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Reminiscences Of Mick Williams |  |
| From The Military Police To Mounted Duty | ||
| A great deal of time has passed since 1962/63 for me to put to print my thoughts about my time in A.A.J.L.R. at Tonfanau for Pull Up A Sandbag. My stay there was of an eighteen month duration and ended not quite as it was mapped out to be. | ||
| Much to the surprise of my family and friends, I announced in the early part of 1962 that I was going to join the Army as a Junior Leader, what was more striking to them was that I wanted to become a Military Policeman. It was thus I boarded The Cambrian Coast Express from Birmingham on a day in July 1962 bound for West Wales and The All Arms Junior Leaders Regiment. I remember getting off the train at Tonfanau with a few other apprehensive souls. We walked across the road through the main gate and to the Guard Room where we were met by two Rifle Brigade Regimental Policeman. | ||
| We then made our way up main road to the barrack blocks which made up 'R' Company at the top of the camp. We were introduced to those who were going to attempt to turn this small band of young hopefuls into soldiers. The Recruits Company Commander was Major Taylor Royal Highland Fusiliers along with the 2IC Captain Fisher Royal Signals, Sergeants Tull and Ainsworth from the Royal Artillery and the 15/19th Kings Royal Hussars respectively were our instructors. I quickly got to know the other recruits in the squad; Eddie Jonas, Taff Thomas, Joe Sweeney, Tom Fielding, Mick Fenton, Alan Nalsen, Clem Pook, Sid Smith, Paddy Hull and the others that formed our Platoon in ‘R’ Company. | ||
| The weeks went by. There was Drill, PT, Weapon Training, Kit cleaning and more Drill, in addition we learned things that the majority of us didn’t know anything about, how to iron a shirt, make a bed pack, clean and fire an S.L.R., and go to church on Sundays, also a lot about ourselves. The time progressed and the Passing Out Parade came for us recruits. I moved to Alamein Platoon 'C' company which was under the command of Lt Pearce of The Queens Own Buffs and Sergeant Grinnell from the Royal Signals. The Junior Sergeant was Lyn Holmes from the 1st Royal Dragoons with Corporals Wally Farrow, Harry Thorne and Roy Large. I, with much help from other members of the platoon, began to embrace the routine of being a Junior Leader. My stay in Alamein Platoon came to a halt after I was promoted. I moved to Rhine Platoon with Lt Earnshaw, Intelligence Corps, and Sergeant Benn form the Royal Army Service Corps as it was called then. The names in the platoon who again stick out Jim Smith, Ray Egdell, Ed Powney, Fred Fitches, Norman Simmons, Dave Curtiss, Oliphant, Wheatley, Hinchcliffe and of course there were others. | ||
| I played Regimental Rugby and we had very capable team of players spread over the whole four company’s. We were trained and led mainly by Lieutenants Peter Ross, 5th Inniskillings and Bob Dawson R.A.E.C. We competed well against the local grammar schools and other visiting Junior Leaders Regiments. We were narrowly defeated at Tonfanau by Junior Leaders Royal Artillery from Nuneaton, believed then to be the best junior team in the Army. We in 'C' Company won the Regimental competition in 1963. The company players who were also in the Regimental fifteen included Taff Thomas, Ian Cameron, Ian Chapman, Terry Scriven, Colin Newman and Pat Comerford. Some of us from the Regimental Junior team played for the permanent staff team which of course had its advantages namely a club house with a bar. There were many ‘blind eyes’ turned to us being there after the home matches. We had a run in the Army Cup but lost to one of the best teams in the Army at the time, The Duke of Wellington’s Regiment, in a cup knockout match at Oswestry. | ||
| I attended the Army Outward Bound School down the road in Towyn. Where I came away with a ‘B’ from my instructor however on the back of the report the Principal Brigadier Howard’s comment was that he thought I was ‘lucky’ to get it. He was probably right looking back. | ||
| My service at Tonfanau came to an unexpected stop at the end of 1963 by then I was a Junior Sergeant. I was about to graduate to The Military Police in December. I was made to go for an eye test in Dolgellau. I failed on the grounds that my eyesight was not up to standard for the Military Police. I was given the option of changing Corp’s or being discharged so I opted, out of pure frustration, for the latter. | ||
| I went back to Birmingham and worked in an office and in a factory for just over a year. I then re-enlisted and joined The Life Guards where after undergoing basic training again, this time at Combermere Barracks, Windsor I moved up to Hyde Park Barracks in London for four months riding school. Although I had never ridden a horse, the Household Cavalry had their own way of making you learn. The whole of my ten year’s service was with the Mounted Regiment in London except for some short periods attached to the R.A.V.C. at Melton Mowbray. I reached the rank of Corporal of Horse running a troop of thirty horses, dutymen and recruits. I thoroughly enjoyed it, finishing my engagement in 1974. So it all came right in the end. This then set me up for my career as a Director of a saddlery manufacturing company back in the Midlands where I remained for thirty five years until my retirement in 2009. | ||
| I cannot say that my time at Tonfanau was a ‘runaway success’, nevertheless I enjoyed my time there and it more or less prepared me for what was to come during my service with the Household Cavalry. I met many people at Tonfanau, there are lots of names here which as you can see, I can still remember after six decades. There are also many other names and recollections I have of that year and half in the early sixties. | ||
| Mick Williams | ||
November 2022 |
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