My father was called up in 1941 at the age of 35. He was accepted by the RAF and did 3 weeks initial training at RAF Cosford. Followed by about 3 months at No 1 Initial Training wing at Cambridge. Then about a month at Air Ministry Code and Cypher School (which I know to be at Headington Oxford). Before being posted to RAF Takoradi as a C and C Officer. I would like to know more about the day to day life during this period, any bits of info would be gratefully received. Thank you. I intend to start another thread on the subject of Takoradi, just to keep it neat!
As a start point for you, he would have spent the first three weeks being kitted out, inoculated / vaccinated and being introduced to service life (RAF Structure, Discipline, Square Bashing and the like). The next posting is interesting as I understood that only aircrew candidates were posted to the ITW. Do you know if he was being trained in one of the aircrew trades? Regards Pete
Hi Pete, Thanks for your quick reply. The entry reads ' Authority-CPL32/41... Unit-No 1 ITW (the 1could be a 7 ,handwritten).... Area- TTC... With effect,24/10/41... Special remarks re Duties...P, Supy, Admin Duties. I understand that 'Supy' means supernumery and assumed that he was just working in an office.He was a former grammar school boy and was working in a bank on call up,he was also older than many born in 1906 Regards, George
Can you list the entries in the mustering section and let me know how the dates tie in with his postings. Regards Pete
Three weeks for induction..... basic training,jabs,lectures etc seems too short a period. Usually inductees were kitted out at a Reception Centre which took a couple of days and then would be posted on to another station for basic training.But some Reception Centres also were used for basic training so the induction procedure and basic training would be conducted on one station. The question perhaps is was George's father fast tracked and commissioned but this would appear to be odd as all inductees received basic training and then would be posted for Trade Group training,or ITW training as the case might be....some might have not progressed beyond Aircrafthands.Usually the commissioning procedure took place after structured training for those who were recommended and successfully completed a commissioning selection. As regards Cosford,apart from aircraft storage,tropicalisation of Spitfires and acting as a receiving unit for Spitfires from the Spitfire factory at West Bromwich,its primary role during the war was the training of airframe and engine mechanics No 2 School of Technical Training. Cosford. For many,Cosford was the station to be posted to for technical training after basic training and others already in service would be subject to further training as new engines types were introduced or mechanics being reclassified to fitters. I find it odd that Induction of recruits is suggested as being undertaken at Cosford. As I see it Cosford never undertook this role...would be interesting to see George's father's service record.He appears to have served in the RAF Administrative Branch....perhaps "Supy" might be the abbreviation for "Supply"......"TTC" perhaps "Technical Training Centre"
Harry I agree that this one is a bit confusing, that's why I was interested in his mustering(s). I was wondering if he was on admin duties at No. I ITW (having completed induction). It would be useful for George to provide us with a copy of the service record to see if we can come to some sort of conclusion for him. Regards Pete
Cheers George - there is some good info already provided but you really need to scan the pages you have and add them to this thread so more precise answers can be provided. I have a couple of year's worth of the unit history pages for RAF Takoradi I can flick through once I have a name to look for and a date.
Thank you Gentlemen for your interest. It seems that as you say a scan of the original mighy help you. With regard to Cosford his record shows, as the first entry, ..Unit....Offs. Sch.Cosford...w/eff 3/10/41.. Duties, P) Off Sch Course so it would suggest that for some reason he had been selected for officer training. I have just looked again at the record and see , on the other side, that on 10/8/41 he was ' Granted comm.for the emergency as A/P/O on prob. A.S.D Sch. RAFVR w/eff 3/10/41' this was confirmed 3/12/41. I will do something about a scan. Best Wishes George.
From the entry,it looks as if George's father attended Officers School Cosford....duties Pilot Officers Schools Course Etc .....A/P/O on prob....entry would read Granted commission for the emergency as Acting Pilot Officer on probation.......there should be an entry for this in the London Gazette around 3 October 1941. ASD Sch...probably Aircraft Supply Depot School....aircraft storage and scrapping was carried out under the multi roled No 9 MU which was based at Cosford from March 1939,disbanding in 1959....apparently the Spitfire being the aircraft most handled through the unit, ex the West Bromwich factory......quite a large number of obsolescent aircraft passed through the unit. RAFVR.....all entrants to the RAF after 3 September 1939 were categorised as RAFVR
