1946 Spring

Foreword
Fifteen years ago the first number of the "Royal Army Pay Corps
Journal" was issued, and from I93I to I939 the Journal formed an in,
valuable link between the members of the Corps serving in all parts of the
world and between those still serving and those who had returned to civil
life . It did much to foster the " esprit de corps" which was strong in the
R.A.P.e. before the war and which was quickly absorbed by newcomers to
the Corps bet~een I939 and 1945.
During the war period the Corp s has gone from strength to strength,
and other arms of the service being brought into contact with its members,
particularly overseas, have come to appreciate its work and, be it added,
the people who did it.
Some account of the experiences of the Corps, both at home and in the
various theatres overseas during the past six years will be found .in the
following pages; from these it will be seen that the R.A.P.C. played its
full part in the war just ended.
It is a matter of pride that the prestige of the RA.P.e. never stood
so high as at present, and, in spite of the difficul.ties and changes inseparable
from such an upheaval as we have been through, the system and organisation
built up during the pre,war years have been amply justified.
And now the time has come when many of those who joined us during
the war years are returning to civil life. I hope they will take with them
happy recollections of their days in the Corps, and that by membership of the
Old Comrades' Association and by becoming subscribers to the Journal,
they will keep up their connection with the Corps in which they have served.
Those of us who remember the pre,war Journal will certainly welcome
its revival and wish those responsible for its production every success in their
enterprise.
H. Q. RILEY, .
Major,Qeneral,
Colonel Commandant, Royal Army Pay Corps.
February 12th, I946.
The Royal Army Pay Corps ,Journal

Vol. V.
No. 35
Spring, 1946
EDITORIAL NOTES
Time has been short for the preparation of

this issue and yet the response from offices at
home and abroad has been magnificent. Owing
to paper restrictions it has not been possible
to include all items submitted but it is hoped
that those whose efforts have been crowded
out will not be deterred from sending in further
contributions in the future.
Anny Pay Office,

Stockport Road,
Manchester 13.
March, 1946.
The Autumn issue of the Royal Army Pay
Corps Journal was about to go to press in
August, 1939 when world events caused the
Editors to stay their hand and finally, though
reluctantly, to decide that publication must
cease.
Almost seven years have elapsed since then.
In those seven years much has happened. The
Corps has been transformed from a small
peacetime organisation of a few. hundred officers
and men to a wartime machine of many thousands performing duties in places hitherto
unknown to the British soldier throughout the
world.
Our Frontispiece
H.R.H. PRINCESS ARTHUR
OF CONNAUGHT
It is with pleasure that in the first issue of
the resumed series of the Journal, we publish
a photograph of our Colonel-in-Chief, H.R.H.
Princess Arthur of Connaught, R.R.C., S.R.N.
Her Royal Highness was appointed Colonelin-Chief of the Royal Army Pay Corps on the
10th June, 1939, 111 succession to her late
husband, H.R.H. Prince Arthur of Connaught.
Elder daughter of the 1st Duke of Fife arid
the late Princess Royal, Alexandra Victoria
Alberta Edw~:la Louise was born on the 17th
May, 1891, and became the Duchess of Fife
on the death of her father in 1912. On the 15th
October, 1913, Her Royal Highness married
Prince Arthur of Connaught.
A great-grand-daughter of Queen Victoria
and first cousin of His Majesty King George VI,
Her Royal Highness has taken a keen interest
in the Nursing profession. Mter undergoing
her training at the St. Mary's Hospital,
Paddington, and Samaritan Hospital for
Women, Princess Arthur became a fully
qualified Nurse.
Now the war is over. We trust sincerely that

those engaged in planning the world of the
future may have their efforts crowned by a
lasting peace.
.*
Those of us who serve in the Corps are now

witnessing the change over from war to peace
once more. The word " Release" can only
mean for many a desire to get back to normal,
but for others it must mean sorrow at the
breaking up of associations and friendship
formed throughout these anxious years.
Let us hope the world in peace will be a
better place as a result of those friendships
formed in war.
Photograph by Alexander Corb ett, London, W.1.
H.R.H. PRINCESS ARTHUR OF CONNAUGHT, R.R.C., S.R.N.

Colonel-in-Chief, Royal Army Pay Corps.
DEATH OF LIEUT. J. E. SAYERS, R.E.

We regret to record the death in action of
Lieut. J. E. Sayers, R.E., only son of Colonel
R. H. Sayers, O.B.E., M.C., Royal Army Pay
Corps, and Mrs. Sayers.
The deceased officer, who was in his 21st
year, was engaged in a reconnaissance with the
5/8 Punjab Regt. at Buitenzorg, 30 miles South
of Batavia when he was sniped by an Indonesian
extremist, hit in the head twice and died almost
instantaneously.
On behalf of all members of the Corps we
offer to Colonel and Mrs. Sayers our sincere
sympathy in their tragic loss.
We offer no excuse for the appearance of

this our first post-war issue. We hope that our
many new readers will find items of interest
in its pages and that it will do a little to help
them keep in touch with their friends who are
still serving and with those who have left us.
For any shortcomings there may be we
crave their indulgence. As can be appreciated
the difficulties to be overcome at the present
time-paper control restrictions, increased
costs of production and distribution, coupled
.with uncertainty as to the number of copies to
be provided, make the preparation of the initial
issue more than usually hard.
101
THE ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL
~~
Fide et Fiducia"
A Short History of The Royal Army Pay Corps
By Captain R. MAURICE HILL
LTHOUGH the records of Paymasters
officers! The old blue and yellow col~ur
and Pay Clerks (or their ancient equivascheme is still preserved in the" blue patrol"
lent) can be traced back through the ages
uniform and in the coloured forage caps
to the days of the Legions of ancient Rome,
authorised for wear when off duty by members
the corps to which the financial affairs of the
of th~ corps.
British Army are entrusted is (as age is counted
The yellow facings gave rIse to the reglin the British Army) quite a young corps. In
mental nickname of "The Canaries," sometwo }C ea r8 'i~8 i, will be celebrating its
times applied to the corps. In one of the
seventieth birthday, having first become a
Guard-rooms at Gibraltar years ago the followseparate organisation in 1878. Until that year
ing inscription could be seen : every regiment had its own Paymaster, but in
" Which is the likeliest would you say?
1878 the Army Pay Department was formed,
Five bob a day for a soldier's pay,
to which all these officers were transferred. It
Or Guards and Canaries in Bombay? "
was not until 1893 that non-commissioned Neither Guardsmen nor members of the
officers and men employed on pay duties (and
RA.P.C. are normally called upon to serve in
hitherto borrowed from all regiments) were
India, though the R.A.P.C. had a strong
formed into the Army Pay Corps. This peculiar
detachment ou~ there at the end of World
arrangement, by which the officers belonged
War I, while during the second World War
to the Army Pay Department and the rank and
there have been big pay offices at Meerut and
file to the Army Pay Corps, lasted until the "
Allahabad, as well as smaller detachments of
end of the Great War of 1914-18, when, as a
the corps scattered all over the shiny East.
reward for its labours in dealing with the pay
When some unknown warrior wrote his little
and accounts of the greatest army Britain had
trio let on the walls 'of the Gibraltar Guardever possessed until that era, H.M. King George
room, the British soldier had to be content with
the Fifth conferred upon the corps the title of
his" Shilling a day, Blooming good pay,
Royal, and thenceforth all ranks were united
Lucky to to.uc~ i!, a shilling a day." The
as The Royal Army Pay Corps.
modern soldIer IS much more fortunate and if
Prior to 1878 a Paymaster wore the usual
that old time soldier poet is still alive, the
uniform of his regiment (i.e., the regiment to
present rates of pay and allowances must fill
which he belonged, having been commissioned
him with amazement and envy.
'directly into it); for example, the Paymaster
The badge of the RA.P.C. is the Royal
of the 33rd (The Duke of Wellington's)
Crest of England, a crowned lion standing upon
Regiment of Foot, would wear scarlet tunic with
a royal crown. This has been worn by the
scarlet facings, and blue trousers of the usual
officers ever since 1878. Until the title of
infantry of the line pattern. The Paymaster of
Royal was granted, Other Ranks wore as their
the 42nd Foot (The Black Watch) wore a
cap badge the script letters A PC, surscarlet doublet with blue facings, tartan trews
mounted by a crown. After their amalgamation
in lieu of the kilt. Paymasters of the Rifle
as The Royal Army Pay Corps, for a time all
regiments wore the famous "rifle green,"
ranks wore a new badge showing the script
those of Hussar regiments wore the gold
letters RA.P.C. with the lion and crown above.
braided Hussar tunic, and so on throughout the
Later the motto "FIDE ET FIDUCIA"
army, but with a cocked hat in place of the
(" BY FAITH AND CONFIDENCE") was
shako, helmet, bonnet or busby, and with a
granted and the present badges which incorblack waistbelt and pouch belt in lieu of the
porate the Royal Crest and the motto were
designed, about twenty years ago.
white belt and crimson sash of the combatant
officer. Mter all Paymasters were transferred
The Royal Crest of the lion and crown
to the Army Pay Department, their uniform
figures on some of our coins, but this has no
was changed to blue with yellow facings, the
connection with its adoption as a badge by the
officers' headgear in full dress being a cocked
RA.P.C. It is the emblem of the Staff of the
hat with hanging plumage of white and yellow
Army, and as such was worn by Departmental
swan's feathers; a type of head-dress which
Officers (Paymasters, Medical Officers, and
has on more than one occasion caused captains
Veterinary Officers) when they were first
of the Army Pay Department to be received
detached from line regiments in the eighteen
with the honours normally reserved for general
seventies, at which time it was customary to
102

island of ours, many members of the corps did
valuable work in rescue parties, fire-fighting,
etc.
Many members of the corps were constantly
employed afloat in ships frequently passing
through dangerous waters, and detachments of
the RA.P.e. served overseas in every theatre
of war. As long ago as 1906 it was ordered
that the Command Pay Office staff at Malta
should be allotted duties in assisting the
garrison gunners whenever the island's defences
were manned; and during the long siege
which the George Cross Island had to endure
in the recent war, the detachment of the corps
played its part worthily and suffered its share
of casualties. The voyage of the 75th Detachment RA.P.C. from Singapore to Java, and
thence to Australia, when they captured a ship
at the point of the bayonet and worked it
through thousands of miles of sea patrolled by
hostile ships, submarines and aeroplanes,
thereby saving enough money for the proverbial
King's Ransom from falling into the hands of
the enemy has been described as " perhaps the
most remarkable exploit of the corps in the
war," and all future RA.P.C. men will remember " with pride their predecessors who
fought off the J ap dive bombers with rifles.
Messages of appreciation of the work of the
corps, especially of the Field Cashiers and their
staffs who carried out their duties throughout
the North Mrican campaigns in spite of many
difficulties and dangers, were received from
the Commanders of both the First and Eighth
Armies. In the invasions of Norway (1940),
Italy (1942), and Normandy (D Day, 1944), the
RA.P. C. were among the early arrivals and
served throughout each campaign. The first
unit of the RA.P.C. to land in Normandy
earned high praise from the Division with
which they landed, for their ,discipline and
soldierly bearing. Immediately upon landing
they made a fifteen-mile march and occupied a
defensive position in support of troops of the
line.
In the earlier campaign in France in the
disastrous days of May and June, 1940,
members of the RA.P.C. had done good work,
though-being usually in small isolated detachments-their services mostly passed unrecognised and remained unknown to the world at
large. But one incident in which the corps
was concerned in those days of England's
greatest peril did manage to "get past the censor
and was reported in the press as follows : "The Royal Army Pay Corps suffered
heavy casualties when the liner Lancastria
was sunk during the French evacuation.
Some survivors were taken from the water
show them under the heading of "Staff

Officers" on all nominal rolls and returns.
H.R.H. Princess Arthur of Connaught is
Colonel-in-Chief of the Corps, in which
appointment she succeeded her late husband,
H.RH. Prince Arthur of Connaught.
In normal times there is no direct enlistment
into the RA.P.C., officers and men being
transferred from other units after serving a
probationary period of attachment to the
corps. Detachments of the corps serve in all
military stations at home and abroad, but in
peace time India is not normally a foreign
station of the corps since the Indian Government has its own separate pay and accountancy
arrangements. By the nature of their duties it
will be obvious that some Pay Corps personnel
must be engaged in every campaign in which
our armies are engaged, big or little.
Of the work of the Army Pay Department in
France and Flanders in World War I, the
official historian says that" it was mainly with
the Field Cashiers that the army, as a rule, had
to deal.
The British Expeditionary Force
took the field with a single Field Cashier in
each Division." He then goes on to describe
how these Field Cashiers had, as the war went
on, to payout money not only to our own, but,
in the later stages, to French and American
officers; altogether, before the Armistice,
nearly two hundred million pounds worth of
French francs had been issued by our Field
Cashiers with the B.E.F. alone.
Yet, as
Brigadier General Sir James E. Edmonds, RE.,
official historian of the campaigns in France
and Flanders, 1914-18, points out: "Although
they had the responsibilities of bank managers,
they had none of their safeguards. They often
held as much as 50,000 worth of French bank
no.tes, and few of them enjoyed the prestige of
a rank higher than subaltern. Treasure guards,
however, were rarely called for, and the losses
from all causes were insignificant. The last act
of a Field Cashier at night was to send off a
report. of his cash balance, so that there might
be eVidence of its amount, in case his billet
was bombed."
During the second World War the corps
f~und itself faced with tasks of greater magmtude and wider variety than ever before. On
the home front, in addition to carrying on the
work of the pay offices, RA.P.C. personnel
found t~emselves called upon to play their
part as .mfantrymen and even as pioneers in
tree-felhng, trench-digging, etc. , during the
days when invasion seemed imminent. At a
later stage the R.A.P.C. was called upon to
undertake the manning of anti-aircraft batteries
while during the prolonged air attacks on thi~
103

after three or four hours-still clutching
satchels containing twenty thousand pounds.
There were many gallant deeds done by the
, Inkslingers ' that day."
Another of the very rare occasions when the
work of this corps (which never goes out of its
way to seek publicity) was revealed, arose when
the following appreciative remarks appeared in
a national newspaper of wide circulation : "Where a Guardsman can go with his
bayonet, there must the Royal Army Pay
Corps penetrate with its little tin boxes.
Remember the siege of Tobruk? The
RA.P.C. always arrived in time with the
cash-thanks to the determination of its own
men and of the British Navy. There wasn't
much the besieged men could do with the
money, apart from Crown and Anchor, but
the Royal Army Pay Corps considered that
none of their business. It lived up to its
motto, "Whatever the dangers we always
get through with the pay."
From the point of view of our troops in
Libya the pay gets through strangely, unaccountably, to the remotest parts of the
desert. But it isn't strange and unaccountable.
It is largely guts-guts on the part of fellows
so many people regard as non-combatants, the
men of the Royal Army Pay Corps, who get
the money through by truck, aeroplane, and
even camel, out in the wilds. In the East
Mrican campaign, distributing money over an
. area of a million square miles, the R.A.P.C.
sometimes moved forward in small armed
parties. And sometimes those parties were
ambushed.
It meant fighting their way
through. But always they got through with the
cash. Throughout the Abyssinian campaign,
Paymasters were away for weeks together,
sleeping by the roadside, digging out their
trucks, existing on what food they could find,
and fighting. But they always got through with
the cash."
Many members of The Royal Army Pay
Corps who have been allowed to transfer to
other arms of the service during the two
World Wars have won decorations for bravery
in battle. For instance, the London Gaz ftte of
7th June, 1918, announced that H.M. The King
had awarded the Victoria Cross .to 2nd-Lieut.
A. C. Herring, Northamptonshire Regiment,
" for most conspicuous bravery, initiative, and
devotion to duty when, after severe fighting,
the enemy gained a position on the south bank
of the canal; cut off and surrounded, 2nd-Lieut.
Herring immediately counter-attacked and
recaptured a position, which was continually
attacked, but all attacks were beaten off largely
due to the splendid heroism displayed by
104
2nd-Lieut. Herring. It was entirely due to the

bravery and initiative of this officer that the
enemy advance was held up for eleven hours
at an exceedingly critical period." Probahly
few people who read this announcement at the
time, or who have read accounts of similar
brave deeds since, realise that in many cases
they are performed by men who were formerly
in the corps which is so often referred to as
" The Pen .P ushers " or " The Quill Drivers."
2nd-Lieut. A. C. Herring, V.c., had first
entered the Army Pay Department in 1914,
being suhsequently commissioned to the regiment with which he won his V.C. Similarly
during the war of 1939-45 many former
members of the corps won decorations while
serving with other units to which they had been
transferred. For instance, among the humble
" binder-clerks" who were working on officers'
accounts at the Army Pay Office in Stockport
Road, Manchester in 1940, were at least three
for whom the future held in store work of
greater danger and the opportunity of winning
distinction. One of the trio won the Distinguished Flying Cross as a Flying Officer in
Coastal Command, for pressing home an attack
which resulted in the sinking of two submarines; another was commissioned in the
Lancashire Fusiliers, with whom he won the
Military Cross in N.W. Europe for gallantry
and good leadership; the third volunteered
(with several other members of the corps) for
the Parachute Regiment, and was one of the
heroes of Arnhem, where he won the Military
Medal for bravery in the field.
For many years the R.A.P.C. had no regimental march, though unkind critics made
various suggestions ranging from " All for a
shilling a day " and " Pennies from Heaven"
to " I can't give you anything but love, baby"
and" The Robhers' March" (from Chu Chin
Chow), as being most suitable for the financial
branch of the Army. However, in 1937, this
lack of a regimental march was remedied, when
official authority was given for the adoption of
a new march specially composed by Staff
Sergeant Major H. Lovering, R.A.P.C., of
the Command Pay Office, Malta. This is
unique in being the only regimental march in
the British Army composed by a sergeantmajor. Its title of " Primrose and Blue" is
derived from the colours of the uniform and
facings of the corps.
EDITOR'S NOTE.-We shall be glad to receive
detail ed accounts by members of the Corps who were
actually present at an y of the operations referred to
in this article, for publication in subsequent issues.
On Iv b v this means can a complete and authentic
his t~1'Y 'of the Corps during the S econd World War
be buiIt up .
Royal Army Pay Corps Officers' Club

Lieut.-Colonel A. R. Hamilton, Command
Pay Office, Chester.
Tennis and Garden Party.-It is hoped
that the Tennis Meeting and Garden Party
previously held at Roehampton will be revived,
but catering and other difficulties may prevent
this, in which case it is hoped that a modified
alternative may be practicable. The Tennis
Honorary Secretary is Lieut.-Colonel L. H. M.
MacKenzie, M.B.E., The War Office (F.9a).
Hockey.-The possibility of running a
Corps Hockey Team during the 1946-1947
season is being investigated. Lieut.-Colonel
J. L. Oliver has undertaken the duties of
Honorary Secretary.
. Genera1.-All Officers now serving or who
have served with the Corps are eligible for
membership of the Club. Full details of the
1946 programme will be published in subsequent issues of the Journal and additionally,
all serving Officers will be further notified
through Commanding Officers. Officers no
longer serving will be notified individually by
the Honorary Secretary, if they are members
of the Club or if they have notified an intention
of becoming members.
All RA.P.C. Officers leaving the service
should have received a notice detailing the
normal programme of the Club. If such notice
has not been received, will Officers please write
to Colonel S. F. Barratt, Honorary Secretary,
R.A.P.C. Officers' Club, Army Pay Office,
Radcliffe, Manchester, who will be pleased to
place their names upon the roll of members and
in due course notify .them of the Club's kture
programmes.
The Colonel Commandant and the Paymaster-in-Chief, hope that all Officers who
have served with the Corps during the emergency will join this Club and will find it an
attractive means of renewing service friendships.
During this year the various functions are being
held within easy reach of London, but if the
membership grows considerably, it may be
possible to arrange for certain functions to be
held in the Midlands or the North for the
convenience of members living in those parts
of the Country.
It is regretted that no copies of the pre-war
issues of the Journal are available at present.
The entire stock of spare copies was destroyed
.
in the early days of the war.
The Editor is desirous of obtaining as
reference copies a complete set of the pre-war
issues. If any reader possesses any copies
which he no longer requires they would be
gratefully accepted.
It is the wish of the Colonel Commandant

and the Paymaster-in-Chief that the above Club
should re-commence its activities at the earliest
possible moment and with this in view the
Paymaster-in-Chief appointed a provisional
Committee to consider the possibilities of a
programme for 1946 and to make its recommendations. The Committee has met and
made its recommendations which have now
received the approval of the Colonel Commandant and the Paymaster-in-Chief.
Cricket.-Every effort will be made to
arrange a Corps Cricket Week this Summer
with Home Matches to be played at Aldershot.
Lieut.-Colonel R S. Ellicott, Command Pay
Office, Eastern Command, has been appointed
Honorary Secretary for Cricket.
Golf.-It is intended to hold Summer and
Autumn Golf Meetings on Courses within easy
reach of London.
The Summer Meeting will take place at the
Calcot Golf Club, Reading, on Thursday,
27th June.
Competitions are open to all Serving and
Retired Officers of the Corps, whether Regular,
Territorial or Emergency Commission.
Trophies to be competed for are the Riley
Cleek and the ToIler Cup.
In the afternoon a Foursome Competition
will be played for the Captain's Prize. The
Captain for the year is Major-General R G.
Stanham, C.B.
Officers who were members of the Society
before the war will play off their Competition
handicaps-as recorded in 1939. Other officers
will play off their last Club Handicap.
It is requested that all who intend to play
should notify the Hon. Sec., Col. L. E. J ames,
M.C., Army Pay Office, Drill Hall, Tilehurst
Road, Reading, as early as possible. Entries
will, of course, be possible up to the date of the
Meeting, but an idea is required of the approximate numbers to he expected in order that
preliminary arrangements can be made.
It has also been arranged that there will be a
Northern and Southern Zone for Golf, each
with its Honorary Secretary, who will arrange
the Matches or Meetings as convenient for the
Zones. Southern Zone covers the Eastern and
Southern Commands and the London District,
the Honorary Secretary for which is Col. L. E.
James, M.C., Army Pay Office, Reading, and
this Officer is also undertaking the organisation
of the Summer and Autumn Golf Meetings.
The Northern Zone consists of the Scottish,
Northern and Western Commands and Northern Ireland District, the Secretary for which is
105
.THE ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL
THE ROYAL ARMY PAY ' CORPS JOURNAL
GRECIAN SCENE
By Lieut. H. C. GOODING
HERE was no escort. The lone plane

that hovered for a brief hour as we left
Egyptian waters, had returned to the
quietness of the Alexandria coast. The troopship
ploughed steadily on, winding through acres of
minefields, and eventually, silently in the early
brightening morning hours, passed the grey
Isle of Nazi-held Crete. As we passed-and it
took some hours-all on board talked in hushed
whispers, as though afraid that "Gerry"
might hear across the water if they did
otherwise.
It was November, 1944.
Crete was lost to view. There had been no
attack. The first signs of life were the birds
of the Grecian Isles, and a few frail fishing
craft, their owners risking lives for a few meals.
But then, what else could they do, the only
alternative was starvation.
We approached Pireaus, the main harbour of
Greece, the following morning. It was dull and
cloudy, and those of us who remembered the
writings of H. V. Morton, felt, as we had oft
done before in our -travels, a great disgust
when we beheld this dirty harbour town.
There were about thirty of us-R.A.P.C.
from Alexandria, Jerusalem, Beirut, Cairo and
Tripoli, and we had all met some time -or
another during the three years or more that
we had spent in the Middle East-a happy
enthusiastic crowd, eager to see the new land
that lay ahead.
.
Of the R.A.P.C. a mere handful were already
in Athens, and a few more about to go out on
"Cash." We were their first reinforcements.
We had a wonderful welcome, and felt
greatly pleased at the time with " the Powers
that be," for posting us there. We were ushered
into the office-a section of that palatial
building, the Bank of Greece-so oft-called by
the Greeks as the " offspring" of. the Bank of
England.
It didn't take long to settle down, and
quarters were good for all, and food sufficientbut only just. The Greek people expressed
their delight at our arrival, and were very kind.
The rich entertained. The poor were desirous
of sharing their only crusts.
Somehow, after the first few days, one
sensed an artificial atmosphere about it alIa forced gaiety. Those of us who were ignorant
of Greek affairs, found it difficult to understand. Bands of youths .marched the streets
singing communist songs to the annoyance of
the Royalists and others.

Their numbers
increased daily. The police were unable to
control them, shots were fired, and 13 Base
Command Pay Office found itself in the front
line.
For days beforehand we had been told not
to enter into any political arguments or disputes
with the local population. I remember walking
through a main street the day before the first
riots, and seeing a young girl set upon by a
crowd of women and men. Was she a Communist, Royalist or what? She was left there;
lying in the gutter beaten to death by her
fellow citizens. I passed the spot again ' a few
hours later. On the bloodstained pavement
burned a small candle against a small wooden
cross, and a small red paper flag told a story
without words.
The men's billet was about two hundred
yards beyond Ommonia Square, and a few
days after the curfew had been imposed, it had
to be evacuated. The area around was found
to be a Communist quarter, and was drawing
the fire of the police. Although the curfew
had been imposed by General Scobie, the
people were still pro-British in this quarter.
The day is still vivid in my mind when a couple
of boys of about ten years, dashed across the
road to the billet, despite the police snipers at
the corner. The piquet admitted them, and
the boys proudly displayed a dozen primed
grenades which they carried to throw at the
police.
Clashes became more frequent, and with the
entry of the British to restore order, it was time
that the men moved to the Bank of Greece.
The" evacuation" was not easy, and eventually
the men made their way on foot with the hope
that neither side would snipe them. They
managed to get half way, but the fighting,
together with mortar fire was so great that they
sought shelter in the American Club. One
man volunteered to try and get through and
managed it. It was decided that it would be
safer if the 15-cwt., our only vehicle, was taken
out to bring them back. It meant making a
dash for it. We went through the streets at top
speed, swerving to miss snipers. We arrived
back without a casualty.
Casualties though were not unknown at
"No. 13." When a peace representative of
" K.K.E." was allowed through the lines to
see General Scobie at H.Q. next door, all the
Corps turned out to give the impression that
106
,.
Athens to Salonika, barefooted through snow

and ice caused many casualties.
It was a hard battle for the" Para." Brigade
which was stationed there, and you will realise
how we all felt when " Winnie" returned to
Blighty with no agreement reached.
But the day came when the K.K.E. were
routed, the curfew lifted, and the hostages
trekked wearily back to find their homes.
It was then that the pro-British peoples
once more showered on the troops their
kindness, and the R.A.P. C. received their
share.
The three weeks "Carnival" that
followed was of such gaiety as to rival New
York.
The rich were still rich and spent their
there were many troops concentrated in the

area. The" enemy" realised that we would
probably have troops around at that time and
sent over mortars and" seventy fives." All the
men ducked, but two had it in the leg-though
not seriously--one in the head, and the other,
shrapnel in the hand.
Then came the food shortage, and at first
we were able to "fill up" on "compo"
biscuits, but eventually these were rationed,
and we tightened our belts little by little every
day.
Night after night the men, in relays, assisted
the R.A.S.C. in moving supplies to safety and
also tried to keep the work going the following
day.
i The
Parthenon on the Acropolis, Athens.
money. The poor were poorer still, and had

no crusts to share.
And of the country itself? Those who have
been to Greece, and who appreciate beauty,
will always remember the Acropolis at dawn
or sunset, or the hills covered with wild
anemones and the bathing by pine-covered
cliffs and white sails on a sea of deepest blue.
When I sailed homeward from Greece,
early morning spring sunshine bathed Athens
in a golden light. The islands were of indescribable beauty. It was then I remembered
the words of Byron:
The isles of Greece, the isles of Greece !
Where burning Sappho loved and sung.
Where grew the arts of war and peace,
Where Delos rose and Phoebus sprung!
Eternal summer gilds them yet,
But all, except their sun is set.
The curfew was lifted for starving civilians

to enter the British Zone for food, and all
passed through the six barriers in the main
street. Red Cross nurses were not questioned
or searched at first, but it was found that some
women posing as nurses were carrying grenades. During this curfew hour, the K.K.E.
concentrated mortar fire in this zone-at their
own people. I remember seeing one C.M.P.
about to admit into the area six civilians he had
just searched, when a mortar landed in their
midst. The C.M.P. still stood there untouched,
but the others were killed outright.
As members of 13 B.C.P.O., we all realised
how essential it was for the British to " interfere" (as it has been described). It prevented
wholesale massacre of thousands of people.
The atrocities of Greek to Greek were almost
unbelievable, and the trek of the hostages from
107

Corps News - Officers

From "The London Gazette "
To be Captains
Lieut. and Paymr. L. W. McNaughton14th December, 1945.
To be Lieuts. and Paymasters
From Emergency Commissions.
(14th December, 1945)
Lieut. and Paymr. N. F. Lee.
Lieut. and Paymr. E. A. C. Keywvrth.
Lieut . and Pavmr. B. H. P. Hiscott.
Lieut. and PaYmr. S. F. E. Leibe (W/S Capt.)
Lieut. and Paymr. H. R. Giltrap.
Retirements
Lieut.-Col. and S.P.1 C. E. GreshalT' having
attained the age for retirement, is placed on J
retired pay: 14th October, 1945.
Maj. and S.P.2 H. G. Ensoll, O.B.E., is
placed on retired pay 27th December, 19i5, on
ceasing to be retained on the Active List.
Maj. and Paymr. W. C. Mitchell (38806) is
placed on the half pay list on account of
disability, 4th February, 1946.
New Year's Honours, 1946

The King has been graciously pleased to give
orders for the following appointment to the
Most Honourable Order of the Bath.
To be an additional member d the Military
Division of the 3rd Class or Companion, of the
said Most Honourable Order.
Major-General R. G. Stanham.
The King has been graciously pleased to give

orders for the following appointments to the
Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.
To be Officers (Mil Diy.)

