Basic Artillery Course

37 years served in Arty 7

In 1968, the School of Artillery was a training wing under the 20th Singapore Artillery Battalion (20 SAB). Papa Battery was a basic artillery course. School of Artillery Officer Commanding (OC) was Maj Kwek Boon Yong, and  20 SAB Commanding Officer (CO) was Maj Mancharan Singh Gill. (attached photo).

Basic artillery course was to be gunners’ first course to enter artillery.  I attended the basic artillery course from 02/9/1968 to 15/10/1968. A total of six weeks, 27 (TASA), we were  divided into four Detachments (Det). Det 1 to Det 3 had 7 people, Det 4 only 6 people. I was in Det 4. Therefore, Det 4 had to work harder.

The officer in charge of our basic artillery course was Lta Wong Siew Parng, an officer who was gentle with a scholar appearance, wearing a pair of glasses. He only spoke English, and he spoke good English. I remembered he had never punished us.

Apart from Sgt Hassan Bin Mat Jan, there were five non-commissioned officer (NCO) to assist Lta Wong Siew Parng, all were regular soldiers, they were: Cpl Tan Peng Jim, Cpl Johari Bin Kapil, Cpl Hamid Bin Johari, Cpl Chan Eng Keng, and Cpl Low Tin Fook.

Each NCO took care of a Detachment.  Cpl Johari Bin Kapil looked after Det 4.

Cpl Tan Peng Jim later joined the Navy, He became a senior warrant officer. Both Cpl Hamid Bin Johari  and Cpl Johari Bin Kapil later became Motor Transport Officer (MTO), both promoted to warrant officer class one.  Cpl Chan Eng Keng later attended officer cadet course, and became an officer

We were learning operating a 120 mm light mortar with a 6 men detachment. Artillery was so frightening because we had to manpack the 41 kg barrel, or the 36 kg base plate, or the 25 kg bipod, or two mortar bombs a total of 24 kg, or some 20 kg accessories, on foot for one kilometer distance during exercises. As gunners, we always felt proud to talk about the manpacking exercises in the early days in the Singapore Artillery.

Whether  you were an officer, NCO, or other rank, and even technical assistants, had to be baptized though manpack to become a member of the artillery.

Together with us at the same time, there was a group of non-English speaking, with only primary education, we called them "the Cow Boy Batch". I could always remember one of the cowboys said: "We do not study suffer here, you all study well also have to come here to suffer."