had its own apprentice training scheme, the Gunners and Sappers from before the turn of the 18th Century. The main apprentice training depot for Sappers was at Chatham, the Gunners at Woolwich. In 1926 the army opened apprentice training schools at Chepstow in Wales and Arborfield, Berks. By the outbreak of World War II, the Chepstow and Arborfield schools were going concerns. They each turned out about 200 tradesmen a year. These included fitters, machinists, mechanics, electricians, armourers, gun fitters. Later, other centres were opened for the Royal Signals, Catering Corps and junior soldiers in various places. I'm skipping the waters here like a stone, so don't expect a dissertation.

Art

Art, I don't know if it is the same at Christmas (these days) as it was when I was at the school in 1928. At that time, one of the requirements for being accepted was that your father had been killed in action. It was so soon after the war and so many thousands of men were killed. Anyway, all of my friends fathers were. I guess most of them had mothers. I didn't. We used to have two weeks (holidays) at Christmas and a month off in the summer. There were 63 boys in each company and 63 days before we were to start the holiday. The count would start about one month before we were to leave so we would watch the bulletin board as a paper would be put on it. The reason? If your parent didn't sent the fare money you didn't go home. Whenever your fare came you name would be listed. There were always some who had to stay and one year I was one of them. My aunt just couldn't find the money for a round trip fare that Christmas. I guess there were about 30 of us that year, but we had a good time.

Dan (Ed. Note: See Voices from the past)

18 December 2005

Dan, Then what sort of a Christmas did you get? What was the entertainment and what about the Christmas meal? I remember arriving at the School a cold Wednesday, 4 January 1939. The premises were deserted; not do I remember seeing any boys who'd been kept behind over the Christmas period. By that year, I guess, all boys went home or as likely to the homes of their friends.

Art

19 December 2005

Art, As to Christmas at the DYRMS, I am sorry but I have only one thing to remember, but I suppose we played a lot of football. One thing I clearly remember. On Christmas eve, the staff had a party in the dining hall. The men were in dress uniforms, all beribboned and the ladies in their gowns and they had an orchestra and seemed to have a wonderful time dancing. We had been invited and we were served all kinds of good and soda by the ladies; all we could eat and carry away and of course we had never seen anything like it and I shall never forget it. I guess I'm the only survivor of that night.

Dan

Hello, Edward McCarthy and David Liddle, run web sites at www.timegun.org/ and www.timegun.org/two_eddies.html.  We intend contacting all World Time Gun sites and hope to make a friendly link. If you have time to have a look you will see we are mentioning as many Time Guns as we can find. We are forming a strong link with Malta. I had the honour of firing their Time Gun at the beginning of this year. Look forward to a reply.

Eddie Anderson.

Peter, On page 3 of your magnus opus Art sent to me you refer to a letter from Cressbrook Mill to Capt. Lugard, referring to girls breaking their indentures. Was this the letter you had told Chris Gilbert about from the McConnels? If so did you copy it? If you agree, I would like to post it on my website. Chris and his fellow editors have now completed the history that started all this and your copy, with of course our heart felt thanks, should be on the way to you within the next few days. I do not know if Art is back in Canada yet, if not, his will be waiting there for him too.

Jean (Stone)

5 December 2005

Jean, I completed the last page of the Southampton Letter Book WO143-62 1832 to 1838. I have extracted all letters that refer to Newton and McConnel. I am sure that the 1838 letter you mention is set under that date. The date before the Dear Sir etc, is the date of the letter. The person below, the addresee. The page No. within the ledger is shown at the base of the letter under Geo Evatt or if on two pages, within the text.

Peter

Mr Cockerill, Thank you for the copy of 'Lieutenant-Colonel Pasley's Complaint'.  I am sorry for the delay in my reply to your last email. I have checked our records again,and although I have found a little more information, we do not have a record of exactly when and where Sapper apprentice training started.  The earliest reference that I can find in 'Notes On The History Of The S.M.E. and R.E. Depot Chatham' states that, "It was Captain Pasley who, while commanding the Plymouth Company of the R.M. Artificers, first started in 1811 to put into practice his ideas for the systematic training of his officers and men. His were the proposals for the courses of training which were accepted as a basis for starting the R.E. Establishment, and it was he who was appointed the first Director at Chatham with the rank of Major. Pasley's first order to start the new Establishment was issued on 28th October, 1812. In this he stated that the object was to provide instruction for the Corps of R.M. Artificers or Sappers and Miners and for the junior officers of the Corps of Royal Engineers in Military Field Works."

