3(f) issue 56 v2

FLASHBACKFLASHBACKMAGAZINE OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE PHOTOGRAPHERS ASSOCIATION No 79 WINTER 2021

SPITFIRE PR. IV RESTORATIONNATIONAL SERVICE CALL UP – FROM SPROG TO ERK

CHINA WATCHING – KAI TAK OPERATIONSCROSSING ‘CHECKPOINT CHARLIE’ – BERLIN 1967

Flashback 79_PW.qxp_3(F) issue 56 V2 19/02/2021 17:42

THEME : REFLECTIONSDay or Night

Home of AbroadColour or Black/White

COMPETITION RULESHard copies only

no email attachmentsMax size 8x6Max 6 entries

No Selfies Only the title of back of print

If unable to attend the Reunionprints should include return

postage in stamps and address

CLOSING DATE 30/09/21

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RAFPA CONTACTS

CHAIRMANJohn Barry MBE

[email protected] 456 76310 Church Road

BramptonPE28 4PW

MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY &WEBSITE MANAGER

Gerry [email protected]

01366 38014375 Grimshoe RoadDownham Market

PE38 9WF

TREASURERPaul Nile

[email protected] Canberra Close

ManbyLN11 8TU

PHOTO COMPETITIONMick Steel

[email protected] 67117154 Elm Street

BorrowashDE72 3HP

MERCHANDISE MANAGERTony Story

[email protected] 757949

1 Peterhouse CloseStamfordPE9 1JB

EVENTS COORDINATORChris Twiner

12 The SidingsSutton On Sea

LN12 [email protected]

EDITORPhil Ward

[email protected] High Avenue

LetchworthSG6 3RL

FLASHBACKEDITION 80 Spring 2021

Deadline for contributionsApril 16th

Photos MUST be 300dpi

www.rafpa.org.uk

IMAGE CREDITS Front Cover 2020 RAF PhotographerCompetition: Category C – RAF Operations & Exercises. ‘AHelping Hand’. Cpl Phil Dye. Page 14 Category B – ‘DavidvGoliath’. SAC Ben Mayfield. All competition images courtesy of WO Andy Malthouse.

Pete ColemanPete Coleman joined the RAFas a direct entryphotographer atWellesbourne Mountford in1958 and served for tenyears. He joined the RAFPA in2009 and attended manyreunions with his wifeMaureen.

Ian ProudfootIan "Kookie" Proudfoot passedaway in March 2020. Kookiewas well known to manyPhotogs from his service daysand at the end of his servicesettled in Huntingdon, wherehe maintained contact withone or two other locally based

airmen and until the Milleniumwas a regular attendee atRAFPA reunions. For the record,Ian did tours in Germany andAden, as well as themandatory incarceration atJaric. On a personal note,Kookie baby-sat my littledaughter Alison (now 54) onseveral occasions and I alsohave great memories of aRhine Valley back-packingholiday with him in the summerof ’62. Pete Dodds

(Attached picture of IanProudfoot from Roddy McNeil -"Cookie Proudfoot when hewas at Khormaksar")

OBITUARIES

NEW RECRUITSAdy Kerry June 1986-Aug Basic training. Aug 86-April 87 JSOPCosford. April 87-Oct 89 HQSTC High Wycombe in CommandPrint then Photo Section. Oct 89-June 1995 Photo Section, DISS,Intelligence Centre, Ashford.David Gardner Joined in 1961 and did his training atWellesbourne Mountford and spent his nine years service atWyton, Episkopi, Akrotiri and Brampton.

Flashback is published by the RAFPA for the benefit of paid-upmembers of the RAFPA. Accreditation for text, images and logoshas been given where appropriate, however the RAFPA cannotbe held liable for any omissions or errors. If such omissions orerrors are notified to the Editor they will be published in thenext available edition of Flashback. If any person responds to an advertisement or commercialsupplier named in Flashback they must satisfy themselves ofthe authenticity and honesty of any advertiser or trader and theRAFPA cannot be held liable for any loss, however incurred.Flashback is copyright and requests to reproduce text, imagesor logos must be made to the Editor

EDITORIALMy thanks to the Associationmembers that have taken thetime to contribute to this issue,it’s an interesting selection. Ihope that others will have hadtheir memories spiked.

The Kai Tak story wasinformative and I sure there aremore stories to tell. Personally, Irecall my detachment therewith 81 Squadron from Tengah.We operated a PR7 with a 48inch F52 PFO during OperationThatch. We flew up there in aHastings via Saigon to refuel,my one an only experience ofbeing in a real war zone. It wasonly for 40 minutes, but hey“You weren’t there maaan.”

I have just read RolandWhite’s excellent book ‘Harrier809’ on the Falklands conflict inwhich he mentions theproposed activities of 39Squadron’s PR9s in Chile.Apparently a RIC detachmentactually arrived in Santiago. Iam preparing a piece on themission and if anyone took partit would be good to hear fromthem – if allowed!

The 1PRU Spitfire story isfascinating and I am grateful toTony Hoskins for sending it in. Iam local to the ShuttleworthCollection where the aircraftwill operate from so I hope tosee it in action on completion.Phil Ward

2021PHOTO COMP


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We are now well into theNew Year and no doubtyou are all planning your

adventures for 2021, well sortof? Routinely, I would now bedriving south, heading for thesunny climate in Spain, in mymotorhome. This has been anannual pilgrimage since retiring in2004. Sadly, this year, it is not tobe. Putting aside the fact thatwe are no longer in the EU, theCovid pandemic is still affectingall our lives, and severelyrestricting our travel plans . . . Ihave got as far as buying a newup-to-date map of Europe, a new‘black’ passport in hand, and hadmy first vaccination! I am justwaiting for the ‘green light’.

No doubt many of you are inthe same position, just waiting toget over the last hurdle in ourstruggle to beat this latestvariant of the dreaded virus. Ithas not been easy, but we arealmost there, and I urge you all tocontinue to hold fast andharness the same spirit that hashelped to get us all through thepast 11 months. Just anotherTACEVAL – only a different mask?

In March last year, we allpulled together in a spirit ofnational sacrifice andcommunity, spurred on by ournational hero ‘Sir’ Captain TomMoore. What an inspiration to usall? Sadly, he is no longer withus, but he left the world a muchbetter place and we willremember him! At the end ofthis month on the 27th, wecelebrate another 100thBirthday, that of founder

RAFBEPA member George Webb.I am sure that you will join me incongratulating fellow‘Photographer’ George onreaching this wonderfulmilestone and thank him for hisoutstanding support andcomradeship over the years.Happy Birthday George from us all!

