Your husband will never be promoted if you wear trousers
 

Your husband will never be promoted if you wear trousers: An RAF wife reveals her VERY bizarre life in a military base | Mail Online

Oh dear! She does herself no favours with this silly article.

Does she need favours? Sadly I think some of her observations are a very accurate reflection of the RAF I observed in the 80s, 90s and early 'noughties'

Why Drumstick? Not seeing to many in inaccuracies in what she say.

Nevrtheless, whilst the style of the article may not be to everyone's liking, there is a fair measure of truth in it. I recall in the early 80s a squadron leader at that place on the hill in N Lincolnshire getting seriously marked down on his 1369 by the Staish for wearing jeans for gardening, and a new wife being taken on one side by the other wives for being a bit adventurous with her husband in the PDA department and for her style in clothes. On the other hand, when we married (I was a newly promoted sqn ldr, and my wife had little experience of the RAF) Aunty Joan took the new Mrs W on one side and said "Now my dear, forget all this nonsense about senior officers wives and enjoy yourself." Some years later, Mrs W was now a "wg cdr's wife" and scandalised some by donning the velcro suit and throwing herself at the sticky wall at the summer ball (well, it was my last working day in the RAF before retirement.

Oh dear. Her again.

On the plus side, it would appear "Paul" has had a result. A nice buxom, blonde, 20 something cabin crew sort of result I hope! :ok:

Sadly the article is a true reflection on the way things were in the 90s, certainly at Lyneham.

My wife and I found the best thing to do was to not give a stuff about other people's hang-ups, and do what we wanted.

Of course, not wanting to chisel away at getting promoted helped.

Why not?

She's divorced her RAF husband and is back in the real world and no longer has to play the RAF's stupid game. She makes some very valid points. The military is living in the 19th Century; it needs to move forward. When the Messes die due to PAYD and we have all-ranks clubs, and quarters disposed with, we may start to see progress. Until then, best thing you can do in the mob is buy your own home and get some real friends away from work.

While there are bits of the story that contain elements of truth, that woman sounds like a complete nightmare!

Well done to that corporal who managed to find someone who would marry her in 24 hours, just so she could get into the mess for a few happy hour chips.

Or alternatively it's nothing like life was like at Lyneham in the mid to late nineties. I would dissect the article but that would be falling into her PR trap - I'm smelling the distinctive aroma of another AW book in the offing here, hence this dribbly bit of publicity. Still, it'll probably be worth a read just work out which characters are you and I as per her last effort..... :rolleyes:

I'm not saying her observations are inaccurate. But marrying into service life and then criticising Cpl's not being allowed into the Mess, for example, makes her appear naive at the very least.

Yep, luckily the Services still aren't socialists!

Yep, and I expect my civilian tenants to do exactly the same.

Hmmm!

Does anyone believe that actually happened?

Yes, just the one though...

http://www.websmileys.com/sm/crazy/146.gif

And the milkman walked around with a permanent smile on his face.:ok:

Is she saying that she prefered to leave it in a mess, for someone else to clear up?


What a load of old tosh.

Little chance of promotion here then!


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There some truths in the article, but so what? Much of her annoyances seem to stem from the fact she wasn't able to do domestic stuff for herself, like cook or clean (I can, and still do and I'm a bloke). Cleaning a quarter for the next occupant and keeping it to a required standard in other ways? She obviously didn't notice when she moved in that someone had done the same for her....

However, rank conscious wives....yes, some were, very. I recall one lady introducing herself at a social function as "Mrs Sqn Ldr E***".

One of the pilots immediately very politely curtsied for her.. :E

Once, at a secret helicopter base some where in Hampshire, during my formal F1369 debrief, from the newly arrived Sqn Boss (Wing Cdr), he began to debrief me on my wife! This hadn't happened before in the previous ten years or so. I took great exception to this and I asked if I could go and fetch her so she could listen. I was told that wouldn't be necessary. I think my marks went down..... :rolleyes:

Clothing whilst off duty? I was once taken to task for wearing a leather jacket and what was described as "a loud tie". :p

I hope it was during early 80's, Bodie??!!

While I appreciate that 47AD were based at Lyneham, when she mentions inviting the wives of some "other ranks" over for a wine tasting, she refers to them as "squaddies"? Smacks of a lack of personal knowledge to me.

If living on the patch was such a trauma for her, why didn't they move into private accommodation?

They married in 1997, by which time much of the so called snobbery she refers to was a thing of the past. Maybe in the 70s and 80s, but late 90s and 00s...?

Yes, married quarter rules have always been crazy and draconian, but by the late 90s there were firms that would guarantee to clean you quarter to march out standard for a reasonable fee. I know, I used one when I left MQ at Lyneham in 2000!! Most people also used their own ovens because wives preferred them to the rubbish ones installed in the quarter.

It seems very possible to me that she has got a few war/horror stories from older wives and is regurgitating them as her own experiences in the cause of making money for herself. Of course I could be wrong.....


One question that has to be asked, why is she telling this story. Is it genuinely to inform the great British public of what life is like as an RAF wife?? What makes anyone think the public cares....

Oh, yes, and the letter from RAFH Ely to my wife, about her medical history, addressed on the envelope through GPO mail to "Wife of Sqn Ldr W", not even "Mrs W, Wife of...."

Its the Daily Mail. Outrage is what it thrives on.

Absolute horsesh*t from my (and my wifes POV, who showed me the article). Since when does your OH have to give up a sucessful career to be a service wife? I know a fair few doctors, teachers and legal profession who are partners not only of Officers but also the knockers too! There are a fair few that live the stepford wives model, but thats their choice, no one elses!

I also am aware of "NCO filth" (as she would have us believe the RAF system treats them) being married to senior officers in the RAF, no mention of this. Nor the street parties down Pintail where I am sure plenty of ORs went to.


THe problem with tripe like this is partners of prospective joiners will read this and take it as gospel.

As for having to keep the place tidy, she could have kept the house a pigsty and paid 250 quid to get it cleaned up when she moved out!

She could even have used some OMO on the curtains if she didnt want to pay for having them cleaned... :}

As for requirements of the officer's wives, wasnt there a recent LYE stn cdr who didnt use quarters on a full time basis due to their wife's professional employment?

If any senior officer attempted to OJAR debrief me on my wifes deportment and bearing, I would get up (mid speil), walk out and close the door behind me.

"Your husband will never be promoted if you wear trousers"

I suspect this is still completely true....if you happen to be called Raul, live in Brighton where you run a poodle parlour and "married" your officer hasband in a civil ceremony on Bali where the witnesses were a theatre costume designer from Rio and a fat woman who cried all through the ceremony.

I think that the poor sod is well shot of her!

Duncs:ok: