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Elvis.

I have noticed that there is one name missing from the contact list, that of Elvis Aaron Presley. I bet you all thought he spent his entire draft in Germany with the American Forces. Wrong, he spent one weekend with RR Troop at Dover Road.

Let me explain: Easter Bank Holiday 1960, on the Saturday night a group of National Servicemen, of which 249 was chiefly made up, went on the lash down the "Brit" Club. (It was a demob party for two of them and they were due to sail back to "Blighty" on the following Tuesday,)

Anyway, when everyone woke and rose from their pits on Sunday morning, hanging from the top balcony of the middle block in Princess Mary Barracks was a huge plywood cut-out of Elvis complete with guitar. It was at least 20 foot high and was quite heavy. This cut-out had been fixed to the front of the Sky Cinema on Orchard Road for the whole of the previous week, advertising his latest film. So there it hung from the balcony until Tuesday morning, when the RSM of 18 Signal Regiment arrived back at work and went total ape-shit.

How it had been taken down from the Sky Cinema and carried all the way back to Princess Mary Barracks without anyone seeing or hearing them remained a complete mystery. It's just another demonstration of the power of Tiger Beer. (With thanks to Jim Abel)