THE SHAPING OF ME

In 1954 aged 19 I was conscripted into The Royal Artillery, attending the 17th Training Regiment in Park Hall Camp, Oswestry, Shropshire. Upon arrival we were channelled into the barber’s where we were virtually scalped. Some 48 of us were formed into a squad, a single unit, doing everything together. The NCOs were tasked with making soldiers of us in just 16 weeks.

We were “confined to barracks” during our training, shouted and sworn at. We were woken at hours most of us had never known; we went to bed long after midnight once the Duty Officer had checked every

corner for the smallest speck of dust.

The skills the NCOs possessed were exceptional. They not only taught us discipline and how to keep our kit clean and neat, they taught us selfrespect. I went on to Mons Officer Cadet School in Aldershot and then to the Royal Armoured Driving School before joining the 5th Regiment of

The Royal Horse Artillery, stationed in Osnabrück, Germany – a regiment of self-propelled 25lbs guns whose role was to support a tank regiment; in our case the 19th/21st Lancers.

How the British Army coped with absorbing two million young men and turning us into soldiers is still beyond me. To the Regulars we must have

been an immense irritant, but they were always patient.

If one was fortunate to be granted a Commission, there is no doubt that the life we led was beyond anything we had experienced. The scale of the regimental silver which ran down the lengthy table, the lavish monthly dinner evenings, the protocols we observed, the high standards of behaviour and the respect of our Royal Family – well, we were privileged to have been part of it.

National Service gave us unbelievable experiences and it put me into a regiment I will be hugely proud of for the rest of my life.

Rab Peck, by email