National Service was a life-changing experience for many




COME the end of the Second World War, and many young men breathed a sigh of relief. They would not be called up into the Armed Forces after all.

More fool them. The demands of a peacetime Army spread out across the old British Empire, plus the occupation forces in Germany, were more than could be met by volunteers alone.

It was to be 1960 before the last batch of conscripts signed up, and 1963, with the Swinging Sixties well under way, before the final reluctant soldier left the Army.

For most, it was to be a love-hate relationship. The Army – and most conscripts were in the Army, rather than the Navy or Air Force – could seem to be an unfeeling and unfair institution, but it was also a substitute family for those who were leaving home for the first time. There are many affectionate memories, perhaps made a bit warmer by the passage of time.

Many conscripts were given chances during their military service they would not have had in civilian life.

Anyone with a performing talent was likely to be hauled into forces’ entertainment. Typical of the wartime generation were the four key members of the Goon show in the 1950s, Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers, Harry Secombe and Michael Bentine. Many an ex-conscript recognised the sheer madness of the military in the Goons’ anarchic humour, and Milligan’s war memoirs went on to become comedy classics.

In post-war years, musicians like Bill Wyman, right, later of the Rolling Stones, would have the freedom to perform while in the Army, while the Wirral-born DJ John Peel, top, discovered rock and troll from Armed Forces Radio while serving as a radar operator in the late 1950s.

Sport was always a way of avoiding the worst boredom of Army life. The Army encouraged it, as it kept people fit and encouraged leadership – or at least that was the theory.

Certainly, nearly all the top footballers of the day passed through the Army’s hands before turning professional. Many of the English World Cup winning side of 1966 had done their spell in the Army, including Liverpool’s Roger Hunt and Bobby Charlton of Manchester United.

They may all have hated it at the time – but many now appreciate the chances that an initially unwanted spell in the military gave them.


THE POST

I'll be honest and admit to being a little ****!!! or at least I was in my teens / early 20's.

I reckon it's a good idea - maybe I wouldn't have been so bad in my youth if I'd had the discipline of the Army to straighten me out a bit?

Lost my father when I was very young so didn't have him to fall back on either ( maybe that was the cause or maybe it would just be classed as an easy excuse ) but either way, I reckon my life would have been so much different if National Service was in place.

The "older" generation who were forced into it seem to be so much more respectful towards other people and those in authority - these days, youngsters couldn't give a t*ss who they speak to or how they speak to them.
It scares me to think that one day, they will eventually be running the country.

So, YES!! I think it's a good idea.

Hoseman agrees and bring back the death penalty, stop being so bloody namby pamby Britain, hit the ... hard caus theyre taking the p*ss!!

good shout... we were just discussing this in work before

Yep - agreed

My grandad was called up for national service. not quite as nice as you would think, they used to use them as lab rats.

They tested the effects of bombs on his troop on Christmas island. My grandad still has radiation poisoning and the vast majority of the others he was with have died of cancer.

The british government are the only ones who havn't paid conpensation for it.

In theory yes but in reality by the time the little scrotes have reached 16 years old, the rot is well and truly set.
The problem starts way before that.
Parents need to be held responsible for their childs actions - if the child is too young to be prosecuted then the parents should be.
Give the schools and the police back the authority they once had to discipline children.
Stop raising kids to beleive they are entitled to respect without doing anything to earn it
It's only once all these things are sorted will we say goodbye to the feral generation we are cultivating right now.
*steps down from soap box*

National Service was never designed to sort out undesirables and scumbags, that society couldn't. The reasons for it is explained in the article. Why should we unload these people on the military. If we want them out of society, just build more prisons and hand out stiffer sentences until the penny drops with them.

As for bringing back hanging, can anyone tell me when your sons and daughters are wrongly arrested, wrongly convicted and hung, how do we bring them back?

Wot you mean sons and daughters, i mean all the little scrotes that realy p*ss ME off!!!

Worked in the past, you know...The good old days!!
Sheriff Joe has the right idea of how to deal with trouble!!
Check him out on Google and U Tube

Pink underwear, He'll do.

