Jim Whitham

Sgt Jim Whitham (Royal Artillery) … with Pace Stick because he had passed the Guards Drill Course at Pirbright (the Guards Depot at that time) and was therefore entitled to carry such an accoutrement.  He was Platoon Sgt for ‘B’ Pn during my time in Recruit Coy in 1963 ... that is, after the initial week or so where Sgt 'Spud' Jim Taylor had us under his 'gentle wing'!  Jim was a charismatic, witty character who certainly knew his job and how to get the most out of his young charges.  He was 28 years old when he was training us and would often regale the platoon of his earlier 'life & times' during his Service, especially some of the antics he and his colleagues 'got up to' when serving out in the Far East.

  It was always interesting when we 'fell out' for the inevitable 'smoke break'; Jim would take out the Embassy cigarette packet that lived in his top pocket, light a 'gasper' & then entertain us with one or more of his outrageous tales!  A famous threat he would yell out to us on the Drill Square, should we not be attaining the standard he required, was "I'm not allowed to double one man around the square .... but I certainly am allowed to double the whole squad on his behalf, so --- watch it!"  On many an occasion therefore, we so doubled around the square of Hildebrand barracks but usually, to be fair, it was merely to 'wake us up' before concentrating on 'the next stage of your foot drill'.

Nevertheless, B Platoon won Champion Platoon of Recruit Company that term, so we grudgingly deemed it all worthwhile really!

Photograph with thanks to John Coultish (61C) and Brian Nesbit-Clarke