Ron Hayler, National Service, 1956-58

In 1956, at the age of eighteen, Ron Hayler was called up for National Service.

National Service was a peacetime conscription that was brought in by the National Service Act 1948. This stated that “every healthy man between 17 and 21 was expected to serve in the armed forces for 18 months, and remain on the reserve list for four years, with a liability to be recalled to their units for up to twenty days service or training on not more than three occasions in the four years.” Men were exempt from National Service if they worked in three essential services: coal mining, farming and the merchant navy. National Service formally ended on 31 December 1960.

As Ron had butchery experience, he was sent to Aldershot to join the Army Catering Corps. His two years of army life were fairly uneventful…the Suez Crisis was over and Ron never left British shores.

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He did, however, embark on a mission to perfect the art of making meringues, whether he ever achieved this is unknown… what he did do was waste thousands of pounds of the taxpayers money on eggs in his quest to do it!

Not to mention his trip home at Christmas on the pillion of a friend’s motorbike, complete with two large suitcases…..containing two equally large turkeys purloined from the kitchens.  The two were stopped and questioned but informed the police officer they were going home on leave…omitting to inform him of their two passengers!