How We Served, by John Kenneth Justin
Biography of David Searle-Baker
Royal Air Force: Ex Aircraft Apprentice, No. 1 School of Technical Training, Halton. Buckinghamshire. England. 46th Entry, Service as a Fitter II Airframes, in the Middle East and Western Europe,
1943 – 1950
Copyright David Newton Searle-Baker 1st. January, 2000. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be produced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, or photcopying, recording. or otherwise, without the prior consent of the publisher.
CHAPTER 2
1941
Another cold and harsh winter lay ahead with very little in the way of comfort. With father off overseas I'm afraid that I became a bit much for mother to handle. I was always off doing something that I shouldn't. If I wasn't roaming around bombed out buildings, I was going into the cinemas through the rear exits, or exploring the London Canal system, or playing with my chums. I think that my saving grace came in the form of school and extra mural activities. Inasmuch as we all had to have some experience of military life through being co-opted into the school O.T.C (Officers Training Corps.) Here we were given grounding in drill, weapons training, tactics, map reading and all the other things considered necessary at the time.
This year also saw me joining the Air Training Corps. This was a volunteer group who submitted to evening instruction on all things appertaining to the Air Force. This of course was in the expectation that we would join the RAF when our time came to join the Services. As with so many chaps of my age all that I wanted to do was to fly and get in for aircrew, preferably as a fighter pilot. Hence, we got basics in, the theory of flight, navigation, wireless and aircraft construction, aircraft recognition, in addition to our old friend drill! Sometime in the spring I even managed to make my first flight from Hendon airfield, over London on a quiet day. How vast the city looked on that winter's morning, with the barrage balloons lazily hanging in the sky. Shafts of sunlight penetrated through a low cloud base. Somehow, to me these streaks of light over the besieged city signified hope. I knew that Britain would win through in the end. But I had no conception whatsoever how this would be achieved.
In the middle of the year mother decided that we were going to leave Camden Town and she took the lease on a small flat, in a block of four, some four miles to the north, over the hill in Hampstead Garden Suburb, not far from the Heath. What a difference as there was green fields and parks not far away. In addition, having now been given my first bicycle, I could always cycle up to Hampstead Heath, or visit the open-air swimming pool at Finchley. I had wheels and was mobile. It was then that I joined the ARP as a messenger, although the worst of the early blitz was over by this time.
Photo to Come
75 Lyttelton Road . London N2.
Momentous things were however happening on the various war fronts of the world throughout the year. The Italians had been driven out of Ethiopia and the Western Desert. This was until they received reinforcements in the form of Rommel and the Afrika Corps. Britain had endeavoured to assist Greece, at a time when they were sorely pressed and needed all the arms, men and equipment, that she could get in the desert. The result was another ignominious evacuation. This was closely followed by the German invasion of Crete and the allied withdrawal.
But, in the middle of the year Hitler invaded Russia, with all that that would entail. We all breathed a big sigh of relief when that happened. It being most unlikely that he would mount an invasion, now that the German Army had followed in Napoleon's footsteps. For many months their advance seemed invincible as it swept across the country. It was only when the Russian winter finally descended that they were halted on the outskirts of Moscow
The war in the Atlantic was most serious for us as throughout the year, with U-boat sinkings on the increase. As Britain was dependent on overseas suppliers for the majority of her food and raw materials, it was no wonder that the average man was short of everything. The North Atlantic was a very dangerous place to be with the submarine was intensifying.
Then in December came the momentous news that Japan had attacked Pearl Harbour and America had come into the war. And so the war developed into a Global Conflict, with many disasters still ahead. But, it warmed the cockles of our heart to know that after nearly two and a half years, we were no longer alone!
Early in the New Year of 1942 came the disastrous news of the loss of HM King George V1, along with Repulse off the coast of Malaya. Shortly thereafter Singapore and the Philippines surrendered
In November my brother had volunteered for the Army, joining the Royal Artillery straight from school, he was destined to serve for the next six years.
At the end of the year my father returned from his trooping experiences abroad. These had involved him in sailing in convoy, between North and South Africa, stopping off at Freetown, Cape Town and Durban on the way. Fortunately they had been left unmolested during their travels, but submarines or surface raiders were a constant threat.
After his disembarkation leave he was posted to an RAF Station at Ballykelly, near Londonderry in Northern Ireland. At the time this was a Coastal Command station with 120 & 220 Squadrons, operating Fortress and Liberator aircraft, on long distance anti-submarine patrols. .
