SAAF Association Port Alfred News

SAAF Association
Port Alfred News
P.O. Box 296, Port Alfred, 6170 Tel: 073 231 1773
Email: [email protected] Website: www.saafa.co.za
NPO: 083-072 PBO: 18/11/13/4374
Volume 27 Issue 10
TALE DRAGGER
NEXT MONTHLY MEETING AND
LUNCH, MONDAY OCTOBER 6TH
RSBC, 12H00 FOR 12H30
Please diarise and remember to check your
diary, our meetings are the FIRST MONDAY of
every month, same time, same place, unless
you are notified of any change.
Also remember to enter in your diary for the
Friday before the lunch, to notify Hugh 046 624
1589 or Wally 046 624 1861, of your plans to
attend or apologize. Thank you kindly.
WELFARE OF MEMBERS
To all our members feeling poorly, we wish
you all the best to get better soon; in particular
special thoughts and prayers are much
appreciated for Myrna Keet, James Hoyle,
Norman Abbott, Val Human, Gaye le Roux,
Eileen Moody and Helen Somers.
Cecil Jones-Philipson is recovering well from
his recent knee replacement. We would love
to see our sick Bay list drop to zero and have
all our members hale and hearty again.
OBITUARY
Your editor is sad
to announce the
call
to
Higher
Office of Frank
Eksteen
WW2
SAAF Aircrew and
long
standing
SAAFA Member of
West Rand Branch
closed down two
years ago. Frank
and I had a long
innings
together
and
I
am
October 2014
concerned that very few SAAFA members will
know or remember him well enough to do the
SAAFA Ritual for him at the Service.
As an exceptionally enterprising young man,
please allow me to mention the following.
Frank saw the first light of day on the 9th
September 1922, went to school at Oudtshoorn
Boys High and St. Aidens Grahamstown.
He joined the SAAF in 1940 and saw service in
the Western desert and Italy, as a navigator,
being discharged in 1945, when he went mining.
He became an Estate agent in Krugersdorp in
1948 and a Manager in 1955.
He spent 25 years on the Golf course committee,
Club Captain for 2 years and President for 14
years.
Frank was chairman of the Red Cross cerebral
Palsy School for 20 years and an active Rotarian
for 43 years.
He became chairman of the Krugersdorp
Permanent Building Society since 1961, member
of the Institute of Valuers and Town Valuer.
Played golf internationally as a single figure
golfer, a member of the Society of Senior Golfers
as well as of Western Transvaal Veterans.
He played rugby, hockey and cricket for
Krugersdorp and travelled extensively; 1964
Olympics, World Senior Golf Tournament,
Colorado Springs 1982, and World Rotary Golf
Tournament Gleneagles Scotland in 1984.
As I reported earlier on, Chairman of SAAFA
West Rand Branch for several years.
REST IN PEACE OLD FRIEND.
Those of us who read this may remember you!
Editor
MERYL BAKER
NEXT MONTH IS NOVEMBER, believe
it or not!?
Meryl Baker who resides in Bathurst, is a
professional ballet piano accompanist. She is
a brilliant musician playing classics, for ballet,
and jazz, and is constantly in demand by
welfare organizations for fundraising functions
(Hospice, SPCA, Benevolent, Old Age
Homes….). For the last few years she has
spent more time overseas in England as
carer, and will be returning there early August
for a further few months.
Her link with the Air Force is interesting:
To me, the year has just started and here we
are, almost Christmas time again!?
AND
importantly, in November, we pay tribute to our
deceased colleagues who put their live on the
line in Two World Wars, Korea, Angola coupled
with Rescue operations for fire, floods and
starvation.
Let us once again please remember Armistice
Day – Poppy Day – 11th November.
Her father was George Peter Gouge (French).
He flew Lysanders in the RAF in England
during World War II.
He was then sent to Potchefstroom as an
instructor for the 42nd Squadron – in the early
40s.
His great-great-grandfather was Sir Arther
Gouge an engineer on Sunderland flying
boats.
To our SAAFA members reading this; did
anyone have service at Potch and if so, we