Lieut.-Col. (Local) J. E. De La Motte.
Lieut.-Col. (Temp.) 1. S. Hogge.
To be Members (Mil
Capt. L. V. Carter.
Maj. G. J. Forsyth.
Maj. E. W. Lines.
Diy.)
Maj. R. G. Smith.
Maj. C. G. Walker.
Maj. F. S. Walthew.
BIRTHS
TATAM. - On 12th February, 1946, at Essex
County Hospital, Colchester, to Truda (nee
Duncan), wife of Captain S. S. Tatam, R.A.P.C.
of Wivenhoe, Essex, a daughter (Sylvia).
SPILSBURy.- On 14th February, 1946, at
Orilea, Diamond Avenue, East Kirby, Notts.,
to Edna May, wife of Colonel Francis Spilsbury,
R.A.P.C., a son (J ames Nicholas) and brother
for Keith, Pen elope Jane and John:
The King has been graciously pleased to

give orders for the following appointments to
the Most Excellent Order of the British
Empire, in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in North-West Europe.
To be Members (Mil Diy.)

Maj. C. Erlund.
Maj . J. Kelso.
Maj. G. G. A. Williams.
ENGAGEMENTS
CAPTAIN R. Q. O. STANHAM AND
MISS A. M. RILEY
The engagement is announced between
Captain Quentin Stanham, Royal Artillery, son
of Major-General R. G. Stanham, c.B., and
Mrs. Stanham, of Woodlands, Cobham,
Surrey, and grandson of M ajor-General the
Hon. J. W. and Mrs. Macarthur-Onslow, of
Camden Park, Australia, and Andalusia,
daughter of Lieut.-Colonel Christopher Riley,
M.C., Seigneur de la Trinite, and the late
Mrs. Riley, of Trinity Manor, Jersey, C.l.

approve that the following be Mentioned in
Recognition of Gallant and Distinguished
Service while Prisoner of War.
Lieut. L. D. Lee.
To be Colonel and Chief Paymaster

Lieut.-Col. and Staff Paymr 1st Cl. C. N.
Bednall, O.B.E., M.C.-4th January, 1946.
To be Lieut.-Col. and Staff Paymr. 1st Cl.
Maj. and S.P. 2 (W/S Lieut.-Col. and S.P.1)
L. E. James, M.C.-4th January, 1946.
CAPTAIN G. H. MASON AND MISS B. M. JAMES

The engagement is announced between
Captain Gabriel Henry Mason, K.S.L.l.,
youngest son of the Reverend H. E. and Mrs.
Mason, of Pencraig, Ross-on-Wye, and Junior
Commander Beryl Marjorie James, A.T.S.,
daughter of Colonel and Mrs. L. E. J ames,
80 Woodcote Road, Caversham, Reading.
To be Major and Staff Paymr. 2nd Cl.

Maj. and Paymr. (W /S S.P.2) R. S. Ellicott
-4th January, 1946.
To be Majors
Capt. and Paymr. (W/S Maj. and S.P.2)
S. C. Rogers-31st January, 1946.
Capt. and Paymr. (W/S and S.P.2) J. A. R.
Groves-Raines-31st January, 1946.
(Continued on page 117.)
108
A Paymaster in South Africa

By Lieut. C. B. FRANCIS
bathers who venture too far out. At times there
HAVE been asked to contribute an article
is
an extremely powerful and dangerous underon my impressions of South Africa during
tow
against which the strongest swimmers
my stay of nearly two years in that country,
cannot
make headway, and the life savers get
whilst on the staff of the Imperial Army
a
busy
time.
Paymaster, Durban.
To the newcomer, straight from strict
It is obviously impossible in the short space
rationing at home, the abundance of all kinds
allotted, to cover more than a fraction of this
of food and fruit came as a pleasant surprise.
subject.
Bananas, oranges, grape fruit, grapes, peaches
After a false start, by which is meant a breakand many other varieties of fruit were to be
down of our ship in mid-Atlantic in a January
had in plenty and very cheaply. It came as a
gale-a most uncomfortable and disturbing
shock to see motorists feeding the wild monkeys,
adventure in itself-I and my small" draft"
which came out of the wood into the roads
duly reached Durban on the second attempt,
near Durban, with bananas-a large bunch of
after a voyage lasting 28 days of which the less
which could be bought for a shilling from
said the better. N ever was I more thankful to
itinerant Indian fruit sellers.
set foot once more on dry land.
The South Africans are big meat eaters,
Durban and its hospitality is well known to
and normally eat the present English weekly
the hundreds of thousands of Servicemen who
meat ration every meal! I once overheard two
passed through there en route to the Middle
Durban ladies discussing the alleged local meat
East and elsewhere, between 1940 and 1943.
shortage. One said: "It makes one realise
When the Mediterranean was freed the long
there's a war on, doesn't it?' The other
sea route around the Cape was discontinued.
replied: "Yes, but I think two meat courses
Durban is a finely laid out modern city with
in
a meal ought to be enough for anybody ! "
very many first-class shops, hotels and cinemas
The
population of Durban and Natal com(several of the latter are air conditioned, a
prises British, Africaans, Indian and Natives
godsend in the hot weather). The climate is
(Zulus), the latter predominating. A strict
excellent for eight months of the year, but
colour bar keeps the latter in the lowest paid
December, January, February and March are
jobs, but despite his hard life and lowly status,
rather hot, very humid and with a high rainfall.
the native is a cheery fellow and often expresses
Special storm drains are constructed along each
his joie de vivre by strumming on a banjo or
street to carry away the periodic deluges, which
mandolin whilst trudging to and from his work
are of common occurrence. Our Detachment
along the roads. All the unskilled labour is
there was enabled to enjoy the great variety of
performed by Zulus including domestic service
sports available locally. A first-rate sports club
(house-boy)-wages about 3 per month.
catered for all tastes; cricket, football, tennis,
Indians are chiefly employed as waiters in
hockey and bathing. Fixtures with local clubs
hotels and restaurants and also work as semiwere played, visitors were invited and a fine
skilled labour in the factories. The white
social atmosphere prevailed. Periodic Detachskilled artisan is on a " good wicket" in South
ment dances were so popular that there was
keen competition amongst the local belles for
Mrica and has little difficulty in making 50
per month. Abundant native labour provides
an invitation. Golf enthusiasts were also able
him with cheap" strikers" who do the donkey
to play for a very modest green fee, or somework, whilst the white baas " supervises" !
times free, on a choice of four good courses
The large and ever growing Indian popula(all grass) within a few miles radius of the city.
tion of Natal came about by the influx of
The city has a fine bus and tram service,
Indians brought over from India many years
travelling on which is free to the Services
ago to work on the extensive sugar estates,
during certain non-rush hours.
which is the chief industry of the Colony. The
The bathing cannot be said to be good, or
safe. The huge breakers rolling in from the
rapidly increasing Indian population of Natal
Indian Ocean are all very well for the expert
now presents an embarrassing problem to the
surfer, but give anyone but the strongest
Union Government. South Africa is bi-lingual,
swimmer a rough time and, despite the prothe two official languages being English and
fessional " lifeguards" on duty on the beach,
Mricaans, but very few Britishers, unless born
the sharks sometimes take toll on the incautious
in the country, ever bother to learn the latter
109

language, which is built up on and mainly
derived from the language of the early Dutch
Settlers (Cape Dutch). However, Africaans is
widely spoken in Cape Colony and the Transvaal and almost universally spoken in the
Orange Free State whose white population is
predominantly of Mricander stock. In passing
it is worthy of note that there were more
Mricaans-speaking soldiers than English in the
Springbok Divisions fighting against the Axis
during the late war. From all accounts they got
on excellently whilst serving together.
This is not the place to digress into politics,
but South Mrica has several major problems to
face; suffice to say the relations between the
English and Mricaans-speaking peoples could
be a lot better and a better mutual understahdin.g between the two white sections is to
be hoped for.
Personnel stationed ip. Durban had ample
opportunity during frequent leaves to see a good
slice of the . country for themselves, the
favourite leave centre being Johannesburg (the
City of Gold). A journey of 18 hours in a
comfortable train, passing through Pietermaritzburg, the capital of Natal, and ever
climbing through to the sub-tropical coastal
belt, brings one to the high veldt and, after
skirting the massive Drakensburg Range, a few
hours rolling through sparse grazipg lands the
Reef comes within sight. The enormous white
slag dumps dominate the countryside for many
miles, and bear mute if ugly testimony to fifty
years of gold extraction carried out on the
Witwatersrand.
Millions of pounds worth
of gold have already been won from the mines
and a recent rich " strike" in the Orange Free
State implies that South Mrica can rely on her
chief export for many years to come. One
has climbed from sea level to 8,000 feet and
the change from the damp sticky humidity of
Durban to a rarified invigorating atmosphere is
most noticeable. Johannesburg's main railway
station is patterned on New York's Central
Station and is a Cathedral-like edifice nowhere
to be matched in Great Britain. A fountain
plays in the enormous dome-covered Central
Hall and, as one might expect, goldfish have
not been overlooked. A fabulous City, immensely wealthy, it looks like a cross between
New York and London, with towering skyscrapers, expensive apartment flats, first-class
hotels, restaurants, shops and cinemas, and the
offices of the gold mining companies vieing
with one another in palatial splendour. Everything is very modern and bang up to date.
I was fortunate in being allowed to enter
the Stock Exchange during a busy session. The
noise was deafening-brokers shouting prices,

others noisily bidding and from this apparent
bedlam, thousands of pounds worth of goldmining shares changed hands. I was glad to
leave them to it and betake myself to the
comparative tninquility of the Johannesburg
Zoo, one of the finest in the world, where the
majority of the varied collection of animals have
their natural habitat in the Continent of Africa,
and spend their captivity under something
approaching natural conditions and appear to
like it.
Johannesburg is a very pleasant place in
which to spend a week's leave (but only a week),
as the hospitality, given some useful introduc- 'tions, . is too overpowering. Thanks to the J
marvellously recuperative and tonic air, a
" hangover," the inevitable penalty of excessive
hospitality, is rarely experienced. Johannesburg
was little affected by the war and suffered little
inconvenience save for a period of petrol
rationing, but the inhabitants did their" bit"
by sending their menfolk and giving of their
wealth unstintingly. The feats of the late
Major-General "Dan" Pienaar and his
Springboks are justly famous.
Other leave resorts are the many small
watering places up and down the coast of Natal,
and inland amongst the hilly country behind
Durban at " guest farms" which cater for a
country holiday and offer diversions such as
fishing, riding and walking amongst the wild
grandeur of the lower slopes of the Drakensburg
Mountains. The writer once spent a pleasant
week's leave right in the heart of the Drakensburgs, forty miles from the nearest small
branch line railway, mountain climbing, fishing
and bathing in the icy cold mountain streams,
10,000 feet up, a bracing and welcome change
after the sticky humidity of Durban's summer.
The highest peaks are snow covered all the
year round, despite the blazing Mrican sun.
Across the great mountain barrier lies Basutoland-a British Protectorate, not included in
the Union. Further afield the Protectorate of
Swaziland offers a unique holiday and an
opportunity of seeing native life in the
" Kraals" and Reservations.
By foregoing
leave for six months one can travel yet
further afield (free leave railway Warrant for
the first 360 miles) and in the fourteen days
(plus an extra 2 days for travel) allowed,
journey to the Cape (2! days in the train each
way) through very :raried scenery.
Cape
Province is possibly the most beautiful part of
South Mrica and the wine growing district of
Paarl has to be seen to be believed. Near Cape
Town is one of the most fantastically beautiful
llO

marine drives in the world-a drive of some
80 miles around the rugged coast scenery of the
Cape of Good Hope.
To return to Natal, mention must be made
of the" Valley of 1,000 Hills" midway between
Durban and Pietermaritzburg. This magnificent panorama has been seen by thousands of
our troops in transit, through the kind offices
of the people of Durban, who regularly met the
incoming convoys with their motor cars,
grabbed the lads as they came ashore, and bore
them away in a whirl of sightseeing and subsequent hospitality in their homes. They could
not do too much for our boys, who needless to
say appreciated this spontaneous welcome to
the full.
The writer once undertook the somewhat
ambitious journey to Victoria Falls-nine
nights out of thirteen spent in the train;
fortunately I had a sleeper and needed it as
the round trip was approximately 3,000 miles.
Victoria Falls, three times the size of Niagara,
is in Southern Rhodesia and entails a journey_
of about 36 hours after leaving South Mrica,
through the ' desolate, barren territory of
Bechuanaland-another British Protectorate.
The very finely laid out town of Bulawayo
repays the tedium of the journey. In its fine
broad main street lined with modern shops
stands a beautifully sculptured statue of Cecil
Rhodes looking towards the Motopo Hills,
which can be seen in the distance and where he
lies buried. Far more able and talented pens
than mine have described the awful majesty
of Victoria Falls-the mighty Zambesi river11 miles wide at this point, pouring millions of
gallons of water every minute over an 800-foot
precipice into the seething cauldron below.
The rising spray, which can be seen for miles,
gives off indescrioably beautiful rainbow effects,
varying in colour at different times of the day.
One of the best hotels in the Continent of
Africa is at Victoria Falls; it is owned and
run by the Rhodesian Railways and is a mecca
for tourists.
A visit to the wild game reserve, where wild
animals roam about in their natural element,
was amply repaid. Timid zebras scamper away
through the bush scrub, giraffes gaze curiously
over high bushes at your passing car, deer of
all types in hundreds bound away for cover,
but it is difficult to persuade the lions to remove
themselves from the road on which they like
to lie and sun themselves. Much noise OP the
horn usually secures the desired result, but it
is inadvisable and in fact forbidden to descend
from one's car whilst driving through the
Game Reserve.
A visit to Livingstone (N. Rhodesia) was of

interest. This small township, within a few
miles of Victoria Falls, possesses a very fine
museum full of local antiquities tracing the
romantic history of the Rhodesias.
On my return to Johannesburg, I took a
two-,day trip to Northern Transvaal and saw
what must be the largest orange grove in the
world-8,000 acres of orange trees-of which
the writer owns five! I picked and ate some
oranges from my own trees! A model estate
and well run, but alas! not a paying proposition
(for me) for various economic reasons, which
. need not be gone into here. The South Mrican
orange, after years of intensive culture, is now
quite the equal of the J affa.
I was given the opportunity of going down a
gold mine, one of the deepest on the Rand,
where a swiftly dropping cage plumrnetted
me nearly 10,000 feet into the bowels of the
earth-actually below sea level. Most complicated and costly machinery is used to win
the precious metal. The Rand gold mines are
the chief employers of native labour in South
Mrica, the natives being recruited mainly direct
from their Kraals on short term contracts, and
housed and fed in compounds near the mine.
With the money so earned they return to' their
Kraals on expiration of their contracts and
invest the proceeds in cattle or possibly in
another wife who keeps the home fires burning
when eventually they return for another spell
of work in the mines.
No visitor to South Mrica fails to see a native
" War Dance." This is organised as a sort of
cabaret show-usually in the open air-and is
hugely enjoyed by both audience and performers. The more expert teams go through
their war-like gyrations with the precision of
a well-trained ballet. Their timing is perfect.
The enthusiasm and energy displayed is terrific,
but they are no longer allowed to dance with
real spears-just raw-hide shields and sticks.
One can see novices practising. this dance on
any plot of waste land in their spare time. It
is th~ir idea of " fun and games" which they
certaUl.Iy make of it-their relaxation and
pleasure-the equivalent of our Saturday
afternoon game of football, or golf.
Those of us who have had the good fortune
to have served in South Mrica are to be
envied.
A" happy" office and Overseas
Service " de luxe " under the best conditions:
a .kindly hospitable people who made our
SOjourn there one of happy memories.
Should any of my "Springbok" friends
chance to read this, I would like to say " TOT
SIENS " and" ALLES VAN DIE BESTE."
III
iDhituarp
Colonel C. I. Scott, C.M.G., on 14th
October, 1941, aged 75.
Colonel R. A. B. Young, O.B.E., on 26th
December, 1941, aged 64.
Lieut.-Colonel J. Curteis on 10th February,
1942, aged 78.
Major (Asst. Paymaster) J. ThornhilL at
York on 14th February, 1942, aged 70.
Lieut.-Colonel G. E. G. W. Bird on 31st
March, 1942, aged 85.
Lieut.-Colonel A. W. M. C. Skinner on
3rd April, 1942, aged 65.
Lieut.-Colonel T. .Ormsby, D.S.O., on
14th April, 1942, aged 7l.
Lieut.-Colonel F. J. Austin on 1st July,
1942.
Colonel D. G. N. I. Wimberley on 15th
August, 1942, aged 66.
Lieut.-Colonel W. F. Templer, C.B.E., on
18th December, 1942, aged 77.
Lieut.-Colonel J. G. Constable on 16th
November, 1943, aged 73.
Major (Asst. Paymaster) W. P. Palmer on
9th March, 1944, aged 74.
Lieut.-Colonel (Asst. Paymaster) E. G.
Burridge on 20th June, 1944, aged 70.
Major (Asst. Paymaster) H. A. Ellery on
28th June, 1944, aged 67.
Colonel H. C. B. Payne, C.M.G., C.B.E., on
8th February, 1945, aged 83.
Lieut.-Colonel A. E. Beadon on 28th August,
1945, aged 77.
Major W. S. Carey.
Most readers of the Journal will already

have learned with regret of the passing of the
foHowing, but their names are now included
for the benefit of any who were not made aware
at the time.
Lieut.-Colonel Henry Loton on 9th June,
1939, aged 66.
S.Q.M.S. E. Whiteside (N~. 423) at Birmingham on 20th June, 1939, aged 73.
Major W. F. Wraight (late SjSgt. A.P.C.) in
Brighton on 11th August, 1939, aged 62.
S.Q.M.S. S. A. Tatlow (7657107) in London
on 22nd August, 1939, aged 60.
Colonel G. W. Fitton, c.B., C.M.G., on
9th September, 1939, aged 77.
S.Q.M.S. Gladstone Fulton (No. 345) at
Warrington on 9th September, 1939, aged 76.
LjCpl. W. G. Gunner (No. 12969) in
London on 16th October, 1939, aged 55.
S.Q.M.S. F. Salmon (No. 550) at Exeter on
31st October, 1939, aged 68.
S.Q.M.S. H. Twining (No. 793) at Western
Zoyland, Somerset, on 4th November, 1939,
aged 65.
S.Q.M.S. W. H. Bates at York on 21st
November, 1939, aged 6l.
S.Q.M.S. R. McConnell at Twickenham on
29th December, 1939, aged 84.
S.Q.M.S. W. E. White at York on 30th
December, 1939, aged 59.
S.Q.M.S. John Macree at Isleworth on
18th January, 1940, aged 73.
S.Q.M.S. W. Felton at Shrewsbury on
14th February, 1940, aged 6l.
S.Q.M.S. R. E. R. Simmons at Oxford on
14th February, 1940, aged 62.
S.Q.M.S. C. Donaghy (No. 118) at Donaghmore, Co. Tyrone on 2nd March, 1940,
aged 84.
S.Q.M.S. F. S. Eley at Salisbury on 14th
March, 1940, aged 72.
Major A. C. J. Campbell on 25th August,
1940, aged 70.
Capt. (Asst. Paymaster) A. Mawer at Bedale
on 28th August, 1940, aged 74.
Major (Asst. Paymaster) J. Stoddard at
Salisbury on 3rd June, 1941, aged 70.
Lieut.-Colonel A. Delacombe, D.S.O., at
Amesburyon 4th Jui'y, 1941, aged 76.
Lieut.-Colonel F. St. C. Binns, M.B.E., on
23rd September, 1941, aged 68.
Major-General Sir John Thomas Carter,

K.C.M.G., died at his home in Bedford on
7th September, 1939, at the age of 84.
Sir John was nearly 30 when he received his
first commission in the Leicester Regiment,
having served for nearly twelve years in the
ranks.
After getting his company, while
Adjutant of the Oudh Volunteer Rifle Corps,
he resigned from the combatant branch of the
service and transferred to the Army Pay
Department in July 1892.
He was promoted Major in 1901, Lieut.Colonel in 1906 and Colonel in 1909. Three
years later he was appointed to the War Office
as Chief Paymaster and Officer-in-Charge
Records.
112
tremely well, often cO':ltributing articles to an

American publication.
I,n ordinary circumstances this would have

been his final appointment before his retirement at the age of 60, but the Great War came
and with it further opportunity for Colonel
Carter, who was soon promoted BrigadierGeneral.
In October 1916, he became Paymaster-inChief, received the honour of knighthood
(K.C.M.G.) in January 1917 and was appointed Hon. Major-General in June, 1918.
Sir John Carter p03sessed a singular faculty
for cutting himself free from the mass of detail
appertaining to his duties; he always mastered his work instead of allowing his work to
master him. He could drive but he never
was driven.
At the War Office he was generally accessible
and seemed always to have time to attend to
personal complaints whether from a discharged soldier or a newspaper editor.
He was bluff, buoyant, outspoken and at
times even rude but always very human.
The end of the Great War came and with it
General Carter's decision to enjoy the retirement to which his 46 years service in the
Army had entitled him.
D~ring the next 20 years he lived in Bedford
and died at the age of 84 four days after the
second world war broke out.
Many of those who have served in the

Corps since 1939 will remember Colonel
William Shand Mackenzie, C.B.E., whose
death took place at Aldershot on 19th
December, 1944, at the age of 68.
The deceased received his corrimission in
January, 1899, and transferred to the Corps
.
five years later.
He was promoted Major and S.P. in January,
1919, and five months later Brevet-Lieut.Colonel. In April of the following year he was
promoted to substantive rank of Lieut.Colonel, and three years later was made
Colonel and Chief Paymaster.
He retired in September, 1936, on attaining
the age of 60, but retirement had no appeal for
him and, after three weeks he was re-employed.
This lasted for six months and he again went
into retirement.
On the outbreak of war in 1939, W.S. again
volunteered to return to the Corps and was
employed as Second-in-Command of his old
office at Aldershot. His health, however, would
not stand up to the strain and he was compelled
once more to seek a quieter life in June, 1941.
He still maintained his interest in the Corps up
to the time of his death 3i years later.
Brigadier T. L. Rogers, C.B.E., writes:"William Shand Mackenzie has a niche
among the former senior officers of the Corps
peculiarly his own. Was any senior officer so
well liked or so likeable ?
I knew him during all my service as a
counsellor and guide and from almost our first
meeting as a staunch and full-hearted friend.
Imperturbable, confidently calm, one instinctively felt that though circumstances
might get difficult we were bound to achieve
success ultimately if he was in command.
A comparatively junior officer at the beginning of the first Great War, his value was
quickly noticed and recognised. His capacity
for appreciating the important points and his
canny foresight were of inestimable value
during the troublesome period of demobilisation. A tour of duty at the War Office where
his tact and firmness in dealing with the staff,
both civil and military, during coming major
alterations in the structure of the Corps were
a great asset, was followed by promotion to
Chief Paymaster and the post of c.P., Egypt.
A few years later he returned to this country
Major John Archibald Bedford died at

Marchwood, Hants., on 13th January, 1940.
Major Bedford who came of an old Yorkshire
family was only 46 years of age.
Serving with the R.N.V.R. he went to
France at the outbreak of the last war in 1914
with the Naval Division. He was later
gazetted from Woolwich and posted to the
Royal Field Artillery.
After the war he served with the R.F.A. in
Palestine and saw much active service during
the disorders there.
Later he transferred to the Royal Army Pay
Corps. From 1926 to 1929 he was Command
Paymaster in Jamaica.
On returning to
England in the latter year he was posted to
Southern Command and later to Northern
Ireland.
In 1937 he was posted to Ceylon as Command
Paymaster, but owing to his health breaking
down he was compelled to return to England
in July 1939, before completing his tour of
service there.
Major Bedford was keenly interested in
nature study and painted and sketched ex113

to take up the post of C.P., Eastern Command,
and after taking a decision not to settle in
London, was posted to Aldershot, where he
served his last six years. 'The happiest six
years of my service life,' as he wrote to me
shortly before his death-certainly for all
who had the privilege of serving under him it
was a rich and valuable experience.
His services were officially recognised when
he was made a Commander of the British
Empire in 1936.
One of the original members of the O.C.A.,
his interest grew after his retirement and his
never failing courtesy and help will, I know,
always be remembered with gratitude by the
honorary secretary.
The outbreak of the second world war again
saw him in harness-as second in his old
Command-again a tower of tact and sagacity.
Alas, his health was not good enough for the
burden and he had perforce to return to his
domestic life-still uncomplaining and still
keenly interested in all the Corps was doing.
To his wife and family, the sympathy of all
who knew him was extended in a very full
measure and his memory will long be honoured
and treasured in the annals of the Corps."
Ex-S.Q.M.S. George F. L. Hayes, R.A.P:C.,

died at Salisbury on 6th January, 1946 , after
a short illness, at the age of 78.
He served with the R.A.P. C. in the South
Mrican War (1899-1902) and retired on
pension in 1905 and settled in Salisbury.
He was commissioned in the Oxford and
Bucks. L.I. in the Great War 1914-1918 and
served for some time in India with that
Regiment.
On reverting to civilian life in 1919 with the
rank of Captain, he was awarded it disability
pension in respect of his war service as an
officer.
It is with the deepest regret that we record

the passing of No. 310749 S.S.M. Charles
David Carter.
After a long illness, he died in Gogarburn
Hospital, Edinburgh, on 23rd January, 1946,
at the age of 42.
S.S.M. Carter joined the Corps in 1927 and
served in many stations both at home and
overseas, making friends wherever he went
with his genial and unselfish disposition.
The Corps extends its sincere sympathy to
his widow in her sad bereavement.
OUR CHESS PAGE

21. KtxP
(As I was saying, before being rudely

interrupted in 1939.)
The Editor has asked me to resume these
chess notes, on the lines we adopted in the
distant thirties.
This I will do gladly, provided always there
is evidence of interest and I am kept informed
of chess activities of members of the Corps. I
do not propose to pad this column up with
sni ppets from the British Chess Magazine or other
chess periodicals. It is Corps news we want,
news of matches and games played, and problems composed, by members of the Corps, and
the column will stand or fall by this, its only
justification.
Will Corps members interested therefore
write and if possible furnish chess matter to :MAJOR E. H. FLEAR,
27 Court House Gardens,
West Finchley,
London, N.3.
In accordance with the above principles and
with shameless immodesty, in default for the
moment of any other matter, here is a game
played at Board 1 in a recent London League
match.
White Sir George Thomas (West London).
Black E. H. Flear (Finchley).
Alekhine's Defence.
1. PK4
22. RKt5
23. QxKt
24. BxKt
PK5
PQ 4
KtKB3
BK2
PKR3
QxB
25. RxP
26. KtK4
Probably, although it looks awkward KtxP

was playable and if 26 . . . RR2 27 KRKtl.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
RKt3
QQ3
R(Kt3)xQ
KtB5
PQ6
Premature.
saved first.
32. PQ7
QB 5
QRQl
QxQ
KRKl
RK7
The QRP should have been

RxRP
RKt7
Necessary to prevent KtKt7.

33. RKl
34. RQ6
35. RK8
BB3
KKt2
RKt8ch
Played prior to bringing the rook back, in

order in certain variations to obtain a Bishop
check on the King at R2.
36.
37.
3R.
39.
40.
KR2
RxR
RB 6
RB 8
KtxP
R(Kt8)Ktl
BxR
BK2
RKt4
RQ4
Draw agreed. If 41 KtKt8 not ... BQ3 ch.

