Royal Air Force Halton Aircraft Apprentices:
81st Entry Journal
New Message
Message from Brian (Webmaster):- I have archived another block of Feedback, dated from 1st January 2009 to 31st December 2009, and added it to that previously saved. All messages, photos etc, back to 2004 can easily be restored should anyone so desire.
If you have anything, including photos, that you would like uploaded onto this page please email your message to me using the Contact link on the Homepage. If you do include photos please send them as jpeg attachments rather thans embedding them in the message text.
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6 Feb 12.
From Willie Keays.
Tod's relating the IWM Sunderland saga (See Latest Journal article 6. ) reminds me of the visits I paid during Air Days in the early 50s to Sydenham Airfield, now Belfast City Airport, where there were many Sunderlands laid up awaiting disposal. Shorts built some there. Us kids could get into them and have a ball pretending we were sinking U-boats. According to Wiki these aircraft were taken out to sea and scuttled, so maybe there are still lying 'neath the waters of Belfast Lough.
A book that is connected to the Sunderland and its predecessor, the Empire flying-boat, is 'Corsairville; The Lost Domain of the Flying-boat', the story of a forced landing of a flying-boat in central Africa. It's a story of grim determination, eventually successful, when practical engineering skills brough the aircraft home; highly recommended. Available through Amazon for £0.01 (!)
Looking forwards to Tod's Part 2.
1 Jan 12.
A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL 81st ENTRY MEMBERS AND THEIR FAMILIES.
Brian.
12 Dec 11.
Another one from John Taylor has just reached my inbox. The message below is from him but I do add my sentiments to it; Happy Christmas to you all. Brian
Brian , now that you are quite adept at putting videos on the feedback page how about putting this one on and wishing 81st members all the best.
John.
7 Dec 11.
A few weeks back John Tayor sent me an e-mail with this Youtube video file attached. The video itself isn't up to much but the soundtrack is something else; try it for yourself, it's really amazing.
Brian.
This is a bit of info that came with the video:
The conductor of the orchestra is Andre Rieu from Holland. The young lady, her trumpet, and her rendition of TAPS makes your hair stand on end. Most of you may never have heard taps played in its entirety Melissa Venema, age 13, is the trumpet soloist. Here is Taps played in its entirety. The Original version of Taps was called Last Post, and was written by Daniel Butterfield in 1801. It was rather lengthy and formal, as you will hear in this clip, so in1862 it was shortened to 24 notes and re-named Taps. Melissa Venema is playing it on a trumpet, whereby the original was played on a bugle.
4 Dec 11.
From John Taylor.
Brian, I don't know if any other members are aware but there is to be a 90th Memorial for RAF Apprentices on the 12th May 2012 at the National Memorial Arboretum. It is only for members of the RAFHAA and tickets will be required. As I am not a member I will not be going but on the other hand the arboretum is a big place and I am not sure how they could keep anybody out who wants to be there at the same time.
Further information can be found on the RAFHAA web page.
15 Nov 11.
I just realised I could find the answer by asking my brother who was in the 85th; he confirms that the "split" ended after the 84th passed out and that the 85th, as the senior entry, all congregated in No2 Wing for their last term....as he was in either Block 3 or 4 (i.e. the middle two) I guess they must have become No2 Sqn.
14 Nov 11.
From Sach
Just spoken to Ernie King (82nd engines) and he tells me that the 82nd were still split at their pass out. He has a feeling that the re-grouping might have happened after the 84th passed out.
10 Nov 11.
Rob Riley came back with this little snippet below; I didn't realise that the reversion back to complete entries forming individual Squadrons, within the three Wings, happened the term after we left Halton. Can anyone come back on that? Brian.
As you will recall during your time at Halton billets had mixed entries in most rooms - so you knew some people in most entries.
As terms passed you gradually moved up the room and benefitted from easier room jobs on a Friday bull night!
.After the 81st graduation the whole structure changed and moved to whole entries in Wings - in 87th case we were all in 2 Wing together - of course that meant everyone in the room was in the same entry and consequently you had to take your turn at less attractive room jobs again!
regards,
Rob.
10 Nov 11.
Having this website open to visitors has meant that, over the period, I've received several 'non Entry' messages; normally such messages have been asking me to put the writer in touch with an old mate from the 81st, but this one included here, with Rob's permission, is especially gratifying to me. I will trawl through my collection of Halton photos to see if I have any other Wedover (or close to) railway photos and if anyone else has any I'd be pleased to forward them to Rob. Brian.
Hello Brian,
My name is Rob (Jock) Riley and a member of the 87th entry - Engine basher in 2(A) Wing - I do read your entry web site from time to time and enjoy the anecdotes and recollections of your feedback page. I was particularly interested in Maurice (Spud) Murphy's recent article and photograph showing Wendover Station platform on an end of term leave day. It certainly brought back memories for me!
In this connection I have a request to make to Maurice as follows: Living about 10 miles from Aylesbury I am a volunteer member at the Bucks Railway Centre located at Quainton, nr Aylesbury. A fellow volunteer, Bill Simpson, is also an author of books on steam railway history in Bucks and Oxfordshire; he is preparing another book for publication in 2013 marking the 150th anniversary of the Metropolitan Railway which, under that name, ran from Marylebone Station, through Wendover, Aylesbury and on to Quainton. I have shown Bill the Wendover station photograph and he would be very interested in including the photograph in the Metropolitan book.
Could you please pass on this message to Maurice requesting his permission to use his photograph in this way.
The photograph demonstrates the link to RAF Halton; indeed Bill has previously produced a book which included a chapter on the development of the Halton Camp railway line from Wendover from WW1 until its closure in the 60's.
Full accreditation of course would be given to Maurice in the book when published. I am sure Bill and I would be pleased to give a donation to charity in appreciation.
I would be grateful Brian if you could forward my e-mail to Maurice.
Many thanks.
I will continue to enjoy the 81st website!
Rob Riley.
1 Nov 11.
From Maurice ('Spud') Murphy.
Marched to Wendover station, loaded on a special train and transported to Bakerstreet for leave.
I cannot tell you anything for sure about this picture, thought you might like it for your journal. It brought back a memory for me. My home the was at RAF Benson 21 miles away from Halton. After Bakerstreet it was cross London, train to Reading,train to Wallingford and a bus to RAF Benson. About a five hour journey. I tried hitching it once, the train was quicker. Also tried buses via Aylesbury, Oxford and Wallingford, the trains were best.
I think this must have been halfway through our time at Halton.
Looking at this picture I'm amazed that no one went under the wheels as the train came in.
27 Sep 11.
From Brian.
Two more bits of communication I've received since splitting our surplus reunion 'kitty' of £120.00 between the RAC supported charities and the RAFBF.
Dear Mr Spurway,
Thank you for your recent donation to the RAF Benevolent Fund. Your generosity allows us to continue our work supporting the men and women of the Royal Air Force - past and present.
Thank you for doing your bit to make this happen.
If you want to find out more about our work please don't hesitate to get in touch, or visit our website at www.rafbf.org
Kind regards,
Michael
Michael Laffan - Online Communications Manager
25 Sep 11
I recently received this message which I would like to share with those
of you who attended the 81st Entry reunion on 7 Sep.
Dear Brian
Many thanks for your recent email and please let me tell you how much I enjoyed the reunion and spending the evening with the 81st. It was a real privilege to meet some of Dad's pals and hear some of the stories from when you all trained together. I was made, not just to feel welcome, but that I actually belonged there on Bill's behalf. He would have been chuffed to know that I had the chance to spend some time and have a few beers with you all.
Please pass on my regards and thanks to all the chaps. It was a real honour.
I will show the photo to Mum when she is down in a couple of weeks. it will be interesting to see who she remembers.
Thank you once again for inviting me last week, an evening I will never forget.
Best wishes to all,
Stuart
25 Jul 11.
From Mike Robins.
As I remember, we were all transported by RAF coaches from Wendover railway station to RAF Halton. We were sent for processing and attestation upstairs in 3 Wing NAAFI.
When asked which trade I wanted I said "Armourer" (ATC .22 range at school and .303 at Summer Camp both influenced that choice). I still enjoy shooting (side by side, over and under and semi-auto shot guns). However it was not to be as I could not see the figures on the (previously mentioned) coloured dot-chart; I had green/red colour blindness, a hereditary condition, so I was offered Engines or Airframes. Having an interest in motorbikes I chose Engines..."Sorry w'ere full but you could try the next entry". "What" I hear you cry, "No thanks!" That's how I became an Airframe Fitter, how fortunate that turned out to be!
I managed to avoid Church Parades by joining the choir to make up the numbers. Strolling was a lot more civilised on a Sunday morning than marching.
My Aunt (of Zulu weaponry), used to send me food parcels from time to time knowing that we were not fed that well for growing lads. It was usually a large fruitcake inside a big biscuit tin with lashings of brown paper and string. On getting back from workshops one evening there was a parcel chit to collect one from the postroom. I told everyone we had a treat in store, I always shared it out. When it was collected it felt a bit light and after a lot of unwrapping the inside the tin was empty and runnig in ants, they had eaten the lot. I reckoned that it had been overlooked in the postroom for ages. Didn't tell my Aunt though.
I was very glad when I got my 'snag' as having the bunk I was able to enjoy toast etc. on a small electric grill I had. Nearly lost the stripe though when we were caught out of bounds in Wendover during finals. Only escaped as I was properly dressed in civvies, blazer and tie, and the fact we were near to Pass Out.
Anyone remember Airframe Repairs in the new workshops? One time Mr 'B'aint touch my haircraft' wondered where we had all got to...we had tried to see how many of us could all get inside the Meteor fuselage at the same time. Usually rubberised hair (Mike has reminded me we used that for protection from the sharp 'bits'. Brian.) and an inspection lamp made this a suitable solitary place to read the Vol. 6!! This time however as many as possible squeezed inside, I can't remember how many. All was OK until someone farted and we all came out at once like a stick of parachutists from the hatch under the belly of the aircraft. No names were taken as we dispersed in all directions.
Hope this jogs some memories.
22 Jul 11.
From Willie Keays.
Here's a photo of my old overseas kitbag which continued to serve me until until I retired in 1987, and a few nostalgic links from Pathé News:
Click on any of the Links below to see one of Willie's nostalgic news recordings. Brian.
Britain's aircraft of tomorrow.
There's lot more like that, such as this one...BUT what year do you think it was? Air chief and Air recruits.
22 Jul.11
From Mike Robins.
No sooner did I get the last message from Mike uploaded than another two from him popped up in my Inbox....never been so busy!! Brian.
Can I please add some more 'gen to the Feedback page?
Firstly, my maternal Grandfather served in the Royal Artillery as a regular soldier during the Boer War and I inherited all his Campaign Medals. As a result he managed to bring home, on his pack, all the way up the river Nile and on a troop ship, no mean task, a pair of Zulu spears and two zebra skin shields plus a service issue revolver. They stood either side of my Aunt's fireplace for several years and, as a boy, I admired them greatly. When the government of the day (1950's sometime) declared an anmesty, my late Uncle handed them in to the local police station in Catford. I can imagine the consternation of the other passengers on the London Transport bus. No cars in those days. We believe that they were donated to Horniman's Museum in south London. How valuable they would be today! Feedback from Sach dated 17 Sep 10 refers. Unfortunately I did not see the programme either (Antiques Road Show) about Nick Copley's appearance on it; I would like to add, following the news of Nick and Eve's Wedding Anniversary, that Pat and I have ours coming up on the 27th of this month and are celebrating it at Thoresby Hall Hotel. Dick Richardson was our guest and we still have his wedding present to us. Liked Dick's recent article in the Journal. Incidentally I too have all my brushes in mint condition and numbered clearly. I believe that 'sheddies' were labled 'Hings'.
22 Jul 11
A confession (his word) from Mike Robins.
It was my 'artwork' that produced the 81st Entry badge, including the motto which I researched from a book on heraldry; I was not however responsible for it's final production, that was left to others.
There was a small number of us who came up with various designs and ideas, but it was my one that was chosen. I have always been very proud to have been the person behind it and still wear my original one in gold wire on my blazer.
There that's my story told and I can rest assured, with a clear conscience, once and for all.
16 Jul 11.
From John Taylor.
As there doesn't seem to be much feedback lately I wondered if the attached photo would stir up some memories.
It does seem to have gone a bit quiet lately John so thank you very much for posting this bit of 'nostalgia'. Does anyone else have a photo, or indeed photos (old or new, B & W or colour) of any item/s of equipment issued to us at Halton...we've only had the brushes, and now the kitbag, there must be other stuff about somewhere? How about the odd housewife, nothing personal intended of course?! Brian.
27 Jun 11.
From Willie Keays.
In one of my articles I mentioned Churchill's funeral in 1965. (Two articles in the same Journal (No7), one by Willie and the other by Ned Kelly both refer to this event. Brian.)
The BBC now have the whole thing in four parts. The most interesting, indeed most impressive one is Part 4. The commentator is Richard Dimbleby. He draws attention to the RAF Apprentices who took part. To view a video of Part 4 click on this Link: Churchill's funeral
I doubt that our services nowadays could match this moving and mighty display of military precision and grandeur.
29 May 11.
From Tod Slaughter.
The article about Joe Bollard reminded me of an incident at Halton back in those times, so far away, when I was in 2 Sqn 1 Wing and had reached the heady rank of L/A/A i/c gardens.
I was walking up the road alongside the Henderson/Grove parade ground on a nice sunny day when in the shadow of the gymnasium (now the museum) I spotted a figure. It was Joe and he was staring at a "sprog" officer who was strolling happily across the parade square. Something that we would never do on pain of death!
As I watched I saw Joe, still fairly well hidden, stiffen up to the attention and bring up a smart salute. He waited a few moments before bellowing, "I AM SALUTING YOU, SIR!"
What a transformation. From a carefree stroll this young officer, obviously recognising the voice, began looking round wildly for the source whilst slinging up salutes in all directions!
I wasn't close enough to see Joe's face but I fancy that this was not the first time he had done this!!
26 May 11.
From Mike (Ginge) Thompson.
I'm sure I remember a trip to the Palladium (??) to see Harry Secombe. During the show one of the group shouted at the appropriate moment one of the Goons' catch phrases of the time "What about the workers?" to which the immediate response from the stage was "What about the workers...indeed Sir!" It received a huge applause. Ah! Happy days!! I reckon I still have the Goon show about flying NAAFIs.
24 May 11.
From Frank Chammings.
Re Joe's photo, never had much to do with him in 3 Wing, however, I notice that he has a belt around his greatcoat, it doesn't look like a webbing belt, I wonder if it was a "Joe's" belt as I don't recall seeing one before, unless, as usual, my mind is playing tricks.
(In his e-mail Frank also asked me to scan, and send him, the list of 'Officials' on our Pass-Out. He suggested I add a copy here as, in his words "I expect others might like to be reminded also." OK Frank 'yer tiz'. Brian.)
21 May 11.
One to tittilate the memory cells...not that anyone of us could ever forget him!
This photo of 'Joe the SWO' has recently been sent to me by Malcolm Johnson, a very welcome new addition to my list of 81st Entry contacts. Thank you very much Malcolm.
My dad was a FS in the MT at Halton ('55 to '57) and our MQ was dead opposite Joe's...I lived in fear of him and, when visiting my parents, used to climb over the back garden fence rather than run the risk of bumping into him. He became a bit more human during leave time, which was just as well as his daughter, Mary, was one of our 'gang' (that's not a euphamism!!)...then he just treated me like a bothersome spotty youth rather than a sub-human A/A. (joking really as he had a 'bark far worse than his bite', scary though!!).
Comments, memories etc please!
Brian.
21 May 11.
From Willie Keays.
Congratulations to Mike Stanley on a thoroughly researched, erudite and informative article in Journal 26 about our badge and motto. As they say about Mike: "Bene agendo nunquam defessus."
(Latin phrases not my forté so had to go to Google to get the meaning of that, Brian.)
8 May 11.
From Mike Robins.
Do you know anyone in our Entry rich enough to buy a unique car number plate? Wait for it:- 681 HAA ( first three and 81 Halton Aircraft Apprentice ). Wish I could but the price is £975 plus VAT and £80 transfer fee, which makes it around £1250, another coincidence! Elite Registrations have it on offer, Tel. 01380 818181 ( yet another coincidence ) or elitereg.co.uk One would have to have the right car for it but sadly I cannot afford either.
Hope that it finds a good home.
8 May 11.
From Jim Pinn.
Re the Palladium trip: I have 2 programmes from then; Norman Wisdom tops one and Alma Cogan the other! Others in the show were Harry Secombe, Jerry Desmond and the George Mitchell Singers! Other shows seen were 'The Pyjama Game', The Windmill, and Kismet. Those trips were well remembered, we had the money and the nerve to get into anything. Does anyone remember getting free show tickets from the Nuffield Center?
8 May 11.
From Willie Keays.
I don't remember the theatre trip to London when we were still together in 3A Wing but after I moved to 1A Wing, a trip was organised to see 'No Time for Sergeants' in Her Majesty's Theatre in the Haymarket. I had never touched alcohol until then but during the interval I had a Whitbread's Forest Brown in the crush bar. After the show I had quite a few rum & oranges, far too many. Having been dropped off from the coach about midnight on Henderson-Groves parade square, I fell down and fell asleep and would probably have stayed there if 'Mac' McDonald, later of the 82nd, had not picked me up and carried me back to Block 10, Room 2. I haven't touched rum & orange since; in fact even to write those words makes me feel... sick......Oh Gawd,.. not again...!
Another story had you been 6 ft tall weighing in at 11 stones, eh Willie?
19 Apr 11.
From Sach.
In response to Curly's post re: the trip to the Palladium. I remember a coach trip to the Palladium, our chaperone being Joe Bollard. As I recollect, the star billing was Max Bygraves.
18 Apr 11.
From Curly Knowlton.
Hi you Guys,
What a good job has been done to the new look web site. As a rookie member to the electronic world of computer mer bobs [as told by Alexandra Orlof] can any of you remember a trip in our very first term, whilst we were all in 3 wing, to London on the coach to the Palladium to see a new entertainer called Bruce Forsyth? After the show we had some free time and were told that the pick up would be Trafalgar Square. While waiting for the coaches some unknown person/persons emptied soap powder into the fountains and caused quite a stir, not to mentions vast amounts of bubbles. Please tell me that I am not dreaming about this incident ??????
10 Apr 11.
From Sach.
Found the attached and thought you might like to compare the Entry badge with the original on the website header. The gold and silver wire is somewhat tarnished, just like myself!
27 Mar 11.
From Frank Chammings.
Jeremy Clarkson refers to shreddies in his Sunday Times column today, I wonder where he got that from?
17 Mar 11.
From Willie Keays.
In reply to Frank's query, if he reads the first article again, he will see that we were cooking on Primus stoves. Heating the bearing casing to fit the bearing therefore wasn't a problem.
15 Mar 11.
From Frank Chammings.
Having re-read Willie's record of the fantastic and adventurous journey across the Balkans and Europe I have a question, how did Willie heat shrink the SKF bearing with his obviously limited means in Paris?
(Over to you Willie.)
9 Mar 11.
(Willie Keays has just sent me this message with three photographs that go with two of his articles in the Journal, EX-BRATS COMING HOME FROM CYPRUS 1961. Parts 1 & 2.)
Hi Brian.
Rooting thro' an old kit-bag I found some 35mm slides amongst which were some taken during our bike-ride home from Cyprus in 1961; Journals 24d and 25h.
You may like to post some or all of these of the Feedback page.
One shows the member of the Triumph Klub Wien who gave a motor-cycle cop, on a 250cc Puch(!) the slip and saved our bacon: Willie? Charlie?
Another is taken on La Gloriette momument at Schönbrun Schloss in Vienna.
I think the dusty road on one is the autoput between Belgrade and Zagreb. Roy is pondering where we put the toilet paper. The bike in front is his.
Most regrettably I have not yet found the photo of Kapitän Bahmer's wife on the pillion of his Ton-ten; still searching!
4 Mar 11.
From Sach.
Definitely Roy Waters. I notice that the badge depicted on the webpage is the original design. I lost my original many years ago but still have the later design that was slightly larger with silver wire etc.
3 Mar 11.
From John Taylor.
Just read the latest journal. With reference to Mike's article on our entry badge didn't the late Roy Waters design it? I know most of us would doodle/design/make up our own designs for the front/back of our exercise books etc.
Does anyone know whether this is true, or did someone other than Roy design the badge? Brian.
23 Feb 11
From John Taylor.
Following the death of the previous owner of this title a new King Brat has been 'crowned'. He is John Rogers and he was in the 12th entry training as an aero engine fitter. He was born on the 14th October 1908 and so is well over 100 years old. He retired from the RAF in 1964.
Further details can be seen on the RAFHAA web site.
13 Feb 11.
From Willie Keays.
An elderly neighbour of mine, who attacked Tokyo in his Firefly from HMS Indefatigable on the last day of the Far Eastern war, has kindly lent me a fascinating video called 'Night Bombers'. I've kept my VCR so that, in company with my grand-children, I can watch my superb collection of Peter Pan and cowboy videos.
Some of you may have seen this colour film, the only one made about RAF operations in WW2. If you haven't, get it!
It covers, in great detail, the preparations of the Lancaster squadrons at RAF Hemswell, No 1 Bomber group, for a 600 bomber raid on Berlin in 1944. You see a lot of what the plumbers did in bombing up, the chain of command planning the raid, crew briefing, over the target film, FIDO, Gee, Fishpool, Hs2 etc.
I've seen on Amazon that it's available on DVD at £7.93 so I guess you can't get it in video anymore.
(Thanks Willie, think I'll go for it as I did that other recommendation of yours, 'Empire of the Clouds....a very good read indeed and well worth a tenner (also from Amazon). Brian.)
28 Jan 11.
From John Taylor.
Just been posted that the Halton Apprentice Association's AGM is on Saturday 30th July 2011. Details can be seen on their web site. Maybe entry members who are members of the RAFHAA would want to attend.
24 Jan 11.
From Tod Slaughter.
With all these reminiscences about our early days at Halton I'm afraid it's confession time. I too took my entrance exam, for Halton, at my school with others that included Graham Enfield.(Now sadly passed on). Prior to taking the exam we were given earlier papers that had been saved from previous tests do give us an idea of what to expect. All that is apart from the intelligence test which for some reason the careers master said we were not allowed to see. Graham and I then asked another teacher and he obtained an old copy for us which we took home and studied carefully to get the general idea of what it was all about.
Came the day of the exam the various papers were completed until it was time for the intelligence test. The paper was put on the desk before us and low and behold it was exactly the same that as the one we had gone through before!! I looked across to Graham whose was staring at it open mouthed! He caught my eye and put his fingers to his lips! So dear friends I took my time and made a few deliberate mistakes. I wonder if the RAF was disappointed that I wasn't as intelligent as they were led to believe?
18 Jan 11.
From Sach.
Re: Mike Stanley's last post.
The colour blindness test was a book about three inches square, each page having circles composed of coloured spots. If your colour perception was good you would be able to see numbers within the spots.
Whilst I was at West Raynham, between 1969-73, the powers that be decided that these books that had been in use for years were defective and we all had to go for a retest using updated books. A Ch Tech armourer on the Hunter squadron failed this new test miserably. He remained in the trade as, I guess, it would have been too expensive to pay him off.
5 Jan 11.
From Mike Stanley.
I admit my memory isn't what it was, not that it was much good to start with, but for the life of me I can't remember being at Halton prior to the 4th September 1955.
I hadn't realised until reading Ken's account, that it was a Sunday. I travelled down from Lincoln and I remember at Halton being paid subsistence money as I had been travelling more than 7(?) hours. I must have travelled from Lincoln by bus to pick up the London train at Grantham. The bus takes nigh on 2 hours, which would account for the length of time travelling; even in 1955 Lincoln wasn't that far from Halton.
I had taken the entrance exam at school in the same time frame as sitting O levels (I was at my academic peak at that time; it all went downhill very swiftly afterwards).
If we had to be at Halton by 4pm it seems likely that it was Monday before I had medicals, attestation and all that jazz. I had chosen to be an armourer (probably one of the few who did!) and was billeted overnight in the same room/block as I eventually ended up in, along with fellow plumbers. As I didn't have my medical until the Monday I suppose I would have been moved if I failed the colour blind test. It was the first time I had ever been tested for colour blindness so the examination is a memory.
As is the hearing test: ...."Go and stand by the window." whispered in an ear by the MO!
There must have been others who arrived at Halton for the first time on the 4 September?
3 Jan 11.
From Willie (aka Seamus) Keays.
Thanks to a Christmas gift I have read a very enjoyable book by James Hamiliton-Paterson, 'Empire of the Clouds'. Sensibly written, it covers the new aircraft that were designed and tested in the UK in the years 1945 to 1955. These are the very aircraft that we knew so well in service. For a flavour of its content, here's the chapter listing:
1. Death at Farnborough (Halton AAs get a mention in the coverage of the dreadful crash of the DH 110 in 1952).
2. Bill Waterton and the World Air-Speed Record.
3. The Sound Barrier.
4. A Risky Business (More about Bill Waterton, Ch Test Pilot for Gloster).
5. Canberras, Hunters and Patriotism (Nuff said).
6. Crash Landings (Problems with the Hoover Javelin -Ejection from V-bombers -Penetration of the DEW line by Vulcans in 1961).
7. 'Nothing like a hundred per cent aeroplane' (More about B Waterton as an acerbic, rightly so, Air Correspondent for the Daily Express- Comets - FD2s- English Electric Frightenings).
8.'A power of no good' (Tudors - Elizabethans - Viscounts-Brits - ).
9. Fighter Jock Heaven (Gnats - lots more about Frightenings and the devoted lineys who serviced them - Wg Cdr Holden's (SEngO) unexpected take-off when doing taxi checks - TSR2 ).
10. Not with a Bang (the descending glide path of Britain's aerospace industry; Hunter through Tower Bridge flown by Flt Lt Alan Pollock).
Publisher: Faber & Faber 2010 ISBN 978-0-571-24794-3 at 20 pounds (that's the price inside the cover, on-line prices considerably lower, Brian) or ask for it at your local library, if you've still got one. (maybe it's gone as well, just like our Air Force).
2 Jan 11.
From Ken Williams.
To add to my previous info about those first days; the Maitland Guardroom must have had a list of the 81st arrivals as I somehow went straight to Block 5 Room 4 (mainly engines) which is where I stayed until the changeover. I knew at the interview stage that I was going to be a paraffin queen as I was found to be colour blind and with that my hope of being a leckie was gone. The only other choice was rigger.
1 Jan 11.
From Frank Chammings.
Hi,
My mobile packed up suddenly, the battery packed in, I have had to buy a new mobile so I bought a blackberry to replace it but have lost all my contacts. What is pleasing is that my new number ends in 81 ie********081. I have now to search and find all the numbers I had on file. A daunting task.
A Happy New Year to one and all.
A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL, Brian.
1 Jan 11.
From Ken Williams.
Good morning and a Happy New Year to you and all members of the illustrious 81st.
You enquired about various happenings at the beginning of our careers in the RAF. I have in my hand several proformas from 'thanks for your enquiry' to 'you will be pleased to know your son has arrived safely'.
I took the entrance exam at school on 14 Jun and went to Halton for interviews and a medical during the 3rd week of Aug. I have a letter dated 25 Aug saying I was accepted and a day later telling me to be there by 4pm on 4 Sept. Being very keen I arrived on the 3rd (the village Station Master said I couldn't get there on a Sun).
The letter home tells my parents what I must expect. No smoking, no cars/motor bikes and no civvies. 17s 6d a week and we'll open a POSB account for him. It invited them to visit and they could stay at TOCH for 9s B&B. They did come and stayed at the Leg of Mutton? near the station.
I've also got my copy of Attestation (stamped 681108) so that was when we were 'numbered'. I believe it took place in the Naafi.
I think the jabs during PE was to get the blood rushing around!
Hope this helps.
(Certainly does Ken, thank you and the others who have replied so far. Brian.)
27 Dec 10.
From John Taylor.
As far as I can remember we had our medicals prior to actually 'joining up'.
For the first few days we all went to the barbers and got our 'kit' and also had a few lectures on what to expect. I seem to recollect that the officer giving one of the lectures told us we had to refer to the 'service' as the Royal Air Force and not the 'raff'.
We got our service numbers and had our 'swearing in' in 3 Wing NAAFI. Gerry Ward, Dave Wells and I all went together in a little anti room to swear our allegiance and our last three were 090, 089 & 088 respectively.
21 Dec 10.
From Sach.
I seem to recall that we had our medical during the Induction a few weeks before we joined. As for getting our jabs, we paraded in the Maitland gym in PT kit and were them marched to sick quarters. Moving down the line we were given a jab in each upper arm and one in each forearm, between the wrist and elbow. Bloody painful as I recall. I do remember quite a few of the chaps fainting.
On my initial medical, the doc asked where my vaccination mark was (that old halfpenny sized scar on the left upper arm). I replied that I didn't have one. He said you must have, as everyone had been vaccinated. I explained that I was born in Malta and that all the vaccine was lying on the bottom of the Mediterranean. He grudgingly accepted my story.
20 Dec 10.
From Frank Chammings.
I, like you Brian, regret not asking my parents so many things. However, I caught the train to Waterloo en-route to Halton on a Sunday. I recall this as I was offered a lift in a taxi up to the station, the station bus didn't run on a Sunday and it was awful climb up the hill as I'm sure you remember. (Frank means Okehampton station, a place he knows that I knew well, my having spent many a holiday there with relatives both before and after Halton. Brian.) I can also recall having the interviews a couple of weeks before but cannot remember where we spent the night(s).
20 Dec 10.
From Brian.
Firstly I send our Seasonal Greetings to you and yours.I guess I have what I think is known as 'Selected Memory' in that I can recall much of my life vividly whilst at the same time having huge gaps that no matter how hard I try the old grey cells just refuse to cooperate....I'm sure there are many like me but there are also those, some of whom regularly add to this Feedback page, that seem to be able to recall our days at Halton almost as if it were yesterday.
Some years ago I became very keen on tracing my parents' families and had considerable success, mainly because of their rather unusual surnames, managing to construct a large Family Tree. In the process I realised that I should have asked more questions of my parents before losing them both whilst in my early twenties, let alone quizzing a couple of grandparents who had gone long before then....we, of course, or many of us, were still in the 'children should be seen and not heard' ages and were discouraged from prying into our elders' lives. I determined that my kids, and their kids, would know as much as I know (warts and all) and promised that I would write down as much as I could remember of my life in some sort of chronological fashion.
Having got through both family histories, childhood and school days I'm now about to record the Halton bit but am stumped at the very start. We, as the 81st Entry, signed on the 'dotted-line' on Monday 5th September 1955 (I think somewhere in 3(A) Wing) but how long had we already been there? If we had spent the previous weekend, or even longer, there, what did we do? All I seem to recall is somehow getting to Baker Street station and then being herded onto a train for Wendover; how did we then get to Halton? When were (or even if) our medical examinations carried out? Did we spend our first nights there in the same rooms we would occupy once 'signed-on'? Had we pre-selected our individual trades or was there some degree of 'pot-luck' involved? How long was it before we were 'kitted out'? The questions go on, but that's enough for now, so if anyone can help I look forward to hearing from you.
20 Dec 10.
From Sach.
Having studied Bob's cutting in zoom, I realized how the passage of time clouds the memory. I could have sworn it was in 1955, not 1957. As I recall, we entertained some local deprived children (probably from an orphanage) and I was latched on to by a young girl with pigtails. (Lucky you mate!) I can't remember who made the Sputnik but I do remember Santa alighting from it; Chunky Plumley I think.
Wishing all our readers the compliments of the season.
19 Dec 10.
From WILLIAM E KELLY
HELLO TO ALL, HOPING YOU MAY BE ABLE TO PASS THESE PICTURES ON.
(Of special interest to Armourers maybe, but very interesting pictures all the same. To see them copy this URL and paste it into your explorer: Brian.}
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=FrankMcVey&target=ALBUM&id=5551294548024446001&authkey=Gv1sRgCKGEibyHn8rUCg&invite=CIO4xPEF&feat=email
WISHING YOU ALLTHE BEST FOR XMAS + NEW YEAR 2011,
NED KELLY 81st.
ps. I WAS NOT AT THE SHOW BUT I AM A MEMBER OF GREETHAM Eng. SOCIETY.
18 Dec 10.
From Frank Chammings.
A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our 81st colleagues.
Am I only one who can't remember that Christmas party as we must have all been involved? Who organised it and why the 81st as we were not the senior entry then ?
(You're not alone Frank, I have no recollection of it either. Brian.)
15 Dec 10.
From Bob Galbraith,
I came across this cutting in an old book it might bring back some memories.
(Sorry but you may need to zoom in a bit to read the clipping. Brian.)
11 Dec 10.
From Mike Stanley.
I recall being pounced on by Joe SWO when making my way down to workshops on my own. My 'crime' was not swinging my arms shoulder high, almost impossible as we were in in great coat order at the time.
After sending me doubling away to his office to clean my buttons, where a nice motherly lady dispensed Duraglit, button-stick and polishing-cloth, it was back to Joe, who sent me on my way with encouraging shouts of "Swing them arms shoulder high!"
So maybe it was Joe SWO who introduced it.
11 Dec 10
From Brian.
If you run Google Earth and fancy a bit of aircraft recognition try pasting these co-ordinates into its 'search' box:
30 21 12N 87 18 17W
10 Dec 10.
From Sach.
Re. your last and the reference to learning how to drill. When did the RAF start the awful habit of swinging arms shoulder high whilst marching? It looks dreadful. I seem to remember in our day it was waist belt high fore and aft.
(Totally agree with you Sach.....even just waist belt high must have been painful if marching behind our Russ. Brian.8 Dec 10.
From Brian.
Take your mind back to our early days in 3(A) Wing and the hours we spent on the square trying to get arms, legs, feet and brains round the intricacies of rifle drill. Now spend a few minutes watching these Norwegian King's Guard soldiers (mostly national service Ed Wagstaff assures me in the e-mail he sent) showing us how it can be done. Copy and paste this URL into your browser, it's good viewing, especially the "propellor" bit
http://sorisomail.com/email/16993/exibicao-de-banda-militar--um-espectaculo-imperdivel.html
26 Nov 10.
From Sach.
"Shreddies"
As I recollect, drawers cellular (manufactured by HMP {Her Majesty's Prison}) would disintegrate after a few visits to the laundry. I had a pair that consisted of the elastic waistband with some long shreds hanging from it. The trouble with exchanging them was that you used your clothing allowance, which meant you had less money when you went on leave.
24 Nov 10.
From Frank Chammings.
