• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team

National Service

  • Thread starter Thread starter RayD
  • Start date Start date
Having a browse in the Britainfromabove website I looked for RAF Padgate near Warrington. I can see it and even see airmen on the parade ground but the locals are not so sure it is Padgate and it is down as unlocated.
RAF Hereford (Credenhill) in 1946 has 12 photos - lots of huts and drill sheds - even a few dumped aircraft - image resolution is remarkable when zoomed in.
A link to it is https://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/asearch?search=raf hereford
 
The RSM.
Do you remember the fear this guy could induce during the early part of your N/S training. Even Commissioned Officers carefully respected him, NCO's feared him and the newly recruited bods seemed to have a fear/hate thing about him. Always smartly turned out, pacing stick under his arm, perfect marching technique, eyes like a Hawk and he'd have you put on a ' charge ' at the drop of a hat.
But did you ever see the other side of this guy when anyone of his ' flock ' hit a personal problem. The evidence that I saw was of a man loaded with experience and empathy and genually did his bit to sort out or help. Now out of the blue he was looking more like your Dad.
On reflection. A dammed good bloke.
 
The worst one i came across was a RSM Hugo at the Army School of Physical Training atAldershot
. The only time i have ever had 2 haircts in one day,even though my name was down in the barbers
book he made me have another one.
Ken
 
I just told my husband this one Ken, He said the usual comment was "Are you in pain lad? You ought to be I'm standing on your ***** hair! Get your hair cut!!!"
Apparently the barber always had a cigarette in his mouth with dangly ash!
rosie.
 
#801, reminds me of our cooks Rosie, our RSM "Don Willis, CG 2nd Battalion, greatest man to tread this earth, RSM" Claude Lamont" CG, Known to thousands of Guardsmen as "Black Alec", super man but a brute on the square.paul
 
oldMohawk - Thanks for listing the site photographs of RAF Credenhill. I have been looking for something like this for a long time. At the moment I am unable to pinpoint my old billets and classroom but I will work at it. Good to see that a number of ex RAF Credenhill types are still around complete with their own memories of those times. Good luck to all. willey
 
any other ex-RAF type who like me completed their 'square bashing' at Cardington where the ill fated R101 air ship was housed. The hanger was huge we were told by the PTI once round the hanger was a 1/4 mile. All it contained whilst I was there (June 7th to Sep 1st 1948) was inflated barrage balloons and baskets used for parachute training. Eric
 
cookie273uk said:
any other ex-RAF type who like me completed their 'square bashing' at Cardington where the ill fated R101 air ship was housed....
Click to expand...

By the day I got there (29th September 1954 via Bedford Station and an RAF bus which swallowed up a batch of victims as each train arrived) the place was, at least in part, a kitting out station for National Servicemen. After a few leisurely and, compared with what was to come, civilised days there everyone got bussed off to places like Hednesford and Bridgnorth for squarebashing.

I had a peek inside the airship hangar. As best as I remember it that vast space was filled with absolutely nothing at that time.

Chris
 
ChrisM, Yes, as camps went it was quite civilised, the corporal DI's were quite human, the food was edible, a pleasant little NAAFI, accommodation was a little spartan and when the weather was inclement we carried out our training in the huge hanger, the only fly in the ointment was the station warrant officer, a right B, but weren't they all ? Eric
 
cookie273uk said:
any other ex-RAF type who like me completed their 'square bashing' at Cardington where the ill fated R101 air ship was housed. The hanger was huge we were told by the PTI once round the hanger was a 1/4 mile. All it contained whilst I was there (June 7th to Sep 1st 1948) was inflated barrage balloons and baskets used for parachute training. Eric
Click to expand...
When I went there in 1956 they were using Cardington as the central reception Camp and I remember those very large hangars. Uniforms were issued one or two items at a time and we wandered around wearing a mixture of civvies and uniform. We were a bunch of stangers in the billet from all over Britain and I always remember one guy from Norfolk who was a real slow talking 'country bumpkin' type with very poor eyesight. We took pity on him helping him find things, making his bed as he wandered around in a daze, we were amazed that he had even got through the pre-service medical.
With hundreds of servicemen coming through Cardington each week, the staff seemed rather bored and eventually the medics failed him which didn't surprise us. We were surprised however when he came into the billet waving discharge papers and a rail warrant, quickly put his civvies on, expertly packed his bag, laughed at us all, and went home.
Next day some fierce looking NCO's appeared shouting at us, hustled us onto a train and made us sit upright 'to attention' on the journey from Bedford to Warrington.
 
