Gerald Leach (National Service 1945-1960), of Sandringham Road, Buckland, Newton Abbot, writes:

I have written before about how I enjoyed my National Service from October 18, 1951 to October 25, 1953.

I served in Hong Kong and the New Territories for 19 months before being able to vote at 21.

Those who served in the First and Second World Wars are rightly remembered, and now everyone talks about Iraq and other places, but it seems to me they forget for example: Korea, Kenya, Malaya, etc. In my case it was keeping out the Red Chinese from crossing the border into the Hong Kong New Territories.

I joined up at Plumer Barracks, Crownhill, Plymouth with other boys from Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Berkshire, and Wiltshire. There were about 40 of us who were training for Korea. We had six weeks basic training, then 10 weeks continuous training at Plaster Down Camp, near Tavistock, and Topsham Barracks, Exeter with most of the training there completed on Woodbury Common.

We were there when King George VI died in February 1952. So then it was off by troopship to Hong Kong, six weeks on board for all we knew, Korea in sight, but three weeks in, the fighting in Korea was over thus we were not needed with the Wiltshire Regiment to join the Commonwealth Brigade.

So I then served with the regiment in Hong Kong, serving as a member of the Signal Platoon, with my Army mate from Chudleigh Knighton before coming back to Devon at Nymet Rowland, near Crediton.

Some two million served in National Service and nearly 1,200 died in Korea.

Please DO NOT FORGET THE NATIONAL SERVICEMEN tomorrow and on Sunday.

God bless you all, lest we forget.