Re shreddies: when doing an engineering audit of the Defence Flying Training School at RAF Shawbury I came across a reference to shreddies on the message board of the aircrew restaurant. I can't remember the details but it was obvious from the comments that most of the readers were in the dark.
24 Nov 10.
From Brian.
"Shreddies" defiitely was the word used in reference to the issued Drawers Cellular (although I'm sure we probably used the word equally for any alternative type of UPs..... were "Y" fronts invented then??) but I think another possible reason for using that description was because, when worn, the ruddy things quickly shredded between the legs caused by the continuous rubbing of the sand-paper like serge that working blue trousers were made of..... we did one hell of a lot of such shredding marching up and down from the Wings to workshops, schools and, even more so, to the airfield!
21 Nov 10
From Sach.
"Posbie". Was that not the shortened version of Post Office Savings Book? I seem to remember a "posbie" b*****d was someone who saved his shillings rather that spending them.
23 Nov 10.
From Mike Stanley.
Thinking about the slang/jargon we used whilst in the RAF (and I still do use some and I left in 1968!) I always thought that certain words were Halton Speak rather than RAF speak. Words I rarely heard being used out in the 'big' RAF, other than by an ex brats:
'Snag' (already mentioned by Brian).
'Tank' referring to the NAAFI canteen.
'Skate 'as in Skates Alley.
'Trog' as in Trog mac and thus a style of walking when wearing that garment.
'Reest' or 'reesty', as in 'reesting in your pit' (sometimes reist?).
'Shreddies', describing how sometimes Drawers Cellular would be returned from the Aylesbury Laundry.
However that last one seems to be a Northern term for underwear - could it have been a Northern born Apprentice who first used the term at Halton?
(Another one, like Mike, I never heard used after Halton was 'Posbie'; used in expressions like "He's a posbie b*****d!!!". Brian.)
21 Nov 10.
From Brian.
All those of our Entry who look at this website will remember an e-mail I sent out asking if anyone had the knowledge and the willingness to run it The result of that question was a resounding negative so I surmised that everyone (other than Willie Keays, who had designed and run our previous website but, understandably, had given it up to devote his on-line time to business concerns) was as ignorant of such technology as myself. I therefore asked my son in law to design a simple, easy to navigate website and teach me to a standard that would enable me to run it myself. John did both of those things and I am deeply grateful to him. This "new" basic website has now been up and running for a considerable period and I trust that it meets with your approval; the fact that articles for inclusion in the Journal keep coming in would suggest that it does. Anyway, to "cut to the chase" (another modern expression, rather like "24/7" and many others all equally annoying....or is that my misplaced intolerance?) an hour or so ago I was sitting downstairs bored to tears with Sunday afternoon "Telly" when my mind went to the website and how I could stir up some enthusiasm for the Feedback page....my thanks to those of you that, every now and then, try the same ploy... what came into my mind was "slang" and how, just like the youth of today, we had our own Halton version and that it, like the "innits", the "likes" and the "am I bovvered?" of today must have been equally confusing to our parents and elders. Simple examples are words like "snag" (relating to rank not serviceability), "pit", "jankers" etc. etc. As you can see, not many came to mind, but my mind ain't nearly as good as once it was so I came up here to my study (box room really in our 1930s type 3-bed) switched on the kompooter (spelling not great either, but I love upsetting "Spellcheck", don't you?), pulled up good old Google and typed in "Brat speak". Amongst the websites that Google came up with was the 65th Entry's (http://www.xhaltonbrat65.com/) which I clicked on; it's huge, brimming with nostalgia, and I recommend it to you. When on that website's home-page click on "Brat videos" and work your way through the list that comes up; you'll need a load of time to view them all but if the few I've just had a look at are anything to go by then you won't be disappointed.
Best regards to all.
17 Nov 10.
From Willie.
Ref Adrian Gates 10 Nov 2010.
I hope you don't take it too unkindly but us Cyprus Triumph Owners Motor Cycle Club (CTOMCC) used to refer to your S R as 'Adrian's Super Rachet'!
10 Nov 10.
From Adrian Gates.
As usual I enjoyed the new journal entries especially the 2nd article about the return from Cyprus in 1961 by motor cycle of Willie and co. The reason I returned from Cyprus in 1963 via Greece and then over Italy was because of the lousy fuel on their route and even so as a precaution I fitted 8 to 1 pistons in place of the 9 to 1 as standard on the Super Rocket at that time. It is a pity 'Tad' seems to have disappeared as I spent several weeks 'glued' to his back wheel when I first got the S R in Cyprus when he was showing me the roads. I had more 'tank slappers' in that short time than in the rest of my 250,000 miles m/c, not really surprising on twisty poor roads, following a Norton ridden by a maniac, while I was on the recently purchased S R.
Returning to the theme of C of SO. Alas I can still remember my session on the punishment which extended into the week end. There was not time to go back to the block between the hourly laying out the kit on the guardroom steps so we just went round the corner and waited for the next session. My stint was extended for some trivial reason on 2 occasions and I became so fed up I refused to continue to 'play their games'. I denied I had ever been put on C of SO and vehemently stressed that I would never agree to such a punishment. Nothing happened and I believe that the 'regime' ended. I have often wondered if I was responsible for the ban of the C of SO.
30 Oct 10.
From Sach.
I still have the same four brushes as John and yourself; can't remember the other two though. The original brushes and towels as issued were the only bits of kit that lasted. The towels survived many years of use until they eventually disintegrated.
From left to right: polish putter-onner, clothes, polish-taker offer and blanco.
29 Oct 10.
From John Taylor.
Just cleaning my shoes the other day when I realised that I had had these brushes in my possession for over 55 years and still going strong. I believe we had six brushes in total but I don't seem to have the other two. Does anyone still have a full set or know what the other two were used for?.
(I've still got the same four as in John's photos, also still going strong and in use pretty much every day.....maybe there were only these four issued. Unless someone out there knows differently? Brian.)
26 Oct 10.
From. Brian.
All of us who are Association members will be aware that what was the RAFHAAA has had one of the As (the one standing for "Aircraft") removed from its acronym reflecting the fact that membership is open to all apprentices trained at Halton.Whether one is personally in favour of that (and I'm one who isn't) is now irrelevant as the change has occurred. Only members of the RAFHAA normally get to know about details like this, and many others that reflect on our lives past and present, because they receive occasional newsletters and two "Haltonian" magazines each year. There is, however, an online social networking site for the Association, as the message following this from John Taylor explains. Uunlike myself John regularly looks at this website and, quite rightly, over some months he has been pointing out to me some of the discussion subjects on it. How many of you are aware of this site (and look at it) I have no way of knowing but my thoughts are that most, like me, stay clear of such"chat" sites; certainly this was indicated by the lack of interest in the "Forum" that was set up when this site first started. I have approached John with the suggestion that, if willing, he acts as a sort of liaison between this networking site and ourselves by picking out subjects that may be of interest to us and then, through me, posting messages on this Feedback page to let us know what he's found. My thanks to him for agreeing to do just that.
26 Oct 10.
From. John Taylor.
As some of you might be aware the RAFHAA web page has a social networking site where members can contact friends from years past and get up to date information as regards the Association and what is happening at RAF Halton. To belong to the networking site does not involve any registration fee and you do not have to belong to the RAFHAA.
One of the projects being carried out by the Association at the moment is to provide encrypted 'Pavers' for Entries and individuals at the National Arboretum. Steps have been taken to provide a paver for the 81st entry with the motto as per the Entry badge and the years spent at Halton.
Another talking point at the start of October was the fact that the sole survivor of the 1st entry would be 104 years old on the 15th October this year. A discussion took part on what title the said individual should be called. It was decided that the title should be 'King Brat' and members were asked to send as many greeting cards for his birthday. A card from the 81st Entry was dispatched.
On the 16th of November there is to be a Remembrance Day parade at RAF Halton along with the dedication of the stained glass window for the New Zealand apprentices. The New Zealand High commissioner would appear to be attending. A finger buffet lunch at Halton House will be provided with costs varying. Ex Brat Numbers appear to be rather slim and members are being urged to attend.
23 Sep 10.
From Sach.
Good to see my old mate Bert has been in touch.
I have vague recollections that whilst we were at Cranwell he was detached to Uxbridge for a period to do the "Ceremonial bit" (before the Rockapes took over) under the tutelage of Arthur Lenz. It would be interesting to hear his story of that time.
I wonder if you would contact him to see how his memory is and please give him my good wishes.
(I'll make sure Bert reads this Sach. Brian).
23 Sep 10.
From Mike Stanley.
What a pleasant surprise to see Bert's email on the feedback page. His mention of visiting his parents' farm brought back some memories (caponising chickens being one of them!).
One day I will write the unexpurgated story of how Bert, Eric S, Ray B and myself spent 2 weeks of our post pass out leave, starting in Uggsborough, Devon, and finishing at Hall Farm.
(Looking forward to that Mike!! Brian).
22 Sep 10
It's been many a year since I had contact with Bert Hall so it was a really welcome surprise to receive this email message from him yesterday; I emailed him back to ask if I could put his message on the Feedback page and in true Bert fashion his answer was "Go, for it babe. Pass it on!!".
Hi Brian.
Had a thought the other day. Get in touch with all them idiots that visited the farm all those years ago. Remember them.?? Doug Pirie ( became a borne again christian last I heard) Stan, Mike Henry, Stoney and all the others who fell in love with my 'hot sister'?
I'm not good at keeping in touch with the past - too many memories and I'm not into nostalgia.
I've had a reasonably eventful life I suppose mostly revolving around wine women and song, children, and grandchildren and not much in a useful sense. As an example my latest thing is to produce a Sussex salami. Not the most interesting of occupations but, along with the hams, coppa, chorizo, sausages and such, all produced in the garden shed, I suppose it's a bit unusual, actually the salamis etc. are pretty bloody good.
On a bit of a down note I had a minor heart attack a few months ago. It went unattended for eight months and I was treated for bloody 'heartburn and reflux' until I invoked my insurance and got an angiogram. It showed a blocked right artery and I've now had every test under the sun. My cardio thinks that any surgical intervention is more risky than leaving well alone and relying on drugs and exercise. To think that in June '09 I could do 100 press-ups and 200 sit ups, an hour on the bike at high pulse - probably the fittest septagenerian I know and turn into a battered bloody wreck in a year is a bit sobering. Add to that a rotator cuff and arthroscopic abrasion to the right shoulder and it's been a pretty anno horribilis for yours truly. Still; the offspring are AOK. Eldest grandson plays in the National ATC band and went ot the Queens Birthday Party and hs sister looks like following his footsteps. Another grandson is a national level swimmer, cello player of note for his age and a black belt Karate - at ten!!. No 1 son was a Flt Lt for seven years as well so it's not been all bad.
Anyway me old lover must away and do the heart thing. Be in touch.
Bert Hall.
17 Sep 10.
From Sach.
"Flog It".
I made a note to watch the program then forgot about it. I caught upwith it later on iplayer.
Who would have have thought an old spear and a piece of Zebra skin would be so valuable. Good on you Nick; I celebrated your success with a couple of drams.
16 Sep 10.
Tod Slaughter has asked me to post this message here.
The Triennial Reunion at Halton is on Saturday 25th of September 2010.
Dave Sidgwick and I plan to attend. I hope to see some of you there.
15 Sep 10
Although this message from Ken Williams doesn't answer the question I posed about the dress for CoSO it does add to the "discussion" and (hopefully) may generate more responses.
Brian ref your question about the dress for jankers:
I only did 14 days in total including 7 in the first term, but remember most of the difficulties of being on jankers AND the problems of getting off without getting a few more days.
The dress code was basically:
06.45: Best blue and full webbing.
During lunch break (I don't remember the specific time): Working blue.
