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Where did ANZAC come from and 50 other Frequently Asked Questions |
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ANZAC is made from the initials of the Australian & New Zealand Army Corps.
Australian war historian C.E.W. Bean attributes the acronym ANZAC to a Lieutenant A.T. White, one of General Birdwood’s ‘English clerks’. The first official sanction for its use was at Birdwood’s request to denote where the Corps had established a bridgehead on the Gallipoli Peninsula. However, there is little argument that ANZAC was first used as a simple code in Egypt. A later historical work, Gallipoli, by the English historian Robert Rhodes James states: Two Australian Sergeants, Little and Millington had cut a rubber stamp with the initials ‘A & NZAC’ for the purpose of registering papers at the Corps headquarters, situated in Shepheard’s Hotel, Cairo. When a code name was requested for the Corps, a British officer, a Lt. White, suggested ANZAC. Little later claimed that he made the original suggestion to White. It was in general use by January 1915. Whatever its origin, the acronym ANZAC became famous with the landing of the Corps on the Gallipoli Peninsula at the Dardanelles, on 25 April 1915. It has since become synonymous with the determination and spirit of our armed forces. The acronym survived Gallipoli. I and II ANZAC Corps fought in France and the ANZAC Mounted Division fought in Palestine. The decision to separate the Australian and New Zealand components of the ANZAC Corps was taken on 14 November 1917 when it was announced that the Corps would cease to exist from January 1918. An Australian Corps was then created to absorb the Australian divisions. There was a brief period during World War 2 when ANZAC was resurrected. On 12 April 1941 in Greece, General Blamey declared I Australian Corps to be the ANZAC Corps, much to the delight of its Australian and New Zealand formations. ANZAC was again a reality during the Vietnam conflict where, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, an ANZAC battalion served in Phuoc Tuy Province. These battalions were created by absorbing companies and supporting elements from The Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment into a battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment (RAR). Our 2nd, 4th and 6th Battalions held the distinction of being titled, for example, 2RAR/NZ (ANZAC) Battalion. |
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Frequently asked questions 51 to 100
What is Trench Foot? Trench Foot (Trench Feet) was a highly debilitating condition bought about by having the feet in water for long periods. It caused 12% of the non fatal casualties in the AIF. It was avoided in the early days by rubbing the feet with whale-oil. Other later treatment was to use talcum powder and to air dry the feet daily. It was a lesser problem in WW2 and is reducing almost to the point of non-existence because of Army insistence on hygiene standards in the field, better footwear and a reducing use of fixed trenches. In the 1960s I was required to inspect the feet of my Platoon on a regular basis and if any one got Trench Foot he got a kick up the ask your mother and so did I.
Soldiers sometimes spend weeks, even months, in the field without the chance to wash or shower. Even in peacetime this happens, especially overseas. The longest time I have personally seen is 3 weeks. In hot climates the old skin particles around the crotch and armpits and in the crack of your bum mix with the dirt and sweat to form a foul smelling goo that eventually gets infected and attacks the flesh and turns it "proud", that is red, inflamed and very itchy turning to painful. It is to be avoided at all costs in my opinion. The treatment is worse but of shorter duration. The treatment is an ointment called "Whitfield's Ointment". It contains a fair dose of benzoic acid and when applied to proud flesh or the very tender parts around the crotch, burns with a pain that has to be experienced to be believed. I can assure you that it takes a fair bit of talking to get a Digger to voluntarily rub acid on his knackers. Short, true story. Malaysia 1969. I am a Rifleman/Stretcher Bearer (now called Combat Medic). I had just returned from 14 days in the J with my Platoon. I am looking forward to lots of beer and a girl or two and some proper food. The Boss calls me up to tell me that I have to do an immediate turnaround and go back into the J for another 14 days with another Platoon. I am NOT HAPPY. Guess what. That Platoon has a brand new Duntroon graduate 2Lt on his first trip into the bush in Malaysia. He ran the Platoon ragged, charging up mountainsides (bloody steep in Malaysia) just for the sake of showing that he was "the man". After 4 days I disliked him, after 10 days I hated him and the rest of the Platoon did likewise. Towards the end he came to me with crotch rot. Now normally I would advise a new boy about Whitfield's and tell him to use it sparingly and be ready for the pain but it was PAYBACK TIME. I tossed this bloke a full, new tube of Whitfield's and said "Here, smear this on and don't miss anything". He used nearly the whole tube and applied it to EVERYTHING he had hanging or in the area. When the pain hit him it was a pretty sight. He did not know whether he was punched, bored, drilled or stapled. He was in agony. When we got back to camp he tried to
have me charged. "Can't do, sorry" was the reply he got from
my boss, the Medical Officer, a doctor. "It was the correct ointment
and the dosage was self administered". He now hates me. We are even.