With a home posting once again, it was decided that mother and I would go over and join him early in the New Year. The flat in London was let and off we went across the Irish Sea. As we left London it was pouring with rain which seemed never ending? It poured all the way to the Ferry. It poured all through the night whilst going across the Irish Sea. And it poured all the way to Limavady. Little did I realise that it was going to rain nearly every day for the next thirteen months? No wonder that the countryside is so green!
Travelling in Britain during the war was a most uncertain business. Train schedules had been become very uncertain, it being extremely unlikely that any train would actually arrive on time. This was due to air raids and enemy action. Trains were just stuck for hours when the lines were blocked. There was absolutely nothing that one could do, other than wait for the track to be cleared. All the carriages were jam packed full, with troops and other travellers, standing in the corridors or siting on their luggage and equipment. The lights in the carriages were very dim indeed, in fact one could hardly see to read by them. In addition, black out blinds had been installed on every window. And all the name signs from the stations had been removed so it was hard to tell whereabouts we were on our journey.
Father had arranged for us to stay with a Limavady solicitor, so it wasn't long before we were settled in front of a blazing fire with a hot cup of tea.
During the war there was quite a lot of allied aerial activity going on in that part of the world, as it was at an extreme range for the German aircraft of the time . Limavady being set in the middle of a valley had mountains surrounding it in the near distance and the airfield was used, with Wellington bombers, as a Flying Training School. Ballykelly was just down the road, being used by Coastal Command. Further down on the way to Londonderry was a Fleet Air Arm base and there was another one nearby that was subsequently used by the American Air Force when they arrived later in the year.
Being surrounded by mountains Limavady was much given to fog. With the various skill levels of the pilots under training it was perhaps inevitable that there should be number of serious crashes. But the night after we arrived there were seven Wellingtons that ploughed into the hillside at various points of the compass. This swamped the available medical services of that station. Consequently father had to go out to attend to two of the crashes nearest to Ballykelly. Unfortunately, there were no crewmembers found alive in either of the aircraft. Not a happy job as father had known one of the pilots and his crew, who were all incinerated when their aircraft hit the ground.
With no school the first six months passed most pleasantly. I found that the shortage of food experienced in London certainly didn't apply to County of Antrim. They're being luxuries, in the farming community that I hadn't seen for years.
Life seemed to be one long holiday. Just passed the time rabbit shooting, fishing, swimming and going for long treks into the surrounding mountains and over to the Giants Causeway.
Frequently father would invite me onto the RAF station and arrange flights for me in the various operational aircraft .On one such occasion I was out in a Liberator and the crew had stuck me in the rear gun turret (probably to get me out of the way). I was gaily swinging the turret round from side to side, when suddenly the plane banked to starboard catching me unawares. This sudden movement caught me unawares and I had the turret completely swung round, with my back towards the starboard wing. On leaning back against the doors of the turret I found that they had opened during this manoeuvre and I was out in the slipstream at four thousand feet! The only reason that I was still in the aircraft being that the top of my feet were held in the stirrups above the foot controls.
Nearly had kittens, breathing a great big sigh of relief when I managed to haul myself back inside, sitting there trembling!!! The parachute of course was inside the main fuselage and I had failed to use the safety belt. In addition I had failed to ensure that the turret doors were locked. So it was all my own fault, as usual!
On another occasion I was idly watching the aircraft come back to land. . They had been out on an anti submarine strike with some of them being hit by anti-aircraft fire. During an attack. I heard afterwards that one of them had been unable to release one of it's bombs due to battle damage whilst attacking The jolt when the aircraft landed freed the mine, which promptly exploded blowing everything to eternity. Absolutely nothing that one could do, except say a silent prayer as everything was just blown to bits.
I think that it was about May that the American forces arrived and took possession of the airfield down the road. (Could it have been called Merrydown) I've forgotten after all these years what type of aircraft they were flying but have a feeling that it was Lockheed Lightning's ? Anyway, on a couple of occasions we were invited over for lunch. After all the privations under which the British forces operated you can imagine my amazement when I saw the luxuries that the American Forces took with them to war! It was unreal to see no shortages of anything whatsoever, including things that we hadn't seen for years. A visit to the P.X. further bemused me, when I saw the shelves packed with chocolate, candy bars, sweets, cigarettes and all sorts of other goodies. It was like going into an Aladdin's cave to see servicemen going off with say a carton of Lucky Strike or a box of Hershey bars, instead of the one packet of Woodbines that a British serviceman could buy !
