RAF Recruitment | RAF Medic | Royal Air Force Cliff Michelmore, ultimately became the anchor man for BBC TV news and current affairs programmes. Catalogue description Records of the Royal Air Force. One of these, MRAF Sir Keith Williamson, a Cranwell 67 apprentice, became CAS, and several others served on the Air Force Board, including Air Chf Mshl Sir Michael Armitage who was AMSO in the early 1980s and has been the Patron of the RAF Halton Apprentices Association since its foundation in 1980. To help find them, these trips were always in full moonlight and at low level, generally 500ft, so that the parachutes were in the air for the shortest possible time to avoid detection. Halton We are the largest and fastest growing community of UK forces veterans on the web with over 500,000 members! Thus in late 1919 the Halton Apprentice Scheme was promulgated to Local Education Authorities, and entrance examinations were held in London and the provinces. In 2007 he created the Station Archives. He had laid firm ground on which Trenchard was able to build his aircraft apprentice scheme. Come with us to discover more about Trenchards Brats as we hear first hand accounts of their stories, see how life was for these young men and marvel at the legacy they left. There was a lot of sport I did swimming, cross-country running and athletics. Just before reaching her destination, which had been given to our navigator verbally just before take off, he alerted me to go aft, open the rear bottom escape hatch, attach her package to the static line, get her in position to jump (after also attaching her parachute to the static line). Academic training was comparable with that of a good technical college and was to National Certificate level. The Halton trained men have provided the nucleus on which the great expansion of the air force was centred. The Chairman advises: For many years this sign was displayed in a prominent place in each of the Workshops Bays. 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. Since then he has been Haltons historian and archivist and in 1995 he founded the Apprentice Museum, renamed the Trenchard Museum in 1999. Flight Engineers accounted for more than 400 of these names. Finlay arrived at RAF Halton as an Apprentice in 1925. Photographs at RAF Halton 1954 - 1957 Official photographs. Members of RAF Apprentices | Forces Reunited In 1922 the school moved permanently to RAF Halton and was fully operational by 1926. Some of this Entry were only 16, officially still boys but now serving as airmen on the front line. These had to be accurately placed and this called for very accurate navigation. Below are just some of our members who have served at RAF Apprentices. We never failed to drop our load. 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. Other tours included, Apprentice Flight Commander at Locking . 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. I will happily attempt to copy some of the photos if needed. Entry, September 1954. 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. Our Association details are provided on the rear page of the Haltonian and are sufficient for most lawyer's needs. Of the five ex-apprentice flight engineers who flew in the Dams Raid, only one returned. With over 620 million military records, . This scheme, which included Sir Frank Whittle "father of the jet engine", trained . Royal Air Force HAA Recent discoveries include six George Cross and thirteen George Medal winners among the former apprentice fraternity. We had a station church, swimming pool, workshops and school buildings. The Royal Air Force Apprentice scheme began in 1920, having been devised by Chief of the Air Staff Hugh Trenchard and approved by Winston Churchill. Now with some 4,000 boys on strength Scarlett wanted an additional distinguishing feature on their uniforms to facilitate immediate recognition of the sections (later wings) to which they belonged. What are the limitations? To my mind, the future of this great Service depends largely upon Halton; the boy of today is the fellow who will man the RAF tomorrow. The idea was to create future leaders of the technical branch with an appreciation 51 of the challenges faced by aircrew. after leaving RAF Halton, but whilst stll serving in the Royal Air Force, click here. Printed from https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/records_of_raf_halton_apprentice on May 01, 2023 15:11. The Wartime Memories Project is run by volunteers and the free to access part of the website is funded by donations from our visitors. Want to find out more about your relative's service? RM 2D2Y83F - The Queen inclines her head in acknowledgement of the new colour (the flag), one of only nine held by the Royal Air Force, which she presented to RAF Halton this afternoon (Friday). He completed his 45 years in uniform as Deputy Director of Personal Services. These publications are free to members and assist in keeping us all in touch. Records of the Royal Air Force relating to the operations of the air component of the armed forces. We are interested in the apprentice scheme run at RAF Halton No1 Technical Training School from 1922 until closure in 1993. This has the added advantage that it will undoubtedly foster the Air Force spirit on which so much depends. Later in the paper, he continues, The training of all these boys will eventually be carried out at Halton Park. Many were soon commissioned rising quickly to executive positions on operational squadrons. The Trenchard Museum aims to preserve and display items that relate to the history of Royal Air Force Halton. To keep abreast of changes in RAF engineering practice, four different types of apprenticeships were introduced over the lifetime of the scheme. Coincidentally with the arrival of this large entry, as a war emergency measure the 50 duration of training was gradually shortened, initially to 2 then to 2 years. Our My Grandmother always said that if she had her time all over again and had option to delete her war service, she most definitely would not and is rightly proud of her achievements. The RAF Apprenticeship Scheme | 203-entry 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.. Many of the latter 64 forged very successful careers in industry and academia. 