8/10/2019 1931 Spring

1/23

Vol. 1

No. 1

TH

Royal Army Pay Corps

Journal

SPRING

93

8/10/2019 1931 Spring

2/23

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'THE

Royal Army Pay CorpsJournal

Vol.

1.

No. I

Spring,

1931.

CONTENTS

PAGE

FOREWORD,

bv

Colonel J . C. Armstrong,

c.n.,

C.M.G., Colone l Com -

mandant, Royal Army Pay Corps... 1

A Short Hi

sto

ry of the

Royal

Army Pa y Corps

2

Obi tuar

y-Cap tain

H . Jo

hnst

one 3

R .A .P .C. Officers' Club 3

R. A

.

P.C.

O

ld

Com r

ades

Associ

at

ion 4

Malta-The I sland of Sun shin e '" 6

" Submission Then Confessi

on

" by Capta in A

rthur Gawn

Cologne

Cathedral

Corps News ancl

Notes

Droleries de Corps '

L etters to t

he

Ed it

or

Our

Cr

ossword

Puzzle

12

13

.. .1

5-33

34

36

36n

Journal Committee: Lt .:Col. H. G. Ri ley (Oha

il

'man).

L t

.-Col.

Lt.

-Col. A. B. Gliff,

Ca

pt.. B. Sant., Capt.. C. J . H

Tr

eglu w lI ,

M.C

. ,

O.

R.

C

harlton,

M .C.,

C

ap t

. A .

E.

Ba rlow , a nd

Ca

]?t. A.

L . Dunuil

l. I

Joint Editors: Lt.

-Col.

A. B.

Cliff a

nd

Capt.

A.

L.

Dunni

ll.

A

ll

co

mmunicat

i

ons to be

a

ddr

essed

t o : -

THE

EDITORS

,

THE

ROYAL ARMY PAY

COR

PS

JOURNAL

,

80, PALL

MALL

, LO

DON

,

S.W. I.

(Telep hone

Regent

2112

).

Local Representatives have

Leen aRPo

in t

ed in

e

ac

h o

mmand

a

nd

R

eg

im e

nt

al 1'

n V

Offi c

e, to whom

a

ll

Corps Naws and Not

es s

hould be

se

nt for

t ransm

issiO

l

to

the Ed

itors .

Other

articles

in t

c

uJ ed for publica tion

may be sent e

ith

er to the LocHI Represe ntaLive o r dir ec t LO

the

EdiLOIS. All com muni ca tion s sho uld be

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the empty vessel

smartly

on the counter ready 10 be

re

charged

.

B R EWED

IN

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IN URGH

Can le e n . and Me ss e uppl

i

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White,

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BY

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TO

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KING

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lac ley

CONFECTIONf R .

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MTROPOLlTAN COL1

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T AfLOR l a the

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ii

:>

.-

The

Royal Army Pay Corps Journal

I

Foreword

W.hen after a lifetime in the Army, a soldier finds himself relega ted

to civi l life he is sometimes inclined to ado pt the role of

L

ClUda

t ' tem-

pm'

is

acti. The goo d old days seen th rough the mist

of

years take to them

selves bright colours that seem to be missing from the drab monotones

of the present .

But

/ e

of the old

ge

ner ation in the Royal Army Pay Corps are

fortunate, for there can be no doubt that the Corps of to-day in its

efficiency its espl h

de COl pS,

and its virility, is a far finer organisation

than that which we knew thirty or forty years ago.

To-day we have an

Old

Comrades Associa tion which is doing

b l e

work in cementing the friendship of all ranks, and in g iving

to those

of

us whose days on the active list are over, a precious link with

the old Corps. We have a Benevolent Fund which is ready to aid those

in distressed circumstances. We have an Officers' SpOrts Club which

brings officers toge ther in friendly rivalry among themselves and with

other Corps. N one of these organisations e ~ i s t e d thirty years ago.

Las tly we have now a Magazine w

hi

ch, I am confident, wi ll meet

a lo

ng

felt want by giving

us

interesting deta

il

s o f the doings of our com

rades, old and new, whether they be serving in ano ther station at home,

or in a .sta tion overseas, or have left the service, and so it will bind

us yet more closely toge ther in unity and friendship. We owe a debt

of gratitude to those who have g iven it birth ; and it

is

our dury to do

our best, each one of us, to make the enterprise a success, in return for

. the

ti

me and thoug

ht

a

nd

labour which

is

being g iven so un

gr

udging ly

to the production of our Magazine.

J C. ARMSTRONG ,

Co

lonel Commandant,

Royal Army Pay Cor ps.

8/10/2019 1931 Spring

4/23

THE

ROVAL ARMY P

AV

CORP

J

OU

RNAL

A Short History

of

the

Royal rmy Pay

Corps

In the History of the

Briti

sh Standing

Army , r66o- -17

00," it

is recordeo th nt for

the mpose of distribution of pay and of

keeping accoun ts the Colonel of each rep'i

ment

was a llo\\'ed to employ a " Colonel

's

C

lerk"

who was ent ire ly civ ilian and was

removable at the Colonel's wil l.

The

function

of

a

"Colonel's

Clerk" corres

ponded

to th ose of the mode rn Pa ymaster .

H e kept the

regimenta

l account s . anel ill

turn accounted

to the Colonel for sums

r

emitt

ed by

th

e

Pa

y

master

Genera

l.

Th ese

outies

were

subsequent

ly place d

in the hands of a Reg

imental

Officer de

tailed by the Colonel of the Regim en t . We

cannot

asce

rtain the

date of

the

chall ,e.

Th is practi

ce

was found to

be

un sui t

ab

le

and on 25th December, 17g8, Pa ymasters.

",,,;th

special

comm

issions as

such,

were

appointed

to reg

im

ents. At the

same

tim e

District

Paymasters were appo int ed to each

Recruitin

g

District at

home.

On 1st Janu ary , 1870 . th e Co ntr ol Depa rt

, ment, wh ich co

nt

ained a Pay Sub-Depart

ment.

was fo

rmed. Their

dut ies were :-

"To receive, disburse,

and

account for,

under

direction of

the Administ

rat ive

Officers of th e Control

Dep

artment in each

Command, money receivab le and payable

on account of Army Services."

Th ey also

performed Tr

easury Chest

Duties.

The

Control De pa rtm e

nt

ex isted until 1st

April, 1878.

The

Arm y Pa y

Departm

ent was estab

li shed from 1st Ap ril. 1878, by R oya l

War

rant,

dated

22nd Octo

ber,

1877. ThIS

Warrant

est

ab

li

shed a

Genera

l Depa

rtment

fo r

Army Pa

y Services i

nto

whi ch

the ex

i

st

ing Regimental P aymas ter s gazetted to reg i

ments or corps and officers of

the

Pay Sub

Department

of

the

Control

Department

were

to 1e absorbeci . Un

der

this Warrant an

officer on appointment to the Arm y Pay

D

epartment

from a combatant

unit

was

required

to resi

g-

n his "combatant com

mission" and be " commissionec1 as a Pay

mas ter" , v ith "

honorary

rank."

In 1890 , the Army Pay Department was

re-organ ized and Station Pay

ma

sters were

instituted.

In

1893,

the Army

Pay Corps

(clerks for pay services) was formed.

2

From

March, 18gg, an officer

appo int

ed

t u th e Army P ay Dep :ntmen t from a com

batant unit \Vas no longer requi red to resign

his "combata nt

comm

ission " but con

tinued to serve Ol such comm iss ion in the

Army

Pay Departme

nt.

At th e

same

time

. ubstantive rank was

accorded

to office rs

ill the Department in lieu of honorary

ra

nk

.

In 1905, the Ar my

Ac

counts Dera rtment

\\'as established, \I bich

was

composed o f the

Army Pay

Depa

rt m

e

nt

a

nd

Corps,

a

nd

Civilian Staff of th e

War

Office. In 1909,

th e Roya l

Warrant

of 28th Apr il, Jg05

(Army Order 86 of Ig05) \\'as

cance

lled

and th e Army Pay Depa rtment

\I'

as re

ins tituted and maint ained as a sepa

rate

department. (The Army Pay Department

alld Corps continu ed their pay work duriJlg

1905 to 1909 )

In I g20, the King approved the

.2

ran t of

the

title Roya l to the Army Pay Depa rt

ment and Corps and in th e

same

vea r it was

d

cided th at th e officers of the R-oya l Army

Pay Department

should

form part of the

R

oya

l Army

Pa

y Corps.

