“We Never Slept” - the Story of 605 Squadron
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“We Never Slept” - The Story of 605 Squadron The Bear Earns His Wings Although the Auxiliary Air Force and Air Force Reserve Act was drafted in 1922 it was not until 1924 that it became law. Lord Trenchard envisaged the Auxiliaries as a corps d’elite composed of the kind of young men who earlier would have been interested in horses, but now wished to serve their country in machines. He conceived that the new mechanical yeomanry with the aeroplanes would be based on the great centres of industry. The original provision was for six Auxiliary squadrons and seven Special Reserve squadrons. Trenchard stressed that this new Auxiliary Air Force was not a "reserve" for the Royal Air Force but a separate air force altogether, whose role was to be that of Day Bombers. In chronological terms 602 (City of Glasgow) had the distinction of being the first squadron to be formed (12th September 1925), followed by 600 (City of London) , 601 (County of London) and 603 (City of Edinburgh) on 14th October 1925 and 605 (County of Warwick ) on 5th October 1926. 604 (County of Middlesex) was not in fact formed until 17th March 1930. The Squadron’s full title was “No. 605 (County of Warwick) Bombing Squadron.” Group Captain Gerry Edge recalls that as 606 was a "medication" it was subsequently omitted from the auxiliary numbering sequence! In 1936 the number of Auxiliary squadrons was doubled, and the number of Special Reserve squadrons was increased to five. The main difference between an Auxiliary squadron and a Special Reserve squadron was that the former was run as a regular unit and the latter as a reserve of pilots. The letter "A" was worn on the lapels of the Auxiliary officers uniforms and the Auxiliary airmen wore theirs on the sleeve. The letters "VR" (Volunteer Reserve) were worn by the men who staffed the “500” Special Reserve squadrons. Squadron Leader John Allan Cecil Wright, a local man, was appointed as the Squadron’s first Commanding Officer. The obvious choice for the new squadron’s base was the home of the Midland Aero Club, at the aerodrome at Castle Bromwich, some six miles from Birmingham city centre. The new CO’s first task was to appoint an Adjutant and a Flying Instructor. For these two roles he recruited one man Flight Lieutenant F.O. Soden DFC. Soden, a veteran of the Royal Flying Corps had been responsible for pioneering a new innovation in flying, for which he received the Distinguished Flying Cross. During the First World War the pilots and observer/air gunners of the RFC had no means by which to leave a stricken aircraft if it had been damaged and could no longer be kept in the air, and many men were lost as a result. Some method of allowing the crew to abandon their machine had to be devised if these losses were to be stopped. Parachutes had been widely used to drop small objects from the air, and if made strong enough could be carried by the crews who could then jump from their aircraft and descend back to terra-firma. Soden carried out a great deal of testing of the new parachutes often making many adjustments until the right balance of material and strings could be found. Soon parachutes were being mass-produced and delivered to every unit. The recruitment of men for 605 began in earnest with large brightly coloured posters advertising the Auxiliary Air Force going up all over Birmingham. The poster was an eye catching design of a De Havilland 9A bearing down on some natives, guns blazing, with the caption 'Join The Auxiliary Air Force Today '! A list of trades and vacancies followed underneath. What was Castle Bromwich Aerodrome is today, after over three quarters of a century of aerial activity, a large modern housing estate known as Castle Vale. Six houses, part of the original RAF married quarters, still can be seen on the Chester Road which runs down the western side of the estate. In 1911, the land was known as the "playing fields" and the first event in aviation history ever to be seen in the Birmingham area, was a visit in that year by B. C. Hucks in a Bleriot monoplane, powered by a 50 hp Gnome rotary “We Never Slept” - The Story of 605 Squadron engine. Hucks, who later became a Captain in the Royal Flying Corps, gave demonstrations of flying, including looping the loop and also passenger flights. With the outbreak of the 1914-18 war, the site was requisitioned by the War Department for use by the Royal Flying Corps and hangars and workshops were erected for a Flying Training School, which turned out hundreds of pilots for the war, including many USA airmen when the latter joined the Allies. Later further permanent buildings were constructed on the South side, along the then Midland Railway line and Castle