Lincs Pride FEB 223.qxp 05/01/2021 10:53 Page 33
100 YEARS OF RAF CRANWELL
A Trenchard Brat
In the Heart of Lincolnshire 100 years ago this month, Herbert ‘Tom’ Tomlin enlisted at RAF Cranwell. The station was just four years old, and Herbert was only ten years older than that. The plucky lad had heard stories of bravery and heroism from the Great War, not least tales of those ‘magnificent men in their flying machines.’ This month the Cranwell Aviation Heritage Museum reveals the story of the ‘Trenchard Brats,’ with a brand new collection of items which tell the story of Herbert’s life in RAF Cranwell Boys’ Wing... Words & Images: Rob Davis & Tony Barron with material from NKDC; www.heartoflincs.com.
NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT to a story than a great main character. And when it comes to recounting the story of the RAF Cranwell’s ‘Boys’ Wing,’ Herbert Tomlin, ‘Tom’ is certainly a brilliant lead role. Exactly 100 years ago, the young lad signed up to the Airport Apprentice Scheme (AAS); a role created by Hugh Trenchard. He was a man so RAF that even his stiff upper lip had a stiff upper lip of its own. The First Viscount Trenchard was born in 1879 and had served in the Boer War, before being appointed Officer Commanding of the Royal Flying Corps. The latter would be amalgamated with the Royal Navy Air Service to become the RAF in 1918, just after the worth of air combat had been proven in the First World War. Aircraft engineers, Trenchard came to realise, were thin on the ground – pun intended – and so to keep Britain flying, the newly appointed Chief of the Air Staff needed a good supply of well-educated boys who could apply the necessary intellect and technical proficiency to aviation-centric engineering challenges – for instance, aircraft electrical systems, creating interrupter mechanisms to synchronise firing through propellers, and of course, designing aerodynamic air frames. Trenchard created an Aircraft Apprentice Scheme, which was originally due to be
based at RAF Halton, though a lack of suitable accommodation meant it was first based at RAF Cranwell instead, opening in 1920. Though a second ‘Boys’ Wing’ also opened in 1922 at RAF Halton, Cranwell’s AAS remained at Cranwell until 1952 before being transferred to RAF Locking. And so, our hero, Tommy Tomlin, was one of the first recruits of the AAS, which would come to be known by the soubriquet of ‘Trenchard’s Brats...’ in Lincolnshire, incidentally, they were also known as The Poacher’s Brats. The Scheme was a three year commitment for boys between 15 and 17 and a half. Legal guardianship in loco parentis was assumed by the RAF and entrance involved rigorous exams, intelligence tests and also medical examinations. Trenchard would address himself to Tom and the rest of the first intake thusly; “I’m Hugh Trenchard and you’re who work hard.” Thankfully the education was better than the comedy, and among the AAS’s graduates was one Frank Whittle. The creator of the jet engine, Whittle passed the entrance exam in 1923 at RAF Halton, but at just five feet tall and with a bit of a puny build, lasted just a couple of days. Whittle was undeterred and embarked on a serious exercise regime, and after a second rejection, applied a third time, this time at RAF Cranwell and under an assumed name.
Whittle apparently hated the discipline, even considering desertion, but his Commanding Officer admired the model aircraft that he created and acknowledged his mathematical genius, recommending him for Officer Training at Cranwell in 1926... perhaps a neat example of how the meek can inherit the Earth. Safe to say that decision was a good one, for were it not for the faith that the OC demonstrated, we may never have had the jet engine, which was invented by Whittle! Meanwhile, back to Tom. After enlistment into the training establishment, the ‘Boys’ were divided into two sections. They would then be trained on many graded courses, beginning with elementary work, and passing out once tasks within the sphere of their particular trade had been achieved. The boys were also required to sit all their written examinations in a number of subjects including the sciences, mathematics, English and technical drawing. In 1921, Herbert was part of the Boys’ Wing contingent that paraded at the Royal Tournament at Olympia, London. This was clearly a memorable event for him, as aside from photos, Herbert collected numerous newspaper clippings relating to the event, as well as a well-thumbed copy of the Tournament’s programme, inside which was his own personal souvenir of the pageant. These documents form part of the collection of material that Tom’s nephew Tony Barron, has collated and looked after. >>
Main Image: 100 years ago, Herbert ‘Tom’ (pictured front row, right with cane) Tomlin enlisted in the RAF’s Boys’ Wing, also known as the Airport Apprentice Scheme, as one of ‘Trenchard’s Brats!’
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