Same but Different uses the arts for positive social change. Our films cover subjects including rare disease, disability, cancer, homelessness, armed forces and veterans amongst many others. Visit our website at www.samebutdifferentcic.org.uk
What an absolute gentleman, character and serviceman. He is the kind of guy you ask to the pub, in a beer garden - and listen to for hours and live on every word…..and NEVER let him pay for a beer…! Well Done …and thank you.
I had a similar time in nat service after basic training went to compton baassett for trade training then to abyad in the canal zone flew out in a hastings and ended by coming home on a ship empire fowey then demob!!
We had to do 16 Weeks basic training in the Royal Engineers in the early 1950s. The second part,was various trade training,but we still had to continue some of the early training in addition.Sadly we had one poor chap who could not go on and took his own life. Things in BAOR were far better than the UK,with ex German barracks that had central heating and double glazing.
The one thing that upset me was that a person from that era used the out of place, current term of "guy" instead of "man." I find it sad that many people today automatically adopt Americanisms in favour of my native language, English.
I remember those days Mike. Used the swop shrapnel and incendery bomb fins at school. My sister worked in a aeroplane fuel tank factory and a air aid roof spotter. I went in the army a few years later and wound up in Korea. Interesting times
I joined for five years. Went to Oswestry in Wales for Royal Artillery training on 25 pounder field guns. Then to Woolwich barrack before shipping out to peacetime Korea. Enjoyed it and grew up.
So true. I was seven when the war started. Couldn’t see the drama in the situation. Spent time swooping pieces of exploded bombs and antiaircraft shells for bits of Meccano and other toys. Joined the army at 17. Went to Oswestry for training, then to Korea where the war had finished. All interesting for a young guy.
Where do 'they' find these people?? !! Lovely stories of National Service (or mebe leading up to its time) - but so real ! Many NS folks took advantage of training for professional jobs for which they would not otherwise be qualified - so everyone benifitted! Fab.
When sweets were first taken off ration all the sweet shops ran out of sweets in hours. We used to go into a shop and just ask “ have you any sweets?” Usually the answer was “no”. And sweets were put on ration again.
My father did National Service and some of the things he used to say from the Army was "Jankers" (punishment duty), "Best PD" (Best Parade Dress), about saluting "the hand brought sharply up to eye line the shortest way and then brought the longest way down to the down to the side of the body".......
My late father was in the British Army based in Egypt, Jordan and Iraq from 1949 to 1952. He arrived at Alexandria, then travelled by jeep and truck, spending time at Amman, Bagdad and also RAF Habbaniyah. As an army cartographer, he was making maps for the British and also for the Jordanians. He was presented with a Medal of Gratitude from the King of Jordan, which I still have to this day. He told me that he really enjoyed his National Service. Dad would have been 91 this year. RIP Dad.
Great. Experience I joined as regular In 1963 royal signals catterick before overseas posting and you used to hitch in uniform from catterick to London national service lads were in their final years then as it was end of an era .as country we can't afford it now but it would do today's pansies good make them grown up away from mummys apron strings and be men and not spoilt brats and cry babies
I was not called upon at the end of my apprenticeship, was deferred for a further two years, wprking on Vampires, Venoms and later Sea Vixen. At the end of that deferment the the national service requirement had ended.
I was in Vimi lines at Catterick in January 8th 1959. There was two foot of snow as we stood outside stripped to the waist while waiting for our “jabs”.
Men like Michael ====================== are The Backbone of Britain. Should you read this, Michael, I am glad the experience set you up for life. May you enjoy life and cycling for as long as you wish. .
