This article is a revised version of Royale Studio post no 5,
originally dated Aug 2010 at mitchmen blog (cnt 370).
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| Royale Studio - Airman's Gym Training 01 |
This Royale set shows a bare-topped sailor forcing a man in gym kit to perform exercises on a pommel horse and the floor. This opening image of the set seems to show the tyrant, knotted rope at the ready, creeping up on the athlete who sits daydreaming on the horse (and looking rather like an Edwardian fairy perched on a toadstool) when, presumably, he should be hard at work practicing.
The model wearing the shorts in this series is Peter George, who we saw tied to the rigging in the very first of this Vintage Royale Studio photo series of articles. He looked equally wistful and absent in that photo, something of a Peter Pan-like figure.
I haven't positively identified the Trainer by name but he looks to me like Tom Harding from Navy Romeo and Navy Gash (images 14 and 15 below provide a more helpful comparison). In this picture he's obviously eyeing Peter's ass which appears to be clad in satin-like shorts (an effect replicated in another, very sexy 'footballer' picture attributed to Royale, just below). The curved snout of the pommel horse has a certain phallic quality and seems to emerge from between the Trainer's legs for Peter's to sit on, initiating the sense that the Trainer has a sexual interest in him.
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| Royale Studio - Footballer tying his laces |
This man's shorts seem almost transparent, probably a consequence of Royale's practice of wetting them so they cling tight. Who wouldn't want to touch or spank that succulent bottom? It's one of my favourite Royale images. But I've not been able to identify the model.
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| Royale Studio - Airman's Gym Training 02 |
The dreamer dismounts looking sullen and resentful but resting his ass casually on the snout of the horse. His trademark Royale, tight, white shorts bulge provocatively in the fashion of Scott of London. The athlete is no pussy, he's muscular and fit, but his entire pose here seems deliberately provocative with a coy dip of the head seeming to reciprocate the Trainer's interest.
The Navy man stares at the young man's groin with his knotted rope raised. It's not clear if he is contemplating a grope, or is contemplating lashing it to quell the rebellion and restore proper military discipline.
Sadly, although I have a complete set of 30 images for this series, they are all of this grainy quality, so it's less of an erotic treat than it ought to be. I wish I could find a way of clarifying them but standard photo enhancers don't seem to help very much. At least, the black background colour of the blog helps a little.
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| Royale Studio - Airman's Gym Training 03 |
The Instructor asserts his authority, bringing Peter to attention before him. Peter's bearing is not overly military here*. Perhaps his relaxed pose is still signalling his resentment or lingering laziness.
Luckily the Trainer still seems to be more interested in staring at his crotch (which seems to be less prominent here, the bulge disappearing like a mirage). In any event the Trainer's raised hand and the remarkably rigid, knotted rope has dropped to his side.
The two men remain connected by the shape of the horse with it's handles 'at attention' between them like dildos.
*I don't have a Royale catalogue description for this set but Peter George is described as being a Corporal and Physical Training Instructor in the blurb for his solo sets (see note 2 below). In other words he was a military man
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| Royale Studio - Airman's Gym Training 04 |
His Trainer still seems preoccupied with the young man's crotch, but Peter's twist towards him also appears presents a tremendous sight of his tensed thighs and backside, stretching those shorts to the limit.
The sense of sexual chemistry simmers on.
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| Royale Studio - Airman's Gym Training 05 |
Press-ups on the pommel horse offer the Trainer an even more tempting sight.
The tightness of Peter's shorts becomes even more apparent in this image with the centre seam drawn up between his buttocks and his thighs bulging out of the leg openings. The Trainer moves in closer, clearly poised to spank him but there's no obvious reason for it, other than temptation.
The tormentor's change in position for this image presents a more attractive view of his own physique, showing a pert bottom, clad insnug-fitting trousers. Their tightness is betrayed by a fleshy bulge above the belt. His bell bottoms (which have obviously been wetted as was usual for Royale Studio) look less untidy, less crumpled than in the previous images.
This image has a number in the corner indicating that it has been cropped from a thumbnail sheet but it is the same quality as the rest of the set and you can see that the number seems to have been erased from the corner of the preceding picture. They all seem of the same quality.
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| Royale Studio - Airman's Gym Training 06 |
Here the poor gymnast seems to have collapsed over the horse presumably from the beating he's has received. His left hand reaches back, symbolically seeking to protect his backside. His thighs look more muscular than ever in this perspective and make him look bigger than than his tormentor.