He is a little wiser. The Doc slipped me a slow wink. The jungle, the bush, the
scrub. The land out past where the bitumen ends and the tracks run out. In Asia there are many
rubber plantations. These are much easier to travel through than virgin
jungle but are even more dangerous. In the jungle everyone can be
considered enemy unless it is a native village. A rubber plantation has
many workers who are not enemy....or are they? It is a term from the Viet Nam war that was originally used to describe the look in the eyes of front line soldiers that gave one the impression that they were ever watchful out to the 1,000 yard line (where possible) as that was considered to be the extent of the danger zone. Later for American troops it was
sometimes used, with a different intonation, to describe the vacant expression on the face of
dope-heads just serving out their time . When in the J troops poop into small trench latrines. One cannot totally undress and squatting over a hole in the ground, with your trousers around your ankles, without falling backwards is not easy. You need something to hold onto. As well, because you are living on dehydrated ration pack food with a limited amount of water your stools are small, hard and not easily moved. Constipation is a common problem in these circumstances. It became the practice to either dig
the latrine beside a tree or insert a stick at the front of it so the
Digger would have something to hold onto while he went about his
business. Because completing the bowel motion took some effort this stick
got known as the "grunt stick". What is a grunt, a sparkie, a drop short, a tankie, a ginger beer?
Some medals were created well after the war. Is Grand-dad eligible?
Were those blokes in the 1st AIF really tough or is it just a legend? "In September,
for example, there came to the medical officer of the 9th a youngster
named Gray (of Murgon, Q'land), whom he remembered having seen before.
This was one of two brothers, Queenslanders of the 9th Bn., who during
the voyage from Australia nearly a year before had both become ill with
influenza. They had been so reduced by illness that they were suspected
of being tubercular, and were consequently brought before a medical
board at Mena Camp and ordered to be returned to Australia. Both were so
heartbroken that they wept, and Col. B.J. Newmarch (of Sydney), who
presided over the board, relented, and allowed each of them to be put
temporarily off duty, in order to build themselves up by food and
exercise. They were eventually declared fit, and afterwards sedulously
avoided the doctor, and both landed with their battalion. At the Landing
one brother (Pte. G.R. Gray) had been a member of one of the parties
which penetrated farthest. It was the other who now came to the
regimental doctor saying that he had received a wound at the Landing
and, though he had been to hospital, it was again giving a little
trouble. He had endeavoured to "carry on," but had at last
been forced to see if the doctor could advise a little treatment. The
medical officer found that he had had a compound fracture of the arm,
two bullets through his thigh, another through diaphragm, liver and
side; and that there were adhesions to the liver and pleura. He was
returned at once to Australia, where he was eventually discharged from
hospital and , re-enlisting, returned to the front in the artillery. His
brother eventually became quartermaster of the 9th, in which capacity he
continued to serve until the last year of the war."
