When I joined as an apprentice in 1963, we were issued with the old belted and skirted hairy tunic uniforms and we all looked like AC2 Lawrence for the first year until we were eventually issed with "battledress" in the second and third years. Later on - about 1972 I think - airmen finally got sewn-on collars and were rid of the collar studs, but it took a year or so the before the green spot on my neck had faded away and disappeared.