National service

[Texas]

I had a look at your map prioryx. Been lots of changes, naturally, since the early 50s. I see Vimy is still in place, across the road to the East is Helles Lines? That used to be Baghdad Lines. Baghdad and Vimy took new intakes of National Servicemen turn about. The Armoured Corps are still in the same position.

[prioryx]

No signals there now.

[Texas]

I got a confession pryorix, I had a drive thro' Catterick a few years ago and had a look at Vimy and Baghdad Lines. I clearly remember behind the Guardroom at Vimy, a line of tree saplings, now mature trees. The barrack blocks at Vimy are now like little blocks of three or four, and I suspect the same at Baghdad (Helles). The little church has gone, just up the road, but I think the big NAFFI club is still there. I drove around awhile but I'm damned if I could find 2TR. There seemed to be lots of 'chica' soldiers around, gave me the creeps really. I even had a look at what used to be the transit camp at Pocklington,(near York), it's now a small Industrial Estate.

[prioryx]

I was there some years ago for the reunion and before that with the TA. The guardroom at Bourlon had kids playing on the front, in my day that was sacred ground.

I went down to Somme lines or I should say where they used to be as spider huts. The Somme cafe building was there but everything else had been modernised.

We used to have NAFFI break in there when in basic training.

Never go back is a true saying.

[fleetwood]

After reading all your posts, my memory starts kicking in, Vimy, Bagdad etc. You guys seem to remember which T.R. and the name of lines you would be in,given your trade. Likewise I took a nostalgic trip to Catterick a few years ago, could not get my bearings and could'nt indentify anything, one thing was for sure though the Signals had gone, I suppose many other buildings had also disappeared along the way. One thing I do remember about my National Service days there if you couldn't manage a 36hr or 48hr pass on a particular weeked the next best thing was an evening out at the N.A.A.F.I. club, as I recall it was a modern building with cafeteria, reading rooms, they might even have had overnight accommodations and best of all they had a dance hall with a small live band, I think the ladies were allowed in free on the assumption they would partner the lonely soldiers. As far as I remember the club was in Darlington or just outside. Does anybody remember this? and does it exist tday? One other thing on my trip, I visited the Green Howards museum, an older lady that was operating and the curator of this small museum and had lived around there forever gave me a few historical facts on the area. The huts where we had spent our basic training, had not been originally built for the Crimean war as I had thought, but had been built for the first world war, silly me!

[prioryx]

After reading all your posts, my memory starts kicking in, Vimy, Bagdad etc. You guys seem to remember which T.R. and the name of lines you would be in,given your trade. Likewise I took a nostalgic trip to Catterick a few years ago, could not get my bearings and could'nt indentify anything, one thing was for sure though the Signals had gone, I suppose many other buildings had also disappeared along the way. One thing I do remember about my National Service days there if you couldn't manage a 36hr or 48hr pass on a particular weeked the next best thing was an evening out at the N.A.A.F.I. club, as I recall it was a modern building with cafeteria, reading rooms, they might even have had overnight accommodations and best of all they had a dance hall with a small live band, I think the ladies were allowed in free on the assumption they would partner the lonely soldiers. As far as I remember the club was in Darlington or just outside. Does anybody remember this? and does it exist tday? One other thing on my trip, I visited the Green Howards museum, an older lady that was operating and the curator of this small museum and had lived around there forever gave me a few historical facts on the area. The huts where we had spent our basic training, had not been originally built for the Crimean war as I had thought, but had been built for the first world war, silly me!

 

 

 

The NAFFI club was at camp centre near the Post Office and the cinema and the RMP HQ.

I have just received the Shutter Telegraph from the Signals association and there is poem in it which looks to have been written during WW1. I had an uncle told me that he was employed to erect the huts and then the Sandhurst blocks.

[Texas]

The only time I ever went in the NAFFI club at Camp Center was after being in basic training for a couple of weeks. I felt lousy, we'd just had the TAB2 and I put it down to that. It turned out to be Tonsilitis. They had these pint glasses of orange juice, anybody remember them? I had one and it came straight back up, so the threw me out for being drunk. An MP sergeant took me down to Baghdad Lines in a truck and straight into the Guardhouse. That was the worst time I had in the Army.

They soon cottoned on that I wasn't drunk and let me go back to the billet. I finished up in the Military Hospital wearing a blue suit with the red tie.

[fleetwood]

All you military types cast your mind back. Did any of you guys pass through London on your way overseas or wherever around the 50's, this is what I want to know, does anybody remember the part of the underground/tube that was used as a transit depot for personnel waiting to make connections to other destinations? We spent a couple of days there prior to flying overseas and if I'm not mistaken, on our return also before going for demob. To me it seemed like a hell hole, it was hot with the walls streaming with condensation and sweat. I don't know how deep it was (but seemed all the deeper for the hundreds of staires we had to climb,) I know we were not allowed to use the elevator, that was reserved for the officers and the like. We were in our sweaty battledress, I remember some Canadian soldiers (with envy) in there thin gaberdine uniforms. My questions are, when did this come to being? Was it used in the same capicity or a shelter during WW2? Did this eventually become part of the London underground system again? I might add you could hear the rumbling of the trains like they were coming through the walls.

[Texas]

That would be Goodge Street. Our demob group(only seven or eight of us)stayed there overnight on arrival back in the U.K.we just dumped the kit and were gone. Straight down Tottenham Court Road and the fleshpots. I didn't get back until three in the morning, along with my escort. ( I was supposed to be under open arrest).

I dont know when it closed but closed it is. All I can recall were bunks along the walls of a long corridor. There didn't seem to be anyone in charge, a Corporal gave us travel documents to Newton Abbot. And we got the lift.

[fleetwood]

Thanks TEXAS I hope there are more posts on this topic.