(source
: C.E.W. Bean) What was the most valuable thing the AIF blokes had? Leaving aside obvious things like
weapons and food the things that many Diggers treasured most was their
Shoulder Patches (Colour patches). It was a recognisable mark of their
"family". Remember that these blokes were overseas for 4 years
in some cases and the Battalion was all they had. I have heard about a mutiny in the AIF. Did that happen? Yes but it was not called a mutiny as
too many people were involved. It came about near the end of the war.
There were not enough reinforcements coming through to replace casualties
and men sent home on "Anzac Leave". The decision
was made to disband some Battalions and use those men to bring others up
to strength. It was firmly resisted right up to the point of mutiny. For
a full run down on the affair as handled by one Battalion go to Mutiny. Were men made to go to Viet Nam against their will? In most cases No. More than half the troops who served were regulars, i.e. men who had joined up for 3 or 6 years and who did so knowing that overseas service was a possibility. Of the National Service men, while it is true to say that they were in the Army through no choice of their own, many, a great many, took the attitude "Well we are here now and trained so we might as well go do the job". As well Diggers were offered the chance, not once but several times, to indicate that they did not want to go and they would be transferred out. Very few took the opportunity. No one wanted to squib on his mates.
Why didn't the men from Viet Nam have parades when they came home? The belief that has grown up that the returning troops did not get a parade is another urban myth. There were many many parades when whole units (Battalions) returned. However many men were sent home at the end of their 12 months service, mid way through a Battalion's tour and of course it is impossible to arrange a parade for a small number of troops. Most Diggers just wanted to get home, get a cold beer and some civilian clothes and get on with life. It was only later that people started complaining that there had been no fan-fare for them. When a battalion returned it usually marched through the streets of the city it returned to. That was not always a triumphant welcome however. The morons who made up the vocal rat bag section of the opposition to the war were disgusting pigs. When my battalion marched through Sydney at the end of 1968 by the time they had gone 300 metres they had been sprayed with bags of urine, human excreta, pigs blood and gawd knows what else. They were branded baby killers and murderers and worse. The fact that they did not break ranks
and kick some ass in the ass is a tribute to them. Was the Viet Nam War always unpopular? No. That is another urban myth. In the elections of 1966 (our commitment in SVN started in 1962 and became major in 1965) the Liberal Party won a significant victory on a "khaki" vote. They increased their margin of seats from 19 to 40. It
was only in 1968 that the tide really started to turn and that had a lot to do
with the Tet
Offensive. Although it was a military disaster for the
North and the Viet Cong lost tens of thousands of it's best men the fact
that a small band of VC got onto the grounds of the American Embassy
made a major impact in America (on TV) and was the start of the end
of American political interest in pursuing the war. Was WW1 the end for "real" cavalry on horses? Yes with one major exception.
It
is often forgotten that the German Wehrmacht of 1939-45 relied heavily
upon horses. Not only was the majority of Army transport and much of the
artillery dependent on draught horse teams; the Germans also kept a
horse-mounted cavalry division in the field until the end of 1941. After
withdrawing it, they discovered a need to revive and greatly expand
their cavalry units in 1943-45. The Army and Waffen-SS cavalry proved
their worth on the Russian Front, supported by other Axis cavalry
contingents - Romanian, Hungarian, Italian, and locally recruited. Also
of course a lot of the Russian troops were mounted although in many
cases they were irregular cavalry, including Cossacks. Why do you have such little writing on your web pages? Text
size on your screen is YOUR choice. Go to the View button on your task bar.
Choose Text size. You will get 5 choices. Largest, Larger,
Medium, Smaller, Smallest. Choose the one that suits your monitor and
your personal preference. My uncle's Discharge Papers read ARA/NS. What does that mean? ARA stands for Australian Regular
Army. NS stands for National Service. Your Uncle was a 2 year conscript
into the Army under the Selective National Service Scheme of the 1960s,
early 1970s. Can you describe the Kokoda Track? Imagine an area of approximately 100 miles long, crumple and fold this into a series of ridges, each rising higher and higher until 7,000 feet is reached, then declining again to 3,000 feet. Cover this thickly with jungle, short trees and tall trees tangled with great entwining savage vines; then through the oppression of this density cut a little native track two to three feet wide, up the ridges, over the spurs, around gorges and down across swiftly flowing happy mountain streams. Where the track clambers up the mountainsides, cut steps – big steps, little steps, steep steps or clear the soil from the tree roots. Every few miles bring the track through a small patch of sunlit kunai grass, or an old deserted native garden, and every seven or ten miles build a group of dilapidated grass huts as staging shelters, generally set in a foul offensive clearing. Every now and then leave beside the track dumps of discarded putrefying food, and occasional dead bodies. About midday and through the night,
pour water over the forest, so that the steps become broken and a
continual yellow stream flows downwards, and the few level areas become
pools and puddles of putrid mud. In the high ridges about Myola, drip
this water day and night softly over the track through a fetid forest
grotesque with moss and growing phosphorescent fungi. More
info. Is the proper name Kokoda Track or Kokoda Trail? The people that were there used BOTH. I think that arguments about which is more correct are a waste of time.
This is the (mostly American) nick name for the
General Purpose Machine Gun M60 (GPMG M60) of the Viet Nam era. It
is also the nick name for the RAAF's F111 fighter/bomber What does "Rock & Roll" mean? It is an American term for
firing a weapon on full automatic. It also is used in the context of
"Let's rock and roll" meaning "let's go". What is Lock & Load? It is an American tem meaning 'lock'
your magazine into your rifle and 'load' a live round into the chamber.
In other words, get ready to fire your weapon.
Can Officers or NCOs hit Diggers? No. No service person of any
rank is entitled to physically attack any other person, regardless of
rank. (Declared enemy excepted, of course). What happens if a Digger thinks he/she has been mistreated? Any service person can lodge a request
to have a senior officer examine or review any situation where he/she
feels badly done by or mistreated. It used to be called "Redress of
Wrongs". I think it still is. Can women service personnel give orders to men? Gender is totally ignored. Only the
rank matters. So any female (or male) service person can issue legal
military orders to any junior rank, whether that person is male or female.
Do Australian Service personnel have to take orders from other Armies? Not unless the Australian Government
has come to an arrangement to have a combined force, and even then the
Australian Military Law prevails in any situation involving Australians.
There will be no more Breaker Morant style episodes. Do Australian service personnel have to obey civilian laws? Yes........ and they also have to obey
military laws. Do Australian service personnel work set hours? Quite often , YES, but also they
are "on call" 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. What are "Rules of Engagement"? It refers to the rules under which
Australian troops can fire their weapons in a combat zone. As a general
guide it is OK for them to return fire if attacked. Otherwise there are
strict rules and guidelines that have to be met before it is legal to
fire weapons. They vary depending on the circumstances and I make no
attempt to record all the variables here. What is the story about the Burma Star and the Pacific Star? Many men, usually RAN,
were eligible for both but the ruling is that only the first earned
(usually Burma) is worn with a clasp (bar) indicating the other. This is
also true of some other "linked" medals. More
info . Is Australia the only country with an ANZAC Commemorative Medal? No. Britain also has a commemorative
medal for Gallipoli. It's called The Gallipoli Star. I believe that it
is un-official where as the Anzac Medallion from Australia is an
official award.
Where is all the history of East Timor and Afghanistan? Those two conflicts are still a little
too close to the front page of the daily newspapers for a history site.
I look forward to the day when I can add some non-sensitive information.
