GOPHER01
Were you at the Thorney reunion on saturday (10th)?
70 ex Thorney personnel turned up at the sailing club for our 3rd annual reunion and talk dirty about when we were 18 and falling over on the Big E pub crawl, and lots of El Adam, Luqa, Akrotiri night flying dets due to the restrictions at TI.
Mostly Linies and covering around 67-74ish, but also a sprinkling of other ex Thorney Islanders from Bevs, Argosies etc.
We had a very moving ceremony in the adjacent churchyard when a lovely lady laid a wreath in memory of her brother, tragically killed in a Bev accident in Singapore in 1967 aged 25 and buried at Thorney; made everybody think a little.
The (former) Nuffield club is not in great condition, doesnt seem a great deal of interest in the place. best bar on the island and a facility most camps would have dreamed of, but getting rather tatty.
The farms dispersal is long gone and they dont seem to know what to do with the airfield in general.
Restricted night flying, short night shifts; the Thorney Flyer at 10 old pence each way, left the station 10 minutes after closing time 7 days a week. legging off into Sussex to get the extra 1/2 hr boozing, window cleaning, apple picking, sprout picking (all in season) then off onto night shift and into the Coal Exchange (Coal 'Ole) for 9'clock.
Considering the forecast, the weather was great, sunny but breezy but as we all know, it never rains at Thorney.
Us youngsters never realised what a holiday camp the place was, and to get posted out to a place where someone on the tannoy kept saying things about a bloke called Michael Finn came as a bit of a shock.