"Nursery Crews" in WW2
I had been generally aware of the term "Nursery Crews" being used to describe new crews on Bomber Command squadrons in the later years of WW2 who might be sent on one or two 'Gardening' (ie Mine-sowing) sorties before joining the main offensive. However, I've just spotted the term being used in the 10 Sqn F540 for 14 September 1940, and it pops up regularly after that. By and large that period seems to have been when the replacement of regulars who had flown for the first year of the war began on a significant scale - indeed, I also see that individuals began to be 'screened' from ops about that time.
The "nursery crew" term first appears in the narrative without explanation, as so often because those reading the 540s at the time knew very well what it meant. However, I assume that some kind of Command policy decision must have given rise to the usage, and wonder if anyone can steer me to where that might be found? It looks very much like a precursor of the various categorisation schemes that many of us would have known in post-war years.