Bromwich became an Aircraft Acceptance Centre. SE 5 and Handley Page 0/400 aircraft, produced in local factories, were flight tested here before delivery to squadrons. The first complete squadron to be formed here was No 19 Squadron, which started with Maurice Farman's "Box Kite" and then with Avros in 1915. Between the wars, the airfield reverted to "playing fields" and very nearly became a site for housing, but the Air Ministry responded to pressure by the Birmingham Corporation and others to retain it, and it was licensed as a civil aerodrome but minus the aforementioned buildings along the Midland Railway and the land south of the road (now known as "Tangmere Drive"). The buildings were leased to the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and housed the Heavy Engineering Section of the annual British Industries Fair until it was discontinued several years later. The airfield was used by various members of the Royal Family, Prime Ministers and Cabinet Ministers who were entertained in 605 Squadron Officers’ Mess. 1926 The Midland Aero Club began flying at Castle Bromwich in 1925 as one of the approved Light Aeroplane Clubs, and in October 1926 when the Squadron joined them the airfield again became an RAF Service Station. "Bombing" in the Squadron’s name was later changed to "Bomber". Each Auxiliary Squadron was allotted approximately thirty NCOs and men chosen for their respective skills from the RAF, with three Officers, two of whom were experts in flying training and were responsible for all flying and technical training programmes. Training time consisted on average of two evenings per week and most weekends in Spring and Summer, reduced a little in Winter. Auxiliary airmen received an annual bounty of £8 and RAF rates of pay for six "weekend camps" each year and for a fortnight’s annual training away from Castle Bromwich, all remaining time spent was voluntarily. Before being promoted to the rank of Sergeant, an auxiliary airman was required to do a fortnights course at a major RAF station. Bell tents were erected in the "orchard" at Castle Bromwich (the remains of a jam factory) for the accommodation of the troops during weekend and Whitsun camps. Later, permanent barracks and a fine Drill Hall were built together with an Officers' Mess. Squadron Leader (later Air Commodore) J. A. Cecil Wright AFC TD DL and the Adjutant, Flight Lieutenant (later Wing Commander) Soden DFC were responsible for training and running the station. They "set the pace" by their training, leadership and demand for serious hard work for a long line of RAF Officers who came to the Squadron as junior officers, and thanks to their efforts it was a huge success winning the Lord Esher Trophy for all round efficiency in 1927, 1930, 1931, 1933, 1934 and 1935. The first aircraft to be issued to the Squadron in 1926 were two Avro 504Ns, powered by an Armstrong Siddeley Lynx engine, fitted out for dual control and two Handley Page DH 9A bombers, powered by a Liberty water cooled engine, which arrived on the 25th of October from RAF Henlow. Recruiting got under way and it was first decided to enlist about thirty airmen, train them and then start up a further batch and so on. However, the inherent skill of "Brummie" tradesmen soon showed that they only required adaption, rather than full training, as compared with other Auxiliary squadrons. This, combined with a change of Adjutant altered the policy, and recruiting to full strength went ahead within weeks. In fact there was very quickly a waiting list of would be “We Never Slept” - The Story of 605 Squadron members. Many late hours and long weekends were spent in adapting and teaching these airmen the skills of engine maintenance, aircraft rigging, wireless telegraphy (short wave radio was not yet in use), armament, workshops etc. One of the first auxiliary officers to join was Flt. Lt. J. M. Leach as "A" Flight Commander who had many and varied experiences in World War I as a pilot, and was stolen from the RAF by the Army in World War II because he was a top Civil Engineer, and General Montgomery needed docks to be built in Egypt for the build-up of the 8th Army. (Lt. Col. J. M. Leach became Vice President of the 605 Association, he died in 1969.) Flt. Lt. C. L. Knox VC joined the squadron as 'B' Flight Commander on 23rd November. He was awarded the Victoria Cross on the 22nd of March 1918 whilst serving with No 150 Field Regiment at Tugny in France. "Uncle Knox" had two not so happy squadron "firsts". He was the first to volunteer for a live parachute drop from a Vicker's Vimy, (a type of aircraft well known from Alcock and Brown's historic Trans-Atlantic flight.) but unfortunately, the weather turned sour and he ended up with a fractured pelvis and all further drops were abandoned.