A passing thought

[Genghis the Engineer]

I just got phoned up by somebody who is a British WW2 veteran aviator, asking for a bit of help and advice on his homebuilt aeroplane - which he built himself 3 years ago (and I believe did a memorial flypast in last year as well when the RAF was busy elsewhere).

Needless to say he got the help he needed, but my point is really that I feel rather proud to be on first name terms with somebody who served our country in the air 60+ years ago, is still flying, and still fit and well enough to build an aeroplane (and fly it, by all accounts, quite well).

Just thought I'd share that.

G

[Windy Militant]

A nice thought Genghis.
I wonder if this is the same veteran who gave up some of his time last year to instruct airscouts at an air activities camp which was run in conjuntion with the PFA.
It was a privilege to be a part of and heartening to see how easily the generation gap was crossed.

[Lomcovaks]

Nice thought.

It kind of reminds me of the time I visited Tangmere a few years ago.

In the hall was the Hunter that Neville Duke broke the speed record in.

To one side of the hall was a rather tall, silver haired old codger lifting small schoolboys into a Link trainer and letting them have a go for a few minutes.

The fact that it was Neville Duke himself doing the honours didn't mean a thing to the kids but it certainly made an impression on me!

It's also why joining in Project Propeller is such a worthwhile experience. If you can hand back even a grain of gratitude to those guys it's worth it. Trouble is, my 'crewmate' of the last few years keeps giving me stuff every time we meet up like propaganda leaflets and silk escape maps.

[shortstripper]

I've met Neville Duke a couple of times now (but certainly don't claim to know him) He is a real Gent and still flies on a regular basis.

SS

A couple of years ago my partner in the VP2 celebrated the 60th anniversary of his first solo by soloing the Veep for the first time. He wasn't in combat during WW2 but instead as a young man (non RAF) check flew new aircraft such as Spitfires as they came off the production line. His medical has now lapsed but he regularly flies with me and his flying is faultless!

[airborne_artist]

Father of a friend of mine I knew had been a pilot in WWII - but had never said much more about it.

Asked him last June where he was on D-Day - in his Spitfire over Sword beach came the reply! He'd never even told his son ...

[djpil]

He is a real Gent I second that - had the pleasure to work with Neville Duke some years ago.

[Dusty_B]

might as well highlight it...

Project Propeller (http://www.projectpropeller.co.uk/?pprune)

[stiknruda]

Dusty B - funny old thing this thread prompted me to register yesterday!

Stik

[Aussie Andy]

Ditto re- Project Propeller!!! Best / most worthwhile fly-in event in Britian EVERY year :ok:

[muffin]

And me - just registered too.

In a similar vein, a few years ago I went to a Ferrari day across the road from Tangmere at Goodwood. I was highly delighted to get the autograph of Stirling Moss. I took it home and proudly gave it to my 15 year old son, who asked me "who is that?"

[shortstripper]

So who is that?































Joking, sorry :E

SS

[MyData]

Reading this thread brought back some memories...

In the early 90's I was seeing a girl. Her father had been in the Navy in WWII - on the North Atlantic crossings. He didn't talk much about what he had done due to the horrors he had seen and the fear at sea. He had also lost his brother in the RAF but nothing much was said on that topic either.

At that time I applied to BA to enroll on a pilot training programme - after 3 tests / interviews etc. I got through to the final selection exercise with 10 others from an original application of over 3000 people. I failed at the final hurdle - but that's another story.

Upon returning home I went to see my girlfriend and her father asked how the day had progressed. I was disappointed to say that I wouldn't be selected to go any further. At that point he brought out an RAF flight log book and gave it to me to read.

The family had never seen this book before. They didn't even know of its existence. I sat enraptured reading through the detailed comments and observations of a young pilot learning the basics and going through to solo, navigation etc. I recall he spent some time in Canada practicing night flying and reconnaisance / bombing flying. The dates (1941? 1942?) rolled by rapidly with the occassional gap for R&R. He then returned to the UK, a qualified RAF pilot awaiting his orders.

The log then recalls how he was stationed with squadron in East Anglia. The excitement and apprehension is apparent in his notes. He made a couple of check flights and finally was up for an operational mission over Holland, diligently updating the log upon his return.

And then the entries finished. A red diagonal line closing the log after the final entry. It was only his second sortie, back to Holland. His aircraft must have been shot down over the North Sea. There were no survivors, no bodies or aircraft recovered. Simply a log book along with other personal effects returned to the family.

It still chokes me to recall that evening reading the log book - it really brought home the debt and gratitude we owe to those who paid the ultimate price. I was also stunned at how much dedication, work and effort had been put into getting this young man trained, only for him to be so ruthlessly taken. And to think this happened in thousands of cases...