H. M . the King was graciously pleased to

approve

of

the

Roya l Army Pay

Corps

adop

tin g the motto "Fid e et Fiducia " in

the regimenta l badge of th e

Corps

in view

of

the

excellen t services

performed by

th e

R.A.P.C. dur

ing th e

Great War" in addi

tion to th e reward gran ted in respec t to th e

title of the Corps.

There has been no actua l break in con

tinuity since the Army Pay Dep a rtment

was fo

rm

ed

in Ap r

il , J878.

Precedence

of

the

Royal

Army Pay

Corps

ia the Army.

Adm ini

s

tr

ative Corps were as a ru le com

posite formations, int o one corps, of officers

who were

members 'Of

a department a

nd

men w

ho

we

re

already members of a corps,

but adm ini

stered

by th eir appropriate

depa

rtm

en tal

offi

cers.

The

or

der

of prece

dence previous

ly assigned to

the

differellt

corps

in

the King's Reg-u lati ons

in

the

major ity of cases depe nd ed upon

the

dat es

on which officers a

nd

men

became

one corps.

The present

precede

nce t

ab

le , however,

l

OW g ives weig

ht

to th e hi sto rical claims

of

corps existin g as

corps

of men before the

THE ROVA L ARMY

PAY

CORPS J

OURNAL

formal

identification with their officers and

in view of this the date whe n such ~ o r n s -

were fo

rmed,

even

th

ough at

that date their

officers

were

not par t of th e

corps,

has

been

taken as the gov erning factor .in

arr

iving

at the

orde

r of precedence of

the

corps.

I ncidenta lly , it is in teresting to note that

there

is in effec t no such expression as

"Departmental Corps,"

the correct

designa

tion being A dministrative Corps."

From 1873, all corps of a d

epar

tmental

c h a r a c t e ~

shown in the

precedence

tabl

es IJ1 the King 's Reg ul ations and

Queen's Regulati

ons

under the ge neral

l1

eading D

epa

rtm en tal

Corps"

and this

pra ctice

continu

ed

d0'nl

t

o.'

he Kin

g ' s

Re gul ati ons of Ig12 (reprint J914).

The

n e ~ t r

egula

tions were th

ose

of Ig23 ,

before

\\'hlch date all departments had amal

gamated n'ith

th e

ir corresponding

corps,

and the expression

Dep

art mental Corps"

consequentl y om

it t

ed from the

regu

la

tIOns.

OBITUARY.

Captain

H.

Johnstone.

We much reg ret to announce th e death

?f Cap tain H . Johnstone, which took place

ll

the

Queen Alexandra M

ilit

ary H os

pital, Mi llbank , on February 12th .

En listin g in

th

e

Army

in 18g7,

Captain

Johnst

one

t wo y

ears

later,

at

the age of

2 ,

saw

~ e r v i e in th e South African War.

Subsequent

ly he \\'

as

stationed abroad

ill Ch

ina

and

Egypt.

He was

commis

sioned as Li eutenant and Assistant Pa y

master

ill Ig18,

and

pro

moted Captain in

1926 . He leaves a widow, a son

and

two

dau ghters .

The

funeral took plac e with

full

militar

y hon o

urs

at

Gree

nwich

Celll etery on

Februar

y 1

7t

h. Besides a

large number of

pr

iva te

mourners,

the

det

ac hm ent of the R

oya

l Army Pay Corps,

W ool\\' ich. was present with officers

from Barnet a

nd

Deptf

or

d, and

the Ro

ya l

Art i

1 ery

Band, under the

direction

of

Cal,tain E C. Stretto l . M.

V.O.

Royal A r ~ y Pay Corps Officer s Club

Tu

es., J 11l1e 30th.

Wed., Jul y

1st

.

Thurs

., Jul y 2nd .

Friday,

Jul

y 3rcl.

Sat., Jul y 4th.

Mon., Jul y 6t h .

Tues., Jul y 7th.

Wed., July 8th.

Thurs.,

Jul y gth.

Corps Sports Week , 1931

Golf. Match v. Roya l Army Ord nance

COI]JS

at vVorp lesdon.

Lawn

Tennis, at R

oehampton

. '

Golf. Summer Meeting, at Ba

rn

ehu r

st.

Annual

Dinner,

at Trocadero Restaurant.

Cricket v. 14th / 20 th Hu ssars, at H oun slow.

} Cricket v. Ro

ya

l Army Ordnance

Corps,

}

.

at

United Services Ground Portsmo

uth

.

CfIcl,et

v .

Army

Ed

ucational Corps,

. at North Middlesex C.C. Gro un d, H

orusey,

N.

Golf Section. ne sults 1930

Toiler

Cup . -Presen ted by Bri ga dier H.

13 . T oller, C ~ 1 G Best net score at

Ann

_ual

Slimmer meeting.

C

ap

ta

in

O. D.

Carratt,

S8

-

I8=

70 (bogey 74).

Uiley CleelL-P

resented

by Lt.-Col. H .

G. Ri ley. Best gross score at

Ann

llal

SUl11mer

Meeting.

Cdptain

R.

C. Stan ham ,

8 - ( bo ge y

74).

Colonel 's

Cup. -Pr

ese nted

by

Colonel C.

Campbell Toc1d. C.;\ I. C. Best score nga illst

bogey . dl1rin g Oc tober (a t hCllle or

abroa d)

.

Cnpt:lJII H. C. B. :\Iillill

g,

3

p

.

Th

ere \\'as a

ti

e ill thi s evellt, t\I' O ca nIs

Of . hr ee

li

p beillg received .

Captaill

i-IJlIIIl g- (York), havin g- a better meda l

score th an CajJl:lill Ead ie

(Egyp

t ) . \\'ins

1.1I1c1er Rule i .

3

Red Cross Trophy .-B est

bogey

sco re

und er handi cap.

Lt.

-Col. I P.

Brickman.

Runner up ,

Lt .

-Col.

H. George-Andrews.

Bogey

Foursomes.-L

t.-Col. I

P.

Brick

man and

Major

C. H olmes .

Runn

ers up:

Capt. R. G. Stall ham a nd

Capt.

P.

Ha

ynes.

Lawn Tennis Section. Result s 1930.

Musson Cup (Singles) . Pr esen ted

by

Brigadier

A.

I

'lusson. W on

by

Cap t .

F . T. Baines, who bea t

Capt.

R.

G.

Sta

nh am

6-8,

6- 4, 7-5.

Mackenzie CliPS (Doubles) .- -Pr esented

by Co l. \ 7,,1. S. Mackenzie, O.B

.E

. Won

uy Capt.

R.

G.

Stanham a

nd Capt.

H . G.

B. Millin

g.

Veteran

s' Doubles .-

Wo

lI

bv

Col. R . A.

B VOllng, B.E. , a

nd

Co

l.

-D.

G.

N. 1.

Wimberley.

8/10/2019 1931 Spring

5/23

THE ROYAL ARMY PAY

CORPS

J OURNAL

Royal

rmy

Old Comrades

The

third Annual General

Meeting

of

the

R. A .

P.C.O.C.A

. will take place at The

Corner House, Coventry Street,

W . I, on

24th

April, 1931,

at

3.30 p.m. All members

are cordially invited

to be

present. The

chair will be taken by the Colonel Com

mandant .

The third Annual Dinner will be held th e

same evening

at 7.30 p .m . The Col

onel

Commandant

will hold a recep tion

at

7 p.m. Tickets (7S. 6d . each) f

or

th e

Dinner can be obtained from :

Staff-Sergeant-Maj

or

A.

t

Clark ,

M.B.E.,

Comm and

Pay

Office, 80 , Pall 'fall, S .W. I

Applications for membership

sh

c uld be

made to the Honorary Secretary:

Staff-

Sergea

nt-Majo r E. J . W.

B r o w n ~

Th e Barra cks , Barnet, Herts.

The Old

Comrades

Association was

inaugurated at a Re- Union Dinner of the

R

oya

l Army Pa y

Corps,

he

ld at The

Corner Ho use , Coventry S treet, W.1, on

20th

Ap r

il , 1928.

Th e Army Pa y Corps, as such, was

f

ormed

on

1st

April, 1893, and

it was

composed of the P ay master

Military Staff Clerks and Probationary Staff

Clerks of the var iolls Corps and Reg iments

of

th

e Army who naturally retained their

old reg imental associations, and also felt

that

th ey were only lent from their old

corps, I\'ith the result that it took exactly

thirty-fiv

e yea rs

to

ge t

the Old Comrades

Association in to being.

