Queen's Silver Jubilee - RAF Finningley
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Often in Jersey, but mainly in the past.
Age: 79
Posts: 7,807
Received 135 Likes
on
63 Posts
Ah, Fred Mulley's finest hour!! And a brown suit to complete the image, on a Royal occasion!
Static display at Finningley - LSSA sent our cleanest aircraft, i.e. one that was straight out of the hangar after an extensive (and expensive!) paint job, complete with new, freshly painted chocks on board. It was rejected by an inspecting officer for being "dirty" 
, and sent back to Lyneham.
We searched all over for dirt; none present apart from the usual sooty residue behind each engine, which was then cleaned off. The aircraft was duly sent back to Finningley where, on this occasion, it passed muster and was considered suitable for HM to review from a distance in excess of fifty yards while driving past in her Landy!
, and sent back to Lyneham.We searched all over for dirt; none present apart from the usual sooty residue behind each engine, which was then cleaned off. The aircraft was duly sent back to Finningley where, on this occasion, it passed muster and was considered suitable for HM to review from a distance in excess of fifty yards while driving past in her Landy!
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Hanging off the end of a thread
Posts: 32,837
Received 2,805 Likes
on
1,195 Posts
Ah, Fred Mulley's finest hour!! And a brown suit to complete the image, on a Royal occasion!
If he hadn't had a kip. no one would have ever remembered him
I was there that day as an eleven year old. Watching the Harrier hide demo and Vulcan scramble made my mind up about joining. A fantastic day when we had a sizable Air Force.
MPN11
The dais upon which Fred M. kipped turned up at our former alma mater for a Royal Visit ... on the floor, under the carpet, was a brass plaque stating "F. Mulley MP, Secretary of State for Defence, slept here".
The dais upon which Fred M. kipped turned up at our former alma mater for a Royal Visit ... on the floor, under the carpet, was a brass plaque stating "F. Mulley MP, Secretary of State for Defence, slept here".
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Somewhere flat
Age: 68
Posts: 5,558
Likes: 0
Received 45 Likes
on
30 Posts
Quote:
Ah, Fred Mulley's finest hour!! And a brown suit to complete the image, on a Royal occasion!
Except as the chap responsible for ordering the Nimrod AEW3! (Although to be fair, the Unions ran the country at the time).
Ah, Fred Mulley's finest hour!! And a brown suit to complete the image, on a Royal occasion!
If he hadn't had a kip. no one would have ever remembered him
Except as the chap responsible for ordering the Nimrod AEW3! (Although to be fair, the Unions ran the country at the time).
I was there!
Firstly, one of the Frecce Tricolori nearly took the roof off our car, during their morning practice - and we weren't even inside the airfield gates!
Secondly, I remember the locally based Jet Provosts had scorched the grass adjacent to the apron. Someone had the job of dying the grass green again! Shame it wasn't grass green....
Thirdly, as a newly minted Pilot Officer in No1 uniform, I visited the RAF's Safety Equipment Display tent. I was invited, after a short talk by the "Squipper" SNCO, in front of a large crowd, to apply a rubber mallet to the new "unbreakable" clear visor on display. This was to demonstrate its amazing strength, which was to protect aircrew from bird strike injury. I did so....
It wasn't.... I bust it in one.
Firstly, one of the Frecce Tricolori nearly took the roof off our car, during their morning practice - and we weren't even inside the airfield gates!
Secondly, I remember the locally based Jet Provosts had scorched the grass adjacent to the apron. Someone had the job of dying the grass green again! Shame it wasn't grass green....
Thirdly, as a newly minted Pilot Officer in No1 uniform, I visited the RAF's Safety Equipment Display tent. I was invited, after a short talk by the "Squipper" SNCO, in front of a large crowd, to apply a rubber mallet to the new "unbreakable" clear visor on display. This was to demonstrate its amazing strength, which was to protect aircrew from bird strike injury. I did so....
It wasn't.... I bust it in one.
Ah yes, the Silver Jellybean!
I'd been on a SORF JP refresher in Apr/May 1977 at Leeming, so went along on one of the practices and watched a stunning display of incompetent leadership by the lead Jetstream. A box of 4, with 4 Cranwell Dominies in vic on one side and a box of 4 Finningley Dominies in vic on the other. Slightly early, so the clown decided to throw an orbit, much to the anger of the poor sods on the inside.... Then we set off for the target which, if I recall correctly, was Lindholme that day. As soon as we'd passed, the Cranwell Dominies, who'd clearly had enough by then, legged it as soon as they could. I'd love to have heard the debrief!