A hand written note underneath this paragraph states, "Actually, by the 12th  May 1812, Pasley was already in the RA Mess at Chatham, and he was practicing men of the Royal Military Artificers in siege operations on Tower Hill".

Charlotte Hughes
Assistant Library Curator

13 December 2005

Ms Hughes, Thank you for acknowledging receipt of Lt. Col. Pasley's letter to the Horse Guards. Do I understand correctly that the Captain Pasley of whom you write is the same Pasley who wrote the letter of complaint? Very interesting. Your information is helpful. It occurs to me that it might be of interest to the library to have a copy of The Charity of Mars book in which the subject of Pasley's letter is fully investigated and answered. On a related subject, if you check in at URL www.rma-searcher.co.uk , a record of the admissions registers, statistical data of the military schools, you will find a listing of all the boys from the Royal Military Asylum, Chelsea, who enlisted in the Royal Engineers (or the Sappers and Miners, of course). These records go back to 1803. The data is also available on disc, which might be of use for answering genealogical inquiries.

Art C

I am writing a book about my family's tradition of serving with the Corps of Royal Engineers 1856-1912. However one of the family, Richard Henry Burnard served as an Army school master, with the rank of Lieutenant, Army Educational Corps. Richard served with various regiments, stationed mainly in India prior to and during World War One. He was also stationed in Dublin in 1922. About this time Ireland declared its independence and a short civil war broke out resulting in the setting up of the Irish Free State, later to become the Republic of Ireland. The Regiment moved up to Belfast in Northern Ireland and soon after Richard was given early retirement from the Army. Can you direct me to any good source of information dealing with the history of the Corps of Army Schoolmasters before it became the Army Education Corps in 1920? I intend searching for his discharge papers from the National Archives when I am next in England. Hope you can help me

Tom Burnard

1 December 2005

Tom, I'm fwdg a copy of your e-mail to my colleague, Peter Goble, who's got a good record of those schoolmasters who passed through the RMA, Chelsea. He might be able to trace Richard Burnard, but I wouldm't have too much hope of his doing so because he was, as you say, a commissioned rank. Those who went through the RMA had schoolmaster sergeant rank, so Burnard might have come after the ecole normal moved from Chelsea to some other location. I should think a good place to start doing research on the Corps would be the articles we've posted on our website at www.achart.ca  See also the book by A. C. T. White on the History of Army Education. You ought to be able to get a copy from any well-stocked library. Another, more recent, book on the subject is Leslie Wayper's Mars and Minerva. Both of these books rely on secondary sources, which is not reliable, especially with regard to the beginning of army education. You're more likely to get a better understanding from The Charity of Mars book, which relies on original source information.

Art

1 December 2005

Tom, Both problems solved: one via Art Cockerill and one that came to me. R. H. Burnard must have been commissioned towards the end of, or after, WW1. Reference      Name; Title; Rank; Regiment; Regiment No; Husband's Regt & Employ; Born; Age; Residence; Religion. See PRO WO 372/5 document: BURNARD R H  WO1  CASM PRO W0 372/5 is the Medal reference for RH Burnard, for issues 1914 to 1922. At that time he was a Warrant Officer 1.

My web entry for him is from the Index, a copy of the main Chronological ledger now lost. Ledger entry from WO143/79 Boys admission Chronological - 1877 to 1907 Index page B2 entry No. 35. He was in No. 2 Company, Born 17 Oct 1872, admitted 10th Aug 1881, aged 8 years & 9 months. You can compare his admission height at 4 ft 1 inch; weight 4 stones and chest measurement at 24 inches with his great-great-grandchildren. He was a Presbyterian, his Father's Regt. possibly the First of foot. In the first class (for entry), trained as a Carpenter and withdrawn 9 October 1886. This this was within 8 days of his 14th Birthday. It is assumed that his was a normal discharge and that he returned to his parent or parents. This ledger is at the bottom of my transcription list and may be available in 2007. Please let us know of any further information or images that you have. We're always after information on earlier entrants. We have little information on the ASMC and we're researching what data we know or discover to be available. Peter

Sir, I am trying to trace the father of Thomas Miller who attended RHMS from 4/10/1855 to 21/1/1859. Your website said that both were in the 95th (Derbyshire) Regiment and have also contacted their present day counterparts. I would be very grateful if you could furnish me with whatever information that you have.

