A review of Britain’s defence resources in 1957 meant that large armies were now seen as less effective compared to modern weapons.
The need for ongoing conscription was reassessed, and from 1957, National Service was drastically reduced until the final intake of men in 1960.
On 16th May 1963 Richard Vaughan became the last National Serviceman to be formally demobilised.
Richard Vaughan’s story
Richard Vaughan was 22 years old when he was called up for National Service, after deferring to qualify as a chartered accountant. Part of No. 277 National Service Intake, he was one of the very last conscripts to be called up and had his service extended by six months.
He was posted to the British Army of the Rhine (CPO BAOR) in Monchengladbach, Germany. At this time, the Berlin Wall was under construction, and Richard recalls visiting the German capital:
“I remember going into Berlin and seeing all the building going on. I had to go along the motorway and through the official checkpoints.”
In May 1963, now promoted to full lieutenant, he returned home with his squad. Unusually, he requested to be demobbed in England and flew back to Gatwick in his uniform, along with other National Servicemen already in civilian clothes.
The next day, 16th May 1963, he was officially demobbed at the Devizes barracks in Wiltshire, earning himself the title of the ‘Last National Serviceman’.
Returning to normal life, Richard established his own accountancy firm before going on to marry his wife Marian in 1970 and having four daughters with her.
Looking back at his experience of National Service, he said, “It was a bit of an adventure.”
Richard Vaughan’s story marks the end of an era for National Service. More than a decade after the Second World War Britain was a very different place and the need for conscription was over.
Uprooted to Serve
Two million children of the second war were called up
uprooted from the familiar earth of home
repotted in barracks to produce new shoots
a generation trimmed and square-bashed
a topiary of young men become military-shaped.
The freedom to choose their own paths removed
they grew up on the trellises of command structure
on freezing parade grounds and in conflicts many flowered
though some struggled in the martial soil
and some did not return to their
roots.
We remember their sacrifice of time and life
this crop of men standing watered and ready for two years
opening their petals to the sunshine of duty
temporarily conscripted into the field of service
and grown forever
into National Servicemen.
Dan Simpson, Poet in Residence at the National Memorial Arboretum