Th at sllch an Association was n

ecessary

had long been felt by th e older members

of

the

Corps, who kn ew by experience,

that af ter a man had left the se

rvice

, he

was very

sel

dom

see n or heard of, and

in

many cases took no further interest in his

old

corps

.

The time

being

ripe, the

Colonel Commandant was app roached and

with his

assistance

the scheme was launched

at the Re-Union Dinner.

A committee having been fo rmed and

rule

s

dralvn up,

the Association started to

fl1nction, and in the first yea r of its exist-

4

Pay Corps

Association

ence enrolled 822 members (61 life mem

bers

and 761

annual

s

ubscribers)

; to-day,

at

the close of the

third

yea r, there are

1,055 members (97 life members and 95

8

annual subscribers).

All who have served in the Army Pa y

De

pa rtment, Army Pa y

Corps

or R

oya

l

Army Pa y Cor ps are eligible for member

ship a

nd

are in v

ited

to join.

The subscrip

tion

is very

small

and

I\"ithin

the reach of

everyon

'e,

being onry

5S. for

the

first

year

of memb ership and 2S . 6d. each yea r aft er

wards; the yea r

commences 1st April.

Th ose

who desire to become life members can

do

so on pay ment of t wo guineas.

One of the

reasons

frequently

give

n for

llO t joining th e Association is the apparent

lack ' of benefit, the

usual

statements being

There is no use in joining, I can't ge t

anything

out of it, or W hy

should

I

join, I don't want 8,.nything out

of

it? "

The

fo

und

ers

of

the

Association

had neither

of

the

se

thoughts

in their minds, the onl y

thin

g th at mattered to them

\I

'as

to

ha ve a

united corps of all pas t and pres ent mem

ber

s , a lixio

us

a

nd

willing to

stick

t

oge

ther,

to clo all

in

th eir

powe

r to advance

the

interests of the Corps in general and of its

individu al memb

ers in

particular.

The Committee of Management meets

monthly,

when

all correspondence except

purely ro utine matters is submitted by

the

Honorar

y Secretary and

dea

lt with.

Oth er items, under consideration, not

finally disposed of or

the

subject of

further

consideration and correspondence are also

dea lt

with and

matters th at ca nno t

be dealt

with by

the

Committee, are prepared for

pr

esenta

tion to the

General Committee

.

The General Committee

hold their

meet

ings 0

th e first W ed nesdays in January ,

April, Jul

y a

nd October,

\"

hen

all m

at

ters

ot

CTe

neral in terest and th e various items

from

the

Management

Committee

are dealt with. Every s

uI

jec t is dealt

\\'ith exhaustively and

th

e decisio

ns

arrived at a re the 'result of grave delibera .

tion and ripe experience.

THE ROY AL

ARMY PAY

CORPS JOURNAL

Since our formation, death has

claimed

IS of our members

~ r n d

we have been ab le

to assist the widows

in

those cases left with

little means, until they have commenced

to draw th eir pension.

V.,le have

also been

able

to

help some

of

O l r members

in

obtaining employment;

this is a se rious problem and the greatest

difficulty is experienced

in

getting to know

in

tim

e when suitable jobs become vacant.

It is h

oped

th at the Magazine will be a

grea t aid in thi s respect.

We

were repre

sented before the

Commission

on the 'work

ing of the Civil Se rvice by Bri gad ier H. B.

T o

il

er , C.B., C.M.G.,

who pressed

the

claim

s of

th

e

Pa

y

Corps

to p

riorit

y

in Pa

y

Office vacancies. O

ur

President also

strongly advoca ted th ose claims to the

Army Council in reply to a lett

er

from them

on the sllbjec t of un employ

ment

amo ngs t

ex- Reg-u lars . As a furth er side light on our

activities th e claims of pre-\l'a r pensi oners

to h

ave

their pe nsi on re-assessed \I'as

taken up v,:ith the Prime

:M

ini . ter and the

Secretary of State f

or

War; although we

have not been successful , we ha ve man ag ed

to ha ve

the

case

considered,

and we

ha

ve

not ye t fini shed with the matter.

Th e

foregoing

o nlv re

presen

ts a small

portion of the va riO

llS

items dealt \\"ith,

but it is s

l1ffi

cient to sholl th at we are

going steadil y

fonl

'a rd a

nd

achi eving the

objects

f

or

\yhich th e Association \I'as

formed. Financia lly we are ge tting 0 a

sound

basis,

and

ha

ve in ves

ted

a sum of

600 to aid us in our further endeavo_ rs.

\ Ve hope to add to

our

inves

tment

s ' in the

near futnre.

In

conclusion

I

mu

st acid

that

the g

reat

success, so far a ttained, has been due to the

wllOle-ll( a rt ecl co-operati on of everyone

connected ""ith th e Association: President

Vice-Presidents, Committees and

O f f i c ~

Representat ives have given th ei r time and

services w

ith

out stint. If thi s

sp

lendid spirit

of co-operation is maintained and I feel

it

will, I h

ave

no dou t we 'shall

go

on

gat hering s trengt h doing good and

above

all adding lu s tre to th e sp le

ndid Corps

to

whi ch we are all so proud to belong.

E. J W

BR OWNE,

}/ o o r r y S

ecet ry

.

5

C

OMM

ITT NOTES.

At tJle Committee of Manage ment mee

ting held

in Janu ary tht Honora ry Secretary reported

that

don

at

ions amounting to 25 had been received from

the

Salisbury

l l ranch-15 from the

Fund as a

result

of the Ga rri son

Tattoo

,

and

10

profits from a dance held

at

The Gui ldh all. Sn li s

bury. T he Committee desire to place on record

their great

apprec

iat ion of the efforts made by the

Sa li sbl1l'y

llranch

to assist the funds. Two

app

li ca

tions for ass ista nce were cons id ered, and it

was

decided to refer both cases to t he Genera l Com

mittee. The Honora ry Secre

tary

reported the

death

of S.

Q.M.-Sgt

. M. W.

Plowman

, an d

sta

ted

th

at he

had at t ended t he funera l, toget her with S.Q.M. Sgt.

Rooker, o n behalf of

the O.

C.A., and that in accord.

ance wit h th e wishes of the Co

mmitt

ee he h

a.d

for

wnrded

a,

wreat h and se

nt

a l

etter

of co ndolence

to the widow.

At th e Februa ry meet ing it

wa

s dec ided to con

t inue

the

subscription to th e " British Legion

J ournal. " The design for the Roll of Honour sub

mitted uy the H onora ry Secretary was approved,

and it was hoped to have it a ll ready for

the

Annua l Meet ing ane

the

Dinnel. Two

ot

her app

li

cat

ions for assistance were dea lt with; in one

it

was

decided to forwa rd such help as was necessa ry to

enable th e app li cant to carry on ;

in the ot

her (an

old case where assistance was being given) it was

repo rted

that

a pension was nuw in payment, and

nu furtl,er help would be

reqnir

ed. COrJ'espond

ence

r

egard

ing

app licat

ions fo

, emp

l

oyment

was con

sidered,

and

the act ion

tak

en by the Honorary

Secreta l y

app

roved. '" a"ioll s o th er matters of

minor

importance

were dea lt with.

The

General Committee

met

at 80. Pa ll Mall,

on

th e

7th

J a

nuary

, 1931, at 4

p.m. Th

e following

were

present

: -S.S.-Maj

or

A. (J Cl

ark,

M.ll.E.,

C

hairman

; Messrs. R. C. B

Sharp,

l P J .

Thu

r .

good , S.

S.-Major

P. Plo\\"man, S.Q.M.S. C. V_

Ho

oker,

ergeants A.

C_

Tnuble

and

T. F. Pond,

togethe r with Captain L.

E

Ja mcs, M.C. , H

onorary

Tr eas urer, and S.S.-Ma jor E. J. W. Browne,

H onorary Secretary. Jt was dec id ed to suumit

fOI

'

appr ova l of the Annu;d Meeting a new rule regard

ing

Honorary

Members , a lso an ame ndme

nt

to Ru le

7 (v i) raising from 2 to

5

the amount t he

Commit.tee of :1Ihlnageme

nt

can

disbur

se in

ur

gent

and necessitous cases. It was agreed that t he

Annua l Report shou ld be printed, nt a cost not.

exceeding 5. Co

....

espondence on the sub ject of

the

J ournal

,,

8/10/2019 1931 Spring

6/23

-- -MALTA.

THE ISLAND

OF

SUNSHINE,

Th e Gralld l ~ r look ing towards the entratlCe , Oil

left

are " the hi Jh

bast.olls alld crowning palaces of Valetta." Th e arches seen r th.e top left co rner

ar

-in

the Uppe r Barracca Gardel1s; imm ediately below, at the ,vater's edge,

is

tl

te ustom H ouse.

