JPC

[ABI]

Thought I'd get the ball rolling seeing as theres a lack of posts on here.

JPC, J-Coy or to give it it's full name The Junior Parachute Company was (i think) set up back in the 60's to allow 16-17 year olds to join up. Originally you spent TWO YEARS in the depot before going through Recruit Company from scratch.............how doe's that fit in with the 'my training is longer than yours debate' thats been had eleswhere on this forum.

When I went in this had been reduced to a year in JPC at the end of which you were graded to determine which week you entered Recruit Coy, some poor sods went in a week one others in at P-Coy.

You basically went through all the normal training syllubus except NBC from memory, and seeing as you spent over a year in the Depot you were fit as fcuk. I've got some good memories from this time and still have mates from this period. Any former members of the JPC will know what I mean..................remember the HUMPS!!!!

If i said is was a mixture of the Hitler Youth and The Hezbulla I would not be far off the mark (well only a bit, we didn't pray three times a day)

Just thought I'd see if there's anyone out there who remembers.

As an after thought did the Royal Marines have anything similar as this wasn't unique to Para Reg, most Regiments had a similar set up.

[El Prez]

The RM have Junior Entry. Starts about 16 and is known in a friendly fashion as Girls Time. It didn't count towards your full general service time. The lads who went through the system were some of the best troops going, immaculate kit, very fit and sharp as razors at looking out for themselves and their mates. They knew all the tricks and seemed to have been schooled in hard knocks and how to benefit from them! They also had a wicked sense of humour. It must have been like Borstal with pay

[Mike]

Rob..... yr wrong....Opo... It was like Butlins with out the rides, I remember Gaby Bye, our DL, saying on our first day that he was to be our DAD from now on and that his deputy Cpl Jones would be our MUM.... nothing like a borstal!

[El Prez]

Not from the outside Mike, looking in at some of those thugs, and then when they joined our troop it was like having very smart escapees with us
You couldn't have been a junior anyway, you've always been too old.

[ABI]

I can recall being told by our J-Coy staff to keep our heads down on joining the recruit plt as both the Rec Coy staff and the blokes in training got more than a little pissed off that we had joined them. They seemed to forget we had already spent a year in the Depot being beasted and that on joining Rec Coy just before P-Coy we had somehow snuck in the back door.

The Rec Coy staff didn't like us because we new more than their joes, and the lads in training didn't like being shown up by 17 year old's. Things tended to settle down but you certainly got more than a few digs just for being a junior.

I remember after a 10 miler one of the Cpl's put his nice sweaty socks in my mouth :oops: ................Oh what fun we had.

[Rotary Booty]

ABI
That Cpl's action is disgusting............ is that how you caught Athletes Lips?

I take it he had the good manners (!) to take his feet out of them first or he really would have put his foot in it!

What a s(h)ocking thing to do!

[ABI]

It gets better, not only did I have his sock in my mouth (less boot) but I was 'adopting the position'........back pushed to the corridor wall legs half bent holding a bumper out at arms length.

But then everyone went through it, so it was all part of the process.....to be honest the above was not unusual, it seemed to happen most days and it was just pot luck whether it was me, some other poor sod or the whole platoon.

[El Prez]

I have never heard of an instructor doing anything as grotesque at CTC or anywhere else for that matter. That's just pure unabashed bullying by a mentally sub-normal dork............
he'd have been kicked out of the RM along with any pals of a likeminded tendency.
Pity to spoil a good training course by putting such idiots in control. ABI, does it still go on?

[ABI]

I doubt it goes on to the same degree these days as most recruits couldn't (or wouldn't) put up with it. On top of which they closed the 'old' Para Depot down some years ago and moved it up to Litchfield into a combined training depot (very bad decision in my opinion).

As for putting up with the antics of the staff, you just got on with it. I had a good idea of what to expect as my brother had been in 10 Para. You just made sure you didn't make the same mistake twice.

The bloke in question went onto 22 and several years later I bumped into him on AB Day and had a beer and a joke about it!!

[Rotary Booty]

ABI

Is it correct that the Para Regt have moved from Aldershot to somewhere near Colchester?

[ABI]

I think the following is correct.

2 Para are based in Colchester, but are either in or about to go to the emerald toilet. 1 Para (currently overseas) but home base is in Dover, 3 Para (currently overseas) home base..........haven't a clue.

9 Sqn, 7 RHA and possibly the Paramedics are still based in the shot, but again they should all be overseas with the rest of 16AA.

I believe most of the log support Regt are based at Wattisham in Suffolk. Before anyone goe's ape about giving out unit locations all of the above is available from the MOD site or has been in the press recently.

[Rotary Booty]

Cheers ABI,

that makes sense now, as we had a 'Doverparatrooper' on the forum who was really good news. Haven't heard from him for a while!

I was stationed at RAF Wattisham (Whatashame!) in 1987, when it was home to two Phantom Squadrons! The Army now have more RAF stations than the RAF!

[Tab]

Well when 1 Para is at home it is at Connaught Barracks Dover, and I have spent a number of happy evenings there with the lads.

[APara'sMum]

Not sure if i have done this right. My son is in 3 para, currently overseas, and he is based in Colchester.

[Rotary Booty]

Hi Lily

Welcome to the forum.

Hope you get your son home soon, safe and well. When he does, get him to join us on the forum and tell us how it was.

Regards, Derek