53 years ago today!

I woke up this morning and realized, with a start, that it was 53 years ago today I had signed up at Bristol Naval recruiting office for my 9 years in the the Royal Marines and was given a train ticket to the Royal Marine Depot at Deal in Kent and my life changed forever.

This is were (then) all Royal Marines training started and where we were issued with our our basic kit. Those first weeks seemed like a mad whirl of uniform fittings, medicals, injections, drill and even some weapon training!

Part of out kit included this little roll of cloth above called a "housewife" . It contained needles and thread and bits and pieces with which we were expected to maintain our equipment. In the evening we were given instruction on how to sow buttons on, by first cutting one off our shirt and how to repair tares. We were also taught how to darn socks by cutting holes in our newly issues ones. The lessons also included how to do our dhoby and iron our clothes and even how to shower properly, with a practical demonstration by one of the training staff.

Life was lived at the double with so many changes of rigs every day you never had time to stop and wonder what the hell we were all doing! All this basic training was to be the stepping stones on which the ethos of the Corps was built and quiet often in the future we were told by other regiments that you could always tell when the Marines had arrived by the washing going out!