Cranwell Electrical and Wireless School
EX-Boy
Entrants (1934 – 1940)
NEWSLETTER – February 2005
Correspondent-: Rev C M H Frere,
164 Newark Road,
North
Telephone-: 01522 806326
e-mail-: cmh.frere@ntlworld.com,
Web Site- www.rafbea.org.
|
Greetings to you all for 2005, Following
the last AGM, the very last, I wrote to various brother organisations,
informing them of the demise of the Association as such, and to sundry
service outlets. The following
appeared in the Air Mail. CEWSBEA
(1934 – 1940). 2004 AGM and
This means of course that there will be no further meetings at Cranwell under the Banner of the Association. I find it necessary to include this little notice as, from one or two phone calls there are a small number of members who didn’t really get the message. As one person said: “Sorry I only skimmed through the letter, and didn’t really take it in.” (I know the feeling!). The Departed. Regretfully I have to report the following have been notified to me as having died recently. 550376 C H Balmer Died
551277 R Carman Died
553548 H
N King Died MAY THEY REST IN PEACE A little Story. This from a group of short stories I received from Ray Barton-: A wife invited some
people to dinner. At the table, she turned to their six-year-old daughter
and said, "Would you like to say the blessing?" "I wouldn't
know what to say," the girl replied. "Just say what you hear
Mommy say," the wife answered. The daughter bowed her head and
said, "Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?" The National Memorial Arboretum. I have now heard that the Memorial is in place. If any of you are planning to visit, call at the office and the inquiry desk will show you where to go to find the CEWSBEA Memorial. Badges. There are now no lapel badges or replica wheels, but I do have quite a few plastic stick on crests available, no cost other than postage. There were quite a few requests for these items and I dealt with them strictly in order of postage arrival. Sadly on person received an envelope with a torn corner and the lapel badge missing. Post Office tried to help but to no avail. Reminiscence of a Boy Entrant. A little while ago I received a couple of magazines ‘Canadian Military’ from Tom Robinson one of our Canadian contingent, in which he had an article published. For the sake of brevity, this is a shortened version. Royal
Air Force ‘Boy Entrants’ or ‘Brats’ if you like, were all teenagers
in the 30’s, seeking adventure. At the age of sixteen (15.9 months –
17) they embarked on an Electrical and Wireless course at Cranwell,
Lincs, the initial step to becoming Wireless Operator Air Gunners and
heading off to Operational Squadrons. Since horizons were unlimited
that era, many of those razor-shy youths would attain fame and fortune
after being selected as Air Observers or Pilots further down the road.
One February morning in 1939, at the age of sixteen, having just passed the required medical examination at RAF Uxbridge for selection as a Boy Entrant, I was summoned to attend a personal interview, the final obstacle prior to embarking on a chosen career. Making my way towards the building I felt somewhat elated but not without reservation to be in the Service, but uneasy after spending several days clad in the same old civilian togs that I had left home in. Such deportment could hardly be expected to impress.
In response to my knock, the door was opened by a Corporal so immaculately dressed that, for a moment, I was speechless, and without thought acknowledged his presence with a salute of sorts. Whilst regaining his composure, the young NCO led me inside, at the same time letting it be known that such compliments were unnecessary when addressing Senior or Junior NCO’s.
Directed to a table nearby, a Wing Commander, a Group Captain and the official who really captured my attention greeted me, a striking individual with cropped white hair who, upon his uniform wore two rows of ribbons topped with a pilot’s brevet. On his sleeves were the broad duo-blue bands which denoted Air Commodore rank. The interview conducted in a most congenial atmosphere, would consume a mere twenty minutes. While the questions generally covered my home life, hobbies, achievement in athletics, as well as a review of my educational standards. Most pertinent were queries as to why I would consider a service career, what did I feel were the benefits from making such a decision, and how could I contribute to the RAF as a member?
At the end the Air Commodore approached, he said: “Robinson, I understand that you saluted our corporal on your way in, and it was explained to you that Non-commissioned Officers are not accorded such dues. Yew, it is only necessary to salute Commissioned Officers whilst they are wearing uniform. However, since this is your first day, perhaps I might provide an item of interest that might be helpful to you later on. Always remember that when paying compliments to an officer, you are saluting the uniform and not necessarily the individual. However, you will often encounter Commissioned Officers wearing mufti, sportswear, or other array, and upon recognising such an individual may feel highly obligated to salute, out of sheer respect, you see Robinson respect is a most vital part of our lives, in fact respect is what it is all about.
Granted a King’s Commission myself a few years later,; compliments when paid made me wonder about their true validity. Uniform or person? Sentiments, I believe, originating from the Air Commodore’s message on respect.
That’s it for the moment, I will write again after Easter.
Blessings to you all
Michael |
||