Page 6 - Derek Braithet Holland

Learning to handle these Harvards was difficult and in Derek’s case, as in many, he failed the
grade, the pass rate being set so high as, there being a surplus of recruits, the RAF could be more
selective in their standards. Bomber Command expected a 10 per cent loss rate among aircrews,
but in practice it averaged 5 per cent, thus the training program had a backlog of airmen awaiting
training and in late 1944 25,000 aircrew under training were transferred to the British Army to
replace losses after D Day, with many airmen also going to the Navy.

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Derek was posted back to the UK arriving at RAF Eastchurch on the Isle of Sheppey on the 15
December 1943. Eastchurch was home to an Aircrew Allocation Centre where Derek awaited the
RAF’s decision as to his future duties with the service. Whilst the failure to become a pilot was for
Derek upsetting, it probably saved his life as, if he had gone on and qualified as a pilot and been
posted to a Bomber Command squadron, his chances of survival would have been greatly
reduced as in this period late 1943 to mid-1944, Bomber Command suffered its highest casualty
rate. Lady luck was indeed on Derek’s side.

On the same day Derek, having been selected to undertake flight engineer training, was posted
out from Eastchurch to No. 4 School of Technical Training (4 SoTT) at St Athan in the Vale of
Glamorgan in south Wales. Here he would commence a detailed training course (Course No. 100)
on the Rolls Royce Merlin and the Bristol Hercules (Hercules VI or XVI engines as fitted to the
Avro Lancaster Mk 2). On the 14 May 1944 Derek, along with the rest of his trainee Flight
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Engineers, spent 6 days at one of A.V. Roe’s (AVRO) factories in Manchester. AVRO had two
Lancaster production facilities in the city, Chadderton and Newton Heath with the main assembly
and testing facility at Woodford to the south of the city. Here they would have gone through an
introduction to the Merlin engines fitted to the Avro Lancaster and shown the flight engineers
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station to the right of the pilot’s position. Derek returned to St Athan on the 20 May to continue
his training.

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Training complete and, having passed the final exam on the 10 June with a 70 per cent pass
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rate, Derek was promoted to Temporary Sergeant on 12 June 1944. His new crew had
separately undergone training at No. 30 Operational training Unit (30 OTU) at RAF Hixon 7.5 miles
east of Stafford, Staffordshire. The crew minus Derek who had yet to join them were posted to
RAF Lindholme (11 Base) before being posted on to RAF Blyton (Known as ‘Bloody Awful Blyton’
by the aircrews because of its basic living conditions). Lindholme (now the site of HM Prison
Moorlands) was the Base station for No. 1 Group's Heavy Conversion Units (HCU) and home to
1656 Heavy Conversion Unit (1656 HCU). The other two 11 Base HCU units were at RAF
Sandtoft (1667 HCU) 9 miles east of Doncaster and RAF Blyton (1662 HCU), 5 miles south east of
Scunthorpe.

Derek having been given a leave pass returned home to Birmingham before being posted to 1662
Heavy Conversion Unit at Blyton on Aug 4 where he met his new crew. The crew’s pilot was
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Flying Officer Derek Till R.C.A.F and the crew got down to the business of acclimatising
themselves to initially the Handley Page Halifax and later, at No. 1 Lancaster Finishing School
(1LFS) at RAF Hemswell 8 miles east of Gainsbourgh, the Avro Lancaster which was the standard
type used by the operational Main Force squadrons of No. 1 Group. On the 10 September the
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crew, having been passed out by the Conversion Unit's Commander as fit for operational duties,
were posted to RAF Elsham Wolds to serve with 576 Squadron, which, along with 103 Squadron
were the resident Main Force squadrons at this airfield. This airfield is located 10 miles to the east
of Scunthorpe.