Cocknet Steve..Officialdom
I am glad that you are enjoying our "wandering in times past". One of the best things about them was the fact that some of the so called "diversions" were not only overlooked but , quite often, instigated or joined in by the very people that , normally, would be called upon to deal with the results. I can recall the , then , Commanding Officer of 2 Group Light Bombers, Basil Embry, visiting one of his stations for an inspection. Before I tell you what happened , you should know that he was a very small man and had , earlier in his career, been shot down over enemy territory. He had escaped capture but had strangled a German sentry with his bare hands and was a very much wanted man but succeeded in getting back to England .
He was an Air Vice Marshal,I think, when he came to the Station where, after the Inspection, he had a few drinks at the bar with the Station Commander then said goodnight to everyone and retired. About fifteen minutes later his head peered around the door and he came back in but wearing an ill fitting, Pilot Officer's Jacket. "Now that the old bas...d's gone......" he said and the evening started there and then.
This was fairly typical of the Officialdom in the RAF and was one of the main reasons for the very high morale of the Service.
Keep on enjoying the memories. They can't go on for ever. Regle.