Looking ahead, times will bedifficult but the vaccinationrollout programme is going verywell and there is ‘light at the endof the tunnel’. The committeehad a ‘Zoom’ meeting recently,we are all fit and well. We evenmanaged to get into contactwith those who live in the outerreaches of Lincolnshire! We arestill planning on holding our‘Reunion’ at the Manor inStourport in October and sendour best wishes to you all. Welook forward to a really good,long overdue, ‘happy hour’ inStourport. Stay Safe. Sincerely yours John

CHAIRMAN’S CHAT MERCHANDISE

REGALIA & CLOTHING PRICE LISTPOLO SHIRTS £22 SWEATSHIRTS £24

BOTH ARE AVAILABLE IN ALL SIZES AND COLOURSPLEASE SPECIFY SIZE & COLOUR WHEN ORDERING

RAF VETS LAPEL BADGE £7.50RAFPA TIES / BOW TIES £11.00RAFPA STICKERS £1.00BOY ENTRANTS TIE TACK £4.00BOY ENTRANTS KEY FOB £5.00BOY ENTRANTS ANODISED WHEEL £3.00

Clothing orders can take around six weeks.

All enquiries to Tony Story [email protected] or 01780 757949

Cheques payable to: RAFPA. All orders include P & P

Chest size XXS XS Small Medium Large XL

Inches 28-30 32-34 36-40 40-43 43-46 46-49

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Inches 49-52 52-55 55-58 58-61 61-64

Colours: Bottle Green, Black, Charcoal, Heather Grey, Maroon,

Navy, Pink, Purple, Red, Royal Blue, Sky Blue, White, Yellow


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History puts so muchfocus on the Spitfire asbeing a tool of RAF

Fighter Command through WW2,and whilst a significant andhighly successful tool it was, solittle is spoken of those variantstasked not with the defence ofthe country, but the intelligencegathering so badly needed forallied strategic planning.

It was General Werner vonFritsch who predicted “Themilitary organisation with thebest reconnaissance unit willwin the next war”. In 1938 fewdoubted his remarks as at thattime the Luftwaffe reignedsupreme in aerialreconnaissance andphotography. However, theGerman war machine failed todevelop their processes to keeptheir advantage and the tideturned against them.

In the early stages of the war,one of our crowning jewels wasNo. 1 Photo ReconnaissanceUnit (PRU) which came intobeing on 24 September 1939when the Royal Air Force

formally took over the "HestonFlight", a civilian photoreconnaissance unit headed bySidney Cotton based at HestonAerodrome. The unit hadpreviously been contracted byMI6 to perform clandestinephotographic reconnaissanceover Europe, using civilian-registered Lockheed 12Aaircraft. The Flight was re-designated several times, firston 1 November 1939 as No. 2Camouflage Unit, then on 17January 1940 as thePhotographic Development Unit,then on 18 June 1940 as thePhotographic ReconnaissanceUnit, and finally on 14 November1940 as No. 1 PhotographicReconnaissance Unit.

The unit was equipped with avariety of aircraft modified forthe photographicreconnaissance role, includingSupermarine Spitfires, Bristol

Blenheims, Lockheed Hudsonsand later de HavillandMosquitos. Project AA810 reallyfocuses in on one of these 1PRU Spitfire’s, the tragic tale ofthe last man to fly her, and hiscolleagues with whom he spenthis last 6 months in the UK with.

Alastair “Sandy” Gunn wasborn in Scotland on the 27thSeptember 1919. The son of adoctor, he and his older brotherexcelled in sports, provingthemselves at Fettes andCargilfield Schools in Edinburgh,where Sandy rose to become asenior prefect and captain ofboth the cricket and rugbyteams. When Sandy left schoolhe embarked on anApprenticeship to Harland andWolff shipyards in Glasgowbefore taking an academicbreak entering PembrokeCollege Cambridge to readMechanical Sciences. With the

clouds of war looming he signedup to the RAF VolunteerReserve, being called up toserve his country in June 1940.

Beginning flying training inAugust 1940, he moved quicklyfrom biplanes into Fairey Battleaircraft before a posting toconvert to Avro Ansons forCoastal Command Convoypatrols. By July 1941 Sandy wasoperational, flying missionsprotecting the incomingconvoys of food and suppliesfrom the USA. August saw amove back to Scotland wherehe proved himself to be anexcellent navigator over largeexpanses of water, so much sothat he came to the attentionof his Commanding Officer andwas selected for a life in thePhoto Reconnaissance Unit.

Arriving at RAF Benson inSeptember 1941 he learned tofly the Spitfire, and within just a

BRINGING BACK THE PASTThe restoration of ‘Sandy’s Spitfire’ by Tony Hoskins

Above: Sandy Gunn in 1941.The last pilot of AA810.Right: Only known image ofAA810 in Service. Wick 1942.


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handful of flights was off totargets in Germany andDenmark gathering intelligenceon the dockyards and shipmovements of the GermanKriegsmarine.

Meanwhile, Churchill wasconcerned as to the location ofTirpitz – which along with therecently sunk Bismarck, werethe pride of the Nazi fleet. Aship so menacing it threatenedall the Royal and Merchant Navyarsenal. It had moved from theshipyards at Wilhelmshaven, butnow it was nowhere to be seen;Churchill decreed it must befound and destroyed.

January 1942 saw six mentasked with finding the ship,Sandy amongst them, and to doso all six were seconded to RAFWick in northern Scotland. Withthe weather in Wick not alwayssuitable for flying, Sandyconducted some missions fromRAF Leuchars; however, by the23rd January, Tirpitz was foundin Trondheim harbour. Enigmaintelligence suggested that theship was likely to move at anytime, and the Luftwaffepresence was building. BomberCommand needed to strike hardand strike fast to eliminate thethreat. Eyes on Tirpitz wereessential whenever flights couldbe made.

One of those aircraft on theScottish deployment wasSpitfire PR. IV AA810, aparticularly special aircraftwhich was built in the mostunlikely of places under a veil ofutmost secrecy. Vincent’sGarage right next to Readingtrain station sadly no longerstands, but back in 1941 therequisitioned garage wasbuilding Spitfires in secret. Withthe mostly female workforceworking long shifts, thefuselages and equipment wouldbe combined in the factory withwings from the assembly site inStar Lane, Reading, andancillaries from Great WesternMotors coming together atVincent’s for the final fit out.

Originally AA810 was orderedas a Mk1 fighter in the fourthproduction batch of 500

Spitfires placed by the AirMinistry on 19th July 1940.Production of this batch wasstarted in August 1941 andsome 65 airframes from thatorder, including AA810, wereallocated to be built as PRversions at the Readingdispersed factory site. Rolls-Royce Heritage records showthat AA810’s original Merlin 45engine was built at the Derbyworks on the 27th August 1941,was tested satisfactorily on the29th August, and wasdispatched to Vincent’s on the1st September.

Once ready for final assembly,the Spitfires were moved by a

Queen Mary along the narrowroads to the secretive Vickersfinal assembly hangar at RAFHenley-on-Thames some eightmiles away. Here a small groupof experienced fitterscompleted the final assemblyand tests before she wascleared for flight testing. On the17th October 1941 it wasAA810’s turn to be tested in,perhaps the most experiencedof hands, those of Vickers’ Chief

Test Pilot, Jeffrey Quill. Afterjust 20 minutes she waspronounced fit to enter serviceand on the 19th October wasdelivered the short distance byair to nearby RAF Benson.

