We invade Belgium....
Sabena confirmed their acceptance of my application , subject to my passing their Medical examination and enclosed a return ticket London-Brussels. I went there on March 14th. 1952 in a Convair 240 OO-AWT and the Captain was British. He was called Len Thorne and was one of the Pilots that I had checked with the Check Flight at Aldermaston and had been made redundant from BEA in 1948 with me and about 80 others. He had gone to Sabena immediately and was already a Captain and spoke glowingly of the Company. About six of the passengers were obviously prospective Sabena pilots and we were met in Brussels by two very nice Sabena girls who showed us around the small complex at Melsbroek. One of us, David Cable, was so impressed by one of them , Lillian Goossens, that he stayed in Brussels that night, instead of going back to Brussels with the rest of us, and took her out to dinner. Nearly thirty years later, Dora and I were on a Sabena flight as passengers from Jo'burg to Brussels and we instantly recognised the Stewardess to be David and Lillian's daughter. As far as I know they are still in Brussels with their Grandchildren and the rest of their family.
The medical was a very thorough one and included blood tests, electro- cardiograph, X-Rays.etc. I was instructed by a little nurse to "deshabille" so when she left the room I undressed and lay on the couch. She came back in, burst out laughing, and went out again. One of the Doctors came in and explained that it was only necessary to undress "a la ceinture" to the belt.! After the Medical we were given a very good lunch in the Staff Canteen which was a lot better than most of the English Restaurants of that era and then, with the exception of Dave , caught the same plane and with the same Captain. back to London.
I, very quickly, received a letter from Sabena telling me that I had passed my medical and that I was to report to them at Brussels on May 1st.1952. They enclosed a ticket to fly on their service from Manchester.. This time the aircraft was a DC3 (21 passengers full load) and the Captain was a very nice Belgian called Captain Lieutenant. This caused a problem or two as we had never come upon that name as a surname before, or since for that matter. This time I was the only "would be" British Pilot on board but when we arrived at Melsbroek I was met by yet another nice Sabena girl who explained that May 1st. was a Public Holiday in Belgium and no one was working that day so she put me on a tram that was waiting ouside the Airport and told me to go to the Terminus where I would find the Palace Hotel and to book in there as that would be my home for the next three months.
The tramride was quite an experience as it swayed and vibrated for the many miles, or so it seemed before we arrived right outside the Palace Hotel. The Hotel seemd very nice so I had a bit of a wander round but everything was closed for the holiday so I went back to the Hotel where I met up with some of the other British Pilots who had arrived from London and we arranged to meet up later on and have dinner together. There were about six of us including Dougie Wilson, Jimmy Rice, Les Beech, Jack Veys and Denzyl Gaughan. We were all very pleased with our rooms, all en suite and very comfortable and we all met for drinks before being ushered in to the lovely Restaurant.
It is hard to relate, now, how we appreciated the menu that was put before us. In 1952 England was still under very strict rationing and Restaurants were very limited in what they could offer. The Head Waiter was most attentive and plied us with wine and we had Lobster, Oysters, Snails, Steak.... you name it. We had it.! When we had effectively , gone through the Menu, the Head Waiter presented us with the Bill. We airily waved it away and told him that Sabena would be paying. You could see that he was most unhappy about this but after a lot of consultations we went off to bed , very happy and full with the best meal that we had eaten for a very long time.
Next morning we caught the nearby tram to Melsbroek. We had been told to report at 0800 so we caught the 0700 tram. This was the first time that we had to try and get used to the very early start that the Continent made to their working day. We later found out it was so that they could make a very enjoyable and long luncheon break. We were also introduced to the habit of the "Handshake", The trip was around forty minutes with numerous stops and at each stop, as each new round of passengers got on , they would solemnly do the round of the tram and shake hands with the sitting passemgers, obviously fellow Sabena colleagues.. Each and every passenger carried a very smart briefcase and we wondered what was carried in them. We were met at the Terminus by the three young ladies who were to be our guides for the next few weeks and were told that the Operations Manager. Mr. Stainier, wished to meet with us. We had been warned that he had somewhat of a fearsome reputation and we thought " Ah. He is going to give us a welcome to Sabena. " We were ushered into his Office and there, in central position , upon his Desk and very evident was the Bill from the Restaurant. It was not even 0830 so the Hotel had not wasted any time. The Head Waiter must have beeen one of the handshaking passengers on the tram and now we knew what was contained in the briefcase which each and every passenger carried.
Mr Stainier began " When we said that we would pay for your food we did not mean that you could have the equivalent of an a la carte Wedding Banquet each day" Then he began to smile which, we were told later, was unheard of "I know what it must have seemed to you and I hope that you enjoyed it. so, this time, just this once, we will pay. In future you will have your lunch in the canteen and you will pay 14 B.Frs. for it and your daily allowance is 40 B.Frs. Now off to your classes and good luck to you all."
More later.. There were about 140 B.Frs. to the £ at this time but the daily allowance was ample for the Canteen, which was heavily subsidised by the Company.