For those that might be interested, today marks the closing of another chapter in this sorry saga with the departure from Kinloss of the last man to leave the Kipper fleet.
Since those momentous events 3 years ago the Squadrons have disbanded, the Station has closed and there has been a steady outflow of postings, retirements, redundancies and PVRs which left just a small handful of “natural wastage” to wither on the vine waiting their exit date. Fortunately the system left us in peace to fade away quietly and now the last man has finally gone; me.
After 38+ years of service, no less than 30 have been on the Kipper fleet as both groundcrew and aircrew, from Mk1 through to MRA4; including a short encounter with the AEW3. From the Flight Line to Flight Deck to Sim and OCU I’ve had the pleasure of working with some of the finest professionals you could hope to encounter in any walk of life. A truly awesome mix of characters from right across the personality spectrum that combined to create professional bonds the like of which only those who’ve experienced it could really understand.
Tonight I’ll raise a glass to all those I’ve served with over the years. I’ll raise a further glass to all the people who served at Kinloss over the past 73 years and finally I’ll raise a last glass to all the Maritme aviators past and present from the RAF and our colonial friends who, perhaps more than most, can truly appreciate just what we’ve lost.
Then I’ll finish the bottle.
A wee story;
I was clearing at Lossiemouth a few weeks ago when the young lassie looked up from her computer screen with a look of horror and concern on her face and declared – “Sir, you should have started your terminal leave a month ago!”
“Ach, don’t worry”, I said, “I actually started my terminal leave about 15 years ago; I’ve been on the wind down ever since”
A grizzled old civvy (ex Nimrod Sqn Adj) overheard the conversation and quipped with a smile,
“Huh, typical f**kin’ Engineer”
Cheers Chaps – All the best.
Last man.
Oilcan (JA / USMS 1)
