Wills. Can only ever remember adjusting the points never the spring! These two videos are superb teaching aids, beautifully structured to produce good telegraphists. Thanks Wills. Too late for me to undo all my bad habits and start afresh! Goodnight. Joe
Joe. One ERE posting, with my wife would of a weekend wander down to the local. Pete would play the guitar to entertain the locals. Pete was an ex RAF signals type, he did tell me that after doing 30 and plenty years - he would tell that taking up the guitar was a similar discipline to the Morse key . What struck me was that according to him he could tell if it was someone he knew was sending - 'we all had techniques that you could read like a signature'. Yours Aye
Wills. It is true, as many lads in the Sigs Platoon said they could tell who was sending! I never did much morse after I was promoted to Signals Corporal so did not have sufficient experience of morse reception to be able claim sensitivity to the style or rhthym of others! When I became a Signals Officer, I would have a go sending just to 'show off' . . . avoiding trying to read incoming morse as I suspecting they would obviously pitch the speed beyond my ability. Warm regards, Joe.
1977 the battalion was due for an another tour of Northern Ireland and after a break desert training in the Sudan. The sigs types had us all learning morse to overcome voice distortion problems in the Sudan. It drove many of us mad, ring a department and instead of 'Sgt Jock McTavish Right Flank Sir' the standard reply. - you would hear dit dah etc you were expected to use the key next the phone and reply - OK if you were employed as a signaler! Shaved heads and all the jabs - a few weeks before the off, we were paraded by the CO, I got you here today to tell you that the Major General asked for a London garrison battalion to do an emergency tour NI - and I knew you would.......a lone voice was heard - you silly *&^%^%$! All the training kits handed in and off we went to NI on a four month tour which lasted six months - a promise of a battle run at Suffield Alberta - we actually made it to Canada!
Wills. Different Army ploys I experienced were turning night into day. You slept during the day and got up in the late evening to have breakfast and do your normal duties during the night! Another was that every Tuesday and every Thursday from first light to darkness you had to run the moment you step out of the Nissen Hut and had to double up to wherever you were going . . . Even the latrines! Joe
Beach Landing with Signals organization 1943: COMBINED OPERATIONS: BEACH ORGANISATION [Main] | Imperial War Museums
Hi Joe The WS1 was a portable transmitter/receiver, developed in 1933. It was used short range Infantry Brigade, Division and RA Regiment communication, with a Frequency range 4.2-6.6MHz. MO control. RF output 0.5W. R/T and CW. Range up to 5 miles. Principle Transceiver Wave bands Short Wave (SW only) Details Power type and voltage Batteries (storage and/or dry) / 240 / 6 Volt Loudspeaker - For headphones or amp. Power out Model: Wireless Set No.1 Material Metal case Shape Boatanchor (heavy military or commercial set). Dimensions (WHD) 20 x 12 x 8.5 inch / 508 x 305 x 216 mm Notes Wireless set No. 1: Short range transceiver covering 4,2 - 6,66 MHz, AM (A3), CW (A1), pout0,5 Watt; powered by 6 V heaters 16 Ah accumulator and 240 V HT dry battery, vertical rod antenna; used by British Army (short range infantry brigade / battalion / artillery regiment); successor of the 1928 designed "A" Mk III set developed by SEE, produced later by STC (Standard Telephones & Cables) and Ferranti Ltd., around 1800 sets made. Net weight (2.2 lb = 1 kg) 45 lb (45 lb 0 oz) / 20.430 kg I do not have the set myself or seen one before. A hand microphone and headphones are part of the Remote control unit, 2 per set Both the Set and the Remote control units appear to be rare. Thanks for the information on the signals Stationary I will take some photos of what I have. Yes you are right about the crossed flags this man appears not to have been an instructor, not sure why he was was only signals qualified. I have a copy of war time photo of this same unit and rank in this configuration with the flags below the stripes. Joe if you were closer I would bring a couple of my D111s over to see you working them. Thanks WhiskeyGolf good to see more kiwis on here. Will thanks for all of the documents you have put up for us and the link to the morse training very interesting. Not WW2 but thought I would share a couple of signals illustrations by me.
Army Wireless Sets Image Directory Working Instructions No19 Set MK1 and MK II http://www.vmarsmanuals.co.uk/archive/763_EMER_F252_WS19_General_Description.pdf------E.M.E.R http://www.vmarsmanuals.co.uk/archive/3817_WS19Mk1-Mk2_Working_Instructions_Pt1.pdf http://www.vmarsmanuals.co.uk/archive/3818_WS19Mk1-Mk2_Working_Instructions_Pt2.pdf http://www.vmarsmanuals.co.uk/archive/3836_WS19_Cdn_Supply_Unit_No2_Instructions.pdf Supply Unit http://www.vmarsmanuals.co.uk/archive/799_EMER_FZ251-3_WS19_Cdn_Mk3_Operating_Instructions.pdf MK III (Canadian)
Thanks Wills for the links.. Three items that came together on the No 19 set and course notes Here is an example of the NZ made C.2128 1942 dated pad. Did the british made examples differ in information or were they the same? Does anyone have a WW2 envelope that these were sent in? I only have WW1 examples and want to no what I should look for in a WW2 example.
A 1940 dated Field message book, I found one message on the blue copy paper to do with transporting vehicles at Madi camp, also in the back was this card with Arabic and English translation if lost and useful words Second picture is "A" "B" "C" Message and signals forms One page from a Signal Register for Outgoing Messages Two C. 398 envelopes These are all WW1 items in the Second photograph, Did the Envelopes change in WW?
