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Goodbye Locking and off to Ceylon
We even had to dust the roof beams
for inspections but the Inspecting Officer usually got the corporal to climb up
to check - more dignified!
 Course GSp22 at No 1 Radio School Locking finally came to an
end on 15 November 1954. We were all promoted to the rank of Junior Technician,
now a obsolete rank but it used to be the first rung on the Technician Ladder
which had promotion prospects all the way up to Master Technician - the
equivalent of Warrant Officer. Technicians wore their rank chevrons on their
sleeves upside down to differentiate them from NCOs on the ordinary ladder.
Junior Technicians wore a single chevron and ranked just below corporals - but
considered themselves much better than corporals (!!) because we had all passed a year-long
fitters course. We were also entitled now to wear the coveted 'sparks' badge on
the sleeve of our uniforms. Actually chaps like me, who had qualified as
wireless mechanics before starting the fitters' course, had been wearing the
sparks badge proudly throughout the course. Now we wanted to know our postings.
I was one of several on our course posted to the Middle and Far East but three
of us, the lucky ones, were selected to fly to our destinations instead of
having to travel for several very uncomfortable weeks on a troop ship. In the
early 1950s there simply were not enough Hastings transport aircraft available
to transport everyone who needed to get to overseas locations. Naturally, the
RAF got preference over the RN and Army although I imagine the RN would have
chosen to travel by sea anyway. I was sent home on 14 days embarkation leave a
few days later.
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This image shows final packing in our barrack
room at Locking with Brasso and old-fashioned webbing much in evidence. It
always seemed crowded at the time, 22 beds for us plus the corporal's
private room (bunk) at one end (the end nearest the camera in this
image) , but I hadn't remembered it as this crowded!
Incidentally, we even had to dust the roof beams for inspections but the
Inspecting Officer usually got the corporal to climb up to check - more dignified!. |
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