Most notable of these was Cliff Michelmore who was an aircraft apprentice in the 32nd Entry which graduated from Halton in 1938. Scarlett remained in post until 1924 which enabled him to oversee the 8 transformation of a temporary wartime military camp into the beginnings of a permanent RAF station. Cliff Michelmore, ultimately became the anchor man for BBC TV news and current affairs programmes. 1, Pipit Gardens While serving as a squadron leader in Germany in 1945 he ran the British Forces Network in Hamburgh. The Association magazine, 'The Haltonian', is published twice yearly and additional Newsletters are electronically mailed out four or five times a year. The 103rd Entry has an active Association and has held a number of reunions. SERGEANT Served from 1962 - 1975 Served in RAF Apprentices. 2nd May 2009, . The RAF Medic is able to handle ambiguity . 57K Patron - Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael Armitage - ObituaryClick here. Over the years, some members have made bequests to our Association in their wills in preparation for their final postings. A pass mark in all aspects of his trade training was an absolute for an apprentice to graduate. Rowland James George Bazell B Flight 90 Squadron. Aylesbury 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. We had lunch on airfield from field kitchens, on 3rd Sept 1939 I heard Mr Chamberlain say we were at war with Germany. Hopefully this site will also be of interest to others who trained as Trenchard's "Brats", and to anyone with an interest in RAF Halton. The Wartime Memories Project is a non profit organisation run by volunteers. The Wartime Memories Project will give them a good home and ensure that they are used for educational purposes. This scheme, which included Sir Frank Whittle "father of the jet engine", trained . What courage! Most post-1951 AAs were corporals within a year of graduation. 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. AETs were trained as dual-trade airframe and propulsion technicians and initially followed the National Certificate curriculum in their academic training as their predecessors had done. It's run by ex-apprentices mostly too, so some of them may have some personal knowledge. Several hundred ex-apprentices serving on these engagements at the start of hostilities were, however, retained in flying posts. No.1 Parachutists School. Activities of 38 Group were towing of gliders and dropping of parachutists. A National Certificate, or at least a B Grade pass in the final school examinations, was sufficient to qualify an apprentice academically for commissioning: a C Grade was the minimum requirement for graduation. Although many boys were later transferred to 5 Cranwell, where permanent accommodation was available, several thousand remained at Halton undergoing in equal measure, drill, physical training, fatigues and technical training for which only basic facilities were available. . 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. Interestingly, apprentices were the only people who continued to join the wartime RAF; from September 1939 until 1945. Uniquely, at the moment (2016) two former Halton Craft Apprentices hold high executive 69 positions in the two principal RAF Charities: Air Mshl Sir Dusty Miller 210th, is President of the Royal Air Forces Association, and Mr Lawrie Haynes 216th, CEO of Rolls Royce Nuclear and Marine, is Chairman of the Trustees of the RAF Benevolent Fund. From 3rd November 1943 to 14th November 1943 she was detached on course to W.O.S Windemere in the Lake District. This e-mail and any files transmitted with it are confidential and In the late 1950s, a study was initiated into the RAFs youth training requirements. Other tours included, Apprentice Flight Commander at Locking . to help with the costs of keeping the site running. These certificates were awarded for achievement in all aspects of trade and academic training. He argued that the best way to ensure that, . When RAF Halton closes (circa 2025), the Association wants to create a Heritage centre in St George's Church where the contents of the . 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. Our Heritage plans are extensive and likely costly. Many were soon commissioned rising quickly to executive positions on operational squadrons. 6d. In his memorandum, Permanent Organization of the Royal Air Force, which was presented to the House of Commons as a White Paper by Secretary of State Winston Churchill in December 1919, Trenchard placed great emphasis on the importance of training, particularly of skilled ground crew. If the information here has been helpful or you have enjoyed reaching the stories please conside making a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting or this site will vanish from the web. Sgt. One or two of the photos, have all the names on the back, a group, with names, is dated 28th Aug. Cosford. a week. 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. Many friends were made, lost and extremely difficult times were had. The types of missions which my squadron undertook while I was with them are described below: These targets were mainly coastal gun emplacements and launching sites for the V-weapons. These are a daily record of events in each Command or Force entered on form 540, often with appendices which contain documents illustrating and expanding the record. For example, a new training school was set up at Netheravon with 200 men, another was formed at Reading with 1,000, and one in a converted jam factory at nearby Coley with another 2,000, and there were many others, large and small. The Origins of Boy Service in the RFC and RAF. We can reunite you with your friends who served at RAF Apprentices and we have a wealth of information on different units, bases and ships in the site. Contact us if you think it should be reopened. 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. Journey through our timeline to discover more. Over 1,000 other 65 gallantry awards went to former aircraft apprentices and some 3000 were Mentioned in Dispatches. provided through resource and initiative training, field exercises at summer camps and the Apprentice NCO scheme. A world-class RAF hospital on the doorstep ensured their medical 20 and dental care were second to none, and spiritual needs were more than well looked after; but few enjoyed the compulsory church parades every other Sunday! Peter was an expert astro-navigator, in fact after we finished our operational service, he went to the Air Ministry and produced a training manual on the subject, which was used as a basic training manual for years afterwards. Monica was one of the first residents there. He ew in Shackletons with 224, 205 and 201 Sqns, and Nimrods with 201 Sqn as Air Electronics Leader and aircraft captain. WhatDoTheyKnow also publishes and archives requests and responses, building a massive archive of information. Considering they were the two professions most apprentices had spent three years avoiding at Halton and Cranwell, a surprising number became vicars and policemen. 2 Squadron (Airframes) 78th. He remustered to aircrew as an Air Signaller/Air Gunner in 1953 and was commissioned as an Air Electronics Ofcer in 1959. Recipients should note that e-mail traffic on MOD systems is subject to Welcome to Forces Reunited the place where you can find information and friends from RAF Apprentices. His reason for this was to ensure that boys committing offences both on and off the station could be dealt with expeditiously by the appropriate authority. 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. It is not just about the quality and depth of professional training but the development of personal qualities and friendships that have shaped the whole of our lives. To keep abreast of changes in RAF engineering practice, four different types of apprenticeships were introduced over the lifetime of the scheme. Ironically, many of the apprentices serving at this time were keen to see these symbols of their past heritage restored. They have set and maintained an extraordinarily high standard of efciency. I would love to know what happened to this very courageous lady. Although thousands of former apprentices had very successful careers in the RAF, many did not reach their full potential until life beyond the Service. Entry, September 1954. At the end of the 6 weeks training I was sent to RAF Halton. From the outset of his training he became a member of a society based on the orderly pattern of RAF life in wings, squadrons and flights, where he learned the give and take of community living, and developed a feeling for the customs and traditions of the Service. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. The Imperial War Museum holds all of his documents including his flying log, photographs of his funeral & personal potographs letters etc. 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. 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. We are now on Facebook. Sgt Samuel Butterfield destroyed eight enemy aircraft in 14 days of intensive operations in May 1940 accounting for four EA on a single day before being shot down himself over the Channel. Workshops entailed basic fitting, lectures on metallurgy, heat treatments etc. The Trenchard Museum aims to preserve and display items that relate to the history of Royal Air Force Halton. However, because the permanent barrack building 72 programme at Halton had fallen behind schedule, this entry was trained at Cranwell. Lord Trenchard was proud of, and took a keen interest in, his apprentices at Halton and visited them often at work and play. Age 15- 17 for a a three year course. It was in the earliest days of the aircraft apprentice scheme that the term Trenchard (or Halton) Brat came into vogue, initially as a term of derision used by old sweats who took a rather jaundiced view of these clever young upstarts who were destined for rapid promotion to corporal. Like this page to receive our updates. Download Thirty-eight years later he was promoted to Air Chief Marshal to be a member of the Air Force . 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. Thames Valley Police have concluded an investigation and agreed that such crimes did take . View as HTML, Please see attached response to your recent FOI request. This tribute is situated in front of the old schools at RAF Halton, near to St. Georges Church (hyperlink) and was unveiled by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on 31st October 1997 . Thus in late 1919 the Halton Apprentice Scheme was promulgated to Local Education Authorities, and entrance examinations were held in London and the provinces. If you can provide any additional information, please add it here. The first entry numbering 235 boys were accepted for three-year apprenticeships in January 1920 and began training at Cranwell, as accommodation at Halton had not been completed. He commanded the whole apprentice population and also enjoyed the privilege of commanding his Entrys graduation parade, and parades for visiting VIPs and Royalty. This meant contending with masses of search lights, flak, fighters, shot and shell. Records Search now. If you were a 'Trenchard Brat' and not already a member, why not join this elite . On 5th January 1942 she moved to RAF Tain near Thurso, a Fighter Station, she was Appointed Section Officer on 21st of June 1942. Keith Robinson. . Unfortunately these . The maximum age of recruitment of apprentices was raised to 18 and, exceptionally, 21. There is a label at the Imperial War Museum which reads;- While many of their colleagues were fighting in the air, thousands of former apprentices were working tirelessly on the ground to ensure their aircraft were in fighting condition. At the navigators order to go, I pushed the package out and she immediately followed. This payment, An Apprentice on a familiarisation flight in a Hawker Hart 1936, seems to the Committee to be unnecessary. 