Originally Posted by
ImageGear
At the outset I will say that I intend no offence or slur by this question.
When I arrived as a fitter at 38Gp Benson in '71, I met a much older SAC tech who knew exactly what work was required and performed it well. He also exhibited initiative in developing solutions to problems that arose with systems and also where resources could be directed to best effect.
After we had done a number of overseas detachments together he told me that he had come through the RAF Boy Entrant route and had never applied for, or been offered, higher rank, or a fitters course.
Naturally, I enquired about the reasons, and he said that of his entry, a very large proportion had been given the option, by a court, to sign on to a Service, or be committed to a borstal or other "house of correction". Consequently he was considered as "unfit for promotion".
I did not ask about his personal circumstances.
I have heard rumours that this policy had been established, but I always had some doubts about the reasons why this would be government policy, and whether it could be accommodated within the legal framework.
Does anyone have definitive knowledge of this practice?
Thanks,
Imagegear (Not a Boy Entrant)
I was in the 38th entry of Boy Entrant telegraphists at RAF Cosford 1959-61 and never heard of anyone being given the choice of Borstal or Boy Entrant. Quite a few boys came from Dr Barnados or from broken homes, for some it was the first time that they had had a bed of their own. For others, like me, it was a means of escaping a small village in Derbyshire where there were few opportunities for travel or adventure