Her operational life was tolast just 16 missions and only 28flights since being built, but aquiet life she did not have.Assigned to ‘C’ Flight of 1 PRU,AA810 spent the first threemonths based at the satelliteairfield of RAF Mount Farmutilising the hard runways inplace there. Taking off on the31st October 1941 with ex-Grand National ChampionSergeant Mervyn Jones at thecontrols, AA810 made asuccessful first operationalsortie to the Knapsack areaaround Cologne. During the restof November she regularly flewto the major German ports ofKiel, Bremerhaven, and evenCopenhagen. The weather inDecember 1941 was poor acrossmost of the UK and theContinent, and all the members

of the PRU were quietoperationally. Flying again onBoxing Day 1941, she coverednumerous French targets, andover the next week, detailedmany areas of Northern France,Belgium and Western Germany.

With the Admiralty concernedabout the location of Tirpitz,AA810 started her longassociation with Norway on the22nd January 1942 whenconscientious objector FreddieMalcolm flew her to Trondheimfor the first time. Later thatweek South African RobertTomlinson flew her back toTrondheim, and the very nextday, Fred again flew her to takepictures of the Tirpitz inAasfjord, as well as theLuftwaffe airbases at Vaernesand Lade.

She flew once from RAFLeuchars in the hands of future

Above: ‘C’ Flight 1 PRU pilots.RAF Mount Farm 1941.Left: Peter Arnold recovers awing flap from the wreck site

Right: Remains of AA810 atthe Cranfield University SandyGunn Charity launch in 2019 –his 100th birthday.


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Vickers Test Pilot Guy Morganwith all the rest of her Norwaytrips departing from RAF Wick.She would fly just twice inMarch first with AFP Fane at thecontrols on the 4th taking inTirpitz again, and then secondwith Sandy, who lifted her fromWick’s runway at 08.07 on themorning of Thursday 5th March1942 heading again for Tirpitz inTrondheim.

The weather in Norway wasstunning that day however inthe clear blue sky he had nocloud cover to protect him. Itwas with the recent addition ofa listening station installation inKristiansund that the Germanscould monitor his approach, and

unbeknown to Sandy, twoMesserschmitt ME109s werewaiting high in the sky for him.Diving down the lead ME109flown by future air ace HeinzKnoke scored hits on AA810’s oilsystem, slowing Sandy down ashe dived for the Norwegiancoast. Closing in for the killHeinz found his windscreencovered in oil and he broke awaygiving the young Scotsman justa few minutes more. The secondME109 flown by Dieter Gerhardtclosed in and, pressing homethe attack, his explosive 20mmcannon rounds found AA810’swing fuel tank and soon theSpitfire was on fire.

Taking to his parachute,Sandy descended to the snow-covered mountainside below,becoming the first Spitfire pilotto be lost over Norway in thewar. Witnessed by both the

Germans and the locals, twoNorwegian school children madetheir way up the mountain to aidhim in his escape. Burned, Sandycouldn’t master the skis theyhad brought him in his bid toescape to Sweden, so he madehis way off the mountain andhanded himself in. Transportedto Trondheim, onwards to Osloand then to Germany, Sandywas questioned for almost amonth on his mission –maintaining his silence for 21days straight. He was then sentto the new camp of Stalag LuftIII, being the fifth prisoner toarrive there. Adept at digging,Sandy became involved in atunnel dig, although sadly thiswas soon found by theGermans. It was then that hestarted on tunnel ‘Harry’.

On the night of the 24thMarch 1944 Sandy was the 68th

man to enter that tunnel andleave the camp. In what was tobecome immortalised as ‘TheGreat Escape’ along with Flt LtMike Casey they made their exitinto the night to the trainstation. Intent on travelling tosafety in Sweden, they rodeunderneath the freight trainssitting on the axles, but werediscovered 25Km from aGerman port on the 26th March.Transported to Gorlitz, Sandywas handed to the Gestapo andafter several days ofquestioning his name was calledonce more. On the 6th April,Sandy was driven from theprison and murdered on thedirect orders of Adolf Hitler byan unknown Gestapo officer. Hewas 24 years old.

When the aircraft waslocated in June 2018, some 70%of AA810 remained intact, eitherat the wreck site or in theimmediate local area, makingthis one of the most substantialrecoveries in recent decades.With the site largely covered insnow for most of the year, andwith what was not covered insnow being submerged in a peatbog, the level of preservationwas superb, including many ofthe rubber fittings.

The aircraft is nowundergoing a full restoration toflying condition in stages andwill incorporate a significantamount of original material. Afew elements of the aircraftthat are not suitable to be usedin an airworthy rebuild are beingincorporated into variousmemorials to Sandy and theother men of the PRU.

Restoration began in March2019 with the airframewreckage being stripped and

Above: Inspirational image ofPR. XI PL965 (Shutterstock).Left: Frame 5 still has Sandy’sshoulder harness scuffs.


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assessed on the Isle of Wight.We were unable to locate thetail unit of the aircraft at thetime of the recovery, and laterdiscovered it had fallen in aneighbouring Fjord and had beenscrapped by a farmer in the late1990’s. We therefore began byconstructing a completely new-build tail unit but will stillincorporate original wartimestock control levers andtailwheel installation recoveredfrom another Spitfire.

Through the rest of 2019 theproject managed to source ahuge amount of originalsystems and equipment for therestoration including a stunningMerlin 35 engine and original deHavilland bracket propeller unitwhich is incredibly rare. Systemwork continues servicingundercarriage legs,instrumentation, controlcolumn and electricalequipment in Bedfordshire atAA810’s future home ofShuttleworth.

In Sussex, however, wherethe project is based thecrowning glory must be acomplete set of F24 cameraswhich will make AA810 the onlysurviving PR Spitfire to carry afull complement of cameraequipment. On the day AA810crashed she carried two verticalmounted 14” F24’s and one 8”F24 mounted in the obliqueposition. We have located thedrive motors, cables, Type 25mounts, Type 35 controller andmore significantly the onlysurviving wooden frameinstallation from a PR. XI Spitfireknown to exist, held in a privatestore since the 1960s.

Entering 2020 we began workon the fuselage, breaking downthis £400,000 assembly intomanageable packages. Of the15 frames that make up thefuselage, we started with thethree most complex andexpensive items, the Firewall –Frame 5, Frame 8 that makes upthe mid cockpit section, andFrame 11 that mounts behindthe seat at the rear of thecockpit, completing these

during the summer. During thistime Covid struck the worldwhich seriously hindered theongoing fundraising of the build,although we managed to ordersome of the longer lead timeitems such as fuselage datumsand longerons. The eight simplerear fuselage frames arecurrently being held in stock onthe Isle of Wight until a timewhen we can bulk buy them allas a package, and we arecurrently gearing up toconstruct the last four complexframes that make up the tankbay and remaining cockpit area.

Into 2021 we have nowreceived the machined fittingsfor the engine mounting frameand have completed theacquisition of most of the

serviceable hydraulic system.We are working hard to get thefuselage structure into the finalbuild jig with an aim to have thefuselage completed byNovember 2021. There is a veryreal chance that by this time in2022, AA810 will be a completePR. IV from propeller to fin post,a sight nobody has seen sincethe last PR. IVs left service in1944.

