Some more Sabena in more peaceful days
In 1960, six years after joining Sabena, I was a Convair and DC 6 Captain flying their European Sector which included the Near Middle East..
I was very happy and we moved in to a larger House. We had a lovely big Garden so large that the Landlord built four houses on the end of it and still left us an orchard and a large garden. He and his Wife told us that they had , several times, hidden Allied airmen in the attic. His many stories were thrilling and I felt very humble at the courage they had shown as they had faced torture and certain execution if they were caught. They had both been absent working each day and had to warn the hidden airmen not to flush the toilet whilst they were away in case they were heard by passers by who would know that the house should have been empty.
We had some very happy years there but eventually we took the plunge and bought ten "Ares" (About a quarter of an acre) of land in nearby Wezembeek and commissioned the housebuilding dept. of the big Department Store "A l'Innovation " to build us a nice big detached house .
Wezembeek was a rural commune about twenty minutes from the aerodrome and our new address was Ave de la Maison Communale. Literally "Town Hall St." One of our British friends remarked that it was not a very preposessing address and I, jokingly, remarked that I was going to have it changed. No longer than two weeks passed when I got a letter from the local authorities to tell us that "due to local demand" the name of the street was going to be changed to "Ave des Violettes ". Jimmy Bourne, my friend was very impressed and made some sort of remark of "coming up smelling of violets ".
The plot at the rear of where the house was to stand sloped down to the back and also across the width so I got one of the Belgian Pilots who ran a small building business as a sideline and had a bulldozer to come along and level it out for me. The only day that he could arrange to do this was a Sunday and we had just finished the whole plot when along came the local Gendarme in response to some angry neighbours who accused me of ruining their Sunday siesta. We settled amicably with a few beers and the promise of a crate or two for the neighbours. Hardly an auspicious start but worse was to follow. The Department Store "Innovation" , whose builders were constructing our new home suffered one of the worst fires in Belgian history, and was virtually gutted with a horrendous loss of life. Sometimes the only clue to a victim's identity was the discovery of an unclaimed car parked in the centre of the city. Many tourists shopping in the store were killed and the first idea of their identity would be when enquiries were received from anxious relatives in other countries who had not received news of them for some weeks. All records of contractors, clients, proposed timetables,estimates, payments etc, were lost and it speaks volumes for the determination and organisation of the Company that we only suffered a very small delay in the completion of our house.
We moved early December 1967 and the day could not have been worse. It was bitterly cold and the driveway to our old house was covered with black ice. Although the new house was only a few minutes away the removal men would not start work until I had warmed them with a few brandies. To complicate matters I had arranged to take most of the family with me on a wonderful trip to Nairobi and Johannesburg staying a week in each city, long enough for safari and sightseeing tours.
Sabena had chartered a Sabena Boeing 707 to a German Tour Company who required the crew to stay with the aircraft for the whole of the charter which embraced Xmas so I arranged tickets for the whole family, except for Peter who was married by now and could not get away from his work. Sabena was a wonderful company in that respect and there was never a problem to arrange tickets for family. Unfortunately the family had to leave first as I had to meet up with the tour in Nairobi after taking an aeroplane to Jo'burg so they set off leaving me in the empty new house and we all met up in Nairobi where we hired two mini-buses to transport us and the whole crew all around the Kenyan and Tanzanian National Reserve
That is enough for today and I see that I have missed my transition from propellors to jets so will have more to tell you when I come back from Nairobi !