Al1d

now at sunrise an

island

is in

sight,

flat,

bald, blazing

ye

llow i n

t h ~

morning sun. Thus

did

Henry Killgs

ley's

hem,

Raven

shoe, see

Malta

when he

passed

it

on

his

way to the Crimea, and

it

must

be

admitted that the first view of

Ma lta, as seen from the sea, is not pre

possessing.

But

what a difference \I'hen the ship has

passed between the

tw

o break\\ a ter s and

entered the Grand Harbour, a vast and

deep

lagoo n of cerulean water,

\\

'ith

the

high

bastions and crowning palaces of

Valetta to the right , and to the

left

the

picturesque confusion of the three citi es .

Seuglea Cospicua , and Vittoriosa. Th e

writer*: \\'ho thus describes his first

impressi

on, goes on to s ay - " There exists

ill all the world nothing more imposing of

its kind than this splendid, natural har

bourage, \\'ith

its bastioned

sides

rising

to

fair cities, its stern

magnificence

of

motionless ships of war, its

ga

iet y of

-changing

colour

and my

ri

ad a11imation.

The tints of

Valetta

on that cloudless Sep

tember morning

were

as though

ocean

itself

bad spurned an ideal

city

from

the

fi ying

rainbows

of

its

foam; the

\\'ho le

mass

of

it

'Seemed

to have

arisen, flawless .

already

in

beauty, like Cytherea her self from the

very

scul of the sea.

Before the ship has dropped its anchor

it \\'ill be

surrounded by ga

ily

painted

dgha

'isas, some

occupied

by boys

\I

'ho

cl

amo

ur for coins to be thro\\,1l

int

o

th

e

water that they may dive for them, some

by

sellers of lace or

fruit,

while

others are

\I'aiting to convey passengers to the shore .

Whether

one reaches the s

hore

by dghaisa

or as an official passenge r by the War

Department

launch,

the landing is at

the

Custom House , from which the

main

part

of

Valetta

is reached

either

bv

car

or caT

.. " Malta and Me.

6

rozi - the local horse-vehicle - or hy

ascending,

from a

po

int

ju

st

across

the

road

from the Custom House , to th e Up per

Barracca in a terrifying lift.

Malta

is

an island fifty-eight

miles south

or

Sicily,

and some t\\'o hundre d

miles

eas t

bv so

uth-east

of

Tuni

s on

th

e coast of

Africa.

t is a surprise to many to find

th at

Malta

is

nearer

to th e Equator

than

Tuni

s ,

but

s

uch

is th e case, as

may be seen

bv looki ng

at

a

map. From

the

ex treme

point on the north-\l'est of th e island to

the opposite point on the south-eas t is

abo ut eighteen miles, and at its \Iiclest

point, measured from east to

west,

it is

about twelve miles ac ross. The tota l area o f

Malta IS 9It sq uare mil es, about t\\'o-thircls

that

of the Isle of Wight. The adjoining

isla

nd

of

Gozo,

\\'hich is und er th e d l t e

Governmen't,

has

a n

area

of

24t

square

miles.

The Maltese language, supposed to be

derived

from Arabic, is th e only language

spo ken in th e country distri

ct

: in the

tow

ns, howe

ver, most of the l\Ialtese und er

s

tand

English, and th e ed ucated classes

speak English and It alian.

The

olel

capital, Citta

Vecchia

(or

Notabile)

is abo

ut

eight miles from Valetta,

th

e

present

cajJ

it

al; .

the

latter stands on a

I eninsula, along the rid ge of which

runs

th

e

principal

thoroughfare of

the

Clt

Strada

R eale- \ \' ith steep str eets running

clown on the one sicle to the G rand

Harbom

and on the oth er to the Iarsal11uscetto

H arbour .

Malta is, of course,

tho::

neadq uarters of

the

Mediterranean Fl

ee

t,

and is m

ore imp

or

ta

nt

as a naval than as a military sta ti on.

The

l\Iilitary Headquarters is in

Va

l

et

ta,

at

the Auberge

cle

Castille, and th e Arm y Pay

Office is a

building al1110

t

adjoin

i ng . The

R.A. are s tationed

at

Ti gne , across the

By

Eric

Shepel'ci,

THE

ROYAL

ARMY

PAY CORPS JOURNAL

Marsamnscetto Harbour , There are bar

racks

for one

infantr

y battalion

at

Floriana

just outside Valetta, one each at

St.

George's and St. Anelrew's,

just beyond St.

JuFan's, and one at

tarfa,

adjoining the

old

capital,

Citta

Vecchia,

eight miles in

land from Valetta. At Imtarfa also, is the

Military

Hospital.

The

Royal Air Force

are stationed at Calafrana and Hal Far,

south of Valetta.

Climate

The climate is health y , ancl

at

certain

times

of the y

ear

delig

htful. April, May

and

June, October and November, are perhaps

~

There are plenty of

mosquitoes, though,

fortunately, no

malaria.

Worse than

the

mosquito is the sand-fly, the bite of which

brings

sandfly

fever, which

is very

un

pleasant for a few days

but

leaves no per

manent effect.

Most

people sleep under a

sandfly net

during

the summer months,

thoug h the .vriter found a good

spraying

of the bedroom w

ith

F l i t the

last

th ing at night rendered a net unnecessary.

Cl

othin

g.

During the \-"inter months the same

clothing-both uniform and plain clothes

- is

required

as in

England

, ,,ith a few

. :

f ;

4

oF

L

L

a

fsla nd 'cca.Lc .II , . .

S .,u

the

ideal

months

.

The

summer

is

ver

y

hot,

the mean temperature being about and

rising

at times

to 90 in the

shade,

and,

ex

cept for a rare thunderstorm, there is no rain

between

April

and

October.

In \I'inter the

mean temperature is about 55

0

From

January to :Ma

rch

there

are

da

ys

of

heavy

rain and cold \\rinds, but eve n

during

this

period the

major

i

ty

of the

days are

fine

with plenty of sunshine . The wo rst trial

i3 the sirocco, a

warm, damp-laden wind

from the south, which makes everything

moist

and sticky

and

has a peculiarly

ener

vating effect.

exceptions.

For

instance,

it

is

not

neces

sary to bring extra heavy underclothing,

thoug h

some

medium woollen undercloth

ing is required during the coldest

\\'ea ther; also,

formal morning

dress.

(top-hat and tail-coat) is never required. A

really

good tropical

waterproof

(not

rubber)

is necessary. In the summer- May to

Octo

ber-drill uniform with sun helmets and

light linen plain clothes

are

worn

during

the day

time,

and officers wear white linen

mess jacket and waistcoat when mess

dress

is

worn.

Bring plenty

of

light cellu

l

ar

underclothing for the summer months.

8/10/2019 1931 Spring

7/23

THE ROYAL ARMY

PAY

CORPS

JOURKAL

;as it will

be found necessary

to change

several

times

a

day.

Officers can

obtain

drill

uniform and linen suits much more

Cheaply

locally

than in

England. Other

ranks are, of course, issued with summer

uniform. Boots

and

shoes,

also, are

cheaper locally , a really good pair, made

to

-

nleasure,

costing about

32S.

(Gatt

Camilleri

Strada FOt ni).

With

these

exceptions

it '

is

advisable

to

bring

\\ith

One all clothing required as baggage for

a passenger's pe rs

ona

l u

se

is exempt

from

the

customs

duty

of 10

per

cent.

charged

On

things which o

ne

may

have

sent out

later from England. The greatest

care

must

be

taken to

preserve

clothing

from

the

attacks

of

moth

and

silver-fish; even

that in air-tight cases should be regularly

shaken and brushed and

lightly

sprayed

with

Fl i t

or some similar preparation.

As

regards

ladies' dress,

a flu coa.t,

though not essential, is most welcome

111

the winter months, but

especial

care

must

be taken in the summer to keep out moth

and silver-fish. A

thi

ck

tweed coat

is very

necessary, as is also a tailor-made costllme.

A Burberry is

essential.

A

good sllpply

of

evening dresses is ~ c l v i s hIe . th ough the

usual

French

georgette

and

c

repe-de-Chine

rot in a very short time, bl1t special wearing

si

lks for

this

climat

e

can

be bOllght locally.

Ladies are advised

to

bring out several

was

hing

frocks

(not

crepe-de-Chine)

as it

is difficult to get readymade dresses

on the

island, and the duty on

those

imported

(except

when

brought in as personal lug

gage)

is

quite a

considerable item.

