to the complete copy

264 Squadron News
H M Armed Forces
We Defy
September 2014
We Defy
Issue 3/14
Editor: Geoff Faulkner, 8 Rosamond Avenue, Shipton Gorge, Bridport, Dorset DT6 4LN. 01308 897275 Email: [email protected]
The Reunion
I can’t help thinking that our Association is like a good vintage wine, as it appears to improve with age. Yes, I
can finally relax and feel we had a successful reunion. This is because we all get on well together and are able
to conjure up our old Squadron comradeship. It was nice to welcome Paddy and Anthea Hughes to our ranks,
and I believe that they enjoyed our fellowship. It was also nice to see Bill and Jeanette Griffiths amongst the
group again.
I had to smile at one point when some Indian gentleman asked who we were. I told him that we were the crack
Night Fighter Squadron of the RAF Just as one of our members hobbled in with their stick and others hugged
the wall as they gingerly went up the stairs, I’m not sure the gentleman was entirely convinced of my claim!
Thank you all for your part in making the reunion so successful, and I must mention the support given me by
Peter Wright, Bob Tacey, Brian Mann and Clyde Anderson, not forgetting the ladies who sold the raffle tickets.
(Even if my wife did think by putting both halves of the raffle tickets in, she doubled her chances of winning!)
The Hendon visit was quite tiring for most, but I think we all enjoyed it. It was a pity about the guides who were
particularly un-impressive. Still they are volunteers, so I suppose we can’t be too critical, although I think a lot
of us could have made a better job of it and without an ego trip!
The hotel staff at the Watermill, were absolutely super, nothing appeared to be too much trouble and we were
always greeted with a smile. Manish Patel, the Manager, as usual was his usual helpful and cheerful self and
the Reunion benefitted from the Watermill’s friendliness, despite how busy they all were.
It was sad that “Our Adjutant” , Audrey Tudor, had an accident that made it impossible for her to attend.
Audrey rang me when we got home to say how touched she was that we had thought of her and sent a card.
(You reap what you sow Audrey!), we missed you. She is convalescing with her daughters in France at the
time of writing this.
May I thank all those who wrote expressing their thanks for the Reunion, it was very much appreciated!
Please Note: See page 2 regarding next years Reunion, If you haven’t already informed me that you
are interested, then PLEASE could you give me some indication if you are interested in coming and as
soon as possible, as I have already firmly booked the hotel
1
I thought with the D-Day celebrations in full swing, it was entirely appropriate to do our own Squadron Celebration and print this
copy of a photo from around that time. There seems to be some of the crews missing, but this is all I have of this.
Reunion 2015
As you will guess I have been inundated with offers to take on the job of organising hotels and booking a venue
for the Reunion next year. (And if you believe that, then the moon IS made of cream cheese!). We have looked
at several venues and have se#led on $ewark, it having a %uite extensive aero&lane dis&lay &ark. I &lan for the
roughly the same 'me as this year (()*+) around ,rst weekend in -une (.th/0th -une ()*1), so &lenty of 'me
to &lan. If you could indicate your inten'ons of a#endance, I would be VERY grateful. How about some of you
who hae nee aene befoe omin aon you wi en!oy it of that I"m sue#
For those not interested in Aero&lanes (Funny &eo&le!!), there are other interests fairly close by, Good Sho&&ing Centre, Golf, Swimming Pool etc The Hotel is the $est %esten &us %est Re'o Hote Re'o (os#
D(22 7XG# A bit of a &roblem distance wise for some of us in Dorset and Devon, but nearer for most. I ho&e
that for those going to the Air Museum, we can accommodate all in &eo&les cars to avoid hiring a coach.
2
.on/nuin Tey 0ensome1s fasina/n ife stoy2333##
Planning is everything always take 2 maps. The route back was Biggin Hill-Calais- Ghent –Laarbruch- Gielenkirchen. When I left Gelsenkirchen to go to the UK I didn’t not tell anyone I was going just in case they said no . The
Station Commander got very miffed I was told.
So when I left Biggin hill going back I was sure to send him a telex with my arrival time OOPS .having to drop off
the guy in the front seat at Laarbruch put me behind schedule so I didn’t arrive when I said I would
So it was dark very cold the tiger didn’t have lights or radios or a map in this case so navigation kind of a secondary thing flying over a black countryside, and the cold lulled you into a carefree attitude. Then all of a sudden a
whole bunch of airport lights went on out off the left wing with a lovely long runway all lighted up.
That was a no brainer as they say now so I landed, it was Gelsenkirchen.
