Private George Crook, 1st Battalion, the East Surrey Regiment, advocates the reintroduction of national service.
George Crook
Private George Crook

When you are young and the comradeship is second to none. As I said at the beginning if they could bring back National Service today it will be the university of life for people of that age and how pleasant our streets would be today. You went in a boy, you came out a man, and all the better for it, and you went in insipid, spotty-faced and you came out with a physique and a good set of lungs and you know nothing could get in your way. You came out an epitome of health and even your mother wouldn’t recognise you. You were that fit. It is not there any more and that is the sad part of it. You have got to pay good money to go on a holiday like that.