Norman Tebbits RAF service

[Wee Weasley Welshman]

Why won't the two main parties do anything about the madness of taxing the poor? – Telegraph Blogs (http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/normantebbit/100022127/why-wont-the-two-main-parties-do-anything-about-the-madness-of-taxing-the-poor/)


I was aware of his civilian flying background but did not know of his RAF service. Can anyone shed any light on what he flew, where and when? Just idle curiosity. Yes, his politics is a bit left wing for my liking (call me Genghis), but he doesn't seem too bad a sort and the way he handled the IRA putting his wife in a wheelchair is starkly admirable in my book.

Cheers


WWW

[Archimedes]

IIRC, he was on Meteors.

In fact, I think there was a thread on Meteor losses in which he was mentioned. Hang on...

<rumages around electronically>

Yes, here (http://www.pprune.org/military-aircrew/70987-meteor-accident-statistics.html) (Post #17)

[Dan Winterland]

IIRC from his autobiography, he was a national Service pilot in the RAF flying Vampires then left to fly for BOAC. I'm pretty sure he flew B707s and was also an official in BALPA.

[gravity victim]

Meteors, I believe.

[Wee Weasley Welshman]

Coo. Meatbox pilot. Respect due.


WWW

[vecvechookattack]

Born into a working class family, Tebbit went to Edmonton County School, an academically selective state school in north London. He was then a journalist for the Financial Times before serving with the Royal Air Force. During four years of National Service he flew Meteor and Vampire jets and had to break open the cockpit canopy of a burning Mosquito aircraft to escape from it.
On leaving the RAF he joined BOAC in 1953 as a pilot, during which time he was an official in the British Air Line Pilots Association.

[Yellow Sun]

He wrote an autobiography, published in 1988, "Upwardly Mobile" (http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?an=Tebbit&sts=t&tn=Upwardly+Mobile&x=53&y=16). It's not a bad read.

YS

[goudie]

From his Autobiography ISTR he flew Meteors at RAF Waterbeach. On one sortie he failed to take off and ended up in the overshoot. Some brief mention was made of the trim wheel being set fully nose down.
It was a good read. A man in no doubt about his convictions.

[papajuliet]

From "High Flyers" -
6/49 as AC2 Tebbitt square bashing at Padgate
summer 49 -36 Course at Wittering as officer cadet
2 FTS at South Cerney on Prentices and Harvards
11/50 commissioned
early 51 to Middleton St. George on Meteors
OCU at Stradishall
two years National Service finished
later joined RAFVR, flew Chipmunks
Then RAuxAF on Vampires and Meteor 8's [four years service during which he survived a total write off accident on take-off and a mid-air collision not to mention [he says]all manner of Fri. and Sat.evening parties,generally more hazardous than flying.

[teeteringhead]

...... and as he is still alive, and/or not yet 100, his docs - including his 5000 series - will be retained somewhere ..........:E

Edited to add: The point about age 100 is that I understand your personal docs are binned/archived/shredded when you reach 100, even if you're still breathing. Something to do with the computer not being able to hack a dob more than 100 years ago ....

Any deskies confirm?

[Gainesy]

He lives about a mile from me, he's nowhere near 100, about 75ish at a guess and a running snake at that, hard to tell, he only looks about 50, (mind you he appears to have looked like that since his early 20s).
Frederick Forsyth was on 604 Sqn at, I think North Weald with Tebbit, both being RAuxAF after National Service in the RAF. Agree his book is a damn good read. On BOAC his last type was VC10s I think. Can't find the book at the moment.

Very affable bloke, always responds to the time of day and doffs his titfer* to wimminfolk.

*Yanks pls look it up, not a fetish.:)

[brakedwell]

Fred Forsyth (71) is considerably younger than Norman T (79). F F was on the junior course at Swinderby (Vampires) when we passed out in August 1957. I don't think he flew again after completing his National Service.

BTW. Norman Tebbit now lives in Suffolk.

[Gainesy]

Really, since when? Must say, I've not seen him for a while.

