Wirral veteran stars in national service project

Ian McMullen, 84, who now lives in Chester and served at Aldershot, is one of 18 former servicemen included in a National Lottery-funded project called National Service Remembered.

It has been 60 years since National Service ended in the UK and the campaign, run by the not-for-profit organisation Same but Different, captures an important period of the country’s cultural history through the eyes of the men who served.

Ian, who was first conscripted in 1955 aged 18, became the personal chauffer for the Head of the British Army who was organising the invasion of Egypt and brushed shoulders with a range of famous generals throughout his Forces career.

He will never forget his National Service and admits the project, powered by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, is bringing the memories flooding back.

“I was very fortunate and I had the most interesting time,” he said.

“It was quite severe training to start off with and you met all sorts of people, from all walks of life but you all got on very well after the first few weeks.

“In those days there were the ruffians, the teddy boys, with their sleek hair, suede shoes and pipe suits who were looking for trouble.

“When I got on the train in London, I thought, my god, I’ll keep my head down here, but within three days, when we’d all had the same haircut and we were all in the same clothes and you’re all fighting to survive the onslaught of the NCL, the Corporals and Sergeants who were drilling you.

“You all pulled together and became good friends.”

Photographer and founder of Same but Different, Ceridwen Hughes

Ceridwen Hughes, photographer and founder of Same but Different, has combined striking portraits, video interviews and written narratives to bring alive conscripts’ experiences in one powerful exhibition.

She added: “We are really grateful to the players of the National Lottery who funded this project along with the Armed Forces Covenant Fund.”

High-profile stars were far from exempt from conducting National Service, with Brian Blessed, Michael Caine and Anthony Hopkins among some of the household names to serve.

And television veteran Johnny Ball, who served in the RAF during the 1950s, is supporting the Lottery-funded National Service Remembered campaign after describing his time serving as ‘the making of him’ at the end of last year.

National Lottery players raise £30 million every week for good causes and play a critical role in supporting people, projects and communities during these challenging times.

Liverpool veteran Eric Keen

Liverpool veteran Eric Keen is also involved in the National Service Remembered campaign, run by Same but Different, who use the arts for positive social change and to highlight inequalities and bring communities closer together.

Eric, 91, hails from Gateacre and served at Ballykinlar in Northern Ireland after first being conscripted in 1948.

He is the oldest of all 18 veterans involved in the campaign and has three grandchildren aged 29, 27 and 24.

And, like John, his inspirational story is now being showcased with the help of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, which uses money raised by The National Lottery to inspire, lead and resource the UK’s heritage.

The Fund creates positive and lasting change for people and communities and Eric, who now lives in Mold, North Wales, is relishing a dose of National Service nostalgia.

“It’s lovely to go down memory lane and remember all the people,” he said.

“It’s important to remember that, unless you were in poor health, you couldn't avoid it, so no matter who or what you were, you had to do it.

“It was interesting. You’d meet all sorts of people because they had a lot of reps coming in from private companies. I made a good relationship with people.”