General Chat

Harry

My brother definitely requested the Navy ....... he'd been in the Sea Cadets for about 5 years by that time


and the Board definitely told him that the Navy would take him, even with the 2 "faults", because of the Sea Cadet references.



sylvia

My OH, a Londoner, was drafted into the Irish Guards, he was 6ft2ins tal and they needed recruits. He answered to the name of Mick all the time he was in hospital, so much so that I thought that was his name when i first met him!

I would be interested if anyone was given a choice as to what branch of the armed services they went into for their two years. I never met any sailors but plenty posted to the RAF - the Brylcream boys..

I got no choice and was never asked. Just ended up in the PBI (poor bloody infantry).

Happy days

My husband did his Nat. Service with the War Dogs Training School from 1948 to 1950, in Melton Mowbray. He then followed his parents and sister to New Zealand.

Huia.

Hi All


With regards to the yanks having better supplies than the uk forces, my Mum worked for NAFFI stores up until the 90's and would often comment on the nice food they had compared to our troops.

Going back to the WW2 My Grandmother met an american serviceman in portsmouth who just happened to be a Cook, whilst most of the girls got Sockings my grandmother asked for Chicken Legs, lol xx

My brother was called up at the age of 18, in 1947

He had been in the Sea Cadets for several years, and had superior references from them, and so he requested to go into the Royal Navy

At his medical, they found out he was almost blind in one eye, and that he had flat feet.

Because of the references from the Sea Cadets, he was told that the Navy would take him even though either condition was reason enough for him to be turned down.


...... they would teach him to shoot through the other eye, even though that was actually the "wrong" eye for sighting down a rifle 'scope

...... however, because of his flat feet, he would be confined to desk jobs.


Brother said he wanted to be a "proper" sailor, not a desk sailor



so they turned him down.




sylvia

Thanks Robert, I'll try that next I think, But I'm doing very well for info, here what a lovely crowd.

Hi everyone

My dad did his National Service in the early 50's, He was in the Royal Engineers and was stationed in Korea and Hong Kong, he had a few photo albums of pics of his comdades. He said he enjoyed his time in the army.

Harry sounds like the cry' the yanks are over here, over sexed and overpaid' was still applying after WW2!

Quoy,
We were in Trieste to keep the communists out. One thing I remember was going to the cinema. I said we only got 28 shillings a week. My memory is of us on the wooden seats at the front and the american soldiers in the plush seats at the back with a girl on either arm.. At 18 that was painful.

Happy days?

Karen,

Google - Forces reunited.

You may get some information there.

My husbands uncle richard derry

was killed in korea aged just 21 during national service.

Sorry to hijack your thread
but
Harry this is fate
I have just received my dads photo album Trooper Donald Tansley 12th Lancers .One of the photographs is of 3 soldiers and it says at the bottom Trieste 1951. Never heard of Trieste before,had to look it up, and now twice in 2 days.
I know he served in Malaysia and am sending for The Pingat Jasa
Malaysia Medal

Oh, how I look back on those days as the time of my life. I was stationed at the Cambridge Military Hospital, Aldershot. The TA camp at Bude in Cornwall, the Millbank Military hospital in London and the Royal Herbert in Woolwich. Lots of girls went overseas, but those of us deemed worthy of reaching SRN status had to serve in this country to take our exams. All this was for the benefit of the hundreds of lovely young men who went all over the world and were injured and needed treatment. There were also tropical diseases, infectious diseases and general poor health, all of which needed dedicated nursing, not in civilian hospitals. Most patients were National servicemen as they were more numerous than those joined for life. When you hear someone say that they did NS, treat them with respect, for they were doing a job which was not their choice as it was for regular servicemen. God bless them , every one.

Karen asked @ 14:48 is there any way she can find who went where.

Couldn't find anything on the National Archive. Do people think the records (if they still exist) may still be closed except to next of kin if deceased?

oh my, how I wish they were Mau, my life would be so much simpler lol.

Bob my OH was wireless and signal operator too,he was with the Northumberland Fusiliers.

He tells me that one lad he knew didn't get to do NS because of having a perforated eardrum

Karen are these questions for exam papers? if so, good luck and I'm sure there'll be plenty of answers for you on here

Mau xx

In the Royal Signals,1959,I spent a month at Catterick, for basic training, then spent 6 months in Lincoln (Sobraan Barracks, Burton Road)learning wireless,morse code,typing and teleprinters.my main term was in BFPO 20,( Dortmund) in Germany , which was classed as a "home" posting....No extra pay there then....LOL

one of my apprentice colleagues was turned down for having a curved spine,

Bob

Goodness, I'm learning so much today, thankyou all for information recieved so far

I remember on the '70's asking the Manager's Assistant at the bank where I worked where he served his National Service. He said he didn't as he genuinely had flat feet. It was actually quite painful at times and restricted the amount of walking he could do.