42 PKt3
BxKt
43 P Queens winning,
but instead 41 . . . KB3. A lucky escape for
Black.
KtKB 3
KtQ4
PQ 3
BKt5
PKKt3
BxKt
Sgt. Victor Rush, an earlier compiler of these

notes, has recently retired to pension, full of
years and chess. May he haunt chess resorts
for many a day to come. Look out for him at
Hastings.
In this opening, Black must be prepared

cheerfully to give up this Bishop for the
Knight.
7. BxB
KtxBch
QB2
PQR3
The saving clause foreseen when deciding on

Move 21.
I dared not allow my opponent a Ruy Lopez

in which he specialises.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
KtK4!
A difficult decision but Black wants to ensure

eliminating one of White's Bishops.
PQB 3
Not PxP8. PB 4.
8. 0.0.
9. QK2
10. PB 4
11. KtB3
12 RQl
13. P xP
14 K tK 4
15. BK 3
16. PQ 5
17. PxP
18. QRBl
19. PQKt4
20. RKtl
"Batch of new recruits from the Art School, Sir."
114
BKt 2

approve the award of the British Empire Medal
(Military Division) to the undermentioned :-
0 .0 .
KtB2
KtQ 2
QBl
P xP
KtK3
QB 2
PxP
Kt(K3)B4
QKt3
Q xP
QR4
7658502
1864020
1418426
7677098
7676695
766 289 2
766249 1
7665006
54894
Possibly . . . QR6 was stronger here.
115
S/Sgt. D . C legg
S /Sgt. E. W. F. D avies
S/Sgt. G. F. W. D awson
S. Q .M .S. A. . F ergusson
Cpl. D. G. Hack er
S .Q.M .S. I. Hamilton
Sgt. E . Heywood
S .S.M . H. L amming.
S.S.M . C. Mitchell
THE 'R OYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL

\
The Future of the

Journal
Corps
Suggestions as to any particular feature to be

included in future issues and constructive
criticism for the improvement of the Journal
generally will, at all times, be welcome.
The costs of production have advanced very
considerably in recent years, but in spite of
this it is hoped to keep the price of each copy
at the pre-war price of one shilling. This will
depend to a large extent on the number of
copies which can be ordered each quarter so
we look to the representative in each office at
home and abroad and to every postal subscriber, to bring the existence of the Corps
Journal to the notice of any ex-members of the
Corps who may not yet have heard of it.
In response to a large number of requests for

informatiQn concerning the future of the Corps
.Journal the following details are given.
The Journal will be published quarterly, at

the end of March, June, September and
December and will be despatched to subscribers
immediately it is issued.
Articles, etc., intended for publication,
should be forwarded to the Editor by the
20th of the month prior to that of publication.
Natu ~ally we rely on the support of all our
readers not only as subscribers but also as
contributors and on their efforts largely must
depend the success or failure of the Journal.
If any reader is in possession of any photographs relating to the Corps in peacetime or
during the war they will be gratefully received.
If the photograph relates to a group the names
of personnel should be clearly shown, while a
full description of other subjects should also
be given.
Short stories or articles on general subjects
such as a description of life in foreign countries
or of visits to particular places of interest or
articles on specific subjects connected with the
Corps such as the experiences of those who
took part in Dunkirk, Singapore, etc., or as
Prisoners of War, will always be welcome.
Copies of any Journals, issued by Pay Offices,
during the War are also required.
Contributions by any reader, serving or
retired, can be submitted at any tim.e. As far
as possible they will be published in the next
issue but owing to paper restrictions, etc., no
guarantee can be given that this will be done.
The writers of articles, etc. not published
should not therefore assume that their efforts
are not worthy of publication but should
appreciate that for various reasons it is not
always possible to insert everything submitted.
If, therefore, you have anything of interest,
no matter how old or unimportant these may
seem to you, send them along, as they may be
of interest to others.
PRISONERS OF WAR
The follcwing personnel of the Corps were
taken Prisoners of War and have now been
repatriated.
OFFICERS
Colonel (now A/ Brigadier) N . Forde
Major (now A/Lie ut-Colonel) J. R. Burne
Major (now A/Lieut.-Colonel) C . J. H. Treglown, M.C.
Capt. (now A/Lieut.-Colonel) R . D. Buck
Lieut. (AP) (now Capt. AP) R. W. H. Howard
Lieut. T . A. Thompson
Lieut. D . B. H. Scott
Lieut. C. A. Buckmaster
Lieut. C . G. Sturt, M .B.E.
Lieut. C. H. Farmer
Lieut. G. H . Brett
Lieut. R . J . McCuIlough
Lieut. G . E . T aylor
OTHER RANKS
Sgt. A . McIntosh
W.O .l G. H. BarIow
Sgt. A. E. Murray
W.O.l D. E. Os borne
Sgt . J. H. Muttock
W.O. 2 G. W . BeIlars
Sgt. M. P endergast
W.O .2 W . T . Carden
Sgt. G . A . Pow
W.O .2 A. T . Gower
Sgt. J. R. D. Roberts
W .O. 2 J. L. J ames
Sgt. P. J. Stack
W.O. 2 F . W. NorreIl
Sgt. A. E. Starkey
W .O .2 E. Owen
Sgt. E. D. W. Stone
W.O. 2 W. T . Pinkney
Sgt. C . S. Topliss
W.O .2 N. M . Simpson
Sgt. D . A . White
S /Sgt . C. A. Fraser
L /Sgt. B. Cox.
S /Sgt. J. F . Read
L /Sgt. H . H. Trotter
Sgt. H. Chalcraft
CpJ. E . F. Humphries
Sgt. H. Chapman
Pte. W. G. Compton
Sgt . .T . H. Craven
Pte. C. E . Earnshaw
Sgt. C. P . H emming
Pte. T. D. Evans
Sgt. F. C. Hill yard
Pte. A. A. Hold
Sgt. W. H . Ingleby
Pte. D. Pethebridge
Sgt. C. H. L ane
Pte. A . Stevenson
Sgt. H. H . Luckhurst
Pte . J. C. W atson
Sgt. I. F . L yle
Sgt. A. G. M atthews
116
R.A.P.C. OLD COMRADES' ASSOCIATION

tions, many very acceptable donations have
been received, details of which will be given
in subsequent issues of the Journal.
The Committee take the opportunity in this,
the first post-war issue of the Corps Journal
to express their thanks to the Editor for
allowing space for the publication of the
O.C.A. news and assure him and all his
readers that the fullest advantage will be taken
of the privilege.
"OLD MEERUTONIANS"
A suggestion has been put forward that members of the Corps who served at Meerut should
get together and form a su bsidiary section of the
O.C.A. with possibly an Annual Dinner.
Will all "Old Meerutonians," officers and
other ranks, who are interested please communicate with Colonel G. S. Bates, 28th Btn.
R.A.P.C., Cumberland Hotel, Bournemouth.
The O.C.A. year is drawing to a close and

members will have already received a copy of
the Annual Report and Balance Sheet for
1944-1945 which includes a resume of our
restricted activities during the war years. If
any member has not been supplied. with a copy
through their Office RepresentatIve, a postcard to the ' Hon. Secretary (Lieut. Colonel
F. A. Norris, Elmdene, 4 Camden Park, Tunbridge Wells, Kent), will promptly remedy
the defect.
It is not possible at this stage to make a
lengthy report of the Gene~al Committee's
plans for post-war reconstructIOn but a representative meeting is being called at an early date
to set up branches in convenient centres in
various large towns in the United Kingdom and
Northern Ireland, where the Associations
responsibilities can be decentralized to enable
Branch Secretaries to (a) mainta.in close personal touch with all Old Comrades in a given
area; (b) collect subscriptions; (c) devise
means whereby members can get together at
frequent intervals for social interc<;mrse, etc. ;
(d) investigate applications for aSSIstance, and
the hundred and one other matters that come
within the orbit of a Regimental Association.
Contrary to the gloomy foreboding of a few
pessimists, individual membership .is not
lapsing when our fellows leave the ServIce, and
we are busy enrolling new members every day.
It is difficult to say how these new entrants
managed, . during their six years' servic~ to
escape the vigilance of our RepresentatIves.
We have enrolled to date, 1,030 life members,
and a scheme will shortly be announced
whereby annual members may convert to life
membership at a fee which will take into consideration, their annual payments to date.
Our Civilian Appointments Bureau is doing a
good job of work and the latest reports are ~hat
up to quite recently there have been more jobs
available in London than. applicants for them.
In the Provinces the position has not been so
good, but we are endeavouring to contact
prospective employers by extensive advertising.
Applications from ex-members of the Corps
for jobs should be addressed to S.S.M. H.
Leader, R.A.P.C., War Office (F.9), 64 Victoria
Street London, S.W.l, giving full information
as to ~he type of job required and showing in
.
what part of the country it is required.
In addition to our income from subscnp-
Corps News -
Officers
(Continued from page l08)
MARRIAGES
BRowN-GowERs.-On 11th February, 1946,
at Basingstoke, Captain Reginald Brown,
R.A.P.C., of Kingston Hill, Surrey, and
Shanghai, to Edna Madge Gowers, of Ilford.
HAMILTON-WALKER.~On 14th February,
19~ 6, at Chester, Lieut.-Colonel A. R. Hamilton, son of Mr. and Mrs. A. R. Hamilton,
Greengates, Camberley, to Nenone Ann
Walker, only daughter of the late Dr. G .. M.
Melville, of Basingstoke, and of Mrs. MelvIlle,
Dorchester House, Chester.
DEATH
PARK.-On 7th February, 1946, very suddenly, at Leeds, Lilian May, the beloved wife
of Colonel H. P. Park, R.A.P.C.
RETIREMENT OF SIR HERBERT CREEDY
The following letters were exchanged between Major General H. G. Riley, C.B., and
Sir Herbert Creedy, G.C.B., K.C.V.O., on the
occasion of the latter's retirement from the post
of Permanent Under Secretary of State for War
in 1939.
The War Office,
23rd August, 1939.
My dear Riley,
Before I formally hand over 'to my successor
in October, I should like to assure all members
of the Royal Army Pay Corps, past and present,
117
RETIREMENT OF
SIR FREDERICK BOVENSCHEN,
K.C.B.. , K.B.E.
The following letters were exchanged between Major General Sir Guy Riley, Colonel
Commandant Royal Army Pay Corps, and
Sir Frederick Bovenschen on his retirement in
October, 1945.
that I shall ever remember with pleasure, pride

and gratitude my association with them.
It was in 1924 that I became the member of
the Army Council responsible for the administration of the Corps, and, during fifteen
arduous and difficult years, I have always felt
sure of, and have received in full measure, their
loyal and efficient support.
There have been many problems of complexity to solve and a heavy burden of work to
shoulder, but the Corps has never failed to be
equal to the occasion.
May I express my particular gratification at
the unique compliment paid to me by the
officers of the Corps in inviting me to be their
guest at the recent Regimental Dinner and to
the Old Comrades Association for their
friendly welcome to me at their annual
gatherings?
I send you all my warmest thanks and best
wishes, and I shall watch in my retirement with
sympathy and interest all that concerns the
Corps.
To the Colonel Commandant and to yourself
and to your predecessors as Chief Paymaster at
the War Office, I owe a special debt of gratitude
for your friendship and your help.
Yours sincerely,
H. J. CREEDY.
3rd October, 1945.

Dear Sir Frederick,
I believe you leave the War Office this
month so I feel that I must write to you to say
" au revoir" on behalf of the R.A.P. C. You
have been our good friend for so many years,
and we, as a Corps, owe you a great deal,
You have always not only looked after our
interests and have taken such a personal interest
in our many Corps activities and ' I hope that
in the future when these again start that we
shall see you at some of them.
For myself I can never forget your kindness
to me while I was at the War Office, I always
felt that I could bring you my troubles and get
sympathetic advice.
I don't suppose you will be allowed to retire
finally from public life, even if you may
wish to do so, and even if you do you will find
like myself that you will be kept very busy.
With all good wishes for the future.
Yours sincerely,
H. G. RILEY.
Maj.-Gen. H. G. Riley, C.B.
Sir Frederick Bovenschen, K.C.B., K.B.E.

The War Office,
24th August, 1939.
My dear Sir Herbert,
Thank you very much for your letter. I know
I am expressing the feelings of the whole Corps
when I say how sorry we are that the time has
come for you to retire.
We have very much appreciated the interest
you have taken in our welfare in coming to the
Old Comrades Association Dinners, and for the
cup you so kindly gave to be competed for
annually by the Chaplains and ourselves.
For my own part I should like to thank you
for your kindness to me since I have been at
the War Office.
. With best wishes from us all.
Yours sincerely,
H. G. RILEY.
4th October, 1945.

My dear General,
I t was kind of you to write. I have always
valued greatly the unceasing good will which
you and the R.A.P.C. have shown me. I was
very fortunate to have my work linked with-the
R.A.P.C. I could not have had better colleagues, and it wa!> a real privilege to be
associated with the fine show they put up in
the early years of the war.
It was quite
incredible how they overcame the difficulties.
To all the R.A.P.C., and to you personally
I am very grateful, and I do welcome your
good wishes on my retirement. I sincerely
hopt: it may be " au revoir."
Very sincerely yours,
F. BOVENSCHEN.
Sir Herbert Creedy, G.C.B., K.C.V.O.

118
PERSONALIA
and Meerut friends , as well as any who served
with him in Burma.
He is General Manager of Runcolite Ltd.,
3 Vere Street, London, W.1. If in London,
friends can contact him by telephoneMayfair 9501.
The Editor would welcome news from

individuals for inclusion on this page. Subscribers wishing to get in touch with others
should give their addresses, as the Editor
cannot undertake to forward correspondence.
Major R. Stacey, M.B.E., known to many in

Middle East for his weekly broadcasts on pay
matters from Cairo, has been appointed
2nd Officer of the newly-formed Local Government Boundary Commission and is working in
London.
E. E. F. Brookman (late Major) would be

delighted to meet anyone who was in the
Meerut Office. If in Brighton they should call
at Lloyds Bank, North Street.
Lieut.-Col. J. C. MacCrindle would like to

hear from old friends with whom he has lost
contact. Address-c/o. Lloyds Bank, Cox's &
King's Branch, 6 Pall Mall, S.W.1.
S. R. Amatt has returned to his old job

with the Inspection Department of Williams
Deacons Bank and is living in Salford.
W. E. Tallamy is back with the P. and O.

Shipping Company and is desirous of meeting
any old friends ftom M.E.F.
(( Primrose and Blue"
Lieut. H. H. Annand, now demobbed ,

living in London, N.W.9.
7669832 S/Sgt. H. Batten (In Burma).

7942890 Tpr. N. H. Rogers., R.G.H. (now
R.A.P.C.) (While Prisoner of War).
F. W. Partridge, who left the Corps some

years ago, rejoined for duty in May, 1940, and
is still serving at Reading, where he holds the
rank of Captain.

approve that the following be Mentioned in
recognition of gallant and distinguished
serVIces.
Lieut.-Col. G. H. White, who retired from

the Corps in 1934, has been employed in the
Ministry of Food in Somerset since its
inception.
Colonel S. N. Hill is the Services expert at

the John Hilton Bureau, Cambridge, where,
although he has left the Corps, he has to deal
with the same old problems.
Major E. Pease and Capt. T. A. W. Boggis,

after a short spell at home, found the lure of
the Middle East too much for them and have
now returned to Cairo.
G. T. Tokely, who retired from the Corps

some years ago, has recently resigned his
appointment as Sub-Postmaster, Ashford.
Major S. R. Brewer returned from M.E.F.

and soon volunteered for overseas service
again. He is now serving in Nairobi.
The Regimental March of the Royal Army

Pay Corps appeared in the Corps Journal some
years ago but as it is possibly not known to a
large number of those who have joined during
the war it is reproduced in this issue.
Copies printed on heavier paper may be
obtained from the Editor, price 1/- each.
IS
Lieut.-Col. H. C. Langrick will always be

pleased to hear from old Leicester, Allahabad
119
PRIMROSE' AND BLUE

THE REGIMENT ALMARCH Of THE ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS
Composed br Major H. M. Lovering, R.A.P.C.
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Published by permission of Boosey and Hawkes Ltd., London

121

--------------------
LAMENT OF A P.O.W.-(JUNE '45)

But that of course was '41
And now its '45
And things look somewhat different now
To them that's still alive.
The Engineers have found some glass
If chance you have a fag
And gardens bloom most anywhere
We have not time to lag.
And so we have some fun and games
And music with P.T.
They tell us now it won't be long
Ah, well, we'll have to see.
On Christmas Day in '41

Our troubles were just begun
For on that day at 3 p.m.
We fell to the" Rising Sun."
They took us first to " Wellington "
Sappers and Gunners too
Right next door to the Ordnance Store
I leave the rest to you.
Then on we go to " Murray "
Where 10 ! what do we see
The lads in Blue, the Navy
And heavens the D.D.C.
And now we've seen

The" Sun" has set
And once again we're free,
No more for us the rice and veg.
With now and then some tea.
We've had our spot of " Repat." leave
With double rations too
And back we are in " harness "
With stacks of work to do .
With Slipping and Releases
And A.B.64's
Controls and loads of filing
The time that's left is yours.
They tell us there is " twenty eight"
For every" Regular" man
But that of course is " wait and see"
We'll get it if we can.
Then early one bright morning

We packed our kits to go
To Canton? Maybe further
No one seemed to know.
First we stopped in Statue Square
Where we partook of lunch
Then over on the ferry
All huddled in a bunch.
Our route is then by Argyle Street,
But they won't let us stay
So on we go on aching feet
To Sham Shuipo by Lai Chi Bay .
A place at last to rest awhile
But when we look around
There's not a door or window pane
Whatever to be found.
I-I
"TH~Ef CLt~~~ FoR ~E.LEASE W'N~) r LEASE:. ~

122
'I
-----1\011 of !l;onour----rr'Their names liyeth for eyermore"

KILLED IN ACTION OR BY ENEMY ACTION
OFFICERS
Lieut. F. G. Price
Lieut. J . H . Golding
Lieut. G . N. Laslett
OTHER RANKS
Pte.
G. J . Morgan
Pte.
Pte.
K. G. Parry
Pte.
Pte.
E. R. Paterson
Pte.
Pte.
S. Polli
Pte.
Pte.
G. C. Raper
Pte.
Pte.
E. H. Smith
Pte.
Pte . J. Smith
Pte.
Pte.
D. W. Spriddle
S /Sgt.
Pte.
J . H . Thomas
Sgt.
Pte.
F. G. Treves
Sgt.
Pte. R . E. Trevethan
Cpl.
Pte.
F. H . Wilson
Pte.
Pte. J. G. Winer
Pte.
Pte.
W. M . Woolley
Pte.
L /Sgt. A. T. Snowden
Pte.
Pte.
D. J . English
Pte.
Cpl. L. A. Beckett
Pte.
Pte.
C. P. Davies
Pte.
Lieut. L. G. Billing
Capt. A. E. Barton
Lieut. L. T. Lowe
Lie:.It. W. F . G. Wyborn
Li eut. S . G. Vanstone
Lieut. E. C. Weston
S/Sgt. C. B. Lowe
Sgt. R . L. Dorkins
Sgt. C. W. Franks
L /Sgt. W . H. Hyne
L /Sgt. F. T . C . Cannon
Cpl. C. Cox
Cpl. C. G. Dunstall
Pte. A. J . Clacher
Pte.
S. Dunphie
Pte. J. Fox
Pte. H. R. French
Pte. G . H. Golby
Pte. J. L . Gordon
Pte.
G . H . Gliffin
Pte.
R. Griggs
Pte.
R. Hemingway
Pte.
W. Higgins
Pte. J. V. Hindle
A. Dilley
A. A. Golledge
A. Heywood
C. C . Maguire
A. C. Pullan
P. G. Rust
C . R. Tappin
P . M. Lee
P. Mather
H . J. Vincent
E. Pougher
H . Attwood
R . D . Backhouse
H. Briggs
L. T , C. Cherry
L . H. Cohen
A. Dingle
F . Disley
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
w. E . Giles
F. E. Harvey
C. F . Henderson
E. W. H olland
F. G . Johnson
A. Kan
J. Kirkpatrick
H. G. Levine
G. Litwin
A. E . Luesby
J. H. Lyall
F. J . Nevin
S. 1\1. Saxcton
S . R . Terry
H. Tindesley
F. G. A. Wheeler
J. C. Willey
DIED AS PRISONERS OF WAR

S/ Sgt. A. Copes take
Pte. K . K. BackhUl st
Cpl.
Pte.
J. Smart
F. T. Eady
L /Cp!. F. H. Anderson
DIED WHILST SERVING

Lieut. G. F. Lockwood
Lieut. J. Jordan
Lieut. J. P . Va l1 ance
Major W. L. Danks
Lieut. G. C. Barciay
Lieut. G. F. Sharpe
Lieut. C. B. S . Ruddock
2/Lt. A. J. Purnell
2/ Lt. F. L. England
Lieut. A. J. H. Hubert
Lieut . H . Vaughan
Lieut. H. F. H. Bass
Lieut. W. A. F . Rarnes
Lieut. J. Venables
Lieut. E . J. W. Browne
Lieut. L. W. Plumb
Lieut. J. Ellis, M .M.
Lieut. H. A. G'een. M .C .
W.O.l P. Black
W .O.l C. D . Carter
W.O .l E. Gordon
W.O. l J . Score
'~'.O .2 F. S. Offord
W.O.2 T. Thomas
S/Sgt. H. Brasier
S/Sgt . G. G. Helm
S/Sgt. R. J. Hogan
S/Sgt. H. E. Kershaw
S/Sgt. E. Pearson
S/Sgt. E. C. Peri,ins
S/Sgt. R. A . Stove
Sgt. J. Clark
Sgt.
L . D . Eade
Sgt.
W. E . Farley
Sgt.
E. R. Jones
Sgt. G. W. Kirton
Sgt.
H . M. MelVll1e
Sgt. J . Patton
Sgt. C. H. Tarttelin
Sgt.
D. J. Tavlor
Sgt.
L. V. TUrtle
L /Sgt. A. G. Brewster
L /Sgt . E. H. Hodgkins
L /Sgt.. F. V. Ranken
Cpl. A. R. Bull
Cpl. S. Harrison
Cpl. A. J. Ives
Cpl. G. M. Jones
Cpl. G. G . Rounce
Cpl. H. A. Stevens
OFFICERS
Lieut. R. A . Read
Lieut. J . A. D awson
Lieut. E. E Gruchy
Lieut. G . H . Weld on
Lieut. TV. Bishop
Major W. Marshall
Lieut. W. H. H. Lethbridge
Lieut. B. Florian
Lieut. P. C. Roylance
Col. T. A. Meek, M .C.
Lieut. A. C . Morris
Lieut. H . A. Wood
Lieut. E. H . Enraght
Lieut. W. Caudwell
Lieut . A . Dennett
Lieut. N. Nuttall
Lieut. A. L . W . Fleming
Lieut. F. HaTrod
Lieut . J . P. Lawless
Lieut. G. W. Brockman
Major W N. Fraser
L / Col. L. G. D aish
Capt. A. E. Meddemmen
Lieut.. Bil twistle
Major H. A. H . Mepsted
Lieut. A. V. Curry
Lieut. J . C. Barlow
Lieut. J. E . Asquith
Lieut . R. B. Wilson
Lieut. M. Buxton
CapL A D . Stubbs
Lieut. C. D. Hinmars
Lieut. G . Walker
Major J. J . Moss
Capt. A. W. D eacon
Capt . J . C . G . John ston
OTHER RANKS
Cpl. C. A. Thomson
Pte.
C . R. D avies
Pte. R. Davis
Cpl. K . Williams
Cpl. G . A. Willmott
Pte.
G. A. Deans
L /Cpl. E. Bannerman
Pte.
G. A. Finch
L /Cpl. F. C. Hardgrave
Pte.
F. A. Gifford
L /Cpl. R . Belshaw
Pte.
F. W. Goodwin
L /Cpl. D. W. Hopkins
Pte. F. H . Gosden
L /Cpl. E. J. Panting
Pte.
A. K . Gosling
L /Cpl. J . R. Powell
Pte.
L . F . L. Griffiths
L /C pl. G . Watkin-Browne
Pte.
G. Hamilton
L /Cp l. J. A. Way
Pte.
P . K. Hand
Pte.
R. M.Anderson
Pte.
C. E. Harman
Pte.
D. Archer
Pte.
C. F. Henderson
Pte.
H. V. Aslet
Pte.
E . E . Hooper
Pte. C. E . Backus
Pte.
J . E. Hopwood
Pte.
R. W . Bagnall
Pte.
E. B. Howe
Pte. J. V. Bailey
Pte.
G. R . Humphri es
Pte. J. Barnshaw
Pte.
D . G. Hunter
Pte. E . M. Basford
Pte.
G. T. D . Jenkins
Pte. F. C. Bass
Pte. L. J esse
Pte.
G. S. Berrv
Pte.
n. W. Jones
Pte. E. P. Biamonti
Pte.
D . J. Jones
Pte.
R. Britten
Pte.
D. E. Lacey
Pte. A. E. J. Brown
Pte.
H . C . L everton
Pte. J. A. Brvan
Pte.
S. Lewis
Pte . R. C. BlIchan
Pte.
J. Lon gley
Pte.
T. D . Campbell
Pte.
M. L. McCaffrey
Pte. D. A. Chapman
Pte.
W. J . McDermid
Pte.
A. F. A. Cin;
Pte.
F. V. Mellish
Pte. W. Coli ins
Pte. J. A. Middlemass
Pte. F. C. S. Cozens
Pte. A. Miller
Pte.
W. H . L. Croot
Pte. R. H . Molyneux
123
Lieut. H . c. H yam s
Capt. H. Holt
Lieut. H. C. Hamilton, M.C.
Lieut. E. A. Campbell
Lieut. S. Linn
Lieut. E. M. G . Cartledge
Major G. Musgrove
Lieut. S. W. A. H awker
Lieut. E. John
Lieut. T. J . Dickson
Lieut. D . Whannell
Lieut. M. R. Houghton
Lieut. J. T. Duckworth
Major S. Holman
Lieut. Philipps
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
Pte.
J. Morrison
V. W. Nicholas
1. Offner
L. Oglesby
S. A. Pike
E. R . Puckle
A . G. Pursglove
C. F. Rooke
H . J . Sanders
F. Schofield
E . S herwood
J. M. Shiach
H. Slann
C . V . E. Spratling
W. J . H. Stanley
F. W. Stevens
T. D. Swift
R . W. H. Thompson
G. F . Tidmarsh
H . J. Walker
G. F. Walker
H. E. Warhurst
J. T. Warman
J. -Wo 'Watson
R. Watson-Harrison
W. C. Wheway
P. White
E. F. Willcocks
J . D . Witheridge

WESTERN COMMAND
Command Pay Offices

splendid all-round sportsman, his achievements at
the billiards table, rifle range and cricket pitch will
long be remembered.
We extend to Mrs . Black and family our deep and
sincere sympathy in their great loss.
EASTERN COMMAND
After six years of war, the Command Pay Office
finds itself situated where it was in 1939, at Hounslow. During that strenuous period, four changes of
location took place, moving from Hounslow to
Welsh Girls School, Ashford , in 1940, then to Lower
Sloane Street, London, onward to Harpenden,
Herts, returning" home" in September last year.
We take this opportunity of welcoming Brigadier
N. Forde as the new Command Paymaster and feel
sure that his stay here will be a pleasant one.
Our best wishes to Brigadier W . J . H. Bilderbeck,
O .B.E., on his departure in January this year for
service with the Central Mediterranean Forces. This
was the second occasion he had said goodbye to his
staff at the Eastern Command Pay Office, he -having
previously left in 1942 to become Command Paymaster, Northern Command.
We wish a long and happy retired life to our late
Chief Paymaster, Brigadier E. E. E. Todd, C.B.E.,
who left us in September last year.
The R.A.P.C. Savings Association" Flag" was
awarded to this office for the month of January, 1946.
Credit must be given to Pte. L. Adams (A.T.S.)a very energetic savings collector.
SCOTTISH COMMAND
Greetings to all comrades at home and overseas,
and best wishes to the new Corps Journal.
Since the last issue was published in June, 1939,
many changes have taken place in the staff of the
office and although the present members consist
mainly of those unfortunate Sassenachs hounded
out of their own native lands, they are reconciled to
their fate and are admirably withstanding the climate
and the language.
Several of them not having been able to remove
their greatcoats since last August have applied for the
Arctic Medal but with Spring here again they have
decided to withhold applications as things may
improve and who knows-they may be released and
thereby permitted to return south of the Border.
Should they be retained, however, tqey should at
least prove a valuable addition to the opposition at
the soccer match at Hampden this April.
All the known and quite a few of the unknown
trials and headaches of wartime have been experiencedincluding decentralisation and re-organisation.
At the moment, we are almost at the third stage
" paralization " due to the present Release Scheme.
The other day, in connection with the filling of a
responsible position which had become vacant on '
the holder being released, the Chief Clerk had
expectations of a fully trained and experienced Staff
Sergeant in Group' 76, unmarried and no ties-but
alas !-he came to earth when a replacement with
full responsibilities arrived at nine o'clock one bright
morning followed by his Release Book a half-hour
later.
,
However, at all times everyone seems imbued with
real esprit de corps and all transfers coming this way
are assured of a warm and cordial welcome.
Hardly any pre-war members of this office are still
with us but members of the Corps will remember
Colonel A. S . Herbert, M.C., and Colonel R W.
Kelly, O .-B.E., who have now withdrawn into honourable and well-earned retirement. We feel that all
will join us in wishing them good health and happiness for the future.
NORTHERN COMMAND
Congratulations Mr. Editor on the resurrection
of the Corps Journal. It has been sadly missed
during the war years, especially by those, and there
are many, who rely upon it as the only connecting
link with friends in other offices, and its return is
more than welcom.e.
Owing to small numbers activities in this office
are somewhat limited, and we cannot promise notes
of football and cricket matches won or lost, or lavish
entertainments usual to larger offices. Indeed, it is
doubtful if we could raise a Darts team .
Recent social functions were confined to a dinner
and show, and despite the fact that our purse was
rather limited everyone present thoroughly enjoyed
this rare" get together."
In this first publication we say farewell to our
A.C.P ., Lieut.-Colonel K. N. Howard, who has been
with us for the last six years, and wish him all the
best on his retirement. We have already said cheerio
to S /Sgt. Baxter, Sgt. Slater and Pte. Evans of the
Costing Section, and Pte. Kitching, A.T.S., all of
whom have been demobbed.
'
Welcome to S.Q.M.S. Gower who has joined the
Costing Section, having safely returned after his
experiences as a P.O.W., Far East.
It is with great regret that we record the sudden
death of No . 7733116 W.O. I (S.S.M.) Peter Black
who, after a very short illness, passed away at his
home in York on 28th January, 1946. He was at
that time serving as Chief Clerk, R.A.P.C. Costing
Section, Northern Command.
Having served in the C.M.A. and RA.P.C . for a
continuous period of over 26 years, he was a very
well known and well-liked personality in the Corps,
and many of his old comrades were among the
mourners at the military funeral which took place
at Fulford Cemetery, York, on 31st January. A
SOUTHERN COMMAND
Time has not permitted of us giving full notes
for this first issue but the ensuing items will be of
interest.
The following are congratulated on being awarded
Commander-in-Chief's Certificates for Good Service.
Captain G. S. Fraser, No. 4 Embarkation
Paymaster, Southampton; S /Sgt. R J. Brown,
No. 6 M.D .U ., Taunton; S /Sgt. A. E. J.
Wright, C .E .A.O., WIlton.
S /Sgt. (now A .fW.O. I) A. Cameron has been posted
from the Command Pay Office to D .P .O., Taunton,
and S /Sgt. R Bastable has taken his place.
Pte. I. Higham, A.T.S., went on Release leave on
18th February, 1946.
124
occupied a newly adapted portion of a mill, in

March '45.
Before the first of these moves took place it was
decided that we should have a farewell party'h ! sorts,
and this took the form of a dance at " Quaint'ways,"
which was voted by all who attended it, including
a number of personnel recently transferred from
other offices, as one of the best shows they had ever
had. It is significant that not one membe'r of the
party left until the band had played the National
Anthem-and 'several were induced only with
difficulty to leave after this!
Brief mention must be made of the fact that almost
since the inception of the Corps National Savings'
scheme this office has held, and holds, first place
amongst all R.A.P.C. Units, a really remarkable
achievement. It remains to be se'e n whether, with
the recent loss by release of some of our best
" subscribers," we can continue to hold this Il>roud
place.
Our subaltern, Lieut. H. R. Giltrap, was lately
taken from us on posting to the War Office, and very
sorry we all were to lose him . We wish him the best
of luck in his new job.
Finally, may we wish the newly resurrected Royal
Army Pay Corps Journal every success, and a large
and widely read distribution.
A.R.H.
Since the decentralisation, late in 1944, of Command Offices, the nucleus which remained has been
so small that we have been able to carry out little
in the way of social or other activities.
Prior to this decentralisation we were some 230
strong in all ranks, and, despite the usual wartime
difficulties, we ran several very succ.essful functions
which included a Savings Week dance, a sports'
meeting (at which Jupiter Pluvius was an uninvited
and most unwelcome guest !), a horticultural show,
the fine exhibits for which came from our allotments,
and many other activities.
A flourishing, and considerably talented , Amateur
Dramatic Society had been running for only a few
months when its various members had to disperse
with the district office to which each happened to be
assigned .
Two of their productions-Cl Poison Pen" and
" Quiet Wedding " -are worthy of special mention
for the high standard of acting displayed by all
members of the cast of each play.
The actual dispersal of the office was accomplished very smoothly in three phases, South Wales
District moving to Cardiff in September '44, MidWest District to Shrewsbury in October ' 44, and,
finally, North-West District to Preston, where they
District Pay Offices

RAILWAYS BRANCH AND DISTRICT PAY
OFFICE, ALDERSHOT
"Journal Notes" after all these years-to say

nothing of the happenings during that time and the
multifarious changes in Pay Offices throughout the
world.
The above offices combine for social and sporting

activities and during the war years have managed to
produce both a cricket team and football team of
" curate's egg" qualities, but considerable keenness.
Successful dances have also been held, which have
been well supported by the civilian staff of both
offices.
Lieut.-Colonel A. N. Evers has recently been
transferred to the R.A.S.C. Office in London.
Lieut.-Colonel J . R. Burne and S .Q.M .S. J . L.
James, ex P .O.W's. from the Far East, have joined
the District Pay Office.
For this issue at least I am leaving personalities

out of it-and until the Journal gets into its stride
and one can see who wants to know about whom or
which.
In the old days we were all one happy (sic) family
and knew where each and every pal was servingor-if we didn't, the Army List, or Yellow Peril,
would soon tell us . We also knew all the officesnow I fear, we have lost touch somewhat, so I can
think of no better way of opening these notes than to
put us on the map.
DISTRICT PAY OFFICE, INVERNESS

Readers are reminded that the geographical
position of the 63rd Detachment R .A.P.C. is that we
are only a few miles outside the Arctic Region (so
it seems), but we do survive and make our first
contact with the outside world by means of this
Journal.
Although our members are few, we have managed
to uphold the Corps high standard of sport during
this football and hockey season. We have faced
formidable opposition, i.e., P .T .C's. and Training
Battalions, but have held our own. S /Sgt. Cruickshank (A.T.S.) and Pte. Lamb (A.T.S.), have played
in the Scottish Hockey Trials and the latter was
chosen to represent Scottish Command versus
Western Command .
We are housed in a fine old residential Manor,

with an overflow in the local parochial hall, where we
hold our dances, etc., at Chapel Allerton, just three
miles from Leeds City Square, off the Harrogate
road-we are, of course, on the lodging list.
Though I fully intended not to introduce personalities I cannot close without a word of congratulation
to S.Q.M.S. H. A . Micklethwait, S /Sgt. L. A.
Deacon, L/Cpl. G. $mith, Pte. W. G . P . Morris,
Cpl.l. K. Everard, A.T.S. , and Pte. M . B. Cartwright,
A .T.S. , on their recent award of the G.O.C's. Certificate for good service, and also to wish S.Q.M.S.
Yelland, S /Sgt. L. A. Deacon, Sgt. C. Finnemore,
Pte. L. R. Bunning and Pte. F. J. Baker the best of
luck on their recent return to civil life.
DISTRICT PAY OFFICE,

EAST AND WEST RIDING DISTRICT
Here's success to the JournaFand hoping that':it

will once again be the means of linking "old
comrades" together.
JIMF.
61 Det. R.A.P.C. to you-and greetings.

