One of the Provost trades rarely encountered by most soldiers was the Disciplinarian. These specialists staffed Detention Barracks and Military Prisons. Disciplinarian NCOs were carefully selected from fully qualified Service Policemen and were Sergeants or above. Their personal standards of dress and deportment were of an unbelievably high level, and they required the same from the guests in their charge. Soldiers under sentence were subjected to an unending regimen of drill, training classes, cleaning and polishing. Instant obediance to orders was a minimum requirement and virtually everything but eating and sleeping was a privilige that had to be earned. Points could be earned towards remission of sentence.
Disciplinarians of the Canadian Provost Corps were responsible for military prisons and detention barracks for all 3 services.
The Disciplinarian Trade badge (Trade Group 3) worn on the lower right sleeve of the battledress blouse or summer service dress jacket.
A typical inmate's kit layout. Every article of clothing or equipment was required to be either polished, pressed or blancoed. Additionally, a personal garbage can was provided to each inmate, which had to be polished to a mirror finish.
The image above is that of the interior of No. 8 Service Detention Barracks, Aldershot, Nova Scotia, 1958. The Warrant Officer Class 1 and the Sergeant are operating the cell door gang release levers. Note the high gloss on the Barracks floor, typical of all Detention Barracks, the result of hours of daily work by inmates. No. 8 SDB was later moved to Camp Gagetown N.B.