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Pull Up A Sandbag
Sandbag Reminiscences of Kalvin Haley Sandbag
In Honour Of Sergeant Tull, Royal Artillery
I have just read George Neal's "Sandbag" re "Did Bullying Ever End?" In it, he mentions Sergeant Tull and disparages his reputation. Sergeant Tull, Royal Artillery, was my Platoon Sergeant in 5 Platoon of 'R' Company from September to December 1964. To the very best of my recollection, Sergeant Tull was definitely a hard taskmaster but also a very straight and fair disciplinarian - as well as a first-class soldier to boot.
Whatever the privations of boys soldiering in AAJLR at that time, their often vicious behaviour towards each other after the end of the working day (when the permanent staff all went home) was far more severe that any "punishment" dished out by the permanent staff.
I should also add that I thoroughly enjoyed my time as a Junior Leader in Tonfanau. It was not a place for the weak-kneed. In my opinion, we were hard pressed and often severely challenged, but we were also very well fed, quartered and trained - what else would you have expected as essential preparation for future leaders in the British Army?

Roy Rodgers Would Like To Add The Following:
I also have to say something to the defence of Sgt. Geoff Tull. He was my Recruit Company sergeant in charge of 4 platoon in '63 along with Sgt. Jim Daniels (still alive and a dapper man living in Gloucester) and Capt. Bill Stitt (now unfortunately deceased. A real gentleman).
I found Geoff Tull a very fair man who did not bear a grudge. Yes, a lover of football - which I was not but also a man with humour. I remember a snowball fight organised one winter and he just happened to be going by on his motor bike with the best boots tied on behind. We pelted him with snow. When we got back to the lines, we were met with a barrage of water from fire buckets and an instruction to have a room inspection ten minutes later. All in jest.
He had a job to do and did it well - in fact we in four platoon felt we were lucky when you looked at some of the other platoon sergeants. But then we were biased.
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