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SPECIMEN OF BRITISH WAR
UTERATURE SUPPLIED FOR
PECORD PURPOSES ONLY.

3, a 15

IN A SINGLE WEEK . . .

N Saturday, February ist, 1941, the AIR
f lTRAINING CORPS was officially introduced
in the British Isles, and all youths between
the ages of 16 and 18 were invited to join it. Air
Commodore Chamier broadcast a postscript to the
B.B.C.’s lunch-time news bulletin describing the
venture as “ a Junior Air Force directed by an
R.A.F. staff under an R.A.F. Commandant.” He
appealed to young men everywhere to come forward
and join this vast, voluntary organisation.

WITHIN A SINGLE WEEK ONE YOUNG MAN IN EVERY
TEN IN THE COUNTRY BETWEEN THE AGES OF 16 AND 18
HAD RESPONDED AND STILL THE NAMES WERE POURING
IN. BY JULY ONE IN EVERY FOUR IN THE 16-18 AGE-
GROUP HAD JOINED AND IN FEBRUARY, 1942, AFTER
ONE YEAR OF LIFE, THERE WERE 1,500 UNITS IN THE
BRITISH ISLES COMPRISING 165,000 CADETS, 7,000 COM-
MISSIONED OFFICERS AND 12,000 CIVILIAN INSTRUCTORS.

Serious, absorbed, these volunteers weigh up
what is told them about the new A.T.C.FROM HOBBIES

OF PEACE . .

The appeal of the Air Training Corps
to the imagination of British youth was
immediate and very striking. It was, of
course, perfectly natural, too. For
centuries the sea has been salt in the
blood of the British, giving them a
marked taste for adventure. Now, with
the growth of aviation, another call vies
with that of the sea. The freedom of
the air calls no less clearly and with no
less romance, and if that was true in
the days of peace how much more is it
true since the heart-stirring achieve-
ments of the R.A.F. in the Battle of
Britain. In those heady days there must
have been many lads who felt longingly :

“ If I only had the chance. ...”

So when the Air Minister’s plan at last

In the days of peace youths would
spend many hours at their hobbies.

brought this chance to them the response
was almost overwhelming. The A.T.C.
cadet trains with one end in view : to
take his place as early as he may in the
ranks of the R.A.F. and to bear an
honourable part in this fight for freedom.

. . . TO THE

STERN DISCIPLINE OF WAR

Now, in a warring world, disciplined
training fills a cadet's spare time.AIMS OF THE A.T.C. . . .

1 To enable the cadets who later become
recruits in the R.A.F. to come to their new
duties with minds already well exercised in
their field of work.

2 To assist the steady flow of qualified men
into one of the most vital branches of the
armed services.

3 To supplement the education of those who
have had to leave school early and bring
their knowledge up to the high standard
required by the R.A.F.

4 To prepare the lads of 16-18 so that both
physically and mentally they are “ in
training ” for the R.A.F. and even while
training might play a useful part in the
defence of Britain should it become
necessary.

5 To direct the lads into specialised work,
i.e., prepare them specifically for either
flying duties or for ground staff according
to their qualifications.

Still the recruits come forward.
Here are lads from Manchester
“ signing on.”

First step after enrolling is
the “ medical.” The standard
of physical fitness is high.

The A.T.C. uniform is : Air
Force blue forage cap, high-
necked tunic, and trousers—all
issued free.P.T. plays an important
part in the A.T.C. training.

“VENTURE ADVENTURE ” the motto—
ACTIVE SERVICE the goal

Venture Adventure, the motto of the
A.T.C., is peculiarly suitable. The
British lad is always ready for adventure.
Although in all probability the secret
hope of 90 per cent, of them is to become
pilots, they are just as ready to be
members of air crews or ground staff.
Moreover, with no other reward than
the issue of a free uniform, these young
men give up most of their free time and
work hard after an already hard day’s
work. The minimum of hours which an
A.T.C. cadet is expected to devote to
his training is 4 a week, but most of

them give up something much nearer
to 6 or 7. That in itself is a good com-
ment on their keenness, for the time
they give up is spare time and it is
entirely voluntary work.

