RA White Lanyard

"Oh....So its Gold not Yellow"

Only for officers, us lowly other ranks have to make do with yellow

 

Adam

And there was I thinking the British Army was known for it's thick-skinned banter?

Just one memory from the CWGC cemetery at Cassino

Ron

 

Von Poop

Which has precisely nothing to do with a bit of inter-regimental/corps banter.

Agreed, but which has everything to do with refuting remarks made my others, that reflect on the fallen who are no longer here to defend themselves.

Old Git on a high horse in Cockfosters

 

Drop Shorts is a term applied to the RA alluding to them (very rarely) dropping rounds short of the target and on to their own infantry. Not a term used by any infantryman who has had an enemy attack broken up by artillery fire placed just yards in front of his position (and the gunners own OP party).

As to us Gunners sensitivity, there is a good reason. In all my service I have never heard anyone joke about an Infantry Btn abandoning their Colours on the field of battle. It is the ultimate disgrace and the infantry, in the days when the Colours were carried into battle, would go to great lengths to prevent them falling into enemy hands.

What a lot of people fail to realise is that the guns are the Royal Artillery's Colours. We treat them with the same reverence that the infantry give to theirs. To abandon their guns is a Gunners greatest disgrace and all efforts are made to preserve them and if that is not possible, to destroy them.

Call us Drop Shorts or Long Range Snipers or any other name you care to come up with and we will (usually) take it in good part but please do not accuse us of abandoning our Colours as that is not a joking matter.

 

What a lot of people fail to realise is that the guns are the Royal Artillery's Colours. We treat them with the same reverence that the infantry give to theirs. To abandon their guns is a Gunners greatest disgrace and all efforts are made to preserve them and if that is not possible, to destroy them.

Call us Drop Shorts or Long Range Snipers or any other name you care to come up with and we will (usually) take it in good part but please do not accuse us of abandoning our Colours as that is not a joking matter.[/

QUOTE]

Exactly!
Well said Derek.

Too call gunners cowards, is not banter or taking the p--s to be taken with a good heart!
Their guns were their guns, they (usually) had no small arms with which to defend themselves either.
Rob

 

Well I must say this is the first time I have ever encountered such seriousness to Regimental P*** taking and of course of which I will respect.

I can recall many a remark thrown my way on operations regarding our communication capabilities which was normally vollied back with something like F*** off Machine Gun fodder, That's not what your 'Pad Wife' said back at the garrison before we came out here or you're not intelligent enough to be in the Signals. Which was normally greeted with a barrage of compo rations or foul language.

Only once did I see someone throw a round up the breech and knock the safety off

 

dbf
"I do not believe that this is a genuine slur on the RA's reputation, rather someone relating what they had heard. No more than that."

I agree and my previous post was merely an attempt to point out why us Gunners are so touchy about the subject.

The reasons for us shelling our own side usually falls into one of two categories or a combination of both. Guns, because of the various things that can affect their fall of shot, have a zone of probability. This is an elipse along the line of fire into which most rounds will fall. For this reason fire is not normally brought down close to our own troops but sometimes it is necessary and some rounds can land short.

Also, the flight of the shell is affected by weather conditions. These are included in the firing data calculations but before the advent of computerised prediction the Met Messages were only updated every 4 hours at best. Sudden changes in the weather could cause a significant change in the fall of shot.

The other factor is of course human error and all though every effort to achieve accuracy at the gun end was carried out, the final result was dependant on someones map reading skills. The real problem comes with predicted fire when no ranging shots are fired. A poor grid reference or troops moving forward to an area they weren't supposed to be in did sometimes result in the full weight of an artillery shoot landing on our own troops.

One thing comes through on all the accounts I have read on the RA in WW2 and that is the gunners determination to always be able to bring down fire in support of "their" infantry and their amazement at the respect given by the infantry to a group of people who didn't have to march everywhere and who could engage the enemy from a position of relative safety.

 

Gents, calm down please! I must admit that i am very surprised by the reaction to my post (especially from ex-soldiers). I was only relating what was regularly told at that time and it was in no way my own opinion or from any official source, i just thought it might interest others to know what is being said elsewhere.

I served in two regiments for 12 years and i can assure you that comments/stories/untruths like this were 'ten a penny', some more believeable than others - part and parcel of the dark humour of military life, so i'm surprised at some of your responses. I could post a lot worse believe me! Where i come from we had a ready supply of suitable replies to hand and just laughed it off. Unless it was personal or particularly vindictive nobody took it seriously.

And just to settle something else, i too have lost friends i served with, but i do not for one second consider any 'inter-regimental' banter a slur on their personal reputations- so the emotional blackmail won't work with with me.

And finally as somebody has already highlighted, my Grandfather served with the RA throughout ww2 in N Africa and Italy and i'm extremely proud of what he did - but i tell you something - it still wouldn't stop me taking the p**s if he was still here now!

 

If you want to hear inter-regimental rivalry, you should have heard by father and grandfather going at it when they were both still alive. One in the Gloucestershire Regiment (foot sloggers) in WW1 and the other in the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars (donkey wallopers) in WW2. You can imagine it, I'm sure!

Grandfather would go on about muck 'n bullets on the Somme and my father about heat and flies in the desert. Both of them thoroughly enjoyed the banter and, having shared a common (if not identical) experience, no doubt had a deep respect for each other's service beneath it all. Great fun to witness as a kid!

 

Hi all


Quick question:
The white lanyard worn by ORs for walking out during ww2, would that have been the 'plain' type or the fancy braided variety??

cheers Belly


Back to topic, i think the answer is both.
I have a picture of my grandfather (RA HAA) taken in 1940 and he is wearing the old single cord double wrapped around the shoulder. Then later pictures show the braided type.
Interestingly the early photo has him in '22 pattern SD where as the later photo with braided lanyard is in '37 pattern BD.

 

Heres My Dad Circa 1939 Gunner Pollitt J.E. looking smart in his service Dress with Lanyard [colour unknown]
would there be different colours denoting different Batteries ? or would it have been Khaki ?

 

Whilst watching yesterday's Royal Wedding I thought to myself now THATS a lanyard !!!!!

and that's Prince Harry sporting it.

Ron

 

I think that's the Lift Attendant Class I lanyard.

 

Hi.
When I was doing my signals training at Kinmel Park 1949, we were told that during an German bombardment during the 14/18 war, a field battery was almost anhialated and the few gunners that were left were retreating. The RAMC were also in the retreat and picked up the guns with their lorries. At this time we were told that the RA had two lanyards and the left shoulder lanyard was presented to the RAMC as a token of respect. Is there any truth in this story.

Ken

 

For what's it's worth can I suggest that the gold/yellow stripe might simply be because it looks better.

When I served my lanyard was a rather nice yellow and green job based on our founding colonels' racing colours and our belt had a yellow stripe as a result.

 

The Prince Harry's lanyard is standard for Officers full dress in the Household mob - BUT - his batman should be fired for allowing him on this kind of parade with hair uncut and uncombed - makes him look like a New York Hotel Doorkeeper or as Peter G suggests an Elevator operator from Browns Hotel Chicago...
Cheers