I thought that I had failed Workshops, I told the examiner that a weak mixture resulted the engine running cold instead of hot. I was delighted to pass out, even getting an ONC. Off to Cottesmore where about 17 of the 81st turned up, we filled at least one room, it was a nice change not having to make up a bed-pack every day. I don’t remember all the names, however, Jim Pinn, Ray Richmond whom I met later at St Mawgan, Tony (George) Hibbens, Ernie May - I also met him a few years ago, Brendan Thorpe, Bob Taylor, Rupert Brooks we went to Grantham most Saturdays for driving lessons, Jed Ward, Duncan Goodacre, Doc Knights, Bob Luesley and last but not least Edward (Smiler) Kynoch were there.

Smiler and I went to France on a camping holiday near St Malo intending to stay until the money ran out, we lasted 10 days. A lot of Brits stayed in our site the night before catching the ferry back to UK, we used to wake in the morning and find tins of baked beans and soup outside the tent which the Brits didn’t need any more.

At that time, Cottesmore was receiving Victor B1’s straight from Handley Page, I started off in Station Flight, one Anson and one Chipmunk, our CO, Johnnie Johnson no less, used to fly the Chipmunk, this was easy work but I wanted to work on the Victors which I did in ASF mostly changing engines. Later on, Peter (Ben) Slee (82nd) and I were sent to St Mawgan to change an alternator on a Victor which was there on an exercise. We flew down the Bristol Channel in a Varsity, being the only ones on board we had a terrific view out the front. Anyway, we finished the job in the early hours of the next day and the Crew Chief said that we could have the day off and come back the next morning. So after a few hours sleep we shot off to Newquay, Ben made contact with an old mate and we finished up back at Mawgan at about midnight the worse for wear to find that the Victors had all flown off earlier in the day. Luckily the Crew Chief confirmed that we were legit and the Anson came down from Cottesmore to collect us.

Station Flight was now much larger personnel wise, because there were more visiting aircraft and it always needed an engine fitter, usually the next person returning from leave was nominated and stayed there until someone else went on leave, this time it was me but I enjoyed it so much I asked to stay which I did for a couple of years, meeting visiting a/c such as the Queen’s Flight, driving the CO’s car to and from the aircraft and getting the odd test flight was much better than being on the Victor servicing teams which had got more routine and rather boring.

Then in 1961 a posting, down to Gatwick to catch a British United Hermes to Wildenrath but the runway at Wildenrath was being worked on so we landed at Geilenkirchen with no formal transport arrangements to Wildenrath . I got a lift and stayed in the transit block where Blackie Snow was also there on a detachment from an MU. Then I was assigned to 88 Sqdn on Canberra B(I)8’s but because of the runway being u/s the Sqdn was at Geilers so I had to stay in transit for the weekend and wait for transport on the Monday.

I then met up with Colin Copeman, Don Higgins, Alan Wagstaff and Cpl Kelly, ex Halton Instructor and boxing nut, on the squadron, and Geoff Baker in ASF. We were at Geilers for a while until our accomodation was needed so we then went back to Wildenrath to be bussed everyday to Geilers until the runway was finished. Back at Wildenrath four of us had to wear Webley .38 revolvers with six rounds to defend the hangar should there be an invasion.

The squadron supplied two quick-reaction aircraft (QR) armed with the A-bomb kept in special hangars guarded by the Americans, the aircraft were inspected everyday so we stayed in a hut next to these hangars and were supplied with raw rations which we had to cook ourselves, we did this day on and day off for fortnight at a time. I well remember having to look at a suspect fuel pump in the bomb-bay and having to squeeze up the side of the big blue bomb thinking this could take out the airfield.

