AIR TRAINING CORPS

Timaru Herald, Volume CLIII, Issue 22490, 27 January 1943, Page 4

AIR TRAINING CORPS

Development And Purpose Talk By Wing Commander G. A. Nicholls The development of the Air Training Corps was the subject of a broadcast talk by Wing Commander G. A. Nicholls, commandant of the A.T.C. He spoke particularly to parents and guardians of boys between the ages of 15 and 18.

“During 1942 the Air Training Corps developed an effective training organisation, the purpose of which is to train reserves for service in all branches of the Air Force,” said Wing Commander Nicholls. “We are beginning another year of training, and I know a large number of parents throughout the Dominion are being approached by their sons for permission to join the A.T.C. To the parents of these boys membership in the A.T.C. is a matter of considerable personal importance and I hope that the information I am able to give them will be of assistance. For ’those young men who have just left school, parents are faced with the complicated problem of employment of their sons in a career during the most troublesome times that we have ever experienced. These young men are all liable for service in some branch of the Armed Forces when they reach the age of 18. “We can help speed the end of the war by giving the utmost personal support to war requirements until the day the war ends. We also owe a duty to our young men to ensure they are prepared for service in the Armed Forces should they be required. In the Air Training Corps you are provided with an organisation that fills in the gap between the time your son leaves school and the time he is old enough for Service life. This is a most important period in every young man’s life and is a period in which most valuable training can be given. Educational Training “By reason of the technical nature of Air Force service a large part of this training is necessarily educational, and the A.T.C. provides for continuation of your son’s education and combines with it an introduction into the practical application of subjects which he has learned at school. Drill and physical training form part of the programme and help to develop the young man. We have found that prior to joining A.T.C. less than 30 per cent of the cadets in town wilts had taken part in organised sport of any kind. In every town in New Zealand you will find cadets playing a prominent part in all forms of sport. These activities must benefit the individual cadet and make him more fitted for whatever the future holds for him,” the Wing Commander continued.

“It is Impossible to predict the ultimate development of aviation, but one thing is certain, and that is that aviation is going to fill an important part in the world of the future, and that there will always be room for large numbers of skilled personnel in the aviation world. At the age of 15 or 16 there are few boys who have made up their minds as to their future careers, and no doubt there are large numbers who say they want to take up flying and join the Air Force, and yet do not realise what is required. Membership in the A.T.C. will give these lads an insight into the problems they will need to tackle. Their visits to Air Force stations will give them an appreciation of the thoroughness that is required in Air Force training. It will give them an appreciation of the tremendous scope that exists in the Air Force for employment of skilled workers.

“The training will determine whether your son is fitted for employment in a technical trade or whether he can qualify for flying training. The fact that he has joined the A.T.C. does not commit him to join the R.N.Z.A.F. “A young man at 18 will probably view matters in a different light to when he was 15 or 16, but at least he has had the opportunity of knowing what Air Force training consists of. Those young men who have not been fortunate enough to have been able to go to secondary schools are provided with facilities for education that they have missed.

“The problems of wartime employment of youth and lack of skilled workers are of national importance. It should be realised that the Air Force requires large numbers of skilled workers in all its technical branches. The number of young men leaving secondary schools to take up engineering and other technical trades each year only numbers a few hundreds. The Air Force requires thousands of technical personnel and has the facilities for training them. This is a very complete training because there is a vast difference between a technician in the Air Force and his counterpart in civil life.

“In civil life a technician usually has to fix things up after they have developed a fault or completely failed. In the Air Force one has to see that faults do not develop and that things do not fail. To do this successfully one has to have a very sound knowledge of the basic principles and theory of operation of all the apparatus which is concerned. Some of it is highly scientific in nature and its repair and maintenance needs to be thoroughly understood. Unique and Thorough “When we consider that each trade has a vast amount of this scientific apparatus to care for it will be realised there can be no half methods of training. Training must be based on the sound knowledge of scientific principles of aviation. The training that is given to skilled workers in the Air Force is a training that it was impossible to get outside the service, even if you paid hundreds of pounds for it. This is because such training facilities did not exist and have been developed in the Air Force to enable sufficient personnel to be trained for all requirements. “Most parents do not realise the tremendous opportunities that are offered young men for technical training. Service in the Air Force is thought by many to consist of nothing but flying, but when you stop to think you must realise that there are at least 10 skilled workers in various trades required for every man in the air. The Royal New Zealand Air Force has expanded very rapidly and still greater numbers of technical personnel will be required in .the future. The only way we can obtain the necessary skilled workers is to train them, and to give them experience on the training stations in New Zealand where they can take over the jobs which are now being carried out by men who are urgently required for overseas service. This is where the Air Training Corps will prove of tremendous value to the Air Force. We are not only building up reserves for aircrew but we are building up large reserves for all technical trades. These young men will all have received a training that will better fit them for their service life. During 1942 some hundreds of our cadets who had volunteered for Air Force service and had reached the age of 18 have joined the R.N.Z.A.F. There are thousands of our cadets who will be able to go into Air Force training at a time when their services are most urgently needed. "The enthusiasm of our young men will always provide us with airmen whose ability and courage will enable them to play a leading part in our Air Force of the future. With the stupendous development of wartime

aviation it must be realised that enthusiasm and courage alone is not sufficient to keep pace with the rapid strides in the science of aviation. Long training and long hours of study are necessary to prepare our future airmen for the tasks they will be called upon to perform. Science can develop the aeroplane as a weapon of ■war. Organisation of industry can manufacture the aircraft, but only by having the necessary manpower, efficient and highly trained, can the most effective striking power of an Air Force be maintained,” Wing Commander G. A. Nicholls concluded. "Young men are required to provide the necessary manpower and it is our job in the Air Training Corps to provide the young men leaving school and those still attending secondary schools with a foundation of training that will enable them to take their place in the Service should this be necessary. The Royal Air Force, besides being one of the finest fighting forces that has ever been built up, is also described as one of the greatest educational institutions in the British Empire. A.T.C. training has found excellent support in all our post primary schools. Leading schoolmasters, vocational guidance officers and leading citizens in all towns are lending excellent support in this training. I would like to extend to parents and guardians who want to know more about A.T.C. training a hearty invitation to visit any unit to see the training that, is being carried out, and also to see the excellent type of young men who form our A.T.C. units and who are showing such a wonderful keenness and enthusiasm in their work. With your support we look forward to a record year in thu Air Training Corps for 1943.