Last edited:
Ha ha! I went to Cardington the year before you, old Mohawk. It was a really strange, unreal atmosphere there. My first meal there was my worst in the whole of my time in the RAF. It purported to be a rissole, but it almost made us throw up. Probably specially designed to make those of us with weak stomachs quickly adapt! From then on we bought our food in the NAAFI.

We didn't get any shouting at the Cardington end, but the coach journey to Hednesford was more like a jolly day out with singing and jokes.. until half an hour before arrival and it suddenly went deathly quiet, at which point some bright spark said, "Ere, I reckon we're in for a bit of a nasty surprise!" Hednesford was almost derelict and was closed down shortly after we passed out, and as the coach and several others pulled through the gate the shouting started! Happy days!

Maurice
 
Funny how you remember different things. Can't recall much at all about Cardington but one thing always sticks in my mind - the scorched, sulphurous smell which seemed to pervade everywhere. The local brickworks, probably. Perhaps the wind was in a particular direction for the week or so I stayed there.

To refresh a few memories I find there is an interesting website devoted to postwar Cardington.
https://www.rafcardingtoncamp.co.uk/home/4559220811

Chris
 
Last edited:
One of the worst things about N/S at Hilsea barracks at Portsmouth was the facilities for washing up after meals. Outside the canteen was a large
galvanised tank of luke warm water[no fairy liquid]. If you were on an early sitting it was not to bad,but on a latter sitting you had to break through
a layer of grease to get to the water. I can not remember if there were any cloths to dry,you just hoped they had dried before you got back to the billet
Ken
 
We had those type of washing up tanks in Catterick, water was boiling hot, I remember dropping my knife & fork in, and having to go back latter to collect them, easy to recognize them, had my last four stamped on them. 7009 :courage:
 
Thanks for the link, Chris. I never saw any senior officers at Cardington, just a few (presumably newly-qualified) pilot officers, eager to be saluted, but unable to do anything about it as, until our last full day, we had part civvy dress! Other than that, like you, I have very few memories of the place.

Maurice
 
Roy Blackey's post #799, R.S.M
I went to Warminster to do a A ! trade test for a couple of weeks way back in 1955 but prior to me going there the Sgts and Cpls had set up a trip to the White City from Devises to see Nino Valdez and Don Cockell fight and I wanted a couple of hours off to get back to camp at Devises.I had to see the R.S.M of the Workshops at Warminster, little did I know he was an ex boxer and wanted to know where we had got the tickets from,"Have you got any spare Cpl, I will come on the coach with you lads" I could not believe it, there was I trying to get away and he was holding me back as he had said that I could go as it was at the week end. A great bloke!!!!
Dave
 
