GE Motto
Hiya all,
My GE Badge, and motto. I was not favoured with some of the more "glamorous" trips as a GE. Banners, Deci sheds and Africa seemed the norm for me. Hey Ho, as they say, wherever I went was flying in Albert, and mainly in the company of some very splendid people. So, as we entertained 40 - 50 people at our married quarter, to celebrate my daughters 18th birthday, Joe Ion and myself headed for the terminal and a long flight to Dar Es Salaam, via Akronelli and a visit to my old mate Mike Libby. we had a detachment of around 12 Line tradesmen and 6 GEs, to support a flow in to Kigali in Mozambique, where various tribes were busy trying surgical techniques to enthuse their neighbours to their way of thinking.
The stop at Akrotiri was, as always when Libby was involved, a real pleasure, ensuring our transit to Tanzania was sleep ridden. The Hotel we were accommodated in was blooming good and despite sharing rooms, Joe and I soon found that a diet of "road kill" chicken and local Gin and Tonic would suffice. So, the det got underway, under the command from the ground crew point of view of a very junior JENGO from B line. A very nice young lady, but not of a practical bent when keeping Albert flying.
The planned flow of aircraft went quite well, with my job being to allocate a GE to each aircraft flying to Kigali and back. The line lads did the servicing as they landed and departed. in the middle of this I had a communication from our boss Eddie Botham (SAGE) who said that the section was having a competition for a new patch, and could I ask any GEs on the det, if they had any ideas. So I did, not many were too interested.
When I qualified as a GE I bought a world map, and dutifully plotted the routes I did. It didn't take long before I had a large spider striding the planet which gave the graphic for my entry. Following that, I needed a motto, and I decided that the easy, Latin way out, as used by many flying Squadrons would not meet requirements. I got in to a discussion, over a G & T that evening with an expat, who spoke Swahili. Well, we did all the Jambo, Hakuna Matata etc and then I asked if he could translate a sentence for me. Yes he said. So, remembering the old "trust me I'm a doctor" i asked him to translate " Trust me, I'm a Ground Engineer", the result "Mi amimi mimi kazi, yangu ni fundi mkuu" it literally means trust me, I'm a big chief engineer, which of course, all GEs truly were. needless to say I won the competition. I think first prize was to do all of the Banner trips over Christmas that year.
Back to the det. There was a sudden reluctance by the politicians to back this push, so it was being wound down rapidly. I needed to do a quick visit to Kigali to confirm a few suspicions. I had requested, before leaving Lyneham that we took an enhanced "Ranger pack" including spare main and nose wheels. This was denied by Eng Wing, who said that the USAF had done a full check of the airhead at Kigali, and it was "top notch" ! I went to Kigali as GE on one of the last trips. The pan we parked on was covered in shrapnel from grenades, mortars and other deformed sharp metal bits. I collected a large bag (about 5 lbs), and hoped our tyres would get us airborne. On return to Dar Es Salaam I find an Albert delayed northbound because the JENGO had snagged a tyre for wear. Had a look, and whilst it was borderline this tyre needed to survive one take off and landing, arriving at Akronelli where Mike Libby would change it. I spoke with the northbound Captain (Tim Flynn ?) who agreed he was happy to take it, if I signed the 'green'. Job done, aircraft went home. JENGO very embarrassed having to cancel her demand for a tyre on the next BA schedule. How she would have organised changing that tyre is beyond me.
Addendum.
I wrote an article for the Lyneham Globe within a few months of return. It was called Goldilocks and the Three bears, and was a humorous personal take on that detachment. I was informed that OC Admin thought I should be charged with gross insubordination. I was in fact invited to a one way interview with OC Eng, who gave me a lecture on military decorum. I enjoyed presenting him with a 5lb bag of assorted shrapnel, and a wish that my request for spare wheels had been considered properly.
Hope that explains the spider/Swahili patch. I still have one somewhere, and if I can I will find it and post it. Nice to find the thread still going after a few months off. Best to all, keep it going chaps.
Last edited by smujsmith; 1st Jun 2017 at 23:02.