Sandy’s Spitfire is withoutdoubt a significant machine, itshistory made by the actions ofthe six Photo Reconnaissancepilots who flew her. I take greatpride in my involvement with hisaircraft and even with the slightsetbacks brought about by aglobal pandemic, we are ontrack for first flight at the end

of 2023 ready for a return toNorway in 2024. It is with theincredible generosity ofindividuals and companies whosponsor the restorationfinancially, with services or withmaterials in kind that allow usto progress the aircraft to theend goal, honouring Sandy, hiscolleagues who flew theaircraft, and indeed all thosewho flew for the PRU and havenot received the duerecognition they deserve. Ifanybody within the RAFPA isinterested in becoming part ofthis journey throughsponsorship, we have a numberof kits looking for funding thatwe would love to [email protected]

Right: New assembly carriessome recovered items.Far Right: All new fin. A farmerdestroyed the original in period.


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CHINA WATCHING

In 1970 I had just finished avery active and interestingthree year tour as a PI with

JARIC (NE) in Cyprus. I was verysurprised to be posted fromCyprus to Hong Kong tobecome a China Watcher.

It would not be my first timein Hong Kong. I had been therefour times before. A stop overfor two days on my way to theKorean War Theatre inSeptember 1955 and I spentabout six weeks there at theend of my tour in Japan inOctober 1956 when the Canalcrisis had closed the waterwayand we in the Far East were cutoff from the UK. In 1957 whilestationed in Singapore my wifeand I took leave via Hong Kongwhere we stayed for three daysand again three days on ourreturn from a cruise to Japan.

Much had changed in the 14years since my last visit. Nowthere was a brand new runwaysticking like a finger intoKowloon Bay and there was anew Kai Tak InternationalAirport shared with the RAF.

I moved into the RAF Kai TakOfficers' Mess and took up mynew post at the JARIC (HK). Thiswas a very small unit of onlytwo PI officers one RAF and onearmy (my post). I had one NCOIntelligence Corps PI, a coupleof plotters and a RAFphotographic crew. Our work

Story by Frank Clark (Courtesy The Medmenham Club)

was mainly for GHQ Hong KongLand Forces and the UKIntelligence community. Wealso supported the civil power,mainly Hong Kong Police inborder protection duties.

After the riots I hadexperienced in 1956 there hadbeen serious trouble betweenNationalist and Communists inHong Kong. In China, across theborder, the Great Leap Forwardfollowed by the GreatProletarian Cultural Revolutionhad taken place whichdestroyed a great deal ofChinese heritage and costsome 20 million Chinese lives. Itwas still taking place. TheChinese mainland threat toTaiwan caused her to drift awayfrom her Soviet allies. Tensionwas high on the Sino/HongKong border and it was our jobto photograph and analyseevery thing going on there,

looking for any military build up. We flew 28 Squadron's

Whirlwind helicopters with sidemounted cameras, I think theywere F52 with a 36 inch lens,along the border and out roundthe group of islands which werepart of Hong Kong looking intoChina. At the right height on agood day we could see far intoChina. Hong Kong had a lot ofremote areas and what mostpeople call Hong Kong is in factthe city of Victoria, but withKowloon, the New Territoriesand the islands it was an areaof 400 square miles.

While I was in Hong Kong, 28Squadron was equipped withWessex helicopters whichalthough a better aircraft wasmore difficult to operate acamera from. There was a vastarea to patrol plus the landborder with The PeoplesRepublic of China. The Shum

Chun River was the dividingland border. This river had anumber of defence systems onthe Chinese side some datingback to the Japaneseoccupation which requiredmonitoring. We also had someobservation posts in which F96air cameras were horizontallyswung mounted to enableclose observation of Chineseborder activity.

On one occasion I watchedover the border as Chinesegangs worked on power lineswhen one worker waselectrocuted. One after theother, workers tried to get himdown with the power still on,only to be added to the stringof dead. The penny droppedand they switched the poweroff after several hours and thefive dead Chinese wereremoved. A tall fence had beenerected on our side and Ifrequently accompanied one ofour Army patrols following ourborder and we would often sit afew yards from the Chineseeyeballing each other. At theEastern end of the land borderwas the village of Sha Tau Kokand here the border ranthrough the village. So we wereable to walk through the villageand stand just inside a linedrawn on the ground next tothe Chinese People's Armysentry. I could have touchedhim by stretching an arm out.To support the police we flewsorties searching for illegalimmigrants and smuggling. Weoften identified dead bodies of"illegals" lying on the shore linein remote places after a failedattempt to swim and reach our

Right: RAF Kai Tak beforeKowloon’s high rise flats.Top: The airport was convertedinto a cruise ship terminal


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side. So our small team lead avery active life.

It was quiet normal while inHong Kong to suffer a series ofTyphoon warnings. The wordTyphoon is Chinese and meansgreat wind and there is nodifference between a Hurricaneand a Typhoon other than aHurricane is born in the Atlanticand a Typhoon in the Pacific.They are equally powerfulwinds. In 1971 we had had twoprevious typhoon warningswhen both closed RAF Kai Takbut these passed the Colony byand we suffered only the tailwind and heavy rain and thatwas all The old China handssay; June, too soon, July, standby, August, look out you must,September, remember,October, all over.

So on Friday, 13ft August1971, one might have expectedsomething unpleasant tohappen. The storm warning forHurricane Rose was up to No 7by Monday and everything inHong Kong started to closedown. By 10.50 on Tuesday thesignal was up to No 10 and itpromised to be even moredreadful than when TyphoonShirley had grazed the Colony in1968. This one would hit ushead on with all the direconsequences. Windowsstarted to be sucked out by thenegative pressure, they justpopped out and were gone andrain poured into buildings andquarters. Typhoon Rose wasevil. Rooves were ripped off andthe anemometer on the airfieldregistered 150 knots and thentook off. Flooding accompaniedthe terrible storm. There weredead and injured, houses

destroyed, boats sunk andships aground. On the RAF partof the International airfieldwhere our helicopters wereparked was a wreck. Aircraft ontheir sides and hangarsdemolished. After the storm weflew the only undamagedhelicopter and photographedwhat remained; and what amess and wreckageeverywhere. It took over twoweeks to clear up the main partof the chaos.

In 1971 the famoustransatlantic liner RMS (RoyalMail Ship) Queen Elizabetharrived in Hong Kong. In 1970she had been sold at auction toMr CY Tung, a Taiwaneseshipping tycoon. The old Queensailed slowly under her ownsteam to Hong Kong where shewas to be renamed the SeaWise University (a pun on CYinitials of Mr Tung’s name) andshe was to be transformedfrom a Liner to a floatinguniversity that would tour theworld with students on board.By January 1972 she was still inHong Kong harbour nearingcompletion when on the 9thearly in the morning she was onfire. It was believed that it wasan arsonist as there was morethan one fire on board. Her firesuppression systems were stillinoperative because of the refitand the fire engulfed her.

Back at RAF Kai Tak I wasable to become airborne withan RAF photographer from ourteam and we flew over herwhile the flames engulfed herluxurious wooden interiors.Next morning the great ship layon her side at the bottom ofthe harbour a sad sight. It is aspectacle that I shall neverforget.

