WW1 diary

[Matt]

Hi
I've offered to help a friend who has just received a diary which belonged to his grandfather who served as an instructor in physical training and bayonet drill.although English he was attached to the 3rd New Zealand rifle brigade.in the diary there are a number of terms and abbrevations that niether myself or my friend can work out and I'm hoping that somone here might have some suggestions.I will attempt to type the sentence in which the term is used to show it's context.

"Passing out in competition Ring taking" what is "Ring taking"?

"No way of getting to Wisque except on foot-just imagine it with more than full equipment and Blob sticks tied to rifles" what is a "Blob stick"??

"Paraded at Rua billets at 9.15 Old chap to whom the field belonged tried to kick us out and failing pinched the parrying stick" what's a parrying stick?

Any help with these is much apprechated.
Matt.

During the war there was a training devise for bayonet training. It was a stick about 7" long and maybe 2" in diameter. One end was padded the other had a ring on it about 21/2" to 3" in diameter. The instructor would gather the trainees in a circle around him facing toward him. The instructor standing in the centre could then face any of the men and challenge them with an "On Guard" and the trainee would immediately come to the On Guard position and the instuctor would lunge at him with the stick. If the trainee successfully parried the lunge the instructor would position the ring end of the stick for the trainee to put his bayonet through it. If the trainee was not successfull in parrie he would get the padded end of the stick in his chest or worse.
I used to have one of these sticks it should be down in our museum. I'll bet that the majority of people haven't a clue what it was used for.

[Mark W. Tonner]

Matt/Art;

A picture is worth a thousand words:

Cheers

Source: A Nation Forged in Fire, Canadians and the Second World War 1939-1945

Thanks Mark. Are those men wearing Stable Belts? Shirts with collars? Two of them seem to have a patch of some kind on their left sleeve. Full length putties, must have been early in the war or they are Yanks?

[Mark W. Tonner]

Originally posted by Art Johnson
Thanks Mark. Are those men wearing Stable Belts? Shirts with collars? Two of them seem to have a patch of some kind on their left sleeve. Full length putties, must have been early in the war or they are Yanks?

Hi Art;

RMC Cadets, Kingston - 1939-40 period - should have mentioned that I guess.....

Cheers