My object was what every man doing National Service was issued with to keep good care of their clothes. It is called a Housewife. In National Service they had a night called the ''Bull Night'', which was when they had to repair all their clothes: from holes and scratches to a little bit of dust. This where the Housewife would have come in. The equipment included cotton, needles, thimbles and buttons. As it is a small piece of equipment, they could carry it around with them as well as keep it in their cabins. This is property of my Granddad, and he did National Service but did not go to war. The leaders would have checked uniform regularly and if they did not approve of it then they had to do the dirtiest jobs they could find.
A Housewife Kit
Contributed by St Johns CE Primary School
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Comments
A fascinating piece of essential kit from doing National Service. I've seen this item and it is still in working condition...just in case he gets called up again!
And needless to say the "Bull Night" was actually known as the "Bullsh* Night" !