General Chat

yesi still lived there when it first opened although i wonder why Hendon as it is in Colindale it was an difficult place to get on the busses

i can also remember going to the drome on an open day to see the air display

sally w <3

Barry did you ever do a tour at either RAF Henlow or Innsworth? I worked as a civvie at both.

Thank you Barry loved reading all your News. Times have changed so much .some for the good .I have enjoyed my retirement & since moving to Southwest Scotland 7yrs ago its great just chilling :-D ~~~~~s to All :-)

Greater London Council, Education Dept., in branch that hired and fire Headteachers. Then went to Brixton College in the Admin.

Aw that is a cute Photo & fully dressed :-)

Hi Barbra. Thank you. So pleased you enjoyed my rambling. Went on a bit ... nothing unusual there, however!!
So pleased you are enjoying your retirement. Good on yer! Long may you do so.

Ann, no I didn't tour or have a posting at Innsworth or Henlow. I understand that Innsworth closed years ago and that Records Office is at High Wycombe.
My initial assessment before I took the Queen's (ten) shilling was done in 1960 at Cardington. I clearly recall the huge hangar to house airships. Don't know if it is still there.
We chatted some time ago about you having an eastward trip across country in a Wessex. I worked on them at Odiham. Funnily enough, the one and only flight I had in a Wessex was a Royal Navy kite in north east Malaya at Penarak in 1968! (Talk about absolutely beautiful undisturbed white sands!)
We went back to the beach one night with Malayan Rangers and watched the turtles come ashore and lay their hundreds of eggs. Of course, some blokes simply HAD to lift one of the turtles back into the sea after laying her eggs!! Daft pillocks! Some things never change. Lol.)

If anyone visits the RAF Museum at Hendon - no charge - they will see a twin rotor helicopter - a Belvedere - XG474, with a big 'O' on each side. I stripped this kite after the squadron disbanded 20 March 1969 in Singapore. It was the only one saved and shipped to the Museum by the Royal Navy.
Kindly give the old girl a gentle stroke on her legs (undercarriage) for me please. I last did so when I saw her in 1977. I flew a lot of hours on these faithful kites of 66 Squadron.

Hi Barry. Yes, RAF Innsworth closed and the camp is now multi national NATO Rapid Response. Cardington is not very far (about 5 minutes) from Henlow. It was still RAF when I left Bedfordshire but I believe, although still military is something like dog training. Well it may have changed again now we don't get that way very often. Actually not sure but I think one part of Personnel remained at Innsworth. I think the (do you know I can't think what the department is called) Casualty? dept - The people who notify relatives of sad events may still be there. But yes, mainly all to do with records moved to High Wycombe. Just after I retired.

Yes I flew in a Wessex from innsworth to Benson.

I think i told you my OH was in the Fleet Air Arm - Radio electrical and worked on fixed wing and helicopters at HMS Daudelas.

Hi Barbra, I had a few part time jobs at school and college, these included a paper round, cleaning at a residential home, waitress at a local restaurant, waitress at a local upmarket department store, baby sitting and bar work. After college I went straight in to the job I'm in now and have been there since 1981!!!!!

I forgot one, I did voluntary work at the primary school where my offspring attended and trained as a TA. It was a cover position which I fitted it round my existing job until my youngest left the school.

It sounds a lot like a lot of jobs but back in the 1970s we started paper rounds at 13 and baby sitting at 14. The job which I enjoyed the most for the time I was there was the waitressing at a local restaurant. The owners were lovely and employed local students for the weekend waiting.

It was the height of sophistication for people to dress up for a meal, long dresses etc. Happy days :-)

Teresa

Hi, Ann. Yes, I certainly recall you writing that your OH was in the FAA. I expect he has some stories to tell, also!

I never went to Innsworth; it was an admin facility only, I understand.
I have no idea how the military advises relatives about death in service ... which likely happens every day!
I thought this department would have also gone to High Wycombe. I don't see the point of a lone branch staying behind.
Sadly, I am sure a great number of jobs disappeared when Innsworth closed!

Barry ...............


how's your weather???


we're having warm temperatures and sun .................. a big change form the constant rain of the last 2 weeks :-)

Barry I think the facility may now be joint service so it would fit in with what is there now.

Yes there were a lot of civilian redundancies I believe. We live just down the road, I miss the light blue uniforms.

I stayed at RAF Hendon one night in the 60's, before a flight out of Gatwick to somewhere or other. Why I couldn't just go straight to Gatwick I don't know, but that is the army for you. Perhaps they thought I wouldn't show up. That has just reminded me, I had an uncle who had a small farm just outside Horley, and I often stayed there before a flight. One time his car was out of commission, and he dropped me outside the terminal (there was only one in those days) on the back of his tractor. I did get some funny looks. Bob

Ann, I think you hit the nail OK the head about joint service.
I still have my blue uniform ... and I wear it on our local Legion Remembrance Day Parade.
I think the blue is a lovely shade. Our KD was a nice shade, too.

Sylvia. I am so envious of your non minus temperatures!
Send some here, please!
I have just returned from walking to the post office and the light wind is BITTER!
The thermometer shows almost -8C ... and the wind reduces it even more.
A couple of mornings ago my thermometer recorded -21.9C on the balcony.
Add the wind chill factor and it was about - 30C.
Oh to be back in the sunny Middle East again!

Ann, I did almost 2 weeks at RAF Innsworth helping out a rather overworked dentist whose nurse was on embarkation leave. She was having to cope with patients, try to do a stock check and type out everything in the surgery - in duplicate, as the way things were done was changing. I was sent in as I'd just done it where I was based at RAF Benson. I travelled there on the Monday and worked the next 10 days straight through to get everything done and left on the next Friday morning. It was February 1969.

Barry my husband was an electronics apprentice, he was at RAF Locking from 1964 - 1967, aged 16 - 19. He was 41 when he left. He only did 1 overseas in 25 years 1970 -73 :-S

I was in the WRAF 1967 - 1972 I also got in 1 overseas 1970 it coincided with OH's as that's when we met. :-)

Pat, I went to Benson two years ago for the annual squadron reunion. It was my first visit. A cold day it was indeed ... and Benson seems very open and inhospitable, I thought.
We stayed nearby at the Shillingford Hotel.
This year's reunion will also be at Benson, I understand.
HM The Queen's Flight was based there way back when, I believe.
Where were you and OH overseas?

Barry .............



that's cold!!!


there's a good reason why we have never moved from the Banana Belt since we arrived here in 1968 :-)



Daughter is on the East Coast ................ and suffering there.

Yes, they have indeed had a lot of snow in the Maritimes, Sylvia!
I can't say as I miss clearing the snow, however, regardless where I am.

sometimes I think snow is preferable to rain ............................





it's drier :-D



and rain is so grey and dreary :-(




I don't miss having to go out in the rain, whether I wanted to or not, when I was working :-)


Now ................ I can usually just watch it from inside

Barry the wind was wicked in the winter. The medical centre was some way from the WRAF block, it could be a very wet walk.

Queen's Flight was at Benson when I was there. Benson medical centre covered Prince Charles learning to fly before he went up to Cranwell. An ambulance, driver, medic and a doc. had to go to a small airfield somewhere between us and Windsor.

OH came to Cyprus in June 1970, I was posted in July 1970. We both spent evenings DJing on the internal radio doing programmes for the singlies. My programme was second on and I had to hand over to OH. We married out here January 1971. :-)

Barry the queens Flight was based at Benson when we flew there in the Wessex. In about 1993/4