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RAF
Digby - RCAF Digby
A history : 1918 - 1978
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Updated: 2 Jan 08
CHAPTER 2 - BETWEEN THE WARS
a. 1919-1926
No 3 Flying Training School was formed in April 1920. Its first commanding officer was Squadron Leader A T Harris, AFC, later to achieve fame as Marshal of the Royal Air Force, Sir Arthur T Harris, GCB OBE AFC LLD - or - more commonly - as ‘Bomber’ Harris. July 1920 saw the name of Scopwick changed to Digby. The reason makes fascinating reading. Late in 1919 the Workshops’ Officer at Scopwick ordered some machinery for servicing his aircraft. Seven months later, he was still without his machinery, in spite of hasteners and requests for action. Meanwhile at No 5 FTS Shotwick Aerodrome in Flintshire a baffled Workshops’ Officer was trying to work out why he had been sent a load of machinery which he had not demanded and for which he had no use anyway. Finally the problem was solved - but to prevent any more confusion, Scopwick was renamed Digby and Shotwick became Sealand - names by which both are still known today. The school flew various types of fighter trainer aircraft and remained at Digby until April 1922, when, as part of the further contraction of the peacetime Air Force, it disbanded. Digby went on to a ‘care and maintenance’ basis, and stayed so until June 1924, when No 2 Flying Training School came to the Station.
No 2 Flying Training School had been at Duxford prior to its move to Digby, flying Avro 504s, Bristol Fighters, and Sopwith Snipes, it trained pilots ab initio in fighter-type aircraft. On its arrival at Digby it was commanded by Wing Commander Sidney Smith DSO AFC who returned in 1929 as a group captain to command the Station again. Wing Commander Smith, incidentally, was known on the Station as ‘Crasher’. This allegedly stems from his habit of landing his aircraft very firmly - rumour has it that on one memorable day he ‘bent’ no less than 3 aircraft!
Fig 3 is believed to show the results of one such crash on the officers of the Air Ministry Works Department. (However, Mr Bert Rear of Leasingham, who gave us the photograph says that one of the Beamish brothers was to blame.) All the aircraft were painted (or, more accurately, doped) an aluminium colour. The distinguishing mark of No 2 FTS was a red centre section. In accordance with the then general practice, the wheels were painted in different colours. When a pupil pilot went solo, bunting streamers in the flight colour were attached to the outer struts as a warning to other aircraft in the vicinity that the aircraft might do something unconventional! One cannot imagine anyone in his right mind getting too close to an FTS in full swing. On a fine and flyable day, there would be 30 or 40 aircraft buzzing around doing circuits and bumps.
The Flight Commander of the Bristol Fighter Flight was Flight Lieutenant Gardiner. Gardiner was something of a martinet, who always wore spotless white overalls, white gloves and a white silk scarf when flying. He insisted that his aircraft were always polished as though for an AOC’s Inspection. In the mid-summer of 1925, the AOC made an unofficial surprise visit to the Station. As he arrived in a Bristol Fighter, this was naturally parked outside the Bristol Flight. The Avro and Snipe Flights were inspected first, and all went well. The AOC, however, seems to have been irked with Gardiner’s trident self-satisfaction at his Flight’s splendid turnout. He therefore searched harder than normal for a defect. At the end of the line he found it, and told Gardiner that he expected all the aircraft to be properly prepared. Poor Gardiner could hardly complain that the offending aircraft was the one that the AOC had arrived in a little earlier!
At around this time, the ‘gate guardian’ was a German AA gun. What little I have been able to discover of this gun is recorded at Appendix 9.
With the Flying Training School when it came from Duxford was AC Parselle, a postal clerk. He set up the Postal Section on the unit, operating first on a bicycle and later progressing to motor cycles and cars. He was demobilised in 1929, but came back in 1930 for a spell as a civilian driver. Back in uniform at the beginning of the war, he renewed his acquaintance with Digby; he again became a civilian employee after the War. (This time he was a clerk.) He finally retired from RAF Digby, where he was working as a messenger in 1970, 46 years after he first arrived.
It was during Wing Commander Smith’s time that one LAC H Harding arrived at Digby. The exact date was 25 June 1924. He tells us that the CO of the time was very keen that all his airmen should have flying experience. (Whether this was Smith or Tedder is not clear.) Apparently, an individual would be selected at random and asked why he had joined the RAF. The usual replies were that the man wanted to fallow a trade or to travel. The CO would have none of this. “You joined to fly. Follow me, boy !“ The hapless airman would be dragged off to a waiting aircraft and subjected to half an hour’s acrobatics - often with unfortunate results!
