30 years ago tonight..

[Al R]

.. I began a long relationship with a hand floor buffer.

At various points during the day, people started questioning my metabolism, genetic credibility and parenthood, and I asked myself if going to Uni would have been a better idea after all.

Nah. :ok:

[Sun Who]

Spooky, me too.

Sun.

[Wander00]

IOT, 1983, "B" Sqn?

[Shack37]

I began a long relationship with a hand floor buffer.

If that's what we called a "bumper" then I knew her when she was much younger but I'm sure she matured well:)

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

I was at Uni; getting laid, drunk, and laid again.

I would be another 18 months before I discovered that toothbrushes had in fact been designed for cleaning Ablutions. Of course it was very cushy by then; we were allowed a second toothbrush for teeth.

[blimey]

IOT, 1983, "B" Sqn?

Yep

[oldmansquipper]

1983? Kin Rooks!

In the Winter of 62/63 it was the only way to keep warm at St Athan....:eek:

Latest news, sport and comment from the Guardian | The Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/gallery/2010/dec/15/weather-big-freeze-1962-pictures#/?picture=369779612&index=8)

[Union Jack]

30 years ago tonight..
.. I began a long relationship with a hand floor buffer.

Glad to say that I know that Al R used to wear light blue since, in the dark blue, the buffer is the chief bosun's mate ......:ooh:

Jack

[NutLoose]

Probably an electric one..


If that's what we called a "bumper" then I knew her when she was much younger but I'm sure she matured well

St Athan 76
Bumping the floor and messing about one of the guys tore a v in the Lino about an 1 inch long and right in the centre aisle....
Mass panic, then senior man grabs hold of said V and tears it about 5 foot long.. Quick tip your beds and lockers up he says, stunned at what he has done we blindly follow his advice..
Ten minutes later gathering of us looking distraut at the guardroom telling the Orderly Sergeant we have just got back and our room has been wrecked...
Ord Sarge..Ord Officer..SWO.. Wing Co and several other visits later rest of H Block on extra Duties / inspections and we are excused them until new Lino is installed..

Sorry guys :O

.

[Krystal n chips]

Not long after being introduced to this wonderful device at Halton, one of our entry found that it had a secondary use..... as a deterrent...notably by dropping one from the top floor of the block in the direction of another entry who had decided to pay us a social visit one evening.

Clearly, this was not the most astute move ( although strangely enough, we never had any more social visits after this one ) given the potential for a lot of paperwork had said bumper made contact with a human first, rather than the tiles at the door entrance.

Said member of my entry was later "offered" a move...to the Reg't.

[Temp Spike]

I must be officially old then because 30 years ago, (1983), I had served my for years military service, then completed flight school, mech school, college and had been flying/mech-ing for 7 years already. Military floor buffer….? Never touched one. I used to clean the urinals.

[Bicster]

Basic training in 1991 at Swinderby was when I first took control of a buffer floor manual. I had to move it from one part of the room to another and was advised it was very heavy, so with all my might I picked it up by the very long handle and realised it wasnt that heavy as I had just banged the end of the handle through the ceiling. I yanked it back out of the ceiling and you can only imagine what landed on the freshly polished floor and how amused everyone was as it as close to morning inspection. Couldnt beat the electric ones though for who could stay on the longest.

[gayford]

It's 48 years ago next week for me, now a complete geriatric !
Anyone else remember Feltwell, good days.

[Al R]

Sun Who and Wander00,

Swinderby for me. We weren't trusted with the electric bumpers until our final week of recruit training (its the little things!). Until then, we had to use the manual floor buffers that give me cold sweats every time I watch Curling. I don't know who had the contract to supply them but with the training machine at full pelt then, they should have made a fortune.

Our course starting coincided with our Sgt's final few months in uniform; he told us he was finishing his 22 years and was about to be pensioned off ('pension', what's a pension?). 22 hours seemed a lifetime, 22 years just didn't compute. As we waited in the dark outside Gibson Block, some SAC in a flasher mac walked past and started screaming at us for, I don't know, breathing probably - I forget. I don't know if it was contrived or not, but the SAC then got a bollocking by our SNCO who appeared out of the dark, for having a go at 'his' men. Every Wednesday night, the NAAFI had an 'exotic dancer'. It was only the early 1980s and that, to me, is still modern. But reading that makes me feel I'm tapping away in black and white whilst happily munching on a iced bun and quaffing a refreshing mug of steaming tea. WRAFs had just started to go through training there then - I don't imagine any suggestions for Chippendales equality would have got particularly far.

