Pull up a sandbag ~ "I remember when..

[Akrotiri bad boy]

..... it was easy to blag lifts. A ride down the low level network to Turnhouse in the AOC's Devon, or a lift on the "paper plane" (a Herald I think) to Blackpool for the weekend.

[Al R]

When your Flt Sgt could walk up behind you while in civvies, put a dog lead clip into your earring and say 'You want to look like a dog, I'll treat you like a dog' before tugging you out of the shop and kicking your arse down the street. He'd probably get into trouble now for doing that.

[4mastacker]

Twice-daily working parades and weekly station parades on the red-gravel hockey pitch at Stafford.

Circuits and bumps at 5 (opening time) on the Commie's door in Leuchars village.

A stacker WO without an LS&GCM - something to do with the Commie, an RAFP sgt, the main gate at Leuchars and the DRI.

Leuchar's Cpl's Club p***-up for 892 NAS's final embarkation and the Tayside police's identity parade outside at 4.00am, looking for the "gentleman" who had had his evil way with a "young lady" for providing the taxi ride back to Dundee. (He'd taken her as far as Tentsmuir Forest and then told her to walk the rest of the way).

Charlie Brinkley's ferry at Bawdsey and them fg swans that lived on the sports field.

Thunderflashes under the door of trap one in the Ferry Boat Inn.

[Shackman]

......and when OX 38 and OM 15 were put in different shaped tins (and still trying to put the wrong one in on a dark and stormy night in the middle of Germany).

(to paraphrase another thread)

* * Pertama * *

[ARINC]

I could do everything required on a Turn round to a Minor Star with a torch and a screw driver.

Being told a SOXMIS was in the area...

Miss wayward body

Actually cutting a wall that said cut here for TTW. (Until we learnt it was an exercise )

[Prangster]

MRCA

Distinctly recall Flight Magazine referencing MRCA as either 'Must Refurbish Canberras Again' (re the cancellation of first the TSR2 then the F111) or alternatively 'Mother Rileys Cardboard Aeroplane' and now look it. Long in tooth and claw, and likely not with us much more.

[1.3VStall]

Oh,

How did I miss this thread for so long?

Looking out of the office window and seeing lines of jets on the pan (before it became the ramp), rather than them being buried in HASs.

Comms Flights moving RAF people around the UK by air.

All sorts of aircraft lobbing into RAF stations just before Christmas to drop off airmen on leave (I remember a Shack Mk2 disgorging a load of scousers at Woodvale in the early 70s).

A myriad of now-closed RAF stations - Acklington, Brawdy, Chivenor..... don't start me!

Airships who hadn't invented the phrase "I can't be seen to be taking a position on this".

Commanders rather than budget holders

Leaders rather than managers

Commands rather than Agencies

Enough, nostalgia is not what it used to be!

[Al R]

I remember when..

• .. an engineering officer proudly showed me his new Outlook e-mail, and telling me that it would 'free him' from his desk and that anytime I wanted a demo about it, he had just done the course and would gladly spend an hour or so showing our section its features and benefits.

In fact, the only e-mail I think I ever sent was when the padre logged on using my computer to read his e-mails, but left it logged on as he hurried over to the Chamber of Anguish and Despair. I took the opportunity to use his account to tell the station that 'I' was selling my wordly possessions at knock down prices and the proceeds would be going to children in Kosovo. Interested parties should contact me after work (do people still use memo pads, or are hard copies no longer sent in internal mail?).

