Parachuting RAF Cooks

[St Johns Wort]

Just read an interesting artcle in the Saturday edition of The Daily Telegraph, 'Weekend' suppliment.

'Lest we forget: nation joins forces to honour our heroes'

'We may be under economic fire at present but that hasn't stopped Blackpool restraunteur Glenn Hanford from putting his head above the parapet. This week the manager of the town's Buccaneer Family Bar has thrown caution to the wind, giving hundreds of free meals to members of the Armed Forces and their families.
"It was my catering manager Mark Fox's idea," says Handford. "He's ex RAF and during the Falklands War, he was parachuted in to cook for the front-line troops.........."

Full marks to Mr Hanford for his generosity and Mr Fox for his idea. However, can anybody throw a bit of light on the Falklands parachuting cook?

[airborne_artist]

However, can anybody throw a bit of light on the Falklands parachuting cook? No cooks parachuted into the Falklands, period. C-130s could get there during Corporate, but had more battle-critical pax to deliver.

If the cook had been dropped into the sea you'd imagine he'd have mentioned it? Come to think of it, has anyone ever seen a cook swim?

The cook may be/have been a member of 49 Para (http://www.arrse.co.uk/wiki/49_Para), of course :E

Edited in the light of the posts below. Grey cells clearly struggling after the effects of a very good evening.

[c130jbloke]

Nowhere near 100% sure about this, but did we not para in a replacement for H Jones after Goose Green ? I am sure I read something to that effect, but I have no idea where the reference is.

[ZH875]

A C130 left ASI with many 'people' on board, it did not land, and when it returned many hours later, only the crew were on board.


So there were definately some idiots throwing themselves out of serviceable aircraft during Op Corporate.

[CirrusF]

Nowhere near 100% sure about this, but did we not para in a replacement for H Jones after Goose Green ? I am sure I read something to that effect, but I have no idea where the reference is

Yes, you are correct. He parachuted into the Atlantic from a long range Albert, and was picked up by HMS Penelope, then transferred ashore by helicopter - mentioned in Gordon Smith's book on Falklands.

Members of B Sqn Desmonds were also parachuted into the sea and picked up by Andromida, but the Junta surrendered before they got ashore. This may have been the flight ZH875 refers to.

[TOPBUNKER]

Airborne Artist - you're wrong!
And, er, that's it!

[Al R]

Is parachuting in the Atlantic the same as parachuting into the Falklands, which I what AA referred to? :ok:

Hats off to MCSU although I can't believe a Guin would waffle about his service career. Unless of course, he was the cook I HALO'd into Moscow with one night back in '88.

[Gainesy]

Mebbe the bloke was a para then took up cooking when he left --not much call for para skills in civvy street.


Or he's a Walt.

[CirrusF]

Mebbe the bloke was a para then took up cooking when he left --not much call for para skills in civvy street.


Or he's a Walt.


He obviously did not jump into the Falklands, but it might be the case that he was genuinely a para-trained RAF slop-jockey. There were days when just about anybody could get on a para course, no matter how dubious the operational requirement. There was even a pay-clerk on my course - he never could explain how he was going to get out of a Herc with a filing cabinet clipped to his harness.

I guess things are different now though:
http://www.pprune.org/military-aircrew/379453-paras-without-planes.html


Anyhow, even if he is walting, still hats off to him for the generous gesture he has made.

[Blacksheep]

I know of several RAF Cooks that ought to have been chucked out of a C130 but I'd have denied them the use of a parachute. :hmm:

BS
Mutineer in Ordinary,
The Great RAF Waddington Food Mutiny of 1968.

[mystic_meg]

Maybe somebody´s getting their canapes and canopies mixed up? :ok:

[Clockwork Mouse]

I read that Fat Gordon parachuted Mandelson into the House of Lords a short time ago. Don't know if he can cook anything except the books though.

[Dunhovrin]

Maybe somebody´s getting their canapes and canopies mixed up

Very good. Or maybe he flew in by wokka. I'll get me smock.

[barnstormer1968]

I want a 49 para tee shirt now, thanks to AA.
It easily beats an old tee shirt I had which had wings and the letters MRU on it (Mess Tin Repair unit (airborne)). That used to draw loads of questions, to which I would say it's a secret:ok:

I seem to have loads of regimental tee's which have been given to me as presents for giving ad-hoc lessons to units, but I would love to be approached by someone who seeing my 49 para tee shirt, said they were in it too.:}

[Abbey Road]

A 'Walt' gets his reward.

