Bumph 1954
It is often contended that one of the curses of modern times is form filling, just to show that there is indeed nothing new under the sun, the following heartfelt contribution comes from a Flight Newsletter of 1954,
BUMPH
The paper war seems to increase daily, and we feel that a former Squadron Commander of 652 was perhaps right in many of the views expressed in the RA Journal. In the last twelve months the number of letters etc, in and out of SHQ has doubled. Flight Commanders are finding the position no better and it has been found necessary to ask for a second Flight clerk (a retrograde but necessary step it is felt).
Someone in an Air Force HQ decided that we hadn’t completed a small detail in our Forms 540 and 541 in the manner approved and laid down in AP 3040. Admittedly, we hadn’t sent them in duplicate to SHQ, so we didn’t complain about producing another copy, but, just to satisfy ourselves that we had in fact created a grave error by not completing the form in exactly the right manner, we rang up the gentleman at HQ FEAF who is responsible for seeing that these particular forms are completed and collected from all the units in the Command and for sending them on to the Air Ministry. As we suspected, he said that he saw no reason for us to revise our original efforts but that it might help in years to come, when someone was writing of our stupendous efforts, if we followed the instructions implicitly. Being meek by nature we decided to do what the someone in an Air Force HQ had told us to do, but perhaps he could be reminded, by the Adjutant, that in addition to his 540s and 541s, we are an operational unit, working regrettably on peacetime administration and accounting, who also have to deal with the following returns :-
Daily Conspectus & DSR to SHQ.
Weekly Ops Returns to SHQ
Weekly I Summary to SHQ.
Monthly Ops Return to SHQ.
Monthly Ops Return to Div HQ & Bde HQ.
Monthly Form 4218 to SHQ.
FEAF STATS 25A weekly to SHQ.
Monthly Summary of Flying Hours/Sorties to ATC Simbang.
W.O.C.S., Arms – Ammn State Return monthly to SHQ.
Monthly, Living-in-State to Bk Stores.
Monthly, Newsletter to SHQ and Flts.
Quarterly, Certificate of Correction of Stores to SHQ.
Quarterly, Certificate of Accn. Stores State to Bk Stores.
Quarterly, Audit of P.S.I. Account to SHQ.
Monthly. MT Serviceability Return to SHQ.
Monthly. POL Vouchers to Command Secretariat.
Doubtless there are other forms we complete, in fact its certain there are, and doubtless any moment now we are going to be told to add some more returns to this vast list – all just to administer approx. thirty men.
If at the end of a Quarter, anyone should ever be so foolish as to ask the Flight’s new Adjutant, Gunner Williams, why he doesn’t sign on as a Regular he would doubtless be given an adequate answer.
It is hard to remain meek when we were threatened with having to keep a log of our outgoing trunk calls and submit a monthly Locstat (Flights changeover every nine months).