The I in B(I)8 stood for Interdictor, a gun pack , containing four 20m/m guns , went in the front of the bomb-bay pointing downwards to shoot up tanks etc. We went to Cyprus in this role and luckily I flew out in the nose of one of our kites as support crew, I had to go in the decompression chamber for testing prior to the trip as we were at 47,000 feet. We had to leave a Canberra behind when we left as the rounds used to ricochet off the ground and sometimes hit the wings, this one was hit next to the integral tank and required MU attention. I remember one day having to miss breakfast, we got Don Higgins, I think, to make some marmalade sandwiches to bring back for us, I was eating mine resting on the back of the front wing of the tractor going out to the line facing backwards when the tractor suddenly turned left and I carried straight on, luckily I had my beret on and I only bumped my head.

Another time we went to RAF Idris in Libya doing LABS runs; the Canberras used to fly towards the target and pull the stick back and at a predetermined G force, mostly 4G but 4.5G was tried later, the bomb was released and the aircraft then almost looped but rolled out at the top and went home. The practice bombs only weighed 25 lbs and if they got within half mile of the target the crew were pleased as it didn’t matter with the real bombs being nuclear. The sqdn mascot was an Italian rock snake which was carried in the unpressurised tail-bay, it never seemed to come to any harm. The sqdn then became 14 Sqdn, it was rumoured that our CO wanted to be the senior CO in Germany. Christmas 1962 was the big snow, coming back from leave I had to take a crew to Malta, the runways in Germany were continually u/s so each of the Canberra Sqdns sent out two a/c at a time for training, we had it pretty easy for six weeks.

I was then married and in 1964 we went to St Mawgan to join 22 Sqdn on Whirlwind Mk 10 helicopters doing SAR, we were HQ with Flights at Chivenor, Valley, Manston and Thorney Island holding 2 a/c each with 3 undergoing maintenance at HQ. The Sqdn made up a large detachment to Cyprus to run the W/W’s attached to the United Nations prior to them being sent to Borneo, we put all the a/c on HMS Triumph where the previous sqdn accepted them and were to modify them on the trip to the Far East, we managed to stay long enough to be awarded the UN Peace Medal.
Before I was due to be demobbed, I was put up for a commision , having an interview with the AOC at Mount Batten in Plymouth. Not being successful I started looking at what to do and discovered Bristow Helicopters which operated the same Whirlwinds. I then got a posting to Manston for the last 9 months to be close to Bristows at Redhill in Surrey.

We were sometimes guinea pigs for SAR, I remember that the aircrew wanted a longer winch cable, the Whirlwind only carried 60 feet of cable, nowadays, the UK Coastguard S61N’s owned and operated by Bristow are equipped with two winches each with 300 feet of cable. Anyway, the idea was to go down on the hook taking a length of rope which was then attached to a strong point in the cabin roof where the monkey harness attached, the winchman then transferred to the rope and the hook was then released and reeled in and the hook latched into a loop in the rope which was then released from the strong point and the winch then lowered the combined rope and cable another 60 feet. After working this out with the crew I was volunteered to be the survivor, we flew out to the (low) cliffs of north Kent and the pilot hovered the a/c over the cliffs and settled the left rear wheel on solid ground and winched me down the cliff to the beach. I then waited out on some rocks until the a/c flew around and the winchman came down to “rescue” me, after transferring to the rope. After collecting me the a/c hovered while the cable was reeled in and the rope was supposed to be transferred from the strong point to the loop in the rope, in those days the winchman had no intercom contact with the winch operator so the w/man and myself waited and waited, the rope was slowly unwinding and we were rotating like ballet dancers, eventually the pilot lowered the a/c so that we settled in the water to stop the rotations. We then got a signal that the a/c had to return to base for more fuel, so we detached the rope from us and treaded water for probably 20 minutes when the a/c returned without the rope and picked us up with the normal cable and hook. Apparently, the weight was too much for the w/operator to transfer so the scheme was abandoned.

I did four weeks at Bristows on Redhill Aerodrome in Surrey on pre-release and joined them after demob.
More on Phase 2 - Civvy Street