I REFER to D Tillotson's letter (The benefits of National Service, Craven Herald letters, July 4). It read like some kind of visit to a torture chamber!

I was born and raised in Liverpool . My dad was a dock labourer who had fought in the army.

I trained and served for 10 years as a ship's Leading Writer in the Royal Navy. It was much more than "learning to iron efficiently".

I learned how to mix with different people from different lives and different parts of the UK. I married my wife whom I met on a train whilst joining a new ship.

I was the last Naval rating to leave Borneo during one of Britain's "Small Wars" in the 1960s.

On leaving the Navy I entered Civvy St and got every job I applied for ( BBC Television, London, Bradford Met, District Council and Yorkshire Housing). I never worked for a profit making organisation.

Training to fight for your country is a privilege not a benefit.

Tom Clinton.

Cononley