Jones RAF Service Records Interpretation

[fionah1973]

Hi, would it please be possible for anyone to offer support and help to understand my grandads service records?

I have attached them if that is Ok?

he was a ach/driver mt in the raf

Thank you in advance
Fiona

[Andy J2022]

Card One
The remarks in the centre column refer to the War Service Increment (WSI) to which he was entitled for 3 yrs service, which he was paid with effect from 19.7.45  at the rate of 1/- per day

Card Two
ACH/Driver stands for Aircrafthand Driver

The remarks on the right hand side are just his promotion details with, at the bottom, the percentages gained in the two trade related examinations he attended. Maybe Ross (RAFCommands) can explain the exact title of the exams. I think but am not certain, that LTTB stands for Local Trade Training Board

LAC is Leading Aircraftman; DMT is Driver Mechanical transport
Cpl is Corporal

Card 3
2 and 16 RC refer to Recruiting Centres 2 and 16, respectively, that is to say his basic recruit training.
He was then posted to RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire (part of Bomber Command) where he was in 121 Flight of Airfield Headquarters (AFHQ)
This was followed by 6245 FlightService Echelon (see reply from RAFCommands below), part of Station Flight. 'Flight' is the term the RAF use to denote a subunit roughly equivalent to a platoon or troop in the Army. Usually commanded by a junior officer or Warrant Officer. In his case this would have probably been the Station MT flight.
Then after the war had ended he was posted to RAF Sylt in Northern Germany.

Prior to his demobilisation he was posted to 101 Personnel Dispatch Centre (PDC) for final processing.

Let me know if there's anything else you don't understand

[Andy J2022]

Just to add to my comment about Card 3  in relation to 2RC. I believe the 'Res' abbreviation stands for reserve. That is to say, he reported to the Recruiting Centre on 10 June 1942 and completed all his paperwork and basic administration, and then was held in reserve from 11 Jun to 21 July for the next recruit course to form up. He may have been sent home on leave or more probably held in barracks, getting bored for those 3 weeks. 

[fionah1973]

Thank you so much for your very informative response

It's truly appreciated.

So what would hos duties of been? What sort of planes would he dealt with etc

Thank you greatly fiona

[Andy J2022]

I can't say for sure, but he would have been tasked with all sorts of driving jobs. Cars for ferrying senior officers around the base and to meetings etc off base; driving coaches full of airmen to the ranges, or around the airfield, collecting new arrivals from the local train station, and taking the sick to hospital appointments etc; He might also have been trained for specialist duties such as driving an ammunition carrier from the bomb storage bunkers out to the planes, or driving a fuel truck to re-fuel the planes, and countless other similar tasks essential to the administration of the airfield.

[rafcommands]

Andy is correct LTTB is Local Trade Test Board. As his muster trade did not change as a result of either of examinations (first is reclassification) then they were to test his trade knowledge as Driver and in general RAF with a view to reclassification from AC2 to AC1 and then LAC.

6245 SE is 6245 Servicing Echelon - this was a structural change that Bomber and Fighter Command carried out to improve ethos and flexibility for field operations.

Early war, Squadrons had establishment for flightline ground crews but as home commands became static at UK Stations it meant over staffing so to reduce manpower demands most of the ground crew were assigned to the Station establishment. For a Bomber Command Station with 4 Squadrons this meant a reduction in almost 60% in needed ground crew.

Mid war Bomber Command moved from assigning ground crew from Stations to Base which controlled a number of Stations in the locality but this was showing a disconnect of unit pride between ground crews and Squadrons.

Fighter Command was looking at how it would support a move to field operations in support of Invasion and breakout from beach head and the ground crew assigned to Station would be difficult to control.

As a result ground crews were split to Base/Station as before but some were paper transferred to Servicing Echelons.

The first part of the SE number was a Base/Station grouping but the next three were the Squadron that the Echelon was primarily considered to support eg No.245 Squadron

https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?action=post;topic=884448.0;last_msg=7574408

This meant that if the Squadron moved to field duties then it had a ground crew resource already assigned that could move with it. This reduced admin and meant the units could make movement plans without massive restructuring of postings.

Ross

[fionah1973]

Thank you so much both of you this greatly appreciated and so interesting

I have lots of pictures in an album. Which I will  share

Is there a place I could share these photos as other people may be of interest as there lots of men on them

But everything you say my grandad did makes sense, as once he left the war.

He went on and drove buses, and had his own mini bus which he drove for stag hen parties etc.

He also drove men to G K Sankeys in Telford. Where he worked for many years. They built tanks, and my granddad drove them if I remember right to test them