'A National Serviceman in Korea'
by George C Pagan
ISBN 1-900467-16-X Price £9.99.
Softback. 148.5 x 210 mm
90 pages, 30 black & white images

'A National Serviceman in Korea' may be ordered from:
George C Pagan
27 Summerfield Drive
Moulton
Northwich
Cheshire
CW9 8PU
UK
Telephone: 01606 543989

Price £9.99
including p&p (second class UK).
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The author, like most young men at the time, was uprooted from home, family, friends and job to be conscripted for a period of National Service with the British armed forces.

This is the story of one conscript’s personal experience covering the period 1950-1953, from ‘Call Up’ and training at Catterick Camp in North Yorkshire with the Royal Corps of Signals, to further training in Germany.

Within weeks he was drafted overseas to Korea to serve with a United Nations force as part of the 1st Commonwealth Division and his experiences with various units as a radio operator forms the main thrust of his story.

To mark the 50th anniversary of the ending of the most serious armed conflict of the Cold War period, a war often referred to as the ‘Unknown War’ or the ‘Forgotten War’, author George Pagan recounts events that will not only fascinate, but also recall the uncertainties faced by these young soldiers.

"The most serious armed conflict of the Cold War period broke out in 1950, when a United Nations force was sent to defend South Korea against an invasion by North Korean forces, supported by Russia and later China. The first British contingent to join the UN force was the 27th Infantry Brigade from Hong Kong and it was among the units which served in the battle of the Naktong River in September 1950. Other Royal Signals personnel served with rear link detachments attached to infantry units. One such detachment was serving with the Gloucestershire Regiment during the Imjin River battle in April 1951, when the unit was surrounded by Communist forces and the majority were captured. Corporal Henry Jennings, shown in the painting by Peter Archer destroying his radio set to prevent it falling into enemy hands, spent the next two years as a POW."

With thanks to Colonel (Retd) Cliff Walters, Director, Royal Signals Museum, Blandford Camp, Dorset DT11 8RH for permission to use the painting used on the front cover of this book and the above text, which was extracted from ‘Seventy-Five Years of Service by the Royal Corps of Signals 1920-1995’, Royal Signals Museum, compiled by Dr. Peter Thwaites.