That’s not quite the same thing. It’s saying soldiers were drawn from the “scum” of society, but is actually contrasting that with what becomes of them as soldiers. It doesn’t quite support the statement that soldiers and/or the British Army were known as the scum of the earth.
It implies that they were selected from the lower order, the mot desperate.
I still think “garbage picker” would rank below that. Unless you’re suggesting that the music business is filled with rejects from the dumpster-diving profession. 