I don't know what you other contributors think
but I am finding it a tough job to launch once again
125
Regimental Pay Offices
NORTH MIDLAND DISTRICT
what to. leave out. However, since time is scarce and

paper IS short, we will be content with a brief
resume of the last few months.
Early in De~ember we were joined by the staff of
C:ntral Cleanng House, IIfracombe, and in the
mIddle of January No. 12 Command Pay Office,
Oslo, returned to take up temporary quarters with us.
An influx of t~lent from C.C.H. made it possible
to arrange a senes of functions, the first of which
took the form of a dance at Barnards Cross on
1st February, 1946.
The Command Paymaster
Brigadier G .. A. C. Ormsby-Johnson, c.B.E., M.C.:
and the ASSIstant Command Paymaster, Lieut.-Col.
H . A . A . Howell, M.B.E., attended, as did almost all
the ?ffice staff.
Music was supplied by Eddie
Purkrss's Band w~ich is a product of the C.C.H.,
and our A.T.S. did very well for us in the way of
refreshments.
In an effort to support the appeal of the Union
Jack Club to extend its premises a dance was
arranged by Captain W. L Bowen, 'R.A.P.C . This
function, which was held at the Guildhall, Salisbury,
took place on 8th February, 1946, and was very well
attended by members of all the services stationed
in the area. Several members of the City Council
were there and the event proved a great success as
a result of which a cheque for 23 6s. 6d. has b~en
sent to the Union Jack Extension Appeal Fund.
It is with deep regret that we note the passing of
1V!r. G. F. L. Hayes, an ex-W.O. of the Corps, who
dled on the 7th January, 1946. Major W. Moran,
O .B.E ., M.C., attended the funeral and a wreath
was sent from the older members of the office.
. News of present members will be given in future
Issues.
This office might almost be referred to as a scion

of a noble house for we are strictly Yorkists. When
we left that ancient city in August, 1944, release
was merely something which one talked about as one
talks of striking oil one day . Certainly we had Age
and Service Group Numbers-or at least we knew
that there were such things-but they were just
numerals, they meant little. War at that time was
like Life, it was real, it was earne;t. With our :nove
came many changes, postings-in, postings-out ,
engagement of new civilian clerks and-dreaded
thought-overseas drafts. And then, .i n what used
~o be called" the fullness of time," the Nazis caved
m and release became something very real. We
began to realise that it wouldn't be all "beer and
skittles," this release business. Much as most of us
wanted to go back to civil life, we did feel that it
wasn't going to be easy to leave behind all the friends
we had made through the years. It wasn't going to
be easy for us to get back into civvy ways either.
The 8-30 every morning and the 5-30 every evening.
And clothing coupons and so on! "Aw, nerts "
said the eager ones, " let's get out and worry abo~t
that afterwards." But those of us w ho are left feel
that we
want to say quite seriously that we' miss
the famIlIar faces. It would be unwise for us to
mention names because it might suggest that those
we do not mention are forgotten . To all then who
are now "Mister" instead of " , Staff" Ser~eant
Corporal, or Private," we say" Good Luck! " W~
shall remember you for a long time!
While on the subject of departures it is felt that
it is appropriate for us to mention the arrival of
S.S.M. Mulford, If. familiar figure in Nottingham,
and ther~fore not In need of the fatherly advice
us.u all y given to those who enter this city from what
nug;ht b~ termed " the great outside." Good luck ,
Sar Major, long may you remain with us.
??
SOUTH WESTERN DISTRICT ,

Publication of the R .A.P.C. Journal after six years'
rest was good news to the Corps personnel and
civilians of 23 Detachment, R.A.P.C. tucked away
in Hestercombe Camp, near Taunton.
. The Detachment welcomes Lieut.-Colonel Buck
as District Paymaster, and hopes that his stay will
be a happy one.
Welcome also to the fold is S.S.M. Cameron from
Salisbury who arrived here to take up duties of Chief
Clerk, a few weeks ago. He replaced S.S .M. Raleigh ,
who has taken unto himself a bowler hat and a new
serge suit.
Personnel at c.P.O. Salisbury may be interested
to note that recently L /Cpl. (Sandy) Saunders,
L /Cpl. Ken Matthews and Cpl. Shore have left us
for civvy street, via 6 M.D.U., Taunton. Climbing
gradually to the head of the demob. list are our
A.T.S . friends, Pte. (Horace) Cleasby, M., S /Sgt.
Molly Clarke and Sgt. "Queenie" Fortune. One
by one pen weary diehards are leaving, but the work
goes on, and new faces apPear from time to time.
Indoor sport is the thing in these parts and table
tennis and billiards tournaments recently completed
produced two worthy winners in Pte. Gordon
Williams and Cpl. George Smith, respectively.
All at Hestercombe look forward to this first issue
of the Royal Army Pay Corps Journal, hoping to see
news of old friends serving in Offices throughout
the country.
Farewell Dinner.-Practically all the male

personnel, A .T .S ., and civilian staffs of the 62nd
Det~chme?t R.A.P:C. C?ffice in Nottingham attended
a Dmner In the V Ictona Station Hotel on Monday,
l~th January, 1946, when the Commanding Officer,
LIeut.-Colonel G. E. Pearson presided.
The office will soon be seriously depleted by
releases and this event was a f~rewell party. Arrangements ~ere made by the SOCIal and Entertainments
CommIttee, the secretary of which is Pte. H. Charles.
~ppf(~priate toasts were honoured , the speakers
bemg LIeut.-Colonel Pearson , Lieut. G . H . Bridge,
S.Q.M.S. V. James, and Sgt. J. Brown . S /Sgt. R. S.
Jones was toastmaster and M.C. at the dance which
followed, the music being provided by the Band of
the 42nd Btn . R.A.P.C.
DISTRICT PAY OFFICE, SALISBURY

Greetings to all from No. 22 Detachment,
Salisbury .
All ranks were ~elighted to hear that the Journal
was once more gomg to press and the first re-issue
is eagerly awaited.
So much has happened since the last Journal was
published that it is hard to know what to say and
126
Though depleted by recent departures our football

team has found worthy successors in new arrivals
and is maintaining its place in the Bradford Amateu;
League. We hope to record in our next notes the
fitting reward of the team's sacrificed half-holidays
by securing a place, not too far removed from the top .
Great efforts have Deen made in the Bradford Cup
Competition in which we have reached the semifinal. In the Badminton World, intermittent practice
combined with the Pay Corps motto" The personnel
concerned have now left the office" can be pleaded
in justification of a crushing defeat by our friends of
the Leeds Office a few weeks ago, but" new blood"
is coming forward and it is hoped to be able to provide
for more regular practice, so "Look out, Leeds
we're coming back !."
,
Rambling still attracts the more agile at week-ends
and the sight of a party of shorts-clad members of
the office setting out for a day amongst the rigorous
climate of the Yorkshire Moors continues to amaze
the average armchair worshipper. However, even
the hardened "hikers" do not altogether forget
their less active comrades and rambling has included
a few pleasant week-ends in the comfort of Youth
Hostels.
These week-ends prove to be special
attractions and it is a case of "first come, first
served" in the allocation of the limited accommodation vacancies.
Those " Old Bradfordians " who remember with
pride our Canteen Theatre, home-built from a lot
of nothings will be interested to know that it still
flourishes though the departure of old favourites has
reduced the number of shows put on. We can still
manage to put up a good show in Pantomime and
this year 's effort, " The Sleeping Beauty," put on for
a week at the Civic Playhouse was a worthy successor
to "Alladin" and "Cinderella" of former years.
Whether or not we can continue this annual tradition
in future years depends upon the talent provided
b y the" yet to comes. "
Monthly Battalion D ances remain popular and are
improved b y the presence of our own Dance Band
which incidentally has made quite a name for itself
in Bradford and surrounding districts . Open-air
concerts in the Parks, Battalion functions and outside
engagements-it has taken them all in its stride.
Again the bogey of Release is beginning to rear its
ugly head but we are hoping that talent will come
forward to replace imminent departures.
Bradford is proud of its efforts in the O.C.A. field .
In spite of the departure of old members and the
arrival of recent intakes a present membership of
80 per cent. can be recorded. As forerunners of the
looked-forward-to Corps Dinners we have had two
very successful O.C.A. Dinners and Smoking
Concerts in our Canteen Theatre, and judging b y
the popularity of these events it seems likely that
more will come. The last took place in December,
and it was very pleasant to see the O .C.A. spirit so
suitably apparent in the attendance of those released
members whose residence was within travelling
distance of Bradford. We hope to see many of our
released friends at future functions and live again
our memories of foggy mornings at Manchester, P.T.
on the beach at South port and the never-to-beforgotten week-ends of Military Training at Dewsbury Camp. No doubt re-unions in the years to
come will find the old time-honoured " When I was
in Poona " replaced b y " Do you remember at
Dewsbury . . . . ? "
BRADFORD
Greetings to the Journal on its return to the
Active List I Those of us who remember its activities
in more settled days will be glad to read its pages
once more whilst others, to whom it will be an
innovation, will be no less pleased to find in the
Journal a means of keeping in touch with offices and
individuals now too numerous for personal contact.
Having wandered around England from Canterbury, via Manchester and Southport to our present
location and having overcome the obstacle of finding
a " mug" or " mugs" to assume responsibility for
compiling the "office notes" the Bradford contingent sends its heartiest greetings to all comrades
at home and overseas and especially to all former
" tank-account-wallahs " wherever they may be.
The large number of past and present staff of the
office, each with his (or her) own particular item of
news, makes it impossible to revert to the individualism of peacetime days, and we must be content to
generalise by bidding farewell and good luck to the
many who have already been released and extending
a welcome to others who have come from far and
~ear to repl~~e them. T~e rec~nt arrivals are entering
mto the spmt of the thmg WIth remarkable rapidity
and one wonders whether the percentage of " transfers to R.A.P.C." amongst recent attachments is not
due in some measure to the pleasures of life in a
mixed Military/A.T.S. unit!
Some readers may be acquainted with this city
of Wool, Tops, Noils, Rain and intense Cold. Suffice
to say that even the" oldest inhabitants" cannot wax
enthusiastic about its beauties, but whatever the
opinion of its location, few will deny that the Bradford
office is " pretty good! "
Under the able encouragement of our C .O.,
Colonel R. H. Sayers, O.B .E. , M.C., and his secondin-command, Lieut.-Colonel R. W. K. Randall
O.B.E. , we have developed quite a good social life:
In spite of the fact that being on the lodging list
tends to create other ties and other attractions both
the Officers' and Sergeants' Messes are truly" alive "!
Some measure of this success must again be accorded
~o the A.T.S. whose attendance helps to nullify the
mfluence of " outside attractions" !
The Officers' Mess, conveniently situated in the
heart of the city provi des attractive "Cards and
Games" evenings on Tuesdays and Fridays, and
monthly Cabaret Dances are well patronised. The
" highlight" of the Winter Season was a very
successful Officers' Dinner held at the Mess on
11th De.cet'l1.b~r. Judging by the number of Aspirin
~ottles m eVIdence the following morning a good
tIme was h ad by all.
The Sergeants' Mess is a flourishing concern with
nearly 100 members and the usual crowd of" regulars " who undertake the responsibility of ensuring
prosper.ous old age for the local brewers. In spite of
possessmg a floor unsuitable for dancing the social
evenings which are frequently arranged by the
committee are highly successful. A special effort
was m ade on 23rd January when Mess members
put up a valiant effort to entertain the officers. With
the best of intentions games competitions were
arranged and a record of individual successes was to
be m aintained . As far as could later be ascertained
some games were in fact played but ho w many , and
with what result, will remai n "just one of those
things" that crop up in Pay Offices from time to time
and for which no reasonable explanation can be found!
127

DROITWICH
The staff of the Droitwich Office welcome the
opportunity given by the re-introduction of the
R.A.P.C. Journal of greeting their colleagues in all
other offices at home and overseas.
Dancing.-Unit dances are held fortnightly at the
local Winter Garden Theatre and are a great success,
thanks to the untiring efforts of the unit dance
orchestra. The dances are frequently enlivened by
cabaret turns, provided by talented members of the
unit. A Dancing Club is being formed for the purpose of providing instruction in ballroom dancing,
and the interest shown promises strong support.
Dramatic Society.-Two of Noel Coward's
plays have been produced recently: "Blithe Spirit"
and "Hay Fever."
Both were very successful,
" Blithe Spirit" being shown at the B.B.C., Evesham,
and the RA.P .C., Kidderminster. Proceeds from
this play provided a Christmas party for the boys of
the Paul Amphlett Home. The proceeds from" Hay
Fever" were given in aid of the Forelands' Children's
Hospital at Bromsgrove. The Society will present
in April a Drama, "Love from a Stranger," by
Frank Vosper.
Shakespeare Memorial Theatre.-Weekly visits
were resumed in January, 1946, to the Shakespeare
Memorial Theatre at Stratford-on-Avon.
Enthusiastic support has been given.
During the present season, personnel of the
Battalion have had the opportunity of seeing two
outstanding plays, namely, "This Happy Breed,"
by Noel Coward, and "Dangerous Corner," by
J. B. Priestley.
It is hoped that it will be possible to organise a
number of visits during the Shakespeare Festival
which commences in April.
Gramophone Club.-A Gramophone Club is
flourishing in Droitwich and the concerts are well
supported. Programmes are well varied and usually
include two major works. Difficulty is experienced
in obtaining records at present, but it is hoped that
the club will continue to maintain concerts on a
weekly basis. Concerts by the Birmingham City
Orchestra and local celebrity concerts are also well
patronised by members of the unit.
Football.-Enthusiasm for football in the unit is
strong, although many of the team members of
previous seasons have now left us. Two teams are
playing, the 1st Eleven in the Worcester and District
Amateur League, and the 2nd Eleven in a series of
friendly matches with local teams. The 1st Eleven
are to be congratulated on their success in the
Worcester Minor Cup Competition. They have now
reached the semi-final and the result of that match
is awaited with keen interest. There has been welcome support for the team, both from A.T.S. and
military personnel, and though it is difficult to
forecast the future, it is hoped to build up a strong
football club which will hold its own in competition
with any teams in the area.
Hockey.-This has been a fair season for the
mixed hockey team. Owing to the many changes,
release, etc., it has been difficult to keep the team
up to the usual standard. However, 75 per cent. of
the games played were stlccessful. Two of the games
were cancelled due to the unsuitability of the ground
through rain, but throughout the severe frosty
weather experienced at the beginning of the year,
the eleven carried out all its fixtures .
RiBe Club.-The Rifle Club, which was formed
in 1943, is affiliated to the S.M.R.C. Meetings are
held twice weekly at the local Home Guarq range.
The club enters teams in the S.M.RC. and Midland

League matches, in which they have performed
creditably. Dur-ing the winter, a monthly Club
competitiof.1 is held, the member showing most
improvement over his previous scores being awarded
a shooting-spoon provided from Regimental funds .
A high startdard of shooting has been maintained
and though the club has felt the loss of old members
transferred or returned to civilian life, many worthy
successors have been found amongst new personnel.
Table Tennis.-A very keen table tennis competition was held recently, Wing 4 defeating the
officers in the final. National Savings Certificates
were presented to the members of the winning team.
Locations.-The following list will be of interest
to the pre-war staff as it gives the names of personnel
in the office who were in the RA.P.C. prior to the
outbreak of war, 1939: Lieut.-Col. E. G. Jonas,
O.B.E., Major L. A. F. Mockler, Major H. M.
Lovering, Captain G. E. Needham, Lieut. E. ' L.
Botfield, Lieut. V . S. H. Mitchell, A.A.O.1. Mr. H.
Long (ex S.Q.M.S.), S.S.M. B. J . Winch, S.S.M. F.
Harpham, Sgt. H. Pocklington. S.S .M. F. W. Jones
has recently left on release.
EDINBURGH
Here's news from" Auld Reekie,"
But what do you think ?
" Scotch" is only a word,
And no longer a drink.
Colonel E. C. Overton is still our Chief here, for,
although the moving finger of F.9a pointed at him
recently, it moved on and did not write. All our
S.P's. are of the old brigade-Lieut.-Colonel J. B.
Cooper, Majors R G . Smith, W. F. Oram, F. Pott,
A. W. L. Shepherd, and H. Avery. Major Smith
received recognition of his services with the award
of the M.B.E. in the last New Year's Honours List.
So much for personalities, and as your correspondent has taken a solemn oath not to mention work
in these notes, we will firmly shut the binders and
pass on to other things.
Since the 31st Battalion is no longer responsible
for the defence of the East Side of Scotland, we now
have to pay our own fares to North Berwick on a
Sunday. Those who have passed through this office
during the last few years will be interested to know
that Captain Hu.xley is still with us, although he is
now very careful to let somebody else take the first
jump into the blanket.
During the last season, our football team did
amazingly well, considering the very limited opportunities for training. Unfortunately, the weather kept
away all but the most enthusiastic spectators. Last
summer, the cricket team had many successful and
enjoyable m atches.
Miniature rifle shooting is still a favourite pastime,
thanks to the enthusiastic organisers and the local
authorities who have lent us ranges.
And now for the cosier side of life. We have been
able to run at least one dance each week, and
although your correspondent is a mere Sassena~h,
let him say that never has he had more charmmg
partners .
,
.
Whilst LieUt.-Colonel T. Kelly was w1th us, we
had a never-ending flow of new material for the
Dramatic Players, and many pounds were ra1sed for
charity. When he left to resume his well-deserved
retirement another budding playwright attempted to
come forward, but the interloper was quickly found
a job of work to do, much to the relief of.the o~ce
in general, who were then able to get to the1r sectIOns
128

Chief Clerk, after the departure~ abroad of S .S.M.
H . Alien, for what proved to be a long run. About
the same time S.Q.M.S. Argent departed for
" somewhere up North" and the S.R's. and militia
boys started to make their presence felt. This,
perhaps is an appropriate place to say what must be
a wholly inadequate word of praise for those men
who formed those two classes. It was obvious, at a
very early stage, that they would become the backbone of the office staff and verily they did.
The first two years of the war brought more than
a fair measure of social activity and a select few who
were chosen to organise these events worked hard
and won success. Re-reading the office journal of the
day-the Cliff-Club Mag-brings back pleasant
memories of weekly" hops," ambitious dances with
elegant floor sho ~s, soccer, hockey, rugby, badminton, tennis, cricket and a fully fledged club. The
best of everything for a good hard-working crowd.
Regimental Paymasters followed one another in
very quick succession; after Lieut.-Colonel Hughes
came Lieut.-Colonel G. W. Nelson, Lieut.-Colonel
H. E . Warr, Lieut.-Colonel F. G. Norton and finally,
in March 1941, came Lieut.-Colonel E. W. Booth
who has remained in command ever since. Soon
afterwards the departure of Major J. B. Cooper
started a succession of seconds in command-Major
H. H. Cottier, Major J. P. N . Whitty, Major R D.
Coate, Major J. W. Brennan and (still in office)
Major H. Finlinson.
In 1941 the office vacated the huts in Belmont
Park and moved entirely into the City taking over a
row of unoccupied shops, a brewery bottling department, a furniture depository and part of another
shop and continued in its occupation of the Museum.
But still that was not enough for, in the next year,
two Church halls and two huts were taken over. At
one time there were eleven buildings to administer
and, for a comparatively small office, this imposed
more than a little strain on the lines of communication. But with all the difficulties, and who was
without them, the staff loyally kept the reputation
of the office very high and were proud of their
achievement.
A mention must be made of the civilians forming
the permanent staff. Of those who were serving in
the office at the outbreak of war Messrs . G. Feurer,
A. T. Pope and T. Uren together with the Misses
B. Ball and W. Wylie still remain with us . Mr. H. H.
Pope left to go to Ilfracombe and we regret the
passing 'of Frank Price, who actually died at his desk
in the summer of 1945.
With the end of the war came the demand for the
restoration to their rightful owners of much of the
property occupied in the City, so in September of
last year the office was moved into By Pass Camp,
some three miles from Exeter, where living accommodation has been found for a large number of the
male military staff. The A.T.S. vacated their hostels
and moved into another camp at Alphington, some
four miles from the office, from ",hence they come to
work in three-ton trucks. Under the new scheme, a
proportion of cooks and orderlies (A.T.S.) were
accommodated in By Pass Gamp for the purpose of
running the combined messing under the direction
of the A.T.S. Company Commander.
In good weather, camp life is appreciated as being
healthier than town dwelling and the office accommodation is certainly more lavish than we had become accust(')med to, but English weather is fickle! !
Still, the sl!ln11Tier is in the offing and who knows
what may happen after that.
without pushing past wet scenery. Our enthusiastic

Lieut. Harper recently produced "Why Not
Tonight" with an all office cast for the entertainment
oC the audience and the financial gain of several
charities.
A very enthusiastic Camera Club has been formed,
and by now, there can hardly be any member of the
offi~e who has not got at least " four postcards and
one enlargement."
, , The Concert Party has been quiet for some time,
but another show is at present in rehearsal, and once
again we hear talk about" front tabs" and " amber
spots."
.
~',iBridge has its group of devotees, and the Bndge
'C lub under the whip of Captain Craxton, has earned
the respect of local circles.
Perhaps one word of warning in conclusion to
anyone who is posted to this station-if you have a
caravan or house-boat, or even a tent, bring it with
you.
It may solve your greatest difficultyaccommodation.
" EL TAWIL."
EXETER
A Review of the War Years.-It seems a far
cry to look back to September, 1939, and to re,:iew
the passage of time and all that has happened smce
that memorable date.
I remember that Sunday
morning well! Most of our S.R's. had been with us
since July and the remaining few had reported, one
in mufti, that very morning. Five strange women
also reported for what they termed" duty." To one
who had been abroad for a number of years the
letters W.A.T.S . meant little, but I gathered they
were the modern W.A.A .C. They were welcome
because at that time we were in dire need of assistance; the bubbling pot had boiled over!
Let me try to remember who were the permanent
military staff, because it might be interesting. The
RP. was Lieut.-Colonel F. A. Woods. The other
officers Major J. B. Cooper, Major L. J. Camp,
Capt. J. Quinn, Lieut. G. A. Barnes. The other rank
staff was S.S.M. Knevett, S.Q.M.S. Plunkett,
S /Sgts. Allen, Argent, Backwell and Jones, Sgt.
Terry.
The office was situated in two houses and two huts
in Clifton Hill and was shared with the Officer i/c
Records. It soon became evident with the rapid
growth of staff that this accommodation was inadequate. In came the builders and in a very short
time (happy thought!) two large huts which were
being built in an adjacent park, were completed,
and two rows of smaller huts added. But still we
grew! A drill hall was taken over from the T.A.
and soon afterwards another.
In the meantime Lieut.-Colonel Woods had
been relieved by Lieut.-Colonel H. J. Hollingsworth and Major E. C. Overton had arrived, Plunkett
became a W .O.I and soon afterwards S /Sgt. AlIen
was promoted to S.S.M. To attempt to recall. all
the promotions and changes of staff would be bormg
even if it were possible.
With the arrival of Lieut.-Colonel A. S. R. Hughes
to relieve Lieut.-Colonel Hollingsworth the headquarte'rs of the office broke away rom the accommodationjointly occupied with the Officer i/c Recor~s
and settled in the local Museum. The comment 1S
too obvious! That was early in 1941 and it was
about that time when two of the stalwarts of the
office departed on being corrunissioned-S.S.M.
Plunkett and S.Q.M.S. F . A . Jones.
S.Q.M.S.
Backwell was insta-lIed as W.O.I and remained as
129
THE ROYAL ARMY PAY . CORPS JOURNAL