1 The curriculum was a mix of traditional schooling and technical apprenticeship in the various air force trades such as engine maintenance and repair, and airframe rigging. The first four intakes trained at Cranwell, and it was not until January 1922 15 that the first cohort arrived at Halton to become the 5th Entry. Records of the Royal Air Force relating to the operations of the air component of the armed forces. on to dismantling engines first De Havilland Gypsy engines, then Rolls-Royce Kestrel and Merlin engines and reassembling them, also Bristol Pegasus radial engines, carpentry, blacksmithing, pipework etc. For example: 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. In March 1920 No 1 School of Technical Training was established at Halton, the future home of aircraft apprentice training. 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. The Queen Inspecting the Escort Squadron, the 63rd Entry, escorted by Group Captain Don Finlay the parade commander. He became Sergeant 570858 of 209 Squadron RAF Volunteer Reserve. Top 10 most popular library books since 2016. Air CmdSecCS-RAFParliBusiness (MULTIUSER), Download a zip file of all correspondence, Employers from which applications originate, IT Apprenticeship and traineeship employers. 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. Dear Royal Air Force, When will the RAF conduct a full investigation into the sexual abuse and cover up of such by staff at RAF Halton during the years of it's existence. RAF Halton. Staff appointments involved operations, search and rescue, training and personnel management. With ever increasing numbers now volunteering for the RAF, the size of Halton intakes ballooned, in 1936 reaching over 1,000 boys per entry. The AET scheme ended in June 48 1993 with the graduation of the 155th Entry, which also marked the end of apprentice training in the RAF. There is no doubt at all in my opinion, that Halton and the Halton spirit have been a pillar of strength to the RAF all over the world. 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. concurrently with the TA scheme. 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. This one marked the graduation of the 20th Entry in July 1932. more so than on Mondays when they were usually faced with a crop of charges resulting from apprentices enjoying themselves beyond lights out on Saturday nights. Since then he has been Haltons historian and archivist and in 1995 he founded the Apprentice Museum, renamed the Trenchard Museum in 1999. She was on a on-way trip, we at least had a chance of getting home! In 1919, Air Marshal Lord Trenchard foresaw the need to produce a pool of skilled aircraft engineers for the RAF. Technical training at Halton was divided into three distinct, but closely co-ordinated departments: Trade, Academic and General Service Training. This kind of improvisation could not provide all of the men the RFC needed and rationalisation of the training machine became an urgent requirement. 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. The popularity of the site means that it is far exceeding available resources. Many former apprentices who trained as pilots and flight engineers continued to fly with civil airlines. We all owe a debt of gratitude for the apprentice training we received at Halton. With many apprentices now older than direct entry airmen, there was no need for any of the rules which governed the lives of their predecessors. 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. The Halton Apprentice label soon became synonymous with aeronautical engineering excellence, a reputation that rapidly gained international recognition particularly in the aircraft Industries. Thank you. From 1919 to 1993, the No 1 SoTT was based at RAF Halton and from 1920 until 1993 the School was the home of the Aircraft Apprentice Scheme. British Path video of the Apprentice training scheme at Halton in 1938. Here she met my Grandfather, Squadron Leader William Henry Edwards DFC. 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. 1 School of Technical Training at RAF Halton (see aircraft apprentice) which remained at the Station until it moved to RAF Cosford in the early 1990s. Passing out you had to average 80% on all subjects to pass out LAC (Leading Aircraftsman), 60% average to be AC1 (Aircraftsman 1st class), 40% to be AC2. 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. Run by Volunteers and powered by Alaveteli. The two views shown are the front and reverse faces of 'The Tribute'; a sculpture which is located in front of Kermode Hall, previously Patron - Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael Armitage - Obituary, The Royal Air Force Apprentices' Association (RAFHAA), the Old Haltonians, was. Supply Drops - again very small targets often just a map reference in the middle of a wood. While ex-Halton apprentices who became high achievers contributed much to its legacy, Trenchards original aim in founding the apprentice scheme was to produce a cadre of wellmotivated, highly trained airmen capable of becoming competent supervisors in the direction of work and control of men. Their adult status was recognised by the discontinuance of the apprentice NCO ranks and the removal of all apprentice insignia from uniforms. All of my Grandmother`s duties from now on were in Code & Cypher work. All apprentices studied the same mathematics, mechanics and engineering drawing syllabuses, but engineering science was tailored to suit an individuals trade. 