If you have some, send it to me. Do Viet Nam Veterans whinge more than soldiers from other wars? They certainly are more vocal. I do not call it whinging. Remember that all of society is now more likely to talk about their problems. That is considered a good thing. Vets from the first war that Aussie troops were sent to where we were not allowed to win, the longest and most controversial war ever in our history, have many genuine concerns. Some are adequately addressed. Some are not. My personal opinion is this. When WW1, WW2 troops came home they were a very large and vibrant part of the community that welcomed them as 'men of honour'. When Diggers came home from Malaya and Korea there were still many people at all levels of Government and society who had an understanding of the matter. When the Diggers came home from Viet Nam the country appeared not to care or notice. Everyone was into "the swinging 60s" or the "70s" and what did a few blokes from a "stupid" war matter anyway? Now when those blokes approach Government Departments they are talking to young women (mostly) who were born AFTER the war was over. How in Hades name can they be asked to understand or comprehend? I do not know how long it is since we have had a Minister for Veterans Affairs that has ever pulled on a pair of combat boots but it is a long time.
I have read King Rat and seen The Bridge on the River Kwai. Are they true? No. Both are great stories. Both are
almost totally untrue. For details read Tourist
Traps How did soldiers get their numbers in WW1? The following extract regarding the numbering system used during World War 1 may interest you:
Some information supplied by the AWM How did the numbering system work in WW2 ? Navy. Officers had no number. Lower deck-men were given a prefix by Port of Enlistment followed by a number.
Air Force. Air Force Officers and Airmen were given numbers without a prefix. So were WAAF officers and other ranks The numbering system used by the Royal Australian Air Force was identical for Officers and other ranks. Blocks of numbers were allocated to each State. Air Crews were identified with serial numbers between 400001 and 459999 which were retained in the post war period. As more numbers were issued than were necessary, a great deal were never used. The women personnel (WAAAF) Officers and other ranks were issued separate numbers, unlike their male counterparts. Victoria 1-5999; 7300-7599; 8001-9465; 10001-12000; 12444-14000; 18001-20000; 40001-43000; 49001-60000; 116501-121500; 125001-130000; 142001-150000; 156000-160999; 173000-173999; 185000-186999; 205001-207000; 250000-259999 (also Tasmania); 300000 Reserve all States; 400001-401999 (Air Crew); 408501-410999 (Air Crew); 418000-419999 (Air Crew); 428250-428669 (Air Crew); 430001-432000 (Air Crew) New South Wales 6000-6999; 7600-7899; 12001-12443; 14001-16000; 20001-22000; 32001-38000; 60001-75000; 130001-140000; 161000-169999; 188000-188999; 207000-210000; 260000-269999; 402000-403999 (Air Crew); 411000-413999 (Air Crew); 420000-424999 (Air Crew); 428670-429299 (Air Crew); 432001-434000 (Air Crew) Queensland 9500-9749; 22001-26000; 43001-45000; 75001-80000; 123001-125000; 150001-152000; 170000-172999; 187000-187999; 270000-279999; 404000-405999 (Air Crew); 414000-414999 (Air Crew); 425000-426999 (Air Crew); 429300-429619 (Air Crew); 434001-436000 (Air Crew) South Australia 26001~29000; 39001-40000; 47001-49000; 115001-116500; 121501-123000; 140001-142000; 152001-155999; 280000-289999; 407000-407999 (Air Crew); 416000-417999 (Air Crew); 429801-430000 (Air Crew); 437001-438000 (Air Crew) Western Australia 7000-7271; 9750-10000; 16001-18000; 29001-30000; 38001-39000; 45001-47000; 80001-88000; 21001-249999; 290000-299999; 406000-406999 (Air Crew); 415000-415999 (Air Crew); 427000-427999 (Air Crew); 429620-A29800 (Air Crew); 436001-437000 (Air Crew) Tasmania 30001-32000; 88001-89999; 408000-408500 (Air Crew); 428000-428249 (Air Crew); 438001-438250 (Air Crew) WAAF Officers 350000-354099. Other Ranks 90000-184061 All States Details from Medals to Australia R D Williams ISBN 0 7316 8175 4 (3rd edition)
Was the Army numbering system still the same for Malaya, Korea, Viet Nam? No. The system changed with the introduction of the Australian Regular Army (ARA). With that the first number indicated the State of Enlistment. As Queensland is the First Military District any soldier who enlists in Qld would have his Regimental Number start with the number 1. (The second number, if a 7, indicates a National Serviceman from the Selective National Service Scheme of the 1960s).