She had one last role to playbefore being scrapped in 1975.The hulk was used briefly in theJames Bond movie “The Manwith the Golden Gun” in 1974.Before the film was released in1975 the Japanese scrappershad moved in and she hadgone, sold as scrap.

Right: In 1967 81 Squadronoperated PR7s with a 48-inchPFO on detachment fromTengah to Kai Tak on ExerciseThatch. Some of my own offduty images. Ed


Flashback10

Being posted out to RAFLaarbruch onto No.3Mobile Field Photographic

Unit in early 1966, could be a bitpedantic after the EmergencyDraft experience in the Far East.Soon settling down to a routine,shaken occasionally by ‘Minivals& Tacevals’ on the base, withthe MFPU ready to deploy ‘infield’ at any given moment.

Germany itself held afascination, only 21 years afterWW2 and split in two as aresult, the country was thefront line in the ‘Cold War’. Thenearby town of Goch had beendevastated in early 1945 as theallies crossed the Rhine atWesel in March, pushing intothe region with fierce fightingas they made their way towardsBerlin. The Soviets with theirmassive ‘war machine’ rolled onand were determined to be thefirst and beat the WesternPowers to achieve this goal atwhatever the cost in life.

While other newly postedSACs were assigned to the MTSection learning how to drive aMagirus-Deutz (the infamous‘Maggie’) lorry. I was secondedonto the Station’s HonourGuard to be called upon forformal parades, presentationsand VIP visitors to Royal AirForce Germany. This meantkeeping one’s Best Blue smartlypressed, buttons shining, bootsgleaming at all times and a

regular hair cut. I was one ofseveral airmen from variousground trades at Laarbruch;there were around 30 of us in allto be part of this. The firstassignment was onRemembrance Sunday inNovember, the coach taking usto the Reichswald Forest WarCemetery, just north of Goch. Irecall it being a bitterly cold dayand not wearing greatcoats asordered. We were advised toput on a couple of extra vests,the chill only made the sadoccasion more poignant. Onlylater did I find out severalaircrew of 617 squadron whowere killed on the dam’s raidwere buried there.

The next commitment was bythe combined Stations in RAFGto select airmen to attend a‘memorial service’ in Berlin.Somehow I was chosenalongside a few others fromLaarbruch to be transported toCologne and meet up with therest of the selected RAFGHonour Guard, again around 30

CROSSING ‘CHECKPOINT CHARLIE’ – BERLIN 1967Story by Pete Kain

Top: 3 MFPU LaarbruchAbove right: ‘CheckpointCharlie’ in FriedrichstrasseBottom right: The preservedcheckpoint as it is todayCentre: Preserved ruins by theSoviets post WW2


Flashback 11

of us to travel by train to Berlin.We were told separately towear our uniforms as we wouldbe checked by the East Germanborder guards, beingrepresentatives of NATO’scontingent for the service inEast Berlin. This destinationwas a big surprise; the usual‘Need to Know’ factor came intoplay as we were ‘drip fed’ bits ofinformation as we went along.In fact when the train pulled into the East German station atthe border it was Soviet troops,probably from the Red GuardsRegiment judging from the sizeof these fellows. They pushedtheir way around the corridorscounting us and recountingmaking it all so tedious anddrawn out seeming tointimidate, which of course theydidn’t.

On arrival in West Berlin onthe Friday evening we stayed inan hotel near theKurfustendamm, unpacking andsorting out kit for the nextday’s event, still not knowingwhat kind of a service it wouldbe, or its location. On the day Iremember it being a bright andsunny day as we boarded thecoach. The Eastern Sector wascontrolled by the Soviet regime;it meant crossing over atAmerican control point‘Checkpoint Charlie’ inFriedrichstrasse.

The US Military Police wavedus through after checking allthe paperwork had beenstamped correctly, only to beheld up by the armed EastGerman border guards countingand recounting, as their Sovietcounter parts did previously at

the railway station. Driving intoEast Berlin the coach headeddown a wide Boulevard withruined buildings either sidestanding as it was in 1945,bombed out, shell blasted walls,pockmarked with bullet holes.As far as we could see very littlereconstruction work was takingplace to bring their Sector up tobeing a thriving city like thesuccess of West Berlin.

At this point the WingCommander in charge stood upand told us that the memorialservice is being held inTreptower Park where the RedArmy Memorial is built tohonour over 80,000 Sovietsoldiers who died in the Battlefor Berlin. The sound ofamazement from us nearlydrowned out the coach’sengine. Here was our ‘enemy’waiting for us to smartly paradein front of them andacknowledge the cost in livesfor their drive to capture Berlin.This whole episode was takingon strange proportions.

Indeed the two avenueseither side were lined with rowsof Soviet Red Army troops,watching us march past themto our allotted area. I knew aseveryone one of us airmenknew, to put on a good showwith the best drill we’ve everbeen taught, oursynchronization would have putthe RAF Regiment to shame. Wehad a NATO German officer givethe words of command to uswho obviously spoke Russian,after orders were barked out tothe Soviet contingent. ‘You willcheer ‘Hurrah’ when theRussians do’, was the command

past down from our Wing Co.standing in front of us. Variouslong speeches by Red Armyvery senior officers were madebringing us to ‘Attention’ whenthey stood on the dais and ‘AtEase’ before they spoke – whichtook for ages and ages. We didour ‘Hurrah’s’ almost in timewith the ‘Russkies’, noticingthey were about the same ageas us and wondering what theymust have thought of 30 or soBritish Royal Air Force personnelattending their parade. Maybethinking we were on their sideor an eastern bloc state inunknown uniforms?

A group of Russian officerscame over towards us after theGenerals had their rousingpatriotic rantings, saluting andhandshakes with our CO andthe German liaison officer. Thelook of amazement by us was

noticed by our Flight Sergeantwho muttered ‘Steady lads’.This chink in the Iron Curtainlooked as though it wouldunravel into the reunification ofGermany since these grandgestures seemed genuineenough. To this day I still don’tknow how this ‘one-off scenario’came about or its intendedpurpose – the ‘Need to Know’file must have had a ‘TopSecret’ stamp on its folder. Onreturn westwards no one couldinform us back at RAFLaarbruch what the occasionwas, as they didn’t even knowwe had gone into East Berlin!

Above: Treptower Park and RedArmy Memorial where 7000soldiers are buriedBelow: T34 tank and ‘TheBanner of Victory of the SovietArmy in Berlin 1945’


Flashback12

Since the second WorldWar there have beencontinuing conflicts in

which Great Britain has beeninvolved as recorded below. Andfrom 1995 to the present timeIraq, Kosovo, Sierra Leone,Afghanistan, Iraq (again), Libya,Operation Shader Mid East,ongoing, and the ongoingPersian Gulf crisis. It is notedthat Iceland won all three Codwars extending their coastlinefishing from 12 to 200 miles.

After reading about a BoyEntrant’s experiences whenjoining the RAF, I thought itwould be interesting tocompare those experienceswith those of a NationalServiceman. The age difference

was often not that great, so itis probably not surprising thatin the first few weeks anywayexperiences were similar.

