Terri, Sandy.
Let me introduce you to Terri, the latest contributor to pprune. When I was training in the States with the first class, 42A, of RAF cadets to be trained by the US Army Air Corps, as it was then, in early 1941, before the "day of infamy" when Pearl harbour was attacked by the Japanese on Dec.7th of that year, Sandy Sandison, Terri's Father was a fellow cadet and I knew him well. He had a very distinguished career with Bomber Command on Lancasters and when he was awarded the D.F.C. had the rare, if not unique, experience of seeing his whole crew decorated to mark the recognition of the valour of his tour of operations. He was to continue his flying career with BOAC, as it was then, later British Airways and finally retired to carry on with his love of sailing at which he has just showed us all that 89 is not too old to win trophies. Unfortunately this skill does not extend to computers...although I suspect that, like so many of us, he just does'nt trust the d.......d thing ! but his Daughter has faithfully kept him up to date with all the fun and games that go on, with print outs where they are relevant. I think that we can all take heart from this. I wish that we could have known as much about our Parents and Grandparents as this generation can, through Forums and other means such as the very keen interest in searching out our ancestry, that is now within our reach. I never knew a Grandfather as they were both dead before I was born. We didn't live as long those days. Now entire families are learning about the trials and tribulations that our Parents and Grandparents went through and also, I hasten to add, the very good times as well. I think that some eyebrows have been raised when details of the Mess parties and "snogging" behind the NAAFI have been revealed.
So welcome Terri and let us hear more about the family reactions that are so relevant to this forum. People like you ,Cliff, John Fairr and others are so important to keep these memories alive. Reg