THEY ALSO SERVE
It was January 1939 and i had just started to work i was age 14 years.I was a member of a local youth club the Boy's brigade,i started to keep Racing pigeons and life was enjoyable.
In September of that year World War 2 broke out a ex.RAF peace time pilot moved home from London to lodgings in my home town where he was born.He formed our local Air Training Corp and all the lads from 16 upwards moved from the Boy's Brigade and joined the ATC.twelve months later a Girls Training Corp was formed, this was the best years of our lives,although we didn't realise what we were letting ourselves in for, we of cause trained as airmen although some lads joined the Royal Navy and the Army, in fact i myself at first joined the Fleet Air Arm as a trainee Telegraphest Airgunner and later moved to the RAF when my brother who was a airgunner in the RAF was killed.When i was stationed at the FAA flying school at Worthy Down once a month each course would have to take a turn at guarding the aircraft on the far side of the airfield we would be taken there in a lorry which one of our chaps would drive,this particular evening was lovely and warm so three of us decided to sling our hammocks among the trees which was about two hundred yards from the guard hut where we slept when off duty,next morning when the transport came to collect us the three of us where up in the trees in our hammocks and the transport left without us,so we had a good walk of three miles back to our living quarters carrying our hammocks, we past the Wrens quarters who were good enough to make us a cup of tea.Our duty that morning was cleaning stations,cleaning out our huts.When we arrived back the Petty Officer asked where we had been to,after explaining he said no more about the incident.
We put a great deal of time in with the ATC for instance Monday lectures on aircraft recognition and the morse code.Tuesday games night table tennis optional Wednesday lectures on navigation and the morse code Thursday physical Training.Friday theory of flight and the morse code, these were for all those training for aircrew, ground crews were trained on engines and aircraft recognition all received training on RAF discipline and square bashing.We had a football team which played on a Saturday afternoon and it was a good side all under 18 we played against a Army team who were billeted in our town who where much older than we and drew 1-1.
Saturday evening we all looked forward too dancing with the girls of the Girls Training Corp.
Sunday if you were in the band which i was ,was band practice.
Our band always lead the processions in our local town.
When i talk about discipline i will give you an example.
One day a circus was in our home town so we went along to see the horses tied up outside the tents there where four of us ATC cadets,we would have liked to be able to go to the show but we had to attend lectures, after some thought we decided to go to the show after all we had not missed a lecture since we joined.We had only been at the circus for half an hour when over the tannoy a message to report outside immediately,when we got outside there where two cadet NCO'S they had been ordered to take us before the commanding officer.
One of our chaps was a cadet Sgt. he lost his stripes the other three were given jankers,one left the ATC all together, did not matter as he ended up being drawn out of the hat for a Beven Boy
Our Commanding Officer was a grand chap he did not just talk about things, he got things done,we had only been formed 9 months before we were flying and attending RAF camps at Cosford,Bobington and Codsall
Does anyone remember Air Commodore charmier who was responsible for the ATC when it was first formed?.
When i was 18 i volunteered too train for the Fleet Air Arm has a Telegraphist AirGunner after 9 months i moved to the RAF too train has a Wireless Operator Air Gunner.
I started my training with the FAA first at HMS Royal Arthur at Skegness which in peace time was Butlins Holiday Camp not much of a holiday camp when i was there in febuary 1943 and freezing cold sleeping in those huts two to a hut,i would wake up in a morning at six o clock with the Petty officer banging on the door with a big stick and i would have a pain right down my left leg.Then on to the parade ground running round the buildings to the tune of "There's a boy coming home on leave" played by the band of the Royal Marines, then on too breakfast ,we were all new to one another,we got to know one another over a pint of beer down at the "Old Pig and Whistle"on the camp,i wonder if it is still there?.
I spent two weeks in hospital just down the road from the camp so i missed rifle drill.
Then we moved too HMS St.Vincent at Gosport where we did alot of presenting arms etc.I of cause missed out on this training at Royal Arthur so one chap in our squad was ordered to teach me using a broom handle, then i was ordered to stand in the middle of the parade ground by myself going through the movements of rifle drill for about an hour.
We had 48hrs leave from St.Vincent before moving on to the flying station HMS Kestrel at Worthy Down.we got off the train a Worthy Down and walked up a lane to the camp the first thing i saw was a Lysander with it's nose buried in the ground,i thought well that's a good advertisment.