• When no matter how many times you watched it, the Silly Long Rifle weapon safety film always ended the same way.. with that wretched lad bleating ".. but Corp.. Corp, I thought you said 'Ready', not 'Steady' ".
• When a JNCO would HAVE to finish a run infront of his section or be in the sh#t.
• When Steady Eddie parked his black Cavalier saloon in the CO's spot just to see what would happen (nothing).
• When our very tired Section Commander spent ages struggling with a suspect's name only to be told by me that 'alias' needn't be pronounced 'Al-ias' and wasn't in fact, an Arab name. I still have the signal as a souvenir of that momentous day, the day that I realised that Regt JNCO's weren't in fact, gods.
• When I was asked in all seriousness, if I had ironed my laces before coming on parade.
• When I was doubled off to the Guardroom for smirking on parade.
• When LACs had to stand up and offer their seats in the canteen to SACs.
• When, at a handover, an unsmiling Families Officer used an SLR bore brush and flannelette to check a door keyhole for cleanliness..
• When the best part of SROs was at the back, seeing who had been done and for what.
• When 8 man rooms would be partitioned with MFO boxes and be an absolutely fantastic room to live in.
• When a chap had two pairs of Ron Hill Union Jack shorts; Best and Casual.
• When you worried about Health & Safety afterwards.
• When CAS didn't sound like a Harry Enfield character.
• When I first saw a civvie on stn, actually spending 5 minutes arranging her pot plants.
• When things got silly in the Pen Club by throwing knives into the overhead fans.
• When, if travelling in uniform, the train conductor would tell you to get into First Class with a friendly pat on the back and a cheery wink (ok, that never happened to me but you get the idea).
• When every Monday morning would be a proper COs parade.
• When every Friday afternoon would finish with a sqn run.
• When people didn't say 'Ok, sounds good. Can you quickly jot that down in an e-mail and send it to me?'. Ok, thats civvy street, but I bet it happens in uniform too.
• When hearing the thud of a heavy NATOCARS envelope dropping through the letterbox was the best sound in the world.
• When you got posted overseas, not deployed.
• When 20 year SACs were the backbone of the RAF, not automatically promoted 5 year Cpls.
• When you were allowed to all chip in and buy a block washing machine without being accused of 'stealing water'.
• When WRAFs were non combatants.
• When being given an hour off at lunch to get fed and do admin, only to be told that SHQ was closed for lunch and personal admin.
• When we didn't need bloody Mission Statements, Investment in People and the rest of it because we weren't managed by idiots who needed the guidance. I accept that there is possibly more than a hint of rose tinted spectacles about this one.

[Saintsman]

Guard duty with nothing. Then a pick axe handle, an SLR (with no magazine), an SLR with a magazine (but no bullets).

Greatcoats

No2 uniforms made out of an old No1.

AOC's parades

[Gainesy]

The weekly(?) Devon with the new crypto codes.
The Friday JP from Strawbs doing a round robin with an ancient Master Pilot and loads of Tupperware boxes containing his wife's pre-ordered home-made pates.

Master Aircrew.

Aircrew with a Pathfinder badge.

Listening to the yarns of said blokes.

Now here's one you won't believe: AT picking you up from your station for a det.

The Herc OCU from Thorney Island coming out to do night circuits at Akrotiri, three or four in the circuit all bloody night, leading to the Local Controller's response to about the 50th call of "Blah, finals, three greens, to roll" with "Yeah, whatever".

Cypriot neighbour calling across, "Hey, look, a U-2".

Thinking the milk and bread tasted "funny" when tourex and back in UK.

Some pratts out rabbiting with a 12-bore in an open top MG at Wittering and blowing a big hole in the car's front nearside wing.

The dragster "De Judge" built by the ASF lads at Witt. More Harrier/Hunter bits than anything.

[Wader2]

The kipper run to Machrihanish.

Station Flights.

Station Barbers.

Shoes without toe caps.

Shirts that didn't button below the waist, you had to pull them over your head.

Toilets for thin people - the brick built ones outside the hangars.

Doors without keys in the accommodation.

