Download - 1931 Spring
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Vol. 1
No. 1
TH
Royal Army Pay Corps
Journal
SPRING
93
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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
ROYAL .\ R \IY
P.\Y
CORPS JOURNAL
S L U T E
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lJy toJtin.g his
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Y O U N G E R ~
YOU
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and thumb
of Ihe
right hand br ing ing the
vessel
to the
lip s
with
a
circular molion On
the
word cease
place
the empty vessel
smartly
on the counter ready 10 be
re
charged
.
B R EWED
IN
ED
IN URGH
Can le e n . and Me ss e uppl
i
ed
a l
all
M l l i lary
Sla l
i on ' al H om e a nd Ab oad
WM
YOUNGER
6.
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SACCONE
& SPEED,
Ltd
The leading W te Me1'chan ts ill Malta
20 Sda Mezzodi, V ALLETT A
wi
ll
be pleased to send a copy of their pr ice list
on applicat ion.
Whi s
ky
U John H_
ig, U
White Horse,
U
Bl ack and
White,
7/ 6
p
er bottl
e.
Spanish Win e u
Valdepe
as, 12
/ - per do
zen.
BY
APPOINTMENT
TO
H .M. THE
KING
.
F.
B
lac ley
CONFECTIONf R .
21 Sda Reale , VALLETTA, Malta
LIGHT LUNCHEONS AND AFTERNOON TEAS .
Chocolat
es
and Candi
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prepared in
premises
.
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LUSHER
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-
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Accounts, etc
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ew
hOUTS
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ur
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ow
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pert posta
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se under
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n,
polil8D Co
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nts
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G 10 /9 , ST. ALBANS
RECfMENT
AL
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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.
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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