The story of the Australian Air Force Cadets : history and rationale behind the scheme

Formed with the aim of earmarking and providing pre-entry training for air and ground crews for the RAAF during WWII, the Air Training Corps was officially ‘born’ in Feb. 1941, when the War Cabinet authorized the establishment of this new ‘Cadet Corps’ which was, during the interwar years, a part of the RAAF Reserve. It commenced operating the 11th June of that year, under the leadership of its first Director, GRPCAPT. W.A. Robertson (and a few Directorate staff). Shortly afterwards, the ATC’s very first Wing was formed in Aug. of that same year. By Oct., most states and territories of Australia had their own Wings, which were formed by a small group of dedicated volunteers, most of whom were ex-WWI veterans (Australian Flying Corps) all of whom were now RAAF personnel. The ATCs aims worked magnificently, in fact so much so that by Oct. 1943, the ATC had 12,000 cadets in training.