Given the choice of a Tea Lady with a no doubt fine selection of cakes and a 6 foot naked Norweigen bird in the sauna i know who i,d prefered lusting after!

That and the home made rum that the lads from Trinidad and Tobago were always willing to share made Bailbrook an experience my liver and teenage hormones will never forget:O

Graham Duffin and Noel Howes were also instructors at IAL Southall (?) in the mid-sixties.
The Southall building was also on final for 23L, much looking out of the window when there was a strong south westerly!
H49

<< Given the choice of a Tea Lady with a no doubt fine selection of cakes and a 6 foot naked Norweigen bird in the sauna i know who i,d prefered lusting after! >>

Hmmm. Difficult. Send photos of cakes before I decide.:ok:

<<Graham Duffin and Noel Howes were also instructors at IAL Southall (?) in the mid-sixties.>>

Remember them well. Graham was one of the members on my final oral board in early 1967. Wonder if they're still around?

Other instructors there at the same time - Dennis Coop, Mike Lyons, Roger Hoyle.

Don't remember those names HD but there was also a Jerry (?) who was a bit of a character.
H

Two words...

Richard Lane!!!

The man was a legend :\

Gerry Gill, I believe you are thinking of. Noel ("use your cursor") Howes. Graeme ("we are in the sh*t") Altern, now retired in France, I think.

2 s

Graeme Altern.......now there's a name to conjure with!

Worked with Graeme in HLLT. He had a special way of getting a BBQ going involving half a gallon of petrol!

Jerry Gill - yep! Alas, I believe that he is no longer with us.

Is Barry Plimmer still with us?

Graham Altern - a man who was closer to the surface than most of us:p. Those who knew him will be aware that his lack of altitude was a matter of great personal sensitivity.

When I was working for IAL at one of their UK bases, a colleague who had been hankering for an overseas posting for ages was finally summoned to see the Short One at Southall.
The day before the interview, said chap's wife had to rush off to attend to her ill mother, so he had to take his 9 year old daughter with him.

Upon arrival, Graham insisted that the daughter could join them in his office, he even lent her one of his colouring books and she was as good as gold throughout the the interview.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the daughter very politely thanked Graham for letting her stay in his office with Daddy in a manner which could only come out of the mouths of babes:
"thank you very much Mr Altern , I've had a lovely time...... there is just one thing...... you are little aren't you...."

Cue much gathering of coats and embarassed mumblings from Daddy.

(He did get the job by the way:p).

Oh dear.... It was noticeable in "The Ministry" that several who hit the "big time" were vertically challenged too!!

Never met Barry Plimmer, but know the name. George Dunford was The Man when I joined; he interviewed me for the job so I owe him. Then there was Eddie Palmer in one of the offices...

God, it's amazing how many on here had connections with IAL..

First met Graeme back in bailbrook and then on a few occasions both there and Southall over the years, maybe he just helped me get into IAL as he was taller than me, although he didn't like it that he never beat me at pool ! haha!

I did my initial course at Southall in 1967, with Noel Howes. Worked with Graeme Altern and I suspect HD, in Tripoli (HLLI pre Ghaddafi). Also there at the time Al Greathurst, Bill Bartlett, Matt McVicars, Tony Hollins, Bob Allison, Ian Monkhouse and Tony Edwards. Ring any bells?

My "interview" for my first job with IAL was with Al Greathurst. Shortest interview I've ever had. Nice chap. Same goes for all the others that were IAL. A great family feel to the whole operation.

IAL used to occupy both 6 (?) storey blocks at Southall and had a staff of a couple of hundred or so. Next time I worked for them in their new guise of SercoIAL there were 6 or 7 people running the worldwide operation from a single floor of one of the blocks. How times change.

Don't know about the others, but I am sure that Ian Monkhouse went on to join the CAA SRG as an examiner and then do other ATS Investigation stuff with them.

Another name to conjur with: Al Bailey, a brilliant instructor who, during his days off from Bailbrook Asylum, went flying as a F.O with DanAir.
He then went on to join SRG as well.
On my approach course he turned up to do the CAA bit.
Sitting in the exam room for the writtens we were all told we could start, only to find that he'd slipped in photo's of each of us on the group piss up from a few days back.
A great bloke.

Al Bailey was overseeing the Met exam on our App course in the classroom next to the car park. It was blowing and gale outside and a tree fell over missing all the cars but one. It was Al's CAA peugeot estate.:\
The weekends i stayed at the college to study ,would always be the same weekend that the Norweigans had a toga party .:O Funny old thing.

Bailbrook was for sure a good place to be:)
A lot of fun memories from that place.
Remember I once dressed as a munk during a costume party did go into the old man sitting in the reception with his hearing aid (building with a lot of "Old ghost stories") and order a taxi.
Next day the poor man did resign.....out of fear :}

Also remember when we got blamed...after a kind of wet Norwegian party...that we had destroyed the fundation in the cafeteria building. They did go through the whole school next day and did among other things find a huge crack down the wall in the small room by cafeteria :ooh: Luckely someone had filmed that wall early in the evening with the crack there :p

One not so good memory was one of the beers they did serve in the sosial club....Indian Summer....really warm and pale beer :eek:

The instructors were great..however not allways updated to what happened to ATC after the 50s;) Still remember getting told... " Speedcontrol is no substitute for good vectoring":}

Our course had a trip back there some years ago after 10 years in the job. We did manage to meet up with our course manager Bob/Rob Pegg and some of the pilots as well. Was a fun time:)

<<Ian Monkhouse >>

I worked with Ian overseas after he left the Navy. On return to UK he was at Glasgow before SRG. He is now semi-retired (possibly fully now) and living on the south coast.

First time on here but have to reply to this and previous thread!
Yes I am alive and very well and fully retired. Met an ex College Instructor at a "do" today who said I was on PPRrune so an update. After 8 years RN joined IAL I have fond memories of Bailbrook as an Examiner and Inspector.IAL's courses at Southall were terrific circa 1967-8 next door to Viking House full of BA trainee hostesses if I remember correctly. Posted to Doha and Tripoli with (LL Director I suspect). Then Libyan revolution "Spaggetti workers,grave diggers and ATC staff to report for duty immediately " (Tripoli radio announcement ) so left and did Glasgow, Scatcc, CATC, SRG, retire then part time Swanwick training section. Some of the names in this thread - happy memories. Happy Christmas

Xmod... Happy Crimble, I. Take care.

Brendan M