'Plastic para' fantasist who spent years claiming he was a hero soldier despite serving as a cook is jailed for fraud | Mail Online (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2030532/Plastic-para-fantasist-spent-years-claiming-hero-soldier-despite-serving-cook-jailed-fraud.html#ixzz1W9zOXveq)

[Mahogany_Bomber]

Hello all,

I do believe there is some truth to this story. I saw an acclaimed documentary about this individual following his transfer to the US Navy in the 1990s, Master Chief Casey Ryback was his name.

MB

[wiggy]

Master Chief Casey Ryback was his name

MB

Oh yes I remember him....great documentary. Do you think he'd make me one of those birthday cakes if I asked nicely :E :E.....

[ShyTorque]

But can he even cook?

I recall a few RAF cooks who should have been parachuted in behind enemy lines. They could have killed hundreds of the enemy.

[oldbeefer]

Shy - shame on you! I found the meals dished up in the field, both in the UK and Germany, were fantastic. Nothing like the smell of frying bacon when landing at 0600 after a couple of hours in then air.

We (in RAFG) were lucky in that they had fresh rats to work with. The AAC only had compo - joint detachments found all the AAC bods queing for 'our' meals.

[dkh51250]

BS
Mutineer in Ordinary,
The Great RAF Waddington Food Mutiny of 1968.

BS I thought it was 1969, however, numerous brain cells have been destroyed by alcohol during the intervening years.

[SOSL]

Thanks for your link AR, very interesting, but why bother?

This thread had been quiet for more than 2 years which probably means most posters seem to have thought "well done to Messrs Hanford and Fox".

The walt you refer to has been outed on so many other threads and forums and in national and local press.

He has nothing to do with these guys who generously gave away free meals.

You could have started a new thread but it wouldn't have had much to do with military aviation and it wouldn't have attracted much response because it had been done to death elsewhere. (for the more intelligent readers - yes I do see the irony but I'm slightly annoyed)

SOS L

[NutLoose]

Shy - shame on you! I found the meals dished up in the field, both in the UK and Germany, were fantastic. Nothing like the smell of frying bacon when landing at 0600 after a couple of hours in then air.

We (in RAFG) were lucky in that they had fresh rats to work with. The AAC only had compo - joint detachments found all the AAC bods queing for 'our' meals.


Even better was having a Jengo or Sengo that couldn't eat pork because of their religions............ so as we tucked in, and people often ate theirs too, they sat and starved :)

[SOSL]

??????????

[ShyTorque]

Shy - shame on you! I found the meals dished up in the field, both in the UK and Germany, were fantastic. Nothing like the smell of frying bacon when landing at 0600 after a couple of hours in then air.
We (in RAFG) were lucky in that they had fresh rats to work with. The AAC only had compo - joint detachments found all the AAC bods queing for 'our' meals.

Nothing to do with RAFG, I was rather thinking of the ones at a Welsh base who gave myself and my squadron colleague a debilitating cocktail of dysentry inducing bugs to eat. I collapsed with severe stomach cramps on the walk out to the aircraft an hour later....my colleague never left the crewroom. The docs got involved and traced the problem to lunch - both of us had eaten the same thing in the OM.

Never ate rats though. I used to throw stuff at them in the hay barns on exercise.

[ZH875]

RAF Cooks AKA Fitters & Turners



They fit the food into pans and turn it into ****e.

[RedhillPhil]

Perhaps by "parachuted in" he meant he was transported there quickly. We do read from time to time of wannabee M.P.s geting parachuted into safe seats.

[Secret1]

Perhaps the cook was parachute trained, like many other 'non-flyers', and had been based at Akrotiri back in the good ole days, when there was a capability to drop whatever you were doing in the office, workshop, mess, gymnasium, etc, and collect parachute, board C130 or whatever a/c was available, and some time later jump out over the Med and perform air-sea-rescue of pax/crew from ditched aircraft.

[Airborne Aircrew]

In the late 70's and early 80's there were at least two cooks I can remember clearly that were parachute trained and had completed per-para on the Sqn. strength of II Sqn. One was a huge black lad who's name escapes me and another was a lad called Wayne. Both jumped with us every time we jumped and marched where we did. Both were functional cooks too... :ok: