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This is
sad news indeed. I was one of ‘Drummies
Boys’, he was both my Pln Sgt in Body
Pln as well as the Drum Major for the
Corps of Drums. He and the Pln Comd
Captain L C Fullilove [known to us boys
of course as Elsie] kept a strict but
benevolent eye on us.
I remember the
very first time [there are always some
things along with your army number you never
forget] I met him, well to say met makes it
sound a social occasion which I can assure
you all even now some 43 years later it was
not. It was January 1965 I had passed out
from recruits in December 64 been home for
Christmas leave and was reporting now to
join my platoon. As I entered the block,
mattress, blankets, suitcase and kitbag
festooned upon my person, I bumped into a
small chap in the corridor, I said to this
figure “Sorry mate, its f*****g chaos here,
what f*****g room are we
in”..........................it was about
half a nanosecond later that my world
exploded. In 25 years service I can honestly
say I only ever received three full blown,
expertly delivered, no expense spared
rollicking and that was the first one.
Drummie was a
kind man, he was approachable, and he always
listened. I have mentioned elsewhere on
these forums that I was not the best Jnr Ldr,
in fact I possibly came in the lower 2% I
was that bad, the fact that I survived those
early years almost intact to go on and make
a career for myself and enjoy Army life was
solely due to Drummie King and ‘Elsie’
Fullilove.
There is one
phase to the life of Drummie that only a
very few who were ‘Body Boys’ at that time
knew about, I know some are here, one is my
friend Paul Swainson. Even all these years
later I will still not tell the story but
Paul and the others who are in the know will
nod knowingly and smile when I
mention....................Portsmouth.
I was
fortunate to meet Drummie again. It was 1986
when during Public Duties at Winsor Castle
we were all based at Deepcut. It was a
Sunday Families Curry Lunch event at the
Sgts Mess. I was sitting at the bar talking
to someone or other and the conversation
turned to people we had served with or we
knew but had never met again. How or why I
mentioned Drummies name I don’t know but
someone said “Oh Drummie is here”, and sure
enough he was. I went over and introduced
myself to him, I explained who I was and
that I had been one of his ‘Bangers and
Blowers’ [as he often referred to us] all
those years before. Of course he did not
remember me [I did not expect him to] but we
did have a good long chat about those times
in Jnrs, I bought him a beer and I thanked
him for what he [and Elise] had done for me
[and all those hundreds of other boys]. He
asked me what I was doing and when I told
him I was a CSM at 15 Bn Donnington and here
for Public Duties, he looked at me nodded
and said “Good Lad”, we shook hands and I
left him to his beer and lunch.
I am saddened
to learn of his passing |
