The war
Hello CLIFFNEMO
I am the chap that contacted you Not George but Paddy. I did go the same route as you but ended up in Miami Oklahoma not Florida. Our stories are of course similar except that I transferred into the Fleet Air Arm when the war in Europe ended and rejoined the RAF after the war ended completely
I will post some of my memories if they are of interest... To look up my Swan Song in the RAF GO Google...Flt.Lt C Grogan. Meantime
The perils of night flying
At this time I was an instructor giving primary flying instruction to mainly Fleet Air Arm students at RAF Syerston in Nottinghamshire.
Although not part of the conspiracy myself, I learned later just what happened! The wife of one of the instructors had expressed a desire to see the airfield and the married quarter site, from an aircraft, by night. The plan was to take advantage of the fact, that during night flying circuit and landing tuition, it was quite common for an instructor to halt the aircraft at the end of one particular runway whilst he or his student nipped out to spend a penny against a nearby wartime shelter.
The plan was that the wife would wait by this shelter, suitable dressed in flying gear including helmet and her husband, having colluded with his student, would send him out to clear the way for the wife to take his place. Then, having carried out one circuit, the exchange was to be reversed and success achieved?????
Would that all plans were successful.
What happened in fact was, another instructor carried out the act allowing his student to go spend a penny and the student having arrived at the shelter was surprised to find another ‘student’ waiting! He went straight into the palaver of searching through layers of flying clothing for a cold willy whilst remarking on the chill of the night in the vernacular of the crew room... Needless to say the wife remained silent.
She did however get to see the sights!