War Diary of AA Laporte Payne

Extracted from

Brigade Diary, Personal Diary, Operation Orders, Note Books, Memoranda & Correspondence

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1915

April 20 1915

R.P.

R.A. Mess

Shoeburyness

“There is plenty to do here, and we are kept hard at it. We wear canvas clothes and are treated as ordinary tommies.  We rise at 6.45 a.m.  Breakfast at 7.45 a.m.  Parades from 8.30 to noon or rather 12.30,p.m., then again from 1.30 to 5.30 p.m.  Then tea and lectures till dinner time.  Dinner takes an hour and a quarter.  They turn out about 200 officers a month here.  The detachment I am in consists of 24 subalterns under Captain Nelson V.C.  He was a sergeant in “L” Battery R.H.A. and is now a Captain and our instructor.  we are drilled by a regular sergeant one named Ford.

Eight of us live in one of the staff houses, and are quite comfortable. Two of us have a large room to ourselves.  I share with a man named Cousens.  Our camp kit is our furniture.  Dexter & Gould are both here.  The course lasts four weeks.