The lads of the A.T.C. are not required
to attest for the R.A.F. on joining the
Corps, but they are expected to give an
“ honourable undertaking ” to join either
the R.A.F. or the Fleet Air Arm when
they are old enough. Thus, these forces
are assured a vast and steady stream of
recruits already trained in much that it
took earlier recruits long months to learn.Here's an example of the
air-mindedness of the aver-
age British hoy. This
9-year-old saw a coupon in
a morning paper inviting
readers to write for a free
leaflet on flying service
with the R.A.F.

He sent his post-card. The Air Minister replied that he was afraid it would
take more than two weeks to learn and there was not a small enough aircraft.
So now the 9-year-old contents himself with models.

THESE CADETS MEAN BUSINESS!

But nothing can convince one of the
unbounded, wholehearted enthusiasm
of the A.T.C. so much as a single hour
spent with the cadets at one of their
training centres. When you are with
them you know, beyond any shadow of
doubt, that here is something far wider
and more important to them than a
mere training scheme. To each young
man the A.T.C. is the beginning of a
new life. And the thrill of it seems never
to grow dull because to each the situation
is perfectly simple and unclouded by
doubt. For these cadets the R.A.F. is

the greatest of all the forces. The A.T.C.
is the stepping stone that will lead them
into the R.A.F. and this is their ultimate,
never-forgotten purpose.

So they work day after day, week after
week, with their whole souls in the job.
And the really astonishing thing is the
vast, comprehensive knowledge of their
subject that these cadets acquire in an
extraordinarily short time. There’s not
one of them who will not surprise you by
his wide general knowledge of latest types
and latest developments as well as the
more humdrum aspects of his own line.

Here’s a school unit formed right at the beginning
the scheme. A.T.C. uniforms had not yet come-
hut the inspection went ahead.NO “RED TAPE” RESTRICTIONS HERE

When the A.T.C. scheme began there
were roughly 700,000 youths in Great
Britain between the ages of 16 and 18.
Some were still at school, some had
already been at work for several years,
some were just beginning their Uni-
versity careers. So the A.T.C.’s
squadrons were raised not only locally
in the various towns, but also at schools
and universities so that every class in
the community could be reached and
schoolboys and artisans would have an
equal opportunity to join.

Many of the large industrial organisa-
tions co-operated splendidly, too. In
them there were scores of lads of the
right age—messengers, office boys, junior
clerks—who were madly keen to join
the new organisation but might have
found it difficult to travel back to their

home after work and be on time for
their A.T.C. training. For them their
employers organised units inside the
firms and provided canteens and all
possible training facilities.

Another greatly appreciated point is
that although the scheme is intended
primarily for the training of lads of 16
and over, boys nearing that age are
allowed to join in the training if they
can be accommodated without harming
the work of the others. The keenness of
these youngsters is touchingly infectious,
and large numbers of them have joined.
The squadrons themselves are composed
of from two to four flights with 50 cadets
to a flight. They have been formed all
over the country on a population basis
and most of the larger towns and cities
have several squadrons.THE CITIZEN CO-OPERATES

The formation of the Air Training Corps
was not an entirely new venture. Already
in 1937 the Air Defence Cadet Corps
had been created, and the existing
squadrons of this Corps formed the
basis of the new organisation. To these
were added the Air Sections of the
various school training Corps and the
University Air Squadrons.

But although the A.T.C. was built on
the foundations of the previous Air
Defence Cadet Corps, and though it is
directed by an R.A.F. staff under an
R.A.F. Commandant, the ordinary citi-
zen also plays a large part in it. There’s
a close link between the Air Force of

to-morrow and the mature and settled
citizen of to-day. The formation of local
units is in the hands of local committees
of prominent citizens which have been
set up on the initiative of the Municipal
Authorities. An Annual Government
grant is made to each unit of a per capita
allowance of £1 p.a., plus 10/- for each
cadet with a “ proficiency certificate,”
and the local committees administer
this grant. They are also largely
responsible for all the local management
of the squadrons ; for canteens, facilities
for sport, etc., and their interest and
enthusiasm have had a marked influence
on the progress of their squadrons.THE INSTRUCTOR GOES TO SCHOOL

“We need officers and civilian instruc-
tors for the Corps. The work, which is
voluntary and local, is part time and
will take about six hours a week. ... If
you are selected as an officer you will
receive the King’s Commission and be
the proud wearer of the blue uniform of
the Royal Air Force.”

