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MESSING
The food was very good: three meat meals daily, afternoon
tea, morning coffee and biscuits, good cooking, and unlimited
sugar, cheese, etc., which are so restricted at home. The
mess fee is only 2s. 6d. per diem.
BAR
The Commandant explained that the War Office would only
supply tin plates, mugs and the usual private soldier's
cutlery. Therefore he had bought £100 worth of crockery.
To recoup himself he had to charge "West End prices"
in the bar. There was a general feeling that the Commandant
was fully justified personally, but that, nevertheless,
the L.D.V. was paying for the privilege of being unpaid
soldiers of the Crown.
CARS
There are no garages. After a week in the snow, quite a
good time was had by all in starting them up.
RIFLES
These are not used in training. They are taken so that students
may defend the Dear Old School in case of invasion.
THE COURSE
Lectures and outdoor work start at 09.00
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hours
and finish at 21.00 or 22.00 hours. There were some variations,
however, which I can only recall when I transcribe my notes.
One hasn't a minute to spare to do this at the School, nor
any facilities. I would hazard a guess that fifty per cent.
of the matter was useful information and theory, but I feel
sure that even some of that could be whittled down. Much of
it can be read at home, in comfort, in our official pamphlets
and books.
What I have the temerity to term "useless" lectures
and demonstrations would be, perhaps, very useful to inexperienced
men. Therefore, students should be classified and offered
the choice of Elementary or Advanced Training. It was to
ex-service men, for example, a waste of time (and health)
to sit in the Lecture Room to hear how to examine, detonate,
and unpin a Mill's bomb. The only new information was that
it is now called the "Thirty-six". This is most
important! It was futile, too, to put eighty men in the
Lecture Room to hear, and to try to see dimly, an instructor
explain and demonstrate three rifles, two mortars and five
(or fifteen) machine guns of all nations. Fortunately, it
only took him forty-five minutes to give us the knowledge
of a lifetime's study. It was not given at dictation speed. (......continues.....)
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