Bl@@dy hell, BB and GF that was some awesome display! I can still remember the heat and noise as it went over, wondering if I was about to witness my first airshow crash. How the hell did Fred Mulley (SoS Def) manage to sleep thru it?
I was serving at HQSTC then, and for some strange reason I was selected to be the commentator for the Review, and hence for the display the next day as well. The F-111 didn't display until the next day - so Fred M didn't have to sleep through it.
There was some (unbroadcast) film footage of him, sitting between HMTQ and the Duke of Edinburgh. As his chin drops lower, HMTQ's eyebrow rises
imperceptibly, and the Duke gives him a nudge, whereupon his elbow falls off the armrest and he awakes with a look of some aghastitude (well you would wouldn't you....)
My subsequent 1369 (remember those? - annual conf report) said "This officer puts the Secretary of State for Defence to sleep in the middle of a noisy flying display" Well, that's my story anyway.
And no, I didn't get a Jubilee Medal.
As for the Dump n Burn on the Sunday - it was indeed totally awesome, and I seem to remember that the plt, a RAAF Wg Cdr, got into deep doodoo over it. Anyone any more details?
airsound