Life in the Army

Doing basics at the Army Gymnasium was a tad different to the syllabus the lassies were following at the Ladies College in George.

Our days started around 5 am with a ‘little’ run through the hills of the Suikerbos Rant. As the highest point on the Witwatersrand, at around 1900m above sea level, it was not easy for us ‘coasties’ (those that came from the Coast). The 5 km run was normally finished off with some ‘buddy PT’ on the parade ground: Piggy backing, carrying, etc one another across the width of the parade ground. Then it was a mad dash for the showers before dashing down for breakfast, which was gobbled down, dash back up to the rooms for morning inspection before we dash off to the parade ground for drills.

Parade ground work lasted for 3 hours everyday and we spent more time running than actually marching. The parade ground was the place where you ‘paid for your sins’. A small crease on your bed during inspection or a small speck of dust was sufficient reason to be sent running. One miss step or not swinging your arms correctly and off you were sent to go and pick a leaf off a tree at the furthest point of the parade ground. Normally it was the wrong leaf off the wrong tree thus the ‘process’ was repeated a couple of times. The Gymnasium was renowned for having the largest parade ground, one kilometer in circumference.

After morning pee, I mean tea; it was off to ‘class’. We covered an array of subjects from weaponry, Ops, Mines, Comms, etc. The most ‘notorious’ was ‘Veldkuns Les 7’, Here we were taught all about ‘make-up’: smearing mud and boot polish on your face; ‘adornment’: sticking branches and leaves in your hat and clothes. How not to sit like a lady: stuck up somewhere on a branch in a tree in camouflage. It also included ‘Spa Treatments’: Rolling through gut wrenching stinking streams, then crawling in your buddies filthy stinking mud tracks up an embankment before rolling down through the same muddy grass. This was followed by ‘exfoliation’: Leopard crawling, bare arms, over dry caked mud and gravel. We needed our ‘beauty treatment!

Lunch time it was back to the mess where the food, in as much quantities as you could muster was gobbled down at speed. Because of all the physical activity one never really replenished one’s reserves. It was more like an overdraft account that was permanently in the red at varying degrees. After lunch is was back to class, on the other side of the camp, to attend to theory or more practical lessons. This was always interrupted by being chased to go and pick a leaf or doing push-ups. The afternoon session was just temporarily interrupted by afternoon pee, I mean tea.

At four o’clock we would go down to the Sports Ground for Physical Training!! Push ups, sit ups, Lunges, Squats, jumping jacks, etc. And if we did not do it in unison or someone dropped out from exhaustion, we had to do it all again! Thus doing 20 of something often meant doing more like 40 or 50!!! After PT it was back to the quarters for a shower and dress before sitting down to super.

All transitions between classes and or barracks were always done on the run, in formation and singing whilst you carried your 4kf rifle, books and 1 liter of water! I had the additional ‘blessing’ of wearing boots that also weighed a kilo each. There was no nice light weight ladies boots that could fit my sprawling flat feet, I had to wear a men’s 7 ½ wide!

Before super had reached one’s stomach it was back up to the rooms to start the evening routine of studying for tests the next day, spitting and polishing for inspection and being interrupted to be chased up to the 7th floor or across the rugby field, depending on the Corporal’s mood.

At 10 o’clock it was lights out, because tomorrow we would do it all again.