Author(s): Townsend, Alf,
Binding: Paperback,
Date of Publication: 26/10/2023,
Pagination: 192 pages,
Series: N/A,
Imprint: The History Press Ltd,
Published By: The History Press Ltd,
Book Classification: London, Greater London
Dimensions: 197 x 129 x 17mm
Weight: 214g
ISBN13\EAN\SKU: 9781803994840

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Between 1945 and 1963 over 2 1⁄2 million 18-year-olds were called up for national service. Alf Townsend was one of them, and here he tells his story – the highs and lows of life as a lowly Aircraftman Second Class in the early 1950s. Before national service intervened Alf was ‘heading down the criminal road at top speed’, having grown up in a North London slum where money was short and local villains were revered.

Bad Lads is a warts and all account of Alf Townsend’s time in the RAF, when he was transplanted into a completely new world of misfits and officer types, rogues and entertainers, all amusingly described in the author’s inimitable style.