Originally Posted by
BEagle
'Proper' batting ended in around 1969, Our faitfhul old chaps at RAFC were told that henceforth they would be 'mess servants'.
Over the following years the standards declined until even the morning cuppa was binned. "Tea and coffee making facilities will be provided for each room", we were told.... They weren't - or, if they were, they often didn't work.
Worst ever OM accommodation I experienced was at Honington in the 'Orlits'. Tiny rooms with barely enough room to swing a cat - yet there were beanstealers living for free in the OM proper. The huts at 'New Chivenor' were palatial in contrast.
When I move to Brize, I said I didn't want to be put on the list for a suite, but any room on the ground floor would do as I had to squeeze in all my worldly possessions (except the car), but I needed a garage (to store what wouldn't fir in the room). So they gave me a room on the 2nd floor with rattly sash windows. I also found that anything left in the garage would be stolen by 'patch rats' in the middle of the night.... Fortunately I'd decided to buy a house and moved with considerable relief in Oct 84.
But now? How do any singlies afford a house in the Brize area? Mine was about 2.3x my annual salary as a 6 yr Flt Lt back then, but since then house prices have gone through the roof. They are now about 2.5x what they should be in terms of inflation.... Absurd! So singlies need a decent standard of OM accommodation more than ever!
A 6 year flt Lt on the front line (I'm assuming they've been on the front line 4 years at this point), as I understand the current pay scales is on £4230 a year flying pay, plus 49k base salary. Let's call that 54k with some rounding.
3-month moving averages properties in Witney for Jan 95 and Jan 21 to put Beag's numbers in context:
Property type Jan 1995 Jan 2021 Change Detached £99,643 £447,500 +349% Semi £77,331 £430,000 +456% Terraced £75,894 £281,000 +270% Flat £54,200 £282,500 +421% All £78,619 £378,875 +382%
So the average Flt Lt is going to need a 10% deposit (28k, plus the usual extras for tax and solicitors), call it 35k total an a mortgage of 4.7 times their annual salary to afford a flat or terraced house in Witney. To put numbers on that, that's £1100 a month against monthly take-home of approx £3300, spot on 1/3rd of take home pay.
At least they'll have had plenty of time in the training system to save up their 35k!