There where three of us ATC Cadets from my home town training at Worthy Down at the same time only in different courses,one chap was on a 48 hr pass when he returned he told me that my brother was reported missing.After this i was given the opportunity to move to join the RAF of which i did.
I then joined the RAF at St.Johns Wood,London,living in flats in Hall Road, where we commenced square bashing getting kitted out and changing uniforms at Lords cricket ground, there was two other chap's transfering with me at the time, i think we where there for about two months and we used our off duty time touring London i enjoyed that, it seemed to me i had lived there before.
From London we where moved to the initial training wing at Bridlington,i remember winning the clay pigeon shooting contest there.
At ITW we had lessons on weapons, morse,maths,aircraft recognition, Airforce Law,we also did guard duty.After being there a few weeks the RAF decided to move our ITW too Usworth Nr.Sunderland.I had a great time there in the Town of Washington the parties where great i don't know where they got their food from and the camp dances, thank you Washington.
It was christmas 1943 and we had to go on leave although you wanted us to stay for christmas because after leave we where to report to Madley in Herefordshire.
Our course qualified at Madley as wireless operators [Air]and the RAF must have had to many wireless operators because we where sent to Yatesbury to do the flying training again to find us something to do because they had to many wireless operators at OTU.
Yatesbury was another friendly place we had civilian workers on the airfield and i and my mate made friends with them great parties again.
After doing the refresher course we returned to Madley and half our course decided to train as Airgunners and where sent to Castle Kennedy Nr.Stranraer,Scotland.another great friendly place,who say's the Scots are mean?Do you like whisky?
Just as we finished the course Germany surrendered and we were declared redundant given indefinite leave which turned out to be two weeks and sent too Cranage holding unit in Cheshire.Here i was asked to sign on for three years and carry on flying only a hand full volunteered
I was there for a few months,we were asked can you drive a lorry,ride a motor cycle one mate of mine drove a lorry another rode a motor cycle and side car i went with him for a ride one day to take some papers to another RAF station,i worked in the station post office until i volunteered to work on a farm some harvesting scheme which the farmer paid the RAF it was great there where a number of us working on farms we started work at nine am and finished at four in the afternoon no working Saturday and Sunday,i used to go home every weekend and take a dozen eggs and a chicken which i bought from the Farmer.after a few weeks i was told to report back to the RAF station to go on seven days leave,when i got back off leave i was posted to Eastchurch where i was given the option to train for a number of ground staff jobs i choose to train as a telephone operator because i was curious how it worked.It was back to Cranage to await a posting .I was posted to Upwood.Transport command and found a job keeping records of maintenance fitters[ manning control] i was on my own although i did not have very much to do,after a week or so i was sent a LAC to help me with the work this chap was a trained RAF carpenter,he could not work in the wood work shop because it gave him dermatitis.
Posted again this time to Kirkham Nr Blackpool here i was Wing Barrack Warden dealing with the reporting of work to be done on the maintenance of buildings,the issueing of radio sets,carpets etc.I was busy on this job to start with but as i got the jobs done then it became boring and another chap came to help me so i asked to be moved to another job, so i was moved to another wing on the same kind of job,when i arrived i found two other chaps there so now i had less to do.Blackpool was great of cause,dancing at the Tower Ballroom and the Winter Gardens,but work was really boring and i was not sorry when i was posted to London Stanmore Park,here i was employed as a telephone operator,Stanmore Park was then 58MU, I soon got hold of this job and after a week or so i was posted to Skellingthorpe in Lincolnshire.When i arrived there, there where four Waaf operators and myself every thing went along fine until one day the Waaf's where posted to a peace time station which would be more comfortable for them,now i am left on my own to man the switchboard night and day,i of cause had to have my meals brought to me,this went on for about three days the lad who brought my meals was the Station Warrant Offices runner and he seemed interested in the switchboard so i asked the Station Warrant Officer if he could work with me and i would teach him how to operate the switchboard,this chap now became my assistant,he picked the job up in a couple of days.Two weeks later our reinforcments arrived, four trainee Radar operators National Servicemen.I was asked to sign on for three months at a time.Two more weeks and i was posted to Kirkham once again only this time for demo.