Now the story goes that as this Tiger had not shown up on its arrival time when it got dark the Station Commander
turned off the lights and was on the tower with a group of guy listening for the sound of the gypsy major engine
When they heard it they put all the lights on which was just as well I would have gone sailing on. The landing was
uneventful except I was so cold I could not get out of the aircraft so I was given a large brandy and a two week no
flying suspension from the Station commander. But he did it with a twinkle in his eye.
I flew the tiger moth quite a lot before I left my last flight on 19/4/1965. With a friend in the passenger seat called
Roger Greegan who I believe went on to great things with BA.
I finally left my264 /33/5 Squadron in early 1966 to be a Flight Engineer on the Handley Page Hastings now there
was a step forward in technology. I finished training in April 966 and was shipped off to 70 Squadron Cyprus the
Hastings was a delightful aircraft to operate. We flew a trip around just about every airport in the Middle East which
took a month that’s was the IDC college tour the first time in a Hastings. To keep a Hastings away from its maintenance hangar for a whole month flying every day was no mean feat. But a great trip. And on schedule the whole
way around
I must mention a fellow flight engineer on the squadron his name was M/E Bert Poulton who like me had his private
pilot license. We found a couple of piper tri pacers in boxes which had been left with no owners. So we unpack
them and set up the Cyprus flying club at Nicosia. I believe Bert and I got the first Cypriot licenses
We trained in used the aircraft for parachute dropping 3 guys at a time
My next move was to the brand new shiny VC10 in 1968 the first ground school was at BOAC Cranebank at
Heathrow
About 3 months I think. Then on to RAF Brize Norton for another course where we had to learn the RAF way of
doing things
I think we were the first none shiny crew to be sent there a Shackleton Captain.(Nick Nichols) A V bomber co pilot
(Gordon Ness) a Hastings engineer (yours truly) and a navigator from Argosy, I think, (Harry Plaistow).
I stayed on the VC 10 until 1972.the reception wasn’t the greatest I have had it was indicated that they didn’t expect the us to pass the exams coming for the Hastings etc. but we did
What else that else could you do after all that training at BOAC and Brize Norton?
Our first long trip was to take some high ranking C&C to Hong Kong and on to Australia. This was our first route
qualifying flight let loose on our own. Everything went well until we were 1 hr out of Malta when I noticed a drop in
power on the number two engine. After meeting of the minds and not wishing to cause further problems with this
new shiny VC10 we shut the engine down, and landed at Luqa. After reporting the problem to the transit flight W/O
I was told they had never had this aircraft through there and they had no staff to work on it and didn’t know much
about it except they did have some tools and a spare basic engine somewhere in the stores.
Nick said we had 72 hrs. on the ground there what did I suggest we do. In true Hasting fashion I said we will have
to change it. So with Nick, Harry, Gordon and one bod from Tasf we put a schedule together and worked round the
clock to change it. The tooling we found were still wrapped in the awful brown greasy sticking paper the engine in
the same preserved state never been unpacked. A basic engine is just that. No major components - they had to be
removed from the old engine and refitted to the new one. CSD. Generator. Starter. Oil tank plus a few other bits
and pieces. On the VC10 the engines are high up under the tail so lowering one and lifting the new one into position became a challenge which we resolved with the help of a Coles Crane we borrowed from the Army there
After engine runs and adjustments the only thing we could not get to work was the reverser. So we wire locked it
inoperative. Now it came to the paper work the one weak link. I entered into the RAF Form 700 (the Techlog in .
(present day language): Reduction in power in No 2 engine ser no xxxx removed new engine ser no xxxx installed
signed it and we departed on to schedule to Gann and Hong Kong.
After we got back from this trip we were all hauled in front of the station commander who explained to us that we
cannot do what we did. The RAF had now changed to progressive servicing and flight crews did not work on aircraft and there were lots more signatures missing above the two in the F700. I cannot remember what he did to us
but we did notice a new respect from the shiny guys. On the VC 10 we also had I new course of load masters in the
WRAF all of who were fabulous birds which did not please the city fathers in the sergeants mess who were just
getting used to having females in the mess for the first time. However, with the support of the new VC10 guys
things changed a lot
3
Continuing Terry Fensome interesting life story:
On the VC 10 we also had I new course of load masters in the WRAF all of who were fabulous birds which did
not please the city fathers in the sergeants mess who were just getting used to having females in the mess for
the first time. However, with the support of the new VC10 guys things changed a lot
I met Meg Hetherington there in late 1968 and we married in March 1969. Little did she know what she was in
for. Me neither. We have worked and played together in the aviation work to the present day, 2013. 44yrs.
