Indian 1A Long Blade SLR Bayonet

[Peter Laidler]

And a bite out of your ring could be painful I hasten to add. Well......., had to add that! Dark, foggy afternoon and..........

Shaggy dog story now so look away now - except for BAR and Muffer who've been there and chased us around the ranges...........
When the catch on an L1A1 fails (or it's not attached firmly they move forwards a tad during recoil and the muzzle ring can drop off the F/E. But the close tolerance at the catch end doesn't seem to allow the bullet to catch the ring - the bayonet just drops off! We had to shoot with bayonets fixed on the 'advance to contact' shoots*. Always an adrenaline rush with RCO's shouting and bawling at the 25yd squat or kneel firing point where we were meant to keep both eyes open! *I don't seem to remember these advance to contact shoots in the UK, only in Malaya and Australia. Keeping both eyes open and in the crouched aim was purgatory because even with one of those green beeny or jungle hats on (also called 'CAPS, Cxxx') the sweat would pour down and into your eyes and sting like mad until you could douse them clean with your water bottle. For the first Op Training shoots you filled your 2x water bottles with water and that powdered orange or lemon powder that was meant to be sugar free. But it still turned sticky so the next time - just plain water that started off cool from the chiller outside the kitchen but was hot within an hour!

I always had my gas fully closed because if you had a gas stoppage on the run-downs and last 100 yard, fix bayonet and advance to contact phase, the RCO's would just shout and bawl even more and it was NEVER the fault of the rifle or ammo, just the bloke who's head was 'full of sxxx and twigs'. And if you were one of the lightweight young slim nashos shooting from the crouched down/on your haunches/squatting position and rolled backwards from the recoil, well....... it was like the world had come to an end. Talking of which, I wonder where my mate Alan Sanford is now? Happy days........ Yes they were looking back and great blokes too

Wish I'd taken to enjoying myself more during out monthly Military Training phases. Only 3 or 4 days a month or as as I remember, just to keep you on your toes...... unlimited ammo, blank, pyrotechnics and grenades