The population expanded and by the end of 1917 some 14,000 air mechanics were trained. The Royal New Zealand, Pakistan, Ceylon and Royal Rhodesian Air Forces, and the Burmese, Malayan and Venezuelan Air Forces all sent boys to Halton to train alongside British apprentices. Halton apprentices loyalty and devotion to duty during WW II was recognised by the large number of decorations they received. After the re-introduction of the wheel it was paraded for the first time at the Graduation of the 134th Entry on 29th September 1982. A pass mark in all aspects of his trade training was an absolute for an apprentice to graduate. Other tours included, Apprentice Flight Commander at Locking, avionics development at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough, and Deputy OC Brawdy. On airfield, we did engine running on a Blenheim, prop swinging on Tiger Moth. Surely the efcient maintenance of aircraft has also been one of the outstanding features of the war and that has been made possible by the Halton training of our men.. The 74th Entry Graduation Invitation. The site has grown as people send in old photos of those days . Joining the RAF as an aircraft apprentice at RAF Halton, Buckinghamshire. Subsequently the RN sent 400 directly recruited Fleet Air Arm apprentices to train with the 38th to 41st Entries. On 14th October 1945 she resigned her Commission and left WAAF Service. Our navigator, Peter Ashford, was excellent; throughout every flight, even when he knew fairly certainly where we were, he continually checked his calculations. 1 School of Technical Training. Royal Air Force Apprentices were a breed apart, a cut above, a group of boys who went on to become highly skilled craftsmen and airmen. HRH The Duke of Gloucester reviewing the nal graduation parade, that of the 155th Entry in June 1993. Some of the rules were reasonable for boys below the age of 18, such as Apprentices are to take a bath twice a week and Apprentices are prohibited from visiting public houses and consuming alcohol. One of the oddest rules was, Females are not to attend the monthly Apprentice dances. This reflects contemporary societys deeply conservative approach to sex before marriage. Supply Drops - again very small targets often just a map reference in the middle of a wood. If you have any unwanted As the rudimentary methods of training RFC tradesmen hitherto were unlikely to meet the massive new manpower requirement, it soon became clear that the RFC would have to train its own air mechanics. He completed his 45 years in uniform as Deputy Director of Personal Services. He argued that the best way to ensure that, . In the latter respect, two Cranwell apprentices excelled, one becoming a bishop and another followed in Lord Trenchard's footsteps by becoming head of the Metropolitan Police. A large number of these men are senior Air Vice-Marshals and Air Commodores running the highest technical ofces in the Air Force. Over 1,000 other 65 gallantry awards went to former aircraft apprentices and some 3000 were Mentioned in Dispatches. Welcome to the Brit-Gen forums. The limiting factor to this huge expansion turned out to be not a shortage of aircrew, nor of aircraft manufacturing capacity, but rather a lack of skilled groundcrew of which more than a dozen were needed to maintain each front-line aircraft. Our barrack room had 30 boys in it. The trust was set up to commemorate the centenary of the inception of one of the most fore-sighted and innovative schemes in British military history. The Oath of Allegiance. Initial trade training was carried out in the workshops and later in a mix of workshops and on redundant aircraft positioned on the airfield. With over 620 million military records, . If you were a 'Trenchard Brat' and not already a member, why not join this elite . Aylesbury it gained a reprieve with the introduction of the Apprentice Engineering Technician (AET) scheme. The site has been in use since the First World War but is due to close by December 2027. (05798215). While serving as a squadron leader in Germany in 1945 he ran the British Forces Network in Hamburgh. Gp Capt Min Larkin CBE MRAeS Min joined the RAF as an aircraft apprentice in 1949. caused as a result of any virus being passed on. Run by Volunteers and powered by Alaveteli. This element of the course was replaced in 1977 by the Ordinary Diploma and for most the Higher Certificate awarded by the newly formed Business and Technician Education Council (BTEC). Some who graduated as LACs 33 in the 1920s were given immediate further training at Henlow and took up their first appointments as corporals. Although the government took options on the purchase of the American F-111 this never came about. This request has been closed to new correspondence. These grew out of early artillery and engineers' experiments and manoeuvres with balloons as described concisely by Swinnerton in Family Tree Magazine (2000). Captain Eric Poole was the first pilot to land an aircraft using the system while carrying passengers and Captain Charles Owens was the first to land an aircraft using it with Her Majesty the Queen on board. Cliff Michelmore, ultimately became the anchor man for BBC TV news and current affairs programmes. is a registered charity in England and Wales (1076346) My father was in the RAF after the war, based in Ismalia, by now married, with mum and me as a baby. I was up in the NAAFI listening to the wireless. the system and for other lawful purposes. Did she survive? Donate and support our work. As a member you will have access to the Association membership database (subject to GDPR restrictions) which may well be able to assist you in renewing your