It is maybe a reflection of the times that my Flt Cdr is now a LinkedIn connection but we then received a visit from our future instructors at Catterick who threw an extra pair of boots at us and who put us through a day of gym tests and various runs. I wouldn't have been so eager to leave if I knew what was in store. Debussing at Catterick, resplendent in Number 1s and doing bunny hops around the airfield with a bedpack on my back before doing shuttle runs up and down the main drag with a Gimpy, hurt. I think we lost 2 within half an hour but we probably all went into some form of medical shock.

26 of us started (which cast Swinderby in a golden wash of nostalgia - rose tinted spectacles, as a teenager??) and 4 or 5 finished. The attrition rate may have been due to having to break the ice at 0400 after being chucked out of bed to do Swale river crossings or it may have been due to the relentless section battle drills across a sleety airfield - or maybe we really were useless! We had 'leccy bumpers at Catterick (which also had to be bulled up of course) apart from the final week (when no one cared). Then, the lofty heights of being an LAC though, well.. that was a completely different story. But even as LACs, we used to sit to attention when an SAC walked into a room (that may have been a peculiarity of my trade tho'..).

Roland; we are of similar vintage then, but alas, I didn't graduate - I merely passed out. ;)

[Exrigger]

krystal n chips, 213 entry raided the first mech entry in 69/70 and one of those was dropped as you say, it was a short raid from the then senior entry, but we did get our own back before we left :E

[Haraka]

At the Towers in '68 The small Welsh member of my hut (139) was swinging the thing backwards and forwards by the sinks one night, when the end shot off.
Twenty odd pounds of metal wizzed across the floor before rapidly disappearing into the "serry" toilet cubicle.
Then followed the sound of exploding porcelain which immediately preceded a miniature Tsunami of water across the floor from the smashed pedestal.
The toilet water level having thus been critically lowered, this in turn was followed by a massive belch of sewer gas into the hut, itself merely the advance guard for succeeding perfumed surprises ........
Oh, how we laughed.

[airborne_artist]

30 years ago my Dark Blue phase was a dimming memory and my Green phase was in full swing. I was at the LRRP school at Weingarten in 83. Two nights in a snow hole, anyone? ;)

[charliegolf]

AA said:

I was at the LRRP school at Weingarten in 83.

I was on 230 then, and supported the funny boys down there a couple of times. Did I give you a lift (5 mins sitting still, in the warm, no shouting) perchance AA?

CG

[Al R]

Aaah, LRRPS. No need for floor buffers there. ;)

[BEagle]

Ah yes, Haraka, bulling one's SBL hut up for inspection, what utter fun that was. And woe betide anyone who actually used the cere' bog or shower!

In 1968, we normally used the manual bumper, but then discovered an electric polisher lurking in the bat cave. So it was duly hoiked out and switched on....

Clouds of dust and crap shot out of every vent, which the alleged polishing brushes then ground into our almost pristine floor.

Yells of "Switch the b£oody thing off!" to the slowest moving person in the hut, one Flt Cdt R**s V****r, who you will undoubtedly recall. He wandered over to the socket and did as asked.

"Err, BUGGER!" was the next comment; we then spent ages clearing away the damage and repolishing the floor so that it would pass Uncle Les' eagle eye inspection the following day.

[John Farley]

I love reading posts from you youngsters. Do keep them up.

It is over 57 years since I had to swing a bumper at Kirton-in-Lindsey at the age of 22 - but then I do have a 29 year old grandson who has finished his time in the Luftwaffe.

[sandozer]

What are these Rooks cackling about ?
50 years on the 21st.Jan, since I signed on with 48th Entry Raf St Athan :cool: It was snowing then too.

[Rigga]

In the middle of 1975 at Swinditz we had the luxury of...carpets! Didn't manage to attend the Bumper courses until Halton where both the manual and semi-auto versions were fought over on a floor-by-floor basis every week.

Didnt a.a.a.affect me th-th-though.

[NutLoose]

WRAFs had just started to go through training there then - I don't imagine any suggestions for Chippendales equality would have got particularly far.

