Favourite Military Banter/Phrases
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RAF Finningley Battle of Britain Open Day 1975 - Mass briefing for all the staff and students of Nav School, and AEO and Air Eng School, on running of car parks and various stalls. At the end of the briefing the usual stressing by the Staish of how important it all was in celebrating the event Followed by " Any Questions?"
German Exchange Navigator Insructor stands up and asks "Why am I celebrating the Battle of Britain?" Stunned silence from the wheels, and suppressed (or otherwise) giggling from the floor.
German Exchange Navigator Insructor stands up and asks "Why am I celebrating the Battle of Britain?" Stunned silence from the wheels, and suppressed (or otherwise) giggling from the floor.
Service 'banter'
Long service in the Armed Forces tends to inculcate a 'language' of its own with phrases and sayings 'in house' which are less common elsewhere.
I make the point only because a question was posed to me, which I am unable to answer directly, having been 'banned' from the JB forum where it originated.
'Banning', unfortunately, isn't accompanied by a 'charge sheet', so one has to guess at which particular sin was the culprit ( From numerous reponses, there are many candidates among my posts
) My best guess , at the moment, is my quoting a definition of 'sympathy' which I was first introduced to as a raw 18 year old aircrew cadet, and which would have been repeated ad infinitum in any and every crewroom/coffee bar I inhabited for the next 35+ years. I suspect that it stemmed from an era of aviation losses (particularly personnel) at a level which didn't allow for sustained grief and limitations in machine performance guaranteed repetition. The phrase/definition was almost Pavlovian in its regularity of use. Should Keith Williams happen to see this post, there is his answer.
The above leads me to wonder just how many such 'in sayings' remain in vogue and has the new century outgrown their acceptance?
I hasten to add that I have no quibbles with the 'banning' ... train set ownership etc.
I make the point only because a question was posed to me, which I am unable to answer directly, having been 'banned' from the JB forum where it originated.
'Banning', unfortunately, isn't accompanied by a 'charge sheet', so one has to guess at which particular sin was the culprit ( From numerous reponses, there are many candidates among my posts
) My best guess , at the moment, is my quoting a definition of 'sympathy' which I was first introduced to as a raw 18 year old aircrew cadet, and which would have been repeated ad infinitum in any and every crewroom/coffee bar I inhabited for the next 35+ years. I suspect that it stemmed from an era of aviation losses (particularly personnel) at a level which didn't allow for sustained grief and limitations in machine performance guaranteed repetition. The phrase/definition was almost Pavlovian in its regularity of use. Should Keith Williams happen to see this post, there is his answer.The above leads me to wonder just how many such 'in sayings' remain in vogue and has the new century outgrown their acceptance?
I hasten to add that I have no quibbles with the 'banning' ... train set ownership etc.
Long service in the Armed Forces tends to inculcate a 'language' of its own with phrases and sayings 'in house' which are less common elsewhere.
I make the point only because a question was posed to me, which I am unable to answer directly, having been 'banned' from the JB forum where it originated.
'Banning', unfortunately, isn't accompanied by a 'charge sheet', so one has to guess at which particular sin was the culprit ( From numerous reponses, there are many candidates among my posts) My best guess , at the moment, is my quoting a definition of 'sympathy' which I was first introduced to as a raw 18 year old aircrew cadet, and which would have been repeated ad infinitum in any and every crewroom/coffee bar I inhabited for the next 35+ years. I suspect that it stemmed from an era of aviation losses (particularly personnel) at a level which didn't allow for sustained grief and limitations in machine performance guaranteed repetition. The phrase/definition was almost Pavlovian in its regularity of use. Should Keith Williams happen to see this post, there is his answer.
The above leads me to wonder just how many such 'in sayings' remain in vogue and has the new century outgrown their acceptance?
I hasten to add that I have no quibbles with the 'banning' ... train set ownership etc.
I make the point only because a question was posed to me, which I am unable to answer directly, having been 'banned' from the JB forum where it originated.
'Banning', unfortunately, isn't accompanied by a 'charge sheet', so one has to guess at which particular sin was the culprit ( From numerous reponses, there are many candidates among my posts
) My best guess , at the moment, is my quoting a definition of 'sympathy' which I was first introduced to as a raw 18 year old aircrew cadet, and which would have been repeated ad infinitum in any and every crewroom/coffee bar I inhabited for the next 35+ years. I suspect that it stemmed from an era of aviation losses (particularly personnel) at a level which didn't allow for sustained grief and limitations in machine performance guaranteed repetition. The phrase/definition was almost Pavlovian in its regularity of use. Should Keith Williams happen to see this post, there is his answer.The above leads me to wonder just how many such 'in sayings' remain in vogue and has the new century outgrown their acceptance?
I hasten to add that I have no quibbles with the 'banning' ... train set ownership etc.
I make the point only because a question was posed to me, which I am unable to answer directly, having been 'banned' from the JB forum where it originated.
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If I remember from my youth - it is from a "Naval Dictionary" contained in one of the Rugby Joke books which defines certain words: for example Adolescence is the stage of life between infancy and adultery. The book was on the essential reading list for the school cadet force.
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Unfortunately, we now live in a society where you can be 'cancelled' just for using the wrong pronoun for someone; most of us from a certain generation of the Armed Forces are well and truly ......
Cornish Jack,
The banter to which you refer is grammatically correct so anyone who takes offence to it is doing so based on their interpretation of a perfectly valid statement! I have to say that I doubt if its origin was related to accident rate, just good humour. The other great demise in humour from the previous millennium is navigator jokes ....
The banter to which you refer is grammatically correct so anyone who takes offence to it is doing so based on their interpretation of a perfectly valid statement! I have to say that I doubt if its origin was related to accident rate, just good humour. The other great demise in humour from the previous millennium is navigator jokes ....
Cunning Artificer
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The other great demise in humour from the previous millennium is navigator jokes ....
The problem these days is that what defines "humour" has changed greatly. Remember many many years back when the whole family would watch "Alf Garnett" and everyone would be falling around laughing almost in tears, as well as enjoy watching "The Black and White Minstrel Show". Nowadays even Dick Emery and other comedy would be "frowned" upon, or worse still banned completely. Due to present situation there are far too many people with too much time on their hands to "moan" about almost anything.
Join Date: Dec 2000
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Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Where the heart belongs
Age: 54
Posts: 407
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Banned from Jet Blast , oh well back to scribbling on the backs of toilet doors 
A dark sense of humour is required to survive the hell that some folks are given . An ex-soldier took a carton of No 6 cigarettes to a friend in a cancer ward .” Here you go , you might as well start smoking now you have the cancer “ he told his old pal .They both laughed at death in the face . For those men were not “special forces “ they were suicide squad survivors . Their banter was beautiful truth . You can trust men who can speak the truth without fear .
A dark sense of humour is required to survive the hell that some folks are given . An ex-soldier took a carton of No 6 cigarettes to a friend in a cancer ward .” Here you go , you might as well start smoking now you have the cancer “ he told his old pal .They both laughed at death in the face . For those men were not “special forces “ they were suicide squad survivors . Their banter was beautiful truth . You can trust men who can speak the truth without fear .
Ahh, but at least at McDonalds they have the opportunity to attain Star Ranks
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My thoughts mercifully remain my own, and only verbalised at home in the sole company of the OH. It’s a dangerous world out there.