Nick Gardiner

2 December 2005 

Nick, I can't help with details of his father, but his details are attached. The measurements had to be changed from inches & fractions to metric, and I failed to alter the headings. When it is sorted I will send a corrected form. I have tried to explain my logic in the design. The date of admission, 10/4/1855 coupled with the Class 3, clearly indicate that the father was alive at the time of his admission, but his mother was deceased. You can now search the Muster Rolls for the 95th Regt either side of his admission date. He was a Protestant. During his time at the RHMS received training and experience in  tailoring.

Peter

11 December 2005

Peter, That is fantastic - thank you. The only comment I would have regardng the design of your forms would be that the key doesn't always follow the order the boxes follow. I don't know whether you would like the data, but in the 1871 and 1881 censuses Thomas gives his birthplace as Ceylon (Sri Lanka). This would have coincided with the regiment's posting there at the time.

Nick 

5 December 2005

Sir, Some eighteen months ago I was made aware of a great-uncle of mine, William Corcoran, who was killed in 1914. He attended the Royal Hibernian Military School, Phoenix Park. He went to France in August 1914 and was killed somewhere near Bethune in October 1914. I have been trying since to get more information about him and have had some success recently. However I must admit to being a complete novice about this type of research, including many of the military terms I am coming across, but I have managed to establish that William enlisted in The Duke of Cambridge’s Own (Middlesex Regiment) in 1909 and have traced his military record . However I have a gap in the history from the time he entered the RHMS and before, and had hoped I might get some information from the archives.

On reading some of the information in your site I gather that most of the archives were destroyed in WWII which is most distressing as I had hoped to find out the circumstances if his entry in to the school. As far as I am aware his family had no military connections so I cannot see how he entered the school, but his brother James did not. Unfortunately any family member who may have been able to help fill in the blanks is long dead and those that are alive have little or no memory of William.

This is not unusual for the times, which was around the time of the Rising here and men who fought in WWI were seen as traitors by many of their countrymen, and were not spoken about by family, a sad state of affairs which remains to this day, but at last there is a move in recent years to give these men the recognition they deserved for their sacrifice for our freedom today.

Can I ask have you written a book on the school, and can I purchase a copy, or is the site the total source of information? I am working my way through it at the moment but would like a reference book if possible. Where exactly are the remains of the school archives kept at present and can I get to view them? Any help you can give to point me in the right direction would be most warmly received, and if I come across anything which may enhance your excellent site I will gladly send it to you.

David Sheedy

9 December 2005

Hello David,

This delayed response stems from the fact that messages to our website box are collected weekly by the server and delivered to this e-mail address at the weekend. So much for the delay. I'm copying this response to my colleague Peter Goble, who has much of the extant data of the Royal Hibs in his files. He's working on them. The surviving records, originally in the possession of the Duke of York's Royal Military School, were delivered to the National Archives (formerly the Public Record Office), Kew, in early 2004.

Pte W. Corcoran is listed on the Honour Roll of the Royal Hibs. You can find it at URL http://www.achart.ca/hibernian/images/honour_roll.xls. His name is number 58 on the Roll, his RHMS regimental number 12852. He was killed in action 12 October 1914. Peter might have a record of his admission to the Royal Hibs and he will help if he can. The family of William Corcoran most definitely did have military connections. His father had to have served in the British Army for more than four years, and to have had a good military record. If the boy's admission record is available, it will give his age on admission, date of birth, religion, father's regiment, whether one or both parents were living at the time of admission and, perhaps, a little more data that doesn't come readily to mind.

You are more familiar with Irish history than I am, so I hope you'll not take my response to the fourth para. of your message as challenging. Having contributed considerable information to The Irish Sword and the Journal of the Genealogical Society of Ireland, I am not unfamiliar with Irish history. I do not believe that the attitude of the Irish public to those who served in WWI as you described it was widespread. In the opinion of many scholars, had the British not stupidly shot the ringleaders of the uprising it might have fizzled out as it had so often in the past. My membership in the Irish Military History Society has now lapsed, but in conversation with History Society colleagues with whom I toured U.S. Civil War battlefields in which Irish units fought on both sides of the conflict, this was the general opinion. It's a small point, but worth comment.