[snapper41]

When Ops, Eng and Admin were adequate descriptions of the wing roles, rather than 'Depth' and 'Base Support'

[The Adjutant]

Being at Patrington when we won the Ingpen Trophy.
Lofty Wetheral when he was a FS
Paddy Gaw when he was a Sgt.
Mullards!! (You have to be GD(FC) for that one!)
Being the last CC (Before this new FA stuff) at Buchan down the old bunker before closing it down and handing over to the "new" BIF upstairs. I unscrewed the old ROTA plan site nameplate off the wall, and still have it in my loft.
Sitting beside Bob Livingstone in Cabin 3 at Patrington when the Lightning chasing the Shac intruder went into the sea in a storm off Staxton Wold (Not all memories are happy). When they recovered it the cockpit hood was raised, and the pilot had unstrapped and got out, but wasn't ever found. How spooky was that!!
Remembering ORAC when he was a Plt Off and I was a Flt Lt even then!!(God I'm old)
Throwing in a "quick 90" on the recovery to Point Alpha with a 15 mile split for 5 Sqn Ltg's

[The Adjutant]

Oh yes; and the day the Binbrook Lightning caught fire just after takeoff and the pilot ejected as it passed over Patrington, landing inside the Tech Site.
The day the Cyprus Coup kicked off
4 gallons of petrol and change out of a quid in Limmasol
kebab and drunk as a skunk for a quid in Limmasol
Nurses at Halton (Mrs Adjutant was one)
The 11 Group standby ADOC still using the same plot rods on the GSM as were used by the WAAFs in 1940. (We gave them to the RAF Museum)

[tarbaby]

Gee, I nearly had forgotten that.

[Wader2]

Originally Posted by tarbaby

Gee, I nearly had forgotten that.

All bombers used to have Gee

[Goer Round]

Standing guard at Khormaksar when a shooting match was going on and the issued 5 x .303 rounds could be taken out of the brass cartridge 'cos they'd been passed around that often (and no, there wasn't any propellent in them!)

Being forcibly told to "**** off, you've done enough" after 36 hours straight administering the families/stranded tourists as they arrived back at Brize after the Cyprus invasion.

Bumming a lift for a 'look see' at Marham in Finningley's station Anson (and marvelling at the Beagle that replaced it)

[mstjbrown]

Khormaksar Days

Philrigger

The MEAF comment made me wonder who else recalls the Mukeiras airstrip which we used during the Radfan campaign. At times it was immensely busy with a variety of AAC and RAF short haul a/c such as Twin Pins , Beverleys and Beavers.

I thumbed a lift in a Beverley back to Khormaksar after a few days with 45 Commando. He was taxying down the strip as I arrived and a quick jerk of the thumb caused an immediate halt and an opened door. They were good lads on 84 Sqn. Are things still as casual - and as effective ?

[camlobe]

Memories of...

Red Cans.
John the Fish.
Squadron Detachments when the WHOLE squadron deployed.
Senior Officers who backed you up and took the flak, and never gave you a hard time about it afterwards (Mike Dug**d I still owe you a crate of beer, Mike Frankl**d I still owe you one as well, Dave Henk*n I owe you a bottle of good Scotch).
SWO's who tore a new hole in your posterior, and then spent the next half an hour making you feel that you wern't a complete waste of space after all.
Watching the hangar clear in double quick time when the rockape WO and the SWO had the biggest, loudest slanging match in the history of the western hemisphere.
When the plods actually used to go into the NAAFI to clear out the rocks.
When the Orderly Officer went in with the plods.
Singlies Christmas Dinner served by the Staish and all below him.
Food fighting with the Staish and all below him.
When Boatwright was an RAF trade.
When there was more aircraft on an RAF station than cars.
When you got posted to a new unit...and nobody there knew anything about it.
When 'Yes' men were the exception, not the rule.
When Married Quarters were worth having.
When Pontious was a pilot.

camlobe

[1859sqn]

Working in Load Control at Benson in '69 and discovering the joys of collar-attached shirts. Dodging the SWO, Jack Holt, then getting posted to Odiham in '71 after a year at Muharraq only to bump into the b***er again!