Vampire at Heston
Fantastic Movietone footage thanks - even though I can't actually be seen up my tree ("...I also remember climbing a small tree then on the airfield boundary about there, to watch my first jet (a Vampire) depart...").
Yes, that must have been the occasion, and I've found another ref, in the history of the Hornet, suggesting it was probably on 2 October 1945 - when the first two Sea Hornet prototypes were "..were shown to the public for the first time at a Press Show at Heston..." That answers another question: "my" tree might not have been there after the Ju88 shot across North Hyde Lane - probably a good job I wasn't up it that day, anyway!
Interesting that the first part of that Movietone clip covers the closing down ATA pageant at White Waltham, as I later worked, part-time while still at school, for Island Air Services at Heathrow, with their three pleasure flight Rapides. IAS was, of course, the baby of Monique Agazarian (Rendall at that time), an ex ATA pilot, and one of her other pilots was Suzanne Ashton (formerly Chapman) also ex ATA - I flew often with both of them.