My father Ernest (Ernie) Easter served in the Fleet Air Arm. In his memoir he remembers his time as an air mechanic. I have extracted this section about his experience in the Fleet Air Arm during the Second World War.
When the war started I was sent away to other jobs such as a military hospital at Wheatley in Oxfordshire, the Bathstone mines at Nestor (Wiltshire) being converted to a war factory, and Hereford College now being used as a naval establishment.
In 1941 I was 17 years old. At 17 years and 9 months I would be called up into the armed forces. Having heard all the horrific stories of army life in the first war I did not fancy that, so I decided to try and get into the navy.
I went to the recruiting office in Bristol and was interviewed by a Marine sergeant. My father’s brother (my uncle Sid) was a petty officer in the regular navy and I used his name to help me to get in.
In due course, after a medical examination, I was accepted. Strange as it may seem I was posted back to Hereford College (where I had been working) for induction.
There I met real life. Most of the other members of the intake of forty men were ex-prisoners from Barlinnie prison, Glasgow. These men had been released for active service. Rough men that they were, I found I could get along with most of them, so long as you tied down your belongings!
Many of these men could not read and write. The navy taught them and I, along with some others were seconded to help them, a job I quite liked. On the whole most of them were quite keen to learn. Most of these men were to go to the Stokers school at Portsmouth.
After several aptitude tests and much square bashing and sentry duty I was transferred the fleet air arm at Lee-on-Solent to be trained as an air mechanic (L) (electrics). We were posted to RAF Henlow in Bedfordshire on a six months technical training course. This consisted of practical work on aircraft and theoretical work in the classroom. At the end of this course we were passed out as air mechanics, with permission to sign form 700 which was the aircraft serviceability record.
From Henlow I was posted to my first squadron. This was 790 squadron then based at Charleton Horethorne in Wiltshire. This was an outstation to Yeovilton naval air station. Charleton Horethorne was a pilot training squadron The squadron consisted of a variety of (even then) old aircraft. There were Airspeed Oxfords, Avro Ansons and a number of Tiger Moths. My job was to look after the electrics and the instruments such as airspeed indicators, altimeters etc. As you can imagine the electrics on these aircraft were simple in the extreme. As the war progressed better aircraft appeared such as Wildcats, Hellcats, Seafires (the navy’s version of the Spitfire) and later still Fairey Fireflies.
The squadron was transferred to Dale, near Haverfordwest in South Wales . We took with us our Fireflies, and we then got Mosquitoes. The squadron was used to train pilots in the use of RADAR, which was new then.
In 1943 I was promoted to leading air mechanic and put in charge of a flight of seven fireflies. Aircraft were now getting more sophisticated with many more electrical circuits and modern instruments. This made the job much more interesting. Spare parts were not very plentiful and keeping the aircraft serviceable and flying was at times quite difficult. However we managed somehow.
In 1945 1 was promoted once again this time to acting Petty Officer. Since this role was more involved with administration and paperwork it was not quite so interesting. However there were perks, such as the use of the petty officers mess – and higher wages. Just about that time our squadron was transferred back to Yeovilton and our aircraft were re-rigged and used to back up the troops fighting in France and Germany. We were still there when the war in Europe finished.
Although I was a volunteer and due to serve for seven years I was offered release under the B scheme. This was available to anyone who had a trade in civvy street. I had completed three years of my apprenticeship and since my service in the navy counted, I could come out as a fully qualified electrician. I accepted the B scheme and went to Lee-on-Solent to be signed off and demobbed. .From there I was sent to Oxford to a demob centre to be kitted out with demob clothes and given a voucher to enable me to buy a tool kit for my future employment. I then came home to Raynes Park for my demob leave.
Easter Family Genealogy 