Landroger,
What a smashing story, and how I recognise the dry whit you experienced that convinced you that the RAF C130 fleet in theatre, was on its last legs. I can assure you that the aircraft you flew in, both ways, was perfectly fit to fly, and so were the crew (well, maybe)
We had a lot of support in theatre, even after the shooting stopped. I for one got back to Lyneham a full 2 months after the welcome home, tea and medals parade. I'm sure many of us had become fairly cynical by the time our Det had halved and moved to Bahrain, but, servicing and operating standards never deteriorated in my humble opinion. You certainly would not have been the only "non RAF" passenger to be "wound up" by crews, and I can assure you that even government ministers were subject to such banter. Your story though does reflect the oft recorded thoughts of professionals from the civilian world, having been exposed to "Albert". I hope your memories of Albert, and the crew are something you remember with fondness, I suspect Baron Wakeham might not have such, as a result of my making him a Coffee on the way to Kuwait, around the time of your trip.
Smudge
