I used to be one of a group of schoolboys who frequented Fairoaks at weekends in the mid 1950's. The atmosphere was always free and easy and we could wlak around the live side of the airfield if we behaved ourselves! If we wrer there after 18.00 there was a chance to help the fitters push the aircraft into the hangar for over night.
G-APAA Auster Alpine arrived and I have to guess here the summer of 55 or 56. It did cause some amusement because the pilot had to wear the full uniform of the AA road motor cycle patrols of that time. That included the leather gaiters! It appeared to make mounting the Alpine a little tricky! We wondered if he had to salute other pilots who were also AA members. Such was the standard of school boy humour those days.
One occasion the Alpine was missing - it seemed odd to us. So we had a chat with one of the fitters and he told us the prop had come off over the adjacent town of Woking a couple of days earlier. Oh dear! I don't believe we saw it again after that and then a rumour circulated that the AA were looking for a twin engined replacement.
Some time later the Dragon Rapide arrived at Fairoaks. If I'm correct I think it was based there for a couple of years and then went elsewhere. But our bunch of half a dozen were unanimous that the livery was superb and I have to say today when I see a photograph occasionaly that yellow and black livery with old the enormous AA badge covering the fin and rudder still looks superb to my eye.