Boy Entrants 39th to 49th Entries
 

If you are an ex-boy entrant in the above entry band I would love to hear from you, where you trained, what trade you followed and what Flt., Sqn. and Wing you were in.
I am trying to compile who we all were back then in the 1960s.

Best regards,

Don, ex 43rd Entry, D Flight, 2 Sqn. 1 Wing, RAF St Athan.
4259.

48th, airframe, er, umm, ahh - no that's it. ;)

Have you tried:
http://www.rafbeainfo.org.uk/

I was 38th Entry and was the organist at Cosford's PMUB church 1959-61. The padre did not tell me but when I passed out I found he had put me in for the sum of about 5 shillings for every service at which I had played - that's the main service and the Sunday school almost every Sunday for 18 months. It doubled my final pay parade and made the paying officer double check the pay sheet!

Hi Lyneham Lad,
I assume "er umm ahh" suggests that you can't remember. I can identify with that as the only way I can remember is from an old letter that I sent to my parents. I lost all my other information when it was destroyed at Changi.
A 48th entry rigger, I suppose that puts you at St. Athan to arriving January 1963 - a month after I left - possibly A or B flt. 1 Sqn. in the service number band ".19491.." if my entry is anything to go by.
The 43rd Service numbers I have assumed went from ".1944001" to about ".1944270" -ish so I also assume other entries were the same. I have not established though where Hereford and Cosford last 3's started. Maybe 300 to 600 for one station and 601 to 900 for the other but which was which? Perhaps someone will let me know? :ugh:
Thanks for your response so far.
Don

Hi Ian16th,

I have tried to contact someone to establish what information they have but it seems that I have to pay and join first when I don't know if it is likely to be helpful.
I have photos of most from my billet and there are only three that I cannot place and I am slowly but slowly sorting out the numbers thing.
I will see how it goes and give it a try if I can find out more from them.
Thanks for you input though - much appreciated.
Don. :ok:

DonExAir

I think that if you join the association, you will find that most of what you are attempting is already well documented and archived.

The association has a membership of over 1000, has an annual reunion, subgroups such as Entries and Trades also have reunions, it publishes a newsletter, maintains a website and we have a Yahoo mailing list where members world wide communicate and interact.

Why re-invent the wheel?

http://i818.photobucket.com/albums/z...16th/Wheel.jpg

Why only the 39th to 49th entries?

Aaron.

Well, I did include a ;) Maybe I should have included [Irony Mode] ;)
I still have all my Service documents and even remember the 'delights' of N Lines in the depths of the 1963 winter...

4t6th St Athan 1962-64 - Providing `reedin an ritin` advice to plumbers for over 50 years

:D

My brother joined 44th Entry Air Radar Mechanics (ARM) at Cosford in '61.

Hi Chevvron,

At last another training base in the early '60s! Do you know your brothers last 3 or at least his last3 band eg .1945...(301 to 600 or 601 to 900+)?
Maybe Hereford will post as well and I will know when I am. :ok:
Regards,
Don.

Aaron, Hi,

Only 39th to 49th - why? So I wouldn't get bogged down I suppose and it sort of covered the time that I was in boy service. Feel free though if you can enlighten me with bases and last 3s. It's great to hear who was where and when and to sort out the numbers allocations.
Regards, Don.

DonExAir
 

I only ask as I am 51st, enlisted Jan 64 (The last entry) and felt a bit left out of it;)
My number; W1950385.
My brother was 43rd Instruments General, St Athan.
His number; U1944274.
I know that 1950574 was 51st Telegraphist at Cosford.
1950004 was 50th, also Telegraphist at Cosford.

Pre WWII BE numbers started at 550000 in 1934 and finished with 5540027 (Not sure about the year but I imagine about 1941)
Post WWII BE numbers started at 1920000 in May 1947 and finished with 1950602 in 1964.

Aaron.

Aaron Hi again,
It was untidy to not carry on to the end with the 51st entry. It would have been logical. :confused:
Thank you very much for the information passed it was just what I needed to disprove my understanding of the numbering "system" (is there one!) I thought with my limited information at the time that the format went - 42nd entry=1943..., 43rd entry= 1944..., 44th entry=1945... et c but, it seems, NO. :confused::confused: Such is life!
Your brother must have been one of my squadron and probably D flight too.
His number also further erodes my understanding of even my own entry. I always thought that Peter Stevens (...4268) was the last number in both D flight and 2 squadron. I am (was) W1944259.
Does your brother have a spare copy of his pass-out journal or could he copy it for me if he still has it? I lost all my boy entrant and all my training documents thanks to "woolly bugs" out in Singapore. As an inst. gen. man he may well remember the clp. boy Westrop of the day.
What was your trade Aaron? Were you also D flight 2 squadron?
Thanks again for your most welcome input, it is very interesting and informative.
Perhaps I will hear from a Hereford one soon. I know one wrote a very enlightening book and he was 43rd at Hereford but no service number to further erode my theory. :(
Best regards,
Don.

Boy Entrants
 

46th Entry, Cosford, Air Radar, as far as I can remember A flight, 1 Squadron, 1 Wing.
Jan 1962 - July 1963
1946658

I have relayed that information for someone who cannot post on here.
I hope it makes sense.

