RAF Gan Movie Footage - New.
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RAF Gan Movie Footage - New.
I met a chap last night who was at Gan in 62/63. He has about two hours worth of hand held movie footage. Lots of ramp stuff, and marine. I'm sure the RAF Museum would be interested. I could look through their website for a contact but, to save a lengthy trawl and false starts, does anyone have a 'direct line' to the movie archives boss?
Loved Gan, what little I saw of it. Must have pased through there a dozen times in the back of Brits,
VC-10s 
--- and bl**dy C-130s 
Loved Gan, what little I saw of it. Must have pased through there a dozen times in the back of Brits,
VC-10s --- and bl**dy C-130s
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Passing through was all very well forget, but the Gannites suffered thirteen months of it. Towards the end of the tour they suffered from Island Fever - a version of Cabin Fever. A major occupation was Oggin Trogging - walking all the way round the island following the beach - just for something to do. They also spoke in their own abbreviated lingo - "Gizzit" "NAAFI Manager c*nt of the month - Tiger not having" etc. The fortunate ones got a short break in the middle of their tour; scalies back to UK, singlies to Changi. While I was at Changi we'd see these creatures come over from Gan for just two weeks and blow six months accumulated savings on cameras, hi-fi and girls. Mostly on girls - they'd arrive with a mimeographed list of contacts. Can't blame them, can you?
Later I went to Gan for a Belfast engine change and spent ten days there. In the VASF crew room we'd be shadowed and watched carefully when we went to the 'fridge for a cold drink. It turned out they were worried about their scarce supply of fresh milk. When we got back to Brize we sent a couple of crates of fresh milk down the route for them, for which they were pathetically grateful.
Just before any UK bound flight departed, a Land Rover from the post office would skid to a halt at the ramp and the mail bag would be ceremonially placed in the hold. The VASF chaps wouldn't remove the chocks until "Postie" gave the thumbs up, no matter how impatient the aircraft captain might be.
I have memories of drinking ice cold Tiger every night in the Marine Bar, right on the beach next to the Marine Craft unit, with its trophy coffee-jockey panties nailed to the ceiling beams and an inflatable woman on a shelf behind the bar.
Later I went to Gan for a Belfast engine change and spent ten days there. In the VASF crew room we'd be shadowed and watched carefully when we went to the 'fridge for a cold drink. It turned out they were worried about their scarce supply of fresh milk. When we got back to Brize we sent a couple of crates of fresh milk down the route for them, for which they were pathetically grateful.
Just before any UK bound flight departed, a Land Rover from the post office would skid to a halt at the ramp and the mail bag would be ceremonially placed in the hold. The VASF chaps wouldn't remove the chocks until "Postie" gave the thumbs up, no matter how impatient the aircraft captain might be.
I have memories of drinking ice cold Tiger every night in the Marine Bar, right on the beach next to the Marine Craft unit, with its trophy coffee-jockey panties nailed to the ceiling beams and an inflatable woman on a shelf behind the bar.
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There are a whole series of DVDs just released by DD Entertainment entitiled "The Royal Air Force - The Unseen Films". These are all MoD recruiting films and absolute gems. On the one covering the years '1960-61' there are six colour films, one of which is entitled "Transport Command" and has lots of shots taken at Gan.
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I served only 9 months on Gan, in 6 Signals Unit, but I wish I had been able to do the whole 13 months, and no, I'm not a pervert, just in case you were thinking that. Gan was the best posting I ever had in 16 years in the RAF. Christmas 1972 was my best ever Christmas, bar was open for about 3 weeks, non stop, we, of course went to work between stints of bar tending/drinking. Ahhh, happy daze. The Marine Bar, by the way, was frequented by SASF wan*ers, so you fly boys would have been right at home!!
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Ah Gan, the RAF's 'Island in the Sun', land of the Not Having. Did a tour there 72/73 on SASFlt.
The place where Gan Radio did an outside broadcast on the huge pan talking to pax passing through. Equipment involved? A hand held mike and about 500 yards of cable back to the Gan Radio's little house.
The place where you could go fishing with a Bedford 3-tonner - trick was to run the fish over in the shallow inner lagoon.
The place where the Sticky Brit was the most awaited air movement of the week.
But it's all memories and recollections now.
It was like this . . .
SASFlt buildings 1972
The place where Gan Radio did an outside broadcast on the huge pan talking to pax passing through. Equipment involved? A hand held mike and about 500 yards of cable back to the Gan Radio's little house.
The place where you could go fishing with a Bedford 3-tonner - trick was to run the fish over in the shallow inner lagoon.
The place where the Sticky Brit was the most awaited air movement of the week.
But it's all memories and recollections now.
It was like this . . .
SASFlt buildings 1972
I was fortunate enough to spend eight years passing through or slipping in Gan when on Brits. Dinghy drill was a popular way of passing a day.
Then there was the paddling.
And once the sun went down - the drinking!
Then there was the paddling.
And once the sun went down - the drinking!
I was at Gan between January and November 1958 as the island was being developed as a staging post.
185 of my photos that I took whilst there can be seen at:
http://groups.msn.com/TonyHawesRAFSe...58.msnw?Page=1
Later as an AQM with 99 Sqn I shot 8mm cine film of the island taken between 1959-1963 until I left the RAF. A couple of years ago I had the film converted to digital (DVD) format so that I could edit the digital version and burn my own DVDs.
Some screen grabs including Gan, can be seen here:
http://groups.msn.com/TonyHawesRAFSe...nw?albumlist=2
Anyway the photos at the top link are worth a look, if only because at that time I started using 35mm Kodak Kodachome, the slides of which today are as as vividly colourful as the day they were taken.
Tony
185 of my photos that I took whilst there can be seen at:
http://groups.msn.com/TonyHawesRAFSe...58.msnw?Page=1
Later as an AQM with 99 Sqn I shot 8mm cine film of the island taken between 1959-1963 until I left the RAF. A couple of years ago I had the film converted to digital (DVD) format so that I could edit the digital version and burn my own DVDs.
Some screen grabs including Gan, can be seen here:
http://groups.msn.com/TonyHawesRAFSe...nw?albumlist=2
Anyway the photos at the top link are worth a look, if only because at that time I started using 35mm Kodak Kodachome, the slides of which today are as as vividly colourful as the day they were taken.
Tony
