The Wartime Memories Project - The Second War

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243199 AC1. John King Royal Air Force No 1 School of Technical Training RAF Halton from:Whiteparish, Wiltshire   39th Entry RAF Halton (No 1 School of Technical Training) Apprentice School 17th Jan 1939 575533 Aircraft Apprentice J King We had a station church, swimming pool, workshops and school buildings. On school days we had various subjects including aerodynamics and technical drawing. Routine. Early morning a boy went to cookhouse and brought back a bucket of tea and biscuits known as gunfire. Our barrack room had 30 boys in it. Get up and make beds, all blankets and sheets folded to make a neat sandwich. Sometimes rifle drill or PT before breakfast, later march to workshops with our own band with bugles, bagpipes, trumpets and drums. Workshops entailed basic fitting, lectures on metallurgy, heat treatments etc. on to dismantling engines first De Havilland Gypsy engines, then Rolls-Royce Kestrel and Merlin engines and reassembling them, also Bristol Pegasus radial engines, carpentry, blacksmithing, pipework etc. Engine running was done on the airfield. We had to polish all our floors, clean bathrooms. During our time HRH Duke of Kent (Prince George) came round workshops to inspect our work. I was confirmed in the station church. There was a lot of sport I did swimming, cross-country running and athletics. We had 2 year course, not 3 as it was wartime. Passing out you had to average 80% on all subjects to pass out LAC (Leading Aircraftsman), 60% average to be AC1 (Aircraftsman 1st class), 40% to be AC2. I passed out AC1. My first flight was in an Avro Tutor 2 seat biplane at Halton airfield. On airfield, we did engine running on a Blenheim, prop swinging on Tiger Moth. We had lunch on airfield from field kitchens, on 3rd Sept 1939 I heard Mr Chamberlain say we were at war with Germany. I was up in the NAAFI listening to the wireless.   Halton group photo     Gun at Halton   Halton general view Tim King Add to this record.  Related Content: RAF Halton No 1 School of Technical Training, Royal Air Force Can you help us to add to our records? Add a record to our website. The names and stories on this website have been submitted by their relatives and friends. If your relations are not listed please add their names so that others can read about them Did you or your relatives live through the Second World War? Do you have any photos, newspaper clippings, postcards or letters from that period? Have you researched the names on your local or war memorial? Were you or your relative evacuated? Did an air raid affect your area? If so please let us know. Help us to build a database of information on those who served both at home and abroad so that future generations may learn of their sacrifice. Contact us. Celebrate your own Family History Celebrate by honouring members of your family who served in the Secomd World War both in the forces and at home. We love to hear about the soldiers, but also remember the many who served in support roles, nurses, doctors, land army, muntions workers etc. Please use our Family History resources to find out more about your relatives. Then please send in a short article, with a photo if possible, so that they can be remembered on these pages.

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