would welcome news of your knowledge of
meeting George Peter Gouge at the time?
Thank you.
Wally – Editor 073 231 1723
BIRTHDAYS FOR OCTOBER 2014
Percy le Roux
Rosemarie Human
Du Toit Coetzee
Dean Samuel
Gerald Spilken
Sybil van der Bank
Derrick Page
Philip Smit
Hermann Heim
Lana Venter
Natie Ferreira
Stcks Stiglingh
Rob Taylor
Lorraine Samuel
Allan Stephen
Peter Scales
3rd
6th
15th
19th
20th
21st
22nd
23rd
24th
25th
26th
29th
30th
Many Happy returns on your special day and
many, many more ….. Happy Birthday!
IN FLANDERS’ FIELD THE POPPIES BLOW
In Flanders' field the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky The
larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce
heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and
were loved, and now we lie in Flanders' Field.
Take up our quarrel with the foe;
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch: be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In
Flanders' Field.
January 1918 Col McRae was injured and he
told the doctor in charge of his case, "Tell them
this, if ye break faith with us who die, we shall not
sleep." He died that same night Moina Michael,
an American lady, read the poem and wrote this
poem in reply:
Oh! You who sleep in Flanders' Fields,
Sleep sweet -to rise anew;
We caught the torch you threw
And holding high we kept
The faith with those who died.
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We cherish, too, the poppy red,
That grows on fields where valour ied,
In Flanders' Field.
And now the torch and Poppy Red
Wear in honour of our dead.
Fear not that ye have died for naught;
We've learned the lesson that ye taught
In Flanders' Fields.
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies,
But lends a lustre to the red
Of the flower that blooms above the dead
LEST WE FORGET. WE WILL
REMEMBER THEM
Please wear your poppies in remembrance
of the Army, Navy, Air Force men and
women who rose to Higher Office that we,
who survived/remained, may live in “Peace”.
“SPAM CAN” ANNIVERSARY
becoming A52-1054. This OH-98 was one of
four T43s purchased by the RNZAF in June1947,
and as NZ2308 it was disposed of in 1955.
Ending its days on a farm at Riwaka, in the north
of the South Island, it was acquired by restorer
Glyn Powell. He began its rebuild alongside his
other fuselage projects - the Mosquito Bomber
Group
at
Windsor Ontario's, static (TA661, CF-HMR) and
Gerry Yagen’s flying Mosquito FB Mk 26 KA114.
This rare and exiting T43 project is
approximately 90% complete and currently In the
care of Mosquito Aircraft Restoration Ltd (MAR),
Auckland, NZ. Now, with time moving on, the
owner has elected to offer the Mosquito for sale
with an additional contract to have MAR
complete the restoration to flying and airworthy
standard.
The aircraft is structurally complete with tail and
wings mated to the fuselage, along with various
systems and components overhauled.
It is
estimated that it will take approximately 3 years
to complete.
SAAF SABRE MK VI SAVED IN WA
On November 1st please raise your glasses
and drink a toast to the much loved WWII
training airplane, the “notorious” but
celebrated Harvard, will be 76 years old!!
Congratulations and keep on flying; there are
thousands who know you, love you and
respect you.
No doubt the Harvard Club at Swartkop AFB
will be celebrating your grand “young age” on
Saturday November 1st. Well done indeed!
MOSQUITO BUZZ
The Glyn Powell/Mosquito Aircraft Restoration
Ltd.’s Mossie is up for sate with Platinum
fighter Sales. The ex RAAF Mosquito A5220 was built on the Bankstown, NSW
assembly line, initially as a FB Mk 40, it was
converted on the line to T48 (trainer) status,
Someone once said that if you’re looking for
diamonds, first look to your own back yard. This
adage rang true last November when the
Aviation Heritage Museum of Western Australia
received, a message from one of their
volunteers. “She said there was an F-86 in a