Although I was not directlyinvolved in any conflicts duringmy National Service, manywere, and in Korea 156 diedwith a further 602 wounded. Atotal of 395 NationalServicemen were killedbetween 1947 and 1963 whenconscription ended. There wasaround a total of 260,000 RAFpersonnel in the ’50s which hasnow reduced down to just over30,000. The number of fighteraircraft has also been vastlyreduced, although the servicedoes say that the number ofaircraft does not equate tocapability, and it has the jets itneeds to meet itscommitments. (WW2 – 2000aircraft >1989 - 850 aircraft >2020 – 119 aircraft). Howeverthis is not the complete story.On the Wikipedia website Icounted a further 739 aircraftsuch as rotorcraft, jets,propeller, Drones (9) UAV,Gliders, including Army AirCorps, Navy, Training, MOD, butnot including the Battle ofBritain Flight (12). The RAF has60 Chinooks.

PART ONE – CALL UPI left school at 16 in 1954 andcan honestly say that I had littleidea of the career I wanted. No

help was given by the school asit was purely academicattainment they wereinterested in providing. I endedup working at the localnewspaper, which turned out tobe the ideal environment for meand the beginning of a lifelongliking for the industry. I wasemployed in the time andmotion/incentive bonus office,measuring work output andcalculating, with a slide rule,bonuses for the Linotypeoperators, compositors andstereo trades. Often theirbonuses were more than mypay as the printing industry hadvery strong unions and highwages in the ’50s, no longer thecase of course.

I was more or less left on myown to carry out the work eachweek which was bothinteresting but boring duemainly to the repetitive natureof the work. I made friends withthe Chief Photographer and

very soon realised that I was inthe wrong job in relation tointerest, skills and regularvariation in jobs and workinghours. Despite attempts tochange direction, mydepartment chief saw noreason to encourage this crossmove and lose someone whowas carrying out the worksatisfactorily.

National Service call up wastherefore something to lookforward to in some ways, andalong with my cadet experience

NATIONAL SERVICE CALL UP (PART 1)From Sprog to Erk by Tony Story

CONFLICTS SINCE 1945

1948 to 1960 Malayan Emergency 1950 to 1953 Korean War

1951 to 1952 Anglo Egyptian War 1952 to 1960 Mau Mau uprising 1954 to 1959 Jebel Akhada war

1955 to 1959 Cyprus Emergency 1956 to 1957 Suez Crisis

1956 to 1962 Irish Border Campaign 1958 to 1961 First Cod War

1959 Upper Yafa Disturbances 1962 to 1966 Indonesia

confrontation 1962 to 1975 Dofar Rebellion

1963 to 1967 Aden Emergency 1967 to 1970 Nigerian Civil War

1968 to 1998 Irish Troubles 1972 to 1973 Second Cod War

1975 to 1976 Third Cod War 1982 Falklands War

1982 to 1984 Lebanon 1990 to 1991 Gulf War

1992 to 1995 Bosnian War


Flashback 13

in both CCF and ATC I hoped itwould also be an interestingtime. So, I started off as aNational Serviceman typist andended up as a Photographerserving 22 years.

As hinted above, my beingcalled up for National Servicewas a game changer for me. Iam very lucky to have beenborn in Stamford, Lincs, buthave always been influenced byall the local RAF stationsaround such as Wittering,Cottesmore, North Luffenham,all less than 10 miles from thetown. This persuaded me tobelong to both RAF cadetforces at different times andages. At 18 I was summoned toLeicester for the servicemedical, and lucky enoughchosen for the RAF, which wasnot automatic and I could haveeasily ended up in brown ordarker blue.

I was very pleased to getover this first hurdle, as all ourgeneration knew it wasinevitable to be called up somost young shoots tended to

look forward to it, as in the ’50slife could still be a bit in theslow lane in sleepy towns.Electricity, television and’phones were either still anovelty or ‘still to come’ as ourbeloved TV companies like tosay. However many of myschoolboy friends wereapprentices which meant theywere deferred for a couple ofyears before being called up.

It was still a big culture shockto be met on arrival at RAFCardington by quite loud juniorand senior NCOs, and alsotrying to understand all thedifferent dialects being spokenfrom North Scotland to SouthCornwall, none of which I hadever heard before. Within theweek we had been measured,cropped and jabbed, andsupplied with brown paper andstring to send all our ‘civvies ‘home, including underpantsreplaced by white ‘shreddies’.

Almost exactly a week later,we were all looking the samewith our standard haircuts,identical uniforms and even thesame pyjamas. First stage overthen, levelling completed. Itwas time to board the train toour ‘Square bashing’ location,but were only given a name,and then as green sprogrecruits we were kindly providedwith dire warnings of the roadahead by Cardingtonpermanent staff, so situationnormal!

There followed a fairly long

(in those days) day trip byspecial forces train to RAFPadgate, where surprise,surprise, it was raining and dark(July 7th 1956 – important datein my life) and introduced to a‘hairy’ DI Corporal whoannounced he was CorporalHare (pointing to his head andsaying “this stuff”) andintended, in the next nineweeks, to make us into suitableairmen for service in the RoyalAir Force.

With that, and still in thepouring rain, our kitbags werethrown out of the Bedford threetonner into the puddles belowand told they would beinspected first thing (06.30 hrs)in the morning and woe betideanyone whose bag showed anymarks from it’s journey there.

So, our first night in a 26person billet, with shiny floors,a bed and two lockers. Plus acouple of coke stoves (thankgoodness it was July albeit andEnglish July). Ablution blocksran in between rows of billets.

We very quickly got into theroutine of getting up early06.30hrs, completing our bedpacks and marching tobreakfast, washing our irons ina tank which contained dubiousluke warm (if you were lucky)water, and marched back to the

billets, with up to a luxurious 10minutes to change into suitableattire for whatever activity wewere to undertake next such assquare bashing, lectures,exercises, cleaning, fatigues,and other training.

We all looked forward to thefirst NAAFI break, and evenmore to lunch. We were thenallowed around 20 minutes orso to go back to our billet foryet another clothes changeand to see the damageinflicted by the DI’s on ourbeautifully made bed packsand kit layout and mostimportantly to see if a smallhole had been knocked out thebottom of our mugs along withthe bed tipped upside downwith everything on the floor. Ittook me a couple ofpunishment sessions in theAirmen’s Mess Tin room toreally get the hang of makingthe perfect bed pack.

There was no chance of megetting home in the nineweeks, as our pay was 24shillings a week of which wewere persuaded to “save” twoshillings in the POSB – I wonderif the DI’s got commission fromthe Post Office?

To collect our ‘wages’, wewere all lined up in the hangarin our hundreds trying to listen


Flashback14

for our name being called –unfortunately S is some waydown the list so it took aroundan hour (seemed like 10) toactually get near the front ofthe queue ready to provide theperfect salute before grabbingthe loot. There were of coursemany DI’s around to ensurediscipline and dress wasstrictly adhered to.