The

silk

obtainable from Indian shops in Valetta

is good a

nd cheap,

and local dressmakers

can make up plain frocks

and also

copy

simple models.

Quarters.

There

are a

number

of officer s

quarters.

but usually not

more than one is

allotted

to the

R

.A .P.C.

All

other ranks are pro

vided with quarters.

On

first arrival

while

looking

for

quarters an

officer

will

probably go to an

hotel

(Ro

ya

l Hotel,

Strada

Mercanti,

inclusive

terms

12S. per

-day, recommended). Unfurnished houses

or

fiats are difficult to obtain , but

there

are

plenty of furnished houses

and

flats in

Valetta,

and also at Sliema, which

is

only half-a-mile by

ferry,

but

over

three

miles

by road, from

Valetta.

Most

officers

8

families

live at

Sliema, where there

is a

school

for young children, a

nd

where

during the summer months such

children

spend most of their time in bathing

costume and

flourish

exceedingly

provided

care is taken regarding their food. The

rent

of a furnished flat is from about 9

a month upwards , For comfort in the

winter evenings it is

advisable,

if

possible,

to secure

one

with a fire-place

n

the

sitting

room,

but only a smaJl number can

boast of

this .

Electric ligh

is

fitted

everywhere. All cooking is done bv gas,

which

is

very expensive. Linen,

g lass,

and

cutlery should

be

brought

fr011l

home .

Malta

cloth, made

in

the isla

nd,

an

exceJlent

material

for

curtain

. , l

oose

covers,

tablecloths and various similar I ur

poses, may be obtained from i\Iary Bugeja

in

Rabato,

Landlords

vary- the

writer

was fortu

nate

in

having

one who not

on

ly

provided

everything asked for but

carried

ut all

su

ggest

iQns m

ade-b ut as

a g

eneral rule

it

is adv isable to see that everythin g

required

is in the flat and all decorati.ons and

altera

tions are done,

before

entering into occupa

tion;

it

ma

y be

very

difficult to

get

any

thing done afterwards.

Servants

are not difficult to

obtain

,

Very

few of them will sleep In the

house,

but

as they

seem to be p

rep ared

to

come

a t

any hour of the morning and stay to any

hour

of

the night,

this does

not

matter

very much. Some of them are ve ry good .

For a

cook,

w

ho

will,

if required,

also

do the marketing and most of the wo rk

of

the

house,

the

wages

are ahout 3 a

month for a

woman

or s a month for

a man, in addition to fo Od.

Food.

The food, it must be admitted, is on the

whole

not

good,

nor is it

cheap.

Chickens

at

2S,

6d . each may appear to he cheap,

but when you see

the size

of

the

ch icken- - Beef is imported alive from

Tunis, mutton

is rarely

seen. Fresh

co,, s

milk is practically unobtainab le , and

goats'

milk, consumed

in large quantities

by the lHaltese, is of course never touched

by

the English,

in

fact

its

consumption is

forbidden in Garrison Standing

Orders

owing to the risk of Mediterranean fever.

Tinned milk is

therefore universally

used

.

THE ROYAL ARMY

PAY

~ R P S

JOURNAL

Vegetables

are plentiful and cheap, but

saLads should always be

washed

in a

weak

solution of permanganate of potash. The

saJ;I1e rule

applies

to fruit, except that

which

is

peeled. The fruit is really good

-Malta oranges are

of course famous,

and

,

delicious melons can be

obtained

in the

summer at quite a nominal price.

An

ice

.chest is a necessity; when

taking

a

furnished house or flat, see

that

the

land

lord

has provided

one.

The water is

good,

though

it

is the wliversal custom to boil

it before drinking

(all water is charged

for by meter). As regards alcoholic

-drinks, any

of

the standard brands

of

'hisky cost 7S. 6d. a bottle; a good Spanish

wine- Valdepenas -may be

obtained at

,/

,

to liave a

banking account in London for

any payments which may have to

be

made

at

home, as a comparativeIy heavy charge

is made

for

cashing a cheque

on

Malta in

England.

No charge is incurred,

how

ever

(beyond

the

cheque

stamp)

when

cashing

an English

cheque in

Malta,

but

it

is

uneconomical

to make payments in

the island by means

of English

cheques

as

each such cheque costs 3d. (2d. for the

English

and Id.

for

the

Maltese stamp),

t

is

convenient

to

open an account

at a

local bank (Barclay's have a branch in

Valetta) which

will

be satisfied with a

remarkably small balance and make no

charge for keeping the

account,

and the

stamp on the local cheque is only Id.

/

- -

-.-_.---

-- _

Valetta Piazza

R egina. On the left Altberge de Castile. On the right Barracca G a r r i s o t ~ Church

lld

gateway to Upper Barracca Gardens. The builditlg d j o i t ~ i l l g the gateway is the Army Pay

Office .

IS .a bottle; a

light beer,

brewed in

the island,

cosJs

about 2S.

gd, a

dozen;

-and all other wines and spirits are cheaper

than

at

home.

(A

price-list ma

y be

obtained from Saccone and Speed,

21

Strada

Mezzodi).

Aerated waters are

a1so

very

cheap.

English cigarettes are

abo

ut

the same price as

at home,

but

pipe

tobacco is

cheaper,

and very good

Turkish

cigarettes can

be

obtained at a much

lower

price than at

home

. (V.

Marich

and

Co.,

Palace Square, Valetta.) There

is

an

ex

cellent English bakers and confectioners

(Blackley's)

almost

opposite the

Union

Club

in Valetta. The N.A.A .F .I. Retail

Store is

in

St. James'

Cavalier, op

posite the

Allberge de

Castile.

Finance.

British money is used. t

is advisable

.9

There

is no colonial allowance, and other

allowances

are

lower

than at

home

and

much

lower

than

at

any

other

foreign

station. Of

course,

before the war you

C Ould live

in Malta

for almost nothing at

all.

Unfortunately the

War

Office

heard

about

this,

and

it has never

allowed itself

to find out how things have gone up, con

sequently

Army allowances

in Malta are

incredibly low. *

~ e c r e a t i o n .

For officers there is the Malta Union

Club

in

Vaietta, which has all

the usual

amenities

of

a club and separate

rooms

for

ladies.

The

Club has a

branch at Sliema,

where dinner-dances are held

twice weekly,

*

Malta. and Cyprus,

by

G l a d ~ ' s Peto.

8/10/2019 1931 Spring

8/23

THE ROYAL ARMY PAY

CORPS

IOURNAL

and the terrace

of

which, overlooking

the

sea is a

favourite

rendezvQus for

tea

and

cocktails.

Entrance

fee, 6;

quarterly

subscriptiQn, 1 Ss.

Wives,

daughters,

mothers and

sisters

Of members,

and mem

bers of the Naval and

Military

Nursing

Services may use

the ladies' rooms

On pay

ment

Of

lOS

.

per quarter.

The Malta Sports Club has grou\lds at

a r s a

(about two

miles from

Valetta)

for lawn tennis (concrete CQurts), golf

(only possible

in

the winter), polo,

cricket,

rugby and associatiQn football and hockey.

At the

Marsa, also, is

the Pavilion

con

taining dressing rooms and baths, where

refreshments

can

be obtained, which

is

surrQunded by a delightful garden.

There

are badminton and racquets courts in

Valetta, a men's bathing club

at

Tigne,

and the lawn tennis courts at the Sliema

bra .

nch

of the UniQn Club also belong

to

the Sports

Club.

Entrance fee. 1 ( lOS.

belQw the rank of

Captain)

;

subscription,

7S. 6d. mQnthly

or

1 quarterly. Wives,

daughters,

mQthers

or sisters

of

members,

Ss. mQnthly or 12S. 6d. quarterly. The

Ladies'

Bathing

Club, which adjoins the

Men's

Club

at

Tigne, is a separate organi

sation.

The Ma

lta

Racing Club

holds

meetings

at the Marsa on

twelve

afternQons each

year. Annual

subscription

(1 10S.) in

cludes admission

to the enclQsure on

each

day of

racing.

Officers of the

R.A.P.C.

have, in the past, 'Owned, trained and ridden

many winners

in

these

races.

The Royal Malta Yacht Club caters for

sailing

and mQtor-boat

enthusiasts,

as the '

club

comprises

both sailing and motor-boat

sectiQns.

The

annual

subscription

for full

members is 1 IS. The club

premises

are

situated at

the

Ha

y Wharf,

Marsamuscetto

.

. Sma1f

yachts may be hired

'

from

local

boat-builders at

about

10S.

a

day, but

the

enthusiast unversed in local conditions must

be

wary Of

the

rapid

way

in which the wind

dies away at sunset.

