My National Service 1957-1959
1st Battalion Border Regiment
Barnard Castle
I was in Berlin for 18 months then the Battalion moved back to England to be stationed in Barnard Castle a Garrison Town at that time, the Battalion was stationed at Humbelton Camp, our billets were single skin brick huts with a cast iron coal burning stove, the wash room and toilet blocks were away from the billet block, what a coming down to earth after the luxury of Wavell Barracks in Berlin
The purpose of the Battalion moving back to England was the Amalgamation of the regiment with the Kings Own to form the Kings Own Royal Border Regiment, I was still on the MT Section and my truck was a Bedford RL 3 Tonne'
With, as we used to say “Days to Do” I and some of my MT mates got volunteered by the MTO to rehearse for the Amalgamation parade which involved some crash training in rifle drill with the new SLR rifle as being on the MT we hadn’t done a lot of Parade ground drill and had only drilled with the old 303 Enfield rifle, and also had to be fitted with a Dress Uniform, then it was drill and rehearsing the parade every day morning and afternoon, I had never done so much drill since doing my basic training at Carlisle, it certainly got me fit.
Humbelton Camp had no drill square so every day we would march to Westwick Camp which was down the road from Humbelton and use the square at Westwick
The purpose of the Battalion moving back to England was the Amalgamation of the regiment with the Kings Own to form the Kings Own Royal Border Regiment, I was still on the MT Section and my truck was a Bedford RL 3 Tonne'
With, as we used to say “Days to Do” I and some of my MT mates got volunteered by the MTO to rehearse for the Amalgamation parade which involved some crash training in rifle drill with the new SLR rifle as being on the MT we hadn’t done a lot of Parade ground drill and had only drilled with the old 303 Enfield rifle, and also had to be fitted with a Dress Uniform, then it was drill and rehearsing the parade every day morning and afternoon, I had never done so much drill since doing my basic training at Carlisle, it certainly got me fit.
Humbelton Camp had no drill square so every day we would march to Westwick Camp which was down the road from Humbelton and use the square at Westwick
