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

ISSUE No.21 - NOVEMBER 2009
81st ENTRY NEWSLETTER
Editor: Mike Stanley

MY LIFE IN THE RAF AFTER HALTON, Part 1 by James Strachan Airframes .

On completion of my training at Halton I was posted to Wittering near Stamford to work on the Valiant bomber. Some other members of the entry went there also but I only remember J/T Dunn who joined me in the Aircraft Servicing Flight. He was later to find the cracks in the Valiant main spars, which eventually resulted in the scrapping of these aircraft. After a while employed on Valiant maintenance I was moved to the mod bay, which I found very interesting. Our Station Commander was Group Captain Trent VC DFC and you can read about his amazing life on the Internet. I have somewhere a Christmas dinner menu, which he autographed. I successfully took my Cpl. Tech. board at Weeton but of course had to serve three years as a J/T first.

At Wittering short take-off trials were being carried out using two Sprite rocket packs mounted under the wings of the Valiant and these produced very impressive take-offs.

About this time the plan was to replace manned combat aircraft with guided missiles and I applied to work in this area. I went to Newton for classroom instruction on missile aerodynamics, electrics, propulsion etc. and then went to the Avro plant at Woodford near Manchester on a Blue Steel course. We were accommodated in the ex. RAF hospital at Wilmslow. We were bussed to Avro’s each day and had lunch there.

I was surprised to find that there were separate restaurants for different grades of staff. The course was interesting, my tapes came through and we saw the Vulcans in various stages of construction. During our time there we also saw a Vulcan equipped with two Skybolt air launched ballistic missiles, a really impressive bit of kit. Operational Vulcans were having their wings strengthened to carry these missiles but the project was eventually cancelled. However, we, on our cushy number were in for a short sharp shock! Returning from the factory one evening a notice announced that we had an evening parade in best blue. One slight problem, I and some or most of the other lads had left their best blues at home. To say that the CO was very annoyed would be an understatement. We were to be on parade in Manchester the following Sunday and were told to get our blues or else! The ‘else’ not being specified. We must have got time off on the Friday and I drove to my parent’s home near Forfar on my Vespa GS. I set off on the return journey on the Saturday however it was very windy and uncomfortable so I decided to take the train from Perth in case I missed this parade. Waking up at a stop where I thought must be due to get off, I got my Vespa unloaded only to discover that I was a stop too early. I got the Vespa back on the train just in time and I eventually got to Wilmslow in time for the parade. I can’t even remember what this summer time parade was about.

Some of us enjoyed jazz and we heard many of the bands of the day when they visited Manchester such as ‘The Temperance Seven’, Chris Barber, Ken Collier, Acker Bilk to name a few.

We also went on a Stentor rocket motor course at Ansty in Coventry. During the course we were invited to watch a short test firing of the motor. We took our place in a bunker, which contained the motor controls, instrumentation and a cine camera to record the instrument readings . When everyone was ready the engineer in charge did a short countdown and pressed the starter. The bunker vibrated and you could hear the rumble of the motor, which was visible on CCTV. Gallons of water poured on to the area behind the engine to keep it cool.

After a minute or so the test was over. The total life of the motor was measured in minutes.

On completion of the course I was posted to Scampton with the other members of the course. Eventually we got our missiles courtesy of British Road Services and we became operational. About this time we had a demonstration of the dangers of HTP. A small amount of the stuff was squirted on to a piece of uniform material and within seconds it burst into flames. HTP releases heat and oxygen in contact with organic materials. This knowledge would one day save me from serious injury.

About this time two friends and I decided to go to Spain for a holiday. I took my Vespa and one friend whose name escapes me, rode pillion. Patrick, my other friend, came on his WW2 dispatch riders motorbike which he bought through the ‘Exchange and Mart’ for £30. We had no mechanical problems during the trip, just problems with the French Gendarmerie! Having landed at Calais we headed for Paris and planned to find accommodation in Fontainebleau. Crossing a bridge over the Seine I was waved down by a police car and motioned to wait. An extremely polite policeman approached and then presumably explained what I had done wrong. He became a bit impatient and eventually rubbed together his thumb and forefinger, Ah, he wants money! Producing a large pad of forms he filled one out and gave me a copy in return for an on the spot fine. Not speaking French I have no idea to this day what my transgression was. A few days later in the South of France we were riding without helmets due to the hot weather when ahead of us a policeman stepped out with his arm raised. I thought ‘not again’ but he just told us to put our helmets on and let us go. We visited Tossa de Mar again and as far as I remember it had not changed much . We continued as far as Lerida in Spain but then turned back and spent a few days in the Pyrenees before heading back through France.

The following year Patrick and one of his friends accompanied me on another trip to the Continent, this time in my car, visiting Zagreb in Yugoslavia, Venice and various places in Switzerland. The year after that I took my father to Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, sailing back to Newcastle from Bergen. The car was loaded into the hold of the ferry by crane, now of course you drive on and off the ferries.

Most of the roads in Norway and Sweden at that time were made of gravel and graders were used to keep the roads in good condition. Occasionally you would see one of these machines moving to a new site with the driver’s Volvo PV 544 being towed behind on a wheeled frame.

My family and I repeated this trip in 2001 but this time crossing from Denmark to Sweden on the fantastic Oresund Bridge. Today the roads are tarmac and tunnels through the mountains avoid the high passes and keep the roads open in winter. Occasionally you drive off a ferry straight into a tunnel. The Laerdal tunnel between Aurland and Laerdal is, at 24.5km the longest road tunnel in the world and opened in 2000. Staying in Laerdal for a few days we drove through this tunnel a number of times.

It was in the early 60’s that we were allowed to have our salary paid directly into our bank accounts. I clearly remember this and the relief at not having to wait for my pay in a room full of reeking feet!