:sad:

Swinditz in 76, all we had were the girls shipped in from the local looney centre for the grab a gran on Thursday, even then guys were fighting over them, one looked alright, and was semi sane, but the rest were sadly a bunch of drooling baboons that I wouldn't have touched with yours, let alone mine... Must of been the same when the WRAF arrived :E

I could drag out and copy some nostalgia for you if wanted, I actually found my Joining docs for Swinditz that my Mum had squirrelled away. I too was lucky to get in the carpeted rooms at Swinditz in Gibson block, while the rest of the RAF there were still polishing Lino.
There was some poor sod there who kept getting back flighted, he had been on the camping phase near the end of his course and was standing on guard at night near the water heaters. (the gas heated 45 gallon drums with the stack pipe to add cold water) the thing exploded burning his arms badly so they were bandaged and strapped across his front. He used to have to go to the medical centre every time he needed to use the toilet and a medic would wipe his ...... Who understandably were not happy they even had to dress and feed him, you get the picture. He was still there when we left and had been there about 15 weeks.

[ian16th]

..........and last year, at our 60th reunion we were reminiscing about the winter of 1952-53 at Yatesbury :cool:

[denachtenmai]

Can't go to '52 but '63 at Yatesbury was :eek:
Regards, Den.

[ian16th]

Yeh! I read all about that winter in the papers, while I relaxed in the sun at Akrotiri :cool:

Gotta admit, Yatesbury in that winter must have been one of the worst. But we always got 2 extra blankets at Yatesbury.

I was at Yatesbury for some time during each year from 52-59. I had 3 winters there, 52-3 Boys service, 55-6 Fitters course and 58-9 Bomber Conversion. Though for the last one I got away in January and never went back. Never did another course before demob in 65.

[orionsbelt]

You youngsters

46th Entry D Flight

50 years ago today I think we had to abandon A Lines at Cosford and move to Fulton Block. Even Gunga Din’s tounge was frozen.

3 beds to a bunk stack and 60 x 16 years olds in a room for 18.

see
RAF Cosford Apprentice site Fulton Block (http://www.cosfordapp.net/home/fulton/fulton.htm)

'A' Lines are out of shoot in the Top left hand corner.

***

[Brian 48nav]

Did my paper round everyday, cycling form home in Frimley to the paper shop just south of the Clockhouse roundabout at Farnborough.

Youngsters today wouldn't have believed we did it!;)

No1 son, single-seat master-race, TP etc, wouldn't go out on his bike if it was snowing:{

[Ron Cake]

The big freeze of winter 62-63 is one of those events which evokes memories of 'what I was doing at the time'.

Me? I was at 230 OCU Finningley trying to complete the flying phase of the Vulcan 2 course. We climbed into a freezing cockpit eager to get to grips with this new aircraft only to be delayed at the last minute for Wx. Big anti climax - back to the feeder to wait -usually until you were scrubbed. And so it went on for weeks on end.

[BEagle]

Winter of '62-'63 I was in my last year at prep school. It was great - snow covered all the jockstrappery pitches, so instead we went tobogganing! Sadly, the winter was the final death knell for the UK's commercial use of waterways.

This week 30 years ago, I seemed to have spent all my time flying ML PIs in the F-4 at RAF Wattisham. 8:20 of which only 1:20 were day, 7:00 were at night. Plus 1:15 in the simulator.

It was also the week this started:

?v=mPvLk6H2fhI

[Old Photo.Fanatic]

I was stationed in the middle of Germany, on the southern site of the Decca navigator trials unit. (site was actually in the US zone of Germany.)
I flew to Frankfurt with my new wife on Nov 19th 1962.
This was when the snow started in Germany, it took 24 Hrs from Heathrow to Frankfurt having been diverted twice while over Frankfurt.

The winter lasted until well into March.
The tech site was on a high hill overlooking the small town.(Homberg Ohm)
It was the worst winter for 300 years in Germany, sea froze for 50 miles off the north coast.

Worst spell of cold lasted for three weeks, temp around -28C ,24 hrs a day. It was also blowing an Easterly gale all the time so the wind chill took it down to estimate -50C .( I often wondered what the actual wind chill Temp. was)
The reason I say this is that one of the local civilians employed on site, general dogs body, said the effective cold was as bad as when he was on the eastern front in Russia during the battle for Stalingrad.!!!!!
We actually had frost on the casings of the heated equipment racks, within the small Air transportable container where all the technical equipment and operators station was housed.
We had no extra Winter clothing to help with the cold so we looked a right bunch of Airmen wrapped up in extras of all sorts. I was lucky, I had a winter Duffle coat which fitted over my RAF Greatcoat!!!!

