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I was wondering where people got there first introduction to military life? For me its was being taken to the Royal Tournament and events like Portsmouth Navy days! As a young child the noise and sights were overwhelming! All the different uniforms and displays gave me endless dreams of being part of the military family. Handling guns and having face paint like action man, candyfloss and ice cream turned to play ground legends.

Anyone else remember those "good ol days"? and do you think they were the begining of the recruitment process for many currently serving...

Come on ladies and gents, share your memories!

Aye,
wilson

first memories i had was my granddad telling me stories about his part in Burma in WW2...harrowing stuff i must say!! Kind of put me off the idea till my Grandma watched the Military Tatoo once when she was babysitting and thats when i got my first real sight into military life, for me there where 3 options in life, the armed forces, lawyer of something with computers then one sunny holiday in Exmouth, cought the train with mummy to Exeter for some shopping and what not....

when all of a sudden we pulled up at this mysterious base! CTCRM:| i saw my first glipse of trained MNE's, recruits the lot! was impressive i must say. There was a tropp on the high ops and ropes....few in the ranges....thats when i knew it was RM or dole:) and here i am 5 years later applying for Her Majestys finest!:)

Them where the days!

Cheers, Davo

I lived near Biggin Hill during WW2 and we had nurses billeted with us.
Some of the RAF pilots used to beat up the house to impress the Nurses. At the back of the house was a large field and I have seen Spitfires flying that low that the propellers were cutting lumps out of the long grass.

Another thing that has stuck with me from my childhood is those army convoys that would trundle for hour after hour down the road. these convoys would have a full range of vehicles and would have us kids spell bound. One day on the way to school we found a motorcycle dispatch rider
that had fallen of his bike and had been run over by many thousands of
vehicles and was completely pressed flat into the the road along with his bike. He had bee reduced to the thickness of a a piece of paper. It took us a while to find some one who would come with us so that we could show them what we had found, the look on faces of the people told it all.

I know this is terribly lame but my first military memories (not coming from a military family except grand parents) was watching Soldier Soldier. Yes i know i know but it helped create that spark and i dont think it matters how the spark was created, its the fact it lit the fire!

My dad was ex-forces so i didnt really have any interest in becoming a civvie(how i hate it already). Even i enjoyed the varied lifestyle and constant moving the forces offered.

For me it was going to see one of my cousins on his pass-out from the army. I must only have been about 5.

Also many trips to the Royal Tournament etc... Why oh why did they cancel it????

for me dad was royal Artillary and one of my grandads was a band master in the Loyal Regiment, So I suppose that I carried on the tradition for 22years.

Going to a Battle of Britain display at Lindholme in about 1955, lots of piston engined aircraft which were still in service and a flypast by the first Valiant.

I was 15 or so and went to watch an arms demonstration. Afterwards I passed some soldiers grilling burgers and drinking, they gave me a beer introduced me to their girl friends, told me that in the military all you did was drink, travel and pick up women. Well that is all I needed to hear, when I was 17 1/2 I enlisted. Screw the country and politics, I wanted women, booze and brawl. That is the only reason to join in my opinion.

My Old Man never talked about his time in the Gunners during the war, mainly because he was a guest of the Japs in Changi.
However I did have an uncle who joined the Marines in late 1944 at the age of 17! he spent the last days of WWII in the low countries and was as fit as a butchers dog. He was as chuffed as hell when I joined up and came to our Pass out wearing his Green Lid, much to the embarrassment of my mother!

When I first heard Andy Stewart sing (A Scottish Soldier ) When I was 8 or 9 years old

First time I took an interest, in the military was when my uncle told me of his day trip to Dieppe when he was a Sergeant in the Marines (Assualt engineer).
His grandad then talked about when he was in as a marine and pulled the field guns over the mountains at the boxer rebellion, in China 1900.
I then joined the army cadets and when old enough (16) the RM.