Jonathan. You have a tremedous collection of signals stationery, a lot I have never come across or used. Amazed you can still find these items and impressed you have been so successful in finding them. We only used four pieces of stationery: Signals Office Register, Signal Forms such as you have displayed, DR Dockets, Orderly Receipt Books and we required wireless terminals to draw up a form and keep a record of radio traffic and incidents. Graphic picture of the signal terminal. In reality it is a bit clutttered up and if I was Signals Officer I would have the decks cleared! Warm regards from an icy cold morning in Worcestershire. Joe
Hi Joe Good to hear from you ,thanks yes I have found a bit over time some really nice items. I like the signals forms and so on, I even have some early examples marked Army Telegraphs and signals army form C2121 (ii) these must be quite early. I will add more interesting bits of kit.... Thanks for the feedback on the graphic picture, yes you are right it is all a bit precarious looking it could all topple down into a nightmare. The problem was I was squeezing everything into a small space, how would you set it up? what was the procedure in a small location you had just moved into to set up. did you find anything that would work as a bench and chair? Best regards Jonathan
Jonathan. Generally the rifle company terminal would be in a slit trench with ledges dug to provide a shelf-table. Overhead cover as best as could be improvised, depending on how long it was anticipated we would have to be in that location. The Signals Office would be sited close to the Battalion HQ Command Post; usually in a cellar or ground floor of a building or outhouse such as a barn. If dug-in, we would need a largish trench area excavated in the side of a reverse hill slope or in sunken area on the edge of a wood or in a small copse of trees. The Pioneer Platoon would help with the heavy part of any excavation. We would use panniers and ammunition boxes as work benches or seating but scrounge around to find odd pieces of furniture to be brought into used. Good sized benches for a telephone exchange which would need overhead cover; and for telephone terminals for message taking and sending, including Fullerphones. No room for clutter; all unnecessary kit stored in panniers. The Control WS may have to be separately sited for good reception/transmission but always as near as possibe to the Signals Office as the Bn Commander may have to be called to the WS but best to have the WS in the Signals Office. This would also apply to the Brigade WS19: dug in near to the Command Post with a telephone line linking them to the Signals Office. Of course, wireless silence may be in operation and all WS would be on listening watch. Our job was to serve the Battalion Commander with a network of communication, so we were an integral part of his Tactical Headquarters with a wireless set or line connection and provide at his Battalion Headquarters a fully deployed Signals Office able to co-ordinate all his communication links. It was a great job, a vital one and signallers had to be ready to be riflemen when the situation demanded. Joe Brown.
Hi Joe A wet but warm day here in Auckland Thanks again for the detail and Information you shared, It will be useful in the future for reference for signals. A question about uniforms and equipment, was the use of Blanco on webbing widespread, did you all do it or just Certain Regiments corps? in the field. I heard it was good for water proofing? or for camouflage. or was it more just to keep the webbing a uniform colour? Did different Regiments have different shades. Were you wearing battle dress uniforms in the water logged areas you talk about, did you have special wet weather gear? Also did you cam your helmets up like on some staged film footage I saw some where in the forum. You say you were in charge of snipers at one stage, did the wear ghillie suits? or did they use other camouflage? As an officer did you just have a side arm or did you carry something else? Did you wear all of the officers 37 pattern webbing in the field, Holster ammo pouch, compass pouch, officer Satchel braces water bottle and cover or did you make up your own sets in the field? if so what did you prefer to wear as a set? Also were officers boots hob nailed, like other ranks boots in the field? Sorry for so many questions, just a subject ,I have thought about. Best Regards Jonathan
Jonathan. If you had web equipment you blancoed it, a strict requirement in the Infantry battalions. If you were serving with Corps troops or at a formation headquarters there was less need to do this chore. However, we all wore the same style of web equipment. Using a dusty green khaki blanco kept it clean, the worst part of the chore was polishing the brass buttons and buckles. In operations we 'dulled' the brass bits! At the beginning of the Second World War wore equipment that had ten small individual pockets to carry clips of pt-303 ammunition, each pocket with a brass button; it was the same style worn by my father in the Great War. When the style was changed to two Bren magazine pockets, the blancoing chore became easier. During service with the 52 Mountain Division whilst training for high altitude warfare we wore dark canvas plumy coloured equipment (not webbing) which had two Bren magazine pouches but fastened by wooden toggles to limit the possibilty of frost-bite fiddling about fastening metal buttons, although we were issued with mitts and gloves and handled Bren magazines! We always wore battle dress. In rest areas we wore the kilt; officers carried in their kit a service dress tunic with cloth belt. Officers tended to wear the same webbing as other ranks, the Bren pouches handy for carrying grenades and binoculars. We carried water bottles and side-packs, and to all intent looked exactly as the men but would wear a holster to carry a Smith & Wesson pt-38; I also carried a German self-loading rifle. A Bren pouch was also handy to carry a map as opposed to dangling a mapcase at your side, except for myself as Bn I.O. as it was essential kit for my job. Fancy brown boots were for the drill parade! Snipers wore the usual type of camouflage dress and their skill was in the selection and preparation of their hides. All Ranks had a net-top to wear on helmets and during operations black-up or use foilage as we judged necessary. Hope these comments help you to understand how we lived and operated. Full of admiration for our officers and men in Afghanistan. I wonder how I would have coped in battle today as an officer with troops equipped with night vision glasses, virtual personal radios, personal armour, helicopters and operating in a less-structured deployment compared to the Second World War. An infantry platoon commander was always close to his men but now in Afghanistan they seem even closer. I envy that . . . Regards and best wishes from this Royal Scot on St Andrew's Day! Joe
