Ah, the memories. A fairly enjoyable and interesting 29 years, when the lure of Redundacy became too much to resist. I wasn't going to get any further promotion, and saw nothing but 5 more years in Staff Appointments. I think it was 16th or 19th August 1992 when SASO MATO called me in, and handed me the blue letter confirming my release date the following January. In return, I handed him a Leave Pass covering the intervening months, padded by a few weeks of duty leading the RAF Service Weapons Shooting Team to the USA. Having largely cleared my desk already, I headed home just after lunch. Some time in January, I returned to RAF Uxbridge, cleared the Station and handed in my F1250. And that was the end of that part of my life. Period. Move on.
I took over the part-time appointment of RAF Shooting Secretary (some here know me in that role), and was house-husband to SWMBO who was still on the staff at Bracknell until her Redundancy came through some 18 months later. The most difficult part of the first few weeks was having to decide what to wear in the morning, and it took many years before I wanted to wear anything blue!! Then 10 years of my part-time job, involvement in local and National politics before a 2nd retirement and emigration to Jersey.
We are now both fully occupied in planning long-haul holidays! This dit written on my iPad, sat on the terrace, in Stellebosch, Western Cape, ZA ... we will have clocked up 63,000 miles travel this year when we get home
The RAF is but a distant and nostalgic memory, with contact retained with a few old mates ... and with too many others already having departed the fix.