No 1 Engineering Apprentice SquadronPrint Page 
The plaque commemorates members of the squadron, the staff who supported them and the originators of the scheme.
Location
| Address: | Federal Highway, RAAF Memorial Grove, Majura, 2609 |
|---|---|
| State: | ACT |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -35.211571 Long: 149.190164 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Plaque |
|---|---|
| Monument Theme: | Conflict |
| Sub-Theme: | Multiple |
Dedication
No 1 Engineering Apprentice Squadron RAAF
Acknowledging critical skills required to support rapidly evolving aviation technologies in the immediate Post-War period, in March 1947 the Australian Government approved the introduction of an Apprentice Training Scheme into the Royal Australian Air Force.
The RAAF scheme was to be based on the long-standing and very successful Apprentice Training Scheme introduced into the Royal Air Force in 1919. Subsequently, in February 1948, fifty-three boys joined the RAAF to form No 1 Engineering Apprentice Squadron at the Ground Training School, Forest Hill near Wagga Wagga, NSW. Of the fifty-three, forty-eight graduated in December 1950.
In their three years of training these youngsters became skilled tradesmen who, together with some 5,000 successors graduating from the scheme over the ensuing forty-five years of its operation up to 1993, served in Australia and overseas in technical, combat and peacekeeping roles. Many went on to distinguish themselves in the Service and civilian life.
This plaque is dedicated to the members of No 1 Engineering Apprentice Squadron ("the Anzacs"); the staff at Forest Hill who nurtured them; and the originators of the Scheme, whose foresight and perseverance achieved the vision.
The friendship and esprit-de-corps of "the Anzacs" remains forever high.