Shorts aficionados will enjoy the lifted flaps of the side-dart in the hem of these shorts, provided exactly to accommodate thigh expansion. Those with imaginative, lustful eyes will also spot that Peter's shorts create the illusion of the head of a penis, propped against the trunk of the horse.
In these opening images, the Trainer hardly changes position and they are clearly intended as a showcase for Peter's physique and fitness - and why not?
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| Royale Studio - Airman's Gym Training 07 |
In desperation, the gymnast seeks refuge under the horse. This pose seems to continue his casting as a less than manly character despite his obvious physical attributes, not least this view of his (increasingly) formidable backside and thighs, although it's a somewhat receptive pose.
The Trainer pursues him with his rope and this gives us a nice view of his own upper body. I like the hairy forearm on the left. That clenched fist means business and Peter's ass is in the firing line. If his body were lying reversed left to right in this picture one might suspect a penetrative threat from that fist (and don't imagine that practice was unknown in 1960).
The military being able to 'make a man' of new recruits (who were typically 18 years old when entering UK National Service) was a common belief in post-war Britain. However, there's a thin line between strict discipline and bullying - especially when forbidden physical attractions come into the equation. Compulsory National Service ended in 1963 which interestingly coincides with Royale's heyday.
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| Royale Studio - Airman's Gym Training 08 |
In picture 8 the gymnast balances on top of the horse as though about to perform a head stand.
It isn't clear if this picture depicts a resumption of the gymnast's normal training regime with the Trainer poised to correct any further error, or is a deliberately humiliating example of 'assuming the position' to be beaten. It seems to boil down to the same thing in this storyette.
Even this relatively poor quality image shows Peter's lean, muscularity to great effect. The airman's well defined, muscular physique and tight clothes are the star of this little series. The better quality originals of these pictures must have been very sensual.
Many of the photos, as usual, are pretty static but artfully composed, here striking a balance between humour and eroticism. Obviously artistic styling can constitute a defence against censorship laws but the S&M element here isn't very subtle.
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| Royale Studio - Airman's Gym Training 09 |
Once again Peter ends up on the floor, almost in tears as the relentless beating goes on.
It's an unusual, emotional dimension, another indicator of the subject's sensitivity
in an era when men were expected to bear pain and humiliation with fortitude.
It seems almost callous to observe that it results in another great image of his lower body.
Notice that the handles/pommels have been removed from the horse after picture 7 and it's been temporarily moved back against the wall. The session continues with more conventional PT floor exercises.
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| Royale Studio - Airman's Gym Training 10 |
Peter's execution of this simple stretching and balance exercise seems to meet with his mentor's approval. These signs of submission and obedience seem to cause the sexual temperature to drop.
Peter presents a neat, trim figure but the front of his shorts are less revealing than one might wish, possibly a deliberate decision by Royale, perhaps the original was a little too graphic!
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| Royale Studio - Airman's Gym Training 11 |
Peter is not just toe-touching here, he's comfortably touching the floor, demonstrating impressive flexibility. One can't help thinking that the Trainer's obvious pleasure is partly derived from the sexually submissive nature of his pose. We catch a nice glimpse of Peter's crotch.
The horse lurks in the background, it's splayed legs mirrored by Peter's.
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| Royale Studio - Airman's Gym Training 12 |
You can't blame Royale for also giving us the rear view of the same bent over posture!
The feel of submissiveness, bowing to his master, is even stronger in this variant.
Peter's head aligns suggestively with the Trainer's crotch and for the first time we see some detailing there, with just a modest hint of volume, thanks to the clingy dampness. There's a distinct sense that he is about to administer a spanking.
In this picture, you can actually see the stretching of tendons at the back of Peter's leg that this exercise promotes. The Trainer is holding him down, possibly pressing him down further to increase the stretch. It's a legitimate coaching intervention but one that makes the stretch more painful.
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| Royale Studio - Airman's Gym Training 13 |
Peter's submissiveness seems to rekindle the Trainer's lust. The athlete finds himself back on the horse in another humiliating punishment position and for the first time we actually see the knotted rope striking his ass. The rigidity of the rope makes static posing of this image possible, but there's a hint of a blur there. One might wish for a more dynamic, more involved pose on the part of the Trainer.
This picture seems to jump back to the stylised balancing of No 8, but 13 is it's correct position according to the Royale Catalogue sheet (see Note 1 below). The horse changes position several times in the storyette possibly reflecting a reshuffling of the sequence. The flow of the narrative is pretty flexible.
