1950's National Service

My memories of serving as a National Serviceman during the 1950's. I was called up in 1955 and, after undergoing basic training at Malvern and Worcester with the Royal Engineers, I was posted to Singapore during the Malayan Emergency. I was part of the Royal Engineers 570 Map Reproduction Unit, mapping the whole of Malaya. I made this video using a combination of my own footage and some clips from a TV programme.

[margaretreid]

Excellent trip down memory lane! My brother did his national service in Egypt during the Suez crisis. This helped bring to life all of stories he told me of what it was like for a UK soldier serving in the middle east. Thank you for sharing this with us.

[ssss]

grammar schools and national service made for a socially sound country.

[lewistivey]

Haha the bit about sleeping on the floor so not to mess up the bed space for morning inspection, really hit home. We used to do that and that was in 2018 😂

[ROCKINGMAN]

I did military service in France in 1987. By this time it was reduced to just 1 year. It was a great experience. Taking orders, meeting others, drilling, route marching, firing a rifle. Loved the food, the haircut, the kit. It may not be the answer to many issues but they should have kept it in UK and elsewhere.

[ShevillMathers]

Looking back I saw this movie at the Tower Cinema in Leeds not long before I started my basic training at RAF Padgate, July 1956. On completion of medical training I put down for Ceylon as my first choice posting. I suspect that great movie was still at the back of my mind. I got Germany, which was fantastic and enjoyed it immensely. I had signed on for 5-years, so pay and perks were pretty good and I could afford more than the two year National Service guys. Love to do it all again.

[rashidahmad]

I enjoyed the video. I knew and worked with some British planters who served in the Army during the Malayan Emergency. They stayed back and joined the plantation industry. Fine characters. Some were larger than life. Most returned to the UK upon retirement. I always thought they were happier in Malaya.

[kazkazimierz]

When I was in RCAF reserve officer basic training in the early 60s I slept on the floor a few times the night before our weekly room inspection.

[formonthills]

My Dad was called up on his 18th birthday (11/08/45), and was trained to be a Sapper - then spent his time in Port Said. He told me he was not looking forward to it at the time, but with hindsight it was a great thing to do and he made so many friends. 1945 to 1947. I have some great photos from his posting thankfully. It is great to see your videos showing these times. Thank you ❤

[haydenbretton]

National Service stopped just before I was expecting to be "Called Up", I was so looking forwards to serving so I Took the Queens Shilling and enlisted. I loved every moment of basic Square Bashing Drills. I enjoyed my service having served in Malaya, Borneo and Thailand on a 3 years tour of duty, then another 4 years in Germany. I only left owing to my wife becoming ill, but I really loved my army service and the reunions we veterans have each year, God Save the King.

[mbak]

A brilliant video. National Service meant so many different things to different soldiers. It is a part of life that for those born a few years later missed out on. It is certainly a record of a life lived. Thanks for sharing yours.

[vxkucbl]

dad did his bit in 1947 -48 him and mum had only been married a few months imagine how he felt
leave was cancelled in 1947 heavy snow he stayed in england his brother went abroad he said it made a man of him many many tales he told us good and bad memories r i p dad love you

[Jason-iobu]

This is very good thank you posting
The sitcom Get Some In (RAF) that was set in winter of 1955 too

[teddy]

Did my national service in the RAF. First posted to RAF Credenhill for mechanic/technician training, then posted to RAF Oldenburg in West Germany. Worked on Hawker Hunters (we had three squadrons there). Happy days they were. Miss the lads and the camaraderie.

[francisnewmarch]

What a lovely, lovely story.
Thank and regards from Barnes London

[Peter-lmic]

I was a National Serviceman from England and posted to Scotland January 1950 to an infantry regiment the Royal Scots Fusiliers, I think I was only Englishman under training but after a few weeks the said it was a mis-posting and I should have been under training at Shorncliffe Kent badged to the Royal Fusiliers. So down I went to Shorncliffe and the battalion I eventually joined was the Queens Royal Regiment and served out my two years in Germany. All in all in was a great experience with a vast variation of different types of people from London cockney's to ex public schools. Great guys and pleased I served with an experience unmatched in civvy street!

[ShevillMathers]

Oh what memories your video brings back. My time arrived July 1956, I did a brave thing and signed on for a 5 year stint in the RAF. Basic training much the same, medical training for the medical branch was great-( I was working and studying in the Dept of Surgery at Leeds University-Leeds General Infirmary, so was well ahead of them all at medical training. On completion was posted to a brand new RAF hospital in Germany, arriving their via Harwich Harbour to the Hook of Holland on a troopship. A night spent at the local army barracks highlighted the difference between the two services!!. A day long train/s journey through Holland to Wegberg in Germany about 60km from Cologne. Arriving at the hospital 7pm Xmas eve. The following two plus years were the best two years of my life. I grew up overnight-working in an operating theatre anywhere is the same, long hours, on call 3 nights a week and alternate weekends. Plays havoc with a love life!!! Toured the continent every opportunity I had, fantastic really and all at the RAF’s expense. My photographs of those years are being included in a book written by a German historian at Paderborn University, also used in big travelling public displays. How the post war forces interacted with the civilian population. As a keen photographer I had documented all my activities including many hospital and theatre shots few would have thought about. So at 85 plus, my RAF service still follows me. Thank you for sharing your story. I left Leeds in 1968 after completing my University studies, for the opportunity of a lifetime setting up a new department of pathology in a newly established Clinical School in Hobart Tasmania. My time in Germany and my excellent training in Leeds Medical School, gave me the skills and confidence to move so far from home and take up such a big challenge. Greetings from Tasmania Australia 👍😁🇦🇺🦘

[zenmen]

A pleasure to watch!

A good friend of mine was raised in Malaya,
as his father ran large estates outside Kuala Lumpur,
and he was parachuted behind Japanese lines.

I also read The Jungle is Neutral by Spencer Chapman
some 50 years ago.

My father was First Lieutenant on HM Submarine Torbay,
and in 1945,
they were supposed to pick Chapman up from Malaya,
but engine trouble forced them back to Trincomalee.

He did meet Chapman after the war, though.

So I am always glad to see videos like this.

Excellently made and presented,
by the way.

Thank You!

[angelacooper]

My father did his National Service between 1951-1953 in the RAMC. He was posted to Hong Kong and spent most of his time there, being invalided back to Blighty because of skin problems. The military drill served him well, because he joined the police force a decade later - exchanging khaki for blue uniform!

[shecksthesheckler]

My Dad did his National Service 1954 - 1956 with the RAOC in Berlin, he made Cpl, he loved it and was asked to stay on as a regular as a Sgt but as that meant going to Cyprus during the insurgency he left and married my mum instead.

[MikeJones-qiki]

I only just found and watched this brilliant video.
Being an ex RE myself and living in similar barrack rooms, I understand everything you mentioned, even pay day (Pay and paybook correct Sir), with a snap salute and marching out. All good fun.
Well done, William.