Wow.
My pursuit of becoming a pilot took a new course at Brize Norton. I took my instructor course at CSE Oxford in
1968 and started to teach at the flying club there. I also gained my tug pilot endorsement at Lasham and flew
there at weekends I became a PPL examiner in 1970 and examined candidates for their PPL in UK. Cyrus.
Singapore and Hong Kong. Thanks to the VC10 route schedule.
In 1972 time had come for me to make the move to sort out this piloting urge I had I left the RAF in June 1972
after 18yrs and 22 days under Queens Regulation 607 10B (free as an indulgence)? They said I was exemplary!
Not bad for a Yorkshire kid, but coming out of the RAF was a big shock to the system
I went from there straight onto the dole in an old bungalow Meg and I bought in Carterton to renovate.
I went to London to study for the ATPL license at the Minories and stayed at the German Mission where we
started a tunnel. Finally after 8 weeks I was successful. I now had a commercial license /ATPL. The job market as always was not good after numerous attempts to get interviews
I finally got three the same day. Cathy Pacific CV 880.British Airways VC10. And the first course on a new airline Court Line Tri-Star all for Flight Engineers L I considered taking out all that F/E time from my resume. But
Meg and I chose to go to Hong Kong and Cathay Pacific instead.
Hong Kong was the start of a completely different life style for us, more like the old colonial days lots of black
tie dinners and parties. The Convair 880 training went very well. And there was a very good aero club at Kai
Tak
The Aero club was the meeting place and watering hole for Cathay Pacific for the crews and their bosses. Careers could be made or lost in there. The Chief Flight Instructor there was quite influential in the DCA aviation
circles, that position came up for election every few years. This time it was a stalemate between the two candidates so the DCA said they would accept the new guy who had all the requirements for the job. That new guy
was me. so I became the new chief instructor and DCA rep for Hong Kong. The DCA part of the job was to regulate the registering of all general aviation aircraft in to Hong Kong as they didn’t want to get to many due to
the restrictions of Kia Tak airport. This action was to play a large part in what happened to my career in the
future.
I am not sure of the years maybe 1973/74 the government was to have a Hong Kong day promoting business
etc, a bit like a mini world fair, and I was asked could we produce an aviation day. This had to be done at a
small army Airfield in the new territories called Sek Kong. The sum total of the aircraft fleet was 7, I think, including a Boeing Steerman owned by a Cathay Captain, Len Cowper. The planning was done by the aero club
committee over about 4 weeks.
The flying display was scheduled from 2pm to 6 pm and included. all seven or so aircraft: .Steerman, Fuji 200,
2 Cessna 172’s, 2 Piper 28’s and a Beechcraft. The program was great fun to fly and included balloon bursting , limbo flying , flour bombing. Aerial dog fights, .and one crazy stunt where a old Chinese woman in the
crowd took off in an aircraft on her own and had to be talked down. The airshow was well publicized by the
government and we expected about 10,000 people so the facilities were geared for that: Mobile toilets. hamburgers. Hot dogs etc. Well 35,000 turned up, so when the toilet paper ran out the hot dog and hamburger
sales went up due to the napkin with the bun. The air show went off flawlessly and it was deemed to be a great
success, which the government wanted to keep on the future calendar.
Life in Hong Kong was very good but this was all about to change when an American chap came to see me at
the aero club with a request for me to allow him to register his new aircraft it with the DCA It was a new Cessna 340 twin. As the aero club did not have a twin engine aircraft and we needed one a deal was done to satisfy
both him and the aero club, this eventually would lead to a major change in our life and career.
4
Continuing the story of Air Vice Marshall Desmond Hughes CB, CBE, DSO, DFC**, AFC, MA, DL, RAF
I did get my hands on an aircraft on the 24th. We were sent forward to Manston on the Kent coast near Ramsgate-where we couldn’t have been more for more vulnerable to Messerschmitts coming in at sea level without
warning. Various wrecked aircraft including 600 Squadron Blenheim night fighters, testified to previous Luftwaffe visits. We got ourselves well dispersed, of course, but nobody ventured very far from his aircraft. Our vulnerability at Manston was well illustrated by the occasion when B Flight commander had difficulty in starting his
engine for a scramble. It took a couple of minutes to get it going and, as he took off, he saw his faithful at number 2 and 3 in the circuit waiting for him. He flew in front of them and waggled his wings - only to be shot downBecause they were 109 ‘s ! He managed to do a belly landing back on the airfield but all the way down he was
in severe trouble because the enemy fire had hit his store of signal cartridges, which ignited and sent brightly
coloured lights buzzing round the turrets and cockpit like nobody’s business. He was injured in the crash landing and did not return to the squadron.
We were scrambled twice that day. On the first occasion we were recalled after five minutes but on the second
we carried out a full patrol. We made no contact with the enemy though we saw a distant dog fight which somebody swore involved Heinkel 113 fighters. It was later established that none were in France at that time but we
all thought that an entirely new and unknown factor was about to enter the battle.
On the 25th it was back to normal - left on the ground without an aircraft! This time, however, it wasn’t just a
matter of sitting around disconsolately waiting for an aircraft could be offered. The squadron was scrambled
from Hornchurch and ‘Boy’ Bouchier’s voice told the rest of us that a raid was heading our way; a few minutes
later he said: “ It looks as if we are to be the target. Now go to your shelters! “ We left the dispersal hut and
made our way swiftly to the near a shelter, one of these built into the blast proof bays where the aircraft were
normally parked.
At this point Hugh Percy’s gunner, Plt. Off. Derek Smythe, spotted a horse (which had been pulling a grass cutter) abandoned out on the airfield. He ran out, detached it from the mower and lead it into the dispersal b, towing it after him into the entrance of the shelter. Exactly what we other shelterers said is not recorded, but Derek
probably saved the old nag’s life.
Just then the sticks of bombs began to fall very accurately, marching across the airfield towards us; Louder and
louder than the explosions erupted and the floor of the shelter seemed to be jumping up and down a couple of
feet. And then they stopped, just short of us. There were no RAF casualties but some bombs had fallen on
houses outside the airfield perimeter killing some local civilians. When the dust had settled, we could see on
the grass the wheel tracks of one of our Defiants, notorious for breaking a pin in its starter motor every other
scramble – leaning away from one of the bomb craters. If the pin had broken that time, we would probably have
lost not only that the aircraft but also a bunch of gallant ground crew trying desperately to repair her.
On the morning of the 26th, I was given an aircraft: this was one of only seven left serviceable, despite the efforts of the civilian pilots of the air transport auxiliary (ATA) in delivering replacements as we reported losses
and on the ground crews working in devotedly through the night to make them operational. John Banham was
to lead us and in due course we were scrambled, with me tucked in as Red 2 on John’s starboard side. We
climbed steadily eastwards, with the Hornchurch control talking cheerfully about lots of trade” building up. As
we reached about 15,000 feet, the controller turned us and said there were “30 plus bandits At your height.
They will cross you from port to starboard”.
At first it seemed that we had that bit of sky to ourselves but then, over to our port side at about 10 o’clock, I
saw some tiny specks moving to the right, their progress punctuated by bursts of 3.7 AA, accurate for heights
but behind. Banham called “Tally Ho” and started a slow turn to starboard, putting us into line astern; I tucked in
under his tail. The specks grew into a long pencil slim silhouette of Dornier 17 ‘s and, suddenly, there were the
black crosses, insolently challenging us in our own backyard!
John had positioned us perfectly - on the Dornier’s starboard beam, a little below and gently converging. calmly, he told us to choose our targets and open fire when in range. Fred Gash took as his target was second
Dornier and made no mistake - His de-Wilde Incendiaries twinkled all over it but particularly on its engine. It
began to fall out of the formation, a hatch was jettisoned, Two parachutes streamed out as little dark figures
bailed out And the stricken aircraft went down increasingly steeply with its starboard engine and well alight.
I then noticed that Banham’s aircraft was losing glycol from its radiator and tried to warn him - but I don’t think
he heard me in the heat of battle. Meantime, Fred had been blazing away at another Dornier (which he later
reported as having “brewed up”) but suddenly called out, “109’s coming down!!” Like a flash I broke hard right
into a maximum right turn, Slightly descending with 10° of flap until Fred said our tail was clear. And thenO..
That astonishing phenomenon so often experience, the total calm after the storm. One minute, the aircraft vibrating as the guns chattered, friend and foe all around, engine bellowing at full boost and the rev, “g” greying
out our eyesight.
5
Then neither sight nor sound of another aircraft. A few orbits on the climb but no sign of other Defiants or Huns
so, with fuel fairly low, rapid drop down to earth at Hornchurch - where my rigger cheerfully pointed out about
half a dozen bullet strikes of which neither of us had been aware. Whether they came from Dornier or from a
109 I didn’t see and will never know. John Banham was shot down in this engagement, I believe by a cannon
shell from a 109 which had dived down below us and pulled up into his belly, the attack we all feared: John
bailed out into the Thames estuary and was rescued, somewhat burnt in the face, but his gunner, Sgt Baker
was killed in his current and went down with the aircraft.
That evening we were released from readiness. I took the opportunity to nip up to London to see Pamela, Having despatched a telegram to my parents which read “ two up and lots to play “. Pamela somehow produced a
three course dinner on the gas ring of her flatlet; It was delicious but, as we were having coffee, the air raid
warning went and soon the guns were banging away. I don’t remember hearing many bombs on that occasion but I did miss the last train back to Elm Park and had to aim for the first one back very early next morning.
We managed to pass the intervening time quite happily (some of it sitting in deck chairs in the cellar), for I had
been told that I would not be on readiness that morning at dawn.
In the event, due to shortage of aircraft, I didn’t get airborne at all on the 27th on the 28th Fred and I was sent
by road to Rochford as spare crew. The day started quietly enough, with everyone sitting outside the dispersal
up in the sunshine. There was no tannoy at Rochford so we didn’t hear anything from Bouchier, Telling us
how the situation was “ boiling up “. Inevitably, the order to scramble came on the telephone and I watched our
depleted Squadron roar into the air. Almost at once, air raid sirens in and around Southend began their melancholy chorus. I scanned the sky to the south-east, looking over the top of the balloons flying from the ships
at anchor off the famous pier. Then I saw them - more Dornier’s glinting in the sun, some 12 of them, with their
dark-egg blue bellies showing brightly against the darker blue of the summer sky. They must have been at
12,000 feet or more and I realised they were clearly making for us - And then other things started glinting as
they fell away from the formation. The bombs were on their way and we were certainly the target!
I had 100 yards to go to the nearest slit trench (no nice blast proof shelters here!) And must have made it in
very little over 10 seconds. I was not the first in but there were several behind me, we all got our heads and
bodies below the ground level but we were packed together in a trench like sardines. Again, the bombing was
accurate, only four falling outside the airfield perimeter, again, the sticks marched across the airfield towards
usOO.and again, the sticks stopped just short of our line of trenches.
When all the tumult had stopped, we took stock of our companions in the trench and I’ve found that I had been
lying nose to nose with our mess steward, a country bred who at Duxford’s satellite G! near Fowlmere, who
used to scratch the pigs backs in between serving our meals. He didn’t seem any more perturbed by the
bombing then I wasO.. But that was quite a lot. climbing out of the trench, all I could see was the absolute “
moving country “ of bomb craters. Miraculously, though our uniforms were covered in mud and dust nobody
was hurt - However, I believe, they were again some casualties caused by the bombs which fell outside the
airfield.
After a while, Defiants came winging back, circling the field to see if there were anywhere to land and somehow finding an unbombed stretch just long enough. Fewer landed than had taken off and when the aircraft had
been examined for battle damage only two were found to be fit to take to the air again at once. These were
declared to the sector operations room to be flown by Plt. Off Dickie Stokes and Pilot Off Hughes.
We put our parachutes into our aircraft and waited. After about an hour, the Ops phone rang with the message: “ 264 Squadron - scramble! “ and off we ran to our aircraft. Both started up properly and we taxied out,
picking our way around bomb craters until Dickey found a clear stretch, Just long and wide enough for one
aircraft to take off. He got airborne nicely with the help of 10° of flap and I followed him up without incident,
catching up as he turned to the east and settling down on its starboard wing. We climbed steadily as the controller directed and, as he went through 10,000 fleet, he said happily “ I have trade for you - 30+ bandits leaving the enemy coast “. Dickie acknowledged and we went on with our climb. As we reached 17,000 feet, the
controller came through with a mournful voice and said, “ Awfully sorry, old boy - they have turned away and
there’s nothing else on the board just now, return to Hornchurch and pancake". Though we never discussed it
afterwards, I suspect that all four of us heaved a sigh of relief.30 Heinkel’s would have been okay for suppose
20 of the bandits had been 109’sOOOOO
We dropped down to Hornchurch which was looking more than a little the worse for wear, taxied in and shut
down stop 603 Squadron had flown in that morning and I had been looking forward to seeing Don McDonald
again - that’s found that he had been shot down and killed on the squadron’s first sortie. Then, when I got to
the Mess I was told that 264 was to go back north to Kirton in the morning. Our visit to a “Hellfire Corner "Had
come to an end.