18.00: Working blue carrying denims (you guessed it) for fatigues, which usually meant working in the tin room.
21.00: Best blue with webbing again.
The parade was inspected every time and some duty officers really laid it on. Nick Carter loved to watch people darning their socks while sitting on the guardroom steps and, of course, you always had to drink the water.
If you were on over the weekend there were more parades and more fatigues.
(Apart from the cook-house fatigues, when on Jankers, it seems that CoSO was a somewhat worse punishment....or is that totally incorrect? Brian.)14 Sep 10.
From Brian
Tony Birchenough is currently staying with his sister in Chippenham (just down the road) so as to be able to have a family get together for his 72nd this Thursday. Tony and I made contact a few years ago when my wife, who was a CS employed by the MOD in Bristol, learnt that a colleague there had a brother-in-law who had been an A/A at Halton in the 50s. "Oh, my hubbie was one of those!" and it soon transpired that we were both of the 81st. A short while after that Tony visited his sister and he and I met up for a bevy or two in a local hostelry. Since then more than his fair share of water has passed under Tony's bridge as you may well have read in a recent edition to this page. Anyway with him in the area again Tony and I met in another local boozer yesterday lunchtime and had a long, and very interesting, chat over yet more bevies. He may have had his voice-box taken out but believe me he can still run a marathon in the talking stakes and, apart from having to continually press on the external valve device he has in his throat in order to be able to talk, he still sounds like the same old Tony. Even more respect now mate.
Part of our conversation was about the very successful 81st Entry Sweat-shirts/Polo-shirts that Tony had made for a number of us before our last reunion; if the orders are there he says he may well be able to do the same again ready for next year. The ones I bought are now well worn and could do with replacement so I can only hope that there is a response to this, either after this is read, or after I mention it in a future email.
13 Sep 10.
From Brian.
Tod's memory of Change of Station Order has kindled one of my own (and from so long ago that takes some doing, believe me!) and that is that not every appearance at the Henderson Guardroom was in Best Blue but that it alternated between that and working dress. I'm probably, even more than likely, to be way off beam here but I'm sure someone knows whether I'm right or wrong....maybe even someone who hasn't contributed to this page yet!!
13 Sep 10.
From Sach.
It's good to see that these memories are generating some responses and the boys are putting pen to paper, or should I say fingers to keyboards.
I was on the phone to an old mate on the south coast (Ernie King, 82nd Engines, who was in 1 Wing) and asked him what he remembered about CoSO and who instigated it. He couldn't answer the latter but did remember being lumbered with the dreaded punishment.
He was already on seven days jankers for being absent from his room job (in his words, "I was on the bog at the time!") when he was awarded CoSO for being late for mess-serving. The punishment was awarded by Plt Off Maloney who, by all accounts, was a right prat and disliked by all.
The procedure for CoSO has already been recounted by Tod, so I won't repeat it. Ernie asked to see the Flt Sgt Plod and told him he was already on jankers. Much to his surprise, the Flt Sgt said, "If you mention this to anyone and it comes out, I will deny it, but you can forget about doing the rest of your CoSO". What a kind man.
11 Sep 10.
CHANGE OF STATION ORDER (as I remember it).
From Tod Slaughter.
It was dreamed up by WO Rich of 1Wing.
He would award the apprentice 3, 5 or 7 days depending on the severity of their "crime" (haircut,shave etc. etc.).
He was judge, jury (and executioner) and there was no "Right of Appeal".
The punishment consisted of the miscreant reporting to the guardroom at hourly intervals during the evening (after schools or workshops) in full Change of Station Order, which consisted of wearing Best Blue with full webbing plus kitbag perched on top of the backpack; all kit, with the exception of bedding, which belonged to station stores, had to be packed away in these containers.
The "snoops" at the guardroom played along with this and would be liable to make the victims unload all their kit onto the steps of the guardroom and "carefully" check that everything was present and correct. This included an inspection of the instep of the footwear to make sure that it was polished and the reverse of the cap badge for the same reason! Usually on the last day the unwary were made to drink the contents of their waterbottle which after seven days could be a fairly unpleasant experience!!
Was it illegal? Of course it was! Why did nobody complain? If you stick your head over the parapet you are liable to get it "chopped off". Plus.......it didn't go on your record!!
Ahh, happy days!?@!?
(Thanks Tod. Brian.)
11 Sep 10.
From Mike Stanley.
Maybe W/O Rich was the inventor but certainly W/O Carter of No. 2 Wing was an ardent disciple of Change of Station Order (see 'Mr Carter' article in Journal #10) Was it only Warrants who could dispense this sort of 'justice' or did it extend further down the pecking order?
I remember it was 'sold' to us as something to our benefit (!!) as the punishment wouldn't appear on our records, whereas the fact that one had been a defaulter stayed on for a number of years.
I read /heard /dreamt that the practise wasn't in accordance with QR's and ACI's and was later abandoned, anyone know anything about that?
Maybe those who were accorded the privilege of Change of Station Order instead of doing Janks could now take their case to the European Court of Human Rights and sue the Air Ministry (or its successor the MoD) for damages, as their human rights were abused and their civil liberties disregarded.
I'm sure that well known firm of solicitors, Soo, Grabbe and Leggate would, for an up front fee, fight the case.
(Thanks Mike but would that be on a "No Win no Pay" basis? [Maybe one for Robert L of the 81st to answer]. Brian.)
11 Sep 10.
Here's one from Nick Copley that's a bit different.
Just thought I would let you know that I should be appearing on the BBC 'Flog It' programme, scheduled to be broadcast on the 15th September on BBC2 at 1545 hrs. So tune in if you want a laugh - the date also coincides with our 48th Wedding Anniversary.
I do not have many contacts with 81st Entry members but if you wish to inform them - jolly good.
Regards to all.
(I rarely miss "Flog It" myself as it comes on the kitchen box just as I sit down for an afternoon cuppa....wonder how many others find it interesting? Congrats to Nick and Eve on their 48th, I guess there's many of us with such (+ or - a few years) anniversaries occurring nowadays. Brian.
PS. I phoned Nick later to ensure that what I uploaded was OK with him: he emailed me back to say it is OK and that for anyone watching the programme he'll be the ugly one (his words) with a beard chatting to Charlie Ross.8 Sep 10.
One from me for a change. Brian.
In order to be awarded "Jankers" (or a worse punishment) one had to be subject to a F252 and paraded in front of his Flt Cdr (or higher rank if deemed necessary) with evidence given. In No1(A) Wing, however, we had a gruelling punishment that could be awarded without the formalities of an official charge, it was known as "Change of Station Order". I remember doing a week of this punishment but can't remember who gave it to me or even too much about what it entailed; does anyone remember more about it and was the rumour that it was designed by W/O Rich (our Wing W/O) true? Did the other Wings have the same system?
8 Sep 10.
Sach has come up with a couple more of his Halton memories; does anyone else remember the incidents, maybe someone reading this even took part in one (or both)?
Were any members of the 81st Entry involved in the inter-wing ballistic missile episode or the Halton Cresta run? The sledges for the Cresta run were made by unbolting the curved tops of bed ends and jamming them between the slats of duck-boards from the showers. The latter all came to an end after someone cracked his skull on a tree and ended up in PMH.
31 Aug 10.
From Frank Chammings.
I remember the speech but I thought it was in our first year, I was completely bewildered as I didn't realise there was anything untoward, I mean bull boys were the norm; I did one night for someone in the 74th when we were in 3 Wing then, when we reached being senior entry, the junior entry in our room volunteered to do our bull. I am eternally grateful as Wally Butters and I could shoot off on his motorbike kept at a pub at Great Missendon. We used to drink beer shandies at the pub and walk back though the fields, often through fields with cattle which used to chase us if we alarmed them. We used tracksuits to escape the camp over the hills behind 3 Wing. The authorities probably had our interests in mind but to get 18 years old not to drink alcohol was probably a step too far.
30 Aug 10.
From Jim Lee.
Further to the feedback re the "Rotten Apples"; that afternoon I was hitch hiking to London just the other side of Tring, when a Morris minor pulled up beside me, and who should the driver be but the group captain i/c workshops, I can't remember his name, but needless to say I did not get to London that weekend and I spent the next 7 days reporting to the guardroom at all sorts of odd hours.
30 Aug 10.
From Mike Stanley.
Ref. Sach's question:
As far as I can recall it was Air Cmdr Mac K Nelson who gave the "rotten apples" speech; it must have been in our second year (?). He had taken over from 'Tin Can Wal ' in 1956 and Air Cmdr Coslett arrived in April of 1958.
There must have been a change of plan concerning those working their tickets and/or generally not being up to the high standards of RAF Halton (!) because not long after the speech there was an exodus from the ranks of A/A's. At least three from my room in 2 Wing went in swift order, either out of the RAF completely or like the bloke from the 79th in the next bed space to mine who re-mustered as a Rockape!! Mind you he was a plumber and so already half way there!
(Thanks Mike, respect!. I have difficulty remembering what I had for breakfast this morning let alone what happenened 54 years ago. Any other recollections of that "memorable" event or, indeed, others from those far off days will be gratefully added to this Feedback page....names do not have to be mentioned if so required. Brian.)
29 Aug 10.
This query has come to me from Sach; I don't even recall the event but maybe someone reading this will. If you do remember it please let me know. Brian.
Who was the Air Commodore that gave the infamous "rotten apples" speech at the sports arena after a Station parade? E.D Mac K Nelson or Coslett?
8 Aug 10
From Frank Chammings.
Re Willie's tremendous achievement.
Well done Willie, it doesn't seem like 5 minutes that you started the Masters must be record time, thanks for the info, like the tie.
Best Wishes,
Frank.
Back on 1 Jul I received an email from Tony Birchenough that he has just given me the go-ahead to put here in the Feedback page. As you all may know Tony had to have very intrusive surgery, what's known as a laryngectomy, some months ago; his recovery and his maintained cheerfulness are a lesson to us all. Good on you mate!
Tony writes:
Hiya All,
Just to show that getting old and infirm doesn't have to be boring, proving once again the old adage "It's not what you know, but who you know".
Needless to say I'll keep trying to disprove that. I know it won't be easy, but somebody's gotta do it and I figure I ain't got much to lose.
Tony
3 Aug 10.
This must be another first for the 81st Entry, unless you know otherwise, that is.
Willie (Seamus) Hamill-Keays has recently been awarded a Masters Degree (with distinction) in Celtic Studies from Lampeter College, University of Wales, and is now contemplating taking another next year in Rangers Studies.
Congratulations Seamus, your brain-cells must be well and truly stimulated, a lesson (no pun intended) to us all.
20 Jul 10
From Mike Stanley
My step-father, who was himself a pilot (RAF and then Fleet Air Arm), would often quote the "old and bold" aphorism . He also had another:
"Only fools and birds fly, and birds don't fly at night."
It was probably remembering that saying which kept my feet firmly on the deck!
(Owls being an exception of course Mike, and they're allegedly "the wise old birds"! Brian.)
20 Jul 10
Hi Brian.
A couple more from the archives. The occasion was the 50th anniversary of 210 Sqn at Ballykelly.
Photo 1: Flypast on three. Photo 2: All four turning.
Sach.
15 Jul 10
Following this year's Flying Legends Air Show at Duxford Tod has sent me this photo and with it the old adage that it evokes: " There are old pilots and there are bold pilots but there are no old bold pilots!"
(Another good one Tod, thanks for sending it in. Brian.)
"On the shoulders of these, our intelligent young aircrew, rests the safety of the Nation!!!!", or a quote, very similar to it, made sometime by someone.
4 Jul 10
From Tod Slaughter
Hi Brian,
Feedback seems to have gone a bit quiet. Maybe we need something to smile about. How about this taken on exercise in Scotland!:
Tod.
