Originally Posted by
Asturias56
There are still substantial groups of white British people that look down on anyone joining the armed services
As Kipling said:
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an` Chuck him out, the brute! "
But it's " Saviour of 'is country " when the guns begin to shoot;
An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please;
An 'Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool - you bet that Tommy sees!
My school had plenty of service brats, but apart from a friend who was in the ATC and thinking about being an RAF doctor, I think I was the only one in my year who joined a service.
My elder daughter's (state) school has had service recruiters at careers events (probable RN only being just up the road from Pompey - even though the other two have establishments with 20 miles) and uniforms are a rare but not unknown site in supermarkets and on station platforms. And my younger daughter's school has a CCF (by invitation only). The Army Cadets and ATC seem to be thriving but I suspect we are an oddity in today's UK.