Some people are disappearing from email and the arrival of decent broadband (still a dream to some of us) means many people are changing their addresses - can you please let us know if you change or discontinue your email address?
Your name will fall off the email list if it no longer works.

Site last modified on
18th August 2023

Numerous contact
detail updates

The two hundred and one freshly-scrubbed members of the 99th. Entry of Royal Air Force Apprentices arrived, quaking in their grubby civilian shoes, at No. 1 Radio School, RAF Locking, near Weston-super-Mare, in September 1961. We were probably the biggest entry of apprentice wireless and radar technicians at Locking.

One hundred and seventy-two of us passed-out three years later, and through the intervening years we have dispersed all over the world as far as Australia, New Zealans, South Africa the Philippines, the U.S.A and Mexico - and, of course, Weston-super-Mare, where there is still a thriving colony of Apprenti of various species in their native habitat. Doncaster also seems to be a favourite place to live, and there is a growing community in Spain.

To celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the formation of the 99th. a big reunion was held in September 2001 in Weston-super-Mare, and another even bigger-one in 2004, at the Royal Hotel, Weston, to commemorate Passing-Out.

A drive is still on to contact old friends, whether they made it to pass-out or not - there are fond memories of and frequent requests to find those who didn't stay with us until the bitter end in July 1964. Largely through the efforts of Bob Storey and Chris Horn we now have over a hundred and fifty names (Tony Pugh was the Ninety-Ninth to turn up). The full list, with addresses, is available in our secure area. If you are a Ninety-Niner, possibly not known to us, who has just browsed into the site, or if you simply haven't been given a password because of a cock-up, you need to register because the members-only personal pages can only be viewed using a password. If for any reason you can't do this you can call Ken Bowker on 01687 470268.

If you know of any ex-99th Entry Apprentices who have not yet been contacted, then please email us

96th LOCKING APPRENTICES
You'll find their website at http://www.96thentrylocking.net

98th LOCKING APPRENTICES
Mike Rafferty runs the slick 98th website at http://www.98thlocking.co.uk and can be contacted there.

100th LOCKING APPRENTICES
Tony Lindon runs the startling 100th website at http://100th-entry-locking.org.uk/ . You can contact him via the website.

103rd LOCKING APPRENTICES
Over at http://www.103rdlocking.org.uk is the 103rd website.

104th LOCKING APPRENTICES (and the demolition of Locking)
Pete Harry is building the 104th website at http://www.104thlocking.org.uk and can be contacted via that site, which has some splendid and historic photos of Locking being demolished.

99th HALTON APPRENTICES
At exactly the same time as we signed up, another much rowdier bunch of 99th Apprentices joined at RAF Halton to learn different skills. If you're an ex-Halton 99er, and you want to get in touch with them again then click here to go to the 99th Halton website.

CLICK HERE to see a detailed list from Bob Storey of the folk we're still looking for. Bob used a BT CD-ROM of the UK, plus an endless supply of notepaper and a very good relationship with RAF Innsworth.

Over the past couple of years Bob has put half his life into finding us all, so if you can help, please check the list and rack your brains to see if you can help in any way - a wife's name, a last meeting, an RAF Station, whatever moves us forward. And it does work - three of our recent new arrivals were just such 'finds'.

If you know of anyone we need to know about, please encourage them to email us.