SIR - I was very disappointed in Eric Firth's experiences with National Service personnel - or to be more exact his long-time perception of what he thought they were like (In My View, September 15)!

I was in the Royal Corps of Signals between 1955 and 1979 and during the time that NS was in operation I found that the NS men did their jobs as well as the regular soldiers.

True, there were men who just didn't want to serve in the forces for their "duty" and these were a nuisance but they were few and far between.

On the whole, Eric, it wasn't bad for us regulars unless you got a bit hot under the collar when the NS boys called you a "thick regular" - especially those who had done far more than their allotted span in the guardroom!

Phil Boase, Elizabeth Street, Wyke