local salvage yard, just two kilometres from the
Museum,“
commented
the
museum’s
administrator John Park. A quick phone call, a
short trip and the amount of scrap was indeed a
jet fighter, but it turned out to be an ex-South
African Canadair CL-13B Mk.VI F-86, which had
belonged to the late Bill Wyllie. “It was laying on
the ground in pieces, just waiting to be made into
beer cans later that week. A bit of negotiation
followed and the F-86 belong to us, and on
Friday November 29 the F-86 was safe and
secure
at
the
museum
thanks to Perth Metal Recyclers, our great
CEO John Murray and Goldstar Transport”
The aircraft is incomplete, as some parts
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were scrapped, and the museum is now
searching for numerous missing items.
layer upon layer of clothing, how or where to
relieve all calls of nature, (into a pipe, into the
aeroplane or into your clothing?), is it my time to
die?, family and dear-ones at home, not an
inspiring or motivational situation, but every crew
member had a job to do, and was committed to
do their best, with distinction.
Combat missions were hardly ever aborted and
ony for serious reasons would the pilot turn back
to base, always keeping the safety of his crew in
mind.
Editorial research.
The last production version of the Canadair
Sabre was the CL-13B Sabre Mk VI, it had
the more powerful two-stage Orenda 14 with
7275 pounds of thrust. In 1955, 34 Sabre Mk
VIs were ordered for the South African Air
Force (SAAF). South Africa had previously
operated a squadron of “loaned” Sabres
during the Korean War and their new Sabre
Mk
VIs arrived in South Africa beginning in
1956. Seventeen of them were marked in
Afrikaans and issued to No. 1 Squadron, and
the other 17 were marked in English and
issued to No, 2 Squadron. SAAF serials were
350 to 383 (RCAF serials were 23669/23702).
The last of the CL-13Bs were retired from No.
1 Squadron in 1976.
DEADLY SKY by John McManus
This is a very interesting read of the air crews
and aircraft of the “USA Air Forces” flying
combat sorties in the Pacific, Europe and
Japan theatres, during WW2; we should all
have a debt of deep gratitude to the veterans,
the young men of yesteryear, who jumped into
their airplanes and flew the missions that
ensured freedom for untold generations.
You notice I say USA Air “Forces”, because
as you know, America did not just have one
Air Force like the RAF and SAAF, they had
Navy, Marine and Army Air Force bomber and
fighter crews, independent of each other,
going into combat against the enemy.
Be they fighter pilots or bomber crews they all
had their own private thoughts to wrestle with,
covering cruising at 30 000 feet, severe cold
at 50 degrees below zero, flak intensity,
enemy fighter attacks, unpressurized aircraft,
CLOSURE

A true friend is a work of heart!

Ladies – please remember, a layer of dust
protects the wood.

A house becomes a home when you can
write “I love you” on the furniture.

Dust if you must; life is short, enjoy it!!

In wine there is wisdom; in beer there is
freedom; in water there is bacteria!
KULULA (Fun)
Pilot – “Ladies and Gentlemen, if you wish to
smoke, the smoking section on this airplane is on
the wing….. if you can light ‘em, you can smoke
‘em!”
A smooth landing in the SAAF is said “To be like
a cat piddling on grass”.
“Your seat cushion can be used for an
emergency water landing, please paddle to
shore and take them with our compliments”.
BYE FOR NOW



Snap, crackle and Pork.
Keep calm and fly on.
Keep calm and keep your altitude.
Best wishes and take care.
Kind regards.
Ed
NOTE
The Editor extends his thanks for all contributions received. Opinions expressed in this newsletter do not
necessarily reflect those of the Editor or SAAFA National Executive. The Editor reserves the right to amend or
reject any editorial matter submitted for publication.
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