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as such, made a
very fine contribution to the part played by the battalion.
It had numbers, it had grand material in the ranks, a particularly
good tradition among the N.C.Os , fostered and maintained
by its two C.S.M.s, and it had splendid officers who took
their jobs very seriously and made what I have considered
to be as satisfactory a set of company officers as could be
found anywhere in the H.G. organization.
Other changes happened about this time, notably, John Harper,
with his tidy mind, came to B.H.Q. as Adjutant, and, although
he was not with us for very long - being transferred to
"H" Sector - this battalion owes much to him for
the part he played on the administrative side.
PERSONALITIES
Not long after September 1940, Trevor-Jones relinquished
his appointment as O.C. "C" Company, and came
to me as my Second in Command. Possessed of great
energy and imagination, endowed with a keen and alert mind,
and equipped by long business experience in all the arts
of administration, his work has always been of fundamental
importance and carries a large responsibility for the good
reputation the battalion has enjoyed. He has "fathered"
our social events and, by ingenious devices in connection
with our sports, dances, and the mess, has been able to
put a comfortable fund at our disposal. This has been
used to help companies over difficult hurdles; to compensate,
over and above the
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recognized allowance,
men who have attended courses and who, thereby, lost their
wages; to give comfort to the bereaved and to those who have
been injured. And I can truly say that whenever he came
to me for permission to use some of the funds, it was always
for some very sound and deserving object.
Very soon after taking over the battalion, I began to feel
the individuality of each company and, although there have
been many changes between then and now, they have not, for
the most part, changed their characteristics very materially.
"A" Company is to the south part of the battalion
what "C" Company is to the north. Probably more
than any other company, "A" could always be relied
upon to provide its quota either for fatigues, lectures,
outside courses or duties of any description which B.H.Q.
asked for.
Its guardianship of the Beacon Observation Post during
the bitter weather of February 1941 was an exceptionally
fine piece of work. Incidentally, the Company Commander's
daily record of the Beacon patrols was so well done that
I often sent it on to the higher Command and thereby earned
much reflected glory.
This company, endowed largely through the generosity of
the Streetly Manufacturing Co., on which it was based, started
off well by having a .22 range and a collection of .22 rifles,
which were used to very good effect. In shooting it
was easily the leading company and won many trophies in
the course of its life.
(......continues.....)
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