Entertainment.-In the dark days of the war one
of the few bright spots was the entertainment provided by the talent found among our own staff.
Perhaps the brightest of all was the Concert Party,
ably led since early 1940 by Michel Kebby, probably
better known to most of YOll as "Michael, the
Illusionist." Unit talent was used for many shows
inside and outside the Company. One old programme, for instance, concerns " St. Sidwells Free
Concert for the Forces" in April, 1940, and reads:
" The R.A.P.C. were well represented both on the
stage and among the audience. Kebby gave an
excellent show as the" Mysterious Illusionist" and
the Swing Section of the RA.P.C. A.T.S. Dance
Band put in some good work. "Xmas Pud" in
December was a masterpiece, a pantomime in
miniature. The chief cook had discovered many
extraordinary recipes. On various occasions Kebby
put on the three-quarter of an hour show for Forces'
Night at the Odeon, using Unit talent when possible,
and by this means many budding artistes were first
discovered. The Concert Party proved so popular
that it was much in demand, and gave many shows to
hospitals, and other units in the district.
Dramatics have played their part. 1941 was a
particularly busy year with "The Best People"
and "Creaking Chair" in the spring, "French
without Tears" in May and June and "Middle
Watch" in December and January.
" Middle
Watch" was particularly successful and was performed several times outside the Unit.
All this time the Dance Band, ably led by Sgt.
Radley and S .Q .M.S . Lewis was maintaining a very
high reputation and could only ful~l a ,small ~ro
portion of the engagements for which Its services
were requested. The Unit had its fair share of dances
at the Friars Drill Hall and then at the Museum.
But the sun could not continue to shine so
brightly and dimmed a little in 1942. Calls to arms, .
calls to foreign fields and calls to higher spheres of
duty soon took toll of our talent. Clearing up after
the blitz much sloping of arms and "Keep your
eye on the target! " occupied the rest with the result
that less was done within the Unit, though the band
still gave us many enjoyable dances, and Mr. H. H.
Pope came into the picture as question-master for
his spelling bees, and general knowledge bees. In
fact the Inter-Wing league produced unbounded
enthusiasm and a new thirst for knowledge.
In 1944 we ,saw" Skirts" produced by the U.S.
Navy, now encamped near us in force. In April we
sponsored "Flarepath" by: Stars in Batt.l edress in
the Civic Hall, much appreciated by the Allied Fo~ces
in the area. Our dances had now moved to St. Davlds.
These and the band were as popular as ever. Mention
must be made also of a flourishing mixed choir and
the Gramophone Society, the activities of which
helped to fill the years between.
1945 proved a difficult year with many movements
of staff, but the Dramatic Society revived.
In
November" Blithe Spirit" was produced and proved
to be an excellent production in spite of many
difficulties. Alas, three leading ladies have already
left us to return to the scrubbing brush and tea cloth.
1946 looked rather blank, but new talent has been
unearthed and a variety show is in course of preparation. In the next issue we hope to tell you all
about it.
Institutes and Messes.-The detachment (as it
. then was) canteen was opened. on the mov~ to Paul
Street in 1942, and we would like to take thiS opportunity of expressing our gratitude to the kindly and
Major G. A. Barnes deserves a paragraph to

himself. The start of the war found him in Exeter
and he has continued to serve in this station up to
the time of writing with no apparent prospect of
deserting us . He is the only one hundred. " pe~
center" and, in this respect, is perhaps umque III
the Corps.
This report would not be complete without a
reference to our A.T.S. staff who, at the time of
writing, are drifting away to "Civvy S!reet" at a
rate of knots. They have done a grand Job of work
and have carried the burdens of the day in a very
capable manner. It would be invidious to select
names for special mention but I feel that the sympathy of all who knew her is extended to S.S.M.
Tolley who was unfortunate enough to lose an eye
when one of our offices was bombed at the end of
1942. From the outbreak of war until then she had
been a corner stone in the A.T.S. Company structure.
Finally, since we are talking of J erry's depredations,
a word or two should go on record of the part played
by the R.A.P.C. Detachment, as it then was, during
and after the heaviest air raid in May, 1942. Our
men were scattered all over the town rendering very
valuable aid to the fire and salvage services long before
it was possible to organise such an effort. Soon after
daylight arrived organisation directed them to the
setting up of communal feeding centres and the
removal of reserve civilian rations threatened by fire
and unsafe buildings. For three or four days our
men took over a large portion of the civil police
duties of directing traffic, and unstinted praise was
given them in the local press for the manner in which
thev carried out their various duties.
And now we progress, slowly perhaps, towards a
normal peacetime setting. The" temporaries" are
packing their kits and, amid a welter of hand shaking,
the numbers decrease and less and less is seen of the
blue Southern Cross on a yellow ground, the emblem
of the Royal Army Pay Corps, Southern Command.
Wherever they be, we take this opportunity of
wishing them Good Luck and Good Health.
Sports.-The Company was fortunate during the
war years in having not only a number of talented
sportsmen, but a wealth of keen "triers" in almost
every branch of sport. Teams were in the field every
week during the appropriate seasons for Cricket,
Tennis, Golf, Soccer, Rugger, Hockey, Table Tennis,
and on the canal bank for Fishing.
Although we fared well against some of the
best-known Devon cricket teams, year after year,
the excitement and popularity for both players 'and
spectators was derived from the Inter-Wing Cricket
Championships. Six teams competing from a total
Company strength of approximately 230 revel,lled the
keenness of all ranks.
Those who served in the Company will remember
the Inter-Wing Soccer Matches at Exeter City's
ground, and the look of anxiety .. on the Sports
Officer's face as the keenness developed to the extent
where the Medical Orderly began to unstrap his kit,
and visions of the next morning's sick parade looked
ominous. But what did a few knocks and bruises
mean? The lads were there again the following week .
The Annual Sports, every year in July, in a
garden party atmosphere, were of no mean standard.
As is always so, the" stars" walked the course, but
the " also rans " made the day.
Swimming must not be forgotten. It takes a keen
sportsman to be in the swimming baths voluntarily
at 07.30 hrs ., but there are many who will remember
the fun at those early morning dips.
130
r:
patriotic ladies who worked in it throughout the war

years as voluntary helpers. On the move of the office
to the By Pass Camp, the canteen opened straightaway in the very good Regimental Institute Buildings.
Shortly after our arrival here, however, we lost
the devoted services of Lieut. "Percy" Ellis, who
has returned to his native Yarmouth on release. We
are most grateful to him for all the hard work he
put in to make the canteen a happy and successful
" show" and we were lucky to be able to benefit from
his e:lSperience in that particular line. The canteen,
however, is still " in the family" as his daughter,
Corporal Mary Ellis, A.T.S., is now in charge and
is carrying on where father left off-and very successfully too.
A few weeks after our arrival in camp, " Ye Olde
Shoppe" was opened in the Institute Buildings,
under the auspices of the P.RI., and under the control and management of Mrs. Booth. As we are now
some distance from the shopping centre of Exeter,
this shop on the spot, where the majority of personal
requirements, from ink to lip-stick, can be obtained,
has proved a boon to all of us.
A sergeants mess has, throughout the war and to
this day, been running as a separate concern and an
officers mess, open for "elevenses," lunch and tea
was opened shortly after we came out here.
Children's parties, for the bO
enefit of all children
of our Military and Civilian Staff, have been held
every Christmas.
The "Thirty-two" Dinner Club.-The first
annual re-union Dinner of the above club was held
at the Friernhay Institute, Exeter, on Saturday:
2nd February, 1946, when 120 demobilised and
serving RA.P.C. officers and men renewed friendships formed during the war years when serving with
No. 32 Detachment and No. 32 Company in Exeter.
The evening proved a great success and the spirit
of comradeship on all sides augurs long life forthe club.
The toast list was limited to two, the loyal toast
proposed by the Commanding Officer, Lieut.-Col.
E. W. Booth, O.B.E., M.C., and" Absent Friends"
by the Chairman, ex S /Sgt. C. Hooper.
A first-class orchestra played during the dinner
and, later, entertainment by Jan Stewer, the wellknown Devonshire dialect artiste, contributed
materially to the happy atmosphere. The outstanding
feature throughout was the obvious pleasure of
everyone in renewing old acquaintances and chatting
over old times. It was for precisely this that the club
was formed.
The Chairman, in the only speech of the evening,
expressed a warm welcome to all and particularly to
those who had travelled from homes in Devon ,
Cornwall, Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire and
Gloucestershire, to give the" Thirty-Two" Dinner
Club a good start. In a brief resume of the events
leading up to the formation of the club he paid
tribute to the pioneer work performed by the Hon.
Secretary , ex S /Sgt. H. J. Pascho, and the Hon.
Treasurer, ex Cpl. E. H . SIagg, and also to the
Commanding Officer for his warm approval, suggestions, and practical help from P.RI. The Chairman
remarked that many of the 750 officers and men who
had left No. 32 Det. and Coy. between 1939 and
early 1945 had been contacted by circular letter,
private correspondence, or by "passing the word
along." Some 290 replies expressing pleasure and
support of an annual re-union in Exeter had come
from all theatres of war, from Norway to Burma,
from Jerusalem to Durban, besides replies from old
colleagues serving at the many home stations.
There remain many ex 32 Detachment or Company

officers and men who have not been contacted for
various reasons and new members would be welcome.
The only qualification for tnembership is service,
however short, with No. 32 Detachment or Company.
There is no membership fee. All members will be
notified well in advance of the annual function and
each will be requested to forward a remittance to
cover the cost of his dinner. Applications should be
'a ddressed to the Hon. Treasurer, Cartref, Maidencombe, Newton Abbot, Devon. Tentative arrangements have already been made with one of the few
big hotels, remaining in "blitzed" Exeter, for the
second re-union which it is hoped to hold on
Saturday, 8th March, 1947.
The following attended the dinner: Messrs.
E. W. C. Adams, E . C. Aioscow, Lt. F. G. AlIen,
Mr. A. R Argent; Lt. J. C . Backwell, M.B.E., Mr.
H. L. Bailey, Major G. A. Barnes, M.B.E., Messrs.
L. Barrett, R Bastable, K. B. Beavis, Capt. C. C.
Beazley, L /Cpl. W. R. Bird, Lt.-Col. E. W. Booth,
O.B.E., M.C., Sgt. F. W, Bowden, Mr. H. W.
Burrows, L / Cpl. M. W. Butt; Messrs. H. Campbell, X
C. Chandler, Lt. T. A. Cole, Sgt. S. A. Coleman, I "
Capt. W.W:-Coleman, Messrs. R J. and T. S.
Collings, L. G. Coombes, Major M. J. P. M.
Corbally, Messrs . F. J. Cox, W. Crees; Lt. R C.
Dade, S /Sgt. G. A. B. bawe, Messrs. R. Dunstone ;
E. N. Earl, T. J. C. Evans; S.S.M. R. Fairclough,
Mr. E. G. M. Field, Major H. Finlinson, Lt. D. T.
Forsey, Lt. P. J. Frost; Pte. D. S. Gillies, Lt. L. M.
Goddard, Mr. J. W. G . Greenham, Pte. A. J. C.
Gruber, Messrs. F. S. Guest, D. Gunter; S.Q.M.S.
R G. Hales, Messrs. J. L. Harvey, C. E. Hodges,
E. A. Homes, F. Honey, C. Hooper; R J. Jarvis,
Sgt. W. L. Jenkins, Messrs. E. R. Johns, A. Jones,
Capt. F. A. Jones, L / Cpl. J. S. Jones, Messrs. S.
Josephs; A. S. King, W. R. T. King, Pte. S.
Kneale; S /Sgt. Lenthall, Messrs. V. Lewis, J. H.
Light, S. Long, N . M. Lovely, S /Sgt. D. G.
Lucking; Sgt. E. V. Mercer, Mr. J. D. Morgan,
Cpl. L. Morgan,; Messrs. B. Norrish; F. Oliver ;
C. N . Parsons,
H. J. Pascho,
Capt. G . E.
Penney, Mr. F. H. Plant, S.Q.M.S. J. E. Potter,
Messrs. F. W. Povey, H. D. Prince, K. A. W.
Prichard, Proud, H. Prudhoe; A . L. Rendell,
Lt. G. A. H. Roberts, Capt. E. J. Robinson, Mr.
W. S. Rogers, Lt. P . N. Rycroft;
Capt. W.
Sargeant, Messrs. H. E. Searle, L. Semmens, E. H.
Slagg, S /Sgt. R C . Smith, Messrs. G. W. Stead,
E. H. Steer, S /Sgt. J . M. Stewart, Mr. F. S. Stoyle,
Capt. E. M. Sykes; Messrs. W. G. Temple, A. E.
Taylor, A. H. Taylor, Capt. F. W. Thomsett,
Messrs. R. Tregidgo, G. A. Turvey, Lt. F. S. Tute ;
Messrs. A. E. Wall, G . Wells, Pte. A. Weston,
Mr. D. Wilce, Capt. C. R. Wilkinson, Capt. T. V. B.
Wilmshurst, Sgt. K. W. Wood, Capt. K. C. Wright.
FOOTS CRAY
The decision to resurrect the Journal was received
with great pleasure at Foots Cray, the RP., Colonel
C. J. K. Hill, organised a canvass amongst the staff
to ascertain the measure of support for the Journal,
and the result was unanimously in favour. The
news was particularly acclaimed by the many " old
hands" who knew and appreciated the Journal in
the piping days of peace. Among others we number
as members of our battalion, in addition to Colonel
Hill: Lieut.-Col. J. P. N. Whitty, Majors J. T.
Kaine, G. W. Mitchener, C. H . Meadon, H . Stubbs,
Capts. A. C. Farmer, A. L. Munro, C. H. Weston,
J . L. Hoare, W. J. Chant, Lieut. N. Mackay,
131

S.S.M's. Kerry, Lavender, Watson, and S.Q.M.S.
Statham.
We are looking forward to a renewal of contacts
severed through the unavoidable circumstances of
the past few years. l;ews of other offices will be
studied far more than the most erudite of articles,
and on our part we will endeavour to give the Foots
Cray exiles as much of the " gen " as possible.
At present we are in the scrum with demob.
difficulties and in these we are being nobly assisted
by members of many outside units including the
RA., R. Sigs., R.A.C., R.A.S.C., R. Scots, Black
Watch, R .U. Rifles, Hampshires, Devons, Queens,
Somersets, etc. Many of these are almost daily
transferring to the Corps, whilst the remainder seem
to be waiting for their group number to come up.
Foots Cray is a veritable tower of babel these days.
Sgt.'s Mess.-The mess is in a healthy and
flourishing condition, some very happy times being
enjoyed at various social functions.
Many old
familiar faces have departed either to discharge or
demob., amongst these are S .S.M. H. B. Hansen
W .O's. I! Sutton, Adams, and Went, S /Sgts. Adams,
Fuller, Pennal, Kemp, Sgts. Spicer, Brodie, Harlow,
Arthur Hodge, Harris, Hazeldine, Dadds, Nodes
and others far too numerous to mention but who we
'trust will have a successful and enjoyable tour of
duty in " Civvy Street."
On 31st January we welcomed 'iV.O.I! W. T.
Pinkney, also Sgts. H. Charlcroft and A . G.
Matthews (ex S.E.A.C.)-may their stay here be a
happy one. We have also welcomed as an Hon.
Member" Bill" Praed (ex W.O.), who was commissioned and is now working here in a natty blue
suit, having exchanged the" pip" for the" bowler"
(in this case a trilby).
Obituary.-It is with regret that we note the
passing of 3853881 Jack Duckworth who was W.O.I!
here before he was commissioned on 10/ 10/45, when
he was posted to Bournemouth. During the course
of an office football match at Bournemouth on
25/ 11/ 45 he was injured and died shortly after.
To his widow and two children is extended our
deepest sympathy at their sad loss.
Jack enlisted 22/1 /31, joined the Corps 14/2/ 35,
and served in Egypt during 1936. He was particularly energetic in organising mess functions, and we
were very sorry to lose him when he went to the
O.C.T.U. By his loss the Corps is deprived of the
services of a young and energetic member who
proved himself popular everywhere.-RI.P.
O.C.A.-The R.A.P.C. O.C.A. has prospered
during the war years and this office has been of a
size to keep the O.C.A. representatives very busy
at all times either enrolling new members, supplying
Christmas cards, diaries, etc., or dealing with appeals
from deserving ex members or their dependents.
To a very great extent we owe our success to the
never failing interest of Major George Lidstone,
O.B.E., now retired . He worked exceedingly. hard
on behalf of the O.C.A. at the crucial time when
anything could have happened and in 1940 his work
and enthusiasm brought its reward for our membership leaped amazingly and maintained a high level
thereafter. All who knew George will no doubt
wish him "Good Health" during his well-earned
retirement.
An appeal is made to all members and ex members
to continue their membershil'l at all times and if
possible to take up a Life Membership-aflar:t from
the social side which is going to be developed in a
big way soon, you will be helping your more un-
fortunate brethren in some practical way. You would

realise this more fully if you could see the inner
workings of the O.C.A. as the writer of these notes
is privileged so to do, so please do not pass this
appeal by.
Sports.-The sporting activities of the 34th Btn.
are functioning well in spite of the heavy technical
duties prevailing at the present time. The Soccer
team this season has met with great success and it
will be of interest to ex-players, including Lieuts.
Duman, Lally, Morgan, Harrison, Street, Sgts.
' Best, Dixon, Dudic, Church, Ptes. Labbett, Offen,
Miller, Gibson, that we have this season to 31st January, 1946, managed to avoid defeat, having played
13 games, winning 11 and drawing 2. We have
reached the Group Semi-Final of the Kent Junior
Cup and the Semi-Final of the Woolwich and District
League Cup.
The leading goal scores are:Pte. Vans tone, 16; Pte. Ison, 12; Sgt. Causon, 11.
The Cricket fixture list for the forthcoming season
is now complete and it is hoped to field a teaIl1 of even
greater strength than that of last season which did
so well against such worthy opponents as London
Counties XI, Royal Australian Air Force, Bank of
England, etc.
A.T.S.-We cannot possibly close these, our first
notes, without paying a sincere tribute to the work
of the A.T.S. in this office.
Previous R.P's. of Foots Cray will agree wholeheartedly with this as also will all members of the
34th Btn. wherever they may now be. Those who
can remember the arrival of the first batch of A.T.S.
Volunteers, and the look of amazement on their faces
when they entered the swing doors of our main
building, will also remember the enthusiasm with
which they tackled the jobs handed out to them. At
the time of the Manpower "weed out" the steep
curve of their increasing numbers nearly became
perpendicular which makes one wonder what the
people responsible could have been thinking about
when they initially authorised ~he formation of their
funny little companies of five and twenty strong.
We of the RA.P.C. thank them for their unfailing
cheerfulness at all times and under all conditions,
whether during the Battle of Britain which was
mostly fought above our office roof, during the blitz
when their nonchalance was a sight to behold, and
when they continually dived under the tables for
protection during the reign of the Doodlebugs and
Rockets; their co-operation and hard work has
undoubtedly been an extremely valuable asset to
us in our wartime task and to the work of demobilisation in which the same willing service is now
being rendered.
All ranks of the A.T.S., we salute you for a job
well done and wish you " Good Luck" for all time.
GLASGOW
Colonel W. D. N . Robotham ' arrived to assume
command of Regimental Pay Office, Glasgow, on
4/2/46, from Regimental Pay Office, Bournemouth,
and we extend a hearty welcome.
'
We also welcome the arrival from R.P. Whitchurch
of Lieut.-Col. C. L. H. Young, on 14/ 1/46, for duty
as A/RP.
Colonel H. J. H. Cox, O.B.E., proceeded on leave
on 7/2/46, and we wish him happiness in his wellea~ned retirement.
Lieut.-Col. L. I. F. Barton left on 31 / 1/46 for duty
at RP. Whitchurch.
We regret to announce the sudden death at his
duty station of Lieut. and Paymaster W. M.
132
\

and as they are always played in the best sporting
spirit we are never at a loss for a fixture.
Rugby.-In previous seasons we have had the loan
of a fine ground at Kirkstall and have made our
presence felt amongst the local rugger world. With
the end of hostilities the club from whom we
borrowed our pitch resUmed activities, and therefore
without a ground and the loss of our best players on
release, very few fixtures are being played this
season.
SociaL-Dances are arranged every two months
in Leeds Town Hall and the thanks of all personnel
are due to those ,members who by their hard work
have made these functions so successful.
Engagernent.-Our congratulations are extended
to S .S.M. A. H . Tappenden on his recent engagement. Some of the older members of the Corps will
be surprised that at long last such a staunch bachelor
has fallen, but like us will wish him all the very best
in the future.
Obituary.-It is with the deepest regret that we
have to report the sudden death of Mrs . L. M. Park.
To Colonel H. P. Park and family the personnel
of the Battalion offer their sincere sympathy and
condolences.
A cremation service was held at Lawnswood on
11 th February, 1946, and representatives from all
departments of the office attended.
Mrs. Park always had a great interest in the social
activities of the office and had the welfare of all
personnel at heart and will be greatly missed and
never replaced.
Sutherland. Our sympathy goes out to his wife and

familv in their bereavement. Lieut. Sutherland had
been -in the Corps since 10/4/40 and many of us will
learn of his passing with profound sorrow.
We offer our congratulations to Major C. J. Taite
on his promotion to Major and S.P.II which takeS
effect from 11 / 1/ 46.
Congratulations are also offered to Mr. Chas.
Haggart (A.A.O.) on his recent award of the M.B.E.
for distinguished service throughout the war.
Mr. Haggartjoined R.P. Perth during February, 1919
and has served continuously with the department.
Posting Wing "A" had a quiet little "do" the
other night, and the lads and lasses had a good time.
The Bar seemed, as ever, to be the main attraction
with the male members.
There have been no sporting items of interest to
report in recent months, but we hope to have news
when the office sports arrangements get under way,
and challenges are thrpwn out to all and sundry.
LEEDS (R.A.O.C.)
With the writing of these notes comes the realisation that we have reverted to normal and that
again at each quarter's end one must, as of old, open
their diary and re-discover what sporting and social
activities have recently taken place and to note how
many old friends have left us together with the names
of their replacements.
We have done our best in the sports circle of this
district and since being in Leeds each season have
arranged fixtures for two cricket teams, two soccer
teams, hockey, rugby, basket ball and golf teams.
Soccer.-During the current season we have a
very successful soccer eleven. No outstanding stars,
but eleven players who blend together to make a more
than useful side. We have reached the semi-final of
the Leeds Combination Cup Competition and are
hoping to win through to the final to make a possible
R.A,P.C. match of it as the 51st Battalion are playing
in the other semi-final.
We are amongst the first six clubs in the local
league and have yet to play two games against the
51st Battalion. These will be well worth watching
and may the best team win.
D~ring the season 1943-44 we managed to win the
Divisional Championship of Leeds Combination
League.
Cricket.-During last cricket season, fixtures were
arranged for two elevens and many very sporting
games were played. The high notes of the season
were that we were runners up in the East and West
Riding District K.O. Competi,t ion and our team
represented the District in the final of the Command
K.O. Competition.
Lieut. Green played for the Corps at Lords and
was top scorer, scoring over 90 not out_
Athletics.-As far as possible we have sent a team
to all local office annual sports meetings and have
more than held our own.
Our star is L /Cpl. Lambert who holds the Northern
Command Championship for 1945, being the runner
up in 1944. During 1944 and 1945 he has won the
Championship of this District. He represented this
Battalion in the Army Championship at Aldershot,
but met with no success.
Hockey.-Games have been played on most
Saturdays and Sundays during the season. We have
had varying results. At the moment we are very hard
hit with our best players being released and are
further handicapped by having no home ground.
Still we are having some fine games with local elevens
LEEDS (R.E.M.E.)
I t was with great interest that we learned of the
intention to recommence publication of the Corps
Journal, and the first post-war issue is eagerly
awaited_
During the war years the old Hilsea Office has
been situated in Leeds since November, 1940, after
a brief sojourn in London, and we have now almost
become part of the community.
There have been so many changes in personnel
during the past five years that space would not permit
of any details, but we send greetings to all exmembers of 51st Battalion wherever they may be.
Sports.-All kinds of sport have been catered for,
and in past years the Battali.on has fielded regularly
two and three elevens at Soccer, Cricket, and teams
for Hockey, Rugby and Athletics, and all have met
with no small measure of success. Last year we had
the best team ever in Athletics, and were successful
in winning the East and West Riding Senior Army
Cup. Some of our members have done extraordinarily well, particularly Pte. Hartridge, who has been
selected by the Northern Command to compete in
the British Army Championships for cross-country
running at Aldershot on the 27th February, 1946.
Our first eleven for Soccer, under the captaincy of
Captain "Alec" C arslaw, has crowned five years
good work by winning the East and West Riding
District Senior Army Cup, beating the 2nd M.D.V.
by 7 goals to 1 in the final, played at York on
30th January, 1946. Some of our players have been
recognised in being selected for local representative
amateur sides.
Other sporting activities engaged in have been
boxing, tennis, table tennis, swimming and badminton, and the unit has acquitted itself well in the
swimming and tennis worlds. The tennis team this
year won the Thornton Trophy for the Leeds and
District Park Tennis League.
133

With the advent of spring, thoughts are turning to
cricket, and although we have no ground at the
moment, hopes are high that another successful
season is in store.
I t is hoped to arrange our annual sports meeting
at the end of May or the beginning of June.
Entertainments.-We have said good-bye to our
very famous Male Voice Choir and the Military
Band. These two very fine activities gave great
delight to many Leeds audiences. The Male Voice
Choir gave over 150 performances and have also
broadcast.
The Military Band have played at
numerous outside functions and received high praise
for their performance at the giving of the Freedom
of the City of Leeds to the West Yorkshire Regiment
last year.
The Battalion dances, which are normally held
monthly in the Town Hall, are a great success, and
have given pleasure to the many thousands who have
attended them.
The Concert Party, under the able direction of
Captain " Ronnie" Simpson, provided excellent
entertainment at the beginning of the year in their
show called" Paymates."
Officers' Luncheon Club.-The club still
flourishes and has had many successful social events,
including a Dinner on the 9th January, 1946, which
was attended by our former Commanding Officer,
Brigadier B. L. Burgess, O.B.E., and the Command
Paymaster, Brigadier A . A. Cockburn.
A Dance has been arranged for Wednesday ,
3rd April, 1946, and Games evenings against
Bradford and the Warrant Officers' and Sergeants'
Club have also been arranged.
Warrant Officers' and Sergeants' Club.-Many
enjoyable functions have taken place and more are to
follow. The Club has a defeat to avenge when they
visit the Officers' Club in the near future.
General.-The present day in the office is an ever
changing scene, and those of us who have been here
for any length of time are regretfully saying
" au revoir " to members of the staff, who may, or
may not be, looking forward to their return to
civilian life. We wish all those who have gone the
very best of luck, and thank them very sincerely for
their unselfish and loyal assistance given in our great
need to perform our allotted task during the past
years. By the time the next issue of the Corps
Journal arrives we shall have said good-bye to many
more, but it is hoped that the esprit de corps that has
sprung up will not be dimmed by the passing of time,
and if any of the ex-members of the Battalion call to
see us, they can rest assured on receiving a hearty
welcome.
F.W.G.
Our numbers shrink almost daily as we dispatch

our quota of reinforcements to Civvy Street and now
that Pools, Hubbards, and Kingstone's buildings
have all in turn been vacated our present home is
now composed only of Central and Grants.
Group and Wing social functions continue to be
held, the most recent to date being a dance held by
Release Group at the Bell Hotel, while Clearing
Group follow their exampk in a few days ' time at
the Corn Exchange.
We, of the Heavy Ack Ack Office, Leicester, wish
every success may attend the revival of the Royal
Army Pay Corps Journal more especially now that
our own Pay Pa rade has ceased publication.
LONDON (R.A.S.C. OFFICE)
It is well over six years since these notes last
appeared and if the history of the 33rd Btn. R .A .P.C.
of those years were to be printed, it would fill a
book let alone the meagre ration of paper now at our
disposal. Our book would tell stories of " invasion
days" at Hastings, anecdotes more often in comedy
vein than serious and it would also tell the grim story
of the London air-raids of 1940. The office, which
by this time had settled in Finsbury Circus, seemed
to bear a charmed life, being literally round the
corner from the largest bomb-devastated area in
Britain.
Many more pages of a less happy nature would tell
of flying bombs and rockets culminating in the sad
loss of Captain A. E. Barton in one of the worst
incidents.
A whole chapter of our book could be devoted to
the proud story of our Battalion Road Show which
spent many hours after their normal duties were done,
in entertaining men of all Services in camps, hospitals, gun-sites, etc., throughout the Home Counties.
Our book would tell a fine story of a job well
done despite the efforts of the enemy and although it
has never hit the headlines and sounds so very
ordinary against the deeds of other units of the Corps
in overseas theatres, this Battalion takes pride in the
green, red and black of the Defence Ribbon .
We have seen many changes, many postings and a
few promotions in these past six years and particularly since the day "Peace broke out" when
many of our old friends too numerous to mention
here, have returned to their civilian pursuits. We
were indeed sorry to say good-bye to Colonel
O . P. J . Rooney, O .B.E., but our loss is a Knightsbridge gain and we were very pleased to welcome
back Colonel H. H. Morrell who commanded the
Battalion from 1943-1945.
Lieut.-Colonel E. W. Grant, O.B.E., who had
guided the office through its technical problems since
1939, retired in 1945, and his successor Lieut.Colonel C . C . Blackwell has now left us for Ilfracombe, to be replaced by Lieut.-Colonel J. Oliver.
By the time these notes are published Major P. R.
Fryer will also h ave retired and we will miss his keen
sense of humour which brightened m any a dull day.
Social events in the Battalion have been curtailled
in recent months owing to the spread of the office
across London Postal Districts W.l, E.C.l, and
E.C.2, but the Dramatic Society presented "Flare
Path" in February and further shows are promised.
Our Football Team is at the top of their league and
the Cricket side is hoping to surprise a few more of
the London Club sides in the coming season.
LEICESTER (R.A./H.A.A.)
The departure of Colonel R H. Sayer, O.B.E.,
D .C.M., for service in the Middle East was marked
by a farewell dinner on Friday, 8th February, at the
Stag and Pheasant Hotel which was attended by all
officers of the battalion. Lieut.-Colonel C. J . Day
proposed the health of Colonel Sayer and wished
him God speed on behalf of all present.
We welcome the arrival of Major D . G. Carter
who has recently joined us from the Leeds Office.
Our congratulations are extended to Staff Sgt.
G. F. W. Dawson who was the recipient of the
British Empire Medal in the New Year's Honours'
List.
134

