Tom Hickman

After WW2 ended, Britain's new Labour government took an unprecedented step - the introduction of compulsory military service in peacetime. When national service ended in 1963 over two million young men had been called up. The experiences of over 100 men, some hilarious others harrowing, are recorded in this book.

In 1943 the war effort was in danger of grinding to a halt because of a lack of coal. In answer Ernest Bevin, the Minister of Labour, compulsorily sent 20,000 18-year-olds, who'd expected to fight for their country, down the mines. The author paints a picture of the arduous life below ground for the Bevin Boys and the tightly-knit communities, which in some cases welcomed them but in others treated them with hostility.