PART
III
RMITC / CTCRM - LYMPSTONE
RM
Depot Exton officially became RM Depot Lympstone on 5 September 1941, although
the first 'G & L' reference to the new name came with the February 1944 edition
and war diaries mention it as early as May two years previously, yet the camp
continued its dual nomenclature for at least another year, whilst in one edition
of the Corps Journal we find three separate contributors referring to the same
place as 'Depot (D), 'Exton' and 'Lympstone'...but certainly well before the war's
end, 'Exton' had been dropped by all except the locals and its early inmates who
continued to cherish the title as one boasts of membership to some exclusive club!
In Part 1 I left you mid 1942 with a completed camp just as its near neighbour
Dalditch was rising out of the heathland, and according to a letter sent by Brig
N K Jolly to the Adjutant General, Devon council had widened the road in front
of the Depot, laid a pathway from Wood bury Road station (Exton), and the camp
had taken on a very pleasing appearance.' This letter also inferred that the field
opposite the main gate was again 'tented' in March 1941, this time to accommodate
the 1st Engineering Coy RM.
Cpl A P Thompson was now firmly installed as Warden
of the 500 yards Straight Point Range, after faithfully reporting Lympstone's
first two years of 'growing pains' in the Corps Journal, whilst other firing ranges
in use locally by the trainees during this period were at Starcross, Merrivale
and Scorrington. By the time Lympstone established its own 30 yards range in May
1944, Pat Thompson was back there again sending in his despatches once more, informing
us that the RM tradesmen who constructed it, using materials from Exmouth blitzed
sites, at the same time built a mini-steeple and a vestry for the camp church.
And
the Raids Came
On most evenings throughout 1941-2 the drone of enemy aircraft
could be heard surging inland to bomb other cities, but although Exmouth received
a few incendiary bombs on its outskirts earlier, it was on 18 January 1941 that
this town took its first major battering in the densely built-up area bounded
by Chapel, Church and Rolle Streets, and this flattened site remained vacant until
1978 when under a redevelopment scheme, the RMA Branch unfortunately lost their
Gibraltar Club premises that stood on the fringe. Later on in 1942 and into the
next year the Luftwaffe changed their tactics and went in for daylight 'hit and
run' raids, often using just a single aircraft, but then eight came in on the
final raid of 26 February 1943 when the worst casualties occurred, and by the
last 'All clear' the sirens had sounded 469 times.
Many troops were employed
in rescue and clearance work within the district, including 'Royals' and I doubt
if anyone from 10 PM Bn serving at Dalditch will forget the night of 25-26 April
1942 when, having carried out this debris clearing only the week before, they
were now engaged as 'Nazi Parachutists' for 'Exercise Raleigh' into which Army
and Home Guard units were also drawn; their purpose to create confusion on the
road to Exeter during a pretended bombing raid...well the 'confusion' developed
all right as they got caught up in a real raid!
On the training side, recruit
squads passed with regularity to Dalditch for Phase 2 of their 'upbringing', occasionally
interspersed with 'special guests' such as the RAF NCOs classes commencing February
1943 in five groups of half a dozen at a time. Since these forerunners of the
RAF Regiment set off from here we have now come full circle in having at least
one member of that force back on the training staff. During the war the two local
RAF stations were at Beer and Branscombe, and there was also Exeter Airport site
of course.
The Phase 1 syllabus was increased from 6 to 8 weeks with EX 583
Squad in May 1943, whilst Phase 2 training at RMITC Dalditch which originally
stood at only 8 weeks had risen to 14 weeks by November 1945, 16 the following
January, and 17 by the end of that year when Dalditch closed and RMITC moved into
Lympstone.
For the benefit of the uninitiated, Phase 1 included kitting up,
lectures (including Corps history), PT, drill, bayonet fighting, basic small arms
and Bren Gun drills...and the receiving of gratuitous issues of jabs! With the
assault course, advanced weapon training, range work, night firing and fieldcraft
(involving cooking and survival) coming into phase 2, the last week of which was
usually spent under canvas near Ottery St Mary during the latter stages of the
Dalditch era at least.
