Interesting thread...
....which I just ran across today, amazing it'd been going on so long.
Several contributors paths have crossed with mine over the years, I was Colin Woods' co-pilot for a few years on 9 Squadron at Cottesmore and Akrotiri, I'm sad to hear of his demise. We were out in Nairobi for a week when he met his first wife. He was busy with the local social activities while Tony Nichols (the AEO) and I were tearing the intake make-up pieces out of the #3 engine to replace the ignitor boxes... We ran into Neill Williams in a bar who was out there doing the hot and high ODM calibration on the Jetstream, he suggested the VC10 boxes over at the SAA maintenance shed would probably fit - he was right... Another great man, sadly lost.
I interviewed in 1975 for the spare pilot/commentator position when Colin was with the team at Booker. Obviously I didn't make it...
Our NavRadar at Cottesmore was Pete Severn who knew Manx Kelly on Canberras in Germany.
I spent an interesting few weeks as Rod Rea's room-mate at RAF South Cerney during basic training, it must have been notable as that period seems burned in my memory, not the least because Rod had a habit of setting fire to his pillow... beware those who awake the slumbering Rod...
I may be a bit hazy here, but I seem to recall Bob Thompson and I shared an instructor at RAF Valley for Gnat advanced training. This poor soul had to send one of us to Canberras, and the other to Vulcans (Bomber Command had decided they wanted advanced jet trained pilots for the Vulcan as the Flying Pig wasn't giving pilots the high altitude experience - go figure...). Bob got the Canberra slot, and I got Vulcans... When he got to Canberras they measured his upper leg and decided it was too long and he'd lose his knee-caps in an ejection - so he went to Hunters. Now of course, I may have become confused in my old age, but I think I've got the right Bob here... I finally got my Canberra slot after four years on Bloodhound Missiles...
I'm headed for the attic to find those old RAT publicity flyers from their display at Great yarmouth in (I think) 1976...