Chapter 20
Return to Barracks Part One

Friday the 12th of May 2000 turned out to be a very eventful day for me. After 60 years since I first joined the Regiment, I returned to barracks. This all came about last year when a serving officer of the Argylls, Captain Knox , got in contact with my Grandson Martin who runs my web site. Captain Knox said that he had been thrilled to read my story on the Internet and would like to invite myself and Martin to Redford Barracks Edinburgh where the 1st Battalion is currently stationed. Martin made all the arrangements and flew in from Dallas Texas were he lives with his wife and my two great Granddaughters and Grandson. He picked me up in Newcastle and we drive up to Edinburgh in the early hours of Friday morning.
We arrived at Redford Barracks guardroom at 10am. This was my first delight of the day. Standing out side the guardroom were two young Jocks dress in combat uniform but still wearing the Glengarry me and my mates used to wear all those years ago. The duty NCO said the RSM was expecting us and signed us into the Barracks. We were then escorted by a young Jock to the RSMs office. I was very surprised at the size of the Barracks. There was a huge Drill square in front of the main building, which we did not walk across. Instead we had to make the long walk around the Drill square to the main building. Some things do not change. The Drill square is for drill only
RSM Whitehead met us outside the COs office. He was pleased to meet me because he'd been working with my Grandson for some time to arrange my visit. He told me that he was delighted to have an old Argyll visit the regiment and was going to make sure we got the full tour. Unfortunately today was to be a very busy day for the Battalion because CO orders were taking place. This is the day when the Jocks are brought up in front of the CO for various things from promotions to dealing out punishments. There were some very worried faces on the lads standing  in the corridor outside the OCs office. Once again, some things never change. I can remember myself standing in a different corridor in Alex waiting for the same thing.
The RSM said he would be able to spend some time with us later in the morning and that the CO would very much like to have a talk with me after COs orders. And he also said that he would very much like us to join him for lunch with the other senior NCOs in the Sergeants mess. In the mean time he arranged for one of his duty Sergeants to take us to the Sergeants mess for midmorning tea and toast. So off we went making sure we walked around the Drill square to the Sergeants mess.
I had never been in the Sergeants mess during my service. Such a thing was unheard of in my day. The Sergeants mess at Redford Barracks was very nicely laid out with comfy chairs and lots of Regimental silver hanging on the walls. We were served tea and toast by a steward and shown a menu to choose from for lunch. Meanwhile quiet a few of the senior NCOs started to arrive in the mess for their midmorning tea and toast. They sat down with me and started to ask me all about my service with the regiment. Some of them had even read my story on the Internet. All of them were very interested to talk to an old Argyll.
Soon after tea and toast Captain Knox turned up in the Sergeants mess to meet me. He was a very tall young Jock and was so pleased to meet me after reading my story. Captain Knox took us from the Sergeants mess to the officers mess, once again all the way around the Drill square. On the way he told us all about what the Battalion has been up to recently. He commanded the Recce platoon and seemed to me to be a very keen young officer who was very proud to serve in the Argylls. He told us of all the places around the world he'd visited with the Battalion and some of the things he's done since joining the army. Some time last year he completed "P Company " the parachute regiments grueling  training course.
The officer's mess was in a building next to the main building. Outside was a small neat paddock where "Cruachan " the Battalion mascot lived. Inside the mess was very grand indeed. In the main entrance was a hugh model of Stirling castle with small figures of Argylls around its base depicting the various dress of the regiment throughout the ages. It was all made of solid silver. Captain Knox explained that a few years ago when the Battalion had been stationed at a different barracks, there had been a fire in the officers mess and some of the regimental silver had melted. So it was decided to take the melted silver and have it made into this model by a sculpture.
To the left of the main hall was the officers dinning room. It was a long room with a very long table surrounded by many pictures of Argyll battles and former commanding officers of the regiment. One of the paintings was of my old CO Col. Freddie Graham. Freddie Graham was a great CO and I was happy to hear that he later went on to become a Major General and Colonel of the Regiment. Sadly he is now gone but his Grandson is an officer in the Battalion today. Next Captain Knox introduced us to some of the officers in the Battalion who were in the room on the other side of the entrance hall. Once again the officers were very happy to meet a W.W.II veteran of the Battalion and asked me all sorts of questions. I showed them some of my photos of my army days that I'd brought along.
