For background reading
In 1956 a fair proportion of pilots and all navigators passing out of No 1 Initial Training School at Kirton in Lindsay were continuing their training in Canada, With the winding down of the program in Canada the last navigators to take part past out of 1 ITS in March 1957 and pilots in May. I was as part of that May course and was p*ssed off by having missed the nav cut off by 8 weeks.
Now all cadets passing out of 1 ITS became Acting Pilot Officers so travel to Canada was 1st class on Cunard. However on arrival in Canada they lost their exalted status and were treated as cadets in common with all the other NATO students. As such they were billeted in groups of 8 with no two students having a common 1st language. On successfully completing their Canadian training R.A.F. students (now again APOs again though having been paid as such all the time) had further training to operate under European conditions. For the navs this course was 12 weeks.
My school mate traveled Liverpool Halifax and returned New York Southampton on the Mauritania to be at 2 ANS Thorney Island at the same time as me.