I started national service as a lad and came out of it a man - Yorkshire Post Letters

Re: National Service. There has been much discussion recently on this subject since it was raised in Parliament. May I as a former National Serviceman recall my time as a guest of Her Majesty.

At the time of my call up I was in the employ of the Leeds Permanent Building Society. National Service was being run down and I was deferred as I was taking exams.

I pipped one and within two weeks received my papers for the RAF.

I was not a happy man. This meant my contemporaries at the society would in effect be gaining two years seniority over me.

I was in fact the last employee to be called up in the penultimate RAF intake during 1960. It finished in the RAF that September.

After kitting out at Cardington we were entrained to Bridgenorth, home of the last RAF square bashing camp. That eight weeks was hell on earth. Then came a choice of trade.

Not wishing to end up in the cookhouse I put my hand up when eight wops were required. No idea what this entailed but soon I was being taught morse for which it was found I had an aptitude so an initial 12 week course was followed by an 18 week advanced course at RAF Digby.

By the time I finished this I had already completed 13 months. I had been advised that if you played sports you would be excused from anything and it worked. I had some great times and if you had a good game an officer would always buy you a pint later.

My posting entailed working a shift system with civvies. Four and a half days on, three and a half off. It was the time of the cold war, our work entailing my signing the Official Secrets Act.

I had some great times making long lasting friendships. There was the odd bully to contend with more in respect of helping some smaller members of our watch rather than myself.

I made a vow then to always stand up to bullies. In later life this has stood me in good stead with the occasional management bully.

The one thing any serviceman never forgets is his service number. On pay parade the conducting officer would holler out your surname to which you replied with your last three (515) saluted and collected your weekly pay. In my case towards the end of my time it had risen to just over £5. Were National Service to be reinstated a couple of zeros would need adding on.

It has been truly said, ‘You went in a lad and came out a man’. There is a lot to be said for that.