Guys - can I thank you all for contributing.
That's what I love about this site.
As an avid consumer of aviation facts and history - it's fascinating to be able to read all of this - and a privilege to be able to talk with those of you who served and flew the kit for real.
Coffman starter - thanks for those photos - it was indeed the inner cloth helmet that I mistook for a leather one.
I've often thought there'd be a fantastic feature film in the story of the V-Force.
Having visited Hendon, stood under the bomb bay of the Vulcan there and watched the old footage of the streaming take off of multiple Vulcans, it's very sobering to think what it must have like...