National service
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National service is a common name for compulsory or voluntary military service programs. (Compulsory military service is more often known as conscription.) National service was common in the 20th century, and many young people spent one or more years of their emerging adulthood in such programs. The compulsory forms of national service typically require all citizens or all male citizens to participate for a period of about a year during their youth, such when they are between 18 and 25.
National Service is still currently used to describe compulsory military service programs in countries including Austria, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Israel, the Republic of China (Taiwan), Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden, and Switzerland.
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[edit] National Service in the United Kingdom
Wartime conscription was used by the United Kingdom government during the latter part of World War I and throughout World War II. The system of wartime conscription during World War II, between 1939 and 1948, was officially called National Service, but is usually referred to as 'war service'. After World War II, peacetime conscription was used by the government between 1949 and 1960. In the United Kingdom, it is this period of peacetime conscription that is usually referred to as 'National Service'. It remains the only period of peacetime conscription in U.K. history, apart from the periods immediately before and after World War II.
[edit] Institution of peacetime National Service
National Service as peacetime conscription was formalized by the National Service Act 1948. From January 1, 1949, every healthy man between the ages of 18 and 26 was expected to serve in the armed forces for 18 months, and remain on the reserve list for four years thereafter. Men were exempt from National Service if they worked in three 'essential services', which were coal mining, farming and the merchant navy. In 1950, in response to the Korean War, the service period was extended to two years, although the reserve list period was reduced by six months to compensate. National Servicemen who showed promise could be commissioned as officers. To fulfill the reserve list requirement, men in the National Service joined reserve forces like the Territorial Army. Thus, such forces expanded considerably between 1949 and 1963. Almost every town had units, and many had full regiments or battalions.
[edit] End of peacetime National Service
National Service formally ended on 31 December 1960. The last man called up for National Service, Private Fred Turner of the Army Catering Corps, was discharged on 7 May 1963. However, the last National Serviceman was Lieutenant Richard Vaughan of the Royal Army Pay Corps, who was discharged six days later on 13 May 1963. When National Service ended, many National Servicemen continued serving voluntarily. The British Army, Royal Air Force and Royal Navy are now β once again β voluntary organizations. Occasionally, some call for a return to compulsory conscription.
In the UK, the end of National Service coincided with the rise of Pop culture, and the dawn of Beatlemania from around Christmas 1963. There was much public discussion at the time about "falling standards" and "long hair" as worn by The Beatles, the The Rolling Stones, and others. This (mild) controversy was epitomised in a satirical Pop Music recording Call up the Groups made by The Barron Knights, released in 1964, which suggested that such Pop Groups should be sent back on National Service to tame their wild ways. The song satirised recent Pop hits by, respectively, The Searchers, Freddie and the Dreamers, The Rolling Stones, The Bachelors, The Dave Clark Five, and - inevitably - The Beatles.
[edit] Effect on individuals and society
Post-war National Service had a significant effect on many citizens, and on society and culture as a whole. Some National Servicemen went on to become famous. Bill Wyman of The Rolling Stones played rock and roll while stationed in West Germany.[citation needed] Authors like Leslie Thomas, David Lodge and David Findlay Clark wrote books based on their experiences (The Virgin Soldiers, Ginger You're Barmy etc).[citation needed] Actor Oliver Reed, comedian Tony Hancock, and Hancock's writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson developed their talents while serving their National Service.[citation needed]
On the other hand, National Service interrupted some men's careers. John Clark, a former child actor, was tired of ubiquitous recognition and feared mockery in the armed forces, so he worked in the merchant navy on a Silver Line freighter for over 3 years. He quit early and to avoid being called up, he emigrated in November 1953 to Canada.
[edit] See also
- National Youth Service
- Bad Lads Army - Reality TV show
- Get Some In! - a UK TV sit-com set in National Service RAF
