MANY years may have passed since they last saw each other but the bond between them remains as strong as ever.

A reunion of the First Battalion of the Royal Hampshire Regiment took place in Winchester - exactly 50 years to the day since they started their National Service in the city. None of the men, then aged 18-20, knew what to expect when they were called up to complete the compulsory two-year duty.

Jack Softley, 68, of Chapel Road, West End, said: "I lived in Southampton and had never been any further than Winchester and I suddenly found myself 8,000 miles away.

"It was a great experience, a real adventure. They were two of the best years of my life. There was a great sense of comradeship and you met all types and shapes and sizes of people. The reunion has been a smashing idea. It's nice to see some old faces, even if you don't recognise them readily."

Ted Terry, 70, of Oakley, Basingstoke, turned detective to organise the reunion, trawling local library records and telephone directories, and placing scores of adverts in the local media. "I felt we had to mark the 50th anniversary because it's a once in-a-lifetime thing. It wasn't an easy trip to Malaya but we went in as boys and came out as men. They were two years of your life that were totally different to anything else."

Around 80 local men were drafted to Winchester to complete their National Service every six weeks.

The men who enlisted on July 15, 1954 all stayed at the barracks in Southgate Street for ten weeks before being posted to the trouble spot of Malaya - now part of Malaysia.

There they fought Communist terrorists, carrying out ambushes and mortar bombardments.