1 School of Technical Training at Halton in southern England. He died in 1950, polio, having left the RAF in approx.1949. He trained at RAF Halton as an aircraft apprentice, known as Trenchards Brats. Finlay arrived at RAF Halton as an Apprentice in 1925. Royal Air Force HAA Help us protect your right to hold public authorities to account. He had always intended that the best of each Entry should be awarded cadetships at Cranwell, but were he alive today he would be amazed to discover that well-over 20% were commissioned, with 110 attaining air rank. They were woken with Reveille at 0630hrs, called on colour hoisting 18 parade at 0730hrs and sent to bed at 2145hrs. The RAFs previous reliance on maintenance by repair was being superseded by a new concept of repair by component change. The site has grown as people send in old photos of those days . If we wish to publish summaries on-line or in print, what are the restrictions? 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. Oct 2004. For many years this sign was displayed in a prominent place in each of the Workshops Bays. Passing out parades were always impressive. Need more information, contact the General Secretary by email to. We couldnt load the mail server logs for this message. However, because of its heavier build, the Sterling did not have the performance of the Lancaster and were eventually replaced by them on Main Force targets. The Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Hospital Halton, was the first Royal Air Force hospital to be built that was dedicated to air force personnel.Located on what was then the largest of the RAF camps at RAF Halton in Buckinghamshire, England, the hospital treated over 20,000 patients during the Second World War and was the first place in the world to use penicillin on a large-scale. 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. 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. Add a Name to this List. necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the department. You can help us achieve lasting recognition for ex-Halton brats by making a gift to RAFHAA in your will. On the few occasions she spoke about her war service she expressed that they were some of the best times of her life. Fortunately for thousands of apprentices yet to come, this point was not pursued. Get up and make beds, all blankets and sheets folded to make a neat sandwich. On school days we had various subjects including aerodynamics and technical drawing. Location. Halton was arguably one of the first aeronautical engineering colleges in the world and certainly the first in any air force. is the Royal Air Force's aircraft engineering school. But the cost issue resurfaced in a Commons debate in 1926 when MP, Sir Frank Nelson, pointed out that 230, which was estimated to be the cost of training an apprentice, is probably more than it costs a parent to send a boy to any of the four or five leading public schools of England. He went on to complain that, these apprentices at Halton get 1s a day pocket money, which, when they number 3,000, will cost the country 55,000 a year, and even now it costs between 30,000 and 35,000 a year. But, once again, the point was not pursued. The end of an era. Some of this Entry were only 16, officially still boys but now serving as airmen on the front line. 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. 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. AET Prevett, the Parade Commander, was so chuffed, he wore a wheel on both arms. it gained a reprieve with the introduction of the Apprentice Engineering Technician (AET) scheme. 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. He went on to say that apprentices would form 40% of all ground crews in the Royal Air Force, and 62% of all the skilled tradesmen. The first 400 RFC boy mechanics enlisted at Farnborough in May 1917, shortly followed by further intakes at Blandford. recording and preserving recollections, documents, photographs and small items. 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. What and where may we have access to such information? The aim of the two studies was to match the growing complexity of aircraft and their systems, particularly those associated with the projected TSR2, with ground crew who had the ability to diagnose faults in systems which cut across the traditional trade boundaries. Recent discoveries include six George Cross and thirteen George Medal winners among the former apprentice fraternity. 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. There was a lot of sport I did swimming, cross-country running and athletics. Joining the RAF as an aircraft apprentice at RAF Halton, Buckinghamshire. This Atlantic Star (1939-1945) was sent to the next of kin of Sergeant 570858 Dennison Pierce Broomfield, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, who was killed in action on 8 September 1942, aged 22 years, while serving with No 209 Squadron. 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. On the 13th of January 1931, a month shy of his 16th birthday, my father started a three-year apprenticeship at the Royal Air Force's No. With the rapidly growing numbers now joining the Service, thousands of ex-apprentices ,who had been corporals for years, suddenly found themselves racing through the ranks to SNCO and warrant officer, providing a vital source of experienced technical supervisors on front line squadrons, maintenance units and as instructors for the increasing number of technical training schools. 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. In January 1920, the 1st Entry of 235 recruits began their three-year apprenticeship at Cranwell, whilst permanent accommodation was being completed at Halton. The rear gunner reported seeing both parachutes open but as we were very low and had to fly straight on, that was all we saw.
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