The Elusive Provost (RM Police)
Their 'Globe & Laurel' reports gave nothing away except a vague location somewhere
in the Exmouth area (it was in sporting fixtures that units invariably gave some
clues to vicinities!) and mentioned only Clarks Hill for motor-cycle training
ground...the fact that nobody I interviewed in the area had ever heard of the
place nor could it be found on the Ordnance Survey Map only serves to illustrate
just how elusive this branch was!
A subsequent clue to the location of Clarks
Hill and the Provost HQ was revealed by Lt Col F F Clark RM, who gave this report.
"I was appointed DPM RM (Deputy Provost Marshall) on 26 October 1944 and
had my headquarters at the Imperial Hotel in Exmouth until 25 February 1946 when
the RM Provost Depot then closed. The Imperial and two private hotels on The Beacon
accommodated staff and trainee Provost. The Officers' Mess was a corner house
not far from the Imperial, whilst stores etc., were kept in two terraced houses
about a quarter mile away. Some of the motorcycle training was carried out on
Black Hill, Lympstone Common (which is on the map, and no doubt renamed by the
men after their CO!), where additional hazards 'The Snake' and 'The Camel' etc,
were constructed."
"When I arrived at Exmouth the unit was commanded
by Maj Frank Little who later took a Provost unit to the Far East. Trained Provost
were drafted to RM Units in the UK and Europe, and there was a London Unit of
approximately 60 housed in Chelsea Barracks."
"The Exmouth Provost
Depot had close contacts with the US Naval Police and Devon Police. We were called
out to assist the latter on an incident that nearly became the 'Battle of Okehampton'.
Due to trouble at a local dance hall between a Polish unit and a British Army
Unit, both sides had raided their respective guard-rooms and were advancing into
town with rifles and ball ammunition. An RM Provost Unit (and men of 28 RM Battalion)
also armed with rifles was hurried from Exmouth, but luckily both groups were
diverted."
Another nearby hotel, up on the hill (The Beacon) was also
a dormitory for the men, whilst one garage in town was converted into a Mess Hall
and a second one used for storage of vehicles and motor cycles. When 35 RM Provost
formed up in the latter stages of the War for Far East service, the house of Lady
Byron, also on The Beacon (next to that of Lady Nelson) also provided accommodation.
Earlier, about 30 men of RMTG(D) Provost Coy were at Lympstone Grange and became
RM Division Provost Coy on 1 Nov 1943 before moving into Exmouth HQ.
The RM
Provost wore the distinctive 'Red Cap' cover over khaki or blue caps, and other
than the corps badge looked identical to their Army equivalents who taught the
original instructors all the tricks of their trade at the Corps of Military Police,
Mytchett Depot near Aldershot.
Other than lurking around the local pubs at
closing time to harass poor unsuspecting Bootnecks enjoying a quiet evening out,
these men did much useful work in security and convoy control etc, both at home
and abroad!
C J Mahoney, who had a short period in both London and Naples
as the Naval Provost Marshall, testified to the excellent work discharged by the
Royal Marine 'Redcaps'; policing in Naples and running the Naval Courts for merchant
seamen was no sinecure. He recalls that the main body of the Provost were in Exmouth's
Imperial Hotel, by the late summer of 1945, and all basic training was done there
and in the nearby countryside. Lt Col F H Nicholson, a distinguished First Drill
in pre-war days, and King Badgeman, was Naval Provost Marshall for North West
Europe.
By November 1945 Chatham RM Provost Detachment had closed down, Portsmouth
and Plymouth followed likewise a month later, London, RMTG (Wales) and MT School
Detachments disappeared by the following March leaving only HQ RMTG(D) operational
within the UK. No 3 RM Provost were meanwhile heavily committed in occupied Europe,
whilst 35 RM Provost with HQ in Ceylon (Colombo) spread themselves around the
Far Eastern theatre of war in such places as Bombay, Rangoon, Tokyo, Hong Kong
and Singapore; and from this latter detachment Corporals Isaacs and O'Reilly,
as bodyguards to the C-in-C, were amongst the first to reach and relieve the notorious
Changi POW camp.
Remnants of the HQ Provost moved out of Exmouth to Dalditch
Camp in February 1946, and then in June the last Red Cap cover went into mothballs
as those not due for demobilisation were split up into other units. Thus, when
the overseas representatives returned the following year and dispersed, the 'Corps'
own 'Military Police' ceased to function in that specific form, the disciplinary
duties then being undertaken by each unit's temporary 'Regimental Police' until
a new branch with MP 1 qualifications was introduced in the 1960s, again receiving
a guiding hand from their Army cousins of the Royal Military Police now at the
Chichester Depot.
