AIRMEN FOR A WEEK

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 79, 10 January 1944, Page 4

AIRMEN FOR A WEEK

A.T.C. CADETS EXPERIENCE LIFE Wellington, This Day These holidays 1500 North Island and Marlborough lads, aged from 15 to 18$. in batches of 250. are being airmen for a week when they take the special Air Training Corps course at Milson. They not only study all the subjects of their elder brother regulars but. with parachutes strapped on. they get an indiidual flight, and the best six from each course are given a longer flight in a service cralt from Ohakea. And to show that the A.T.C. in New Zealand has already produced the goods, the pilot of one of these special flights was a former A.T.C. cadet, now a D.F.C. cxMiddle East Those in the course ending to-mor-row had a special experience on Saturday. The Deputy-Chief of the Air Staff. Air Commodore G. T. Jarman. D. 5.0., D.F.C.. flew up from Wellington, watched them on parade and at play, moved round among them as "one airman to another” and finished a short informal address by inviting complaints about food, accommodation, or anything else the cadets liked to introduce. Ho got no complaints Many of the lads have not been so far from home before. They are drawn from as distant as North Cape—like Kerikeri, Kaitaia. Kokianga-down to Nelson and Blenheim. Milson is accommodating the North Island cadets and those from the South Island who are in the Wellington wing (Nelson and Blenheim). Christchurch and Dunedin are running smaller courses to make the scheme nationwide. Selection is on the "first in” principle; the net result is that about 12). per cent, of the cadets will attend these courses during the holidays or have already done so. The course starting to-morrow lias a large secondary school representations— St Patrick’s. Silverstream. 17: Wellington Technical College. I*2: Hutt Valley Technical College, 16; Nelson College, 25; NOW TMymduth Boys’ High School, 18; St: Patrick's Wellington: Wellington College:* Wairarapa College. Horowhenua -"College; Wanganui College, Palmerston North High School: Hamilton and Rotorua High Schools: Tauranga District High School. As well there are among those from non-school units 50 Wellington lads. 20 from Masterton and seven from Blenheim. All travelling expenses are met by the Air Department and the working boy who loses wages gets these made up. Discipline is there. One lad found this when he went into town after lights out. Put to shelling peas for a day. he asked an officer; "Will mum get to know about this? You know, dad’s over at Guadalcanal- and she's on her own and wouldn’t like it.” Reassured that the matter was entirely one "within the service.” he got to work on those peas with a will.