Another little story about the C.S.M at Devises who I did not get on with. One Saturday I had to go up to our local ranges to be on duty as there was a contest of ex officers taking place in a shoot and I was required, so bang went my week end pass or a game of football. It was not a very warm day and i was not feeling very well, I had a sore throat and I had the shivers so I bedded myself down into a deep rut to shelter from the wind. There was not much going on except one officer came up to me with a broken pull through and I said I hope there is only 4x2 up the spout Sir. He smiled and I pulled out 4x4 "You would be on a charge now Sir" We all make mistakes Cpl. Anyway the shoot over Bob our M.T driver arrived to take me back to camp but when he saw me he took me to the M.O at the Pay corp camp where I was told get back to camp you have a high Temperature. Bob had left me there so I had to walk back to camp just down the main rd, how I got there was due to a Corporal from the pay Corp guard room escorting me all the way back as he saw I was not walking straight and asked me if I was o.k. I never got to thank him properly.
I went to bed feeling bad and in the evening the M.O came up into the billet in the Keep to examine me, I do not remember much about that as I seemed to be in another world due to the high Temp so I got my head down with the clothes covering all over my head,
In my semi concious condition I heard the C.S.M and his wife and someone else come into the billet, he touched the bottom of my bed and said "corporal Edwards" I did not stire a muscle, I was not in a fit state to talk with a very sore throat. Then what a surprise I had, he said to his wife and friend "One of my best corporals" and left the billet.
To this day I cannot understand his attitude to me and to make that remark thinking I was well asleep.
Dave
 
when I was called up in 1953 I was living in London,i was living there because my mom had to go into hospital and I had a brother in London,so I went to live with him,i was 16 at the time,that was 1951,the furthest I had ever been prior to that was the lickeys,i lived down the town in buck street,anyway off to London I went,quite an adventure a brummie kid amongst all those clever cockneys but it was ok,in 53 I was called up,low and behold I was put in the Essex regiment,now the Essex was made up of all cockneys apart from me,iwas known as brummie Ellis,i got on great with the lads,in fact I am still in touch with my best pal.but what an advanture I had,i did my basic at brentwood,then after that iwa moved to bury st Edmunds.then on to hong kong,there for 3 months then japan,for 3 months for battle training,there I was so fit it was ubelievable then off to korea for 2 months,no fighting,the war had stopped,then low and behold back to hong kong to finish my service,what was amazing while in kure in japan I met 3 brummie lads who our gang used to have a knock with when we where at school,could not believe it,it was my 19 birthday when we met up,so you can imagine we had a tot or two,what an experience my 2 years were,i played cricket for the regiment and was in the corps of drums,never done a tap.i had travelled to parts of the world I could only dream about, for nothing.often wondered what happened to the 3 brummie lads, my national service was an education in life,amazing,came home in 1955.would not have missed it for the world.
 
Hi John - You certainly had an interesting National Service such a lot packed into two years with all your travelling. You were probably lucky to miss the fighting in the Korean War. I think most of us have positive views about our time in National Service, we were all in it together and and most of us got through with a changed outlook on life.
oldmohawk
 
hi pal,yes it was the most wonderful time,i was fortunate to visit hiroshma where the first a bomb was dropped whilst I was in japan,the only problem I find that at the time 18-19 year olds were not interested in the culture of all these places we were fortunate enough to visit.hiroshima was in the prossess of being rebuilt,it was 9 years after they dropped the bomb,you could see what devastation was inflicted on the japs,they really hated the yanks but loved the tommies,great days I have no regrets at all there iwas a ragged **** brummie having a cooks tour of the far east,today it would cost a fortune,best of luck.john
 
I was in Japan in Sept 1952 in Kure waiting are ship home,it was just down the road from Hiroshma.I also had a week in Yokyo flying from Korea on leave.On our way to and from Engand we had shore leave at Aden,Sri Lanka.Hong Kong,our days
sent sun bathing on deck.6 weeks each way.all for free.Happy Days
Ns was not all bad
John Hughes
 
Hi John I also sailed by troopship (5 weeks) to Hong Kong Just after you (Jan '53) and stopped at the same places on HMT Dunera, my late Wife joined me 3 months later on HMT Asturiasl, can you remember the name of your troopship. From HK we went to Singapore 15 months later where my Daughter was born (Changi hospital) because she was so young just 3 months we had to return to UK by air by BOAC to avoid long hot sea voyage (3 days by air then). I should add I was a regular in the RAF. I remember one of the troop ships sank, called the Empire Windrush. Eric
 
