Page 187 - RAPTC Year of 2019

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SHORT STORIES ON BEING A PROBATIONER
Capt (Retd) John Jennings (Ex APTC)
Blackie’s trilby
In our day, the officer in charge of the most prolonged courses, advanced and probation sessions, was Captain Stanley Blacknell, later Lt Col Blacknell MBE. We were to have him as
our officer in charge because he had a good sense of humour. He was a short, rotund man with a vicious streak in him. It was said that when he was a young man when fencing with a Sabre, he could not wait to cut his opponents. Obviously, a good Corpsman.
Then our officers wore mufti, consisting of blazer and flannel trousers. They also wore a brown trilby, presumably to return the salutes of soldiers. The day in question was a rehearsal of an unarmed combat display that our course was to stage sometime in the future. We were practicing in Fox gymnasium and were making our entrances and exits through the double door that led out to Fox green.
As usual Gary Fuller, a Great Britain basketball player and the Army Boxing Association’s heavy weight champion, was the apparent drunken stooge, who ended up getting a good kicking as the finale of the display. Captain Blacknell was sitting on seats under the balcony and being indoors, he had removed his trilby which he placed on a chair behind him.
Our rehearsal went well, and towards the end, Fuller made his entrance with a beer bottle in hand and wearing a brown trilby. We gave Fuller a violent kicking which included special treatment to the trilby. Blackie was delighted with this spectacle and encouraged us to batter Fuller more vigorously. When the rehearsal had finished, we were praised by Blackie, who was really pleased with the assault on Fuller and his Trilby. Fuller said to Blackie I am glad you enjoyed this finale because the trilby is yours.
Readers should be aware that anyone attending a long course at the Army School of Physical Training would commiserate with the massive risk by Gary was taking with his future in pulling such stunts, but he was to go on to pick much riskier exploits in the future using us, his colleagues, as supporting actors.
The Whip
Towards the end of our probationer’s course, we decided to buy Captain Blacknell a present. Between us, we stumped about a fiver for the gift. Things were a little slack towards the end of the term, and we were allowed a certain amount of free time. Fuller, McClure, and Jennings went shopping down to Aldershot Town Centre. Along the way, we decided that a whip would make a suitable present so that Captain Blacknell could use it to good effect on future members of the Probationer courses. It was midday when we arrived at the Saddlery shop in Victoria Road.
The shop covered quite a large area; there was a counter on the right behind which stood two lay assistants’ the back of the shop, there was a door which appeared to lead to an office. Around the walls, there were displays of the many goods that were for sale. As we approached the counter, Fuller, in his usual expansive manner pointed to me and said to the ladies “My small friend here has a problem.” Improvising, I stated that I had recently bought a pony which I kept in a field in North Camp. I went on to say that it had a comfortable, stable and plenty of food, but it would not exercise, could they advise me on what could be done.
Over the next ten to fifteen minutes, the ladies proposed many inducements that I might use to motivate the pony. With each suggestion the girls made, I said we had already tried it to no avail. Eventually, one of the ladies suggested that we might try using a whip. Fuller and I agreed that beating the pony would probably get
the animal moving. At about this time Harry McClure left the shop as he could no longer keep a straight face.
Fuller and I then had a discussion, the gist is to lash the pony to get the thing moving. After listening to our conversation, the ladies were horrified at such potential cruelty and protested vigorously at our suggestions. Just then, a man who appeared to be the manager, entered the doorway of the office door at the rear of the shop?
It looked as if he was the manager going to lunch as he was dressed in a topcoat with a scarf and carrying his trilby hat. He stopped and listened to our conversation, and the ladies suggested that he may be able to solve our problem. Briefly, we went through our previous communication with the women and told him that we had concluded that whipping the animal would produce the required result.
At our proposed solution, the manager explained to us that we should not beat the animal but merely crack the whip behind it. Of course, we declared in admiration for his suggestion, but we could not comprehend the exact method of application. At this, he removed his outdoor clothes and started to demonstrate what he meant. His efforts excited us as we enthusiastically admired his cleverness and knowledge. Despite our encouragement, we still seemed unable to grasp the principles of his method. He then explained that we put a halter on the pony with a short rope attached. One of us should hold the other end of the line while the other person adopted the imagined position in the middle of the shop floor grasping the phantom rope. Fuller was positioned towards the front of the shop, with whip in hand.
Over the next ten to at 15 minutes, we had the manager trotting in circles round the shop playing the role of the pony. I was in the middle of the store turning in circles holding the imaginary rope, with Fuller cracking the whip behind the manager each time he trotted past. After numerous mistakes, we eventually mastered the technique and the manager was delighted we agreed to buy the whip.
I am sure the manager missed most of his lunch break because we must have been in the shop for at least an hour. The whip cost about four pounds.
Fuller and I left the shop with the most serious of expressions on our faces declaring how helpful the staff had been in solving our problem. We retrieved Harry from the pavement outside the shop and made our way back to the ASPT. When we presented Captain Blacknell the end of the term, he was delighted and assured us that he would put it to good use on future courses.
Some seven years later, I was posted to the staff at the ASPT. My wife and I would go shopping in Aldershot town centre where we often met, by then, Lt Col and Mrs Blacknell MBE. On our first meeting, we were introduced, the Colonel said that I had been on the course that presented him with the whip. On a subsequent meetup, Mrs Blacknell took me aside told me how much the Colonel appreciated the whip as a presentation.
On reflection, I am pleased that Harry McClure left the shop when he did otherwise our little game would have been up! I was also glad that Fuller and I were able to keep straight faces until we cleared the shop. Had the manager realised we were fooling him I think the whip would have been laid on our backs and not on the end of the pony.
P.S. There was no pony.