Sick Parades

Ah yes, Aliwal. Thanks for that pinky. The reason for the move was that a Guards battalion had moved to Tidworth whilst their Chelsea barracks was being rebuilt, so the 7th Hussars took the opportunity of moving to Aliwal which was next door to the pony club & stables. Aliwal had been vacated by the 11th (Cherrypickers) Hussars I think, who were posted somewhere else.

Hi there,
There is now an Aliwal Bks 2, I think 2RTR are in there. I think it was built in about 2002 - 2004.
All new married quarters too, quite a good posting these days, I had a great 18 months there 2000-2001. My youngest (12) was born in Salisbury Hospital.....now that was a dump.
atb
pinky
HUSSAR

TDivers wrote:

So how much have sick parades changed through the years then. I know when i joined in 87 if we wanted to go sick we had to be in No2 dress carrying all our kit with us. Bit of a pain depending on what was wrong with you.

I know this was done to help discourage malingering but dam it was hard if you really were sick.

Nowadays its just a matter of popping in to the Sqn office getting chit and mincing along to med centre. The doctors we had were civvy doctors and the Medics were corps medics they could diagnose you before getting to see the doctor and also bed you down if they deemed necessary.

All a bit to easy if you asked me.

What was it like when you guys were in the 50's and 60's

Thanks Ian.

I once reported sick on a Saturday, during basic training. I was told to dress in number two's and report to the guardroom, I was then driven from Blackdown Barracks to Elizabeth Barracks [Guards Depot] up the road at Pirbright. The duty driver refused to park outside the guards guardroom so I had to walk the last fifty yards or so. On approaching the guardroom I heard a loud voice shout 'Stop' I wondered if it was directed at me?... it was! Some six foot ten moron with an IQ not quite in double figures appeared, he was bawling like a banshee and attempted to double march me to the MRS. I was too ill to give a damn and ignored his stupid commands. At the doors of the MRS he disappeared and a civilian female sat me down and took a few details before I saw a doctor who bedded me down for two days, some sort of stomach bug if memory serves. That was in 1977 btw.

Your old Regiment Pinky reminds me of the time when I was stationed at helles barracks - Catterick 1968-72 of seing a rather smart Simitar car with the registration number 1420H. This was Princess Anne presumably coming up north to visit Lt Mark Phillips. (did my last garrison duty with him in late 1971)

Hi there,
The regt. bought her that plate, see below link on the subject:

http://www.1420h.org.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=2894

atb
pinky
HUSSAR

Thanks for that Pinky. Thought I had seen the number plate on a Reliant Simitar

Small world......

I woke up one morning covered in little spots and feeling like shyt, the wife thought I had chicken pox, don't be daft I said, you don't get chicken pox at my age! (29 years old at the time) but I thought I'd better go see the MO all the same. I reported sick to the MRS at Barker Barracks (Paderborn) which was packed with people, couldn't even get in the waiting room. After booking in I queued in the corridor for a few minutes when the MO suddenly appeared and examined me in the corridor! I wasn't happy with this turn of events but since he was a half colonel I shut me gob and put up with it. He confirmed the wife's diagnosis, I did indeed at 29 years old have chicken pox. I was instructed to go home, and go to bed for two weeks then report sick again. After two weeks bored out of my head at home I went back to the MRS, I wanted to get back to work and expected to be told all was well but I was bedded down at home for a further week. My mates thought jammy git, three weeks off, but the reason I remember this so well is because it was probably the most boring three weeks of my life. That would have been 1987 or 88.

I got German measles on an Ex in Germany. Isolated for a week.

Wilf wrote:

I woke up one morning covered in little spots and feeling like shyt, the wife thought I had chicken pox, don't be daft I said, you don't get chicken pox at my age! (29 years old at the time) but I thought I'd better go see the MO all the same. I reported sick to the MRS at Barker Barracks (Paderborn) which was packed with people, couldn't even get in the waiting room. After booking in I queued in the corridor for a few minutes when the MO suddenly appeared and examined me in the corridor! I wasn't happy with this turn of events but since he was a half colonel I shut me gob and put up with it. He confirmed the wife's diagnosis, I did indeed at 29 years old have chicken pox. I was instructed to go home, and go to bed for two weeks then report sick again. After two weeks bored out of my head at home I went back to the MRS, I wanted to get back to work and expected to be told all was well but I was bedded down at home for a further week. My mates thought jammy git, three weeks off, but the reason I remember this so well is because it was probably the most boring three weeks of my life. That would have been 1987 or 88.

My bold.....Chicken Pox was doing the rounds then, my 3 kids all went down with it within a week of each other, August/September 1987 iirc......I didn't have any symptoms but to be on the safe side I was put in an office all on my lonesome.A few of our blokes went down with Chicken Pox then.

Posted to BAOR in '59, I joined my regt in the field. They were on one of those interminable firing camps that went on for weeks (no shortage of ammo in those days).

After a couple of weeks I developed a horrible burning itch in my groin and noticed a red rash spreading accross my legs.

Having been examined, in the field of course, by STARLIGHT he asked me if I'd just come from the Far East. When I replied in the negative he said "That's bloody funny, you've got Tinea !".

Turns out I'd caught it from my clothing that hadn't been laundered properly in the dhobi.

Of course, I had to carry on working, tropical disease or not.

Only a gunner could catch a tropical disease in Germany...Did you have to go about ringing a little bell and shouting Unclean?

You had to blow a whistle, if you rang a bell you would be mistaken for the "Brattie Wagon".

Shelldrake wrote:

You had to blow a whistle, if you rang a bell you would be mistaken for the "Brattie Wagon".

I got no sympathy at all.

Bit like you miserable buggers !

We were only miserable Brum because they forgot our bottle of beer which was normally brought round the wards each evening.

What hospital were you in...I never got a bottle of beer off.

BMH Singapore - 1967, Gordon.

Well I do know certain wards in RAF Wegberg there were certain ones of us that had a crate of beer under the bed, it was apparently to give more Iron (German Dunkel Beer)

In RAF changi Tidworth mil and Catterick mil we got sweet FA

Ah, Gordon, Changi - it must have been an RAF hospital then !

The clue is in the post Jim

Didn't have time to go sick!

Got it Gordon

jimsigs1 wrote:

Got it Gordon

Shelldrake wrote:

Didn't have time to go sick!

I used to have a minion who went for me.

(A bit like Argentinian National Service).