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National Service

  • Thread starter Thread starter RayD
  • Start date Start date
Ted and all, I read with great interest all your reports of National Service. Mine was very boring, in fact I do not remember a lot about it. I was at Cosworth and rode my bike there from Yardley on weekends, I was a batman!!! to a sports officer and cleaned the house he and his wife lived in, also pressed his pants polished his shoes etc. Then I worked in the officers mess laying the tables etc. Guess with my School of Art and working for an Sculptor and cycling they thought that was about all I was good for? I did cycle race a lot for the RAF teams and got to go training so i was a pretty cushy time for me.
 

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This one threw me for a minute Jackie, the white lanyard worn by Gunners and a unrecogniseable collar badge !
Anyroad, I turned the picture sideways and it's the badge of a Yeomanry Regiment, 145, (Berkshire Yeomanry) Regiment Royal Artillery.
 
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I realise this thread is about National Service as opposed to Regular's but I would be interested to know if there are any ex-RAF aircrew members on the Forum, I was a wireless Op from 1948 to 56, my first posting was to 82 (PR) Squadron, the last Lancaster Squadron in the RAF, on aerial survey duties in Africa (1949 to 51). It would be nice to hear from other ex- aircrew members (no doubt long in the tooth like me!). Eric
 
My sadly battered Army Pay Book, and 'jab' details. Also my 'demob' pay slip, Army Reserve papers, and an army issue railway pass.

Eddie
 

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maypolebaz: AB 64 Part 1.

I had to keep everything, uniform, kitbag, the lot, until two years after demob, due to the then recall for two weeks annual reserve training. I was still living at home, and my mother was not a happy bunny with a soldiers kit stuck in the cupboard. In those days it was initially three years on the army reserve, but they reduced it to two years, around the 1954 period.

Strange, that having been demobbed in January 1954, I then returned, 9 months later, in the October, to my old barracks at Herford, in Germany, for the first of my annual reserve training. Meeting up with guys that I had said farewell to, just a few months earlier. I had a great time. In fact, having played in the camp band during my service, in both the Officers & Sergeants Mess, the camp Regimental Sergeant Major remembered me, and he invited into his office (hallowed ground), for a coffee and a chat, about how I was doing in 'civvy' street, with my drumming.
My second camp, in 1955, was at Chester, and at the end of those two weeks, I handed everything in. Cannot remember why I kept my AB64 Part 1.

Eddie
 
I was not a good soldier. I just couldn`t stay out of trouble or keep my big mouth shut. I think for the first 6 months i had more red ink than black in my paybook. After about 6 months i stopped banging my head against a brick wall & settled into army life ( for most of the time anyway!! ) I think the turning point in my army "career" came when i was brigadiers driver in N/Ireland. Someone "dropped me in it" & he wouldn`t own up to it. I should have shopped him but i didn`t & as a consequence i lost my promotion. I was newly married with a pregnant wife, i was really stressed over this incident & she talked me in to packing it all in. It was not long after that that the "Troubles" began so in the end i was glad to be out of it.
 
Once again Eddie. I read your post and I am surprised. I did my two years and that was that. I wonder how they picked out who would do what and be sent where? Maybe I was and still am, a dummy and they figured that out, sent me to my mundane job as a BATMAN (No Robin?) for an Officer. You chaps must have been pretty smart to get the posting you got!!!! But then that's the story of my life I guess
 
My NS finished in March 1955 I was required to do 3 years on the reserve, weekends at the local TA and fortnights away at camp. I only did a couple of weekends and one fortnight camp before they called it all off.
My fortnight was spent at a place called Cark & Cartmel up above Morecambe Bay.
 
If truth be told, i think most N/S men enjoyed their stint in the forces, although i did meet a few who were devestated & tried all kinds of stuff to get out. Am i right in thinking that when N/S ended, there were a few N/S men who had to stay on a bit longer than their 2 years?
 
I did my two years National Service in the RAF and at the end of 8 weeks basic training, drill instruction etc, we sat in a large hall and were told what we would be doing and where we would be posted. I was told I would be an Instrument Technician and be posted to the RAF's 12th School of Technical Training where I spent 9 months sitting in class rooms and labs being taught how to service instruments in aircraft. I passed the course and the RAF got just over a year out of me actually working on aircraft which I was happy enough to do and had some interesting test flights every month or so.

I was never based more than 120 miles from Brum so I generally had a Monday to Saturday military job with 36 hours as a civilian most weekends. As I was nearing demob they started preparing to install Thor Nuclear Ballistic missiles on my last base, the 'cold war' was getting warmer, but I got demobbed and back to 'civvy street' and like most young men of those times 'I had done my bit' !