In these brief notes we have tried to span the
years since the last publication of the Journal and it
is hoped that in the next issue we will be able to
give more detailled news of personalities and events
in the Battalion during the coming quarter.
transfers from the infantry we are endeavouring to

build up a fairly competitive football team, which
will be put to the test on 16th February at Barnsley
in an attractive match against a strong R .E. eleven.
Our rugger and soccer fans have, fortunately , a
galaxy of first-class clubs surrounding them at
Manchester, Oldham, etc., at which they enjoy the
sight of the game being played in professional style.
Thi~ serves as a compensation to our own shortcommg.
Dances and Darts.-Some entertainments here
come and go, but dances and darts under the able
organisation of Captain Pearse go on for ever.
Ever since the Battalion arrived at Oldham in
August, 1941, unit dances have been a regular feature,
the 81st taking place on 22nd February. During
the past year these dances have become so popular
that, on some occasions, it has been necessary to
restrict the sale of tickets. At the last Christmas
Dance, when we were honoured by the. presence of
Colonel Bates, the attendance of just under 700 beat
all records.
Each winter we have held team matches and individual contests in darts, and in 1941 there were
68 teams playing each week, which is surely a
record! Our e.O.-successively Colonels Baines,
Williams, Smith, Barrett, Ingpen and Bates-has
honoured us with his presence at the " finals" and
presented the prizes to the winning teams and the
cup to the individual champion. The cup winners
include Pte. Stocks, S.S.M. Lamming, Pte Jacobs,
L /Cpl. Paice, Capt. McQueen and Sgt. Westlake.
Besides the Unit social evenings Wing parties have
always been a feature of this unit. During the past
few months, for instance, each Wing has had a
Christmas" Do," followed by a New Year visit to
a theatre.
Dra1l1atics.-During a four-and-a-ha.lf year
sojour{1 in Oldham, we stalwarts of the Drama
Section have faced many difficulties; we feel that
our consistent victories over the drawbacks in'separable from wartime service productions have
earned us the title of " 'the Die-Hards."
We started in the early days with Esther
McCracken's "Quiet Wedding." The success of
this venture carried us forward to "George and
Ma.rgaret " which so fulfilled our expectations as to
justify an incursion into the realms of farce. When
Ben Travers wrote " Rookery Nook" he certainly
could never have foreseen the pleasure we would
derive from producing it. Having launched upon
our widening public, a three-pronged attack, using
two light comedies and a farce as weapons, we decided to follow up with a heavy broadside in the
form of Keith Winter's " Shining Hour." In this,
the human drama in which Gladys Cooper and
Raymond Massey scored such a distinct success , we
were encouraged to believe that for the first time
we had achieved that real tenseness to which every
amateur aspires.
Our critics were kind and constructive, in token of
which we forged ahead with (from a scenic point of
view) our most ambitious attempt-Edgar Wallace's
"Case of the Frightened -Lady."
Here, secret
panels, unearthly screams, n eurotic aristocrats , and
three large and impressive sets, contributed greatly
to the success of the show, The Prior's Hall, a
notable effort complete with majestic staircase and
realistic pannel1ing, was comfortably metamorphosed
KNIGHTSBRIDGE
The curious thing about the Knightsbridge Office
is that it is not in Knightsbridge but in Brompton
Road, which just goes to show. Don't ask me what!
The most notable change in these days of great
changes was the recent posting of our Regimental
Paymaster, Colonel H. W. Taylor, O.B.E., who left
us in January for the frozen North, i.e., R.P., York.
We were sorry to lose Colonel Taylor and wish him
the very best of luck in his new office.
His successor was Colonel O. P. J. Rooney, O.B.E.,
who joined us from the RA.S.C. Office and to whom
we duly extended a hearty welcome.
Passers-by in Brompton Road on 21st December,
1945, were privileged to witness a remarkable
spectacle.
A large number of RA.P.C. clerks
obviously in that very cheerful state known as
"Release Jitters," embarked on two large lorries
bound for No. 4 Military Collecting Unit. They
were" seen off" by the Sergeant-Major, who, with
tears streaming down his face, begged them not to
go. They went !
By the time these notes are in print the Office
Dramatic Society will have produced " The Middle
Watch," by Ian Hay and Stephen King-Ha!!, on
March 11th and 12th, at the Cripplegate Theatre,
Golden Lane, E.C.1.
HOLLINWOOD, OLDHAM
Introduction.-Greetings from the Searchlights,
R.A. Office (49th Batn.) to all old and new friends
wherever you may be, and we trust that the Corps
Journal will provide the medium through which our
acquaintances may be renewed. Of the old brigade
(pre-war) we have Colonel Nelson, Majors Ascott
and S. W. J. Knight, Captains Grigg, H. Jones and
Troops, Lieuts. Dodds, E. Knight, Noakes and L. G.
Smith, Messrs. Chipperfield and Cassidy who are
D.C.O's, S.S.M. McArthur, S.Q.M.S. Orchard,
S/Sgts. Crowley and Ivamy, Sgts. Campbell,
Finlayson, Hart, Steward and Summers, L /Sgt.
Searle and Corpl. Sturley and of the new brigade
Lieut.-Colonel Rutter, Majors Beadle and Franklin,
Captains Farndell, Gordon, Leppard, McQueen,
D. C. Moore, Moss, Pearse, Rigby and Targett are
with us as emergency officers and S /Sgts. Aliwell,
Bell, Bruce, Foskett, Lambert and Werendel,
Sergts. Angus, Ashman, Bechley, Hamilton, Major,
Menzies, Milner, Spurr, Witham and Worsdall,
L/Sgts. Lovelock and Slocombe as regular soldiers.
You may remember some of these and recall the
good (or bad) times you spent with them at some
Home or Overseas station.
Sports.-We have suffered this season considerably in unit sports owing to most of our regular
players having been " demobbed" or posted overseas. For this reason we've not been able to enter
a soccer team in the Stalybridge District League as
in former years. We have also lost our sports field
so that the order for fixtures has been " away" and
" friendly" matches, which have been limited to
two games, in both of which the RA.P.C. were victors
by 4-3 and 5-1. Now that we have got several
135

Corporals who at long last have their feet on the
bottom rungs of the ladder of fame.
Seeing that Preston North End came a cropper at
Charlton, the interest in the F.A. Cup has somewhat
subsided. Our own Company football team, playing
in the Preston Y.M.C.A. League, have also said
good-bye to a local cup. Fulwood Amateurs beat
them 3-NIL on Saturday, 16th February, 1946.
The football team has been unfortunate in losing the
services of players due to Release and overseas
postings, notably Pte. Ensor who has left us for
sunnier climes. Ken Poxon, of India fame, is doing
his best to hold this side together, but his assistants
are not comparable with the old 83rd Btn. However,
at the present moment the team is about midway
in the League and even though suffering occasional
defeat, the spirit of the team is admirable. Lieut.
Beedell (0. ijc Football) manages to maintain his
place in the team even though he finished one game
minus three teeth. Sgts. Wignall and Joseph have
given sterling service and the attached Infantry
personnel have filled in many gaps. Cpl. Leeming
and Pte. Burnham, recently demobbed (you lucky
peopl,e ) have ably assisted the XI on numerous
occaSlOns.
The entertainment in the unit is mainly confined
to a concert and dance about every six weeks, and
" local do's" at the Black Horse. I don't suppose I
need say what the" local do's" are in aid of.
Subaltern Donnelly, ijc Entertainments, was ,
responsible for a first-class children's party held
early in January. To while away time until tea, a
local minister, Rev. W . Gower, gave a few of his
lightning sketches, the S.S.M . did his little bit on
the H armonicas and a Punch and Judy Show completed the bill. About 200 children of all ages up
to 14 came to the party and Lieut. Hodgson as
Father Christmas (a little late owing to the fog)
distributed the presents with ease and ability, which
should make him favourite for the same job next
year.
,
"
S jSgt. Jump ably assisted by Sgts. Burne and
Rawstron are still carrying on with their version of
ITMA although we shall miss the presence of the
" Colonel" (L jCpl. Yarker) in future productions.
Still the motto is carrv on and no doubt we shall still
be recording the name of Tommy Handley (sorry
SjSgt. Jump) in years to come.
Cheerio for now, more next quarter, I hope!
F.A.A.A.
into the frightened lady's bedroom within an admirably short time.

We reverted to comedy with the evergreen, fanciful
" Ambrose Applejohn," and continued with Kenneth
Horne's delightful "Love in a Mist." This very
light but sparkling play established a first-rate
comedy team which repeated its performance in
Noel Coward's "Blithe Spirit," a combination of
excellent effects and attractive characterisations that
did much, it is thought, to enhance our reputation.
Our ninth presentation, Priestley's "Dangerous
Corner," embodied an essay in the field of psychological (almost psychopathic) observation and analysis,
which we followed with "To Kill a Cat." In the
h~ter, b y Roland Pertwee and Harold Dearden, we
del ved into the mysterious though comprehensive
death of an outstandingly murder-worthy wealthy
siren whose sudden demise led to much discovering
of motive and clashing of colourful personaliti es.
The current "Hay Fever" is our second Noel
Coward and our tenth production. It may be, of
course, our Oldham swansong-if it is, we shall feel
that the curtain has fallen upon a series of entertainments whose pleasures have been shared equally by
the audience and by the Drama Section.
It is not unlikely that the social activities here have
contributed largely to making this office a happy one
and have, to some extent, offset the climatic disadvantages of a station in the vicinity of Manchester.
PRESTON
On this the occasion of the resurrection of the
Journal on behalf of all ranks in this office, I wish
tu send greetings to all our friends. In days of yore,
names and places were familiar sights in the pages
of the Journal and it is to be hoped that we shall see
them once again.
Old Prestonians will be interested to hear that
L ieut.-Colonel R. S. H. Townshend is our R.P.
and Major P. A. Anderson, second-in-command.
Captain T. Hall is back with us as are Captain A. W.
Lee, S.S.M. Astley and S.Q.M.S. Fox (the big fox),
whilst in the civilian side we still have Mrs. Beckett
(nee Culley), Mr. Sellor, Holt, Blackstock, Suggate,
Blocksidge, Wright (ex S.S.M.) and Kay. The last
two have recently passed through the Dispersal
Centres for civvy street.
On 31st January, 1946, Mr. George Hayhurst left
us on retirement after 26 years valuable service in
the Preston Pay Office.
In appreciation of his
services, the Regimental Paymaster made a suitable
presentation on behalf of the Officers and Staff.
Lieut. J. A. Graham is at present on embarkation
leave and no doubt he will have reached his overseas
station by the time the Journal is published, however,
we wish him ban voyage and the best of luck in his
new office.
The release of Groups 1-25 have made a deep
impression in the ranks of our old and experienced
staff, and with the departure of Group 26 we shall
feel the loss much more. However, they say that
every cloud has a silver lining, the release of Warrant
Officers and N.C.O's. have brought promotion to
many who thought themselves left on the shelf. May
we offer congratulations to S.Q.M.S's. Jones and
Fox to S jSgt.'s Suppree, Grimshaw and Jump to
Sgts. Burgess , Fleet, McBrearty, Rawstron, L yon,
Talbot and Joseph, and to the Corporal s and Lance-
RADCLlFFE
The Dramatic Society of the 44th Battalion has
just completed a week's run of "Goodness, How
Sad! " a Robert Morley comedy in three acts. The
whole cast are to be commended on a very fine
performance. This is the Press report : "The Corps players set a very high standard
of acting, and in this, their sixteenth play in
Radcliffe, they maintained it with ease and accomplishment. It is possible that this may be the last
play put on by the Society, and in case I have no
further call to write about them, let me pay now a
tribute to the fine work they have done in the town,
both for the entertainment of Radcliffe people, and
for the cause of drama .
In this play we had on the stage one of their oldest
campaigners, Alex Atkinson, who, as Mrs. Priskin's
Other Guest, produced again a performance marked
136

by the suavity and refinement we have learnt to
expect of him. He was ably partnered by Nancy
Owen, who played Carol Sands. She plays her parts
with an enthusiasm and spontaneity delightful to
see, and there is an exuberance about her which
indicates that she has a reserve of emotion which
has not yet been called for in the characters she has
interpreted.
. Marguerite Kingsley-Thomas as Christine Lawford, the other actress, had a straight part which she
played with attractive competence. Captain and
Mrs. Angst, known affectionately in the lodging
house as F ather and Mother, were two character
parts aimed at, and hit, by Cedric Collings and
Margaret Edom. Cedric Collings skilfully conveyed
the simplicity, lovableness, and, more subtly, the
pathos in this trainer of performing seals.
Margaret Edom's task was the portrayal of an
eccentric, and she played in such a way as to stagger
the imagination. She did not seem one of us, which
was probably what Mr. Morley intended. Frank
Clark had no difficulty with Peter Thropp, and he
had many of the play's most amusing lines.
I reserve a special word of praise for Rhoda
Jackson who played the landlady, Mrs. Priskin. She
has had a wide range of characters in her time among
us, but I do not remember her as effective as she
was in this well-drawn part. A very good performance!
The play was produced by Alex Atkinson and
Cedric Collings . Goodness, how sad that we shall
not see much more of the Pay Corps Society."
Past successes of the Society include :-" French
Without Tears," "Bird in Hand," " Journey's
End," "Baa Baa Black Sheep," "Distinguished
Gathering," "The Lord of the Manor, " "Sometime-Never," "Without the Prince," "The Rose
Without a Thorn," "Housemaster," "George and
Margaret," "The Ghost Train," "Arms and the
Man," "Musical ' Chairs," and" Private Lives."
These plays recall many happy memories.
Our Variety Concert Party are still going" Great
Guns" in spite of the depletion of their ranks through
demobilisation.
This Partv has given over 194 concerts to Hospitals, Troops, Factories, Churches, Gun Sites, etc.,
and is still in great demand . One of the most recent
shows was the pantomime "Cinderella," a most
ambitious effort which fully deserved the success it
attained. It was remarkably well staged.
Operatics.-The Society was formed in 1941, and
has produced six Gilbert and Sullivan Operas, the
last production being" Iolanthe," a really polished
show.
I t is not generally known that the Operatic Society
regularly performed for Overseas Recorded Broadcasts with the A.E.F. Orchestra-no less than 26
Musical Comedies and Operettes, including
"Vagabond King," "Student Prince," "Rose
M arie ," and " R ebel Maid." The Battalion is very
proud of the fact that through the endeavours of
the Society, men serving in advanced positions on
the various battle fronts of the world were able to
hear members of our Corps subscribing in some
small measure to their entertainment, and the hundreds of letters of app reciation from as far away as
Burma, testify to the popularity of this ,Radio feature
in which the Societv provide the musIc.
In the world of sport the Battalion is still carrying
on well, and congratulations are offered to the

Cross-Country team in having two of their members
selected to run in the Army Championship at
Aldershot on the 27th February, 1946. Cpl. G. H.
Pugh and Pte. H. H. Isted are the men selected ,
and we tender to them our congratulations, and all
good wishes.
Table Tennis.- In all the sporting activities of
the unit, no other section has been so consistentlv
successful as the Table Tennis teams, in fact since
1941 they have supplied the ornaments for the sideboard. Each yea r, five, six or seven Cups have been
won. The first team have carried everything before
them and have established a name throughout the
county. The Individual Championship has been won
five times b y Cpl. R. Guise, and the Doubles three
times by Cpl. Guise and L /-Cpl. Canavan, and twice
by S jSgt. Law and Pte. Traynor.
The Ladies
Championship was won by Pte. Peatfield, A.T.S,
Not a bad record, and the team is still going strong.
The Photographic Club's Exhibition held recently
was admired by a very large number of people, and
all who saw it were amply repaid by the samples of
work on show.
Personal Notes.-A very chatty letter has been
received from Major Cyril Mockler, who has now
settled down in Khartoum, and his many friends
will be glad to know that he had a pleasant voyage
out, and is in remarkably good health.
Word too has been received from Major Jack
Spooner, now settled in Nairobi.
Many people will be glad to hear that Pte. Ron
Mayevsky, who did so much for the Unit Library
and our publication Grist, is now in Meerut, India,
and doing well.
S jSgt. Leo Bowe, who generally took the lead in
our Dramatic Society's productions, called to see us
recently after his return from overseas.
Captain Roy Yule, breezed in a few days ago. He
is now attached to the Canadian Army on the
Continent.
READING
From this hive of industry, this War Gratuity and
Post-War Credits factory, a warm welcome and best
wishes go out to the "Journal" as it starts on
Phase Two.
It's a far cry from 1939 to 1946--from the days
when we opened thousands of new accounts w ith
ease and zest, to the present grim struggle to keep
up with the ebb tide.
It would be impossible to bridge that gap with any
notes on what has happened, who has left liS and
who has joined us but we do think that it might be
a good start to mention a few of those who are still
with us, and likely to be so-at least long enough to
see these words in print.
We could set down the bare fact that OUI Regimental Paymaster is Colonel L. E. James, M.C., but
since there are quite a few vacancies in the office we
would not like to discourage intending transfers by
leaving it at that.
The m axim of his predecessor, Colonel S. N.
Hill, that " a happy office is a good office" seems to
h ave been h anded over with the rest of the job, and
although the hazards have increased with the work,
the " blithe spirit " has been fostered and maintained under Colonel Janles' influence.
In his Second-in-Command, Lieut.-Col. E. J .
Shand-TuIly, Colonel James undoubtedl y has what
137

Jack Warner would call an " egger-on." The reverse
of still-life when it comes to tackling the nearmiracles necessary to keep the wheels turning,
Colonel Shand-Tully is similarly a quick starter
when it comes to laughing it off.
The punctiliousness with which the two Colonels
attend all the numerous Wing" do's, " enhances the
sociability of these affairs, which contribute a great
deal to the morale of the staff.
To former readers of the Journal, as well as a
large number of new readers, the name of Major
F . E . Gear, M.RE., will not be unfamiliar.
I t is said that he was christened with a franking
stamp and that he will shortly be transferred to the
office inventory.
He is at present the recipient of a large fan mail
as officer-in-command Release Group, but picks out
the funny ones and keeps smiling.
Major H. Davies, M.C., and Major J. Plunkett,
hold the fort at Balmore, our country branch, where
the machine posting wings and other bits and pieces
of well-oiled machinery are located.
Old readers of the Journal will no doubt have
heard of the mechanisation of the R.A.P.C.-an
innovation which has done away with the old
laborious method of compiling soldiers' accounts by
human agency and now permits of charges and credits
being posted to approximately the right account with
phenomenal speed and much noise!
Presiding over the Clearing Wing, P.RI. and
several scattered harems of ladies engaged in a game
of hide-and-seek with numerous scraps of paper, is
M ajor Robert Scott-the "face that launched a
thousand slips. "
To M ajor T. W. Stenning falls the task of
" straightening up the stiffs," otherwise running the
Non-Effective Wings. These Wings are located in
and near Huntley and Palmers' Biscuit Factory and
disgruntled ex-soldiers who come along to see how
they have been swindled are perfectly justified when
they sniff and ask" what's cooking? "
We cannot forbear to mention two other names,
those of Major E. G. Redway, M.C., our Training
Officer, and Captain V. W. F. Parker, the Battalion
Quartermaster.
Both these worthies are contemporaries of Major
Munday of I.T.M.A. fame, but both claim a longer
acquaintance with the old First Foot and Mouth.
In the piping times of war, Major Redway put us
through musketry, grenade throwing, field-craft and
all the anti-social activities of commandos, with a
vigour which was commonly attributed to Voronoff.
In this, he was aided and abetted by Captain
Parker, secretly known as " Quartz," not because of
any pronounced worship of Bacchus but owing to a
popular belief that he was not born but quarried.
~erhaps it . was this sobriquet, misinterpreted,
which led to h1s subsequent appointment as Quartermaster.
To those we have mentioned, we could add a host
of others, not less familiar in name or personality to
members of this office or less integral to its existence
but since this is a Corps and not an office journal:
we feel that these notes should not be too biographical.
However, for the benefit of old readers of the
Chatham era, we should like to mention the continued presence in the office of a number of the old
hands-D .C.Os. Pickavance, Harris, Dden and
Miller,. ' Messrs. Carter, Redmond Om.), Ison,

Ratigan, the Misses Drummond and Lambert
Capts. Paul and Lewis, Lieuts. W . C. L. Mav and
w. H. Brown. ,
.
In the neighbouring Record Office there is still a
Mr. Gilbert, but to-date, no Mr. Sullivan.
We might conclude with a word or two about the
office or rather, offices, in the manner of a Gaumont
British News commentator.
At one time and another the offices have been
located in almost every considerable building in the
city except the gaol and the town hall.
They are now condensed (?) into a mere seven
different buildings, the hub of which is a large and
modern Drill Hall in the Tilehurst Road, where
Central, Administration, the Officers' Mess Releases
and Clearing Wing have their lairs and the benefit of
fluorescent lighting.
About four miles away, on the opposite bank of the
, Thames, is a second concentration, consisting of every
conceivable type of hut from brick and rough-cast to
cardboard pre-fabs.
This is Balmore, previously mentioned in these
notes, a posting to which is considered by many to
be entitled to rank as overseas service.
Huntley and Palmers, housing one of the NonEffective Wings, is about three miles away in a totally
different direction, but is saved from complete
segregation by its other half at St. John's Institute,
about five minutes' walk further on the road to
Mecca.
Having denoted the far-flung outposts, we come to
the Inner Circle, commencing with No. 16 Friar St.,
our first wartime H :Q. , and very near the scene of
Reading's one and only serious" incident" in which
over 100 people were killed. The nearness of the
bombs to the Pay Office may have been purely
coincidental, nevertheless it was deemed prudent to
move Admin. and the rest of the Brains Trust to the
Corn Exchange and give 16 Friar St. over to
Income Duty, Pensions and Reserve, Stores and
Stationery and others with thicker craniums .
Within a stone's throw of the Drill Hall, although
"they found it first" is Part II Orders Section,
presided over by ' Captain F. G. Partridge, whose
name will ring a bell in many old readers' memories.
They occupy All Saints' HaIJ and spend their days
in alternate moods of exultation and depression,
according to whether its a wedding or a funeral in
the large and fashionable Church opposite.
Leopold House, which houses the overflow from
the Drill Hall, is almost an annexe to that building,
and that completes the tour.
It is hoped, in this and future issues of the
Journal, to find space for the publication of special
articles dealing with the more specific activities of
the 45th Bn., RA.P.C., in a manner which will
provide interesting reading for all classes of readers.
E.W.L.
The" 45 "Club. In the winter of 1941 an
audition was held in one of the buildings occupied
by the then 45 Det., Reading, to spot any likely
talent for a show of some sort in order to while away
the long winter evenings. The audition in itself was
what one would expect-good and bad in p artsbut it was under the direction of a very able Corporal
by the name of Richardson, who, in civil life was
a producer by profession. He had a wife who was
also an actress by professio'n , and both of them were
138

supremely aware of stage craft. Two weeks after
the audition one might have entered the same hall
any evening and discovered a hive of industry.
Chorus girls' costumes were being made regardless
of any shortage, by the girls themselves, while on the
stage, electricians, carpenters and the like were
working away whilst a song scene was being rehearsed
under the eye of the producer.
In six weeks " The Pards " were putting on their
first revue. "The Pards," let me tell you, stood
fdr Pay and Records Amateur Dramatic Society, our
Record Office helping us out with the talent.
The first revue was well received by three packed
houses, chief honours going to the producer, for
everyone seemed to remark on the very professional
way it was put on and the compliments on the set,
the lighting, and the continuity were almost embarrassing.
In due time and in the same winter of 1941, a
second revue was staged. It was a great improvement
on the first, and one noted the added confidence and
ability of the performers ably trained by the producer
and his wife. Part of this revue was broadcast in the
Forces Programme in " Forces Half Hour" amid
much excitement and pride-friends had been warned
to listen in all over England, but unfortunately there
was a blitz on London that night, and the only area
that obtained clear reception was North Walesanyway we were recorded as being" on the air."
Further revues followed and enthusiasm spread.
Audiences became critical, and everyone was
expected at least to attain the standard of Bing
Crosby or Flanagan and Allen. Scenes from one
revue were performed at The Playhouse, Oxford, in
an "All Forces" programme, with artistes like
Stinker Murdoch also appearing. We held our own.
Then our producer passed to a higher life (no
slow music, please I). He went to O.C.T.D., and
so the shows lapsed until Colonel Hill arrived as
our R.P. and was found to be very keen on entertainments . The sap had gone out of the shows owing to
our producer having left, and everyone, including
Colonel Hill, very much wanted him back. Simply
speaking-a strange coincidence now occurred, for
our producer returned to the n ow 45 Battalion,
R .A.P.C. as Lieut. Richardson, and the shows again
started under the name of " The 45 Club."
Three plays, leavened by one revue, were produced
_cc They Walk Alone," "The Ghost Train," and
"Other People's Houses." We were now really
getting somewhere and our performers were firstrate, including Mrs . Richardson and several actors
and actresses with plenty of theatrical experience.
Generals and the like visited our shows from distant
Commands, War Office Wallahs insisted on being
informed of further events to come.
" Flare Path" was then produced, and many said
it was our best effort. John Poulton and A. Shapiro
excelled in this, and the whole production smacked
of the West End.
Then in the autumn of 1944 came our biggest
venture, " The Vagabond King," with a cast of 60,
and a demand on P .RI. which caused more conferences than the American Loan. The show ran for
a week and could have filled the hall for a month.
Our band did great work augmented by several local
players, and in this show we reached our zenith.
The whole of Reading accepted us as first class, but
we had to remind them that this was for our own
entertainment and our hall was small-however the

hall usually contained 50 per cent. of guests.
Our swan song was Rattigan's then latest play,
"While the Sun Shines." Here the production
excelled, with costumes by Gaumont British. Here
at least was our most critical audience, always comparing us with past shows, and the demands put on
poor amateurs was extremely exacting. The play
was as great a success as its forerunners, some of the
acting being brilliant.
Then we must have been spotted. Our producer
left for the Pool of Artistes. Likewise, one of our
most talented performers, A . Shapiro, who, although
an amateur, is expected to utilise his new found talent
as a means of livelihood.
Postings, and later, releases, brought the "45
Club" to an end. It had served its purpose by
1946. It had provided pleasant occupation and
exciting entertainment for hundreds during the dark
days and helped to keep us together and contented
throughout the war.
RH.
SHREWSBURY
Due to the acumen of Colonel G. W. Butler, now
on retired pay, and living on his lovely farm near
Church Stretton, in one of the most beautiful spots
in Shropshire, the house and grounds of an old
building" Whitehall" were rented and first occupied
by the Infantry Pay and Record Office in May, 1939.
When mobilisation was ordered, the lawns, bowling
and tennis greens were utilised for the erection of
17 huts . These proved insufficient and property in
various parts of the town had to be requisitioned to
accommodate the Staff. Th.e Music Hall, Town
Walls Billards Saloons and house, Working Mens'
Hall, and part of the Corn Exchange were taken over
and four cement huts built in Holywell Street. We
were often hard pressed to find further accommodation but at the critical moment some of our units
were converted into L.A.A. etc. and so the necessity
for further expansion ceased. It is one of the sights
of Shrewsbury to see a messenger .with an R.A.P.C.
or A.T.S. as escort, riding on a flat~bottomed cart
delivering the post, etc., from Central to the outlying
offices.
Training.-The Military Staff were trained to act
with the local I.T.C. and Home Guard in the
defence of Shrewsbury and received high praise for
the manner in which they carried out their various
duties . The A.T.S. employed in the office were well
trained and were easily the best detachment in this
area, and looked exceptionally well as they marched.
Sport.-A highly successful Rugby football team
was in being for the first three years of the war. The
majority of the team was made of players from the
best clubs in South Wales .
'At that time we also had quite a good soccer team
but the present team is not of the same quality.
We also had a cricket team which could more than
hold its own with any of the best local clubs, and
some of its members played for the Western
Command.
For five years we had an Annual Sports Day
which proved highly successful, some of the open
events bringing in talent from long distances.
Staff.-W e had few changes in Regimental
Paymaster-Lieut.-Colonel Gedge was posted here
in September, 1939, and on his retirement in May,
1941, his place was taken by Lieut.-Colonel G. W.
139

a widely dispersed detachment on the lodging list.
We are favoured in having a Commanding Officer
(Colonel H . E. Warr, M.B.E.) who is keenly
interested in every branch of unit activity, and the
" amusing ourselves" attitude is much encouraged.
It must be admitted that the move from our old
office at Marylebone Road, London, was not undertaken without some trepidation, as the majority of
the battalion had no previous experience of camp
life. However, it did not take us very long to realise
that here was a camp out of the ordinary, and many
advantages soon became apparent. From ' a work
point of view, to have the whole office under one roof
was ideal, and dispensed with the continual stream
of clerks from one building to another. Unit activities, some of which had begun to pall badly in
London, became flourishing once more, and such
pastimes as tennis, cricket, dancing, cycling and
fishing, to mention only a few, were soon extremely
popular. Credit is due to officers and other ranks
alike who devoted much of their spare time to
organising these things.
We have several assets to assist us to "get
together" often. There is an excellent cinema in the
camp, which is also used as a theatre and dance hall.
There are three hard tennis courts, football and
hockey pitches, and, of course, really beautiful
Hampshire country. It will be seen, therefore, that
in some respects, we have decided advantages over
detachments stationed in large towns.
At the moment, as far as sport is concerned, we
are in the throes of soccer. We feel justly proud of
our efforts in this direction. Most week-ends we
are able to field four teams, and we boldly entered
the Basingstoke and tne Andover Leagues. Being
ambitious, we also decided to compete for the
Basingstoke Cup, the ,Hants Junior Cup, and the
Aldershot and Hants Army Cup. So far, we have
lost only one match in the Basingstoke League,
and are well to the fore in the Andover League.
Our hopes in the Army Cup were dashed by a 2-1
defeat on 13th February, the winning goal being
scored 90 seconds before time, but we haven't lost
heart by any means. Release has, of course, affected
us considerably, and by Group 26 we shall have lost
six first-class players.
During January, the Battalion produced a really
fine pantomime-" Half Whittington "-which was
enthusiastically received by large audiences in the
camp theatre. Music, songs, comedy and pathos
were blended into a first-rate show, and it was hard
to realise that the members of the cast were amateurs
who had rehearsed in their spare time. The Commanding Officer and his wife were present on the
closing night, and Mrs. Warr presented bouquets to
the feminine members of the cast.
The Dramatic Section presented" Flare Path '.' for
our winter entertainment, and this play gave scope
for some good interpretation and portrayal of everyday characters. The topical action of the play proved
very popular, and was well received.
In addition to these special items, weekly dances,
social evenings, E.N.S.A. shows and films have all
helped to dispel the monotony of winter evenings,
and they are all extremely well attended. Dances
and Fancy Dress Balls at Christmas and the New
Year were especially welcomed.
After reading this, don't get the idea that we are
trying to " sell" Whitchurch to other detachments.
It only shows what can bedone by a unit prepared
to organise its own entertainment, and having willing
hands to do the job. The additional work thrown on
Butler, who was succeeded by Lieut.-Colonel G. B. A.

