Herbert Jollyman’s WW1 army training at Chatham Barracks

When Herbert Jollyman marched off to the Great War, he and his wife Hepsie promised to share every detail of each other’s lives, although they were apart.

They wrote to each other several times a week, and while Hepsie’s letters told about their family life, Herbert’s included fascinating information about his Middlesex Regiment training at Chatham Barracks in Kent, one hundred years ago. There was a lot to learn! In October 1916, he wrote:

We had our usual early morning at the Gym & morning & afternoon on the Lines learning more about the parts of the gun & also the signals used when working. Owing to the noise created it would be impossible to hear orders from any distance therefore signalling with the arms is used instead. It is all very interesting, but there is a tremendous amount to commit to memory. Fortunately our officer, although only a lad about 18 or 19, knows his business well & is a very good instructor, so we have something to be thankful for in that respect.

Today I was picked out as room orderly. Two are appointed each day, our duties being to empty the slop pail which is brought up every evening & kept on the landing & then when the others have gone out on parade dry scrub the floors, tidy up the fireplace – we had a fire last night & very welcome it was too – & leave everything ship shape by breakfast time. Then before each parade have to stay behind & sweep over the floors again to collect the dust & dirt brought in & its astonishing the amount collected in a very few minutes, afterwards joining our squads so that we only lose the early morning parade.

We have been indoors all day, having lectures & magazine filling competitions. I forget whether I told you about this part of the business. Each gun is fed by a magazine holding 47 cartridges & they have to be filled by hand. The record time up to the present is 60 seconds which is jolly smart work. I have done it in 85 while some take 2 or 3 minutes.