My National Service began with a call up in July 1947 to report to Chichester Barracks, Royal Sussex Regiment for basic training. At the time I was in my second year of a Mechanical Engineering Diploma from Wimbledon College and was not very happy when I found out that I could not continue under distance learning.At that point I was employed as a Mechanical Engineering Draughtsman in London but my current home was in Lewes Sussex courtesy of Adolf. I was working on interesting jobs that included repairing bomb damage at Buckingham Palace and the Bovril and Robertson’s Marmalade factories. (I had earlier spent time doing the drawings for the Mulberry Harbour for D Day.)
But deferments over I was off to Chichester like it or not. Basic Training was - well basic training by very loud infantry NCO's.   Lots of 10 mile hikes in full packs and finally live ammo drills.Then the army in their wisdom decided I had no mechanical skills??  (despite my education and experience!!) - So I was posted to the Royal Regiment of Artillery at Woolwich Barracks.   There we did every chore from polishing the mess silver to taking inventory of shells. It served to instil some regimental pride in us while we waited for more permanent posting.
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Then it was off to 111 HAA Regiment at Gosforth Park After learning Predictors and aircraft recognition I was seconded to Radar Training and then back as a Radar Op.     After which we had some enjoyable times training Aussies, and not so enjoyable times chipping ice off Parabaloids on the Canadian made 584 Radar Sets and the 3.7 guns.  
Gosforth Park was inherited from the Poles and took some cleaning up.There we also saw the last of the German prisoners repatriated.  Also had some fun towing the 3.7s with Matadors  (Out transport mob were from the Gorbals and though they were a right shower they did a great job and always got me a ride to the station to go on leave.

 After a while I was seconded to the Captain Quartermaster, and eventually I found myself responsible to collect all the Radar Stores from gun sites in Northern Command and centralise the stock as we moved to Fenham Barracks, Newcastle.   Then came some duty in Norfolk where we were sent to try out some new ordnance developed at Larkhill (which wasn't very successful but gave me a chance to learn command HQ Long range Radar and Plotting).   This had its hilarious moments as we manage to shoot off the tail of the RAF wallah towing the target.  Needless to say he was not amused.   

  Fairly happy memories remain of that time  which saw part of the Regiment taken off to Malaya, part to Palestine to complete the British pull out. Also saw us become the 81st (Mixed) Field regiment.   Then normal service resumed as we moves to Fenham Barracks where we became the 83rd Regiment, interrupted only by a short sojourn in South Shields evicting bombed out squatters from deserted Quonsets.The other major event at Fenham was fighting the pit prop fires at West Hartlepool - memories of standing on top of a pile of pit props while the firemen hosed us down as well as the logs.   Almost lost some searchlights and pumps we had put on the beach to draw water when the tide changed.!!  2 days and nights were enough of that.Finished my service with a temporary six-week attachment to the Military Police.    I well remember leaving Fenham to go to Aldershot for demob in September 1949.  As I got to the gate I looked back and there was the RQMS  Oggy Price standing at the door to the QMs office and yelling at me that I would be back.    How wrong he was!!

All in all, it wasn't such a bad experience and I often think national service would do a lot of good for some of the Yobbos we see today.  I went back to civilian life and eventually came to Canada in 1956 (just as I got a Z reserve call up to go Suez - no thanks -  left the mechanical construction world and put my radar experience to use when I started a ultrasonic company.   I'm retired now in British Columbia but often wonder what happened to some of my mates in the RA.