Thus Air Commodore Chamier appealed
to men to come forward as instructors.

And just as the response of youth was
almost overwhelming, so the response of
older men all over the country was
eager and immediate.

Regular training courses are arranged

Scene at one of the instructors' train-
ing courses organised by the R.A.F.

for them, too, at R.A.F. Stations and
here they undergo an exhaustive course
under the supervision of the regular
R.A.F. personnel.The A.T.C. Cadet
starts from scratch.
He must learn all
about the engine of
the plane he hopes
some day to fly. At
the beginning he
learns the differences
between the auto-
mobile and the aero
engine.

PLENTY OF

HARD WORK

Inset : Theoretical

work is not enough.
The cadets must get
to grips with the real
thing. Many hours
are spent in the
‘ ‘ shops ’ ’ working on
actual aircraft en-
gines.

I[Photo: "Illustrated"

Under the careful
supervision of experts
the cadets learn all
the secrets of engine
construction and
functioning.

Many units of the
A.T.C. possess
training planes of
their own—the gift
of the Air Ministry
or of local R.A.F.
Squadrons. Here
are cadets at work
on an air frame.Throughout the
training, close con-
tact is maintained
between the A.T.C.
cadets and the R.A.F.
operational person-
nel. Here an experi-
enced air gunner
talks about a bomber's
machine gun.

AND SOME

GREAT MOMENTS

Inset : During their
visits to neighbouring
R.A.F. Stations the
cadets are encouraged
to ask all the ques-
tions they want.
These cadets are ex-
amining the instru-
ment board of a
“Blenheim” bomber.

Enthusiasm, always
keen among the
cadets, is increased by
their visits to R.A.F.
Stations. Instruc-
tion by flying per-
sonnel among “live”
planes is so much
more real than lec-
tures !

One of the best
moments of the train-
ing of an A.T.C.
cadet. This one is
ready to be taken for
his first flight in a
“ Magister” machine.

A cadet sergeant gives aircraft identification hints on models made by the cadets themselves-

FROM A.T.C. INTO R.A.F.

One of the main objects of the A.T.C.
training is to enable the cadets who will
later become recruits in the R.A.F. or
the Fleet Air Arm to come to their new
duties with minds already accustomed
to their new work. The A.T.C. is
anxious to encourtge the kind of
specialisation that sends lads to the
R.A.F. qualified for a specific branch of

work and not merely useful in a vague
general way. The training syllabus is
laid down by the Air Ministry, and the
framework of the organisation is stan-
dardised. But it is left to the individual
squadrons to develop and make the
most of their syllabuses.

Provision has, of course, been made to
supply a steady stream of officer material
to the R.A.F., too. At the Universities
six-month courses are run which are
paid for by the Air Ministry. These
courses include board and lodging and
for their six months’ residence the
candidates are given Undergraduate
status. The candidates for these courses
are selected from names put forward by
the headmasters of the public or second-
ary schools and also by the local
administrative committees, so that there
is equality of opportunity for every cadet.

A talk to future air crews with
a “ live ” plane for illustration
is sure of unflagging attention.The A.T.C. Morse class uses precisely the same equipment as the R.A.F.

AND THIS IS HOW IT’S DONE . . .

