About Me

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No Fixed Abode, Home Counties, United Kingdom
I’m a 60-year-old Aspergic gardening CAD-Monkey. Sardonic, cynical and with the political leanings of a social reformer, I’m also a toy and model figure collector, particularly interested in the history of plastics and plastic toys. Other interests are history, current affairs, modern art, and architecture, gardening and natural history. I love plain chocolate, fireworks and trees, but I don’t hug them, I do hug kittens. I hate ignorance, when it can be avoided, so I hate the 'educational' establishment and pity the millions they’ve failed with teaching-to-test and rote 'learning' and I hate the short-sighted stupidity of the entire ruling/industrial elite, with their planet destroying fascism and added “buy-one-get-one-free”. Likewise, I also have no time for fools and little time for the false crap we're all supposed to pretend we haven't noticed, or the games we're supposed to play. I will 'bite the hand that feeds', to remind it why it feeds.

Monday, December 23, 2013

G is for Guards - Shouldered Arms

As David Scrivener pointed out the other day the old Lee Enfield and it's predecessors were 'shouldered' on the left shoulder - Slope Arms. The SLR on the other hand was locked into the gap between arm and body on the right hand side - Shouldered Arms.

There was - with both weapons - a 'Change Arms' drill, for particularly long formal marches, which was quite complicated until you'd got the hang of it. The purpose being to give the weight-taking arm a rest and get it's circulation going again by waving it around for a while! You would always have a reverse 'Change Arms' before you got to the destination position, so that the gat was in the right place to carry out subsequent drill movements, while on really long marches you could get several, the problem being knowing when they were coming or hearing the order, over the noise of crowds, traffic, 'planes and a rival band with the unit marching behind you - in my case the poxy Rock-apes of Crab-air, marching to their own speed!

I had to learn it several times; Street Lining for the President of Mexico's visit to London in 1985, and - in Berlin - Allied Force's Day parade and Queen's Birthday parade.

At attention, shouldered-arms; unknown (I keep calling Charbens?), three from Britains Herald and Herald Hong Kong, newest to the left, and the second type Timpo swoppet with SLR.

Marching with arms shouldered; Lone*Star, Charbens early version, three more Britains Herald, oldest on the left.

Left to right again; Timpo, Cherilea, Unknown (Charbens?), Crescent, Timpo swoppet - first type, Unknown (Speedwell?) and the ex-Sacul hollow-cast figure David also identified.


Finally; the maybe-Charbens at attention, the 2nd Type Timpo marching and a Britains Detail, both with the SLR.

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