As to further information on the RHM School, I wrote on its history for the G. Soc. of Ireland, published a Irish Genealogical Sources No. 25 (2001), edited by G. H. O'Reilly. The Society may have copies for sale. Peter and I have contributed other articles of interest. You're in a better position to check what is available. I took my information from a hw history of the School sent to me by one of the co-authors for work I was doing on another book, Sons of the Brave (1984), Secker & Warburg. Copies of the GSI publications must be kept in the National Library. Aadditional information on the Hibs is to be found in The Charity of Mars available from Peter, although it deals mainly with the Royal Military Asylum, Chelsea.

Art

11 December 2005

Art, Thank you for this response, and it was not delayed. I only wrote to you this morning so your response was very timely. I note your response to the issue of the Irish War Dead, and I did not intend to imply that this was the view of all Irish men, but each year at Remembrance Sunday we still have the objections to Irish Government representations at memorial services, and objections to the wearing of the poppy, but thankfully it is lessening each year, particularly as the troubles in Northern Ireland appear to be at an end.

Scholars and those directly involved in the study of the era, as well as many who lost relatives, would not view the issue as widespread at this time, but during the Civil War, and for many years afterward, it was often better not to shout about service in the BA, and it was certainly not a good idea at the height of the Troubles for the last 30 years. However I accept that at last we may be growing up and I look forward to a national memorial and Remembrance Day ceremonies for the dead of the Great War and WWII.

Your comments on my Great-Grandfather are interesting, as I spoke to one of his granddaughters, my late father’s cousin, and she was quite adamant that he did not have any military connections, but as I stated I am not sure if she had the full picture, as by the time William enlisted in the Middlesex his father was already dead and that was long before she was born. It does however set me another puzzle and I look forward to solving it.

Thanks again, David Sheedy

11 December 2005

David, WO143/79 Boys Alphabetic Index Jan 1877 to Dec 1907 holds a little detail re William F Corcoran per:

Index pages C Line No 263: CORCORAN Wm F. Born 2nd December 1895. Admitted 22nd August 1906; He was a Roman Catholic, his father was serving with the 11th Hussars; He was entered into the 5th Class, earned 3 good conduct stripes and received instruction in tailoring; volunteering to the Middlesex Regt on the 2nd December 1909 (aged 14 years and 20 days), and 18 years and 10 months old when he died. There should have been additional data ref Height, Weight and Chest measurements in this ledger, all on this page have been omitted. I'm sure that this information will push you a little further back, via his father and the 11th Hussars Muster Rolls.

Peter Goble

11 December 2005

Peter, Thank you – this is tremendous. Where are these records kept? As I told Art I am a complete amateur at this type of thing, but am happy to travel to the UK to dig deeper. Am looking to see where to find the Muster Rolls of the 11th Hussars and have a couple of sites to visit, so thanks for the pointer. Hope to see the results of your current project,

David

11 December 2005

David, Whilst I continue to cross check. I am processing 3 ledgers into 1. I have begun to add the 79 ledger, and the C index to entry 135. I wrongly assumed that he would not be in the earlier index. On checking, I note that William Corcoran has already been  collected from the WO143 27 Boys hronological index 1840 - 1919. This confirms the detail sent, but also includes the Petition No; 4051, page No in lost ledger, 126  and the father is shown as Class 2. Deceased at the time of admission. Check the 1901 census at the National Archives, perhaps the mother has been included. One problem to consider, did she remarry? The ledgers are available at the National Archives Kew, photo copies are available but expensive, 5 in all @ £7.50 per sheet + postage, due to the fragility of the ledgers. No; I didn't pay that much, I took my camera and photographed each ledger

Peter    

11 December 2005

David, William's father was in the 11th Hussars, the Cherry Pickers. Your g-grandfather's granddaughter is going to be surprised when you give her this news. I take it that you'll know how to research the muster rolls of the 11th Hussars now you have the lead. If you're thinking of making the trip to London, I'd do a little digging first and check where the records of the 11th Hussars are kept. This info's available on the web. Please keep us informed of your own research into William's history and that of his parents. This is the only way we can resurrect and record the history of the Royal Hibs.