Sad to say we now have woke instructors if you even shelter trainees they report you to the welfare officer for hateful conduct you can't even inject humour a little bit of fun because the fun is deemed to be bullying. There is no longer the possibility of having a proper career you know military there is no guarantees when are politicians sitting in their comfortable offices far away from the noise of battle make an executive decision based on economics and hurty feelings decide to cut your role within the military as redundant. Been there seen it got the T-shirt seeing the results of cutbacks so when you need a task to be carried out the individuals who are tasked to do it have no idea or concept of what they're doing because the role will ceased years ago but suddenly that role what's needed because a task had to be done, luckily the word people not directly involved able to assist and direct them in the right direction. With more and more cutbacks that will no longer be the case because the skill the knowledge and the information will be lost in time or buried in the records or in a loan file somewhere in a very large memory bank for the computers. And as some will be stored on type and we now use microchips we need to hunt for the tape recorders to play the tapes we only have to look at the mobile phone industry and are we up to G 2001 yet? And old wars are conducted by pushing a button and the robots do the rest would make a nice script for a movie wouldn't it.
Compulsory national services its just wrongful on every level, because it flys in the face of everthing that my father and grandfather fought and suffered for. I value my own individual everyone else's individual freedom of choice over their own destiny your choice is your business mine and others choises should belong to them, but freedom rightly means anyone can go and volunteer to join the armed service's if they like to live a life like some kind of obedient slave giving up their own freedom to follow the will of others, even if need be until death. Its good you survived and made a career and a good living for yourself, but a life of possible sucess or failures is in front of everyone regardless of compulsery service or not, i dont beleive your sucess was due to your compusery service, i think its was down to the choices you made, after all so many after serving land up with nothing on the streets, broken and forgotten by the country they served.
I served in Cyprus, Aden Lybia, 8 weeks training RAF Wilmslow plus 6 weeks Training Gunner Signaller at RAF REGT Caterick Camp Amazing how we crammed it all in 2 years 1955 - 1957
Kia ora from New Zealand. My mate, Patrick served in Cyprus, I think around 1956 or so. He was a man of not many words, and he said very little about his time there. For many years I have wanted to know more about what he may have experienced. He came to New Zealand in 1991 from Wiltshire and I met him here after that. It is enthralling, reading your comment, as well as others. Thankyou for your service and also for your comment. Aroha.
@@barbsmart7373 Same time 1956 also at the time of the Suez Invasion with RAF and French Forces Bombing runs From Nicosia 24 / 7 The RAF Aircraft at that time were formidable All the V Bombers, Canberra jet Bombers and a host of Fighter planes, Hunters , Meteors and Venoms . The French were so well equipped. It was dangerous many service men killed by EOKA a whole bunch of RAF girls blown up on a beach Bathing platform.
When “square bashing” the standard rebuke was “ when you were born they threw away the baby and keep the after-birth”. I think life was tougher in those days. When a soldier was crushed to death on the troopship Oxfordshire the people who saw it happen and tried desperately to stop it were shown no sympathy whatsoever. They were my mates (I was lucky because I had offered to get into the NAFFI queue so I didn’t see it) and obviously deeply distressed. But not a word. The unfortunate soldier was thrown overboard the next day. We were all told to keep away from the port side. And that was it.
The greatest thing world war 2 did was force the fuddy duddies out of the main leadership roles to be replaced with younger and far more capable leaders in the British army. These fuddy dudies unfortunately of a permanent commission reappeared and replaced battle gardened and street wise commanders with the usual blimps. These young excellent leaders just left rather miffed that those who hid in the closet suddenly reappeared when the bullets stopped and took their jobs from them only to be demoted.
Done mine January 1960 to 62 men with flat feet were rejected last intake I believe was August 1960 6 weeks in Aldershot basic training 3 months at Tamworth cookery school attached to Royal Scots Troon in AYRSHIRE ,SAILED to Libya October stationed in Benghazi then TRIPOLI great experience would not work today the youth would be wrong to PC BRIGADE Solicitors over being shouted at and reminded every day by NCOs they didn't know their fathers flew home January 62 back to Aldershot for demob ,It would certainly straighten today's wimps out if allowed to but will never return sadly 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
Both my uncles did national service both went to Korea. I went into the merchant navy at 16 ,left and joined territorial's done 1 1 years enjoyed every minute good comrades .N S finished when i was in the MN .
Ex Pioneer here. Working class, and Proud to be a Chunkie. Not a National Seviceman, but an Enlisted Man. Respect for your service mate. But sod your opinion on my corp. Once a Pioneer, Always a Pioneer. New Model Army. LEVELLERS.
