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conducted.1 Following lunch we were 'marched', or rather shambled, back to our hut and told that an MO, as we had now learned to call uniformed doctors, would be with us in five minutes. In preparation we were ordered to strip naked and stand in a line, side by side, down the centre of the hut. No sooner done than the MO appeared, but not before one of our group raised an erection and started giggling uncontrollably, and several more became similarly afflicted. Even the Corporal started to smile in spite of his attempts to call us to order. The MO commenced his inspection of our private parts and, having seen it all before, quickly dismantled any priapism with a sharp flick of his pencil, carried out his examination, and passed on to the next recruit without saying a word.
1px-trans.gif, 43 bytesImmediately after this episode we were sent to the Coal Dump to fill buckets for empty huts in our area of the camp in readiness for the next intake of recruits. Surprisingly, some of the bigger chaps proved to be weaklings. Personally I had no problem as I had, for the previous year, been involved with heavy agricultural work and was very fit.
1px-trans.gif, 43 bytesDuring the next two or three days we, our numbers now reduced as a result of interviews and medical failures, were instructed in the rudiments of drill by some most unpleasant characters called Dis.2 I had no problem with this because of previous CCF experience, but a good half of those present literally didn't know their left from their right when ordered to turn. This was bad enough when not on the march, but when marching caused absolute chaos and much use of insulting and intimidating Air Force vernacular from whomsoever was in charge of us at the time. We quickly learned to treat with caution anyone wearing any badge of rank, particularly Dis, or indeed anyone wearing a blue blancoed webbing belt.
1px-trans.gif, 43 bytesOne morning we remaining 'Static Aircrew' (pronounced 'Urcrew' at Padgate), now only half a hut full in all, were assembled and told that we would be leaving the camp temporarily to undergo more tests at the Aircrew Selection Centre at Hornchurch, the old Battle of Britain airfield in Essex on the outskirts of London.
1px-trans.gif, 43 bytesAfter having returned our bedding to the Bedding Store we were duly ordered to "Get fell in" and assembled in three ranks with packs and kit bags shouldered, to board a bus to take us to Warrington station for our journey south. A Corporal was in charge of us and held our collective Travel Warrant. This, I discovered later, was in case any of us was tempted to abscond and go AWOL, as it was our first venture in uniform into the outside world.3
1px-trans.gif, 43 bytesThe bus made its way to the Guardroom and there, at the side of the road, the notice which read proudly "Welcome to the Royal Air Force" as one approached from 'Civvy Street', had on its back scrawled the words "Now try and get out again." I was reminded of this some years later by an RAF Padre who had done a stint at Padgate at about the same time that I was there.
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1 FFI = Freedom From Infection (Venereal Disease).
2 DI = Drill Instructor. Usually regarded as the lowest form of life.
3 AWOL = Absent WithOut Leave.
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