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Saturday 5th May - Getting Together
Saturday 5th May - Getting Together
Waiting by the guardroom on Saturday
I usually start by saying we had a brilliant day but that wasn't the case on this occasion. We had two days of fun and 208 frolics. What an excellent weekend it was. Every time we get together we break more records. There were a total of 30 of us over the two days which included 17 people who hadn't joined us before.
Attending were: - Roddy, Kerry and Molly McKenzie; Jim Sparks with Misty Porterfield Lynch and Lord Noah Lynch; Steve and Sue Tank; Allan Litchfield, Malky and Sue Blease, John and Lizzie Robson, Steve Fraser, Rob and Gill Savage, Ian Mac Gilvery, Colin and Diana Moat, Bill Preston, John and the future Mrs Veronica Minns; Gordon and Joana Sinclair, Dave and Sally Colbert, Harry Worth, Alan and Julia Hawkins, and Adrian Small and Rosie Irvine.
We started as usual at the Maitland Guardroom to be issued with car passes and were taken up to the Trenchard Museum on the Henderson parade square; the scene of many agonising hours of drill and where the nostalgia began to bite on those who hadn’t seen it for 44 years. The museum covers all aspects of apprentice life during the 73 years the apprenticeship scheme ran at RAF Halton and many of the exhibits brought back memories of our time living in the barrack blocks and learning our trades in the workshops. It is full of apprentice related items arranged in a logical and organised way and the curators have made the most of the limited space in what was the boxing gym when we were there. Some of us were taken over to the old mess building behind the guardroom where the museum staff are collecting larger items which are too big for the present building. They've got one of those "Grasshopper" training gliders that some of you may remember from Air Cadets and one member of the museum staff is building a replica of a Halton HAC.1, a light aircraft built by the Halton Aero Club in the late twenties. This "Groves" mess building will eventually become an extension to the museum.
After a good look round the Museum we drove down to the "Trenchard Lines", a recently excavated site where trench construction was taught nearly 100 years ago. Our guide was Flt Lt Andrea MacFarlane whose knowledge and enthusiasm helped us to fully understand the hardships and horrors of trench warfare. Some recent additions are two very realistic models of decomposing corpses draped over the barbed wire in no man's land. These were donated by the people who made the recent film "War Horse" and they add a grisly realism to the whole scene.
One of them skellingtons.Scary innit?
We had a bit of time off after the trenches visit. At our age, we need a little nap in the afternoon if we plan to stay up later than 9pm!
Pre-dinner tonsil lubrication started at about six thirty in the Red Lion Hotel where most of us were staying. Our guests were Andrea McFarlane who had shown us around the trenches earlier and Peter Ayres, one of the Museum staff who did such a good job of looking after us all weekend. Dinner was splendid, made better by the excellent company. It was a real treat to be able to relax, enjoy some good food and drink and catch up with the lives of old friends and their wives or partners. If we never do anything else together, we really must have dinner again.
Those of us who stayed in the Red Lion had a delicious breakfast on Sunday morning and there was no sign of a hangover anywhere! By ten-o-clock we had all driven to Halton House to be shown round by Flt Lt Lee Cobley. The House is not often open to the public and we were fortunate to have been given such a well informed tour.
Finally, at mid-day, it was time for the primary purpose of our weekend, it was time for the window dedication at St George's Church. The window has been praised already by several people for its simplicity and it is a really striking example among the others. It stands out well, just as we did as an entry! Our thanks must go to Clem Ord for coming up with the final design, it is excellent. We're sorry you couldn't be with us Clem but we hope you'll be able to come and see our beautiful window quite soon. Credit too must be given to Karen Newby in Anglesey for her patience and skill in her translation in glass of Clem's design. It's perfect Karen, thank you very much.
The Chaplain, Rev(Wg Cdr) Tony Gilbert conducted a simple but very poignant service and our old chum Jim Sparks managed a very creditable English accent for the reading. Nice one Jim.