What was Anzac Leave? Did it have anything to do with Gallipoli? No direct relationship
with Gallipoli but an indirect one. In 1918 the Anzacs who had joined in
1914 and 1915 had been overseas for over 3 years and in the thick of
the worst of the fighting for most of that time. The Australian
Government insisted that the longest serving of the soldiers be give
'Home Leave" in Australia. It got named Anzac Leave.
It is the left hand side of the
vessel if you are facing forwards (an easy way to remember that port is
left it that they have the same number of letters. Starboard and right
have different numbers). Why isn't there more info about my unit? Probably because you haven't sent it
to me........yet. Can Aussies wear medals from other countries? For this answer we have to leave Britain out as for many years Australia took part in the Imperial Honours Scheme for awards. That aside, NO, not without specific approval of the Australian Government. It is difficult to obtain. Men who were awarded medals by the Government of South Viet Nam in the 1960s were only granted approval to wear them 30 years later. The heroes of Long Tan were going to be awarded medals by the SVN Govt and the Australian Govt stopped it. They were given dolls instead. Men who were recommended for Australian awards for service at Long Tan were denied them so that senior officers would not miss out under the strict quota system that was in place. It seems that awards from major Allies like the US are more easily approved than minor Allies like SVN, particularly if the feeling is that the intending donor country tends to overdo things a bit. There is a fair degree of jealousy in the ranks of professional soldiers when it comes to awards. They can help a career enormously. It is reported that Howse VC stopped the award of the VC to Simpson of "Man with the donkey" fame and supposedly said that no medical person would get the VC in his lifetime. Howse was Australia's first VC and was a medical man. Of course the rules only apply to
serving personnel while
in uniform. In civilian clothing, particularly after discharge, nearly anything goes but many military
men choose not to wear awards unless they are approved. What does a white feather mean? During WW1 there was huge community support for the war. Men who did not volunteer for Active Service were considered to be cowards. Many of course were not. Some were involved in important, even vital, work in keeping the troops fed and supplied. Naturally the whole country could not be run by boys, old men and women so some able bodied men had to stay at home. Those with a job that was of importance to the war effort were issued badges indicating that they were not shirking their responsibilities. So were men considered not medically acceptable. Even soldiers who came home on leave after 3 plus years of fighting found it necessary, when in public, to wear a badge indicating service. The women who were most vocal and
bitter about men they judged to be "shirkers" got into the
habit of posting a white feather to them. It was to indicate a charge of
cowardice. It was less common in WW2 but there were still some zealots
around. My father, who was decorated for bravery in WW1 and who
re-enlisted in WW2, aged 45, only to be told "No, we need you here to do
important work at the hospital", was sent a white feather in 1943.
Details
of the white feather. More details about the badges at Civilian Badges Pages 1, 2 and 3. Why do you use emotive names like Jap and NAZI? There are 2 answers to this. (1) In some cases the word Jap will fit on a heading where Japanese will not. In the same way sometimes I use OZ instead of Australia. (2) This is a
historical report. The Japanese military were called Japs. The fact that
I report what happened does not indicate that I am promoting racial
hatred. In 1941/45 they were "Japs". When I report the events
of 1941/45 I refuse to do so with any new found sensitivity that
requires a spade to be called a digging instrument. Political
correctness does not rule here. As for the term NAZI, anytime that
anyone can show that WW2 was not started and prolonged by the NAZI
Party, with the resultant loss of
40 MILLION lives, well, then I
will call them something else. Is the VC harder or easier to win now? Much harder. In the early days it was
the ONLY medal that could be awarded to ALL Ranks. Therefore it tended
to be awarded much more frequently. Now that there is a large range of
awards to choose from to recognise above average gallantry or service
the VC has become an Icon, only to be awarded under the strictest
controls. Example; at Rorke's Drift 11 individual VCs were awarded for 1
days fighting. During the years 1965 to 1972, with 3 Battalions in the
field NOT ONE VC was awarded to an Australian except to the members of
AATTV. If no VC was earned at Long Tan then the late WO2 Jack Kirby wasn't there.
