a blog by Craig Douglas
We were each assigned Regiments to join. Having come from County Durham, I was posted to 4th Field Regiment Royal Artillery, purely on geographical convenience rather than any desperate need for manpower. At the...
There were a few places they dumped us on exercise, but the first one—a so-called warmer in the bank set the standard. We piled into a coach heading for Pippingford Park, crammed tightly like...
Drill is a pill, and it’s to be taken every day. Today, the bombardiers ensured that there was ample space in the guardroom for new visitors that morning. The new visitors were to be...
I think it was week 5, and we were meant to have a little ‘break’. We were off to Tenby. Bdr JC’s own Battery was based near Tenby. I think that was the main...
Something began to pulse in my forehead; blood forced itself down my temple. I could hear the thump of my heart. A numbness travelled to my arms, and into the hands that clamped the...
At the time many of us didn’t understand the reasons why things happened in Basic Training. Especially with regards to being ‘fucked about’. Our seventeen year old mind’s hadn’t matured enough, or experienced enough...
Outside the Gym, March, 1990 We were all stood there in our neatly pressed black shorts and red issued vests. A bloke with a huge scar down one cheek made one lad...
“Working for God is never easy,” the Padre said between puffs of his wretched cigarette. “In fact, it’s fucking frustrating.” Why, oh, why had he found himself in this place, on Christmas Day, with...
The old man turned over the soil in his garden, the lines in his face more defined as he worked. His spade, with each thrust into the earth, brought back unwelcome thoughts. Images from...
“Nah mate. Here. Divven’t grab that one, it’s too heavy.” I leap over the fence like Chuck Norris in one of them karate movies. You know, the one when he’s in his military uniform....
Apart from Sutton Coldfield I hadn’t been far on any trains before. Going to London, I knew this was going to be a challenge due to the tube stations. I’d received my rail warrants...