Hello Cookie
I gave the wrong date for return from Japan.it was 1953.arrive in Korea 1952.We sailed from Liverpool on the Halladale.and
landed in Pusan Aug 1952.I think the return trip was on the Empire Orwell.landing at Southhampton Oct 14th.
I seem to remember the Halladale was an ex German ship and was past its sell by date.I landed a not very nice job
with some mates fetching crates of beer way down in the bowles of the ship going down dicy laders.Our reward was a
can of beer each and it was not very good
Cheers Eric
 
Hughes,
I was working in Korea at Pusan( now Busan) you would not know the place now and that was in 1993-4. If you go onto Google earth all along the coast it is nothing but hotels, looking at a photo I took back then it does not look like the same place.
Dave
 
Yes I know.Last year .I was able to return to Korea with the veterans.What a vast change.
We were made very welcome
I even went to Gloucester valley where our LAD camp was situated
J H
 
hi to all you old squaddies,when I left England for hong kong I also sailed on the dunera out of southhampton,what an experience,the only boat I had been on prior was on ward end park lake.when I left hong kong to go to the battle school at haramura in japan, we sailed on the wosang,that was a little Japanese ship.sailed to korea also on the wosang after training,to join the Essex reg on the 38th parallel,i was only in korea for about 3 months,found it a bit godforsaken,then back to hong kong on the Devonshire,stayed in hong kong until it was time to come home,then it was homeward bound on the empire clyde, that was a ship and half,crewed by laskars and jocks,landed at Liverpool on a Friday evening,they kepy us on board till Saturday,had bought a watch off one of the bum boats in port said on the way home,cost about 5 bob,declared it at customs when we came ashore the officer took one look and said i'll give it about another week before it stops working,he was right,happy days.john ellis
 
,SANY0660.jpg Paul you asked me about any photo's from the forces. this one is from Gosport No 10 armourer training camp, I don't suppose many are alive now although I am still here a the moment. It was taken about March 1955, the camp is still there but has been made into accommodation. I forgot to mention that little Billy Gooch on the front far right was only 5 ft tall and wore size 4 boots but did not have the know how to polish them up, the officer once said there is nothing to polish that would not take five minutes.
Dave
I am the fourth from the right front row, did you guess right
 
Puul. it was the amount of hair under the beret that made it stand up or not,mind you some of them were terrible shapes and we used to shrink them in hot water or even get your parents to take a piece out of the rim, my two were nowhere the same as one another. As regards the wearing of same the R.S.M was very fussy about the badge being bright and what we used to polish with was the white wash powder that was on the billet walls, just rub your brush over the wall to get some powder on it and brush away, lovely!!!
Another thing we were a training weapons camp and the only marching we ever did in the 24 weeks was to march on to the square for muster parade five days a week, Saturday was bull morning and billet inspection and then 36 hour leave, on the coach to Brum.
dave
 
Hi All, I was called up for NS in 1954-1956. It was a great 2 years that i had,in the Royal Signals, once basic training was over? I spent about 6 weeks at Catterick, Yorkshire,for basic training, then training for about 6 weeks at Ripon,Yorkshire, as a Despatch Rider. We were each given a 500cc solid frame, girder forks, Bsa. I had trouble holding the thing up, let alone riding it...it weighed a ton? After a few days training i rode it like a pro? We had a wonderful time riding around the countryside, Map reading, cross country, all as a troop though. Then the postings came through, and i was posted to Nairobi. Kenya. The Mau Mau crisis was on at that time, and everywhere we went, we were armed. I don't recall any serious incidents, but as i was attached to a Signals Despatch Centre, we were comparatively safe?? The Army allowed us to use a Landrover, provide us with rations, and spend the day in Nairobi National Game Park, wonderful experience, just regret i didn't take more photos? We went on a weeks holiday to Mombasa on the coast, all fares and accommodation paid for, had a wonderful time. When my time was nearly up, i was sent back to Chester.UK for demob. I was so close to signing up again, but it had to be for 3 more years, so i decided against it. I will never regret those 2 years though, some of the best times of my life, and really good mates, some whom i still keep in touch with? Ron.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top