High Flying Haggis...
Does anyone know if Ginge Knight's world altitude bagpiping record still stands? Ginge was an AEO at Waddington around 1967 [44(R) I think?] who played in the Pipes and Drums of No.1 Group Bomber Command. Our main claim to fame was our capacity for alcohol rather than any proficiency at scaring English soldiers back down south, but Ginge took Scotland's answer to Yellow Sun up for a trip. At some point in the flight he got a confirmation of aircraft altitude from a radar station then told them to "listen to this then..." and played a full set of Scotland the Brave. After landing he filed a claim with Guiness for the altitude record and, unless someone has played them in Concorde with independent altitude confirmation from outside the aircraft, I reckon that record would be damned near unbeatable.
HQ Bomber Command didn't think much of the bagpipes as a new form of ECM (Tartan Putty?) but we humble haggis-bashers still reckon the idea has potential. The bagpipes generate such an awesome set of harmonics there could be no countermeasure.
I piped the Haggis in one Burns Night at Cottesmore Officers Mess. Then I ate two haggis and drank a whole bottle of VAT69 thoughtfully provided by the mess residents... or forced down my throat more like it... The last thing I remember was being poured into a crew bus for shipment back to Waddington. I awoke at about 11am, panicking like hell, managed to struggle into a uniform and tottered off to work (in MEAS) thinking up excuses as I went. Chiefy was surprised when I arrived - Cottesmore's PMC had called our CO, explained what they did to me and wangled me a day off. "Still, now you're here son...."
I was the only one who didn't know.
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Through difficulties to the cinema