There was a good RAF presence in the ground exhibion area. Better than the RN.

Dave Wilson That was the "manning the mast" ceremony at HMS Ganges, the RN boy training establishment, originally a wooden hulk moored in Mylor Harbour, near Falmouth, but latterly a shore establishment at Shotley in Suffolk.

All the boys had to go up the mast at the beginning of their course. That let me out of a naval career, 35,000' in a nice comfy Victor is one thing, 150' up a flipping mast is quite another :eek:

Have a look at this if you're brave!

Many thanks tanker, my goodness wasn't that different age.

Sorry Guv, can't do that - 'elf and safety, you know..................

Have a look at this if you're brave!

Or foolish .... since all this reminds me of a visit to l'Ecole Navale, the French equivalent of Dartmouth at Lanvéoc-Poulmic in Brittany when, after a well lubricated evening, our new French "friends" dared some of us to climb their similar, but fortunately not as high, mast with them.

Once we got up to the uppermost top they then proposed that we should all jump together into the safety netting on a count of one, two, three, to which we very foolishly agreed since, after an alcoholic chorus of "un, deux, trois!", we all jumped - and they didn't!:D

We subsequently discovered that the mast was actually out of bounds to all-comers, since the safety netting was deemed to be unfit for purpose .....:eek::eek:

Jack