Old RAF recruitment ads
 

I seem to recall a thread showing the old RAF recruitment ads that appeared in the daily newspapers in years gone by. Does anybody have a link?

Cheers

4T, no, but I recall a moan by Flt Eng whose son was applying to join the RAF. He observed that if you read the Times or the Telegraph and had 5 O-Levels you could become an officer. If you read the Mail or Express and had at least 4 O-you levels could become NCO aircrew

Higher level recruiting was via newspapers rather than AFCO with application direct to Adastral House; AFCO was aimed at airmen.

I remember the Thread discussion, but don't have an instant answer.

PN, I'm almost sure I started with a coupon cut from the Telegraph! :)

MPN, quite.

I think there's been a few similar threads over the years. Here's one example:-

http://www.pprune.org/military-aviation/510178-1980s-raf-recruiting-

See Post #10 in the link above.

This website has got some:
Historic British Aviation Advertisements Archive - Search Results

The only recruiting advert I needed in the early 1960s was made of polished aluminium, had two engines but only one intake, and almost immediately after takeoff it went vertically up from the runway at Farnborough with flames coming out of its jet pipes. :cool:

What more could a young lad ask for? :ok:

Is this the same one MG?

The Advertising Archives | Magazine Advert | WRAF Royal Air Force | 1960s

http://www.advertisingarchives.co.uk...orce/1960s.jpg

Slightly different PN, but much the same effect.

Where's Pontifex when we need him ?
Captain of a Valiant at ( was it 23) ?

After leaving the MN and thinking I'd have to be a power station engineer, I joined the RAF as a result of reading an ad by the FAA for helicopter pilots :}

NRU74, any V-bomber and only 5 O-levels.

Would YOU trust a 23 year old today with a hydrogen bomb? 20 year AEO, 21 year old copilot and Nav radar and the old man on the crew, a 25 year old plotter?

Especially as it was Banfield in that advert!


The original PPRuNe thread on the topic included a link to a library of old RAF recruiting posters; unfortunately that library has now been discontinued.

And the biggie was that 42 days leave. At the time a civilian might get two weeks. Sadly that 42 days never changed whilst civilian holidays increased to 4 weeks and even 6 and the working week was set at less than 40.

Of course many now work a 24/7 economy.

Pontious Navigator
'Would YOU trust a 23 year old today with a hydrogen bomb? 20 year AEO, 21 year old copilot and Nav radar and the old man on the crew, a 25 year old plotter.'

How incredibly patronising.. Why not, if they were correctly trained?

Not really patronising Lockstock.Just a pragmatic observation I think.

Whereas I joined the RN/FAA as a helicopter pilot after deciding Cranwell was not the best offer ;)

Didn't get Sea King carrier day/night (including 600lb bomb) command until 23, but joined a bit later than the likes of Grayson who still bangs on about how young he is :p

I disagree. Can you give me a logical reason why you wouldn't trust a trained Service person of that age with such responsibility?

I believe he is marvelling at the memory that they were - not complaining about it.

Thanks for the support. In today's Air Force how many 23 year old second tourists are there like that?

I recall a trip in a Dakota, the captain was pilot officer and the other passengers, mostly single seat jocks all looked worried. After a run and break arrival they all opted to RTB by road.

...and the a/c were service by 17 year old former Boy Entrants, supervised by 19 year old Cpl's.

The Crew Chief's were old men of about 30.

It seems to come round about every three years. There was, actually, an earlier one which, thankfully, seems to have become lost in the mists of time!

... and the aircraft recovering in 10/10 clag were talked down by a 19-yo WRAF Controller ;)

In the late 1940s there was an advert 'Ginger's back - join him in the RAF', or very similar wording.

I had always wanted to join the RAF but I went out to Rhodesia with my parents when I was seventeen. Three years later there was an advertisement in the Rhodesia Herald put in by the RAF for pilots. Three British O levels, Maths, English and a science subject or equivalent were the educational requirements so I applied.

I was successful and on the 8th April 1960 I was attested into the Royal Air Force on a DC(B) commission.

I arrived on the VForce after flying training and even though I was on tankers I was severely disenchanted so I exercised my option to leave after five years IAW my contract.

That's when I found out that the DC(B) scheme had been terminated on the 1st April 1960 so I wasn't on any scheme at all and no, they wouldn't let me leave.

This impinged badly on my brownie points so I was pushed off to helicopters so instead of flying around the world above 8/8ths cloud I flew around it at 500 feet.

Totally stunning! What a result!
You got the big jet time for later and then the fun flying on rotary.

As I said before, I'm an ex MN engineer.
An old Chief, with whom I correspond, recollects a guy who'd just passed his 1st class Board of Trade engineer certificate and was, within a day headhunted to be chief engineer. They were very short of diesel chiefs. He was 28yo.

I rather like this early 1920's ad.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r...ps26db0aa0.jpg


...what happy days they were when one could see the world and fly cutting-edge technology!

Far East Driver
 

I'm a bit confused by your reference to DC (B) - did you mean Direct Entry Commission?

When I applied to join in 1965 the DEC ( B ) was offered, as were DEC ( A ) and ( C ). A meant a commitment to 38/16 point, B allowed the individual an option to leave at either 8 or 12 years from joining and C offered a further option to leave after only 5 years. The option was the individual's and not the service.

I did hear the occasional tale that co-pilots on the Herc' would not get a command unless they waived their 8 year option well before the period stipulated in their original choice.

Time to embarrass one of our members again (I'm not saying who!)

V-Force Reunion - Gallery

(top row, far right) A couple of other V Force related recruiting posters on the top row as well.

Great days, captain of a Valiant at 25! Must have been an attractive proposition for a school leaver in 1963.

TTN
No faces I recognised, but one a/c I worked on.:ok:

Brian, DC preceded DEC for Supplementary List. I believe the upper age limit was 41 but it was believed once over 40 you were at a disadvantage in the job market so they changed to 38/16 and added the E to avoid confusion.

TTN, the Swinderby one reminds me, we had a Victor at South Cerney. Very impressive, hadn't seen one flying before and all we could do was swivel eyeballs to max up.

QUOTE:

and the aircraft recovering in 10/10 clag were talked down by a 19-yo WRAF Controller

Gracious me!

Whenever was 10/10 phased out, all I can remember is Oktas?.

Oktas [eighths] were introduced simply because it was considered easier to divide the sky in the mind's eye that way. How on earth could tenths be estimated?

They were both similar except the DEC did not have the five year option. Apart from that it was the same £1,500 at eight years and £4,000 at twelve.

I remember a recruiting advert from about 1976, in the magazine of the I Mech E (sorry don't have any link or reference to it) but found it memorable as it featured a mate from the polytech we both attended.

I believe he ended up as a Group Captain so it did not do his career any harm and nor did the 'ordinary' (no honours, 2.2,2.1 etc.) BSc in mechanical engineering we both obtained.

FED, there was a 5 year option.

DEC A was a straight 38/16 with the bonus of an extra £1/week, an extra 20%, but in cash terms £16!

DEC B with 8, 12 and 38/16 options

DEC C SSC 5 years. This taster commission was offered to very few, essentially good eggs who wouldn't sign on for longer in the hope they would extend.