Brayden on 20th September, 1945.
Floods.-We have survived two of the worst
floods known in Shrewsbury for many years, one in
1941 and one in 1946. The latter was by far the
worst so far as the office was concerned, as in addition
to flooding three of the huts in which India Wing
was accommodated, the electric current was affected
in the town, and was off for five days. This meant
that the posting machines had to be worked by hand
and there was no light, so work had to cease after
4 p.m. each day.
Honours.-Major E. W. Lines was awarded the
M.B.E. in the New Year's Honours List 1946, and
four RA.P.C. and two A.T:S. have been awarded
G.O.C.-in-C.'s Certificates; viz., S.Q.M.S. Tunnicliffe, A.T.S. S /Sgt. Richards, RA.P.C., in early
lists and Sgt. Parry, A.T.S., S /Sgt. Hayman,
RA.P.C., S /Sgt. Hopkins, R.A P.c., Pte. Pearce,
R.A.P.C., in the latest list issued.
Hockey.-The season opened with a win against
D.P.O. Mid-West District. The next three matches
were lost including that against Netherlands R.A.F.
This match was played under their umpires and rules
which allowed considerable scope with respect to
" sticks."
Although we were at a disadvantage the Netherlands' speed and stick play would have earned them
victory under anv rules.
Three matches' have been played against other Pay
Offices, viz. Droitwich (2) and Kidderminster (1).
Honours were even with Droitwich but we earned
our biggest victory (9-0) against Kidderminster on
their ground .
These matches were "mixed"
affairs and in the Kidderminster match we played
three more men owing to strlections difficulties which
accounts for the high scoring. All these matches
have been enjoyable.
Our local" enemy" 20th LT.C. have been met
three times and we have been successful twice, which
is very satisfactory in view of the keen but friendly
rivalry which exists.
Unfortunately owing to "Releases" of many
players the seaso'n has come to a premature end.
The last match was played on 29th December, 1945,
and it appears that a few local games only will be
plaved in future.
The results of the season's games were:Played 10, won 7, lost 3. Goals scored by us 31,
against us 14.
Nevertheless, the season, although short, has been
enjoyed by everyone who participated and it is
hoped that our friends who have entered "Civvy
Street" will remember the pleasant times experienced (including the usual "get togethers" after
away games).
.
WHITCHURCH
We would like to open our notes by wishing the
Journal a good send-off for its opening number. It
will help us to know what goes on in other offices,
and should lead to a useful exchange of ideas.
Personalities have not been introduced into these
notes, as it is felt that the Corps has not yet reached
the static stage where personalities would be of
particular interest, and the notes have therefore been
written in a tone of general rather than personal
interest.
In this opening number we are going to give you
some idea of what goes on in a Pay Corps Detachment
in camp, as distinct from the more usual lodging list.
We in Whitchurch have found that camp atmosphere breeds unit spirit, a thing so hard to obtain in
140

whom acted as pall-bearers. Also present at the
church were representatives of the R.A.P.C., A.T.S.,
and civilian personnel of the Wing of which he had
been officer-in-charge.
S.S.M. J. (" Micky ") Kendrick has walked out of
the frying pan into the fire by being released and
married in the same week. Nevertheless, we wish
his bride (who was Miss Olga Davidson of the
civilian staff of this office) and himself, a very happy
future together.
Christmas 1945 was celebrated by the W.O's. and
Sgts.' Mess of this Company with a Dinner and
Dance which was attended by all available members,
their wives and friends, and to which were invited
the Regimental Paymaster, the Assistant Regimental
Paymaster and the Staff Paymasters i/c Groups. I
think it safe to say that the event was memorable
and that a good time was had by all.
the Corps by releases has of course been felt here.

and we are looking forward to doing even better
when this strain has eased.
Finally, to those of this battalion and of others
who have been released, we wish the best of luck on
their return to civilian life, and hope they will keep
in touch with the Corps. We are always glad to
hear from old friends, wherever they may be.
YORK
It was with great regret that this Company
(No. 47) received the news on 30th January, 1946,
of the untimely death of Captain A. G. L. Harding,
after a short illness. His loss has been keenly felt
by all who knew him, as he was an officer of great
personal charm with a very disarming manner. His
funeral, held in York, was attended by Colonel H. W.
Taylor, O.B.E.; the Regimental Paymaster, and a
number of the late Captain's brother officers, six of
Miscellaneous Offices
contact Mr. H. I. Warren at 44 Leith Mansions,
Grantully Road, London, W.9, who will forward
complete details of the scheme.
CENTRAL CLEARING HOUSE

Highly welcomed by all C.C.H. personnel is the
return to active service of the .Pay Corps Journal.
As a means of imparting information about unit
activities and old colleagues it is hoped that it will
provide a very valuable service. It is just one more
example of the esprit de corps of the R.A.P.C. that
the first opportunity of re-starting the publication
of the Journal should be grasped so eagerly by both
publishers, contributors and readers alike.
The
Officers and Staff of the C.C.H. wish the Journal
every success in its new venture.
Departure fro In IlfracoInbe.-The first report
of C.C.H. news sadly concerns its uprooting from
the place of its virtual adoption. This" move"
overshadowing all other events during the past few
months, responded to the ageless cry of the hotelkeepers for the return of their various premises, and
the War Office promises of de-requisitioning--on
8th December, 1945, we moved to Salisbury.
The atmosphere at " Barnards Cross," however,
was one of welcome from the very outset, and
although lodging list accommodation does not make
for any large measure of social intercourse, it is to
the credit of all concerned that a highly successful
" get together" combined C.C.H. and D.P. Dance
was soon arranged.
Farewell Dinner.-To mark the memorable
occasion of its departure from Ilfracombe, the staff
of the C.C.H. arranged a grand dinner and dance.
Held on 14th November, 1945, in the familiar
surroundings of a well-known hotel and ballroom,
the function proved a fitting climax to 5i years of
industry and comradeship.
The C.C.H. spirit was well in evidence. The good
food and the wholehearted acclamation of the toast
to " The C.C.H. Past, Present and Future" ensured
the happiness of mood of the rest of the evening's
enjoyment.
C.RO.C.C.H.S.-One important and lasting result
of the Farewell Dinner was the establishing of the
Central Registry of C.C.H. Staff. This is a scheme
whereby the current addresses of all past and present
members are held in a central card index.
The objects of the scheme are to maintain facility
of communication between former associates and the
maintenance of friendships formed during the war
years. Membership of the C .R.O.C.C.H.S. already
exceeds 120.
Will any ex-C.C.H. personnel who hear of this
scheme for the first time through this Journal please
DEPOT R.A.P.C.
This, I think, is the first time that Depot" Notes"
have appeared in the Journal, and it seems a suitable
opportunity to send greetings to the many thousands
of our old clients-most of whom will doubtless
regard their stay here with mixed feelings.
Having survived everything the Boche had to offer
in the shape of bomb, blast and blitz, peace finds us
still open for business: in fact, what with assembling
and despatching drafts overseas and receiving with
open arms sundry odd bodies returning to U.K. in
varying stages of disintegration, trade is brisker than
ever. Perhaps a day will dawn when the Depot staff
can lie abed, quiet and unharrassed, for the whole of
one Sunday without being harried by Movement
Control to do something or other about somebody
or something. But not, we fear, in our time.
Meanwhile, those who have passed this way on
their lawful occasions will be interested to hear that,
shortly before their release in February 1946, Sgt. T.
Scott and Cpl. C. G. Wade, N.C.O's i/c Clothing
and Stationery Stores respectively, were both
awarded Certificates of Good Service. It was very
largely due to these two that the turnout and equipment of Corps drafts and units mobilised here for
overseas were the subject of favourable comment
from various sources both at home and abroad.
ILFRACOMBE (P.O.S.B.)
This is a new experience for the writer, and first
of all I should like to thank the people responsible
for the publication of this Journal. It means a lot
to read and hear of old friends, and what wonderful
memories we shall all have, whether those memories
are good or bad it's nice to know that the boys and
girls have done a splendid job with their pens.
Our staff is being further depleted owing to release,
and as each one downs tools and gets on their way
to "civvy street" we say "Thanks for what you
have done."
By the time these notes appear we shall, no doubt,
be on our way back from exile, and having spent
18 months in Ilfracombe I think we shall all be
pleased to return to London. Most of us felt rather
sore at being moved here in August '44; we had
had our share of bonlbs, "doodles" and rockets,
sleeping in a shelter at night and dining under the
141

tables during the . day, but we had to leave said a
High Authority, and we really did feel lost without
the exciting days and nights.
Well, a change is as good as a rest, so off we go
back to town again, and should these notes be read
by any ex-" Posby," don't forget to come up and
see us sometime. We hope to run some dances, etc.,
so send in your names and addresses to S.S.M.
Harsant and you will get an invite.
To our recent increase in staff we extend a cordial
welcome, and may they help emulate Old Mother
Hubbard and find the" Open Books" cupboards
bare.
'
MANCHESTER
For those who have never heard of Manchester a
short description might be helpful.
It is a large city resting on, or in, the Ship Canal
and the Rivers Medlock, Mersey and Irwell. The
local inhabitants swear by the place, but most of
them live in Cheshire-which shows how broadminded they are. There are two football teams,
neither of which has any further interest in the Cup,
three dog tracks and an orchestra, a plentiful water
supply and a gasworks which is working at the
present time. Apart from this, there is very little
to write (home) about.
The main office is domiciled in a mill and the
overflow in large private houses adjacent to large
public houses.
We are fast becoming a mere shell of our former
glory for the old stalwarts are gradually drifting
away, but we manage somehow to keep our heads
above water. Those who spent many happy hours in
Stockport Road will be pleased to hear that we still
have the gentle showers of rain when we leave the
office, the fragrant balmy breezes from Ardwick
Green and Salford and the charming tram condUGtresses who sweetly call " Two only on top" as
their empty trams pass the office doors.
,
Our sports and pastimes have been restricted by
pressure of work, but by sheer determination and
sacrifice of leisure hours we have managed to maintain interest.
Football.--:-Our two teams play in the first and
second divisions of the Lancashire and Cheshire
Amateur Leagues. These figures speak for themselves :1ST XI (3rd in the league)
Won 11, Drawn 4, Lost 4, Goals for 60, Goals agst 39.
2ND XI (top of league)
Won 4, Drawn 1, Lost 1, Goals for 22, Goals agst. 11.
Billiards.-Despite many good players being
demobilised or posted overseas our activities have
been most successful and in our next notes we hope
to report that more than 300 has been raised during
the season for charity.
.
On 13th February, at Longsight Cricket Club,
Fred Davis treated us to an exhibition of snooker as
it should be played. From March onwards the
facilities of the club will not be available to us as they
were during the war years. We are sure that past
and present members of the Corps who have enjoyed
their hospitality will join us in expressing our
gratitude to the club.
Our biIIiards Secretary,
Lieut. Gilderson, has been presented with a Certificate of Merit, and we are confident he will live up
to it in his future efforts to maintain our high
reputation at billiards and snooker.
Rifle Shooting.-For the most part we have been
restricted to an Inter-Group Competition run on a
league basis, and individual competitions of the
ladder and spoon variety. Friendly matches, with
the local police, have been slightly in our favour.

The standard of shooting, always good , continues
to improve and our monthly attendances are between
200 and 400. We are looking forward eagerly to the
resumption of inter-office matches.
Table Tennis.-In our Office championships
Capt. Whittle rather surprisingly defeated Lieut.
Barker in the Officers' Singles but the latter by
defeating Capt. Wright retained the open championship.
Other results were: Men's DoublesCapt. Wright and Lieut. Barker. Other Ranks'
Singles-Pte. Schofield.
Ladies' Singles-Pte.
MarshalI (A.T.S.). Ladies' Doubles-Cpl. Alston
(A.T.S.) and Pte. Shaw (A.T.S.). Mixed Doubles-'Lieut. Barker and Sgt. Owen (A.T.S.). Capt. Harvey
still hops about in his inimitable way and Lieut.-Col.
Wood takes on all comers, despite, the loss of his
former partner Colonel Blair, now in Meerut.
Dramatics.-Our Players continue to be much
alive and the high standard of production is being
maintained. There is stilI a great demand for this
activity. When our chairman, Capt. Hill, left us for
civilian life we felt that we had lost a guiding light
who had been inspiring in his efforts and devotion
to the Pay Corps Players.
General.-Owing to space restrictions we are
unable to report arrivals and departures, marriagru;
and births and other casualties in full, but we wish
those who have left us prosperity in their new
" stations " and extend a welcome to those who have
joined us. To S/Sgt. Foulis (A.T.S.), late of Central,
and Sgt. E. Heywood, RA.P.C., late of the Faroe
Islands and Group 10; we offer our congratulations
on being awarded the British Empire Medal
(Military Division).
H.W.R
INFORMATION BUREAU, LONDON
This office, which is an outpost of the A.P.O.,
Manchester, is located at 64 Victoria Street, below
the offices of F.9.
It is only a small office with a staff of four, but we
do see life. During our brief existence since May
1945, we have dealt with over 8,000 customers. ,
This has kept us fairly busy and coupled with the
fact that we are such a small staff we have not been
able to take part in any social or sporting activities.
Capt. N. B. ChaIIenor, Capt. G. H. Seymour,
S /Sgt. H. J. Jones and Pte. Harrison are the members
of the staff of the Bureau.
208 O.C.T.U., RA.P.C.
The unit is now in its fourth location-Blackheath,
Milford-on-Sea, Port St. Mary and now High Legh,
Knutsford-and this time the accommodation is
military accommodation built for military personnel
and so differs considerably from requisitioned
schools and hotels.
This move, in a sense, brings to an end one period
and the future is obscure.
During that period
2,047 cadets have been commissioned and 899 officers
have been through the Officers' Training Wing.
The sense which closes the period is that nearly
all the " old hands" have either gone or are on the
point of going.
Of the Officers-Uncles, Steff,
Aldridge, Arnold, Hall and Jenkins ; of the N.C.O's.
-Bratby, Ham, King, Mason, Nye, Stoker,
Trudgen, Winby, Cosgrove, Putsman, Young,
WiIIiams; of the attached men-their names will
mean little to readers of these notes but their unseen
efforts meant a very great deal to those who passed
through the unit. They have all gone. They all in
their various ways did a great job and the short-
142

T~e highest number of clerks employed on pay
servIces throughout the world was reached in 1945
and consisted of Regulars, T.A., S.R, Militia, A.C.:
War Volunteers, A.T.S. and Civilians.
The war casualty list for the other ranks of the
Corps has been proportionately low. Of 48 taken
prisoner by the enemy all but five have been
repatriated and 76 deaths from enemy action have
been reported .
It may surprise some people in pay offices to know
that one of the chief reasons ' given , by personnel of
F.9 when applying for postings is that promotion
prospects in Pay Offices are brighter than at the
War Office.
Corps postings and promotions at present are far
too numerous to mention in these notes, but it is
hoped they will find a place in the Journal when
times are more normal.
Now for a word about F.9's military role. During
hostilities the Directorate had its own Defence
Company, which was part of the Westminster
~arrison, and was destined to play an active part
ID the defence of the War Office if the need had
arisen. In the early days, the members received
their training on the roof of the War Office which
while providing an ideal place' for th; man~
.. schemes" ev?lved by the training officers, left
much to be deSIred when the Company indulged in
.. square bashing." A tardy word of command could
have resulted in the leading members of the Company
hurtling to their doom five storeys below.
At a later period the German bombers provided
the Company with an ideal training ground in
Battersea, a devastated area being taken over for
practice in street fighting.
Throug~out this period all personnel had regular
guard dutIes to perform in Whitehall, watching over
Montague House Annexe (built underground and
known as "The Fortress "), which housed th.e
Combined Operations staff and was also a Signals
nerve centre.
~he Corps had only one change in its leadership
durmg the war years. This was in August 1943
when Major-General R. G. Stanham su~ceeded
Major-General H. G. Riley as Paymaster-in-Chief.
Major-General Riley had been P,LC. since November, 1937, and on retiring he became Colonel
Commandant of the Corps. In the 1944 New Year
Honours List he was included in the list of K.B.E's.
and became Sir Guy Riley.
Major-General Stanham, the present P .I.C., was
Regimental Paymaster at Bournemouth from
October, 1939, to January, 1941, when he became
Deputy Paymaster-in-Chief at the War Office. From
October, 1942, to July, 1943, he was Deputy
Paymaster-in-Chief, B.N.A.F.
The P.LC. figured in the last New Year Honours
List. He was appointed a C.B.
Incidentally, F.9 has been prominent in wartime
Honours Lists. Here are details (they are in alphabetical order, and the ranks are those held now) :Lieut.-Col. E. W. Booth
O.B.E.
Brigadier B. L. Burgess
O.B.E.
S.S.M. W. T. C. Coles
M.B.E.
Major R S. Davy
M.B.E.
Colonel J. FeehaIly
O.B.E.
Major G. J. Forsyth
M.B.E.
Lieut.-Col. L. H. M. Mackenzie
M.B.E.
Lieut.-Col. H. H. Malpass
O.B.E.
Lieut.-Col. H. P. Penny
M.B.E.
Major P. Plowman
M.B.E.
Maj .-Gen. Sir Guy Riley
K.B.E.
comings of the unit cannot be laid at their door.

May the best of luck go with them in the future.
Many of the original A.T.S., Platoon and the
Platoon Commander are stiII with the unit and the
standard of their work is as high as ever. Still,
occasionally, is a repetition of the old "farewell
cake" produced and, despite the absence of Isle of
Man. supplies, is just as good.
We would like to take this opportunity of wishing
all our" victims" the best of luck wherever they
are and whatever they may be doing.
THE WAR OFFICE
We, in F.9, were very pleased to hear from the
Editor that it had been decided to recommence
publication of the Journal, and we welcome the
opportunity to write of some of the things that have
h.appened since the last issue appeared, more than
sIX years ago.
At the outbreak of war F.9 was quite a small
branch of the War Office, housed in the main building in Whitehall. Eventually it became so big that
it was split into F.9 (Central), F.9(a), F.9(b) 'and
F.9(c). F.9(c), which is the RA.P.C. Other Ranks'
Records Office, moved to Finsbury Circus and the
F.9(a) Costing Section went to Rornne~ House.
Later, F.9 (Central), the remainder of F.9(a), and
F.9(b), moved to Victoria ' Street, and later still
F.9(c) moved again, to Dorset Square.
Most readers of the Journal will know, only too
well perhaps, of the work we have done, so we wiII
not attempt to tell you how many thousands of War
Office letters we have issued, or how many thousands
of officers and other ranks we have posted to various
parts of the world. Instead, we will tell you a little
of some of the people who have worked in F.9
during the war years.
We were fortunate in having comparatively few
changes. Most of the staff brought in during the
early days stayed to the end of the war, and into the
peace. Now, most of the war-time clerical staff are
civilians again and their places have been filled by
youthful clerks with A. and S. Group numbers
which, to we "old 'uns," seem of astronomical
proportions. There's still a vast amount of work
for them to do, and we wish them the best of luck.
The creation of pay "establishments" in most
parts of the world has been one of the tasks for which
F.9 has received little gratitude from members of
the Corps. Drafting overseas is unpopular from the
point of view of those put on the drafts. The correct
assessing of pay service requirements for the cryptic
code names of the various" ops " (shrouded in " Top
Secret" mystery) called for the greatest thought
and care in balancing the shortage of man power at
home with the absolute necessity for providing
adequate" operational" commitments abroad. Those
c~lled upon to fill the pay services overseas, either
WIth the fighting armies in the field, in all theatres
of war, or in the smaller and individual "outposts
of the Empire" have done a grand job of work. So
also have those in the home pay offices, not forgetting
the A.T.S. and civilian elements of the" war establishments," which have contributed so largely to the
successful expansion of the Corps to something like
.0 times its peace establishment.
Now the time has come for unwinding the
machine. This is made more difficult because of the
fact that -most of the R.A.P.C. (and A.T.S.) have to
be released along with the rest of the Army, while
the Corps has such an important part to fill in the
release scheme. But this is a problem which, like
all the others, is being surmounted.
143

Major C. V. E. Rooker
Colonel R. H. Sayer
Maj.-Gen. R. G. Stanham
Major R. T. Vallintine
Capt. W. D. Westcott
M.B.E.
O.B.E.
C.B.
M .B.E.
M.B.E.
Lieut.-Col. H. King, who was in charge of F.9(c)
for the greater part of the war, retired soon after t~e
end of hostilities in Europe, and went to bve m
Devonshire. Capt. A Wills, of F.9(b), who had
served in F.9 for a good many years, retired in July
last year. He was S.S.M. in the branch before bei~g
commissioned. We offer our best wishes to both m
their retirement.
Overseas Offices
ALLIED LAND FORCES,
SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Introductory.-Much as we should like to give
you a full history of our activities out in this (or
rather these) outposts of Empire (ours and other
people's i), time is, as ever, against us and this first
effort must be in the nature of a " How do you do "
from us. So, without further ado, let me introduce
the aforementioned "us."
Pay Branch, H.Q's. Alfsea.-We're not a big
office (though we like to imagine-a very important
one) but we" get by." Those of you who can recall
the old pre-war days of Pay and Mess Rolls and ~ay
Lists will remember Brigadier E. T. C. Smith,
Lieut.-Colonel R. D. Coate and S .S.M. (Tony)
Long, who has recently taken ove~ from S.S.M. (Jack)
Woan. The latter has been suffermg from a duodenal
ulcer but we are glad to say is now much impro:,ed
and is at present awaiting the result of a medical
board.
They say travel broadens the mind. It may do and
it certainly broadens the vocabulary! Calcutta to
Kandy, four months in Kandy with the.J ap surrender
coming in between to keep us hoppmg, and then
down here to Changi-14 miles out from Smgapore.
When we first arrived we found the Nips had carried
out their policy of letting rot what they didn't want
with remarkable efficiency! Things are better now ;
we have even had a few nights recently with both
electric light and water on at the same time!!
All this, of course, makes us (almost) glad to ~et to
work in the mornings. Still, we have our lighter
moments. The Brigadier, who was to go on t.our
recently, had his 'plane turned back and walked mto
the office with the remark, " I'm afraid I'm back
again ! "
. lii
One of our high spots in recent months was
organising the R.A.P.C. side of Rapwi. This was a
colossal job but, though we say it ourselves, we came
out of it rather well. Of this, more later.
We have adopted as our motto (and even kidded
the rest of the H.Q. into believing it) that of the
U.S. Marines-" The difficult we do at once, the
impossible takes a little longer".
And now for some of the "ours." These are
spread throughout S.E.A.C. from Ceylon to Hong
Kong and Borneo; in fact, our geography has never
been so good, even whilst we were at school!
Nowadays, we can almost give the exact latitude afold
longitude of such places as Myitkyina, SoerabaJa,
Pnom Penh, et sic loci omnes. And pronounce 'em!
Burma is now beginning to settle down quietly
(but don't tell the c.P., Lieut.-Colonel Mark!)
We have a C.P.O. there now with such old friends
as Major (Bill) Dyer and S.S.M. (Ron) Pepper,
though they all say little about ~angoon.. Maybe,
it's just as well! They ~ad a. high old .tIme there
just after the re-occupatIOn WIth . RapwI and later
with fixing up all the R.A.P.C. Untts for the M.alaya,
etc. campaigns, just before Johnny Jap threw m the
towel. In fact, the place was rapidly becoming a sort
of Clapham Junction and they certainly deserved all

the praise they got over these jobs.
In Ceylon the C.P.O. (with Lieut.-Colonel BarIow
and S .S.M. Newby) goes on as it did before the
war in what was one of the best places we have so
far hit-Colombo.
Incidentally, the staff of the
C.P.O. were the first Base personnel to greet the
returning R.A.P.C. Rapwi. The boat put in at
Colombo and one of our blokes got down to the
C.P.O. to give them all the" gen." He said that
most of the R.A.P.C. had been together at Singapore
and had not been treated too badly compared with
men in other camps.
We used to go down to Colombo for the we~k-end
quite a lot from Kandy-they have A.T.S. m the
office!
Unfortunately,
in
Singapore-Malaya-they
haven't!
Yes the old C.P.O. Singapore is back again on the
map ~nd fburishing.
The first bit of it (with
. Lieut.-Colonel Shaw-Hamilton) moved in very early,
almost with the first occupational troops, and the rest,
including S.S.M. (Bill) Humphries, S.Q.M.S. Pearce
(who remembers his father. Major Pearce, at York .?)
and many others (no nominal rolls, please), came. m
about the middle of November and are now savounng
the joys(?) of Singapore. As we go to press, we hear
the C.P.O. swimming team have reached all the finals
in the first swimming gala held here since the
re-occupation.
.
. . .
On the mainland, thmgs are. a bIt hveher-they
carry arms at night-but, so far, we've heard of
nobody bagging anything-not even a cow!
It's a hit different in Nei (Java and Sumatra).
One of our Field Cashiers commanded a company
in defence of the Bde. H.Q.'s at Soerabaja and they
were down to their last I U rounds when they were
got away ! It is rumoured that the office equipment
was used in lieu of sandbags! ! !
.
In Batavia, at Christmas, Lieut.-Colonel (Nipper)
Rees and his staff found it very seasonable to have to
dive for a ditch at considerable ~peed ! ! !
.
In fact as Colonel Rees sums up " there might be
. t h e next SIX
. wee ks " ..
I II
quite a lot, of fun and games m
In French Indo-China things seem to have
quietened down a bit re~entl~. A:s L~eut.-Colonel
Sweeney says "the tactICal SItuatIOn IS very dull.
There hasn't been a murder within five miles of us
for a week " ! ! !
It wasn't so a month ago. He had a very jaundiced
view of it then! Some citizen of Fic hid behind a
tree within 100 yards of his Mess afo1d ;ried ~o lay
him out with an iron bar! !! He dIdn t achieve a
complete K.O. but succe~ded . in making Colonel
Tim Sweeney look somethmg like a battle casualty
round about the face . Round 2, with a Sten, ~as
unfortunately postponed indefinitely, as, by the tIme
Colonel Sweeney had finished identifying all the
stars his assailant had scrammed.
.
When they first went in it was even more h~ctlc.
Fortunately the only R.A.P.C. casualty was a bottle
144

Capt. J. M . Murrell, Droitwich and Aldershot.
Lieut. A. W. Platford, "Lights" and Mickleham ..
S.Q.M.S. J. Robinson, York, Droitwich,
" Heavies" and R.E.M.E.
S /Sgt. R. E. White, Costing at C.E.A.O. Reigate.
Sgt. N. L. Boden, Chester and Preston.
Sgt. C. A . Vincent, " Lights" and Finsbury.
In conclusion you may be interested to hear that
recently we received a claim for gratuity for service
in the 1914-1918 campaign. We wonder if any other
office has had a similar, or better, experience ?
of beer, smashed by a sniper's bullet. The bottle

had, however, been emptied some few minutes
previously!
They've had quite a good time sorting out the
Jap financial manipulations. It is quite a job when
these are
(a) Written vertically in Japanese script.
(b) Do not differentiate between four sets of
currency, and
(c) The Nips are lying hard anyway!
In Siam their high-spot was again Rapwi and
again a big job, done at top pressure, was deservedly
praised by all affected. Incidentally, two R.A.P.C.
fellows, themselves Ps. O.W.-S.S.M. C. A. J. Fraser
and Sgt. Humphries-volunteered to stay and help
with Rapwi in Java and were the last to leave out of
almost the whole island.
In all these areas (Nei, Fic and Siam) there is
comparatively little " paymongering" as we used
to know it. The headaches there are currency problems with the various Allied Governments (the old
B.E.F. exchanges were chicken-feed to it) and sorting
out all the J ap financial activities-popularly known
as " The Hunt of the Hidden Millions."
Even Hong Kong gets a bit of it, though not so
much. The C.P.O. (with Lieut.-Colonel Ferguson
and S.S.M. Birch) is now back in operation there.
Not the least pleased to see the old office again was
Major Buck, second-in-command of the pre-war
office. He was himself a P.O.W. in Hong Kong and
stayed behind to help the C.P.O. to get on its feet
again. He seemed to be reasonably fit and well.
One interesting and touching sidelight on the
re-opening of the old C.P.O's. is the way the civilian
clerks have been coming back to ask if they can start
work with us again-it has happened both in
Singapore and Hong Kong.
As you may know, both Borneo and Celebes are
S.E.A.C. "pigeons" but we have only recently
taken them over from the Aussies so there is little
news from either place as yet.
Well, that's us and ours. A very brief introduction,
but next time we will try and let you have some
detailed stories and incidents.
If we can, we'll
give you the" R.A .P .C. battle of Soerabaja."
Meanwhile, our greetings go out to all the Corps,
wherever they may be, past and present; we shall
be glad to hear news of their part of the world.
Good paymongering, from S.E.A.C. and the very
best of luck to the post-war Journal. We are all
looking forward keenly to the first issue.
No. 8 BASE C.P.O., C.M.F.

