Follow-up

READING Barry Stevens’s story of his problem with firing a Bren gun (Peterborough) reminded me of my time doing National Service, 1956 to 58. The day after we’d been on the firing range to qualify (the Army term for finding out how good you were on the Bren gun and .303 rifle), my troop officer told me not to parade as normal the next day but to draw my rifle from the armoury, as I would be going to the ranges for practice. I asked why, and he said that as I had shot a score of 18 out of 20 on my first shoot and 20 out of 20 on my second, I was now a member of the regimental rifle team and we would be practising shoots that were somewhat different from the qualifying ones. It turned out to be what was, in Army terms, a good number — it meant I got to spend a couple of days a week on the ranges away from the usual barrack duties. I was stationed in Maidstone, Kent, so now and then we went to other camps around the South of England for a few days on shoots. One day after finishing a shoot, my troop officer called me over and said there was an officers versus other ranks competition and the officers were a man short. He told me to give him my beret, and he then handed me his officer’s cap and told me I was now shooting for the officers’ team. After the shoot, which lasted about half an hour, I returned his cap, he gave me back my beret and I was busted back to sapper. I claim — with some justification — that I had the shortest commission ever held in the British Army. However, after 60 years I can’t remember who won; officers or other ranks. The highlight of my rifle team career was competing in the British Army championships at Bisley in Surrey. It was probably the equivalent of playing at Wembley or the centre court at Wimbledon. Graham Lench, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs.