Thanks very much for the answers. Wasn't Tony Benn a National Service pilot too? I suppose the national mindset was different then too, things weren't as complicated and as mentioned, the whole set up was just one big sausage factory. What strikes me too, is that then, a Group Captain had so much more responsibility. I wonder if anyone has been bored enough to work out how many aircraft a Groupie may have commanded then, and what rank you have to be now, to command a similar number.
f#ckwit says: My father was an NS pilot. .. he reports back to be told they were not recruiting Air Gunners anymore, he would have to be a pilot!
Thats what they tried to tell me too, but I wouldn't have any of it, no sirree bob. Gunner or nothing, I told 'em and they got the message in the end. Boy, the amount of times I did bunny hops around Catterick airfield laughing at those plonkers flying overhead in their Lightnings and Buccaneers and shiny Tornados.