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With another four years to go before the end of conscription to the army in the UK, Jim Gregson was unsurprised when he was called up for National Service in 1956, at the age of twenty-one.
A little older than some of the other raw recruits because of his three years at university, Jim found that his degree in English did little to prepare him for two years in the British army, where he very quickly learned that not thinking for yourself is preferable for most soldiers to independent thought.
The British army of the fifties was not the professional force it was to become.
It was composed mainly of old sweats (to use Jim's own words) who had served during the Second World War, and young amateurs who did not want to be soldiers.
This was because the National Service Acts meant that all fit young men were conscripted for two years into the military service of their country.
For most of them, this was an irritating interruption to whatever career they were planning for themselves.
Jim begins his army career in a cold and wet Wales, pining for his beloved Joy and feeling wholly out of place. He soon finds himself placed in a role he feels would suit his talents - in the Royal Army Education Corps. His superiors, however, have different ideas when he finds himself posted to Cyprus.
This book follows Jim for the two years of his National Service, where he learns a great deal more than he could have anticipated.
Sergeant Gregson's War is a brilliantly witty and insightful description of the life of a National Serviceman.
Jim Gregson taught for twenty-seven years in schools, colleges and universities before concentrating on full-time writing. He has written books on subjects as diverse as golf and Shakespeare. His crime novels include Dead on Course, Making a Killing, Stranglehold and Body Politic.
A little older than some of the other raw recruits because of his three years at university, Jim found that his degree in English did little to prepare him for two years in the British army, where he very quickly learned that not thinking for yourself is preferable for most soldiers to independent thought.
The British army of the fifties was not the professional force it was to become.
It was composed mainly of old sweats (to use Jim's own words) who had served during the Second World War, and young amateurs who did not want to be soldiers.
This was because the National Service Acts meant that all fit young men were conscripted for two years into the military service of their country.
For most of them, this was an irritating interruption to whatever career they were planning for themselves.
Jim begins his army career in a cold and wet Wales, pining for his beloved Joy and feeling wholly out of place. He soon finds himself placed in a role he feels would suit his talents - in the Royal Army Education Corps. His superiors, however, have different ideas when he finds himself posted to Cyprus.
This book follows Jim for the two years of his National Service, where he learns a great deal more than he could have anticipated.
Sergeant Gregson's War is a brilliantly witty and insightful description of the life of a National Serviceman.
Jim Gregson taught for twenty-seven years in schools, colleges and universities before concentrating on full-time writing. He has written books on subjects as diverse as golf and Shakespeare. His crime novels include Dead on Course, Making a Killing, Stranglehold and Body Politic.
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