Summer 2026 17 Elements of training wereIntensive Drill and Physical Training - Training was rigorous and fast-paced. Recruits underwent intense daily drilling to prepare them for discipline and movementoften referred as “foot slogging”. Ground Defence Focus - Due to the threat in 1940-initial training for airmen included basic weapon training on rifles and Bren guns, defence of airfields, and, in some cases instruction on ground mounted weapons. ‘Bully’ and Discipline - Training involved high levels of “bull” and strict, often harsh discipline from NCOs. Training lasted for 6 weeks. On completion of their training the Gunners were awarded their ‘Trade’ badge- worn on the left upper sleeve of the tunic; it was worn prior to the official formation of the RAF Regiment in 1942. Ground Defence Units Before the official formation of the RAF Regiment in February 1942, airfield defence was a patchwork of various units as training in 1940 for the RAF Regiment was very decentralized. Station Defence Wings Individual RAF stations formed their own ‘Defence Wings’ or ‘Ground Defence Squadrons’. Ad-hoc Training Recruits often received rudimentary infantry instruction from Army personnel of RAF instructors, focusing on local airfield security rather than specialized combat. A diary according to Gunner 1355013 Birbeck C. Amongst Cyril Birbecks personal archives of his experiences during WW2, there is a small pocket 1945 Diary-although there are very few pages in this Diary (9 pages) - Cyril has, very kindly, listed information about his ‘life’ in the RAF Regiment starting with his ‘postings’- The first Posting is RAF North Luffenham (dated 5/2/41). RAF North Luffenham was built as a training airfield opening in 1940 and taken over by 5 Group RAF Bomber Command. With his limited weapon training one can assume that Gunner Birbeck was part of the RAF Ground Defence Unit, defending the airfield against Luftwaffe attacks with rifles and Bren guns…. (By January 1942 there were 150 RAF ground defence squadrons and 335 independent anti-aircraft flights deployed on RAF stations on the British Isles. They had been formed during 1941 in response to the enemy threat to RAF airfields and manned by NCO’s and aircraftman mustered as ground gunners). With the formation of the RAF Regiment in February 1942, ( and the adoption of RAF Blue uniforms and shoulder ‘flashes’ denoting the RAF Regiment), the task of creating a new operational structure in the middle of a war in which practically every resource was in short supply was a formidable one, but it was tackled with diligence and energy under the new management. The existing 150 ground defence squadrons and the 335 AA flights were renumbered as RAF Regiment units and reorganised and trained for their new combatant roles. Unit establishments were revised and equipment and weaponry updated wherever possible in order to meet the requirement to deploy field squadrons at 147 RAF stations and anti-aircraft flights at 329 airfields. The first RAF Regiment wing commanders on operational units were authorised as early as March 1942 when these posts were established where two or more regiment squadrons were deployed. The RAF Regiment established training schools for airman and NCOs at FileyWhitley Bay-Ronaldsway-Locking and Hednesford. According to Gunner Birbeck’s diary he reported for a course at RAF Filey on the 12/5/42. The next entry is RAF Regiment-Bicester on the 7/9/42 for Browning machine gun training-followed by a further course on the 16/2/43 on Aircraft Spotting. Battle Training at No-3 RAF Regiment School for Ground Defence Training. 17/4/43. This course lasted typically 6 weeks and was noted for its rigorous training; it included - Assault courses-navigating barbed wire entanglements and rope bridges. Field craft-instruction in camouflage and night operations. Weaponry and Tactics- training on machine gun tactics, fighting patrols and anti-gas measures. On the 9/11/43 he was posted to No2837 Squadron. No-2837 Squadron RAF Regiment was a Light Ant-Aircraft unit associated with RAF Eastchurch and RAF Twinwood Farm. He returned to RAF Regiment Filey for a NCO’s Basic Training Course on the 9/12/43. Returning on the 10/2/44 for an Instructors Course which he passed and became a Corporal. On the 9/9/44 Posted to No-2811 Squadron. No-2811 Rifle Squadron was posted to NW Europe November 1944 and listed the following locations as quoted in Cpl Birkbeck’s Diary-Mons-MalmedyLaroche-Morville-Ardennes-WeikersheimScheede-Ghent-Disbanded March 1946. The core responsibility of 2811 Squadron was the defence of RAF’s 72 Wing, with its forward radars and wireless interception units against enemy ground and lowlevel Luftwaffe air attack. C Flight 2742 Sqn were ordered forward on the 17th December to reinforce 2811 Rifle Squadron and 2804 Armoured Car Squadrons which formed 72 Wing’s covering force, enabling the technical units and their Regimental squadrons to fight their way through the confused situation which developed to the west of Bastogne as German special forces in American vehicles and uniforms spread alarm and despondency in what had been the rear area. Following on from the last two paragraphs, Corporal Birbeck kept two diaries of his time with 2811 Squadron as he travelled through Belgium-France and Germany. The Diaries are titled ‘Travel Extracts’ and ‘Overseas Diary’- they record his personal feelings and observations of the countryside he travelled through and the people he met, combined with how the rapid advance of the Allies through to Germany impacted 2811 Squadron.
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