Gaining An R.A.F Pilots Brevet In WW II
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Often in Jersey, but mainly in the past.
Age: 79
Posts: 7,803
Received 135 Likes
on
63 Posts
I suppose I should vaguely apologise for my late Father, who as a TA gunner spent the first year or two of WW2 helping hose AAA shells into the air over London and the SouthEast with little regard as to where the fragments would land. But then there was a War on, of course.
In his Soldier's PayBook he kept a [surely illegal] loose-leaf record of where he'd been in those years. Which I still have - and so do you, now. Apologies for the faint scan of his pencil writing. I can re-do if anyone cares deeply.
In his Soldier's PayBook he kept a [surely illegal] loose-leaf record of where he'd been in those years. Which I still have - and so do you, now. Apologies for the faint scan of his pencil writing. I can re-do if anyone cares deeply.
Last edited by MPN11; 23rd Jan 2015 at 19:00.
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: N Yorkshire, UK
Age: 76
Posts: 484
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
From Night Flak to Hijack: It's a Small World by Captain Reginald Levy DFC
The Great South American River Company tells me that they are estimating delivery of my copy by the end of the month. Having read all of Regle's contributions here, I'm looking forward to having his story in one coherent volume.
They also have it on KINDLE
PZU - Out of Africa (Retired)
The Great South American River Company tells me that they are estimating delivery of my copy by the end of the month. Having read all of Regle's contributions here, I'm looking forward to having his story in one coherent volume.
They also have it on KINDLE
PZU - Out of Africa (Retired)
Guest
Posts: n/a
Chugalug,
Following the links you gave, and all the connected links they gave, I ended knowing a lot more about anti-gas measures now than ever I knew in the war. I vaguely recall that ARP wardens were supposed to rush about on their bikes, spinning their rattles and shouting "Gas, Gas !" through megaphones, and that we should all then don our gas-masks and (in the Services) put on our gas-capes, but that was about all. Oh, and if you were caught in a shower of gas, Wash it Off with Copious Quantities of Water (dive into the nearest Static Water Tank ?) - remember those ?
As for the tops of all pillar-boxes being painted a yellow which turned pink on contact with Mustard, I can't for the life of me ever seeing such a thing.
Fareastdriver,
Bit worried about your: "loft where I would stumble amongst the joists". Hope you weren't a big lad - or you were very careful where you put your boots (otherwise you might've made an undignified and uninvited arrival through a bedroom ceiling !)
Molemot,
Hard to think of any editor making a better job of his story than Reg himself has done here, but I suppose more detail has been added. I've asked my daughter to get it up for me on her Kindle. Thank you for the "steer".
MPN11,
It may have been against Regulations for your Father to have kept such a detailed record of his deployments (and all credit to him for doing so), but I don't think German Intelligence could learn any more from them than they already knew - almost any town in UK of some size would have AA defences. (And didn't all our [RAF issue] Logbooks have a "Record of Service" on the next-to-last page - mine has unit names and numbers, places and dates, for the whole of my flying career.
Cheers to you all, Danny.
Following the links you gave, and all the connected links they gave, I ended knowing a lot more about anti-gas measures now than ever I knew in the war. I vaguely recall that ARP wardens were supposed to rush about on their bikes, spinning their rattles and shouting "Gas, Gas !" through megaphones, and that we should all then don our gas-masks and (in the Services) put on our gas-capes, but that was about all. Oh, and if you were caught in a shower of gas, Wash it Off with Copious Quantities of Water (dive into the nearest Static Water Tank ?) - remember those ?
As for the tops of all pillar-boxes being painted a yellow which turned pink on contact with Mustard, I can't for the life of me ever seeing such a thing.
Fareastdriver,
Bit worried about your: "loft where I would stumble amongst the joists". Hope you weren't a big lad - or you were very careful where you put your boots (otherwise you might've made an undignified and uninvited arrival through a bedroom ceiling !)
Molemot,
Hard to think of any editor making a better job of his story than Reg himself has done here, but I suppose more detail has been added. I've asked my daughter to get it up for me on her Kindle. Thank you for the "steer".
MPN11,
It may have been against Regulations for your Father to have kept such a detailed record of his deployments (and all credit to him for doing so), but I don't think German Intelligence could learn any more from them than they already knew - almost any town in UK of some size would have AA defences. (And didn't all our [RAF issue] Logbooks have a "Record of Service" on the next-to-last page - mine has unit names and numbers, places and dates, for the whole of my flying career.
Cheers to you all, Danny.
Last edited by Danny42C; 25th Jan 2015 at 01:19. Reason: Speling !
Guest
Posts: n/a
"Meanwhile, you might like to have have a look at my earlier:
"Aviation History and Nostalgia">"Spitfire Mk.I (Type 300)" [whatever that may mean] for a 5 min You Tube of chap hugely enjoying himself in one."
And Chugalug's #6092, "The Mk1 YouTube video that Danny referred to is here:- :
"Spitfire Mk.I (Type 300)"
because mauld has put in six more fine You Tubes of the Spitftre.
Danny.
"
"Aviation History and Nostalgia">"Spitfire Mk.I (Type 300)" [whatever that may mean] for a 5 min You Tube of chap hugely enjoying himself in one."
And Chugalug's #6092, "The Mk1 YouTube video that Danny referred to is here:- :
"Spitfire Mk.I (Type 300)"
because mauld has put in six more fine You Tubes of the Spitftre.
Danny.
"
Last edited by Danny42C; 25th Jan 2015 at 20:20. Reason: Addn.
Danny, my turn now to thank you for a link. What a feast! One is left in open mouthed admiration for everyone that was involved in bringing these beautiful aircraft to full airworthy condition again. Thousands of hours of dedicated restoration by skilled and experienced professionals (and the bottomless pit of money needed to do so!) lay behind these amazing sights and sounds. I congratulate them all.
No doubt there are those who will cavil at some detail of the final finish, be it of colour, pattern, markings, etc. I say that because it is the same in railway preservation. We might have restored a Victorian carriage which had spent far more time being somebody's home rather than as a public transport vehicle and, having repaired and restored it from the bottom sides upwards to full running condition again, be told that the font of the sign writing, or the style of the interior scumbling, was inappropriate for some theoretical reason. My reply echo's Mrs Thatcher's; rejoice at that news and congratulate all that have been involved in saving these rare artifacts of our national heritage!
No doubt there are those who will cavil at some detail of the final finish, be it of colour, pattern, markings, etc. I say that because it is the same in railway preservation. We might have restored a Victorian carriage which had spent far more time being somebody's home rather than as a public transport vehicle and, having repaired and restored it from the bottom sides upwards to full running condition again, be told that the font of the sign writing, or the style of the interior scumbling, was inappropriate for some theoretical reason. My reply echo's Mrs Thatcher's; rejoice at that news and congratulate all that have been involved in saving these rare artifacts of our national heritage!
Chugalug2. They are known in the Historic aviation world as the 'Roundel police' The usual reply is 'If you spend £1M restoring a Spitfire you can paint it how you like!'
mmitch.
mmitch.
Despite owning a kindle, I've ordered my print copy at "big river stores" and eagerly await its delivery. Having spent some time (years)following this masterpiece of threads, there's no way I will accept an electronic copy. I need to get the reading goggles out, a glass of decent wine, and hopefully a journey again.
Smudge
Smudge
Senior non-techies united: we have Kindles too, but Reg's book must be hard copy for reading with reverence, not downloaded for dipping in and out of an electronic soup. Mine's due on Friday and I see there's only four in stock. Pray keep a space beside your armchair, smuj, and we'll share that bottle of wine.
Geriaviatir,
My copy is due for delivery tomorrow too. The wine is selected, just a matter of waiting now. Enjoy the read, I expect it will bring back some memories from the very first posts of this thread.
Smudge
My copy is due for delivery tomorrow too. The wine is selected, just a matter of waiting now. Enjoy the read, I expect it will bring back some memories from the very first posts of this thread.
Smudge
Chugalug2,
ref those that 'cavil'. More than once we were told by the 'experten' that our (ex French Army (ALAT) Supercub) 'Auster' had the roundels painted on incorrectly !
ref those that 'cavil'. More than once we were told by the 'experten' that our (ex French Army (ALAT) Supercub) 'Auster' had the roundels painted on incorrectly !
fredjhh's memoirs?
Conversation in the Crewroom having lapsed for a moment, whilst our aircrew ponder a while, and quietly contemplate the stove ...
.... like many others I am very much looking forward to reading regle's autobiography on paper (Kindle?? .. harrrumph! - never, Reg is one to be savoured with deference) with a few glasses of something appropriate to the occasion.
It is now a just a couple of years since fredjhh's daughter mentioned here, following his departure on his final sortie a few months earlier:
"My greatest fear is that I shall throw away something of value (sentimental/historical) from his great collection of war memorabilia. My father wrote his memoirs down which we are having self published. I'm not sure if anyone would be interested in reading this. We don't intend making profit from it but in order to cover costs it will possibly cost around £20 (it is no small tome...277 pages and A4 size)."
I am in no doubt that we are, en masse, 'interested', especially in reading about Fred's stirring exploits in occupied Europe after he had been shot down, which he was always too modest to mention here.