DonExAir
 

Unfortunately my brother died as a result of a motorcycle accident in 1967 while stationed at RAF Colerne. So I cannot help there.
I was at Hereford training to be a Clerk Secretarial before I remustered to Airframes in 1969.

DonExAir

Ex 40th, D Flt (Instruments), 2 Sqn?, 2 Wing, St. Athan


W1941305


40th/1941 so fits with your numbering system thoughts.

DonExAir
 

Purely out of interest these were the 19***** allocation of numbers;

1900000 1910000 Sep 43 NI Non ATC
1910001 1919999 Not used 1913267 Nov 45 NI Non ATC
1920000 1925000 May 47 Boy Entrants
1925001 1930000 Sep 51 Boy Entrants
1930001 1950602 Jul 54 Boy Entrants
1950603 1960000 Not Allocated
1960001 1962999 Last No used 1962348 Oct 64 Craft Apprentices

Shack37
 

40th, D Flt (Instruments), 2 Sqn?, 2 Wing.

2 Sqn would be correct and 2 Wing as well as 40th were on west camp in proper blocks not slumming it in the old wooden huts on east camp. :(
If the 43rd are anything to go by, D flt would be correct as the inst. guys were with the armourers.
Thanks for the info Shack.
Don.

1945550 as far as I recall.

Aaron
 

Thanks for the extra info. Sad to hear about your brother.
Regards,
Don.

Handsfree
 

A man from Castle Donnington/East Midlands Airport. I was based there for a while in the 80s.
Yes, I am a little confused - not unusual these days - I assume that you are posting for another ex-boy.
It also looks as if he was commissioned later at some stage as his letter is at the end of his number not at the beginning. I wonder if it was just a matter of the letter being moved when he passed out of OTU? Do you know which entry he joined at Hereford. Was it 48, 49 or 50th?
Thanks for passing on his information, at last a Hereford Boy, I am getting there - maybe! :ok:
Best regards,
Don

DonExAir
 

I forgot to mention that I was Hereford.

Aaron.

40th, D Flt (Instruments), 2 Sqn?, 2 Wing.


Hi Don, we were still occupying the wooden huts at "graduation" (Nov 28th 1961). The move to 5* accommodation must have come later.

Thanks Aaron,
I do have that but thanks.
Don.

Shack37
 

Hi Don, we were still occupying the wooden huts at passing and leaving. The move to 5* accommodation must have come later.

It must have been the 42nd and/or the 44th that were pampered. ;)

Regards,
Don.

I was in the last entry of Air Radar Mechanics at Cosford, May 1962 to December 1963 Service Number 1947575. We had our first reunion in 2013 after 51 years!.

I was in the last entry of Air Radar Mechanics at Cosford, May 1962 to December 1963 Service Number 1947575.
Hi pmills thanks for the post. What was the entry number? I thought that 51st was the last but that was probably another base.
Regards, Don.

Well that was b****y silly of me to leave out the entry number. It was the 46th entry at Cosford. It was definitely the last of the Air Radar Mechanics, we were told that there were too many Radar mechanics and at a meeting held just before we passed out offered the chance to re-muster into a variety of trades. One or two took up the offer as I recall.

As an aside to all this I met an ex 13th entry (Cosford)air wireless mech .Lives in Bangkok ,I met him in my favorite second hand bookshop in Pattaya ,wants more of my old "Growler"copies!!

13th Air Wireless never went anywhere near Cosford.

All of their training was at Yatesbury.

pmills575
 

It was the 46th entry at Cosford. It was definitely the last of the Air Radar Mechanics, we were told that there were too many Radar mechanics and at a meeting held just before we passed out offered the chance to re-muster into a variety of trades. One or two took up the offer as I recall.

Thanks Peter/Paul/Patrick?!,
Did it only effect the Air Radar trade or did the boy entrants of other trades continue at Cosford until July '65, the 51st entry?
Regards,
Don.

There were probably to many AIR Radar Mechs.

I know of ARM's who had to re-muster to Ground Radar to get their fitters course.

This probably was at least partially caused by the decision in 1952 to centralise all B/E training at Cosford.
Cosford didn't have any facilities to train GRM's. The Yatesbury u/t GRM's that had not started 'gears' were re-mustered to u/t ARM's.
The move to Cosford was delayed until the 15th Entry, the last that included GRM's, had passed out in 1953.
It seems as though the idea of centralisation was soon changed as some trades were moved to St. Athen and Hereford.

BE Training Camps
 

I think the BE training camps were;

Hereford
Compton Bassett
Cosford
Kirkham
Locking
St Athan
Yatesbury


Aaron.

Aaron BE Training Camps
 

I think the BE training camps were;

Hereford
Compton Bassett
Cosford
Kirkham
Locking
St Athan
Yatesbury

Thanks for that info Aaron. Do you know when the last Boy Entrants passed out of each camp, which main trades and which S. of T.T. they were?
I have the details for St. Athan only.

Regards,
Don.

Hereford (3 S of TT)- 51st Entry (July?) 1965. Clerks/Suppliers/Cooks.

Thanks 4Mastacker,
Two down - five to go!
Don

Cosford 51st 1965 Telegs and Photogs?


I was 303rd Craft apps from May 65 and the 51st were still there.