National Service: From Aldershot to Aden: tales from the conscripts, 1946-62 - Hardcover

Colin Shindler

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1847444849 ISBN 13: 9781847444844

Publisher: Sphere, 2012

Synopsis

Permission to speak, Sah!

In the aftermath of the Second World War, over two million men were conscripted to serve in Britain's armed services. Some were sent abroad and watched their friends die in combat. Others remained in barracks and painted coal white. But despite delivering such varied experiences, National Service helped to shape the outlook of an entire generation of young British males.

To mark the 50th anniversary of the end of National Service, historian Dr Colin Shindler has interviewed ex-conscripts from all backgrounds and ranks, spanning the entire period of peacetime conscription, and captured their memories in this engrossing book. From them, we experience the tension of a postwar Berlin surrounded by Russians, the exotic heat and colour of Tripoli in 1948, the brief but intense flashpoint of the Suez Crisis, and the fear of the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya. But we also hear about the other end of the scale, the conscripts who didn't make it outside the confines of their barracks, or in one case, beyond his home town.

In National Service we see the changing face of British society across these pivotal years, which spans everything from the coronation of Elizabeth II, to the birth of rock 'n' roll, to the beginning of the end of the Empire. The stories within these pages are fascinating. And they deserve to be told before they are lost forever.

About this title

Review:

The book bears witness to the sheer variety, cussedness, and inventiveness of humanity during the Cold War years (Denis Judd BBC History Magazine)

Book Description:

A groundbreaking look at life as a conscript during Britain's postwar National Service, as told by the men who served.

About this edition

• Publisher: Sphere
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1847444849
• ISBN 13: 9781847444844
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 352