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| Royale Studio - Airman's Gym Training 14 |
There follows a demonstration of the classic press-up floor exercise. The relaxed starting position is inherently submissive and the Trainer looks on approvingly. This camera angle brings Peter's peachy bottom nicely to the fore again. The Trainer angles his rope towards it, it's frayed ends resembling prongs.
Peter almost looks naked below the waist here thanks to brightness washout. All we can see of his shorts is the V-dart cut out of the side seam. I assume that this was not a deliberate ploy by Royale to slip in some nudity but who knows? The other images in the set certainly don't seem to suffer white-out to this extent.
Compare the Trainer in this picture with Tom Harding in the cast photo from Navy Gash (Tom is sitting on the right). The chin detail, mop of hair and general build seem a good match to me. His controlling role here also matches how he is used in other Royale Studio shoots.
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| Royale Studio - Airman's Gym Training 15 |
In the press-up raised position a nice buttock tightening effect teases the on-lookers and I know there are people out there who will find the glimpse of shadow at the front of his thigh equally inspiring!
Peter's rigidity in this position is another indicator of his fitness and experience. You sense he's looking back wondering if it's OK. With the Trainer stood behind him he's in a very vulnerable position, blind-sided and completely defenceless.
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| Royale Studio - Airman's Gym Training 16 |
The Trainer cannot resist striking once again at this peachy target.
Peter turns in surprise (and growing annoyance no doubt)
Nothing he does seems to please this man.
The Trainer's rigid rope doesn't just strike Peter's buttock, it's angled directly into his crack, seeming to advance the erotic agenda that he has concealed behind impassive stares until now. His crotch detailing becomes visible again but gives little away.
Royale Studio No 05 at mitchmen blog continues in Part 2 (next post)
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Footnotes
[1]
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The official title of this series is unknown to me. It doesn't appear in any of the catalogues I have. There is a catalogue thumbnail sheet for the set (above) which tells us there are 30 pictures in all and gives their sequence, but it's bafflingly labelled '2-BR'. Royale labels usually involved the model's initials (which doesn't fit with Peter George) or else abbreviated the title (as in NARO - Navy Romeo). 'Bullies Retribution' might fit here but that's just a guess. It's implied that there's also a 1-BR but I haven't seen it.
Sailor Al called this series 'Gym' and I've also seen it called 'Navy Gym' which might conceivably been the original title. However since the athlete's vest in this series bears a badge with an eagle similar in style to that used by the RAF (*see Note 2 below), I have taken it to mean that he is playing an airman and used that as my own, more descriptive title, for the series.
It's interesting to see that a previous owner of this sheet seems to have picked out his favourite pictures - 5, 12, 16, 17, 23, 25 and 26. Good choice!
[2]
Whilst the eagle on Peter's vest is very similar to that used by the RAF, it's usually contained within a roundel on their official badges. I can't find one that looks exactly like Peter George's, but I did find this one:![]()
Interestingly, this is the official badge worn by RAF PT Instructors. In Royale Studio's notes for Peter George's solo set '3-PUN', he is described as Corporal Peter George, a Physical Training Instructor. This occupation was also referenced in beefcake magazines of the time that printed his pictures. Royale did not specify which branch of the services he was in, but Trim magazine stated that he was an RAF man. Whether that's based on information suppled by Royale or an inspired guess like mine, I don't know. It's not hard to imagine Peter's badge being cut out or fashioned from an RAF one like this to create a subtle reference to his background, which Royale clearly wanted to exploit.
Interestingly, this is the official badge worn by RAF PT Instructors. In Royale Studio's notes for Peter George's solo set '3-PUN', he is described as Corporal Peter George, a Physical Training Instructor. This occupation was also referenced in beefcake magazines of the time that printed his pictures. Royale did not specify which branch of the services he was in, but Trim magazine stated that he was an RAF man. Whether that's based on information suppled by Royale or an inspired guess like mine, I don't know. It's not hard to imagine Peter's badge being cut out or fashioned from an RAF one like this to create a subtle reference to his background, which Royale clearly wanted to exploit.
Above, an RAF PTI of the modern era, I love those colour-coded, 'muscle' singlets
(the Army version has red edging).
I mentioned Royale's connection to the annual, London, 'Royal Tournament' in No 3 of this mitchmen series (Navy Gash). The RAF contributed that event along with the other services, this Royal Tournament 1964 RAF gymnastics display video happens to be contemporaneous with the Royal era (but it's not possible to spot Peter in it!)