Report: Cliff Caswell

IT WAS an era when the fate of the world hung in the balance, when an unbearable tension existed between the Soviet Union and the West and a third world war seemed inevitable.
On the front line of Germany, British troops massed by the thousand prepared to counter the mighty Russian steamroller should the Reds decide to attack. Many of the young men were teenagers pulled from the comfort of civvy street to fulfil two years of National Service and experience a short, sharp dose of Army life.

This year marks the passing of half-a-century since the last of the citizen soldier generation was pressed into action in worldwide operations from Palestine to Korea. The era of conscription officially came to an end in late 1960 and Her Majesty’s Armed Forces were returned to fully professional status.

But while National Service now only exists in the history books and on reality TV shows such as Bad Lad’s Army, the issue of whether young people should again serve their country has been a talking point in the media and among politicians.

Most recently Prime Minister Gordon Brown threw his backing behind making Combined Cadet Forces in schools more accessible. Tory leader David Cameron has proposed a citizen service, in which young people would undergo a six-week programme including charity work and physical training as a modern-day equivalent of a term in the Army.

Some quarters of the press have been more forthright in their call for conscription to be reintroduced. However, while some argue that a dose of Forces life did them good, others remain unconvinced that the system could work again, particularly as many are now unaware of the nature of the Army.

According to Professor Richard Holmes, a former lecturer at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and an acclaimed military historian, the civilian public is now so distant from life in the Services that they have no understanding of it.

“The concept of conscription is fine if you are fighting a conflict of national survival, such as a world war, but it would not work today,” he added. “In my view, the Armed Forces would not want it re-introduced either because of the money that would have to be spent on training large numbers of recruits.

“However, I remember growing up in the era of conscription and seeing officers and soldiers in their battle dress all over the place. What has changed is the visibility – how often do you now see troops when you are out and about?

“I don’t think that the great British public has any real idea of what a soldier actually does on their behalf. Obviously people want to help through charities such as Help for Heroes, but there is more of an empathy with those who serve their country than a full understanding of what they do.”

The end of National Service certainly marked a significant reduction in the ranks of the Armed Forces and the subsequent visibility of troops in public life. But for the thousands who were forced to give up two years of their teenage lives to military service, there are bittersweet memories of their time in uniform.

Many remain convinced that the experience helped them in their later civilian lives – and that young people today would benefit from a similar scheme – although they admit that the training and separation from loved ones had proved hard to bear.

“When I came to the end of my time in the Army I was pleased to leave, but after leaving I felt very glad I had been in,” said Jim Sidnell, who served with the King’s Royal Rifle Corps in North Africa and Germany from 1954-56.

“At the age of 18 I had not long left school and after being called I really missed the parties where you could meet girls. I also remember vividly being on guard duty one Christmas and wondering what my family was doing back home.”

Fellow soldier Ron Oliver believed that the National Service experience had served him well, and that the current generation could benefit from undergoing the same military training.

“Before I went in I am ashamed to say that I was a naughty boy and I could have gone down for 18 months in prison after I found myself in trouble,” he said.

“But when I came up for sentence, the court was aware that I was about to go into the Army, and allowed me to go forward to do my basic training and serve in the ranks – what happened did me a great favour and I’m extremely grateful for it.”

The system, however, was far less appealing for boxer Tony Kain, who was conscripted in one of the final National Service intakes during 1959 and went on to serve in Germany. “I managed to get myself tremendously fit and was always participating in sport,” he said. “I also made some really good mates.

“But to me the whole thing was semi-slavery and I hated doing it. As for my views on whether conscription would work today if it was brought back, I think it would be disastrous. What we need instead is full employment and decent wages.”

Whatever the feelings about the system at the time and disagreements over whether it could ever be introduced to the modern generation, National Servicemen were certainly held in very high regard by senior officers for their vital contribution on operations.

Field Marshal Lord Bramall, a former Chief of the Defence Staff, summed up the feelings. “We might have a fully volunteer Army now on our operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, but the National Servicemen served during a crucial time in the Cold War – I would never have a word said against them,” he concluded.