Page 10 - William B. Lake

A section of Bill’s registration paper for the “Citizen Air Force” within the RAAF is below. He
received his RAAF identity number AUS 422584 which applied to all his postings throughout the
war (including his RCAF & RAF periods).

When Bill was officially called up for training in the Bradfield barracks in May 1942, his wife
Daphne accompanied him to Sydney and stayed as a guest of a family in a home in Lindfield
which was close to the Bradfield Park RAAF training centre.

Bradfield Park RAAF I.T.S. operated from 1940 to 1946 and was partly located on the site now
known as Queen Elizabeth Reserve at Lindfield, Sydney. During that period, more than 200,000
members of the Royal Australia Air Force (RAAF) and the Women`s Auxiliary Australian Air Force
(WAAAF) received aircrew or specific training as preparation for their service in World War II.

Bill commenced at the basic grade of an AC2 (Aircraftsman Class 2) at Bradfield Park. He
undertook the No. 28 Aircrew Course (Observer) at No. 2 I.T.S. (Initial Training School). When he
passed this course on 14th August 1942 he was mustered as Aircrew V (Observer), which meant
that he had been selected for further air bomber & navigational training (to be undertaken in
Canada as part of the BCATP).

Bill’s Aircrew Training Course at Bradfield Park

He was then posted to No. 2 E.D. (Embarkation Depot) at Bradfield Park (which was essentially
part of the same RAAF station at Lindfield) in preparation for being sent overseas. At this point he
was a Leading Aircraftman (L.A.C.) as Aircrew II (O).

The following photo was taken at the Air Trainees graduation ball which was held relatively close
by the site in Chatswood in August 1942 (the timing was very close to his departure for Canada).