Description
This account of the Royal Artillery’s boy trumpeters spans not only the 1920s and 1930s — when around 3,000 were trained at the Grand Depot in Woolwich, London, and various depots in India until the 1940s — but also narrates the story of trumpeters who have long been integral to the British Army throughout the centuries.
Numerous members of the Association of Trumpeters have generously shared their personal memories for this informal history. Although the conditions during their training and subsequent service were often extremely harsh — arguably even barbaric by today's standards — none of them expressed regret about their time in uniform, although time may have softened some of their more sensitive recollections.
In this book, many former trumpeters recount their family backgrounds, military training in England or India and the military service that followed, much of which occurred in India, where most trumpeters were stationed. They enlisted at the age of 17½ or 18, and the later adventures of some of the ‘Badgies’, as they were affectionately called, are detailed within these pages.
The term ‘Badgie’ comes from the Hindi word baju, meaning ‘music’. Badgie-wallahs served as the musicians and timekeepers in an era when there were no other means to notify large groups of soldiers of their duties. The boy trumpeters were responsible for sounding calls for all daily activities, from reveille to lights-out, and the echoes of their trumpet calls remain indelibly etched in the collective memory of all who served in the military during those distant times.
Details
Publisher - Woodfield Publishing Ltd
Language - English
Perfect Bound
Contributors
By author
Brian Cloughley
Published Date - 2008-12-01
ISBN - 9781846830624
Dimensions - 23.4 x 15.6 x 0.9 cm
Page Count - 166
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