Balaclava boys

*Shudder*
This brings back horrible memories for me. ..
During my school days this horrid gang of brats made my life a complete hell with their rubber-sucky red rings and juvenile pranks - I still wake up in a cold sweat sometimes. They were, at least in my school, the roughest, toughest gang of boys around and the ruthlessness with which they performed their savage initiation ceremony was a sight to behold - leaving some members scarred for minutes, if not hours.

Juvenile thugs who terrorised secondary schools during the late 70's to early 80's. To become a Balaclava boy was, for many, a great honour and the initiation ceremony was brutal: a rubber suction pad was placed on the arm or hand and removed with force. The resulting ring became known as, 'the mark of the Balaclava Boys'. Balaclava theft was, perhaps unsurprisongly, rife during this period as would be Balaclava Boys strived to emulate their dubious role models.