Sixty years ago today, I had my first military haircut!

[bootneck]

I arrived at the Depot RM in Deal, Kent sixty years ago yesterday.  The next day I was issued with, baggy for my little size back then, battledress style fatigues and marched to the camp barbers along with my fellow recruits.

It was the era of The Beatles and long hair and the shock we all experienced, being left with a little tuft on top, was just a forewarning of what was to come over next nine months of training.

 

Cheers,
Mike 

[Pete in Lincs]

10th Feb 1976. Where does the time go? Forty nine years for me. The RAF wasn't so much of a shock though. 😃

[bootneck]

yours was probably by appointment at the salon by Mr Teasy-Weasy. 

[RAF4EVER]

54 years ago for me, as @Pete in Lincs says, where has time gone.

[bentwaters81tfw]

I walked into the Army recruitment office, and enquired abut the AAC. Can't go straight in says the Sarge - have to do 3 years infantry first.

I walked out and kept my long hair.

[Pete in Lincs]

52 minutes ago, bootneck said:

yours was probably by appointment at the salon by Mr Teasy-Weasy

Coffee and biscuits too. 😋 Brandy anaesthesia if required.

[Keeff]

32 years ago today, I was on my second day of recruit firefighter training .... affectionately known as 'hose Tuesday' due to the fact that the afternoon was spent running out hose, rolling it up, running it out, rolling it up, .... and so on. 

 

I didn't really enjoy the 14 weeks I was there, but had an amazing career after! 

 

Keith ☺️ 

Edited September 2 by Keeff

[ColonelKrypton]

A few days short of 50 years. 

 

cheers, Graham

 

[bootneck]

22 minutes ago, Pete in Lincs said:

Coffee and biscuits too. 😋 Brandy anaesthesia if required.

not as good as five years of daily Rum Ration*    , plus 9 O'clockers and midnight breakfasts.

 

* "Royal, why do you keep volunteering for ships detachments?"

[Pete in Lincs]

2 hours ago, bootneck said:

not as good as five years of daily Rum Ration*    , plus 9 O'clockers and midnight breakfasts.

Ah, I think you win on points. I surrender, but will only give my name rank and serial number

[NAVY870]

45 years ago, the recruit school barber at HMAS Cerberus asked "How would you like it" before proceeding to shear you like a sheep.

Fun times 

[ArnoldAmbrose]

1 hour ago, NAVY870 said:

45 years ago, at HMAS Cerberus

       G'day, I was a reservist, not PNF but I did my basic and advanced gunnery courses there, plus another patrol boat course. The first was a bit over 46 years ago now, May 1979. I've still got (and sometimes wear) my foul-weather jacket issued there.

       Not sixty years ago, so you win, Mike. 🙂       Regards, Jeff.

[brianthemodeller]

This thread got me thinking and it is 30 years this year since I failed the medical for the RAF (and by default the Navy and Army) due to having infant epilepsy that my family had never bothered to tell me about. Not the best of outcomes for a then 23 year old that had spent all their life aiming for an RAF career.

 

I've spent the rest of my career trying to make sure medical devices are safe to use.

[Bullbasket]

Sixty one years and five months since I reported for duty at Catterick Camp....April 1964, and it was bl***y cold. I'd had a haircut before traveling up, thinking that that would be sufficient, but no chance. We were told by the troop sergeant that everybody, regardless of how short their hair was, would report to the camp butcher barber for a regulation haircut. And as it was April, we had to change over to short sleeve order immediately. I mean....Catterick??...April?? The snow had barely disappeared.. My goose bumps had goose bumps!!

And the troop sergeant and corporal had got a scam going, (more than one as it turned out). The corporal got us all together one day in one of the barrack rooms and told us that the troop sergeant's wife was very ill, and we should have a whip round for him. He started it off by putting ten bob into a hat. Of course, we all followed suit, and that netted them around £15, which was a lot of money then. They'd probably have got away with it if it hadn't have been for one of the squaddies. He'd been called in front of the the OC at the end of the course, and asked how he'd enjoyed it. "Very well Sir, and can I say that I thought that the rent for the bed space was very reasonable." I heard that they both got reduced to the ranks. Happy days.

 

John.

 

PS. We had some bragging rights over the other intake whose course started at the same time as ours. All our army numbers started of with 2399.... Theirs, on the other hand started with 2400....

[Wez]

I arrived at RAF Swinderby which will be 42 years ago next month for basic training.

 

Like most punky rockets (as my gran called 'em), I had short, spiky hair.  I stepped off the bus that had picked us up from Newark station and stepped right into the queue for the barbers who promptly ran the razor over the back and sides but leaving what was on top and charged me 50p for the privilege!  I could buy a pint for that in the NAAFI you robbing basket I thought!

 

Over the next six weeks we were given weekly shearings over the back and sides with what was on top growing with youthful vigour.  By the time I left basic training I had a spiky quiff that Tony Curtis would have been quite envious of.  Being as bald as a coot now, I hanker after those days!

