Beret wearing, medal wearing civvy?

[metimmee]

Those of us that have served have earned the right to wear the beret and if served in long enough / deployed in operational tours have been awarded medals. My question for the 'goat is, when you became a civvy, have you felt an urge to wear beret/medals?

Despite my length of service, I cant help but think once I have left, I'll reflect with pride but consign my military service to the past....no parades or medal wearing for me. Maybe it'll kick in when i get closer to departure. I'm interested in views, especially from those that have a similar view to me but have changed once they have left.

I'm not implying that any view is particularly enlightened or correct, but I would assert that service personnel are different and that difference persists when they have left through personal qualities. Personally wearing a veterans badge would be me walking on the wild side, again, that's just me. I'm interested to hear your views.

 

[Stevienics]

No. In my opinion, it looks a bit silly.

 

[muttywhitedog]

18 months since departure, and I've never felt the urge to wear my medals. As for my beret - I spent 20-odd years looking for a reason NOT to wear it - so why on earth would I put one on now! DT_Xtremez_31:

 

[busby1971]

Nearly 5 years out and never had the urge, I just don't get the RBL berry, blazer and grey slacks thing, sure there's plenty of people who want some kind of military presence after they've left but it's not for me.

I do use my DDS card to get money off at KFC though.

 

[vim_fuego]

5 years out next May and never once felt the urge to wear anything. I find the most pro-active in this area are those that didn't do particularly long stints...like less than 12. Personally after just over 25 years and like others on here I have consigned it to the mental file labelled 'good times' then stamped it 'look forwards not backwards'.

 

[justintime129]

Went to the remembrance service in Liverpool. It seems the army are more likely to wear the berets medals etc. They matched past and there were lots of different regiments. Then cam the RAF there was 3 of them marching.

 

[Barch]

Agreed. Always seems to be those that didn't do a full stint.

What is a 'full stint'?

 

[Tin basher]

Maybe it'll kick in when i get closer to departure.

As a proper KOS I am probably nearer to departure than most on here. When I first left it never occurred to me to join in with remembrance Sunday parades after all that was for the old gits. Then one year as I watched I saw two of my mates I had served with on the parade and realised that I had become one of the old gits myself. So the following year I joined them, yes beret and medals but just one morning once a year, no membership of the BL or RAFA etc. just me and my memories on a single cold Sunday morning. Why do I do it? Certainly not for the "look at me " element any suggestion that I some sort of posing glory hunter is complete and utter bollox. I do it for those that can't, my mate who died aged 24, an Ex-RAF lady I know suffers from MS who would march if she could, a lady with more gongs than most, who has, despite her issues, an eternally cheery disposition. There are other reasons personal to me but I shall be there next year and those watching can think what they like about why I am there. Quite frankly I couldn't give a stuff why you think I'm there. I know why.

What is a 'full stint'?

For me full stint = pensionable engagement

 

[Talk Wrench]

I'm still in so that may taint my view....

Went to my local war memorial on Remembrance Sunday this year in an area that has a lot of ex-RAF and Forces generally. I was in civvies. There were a LOT of ex-RAF and other services wearing medals and berets, but it struck me they were wearing them in a "look at me, look what I've done" style. Ignoring those who were clearly trying to outdo each other with commemorative medals, I came to the conclusion that I think it is a bit silly. It isn't about people looking at where I've been or done, because lets face it, thats the first thing calculated when you see people wearing medals, the day is about those that aren't with us any-more and what they did and remembering their sacrifices.

I really don't understand this commemorative medal lark. Why do people feel the need to display false emblems of service?

 

[FOMz]

My beret is gathering dust in a cupboard and all of my gongs are hanging on the downstairs bog wall.... where they will remain. They don't need airing in public.

 

[MontyPlumbs]

Put the medals on on Remembrance Sunday, and that's it.

I'd never wear an RAF beret as a civvy, it's one step away from a stable belt and clippy cloppy shoes, although if some old boy wants to do so, fine by me, there's nothing wrong with being proud of your service, even if it wasn't a 'full stint'.

 

[justintime129]

Put the medals on on Remembrance Sunday, and that's it.

I'd never wear an RAF beret as a civvy, it's one step away from a stable belt and clippy cloppy shoes, although if some old boy wants to do so, fine by me, there's nothing wrong with being proud of your service, even if it wasn't a 'full stint'.

Is it a thing of the 40s 50s 60s.

