National Arboretum - RAF Boy Entrant Memorial
I'm posting this here because many RAF Boy Entrants were groundcrew and quite a few became drivers, airframe and other varieties of aircrew; this was particularly true of the pre-1939 Boy Entrants.
The section of the National Arboretum's guidebook devoted to the RAF Boy Entrant Memorial states "Many of the boys came from orphanages and underprivileged or troubled backgrounds while others were offered the choice between joining the RAF or being given a prison sentence."
I agree that many of the boys came from orphanages and from under-privileged or troubled backgrounds but I was incensed by the claim that some were given a choice between the RAF and a prison sentence. There is not a shred of evidence to support this claim and I understand that the RAF Boy Entrant Association has contacted the National Arboretum about this claim.
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Bruce Fletcher
38th Entry (Telegraphist) Boy Entrant 1959-61
Stronsay, Orkney