3150438
oldmohawk
 
Smudger said:
If truth be told, i think most N/S men enjoyed their stint in the forces, although i did meet a few who were devestated & tried all kinds of stuff to get out. Am i right in thinking that when N/S ended, there were a few N/S men who had to stay on a bit longer than their 2 years?
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If I remember rightly a whole draft were kept on but I can't think why. There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth, as might be expected but the majority in our Regiment soon became resigned to it.
We regulars felt sorry for them but one consolation they had was that they were put on three-year regular's rates of pay.

Re "Cap badge"
I thought you might've been RCT when you mentioned that you'd been a Brigadier's driver.
 
Failed on medical conditions so no N/S. In error I was originally graded as A1 and was about to sign up for the 9years ,out after 3, when I was recalled to be told the reclassification. I still signed something to the eff
 
Whoops ,eating dinner and pressed the wrong button!
Signed something to the effect that if the problem could be fixed at the army's expense I was in. It couldn't and I didn't.
Two of my mates were in the RAF, one applied for overseas and the other for home postings, you guessed it, homeboy to Singapore and the other travelled to Castle Boom, coming home most weekends.
Cheers Tim
 
tim eborn said:
Whoops ,eating dinner and pressed the wrong button!
Signed something to the effect that if the problem could be fixed at the army's expense I was in. It couldn't and I didn't.
Two of my mates were in the RAF, one applied for overseas and the other for home postings, you guessed it, homeboy to Singapore and the other travelled to Castle Boom, coming home most weekends.
Cheers Tim
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That`s typical of the army, ask for something & you`ll end up with something totally different. When i was stationed in Germany at the height of the cold war, there was a guy in our unit who could speak fluent Russian. I asked him what he was doing driving the cookhouse wagon instead of utilising his language skill, & he replied, "I don`t know, if you find out let me know" His language skill did come in useful, because where we were stationed there were a lot of Yugoslavs, & he spent quite some time with them.
 
Smudger said:
That`s typical of the army, ask for something & you`ll end up with something totally different. When i was stationed in Germany at the height of the cold war, there was a guy in our unit who could speak fluent Russian. I asked him what he was doing driving the cookhouse wagon instead of utilising his language skill, & he replied, "I don`t know, if you find out let me know" His language skill did come in useful, because where we were stationed there were a lot of Yugoslavs, & he spent quite some time with them.
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Hey Love your Westie, Had Westies for years love them my wife Marcia is a member of the local Westie rescue.
 
oldbrit said:
Hey Love your Westie, Had Westies for years love them my wife Marcia is a member of the local Westie rescue.
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Thanks oldbrit, Hamish will be 12 yo in 4 days & he still thinks he`s young `un. He makes a change to my last dog, a Bulldog!!
And now you`ve got me in trouble for going off topic. Oh well, trouble is my middle name.
 
Smudger said:
Thanks oldbrit, Hamish will be 12 yo in 4 days & he still thinks he`s young `un. He makes a change to my last dog, a Bulldog!!
And now you`ve got me in trouble for going off topic. Oh well, trouble is my middle name.
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Sorry about that, maybe we should start a WESTIE topic?
 
Heres one for you National Service Guys
2 pair of 1953 made army boots we used to wear these at work in the early 70s I brought loads I still have these left
 

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Looking at those boots reminded me of how we used a hot iron to burn off the dimples to get a really good shine. I also had an elastic band over my gaiters to tuck up my bd trousers. Got loads of bollocking because of that. With my peaked dress hat i used to fold the sides down slightly, looked a lot smarter but that was also frowned upon. "You is not an officer Smith so stop trying to look like one"
 
Always had elastic in my gaiters, although some guys used weights. (All this probably sounds double Dutch to non service personal). "What are they talking about, Fred?"

Eddie
 
I do remember the boots and also polish the brass badge till smooth. Of course as a BATMAN I did my officers everyday One thing I remember was marching and keep my back straight and my head up.
 
I was just eading some old cycling mags and came across this. Thought maybe someone would get a chuckle out of it
 

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I was in the RAF (1948-56) and being aircrew I was excused all guard duties and CO parades due to unsocial flying times , even so I think the RAF appeared to have far less 'bull' to put up with, less parades, kit inspections etc... We tended to wear shoes as opposed to boots and gaiters, we were issued with boots but apart from the odd parade and guard duties they were rarely worn, I should think most ex-RAF bods would agree with me there. Of course I am talking of over 60 years ago and no doubt there have been changes. I think National Service was a good thing and do not understand why it ceased. There would always be a small percent crossing off their days to demob and constantly whingeing, but the majority seemed to accept it and even enjoy it. Have a attached a pic of a group of National Service friends with my Wife and I at a club in Hong Kong in 1953with friends at the Winner HouseHK.JPG , they seem happy enough. Happy days Eric
 
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