A resounding "Here, here" from me, Icare9. I certainly do not read this thread as some sort of alternative to a WW2 Comic book, expecting it to be full of daring-do and heroic over-coming of impossibly dangerous odds. Rather I see it as the long march of every-man, as evidenced by the description of huge reception centres, the many initial training wings, basic flying training schools that circumvented the globe, ditto the advanced ones, operational training units that used long forgotten synthetic aids to teach the life or death skills before they had to be used for real, and of course the reality of Service life, seemingly inexplicable decisions that frustrated the burning desire to get to grip with an enemy that had brought so much misery to the world.
Danny as always says it best:
Yet in the wake of the shining knights at the head of any column, there must always trudge the files of humble men-at-arms, the "spear carriers"; their contribution to the battle is every bit as vital.
So come on, men-at-arms, this isn't a race to finish first. It is the minutiae, the detail, the "oh, by the way..." afterthoughts that are the very essence of this thread. So back-track, go on into peacetime, discuss arcane aircrew ranks that most of us have never even heard of, just don't say "job done, nothing more to add" and cease posting.
For myself this is an exercise in vicariousness. It fell upon your generation to rise to the challenge of the military dictatorships, not mine. Inevitably one wonders how well ours would have done. The obvious answer is no doubt, well much the same, but in your posts we discern the personal qualities that seemed to have been required, perseverance, determination, yet being resigned to the hand you're dealt with and an having an air of diffidence that yours was but an insignificant part of an enormous whole.
I remain as convinced as ever that this nation was blessed with the right generation in place at the right time. Gentlemen, I salute you all and humbly beg to thank you all for being there.