Over the past three issues, we have been marking the 50th anniversary of the end of conscription into National Service in December, 1960. In the December issue, we end the series with a look at those who spent their time with the RAF and Royal Navy.
RAF overalls had versatility.
Enjoy more Best of British Magazine reading every month.
Click here to subscribe & save.
Night manoeuvres
Most National Servicemen will have been involved in those wonderful exercises to defend camp or airfield from an attacking force. They were always set up after a normal day’s work, and it was always cold and dark.
On this occasion it was not only dark but foggy. Denims (a sort of overall) were worn for exercises over the top of one’s uniform, giving protection and extra warmth, and they had a large number of pockets. Emergency rations, usually a thick slice of corned beef between a couple of doorsteps of bread and an apple, could be accommodated in the breast pockets.
I had been assigned to be a runner in the camp conveying messages between the various headquarters. I had returned to my base in a hut, found myself a dark corner and adopted a low profile, and was congratulating myself on not being up on the hills in the dreadful weather. Perhaps in another couple of hours it would all be over and we could get to bed.
Suddenly there was a deafening detonation on the outside of the wall I was leaning against, and a maniac burst in, handing out chits to everyone in the hut. He was an exercise umpire and our hut had been ‘hit by a bomb’. The chits told us whether we were dead or wounded, and if wounded, what the nature of our wounds was. Apparently, I had been badly sliced up by the bomb and was a stretcher case.
Extracted from an article by Mike Gillings, from the December 2010 issue of Best of British.
Mike (second from left) and fellow National Servicemen pictured just after being kitted out with uniforms – hence the creases!
We asked the Friends of Best of British: Should National Service return?
YES…
- To give our youth guidance, a salary, discipline, a chance to see the world and to learn skills. Sandy Eldred
- Yes – to reduce youth unemployment and to teach a trade to young people. It would encourage team spirit and national pride. Raymond Howard
- Yes! Or at least a public service version of it. It would instil manners, respect, common sense into our teenagers, as well as pride in our country, and value for their countrymen and women. Trevor Manning
- It would give youngsters something to focus on – they would not be bored with that. Christina (Dolly) Patterson
- Yes, for both men and women. It teaches skills and gives a sense of pride. Sandra Naylor
- It would give the people undergoing ‘call-up’ a sense of worth, discipline, and to equip them for life – one that does not rely on mobile phones. Christine Stansfield
- Only for one year of military style training; after that they should be drafted into voluntary organisations. Stan Sadler
NO…
- It shouldn’t happen because of the pure logistics and cost of putting thousands of young men into uniform. Neither is it the answer to the current ills and behaviour of many of the younger generation. That answer starts with good parenting, not being bawled at for some military misdemeanour. In today’s high-tech armed forces, massed manpower would be surplus to requirements. To use a very non-politically correct phrase, cannon fodder is no longer a requirement. Today’s professional serviceman is a highly trained and motivated man or woman. Alan Mudge
- Not unless it was required for our defence commitments. It certainly should not be brought back as a means of solving our social problems; that is not the role of the military. Perhaps a case could be argued for a civilian-based equivalent ‘work service’. Roger Newark
- The services are too undermanned to take on the job of training. And the behavioural problems that society would like solved should have been dealt with right from the cradle. Betty Byford
- It is not realistic in its old form, but we should have some form of public service. Ian Wherry
- Not if the reason is to reduce antisocial behaviour. Providing young people with jobs and life opportunities would be far more productive. Brian Hibbert
Do you think National Service should return? Leave a comment below and tell us why.
Further information: National Servicemen are entitled to the Armed Forces Veterans Badge. For more information see the Veterans UK website.