The Malta Garrison Library

is in P alace

Square , Valetta .

There

are reading rooms

where

English

newspapers and magazines

may be seen. New

books

are obtained

from the Times

Book Club. Three books

(anyone

of which may be new) may be

taken

out

at

a time. Entrance fee, 1;

quarterly subscriptiQn, 10S. Officers may,

at

their

option,

pay a m'Onthly

subscription

IO

Of 4S. without entrance fee. Ladies of

the

families Of members,

2S.

quarterly; or of

monthly

members, 2S

. monthly.

The Malta Amateur Dramatic Club pro

duces

several plays and

usually

a "Gilbert

and Sullivan" opera

during

the winter

months.

English newspapers arrive in Malta four

days after publication. There is a lQcal

dail

y newspaper, the Malta Ch'Tonic/e,

which has telegrams from London giving

the

principal

news from home.

The

Malta Directory (6d.) is a very

useful

pub

lication

for the

new arrival.

t c'Ontains

a list of all Civil, Naval, Military and Air

Force officiafs, and a

directory

of their

addresses as well as those of the principal

loca l

residents.

t

also

contains tables of

the legal fares for dgha

,isas

and

carrozin ,

Another useful book is

Walks in M

a

ta

(2S.),

by

A. Weston,

which

is 'Obtainable

at

Critien's

(opposite the Union Club

in

Valetta)

.

This book

describes

what

there

is to

see

in Malta, and how to see it, and

also

gives directions

fQr

various

c'Ountry

walks

some

of which are delightful

in

the

early

spring

when

the wie

ds-streams

which are quite

dry

in summer-are full of

water. An excellent road

map, prepared

by the R .E., may be 'Obtained from the

Government Printing Office. A motor car

is extremely

useful,

in

fact

invaluable,

but

there is an ad 'Valorem import duty of 15

per cent . on the value fixed by the

Customs authorities. '

An

officer

bringing

his Own car

can, however,

by obtaining a

banker's

guarantee, defer pa y

ment

of

this

-anyway fQr

two

years-unless

and until

the car is sold

in

the island. As wear and

tear is

exceptionally heavy it

is

nQt

an

eC()nomic proposition to bring

out

a new

car a

really

good seC()nd-hand

car

is

better.

Nor

is

it advisable to

buy

a secQnd

hand

car on

the

island,

as

the prices

Of

these

are very high compared with the

value s

at

home.

There is

a

standard tax

of

4

4S. a year (plus an

extra

5 per cent.

a yea r for the privi lege of entering

Valetta

)

on all cars irrespective

of

horse-pO\;ver .

Car

hire is

cheap, some garages cbargin

g

as little as 40. a mile fQr a

four-seater

car.

with

driver.

There is a summer camp

at

Ghain

Tuffieha , 'Open

to

all

ranks, where One

can

stay On repayment.

With

a car an officer

can stay thete wi th his

famil y

and

still

THE ROYAL ARlIfY PAY CORPS 1 U R ~ A L

attend

his office every day in Valetta. A

very

pleasant

holiday

can also

sometimes

be spent on one

of

H.M.'s ships when the

Fleet

goes for its summer

cruise,

and it

is

occasionally

possible to ge t an indulgence

passage On

a

troop

s

hip

to EgYI t and back.

As regards home leave, it is extremely

difficult to

get

a

passage

by th e all sea"

route. P. and O. mail steamers bound f

or

England

call

On alternate

W

ednes

d

avs

(9

days to LondQn, or 3 days by t r v l l i l ~

overland

from Marseilles) ,

but very

few

berths are available for passenge rs from

Malta. P. and

O.

"one

class"

boats,

and those Of the Aberdeen and C'Ommon

wealth line also

ca

ll. The

usual

route is

by boat

tQ

Syracuse, and thence

by

train

tu BQulogne

(3 days,

Malta

to

London ).

Another route , thQugh it

inv

olves several

changes, is by boat t'o Tunis thence to

Marseilles, and thence (Malta to .

London, 4 to

5

days). Yet a nother route

is by the Adria Line (every Tu esday),

v i s i ~

Messina,

Palermo and Naples en

rc:ute tO Gelloa and

th ence

by

train (an

-iv

i n ~ in LondQn on the following

Monday)

;

th IS

route

can be

recommended. An alterna

tive rQute by the Ac1ria Line is (every

Thursday) tQ

Venice and

thence

by tr

ain .

One of the great disadvantages of

Ma

lta is

that the tQur Of dut y there, five yea rs, is

at

least two years too ong, a

nd

it is essential

to

get home

to

England at

least once

during

this

period,

and if possible eve ry year.

There

is

much

of interest to

be

seen in

Malta.

St. Jobn's Cathedral in Valetta

is

plain

without,

but

richl y deC()rated

within from its floor Of mag

nificent inlaid

slabs

commemorating

many

illustrious

members of tbe Order of St. John of Jenl

salem

tQ

the gorgeous paintings on

its

ceiling;

it

contains some w'Onderfu l tapes

tries

which

are

'Only

on

view

at

certain

times of the

year. The

Palace of the

Grand

Masters,

the several Auberges

which hQnsed the Knights

of

St. John,

St. Paul's

Cathedral at Citta

Veccb

ia the

island in St. Paul's Bay where St.

'Paul

was

wrecked

in

A.D. 58

(Acts xxvii.,

v4r), Musta Church, with its tremendous

dome, the

megalithic ruins

of

prehistoric

temples,

Haigar

Kim and Mnaidra near

Krendi-but space will not permit e ~ e n an

enumeration of the many places Of interest.

".Many. Service men

in

Malta know nQthing

ot

the Island

but

the way from the UniQn

Club to the Marsa. This, like many

other statements in

IVlalla a,

nd Me, is

somewhat exaggerated, but it has

some

foundation

in fact.

There

is so much to

see, and yet the seeing sQmetimes gets

pos tpo

ned

until

it

is too late.

And when 'One's tour Of service is over

One

may be

glad

to leave

but

one's

mind

will

be

full of happy ~ e m o r i e s o f the

view from the

Upper Barracca

where

the

mig

ht

y ships of the mightiest Navy in the

world

are ly ing far below in the blue waters

of the Grand

Harbour

\\'hile the

little

steam ferries and

dghaisas

hurry tQ and

fro; of Citta Vecchia seen frQm

the bastions

of

Valetta framed

aga

inst the

marvellous

colQurs of a Malta

sunset

of a

street

in

old Notabile on a summer 'afternQon \\'hen

it

seems like

a city of the dead but

the

ancient walls give shade from tl;e fierce

ness of

the sun;

of

wonderfu

l

Eastern

gardens

hidden-

b-ehind hi gh stone \\ 'a lls

\\-

ith

orange groves and olive

trees

ano

trellises

Of

vine; of

the

bathing

at Tigne

or

at

Ghain Tuffieha; of the hour befQre

dinner on the terrace

at

the Sliema Club'

of midnight

picnics

ano of eggs and

b a c o ~

at

s

unrise at

Salina Bay

after

a Sli ema

dance; or of the lower bar at the Uni01l

Club

on

the

night

when the

lV

lediterranean

Fl eet returns from

its

summer cruise

SI,etch es by

S

Q .

If S

. S

T.

Sl

ee

l.

trIal by

H

L Clliu herllJi

n

(Sltr

etvs

bt

8/10/2019 1931 Spring

9/23

~ H E ROYAL

ARMY 'PAY CORPS

JOURNAL

Submission

Then Confession

By

C PT IN ARTHUR

G

WN

(Retired,

l

ate

A.P.D.

and R.A.F.)

A.P.C. No. 530 had he ld effective

rank

for three years in a

battalion

fresh from

the

Burmah War. 1887 -1 889. Hindustani was

the

battalion

tongue for yea rs . It was of

course in

fra dig.

for a rifleman wearing the

Burmah

medal

to sleep parri passu ,,-

ith

t he rookie" whose breast was p lain. A

rifleman wearing the :Mec1al and Star

awa

rded

to

those

who marched from Ka b

ul

to Kandahar,

the

lYledal

and

St

ar

for

Egypt

1882-1885,

as

well as the Burmah

Medal, had to be treated with the r

espect

that comes

with

fear.

Discharges

to pension and transfers to

the

Army

Reserve were

not so frequent as

to obviate a slump in promotion. The

rifleman,

who had secured the first step to

major-general

by appointment to acting

corporal ,

found

the

cOl 11l11and

of men as

probl

ematica

l as

promotion

to effective

rank was a protracted and wearying busi

ness.

