Room 2D

Photo-story from Janus 116 Private Saffron James, 19, stands to attention with her bugle under her arm, nervously awaiting the arrival of a superior. When the door opens, the man is a stranger, drafted in from another regiment to conduct her disciplinary interview. Like the clothing, furniture and accommodation she has lived with for the past eight months, he smells of standard-issue army property: functional and unadorned. ‘Your cases are packed?’ ‘Yes, sir.’ ‘Why?’ ‘Because Sergeant Morris said I should be prepared for instant discharge, sir. He said I am not shaping up as a soldier and that if I only want to play pretty music, I should go to the Conservatoire, sir.’ Tears sting her eyes but she strives not to shed them. ‘So you want to be a musician?’ ‘Yes, sir. I joined the army to improve my playing and get real experience of life that I wouldn’t get at music college.’ ‘And has this been proven to be th...

From Februs 13 by Paul Melrose (a.k.a. Alex Birch, RIP, who used to write the Taste of the Birch blog that some may fondly remember) As Melody Prentice walked into the living room of Paula Simmons home to be greeted so affectionately by her hostess, she could have cried with delight for she had, with the help of Paula and the other girls, survived the greatest crisis of her life. Her whole world had revolved around her husband and when she came downstairs that fateful morning to find the note that told her Bob had left her to live with his secretary, she had felt that her life was one huge void. Twenty-eight years old and alone in the world. She should have known what would happen, for the relationship had been rocky for a very long time and now, with so much time on her hands, Melody had been able to see things in perspective rather than blame her husband for everything that had gone wrong… and the truth disturbed her greatly. ...

The conclusion of the story, from Uniform Girls 9 Twenty year old Rosalyn Minter had been an army driver for a little under a year. An unblemished record was just slightly tarnished the hot summer day when she decided to drive for the regimental colonel with no stockings on — an offence destined to find her on report. The colonel’s passing interest in CP leads to her being offered a dose of the cane, which she accepts albeit reluctantly [see  Uniform Girls 7 ] to keep her record clean. But Colonel Leyton’s appetite has been whetted by the knowledge that at Rosalyn’s convent they used both strap and birch to keep their charges in order: it’s up to the adjutant to obtain the necessary equipment… in case Driver Minter steps over the line again… ----//---- After Rosalyn had returned the car to the motor pool, she signed off duty and trekked off to her block where she pulled a piece of paper from her jacket pocket. It was the...