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Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation
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RAF Reserves fall into two basic categories, Reserve following active service and Volunteer Reserves.
Reserve following active service
When joining the RAF on a short service commission, it is normal for the person's service to consist of a period of active service followed by a fixed period of mandatory reserve. The spilt between these two elements has varied over time depending on a number of factors including finances and the increasing complexity of the service and equipment operated.
The Reserve of Air Force Officers was given the prefix 'Royal' on 1 April 1997 as the Royal Air Force Reserve.
Reserve Flights - See Members' Area
For more details on the conditions of service and development of this reserve see the Members' Area.
Volunteer reserves
Special Reserve and Auxiliary Air Force
The earliest forms of volunteer reserve in the RAF were the Special Reserve and Auxiliary Air Force. The Special Reserve was absorbed into the Auxiliary Air Force in 1936 and the AuxAF was given the 'Royal' prefix in 1947.
Auxiliary Air Force/Royal Auxiliary Air Force Units
RAF Volunteer Reserve
However, as the threat of war grew larger in the 1930's, it was clear that the existing reserve forces would be unable to cope with the numbers of personnel need so the RAF Volunteer Reserve was instituted on 27 August 1936 in AMO A201/36, as shown below: -
Institution of the RAF Volunteer Reserve
His Majesty the King has approved the institution of a new reserve, to be called the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve and this order gives an outline of the scheme for this reserve.
Entry into the Volunteer Reserve will be confined to men who have not had previous RAF service, officers and airmen of the regular Air Force continuing to be transferred or appointed to the RAF Reserve on completion of regular service. The Volunteer Reserve will embrace Pilots and other classes; the organisation of the pilot's section is being proceeded with at once.
The pilots entered in the Volunteer Reserve will receive their flying training at aerodrome centres which will be established in the vicinity of important towns and areas with a large population. it is contemplated that there will be a number of such centres throughout the country, with several in the neighbourhood of London. Ground instruction will be provided at town centres at which lectures on essential subjects will be given. The lectures will be arranged mainly during winter evenings when opportunities for flying are necessarily restricted. The centres will also be available for social purposes.
The aerodrome centres will be organised on similar lines to the existing civil flying schools at which reserve flying training and the initial training of pilots for the regular Air Force is carried out. They will be operated by firms under contract with the Air Ministry.
Volunteer pilots will be recruited from the neighbourhood of aerodrome centres, from candidates of an age between their 18th and 25th birthdays. The initial period of service will be five years. Previous flying experience is unnecessary but candidates should have had an education up to the standard of the School Certificate of the Oxford and Cambridge Schools Examination Board. They will, be entered as airman pilots with opportunities later for promotion, on merit, to commissioned rank.
The flying instruction will be arranged to allow pilots to train at week-ends, in the evenings, and at other times, convenient to themselves. They will be encouraged to spend as much time as possible in the air in order to gain flying experience of value to the service. In addition, volunteers will have to attend an annual flying course of fifteen days duration.
In the first instance they, will be trained on elementary types of light aircraft and, later, on service types. The aim will be to train pilots up to such a standard as will qualify them to operate in service squadrons in an emergency.
Volunteer pilots who comply with the regulations as regards training, and otherwise, will receive a retaining fee of £25 a year. They will also receive certain emoluments and allowances while under training.
Arrangements are being made with the object that the scheme shall come into effective operation early in 1937 and details will be announced later regarding the location of aerodrome centres. Until such announcement, applications for appointment to the Volunteer Reserve are not being dealt with.
The Volunteer Reserve will also provide facilities for men who can arrange to devote a continuous period of eight to ten weeks for their initial instruction during their first six months of reserve service. For this particular section applications have been invited immediately to be made to the Secretary, Air Ministry, Kingsway, WC2. The same age limits will apply and the conditions of service (except as regards the continuous period of initial training) will be the same as those announced above.
Present members of the RAF Reserve who entered from civil life will be afforded the opportunity of transferring the new reserve.
The Superintendent of Reserve and Inspector of Civil Training Schools will be responsible for the administration and training of the RAF Volunteer Reserve as well as of the RAF Reserve.
In 1939 the RAFVR was extended to include a Ground Section as a result of the Military Training Bill of 1939.
On the outbreak of war, recruiting into the (Regular) RAF ceased and all personnel joining the service were enlisted into the RAFVR and they continued to wear the 'VR' badge on their uniform, which had been introduced in September 1939. However, by 1943, the original purpose of the badge was being diluted by the numbers entering the service and it was felt that it was being seen as a way of distinguishing between war-time 'amateurs' and pre-war 'professionals' so in June 1943 officers were instructed to remove the badges from their uniforms and the airmen's badge was declared obsolete. After the war, the RAFVR was reconstituted and students flying in the UAS's were added to its numbers.
"CLASS CC With effect from 1st Aug 1997, Officers will no longer be appointed to commissions in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (Civilian Component) (RAFVR (CC)). The Air Force Reserve was renamed the Royal Air Force Reserve (RAFR) on 1st Apr. 1997 and retired officers and other civilians who are required to be appointed to a commission will, in future, be appointed to either a commission in the RAFR, if the post makes him/her liable to call-out, or the Royal Air Force Reserve (Civilian Component) (RAFR (CC)), if the post has no liability for call-out. Officers previously appointed to commissions in the RAFVR (CC) are transferred to the RAFR (CC) in their current seniority and Branch, with effect from 1st Aug 1997."
LONDON GAZETTE, 23 SEPTEMBER 1997
When the Air Defence Cadet Corps was taken over by the Air Ministry and renamed the Air Training Corps in 1941, a new class of the RAFVR was formed to man and run this organisation, the RAF Volunteer Reserve (Training Branch).
This entry was last updated on 17/04/25©
