The Banker (Part 4): Reporting for Training
Midday on the day stipulated for Findlay to report for training he showed up in his customary banker’s outfit. The Drill Hall was a hive of activity. None arriving that day had yet been issued with a stitch of military kit. Uniforms, webbing and a rifle would be issued at their destination training base. Findlay duly joined a long queue, following the shouted instructions of NCOs as the new recruits dutifully filed into the precinct. Clutching his “call-up” instructions, Findlay presented himself to a lance-corporal. His specific orders were located among the rows of files stacked alphabetically behind the clerical division. He was assigned to a contingent destined for training in Ladysmith, Natal. He was now committed to a field force for training. While he was digesting all of this new information that had clearly been determined behind the scenes at the Drill Hall Headquarters, his ears were assaulted by a cacophony of non-Commissioned Officers yelling at all and sundry. The sce...
