Columnists
Ron Allison: Back to basics at Bushfield
A FRIDAY morning in mid-June 1950.
The latest intake of National Service recruits to arrive at the Green Jackets training depot at Bushfield Camp, to the south of Winchester, knows it is the moment of truth.
Stiff new uniforms, uncomfortable new boots, new berets perched on as yet un-butchered haircuts, this is Day Two of basic training, our first time on the parade ground.
The platoon sergeant looks as terrifying as we had been warned. He sounds even worse.
He knows he is facing another challenge. So do we. And we know who will win.
He has been here before - many times.
Two days earlier most of us were still schoolboys or students. Now we are in the Royal Army Education Corps, training with the Light Infantry.
We fall-in in alphabetical order. Why am I not called Williams or Zebedee?
The sergeant takes over.
"Number, rank, name!"
"22387680, Private, Allison R."
"Number, rank, name!"
"22387680, Private, Allison R"
"What are these?" The Platoon Sergeant extends one arm and points with the other hand at the three stripes on his sleeve.
This time I get it right.
"They're a sergeant's stripes, Sergeant."
"Well done son. See where an education gets you?"
So, for the next 12 weeks, Bushfield is our home. Hut Six, to be precise. Eventually, reluctant soldiers though we are, we come to appreciate our long-suffering sergeant.
He declares us fit to move on, we hold our passing-out parade on the square and march away along St Cross Road into Winchester.
A Friday morning in late-December 2007
A friend with access to the site has driven me along St Cross Road to revisit Bushfield Camp. Once again I am on the parade ground.
Now, like some of the original roads, it is resisting nature's best efforts to win it back.
But what a mess the place is - some 115 acres, mostly owned by the Church Commissioners.
To be fair it is well screened at road level and trees have been planted to soften the view from the surrounding elevated areas, but what a terrible waste of undeveloped land it is.
Some, I know, would like it to be left to more or less restore itself naturally. Others have presented proposals for various developments, from park-and- ride (no longer an option), to housing, light industry, leisure park, shopping centre, police headquarters, nine-hole golf course, combinations of any or all of these and several others.
What seems certain is that such a site in south-east England will be developed in some way, and that whatever is eventually sanctioned will be eco-friendly.
As an advocate of local solutions to local problems, I hope it will not be left to central government to force the issue.
4:38pm Thursday 10th January 2008
Print 
Email this 
Comment
What are these links for?
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
More on Digg
More on del.icio.us
More on Furl
More on reddit
More on NowPublic/
More on Yahoo!