The

juni

or

colour-sergeant had nine

teen years ' service

No.

530 (as

No.

1376 4th R.B .) had

heard a few "fairy

tales,"

particularly

when"

duty

corporal

of the wet canteen.")'

Exactly

how

he was

going

to

secure

promo

tion to sergeant outside the 4th R.B .

was

a

frequently debated question. Years

wou ld

pass before such preferment looked possible

ins -de the bf ttalion; and the possession of

a certificate of qualification for sergeant was

compulsory

wit h a

corporal

(who would

remain

a corporal).

One night in " The Shot," as a reward

for treating

Corporal

Jess

Wallingford*

to

"one over the

five"

in the Corporals'

Mess

No.

1376 was

given

what

he

thou

gh

t

was

a reliable tip about his next step to

major-general

outside the

battalion.

It

was

in the newly created "big pay

anc1

promo

ti on

corps - the A.P

.C .

The A .P .C., in common with the Staff

Clerk

Section,

A.S.C., became a daydream.

The three

years corporal

had IS. 8c1 . a

day,

minus prescribed (and

unprescribed)

public

and

regimental

stoppages.

It

has been said

th at even

corporals'

accounts were mu1ct

in the

value

of blankets

that

their fathers

12

had

lost in the

Crimea,

also for sentry

boxes

the Guards" pinched" from the 4th R.B.

lilies,

to say

nothing of their having

to

contribute "re;imentally" to the cost of

the

Colonel',;

dawg."

But

such incidents were as

tiny

as the

order "Sign

Here" was stentorian

from

the

colour -sergeant who wanted his pay

list signed at the

month

end. The

com

pany

storemall

usually

was

halldy with

junks

of cak e

(home made)

for grousers

who

were soon

reminded

th

at grousers

never became major-generals."

So corporals signed

agreeab ly to

an

account

disclosing

"Total cash payments

I8s.

6d.," with an

occas ional

ba

l

ance

on

the wrong side .

Reflection

reminds

one

that

the ration

comprised bread, l ib.;

meat-with

fat and

bone-lIb. Messing allowance,

3d. a da y,

only arrived on 1st April, 1898. The

generosit

y of " the

Commons

,. in granting

that

3d. a

day

in aid of

messing

was, in

the manner

pecul i

ar

to

Parliamentary

grai1ts, stultified by the taking away of

2ll.

deferred

pay-a reserved ri ght-from

ali who

accepted

it.

So by

accepting 3

d

.

the sold

ier

ga

ined

Id. a day .

An Irishman

(not "frae

Aberdeen")

when

told

his pal on ly had IS. 6d. and

therefore cou ld not

lend

2S. 6d ., "vas

asked

for the IS. 6d. anc1 was

told

he

owed

IS.

There

was,

however,

one

redeeming

feature The Royal Warrant allowed a

soldier

to be paid his deferred

pay

at

the

expiration

of

his

first

or

second period

of

limited

engagement;

bui he

must not, of

co

urse,

meantime be receiving

messing

allowance.

And there

were soldiers

in

those days

so

conservative

of

their

"r ights reserved"

that they went without that 3d. a clay till

forced by

Roya

l

Warrant to take

it.

They

had probably heard too of " The Merchant

of Venice."

"Short

Commons" they were The

'-Corporal Je ss

Wallina[ord,

Army

Shot

with

I-tifle "nd Revolver for

eight

consecutive yeal's.

contintled at foot of

nex

t page)

THE

~ O Y L

ARMY

P Y

CORPS

JODRN

AT

OLOGNE

To

you

who were sta

tioned

with

the

B.A.O.R.,

the Ca th edral of Cologne was a

well-known sight.

I t

was a lmost the first

building to meet the

eye as

one came

out

of

the noisy

station entrance and it

? o m i n ~ t e d ~ n y distant view' of t l ~ city

by

It;; t

wm

spIres.

Perhaps

yo

u

went through its

doors

that

west door-and were

awed

by

its

cool

,,:astness; and coming out, blinked in the

hg ht of day and then

were

soon swa ll

owed

up in the

ever-moving crowds

and traffic.

You saw it,

even

in the hot summ er sun -

-

shine, grey and

solem n (as

though the

Submission I

hen

Confession

on

tinued

fro-m previol/ S page)

sleeplllg on straw mattresses was

hard'

' ~ h e Sho t"

with

its "Divi

siona

l day

';

tWIce a w

eek, its

"Brigade day" t h r i ~ e

wasn' t soft The

pse nd

o-

cava

lry

u n i f o r n ~

of the A.P.C.-more ga udy th

an

neat-was

no

magnet

B ~ l t

o I l higher

pay

ink

in

s

tead

of nfl e slm

gmg,

a softer station and th e

fact.

that

four other

corpora

ls wi

th

school

certificates, first class, had registered their

names

for the A.P.C.

appeared good

enough

and No . 1376 followed

suit

in

18

93.

Had

he

never

served in a

fighting battalion

t h ~ A. P .C. would have been hi s mother"

ltI

:

llt

.

He

wou ld

have set tled down

to

in

k

s

ll11

gmg and accounting . What esprit de

c o ~ p s he

had

belong-ed

properly to the

Rifle

Brigade.

He app lied for

return

to his

b ~ t t a l i ? l 1 . He

failed Re

solved to recon

Cile

hImself

to

the

new corps he soon

CATHEDRAL

13

b ~ s t l . e of life served but to emphasize its

~ h g I 1 l t y ) ~ h n

t ~ e flower-sellers stood

at

~ t s . steps W

ith

then gay baskets. You saw

It i l l

the winter, with

delicate

white touches

of snow outlining its sculptures, and you

~ h l ~ d d e r to hear the wind whist

lin

g up

111

ItS pl11nacles.

Beneath

the

shadow of the Cathedral you

\ V a t c h ~ d on

November IIth the

silent

sur

roundmg crowds, the

massed

military

bands,

the

old and honoured flags, and all

thpse others who

took

part in the

impressive

ceremony of Remembrance.

Did

yo

u

ever,

stand ing on one of tho se

lovely

mountains

t

ower

ing

over

the Rhine

th

e Siebengebirge, pee;

eagerly

through field

glasses and make out in

the

dim

bl ue haze

of

dis

tance two infinitely small

spikes,

which were the

Cathedral's tall sp

ires?

And

now,

long after

our Co l

og

ne Days,"

does

110t this

familiar

pic ture of the "K6i11er

Dom bring back in a

flood memories of

the

. happy days full of com

radeship

in that gracious.

busy city on the Rhine?

F .M . J .

learned how tQ "Everywhere

you

see a

figure pu t a

tick, tick, tick."

If

on

one

occasioIl

more

than another

he

:

vo

uld

he had never

left his

battalion

It was wl;en, on t h ~ days' leave pending

embarka

tlOn for Sa1l1t

Lucia

, West Indi es,

he saw

a

corporal 4th R.B

.

in

1896,

wearing

th'

medals

for Ashanti Exped iti on

and

Ma

t

abele

land.

. His

chagrin

was

poignant and

throughout

hIS care.er. he felt th at direct enl istment (for

those

liking

the

qualified in clerical

and

accounting dutie

s)

into the A.P.C. should

have been

possible.

But

this article is

int

ended to be impartial

and in.

no sense

possible of

controversy.

Tt

tells SImply of

th

e coming of No.

13764th

R:B

. as

No.

530

A.P.C. The manner

of

hIS

going into civil and commercial life

:nay,

accord

ing

to our wo

rth

y

Editor's

Judgment, be subject matter for a subse

quent Journal.

8/10/2019 1931 Spring

10/23

THE ROYAL ARMY PAY COR 'PS J O U R N _ A - = - ~ ~

Editorial

In

presenting this ,

our

first number,

we

II'

ish

to pl

ace

on

record

our apprec iation

of th e

help

g iven to

us

by .o

ur

reaer of r e ~ < ; l e r s

suggested ar ticles deal111g wlt

.h

conchtlOns

at

overseas stations and

the

art1.cle

on

Ma lta

in

thi s issue is the first of a series. t l ~ e l

suggest i

ons

- i n c o ~ p o r a t i o n of Se1110n.ty

Roll Foreign Service Ros ter and

the

wait

ing ' list for the r i e < ; 1 Quarters. Roll

-presen

t certain chfficultles, but wIll be

further Lonsidered, and a number of ~ e r

suggestions

will,

it

is hoped,

be

emboched

ia

subsequent issues .