(Good one Tod, thanks for sending it. Brian.)
31 May 10
Another email has just come in, this one from Kris Penney. It's a personal letter to me but I'm sure Kris will not object to my putting his first paragraph "On Record" by including it here on the Feedback page. As all are aware Kris is financing this Website up until our next reunion in September 2011 which makes his comments about the Journal even more succinct than the pleas put out by Mike Stanley and myself.
Dear Brian,
Many thanx for your last e-mail re the possible final throes of The Journal. I am a little late in replying due to further trips to the hospital, but I am nevertheless sad to read the bad news. A lot of effort had gone into getting The Journal set up, with time that had been given and spent quite willingly by a few stalwart members. I feel sure that should the Journal have to bite the dust a lot of us will be extremely disappointed and lots of letters will be forthcoming. Whatever happens Brian there is no blame on any shoulders of the editorial staff, you fought a good fight and lack of interest or concern on the part of the Entry members has put you all in a position that cannot be maintained or tolerated.
(My sincere thanks to Kris. A recent phone call to Mike seems to indicate that there may be reason for optimism as at least one person has responded positively by sending in four articles. Here's hoping more will make the effort. Brian.)
31 May 10
I've just had an email from Frank Chammings with a Netsite address that brings up a very interesting 8.5 minute B & W documentary coverage of the Japanese surrender on 2 Sep 45; it's well worth looking at.
If interested just "Copy and Paste" the following address into your internet browser:
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=vcnH_kF1zXc&feature_embedded
Brian
15 May 10
A few days ago Dave Hughes emailed me regarding two articles in Feedback. He wanted to know more details about the Mig15 in Tod's article of 19 Apr as he may well have been onboard the Shackleton MR2 in the photograph's background; he was also very interested in knowing more about the Lockheed Lodestar in Sach's article of 28 Sep last year. I put Dave on to both Tod and Sach and after some emailing to and fro between them I received a cc of one Dave sent to Sach with a comprehensive history of that Lodestar; Dave gave me the go-ahead to put some, or all, of his email on Feedback so what follows is all of it, and most comprehensive it is too. Brian
Sach,
Firstly, may I thank you for your speedy reply. Though what follows generally answers my immediate query, I would still like to develop my interest in this aircraft further given your permission. In doing so, full credit will be given to you as owner of the photograph. Please confirm that it is OK for me to continue.
The clues to the identity of your aircraft came in the photo of the aircraft in the museum in Montevideo. Reference to Peter J Marson's book "The Lockheed Twins" tells me that this aircraft, registered N69415 in the photo, is a Lodestar 18-56 with manufacturer's serial number 18-2349. On the fin can be seen the number 26 and when I look at the information available on N69415, it tells me that when employed by "Fairchild Aerial Survey Corp", it was allocated the additional number FN26, which I take to be Fleet Number 26. It is interesting that the leading edge of N69415 is painted in the same manner as that in your photo with the latter having that faded number 34. I am not experienced in aerial survey work but I assume the aerial in your photo and the two on the Montevideo aircraft relate to this type of operation.
Further investigation in Peter J Marson's book gives the following for Fairchild Aerial Survey Corp:
"Also known as Fairchild Aerial Surveys Inc, the company carried out worldwide aerial photographic mapping, magnetometer, magnetic gradiometer and radiation survey service for many years with Lockheed 14 and 18 aircraft. The company became a division of Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corp in 1961; other subsidiary companies included the Fairchild Engineering Co and the Fairchild Photometer Co." Fairchild would appear to have operated five Lockheed aircraft: Lodestars 18-2349 (as above) and 18-2363 (N2722A - FN34), Hudson 414-7494 (NR50651 - crashed 29/10/52), and Lockheed 12A/s 1221 (YV-P-AED - operated by Fairchild in Peru while on the Venezuelan register!!) and 1223 (NC18126 - a/c owned 50/50 with Shell and used in Ecuador).
For interest, the Hudson Model 414 was a development of the Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra, the Model 414 being the version designed in 1939 for the RAF (1738 delivered of various marks) though later versions of the same aircraft were also supplied to the RCAF and RNZAF.
So Sach, the aircraft in your photo is Lockheed Lodestar Model 18-56, manufacturers serial number 18-2363, registered at the time as N2722A and with Fleet Number 34, though the registration is not discernible in the photo and the fleet number faded (had someone tried to erase this?). Power plants would appear to have been two 1200hp Wright Cyclone GR-1820's. Its full history was:
"(Model) 18-56-23/C-60A-5-LO (serial number) 42-55926 (to) USAAF (delivered or fly-away factory date) 15Feb43. To Long Beach, United Nations for RCAF. To Canada 22Feb43, (serial) RCAF 555, (taken on charge) TOC 24Feb43 (struck off charge) SOC 12Dec46. Reg'd CF-FKW (to) World Wide Aviation, ferried Canada-Iceland-Prestwick-Paris 6Jun47. To Fairchild Aerial Surveys Inc, reg'd N2722A, FN34 (Apr 54). Used by Fairchild Engineering Co/Fairchild Photometer Co (Apr 55). (Cancelled from US register) Cx 11Jun62. To Societe Anonyme Carta, reg'd F-BKBY 15Jun62. (Damaged beyond repair) DBR when aircraft hit trees flying low at Compeigne, France 22Jun62, causing the port engine to fail. Emergency landing made at Creil. Stored unrepaired there until scrapped 1969.
NB: Except for the two date (Apr54) and (Apr55), the bits in brackets are to assist just in case you are not familiar with the abbreviations used. My apologies if you already understand.
My thoughts: I think that when you photo'd the a/c, it was probably between owners, there being no apparent trace of a US or other registration. Even in those far off days there were often extended periods when an aircraft may have languished unattended. In that sense, do you have any thoughts on how long it sat in the hangar before it presumably departed to France? Societe Anonyme Carta was also an aerial survey company which "operated one L-18 in the 1960s (but not for long apparently).
One final question. Sach - You date the photo as 1961 but have you any thoughts on how long the aircraft had been in the hangar and how long it remained afterwards? Any further info would help.
Finally, may I thank you for your help in pointing me in the correct direction and may I then say to you and to Brian - if you wish to include any of the above in "Feedback", please do so. I suppose I should then ask that if any others in the Entry have old photos (pre 1970's) they would love to identify, I would be only too willing to help!
Cheers and thanks!
Dave
12 May 10.
From Frank Chammings.
The Javelin crash reminded me of a Javelin crash at Wildenrath c 1962. It was a Friday and a few of us were going to spend the weekend skiing at Winterburg, Don Higgins, Alan Waghorn and myself included. All the alarms went off about lunchtime, a Javelin had crashed on the threshold of the runway not too far from our hangar of 88 Sqdn. We all rushed over to find the aircraft on its back with the navigator still inside. The pilot had ejected but at a low level and was taken away still in his seat if I remember correctly. The nav had tried to eject but the seat had not gone away and had fallen forward so he was trapped inside the cockpit upside down. We started to dig the sandy soil from underneath the cockpit, the nav's arm was between the seat and the fuselage, when we had dug enough out a medic pumped some morphine into it. We soon realised that we were not going to rescue the nav from underneath. He asked for more morphine but the medic said no, he wasn't sure if the morphine was getting though as the nav's arm appeared to be squashed against the seat. They had to get a crane there to lift the aircraft but to do that a firm road was required as the ground was swampy (Wildenrath means wild swamp, so I understand) so a lot of timber was laid down to allow a crane to get close enough to the aircraft to lift it up. The armourers realised that the seat was not safe as it was, so when the aircraft was lifted a bit a Sgt armourer (I forget his name) used our tunnel and made the seat safe and was later commended for his actions. We then realised that we were in danger all the time we were digging the tunnel as there was always the danger that if the seat had fired, the Javelin could have lifted up and fallen down on us.
As it was we went off to Winterburg and had a terrific Saturday getting soaking wet when crashing into each other on our skis. I think that Alan broke one of his skis which was not appreciated when we returned them. We had such a good evening around the bars that it was impossible to do any skiing on the Sunday and we ended up having a good lunch at a restaurant on one of the mountains before we went back to camp.
11 May 10.
From Sach Goodwin.
A close shave, a case of familiarity breeding contempt, or was it just how to get blown up twice in one day.
1964 and I'm a corporal on 6219 Flt of 5131 Bomb Disposal Sqn at RAF Swanton Morley. We were clearing the recently closed RAF Barnham, a former explosives M.U. At Barnham were some large pits where we had disposed of, by burning, some unmentionables from the site behind three barbed wire fences and watchtowers. (Google RAF Barnham for info on the site).
RAF stations in the area would send their time-ex 'bits and bobs' to us for disposal, also oddments that were washed up on the beaches. On this particular day, we had a heap of 108/109 electric detonators (Canberra canopy & hatch dets), the 11 lb cordite fillings from a number of 3 inch rocket motors, a couple of igniters-incendiary (4 lb hexagonal incendiary bombs) and some life-ex rockets-buoyant-line-carrying (ex Coastguard) for disposal.
'Twas a bright sunny day at Barnhan and nearby some officer cadets from RAF Feltwell, under the command of a Sqn Ldr 'rock-ape' and his staff, were setting out their tented camp. Tents were set out in line using long strings and measuring tapes to set the distance between each tent. They even had a marquee mess tent set up with all the silver and napkin rings in little pigeonholes!
In one of the burning pits we placed two empty 1,000 lb TI (target indicator) cases, with some 3 inch rocket motor fillings at the bottom of each and then piled the 108/109 dets on top. The idea being that the burning rocket motor cordite would then cause the dets to pop. Our illustrious Sergeant (famed for using 6 inches of safety fuse and the fastest hundred yards in the world) had forgotten to bring the initiators, so his preferred method of ignition was to cover the cordite with a sandbag, drown it with petrol from the Land Rover and throw in a flaming rag. Whilst this was going on my mate, who was to be my best man, took the Land Rover and a couple of chaps up the hill to the campsite to warn them that there would be some smoke and flame but there was nothing to worry about. Whilst he was giving the warning, the fire had been lit. The rest of us were standing round the edge of the pit (bloody idiots) watching the conflagration. As we were a law unto ourselves we were all wearing trog boots, hairy trousers and nothing on top; as I mentioned earlier, 'twas a sunny day. The fire got a bit hot and as I turned to walk away there was an almighty bang. To this day I don't know whether I fell down or was blown down. I looked up and the sky was full of lumps of flaming material. We picked ourselves up, rather shakily, and realised that there were many fires burning in the long tinder-dry grass and Thetford Chase was not too far away. Whilst we were stamping out the fires the officer cadets came charging down the hill, (Sqn Ldr leading), carrying fire extinguishers and extinguished the rest. The Sqn Ldr had to poke his nose in and came across for a chat; he looked at me, his face went white and he asked if I was OK. On looking down at my bared chest I saw that it was covered in blood. These minor injuries turned out to be scratches sustained when I hit the deck and bounced on the chalk and PSP surrounding the pit.
We retired for a brew and our packed lunches and then went out again to get rid of the remaining 'bits and bobs'. This time we used a smaller pit further down the slope and put in the remaining dets, the rockets-buoyant-line-carrying and the igniters-incendiary. The pit was covered with a metal door and weighed down with lumps of concrete. Ignition was obtained by connecting one end of a long bit of cable to the incendiaries and by touching the other end to the Land Rover battery. Once again, plenty of smoke and another almighty bang. The metal door was split in two and blown high into the air along with more lumps of flaming material and, once again, more fires started. These were quickly extinguished and we went back to base at Swanton, a quieter, more reflective bunch of guys than had set out that morning in high spirits. Back at base I passed the flight sergeant's open office door and a voice boomed out, "Sach, in the office and shut the door behind you." (This man had been my boss at Bruggen and we were old mates). The nosey Sqn Ldr at Barnham had obviously been on the phone because his first question was, "No buggering about, what happened?" Having told the truth and being thanked, the sergeant was called in and I suppose he had his fortune read. It obviously didn't do any good, as events later in the year at Kuantan were to prove.
