When looking at the picture of Embassy Court in The Argus (July 31), my mind was taken back to the late Forties when this was one of the most elegant buildings on the seafront.

In February 1947, I was happily delivering milk around the Norfolk Square area until I arrived at Embassy Court.

I entered through the front door and was stopped in my tracks by a stern voice informing me: "Traders do not enter through the front door. Your entrance is down the slope at the rear of the building."

The tone of this person's voice and his regalia reminded me of the one person every young soldier fears, the Sergeant Major.

Was this the same person I encountered at Winchester Barracks in 1941 as a young soldier? Guard was being mounted when I passed the Sergeant Major in the doorway, saying to him: "Excuse me, sir."

He called me back and said: "What did you say?"

I repeated: "Excuse me, sir."

His reply was: "You did not say 'sir'. Over in the far right hand corner of the Square, down in the basement, is a sack full of potatoes. I want them peeled."

After two or three hours, having peeled them, I returned to the Sergeant Major's room determined, irrespective of the consequences, to insist I had said "sir".

His reply was: "I know you did, son. I needed someone to peel spuds. Good night to you."

-Frank Edwards, Brighton