8th Royal Scots. Inspection By King George VI. May 1940.

good day joe brown,april 26,2013.11:02am.re:8th.royal scots inspection by king George vi may 1940.a great photo,an honor indeed.as for the bayonet,the one corporal jones liked.(dads army) I would not like it stuck in me,thanks for another informative post.bernard85

Bernard.

Thank you for your interesting and kind comments. The King is talking to my first Company Sergeant Major of the TA Company I joined in the Spring of 1939. I was on parade in that Company, somewhere in the ranks and overawed by the presence of The King. The CSM was a real terror and strict disciplinarian and could make us all tremble with nervousness as he barked out his orders when we were young territorial soldiers. He remained our CSM when we were mobilised, and early on in the War gave me a fatigue duty to be the compere at a Battalion Concert - no volunteers asked for!

At the end of the War when he had a few months still to serve, I had arranged for the regular soldiers to be transferred from the 8RS to the 7/9RS where I was the Adjutant. When he reported to me to be assigned his duties in the Battalion I surprised him by asking him to be the Warrant Officer in charge of the Battalion Orderly Room. I was pleased to see he was just as much aghast as I was when he told me I was to be a Compere! However, he took on the job with great efficiency which was to check everything that came forward for the signature of the Commanding Officer or myself.

He was always a most loyal supporter, I think taking pride that I was a young man he had trained to be a soldier as well as a Royal Scot!

Yes, I liked the old-style bayonet. Many a time I charged up and down with fixed bayonets thrusting the long bayonet into sacks, feeling it was much like I was thrusting a sword.

Warm regards to you Bernard.

Joe

good day joe brown,sm,aug 7,2013,06:38pm.thank you for your informative reply,i find your history most interesting.keep posting,stay well regards bernard85