Who's a bad boy.

I'm not ashamed.

For some strange reason I'm not ashamed of having been in Military prison, I'm not proud either. Sometimes the smallest thing in your life changes it out of all proportion and sometime the biggest thing changes nothing.
I was a career soldier, I had joined at 15 and signed up for nine years, this with the three years boy service would have been twelve all together. It had never at anytime crossed my mind to leave the army.

The night in question.

We had gone to Hallelager in Osnabruck to see Atomic Rooster, Chris Farlow was the lead singer at the time. It was a great night having bumped into some of German friends on the way in. Atomic Rooster was on last so we had watched all the support bands and there was a fifteen minute brake. That's when we talked about getting some blow. None of us had done it before, so two of us wandered around just looking. I don't know what we expecting, a little stall or a man with a placard? So in the end we asked some Germans, no idea, who can blame them we had short hair at the time when no one had short hair. Eventually I shouted 'Anyone got some canibis'. 'Hey English, over in the corner'.
We went up to the two heavies in the corner and bought enough to last a year, certainly enough to ruin a couple or 4 lives.
Atomic Rooster came on as we managed to bum a couple of cigarette papers, I took my first puff, and it's right at that moment I found out I had no tolerance to cannabis. The night did not end well I missed most of Atomic Rooster lying on the concrete floor trying to cool down.

Good news, bad news.

About 6 months later, I had not really thought about that night. I was getting off the plane, I had been back to England for my leave. As I came through passport control I was arrested and taken by police land rover to a military police station. At no time did I think of that night.
Questioned I just denied it, I denied that I had seen the others smoking anything. They let me go.
The other all admitted it and were court-martialled and sent to nick, it's so serious in the army it's all pushed through quickly, less than a week. They all got 4 months and out.

I was stood on parade two months later, I thought I had got away with it. The Staff Sergeant came up to me and asked if I had been to Northern Ireland on our first tour and I told him I had, he asked me to take command of 'D section' and within 4 weeks of getting there I would get my second stripe.
Within 5 minutes of that news a land rover rolled up. 'Is Fenlon on parade?' yes, 'your on rear party, your being court-martialled'. Within 5 minutes I had an offer of promotion and had been informed that I was being charged.

The court-martial.

The judge was a General, yes. A General Court Martial, it was supposed to last 2 days and started on a Thursday but because it over ran it went on to the Saturday. My Barrister was just out of  law school, well he had only just been invited to the bar, and had taken some army briefs on just to get some experience .
Later on when I got to Colly (Colchester) I met all of his clients (one was in for beastiality), food for thought.
I don't know how I was found guilty, I'm not saying I was not guilty but seven months after the event with nothing to test and nothing in my blood. It was all on the others testament. They did not know what was smoked that night, it could have been OXO cube, if the charge had been 'Smoked some thing he thought was cannabis' that's fine but the charge was 'Smoked cannabis on a night in 1971'.
I kept the papers for many years, I may still have them.

On my discharge papers it said 'Caution' in red, 'this man has been discharged dishonourably from Her Majesty's Service' my wife had added in red pen 'And he bites'. I had to show this book every time I went for a job. You have to laugh.

Nick, jankers, Colly.

To be honest the story of my incarceration is so big it should be a book It was the most fascinating place. Airmen, sailors, marines and squaddies, all baddies. Rules, regulations and traditions, I loved it.

It could be awhile.
Thanks for reading.