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Grading.

On November 30th, with kit packed again, we made our way once more to Warrington station, this time for our rail journey to Lincolnshire. Our destination was to No.2 I.T.S., G.W. at Digby, a flying station, just north of Sleaford.1 Now we could see real aeroplanes, close-to, not as spectators. Little did we know it then but life was going to get tough.
We were allocated beds in a wooden hut at the edge of the grass airfield, exposed to all that the weather could throw at it. It had the same sort of stoves, same sort of beds down each side and the same type of outside latrines as at Padgate. We were only four weeks off Christmas and winter weather had begun to set in.
Flying clothing was issued - fur-lined boots, a 'Sidcot' kapok-lined inner suit and heavy canvas Sidcot outer suit, goggles, oxygen mask (with microphone), leather helmet, leather gauntlets, and silk inner gloves - all to be toted about in a second kit bag. We were given leather patches to sew above the left breast pocket on our No.2 Home Dress after our names had been clearly written on them.2 We also wore white plastic discs behind the badges on our berets, these latter to distinguish us from other Airmen on the Station and elsewhere. Although still earning the same £1 a week we were now known as Officer Cadets, for at that time all new aircrew were being commissioned in the RAF.3
One of our group, now called a Flight, at Digby was an old hand who fancied his chance at becoming a pilot. The fact that he did not succeed was of no concern to us, but while he was with us he taught us much barrack room lore and how to bullup and arrange kit for inspections. His knowledge was invaluable to us, even to showing us how to 'bone-up' the toe-caps on our Army Pattern boots and shoes. We spent many evening and week-end hours doing this, sitting on our beds, building up a shine good enough to see your face in and to satisfy stringent inspections.
Our Flight was the newest of a series of Flights being processed through training at Digby. There was also a contingent of Cadets from the nearby RAF College at Cranwell stationed there. When they passed out, they would be awarded Permanent Commissions, and were undergoing a wholly different training regime to us. As chance would have it, one of the Cranwell Cadets was an old acquaintance of mine from Birkenhead. Class distinction on the camp was such that we had to be careful not to be seen speaking to each other; something we only managed to do a couple of times during the eight weeks I was there.
Our training at No.2 Initial Training School, Digby, was split between ground school studies and flight experience. This combination was designed to teach us the rudiments of aviation, RAF life, drill, and to sort through us once again to weed out those of us who failed hopelessly in the air or were airsick, and those who could not absorb the ground school training sufficiently quickly, also to eliminate those without the necessary 'personal qualities' who were not considered to be 'Officer Material'. We were also shown VD films, so detailed as to make some Cadets queasy. We were treated as students and were watched closely, hence our having to wear our names on our uniforms. Flt.Lt. Sinclair was Officer i/c our Flight and was
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1 No.2 Initial Training School, Grading Wing.
2 This was our working uniform. No.1 Home Dress was known as 'Best Blue' and was usually worn on parades and when off camp for any time.
3 The RAF is unique in the British Armed Forces as, save for the RAF Regiment, it is only the Officers who do the fighting. This was not the case before the 1950s but became the norm thereafter.
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