The Social Scene
Many
buildings in Exmouth were commandeered by HM Forces during the war, particularly
hotels, and other than the Palm Court, now renamed Seacrest House as private flats,
and Harbour View Café - both on the seafront) the most notable was the
Imperial, then privately owned. It housed RN and RM personnel and was then considerably
larger than at present, one wing having been destroyed by fire in 1974.
In
addition there were one or two servicemen's canteens, and rather late in the day
NAAFI opened a branch in January 1946 that has since closed. Royal Marines did
not have the monopoly of this town then, as they do now, for whilst the Navy and
RAF presence was felt in perhaps small doses, there was a very considerable Army
contingent of British, American and Polish troops.
For a short period after
the war, as the Grange was vacated, Lower Nutwell Farmhouse, adjacent to the camp,
was taken on as the Commandant's quarters, but is now back in private use again.
Social life within the camp went on much as usual throughout the remaining war
years, with the weekly band concerts sometimes augmented by RMITCs band, fortnightly
dances in addition to the Film and occasional ENSA shows, Boxing Matches and other
sporting events. (By 1946 there were four Royal Marines from Lympstone in the
Exeter City Football Club). The fourth annual Depot Horticultural Show reached
a new peak in 1944 when 750 visitors on 19 August raised £70 - 10s towards
the Exton POW Fund, which in less than a year had realised £1300 for the
despatch of 'Food and Comforts' parcels to Ex-Lympstone men held in Prisoner of
War camps by the enemy. Lt Col F W Dewhurst, on his second tour of duty here as
CO officiated at the prize-giving inside the theatre whilst outside WO w smith
entertained those taking tea on the lawn with his 25 piece band, and the side-shows
continued to rake in the pennies! It was a small crowd however compared to the
3082 who were later to flood through the gates for the first official Open Day
to the general public 24 September 1947.
In August 1944 our old friend Cpl
Thompson wrote his 'Farewell' message in the G & L when departing for Plymouth,
where at Stonehouse Barracks he was a very popular man next year raising the Demob
Chits until suddenly he found his own before him, which he duly signed himself,
leaving the Corps finally on 12 September 1945 after a total 27 years service
to settle in his Bristol home city where in 1986 he attained his 88th year! At
the beginning of the year Lt Col F W Dewhurst also left, handing over to Lt Col
S G B Paine OBE coming from 116 RM Infantry Brigade, who in turn was to hand over
to Lt Col R W Sankey DSO DSC only six months later.
One
Door closes another opens
On 18 August 1946 the Pre-OCTU (Preparatory
course for young officer candidates) closed its doors at Lympstone with HO 44
Course, whilst the Depot had taken on a new role the previous Spring with the
training of RME (engineer) recruit entries. The biggest change however was to
come at the end of 1946 with the closure of Dalditch and subsequent transfer of
RM Infantry Training to RM Depot Lympstone, under it's new title ITCRM (as distinct
from RMITC at Dalditch).
It was a most emotional and chaotic time for the
camp, as old friends were taking their leave, including the WRNS unit, and a continual
convoy of road transport milled around between the two camps transferring 'lock
stock and barrel' all the necessary equipment and furnishings for the new set-up...and
rather appropriately, I feel, amidst all this feverish activity the Dramatic Society
chose to perform Noel Coward's play 'Hay Fever' in the camp theatre! Down at the
WRNS quarters CPO Ferguson BEM, whom you may recall in Part 1 came here as a Leading
Wren in charge of 20 young ladies in September 1941, was throwing a farewell party
prior to withdrawing with 'her girls' as dramatically as they had arrived, leaving
a vacancy that was not filled until 28 August 1974 when 'Marens' moved into newly
built accommodation.
1 November 1946 was the date set for the official change
over of Lympstone's new role and title, by which time the last of the six remaining
recruit squads had completed Phase 1 training (this part then became exclusive
to Depot Deal for both Continuous Service and National Service lads) and they
then concentrated on phase 2 syllabus only. HQ RMTG(D) was now closed down, and
personnel records and control of ITCRM passed to the Command of Plymouth Group.
