I thought I had better get in first with a potted history of my RAF days. So here I am, Acting Air Vice Marshall Singleton reporting for duty. This was my joining photo taken at RAF Bridgenorth for basic training in 1962( I was threatened with court marshall for not having a shave) . Then posted to Compton Bassett for a year radio training which is 6 miles from where we now live. Next 6 months at RAF Locking for final training, and Sept 63 off to Cyprus for 2 and a half years. Back to UK and I went to High Wycombe where I met that well known gent Ken Whitten followed by a 3 yr stint in Singapore(Ken was also there and I had to invite him over for weekends so that I could get his beer ration). Then posted to Henlow(ugh) and quickly volunteered for Malta. Returned from Malta in Feb 73 for final 6 months at Little Rissington and then out into the world of civvy street. There were ups and downs of course but I still think they were the best years of my life.
now see thats just opened up a 30 year old can of worms!!... my knowledge of you as an airplane driver, is apparantly very limited, essentially to remnants seen at big grandmas house. obviously as small boys do , i accepted my information but i've just realised that its probably quite far from the mark!!
ReplyDeleteso here goes, did you actually drive air planes?? (adult logic assumes you fixed electrical things on them??
also when (while presumeably flying some jet or other..!!) did you see action at niagra falls!??? (grandma had a really cool lamp that moved with niagra on it and it was from you , i assumed then an raf action job!
also can you explain the unfeasibly small cap you used to wear...did it shrink in the wash or is your head really that small??
funny the unanswered stuff you find in your distant memory isnt it.
Just a memory from the home-based big brother who had to go work for a living – I remember the message tapes. Mom, Dad and I used to sit around a little plastic microphone on a tripod in the middle of the floor talking to Terry and trying to pretend he was there in the room.. The resulting cassette tape would be mailed abroad and after a few weeks another one would come back with accompanying music Terry had picked off his local radio stations. It was hard to stop the giggling and difficult to fill in the pregnant pauses at the start but after a few ‘electronic pen letters’ things started to flow.
ReplyDeleteThis dialog is great. Tony & I both laughed as we read it - kids say the funniest things (what I mean is that Jonathan is saying what he thought as a kid!). It's amazing what you remember as a kid.
ReplyDeleteI remember the waterfall light. It was great to play with at grandmas. Was dad's cap really that small? Played with that too. Would put it on and post letters in the post box as obviously it made me a postman. Also used to play with the little wooden carved sailor grandma had. Oh the things that used to entertain us kids!
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