"THE GUARDS'" HEELS

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 125, 31 May 1927, Page 17

"THE GUARDS'" HEELS

MODERN HIGHWAYS

RUBBER COMING IN

dot "£ ry- correspondent of the LonsavH +w?i ng Po8t" he from £ ■ *£" War Office " not averse of S,hl t Uy, sanctioain 8 the wearing of th n 1- beels by the "otner ™aks'' abUi&^P** Of Gttards- ** •tt Prob" 'TetnZ ■*" matter ™v b» finally l£li}n i he near futnre > and ™bber pads will be made a public charge. «, - t Z Gat a&° * stated exclusively in f\ Post' that Guard«en th fi T ga^-e ot Gnarda q^tered in the London District Command had been given freedom to attach rubber pads to sinn iß^- theh boots- This «»«*- ---sion established a precedent of military interest and importance, and other Commands have since considered the utility of the rubber heel. .. Jt is not an easy matter to secure tne approval of the Guards for an innovation of this character. If it could be shown that the rubber heel would, in ever so slight a degree, tone down the smartness of the drill, the rubber pad would certainly be doomed. The' noncommissioned officers who are primarily responsible for the smartness and pre*t? 10£ whien attend every movement of the Guards have a decided prejudice against the use of rubber. "In fact they say that the turning movements are impeded if the heel is cushioned,' and that in the 'right-about-turn' it occasions delay. These objections, however, are not taken too seriously. EFFICACY IN MABOHIKO. "The efficafiy of the rubber heel has been proved, in its relation to marching. The hard, smooth, sometimes treacherous tar-sprayed road tells heavily on troops marching in column of route. The untreated macadamised road is not free from dust, but it offers a better foothold. "Lord Ruthven has given careful consideration to the whole question. His desire has been to relieve the soldier on the march of some of the added strain which modern road construction and treatment involved.

"At present the Guardsman covers the cost of the rubber pad. He has an allowance for boot repairs, and the purchase of the pad is an economical measure apart altogether from its other advantages."