I think we were given one 48hour pass during our timethere, but with limited fundsand little transport available99% of us stayed put.However we did break out oneweekend to the town of

Warrington for a Saturdaynight out in our hairy bestblues and somewhat illegallythrough a broken fence, buthad to get back by theCinderella time of 11.59hrsbefore last checks were madein the billets by our ‘carers’.Pints of beer cost just over ashilling, so it was possible tospend a quarter of your weeklywages to provide a littlerelaxation from the everydaybattle with those controllingour life. We also had theopportunity to have ourpictures taken in uniform,which surprisingly many did, as

I think the majority weresecretly proud of theirperformance so far.

As we became more adeptat being airmen, we werehanded ‘guns’, and later usedthem on the range, but afterthis excitement then had toclean them and have theminspected, which somewhattook the shine off this new skill.

During the square bashing,gym training, marches,exercises, ironing, washing,and of course “bull nights” wealso attended lectures onevery subject in the book

including films showinggraphic VD pictures and oftenat the same session morefilms concerning religion.

Towards the end of our timeat RAF Padgate we were askedwhat trade we would like, butnot necessarily what youwould get – I opted forPhotography but was told thisrequired me to sign on forthree years. Not wanting tocommit before experiencingthe bigger RAF World, I wasthen “given” the trade ofTypist, because I had worked inan office before call up. (to becontinued in Part Two. Ed)


Flashback 15

Please book the following for me:

Friday 15th Evening meal only @ £35.00 per person(please pay in full on booking, includes Reunion Fee)

Friday 15th Evening meal, B&B @ £95 for one person

Friday 15th Evening meal, B&B @ £155 for two people

Saturday 16th Dinner Only @ £35.00 per person(please pay in full on booking, includes Reunion Fee)

Saturday 16th Dinner, B&B @ £95.00 for one person

Saturday 16th Dinner, B&B @ 155.00 for two people

Total of my booking

Black Country Museum Visit £5.00Please reserve for me zero, one, or two FREE coach seats

PLEASE NOTE A £30 non-returnable deposit per BOOKING(not per person) is required, which includes your £5 Reunion Fee.

When you ‘check out’ from the hotel £25 will be deducted from your final bill.Booking Deposit: By cheque made payable to RAFPA or

PayPal to [email protected] or BACS to 20414158 at20-10-03 (use your Surname as the Reference) must be received by: 15/08/2021

This completed form should be sent to Chris Twiner (contact details above)

RAFPA ANNUAL REUNION OCTOBER 15-17

£

£

£

£

£

£

£

210

$

The RAFPA will be holding its 2021 Annual Reunionand AGM at the Stourport Manor Hotel

35 Hartlebury Road, Stourport-on-Severn, DY13 9JA

Our annual gathering has been centred on thisvenue for a number of years and because of thepositive responses of our Membership and thesupport we have received from the Managementand Staff at the Hotel we hope that 2021 will againbe a successful event.

As a guest at the hotel you will have theopportunity to enjoy either a Continental or FullEnglish Breakfast in the morning after your relaxingovernight stay with use of the indoor swimmingpool and sports facilities.Please DO NOT contactthe hotel with questions.

REUNION TIMETABLEFriday 15th Meet and greet your fellow Memberswith our private bar open from 1800 hrs with acarvery meal at 1900 hrs.Saturday 16th day Group visit to Black CountryLiving Museum in Dudley. £5 payable on the daySaturday 16th evening Our private bar will be openfrom 1800 hrs with Formal Dinner activities startingat 1900 hrs. Raffle (to help offset the cost of ourwine at dinner), for which your donations would bemost appreciated, plus our Prize Giving, honouringthose who have supported the Association in 2020.Sunday 17th AGM. 1000 hrs to about 1100 hrs.

To make the organiser’s task as painless as possible please book early, any questions, extra nights, etcplease contact: Chris Twiner, 12 The Sidings, Sutton-on-Sea, LN12 2SJ

Tel: 01507 838011 or eMail: [email protected]


Flashback16

FRIDAY MENUFriday evening is a carvery but it would help the hotel

if you could give them an idea of starters and deserts required.

1 Classic prawn cocktail2 Chicken liver parfait. Toasted brioche, onion chutney & dressed leaves3 Duo of melon with mango & strawberry, mint syrup (v)4 Profiteroles filled with chantilly cream5 Crème Brulee with a shortbread biscuit6 Lemon tart with forest berries

Carvery info:Honey and mustard glazed ham, Roast topside of beef , Breast of turkey

Cauliflower cheese , Red cabbage, Peas, Carrots, Roast potatoes, New potatoes, Yorkshire puddings and pigs in blankets

SATURDAY MENUStarter

A Creamed leek & potato soup (v)B Chilled rosette of honeydew melon (V)C Prawn & crayfish cocktail with brown bread & butter

MainD Chicken breast wrapped in pancetta, dauphinoise potatoes & red wine jusE Braised feather blade of beef with parsley mashF Baked salmon fillet, new potato cake, chive and prawn cream

DessertG Orange marmalade cheesecakeH Pavlova filled with fresh chantilly cream, fruit and berriesI Cheese and biscuits

Please choose your options for both evenings and mark in boxes

Name: ……………..……..…………………….................... Name: ………………..…..……………………....................

Friday Saturday Friday Saturday

Starter Starter Starter Starter

Main Main

Dessert Dessert Dessert Dessert

$

REUNION DINNER 2021 MENU CHOICES

Personal Details

First Names ……..…….…….…….. & ………………..…………..........

Surname ..………………………………………………………………..........

Address ……………………………………………………………….............

….................................................... Post Code……………………

Please contact me via: Telephone / Post / eMail

Contact details ………………………………………………………........

Special Requirements Vegetarian Meals - Ground Floor Room

Twin Beds - Dining Room Seating, etc. Please advise and we will do our best to meet your

requirements - but no guarantees


Flashback 17


Flashback18

As I watched theRemembrance paradelast year 2020 I thought

of all the hundreds of peoplewho would have been bitterlydisappointed by not being ableto take part in the parade toshow their respects. Itreminded me of my own marchin 2018.

On the Friday I travelled bycoach to Maidstone where Iwould stop with a friend, Lindaat her partner’s house in a littlevillage called Bearsted. Joan,my wife, was not well enoughto accompany me as she waswaiting for a heart operation,so I travelled alone. Our friendLinda and her friend Jackiewith David her husband allwanted to go with me to theparade. So it was decided Iwould stay with Linda andJohn. Linda met me off thecoach in Maidstone and droveus to John’s.

The official wording on myticket stated “Columns willform up on Horse GuardsParade from 9.15 am andshould assemble in ranks of sixacross by 10.00 am”. So withthis in mind we would catchthe train at 6.55 which wouldget us into London by about 8o’clock giving us plenty of timeto get me to the parade.

Timetable: Wake up 5.30,breakfast, remembering not to

drink too much. Then driven byJohn, we pick up Jackie andDavid and we proceed to thestation to catch the train fromBearsted station. 6.55, arriveat Borough Green station. At7.25, a guard tells us that theyare having points troubleahead and we will be delayedfor 30 mins. At 8.30 the guardappears again to tell us thetrain has now been cancelled.Everyone leaves the trainwondering what to do. Wecross the bridge to the stationforecourt with Linda just infront of me. As we cross thefront of the station withpeople milling around, a manstops me and says he can takethree of us. I tell Linda and wejump into his car, Jackie andDavid decide to keep togetherand off we go. The man was tocatch the train we were on andhis wife was just dropping himoff. He said they were going totry to catch a train fromOrpington about 17 miles away.The man told us he was goingto a choir practice and hisdeputy would stand in for himif he didn’t get there on time.

