大象传媒

When I was 19 years of age, getting on for 20, I volunteered for air crew duty . I was living at home with my mum and dad in Mottingham, at the time and I'd worked putting up air raid shelters. I had only been doing this for a short time, until I was called up.

I took the train upto Euston House where I was sat in a waiting area with lots of other young men. I had to sit an entrance exam which involved maths and english. Then I had a thorough medical which included measuring the length of your legs because they needed this in case you were going to become a pilot. After this I had an interview. In fact this all took place over a day and a half, and I came home that night, and went back the following day to hear if I'd been accepted.
We were all sitting in this big open area and a clerk came out and said I'd been accepted for air crew duty and I was given a form which marked off what I was accepted for which was wireless operator airgunner.
Naturally I was pleased and I went home and waited for call up.

It was a few months before I was called up . Firstly I went to Padgate in Warrington, to be kitted out. Then I went to Blackpool where I was billeted with a number of other chaps and we were placed into normal homes in the area. We were housed with a middle aged couple for a couple of weeks, for some reason this didn't work out and we were moved to another billet. I spent 4 months at Blackpool doing basic training and studying the morse code. On the front of Blackpool promenade we did all our arms drill and normal drills. This was during the winter months and we had snow.

We used to go to Burtons, in the High Street and they had a 1st Floor room just for us, kitted out with desks and chairs, about 20 of us. We were tested regularly for speed, starting at 4 wpm. A corporal would march up and down either side to check we weren't cheating. We were only allowed to make one mistake and then your out. 10wpm was the passing out speed, this took us about three months to achieve this speed, and then we stayed an extra month because we couldn't be taken at the next base.

By the time I went to Yatesbury in Wiltshire I was doing 14wpm this was a technical school including radio and further morse training and procedure. We had to arrive at 18 wpm before we could pass. This was a proper RAF camp and we lived there. We had technical instructers. These were previously Post Master General operators having acquired the certificate.
We had morse sending and receiving. I was there for three months and then I was posted to an operational training unit called Catfoss in Yorkshire. I spent five months there doing daily inspections of aircraft radios before they took off. Whilst I was there I took an exam and was upgraded to an AC1. From there I was transferred to South Kensington. We stayed in a block of flats close to the Albert Hall
alongside the park. The first floor of the South Kensington Museum was fitted as a radio laboratory plus classrooms. We were taught by RAF instructers, sergeants and officers. I was taught radio from a-z. In the Western Galleries we studied morse code.
I was there for 4 months. It was considered an air maintenance course. On completion of the course I was transferred to Madley in Herefordshire where I did my flying course and I passed out as an LAC wireless operator air crew. Thats where I got my certificate. I was there for 3 months. From there I went to Mona, Isle of Anglesey, North Wales, where I did my air gunnery training. We had a three week wait there before training, and I was the only LAC in my group so I got to work in the office with the camp sergeant, while the others in my group had to do the gardening! The actual course was 6 weeks. From there I went to Christchurch, where all the aircrew went, pilots and navigators.
I was only there for a few days to be transferred on to Chigwell in Essex there we were formed into groups to go whereever necessary. The initial group I was in was 30 strong. 12 wops, 2 cipher sergeants, 1 officer, wireless mechanic, electrician, 1 cook, 2 despatch riders, 2 transport bods, a sergeant wop, a corporal wop (charlie mansfield) a good friend, 2 general duties, and 4 others.

We left Chigwell and finished up outside Whipsnade Zoo we set up camp there under canvas, and thats where I met my future wife Edna, she was 17 and in the Land Army.
I was 21/22.

I was regrouped at a drome near Bognor, into Tactical Airforce 4 and we were the first group to follow the army overseas.

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