260861 LAC. Pearson Watson Smith Royal Air Force No. 56 Operational Training Unit from:1 The Crescent, Sunniside, Co. Durham My father, Pearson Smith (born 1920), was from Sunniside, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and enlisted in the RAF on 21st of November 1940 at Padgate. He initially mustered as an ACH/W.Op., then became an ACH/GD, and finally a Maint/Asst. He was demobbed on 15th of July 46 at RAF Cardington, Bedfordshire, having reached the rank of LAC.
He went to 10 Signal Recruit Centre, Blackpool, in Feb 41, then moved to No. 3 Signals School (RAF Compton Bassett, Jun 41), 51 OTU (RAF Cranfield, Aug 41), 55 OTU (Oct 41 and Mar 42, RAF Usworth and RAF Great Orton), 16 RC(A) (May 42), hospital at RAF Kirkham (Jul - Aug 43), 56 OTU (RAF Brunton, Jan 45) and No. 95 Maintenance Unit (RAF Lords Bridge, Cambridge, Sep 45) before demobbing at RAF Cardington (102 PDC 'A') on 25/5/46.
He also did several 'Alt Backers Up' courses, though it's not clear from his service record what these were. However, an article on the BBC website WW2 People's War may shed some light on this as the correspondent says ‘The Backers Up’ course consisted mostly of football, arms drill, firing on the rifle range, route marches and physical training.
The only other possibility is that, as the term 'Backers Up' was used by the Pathfinder Force to describe crews whose job was to add coloured markers to target flares to maintain the aiming point during a raid, is that he may have started as a maintenance assistant on radios but later changed to explosive ordnance, hence how he came to be at 95 MU. I think this unlikely as he joined 95 MU after the war ended and prior to that had been at OTUs, none of which had aircraft used by the Pathfinder Force.
I never met my father, as my parents separated when I was a child and he died in 1992. I would be interested in any stories or information about the places he served, especially at the time he was there, and also about the 'Alt Backers Up' courses mentioned on his Service record, as well as information about 16 RC.
Notes:
- RAF Compton Bassett was a training establishment for ground trade radio operators and radio mechanics.
- 51 OTU at RAF Cranfield (Bedfordshire) in 1941 operated the Beaufort, Mosquito, Wellington, and Hurricane.
- 55 OTU at RAF Usworth (Co. Durham) in 1941 operated the Hurricane X.
- 16 RC (A) - no information, but possibly 16 Radio Course, location unknown; the 'A' denotes attachment to 55 OTU as parent unit.
- 55 OTU at RAF Great Orton (Cumberland) in 1942 operated the Hurricane, Typhoon and Master.
- RAF Kirkham (Lancashire) was the main armament training centre for the RAF from Nov 1941 and had a military hospital, probably the closest one to RAF Great Orton where Pearson was based at the time.
- 56 OTU at RAF Brunton (Northumberland) in 1945 operated the Typhoon 1b and Tempest.
- RAF Lords Bridge in 1945 was an Air Ammunition Park and Forward Filling Station for mustard gas munitions.
- RAF Cardington (Bedfordshire) in 1946 was a Personnel Despatch Centre (for demobilisation). The 'A' denotes 'A Class' demobilisation category.
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