My father's call up papers landed on the doormat from the army when he was 18 years old in 1952 and he fully expected to serve his country and fight in the Korean war. If he had been caught lying to try and get out of it the penalty was a £30 fine or 3 months in prison or both and if he had ignored his call up that also may have resulted in a prison sentence. My father went for his medical by army doctors and explained that he had suffered serious ear injuries in both ears during WW2, was suffering from what today is called PTSD due to his experiences in WW2 and was also suffering from recurring nightmares. After examining my father the army doctors graded my father as unfit for any military service due to the injuries he had received in WW2 but they said that he would have to repeat the process 6 months later. The result of the 2nd medical was the same as the first.
After my father's passing I found his call up papers that had been saved from 1952. I assume that there was also a form that had to be filled in and was handed in when he went for his medical.
Last edited by Flying10uk; 09-19-2023 at 04:45 AM.
One of my uncles in WWII volunteered for service and was rejected as medically unfit but that did not deter some non understanding cads sending him a white feather my other uncle who did join said in passing they also cold tarred and feathered his brother!
My rejected uncle was a kind person but was not intellectually adept only ever holding down menial jobs through life never married and lived in the same house with his mother for his whole life until he passed, we placed his coffin in Tenindewa where he spent much of his youth.
Those who were and are unfit, deserve any respect. I am really annoyed by the "smart a*ses" who did tricks and "spared" one year, and now they play the wise guys saying that it would have been lost time, a waste of opportunities, that they don't take any orders from idiots...
They don't know jack and judge.
Those people I still don't trust. And don't like.
It may sound exaggerated, but when we hire someone who did his military duty, we seldomly have trouble with internal discipline, respect of rules and hierarchy, willingness to go the extra mile.
We don't see that in many of the others.
With young people, I am taking a liking for them.
If you know how to address them, and set an example, they are good.
The older smart a*ses are worse.
Still, some "naja" (Italian jargon for military duty) would benefit most people.
Softness is not going to help anyone in this world.
First to say it nowadays? Women. 25-40 years old women.
That is very funny and intimately satisfying too.
---------- Post added at 09:26 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:25 AM ----------
South Africa national service was a great leveller and integrator. At university it was clear who had done national service and who hadn't. Even the few females doing national service in those years showed the difference.
South Africa national service was a great leveller and integrator. At university it was clear who had done national service and who hadn't. Even the few females doing national service in those years showed the difference.
I have met and spoken to several South Africans who did national service in the apartheid years. One chap told me that of those called up for national service a certain percentage of the intake were conscripted into the South African Police and if you were selected for the police you had no say in the matter. He went onto say that he didn't wish to risk being conscripted into the South African Police and, therefore, volunteered for the regular South African army as a means of avoiding any chance of being conscripted into the South African police.
When I asked another South African that I knew about this and who had done South African national service in the army he contradicted all of the above about the percentage of the intake being conscripted into the South African police.
I was left being none the wiser what the case actually was?
Later years in national service there was a very small percentage going to the Police, but that was voluntary. I never followed that up as it was part of the call-up process - recruiting after they reported to their units, almost umknown to most of us. Often legal type with qualifications IIRC. That was 30 years ago.
PM
Originally Posted by CINDERS