friendships with past colleagues of your entry or your time at Halton. Mine Laying - it may not be generally known but at least three quarters of all mines laid within enemy waters were dropped by the RAF. Applicants for Friend Membership must supply details of their relationship with the deceased (wife, brother, sister, etc) together with their service details (Service Number, Apprentice Entry and Rank) if . provided through resource and initiative training, field exercises at summer camps and the Apprentice NCO scheme. Lord Trenchard was proud of, and took a keen interest in, his apprentices at Halton and visited them often at work and play. The RAF Medic is able to handle ambiguity . Wairarapa New Zealand. We also have our Entry Window in St. George's Church at RAF Halton. The idea was to create future leaders of the technical branch with an appreciation 51 of the challenges faced by aircrew. By creating an account you agree to us emailing you with newsletters and discounts, which you can switch off in your account at any time. Source: RAF Halton Defence Aerodrome Manual [2] Royal Air Force Halton, or more simply RAF Halton, is one of the largest Royal Air Force stations in the United Kingdom. This scheme ended in 1972. Given that, at the end of the war, only some 20,000 apprentices had graduated from Halton, it is clear that their contribution to WW II had been impressive and this was acknowledged by many senior commanders. The MOD has taken steps to keep this e-mail and any attachments free from Thirty-eight years later he was promoted to Air Chief Marshal to be a member of the Air Force . Here is the appropriate extract, Some of your Lordships will remember that after the last war we set up in the Air Force a very large training School at Halton. Want to find out more about your relative's service? Engine running was done on the airfield. necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the department. Thus in late 1919 the Halton Apprentice Scheme was promulgated to Local Education Authorities, and entrance examinations were held in London and the provinces. Technician apprentices were recruited with a minimum of four GCE O-levels and more emphasis was placed on their academic training to ensure that most graduated with a National Certificate. and a limited company (03277032). The oldest living member of the Association is awarded the honorary title "King Brat" as a mark of respect. Thames Valley Police have concluded an investigation and agreed that such crimes did take . They have records for every single engineering apprentice that went through RAF Halton. Other tours included, Apprentice Flight Commander at Locking . For the first 50 years of the scheme apprentices were classified as minors and their officers and SNCOs acted in loco parentis. concurrently with the TA scheme. please
We did not charge him with being improperly dressed, recalled Air Cdre M J Evans, one of five former Halton apprentices who returned to command the station. Search the Royal Air Force officers' service records 1918-1919 ( charges apply) online for officers who served in the Royal Air Force during the First World War ( AIR 76 ). Top 10 most popular library books since 2016. In 1919 Lord Trenchard established the No. In 2007 he created the Station Archives. 29th June 1941 she joined HQ 14 Group. Why Forces War Records? Apprentices were not allowed time to dwell too much on 19 their personal thoughts, as evenings and most of the weekends were taken up with room cleaning, inspections and parades. The introduction of the four-engined bombers in 1941 brought an urgent need for an additional crew member, a flight engineer. A Definitive History of the RAF Aircraft Apprentice Scheme - Min Larkin, The consistent technical excellence of the RAF has rested upon the skill and high devotion to duty of those who learned at Halton their trades and first formed their sense of duty. Reunion and other photographs. Get up and make beds, all blankets and sheets folded to make a neat sandwich. The museum was named in honour of the man who is regarded as the Founding Father of the Royal Air Force, and also who founded the Aircraft Apprentice scheme with which the good name of Halton has often been synonymous. There is a RAF plaque to remember the Halton apprentices, at the National Memorial Arboretum, in Staffordshire. The most famous of the aircraft apprentice alumni is Air Cdre Sir Frank Whittle who gave the world the jet engine. Download Interestingly, at the critical stage of the development of the engine which was to power the first flight of a British jet aircraft, Whittle requested and received the support of four ex-Halton apprentice engine fitters to help out in his workshop at Power Jets. a week. RAF Malton. AIR CHIEF MARSHAL SIR MICHAEL ARMITAGE, who has died aged 92, began his long RAF career as a Halton Apprentice, one of "Trenchard's Brats" under the scheme established by Lord Trenchard in 1920 which saw apprentices trained at RAF Halton. Many were soon commissioned rising quickly to executive positions on operational squadrons. Halton received its first . Because of lack of accommodation at Halton, the school was originally located at RAF Cranwell in 1920. The move to Halton coincided with the 5th Entry in January 1922 when the rank of Aircraft . The Trenchard Museum aims to preserve and display items that relate to the history of Royal Air Force Halton. However it accepts no liability for any loss or damage howsoever Dennison Pierce Broomfield 209 Squadron (d.8th Sep 1942). With an average of 2,000 boys in residence at any one time, the establishment of RAF Police at Halton, known as Snoops to apprentices, was