That’s all, folks!
by David Syme
David is pictured (left) when Commandant of CLS in 1985 with Mike Byrnes, US Army Liaison Officer (centre) and Mick Roberts (right), Chief Instructor.
On my 68th Birthday I will resign my Commission as Major in The Adjutant General’s Corps (Education and Training Support) (Volunteer) Pool of Linguists. The Ministry of Defence has decided that it cannot afford the luxury of officers and men whose military duties do not contribute to the downfall of the Taliban.
I first wore military uniform in 1962, when I joined Aberdeen University Officers’ Training Corps. Recruitment into the OTC was bullish, if only because the pubs in Aberdeen in those days closed every evening at 2130hrs (Yes they did!) while the Officer Cadets’ bar was known in student circles to close much later, if at all. The uniform was that of the Gordon Highlanders, kilt and all, and I wore it for 3 years. We had 3 annual camps; to Leek in Staffordshire, to Benbecula and to Black Dog Ranges, 4 miles north of Aberdeen. The last should have been to some exotic garrison in Germany, but an outbreak of typhoid in Aberdeen kept us to our local area.
When Pat and I returned to Aberdeen in 1971 we struggled to furnish our house and pay the mortgage, and so in 1972 I supplemented my teacher’s salary by joining 15 Parachute Regiment (TA) as a soldier. This made me physically fit and brought in some welcome cash. I enjoyed the camaraderie of the TA more than the day job of teaching French to pupils who (like myself) questioned the relevance of the language to them. I went to the Army Careers Office and asked about a Regular career. They explained that at 31 I was too old for a Regular Commission, but the Royal Army Educational Corps might consider me for a 16year Special Regular Commission, rank up to Major. I was sent to Bridge of Don Barracks, just outside Aberdeen, and made welcome by the RAEC officers there. As I met officers in the Education Centre, the word of introduction: “David is thinking of joining us” gave me a thrill and the push I needed to sign the application!
Fourteen years came and went, and I was granted a final home posting to Edinburgh. While working in Redford Barracks there I was offered a 2-year extension, and I specifically asked if I could be employed using language skills, but not in the classroom. My posting was to Joint Arms Control Implementation Group, at RAF Scampton. I left before completing my 2 years as I had successfully bid for a civilian post in a school in Edinburgh.
My military background had some bearing on my appointment. “Ah, David! Eighteen years in the Army? Could you run the school fullbore and smallbore shooting teams?” Keen for the job, I said I could, but pointed out that my RAEC background was more education centre than shooting range…. “Splendid, David! Perhaps you could also run our school library, then?” Once established in post I managed to pass the shooting sideways, and made sure I was never stitched up again.
I did wear uniform as Lieutenant (Acting Captain) in the school Cadet Force. There was Wednesday afternoon training, an occasional range day, and an annual Easter and summer camp. Easter camps were always hill-walking in remote and beautiful parts of Scotland. I was lucky to be one of a group of half a dozen CCF officers and masters who love hill-walking, and our Easter week became for all of us a highlight of the year. Summer camps were usually centralised and always well-organised by Cadet Training Teams. Cultiebraggan Training Camp in Perthshire became a favourite start to the long summer holiday. Every second year the CCF offered an expedition, and I trekked with cadets in California, Alberta and Kenya. I retained my involvement with the CCF long after I had left the teaching post.
After 7 happy years of teaching in the same school I became restless. Military life accustoms one to change, and I needed a change. I resigned from the school and applied to join the Adjutant General’s Corps Territorial Army Pool of Linguists. I was accepted, and immediately volunteered for a year’s fulltime service. This involved 4 months of Serbo-Croat language training and a 6 month tour of duty in Bosnia. On my return I found that my military language skills were in demand. I escorted foreign delegations round UK, taught and interpreted, and assisted on NATO courses in former Soviet bloc and neutral countries. In the “noughties” my TEFL training and experience became my most useful military asset! I also contributed as Service Colleague for Language oral exams on many occasions.
As the years passed I started to wonder how long I could continue in uniform, and whether or not I should keep asking for a 12-month extension. Pat summed up the situation: “Your reports are good, you are enjoying it, so why give it up?” So I applied for an extension in a one-line letter every January. Last year there was some debate, but it was granted, but this year my bid is unsuccessful, so it is time to draw the line on my lengthy if undistinguished career in uniform.
To sum up: 3 years as an officer cadet, 2 years as a paratrooper, eighteen years as a Regular officer, 10 years as a Cadet Force officer and (some concurrent with the CCF commitment) 13 years as a TA officer.
I will hand in my uniform this summer feeling that I’ve had a good run for my money. I have been grateful for the comradeship which attracted me to the khaki in 1973 and which I experienced in every military environment. However, soldiering is a young man’s game, and I recognise that I am fraying at the edges. If I needed persuading that I am past it from a military point of view, I should only remind myself that I have started wearing socks in bed – only in winter, of course, but….. socks in bed? A soldier?