 

After our initial haircuts we were given a wooly pully and marched military walked off for some scoff.  Initial kitting followed the next day which included being measured up for No.1s an No2s by a tailor.  It was always said that if your kit fitted you, you were obviously the wrong shape and I swear that tailor lost my measurements because my No1s and No2s certainly didn't fit me.

[Pete in Lincs]

@Bullbasket re the bed space rent. Some time after I left trade training at Halton where I had dutifully collected a washing machine toll from the guys and given it to our Sergeant. I had an interview with the RAF Police. Who asked about it and confirmed that he hadn't paid it forward. I don't know what happened to him, but probably the same as your Guy.

I wonder now how common this sort of thing was. 

[Wez]

Those two incidents highlight how naiive we all were when we joined up.  On my entry there was a J/T bombhead rejoining after spending some time out in Saudi as well as a fishead who'd seen the light and re-mustered to a sensible service.  They both had tales of similar shenanigans to avoid us falling for similar scams.

[Bullbasket]

I would imagine that it was rife. I also remember the SIB investigators practically rollicking us all, for being so stupid as to fall for the scam.

 

John.

[Pete in Lincs]

A variation on being sent to stores for a long weight or a bucket of steam etc.

[Neil.C]

Scams, robbing young recruits of their cash? Despicable.

 

Fortunately I never had any yen to join the services even though my Dad had been RN during the war and Grandad a regular between the wars. 

[Wez]

2 hours ago, Bullbasket said:

I also remember the SIB investigators practically rollicking us all, for being so stupid as to fall for the scam.

 

That seems par for the course.

[bootneck]

1 hour ago, Pete in Lincs said:

A variation on being sent to stores for a long weight or a bucket of steam etc.

Onboard ship,  a new joiner might be sent to HQ1 to get the key for the snooker room.

 

Talking of bites,  I probably got caught on one of the biggest going when I joined my first unit.  We were based in Borneo, sharing the location with a Gurkha Pak howitzer section, when one of our patrols came back to base with a blindfolded prisoner for interrogation.  A couple of hours later, one of our sergeants appeared and said get ready to move out for a snap ambush; obviously from information gained in the interrogation.

Whilst we were getting kitted up, a corporal came to me and told me that this was going to be silent ambush, because the location would be too near to the enemy border.  As such, and only having been there three weeks, he told me that I would need a bow and arrow instead of my Armalite AR15.   Asking where I would get those, he told me to go down to the Gurkha store basha and sign them out from there.

 

Off I went, all excited about this 'different' ambush.  In the meantime, the corporal phoned the Gurkha stores (we were linked by Tele-J and D10 cables), telling them of the bite.  I arrived and asked for a longbow and a pack of arrows and the Gurkha smiled and told me to wait while he got them from the back of the basha.   Whilst waiting, I heard some giggling behind me so I turned around and found all of the Gurkhas and Marines had formed outside the stores and they all burst out laughing when I was told it was a joke!

 

cheers,
Mike the gullible.

[ArnoldAmbrose]

24 minutes ago, bootneck said:

I would need a bow and arrow instead of my Armalite AR15.   and they all burst out laughing when I was told it was a joke!

G'day, Rambo didn't think so. 🙂

 

Seriously(?) Mike, you should have sussed it when you weren't told to get a bow with a silencer. 😁 Yeah, I'm looking for my coat. 🙂

 

1 hour ago, Pete in Lincs said:

A variation on being sent to stores for a long weight or a bucket of steam etc.

And green oil for the starboard lamp.

 

 

And this time I AM serious, cheating new recruits out of money as mentioned by others above is very low in my opinion.

Regards, Jeff.

 

[Steve Warren]

On 03/09/2025 at 10:05, Bullbasket said:

Sixty one years and five months since I reported for duty at Catterick Camp....April 1964, and it was bl***y cold. I'd had a haircut before traveling up, thinking that that would be sufficient, but no chance. We were told by the troop sergeant that everybody, regardless of how short their hair was, would report to the camp butcher barber for a regulation haircut. And as it was April, we had to change over to short sleeve order immediately. I mean....Catterick??...April?? The snow had barely disappeared.. My goose bumps had goose bumps!!

And the troop sergeant and corporal had got a scam going, (more than one as it turned out). The corporal got us all together one day in one of the barrack rooms and told us that the troop sergeant's wife was very ill, and we should have a whip round for him. He started it off by putting ten bob into a hat. Of course, we all followed suit, and that netted them around £15, which was a lot of money then. They'd probably have got away with it if it hadn't have been for one of the squaddies. He'd been called in front of the the OC at the end of the course, and asked how he'd enjoyed it. "Very well Sir, and can I say that I thought that the rent for the bed space was very reasonable." I heard that they both got reduced to the ranks. Happy days.

 

John.

 

PS. We had some bragging rights over the other intake whose course started at the same time as ours. All our army numbers started of with 2399.... Theirs, on the other hand started with 2400....

March '65 - 2394....! We definitely have bragging rights mate!

Steve

[bootneck]

2398...

Mike