Details Have community standards changed about acceptable military behaviour? Yes. And markedly so. These days we seem to have got the idea that war is some sort of gentlemen's game where one must put some misguided idea of "fair play" in front of survival.
Another matter that does not get
spoken about is the matter of "murder". No one ever condoned
murder. It has always been illegal in the military even of enemy
soldiers. If they surrender and you kill them, that is
"murder". So, what is the meaning of the often given order
"Take no prisoners"? Breaker Morant and several other Officers
were charged with murdering POWs. The order "Take no
prisoners" had been given. You work it out. I can't, and neither
could Morant when he stood in front of a firing squad, convicted of
"murder". Is the method of awarding medals fair? No. It never has been, never will be and CANNOT be. Awards can only be given to a relative few. Many acts of extreme bravery go unreported and sometimes unseen. Different Officers have differing views on what constitutes "bravery". It is a matter of record that some senior WW1 officers considered that in their battalion "uncommon bravery is expected" and refused to process paperwork recommending awards. Sometimes it is a matter of luck that a piece of work attracts attention. On other occasions senior officers
have been accused of trying to "cook the books" to make their
unit look good by recommending many persons for awards. For these and a dozen other reasons most recipients of
awards recognise, both publicly and privately, that they are representatives
of the many. It is a cane, timber or leather covered stick carried by Company Sergeant Majors and some Commissioned Officers.
They probably had their genesis in a riding crop with the
mounted units in the British Army. Details.
How does the military discipline system work? This is a huge subject but here is a
quick overview. There is the Military Law that every service person is
ruled by. There are Standing Orders and Routine Orders that are in place
for a particular unit and that govern the day to day running of the
unit's activities. Then there are issued orders. All the above must be
obeyed. Failure to obey brings a penalty. The most common is a ticking
off by the NCO and the implied threat that if the situation is not
rectified worse will follow. Worse might be extra duties, cleaning the
latrines when it's not your turn or some other similar matter. These are
handled on a case by case basis and are not recorded in any way. A more
serious breach will see a soldier "charged". In some serious
but minor cases he will be brought in front of the Officer Commanding
his Company who can impose penalties of up to 14 days "Confined to
Barracks" and or a fine. More serious cases will go to the
Commanding Officer of the Battalion who can impose penalties of up to 28
days "Confined to Barracks" and or a bigger fine. Very serious
cases will go to a Court Martial which can jail and or discharge a
soldier. What does "Confined to Barracks" (CB) mean? It is a military punishment (see above). It is a lot more than just being allowed to swan around the barracks doing nothing. On the hour, every hour from 0600 (6am) until 2200 (10pm) you have to report to the RSM in full kit. Usually he will use you to help train young NCOs or junior Officers on parade ground drill. By that I mean the soldier/s on CB will be the squad given orders by the trainee. It is hot, tiring and boring. It is to be avoided if at all possible. In WW1 the varying types of field punishment were No1 and No 2. 1 was the more serious. No 1 involved being attached to a fixed object that was in sight of the enemy. No 2 involved extra duties, loss of pay and sometimes loss of any temporary rank you held. The Colours are a Units sacred Battle Flags. Read all about them on the pages that start at Q&R Colours.
Copyright © 2003 Ted Harris. All rights
reserved as per Legal page. |
for
photo of rubber.
(AWM).
"Kokoda Trail" and "Kokoda Track" have been used
interchangeably since the Second World War and the former was adopted by
the Battles Nomenclature Committee as the official British Commonwealth
battle honour in October 1957.
