Beneath the Beret of Jack Waterfield Part Two - Comrades and Characters

Creden Hill and the Armourers’ Course (Summer 1941)

After the chaos of billets in Blackpool and Morecambe, Jack Waterfield’s next destination was Creden Hill, Herefordshire, a place that would later become the headquarters of the SAS. In 1941, it was a sprawling RAF training camp tucked into the countryside, with no runway, no glamour, and no illusions. It was here that Jack began his formal training as an armourer, learning the tools, weapons, and turrets that would define his wartime service.

Arrival and First Impressions

Jack arrived at Creden Hill by train, though he doesn’t recall the journey itself. What he does remember is the shock of his first billet: a bell tent, pitched on rough ground, with straw bedding and a single centre pole. Recruits slept with their feet pointing inward, like spokes on a wheel. It was cramped, cold, and temporary.

After a few days, Jack and his intake, designated 5 Wing, moved

Royal Air Force Hereford was opened in June 1940 by the formation of No. 11 School of Technical Training, which remained there until 1947

into Hut 9, a wooden structure that offered marginally more comfort. The camp was built on a hill, and Jack climbed it once, just to say he had. Saturday afternoons and Sundays were free, and he ventured into nearby Hereford when he could. The camp also trained airframe mechanics, and at night, tractors towed strings of old cars onto the airfield to act as decoys. Petrol was scarce, so many of these vehicles belonged to airmen and were now worthless. One man offered Jack a Bentley for £5, a fortune today, but a burden then.

The Armourers’ Course

Jack’s course lasted nine weeks, and it was intense. His instructor, Sergeant Cheeseman, drilled the recruits on everything from Browning .303 machine guns to P14 and Enfield rifles, revolvers, signal pistols, and ammunition types. They studied gun turrets—Fraser-Nash, Bristol, and Boulton Paul—mounted on four-wheel trolleys. At night, these turrets were armed and wheeled onto the airfield for anti-aircraft defence.

Every detail had to be memorised “parrot-fashion.” Recruits buried their noses in their ‘Gen books’ day and night, cramming specifications, procedures, and safety protocols. Jack recalls the pressure clearly: “Everyone had their nose in their Gen books day and night.”

Comrades and Characters

Creden Hill was full of personalities, and Jack remembers many Comrades and Characters by name:

• Ben Soloman, a tailor from the East End of London.

• Ted Fallon, an engineer from Birmingham who had worked at the Daimler factory.

• “Porky” Hardcastle, from Yorkshire.

• Bert Goodchild, another armourer.

• Clarke, a quiet, devout airman who changed the tone of the hut.

Clarke’s story stands out. At lights-out, he would kneel beside his bed and pray aloud for everyone in the hut. At first, he was mocked. But after a few weeks, the laughter stopped. Silence fell. And when Clarke finished, the men responded with a quiet “Amen.” Jack never forgot it. “One of the bravest acts I ever saw,” he wrote. “Hope he finished the war all in one piece. A decent chap was Clarke.”

Training and Results

Jack passed the course successfully, ranking 35th out of 54. The average score was 44. He did well with turrets and rifles, but struggled with other areas. His cousin, Ron Waterfield, also trained at Creden Hill and later returned as an instructor, earning promotion to Junior NCO.

The camp had no runway, but it had its own form of defence. At night, enemy bombers flew overhead en route to South Wales, and the camp’s turrets were manned in case of attack. Jack remembers the eerie sound of aircraft passing in the dark, the tension of waiting, and the relief when they continued on.

Faith, Friendship, and Focus

Creden Hill was more than a training ground—it was a crucible. The friendships forged there, the discipline instilled, and the quiet acts of courage shaped Jack’s character as much as any weapon or turret. Clarke’s nightly prayer, the camaraderie of the hut, and the shared struggle to master complex machinery created a bond that would carry Jack through the war.

He didn’t know it yet, but his next posting would be Weeton, near Blackpool, for a more advanced Fitters 1 Gun Armourers Course. The training would be tougher, the expectations higher, and the path more demanding. But Creden Hill had prepared him.

Next: Jack moves to Weeton and Kirkham, where precision filing, maths, and tragedy mark the next phase of his training, and where a bathhouse visit leads to 14 days confined to barracks.

Armourers hurriedly re-arm a Spitfire as a re-fuelling bowser stands by.