The 81st Entry
RAF Halton Aircraft Apprentices
Sept 1955 - July 1958

ISSUE No.16 - AUGUST 2008
81st ENTRY NEWSLETTER
Editor: Mike Stanley

The Adventures, or Trials and Tribulations, of Alan England Airframe Fitter by Alan England
Part 3

Unfortunately my tour in Singapore [holiday is stretching the point too far] came to an end in August 1964. One had to put all my training at Halton to good use and use one's imitative as to my return to the UK. Also spending six weeks disembarkation leave in the UK was going to be a let down after Singapore! Fortunately "Crab Air Holidays" came up with the solution, why not join my parents in Malta {cannot keep away from the place] for six weeks. Perfect solution, six weeks holiday was spent in sun, I was also able to sail at the R.A.F yacht club. Also start a romance with UK nurse holidaying in Malta, even to the extent of displaying my Don Juan skills by climbing up to the second floor balcony of her accommodation to return her safely home!

Everything in life has a price and mine was being posted to 32 MU St. Athan to work on Vulcans. Still at loss why the RAF decided that I should not work on Victors despite having worked on them for three years! However "mine is not to reason why, but to do or die"!

Unfortunately St.Athan was like working in a factory clocking in or out and moral was very low with a number of attempted suicides. This made me decide that I was either going to leave the R.A.F and join the R.A.A.F. or become steely eyed aircrew. So I applied for air engineer. My third attempt, hopefully third time lucky! The R.A.F works in mysterious ways, and in February 1966 I was "invited" to Biggen Hill for selection, soon after I was accepted for navigator training. Not sure whether it was aptitude or the 'sausage machine at work together with supply and demand!

Three months aircrew officer training was undertaken at R.A.F South Cerney where time spent at Halton served one well as we had plenty of bull. We also had morning runs around the airfield; I have never been so fit in all my life. This was put to good use during leadership exercises on the mountains of Brecknockshire. There were some real characters on the course. One was shaving whilst we were being inspected and other turned up for "Jankers" [yes we had this as punishment] dressed in pyjamas and greatcoat. On another occasion someone accepted a bet to run around the parade ground that night in the NUDE, this was accompanied by everybody cheering him on. Yes and all three of them got away with it.

The next stage was three months at R.A.F Hullavinton a beautiful station and location. Unfortunately we lost twelve navigators who had volunteered for parachute training, when they were killed in a Hastings crash, after losing its tail plane due corrosion from the loo, killing all on board! We also lost one my course members when he was caught making obscene phone calls!

Next stage was eight months at R.A.F Gaydon for training on the Valletta and Varsity, with state of the art navigation aids such as radio direction finding, Gee, the drift sight and the noble bubble sextant; weren't these venerable nav aids from the Second World War? We also enjoyed night flying on oxygen, with the pilot smoking his pipe through his oxygen mask. We seemed to be exempt from normal health and safety regulations! We also experienced the joys being without oxygen during simulation exercise in the decompression chamber at R.A.F Luffenham.

The final stage of our training was at R.A.F Straddishall on the noble Varsity; yours truly and the potential jet jockeys on to the Dominee/DH 125. These were happy days as the end was in sight. It included being asked to judge a beauty contest at a local dance! And even the chance to go off shore sailing. The big event was our overseas training flight to Malta [just cannot keep away from the island] via the French air force station Istres. After four months the big day came when Flying Officer England was presented with navigators brevet and became steely-eyed aircrew. [Not quite Biggles]. I discovered that I had been posted on to Twin Pioneers and posted to R.A.F Sharjah, and that is another story. I was also to discover, later in life that I would meet up with the Varsity aircraft I had trained on.

I saw her on display at Brooklands museum!