Malaya pre '62?
Oh! the nostalgia!!
Lots of names there from happy, happy times
George Puddy was my Boss at TH and again in Akrotiri - Drums on Xmas Day and then back to his place for mince pies and Seasonal cheer. Arrived at TH and saw a familiar face that I couldn't place - Naval Lt Cdr, Chief Instructor on the QHI training flight. Eventually introduced as Pete Rover and CLICK!! last seen, flown with as a Fl Lt Crab Nav on Valettas in Aden!. He had applied for crossover training with the light blues but was turned down! Applied to the opposition and was embraced and demonstrated that they (RAF) had got it wrong! Nothing new there then
Regards to any/all from that era.
Lots of names there from happy, happy times
George Puddy was my Boss at TH and again in Akrotiri - Drums on Xmas Day and then back to his place for mince pies and Seasonal cheer. Arrived at TH and saw a familiar face that I couldn't place - Naval Lt Cdr, Chief Instructor on the QHI training flight. Eventually introduced as Pete Rover and CLICK!! last seen, flown with as a Fl Lt Crab Nav on Valettas in Aden!. He had applied for crossover training with the light blues but was turned down! Applied to the opposition and was embraced and demonstrated that they (RAF) had got it wrong! Nothing new there thenRegards to any/all from that era.
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".... I have had the time of anybody's life..."
Well that's two of us. Weren't we lucky.
Here's a silly story, bordering on the farcical.
Malaya, Sycamore, on the Fort Express run, landed in newly cleared area close to aborigine village for Doc Bolton to spend a couple of hours dispensing palliatives and friendship in a new area. Lovely big site, no logs but lot of dust/debris kicked up - pax disembarked and as was SOP left both rear doors open (and out of my reach) while I kept rotor turning/engine running for the standard couple of minutes to stabilise temps. I became aware of small debris still flying about, then (ouch) decided I was under serious hornet attack. If you know those hornets, you will understand my concern. Pulled fuel cut-off, slammed on rotor brake, leapt out and ran ... sheer panic now, can feel stings on face and elsewhere, no-one in sight, so ran downhill thinking river/water get in/under, but en route came across doc's newly built dispensary (6'x4' wriggly tin hut), dived inside slammed door. Panic slowly subsided, found a couple of small bees for company, investigated stings and found dozens of little barbs embedded in shirt which were just touching my skin but no more. Face hurt though, and when courage returned and walked back to chopper found loads of these dead little bees littering the ground. Hornets were wholly imagined.
Still had next day's tasking with the doc, who took one look at my face (I'd only got two stings on cheek) and said anti-histamine would be good - but I don't have any. Back at base next day, cheek bouncing as I walked, eye half closed, met with mirth and total lack of sympathy "what happened to you then?".... don't ask.
DH
Well that's two of us. Weren't we lucky.
Here's a silly story, bordering on the farcical.
Malaya, Sycamore, on the Fort Express run, landed in newly cleared area close to aborigine village for Doc Bolton to spend a couple of hours dispensing palliatives and friendship in a new area. Lovely big site, no logs but lot of dust/debris kicked up - pax disembarked and as was SOP left both rear doors open (and out of my reach) while I kept rotor turning/engine running for the standard couple of minutes to stabilise temps. I became aware of small debris still flying about, then (ouch) decided I was under serious hornet attack. If you know those hornets, you will understand my concern. Pulled fuel cut-off, slammed on rotor brake, leapt out and ran ... sheer panic now, can feel stings on face and elsewhere, no-one in sight, so ran downhill thinking river/water get in/under, but en route came across doc's newly built dispensary (6'x4' wriggly tin hut), dived inside slammed door. Panic slowly subsided, found a couple of small bees for company, investigated stings and found dozens of little barbs embedded in shirt which were just touching my skin but no more. Face hurt though, and when courage returned and walked back to chopper found loads of these dead little bees littering the ground. Hornets were wholly imagined.
Still had next day's tasking with the doc, who took one look at my face (I'd only got two stings on cheek) and said anti-histamine would be good - but I don't have any. Back at base next day, cheek bouncing as I walked, eye half closed, met with mirth and total lack of sympathy "what happened to you then?".... don't ask.
DH
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Mention here of Frank Barnes, brings back memories from my childhood in KL. He was OC 194 when my father was Flight Commander of 267. One of 267's pilots overturned a single engine pioneer into the trees on take off from a jungle fort ... Fort Langkap. My father wanted to see if it could be extricated and Frank flew him in to have a close look. There was a problem on the Sycamore and they crash landed through jungle trees close to the pioneer.
My father, always keen to take photographs took one of Frank grinning through the front of the downed Sycamore. Sadly I do not have immediate access to the photographs of either of the Pioneer or the Sycamore or Frank Barnes.
I have a varnished spa from the Sycamore on which Frank had written 'in memory of our arrival in Fort Langkap.
I was talking to my father about this incident shortly before he died in 2007. He said he was flying again 24 hours later.
Frank was later promoted to Wing Commander and my father came out in 1961, becoming chief pilot for Marshalls at Shawbury.
This page details the loss of both the SEP on 10 April 1958 and the Sycamore on 16 April 1958.