Many of the then current aircraft had to be started by means of a ‘Huckstarter’. This was based on a model T Ford chassis, and was a mechanical starting handle. In 1924 and 25 there were just 3 of these contraptions at Digby. One day, a driver who had just started a Bristol Fighter went forward, instead of backwards, when the aircraft’s engine fired. The result was a smashed propeller and a badly bent horizontal shaft on the starter. One of the other starters was having its engine overhauled. The other was something of a rogue. The steering was badly worn, and it was possible to wind the wheel round to such an extent that reverse steering was possible. Having heard of the earlier accident, the sergeant in charge of MT detailed his favourite driver to take the rogue out and show the others how things should be done. Some wag had, however, left the steering in a critical position; sure enough, the favoured driver tried to sweep out of the hangar with a flourish, and demolished a brick wall! The amusement of the others was short-lived; the sergeant detailed them to work all night until both damaged machines had been made serviceable.
Sidney Smith was fallowed as Unit Commander by Wing Commander A W Tedder,
later to be Marshal of the Royal Air Force, the Lord Tedder, GCB, DCL,
LLD.
The Station Church Baptismal register shows that on 31 October 1926 the
son of Wing Commander Tedder was christened John Michael by His Grace
the Bishop of Lincoln. In the Church of St Michael, where the christening
took place, there is also an Alms Dish given to the Church in November
1928, 10 years after Armistice Day. The donor was by Squadron Leader
C A Ridley (OC Admin) and the inscription reads:
“
I was bought to the greater Glory of God and for use in the Church of
St Michael within the Aerodrome Digby, Lincolnshire by command of Squadron
Leader C A Ridley, DSO, MC wherein his 2 children were baptised. Offered
by him on Armistice Day, November 11th 1928”.
Ridley was a much decorated veteran of World War 1. Not only did he have
the DSO and MC, but he also had a special gold medal that he had been
awarded for bringing down a Zeppelin. (Apparently, however, he did not
wear this one.) He was always immaculate himself, and always wore breeches
and field boots. (Squadron leaders and above were entitled to wear these
in those times, but normally only did so on high days and holidays. Ridley
- according to Ernest Martin, who was then a pupil pilot - was rumoured
to wear them even in bed!) One of Squadron Leader Ridley’s duties
was the supervision of the pupil pilots’ turnout. As might be imagined,
it was one he took seriously. He would walk down the ranks on parade,
followed by the Station Warrant Officer and a sergeant who carried a
mirror. The miscreant was made to look at his fault in the mirror before
being charged for his crime. Ridley somewhat incongruously is recorded
as having later ridden in the Grand National Steeplechase! At around
this time, a Squadron Leader Oxenham used to ride his horse to the office!
Mr Martin’s first instructor was a man called Bugge, which he pronounced ‘Bewgey’. Apparently, this was not his only idiosyncracy. The stick in the instructor’s cockpit was detachable, the idea being that it would not snag on anything when the aircraft was being flown solo by the pupil. On at least one occasion, Bugge terrified a pupil by apparently throwing away his joy stick (which was really just a spare) and shouting “It’s all yours.” He also used to connect his Gosport tube (the speaking tube between instructor and pupil) so that he could speak to the student, but left his ear phones unplugged so that the pupil could not retort! One day, one of his pupils was taken ill in the air, but could not explain this to Bugge. Bugge was apparently posted shortly afterwards., but we do not know if there was a direct connection between the 2 events
Also available from this time is a copy of Daily Routine Orders for 28th July 1926 issued by Wing Commander Tedder. They detail the Orderly Officer, Duty Officer of the Watch and the Duty Trumpeter. Chimneys were to be swept by the contractor, starting at 0600 hours. This order is now on display in the small Station historical museum.
A school for the children living in married quarters was opened on April 26th 1926, with 23 pupils. No story of the Station would be complete without the story of the School; this is covered in some detail in Appendix 4.
In 1925 Sopwith Siskins were brought into the unit, and also to the unit came, as a QFI, a Flight Lieutenant F J Fogarty. He achieved later fame as Air Chief Marshal Sir Francis J Fogarty, GBE, KCB, DFC. At a reunion dinner, held at Digby in 1971, Sir Francis recalled that crashes and flying accidents were part of the everyday routine and that ‘flying by the seat of your pants’ as the rule, rather than the exception. He told of a flight commander who came stumbling round the corner of one of the aircraft sheds, blood streaming from a cut on his head. “Where’s the crash Sir?” said one of the ground staff, running to his aid. “Crash be blowed” said the flight commander “I went to the toilet and pulled the chain, and the damned cistern fell on my head“
The Unit also obtained sporting recognition in 1925, when they won the Wakefield Trophy for Boxing and the Air Council Cup (Junior Championship) at Athletics.
During these early years the sports field was beginning to take shape. In 1926, Mr Albert Thorpe started as a groundsman. He was to spend 40 years at Digby looking after the sports ground which he originally started in 1926. At that time Wing Commander Tedder expressed a wish that there should be a sports field - and the best place was occupied by a turnip field.
