^'How BOOTWU blocked all traffic from using that entrance gen dit' to follow in slow time...
The car? (1.5 litre version of sleek SS-styled Jaguar below - Bought her for 'cheap price of £25' circa mid-60's from a messmate pinged for a pierhead jump). Needed a little work but soon sorted & up & running, with 3rd party insurance at just £19.00!
The story? Returned to RNB around 0200
(having just partied/parted with a slightly dishrevelled Jenny W who scurried off back to the relative comfort & safety of her accommodation at the nearby 'Duchess of Bent Carrots*', opposite the old NAAFI 'Ranch House' ).
On arrival at that Vicky Barracks main gate it was shut but opened sesame on production of car pass & ID by a couple of the gate staff who hauled those large wrought iron gates open to admit me.
Started the Jag up, into first, clutch out & moved forward a couple of paces then an almighty CLUNK as the donk stalled and refused to start again. So there was this two tonne car halfway in/halfway out of that narrow cobbled entrance lifeless & sulking. Curious at the commotion the sleepy OOD eventually arrived at the scene. After much humming & ahaa-ing he made an executive decision & the fire & emergency party was mobilised to try to shift BOOTWU's big motorised 'blockship'.
Sadly, despite mucho macho grunting, shoving & farting the stalwart efforts of those big strong Pompey Field Gunners, on 6,000 calories/day BTW, had not the slightest effect. So out came my newly-minted but previously unused AA membership card and a phone call eventually resulted in an AA patrolman arriving to investigate.
Meanwhile, a few other late returning libertymen in motors were denied entrance & turned away chuntering by the feather-spitting OOD as the Duty Watch idlers offered fruity verbal encouragement tempered with a sprinkling of (seemingly respectful but utterly useless) bright suggestions.
Eventually the AA man discovered the problem which could not be readily fixed so he disconnected the prop shaft coupling from the rear of the gearbox thereby finally enabling the big strong field gunners to push my heavy old vehicle into Vicky Barracks where 'twas parked up out of sight in a quiet side road, in front of what was then the Slops Block. All duly entered in the Gatehouse Log but no repercussions & the broken part was eventually sourced from the Silver Fern breakers yard down Warsash way and I was mobile once again.
12 happy months of motoring with that fine old motor, even hit the ton a couple of times, but with only rod linkage & drum brakes it was subject to severe brake-fade & used to take forever to stop!
Sorry if I've bimbled off track a little, but there is a slight but tenous link with this thread's 'Detention' title:
When later drafted back for R Mech 37 I sold the beast (for a fortune of £40) to A N Other who'd just joined RNB in a 'Prisoner's Escort' draft with the Provost staff - Touring the country to collect miscreants for subsequent CM trial & DQs but not in
that motor. One day he was less than careful in parking it and managed to prang the the Provost Marshalls own motor...Oh, dear, never mind, what a shame :EVIL:
*Formerly ye WRNS Duchess of Kent Barracks, & now the City Museum BTW.