#148/365 Going Commando

Not that kind of commando, you smutty lot.

Commando, the kids comic.

I didn’t get many hits when I did a post on the Airfix soldiers of my youth a few weeks ago, so I’m not counting on this one receiving very many either. I reckon you P.C. lot frown upon things that have a violent bent – and quite rightly so. I don’t let my kids play with TMDs. (Toys of Mass Destruction.) That said, my youngest – whose birthday is coming up – did ask for an AK47 and a visa for Ukraine for some reason.

However, growing up in the 60s and 70s was a very different ball game and it was considered the norm.

I used to buy Commando magazine every fortnight and relished the tales of bravery and courage under seemingly impossible odds. Come to think of it, that’s all they were ever about – chisel-jawed commandos outwitting dastardly Nazi dummkopfs. Or, Spitfire Ace, down to his last bullet and some harsh language, versus the entire German Luftwaffe. (Guess who won?)

I loved the artwork. (Not dissimilar to the illustrations on the Airfix packaging.) The covers were illustrated in glorious colour, whilst the story strips were in bold black and white.

I used to have hundreds of these magazines. Wonder what ever happened to them. I bet some would be worth a few bob nowadays.

Of course, I think it’s completely perverse to glorify and glamorise war these days. But, like I say, ’twas a different world.

On a separate note – thank you to all you lovely readers from all around the world who have helped There Is No Cavalry reach over 100,000 hits! I am extremely grateful.