Aircraft Apprentice The Aircraft Apprentice Scheme ( 1920 – 1993 ) was a training programme for Royal Air Force ground crew personnel . Formation . World War I saw the beginning of aerial combat . By 1 April 1918 the Royal Flying Corps ( RFC ) and the Royal Naval Air Service ( RNAS ) had amalgamated into the Royal Air Force . Hugh Trenchard had been appointed Chief of the Air Staff ( CAS ) and quickly discovered that specialist groundcrew were in very short supply . Wartime use of aircraft accelerated the development of new technologies . Aircraft power plants were vastly different from those that powered buses and lorries . Airframes , with their need to reduce drag and provide control in the air , were a totally new challenge . Armourers were asked to develop new fusing methods for equally new explosive devices like air - dropped bombs . Aircraft electrical systems included bomb release mechanisms and synchronised gun firing through the propeller via the use of an interrupter mechanism . The addition of a third dimension to navigation meant aircraft instrument makers had to produce new indicators for such things as turn and bank , air speed and an artificial horizon . For these reasons and others , Trenchard instituted the aircraft apprentice scheme based on No 1 School of Technical Training . This was originally located at RAF Cranwell but later more permanently at RAF Halton , in 1920 . RAF Cranwell and RAF Locking later switched exclusively to training aircraft apprentices in the ground and air radio trades . Training . Entrance to the scheme involved a highly competitive exam , intelligence and aptitude tests , and medical examinations . Admittance was limited exclusively to males between the ages of 15 and 17½ when the Royal Air Force assumed legal guardianship of the lads as " in loco parentis " . Initially , training was a three year course , although this was changed briefly to two years for some apprentice entries during WWII . Training took place over five and a half days a week , and consisted of both academic and practical training . In addition , basic military training was given . Originally , applicants were required to be British subjects and of " pure European descent " ( and were required to prove this if there was any doubt ) . Later , Apprentices were accepted from both Commonwealth and other countries . The 106th Entry who passed out in December 1966 was the last of the Aircraft Apprentice entries . A three year long Technician Apprentice scheme ; a two year long Craft Apprentice scheme ; and a one year long Administrative Apprentice scheme were initiated in September 1964 , with 107 entry being the first Technician Apprentice entry ; 201 entry being the first of the Craft Apprentice entries ; and 301 being the first of the Administrative Apprentice entries . Later , a one year scheme for mechanic apprentices was also introduced ( the 400 series entry apprentices ) . Alumni . It is estimated that as many as forty percent of Brats achieved commissioned officer rank , and a considerable number achieved Air rank . Whatever their former rank , ex - members of the scheme are very proud indeed to be known as " Trenchard ' s Brat s " - or just Brats . Graduates of this illustrious scheme include many famous and outstanding airmen such as Sir Frank Whittle ( father of the jet engine ) ; Olympian Donald Finlay , who also fought as a pilot in the Battle of Britain , and several former officers of Air rank , such as Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Keith Williamson GCB AFC , and Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Armitage KCB , CBE ( 56th entry ) . Mike Armitage is Patron of the alumni association , whilst Air Commodore Rod Brumpton ( 106th entry ) is the current chair . Air Marshal Cliff Spink CB CBE ( 104th entry ) and Air Marshal Sir Dusty Miller KCB ( 210th entry ) are Vice Patrons . The Brats alumni association , a registered charity , is called the RAF Halton Apprentices Association , the RAFHAAA , which can be contacted through the Old Haltonians website . Additionally , the Association has its own social networking website . The Association also publishes a magazine called The Haltonian , twice a year . Bill Kelley ( 55th entry ) , who was the Editor of The Haltonian magazine for 25 years until the end of June 2010 , was appointed MBE in the New Years Honours 2010 " For services to the RAFHAAA . " The current editor of the Haltonian magazine is Stuart Morgan ( 202nd craft apprentice entry ) . Stuart is also the webmaster of the Old Haltonian social networking site . A triennial reunion for Brats is organised by the association . The RAFHAAA may be contacted through RAF Halton airfield . RAF Halton also has its own memorial to the brats opposite Kermode Hall , very close to St . George ' s C of E church which is resplendent with very many stained glass windows commemorating the 40 , 000 or so apprentices who were trained there . Brats are also remembered at the Halton Grove at the National Memorial Arboretum , Alrewas , Staffordshire .