Silly question....Officer pronouns...
 

I saw someone on twitter taking the mick because someone else asked if they should call female officers 'Sir' too.

Something in the deepest darkest corners of my brain makes me think that this at least used to be acceptable in the RAF? Can anyone confirm? It might be completely wrong but....

In the USAF....this issue was dealt with a very long time ago long before it got all pronounced up.

Salute!

Long as I can remember ( back in 60's), we called the gals "maam" almost all the time, and rarely "sir". If in doubt, we used rank, e.g. Lt Smith".

Gums sends...

Ma'am ... simples. The OH knows, she was one!

1969 and a sleepy-eyed Flt Cdt (not me) on his way to Whittle Hall spots rather an attractive WRAF coming the other way...

"Morning love", he calls out in friendly greeting...
"Don't you normall salute officers" came the reply.
"Oops, very sorry Sir....err..Ma'am...err sorry!", then an elbow cracking salute which she returns politely trying hard to suppress a giggle.

Presumably this was the ‘attractive WRAF’ (WAAF) to which you refer…? (The only picture I could find of the late Ms York saluting, receiving instruction from Ginger Lacey along with the film’s director).


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....59f372e799.gif

There was a certain AEO we used to call it - a shortened version of idiot

"And do not tilt your head...raise your bloody arm higher". Joe the SWO...

And a certain 230 Sqn Flt Cdr of some renown, when HM the Queen boards his Puma in NI because the Royal Flight Wessex failed to start, “I hope this one is going to work?l, “eeeer, yes Sir!”…

And we both know who that was Beags ( Guilty as charged)
She was bloody fanciable though!
(Many weeks confined to the South Brick Lines might hsve also have been an influence)

I wasn't going to name noms de PPRunE, but good on you for owning up, Haraka old chum!

I absolutely concur with your assessment of pulchritude

When we went back to serve our second sentences. There was a DS lady of similar attractions.
My DS flight commander advised " Don't even think about it! We reckon it healed over long ago":
She gave us a class lecture about " Not getting emotionally involved with Airwomen"'
This was emphatically countered by a very loud comment from a distant row by the irrascible Pete Stacey ( written off in the Meteor at Coventry in 1988)

" Who said anything sbout emotion?'"

A distinctly icy silence then ensued from the podium . :)

Different days .different sensitivities..!

Different days indeed. Same era, on the other side of the tracks at HOCTU (spit), Plymothian drill sgt is watching cadets go ashore in silly trilbies, swinging arms shoulder high, etc. To a member of F troop:
"Hopen your legs, ma'am, nuffin's gonna fall out".
You tell the young etc. etc ...

I remember being counselled (?) by a WRAC officer that it was "Mam as in jam, not Ma'am as in marmalade." My case rests

It might have been around that time that an ex-Nimrod AEOp chum had been posted to Vulcans, for which he had to be commissioned....

On his first evening, he met a young lady in the bar, who, shall we say, he got to 'know rather well' later that evening.

The following day they were both rather surprised to discover that she was his DS commander! Strangely enough, he then found the course really rather easy....

Beags
I will never forget your comment on your UnIversity Course
"Over a hundred students on my course""
"One is a woman":

": And she is hideous!!!!

Well yes, Haraka me old! Rather an ungentlemanly comment of mine some 50 years ago......

But accurate!

Just waiting for one of these occurrences… it will happen sooner or later…

Which kind of makes a bit of a mockery of all the he/him/her/she/they/them signature blocks. Unless you have it tattooed on your forehead/neck, on the front/back of your clothing or some form of hat, then it’s next to impossible to get right 100% of the time. But then again, do you have to? If you just correct people when they get it wrong, just like getting your name wrong, then surely it is all a bit overly sensitive?

I remember a really nice lady at Coastal Command HQ in the early sixties, who was called Wing Officer Titcombe. Unfortunately we used to call her Tit Officer Wingcome!

Long way up One - Wiggle wiggle - Short way down Two !


and In case you slept through the seventies . . .