We had a landrover for transport, had to run it every hour during this spell with a mixture of 50% Antifreeze to coolant.

Then all change, I left in March to go on leave, still full winter, came back a couple of weeks later to a warm spring in all its glory. 20-30 foot snow drifts all gone.

Now that was what you call a real winter.

PS Learned to swing the Bumper when at Cosford, 29th Entry, joined Oct.'56

OPF

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Jan '63? I was 4 months old. It was so cold in my room, I'm told the nappy bucket was frozen over every morning. Stood me in good stead when, 27 years later doing North Sea night PI's, my conditioning failed to full cold & wouldn't switch off. Had to scrape the ice off the quarter light with my frozen mitts to see to land over an hour later. That was cold.

[glad rag]

30 years ago tonight..

Get some time in son.







You knew that one was coming though.

[NutLoose]

Jan '63? I was 4 months old. It was so cold in my room, I'm told the nappy bucket was frozen over every morning.

So much poo you had to have your own bucket... Eeewwwww. :p

I was a sprightly lad of 4 the winter of 63 and I remember watching on the black and white Telly the steam trains on Shap with snow ploughs repeatedly ramming the snow drifts that were as high as the engines to get through.... Leaves on the line... pathetic.... This was real men with real tools to do the job... I wanted to be a steam engine driver for years.. One of my first tangible memories.

[Adam Nams]

Get some time in son.
flew to Frankfurt with my new wife on Nov 19th 196250 years ago today I think we had to abandon A Lines at Cosford...
In the middle of 1975 at Swinditz we had the luxury of...
was at Yatesbury for some time during each year from 52-59

Yes... thank you Uncle Albert.

http://www.fanpop.com/images/polls/12681_2_full.jpg

Adam
D Sqn 69 IOT March 1983

[denachtenmai]

Adam Nams
On my SAR long course at RAF Valley, I was going out to do some drums with "Father Christmas". We were talking about using various methods to help find the wind which included smoke. :}
Rearrange these words, Albert, Uncle
Regards, Den.

[ricardian]

Spent the winter of 1963 at RAF Sharjah!

[Adam Nams]

denachtenmai

Touche! :ok:

[BEagle]

Now that was what you call a real winter.

Yes, but surely back in those days kids could always be kept warm by sending them up chimneys?

No central heating when I wer' a lad in the 1950s. Just winter pyjamas, extra blankets and drip-feed oil heaters to augment the aga; scraping 'Jack Frost' of the inside of the bedroom windows was pretty common on winter mornings for most of us. And that was in the soft South, it must 'ave bin real grim oop Nawrth?

[sisemen]

At that point I was checking to see whether the lessons in the use of said bumper had been instilled. :E

Flt Cdr A Sqn 70 and 74 IOT then Recourse Sqn (we invented it!) until June 85.

[Cornish Jack]

JF
That date for Kirton tallies rather closely to my post-Cardington 6 week holding. Lots of Duty Cadet and generating the SWO's wrath. That January was also when the Staish decided that we holding cadets should do a bit of public service and 'loaned' us to a local farmer to cut cabbages!!! January in Lincolnshire, knee-deep in freezing cabbages - not a pleasant prospect!
January '63, however, was a different kettle of fish - recovering from a Xmas/New Year as part of the Bangkok Embassy staff - but it was cold there too ... we had to have the fly screens closed to keep the temperature up!
PS enjoyed the book and Lizzie sends best wishes.

[Shack37]

Spent the winter of 1963 at RAF Sharjah!


Done that, these young whippersnappers don't know what cold is if they haven't spent a winter's night in the Sharjah "Astra" watching Disney cartoons!

[NutLoose]

No central heating when I wer' a lad in the 1950s. Just winter pyjamas, extra blankets and drip-feed oil heaters to augment the aga; scraping 'Jack Frost' of the inside of the bedroom windows was pretty common on winter mornings for most of us. And that was in the soft South, it must 'ave bin real grim oop Nawrth?

I was doing that every Christmas up to last year north of Carlisle, my old Mum refused to have central heating in the house and relied in a coal fire in the living room to heat the house, only replaced by a single electric fire in the same fireplace about 10 years ago when cleaning the crate and carrying coal got to much for her in her late 70's.. God it used to be cold, but she wouldn't change and in the mornings there was ice on the windows inside.

