MORE FROM THE “SIMPSON” DIARIES
13 October 1953
My first Support Group Parade 0800 – 0850. Flt Sgt Allan did his utmost to instil a sense of the occasion. Less than 100 on parade.
Spent my first francs in the Headquarters canteen (tea very good with your own helping of milk and sugar). Expensive but with a variety of food and drink to be had. All ranks of all nations use this canteen and the picture it presents must be unique in the NAAFI album.
During the afternoon I was transferred from a letter to the Supreme Commander Europe to the production of place cards for an Officers’ Dinner !!!
October 18 1953
My first occasion since I arrived – to Paris with the RAF Hockey team. We left the camp at about 9.15 and reached the outskirts of Paris about 10.30. We entered via the Porte d’Italia and passed by Orly Airport and the University City. After some trouble we found our destination, the Montrouge Athletic Club. Then followed my first game of hockey in France, a trifle ragged but the Frenchmen seemed to enjoy themselves. The Montrouge “Stade” was well laid out catering for hockey players, tennis, association football, table tennis devotees and volley-ball players plus a full size rugby stadium.
On the return journey we stopped at the “Café des Aviateurs” opposite Orly Airport. The party consumed numerous bottles of beer at 60f (1/3d) and very indelicately dealt with the café’s version of ham sandwiches – six inches of roll split down the middle to allow the entry of a large slice of ham and butter.
31 October 1953
I took my first opportunity of watching American football (Fontainebleau Foresters and Bentwaters Interrupters) in the International Stadium, which also stages soccer and rugby on the same piece of grass. I must admit that the fact that I had no knowledge of the rules must be taken into account in my assessment of the game but I found it very dull. The game sadly lacks movement as each team has a conference every two or three minutes and there is great reluctance to throw the ball around; one man receives the ball according to a pre-arranged plan and then endeavours to make as much headway as he can while his team-mates block out would-be tackles. Each team is 33 strong with 11 on the field at a time.
As far I was concerned the most interesting thing was the US Army Band. Each time there was a score the triumphant team returned to their own half to a spirited rendering of “Victors March”. If a player was injured an ambulance of the US Army Medical Corps raced on to the pitch and distributed stretchers, blankets and orderlies all over the playing area.
The band was notable for its impromptu comments on the proceedings and when one of the visiting team laid himself out a couple of musicians struck up with the “Dead March”
During the game many cans of beer were consumed and it was noticeable that some of the spectators were more confused than me.
There follows an extract of a conversation between two American policemen.
A: Say Jim where’s the jeep?
B: Over there. What-d-ya wannit for?
A: I got a sergeant here who’s wandering around in the woods and I wanna get him down to town
B: What-d-ya want the jeep for?
A: He don’t mind comin’ but just now he’s fallen over himself and couldn’t make it without the jeep
(A look at the distant jeep) What the hell, let him fall.