The Good Old Days...
 

208 Squadron in Kenya...

Some time ago I compiled a little booklet on this subject and I have now finished printing and distributing it to surviving squadron members. I have just made a Powerpoint slide show of the booklet and here are nine of the 150 slides:-

http://www.petermcleland.com/powerpoint/208a.jpg

http://www.petermcleland.com/powerpoint/208b.jpg

http://www.petermcleland.com/powerpoint/208c.jpg

http://www.petermcleland.com/powerpoint/208d.jpg

http://www.petermcleland.com/powerpoint/208e.jpg

http://www.petermcleland.com/powerpoint/208f.jpg

http://www.petermcleland.com/powerpoint/208g.jpg

http://www.petermcleland.com/powerpoint/208h.jpg

http://www.petermcleland.com/powerpoint/208i.jpg

The slideshow is mainly about people and places and many of the pictures have been shown on this site. However, for anyone who is interested, I have uploaded the presentation (100 MBs) and it can be downloaded from here:-

http://www.petermcleland.com/powerpo...n_in_Kenya.pps

The download will take at least 5 minutes and you must have Microsoft's Powerpoint to view it...A free download of Powerpoint Viewer can be obtained here:-

Download details: PowerPoint Viewer 2007

Thanks for looking :)

Brilliant pics Peter.
I like the offset Arrow-Heads on the Hunters. And I never knew 208 operated Venoms!
I was a 22 year-old J/T when I joined 208 Buccs at Honington in 1980, so I feel I have some (loose) connection.

I'll try and download the .ppt later (800kbps here - it's pitiful to say the least).

Rigga

Excellent slide show, some cracking pics and im sure some amazing memories for yourself! Thanks for sharing :ok:

Thanks so much for sharing memories of the happier days of 50 years ago when we had a real RAF!

As a comparative whippersnapper I do so like the trips down amnesia lane. Nice one. :ok:

Thank you for the comments Gents...I'm very pleased that you enjoyed my trip down memory lane :)

Peter, can I ask if you took part in the 4 ship Hunter team that displayed over Entebbe for Uganda's independence? Thanks.

Funny you should post this PMc. I have just been looking again at the following site and you are on there too.

mainframeset

It is a great site for Hunter fans.

I was the Admin Clerk on 1417(FR) Flight in 1967 at Khormaksar. I later remustered to Airframes and served for a total of 25 years. I had an interesting tour on 1417 (Workwise that is) and the aircrew were good to work for.

Argonautical,

The displays I did in Uganda were in Venom FB4s and they were over Bungoma and Entebbe on 4th and 5th December 1959...I imagine that Uganda's Independence came later than that and I left 208 after the Kuwait affair in August 1961...The 208 Squadron aerobatic team with Hunter FGA9s was by this time led by Sqn.Ldr. Mike Goodfellow and I imagine that he would have flown the Independence display sometime later, after I had gone home to UK tourex. :)

Philrigger,

Yes, I contributed many photos to that site...Mostly in "Anecdotes" > "208 Squadron" and in the odd other places there. I was of course long gone from there in 1967. In fact by then I was a First Officer on Vanguards in B.E.A. :)

I spent 18 months flying into and out of Entebbe a couple of years ago, with the approach often over Lake Victoria - beautiful part of the world.

I wouldn't have fancied flying a fast jet low level with those Malibu Storks and other assorted ****ehawks about!

Thanks for the sheer nostalgia of looking at those lovely aircraft. These were the days when we had an Air Force, (and an Empire come to that).

Seven years earlier in 1953 Peter was mentioned in Flight Magazine although they managed to miss-spell his name.

Details here:
tiger moth | meteor | 1953 | 0809 | Flight Archive

Peter, I've sent you a PM.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e3...t/208Venom.jpg

This is a 208 Venom at Eastleigh

Great powerpoint
 

Peter, the photos in your PP are superb. Thanks for taking the trouble to post them.

I have fond memories of 'socialising' with 208 in Sharjah in '69-'70. I was on 210 Sqn (Shacks) & 208 used to visit from Bahrain for a month's APC using the range just south of Dubai.

They once drank us out of Double Diamond & we had to send an emergency convoy to Abu Dhabi for fresh supplies. It didn't pull very well after a 6 hour drive through a hot, bumpy desert!:(

Heavens!...It's a long time since I saw that article...here is a picture of us doing a Box Landing at the end of that display:-

http://www.petermcleland.com/009_box...desia_1953.jpg

I'm in the box :)

A little before my time, but absolutely fascinating stuff Peter - thanks for posting.

Yo fincastle,

I was on 208 at that time. We must have shared a few cold ones!

Err...they look really good..but was there a purpose behind a box landing? I don't recall ever seeing one!

Very impressive - but wouldn't the aircraft at the back be plum in the downdraft wakes of the preceding aircraft?

...and whom is watching whom in such a landing?