nimbev, very true. The AT had to be pre-booked with Transport Command for the no-notice Bomber Command exercise
It says something of the size of the RAF just how much the different Commands were totally separate entities.
AFAIK we never knew when the Micky Finn was to be called. There were lots of 'blocked' dates such as the GCE dates, bank holiday dates, major exercises like Kingpin and Coop.
I recall one MF when Command got it wrong and scheduled the exercise during the second week of A-level exams. There were a few disgruntled people but no exceptions were made either by the station or the examination boards.