TTN: Returning his never less than immaculate salutes on passing, I was always painfully aware that his beady eye had given my appearance and bearing the once over and found me sadly wanting! No doubt Danny was grateful for the enhanced pension etc, but I always thought it was a shame when he was commissioned - the RAF had loads of Flying Officers but all too few outstanding WO's.
My contemporaries are now filling WO/SWO slots, so I can see the transformation from human being to Warrant Officer. Those type of characters develop seamlessly into the role, as people of that calibre/inclination always have done I suppose. It might be a generational thing, but looking back at that shot of Danny Gourd, its probably easier to look the part in bulled ammo boots and Serge battledress than the modern gear.
Having said that, I bumped into one of my old WOs the other month - dragged backwards through a hedge and then dressed in an old sandbag, he would still look smarter and have more presence than me. An ex QCS WO, he would (frequently) shame the Guards Division with his deportment. What was scary, was that he was always polite and hardly ever failed to say please and thank you when fixing you with a beady expression; "Please leave my office immediately and return in no later than 25 minutes dressed in your Number 1s. Thank you". Just reading that back, I still felt my bowels shift slightly.
Its good to see the uniform worn smartly in the public eye and the troops who wear it to the shops these days do so with a sense of self awareness and spring in their step that my 'generation' didn't generally have - and probably with good reason. I was at Odiham this week and felt like a crusty old fart when I caught myself actually feeling pleased to see so much smartness on display!