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. Leadership and management experience were Time-expired airframes were used to provide hands-on experience. SocietyWorks Ltd Records of RAF Halton apprentice scheme - WhatDoTheyKnow My father was in the RAF after the war, based in Ismalia, by now married, with mum and me as a baby. So be careful when telling your RN friends this 62 snippet as they can get very upset to learn that the junior Service, in the form of Halton apprentices, provided an important element of the foundations on which the carrier force developed into a vital arm of the nations capability in WW II and beyond. They were woken with Reveille at 0630hrs, called on colour hoisting 18 parade at 0730hrs and sent to bed at 2145hrs. Royal Air Force personnel - The National Archives Another short-lived course training medical admin apprentices for one year starting with the 301st Entry in 1964 ended in 1969. The RAF Administrative Apprentice | Genealogy Ensemble A group of dedicated retired service personnel and proud ex-Brats came together to ensure that the story was told of how thousands of boys were trained to levels of excellence which led to them to make huge contributions to the Royal Air Force, to science, and to Great Britain. Above, a Wallace, 605M (previously K3664) and, To keep abreast of technical developments Halton had state-of-the-art Blenheims to work on as early as 1937. The reduction of training time reached its nadir with the early graduation of the 39th entry in April 1940 after only 21 months. The RAF Police could often be seen patrolling local towns, especially on Saturday evenings when their chances of nabbing a few apprentices in the local pubs or dance halls were high. The museum also records the background to Apprentice training at the Halton camp through examples of the tools, work and test pieces completed by Apprentices. Sometimes rifle drill or PT before breakfast, later march to workshops with our own band with bugles, bagpipes, trumpets and drums. Sqn Ldr Donald Finlay, of the 12th Entry, a triple Olympian well known to the public as one of the countrys top athletes, commanded Nos 41 and 54 Sqns in the Battle of Britain shooting down four enemy aircraft and winning a DFC. Download We wish to have access to records, manuals, policy statements, annual reports, developments, evolution.. especially with respect to the care and education of the apprentices. The museum is named in honour of Marshal of the Royal Air Force Viscount Trenchard, who is regarded as the Founding Father of the Royal Air Force, who also launched the Aircraft Apprentice scheme which brought worldwide recognition to RAF Halton. Halton Apprentice Roll of Honour This is now on the net www.oldhaltonians.co.uk then look in the Tribute section. Until 1951, this mark also governed the rank at which an apprentice graduated. I can just remember her small white face behind her goggles as she dropped into the night. The first TA intake (the 107th Entry) started training in October 1964 but, along with many others in the Service, they were dismayed in April 1965 when the Wilson government scrapped the TSR2 programme. In the third year of training, all apprentices were required to produce a dissertation of 5,000 words on a subject of their choice. Also in 1919, Halton House - a French style mansion built by Lionel de Rothschild . Reunion and other photographs. We couldnt load the mail server logs for this message. AC1. These boys are not only extremely well lodged, fed, and clothed, but are taught trades which will be useful to them in after-life. Interestingly, apprentices were the only people who continued to join the wartime RAF; from September 1939 until 1945. It's run by ex-apprentices mostly too, so some of them may have some personal knowledge. Bill Liddle. Join | The Old Haltonians Supply Drops - again very small targets often just a map reference in the middle of a wood. Recreational facilities were available in abundance, including a debating society, aircraft modelling and playing in one of the several apprentice bands, in addition a wide variety of sporting facilities was available. It is tomorrow we must prepare for and so the success of Halton as the birthplace of the RAF, mind and spirit is of the most vital importance. 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. recording and preserving recollections, documents, photographs and small items. Ironically, the TAs gradated in the rank of Junior Technicain but unsurprisingly, produced the highest number of commissioning candidates. About Us. However, as the TSR2 on which they were destined to work had not materialised, many after graduation found themselves posted to single-skill posts. Thank you. Bucks HP19 0GF. concurrently with the TA scheme. He had left school in July 1964 and was headed off to join the Royal Air Force at RAF Hereford to enter a one-year Administrative Apprentice training course as part of the 301 st cohort known as an 'entry' (1) A week later, on the 2nd of September 1964, he took the Oath of Allegiance to Her Majesty the Queen. Sgt. This meant contending with masses of search lights, flak, fighters, shot and shell. Duty RAF Medics provide airfield medical crash cover and pre-hospital emergency care. The TA course, although relatively short-lived, offered unprecedented career opportunities for those apprentices who completed it. We provide commercial For these reasons and others, Trenchard instituted the Aircraft Apprentice Scheme to be based at RAF Halton No. Boys from the age of 15 took a series of highly competitive exams and tests, and the select few were invited to join the most exclusive boarding school of its time. 1 School of Technical Training. It was a great experiment and was bitterly criticised at the time. Trenchard had already provided more detail about his intentions for the scheme in a letter to Churchill in November 1919, writing that it would be necessary to enlist the bulk of the technical tradesmen as boys, because the Royal Air Force could not hope to compete in the recruitment of men who had served full apprenticeships in civilian life and could therefore command high wages. RAF apprentices were an elite band who went on to hold some of the highest ranks in the Royal Air Force, and make huge contributions to their country and the wider world.
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