[brakedwell]

I think NT moved out of Mannings Heath in the middle of 2009. He used to visit a nearby friend of mine who was on the same flying training course.

[Gainesy]

Ah, OK. Prob last time I saw him was at the Fete Worse Than Death which was June or Julyish.

[teeteringhead]

And what about Tony Benn (aka Viscount Stansgate)? Also a meatbox pilot IIRC, although he keeps very quiet about that .......

[Gainesy]

Spitfires to start with I believe.

[tu154]

/Civvie post on:

Some interesting stuff in Alan Bristow's autobiography about his dealings with Tebbit when he was a BALPA official, and Bristow was runnng BUA.

/Civvie post off.

[Orange Poodle]

I remain impressed by the CVs of many of our elder statesmen, and women, people who did their bit for their country or acheived something before going into politics.

What will the obituaries look like in 30-40 years when this hapless bunch in the government go to meet their maker ?

...... third class degree in Politics, researcher for the Party, local councillor, MP in safe seat, PPS, total non-entity of a career, followed by a few years in the Lords.......

OP

(Sorry for going off-topic...)

[Gainesy]

Hopefully it won't be 30-40 years.

[teeteringhead]

A good point well made OP - even if off topic.

Even Ted Heath had his yacht and his piano (and IIRC a military MBE), and of course the Blessed Margaret famously invented Soft Ice Cream when a chemist for Walls......

But this lot (of any political complexion) are just as you describe ..... the likes of Hain and Straw first painted on the radar of those of us of a certain age as NUS activists - and have never yet done a proper job ..... harrrumph!

[Tyres O'Flaherty]

Denis Healey = M.C.

[Lou Scannon]

Gainsey:
Norman lived just up the road from me in Mannings Heath and was thought of as a good bloke. He and Lady Tebbit have now indeed moved away to be nearer to their kids.

Margaret is of course permanently in a wheel chair thanks to the IRA fascists who bombed the Grand in Brighton as part of their futile and failed campaign.

[Cpl Plod]

futile and failed campaign

Are you quite sure about that?

Ironic really on a thread discussing the past military exploits of political leaders

Northern Ireland Assembly:

Martin McGuinness MP MLA - Deputy First Minister

Gerry Kelly MLA

Gerry Adams MLA

Alex Maskey MLA

Etc, Etc

[teeteringhead]

Denis Healey = M.C. Indeed so - a D-Day Beachmaster IIRC. Respect.

And was not Harold Macmillan a WW I MC?

Of course, Harold Wilson's war was as a junior minister - President of the Board of Trade?

[aviate1138]

Harold Macmillan

"Born in 1894 to an American mother and British father, Harold Macmillan served in WWI. He was wounded three times and received the Military Cross."

[chippy63]

DH was awarded the MBE, I think.

[Guzlin Adnams]

I stood next to him (by accident, not intentionally) during Remembrance Sunday at Bury St Edmunds, where he now lives. Didn't recognise him to start with andalthough showing his age a bit he still looked in pretty good nick. I did hear him comment that the Rocks marched very well!
I thought he'd flown VC10's at some point.

Didn't Tony Benn serve in er Mugabe land. I recall that sadly his brother Mike was killed flying an FB6 Mosquito during WW2 (on take off I think). Read that in a book a while ago.

[sanddancer]

I thought Tony Benn qualified on Lancasters but the war ran out before he went operational..could be wrong though

[Georgeablelovehowindia]

Senior First Officer Norman Tebbit ended his BOAC career on the Boeing 707 fleet, having started on the Canadair Argonaut. He was also an extremely hard-nosed and very skilled BALPA union rep., leading some people in management to suspect he might have communist leanings.You could have knocked us all down with a feather when the BOAC News - aka 'PRAVDA' or 'The Friday Firelighter' - announced that he'd been adopted as the Conservative Party candidate for Chingford! Yes, really!

:}

[brakedwell]

Another BOAC/BA First Officer/union man/high flyer was Dennis Tunnicliffe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denis_Tunnicliffe,_Baron_Tunnicliffe), who became CEO of International Leisure Group (Air Europe) before heading London Regional Transport.