RAF Initiative Tests

[binbrook]

At ITS in 1952-3 (Kirton Lindsey for grading and then Jurby) there were tales doing the rounds that the RAF had run Initiative Tests which sent the young hopefuls out with nothing apart from a 1250 and 6d (sometimes it was 2d for the phone) and instructions to get as far away as possible within 48 hours. The story went, and we were assured that it was true, that the tests were abandoned after one or two of the more ambitious had made it not just to Land's End or John o' Groats but to Iceland or even North America - courtesy of the USAF's MATS naturally.

Question: did it ever happen? And if it did, how far did anyone go?

[Herod]

Not sure about that, but back in '65 we were woken at some ongodly hour, bundled into a lorry and dropped somewhere in Gloucestershire. We were dropped in twos, with various instructions. Ours was to go to Willie Lott's Cottage, obtain a postcard, and get it signed by one of the staff. First question we asked each other "Who the f**k is Willie Lott?". We were however the first pair back, at 2 the next morning, having learnt a lot about Constable and the kindness of strangers.

[Wander00]

Certainly happened at CCF camp at Tern Hill in very early 60s

[FantomZorbin]

In 1964, at South Cerney(SC), we were told that there would be no initiative test for us as a student a few courses ahead of us had blagged himself onto RAF Fairford. He explained the mission he was on and the USAF decided it would be a 'good idea' to put him on the jump seat. On arriving at an airbase (Edwards or Andrews ?) the cadet rang the CO at SC to see if he had won.
The downside was that the RAF insisted that the adventurous soul stayed exactly where he was and was not to accept the offer of the USAF to fly him back. He was to await the Brittania being diverted to pick him up - big sense of humour failure.
On return to SC the hapless lad was roundly bollocked and re-coursed because there was quite a wait for the Brit.
There again it might all have been a load of b-*/*/ks spun by the DISTAFF.

[nimbev]

There again it might all have been a load of b-*/*/ks spun by the DISTAFF.

In the same way that during the outdoor survival/ escape and evasion phase in the Black Mountains the South Cerney staff (1962) put it about that the SAS would come down from Hereford and participate - so woe betide you if you were caught. What actually happened was that one flight was detailed off to double back from a night navigation exercise and raid the camp shouting 'SAS' and other unlikely battle cries.

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

Happened at ATC Camp too... We were at Thorney Island and were dumped in groups around the countryside. I was the "Nav" of our lot and got us well and truly lost! I can't publish what my CO said when we eventually returned but some of the words I had never heard before!

[Capot]

RAF Initiative, like Military Intelligence, is a contradiction in terms. So they had to abandon it, see?

[FantomZorbin]

............

[diginagain]

Originally Posted by binbrook

Question: did it ever happen? And if it did, how far did anyone go?

Stuck for something better to do, one AAC Sqn Commander gave his troops just such a challenge. ISTR two never came back.

[4Greens]

Fleet Air Arm escape and evasion in the early 60's. We set off in Snowdonia and a Landrover driven by a Welshman farmer stopped and asked what we were doing. We said we were avoiding the Army and he said hop in lads and hid us in his barn till the finish and fed us. We walked back over the line and then over the line to finish. His kids enjoyed all our emergency rations. Many of our contempories were captured and given a hard time. Escape and evasion exercises were soon abandoned as too many pilots were out of action from sprains, colds etc.

[binbrook]

FantomZorbin's tale is remarkably similar to the stories doing the rounds in my time - they obviously lasted! What I'd really like to find out is whether they were a 'folk-memory', embellished and garbled, of something which really had happened somewhere. In my time there were plenty of Survival Courses and ditto Escape and Evasion (sometimes a mixture of both - Bad Kohlgrub of happy memory!) but no-one was ever stupid enough to say get as far away as you can.

Surely there's an aged aviator out there who knows something about it!

[Fareastdriver]

Same story at South Cerney in 1960.

[etsd0001]

It happened when I was in the ATC. During a summer camp at RAF Oakington (Varsity's) one day we were dumped at various locations around Oakington (Exercise Manmaker) and briefed that we were downed aircrew in enemy territory with the authorities looking for us but the locals were friendly.

So armed with a map and a clue we had to find our way to the next check-point where we were given a clue to the location of the next check-point and so on until we found our way back to Oakington. Whenever we saw a vehicle approaching us we had to hide just in case it was 'the authorities'. One bloke dived into a ditch that was deeper than he was tall and broke his ankle.

