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JC You answered your name and then he said dismiss and you went back again and you expected your breakfast ready.

WD And then what happened, what was the next thing you did?
JC Well you go on parade you were on parade then.

WD Where would you all parade, where would you all gather?
JC You would fall-in again outside in the street for anywhere we could exercise we were taken to the Pleasure Ground. Well it wasn鈥檛 on the same scale that it is now, little bits of stalls and we were all hanging around these stalls for shelter and nothing, O! It was shocking.

WD So that鈥檚 where you did your training?
JC That鈥檚 where you did your training, part of it anyhow.

WD Which company were you in by the way, I forgot to ask that, you were in Forth Battalion but what Company in?
JC C, was it B or C, I think it were B.

WD So what training did you do, could we start with the basic drill did you do that?
JC Only just basic training, we had no arms drill or anything like that there was no accommodation so from there

WD Hang on a bit, so you tell me a bit more about the actual basic training you did, what was it, can you remember?
JC It was a matter of marching about and forming fours and sloping arms. Throw it up the right side; carry it onto your left shoulder smartly away down.

WD Did you enjoy drill?
JC O yes but it got second nature and you don鈥檛 value it you see.

WD Did you do any route marches at that time?
JC Yes we did route marches we went to outside Miles Cop, is it Miles Cop? (Meols Cop near Southport) I forgot them outlying places but outside I was quite a good soldier round.

WD What were they like?
JC Well it wasn鈥檛 too bad and of course they looked after you, they didn鈥檛 take you out if it was raining, we didn鈥檛 have no route marches if it was raining you see, it was alright, it passed the time on and then it come about as we had got fit to be sent to a proper training place.

WD So what you were doing here was more learning basic drill and getting fit?
JC That鈥檚 right, that鈥檚 right.

WD When you had finished your training, what would you do in the evening when you were free?
JC Well there were these different churches and whatnot they had halls they used to provide tea or YMCA would provide, you bought theirs, but if you went to these churches a lot of church halls used to have these women volunteered to be looking after you.

WD Would you go into the local pubs? Mind you, you were a bit young.
JC Well no, I didn鈥檛 start drinking then.

WD So for entertainment you just went out for a cup of tea?
JC That鈥檚 right a cup of tea. It was dark there was no lights.

WD How did you get on with the local population of Southport?
JC Alright, oh yes.

WD What about, you were only sixteen and a half at this time, how did you get on with your fellow privates, the other trainee soldiers at that time?
JC They would all look at you twice and you can soon make yourself look an old fellow when you are not one, if you follow what I mean.

WD How? No I don鈥檛 what would you do?
JC Well, I wasn鈥檛 shaving then, you know sloppy and always being picked on and all that sort of caper, oh they鈥檙e good to point out.

WD Did you get on well with them, did they realise you were under age at all?
JC No, it was never mentioned.

WD Was there any bullying within the unit, any bullying?
JC No not really and although I was getting on for 16 to 17, I could stand my own anywhere, I feared nobody, nobody.

WD So no one picked on you at all?
JC No.

WD Would they pick on other people who weren鈥檛 quite so good at looking after themselves, was there any of that?
JC They always picked somebody out as looked a bit simple you know, and they play on him, they always picked one out, they never picked on me, well they wouldn鈥檛 get me out.

WD What about the NCOs, what did you think of them, your instructors?
JC They weren鈥檛 so bad you had a nickname for everyone you know.

WD What kind of nicknames?
JC You have set me wondering; I鈥檝e forgotten what we called them.

WD Were they fair the sergeants to you did they treat you alright?
JC Some were, some were and we had a lot, well quite a few South African, South American! South Africa war!
WD They served in the Boer War?
JC Boer War, that鈥檚 better, we had a few of those from the Boer War instructing there fellows we had their medals up with the Boer War on so we were instructed by them mainly.

WD We were talking about your time with the Forth Battalion East Lancs. During your initial basic training while you were in billets in Southport. You said that you had some old Boer War regulars. Were they very strict the NCO?
JC Well we used to say their war was Bow and Arrow War, they only shot with bow and arrows we used to tell them that you see.

WD They didn鈥檛 mind that then?
JC No.

WD What about the officers did you see much of the officers?
JC Yes, we had them taped out too we used to say what we thought about them and then there were a chap there Thornber from Burnley he was a captain. He were a grand chap, that chap, Jimmy Thornber, he were really good he was.

WD What made a good officer to you then?
JC Well letting you out as much as you could, if you follow me, making it easier for you, whereas on the whole they don鈥檛 make it easy, the harder they can make it the harder they sort of make you, if they make the training harder.

WD So how long were you at Southport, you went there in February, 16, when did you leave Southport?
JC I don鈥檛 know, how many months I don鈥檛 know, its 70 years ago.

WD It鈥檚 a long time ago, don鈥檛 worry. So you went to Codford, still with the Forth Battalion?
JC Yes, yes.

WD What was the situation at Codford were you in barracks or billets?
JC It was a big camp there in big camps.

WD Were you in tents or barracks huts?
JC In barrack huts and we did our full training there, firing, everything we did there and then we were ready for going to a proper battalion, we called it a proper battalion and we were sent to the Eleventh.

WD Hang on just a bit more about your training. While you were at Codford do you remember much about your rifle training, when you were training to shoot, do you remember much about that?
JC Oh yes, I wasn鈥檛 a bad shot.

WD What made you a good shot do you think, what was it?
JC We were taken on the rifle range, if you have seen a rifle range, they have butts at the front and the back and they signalled. They put the flag up whatever you got, a bull, I forget what they were, but different sizes they were a bull if you were a miss they did something else, I don鈥檛 know what, I forgot you see but there were motions like that till eventually we were ready for going to proper battalion.

WD What about bayonet fighting, did you do much bayonet fighting or training?
JC Yes.

WD How did you practice that, what did for your training?
JC We had sacks strung up with straws for a start. You run and you dug a sack and it were mainly how to run with a bayonet on top it could be very dangerous if you鈥檙e not careful.

WD What about bombing, were you introduced to hand grenades?
JC Hand grenades; yes mills bombs we threw them as well.

WD What sort of state were they in because they were quiet new then?
JC We practice throwing with duds at first and then we got to live, we all threw three apiece live. We had to drop it into a trench further on. There was nobody there of course we were supposed to drop them in there.

WD Were there any accidents?
JC Yes there were odd ones.

WD You don鈥檛 remember any details?
JC No, no. There were odd ones

WD What about training in trench digging or trench life; did you have any practice in that?
JC Oh yes we had that and fill sandbags and out sandbags in front as well.

WD So you actually had practice trenches?
JC Oh yes.

WD Did you get to do any exercises like going over the top or anything fancy?
JC Oh yes we also did that.

WD Did you remember anything about it?
JC Nothing outstanding, how to approach it, how to get on top and then run. You could hear something but not unless and then thread through the wire to get out, different things like that.

WD You practiced all that at Codford?
JC Oh yes.

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