Gaining An R.A.F Pilots Brevet In WW II

[Danny42C]

Danny goes back to the Very Beginning.

harrym,

(Your): "What did you say to affront Sir Basil E ?" The whole sad story is on #3713 p.186.

Looking back on those far-off wartime days, I am curious about the two routes that were open to the air-minded youngsters who were anxious to "do their bit" (preferably as pilots or aircrew) in the RAF.

In your #5514, p.178, you say:

"Re age, I enlisted in August 1942 just short of my 18th birthday". I had my 18th in November '39, so I am almost three years ahead of you in the war time-frame. Conscription for men between 18 and 41 (IIRC) was introduced immediately war broke out, but of course it needed quite some time to put into effect. After we all had first to register (do you remember the little folded "National Registration Identity Cards" ?).

Then, of course, batches of people were only called up as the training machine was ready take them. First, all the Appeals against call-up and the Conscientious Objectors had to be heard, and those in Reserved Occupations weeded out and sent home. As for the rest, although I understand you could state a preference for the Service (and Trade ?) you wanted, the decision of the Recruiting Office was final (from about'43 ?, the worst-case-scenario was to be picked, by lot, as a "Bevan Boy" - down the coal mines !)

Although I was in theory liable for call-up from the date of my 18th birthday, in practice I think the 20 yr olds went first. In any case, I had some time to play with. I could "jump the gun", and apply for service as aircrew in the RAF Volunteer Reserve, or wait for later call-up and state a preference. This was a high-risk strategy. IIRC, some 60% of the intake went into the Army, the remaining 40% divided roughly equally between RAF and RN, and you could never tell which way the cat would jump when your turn came round.

And in my case, the stirring exploits of the RAF in '40 tipped the balance - for me and many another young man - and I applied to the VR in October of that year. When was my age group called-up ? I don't know (the rest of my story is in these pages).

For some reason, which I do not fully understand, in the paperwork the RAF administration kept the VRs in a separate pigeonhole from the call-ups. Up to the time I went abroad, we had little 'VR's sewn below our shoulder eagle tabs; the officers had little brass 'VR's on their lapels. When I came back in '46, these had all gone (but the remnants of the pre-war Auxiliaries, who had been embodied on the outbreak of war, were allowed to keep their 'A's on lapel or shoulder to the end: I thought this unfair). For all practical purposes, of course, we all lived (and many died) together, on the same pay rates, as "Hostilities Only" men.

A good illustration of this working in practice is the sad little list, kindly supplied by Icare9, of the last resting place of one of my room mates at ITW (Ron Sweetlove - RIP):

"6 of the crew are in Rheinberg, don't know if the 7th successfully baled out or if he was RCAF etc.....

CHAPPELL SFW 625153 100 SQDN 08/04/1943 ROYAL AIR FORCE
GRIMSHAW CJ 649407 100 SQDN 08/04/1943 ROYAL AIR FORCE
JENKINSON H 1025847 100 SQDN 08/04/1943 RAFVR
KNOWLES MH 1575223 100 SQDN 08/04/1943 RAFVR
MONTIGUE RJB 1331520 100 SQDN 08/04/1943 RAFVR
SWEETLOVE RS 1029829 100 SQDN 08/04/1943 RAFVR
Looks to have been one of the 6 Lancs lost that night

EDIT: Ouch! Looks as if 100 Squadron lost their C.O. on this aircraft...

McKINNON, JOHN ARNOTT. Rank: Squadron Leader
Service No: J/4965. Date of Death: 08/04/1943. Age: 27.
Regiment/Service: Royal Canadian Air Force. 100 (R.A.F.) Sqdn
Grave Reference: Coll. grave 2. E. 9-19.Cemetery: RHEINBERG WAR CEMETERY

Additional Information: Son of John Donald and Ruth Rebecca McKinnon, of Red Deer, Alberta, Canada".

(My) Notes: Two of the six of the (almost certainly) Sergeants are 'RAF'. At that stage of the war, they would be wartime entries who'd been lucky to get their choice, been drafted into the RAF and then volunteered for aircrew (all aircrew were volunteers, however they came in). The other four 'RAFVR', had come in my way. We seem to have had separate number series, too.

The S/Ldr would almost certainly have been the pilot (and been a Flight Commander - the 'C.O. ' would have been a W/Cdr.) It follows that Ron had been "washed out" as a pilot at some stage and was now (maybe) the Nav.

"Additional Information" makes the sad story suddenly personal - just one more family left heartbroken among thousands round the world in those days.

harrym, things may well have been very different three years later - how was it in your day ?

Cheers, everyone, Goodnight.

Danny42C


"Luck" was the Name of the Game.