JOIN THE ARMY, LEARN A
TRADE,
ADVENTURE, TRAVEL & GET PAID...
A tongue in cheek look at 1950’s life in
the British Army - the era of National Service. Humorous tales of events
experienced serving Queen and Country in the far flung extremities of the
Globe - Catterick Camp and Germany. Reminiscences of my naïve and innocent
youth.
I left school without qualifications and
with no idea as to a career. The easy option was the family butchers shop,
which I hated. Like all young men, my major preoccupation was girls; oh, I
did so crave for a girlfriend. I considered myself the epitome of elegance,
wit and charm, and just couldn’t understand why girls didn’t succumb to my
overtures? Possibly it was because I was far too shy to act on any hint of
encouragement from any female. Age and hindsight has provided the wisdom I
wish I had had then - I was the prime example of: ‘Youth is wasted on the
young.’ This then was the scenario half a century ago.
It could be said I joined the Army because
a bus was running late. I had no family connections with the Army, but
recognized my National Service call-up was months away and knew most men
from my town were sent to the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment, then in Malaya.
Stories of wading through swamps, whilst being shot at by an unseen enemy,
was something I would willingly forgo. Whilst standing at that bus stop by a
Gent’s outfitter’s shop, I idly gazed at the window display, a magnificent
selection of army blazer badges, patterns and devices in glittering gold and
silver wire, materials in every colour of the rainbow. Fashion at that time
decreed everyone wore a badge on the breast pocket of their blazer - school,
association, regimental or similar - well everyone except me! I desperately
wanted a distinctive badge on my blazer. A seed was sown in my mind
so, I visited the Army Recruiting Office; leaving with booklets and leaflets
of a career in the regular army. In one I read: "The glamour and
tradition of the Cavalry with the interests of the mechanized world."
That clinched it and I became a regular soldier for three years.
After my demobilisation I joined the
ambulance service and on retirement in 2000, embarked upon a new career as
an after dinner speaker and guest speaker at clubs and group meetings,
relating: Ambulance Tales. humorous stories of my years as part of an
emergency ambulance crew. Occasionally I would be asked, did I speak on any
other subjects and it occurred to me that I could give a light hearted talk
looking at my army years, the result is: A Simple Soldier. I thought
the subject would only be of interest to men who had experienced forces
life, but to my surprise discovered it is enjoyed by ladies, giving them an
insight into what their men did, also younger audiences get pleasure from a
glimpse into dad or grandpa’s days of long gone. In fact everyone can take
the opportunity to sit back, relax and laugh. As they used to say in the
army:
If you can’t take a joke, you shouldn’t
have joined.