I'll go 100% with the Sheriff Joe approach but would NOT want to have proper troops put at any sort of additional risk because they have to accommodate scallies within their ranks. The services have enough problems coping with the inadequacies of the politicians

Snod

Snod, the term scallys can always be substituted in the military by the word CANNONFODDER!!!

Some uses would be
Clearing land mines, blindfolded!
Hanging from the monkey bars and used as bayonet practice!
Make them infiltrate enemy lines..in a Union Jack T shirt!
Biological warfare experiments..give the lab rats the guns!!
Line their hoodies with a material that attracts lead on the battlefield!

the scally's are already in the army {NEW LABOURS ARMY}they will always be dependant on the welfare state, so will be NEW LABOUR supports all there life.

That's some of the biggest load of bollocks I've ever heard on this forum, and it's up against some pretty stiff competition.

Served with the last National Service blokes in the 50's and 60's, it's hard to get a reluctant rebel to do anything, well not then because you just belted them into submission. If it was tried now you'd end up inside (when I rejoined years later and did it I was given a rollicking "We don't do it that way any more.") Either way they had to be sorted either physically or thru the disciplinary system. If they were bigger than you then you used the disciplinary method. we all rubbed along ok though.
Some National Service blokes signed on for regular service but a lot of that was because they were on less money, but some went on to pension. Proper prisons and sentences would sort a lot of stuff out, in todays paper it was reported that a lot of them have satellite tv, stap me!

Bring back Penal Batallions!!
These are long term prisoners or death row, given the option to sign up and do the "dirty work" for the regular army! Little training would be needed and after serving a set time they would be free. Problem is, in the past where penal batallions have been used, they are always "Ascention Day" missions, very slim chance of return!

Hoseman, Did you get the Dirty Dozen for Christmas.

Thats where my BRILLIANT idea came from!!!!
I just beleive in hard work, hard time for hard criminals, not soft namby pamby leisure time for them!!!
SHERRIFF JOE FOR PRESIDENT AND PM!!!

you mean solution?

Great Idea for a topic,I've always thought it should be brought back but have voted "NO".
I have a mate who is still serving,he is an RSM but is desk bound in the recruitment office in Liverpool,he says no regular serviceman wants conscription his words are "we don't want the little shits passed onto us,we want people in who want to be there and work hard"

Chris.

we could strap bombs to all the murderers and rapists in the prisons and parachute them into war zones as suicide bombers fighting on our side...see how they like it

Fair enough. Remember that programme Bad lads army? They were really put through it, some of them scarpered but alot of those lads remained and ended up better people. When someone feels valued and part of a team youve cracked it. Bring Back National Service Now!!!
Ill just have a coffee now.

What... And miss out on not cutting off their bollox with a blunt knife????

So when are you joining up? The lads in Afghanistan could do with a bit of help especially from someone obviously as experienced and committed as you! Most squaddies are raving right wing loonies yet come from working class homes. Think they remove their brains in basic training.

you would hardly choose to join the army if you had brains in the first place.

What a daft comment! The Armed Forces are one of the few places you can acutally learn a trade these days. A lot of my family and friends are in the Forces and they are far from stupid. They're much better members of society than the likes of the shell suit wearing layabouts and ... that are seen on our streets causing no end of mayhem to the majority of the law abiding public.

They're not all angels, but at least they're people to be proud of!!

We had a pair of policemen on our little estate when I was growing up in the 80's. Not a single youth stepped out of line as they knew everyone and our parents.
National Service won't help the country if you come home to be allowed whatever you want because police cars are comfy.

Vast majority of skilled trades in civvie street are also covered across our Armed Forces.

Highly trained professionals in there own right.

Wench. Well said.

or make comments like this.

most of the squaddies i know are thick as pig shit, why they join the army no one else would employ them, of course not all are thick, im just talking about the dead heads who join up as cannon fodder, heard them talking in the pub about how many 'kills' they have had, hardly the brains of britain.

Circa 114,000 soldiers currently employed in the British Army.