 

[Gord]

My dad had a box full of medals that he gave to me a number of years before he passed on, they were never attached to the ribbons, merely left in the box which is where they are to this day, in the bottom drawer of my filing cabinet. He knew he'd done his bit during WW2 as did most of his generation but never felt a need to flaunt it. Having said that, I overheard some interesting conversations when he and my uncles sat around the house at times of family get together's though most of them consisted of how lucky they were to get away with this or that during their time in the various branches of the mob at that time and many of them were f'n hilarious.

We had all three branches represented in my family, three in the RN, including my dad, five in the Army and four in the RAF including my step mum and I still miss them.

Come to think of it, though a couple of my relatives were staunch members of the RBL, I don't recall seeing any of them wearing medals at any time even though simply by serving in various conflicts they were entitled to do so.

One of my uncles, had he been a Yank, would have been given a Purple Heart three times for being wounded in action but as he put it, he was simply being too f'n stupid to get his arse out of the way of some tw@t with a bloody gun. He was fortunate however that they were all minor injuries though I guess they could have been a lot worse. He considered it no big deal and my dad's favorite expression whenever I complained about being hurt as a kid was "Calm down, it's not that bad, there were men in the war who had their heads shot off and never said a word." It took me until the age of about six before I realised that it would be a tad awkward for them to say anything sans head.:biggrin:

 

[mild mannered janitor]

Seconded....

id like to think i did a "full stint" 16+ years before i was handed my notice, not my choice but hey ho.

 

[FOMz]

Some of the worst I've seen at the RBL are those that did 5 minutes of national service and then look down on anyone they see as threatening their status.

Attitudes like that will kill the organisation.

And thats why so many serviceman leaving now are not joining the RBL. I went along to my local RBL a few years ago... Was met by the obnoxious old cnut you could ever meet, blazer, regimental tie, clipped NCO voice etc... Thought he ran the place... Turns out all he did national service and did his time as a batman...

Ive not been back since... And I know many others that are staying away from ther as well....

 

[stereolab]

And thats why so many serviceman leaving now are not joining the RBL. I went along to my local RBL a few years ago... Was met by the obnoxious old cnut you could ever meet, blazer, regimental tie, clipped NCO voice etc... Thought he ran the place... Turns out all he did national service and did his time as a batman...

Ive not been back since... And I know many others that are staying away from ther as well....

in 1976, on a drunken weekend in Blackpool from RAFBawtry, we were turned away from the RBL club, supposedly because it was too busy, the attitude of the guys in charge stunk to high heaven.Fast forward 20 years, stereolab has now done a "full stint" + 3 years, on discharge he bins all his RBL paperwork vowing never to darken their doors. My father was a member and attended all meetings, however illness meant he could not go on his own , so I started to go with him. The average age of attendees was in the high 70s',almost all were ex National Service or like my father, had served in the Second World War before returning to civvie street. Meetings were shambolic affairs. After a few month the treasurer died, and I volunteered to replace him and joined as a full member. 3 years on, and the Secretary dies, no volunteers, so stereolab takes this on as well. The Wreath Layer dies..........

The branch was probably typical of most areas und the country, full of wannabees , with a sprinkling of "full stint" types and the usual Walter Mitty characters, c/w commemorative medals. Just like ARRSE.

 

[busby1971]

Organisations have to move with the times and the RBL branches here haven't, hence dwindling numbers and closures.

Sometimes matters come to natural end, there's no longer a need for these clubs so there's no longer any clubs.

If we rember why these clubs were formed in the first place then their passing could be seen as a positive thing.

RBL have done and continue to do a lot of good work for veterans.

Sent from my LG-H818 using Tapatalk

 

[Tin basher]

And thats why so many serviceman leaving now are not joining the RBL.... And I know many others that are staying away from there as well....

The nearest RBL club to the secret west midlands training base has shut, changed hands and become a boozer called the Royal. So even in a location ankle deep in ex-servicemen it's not a viable thing.

 

[briggfairy]

could the reduction of the forces be a major factor in this, after all if there are fewer servicemen there will be fewer ex-servicemen and therefore fewer potential members

 

[Gord]

Some of the worst I've seen at the RBL are those that did 5 minutes of national service and then look down on anyone they see as threatening their status.

Attitudes like that will kill the organisation.

While no doubt there are many of those who as you say did their National Service at home, don't forget there were also NS lads who went to war zones and I'm sure some of them paid the price. I wonder how many NS lads were in Korea or NI.