First names
 

Over the past couple of weeks, there has been little activity in my job so I thought it might be an interesting exercise to go through my logbooks and list everyone I've flown with and try to remember their first names.

Over a 27 year fast-jet career in the RAF followed by 9 years where I am now, I have flown with over 840 different people. Maybe its a sign of old age arriving but I can't remember all their first names!!

Does anyone else have the same problem?:p

No, but I do smell of wee. :)

I never remember anyones Proper name - but I usually remember any nickname and normally am good at faces - which helps to avoid the to$$ers :)

Humans evolved to live in small nomadic bands or tribes, I believe there have been studies which show most of us have brains which can't remember more than 60-80 odd other people.

I was able to identify about 90% from a sqn photo 48 years previous and it wasn't that clear a photo.

I don't have any problems remembering, er, ooh look, a squirrel!

Nicknames yes. It's only later that you realise you never knew the actual real names of most of them! I answered the crew room phone at Brawdy one afternoon.

Person: "Hello, can I speak to Flt Lt XXXXX, please."

Me: "Bottle? I'll see, hang on."

Person: "His name is not Bottle."

Me: "Oh, yeah, I mean Sid."

Person: "I'm his mother and is name is YYYY!"

Me: "Really? I never knew that. Hahahaha, wait till I tell the guys. I'll find him for you."

Phone: "Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr"





Tu Chan Go, how long did it take you work out that you'd flown with 840 people?

tu chan go,

It's your age, duckie. Comes to all of us in time. Me, I can remember names, fine. And I can remember faces, too.

System goes into spasm when I try to attach the name to a face ! :confused:

Danny.

We had two flight lieutenants called Miller on our squadron. One day one of their wives rang the crewroom and asked to speak to Flight Lieutenant Miller. On being asked which one she meant she replied "Oh, Dusty Miller please".

:ugh:

Can't remember either of their first names!

Can't remember either of their first names! - TTN

For some reason TTN's post reminded me of a First Lieutenant I had who was hobnobbing with an Army wife whilst her husband was on temporary duty elsewhere. At a subsequent cocktail party, which husband and wife attended on board following his return, wife was introduced to her husband as Mrs First Lieutenant.......:eek:

And yes, I remember all the first names and surnames concerned!:)

Jack

We had a cracker in RAFG many years ago when a Wg Cdr ( IIRC) told his wife that he had been posted to, regrettably, an unaccompanied tour in Rheindahlen.
However, as far as RAFG was concerned he was, as was routine, accompanied.
Said officer then got the allocated quarter, in to which he subsequently installed his girlfriend.
He almost got away with it until, near the end of his tour, he got nailed with a "wives will attend" function. He had to attend "mit frau"

Unfortunately for him a certain Group Captain's wife was also in attendance, who just happened to be a bosom buddy of the real Mrs Wg Cdr.....

Oh, what fun followed!

First Names?? ..reminds me of my first ever contact with RAF flying training -at 662 gliding school, Condor; the OC introduced himself, explaining the school was run on first name terms, followed up with "My first name is "sir"..

So, is this a flight-deck, min crew or total crew thing?

OAP

i assumed my first name was automatically changed to you there

First tourist arrives on his Lightning Sqn. During the arrival chat, the Boss asks his name---'Adrian' was the reply. Boss----'I'm not having an Adrian on my Sqn, we'll call you Harry'---it stuck throughout the years.

Bunch of people lined up on the shores of the lake by North Luffenham about to embark on a course to upgrade their windsurfing qualifications. The instructor was an enthusiastic young Cpl who started off,

'This is an informal course, lets just use first names, mines Dave, lets all say who we are'

Goes down the line getting the names until he arrives at a gentleman possibly somewhat older, 'OK what's your name'--------'Sir Roger'

Nicknames
 

I was sat in the Boss's office (where the Welfare phone resided) on a certain S Hemisphere multi-engine detached Flight. Phone rang, VS answered and heard a female voice ask for "FS Wxyz".


VS turns away from phone (slightly), and shouts loudly:


"Oi Shagger, phone call".


Only later did I learn to my relief that Mrs Wxyz was already well aware of his nickname. :O

We had 2 Flt Lts called Grant. They were often referred to as "Grant Blanc" and "Grant Noir" to differentiate ... it was an obvious distinction, but probably not permitted these days.

On one Sqn I was on we had Skull, Navbag, Slaphead, Huffy, Spit and Wiggy, to name a few....

29 had nine Johns at one point. They had namebadges made up with John 1 through John 9.

Unit I served in a long time ago had 2 called Keen. Known as Extra and Notso.

Following a stint in an excellent Freight Airline,a certain Ex Truckie and Training Captain,as well as Ex Laker and others in the Magestic DC10,christened two chappies from the Foreign Parts,"Spear Chucker One" and "Spear Chucker Two".These two appeared regularly as such on the Crew Room Notice Board,and Crew Roster sheets,and responded to them cheerfully in Crew Room Banter.Happy days,and both seem to thrive on it!!!!