''Ginger You're Barmy'' (1962) is a

comic novel A comic novel is a novel-length work of humorous fiction. Many well-known authors have written comic novels, including P. G. Wodehouse, Henry Fielding, Mark Twain, and John Kennedy Toole. Comic novels are often defined by the author's literary ...

by David Lodge based on his experiences as a

conscript Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

to two years

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

in post-war Britain between August 1955 and August 1957.

Inspiration

In an afterword written in 1981, the author explains that "few postwar novels dealt directly with National Service, especially if you discount those set in places where conscript soldiers were involved in actual combat, such as Malaya, Korea, Suez". He goes on to explain that "most National Servicemen resented, with varying degrees of bitterness, the confiscation of their freedom for two of the best years of their lives" and felt that they "were being maintained as a cheap standing army, occupied with futile and demeaning tasks". Like the narrator, he himself was drafted into the

Royal Armoured Corps The Royal Armoured Corps is the component of the British Army, that together with the Household Cavalry provides its armour capability, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 Tank and the Scimitar Reconnaissance Vehicle. It includes most of the A ...

after graduating in English from

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...

and did his training at

Catterick Camp Catterick Garrison is a major garrison and military town south of Richmond, North Yorkshire, England. It is the largest British Army garrison in the world, with a population of around 13,000 in 2017 and covering over 2,400 acres (about 10& ...

before working as a clerk in

Bovington Camp Bovington Camp () is a British Army military base in Dorset, England. Together with Lulworth Camp it forms part of Bovington Garrison. The garrison is home to The Armour Centre and contains two barracks complexes and two forest and heathland tr ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

.Afterword, Vintage edition pages 217–218, The author explained that the structure of the novel proved difficult in that "most of the drama of National Service was concentrated in the first three months, yet the banal tedium of the rest of it was also an essential element of what the novel was 'about'. The solution employed was to use a 'systematic flashback technique, whereby Jonathan's recall of his and his friend's induction to the Army is framed by his record of his last few days of service", this technique having been borrowed, subliminally, from

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

's ''

The Quiet American ''The Quiet American'' is a 1955 novel by English author Graham Greene. Narrated in the first person by journalist Thomas Fowler, the novel depicts the breakdown of French colonialism in Vietnam and early American involvement in the Vietnam W ...

''.

Title

The title comes from the rhyme:

''Ginger, you're barmy,''
''You'll never join the Army,''
''You'll never be a scout,''
''With your shirt hanging out,''
''Ginger, you're barmy.''

This rhyme derives from the popular song ''Ginger you're barmy'' written by Fred Murray, songwriter (composer of '' I'm Henery The Eighth I Am''), in 1910 and recorded in that year by

Harry Champion William Henry Crump (17 April 1865 – 14 January 1942), better known by the stage name Harry Champion, was an English music hall composer, singer and comedian, whose onstage persona appealed chiefly to the working class communities of Ea ...

- included in the

Peelennium ''The Peelennium'' was a selection of songs by BBC Radio DJ John Peel from 1900 to 2000 in order to celebrate the last 100 years of music leading up to the millennium. It was carefully timed to play out over the 100 remaining shows of 1999, starti ...

, no. 43.

References

1962 British novels British comedy novels Novels by David Lodge MacGibbon & Kee books {{1960s-comedy-novel-stub