You might be interested to know (and here I'm quoting Peter's research), 40 per cent of the BA throughout the 19th Century were of Irish extraction. That is a huge number. That same 40 per cent, however, got far less than an equivalent percentage of places available to the children of Irish soldiers in the military schools (RHMS and the RMA). We're interested in the facts and how they might be interpreted – nationalism has no place not is it a factor in our conclusions. It is sad to reflect, even at this passage of time, that this young fellow enlisted at age 14 and was dead within five years.

Art

12 December 2005

Art, Eurodollars indeed! Now that’s enough to raise the blood of every right thinking European! Many thanks for these tips. I actually tried both and came up empty handed, but dug a bit deeper in the National Archives site and found possibilities. As I live in Dublin it will have to wait for the New Year as I will not be able to get to Kew until then. In the meantime I will wish you and yours a Happy Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous new year,

David

18 December 2005

Peter, Many thanks for your response. I tried the link suggested but am still getting reported errors. I visited your site and found no problems, which must be my computer. In case the problem continutes I'd appreciate your help:-

Info. known: GGGf was John Atkins (born Adkins) born c1828 Broadwell Warks. 1871 census shows him as Staff Sergeant, Pensioner in Militia Cottages Hounslow. 1881 census shows him as Chelsea Pensioner in Ordnance Road Hounslow. Nothing known about service record. I presume that he served in Mauritius between 1858 and 1861 as two children were born there. Two other children were born in C. of G. H. Kruger Town - 1865 and C. of G.H. Grahamstown 1867. Nothing known of mother - probably Ann (gleaned from your records). Last week I found (on your site) Francis C Atkins joined aged 10 on 25/6/1875 = 5th Reg. of Foot 2nd Batt. discharged 10/5/1878 and Edward Newcombe Atkins aged 11 admitted 30/3/1870 discharged 19/10/1872. Both are children of John Atkins/Adkins. This is where I was going to take it up to see if I could find anything further. If you can add to this I would be grateful.

Peter Castle

18 December 2005

Peter, I have the information in two files on the web: one for the RHMS with a link for queries re the RHMS, the other for the RMA with a link for RMA queries. Without any indication to which school I was to search, I rightly assumed that the RHMS lost, was the school, consequently I spent 20 minutes in a fruitless search. I have no other detail re. the probable three ATKINS brothers, but all is available at the http://www.rma-searcher.co.uk site for searching.

Peter (Goble)

Chris, Thanks for the assistance given Ted Beck (Ed. contributory photographer) and your offer of help our search for the RMA history. I work with Art Cockerill in Canada, who has been behind the mine of information we have collected, collated and posted on the web at URL www.rma-searcher.co.uk. This is a transcription of the admission ledgers from 1803-1880. At URL www.achart.ca is a written and illustrated history site. We separated the data from the written history in preference to operating a single and difficult to navigate site.

The images Ted took of the pavement blocks and the diet scales confirms that the same diet was in use at both Southampton (for infants & females) and Chelsea in 1815. I especially like the shots across the front. The children at play is yet another reminder of the use that space from its earliest days in 1803. I have one problem on which you might be able to cast light. It is this. There are three paintings by the Victorian artist Philip R. Morris called Sons of the Brave. The first is a 9 x 6 ft portrait belonging to the City of Leeds Art Gallery but on loan to the Duke of York's School. The second is a smaller landscape version of the same subject. This shows the RMA band marching out of the building's main entrance. This second image shows the band further advanced than on the portrait version. Also, there are some changes to the spectators; this version, too, hangs at the school at Dover. It is owned by the school. A third canvass, I understand, once hung at the Duke of York's Headquarters, Chelsea, but was moved to the TA at Fulham Road. Neither my letters nor telephone inquiries have been answered. I wonder if this canvass still hangs in the Chelsea building?

Peter

21 December 2005

The book arrived today and I am thrilled with it. Thank you for the prompt service. I thought it would come from Canada and would take weeks. Instead, I have received the book in less than 48 hours. I wanted to make a Christmas present of it to my partner who has an RMA ancestor (1828 - 38) - although he is not aware of it yet, the results of my research are also a Chrsitmas present! However I hope to read it through first! I must compliment you also on your web sites and such a wealth of information on the RMA. I have only just discovered the connection and was at Kew on Saturday checking the admissions and discharge registers. Then I found your web sites on Sunday! It is very exciting when one suddenly acquires an interest in a topic that one hasn't heard of before and there are wonderful specialist sites like yours on the web. I am itching to get back down to Kew again to trawl through the correspondence files.