Once again it goes to show that APs and the rules and regulations are there to be followed.
(Sach apologised to me for the length of this "There but for the Grace of God ......" story. Many thanks Sach and certainly no need to apologise, I just wish there were more stories like yours coming in. Brian.)
3 May 10
From Tod Slaughter.
After the surprise of finding photos of the Migs at El Adem on the web I found one of a Javelin which I never knew existed.
It brought back memories of the accident that it was involved in back in the late July of 1959. I was a J/T engine fitter on 64 Sqd'n at Duxford helping to get their Javelins airborne. At the time we were on detachment to Nicosia, Cyprus.
"Golf" took off on an early morning sortie and when at 35,000ft things went wrong. They lost nos. 1 and 2 hydraulic pumps which left them without pressure to the undercarriage, flaps, airbrakes and half power to the flying controls! Rather than eject the crew decided to risk a landing. Nicosia was out of the question as there was no room for an overshoot at either end of the runway so they elected to land at Akrotiri. They used the emergency air to blow the wheels down and headed south. After a high speed touch-down they left the runway still motoring along at around 90 knots before taking to the "bondoo"! Towards the end of their ride a five foot bank wiped off the undercarriage and they slid to a halt some 600 yards on the overshoot! Both pilot and navigator emerged unhurt but the Jav. was Cat.5.
I was the fitter detailed with the other trades to render it safe so we travelled by Land Rover to where she lay. Upon arrival I had to dig a trench just aft of the nose wheel to be able to remove the starter bay panel and unload the cartridges. Then I removed the side panel just forward of the intake to drain the Avpin which accounts for the panel missing on the photo (The starter system used both cartridge and Avpin which caused the starter motor to disintegrate much too often for my liking!!).
The picture shows at least one "snoop" guarding it sometime after the rest of us had gone.
27 Apr 10
From Ken Williams
Tod's shot of the Mig 15 brought back memories of my holiday at El Adem. The Migs were Egyptian and were on their way to the Algerian Independence Day celebrations. The a/c were impounded and the crews whisked away to Transit. I believe their release was sanctioned by No 10. I've got a picture of the line of parked aircraft somewhere.
The odd thing was that I was there at the same time as Tod, working on the same section (TASF) yet neither of us remember meeting. Also there at the same time, Curly Knowlton, Ginge Thompson and Ernie May.
(No one has come up with identifying the Mig's markings so I had a look in Wikepedia and it turns out be the Algerian Air Force not Egyptian: maybe it was the other way round and they were returning to Algeria from Egypt. Brian.)
A few for starters.
Well I fancy the ant wearing the lipstick!
I've heard of painting the grass green but not watching it dry as well!
I feel so randy that if that worm winks at me again I'll ask her out!
I hope the CO is looking coz this must be easier than buying ourselves out!
23 Apr 10.
Now here's a photo just begging for comments! Why not have a go?
Brian
19 Apr10
From. Tod Slaughter.
Back in Journal No 2 I recounted an Incident that happened whilst I was at El Adem, Libya, in 1962, when to our amazement out of a clear blue sky seven Mig 15s circled overhead and landed. One, I was led to believe, had a fuel flow problem so they all "lobbed in!". I know that photos had been taken at the time but they were all confiscated and as far as I was concerned there was no pictorial evidence of the occurrence. That is until now as, from the "El Adem" web site (www.tears.org.uk), I've received this photo which must have "slipped the net". It shows one of the Migs parked on the pan with a Shackleton taxiing in the background. I'm not very good at a/c marking but I thought the Migs were Egyptian, however I could have been wrong. I wonder what our surprise visitors thought of the "modern" RAF when that Shackleton rumbled past!!
(Anyone recognise these markings on the Mig? Brian.)
7 Apr 10 (the day we in the West went fully digital).
From Mike Stanley.
One of those "Grace of God" moments.
This was after I had left HM Royal Airworks where, banged up in a station armoury for most of my service life, I had few opportunities to chance my arm. Working for GPO Telecommunications gave me ample opportunity!
I worked repairing faulty underground telephone lines; when a telephone line was reported faulty it was s.o.p to work on the the line from it's termination in the local telephone exchange. Measurements could be taken to localise the fault and an oscillator signal put on the line to track it through cables and joints; up to 100 telephone lines could pass through an underground cable/joint.
I'd been back and forth to the exchange several times; problems with the oscillator (and with my measuring!). Time was running out; we had target times and questions to answer if not met.
The exchange was located by a busy main road; I parked the van, a Bedford 15cwt, in a quiet street across from the exchange and then hoped the pedestrian crossing lights would be in my favour to get across to the exchange in short order. I managed it, just, by running across as the lights were changing. Into the exchange, tested the line, OK, hooray! Signed off the fault and was passed another one, in a different exchange area. Goes back to my van, couldn't see it as I crossed the main road, one of the boys, playing silly b*ggers, must have moved it (happened quite often, one ignition key fits all!). Turned the corner into the street where I had parked and saw, with horror, my van on the opposite side of the road, hard up against a garden wall!
I had visions of seeing a pair of feet sticking out from under, or worse still a crumpled pram but no, by the Grace of God the van, which had rolled down the slight incline backwards, had somehow managed to miss a car parked behind it, cross the road, mount the foot-way and bash into a brick wall without damaging person or property (except the van itself, which had a twisted chassis).
In my haste to get across the road and into the exchange I hadn't fully applied the handbrake.
Lost my safe driving award for that year, it could have been so much worse.
3 Apr 10
Would anyone nowadays believe how "cavalier" we once used to be with our tools (work on aircraft for the use of, that is!)? I remained a "rigger" from pass-out until 1965 and during that time served at Chivenor, Changi and Colerne on both First and Second Line Servicing; at each of those stations I was issued with a personal tool-kit, either in a large box, sometimes modified with castors, or (at Colerne anyway) a strong canvas bag. If I was ever in need of a specialist tool not included in the personal kit then it meant booking it out from the tool-store, signing for it, and returning it when used. But what about the personal tools? In my case it was always just down to the individual to check his own kit after use; what a stupid system and thank Goodness for the simplicity of later day "shadow-boards"....I wonder who instigated that system in the mob? Maybe your experience was different and you worked under safer conditions. Anyway, one day at Colerne, a very simple snag on a Hastings brought this problem home to me with a vengeance:-
The crew were ready to fly off (to Norway I seem to recall) but the co-pilot's windscreen wiper wasn't working whilst the pilot's was OK. The spindle for the wiper passed from inside to out through a simple tunnel, no bearings just a sliding fit. A few minutes with a "rat's tail" and a bit of lube fixed it. The aircraft departed and I went back to the SNCOs' crew room for a cuppa and a game of "Hunt the Lady": ah, sweet memories! Then came the thought..."Did I put the file back in my tool-bag?". I knew the answer before I looked and was already beginning to panic when the check confirmed it...the bl**dy thing was still on the aircraft, and up-front just to make things worse. If you've ever been in that position then you know the thoughts that run through your mind. I did the right thing and went straight to my boss who, of course, didn't expect such stupidity from one of his Sgts but quickly got the message to Operations who, in turn, sent a signal off to the aircraft's destination whilst I sweated it out for a few hours, not pleasant. Still fresh in my memory was an incident during my time at Chivenor when a "sumpie" had left a tool somewhere in a Hunter's innards and that had been a fatal mistake.
Once on the ground, and in receipt of the signal, the flight engineer searched the flight deck and eventually found the offending file, broken in half, under the co-pilots leather seat-squab. The crew could have been vindictive and let me suffer until they got back but they didn't and I was well and truly "let off the hook". So, "There but for the grace of........!" go I once again.
Brian
3 Apr 10
I recently received an email from Terry Pallister with a Link leading to a quite amazing bit of video footage. If you're interested in model aircraft this is "a must".
Copy and Paste this it into your browser for about seven minutes of entertainment: http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=SDbQ5xvsrIU
Brian
3 Apr 10
Another email I had a couple of weeks ago was from John Taylor. He forwarded an email he had received (sort of "Chain Mail") with an interesting article about a ground accident to an Airbus A340-600 at Toulouse. The article needed some editing before becoming something I could repeat here so, leaving all Politics and Nationalism out of it, here is the gist of what occurred (it was a couple of years ago).
A brand spanking new Airbus 340-600 sits just outside its hangar at Toulouse without a single hour of airtime. Enter a non-company flight crew to conduct pre-delivery ground tests, such as engine run-ups, prior to delivery of the aircraft to a Middle East airline. The crew taxies the aircraft to the run-up area, sets the brakes and takes all four engines, on this virtually empty aircraft, up to take-off power. A warning horn is blaring away on the flight deck because the aircraft computers think they are trying to take off without being configured properly (flaps/slats, etc.) so one of the crew decides to pull the circuit breaker on the Ground Proximity Sensor to silence it; this fools the aircraft into thinking it is in the air. The computers now automatically release the brakes allowing the aircraft to rocket forward; the crew having no idea that this release of the brakes is a safety feature to prevent the aircraft landing with its brakes on. Not one member of the seven-man crew is smart enough to throttle back the engines from their max power setting so the brand-new $200.000.000 aircraft eventually crashes into a blast barrier and is destroyed.
Having absorbed that and having come to the conclusion that it could have happened that way, here is the official (and presumably true) story
Just before 16:00 (on the day in question) the power of the Rolls-Royce Trent 500 engines was increased to an engine pressure ratio of 1.25 - with the thrust levers corresponding to a position between maximum continuous thrust and maximum take-off thrust. All four engines were operating. While the parking brake was on, registering 2,600psi, the inquiry says the applied thrust was around the limit of the parking-brake capacity.
At the time of the accident an Airbus employee was occupying the right-hand seat of the jet while an Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies technician was in the left-hand seat. Flight-recorder data shows that, shortly after 16:02, the person in the left-hand seat warned that the aircraft was moving. The ground speed began gradually increasing to 4kt over the next few seconds and, after a second call that the aircraft was moving, the recorder registered pedal-braking and the deactivation of the parking brake.
Brakes on the A340-600 are linked to two hydraulic circuits: the 'green' normal circuit and the 'blue' alternate. The parking brake is on the blue circuit and only applies to the left- and right-hand main undercarriage bogies, not the centre bogie. If the parking brake is released and the brake pedals applied, the 'green' circuit comes into play. The pedals act on all three main bogies.
Recorder data shows that 'green' circuit brake pressure on the A340 rapidly rose to 2,500psi while the 'blue' circuit pressure dropped.
About seven seconds after the first movement warning the nose-wheel was turned sharply right. Activating the nose-wheel steering inhibits braking on the central bogie, becoming completely ineffective past 20 degrees of steering. The aircraft swung 37 degrees to the right but continued to accelerate, its speed increasing from 4kt to 31kt in seven seconds, before the aircraft struck the test-pen wall, demolishing its forward fuselage. The jet was written off.
In its report into the accident, the BEA says the aircraft and its braking system functioned correctly, but states that the nose-wheel steering "limited the effectiveness" of the brakes. "Surprise led the ground-test technician to focus on the braking system, so he did not think about reducing the engines' thrust," it adds. Only after the collision with the wall were the throttle levers retarded to the idle position.
9 Mar 10
Having asked the question, I felt I should put pen to paper. Not too sure if it's a Grace of God story, but I had a hand in it.