The SORF refresher was a prelude to my Vulcan OCU course, the simulator for which was at Finningley. So at the end of June and in early July, I was there to witness some of the arrangements for The Day. Huge amounts wasted on tarting up Finningley; I also recall seeing the Op Order, which specified that all officers attending in No1 HD had to wear new shirts with gold cufflinks... Fortunately my Vulcan sim course ended on July 19th, so I escaped the real nonsense!
On the day itself I had a picnic in the sun at the viewing point just off Tillbridge lane, waiting to watch the departure and arrival of the Scampton-based formation. The viewing point is just off the end of the RW, so the sight and sound was most impressive!
Sleepy Fred passed away some 20 years ago now. But we shouldn't forget that he fought in WW2 and was a PoW in Germany for 5 years.
I'd been on a SORF JP refresher in Apr/May 1977 at Leeming, so went along on one of the practices and watched a stunning display of incompetent leadership by the lead Jetstream. A box of 4, with 4 Cranwell Dominies in vic on one side and a box of 4 Finningley Dominies in vic on the other. Slightly early, so the clown decided to throw an orbit, much to the anger of the poor sods on the inside.... Then we set off for the target which, if I recall correctly, was Lindholme that day. As soon as we'd passed, the Cranwell Dominies, who'd clearly had enough by then, legged it as soon as they could. I'd love to have heard the debrief!
The SORF refresher was a prelude to my Vulcan OCU course, the simulator for which was at Finningley. So at the end of June and in early July, I was there to witness some of the arrangements for The Day. Huge amounts wasted on tarting up Finningley; I also recall seeing the Op Order, which specified that all officers attending in No1 HD had to wear new shirts with gold cufflinks... Fortunately my Vulcan sim course ended on July 19th, so I escaped the real nonsense!
On the day itself I had a picnic in the sun at the viewing point just off Tillbridge lane, waiting to watch the departure and arrival of the Scampton-based formation. The viewing point is just off the end of the RW, so the sight and sound was most impressive!
Sleepy Fred passed away some 20 years ago now. But we shouldn't forget that he fought in WW2 and was a PoW in Germany for 5 years.
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Well, Lincolnshire
Age: 69
Posts: 1,101
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Also, to be fair to Sleepy, he had been taking part in an all nighter debate in the Commons before boarding the Andover to FY.
I was there too. Pax on Kittyhawk 2.
(TD adopts smug face).
I was there too. Pax on Kittyhawk 2.
(TD adopts smug face).
I was there also. As a Fg Off on the IEC at Cranwell I managed to get 2 of their slots and took my father who had been chief clerk at Finningley in 44. We had a great day and I still have a copy of the official souvenir book with Raymond Baxter's autograph on it. I was in uniform when I accosted him, he was a real gent and stopped for a chat. Incidentally, as a reminder of how long ago it was, the penultimate page has a photo of a Tornado captioned "The aircraft of the future"
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Swindon, Wiltshire
Age: 74
Posts: 279
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I was there on the Royal Visit day in No.1 HD with No.1 heavily pregnant wife in tow! She patiently followed me round the static park, so I could photograph every aircraft on show. We managed it just as HM The Queen arrived in her Range Rover to start her inspection. Then we relaxed in the grandstand and watched the flypast. A day to remember and I have a complete set of slides of every aircraft there plus the formation flypasts to look back on.
I was no 3 Vulcan at 6min 21 seconds, this is the first time I've seen what it looked like from the ground, the Jags did a good job hanging on to my coat tails.
Beags, one of the Scampton rehearsals was a corker, I'll tell you about it sometime.
Beags, one of the Scampton rehearsals was a corker, I'll tell you about it sometime.
Queen's Silver Jubilee - remember it well. I was a flt lt in my office and my oppo was a flt lt just across the corridor in his office. He got a gong; I didn't! The Boss got a gong as well - six yards down the corridor in his office. I felt disenfranchised at the time, but I couldn't give a sh1t now!
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: In the workshop, Prune-whispering.
Age: 71
Posts: 744
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
I remember it as well! I was on parade as a siggy going through training, later to end up on Nimrods. My brother-in-law was flying one of the JP's in the 25 formation and my brother was flying one of the hunters! All in all, a nice family day out!