6
I can’t say I was surprised at this decision. Philip Hunter was dead; both flight commanders had been shot down
and injured, as had that replacement CO. We had lost five pilots and nine gunners killed and several more injured
and out of action for various periods. We did feel, however, that we could have been handled better. Those of us
who had bought at the bombers knew that the effect of our turrets firing into the sides of the Heinkel’s and Dornier's was devastating.; There was no protective armour plating there and the de Wilde rounds had been very effective in setting engines alight. We had been used as just another fighter squadron, often operating on our own
and falling prey to the German fighter escorts; We could cope with the ME110 twin-engine fighters but the 109’s
could out-climb, out-roll, and out-turn us. Our only real successes had come when the Spitfires of 54 or 222 happened to be on hand to distract the 109’s for the vital couple of minutes it took for us to make our attack. Finally, it
there was Desmond Garvin’s the decision to lead the squadron instead of calling on Banham. He did get them
within shooting distance of a gaggle of Heinkel’s, and some more were accounted for, but the Defiants were hanging on their props at only 160 mph and suffered horribly when the 109’s jumped them. In A flight alone, four of the
six Defiants were shot down; Garvin bailed out but this gunner was lost: ‘Bull’ Whitley and Shaw with their gunners didn’t return; Jim Bailey, after getting a Heinkel, had to crash land with a dead engine.
To be continued in January’s edition.
It is nice to have some input from ex-comrades about reminisces of their time on the Squadron, so it was
good of John (Jack) Jones to send me his:
“I joined 264 in September 1955 as an Armourer from trade training at Kirkham as an AC1 and after a verbal test,
made LAC then SAC. In early 1956 the Squadron went to Acklington for a month. There was an IRA scare on, so
as the Aircraft were stood on the aprons, a guard was mounted. We were issued with .303 rifles, but with no ammunition—some use against the IRA.
Back at linton, I broke my wrist and was dispatched tby the station MO to the Military Hospital in York for treatment. On returning to Linton with my arm in a plastercast from hand to elbow, the MO told me to return to normal
duties! The Armoury Seargent couldn’t believe it and went with me to see the Adjutant, Flt Lt David Court-Smith,
he got the same reaction and so down the corridor to see the Wing Commander. His replies are not printable!
So it was decided I would go in the Squadron stores on light duties, this was staffed by a Corporal, LAC and an
AC2. The Corperal was posted and the LAC demobbed leaving just myself and Jock Inglis. The cast off my arm
and I was ready to return to the Armoury, instead I was told to run the Squadron stores, though remaining on the
Armoury strength and could be called on if required.
The Squadron was to get the new Javelin Night Fighter aircraft in 1956 and we in the stores got the list of all tools
and equipment to service the Javelin. These were ordered and we received nearly all of these, including the racks
for the drop tanks, then we got the orders to return them all as we weren’t getting the Javelins. As I recall, the Meteor Mk 14’s were due for major servicing in 1956 and when the javelins didn’t arrive, were returned to the MU
and replaced with Mk 11’s (?)
I lived off base in York for a time, one morning I came on duty at 0800 hrs to find the Hanger locked, I was the
only one there, no one told me there was night flying, and afterwards the Squadron was stood down. There was
the sound of aircraft in circuit and on looking up, saw two Meteors overhead coming in and with no Ground Crew
to receive them. I sprinted to Air side and got there just in time to guide them in and park them. The pilots were
not pleased, as there were no chocks, so they left their brakes on, with instructions for me to release them, when
I’d got some chocks. Then the Armourer Seargent arrived puffed out, he had been in the Seargent’s mess and
saw the Meteors, “good job you were here Jonesy” he said, and then went off to find the keys and get some
chocks.
With Linton due to close, all the Squadrons, 264, 92 and 66 left together on the 28th Feb. 1957 with a Flypast. As
I was being demobbed on the 8th march 1957 I was informed it wasn’t worth me going to Middleton St George,
with the Squadron and was to stay and secure the hanger!
John Jones 2750688
Comments:
In retrospect, it astounds me the bueaucrasy of the day then and the lack of co-hesive planning by the MOD (so
what’s changed, I hear you ask!). I went in as a fully qualified Aircaft Engineer, trained on Fighter Aircraft, and on
call-up entered Cardington Reception Camp and undertook a Trade test, where I was recommended SAC but was
only allowed LAC for the first year (rules!). The equipping of the stores for Javelins, was not an unusual story, a
case of the left hand not knowing what the left was doing. Yet I know guys put into an office, as making Corporal
within a year, with no trade behind them, funny old worls isn’t it?
7
I am indebted to Frank Ferguson for sending me this article on Picauville and his memories of his time
around ‘D Day’. In June, Frank very bravely returned to France and at 90 plus, that is no mean feat!.
Hopefully he may send us his thoughts on his visit44444.No sooner said, than done!, see next
page. Thanks Frank.
