Guest, Observer, did you serve in the British Army?

In the Canadian Forces, troops on the march will sing when they have a long way to go. In early summer, contingents training for the Nijmegen Marches can be heard in the riverside parklands of Ottawa, their boots thudding and their tuneless voices intoning "A yellow bird / With a yellow bill / Sat upon / My window sill ... " Recruits and soldiers in battle school are often ordered to sing while doubling, the better to improve their cardiopulmonary capacity. It is not a musical experience.