I was 16 1/2 when I joined (and looked it) but was immersed straight into the drinking culture and by the time I was 18, was well able to keep up with the pros. I remember being woken up at the crack of dawn by the sound of the birds chirping as they fought for the bits after being sick out of the barrack block window (because it was nearer than the toilets). There was several of us that were all under age on the squadron and we were all exactly the same. Living in, you spent the evenings in the pub or the NAAFI. The only time you didn't drink was on nights and you couldn't make supper. We looked after each other though and everybody got home to bed at the end of the night and we made sure we were all up for work the next day.
Detachments and beer calls were also good for a 3-man lift or a game of spoons. They were fun. Never saw anything like it in civvy street though.
Glory days? Well maybe, but I didn't have much to show for all the money I earnt afterwards. If it'd been todays prices, I'm not sure we would have drunk so much though. Maybe another reason the culture has changed.