The May 1959 intake to the Royal Air Force N°1 Radio School at Locking, Somerset, England became the 92nd Entry. The three year intensive program engraved much more than a service number into the minds of those teenagers. Memories of our service and subsequent careers are kept alive during April reunions and friendships formed all those years ago still stand.
Locking Memorial
RAF Locking closed in 2000 and the RAFLAA has spent several years negotiating with authorities and builders to erect a Memorial to all the apprentices who passed through the gates. Finally in June 2018 the Memorial was complete. It is sited just inside the entrance where the gate guardian aircraft used to be. On Wednesday 18th July 2018 the Memorial was dedicated. About 70 people attended including about 40 ex-apprentices. No 1 Radio School was established here from 1950 to 1998 where over 5,750 apprentices were trained in the ground and air electronics trades from 1952 to 1976.
The famous Brewer's Arms in Banwell known to some as the Brewer's Elbow
John Hall undertook a dangerous mission on our behalf to rediscover this historical monument where Scrumpy is thought to have been discovered & drunk by the few for the many.
The National Arboretum is a fascinating and moving place including an impressive monument with the names of nearly 50,000 servicemen and women who have died since the Second World War. It is well worth a visit.
The National Arboretum in Staffordshire is a year round centre of remembrance. It holds many tributes to our armed and other services and now has a monument to the Apprentices of RAF Locking. It was sponsored by the RAFLAA and unveiled at a service on Saturday 19th November attended by over 100 people including three from the 92nd.
Ian Huff's Woomera Walkabout pictures
Construction of Woomera Village began in mid-1947 to cater for thousands of people moving there as part of the Anglo-Australian Project. The project lasted for 30 years and saw Woomera become one of the most secret allied bases established during the Cold War. During its heyday (1949–69), the village population reached around 7,000 More...
Keep looking
There are still some of us out there..
Keep up to date with details of the next reunion.
