Michael Caine says that he would support the return of National Service, citing his experiences of serving in the military when he was just a teenager.
The 91-year-old actor, famed for his classic roles in Get Carter, Zulu and The Italian Job as well as his more recent collaborations with Christopher Nolan, has written a new memoir called Don’t Look Back, You’ll Trip Over: My Guide to Life.
In extracts from the book published by The Times, Caine has spoken about how serving in the British military helped shape him as a younger man, especially when deployed to Germany and South Korea.
Caine says in the book: “It’s pretty hard to exaggerate the impact National Service had on me. Look, I’m 91 and, 70 years on, I can still remember it. I was 18 and sent to Germany as part of the occupation force in Berlin first and then it was on to Korea.”
“It turned me from boy into a man,” Caine adds. “I learnt that you have to be self-reliant but also put your trust in your mates. You’re learning how to be an individual and part of a group with a shared purpose; that’s invaluable.I was just an ordinary private soldier, one of 500 others.”
The two-time Oscar winner then elaborated on when he was sent to South Korea, to potentially fight the Chinese Army, after China sent half a million troops to North Korea in the late 1940s.
“It was a bugger,” admits Caine. “I remember one night me and six other guys were out on patrol in the Samichon Valley, right on the line between North and South Korea. And we knew the enemy were close. We were all bloody scared of course. But we made it past them, then headed back. We all got bitten by the bleeding mosquitoes but that was better than being shot by the Chinese.”
Due to his positive experiences with National Service, Caine says that he thinks it should be brought back but not to the extent or for the amount of time at which he endured.
“I would bring back National Service. I don’t mean young people should go to war — nothing like that. I’d make it six months rather than two years, like it used to be. But being 18 years old and serving your country, it teaches you a lot. You grow up.”
Conscription hasn’t been active in the UK since 1963.
National Service was a key talking point during the recent UK general election, with the then incumbent Conservative party vowing to reintroduce it. Former leader Rishi Sunak said that volunteering could include helping local fire, police and NHS services, as well as charities tackling loneliness and supporting elderly and isolated people.
