Danny:-
What's in a name ?
Well, quite a lot I'd say. It is a revelation to me at least that the 5 AFS that I attended at RAF Oakington to learn the business of multi engine aircraft (the Varsity T1 in this case) was the very same 5 FTS formed in 1920 at Shotwick, becoming in turn 5 SFTS, 5(P) AFU, 5 SFTS, and 5 FTS, via Ternhill, Thornhill and finally Oakington, with types such as 504K's, Siskins, Harts, Oxfords, and Masters. Even the Vampires that were still there in the winter of 1962/3 now make sense, as the last SE course graduated to give way to we more mundane ME types.
HF Junior, you were just lucky !
Far be it from me to add a note of censure, Danny, least of all to your august self, but in my view there is no 'just' in the matter of luck. Luck is a prerequisite in any Service career in my view. In the period of unpleasantness that is the feature of this thread it most certainly was, and was a major ingredient in surviving it. In the more routine periods populated by the likes of HF junior and myself, it was still important in my view.
I was blessed with good fortune, even when it appeared at the time to be something different. £60 appeared as if by magic in my Bank account while at Oakington. Just as magically it disappeared, and it was only subsequently revealed to be expenses for attending Rolls Royce to learn the Dart engine that powered the then very new Argosy. My progress was not good enough for such a prize, and instead I was sent to 242 OCU Thorney Island to learn the very old Hastings instead. C'est la vie became whoopee when our postings came through at end of course; 48 Squadron Changi!
On the whole my philosophy, no doubt shaped by that good fortune, was simply to go with the flow. That it worked for me was no doubt 'just' luck. I know that the Good Lord is rumoured to help those who help themselves, but I'm not sure that view was shared by the obedient servants that were Commanded by the Air Board to send you hither and thither...