BedfordshireLate January 1955
RAF Cardington
The journey begins at the famous airship base, where recruits were kitted out and given their first taste of service life beneath the shadow of the great R101 and R102 hangars.
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Chapters 1
A Personal Memoir
An Armourer's Tale
Service in the Royal Air Force, 1955–1958. A journey through training camps and operational stations, from nervous recruit to qualified armourer. By James Jamieson.
Author
About James Jamieson
James Jamieson volunteered for the Royal Air Force in January 1955, leaving Edinburgh as a three-year Regular at the age of seventeen. Over the next three years he served at RAF Cardington, RAF Padgate, RAF Kirkham and RAF Leconfield, qualifying as an armourer and working on de Havilland Venoms, Gloster Meteors and Hawker Hunters during the early years of the Cold War.
This site is his first-hand memoir of those years — written in his own words, illustrated with his own photographs, and intended to preserve the everyday experience of a National Serviceman in the post-war RAF.
About James Jamieson“In January 1955, I left Edinburgh to join the Royal Air Force as a three-year Regular. What followed were three years that would shape the rest of my life.”
The Journey
Four RAF stations, each with its own character and challenges. Click on any chapter to read the full story.
Warrington, LancashireLate January 1955 (8 weeks)
RAF Padgate
Eight weeks of basic training — drill, discipline, and character-building experiences that transformed raw recruits into airmen.
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Chapters 2
Near Preston, LancashireSummer 1955 (8 weeks)
RAF Kirkham
Trade training as an Armourer — learning weapons systems from small arms to 30mm Aden cannons. The camp is now an open prison.
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Chapters 3
East YorkshireSummer 1955 – January 1958
RAF Leconfield
Operational service at the Fighter Weapons School — working on Venoms, Meteors, and Hunters, with memorable incidents, friendships, and the routines of service life.
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Chapters 4