UK Military Aircraft Losses
My father, always keen to take photographs took one of Frank grinning through the front of the downed Sycamore. Sadly I do not have immediate access to the photographs of either of the Pioneer or the Sycamore or Frank Barnes.
I have a varnished spa from the Sycamore on which Frank had written 'in memory of our arrival in Fort Langkap.
I was talking to my father about this incident shortly before he died in 2007. He said he was flying again 24 hours later.
Frank was later promoted to Wing Commander and my father came out in 1961, becoming chief pilot for Marshalls at Shawbury.
This page details the loss of both the SEP on 10 April 1958 and the Sycamore on 16 April 1958.
UK Military Aircraft Losses
Last edited by roving; 14th Jul 2013 at 11:39.
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This photograph is on jungle training course. Frank Barnes is third from the right on the third row from the bottom, my father wearing a beret on the left on the back row.
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Third from the right on the back row of that photograph with the upturned hat is N.E.F. (Ted) Hart. He really was a character.
He was a former jet pilot and flying with 267. His main claim to fame and history is that he was also a war museum photographer. Google 'HART N E F' and one sees a long list of his photographs. Following KL, he was promoted and posted to Christmas Island in 1959. Not a good a time to be there.
The Gazette records his retirement as a S.L.
N. E. F. HART (193005). 27th May 1963.
He was a former jet pilot and flying with 267. His main claim to fame and history is that he was also a war museum photographer. Google 'HART N E F' and one sees a long list of his photographs. Following KL, he was promoted and posted to Christmas Island in 1959. Not a good a time to be there.
The Gazette records his retirement as a S.L.
N. E. F. HART (193005). 27th May 1963.
Last edited by roving; 21st Jul 2013 at 14:27.
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I've got a few photos of 110 Sqdn Sycamores...sorry if I've posted them before (I forget!):
This first one is at Butterworth...three Sycamores doing what the jet boys do, a 'break to land'.
Well you would want to show off in front of those Aussie's wouldn't you!
Here's a sequence of the C-in-C leaving Changi:
And a couple parked after arrival for the September 1962 Battle-of-Britain display at Changi.
A silly question by the way...the Sycamores were painted yellow overall weren't they?
By the way I've finally got around to uploading many of my Changi photos from 61-64 on my website FOCAL PLANES | AIRCRAFT PHOTOS- FROM RAF CHANGI and SINGAPORE IN THE 1960's. They're in the galleries section. Many more to do though and I really ought to 'blog' more than I do as well.
David Taylor
This first one is at Butterworth...three Sycamores doing what the jet boys do, a 'break to land'.
Well you would want to show off in front of those Aussie's wouldn't you!
Here's a sequence of the C-in-C leaving Changi:
And a couple parked after arrival for the September 1962 Battle-of-Britain display at Changi.
A silly question by the way...the Sycamores were painted yellow overall weren't they?
By the way I've finally got around to uploading many of my Changi photos from 61-64 on my website FOCAL PLANES | AIRCRAFT PHOTOS- FROM RAF CHANGI and SINGAPORE IN THE 1960's. They're in the galleries section. Many more to do though and I really ought to 'blog' more than I do as well.
David Taylor
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Yes Postfade those 110 Sqn Sycamores were certainly all yellow. Quite reassuring over all that green stuff, and no one was shooting at us in my time from '59 to '62.
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Sycamore
I remember being the pilot flying 822 with the cinc I also flew it under the instruction of the legendary Bill Barrell on Ops conversion in Bongsu. I also had the tail rotor depart the aircraft while flying over the cabbage near Grik happy days
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deltahot.
To be pedantic (and I'm good at that), my memory of the Sycamore was that the cyclic had to back and right to get the disc level for lift, then back to the centre (ish) as it tilted back and lifted off. So I had a look at the Pilot's Notes which I still have, and yup, it's back and right.
For those old Whirlwind drivers out there, the last flyable Whirlwind 10 is coming out of hibernation again and should be flying in the near future in it's 22 Sqn. SAR colours. Assuming the paperwork ever gets completed!
No doubt all the memories will come flooding back, the chronic backache, the sore left knee, the crick in the neck from looking under the bar across the windscreen and the hot/frozen right shoulder. Oh the joys of Whirlwind ergonomics.
To be pedantic (and I'm good at that), my memory of the Sycamore was that the cyclic had to back and right to get the disc level for lift, then back to the centre (ish) as it tilted back and lifted off. So I had a look at the Pilot's Notes which I still have, and yup, it's back and right.
For those old Whirlwind drivers out there, the last flyable Whirlwind 10 is coming out of hibernation again and should be flying in the near future in it's 22 Sqn. SAR colours. Assuming the paperwork ever gets completed!
No doubt all the memories will come flooding back, the chronic backache, the sore left knee, the crick in the neck from looking under the bar across the windscreen and the hot/frozen right shoulder. Oh the joys of Whirlwind ergonomics.
RF, well I hope it is still in as good a condition as it was when I last flew it on 17 Dec 1981...official grounding of WWs 16 Dec,blade change and track,inexplicably got `resonance`,so just had to lift off,as you do,to sort it out...SEngo not amused,but then,some gingerbeers have little empathy .....
