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Basically who would have thought that all those years ago, lads from all over the UK who at the time all seemed so very different, with the passage of time are now all so very similar. We all spoke with different accents, came from all walks of life but were moulded by the PS into like minded young men.

We seemed to by pass the problems of modern youth (except for dreaming about Mrs Bowen and I still do that) and developed a sense of camaraderie and togetherness that would be very hard to find in this day and age. This was probably due to the fact that we were often pushed to our limits and relied on each other to give their very best or we would all suffer.

We all want to belong to a society that we know works and my belief is that this is what IJLB offered, it was a time in our lives when everything was OK, yes it was tough at times but deep down we knew that it was good for us,and it made us what we are today.

I remember we once had to double up a hill and a young Scots lad falling to the ground in a heap at the top saying in his broad accent "Mon ye ganged up the Brae face quicker than a Maukin" to which although exhausted we all fell about laughing and then trying to get him to explain what he meant, the lads name has been long forgotten but his words and the memories will be with me forever. Translation...."Man you went up the hill side quicker than a Hare" I think.

Another memory, and Ray Ironmonger can probably vouch for this is towards the end of our 7th term we had to parade in the No2 dress uniforms that we would be wearing when we joined our Battalions. As I was in A coy all the Jocks had their brogues and spats, little cutaway jackets and nice tartan pajama bottoms, they had lovely new bonnets with bits of a dead bird stuck in some them. All around me people were showing off new found finery, the rifle regiments shiny black belts and dark green caps, And what did I get ..... absolutely nothing! bugger all! I just got to stick a cap badge that I had all along in my forage cap. It's an unfair world but then again in the 38th we don't need no fancy uniforms. But I still felt as though I belonged.

Pete Short