Picauville
49°23'41"N 001°24'28"W
runway: Error! Filename not specified.07/25 - 1524x36.5m/5000x120ft - SMT/PBS
Picauville airfield (Advanced Landing Ground A-8 or A-8N "Picauville") was an Advanced Landing
Ground north of the communities of Étainville and Picauville on the Cotentin peninsula in Normandy,
France.
The airfield was built between 20 and 27 June 1944 by the 826 Engineer Aviation Battalion.
The airfield was home to 405FG (509FS - coded G9, 510FS - coded 2Z, 511FS - coded K4) flying P47Ds.
Their first squadron began arriving at the airfield on 29 June 1944, the group was complete on 11 July.
During July, the Group flew 300 missions.
During those missions they had 11 pilots listed as MIA (Missing In Action) and another 4 as KIA
(Killed In Action).
When German nightly incursions and attacks became more than a nuisance, RAF Mosquito night
fighters were brought to Picauville.
It made the airfield a major installation, because now it featured night landing equipment (hence the
extra 'N' in the designator).
Two squadrons of 2nd Tactical Air Force, 604Sqn and 264Sqn equipped with Mosquito XII and XIII
respectively, arrived on 6 and 11 August at Picauville.
An accident involving two Mosquitos damaged the
airfield so much that all U.S. units were diverted to
other airfields.
Two Mosquitos of 264 Sqn were operating without
their machine guns.
Instead, they had only HF radio equipment during
their missions over the Netherlands.
During their nightly missions, a Dutch secret agent
would communicate with the Dutch resistance for
updates on enemy troop movements.
The Mosquitos selected for this mission had three witches riding a broomstick on
their nose (a reference to MacBeth) (John Bentley & Peter Brooke??)
The codename of the operation was 'Blackmail'.
Both RAF squadrons served
at Picauville until the first
week of September, when both squadrons returned to England (604 Sqn via ALG B-6). and
B17 Caen Carpiquet
The airfield was then abandoned and the lands
returned to French control on 15 September
1944.
Picauville was still very recognisable from the air
in 1947 (
8
Continuing from the previous page.
Frank Ferguson (at 92) visited France for the June celebrations of D Day. He kindly sent me some pictures of
that event. He was also able to visit the grave of a former comrade, Flt Lt Willmott and place a cross of remembrance on it.
This is a picture of Frank (On the left), with a comrade
and showing the memorial plaque to Flt Lt Willmott,
who died in his aircraft on the 11th of August 1944
and whom Frank knew personally.
As a matter of interest, Jean Vervalle, who had a lot of
interest in the squadrons, both RAF and American
that flew from Picauville, and who was friend of the
Squadron has sadly passed away.
Some pictures of our Reunion:
1
2
4
3
5
The Watermill Hotel -June 2014
1: Reunion Dinner
2: Right Hand sprig
3: General shot of Dinner
4:Defiant Mk 11
5: Our cheerful Roumanian Waiters
9
Recently, our assistant Chairman, Brian Mann visited RAF Linton-on –Ouse, so thanks for that Brian.
LITO RE-VISITED
By Brian Mann
Earlier in the summer, I had the good fortune to meet the Head of Aircraft Maintenance at
Linton-on-Ouse. This was too good an opportunity to miss so I invited myself on a visit
which was duly arranged for August 27th. My host turned out to be an ex-brat, ex-Flight
Lieutenant, ex-Engineering Officer and currently employed
by a private company providing servicing and line operations for the fleet of Tucano aircraft for basic training of
RAF fast jet pilots of the future.
We were due to meet at 2pm at the main gate so after a
good lunch at the Dawney Arms in Newton, I drove up the
long road from the village to the camp gates, now guarded
and barricaded with a short walkway through to the Guardroom.
Very familiar
and 50 year old memories came flooding
back
Once met, booked in and issued with day passes for me
and my Jaguar we drove down to 4 hanger, still ASF
[now known as “Depth Engineering”} where the Tucanos
undergo minor and major servicing and modifications.
The journey down passed station headquarters,the
medical centre, the MT section, all very familiar, wellkept and quiet for a sunny mid-afternoon.
Once inside my host’s domain, I was briefed about the operations, the workforce and of
course, the protocol for visitors. Now donned in a high viz jacket and a cap I was shown
round this impressively clean work space with some six aircraft undergoing work. The lads
working were all ex-service, army, navy and air force and all were elderly. “Was there an
apprentice scheme?” I asked, fearing for the future operations; it seems that the company is
initiating such a project but I suspect they will rely
on a steady flow of retiring servicemen and women.
