RAF Rates of Pay - 1950's and 1960s

[Warmtoast]

I'm off to the National Archives tomorrow to do some long planned reseach. Assuming I have some spare time I want to see what we (the RAF) were paid in the 50's and 60's.

Despite an extensive online search of the NA's catalogue I can't find any relevant entries for Servicemen's rates of pay. There are plenty of files concering pay of the locally employed staff at most of the overseas locations where the RAF were located in those days, but not much else.

Anyone done reseach on the subject at the NA and can help with file department/category/references please?

Or should I be looking somewhere else?

TIA

[teeteringhead]

For Colindale rather than Kew, but newspaper or magazine advertisments or articles may be a "lateral thinking" way of finding out??

[airborne_artist]

Old copies of the appendix to the Navy list certainly carried details of rates of pay, allowances etc. The RAF had a sister publication.

Here's a 1938 Navy list appendix

[Audax]

Cranwell cadet 1964, starting pay 12/6 per day in old money, 62p in todays loot

[Wader2]

1961 officer cadet got £4/10/- week if on direct entry commissions B and C and a massive £5/10/- for the DEC A if they signed on to 38/16.

As a commissioned APO navigation student it was about £39 per month. As a qualified pilot officer I think it was about £100 per month in 1963.

In 1974 I seem to remember pay topping £10000 and in 1984 as junor spec aircrew it topped £20000. By 1994 it was perhaps well over £40000.

[debsh]

National Service AC2 was paid 4 shillings and six pence per day;
Acting pilot officer on probation was, at one point, 18s 6d rising to 21/- per day for a full pilot officer.
I think you will find that the RAF Museum at Hendon has all the Air Ministry Orders for pay and conditions.

[threepointonefour]

ask beagle.

[Runaway Gun]

You JUST beat me too it

[BDiONU]

Dunno if it helps but as an SAC my pay in October 1977 was £283.02 gross. Deductions - Accomodation £11.20 (£2.80 a week), Food £26.40 (93p a day), Nat Ins £10.68, Tax £51. Net £184

BD

[Nimman]

Check here for Aircraft Apprentice rates of pay in 1964

http://www.104thlocking.org.uk/image...esOfPayWeb.jpg

[A2QFI]

Cranwell Cadet Pay

In 1958 I saw about £30 a month in my college bank account. Some cadets who had come to Cranwell via 2 years at Halton were substantive corporals and got almost £80 a month - they were the Kings of the Hill! The bank was run by a civilian called Harry Hencher and had its own locally printed cheque book. Extra messing and standing order to Gieves for hat and gloves knocked it down to about £20 in hand. When I left the RAF in 1977 I was getting about £400 a month, in hand, as a Flt Lt with 7 years seniority and flying pay - that's why I left!

[John Purdey]

Raf Rates Of Pay

You haven't lived! In 1947, the daily pay for a Halton Apprentice was 1s and 6p per day. On the fortnightly pay parade, each lad was paid ten shillings in cash (sixpence was retained for laundry charges), and the balance was paid before each of the three long leaves. Needless to say most of the ten shillings cash went on boot polish, blanco and brasso!

[soddim]

The crippler in the early 60's was that officers had to be over 25 years of age to get married allowance (and quarters). Existing overseas married under 25 living in expensive private accommodation didn't leave a lot for the fun in life. But, in those days, at least the job was fun and people were not leaving in droves.

[A2QFI]

Overseas + under 25

Spot on Soddim! I was in Cyprus having a great time on 13 Sqn but I remember I was on about £180 a month then and paying downtown Limmasol rent. Money was short but the fun factor was high. Arif's Magic Bar and Niazzi's for good meals, Heroes Square for dubious cabaret and so life went on!

[Papa Whisky Alpha]

Rates of Pay 1950's and 1960's

I joined as National Service 16/1/1950, starting rate 4/- per day, 24 shillings a week after stoppages.
Signed on and received a further 21 shillings a week.
Made Corporal in 1952 pay was now 12/- per day.
Sergeant in 1954, pay now 19/6 per day. First large pay review April 1956 when my rate rose to from 19/6 to 27/0 per day (and national service men over the age of 21 years received another 6d per day).
On commissioning pay increased by 2/6 per day if your rate was above the rate of an APO

Happy days !

[Melchett01]

Shilling ??? What's that when it's at home? Is it similar to those coins that Tony Robinson keeps digging up in random fields in the Hebrides ?

Edited to add - as a more serious after thought, what was the view of military pay back in the 50s / 60s? Am I correct in understanding that it was more like 'pocket money' rather than a proper military salary? And did it generate the levels of harrumphing that are common today when talking about pay levels ?

[Warmtoast]

Thanks for all the replies and what remarkable memories you all have!

Nearest I think to what I received as an AC2 National Service recruit in 1951 are the rates quoted by Papa Whisky Alpha.

I'll ask at the info desk at Kew tomorrow for advice, rates must surely be somewhere in the Archives - I hope.

[Archimedes]

AIR 19/920 is 'service pay and and allowances' with a date range of 1958-1963.

AIR 75/48 is 'Personnel Policy: pay and conditions' 1949-52

Also try searching AIR 2 (use 'pay' as the search term) and there are an array of documents, covering pay for everyone from the Air Council to caretakers.

As a caveat, this doesn't mean the rates will be in the first two documents, but at the very least some clues should be hidden in there. First lesson of the PRO (as was) is never to take the file description at face value...

[Gainesy]

ask beagle

Now, now. The yoof on here have trouble with £.s.d., let alone Groats.

[forget]

Flying Review 1964.