An 'Inventory Check' at the time revealed 3000 officers and men living in 74 huts
enclosed in an area of 54 acres within a boundary of 1¼ miles! Broken down
this represented 60 officers, 13 Companies of three platoons each, plus a complete
Infantry Battalion with a total of 82 vehicles of varying types to convey them
around! Lympstone was now very much alive and well with between 1,000 and 1,500
recruits under training at any given time, and on completion of which some went
on to Bickleigh Infantry School for specialisation or to Commando Training Centre
at Towyn (N Wales) which for a short time had taken over this role from Achnacarry
before it too closed down, and Plymouth took temporary control!
From its humble
beginnings seven years earlier Lympstone had, to all intents and purposes, progressed
to 'near perfection', with two small churches now, a Corps Military Library built
up to 1,200 books for recruit study, and many other facilities...yet 'Their Lordships'
were still not satisfied and many changes were to come, so that by this year of
1986 we now have an entirely rebuilt camp, beyond all recognition to any who first
served here.
Changing Roles and Development
Early in 1951 the Officer Training Wing moved in from Bickleigh Infantry School,
just six men in the first intake, two of whom were Corps Commission candidates
and parachutists, to be joined later by further batches totalling a complement
of 40. The Officers Mess also acquired some material additions at this time, as
a piano, table-centre, two paintings, some silver and other items of furniture
arrived from Chatham Barracks which was closing down.
There were two intakes
of boys between the ages of 16 and 17 in August and October 1958, who were known
as Youth Entries 1 and 2 (YEl and YE2) but were later amalgamated to form Junior
Entry Squad No 1 (JEl). The charge of these young men for their first year of
training was given to Lt Thomas Seacombe RM. They spent a year at Deal before
being split up, so that 18 of the eldest boys went to Lympstone for Commando training,
whilst the others remained at Deal for further training.
With the temporary
closure of Stonehouse Barracks (Plymouth) for a 'care and maintenance' period,
the SNCOs Training Wing and Specialised Training moved to Lympstone in February
1960, followed by the Commando Specialist Training in April, which included Heavy
Weapons, Cliff Assault, and Assault Engineers. These bodies joined up with the
resident 'X' Troop to form a new Commando Training Wing centred around the old
'c' Company Lines. Previously there had been four recruit companies, A, B, C and
D; of these only A and C survived, with the former as the National Service Company,
but to make way for the new units these now amalgamated into a single Recruit
Training Wing in February.
The last of the National Service recruits were
in 939 Squad, finishing their Phase Two training here early in 1961, and thus
were due for release two years later, just as Lympstone started to undergo its
face-lift.
In the autumn of 1959 the Sergeant's Mess had some alterations
and foundations were laid for an extension, which increased recreational facilities,
but under the redevelopment plans, drawn up in five stages, to cover an estimated
twelve years period, the first actual replacements were the Drill Shed in 1960
and the wooden huts of the Officer's Mess, the latter taking about a year for
completion, in bricks and mortar.
Lt Gen M C Cartwright-Taylor opened the
first of the new recruit accommodation blocks on 12 July 1963, by which time four
others were also erected, awaiting completion, and already 'a blot on the rural
skyline' according to the 'Western Morning News' of 29 June previous. Some locals
obviously viewed the new 'skyscrapers' with alarm, and the Earl of Devon, residing
opposite in Powderham Castle, who no doubt had the most cause for complaint, suggested
the planting of trees around the camp to hide it! Although trees do adorn the
site, even now the white buildings stand out clearly from Exmouth and the western
river shoreline.
The site selected for the new barrack blocks was at the top
of the slope above the old bayonet range. A total of seven new barrack blocks
and four company offices were planned for this site, each of four storeys intended
to accommodate 100 men, whilst the company office buildings were small compact
and single-storeyed. At Withycombe Raleigh 36 new married quarters for 'other
ranks' were rising per schedule, with the officer's quarters slowly progressing
on the Admiralty land at Lympstone, and War Office land at the Retreat in Topsham,
but would not be ready for another two years.