A breathtaking car ride thenensued with the couple tryingto find the station on the carssatnav and his phone, after 25hectic mins we arrived at thestation, jumped out, the manwent straight to the ticket

office to get his ticket whilstLinda and myself went to thebarrier, got waved throughonto the platform and after afew minutes the train arrived.Lucky for us it was runninglate. We got to Charing Crossstation at about 9.50, exitedthe station and found a taxiwith a poppy in his frontscreen. We asked him if he wasone of the special taxis, hesaid he was, jumped out of hiscab and rushed around theback of the cab to take a selfiewith your’s truly. While this washappening another chaparrived with his wife and thedriver had to take a picture ofhim as well. We then allclambered into the cab and offwe went. The driver dropped usall off as near as he could getto Horse Guards. Thanking himand saying cheerio to Linda Irushed off to find my column.

After some searching I didmanage to find my Column “C”and the group I was supposedto be with. There were 12 of usin my lot, Far East Air Force.Whilst searching I came face toface with Mr J Corbyn, he onone side of the fence me onthe opposite side. Not a goodmoment as I’m not a fan.However when I did team up,everyone was all very friendlyand the time went by veryquickly. It must have been10.30 when we started to moveoff and soon we stopped, againwe stood. During this stage, awoman who was with us andcarrying our wreath suddenlyjust fell. Medics came andtreated her and then carriedher away. The wreath waspassed to another one of us.We continued to stand untilthe two minutes silence whenwe heard Big Ben strike.

This was when I thought of allthe people that I had knownwho had died. Then they played“The Last Post” and we watchedthe official wreath laying on abig screen we could see. LordBishop of London said a prayer,we sang the hymn “O God inAges Past”. Another prayer andthen The Lord’s Prayer followedby The Lord Bishop of Londongiving The Blessing, then “GodSave The Queen”.

We again stood as we waitedfor all the other units in frontof us start to march off andfinally it was our turn, by thistime my back was killing me,my legs felt dead and I justwanted to move. The marchwas not a bit like I imagined itwould be and I admit I waspleased when we had takenthe salute from Princess Anneand reached our stoppingpoint. Finally, we all shook

A DAY TO REMEMBERStory by Mick Steel


Flashback 19

hands and said our goodbyes,then drifted away.

After the parade Lindaphoned me and told me to staywhere I was and she would findme so as not to pass eachother as there was crowds andcrowds of people. So I found amuch needed seat and waited.A few stragglers spoke to me,everyone was so friendly. Aftera while as I sat there thisyoung good looking policewoman came towards me andasked if my name was Mick. Isaid it was and my day seemedto be getting better. She saidthere is a lady called Lindalooking for you. She thenescorted me across the roadwhere the police werestopping people crossing andthere was Linda. Linda said shehad tried my phone but got noreply, she could see me butcould not get to me.

So we set off to get toVictoria where we would teamup with Jackie and David forour journey back to Bearsted.We crossed St James Park Ithink, where I had a couple ofsit downs and then we came toan underground station, can’tremember it’s name but thepolice on duty said it was onlyone stop from Victoria. In wewent and waited for about fivemins. We got on the train andthis middle aged man said“here are some seats sir”.Everyone we met were sopolite and respectful to us. Ifelt a right cheat.

When we got to Victoria wemet a coloured lady, a stationworker who stopped and gaveme a salute. I couldn’t believehow nice folks could be inLondon! Normally they don’ttalk to you. We found Jackie,David was in the bar. We hadtime for a coffee. When ourtrain came we all got on. Thenthe ticket collector camearound, when he got to us hejust said that is alright sir don’tbother. So at the end of theday I didn’t need my ticket atall. When we got to BearstedJohn was waiting to meet us inhis car and we all went to TheRoyal Oak in Bearsted for a meal.

So ended the very proud dayto remember.

(Library pics. Ed)

Group Captain John HeroldMBE, turned 100 onNovember 5 in Cathay

Care Home and reflected on anexciting life as someone who,having survived World War II,continued to serve the country.

John’s family originated inDevon and he was born in Exeterin 1920, three years after his latesister Pauline, whose son,Anthony Babington, travelled upfrom Buckinghamshire to bewith his uncle on his 100thbirthday. John Herold attendedSteyning Grammar School inSussex and joined the RAF in1937 as a boy entrant. On thedeclaration of war in September1939, he was posted toBertangles in France as part ofthe air component of the BritishExpeditionary Force. The GermanBlitzkrieg of 1940 saw him, as heput it, “among the retreatinghordes heading west.” Somehow,he made it back to Britain.

Retrained as aircrew as asergeant for pilot training in1942, John was commissionedas an officer the following year,piloting Halifax bombers. Thedisaster at Arnhem in 1944 sawthe British 1st Airborne Divisiondecimated, losing almost all ofits specialist glider pilots. Newpilots were needed urgently, soJohn saw himself “volunteered”for glider training. As he laterput it, “It was said that we hadvolunteered... but I certainlydon’t remember doing a stupidthing like that.”

By this stage of the war,glider pilots flew large woodenunpowered aircraft, transportingairborne troops and theirequipment directly on to thebattlefield. The pilots weretrained to fight alongside thetroops. Casualty rates werehigh. Despite his joke about

being “volunteered”, John tookto the combat training on theScottish hills. He and his fellowglider pilots played a vital role inOperation Varsity (March 24,1945), part of the allied crossingof the River Rhine and thelargest single-day airborneassault in history. John landedhis glider on target under heavyenemy fire and then supportedthe troops to secure victory. Hislater account of the battle,which paved the way for invasionof Germany, wascharacteristically modest.

He was awarded the MBE in1960 for his contribution to thedevelopment of airreconnaissance photographywith a capability from outerspace, and in 1962 waspromoted Wing Commander.After further postings inGermany and London, he waspromoted Group Captain in 1970and retired in 1974.

John’s energy, dedication andcommitment to servicecontinued in a retirement whichsaw him move from England to

GROUP CAPTAIN JOHN HEROLD MBEEdinburgh, then Fochabers andfinally to Forres. He was (despitehis war-time claims) a perennial“volunteer” continuing to work inthis capacity at Dr Gray’sHospital.

In the community and wellinto his eighties, he deliveredMeals on Wheels, often topeople much younger thanhimself.

A short report on my Uncle’s100th birthday. Five of us wereallowed to meet him under aPagoda, outside the care home.He loved your card andespecially the Red Arrowsphoto. He also had cards fromHM the Queen, the Lordlieutenant of Moray, RAFLossiemouth, RAF Association,the Glider Pilots RegimentSociety (He being their oldestmember!) and loads more.

That afternoon the care homestaff and residents were to givea him another party, with a Piper.I have no idea if he turned up –we were not allowed to go tothat. Anthony Babington


2020 RAF PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITIONCategory C: ‘Reflection’ – Sgt Ashley Keates


3(f) issue 56 v2

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