Page 6 - Demo

14Later when we were doing our advanced flying training, we had to teach some of these chaps what to do when they were duty officer for example although they theoretically outranked us. Some ex Cranwell officers were so upset that they resigned which caused a certain amount of trouble. We referred to the graduates as green shielders in reference to the green shield stamps that you got with certain purchases and that you traded for gifts. However, that was all in the future.There were 4 Squadrons at Cranwell in those days and I was on A Squadron. We lived in %u2018The South Brick Lines%u2019 which have all gone now. These were 2 rows of wooden huts; A Squadron was in the front row and the other 3 Squadrons were in the row behind. There were other huts in our front line but I cannot remember what they were used for. The hut had a large door in the front that led into a washroom with basins, toilets and a bathroom. That led into the sleeping area. There were 4 of us to a hut so 4 iron bedframes, wardrobes and cupboards. I think there was a small private bedroom as well for our mentor who was a chap from the entry above us, but I may be wrong about that. The sleeping area was heated by a coke stove in the middle. We must have had a supply of coke from somewhere and of course we had to light it and keep it clean. We sometimes got a container of Avtur (Jet engine fuel) and used that to light it. Or a large spoonful of floor polish which was always provided in bulk. Goodness knows why the powers that be were not suspicious of the quantities we used. In general, we tried to keep the stove in all the time, even though it created a lot of dust which was a nuisance as the hut was regularly inspected. There was a door in this stove which helped let heat out when it was cold. But you could get the whole thing and the stove pipe going up through the roof extremely hot, sometimes red hot. At night you would nearly close the door or if you thought one of the other squadrons was going to raid you, kept it bolted. We found that if you got onto the roof of a hut and poured a fire-bucket of water down the stove pipe then the door would fly open and dust,