The general training in the A.T.C. is
this : If it is found that the cadet is
fitted for flying duties he is put through
a syllabus similar to t hat * at the Initial
Training Wings of the R.A.F. If, on
the other hand, it is obvious that he is
more suitable for ground duties, he is
given a course to fit him for the mechan-
ical or wireless trades. In addition, lads
who have left school early are encouraged
to continue their general education till
they can bring their knowledge up to
the necessary standard, roughly equiva-
lent to that of the School Certificate.
And here the local Educational Authori-
ties often co-operate by running classes.
At 17j a cadet can pass the Selection
Board of the R.A.F. and if accepted he
can be attested into the Service, but
until he actually reaches the age of 18
years he stays in his civil employment.

At 18 he is ready to go to the R.A.F.,
already a semi-trained man of great
potential value, with his “ proficiency
certificate ” as proof of his training.

A cadet learning
to signal with
Aldis Type Lamp
at a London H.Q.Cadets plot a bombing course during their training.

INDIVIDUAL ABILITY IS STUDIED

Of the ordinary A.T.C. course some
parts are compulsory for every cadet.
Subjects such as drill, physical training,
Morse, calculations, are common to all,
so the training in these is begun as early
as possible. Practice in the use of all
kinds of weapons is also given in con-
junction with the Home Guard.

From there the training splits and
becomes specialised. The cadets are
not forced into a job that does not suit

At an R.A.F. bomber station
they learn about bomb fusing.

either their inclinations or their abilities.
Their psychological make-up is studied
and they are chosen for the branch in
which they show most natural interest
and aptitude. Potential radio operators
and mechanics go through a course
that includes elementary electricity,
mathematics, mechanics of radio, Morse
and lamp signalling.

Future flight mechanics do a thorough
course of both theoretical and practical
work in the “ shops ” where they work
on all types of engines and air-frames.
Nearly all the squadrons possess training
planes of their own to work on, which
have come as gifts from the Air Ministry
or from local Air Stations.

There are many interesting details in
the individual training methods of theA Cadet Corporal learns how to shoot down Germans.

various units. For instance, an Ilford
Squadron has been loaned a motor boat
for the duration and it is used for
preliminary training in navigation. The
cadets learn to take bearings and
steer the boat as they would an aircraft,
a vivid and interesting variation from
the normal class-room work. Gliding
instruction, too, will play an im-
portant part in the training, partly
because it helps the cadet to get used
to being in the air and to responding
promptly to the new demands that this
new element makes on him; partly
because this war has shown the part
that gliding must play in modern
warfare.

Most squadrons set aside various rooms
at their H.Q. for the study of particular
subjects. One may be reserved for
astronomy, complete with detailed
charts. Another may have walls and

Cadets visiting an aerodrome receive Bren-
gun instruction from an R.A.F. officer.

ceiling painted with clouds to resemble
the sky and on them model aircraft are
stuck. Here the cadets can learn about
aircraft identification. As often as pos-
sible, parties of cadets are taken over to
the nearest R.A.F. Station and shown
every aspect of it, and whenever it can
be arranged they have lectures or classes
given by operational airmen. It’s not
simply because this is the best kind of
instruction. Partly, it is because contact
with the men who every day take an
active part in the fight does more than
anything to stimulate and increase the
surging enthusiasm of these A.T.C. lads.
Perhaps sometimes their eagerness and
belief inspires the airmen, too !Camp provides
plenty to do. For
instance, there's gas
mask drill. . . .

There's rifle drill too.
A sergeant explains
the handling of a
rifle.

THE

A.T.C.

CAMP

After it all the cadets line up
for food from the field kitchen.

Perhaps the most popular part of the
whole of a cadet’s training is the week
spent at camp in the summer. Camps
are arranged at R.A.F. stations in vari-

ous parts of the country and cadets go
in batches to spend a full week under
canvas. As soon as one batch departs
.another comes to take its place. The
conditions at camp are arranged to
resemble as closely as possible the actual
conditions of life in the R.A.F.—
discipline included. But for these young
men any discomfort is amply compen-
sated by the fact that they are working
in direct and constant contact with the
meij of the R.A.F.Cadets of the Canadian A.T.C. on a visit to the U.S.A. display their Standard to Mayor La Guardia.
Australia and New Zealand, too, have official A.T.C. organisations.

