16 Issue No. 43 Cyril was born in 1907 in West Malling in Kent and, as a child moved to Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow. From Sauchiehall Street the family then returned to Walderslade, Chatham. Kent. His first job (at a very young age) was a ‘Boot Boy’ at Oakwood House, Maidstone. Oakwood House was built around 1869 and was owned by the Wigan family until the late 1940’s. A Boot Boy, was, historically the lowestranking male household servant and carried out, in addition to cleaning, polishing and maintaining footwear, other menial tasks, including running errands and assisting senior servants. It is quite possible that Cyril’s tasks were more onerous than being a Boot Boy as WW1 was at its height and there would be demands by the Military for all male servants of a certain age to be ‘called up’ thus increasing demands on the remaining servants. Cyril Birkbeck - A brief history RAF Volunteer Reserve Having survived the tasks of being a Boot Boy, one assumes that as soon as he was old enough, he would seek employment elsewhere. So, after leaving Oakwood House, Cyril became an employee of Reeds Paper Mill at Aylesford Kent, where he remained until joining the RAF Volunteer Reserve in 1940 at the age of 33 years old. The form he signed was headed- ---------------------------------- ‘ROYAL AIR FORCE VOLUNTEER RESERVE. NOTICE PAPER. DURATION OF THE PRESENT EMERGENCY Signature of Man receiving the Notice Paper…(C Birkbeck) …………….. ‘NOTICE to be given to a Man at the time of his offering to join The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve’. Item 10 inside the form lists his occupation as-Packer Paper Mill. ---------------------------------- Having signed the form on the 9th of July 1940- his service in the RAF commenced from the 18th of July 1940- 8 days later. He now known as Gunner 1355010 Birkbeck C. As little is known about his health or personal circumstances prior to his volunteering for the RAF in July 1940, however, it is quite possible that, due to his age, and too old to become aircrew, he was posted to the RAF Regiment when, after Basic Training and Weapon Training, he was sent to an airfield where he would serve as part of ground defence of the airfield. Basic Training - All RAF recruits were posted to RAF West Kirby for basic training. West Kirby opened as No.5 Recruits Centre on the 25th of April. According to a secret document published in December 1941 by the Director of Ground Defence. Royal Air Force dictated- ‘All Ranks Working Dress’ was Army Khaki battledress and Army pattern equipment, this can be seen the photo of the Flight Squad below, although the beret badge worn in the photo below was the RAF Kings Crown badge. RAF Gunners pay grade was ‘Group V’ ie 2 shillings a day and eligible for reclassification on the basis of proficiency and training. Cyril Birkbeck
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