Diane Rowland

20 December 2005

Peter, I followed up on your suggestion and wrote to the Duke of York's Military School. I received a reply today. They provided me with more information than I expected. In the petition given by my GGM, Elizabeth Johnston I found another daughter that we knew nothing about, with details of her baptism in Montreal, also Henry's baptism in Windsor. No details of the other brother William, but now I know about when he was born. There was even an copy of father James's and Elizabeth Brown's marriage certificate. I've been searching for that for about three years (Mainly because the family changed names from Johnston to Johnson and vice versa regularly). Thanks again for your advice and assistance.

Bob Roberts

28 December 2005

Sir, I would like a look up if possible for Henry Alfred Connor who was admitted to the RMA roundabout 1886. Any help would be much appreciated

J.Connor

28 December 2005

John, Thanks for the contact. You were close, it was 22 April 1886. WO143/80 Male admissions to the Royal Military Asylum. Held at the National Archives, London. Entry Number in Ledger: 9355; Age 10 years & 2 months; A Protestant; Father Thomas, a Sergeant in the 4th Dragoon Guards was alive at the time of admission; mother Sarah deceased; Volunteered to the Army 10.March 1888; This will cause a sigh of recognition from my colleague, Art Cockerill, whose connections are with the 48th Foot, the Steelbacks, better known today as the Northamptonshire Regiment. Thanks for your interest. We are searching for information re. the Victorian volunteers from the RMA, any help will be appreciated.

Peter

29 December 2005

Peter, That's great. Thanks for the dates and confirmation to fill another gap in our family history. My Grandad went on to serve in the Boer War and WW1 without a scratch. He died in 1954. He always played in bands so it would not surprise me that his first lessons in music were at the RMA.

John

Peter, Thank you for sending the postcards to celebrate the apprenticship of Mary Vaughan - and for the database, which arrived safely. I have forwarded your letter to the Special Collections library, which holds newspapers for the 1830s for Southampton (unfortunately, we don't have any until the 1860s). It sounds like an interesting story - I hope that they can find out more for you!

Joanne Smith, Senior Archivist

21 December 2005

Diane, I've checked and you have all the detail available so far with the exception of the address of the Baker's apprentice. Many of the girls spent part of their time at the school at Chelsea before the move to Southampton, which closed in 1840. The girls were transferred to Chelsea along with those infants that remained. I have transcribed the WO143/62  Southampton Commandant's letter book. Unfortunately the pages from July 1838 to after the death of the Commandant, Col Evatt were over written. There may be an entry for a female Hockland during 1840 when arranging the closure and transfer of the students.

Robin, A stranger butting in. Brian Marley who runs the dynamic upside-down Dukie OBA said that a message from any one of his group would be welcome. I met your brother Roger at a Dukie get together in Toronto, at Richard Gilbert's place, but that had to have been five or six years ago. Both Roger and Richard (Brian too) are more of your vintage than mine, which means you all know something of one another. Sorry to hear that you're feeling lousy and far from top form. I don't know what the problem is; I send you my best wishes and wish you well.

Art

4 December 2005

Arthur, Not really a stranger. Your writings are well known and my brother, Roger, talked of you to me after the meeting in Canada. It was more than kind of you to take the time to write, and I would thank Brian Marley for his caring nature. I will write to him separately, of course. The thing that laid me low was a savage and totally unexpected bout of pneumonia. One day playing four rounds of golf a week- the next day unable to walk or breathe. My consultant says lucky I was so healthy as it was a close run thing which could have ended so differently. I'm now faced with a long recuperation as there was, apparently, some damage to the lungs which need nursing back to health. However, I really must try to prove hime wrong and get fit enough by this Spring to get back on the golf course. I have had other messages from Dukies and I must say they are great for morale in times of crisis like this. So thank you, again, Art and, hopefully, we might meet at a future reunion.

Robin Harrington (K45-52)

Do you remember back in 1956 when we refused to sing in Church one Sunday morning as a protest against short haircuts. I was in A Company. After the service we were paraded by the company commander and lectured about mutiny. He told us that by acting collectively we were guilty of mutiny and could be shot. I was sixteen at the time and had been threatened with the death penalty for not singing in church. Can you imagine what the papers and TV would make of it today. I can see the headlines "Boy soldiers to be shot for not singing".

Alf (55A) (A former Arborfield apprentice tradesman)