THE A.T.C. IN THE DOMINIONS

... AN INEXHAUSTIBLE RESERVE

Britain’s young men are not alone in
their enthusiasm for the air. In the
Dominions overseas are millions of
youngsters as air-minded as these lads
at home, interested in everything to do
with aircraft and keen—every bit as
keen as the lads at home—to fight the
enemy at the first possible opportunity.
So the Royal Air Forces of the
Dominions, realising that some scheme
of pre-entry training is vital to their
future effectiveness, began to organise
Air Training Corps of their own
modelled on the British organisation.
Call them by whatever name you will :
Air Cadet Corps or Air Training Corps
—these Empire organisations are all the
same thing : the training ground of the
Empire’s Air Force that ceaselessly

pours its reserves of first-class men into
the great fight. To think about them is
the most heartening thing in the world,
for you realise that these reserves are
inexhaustible. And the spirit of the
A.T.C., reproduced endlessly and exactly
in the Empire’s Cadet Corps, is a thing
that will be neither quenched nor
withstood.

A senior cadet of the Canadian A.T.C.
instructs some younger colleagues.What of the A.T.C. to-day, then ?
What tangible proof is there, when all
is said, that it is doing a real job of
work in this war ? Probably the best
is that ALREADY OVER 12,000 A.T.C.
CADETS HAVE BEEN ABSORBED
INTO THE FLYING SERVICES
IN BRITAIN ALONE ; 12,000 young
men, ready to get to grips with the
enemy in the shortest possible time.
Their entry into the flying services,
whether the Royal Air Force or The

Fleet Air Arm, is for them the fulfilment
of an object worked for steadily and
doggedly for perhaps a year, perhaps
more. They bring with them minds
that are supple and receptive and in-
tensely enthusiastic. They bring with
them courage and resolution and the
kind of daring that never hesitates to
do what is demanded of it. For the spirit
of the cadets is the spirit of the Services :
real, fine, unquestioningly loyal.

Enthusiasm,
interest,

determination—
wherever you meet
the A.T.C. cadets
at work these are the
characteristics
that strike you.

TO-DAY’S CADETS . . .

miGk*

NSN

OF TO-MORROW

So let us pay tribute to these cadets of
the A.T.C. in whose young hands
perhaps the whole future of the fight
may rest. Of them their first Director
proudly said :

“ All of them are inspired by the same
ideal. They have the singlemindedness
of youth and its confidence and serenity.
They know, with quiet determination,
where they are going and what they
want to do.”

And already, below the wings on his
tunic that proclaim him a pilot in the
R.A.F., at least one ex-cadet wears
to-day the Distinguished Flying Cross.ATC..the support line of the RAF

AMSTJN

PLENTY OF

HARD

*• & • j/

£'\ Elfi*

The A.T.C. Cadet
starts from scratch.
He must learn all
about the engine of
the plane he hopes
some day to fly. At
the beginning he
learns the differences
between the auto-
mobile and the aero
engine.

WORK . .

Inset : Theoretical

work is not enough.
The cadets must get
to grips with the real
thing. Many hours
are spent in the
“ shops ” working on
actual aircraft en-
gines.

I [Photo: "Illustrated''

Under the careful
supervision of experts
the cadets learn all
the secrets of engine
construction and
functioning.

Many units of the
A.T.C. possess
training planes of
their own—the gift
of the Air Ministry
or of local R.A.F.
Squadrons. Here
are cadets at work
on an air frame.

. AND SOME

GREAT MOMENTS

Enthusiasm, always
keen among the
cadets, is increased by
their visits to R.A.F.
Stations. Instruc-
tion by flying per-
sonnel among “live”
planes is so much
more real than lec-
tures !

Thr oughout the
training, close con-
tact is maintained
between the A.T.C.
cadets and the R.A.F.
operational person-
nel. Here an experi-
enced air gunner
talks about a bomber's
machine gun.

One of the best
moments of the train-
ing of an A.T.C.
cadet. This one is
ready to be taken for
his first flight in a
“ Magister” machine.

fS-r I