Flt Lt Stan Smith MBE
Thread Starter
Flt Lt Stan Smith MBE
Flt Lt Stan Smith MBE has died at the age of 94.
Stan will be well known to rotaries of a certain age and seemed to be part of the fixtures and fittings in and about Odiham. He had been unwell for sometime but I understand he and his wife Joyce have received much help from his mates in that area.
Stan was a member of a gang called The Old Rotors and supported it for many years. He once featured at the head of a 2 mile long traffic jam, trying to gain entry to Odiham for the dedication of the SH Memorial. Well, it was really a 4 mile long jam because there was a similar queue coming from the other direction!
Old Duffer
Stan will be well known to rotaries of a certain age and seemed to be part of the fixtures and fittings in and about Odiham. He had been unwell for sometime but I understand he and his wife Joyce have received much help from his mates in that area.
Stan was a member of a gang called The Old Rotors and supported it for many years. He once featured at the head of a 2 mile long traffic jam, trying to gain entry to Odiham for the dedication of the SH Memorial. Well, it was really a 4 mile long jam because there was a similar queue coming from the other direction!
Old Duffer
Avoid imitations
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Wandering the FIR and cyberspace often at highly unsociable times
Posts: 14,576
Received 433 Likes
on
228 Posts
I remember Stan well. After a long helicopter career he stayed on in the RAF, in Station Ops; he was coming to the end of his career as mine had just begun. The last time I saw him was thirty years ago, back at Odiham and he was driving a small delivery van (carrying flowers, I think). He jokingly said it was the same job with a lot less hassle! He was always optimistic and cheerful.
RIP, Stan.
RIP, Stan.
I recall flying as a noobie with Stan on a trip lifting 105 Light Guns. I was in the back observing the load, and idly mused about how it would hit the fan if we had to drop it. The whole cab twitched as he stiffened with horror at the thought, before tutoring me in the fact that for Arty Artillery, "The gun IS the colour, Laddie!"
Have I made up the fact that he flew B29s for a while too, in his youth? I'm sure he said so. RIP.
CG
Have I made up the fact that he flew B29s for a while too, in his youth? I'm sure he said so. RIP.
CG
Gentleman Aviator
So many tales of Stan. I did my first Wessex SH (known then as SRT - Short Range Transport) "Cat"with Stan on HOCF at Odiham in May 1970.
I was already posted to Sharjah, so Stan didn't do any Met on the Ground Exam.
"It's all different there - it's in the Southern Hemisphere you see". Fine grasp of geography there Stan, but UK Met would certainly have been no use to me....
Flew with him later that year - November 1970 - when ASCEU (the Examining Unit) came to Sharjah. "Flew with him" is about right. It was a much sought after "Mountain Formation" sortie (aka wadi-bashing - not forgetting the Musafi Stimm bar!), and I barely got my hands on the controls - Stan was enjoying himself!
I (foolishly) enquired at the debrief how he would assess me when he'd hogged 95% of the sortie - think I was allowed the departure and rejoin at the airfield.
"Well laddie, you were OK when I flew with you at Odiham, it's a hard school here so I'm sure you've got better since then. C Cat confirmed!"
RIP Stan
I was already posted to Sharjah, so Stan didn't do any Met on the Ground Exam.
"It's all different there - it's in the Southern Hemisphere you see". Fine grasp of geography there Stan, but UK Met would certainly have been no use to me....
Flew with him later that year - November 1970 - when ASCEU (the Examining Unit) came to Sharjah. "Flew with him" is about right. It was a much sought after "Mountain Formation" sortie (aka wadi-bashing - not forgetting the Musafi Stimm bar!), and I barely got my hands on the controls - Stan was enjoying himself!
I (foolishly) enquired at the debrief how he would assess me when he'd hogged 95% of the sortie - think I was allowed the departure and rejoin at the airfield.
"Well laddie, you were OK when I flew with you at Odiham, it's a hard school here so I'm sure you've got better since then. C Cat confirmed!"
RIP Stan
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: NORTHANTS
Posts: 48
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Stan The Man
Had the pleasure to fly with Stan on HOCF learning to fly the mighty Wessex in 1967 He introduced me to low flying and his liberal view of NB 50 ft. On 72 Sqdn we crossed paths again when we went on Operation Sparrowhawk based out of RNAS Arbroath. The operation was a fighter evasion trial with a large number of RAF and RN helicpters including the curious Pink Wessex with others in strange paint schemes to assess their visbility at low level from high speed fighters. Stans low level and figter evasion tactics were hair raising. I eventually managed to get him to let me have a go. His stories of daring do were a treat to listen to. RIP to a great Gent and Aviator