*

* *

A great many difficultie.s have h

a.d

be

overcome

in the product

ion of thIS Issue

and we

crave

our

readers' il1c1

nl

ge

nce for

any errors

or

shortcom ings which they

ma

y

no tice in this number.

At the same time we sha ll

welcome sug

gestions which. will prove helpful in com

piling future Issues.

* * *

We

sha ll also welcome

assistance

from

those who are

able to

introdi.1ce the Journ al

to their

friends.

We have notified

as

many

as

possible of those

who

have left

th

e

Corps,

but

fear there

m l 1 ~ t he

a great

number of othe rs who have

not

yet heard

01 its ex istence.

Notes

Ju st ove r one thousand copies of. thi s

iss ue

are

being

despa

tch ed

to

bel'S

ill all pa rts of

th

e

world,

but . \I'

lth

future

iss ues we hope thi s number l\ 'Ill be

great

ly

exceeded.

*

*

*

F ina

ll

y we hope tll a t

O

l l [ readers

:

l

sllp ,>ort

th ose

firms

who

have so readIly

supported

us

by

a d v e r ~ i s i n g i l ~ these

pages,

and

that

tbey ~ l 1 lIIeptlOD

the

J'Ou rn al when correspo ndlll g wltll adve r

tisers .

rom The London

Gazette

Regular Army.

ROYAL

ARMY

PAY

CORPS

.

Col. (temp.

Brig

. )

and

Chief Paymr. H ..B. Toller,

C.

M.G. retires

on r

et.

pay,

Nov.

15 , n.nd IS grante d

hon. rank of Brig.

Lt.

-Col. and Staff Pay

nn.

(temll' Col. and Chief Payn:lI.) R. W. Macfie to

be Co

l.

and Chief Payml'. Nov. 15.

Lt.

Co

l. and

Staff Paymr. G. A. C. O l m s b y - J o h n o ~ l , O.B .E . ,

M C to be temp. CQ l. and ChIef Payml. Nov. 15.

C ~ p t : and

P aymr. R.

G

,Stanh m to ~ l a l ,

and

l:ltafi Paym l . Oct. 22. Capt . and Payml. 1. .H.

Grant to be Maj. and Staff PaYJl1r., Nov. 15, w l t ~ l

re 't. seny.

May

29 , 1927 and

pr

ecedce. below Ma)

S.g

A. Godfrey. (Such se

l11

ol'lty. not to

count fO:.

Army

seniority pay , and all ces. 111 crease of pay 0

14

ret .

p a y ~ .

Cl . f

Col and Chief Payr. A. 1. Musson to be l1e

Paymr., War Offi ce and Offr. i /c . Records,

R.A .P .C., r ov. 15, an d

to

be granted

temp. rank

Brig.

Maj. (As st.

Paymr.) W:

Palmer

r ~ t i r e s

on ret.

pay on aLLaining

the age

tml L for r

et

Ire

ment

(Dec.

7) ; SLaft Sergt.Maj. W. T. Cork to be Lt. (Asst.

Pa

ymr.) (Dec.

7).

Capt. F. W. C. Thomas, Suffolk R. , to be Capt.

and Paymr. (on prob .), Aug. 28.

The fo

ll

owing

Majs. and

Staff Paymrs.

to

be L t.

Cols.

Jan.

1: C. J.

I3

arrade

ll

, R. S. Ansoom.be,

O.B.E

. Maj . (A sst .

Paymr.)

J.

Stoddard retires

(age

limit

) on ret. pn.y, Jan . . . .

Capt.

(Asst.

Paymr.)

D. T . Kirk,P

atnck

retires

on ret. pay , J an. 1; Staff Sel'gL-Ma). A. Newman

to

be

Lt. (Asst. Paymr.) ,

Jan.

l

Maj.

and

Staff

Paymr. R.

W. Anderson ,

M.B.E.,

to be Lt.-Col. Feb. 20. .

Maj.

(Asst.

l' aymr.)

W'. J: Cryel'

I

ellres on ret .

pay on attaining the age hmlt f ~ r ret Irement

(Feb.

5) . Staff .Sergt. Maj. E. B. GOdW111 to he

Lt.

(A sst.

Pa'ymr.) (Feu.

5).

"

Lt

.Col. and Staff Paymr. C. J . Bal'l'adell retnes

0

11 ret

. pay (age limi t). Feb . 23.

Ma j. and

Payml'.

F. K.

l'

omel'oy l'etll'es

011

r

eL.

pay' (age limit) .

Feu. 22.

THE ROYAL ARMY PAY CORPS JOURNAL

Corps

News

and

Notes

Aldershot Command

COMMAND

PAY

OFFICE ,

ALDERSHOT.

The past year

has seen man y changes in staff ,

but otherwise

it

has proved ca lm and uneventful.

In August the Co lonel Co mmanda nt retired, to

be succeeded as Command Paymaster by Colonel

W.

S. Mackenzie,

O.B.E. We

have also l

ost

Lieut .

Co lonel

GengeAndrews

(to Scottish Command),

Major Stanham

(to Preston), Lieutenn.nt ewman

(to W

oking),

S.S.M. Goode (to Ceylon) ,

and

Ser

geant S. G. Jon es (to Eg yp t ).

Sergeants

Clark,

Finch , Hopk ins , Fin ch , Tasker, W inch and COl'

pOl als Br'oadbpnt and Lawson have all been married

from

the station

duri ng

the

l

ast

year.

The strength

of

the

d

etac

hme

nt

has been increased by daughters

bom

to Capta in Overton and S.Q.M.S. Gebbet, and

a son to

Corpora

l

Broadbent.

Cricket.

-Ma t

ches played, 15; won , 7 ; lost, 7 ;

drawn, 1. Batting honours went to Sergeant Fer

gusson, and bowling honours to Mr.

F. Thornton.

We

ente

rtain ed Hounslow

Record

and Pay Offi ce

and Woking Record and Pay Offi ce. Our match

with Hounslow was left drawn. Scores: Aldershot,

136 f

or

6 declared ; Hounslow, 106 f

or 6.

Woking

won an exciting ga me by 2 runs. The return match

at W o k i n ~ was less excit ing, as we su

ff

ered a he

avy

defeat. Scores: Woking, 91 ; Aldershot, 28.

Our

best

ach ievement was against a fa

irly

strong

R.A.S

.C. t eam , whom we defeated

by

40 runs. W e

djsmissed ,t-hem for the

sma

ll total of 68 runs.

T e n n i Sing les Tournament on a

handicap

basis, in whicb 37 members took part, was beld

during

the season and proved to be a popular

and

successful event.

The

win.ner was Mr.

McNamara

and the runnerup Sergeant Cook,

both

of whom

were presented with silver cups, in

miniature, by

Co lonel VV S. Mackenzie.

Two

friendly

malches

were

played with

Loca l

Auditor's St a ff. Result: one win each. Two

friend

li

es were also played with a civilian side

from Aldershot.

Result:

one win each.

W.O.'s

and

Sergeants' MeSS.

-D

uring t he

summer

mon ths we entered a team in the

Sergeants'

Mess

Tennis League, and,

alt

ho

ll

gh the choice of players

was limi t.ed. we managed to play a

ll

OUl matc hes

and finished fourth plac e in the divi sion. We had

one entrant for

the

Corps Tennis Cha

ll

en e

Cup

Sergeant Loveder- who, after beating S.Q.M.S.

P

en

rce, of W

oking

office, was defea

ted

at

Salisbury

by S.Q.M.S. Littler.

Since th e wi

nter

season set in we have had some

enjoyab le evenings at bill iul'ds

and

snooker-W .O.'s

and sergeants playing officers and civilians respec.

tively, and officers versus civili ans. An exce

ll

en t

sporting spirit preva ils on

these

occasions.

Several of ou r men entered for the unit stage of

the

Command

Int

er U

nit

Snooker Champ ionship.

Some fine games were played, a

mI

in

the fin

al of

the un it stage Sergeants Cook

and

L1ngham were

opponents, the scores being 56 and 58 points ,

honoul'S going to

Sergeant

Langham for

the unit

representat ive.

In December, 1930, news reached us that sanct io'l

had been received for

establi

shment of a R.A.P .C.

Sergeants' Mess

in th

e Command. Tbis is a pleas.

15

ing fea ture , a nd we look forward to extending our

social

act

ivit ies and rec iproc

at

ing

t.he

many kind

in

vitations received from other Ser) eants' i\1esses.

A very enjoyable ch ildren 's Christmas pnrty w a ~

held in the Mess on

Friday,

J

anuary

9th , fol' the

whole of the office staff. About 150 sat down to

t