16 year old son starting his army training help!

loulou88

thankyou so much that is a real help
great tip about the bank account.
I have just told him under no circumstances must he change his banks account. He is going to use the one he has.
kiwi polish ill have to get that this week thanks
we will take the goggles out of the bag (less to carry)
Good idea about the coathangers no point taking some then having to buy others.
I'm sure training is hard. Is it to weed out all the ones that just don't have the staminar to be pushed to their limits? This is what he has wanted since he was 11 years old so I hope he will do well.
Thanks for looking at this list your information is very very useful.
I hope other starting have a look at this too.
Thankyou so very much for taking your time to look at this and give me some very useful information Thankyou.

loulou88

thanks for the link that looks a great torch i will have a shop around see if its cheaper anywhere else. Maybe this one will be an early xmas pressie.

loulou88

I have made arrangement for him to stay at my sisters (his aunts) if he cant get all way home to us we live over 700 miles a few trains and a bus and a ferry away (would they pay for flights? well 2 flight one from London to Inverness one from Inverness to Stornoway)
My sister lives half way between us and winchester in Lancashire so that wont take as long to get there. I dont want him spending all his leave travelling. I would prefer he comes home but not sure how it works yet.

BettiePage

Cotton wool for spit and polishing shoes/boots. Hubby also uses a yellow duster.

darrenrendell

The list as given to us for winchester
The Essentials

Documents
passport (if held),
passport photos x 4,
National insurance card (if held),
Nhs card,
Bank account sort code. You birth must open a bank account before arriving.
Marriage certificate (if married),
Birth certificate of any children,
Any civilian qualification certificates,
Any legal orders relating to divorce, custody, change of name etc.,
details of any future court cases,
national record of achievement,
most recent school report,
gcse and other educational certificates,
I took all these with me and used them, while doing phase 1 you also get extra educational qualifications and need the gcse certificates etc to prove what you can do and what you cant do. make sure he has a bank account open and take all his details with him so there is no problems when he comes to getting paid!!!
clothing

smrt civilian clothes; shirt (with collar) tie, smart trousers (not jeans) lace up shoes (not trainers), get him to turn up in a suit or shirt and tie (first impressions count!!!)
one or two sets of casual civiliam clothes for use out of work time,
underwear for severn days,
briefs for pt,
socks x 4 pairs (socks to be worn with uniform and for pt will be issued to you),
nightwear (you will be sharing a room),
warm and waterproof outdoor coat, he will be issued some that he can use when he goes to wales on his adventure training, but i bought one from millets once i got my id card as they give military discount which made it cheap :j
shower footwear such as flip flops, a must!!!

sports kit
swimming trunks (not shorts), there was only 2 lads that wore trunks everyone else wore shorts plain navy ones
rugby/football boots, shim pads and gum shield (if held), dont really need


General
£50 cash,
wristwatch (waterproof), a cheap casio from argos (not a shiny one)
an iron,
combion padlock x 4 or 5, you will only need 4 as there is only 4 locker compartments i had 1 combination lock and used key locks for my other lockers keeping all my keys in my combination locker so i didnt have to carry keys around ( not sure where and when furey did his phase 1 i did mine at atr winchester leaving 5 months ago and i didnt get issued any???)
boot cleaning kit, brushes x2 and black polish (not liquid), make sure that he takes lots of kiwi as the spar knows the recruits cant leave camp to start with so its quite expensive (so bulk buy)
sewing kit in a case (black, whiteand khaki thread, needles and safety pins)dont really use these but best to have them just incase,
pens, including black permanent maker, a must!!! dont want to be getting show parades because he hasnt named his kit!!! lol
important addresses (home, next of kin),

wash kit/ personal
razor, shaving foam/gel,
shower gel/ soap,
toothbrush and toothpaste,
deodorant,
towels x2 all a must he will get issued 2 military towels but i still havnt used mine as i folded them in my locker and never touched them ( little hint when having locker inspections wink wink)

AND YOU WONT NEED
bed linen, blankets, pillows, duvet,

useful extras

sturdy coathangers (must be identical), dont take them get them there if needed but i was issued some?
writinig paper, envelopes, stamps,
small black torch (eg. maglite), dont really need untill he goes on exercise but wait till he gets his id card so he can get a good and cheap one from millets
personal items (photos etc),
mobile phone,
swimming goggles,
civilian sports kit, (of trainers, tracksuit,sweater, t-shirt, shorts etc. - two sets will be enough)

let me know what you think of the list
9 days and hes off.[/quote]

just a little hint that might make it a little easier on your son like i said earlier about not using his issued towels if you get him an extra bar of soap and case, toothbrush, toothpaste, shaving gel and razor neatly put them in his locker and never touch them he cant get picked up for not cleaning his razor or shaving gel can because he has never used hem lol i had the same stuff all the way through training. he doesn't want to be getting show parades, showing a clean razor then falling behind on his ironing!

Also he will get to come think its a long weekend after week 6 they pay for you transport to your home town i had a friend that went to ireland and one that went to germany and they had there flights and train tickets paid for.

Also i really enjoyed myself while at winchester i have made new friends for life and im sure your son will too they have really good training teams down there tell him to listen to what they have to say as they know what they are talking about, he will get shouted at and will feel like nobody wants him to pass his training etc but they knock you down and build you back up again and it works makes everyone pull together and work as a team. :beer:

loulou88

that is very helpful thanks
He was worried about wearing the speedos (trunks) he feels better he wont have to but told him to take his speedos and swimming shorts black just in case.
Coat hangers off hte list thanks 4 that.
great possitive tip about being shouted at will let him read this so he understands why they shout.
Im so glad you answered me thankyou so much.
8 days to go before he leaves now.

loulou88

BettiePage wrote: »

Cotton wool for spit and polishing shoes/boots. Hubby also uses a yellow duster.

great tip thanks not heard that one before will pop some in his bag and a few yellow dusters.
thankyou:beer:

BettiePage

He'll only need one duster.

silkyuk9

loulou88 wrote: »

My 16 year old son starts his army training in 2 weeks ,over 700 miles :eek: from home.
Has anybody got any tips for him or any ideas what may be handy for him to take with him apart from the list the army gave him? Any tips would help.
They said take about £50 in money any ideas if this is enough?
I think I'm worrying because he will be so far from home. I won't be taking him to the camp like some of the other families of new starters.
Should he take his possesions in a suitcase of a large holdall does it matter?

where is he going, if its Harrogate we can tell you all you want to know

loulou88

silkyuk9 wrote: »

where is he going, if its Harrogate we can tell you all you want to know

Winchester
Thankyou