Danny has a Pleasant Surprise
Sgt Watt brought in the post one morning: "Here's something interesting, sir". We had, it seemed, got an Increase in our Establshment. Not much, but we had suddenly become entitled to "Bicycles, Tradesmen, Qty 2." "Should we demand these, do you think, sir?" Sir thought for a few moments. As a general rule, anything with wheels on was worth having.
A whole generation must now have grown up since the last "Tradesman's" or more colloquially "Errand Boy's" bike was a common sight on our streets. Nowadays a huge pantechnicon goes round with the legend: "You Shop - We Drop". The idea is an old one,for once upon a time every grocer, butcher, baker and candlestick maker in the land would have an "errand lad" on strength (five bob a week if he was lucky), for delivery of goods to the customers.
The lad had transport provided in the form of one of these bikes. A very strong frame had a 26-in wheel at the back, but only about a 12-in one at the front. This allowed for a big frame surrounding a large carrier basket ahead of the handlebars, ideal for carrying a large number of small parcels. Advertising had not been overlooked: a steel plate filled the gap in the frame, with "John Smith, Quality Butchers" - or whatever - (plus address & phone number - if any), and a graceful flourish to finish it off.
We were pretty well self-sufficient, but there are always bits and pieces to be collected from, and return to Stores, (about half a mile away). One of these bikes would be handy. And then it suddenly struck me ! Suppose I kept my parachute, Mae West and flying kit in my office ? Then, when I was going flying, all I need do was to pile the lot into the carrier, hop on, ride to the Flight Office, book-out and ride out to my aircraft. You can't do that in a car, and it may mean humping your chute and the rest a few hundred yards from the Flights to the Line - for Fate will have it that your aircraft is always on the far end - on a hot day. You're knackered before you climb in.
I know that, strictly speaking, no vehicles are allowed in the Aircraft Movement Area without permission of ATC, but they didn't object to my bike, and I could drop it down among all the rest of the necessary bits of things - fire extinguishers, trolley accs, mech's tool chests, cockpit ladders etc, which live in the space between parked aircraft. And of course pick it up and ride away when I climbed out.
"Get the demand in for both right away, Sarge !" The two duly arrived, finished in RAF blue. We dug out a couple of the old "Summer Holidays Free - Join 3608 FCU" posters and stuck them on the frame plates to demonstrate ownership. Sir made it clear that one bike must always be kept serviceable for him. They were very useful, and we were much envied - for it seemed that we were the only Unit so favoured, but nobody knew why.
Once we were well into '52, all our activities tended to build up towards the climax of the Territorial and Auxiliary year - the Summer Camp. This would not be literally a "camp" under canvas (although that had been tried in '51, and proved disastrous). Rather it was a detachment to a regular Fighter Control Station of all the Unit members who had been trained to operational standard. Recent recruits who were still in "Basic" training would remain behind.
You might suppose that this heralded a period of frantic activity for me and the regular staff, but in fact we were only concerned with making up the numbers who had earned their right to the supposed "Summer Holiday", and then solve the logistical problem of getting them to the Station selected. As these "host" stations had mostly been used for the purpose in previous years (and would get a whole series of FCUs in any one season), they had the business pretty well "sussed-out".
All I needed to do was to get them through the camp gates: they would take over from me then and I could "rest on my oars" for the remainder of the fortnight, and see my troops off on the way home again. I think Bob Schroder stayed behind to mind the store and supervise the training of our newer recruits. Of course there was no purpose in my taking Sgt Watt and my Orderly Room staff down, as I had no "standing" down there at all.
More about this next time.
Cheers, chaps,
Danny42C.
The onlooker sees most of the game.