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Domestic and social.

During 1956, particularly the second half, the domestic site was in a state of upheaval.
Our Mess, originally a single storey building, was being doubled in height and having an extension added at the front. We couldn't live in it while this was going on so we were allocated rooms in which to sleep in a screened-off wing of the recently extended Sergeants Mess. These had no toilet nearby so, unless we were prepared to skip across, hopefully unseen, to the toilet in the nearby MT Section in the middle of the night, we had two choices, stow it, or let fly out of the window. The windows were used quite frequently. Our temporary rooms had bare concrete floors. Using my initiative - and Armoury class 'B' stores - I sewed together, from material meant for warning flags, a red and green bedside mat backed with opened out sandbags. This was much better than putting my bare feet on a rough cold floor. Through a thin partition, screening off part of what would eventually be a long corridor, we could hear the SNCOs. The popular song at the time was "It only hurts for a little while" and we heard various renditions of this through that thin wall. Inevitably someone dubbed it "The virgin's song", by which title it became known across the camp.
While on a girlish sort of theme: as the new barrack blocks were completed they had to be thoroughly cleaned before being handed over for equipping and occupation. The German contractors employed numbers of local girls to do this. One had a very dubious reputation, and was known in certain quarters as 'the hack with come to bed eyes', or 'easy rider'. She was very generous with her affections, too generous, for she was known to have infected a number of Airmen with syphilis. On some evenings it was possible to see men coming back to camp divert, furtively, to the prophylactic room at the back of the Guardroom, there to try and clean themselves up after indulging unwisely. Of course, Flt.Lt. David 'Doc' Pottinger knew about this as some men had inevitably to report to him for treatment. He was left with no alternative other than to have her banned from working on the camp, and to discuss her condition and behaviour with the local village Artzt (Doctor) so that she could be 'cleaned up'. He also put out clear warnings to all ranks as to the dangers of catching something very nasty.
The Guardroom was also extended during the building programme. An extra cell was built and office space added. It was there, as Orderly Officer, with the Orderly Corporal and Orderly Sergeant, that I had to take the evening 'Jankers Parade'. At this stage Borgentreich was still a small camp and everybody knew each other. As per routine, I entered the Guardroom

The Guardroom during alterations.
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