Being evidently of the same age as Royalist and another habitué of the Farnborough airshows of that era, I wonder whom he knew to have his “own” Meteor – AM Sir Richard Atcherley ?
I well remember that the Commandant of CFS (in my time Air Cdre Bird-Wilson) owned his “own” Mosquito. I will not have been the only course student to sit behind its windscreen and imagine an Amiens-type attack on the hangar in front of me (and speculate about the discomfort of my imaginary nav).
Re personal Aircraft
Group Captain (later Air Chief Marshal) Denis Smallwood was Station Commander at Biggin Hill when I was there 1953-55. With two auxiliary squadrons (600 & 615) and one regular squadron (41), Biggin’s normal working week was Wednesday to Sunday. ISTR that at the end of the working week on Sunday, the CO was in the habit of flying off to Honiley in a Meteor (one of 41’s perhaps), returning first thing on Wednesday.
Don’t think the Meteor he used was a “personal” one, but his weekly trips to the Midlands (to see family – perhaps?) was well known on the station as he tended to be off late on Sunday as the last of Biggin’s weekend flyers returned to base.