Arborfield Old Boys Association
AOBA
Arborfield Life
There's always another side...
by West Robertson 50B
With the proliferation of light blue berets now appearing in the pages of the Association newsletter, and the high proportion of REME tradesmen serving in the Air Corps, it seems we have forgotten the earlier days of that fledgling sparrow which has become a proud, soaring eagle. But it did not become so without the predatory, sometimes cruel and selfish instinct, portrayed by the bird within the badge. For some, those talons struck deep.
It is not for me to attempt to detail here the history of Army flying, although my father was an army pilot in the Royal Flying Corps (RFC), so there is an inherent interest in it. Sufficient to say that the 'Gunners' found that a flying platform was ideal for their spotters, and that for a number of years the RAF were prepared to service suitable aircraft for this purpose. Sometime in the Fifties, whether the Air Force no longer wanted this task, or the Army wanted more than was being offered, I do not know. But a decision was arrived at that the Army would operate and maintain aircraft, to within specific parameters, the main criteria being weight.
In December 1957, on returning home after a three-
There were six of us on that IE&R course -
The training we receive must have been adequate, for when, in
March, the time came for trade testing, we all passed. Although I must admit that,
when stuck for an answer, all you had to do was quote 'AP 1275A Vol.? Sect.?' (Air
Publications are EMERs in a proper job!) and the examiner was more than pleased!
It was about this time that the light blue beret was introduced, not yet in general
issue, but available from military tailors. To decide who was posted where, we put
all the destinations into a hat and each picked his own. I found I was bound for
656 Sqn based in Kuala Lumpur (KL), so having had just over a year between far eastern
tours and, of course, still a second class tradesman.
There can be few happier, or
harder working units than that that was Noblefield in those early days. We had cloth
hangers and an array of corrugated iron sheds housing the various servicing bays
and workshop office. National Service was almost over and the few conscripted men
we had were deferred aircraft engineering graduates. With a workshop strength of
about twenty, we had teams for hockey, rugby and football, so everyone played everything.
Five flights were spread along the length of the country, none of which had an IE&R
man, so I spent many of my days away from base and home, but enjoyed the work and
got much satisfaction from completing the tasks. In addition to the Inst Mechs, there
were a couple of Tels Mechs, doing purely radio work, and one or two RAF men waiting
to be recalled. For my first eighteen months with the squadron, there were only two
pure IE&R men, so at times we were a bit pushed, what with both bay servicing and
hanger work to do. But perhaps it was the fact that we were so busy that I did not
think much about the future, although I had approached the OC regarding upgrading
and he had promised to arrange something.
Sometime in early 1960,
a delegation from REME/Wallop arrived in KL to attempt to persuade the IE&R men to
attend a basic electronics course. The Army of the future would be operating bigger
and more complicated machinery, they said, and the men on the ground would require
these additional skills, but no, it would not result in successful candidates being
upgraded! For myself, I declared that I would only consider such a path if and when
the course the OC was at present arranging had come to fruition. The OC denied that
he had any knowledge of my problem!
As I had done for all the years of my service, I wrote my weekly letter home and
mentioned my disappointment in the actions of the OC, a man I had genuinely liked
and trusted. Without my knowledge, my parents wrote to their MP and a question was
raised in Parliament. The fallout from this action was immediate and all-
The situation I
now found myself in was hardly that hoped for by a career soldier. I was trapped
in a Corps that would not upgrade me and, although not allowed qualification myself,
I was required to test Air Techs on first-
With only a few
months to serve on my present tour and the unit preparing for a move to Malacca,
I began once again to enjoy soldiering. If my new unit was aware of the circumstance
of my arrival, I did not know. But I thought it better to bring things out in the
open, since I felt that I had nothing to hide and it was agreed that the past was
best forgotten. My posting arrived just as the unit moved and it was back to a Squadron
at Middle Wallop.
It was with mixed feelings that I arrived at Wallop. It was good
to meet so many old friends from my days in KL but, without a future, and a wife
to consider, it looked as if the old struggle was about to re-
As the time of arrival of the Scout got closer, it was a case
of pleading with any Air Corps authority that would listen to an IE&R man, and they
were few and far between, that some action should be taken to familiarise our trade
with this new machine. Eventually it was agreed that one man could go to the manufacturer
for a two-
Some time before, another pressed IE&R/Inst Tech and ex-
Apart from sympathy, all we received was a suggestion that since I had already tried
to buck the system, perhaps if I were to take the basic electronics course, I could
then 'complain from within' with some authority. With little else on offer, this
seemed a good option so I signed the piece of paper, produced like magic from a desk
drawer! Nothing happened for a week or two, then I was told to report to Bordon,
taking enough kit for a week's stay. It was with some surprise that I was handed
a slip with a large letter printed fore and aft, and told to wear it in the morning
over working kit and to show no badges of rank. Monday morning saw me taking part
in a variety of tests, from the old colour charts to an obstacle course, discussions
on remote international problems to political strife, then late on Tuesday evening,
I was told to report to SEE (Arborfield) next morning.
This seemed a step in the
right direction. And so, at the appointed hour, I duly presented myself at the appropriate
office. It was then, and only then, that I was informed that I was on an Artificer
Selection Board and that I had apparently selected an electronic based trade, so
it was necessary that I take the appropriate papers, after this initial interview.
Since I had no wish to become an Artificer, and certainly did not want to leave my
basic trade, the remainder of that day, and most of the next morning, was spent in
'discussions', in which we could not reach agreement. Thursday afternoon saw me back
at Bordon, with insufficient time to take the mechanical papers and perform the fitting
task, but I suggested that since I had no wish to pass, I would do what I could in
the time permitted. The following Monday, I stated my case to the selection board
and requested that I leave. This was granted.
After about another month had passed,
I had almost forgotten the fiasco. I remember that I was doing a camera modification
to a Skeeter, a job which entailed lying under the aircraft working blind, with your
hands, lost, somewhere in its bowels, when a kick to my feet preceded a message to
report to Bordon immediately. Whether they were the same officers assembled as when
last I faced that daunting semi-
Arriving at Arborfield, I found Pete Shambrock
(50A), newly arrived from Hong Kong and just as confused as myself as to what was
going on. But we pulled on our light blue berets and joined a course of basic students
for the next nine months or so. Just who made the next decision, neither of us could
work out, but shortly after completing our BE course, we were put on a Tels 2-
Three months or so into the Tels course, I heard about a Radar 'Tiffy'
course that had complained that, due to the inclusion of a new equipment and thus
extension of course duration, they were losing seniority. This was agreed and promotions
were dated from when the course should have been completed. By this time, both Pete
and myself had been training for about eighteen months. We had another year to go
on the Tels bit and goodness knows how long when the Air Corps got their hands on
us again. I requested an interview with the Chief Instructor and suggested that we
were not just losing a few weeks seniority as the Radar men were, but years. So what
about doing something for us?
I did not understand then, and I do not now, but for
some reason Pete and myself were held on the strength of Depot REME during all the
time we had been training. So the Chief Instructor at SEE arranged with them that
we could join an Artificer Inst course starting in two days time down at Bordon,
if Pete and I were agreeable. However, there was nothing he could do about back-
A troublesome side...
There is another troublesome side to the tale! In 1975, I became
Inspector of Instruments for 1 BR Corps, based with 63 Station Wksp, Hanover. The
resident ASM was an ex-
Strange but true -
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Arborfield Old Boys Association 1999 -