higher than normal. However, following a concerted campaign led by the RAF Halton and RAF Cranwell Apprentices Associations, supported by some prominent ex-apprentices serving at air rank, NCO apprentice ranks and the wearing of the iconic wheel badge were reinstated in 1982. It was clear that Trenchard wanted highly skilled men at a price the Service could afford from its very meagre budget, and men who would foster an Air Force spirit. Serving and retired RAF personnel should ensure the boxes, Service No, Rank, Entry, Joining Date, Trade and Current Occupation are completed. CORPORAL Served from 1959 - 1973 Served in RAF Apprentices. Halton Apprentice Roll of Honour This is now on the net www.oldhaltonians.co.uk then look in the Tribute section. The arranging of individual and entry visits to Halton House, The Trenchard Museum and the Apprentice Archives are other services provided to members of the Association. Two hundred of these Polish boys, 14/15 year olds and one only 13, were selected to train at Halton as aircraft apprentices, and another 100 at Cranwell. please notify the sender and then delete the e-mail (and file(s) if However, the latter improved with the opening of large training workshops in 6 early 1918 which had been rapidly constructed with the help of thousands of German POWs. The TA course, although relatively short-lived, offered unprecedented career opportunities for those apprentices who completed it. However, as time passed and the brats were able to prove their worth, it became a title which all ex-apprentices are proud to claim, even those who attained air rank. It is still unclear what my Grandmother's duties were in Code and Cypher. In 1919 Lord Trenchard established the No. History of the Royal Air Force. Catalogue description Records of the Royal Air Force. Perhaps our founder Lord Trenchard summed up his, and the legacy of Halton in a speech he gave in the House of Lords in December 1944 on the air campaign during the war. The Main Force targets, mentioned above, were the well known bombing missions on German towns and industrial targets, involving many aircraft concentrated over as little time as possible, to saturate defences. The brass wheel badge, worn by all RAF boy recruits for some 75 years, to distinguish them from men, had been introduced in April 1919. During our time HRH Duke of Kent (Prince George) came round workshops to inspect our work. Library contains an ever growing number diary entries, personal letters and other documents, most transcribed into plain text. The arrival of the first RAF Commandant, Air Cdre F R Scarlett CB DSO, in December 1919 heralded many improvements to all aspects of boy training, in particular the tightening of disciplinary standards which had been allowed to drift downwards after the armistice. Under the guidance of his Flight Commander and the NCO instructors, he was taught drill, physical training and Air Force Law. Former Halton apprentices were ideally suited to this new challenge and volunteered for it in their thousands. Manage receipt and storage of medical supplies and pharmaceuticals in medical stores, issuing of medications. This move coincided with the adoption of the rank of Aircraft Apprentice. The Chairman advises: With ever increasing numbers now volunteering for the RAF, the size of Halton intakes ballooned, in 1936 reaching over 1,000 boys per entry. At the end of 2017, only 45 ex-AETs were still serving, of whom some twenty were holding commissions, with several at senior officer level and seven at air rank. He would get me to take endless star-shots and he continuously consulted his GEE box - a very useful early electronic navigation aid. To meet the immediate need for these 61 skills, volunteers were invited from the 35th, 36th and 37th Entries to transfer to the Royal Navy, and 160 of Haltons apprentices answered the call. Many of the latter 64 forged very successful careers in industry and academia. In 1917 there was an expansion of technical training in the Royal Flying Corps (RFC), and Halton became the main training unit for aircraft mechanics. Your Association is determined that the role of ex Halton apprentices in the military history of our great nation is recognised by future generations. It was on one of these drops, I think the one dated 29th April, that we took a passenger with us. At the end of the war, November 1918 . The Wartime Memories Project is run by volunteers and the free to access part of the website is funded by donations from our visitors. With over 620 million military records, . On the 21st of February 1945 she moved to RAF Rivenhall near Witham in Essex with 38 Group. Workshops entailed basic fitting, lectures on metallurgy, heat treatments etc. This kind of improvisation could not provide all of the men the RFC needed and rationalisation of the training machine became an urgent requirement. May be difficult to read. Duty RAF Medics provide airfield medical crash cover and pre-hospital emergency care. D. Bell made this Freedom of Information request to Ministry of Defence On 5th January 1942 she moved to RAF Tain near Thurso, a Fighter Station, she was Appointed Section Officer on 21st of June 1942. Considering they were the two professions most apprentices had spent three years avoiding at Halton and Cranwell, a surprising number became vicars and policemen. A large minority of the boys joining the RAF as apprentices saw it as a route via which they might achieve their true ambition, which was to become pilots. We never failed to drop our load. AET Prevett, the Parade Commander, was so chuffed, he wore a wheel on both arms.
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