All texts and pictures on this page, and the following page, were donated for the site. His name is Brian Kitching, and the following texts and photographs are all his, from his time spent at Houndstone Camp. If you wish to contact Brian, please e-mail me, and i`ll pass it on. Many thanks to Brian, he is the first supplier of information and material, and the quality of this has been superb. I look forward to working with him on this website a lot more in the future. Please also keep an eye out for his photographs elsewhere on the site.
"I do not know where to start! I was deferred from National Service until I was 21 so I could finish my trade, but as soon as I was 21 the papers came in the post. That was in 1959. Going into National Service was a huge shock for me, I had been courting my girlfriend since we were both 15, we were never apart. Our whole world as we knew it came to a sudden holt, we were devastated. After 6 weeks of basic training at Blenhiem Barracks, Aldershot, I was sent to a place I had never heard of - Yeovil!! We arrived at Yeovil by train and were all marched with a bagpipe band all the way to the camp. I was based at Houndstone Camp from June 1959 for a year till June of 1960.
Houndstone camp was enormous in those day's there were billets and buildings everywhere. After being fed something rather revolting in the NAAFI we were assigned to what was our home for the next three months. As you went in the main door there were toilets and bathrooms, then further down the two other rooms, this is where the corporal slept, he was our billet corporal. Some of them were reasonable, but others were nasty men. We were given our new address, and it was as follows-
No 23771898
Dvr Kitching B. W.
4 Squad
511 Intake
1 Platoon
6 Training Battalion
Houndstone Camp
Yeovil
Somerset
I had never been away from home and I was hurting inside, I missed my girlfriend. We had not seen each other for six weeks. Six months before I was called up I was in the Territorial Army, that was the only way I could get driving licence for free, it turned out to be good grounding for going into the regular Army. I could now drive anything including motorcycles, also I knew how to look after my kit, was good at drilling, and good with shooting etc. Now all my previous experience from the TA came in use at Houndstone.
I was months ahead of all the other men in everything, and was soon drilling a squad of my own. The main reason for going to Houndstone was to learn how to drive Wagons etc, for service in the RASC (Royal Army Service Corp). I had driven every vehicle in the camp before, so I made an unusual request to the instructor saying that I had a full driving licence and asked to be excused from driver training. I was taken for a test drive in various vehicles and they agreed I could miss driver training.
I then spent a lot of the next few weeks at Lufton Camp, this is where all the fully trained soldiers were plus some WRASC driving 5 ton Bedford's around the south.
I would often drive the O.C. Col Woods around in an Austin Champ. One day I had to take a wagonload of boots to Shepton Mallet jail for repair, one pair belonged to RSM. N. Bradford, I changed his name on the label to mine, knowing if they arrived with his name on them they would be returned with a lot of damage to them, also with nails in the inside of the soles! When he found out what I had done, he thanked me for using my initiative.
After all the other recruits had finished their driver training, I then went back with them to the parade ground to see how many pairs of boots we could wear out! We would be out running for 5 miles at 5-0am and then onto the parade ground.
With all my previous training plus what I had learned here I was awarded the cup for the Champion Recruit out of a choice of 500 men. I had to practice for the presentation on my own with a drill corporal for weeks. Then during the passing out parade I was presented with the cup.
After the passing out parade most the now trained solders were sent all over the world to their new postings. I had not been given a posting but was kept on as a Drill Corporal for a few weeks. Then one day I was taken to see the O.C. and he wanted me to stay on as drill instructor but I refused and asked for a posting up North where I live, he told me I could go far in the Army! I said all I want is to get out or posted up north, he was not amused. However he said with my qualifications I can now pick my own posting.
I was offered Paris, Gibraltar, Germany, Singapore, Cyprus, or London and I would be a personal staff car driver, I picked London! the O.C. asked why, I said "that is the nearest I could get to my girlfriend", so I left Houndstone and went to London to be a War Office staff car driver with 20 CO RASC Regents Park Barracks.
On a personal note, the girlfriend I have been talking about found a job in London and moved there to be with me, yes later she became my wife, we have now been married for 38 yrs and have 2 daughters and 4 grandchildren."