Searching of PPRuNe, and dragging the Big River, has not given me any lead to publication ... I have today been so bold as to despatch a PM to his daughter asking whether things are happening but, in view of the long interval, I am not too hopeful of a response. The mention of page numbers and format, however, suggests that intended publication was fairly imminent even two years ago - does anyone have any information on this?
.... like many others I am very much looking forward to reading regle's autobiography on paper (Kindle?? .. harrrumph! - never, Reg is one to be savoured with deference) with a few glasses of something appropriate to the occasion.
It is now a just a couple of years since fredjhh's daughter mentioned here, following his departure on his final sortie a few months earlier:
"My greatest fear is that I shall throw away something of value (sentimental/historical) from his great collection of war memorabilia. My father wrote his memoirs down which we are having self published. I'm not sure if anyone would be interested in reading this. We don't intend making profit from it but in order to cover costs it will possibly cost around £20 (it is no small tome...277 pages and A4 size)."
I am in no doubt that we are, en masse, 'interested', especially in reading about Fred's stirring exploits in occupied Europe after he had been shot down, which he was always too modest to mention here.
Searching of PPRuNe, and dragging the Big River, has not given me any lead to publication ... I have today been so bold as to despatch a PM to his daughter asking whether things are happening but, in view of the long interval, I am not too hopeful of a response. The mention of page numbers and format, however, suggests that intended publication was fairly imminent even two years ago - does anyone have any information on this?
Guest
Posts: n/a
"In search of Bomber Command"
Heads Up !
"In search of Bomber Command" (ricardian)
If you haven't seen this film before, you must see it now ! (it complements perfectly the much earlier "Target for Tonight"; it is the only colour film of RAF bomber ops in WWII; the USAAC equivalent (from which some of the opening shots have been taken) was the (first, genuine [ie before Hollywood got to it]: "Memphis Belle").
Reflect, before you pass by without a second glance, that on average half the young men appearing in it would be dead by the war's end - and the rest are almost all dead now.
As to Kindle v. Paperback: none of us has any difficulty in reading PPRuNe on our laptops etc. How is this different from reading on Kindle ?
Danny.
"In search of Bomber Command" (ricardian)
If you haven't seen this film before, you must see it now ! (it complements perfectly the much earlier "Target for Tonight"; it is the only colour film of RAF bomber ops in WWII; the USAAC equivalent (from which some of the opening shots have been taken) was the (first, genuine [ie before Hollywood got to it]: "Memphis Belle").
Reflect, before you pass by without a second glance, that on average half the young men appearing in it would be dead by the war's end - and the rest are almost all dead now.
As to Kindle v. Paperback: none of us has any difficulty in reading PPRuNe on our laptops etc. How is this different from reading on Kindle ?
Danny.
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Well, Lincolnshire
Age: 69
Posts: 1,101
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
As to Kindle v. Paperback: none of us has any difficulty in reading PPRuNe on our laptops etc. How is this different from reading on Kindle ?
However, it may go further than personal preference. Last week The Times reported that screens are dealt with by one area of the brain (striatus) while learning activities are dealt with by the hippocampus which handles long-term memory. I summarise but that's the general idea, never mind the gritty eyes etc from long-term squinting.
It seems that learning from screen may be transient, learning from books may last longer. It certainly makes me wonder about the attention span of so many youngsters who appear to be fused into their iphones.
Recent events in aviation also make me wonder. Last time I flew followed a 24-year layoff, yet I found the flying as easy as riding a bicycle. Not so the wonders of the glass cockpit in which the familiar panel appears on a screen. With so many knobs and permutations to play with I fear some may forget to fly the aeroplane.
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Often in Jersey, but mainly in the past.
Age: 79
Posts: 7,803
Received 135 Likes
on
63 Posts
Geriaviator ... that's scary. So my current Kindle reading of Marlborough and Blenheim will fade away, as the morning mist?
Time to stop reading PPRuNe and Flyertalk and HotTottie, perhaps?
Time to stop reading PPRuNe and Flyertalk and HotTottie, perhaps?
Just finished reading Regle's book, and what a smashing tome it is. Having been a follower of this thread for some time, the main gist is not new, what makes the book so enjoyable is its collation of Reg's life from childhood to retirement. Very well done by the editor in chief. In fact, such an "across the board" piece that my wife begins her own foray tonight into the life of a very significant man. I estimate she will have read it in a couple of weeks, I will relay her thoughts. Now, when does Danny's epistle get published, I'm sure there are more bits and bobs in there! You publish it Danny, I will buy it, like Regle's, a positive addition to anyone's library.
Smudge
Smudge