They particularly enjoyed the pictures on me and my mates wearing our Tam O Shanters and made the comment that the hats are a lot smaller these days. We said our farewells to the officers and Captain Knox returned us to the guardroom so we could be given a tour of the barracks before lunch.
At the guardroom young Pte Gibbson was assigned to be our tour guide for the day. I really enjoyed talking to this young lad and he went out of his way to show and explain every thing about the barracks, although he was some times hard to understand having a very broad Scots accent. Once again we headed for the main building making sure to go around the Drill square. Gibbson told us that the Barracks had originally  been designed to be built in India at the turn of the last century. But for some reason the idea had been scrapped and the barracks were built here in Scotland instead. You could tell by looking at the big windows that it was of Victorian design.
Gibbson went on to explain that the barracks had only been modernized a few years ago, before then none of the main windows had glass in them because the original design had been made of the Indian climate. Inside the main building Gibbson took us to the armory where we watched a platoon of young Jocks stripping down and cleaning their guns. The smell of gun oil brought back a lot of memories.
Next Gibbson took us outside to the MT park where all the Battalion vehicles are neatly parked. There were lots of land rovers and trucks in straight lines looking very clean indeed. No Brengun carriers but Gibbson showed us the carriers modern day equivalent called a Saxon Armoured Personnel Carrier. The Saxon has a  6 cylinder diesel Engine with a Maximum road speed of  96 kph. He explained that the battalion would be taking the Saxons to Northern Ireland on their next tour over there.
He also explained that the Jocks smeared grease all over the Saxons amour to stop rioters trying to climb on the vehicle during disturbances. Things certainly have changed since my day. I remember lots of people climbing all over my carrier when we liberated some small towns in Sicily.
After looking around other parts of the Barracks we still had some time to kill before I met the CO.  So Gibbson took us back to the guardhouse for a cup of tea. Gibbson and a few other young Jocks were on gate guard for the next 24 hours and they very kindly sat me down in their small barrack room behind the guardhouse. I was feeling a little done in by now after all that walking around the Drill square so the break was very welcome. The young Jocks crowded round me asking all sorts of things about what it was like in my time.
One young lad showed me his bayonet and they also let me hold one of their rifles which is called a SA80. I told them it was a lot shorter than my old .303 but seemed to feel about the same weight. It was a strange looking thing. Not what I'd call a rifle, but as I've said things have really changed.
Back around the Drill square again! to the main building to meet the CO. First we went into the RSMs office where he showed me the pictures of all the previous RSMs which hang on the walls of his office. Unfortunately I did not recognize any of them. RSM Whitehead went on to explain that he was the first Englishman to become the RSM in 105 years. A fact that he was very proud of. He told us that his father had been an Argyll and that he had always wanted to join the battalion when he was a young lad. Later in the year he said he was going to apply for a commission. Next we were shown into the COs office. Lt. Col. Russell was a very nice man. Once again he was very keen to hear all about my time in the Argylls and we studied the pictures on his office wall of all the previous commanding officers.
I pointed out Freddie Graham to the Colonel and also showed him a small piece of paper that Freddie Graham had given all the Jocks under his command when he left the battalion in 1945. The note says how proud he had been to command us throughout the war. Col. Russell really enjoyed reading this small piece of history that I've kept though the years.
The RSM took us back to the Sergeants mess for lunch and yes, you've guessed it, we had to walk around the Drill square again. I was starting to feel like I'd walked all the way back to Newcastle. Lunch was very nice and all the sergeants were only too happy to hear my stories. I sat next to Sgt. Eddie Rae. He had read my story on the internet and was very pleased to meet me. Eddie had joined the Territorial Army (TA) as an Argyll and had enjoyed the soldiering so much he signed up and joined the full time battalion. He knew a lot about the post war regimental history.
All to soon it was time to go. But before we left the Sergeants mess the RSM presented me with a Glengarry. I still had my old Argyll badge to put on it. It was very strange to place a Glengarry on my head again after all those years.