[jambutty]

As an ex-serviceman I can vouch for the effectiveness of military service at a young age, although in my case I volunteered to join the Royal Navy at the age of 16 years, 10 months and 3 weeks and also met some National Servicemen.

Although I wasn’t an out of control tearaway as a teenager, like most kids I had my moments. Bear in mind that the navy’s discipline was less rigorous than the army or RAF, nonetheless it was far from easy. Transgressions were instantly punished with things like once around the parade ground (about half a mile) with a Lee Enfield .303 rifle either at the slope, where, as you ran it bounced up and down on your collar bone or held aloft at arms length. Most people only ever sampled that once and I can’t think of anyone who got more than two doses.

Transgressions out of normal working hours were met with the order to don your gas mask and run at the double over a bank of shelters, there and back. You cannot breath fast wearing a gas mask. That was one cruel punishment and once was enough.

Our day started at 0630 with a full cooked breakfast between 0700 and 0730. Beds had to be stripped and the blankets and sheets folded in a particular way and stacked at the head of the bed in a particular fashion before going to breakfast. At 0745 we fell in for mess/galley/dining hall/offices/roadways cleaning until 0815.

0830 saw us all on the parade ground to either march off for technical instructions or more square bashing.

Stand easy (tea break to civilians) was a mere ten minutes at 1030. Dinner (sailors didn’t have lunch. That was for officers only) was between 1200 and 1300. On parade at 1315 for more technical instructions or square bashing until 1600. Tea of a slice of bread and jam and a cake was at 1615 and supper (which was dinner without a pudding) followed at 1830.

However for one day in four, work didn’t finish at 1600. There was loads of extra work, some of which meant keeping security watches right through the night until 0800.

Most of the spare evening time was used in washing clothes by hand (not even a washboard), ironing and swotting up on the day’s lessons.

There was tea available at 2030 for those who had enough energy to go and get it from the mess hall. OOW (Officer of the Watch) rounds at 2100 to check that the mess was not a mess, which meant that the mess had to be swept and floor polished before he came.

Lights out was at 2230 and when they said lights out they meant lights out.

Saturdays and Sunday were more relaxed except for those who were duty watch for that weekend, which was one weekend in four and one weekend in four as standby.

Of course there were also regular kit musters where your kit had to rolled up in a certain way to show your name on the item and laid out per regulations. Not forgetting Captains rounds where the mess got a thorough clean right through.

After just 6 weeks I became a model citizen or rather sailor and so did everyone else. We learned respect for authority and most importantly for each other.

The namby pamby “Human Rights” people would have had a field day back in ’54 and I doubt if that sort of regime could be forced onto today’s miscreants.