Although my memory is not all that good as Mike Stanley's account of the journey to 2 TAF, which I also made, it triggered the grey cells and prompted me to write something about my short RAF career.

On being posted to 2 TAF I went to RAF Bruggen and specifically 213 Squadron where we operated Canberra B(I)6 aircraft. 213 was a marvelous squadron and the 30 months there were the best I had in the RAF. We too had the US owned A bomb for our aircraft. These large weapons filled the bomb bay of the Canberra and were stored in a special US bomb dump on the far side of the airfied. It was a complete circus each time the dummy bomb was brought to our hangar for us to practice loading - the many yank MP escorts were armed to the teeth and their sergeant rode 'Gung Ho' style on a motorbike.
During my time on the squadron I was quite fortunate to have had couple of flights as a passenger to Malta and Gibraltar but the most exciting flight was on a practice LABS sortie over Germany.

From 213 I was posted to 228 OCU (Javelins) at Leeming where I serviced 30mm canons. Within two weeks of arrival I was called into the CO's office, a miserable Flt Lt armament officer, who told me my Corporal's tapes were through. There was no word of congratulation but he did say: "I find this promotion to be rather early in your career, it wouldn't have happened under me but you are lucky, I can't refuse it". Not a good omen but lucky for me 228 OCU soon disbanded and I was posted to RAF Warboys.
There I worked on the Bloodhound Missiles of 257 Squadron , something I didn't like at all - it didn't quite seem to be the real RAF. We occupied a corner of the old WW2 Pathfinder airfield and one of the runways, which was outside the squadron compound, was in a state of disrepair. This didn't prevent the AOC insisting on flying in to carry out his annual inspection. We spent days on end clearing the runway so that it was fit and safe for him to land in a Chipmunk. When I first arrived at Warboys I was allocated a MQ at RAF Upwood, which is where the squadron was quartered, but my Dutch wife just couldn't settle into service life and so she returned to Holland shortly after we were informed 257 was to disband.

I decided to buy myself out and while I waited to get the money together I taught myself Dutch on an old Linguaphone course of 78 RPM records which I borrowed form the RAF Education Service. I eventually learned about a QR announcing there were two Cpl Armament Fitters too many in the RAF and applications could be submitted for discharge. My application was approved and I was paid off with 30 pound and put on the reserve for three months. That same day I joined my wife in Holland.

More about my life in Holland another time.