[AARON O'DICKYDIDO]

49 years ago today at the tender age of 15 years and 8 months, I enlisted in the 51st Entry Boy Entrants. The one big decision of my life I do not regret. It shaped the rest of my life. The RAF gave me a trade. In fact it gave me two because after 6 years I remustered . Following training I went all over the world with the best of mates, many of which I still have today. I spent a total of 24 years and 4 months in uniform. Absolutely no regrets. I was a cold war warrier though leaving in '88. I had four long spells overseas -the first started was when I was still only 17 years old. - Singapore, Aden, Cyprus and Germany plus lots of short spells in N.I. and Belize and many detachments all over the world.
Since leaving the RAF I have had some good and some not so good jobs but I always had a job - thanks to the RAF. Today I have a job I enjoy and have no longing for retirement. All because I decided to join the RAF.
I am not saying that I would bever have achieved anything in civilian life but I do not think I would have had so much fun doing it.


Aaron.

[ricardian]

Shack37 said Done that, these young whippersnappers don't know what cold is if they haven't spent a winter's night in the Sharjah "Astra" watching Disney cartoons!
It was amusing to watch the reaction of the local TOS troops in the front row seats (very cheap, about a quarter of one rupee - about 4.5 old pence) watching any film showing blizzards or snow.

[sisemen]

AARON 50th Clk Sec :ok: Grand reunion in September and will make the trek back to the UK specially.

50th Entry RAF Boy Entrants (http://www.50thrafboyentrants.co.uk)

[Lyneham Lad]

49 years ago today at the tender age of 15 years and 8 months, I enlisted in the 51st Entry Boy Entrants.

Sprog! ;) Fifty years ago yesterday I trekked from northern Cheshire to St Athan courtesy of BR and a rail warrant to join the mighty 48th Entry. Arrival coincided with one of the worst winters ever. N Lines in sub-zero temperatures and deep snow - oh, what joy...

[sled dog]

Get some time in ladies, i started my career 30th Entry St Athan Feb 1957 ( was it really that long ago :( )

[alisoncc]

they haven't spent a winter's night in the Sharjah "Astra" watching Disney cartoons! Not cartoons directed by the Fred Quimby surely with howls of derision from the back row?

51 years ago, relocated from Nissan Huts to brick built building at RAF Locking. Don't know whether it already had brown lino or we had to take our own. Glorious days spent wielding a bumper, and the smell of the orange polish - eesh.

[sisemen]

Orange polish. Hadn't given it a thought in decades and suddenly - wh00sh - I'm right back there. I can smell it. I can see the big silver tin with it's utilitarian white label with the broad arrow.

Wow.

[Cornish Jack]

Re. Sharjah 'entertainment' - 'Housey-Housey', erroneously referred to nowadays as Bingo, always had some military versions of the calls such as '8 and 4 - Shaibah' Sharjah, however, had its own very specific version of 'All the 8s - Bishop's Bollocks'. Never worked out whether that was a reference to the clergy or the WW1 aviator?
Won't stay awake worrying about it, but anyone know for sure?

[Party Animal]

Summer of 86 with Kinloss closed for runway resurfacing. Nimrod Force had boltholed to Lossiemouth with the SAR crews living in the messes as normal. Middle of August - no heating either on or available. One blanket and one of those orange coloured bed covers that looked like 1970's curtains.

Spent all bloody night with teeth chattering, despite wearing my cold weather flying jacket in bed on top of my flying suit and longjohns. Now that was cold!!!

[Tankertrashnav]

St Athan 76
Bumping the floor and messing about one of the guys tore a v in the Lino about an 1 inch long and right in the centre aisle....



Lino, Nutloose? You had lino? .. We dreamt of having lino (etc. etc ;))

Gayford, I went through Feltwell too, the year before you, (168 Course, Yellow Squadron, started 23 Sep 64). Happy memories too, and I don't think its just rose-tinted specs. I played my one and only game of service rugby there. Marham slaughtered us and I decided that a 12 stone second row, not a bad size for the schoolboy game, was always going to get trampled on among the big boys!

[sandozer]

Good old 48th Entry. Remember the corridors of snow from N lines to Flemingston Mess, hard times :)