Picture the scene: Saturday morning on 213 Squadron at Bruggen (those with long memories will remember that we worked Saturday mornings). The Sgt rigger (a portly gent whose name I won't mention) told me to take a Canberra towing arm out to an A/C on the line. In those days the towing arm was a rather heavy affair constructed from angle iron. I pushed this thing a great distance to the aircraft and, as it was a two man job to connect it to the A/C and no one was available to help me, I pushed it up to the nosewheels and left it.
Andy Watson was refuelling an adjacent A/C so I climbed up to help him. Some while later the Sgt rigger drove up in his Hanomag tractor with the greenhouse cab and hooked the towing arm to the tractor's front pintle. He removed the A/C chocks, leant inside the door to release the A/C brakes (no one on the brakes & I had forgotten that the towing arm was not attached), climbed back into his tractor and started pushing the A/C back. As the ground sloped towards the hangar, the aircraft ran away from him. He jumped from the tractor, ran after the A/C and managed to apply the brakes. He then found that his tractor and towing arm was bearing down on the A/C (he hadn't applied the tractor brakes). By the time he managed to get back into the runaway tractor the towing arm had run off course and had run alongside the nosewheel, bending the arm. Probably didn't do the nosewheel assembly much good either. The tractor had also swiped the A/C with resultant damage to the A/C.
Much covering up, perjury, and unlikely stories followed and he somehow got away with it. Had I not pushed the arm up to the nosewheels and had I not forgotten that it wasn't connected, I wouldn't be recounting this sorry tale.
Sach.
8 Mar 10
A C-130 was lumbering along when a cocky jet-jockey in a F16 flashed past and started to show off. "Watch this" he radioed to the C130 pilot and then promptly went into a barrel roll followed by a steep climb; he then finished off with a sonic boom as he broke the sound barrier. The jet-jockey then asked the C-130 pilot what he thought of his show?
The C-130 pilot replied,"That was very impressive but just watch this!!" The C-130 droned along for about five minutes and then the pilot came back on and said,"What do you think of that then?"
Somewhat puzzled the F-16 pilot asked, "What did you do?"
The C-130 pilot chuckled and replied, "I stood up, stretched my legs, walked to the back, took a leak, then got a cup of coffee and a cinnamon roll!"
The moral of this story is..... When you are young and foolish speed and flair may seem such a good thing!! When you are older and smarter, comfort and dull is not such a bad thing!!
I can relate to that!!
(Does anyone else have some jokes or "words of wisdom" they wish to share with us?)
Tod
24 Feb 10
I hesitate to write this for obvious reasons, but it's my Grace of God confession.
1970, Far East (see Journal No 6), at the end of the contract the helicopter had a serious fuel leak from the forward tank, the top cork gasket and the rubber of the tank had been cut by my engineer over-torquing the bolts. Whilst awaiting a replacement tank I was asked by the Oil Company if we could fly one more trip to the rig and back, a round trip of 7 hours. I said OK and fashioned a gasket out a Japanese car inner tube. To my relief the helo returned on time; as soon as I could I opened up the tank aperture and found to my horror that the inner tube had disintegrated into strips and a whole bunch were around the intake to the forward fuel pump leaving just enough room to let some fuel through.
When I retired 28 years later I was told that a letter of commendation had been written by the Oil Company to the Engineering Director praising me for getting the job done. Little did they know.
Frank
16 Feb 10
That question from Sach reminds me of one of my lucky escapes.
Chivenor, not long out of Halton and in the cockpit carrying out the statutory number of hydraulic actuations required after refitting a Hunter tailend. My mate outside as a safety man and a Sgt electrician somewhere out there changing a nav light bulb on the port wing. My safety man indicates to me that the NAAFI's up and says he's off to the crewroom to buy us wads and a cuppa each. What the Hell, there's no one around, even the leckie has gone for a break so why not another u/c cycle or two before going for the break? Hit the button to lower the u/c and there's a mighty bang as the port wing lifts up into the air, reactive selection of "up" and all goes quiet other then the noise of the hydraulic rig and my thumping heart. I was down the ladder like a flash to find everything OK except for a severely smashed leckie's tool-box directly under the port u/c leg....yes he'd moved the box for some obscure reason during those few moments between my mate leaving the scene and me making the stupid decision to break the rules. Why didn't the a/c jack puncture the wing, it certainly would have done if the jacking pad hadn't stuck to the wing and my guardian angel hadn't allowed the ball-end of the jack to slot back into that pad as precisely as it did when the wing slammed back down again? It's quite likely that no one other than the three of us ever got to know about it and the lesson was learnt, or was it?
Would anyone else like to share anything they have ever done that led to them saying, like me,- "There but for the grace of......etc"?
Brian
A shot just to show that the old "wrist-breaker" we knew and "loved" still exists and is still just as hard to start!
16 Feb 10
Having read the reason behind the 747 debacle, I wonder how many of us can look back over the years and say - "There but for the grace of God."?
Attached is a photo of a handsome young plumber with a teeny-weeny bomb.
Sach
(Can't believe you were ever that young mate! Brian)
<12 Feb 10
Here's what caused the 747 to dip its nose into a monsoon-drain; a salutory, and expensive, lesson for the guys concerned
The Boeing 747 was being taxied on Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) airport from a hangar toward a departure gate to board 319 passengers for Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), when the crew lost directional control of the aircraft and it entered a monsoon drainage ditch, resulting in serious damage to the forward airframe/nose section. None of the six crewmembers aboard were seriously injured.
The aircraft was being moved by a maintenance crew, who taxied using only the no.1 and no.4 engines, apparently not realizing that the aircraft's braking system is powered by hydraulic pumps powered by engines no.2 and no.3.
(A bl**dy good job it didn't get to the departure gate then!!!)
10 Feb 10
Like all the blokes I was sad to hear of the death of Johnny Dankworth. I remember when he played at our gradualtion asking for his autograph for the girl I was with. I went up on the stage and he sent me away saying "Not now man I'm counting". Just goes to show what I knew. He signed later though so I was a hero. I hope the girl - wherever she is - has still got it.
All the Best
Dave Sidgwick
8 Feb 10
MY MEMORY OF THAT NIGHT IS STILL THERE.
I HAD FINISHED A FRIENDSHIP WITH A LADY IN AYLESBURY ( truth is she finished it because I kept missing our dates with Jankers). SO AFTER THE PARADE etc. I MADE MY WAY WITH MY MATES TO AYLESBURY FOR A FEW DRINKS. A FEW HOURS LATER I REMEMBER TRYING TO WALK TO HALTON FROM WENDOVER.
FINALLY MADE THE GRADUATION BASH. AFTER THAT IT WAS A BLUR.
PARTED COMPANY ON A FRIENDLY MANNER WITH MY FORMER LADY. I THINK I HAD THE COMPANY OF HER COUSIN. IT WAS A SAD TIME BUT LIFE WENT ON.
WE ALL MET UP AT WENDOVER RAILWAY STATION THE NEXT MORNING, AND MY FORMER LADY SAID GOODBYE IN A WARMER AND EMOTIONAL WAY. I DO REMEMBER TALKING TO JOHNNY + CLEO. PERHAPS ALSO SITTING WITH OUR STATION C.O. + REVIEWING OFFICER FOR A WHILE UNTIL BEING LED QUIETLY AWAY.
NEVER DID MAKE IT TO JERSEY. SINCERE APOLOGIES TO STEVE + MICK AND THE REST OF THE CLAN. AS USUAL I WAS BROKE ( cash flow ).
WILLIAM.E.KELLY
8 Feb 10
This message has just come in from John Taylor (Airframes).
Just heard the news regarding the death of Johnny Dankworth. How many memories of the graduation bash does that bring up ?
I am sure we can all bring back memories from that night.
John
5 Feb 10
Suggestions for the unhappy Saudi 747's monsoon-drain arrival.
From Mike Stanley comes:-
Perm any one from these three:-
Co-pilot to his Captain - "But I thought it was a mirage!"
"Another victim for Beecher's Brook."
"You can lead an aircraft to water but you can't make it drink."
From Frank Chammings:-
"Captain to Co-pilot - what happened to the bridge?"
From Sach Goodwin comes what is possibly nearest to the truth:-
"Oh s**t!"
From Tod Slaughter:-
"I know that your friend Abdul said his "Jumbo" can jump ditches but are you sure he wasn't talking about his pet elephant!!?"
4 Feb 10
It's been quiet for a while so here's another thought provoker.
"An additional perk for first-class passengers and an elevating one for the rest!"
21 Jan 10
Re the tail rotor caption - Instructor to Student - if you keep wearing a big watch you are going to fail this course!
Frank
18 Jan 10
Customs Officer to young helicopter pilot:- Now what's this little packet stuffed in 'ere then?
Brian
18 Jan 10
Two caption suggestions for Frank's inclusion on 14 Jan:-
From Tod Slaughter:- If the battery is flat can you
bump-start
it by turning this little propeller at the back?
From Mike Stanley:- If you look closely you can just see that big blonde in flat 14!
14 Jan 10
Another one from Frank Chammings:
Passing the time whilst snowbound, another caption photo, taken from a magazine hence the line in the middle.
Frank's own offering - Is that a nest in there?
His caption for the Huey on its side - "Oops!"
13 Jan 10
Frank Chammings has sent me this photo for caption suggestions; it shows the subject of his first accident investigation, taken in the Borneo jungle back in 1981. The photo also appears in an article by him in our Journal No 8.
Frank also sent this caption for my photo of the somewhat carved up private twin: VH-KBZ - Not the best thing since sliced bread.
(Very poetic Frank!)
12 Dec 10
From Sach Goodwin: Now, how will I fix this; cross stitch or buttonhole stitch?
From Mike Stanley: That's the last time I'll let my missus fly me home from the pub!
11 Jan 10
We have a few current/lapsed PPLs amongst our members so let's see if this one can dredge up some additional captions; my own is: But Captain, sir, you can't possibly blame the marshaller for that.
Brian
11 Jan 10
My in-box overfloweth this morning with three captions to go with Tod's latest photo, my thanks for having a go:-
From Frank Chammings comes: Anyone any good at jigsaws?
- in Japanese, as I suspect it's a Mitsubishi Zero.
From Sach Goodwin: The B/F will be taking a little longer than usual Chief
, or I'm a rigger, not a xxxxxx miracle worker!
.
And from Mike Stanley: Damn it! Now where did I put that tube of Bostick?
My own is Velly solly sir ailoplane bloke!
.
Speaking as someone who strapped himself to three RR RB211s for a few years my caption to the loose cowling pic. is: Well what do you expect from an airline that chooses not to use RR engines?
. (Hoping nobody recognises the plumbing as being from that illustrious company.)
Brian
10 Jan 10
Another interesting photo from Tod Slaughter looking for a suitable caption with his own, for a starter, being:- The pilot needs to be informed that this afternoon's take-off may have to be delayed!!
(What language would I be speaking in?)
4 Jan 10
I'm sure Alan will excuse me for including his 29 Dec suggestion to my "Wolf in sheep's clothing"
question even though the second message that follows it acknowledges his answer to be somewhat "Off beam"
.
Re the 'black beast' in your last feedback:- It can't be the P1083 as that was cancelled in 1953 when only 80% complete, in favour of the Supermarine Type 545 (also cancelled two years later). The P1083 led to the Hunter F6 and I think the one shown is the F6 (XG131) which was displayed on static at Farnborough in 1956 complete with tip tanks and underwing bomb hardpoints. Or it is a replica thereof. The tip tanks were eventually ditched from the F6 as being of no advantage. XG131 was eventually returned to service with 14 Sqdn after its experimental work.
May I take this opportunity to wish our members a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year.
Alan Lowther
Got it wrong again! Should have read latest Feedback before I replied.
Alan Lowther
1 Jan 10
Re the engine cowling, I offer the following:- Looks like the Flight Engineer is keeping an eye on the engine, using binoculars from the cockpit
.
Frank Chammings.