Hello, hopefully this is the right place for this query. My father - born 1935 - failed his National Service medical in the early 1950s. He was very partially sighted so it wasn't a surprise. Are there any records that are available for this sort of thing that I can obtain?
Hi, There won’t be anything in MOD files as he wasn’t service personnel at the time. I doubt any such files will have been retained but even if there is something in his NHS medical papers you won’t be able to get access as all medical information is subject to a strict 100 year disclosure rule. Steve Edit to add image from NAM Collection
You might find the Ministry of Labour and National Service Grade Card in his personal papers since this government department had the responsibility for the medical screening of persons who came under the National Service Acts. After appearing before the location Medical Board, your father would receive the Grade Card card entitled National Service Acts. Form NS 55 which would carry his NS Registration Number and the date of his medical. The Medical Grade would be indicated by the Medical Board chairman on the Grade Card in red ink and be expressed as ,eg Grade 1 ( one ).,Grade 11 (two), (Vision).There would be no entry of passed or failed since the Medical Board sole task was establishing the medical grade and description of the person. From the medical examination, the person would be called up or not depending on the outcome. I would think that your father would have been notified by the Ministry of Labour and National Service that he was unfit for service, based on the information you have posted.