By the end of 1966 the Mess-and-recreational
block, including the Main Galley, Dining Halls, NAAFI and Junior NCOs Club was
nearing completion: nearby were the NAAFI quarters and a trading centre designed
to house the UIF-run amenities, Barber Shop, Pressing Shop, Laundry and Drying
Room, a civilian Tailor's Shop...and the new automatic telephone exchange which
came into operation that January. Also in progress were the practice rooms, stores
and offices of the Plymouth Group Band, and the seventh barrack block. Sports
grounds were provided in the field opposite the main gate.
Exmouth's adoption
of the Corps took place on 11 May 1968 when a parade, depicting the various Royal
Marine uniforms, wended its way through the town, whilst Exeter followed suit
on 23 April 1977. Between these two events a new training syllabus had been introduced
at Easter 1972 because of the popularity of the new initial short engagements.
Divided into two phases, the purpose of phase one (Commando Training) was preparation,
covering the majority of individual skills and the physical build-up necessary
for phase two, lasting 14 weeks for adults and 25 weeks for juniors. This concentrated
on team and group skills, all aspects of troop weapons and minor tactics up to
section level, and included a week at the Amphibious Training Unit, Poole. ITCRM
changed to CTCRM on 24 August 1970.
By January 1976 the Junior Marines Block
and an extension to the Officers' Mess had been completed, work progressed on
the new Sergeants' Mess and sadly the last tree holding the 30 foot ropes of the
old assault course was felled! That Easter the Sergeants were at last able to
take up residence in their new Mess, and since the new year recruits were now
arriving here direct, instead of via Depot Deal.
A unique event occurred on
3 May that year when the Mayor of Exeter joined the Commandant General and senior
railway executives on an inaugural train service from Exeter scheduled to stop
at the camp's very own station, Lympstone Commando. Not only the first new station
to be built in the western region this century, but the only one in the country
designed exclusively for servicemen.
Other special events included the first
change-over of the CGRM, outside of. Whitehall, on 11 April 1975; a rare visit
by a Prime Minister (Harold Wilson) later that year; and the first member of the
Royal Family to undertake the Commando Course (HRH Prince Charles) during November
1974. The younger Princes Andrew and Edward did likewise in 1980 and 1983 respectively,
the latter actually joining the Corps on 5 September.
The fifth stage of modernisation
was officially celebrated as completed with the unveiling of the 'Both Arms' Kenneth
Armitage sculpture, in the newly named 'CGs Court' at the end of 1974, by which
time the number of recruits barrack blocks had been increased to 9, plus one of
three storeys for trained ranks. *
Four years later the new £l.8 million
physical and recreational training centre was completed; by which time the PT
Wing had moved in from Deal. A new church of St Alban was dedicated on 1 April
1981, in the presence of the Countess Mountbatten of Burma, and then when Maj
Gen Sir Jeremy Moore KCB OBE MC* opened the new main presentation centre, Falklands
Hall, on 6 May 1984 it could be said that Lympstone Camp's modernisation was complete.
Only one of the original wooden huts now remains to remind any returning 'old
boys' that this site is indeed that of the old Exton Camp, and one can only guess
at their thoughts as they survey the vast complex of today! They might also compare
the pay received by today's recruits, and envy their cars and seemingly marvellous
conditions, but times (and prices) have dramatically changed since the formative
days of the old Exton Camp, when the return bus fare from the main gate into Exmouth
was just 8 Pence (3p decimal coinage) or 1/6d (7_p) to Exeter; by train it was
6d (3p) and l/ld (5p) return respectively...and the fortnightly pay for a recruit
was 28 shillings!
- 000 -
* NB. With 'D' Block (Salerno) being the first of the new four storied blocks
to be opened on 12 July 1963, the last one was that for the Junior Entries Wing
(Normandy), built to a completely different design and containing 20 barrack rooms,
plus 4 'Quiet Rooms', 3 television and 2 hobbies rooms, also Company and Troop
offices. This block had the distinction of being officially opened at precisely
1158 on Monday 28 October 1974...exactly 310 years (to the minute) after the founding
of the Corps.
Apart from the Corporals Block and one as yet un-named ('F'
Block), the remainder are known as Chosin - Dieppe - Kangaw - Limbang - Matapan
- Montforterbeek - Normandy - Radfan - Salerno and Termoli.
© - RMHS 1986