An uncompleted hospital building in Syracuse
with no lighting or sanitation and very little water;
sweltering heat and swarms of flies.
A block of luxury flats in Catania with the bridal
bedroom (locked) next door to the Group Officer's
office; bully beef and "V " cigarettes.
More flats in Taranto with trams, more crowded
outside than in, rattling past all day; the alfresco
cookhouse in the courtyard; Sunday trips to the
lighthouse for a swim.
The School just outside Rome;
nocturnal
explosions; living under canvas; "Any more for
8 C .P.O. " from the Car Park.
These are just a few of the memories which will be
revived in the minds of many when they read the
above heading. Since our landing in Sicily, the first
Pay Office in liberated Europe, we have had some
good times as well as bad; but in retrospect, we
always seem to have managed to enjoy ourselves.
The early months we will not dwell on too much.
We were delayed in Sousse owing to our transport
priority being deferred to permit the passage of
sorely needed combatant troops. We finally got
across to Syracuse by dumping all our baggage on
the docks and waiting for the Transport Officer to
allot us to an L.S.T. to get us out of his way . The
first few days consisted chiefly of pushing, pulling,
and heaving innumerable boxes of currency from one
place to another. How we grew to detest the sight
of or the mere mention of those boxes! Fortunately
the volume of work was slight and in the intervals
between" bullion" fatigues we were free to discuss
our individual dysentery symptoms.
Luckily we did not stay in these primitive surroundings very long. As soon as the road was open
we moved up to Catania, incidentally receiving the
Army Commander's compliments on our promptness
in setting up business. For a while we wondered
if we had not been a little bit too sharp off the mark,
especially when we had to turn away German soldiers
wishing to surrender.
The sentry with great
presence of mind, realising that if we accepted them
we would have to feed them out of our rations,
directed them to the nearest C.M.P. post. Here we
had to settle down to work in real earnest but we
found time in between times to organise swimming
parties and run one or two unit shows. Just before
we left the lights came on in the town and a couple
of cinemas opened up.
We could not stay to enjoy the many promised
delights of Catania and as soon as possible after the
invasion of I taly we made preparations to move over
to Taranto. The majority made the trip on the deck
of an old British oil tanker converted into an L.S.T.,
there being no accommodation below.
A few,
however, had a much more interesting experience
going the whole way by road, convoying our rapidly
increasing stores of bullion in American-driven trucks
via Messina and Reggio.
BERMUDA
.
Greetings from the Command Pay Office, Bermuda
to our comrades and friends throughout the world.
Those of you who knew Bermuda in its tourist
days, or who suffered with it in the submarine
blockade, will be gladdened to hear that reconversion
is proceeding rapidly. The American tourists are
already arriving in their hundreds, and soon they
will be numbered in thousands, bringing the long. sought dollars and wearing the usual extraordinary
clothes. To help the civilian-changeover, the local
Militia and Volunteer forces are in the process of
demobilisation. We are busier now than perhaps we
have ever been and as we write the scram.ble of our
local general demob. looms very near.
Like all overseas exiles we are always keen to hear
from old friends wherever they may be. To help
them to remember us, we append a list of our
movements in the Corps before joining the Bermuda
Command Pay Office:
145

now and again and do not too quickly forget the many
and varied experiences we enjoyed, or otherwise, in
each other's company.
Before finishing this brief summary of 8 C.P.O's.
fortunes we would like to pay a tribute to those who
played so large a part in the efficiency of the Pay
Services in this theatre though often working many
hundreds of miles from 8 C.P.O., the Area and Field
Cash Offices. Though we all too rarely saw the
cashiers or their staffs we were always aware of
them and proud of the good work they were performing under the most trying conditions right up
with our fighting troops.
We are now nearing the end pf our survey of
8 C.P.O.'s past but by the time these notes are
published we will have made another move. For a
long time consideration has been given to our linking
up eventually with G.H.Q., whom we outstripped
in our eagerness to go North. Now at last the
decision has been made and with mixed feelings,
but chiefly regret, we are preparing for the next move.
No personalities have been mentioned in these
notes due to the long period of time that has been
covered and the desire not to have to draw any
comparisons or make any unwitting omissions. We
would like, however, to bid a sincere farewell on the
occasion of his retirement to Colonel A. S. R Hughes,
who has been Command Paymaster here for well
over a year, and with whom we have been proud
and pleased to serve.
To our new Command
Paymaster, Colonel R. H. Sayers, we extend a
welcome and assure him of the same loyal cooperation and service.
When we arrived in Taranto and our new location,

it was raining and dark. The wrecked water and lig~t
services had still not been repaired, but by now thIS
was no novel experience. Everything combined,
though, to make our new abode seem the most
depressing place we had ever seen. We consoled
ourselves with the thought that as the battle was
progressing so favourably it would only be a matter
of a few weeks before we moved on again. In actual
fact we should have gone on to Bari or Naples . but
apart from setting up Area Offices there we remamed
where we were till after the liberation of Rome; so
our few weeks stretched to very nearly a year.
In Taranto we began receiving our first reinforcements and ere long the trickle became a stream, and
the pond a lake. From a small o~ce a modest
sixty-odd strong we expanded untIl all told we
numbered well over four hundred. From England,
Middle East and North Africa, they came and we
soon formed a well-knitted team.
Our opportunities for Unit entertai~ent. were
limited due to lack of space, but despIte thIS the
zeal of certain organisers enabled us to enjoy many
" get-togethers." On the sports field we. developed,
too, turning out very good football and. crI<;:ket teams.
It must be mentioned, too, that whIlst m Taranto
we were given m~ny opportunities to entertain the
officers and crew of H.M.S. Bicester, the destroyer
adopted by the Corps. Very cordial relations were
established between the sailors and their military
" sponsors" and good times were enjoyed by both
which will long be remembered.
When we were becoming reconciled to our long
stay in Taranto, Rome was liberated and pre~arations
were set in hand for our next move whIch, unexpectedly for many, was their last move with
8 C.P.O. For just outside Rome, in the shape of a
good-sized school, we found the ideal building for
our needs. Office accommodation, ample space for
messes and a big hall for recreational purposes.
All th~t was lacking was somewhere to live. This
was gradually overcome by requisitioning nearby
premises, but for a long time the majority were forced
to live in overcrowded conditions under canvas.
Despite this and other discomforts we soon settled
down into what was to become our home for the
next eighteen, or so, months .
.
Unit shows became regular features as also dId
cinema shows given by a Mobile Kinema Unit.
Sightseeing tours took up any spare time for the
first few weeks and then gave place to visits to Rome
purely for their entertainment value, these too,
giving way to swimming trips at the Lido or swimming pool when the warmer weather came.
In sports we did very well again, accrediting
ourselves honourably in both football and ' cricket.
If we did not do so well in rugby and hockey we
were at least known to always play an enthusiastic
and good game. It should not be forgotten either
that we cleaned the field in table tennis, winning
the Area championship shield.
The past year has seen our numbers gradually
dwindle once more. First some went off to Greece,
then others to France, Belgium and Germany;
others left to return to England on completion of
their overseas tour . We were very sorry to see them
go and remember with pleasure the good times we
had together. M:>re recently the Release plan has
been d epleting our strength and at the time of writing
quite fifty per cent. of our comrades of six months
ago are now back home, happy and contented Misters
once more. We hope they spare a thought for us
EAST AFRICA COMMAND

An area of over 2,000,000 square miles stretching
from Addis Ababa to Lusaka, from the Congo border
to the ' Seychelles, some of the wildest territoIJ: in
the world-that is the area covered by Pay SerVIces
East Africa Command.
As a result, RA.P.C.
East Africa is probably unique in the diversity of its
functions, and for the regular soldier who is keen
on his job, Nairobi can offer some of the best Corps'
experience in the world.
Before the war, "Pay" comprised two Staff
Paymasters, but in September, 1939 an immedi~te
expansion in the administration of East Afnca
generally, caused an enlargement of the E .A.P.C.
which was brought under the control of the C.P. and
F.A. who came out from U.K. with other heads of
Services. Civil Government clerks were supplemented by military obtained from local regiments.
Then the first handful of British ranks arrived from
U.K.
War came to East Africa when Italy entered the
conflict. Fighting in Ethiopia and the . threat t.o
British Somaliland and all the B.E. Afncan terntories made the usual call on the Pay Corps for Field
Cashiers. Five were sent from Nairobi-with a hard
enough job! Miles of rough countryside, ga~e
ridden and often waterless, had to be traversed WIth
supplies and cash that were no light weight. S?me
idea of the "weight" side of things can be gamed
from the fact that an East African shilling is as l;>ig
as a British florin and there are 100 cents, the SIze
of a farthing, to that shilling. The. askari's bas.ic pay
is 28/- per month, and for a cOllSIderabl.e peno.d ~e
was paid in full. At the outs~t t~oops 1';1 EthIOpIa
and the Somalilands were paId m Mana Theresa
dollars and Indian rupees which were imported from
India and taken by road from Nairobi to the troops
by the Field Cashiers. The size and weight of the
146
----------------------
Maria Theresa dollar is about that of the English

5/- piece.
. The cashiers had many adventures, the closest
shave being that of one whose safari had an escort
of some ten askaris in a leading truck. A burst tyre
delayed the cashier's truck but the askaris, turning
a bend ahead, fell straight into an enemy ambush
and were wiped out, the cashier with his truck
luckily getting back.
Meanwhile the Command Pay Office in Nairobi
was increasing in size and strength. Besides the
usual Command Office it now had a Regimental
Office keeping accounts for over a quarter million
troops, an office for Officers' accounts, as well as
Base Pay Offices under its control scattered all over
the Command.
An advanced Pay Office went up with the fighting
in the North, following close behind the line, and
ending up at Harge~ia, where it still remains . . There
is an Area Pay Office at Mogadiscio, as well as those
formed or developed in the Seychelles, Mauritius,
and Madagascar after its capture in 1942. In Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland there are Pay Offices
at Lusaka and Zomba. The large number of East
African troops in the C.M.F. area made necessary
the appointment of a Liaison Paymaster in Cairo.
The port of Mombasa with its large amount of
shipping strained to the full the services of its Field
Cashier.
) .Then came Burma. The 11th (EA) Division
crossed to S.E.A.C. with three Cashiers from the
Command, and their Sergeant clerks. They were
based on Ceylon for a while, and then broke away
from the East African Pay Services (Expeditionary),
to move on into Burma with the advance Brigades
of the 11th.
The Burmese jungle was no paradise for any
troops, and "Pay" reinforcements to S.E.A.C.
were continually made from Nairobi. Captain F. N.
Fforde, one of the cashiers, was badly wounded.
Finally, about six months ago, E.A.P.S. (Exped.)
was absorbed into the establishment of ALFSEA.
Now the war is over, the move is back from Burma~
and Release is the big job here as at home. There
may be a great deal of difference between releasing
a British rank and releasing an askari but they both
need balances when they "get their ticket" -and
the askari has often got a much more accurate idea
of the state of his account than the British rank !
And for the askari too, gratuities are deposited in
the P.O.S.B.
Besides 350 R .A.P.C . other ranks at work in the
office here now, there are military and civilian clerks
(not to mention the 500 or so Italian P.O.W.), who
speak so many different languages that at times it
truly sounds like the "tower of Babe!."
The
average Section may have a staff containing one
RO.R., two ' Italian Officer Co-operators, two
civilian and one enlisted Asian clerks, an enlisted
Mauritian other rank, with African askaris as
Orderlies.
Hence the many testimonials from
Nairobi which state" can deal tactfully with a staff
of mixed nationality."
Personalities have been largely kept out of the
picture so far, but mention should be made of
Brigadier C. J. K. Hill, Lieut.-Colonel E. J. Sharland,
M.RE., and Captain L. V. A. Andrews, who were
Mentioned in Despatches for their work here, and of
S.Q.M.S. Ian Hamilton who was awarded the RE.M.
in the recent New Year's Honours List:. The present
C.P. and F.A. is Brigadier C. N. Bednall, O.B.E.,
M.C., Command Paymaster Colonel J. F. Bellman,
M.C. Other C.P. and F.A.'s have been Colonel

A. S. S. Herbert and Brigadier C. J. K. Hill, and
Command Paymasters Colonel R H. Sayers, O.RE.,
M.C., and Colonel L. E. James, M.C., with Lieut.Colonel E. J. Sharland, M.B.E., as Acting Command
Paymaster throughout the war.
GIBRALTAR
Sport on the Rock.-The RA.P.C. in Gibraltar,
has been heard of but very little, but this does not
mean that they have not been busy. Many troops
who have served here will remember the Corps, or
as it was more affectionately called the" Pay Office."
Corps personnel who have been here during the
war, will doubtless remember the successful and
happy times that have been, and are still being spent
playing Hockey, which is a popular game here, both
six-a-side and eleven-a-side. Owing to the fact that
Command Pay Office, Gibraltar, is a small office,
six-a-side Hockey has been the more popular.
The RA.P.C. team, in the Garrison six-a-side
League has, for the past two or three seasons been
under the guidance of the Assistant Command
P'a ymaster, Major D. Y. Cubitt, who himself is a keen
player. 1942-43 saw the RA.P.C. with two teams
in the League, and keen rivalry between them .
1943-44 again saw the RA.P.C. in Hockey circles,
with one very keen team. The 1944-45 season saw
the A.C.P. Chairman of the Garrison Hockey
Committee. The records for the 1944-45 season
show that of 24 games played, they won 11, lost 8,
drew 5, and finished 8th in a league with 27 points.
The main difficulty during the 1944-45 and 1945-46
~easons has been keeping a team together owing to
Postings, Leave, Releases, etc., and it is feared that
after the next few groups are released the team will
cease.
In addition to having keen players, the Detachment
has provided the Garrison with two Umpires, who
have spent many hours not only with the RA.P.C.
team, but with other teams, and this season although
the A.C.P. is not a member of the Garrison Hockey
Committee, the RA.P.C. still has a say in the
organisation of Garrison Hockey, one of the Junior
Ranks being a member of the Committee.
Eleven-a-side Hockey has never really taken in the
Detachment owing to the fact that it has not been
possible to get sufficient players to form a complete
RA.P.C. side, but this season the Corps has joined
forces with the Gibraltar Fire Brigade and between
them a team has been raised.
This small Detachment has not, however, confined
itself to Hockey. 1944 saw a keen body indulging
in Rowing in the harbour. The Staff and Departments vyater Polo team had a RA.P.C. representative
amongst its players, and the S. and D. Cricket team
had at least two members in the field. The Garrison
Football fans could not get away from the Corps
as Sgt. J. R Elliott has successfully refereed many
matches on the Naval Football Ground.
The coming year will see a number of these keen
sportsmen of the Corps going in their various
directions as they are released, but it is hoped that
the good name of the Corps will be as prominent in
Garrison Sport in the future, as it has been in the
past.
Sergeants' Mess Notes.-Old members, especially those who inaugurated the Gibraltar RA.P.C.
Sgts.' Mess, will no doubt be interested to know
that the "mis-appropriated Coffee Bar," as our
Barrack friends were wont to refer to the Mess, has
flourished during the war years. When the scribe
147

of these notes arrived here in Julv, 1942, it had been
the scene of many social gatherings, m ainly. in
affording hospitality to Royal Naval friends seekmg
relaxation after constant patrol and hazardous convoy
duties, and since that date such social gatherings
have been m an y and enjoyable in true Mess manner.
Of course, "Jack" reciprocated in tr?e Nav~~
tradition and many " splicings of the mam brace
have been ordered on behalf of our members without
the Admiral being made aware of it.
.
Such social life has now changed dunng recent
months with the reduction in H .M. Ships stationed
or calling here- but in its stead we are pleased to
welcome the families of Sgts. Elliott and Crabtree
whose" better halves" arrived on 13th January, 1946
-pioneers of those yet to come out we hope--and
they have already proved that the social life of ~he
Mess will continue in able hands. May they enJoy
their tour on the Rock.
After a "fight" with the powers t~a~ be, we
succeeded in establishing ourselves as a Dmmg Mess
IRAQ
To all the old members of No . 6 C.P.O. Paiforce,
and all other personnel of the R.A.P.C., we send our
greetings from Baghdad in this, the first issue ofthe
post-war R.A.P.C. Journal.
The history of P aiforce h as unfolded from very
small beginnings and it is with a feeling of pride
that we are able ~o say that the Persia-Iraq Route
became the main artery which supplied aid to Russia
in the dark days of the war. No less than four million
tons of supplies of all kinds were delivered to Russia
by road, rail and river transport, through great
extremes of climatic and terranial conditions.
We in the Corps have done our share and all has
not been plain sailing. The office, a monument to
" J erry building" has succumbed to the rigours of
summer and winter alike. Many of our old Paic
comrades will remember the day the roof was blown
off, and many more will recall the tar which 'poured
down on to us during the summer that followed. In
-..
huts and dirty streets, and by the monotony of the

flat desert which surrounds it. Cut off as it is from
civilisation the spectacle is not very cheering when
one first arrives after the five-day trip across the
desert from Haifa. However, this feeling is soon
dispelled when one is welcomed b y the exceedingly
friendly spirit which exists among the men of Paiforce.
MIDDLE EAST FORCES -
course to carry on the good (?) work. Lieut. (now

Captain) C. Keith-Thomas left us a short while back
for duty with 45 F.B.P.O. in the Dodecanese and
L /Sgt. J. Kirk was posted just before Christmas,
1945 to Cyprus.
At the time of writing (February) the warmth
and sunshine of the M.E. seems to be very much
lacking as we are at present passing through a spell
of abominable weather when rain, hail, thunderstorms and gales seem to be a daily occurrence, and
one spends most off-duty times huddled round an
oil-stove trying to keep warm, but soon , no doubt,
we sha1l be continually having showers or dips in
the sea to keep cool, such are the extremes of the
Levantine climate.
Sport.-The office football team, captained b y
Lieut. R . D. Wilson and trained (?) b y Pte. I. Smith,
h as been operating successfully in the Beirut District
Services F.A. League. The present position in the
league table is third, and of the 19 games played ,
4 have been drawn, 10 won, and 5 lost.
Table tennis is a very popular sport with the lad s
here , and many a keen tussle has been fought.
G.H.Q., M.E.F.
To all our colleagues who are not fortunate enough

to be in the Middle East and to those who think
they have been fortunate to have escaped from itgreetings.
If I tried to tell you that I am too busy to write
a few words from Pay Branch, G.H.Q., M.E.F., for
inclusion in the first issue of our re-born Corps
Journal none of you would believe me, so I am
stealing a few minutes of public time.
Vve have left it to the numerous pay offices
scattered over the Middle. East to tell yo u of the
attractions of their own territories, so on this occasion
I will confine myself to G.H.Q. personalities to man y
of whom a lot of you will need no introduction.
Brigadier R. W. Hackett, our G.P.F. , has just
returned from a visit to War Office, leavened with
a month's leave (or should I put it the other way?).
In his absence we have been sustained b y the presence
of Colonel C. Holmes, recently arrived from Northern
Ireland, where I am authoritatively informed he had
a reputation amongst the huntin ' fraternity. Lieut.Colonel A. H. Jones is basking in the English
sunshine (we hope). There can be few of yo u who
have not heard of Major Bertie Godwin, who is still
, going strong and bids fair to outdo a certain wellknown beverage.
Our Chief Clerk, "Tich" Hitchcock, reco vered
after a spell in hospital just in time to catch the
L.I.A.P. boat. His" stand-in, " S /Sgt. Cadell, has
just been awarded a C.-in-C's. Commendation Card,
and well earned too.
You will begin to think that the Middle East is
a super t ype of holiday camp, so before I cause a
rush of volunteers, I had better conclude without
too much stress on the two month's leave which I
recently spent in the U.K.
Before I close, I must express the general appreciation for the efforts of those respon sible for the
revival of the Journal.
E.J.B.
CYPRUS
Greetings from Cyprus and congratulations to the
editorial staff on the recommencement of publication
of the Journal.
Those of illS here w ho knew the pre-war Journal
with its news from all ,corners welcome its return,
and no doubt the new subscribers will appreciate it
verv much.
At the moment there are two small Detachments
on the Island-97 Det. (llFwd. B.P.O.) and 105 Det.
(Cyprus Gro up R.P., M.E.F.)-some distance apart,
but in the near future they will be located together
and probably merge.
At present the combined military strength is small
with a s prinkling of " Regulars" and we must
await the post-war reorganisation before knowing
what the peacetime standing of the two Pay Offices
will be.
Reorganisation is the order of the da y, and if
rumour is not a lying jade and Cy prus is to become
a more prominent military centre of the M.E., it is
expected that the Corps will maintain its permanency
on the Island .
After moves are completed and things become
settled it is hoped to subscribe more information
on Corps life here, for the information of those who
are looking forward to a (another ?) M.E. Tour and
h ave not had the opportunity to see Cyprus. T.S.
15 C.P.O. (BASE), BEIRUT
Staff of the Base Pay Office, Baghdad.

the winter we were warmed by primitive' stOVES of
great explosive capacity, while in summer .the fans
which were intended to keep us cool durmg temperatures of 120 degrees and over served as an
excellent means of di sposing of surplus" action."
In spite of the difficult conditions under which
we have had to work, our time has been made more
pleasant b y such activities as swimming, provided
by the courtesy of the Iraq State Railways, and ~y
the riding club which we h ave been able to run m
conjunction with the Iraqi Army. Other sports such
as football cricket, etc., have also playe.d a large
part in ke~ping us fit . For me.ntal recreation, the
office has sponsored a weekly programme of classical
music which has been open to all w ho care to attend.
To 'many, Baghdad must conjure up a vision of
" Arabian Nights" splendour, but unfortunately the
city has deteriorated since the time of Haroun Al
Raschid and Alexander Korda . Most newcomers are
sadly disillusioned b y the sordid squalor of its mud
in December, 1943 (the 23rd to be exact, just in time

for Christmas), thus gathering our small flock together from the odd corners of " detached fo.~ rations
only." With our small number, together WIth a few
detached "Specialists" of other Corps, we have
successfully held to'gether in our own " home" and
this should continue until the complete changeover
to peace conditions when it is to be hoped that all the
families will be together.
Old friends we left in U.K. at our respective
stations will be interested to know that the President,
S.S.M. "Jim" Foley (Leicester and Oldham),
S.Q.M.S. " Nobby" Clarke (York), S /Sgt. " Tug"
Wilson (Leicester), Sgt. "J oe" Elliott (Bradford
and Knightsbridge) , Sgt. "Frank" Crabtree
(Oldham) and Sgt. " Reg " Smee (Finsbury Circus),
have retailled their old hobbies of elbow bending,
whistling, key thumping and wh at have you and look
forward to the day when we can reproduce such acts
in a wider circle. Adios Hombres. "HOPLEAF."
148
Yes, there is still an office in The Lebanon,

although how long we sha ll remai n seems now to
be left to the British, French, Syrian and Lebanese
Governments to decide, as the matter of the withdrawal of the occup yin g forces was not thrashed out
to a conclusion b y the UNO Security Council at the
meeting which closed in February.
We see constant changes in the personnel of th e
office and recent departures on Release, P ython and
L.I.A.P. have meant that there are comparati ve ly
few of the staff .left w ho were h ere only a matter of
a few months ago. D epa rtures in the past fe w
months to U .K. on Release and Python include
Captain J . W . Hubbard, Lieut. J . Beer, S /Sgt. D. W.
Phillips, Sgts. P. C . Murph y, J . C. Parsons, R. Poo le,
Ptes. H. J. Asher, C. J. Jerram, D. Rennie, F.
Simpson, J. E. Honey, H. J. Doughty, J. R. Ashton,
S. Pywell, W. E. Horn, G. H. Spurr, D. E. Williams,
J. R. Read , A. E . Webb . Those are the more
fortunate of the ex-staff, and others at present on
L.I.A.P. are S.S.M. A. F . E lgood, S.Q.M.S. C . F.
Brophy, S /Sgt. J. Strick.land, Sgts. R. F. Botterman
and J . R. Bebb. We hope to see them back in due
TRIPOLI (LIBYA)
N umericall y,
o. 16 Fwd. Base Pay Office,
Tripoli, is but a shad ow of its former self and nobody
on the present strength has been here for longer than
e ig ht months. The office is in the building fom1erl y
occupied by the Banco di Na poli , a large affair, but
extremely convenient for the Base Cashier (Lieut.
W. A. Gardner). The S.P.-in-command is comfortabl y esconced in the late Manager's office.
S /Sgt. H. L. Stack is here as Chief Clerk and
Sgt. J . P. Westwater h as just returned from L.I.A.P.
We are not sure whether h e is pleased to be b ack
but we ha ve our su spicions.
In
association
with
Lieut. -Col.
Howarth,
D.C.F. & A. , B.M.A., Tripolitania (whom many
ma y remember at Finsbury Circus and as C.P.
Lagos from October, 194:3 to June, 1945) we ran the
Tote o n the open course at three meetings of
Bu-setta Races. Clients consisted large.l y of the local
149
..
Arab population and the somewhat frail Tote
building stood up well to the onslaught of winning
ticket holders.
placed on record here and now that no finer bodv

of men will ever enter Raffles Place. However the
picture of them spread on their charpoys five mi~utes
later would undoubtedly be banned from any selfrespecting publication. Tired as they were, the
pleasure of Singapore soon had them back on their
feet.
.
Things are rapidly settling down now to normal
Pay Office life, even to shortage of staff and grub,
and recently several very dispirited members of the
office have left to serve with Command Paymaster
Burma at Rangoon. The office has entered the sports
arena, not with great success it is admitted, but the
spirit is still there. A rugby fifteen is in operation
and has played seven games, won two and lost five.
In soccer we have played five, won one and lost four.
One high light in the sports' world must
not be overlooked.
Pte. MacLeod won the
Inter-Services 100 yards Breast Stroke at the
swimming gala held at the Singapore Swimming Club
on the 9th of February.
To both readers and the Editor, we of the Pav
Services in Malaya offer apologies for a somewhat
stolid account of our doings during the past five
months, b>~t if we may flog that old bone of contention
and say the postal services were all against us, we feel
certain yo u wi ll bear with us until the next edition
in a fever of anticipation to "read all about it"
and" how we came back."
No. 11 COMMAND PAY OFFICE,

SINGAPORE
" ,0 " Day in Singapore found the Pay Services
well to the fore as, it is felt with modesty, can be
said of all their activities since the formation of
South-East Asia Command in 1943. Amongst the
first services to land on the 5th and 6th of September
was a small advance party of No. 11 C.P.O. and
No. 26 Staff Paymaster who quickly opened" shop,"
firstly on Singapore Railway Station and then in the
palatial Meyers Chambers in Raffles Place. The
early arrivals had visions of a dream barracks with
all services, even down to the passenger lift to the
fifth floor, but this was quickly dispelled when the
R.A.F. took possession and we were relegated to the
ground floor. However, the powers that be had to
agree after much persuasion that " PAY" r eally
mattered and further accommodation in Raffles
Place and Nunes Buildings, close by, was obtained.
Like all good soldiers we still complain of confined
quarters and lack of lights and fans. The boys covet
the Sergeants' Mess, the Sergeants the Officers'
Mess and the latter the Sultan of Johore's palace, but
for all that it would be difficult to find a better "hole."
The first three days w,ill live for a long time in the
memory of those that shared them and all were glad
to see the arrival of No. 24 Staff Paymaster and 42
Area Cash Office to assist them in unloading currency
from the boats, guarding ten tons of currency already
held, cooking the grub, doing a spot of" Dhobieing,"
collecting rations, in addition to normal pay office
duties . Slowly but surely we settled down, more
help arrived with the coming of the staffs of Force
Paymaster, XIVth Army and Force Paymaster
ALFSEA but with the formation of Force Paymaster AFNEI, our complement was depleted by
the loss of No. 24 Staff Paymaster, who departed for
Java. No. 41 Area Cash Office was only with u s for
one week. These offices have had their moments
during trying days that have followed since and it is
hoped that in later publications we may find someone
who knows how to wield a pen and is not too bashful
in shooting a "hne." During this period No. 36
Staff Paymaster had settled down at Kuala Lumpur
and with the establishment there of H.Q's. Malaya
Command and British Military Administration
found more than enough work to occupy his spare
moments. Field Cash Offices were in operation in
various parts of the mainland and elsewhere;
No. 102 at H.Q. SACSEA, No. 103 at Penang (now
retired to backward areas in Burma), 107 at Changi,
No. 120 at Soerabaya and No. 122 at Port, Dickson.
AFNEI had been strengthened by the addition of
No. 120 F.C.O. and in Sumatra No. 40 Staff
Paymaster and No. 63 Area Cash Office had carried
the primrose and blue flash yet another step further
afield. Borneo saw the landing of No. 62 Area Cash
Office and again there is no doubt but that some tales
can be elicited from this office for your entertainment
in the future.
The 3rd of December will remain in the hearts
of all already in Singapore as a red letter day. It
saw the arrival of the main body of No. 11 C.P.O.
and the prospect of cushy days ahead w ith plenty
to do the work on hand. Having enjoyed a pleasure
cruise on that luxury liner Ekma, their spirits were
dampened to hear that a two-and-a-half mile route
march faced them to Raffles Place, but it must be
BRITISH ARMY PAY OFFICE,

NORTH AMERICA
During the last few months we have been saying
good-bye to many friends in other Corps of the
British Army Staff. After a mass exodus, however,
things have settled down enough to re-start our
bowling league (American version) and the members
of the R.A.P.C. will pit their strength against such
teams as the Admiralty, the R.A.F., the Army Staff
and several British Civilian Missions in Washington.
Washington, as may be expected, has much to offer
as an overseas station. Such places as New York,
Miami, Chicago or Montreal, Canada can be fairlv
easily reached on leave.
Hollywood and Sail
Francisco are not so easy but can be attained provided
one has the patience for a four and a half days' train
. journey each way. To visit the top of the Mark
Hopkins' Hotel on Nob Hill, overlooking San
Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate, not on ly affords
an excellent view but also is the hallmark of a confirmed traveller.
Washington itself; with its broad straight streets
dotted w ith trees and the sheer white buildings,
make it a very clean and pleasant city even in the
hot and humid days of the summer that wi ll so soon
be upon us.
Lieut.-Colonel J. E. de la Motte, O.B.E., who
came to Washington from Knightsbridge in May,
1942, was released in the United States in January
of this year. Congratulations on being awarded the
O.B.E. in the New Year's Honours List.
Major R. D. Ogilvie, who was in Eastern Command
earlier in the war, came to Washington from Bermuda just in time for the Christmas festivities and is
now Staff Paymaster, North America.
Sgt. H. T. Champion, who served in West Africa
in 1940-41, joined us early in the New Year from
Manchester.
Cpl. D. I. Warwick, .who previously spent two
years in the Faroe Islands, has now returned to
England for release after a short period in Washington.
COSMOS.
150

1946 Spring

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Foreword

The Royal Army Pay Corps ,Journal

Time has been short for the preparation of

Anny Pay Office,

Now the war is over. We trust sincerely that

Those of us who serve in the Corps are now

Photograph by Alexander Corb ett, London, W.1.

H.R.H. PRINCESS ARTHUR OF CONNAUGHT, R.R.C., S.R.N.

DEATH OF LIEUT. J. E. SAYERS, R.E.

We offer no excuse for the appearance of

THE ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL

THE ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL

show them under the heading of "Staff

THE ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL

2nd-Lieut. Herring. It was entirely due to the

THE ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL

Royal Army Pay Corps Officers' Club

It is the wish of the Colonel Commandant

.THE ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL

THE ROYAL ARMY PAY ' CORPS JOURNAL

HERE was no escort. The lone plane

the Royalists and others.

Athens to Salonika, barefooted through snow

there were many troops concentrated in the

Parthenon on the Acropolis, Athens.

money. The poor were poorer still, and had

The curfew was lifted for starving civilians

THE ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL

Corps News - Officers

New Year's Honours, 1946

The King has been graciously pleased to give

To be Officers (Mil Diy.)

The King has been graciously pleased to

To be Members (Mil Diy.)

The King has been graciously pleased to

To be Colonel and Chief Paymaster

CAPTAIN G. H. MASON AND MISS B. M. JAMES

To be Major and Staff Paymr. 2nd Cl.

(Continued on page 117.)

A Paymaster in South Africa

THE ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL

noise was deafening-brokers shouting prices,

THE ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL

A visit to Livingstone (N. Rhodesia) was of

THE ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL

THE ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL

Most readers of the Journal will already

Major-General Sir John Thomas Carter,

tremely well, often cO':ltributing articles to an

I,n ordinary circumstances this would have

Many of those who have served in the

Major John Archibald Bedford died at

THE ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL

THE ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL

Ex-S.Q.M.S. George F. L. Hayes, R.A.P:C.,

It is with the deepest regret that we record

OUR CHESS PAGE

(As I was saying, before being rudely

Probably, although it looks awkward KtxP

The QRP should have been

Necessary to prevent KtKt7.

Played prior to bringing the rook back, in

Draw agreed. If 41 KtKt8 not ... BQ3 ch.

Sgt. Victor Rush, an earlier compiler of these