R.Padgett: In the version of this song I know, McCaffery “left the factory with a full intent / To join the Thirty-Second Regiment”.

The army was no way to get rich, or even mildly prosperous, so I’d say he was hoping for a bit more excitement in life.

National Service continued in Britain until 1960. Men born in 1938 were the last age cohort to be called up.