However, such a wish was not to be denied and Mr Thorpe and his staff began to build what is now the Hockey, Cricket and Soccer arena. During this time a start was also made on the Tennis Courts, Garden and Sports Pavilion. Later on when new hangars were being built in 1935/36 some of the concrete from the floors of the old hangars was used to make the crazy paving on the garden paths.
The sports field saw its share of celebrities. Playing hockey for the station during the pre-World War II period was Flight Lieutenant Hampton and Squadron Leader Valsey, both of whom played for the RAF. The Olympic sprinter Donald Finlay (later Group Captain D O Finlay, DFC AFC) ran on the sports field. Sports day at Digby was a gala occasion; stalls were erected around 3 sides of the field, with lighting and bunting to make the scene colourful. All refreshments (solid and liquid) for Station personnel were free, paid for from the proceeds of the stalls and the day used to end with a firework display. People used to come from the local area for miles around to see Digby at play.
However, life for all ranks at Digby was fairly spartan. The airmen lived in 1918 vintage huts, which each accommodated 48 men. (We have a copy of a 1918 vintage works drawing which shows that they were actually designed for 100 Airmen!) A partition ran down the centre, but it was only some 7 feet in eight, which left a wide gap to the roof. The 2 dormitories on either side of the partition were ‘heated’ by 2 pot-bellied stoves, but fuel was always a problem. Even if there had been the fuel, it would have made little difference; internal temperatures at the end of the huts were usually 30 - 40°F in winter. Regulations prohibited the banking of stoves overnight, as they were supposed to be drawn and cleaned externally each morning. If anyone was away from the Station, lots were drawn to ‘borrow’ a blanket in his absence. Ablutions were external to the huts, but were without hot water. Shaving was therefore a problem. Usually, a bucket filled with water was placed on top of each stove and one hoped for a mug of water - warm if not hot - the following morning. There were 3 or 4 bath houses each having 2 baths, but - as they only opened on 2 evenings a week - one had to be quick off the mark for a hot bath.
The pupil pilots had things a little better. Nevertheless, they had to attend a church parade each week. On at least one occasion, this was at Cranwell and was also attended by some officers of the Lincolnshire Regiment in pre-First World War full dress. Why noone to be too sure! Absence from Mess was permitted only twice per week, and there was a full-scale guest night once per week. Even had they had more free time, one doubts that they could have done much with it. Few had cars or motor bikes, and the attractions of Sleaford was restricted to ‘a third-rate variety hall called the Corn Exchange’. In any case, to get into Lincoln, one had apparently to hire an ancient Vauxhall owned by an enterprising local. So popular was this car, that one had to book it a month in advance .
Some of the officers had cars, One, a steamer, was constantly being taken by its owner into the MT Section for repairs - usually just as the airmen were packing up for the day. Unfortunately, this car mysteriously caught fire one night during a test drive by the MT staff. Another officer, undeterred by this, left his Calthorpe in the care of the Section while he went on a weekend pass. Naturally, the test drive happened to be on the Saturday afternoon, and, equally naturally, needed to be a longish one. Although the car was only a 2 seater with a dickey seat, 7 airmen managed to scramble on and in it. Possibly because it was so overloaded, the car began to boil in the middle of nowhere. There was no water to be had, and so the airmen decided to fill the radiator in a fashion which modesty prohibits me from describing in any detail. The car was waved down by a policeman on the outskirts of Lincoln, but apparently allowed to proceed because the smell was too much for him.
At No 2 FPS during the 20’s was a Wing Commander The Honorable C Cochrane. He always used to wear a monocle, and seemed to have been a bit of a sportsman - he had a dartboard in his office at which he used to throw darts during his spare moments.
He also played a similar game in the air. He used to take tennis balls into the air with him, and flying low over the married quarters, try to drop the tennis balls down the chimney of his quarter No doubt a direct hit would have helped to save on chimney cleaning bills, but would have been more than balanced by the cost of cleaning carpets.
A QFI of No 2 Flying Training School, Sergeant Snaith, was the only airman entrant in the Duke of York’s Cup. Nevertheless, he won the Trophy against the best flying opposition the RAF could muster.
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Room WAAF
"A
history 1917 - 1978"
Foreword
Introduction
1917 - Aug1919
Inter-War Years
1919-1926
1927-1937
1937-1939
World War II
1939-1940
1941
Jan - Aug 1942
Sep 1942 - 1944
1945
Return to Training
1945 - Jan 1948
Feb - Mar 1948
Mar 1948 - 1953
A cadet remembers
The Signals Era
Jan 1955 - Dec 1961
Dec 1963 - 1978
1955 - the Signals Era
Digby
Ops Room Museum
A
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