The address was read by the current 208 Entry shiny and follows:-
On Monday the 2nd January 1967, 96 boys aged between 15 and 18 years from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales arrived at the railway station in Wendover. We were warmly greeted by friendly, helpful NCOs who escorted us to the waiting buses and so off to Halton Camp where we were issued with a groundsheet, our bedding, a pair of denims a webbing belt and a beret. After an unusual first night sharing a bedroom with 15 strangers we were woken very early, instructed to wash and dress and then led to breakfast. Next came a medical and an x-ray and before we had a chance to figure out what was happening, we signed up, were given an 8 figure number to learn off by heart and were marched off to the barbers for the most severe haircut any of us had ever seen. That was the birth of the Two Hundred and Eighth Entry, Number One School of Technical Training, Royal Air Force Halton.The following two weeks were filled with all kinds of exciting new things to do. There were lots of new clothes to wear and care for. A swimming test, a dental inspection, a blood test and a test for diphtheria, a lecture from the MO, physical training, a lecture on discipline and of course, a regular overdose of domestic evenings and block inspections followed by plenty of drill. We had eighteen drill sessions in the first two weeks!We learned a new set of words and acronyms such as rook, (not a bird) gen, Posbie, bull night, centre deck, bumper, jankers, and shreddies. (Not a breakfast cereal but service issue underpants designed to stop your inner thigh wearing out on the abrasive serge trousers.) Square bashing, D.I., P.T.I., Pimple Point and civvies, (Both as a style of clothing you had to buy yourself or as an inferior type of person.) We also had to learn different accents and dialects. W’aal managed ta larn ta communikeate with wor meates, man but. After the first two weeks, our proper education at schools and workshops began, the strange new activities became more familiar, bewilderment and homesickness was reduced and we settled in to life as apprentices. We started learning rifle drill much sooner than was usual because we had been chosen to carry out a route lining in London for the state visit of King Faisal of Saudi Arabia in May. The Station Magazine reported, ”Soon after arrival, 208 were called upon to provide two flights for route lining and were commended both on their turnout and their drill which matched the standards of senior and more experienced Entries.” We also took part in further route linings and the Lord Mayor’s parade. We were present when Sir Douglas Bader paid a visit to Halton and we took part in the parade in which Her Royal Highness Princess Margaret presented the new colours to No 1 School of Technical Training. Many of the entry were members of the pipe or brass bands or the corps of trumpeters. Band members were allowed to nominate someone to carry their packs as we marched down to schools or workshops and eventually, there were very few left marching with the entry, they were all in or behind the bands and were consequently first in the queue at the mess or first in the TV room to watch the Magic Roundabout. One tall and flamboyant chap became the Pipe Band Drum Major and he would practice his skills with the mace four times a day as we marched to and from the workshops. His throwing of it grew higher and we became aware that at one point at the bottom of the hill before Main Point he would always make an extra high throw. It was clear that he intended to hit a telephone cable suspended over the road. On the day he finally succeeded a huge cheer went up from us and the other entries marching with us. Unfortunately, the cable interfered with the trajectory of the mace and it returned awkwardly to earth and struck him on the head. This, of course was followed by an even louder cheer from the marching body of apprentices.Naafi breaks at the workshops were always welcome. We all looked forward to a cream doughnut and a cup of scalding hot tea or coffee. As the hooter sounded before one particular break, one of the electricians was grabbed by his classmates and imprisoned on a workbench with each of his overall legs and sleeves fastened in the four vices. He was then abandoned by his chums as they left to enjoy their break without him. Great care had to be taken in his release after the Naafi van had left because he had also missed his mid-morning cigarette and was understandably furious. In our second year, more time was spent at the Airfield, working on fairly old and nearly complete aeroplanes. In the propulsion class a peculiar habit began on a Friday afternoon when the class would finish the day with a sing-song and always sang the same song, namely, “When you’re smiling.” Proof perhaps, that they were truly enjoying apprentice life or that they had finally gone round the bend.During an airframe class the instructor was called away for a telephone call. As soon as he was gone, one joker suggested that before he returned they should see how many of the class they could fit into a nearby Piston Provost which was sitting on its jacks. When the Chief came back there was one apprentice head visible in the cockpit. The head, when questioned, could tell him nothing about the absent class, but the instructor spotted part of a leg through one of the open panels in the fuselage. “Come on you lot!” he said, “Get out of there.” So began the slow emergence of apprentices from the depths of the aircraft and to the surprise of the puzzled instructor twenty boys finally tumbled out onto the hangar floor. Entry stunts had become unpopular with the management when we started our time and we were warned not to make any attempt to perform one. As a way of making our mark though and to do something charitable, a pantomime was written with the name of “Soiled White and the Several Dwarts.” It went down very well three times in the 3 wing theatre before being taken on tour to the Spinal Injuries Unit at Stoke Mandeville Hospital where it delighted the bed ridden patients. The entry was well represented in many sporting activities and several members represented the School, the Station and the RAF in their chosen disciplines. Boosted by our band membership, we had more than our fair share of promotions to apprentice NCO. We finished with two sergeants, eleven corporals and nineteen leading craft apprentices. Over 35 percent of the entry had at least one stripe.We lost 9 members for different reasons in our 2 years and gained 2 from the 206th entry so 88 of us became Junior Technicians at the passing out parade on the 13th December 1968.Six of the new Junior Technicians were posted straight to The Queen’s Flight at RAF Benson. A prestigious posting usually granted by careful selection of volunteers and proof of the high standards the entry had achieved.We went through quite a lot in two years at Halton, good and bad and it all helped to form our attitudes and principles, our approach to life and, most importantly, taught us how to get on with other people. I think that most of us would admit that we grew up together here. Today we have reached another milestone in our history as we dedicate this beautiful window in commemoration of all the members of the 208 Entry, those in this church today, those in other places in the world and also those who are no longer with us. We should bring the last group here to join us in our thoughts and as I read out their names we can remember them as they were when we knew them 44 years ago. Leading Craft Apprentice Dave AtkinsonCorporal Craft Apprentice Jim CopeCraft Apprentice Geoff FaircloughCraft Apprentice Stuart HaynesCraft Apprentice Dave PridmoreCraft Apprentice Mick RollingsCraft Apprentice Jim SkateCraft Apprentice Mick SoperCraft Apprentice Don Window These are the ones we know about, I hope there are no more and apologise for anyone I have missed. Finally, I think it only fitting to conclude with the one thing which made the Two Hundred and Eighth Entry truly unique and that is the entry salute. Entry, please sit to attention. [Salute]
Look at those happy smiling faces!
The service was fairly emotional for a lot of us but our spirits were lifted afterwards by larking about while taking photographs of each other. We were, through the whole weekend, accompanied by a very special group of ladies. They gave us their support, some of their money, wiped our chins when we dribbled and put us to bed after dinner. You were a joy, great company and we're glad you were with us ladies, thank you.
A Fine Group of Ladies
A Link to a Video of the Weekend
Director - S.A.Tank A Fitt (A)
Produced by J. Arthur Tank.
Camera Crew - Sue Tank and Shakey Steven.
Editing - Tankernational S.A. Ltd.
Key Grip - Fairleigh Tyght.
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