Next was a short walk through the camp to the Memorial Room (upstairs in the former Airman’s
mess). There I was met by Warrant Officer Doug
Lee and civilian volunteer Alan Mawby (“I was on
Victors with Pete Ferguson”) who look after and
curate this small but interesting museum. Most of
the space is given over to WW2 displays and gives
a very
interesting history of the bomber squadrons which operated
from Linton during the war. The jet era is not well
catered for and Alan is seeking to develop this as
time permits (he would love a black flying suit!!).
He has been in touch with our Squadron Association and some information has been exchanged.
He did show me some 264 photographs which I
had not seen before. This is a well-kept, interesting and well-visited piece of RAF history .
Maybe we should put the Station on our mailing list,
what do you think Brian, would you check with them.
10
Continued from page 10
Onwards to the Ground School which involved walking across the square which is now a
car park to the premises behind no 1 hangar (92 Sqdn) and guarded by a Jet Provost. This
purpose built school provides a 5 week course on Tucano systems and there is also a suite
of 5 flight simulators to supplement the ground training prior to the trainees taking to the air.
One feature of the Tucanos is that the cockpit layout is similar to the Hawk so the transition
to the Valley based fast jet school is eased.
Next, a walk through No 2
hanger (ours). It is now the
station gymnasium, well
equipped, well used and still
nostalgic. The former crew
rooms at the front are now
changing rooms with opaque
windows.
Out on the strip, the first thing
you see is a new single story
red brick building which houses
the line operations, again all
staffed by civilians. Air Traffic
Control is still there as we knew
it but it is derelict. The new facility is down towards the 22
end of the runway, closer to the
majority of take-off and landing
activity.
Back to 4 hanger now, past No
3 (66 Sqdn) and it was easy to
remember the Meteor 8s, the
Sabres and the Hunters that we
worked alongside all those
years ago. Must stop, my eyes are
misting over.
A report on the Tucano aircraft from
Brian in next edition.
11
Some things to ponder on:
I used to eat a lot of natural foods un'l I learned that most &eo&le die of natural causes.
Gardening Rule: When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed
and not a valuable &lant is to &ull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable &lant.
The easiest way to ,nd something lost around the house is to buy a re&lacement.
$ever take life seriously. $obody gets out alive anyway.
There are two kinds of &edestrians: the %uick and the dead.
=ife is sexually transmi#ed.
Health is merely the slowest &ossible rate at which one can die.
The only difference between a rut and a grave is the de&th.
Health nuts are going to feel stu&id someday, lying in hos&itals dying of nothing.
Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.
All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It &ays no a#en'on to cri'cism.
In the .)'s, &eo&le took acid to make the world weird. $ow the world is weird and &eo&le take Prozac to
make it normal.
How is it one careless match can start a bush ,re, but it takes a whole box to start a cam&,re?
Who was the ,rst &erson to look at a cow and say, "I think I'll s%ueeze these dangly things here, and drink
whatever comes out?"
Who was the ,rst &erson to say, "See that chicken there? I'm gonna eat the next thing that comes ou#a its
bum.
Why is there a light in the fridge and not in the freezer?
If %uizzes are %uizzical, what are tests?
Do illiterate &eo&le get the full effect of Al&habet Sou&?
Did you ever no'ce that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him on a
car ride, he s'cks his head out the window?
Why doesn't glue s'ck to the inside of the bo#le?
O TURIG 70 -'I still chase women, but only Downhill.
ON TURNING 80 - 'That's the time of your life when even your birthday suit needs pressing.'
ON TURNING 90 - 'You know you're getting old when the candles cost more than the cake.'
ON TURNING 100 -' I don't feel old. In fact, I don't feel anything until noon. Then it's time for my nap.'
ON GIVING UP HIS EARLY CAREER, BOXING 'I ruined my hands in the ring. The referee kept stepping on them.'
ON NEVER WINNING AN OSCAR -' Welcome to the Academy Awards or, as it's called at my home, 'Passover'.
ON GOLF -' Golf is my profession. Show business is just to pay the green fees.'
ON PRESIDENTS - ' I have performed for 12 presidents and entertained only six.'
ON WHY HE CHOSE SHOWBIZ FOR HIS CAREER -'When I was born, the doctor said to my mother, Congratulations, you have an eight pound ham.
ON RECEIVING THE CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL -'I feel very humble, but I think I have the strength of
character to fight it.'
ON HIS FAMILY'S EARLY POVERTY -' Four of us slept in the one bed. When it got cold, mother threw on another
brother.'
ON HIS SIX BROTHERS -' That's how I learned to dance. Waiting for the bathroom.'
12