WW2 Oxford University Air Squadron A.T.C cloth badge.

WW2 Oxford University Air Squadron A.T.C cloth badge, removed from uniform.

History: during the war the RAF expanded the university air squadrons to give young men of 17 and 18 a six month short course at university before entering aircrew training. Cadets studied subjects such as navigation, meteorology, signalling, air law and drill alongside their academic work, then went on to train as pilots and navigators.

Famous wartime cadets at Oxford:

Air Marshal Sir John Curtiss (1924 to 2013). Did the university short course at Worcester College, Oxford in 1942, aged 17 to 18, and was a member of the Oxford University Air Squadron from 1942 to 1943. He began pilot training in April 1943 on Tiger Moths.

• He wasn't selected as a pilot, so he became a navigator. He joined 578 Squadron in Bomber Command just after the Normandy landings, attacking retreating German forces, and also flew with 158 Squadron.
• He was the air commander of the British forces in the Falklands War, and the first navigator ever to reach the rank of air marshal.
• He also served in the Berlin Airlift.

Air Commodore J L Field

• Joined the squadron in 1944 from Keble College, then trained as a pilot from 1945. Not a household name, but useful. His record includes an August 1944 squadron photo that shows Richard Burton and Robert Hardy. 

Richard Burton (born 1925). Came to Exeter College, Oxford in 1944 aged 18 on a six month RAF scholarship. He hoped to train as a pilot but his eyesight ruled him out, so he trained as a navigator and served in the RAF until December 1947. He went on to become one of the great actors of his generation, with seven Oscar nominations.

Warren Mitchell (born 1926). Read physical chemistry at University College, Oxford in 1944 aged 18 as an RAF cadet on the short course, where he met Burton. The two joined the RAF together in October 1944, and he finished his navigator training in Canada just as the war ended. He later found fame as Alf Garnett in Till Death Us Do Part.

Robert Hardy (born 1925). A student at Magdalen College, Oxford, he joined the RAF in 1944 aged 18 and trained as a pilot, partly at the British Flying Training School in Terrell, Texas. The war ended before he saw action. He became known for All Creatures Great and Small, his many portrayals of Churchill and the Harry Potter films.