The differential was obvious and outstanding, especially when added to the variance in pay structures between the two nations. The Americans, with their easy way of life and lack of protocol, combined with the availability of nylon stockings, got a lot of the girls too. This caused further dissension as the ladies so obviously enjoyed the new music and dances that they brought with them.
I'm rather amazed that there was not more trouble caused than actually happened, as the British way of life eventually changed forever. Even in peacetime the average British family didn't live as well as the American serviceman at war. It was small wonder that we were envious of such luxury. More especially when we thought of the merchant seamen whose lives had been put at risk to transport such delicacies across the Atlantic.
The first seven months passed in a flash. Evening excursion's, salmon fishing in the local Loch, when hand grenades were used to kill the fish, which were then cooked on the bank straight out of the water. My first beer's with father, at the local pub in Limavady, when the charm and the logic of the Irish first showed itself to me. The pub closed its door promptly at 1 p.m. And everyone trooped out, including the Chief Constable and local Solicitor. . Thereupon the back door was opened and everyone trooped back in and went on drinking.
But come July this state of affairs had to come to an end, as I hadn't attended school for seven months. The war wasn't going too well for the Allies as they were pushed back on all the fronts of the world. The battles for El Alamein and Stalingrad had yet to take place. The war in the Pacific and Far East was going badly and the conflict looked as though it was going to go on for another twenty years In fact I could never imagine a world that was not at war. Under the circumstances we all tended to just live for the day. We just couldn't visualise the possibility that we might be alive and survive when the war finally came to an end.
So it came about that my Father sat me down and we had a long chat about my future. Things hadn't been going to well for me during my last term at school in December of the previous year. My report was the usual one of "David could do better", in addition, I was way down near the bottom of my class. At fifteen and a half, with all the confidence of youth, it was my feeling that I was old enough to make my own way in the world. I was six feet of skin and bone, with all the excitement going on around me I wanted leave school and help my country. It was a toss up; either I joined the Merchant Service as a deckhand, which father was dead against knowing the hardships that would be involved. Or, I joined the Royal Air Force as an Aircraft Apprentice. In the end it was decided that I would apply for entry into the Apprenticeship scheme. The rationale behind this thinking being that if I got a technical training first, I would then be in a much stronger position to apply for aircrew duties at some future date. But first I had to pass the entrance exam that would mean private tutor-ship in Belfast. So, off I went to Belfast for three months, living in digs off the Antrim Road. Eventually, the exam was sat, and I returned to Limavady to await the result. But it wasn't until early in December that I learned that I had passed and received the travel documents that had been sent. I would be included in the Entry that commenced on the 9th. February 1943.
The Royal Air Force Apprentice Scheme :
After the close of the First World War it was apparent that technical developments in aircraft production and design led to a requirement for skilled engineers to handle the wide variety of trades for aircraft servicing and maintenance. The Chief of Air Staff at the time, Lord Trenchard, conceived the Apprentice scheme which came into existence in 1920.
Apprentices joined the Service, after a competitive examination, between the ages of fifteen and a half and seventeen. Signing on as Regular Serviceman for a period of twelve years from the age of eighteen. Intakes varied in size over the years, with the training course for each of the various trades being of three years duration, with three entries a year. Normally the peacetime complement for Halton consisted of some 3000 boys, split into three wings.
But in 1939, with a shortage of Instructors, who were transferred onto training conscripts the length of apprenticeship was cut to two and a half years. In 1940 however, the length of training was further cut to two years. During my time only One Wing was operative and this consisted of approximately a thousand boys...
Training was carried out mainly at Halton, in Buckinghamshire, where Alfred Rothschild had put one of his homes " Halton House " and a large estate, which included an airfield. at the disposal of , or given it ,to the Government .
The house itself was used as the office's mess. Whilst upon the Estate a large complex of barrack and administration blocks were built. Additional Workshops were also built about two miles from the main camp, where the technical instruction was carried out.
I understand that the Scheme was discontinued in the early nineties. But throughout the period of it's existence, some thirty five thousand Apprentices were trained in various trades and graduated into the Royal Air Force.
Click Here to Go To Chapter Three
----- David Newton Searle-Baker
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