The TCEU Trapper was Jock Harris who as the result of my late arrival was required to act as Navigator on the 2 legs Changi- Gan - Aden. - not a good start to the day! I went to Ops and noted a Comet was due to depart in a couple of hours; so back to the Creek and asked Bill Bonner if I could cadge a lift to Khormaksar; on hearing my plight he agreed immediately. Malcolm Middlemist was the Nav. We departed on time and began catching up with the Brit which in the event landed ahead of the Comet.
In those days there was a 24 your a day Bar , called Neddy's the non -stop flow of crews and pax passing thru'. I knew , of course, the Brit crew and Captain Len Whiteight would head for Neddy's after their 19 hour crew duty day. I had time to ponder my fate.
Did I grovel at Jock's feet or take a more bold approach. I knew what had to be done. A court Martial was in the offing if I cocked-up.We landed later and
made our way to Neddy's . My crew were there with Len was facing me as we walked but Jock had his back to me. Len's face was a picture of "what happens now"
I walked forward and tapped Jock on the shoulder; he spun around and was about to explode but I got in first ...." Well---- did I pass?" The tension was relieved immediately; Jock uttered several woods in a remote Scottish dialect while everyone else were in hysterics. A good wind down followed
Jock got his own back on the next two legs. He gave me a very rough ride and would not upgrade to an "A" because of my irresponsibility. I think he never forgave me and carried the scar to the end of his days. But we remained friends.
Happy Days
Originally Posted by
Brian 48nav
Brian is a top man! When I was on 88 Course at 1ANS Stradishall in early '67 he arrived as a new instructor ( fresh from the Brit' ) and joined the syndicate that 'looked after' us - he was a breath of fresh air compared with the miserable ex- Vulcan types we had to endure. On the final assessed trip, the overseas jolly to Gib' via Istres, he was the staff nav on my trip . The Herc' had not entered service then but there was a rumour that a slot would be allocated to our course. As the only ex-Transport nav' in the syndicate Brian insisted on choosing the lucky lad - it will be yours he told me. As it turned out 2 slots became available for 1st tourists and Tony Fawcus and I received postings to No4 Herc' Course followed by postings to 48 Sqn which would later reform at Changi. We were joined by one student from 89 Course ( Dai Jones ) and another from 90 ( John Pilkington, who sadly passed away 2 years ago ).
Whopity
I've heard that story several times and Brian's face still lights up when he recounts it. IIRC Brian was on the Changi Slip and was due to be route checked on the Changi - Khormaksar leg in anticipation of an upgrade from B to A cat'. Instead of staying in the Changi Creek route hotel he spent the night at an old mate's house so didn't get the message that take-off had been brought forward! When he arrived at Changi Ops he found his flight had already departed and as you say there was a 216 Comet crew in flight planning and Brian bagged a lift from them as they were also bound for Aden. They got to Aden before the Brit and Brian was able to meet the not very happy trapper and waved his Cat Card at him shouting 'Have I passed?'.
We still meet up at the bi-annual 48 Sqn reunion - sadly this year's was due about now and had to be postponed.