I suggest you find a different watering hole dancingpriest.

my son was in the army. he was in the engineers & got a trade as an electrician. he was out in kosovo & Iraq twice.

did anyone go to the march in town a few weeks ago, to be there and not feel a sense of pride and honour of these broken men coming home (and sadly some of them not returning)
i thought it was amazing and was very proud of each and every one of them x

No mate, I dont know of any squaddies who talk like that, unless they havent had a tour and know no better. What you heard was soliders having a laugh and winding down, water under the bridge. The ones who are as thick as pig shit will be the ones that dont make it through the first passout and in which case they wouldnt leave the barracks for you to over hear them. I dont believe for one minute you heard that at all.

What pub was it?

NO, well maybe for murderers and offenders?

Where's thick pillock DancingPriest gone?????
Notice he doesn't mention what he does for a living. I wonder.

lmfao bandy....i dont know of any squaddies like that neither xx

My dad was in the army and when confronted with this sort of thing, he always says "why should the army have to take them ?". I'm inclined to agree that the armed forces should not be looked upon as a dumping ground for the dross and dregs of society.

On the other hand, I say scrap the bloody armed forces altogether. It's a complete waste of taxpayers' money and we're not likely to be invaded by France, Germany, Russia etc in this day and age.

History has proven, diminish your armed forces and you get picked on.

and boy are we going to get picked on now. We should either have and be a local defence force or we should put up the sheckels and punch above our weight as usual, it does give you a certain amount of pride to be able to do it. For the lads to be on roulement so often just to keep politicians feeling good about themselves is just so wrong on so many levels. A pox on them.

I wonder what Mr Cromwell would make of all this - I don't think this is what he envisaged when he beheaded the King

Still no sign of what dancingpriest's role in life is.

im an engineer, not that its any of your business.

maybe they were having banter, but they defo said it, they are a bunch of scals who drink in my local, at least two of them are serving in afghanistan at the moment. got nothing against people who join the army, just always found a lot of squaddies to be a bit thick and rowdy.

I also dont see why everyone should treat people in the armed forces as heroes or people to look up to, they know what they are getting themselves into when they sign up, if thats what they want to do, fair enough, but I dont see why I should be expected to bow down to them.

at the ende of the day they are just pawns in the game of imperialist wars, an army should be for defensive reasons, not lining the pockets of the ruling class.

I feel for the innocent civilians killed by the british and american war machine.

what danger was saddam to britain? likewise the taliban are no danger, what right have we got to meddle in other countries affairs?

So you are an engineer, whoopee!
You started shaving off against the squaddies mate. If you open a can of worms don't be surprised when it throws up a bit of stink. Nobody else used intemperate language. Enjoy the site anyway, it's only banter and it can't hurt.

Thank god we didn't have that attitude with Hitler !!

In my eyes if anyone wants to have a pop at politicians, fair enough, whats not acceptable is having a go at the men and women of the armed forces, they are doing their job and doing it well, what you won't hear from them is griping about having to fight or go to trouble spots, you might hear them gripe over the lack of respect they receive from some quarters, they might even gripe over mail from home not getting through, but doing the job they are paid for, not a murmur.
As far as a defence force goes, I've always been of the opinion its best to challenge problems where they start so a defence force is not much use for that situation. Flying planes into buildings and blowing people up on buses and tube trains cannot be allowed to go on without it being challenged, whatever part of the world the perpetrators are.

i dont think it should be brought back just to get the scumbags off the streets.i would like to think that if one of mine was in afgan, it would be someone like my friends son who died there last year watching his back, not a scumbag who would only look after himself,because he was made to be there.

Quite right suey, they have enough bother looking after themselves without having to look out for surly sods who won't be pulling their weight. Sorry about your friends son, heroes every one of them and should be treated as such and, may I add, be spoken of as such.

In 4 minutes it will be midnight in the Sandpit so I shall be raising a glass to them all to wish them all love. Chins up, heads down and come home safe!!

Amen to that Wench.

This one was aired again this a.m. on Radio Merseyside. All the old sweats seem to be dead against it.