At one point our group got a lift on the back of a locals tractor/trailer to close to the next check point, passing a couple of other groups on the way. When they got to the check point they "grassed us up". The result was we got extra points for using our initiative and they lost points for not doing so!

[romeo bravo]

Such a shame we can't do that know in the ATC

Do remember an Easter Greens Camp at Folkestone a couple of years ago when a nitex went slightly Pete Tong.
Groups were asked (told) to navigation aound the training area, with map and compass (and radio for safety.......).
We could hear one group getting quieter and quieter, so we send out a staff team to track with no luck. So staff went mobile in LRs and even Cdt SNCOs got involved.
Eventually the little darlings were found after we asked them to highlight landmarks they could distinguish (remember this is night time). The reply on the radio was "we are near a mast with a red light on top"; the otherside of Hawkinge. How we laughed, not.....

[Corsairoz]

I can remember a night exercise at an ATC Summer Camp, maybe in 1970 or so from, I think, RAF Gaydon (Varsities?).

If my memory serves.....

We were all dumped in groups of about 6 on a moonlit night, with one torch, from the back of a truck with a map and instructions to 'plant the bomb' at the base of a telegraph pole in a specific field. (I cannot remember the physicality of the bomb, perhaps a small empty can) The CCF Squadron at the same summer camp were the defenders. (I cannot put here what the ATC assumed the letters 'CCF' really stood for....)

The rules were to be the same as touch rugby once we were in the target field.

Of course the ATC had, at best, a strained relationship with the CCF and having accidentally met up with another ATC group and becoming a force 12 strong we decided a full on frontal assault (once detected), legging it across the field, shouting our best war cries as the best strategy. Big blokes at the vanguard, little blokes running with the 'bomb' behind.

However on identifiying and approaching the target field, our considerable stealth skills failed us miserably while still some distance from the target.

About 50 yards from the target pole a meeting of minds occurred and a pile of bodies soon developed from a rugby like scrum, into a full blown melee with all gentlemanly rules forgotten.

The 'judges' shouting at us made no difference and, once separated, (some bloodied, some bruised and some with questionable future parenting ability), we were all disqualified and received the summary b@ll@cking the following morning while trying not to laugh.

Great fun, a real lesson in life and so far away from what would be allowed today.

Sigh...happy times.

C

[ShyTorque]

I once escaped to Australia. Unfortunately, my wife used her initiative and found me.

[Pom Pax]

I also heard all these tales but being 3 years younger than "binbrook" they had grown. But a commonality was all good lifts were curtsey of the USAF.

[CISTRS]

Late 50's as an ATC Cadet (London)

I had to reach HMS Victory at Portsmouth, get the signature of the Duty Ossifer.
Having heard rumours of strange Naval customs, on arrival I was concerned that the CPO instructed me to be lashed-up!

Had a great dinner in the ratings mess, bed and breakfast and on my way in the morning.

Unharmed.

[Exascot]

On BFT we were inevitably dumped in the snow on a moor in Yorkshire in just flying kit and a parachute. The OS map issued had been cut so there was no information as to what was to our east. There was clearly something there that the DS didn't want us to know about. As soon as they had retired to their comfy B&B we decided to do a recce. One of our 5 man team claimed that it was not playing the game and refused to go with us. After a 5 mile night trek through the snow we found a very upmarket pub with a restaurant. We were filthy, wet and decidedly scruffy also we had no money. One of our number was RN. Turned out that the Landlord was retired Fleet Air Arm. We were not allowed in the dining room but our jackets were taken to be dried, steak and chips were served to us in a corner room with many pints of beer and we were asked to just send a cheque when we got back to base. His rather delectable daughter was told to drive us back in his Land Rover along with enough sandwiches to last us for a week. When we got back our squeaky clean colleague initially said that he would not touch the huge picnic but succumbed in the end. He made it to AVM Is there a moral in this story here ?

[Argonautical]

On an ATC camp at RAF Lindholme. We had to attack an enemy camp which was a large concrete water tower. We were given a map, bundled into an RAF truck and after 30 mins or so, it stopped, we got off, driver pointed to a water tower in the distance and said "That's your target". So we we went, not bothering to look at the map, we only realised when we got there, that it was the wrong tower! We were also told that the "enemy" were out looking for us in Chipmunks so every time when came over, we all jumped into ditches to hide.