Danny
I've just made the catastrophic error of writing a wadge of text, then popping back to previous page, only to find the text has disappeared on my return. Humph!
Anyway... thanks for your many observations above. Always interesting, sometimes fascinating, frequently laugh-out-loud amusing!
Re your 144 above, can you not re-post your 'My accident'? I can't believe it won't bear another airing. You mentioned privately emailing it. Surely better for all to savour! Incidently, anonymity isn't an issue for me... I'm a 'nobody'. But I appreciate that you have to be cautious in that respect. Were your contact details ever to get out, you'd be deluged by authors, writers, journalists, editors, historians. Could be very nasty!
But I'm wondering if you recorded a taped interview with the Imperial War Museum? Years ago, I gave them my father's details and, recently retired, he trekked up to London at their request. His answers on the recording are somewhat terse, so I rather doubt that they got quite what they were hoping for. However, with your 'gift of the gab', you could be a God-send for them! Also, may I observe (as if you didn't know) you
ain't gonna be around for ever, sir. I recall you mentioned, somewhere in the 'Brevet' Thread, that you'd written your memoirs. Possibly you're satisfied that these are sufficient and you need leave no further legacy. Anyway... I thought I might be bold and mention it.
Re your post immediately above, I knew the Vampire was risky to fly... indeed I mentioned my father having to belly-land one (on page 3). But I didn't know the Meteor (photo) was dodgy. (Looks so solid!) Arthur, having converted from piston engine aircraft, thought the jets remarkable for their speed... blasting up to height on take-off. He though they were easier to fly than multi-piston-engine aircraft... less monitoring and tweaking of engines, etc.
Oh, a small observation! You and your Air Force colleagues are much given to jargon and acronyms. I should point out that we haven't all been favoured with a period of service in the Air Force. I follow some of it in your post ... 'ATC' is Air Traffic Control (not Air Training Corps). 'AFS' is Advanced Flying School? 'NS' is definitely National Service. 'SFTS' is Service Flying Training School? Some of the jargon in 'Brevet' is very tricky, elsewhere it's mind-warping! Then again, I concede, recourse to jargon must be both automatic and rather pleasurable. What is the point in learning a foreign language if you never use it?!
