No 102 personnel dispersal centre Royal Air Force Cardington arrival folder

MCluettAV120946-150515-30.pdf

Title

No 102 personnel dispersal centre Royal Air Force Cardington arrival folder

Description

Information for arrivals at RAF Cardington. Includes a map of the station and notes on processes, procedures, meal times, entertainment, transport, telephones, post office location and opening times.

Coverage

Language

Format

Four page printed document with map

Rights

This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.

Contributor

Identifier

MCluettAV120946-150515-30

Transcription

This Folder
Will help you during your stay at
No. 102 PERSONNEL DISPERSAL CENTRE ROYAL AIR FORCE CARDINGTON
If you arrive before 15.00 hours on your release date you will be directed to the N.A.A.F.I Waiting Room, from where you will be called by tannoy into the release documentation procedure.
The time you spend in the Waiting Room may be anything between 5 minutes to an hour, according to the numbers on hand. The average time to pass through the whole of the documentation is half an hour.
You will then be directed to the Civilian Clothing Centre, and provided that you are not unduly fussy in your choice of clothing, you should complete all procedure in that department, including the collection of your baggage and purchase of cigarettes and chocolates from the N.A.A.F.I in another 45 minutes.
Just outside this department there will be a transport waiting to convey you to Bedford railway stations.
[page break]
Royal Air Force Station, Cardington
[inserted] Site map of RAF Cardington [/inserted]
GRATUITIES TO THE STAFF ARE FORBIDDEN. THE DONOR AND RECEIVER BEING LIABLE TO DISCIPLINARY ACTION
[page break]
The map will assist you to find your way about the camp.
In daylight hours there are Guides wearing an armband “102 P.D.C.” They will give you every assistance, so don’t hesitate to ask them for any information.
Normally you will not be on this station very long, as the process of release and the drawing of your civilian clothing is a speedy one.
If, however, you arrive in the late afternoon or evening, you will not be released until the following morning, so turn to the back of this folder to see how you can spend your time.
Remember that you are going to be interviewed by a R.A.F. Advice Officer, so if you have any service problem, any difficulty regarding civilian life, or any thing you want to get off your chest – this is the opportunity. He will help you to the best of his ability.
Don’t forget that if you wish to postpone your release form the Service, it is not too late to change your mind.
When you have drawn your civilian clothing, you will find near the counter where you receive your leave ration of cigarettes and sweets, a suggestion box. If you have any comment, complaint or suggestion to make to us regarding your release, write it on the paper provided and put it in the box.
It should be unnecessary to remind you that if you wear your uniform on release leave, it must be worn in the correct manner.
Many instances have occurred, however, of airmen on release leave wearing a mixture of uniform and civilian clothing, whilst other abuses of a similar nature have been frequently noticed.
The Royal Air Force has won the admiration of all by its behaviour and deeds in war, and you will not wish by any act of yours to diminish this respect in peace.
I hope the short time you are at Cardington will pass quickly and pleasantly and I wish you the best of luck in the future.
THE COMMANDING OFFICER
[page break]
1. If you arrive overnight, you will be directed to the Orderly Sergt. At 102 P.D.C. Headquarters, who will give you full information regarding sleeping arrangements, the following day’s routine, etc.
2. Your meals are to be take in No. 4 Wing Dining Hall. This applies to all W.O.s, N.C.O.s, and airmen reporting for release. A night cook is always on duty for the benefit of personnel who arrive late.
3. Institute. Airmen should use the G.S.T. School Institute in Cruikshank Road. It provides all the usual N.A.A.F.I. amenities and is open between 12.15-13.15 hrs. and 18.00-21.30 hrs.
4. The Sergeants’ Mess is very crowded, but W.O.s, F/Sergts., and Sergts. are at liberty to use the mess during the lunch interval and evening except for meals.
5. The Station Cinema is situated near the Main Guard Room. One performance is given on weekdays commencing at 18.30 hrs. and two performances on Sundays at 17.15 and 19.30 hrs.
Entrance 6d. and 1/-.
Cinema programmes are displayed in Institutes and Dining Halls.
6. A Lunch Time Musical Concert is held in the cinema on Tuesdays at 12.45 – 13.15 hrs.
7. Station Dances open to all ranks are held in the Gymnasium on Mondays and Fridays from 20.30 – 23.20 hrs. Entrance 1/-.
8. Buses to and from Bedford run frequently. The bus stop is on the Main Road opposite the Main Guard Room Gate. The last bus back to Cardington leaves Bedford (Main Bus Station at St. Peter’s), at 22.00 hrs., but is usually very crowded.
The single fare is 3d.
The distance between Bedford and Cardington by road is about three miles.
9. A Poster n your Dining Hall gives details of entertainments, dances, cinema programmes, etc., in Bedford.
10. The Post Offcie is near No. 2 Gate and is open from 08.30-13.00 hrs. and 14.00-18.00 hrs.
11. Telephones. The location of these is shown on the map.

Citation

Great Britain. Royal Air Force, “No 102 personnel dispersal centre Royal Air Force Cardington arrival folder,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed March 29, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/9870.

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